PART TWO ( NOTHING GOLD CAN STAY ) CHAPTER FIVE:
005 || Ghosts Of Goyle's Past
"in which aurelia black learns that donum vitae has some, well, issues. . ."
x
"YOU ARE GOING to fucking hate Grimmauld Place," Ellie tells her for the billionth time, however, today it sounds different. Perhaps, that's to do with the fact this is the day that they're going to Grimmauld Place for the rest of their summer. No one is thrilled about this, especially not Mae who's worried that the place won't be good for neither Aurelia or Ellie.
Aurelia agrees with Mae, she doesn't want to leave the comfort of Almerry Castle; it's safe here. There's no way that Grimmauld Place is safer but Dumbledore insists, and at least the Weasleys will be there as well, so Aurelia will have Ginny at the very least. Ellie's taken on this passive-aggressive nature towards the whole situation. One moment he's perfectly fine with it then the next he absolutely hates the prospect of stepping into that place.
But, when Mae would ask Ellie if he had a problem with it, he'd smile and tell her no. When faced with the same question, Aurelia would just shrug her shoulders because she didn't really care, she'd be miserable no matter where she went; Aurelia just prefers to be miserable at Almerry Castle. Quite frankly, she felt as though it didn't matter what she, Ellie, or Mae said. They'd still end up at Grimmauld Place. Dumbledore wanted them there and somehow, no matter what they wanted, he'd get them there.
"It sucks that we won't be able to practice magic there," Ellie says with a sigh, "Although, that won't be a problem for you because you're always scared that the Ministry will come for you if you do even the -"
"I wanted to learn how to defend myself," Aurelia says bluntly, cutting off his teasing remark, "So I did want to practice, thank you very much."
"Since when, you hardly abuse our good fortune of being able to preform underage -"
"I learned exactly how we are able to use underage magic and now I know there's nothing to be - to be afraid of. It's not a fluke, it's Blood Magic."
She sits up straight, clutching a book about Blood Magic to her chest "We can literally preform anything and we would - and we'd never get caught. It'd never be able to be traced as long - as long as we're on these castle grounds. I think - I think my . . . My mum must've placed some kind of blood boundary over this castle. I used to think it was just a fluke or maybe some ancient Almerry-style magic. We obviously have the trace - well, in your case, had - had - had the trace. We've gotten warnings for underage use of magic when we weren't at Almerry. I have learned - I have learned that we could literally preform anything - the Unforgivables, we could do those here and no one would know!"
Ellie stares at her "Merlin's beard are you ever starting to sound like Uncle Brysen!"
Aurelia's only ever met Brysen Macleod twice. Once back when she was twelve, and then just earlier this morning, both times are the result of Mae's parents trying to gain custody over herself and Ellie and Brysen had come to warn Mae about it. Brysen is a short, scrawny man who stuttered a lot. He resembled Mae a great deal, with the same bony features, green eyes, and shitload of freckles. However, his red hair is lighter and his skin has more of an olive-tone to it.
He had appeared at the castle gates earlier this morning, while Aurelia was trying to have a peaceful morning while eating her Lucky Charms. Brysen had scared the living shit out of her and made her drop her goddamned bowl of Lucky Charms. Of course, she can't really blame him because that's the only way he could let anyone know he was there on such short notice; he can't cross the protective wards unless he's either with Mae or someone who carries Black blood in them. Aurelia still blames him though, she was really looking forward to that bowl of Lucky Charms.
Mae had taken him down to the spare house at the bottom of the hill to discuss the matter. Mae had told Ellie and Aurelia that Brysen had been sending her letters about their parents' plans for a week or so now but, it wasn't urgent. It was nothing to worry about so the two of them could stay at Almerry Castle and finish packing while the adults had a little chat.
"What do you need to defend yourself from anyway," Ellie snorts, "Maureen?"
By Maureen, he means Mae's mother, who's once again attempting to gain custody of the magical children her Squib daughter is taking care of out of pettiness. But, that's not who Aurelia's referring to, she not worried about Maureen; Maureen's a shitty parent who would never win a custody battle over Mae. Maureen is so bad that Snape would probably make a better parent then her; Snape would still be a shitty parent but, Aurelia likes to think that he'd have the decency not to kick his child to curb for not having magic. But, then again, Aurelia doesn't think of this very often because it's a weird thought and she had better weird things to think about.
"Goyle," Aurelia says bluntly, staring blankly at the wall ahead of her. Ellie's teasing expression falters.
"Oh."
"I need to get better at duelling . . . And . . . Mae's right, we - she's right. We can't always rely on our wands for protection -"
"Well, when mum said that I don't think she meant in a duel, I think she - okay, I'm shutting up," Ellie says but then completely backs down when Aurelia gives him a murderous glare.
"I can't even think of a spell when I've faced her. It's not like I'm lacking knowledge of spells, I can name - I can name a hundred off the top of my head -"
"That's hard to believe. Forgive me for doubting, Blue, but you can't even preform Wingardium Leviosa properly and you learned that in - and I am shutting up like the good little boy I am! Salazar's socks, no need to get your panties in a twist because I'm stating facts."
"I will fucking end you if you interrupt me one more - one more fucking time," Aurelia snaps, "Your facts are useless by the way, I already know, I'm incompetent! ("That's not what I -") Ellie, I swear to Merlin, I will destroy you if you - if you cut me off again. I need to learn how to duel. Plain and simple. I can't think of any spell when I've faced Goyle and something tells - and something tells me that I'll be facing her a lot in the future. So I gotta shape up or -"
"Because -"
"Don't you dare, Ellie!"
Ellie covers his mouth, but it doesn't stop the shriek-like laugh from escaping "Because you need a man!"
Aurelia glares at him "This is serious, Ellie! I could die! I can't keep duelling Goyle if I'm going to keep freezing like I do. I can't rely on my wand and I can't carry a gun on me like Mae does, guns are heavy and more dangerous than a wand -"
"You have scarily good aim with a gun," Ellie interjects, "I remember when Mae taught you how to fire one and you hit all those cans perfectly, it had me shaking in my boots. You would take out Goyle easily with a gun. But, if you're scared of carrying a gun around then what about your fists?"
Aurelia gives him a dry look "I'm a scrawny ass bitch who weighs less than a hundred and ten pounds. I am bloody underweight. A few months ago I weighed ninety-seven pounds, which is sickly underweight for my height so, uh, my fists aren't going to do - going to do shit."
"But, you are tall," Ellie says "Like freakishly tall. You're almost as tall as me and I'm six foot two! Just charge 'em. I'm just as scrawny as you are and that works for me."
"That's because you look like the dirtier, grungier version of Freddie Mercury and I look like the wonky version of Roger Taylor." Aurelia sighs, "Charging Goyle won't work for me. Like ever."
Ellie fakes sniffling "I'm a grungier version of Freddie Mercury? Why, that's the best compliment I've ever received!"
Aurelia gives him a look that reads 'that's not what I meant, you little bitch'.
"First of all, I said 'dirtier, grungier version' and second, neither of those - of those two options work for me, meaning: I'm fucked."
"Eh, well, you also insulted yourself sooo . . ."
"And did I fucking stut - stut - stutter?"
Ellie hides his smile behind his hands and nods his head, replying in a high-pitched voice: "Yeah. You did."
Aurelia's face falls, wondering if she did actually stutter. She hadn't realised.
Ellie laughs quietly "Don't worry, it's not as bad as Uncle Brysen's!"
"It's not funny," Aurelia says, glaring at him as her face flushes bright red, "There's nothing funny about stuttering!"
Ellie continues to laugh, her reaction on humouring him more, Aurelia grips her wand tightly.
"Shut up," Aurelia hisses, brandishing her wand. Anger and shame coursing through her veins.
He only laughs harder, she scowls.
"Incarcerous," She snarls flicking her wand.
Ellie is instantly bound by ropes, it shuts him up as he loses balance and falls off the couch.
"Nice one, where'd you learn that?"
"In a book," Aurelia says, pouting. Ellie's not at all bothered that she hit him with that spell. Aurelia's also a little surprised that it had worked and little peeved that he's not more bothered by being hit with a spell.
She'd never actually used it before. She'd only read about it and practiced and memorised the wand movements in case she needed it during the tournament. Aurelia's pretty sure that it's an advanced spells so she's kind of proud of herself for getting it correctly.
"Well, why didn't you use that against Goyle"
"Because I couldn't - I couldn't think of it or anything," Aurelia snaps, crossing her arms over her chest, then she wonders if she even knew that spell back then, that was one of the spells she studied for the tasks, she doesn't quite recall if she had known it before.
"That's because you were scared. You were scared of Goyle so you froze. It happens, it doesn't mean you can't duel - how many duels have you been in anyway?"
"One maybe two, I'm not sure they were petty ones that lasted two spells before we backed down, I usually just used my fist like mum said. The only real one I suppose I was in was with Noelle but that was just Goyle in disguise and holding back on me so she didn't - so she didn't expose her cover."
"Hmmm," Ellie says, struggling in the ropes which only makes him fall over sideways, "Well, how well did you deal with Noelle?"
"Okay, I guess. I did run off but, I don't think I froze up. I was a little nervous to pull my wand on her but, I could think of spells to use."
"Why do you think you didn't freeze up?"
Aurelia looks at Ellie, she grinds her teeth and shrugs her shoulders. How the bloody hell is that going to help her with anything? These are stupid questions, it's like her Therapy session but about Magic "I don't know - I don't know why - I - what the fuck is that even supposed to mean?!"
"How were you feeling when you duelled with Goyle versus when you duelled with Noelle?"
"They were the - they were the same bloody person! What the fuck do you mean, Ellie? Why are you asking me these bloody questions, you're not my therapist!"
"Yeah, I know that now and you know that now. But, at the time you didn't, so how did you feel on those occasions?"
Aurelia gives him a dirty look, Ellie only laughs at it "Don't give me that look! I know where I'm going with this, so just answer the question, Blue!"
"You already know that I felt terrified when facing Goyle and I guess - I don't know! Uh, I guess I felt the same with Noelle, that was my first proper duel, I suppose. I was angry too, I - I think, I was really angry," Aurelia says, "What's the point? How is this going - how will that help me?"
"Hmmm, well. The answer sounds simple: get angry."
"Do I look like the Hulk to you?!"
Ellie snorts "Why the fuck are you like this?"
"Why the fuck are you like this," Aurelia counters, "Like 'get angry'! What the fuck - what the actual fuck is that supposed to mean?!"
"Well, it's obvious to me, from what you've told me: fear makes you freeze. That's natural of course, it happens to the best of us. When you duelled Noelle, you weren't just scared, you were angry. So I think the reason you were able to duel her was because you were angry. Your anger helped you focus in that moment. That's the way I see it anyhow."
"Are you telling me not to be scared of Goyle?"
"No, not exactly. You have every right to be scared of her. I mean in a duel, turn your fear into anger," Ellie explains, "You're scared that she's going to kill you, turn that into anger. Get angry that she's trying to kill you, get frustrated, get any emotion that isn't fear to help you focus and win that duel."
Aurelia doesn't reply, she's not even sure if Ellie's right. What if she's just shit at duelling, what if it's not because of fear? He's probably only saying these things to make her feel better. He's gotten better at it, Ellie's never really been good at comforting people. He tries but he's not good at being serious and in turn usually just makes the situation worse. This time, he managed to make Aurelia feel better, she's not sure if he's right but some part of her feel comforted.
Ellie smiles up at her "But, don't worry about that now. We'll figure something out when we get to Hogwarts. I know a bloke who knows a thing or two, he'll be willing to help us out. You won't need to defend yourself anytime soon, I promise. So relax for a little bit."
Aurelia's not sure she knows how to relax anymore. She hasn't had a moment of peace in weeks.
"Can you undo this spell now?"
Aurelia looks down at him through heavy-lidded eyes "I don't know how."
"Bullocks," Ellie huffs.
"Bullocks, indeed," Aurelia says, disinterested, as she slips her wand back in its' holster.
"Fuck you."
Aurelia rolls her eyes "Didn't you just make fun of me for not knowing a first-year spell, Ellie? Then wouldn't it be a little bold of you to assume I know the counter-curse."
"I despise you."
"And, I loathe you."
There's a popping noise and a House-Elf appears before them. In a squeaky voice it tells them that Mae wants them to head down to the spare house, all their trunks have been collected, and Brysen is going to apparate them to Grimmauld Place.
And so, the Black cousins find themselves trudging down to the bottom of the hill where the spare house lies. Identical miserable expressions adorn their faces, Ellie, who is free of the ropes thanks to the House-Elf, is complaining once more about the arrangement, his lanky limbs flying wildly in the air as he does so.
Aurelia is the first to reach the house, Mae and Brysen are waiting by the front door, waiting for the teens.
Mae beams at them "I know you aren't happy about this, I will be havin' a wee talk with Dumbledore about these arrangements but 'til then, we've got to make do. Bry, here, has offered to apparate us to our destination. Your stuff has been sent there ahead o' time, are the two or yers, set and ready to go?"
Aurelia and Ellie share a look of misery. This is their last chance to protest, Aurelia's not too sure about Ellie but, she's decided to save her protests for later. For when they're really needed. As for now, Aurelia thinks she can handle Grimmauld Place.
"Ready as we'll ever be," Aurelia says blankly, Ellie nods in agreement. Mae gives them an understanding look, patting their cheeks gently.
Brysen Macleod gives the two teens a once over. He used to babysit Ellie when the boy was a wee little thing but, it had been awhile since he had seen the lad. As for the lass, he'd never formally met her, all he knows is that her name is Aurelia and she's the daughter of Bellatrix Lestrange yet somehow oddly resembles Mae in some ways.
Brysen didn't care for the girl although he'd never tell that to Mae, who'd surely kick his ass for it if he did. And, he's not too keen on the idea of bringing her the Order either, but he doesn't say anything for the same reasons.
"You - you're a - a - a miserable lass, aren't you," Brysen stammers, glancing at Aurelia.
She scowls at him "I watched my best friend die - be murdered upon Voldemort's instructions. Forgive me for not leaping with joy," Aurelia says, tensing up.
Mae clears her throat, giving Brysen a dirty look.
"Wh - wh - what? I was - I was merely making a - making a, um, statement. Sh - she's bloody miserable."
Mae sighs, annoyed "She's got reason to be, Bry. Now, if you will, the Order."
Brysen rolls his eyes "Al - al - alright!"
"Let's get on with it then! Take Ellie first, he knows the way in," Mae says.
Another miserable look is shared between the two teens. This was going to be a long summer, they both knew it.
"This is gonna suck ass," Ellie mutters in Aurelia's ear, stepping forward and grabbing Brysen's arm.
Aurelia looks to Mae for some reassurance, even if it's false. Mae gives her small smile "Sadly, he's not wrong."
x
ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ɢᴏʟᴅ | ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ɢᴏʟᴅ | ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ɢᴏʟᴅ | ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ɢᴏʟᴅ | ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ɢᴏʟᴅ
x
ELLIE HAD MOST definitely not been wrong when he had told her she was going to hate Grimmauld Place. She had come to learn that this is most definitely where Sirius and pretty much the rest of her family had spent most of their lives and it fucking sucked. Grimmauld Place was bloody horrible. So far Aurelia had stumbled upon five diaries belonging to her mother as well as a drawing book that must've been Mae's - her other mum; Aurelia decided to ignore the diaries but she quite liked the drawing book and all the little doodles and painting inside. She didn't like the dark creatures that lurked in dark places, she didn't like anything about this place, she didn't like Dumbledore's instructions to not tell Harry Potter a single thing about Grimmauld and the Order, well, actually she doesn't like Dumbledore's instructions in general.
Aurelia could not for the bloody life of her understand why Harry would not be joining them, she definitely didn't understand why he's to be kept in the dark about everything in general because after all, he's the one who witnessed Lord Voldemort's return, he's the one who saw Cedric die at the hands of Lord Voldemort. Aurelia saw those things too but, apparently no one really cared that she had except for a handful of people. Everyone made such a fuss about what Harry had gone through this past year yet they plan for him not to know a single thing about Grimmauld Place or the Order of the Phoenix. He had to stay at his aunt and uncle's and endure their abuse for most of the summer; it angered her to no end.
(As one can probably tell, she's a wee bit bitter about these arrangements, but, moving on. . .)
All in all Aurelia's not in any way, shape, or form thrilled to be stuck in Grimmauld Place. However, she's glad to say that Sirius feels the same way as her. She absolutely loathed Grimmauld place from the screaming portrait of her great-aunt to every little fibre of dust that seemed to cover every surface in the house. Grimmauld Place reeked of something she couldn't quite identify, and despite the House-Elf, Kreacher, treating her nicely as possible and her doing the same, she constantly wanted to fist fight the thing for the nasty, bigoted things that would come out of its mouth.
In other words, she wants out of this place before she loses her goddamn mind. Perhaps, she shouldn't be complaining because they've only been there for a week, one torturous week and she did get to leave once, to go to therapy. But, that's just going from one building to another. She should be lucky she's not confined to this place like Sirius is, the poor bloke.
Aurelia blinks, she can hear Hermione speaking to her, Aurelia frowns and wonders if it's time to get up already, had she really been staring at the ceiling that long? She had yet another nightmare, this one was one of the worst ones and it kept her up for the rest of the night. Aurelia's just happy she didn't wake up screaming since she's now sharing a room with Hermione and Ginny now. Hermione tells her to wake up to which Aurelia replies that she's already awake.
"We've got a long day ahead of us," Hermione says, "Lots of cleaning to do -"
"Again? All we do is clean."
"Yes, again. Now come one, Mrs. Weasley's made breakfast -"
"I'll be down in a wee bit," Aurelia snaps as she keeps her eyes locked on the ceiling, "Calm your horses, Granger!"
"Oh."
Aurelia feels immediately bad for snapping at Hermione, she opens her mouth to apologise but Ginny speaks up.
"Mum and Auntie Mae are fighting again."
Aurelia's on her feet in seconds and bolting down the stairs, not bothering to be quiet about it. She doesn't care if she wakes up her great aunt, she's not about to sit buy and let Molly constantly scold her mum. It's been like this all week, Mae and Molly have been getting into mostly petty spats about every little thing. Molly starts them all and Mae usually doesn't little them die, Ellie and Aurelia have to stop most of them before they get too bad.
Aurelia bursts into the kitchen only to find it relatively quiet. There's tension in the air but there's certainly no fighting. They must've had one earlier, Aurelia can that by the fact Mae and Molly are on opposite sides of the kitchen.
Mae turns to look at her, seemingly concerned that Aurelia burst into the kitchen so suddenly; she asks: "Did you have a nightmare, wee moon?"
Aurelia blinks "Uh, no . . . No."
Mae doesn't look convinced but, Aurelia doesn't care, she's not trying to be convincing today. There's no point in trying to be convincing when she's rooming with Hermione and Ginny, they won't hesitate to call her out on her bullshit lies.
Mae kisses her forehead, pulling away she frowns and says "Oh, wee moon, you're feelin' a bit warm."
"M'fine," Aurelia says before Mae can ask if she's feeling alright.
The full moon is coming up and normally that didn't affect her too badly - a migraine and stomach pains. However, there were a few occasions where it had been worse and that's only because she had been sick prior to the full moon. And, since her health has been out of wack recently, Aurelia can only assume this full moon won't be much fun for her. They had been a little worse since she had been entered in the Triwizard Tournament, but, can you really blame her? That shit had been stressful and had her sick and tired twenty-four-seven.
It is, of course, nothing compared to what actual werewolves go through. It could've been because that monster had actually bitten her and if it hadn't been for that Donum Vitae she would've been dead. Aurelia wouldn't have been a werewolf, she knows that well, she would never have made it past her first transformation. It's just a fact she can feel in her bones, as weird as it sounds. She thinks she's not the only one who thinks that too, her Donum Vitae must've thought the same which is why it decided to burn the Lycanthropy from her body before it had a chance to kill her.
"Are you sure," Mae asks, handing her a plate of food.
Shaking away her thoughts and theories, Aurelia nods her head as she takes the plate "Aye, mum."
"If you say so, wee moon. Today, we'll be cleanin' again so just let me know if you need a wee break. Oh, and tomorrow you have an appointment with Dr. Archer!"
x
ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ɢᴏʟᴅ | ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ɢᴏʟᴅ | ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ɢᴏʟᴅ | ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ɢᴏʟᴅ | ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ɢᴏʟᴅ
x
THE REST OF the day passes without incident, They clean, Aurelia runs into that Boggart again even though she should know it's in that room and she really needs to stop being surprised when Gwendoline fucking Goyle pops out of bloody nowhere, Ellie tries to get Kreacher to shut up about blood purity for at least five whole minutes, and someone breaks something valuable. Just an average day at Grimmauld Place; Merlin, she hates it here.
She's getting ready for bed, feeling slightly relieved that she's got an appointment with Dr. Archer tomorrow because that mean she has less cleaning to do. Aurelia has never been one to hate cleaning, she just hates cleaning here. It never seems to get any cleaner in her opinion.
Aurelia wipes her face with a cold washcloth, a groan escaping her lips when she hears Lyra calling for her. Her blood runs cold, she doesn't want to deal with Lyra right now. Then again, she never wants to deal with Lyra.
Her mouth runs dry as she remembers that painful potion Lyra had given her as well as all the other mean things that Lyra has done. Aurelia debates whether or not she should jump in the shower and pretend she never heard Lyra calling for her. Lyra's call gets more insistent and louder and she decides she better answer before Lyra gets really angry.
"Alright, Alright," Aurelia sighs, stepping out of the bathroom, "I'm coming, I'm coming!"
Much to Aurelia's relief, Lyra isn't alone. Remus is standing by her side, smiling as Aurelia comes down the steps to greet them.
Aurelia casts Lyra a nervous glance, wringing her hands together as she asks what they want. She stutters a bit over the question which makes Lyra snort, naturally, and Remus elbows Lyra for it.
"Hermione and Ginny mentioned to Mae that you haven't been sleeping well. Mae mentioned it to me and I've asked Lyra to whip you a Dreamless Sleep Potion to help you get some well needed rest," Remus says.
There's a steaming potion in Lyra's hands, Aurelia gives it an apprehensive look only now recalling that painful potion Lyra had shoved down her throat in the Hospital Wing. She couldn't believe she hadn't thought about that until now, that's not like her, but then again she had so much on her mind, it must have just slipped away with the other unimportant stuff that didn't involve her nearly dying and Cedric dying.
"Er, thanks, dad . . . But, I think I'll pass."
Remus looks at her perplexed, he tells her that she should drink it, she needs to get some sleep, that she looks sickly.
There's a pressure in her head, soon after Lyra's voice invades her mind Oh, just drink the cursed potion, you damned brat! It's not what you think it is, I have no reason to use that on you just yet.
Aurelia gives the potion another calculating look, why are you being so nice?
I'm only being nice because Remus asked me to. Now, just drink the bloody thing!
Aurelia doesn't want to drink it but, she also doesn't want to seem rude in front of Remus, so she drinks it. Thankfully, it does indeed turn out to be the Dreamless Sleep Potion. She bids them goodnight and by the time she crawls into her bed, she's out like a light.
However, she doesn't have a dreamless sleep.
At first, when she opens her eyes she thinks she's just waking up. It takes her a few minutes to realise that this isn't the room she had fallen asleep in, nor is it any room in Grimmauld Place. It's much too clean and it's much too white. She's not alone either, there's a little girl sitting at a long white table.
She smiles at Aurelia, a patient look on her face as her tiny legs swing back and forth.
"You have lots of nightmates, miss," The little girl says in a silvery voice.
This is a weird dream, Aurelia thinks as she looks at the young girl in front of her. She's young, no older than seven, and she looks more like a porcelain doll than a human. There's no colour to her skin, she's dressed in a frilly white gown, she's got beautiful silky brown hair, and although her eyes a lovely hazel colour, they're quite dead-looking.
"We've been waiting quite awhile to talk to you," The girl says, "You're very hard to reach."
What the fuck did Lyra put in that potion?!
The little girl lets out a bell-like laugh "That mean lady did nothing to your potion, miss. This is very real and very not a dream."
"Who - who are you? What's going on?"
"My name is Griselda Goyle and I'm a ghost. Well, sort of, but I'm different from the ghost that I've heard are at Hogwarts. We're all different here, we don't have enough cause to stick around but we're much too . . . Heavy to move on and rest peacefully. We're all just kinda caught in the middle."
Goyle? Ghost? What the fuck?!
"Is this . . . Is this heaven?"
Melting through the white walls, another ghost - girl? - appears. She's a teenager this time and she lets out a tittering laugh as she comes to sit at the long white table next to Griselda.
The new ghost like Griselda, had no colour to her skin and her blue eyes are completely dead-looking. Her hair is a golden blonde colour, a big contrast to Griselda's hair.
"Who are you," Aurelia wonders, feeling positively bewildered. Why are random ghosts appearing in what's supposed to be a dreamless slumber?!
The new ghost gives her a mischievous smirk "I'm Aurelia."
Aurelia narrows her eyes "You can't be Aurelia. I'm Aurelia."
The ghost giggles "You're Aurelia Black. I'm Aurelia Carrow."
"As in -"
"Alecto and Amycus - oh, and little Hestia and Flora! Although, I never got to meet the latter of the twins, I was dead long before they were born. Alecto and Amycus had just started Hogwarts when I died."
"Well, this my dream, so I feel I have a right to ask, why did you die?"
"Well, first of all my dearest namesake, this is not a dream! We are only here because you are not dreaming! Secondly, I died on May, the ninth, nineteen-sixty-eight in the Black Lake. I was only fifteen and I had just started to see that my family were not exactly right, you see a Muggle-Born boy in the year above me had caught my eye and we were going to meet up in Hogsmeade but then she killed me," Aurelia Carrow's voice is forlorn as she speaks.
Is she going to have to avenge these ghosts or something, if this is real, that is?
Griselda Goyle and Aurelia Carrow laugh.
"No, my dearest namesake, we do not need to be avenged. That is not why we stay here," Aurelia Carrow says, seemingly reading Aurelia's mind. The dead teenager reminds her of the Good Witch from the Wizard Of Oz, the way she talks and the way she gestures with her hands; she's quite chipper for a dead person.
"Then why are you here," Aurelia asks, this is the most elaborate dream she's ever had in her entire bloody life.
Aurelia Carrow smiles softly "We stay here because we are not strong enough to be like most ghosts but, we are not ready enough to rest peacefully. We are here with you because we are connected. You are like us, a victim of Gwendoline Goyle's but your heart managed to keep beating. However, it did stop briefly and it was enough to create a connection."
"Goyle killed you - and you?! But, you're just a child! A Goyle too!"
Griselda frowns, looking at her swinging feet "She didn't know what she was doing at the time She just thought she was making me go away, she didn't know it'd be permanent. Father told her she had to for our family."
"Griselda and Gwendoline were twins," Aurelia Carrow interjects, "Their father had no use for Griselda as she was a girl and he already had another girl. So, he decided that one had to go, that one being Griselda since unlike Gwendoline, she wasn't a Metamorphmagus. So, Mr. Goyle had Gwendoline drown Griselda in their family fountain, he blamed it on the children playing around. It was labelled an accident, Gwendoline would not realise what she had done until years later."
"Part of her enjoyed it," Griselda mumbles, looking deeply troubled by the fact her five-year-old twin sister had apparently enjoyed murdering her, "I think that's why I stay here."
"Oh, Merlin," Aurelia mumbles, she doesn't like this dream anymore. Her stomach twists and she wrings her hands together "So, Goyle, she just - she killed you -"
"Yes, she drowned us both. She tried drowning you, I believe, years ago when you were a wee babe. But, you hardly remember it," Aurelia Carrow says, "The reason you can see us is simply because we are a by-product of that ancient magic protecting you. I believe it is the magic's way of showing you that you are lucky, that this is what could have happened."
'This is a very elaborate dream', part of Aurelia's brain is thinking and other part is going: 'At this fucking point, anything is fucking possible!'
"Well, why haven't I seen you before tonight?"
Aurelia Carrow chuckles "You are as stubborn as your mothers, my dearest namesake! You have not seen us before because your brain has not been this quiet since the connection was created. We cannot interact with you when you are dreaming, if we are lucky you might catch a glimpse of us in your dreams or nightmares but we would not be able to speak with you."
"But, why?"
"Our connection is strongest when you are most like us - dead. But, you did not stay down for long when Gwendoline hit you. You were dead for merely seconds, it was surprising but, knowing your parentage, Gwendoline's curse will not be the worst one you ever face. In other words, the less brain activity you have, the stronger the connection is, this is the first chance we have had to talk to you."
Aurelia considers it for a moment. It's plausible, she thinks, either way, she doubts any real harm will come to her whether or not she decides to believe it.
"That's debatable," Aurelia Carrow huffs.
"What?"
"Nothing, my dearest namesake, we will not worry you with all the details just yet -"
"Why do you keep calling me that," Aurelia asks, "It's annoying."
Aurelia Carrow rolls her eyes "Isn't it obvious? You were named after me. Partially, at least, I was your mum's bestest friend at Hogwarts and your name is a little tribute to me. But, she mostly named you that because you born with literal gold hair - which is like totally wicked by the way! That and because that weird prophecy-speaking lady said you had a golden heart, so your name is very fitting and very pretty!"
This is a lot to process.
"So . . . Uh, well, okay so I can see all of the victims of Gwendoline Goyle and only their ghosts?"
"Yes, and only when you're asleep and not dreaming," Aurelia Carrow says, providing her with seemingly truthful answers. Aurelia wishes she had more alive people like this in her life.
"I think she means that yellow boy," Griselda cuts in.
Aurelia's heart stops because she knows exactly who she's talking about.
Seeing the expression on Aurelia's face, the ghosts give each other knowing smiles. Aurelia Carrow looks at the white wall behind her, saying: "You can come yell -" before she can even finish her sentence, Cedric is melting through the wall.
"WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU THINKING," Cedric exclaims.
Aurelia doesn't flinch, she's frozen; she's numb almost. It's Cedric, he's right there. His eyes may look dead but, everything else about him looks so alive. Tears burn her eyes, he's right there.
"WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU JUMP IN FRONT OF THAT CURSE? YOU WERE RAISED BY SLYTHERINS, HAVE YOU NO SENSE OF SELF-PRESERVATION?!"
"No," Aurelia breathes out, in reply and a wee bit in denial. She reaches out for him wondering if she could touch him? Hug him even? Before she can touch him Cedric's pulls her into a tight hug, answering the question for her. She cries out, overwhelming happiness smothering her as she holds him tight, tears fall freely down her face.
"I am so, so mad at you," Cedric says, shaking her around a little as he holds her close.
"You didn't deserve to - to die," Aurelia sobs, "I'm - I'm so - so - sorry!"
She clings to him tightly, good Godric, she prays that this is real. That Cedric is really here and really hugging her.
"I - I - I tried to save you, I tried - I tried, really I - I did!"
"I know," Cedric says soothingly, "I know."
"You deserve to live! You - you deserve to live, Cedric," Aurelia sobs, hugging him so tightly, her hands hurt.
"And so do you."
X
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Aurelia and Ellie are just walking talking shitposts and I love them but they should never be allowed in the same room as one another sksksk. Aurelia used to stutter as a child but she was given speech lessons to help with it, the stutter back then was caused by the false memories of abuse planted in her mind, prior to this story's start. The stutter here is triggered by the traumatic events and emotions that Aurelia has been through, it's called psychogenic stuttering! I hope you enjoyed that little side-effect of the Donum Vitae, there will be more ghosts introduced in later chapters, Gwendoline has too many victims to introduce in one chapter lmao!