Letters By Night

Chapter 6: Andrew's Dark Side

Alanna was worried less about Nox than about Andrew. Nox was funny, in his own sort of twisted way, but Andrew...he seemed the type to do drastic things if he couldn't have what he wanted. Nevertheless, she tried to act as though nothing had changed.

"So describe him again."

"We've been over this a hundred times, Phoebe." Alanna glared over her glasses, test papers in her hands, as the late afternoon sunlight streamed through the Astronomy classroom's open window.

"Well--"

"Well nothing." Alanna sighed reluctantly as Phoebe pretended to pout. "Erm...okay...eloquent, but not poetic...evasive...able to go places unnoticed."

"Physical characteristics?" asked Phoebe, scribbling on some parchment at an empty desk.

"All I saw were his hands. Long, artistic fingers...Oh, yeah, he has an unusually deep voice."

"Got it," she answered, finishing off the notes with a flourish.

"Any ideas?" Alanna said, marking a 100 in red ink at the top of Hermione Granger's paper.

Phoebe sat back and stared at the ceiling. "Well, we know it's not Andrew..."

"Obviously not."

"Professor Lucas?"

"Ew, that pervert?" Alanna mused. "Can't mark him off the list, though. Not many clues, are there?"

Phoebe suddenly started giggling madly.

Alanna raised her eyebrows. "What?"

"I know one person we can mark off!" she said.

"Who?"

Still laughing, she managed, "Snape."

Alanna burst into laughter herself, despite her situation. "Whew, glad it's not him."

Phoebe looked at her very seriously. "Can you imagine if Snape were in love? Dear Luvvie-kins, meet me in the dungeons for a little tête-à -tête."

The mental image set off their laughter again.

It was strange, Alanna thought, how Andrew seemed to be everywhere lately. She had more or less ignored him all year, and now he seemed to pop up in unexpected places; but this day, it was at dinner. She tried not to look at him, as he shot death-glares at her down the table - something that caught the notice of the sallow-skinned Potions teacher sitting next to her.

"Had a row with your boyfriend?" scoffed Snape.

Alanna scowled. "He's not my boyfriend. And it's none of your business besides."

"Broke your heart, did he?" Snape asked quietly, trying to provoke her anger. His black eyes glittered.

"Get stuffed," Alanna spat.

He smiled a twisted smile. "I won."

Alanna made an irritated noise but resolved not to debate.

There was a letter waiting for her when she returned. It read:

Alanna,

My "evasiveness", as you say, seems to fluster you. You possess a strange beauty that throws my thoughts and my sense of reason into chaos. I say nothing because I think nothing - Darkness is best. Third floor corridor, same time.

Nox

Gee, that explains it, thought Alanna sarcastically. No, it did kind of explain it. Maybe he was a vampire. Alanna laughed, remembering her previous conversation with Phoebe. Or maybe he just wasn't a morning person. In any case, it would serve to get her mind off of Andrew, and that was definitely a good thing.

Alanna prowled the corridor, walking softly on the stone floor. She felt vaguely like she was breaking the rules, as if she was a student again, but she didn't suppose there was any sort of curfew for teachers. All the same, she'd rather not face the wrath of the demented caretaker Filch, and so, slowly, silently, she made her way to the third floor corridor.

He was already there, judging by the fact that all the torches were out - and the fact that she stumbled into him in the darkness.

"Good thing your name's not Grace," he said, sounding as though he were rolling his eyes.

"You could've at least left the torches on," she muttered, squinting her eyes to get used to the light, or lack of it rather.

"My letter, my rules."

"You have no respect, you know that? Where'd you learn that this is the proper way to court a lady?"

"Like I said, I make my own rules."

"Would've been better off with Nosferatu," she said under her breath.

He laughed, then said nonchalantly, "So, have any idea who I am yet?"

"Could you be any more self-absorbed?"

"Maybe."

Alanna sighed. "No, we don't know, we're still working on it."

There was a moment of silence. "We?"

"Phoebe and I."

"You told someone?" he hissed suddenly.

"Well...er...yeah," she said, backing away.

He sighed in exasperation. "Don't tell anyone else." He was quiet for a minute. "I have to go," he finished, and embraced her in warm, strong arms, and left so quickly she didn't even have time to discern his shadow.

Shrugging to herself, Alanna left the corridor and proceeded to the Astronomy Tower. What a strange man.

She hadn't got very far when she heard footsteps in the corridor. She stood still, listening, waiting to hear Mrs. Norris's meow - it still made her shiver. The footsteps grew nearer; they were hurried, uncalculated. A silent hand slammed her roughly into the stone wall.

"Your dark little friend isn't here to protect you, is he? I'd have thought he'd watch you a bit more closely."

It was Andrew. Alanna's eyes grew wide at the violence in his voice, her heart beating rapidly. What he was thinking, she didn't want to find out. "Andrew, don't..." He silenced her with a tug on the collar of her robes, and she knew he'd shut off her breathing without hesitation.

He leaned over and whispered in her ear, so close she could feel his breath, hot on her skin. "If I can't have you, then no one can."

"Andrew, stop it!" She struggled, hoping someone would hear her. "Let me go!"

He tightened his grip on her collar, and her head began to spin...but suddenly, she felt someone prising Andrew off, and she distantly heard him being shoved forcefully against the opposite wall. She began to breathe air again, sweet, merciful air, and she heard someone say vehemently, "Stay away from her."

Andrew's footsteps retreated hurriedly down the corridor. "Th - thank you," she told whoever had saved her.

"You owe me one."

She blinked in the darkness. At a loss for words, she watched as Snape sort of sneered scornfully down his hooked nose, then he spun on his heel and swept off down the hall.