The Truth Behind the Veil ✔️

Diamonds or Dust?

  As the weeks passed, Fawn found herself falling into a routine. Everything was the same here except for the people. The same Gryffindor pride, the same rivalries, same curriculum, same dorms, same food, same war threats. After all, it is true that if you don't pay attention, history will repeat itself.

  Fawn had paid attention though. She just wasn't sure how much she could do without destroying the future. A future that she planned to return to soon.

  A moment later, James came bounding into the common room, Sirius at his heels. They were carrying brooms, Quaffles, and various other Quidditch equipment. The pair looked as if they had just been told homework was optional for the rest of the term.

  James hopped off the second to last step, Sirius doing the same and nearly knocking the former over as he hadn't thought to wait for James to step toward. "Oops. Sorry mate."

   James just grinned unaffected. "No problem my dear Pads."

  Fawn peered at the two, her quidditch gear beside her on the sofa. "How much sugar did you have last night?"

"Oh! Hi Fawn!" James' smile was infectious, "Ready for tryouts?"

  "Born ready," she answered. She had been on the team in her time, she had no doubt she'd make it this time around too. Besides, James was Captain and he loved her. Easy in.

  "Well we don't have all day, let's go lads!" Sirius chimed in, as he shot towards the portrait hole. Fawn and James just laughed, joining Sirius and holding the door when Marlene came rushing down as well, having woken up late.

  As expected, Fawn made the team as a Chaser. Her teammates were; Dorcas Meadows, a 5th year girl with an afro as Keeper, James Potter and Meghan String, as Chasers, Sirius Black and Marlene McKinnon as Beaters, and lastly, Isabelle Milton, a second year girl with a long brown plait, as Seeker.

  Everyone seemed nice enough, and Fawn was ecstatic about being able to play again. Last year, with Umbridge's reign, the Quidditch team had kind of fallen apart. Fawn had been, along with The Twins and Harry, one of the few who had been permanently banned from the team. Watching from the sidelines was simply not the same. Although Ginny, and Dean had played brilliantly in their places. Though the two replacement Beaters however, had been, well, terrible.

  The feeling of being in the air again, something she hadn't thought possible until she was eleven, was incredible and freeing. It had been how she and Harry had become friends. It was how she had made most of her friends to be honest. Just flying and playing together brought a sort of connection that not many other ways of platonic relations could achieve.

  This was why, after the tryout, Fawn stayed behind. She let the breeze ripple through her hair and push against her body. Trusting that the magical equivalent of engineering would keep her in the sky. She let the thoughts, the worries, fly behind her. It was she and the broom. She could dip and dive as she wished without wondering if the ground would betray her because she was the one in full control.

   The fact that she didn't belong here didn't matter, that everyone here didn't know anything about the future but she did, no longer was worth a second thought. Right now she was a sky child, the broom her throne. Nothing could phase her, not right now.

It was thought procrastination; dangerous but freeing. If pushed it away, it would build up and explode, sometimes over nothing, and yet over everything. It was a thing that happened to everyone. Only a matter of time.

  They say pressure makes diamonds, but what they don't teach is that it also destroys to dust.

  Sirius Black, Fawn knew, was experiencing this natural phenomenon. He refused to talk, always having been taught that emotions are a sign of weakness, that tears bring slaps, that vulnerability was bad, that you can never tell anyone what you are thinking because then they will have an advantage over you, that they'll blackmail, they'll turn your weaknesses against you, that emotion was a weapon to never let someone else harness.