Part One / Chapter Twenty-Eight
Venus was seven when she saw her neighbor get taken into the light. It was a cool April evening in nineteen eighty-seven, and Venus was chasing herds of fireflies in the front yard.
Then, there was a ringing. A deafening ring that hurt Venus' ears, to the point of dizziness, but it seemed as if she were the only one that could hear it. Andromeda sat in the front porch flipping through her book, Tonks was sitting on the ground beside her practicing charms, as if the ringing ringing was transparent to them.
"Come along, child." A man's voice called calmly.
Venus scanned the lawns for Ted, but he was nowhere to be seen. The mystery mans voice rung in her head like static.
"Don't be frightened, you'll be okay."
The clouds around the Copeland's house changed from mystic amethyst tones to warm specks of gold, apricot tones. Her small legs carried her from the foot of the hill to the hedges of the Copeland's residence. There he was on the ground, her neighbor Jackson Copeland, bleeding profusely from his stomach. She fell to hide side when she felt herself plunge, like she'd fallen from the side of a steep cliff. The plunge happened when Jackson stopped breathing, she felt him die.
"Venus," Jackson Copeland said, and she turned to see him. He was standing behind her with a smile on his face, "it's okay. I'm alright."
Venus didn't understand. Jackson was lying on the ground in front of her, dead, and he was also standing in front of her, glowing brightly. Then the voice came again.
"Jackson, it's time."
In a flash, twilight fell again and the night sky descended upon her and Jackson's body. The voice seized and the other Jackson, the happy Jackson, was gone.
It was the first time Venus thought of that night in thirteen years, and it's all she could think of while sitting in Snape's dungeon waiting for Professor McGonagall. The Potions Professor's cold, black eyes glowered upon Venus in her seat.
"You broke Goyle's wrist in several places, Miss. Black," Snape said in a voice so cold the air around Venus dropped nearly ten degrees.
"Rosario, I've always gone by Rosario." Venus frowned as she tugged nervously at her torn sleeve.
"You mangled my student, Rosario."
"He's a bully, Professor."
"Are you giving cheek, Rosario?" Snape's eyes, if possible, had blackened entirely.
"Are you making an accusation?" Venus retorted.
"There will be no accusations tonight," said Professor McGonagall as she flowed into the dungeons and waved Venus over to her, "it is absolutely appalling that you'd muster up the nonsense that Venus broke Gregory Goyle's wrist."
"Maybe, whatever despicable creature her mother was gave her the ability to break students bones with her bare hands," Snape incriminated.
"My mother wasn't a despicable creature!" Venus was dragged along with Professor McGonagall by the arm before she could finish.
"Ms. Rosario, I need you to be truly honest with me, no lies and no keeping secrets," Professor McGonagall disclosed quietly, they'd exited the dungeons and walked far enough that the woman was positive no one could hear them.
"Did you intentionally break Gregory Goyle's wrist?"
"I mean, I wanted to but I didn't think I could actually do it. He's like a giant tree trunk," Venus said, watching students flutter in the corridors to reach their next class.
"Did you use a charm, a hex, a curse?"
"No, Professor! I just thought about breaking it and I guess it just happened."
"No one will believe a mere girl like you could have broken Goyle's wrist without a spell and students said you never pulled a wand out," Professor McGonagall trembled, "Ms. Rosario, if you continue to draw anymore attention to yourself, I'm afraid I will no longer be able to help you. Are we clear?"
"Yes, Professor." Venus sighed and she watched Professor McGonagall tread away into the bustling crowd of Hogwarts students.
Slowly the week merged into one slow, empty, agonizing trip. December 18 dawned on Venus Rosario and she woke up that morning with bad feeling in her stomach. Not simply an ache that drew her from her slumber, or a jeer of anxiousness. A thread of lightening crashed onto the ground as a thought passed her mind: something bad was going to happen and she had no idea what it was.
Constance had barely uttered a word to her, which was unlike her after Venus nearly amputated Goyle's hand. Which was not only unlike her, it was unexpected.
"Why are you avoiding me?" Venus said, walking up to Constance who was sitting with Lavender Brown and Parvarti Patil during dinner.
"I- I'm not—"
"Bullshit, you've barely said anything to me all week." said Venus swallowing down her frustration and dragging Constance out of the Great Hall.
"What's going on with you, Cee? You'd be throwing a gala after what I just did." Venus stopped and peered intently at Constance, she was never one to cower, so why was she doing it now?
"I saw something," Constance confessed, "when you broke Goyle's wrist."
She paused and thought for a moment, Venus started at her quizzically.
"Your eyes. They were glowing, orange, almost like lava," she said, clutching onto her arms, "I'm sorry I've been avoiding you, it was just, kind of frightening."
"You're scared of me?"
"No! No, I'm not, Vee. I'm just scared of what you can do."
Venus blinked, and when she opened her mouth to respond, Constance was gone. She wasn't in Hogwarts anymore. She stood in what was pure, endless darkness.
"I don't have enough time, Venus." A voice echoed, she vaguely recognized that it.
"Who are you?" Venus said to no one in particular, his voice bounced in every direction that she didn't know who or where this man was. "Where am I?"
"I'm breaking the rules right now by telling you this, you haven't come of age yet, Venus."
"Of age? To do what?" She asked out into the blackness.
"The time will come. I know you, Venus. I know who's important to you, like your friend, Ronald Weasley."
How did he know who Ron was? How did he know who she was? Was Venus speaking to God? Maybe she'd actually gone mental this time.
"I've received a calling for his fathers death, one of the only father figures Harry Potter, that boy you've taken a liking to, has ever had."
"I don't like Har— why am I even here? Why should I even believe you?" Venus called out into the atmosphere around her.
"I know that feeling you had in your gut this morning was much worse than simple anxiety, Venus. That's a calling, for someone's premeditated death."
"So, you're telling me I can sense when someone's going to die? I should listen to some voice that's probably just a figment of my imagination?"
"You had the feeling when Jackson Copeland died."
Jackson. There was no way he could have known about Jackson. Only her family knew she'd found him dead in his backyard. She'd never spoken of that story to anyone, not even Constance. Venus felt something shift in her mind, like placing a piece that finally completes the puzzle. Thirteen years ago, she heard the exact same voice speaking to her now. The voice that called to Jackson Copeland after he'd died.
"H- How do you know about Jackson?" Venus cursed at herself when she stuttered, now the voice knew she was scared.
"Like I said, Venus. I know you and I am telling you the truth. Arthur Weasley will die tonight, unless you find a way to stop it."
"Why?" Venus questioned. "Why do I have to stop Arthur from his death? I thought that messes up the natural order or something?"
"Not when he's needed in the future."
"What does that even mean?"
"Go now, young one. I'll be back soon."
"No! No, I'm not, Vee. I'm scared of what you can do." Constance repeated, and Venus only answered with widened, terror-stricken eyes.
Venus stared at her surroundings. She wasn't in the darkness anymore. She'd heard Constance said those words already, before she'd been entrapped in the place with that voice. It was as if she'd never left. The Voice was the one who took Jackson. The Voice knew things that only she would know, he knew things she'd only felt or thought of; things she'd never uttered to anyone. If Ron's father was really going to die tonight, Venus had to stop it.
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【 AUTHORS NOTE! 】
it's literally a winter wonderland outside and i am so mad that i'm too sick to even go.