Chapter 7

She was cold, shivering almost, despite the warmth that enveloped her. She was certain she had a fever and she felt sick to her stomach. As she opened her eyes, she remembered her dream the night before. She breathed a sigh of relief as she ran her fingers across the arm that was holding her tightly as though it were worried, she'd slip away. She couldn't help but worry the same thing.

She glanced behind her, letting the tears fall from her eyes as she saw Charlie, his eyes open and full of life, not the death that had clouded them the evening before. He lifted his arm as she shimmied around to face him. They were only inches apart when she leaned forward and kissed him softly on the lips.

"I love you," he whispered softly. It was clear he had no idea what the dream the night before had been about, and she was grateful he didn't push right away.

"How'd you get here?" she asked, her voice hoarse from screaming.

"Bill came, apparated us back… well that weird illegal thing he does anyways."

She nodded, burrowing into his arms, resting her head under his. He ran his hands through her hair, leaning close and breathing in deeply.

Ara simply sat in his arms for a while longer, relishing in the feeling of Charlie being so near, trying to avoid the thought that he may have to leave soon.

"Darling?" he said softly, pulling back so he could look into her eyes. She clenched them shut and burrowed into the pillow beneath her. "I know you don't really want to talk about it, but its probably a good idea. "

She shook her head "never a good idea," she mumbled. She closed her eyes only to groan at the flashes that overtook her mind. She could see them, dead in the garden. Herself stabbing Cedric, watching him die. She felt fear and tears overtake her once more as well as guilt bubble in her stomach.

"shit," she whispered, rolling backwards out of bed and leaning over the trash bin to empty whatever bile remained in her empty stomach.

Charlie was next to her, rubbing her back and holding back her hair. She flopped onto the floor, leaning against the dresser that was in the room.

"I think I'm going mad Charlie," she said softly.

Charlie smiled "you can't exactly go somewhere you already are."

Ara glared, but chuckled at the statement. She knew he was trying to make her feel better and it was nice to know that her boyfriend was very much alive and still able to make jokes.

He moved so that he was next to her and he pulled her into his side. "Please tell me," he said softly, all joking gone from his voice.

"Everyone was dead… I think I killed them," she whispered.

Charlie frowned "it was just a nightmare Ara…"

She shook her head "it wasn't though… everyone, you included, were dead on the ground. Then there was Cedric and I-I stabbed him… it's in my blood Charlie."

Charlie gripped her even tighter, "You aren't a killer, whether Voldemort is your father or not, you aren't a killer. Everything in you would fight, would die for those who you love, you'd never turn on them."

Tears were falling steadily as she continued to shake her head, not able to bear the thought. She was terrified of what she would become.

"Do you know who else you share blood with? Sirius Black who was also born in the shadows, is far from innocent and is one of the most loyal and kindhearted, well intending, people I've ever met."

Realistically she knew he was right, but there were thoughts that still ate away at her. "taking a life, hurting people… it doesn't even phase me," she said softly, her arms wrapped around her knees as she stared intently at the floor infront of her. "I could have saved Cedric."

Charlie stilled beside her, but she wasn't sure which part of what she said caught him off guard.

"no," he said softly "you couldn't have saved Cedric –"

"I was trapped behind a pane of glass… I could've shattered it and made it to the portkey first."

"you don't know that it would have changed anything," he insisted.

"Of course it would have," she said finally looking at him, her eyes burning. "if I'd touched it first it would've just been me and Voldemort and his Death Eaters."

"They could've killed you."

She shook her head "they don't want me dead, but frankly if me dying means everyone else lives, I'd rather have that! If me joining him means the others live, I'd rather have that," she said softly, surprising even herself at the thought. When Charlie didn't say anything, she jumped to her feet and left the room, suddenly feeling the need for fresh air. Would she really consider joining the other side if it meant everyone else was safe? Would they even be safe if she joined the there side.. Charlie had been killed in order for her to take the mark in her dream, would it happen in real life?

She made her way through the manor, ignoring the looks that came from the Weasley twins as she walked through the foyer. She reached the small sunroom that lead to the backyard and groaned at her luck noticing Bill, the Potters, Sirius, and Mrs. Weasley were all present.

"You don't get to say something like that and just walk away," Charlie said as he caught up to her. She glanced back at him, he had a fire in his eyes, and she wasn't sure if it was anger or passion.

"Just leave me alone Charlie," she said tiredly, ignoring that they had an audience. "Go back to Romania." She didn't want him to go, nothing in her wanted to see him leave and it seemed he knew that for he simply glared at her.

"Mature… you know I never took you for such a coward," he said coldly.

Her eyes locked onto his quick, she looked at him disbelieving as gasps and wide mouths were observed across the room. All were shocked by the outburst except Bill who sat in the corner with a single eyebrow raised in amusement.

"I'm not a coward," she said softly.

"Nyama da spasite nikogo, kato vzemete stranata na onezi, koito sa vi maltretirali (Translation: You will not save anyone by taking the side of those who have abused you)," Charlie said the language was broken. It was clear he didn't speak it much. Ara was surprised that she even understood. She had never even realized he could speak Bulgarian, then again she supposed there were many people at the reserve who spoke languages similarly. "Drako shte te posledva ... Taka i az (Translation: Draco will follow you… So will I)" He finished, Ara's eyes widened at the proclamation.

"Ne bŭdi glupav," she said quickly scoffing at the idea.

Charlie hesitated thinking over her words. "Glupav?" he asked with a frown.

Ara rolled her eyes, "stupid," she said.

Charlie only smirked with a shrug.

"Alright if you guys are going to argue in front of us please speak English," Sirius said with a frown looking between the two. His eyes were full of concern as he looked at Ara, and she was certain she was a sight to be seen considering she'd hardly slept at all and been throwing up most of the morning.

Ara sent Charlie one last glare before heading in the direction of the backyard. She wasn't alone, he made his way after her as she headed in the direction of the rose garden. She could remember it so vividly, the bodies that littered the ground before her, the man who stood at the end of the garden. The garden itself wasn't nearly as big as it had been in her dream and there wasn't a hint of blood on the earth.

She felt arms wrap around her from behind and she welcomed the comfort. She hadn't realized she was crying until she felt the wetness hit her neck, sliding down.

"It was so real," She said to Charlie. She felt him nod from where his face was buried in the crook of her neck. "but it wasn't," she repeated, almost unsure of what she said was true.

"No, it wasn't… we're all alive and well and you aren't a murderer."

She scoffed at the statement, she was a murderer.

"Stop," Charlie said softly "Killing in defense and murdering are two entirely different things."

Ara sighed and turned to face Charlie, wrapping her arms around his waist, keeping her back to the garden that had haunted her dreams.

"You'd really switch sides if I did?" she asked.

Charlie smiled "well… I'd want to protect you, no matter what side you were on… But I couldn't exactly kill my family…"

Ara laughed shaking her head "it was a stupid thing I said wasn't it?"

Charlie smiled and nodded "a bit."

"I just don't want any of you to die –"

"That makes two of us... But you joining the other side isn't going to save anyone, it'll just give them an excellent weapon."

She simply nodded, hugging him tightly around his waist. He hugged her tightly back.

The two had effectively avoided most people in the house for most of the day. They spent a lot of time in bed, much to Molly's displeasure. They hadn't talked anymore of the dream but rather things that weren't important.

"Are you decent?" Bill asked, knocking loudly on the door to the room.

"Unfortunately," Charlie mumbled.

Bill came in, a large grin on his face as he sat on the bed across from them. "we have an appointment tonight at five." He said simply

The two groaned, the last thing they wanted to do was get out of bed.

"Who with?" Charlie asked, begrudgingly sitting up in bed.

"The genealogist," he said with a smirk.

Ara's eyes widened and she realized it was Friday. It had been nearly a week since she and Bill had talked.

"Relax," Bill said "I've already told James and Sirius that Charlie and I are taking you out tonight and we will make sure you get home safely by midnight."

She sent him a small grateful smile before glancing at the clock and jumping out of bed.

"Yeah we have to leave in thirty minutes…"

Charlie groaned once more but followed Ara's lead. He knew just how important the meeting would be for her.

She glanced at Bill, messing with the hem of her shirt. "I don't mind if you stay, I'm not particularly shy, but your brother may have a problem with it," she said with a smirk.

"Out Bill," Charlie said, shoving his brother toward the door who seemed to contemplate the idea. "Please tell me you're setting him up with Fleur," he said quietly as he pulled off his shirt tossing it into Ara's dirty hamper.

She shrugged "I haven't exactly talked to her much about it, but we're getting drinks next week."

"Good," he said with a soft smile, pulling on a clean shirt. "He needs a girlfriend."

When the two were ready they headed to the kitchen where the family was eating dinner.

"we'll be back," Bill said, grabbing a slice of bread from off the table.

"Where are you going?" Ron asked, his mouth full of food.

Ara shrugged while Bill said, "we're taking Ara out for a bit."

"Why can't we come?" Ron asked looking affronted.

"You're underage and we plan on having a drink or two," Bill said, shoving the bread in his mouth.

"You had a drink with Ara last time we were out and we're older than we were then," Ginny said.

Bill opened his mouth but Charlie talked over him, throwing his arm over Ara's shoulders. "when you're of age sis, you can come with us to this place."

"We're of age," Fred and George responded.

Charlie shook his head "I said when Ginny was of age… not you two,"

"Enough," Molly said when the twins opened their mouths to retort. "I don't even want these three going let alone everyone else." It was clear Molly had disagreed heavily when Bill told them of their plans and only conceded because they were of age and could make their own choices. The Potters and Sirius seemed to be in the same boat, though from the suspicious look in Sirius' eye, Ara had a feeling that he suspected they weren't really going for drinks.

They bid their goodbyes and headed out toward the fence.

"Ara wait," Sirius said, running to catch up with her. He had a small package in his hand that he hastily thrust into her hands.

She frowned but unwrapped it, pulling out a small square mirror with what seemed like a rubber frame around it. "Thanks?" she asked looking into it, expecting to see something wrong with her face. Other than the dark circles around her eyes and the sunken look of her cheeks, she looked normal enough.

Sirius snorted "not what I was getting at although I do think you probably need to eat," he said looking pointedly at Charlie, ensuring he would feed her. "It's a two way mirror… well not really two way, more like five-way… James, Remus, and I made them when we were in school so that we could talk to each other when we were in different detentions or when we were on opposite ends of the castle planning out our elaborate pranks."

She looked at it closely, "So I can call people on this? I can see you?"

Sirius nodded "All you have to do is say my name and I'll hear you on my mirror," he said pulling a similar-looking mirror from his pocket. "Lily, James, and Remus have one as well."

She was touched that he had thought of something like that. "It's like that muggle thing," she said with a small smile.

"yeah, the felly…. Telephone," he corrected himself with a chuckle. "only no buttons and you can see yourself."

Ara rolled her eyes but pulled him into a quick hug. "Thank you."

She turned and followed the other two, grasping Charlie's hand tight in hers as they walked down the sloping lawn towards the apparation point.

"keep her safe," Sirius shouted after them. Both Bill and Charlie turned and offered him their reassurance before disappearing with a pop.

They appeared on a gravel road. While the man may live in the muggle world, it seemed that he was a far distance from anyone and everyone. Clearly, when he'd left the wizarding world, he'd really left it.

"The place isn't easy to find unless you're told exactly where to apparate," Bill said as they walked on, gravel crunching beneath their feet.

"Is he a bit paranoid?" she asked.

Bill shrugged "I imagine life and old age will make anyone a bit paranoid…. I think he's just a genius who doesn't want to be bothered."

They walked in silence to the house. She could see the wave as she approached and wasn't shocked when the feeling of water rushed over her. It was familiar enough from all the times she'd visited the bank.

The house itself was small in size, Ara thought it was cute. It seemed to be more of a cottage than a house, but she could certainly see the appeal of it. It was far away from everything and surrounding the house were land and trees.

Bill knocked softly on the door before stuffing his hands back into his pockets. The tapping of footsteps was heard on the other side and it wasn't long before the door was opened. The man wasn't nearly as old as had been described, he still had streaks of black in his hair. He was rather short, a couple of inches shorter than even Ara, the two Weasley's seemed to tower over him, but there were confidence and aura about him that suggested he wasn't someone easily bullied.

"William, it's a pleasure to see you again," he said, opening the screen door and shaking Bill's hand enthusiastically. Bill smiled in response and followed him into his house.

The home itself was neat, everything had a place, though unlike the stuffy manor she used to live in, it was clear this house was lived in. There were toys in a basket in the corner that suggested he had grandchildren who'd visit and while there were no pictures of his family on the walls, there was a single picture of him and a younger woman smiling. It was still, suggesting it was a muggle photograph.

"This is my younger brother Charlie," Bill said while Charlie shook his hand. "And his girlfriend, Ara."

Ara followed suit and grasped the man's hand, he covered her hand with his other and smiled serenely at her "it's a pleasure to meet you, William tells me that you want to know where you come from."

Ara nodded with a hesitant smile; she wasn't sure how much Bill had told him. "It's nice meeting you as well, thank you for helping me with this."

The man, Roger, smiled and invited them all to sit around the small dining room table.

"I figured it must be important for him to contact me… Now tell me, do you have a surname?" he asked kindly. "I understand you are questioning your paternal lineage, but is there a family name you go by?"

Ara gaped; she had thought Bill would have at least told him her last name.

"Before we do that… We'd like you to take a vow, a promise that you won't share what you've learned with others," Charlie said hesitantly.

Roger looked between the three of them before staring intently at Ara. He wasn't a legilimens, at least he wasn't using legilimency, but she let her walls build anyways, keeping him out. It seemed he found whatever he was looking for since he raised his wand "I vow on my magic that I will not reveal to anyone outside of this room what is learned at these meetings unless given permission by Ara herself," he said.

He dropped his wand, stuffing it back into the holster on his sleeve. "Now dear, what is your sir name?" he asked softly.

"Er… It's Lestrange sir."

His eyebrows rose to his hairline, clearly, it wasn't what he'd been expecting. He glanced at Bill "you might have to fill me in here… I knew the Lestranges before they were imprisoned, Rodulphus and Rebastian did their best to get me to join You-Know-Who…. I had never met her, but I do know Rodolphus did in fact have a daughter."

Ara glanced at Bill with a frown. He and Charlie both wore similar looks of confusion.

"You're certain he isn't your father?" Roger asked again.

"When Ara first claimed her heritage she found a box in her vault, it contained her family tree… it was unique in that it only showed the males of the family while women were represented by flowers… Well, Ara's flower was detached from Rodolphus and so we had her tested at the bank and it showed that she had Black blood in her system, but not Lestrange…. We could have done further tests at the bank, but I'd rather go with someone I trust." Bill said.

"He also sent me a letter yesterday, confirming that I wasn't his daughter," she said quietly. Both Bill and Charlie looked at her quickly, similar looks of surprise and confusion littering their faces. She hadn't told them.

Roger tilted his head contemplating the situation "I suppose we should get to the bottom of it then Ara." He wore a kind smile as he grasped her hand in his. "You must have been adopted by Rodolphus to claim your inheritance then?"

Ara nodded.

"Right then, I understand it can be frustrating not knowing entirely who you are or where you come from, but those are all questions we will try to answer. I want you to understand that those answers aren't always easy to come by especially in the magical community. Often things can be masked when it comes to blood and genes. Or they can be magically altered."

Ara looked hesitant "So there's a possibility that you won't know where I come from? That the results could be wrong?"

"Not exactly," He said "Blood always holds the truth. It's impossible to cover it up entirely, but I'm telling you the process isn't a quick one. It'll take time and it'll take tests, so don't be disheartened if we still don't have the answers you want in a few months."

Ara nodded, she could understand that anything would take time, she just wanted to know.

"Do you still want to do this?" At Ara's nod, he continued "Now I have to ask, are you glad Rodolphus is not your father?"

She hesitated "I don't know… I was never really ashamed to be his daughter… it had its set of challenges of course, but I suppose now I'm more fearful as to who my father could be…"

Roger nodded and refrained from asking further questions. Bill handed him the copy of her results from the bank, showing that she had the presence of Black blood, but not Lestrange. He glanced over it and sighed "The bank gives you limited information… Just enough to suck you in and make you pay."

Bill shrugged "That's the goblins for you…"

He sighed before standing and grabbing a small pin and a vial. "Forgive me Ara but I must poke you," he said, holding out his hand.

"It's alright," she said laying her hand in his. He pricked her finger and let the blood fall, collecting it in the vial. When there was no more blood, he poked her again, this time letting it fall on a piece of parchment. With a small wave of his wand, more words appeared, none of which she understood. As she looked closer, she realized the language itself wasn't anything she recognized. They weren't English or Bulgarian letters.

He sighed glancing over the letters.

"What language is it?" Ara asked hesitantly.

"Egyptian," he responded glancing at the paper from a different angle, as though the change in the angle would provide a different answer.

"Wow," he said briefly, still staring intently at the paper.

Ara glanced between the two, Bill was looking interested, while Charlie was staring at her intently. He offered her a small smile when she looked his way and grabbed her hand tight in his.

"Well, this is a good start… One thing is certain, you are absolutely right to be looking into this, You have a very complex bloodline."

"What does that mean?" she asked.

He shook his head and offered her a supportive smile. "It means I have to run more tests… It's not just Black blood that you have in your… there are others, but we will get to the bottom and figure out who your father is." He pointed to a smudge on the paper, one that seemed to be made by mistake. "This here is magic."

He smiled at her frown "like I said Ara, magic can alter blood… What this means is that someone was trying to magically alter yours… For what purpose, that's what we will try to find out."

She felt her heart skip a beat, why would anyone want to magically alter her blood. "Can't that be done through blood adoption?"

Roger nodded "Of course, blood adoption could magically alter blood, but generally a mark like this is seen when something is being hidden not simply added. I'll need to collect a few more samples before you go and the first potion, I'll have to brew will take about a month to make… We can schedule another appointment for in a month."

Ara let out a breath, it was short, and she had no answers, only more questions. He had warned her that the process would be long, but part of her hoped that it wasn't all that complicated.

She let him draw the last of the blood, collecting it in what must have been twenty bottles.

"You may be a bit lightheaded for a while, I wouldn't do anything too strenuous tonight," he said.

With a nod, she grasped Charlie's hand as the two of them stepped outside into the brisk night, being followed closely by Bill.

Charlie sighed heavily re-reading the letter that Rodolphus had sent to Ara for what seemed to be the tenth time. When he was finished he folded it up and handed it back to Ara before picking up the picture and shaking his head.

"He's trying to manipulate you," he said.

"I'm more curious as to how he was able to write you a letter in the first place," Bill added.

The three of them were outside, they had gotten home earlier than anyone expected and went straight to the back to avoid the curious gazes and probing questions of the other adults in the house. Charlie and Ara sat on the small love seat, she rested her legs on his lap while Bill sat across from them, his feet propped on the table between them.

"First of all, how did he get the paper and pen? Second of all, shouldn't he be insane?" Bill continued.

"You'd think so…"

Ara shook her head "Barty Crouch Junior managed to escape from Azkaban and still had his wits about him enough to bring back Voldemort."

"Yes but Crouch Was only in Azkaban for a year or so… he was under the imperious curse for the rest of the time… Rodolphus has been in there for years."

"Voldemort said that soon they'd be in their rightful place by his side… He must know that they still have some sanity, or I'm sure he wouldn't want them," Charlie said while absentmindedly rubbing circles along the inside of Ara's ankle.

"Maybe people who are already insane can't go insane," Ara suggested.

"Or maybe one of the human guards hasn't been as diligent about their jobs as they should be," Bill said.

"Maybe…" Ara trailed off, there was something niggling at the back of her mind, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. "Dementors feed off of happy memories… souls. Let's say a person didn't have happy memories, let's say they had obsessions… the dementors wouldn't take that. If someone didn't have a soul, they wouldn't take it."

"muggles have these people who study human behavior and the mind.. they're called psychologists I believe… Anyways I've read some of their writings and there are people who are born differently… people born without the ability to love, without the ability to feel joy like most, or people who can't relate… I suppose maybe a dementor couldn't take anything from someone like that." Bill added with a shrug.

"so dementors are pointless then," Charlie said with a frustrated sigh "They only take away from people who are normal, not from people who are evil… they're guarding a prison, and the more insane a prisoner, the likelier they were to have been innocent."

Ara nodded "it would seem so."

The three of them trailed off into their own thoughts, stuck in their own questionings and wonderings.

"You don't believe him, do you?" Bill asked, not looking at either of them in particular, but instead staring up at the stars.

Ara followed his gaze, "About what? Me being named after a constellation that's only seen in the southern sky? I'm pretty sure that's accurate…"

Charlie snorted and Bill let his lips curve into a small smile "Ass…. That what they stood for is right."

Ara sighed "I don't believe that what they stood for is what he claimed it was in his letter… I'd love nothing more than to see the stigma of werewolves disappear so that people like Remus could hold down a job… and I don't know about dark magic… calling the shadows feels so natural, it doesn't feel like it's a bad thing, but it's believed to be…"

Charlie and Bill nodded in agreement "they don't want what you want Ara… They want pureblood wizards to rule, they want all others to do their bidding."

"I know," Ara said. "Actions speak louder than words and it'd take a whole lot more than a few well-written words on a piece of paper to get me to believe him." She could feel it again the niggling of doubt in the back of her mind.

"So what now?" Bill asked, leaning forward and looking at Charlie.

"I'm here for a few days then I have to go and train a replacement," Charlie said softly.

Ara let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. He was coming back, she was relieved that he'd be there but it did make her sad knowing that he was going to be giving up the thing he loved most.

"When the war is over, I'll go back," he said, grabbing Ara's hand. The unasked question was there, inviting her along. She hoped one day that dream would become a reality.

"I can get you a job at the bank," Bill offered but Charlie shot him down quickly.

"Dumbledore is sending Hagrid to speak with the giants… He's offered me his position."

"That's brilliant," Bill said with a large smile.

"Professor Weasley… has a nice ring to it," Ara said with a smirk. She was relieved to know that Charlie would be at Hogwarts, near Draco.

Charlie wrinkled his nose and grimaced "I think I'll stick with Charlie."

Ara laughed "we can still do it in a broom closet right?"