A Blood Red Moon ((OPEN))

[Tommy Bryce]

Tommy had been lying awake in his new dormitory for hours now, checking the hands of the clock besides his bed every ten minutes or so. The eclipse was tonight, and he just had to see it. Every year he could remember when the sky hadn't been too cloudy he had stayed awake to see it. It was his secret escape, something he'd never even told his brothers about.

That afternoon he'd made it his business to seek out the Astronomy Tower, ready for tonight (or technically this morning, as it was know). Surely everyone must be in bed by now? He knew the rules about staying in your common room after a certain time, but really the Astronomy Tower wasn't that far away, and he'd have a terrible view from the dormitory window - it was facing the wrong direction.

One in the morning. Nearly time. Slipping from under the covers fully dressed, Tommy quickly put on a pair of trainers and exited the dormitory quietly. Not heeding the warning of the portrait guarding the entrance to the Gryffindor common room, he made his way to the Astronomy Tower and traipsed up the steps until he reached the top. No one else seemed to be there, not that he would have expected to see anyone else, and he closed the door behind him. The night breeze was refreshing and he was soon settled with his back to a pillar, facing the luminescent globe in the sky, that should be turning blood red in a couple of hours. It was cloudless - he would get a perfect view tonight. Having always been solitary, this had increased since the events of the last two years. Having a little time to himself to simply watch the stars was a lovely escape from the realities of life. Settling back, Tommy waited patiently for the eclipse to begin.

[Keaira O'Connell]

((I’m not quite sure on the time line of this one, as in when it takes place in relation to Keaira’s love life complications so I’ll keep it ambiguous))

It seemed that the more she worried about things the less sleep she found herself achieving, not that it really surprised her. After all if you spend your waking hours consumed by things that bother you and never truly relax, of course your sleeping hours will be troubled. Tonight being the fourth night in a row in which sleep seemed to be much farther to out of her reach than normal, Keaira had decided that perhaps if she walked around a bit sleep may become more readily attainable.

Red silken pajama pants with a matching button up long sleeved top adorned her body as she climbed out of her four post bed. Slipping into a pair of black slippers Keaira grabbed her wand and headed out of her bed room and out into the hall of the school. It was quiet at this time of night, no one laughing through the halls, no students running about trying to reach their next class on time. Just simple silence. A wonderful thing in some cases, although the silence was not so comforting now.

Dragging her feet as she walked slowly Keaira found herself headed for the top of the Astronomy tower. It was late, and she knew that it was far more dangerous to be out there at this time of night than during any other, but the lure of the night air, and some silent star gazing was far too much for her. Sliding open the window she used to climb out of and up to the towers ledge Keaira made quick work of climbing the ledge, and soon found herself atop the tower, looking out into the night.

What she had not planned on seeing as she looked about was the shape of another student leaning against a pillar. The kid seemed to be much younger, and the closer Keaira got she knew for certain that he was not much older than a second year if he was lucky. Sitting down besides the boy Keaira kept her eyes focused out to the night sky above them. Her tone was flat and calm as she addressed the boy. She after all had chosen this spot to clear her head many times in the past, and couldn’t blame the boy for doing it himself. Although times were different then. Less dangerous, and she of course was ignorant to the risks that were out there.

“You know, you shouldn’t be out here, it’s dangerous. With the dementors in the forest, there’s no telling when one of them will swoop up here for a snack.”

[Tommy Bryce]

Tommy stared up at the moon, noticing a few constellations around it and patiently waiting for the eclipse to begin. Nothing could beat staring up at the stars, and he was reminded of Cavan's words to him in the library about travelling in space. Muggles could do it, so why not wizards? had been his own reasoning. Other wizards though, not him. On the contrary, Cavan had been trying to convince him that he might be able to help towards that. But how could it be done... Having looked up the muggle views of space as well as wizarding, Tommy knew much of what would be needed. Oxygen - simple, the bubble head charm. Food could be shrunk and frozen for storage. But how to actually get into space without all the technology and rockets? That was the main question.

The moon was beginning to turn a little red now and he turned his attention back to it, not hearing the door open or Keaira enter. It was unusual for him - he was used to paying the utmost attention to his surroundings in case his dad decided to sneak up on him for a change. So when the Slytherin sat down beside him, Tommy jumped violently, eyes wide and hitting the back of his head on the stone pillar. Clutching one hand to the rising bruise he climbed quickly to his feet, staring down at Keaira with barely disguised fear. He hadn't thought anyone would be up here, hadn't thought he'd be caught! Now what would happen to him?

“You know, you shouldn’t be out here, it’s dangerous. With the dementors in the forest, there’s no telling when one of them will swoop up here for a snack.”

"I -" he stuttered, not immediately forming a coherent sentence. "Sorry, sorry," he rapidly apologised, backing away so he wasn't within her reach. "I won't do it again, I promise..." Glancing up at the moon, he saw it was almost completely red now. The sight of it calmed him down a little. She was just another student, and if she got too close he could always run away. What she'd said finally processed and he frowned, a worried look on his face. "Dementors? In the forest?" Whenever he'd been in their before he'd never seen any, although he hadn't ventured in there since his step-mum had been killed. The hand on the back of his head left there and he wrapped his arms around himself, suddenly all too aware of the cold.

[Keaira O'Connell]

“Hey, relax, sit back down, I’m not going to hex you for being out here, and I’m not going to run off and get the headmistress either.”

Keaira had been slightly surprised at how the boy had reacted. After all, it’s not like she did anything to threaten him, she merely sat down. Jumpy kid now wasn’t he. But then again she had the advantage of for the most part, being able to sense when people entered her area. Being a telepath and all that really helped with not being snuck up on. Remembering his last comment she nodded quietly.

“Yeah they started banding together in the forest over the summer I heard, there’s actually been an attack or two. But don’t worry, I can cast a good partonus charm.”

Her eyes drifted to the skies as she sat there waiting for Tommy to sit back down. Her eyes were drawn to the moon, as she noticed the red tinge to it. A sad smile appeared on her face. How long had it been since she had watched an eclipse… Surly she had not done such a thing since she lived at home. Star gazing, used to be one of her favorite things to do with her sister, father, and James, but that was ages ago now wasn’t it…

“You know I forgot there was an eclipse tonight. Is that why you were up here?”

[Tommy Bryce]

Standing there in the chilly night breeze, Tommy made no more movement, but was waiting on the tips of his toes for any action from the Slytherin that might be in any way threatening or dangerous. She was a prefect, he thought, which made her even more dangerous... she wielded authority, she could hand out punishments. Adults were the worst, with prefects and older teenagers coming a close second.

“Hey, relax, sit back down, I’m not going to hex you for being out here, and I’m not going to run off and get the headmistress either.”

Nervously and biting his bottom lip, Tommy gradually approached her again, not wanting to disobey a direct order. That was sure to get her angry. He sat back down slowly, eyes on her the whole time in case of sudden movements that might alert him to any ill intent. He was sat a little further away than he had been originally and his view of the eclipse was a little worse, but at least he was a little safer than sitting right next to her.

“Yeah they started banding together in the forest over the summer I heard, there’s actually been an attack or two. But don’t worry, I can cast a good patronus charm.”

Over the summer. That made more sense, he hadn’t been in there in a couple of years. But wait... an attack? Maybe it had been before that, maybe it had been a dementors who’d killed his step-mum! He had no idea what creature it was that had done that, but maybe it was a dementor. He didn’t really know much about them except for their bad reputation. And if they were in the forest, then it was entirely possible. “The patronus... what does it do?” he asked quietly, staring up at her. Perhaps if he knew the charm then he could stop it ever happening to anyone again. Maybe then his dad wouldn’t be so angry all the time.

“You know I forgot there was an eclipse tonight. Is that why you were up here?”

He nodded silently, staring back up at the sky for a few seconds before answering. “I love watching the stars. And I haven’t seen this eclipse in a few years. I’m really sorry, I didn’t want to break any rules,” he found himself apologising again, a slightly desperate expression on his face. He didn’t want to get into trouble, and what if she reported him? He wanted to watch the eclipse, but it wasn’t worth getting punished. “I can go back to bed now, I’ve seen some of it.” It hadn’t reached the climax he so wanted to see, but that was just tough. Maybe she’d just forget about him if he left now.

[Keaira O'Connell]

Keaira sat on the roof top, her eyes gazing off at something that wasn’t quite there. With the way things were headed for her, she had far too much to occupy her mind as she sat on the tower roof with him. As he sat back down her eyes were drawn to him. He was small for a student; he had to be a first year. And there was something about him that was overly nervous, as if simply being in close proximity with another person was cause for alarm. Keaira wondered if perhaps he was an orphan, or if he was bullied a lot before coming to Hogwarts.

Hearing his question about the patronus charm, Keaira pulled her wand out of a pocket in her pajamas. She wasn’t sure if she would be able to pull it off, but she would try any way. Thinking back on a time when she was younger, she pulled on the memories of James, Tisiphone, herself, and her father all looking up at the nights sky, those nights had truly been magical. A smile crept to her face as she gave her wand a flick in front of her. “Expecto Patronum.” It started as a white glow coming from the tip of her wand.

Feeling the memory fading she quickly pushed another to the forefront of her mind. The masquerade, particularly the ending of it, yes she had been very happy that night. As the memory filled her she pushed it towards the spell. It seemed that it would be enough. The silver light took form, condensing together in to a corporeal entity. Wings sprouted from the light, as well as talons, and a curved beak. Soon the form of a falcon, hovered in the air in front of her, its silver wings seemed to have a black line that went across the tips of them. Yes, it was her patronus, a creature that she felt a connection too.

The smile on her face remained as she sent the creature out to fly 10 or so feet in front of them. After a pass or two back and forth, Keaira dismissed him. “The patronus charm is a shield charm. It feeds off of your positive memories to protect you from the attack of the dementors. Dementors live off of the despair and suffering of humans, so the happiness of the patronus charm repels them.”

Her eyes returned to the sky after her spell was dismissed; she watched the moon for a few seconds before turning to hear Tommy answer her previous question. At first she nodded in agreement, she loved he stars herself, but soon she found herself stopping. Once again he was getting worried, and anxious about his presence. “I already told you I wouldn’t report you, stay here, watch the rest of it, and then afterward I will walk you back to your common room. It will be better that way, especially if a professor runs in to us on the way there.”

Looking from Tommy to the moon and then back again, it dawned on Keaira that from his position he didn’t really have a great view of what was going on. Sliding over slightly she gestured to the empty space that she had created between them. “Here, you can see it a bit better if you move over. By the way, what’s your name?”

[Tommy Bryce]

As he gazed up at the sky, Tommy occasionally sent a glance in Keaira’s direction, attempting to be stealthy about it but failing. She was tall, at least a foot and a half more so than him. He guessed that she must be about 15, 16, although he didn’t think himself particularly good at estimating ages. Having mostly been around younger kids his whole life, teenagers mostly looked about the same to him; big, scary, and able to hurt you if you got in their way.

Upon seeing her reach into her pocket for a wand, Tommy flew backwards again, almost crashing his head into the pillar once more but stopping just in time to avoid it. He watched cautiously, ready to jump to his feet and run as soon as she pointed it at him. Instead, she aimed it in front of her and spoke two words he vaguely recognised, but would not have been able to place. A silver hawk burst from her wand and Tommy immediately felt a little more relaxed as the shimmering glow surrounded the tower top, calming him so he sat back down where he was a minute ago.

“The patronus charm is a shield charm. It feeds off of your positive memories to protect you from the attack of the dementors. Dementors live off of the despair and suffering of humans, so the happiness of the patronus charm repels them.”

Had he been a little less shy and wary, he might have asked her to teach him. As it was, he just decided to try and find it in the library and teach himself. He’d taught himself half the other things he could do, so why not the patronus charm? “Is it hard?” he asked softly, entranced by the ghostly, evanescent bird as it hovered in the air, the slightest twitch of its wings keeping it aloft. Finally it faded away and he was left feeling as he had before.

“I already told you I wouldn’t report you, stay here, watch the rest of it, and then afterward I will walk you back to your common room. It will be better that way, especially if a professor runs in to us on the way there.”

He nodded slightly, realised he was still biting his lip and stop. She seemed to be friendly, but then, his dad could be “friendly” on occasion too. It never lasted though, so why would this? She slid away from him and his heart rested a little easier, knowing there was that gap between them. But then she spoke, destroying that notion.

“Here, you can see it a bit better if you move over. By the way, what’s your name?”

Nervously, he shuffled over a little closer to her, eyes on her the whole time. Just in case. Now he had a better view of the moon – not perfect like it had been before she’d come up, but better than a few seconds ago. However, he still retained that distance between them, not wanting to risk putting himself in danger. “Tommy,” he replied, so quietly it could almost have been a whisper. “And thanks...”

[Keaira O'Connell]

Keaira’s eyes flickered over Tommy as she caught the way he jumped when she pulled out her wand. Generally speaking she didn’t know too many first years that were so jumpy when someone pulled out a wand. The ones that she knew were generally excited when they had someone older show them a spell. However, she had to admit, it had been a while since she actually knew any first years. Perhaps he had been the victim of a spell gone wrong? Or maybe he was a muggle born and was still wary of magic. Although there was also the thought that perhaps the students at Hogwarts were far more vicious than she had thought…

As she watched her falcon friend, she listened to Tommy speak, taking in his words and analyzing them. It was a simple enough statement. One that she thought at first was good of him to ask, however the more she thought on it the more she wondered. Perhaps he was looking for a better defense… and if that were the case she had not been clear enough in her pervious statement.

“The patronus, is only effective against dementors and shadows, it’s a specialized shield charm. And yeah, it’s kind of difficult to learn. Most people’s biggest problem is that they can’t keep focused on the happiness of their memory, and thus the patronus fades.”

As he moved closer she scooted herself over just a touch more, allowing her ample space to lean back, her arm extended , bracing her in a half sitting, half laying position. Relaxing just a touch more she allowed her eyes to be consumed by the sky. There were such fond memories of her family spending time together in the night’s air. But just how many would she have in the future? Things were getting to be far more complicated in her life than she had even remembered.

What would happen if she never returned from the school? If the last time James had seen her was the night when she was bloodied, and broken, supporting two of her badly injured friends? Her parents had last seen her the day before she had left for her training in China. How would they react if they received a letter saying their little girl had died? And then there was Tisiphone. She was being homeschooled now, but she would get better, and then she would be back in school… And how would it affect her if when she returned her older sister had been killed?

As she lost herself in her thoughts time ticked by slowly, the only measurement being the moon. As she sat there she heard him whisper his name, Tommy. It was nice, and she preferred it to simply Tom. A small smile spread slowly across her face as she kept her eyes on the moon.

“Hi Tommy, my name’s Keaira, nice to meet you.”

[Tommy Bryce]

Tommy noticed Keaira’s eyes watching him when he jumped and tried to stop himself appearing quite so nervous. Just in case she was going to hurt him, although that was seeming a little less likely now, he didn’t want her to be prepared for him to run away. She didn’t have a massively threatening nature around him… but then, she didn’t need to. Anyone could have an ameliorative, friendly aura about them and yet also have the capacity for violence, in order to get what she wanted. And wasn’t she a Slytherin? Wasn’t that the house that would “use any means” to get what they wanted? It was where his dad had been at Hogwarts…

“The patronus, is only effective against dementors and shadows, it’s a specialized shield charm. And yeah, it’s kind of difficult to learn. Most people’s biggest problem is that they can’t keep focused on the happiness of their memory, and thus the patronus fades.”

Tommy’s thoughts whirred busily as he processed the information she was telling him. He didn’t know what creature it was that had killed his step-mum, but didn’t know much about dementors either. Could that have been what it was? Dementors… shadows…Wait – shadows? What were they? “What’re shadows? And… does it work against anything solid?” he asked, wondering if it might work as a defence mechanism to protect him and his brothers when his dad got angry. He squinted up at her in the moonlight that was steadily gaining an eerie red glow, bathing the scene in a darker shade of light than was usually produced by the Earth's satellite. Not that it was really a cause for concern; the dark had never been an issue for him, apart from the fact it made it harder to notice people sneaking up. He had just learned to always have an open eye for sudden movements in his vicinity and react accordingly. But he was so used to being up in his attic room with that magical candle light that always seemed to go out that he was used to it. Nick, on the other hand, hated the dark. Tommy had taken more than one beating for the younger boy when he’d woken up their father from shouting in fright, if he woke up. Tommy had found that the quickest way to get downstairs from his attic was to leave the trapdoor open but move the ladder to the side. That way if he heard noise he could jump out of bed and then through the trapdoor. After a few twisted and one sprained ankles he got the hang of it.

In fact, if he remembered right, lying awake listening for trouble was when his love for the stars had increased the most. Forcing himself to stay awake in case his dad got angry with Nick or Shane and he couldn’t reach them in time, the easiest distraction was the night sky, with its moon and stars and planets and constellations and countless other, nameless wonders.

He was a little reassured as he scuttled closer to her again that she also moved a little further away, keeping the distance between them at a bearable level. When he said his name he saw a smile grow on her face and was surprised – why was she smiling? Noticing her eyes still focussed on the moon he guessed that she hadn’t heard him and was expressing her pleasure at the eclipse. But then, only a few seconds later she spoke again, signalling that she had actually heard him. Still, it was probably still the moon she had been smiling at.

“Hi Tommy, my name’s Keaira, nice to meet you.”

“Hi Keaira,” he spoke softly, glancing at a fairly rapid pace between her face and the moon. He wanted to watch it, but then, he still wasn’t completely sure he was safe with her sitting next to him, all alone on top of the Astronomy Tower. The slightest push and he would be plunging to his death… Tommy didn’t usually mind heights either, but the thought of falling from up here did cause some discomfort and he brought his legs up underneath him rather than hanging over the edge.

[Keaira O'Connell]

There just seemed something to Tommy that was out of place. But Keaira could not quite place it. He jumped so easily, and seemed far too tense around her, even though she was in a particularly relaxed and somber mood. And then there were more questions about the patronus charm. So he was looking for something to offer himself more protection. But against something solid… There was obviously something there, but to presume what it might be would only further aggravate his situation, or so she believed.

“Shadows are basically a more ethereal form of dementors. They prey on the depressed memories of people, and are unfortunately unkillable by most means of magic. There is little actually known about them as most who fall in to their hands end up destroyed by their own bad memories, or killed by darker beings. And no, the patronus charm cannot defend against solid things. Perhaps you should look in to the protego totallum spell. It’s a shield charm, good for defense against most hexes… or maybe learning to banish items might help.”

Keaira paused for a second as she let herself be swallowed by the change in lighting. She turned her head to regard Tommy for a few seconds as she thought about his question. There was another spell that could be used to block items from hitting people. She knew it existed, but unfortunately hadn’t a clue as to its name or incantation. Her grandfather had cast it as his last spell to save her from being killed. The spell had surrounded her in a barrier that had impeded the momentum of the bullet forcing it to stop dead in its tracks before it could pierce her flesh.

“There are other spells that work great against objects, I can’t really think of the one I was thinking of, but it works much like arresto momentum, only instead of affecting the object it affects an area. It’s a great spell to use if multiple objects are thrown at you all at once, but I can’t remember it. I’m sure the library has it somewhere though.”

With her thought finished Keaira turned away from Tommy and brought her gaze back to the sky. Once again shifting she pulled her arms out from supporting her and laid flat on the tower floor. Crossing her arms she placed them beneath her head as a support and simply gazed up at the sky.

“So, how old are you Tommy?”

[Tommy Bryce]

Tommy listened intently, watching the older girl with a serious expression as she explained about shadows and the patronus charm. “They sound horrible,” he said quietly when she paused, a frown on his face. Destroyed by bad memories... well he had plenty of them. Very vague memories of being ill while in the care of his mother, then being sent to live with his dad in a place he’d never been before. Some nasty encounters with muggle teenagers when he lived in Birmingham, then skipping forward a few years to when his step-mum had been killed. Then it was constant for two years up to the present, his dad hurting him. Some times were worse than others, like that time with the oven... and the bricks in their back garden... Plus the stairs were quite a cause of pain, and the pen knife had been pretty bad.

“And no, the patronus charm cannot defend against solid things. Perhaps you should look in to the protego totallum spell. It’s a shield charm, good for defense against most hexes… or maybe learning to banish items might help.”

So, maybe it wouldn’t work against his dad. But if it was a dementor or shadow that had killed his step-mum, then maybe he could show his dad that if something happened again like that, he would be able to protect others. Perhaps that knowledge might abate his father’s near-constant anger at his stupidity that day they had visited the forest – if he knew that Tommy was using his common sense to learn how to protect others like his step-mum, then he might see that he was sorry, really sorry, for what he’d done. He knew it was his fault that Helen had been killed that day, had been told that so many times that surely there was no way that it could be false, but he wished that his dad would decide that he’d been punished enough for it.

“It’s not really hexes,” he replied softly, not realising that he was speaking his thoughts out loud. “Well... it is sometimes...” His dad was strong enough and he was weak and small enough that the man didn’t need to use magic to cause pain. Fists and ovens and bricks did well enough for the most part. Wait, what am I saying? Why am I telling her this?![/color] “Doesn’t matter,” he added rapidly onto the end, turning his face away and feeling his cheeks warming. Why why why? Stupid idiot! What if she works it out, what if they take you away? he chastised himself, the panic bubbling up inside himself.

He stared determinedly up at the moon, refusing to take his eyes off it and subconsciously bringing up a hand to rub at the scar on the back of his neck, just below where he’d hit his head earlier. That had been one result of the bricks that time, and although it didn’t really hurt any more it was always there, just itching on occasion to remind him. There was a similar silver line on his left arm from the pen knife incident. As Keaira explained more about the protection charms, he nodded to show he’d taken the information in but made no other reply. Multiple objects thrown... that had only happened once, and had actually been an accident. His dad had lost control of his magic in fury and several grimy ornaments had come flying at him out of nowhere.

He saw the movement as she shifted again and turned his gaze surreptitiously back at her, just to make sure she wasn’t doing anything unexpected, and so was looking her way as she spoke again.

“So, how old are you Tommy?”

“Eleven,” he said shortly, then bringing himself to elaborate further. “I’ll be twelve in August.” Drawing in a barely audible breath of air, he asked the question likely expected of him in return. “How old are you?”

Glancing up at the sky again as the light around them suddenly changed tone, he saw that a previously unseen cloud had come across and covered the eclipse from their view. “Oh...” he let out a small, disappointed sigh, searching for the end of the cloud to judge how long it might take to clear again. It wasn’t too big a cloud – maybe a couple of minutes for it to clear away completely? He was well versed in estimating such things from all the star-gazing he had done before, and wasn't usually out by too much.

[Keaira O'Connell]

As Keaira lay there with her back against the cold stone of the Astronomy Tower she wondered whether or not she should look into this young boys mind to find out just exactly what was going on in his life. After several seconds of debating it she settled on no. As much as she may be able to help it simply was too much of a violation of his privacy to do so. If he choose to speak about what was on his mind, or what he was going through that would be something entirely different.

Content to sit there in silence, Keaira looked to the skies, spotting several constellations she was familiar with. It wasn’t until her broke the small silence that she was pulled from her thoughts. Tilting her head ever so slightly she looked at Tommy, her face showed the confusion that she felt at his words. Had he really just admitted that someone was bullying him? In mere seconds however, she had wiped her expression clean of the puzzlement, and replaced it with a serious expression. Tommy had in fact just verified what she had been thinking. Even though his attackers were not always using magic, they were certainly causing him a measure of grief. Staring right at him, Keaira spoke softly, but confidently.

“You know Tommy, if an older student is causing trouble for you, then you really should let a professor know. There are a lot of kids who think its fun to pick on the new students, and the professors generally put a stop to it as soon as they know. So, if some one’s treating you wrongly, let someone know. I suggest either Professor Archer, or Professor Sparrow, they both are easy to talk to, and really nice.”

It didn’t shock her much that he was 11; in fact it confirmed her theory that he was simply a younger student that was being harassed by the older kids. Of course if she had actually taken the opportunity to glance in to his mind she would have realized that was not his problem. As she heard his question asked in return she responded.

“I turned 15 just before the masquerade ball in October. So I won’t be 16 until October comes around again.”

As the cloud covered the moon, it threw the area in to a spell of darkness. The shadow covered over Tommy’s face as Keaira looked at him. As the shadow continued to thrust the rest of the tower top into dark, Keaira drew her eyes up to the skies once more, a slight frown on her face.

“Aah… lame… I wonder how long it will take.”

[Tommy Bryce]

Unaware of Keaira’s deliberation about whether to look into his mind, Tommy sat quietly. Had he known of her mind-reading skills, he would have likely become quite panicked and run off at the first opportunity. He was sure that he was doing the right thing by not telling anybody. If he did, he knew that a teacher or someone else, like Keaira, would try to take him away from home. And not only would his brothers likely be left with his dad all alone, his dad couldn’t cope on his own. He had never been able to forget the expression of pure hopelessness on his father’s face when he had been told the news concerning his late wife. He needed some way to vent all that emotion, and if hurting him was the only way to do so then so be it. After all, it’s my own fault that Helen was killed, Tommy told himself once again, the brainwashed phrase not fazing him except to make him feel guilty. He had been told so many times that it was his fault for leading his brothers into the forest that he knew it had to be true.

And where would he go if he was taken away? He could barely remember his mum – the last time he could remember seeing her was when he got pneumonia, and she didn’t notice. After that, a neighbour had intervened which had resulted in him being sent to live with his dad. His mum sent a card each year for birthday and Christmas – usually a little late on both. One time she’d sent him a bar of chocolate, and another time a present of a set of toy cars. But she hadn’t seen him at all since he was in the hospital aged three being treated for pneumonia, due to her negligence. It was doubtful he would be allowed to go live with her again, especially considering she was also a muggle. So where would he go? He couldn’t stay at Hogwarts all year round, and no one else would want to look after him. So, frankly, there was no point in telling anyone even if he wanted to, because there would be nowhere for him to go.

“You know Tommy, if an older student is causing trouble for you, then you really should let a professor know. There are a lot of kids who think its fun to pick on the new students, and the professors generally put a stop to it as soon as they know. So, if some one’s treating you wrongly, let someone know. I suggest either Professor Archer, or Professor Sparrow, they both are easy to talk to, and really nice.”

Turning his head to stare at Keaira, Tommy felt his cheeks turning red again. She thought he was being bullied, by other students. “No... I... I didn’t mean to say...” Perhaps it would be better to let her believe that was what the matter was. Then she might not ask questions. “It doesn’t matter,” he muttered, turning his face away and looking down at his hands now folded in his lap. Tell a professor... that wouldn’t work. They would probably agree with his dad that he was doing the right thing, punishing Tommy for his wife’s death.

She told him her age and he nodded silently, not wanting to risk opening his mouth in case he said something else he shouldn’t. Slowly, the cloud passed over the top of them, obscuring the moon and making the temperature a bit colder. A shiver passed through him and he moved his hands to wrap around himself, wishing he’d brought some kind of jumper with him. He was so used to watching from his bedroom window that it hadn’t occurred to him that a grubby t-shirt and jeans might not be warm enough for the middle of the night in a Scottish February. With the eclipse entrancing him before he hadn’t noticed, but now it was out of sight the temperature was all too obvious. The cloud seemed to be moving slower and slower as it passed over them, although that might just have been his impatience. Still, it hadn’t revealed the moon again yet. If it took much longer then the eclipse would all be over by the time the sky cleared.

[Keaira O'Connell]

“No... I... I didn’t mean to say...It doesn’t matter”

His words struck her as odd. Why would he say that? Was he simply afraid of what might happen to him if the students who were bothering him found out he had turned him in…? Or was she wrong, and it wasn’t a problem with a fellow student. Maybe it was something more personal than that. But then again maybe not. And surely it was not her place to prod at Tommy to figure it out. Although she of all people had the most capabilities to find out what was wrong in this young kids life, and she could figure out a way to help him through the situation.

And yet, she knew that she wouldn’t. It would be too much of a breach of her own personal standards to delve unwanted into Tommy’s mind to find out what was causing him to react the way he did. Aside from the obvious moral conflicts, Keaira didn’t trust her own judgment if she did happen upon something that she could help. So Keaira simply sat there silently and watched as the clouds rolled themselves across the moon, obscuring it from their view.

In the silence Keaira had little trouble hearing the shiver than ran through Tommy’s body, as well as the shifting of his arm to warm himself up. Had she thought about it, she probably would have brought a cloak with her when she had left her dorm, but at that point she had not yet decided upon her location. And so it was with a small sigh that she moved her arms up to wrap around her body. It was after all the middle of the night, and she was by no means immune to the cold night’s air. The clouds moved without a noise, stretching the silence between them to seem longer than it was. But when the clouds cleared the eclipse was still at hand, although they had missed a good portion of it because of the offending clouds.

“Well at least we’ll still get to see the end of it. You’re in Gryffindor right? I think I remember seeing you in one of my classes.”

[Tommy Bryce]

Tommy grinned happily as the clouds moved to the side, allowing them to view the eclipse again. He nodded at Keaira’s words but otherwise made no reply. Instead, he placed his hands behind him and leaned back, giving himself a better view. It only hurt his aching head a little, but that was nothing. He’d put up with much worse pain than this before – banging his head and feeling a little chilly wasn’t going to stop him watching this. The last eclipse he’d seen – not the same type, but an eclipse nonetheless – had been staring up through his bedroom window, with his hand burnt raw red and blistering, he suddenly recalled. He couldn’t remember what he’d done to make his dad so angry that time, but it was easier to recall the results than what he’d done wrong. Remembering the boiling hot tingling now actually made him feel less cold, and slowly he managed to suppress the shivers.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Tommy saw that Keaira had similarly wrapped her arms around herself in an effort to keep away the cold. He felt a familiar urge to do something that would mean she would feel less cold; the same, caring feeling he felt towards his brother when one of them was ill, or hungry, or something else. That was strange... although, he’d never really come across anyone who needed caring for besides them before. And if she hadn’t punished him so far, it seemed unlikely now. But all he could of to warm her up was to either offer her his own t-shirt – which would be far too small anyway, not to mention that that course of action would reveal a fair few scars – or to wrap his arms around her, which also wasn’t going to happen. For obvious reasons, Tommy wasn’t massively keen on physical contact.

“Oh, yeah, I’m Gryffindor,” he replied. The decision to put him in the “brave” house was still a mystery to him. Brave? Him? Shaking his head slightly, he realised that he should probably know what house she was in. It wasn’t Gryffindor... Think! “And you’re...” Out of time. Just guess. “...Hufflepuff?” The moment he said it he was sure it wasn’t right, but it was a bit late to realise that now. Flicking his gaze between Keaira and the night sky, he waited nervously for her response.

Suddenly noticing the moon was its normal colour, and had been for several minutes, Tommy scrambled briskly to his feet. She’d said he could watch the finale of the eclipse, and he didn’t want to overstay his welcome. “I should... I’ll go now,” he muttered, taking a few quick steps back and almost tripping in his hurry.