The Yule Ball [Part 2]
After a while, Skull pulled away as the song took a more partying theme.
”Come on, we have something to do,” Skull whispered.
”Oh?” Reborn asked. “And what could that be?”
Skull dragged Reborn towards the gardens.
”...Rita Skeeter,” he said shortly.
”Who?” Reborn asked.
”...a witch I hate. She’s a journalist under the Daily Prophet. Spins tails so high that they go into space. She’s ruined hundreds with her lies, and sent more spiralling into despair.”
”...you speak from experience?” Reborn asked darkly and Skull faltered. After all this time, he’d forgotten that Reborn was the best of the best, and picked up even the smallest hints that he’d never meant to give.
”...yes. She wrote an article on me called ‘the treacherous deeds of the son of Alphard Black. She’s here somewhere. She’s got to be.”
”Where would she be? And how could she have gotten in?”
”She’s an animagus. Never got to prove it, because I was on the run, but she is one. A bug to be precise, that’s how she gets all her scoops. Quick- hide!”
The two ducked behind a bush as Hagrid and Maxime came into view. Out of the corner of his eye, Skull saw the bush opposite them rustle, and saw two familiar faces through the leaves. Ron and Harry, it seemed, had unintentionally barged into this talk.
Skull’s eyes narrowed suddenly as Harry’s gaze was fixated on a rather large bug. It seemed Skeeter was here, then. Skull listened silently to Hagrid and Maxime’s conversation, and his dread started to grow. Then, as Maxime stormed off and Hagrid looked after her, crestfallen, before he too left, Skull lunged forward towards the student’s bush.
The two boys gave a yell of surprise, but Skull ignored them for the time being of snatching the bug out of the air. He grinned.
”Gotcha,” he said, and Reborn came out of the bush slowly, peering over his shoulder.
”P-Professor?!” Harry said, blinking rather furiously.
”Yup, hey kiddo. Wassup?” Skull asked.
”...the bug...” Ron said.
”Oh!” Skull said, looking at his closed fist and shaking it violently. “Not a bug! Rita Skeeter! Let’s go find Dumbledore!”
Harry and Ron blinked as Skull sped away, Reborn merely sighed in fond exasperation and followed his cute little Lackey.
INSIDE THE HALL...
The doors suddenly slammed open and Skull came in with a large grin.
”Hey! Professor Dumbledore! Look what I caught!”
Dumbledore looked bemused as the (not really) teenager came towards him, looking very please with himself.
”Is something wrong, Skull?” Dumbledore asked, and Skull shook his head, still grinning.
”Nope!” he said in sing-song voice. “In fact, nothing could be better! Watch, watch!”
Skull grabbed Reborn’s hand and handed him something, which Reborn held firmly. Skull then pointed his wand at the something in Reborn’s hand. Then there was a bang! and... Rita Skeeter was sitting on the floor where Reborn had dropped her. Skull grinned at Dumbledore who smiled back, then looked at Skeeter.
”Hello, Miss. Skeeter,” he said. “Fancy seeing you here.”
Skeeter looked dishevelled, and when she realised what was going on, she paled drastically.
”I- Dumbledore, this is... trust me, this isn’t what it looks like,” she said.
”Well, I think we’ll let the Ministry deal with this, shall we go inform them of what happened? After all, I’m sure you’d prefer their judgement over a ‘senile old coot’.”
Needless to say, Skull was very happy that night.
LATER THAT NIGHT...
”...Skull,” Reborn said softly as they got ready for bed.
”Hmm?” Skull asked.
”...I have a feeling I don’t know who you are really,” Reborn confessed in a low voice. “I... I like you. I really do. Whenever I look at you, I want to smuggle you away and take you somewhere away from everything. From the mafia. From this... magic. And everything that you don’t like. I want to kill everyone who hurt you. But I... I can’t stop feeling that you’re still hiding. Putting on a mask and pretending everything’s fine and nothing is wrong. I really don’t like this feeling, Skull.”
Skull was silent. Then he shifted onto his side and hugged Reborn. The two stayed like that, until Skull opened his mouth to speak.
”...sorry,” he whispered in a hollow voice. “It’s just... I’ve had this act on for so long that... I really don’t know where ‘Skull’ ends and just... ‘me’ begins. Everything... everything’s all just a big blur to me now. But, one thing is for certain, Renato. I really do like you. I like you a lot.
”...when I turned fifteen, there was a series of murders at Hogwarts. Three of them... were my friends, the others, I’d become rather close acquaintances with. At first, it wasn’t clear who’d done it. But then... see, a student swore they saw someone with purple eyes hurrying away from the murder scene. At first, the student hadn’t thought much of it, until he saw the body.
”I... was the only one with purple eyes. People began to suspect me. I said I didn’t do it. Then... then everyone around me started dying and I... I just panicked. People began to call me ‘cursed’ and I couldn’t... I just... went into despair. In sixth year, I pulled out early and did lol my work from home, with my Dad tutoring me. In seventh year, I had to go back for exams... and... the murders had stopped when I left... but when I came back, they started again. So, so I... I swore didn’t do it...
”There was a lawsuit after that. Trial, after trial, after trial. Then... I just... took things into my own hands and became my own lawyer. A bloody good one too. But... I guess... I guess I couldn’t take it. After I graduated I just... left. I didn’t leave a note behind. I didn’t tell anyone goodbye. I disappeared off the face of the earth.
”I became Skull de Mort, the immortal stuntman. Then... three years passed and I met you guys. The lot of you were really, really... different from me. You weren’t afraid. You could do everything. And I just... I just really liked being a part of your group, even if I was just the Lackey...”
There was silence, and Reborn realised Skull was crying. Tears stained Reborn’s shirt, but he found he didn’t mind. The hitman sighed and pressed a kiss to Skull’s head.
No words were spoken, but there didn’t need to be any said. Because sometimes, all you need is a shoulder to lean on, not someone to try comfort you.