Written for Hogwarts' Mythology Task: Task #1 - Zeus, God of the Sky: Write about someone who thinks they're better than everyone else, the Writing Club - Character Appreciation: Write about a fight, Amber's Attic: Phineas Nigellus Black, Book Club - Mother Abigail: (emotion) pride, (plot point) going into exile/being exiled, (word) survive, Count Your Buttons: "Breakaway" by Kelly Clarkson, Lyric Alley: I'm a little bit hurtful, A Year In Entertainment: Book: My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult - (relationship) Sisters, Library Lovers: My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult, (dialogue) "You don't love someone because they're perfect, you love them in spite of the fact that they're not.", (plot point) Family argument, (plot point) Acceptance, Play More Cards: Black Jack - write about someone from the Black Family, Lent: Only characters from one family, the Insane House Challenge: Genre - Family, the 365 Prompts Challenge: Quote - "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." - Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina.
Word count: 1430
here leaves the savior
"You're not Father, Phineas. You can't stop me."
Isla had never looked so much like their mother as she did in that moment, dark eyes blazing in righteous — if foolish — anger, and for a moment Phineas almost thought that she'd come to her senses, see how ridiculous she was being. Their mother would have — though of course their mother would never have entertained the thought of coupling with a Muggle in the first place.
A Muggle, for Salazar's sake. His sister wanted to marry a Muggle. He had always thought his sister was a bit… odd, but that had just made her more interesting to be around.
Now, however, it just made her out of her mind.
"I am the Head of this Family," Phineas finally retorted with a sneer. "I think you'll find that I can."
Isla flinched but she stood her ground nonetheless. "I will not let you do this."
She turned to Elladora, who had remained silent at Phineas' side until then, her eyes pleading.
"Ella, please. I deserve this. I deserve to love who I want."
To Phineas' pride, Elladora remained solemn. "Isla," she said, "you're part of this family. A Black. Toujours pur — this is our way. Magic runs in our veins. How could you ever belong with Muggles? How could they ever understand you?"
She was right, Phineas thought. How did Isla expect to survive surrounded with Muggles?
Elladora stepped forward, eyes deceptively gentle as she rested a hand on Isla's forearm. "We do," she said. "We understand you. Stay. Forget this folly — you're still young. There's still time to find you a proper husband." Her mouth pulled into a distasteful sneer. "I'm sure we can even find someone who won't mind that you… lowered yourself to be with a Muggle. Why, some might even find it... exotic, right Phineas?"
"Right." Phineas nodded sharply, prompted by Elladora's glaring look.
"I — What?" Isla's eyes flickered between her siblings like she didn't know them. Out of shock, she took a step back.
"I can't believe you," she said. "I can't believe…" She paused, took a deep breath and squared her jaw. When she spoke again, her eyes burned with a dark, determined fire. "I didn't come here for you to try to stop me," she said. "I came here to tell you that I'm getting married, and that I'd like to see you come to my wedding. Meet my husband and his family. They really aren't as bad as you think," she added with a soft smile.
This time, it was Phineas who drew back, staring at Isla like she was a stranger.
And she was. To him — and to Elladora — she was. Oh, they had always known their sister had her secrets — had a beloved, even, for that much was obvious. But they could never have guessed that he was a Muggle.
Filth. So far beneath them that Isla should never even have noticed him.
"Did you really think that we would?" Phineas asked, sneering again. "Us, Blacks, going out to meet some… Muggles as though we belonged there? Wake up, Isla. You can never be one of them. Not as long as you're part of this family."
Isla looked like she had been struck.
Good, Phineas thought. Maybe she'd actually think about what she was doing now.
But instead of the apology Phineas expected, Isla just sighed. "I hoped it wouldn't come to this," she said, and Phineas felt a chill run through his veins.
"Come to what?" Elladora asked worriedly, voicing Phineas' very thoughts.
Isla smiled, a sad little twist of the lips that reminded Phineas of their mother, right before the sickness had taken her away from her family. Be strong, she had said. Always be strong.
"You don't understand," Isla was saying, and no, Phineas didn't understand. He couldn't. "I love him," she was saying, but it didn't make sense.
"I will be getting married to John," she said. "I want you to be there too. I don't want to have to choose. Because if I do…" Her voice trembled. "If I do, I will not choose you."
"Go," Phineas hissed; "Just go. Go to your Muggle, and to his family." He was too angry to say anything else, his feelings too jungled up inside to speak with the clarity he knew he needed.
Elladora was the one to take the chance Phineas couldn't anymore. The one to offer their sister one last chance.
"You don't have to do this," she said.
Isla shook her head. "No, I do. I have to go — I can't stay here. I won't survive without John. I love him," she repeated, and it didn't sound any sweeter the second time around.
Elladora's dark eyes flashed with anger, her lips pursed thin. "So you'll turn your back on us, then? Your family — and for what? A filthy Muggle? Isla, his mind would crumble at the things we can do."
"And maybe I will," Isla retorted, her anger as cold and sharp as a glacier. "What has this family ever done for me?.
Elladora had moved before Phineas could even open his mouth, and Isla's head snapped to the side with a loud crack. Red beads of blood pearled on her left cheek, following a thin inflamed line.
Isla's hand rose to her cheek, fingertips smearing the blood on her pale skin. Now, perhaps more than ever, her eyes burned. Her other hand clenched tight against her wand, and for a moment, Phineas thought she would fight back.
But she didn't. She just stared at her sister, disappointment exuding from her every pore.
Elladora wasn't the only one to fight back a flinch at that — the last person who'd ever looked at them this way was their mother, and Isla looked uncannily like her.
"I see," Isla finally said. She raised her wand and healed her cheek, though she didn't get rid of the blood. "I guess this is goodbye then, sister."
"I guess it is," Elladora replied, voice cold.
Isla turned to Phineas. "Brother."
"Sister," Phineas replied. The word felt improper in his mouth, but he couldn't think of anything else to say. He had tried to convince Isla to say, to change her mind, but he'd failed.
There didn't seem to be anything else he could try, so he just watched as Isla nodded one final time before leaving, climbing the steps toward her room where she'd undoubtedly pack her bags and then rejoin her Muggle lover.
He was left alone with Elladora.
His feet guided him to the family tapestry. He didn't even have to think about it, but he still didn't realize what he was about to do until he had his wand raised to their family genealogy and Elladora put a hand over his arm, halting the words on his tongue.
"What are you doing?" She was frowning, but there was no judgment in her tone.
"She rejected us," Phineas hissed, "for a filthy Muggle. We were her family! We loved her, more than her little experiment ever could!"
"So you do still love her," Elladora replied, voice even.
Phineas bit back the 'Of course,' that nearly fell from his lips. "She was our sister," he replied instead.
"She still is. Phineas, please, don't… Don't banish her. She could still come back to her senses. She'll see how different it is to survive without us, and she'll come back. I…" She licked her lips, and Phineas was suddenly reminded that even though Elladora was by far the best dueller of their family, and someone he could always count on, she was also his younger sister.
"Please," she repeated, and from the girl who'd always hated asking for any kind of help, her pleas meant all the more, "just… give her some more time. She'll come around. I know she will."
Phineas' heart ached to grant his sister's request, but he couldn't. Isla had gone to far this time. Maybe their father would have forgiven her — she had always been the favorite child — but Phineas couldn't. Not when Isla spat on everything the Blacks were supposed to represent.
And so Phineas steeled himself and shook off Elladora's hold. "No," he replied. "She made her choice, and now I have to make mine."
It didn't hurt to burn Isla's name off the tapestry, officially casting her off from the family. He'd half expected it to, but it didn't.
It didn't feel like much of anything at all.