PURITY {Regulus Black}

Chapter One: The Letter

          Elspeth Ciùineas MacDonald had been in awe of Unicorns since, according to her mother, the day she was born.

Bethel MacDonald had no choice but to give birth to her only daughter inside the comfort of her own home, seeing as no outsiders were allowed to step foot on the magic-protected oldest (and only) Unicorn farm in Scotland.

Thus on February the fifteenth of 1961, Elspeth MacDonald was born at home with pure, light blue eyes, barely there pale golden hair, and a silent cry.

And it just so happened that a male Unicorn by the name of Elias was born that day, with the same pure eyes and barely there pale golden coat.

Bethel and Gheal, naturally, introduced newborn Elspeth and newborn Elias to each other almost immediately. And when they did, they heard Elspeth laugh for the first time, the first noise she ever made.

          So it was no shock to Elspeth when, as she opened her fifth Hogwarts letter, out fell a second letter, addressed to her from her favorite Hogwarts faculty member, Professor Kettleburn.

Dear Elspeth,

      As you may know, every year for the Unicorn unit of my Care of Magical Creatures class, I find a Unicorn from the forest surrounding Hogwarts and bring it out to present to my students. However, I have found it increasingly hard to attract the gentle creatures, as I believe they are starting to become wary of my masculinity. I know that you have grown up on the, as you put it, oldest (and only) Unicorn farm in Scotland, and are therefore very close to the creatures as they are naturally drawn to you. I would greatly appreciate it if you would assist me in searching for these creatures in the "forbidden forest" on friday nights, so that my students can have a real Unicorn to study. Dumbledore has already approved of this, so there is no need to worry (as I know you will) about possible curfew detentions. Please take this task into consideration, as you are one of my finest students.

I hope that you have a wonderful next three weeks of summer break.

Sincerely,

          S. Kettleburn

P.S.

      I decided to put this in your Hogwarts letter because I knew that you would want the Hogwarts owls to be as well rested as possible for the upcoming year.

          Elspeth smiled as she finished reading the letter. She felt honored to be considered by Professor Kettleburn to help with such an important task. Not to mention the praise she would receive from her parents, whom, in Elspeth's opinion, needed to be informed as soon as possible.

Elspeth hurried outside, as it was nearly dawn, which meant her father was outside tending to the younger Unicorns (the adult Unicorns were more drawn to a woman's presence, but the younger ones were more trusting). "Da," whispered Elspeth, quiet around the Unicorns, who were startled by loud noises, "I got meh Hogwarts letter, and Professor Kettleburn asked me to help him search fer Unicorns this year." Elspeth's father turned around, to see his daughter's eyes full of excitement.

"Is that so?" He asked, a smile on his face.

"Ya. See? There's a letter an everythin'," said Elspeth, handing the letter to her father. He quickly took it from her hands and scanned it quickly. After glancing over it, he reached out to his daughter for a hug, and she hesitantly returned the gesture.

"What's wrong Elsie, es somethin' bothering ye?" Asked Gheal, he was becoming concerned with his daughter's happiness, as lately she had been more closed off.

Elspeth quickly shook her head. "I'm fine, da. Shouldn't ye get back to work?" Elspeth questioned with a hint of bitterness, followed by a pang of guilt. She loved her father, and would never in a million years try to hurt his feelings. "Sorry da. I'm going to go back inside now." She whispered, rushing inside before her father responded.

Something was most definitely bothering Elspeth, and she knew exactly what it was.

~~~

          Ever since she was young, Elspeth had calmed both people and creatures alike with her touch. It was never a problem, in fact, she saw it as an opportunity to bring peace into the world.

But when she got to Hogwarts, that all changed.

She doesn't remember the first time someone found out about her gift, or who it was that spread it around, but people knew about her gift, and they were using it for their own, selfish reasons.

Whether it was poking her before an exam or prodding her before a presentation, Elspeth constantly felt used (the worst part was that people didn't even know her name. She was just "that blonde one"). And whenever somebody used her gift selfishly, it took a toll on her physical health as well, making her tired, pale, cold, and achey. During her second year alone, she was sent to the hospital wing three times for fainting between classes.

Her roommates Mara and Katharine were extremely supportive of her, making sure that whenever they were around, nobody touched her without permission. But eventually, it just became too much for Elspeth, and she began to shut herself off, only speaking when spoken to and avoiding physical contact at all costs.

Elspeth was supposed to be pure, but instead she just felt dirty.

~~~

          "Ulaidh! Are ye ready to leave?!" Elspeth's mother shouted from the kitchen. It was September first of 1976, and Elspeth was about to begin her fifth year at Hogwarts.

"Ready ma! Just let me get meh truck!" Elspeth grabbed the handle of her rolling trunk, already packed for school, and bid farewell to her small, dark-maroon painted room. As she made her way to the kitchen, she saw her father walk out of the bathroom, a melancholy look on his face.

"Elsie, I just want yeh to know that I love yeh, and whatever yer goin' through, I'm here for yeh." Elspeth was taken off guard, but nonetheless grateful for his heartfelt words.

Elspeth didn't hesitate in jumping forward to hug her father. "I love yeh too, da. Always will."

Her father smiled, calmed to see his daughter so happy. "Now you make sure ye write me some letters from school, Elsie," he said in a pretend-stern voice.

"I will, da." Elspeth rolled her eyes as she kissed her father on the cheek. "Mar sin leat!" She shouted as ran into the kitchen and held onto her mother.

And with a loud crack, they were off. 

~~~

[A.N.: Okay so I've been reading a lot of 'what not to put in harry potter fanfiction' books (because they're hilarious af and I love that people are complaining about things that I would normally complain about because it saves time for me since I don't have to complain about them myself) and I have noticed that a lot of them are really pushing the whole 'show don't tell' form of writing. Well, as somebody who comes from a journalistic writing background, show don't tell is kind of how I have to write like, all the time. So I wanted to switch it up and do more character and dialogue driven stories on Wattpad, since this is my chance to write freely in any form that I choose. So yeah, that should clear that up. Gotta Blast! -N]