> Yours Christina Norton

After the argument between Mrs Weasley and Aurelia, Harry walked back to Ron's room. He spotted his backpack near the window and pulled out a moving photograph from its side pocket. Two figures were grinning in the photograph, a beautiful girl with a round face, deep blue eyes, sharp nose and long wavy dark brown hair, and a skinny boy with green eyes, untidy hair and round glasses. Both of them were wearing the same red and gold Gryffindor Quidditch robes and both were holding brooms. The girl was laughing looking up at the camera and the boy was grinning looking at the girl. The photograph was taken at their first practice after Ginny and Chris had joined the Quidditch team. After practice, Fred and George were joking about something and Harry was a little too late to understand the joke, which made Chris laugh. Colin clicked the picture when Chris was explaining the joke to Harry while laughing.

A smile appeared at Harry's lips as he remembered the moment. Then he flipped the photograph over and the smile slipped from his face. On the backside of the photograph, there was that familiar neat handwriting.

* I'm sorry. Be careful. Be safe.

      ~C *

It was hard to pretend everything was okay when it clearly was not. The normal wedding choruses wasn't feeling normal to Harry. Everyone tried to look happy and busy but Harry knew perfectly well that's not the case. Though they didn't try to show it, everyone was feeling Christina Norton's absence. . . or Harry was feeling it too much. Every time Fleur specifically mentioned her "Two" bridesmaids, Harry remembered there was a third bridesmaid; every time Tonks abruptly stopped after calling Ginny, Harry remembered Tonks used to call "Chrissy" after Ginny; every time Fred and George talked about their best selling products, Harry remembered who invented them; every time Ginny acted all snappy, Harry remembered the reason behind her anger; every time Aurelia reported about the security of Mr Norton, Harry remembered his daughter; and every time Harry walked around the Burrow, he really really hoped to see her standing around the corner, feeding the chickens or watching the garden gnomes or the frogs in the green pond. And whenever Harry thought about going to look for Horcruxes alone, he almost heard her voice in his head, "Don't be stupid. You wouldn't be alive even for one day without Hermione, let alone finding Horcruxes. So try and stay alive, will you, Harry?"

This made Harry smile again. It was like she was still around him, even though she wasn't in front of him. The photograph was the only thing she left for him before leaving. Other than that she left her brown barn owl, Leon to Luna and her talisman with a letter for Ginny, Luna and Colin telling them why she left and why she had to go alone. Harry understood even though Ginny, Luna and Colin didn't, but that didn't mean it hurt any less.

*****

But her friends were not the only ones, who got a letter from her. There was another person Chris had sent a letter before leaving. A letter with a jewel-encrusted Dagger. However, unlike the things she left her friends which reminded them of her, this thing was for ending a relationship.

Jason Fawley,

            No, this is not a cursed letter or something else that will harm you. Though it looked like I wanted to curse you when you were running with the Death Eaters, now I am writing this with my full consciousness. First, I am returning to you the most precious family heirloom you had given me years ago. Your family's elf-made dagger. Thank you for giving it to me when I needed it. Secondly, I won't ask you why you did the things you did, because I know. I know Malgino is a manipulative bastard and he can do anything to do things in his way. But I will admit, I really am surprised that you didn't know that already and you fell for his words. You not only believed him, but you also helped him and for what? Me? You could have told me, you know? I asked you repeated times, "what's going on? What's wrong? What are you doing?" But you never replied, you just avoided me. Maybe, I didn't try enough or maybe you didn't trust me enough to tell this, which brings me to my third fact, TRUST. You know, I gave this a lot of thought. You said you loved me and maybe I loved you too, then why did we grow apart? Why you betrayed me? The answer is: We didn't trust each other. In our entire relationship, for years we never trusted each other. I didn't trust you enough to tell you what's going on in my life and you didn't tell me about yourself. Honestly, we never understood each other. We didn't realize how much different we actually are. So different that we never saw anything from each other's point of view. You always believed that it's worth to save the person you love at the cost of many others but I don't agree with you. I believe it's okay to let go of the person you love if that mean others can survive. I don't expect you to understand this. All I'm trying to say is I'm doing just fine on my own, you don't need to think about me. Because our intentions don't always justify our actions.

                       ~ Christina Norton

P.S.: Just remember one thing, if you still join them even after knowing what they have done, then I won't be very forgiving next time. You will be just one of them for me.

The letter was still stuffed in the corner of the room as it was from the moment Jason Fawley first read it and threw away. He couldn't express what he wanted or what he felt. He just lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling for hours. Then he tried to get too busy to remember that letter or anything else. Even today, he was reading a book about higher-level Transfiguration but the words were barely making its way to his brain. He was practically zoning out thinking about his future when someone knocked on the door of his room. He stretched in his bed a little more, and got a little bit more comfortable before saying, "Come in."

A woman poked her head inside the room, looked at him and stepped in. 

"Honey, do you have a minute?" she asked quietly.

Jason sharply looked at his mother. His brown eyes glint in the light as he sat up and his black hair fell on his face messily. He knew his mother spoke like this only when she had to say something, she knew he won't like. 

"What is it?" Jason asked closing the book.

"Well," Mrs Fawley hesitated before continuing, "I know you don't want to get involved anymore and you want to go to Dumstrang and not Hogwarts. . ."

"Did they refused to take me or something?" he asked.

"No, no, they wouldn't do anything like that. Your Aunt knows the headmaster it was easy but . . ." 

"But?" Jason narrowed his eyes.

"An owl came from . . . Severus Snape," Mrs Fawley looked away as Jason took a sharp breath. "He wants you to go Hogwarts."

"He has no right," Jason spoke through gritted teeth.

"He does," sighed Mrs Fawley. "He is going to be the next headmaster and You-Know-Who have given him the authority ~"

"How do you know so much?" Jason asked looking suspicious. "Are you still talking to them?"

"Of course not," his mother snapped. "It was on in Snape's letter. Jason, listen, it will be for the best. Snape saved you once, he can do it again, if you just listen to him ~"

"And write my name on their Death Eater list?" Jason spat looking away from his mother.

"No," she sounded frustrated. "Snape promised he wouldn't ask you to join anything else. In fact, our goal is to keep you away from both sides."

"Our goal? Exactly how much did Snape wrote in the letter mum?" He looked at his mother pointedly. "And how much did you write to him before?"

Mes Fawley opened her mouth then closed, then she looked angry.

"Doesn't matter. I want my son to be alive. We can't outrun them. You know very well, they are still looking for the Malfoys and Theodore. Sooner or later they will find them. I don't want the same happening to my son, so it's better if we do as we are told," she glared at her son.

"But why would they hunt me?" Jason scoffed. "I didn't betray them. I betrayed others because of them."

"I know what you did and why you did that, and so do they. So they know there is no way you won't do anything stupid for that - mudblood . . . anyway, I have had enough. You will do what you are asked to," Mrs Fawley walked towards the door then stopped. "That's my final decision, Jason. Don't disappoint me this time." 

As she stormed out of the room, Jason angrily threw the book in his hand across the room.

______________________________

To be continued. . .