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Out of the Ashes
1
It was not that Rachel hated her family, exactly. However, she could think of a million ways she'd prefer to spend her time than sitting with her mother and father for tea every morning, afternoon and night. For example, she'd much rather prick her fingers repeatedly on the thorns that stuck out of the emerald stems of the crimson rose bushes in the backyard. Or pluck each and every long eyelash from her eyelids one by one. She'd even prefer listening to Professor Slughorn go on and on about the famous witches and wizards he had met in his long lifetime than be forced to sit here with her parents time and time again.
They weren't awful people. In fact, Rachel could name a dozen other people she'd hate to have as parents. They just didn't understand Rachel the way she wished they would have. While they did not thrust their pureblood supremacy beliefs upon her, they did not hesitate to wrinkle their noses and look at her with contempt whenever she spoke of her friends who were, in their opinion, less than desirable company. As strongly as they felt about purity, they allowed Rachel to lead her own life, which was more than she could say for some of her classmates. Rachel knew that she should be grateful for parents who accepted the way she felt and chose to live her life because it could have been much worse, especially in the dark times that were approaching. She just wished that they would keep the disapproving looks and comments to themselves from time to time.
Today, Rachel was glaring at her mother from across the oversized dining table as she sipped her tea. Rachel bit her tongue as her mother smiled sweetly at her as though she had said nothing wrong. If Rachel had to hear one more time how 'suitable' Evan Rosier was, she was going to throw herself in front of the Night Bus. Her mother, Noelle, had a tendency to put her nose precisely where it does not belong, a habit Rachel found exceedingly irritating.
Her mother brushed her long black hair away from her pale face with her perfectly manicured fingers. She batted her thick eyelashes innocently and watched Rachel closely through her wide blue eyes. She puckered her plump pink lips, the only feature she had passed onto Rachel, and delicately fingered the rim of her cup. She raised an ebony eyebrow on her forehead, waiting for a response from her daughter.
"Leave the girl alone, Noelle. She's hardly old enough for a boyfriend, anyway," Rachel's father, Brian, spoke in a bored tone as his eyes lazily scanned the Daily Prophet.
He moved his round spectacles with his stubby fingers before rubbing his shaven jaw. As he turned the page of the Prophet, his green eyes flickered over the top of the paper and he winked at Rachel before raising a warning eyebrow. Rachel shook her head at him and rolled her own olive eyes, almost the exact same shade of green as her father's.
"I'm sixteen, Father," Rachel scoffed.
"Forgive me, Rachel," he said, laying down his paper, "did you want your mother to arrange this date for you, then?"
"No," Rachel mumbled bitterly.
"Why not, Rachel? He's a pleasant boy with lovely parents. His bloodline is crystal clear back to the beginning of time," Noelle persisted.
"How could anyone possibly know anything about the beginning of time, Mother?" Rachel remarked smartly.
"My point is, Evan Rosier is a perfect suitor and there is no reason you should not give him a chance," Noelle said simply, taking another dainty sip from her porcelain teacup.
Oh, Mother, if you only knew, Rachel thought to herself.
"He's not for me, Mother," Rachel stated firmly.
"Fine, then. I'll keep looking," Noelle said. "How about Lucius Malfoy?"
Rachel had had enough. She rose to her feet quickly, he legs of the mahogany dining chair scraped loudly against the polished wood floor. She tossed her cloth napkin on to the table, threw one final glare at her mother, and left the dining room with her heels clicking against the floorboards as she went. She pushed open the large French doors and stepped onto the stone patio out back. She followed the stone path through the gardens until she was deep enough into the maze of hedges and bushes that she could no longer see the enormous house.
Rachel strode towards the familiar fountain in the center of the maze and sat down on its marble edge. She rested her bony elbows against her knees and sighed loudly. Rachel didn't understand why her mother always felt it necessary to meddle in her business. Most of the time, Rachel wished she had a younger sibling to push her mother off on, make them deal with her intrusive ways.
Rachel tugged her obnoxiously high heeled shoes from her little feet and pressed the soles of her feet against the hot stone of the fountain as she swung herself to sit sideways. Her tight white pencil skirt hugged her thighs closely as she pulled her knees towards her chest. She pressed the palms of her hands against the fountain's edge behind her, extending her arms to support her weight as she tossed her head backwards. Her long chestnut colored hair swept behind her, blown away with the warm summer breeze, as her tanned face soaked up the heat of the sunshine.
Rachel listened to the sounds of running water as it sprayed from the highest point of the fountain, cascading down to the deepest level. She dipped her index finger into the cool water and swiveled it around a bit, playing with the crystal blue liquid. She listened to the birds chirp loudly as they sung a pleasant tune for all to hear. A loud crack, however, disrupted their song, and the birds fell silent as Rachel turned her head in surprise.
"Mistress Riatt," a small house-elf squeaked as she bowed her head until her large pointed noise tapped the ground.
"Lulu, I told you to call me Rachel," Rachel smiled at the little elf.
"Mistress Rachel," the elf corrected humbly. "Master Riatt requests that you come inside for lunch."
"Alright, Lulu, I'll be right there," Rachel smiled and patted her head before swinging her feet back over the edge of the fountain.
The little elf disappeared with another loud crack and Rachel ruffled her long wavy hair a bit. She forced her feet back inside her cream-colored shoes before rising to her full height. She took her time strolling through the gardens as she made her way back to the house. She opened the back door and entered the sunroom, quietly closing the door behind her. Her shoes clicked against the floor as she strolled through the large house towards the living room where she was certain her parents and their guests would be awaiting her arrival.
She lifted her chin with false pride as she entered the dimly lit room, walking to stand beside the roaring fireplace. Three guests sat on the large emerald couch while Rachel's father sat comfortably in a black leather arm chair with her mother standing confidently beside him. The four seated individuals rose to their feet upon her entrance and Rachel smiled brilliantly.
"Orion, Walburga, how lovely to see you," Rachel greeted, bowing her head slightly as she extended her hand.
Orion Black took her fingertips in his and pressed his lips to her knuckles, his charming smile present on his lips. Walburga Black, Orion's wife, stepped forward and gently pecked each of Rachel's cheeks with a falsely sweet smile on her crimson painted lips. Rachel's green eyes then fell on the boy standing beside his mother. His eyes were cold, the grey pools seeming to have frozen over with some kind of numbness. His black hair had been neatly groomed, his face cleanly shaven, and he gave her a half-smile as he bent forward to kiss her knuckles as his father had done.
"Rachel," he said, his voice smooth and even, "beautiful as always."
She fought the urge to roll her eyes as she subtly pulled her hand away from his.
"It's nice to see you too, Regulus," she lied easily.
Rachel was confused to see one of the Blacks were missing, but she did not question it as her mother led them into the dining room for lunch. Lulu levitated the delicious food on to the table before disappearing into the elves' kitchen with nothing but a bow. The adults carried on their conversation, occasionally dragging Regulus into it, and Rachel completely tuned out their haughty words.
"Isn't that right, Rachel?" her mother's sickly sweet voice cooed from down the table.
"I'm sorry, Mother, what was that?" Rachel asked as politely as she could.
"I said you would be pursuing a career as a Healer," her mother said, raising her thin eyebrows and narrowing her eyes slightly.
"Yes, that is my intent," Rachel confirmed.
"Do you have the marks for that?" Regulus questioned doubtfully.
"Of course I do," Rachel said with conviction. "My best friend, Lily Evans, and I have top marks in our year."
"Evans? The mudblood?" Walburga questioned with evident disdain in her shrill voice.
Rachel's blood boiled beneath her skin and she gritted her teeth together tightly. She gripped her fork within her fist and narrowed her eyes slightly. She did all she could not to reply, but she did not have to.
"Yes, Mother. The same filth I've told you Brother associates himself with," Regulus snickered pretentiously.
"Don't call him that," Rachel swore she heard Orion growl in his son's ear.
Her confusion peaked, and Rachel could think of no better way than to retaliate against Walburga than to bring up her darling son.
"Where is Sirius tonight, Walburga?" Rachel inquired thoughtfully.
A vein jetted out of her forehead as she pursed her lips together tightly as she cut into her roast chicken violently. Rachel blinked innocently before glancing to Orion and then to an awfully silent Regulus. To her disappointment, nobody provided a response regarding Sirius Black's whereabouts, and the luncheon carried on in silence.
"It was wonderful seeing all of you, we simply must do it again soon," Noelle gushed as she said her farewells to the Blacks.
"Thank you for having us, Noelle, the meal was quite lovely," Orion smiled as he pecked her cheeks before gruffly shaking Brian's hand.
Walburga followed suit and narrowed her eyes as she politely kissed Rachel goodbye.
"See you at school," Regulus muttered quietly as he pressed his lips against the back of her hand.
Rachel forced her smile until the door was closed and it promptly vanished from her full lips. She turned on her head and strode down the corridor towards the library until her mother called her name in her shrill voice.
"Yes?" Rachel asked, turning to face her.
"That was completely inappropriate! Did you see the look on Walburga's face?" Noelle cried frantically.
"Pretty priceless if you ask me," Brian mumbled from behind her, earning a fatal glare from his beautiful wife and a giggle from his stunning daughter.
"This is not a joke!" Noelle shrieked.
"Oh, calm down, Elle. It was nice to see Walburga knocked off her high horse for a change," Brian chuckled even under her piercing stare.
"'The Blacks are extremely powerful!" Noelle cried. "Now is not the time to get on their bad side."
"Do they have a good side?" Rachel asked, and her father snickered quietly.
"Something serious must have happened," Noelle thought aloud.
"It's none of my concern," Rachel shrugged, crossing her arms over her large chest.
"This is exactly why you had no business questioning it!" Noelle remarked angrily.
"Excuse me, but was I the only one who heard the way she spoke about Lily?" Rachel cried angrily.
"You will receive no sympathy from either of us for that, Rachel. You know how we feel about the company you keep," Noelle said firmly, and Brian was indeed silent.
"It was plain rude to speak of her in such a disgraceful manner after I had explicitly shared that she was my best friend," Rachel growled stubbornly.
"Maybe so, but she isn't wrong, is she? Lily is a-"
"Don't you dare," Rachel warned through her straight teeth. "You may not agree with who I choose to befriend, but you will damn well respect them."
Rachel glared at both of her parents before turning around and entering the library, sliding the enormous door shut behind her. She sat down heavily on the crimson sofa and fanned out her hair to hang over the arm. She kicked off her shoes and stretched her legs over the cushions, flexing her toes back and forth. The fire burned brightly while Rachel dug her latest read from between the couch cushions. She bent the binding and began reading the text until her eyes grew heavy. She spent the night in the library without any interruptions, only Hogwarts the following day dreams of her return to.