PART TWO ( NOTHING GOLD CAN STAY ) CHAPTER FOUR:
004 || Weasley War Zone
"in which wars are brewing and everyone must take their sides. . ."
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THERAPY, AURELIA RECKONS, isn't the worst thing. She certainly doesn't hate it and she reckons that it could even help her eventually. The problem is she doesn't always want to talk about the things that happened to her on every single appointment and that's pretty much what therapy is. Of course, she could be wrong, the only reason she knew what therapy was is from matching Muggle shows and movies. Her views on therapy hadn't been exactly positive going into it.
Her first session hadn't been anything like she expected, it was nothing how it went in the movies nor does Aurelia think it's how it's supposed to go at all. Judging by Dr. Archer's face, he hadn't expected her to do what she had done and that is, spill everything right on the spot for two hours straight without letting him get a word in edgewise. But, she felt quite good afterwards - not happy, rather, she felt lighter.
Aurelia had just left her fourth session with the man and she could say that she quite liked him. But, she found the last two session had been rather horrid, Dr. Archer did most of the talking during them and she had left it feeling stuck again.
Her first two sessions, Aurelia did most of the talking. Her first one didn't happen in the most professional setting, it happened in the empty waiting room (Aurelia's not sure what to call it because it's not really a waiting room, there's only three bloody chairs in there but, she can't really call it anything else) and in front of Mae. It's no fault of Dr. Archer's, it's just that Aurelia wouldn't shut up.
She's not even sure that Dr. Archer was going to give her a session that night, He had come over, greeted her and then began to give her a rundown of what Therapy is since he must've known that she didn't really know what it is and half way through his rundown she just snapped. Aurelia spilled everything that happened this year, every incident, every feeling, everything.
When she take a breath, he'd go "Why don't we -" but he'd never be able to finish the sentence because she'd continue on with her story. This happened about three times before Dr. Archer finally gave up on trying to get her into the office. It may not have been the most professional session and Dr. Archer couldn't really do much to help her that time around, by the time she had finished ranting the sun was set and his office had long since been closed. He asked a few questions that flew over her head at the time and then he told them to come back the next morning for another session.
On the way back to Almerry Island, they stopped at McDonald's and Aurelia got fries and an ice cream - Ellie would be so jealous when he finds out. Aurelia managed to find a semblance of happiness when she had sat with Mae in the fast-food place, it had been quite peaceful even if the feeling was short-lived.
The next session wasn't as good as the first, Aurelia's quite sure it was because Dr. Archer went from that lanky, awkward, blushy man who talks to his snake (whose name is Bambi, like that cartoon deer!) to the tall lean professional who keeps a calm face no matter what she tells him. Reminding her greatly of the therapists from Muggle movies and ultimately intimidating her.
She still spilled her guts but, there had been times where Dr. Archer's calm face had caught her off guard and she would pause for a few moments. In those few moments he would ask her questions, the questions varied depending on what they were talking about. Some of the questions Aurelia had a hard time answering, which is something Aurelia assumes she's going to have to work on.
By her third session, she had run out of things to say and the session had relied heavily on Dr. Archer and his questions. Aurelia realised that therapy is a lot different then what she had seen on T.V. It's not as easy as some made it seem and it's not as hard as others made it seem. She's also learned that sometimes therapy doesn't help and she hopes that won't happen in her case, she really needs this to work.
Her fourth session had by far been the worst. She couldn't think of anything to talk about and she couldn't seem to answer any of Dr. Archer's questions. Even though she had just started therapy not even two weeks ago, part of Aurelia is ready to give up. Which isn't like her, she's usually a very hardworking person; for example: she once spent a whole year on creating a spell. Yet here she is, barely starting this thing and already willing to just quit. It's really not like her but, she's just so tired all the time.
But, she tries her best to keep going. How could she give up when Mae is so proud of her for trying. It's not like Aurelia will disappoint Mae, at least she hopes not, it's just that she'd rather not see that beaming smile be wiped off Mae's face if Aurelia told her she wanted to give up. Mae's so happy that she agreed to go get help, she always picks up Aurelia after therapy and she's always smiling and giving her a strawberry milkshake from McDonald's.
Today for example, Mae smiles brightly, a strawberry milkshake in her hand as she greets Aurelia who's just exited Dr. Archer's office. Mae hands over the milkshake, asking Aurelia how therapy went. Aurelia tells her it went fine, lying through a smile as she sips on her milkshake. Mae turns on her car, telling Aurelia that they're needed at the Burrow. At first Aurelia thinks it's because they've got to pick up Ellie. The official Hogwarts school year had come to an end the previous day and as usual Ellie had went to the Burrow for the night instead of returning to Almerry Castle. Then Mae says that Dumbledore has something to discuss with the lot of them.
Mae laughs heartily at the frown that had made itself known on Aurelia's face at the mention of Dumbledore "I know exactly how you feel, love. Dumbledore's a wee shady bitch, if you ask me."
"Did he know - Dumbledore - did he know that Esrom Riddle or Trelawney or whatever predicted that I might die?"
"Yes, he knew. All of the staff knew. I couldn't have them accidentally tell you. Or in the case of Lyra and Snape, make a snide comment," Mae says, "So, it says on your student file that you are to referred to as a Malfoy or Black."
"Wouldn't the Donum Vitae have protected me?"
Mae taps the steering wheel "Well, as you know, it only protects you if your brain knows you're goin' to die. That's the case for your Donum Vitae anyway, when Esrom predicted that you would die in that circumstance, Bellatrix assumed that it meant you would die a death that your Donum Vitae didn't see coming."
"Oh, so he knew," Aurelia mumbles faintly.
In other words, Dumbledore was going to tell her that her mother was Bellatrix Lestrange knowing there was a good chance she could die. The worst part is, he obviously didn't know for sure that she was a Donum Vitae and he wasn't thinking that the Donum Vitae could save her from her fate if he told her. And, by the looks of it, Lyra actually saved her by telling her what she did.
"Aye, I just - are you alright, you look a little pale there."
"That's because I am pale," Aurelia says sarcastically, a little defensively. She doesn't need Mae to know what Dumbledore did, would she even believe her? It's one thing to call him a shady bitch but, it's another to say that he put her life at stake.
Mae gives her a look "That's not what I meant, wee moon."
"Aye, I'm fine, mum."
Since, it's been revealed that Mae's technically her biological mum, Aurelia's been calling her just that. Of course, she could've called Mae that all along, Aurelia had just been too scared to do it all the time and apparently Mae didn't want to pressure Aurelia into calling her anything. So, neither had really said anything on the matter. Nothing had changed in their relationship, the fact they now shared blood merely gave Aurelia the courage to start calling Mae her mum whenever she could.
Mae doesn't look too convinced but, she doesn't press the subject "If you say so . . . We'll be goin' to Travis' Inn to use the Floo Network to get to the Burrow."
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ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ɢᴏʟᴅ | ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ɢᴏʟᴅ | ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ɢᴏʟᴅ | ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ɢᴏʟᴅ | ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ɢᴏʟᴅ
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THE INN AS usual is packed, a little more packed than usual but, Aurelia could just be imagining it. Her nerves are shot from therapy and today had just been an all around shitty day and it left her feeling nervous but, and this is the worst part of it, she can't pin-point what's making her nervous. Perhaps it just feels more crowded 'cause you're nervous, Aurelia tells herself, or maybe it's because everybody is staring at you like a bloody fucking creep!
She swallows thickly, trying to hide behind Mae but, it's no use. Mae's nearly a foot shorter than Aurelia, however, the fierce glare on Mae's face does make up for it. Some people look away, others turn to their partners or friends and begin to whisper about her. They think she's a liar, an attention-seeker, and worst of all, they think she's a murderer.
The Daily Prophet is going around slandering herself, Dumbledore, and Harry. A whole lot of folks are bloody pissed that they're saying that Voldemort is back. The paper has gone around saying that the lot of them are liars and delusional. And twice they have said Aurelia killed Cedric. Once they said she had killed him on purpose then the next time they said it was on accident and that Dumbledore was saying it was Voldemort to cover the true crime up.
The crowd parts as Travis Calderwood comes strutting forward. Travis is the owner of the inn and he's rather popular on Almerry Island, he's been running the inn since he turned seventeen. The island seems to collectively love him, Aurelia doesn't think anyone hates Travis, if someone did she wouldn't be able to understand how they could. He's a wonderful man even with his cocky nature, he's a bloody charismatic bloke that knows how to gather a crowd as well as get a crowd to shut the fuck up.
Travis spots the problem immediately, telling the crowd without hesitation that the next person who so much as looks at Aurelia wrong will get kicked out. It does the trick and the crowd quickly goes back to their prior activities.
"Awright there, Macleod an' Black! What can I help you wit' on this fine evenin'?" Travis greets them, flashing them his signature charming smirk.
Mae gives him a fond smile "Just here for the Floo, laddie."
"Ah, well right this way, Little Red!" Travis says, making a path for them to get through the pub area, "You do need tae stop by sometime soon, Little Red. My wee lass keeps askin' 'round for you. She misses her favourite aunt."
Travis is referring to his seven-year-old daughter, Matilda, who happens to be Mae's niece. Her mother is one of Mae's younger sisters that didn't really talk to Mae but, her mother's no longer in the picture, she'd run away because she couldn't handle the responsibility of being a mother. Aurelia had only met Matilda a handful of times, one could definitely tell that she was a Macleod with her bright red curls, her spitfire nature, and short stature.
"I miss the wee tyke too but, I can't make any promises, there's a lot goin' on right now an' I can tell that the rest of this summer will be no different," Mae says.
"Er, right," Travis clamps a large, calloused hand on Aurelia's shoulder as Mae looks around for the Floo Powder which is never where it should be, "Hey, Black, uh . . . Sorry that your ex turned out to be a Death-Eater, that must really suck!"
There's an awkward pause, Mae stares almost darkly as if to say 'if she cries then you're dead meat'. Travis looks to be reevaluating most of his life choices and Aurelia stares at him, unblinking and unsure how to feel about that remark. "That sounded a lot better in my head . . . Like a lot better in my head," Travis says, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.
Aurelia shrugs, deciding that the remark doesn't really bother her because it does suck but she's concerned on how he knows that Noelle was her ex - he knew the whole time! - shut up! The only way he could know is if - he was on her side, he betrayed - shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Aurelia wipes her sweaty palms on her shorts, he can't be on Gwendoline Goyle's side, that's ridiculous! You're ridiculous! But -
Mae subtly brushes Travis' hand off Aurelia's shoulder, noticing her daughter's distress at once. Even if she couldn't clearly see the look of fear on Aurelia's face, she could feel it through their Donum Vitae bond, the only problem was Mae couldn't access it, not to point that she would be able to if she wasn't a Squib. She wishes she could so she could tell what is causing Aurelia such distress.
Aurelia digs her fingernails into her palms. What if Travis is bad, what if you can't trust him, what if - you are being ridiculous, stop it. Stop it. Her heart races, her bony knees are shaking so badly they're banging together, sounding like chattering teeth but, duller. How did he know that? She hardly remembers telling Mae that, she's not even sure if she did tell Mae. You must've. Aurelia thinks hard, there's no way that Travis would betray her, you must've told Mae at some point. You must've. You must've.
In Remus's kitchen - her dad's kitchen, after the next morning after everything had settled down. Lyall - her grandfather, had asked something and Aurelia had turned into a blubbering mess and she said lots of things she couldn't exactly remember saying at the moment. She must've said something about it then. Or maye she had said something in Dumbledore's office, she can't remember. Everything had been so blurry in her mind lately.
Mae hands Aurelia some Floo Powder and once they've said their goodbyes, mostly apologies on Travis' part, the two of them are headed to the Burrow. Once there, Mae and Aurelia are greeted by Arthur and Molly.
Molly is bustling around the kitchen, trying to get dinner ready and Arthur is pouring himself a cup of tea, he looks like he's just gotten home from work. Arthur greets them politely, offering them a spot of tea. While, Mae says yes, Aurelia shakes her head no, she doesn't think her stomach can handle tea at the moment. He asks Aurelia how she's doing but Aurelia finds herself choking on her words so Mae answers for her, telling him that she's doing fairly well.
"You look a little pale dear," Molly points out, "Would you like a glass of water?"
"Oh, s - s - so now you - you care," Aurelia stammers, her anxiousness turning into anger as she refers to how Molly treated her in the Hospital Wing.
However, Molly doesn't seem to understand what Aurelia's referring to and she gives Aurelia a confused look but, Aurelia doesn't respond. Aurelia can't respond, she barely managed to get that petty remark out. Of course, Molly cares and deep down Aurelia knows that but right now any logical thought that Aurelia has is smothered by anger, bitterness, or sadness. At the moment, it's all three. She crosses her shaky arms over her heaving chest, scowling as her gaze comes to rest on the floor.
Molly clears her throat, off put by Aurelia's behaviour then informs Mae that Dumbledore should be arriving shortly. Arthur looks between Aurelia, Molly, and Mae as he sips on his tea and wonders just what the teenager was referring to. Aurelia is never snide with Molly, unprovoked. If Aurelia snaps at Molly, it's usually because Molly had said something to Mae that she didn't agree with. As much as Arthur didn't like the tone Aurelia had used with his wife, he can't find it in his heart to tell her off for it.
"You look like you can use some fresh air, Blue," Arthur says, "Ginny and the boys are out in the backyard playing a game of Quidditch if you want to join them."
"I - well, that sounds nice and all, Mr. Weasley but, I think I'd rather visit with Percy," Aurelia says, Percy's room would be much calmer than a Quidditch game, "He is - isn't busy, is he?"
Arthur tenses up before shaking his head "Percy got held back at work today, he's not home yet."
Aurelia frowns "Oh."
Turning on her heel, she heads towards the backdoor. She can hear the sounds of a very rough Quidditch game going on and Ellie's obnoxiously loud laughter. It's then that Aurelia realises just how much she missed the wanker, it had been awfully lonely at Almerry Castle without him there.
Stepping out into the backyard, Aurelia can see Ellie landing his broom with his back turned to George who's up in the air, flipping him off for whatever reason. Fred is just barely hovering off the ground as he chats with Ron and Ginny who are sitting in the grass. Fred is the first to spot her and he points this out to Ginny who clumsily gets to her feet and sprints across the yard to hug her.
"Blue," Ginny lets out a cry of relief, picking Aurelia up slightly and rocking her from side to side.
When Ginny lets her her down the others pull her into a group hug, unaware of her racing heart. Her mouth runs dry, her breath catches in her throat and she feels trapped. All the Weasleys are saying things to her, the words just sound like noisy chatter to her. Finally, they pull away much to Aurelia's relief. Ginny slaps her shoulder, a jolt of panic and surprise runs up Aurelia's spine, why was she being hit, what did she do wrong?
"You didn't respond to any of Neville's letter! We had no way to know if you were alright, all we had was Ellie who's a shite source ("Hey! Am not!") by the way - you are too, you tosser," Ginny says, placing her hands on her hips, "What happened?"
Aurelia flinches away from Ginny, green eyes going wide and her lower lip juts out as it trembles. Aurelia struggles to hold back her tears that are burning her eyes, images of Goyle's sneering face and the flash of green light bombard her mind. Stop. Stop. Stop. Cedric's horrified, dead-eyed expression, that graveyard, Goyle's laugh - stop. Stop. Stop.
"Why don't we play another round of Quidditch?!" Ellie exclaims, laughing nervously as he shoves his broom into Aurelia's hands. She clings to the wooden handle, nails digging into the scratchy surface as she tries to steady her breathing.
Aurelia needs to calm down, she really needs to play Quidditch, she wants to play it. In a year's time she'll be Quidditch Captain and she needs all the practice she can get if Cedric - her stomach churns violently and her knees grow weak as the image of Cedric's dead body invades her mind once more. Cedric had promised to make her Quidditch Captain once he graduated in a years time but now he's not going to get to graduate because you failed to save him. There's no Quidditch Captain now, there's no Cedric because of you.
Fred nudges her "Come on, Blue, let's go."
His words fly over her head "Huh?"
"Don't you wanna play?"
"Huh - Huh? Oh, aye . . Aye, I do wanna play," Aurelia says sluggishly, throwing her leg over the broom Ellie had given her. She hesitates, feeling a wee bit dizzy before pushing herself off the ground. Hopefully she doesn't fall off her broom.
x
ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ɢᴏʟᴅ | ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ɢᴏʟᴅ | ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ɢᴏʟᴅ | ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ɢᴏʟᴅ | ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ɢᴏʟᴅ
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THEY HARDLY GET to play for an hour before Molly's beckoning them inside because Dumbledore has arrived to share whatever important news he has with them. It's not just Dumbledore who's arrived, Remus - oh wait! Her dad! - and, unfortunately, Lyra had accompanied him as well. Dumbledore goes on to explain that the Weasleys along with the Macleods are to into what he basically describes as hiding.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Ellie mutters after Dumbledore mentions something called Grimmauld Place. The place where her mother, aunts, and cousins grew up in outside of their summers at Almerry Castle.
Dumbledore mentions the Order of the Phoenix and Aurelia perks up, she's heard of that before from Lyra and Mae. It was a very hush-hush organisation that was dedicated to taking Voldemort the fuck out during the first Wizarding War. He says something about order meetings taking place there as well to which Molly makes a disgruntled noise at. Dumbledore quickly reassures her that the children won't be allowed in these said meetings to which the children groan irritatedly at; the loudest being Aurelia.
Dumbledore says some other things that Aurelia doesn't listen to. She's turned her attention to Mae, staring at her with all her might, hoping that Mae will tell her whatever goes on in those meetings. From the corner of her eye, she sees Ellie trying to do the same thing.
Aurelia's quite sure that Mae will, there's no good reason for her not to. Mae doesn't like keeping Aurelia and Ellie in the dark unless she absolutely has to, Aurelia's learned that much in the past few weeks. If it hadn't been for the fact Aurelia would die for knowing that her mother is Bellatrix, Mae would've told her. She's been pretty truthful ever since. So, unless these meetings are a threat to their lives, Mae will probably tell Aurelia and Ellie what they're about. Aurelia will riot if anyone tries to keep her in the dark again.
The discussion lasts a few minutes longer, it ends with Dumbledore telling the Weasleys to pack as quickly as possible then he leaves. Remus and Lyra stay behind to help the Weasleys gather their belongings. Mae tells Aurelia and Ellie they don't have to worry about packing just yet as they won't be going to Grimmauld Place until next Friday.
However, they're still sent upstairs to help the others pack. Ellie groans and Aurelia swears under her breath as they trudge up the stairs, they had questions they had wanted to ask Mae.
Lyra saunters over to Mae once all the children had ventured upstairs and the Weasley parents along with Remus had busied themselves elsewhere.
"Have you told her yet," Lyra whispers in Mae's ear as she slips into Mae's mind "Oh, you haven't yet," Lyra frowns, as she always does, when she get to the subtle barrier withholding some of Mae's memories. The memories she witnesses are slightly off, so slightly that perhaps, if someone else who's not Lyra, happened to enter Mae's mind, they wouldn't even notice the barrier is there.
Mae grits her teeth, giving Lyra a brooding look "Get out of my head, Lyra - exactly what are you talkin' about? What haven't I told her?"
"Well, Bellatrix's innocence for starters," Lyra hisses, sneering.
No," Mae says bluntly, "Now stay the bloody hell out of my head!"
"Why haven't you told her," Lyra wonders, purely out of curiosity, why on Earth would Mae make her plans so easy? Why isn't she jumping at her chance to tell Aurelia about Bellatrix's innocence.
"There's hardly any proof. Remember, Dumbledore altered the Lestranges and Crouch's memories, they attested that Bellatrix was there. Bellatrix insisted that she was guilty. Goyle would quite literally die before admitting to anyone even rid - You-Know-Who, that it was her who tortured Alice, Frank, and Neville. There's no proof I can provide Aurelia with. She'd never believe it." Mae says then chuckles faintly, "Even if I provided proof, she still wouldn't believe it, my stubborn girl."
Mae frowns, rubbing her forearms "I wanted to tell her but, Sirius said it wouldn't be right to tell her, it'd be too much for her. Sirius is right, for her to know that Bellatrix is innocent would be too much, whether she believed it or not, there'd be apart of her who'd want to believe it and a part of her that would want to stick by Neville and think Bellatrix is guilty. It isn't fair to keep it from Aurelia but it's not right to tell her when she'd be the only one who knows. I'm not tellin' her until Neville and Augusta -"
"You are not telling them! I am not telling them. I will never do that, Bellatrix made her bed so she can bloody well lie in it!"
The two women glare fiercely at each other, Lyra is the first to back down. She turns away from the redhead, wondering how exactly she could use this information against Aurelia. Just how badly would it mess with her if Lyra happened to let this story slip?
Lyra knows that it messed up Neville pretty bad when he accidentally found out for all of twenty minutes before Lyra had to erase that from his memories. Then again Neville was only eight when he overheard that conversation between Lyra and Dumbledore. Back then, Neville had been even more weak and emotional and he ended up crying and yelling about how it wasn't fair that someone innocent was locked in Azkaban. He had similar views about Sirius but, Lyra had never once seen him cry or yell over Sirius.
He felt very strongly about the fact that an innocent - Bellatrix wasn't innocent, she just wasn't guilty of torturing his parents - woman was locked in such a horrible place. Perhaps, Lyra shouldn't have filled his head with all those horror stories of that prison, and maybe, just maybe, his reaction wouldn't have been so bad and she would've been able to erase his memories quicker.
In that way, Lyra supposes, Neville is just like that parents. Always so ready to stand for justice. However, unlike his stupid parents, he rarely had the guts to fight for the justice. Alice and Frank had fought for justice for Sirius throughout November up until they were attacked; they wanted to get him the trial they bloody well though he deserved. They'd be right fuming if they found out Bellatrix had got her ass thrown in Azkaban for a crime she didn't commit. Only, Bellatrix did deserve to be in that horrid place.
Despite what Mae and Sirius think, what Neville had thought for the short period of time before he couldn't remember it, and what Alice and Frank would think, Bellatrix deserved to rot in Azkaban, she didn't deserve any justice. Lyra glances up the stairwell, wondering what Aurelia would think on that matter. Smirking, Lyra decides she'll have to find out one day soon.
x
ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ɢᴏʟᴅ | ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ɢᴏʟᴅ | ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ɢᴏʟᴅ | ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ɢᴏʟᴅ | ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ɢᴏʟᴅ
x
AN HOUR OR so into their packing, Aurelia hears Ron groan "Bloody hell, Percy's home!"
Aurelia peeks out of Ginny's room, Ron's standing at the top of the stairs with a very displeased look on his face.
"He's late," Ginny says, coming to look as well.
"You lot look more displeased by Percy's presence than usual," Aurelia remarks, "Why?"
"We only got to see him for a little last night, he stayed cooped up in his room. Dad says he's been doing that a lot lately, he says it's been pretty tense 'round here lately because Dad thinks Percy's siding with the Ministry, he thinks that Percy doesn't believe that You-Know-Who is back," Ron explains.
"Oh," Aurelia says in a small voice, "Does that - does that mean Percy thinks I - I - I murdered Ced - Ced - Cedric?"
"Er . . . No, I don't think Percy would ever do such a thing," Ron says, hesitating because he really doesn't know the answer.
"He's supposed to be the smart one," Ginny says, "He wouldn't believe that bullshit."
There's a sinking feeling in Aurelia's stomach. Yes, Percy's smart but, the Ministry is smarter and they're biased. They hate her because of her parents. One's a Death-Eater and the other's a werewolf. Of course, they're tacking the blame on her instead of Potter and, of course, Percy will believe it, he'll believe anything if it means he can get somewhere in his job. Aurelia just hopes he doesn't believe all of it.
She ventures downstairs despite Ron and Ginny telling her not to. Peering over the stair bannister, Aurelia looks down at the first floor. Molly and Arthur are staring at Percy with unreadable expressions, Lyra is repressing a laugh, Remus is looking around wearily, and Mae is giving Molly and Arthur a warning look. Percy is beaming with pride and a hint of smugness but, the smile is shrinking with every passing second of silence.
"What's going on," Aurelia asks, gripping the bannister tightly. I didn't do it, she want to tell Percy but, in a way, she did do it; just not how the Ministry is saying.
Percy turns on his heel, beaming up at her "I was promoted!"
"That - that's great!"
It's suspicious!
Percy deserved that promotion a long time ago yet, they're only giving it to him now when they've decided to make Dumbledore their target and Percy's father has obviously sided with Dumbledore. It's a lot suspicious. They couldn't give the promotion to Arthur because they knew he'd turn it down so they gave it to Percy because they knew it was something he was working hard to get and he would never dream of saying no to it.
And, she's not the only one who thinks this. Aurelia can tell by the look on everyone's face, with the exception of Percy, that they're all thinking the same bloody thing. Aurelia forces a smile on her face, she shouldn't say anything. She should let Percy have this moment, he still worked very hard for it. Whether or not, he only got the promotion because the Ministry wants to use him for information, Percy still deserved that promotion and the Ministry should have given it to him for his hard work instead.
"Con - congrats, Perce - Percy. You deserve it."
"Thank you," Percy says, then begins to ramble about all his hard work. He turns to his parent, looking at them, clearly awaiting some kind of praise.
Aurelia looks at Molly and Arthur, praying that they don't say what they're really thinking. Not yet, at least. If they say something now, Percy would take it as an attack and quite frankly, Aurelia wouldn't blame him for that.
Molly and Arthur continue to stare at him so Percy says "We could . . . Celebrate. I'm sure the others would love to even if it is over this . . . I think that we could all use something to celebrate after that . . . That accident."
Percy sounds a wee bit nervous which isn't like him but what really catches Aurelia's attention, is his use of the word 'accident'. He's clearly referring to Cedric, Aurelia frowns and her body grows tense, how could anyone much less Percy, think that.
"It - it was - wasn't an accident," Aurelia stammers in a small voice, "He was murdered by - by Gwen - Goyle on Voldemort's orders . . . It was no accident."
Percy frowns and then Aurelia frowns because she feels horrible, she didn't want to ruin his moment. But, she din't want him to believe Cedric's death was an accident either. It was cold-blooded murder.
"You-Know-Who cannot give orders, he's dead," Percy says softly.
"There was any concrete proof he died," Aurelia says bluntly, "No body was ever found just his - just his robes. Everyone just a - a - assumed he was o - o - obliterated from a back - backfiring curse!"
Aurelia pauses to take a deep, her throat is all tight and dry, it feel likes someone is sitting on her chest, she can't breathe.
"I -" Percy tries to interject but, Aurelia continues.
"There is - is no proo - oof at all that Voldemort died! If p - p - Potter survived the Killing Curse then why could - couldn't he?! Huh?!"
"I -"
"Tell me, is it so impossible to believe he's back, p - p - Perce?! I thought you - you trusted me! I wouldn't lie about this! He's b - b - back, I saw him with my - with my own eyes! He was never dead! The curse just weak - weakened him."
Aurelia takes another deep breath, the room seems to be closing in on her, getting smaller and stuffier with every passing graveyard is flashing in front of her eyes, creepy, dark, and foggy. Plaguing her mind, making her heart race and palms sweaty. The sickly green light is there too, gripping her thoughts in a vice-like grip. Gwendoline Goyle's high-pitched laugh echoes in her mind, taunting her as she struggles to speak. Aurelia has to convince Percy that it's true, she's got to hear him tell her that he believes her.
"The Triwizard c - c - Cup was a portkey and it - and it took Harry, Cedric, and - and I to a cemetery. Gwen - Gwen - Goyle was there with - with . . . With - well, there was, uh, an - another Death-Eater there too," Aurelia pauses, lifting up her shirt to reveal Gwendoline Goyle's mark carved into her lower stomach; it couldn't be healed. "They were there. They helped bring Voldemort back to his full strength, he was never dead, mere - mere - merely too w - w - weak to do it him - himself. He was never dead. He's back now and - and Cedric's death was no - was no accident."
She breathes deeply, giving Percy a fierce look. She doesn't care what Percy tells the Ministry, she just wants him to tell her that he believes her.
Mae has swept across the room and up the stairs to comfort Aurelia but, Aurelia only pulls away from Mae's touch. Aurelia folds her arms over her chest, stuttering fiercely: "D - d - don't t - t - touch me!"
Mae frowns, Aurelia's never stuttered like this before. Aurelia breathes heavily, struggling to regain her composure. It's hard to do when Aurelia can see Lyra silently laughing at her from the corner of her eye.
Remus coughs awkwardly, saying: "Well, a small celebration certainly wouldn't hurt anyone."
"We haven't got time," Molly says shortly, "We have to pack, Dumbledore's orders."
Percy makes a face at the mention of Dumbledore, a look of disdain and mistrust "Dumbledore's Orders? Packing? What for?"
Arthur explains what's going on in a very cryptic way that Aurelia thinks would make Dumbledore very proud. He leaves out where they're going and completely leaves out the Order of the Phoenix. The next thing Aurelia knows a fight has broken out.
Things get heated fast, the Weasley children along with Ellie come down from their rooms to see what's happening. They stay relatively quiet, which surprises Aurelia because some nasty things are being said and no one is jumping to anyone's defense.
It gets worse when Arthur insinuates that Percy was only promoted because the Ministry was using him, Percy gets defensive and attacks his father viciously with insults that had Aurelia holding her breath.
She had never seen Arthur this angry before, Molly is standing off to the side looking close to tears as Percy refuses to see the truth.
Percy feels threatened, he feels like they're trying to sabotage all his hard work and he's so angry. Aurelia can hear bits and pieces of his thoughts every few seconds. He doesn't trust Dumbledore, he kind of agrees with the promotion being a bit sketchy but he didn't want to believe that, he just wanted to make something of himself.
Although, Mae tries to hold her back, Aurelia steps forward and tries to reason with Percy. It doesn't go well.
"P - p - Perce, please listen," She stammers.
He turns to give her a dirty look, she flinches and stops for a moment.
"Percy, p - p - please. Listen to me. No one is, uh, saying that you don't deserve the, um, promotion. You - you do. We're just saying that the - that the timing seems to - to be a little fish - fishy. We just - we just want you to know that - to know that Voldemort is back, we are - aren't trying to sab - sabotage your job, you don't have to - to tell the m - m - Ministry you b - b - believe that! You c - can pre - pretend you don't like - like p - p - people pretended they were - weren't on Voldemort's side when the - when the war ended. You . . . You deserved that promotion, we - well, we just wanted - want you to be c - c - cautious -"
"You really think that too," Percy yells, "I thought you were my friend, Aurelia! I thought you were level-headed but, it turns out you're just as insane as your mother. Going around and preaching that You-Know-Who is back, do you realise how insane you -"
The murderous look on Aurelia's face is enough to stop everyone dead in their tracks. The room itself seems to drop twenty degrees to match the cool tone of her voices as she says in a deadly calm but still, loud voice: "So, you got the promotion you always wanted, huh? - Well, good for you."
Aurelia turns on her heels and stomps upstairs.
"Aurelia, wait -" Percy says, it's not going to be an apology. Percy wouldn't apologise, especially not in front of so many people - he's too proud for that. Even if it was an apology, Aurelia doesn't want it now.
Without looking back, she exclaims: "Go f - f - fuck your - yourself!"
X
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Aurelia is supposed to be Quidditch Captain, Cedric promised her that when he graduated he'd give her the spot buuut since he's dead she's gonna be Quidditch Captain one year earlier. However I'm not sure (because I got this idea ? ﾟﾑﾀ?) if I want her to be Quidditch Captain now because of this idea (? ﾟﾑﾀ?) I'm torn between choosing Aurelia and ditching the idea or going with the idea and choosing Olivia for Quidditch Captain! Uhhhh next chapter, we meet Mae's older brother Brysen and they go to Grimmauld Place and I am so excited for that! We also get to see a weird side effect of the Donum Vitae!