Searching Light (Remus Lupin)

Prologue

In the darkness, I find solace.

I've had to deal with a lot of darkness. The nights are long, and cold in the Black Manor. Sometimes I find myself transported into my memories as I lie awake, listening to the breathing of my cousins. In my memories, I see my parents.

My mother was breathtakingly beautiful; she had this long blonde hair and these amber eyes, almost yellow, almost brown, almost red. She was tall, and strong, and brave.

My father was dorky; he had these square glasses that made him look 10 years older, but behind them, he was a kind and loyal man, and a good dad. My father was a wizard, a good one, too. His name was Alphard Black, and I loved him. He used to play chess with me, and he would always let me win. He claimed I was just better than him, but I don't believe it. I am grateful that I have inherited his magical abilities; though the DNA I've inherited from my mother, I'm much more proud of.

Let me explain: my mother wasn't exactly human. She was something else entirely, actually: a rectornatura, a human-like creature that can control the four elements. They're incredible creatures: they are dangerously powerful, hopelessly beautiful, and endlessly strong. Rectornaturas can do more than influence the elements: they can read minds and turn off their emotions. Fortunately (and unfortunately) they also have a something called Mutatio, which is an event where a rectornatura gets her full powers. Mutatio occurs to every rectornatura on their sixteenth birthday: something about maturity, or whatever.

Anyway, yes, I am proud to say I am half rectornatura, half witch. My parents taught me everything I know about myself. My mother, when I was a child, taught me the basics of controlling the elements, and my father nurtured my witch side by buying me magical candy and photos and books, and even letting me wave around his wand. My entire childhood, my father raved about his wizarding education at Hogwarts, where he couldn't wait to see me enroll. I couldn't wait either; my acceptance into Hogwarts and Mutatio were the only events on my mind as a little kid.

They named me Amber, I think for the color of my mother's eyes. I was born in late January of 1960, and I had a happy childhood. Well, for a while.

As a child, my parents' love for each other amazed me. I used to dream about finding true love, about meeting the boy of my dreams and falling so deeply in love that I couldn't even remember myself. But when they died, something inside me died too: hope. Hope for love, hope for happiness, hope for a future that involved a perfect boy, a perfect marriage, a perfect life.

After they died, I was sent off to live with my only living relatives: Cygnus and Druella Black, and their lovely daughters, Bellatrix, Narcissa, and Andromeda. And by lovely, I mean horrible. They hated me, and continue to hate me, just for taking up space in their precious Manor. Thankfully, none of the sisters know about my powers, but their parents did. They never said anything about it to me really, but as I watched their marriage fall apart I felt like I had nothing; no family, no love, and no hope.

Thus, solace in darkness. With the day comes torment from my cousins and dreaming of the life I could've had. The darkness in the night is my only escape from the dreaded, dreaded sun.

There is happiness in my life, despite my depressing droning. I am powerful, much more so than I thought I could ever be. And I'm a witch — I like to think I'm a good one, too. In my first year, I was sorted into Gryffindor, even though I thought I was going to be Hufflepuff, like my dad. My school years have been very positive, actually. I have my own room at Hogwarts, courteous of Dumbledore, as a safe space to practice my powers in secret. The summers are hard, though. Thankfully, this one's almost over.

My name is Amber Diamante, and I'm almost sixteen. I'm a rectornatura.