Unequal Balance by On Angels Wings
Chapter Notes: Thank you all my faithful readers who haven't given up on me!
The four Marauders stepped into the Great Hall thirty minutes later for breakfast. James tactfully chose a seat across from his one and only great love, Lily Evans.
"Well good morning, love," said James cheerfully, obnoxiously plopping down in front of her.
She ignored him and continued to delicately eat her scrambled eggs and ham.
"Er, Evans? You can't ignore me forever, you know."
Apparently she could.
"Suit yourself if you want to resist my devilishly good looks, witty charm, and erudite intelligence," said James while arrogantly examining his glasses and placed them back on the bridge of his nose.
She snorted and rolled her beautiful green eyes.
"How rude," he said, lifting his eyebrows.
"Give it a rest, mate," said Sirius as he put a brotherly arm on James' shoulder, "you've been after her for six years; I think you've tortured her enough."
James sighed and put the rest of his strength into the eggs and bacon piled onto the plate in front of him. Suddenly it occurred to him to lift his big head and look around for Addalynn.
But, then, why would she be sitting anywhere else but at the Gryffindor table with them? He glanced at Sirius, who noticed what James was doing, for some sign of encouragement.
"She's not here, mate. I already looked around," Sirius said downheartedly.
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"G-Good morning," she stammered as she rose gracefully to her feet.
Severus looked up at her, uncertain of what to say to such a friendly greeting. She looked back at him with her great, knowing eyes. He quickly tore his gaze away from the pressure of her kind stare.
"Good morning. Though whether it is a good one or not, I cannot say," Severus spat. His eyes still showed no emotion and Addalynn was beginning to wonder if they ever showed any at all.
"I can relate," she sweetly answered.
They stood there for an immeasurable amount of time. But at some point in that time, he had gained the courage to lift up his head and look her straight into her eyes. Their unwavering gazes were held since.
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After a while James, Remus, and Sirius decided they had spent enough time at breakfast without Addalynn. One by one, they stood from their seats and left with the eyes of Hogwarts staring into their backs.
They strutted purposefully down the hallways silently pondering where she could have run off to. Remus made several suggestions, but they seemed unlikely. James thought maybe she had returned to the dormitory, but it was empty. Sirius wondered aloud if she was outside. Remus informed them that it was beginning to get too cold to go outside leisurely. So without a clue as to where their feet were taking them, they walked on.
Unknowingly to them, their feet were smart enough to take them to their first class and around the corner was a much unexpected surprise waiting for them.
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Severus Snape and Addalynn White were sitting comfortably against the stone walls of the hallway across from each other, carrying on what appeared to be a pleasant conversation. But that was all over once the Marauders stepped into the hallway from around the corner.
"Snivellus I swear if you don't get as far away from her as possible I'll blast off your big, greasy nose!" Sirius yelled. A vein in his neck was steadily growing larger as he pulled his wand from his pocket and pointed it, infuriated, at Snape.
Severus obeyed, not wishing to find out what the three 'big-headed mudblood loving wonders' would do to him if he didn't. Addalynn stood up with him but moved in the opposite direction; she moved towards the three boys.
"Sirius Alexander Black, what are you doing?" she screamed. Sirius flinched.
"Keeping you away from him. He's the kind we warned you about- the kind that would want to hurt you," said James, as Sirius was busy being too angry to speak properly.
"But he wouldn't," she said.
Remus watched them thoughtfully for a moment, then he turned his attention to the darkening figure of Severus Snape who was retreating further into the shadows. And for the first time ever, Remus saw emotion flood Snape's eyes. There was fear reflecting in the ebony depths. Fear and a small spark hope.
"Yes he would! You think you can just go off and do whatever you want don't you? Oh, you'll just befriend the whole bloody school and cast them under a spell so you can go off and do whatever you bloody want, right? Prancing around the school with whatever mood you're in…it's sickening to see you act differently to everyone! Do you not treat everyone the same?! Do you put on some mask so you can keep your freedom?! What bloody secret are you hiding?!" yelled Sirius.
He stood there with his wand pointed in Addalynn's direction. Snivellus stood behind her, his hand on his wand just for good measure. Remus was shocked to hear Sirius speak in such a manner to her. James stood a bit in front of Sirius to keep a duel from coming. Addalynn didn't move. Her expression and body language were disturbingly calm. But her eyes began to storm with thunderous dark gray clouds.
"Perhaps you didn't hear me. What are you hiding from us?" Sirius proceeded. His wand hand began to shake and his lips began to quiver out of frustration.
Addalynn couldn't stand it anymore, so she finally ran. Through Remus' eyes it looked as though she was torn from a painting the way she took off. Before he could blink she was half way down the adjacent hall, leaving the rest of them more bewildered and confused than ever.
Sirius fixated his attention back to his original target. Snivellus had let go of his wand and was walking down the opposite end of the hallway.
"If you ever go near her again, Snivelly, I'll kill you!"
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She ran until her feet bled. Her robes were torn from the snagging branches. Her hair was entangled by fallen leaves. Her breathing was shallow and her heart pounded in her ears. She pushed on through the underbrush, alarmingly aware that night was falling rapidly and thunder was ringing above the treetops.
She tasted warm salty tears on her lips and wondered why she felt like this. How could her life have gone from being so smoothe to so rocky? Why were there so many changes that jerked her in every direction? All she could do for a long time was run.
After she had taken off from the hallway in which she and Sirius had had a row, she continued running until she was outside the castle walls and beyond the castle grounds. Now she was running in the Forbidden Forest with only her wand for protection.
She didn't know what direction she was fleeing in, but as long as she was putting distance between herself and everyone else, she didn't care. All she wanted was to be alone; to sort things out in her mind.
Her nightmares had been piling up for a few years now and had been subconsciously interfering with her emotional output. It had been so long since she knew what she was really like, who she really was; she didn't know the difference between being herself and being someone else. And it all happened in the tiny space of seven weeks.
Her mind would tamper with her perception and her hearing. All the while she had been running, she saw and heard things she shouldn't have. Everywhere the shadows were contorted into monstrous beasts or horrifying images of human terror. The ruffle of the leaves on her projected path echoed in her ears as explosions while the wind sounded of screaming. She didn't dare look anywhere but straight ahead of her.
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The next day the Headmaster called the Marauders up to his office, which they perceived was not a good thing. The three approached the stone gargoyle with resentment for their rude behavior towards their fellow classmate, but Dumbledore had never called them to his office for it before. They were as frightened as they were curious.
Remus, being a prefect, stepped forward with the password "fizzing cherry sodas". The great stone statue rotated upwards, leaving behind an impressive staircase. They sighed and started up the stairs in a single file fashion, each with their heads hung low.
"Headmaster?" James called uncertainly through the thick oak doors.
"By all means, my dear boy, do come in," said Dumbledore in his usual grandfatherly voice.
Sirius pushed the heavy doors open and the three of them entered. They all stood in front of the large oak desk at which the Headmaster sat with his half-moon spectacles glimmering in the candlelight that light his strange office. Behind the spectacles, his eyes did not carry their usual twinkle. Instead it was replaced by an elderly and worn look of concern.
"You wanted to see us Professor?" asked Remus; momentarily the bravest of the three.
"Yes, I wish to speak to the three of you about Addalynn," he said with a stern voice, "for the three of you and Severus Snape are the only ones who have seen her since yesterday."
"Well yes, sir. We found Addie and Snape in the hallway and Sirius lost his temper. He pulled out his wand at Snape and threatened his life. Then he and Addie had a row and she took off somewhere," said Remus; still the bravest.
Sirius hung his head with guilt. He knew he needed to learn to control his temper; and he was doing pretty well until he couldn't help but be jealous whenever Addie started hanging out with someone else. But still, she didn't have to run off like that.
"I see. Do you know where she went?"
"No, sir," said Remus.
"And you haven't seen her since?"
"No, sir. We thought she's just been cooling off," said James, "we've noticed that sometimes she disappears for a while, even though we often do not know why."
The Headmaster stood from his chair and walked over to Fawkes and began to stroke his luscious plume.
"I am afraid, my good lads, that Addalynn is indeed missing."
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Finally, she had stopped running. It was nighttime and the rain had been falling since yesterday afternoon. The thunder and lightning alternated with fury and the flashing gave her headaches that confused her sense of direction. She only walked now with her head hung low, clinging tightly to her cloak.
Her feet trudged through the thick, unwelcoming mud. The forest, as every bit as dark and sinister the teachers had made it out to be, did not scare her anymore. She could feel the loneliness of the trees for the lack of visitors they had. Centaurs wandered abroad the forest floor contemplating the quiet secrets of the universe. She had encountered a unicorn that was frightened off by the loud snap of a small twig she had stepped on. But for the split second she saw the magnificent beast, she took in all its greatness.
Of course, there were also very diabolical things lurking in the dark as well. Once or twice she saw the leg of a giant spider move on its monstrous web. The cry of the werewolves had startled her the last night amongst the trees. Hisses and growls came form every direction from unidentifiable creatures. But she did not care now, she knew somehow deep down inside, that no creature in this forest would dare harm her.
Finally, she saw it. The mysterious caves that sat abandoned in the middle of the forest. They were carved out of stone in the shape of beehives that sprouted from the ground. They were a most unusual sight amongst the towering evergreens. They appeared to be scattered out in no particular order.
Addalynn ducked inside the nearest one. It was dry inside, but still cool. It's large dome loomed over her head and echoed the wind that sneaked inside through the small arched opening that served as a doorway. There was a curious sort of hole in the stone on the far wall. She walked over to it and leaned over to look up. She muttered a weak spell and light illuminated the crevice that turned out to be a long shaft that stretched to what Addalynn assumed to be the top of the dome. Good, she could build a fire without suffocating herself. After seizing control of her shivering muscles, she ventured back outside for wood.
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All the teachers were frantically scouring the forest. They started their search immediately the morning after Addalynn went missing. They were unsuccessful in the pouring rain. They found no sign of life within the forests' depths.
Hagrid went farther into the forest than any of the other staff members, for he knew the trees better than any. Hagrid went further in with a few detectives sent from the ministry. Still, with the heavy rain, it was difficult to see, hear, and communicate. Still they pressed on until late in the evening.
They searched every leaf and tree for signs of human life. The insistent rain had washed away any footprints she may have left. Still they had not encountered any forest life.
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A loud thud emitted from the fallen branches she had found on the forest floor as she threw them carelessly into the "fireplace". Pulling out her wand she spoke a spell for drying (for herself and the wood) and a spell for fire. Warm, inviting flames sputtered from the branches.
Feeling quite worn out, she slumped over as close to the fire as she dared. There she curled up into a fetal position and tried to lure herself to sleep. But sleep would not come for her eye had caught a peculiar symbol on the wall of the stone dwelling. So naturally she pulled herself up to investigate. It was a marking engraved in the stone and it looked peculiarly like a pattern for a spell. She backed a few paces away from it to observe it from a larger view when she noticed the walls were covered with more strange markings.
"How curious…" she whispered.
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The search went on for another day. The whole castle was in a frenzy with worry. The students went on with their days as usual despite their flustered teachers. Whispers flew from student to student that she was abducted by rebels inside the ministry or that she had gone too near the forest and was snatched by werewolves. Others suggested she was a supernatural creature that had come to tease them and now was gone, leaving them with a mystery.
The only people who knew what really had happened didn't set the record straight with everyone else. Their guilt weighed too heavily on their hearts.
"We shouldn’t have made such a scene with Snape," James suggested. "Do think we protected her too much?"
"I don't think we protected her enough," sported Sirius, who didn't dare look into James' eyes.
"But if we didn't protect her as much maybe she wouldn't have snapped," said Remus.
"And what if we didn't protect her enough and she got in trouble the first day she was here and was never able to set everything right again?" argued Sirius. "She probably ran away because of all the people and the classes and the peer pressure, or something…I don't know…I don't know why she ran away but she did. Besides all that, why did she have to get so bloody angry anyway? Now all I can do is sit here and worry about it and that doesn't set well with me."
"Doesn't set well with us either," said Remus.
They continued to walk down the hallway to their Transfiguration class when they spotted Peter. He looked a bit disheveled and very out of place for some odd, misplaced reason.
"Did you guys hear? That new girl is missing. Oh I do hope she's alright wherever she is," he said.
"We hope so too," said James. He brushed past Peter with an air of annoyance. But suddenly he stopped and turned around so suddenly the others gave a start. "Wait a moment, why do you even care?
"Well, ah, you know, eh, ah… she hangs around you lot so much, I…I thought it would be polite to ask…" he said, wringing his hands.
"Now that's a piece of-" Sirius started, but was suddenly cut of by one of James' sharp, warning looks.
"Peter why don't you just go about doing whatever it is that you do these days," Remus suggested.
"I was going to hang around with you three," Peter said boldly.
"Well that is one for sure thing that isn't going to happen…" Sirius muttered under his breath. But he looked up at Peter with a hard stare, "Why?"
"Because that new girl is missing," Peter said and he paused. A devious look overtook the glaze of his eyes for just a fraction of a second before he continued. "And she might not be coming back."
"How dare you say such a thing?" shouted James while Sirius and Remus just stood dumbfounded and fuming.
"You know something, Peter? There's something different about you," observed Sirius.
"What?" retorted Peter.
"Your attitude. You were perfectly fine until Addalynn came into the picture," Remus stated.
"Hey! That new girl stepped in and took control of everything you just shoved me aside to make room for your new admirer!" Peter accused.
"You are one sorry piece of wizard, Peter. You ought to be ashamed of yourself you evil, conniving little-" Sirius started once again before being cut off by another of James' dangerous warning looks.
"We didn't need to shove you out of the group, Peter; you did that yourself," Remus finalized.
The three walked off, leaving a very put-off and angry Peter in their wake.
"And her name is Addalynn," Sirius shouted over his shoulder.
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She woke to the sound of footsteps and opened her eyes to a dark, looming figure standing in front of the small doorway.
Frightened, she crept to the back of the hut and pulled her knees to her chest, gripping her wand tightly. It ducked under the doorway and stood before her in all its magnificent terror.
It was the vampire. Its eyes had the same stony glare, his breath the same foul stench of a thousand corpses. It smiled at her maliciously; baring his long ivory fangs dripping with thick saliva.
She had a moment of relapse remembering the attack at the Shrieking Shack. But not after a moment of recollection did she aim her wand at the hellish creature. His cloak billowed around his feet with power.
She muttered what curses, hexes, and charms she knew that would fend him off. She blinded him with light first, and then hexed him with arrows of fire. The creature shrieked and backed off into the stone wall only to come forward once more in a blur of fury.
She threw another curse at his face that covered his slippery gray skin with open and bleeding sores. This only made him angrier and forced him onward to her. He lunged at her shoulders and knocked her over. She instinctively kicked him off and scooted herself back, trying desperately to figure how she could get out of her stone prison.
But not a moment later he had lunged at her again with more strength and fury than the first time, leaving her without an effective weapon. He bruised her arms with his merciless grip and forced her too look him in the eyes. She resisted, keeping her eyes closed. That was how he had won her last time. She plunged her head into his jaw and threw him off of her a bit, but he only held on more tightly after that. But he did move one hand to her throat, leaving one of her arms free. Just as he was about bite her at the base of her neck, she punched him in the ribs a few times. He again lifted himself off her for just a slight moment before he descended once again on his long awaited prey. She mustered all of her strength and kicked him over her head and into the unforgiving stone behind her. She took the opportunity to escape.
Addalynn had just barely come out of the stone dwelling when a hand clasped around her ankle. She shrieked and fell, her wand slipping from her grip and flew off at some distance in the rain which had let up significantly in the past hours.
The creature proceeded to throw her against the nearby trees in an attempt to make her less willing to fight. She still tried to fight back with her blurred vision and throbbing back and head. She could hear her blood pounding in her brain. She gasped for air; sure that he had broken a few of her ribs against the tree.
He came at her again and again until she sunk to her knees in agony. Her open wounds were bleeding still and more bruises had formed on her arms, legs, back, and neck. The vampire approached her sunken figure. She raised her head slightly to see the face of her enemy.
"No vampire ever tortured their prey."
"I don't have a choice," he said, his voice filled with contempt and bitterness.
He plunged downward on her, desperately trying to bite her neck where the blood flow was most prominent. She wrestled with him for countless moments, flailing her arms trying to find something to defend herself with. At last her hand landed on the smooth surface of her wand. Suddenly it occurred to her that her wand was made of wood, and since it was long enough and sharp enough, she plunged it into the creature's heart.
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"Hagrid, it's so nice to see you in the forest again," greeted a strong, aristocratic looking Centaur. His hair was as deep a red as the most precious rubies and his deep-set eyes shined beneath his brow like stars.
"I'm afraid I'm here on bad bis'ness," said Hagrid, "I'm af'er a student who ran away from Hogwarts. Yeh haven't seen her 'ave yeh? Abou' this tall with long black hair?"
"The stars are hidden from us tonight; all this rain causes quite a stir in the world," the Centaur replied.
Several of the ministry detectives who were accompanying Hagrid in his search rolled their eyes. Centaurs never gave anyone a straight answer.
"Yeah tha's to too bad eh? But listen Rawnz, I need to find a lost student tha' could be here in the forest," Hagrid said.
"When we can't look to the stars, we must look to our feet and the ground before us," said Rawnz, and he walked away with an elegant gait.
Hagrid, knowing how Centaurs hid their answers in riddles, looked at ground around him and found fresh foot prints leading deeper into the forest that appeared to be the size of the feet of a sixteen year old girl.
He pointed this out to his fellow wizards and excitedly moved onwards with an immense relief that they might be getting close to their missing girl.
A half hour later they came upon a most disturbing scene. The young girl was on her knees, filthy with mud, next to a rapidly deteriorating corpse. Once they had come close enough, one of the detectives pointed out it was the corpse of a deceased vampire as indicated by its fangs and cruel appearance.
Hagrid put a giant hand on Addalynn's shoulder and she jumped, clearly unaware that anyone else was around. Her eyes were so badly mixed with blood and dirt, and her own headache, she could barely see.
"It's awirght Addalynn, we're goin' to take yeh back now. C'mon," he said as he gingerly picked up her slight and shivering frame in his arms.
Being in such close proximity with her he noticed that mixed in with the mud and leaves was blood. He began to run as quickly as possible, without harming her any further of course, back to the castle. He didn't get very far before Rawnz appeared.
"Hagrid, it's good- dear Heavens, what happened to the young foal?"
"Don' know but it wasn' good. I've got ter keep goin', she might be near death," said Hagrid and began to make his way off again until Rawnz stopped him.
"I'll take her to the castle, I can get her there sooner," he said.
Hagrid, having known Rawnz since his own days at Hogwarts, trustingly handed the girl over to the Centaur. Rawnz carried her gently and cantered off.
The ministry detectives finally caught up with the half-giant.
"Where's the girl?" asked one of them.
"Rawnz took her; he can get her to the castle faster than any of us could."
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There was quite the hustle and bustle as Rawnz burst his way into the grand entrance hall by kicking the great oak door open with the valiant thrust of his front hooves. He cantered into the hospital wing where Madame Pomfrey was waiting.
Rawnz placed her in the nearest bed and assisted in getting the girl cleaned up. Dumbledore, with a fast spread of word around the school, stepped in not but a moment later. He took Rawnz aside to let the matron do her work.
"Where was she found Master Centaur?" the Headmaster asked.
"I cannot see into the stars on such a cloudy evening, sir."
"Ah, I see. Thank you for your assistance."
The Centaur bowed nobly to the wise man and took his leave back to the forest.
The Headmaster turned his attention back to his found sheep. She appeared to be just on the verge of consciousness. He stepped forward and addressed the situation to the frustrated nurse.
"I don't mean any disrespect, Albus, but please, I'm trying to do my job."
She waved him out the door and locked it behind him just in time to keep out three troublesome boys that were about to walk in, only catching a glimpse of the patient that lay silently on her bed.
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Remus, James, and Sirius sat outside the hospital doors for several hours, waiting to see the patient inside. It was almost mid-morning of the next day that Madame Pomfrey finally opened the doors.
"Five minutes" was all she permitted them to have.
The three walked over to her bedside anxiously but saw that it was surrounded by the curtains that were put up around hospital beds when the patient was not fit to be seen by the normal passersby. They all looked at each other apprehensively, dreading the worst and hoping the best, and pulled one of the curtains back. They were shocked at what they saw.
The short sleeves of her hospital gown revealed grapefruit sized, black bruises that extended down to her wrist. Bruises in the shape of fingers were choked around her fair neck. Dried blood covered the cuts and scrapes on her face and hands. Her face was somewhat sunken in and paler than before; her already slender frame seemed to disappear beneath the bed sheets.
Remus sat down next to her right and James to her left; Sirius kneeled down next to her face and moved her bangs away from her eyes. Her lashes flickered a bit at his gentle touch, but her eyes did not open. There was a deep cut on her forehead that made Sirius sick to his stomach.
All too soon their five minutes was up and Madame Pomfrey came around and began to shoe them out as she did Professor Dumbledore, but they wouldn't move. In fact, they paid her no attention at all.