Nyctophobia - Sirius Black

Chapter 43

Ruby knew she, Sev, and Theus would pass. Theus had expressed a desiger to become an auror, apparently something he'd wanted since his first year. It did require high marks on the N.E.W.T.s and the O.W.L.s, but while Sirius didn't seem the studious type, he could study if he needed to, especially with Ruby.

She and Jana poured over the books she'd brought in the Slytherin common room every night, making more progress than before, or that's what Jana said. Ruby had found enough potions and spells used for darker means to induce vomit if she ever needed to. While she found many of the pages to be rather disturbing, Jana seemed to only find them intriguing, demanding that Ruby hand her a book whenever Jana noticed that she was rather horrified by something in particular.

"It's rather beautiful," Jana commented as she reviewed a potion that filled someone's lungs with flowers until they suffocated. In a dark, tragic way, Ruby could agree. Death in any unnatural way was sad, and though suffocating on flowers seemed painful, it could look pretty afterwards, to see a body covered in bloodstained blossoms.

Rather concerningly, Jana performed a copying spell on the book, and took one copy. Ruby decided she'd rather not ask, and keep any plausible deniability that she could still have. It was unlikely that anyone would bring up a death by flowers to Ruby anyway. Though if they did, she would know that it had been Jana. Better not to ask then. If Jana wanted someone dead, it was unlikely there was anything anyone could do to stop her.

Most accounts of ancient, powerful magic were fairytales that spoke of flying without brooms or wings, of heroes who befriended fairies whose intelligence rivaled that of a witch or wizards, of huge castles filled with wealth guarded by demons and dragons.

A few though, were more accurate, instead describing people whose magic swirled around them in glowing colors, and who could wield it with deadly potential. Though a few sources did mention Merlin, many focused instead of Morgan Le Fay, Merlin's mortal enemy, with her uncontrollable violet magic.

Ruby became more certain as she flipped through the tale.

"Jana, I think I've found something."

"Morgana?" Jana asked, as she looked over Ruby's shoulder.

"Skilled in the Dark Arts but also healing magic." Ruby pointed to the sentence.

"That is rather like you, isn't it?" Jana mused. "They're not normally two branches the same person will study unless they're particularly clumsy and injury prone. But her magic was violet, not red and gold."

"The color depends on the person, I think, not the magic."

"Right. And how do you know that?" Jana arched an eyebrow. "No, let me guess. Wren."

"Yeah." Ruby agreed, deciding to ignore the passive-aggressive hatred in Jana's voice, clearly directed at the younger girl.

"She has magic like yours?"

"I'm pretty sure she was born with hers-"

"-so were you-"

"-I meant naturally, but they seem similar, except that hers is green, and I can't control mine."

"We are not asking her for help."

"Wren doesn't know how to help me." Ruby admitted. "Not that we do," she cut herself off before Jana could begin gloating or something, "but she doesn't know why mine reacts the way it does, because she doesn't have any trouble with hers."

"Good. That problem is solved then. I'm way better help than her." Ruby turned the page, ignoring the one-sided argument. Finding a real person who had existed with magic like hers was refreshing, even if she knew three who were still alive. Their only solution was for her to remain in Neverland, where her magic seemed content to remain peaceful and helpful.