For the Quidditch League, Beater 1. Prompts of "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends" – Albus Dumbledore; "Happy families are alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way" – Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina; destruction.
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Cassiopeia's door flies open, causing her to glance up. In front of her stands her brother. He looks small, like he always has, with his suitcase behind him. On his face, she can see the evidence that he had been crying. "Marius?" she asks softly, patting the bed next to her.
He drops his suitcase at the door and comes to sit next to her on her bed. He twists his hands nervously in his lap. It takes him a while before he finally says anything. "Mother and father have told me that, under no circumstances, will they have a Squib living under their roof," he whispers emotionlessly. "They told me that I am to gather my things and leave before the day's out."
The silence between them is deafening. All Cassiopeia can think about is that this is her brother, the person that she grew up with. It shouldn't matter that he is different, that he can't do magic like her or their siblings. Then she realizes that they are Blacks; being different does matter.
When she looks up to meet his familiar eyes, she sees the tears falling soundlessly down his face. "Oh, Marius," she murmurs, pulling him into a hug. She hugs him tightly, because she knows that she can't change her parents' mind. That the person closest to her is going to walk out the door, never to return again, because he is different and being different in the Black family is unacceptable.
"I would tell you that I will keep in touch, but I'm sure that Pollux or Dorea will tell mother and father about it. I don't want to make this harder on you."
A tear slips down Cassiopeia's face at her brother's words. It's just like Marius to worry more about her than himself. He's always been more mature than other children his age, but leaving him to fend for himself at eleven is totally absurd.
She tightens her hug. "Don't you dare!" she growls passionately. "You let me know that you are safe, you hear!"
Marius detaches himself from Cassiopeia's arm and gives her a soft smile. "I will," he promises, "as long as you don't cause them trouble, Cassie. Promise me that." Cassiopeia tries to protest, but Marius cuts her off. "I don't want you to get hurt because of me."
Cassiopeia shakes her head. "I can't promise that, Marius. It's giving you up and I refuse to do that."
Nodding his head, Marius picks up his suitcase. "I know," he assures her. "I just wish that you would. You would be much happier that way."
He's gone before she can respond.
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"How'd you do it?"
Cassiopeia glances up from the book on her lap, raising an eyebrow at Callidora. Her cousin is leaning against her doorway.
"Hello, Callidora. Would you like to come in?" she asks.
Callidora shuts the door behind her and takes a seat in the chair that Cassiopeia recently got. "How'd you survive Marius leaving?" Callidora repeats.
Cassiopeia visibly flinches. She hasn't heard her brother's name spoken in four years. She had thought that her entire family had forgotten of Marius' existence. Of course, she hadn't. She still has a drawer full of letters that he's sent her.
She places the book on the bed next to her, and gives Callidora her full attention. "Why are you asking?"
She watches as Callidora twists her hands nervously in her lap. It reminds her of the worse day of her life.
"Cedrella…," Callidora trails off. It takes her a few more moments to gather her thoughts before she continues. "She's run off with Septimus Weasley. Mother and father have blasted her off the family tree and forbidden us from talking to her. She's my sister, their daughter, and they are expecting us to forget that she ever existed. How did you do it?" Callidora asks, turning to face Cassiopeia as if she has all the answers.
Only, Cassiopeia doesn't. She shakes her head. "You're looking for me to tell you how to handle this, Callidora. But I can't. I never got over my parents kicking Marius out. That's not to say that you won't get over your parents blasting Cedrella off the tree; you just might. You just have to handle it in your own way."
Callidora stands. "I best get home, then."
"Wait," Cassiopeia says. When Callidora turns back to face her, she continues, "A word of advice: it hurts a lot less if you don't say her name in front of your parents. I'm not telling you to forget her if that's not what you want, but I'd be careful about who you say her name to."
Cassiopeia sees understanding flicker across Callidora's slate eyes. She knows that Callidora won't ever forget her sister, like she's never forgotten Marius, but in the Black family, they are supposed to act as if they don't have a brother or sister.
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"Cassiopeia!" she hears her mother call from down the stairs.
She descends the stairs as gracefully as she always does, to see a man standing next to her parents in the parlor. It doesn't take her long to understand what is going on. "Mother, father," she greets. She turns toward the man, and bows, "Sir."
Her mother smiles, but Cassiopeia can tell that it's forced. "This is Caspar Crouch. He's asked for your hand in marriage." Despite her mother's words, Cassiopeia can tell that it's been arranged for him to show up and that her parents are trying to better the family by marrying her off.
Cassiopeia gives Caspar a bright smile. "I'm terribly sorry that you have travelled all the way here for that, but you see, I'm really not the marrying type."
She can feel her parent's glares at the back of her head, and she's sure that if she wasn't in front of Caspar, that her parents would punish her like they used to. At this point, she really doesn't care. She turns on her heels and makes her way back up to her bedroom.
As she's packing her things, she smiles. She won't get married to further her family. She won't get married to produce children, because no matter what, if she had children, they would have Black blood in their veins. And the Blacks are too destructive to be allowed to reproduce.
The Blacks will destroy families because they are different, and she won't let that happen to her again. She's doing this for Callidora – who's too cowardly not to marry who her parents say, for Cedrella – who followed her heart and left the family. But most of all, she's doing it for Marius because she can't stand the idea of another Marius happening.
A/n – so many thanks to Lizy for beta-ing this for me!