Hello everyone! To read this you must, I repeat MUST, read A Black and White Story: Book One and up to chapter two of ABAWS: Book Two. If you don't, this story will make absolutely no sense and any value it has will be lost. So I beg of you, go read the other stories first. It will save you the headache and confusion you would probably get.
To everyone else that has already read the stories, this is the event that Ursula told Elyse about when they were at the Potters. This is probably about a month into summer break, between second and third year.
Please enjoy and don't forget to review!
They say that blood is thicker than water. That family bonds are stronger and harder to break than other relationship bonds. It was something that Ursula had pounded into her head from a young age; blood is thicker than water. Only associate with people of pureblood. Marry someone with pureblood. Look down on mudbloods.
That was all that she and her brothers ever heard growing up. Being in Gryffindor got her and Sirius away from all that for most of the year, but being at Bellatrix's wedding earlier that day brought everything back. It wasn't about who truly cared about you, it was about who you were related to and who shared the same blood as you.
No matter the precedent her family placed on blood, all she wanted was some water at that moment.
Ursula had woken up in the middle of the night; her throat was so parched she felt like a fish out of water. After taking a moment to debate calling Kreacher to get her some water, she decided that he would more than likely end up poisoning her, so threw her covers off of her crimson sheets. She grabbed her new glasses and suddenly her world was clearer.
It was a liberating feeling, looking at her room in the darkness. The green and silver that used to adorn her walls were now red and gold and the cold, evil looking snakes were now regal, proud lions. She had spent the first week of summer transfiguring her entire room. James's Christmas gifts to her first year had been used to cover almost every available space on her walls along with pictures that Elyse had given her of their years so far at Hogwarts. Her parents didn't know; she had charmed her door to only let her in.
Silently, she opened her door and stepped into the hallway. Knowing both her brothers are light sleepers, Ursula gently closed the door behind her. Once her door clicked shut, she tiptoed to the stairwell and paused when her foot caused one of the old floor boards to creak. Deeming it safe, she moved a little farther into the stairwell.
She made it down the first set of stairs and was just about to start down the second set when something happened. The silence of the night was broken by noises coming from her parent's room. Ursula paused and listened. When she realized what it was, a blush spread across her face. No child should ever hear their parents doing what created them.
"I better not get another brother or I swear…" Ursula muttered to herself as she quickly descended down the stairs to escape the embarrassing sounds coming from the top floor. She lithely went down the stairs, careful to keep an eye out for Kreacher who liked to creep around the hallways at night.
Once in the kitchen, she grabbed a cup from the cupboard and after checking that it wouldn't kill her, she filled it with water from the sink. The cool water quenched her thirst after the first sip. She sighed contently and finished the glass. Deciding that it would be a good idea to bring a full cup of water to her room, she refilled her cup and started her way back to her room.
A light from the drawing room caught her attention. There was dim candlelight flickering into the hallway. Rolling her eyes, Ursula walked forward to blow out the candle that one of her brothers undoubtedly accidentally left on. She had just entered the room when she saw the figure sleeping on the couch, a single candle illuminating his face in the darkness. It took her a moment to comprehend what she saw.
When she did, the glass cup slipped from her hands. It shattered into a million pieces, much like it felt her world was at the moment. Her eyes were wide and it felt like she couldn't breathe.
Her father jumped up at the sound, grabbing his wand from his pocket and pointing it at the doorway. The second he saw it was just his daughter, he lowered the wand. He opened his mouth to say something but then there was a particularly loud giggle that came from the master suite just a floor above them. Pain and regret flashed in Orion's eyes before they turned emotionless again. Without a word and with a swish of his wand, the door to the drawing room slammed shut in Ursula's face.
She felt like she couldn't move. Her mother was cheating on her father. Her mother betrayed her father. Her mother betrayed the entire family. No matter how much she disagreed with her parents on their ideals, she still cared about them because they brought her into this world. But now, the 'loving family' she already doubted was torn to shreds right in front of her eyes. With that thought, Ursula seemed to snap out of it and she quickly ran to her room; quiet be damned. She just wanted to get away.
Diving into her bed, she pulled her blankets over her head and let the tears fall silently down her pale cheeks. She had always thought that her father was just cold and emotionless, never caring either way. But now Ursula saw what had plagued her father for over a decade now. Trapped in a marriage until death with his second cousin who cheated on him; he was capable of feeling pain. Ursula saw that for the first time in his eyes.
For the first time in her life, Ursula felt sorry for her father. He had never done anything to deserve to be betrayed by his wife. From what she had seen from the other adults she was forced to be around, her father treated her mother like a queen. He never spoke against her and he blindly followed her and her commands. He had no way out and he knew that. So he suffered silently all these years all the while trying to keep it hidden from the rest of the world and his children.
The only thing she could keep thinking of was the phrase her mother told her time and time again.
"Blood is thicker than water; remember that Ursula."
Blood is thicker than water.
Ursula snorted in disbelief. Blood is thicker than water, really? Tell that to her mother and father. Tell that to Sirius and Regulus who just got into another screaming match that morning. Tell that to the rest of her deranged cousins. The 'blood' ties that were supposed to be impossible to break had broken the second the Sorting Hat placed her and Sirius in Gryffindor. The 'water' relations she had made in Gryffindor were more of a family to her than they were. With that final thought, she feel into a dreamless sleep.
The next morning, Ursula woke up to the sound of heavy footsteps downstairs. Without a moment's hesitation, she jumped out of bed and slid to a stop at the bottom of the stairs to see who was leaving the house. She caught a glance of a foot disappearing around the corner so she peered down a little lower. She almost wished she didn't. When she saw who was putting his traveling cloak on at the door, she almost feel down the rest of the stairs. Standing in her foyer was none other than her former Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and Death Eater, Professor Avery. This wasn't possible. All the colors drained from her face as she quickly scrambled one flight up and she slid down the wall. She rubbed her eyes, as if she could erase the images out of her mind. Her head fell against the wall as she closed her eyes. This could not be happening.
Deciding that she can't sit there all morning, Ursula put her hands on the floor to push herself up but yelped when glass cut into her hand. She looked down and saw the shattered remains of the cup of water she broke last night.
As she watched a thin stream of blood trickle down her hand she couldn't but think that it didn't matter. Mother or father. Brother or sister. Family or friends. Blood or water. It didn't matter. Her friends were more of a family than her blood family was. Hell, Mr. and Mrs. Potter treated her like a daughter and Sirius like a second son. Her blood parents beat her and have practically disowned her because of the house she got sorted into.
"Sissy?"
Ursula was broken out of her thoughts by Sirius. He was standing above her looking like she had lost her mind. "What are you doing?"
She looked around her and realized what a mess she looked like. Her hair wasn't brushed and her robes were on inside out (she had thrown them on in a rush) and she was sitting next to a pile of broken glass.
Ursula shook her head, "Nothing." She reached up and Sirius helped pull her to her feet. "What are you doing up?" She asked, knowing that Sirius preferred to sleep as late as possible.
He smiled widely and waved a sealed letter in front of her, "James and his parents wrote us; their owl went to my room. It's addressed to both of us so I thought we should read it together."
Ursula smiled widely, though not as widely as she normally would have, and nodded, "Hey, Sirius, did you hear anything weird last night?"
Sirius shook his head and looked confused at her for a moment, "Was I supposed to?"
Sighing in relief, she shook her head, "Nah, I just got up to get some water last night and I thought I woke you up for a second," she quickly lied.
Buying the lie, he shrugged. Then he got a wanting look on his face. "Now that you mention it, I would do anything for some water right now."
Ursula looked wistfully at the letter, James's handwriting splashed across the front of the envelope in his distinctive handwriting, and muttered, "Me too."