Chapter 12

Gemini tried blocking out the sounds of their voices. They were patient with her, and even stopped by a Starbucks so Abigail could get her what she usually bought back when they both worked in the Ministry, and though she ate the croissant and frappe and felt better, she still refused to acknowledge their presence.

"Gemini, please," Abigail said pleadingly. She and Cassio were seated beside the doors, Gemini on the cushions on the side of the limo. "We're sorry we abandoned you at that party, but if you'll listen, we'll explain why we did it—and with good reason!"

She turned her head to them. "Oh, I'm sorry. Do you not like being utterly ignored and forgotten? Perhaps you just like it when it's not directed at you."

"Just listen to us, for fuck's sake." Cassio sighed. He rubbed the skin between his eyebrows before looking up. "Driver, stop."

The limo came to a halt. They had been driving for almost an hour, and only then did Gemini take a look at where they were. They were in some road Gemini didn't recognize. On both sides of the road were fields, the one on the right enclosed with a white fence holding a barn and animals.

"Look," Cassio said. "Just hear us out, then you can ask us anything we missed out. If you don't like what you hear, then you can go. Sounds fair?"

"I already hear your voice, can I go now?"

"Gemini…"

Gemini sighed. She wanted nothing to do with her so-called friends, who did nothing but desert her. She remembered Abigail's look of guilt as they left her engagement party, so Abigail's presence was understandable. She didn't get why Cassio, her ex-boyfriend who was but a fling in her memory, was there, nor why the other friends whom the two claimed to be there for her were not there either.

But still, she was moving. Based on the map she saw, it was likely that Harry was watching her movements. Hermione would have obviously upgraded the map for it to go this far, but she knew that it would be impractical for Harry to go after her while she was moving. And yet, Abigail knew about the map but didn't seem worried about it. Gemini sighed, thinking of her two options: a forest in Devon or the Flint Summerhouse—summer mansion, as Gemini called it—in Sussex. Well, it's not like I have a schedule. "Fine. I'll listen." She grumbled.

"Good." Cassio said. He snapped his fingers and the driver started driving the car.

"Okay." Abigail started. "So you and the rest of the wizarding world know that our parents barely escaped prison after the war, right? They managed to evade a trip to Azkaban because although they supported the Dark Lord's beliefs, the Ministry could never prove that they assisted the Dark Lord and committed and anything wrong. But in truth? They were just really good at hiding what they didn't want the Ministry to know. Our families kept hiding and smuggling the remaining Death Eaters out of the country, intent that they finished their cause. All of them conspired to smuggle Rodolphus Lestrange out, but he refused and decided to go on the run, trying to bring back the Dark Lord, though he did eventually get caught.

"But before he left the safety of our parents' protection, he told them that Voldemort and his wife had a child together, and he had no idea where the child was after the war, but the child was key to bringing back the Dark Lord. Of course, our parents believed him, and we were quite lucky that the Aurors dismissed that claim and didn't ask us about it, and they believed it was just Lestrange's attempt to scare them.

"They tried looking for you, but there were no leads. They figured the Malfoys had you, seeing as Bellatrix's sister was Narcissa Malfoy, but they claimed to have no knowledge of a child from Bellatrix. By the time they figured the Malfoys were lying, every possibility ran cold. But the thing is, they never gave up."

"They didn't?" Gemini asked dubiously.

"They didn't." Abigail nodded. "They waited for years because they only had one solid lead, but they never gave up on finding you. Their only lead was that Voldemort and Bellatrix had a child, and it just so happened that the child was the same age as some of their children—you, me, Cassio, Zoey, and everyone else in the group. Everything else—if the Malfoys dumped you in an orphanage or tricked a Muggle family into believing you were theirs—was all speculative leads. So they made a plan: they got us to look for you. When first year started, they told us to look for a Muggleborn sorted into Slytherin, possibly pale, possibly black-haired, possibly an orphan—and you fit the description of what they were looking for perfectly—and then they told us to befriend you and watch you very closely."

"At first we were very hesitant to befriend a Mudblood," Cassio recalled, "but then we saw how remarkable you were, how good you were at magic without even trying, and we knew our parents were onto something. We had to convince everyone you were half-blood to make it work for us, though."

"Right, so as we grew older, our parents started telling us why were supposed to hang out with you." Abigail continued. "They said you were Voldemort's child, that you had the power to bring him back and create the perfect pureblood society he wanted, and we had to keep a close eye on you until the time you proved it without a doubt. And you did, on the night of that party. We—"

"Whoa, stop the car." Gemini scowled. "So…all this time…you were just being told to hang out with me? Like some unpopular kid whose mom pays other kids to be friends with her kid, but in a more fucked up way?"

"Don't stop!" Cassio shouted at the driver.

"No! I promise you, it was never like that!" Abigail exclaimed. She jumped out her seat and sat next to Gemini and hugged her. "You are my best friend, and I have never lied about that. We have never lied about that."

"Then why didn't you help me when I needed you?" Gemini shouted.

"We wanted to help you, but we had orders not to. With the position daddy and the rest of our parents were in the war, we couldn't be implicated with being your friends, especially when who you were became public. We had to be above reproach, and we were forced to wash our hand off of you."

"That's a funny way of doing it, leaving me alone and then coming for me in a damned limo." Gemini said dryly.

"We worked under orders, Gemini." Cassio explained. "We couldn't help you in any way until we knew for sure."

"Knew what?"

"That you were truly your father's daughter and you were going to escape and fulfill your prophecy."

Gemini raised an eyebrow. "You knew about the prophecy?"

"We did."

"I've heard enough. Stop the car."

The car abruptly stopped. Abigail looked at her. "Gemini—"

"What kind of fucking friends are you?" Gemini shrieked at them. "That's a load of bullshit, you know, saying you're my real friends and you're looking out for me but you couldn't because of orders. You're obviously helping now that you know I'm back and you don't want my father to get even with you when I take control."

Cassio looked at her sternly. "You don't completely understand!"

"I UNDERSTAND COMPLETELY! I nearly killed myself, got attacked by Victoire, drowned in the North Sea, and spent twelve hours flying around Great Britain, hungry and exhausted. Either this is one way of yours to not get killed when I bring my father back or some elaborate attempt from the Aurors to arrest me, I don't care. I'm not sticking around!" Gemini said angrily. "Besides, since when have you ever taken your parents' orders seriously?"

She noticed the two of them look at each other. "Gemini," Abigail said quietly, "our parents didn't orchestrate any of this. I mean, yeah, they're part of your quasi-Death Eater group among many other of us purebloods and they support the plan to have you bring back your father, but…none of our parents created this plan. Someone else. Someone we can't refuse."

Gemini narrowed her eyes. "Who?"

"We can't tell you now, it's hard to explain. Better he tell you himself when we get to the house." Cassio impatiently snapped his hands and the driver drove off once more. "Trust me when I say this: you do not understand what's going on right now. There's a reason why the Ministry won't be finding you for quite a while."

"I—"

"Just wait until we get to the Flints', babe." Cassio snapped. Gemini glared at him and scowled before leaning back on her seat.

"So much for 'if you don't like what you hear then you can go'…" Gemini muttered before looking out the window. She could see the Flints' summerhouse just up on the hill ahead, and after five minutes, the limo pulled over in front of the grand front door.

Gemini stepped out of the limo. She saw a house elf step out of the driver's seat, got her bag from the car, and carried it inside.

"The room next to Abigail's, Blank." Cassio said as he entered.

"Come on, Gemini." Abigail said solemnly. "He doesn't like to be kept waiting."

"Who?" Gemini asked, but Abigail waved at her to follow as she walked briskly inside. As she entered, several people sitting on the couches in front of the fireplace stood up. The two of them passed the foyer and into the living room, and Gemini saw a mixture of her old Slytherin friends and older people she didn't recognize.

"Abby," Abigail's father said. "You're late."

"We had a bit of a detour." Abigail said indifferently as she strode past them. "We're taking her to him."

"Very well." Marcus Flint said before turning to Gemini. "Gemini."

"Mr. Flint."

Her friends greeted her, but it was much too formal than they were when it was just them. It was almost as if they were scared of her. Let them, Gemini thought as they greeted her quietly and she nodded curtly at them. On one couch, there were four other older people. There was one woman who seemed to be glaring at her, two men who looked satisfied by her arrival, and an old man, one whose face seemed so familiar. And then she remembered.

"You!" Gemini lunged at him. She was a few feet away from throwing a punch at him but Cassio managed to run after her and hold her back by wrapping his strong arms around her. She tried breaking free but Cassio was too strong for her, especially when she was still tired. "You're the reason I got locked up!"

"You can kill him later." Cassio said loudly in her ear, trying to speak about her grunts as she tried to escape. "But for now, you really must go."

Gemini had to breathe for a few seconds to calm down and stop moving. She glared at the old man before pushing Cassio's arms away from her and followed Abigail up the stairs and onto the second floor. It was only when they were out of sight and Gemini really calm down did she feel how tired she really was and struggled to walk the long hallway. "Where are we going?"

"The library." Abigail said. "He requested having some private time with you."

"Who?" Gemini said, irritated. If this guy was a person her friends obeyed and planned this second group of Death Eaters, then he was important. An idea went through her mind. If this is Draco's way of apologizing…

"I…I think it's better if he explains it himself. Here it is." They stopped in front of an intricately-designed double door. Abigail opened it. "He's waiting for you inside. I promise we'll talk after, if that's what you want."

I just want to get it over with, Gemini thought tiredly, her feet aching and her mind easily wandering. She nodded and entered the room, and Abigail closed it behind her.

The library was quite small, only two tall bookshelves on either side of her. The center aisle led to a circular leisure area, with two couches pointed towards a set of doors that led to a balcony overlooking the vast field behind the mansion. The windows were large and uncovered, and was just as bright as the rest of the place. Gemini walked to the sitting area and saw nobody there. She walked to the doors, peeked at the balcony, and saw no one there.

Gemini looked around the room. "Hello?"

"Do forgive me for meeting you like this, but I've been waiting a long time to meet you." A smooth voice said from the left bookshelf. A familiar voice.

Gemini looked in that direction. "I could say the same about you."

She heard him laugh. "But the thing is, Gemini, we've already met before. I wouldn't expect you to remember that day, but to me, that was the day I was certain you were Bellatrix and the Dark Lord's daughter. The curly hair and the necklace was a dead giveaway, I was actually surprised you lasted three months in the Ministry with no one ever connecting you to your mother. You just came and went under everyone's noses, no one—including you—knowing that the two most dangerous people were working for the Ministry."

"Two?" Gemini asked. Great, that narrows it down to every male Muggleborn or half-blood who watches Muggle movies—oh fuck it. "So you work for the Ministry?"

"Worked. After I made sure they'd have a hard time getting their hands on that map, let's just say I'm every bit wanted as you are…" she heard footsteps and then saw him. "Although I've gotten a head start on a bit of disguising, if I don't say so myself."

Her eyes widened in surprise. He was handsome in a dark, brooding sort of way, but though that was the only way Gemini could describe his appearance, it wasn't the first thing that came to her mind. What did come to mind was the memory of his face always being the first face she saw in the second level of the Ministry of Magic. She remembered how his honey-colored hair and bright blue eyes matched his sunny personality. And yet, standing before her, he had black hair and dark eyes, and looked just as dark as she did, which was unsettling.

"Did you honestly think you were on your own the whole time?" He grinned.

No, really? That's not possible. Of all the possible people…Draco, some vengeful child of a Death Eater…but him? "Malcolm…?"

He laughed quietly, walking towards her. "Malcolm…" he repeated. "You're not the only one who used a false name, Gemini."

Her legs were getting weak as he approached. She was so confused and so tired and she felt sick knowing that her world had more secrets than she thought.

"Did you honestly think everyone free today did a 180 when your father died?" He smirked. "His revolution lives on, and now that you're here, proven to be his true heir, we can now finish what your father started."

"We?" She asked dubiously. Everyone else had said she was going to finish her father's cause.

"You're going to need my help." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "And like I said, did you really think you were on your own the whole time? You may be the last Slytherin, but you're not the last Black. My ancestor was disowned, but my parents proved to your mother that we don't deserve to be. Hello, Gemini. I'm your cousin, Leo Black."