Of Apples and Oranges

II: iii: Savior of Muggles

Two thirteen year olds walked down the street, suitcases in their hands. Summer sunlight fortunately shined down upon them, and for once it seemed they would get some time together without the comments of others.

Aurum smiled at the ground as her much taller friend made a witty remark about the affairs of the Malfoy's and how they flaunted their prosperity. "With friends like him, I don't know why you even bother with me," she said grimly.

Gregory stopped and looked down at her with shock. "Because you're my best friend. It's been that way since we could walk." He nodded towards a sign and they began walking again.

"What had possessed you climb over our fence and into gramma's lilies?" Aurum snickered at the memory. It was only about nine years ago when a small and scraggly pureblood had somehow jumped their eight foot fence. Aurum's grandmother had said it could only have been an outburst of random magic, but it worked out in their favors. Now they were as good friends as any. That was to say nothing of their guardians, however.

"I just wanted to see what was behind the fence, I dunno. I was like four or five." Gregory shrugged eccentrically, snickering as he looked at his friend.

"How did we get here?" Aurum asked dreamily, pulling herself towards Gregory's waist. Initiated by Aurum, the two wrapped their arms around each other and walked, teetering as they did so.

"I ask myself that a lot," Gregory said absent-mindedly. "My parents wanted nothing to do with your gram. They were trying to get me to be friends with the likes of Malfoy, Crabbe, Zabini, Nott, you name it. Anything to drive me from you. I stayed though. No one ever treated me like you did. They were all proper, prissy, and selfish. Malfoy and Crabbe are tolerable comparably."

"Well, I'm glad we're where we are now." Aurum sighed, looking up at Gregory. "I don't know what I'd do without you." she began to tear up.

"Don't imagine that, Aura. You're going to make yourself have a panic attack doing that." he picked her up bridal style despite her protests and fits of laughter. They spun around and he continued walking.

Aurum spotted the stop sign that her brother had used magic to turn blue. She nodded for Gregory to put her down.

"This is it." Aurum sighed. She tried to regain a true smile. "I'll see you tomorrow!" she waved after him.

"Goodbye, Aura!" Gregory waved as he left for the house next door.

Aurum took one step inside her house before she heard Fur Elise being played by their automatic organ. It read and played whatever sheet music it was given. Her grandmother wasn't home for she was at a book club meeting, but her brother always was and Aurum wasn't very excited to see what he was doing.

From the foyer, Aurum walked into the living room. Their organ sat playing in the corner opposite her, but her brother was nowhere to be found. The music could be heard from wherever in the house, so she looked in his room, and then her room, then finally, her grandmother's.

"Argen, if I've told you once, I've told you a million times—" Aurum hushed. He wasn't there.

Aurum searched every room, every bathroom, every bedroom, every piece of furniture, every doorway, the back and front yard, but he wasn't there.

The blonde rushed out of the door and knocked hurriedly on Gregory's. She tried to breathe in and breathe out but was gasping so hard from the panic, she found this was something she was unable to do. When Gregory nor his parents answered within the first few seconds, she banged on the door again.

Finally, when Gregory did open the door, Aurum jumped back in shock, he had opened it so quickly. He looked just as worried as Aurum after seeing her face.

"What's wrong, Aura?" he asked, going to hold her to calm her down. She shied from his touch and instead held herself.

"I don't know where Argentum is. I'm really worried sick. He never goes anywhere." Aurum cried.

"I'll help you find him, let's go." Gregory took her hand in his.

"You should probably tell your parents." Aurum mumbled.

"They don't care where I am as long as I'm not at your house. Not that that's ever stopped me." Gregory scoffed. "They're not home, anyway. So it's the perfect time to slip out."

The duo walked up and down Cambridge Avenue in their search for Aurum's brother. They decided to check their local park first. If he wasn't there, perhaps the pool or tennis courts, he had an affinity for both.

Aurum and Gregory's panicked faces soon turned to horror as they witnessed three hooded figures torturing a couple of muggles with the Cruciatus Curse. The witch and wizard decided to hide behind a tree in order to figure out what to do.

"Oh Merlin, we can't just let them keep doing that. They could torture them into insanity like the Longbottom's." Aurum panicked.

"I didn't know that was possible. Either way, we should probably put an end to it." Gregory agreed. "But how? We may not be able to use magic since we're underage. We'd risk expulsion."

"Wait a minute! Harry blew up his aunt—"

"He did what?"

"—so we should be able to use at least one spell." Aurum grinned, happy she could find a way to help. "But what spell?"

"Should we curse them in return?" Gregory asked.

"No, of course not. Maybe leviosa or augamente." Aurum suggested.

"Oh! We should freeze them! With immobulus." Gregory suggested. Aurum nodded, agreeing with this judgment.

They ran out from behind the tree and pointed their wands at the trio of cloaked wizards. "Immobulus!" Aurum and Gregory shouted. Suddenly, the hooded all froze. Their magic was stopped, however, and the muggles were free to go.

"Let's see who these people are so we can report them to the ministry." Aurum strutted towards them.

"I'm sure the ministry will know." Gregory shrugged.

"No, some people get exported wands so they don't have to answer to our government, but the wand's. They're very lenient in Norway." Aurum informed him.

She flipped the hood off of the smallest figure though they were all taller than her. She recognized it as Gregory's mother. Aurum bit her lip and looked down at the grass beneath her, biting back tears. "I don't want to know who else did this," she said, taking their wands from their hands and sticking them in the ground in the case that the spells fired up again.

Gregory flipped the hoods off of the other two. It was his father and Argentum. He swallowed hard and looked at a very disappointed Aurum for what seemed like forever. "We need to go," he finally said.

By the time they got back to their houses, it had began to rain. They walked in puddles, not caring about anything or anyone but each other at that moment.

"We couldn't have known." Gregory sighed. He looked dimly at Aurum. "We just couldn't. It doesn't reflect on us."

"I just wish we could have stopped them before it even happened. I don't know why Argentum would attempt such dark magic knowing gramma doesn't like it. And why on a muggle? It's too cruel for even him." Aurum cried.

"Maybe he always had this in him," Gregory said.

Aurum whipped around on him. "Don't tell me that! I know it's not true. He wouldn't do this."

"Aura, you're going to have to accept that you're not always going to be able to find good things deep inside people. I've had to deal with it and you have too. The difference is, you won't accept it!"

"Stop this raving! You don't know what you're talking about! My brother doesn't have the spine!"

"Aurum Tiffany Creste, I know what I saw!" Gregory roared, pointing back towards the park. "What I saw were my parents and your brother torturing two muggles!"

Aurum shrunk beneath his booming voice. When Gregory realized how he had messed up, it was too late. She blinked out a couple of tears and ran from him back to her house. He decided not to follow and took the long way around.