A Splinched Soul

A Splinched Soul

Prologue

The usual bustle in and around the Burrow had died down, if only for a short while. Almost everyone who regularly either inhabited or hid in the Weasley residence was off doing whatever exciting and dangerous task to which they were assigned. This fact, above all, made Audrey Beauvais feel beyond useless and pathetic. She was unhurt, rested, well fed, and bored. As an exceptionally powerful and completely able witch, she knew full well what needed to be done, and could not understand how she had ended up in the one position she had always sought to avoid. She was practically a fully fledged Auror by now, though not officially, and should be out progressing the resistance or at least be responsible for something. She repeated this aloud to herself for about the fiftieth time that day as she sat at the edge of a couch and stared at the comfortable clutter around her.

Audrey should be nearly a year and a half into her training by now, but had been forced to drop out in less than a year. The Ministry of Magic was well past being corrupted, and was now for all intents and purposes run by Lord Voldemort. Being a novice in the Auror department was not a good place to be as ministry officials and Death Eaters became synonymous. Audrey was beyond lucky to be surrounded by so many Aurors willing to help her train the correct way and learn everything that was required. She spent most of her time now with Nymphadora Tonks, the only other female Auror, and by chance an exceptionally kind witch. These lessons were not taken for granted. She knew no one really had time to teach her, so she dedicated herself completely to learning all she could on her own. She picked up on everything quickly, by both ability, and a need to be prepared for whatever may come. She was a brilliant witch, receiving a satisfying row of O's broken by only a few E's on both her OWL's and her NEWT's. This only fueled her anger as to why she was asked simply to "wait here."

The only other people in the Burrow at the moment were Fred, George, and Ginny, who were also less than happy about being left behind. Unlike them, she was unwilling to voice her frustration, as it had been Molly who asked her to stay behind, and she was willing to do anything for Molly. As these thoughts whizzed through Audrey's mind she stopped and thought for a moment about Fred and George. They had always been her best friends, since an eventful shared detention in their first year. She shook her head slightly thinking of how young the two of them looked in that memory and how different they looked now. At nineteen, they stood well above six feet, both with that sort of Quidditch body that drove girls insane. They had smooth, handsome features, bright smiles, and thick red hair. Audrey laughed aloud. She couldn't help but find them attractive, and she was one of the few who could easily tell them apart. Her stomach dropped as she remembered that it was now not difficult at all to decipher between the twins, as one of George's ears was clearly absent. She loved them both fiercely and remembered the heart-wrenching, numb sensation throughout her body at the sight of a blood-drenched George. She ran her fingers through her loose curls and tried not to remember that night.

Their friendship had strengthened still in the last year into the sort of bond that develops during times of war and crisis, when lives become so much more valuable. She basically lived at the Burrow, as she had done most of her life, and had almost never been separated from Fred and George. She owed so much to Molly and Arthur for taking her in on countless holidays and even summers. Of course Audrey was well of age by now and had her own apartment in Diagon Alley. She lived about five minutes walking distance from Fred and George's shop, and of course it had been planned this way. Since her seventh year, she had spent more time living with the Weasleys either in the Burrow or at Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place than in any residence of her own.

Audrey shifted slightly on the couch, feeling uncomfortable that the house had been so empty for so long. The usual overpopulation and excitement in the Burrow, with various witches and wizards arriving wounded or bringing terrible news, usually made Audrey feel like she just didn't want to hear about it. But now that all was calm, the silence made her jumpy and nervous. She could only imagine where Harry, Ron, and Hermione possibly were, and if the poor students left at Hogwarts would make it through a single year of being treated so cruelly. This got her started, and she began to worry about everyone she knew in turn. A panicked feeling made her jump up and pace around the room, yearning for news of Remus and Tonks, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Bill and Fleur, or Charlie, or Kingsley, or anyone at all for that manner. Remus had it worse than most of them, as he was currently living among the most wild and uncivilized of the werewolves, trying to learn news or some potential plans of the Death Eaters. Tonks was supposed to be with her parents and little Teddy right now, but like Audrey, Tonks needed to be in the middle of everything, so it was always hard to tell where she was. Molly, Arthur, and Charlie were with Bill and Fleur at their cottage and they never really knew where Kingsley would be.

It was only then that Audrey realized she was now practically running in circles and that Fred was standing in a doorway watching her. Neither George nor Ginny were with him, a fact which made her heart beat considerably faster. The two of them had had a completely ridiculous and entirely unofficial romance for years now. Neither of them had ever discussed it, with each other or even George. Audrey had stopped suddenly and was now very dizzy, trying to think this over in her head. Even if she decided to tell someone about it, she had no idea what she would say. There was really nothing to tell and there was no word or description for their relationship. It was inconsistent and sometimes whole years past without an occurrence. Audrey could not even remember the first time he had kissed her or why they sometimes held hands when they were alone. For whatever reason, she had never even considered objecting to these suddenly intimate moments, even though she knew some had occurred during her three year relationship with Oliver Wood. What was it about Quidditch players? They were completely irresistible. This thought brought her back to where she was and the ex-beater leaning against a wall, watching her with a knowing smile.