A not so merry Christmas.. (Al)

[.RORY KAY BLAKE !]

It was late Christmas morning.. really closer to the middle of the day. Rory had left the burrow ahead of her siblings.. leaving Jale and Laney going at it about whose sweater was whose out of the identical ones gifted to them by Al's gran. For twins who were suppose to be supper understanding and close she swore they spent just as much time at each other as they did getting along. At any rate, going on ahead of them was fine with her. She after all had a very special gift she wanted to give to her parents.. particularly her mum.

After weeks and weeks of late night, self enforced focused practice..no small feat for a girl who found that getting distracted came as naturally as breathing, she'd made a good bit of head way. She could change her hair..style and color to anything she chose now.. even holding multiple colors in it at once with the once drawback of having the colors shift around on different strands. Even more of an accomplishment, after some rather unpleasant forcing of emotions for practice purposes.. she could now bring about, and chase away, granted with a great deal of focus, the colors that turned up in tune with her feelings. Sure they still had their way when she wasn't the one to bring them up.. and sure they hung around for a bit before she could fight down the emotions and send them away..but it was a start right? She'd even started subtlety toying with shifting her features on her face.. which could be..err.. painful at times while learning... or at least that had proved the case for her.

But she'd gotten better at it! Better at controlling what she was and better at being able to focus long enough to continue learning to. Her heart was just about brimming at the idea of how happy her mum would be about that... how relieved her dad would be when her mom started working with her on it once she saw that Rory 'could' learn..and wanted to enough to fight off her hyper spells. they'd both be thrilled..and they'd both start getting along yeah? Then her mum would be around more..and they'd be the happy family they 'should' be rather than the one they only appeared to be to most.

It would cushion the ache of the previous night to,.. the night she'd broke her best friends heart to try and safe guard their friendship in the end. Christmas morning had been..awkward.. made all the more so by the fact that Al had been just as nice as ever.. while she felt quite the heel for what she'd pulled on him. She hadn't led him on exactly..because she "did" like him..a lot.. but that was just it, because at the same time she had led him on.. seeing as she had no intentions of becoming more than his friend.. now anyway.. now that her sanity had returned and reminded her just what she was risking by being so daft as to allow herself to even consider being more to him than just his very best of friends.

So focusing instead on what she was about to fix, rather than what she had blundered up..she headed into her house quietly.. walking slow..shifting her hair a few shades.. last minute practice.. and turned to head down the hall to her parents room when she heard it. Raised voices..again. But it was going to be ok yeah? She drew a deep breath for courage to keep moving forward.. it would because she was going to show them and then they'd have nothing to fight over..right? .. only steps from their door she jumped badly as a set of hands griped hold of her waist from behind. Whirling she stared into the face of her quietly snickering brother and put a finger to her lips looking stern. To which his face instantly fell. Jale wasn't use to her being serious..especially over a harmless prank pulled in good fun. Nodding he'd moved up beside her raising a shocked brow in a questioning way on hearing their parents going at it. Rory shook her head just a bit and frowned as they both peered around into the room.

There parents stood in the middle of the room as there mom shoved items into a suitcase on the bed and their dad tried desperately to reason with her. Lara.. please.. it's Christmas for Merlin's sake!.. they'll be home soon. Don't 'do' this. Their mom frowned and shoved another garment in the suitcase shaking her head. It's over Austin.. this whole thing has been a mistake.. they were right to begin with my family.. we're just to different and aside from that I've caused my family line an injustice.. I only wish I hadn't made the mistakes I have before finally coming to terms with that.. their dads face went stony and harsh.. his jaw setting and voice dropping to a pained and angry low. ..and just what 'mistakes' is it that you 'think' you've made "Lara"? Their mother let out an exasperated sigh Are you really going to make me spell it out Austin?.. well fine then.. our marriage.. the children.. it shouldn't have happened.. I've a duty to continue a pure line. Their dad, normally so placid and reasonable.. so set on making piece with his wife and holding his family together, went silent.. his anger manifesting in the working of his jaw. "My" children, are the best damn thing you've ever given to this world Lara.... Drawing a steadying breath he stepped forward as if to try again some form of reasoning with her.. Look, Lara.. what's happened to you? .. where have 'I' gone wrong to have you have changed so much? .. because you just 'can't' mean what your saying love..at least about the kids.. they 'love' you damn it! He reached out a hand intending to grasp her arm gently..try and turn her to him, make her see reason and froze as she jerked her arm away and violently glared at him. Rory watched in horror, vaugley aware that her little brother was doing the same..as her dad reached forward again griping her moms arm and pulling up the sleeve in a quick motion. A skull with that retched snake crawling out its mouth.. a brand in her skin.. the bloody 'dark mark'..Yanking her arm back their mom glared, grabbed her suitcase by the handle and apparated on the spot.

Rory's heart fell out somewhere past the souls of her shoes.. it didn't catch in her throat.. it didn't do anything really because somehow it was just..gone..and yet she was still breathing. It was gone..and yet she could still see her brother bolting for his room as if in some weird alternate reality.. It was gone..and still something managed to pound in her ears.. matching her leaden footsteps as she silently passed by her parents door and somehow managed to reach her own bed though she couldn't recall turning a handle..and as she pulled the pillow to her face, sprawled across the covers on her belly.. the tears started up.. silent and hot, and holding something past sadness or personal misery.. raw pain in its truest form.. the anger and anguish of betrayal and the setting in of hatred.. feelings that frightened and engulfed her in their foreignness and set every other feeling into a downward spiral she couldn't begin to describe..

[mgirl03]

By halfway through Christmas day, Al figured he had himself well under control, and could successfully be normal around all of his family, and even around Rory. Starting out the day had been horribly awkward, after such an...embarrassing night. Crossing paths with Rory at first had been horrible, but before he had even gotten dressed he had made himself a promise; he would act normal around everyone, especially Rory. While what had happened still left a dull ache in his heart (rejection just hurt), he had thought it through, and the conclusion had came almost simply. Rory had kissed him back, and with all of the other signs, she liked him, even if she was refusing his advances and didn't want to date him.

So, with the fuel of a mystery to solve behind his actions, Albus had made sure to be kind and happy and normal, so as to not make anyone suspicious or dampen in the mood of Christmas. He wouldn't lie--it did get a bit easier to breathe when Rory announced that she was heading back over to her house to spend the Holiday with her parents. She trudged off with her belongings, save for Severus who the twins insisted on keeping to play with, and for a moment Al didn't have to worry about putting up a brave face for her. It was true that she was still his best friend and he still liked her very much, but it would be a lie to say that being around her wasn't awkward, so having a moment to breathe had been nice.

Not much longer after she headed out, Jale had given Sev over to Laney and said he too was going to head back home. Laney, who hadn't wanted to go home but had little to do without her brother, left Sev to his own devices and went off to find Lily. Al noticed this all in passing as he moved about the Burrow, talking with family and continuing his normal charade (even though he half just wanted to go to bed again). At one point in passing through the sitting room, Al paused to see the baby kneazle pawing around in a sweater, mewling his content. After wrestling it away from the little guy, he figured out that he had been playing with Rory's old Weasley sweater, which she had earlier discarded for the brand new one his Grandma had made. A small smile lit Al's features as he picked up the sweater in one hand and Sev in the other arm, shaking his head a little at his friends' small lapse of memory. Wouldn't be the first time Rore had left something at the Burrow that needed to be walked over.

He could have waited until Laney was ready to head back home for her to take Rory her things, but Merlin only knew how long she would be occupied by his little sister. Besides that, Sev was looking a bit bored without Rory or Jale to mess around with him, and while Albus could have entertained him, he thought it might be best for the kneazle to get to see his new home. So after getting a coat, some boots, and a scarf, Al tucked Severus inside of his coat, bundled up the sweater for Rory, and set off out of the Burrow's back door, and across the numerous fields filled with snow towards the Blake's. While a small part of his mind was repeating over and over that he was just going to make himself suffer more by putting himself around Rory again, Al ignored it. She was still his best mate, and he hadn't given up hope by all means; besides, returning things to her was a past time as old as their friendship. He wouldn't break it now.

Shivering a bit when a cold wind struck, Al finally managed to dig his way to the gate of their house, letting himself in without a second thought. He followed the path already carved there by Rory and Jale to the front door and gave it a firm knock. A few long moments passed by, and there was no answer to the door, and no sounds of footsteps that would tell him someone was coming. Finding this odd in itself, Al felt a small frown take over his face, and couldn't help the bit of nerves that hit him at this fact. Why wasn't anyone answering? Rory, Jale, and Mr. and Mrs. Blake should have all been inside, doing Christmas things together now and waiting for Laney. Keeping still and silent, Al stuffed the sweater into the opening of the coat and grabbed his wand, just in case, before trying the doorknob. It opened beneath his fingers easily, and he let himself in just as quietly.

Al toed off his boots and tossed away the sweater onto the couch, opening his coat so Sev could drop down to the floor and run off. "Anyone home?" he called out hesitantly, slipping off his coat and scarf as well. There was no answer, no sound even, and this worried Albus even more. Keeping his wand in hand still, he was just about to start searching all the rooms in the house until he felt a tugging at the hem of his pants. Looking down, he saw Sev, who bounded off as soon as he had Al's attention down the hall towards the rooms. He followed him quickly, and realized they were headed to Rory's room, which gave his heart a new reason to pick up the tempo. Something was just...very, very off. He could feel it in his gut, and as Al reached out and knocked quietly on his best mate's door and then swung it open, he was met with a sight that while could have meant a few things, he knew exactly what it was.

At first, Rory could have just looked as if she was sleeping, with her face in the pillow. Yet Al could see her shoulders shaking, and heard the softest of noises coming from her, like quick intakes of breaths. She was crying, and by the looks and soft sounds of it, very hard. Severus was already running to her and jumping on the bed, looking as concerned as it was possible for a kneazle to look. Swallowing hard past the sudden lump that had appeared in his throat, Al moved over to the bed and sat down very gently on the edge. Slowly, he reached out a hand to place on her shaking back.

"Rory?" he whispered, looking younger by far as he stared at his best friend with worry, confusion, and sadness. What could have happened to make his best mate cry on Christmas day? "What happened?"

[.RORY KAY BLAKE !]

Her pillow was growing damp with the hot tears that went hand in hand with the gut wrenching pain in her chest and stomach. She couldn't think straight, didn't understand 'why' .. all she knew was that was in fact the case. Her own mother a bloody death eater.. and what she'd said.. to hear those words come out of her mouth... it made her mothers loss in faith of her last time she'd been home seem like a snowflake compared to a rageing blizzard.. a gent finger shake compared to a hard slap in the face.

Moms were suppose to love you right?.. they were suppose to 'want' you, and 'care' about you, and think you the grandest thing in the world no matter what.. weren't they? That was the way it was suppose to be.. that was the way Al's mom was..the way his cousins mom's were.. the way her 'should be right?!? .. so why did 'she' get stuck with the 'broken' one!? Why did hers have to hate the fact that shed ever even made Rory and her siblings..? And it wasn't 'their' fault.. NOT this time damn it!.. their dad loved them.. they hadn't done anything to drive him away.. so why her?!? why did she have to be so bloody hateful??

She barely felt it as feather light velvet paws lept to the bed near her head. In the next moment a small head with over sized ears and covered in soft white fur was shoving its way gently, with determination between the pillow and her face. Presenting a aside of silken white fluff as if to say I'm here..and this is my job right? ..the steady purr that was coming to be a familiar balm to Rory's heart kicked up its steady rumble as Sev settle in her arms and she wept against him.

It was a moment after that she felt the shift in the pressure of the bed a depressing of the comforter and mattress near her legs that signified some one sitting down.. someone she wasn't at all sure she could face right now no matter who it might be. Jale and her dad where suffering their own pain and while she should be there for them, especially her little brother, honestly she wasn't sure she could bare her own grief and guilt at the moment let alone anyone elses and not have her heart cave into a very ugly black hole that seemed to be forming .

It was taking shape both as a void-less hollow pit in her gut and what felt like a black, crawling flesh eating slug i a corner of her mind, the corner that held what few good thoughts and memories of her mum she had. Only this slug right? It didn't feast on flesh.. rather it preferred love..respect..the good emotions. Ones she could feel it gnawing viciously at,, devouring and corroding..

A hand came to lay gently against her back and Rory found she couldn't stop the tears long enough even to speak to its owner. Rather instead she coiled in on herself, flinching away from the contact that she craved so badly but feared would burn the raw surface of her emotions anew. She rocked her head side to side in the feeble effort of a shake of her head. hoping the individual would take the hint..leave her to her misery.

When Al's voice whispered into the still air it added a rush of emotions to her already over loaded mind. Of course it would be him.. who else would it be? Who had always seemed to turn up just when she needed him..as if some force out side their control compelled him to her. To him she could talk right? If anybody to him.. at least about some of it.. her choked and muffled voice nearly startled her with the depth of venom it was laced with as she muttered harshly into the pillow and Sev.. " Shes gone right? .. she doesn't 'want' us anymore.. and that's fine right.. because I don't want her either then!! Don't need her.. she was always a rubbish mum anyway!"....despite her hate filled words a knew wave of grief assaulted her on actually speaking the truth of the matter and her shoulders hunched as the sobs came heard enough to make her cheat burn worse than her eyes were.

[mgirl03]

It was like his own heart was cracking at the sight of his best mate, who was so obviously past brokenhearted already and getting increasingly worse. All thoughts of earlier--how it had been awkward to be around her, how he had felt wounded and half miserable--fled Al the instant he saw the state Rory was in. From his vantage point, he saw that she was horribly upset, with crying that shook her body without her making barely any noise. Yet as he moved over to her and sat down on the bed, and as he watched her cry into Sev's soft fur, Albus didn't fully understand just how miserable she was. It wasn't until he reached out and touched her, and she flinched away as if he had screamed and hit, that he realized this was worse than anything he had ever seen before.

As soon as Rory moved away from his hand, shaking her head barely, Al jerked his hand away, staring at her in something akin to horror. His eyes were wide now, as he tried to speak to her. The words formed in his mouth, and he spoke them more calmly than should have been possible, with his heart beating like a hummingbird's wings and his mouth gone dry. She had flinched away from him. This wasn't normal at all--this was very, very bad. Yet even as Al realized that something horrible had happened, just by the way Rory was reacting to him, she spoke, and it startled him even worse than the flinching had.

At first, her words were confusing, and had it not been for the emotion, bordering on hatred, in her voice, confusion would have taken over instead of worry and fear. The last thing Rory spoke, though, had Al's breath choking off. The words hit him hard, leaving him sitting there staring at his best mate, the girl of his dreams, in nothing but absolute stunned horror. Her mum...Her mum had left?! Gone?! How--when--what?! For a few very long moments, Al couldn't bring himself to do or say anything. His mind was reeling, with different images and memories popping into his head.

Rory's mum had never been his favorite person in the world. Her dad was great, but her mum was always absent, busy, and even when she was home, distant. Maybe he was spoiled, in having such a great mum, and so many other great female role models in his life, but Al believed that Rory's mum just wasn't a good mother figure. She wasn't like a mum, didn't do what mum's were supposed to do, and barely...He had hated to think it then, but barely seemed to love her family. His dislike for the woman had only grown after what happened earlier in the year, with her showing so much doubt in her own daughter. What kind of woman did that to their child?

It was her mother's words that had made Rory throw herself into the practice of harnessing her skills so much. She focused and practiced and got better and better, and while Al pretended to be thrilled with her plan to show her mother how good she had gotten, he had always feared it wouldn't matter. Something about Mrs. Blake was just off; but he wouldn't dare say that to Rory. Now, though, as he stared down at her, sobbing harder into her kneazle and pillow, he felt his own pit of dislike towards the woman expand, growing wider and deeper until he was feeling nothing but disgust. Her mum may have been distant, may have been mean at times and may not have been the greatest role model, but how could she leave her family on Christmas day? How could any mother abandon a child, let alone three and a husband?!

Taking a deep breath, Al knew that he had to do something, say something...anything. So, hesitantly, he reached out to lay his hand on her back again, barely rubbing his fingers over the fabric of her sweater, swallowing past the lump in his throat. As much anger and dislike as he felt towards her mum right now, Al was ready to focus only on his best friend, whom was sounding so miserable it was practically killing him.

"Rory...." he said softly, and then stopped, unsure of how to go on. What was there to say? 'I'm sorry'? She surely didn't need to hear that, when saying sorry wouldn't change things. 'It'll be okay'? Even if it was, right now it definitely wouldn't seem that way. Running his free hand through hair in frustration, Al thought quickly, mind racing as he tried to come up with the best thing to do. The best way to comfort his friend, to help her feel that she wasn't so alone, as he was sure she did. She had just been bloody betrayed by her mother. He didn't know how she knew, didn't know what had happened, didn't know anything--except for the fact that Rory was hurt bad, and as her best friend he really needed to be here to help.

Finally, Al climbed over Rory to a spot on her other side where he had more room. He knew he would be pushing it, with this action, but he didn't know what else to do. So he reached down and slipped his arms around Rory, tugging her into a sitting position right next to him before firmly hugging her, thereby putting her face near his chest, shoulder and neck. He let her get comfortable, his eyes squinted in apprehension as he felt how tense she was at being touched and moved so much. He couldn't help it though--he didn't know how else to comfort her. Sev wasn't very happy with his moves either, and he was quick to hop into Al's lap and get close to Rory again.

"I'm here for you," he whispered, wrapping his arms even tighter around her and rocking her a bit, his face bent down closer to her ear so she could hear him. "Don't worry about that. I'm here. I won't let go."

[.RORY KAY BLAKE !]

Rory could remember, when she was around five or six, being tucked in her mothers arms dressed in a pink flannel night gown but really not caring at the time because her mum was reading to her from her favorite muggle story book. One gran had sent her. She was taking her time on the part Rory liked best..not the happy ending where the prince kissed the princess.. but rather the part where he was still a knight in shining armor stepping forward to battle the great blue dragon chained to the boulder, its wings spread wide to the stars in the story book sky while its mouth spouted flame . Laura was using her wand to bring the images to life.. pulling them from the pages to play out in three dimensional recreations composed of red wand sparks and blue glitter. Rory's eyes, wide in excitement so lost was she in the story, darted from dragon to knight and she grinned broadly as her mum used her wand to play out Rory's choice ending. The one where the the great and courageous knight went one step further by pulling the princess behind him, putting himself between beauty and beast, and then rather than drawing his sword pulled a wand from beneath his cloak... and shattered the chain holding the great creature prisoner. So thrilled was the dragon it promptly forgot the people standing before it and took off with great sparking flaps of its wings to fade into the shadows of her ceiling. A pleased giggle had erupted from her as she hugged her mother for the treat and then settled in for their normal routine at that point in her life. Laura would hold out a hand and shift her nails a color, in this memory robin egg blue, before smiling patiently as Rory held out her much smaller hand and scrunched up her face in determination and focus until she she manged to copy the task on her own minute nails. Laura had then hugged her proudly to her and kissed her on the forehead..

Her mum had once believed in happy endings.. she'd once loved and had patience, years ago, and had instilled those feelings in the heart of a very young meta who'd thought the world of her. But the woman in the memory had been slowly taken away.. the stories grew fewer.. and along with the lessons eventually had stopped altogether. And some carefully nurtured part of her heart had been waiting, she realized, patiently.. hopefully..for the day that mum would resurface in the woman who'd lived with them these last many years. Now as Rory lay there, her shoulders shaking in near silent anguish the reality slammed home.. that mum wasn't coming home.. she wasn't coming back.

Al's hand on her back went without a response from her..she vaguely realized he was climbing over the the other side of the bed but couldn't be bothered to think as to why, that was until his arms encircled her waist and tugged her up and to him. She stiffened.. shying away a bit at first against contact her heart needed so badly and yet wanted nothing to do with all the same. This wasn't a misery that should be shared right? It was horrid, and frightening and of a nature that it would be impossible for anyone else to really understand where she was at right this moment. She didn't want to be reassured that it was going to be alright.. because it wasn't. ..she didn't want someone trying to tell her that her mother still loved her.. because she damn well knew that not to be the case.. her mum.. the mum she had loved all those years ago.. waited for all the years since, was dead and she wasn't.. coming.. back.. she didn't want to hear any of it and she expressed as much in the stiffing of her body in his arms, in her reluctance to let him comfort her.

Then Al spoke and the words he chose were nothing like what she'd been dreading.. his only reassurance.. his only guarantee was that 'he' would be there. A promise that could be kept right? One he'd been keeping without fail since she'd first slid in next to the messy haired boy at the Gryffindor table and together they'd laid the foundation of the friendship they now shared.. a foundation of understanding.. of knowing when not saying much of anything said the greatest amount. A gratitude for that precious gift they shared overwhelmed her and she slipped her arms around him, clinging to him like some sort of float keeping her above the violent and tossing seas of her own heart and mind..preventing her from drowning in the dark waters churning there.

Her face pressed into his chest, she cried her self dry.. until the sorrow ebbed and other thoughts began to emerge.. those dark waters of her mind whispering painful bits of thought that she reasoned were true.. that monster that had left earlier with her branded arm had given birth to her right? She was 'her' daughter.. so what did that make her capable of? .. Her mum hadn't always been that way.. and the people she'd joined.. what they stood for. Her hand griped the fabric over Al's chest and she found herself very conscious of the scars she knew lay beneath it.. People like 'her' mum had done that to him.. people that for all she knew she might be like one day right? .. that thought terrified her, right down to her bones. And suddenly she didn't feel worthy of the comfort being offered here. Her best mate was a hero for what he'd endured..a chip of the block.. isn't that what they said? Strong and brave and courageous like his dad right? .. so with her mum to follow after what would she become? ..

Shifting up away from him and tugging out of his arms she pulled her arms about herself and turned her gaze down, refusing to meet his eyes. Guilt gnawed at her.. what would he think if he knew about her mum? ..If he knew she'd joined up with the ones who'd hurt him.. he'd hate her right? .. and might hate Rory to for what 'she' might become? ... Dark and intensely angry feelings welled up in her towards her mother at the idea that what she'd done might cause an irreparable rift between she and her very best of friends.. that she'd abandoned her little sister and brother.. that she'd broken her dads heart.. that she even at some point might try to come back and 'fix' her mistakes.. and two very dark thoughts formed in a haze of scarlett that reached her eyes replacing the heartbroken teal there and slowly darkened as she centered on them, hugging her knees to her chest and trembling with feeling that had nothing to do with sorrow.. One was that whatever she had to do.. her mother was NEVER walking through that door again.. the other she voiced in a harsh and menace laced whisper as the red in her eyes deepened to a point where the red fled and it was nearly impossible to tell the inky black of her pupils from the velvet coal of her irises.. " I HATE her..."

[mgirl03]

He was at a loss as to what he should be doing right now. Sure, he had comforted Rory before (Soren and her mum came to mind again), but never before had he seen her in such...pain. This wasn't Quidditch pain, where you fell off your broom because of a bludger and found yourself sporting a broken arm. He couldn't fix this with a twirl of his wand and a well placed healing charm. It was the pain of betrayal, something that no charm could fix, and something that Albus wasn't sure he could really relate to. The closest he had come to this would have been when he thought Scorpius to be a traitor to their friendship, but that couldn't compare in the slightest to Rory's mum leaving the family.

Yet because he couldn't fix this with a simple spell, and this wasn't like anything he had encountered before. So Al was working purely on instinct as he climbed over Rory and pulled her up and close, ready to try and comfort her in the only way he knew how. However, as soon as he did, he felt her stiffen, pulling away as if she didn't want to touch him. He felt a stab of confusion, unsure if this meant he should pull away and let her just cry into Sev again. It felt wrong to just let her wallow there in her misery, though, so he kept his hold on her and whispered to her the only comfort he felt he should offer.

Being best friends with Rory meant he knew her almost better than he knew himself. He knew that she didn't like to be lied to, just like he didn't, and knew that she didn't want any empty promises made. The fact was, maybe things wouldn't get better with her mum--in fact, they probably wouldn't. She had left, things were bad, and Rory didn't need to hear 'it's all right'. His 'I'm Sorry's' wouldn't fix anything, and no matter what he said, it wouldn't change what her mum had did. It seemed that in this case, saying nothing would e the best thing to say period.

Taking a deep breath, though, he felt words on the tip of his tongue and made the promise that he could keep, said something that he hoped would make her feel better. Al knew that if he were in this position, he would want to know that Rory was there for him, and would always be there--even if deep down he had already known. It was nice to be reassured. The next second, he felt a stab of relief, because Rory was finally giving in to the comfort, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face into his shirt. The tenseness of their embrace fell away, and Al took the moment to tighten his hold and keep rocking her, closing his eyes as his best friend cried into him.

For how long they stayed like that, he wasn't sure. He kept rocking her, stroking her hair, rubbing her back, doing anything he could without words to assure her that he was here, and that he was going to try and help her feel better. A few times he felt his heart speed up, mind race, unsure if he was doing the right thing as she continued to cry; but each time he felt himself panicking, he took a deep breath, and remembered that at one point, his mum had told him to comfort people as he would want to be comforted. So he did, by holding her and rocking her and letting her get out all the tears she needed.

Eventually, the tears stopped, which he could tell by the way the shaking slowed down. Al knew now that he didn't need to say anything more, at least not for a bit. The silence was one he felt was needed, so he waited patiently, still hugging Rory, as she gripped at his shirt and just sat there, seeming to gain some control. Feeling even more relieved, Albus was just about to say her name, see if he couldn't get her to talk a bit more about what happened, when Rory was suddenly pulling away from him and moving so they weren't touching. He watched, in utter confusion, as she wrapped her arms around herself and began to avoid his gaze. Now, he was lost.

For a moment, he just stared at her, green eyes widened, still looking sad and yet completely confused now too. Rory curled in on herself and began to shake again, and Al let out a silent sigh, crawling a bit to try and see her eyes. Ducking down, he got a view of her face just as she spoke--and just as her eyes, which had been crimson, turned to coal-like black color. Swallowing hard, the words registering in his ear finally, Al felt shocked, staring at Rory, with this new eye color that made it hard to tell where her pupils were even placed. He had never, in all of his time spent with her, seen her this made or seen her eyes that color.

And to tell the truth, it scared him a little.

Crawling forward a little more, Al took a deep breath, head still ducked so he could stare at his friend's face. This Rory...wasn't like the Rory he usually knew. He had seen her mad, but never this furious. He had seen her upset, but had never dealt with her when she was this angry. The shaking, the black eyes, the venom in her voice...he didn't like it, and he wanted to make it stop. He wanted to help her calm down, even if he had no clue what he was doing anymore.

"...I know. I understand," Al finally said softly, reaching out to tuck some of her hair behind her ear. Moving so his legs were hanging off the bed again, he scooted a little closer, dropping his hand, and let the silence fall again. He didn't want to mess this up, didn't want to say the wrong thing, so he wouldn't say anything at all. He would wait, he would listen, and he would hope that somehow, his presence would be a comfort to his friend.

[.RORY KAY BLAKE !]

She couldn't help it..she actually scoffed a bit, an audible sort of forced and cut off laugh that was laced with the tones of sarcasm and bitterness, as Al commented on being able to understand. How could he? Al had the most loving family anyone could hope for. His mom would sooner turn an unforgivable on herself that see ill befall her kids. While Rory's.. yeah she'd love to be the one to utter the spell that did it and be glad to be ride of Rory and the twins. Hell, maybe that would be part of what they asked of her to join up and shed get her wish to be rid of them..that thought chilled her.. While some part of Rory knew that not to be what Al had likely meant, that he had probably meant he knew she was in pain.. and that he understood she was angry, her heart and mind in their current state stubbornly refused to let that fact in. She felt his hand brushing her hair back and forced herself not to pull back from him.. it wasn't his fault.. none of this was.. it was her bloody mums.. he was only trying to help.

The violent feelings and thoughts fueling her ebony eyes gave another great surge as she continued to focus on the mental image of her mums face.. the glaring cold features she stared at Rory's dad with. Features Rory above any of the other Blake children favored so much. It was like looking into a bloody twisted and spiteful mirror it was. Staring at and older version of her self corrupted and twisted by something the younger her of here and now couldn't understand and yet loathed with every fiber of her being.

So the bloody bastards liked hate did they? ..They like to see what anger and pain and betrayal brought about yeah?? Well maybe..just maybe she should give them a dose of it.. Show them just what a 'mistake' her mum had really made in having her and then choosing to hate her, choosing 'them' over her family.

Her mums people..her parents and relatives were shadows..figments who had always been there lurking at the edges of family conversations never a part of Rory's life. She wasn't stupid, she knew they didn't care for her..her dad..her sister and brother, and that was bloody well fine by her. Stay out of her life then. But they couldn't leave it that simple.. no they'd had to go and keep at her mom apparently.. do or say something to make her turn her warm heart inside out.. to let it grow cold and black and regretful.. bloody well fine then. They wanted to see what a scaled heart was capable of? She'd show them!..and she'd make it clear to her damn mum to at the same time that she wasn't welcome here anymore..that she wasn't a Blake! And if she had words against it or said a single foul thing about her dad or the twins so help her she'd hex her till the anger dried up!

Shifting suddenly she uncurled her legs and stood up. Pulling her wand from her back pocket and griping it so tightly her knuckles went white. Her dark eyes narrowed and her jaw set as she headed towards the door of her room muttering on her way out. " I know where she probably is, and the floo will know where to take me.. I'll make sure she damn well knows shes not welcome here anymore... to stay the bloody hell away from us! .. " Heading off down the hall she made it to the living room and stuck her hand in the small tin of floo powder, not giving a backward glance to see whether Al had seen fit to follow or not...

[mgirl03]

He knew that Rory was angry--beyond angry, even. Furious. He knew that she was upset, and hurt, and every other horrible emotion that could be possible for a person to feel. Maybe he couldn't relate to the feeling of betrayal, but he could understand what it was like to sit there, feeling so angry all the time, and sad, and as if somebody had taken your heart and broken it in two before burying it in the ground. It was what he meant when he said "I understand." Albus wasn't daft enough to pretend that he could relate to the situation, but the feelings...the feelings he got.

It was why, when she scoffed, laughed at the notion that he could understand anything, he didn't flinch, or feel hurt. He didn't feel like she was attacking him, nor that she was being unfair. Perhaps he should have. After the rejection from yesterday, and any other time he had stood up for her just to be lashed at, and now as she pushed away his comfort, he should have had it in his mind to give up on her and just go home. There was no way in hell, though, that he would. Rory was his best friend, and she was hurt right now. He knew that she didn't mean him any harm, knew that she was just feeling a fair few things very strongly right now. He had been in her place (of sorts) at one point, so Al just pulled away his hand and took it in stride, knowing that in due time this would all pass.

However, as they sat in silence, he had hoped Rory would start to cool down. Maybe take some deep breaths, and benefit in some way from his presence; he was being rather calm, he admitted. A calm body to war against a scary storm in her heart sounded welcoming to him. However, Al must have been mistaken, or assumed wrongly that Rory would calm down with silence and sitting and doing nothing. One moment he sat, staring at the wall in silence next to Rory, and in the next moment she was suddenly getting up, standing, looking more furious than ever. Al felt a jolt of shock go through him, and it distracted him so much he almost didn't catch the words she muttered under her breath. However, he did catch her words, and she was barely out the door before he was getting his legs under him and striding after her.

When he made it to the sitting room behind her, he saw that her hand was in the floo powder. Albus didn't have time to think yet why this was such a bad idea--he just knew that it was, felt in his gut, and found himself right by Rory, grabbing her wrist and tugging it out of the tin. He didn't pay attention at the whole thing clattered to the floor, because he was taking her wand away with the other hand and shoving it in his pocket. He didn't have time to try and figure out if somebody was coming, because he was pushing his best friend away from the fire, firmly and quickly, to push her into sitting on the couch and pinning her shoulders back with both hands.

"Are you insane?!" he yelled at her--only it wasn't a yell at all. More of a harsh whisper, because he didn't want to alarm anyone else in the house. Al barely registered the thought, though, before he was getting his face closer to Rory's, green eyes boring into black. "You think you can just go find her, tell her off, hex her a bit because you're mad? Rory, you're underage, she's an experienced witch, and it won't do any bloody good!" Practically scowling at her, he pulled his face away a little. After a pause, his shoulders slumped, and he felt his face soften, his voice becoming more gentle.

"I'm sorry, okay? I know you don't need to hear it, but I am. I'm sorry she's gone. But going to tell her that you don't want her back...will make everything so much worse, Rory," he whispered. "I don't want to see you any more hurt than you are....All I want is for you to take deep breaths, try and calm down, and bring back the gray colored eyes my best friend has. And get rid of the black. It's worse than the red." He knew he might have been blunt, harsh, but he didn't know how else to get through to her now. Sitting and being silent only let her anger manifest. He had to keep her talking, keep her active, keep her distracted before she would ever feel any better.

Al kept his face away from Rory's, but didn't let up the pressure he had on her shoulders. She wouldn't be happy that she was stopped, and would try and struggle. A part of him was confused, confused as to how the fact that her mum left some how made Rory so furious that she wanted to go after her. Something wasn't making sense. He ignored it though, for now, because he had a furious best friend on his hands (under them, actually), and he would have to figure out a way to help her.

[.RORY KAY BLAKE !]

Just as her hand was closing around a fair amount of floo powder, another hand lifted to it. It caught her wrist and tugged it from the tin dusting the carpet and leaving only a small amount still usable. The small fist full clutched desperately in Rory's hand as she tried to keep from losing it as well. The distraction of doing that must have made her grip on her wand go a bit lax because before she could even sort what was happening and turn on the individual responsible her wand was being plucked from her hand and an angry growl made its way up her throat. " Hey! What the bloody hell do you think yo.. " She never got to finish the question as she suddenly found herself being backed full tilt across the room, when she finally thunked down on the couch her livid gaze shot up to take in her attacker.. to take in..Al? ..

What the hell did he think he was doing?!? Trying to shift forward she found herself held fast at the shoulders.. pinned to the couch by her best mate. Where the hell did he get off stopping her?? He had no right to ! Didn't bloody well GET it... Glaring back into his brilliant green eyes and scowling face she struggled for all she was worth against his hold. Trying her damnedest to pry his arms off with her hands and failing rather miserably at it. She couldn't even gain leverage, as she attempted to do, to force her legs up and shove him off that way, he had them pinned as well in his current position.

Her hurt pride at being bested so easily by her best mate added insult to her already unfathomably injured heart and she glowered back at him with a dagger shooting look that clearly stated if she found a way to get loose she was going to deck his prat of a traitor arse..hard. Through gritted teeth she muttered .."Get the bloody hell OFF me Al.." ..her demand went ignored.

Why the hell was he stopping her?!? .. Yeah ok.. whatever.. maybe she was insane like he'd asked.. maybe she was stark raving loony because all of the reason that poured out of him next was something she refused to think on..consider..the fact of the matter.. really? Godric be damned she didn't "CARE" if she'd get expelled and she didn't "CARE" that her mum would likely return hexes far more painful even deadly than she could throw. She only knew an all encompassing desire to go after the woman and "force" her to stay away from them...and here the guy that was suppose to be her best mate in all the world was holding her back from it!

Not willing to further bruise her already tender pride, she didn't bother with struggling again, though her dark eyes continued to glare back vehemently into his own. As his shoulders slumped and his own scowl softened she simply watched him and listened.. his words having little impact in light of the storm raging in her own mind.. that was until he mentioned wanting his friend back.. or rather the eye color he knew to be her own natural shade. he commented on the black being worse than the red... what bloody black?.. her eyes had never turned that before.. hell it wasn't even technically a color..rather the absence of light yeah? They were red, like they always were when she was good and ill right? ..But why would he say that then? .. Al wouldn't lie to her about that right? What would be the point? And if they were dark..what did that mean?...

Still livid she curled her lip a bit in anger... " what the hell do you mean black!? ..they don't turn that color and you know it! and someones got to get the point across to her! ... If she comes back and hurts the twins or dad It wont just be hurting I'll be after yeah!?! .. Her dark eyes still glared back into his own. Though the odd spark of yellow shot through now and then as the result of a nagging worry about what he'd said kept at her.. why would Al think them black? ... they must just be a really, really dark red right? It was fooling him into seeing things...

[mgirl03]

While he had always been a bit of a stick when it came to how tall he was compared to how much he weighed, Albus wasn't weak. Even before he had started getting lessons from his dad, it had always taken a certain amount of upper body strength to be a good chaser. Why don't you try gripping onto a high speed, airborne broom with one hand and arm, while the other keeps hold on a decently heavy, awkwardly shaped quaffle and then hurls it hard to try and get it through a metal ring high in the air. Now, it wasn't bloody well easy to, and it took strength in the arm. Not to mention wrestling when he was little with his brother and sister, and wrestling with Rory when older, and lessons with his dad...

No, Albus could hold his own decently well when it came to strength, and he knew as he pinned his best friend, that he could hold her with the way he had her. Rory could beat him at wrestling, of course, depending on the day and situation, and she definitely wasn't some weak little thing that needed to be constantly fussed after. However, Al felt barely surprised when she struggled under his grip on her shoulders and couldn't get herself free. He watched her, scowling, as she kept squirming, but finally gave up, knowing that she was unable to break his hold. It was then that she finally spoke, telling him to let go--but of course he didn't.

Watching his best friend, first scowling, then watching in something close to sadness (was it pity that he felt right now?), Al knew that the words he said barely had an affect on Rory. That was, everything had basically went through one ear and out the other except for the statement that her eyes were black. As she curled her lip at him and snapped, he knew then that her eyes had never turned black before, as he had suspected. Rory couldn't even tell they were black, not that he really thought she would have been able to, as a lot of the times she couldn't tell what color they were.

The other words barely made sense to Al's mind as he watched Rory's eyes, still black, but occasionally brightened with a quick spark of yellow. Why was she nervous? Shaking his head a little, Al felt himself sigh heavily, still not letting up the pressure he had on Rory. No longer distracted by her struggling, words, or eyes, he felt the confusion grow inside of him again. The words that she had said finally pierced his brain, and again he found himself wondering what was going on. She had black eyes, harboring a rage so bad that she didn't even realize her own eyes were a different color, and all because her mum had left. Of course that was a reason to be mad, but something Rory had said was sluggishly sounding alarms in his mind...

She had said she wasn't just going to 'hurt' her mum if she came back and hurt her dad and the twins. Forcefully making himself ignore the fact that his best friend had just suggested she would...kill her mum (she had threatened such things to people before, but never with black, practically murderous eyes), Al instead focused on the fact that she thought her mum would come back and hurt the twins and her father. That...did not make sense. If her mum had just left, lost love for her family, why would she come back? Why would Rory need to be worrying about harm coming to Jale, Laney, and Mr. Blake? Laney didn't even know yet, although he assumed Jale must already.

"What I mean by black is that your eyes are black Rory," he said, forcing himself back to the present, voice quiet still as he frowned at her. Swallowing, his eyebrows furrowed, watching her livid face, confusion welling inside of him. "Not red, black. I know they've never been black before, but they're black now. And quite frankly, I don't like it." He was being more blunt now, but he couldn't help it, couldn't make himself focus because of the big glaring question right in front of his eyes. Something was up. Something was up and it was something that Rory hadn't told him. There was something more.

Taking a deep breath, he let it out slowly, eyes training right in on his best friend's dark pair. Al readjusted his grip on her shoulders before speaking up again. "Rory...your mum..." He felt bad having to say this, but it was the truth, wasn't it? "Your mum isn't coming back. She's gone. Why would she...why would she come back to hurt Jale, Laney, and your dad? Or you? How does that make any sense?" His gaze intensified as he watched her, feeling as if the answer was right there, right in front of his nose, and yet he couldn't seem to be able to figure it out. "Rore. Is there something you aren't telling me?"