If Love is a Game...

Chapter Eleven

"Krystyna, Andrew, Marlena is home!" Mrs. Melanie yelled from downstairs.

The red ball Krystyna had been bouncing in the air with her wand fell to the floor and bounced under her drawer. She sighed. Krystyna had been in her bedroom all afternoon. Samuel had clearly stepped over the boundary and gone too far. He had been prying into her life at Hogwarts for some reason. All of the questions had to do with Sirius or Lucius. She figured that he was just getting information for their parents, but something about that just didn't sound right. She felt like there was more to it.

Krystyna heard Andrew's door open and slam shut. His feet trampled by her room and then stopped. There was a banging on her door.

"C'mon, Krystyna, let's get down stairs!" Andrew said loudly.

"Okay, I'll be there in a minute," Krystyna called back softly. He groaned and then ran down the stairs. Lazily, Krystyna got up off of her bed and skidded over to the door. She opened it and then shut it. She meandered down the stairs slowly and turned the corner. She walked into the living room where her family usually sat.

Marlena sat with her husband, William Carson, on the couch. She had her brown hair flowing down her shoulders and her blue eyes shining. She was holding a small cup of tea in the air while William ate a crumpet. Her mother was sitting on the other couch with her father, who was talking avidly with William about his job at the Ministry of Magic. Samuel was sitting in a chair, talking with his father and William.

He and William went way back; they'd been best friends at school, along with Marcus Malfoy and Odin Lawson. Andrew was sitting in another chair, beaming at Marlena. She and he had gotten along well.

Marlena was twenty, three years older than Krystyna and two years younger than Samuel. She and Krystyna had never argued and got considerably along with. Krystyna sat down in the last chair and went unnoticed. That is, until Marlena shook her hair out of her eyes and saw Krystyna sitting.

"Krystyna, how pleasant it is to see you again," Marlena rang, beaming at her little sister. Krystyna managed a petite smile. "You've gotten taller since I saw you last and you're looking so pretty. I bet all the boys are after you." Krystyna continued to smile.

Well, there's Sirius, Malfoy, Snape--I could almost go on and on, Krystyna thought.

"Hardly, Marlena," Krystyna replied sweetly.

"Mmhm, sure, Krystyna," Marlena giggled. "You don't have to lie to me."

"Right... I'll try to remember that," Krystyna chirped.

"We'll talk in private later, okay?" Marlena said with a smile. "It'll be just us girls and no boys to interrupt us and spy on us." She glanced at Andrew slyly.

"What?" Andrew asked. Marlena shook her head. Krystyna smiled. Krystyna preferred a private talk with Marlena and not with Samuel. He glanced at Marlena, but she didn't see him.

"Hello, Krystyna, hope you're doing well in school," William greeted. He extended his hand out to shake hers. As she shook it politely, she couldn't help but think that she was shaking hands with a demon of some sort. He'd been in that alley with Lorena, Marcus, Odin, Lucius, and Samuel. Samuel had been in that alley. She wondered if he ever told their father.

Luckily, William was much more pleasant than the other boys and he was much more good-natured than the rest of them. She supposed there had to be one clown in such a mean group. Actually, now that she thought about it, he was very nice and funny.

"Hello," was all Krystyna uttered.

She was only being polite so she'd get a meal tonight. Of course, if Samuel had told them that she was still friends with Lily, she probably wasn't. She didn't keep her hopes high. He let go of her hand. She went silent as she watched the family continue to talk.

Catherine, Samuel's wife, would be here any minute. Krystyna couldn't help but wonder if the unborn Thomas Melanie would be sitting in almost this same position when he was her age. She couldn't help but wonder if he'd have the same upbringing as she did. She couldn't help but wonder all of the time.

~*~

Krystyna lied outside on the swinging bench in the garden after dinner. Lucky for her, Samuel had not mentioned anything to their parents. Either that or her parents didn't want Marlena to know about the strict punishment she was getting. Marlena didn't take too well to such things.

The air was crisp and the sky was dark. The grounds were even darker since the clouds were covering up the half moon and bright stars that she could see. The clouds always seemed to be up there. She could only here the crickets chirping a light melody. Snow began to fall down rhythmically. They were snow clouds. She hadn't seen them for a while here.

The only light she had was from the window of the house that glimmered onto the flourishing garden of her mother's. She lay on the swing, like it was a bed, and hummed a tune melodically. She never could quite remember where she first heard the music, but she always remembered it.

Her night-dreaming was interrupted when she heard the back door open and slowly close. Her heart jolted lightly, thinking of who it could be, and her blue eyes peered at the door timidly. Her body relaxed when she saw that it was only Marlena treading on the stepping stones quietly towards her. For a second, she had thought it was Samuel... or someone else. Krystyna sat up on the swinging bench as Marlena neared her. Marlena smiled and sat down next to her. The swinging bench joggled a little.

"I didn't hear much from you at the dinner table," Marlena said with a hint of curiosity. "I'm use to the very talkative and cheerful Krystyna Melanie; not the hushed and seemingly depressed Krystyna Melanie. Is there something I should know about?"

"No, there's nothing much to tell about my life," Krystyna lied calmly. Except that I'm in a lot of turmoil at the moment with mum; I don't talk to dad anymore; Samuel is trying to pry certain information out of me; I'm fed up with Lucius Malfoy; and I'm in love with Sirius Black. No, nothing's wrong with me.

Marlena frowned. She knew there was something wrong. What that something was, was what she didn't know, and it niggled her a lot.

"No, there is definitely something wrong with this picture," Marlena replied firmly. She grinned evilly at Krystyna. "Does it have something to do with your love life?"

"What?" Krystyna almost shouted. "Are you kidding me?" Because that was a perfect bull's-eye!

How did Marlena know what it was so easily? Well, she was a girl. That could put some points down. Krystyna was guffawing, but Marlena was smiling.

"It is, isn't it?" Marlena giggled. Krystyna stopped and sighed deeply. She nodded her head, knowing that this conversation was also going down hill. Why did all conversations with her family go in that direction? She never fathomed the questioned because she knew the answer. "So... does this 'guy'--I'll ask his name later on--not like you? I mean, is he one of those types of boys that just doesn't seem to know of your existence or is he the type that likes another girl--like a friend?"

Krystyna hoped that Sirius didn't like another girl--and definitely not one of her friends.

"No, no, it's not that he doesn't like me," Krystyna murmured. "We're going out." Marlena smiled brightly and sighed with relief.

"Oh, that's wonderful, you finally opened up to a guy and you have a boyfriend! How sweet," Marlena said bubbly. Krystyna doubted she'd be happy once she found out who her boyfriend was. "So... is it that he's just to die for and all of the girls are dying for him or is it that he's not the cutest teddy bear on the shelf, sweetest tasting candy in the store, or the brightest bulb in the box and people think that it's abnormal for you to be dating him?"

Krystyna definitely knew that the first one was correct. Sirius was definitely cute, very sweet, and probably the smartest guy that ever stepped foot in Hogwarts--besides James and Remus. She had to remember that for Lily--and Lorena.

"He's the guy girls die for, yeah, but it's not that," Krystyna replied truthfully. "I can take the girls trying to hex me in the hallways, other girls asking me how he's really like, and the non-stop whistling from stupid boys. He doesn't shine in on the fame either. It doesn't really matter to him."

Marlena smiled yet again. So far, this was only making Marlena happy. Just two words would make it all collapse to dust and ashes: Sirius Black.

"Oh, that's even better!" Marlena said joyously. "I'll ask the problem in a second. Who is this mystery wonder guy? Don't tell me! I want to try and guess." It was like Krystyna could read her mind. She knew her speculation before she even asked to conjecture: Lucius Malfoy. And that was a definite no.

"Okay, but I don't think you'll get it right..." Krystyna warned her monotonously.

"We'll see about that," Marlena giggled. She gave it some more thought. She stuck her tongue out like a little kid and put her index finger to her chin as a gesture of her pondering. Then, it struck her, but she had had it already in her mind. She stuck her finger in the air triumphantly. "Lucius Malfoy!"

"Nope," Krystyna sighed, shaking her head. Marlena's jaw dropped. Down... down... down... Krystyna could see it all going, playing in her mind's eye.

"Oh, you're right, this is difficult," Marlena muttered. Krystyna could see the disappointment in her eyes. She sighed. Marlena thought some more. "You know... I don't have anymore guesses. That was my only one. He's the best guy at Hogwarts for you."

"Yeah, he ridicules my best, best friend; sets off my other best friend's temper like an Everlasting Flame; teases my other best friend; and annoys the heck out of me!" Krystyna said grumpily. "I hardly call that the best guy at Hogwarts for me..."

Marlena frowned lightly. "Maybe if you acquainted better company, he would--"

"I don't want to have to get new friends for someone I already dislike," Krystyna interrupted flatly. There were absolutely no ifs, ands, or buts on this topic. She shook her head. Marlena frowned and sighed, feeling defeated.

"Well, are the friends that he teases Mudbloods or Half-breeds?" Marlena asked.

"No! Lily is a 'Muggle-born witch' and Sara is a Pureblood!" Krystyna shrieked, angry with Marlena for using that word again. Marlena nodded her head.

"That would explain the Lily gal, but the Sara girl..." Marlena sighed thoughtfully. "Are her parents and family like the Potters?" Oh, how her family, Sirius's old family, Malfoy's family, and Lorena's family despised the Potters--and the Whitfields.

"Yeah, just like them," Krystyna replied defiantly. She was feeling a little angry at the moment and was just being plain cocky with Marlena, whose frown deepened.

"Oh, I see," Marlena said. "What about this other friend of yours, the one that he angers a lot?"

"Lorena... she can be a really nice and cool girl--when she's not mad," Krystyna noted softly. "She's very protective of her friends and doesn't like people teasing them. And since it's one of Malfoy's favorite pass times, she blows the roof."

"Hm... she's got to be a Mudblood witch," Marlena said.

"She wishes!" Krystyna laughed. Marlena looked strangely at her. "Lorena is Malfoy's cousin!"

"Oh! You're talking about Lorena Fawcett..." Marlena said loudly. "Yeah, she is one feisty girl. William's told me of all the fights she's gotten into with Lucius, Marcus, and even him--once. She's got a flaming temper, and the wand skills to back it up too. William told me she's got one heck of a mouth on her."

"She only uses it when someone does something bad to her or one of her friends," Krystyna sighed lightly. "Malfoy wouldn't have to be so afraid of her if he wasn't such an annoying prat."

Marlena frowned. Bravery was obviously not on Malfoy's trait list. That was not a good sign of Krystyna ever liking him--which she doubt she ever would.

"Okay... so who is this guy?" Marlena asked her.

"You're not going to like it or me once I tell you..."

Marlena shook her head. "C'mon, tell me. It can't be anything worse than a Mudblood," she sighed. Krystyna glared at her in the dark for using such a distasteful word so effortlessly, like it could not hurt anyone in the world. Marlena couldn't see it.

"Alright, but you won't like me..."

"I have to like you, you're my little sister." Marlena didn't have to like her. Krystyna rolled her eyes. "Who are you romancing?"

"Sirius Black," Krystyna answered fearlessly. Marlena's jaw dropped even more and it looked as though she almost fell out of her seat. She caught herself quickly and bit her lip as she gazed at Krystyna with the manner of reproving--just like her mother. She took a deep breath and exhaled.

"I would've never guessed..." Marlena murmured thoughtfully. Krystyna harrumphed.

"He's the sharpest guy I've ever met, he's absolutely adorable, and he's so sweet," Krystyna sighed dreamily. Marlena raised her eyebrows. "He's the best. He gets along with all of my friends. He's just so... perfect."

"Hm... well, that's not one of your wisest choices, but I can't run your life," Marlena said wearily, standing up and stretching. "I'll be inside if you need me. 'Night, Krystyna."

She meandered away, a little trail in the snow following her footsteps. Krystyna said nothing, but lay back down again. It was, after all, the normal routine for her. Andrew had only laughed at her, being that he is a boy.

~*~

Sirius lied awake in his bed at Lily's house. It wasn't that James's loud snores were bothering him because he'd grown accustomed to not hearing them; it was just his thoughts. He wasn't that sleepy anyways. He wondered if Krystyna had already tasted the fear of pain; the back lashing shouts; the tormenting anger that was pushed against her; the Darkness.

The Darkness especially frightened Sirius, because once you go in, you can't get out. Of course, there was always a slight chance of being able to get out, but he'd never met anyone who had gotten out yet. They were always the same.

They were blank, emotions gone and life was meaningless, all lost. Their souls were cold. Their minds were vacant. Their hearts were famished. And they were too depressed even to speak. Or they were dead, lives lost because they had nothing left to live for. The pain was too much to bear and they had cried every night. He hoped that Light was still in her life. Because if there was none, he was likely to succumb to the Darkness along with her.

The Light. He'd wondered about it since he was but a child. It was just a fantasy; a story; a tall tale; a legend; a myth. His parents had smothered the Light, explaining that a Black didn't need Light. The Darkness was better for him. And he'd always been afraid of the Darkness. He was in Gryffindor, but everyone has to have a fear.

Him? It was--and always had been--the Darkness.

As it crept silently and deadly up his bedroom walls at night, he could feel it pressing against him, whispering in his ear to let go and just to give in. But he had been a fighter, too. He turned his fear into anger. It had been like that since he was a child. Never show your fear. But you have to show it somehow, so he was angry.

He was seventeen. He was no longer a child--a boy. He was a young man. But you can never outgrow some childish things. He could never outgrow his fear of the Darkness. He wasn't afraid of the dark. Those were two absolutely different things in the world. The dark was just a different lighting. It was black; he was a black. He liked the dark. It was calming and quiet--serene. The Darkness was the fear and cold that resounded in your chest. It was what pounded against you when something dreadful was taking place. It was the fear in your mind.

Deep down in his mind, he had always wished to be like James Potter. James had a loving family with caring parents that were kind and gentle and didn't abuse their power. They had ideals like him; they were brave. James was a smart guy and had always been loved by his parents. Sirius was a smart guy and had chiefly been despised by his parents. James was handsome and had never been punished so badly. Sirius was handsome and had been punished on a regular basis. James had everything. Sirius had only some things.

But he had the Light, now. He hadn't had it for so long. The Darkness was beckoning him to come and give in to it. And he had almost done it. He finally knew what the Light was. After thirteen long years of wondering what the Light was, he knew. Ever since he was four, he had wondered what it was. And now, he knew and he had it.

Friends--they were Light and he had five very great friends, and one best friend. But there was something more. Love--that was what shined the most light. He had one. And it was a Light that kept on shining. He just hoped that Krystyna knew that too.

James snored in his slumber and turned in his bed. It stirred all of Sirius's Dark Thoughts away. He sighed and looked over at James, who was in an awkward position with his mouth gaping wide open and his eyes closed. He wondered how that was comfortable. He closed his eyes and could see the dark. It calmed him down, because though he was in the dark, he was in the Light.

~*~

"... Krystyna... Krystyna... wake up, sleepy head..."

"Mm..." Krystyna grunted, rolling around in her bed. She twisted her mouth and turned around, making her back face the person who was annoying her.

"Krystyna... Krystyna... get up... get up..."

"No... Go away..." she mumbled.

"What's up, Lucius!"

"What?!" Krystyna screamed, jolting up in her bed and pulling her comforter up against her chest more, as if covering herself up. She looked over and saw Andrew laughing loudly, holding his stomach and bending over.

"Ah, yeah, that was great!" he guffawed. She grinned evilly. She grabbed the front of his Muggle beanie hat that his friend had given him and pulled it down over his face and pushed him lightly. Being that he was clumsy, he fumbled backward and hit her large oak drawer. He fell down and something on the drawer fell down to a crash.

"Hey, hey, no fair!" Andrew's muffled voice said angrily. Krystyna pulled the cover off of her and stood up off of her bed.

"It's fair because you're my little brother," Krystyna replied sweetly as she picked up the remnants of her broken jewelry box that she'd never used. Andrew pulled the beanie off of his face and stood up.

"No rough housing in the house--period!" their mother called from downstairs in the kitchen, ordering the house-elves to put breakfast on the table faster most likely.

"Typical--a typical mother and a typical sister," Andrew muttered as he rubbed the back of his head.

"You didn't even hit your head," Krystyna told him. He stopped and tried to look innocent. "Alright, out of my room; I have to get dressed!"

"You'd think I'd get the picture after sixteen years of living with you," Andrew said jokingly.

"Try twelve years; you didn't pick up the habit of annoying me until you were four," Krystyna replied. "Now, out of my room!" She shoved him out of her door and slammed it shut. She sighed, shook her head, and walked over to her closet. Home, sweet, home...

~*~

When Krystyna entered the dining room, she immediately smelled the eggs, pancakes, bacon, sausage, and biscuits with the gravy. It was an assortment of food, larger than usual, but they had an assortment of guests, more than usual. Much of her entire family was sitting at the table, talking to each other formally. Krystyna watched as a gray house-elf named Ashy scuttle by her legs to hand William a cup of hot coffee. He took it with a quick smile, but no thank you as he carefully took it out of Ashy's thin hands. Ashy ran off quickly.

Krystyna sat down in her seat and watched as Ashy ran back into the kitchen. Marlena made eye contact with her, but did not smile. Krystyna knew that she was still reeling from last night's conversation. Her mother looked up at her and a smile jumped on her face immediately. Krystyna knew to frown when her mother smiled at her like that. She got out of her seat quickly.

"Andrew, Krystyna, I have something essential to tell you," her mother said softly yet excitedly. Andrew looked up at his mother.

"You me we af oo ge uh?" Andrew whined with half a biscuit crammed in his mouth and the other half in his right hand.

"Andrew, I told you not to eat yet, and you're talking with your mouth full again!" Mrs. Melanie scolded angrily. She swatted the half biscuit out of his hand and it fell onto his plate.

"Ah, mum caw oh," Andrew said with his mouth still full of a biscuit. She gave him a certain look and he swallowed it down.

"You are a sixteen year-old young man," his mother scolded him. "At least behave like it in front of your family if not everyone else."

"Whatever..." he muttered.

"C'mon, uppity atoms," Mrs. Melanie said sternly. Krystyna slowly got up from her seat and trudged into the living room with Andrew following behind her. Mrs. Melanie shut the door behind them and walked to a chair. Krystyna collapsed onto a couch and Andrew plopped onto the other.

"I have wonderful news," Mrs. Melanie told them brightly.

"We're getting a year's supply of chocolate frogs?" Andrew asked hopefully.

"You're not going to kill me when I tell you something extremely important to me?" Krystyna inquired, rather jokingly.

"The Malfoys have cordially invited us over for a Christmas dinner!" Mrs. Melanie exclaimed, choosing to ignore her children's queries. Her smile broadened when she looked at Krystyna, who rolled her eyes. Andrew blew a soft raspberry.

"Woop-di-doo," he murmured dully. "If that's it, can I go back into the kitchen to eat?" Mrs. Melanie gave him that look again and he lost all hope of doing so.

"No, you may not yet, young man," she snapped. She smiled again. "As I was saying, we're going over there tomorrow night, Christmas Eve, so we need to bring a few gifts, of course. And we're going shopping for some dress robes today!" Andrew stuck his tongue out; he didn't like shopping very much. It bored him.

"Wow, I'm getting new dress robes; isn't that a first since I started Hogwarts," Krystyna blurted out sardonically. She wasn't feeling like holding in her true thoughts in the morning. She never did feel like being very polite in the morning. Obviously, her mother had thought that if she told her the "good" news in the morning, she would be excited, but it had backfired, as usual. Her mother frowned at her.

"Don't you speak to me like that, missy!" Mrs. Melanie scolded with a scowl on her face. "You could've had plenty of dress robes, but you carry on associating with that Mudblood witch at your school!"

Krystyna was tired of hearing everyone call Lily such a horrid name. She jumped to her feet angrily and glared at her mother. Andrew sat up straight on the couch in surprise. He'd never seen Krystyna react to quickly and angrily with their mother; just their father.

"It's Muggle-born witch, mum!" Krystyna growled spitefully. "Muggle-born witch! And I'm sorry that I set friendship above acting like a stupid, conceited nark."

She turned on her heels rapidly and turned around to walk right out of the living room. Right now, she was not in the mood for arguments, but they always started one up--always. She'd sneak out with a few things to eat before her mother could stop her, but she might not be that lucky if her mother started yelling at her; they'd hear.

"What did you just say?" her mother hissed. Krystyna stopped and turned around.

"I think you know, unless you've lost your ears or gone deaf, which I wouldn't doubt you have since you obviously can't hear that I'm always going to be friends with Lily and that I'm never--ever--going to marry that idiot Malfoy!" Krystyna shouted, slowly raising her volume with every word she said. Her mother was red in the face and Andrew was wondering if he should get out of the room before his mother exploded on his sister. He stood up.

"Sit back down, Andrew Dante Melanie!" Mrs. Melanie shouted at him, calling by his full name. She only called them by their full names when she was really irritated, and she was more than just irate at the moment; she was furious. Krystyna seemed the same. Reluctantly, Andrew sat back down on the couch, bracing himself for anything.

"Krystyna Mercedes Cassandra Melanie, you are going to the Malfoys' residence with us; you are going to be polite and formal; you are going to sit beside Lucius Malfoy; you are going to keep that temper of yours down; and you are going to like it!" Mrs. Melanie yelled at her. She didn't even flinch and continued to glare at her mother.

"I'll do it, but I won't like it," Krystyna taunted. She suddenly smiled. "Hey, I should look on the bright side, though. My friend will be there too."

"Who is that?" Mrs. Melanie questioned. "Obviously not the Mudblood."

"She's a Muggle-born witch, mum!" Krystyna corrected spitefully. "Lorena Fawcett, Malfoy's cousin, she's staying there. Well, at least I'll get to see her. Ta-ta, mum."

She turned around quickly and walked out. Before her father could stop her, she snatched two biscuits and a piece of bacon. She scrambled up the stairs quickly before anyone could say anything to her.