A/N: Thank you for all your reviews and follows/faves :)
A shorter one this time. There will be a few time jumps from this point out. Finally got most of this planned out now and have even written half of the last chapter as I was so uninspired to write this one. There will be a while before the ending though as it'll be going past Hogwarts :)
I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Let me know what you think. Have a good weekend, next chapter will be up between Wed-Fri :)
"You have got to be kidding me?" Brooke found herself snapping, annoyed by the sudden amount of people around her. It had been a long few weeks and all she wanted to do was go up to bed and be alone. "I'm really not in the mood to deal with all of you."
"If we wait for you to decide when you're ready to talk it's never going to happen." Sirius came up behind her and placed his hand on her lower back to gently nudge her towards the sofa where James was sat. "You're not going to get past all of us so just sit down, shut up and listen."
Brooke spun around to glare at Sirius with raised eyebrows. "I beg your pardon?"
Remus stood up and made his way between Sirius and Brooke, also glaring at the former as he did. "What Sirius meant was, we're trying to help. We all love you and seeing you like this isn't easy for us."
"There he is. Mr Rational trying to get through to me because Black's forcefulness isn't going to work." Brooke let out a fake laugh. "Have you even thought this through James? The last thing I want to do right now is sit and listen to anything any of you have to say."
"This wasn't my idea." James shrugged and looked towards Sirius.
Suddenly Brooke realised and it all made sense. "Of course it was him." Her eyes landed on Sirius. "He's the only one who would come up with the idea to force someone into doing something they didn't want to do."
"Everyone is here now so why don't you just give it a go?" Avery offered. The harsh eyes that were normally present on his face were unusually soft that Brooke almost didn't recognise them. It had been a long time since she'd seen them, and for a split second they almost threw Brooke off. In that minute moment all she wanted to do was run into his arms. They were the eyes she originally fell in love with all those years ago; before he'd seen any horrors of the world. The fact that he was also in on this horrific plan soon pushed any calmness that Brooke had felt away.
"Or what, Avery?" She spat out his last name. "You're going to curse me again? Torture me until I sit here and listen?"
Avery flinched at her words, his eyes seeming to get softer, if it was possible. Watching the girl he had known most of his life in such a bad place, and partly because of him, made him lose his cold, hard front. This made him look somewhat vulnerable, which he hoped no one apart from Brooke would notice. He couldn't have anyone else find out his weaknesses.
"Who peed in your cheerios?" Marlene threw her hands in the air whilst James and Avery shared a knowing look, Avery even nodding afterwards.
Brooke was completely unable to contain her anger. She wasn't even sure what had caused her to switch like that. Deep down she knew that they were all just trying to help her but having everyone piping up at her and treating her like she was doing this on purpose had just made her switch.
"What are you even doing here?" She snapped, her face was scrunched up in anger as she took a threatening step towards Marlene. "We don't like each other so why don't you just piss off and stay out of this!" Brooke reached into her robes but when she couldn't find what she was looking for she started panicking.
Sirius held a wand up in line with Brooke's eyes. "Looking for this?" He looked bored now as he watched Brooke's face contort with rage.
"Give. That. Back." Brooke growled through gritted teeth.
Despite her orders, Brooke knew with just one look from Sirius that there was no way she was getting her wand back until she sat down and listened to what the people she thought were her friends had to say. Surely, if they really were her friends, they would do as she wanted, even just for the time being. Friends wouldn't just gang up on her like everyone was doing. That was the only thing she could think. She couldn't see how they were trying to help.
"Fine." Brooke snapped and turned her back on Sirius. Her arms folded over her chest as her foot tapped impatiently waiting for someone to start. The sooner she got this over with the sooner they would leave her be. "So talk then. I'm listening."
As she stood rooted to the ground Brooke stared at the fireplace rather than at anyone scattered around her.
"Sit down Brooke." Avery sauntered towards her as he spoke. "Just go along with it and we'll have a chat afterwards."
Even after everything that had gone on Brooke knew she had to hear Avery out. There were questions she needed the answers to. If all it took to get them was for her to listen to what all these people had to say, she had to do it. She plodded over to the sofa and sat down with a sigh.
"I'm worried about you." James put on his soothing 'big brother' voice that he had used on Brooke for years. "We're all worried about you."
Brooke just stared at the far wall making it impossible for anyone to know if she was actually paying any attention to what James was saying..
"You are heading to this dark place." James continued, "I know that all this bad stuff keeps happening to you but that doesn't mean you can let it take over. You're stronger than that."
"Obviously not." Marlene muttered under her breath but everyone heard.
Brooke, who was unable to hide her dislike for the girl glared at her. Her fingers where flexing near where her wand should have been.
"If you're not going to help maybe you should leave." Remus got to Marlene before anyone else could. "Like Brooke said before, you two don't like each other. She'll probably be more comfortable without you here."
To Brooke's relief Marlene didn't say another word, instead she stormed up to the dormitory without so much as a glance at anyone in the room.
"Ignore her." Avery spoke in the same tone everyone else seemed to have adopted for the day, which only made Brooke want to laugh at them all. "The Brooke I grew up with would get over all of this with no problem."
"The Brooke you grew up with is long gone." Brooke snapped, not allowing herself to forgive Avery properly. "You are part of the reason she's no longer here."
"Dwelling on all of that isn't going to help you move on," Remus reasoned. "You have to let go of it all."
"Why don't you get Black to give me my wand and I'll show you how hard it is to just let go of it." Brooke snapped, instantly feeling guilty as she looked at Remus' face, the hurt apparent on it.
If it was anyone else she probably wouldn't have cared, but Remus really was only trying to help. She knew he would have just gone along with James and Sirius' idea thinking that there was nothing else they could do. None of those thoughts pushed the anger away for long enough.
"And that is what we're talking about!" Sirius threw his arms up in the air dramatically. "I'm used to that sort of treatment, but when have you ever spoken to Moony like that?"
Brooke didn't bother responding; not even a flinch or glance in Sirius' direction making it seem as though she hadn't even heard. She had though, and they hit her harder than she would have liked to admit. As much as it pained her to admit it, Sirius was right. Remus hadn't done anything to deserve how she spoke to him. None of them deserved the way she was treating them. It wasn't until seeing Remus' face that it even occurred to her that she was in fact hurting her friends.
The tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife. Remus looked disheartened as he looked at Brooke. James and Sirius were both torn between keeping an eye on Brooke and keeping an eye on Avery. Peter just looked uncomfortable, so it didn't come as a shock to anyone that he was yet to say anything. Alice seemed to be thinking of what she could say and Brooke sat, staring at her hands as her heart slowly grew heavier with each comment her friends made.
"We are constantly walking on eggshells, not sure what we can even say to you without you having a meltdown." Alice said thoughtfully. "You used to be one of the few people I could be myself around but now that's far from the truth."
A sigh came from Brooke's deflated body. "You're right." The words were barely a whisper as her eyes filled with tears.
"Everybody here is willing to try and help you get past all of this." James spoke to the girl who was the closest thing to a sister he would ever have. He tried to ignore her watering eyes as she realised that she really wasn't alone. Not if she didn't want to be. "But you can't keep pushing us away, B. We are all watching you become this nasty, spiteful person and that's not the girl we're friends with."
"We understand that you've been through a lot, but taking it out on us won't make it any better." Remus took over. "It won't bring your parents back or make Lily alright. That will all come with time. Until then though, you have us to fall back on."
"But we can't help you unless you're willing to help yourself." James continued again.
By this point Brooke was completely silent, as she sat completely still, staring at whoever was speaking. The only thing giving away her emotions were the tears that were cascading down her cheeks.
"And how do you think Lily will feel when she finally comes back if you're still like this?" Alice said softly. "She jumped in front of that curse. It was her choice. It's not your fault."
"Besides, had you not been there with her it probably would have ended a lot worse." Avery admitted causing most of the Gryffindor's to look at him in disgust.
Brooke nodded. She knew he was right. Malfoy or Mulciber would have gone about it all in a completely different way. There wouldn't have been any talking. It would have been cursing first and asking questions later.
Whilst everyone else's attention was on Avery, Sirius and James kept their gaze on Brooke. It was hard to work out what was going on in her head. They recognised a hint of emotion in her face though, and even though they couldn't figure out what emotion it was, it was better than no emotion at all.
From across the way Brook finally diverted her gaze to Sirius for the first time since she'd sat down. As their eyes locked she realised how full of concern his were, something she'd never expect to see coming from him. She still couldn't work out why he was trying to help her so much. It couldn't be just because of James, he'd never put this much effort into having anything to do with her in the past. Even when James had specifically asked him to.
"Avery's right." Sirius didn't remove his eyes from Brooke's as he directed his words to the rest of the group. "Had Br...Anderson not been there Lily wouldn't have stood a chance. At least with the pair of them they were able to defend themselves for a bit."
At the sound of Sirius almost calling Brooke by her name one corner of her mouth twitched slightly, going unnoticed by everyone except Sirius. The others were too busy whispering amongst themselves. It seemed to be a day of firsts. A Slytherin in the Gryffindor common room. Sirius publicly agreeing with that Slytherin.
Brooke's eyes flickered to meet James' causing a small smile to appear on his lips. "I get you're just trying to help." She croaked, her voice weak. "I've barely been able to process what went on the other night, and I'm still processing everything else. I just need some time."
"You've had lots of time, Brooke." Peter spoke for the first time since the beginning of the intervention. "But even when it's been good you've not been the girl we all love and miss. We haven't seen her since last year." His cheeks reddened as he spoke.
This time Brooke didn't fight the smile and she let it show on her face. She and Peter had never been the closest; partly due to the fact that he was constantly following Sirius around, so she didn't expect anything of the sort to come out of his mouth. The fact that he had gone bright red meant Brooke knew he had actually meant it.
"I know Pete. It's just not been easy." Brooke continued, trying to comfort him with a smile. It was only a small smile, but it was real.
"It wasn't ever going to be easy." A small voice came from the back of the room. A voice that no one had heard since the previous year at school. "But at least your parents are alive."
Mary MacDonald took a step into Brooke's eyeline. Brooke's face dropped at the sight. It wasn't that she didn't want to see her; it was that she didn't know what to say to her. If she couldn't snap herself out of her own misery, then there was no way she could make someone feel better when they were worse off.
"Mary?" Brooke gaped at her, guilt rising up within her. Any anger she once felt towards her friends had vanished at the sight of the petite girl in front of her. "We weren't sure if you were coming back." It was the only thing she could trust herself to say.
"So that's why I didn't hear from you at all?" Mary's Scottish accent was thick as she confronted her friend. "Because I heard from everyone else."
Brooke lowered her gaze, obviously ashamed. "I didn't know what to say." She spoke truthfully. "If I couldn't deal with the disappearance of my family, how could I find the right words to comfort you at the loss of yours?"
"Anything would have been better than the silence. I thought we were friends?" Mary's accent grew thicker as her words tumbled out faster.
"We are!" Brooke couldn't look anywhere except at the frizzy haired girl in front of her.
"Listen Brooke," Mary walked over to Brooke, always making sure there was always someone between her and Avery. "I wrote to you, numerous times. If I could have taken time out of my own self pity you could have too."
Brooke stared at Mary with her mouth wide open for a moment. "Mare. I'm so sorry."
"Listen, I get it. I do." Mary sat down on the sofa next to Brooke and held her hand gently. "But you need to remember that the world doesn't revolve around you. Lily is going to need you when she gets back."
With those few words Mary had made Brooke feel the smallest she had ever felt. She knew before she got there that she wasn't herself; that she was struggling to be the carefree girl she was just the year before. She had never imagined that she was putting her friends through this.
"You are going to see your parents again. Hold onto that." Mary squeezed her hand. "That's what will get you through this. Instead of focussing on the bad find something good to focus on. Anything to stop you from returning to this. If I can do it, you can do it."
"I'll try." Was the best Brooke could come up with without lying. She wanted, more than anything, to tell everyone that she would sort it out but she wasn't sure if she could. She was starting to second guess her strength. It really did feel like she was on some downward spiral that she couldn't pull herself out of.
Mary let go of Brooke's hand as she stood up and made her way to Alice. They both threw a soft, comforting smile at Brooke before nodding towards James and heading up the stairs to the dormitory.
The remaining group all sat down around Brooke, James and Avery on either side of her, Sirius opposite and Peter and Remus either side of Sirius. This was the part that James originally thought would create the biggest impact on Brooke. However, going by the state she was already in he wasn't sure if he was entirely correct.
Her anticipation for this chat had completely left her. The thought of hearing something that she couldn't bare didn't sit well with Brooke. She'd already pushed everyone away enough, she didn't need another reason to do so.
"Lucius was right." Avery started softly, examining every twitch that Brooke made wanting to understand her reaction. "They are working with them."
"But they wouldn't." James interrupted. He seemed more shocked than Brooke was, who was staring at her hands again.
"I don't know why they are, but they are." He reached for one of Brooke's hands, which she let him hold. "Your mum has been marked. It could be a deal, or the imperius, or they want to be there. That I don't know."
Brooke's breathing hitched at the thought of her mum having the dark mark. Avery could try and make her feel better all he wanted but it wouldn't work. They all knew that it was only Voldemort's inner circle who had the mark. It would take a lot for her to get there.
Bile rose up in Brooke's throat as she thought about the things her mum must have done to get to where she was. Her head was swimming with ideas as to why she was even there. She had never thought she was better than a muggle born so Brooke couldn't get her head around what was going on.
"They've been moving around a lot. Obviously they can't stay at yours. They were staying at Black's until this week where they moved to the Rosier's. They'll probably just be there for a month and I have no idea where they'll be staying after that. It all depends on what they need to do." Avery explained hoping not to push Brooke further away. "That's all I know. I promise."
"Thanks." Brooke choked out even though she was anything but thankful. That was one of the worst things she could have heard.
Being in the inner circle wasn't something you could just get out of. Brooke knew it wasn't going to be a simple as just finding them any more. Her mum was bound to Voldemort, fighting for a cause she didn't believe in. Brooke knew something wasn't right and that there had to be a reason that it had happened. Determined, Brooke decided she was going to get to the bottom of it if it was the last thing she did.
She finally found the thing she needed to focus on to get on with her life. She wasn't going to focus on the fact that her parents were missing. They obviously needed her help, and she wasn't going to just leave her parents over there.