Prologue
10 years ago…
At the age of five years old Aquila Black sat on a high stool deep within the Ministry of Magic, with her beady eyes watching a strange man in a green bowler hat pace backwards and forwards in front of her. She had no idea where she was, and longed to go back to the warm, friendly children's home where Mr Rabbit and his detached, soggy, thread barn ear were sitting on her bed waiting for her return. She was sitting in a gloomy stone office with a roaring fire set back into a hansom mantelpiece, which seemed to only cast light onto a small section of the room. There where candles hovering in mid-air illuminating the face of the brooding man, and a smell of fustiness. The office she was sitting in seemed to bear no windows, giving off the odd feeling of a dungeon which had simply been smartly dressed with a decretive rug, funny paintings that seemed to glair down at Aquila and a hansom dark wooden desk.
The strange man with the green bowler hat suddenly stopped, abruptly turning to one of the dark corner of the office randomly. "So what do you think Albus? I mean … are we doing the right thing!" He said his voice nothing more than a whisper, as his eyes searching the darkness. An old man with a long silver beard and moon shaped glasses, emerged from the corn standing up from the arm chair he was sitting in, and slowly with a meaningful look swiftly walked over to where Aquila was cowering, carefully examining her small young, innocent face.
"Indeed I do think it is the right move Cornelius. She is quite vulnerable in this stage of her fragile life, and can be easily influenced. I think she is in ding need of a new family, who will not jug her on the mistakes her father has made." Albus said turning his back to Aquila to face Cornelius who looked slightly taken aback.
"Mistake? You're putting it rather lightly." Cornelius scoffed. "He was in league with
You-Know-Who and betrayed the Potters. He murdered an innocent friend and many muggles in broad day light! He's a mad man! After he killed Pettigrew he just laughed! I'll never forget that crater he left in the street, gigantic it was, oh horrid, horrible stuff…" He suddenly stopped, his eyes widening in horror as a thought came to mind.
"What if she tunes out like him … Do you think we're going to have to keep an eye on her?" Cornelius Fudge was now pacing round his desk in circles totally unaware of his actions.
"Like I said before Cornelius, at this age she can be easily influenced. If she goes to the right family I doubt she will turn out like her father. The only thing we should be keeping an eye on her for are unusual events."
"And what do you mean by that?"
Fudge by this point was pouring himself a rather generous amount of scarlet liquid into a large glass. Today's events had simply been too much for him to handle, and he just wanted to go home. The Witch Weekly had printing out a ludicrous article that very morning, claiming that he was a squib pretending to be a wizard which had coursed quite a stir among the gullible devoted readers. Then there was the magic carpet banning, and the outcry that had followed. It had to be done. There had been too many muggle sightings, and arguments over weather brooms had right of way and numerous other petty things. And then there was this mess. It had been eating away at Fudges insides all day.
Albus smiled to himself oblivious to the worries that bore on Cornelius mind, with his youthful blue eyes glittering in the candle light behind his moon shaped glasses.
"Like you said in this very room three years ago when we first heard the news. She was only two when it happened, how could she of remembered anything that night?" Fudge simply glanced at Albus in acknowledgment before silence gazing into the fire. Albus turned back round to Aquila who was looking at him in bewilderment. "Do you know where you are Aquila?" He asked giving her a warm smile, crouching down to her level. She shuck her head, her bottom lip suddenly quivering. Why was this strange man suddenly talking to her?
"And do you still remember?" Aquila looked up into his blue eyes, her own filling with tears as her mind recalled that dreadful night. Tears ran down her pink cheeks and fell into her lap.
"Where's my mummy? What … what did she do to my mummy?" She whimpered.
There was a sudden knock at the door which caused Fudge to come out of his trance. He swerved round tapping the glass with the end of his wand, emptying the contents, before pointing his wand at the door. The door flew open to reveal a huddle of people who shuffled into to the gloomy room. One of them was a woman with long brown curly hair, another one was a man with a big belly, and the smallest was a girl with bubble gum pink hair. They all stood in the centre of the room looking rather awkward. Aquila at this sudden increase of people stopped her crying, and suddenly became more interested in her lap sniffing loudly. The three people sat themselves down in armchairs that appeared with the flick of Fudges wand, all sharing the same grave expression.
"Dumbledore," Whispered the woman with brown curly hair. "Is it true? I only just heard the news, but, does she really remember my sister and her mother?" Her face was full of motherly concern. Albus was about to answer but was cut off by a sudden screech, and a clatter as Aquila jumped off the stool and ran into the darkest corner of the room staring at the woman in fear. Everyone looked at each other at her sudden strange behaviour except for Dumbledore who simple followed her calmly. "What's wrong?" He whispered.
"Her." She pointed at the woman in the chair, whose eyes widened in surprise. "What did she do to my mummy?" Aquila quivered. The woman suddenly turned slightly pail biting her bottom lip.
Dumbledore shuck his head, his silver beard simmering in the fire light like silver spun silk. "No, that is not her. It was another woman Mrs Tonks sister."
"Who's locked away thankfully." Muttered Fudge.
"Andromeda Tonks didn't kill your mother." Aquila looked at Dumbledore soft smiling face before leaning to the side to see the four faces staring at her. Andromeda Tonks gave her a little smile which Aquila returned feebly.
Dumbledore, with quite a lot of encouragement guided Aquila to a seat that appeared from the tip of his wand, and sat back down in the arm chair he had been previously sitting in, resting his elbows on the arms and tapping the tips of his fingers together.
They sat in silence for a while until there was another knock at the door. The Tonks family sheared looks of confusion, not realising that anyone else would be joining them tonight. Their faces suddenly changed as the door opened, filling with loathsome grimace. Andormeda Tonks looked outraged and stood up as a woman with long blonde hair entered the room.
"No! You cannot be seriously considering letting my sister look after Aquila Dumbledore!"
"Nacrissa Malfoy, as well as yourself Andormeda, are the only living relatives that are fit to care for Aquila at the present. That is the purpose of this get together." He replied simply with a stern calm tone.
"Yes Andormeda dear so sit down and don't get yourself in such a fluster." Spoke Nacrissa with a patronising smirk and a slick cold voice. Andormeda Tonks held her ground glaring at her sister who glared back with icy cold eyes. Neither Nacrissa nor Andormeda sour eye to eye, and would rather die before admitting they were related to one another in anyway. Fudge could already tell he was in for a long night.
"You always we're stubborn Andormeda." Sighed Nacrissa as she shut the door behind her. "Especially when you were advised not to marry this man. Look where it got you." The tension in the room was so thick Fudge thought he might drown in it at any moment. Before there was any more exchanging of words he gave a small cough to reminding the two women of his presents. Andormeda Tonks reluctantly sat herself back down averting her eyes away from her sister as her husband patted her knee soothingly, and Nacrissa Malfoy flicking her wand to produce a seventh chair, placing it as far away from the Tonks family as possible.
"Will Mr Malfoy not be joining us?" Inquired Fudge in a light tone.
"Oh no Lucius is a little busy at the moment looking after our son Draco, and a few other things. Yet again Minister I must say we are eternally grateful for your understanding, and kindness. Why, to this very day Lucius is still traumatized by his ordeal of being in-prisoned under the imperius curse. It was such a horrific time." She said shaking her head back and forth with a solemn expression
"Yes, yes of course Mrs Malfoy of course, now shall begin?" Said Fudge seating himself down in his chair prepared for a long night ahead.
A/N - Okay so this story has been collecting durst on this site for about a year or so, and seen as it's the summer holidays and I'm slowly running out of things to keep me occupied, I've decided to try again. Originally I only had three chapters uploaded, and to be perfectly honest I thought they were terrible. I've deleted two of them, (they're not want I want, the direction they were taking this story in was all wrong) and I've tried to edit this one (my spelling was, and still is pretty horrific so please excuse me.) Hopefully I won't lose motivation like I did last time and finally get somewhere. I have it all in my head it's just processing it, and writing it down so other people can understand it.