The air was thick with a tense atmosphere as the only daughter of Orion and Walburga Black stood in the centre of the dark and gloomy drawing room of number twelve Grimmuald Place, panicking building within her as she stood before the man that called himself her father, watching as his pale hands tightened around the already crumpled piece of parchment. She had tried so had all summer to hide that one letter, to save herself from his wrath, for there was nothing worse than a father's wrath, especially when that father is as cruel and unforgiving as Orion Black.

"You got expelled?!" Orion's voice boomed through the small room, smashing off the dull walls that were decorated with the tapestry of the entire Black family or the 'Noble House of Black' as it was often referred to as.

Nova Celeste Black flinched at the volume of his voice as it encouraged the panic and anxiety that was already festering inside her to increase. She didn't dare to breathe, in fear of infuriating the beast more and yet it seemed that the quieter the young witch stayed, the angrier the monster became.

"Well?" He barked and spat his degrading and hurtful words, slamming his hand down hard upon the dark mahogany desk. The impact was so great that Nova feared the wood would split and smash under the force.

"Explain yourself!"

"P-please father," Nova swallowed slightly as she tried not to break and crumble under his stone-cold glare, knowing all too well that that was what he wanted.

"It was not my faul…"

A harsh slap echoed through the room as Nova's declaration of innocence was abruptly cut short. She whimpered as she held her burning cheek where her father had struck her without a second of hesitation.

"I have had enough of your pathetic excuses Nova!"

"I get you into one of the best magic schools in the hope that it would teach someone as useless and weak as you how to become a better witch, and your way of repaying me is by disgracing the Noble House of Black further than you and your disgraceful twin have!"

There it was, the usual insults and degrading words that were designed to chip away slowly at her self-esteem. Any other child or young adult may have cried, screamed or tried to defend themselves against the untrue words that were being spat at them. Not Nova.

She stood there, silently letting him degrade and insult her. She was used to it. From the young age of six, both her mother and her father had told her how useless she was, how she was a mistake that never should have happened. They had never tried to be happy that she had been born and they were not the type to hide their disgust.

The young witch clenched her jaw in anger, tired of the constant abuse. She was tired of listening to her father insult her beloved twin brother. She glared at her father as she felt the anger rising within her, overpowering her fear.

"I didn't do anything wrong!" She repeated, standing her ground and sticking to her words. The fire that had burned through the office of the headmistress of Beauxbaton's Academy of Magic had indeed not been caused by her, and yet her words fell upon deaf ears.

Silence hung between them as she readied herself for the usual beating that followed whenever she spoke out of turn or said something that Orion did not like, and yet nothing followed. Nova didn't know whether to feel relieved or frightened as she watched Orion sit back in his chair. His hands pressed together as he waited, letting her into a false sense of security.

"Enlighten me then," His voice slicing through the silence like a butcher's knife cutting through an animal's bone.

"If the fire was not cause by you, then who was it?"

Even though she knew her words meant nothing to him. Even though she knew he didn't care that she was telling the truth. Even though she knew what he was doing, it didn't stop her. Maybe she just wanted to believe that somehow the man that sat before her might become the father that she had always wanted, that he might actually believe her.

"It was Verna Babineaux," She declared bravely.

Verna Babineaux was a typical snobby pureblood witch who spent her years at Beauxbaton's Academy terrorising other students who either originated from a different bloodline of witches and wizards or who did not come from a wealthy family like she did. Verna made it her mission to ruin Nova's time at the Academy because of the young witch's refusal to participate in the latter's acts of humiliation and bullying.

Her father's eyes grew colder at her declaration, anger and rage radiating upon his face. It wouldn't take a genius to work out that he was offended but her honest words. Nova didn't need to be a talented Legilimens to know that her father saw Verna as more of a worthy daughter than the one standing before him.

"Liar!" Orion barked furiously.

"How dare you speak of her like that! Verna Babineaux is a far more powerful and talented witch than you will ever be, not to mention a far more beautiful lady!"

Nova clenched her fists, digging her nails into the palm of her hands. Her anger had been short recently and her temper thin, her strength mostly wasted on hiding her secret but she could feel it getting ready to erupt. She didn't know how much more of her father's hurtful words she could take.

"That is your opinion…" The young witch muttered under her breath. Her words shocked even herself as a stunned silence filled the toxic air once more.

Everyone has that little annoying voice inside their heads that tells them to stay quiet and to hold their tongue in tense situations not to say anything stupid especially when standing in front of someone as cruel as Orion Black.

Silence filled the room as the atmosphere grew colder, the temperature shrinking to as though to avoid having to witness the inevitable brutality that was slowly but surely approaching.

That voice inside Nova's head was telling her to run as her father slowly rose from behind his desk and yet the brave witch remained frozen to the spot as the tall, strong built man slowly made his way closer to her.

Her heart was pounding with fear as the tense seemed to rise as the closer Orion got to his daughter. She could see his hand tightening around the handle of his cane and before Nova could react or even try to defend herself, she found herself on the ground as the metallic dragon head handle smashed into her face, the silver tipped fangs digging into her pale cheek as the force of the impact knocked her to the dustless floor of the drawing room.

"Don't you ever speak to me like that again, get up you pathetic, worthless little mistake!"

Nova gasped in pain as she felt warm blood begin to drip down her usually pale face as she scrambled to her feet as fast as she could. You would think that she would be used to his harsh words and unnecessary beatings by now after having had dealt with them since she was a young girl. But he was her father was he not meant to protect her instead of berating, beating, torturing and abusing her? Why was she always waiting for him to change? Why did she still think this man was capable of caring about her?

"Get out of my sight, you ungrateful child, until I have decided what to do with you and where to send you! You'll be lucky if I even let you out of your room at this rate!" Orion demanded harshly as he walked behind his desk.

Nova wasted no time in hurrying from his office and bolting past her twin brother as panic filled inside her, festering and feeding at her panic attacks as she headed for the grand staircase that led to the first floor.

"Nova! Hey, wow wait! Novy!"

The sudden sound of Sirius' kind and caring voice made Nova stop in her tracks at the bottom of the staircase. Her hand tightened around the banister as she felt tears of panic, self-hatred and fear burn within her grey eyes. She knew she couldn't let herself be caught crying or else she would be in even more trouble than she already was.

"Nova, what happened?" Sirius asked her as he stood behind her. Sirius had always been taller than Nova, he stood around just over six feet tall, while she was just around five and a half feet tall.

Nova flinched as she felt him place a gentle hand upon her shoulder as he turned her around to face him. She let her long black hair fall in front of her face as she attempted to hide the fresh bruises and wounds that decorated her pale cheek.

"Father found out that I got expelled from Beauxbatons…" Nova explained, keeping her eyes locked on the floor like she always did when she was hiding injuries from him.

Sirius was no fool. He always knew what was going through his twin's head. The Black twins had a special bond, they could feel each other's pain, they knew when the other was sick and he always knew when she was on the verge of a panic attack.

Noticing the signs that indicate she was hiding something, Sirius carefully hooked his index finger under her chin and gently directed her face upwards so that he could see her face. His grey eyes instantly narrowed and his jaw clenched as he carefully brushed the long strands of black hair out of her face.

Nova swallowed as she looked up to her brother, watching his identical grey eyes darken as he seen the wounds and the bruises. She hated it when Sirius looked so angry and felt so guilty when he got in trouble because of her.

"That bastard," Sirius muttered as he pulled Nova into his arms, into a warm and protective embrace.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you, I won't let him hurt you again!"

Nova let herself smile slightly as she hugged her brother tightly and rested her head under his chin. If there was anywhere she could find compassion, love and protection it was in the arms of her brother.

"I'm alright Sirius, really!" She told him, putting on a brave smile which her brother could see through in an instant.

"Nova, don't lie to me like that, I know you aren't okay," Sirius sighed heavily.

"Talk to me, I can feel the panic inside you,"

Nova sighed heavily and looked up at her brother. He knew her better than anyone else. He was always there to comfort her. He was the only one who knew what she was truly capable of.

"I don't know what he will do to me know Siri!" She told him, swallowing back the tears that threatened to escape her grey eyes.

"What if he separates us!? He said that I'd be lucky if he ever lets me out of my room again!"

"Mother wouldn't let him separate us," Sirius said with a chuckle.

"Merlin forbid she'd ever have to lift a finger to help us in any way!"

Nova gave a sad laugh at his true words. Walburga Black was far from the definition of what a mother should be. She preferred to stay and torture her eldest children whilst parading the youngest around like a show dog. Walburga was a cruel, spiteful and heartless woman who believed in the traditional pure-blood view that muggles and muggle-born witches and wizards should be eradicated from the world and those who were of pure-blood should remain in charge.

"Yeah, the only one that she wouldn't mind looking after would be Regulus!" Nova pointed out, thinking sadly of the amount of pressure that their parents mounted upon the shoulders of their younger brother.

Silence hung between the twins for a few minutes as Sirius pounded a thought that had been playing on his mind for a long time. Why did they favourite Regulus? Why did Regulus follow their delusional and awful views?

"It's okay Nov, we'll leave here soon, me and you!" Sirius finally broke the silence as he hugged Nova close to him.

"But we can't just leave Regulus here with them!" Nova gasped shocked as she pulled back from the embrace. Her grey eyes looked at those mirrored in her brother's with shock and confusion. Sirius sighed.

"But they don't hurt him Nova, they seem to care about him," Sirius explained as he sat down on the stairs and ran one of his hands through his naturally messy black hair.

"He'll be safe here…"

Nova sighed heavily. She could feel his brother's doubt and she knew all too well that if they left Regulus here they would regret it more than they regretted being in this prison already. Sitting beside her brother, Nova took a deep breath.

"They don't hurt him because we protect him, what happens when we aren't around and Reg begins to rebel against them?"

It didn't take that long before Nova could see her brother's mind racing through the multitude of possibilities that could happen to their precious little brother when they were away, safe if that was even a possibility. It was not difficult to see how much these siblings cared for their little brother and each other.

"Alright, we'll take him with us!" Sirius said as his face went whiter than usual even though he was always pale as was Nova and most of the Black family.

Nova smiled and hugged him. The thought of the three of them being able to escape from the cruel grasps of their parents was enough to give them the hope and strength to get through this last few months or so free from them.

"What do you two think you are doing?" Orion's snarl echoed through the hallway, making the twins jump to their feet and stand to attention. Orion hated it when the twins comforted each other, he liked it when the twins were in pain and preferred them to be miserable and obedient, scared and traumatised, which was becoming darker the older his eldest children got.

The twins broke apart instantly and Sirius stepped out in front of his sister. He was going to do whatever he could to try and help his beloved sister. He wanted to try and keep his promise to his sister.

Orion stood in front of them with the darkest expression either of them had ever seen upon his face. He stood beside his favourite niece, Bellatrix Black, the eldest of his three nieces. She was the eldest and most cruel and stood smirking at the twins with a sly satisfaction. She was happy to see them being punished, she was warped by the families tradition and would often and gladly help Orion and the other adults in the family torture those who strayed from the teachings of the family.

"Sirius, please don't!" Nova begged as she grasped hold of Sirius' arm, trying to get him to stop taking the blame as she seen her father's arm out stretched and ready to smack one of them. He didn't care who he punished, he believed that if one of them were in pain the other one would feel it as well.

A hard slap echoed through the house, hold making Nova flinch as the force sent her brother into the wall. It was hard for her to watch Sirius being beaten or tortured because of her, it was her fault and she should have been punished not Sirius. It wasn't like she could do anything to stop him from hurting them. However, she knew it that the guilt would still fester inside her as it always did when her brother got hurt because of her.

"I told you to stay in your room until I had decided what to do with you," Orion snarled and glared at his only daughter as he began to advance towards her.

Nova could feel her heart pounding violently in her chest as her father began walking closer to him. She knew that she was in for it, in a worse way then she had ever paid before.

"Don't hurt her!" Sirius snarled and tried to move towards his sister, however Orion ended up grasping hold of him by his hair and shoving him against the wall.

"Shut up boy!" Orion snarled, slamming his son's head against the wall, trying to make him shut up.

"Bellatrix, take Nova to her room and teach her what happens when you disappoint and dishonour the Black Family!"

"With pleasure, come on Novie, let's go bond!" Bellatrix giggled and smirked as she advanced towards her little cousin, who stood terrified.

"Don't hurt her Bellatrix!" Sirius snarled protectively as he struggled against his father's grip.

Bellatrix just smirked back at him before grasping hold of Nova and apparating from sight.

Within a matter of minutes, Bellatrix and Nova reappeared in the smallest room of the house, Nova's bedroom, it was no bigger than the size of a broom closet. Bellatrix smirked and shoved Nova away from the door.

Nova stumbled and used the wall to help her to regain her balance. She could feel her hurt pounding inside her chest. She knew that she was in for hell and there was no escaping her cruel cousin.

"Now it is just me and you Novie, I've heard that you've been a bad girl," Bellatrix sneered smirking at her cousin.

Nova swallowed and backed away from her cousin. She moved backwards until her back hit the wall.

"I haven't done anything wrong!" Nova insisted as she watched her cousin's grin widen into a threatening smirk.

Nova quickly scanned her small bedroom, already she began to feel the effects of her panic attacks and claustrophobia beginning to grow inside her, making her feel trapped and alone. Bellatrix was giggling excitedly as she continued to advance towards her baby cousin. The thrill of the idea of being able to punish her was like a drug to Bellatrix.

When Bellatrix was inches away from Nova, the younger witch impulsively threw the closest thing to her in Bellatrix's face which just happened to be a book. The older witch wasn't expecting it and it allowed Nova some time to try and make a run for it.

"You shouldn't have done that Novie!"

Nova heard her cousin growl but she didn't care, she just wanted to get out, before she had a panic attack and before Bellatrix could torture her again, however she should have learnt by now that you never turn your back on another member of the Black family, especially not Bellatrix.

"Carpe Retractum!"

Just as Nova's fingertips closed over the golden knob of the door handle she felt an invisible rope wrap around her arms, binding them to her sides and yanking her backwards, closer to Bellatrix.

"Let go of me Bellatrix!" Nova snarled, struggling against the invisible rope as she felt one of Bellatrix's hands become entangled in her long black hair.

Bellatrix yanked Nova's head backwards and bent low into her ear. She could hear her cousin's pathetic whimpering as she tightened her grip.

"You are even more of a disappointment than Sirius!" She hissed in her ear before throwing her to the ground.

Nova gasped in pain as she fell to the dark wooden floor of her cramped bedroom. She was terrified, her breathing slowly becoming more rapid as the panic began to build up inside her.

"Colloportus!"

The sound of the door clicking and locking shut as Bellatrix waved her curved 12 and ¾ inch walnut dragon heartstring core wand at the door, moving her hand in the shape of a 'n' before flicking it upwards as though she was going to make an 'm' in the air.

"Just let me go Bella, you don't need to do this," Nova pleaded as she continued to struggle but to no avail.

Bellatrix smirked, becoming more and more satisfied with the sound of her cousin's begs and pleads. She hadn't even started yet and her little cousin was already begging for mercy.

"But you see, dear cousin, you haven't been listening to your father," She giggled with a small smile of excitement.

"And you know what happens when you disappoint the family,"

Nova shook her head as fear took the complete hold on her. Her grey eyes shone with fear as she watched Bellatrix point the wand towards her and without batting a single eyelid, her cousin spoke the words of a curse that she had felt the effects of since she was a little girl.

"Crucio!"

Nova shrieked in agony as she felt the sensation of a dozen white-hot knives stabbing into her skin, her screams echoed through the halls of the house as her body shook and thrashed with agony.

"Stop! Bella please!" She begged, shrieking in agony and yet she knew that her cousin was far from finished…