From the End to the Start


Chapter 12

Diaval woke up with a massive headache, seeing as he'd only slept for a couple of hours the previous night. He'd been up late worrying about Maleficent, as she hadn't returned ever since Professor Snape pulled her out of class. It probably had something to do with her sister, but he expected her to be back that night. In fact, he had been standing guard a few paces away from Snape's office and would have missed curfew if Snape didn't threaten him with detention for the rest of the year if he didn't go away. Robert told him he worried too much, but it's not as if he can control it, really.

Maleficent wasn't at breakfast when he got there, which made him immediately lose appetite. Diaval grabbed some toast using a napkin and proceeded to walk outside, thinking that the fresh air might clear his head. Good thing it was a Saturday, as he probably wouldn't be able to focus on his classes today.

Upon nearing the Black Lake, Diaval immediately recognized Maleficent's hunched form, sitting on an incredibly thick tree root. She looked up when she heard the crunch of the grass underneath his footsteps.

"Hey."

"Hello."

"Have you eaten? I have toast." Diaval offered.

"Thanks, but I already ate at uncle's before I left. I just arrived, actually."

Despite wanting to press for information, Diaval patiently waited until Maleficent herself initiated the conversation.

"I'm officially not an only child anymore." She said quietly. "I held her- she was a tiny thing. Uncle said I was bigger as a baby. But she's probably infinitely prettier than I was."

"I doubt that", Diaval disagreed. At her raised brow, he elaborated, "You're beautiful, so you must have been beautiful as a child. It's not a compliment; it's a fact." He clarified, seeing her disbelieving glance. "I wonder if it has something to do with your ancient bloodlines."

"Probably not. The Yaxleys are also still considered as one of the few truly pureblood families, and they're all ugly as sin."

"That's mean."

She smirked. "It's really not."

Diaval munched on his bread for a while, and when he was down to the last piece, he tossed it to the Lake for the giant squid, like they were used to doing. "What did they name your sister?" Diaval queried after a huge tentacle made its appearance.

"Aurora Rose."

Surprised, he turned to her. "They named her Aurora after naming you Maleficent?"

With an understanding smile, she explained, "It's not really odd, since Aurora was the name of my grandmother- Aurora Rosier, nee Selwyn. My sister apparently takes a lot after my late grandmother."

Sensing there was more to the story, Diaval waited. They sat in silence for a couple of minutes, until Maleficent continued, "I've only ever seen my grandmother in a painting in the house, and once in the flesh. She was probably the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, which was a brilliant mask to the ruthlessness that lay behind. She went to school with the Dark Lord, did you know? They were in the same year, and she was one of the first members of the Knights of Walpurgis." At Diaval's confused glance, she added, "They were the forerunners of the Death Eaters."

Fingers gingerly toying with the hem of her skirt, she carried on. "It was were she met grandfather. I guess for them, nothing was more romantic than plotting the domination of the muggle world." She chuckled humorlessly, and Diaval pursed his lips in her dry attempt at a joke. "Anyway, uncle told me grandmother was one of the most valued among the Dark Lord's servants. She was the one who taught Bellatrix Lestrange how to use Crucio to full effect. There are very few victims of the Wizarding War who wouldn't shudder at her name, my father once told me proudly. After the Dark Lord fell, a lot of other Death Eaters surrendered. Some, like Lucius Malfoy and my father, claimed they were under the Imperius curse. Coupled with their vast donations to the rehabilitation of the ministry after the war, they were pardoned. But my grandmother was a different story. Apparently she'd rather die than turn her back on the Dark Lord, and together with my grandfather and her eldest son, they fought until they were killed by several Aurors."

Maleficent stood up, stretching and walking closer to the edge of the Lake. "When I was younger, mother used to tell me about her, as if my grandmother was a role model I should aspire to become. She used to give me diatribes about how I should display the same level of loyalty to the pureblood cause as my grandmother did, and that the only way to do that is to never mingle with people of dirty blood and ensure that I carry on the legacy by making a respectable match."

Turning around to face him, she stated, "Obviously, that failed. But now they have another chance. Aside from the resemblance, I think another reason why they named my sister after my wretched grandmother was because they are hoping to mold her after the woman's image. Uncle explained that my parents have concluded that their mistake with me was that they tried to control my behavior but not my mindset. Now they want Aurora to grow up the opposite. Aggressive, ruthless, unforgiving- just like grandmother. They're hellbent on corrupting her, Diaval."

She said his name like it was a plea, like she was begging him to tell her what do or assure her that it will be alright. He stood up and approached her, noticing the breaking of her voice when she said, "they wouldn't even let me see her. Uncle said they'll ward Aurora's room against me."

"I can't let them have her. She's my sister. But I don't know what to do!" She exclaimed, pressing her face to her hands.

Diaval hated himself because he didn't know what to do, too. So he just wrapped his arms around her and let her cry on his shoulder. He felt her tears soak through his oxford shirt as he kept an arm around her shoulders and the other hand at the back of her head, stroking her hair. If he could keep her in his arms and protect her against the world, he would. If he could take her away and hide her from this, he would. He'd do anything and everything for her.


A/N: I just couldn't get that ending right. :(

More backstory regarding Maleficent Moor's family tree. :)) If I can make a decent cop (with neat handwriting and all, I might post a scanned version on my tumblr. But probably not, because my handwriting is atrocious and I have no art skills whatsoever.)