Oppos almost forgot it was update day. Oh well. Here it is...
As expected the next few days passed quietly enough with the occasional explosion from exploding snap or Trixabelle cursing muggle ovens for burning her finger again. Each time Severus made her hold the wounded digit under running water before putting a balm on it. She didn't seem to get on too well with the kettle either even though she'd grown up around them.
"She never did understand muggle inventions." Aunt Ruth said to Severus one evening as Trixabelle was nursing her latest burn. "She always was an unusual child -could work magic better than the television by the time she was five. She did come to understand the television after a while but everything in the kitchen remained a mystery to her. Even from a young age she knew she was set for a path in a different place."
"Comes from having two powerful magic users for parents, my dear." Uncle John said. "She always was a sweet girl though."
Trixabelle plonked herself down on the arm of her dad's chair and held her hand out to him.
"This is worse than usual." Severus observed. "Much worse."
"Well I wasn't exactly looking at what I was doing. The fireworks distracted me."
New Year had come around meaning there really were only a few weeks of safety at Hogwarts left. Trixabelle hadn't realised how much time had passed until that moment and felt her heart plummet. Normally fireworks were for celebration this time they were a warning. A blunt, sharp warning.
For a while she had been living as any other person and sometimes she forgot she was in danger. What could happen to her when she was surrounded by her family?
She flinched, the pain in her hand bringing her back down to earth. A bandage was being wrapped around her hand a little too tight for comfort. She could also feel something cold and soothing on her skin.
"A poultice." Severus said. "You should be back to normal in the morning. Until then I don't want you using the kettle."
"Not planning on. Thanks, Dad." She flexed her fingers and walked back into the kitchen to clear the hot water up.
After a moment Severus followed her. He had guessed correctly that she would be using magic to tidy up. She looked content using her magic in such a muggle environment. When this had been his parents' home his muggle father had insisted on a muggle looking house and he had left it that way after they quitted the place during the first war. There wasn't much point in changing it as he spent most of his time at Hogwarts.
"Were you happy there?" he asked.
"Yeah." Trixabelle shrugged in a noncommittal way. "Sure. School was alright and Uncle John and Aunt Ruth are great."
Severus pointed his wand at the door and whispered muffilato.
"But..." he prompted.
Sighing Trixabelle lowered her wand and stared out of the window to look somewhere in the middle distance. "It was like moving from one prison to another. One of memories to one of near isolation." She admitted her heart sinking. She hated to speak badly of her guardians but there were some truths that could not be softened no matter how much she tried. She decided to explain Beauxbatons first.
"They don't have houses there and we were all just thrown in with whoever was next in the alphabet. I grew up with mostly English until I went there. I understood French a little but mostly it was… Anyway I was far too ahead even in my first year and quickly got bored. The outdoors was the only relief I had – the sound of birdsong and the wind, the winged horses. The smell of malt whisky." she smiled a sad smiled and sighed. "During lessons I'd try and challenge myself but I'd still do reckless things sometimes like climbing up the rock face, scale the palace walls just for the hell of it. Disapparating was probably the most dangerous thing I did. I ended up in hospital a couple of times after a spectacular fall or two. But even the medi-wizard refused to speak in English so I could understand him. When I wasn't doing something stupid I sat outside where no one could bother me and I'd do homework or I'd hide away and experiment with something."
She began to busy herself again with tidying up and said nothing for a few moments before taking a breath and starting again.
"Home was… well I don't really remember it before she died. We went on holiday with some friends to the south of the country. My friend and her family were killed by Death Eaters. No one knows what they were doing so far away from Voldemort. Aunt Ruth only started collecting the muggle inventions after that. To remember. Home was never the same after that. Suffocating sometimes."
"You never said anything?"
"No. We coped in different ways. That's all." She shrugged. "I finished your marking for you. You work far too hard sometimes."
Trixabelle walked out the room and went to hers where she ruminated in the silence of her room.
Severus stood in the kitchen wondering of he should tell her the truth. That it wasn't Death Eaters at all but the Order. That her friend, Sabine, was a metamorphmagus – twenty five years old, not the five she appeared to be. She was one of the Dark Lord's own and about to betray Trixabelle's whereabouts. That he had been there that night and saw his uncle and aunt.
"You could see her." Aunt Ruth said.
Those were four words he'd been dreading since his arrival. Four words that now had his mind and his heart pulling in two different directions – one for the better of himself and one for the better of the world. How this was fair he'd never know. He may have made some bad decisions in the past but in that moment he was sure he didn't deserve this.
"She's a darling sweet little thing –"
"No." he interrupted successfully shattering his heart once more. "Go back to Paris immediately. Never come back here." and with that he once again Disapparated away from his daughter.
"Alright, Severus?" Aunt Ruth asked.
He didn't answer.
He knew she didn't deserve anymore secrets in her life but didn't she also deserve to have a happy memory of the person she thought of as a friend? As it was she had already learnt so much about her past that it was a wonder she was coping at all. And didn't she deserve to have at least the last few days of her holiday without worry and hurtful news?
When she didn't come down for lunch he took some up for her. She was looking at the photo of her and her friend Sabine. He sighed and sat beside her on the bed. Once again he was going to have to tell her something he wished she didn't have to know.
After he'd told her exactly what happened that night she sat there staring at the photo which was now lying limply in her hands.
"Is there anything from my past that's real?" she asked.
The picture fell from her hand as she stood up. She walked over to the window and rested her head on the cool glass.
"Let's just get one thing straight, Dad. Is there anything else I should know?"
"No."
"If it weren't for the Dark Lord would you have stayed?"
"In a heartbeat."
Trixabelle stayed silent as she gazed out at the rain. Severus quietly slipped out of the room to leave her to her thoughts.
Trix crept down the stairs. Her sneakoscope had been going crazy and she's heard whispered spells coming from downstairs. Her door had been locked from the outside with magic and she'd only just been able to get it open.
Everything was silent.
Her wand was drawn and she kept close to the walls barely daring to breathe. The lounge door was closed. This time she didn't have the luxury of taking time to use extendible ears. This time she was going to have to take the risk and just go straight in there.
She slammed the living room door open to surprise whoever was in there. The only people in there were her dad and uncle. Frozen in place.
Without much thought she renovated both of them rushing to her Dad's side demanding to know what happened.
"We're leaving." Severus said without explanation.
The window was shattered from the outside and spells flew in. Trix momentarily screamed but she was shielded by Severus who threw himself front of her at the same time as repelling the spells. Uncle John was instantly stunned. Trix sent glass shards flying back out the window, shouted 'reducto' and stunned someone else. Uncle John stood and fired a couple of weak spells.
"Go to Hogwarts! Now!" Severus shouted firing a couple of spells and shoved Uncle John in the direction of the fire place.
"Not without Ruth!"
"We'll find her. Go!" Trix shouted and gave him an extra push.
The fireplace shone green.
"She's not here!" Trix shouted. "Trust me she's not here."
A spell threw her into the fire place and it sucked her away throwing her out in the headmistress's office at Hogwarts.
Professor McGonagall rose from her desk and hurried round to Trix's side. She was wide eyed, shaking with adrenalin, fear plastered on her face. She was counting to ten. McGonagall tried talking to her, asking her what was happening but was ignored for a few frantic seconds.
"Disapparate to Spinners End." Trix ordered.
"Trixa –"
She moved to grasp both of McGonagall's arms and looked her in the eye.
"Outside the house. Go!"
The command in her voice made Minerva do it.
Taking the situation in quickly Minerva began firing spells at the same time as Trix. There were seven people outside now with their attention divided between two threats. Severus dived into the fire at the first opportunity.
Trix had been pushed back down the street by three people. She was just about holding them off but beginning to lose. Minerva chanced a spell over her shoulder at the three attackers whilst still trying to hold off the two that were on her.
Trix took the distraction of the extra spell and took off towards Minerva knowing there was little time to get out of there. By this point Minerva was surrounded. Trix fired a few distracting spells but as one all the attackers Disapparated.
"Come now, Trixabelle." Minerva said.
Ignoring her Trix slowly, quietly moved away. Her eyes focused on the turning of the next street. There was movement around the next corner. A slight flourish of cloaks. Minerva disappeared, transfiguring into a cat. Trixabelle watched her proceed ahead of her, the cat paws padding ever so softly on the wet floor.
Impatient and annoyed that she couldn't move as quickly as a cat, Trix stole though the shadows and stepped over puddles stopping only at the very corner of the house closest to where the cat was stopped.
Two husky voiced people were talking.
"He won't fall for it."
"We have others to target. Other's he'd trust with his life."
"You mean the –"
"Hush! We'll talk of this with the mistress when we get back."
There was a loud crack of the double Disapparition.
The cat changed back into the more recognisable form of Minerva McGonagall who marched up to Trix and Disapparated back to Hogwarts.
Severus was pacing the office. As soon as he heard the crack of the Apparition he turned to the sound and caught Trixabelle by the shoulders.
"You should never have gone back for me. You could have –"
"Shut up and listen!" Trixabelle snapped over him. "The Order is in danger. They're using Aunt Ruth as bait but they're not sure she'll be enough and are targeting them too. Bring them here."
He was already moving.
"What exactly did they say?"
'"We have others to target. Others he'd trust with his life."'
"Go to the hospital wing. There's nothing you can do here."
Fanfic decided to have a tiz-woz whilst I was trying to upload this, but yeah, Aunt Ruth is missing. Eeek!
Next time Trix rants at her father and Molly and Arthur Weasley make an appearance...
Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling
