Dom had to tread lightly around the school following the incident. News of her theft had spread through the school like wildfire. She earned many disgusted looks, a bit of praise, but the worst was the ridicule. She had expected Tillie and Tia to jump at the opportunity to annoy her, but they went so far. They made a big show of keeping their belongings well out of her reach during class. They constantly asked her if she'd stolen anything on any given day, and they took to listing all the punishments they thought she deserved for her crime. While it was difficult to function with them always teasing her, it wasn't half as bad as the fear she felt when she thought of her family's reaction. She had not received any word from her parents concerning her behavior. On top of that, she did not get to say goodbye to Angus, before leaving Hogwarts. The trip home on Friday was very nerve wracking. She got off the train and saw her parents standing with her aunts and uncles. All her cousins and her siblings were greeted happily by their parents. She approached her father and received no more than a stern glance. She followed her family out of the station and down to the portkey. They bid goodbye to their cousins and returned home. Dom immediately made her way to her bedroom. She didn't particularly like being home, but she had missed the beach just outside Shell Cottage. She unpacked and slipped out the window and ran down to the beach. She knew she would have to face her parents eventually, but she wanted to enjoy her first few hours being home. Sadly, she did not receive a few hours. She had been lazily walking through the water when she heard her father's voice.
"Dom!" She stopped and waited for him to catch up to her. They both continued walking down the shore. "Are you gonna tell me?" he asked.
"What did Headmistress McGonagall tell you?" she asked him.
"That you stole a time turner. She did not give us a reason, only that she was very disappointed in you. You are usually such a well behaved student. Are you going to tell me why?" he responded.
"How can she be disappointed in me? She doesn't know me. She doesn't know if I'm well behaved. She means invisible," Dom replied.
"Dom you know that's unfair. The Headmistress has hundreds of students to worry about. You can't be upset that she doesn't know you personally," Bill scolded, "now tell me why."
"I can't," Dom said. It was the truth, but she knew her father would not accept it.
"Dom this is serious. I can't imagine a good reason for what you did, but I'm giving you an opportunity to defend yourself," Bill said tightly.
"Then I am refusing your offer," Dom replied quickly.
"That is enough young lady. You live in my house and you will obey my rules," he said.
"That's original," she shot back, "I'm not going to tell you why I did it, because it'll make you more mad than you are already." Bill was becoming quite furious.
"Is it that bad Dom? You've never done anything like this in the past. What's changed? Do you think we'll think less of you because of your reason? Because, we're already disappointed that you did it," Bill said.
"It's personal. You've never cared enough to know my reasons for doing things before," Dom spat.
"That's because you've never stolen before. Dominique, you're on the verge of being insolent," Bill yelled.
"Glad you finally caught up," Dom yelled back.
"You will remain in your room for the remainder of the weekend," Bill said. Dom turned and went back to her room. She spent all Friday and Saturday in her room, only emerging for meals. Her father remained distant, and her mother switched between disapprovingly looks and sad glances. She didn't mind, because she had seen these looks on her parent's faces often. The only time she was allowed to leave the house was on Sunday when they went to Grandma and Grandpa Weasley's house.
"Hello dears," came Grandma Molly's sweet voice, "oh Bill, look at you. You're so handsome. Fleur, come in dear. What a lovely casserole. Victoire, my you're so lovely today. I hear you're doing well in school. Andromeda has told us you accel in Charms."
"Happy Birthday Grandma, and yes, I enjoy her class very much. I am well on my way to a N.E.W.T in all of my classes," Victoire replied proudly. Dom slipped past her sister and grandmother into the house. She saw her aunt Hermione in a deep discussion with Grandpa Arthur and the Minister of Magic. She passed by Uncle Harry and Uncle Ron playing wizard chess while Albus, Rose, and Hugo watched intently. She entered the kitchen and slipped past Aunt Ginny, who was preparing a roast, and reached for a warm roll. She was shocked when she caught another hand in the basket. She looked to see Fred on the other side of the counter with his hand on a roll. He smirked at her before grabbing the roll and dashing out of the room. She followed suit and ran into Uncle George as he entered with Aunt Angelina. She spun around the pair as she rushed outside. In the back of the house she found Roxy, Molly, Lucy, and Lily picking flowers and making crowns. She walked around the house and found the pond behind it. She took off her shoes and dipped her feet into the cool water.
"Did you say hello to anyone on that mad dash through the house?" came a voice from behind her. She turned to see Andromeda Tonks standing behind her.
"No… but I made eye contact with Fred," she defended herself. Andromeda smirked.
"Very good. Maybe by Christmas we can even get a wave."
"I don't think my father would like it if he saw me enjoying myself," Dom muttered.
"Is this about school?" she asked. Dom peered up at her.
"I don't think I should be talking about this to a professor," she said.
"Then say it to your sister's boyfriend's grandmother," Andromeda quipped.
"There's nothing to say," Dom said.
"How about 'I didn't do it'," Andromeda replied. Dom looked up at her sadly.
"That would be a lie," she replied meekly.
"Dom I've never known you to be a thief or to do something so foolish and reckless. You're smarter than that," Andromeda said.
"You've never known me at all," Dom said with composure, "you've never known what I feel when I see the hate in my family's eyes."
"I am the only one here who knows what hate looks like from the eyes of the ones they love," Andromeda said tightly, "your family does not hate you."
"You don't know. You left. You were free. Unless you're encouraging me to leave my family, you have no idea what I'm going through. You loved someone else. You had someone… something to run to. I have no one," Dom said matter of factly. With that she swiftly got up and glided back to the house. Andromeda watched her go and for a moment thought Dom looked just like her sister.
Dom ate her meal in silence. All around her conversations roared as each speaker made their attempt to be heard above the rest. To her right, Louis was arguing with Fred and James about the best quidditch players. To her left, her aunts discussed policy changes in the Ministry and what dishes they were going to prepare for Christmas. Dom stuck her fork into her potato and flicked the white fluff across her plate. She was glad that her father was near the head of the table and out of her sightline. Across from her, Teddy whispered in Victoire's ear. Dom looked at the clock and waited for the meal to end. After the meal, she was wandering through the large house. She crept up the stairs and up to the attic.
"Hello there." She froze with her hand still on the doorknob. She turned to see her Uncle Harry sitting on the old withered bed in the corner. "You trying to escape the chaos?" Her uncle smiled at her and patted the bed beside him.
"I guess I'm just not comfortable in large groups," she replied.
"I understand," he chuckled, "it's a large family. A person could get lost."
"You have no idea," Dom mumbled.
"I think I do," Harry replied, "how's school going Dom?" This is what she had dreaded: questions about her future.
"I'm doing well. Ab says I'm the best transfiguration student he's got, but I think he's a little biased," she replied.
"I bet you're just being modest," Harry smirked, "I haven't spoken to Aberforth in years. I wonder if he has any plans for Christmas? We could invite him over here."
"That would be amazing!" Dom exclaimed. Christmas might be bearable if Ab was there.
"Well I'll see what I can do for you," Harry promised. They sat in silence for a while. "What are you planning on doing after school?" Harry asked politely. Dom hesitated.
"I was looking into being a potioneer. I am pretty good at potions, and there's not really much else I could do," she replied. Now was her chance to see if her family would believe her cover story. Harry furrowed his brow. Dom held her breath.
"Well, I personally would be bored to death, but if that's what you like to do," he said finally. Dom released a sigh of relief. "But I think you could do a lot Dom. You're a smart girl." Dom smiled gratefully at her uncle.
"Thank you, but I think this is the safest way to make sure I don't ever have to work with Victoire. She would be more bored than you," Dom quipped. They both laughed at that.
The weekend had thankfully drawn to a close and it was time to head back to Hogwarts. The ride to the castle was peaceful for Dom. She arrived in the Great Hall, and was immediately engulfed in a hug. She peered up to find Angus holding her tightly.
"Hey," he greeted, "where have you been? I haven't seen you in forever. You said you'd write to me."
"I'm sure a weekend alone was unbearable," Dom joked.
"It was when I was expecting a letter from a pretty girl that never came," he retorted.
"Sorry," she replied looking down, "I was put under house arrest by my father."
"Oh," Angus replied, "I'm sorry."
"It's ok. I deserved it," she said.
"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked. She assumed he was talking about the time turner incident, and was grateful that he cared and didn't hate her for it.
"No," she said, "but thank you."
"Of course," he said as he kissed her hair.
"Are you mad?" she asked him.
"No," he answered honestly, "I trust you, and I know you must have had a reason." Dom smiled. He walked her to her table, and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "If you ever need to talk about it, I'm here," he said as he left for the Gryffindor table. She nodded as he walked away. Before she had time to turn back to the table, Billie, Fletcher, Peggy, and Lottie all filled in the seats around her.
"Hey Dom, how was the weekend?" Billie asked.
"It was fine," Dom said unenthusiastically. Billie ignored her friend's melancholy statement. She was bursting with excitement.
"Well, Jemima and I went to Hogsmeade this weekend, and guess what happened?" she said. The other girls leaned in as if they could figure it out by just being close to Billie. "Vlad Krum asked Jemima out!"
"What?!" Peggy shrieked.
"Shut up! He's a seventh year," Lottie exclaimed.
"I know, but she said yes. They're going to Madam Puddifoot's this weekend," Billie replied. Dom just smiled. She knew that Vlad was much nicer than his brother, and she was happy for Jemima. Both the Krum boys were widely regarded as the handsomest boys in the school, and on top of that Vlad was very smart.
"I was at Hogsmeade this weekend. When did he ask her?" Peggy asked.
"He asked her just as we were leaving. I think you were already gone by then," Billie said.
"I didn't even get to go to Hogsmeade I had so much homework. Looks like everybody had fun this weekend but me. Did your family do anything fun Dom?" Lottie asked.
"Oh.. no," Dom replied as she played with her wand, "I was grounded." Lottie suddenly looked very guilty.
"Oh… I'm sorry," she said.
"Don't be. It's fine," Dom told her with a smile. There was an awkward silence, broken by Professor McGonagall standing up from her seat at the front of the room. Peggy rushed to the Slytherin table as Lottie and Fletcher headed to the Hufflepuff table. Dom caught sight of Vlad Krum giving Jemima Jordan a kiss on the cheek before heading to the Slytherin table. Jemima sat next to her sister with the biggest grin on her face. Dom smiled happily as she turned to listen to the Headmistress's speech.