"She's a child, Severus!"
"She could have killed Moody if she'd aimed better, Lily!"
"Sirius..."
These words echoed in the back of the thrumming in Tee's skull, and even though she understood the words, she had yet to come fully back to her consciousness, and did not understand the context for them.
"She's coming to."
As she opened her eyes, Tee came face to face with some of the primeval members of the Order of the Phoenix. Dumbledore, the only wizard the Dark Lord feared, did not so seem to be very fear-inspiring. His voice was nonmalignant, and soft. The kind old man's manacles drooped on his nose, and he wore heavy, laden white robes that accented his graying hair and beard.
But besides him was the beady-eyed Auror and a few more well-known figures. The dangerous, infamous Sirius Black. He wore tattered and dark clothes, and sported more than a few scars, bandages, and bruises. He was well known to be a scrappy warrior for the Ministry, and by extension the Order and the Aurors. His scraggly hair hung loosely to the side, with a brief five o'clock shadow. And of course, who could forget the pinnacle muggleborn princess Lily Potter. She was speck-less and wore a light brown casual dress. Even though Tee held no hatred in her heart for the Muggles (especially after they'd treated her so kindly) a horrible bigotry for this Pureblood murdering cunt flew free in her heart. She felt her limbs flex in pure fury, but only her muscles moved, while her limbs stayed frozen. A spell, perhaps, but hell if Tee'd know.
"Try not to move, m'dear." The nonthreatening old Dumbledore spoke in a quiet, endearing voice.
"Petrificus Totalus is all-encompassing, and straining yourself could hurt the muscles and tissues."
Tee's eyes fearfully darted to each person in the room. It was obvious she'd been kidnapped, and she felt the room up emotionally. Lily looked worrisome, while this "Severus" looked unemotional as ever, and Sirius wore a heavy scowl on his scarred mouth.
Evrus?
Evrus!
She strained herself and her stiffened body wobbled and shook in a frenzy.
"Please, Ms. Gaunt, please, I'll remove the spell. It's obvious you're under duress." Dumbledore began to undo the spell from toe to forehead, and it clicked with Lily as she saw the young girl's eyes dart farther to the doorways, looking for something.
"The boy?"
Sirius and Severus looked at Lily as she stepped forward with a look of empathy on her face.
"The child you carried? Is that what's got you worried? He's alright, I promise. He was terribly cold, he's wrapped up in a blanket and-"
As soon as her mouth was unfrozen, slurred and brazen words spilled forth from the young mother's mouth.
"You bastards! My boy, I want my child, I want Evrus! Get away from me!"
As soon as her legs were unfrozen, she kicked at the deceiving old man, and flailed uselessly, and Sirius and Severus restrained her by hand.
"I want my son, you monstrous fucks!"
Even through she slurred her speech, it was obvious how desperate she was, and her bravado was quickly placed with sobs and desperation.
"Please, let me see him! Let me hold him! He needs his mother, please!"
All four of the Order looked amongst themselves at the tattered, emaciated and weak young woman.
"His mother? You're...his mother?"
Sirius spoke with disbelief and accusation, but Lily quickly left the room and wordlessly returned with Evrus in hand.
"Here, he's unharmed."
Lily lowered the boy into view of the still-shaky Gaunt. Immediately, Evrus's eyes had an entrancing, calming effect on the flailing Tee. Tee hungerly took Evrus in his bundle, and she began to rock him silently.
"You'll be okay, Evrus. Shh, shh, you'll be okay. I'd never let them harm you. My sweet boy. My good boy."
She lost track of where she was and silently cooed him and comforted him for the next few minutes and all four of the Order looked on in bafflement.
"Ms. Gaunt..."
Her fury bellowed and she looked at the elder Order member with a hatred unfettered.
"Why did you bring me here? All I wanted was Evrus to grow up without you hunting him down like some dog! Tawk and I-"
Suddenly, her eyes widened.
"Tawk? Where is my House-Elf?"
Sirius coldly laughed.
"He's as stubborn as any pure-blood Elf. If you're worried he'll betray you and your Death-Eater friends, he's not said a word. More importantly, he's been retired and is living a life far away from the politics of the Gaunts."
"Death-Eater friends? Are you mad?"
As her mouth hung agape, she insanely laughed at the absurdity of the situation.
"You accuse me of monstrosity, when you have kidnapped me, put your devilish spells on me, and separated me from my child for God knows how long? You have some gall, Black."
Dumbledore's eyes softened.
"So you hold no allegiance with Voldemort?"
She stared at the bold old man.
"Yes, I speak his name, for I know his true name. Gaunt, Riddle, Voldemort, these are but titles for the Dark Lord to work through. But he doesn't work through you, does he? Why else would he send a squad of Death-Eaters to search for you? All other able-bodied Gaunts were eager to join his crusade."
She spoke hurriedly and angrily.
"It's true that most of the Branches joined him. I, of the main branch, was left at our manor in North Eastern England, because..."
And she, ashamed and bashed, quietly continued.
"Because God saw fit to cripple me in the ways of magic, to strike from my veins the god-given right of all Gaunts to weave the arcane. My father, rightly ashamed, left me home to die as they left to war."
"But Evrus-"
She looked down at her child and lovingly praised him.
"I don't think he's cursed! Tibrin was such a gifted wizard, and Squibness isn't passed on, this I know. With Tibrin's masterful blood and my main-branch heritage, he'll be a magnificent warlock one day. One that will make me proud, one that will protect me as I have always dreamed of. He'll be my savior."
"But until then-"
She looked up, and Dumbledore looked at the rage-filled blackened pupils of a madwoman.
"I have to protect him. I have to save him. And I'll do anything to protect him."
Dumbledore was humbled, and was beyond certain that they had nothing to worry about in regards to this woman.
"We'll return with milk for the boy and food for you. Rest easy. You have nothing to fear from us."
With this, Dumbledore pointed at the door, and though Sirius hesitated, Severus and Lily loyally followed Dumbledore out of the room.
"We're watching you, Gaunt. Don't you dare think I'm fooled. I know the Pure-Blooded families only cares of themselves."
She scowled at Black, and Black slowly left the room, and the door was closed.
Not but a few moments later, a small and middle-aged House Elf that was reminiscent of Tawk, minus the scraggy goatee and disdainful look, entered with a large platter. Cheese, bread, soup, a glass of water, and a baby bottle. The Elf looked respectfully down at the floor, as Tawk did with Tee's parents, and held the platter out.
"For the Gaunt mistress and the heir." he croaked out reverently.
"Thank you. You remind me of my Elf. What is your name?"
"M' name? Mistress, Kreacher is but a.."
To this, he hesitated, and Tee could tell he begrudgingly accepted the term.
"Servant, of the household of Black. The current head of house is that (bastard, he whispered almost incoherently) Sirius."
"I see. You would tell me if they had put anything in my food, or my child's, would you not, servant of Black?"
"Kreacher'd never let a Gaunt come to harm in the Black house!"
He growled in anger.
"The old lady'd never allowed it, nor will Kreacher!"
She smiled. Grumpy and loyal, how quaint.
"Well, thank you Kreacher. You are excused for now."
"I live to serve, mistress."
With that Kreacher left the small room, which had obviously been a small child's beforehand, with the worn posters on the wall. It had been outfitted into some sort of holding cell, with only a chair inside. She laid the platter down onto the floor, and noted no chains or other bondage. Perhaps the wizards had a spell in plan? It didn't matter. She wouldn't try to escape. She'd do what was best for her child. She picked Evrus up, and laid the bottle against his lips, and he drank eagerly. He opened his bright, brown eyes and looked at the friendly giant who continuously fed him. When the bottle ran dry she cradled him, and rocked him to sleep. She decided to ease the painful hunger in her stomach, and ate the cheese, bread, and soup. With the slop she'd been forced to endure, it was heaven on her tongue. It didn't take long for her to finish the simple meal, and she was wanton for more, if she was honest. She was ashamed. She'd been kidnapped by the same sort of monsters who'd apparently murdered Tibrin, and many other Gaunts no doubt, and she was eagerly accepting the food. She stiffened her back in resolve.
Being a Gaunt doesn't matter unless we survive. I will do everything in my power so that Evrus and I will endure. Even if it means consorting with these monsters.
Hours went by, and Lily, a new man, and Dumbledore entered. Though she didn't notice it beforehand, Lily Potter was rather plump, and flushed in the cheeks. With child?
"Hello again, Ms. Gaunt."
Lily's voice was warm, but Tee saw only a venom-dipped execution in her voice.
"What are you going to do with Evrus?"
The stately man, Lily, and Dumbledore didn't speak for a moment. It was Dumbledore's soft-spoken voice that rang out first.
"What did you think we were going to do to you and your boy, Miss Gaunt?"
"It's obvious. What you do to all those of pure blood. What you've been doing all over England. You're going to purge me. To kill me. I only ask that my son be allowed to live. He may be pure, but he's innocent!"
Desperation aside, Tee was trying to get a feel for the three. No matter how hard she tried to believe the opposite, her gut told her they weren't meaning to harm her yet.
The stately man stepped forward, with circle-propped manacles on his intelligent-looking eyes.
"You thought we'd kill you? An unarmed woman who is obviously under a lot of stress?"
Tee shot back with as much venom she could muster.
"Would it be any different to the dozens of my cousins and relatives you've murdered in their homes?"
A look of indignant pride ran across the stranger's face.
"They were murderers themselves, Death-Eaters take many forms Miss-"
"Is that going to be the excuse in my obituary? I was a Death-Eater? A Death-Eater who can't use magic, who hid as much as she could, one who was beaten and brought unconsciously into some den of iniquity?"
"You listen here, you are in no-"
The stranger stepped forward, and once more, as with the previous Auror, Severus, all courage sapped from her body, and she reflectively flinched.
"James! Leave."
Lily stepped forward, and grasped the stranger's shoulder. He took a double-take, as if disbelieving he was being unincluded in the affair. He shook his head, and walked sulkily through the room's only door on the left of Tee's chair.
Lily sighed.
"You're right. You're no Death-Eater. We verified your claims. Your father was killed in the battle of Salisbury. Your mother committed suicide thereafter, but left a note damning you for not being able to fight alongside your father."
Mother? Father? Oh...mother, how I wish I could have died instead of being taken capture. Who knows what they'll do to me?
Dumbledore continued.
"But...you still attacked an Auror of the Ministry of Magic. With a Muggle firearm, no less."
To this, he chuckled.
"If it'd been magic, your sentence would have been life in Azkaban, but using a Muggle weapon is not technically in the list of offenses that one can be sent to Azkaban for. However, for your child, and you, we think it best if you spend some time within the Ministry's care."
Her blood dropped in temperature in her veins. How could she escape? The ministry, they'll do horrible things to her. She'd heard what happened to the Gaunts they'd captured. Panic gripped her.
"I'd rather you kill me and my boy here, then."
The two wizards looked at the young woman in disbelief. Lily spoke in utter confusion.
"How can you say such a thing? Looking at you and your Evrus, I'd say you haven't had a decent meal in a long time. You'd damn him for what, pride?"
Fury rose in Tee's throat and burst forth in loud cacophony.
"Pride?! My mother, father, and everyone I've ever known is either fighting or dead! Everyone I've ever known is in such suffering! I've heard what you do to us Purebloods! You'll kill me and my boy in a slow way instead of a merciful death. I know what you'll do, and I'd rather you poison a bottle of wine and milk for my boy, so we can drift off here peacefully, rather than hear him wail in pain for weeks on end!"
Tears formed and exploded from her tear ducts, and no longer could Tee hold back the desperation, the depression, the blackness in her soul.
"Everyone...I've ever known...is dead. All because of some stupid war. I just wanted my boy to live a different life. And now, he's in the heart of it, all because of my stupid family name."
What surprised her most, then and there, was that the woman who had murdered Tibrin, the muggleborn, Lily Potter, embraced her with a warmth that Tee hadn't felt since childhood, when her mother had not yet discovered her Squibness. She was shocked, taken by surprise, to the point that she couldn't quite put words to it.
"It's alright, Miss. Evrus, and you, are going to be okay."
And in that moment, all that hatred and fury she'd felt was replaced by this confusion in her heart. She was supposed to hate her, and even if she couldn't hate her for being a Mudblood, she'd murdered Tibrin, the father of her son. But right now, all she felt was comfort, and relief. Tibrin, in the brief moments when he'd found her out for what she was, had treated her with such disdain, but here was the woman who'd done away with him, and she was acting lovingly towards her. A Squib, as her mother often told her, was something a wizard family would do their best to hide. A Squib, she'd say, was a shameful thing. It was something that Tee would do her very best to ignore in public, but always she would be reminded of it no matter where she went. And here she was, baring her full soul, and Lily wasn't looking at her with disgust, or hatred, or even ignoring her shamefully. She was embracing her, hugging her with a warmth she'd craved for so long. And so, Tee thought of the only words that could come to mind. And she repeated them as many times as she could thereafter.
"Thank you."
-Now, dear reader, I'd love to tell you that it ended happily. That Tee Gaunt saw her son blossom into a fine young man and that Voldemort was killed and never returned, but we all know such happiness is for the foolish and the fantasy. A mere few months later after being transferred into Ministry care, Tee Gaunt was poisoned and died before her son even spoke his first word. Voldemort, as you know, was killed in a backfire of a killing curse in his assassination attempt on Harry Potter. Even with the entire dark world at his beck and call, my master has never discerned who plucked the nightshade and placed it into his mother's meals, but he has told me more than once that he doesn't believe it was the servants of the Dark Lord that did so. He thinks it was an overzealous Auror that did it, in their attempt to prevent another Tom Marvolo Riddle. All it did was deprive my master of the affection of his mother. Though Tee never did see Lily Potter or any of her order again, she heard tales of the bravery of the Order of the Phoenix, and had finally realized the truth; that the Gaunts were a doomed lot. That no matter how noble she wanted to think of her family, she could only see a damned legacy of murderers, filth, and villainy. She could only hope that Evrus would revoke his name and move into the future, head held high. But with the grasp of the ministry choking her and her son, Tee could see no future where he could shed his name. She and her son were watched 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Auror after Auror would cycle into the ministry-owned manor, and many a time, they'd cycle out. After she perished, the thought of simply putting the boy into a muggle family and hoping he was born a squib as well passed the ministry's mind, but the Pureblood Families would have nothing of this. Their lobbying allowed Evrus to remain in the ministry's care for the next decade. It was Harry Potter's second year at Hogwartz, and the ministry did their best to hide Potter's fame from the eyes of the young Gaunt, but failed. His pertinent questioning and the Pureblood lobbyists efforts resulted in the beginning of the true Dark Lord's journey, his stepping into the wizarding world, and his interactions with the famous Harry Potter.-
