Apparition was almost exactly like Ursa expected it to be. She had never apparated before, but she had heard what it was like and the experience certainly lived up to her expectations. With a half-hungover Marcus Flint slumped against her, Ursa landed with a jolt in Stirling, Stirlingshire. Despite being unfamiliar with the city, Ursa knew the name because it was where her Aunt Andromeda lived. After their first meeting over a year ago, Andromeda had told Ursa that if she ever needed anything, that she could go to their family home in Stirling. And right now, Ursa could certainly use someone to vent to.
"Where are we going?" Marcus slurred.
"We're in Stirling," Ursa replied.
"But why?" Marcus groaned.
"To see someone," Ursa replied.
"Who?" Marcus asked.
"You ask a lot of questions," Ursa muttered.
"You don't give many answers," Marcus remarked.
They continued walking until they reached a small house in an isolated village. Ursa could only assume that her Aunt Andromeda had wanted to live somewhere off the grid to be away from her family so that they couldn't find her, and Stirling was one of the smallest cities in the United Kingdom. So once Ursa reached the house, she knocked on the door and only had to wait a few moments before it was opened.
"Ursa!" came a gasp.
"Hi, Andromeda," Ursa smiled weakly.
Andromeda's gaze immediately landed on Marcus, "Who is he?"
"A friend," Ursa replied. "Can we come in?"
"Of course," Andromeda replied.
"That's your Aunt, isn't it?" Marcus mumbled beside her.
"Yep," Ursa answered.
"You do realise how much trouble we could get in if people find out where you are, right? As you clearly pointed out before, you still have the trace," Marcus pointed out as they sat down in her aunts living room.
"Honestly, right now I don't even care if they find out where I am. I think that they'll only look for me if I'm gone for too long," Ursa said.
"Then you better make your visit quick," Andromeda stated as she entered the room with a few plates of food. "In case you are hungry."
"I certainly am," Marcus grinned as he started chowing down food, causing Ursa to chuckle at the result. "What?"
"Your teeth," Ursa giggled.
"What about my teeth?" Marcus asked.
"They're green," Ursa laughed.
"What? Why?" Marcus squawked.
"I charm my food to give them magical extras," Andromeda replied.
"Really?" Ursa grinned.
"Yes. I always had a knack for baking and Charms. You know, I even had dreams to open my own bakery when I was younger," Andromeda admitted.
"How long will my teeth stay green for?" Marcus demanded.
"Just a few hours," Andromeda replied. "I don't believe I know who you are, young man."
"Marcus Flint," he grunted.
"Of the Sacred Twenty Eight?" Andromeda clarified.
"Yeah, that bullshit," Marcus snorted.
"Why didn't you stay with baking? You could've made a business out of this," Ursa said.
"Well, my father had wanted me to take up a respectable job, only I wanted nothing to do with the Ministry. And then after I married Ted, I couldn't exactly have a high-profile job or career if it meant protecting my family. My father was furious at me for eloping with Ted, so we had to stay in hiding for a while. We chose to live somewhere secluded when we decided to have a family. Nymphadora always loved the area, though we don't see much of her since she lives in London now," Andromeda explained.
"Do you see her often?" Ursa asked.
"She comes over whenever she can, which isn't that often since she's gotten really busy with her Auror training," Andromeda replied.
"How did you and Ted get together?" Ursa wondered.
Andromeda smiled fondly, "We were in the same year. I was a Slytherin, while Ted was a Ravenclaw. Because of our obvious differences, we never really got to speak to each other except for when we were doing our Prefect duties. But then we got paired together as Head Boy and Girl, so we started to spend more time together. At the time, my parents were trying to set me up with Lucius, but the more time I spent with Ted, the more I wanted to be with him. I'll be honest and say that for the first few years, I wasn't really that fond of him. He was a textbook Ravenclaw and a self-proclaimed swot so I didn't exactly like him."
"You didn't?" Ursa gasped.
"No, I didn't. But the closer my parents pushed me to Lucius, the more I went to Ted. He eventually won me over, and it soon became clear that there was nobody else that I'd rather spend my life with. I knew that my parents would never approve, so I ended the engagement to Lucius and decide to elope with Ted," Andromeda revealed.
"What was it like, telling them?" Ursa asked.
"My parents were furious. I had never seen them so angry before. They disowned me in an instant and kicked me out. Bellatrix did nothing as our parents disowned me, while all Cissa did was just look at me like I had betrayed her," Andromeda said.
"Did it hurt to leave them?" Ursa wondered.
"Despite the fact that they had disowned me without a thought, they were still my parents and it hurt for them to betray me like they did. I honestly think that they would've preferred it if I said I was into women because at least then they could've set me up with a female pureblood witch," Andromeda remarked.
At that comment, Ursa couldn't help but spare a glance towards Marcus, who seemed to be paying more attention to the food, not even caring that his skin was now sparkly as a result of one of Andromeda's cupcakes. Based on her one interaction with his wretched mother, Ursa assumed that she would barely have that same reaction to her sons preferences. She'd probably have a stroke if she found out that her only son didn't want to marry a pureblood witch.
"So, what brings you two to my cottage?" Andromeda asked.
"We just came out of a disastrous dinner where our parents tried to set us up," Ursa replied.
"How was it a disaster?" Andromeda wondered.
"My mother's a bitch and her fathers a dick," Marcus said through more mouthfuls.
"You have quite the mouth, young man," Andromeda remarked.
"It makes my mother recoil," Marcus grinned.
"Your mother… Laverne Flint?" Andromeda clarified.
Marcus grimaced, "Yeah, that bitch. My dad's just a doormat."
"And so you two do not want to get married," Andromeda stated.
"I don't want to get married until I'm at least twenty. That's my one condition if I have to get forced into some pureblood marriage and it shouldn't be too much to ask for me to get to choose who I spend the rest of my life with," Ursa proclaimed.
"Unfortunately, in pureblood circles it is," Andromeda sighed. "With a father like Lucius Malfoy, you could be fighting a losing battle."
"I mean, she could've just stuck with me and we could've done our own thing on the side," Marcus said.
Ursa glared at him, "I don't want to be anyone's second choice. I want to marry for love, not convenience."
"You sound like your mother. Cissa was always the most naïve of us," Andromeda chuckled before glancing at Marcus. "So, if you don't mind me asking, Marcus Flint, what is there not to like about my niece?"
"Well, other than the fact that she's an obnoxious swot, she's a girl for starters," Marcus remarked.
Ursa rolled her eyes, "Marcus here has just had a recent sexual awakening and that he has a boner for his childhood rival after burying years of internalised homophobia."
"Why don't you just broadcast it to the freaking world!" Marcus exclaimed.
"I'll leave that to you," Ursa chuckled.
"So, I take it that your parents would not approve?" Andromeda stated.
"My mother would have a stroke if she found out I didn't want a wife and because my dad is just a stinking doormat, he'd go with her," Marcus remarked.
"I don't think I've ever seen a pureblood relationship where the woman is in power," Andromeda commented.
"Oh, you should see my parents. My father may act all though and powerful, but he will do whatever mother wants him to do if she really wants it," Ursa said.
"Cissa was always like that. She was always the favourite in the family, so Bellatrix and I often let her take the blame for anything we did wrong because our parents would always go easier on her," Andromeda recalled.
"Maybe that's where she gets her favouritism from," Ursa muttered.
Andromeda's face softened, "Oh, Ursa. I'm sure that your mother loves you. Cissa always talked about wanting girls over boys for children. I just think it comes down to the fact that your brother was born second and that the male is supposed to be the heir in all pureblood families."
"That doesn't really make me feel better," Ursa sighed.
"Try a brownie, that should help," Marcus suggested as he shoved one into her hands.
"Your lack of manners are unparalleled," Ursa drawled before eating the brownie anyways. Glancing at Marcus, she could see that he'd eaten basically all of the food that they'd been given. "You really are the epitome of an anti-pureblood."
"What can I say? Alcohol makes me hungry and I hate all of that fancy food that we always have to eat at those stupid pureblood dinners. I'd sooner throw myself off the Astronomy Tower before I had to go through another one of them," Marcus remarked.
"Yes, well, as much as I have enjoyed your company, I do believe that it would be best for you two to head off before you are missed. I can't imagine that it would go down well with your parents if they found out where you are," Andromeda suggested.
Ursa sighed, "I suppose so. Thank you for letting us stay here."
"Thanks for the food," Marcus mumbled through his final mouthfuls of food.
"Next time you choose to stop by, Ursa, I suggest that you do so when you no longer have the Trace on you," Andromeda stated.
"Of course," Ursa smiled. "Come on, lover-boy. I need you to apparate me back."
"Fine," Marcus grumbled as they got up to leave.
After a few goodbyes, Ursa and Marcus headed away from Andromeda's cottage, though Marcus made a point to take as many snacks as he could from Andromeda.
"I like your Aunt," Marcus commented.
"Only because she fed you well," Ursa stated.
"That's a good woman," Marcus said.
Ursa raised her eyebrows, "Are you saying that women are only good for making food?"
"Chill, woman. No need to get your feminist knickers in a twist," Marcus jeered, earning him a slap on the head. "Hey!"
"That's for being an ass," Ursa said.
"I'm not that bad," Marcus drawled.
"Oliver would disagree," Ursa remarked.
"Don't start with that," Marcus muttered.
"Oh, we are so talking about that at another time," Ursa smirked.
"Bitch," Marcus snarled.
"Ass," Ursa taunted.
"See, this is why we could never be married," Marcus pointed out.
Ursa chuckled, "Exactly. Now come on, apparate me back."
They continued walking until Marcus apparated Ursa back to Wiltshire, with Ursa requesting that he took her to the outskirts of Wiltshire so that she could simply walk back to Malfoy Manor. Despite having lived in Wiltshire all her life, Ursa had never actually seen much of the area since she had only spent most of her childhood locked in the Manor. Though as she did make her way towards the area where Malfoy Manor resided, Ursa felt that uncomfortable feeling when it's like someone is watching you.
Every few minutes, Ursa would glance behind her as the same feeling remained. However, when Ursa did look behind again, she just saw a dog. Though upon giving it a closer look, she recognised it ass the same rugged dog that she had spotted near Hogsmeade. But surely it wasn't the same dog, right? The odds of that dog being spotted near Hogsmeade and Wiltshire should be slim, but obviously not.
Before Ursa could even do anything, the dog had growled at her again before running off. The whole thing was just weird to her. She just decided that she was imagining things, and that dogs just didn't like her. Besides, it's not like Ursa could spend her time worrying about dogs with what else she had on her mind, like saving a certain Hippogriff from certain doom.
~*•°•*~
Upon returning back to Hogwarts, Ursa was dreading seeing Hermione again. She knew that she'd have to break the news to Hermione that her plan to save Buckbeak had failed. Once she had returned to the Manor, her father had basically rubbed it in her face that she had failed to win him over and that there was nothing she'd be able to do to change his mind on the matter. Ursa could already picture the devastated look on Hermione's face when she told her that Buckbeak would most likely be executed, and she could also picture the shocked look on her face when she told her what she learned about Sirius.
With everything that had happened at the dinner and after seeing Andromeda, Ursa barely had enough time to think about that specific revelation. Sirius was innocent, that was much was clear. But there was still so much that Ursa didn't understand. If Peter Pettigrew was alive… then how come he's been gone all this time? So much about this confused Ursa, since she knew that there was a lot that she didn't understand about this whole thing.
Like they always did, Ursa expected to meet Hermione in the library, but when she did, she found Hermione passed out over loads of papers that were next to stacks of books. Hermione's excessive study load had not gone unnoticed by Ursa, and she was beginning to seriously wonder how Hermione was able to manage all of these classes.
"Minnie, wake up," Ursa hissed as she nudged her.
"Huh?" Hermione mumbled as she sat up, with a piece of paper stuck to her face.
"Nice look," Ursa commented.
"I have a lot of work to do," Hermione murmured tiredly.
"Well, I'm here to give you a much needed break then," Ursa said, pushing the books away.
"I have to finish the work. I can't afford to fall behind," Hermione stated.
"Don't you think that you're taking on too much work? I don't know how you're managing this, Minnie," Ursa commented.
"I can handle it," Hermione insisted.
"If you're sure," Ursa conceded with uncertainty. "Anyways, I um… have some not so good news to give you."
"Really? I've gotten more than enough bad news lately," Hermione muttered.
"Like what?" Ursa wondered.
"Well, Harry and Ron haven't been speaking to me since Christmas," Hermione sighed.
Ursa narrowed her eyes, "Why?"
"Because Harry was gifted a unanimous firebolt and I told Professor McGonagall about it, so she confiscated it. They acted like what I did was some sort of crime when I was only trying to look out for Harry!" Hermione explained.
"They're really giving you the cold shoulder over a damn racing broom?" Ursa clarified.
"Yes," Hermione grumbled.
"Sometimes I think that you need better friends, Minnie," Ursa sighed.
"Yeah, well I'd certainly agree at this point," Hermione muttered. "So, what other bad news do you have for me?"
"Buckbeak's trial will be going ahead as planned," Ursa said.
Hermione's face fell, "What? But I thought that you said you had a plan to stop it!"
"Yeah, I did. And that plan fell through," Ursa replied. "Thanks to my bloody pride."
Hermione groaned, "Ugh, I'd been putting off preparing for Buckbeak's trial because I thought you had it handled. Now I've got to worry about it all over again."
"I'm sorry, Minnie. I really did try to stop it, but I screwed up. I take responsibility for it," Ursa said.
"No, it's not your fault. It's your stupid brothers fault for starting this mess and your evil father for being an ass," Hermione growled.
"Yes, well, I'll still help you prepare Buckbeak's defence. It's the least I can do," Ursa promised.
"You don't owe me anything, Ursa. But I appreciate the help. Merlin knows that I need it with all of this work to do," Hermione sighed.
"What's this?" Ursa asked as she picked up a stack of papers.
"It's for Defence, when Snape set the essay on werewolves. I did it for nothing though, because when Professor Lupin came back he said it wasn't necessary to hand it in," Hermione replied.
"Lupin does miss a lot of classes in a rather specific cycle," Ursa commented, since it had only taken her the first few months of the school year to notice how scheduled Lupins days off were.
Hermione's eyes widened, "Do you know?"
"Know what?" Ursa asked.
"About Lupin. About… what he is," Hermione clarified.
"Well, I haven't written an extensive essay on werewolves but I can certainly spot the symptoms, and it looks like Lupin has all of them," Ursa stated.
"He's a werewolf, isn't he?" Hermione deduced.
"It would seem so," Ursa nodded.
"But… why would Dumbledore hire Lupin if he's a werewolf? Doesn't he realise the danger that Lupin poses to students and everyone around him?" Hermione wondered.
Ursa scoffed, "Well, we can't really question Dumbledore's motives for hiring Lupin considering his poor choice in previous Defence professors. In the past three years he's hired a man with Voldemort hanging around the back of his head, then he hired a fraud and now he's hired a werewolf. His taste really couldn't get any worse."
"It just feels weird being around Lupin now, knowing what he is and what he could do under the influence of a full moon," Hermione admitted.
"Well, Lupin hasn't harmed anyone, hasn't he? And Dumbledore wouldn't have hired Lupin if he didn't trust him. I haven't even heard of this Remus Lupin before, so I don't think that his condition would be public knowledge," Ursa said.
"But we can't be taught by a werewolf!" Hermione exclaimed. "Not only because of his irregular teaching cycles, but because of the danger he poses. I don't like to think that all werewolves are bad, but they are dangerous."
Ursa sighed, "I see your point. But think about it, Minnie. Like I said, Lupin's condition probably isn't even public knowledge. And surely you must realise the stigma that is attached to werewolves, thanks to those like Fenrir Greyback. We could be ruining Lupin's life by telling someone about his condition. It's almost impossible for known werewolves to find work, because people are constantly afraid of them. And we have to believe that Dumbledore wouldn't have hired Lupin without putting the necessary precautions in place."
"The Wolfsbane Potion is a potion that helps keep werewolves subdued, right?" Hermione clarified.
Ursa nodded, "It is."
"I think Snape might be making Lupin the Wolfsbane Potion," Hermione suggested. "Harry said that Lupin drank a potion that Snape gave him, and that he just claimed to have an illness. The Wolfsbane is said to be one of the most complicated potions to make, and I wouldn't put it past Snape to be able to make it."
"See? If Lupin is in his right frame of mind underneath a full moon, he's not going to hurt anyone," Ursa insisted.
"If you say so," Hermione conceded.
"And um, this something else that I should tell you too," Ursa stated.
"Please don't be more bad news," Hermione groaned.
"Well, it depends on how you look at it, really," Ursa chuckled. "I was at home over the holidays, and I overheard my parents talking. They said that Sirius Black was innocent."
"What? How could he be innocent? He's a murderer!" Hermione exclaimed.
"I don't know the full story about that, but based on what I heard, it sounded like Sirius was framed and that Peter Pettigrew is actually alive," Ursa said.
"How could that even be possible? They found Pettigrew's finger," Hermione pointed out.
"A person can live without one extra appendage, Minnie. So just because they could only find his finger doesn't mean that's all that was left of him," Ursa reasoned.
"I suppose so… but I just don't even want to think about what that would mean for Harry. He was already devastated to learn that his parents had been betrayed by someone who had been their best friend. I don't think that Harry could handle dealing with another betrayal," Hermione said.
"Well, I wouldn't recommend telling him this anyways," Ursa stated. "There's a lot that we don't understand about this, and it's beginning to sound like one big mess. Besides, I doubt that he would believe what you have to say considering you're fighting and the fact that I am a Malfoy. I'm not someone that Harry Potter would trust."
"I just feel bad. I'm already keeping enough from him, and to add this to it just feels wrong. He'd deserve to know…" Hermione trailed off.
"What else are you keeping from him besides me?" Ursa asked.
Hermione's eyes widened, "Nothing else. Just… stuff. You don't need to know."
"I'll stick with that for now," Ursa murmured.
"Now, we've got a trial to prepare for and a Hippogriff to save," Hermione declared.
"You're damn right we do," Ursa agreed.
That was exactly Ursa planned on doing. Even though she secretly knew that they were fighting a losing battle, there was no way that Ursa was going to give up on Buckbeak without a fight.
~*•°•*~
It was a few days later when Ursa first spoke to Draco since before leaving for the Christmas holidays. She was in the Great Hall, and Draco was sitting at the Slytherin table with all of his friends like he usually did. There was no denying the influence that Draco had over some of his housemates, while Ursa had next to none over Ravenclaw. That was probably more so to do with the fact that Ravenclaws were more individual characters while Slytherin was all about fraternity.
As Ursa made her way towards the Ravenclaw table where her friends were, she could hear the Slytherins talking together, and despite never being one to engage in conflict, there was one comment that just set her off the edge.
"I can't wait for that disgusting Hippogriff to get its head chopped off after what it did to you, Drakey," Pansy Parkinson jeered.
Ursa had never turned around so fast and glared so hard, "What did you just say?"
"Are you talking to me?" Pansy snarled.
"You say that like I'm not worth speaking to you," Ursa remarked.
"Because you're not," Pansy sneered. "I'm Pansy Parkinson and you're just… nothing. You're the inferior Malfoy."
"Oh, am I, now?" Ursa challenged. "I'm a Prefect, Parkinson. I have more influence around here than you have. Any influence that you have is worth nothing because you're just a pug-faced bully who waltzes around like she's better than everyone because of her so-called pure blood."
Pansy gasped, "How dare you speak to me like that! Drakey, aren't you going to say anything?"
"Leave us alone, sister. Otherwise I'm calling Snape," Draco threatened, though his voice seemed to betray his threat.
"You should call him now! Prefects shouldn't go around bullying other students like she is," Pansy insisted.
"Says you, the Queen of Bullying. You just can't handle someone treating you the way that you treat everyone else around here. Some spine you have," Ursa remarked.
"Go Malfoy!" she could've sworn she heard the Weasley twins cheering from the Gryffindor table.
"And you," Ursa turned her glare to Draco. "To say that I am ashamed of your behaviour would be a downright understatement."
"Me? What have I done?" Draco demanded.
Ursa rolled her eyes, "You know how you've acted. You've done nothing but mock a poor creature and sentence it to it's death! Doesn't it bother you that an innocent Hippogriff is going to be slaughtered because of you? You might not be the one to deliver the final blow, but it was you who started this mess. Buckbeak's blood will be on your hands too."
"That Hippogriff deserves to die for what it did to me," Draco spat.
"What it did to you was because of your own stupid actions," Ursa argued.
"Look at you, blaming your brother! Some family loyalty you have," Pansy sneered.
"Your opinion is irrelevant here, Parkinson," Ursa snapped. "I can't believe you, Draco. How could you be so cold and heartless?"
"Because that monster attacked me!" Draco exclaimed.
"That monster is a poor, innocent creature that doesn't deserve to die and I won't stand by and let you and father have your way," Ursa proclaimed.
"Yeah, well good luck saving that beast," Draco snarled as he stood up to glare at her. "You know how much influence father has and that all he has to do is say the word and that Hippogriff is dead like it should be."
"You're unbelievable!" Ursa snapped.
"You're pathetic. You may as well go and advocate for muggle rights now," Draco spat.
"Well, maybe I will!" Ursa exclaimed.
Giving them one last glare, Ursa stalked off to her seat at the Ravenclaw table before throwing her books down with a resounding huff. There was no denying the odd looks that Ursa knew she was getting, since she was never one to get involved with conflict. She was always the quiet Malfoy, and the one who stayed out of trouble. But there was no way that Ursa was just going to let her brother talk about Buckbeak that way. No way at all.
But it was a real shame to hear Draco speak that way, since Ursa knew that was the result of their fathers influence. Despite trying her best to make Draco realise the absurdity of their fathers actions, there was only so much that she could do when he wouldn't listen to her at all. Though she wouldn't give up on Draco either, since Ursa wanted to believe that her brother was better than this. He just needed the correct guidance to realise that, and it looked like Ursa was going to be all the guidance that he'd get.
So, Ursa dragged Marcus off to Andromeda, which in my initial planning was for them to go see Tonks but then I felt like including Andromeda would be more appropriate considering their situation. When it came to choosing where Andromeda lived, I'd think that she'd live somewhere on the outskirts, and Stirling is one of the smallest cities in Scotland, so that's why I chose it.
Up next: Hermione needs new friends, Ursa gets a new pet and she discovers yet another secret.
