CANYON MOON ▇▇▇▇ VOLUME ONE
━━ ❛ 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒔 ❜

chapter no. 008!

     SIXTH-YEAR WAS PROVING TO BE HARDER THAN EXPECTED FOR MANY. The word harder meant more challenging for everyone else, but in Fawn's mind, it meant that she was rarely ever going to have one day pass where something bad didn't happen to either her or appeared in the Daily Prophet.

     And today proved to be just that.

     A very, devastatingly bad day for her.

     It didn't start out horribly, though. In fact, it started out pretty well.

     Making her way into the Great Hall, Fawn caught glimpse of Hermione excitedly waving her over to sit with the Golden Trio for breakfast. Weaving in-between entering and exiting students, she made her way to the Gryffindor table and sat down next to the brunette, smiling across at Ron and Harry. "Morning," she greeted, and the redhead outreached his fist towards her; the two fist-bumping. Harry chuckled and continued eating.

     "We've got to go and explain," Hermione suddenly blurted as everyone was eating, gazing up at Hagrid's huge, empty chair at the staff table. Fawn followed her gaze and realized who she was talking about.

     "We've got Quidditch tryouts this morning!" Ron spoke exasperatedly. "And we're supposed to be practicing that Aguamenti Charm from Flitwick! Anyway, explain what? How are we going to tell him we hated his stupid subject?"

     "We didn't hate it!" Hermione butted in quickly.

     Ron shook his head. "Speak for yourself. I haven't forgotten the skrewts," he grumbled darkly, and Fawn snickered quietly. "And I'm telling you now, we've had a narrow escape. You didn't hear him going on about his gormless brother— we'd have been teaching Grawp how to tie his shoelaces if we'd stayed."

     The blonde's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, and Harry noticed, immediately jumping in. "Hagrid has a half-brother giant. We took care of him the last term after Umbridge fired him," he explained, and Fawn smiled gratefully at Harry. He was always filling her in, so she was never confused. The Ravenclaw appreciated it a lot. Harry had done everything in his power to make her feel a part of their friend group, and it had worked brilliantly.

     "I hate not talking to Hagrid," Hermione sighed, looking upset. Fawn reached underneath the table and placed her hand on the brunette's thigh, squeezing it softly in comfort.

     "We'll go down after Quidditch," Harry reassured Hermione, whose cheeks were pink. He, too, was missing Hagrid. Although, like Ron, he thought that they were better off without Grawp in their lives. "But trials might take all morning. The number of people who have applied is enormous. I dunno why the team's this popular all of a sudden." Fawn stared at the boy blankly, wondering how somebody could be that oblivious.

     "Oh, come on, Harry," Hermione groaned, suddenly impatient. "It's not Quidditch that's popular, it's you! You've never been more interesting, and frankly, you've never been more fanciable." Raising her brows considerably high, Fawn turned to look at the bushy-haired girl while Ron gagged on a large piece of kipper.

     The four of them were uncharacteristically quiet, and the blonde could feel her insides curl slightly. She recognized the feeling of jealousy coursing through her. She knew that Hermione hadn't meant it in that way, but that didn't stop her from becoming slightly jealous.

     "I'm not saying I fancy Harry— because I don't— but I'm just saying that everyone knows he's been telling the truth now, don't they? The whole Wizarding World has had to admit that he was right about Voldemort being back and that he really has fought him twice in the last two years and escaped both times. And now they're calling him The Chosen One— well, come on, can't you see why people are fascinated by him?" Hermione spoke slightly panicked, her cheeks burning as she tried to explain herself.

     The other three remained silent while Harry's cheeks burned bright red, Ron's face twisted in slight disgust, and Fawn pressed her lips together, giving the girl she'd gone on a date and kissed a week ago a questioning look.

     "And he's been through all that persecution from the Ministry when they were trying to make him out to be unstable and a liar. You can still see the marks on the back of his hand where that evil woman made him write with his own blood, but he stuck to his story anyway..." Hermione's eyes were on Fawn, hoping the girl beside her knew that she didn't fancy her best friend. She only had eyes for her.

     "You can still see where those brains got hold of me in the Ministry, look," Ron added, shaking back his sleeves, and breaking the awkward silence.

     "And it doesn't hurt that you've grown about a foot over the summer either," Hermione finished, ignoring the redhead and looking at Harry.

     Furrowing his brows, Ron tilted his head. "I'm tall," he said inconsequentially, and Fawn snorted.

     At that moment, the post owls arrived, swooping down through rain-flecked windows, scattering everyone with water droplets. Most people were receiving more mail than usual; anxious parents were keen to hear from their children and to reassure them, in turn, that all was well at home.

     Harry had received no mail since the start of the term. So, he was very surprised to see Hedwig circling amongst all the brown and gray owls. She landed in front of him carrying a large, square package. A moment later, an identical package landed in front of Ron, crushing beneath it his minuscule and exhausted owl, Pigwidgeon.

     A black-feathered owl that Fawn didn't recognize settled down in front of her, dropping a small envelope onto her plate before swooshing away. Davey hadn't written anything to her since the other week, and that wasn't Glamour, his dusty grey owl, that had delivered the letter. So, who was it from? The blonde's entire family had been killed the same day that her parents were; she had no living relatives left.

     "Ha!" Harry laughed, unwrapping the parcel of his package to reveal a new copy of Advanced Potion-Making, fresh from Flourish and Blotts. The sound of his voice distracted Fawn as she picked up the manila white envelope.

    "Oh good," Hermione exclaimed, delighted. "Now, you can give that graffitied copy back."

     "Are you mad?" the raven-haired boy asked, raising a brow. "I'm keeping it! Look, I've thought it out—" he pulled the old copy of Advanced Potion-Making out of his bag and tapped the cover with his wand, muttering, "Dijjindo!" The cover fell off. He did the same thing with the brand-new book, swapped the covers, tapped each, and said, "Reparo!"

     There sat the Prince's copy, disguised as a new book, and there sat the fresh copy from Flourish and Blotts, looking thoroughly secondhand.

     "I'll give Slughorn back the new one. He can't complain; it cost nine Galleons." Harry shrugged.

     Hermione pressed her lips together, looking angry and disapproving, but was soon distracted by a fourth owl landing in front of her carrying that day's copy of The Daily Prophet. She unfolded it hastily and scanned the front page. Looking back down at her hands, Fawn opened the letter and placed the envelope on the table. Unfolding the small piece of parchment, her eyes scanned over the one word that was printed on it: Checkmate.

     "Anyone we know dead?" Ron inquired in a determinedly casual voice.

     Fawn's eyebrows were scrunched together as she read over the singular word multiple times. Checkmate? As in chess? What's it supposed to mean?

     "No, but someone did die," the blonde kept her gaze on the piece of paper as Hermione continued to speak. "A Ministry worker, Davey Gudgeon, he was head of the Auror Office."

     Fawn's head snapped up at Hermione's words, and she hastily snatched the paper from her hands. Hermione looked worried, for she knew who Davey was.

HEAD OF AUROR OFFICE FOUND DEAD

     As of late June, a long-time Ministry employee, Davey Gudgeon, was promoted as Head of the Auror office in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. While only being in the granted position for nearly five months, Gudgeon has proven to be successful in his field. Forty-three known killers and Death Eaters have been captured and taken to Azkaban due to his triumphant efforts to keep the Wizarding community safe. Many were enthusiastic about him being the Head and admired him greatly.

     Gudgeon was well on his way to being one of the best Aurors of our time until late last night. According to Magical Law Enforcement Patrol chief Bob Ogden, who was on the scene, it appeared that the Head Auror was murdered in his own home. While Ogden was not allowed to disclose much information about the case, he confirmed that the family members were being notified. The Ministry will not stop until they find the culprit behind this horrendous attack.

     Many have already started speculating that Gudgeon's murderer is a Death Eater. While no one can confirm this, we have heard from unknown sources that (ctd. page 2, column 4)

     "Davey Gudgeon? Fawn... isn't that your godfather?" Harry asked cautiously, noticing the distressed look clouding the blonde's face. Not hearing his question, Fawn quickly turned the page as tears pooled in her eyes.

     (ctd.) Gudgeon had recently discovered the hiding place of many Death Eaters and was about to tell a ministry official before he was killed in his god-daughter's bedroom. Some wizards suspect that his murder may be connected to the hidden murders of Alastrina and Demetri Depraysie back in January. The Depraysie's were murdered in their home on January 3, in front of their daughter, Fawn Depraysie, a current student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The case of the Depraysie murders has remained concealed and unsolved and has, coincidentally, been re-opened and made public as of recently.

     To further add to this theory that many have begun to put stock into, Davey Gudgeon is also the godfather of Fawn Depraysie and took her in after her parents were killed. It is also rumored that no one knew about the Depraysie's death until now because it has ties to the re-awakening of He-Who-Must-Not-Ne-Named.

     Hopefully, the Wizarding community will be receiving some answers soon.

     The Daily Prophet dropped from Fawn's hands as a single tear went down her pale cheeks. It was silent amongst the four as the blonde tried to process what she had just read.

     Fawn Depraysie's life had just been publicly exposed to the world, and now everybody who could read would know about what happened. Everyone would know that her parents had been killed right in front of her and that the only family she had left was killed in her bedroom. To say she was upset was the biggest understatement of the century. Fawn was more than upset. She was furious. Broken. Speechless. Confused. Alone. She was channeling so many emotions that it was difficult to keep up.

     "Fawn," Hermione whispered, grabbing her hand, but the girl to her right was unresponsive.

     The Golden Trio hadn't read the full article yet, but they would soon enough. It wasn't long until the whole school read it, if they hadn't already.

     A figure appeared behind Fawn as she sat still, staring at the paper steadily. "Why didn't you tell me?" the voice belonged to none other than Draco Malfoy, and the Ravenclaw turned her head, snapping out of the bubble she was hiding in. "About your parents." His words caused more tears to well up in her eyes as she stared at him.

     "Fawn..." Ron trailed off softly. Fawn turned her head again to see that the other three had just read the article. "I—" the redhead cut himself off, not knowing what to say.

     Fawn shook her head and pushed herself up from the table, shoving the letter into the pocket of her jeans. With tears beginning to fall down her face, she pushed past Draco and stalked out of the Great Hall, trying to avoid the stares and whispers that came her way.

     Multiple pairs of footsteps followed after the blonde as she rounded a corner, walking into an empty corridor. Leaning against the wall, Fawn covered her mouth as a sob racked its way up her body.

     The footsteps ceased, and Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Draco stood behind her. The four stood together for the first time without fighting or bickering. They simply stared at the crying girl.

     "Fawn," Harry whispered, being the first one to break the silence as he hesitantly stepped forward. "I know what you're feeling: the pain. The anger. I know how much this hurts," the raven-haired boy whispered, and Fawn squeezed her eyes shut as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "I'm so sorry."

     "He tortured me," she murmured in a quiet voice that could barely be considered a whisper, but everyone heard her. "In front of my parents. They tried to stop him— fight back— but he killed them. Right in front of me. There was nothing I-I could do to stop him."

     "Who?" Hermione asked quietly, making her way to Harry's side.

     "He promised me that he would kill the rest of my relatives, and he did. He took the last person I had left. The last piece of my family that hadn't been ripped from my arms. He killed Davey, and no one will ever know it was him who did it." Fawn whispered weakly, leaning her head against the wall as her body trembled, salty tears clouding her vision.

     At her words, Draco gulped. "It was him, wasn't it?" he asked, and Fawn nodded. "Why didn't you tell me?"

     Rolling her eyes, more tears fell down her face as she sniffed. "There's nothing you could have done or can do. Your father worships the monster, and one day, you might too," the blonde whispered, and everyone's face fell.

     A pit of anger settled in Harry and Ron's chests while Hermione balled her hands into fists.

     "Voldemort did this? He killed your family and Davey? He tortured you?" Ron asked; there was an edge in his voice. Fawn nodded again and fell down to the floor, burying her head in her hands and crying softly. Draco stalked off angrily, his jaw set. 

     Hermione walked forward and sat down, wrapping her arm around Fawn. The Ravenclaw immediately leaned into her touch and instinctively reached for her hand, intertwining their fingers. The brunette girl looked up at her two best friends and gave them a look, "Tryouts start soon. You two better get going. We'll catch up with you later." The two opened their mouths to protest but immediately retracted at Hermione's glare.

     Once they had left, Fawn clutched onto Hermione's hand tighter. She sobbed, and the latter pulled her closer, hugging her. The blonde buried her head into her chest, squeezing her eyes shut firmly as delicate cries tumbled from her lips and her body shook.

     Fawn felt like her soul was splitting in two, the agonizing, burning pain of loneliness creeping in.

     January was happening again.

     She lost someone again.