A book and it's cover ((zach))

[pandora]

A warm breeze danced its way across the school grounds, rustling leaves and homework parchment as it passed. No one seemed to mind it much though and it left in its wake the last memories of summer. Several students turned their faces up to catch the gentle wind like a kiss on the cheek before it moved on. It circled the grounds and as it rose higher it grew just a bit in strength, fed by the cooler breezes coming off the lake, until at last, it rushed in warm exaltation over the turrets of the Astronomy tower. As it passed, it caught the pages of a small, worn leather book clutched tightly in a pair of alabaster hands. The pages ruffled for just a moment as the wind passed and then settled back to their place as Pandora smoothed them out with gentle loving touches. Her fingers caressed the well worn binding of the book with a familiarity borne from having it near her for the last few months. This had been her most recent secret purchase. Her mother knew nothing of its existence and Pandora sighed inwardly in relief that she had been able to get it to the school unnoticed by her overbearing parent.

To anyone else, there would have been nothing special about the book with its plain black cover bereft of design and its simple blank pages. There were no spells in this book. No recipes for potions she shouldn’t have. Its pages were a sterile white save for the ones she had already filled herself. Pandora glanced once more at the door leading to the tower. She couldn’t find anywhere else to go in this forsaken place that was in the least bit private. The weekend offered her a measure of solitude up here as no classes were going on at the moment and most people were out on the grounds enjoying the day. Re-assured she was utterly alone, Pandora flipped through the pages she’d already filled. Images of Talan, the first Hogwarts student she’d met (a Gryffindor at that) as well as a few random drawings of muggles filled the first pages. There were several drawings of Ariane done from memory in which Pandora had tried to capture the grace of the other girl in pen and ink. She frowned slightly at them and decided she had a long way to go. There was a drawing of Emma’s Owl Armani sketched carefully onto one page, a secret capture of the lovely bird Pandora had gotten when Emma was no where around. A snow white feather from the owl was tucked into the page and held in place with a bit of wax. It had been ripped out by Orpheus, Pandora’s cat, when the owl had passed close enough for him to reach. Emma had been furious over that.

There was a simple drawing of her mother’s jewelry which she’d had a house elf sneak into her room for practice, and a few of unidentified students who unknowingly had been sketched into Pandora’s journal. Pandora flipped back to the next available blank page and pulled her quill from her robes. Her knees were brought up to her chest and she placed the end of the quill’s feather against her lip thoughtfully. “What shall I draw next?” she mumbled to herself. As she looked over the towers wall at the students below and tried to pick a suitable model for her next drawing, the door to the tower opened and a young boy stepped through. Pandora’s head snapped around in surprise. She hadn’t heard him come up the steps.

After a second, she recognized her fellow Slytherin, Zachary, the boy she’d shared a compartment with on the train. They had finally stopped fighting by the end of the trip though Pandora couldn’t say they left as friends. She defensively snapped her book shut and clung to it as if he’d come up here solely to steal it and watched him through narrow eyes. Why was he up here? “Don’t you knock?” she snapped reflexively. It was best to start out by making sure he knew she was not to be trifled with. Her mother always reminded her that the best defense was often a good offence. She watched him carefully to judge his reaction to her question, another good test of his personality.

Once again, Pandora fell back into the game of political positioning and power struggle she was used to without really thinking about it. Zach wasn’t a person to her at that moment. He was a challenge, a puzzle to be solved so she could best decide if he was something she could use or someone who would try to use her.

[Seth Wright]

Zachary stalked across the grounds, glaring at several random people just for the fun of it. It was fun to watch their reactions to a little Slytherin boy's death glare. Some of them even back away. That was the best bit, really.

Good gods he was bored. There really wasn't enough to do. He'd read his books, done his homework, terrorized some Hufflepuffs....There were no other Slytherins to talk to. His mind flashed briefly to the girl from the train, but she was out of the question. No way was he even going to attemot a conversation with that....gah, he was bored!

Zachary stomped past the lake, kicking at a spare bit of parchment at it blew by. He missed. Sweet Merlin, this day was just getting better and better, wasn't it? Groaning in frustration Zachary spotted the girl from the train. What was her name? Pandy-something-or-other. He didn't care.

“Don’t you knock?” She snapped.

Zachary smirked. "What're you doing?"

[pandora]

Pandora raised one graceful eyebrow. “Well, apparently you’re not only rude but deaf as well. I asked you a question.” She quickly tucked her quill away and then began re-tying the leather straps that held her book closed. “I see no reason why I should tell you what I’m doing.” Once she had finished tightly securing her book, she looked back up at Zach with a bit of renewed interest. What was this boy doing up here on the Astronomy tower? She was here to keep secrets she didn’t want anyone else to know. What secrets had brought him all the way upstairs and away from everyone else? Pandora pulled herself to her feet and leaned against one of the low walls of the tower, her gaze firmly locked on Zach. She wasn’t quite sure what to make of him yet. The simple fact that he was in Slytherin should mean something but she hadn’t decided what at this point. He didn't seem afraid to stand up to her even after the tongue lashing she'd given him on the train and she wasn't sure if she attributed that more to bravery or stuipidity.

[Seth Wright]

Zachary shrugged. "I'd rather be deaf than blind. So, that's not too bad to me." He sat down, despite her obvious dislike of him, and brushed his hair from his face. Turning back to Pandora, Zachary asked, "What are you doing up here, anyway?" He'd come up for privacy, but that obviously wasn't possible at the moment. Girls, the ruined everything. He thought of Ingrid and changed his mind. Just some girls ruined everything.

[pandora]

Zach didn’t seem the least bit put off by Pandora’s quip and instead settled himself easily next to her as if she hadn’t just insulted him. His tone was almost conversational and for a moment Pandora was thrown off guard. This was unusual. Most people would insult right back and eventually Pandora would chase them off with a good tongue lashing; this boy however, seemed not to care that she’d just snapped at him. Nor had he, much to Pandora’s irritation, answered her last question either. He seemed determined to only answer one question at a time and only after she had to beat the answer out of him. She huffed for a moment and looked away, her eyes trailing out over the lake and the people playing at it’s shores. Their laughter rang up even to the top of the tower and she could hear it on the wind. A sudden pang of loneliness swept over her. She’d never really had friends. Her cat was the only company she really kept at home (house elves didn’t count and didn’t like her much anyway) and she didn’t really think of Ariane as a friend so much as a potential business partner.

The closest she’d come to a real friend was Talan. For a few brief moments, she spent time with someone she felt relaxed around. It was only a moment and then her mother swept in like a dementor, sucking the joy from Pandora’s world again. Oh how Pandora had paid for that breach of etiquette. As she stood here on the Astronomy tower, a fellow Slytherin by her side, she suddenly wished she could make friends as easily as everyone else did. They had such blind stupid trust in everyone else around them and it seemed like half the school simply walked about in a daze, bumping into others and instantly becoming friends. They made it look so terribly easy. Pandora hated them for that.

She looked down at Zach for a moment as if trying to decide what to do. Then slowly, reluctantly, she slid back down beside him, her mind yelling at her legs the whole time they were caving in that sitting down with this boy was a stupid idea. Yet here she was, a few seconds later, sitting next to a guy she’d just insulted and wondering how to precede next. Was she really sitting here considering being friends with this boy?? As she defensively wrapped her arms around her knees and brought them to her chest, she noted rather awkwardly that he smelled good. It was the strangest thing to run through her mind at that moment but it was true so she stopped trying to ignore it and instead just sat quietly beside him. “I was just……..” she paused and hated the uncertainty in her own voice, “I wanted to be alone for a while. Why are you…..” She glanced over at him for a brief moment and then softened her tone just a bit so that the hard bitter edge to her voice fell away. “What brings you up here?” she asked a bit more civilly.

[Seth Wright]

Zachary shrugged and glanced at her. "Just taking a walk." He answered, scratching at a scuff on the tip of his shoes. How in the world had that gotten there?
He looked at Pandora again. She was being civil, something he wouldn't have expected of her. He was learning a lot about expectations of what people should be lately, wasn't he?

In all honesty, Zachary wasn't sure how to act around girls, or anyone else, really. He'd never really had a friend, besided his brother. Lucan had always made sure to keep the boy separate from other children. The only other person he'd ever known very well was Draco Malfoy, and you couldn't very well count him for a friend now, could you? He frowned. Malfoy was definately not a friend.

"What are you doing up here?" Zachary asked, interested. He looked at Pandora, waiting for her answer. Being nice took a lot of mental control, he decided. It was tiring almost, trying to keep from telling her to get out, from pushing her himself, if he had to.

[pandora]

Pandora frowned a little at Zach’s question. “I already told you. I wanted to be alone for a little while.” She snipped at him. Well this wasn’t going as well as expected. She mentally kicked herself. She wanted to be friends right? She looked over at Zach again and managed the best she could do for an apology. “Being alone has its advantages,” she began slowly, “you can keep secrets and not ever have to worry that someone will get close enough to find them.” Her hand reached instinctively for the journal at her side, her fingers ran over its smooth surface and she was surprised to find she was trembling a bit. This was so….difficult. For a while she just stared at her shoes and tried to imagine that she and Zach were the best of friends. ‘What would that mean exactly?,’ she wondered. The breeze leapt across the top of the tower once more and ruffled her hair as it passed. She reached up and smoothed it back into place with one hand, her gaze still riveted to the shiny spot on her shoe. Suddenly she found herself talking again. “Do you like secrets?” she asked him in a half-whispered voice.

[Seth Wright]

Zachary blinked. Did he like secrets? He wasn't sure. He had his own, but he wasn't so sure if he liked having them. But it was sort of necessary, wasn't it? That was it, it was necessary, but he didn't exactly like them. Who liked secrets?

"Erm...I guess so...I mean, everyone's got them, haven't they?" He answered, knitting his eyebrows. Zachary looked at her curiously, a question forming on his lips. "Have you got secrets?" That hadn't come out right at all. He'd meant to ask if she liked secrets herself. Merlin, he was really screwing things up, wasn't he?

He noticed Pandora fingering the cover of her journal and couldn't help but to wonder what was in it. Natural human curiosity. Everyone had it. Zachary watched her, waiting for what she had to say. She had to say something, didn't she?

[pandora]

Pandora looked over at Zach curiously, tilting her head like some strange pale bird. ‘What a silly question to ask,’ she thought, a small frown tugging at her bottom lip. ‘He already said everyone has secrets……why would he ask if I did?’ She glanced down at the book next to her where her fingers were still playing absently with it’s bindings. A little spark of something akin to nervousness ran through her. He was thinking of her book. He had to be. He wanted to know what was in it, but this was her secret and Pandora didn’t give up secrets easily. She slid the book into her lap protectively and then looked back over at him. Normally by now, she’d be in a screaming match with someone, all pretense of friendliness gone. For some reason though she didn’t feel any anger towards Zach. Here was a boy that was asking about her secrets and this was usually enough to send someone packing, this time was different though. She was surprised to discover she didn’t want him to leave.

Pandora looked back out across the turrets once more and finally answered him. “Like you said, everyone has secrets. I enjoy them….,” she paused thoughtfully, “for the most part.” The last few words were touched with a note of sadness. There were indeed some secrets she didn’t care for at all and she glanced down at her hands in remembrance. She could still almost feel the ache there. Quickly she looked back up at him in an attempt to drive the memories away. “Secrets are wonderful things. They’re little hidden pockets of information that someone doesn’t want you to know. Information is power. Every secret you discover is a little more power you have over whoever was keeping it. I’m very careful with my secrets. What about you?” The question came off almost as a challenge but without any cruelty or malice to it. She seemed just to genuinely want to know how well he had defended himself against prying eyes and ears.

[Seth Wright]

Zachary eyed at her warily. He hadn't been very surprised that she enjoyed secrets. It seemed quite fitting, actually, from what he knew of her, anyway. He frowned at the question, tracing circles on the hard stone of the tower with a long, pale finger. What could he reply to that? How could he reply to that? It was rather personal, Zachary thought, but he would answer all the same. After all, it wasn't as if saying how he kept secrets would be revealing the secrets themselves, was it? Of course not. Zachary took a breath and stared at his hand for a minute more, considering what to say.

"I'm good with secrets. I won't lie to you. I've got loads of them, and most of them are mine, or have something to do with me. Not many are good, either." There was what might be called a pregnant pause before he began again. "I don't talk to many people, you know, like a friend, so there really isn't much risk of exposing anything. I mean, friends are the people you tell your secrets too, and I haven't got any of those, so I'm fairly safe." Safe. The word echoed mockingly in his head. How was he so safe, really? Safe from prying eyes, yes, but not from much else.

Zachary ran his fingers gently over his right forearm, frowning to himself. Even with his robes to cover it, he knew where the scar was. It was hard to forget, and easier to remember than any other scar he'd ever acquired. It had been a profound experience after all. Zachary sighed. He didn't like secrets. Not a single one of them had ever made him feel knowledgeable. Not one. He couldn't understand how Pandora could ever take pleasure from keeping secrets, from hoarding knowledge as she had explained it. It was too confusing, so he gave up on the matter, for now at least.

Pandora in herself was a puzzle to him. Zachary didn't have friends. He didn't make them easily and even when he did, he couldn't keep them. They were annoying. They were nosy. They were too bloody caring. He couldn't imagine having to actually put up with multiple people all the time, talking to you, bugging you about homework, asking how you were, nagging when you got hurt or did something wrong. It was madness. Usually, he couldn't stand to be stuck with any amount of people for any amount of time, but that seemed to be changing now. Indeed, a lot seemed to have changed since he'd some to Hogwarts. Now that he thought about it, it seemed to strange to Zachary that he hadn't blown up at anyone yet. Even stranger, he'd been able to have a civil conversation with not one, but two people in a row! It was madness.

[pandora]

Pandora sat silently while Zach talked, her eyes following his fingertips as they ran across his forearm in a way that suggested he was feeling something there that she couldn’t see. When he told her he didn’t have friends, she detected what she thought was a note of something close to sadness. Her own heart echoed that. He was intelligent enough to realize that friends were a weakness neither of them seemed to able to afford and Pandora was glad he understood that. As she watched the unhappy and solemn look appear on his features, she found herself wanting to keep talking to him. This whole ‘being nice to someone without looking for immediate gain’ thing was new for her. She knew how to play the little social games that were necessary in a place like Slytherin but she didn’t wan this to become another one. She would have to be very careful with Zach, she decided. He can be another one of her secrets, a pleasant one, like Talan was. She thought back to the tall Gryffindor third year and stomped quickly on the little pang that rose in her chest. She wanted to go find him but knew that would be a HUGE mistake, besides he was a Gryffindor and they were in school now. He most likely wouldn’t want his prissy obnoxious Gryffindor friends to see him with a Slytherin, now would he?

Besides….there was always Pandora’s mother to consider. Pandora shuddered involuntarily and then glanced back over at Zach. Zach could be different though. Her mother certainly shouldn’t have a problem with Pandora being friends with another pure blood Slytherin, right? Pandora would have to keep their ‘friendship’ secret of course, that is, if they even became friends. No one else could know. Plans began to formulate in her head, visions of the two of them sneaking up here to just sit and talk without having to play the little mind games she used on everyone else. He would of course have to be tested. She would have to make sure he was worthy of any trust in the first place. Secrets were fun but could be dangerous. If anyone else knew they were friends, it could destroy all her hard won acquaintances with the other Slytherin girls. They could remain civil to one another in the halls but maybe, just maybe, they could be relaxed around one another when no one else was looking.

Part of her cursed Talan for being the first real friend she’d ever made, though she wasn’t sure if they could really call themselves friends. It was only one meeting and only for a short while but she’d felt more alive and happy around him than she had around anyone else. Now she found herself craving that again. She wanted someone to just talk to and be relaxed around. This was Talan’s fault, she thought grumpily; he was to blame for what seemed like a complete loss of her mind. He’d come sweeping in with his un-assuming kindness and now she wanted more…..damn him.

Pandora came back from her thoughts and realized she’d been watching Zach trace little circles with his fingers, all the while biting her bottom lip. She must look ridiculous and she hoped he didn’t think she was staring at him. Finally she spoke in a quiet voice, heavy with trepidation, like someone stepping out onto ice to test its strength. “Do you want to stay safe?” She eyed him closely waiting for his reaction. “I’ll tell you one of my secrets if you tell me one of yours. It’s like a pact. Neither one can tell the other person’s secret or their own will get out too.” She waited silently to see how he reacted. If he stormed out and then tried to tell anyone what she’d said, she would deny everything and spread some horrible lie about him. If he stayed…well…..they would go from there.

[Seth Wright]

Zachary took a deep breath, cringing. His mind screamed to just walk away. Don't say anything. But he didn't listen. Despite himself, he enjoyed Pandora's company and didn't want to go back to the empty common room. He closed his eyes for a minute, thinking hard. It was dangerous to share your secrets, and Pandora could just be tricking him. But, hard as he tried to convince himself not to trust her, Zachary just couldn't see her tricking him. Lucan would be furious.

"It's a deal. I'll tell you one, but you've got to tell me yours first, agreed?" His narrowed eyes bored into Pandora, searching for any hint of treachery. Trust no one. His Uncle's words rang through his head, but he ignored them too. If Pandora would go first, he could decide whether her secret was worth telling his, so he wouldn't be giving anything away too hastily.

[pandora]

Pandora watched him closely for a few moments and narrowed her eyes dangerously. She was suddenly not so sure this was such a good idea. This boy wanted her to give her secrets first. That, in high society, was just asking for trouble. She searched his face carefully for any signs of deceit and, finding none that she could tell, she firmly stomped on the little voice screaming in her head that this was a bad idea. She would take a chance, just this once in her whole life, and risk trusting someone. If he betrayed her, she would simply never trust again, deny everything and spend the next few years making sure his life was miserable. Pandora reached on trembling hand over to her sketchbook and lifted it possessively into her lap, her eyes never once leaving his face. Fighting every instinct she had, she slid the book across so that it was within his reach though she kept her fingers wrapped knuckle-white around it.

“Deal.” she growled threateningly, “but if you even think about betraying me, I swear you’ll regret the day you were born.” Her voice dropped to a soft deadly hiss, “I’ll spend the next years of my life making the Crucio curse look like a kindness.” Her eyes never left his face and she finally released the book to him once it was grabbed. She then pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms protectively around them as if this simple action could defend her against what she’d just done. No one had ever seen Pandora’s sketchbooks. She had been utterly careful to burn each one once she’d filled its pages; and though her heart always ached at the sight of the bubbling ink and curling paper as they burned away her hard work, she knew without doubt that she had no choice in the matter. Her mother could never know of the book’s existence and if Pandora wanted to continue drawing, she’d have to continue getting new books. Eventually, she would run out of places to hide them and if you could destroy all evidence of a secret, it was best to do so. Thus she had burned many books over the short years of her life and had in this way managed to keep the secret safe from her mother.

She was already a third of the way through this book and soon would need to get another one but she wasn’t quite certain how she would manage that yet. She couldn’t exactly write to her mother and ask for one. She would wait until the problem arose though before trying to figure the answer to that question. For right now, her main concern was watching Zach closely so he wouldn’t betray her. She slipped her long delicate fingers into the little purse at her side and slid out her wand. She placed it in her lap carefully and concealed it within the folds of her robe. She couldn’t cast too many spells yet but she’d think up something on the fly to at least stop him if he tried to run away with her book. Eyeing him warily, Pandora waited in tensed silence for Zach’s reaction to her little secret and for him to reveal one of his own.

[Seth Wright]

Zachary gulped and took the book with trembling hands. Once he looked, he knew he'd have no choice but to give Pandora once of his secrets. He opened it cautiously. You can still turn back, you know... Said the little voice in his head. You haven't looked yet... He opened the book. It was filled with sketches. Zachary's eyebrows rose. They were good, he thought. He'd never have thought Pandora would have been good at drawing. Never. But then, he'd never expected a lot of people to be the way they were.

When he was finished, Zachary closed the book gently and placed it by Pandora, face pale. It was time. He'd hae to tell her a secret. "I won't tell anyone about your sketchbook." He said softly. "But you have to promise that you won't tell a soul what I'm about to tell you. Alright?" He looked at her anxiously. Zachary wished he had a secret like Pandora's to tell. That would be easy. But he didn't. All he had were secrets that no one was supposed to know. His brother had secrets. His mother...his step-father. The family secrets. He swallowed and turned to Pandora, waiting for her answer.

[pandora]

Pandora watched nervously as Zach flipped through her sketchbook. He hadn’t said a word and by the time he slid the cover closed again, she was almost certain he must have hated her drawings. Never the less, she continued to wait for his response to her challenge. Would he back out at the last second? ‘Not if he knows what’s good for him.’ She mused. As Zach placed the book back down where Pandora could reach it, she immediately snatched it from the ground and brought it protectively back to her chest again. Her delicate fingers moved quickly to re-tie the leather straps holding her book shut and holding its secrets in, and she noted with some displeasure that her fingers were trembling as she did so. The soft movement of the wind caught a few dark locks of her hair and whipped them out of place. This time, Pandora didn’t move to fix them. She sat staring at the book trying to decide if she had betrayed it or if it had betrayed her. When she looked back up at Zach, any thoughts of the book flew away as if caught on the breeze as it passed.

Zach looked….scared? Yes, that was it. Scared. Nervous. She watched him closely and suddenly he had her absolute interest. Whatever secret Zach had to tell was less pleasant than her own. She had many secrets and from the look in his eyes she was sure a few of his were similar to a few of hers. The kind of secret no one likes. Ones that hurt deep and that you simply never speak of. Yet here he was, looking like he might be ill at any moment, ready to tell her one of his own; something Pandora could only assume was pity rose in her chest and tugged at her throat. "I won't tell anyone about your sketchbook." He said softly. "But you have to promise that you won't tell a soul what I'm about to tell you. Alright?" Zach seemed so nervous at this point. Pandora breathed a small sigh of relief that he had made a promise not to tell anyone about her sketchbook, but still felt bad for him despite herself. He was going to keep his half of the bargin for which she was glad, she just found her self wishing this whole stupid trusting thing wasn’t so bloody hard.

“Alright. I keep my word.” Pandora said in the way of comfort. It wasn’t much but it was all that she could think to offer him at the moment. Zach suddenly reminded her of Talan, both boys had come in from no where and made her do things she’d never thought she’d ever do. Like Trust. Zach was different though, it was like trying to compare vanilla and chocolate ice cream. Both were good but in entirely different ways and Pandora wasn’t quite sure how she felt about either at this point. Boys were so strange. Sitting quietly, Pandora waited for Zach to begin; she sifted her weight a little to ease the pain in her bottom from the hard flag stones they were presently occupying and Pandora wished for just a moment that she could conjure a pillow out of thin air.

[Seth Wright]

Zach took a deep breath. He was well aware that should anyone close to Lucan discover what he was about to say, it would be nothing less than a death sentence. He shrugged it off as bravely as he could, trembling ever so slightly. "Okay....Just...just give me a second, okay?" Yet another deep breath and Zach lifted the sleeve of his robe, cursing himself for his stupidity. How in the world had he ever let himself get into this mess? He should have known something like this would happen. They'd promised to tell each other a secret and here he was, about to share the biggest and most dangerous secret of his short life (which was about to stop even shorter, he reckoned) and all she'd done was show him a stupid sketchbook!

Okay, so the sketches were pretty good, but it was the general nature of her secret that angered him. But what other secret did Zach have to tell? He was pretty sure Pandora already knew about Lucan being a Death Eater, as it wasn't much of a secret in pure-blood society, but this was different. This was the family secret, for Merlin's sake!

Lucan was holding his arm over the fire, hissing insults.

"This'll teach you what burning feels like, boy! You want to burn my meal? You want to burn the food I pay for?---the food you put into that ungrateful stomach of yours? I'll burn you. I'll teach you....

Zach whimpered, biting his lip.

"Merry Christmas, you little bastard."

Better get it over with.

The sleeve came all the way up and Zach held his arm out for Pandora's inspection, mentally swearing. In the middle of his arm, an inch or so beneath his elbow, was a long, thin burn-scar about an inch in length, ringed by a few fading bruises. He watched Pandora steadily, unblinkingly. The breeze picked up, making the sleeve of his left robes flutter. Suddenly self-conscious, Zach pulled the robes back down. "It was two years ago." He said quietly, voice hoarse. "I burned their breakfast. It was Christmas morning---this is what I got."

[pandora]

Not a whisper escaped Pandora’s lips for a few tense moments after Zach showed her his arm. She stared blankly at the slightly pink flesh which stood out starkly against the paleness of his skin, surrounded by a halo of fairly recent bruises. For a few moments she was as still as a statue, her eyes never leaving Zach’s arm even after the cloth had been pulled hastily back over it. “He was careless,” she finally whispered, her voice as soft as feathers; any anger or pride had fled from it and left it as cool as the waters of the lake. Slowly Pandora’s eyes moved to her own two slender hands and she held them up before her like sad trophies. “He left evidence. Mother has never been so careless.” She whispered to her own hands. She flexed her fingers remembering well the ache they held and she stretched each one to remove the ghost of the pain from her joints.

“Your father could be punished if anyone ever found out. You have proof.” She said solemnly. Her large blue eyes looked at him at last and held within their depths a haunted and hollow nature that was far older than her meager 11 years. “Did you know I’m good at potions?” She whispered to him. A great and overwhelming sadness clung to her voice, weighing it down until it was almost lost in the wind. She looked back to her hands again and seemed so very small and fragile all of sudden. “I had a friend for a just a few moments before. It didn’t last long. He goes to this school. An older student.” Her voice was far away now and she almost didn’t seem to be talking to Zach anymore so much as reliving her own memories. “He’s a Gryffindor.” She said sadly. “He was nice…..mother found us though. She found out what house he was in. She was….upset.” The light of bright afternoon caught the moisture forming on her thick lower lashes, where it glittered like dew on a field of black, yet no tears actually fell from her eyes. “She smashed my potions set. All the contents spilled on the floor. Said I was to clean it up like a muggle since I wanted to spend time with muggle lovers. I had undiluted bobertuber pus in there.”

Her voice faded out to almost nothing as she stared at her fingers remembering the ache. They had swollen up with boils until she could barely bend them, the pain had been horrible. Her mother had come up later, once Pandora had painstakingly put every piece of glass into a small pile, and with a flick of her wand, Clarissa Munio had put Pandora’s lab back together. She had watched like a great unpleasant vulture while her sobbing child had fumbled through brewing a healing potion. It will teach you concentration under even the most trying circumstances. her mother had said coldly. “My mother never left evidence. She always….cleans up. It’s unsightly, after all, for a proper young lady to have scars.” Pandora croaked at last. She’d just given him 2 secrets for his one without thinking about it. At the moment she didn’t particularly care.

Pain filled eyes fell on Zach again. “He was the only friend I’d ever had.” She whispered again. Her teeth once more found their way to her bottom lip and chewed a bit to stop the emotion welling inside her.

[Seth Wright]

Zach listened to Pandora with full attention, grimacing. He didn't want to think of her in pain. Somehow, it seemed to him that girls should never be in pain. It was okay for him, he thought. He was a boy. He was used to it. Zach sighed. "I can't tell anyone, don't you see?" He said desperately, almost pleadingly. "It was a risk just to tell you, you know. He'd kill me if he ever found out I told. No one can know. No one!" His face was slightly flushed with the excitement of the situation, his brown eyes closed in thought. He wanted to cry. He wanted to sob like a girl, but he wouldn't. Zach had his pride. He had his dignity.

Finally, he said in a whisper, "He doesn't always leave scars, you know. He's better than that. He....he's tortured people before, Lucan has. I daren't tell anyone. He's got loads of friends." Zach stopped, images of Lucan's "friends" filtering into his head. He blinked them away, shuddering. They were an unpleasant lot, and Zach didn't want to remember them any time soon. Not after.....it was over now. "I'm sorry aout your mother, Pandora. I know how it feels to have something you love destroyed." He said withought thinking, and then mentally kicked himself. Oh, well....It was out now, and Ingrid already knew, didn't she?

"My step-dad, he burned all my stories. I wrote loads of them, and he burned every one. I tried to stop him, but my brother was holding me back. In the end, I couldn't save any of them, but I did try. I've still got a scar on my finger from trying. I wrote a story about it afterwards, to vent. I think it was the only thing stopping me bashing Lucan's head in." Zach explained, watching Pandora's face. He felt bad about Pandora giving him another secret, so he tried to even it out, even if this one was only a sort of half-secret. "Still sort of wished I could have bashed his head, but I don't really fancy the sight of blood anyway, so I guess it worked out for the better."

[pandora]

Pandora watched Zach as the boy gave in to his fear for a few moments. He seemed terrified of his father finding out and Pandora could relate to that. If her own mother found out half of her secrets or that she’d told anyone the sorts of things that happened behind closed doors, the world might never see her again. Anyone in High society knew that the Grey family had a death eater in their midst and though Pandora herself had never heard the man’s first name, she could guess well enough who it was now. Pandora was a little surprised that Zach wrote stories. He didn’t seem the creative type to her but she supposed she didn’t exactly come across as Rembrandt herself. She frowned sadly at him. “I would like to read one of your stories….if you ever write another one.” She said softly.

Pandora offered Zach the closest thing she could manage to a smile. “I don’t hate my mother,” she began in quiet tones filled with pain, “it’s not really her fault after all. She teaches me well enough, I just keep messing up. She wishes I were a boy. A son is a much better legacy after all.” Pandora looked back down at the shine on her shoes. She sat stock still for a few moments and then leaned ever so slightly in Zach’s direction until her shoulder touched his. She didn’t move past this point but seemed to find some small measure of solace in even this tiny display of affection.

[Seth Wright]

Zach nodded in understanding. He didn't move from Pandora's touch. It was nice to have someone you could tell stuff to, he decided. "I've got some stories, but they're all hidden at home. I didn't think to bring them to school." Pandora was talking about her mother, how she wanted a son. Zach sighed. She was better than any son would have been, he thought. Much better. "I think she's wrong." He said, sounding bolder than he felt. "Daughters can leave just as much legacy as sons. But I know what you mean. I mean, I don't like Lucan, and I've given up on the hope of him ever liking me, but with Mason--my brother--I agree there. He's always been favored over me cause he's the older one, though it wasn't much to brag about. Lucan beat him too. But he got more to eat, and a thicker blanket for winter. He used to switch mine with his, so I wouldn't get cold. And he nicked me food." Zach stopped for a moment to breathe.

"But he's changed. He agrees with Lucan more now. And he gets so mean he can be downright cruel. He beat me up once when he was drunk with his friends. I didn't even do anything, but he did it anyway. He shouts at me a lot, too, but I don't hate him. I could never hate him. He's the only one that ever looked out for me. I try to be good, for him at least." He stopped again to glance at Pandora, his brown eyes open, revealing all emotions. Zach had learned to be good at hiding his emotions over time, but now he felt vulnerable. He was telling the biggest secrets of his life to someone he didn't know very well at all, and a Slytherin no less. It felt good. "I'll let you read one of my stories when I wrote one." He assured her with a half-grin. "Long as you promise not to laugh."