Thanks so much to: laceyowens50 and Colin Creevey for reviewing!

August 16th 2023, (VII: Chapter 1)

Olivia continued to lay there for a while, maybe she even slept as it was afternoon before she knew it but eventually the nausea eased enough and her mood was well for her to venture downstairs where her youngest brother, Aloysius was. They were the only ones home besides Leelu the house-elf and the family cats since Kyle had his own place, her dad and Maxie were at work, her mum was long dead. The gangly teen was delighted to see her up and immediately dragged her into playing some muggle board game called 'Monopoly' that his muggleborn friends had given him, he was trying to get a head start on the Muggle Studies class he'd be starting in September. It did make her think a little of Vern but today it didn't hurt quite as much to think of him now she knew she was having his baby, Aloysius' boundless optimism and excited non-stop chattering also helped occupy her mind, besides it would probably be good to learn as she was sure Vern would want his child to enjoy things from his muggle heritage too.

It was also quite the puzzle to figure out, she had learned a little about muggle stuff from Vern but other things she was clueless about, thankfully you could still get through the game without knowing. And so she spent the afternoon whittling away her time with this Monopoly, they had figured it out by the end of the first game so the second was much better and the third game was much more even (Aloysius lost pretty hard in the first two games, good thing he wasn't a sore loser) though she still won. Their dad returned from work at that point and Aloysius managed to convince him to play as well while they waited for Maxie to return from St Mungo's, he was in a fairly bad mood as he'd been working late and had expected them to just be able to eat. Still he picked up the game quite quickly and his mood improved, when they were having fun like this Olivia almost managed to forget how mad he'd probably be when she told him about the baby. Almost. He eventually trounced them the first game and they were on their second when Maxie finally returned.

"And what time do you call this?" their dad snapped at him immediately as he came through the fireplace.

"The time I got back from work?" Maxie volunteered dryly.

"Don't get smart with me, boy, we've been waiting on you to get back to for hours so we could eat."

"You could've just eaten without me," Maxie pointed out logically and it occurred to Olivia he'd probably wanted that.

"Nonsense, we always eat together! Now go wash up and I'll have Leelu reheat the food."

The Notts dispersed, Olivia and Aloysius packing up the abandoned game before heading into the dining room where Leelu already had everything set up, she'd have to talk to Maxie after. Their father sat at the head of the table of course, Maxie on his left then Aloysius and her on his right, as always there was also an extra placement on the opposite end of the table for their deceased mother that their dad continued to insist upon. Once all seated the food materialized on the plates before them much like Hogwarts, the mouth-watering smell of roast beef filled the room and Olivia just hoped her stomach would allow her to enjoy it.

They dug in and almost immediately their dad turned to Maxie, yet again bringing up the arranged marriage thing and her brother just pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration as he started talking about the blood purity of these women. Olivia tried to help steer the conversation away by asking her dad about work, it succeeded for a while but he was soon back to marriage matches with Maxie. Aloysius jumped in over them, excitedly regaling Maxie with a recount of their Monopoly games but their dad wrapped it up and went back to talking about marriage again.

"So how was work, Maxie?" Olivia asked over him, trying to change the subject again.

"Olivia, that's not appropriate dinner conversation," her dad complained before her brother could open his mouth, "Hearing of the ailments of the sick is nauseating when one is trying to eat."

"Did you hear about the latest stuff with PAW? The paper-" Maxie tried instead but was again cut off.

"Not dinner material, we don't discuss such morbid things," their dad interjected and there wasn't much more the three of them could do besides sigh, slumping bored into their seats and eating in silence as he talked, "So as I've been trying to say, Maxie, I'm assured Lauren is a lovely girl. She's intelligent, I've seen her OWL scores and they're better than yours in some areas. Did I mention she's got Selwyn blood on her maternal side?"

"Several times," Maxie muttered disinterestedly, he had his head propped up on his elbow and his eyes were glazed over as he mechanically carted food into his mouth with his free fork holding hand.

"Of course it's her paternal grandfather I've been dealing with not the Selwyn one, he's notoriously reclusive, besides it's her paternal grandfather she lives with after that… unfortunate business with her mother, he works at the Ministry like myself. It's a good bloodline for your children to have though, in terms of purity and wealth, they own a lot of property the Selwyns do. Since you're determined to become a Healer instead of taking a much more respectable and potentially well-paying job in the Ministry, you need all the help you can get. "

"Dad, I'm not marrying that girl."

"Well I'm not expecting you to marry her right now," he insisted as if that somehow fixed any issue, "You're both still in school so this is the perfect chance to get to know each other, invite her out the first Hogsmeade weekend, date her for a year and if she's not suitable we can look for someone else. I don't know why you're fighting me on this, Maximus, I'm trying to make things easier for you not harder. I waited until post-Hogwarts and it was one of the biggest regrets I have, when I think I could've had a few extra years with your mother… you never have enough time."

At this his eyes drifted wistfully to his wife's empty place at the table, Olivia looked down as her mind went to Vern and the beef turned to bile in her throat. He was right about that, she supposed, no amount of time ever felt like enough when they were gone. She swallowed of food in her mouth and pushed her plate away, no longer feeling much like eating.

"This isn't the same thing," Maxie spoke up again, "I already know she's not suitable, I'm not interested."

"How can you know that when you haven't even given her a chance? You haven't met her, you don't even know what this girl looks like," her dad countered before seeming to think of something as she heard him snap his fingers, "Which reminds me, I forget with all that Monopoly stuff but her grandfather gave me a picture to show you. Would you like to see what she looks like? She's not deformed or scarred or plump or anything."

"Can I be excused?" Olivia asked politely, looking up at her dad who glanced at her, "Not feeling great."

"Dad, I don't care what she looks like," Maxie reiterated, "I'm still not interested."

"Of course you can, dear, feel better," her dad said with a dismissive wave of his hand while Aloysius looked at her with concern, her dad's attention was already back to Maxie, "How can you not care what she looks like? What are you, gay?"

Her dad's tone had been light, clearly asking this in jest but Maxie just about choked on his food. Olivia stopped just as she'd started to rise, suddenly afraid to move as her dad studied his second eldest son as if he'd never seen him before. When Maxie had coughed his throat clear, his face was as white as tablecloth and he balled his hands into fists to try to hide the fact they trembled. He couldn't be, could he?

"I didn't hear a denial," her dad accused darkly, glaring with laser sharp focus while Maxie in contrast was looking anywhere but at him.

"I- I- It's n- not any of y- your business," Maxie stammered, the stutter he'd worked so hard to overcome tumbling back out as his normally crafted composure cracked.

"Not any of my business?! My family is all of my business!" her dad yelled, slamming his hand down on the table and causing her and Aloysius to jump as the tableware rattled, Maxie winced, "I have a right to know about things pertaining to our family legacy!"

"I- I th- think I should g- g- go," Maxie managed to utter before attempting to make a beeline for the door.

"DON'T YOU DARE WALK AWAY FROM ME!" he screamed in fury and pounced to his feet, Olivia saw a flash of his wand then there was a crack like a whip and Maxie fell against the door frame clutching his cheek. She could suddenly hear her heart beating inside her head, she didn't think she'd seen her dad like this before, "Answer the question, Maximus!"

"Dad, why don't you just let him-"

"Shut up, Aloysius! I'm talking to your brother," he snapped viscously, barely sparing him a glance to and Aloysius jolted in surprise, unused to being yelled at like that. He exchanged a helpless look with her, she wasn't sure what to do. Maxie's head was hung so they couldn't see his face, hand still where the hex had hit him, "Is it true or not?! If you're going to disgrace the family name I worked so hard to rebuild then at least have the decency to admit it!"

"S- S- So w- what i- if I- I… i- if I w- w- was… w- what if I- I a- am…" Maxie struggled to speak, his words sputtering and dying in the empty air. Her heart went out to him, she thought of how supportive he'd been to her earlier and now she was just watching him flailing like a fish their dad had flung onto the floor.

"All this time and you still can't even talk correctly, use your words!" her dad spat and Maxie seemed to find some resolve, lowering his hand - showing off his pink cheek as if he'd been slapped - and instead curling it into his fist.

"Y- Yes," Maxie said finally and quietly, the word heavy with shame. Despite badgering him about it for the past several minutes, her dad's eyes bulged momentarily in shock before contracting back to glare.

"So you're admitting to it?"

"Would you pr- prefer I lie?"

"How could you do this to me?! How could you do this to us!? The old bloodlines are dying out and you decide to just take yourself out of the gene pool just because of… because of some unnatural feelings," their father spat, out his face curling with disgust as he rolled his wand dangerously in his hand, "You insult your mother's memory, she wanted nothing more than the reputation of purebloods to be rightfully restored and you spit in her face! You'll make a laughing stock out of us, what is wrong with you?! Besides the obvious debauchery- How can you be so selfish?!"

"I'm selfish?" Maxie wondered incredulously, seeming to find his voice a bit as he finally raised his head, "You're the one who always has to make everything about you!"

Her father angrily flicked his wand again.

"Maxie!" Oliva couldn't help but cry out as a louder crack broke the air, this time Maxie almost toppled over from the force of the spell and when he clutched at his cheek there was blood dribbling through the cracks between his fingers, "Dad, stop this!"

"This doesn't concern you, Olivia!" he barked at her in the same dismissive way he'd addressed Aloysius, his attention still on Maxie, wand raised threateningly and she was suddenly very scared of him hurting her brother. She just needed some way to get the heat off of him, "Maximus, don't you-"

"Dad-"

"I said this doesn't concern you, Olivia!"

"But Dad-"

"Olivia, shut u-"

"Dad, I'm pregnant!"

She found herself on her feet, her lips blurting it out before her brain could process what was happening. Aloysius gave a very loud gasp of surprise from beside her, Maxie's eyes shot to her so fast she was sure she heard his neck snap and she didn't need to be a Legilimens to know what he was thinking as she recognized the look as his 'what did you go and say that for, you idiot?' expression. Her plan worked though as her spun wildly to face her instead, taking a few staggering steps back in shock. He didn't, just gaped as his jaw opened and closed.

"Whoa! Does this mean I get to be an uncle?!" Aloysius wondered excitedly, Olivia managed to return his smile and opened her mouth to respond but her father cut over her.

"Is it Vern's?"

"Of course, it's Vern's!" Olivia snapped angrily but her dad barely even seemed to notice, he looked like he was panicking.

"And you're absolutely certain you're pregnant?"

"Maxie did the spell this morning and confirmed it."

"You knew about this?!" her dad shouted, turning back to Maxie furiously then looking between then in exasperation, "Why are all my children conspiring against me?! How could you do this to me?!"

"No one's conspiring against you!" Maxie insisted, sounding just as exasperated, "We just have lives different than what you wanted for us."

"Oh shut up, faggot," he snapped dismissively, ignoring how it startled his son as he looked back to her with a desperate expression, "But let's put the conspiracies aside for now because we can fix this, tomorrow we can go to St Mungo's and get you an abortion, hopefully it's still early enough for the potion to work."

"No!" Olivia gasped, stepping back from the table and clutching her stomach protectively, "I'm keeping the baby!"

"Olivia, be reasonable, you're only sixteen years old. Why on Earth would you want to keep this baby and let it derail your whole entire future?"

"Why do you think she wants to keep it?! It's her dead boyfriend's baby," Maxie snapped protectively, glaring at their father and sounding much more sure of himself now the conversation was off of his sexuality, "Show some compassion! You of all people should understand."

"Yeah, I'm the only one here capable of understanding the difference between true love and teenage infatuation, the thing with Vern was never going to last-"

"Why? Because he was a muggleborn?" Olivia shot out before she could stop herself, her dad seemed to consider his next words carefully before speaking.

"Not just because he was a muggleborn, he was also a child, just like you are," he insisted and folded his arm pointedly, "He'd never have been accepted in pureblood society, if he'd grown up you'd both have realized you didn't belong together and this was just an adolescent phase."

"Can you even call it a society when there's only like five people left in it?!"

"There's more than five!" he protested indignantly.

"Oh yeah, you, yourself and a bunch of Selwyns, great society right there!" she yelled back and his nostrils flared but he seemed to be trying to reign in his temper.

"And so what if I was wrong anyway? What do you think Vern would do if he was here right now?"

"He'd stand by me."

"If he actually loved you then he'd encourage you to get the abortion, no decent man would put the life of someone he loves over his desire for progeny," he said coldly and Olivia looked down at her hands covering her stomach, she supposed she couldn't be sure what Vern would want or say but she knew she wanted this baby, "Whatever way you look at it, you should not have this child when you need to be focusing on your life."

"I still have a life even if I have a baby."

"Not when you're only sixteen!" her dad hissed determinedly, his temper seemed to rise as he went on, "It may seem a noble and romantic gesture right now but it won't seem like that for long when you've ballooned and you're lumbering around on swollen ankles needing the toilet every other minute, constantly craving sausages and nectarines- and only white nectarines specifically, which naturally are the less common ones- but I digress, just wait until you have a living, breathing thing that always needs your attention because good luck caring for a baby without a house-elf around. You have no idea what you're doing!"

"I'll learn!" Olivia shot back, equally determined.

"You'll have to drop out of Hogwarts, say goodbye to your education and any chance of a decent career! And any respectable pureblood isn't going to want to marry their son to a girl who has a half-blood lovechild, you'll wind up alone or maybe with some old widower looking to remarry- I don't even know which would be worse! So you'll have no life, no money, no job, no love, no family, you'll have nothing but the thing your sixteen year old boyfriend sloppily left behind before he died!"

"No family?" Olivia repeated, her rising temper cooled as the words were like frost against her face, her dad unfolded his arms and his expression became just as cold.

"What?" he sneered, "You didn't think you could get away with keeping the baby without being disowned, did you? You leave me with no choice, I can't let you drag the rest of us down with you."

"Are you serious?"

"C'mon Dad, you can't disown your own daughter," Aloysius spoke up, looking something akin to a lost and confused puppy.

"Aloysius, be quiet," he snapped at his youngest child, "I'm talking to your sister."

"But you're always saying you want to be a granddad, now its happening but you're not happy about the new little baby."

"I want legitimate pureblooded grandchildren not illegitimate half-bloods, there's a difference!"

"You can't choose your family," Olivia pointed out, he glared back at her.

"But you can choose your children," he said firmly and jabbed his non-wand hand towards the door, "And if you're not willing to conform to the values of this family then you're not allowed to be a part of this family, either agree to get the abortion or get out of my life!"

"Dad…" Olivia breathed, feeling tears welling in her eyes and her ached with hurt despite having partially been expecting it, it was one thing to consider it would happen but quite another to be experiencing it happening."

"What? You don't think I'm serious?"

"I-"

"GET OUT!" he raged and suddenly his wand was on her-

"Protego!"

She heard Maxie's cry just as the shimmering shield slammed up before her, deflecting whatever orange spell her dad had cast at her. Her dad had tried casting a spell at her. Her heart was racing as the thought tried to sink in, meanwhile without skipping a beat her dad had spun back to Maxie and already a spell was shooting towards him. She wished she was old enough to be allowed to use magic outside of Hogwarts.

Maxie wasn't able to put up another shield in time and instead was hit by it, breaking immediately into a violent coughing fit. Her dad flicked his wand again, this time Maxie managed a non-verbal shield despite the coughing but it was weak and her dad's spell still broke it, throwing her brother against the doorframe. He twisted his wand before he hit it, firing a blazing white spell towards their father who was forced to put up a Shield Charm of his own but Maxie's coughing fit was passing and he fired a spell she recognized as the Curse of the Bogies.

It struck her dad as the light from the shield died, staggering him backwards as his nose suddenly streamed. Maxie was recovering fast now and on the attack, his battered face now wrought with focus as he sent a Body-Bind Curse careening at her dad. He tried to throw up another Shield Charm but sneezed violently, interrupting the wand movement and instead barely managed to duck in time to avoid it. He cast another spell at Maxie but her brother dodged deftly, twirling his wand as he did so and her dad wasn't fast enough to avoid it.

Olivia didn't recognize the spell but as it struck her dad, his arm seemed to spasm then seize up, forcing him to drop his wand and fall to his knees as his legs buckled beneath him. Maxie kept his eyes trained and wand focused on the quivering man on his knees, he was now looking quite sick from the Curse while Maxie's heavy breathing still had a slight wheeze to it from the coughing spell.

"Come on, Olivia," Maxie croaked a command, his voice steely behind the rasp, "We should go."

"Yeah, get out!" her dad tried to snap, no longer sounding intimidating with nose bunged up with snot as Olivia made her way over to Maxie, "To hell with both of you!"

"Can I come too?" Aloysius asked hopefully, she hadn't realized he'd followed her over and was gazing at them with innocent eyes.

"NO!" her dad yelled, trying to get up but only succeeding in falling more.

"No, Aloysius, you should stay here," Maxie decided and the youngest Nott's face fell, Olivia understood though, if they tried to take him the Ministry would probably just take him back since he was only thirteen and wasn't being disowned. Besides, she wasn't even sure where they would be going so there was no point dragging him with them, only a few weeks to Hogwarts anyway.

"Don't worry, we'll see each other soon," Olivia reassured him, putting her hands on his shoulders, "Not long until Hogwarts, you might as well stay here. We'll be fine, don't worry about us."

"Okay…" Aloysius agreed with an unhappy sigh and gave her a hug of farewell.

"See you soon," she promised as she pulled away.

"Bye."

"Come on," Maxie reiterated, gesturing to the door with his head without moving his wand and she reluctantly started to head out.

Maxie seemed to consider their father for a few moments, his unreadable mask firmly back in place on his face as he watched the older man having a sneezing fit. Finally he sighed, begrudgingly flicking his wand and their father immediately stopped sneezing as the curse was undone then following her out without another word.

"Yeah, you better go! You faggot! You harlot!" her dad's voice yelled after them as they went through the foyer and into the cold night, she heard the scrabble of his feet as he struggled to go after them and his voice had to raise in volume to still be heard the further away they got, "A disgrace to the Nott family name, the both of you! YOUR MOTHER WOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOU! WORTHLESS! DESPICABLE-"

"Are you ready?" Maxie asked of her as the front door closing silenced whatever more biting words their dad had for them, she wiped tears from her eyes she hadn't realized were there as she nodded and he circled his arms around her.

She heard the front door open, saw the flash of a spell but it missed as but Maxie was already disapparating them miles and miles away…