F A M I L Y{MEETING}-- by.the.lake

[Nikita Snape]

The sky was pitched black, and so was the Black Lake. The sky was lighted up though, by thousands of silver stars, and the silver reflected moonlight. This was the way that Nikita liked it. She liked darkness. It made her feel at home. She didn't know why though. Darkness just comforted her. She wasn't scared to be in the dark, like some five year old. She wasn't scared of anything for that matter. Just the DE losing. Which in her mind would NEVER happen.

Nikita's skin looked very pale, from the light of the moon, and stars. You would be able to notice that someone was down there if you looked at the black Lake from Hogwarts' Tower. Nikita didn't really like this feeling, the feeling that someone could be watching her. The feeling that someone could see her. She didn't want someone to come down to the Black Lake, and ruin her peacefullness.

Nikita was laying on her back counting the thousands of stars in the dark, but lighted up sky. Once she finished counting all of them (she thought), she sat up and looked at the Black Lake. She couldn't really see anything though. She could hear the Black Lake though. She heard the swishing noise it made as tiny waves clashed against eachother...it started making her sleepy. Nikita could have fallen asleep right there, in that spot, if she would have let herself. Also if someone wouldn't have interrupted her...

[Rosie Lupin]

And inky black pervaded even the farthest reaches of the grounds. It was a black so dark that at times, Rosie tripped over her own feet in the darkness. She'd never liked the dark. Something about it just gave her the chills. Well, it wasn't the dark itself that scared her, but the things that could be lurking behind any bush, tree, or rock. In fact, Rosie was scared out of her mind.

The only thing that kept her from going insane was the fact that she'd rather not be inside at the moment, as someone would catch her in the corridors. And she didn't want to be in the Common Room, because there was no one there, and that was even creepier than darkness. Her dormitory wouldn't work, as she wasn't in the least bit tired. Teddy had fallen asleep, as usual, the same as Zane, James, and the rest of her Gryffindor friends, so she couldn't sneak out with anyone. Of course, she wasn't supposed to travel out of the Common Room by herself, according to Teddy, because Death Eaters could be around any corner. But she had the Marauder's map, which she had yet to give back to James after her excursion to the kitchens a few nights back.

Her wand was lit at the tip, to help her see the map better. In the middle of the Grounds was a tiny black dot labeled Rosie Weasley. Not far from this dot was another one, which the dot labeled with Rosie's name was heading towards right now. The dot was labeled Nikita Snape, and was at the edge of the lake. The thought of another human being, no matter how hostile, was rather appealing at the moment, and so Rosie made her way towards Nikita.

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[Nikita Snape]

Nikita edged herself closer to the water, letting her feet touch the icy water. She had taken off her black flats a little while ago, and had no idea how she would find them. Nikita wiggled her toes in the water, and leaned back on her arms. She leaned her head back, and looked at the sky. She thought about her father. He seemed like such an amazing man to her. The reason he died irked her, and the worst part was that Voldemort had ordered his snake to kill him. She could almost see the whole vision inside of her head; He dad in the Shrieking Shack where Voldemort had ordered him to be. Voldemort ordering his snake to kill him. The snake slithering to her father, and biting his neck fiercely. Her father on the ground writhing in pain. Dying a slow, and painful death.

Nikita wouldn't cry over her dad anymore. She was too strong to cry, now. She didn't blame Voldemort for killing her father, she just admired Voldemort even more. Nikita cleared her head about her father and leaned her head back to look at the unseen Black Lake.

[Rosie Lupin]

As Rosie neared the Lake, she spotted the silhouette of her cousin, Nikita, along the lakeshore. The girl was rather pale agains the blackness of the water, and her dark, ebony hair didn't make the matter any better. In fact, it looked almost as if her skin was glowing, which was quite strange, as it obviously wasn't. Rosie supposed it was simply a trick of the light.

As she neared the shrubbery on the outskirts of the lake, tapping the Marauder's Map muttering, "Mischief managed." Immediately the parchment went blank and she stowed that and her wand in the back pocket of her jeans. Making her way through the dense bushes, she pushed her way to the edge of the lakeshore and then sat down next to her cousin. "'Evening, Nikita," she greeted her dark-haired companion, "What brings you here?"

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[Nikita Snape]

Nikita heard rustling inthe bush, behind her. She turned to see her cousin, Rosie emerge from them. She looked destressed, and scared. She was probably scared of the dark. Nikita watched Rosie as she walked toward her. Nikita's pale blue eyes striking in the light. Rosie sat down next to Nikita, while Nikita was still staring at her. Nikita listened to Rosie say, Evening Nikita, what brings you here?" Nikita replied to Rosie slowly, "I always come down here. This place sooths me. You know, being around water, and darkness. It makes me feel peaceful inside. It also reminds me of my father, for some odd reason." Nikita didn't know why darkness did this to here though. It just did. Nikita asked Rosie the same question, "What brings you down here? Especially at night... you hate the darkness, I should know. Also...why are you alone?" Nikita cocked her head to the side, and smiled evily at Rosie. No Nikita wasn't planning anything, but the thought in her head just made her smile evily... like she was planning something.

[Rosie Lupin]

Rosie listened to her cousin's reply. "Well, your father did come down here a lot when he was in school. Perhaps that's why," she answered the Slytherin girl thoughtfully. It was true. When he'd been in school, Severus Snape had often come down to the lake, but had often been sabotaged by James Potter or another one of the the Marauder's Gang. Rosie often felt sorry for her late uncle. He'd been such a troubled man, and so taunted by those who despised him.

"Ted and Zane are both asleep," Rosie said, speaking of her two best friends, "And I needed some fresh air. It's rather stuffy in the Gryffindor Common Room." Especially with the awful fire that was always burning. For some reason, house elves tended more to the Gryffindor Common Room than the others, and, as such, theirs was always spotless and had a roaring fire in the hearth. Perhaps it was the fact that Gryffindors were the only ones who were actually nice to the house elves in these dark days. Slytherins treated them like shit, while Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws were indifferent.

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[Nikita Snape]

Nikita listened to Rosie. She didn't say anything after Rosie had finished though. She didn't know what to say. She just sat there looking into the unseen Black Lake. Her feet felt cooler than the rest of her body. she wished she could dive into the Lake, but she wasn't going to. She just imagined herself doing just that.

[Rosie Lupin]

A comfortable silence reigned after Rosie's last words. She knew the Slytherin girl didn't exactly like talking to her, but if she wanted to, she could just leave, right? Noticing her cousin's feet in the lake, she turned to her grinning and asking, "You wanna go swimming?" She'd gone swimming with her cousin, Victoire a few weeks previously, on the day before the ball. It's been quite nice in the lake, even it was a tad scary.

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[Nikita Snape]

Nikita cocked her head to the side looking at the Lake, with a small smile growing on her face. She didn't normally hang out with her cousin, but Nikita really wanted to go swimming. It was as if Rosie had read Nikita's mind. "Yeah, let's do it." Nikita said, turning to look at Rosie. she got up, and brushed the dirt/sand off of her. She put her hand down in front of Rosie, in case Rosie wanted help. Nikita remembered when Rosie, and herself use to go swimming with eachother. They would jump in together holding pinkies. They use to be the best of friends. Nikita brought herself back into the present time waiting for Rosie to take her hand.

[Rosie Lupin]

Rosie smiled and grabbed her cousin's hand, letting Nikita help her up. She remembered, too, the times they'd had as young children, when they'd been close. Not as close as say, her and Teddy, but pretty close all the same. Stripping off her wool sweater and jeans, she was left, shivering in the cold in a white tank top and a pair of checkered green boxer shorts that she'd stolen from Ted. He hardly ever noticed, he had so many pairs anyways. "Ready?" she asked her cousin, holding out her pinky for the girl to take.

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[Nikita Snape]

Nikita curled her pinky around Rosie's. She now had only her black sports bra on, and a pair of her black lace panties. Nikita looked at Rosie and said, "Ready." She confirmed. Nikita ran into the water with Rosie nipping at her heels. Then the sand dropped off and they jumped as high as possible, reaching for the stars above.

Nikita was instantly surounded by icy Lake water. Nikita's pinky was still wrapped around Rosie's though. Nikita swam back to the top to grasp a breath of air, pulling Rosie along with her.

[Rosie Lupin]

As the two of them jumped off the edge of the lake, Rosie could've sworn that they froze for a moment as they hung in the air, suspended over the murky water below. Everything was silent for a moment before they crashed into the lake, their splashes making a hellova lotta racket around the lake. Rosie could feel Nikita pull her up out of the water, the girl's pinky feeling warm against Rosie's own. As Rosie's head broke the surface, she had to flip a curtain of dark auburn hair out of her eyes, the water making it heavy and turning it a blackish shade.

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[Nikita Snape]

Nikita gasped, as she felt the cold air form around her face. She looked over at Rosie, whose head pooped up, a second later, out of the water. She smiled at her, looking stunned by how cold the water was. Nikita didn't care though, she just wanted to swim. Nikita released her hold on Rosie's pinky, and floated on the suface of the water, on her back. She looked at the thousands of stars above. Then she let herself, go in the water once more. She leaned her head back to get her hair wet. She looked at Rosie again, and said, "This water feels really good, doesn't it Rosie?" She asked her cousin curiously about her opinion.

[Rosie Lupin]

Rosie smiled, treading water carefully, keeping her head above the water, chin just barely grazing the water. The cool of the liquid felt good on her skin, so she kept the better part of her body underneath it. Besides, the breeze was quite color, now that her head was wet. "Better than good. Amazzzingggg," she said, sighing and closing her eyes, letting her feet float up to the surface and lying on her back like Nikita.

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[Nikita Snape]

Nikita smiled at Rosie, and looked up at the stars, once again. "Do you miss it? You know, just being a little kid, with no expectations, and just having... fun?" Nikita asked her cousin carefully. Nikita sure missed it. She had no expectations from her mother. Her mom just wanted her to have fun. Well, that was when Nikita didn't know who her father was. Then Nikita set her own goals, and expectations. She loved having no expectations for herself though. Just being free, and happy. That would probably never happen again though. Nikita cleared her mind, and waited for Rosie to reply.