𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝖊𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙𝖊𝖊𝖓
valiant diamond

✦

         EVEN THOUGH SHE was far away from that dreary manor where shrill screams could be heard all throughout the house, far away from the commanding touch of her father on her shoulder, the expectations of Amara Carrow instead of Maia, the thumping in her heart that one wrong thought could have her killed, she still did not feel safe. She was so far from them, from those who had the ability to kill her at any moment for one wrong move, but she did not feel safe in the empty corridors and cold rooms of Hogwarts.

They were not here, but their influence was. Their little spies were all around, looking at her and watching her even if they did so unconsciously, even if they did not know why, Maia could feel the paranoia run through her. Still, it was one wrong move and she was dead – even here. Hogwarts was supposed to be a safe place, but she had never known it to uphold that reputation. Hogwarts was just as corrupted, just as dangerous, as anywhere else. Anyone who could still truly believe that they were safe there were fools because Maia could never feel safe there anymore.

No, no one here would kill her at any moment, but those people – those little spies – could report any information about her to those who did have that power. She was still under fire, she still had to pretend to be a golden girl, gleaming with pride under Demetri's proud smile to her, gleaming with power as she worked on perfecting that stupid Vanishing Cabinet, glittering with darkness when she would one day stand over Albus Dumbledore.

She did not want to stand over Dumbledore with her wand raised to him, but it haunted her dreams every night. Because her dreams would meld from light pink flashes to her in dark clothing, hidden by the night, the mark tattooed on her arm, as she stood over the old man – her Headmaster – and let out one little curse from her mouth. Then that was the end, and the old man was dead, and there was this crushing weight on her chest and she couldn't breathe, couldn't think, because the soul had left him and it was because of her and she was the murderer. No longer a murderer in the making because the murderer had already been made – she had already murdered.

And she would awaken in a fright, shivering as her heart pounded and her ears ringed and she was sure the tears were falling from her cheeks and all she could do was hold herself quietly and hope not to wake anyone else so they would not come across her frightened state.

When she brushed her hair in the morning, she could see her sunken in features, the bags under her eyes, and that lost life in her eyes. She used to have chubby cheeks, bit of a rounder, baby face, but now it was sunken and defined and her skin was sickly pale and there were dips in her body where there used to be fat and she simply was not her old self. Maia Greene looked absolutely dead, a ghoul in witch clothing, but she just continued to brush her hair instead of thinking about it.

"Ready to go?" Emilia asked in a cheery voice, still high in the clouds as the warm cap on her head hid her golden locks. She was a true golden child; glimmering in the sunlight, bursting with joy, this yellow aura around her that beamed brighter than everything else outside. She was glittering and gold and Maia wished that their definition of golden aligned with this state.

She wanted to be glittering and gold in the sunlight, but instead she was sunken and sulking in the moonlight, hidden underneath the stars and their blanket of darkness because it was always better to work within the shadows. Their idea of golden was the exact opposite of gold. And she felt envious of Emilia, who was not battling an internal battle every day over what she was supposed to do and what she wanted to do. Envious because Emilia was not trading her life for those she loved so deeply.

She was not fighting for the darkness, sinking deeper into it every day, but Maia was. And she felt jealous of her friend for glittering in the sunlight while she only gleamed in the moonlight. Even then, did she really gleam? Or was she dull and dark and blending in too much with the shadows, no spark of light about her at all.

No, Maia Greene was not a star, she was not Calypso who shined in the dark and was the star guiding everyone towards the light even when they thought they were too dark, Maia Greene was the sky, black as night. She was dull.

"Yeah," Maia nodded, standing up from her vanity and following Emilia out the door. They wandered out of the castle, other groups of students around them, until the crisp, cold air hit her face and she wrapped her arms around her to give herself a little bit more warmth.

"I absolutely have to go to Honeydukes," Emilia told her with such conviction, "They have these new lollipops and Kendra Summerfield says that they're amazing, but mum wouldn't take me to the one in Diagon Alley over break."

"Sounds great," Maia nodded, her voice so uninterested. She wanted to be interested, she wanted to be that old cheery Maia who would spend every night in bed with Emilia painting each other's nails and gossiping instead of partying like everyone else, but she just...wasn't.

She was sullen and sunken and not all glittering and gold anymore – if she ever was.

"I wanna get a butterbeer at Three Broomsticks," Maia mentioned, to add something else to the conversation.

"Um, duh, that's a must," Emilia agreed with a nod of her head, "Maybe Ron Weasley will be there..."

Maia frowned, "Why do you care?"

Emilia blushed a little, "Oh, shush. He's sweet. A bit awkward at times, and maybe he has a bit of temper, but he's sweet."

"And he has a girlfriend," Maia mentioned, before frowning, "Or, at least, I'm pretty sure he still has a girlfriend."

"He does," Emilia confirmed, if a bit at having remembered that fact, "Lavender Brown. They're sweet together, too, and all, but well, a girl can dream..."

"Even though I have no clue why she would dream about a redhead," Maia shook her head, looking incredulously at her friend, "Really, a redhead? Out of all the hair colors?"

Emilia giggled at her comment. "I mean, yeah, he could have better hair color, but he's real nice to me, you know? We have art together, and he's not very good at it, I'll admit that much, but he tries and it's cute."

"Hmm," Maia made a noise at that, bringing her hair to cover her cold ear, "I don't really know about that."

"But it's not like anything will come out of it," she said, though still with a taste of sadness on her tongue, "He's dating Lavender and they look awfully close and even if they do break up, you know he'll date Hermione because he's practically been pining over her for years. I don't stand a single chance, really."

"Well, not with that attitude you don't," Maia smiled, and for a moment she felt like her old self again. Emilia always brought out the old Maia, at least for a split second. The one who could joke so freely and glistened in the sun along with her. And she felt alive again, like her eyes weren't soulless, because that's what Emilia did for her.

Emilia was life, where Maia was death. And Emilia could infect her with that lovely life energy, even if for a moment, and she could feel flips in her stomach and not dread, because Emilia always brought the goodness out of her. Always brought the light out of her – like she used to have.

And then when Emilia smiled at her, face brightening because she loved the thought of her friend having her back, she felt overjoyed for a moment. Not cold and ghoulish, but alive. Like truly and utterly alive and not dead and desiccating.

"Yeah, maybe," Emilia agreed, "But I still think it's a fat chance, really. I mean, we don't really know each other."

"I didn't think Lavender and Ron knew each other either before they got together," Maia pointed out, pulling from her mind any instance she ever saw Lavender Brown and Ron Weasley together before this year when they snogged and then proceeded to label each other boyfriend and girlfriend.

Emilia pursed her lips, considering the argument. "Fair point, but I don't know...maybe. Ooh! There's a new dress in the window!"

She pointed towards one of the stores,, running towards it with sparkling eyes and Maia knew that she would have it in her hands in thirty minutes or less. She even cracked a smile at the thought, slipping back into the old Maia because it was so terribly tempting and Emilia had drawn it out of her.

Maia...

The whisper inside her head instantly killed Maia Greene again. The hint of who it was sending shivers down her spine and causing her shoulders to tense and that little Maia Greene smile to drop instantly.

Maia...

It called to her again, and she felt herself swallow as she looked around, her heart beginning to drum. She didn't think she was safe by any means here, nowhere was safe, but she thought at least she was safe from seeing them in person. Their presence would always be there, but at least she wouldn't have to see and face them in person. The voice told her she was wrong.

Behind The Three Broomsticks...

The voice whispered to her again. She looked and saw that Emilia had already entered the shop, presumably to go and try on the dress before ultimately buying it. Emilia would be fine without her for a minute – at least, she hoped that this would only take a minute.

She straightened herself out, for with them, it was all about those pesky appearances and she had to look her best even if she wasn't wearing something that would be sanctioned by them. In her defense, she didn't think she would be seeing them. She thought she would be able to sink into a good, normal life like she had with Emilia before last year for just a few hours. Just the two of them against the world, no one else.

But she was wrong, apparently, so completely and utterly wrong. She walked to where they wanted to meet – her father and whoever he brought, if he brought someone else – slipping between crowds until she reached two stores before The Three Broomsticks and went to the back, seeing the man who she wished she didn't have any blood ties with leaning against the wall of the restaurant, Alfred Wilkins staring directly at her.

When she got close enough, and Demetri turned to look at her, he brought himself up from the wall, smiling widely, "My valiant diamond. So glad you could join us."

"You called, I answered," she said to him plainly, stilling herself even though she was jittery and wanted to pick at her fingers or bounce her leg.

Demetri grinned wider at her answer, seemingly happy about it. "As you should," he said, a hint of a command in his voice, "I hope you don't mind Alfred here."

The man scoffed when his name was mentioned. Maia turned to him. He always had sharp eyes, and now he was growing out his beard. There was a scar over his left eye, which was new from when she had last seen him.

"Don't mind the scar, Amara," Demetri voiced when he saw her eyes flutter over it, "Alfred just into a little trouble over Christmas, but we sorted it all out."

Alfred's lips twitched to a smirk. "Those mudbloods think they're clever when they use their muggle tools, but little weapons don't stand a chance against a powerful wizard with a wand."

She felt her blood run cold at the suggestion at his words. Muggleborns murdered by him. She didn't know why she was still so surprised whenever she heard the screams inside the walls of the Malfoy Manor, or when she heard someone talk about an impure or unlawful wizard being imprisoned or murdered by them. It shouldn't surprise her, this was their whole stance, but it still sent shivers down her spine every time.

"Ah, yes, they always revert back to what they are in those times instead of what they claim to be," Demetri mused in agreement, a slow nod before he was grinning again at Maia, "Oh, my valiant diamond, do not worry. We are not here to give you another mission, but to ask for a progress report."

Even though he said the words as to assure her she was not given the task to murder someone besides Dumbledore, it did not, because it left open the recognition that one day she would have those missions. One day, instead of Alfred, it would be here killing those muggleborns. One day, it would be her pointing her wand to them and ending their lives with one simple spell. One day, the murderer would be made.

Maia nodded, though, not allowing this tension between them to suffocate her. That knowledge, that unspoken yet verbal suggestion for the future...it would not silence at her. "We're currently working on another way to get rid of Dumbledore, but the Vanishing Cabinet is still giving us trouble," she answered.

Demetri hummed. "This Vanishing Cabinet...is it even worth it at this point? You've been trying to fix it all year, and yet nothing. No progress. The Dark Lord will not like this."

"We work on it every night, I am sure there will be a breakthrough soon," she lied to them. She didn't have a single fucking clue as to what to do with that stupid Vanishing Cabinet those stupid Weasley twins broke. But if he told Voldemort, and Voldemort wasn't happy, something could happen. Something could happen to Calypso or Nadia or Leo and she couldn't have that – she couldn't.

Demetri slowly nodded at her, and she wasn't sure if he believed her, but she hoped that he did. She had to hope that he did because if he didn't, something bad could happen to her family and she couldn't handle it if something did.

"I'll be sure to note that," Demetri said and she almost sighed in relief. Then, he turned to Alfred, "Come, let's go. We've gotten what we've needed."

Alfred nodded and then he was gone, leaving her alone with her monster of a father. He came towards her and pressed his hand against her cheek in a firm notion, nothing in the realm of comfort. "I hope you do not disappoint me, for you know what will happen. And I hope that you will never lie to me again, do you understand? Now go."

He stepped away from her and Disapparated and she was left with shock. He knew she lied, and that was dangerous. She was so foolish as to lie to him, but now she would be watched even closer. She swallowed, turning back to where she had come from wiped away the oncoming tears before they could fall.

✦

It was good to see Thea again – and just Thea. He loved to spend time with Jasper, obviously, and ever since Jasper had kissed him, sometimes he would intertwine their hands underneath the table and he would feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside, but ever time Leo and Thea hung out it was with Jasper. He could have moments alone with her, but she was always too busy for it ever to be just them.

So it was nice, really and truly nice, for it to be just him and Thea and no one else. Thea looked slightly anxious, and she wasn't sipping at her drink like she usually did, those she looked more relaxed than she did around Jasper. He wanted to ask, but he was afraid of stepping too far so he didn't ask at all.

"I feel like it hasn't been just us in forever," Leo commented, a smile on his face.

Thea blinked, as if she hadn't even registered that it had been so long. "Huh, it has, hasn't it?" she asked, a little giggle, "I'm sorry, but my family's just really been cracking down on me, you know?"

Leo frowned, "I thought they never even noticed when you were there and when you weren't?"

"Last year, yeah, but this year...they've just really been breathing on my neck and they don't let me do anything. So I haven't able to get out as much, sorry," Thea looked sheepish, bringing her drink up to hide herself as she took a sip.

He shook his head. "You don't have to apologize. It's not your fault."

Thea sighed, "I know, but it feels like it is because we're friends and I wanna hang out with you but my parents just won't let me. They're real tossers sometimes, you know?"

"I guess," Leo shrugged, "I don't know, my mum's pretty lenient. She's fully supportive of me actually getting out of the house this year instead of hiding in my room all the time. And now she's gotta a boyfriend to distract her."

"Oh, yeah, I remember you telling me about that. How's that going?" she asked.

"Good, I guess. I mean, they look happy and he's living with us now. He's nice and I like him," Leo said, thinking about Sirius. Growing up, he heard nothing about his mum's ex, and when he did, it was always something bad from her and something nostalgic from Remelda. Now, he only heard praise and he found that he liked Sirius. He was glad that Sirius finally got cleared and could live with them. Nadia certainly looked happier.

"That's good," Thea nodded, "I'm glad that your mum's happy, she seems really nice."

"Oh, she's the best," Leo agreed, "I don't know what I would do without her."

Well, he'd probably be dead without her. Or in an orphanage or have a dead adopted mum if Remelda kept him and Maia. There were a lot of possibilities, and there was only one other option that he liked. He loved Nadia, one of the saviors of his life since his father – well, sperm donor since he wasn't a father at all – wanted him dead just because he didn't have any magic flowing through his veins since Maia took it all.

It wasn't his fault that he was a squib, and he was growing to like it more every day when he saw from the Prophet just how fucked up the wizarding world was getting. Not to say that the muggle world didn't have faults, but he much preferred it if he was being honest.

Thea smiled sadly, and he felt bad for saying that because he knew that she didn't have as great of a relationship with her parents as Leo did with Nadia. And now Nancy, he guessed. Nancy was nice but sometimes she had her moments which made Leo flare up with anger or disgust and feel so incredibly glad that he didn't have to grow up in a household like hers.

He didn't very much like the ideals they presented. Nancy was a product of her upbringing but slowly now in her undead life was she beginning to think past those ideals and try to break out of the brainwashing. So he still appreciated the effort, at least.

"Jasper kissed me," Leo changed the conversation, blurting it out quietly since they were still in public and everything, but he just had to say it. He hadn't had the time because they don't have that many classes together and he really didn't want to tell her at school, and every time they got tea together Jasper was with them, so he couldn't exactly say it then.

Thea's eyes widened at the new information, and she leaned back in her seat as she processed it. "Please don't tell me you're disgusted or anything," Leo continued, "Because it's not disgusting and if you think it is, I don't think we can be friends."

She blinked before shaking her head. "I'm not disgusted, Leo," she assured him and he felt a million times better after hearing her say that, "I just – Jasper...I, uh, I don't think that's such a good thing."

He frowned immediately and his eyebrows furrowed, "What do you mean?"

"I just – I just mean that he's not exactly the person to kiss or think about having a relationship with. He's a bit of a playboy," Thea told him lightly, trying to spare his feelings.

"I don't know about that," he shook his head, because he really didn't want to imagine his first kiss that way. Or Jasper. He wanted Jasper to be great and wonderful and truly like him, "I mean, he's kissed me other times and sometimes he holds my hand when we're in here."

"I've seen it all before," Thea mentioned to him, sympathy dripping from her voice, "I just – I'm not telling you that you can't be with him...but just, be careful, alright? I don't think he's the right choice for you, so watch out."

The way she said it didn't settle with him well, so he just continued to frown and try and ignore the uneasy feeling in his stomach from the warning. Maybe some tea would help the feeling go away...