Written for QLFC Season 5, Round 4 - Forgotten Families. I'm chaser 2 for Ballycastle Bats (Go Bats!). I had to write about the Boneses as a family. I took some creative licensing with the structure of the family since there isn't a lot written about them.
My lovely betas were: loubug14. All other mistakes are mine!
Optional prompts were: [word] rare, [quote] The world tolerates conceit from those who are successful, but not from anybody else. - John Blake, and [scenario] a character is granted three wishes
Word Count: 2,974
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
September 1960
"Are you sure? You are ambitious; you would be a great Slytherin," the small voice said in Amelia Susan Boneses head.
"No, it has to be Hufflepuff! Boneses are always 'Puffs," Amelia pleaded with the hat. Her brother Edgar was watching from the Hufflepuff table. Amelia was desperate to join him. By a terrible stroke of luck, Amelia was the first person to be sorted in her year and it was almost a hatstall. Amelia tuned out the murmurs in the Great Hall.
"Hufflepuff, Hufflepuff, Hufflepuff," she whispered.
"In that case …. HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat shouted out to the hall and Amelia breathed a sigh of relief. Amelia knew she was ambitious, but she also knew she would not survive in the snake pit. She skipped happily to Edgar and gave him a hug.
"You scared me, Millie! Was the hat stalling over 'Puff and 'Claw?" Edgar asked her as he budged over and made room on the bench. He ruffled her blonde hair in that affectionate way older brothers were prone to do. Amelia nodded and then ducked her face so her brother wouldn't see the lie in her eyes. She looked back up at the front of the Great Hall to watch the sorting of a small brown haired boy named Andrew Boot.
Amelia would never let her family know she was almost sorted into Slytherin. Boneses were always Hufflepuffs. Always. No exceptions had ever been made, and Amelia wasn't brave enough to find out what would happen had she not been sorted into Hufflepuff. As she dug into her dinner once the sorting was over, she looked around the table at her new housemates and was glad she made the choice she did. A glance at the Slytherin table showed a rather sour-looking lot.
July 1967
"Five O's! That's incredible, Millie!" Edgar shouted as he grabbed Amelia's arms and danced her around the room. Amelia felt a slow smile creep across her face at her brother's infectiousness. She had made him open the envelope for her NEWTs. She had been worried she failed at least one of them and thus scuttling her ambitious chances of joining the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Five Outstandings meant she had enough to enter the training program for Aurors.
"Edgar! It's early yet. Let's go to the Ministry so I can apply!" Amelia cried happily and began gathering her things for the journey. She would need a copy of her NEWTs as well as her OWLs to give to the Auror Office as proof that she was ready for training.
"Are you sure you want to do this? Being an Auror is a tough job," Edgar said as concern etched across his face.
"Stop worrying, Eddie. It'll be fine." Amelia rolled her eyes at her older brother. It was sweet he wanted to be protective, but Amelia was an adult and driven. She could make her own decisions.
August 1968
A year later, and two years to go before she became a full-fledged Auror, Amelia wanted to die. Her body was incredibly sore from the constant training and her brain was zapped. They had been going nonstop for two weeks with hardly any sleep. It was the end of their first year as trainees, and whoever passed this exam would get to move on to the next year. Amelia wasn't sure she wanted to move on. She didn't even know if she could move from where she currently was: a rainy field in the middle of the night, having just been hexed by one of their instructors.
"Trainee Bones! Get your lily-livered arse up and duel me!" Instructor Smethwyck screamed from somewhere off to her right.
Amelia sighed and slowly made her way to a crouching position. She used the long grass as coverage. It wasn't very effective, but the darkness would help. She looked around, Trainee King had been with her, but he seemed to have gone down too. In the dim light, she couldn't see him. She began making her way around to Instructor Smethwyck's back. He was standing still and pointing his wand to Amelia's right.
Smethwyck didn't detect her movements and Amelia was able to stun him. She stood as he crumpled to the ground.
"King. King!" Amelia whispered as loudly as she dared. Smethwyck wasn't the only instructor out on the field. Their goal as trainees was to down every instructor and still be standing. Anyone not standing would be eliminated from the program.
Amelia could just make out other trainees and instructors dueling. She ducked when a hex came at her. It went zinging over her head and she glanced in the direction it had come from. She hoped she hadn't been noticed. Nobody was looking her way, so she stood again looking for King. They had been partners all year and had promised each other to do everything they could to make it to the next year.
Amelia was walking low in the grass and stumbled over something large, soft, and warm. It was King. She quickly rennervated him and they made a plan to take out the rest of the instructors by splitting up and hitting them in the back. They bound Smethwyck and Amelia sketched a quick rune that hovered over him letting everyone know a downed participant was there.
February 1974
"Shite," Amelia hissed as the curse skimmed her thigh and she went down hard. She was dueling Herbie Burke. His Death Eater mask had gone flying off early in the duel. She was going to take him down. But he got her first and fled around a corner of the building for coverage. They were fighting in a small wizarding village in southern Scotland.
King was still her partner after six years, now they were Hit Wizards together. Charged with taking out Death Eaters in any way necessary.
"Sit tight, Bones," King muttered at her as he dodged a curse. He stood and ran after Burke as Amelia assessed the damage done to her thigh.
Most Auror's picked up some rudimentary healing knowledge. Amelia cast a diagnostic charm and cursed again at seeing her femur was broken. She wasn't getting up. She activated her communication mirror to King and told him the news.
"Portkey to St. Mungo's, Bones," King told her through the mirror as he stalked Burke.
"Be careful, King," Amelia said as she activated her portkey. Those were the last words she ever said to him. King didn't survive his duel with Burke, but then neither did Burke.
October 1976
"Fairness, Loyalty, Trust! Vote Bones!" Edgar shouted at the campaign event organized for Amelia in Diagon Alley. The voting for new Wizengamot members opened that day at the Ministry. He was determined to get his little sister elected.
"Thanks for coming, Eddie," Amelia smiled at her brother as she passed out flyers to shoppers on that sunny afternoon. Her injury two years ago had ended her Auror career. She was still employed as an investigator, but it was a desk job. No more fieldwork for her. She decided to run for the Wizengamot. There had been several deaths of some elderly members in recent months and a lot of seats were open. Amelia knew the real power to make changes to the Wizarding world lay in that body. She was ambitious enough to see it and seize it for herself.
"Do you think I'm too young?" Amelia asked Edgar in a sudden fit of nerves.
"You can't question yourself like that Millie. Success is sweet. The world tolerates conceit from those who are successful, but not from anybody else. You are successful; if you question it, if you question yourself - your success will turn sour. Like mum and dad always said, 'Strive for a life worth living.' You are doing just that," Edgar told her as he brought her in for a hug.
Amelia thought over what her brother told her and decided he was right. She wasn't too young for the Wizengamot; she would be a great addition. She had a sneaking thought this was the Slytherin in her, but she tamped it down.
April 1980
Amelia had never been so happy. Her brother Edgar and his wife had been blessed with a baby girl. A rare feat in any pure-blood family.
"Millie," Edgar said as she came into the room. He was holding a tiny bundle in a cream blanket and handed it to her.
"Meet Susan Amelia Bones," Edgar said. Amelia smiled and her eyes teared up as she gazed at the beautiful baby. Her niece. Her namesake.
"Eddie, she's precious," Amelia said while grinning at her brother. And she was; a perfect baby. She was sleeping and let out a small yawn as she snuggled deeper into Amelia's arms.
"Be her godmother?" Edgar asked. Amelia smiled and couldn't stop the tears from falling down her cheeks. She nodded and leaned in as Edgar through his arms around her and the baby.
Amelia couldn't imagine being happier than she was in that moment.
August 1981
"Edgar! EDGAR!" Amelia screamed as soon as she landed in the front yard of her brother's cozy cottage. The house Edgar and his family had resided in was a crumbling, smoking mess. Amelia had arrived too late. Too late to save the last members of her family.
She scrambled forward, digging through the rubble by hand, looking for anyone or anything she could salvage. She came across photo albums and dishes. Clothes, toys, and books littered the area.
Suddenly, Amelia heard a cry from the back of the house. It must have been one of the kids.
"I'm coming! Aunt Amelia's here!" Amelia shouted and made her way over the toppled chimney. Miraculously the Floo pot was unbroken. Probably the only unbroken thing in the whole house. The crying got louder and Amelia whipped out her wand to pull up a section of the wall. The legs of the crib had come off, but the top had protected little Susan who was sitting in the corner and wailing.
"Oh, Susie!" Amelia scooped the child up and held her to her breast, cradling her as their tears mingled. "I've got you, baby. I've got you," Amelia muttered into the child's blonde hair.
How could this have happened? How could her whole family be gone in just a few moments? She had gotten Edgar's badger Patronus and come as quickly as she could. And he was gone.
The Auror's showed up minutes later and an hour after that it was confirmed. Edgar, his wife, and the three older children, all boys were dead. Amelia and Susan were the last of the once great Bones family.
Amelia knew she would do whatever she could to protect her niece. Voldemort and his Death Eaters needed to be stopped. Amelia was determined to make that happen.
April 1985
"Alright, Susie. You get exactly three wishes today. Any three wishes you want, and I will make it happen," Amelia told her niece before breakfast.
Susan was five today and such a bright, happy girl. She looked so much like Edgar that sometimes it broke Amelia's heart. She would turn away from her niece and dry her eyes so as not to show Susan any sadness. She had enough sadness in her young life.
"Three! That's two more than last year!" Susan said as she jumped in excitement.
"Waffles! I want waffles for breakfast," Susan said decisively. "With strawberries and cream and chocolate chips!"
Amelia laughed, "All right, Susie. Waffles it is."
She left the dining room and headed to her small kitchen to make breakfast. Amelia had been terrible at household charms. But after taking in Susan she had begun to improve and was even quite good at making a meal with charms alone.
After breakfast, Amelia set the dishes to washing and found Susan in the living room playing with the potions set she had gotten for Christmas a few months prior.
"And what is your next wish, Madame?" Amelia asked in an overblown accent. Susan giggled at her aunt.
"I really want to go to a Muggle zoo," Susan said. She ducked her head like she wasn't sure Amelia would be happy with that request.
"And where did you hear about a Muggle zoo, Susie?" Amelia had no issues with Muggles. But Susie wasn't in a Muggle primary school; she shared a tutor with the Abbott family who lived a few kilometers away.
"Tutor Bell was telling us about them! He said there was one in Regent's Park in London. I want to go there!" Susan replied with more confidence.
"That sounds excellent. Let's do it," Amelia replied with an indulgent smile. She could deny the sweet girl nothing.
Susan's third wish turned out to be ice cream.
Amelia smiled to herself at the simpleness of childhood. She had given her five-year-old niece any wish in the world, and she had wished for two common food items and a trip to Muggle London. Raising Susan was the best thing that ever happened to Amelia. Seeing her innocence and joy in life restored Amelia's faith in wizardkind on an almost daily basis.
July 1993
"He's so mean, Aunt Amelia!" Susan cried into Amelia's shoulder. Amelia had her arms wrapped around her niece and was rubbing her back. Susan had come home from Hogwarts in the worst mood.
"There, there, Susie. It's all right. Boys are all thick at this age," Amelia assured her. She knew of the Macmillan family, who hadn't? He was Sacred Twenty-Eight and, like the Boneses, Macmillans always went to Hufflepuff.
"But why does he have to be so mean to me?" Susan asked as she pulled out of her aunt's embrace. Amelia looked down into her brown eyes, the same color her brother had, and had to fight back her own tears.
"Maybe he likes you," Amelia said, attempting to lighten the mood. "They say boys tease the girls they like."
"I don't think he likes me all that much. In fact, I think he hates me," Susan said miserably.
"Well, you have all summer to forget about him. Let's go do something fun. Want to go to the zoo again?" After that first trip to the zoo in London, they had made it an annual event. Always going for Susan's birthday. And when Susan began Hogwarts, it was one of the first things they did on summer vacation.
"No, I don't think I'm up for the zoo today," Susan replied as she turned away from her aunt. Amelia listened as Susan climbed the stairs and shut the door to her room. Teenagers were difficult and Amelia and Susan were just getting started.
July 1996
The first thing Amelia thought when she arrived home and found Voldemort and eight Death Eaters sitting in her lounge was that she was glad Susan was staying with the Abbotts for the week. The next was of her Auror training. Instructor Smethwyck had been brutal, but he was good. She hoped she remembered enough of it. Amelia hadn't been in the field for over twenty years. She shot a stunning spell at the group and flitted away to the kitchen.
"You can't run from us all, Madame Bones," Voldemort hissed and Amelia steeled herself. Maybe she couldn't run from them. But she was going to take as many with her as she could. She whipped open the knife drawer and crouched behind the counter. As the door from the lounge opened and five wizards in Death Eater robes stepped through, Amelia let her spell loose.
Every knife she owned shot out of the drawer and at the wizards. She heard a few shouts and at least one body hit the floor. Amelia viciously hoped whoever it was had died. Then she turned and sprinted for the back door, flinging spells over her shoulder as she went. Dimly she heard another body hit the floor as she made it to the backyard. At least here she would have more cover. She dove behind a tree, just dodging a nasty slicing hex.
"Come on out, Madame Bones," a drawing, patrician voice said. Amelia narrowed her eyes; of course Thoros Nott was a Death Eater. He was allied with Lucius Malfoy and both had the Minister for Magic in their pockets.
She shot a spell around the trunk of the tree and heard a third body fall. If the other two didn't get up, that meant there were only six left. She shot another spell around the tree, but there was no corresponding body fall.
The tree began to shake and branches fell all around Amelia as the Death Eaters assaulted the tree. The magic, spellfire, and splintering tree were so loud Amelia couldn't hear herself think. She hunkered down and covered her head, waiting for it to stop.
When it did, all went silent. She thought she had escaped for a moment. That they had come to scare her and left. She opened her eyes and found herself face to face with Voldemort.
"You can join me," he offered and held out his hand.
"Not in this lifetime," Amelia growled.
He yanked his wand out and Amelia's life flashed before her eyes. The secret of her Hogwarts sorting. Her high NEWT scores and subsequently joining the Auror Office. The devastation of her career ending injury. The elation at being elected to the Wizengamot. The ravaging of the Bones family, coupled with the joy of raising Susan. A green light filled her vision and she knew no more.
Susan Bones had the unlucky task of finding her aunt, the woman who raised her as her own, dead. Just as her aunt found her family dead all those years ago. And then, Susan was the last of the Bones family.