This would have been up earlier, but fanfiction decided to fuck up for almost a day. Thanks for that, not.
It's almost been two weeks. It feels like ages though. High school is pretty good. There's a lot more freedom. To be honest, the reason I haven't been updating isn't because of homework. I've just been really lazy. And so bloody tired. I have sleep issues. My over active imagination doesn't help that, but it does help this story: I've planned out what is going to happen in sixth year, and it will be pretty big in all aspects. There is a reason for all the family related conversations.
This is the last chapter of the holidays, and then shit will happen... and I have no idea how to write it. Lol.
And holy Merlin, sixty favs and eighty follows! Thank you all so much!
xXMizz Alec VolturiXx: Thank you very much!
chocolatecheesecakes: Yep, it's Ronks! Yes, my parents are merciless, and I hate them for it. Less then a month until Gerard Way is here... But it would be awesome if I could go to a FOB concert with you. Or anyone who likes them. Lol. I haven't got my laptop yet, which sucks... but hopefully I'll get it this week. High school is... actually pretty good. I've met people who like the same music as me. I like it. So far. But I have a feeling things will go badly soon. Lol. And yes! You got the reference correct! Yay! Glad you liked the chapter! Oh, and by the way, what's your fav FOB song?
Gurl5678: Yes, things are very different here. Very. Thanks for the review! xxxx
TheJesusFreak777: Thank you! As for is Andromeda is angry or not, you'll have to see ;) Thanks again!
Williukea: I had the same thought! But yeah, Maggie wouldn't name her child a silly name like Nymphadora... and yes same here! Most of my OTPs are not canon or not my OC!
DaughterofaBeautyQueen (Lissie Dianne): Thank you so so much! I will do :D
"For now I smell the rain, and with it pain, and it's headed my way." ~ Ramble On by Led Zeppelin.
Chapter 49: Ripples in the Water
"Before I get a lecture about respecting your privacy, I just want to say that I'm really sorry," I said in a rush before Mum could get a single word in. She blinked, before shaking her head.
"I wasn't going to give you a lecture about privacy, although what I am going to say does relate to that." She looked between Dora and I, before continuing. "I don't like talking about my family, for a few reasons. But what do you want to know? Maggie, you wanted to know something when you stole those pictures. So what is it?"
I blinked. Andromeda seemed so open and forward, which was a change. I hadn't anticipated that, nor had I predicted that she wouldn't be angry. I mean, I would be feeling pretty angry if, say, Charlie was going through my personal items to discover facts about my past. Not that he would do that, considering he knows it all now. But Mum is a different story; she hasn't told us before. I would suspect that Ted is the only person who knows exactly what her life was like before she eloped with him and was disowned as a result.
Maybe she realised that we had a right to know. Or maybe she realised she was ready to tell us. Either way, there were definitely things that I wanted to know. Stealing those photos wasn't such a bad idea after all... but maybe if I just asked Mum what I wanted to know, she would have told me, and there would be no deceit on my behalf involved.
Before I could ask one of the many questions I wanted to know, Dora butted in. "Did you have to wear corsets when you were little?"
I bit back a laugh. Leave it to Dora to ask a question like that. The corners of Mum's lips twitched, relief flooding every inch of her face; this wasn't going to be a serious conversation, even if there were serious questions. It was just another discussion with her daughters.
"Not until I was eleven," she answered, grimacing. "They were horrible and painful. My mother always used to say that beauty was painful." She rolled her eyes, and Dora laughed.
"I'm glad that I'm ugly then," Dora said brightly, gesturing towards her casual attire: jeans and a baggy t-shirt. Mum smiled, before looking at me. She must have sensed that I wanted to know more about what sort of clothes she wore.
"What say you, Maggie? I take it that your questions are more serious, considering you stole my photos."
I grimaced, not at her tone (which wasn't angry in the slightest) but at what I did. Not one of my smartest choices. I seem to be having that thought a lot lately.
"Er, yeah. I do. What sort of relationship did you have with Bellatrix?"
I knew that it was a major contrast in the calibre of questions, but there was no use in beating around the bush, especially when it was a sensitive subject.
Her expression hardened at the name of her deranged sister, but it didn't seem as though she would reject the question.
"When I was really little, around four or five, we did have a fairly close relationship," she said quietly, eyes still hard but also clouded over with nostalgia. "When Narcissa was little, she was the pride and joy of our mother and father. When she was one, I was three and Bellatrix was five. Bellatrix was jealous that Narcissa got all the attention. Of course, this changed as time passed; Bellatrix was eventually the favourite. At the time, I was a little jealous as well. My parents had never doted over me like they did to Narcissa. So Bellatrix and I bonded over that: our jealousy towards Narcissa."
Her expression was bitter and wry, but her tone was anything but. It was quiet, as if she was admitting a story that hadn't been told for a long time. After a moment, she continued.
"It didn't last long. Once Narcissa had turned three or so, our parents deemed her uninteresting. Bellatrix once again received their love and attention. She was the eldest; she was the one who would inherit the money, the one who would be focused on the most by everyone. As with a lot of people who have been spoiled since a young age, she became arrogant. She thought she was better than everyone else. She looked down upon me; around that time, I sought to displease my parents and she hated that. Narcissa wasn't important to her. Bellatrix cared about Bellatrix. And mother. That's all, until she was recruited as a Death Eater."
The words came from Mum's mouth so easily, as if she had longed to talk about it in such a long time.
"So you and Bellatrix bonded over jealousy?" Dora asked. "For a while, at least?"
Andromeda nodded, and Dora continued. "That doesn't sound like a good relationship to have with your sister." She made an excellent point. Sometimes I forget that although Dora can be very jokey, she's smart.
"Yes," Mum replied, nodding in Dora's direction. "That's exactly it. With Narcissa, we didn't bond over anything; we were just close, until she didn't want to be associated with me. It wasn't unhealthy. But with Bellatrix, it was. Because of the things she's done, I don't like talking about how we're related, let alone how close we once were. I don't expect you to understand that," she added with a wry chuckle.
"I do," I said, and I did. It's how I feel about her other sister, Narcissa. Mum gave me a piercing look, as though she were trying to read my mind. She didn't have to. She knew exactly what I was referring to.
"Am I supposed to?" Dora asked, looking confused. "Because I don't. She's done horrible things, Mum, but I don't see how talking about her is a bad thing. It sucks, but she's still your sister."
I glanced at Mum. I knew how she felt, or at least I thought so. It's hard to admit that you still care, love or think about someone who should be dead to you. A certain someone is the perfect example.
"But she isn't my sister," Mum said softly. "She isn't the little rebellious five year old I was once close to. That's my sister. Not the woman who is responsible for hundreds of lives. Not the woman who is locked up in Azkaban." Her eyes were no longer hardened with anger; they were soft and sad. I could tell that she loved Bellatrix still; the person she once was, that is. And I could tell that she hated that as much as I hated still loving my Aunt.
"Oh," was all Dora said, before keeping quiet. She gave me a look, which clearly read 'I am completely out of my depth here.'
I wish that I could be. That I didn't relate to how Andromeda was feeling so much. But what is done is done. Bellatrix isn't the person Mum thought she was. She's moved on from that. I should do the same with my Aunt.
"Is there anything else you girls want to know?" she asked. "Anything at all."
So us three talked for hours. We asked silly questions and serious questions, and got funny and interesting answers in return. Mum answered any question we had, told us everything about her family that we wanted to know, and we told her what we thought about them. Dad came and sat with us for part of our conversation too. I told them about my experiences growing up in a pureblood household. It was hard, but after I had talked to Charlie the night before, I felt as though there was nothing I had to keep from them. They were my family. Our family-related talk actually turned into a confession talk; Dora admitted that she felt as though Mum didn't trust her enough to talk about her past. I had nothing to confess; I had told them everything that Ted and Andromeda wanted to know about Draco, My Aunt and Uncle. Mum assured Dora that it was nothing about not trusting her. I think only I understood where she was coming from. After Dora's confession, everything became less serious, but we were still confessing. Mum confessed that she always pictured Charlie and I getting married. Dad didn't like this confession, which shocked us all (note the sarcasm). Since my parents and sister were confessing their sins (however minor they were) I decided it was time I came clean about something.
"I have something that I've been keeping from you," I said, causing Dora to abruptly stop talking about how she once planned to lock Charlie and I in a broom cupboard. She looked panicked for a second, which confused me.
"Yes, Maggie?" Ted said, smiling.
"Mum has secretly been buying me Bon Jovi CDs. I love them."
Dora's panicked expression dissolved. I realised she must have thought I was going to tell them about the Azkaban plan. As much as I knew it wasn't something I should keep, I was going to anyway. Before I could have more guilty thoughts, I saw Dora's face harden into anger.
"How dare you like that sort of music?! You are no sister of mine!" she exclaimed, flicking her hair and looking down at me pompously. Ted tutted and shook his head.
"I thought I raised you correctly, Maggie. At least I have one daughter with brains." He shot Dora a proud look, whilst she stuck her tongue out at me.
At least their staged outrage was enough to distract me from my guilt.
Charlie and I never did finish the conversation we had earlier that day.
Three days later, Charlie, Dora and I were bouncing on the trampoline we had bought and set up the day previously. I love muggle inventions. The best part of the trampoline was the nets: we could shove each other and we wouldn't fall off.
"I'm taller than you, Charlie!" Dora exclaimed whilst she jumped. It only lasted for seconds before she was shorter, then taller, then shorter again. She continued bouncing, as did Charlie, whilst I sat down, their movements vibrating and making me bounce. Suddenly, Dora gasped and fell down on top of me.
"Ow!" I exclaimed, her elbow digging into my stomach. "What was that for?"
She scrambled to her feet and pointed to the sky. I rubbed my stomach, whilst Charlie raised an eyebrow at me, before looking back at Dora. She was still pointing to the sky, and I was just about to ask what the hell she was going on about, before I saw it: three owls flying towards the house.
"That's our OWL results!" she exclaimed, unzipping the trampoline and jumping off. "Come on, we have to see them!"
"Fuck," Charlie muttered, panicked etched on his face, likened to Dora's expression. They had to get an E at the very least on several of their subjects, whereas I had to get an E at the very least on only four of my subjects, all of which I was fairly good at. All the same, butterflies started forming in my stomach.
"It's okay," I said to Charlie, my voice coming out surprisingly soft. "You'll be fine."
"You don't know that," he retorted. Dora rolled her eyes at us and muttered something about us being slow, and started to run off towards the house. "Come on," Charlie said, jumping off the trampoline. He held his arms out to catch me, and I gratefully jumped into his arms.
"It'll be alright," I assured him. Of course it would. He studied harder than a lot of people. He nodded, looking as though he had lockjaw, before grabbing my hand and running up to the house.
Once we were up there, the first thing I saw was a discarded envelope. Walking further into the door, I spotted Dora clutching the letter in her hands, a wide smile on her face.
"I did it!" she squealed, handing me the letter.
ORDINARY WIZARDING LEVEL RESULTS
Pass grades:
Outstanding (O)
Exceeds Expectations (E)
Acceptable (A)
Fail grades:
Poor (P)
Dreadful (D)
Troll (T)
NYMPHADORA TONKS HAS ACHIEVED:
Arithmancy: A
Astronomy: A
Charms: O
Defence Against the Dark Arts: O
Divination: P
Herbology: E
History of Magic: T
Potions: O
Transfiguration: O
She did it! She got the marks she needed!
"Congrats!" I exclaimed, forgetting my mounting nerves for a moment and giving her a hug. She lifted me up and spun me around, laughing like a maniac.
"Wait until Mum and Dad get back from work! They'll be so happy!" she practically screamed in my ear, putting me down. "Come on, open up yours!"
I looked at Charlie, who was smiling at Dora but still looking nervous. I swallowed hard before picking up the letter on the table, opening it with shaky fingers. I should have been more nervous than I was: these marks determined which subjects I was allowed to continue, which would affect my future job. But I was fairly confident.
MAGNOLIA BLACK HAS ACHIEVED:
Ancient Runes: E
Astronomy: A
Care of Magical Creatures: E
Charms: O
Defence Against the Dark Arts: E
Herbology: P
History of Magic: T
Potions: A
Transfiguration: O
I let out a huff of relief. I was fairly confident, but you have no idea what a relief it is to know that I have the opportunity to become a member of Pureblood Power Abolishment. If I study hard this year and next year, my NEWTs should be a breeze...
"How'd you go?" Dora asked, sounding nervous.
"Great," I answered, grinning. She squealed and jumped on me, screaming praise into my ear. Over her shoulder, I looked at Charlie. He was holding the letter in his hand, biting his lip. I pulled away from Dora's grip and walked over to him, tentatively holding his free hand. It was insensitive to celebrate how I was feeling about my marks before knowing how my best friend went.
"How is it?" I asked. He handed me the letter, avoiding eye contact.
"See for yourself," he replied, his negative tone making my stomach drop.
CHARLES WEASLEY HAS ACHIEVED:
Astronomy: E
Care of Magical Creatures: O
Charms: O
Defence Against the Dark Arts: O
Divination: D
Herbology: A
History of Magic: P
Potions: E
Transfiguration: O
"Why do you sound so negative about this?" I asked incredulously. "You did better than me!"
I looked up at him. He was grinning gallingly down at me. Oh. He was just messing with me. I punched his arm, smiling, and hugged him. He did it! We all did it! Dora joined in on the hug.
"I don't care if I'm the third wheel," she said, squeezing us harder. "Let's celebrate!" She pulled away, a wicked look in her eyes. "Mum and Dad won't be home for a couple of hours, and they've got champagne in the cupboard... they won't mind if we have one celebratory drink, right?"
"Let's wait for them," I said firmly. I didn't want to get into too much trouble, especially when things with Mum and Dad were so good. Dora pouted but agreed.
Mum and Dad were really happy with ours marks, and they agreed to us having some champagne. More than one glass, actually; enough to make us tipsy but not enough to make us drunk. Dora, Charlie and I sat on the balcony, sipping champagne, laughing and talking about sixth year.
"I still like Billie," Dora said, seeming to disregard that Charlie was in the vicinity. "So if he still likes me..."
"Good for you," I said sincerely, smiling. "You deserve to have a good boyfriend."
She grinned sheepishly. "You do too... oh wait, you already have one," she amended, sending an apologetic look at Charlie, who grinned.
"Billie's cool. You'd be good for each other."
Dora pulled a face. "Please, no more disgusting soppiness. We're celebrating, not talking about who is good for who."
They continued talking about sixth year, whilst I stayed quiet. It might be the alcohol, but it felt as though there was something electric in the air, as if something was going to change. Sixth year was going to be different. It wasn't just the classes or the homework. It was other things as well. Darren, Kenzie (who still hadn't replied to my letter), and, of course, visiting Sirius Black in Azkaban... I had the feeling that big things were going to happen. My gut feelings haven't always been correct, so I could be wrong. But why did I have the feeling that this year wasn't going to be as great as Dora and Charlie are saying?
Bit of a shorter chapter than usual. It was also a filler chapter. But I PROMISE that things will get more interesting. Just bear with me. So... yeah. Please review!
P.S To any Bon Jovi fans reading this... I don't hate Bon Jovi. I love them. I'm basing Ted's feelings of those of my Dad and my godfather, because they always give me a hard time about loving glam rock. Actually, I'm really basing Ted off a mixture of them. Bon Jovi rule.
