So guys, this is kind of a huge chapter, and you'll never see this coming.
Now some bits may seem unrealistic, but we are talking about fiction here, remember?
So please enjoy, and PLEASE REVIEW. I will appreciated it FOREVER.
xx
Albus's POV
I felt kind of bad as I watched Aurora storm off by herself, but it was her own fault. Was she crazy? Or just plain stupid? Remus, Rose and I didn't speak for the rest of the way; we couldn't find any words to say. I didn't like Aurora being mad at us, but what else was there to do? I mean, I didn't want to see her get hurt, which would inevitably happen if she met... him. The thought of him alone made my blood boil, and my fists clench. Rose, seeing this, touched my arm in a reassuring way. I just nodded, and took calming breaths. Damn Aurora for being so stubborn.
The dining hall was soon coming into sight; however I didn't really feel like facing the gossip that was sure to come when Aurora didn't sit with us.
"Here goes nothing" and we made our way in. I instantly saw Aurora, as if she was a magnet and my eyes couldn't help but find her. She was sitting nearest to the door, to us, in between Lilliana and Anna? I think that's her name. Anyway, there were no seats near her, so we were forced to make our way up to the other end of the dining table. James and Aaron stared at us, their gazes flicking between us all. They seemed to catch on to what was going, which meant everyone else had. Oh well, I didn't really care what they thought anyway. People were going to judge, that couldn't be changed. Finding some seats, the food looked less appetizing than usual, although thankfully it didn't taste that way. While we picked at our food, we kept an eye on Aurora. James and Aaron had said something to her, and were now making their way over here, great. They made room and sat on either side of the three of us. Dinner was nearly finished, so they had better make this quick.
"What's up, it seems that you guys seem to be having a bit of a quarrel eh? Well, my presumption is that it's about something silly, like he said she said. No? Well then pray tell." So we did, we filled them in on everything, and by the end, they looked as horrified as we felt. Realising that people were leaving, we snapped our heads up, and watched as Aurora snuck out the door. We ran after her, but she was quicker, and we couldn't catch her. By the time we had reached the tower, she was already inside, and Scorpius' thugs stood guard. Why couldn't her usual clumsiness have stopped her? We stood guard, wands at the ready, prepared to barge in at a moment's notice.
Some time passed before there was a commotion inside the tower, and both Remus and I went to stand up, to help, but Aaron and James pulled us back down and held their fingers to their lips in a 'sshh' motion and pulled us further back into the bushes. If any teacher caught us, we would be dead meat. In fact, upon racing out here, I had completely forgotten about the killer that was on the loose, and suddenly, it seemed to get a lot colder, and several shades darker. Twigs started snapping, possibly the murderer sneaking up on us, or a night time animal, I thought reasonably. I noticed Rose looked scared out of her wits, and Remus had a soothing arm around her. Suddenly, we heard the door burst open, and we froze like a muggles picture. We could just barely see the steps, and my skin, which had been cold before, was now like ice. Bellatrix Lestrange, the famed follower of Lord Voldemort, had a knife to Aurora's throat and was pushing her down the stairs. I could hear Rose gasp, and because Bellatrix and Aurora were nearly at the bottom of the stairs now, they heard it. Bellatrix whipped her head around, and a sly smile crawled onto her lips.
"Well, it appears your friends didn't leave you alone after all. How cute. Well then, we best not leave them sitting in the cold" she pulled out her wand, a firm hand still on the knife that glinted against Aurora's throat, and I wanted nothing more than to run out there and protect her, but James' restraining hand stopped me from doing any such thing. Unexpectedly, fire sprung from Bellatrix's wand, and engulfed the bush in which we were crouching. If it had not been for a sudden spurt of water that seemed to come from behind us, we would have been burnt alive. Aurora was struggling against Bellatrix's restraint, and cried desperately in the direction of where the fire had been flung. It had burnt a hole in the bush, and we could be plainly seen. So much for cover.
"Not in my school, Bellatrix" Stunned, we looked behind us to see Headmistress McGonagall, Snape, Tonks, Mrs. Granger, and the rest of the teachers standing there, wands at the ready. We stayed put, not wanting to move any further away from Aurora.
"Well well well, if it isn't a little reunion, teachers and students. You know, I really have all of you to thank for my new power, because if you hadn't taken out Voldemort, then I wouldn't have realised my true potential, and never risen to my rightful claim as Death Master." I had to hold back a snort at that. Death Master? Who did she think she was?
"Let the children go, and we will spare your life. If not, then you will be joining your beloved Voldemort in the pits of hell." I'd never seen the Headmistress look so fierce, and it was truly frightening.
"Hmm, let me think about that. If you cast a spell, you risk killing the girl, and I'm sure you wouldn't want to harm your precious Chosen One, now would you?" The Headmistress kept her fierce stare blazing into Bellatrix, but you could see that Bellatrix had struck a nerve. Aurora, upon hearing this, froze, surprised. Bellatrix noticed, and looked between McGonagall and Aurora.
"Well! It appears she doesn't know. Would you like to tell her, or would you allow me? I'd be happy to, but I'm sure you wouldn't want me to spin it and make you look like the bad guys, now would you?" The headmistress seemed to be having an argument in her own head, but defeated, she relented, and we all listened in, carefully.
"You see, 13 years ago, upon the completion of the war, the Deatheaters were more than happy to release certain secrets about their leader. They led us to a seemingly abandoned house, and informed us that inside we would find the heir of all evil. Voldemorts... child. We went in, and discovered a baby, barely a few months old, in a cot in a room with brightly painted walls, baby toys, baby clothes, you name it. Now, we thought, surely this couldn't be His house, it was too... bright, happy. But there on the wall, right above a cot which housed the most beautiful baby girl, was a picture of none other than Lord Voldemort and his daughter, Maiya Merope Mary Riddle. We knew her name because it had been sewn into a blanket that she was lying in. She had the same black mop of hair that he had had, the same dark eyes. The Deatheaters informed us that Lord Voldemort had told only a few of his daughter, and he had hired a woman to take care of her when he wasn't there. The carer was a muggle, and had been scared off a few days before the battle was waged. Little Maiya had shown incredible power for a young witch, perhaps more than Lord Voldemort himself. She could change the weather with a blink of her eye, a feat nearly impossible even with a wand. She conjured flowers out of thin air, she could levitate her cot. She was the first thing that Lord Voldemort even remotely loved, and he went to great lengths to protect her. He placed every protection charm under the moon on her, which soon wore off after his death. A Hogwarts teacher had been kidnapped and forced to look after her, but when we entered the house she was nowhere to be found. With such power in her blood, we knew that it was essential that she turn out good, otherwise we didn't stand a chance. We had found a letter, written to the young girl, from Voldemort, and it was labelled that she read it at least 10 years from now." The Headmistress had tears in her eyes as she continued on, "We didn't know what to do, so we did what we thought was best. We placed her into the care of some of the most warm-hearted and loving Wizard and Witch, for them to raise her in a peaceful and happy environment, where she could be shown love and acceptance. Where she would be free to run around and enjoy her childhood. For risk of her being noticed as who she was, we put a spell on her that made her look like the parents child. Gorgeous long blonde hair, violet eyes. Very few knew of this young girl, and who she truly was. Some had heard rumours, but they couldn't find any fact. I'm so sorry Aurora, but if you haven't figured it out already, it's you." And with that, she flicked her wand, and gone was the platinum blonde hair and violet eyes. In their place was long, silky black hair, and dark, tear ridden eyes. Small sobs were escaping from Aurora's lips, and behind me I could hear Remus comforting Rose, who too was crying. I could do nothing but stare at the girl that I thought I knew. I could no longer feel James's hand, as he too was in shock. Aaron had paled, but didn't look surprised.
"But, but, but... that-t m-meaans, I-I, I'm e-e-e-vil" She just got out the sentence, before another sob escaped her lips. The headmistress shook her head firmly.
"No. Ancestry has nothing to do with how someone will turn out. You are pure good Aurora, pure good." But Aurora didn't believe it; you could see it in her eyes. Bellatrix still had the knife on her throat, but the girl didn't even seem to notice.
"Well, while this is touching and all, we really best be off." Bellatrix took a step forward... and walked right through Aurora. The 'Death Master' yelped, and looked around wildly.
"But how-?" Bellatrix stared in horror as she said the words. Aurora was staring in shock at herself.
"She's more powerful than you know, and it turns out some of those protection spells still exist." McGonagall said dryly. Bellatrix made a grab for Aurora, but again her hand went straight through, as if touching a ghost.
"Come Aurora, come Scorpius" The Headmistress motioned to them both, and Scorpius was more than happy to comply, shoving past Aurora, whose head had snapped up. Bellatrix had made off into the night, along with her Deatheaters, as soon as she realised she was losing this battle.
We came out of the bushes, and her gazed focused on us. She must have read the hurt in our eyes, and she stepped towards us, one hand outstretched. As if not by our own will, we took a step back. Aurora in took a sharp breath, and looked so hurt that I thought she was going to crumble to pieces. Rose was the only one who hadn't stepped back, but stepped forward, despite the threat and Remus's restricting hold on her arm.
"Let go of me" She pulled her arm free, and made her way towards Aurora. Her mother watched on, half fright, half pride in her eyes.
"As far as I see it, she's still Aurora and she's still my best friend." The two girls hugged, as if long lost sisters. Aaron too, went to stand beside them.
"I hate to say it for fear you will no longer like me, but I knew it all along" The two girls moved out of their hug, and stared at Aaron in shock.
"Yes, I'm afraid it's true. When my parents died, Dumbledore found me, and requested that I stay with you, to be a friend to you. To make sure you didn't fall off track. When you were nine, I had to move away, because he felt that you needed independence, to make more friends. Also, I had Hogwarts to attend. I don't ask for forgiveness, for I felt it was the right thing to do, I am simply letting you know." Aurora wiped at her tears, and hugged Aaron. She turned towards the three of us, and we stood frozen there, unsure what to do.
"Albus?" She asked, arms outstretched, but I didn't see my best friend Aurora. I saw the daughter of a man who had killed millions, and I couldn't shake that. I looked over at Remus, who was no longer beside me, but in the darkest corner of the bush. He seemed a bit twitchy, and to be in pain.
"Look, I really don't care who your father was Aurora, and I would come out and hug you but... I can't. Tonight's the full moon, and well, I get a bit funny at the full moon." Remus shifted uncomfortably as he spoke, but not because of the words he was saying. Tonks, who had been watching the exchange, turned her head in alarm and rushed over to her son.
"Did you take the potion Remus? Did you take it?" Remus looked into his mothers desperate eyes, and shook his head sadly. She gasped, and looked around frantically. Aurora rushed over, followed by Rose and Aaron, but I stepped out of her way, like she was a disease I didn't want to catch. She chose to ignore this, and crouched down beside Remus. James was on his other side, and the teachers were crowded around, trying to block out the moon.
"Look, just for the record, I don't care who your father was either. We all have our family demons" As James said this, he looked pointedly at me, but I looked away, not before seeing the small smile of appreciation that came to Aurora-or should I say Maiya's- lips. She turned back to Remus.
"Okay look, Remus, you're going to have to trust me, alright. I have no clue where this idea came from, but I think it will work, alright? I'm going to freeze the werewolf genes inside you, and you're going to run as fast as you can to shelter. Alright?" He looked frightened, but Remus nodded. She turned her attention to us.
"You're going to have to get out of the way when I say now, that's when Remus is going to run. Understood?" She had this newfound confidence, and there was no room to question her. She nodded, as if to herself, and you could see her nerves and a bit of the old Aurora in her expression.
"Okay, here goes nothing" after a few deep breaths she snapped her fingers. Remus flinched, and Aurora screamed "Now!" the teachers moved out of the way, and Remus took off sprinting. Some teachers chased after him, including his mother. Aurora had gone deathly pale, as if the light had been drained out of her. Well, I thought to myself, that tends to happen when you're the heir of all evil. I knew I was being unrealistic, unfair. She was still the same Aurora, just with different parents. Still, I couldn't look at her the same way and I averted her stare, once so familiar, now not. She seemed to get the message, and I hated the hurt look that came over her face. She shoved past me, and I let her go. She stormed off, no-one trying to stop her. I came out of the bush, and Rose was standing there, anger plain on her face. She had her arms crossed and she was pursing her lips.
"How could you! It's still Aurora! Why do you have to be so uptight? Is she, or is she not, your best friend? How can that change in an hour? She's still herself, and she's going to need all the friends that she can get now that Bellatrix is out and about and looking to kidnap her. I swear, Albus Severus Potter, if you do not go looking for her and apologise, I will do unimaginable things to cause you great pain and discomfort, do you understand?" Realising there was no way out of this, I nodded. She pulled something from a bag that I hadn't realised she was carrying. It was the Marauders' map.
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good" her eyes searched the map, and stopped having found what she was looking for. "She's in the bell tower, now go, and don't think you can trick me, I'll be watching." And with that and a shove in the right direction, I found myself following the path that led to my destination, thinking about what I would say. Things are about to change at Hogwarts, I thought, as I looked up at the rumbling night sky which promised the threat of a storm, it had already begun.
HUGE RIGHT? Tell me about it.
It was so much fun writing this chapter, and I hope it was just as much fun reading it.
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