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Olivia

1st Entry

The world is in a very frail state.
Even from up here, in the middle of virtually nowhere, I can tell.
It’s been snowing all week, thank god Arabella sent me this lovely journal or I would have again nothing to do. Derek is not going to like it, of course. He demanded I would cut any contact with her since the very first day we got here.
Secrecy. Secret hiding.
He is hoping the world will forget about me like it has already forgotten about many of us. Meanwhile I am forgetting myself.

2nd Entry

I feel better this morning, the sun is bright and no signs of a coming blizzard. I wrote Agnes a letter, but I did not attempt to send it, instead I put it in the “Agnes box”. She has the biggest volume of them, not only because I miss her the most, but because she is the one I truly cannot talk to. Once this is all over I hope she would have guessed the reason and forgive me for disappearing. I wonder if she has also gone into hidding, I wonder if she thinks I am already dead.
She would be faced with a difficult choice if I ever contacted her. She would have to choose between keeping my whereabouts a secret and consequently risking her life with it, or staying beside her family and condemning me.
Derek says it wouldn’t be fair to her. To force her to make such a choice. Of course. I kept quiet.

3rd Entry

Derek showed up here yesterday night. He just wanted to make sure I was not lacking anything, he said. But I can’t shake the feeling he just came to check if I was not doing “anything stupid” or “putting myself in danger”.
We argued. No surprise there. He had a cut, again. I burst with anger.
I can’t stand to sit around and do nothing anymore! People are out there, they are fighting and sacrificing themselves and their family. “This is my cause!” I shouted at him. “There is no point in you keeping me here, I am not safe! I am dying! You are killing me!”
At this point he had enough and he was out the door. I was throwing logs into the fire place with my hands scratching them furiously while on it. Time passed and when he came back the fire was burning low again.
“You don’t get it!” He said firmly, opening the door and kicking half meter of snow inside with him. I was no longer so angry but I sent him the killer look because of the mess he made with the snow anyway.
“I get it just fine.” I replied, sour.
He used a quick charm to clean the entrance and I was quite surprised he knew any charms to clean anything at all.
“I am leaving.” I had said that many times before, but this was different and he knew it, this time I was not shouting. “You can use as many spells as you like to try and keep me here, that won’t work.” I looked at the fireplace next to the old chesterfield I was sitting on. I was embarrassed by what I have said as soon as the words were out.
“I won’t do that. You are not a prisoner in this house.” He was still standing by the entrance, the room was getting dark and I couldn’t see his face clearly. “The true reason I managed to have you here this long is because you had not made up your mind about leaving, not completely. But I knew time would come…”
He stepped forward towards the bookshelf across the room. Took him three steps to get there. This is a really small mountain cottage.
“I have been thinking about ways, for you to help.” He sounded insecure, like if he was meddling with something he knew he should not. He picked up a large and heavy book. “Without having to leave.”
I think I never watched him with so much attention as I did then. I told him to cut to the chase. The book, it seemed to be a pretty uninteresting atlas but, after he opened the heavy cover and whispered “To bring harm to no one”, it showed its true content and it was actually some sort of healing potions book.
He laid the book on the low table in front of me.
“Potions. Derek…” I started without enthusiasm. I knew what this was, a decoy. Something to keep me busy. It didn’t work.
“Look before you say no just listen to me!” He said throwing himself on top of the armchair across the table. “This is important work. Whoever needs help I’ll bring them here. You take care of it from there.”
I was suddenly speechless.
“I know potions is not what you were to dedicate yourself to, but this is just to help you help them. It´s just another tool.” He bent himself over the book and flickered the pages looking for some info to prove a point.
“You would bring them here?” I still could not believe he would do as he says. I grabbed the folded blanket from the arm of the Chesterfield and covered my legs, the fire had gone off and it was getting cold.
“Lumos.”
“No, leave it, it’s okay.” He walked to the fireplace and put on a fire once again, took his time, no magic, just the muggle way.
He was wearing his Ravenclaw scarf. Thinking about Hogwarts made my heart ache, I hugged my own legs.
“Just think about what I proposed.” He said straightening himself up but not facing me. “I have to go.”
He hadn’t even taken his jacket off.
Last time he proposed I changed my name. He saved me.
I heard him close the door on his way out. That was it.

4th Entry

I couldn’t really sleep last night. This changes everything. Derek is actually willing to risk the hiding place to help people who need assistance. The war must be far worse than I imagined. I stopped believing he has been working with dragons anymore at all.
It’s been 3 months since I had any news of Black. Even if he wanted I am quite sure he would not know how to contact me, find me. I worry for him. I miss him.

5th Entry

A wounded woman showed up by the cottage entrance yesterday evening. I understand Derek sent her here. I am concerned about her health, she saw no improvments since her arrival. Fever, tremors. Her nightmares seem to get more and more vicious and no potion I make gave her a sound sleep so far. I have been trying my best but I feel terribly unqualified for this task.
She seems unable of reasonable speech...

Its been rumored that the Longbottoms have been taken. Belatrix seems to be the one dealing with it. I cannot imagine how Agnes is taking all of this. I must see Sirius...
Derek succeeded on keeping me here, I can't leave now.
I am going mad.

-

"What am I looking at?" - Said Professor Sprout, with a puzzled face. " I read about two pages of it but I still have no idea why you showed me this..."
Mcgonagall had a grief expression. "I though maybe you would have a better idea than I did."- She shaked her head nervosly. "It arrived this morning, adressed to Hogwarts headmaster."
-"Yes?" Pomona was confused, she put her herbal tea down on the table. "It reads like a wartime Diary of sorths. Its usual that this things when found are sent to Dumbledore, no?" She still did not understand why this was being showed to her specifically.
-"Yes, it's true. Dumbledore is helping tracing everyone, it has not been easy. But this one is different Pom, It mentions Sirius and Agnes Black, we know that Sirius at least was a close friend to the Potters, and the Blacks had a big role in the war. But I need you to know that this came from somewhere in Iceland."
Pomona understood finally that this was not about her, but about her daughter. She looked around, the teacher's room was empty apart from the two of them.
-"It has a hand written note inside on the hard cover, the rest seems to have been written with a enchanted quill." Macgonagal pointed out.
-"The note, can I see it?"
Minerva opened the diary's cover without saying anything else.

"In the hopes that this would explain. Forgive me Child."

Her hands shook slightely. - "Minerva, this...This couldn't be. Could it?"
- Maybe. Who knows how many children had a biggining in the life similar to Aurora's. Although it does mention Iceland, it is an unusual coincidence. We need to talk about the day you found her, anything you can remember could be decisive. This could make a big difference in Aurora's future, and we should be prepared.