The Kids Aren't Alright
So, I don't own Harry Potter...Damn.
Thanks to those who have followed, favored and/or reviewed.
Note: There are possible triggering moments. I also apologize for not updating this sooner.
Previously...
"You're bloody mad."
"It runs in the family," the witch dismissed as she waved her wandless hand at the teenager. "I will lose because I will never get to see my father; I know that when this is all over, I'll be right back in my cell at Azkaban."
Albus frowned, an unsettling thought raced across his mind as he watched as Delphi grin at him as though he were her friend.
"Your father," Delphi said as she reached out towards Albus with her free hand, though she (to his relief) didn't touch him. Her fingers traced along his jawline, but never once did their skin meet. "He'll lose because he won't be able to stop his newest enemy."
"And that is...?"
Delphi smiled before she turned and started to walk away from the middle Potter child. "Why," she said, "you of course. Did you honestly think I'd just let you rot in this bloody place?"
Albus' lips twitched to the side, he didn't like the sound of this at all. "I won't go along with your plans."
The wizard paled when the witch started to laugh almost in a manic-like tone. It was unsettling and made his skin clam up and feel as though a thousand little insects were running up and down it.
Albus winced when Delphi turned her body and looked at him. Her head was tilted off to the side, for a moment he wished for the bones in her neck to jump out and severe whatever parts worked in keeping her spine and head together.
"Oh, who's to say you've got a choice in the matter?" She laughed and started to walk away. "You'll lose because you're going to end up in a cell right next to me when this is all over, Alby."
Albus could only stare in horror at the witch until he could no longer see her. What did she mean by that? How was he going to get out of this one? Merlin, what was going to happen to him?
6 August 2023
Rose scowled as her disgrace of a brother walked towards her. He kept his head down as he sat down next to her on the bench a few streets away from St Mungos. She wanted to get away from the awkward gloominess of the waiting room. She would have moved if she hadn't noticed the fresh blackeye on his face.
"Who'd you piss off this time?" Rose sneered, the right side of her lip sliding upward without any disruption.
The brown-haired boy stared at her, keeping his emotions carefully bottled up. If only he had this sort of attitude the other day, Rose wouldn't have gotten a one-sided shouting match with her mother. The little bastard had always been her mother's favorite, not that Hermione would ever admit it. Rose didn't understand why her mother gave a fuck about Hugo, he was a squib. He's got nothing to offer to the wizarding world, so why should her mother include him in the family?
Family, Rose thought as she venomously shook her head. Her brother destroyed their family, drove her father to leave and after a lengthy battle with her mother, she followed without anyone trailing behind her.
"Jimmy."
Rose snorted, impressed. "Good for him," she said, mildly taken back by the action of her cousin. James had always been an odd one to Rose, too secretive and unpredictable for her liking. She wondered if the eldest Potter child was more inclined to the wizarding world's belief on squibs than Rose initially thought. Maybe she'd visit him later and ask.
Rose didn't react when the disgrace of the Granger-Weasley family glared at her. Both of his hands were hidden by bandages and his arms covered completely by his maroon pullover.
"Did you damage your hands trying to punch him or something?"
"No, I cut my hands from the shattered glass in Mum's car." Rose frowned but didn't get the chance to speak as her brother continued. "James smashed his head up against the window when we tried to get him inside it."
"What?"
The vile look on Rose's face dropped as she stared at her squib brother, who merely shrugged his shoulders as he looked away from her.
"He's been hurting himself again," the boy next to her said in a quiet tone. "Mum, Uncle George and I tried to get him into the car so we could take him to a facility that could help him." Hugo wrung his hands together, grimacing at the contact but not caring to stop. "He didn't react well to it."
"Clearly," Rose muttered in agreement. She looked at her brother and opened her mouth to speak, before looking away as the younger teen looked at her. "Did he not want to go to this...facility?"
"Not really," Hugo admitted, "but he left the house without us needing to drag him out. He lost it when he saw Mum's car, though. He kept saying "I'm not getting in that fucking car," and he refused to move until we had to grab him."
"How'd he break the window with his head?"
"He bashed it up against it," the 16-year-old said, frowning. "Kept doing it until the bloody thing broke." He shook his head and sighed. "He should have been in the middle, not next to any of the window seats."
"Merlin." Rose grimaced as she wrung her hands together. "Why...How long has this been going on?"
Hugo looked at his sister, she could see that he was worried. She hoped that he could see that she felt the same way. If so, he better not mention it.
"A long time, I think," the squib said. "Jimmy's not one to talk about his feelings, and it's taking its toll on him."
Rose frowned as she eyed her brother, for once not looking away from the boy's brown eyes. "He could come and talk to any of our family."
Hugo scoffed. "I really doubt it, Rose." Rose watched as her brother looked down at his bandaged hands. "Dad's family doesn't have much understanding about certain things."
"Such as?"
"You know what I'm talking about," Hugo said as he looked back at his sister. His eyes bore into hers, but she didn't look away even though she wanted to. She could tell what her brother was feeling, not that she would ever admit that.
"Humor me."
The squib shook his head as he stood up. "You really have no clue, fucking hell," he said.
"Did you know that James had asked about an abortion potion a few years ago?" Rose asked, examining the features on her brother's face. She watched as her brother's lips twitched and he shifted his gaze away from her.
"So you know about him and his girlfriend then?"
Rose's eyes grew wide as she took this information in. Girlfriend? When did her cousin have a girlfriend?
Merlin, wait a second—
"When the bloody hell did James get a girlfriend?"
Hugo winced, Rose could tell instantly that he had said something he shouldn't of.
"She was in a different house at Hogwarts," Hugo said, sighing as he sat back down next to his sister, who for once didn't look disgusted by the sudden action. "I guess they had been friends before they got together."
"Did they...get rid of it?"
"Not in the way either had expected," Hugo answered as he ran a hand through his untamable hair. "She died before they could make a decision."
"How do you know this?"
"Who'd ever ask a squib about a wizard problem?"
Against her wishes, her cheeks started to burn up as she looked away. Right, no one would even suspect that the eldest son of the wizarding world's savior could ever confide in his squib cousin. It could have been a scandal, Rose theorized as she shook her head in disbelief. No one would ever notice Hugo, she was sure as hell wouldn't of. No one but her mother, anyway. Hermione was the only one who ever really paid any attention to what Hugo had to say, and James and Uncle George so it was recently discovered.
"He didn't tell me willing though," Hugo revealed.
"What do you mean?"
Sheepish, Hugo flashed a quick but awkward smirk on his face before it fell. "We might have gotten high on some pills I got from a bloke. Jimmy spilled his guts midway through a two-hour laughing session. I promised him I wouldn't say anything unless he did something stupid."
Rose scowled. "Was this before or after his...You-know-what?"
"Suicide attempt?" Hugo bluntly questioned, causing his sister to wince. The boy grimaced as he sighed and said, "he told me a week or so before it happened. I thought about telling Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny, but neither would listen when I tried to speak. Neither would the healers."
This troubled Rose as she attempted to not dwell on the strange feeling she felt going on in her head.
Guilt, she wanted to think but not feel. Satisfaction, she wanted to feel but not think about. Guilt and satisfaction, two very different things that Rose knew should never mix. She knew no one ever listened to Hugo — herself included, which caused her to feel ... ashamed of herself. It should please her that no one listened to her brother, but it didn't. Not when it was something too destructive to ignore.
"Did you ever meet her?" Rose asked.
When her brother didn't answer, Rose said something foreign on her lips.
"Hugo."
Her brother inhaled deeply, glanced at his shoes and exhaled before he glanced back towards his sister.
"Not really," he admitted. "I overheard an argument between them once. It was when I was staying the night, Lily wanted to know about something I think and I only went because Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry weren't there." Hugo shook his head. "I don't know what it was, but that's not important. Jimmy and his girlfriend were arguing about—" He shook his head again as he looked Rose right in her eyes. "You can't tell anyone about this, Rose."
"Tell me what?" Rose asked, eyeing her brother with both confusion and suspicion.
Hugo sighed. "Lily was downstairs and Jimmy and his girlfriend were arguing about what to do with her pregnancy. They were saying awful things about one another, and I think one of them was pushed against a wall. I don't know, something could have been thrown for all I know, but it was bad. Lily didn't notice or she didn't care enough to. Albus was gone too, so..."
Rose didn't know what to say, not until she remembered how to use her voice.
"Where is he?" She asked, still processing what her brother had just told her.
To her surprise, Hugo shrugged.
"He's at that...facility place you mention?"
Again, Hugo shrugged and Rose wanted to hit her brother or kick him, though not really.
"Where is he then?"
"No idea," Hugo said as he stood up. His feet rocked back and forth on the ground, though he didn't seem to notice. "After he broke the window, Mum stopped the car and before anyone could stop him, Jimmy got out of the car and ran off. Uncle George and I tried to run after him, but we couldn't catch up to him before we lost him. For someone who hasn't left his house in months, Jimmy's fucking fast."
Delphi watched as Albus slept uneasily from his position, hanging from the rafters in the cold room. Though, she wondered if Albus was actually sleeping, and not just unconscious from their little session a few hours ago.
Idly, Delphi twirled Albus' wand between her long fingers. The wood felt nice against her skin, though not balanced correctly. Hopefully, that would change once her father's foolish followers finished with the bloody potion.
Delphi frowned as she examined Albus Potter. He was distant enough from his parents that it would be easy for her to slip into their lives unnoticed, but it would be more trickery with his siblings and the Malfoy boy. They knew him better, and for once, Delphi pitied the boy over that.
She believed that, if her parents were alive, they would have at least known where she currently was, unlike the Potter's who probably hadn't even realized that their second son was with her.
Though had they known, her plan wouldn't be as successful as it is now.
So, what do you think?
I know there might be some mistakes, so I apologize.
Please, review, favor, and/or follow. That would be great.
Until next time...
Review(s):
Annoymous: Thanks for the review. I'm glad that you're enjoying the story.
