Ryuu's POV

The meeting was called off, and the crowd of people began to surge through the door. A few members spared a glance in my direction, including Tonks. Her curiosity was rewarded with a crashing sound as she stumbled and fell against the door. Clumsily, she straightened herself up, and left.

And then the room was empty. I knew that it was always easier to clear my head if I was doing something, so I strolled out the door and began to explore the building, taking care not to make too much noise.

Lives could be saved. That's what Lupin had said. And maybe he was right, perhaps the things I would learn as a spy could highly benefit some people... and disadvantage others. If some lives are saved then it's possible that others aren't. And what if I failed - would my life be saved? No, I didn't like the idea of being responsible for the welfare of other people. I wasn't like my mother. How could I put myself in the mindset to save a life? 

I rounded a corner. Besides, I wasn't sure how I would go about spying and sleuthing. Well, a voice in my head told me, you pretty much do that all by yourself. Although I wanted to deny it to save myself some time, I was right. There was hardly a moment when I could stop myself from reading between the lines and mentally questioning every move and word people made. Mostly it had become habitual, focusing on every detail of a person. I knew plenty more things about people than they expected, just from listening and watching. But to be fair, people didn't expect much of me in the first place.

Anyway, I thought as I ascended the creaky old staircase, If there is a war on the horizon, do I really want to get involved? I'd learned about You Know Who from word of mouth and from what I'd heard, he was one of the most powerful wizards in magical history. If he did return, I didn't like the odds for the Order. And for people like me, muggleborns. I hated the warped views of the Dark Lord and his prejudiced followers probably more than most. I considered it vile to judge someone's worth by their blood. It was literally an equivalent to racism, sexism and homophobia –paradigms which have done wonders for the muggle world, I thought cynically. But opinions wouldn't keep my head attached to my neck. If there was one thing I'd learnt from being in Slytherin it was when not to speak my mind. 

I stopped wandering as I was confronted by a door. I looked back the way I had come, but nothing seemed familiar. Dammit. You've gotten yourself lost now. I knocked, and wasn't surprised to hear a sing song reply of: "Come in!"

Stepping inside, I said, "Hey, I think I got los-" I froze. Oh Shit.

The large room contained six occupants. Sitting beside the fireplace was Hermione Granger, her impossibly curly hair tied back in a loose bun. Her eyes were averted downwards, scrolling horizontally across the pages of the immensely large book resting upon her lap. Several other novels lay piled on the floor beside her. All appeared read and re-read. A crimson lounge was crammed into the left side wall of the room. Seated upon it were three individuals. Ginny Weasley was reclining and squabbling with her brother, Ron, who said: "Shut up, Ginny. We're trying to talk about Quidditch here." The other person he was referring to was Harry Potter. He sat closest to the door, his palm resting against his temple. His bright green eyes appeared dull and unseeing – unusual for him. Opposite them were the Weasley twins. They were sitting on top of a table, the twin on the left drawing on a piece of old parchment. Every now and then, George, who had a freckle on his upper neck that his brother lacked, would show Fred the paper and ask: "What do you think?"

I slowly took a step backwards, but it was too late. They had already seen me. Before I could escape, the twins paused in their work and met my stare. In unison, they raised a hand of greeting and said "Hello." This seemed to catch the attention of the entire room. I imagined I probably looked like a criminal caught at the scene, only instead of blood on my face there was extreme discomfort. My eyes darted sideways to the empty hallway. They've already seen me now. If I run away, that'll look extremely suspicious. But I really didn't want to go in there.

"Would you like to join us?" asked Ginny with a polite smile.

No. You all disgust me. "Sure." I said simply, returning a fake grin. What else could I do? I'd guessed that the Weasley kids might be here because their parents were at the meeting, however I'd hoped I wouldn't run into them. Granger and Potter were a surprise. And not the good kind. I couldn't feign that I had somewhere to be, because of my unfamiliarity with the building and the Order's idiosyncrasies. It was likely that each person in this room knew the members of the Order, so I couldn't pretend to be Lupin's daughter. How annoying. I cursed myself as I entered and leaned against the wall. Conversation hadn't built up yet, and already my distaste for these people was swarming. A respectful silence flooded the room. They were all waiting for me to introduce myself. Typical.

Granger was the first to surrender. "I'm Hermione," she began to indicate with hand signals; "this is Ron, Harry, Ginny, Fred and George."

"I know who you all are." Stop it Ryuu. This is foolish. Although, I had to admit, it was immensely satisfying to see the look of embarrassment hit her expression like a brick wall.

Another silence. All of them were exchanging sideways glances at each other as if I couldn't see it. I waited for the next question. This time, it was Ron. "So, do you go to Hogwarts?"

"Yes. I've been in almost all of your classes since first year." My tone was venom, smooth and unwavering.

"Oh..." Ron's reply was vacant.

My irritation was growing, and I could feel traces of it seeping out. I was already in a bad mood, and to make me endure this embarrassment was a mockery. I didn't have the patience for these petty little hypocrites. Not today. I glanced at the door and knew I should leave. But my anger was an archer, and I was far too frustrated to leave without firing off at least one arrow. So I let myself laugh. It was only a small giggle, but I conveyed enough by it to communicate it was derogatory. The twins glanced at each other and Ron flushed. As expected, Ginny flared up. "What's so funny?" she said hotly.

"Unbelievable." I was still mocking, and felt my lips smirk. "It's just like first year all over again. I suppose you want me to introduce myself and tell you how great you all are." At that comment I spared eyes for Harry, Ron and Hermione.

Everyone was looking at me as if I had just spontaneously caught fire. But Harry was the worst. He sat silently, glaring deep in my eyes with a stare I'd never seen him use before, cold as a refrigerator and heavier too. He cracked his neck slightly and his finger twitched.

"What are you talking about?" said Ron suspiciously, who was standing up now.

"Just your judgemental personalities." I looked at each person, individually. The twins were both sharing the same frown. Ginny was now standing by Ron's side, her eyes fierce. Ron's expression was one of ninety percent confusion and ten percent frustration. But Hermione was looking at Harry with unease, and I could see why. Something in Harry's face seemed so... unnatural.

"I just find you all a bit suspicious. Nothing personal of course," I remarked with a shrug, "besides the private bigotry you harbour." My tone was louder. "I never did anything to offend you, but one small look at my Slytherin tie and suddenly I was your greatest enemy." I snapped. I hadn't realised just how much I disliked these people until I'd started talking.

The twins slid down from the table. "You're a Slytherin?" Fred started.

"What are you doing here in HQ?" finished George.

"Exhibit A." I remarked coldly, leaning back against the wall.

Several insults flew at me from several directions. I ignored them all. I'd gotten what I wanted out of them, a reaction. A part of me knew how immature that was, but another part of me didn't care. They had all been too easy to provoke, and it was strange how good it felt to let loose and display people for the pretentious jerks they were. Ultimately, I knew this led to me being a jerk, but as everyone always said; nobody's perfect.

"You can't say that!" Hermione snapped, placing her book aside and getting to her feet. "Slytherins are awful to us – especially people like me, muggleborns."

I laughed at her ignorance. "Is that so?"

Suddenly, a hissing sound erupted from the lounge to the left of us. Harry slowly rose to his feet, his body tense and his messy dark hair covering his face. The entire room stopped and stared at the motionless figure. And then, almost robotically, Harry snapped his head up and threw himself at me. I flattened against the wall, screwing my eyes shut and preparing for the impact. But it never came. When I opened my eyes it was to see Harry being restrained by Ginny, Ron and Hermione as he thrashed wildly and yelled nonsensical words.

No, not Harry.

Its eyes were red and I couldn't tear myself away from them.

Its eyes were red and I was paralysed.

Its eyes were red and all I could do was listen.

Its eyes were red and I heard a deafening crack somewhere, far away. I paid it no heed.

And then it started talking. I didn't understand what it was saying, but I felt it was important, so I listened to every word intently. It sounded like it was hissing and spitting at me, and I was scared. I was scared of what I did not understand.

Its eyes were moved further away when hands grabbed at it. And then a hand went over its eyes of blood red –

I blinked, reality crashing back into place around me. My sight came first, and I vaguely realised how crowded the room was now. A glomp of bodies surrounded the still struggling form of Harry, who's eyes were covered by Lupin's hand. Suddenly, I could hear again and many voices were yelling at once.

"Ryuu!" Lupin shouted, "Run!"

And I did.

*

Memories flashed before my eyes.

I was back in first year again. It was a lunch break. The grass was green and the sky was a cloudless pristine blue. All of the students emerged from the castle to relax in the warm weather. Everyone went off to their personal social circles. There were some third year boys throwing stones in the lake to provoke the angry wrath of the giant squid. A Gryffindor couple strolled through the gardens, oblivious to the environment around them. A Ravenclaw girl and a Hufflepuff boy were playing Wizard's Chess to the delight of several onlookers. The girl was clearly more experienced and after momentarily studying the board, she muttered, "Queen to E3. Checkmate."

A group of young Slytherins, both girls and boys were gathered under the shade of a large flowering tree. I recognised some of the girls from my dormitories. There was Daphne Greengrass chatting to a brunette called Tracey Davis. And there was Pansy Parkinson, who was trying to catch the attention of the popular blonde boy across the lawn.

My usual spot was underneath the walkway wall, about ten feet behind the tree. I walked along the grass, avoiding eye contact with the people in my house and hoping they wouldn't notice me. As I got closer to the tree, I hurried my pace slightly, relieved when I'd walked past and hadn't heard an insult.

Then out of nowhere there was a loud crack and an invisible force crashed into my back, pushing me face first onto the grass. For a moment I lay there, listening to the laughter drifting around me like wind. "Stupid mudblood..." remarked the nasal snarl of Pansy Parkinson. I knew that if I tried to get up, they'd trip me again. I waited until the joke had lost its fun and the chortles had died down getting up and brushing the loose blades of grass from my robes. I lifted my head as I heard laughter arise from in front of me. But this laughter was different. It wasn't cruel or mocking. My eyes searched for the source and I found it quickly.

A trio. Two boys and one girl. They were all Gryffindors, and they were all easily identified. Of course, it was the eleven year old versions of Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger. I remembered that I had overheard them talking in a few of my classes. The Weasley boy always seemed to have a funny comment that would brighten the mood of the crowd around him. Hermione was very intelligent, and was the top student in our year. And Harry...he was unique.

I hadn't realised that I had been walking towards them until I was quite close. I stopped as they looked up at me. I smiled. It was a weak attempt, but I wasn't even sure what I was trying to do, anyway.

"What do you want?" Ron said.

"I..." I began to speak, but I actually wasn't certain if I knew the answer to his question. Before I knew it, they were standing and walking away, each of them giving me a grimace as they did so.

Many emotions had mingled within me at that moment. The most prominent however was the feeling of injustice. Apparently for them, the silver serpent on my robes had said all I could ever say. It had occurred to me then just what the doctrine of this world was. How hostile; to divide children into four groups. Four houses with reputations and moral codes that define you for life. With that system it was only expected that competitive natures would arise, that instant rivalries would be made and unity shattered. That there were only good people and bad people, intelligent minds and simple thinkers, brave hearts and cowards. There was no grey area, no mix-and-match. Just green, red, blue and yellow. But all of this conflict, all of this segregation was simply swept aside. Ignored. Just like me.

And so I had sat alone, every day.

The door opened with the same creaking sound as all the others did in HQ. Lupin gave me a comforting smile. "He would like to see you, Ryuu."

As I stepped inside, I was surprised to see a beautiful snowy white owl perched atop a set of drawers beside the doorway. There were flecks of charcoal feathers spread evenly over her body and her golden eyes glinted. She made a pleasant hooting sound as I entered. The room was plain and quite similar to the others that I had been in today, except for the large four poster bed stationed in the middle. The area was wide, and light seeped in from the open window. The old timber floor breathed dust through its cracks with each step I took. Harry stood at the window, hands in the pocket of his jumper and mouth set in a hard line. His eyes were back to a bottle green, a sight I was relieved to see. The sun was starting to lower, afternoon was nigh. I could hear the sounds of the street below, comforting to my city-attuned ears. I glanced at my wrist, feeling strange that less than two hours ago I'd been worried about missing the garbage truck.

Harry coughed, and I realised that I'd been lingering. He turned away from the window, and seemed to fully acknowledge my presence for the first time. I stepped forward, hands behind my back.

"Hi," I began weakly.

"Hi," he replied. He seemed to have taken my greeting as very sincere, for which I was glad. Because I was pretty sure that I could've said a thousand more appropriate things than 'hi'.

The moment rang with intense awkwardness and I bit my lip. My mother had told me once that I knew exactly how people conveyed their feelings to each other in theory, but the practical was beyond me. And she was completely correct. Apologies were not an expertise of mine, particularly in a situation like this. It would have been simpler if I was apologising for accidentally standing on Harry's foot, but that wasn't the case. Somehow I had to tell him that I was sorry for provoking him into an epileptic state in which his mind was invaded by the evil presence of the Dark Lord.

I stepped forward again, glancing up at Harry's patient face and eventually just let the words stream out in a blur of infinite rambling. "So, how I acted today was kind of inappropriate. That is to say- I'm err... going to apologise; and that is what I'm doing, when I'm talking to you... right now. Because I kind of think that you're going through a rough patch at the moment; what with the impending threat of a war and Diggory dying and everyone thinking you're a liar, which is ridiculous because you're the Boy Who Lived and you've always seemed pretty genuine to me - so why would you start lying now? Oh, and also! I meant to give my condolences for your loss."

Harry raised an eyebrow at the speed of my speech. "For Cedric?"

"Well actually, I meant your parents." His eyes, which had been previously filled with a blank quality cleared as I said that. "I figured most people say this to you when they meet you, but I still think that I should pay my respects for what happened, but you're probably used to that..."

Harry shook his head slowly. "Actually, not many people say that to me. Usually they're just glad to meet the Boy Who Lived."

I felt an awful pang of self loathing. Nice job Ryuu. "Well... then I am kind of regretting bringing it up, so I'm sorry about mentioning your... dead parents." I said the last bit in a half whisper and quickly continued. "I guess I'm kind of uncomfortable introducing myself to someone that I've known for four years. Not that you know me, but I know you... everyone knows you. I mean you're Harry Potter, Triwizard Champion – I was hoping you'd win... well at first I was going for Diggory, because you know... Potter Stinks." I winced and elaborated, waving my hands desperately as he regarded me with raised eyebrows. "Not that that's true, it's just what was on the badges. I mean, I don't think you smell. You probably smell really nice. Not that I've smelled you before or am asking to now because that would be weird. And I know that. I didn't even have a badge or anything, it was just the some of the Slytherins, well just Malfoy's gang really, but I don't care what he does. So yeah. But I was still going for Diggory at first but then I saw you in the challenge with the dragon; and you fly really well. Amazing, actually. I mean I kind of noticed it before in Quidditch matches, but I was always cheering on Slytherin and kind of hoping that you'd fall of your broom and die... not that I want you to die!" Harry was simply staring at me now with an expression of transfixed shock.

"I mean, I don't hate you! Not like the other Slytherins... well I might have made a comment at the Yule Ball that you dance like a giant Acromantula that's been hit with a Jelly-Legs and an Impedimenta jinx... at the same time... but I didn't mean for it to spread all over the school or anything like that. I was just chatting with my date and Pansy Parkinson overheard me. She's awful - I hate her. I said something mean about her as well; that she looked like a hybrid of a flubberworm and a bulldog." Harry's brow furrowed and I scrambled again. "Which was a horrible thing of me to do - but pretty funny... not that I think bullying is funny or that I do it. I've picked up that you Gryffindors aren't really into that. But the Slytherins are- we always tell each other where we can stick our wands... it's kind of like a jock thing. Not that you'd know; oh but you would because you were raised by muggles. Like me - I'm a muggleborn."

I felt that I had dragged on to a tangent (or twenty) so I quickly returned to the subject matter. "So that's why I don't believe what everyone's saying at the moment. It's just like in second year when everyone thought you were the Heir of Slytherin which I didn't understand because you're a Gryffindor and heroic and did that thing in first year, that everyone heard about... although I didn't really have any friends so I didn't know about the details. That is, my friends explained it to me in third year after you'd fainted when you saw that dementor on the train." I couldn't suppress the small laugh that escaped my lips. I slapped a hand over my mouth and shook my head, speaking quickly once more.

"That's not funny. Not really funny at all ever. It's understandable. They're actually quite frightening. But, they don't really scare me because I think they just look like Ring Wraiths from Lord of the Rings, which makes me laugh. So yeah, it's not funny. The only reason I said that it was funny, was because Draco Malfoy was in the common room and he did an impression of you - because that was funny, and it was him- not you- that was stupid looking. I mean, he looked stupid when he was pretending to be you." I babbled, before realising that was offensive and continued in the hope that he wouldn't notice. But Harry seemed to be taking in every word I said with unblinking eyes and a slightly open mouth.

"He doesn't usually look stupid." I said. "Malfoy. Not that I care how he looks. Not that I even look at him. Ever. At all. I mean, I'm not part of his group or anything; I just overheard what he was saying when I was sitting in the corner making no noise and pretending I wasn't there." At that Harry's eyes widened slightly and I briefly wondered why before hurrying on. "But I did laugh when I told Luna about it the next day - Luna Lovegood? Ravenclaw? She could explain to you why I'm so awkward at this and I think she understands me better than I do, but I think she catches onto a lot of things clearer than most. Zach might be able to explain, do you know him? He's the Hufflepuff Chaser- you've played against him. No? Maybe Dennis. Dennis Creevy? He's in Gryffindor, like you. You know his little brother, Colin because he was one of the people that you petrified, not that it was you, but everyone said it was - even some of the teachers... like Snape... to all of the Slytherins... he has private talks to us sometimes... but not about you of course, never. Not even sometimes. Not even at all."

I realised that I was standing incredibly still so I tried to make myself look more casual by leaning on one foot slightly. "So to sum up, I was more wrong than I would have liked to have been when I talked to you before, and I came up here to say that - and to tell you that I feel bad about that. And I tend to be shockingly abysmal at apologising. I usually just keep talking until someone tells me to stop..."

"Stop." Harry said, stepping forward and placing a hand on my shoulder. I released the breath I was holding, and let myself relax, feeling myself blush in mortification. What is wrong with me?  I glanced at Harry's hand which he quickly removed from my shoulder when he caught on to my discomfort.

For a few seconds there was quiet, in which Harry simply looked at me. Then he carefully spoke, saying each word clearly as if I was an invalid. "Well, I don't think I've ever heard one person say so many words in five minutes." I chewed on my lip and rocked onto my heels. "But just so we're both on even terms; apology accepted, and I'm sorry to you for..." the sentence hung in the air before he found the appropriate words. "...what happened."

I sighed and nodded, attempting a shaky smile. "Yes... that's in order. I forgive you, too. And, err...I think I dragged on for a bit with my apology, so maybe I should leave you in peace – in fact, I will go now. Sorry." I nodded in finality and turned to walk away.

Just as I was about to slink away into the escape of the hall Harry spoke up from behind me. "What did you say you're name was again?"

I looked back. "Veil. Ryuu Veil. Ryuu Advena Veil. And you're Harry. Harry James Potter. A.K.A, the Boy Who Lived, the Chosen One, Triwizard Champion, Gryffindor Seeker, Heir of Slytherin, Scar-head... Potty... speccy git. But that's just what you're called in Slytherin. Not by me. I don't say that. Just Malfoy. Not that I listen to him -never. He just says things. Loudly. In public. It's not funny." I quickly walked from the room, nudging past Ron as he came into the doorway. He glanced at my pink face as I leaned against the wall beside the doorway and groaned.

"What the bloody hell was that all about?" I heard Ron ask as he walked inside.

Harry took a moment to respond, and when he did his voice sounded exhausted. "Everything that has ever happened. Ever."

*

As I walked towards the study, I tried to get the image of His eyes out of my head. It was immensely difficult. They were like a crocodile in the lake of my mind, just peering over the surface of the water and lashing out violently whenever I tried to think of anything else. For the first few minutes after I'd run from the room I'd sat on the stair case, silent and shaken at what had just occurred. I had just had my first experience with the Dark Lord. Through Harry's mind and eyes he had spoken to me in Parsletongue, hypnotising me in his gaze. He saw me, I'd kept thinking in panic. He looked into my eyes and spoke to me.  

When Lupin had explained Harry's condition to me I had listened in horror. I couldn't imagine how it must feel to know that you're not safe in your own head. It would have driven me insane, I knew for certain. I was surprised Harry hadn't killed me for provoking him.

From the moment I had seen those eyes of blood I had known. How could I have been so ignorant before? You Know Who would never stop. He would hunt down every last person on earth until he got what he wanted. There was no escape from His power. The war that was coming would incorporate everyone, and although it pained me to think it, I knew I couldn't outrun that kind of force. And if I couldn't flee from it, I wasn't going to stay still and let it kill me either.

Lupin's head flicked up as I entered without knocking. His reading spectacles were slightly askew and a porcelain cup of tea was half-raised to his lips. "Ryuu?"

I stared into his earthy brown eyes. "I'm in."

♾️ ♾️ ♾️

The second chapter is here, babies.
This babe here; my BETA BurningAshy has already written a lot of chapters far ahead and I really can't wait to share this beautiful story with all of you!

I'm pretty sure most of y'all are looking for Draco? Amirite? So heads up for the next chapter cause our blonde baddie is making his glorious appearance!

Also, I noticed most of you have been having a little bit of trouble pronouncing Ryuu's name so here's how to do it, Ree-yuh. Hope that helped.

I hope you guys are doing well.

Love,
InfinityHaze ♾️