Penny had reluctantly returned to Grimmauld Place, Mundungus and herself barely crossing the threshold before Mrs Weasley was on them shouting herself hoarse. Mundungus rapidly backed himself out of the house, making rambled excuses before shutting the door once more. Practically dragging the young witch, Mrs Weasley pulled her down the stairs, past the equally shrieking portrait of Sirius' mother. Sat at the table downstairs, Sirius and Dumbledore both stood at the sight of her.
"You could have been captured! You could have been killed!" Mrs Weasley shouted as Penny rolled her eyes.
"Sorry to disappoint you, but I avoided both of those things." Penny slurred slightly despite her snarky tone, wincing as her swollen tongue throbbed. Barely glancing at Sirius and Dumbledore she moved past them, opening the freezer and casually examined its contents. Pulling out an ice lolly she undid the wrapper before popping it into her inflamed mouth.
"Both are a very real threat Persephone." Dumbledore's calm slow voice came over her shoulder. The sound of it only made Penny's blood boil.
"Where is Juno?" Penny asked Sirius sharply, his eyebrows moving slightly at the lisp in her voice. His slightly wary eyes told her he knew she had not fully forgiven him for his earlier comments. Opening his mouth to answer he was interrupted.
"Have you been drinking?" Mrs Weasley asked abruptly, having noticed the change to Penny's speech.
"No." Penny said truthfully, before replacing the ice lolly in her mouth. Though her eyes narrowed, Mrs Weasley seemed to believe her, but continued to watch her closely.
"Where did you go?" Dumbledore cut in assertively. Finally looking straight at him, Penny felt the muscles in her face tighten, her frustration with her Headmaster and his endless calm demeanour gave her an intense urge to shake the man violently.
"Shopping." She replied thickly, running her tongue round the ice lolly slowly. Bored of the interrogation, Penny strolled the length of the room and went to climb the stairs. What felt like a gust of wind overtook her and the door at the top of the stairs slammed shut. The sight of it made her heart thud violently, the blood running through her veins burning. Her bluey green eyes blazing she turned back to face Dumbledore, who lowered his wand casually. "Unlock it. Now." She demanded, her fist curling into a ball. Mrs Weasley and Sirius looked rapidly between the two of them, both with barely concealed nervousness.
"Once you have heard what I have to say, Persephone, then and only then will I unlock the door." Dumbledore said calmly. Penny snarled angrily, wincing as her movement caused the piercing to activate, a hiss escaping it. All three adults stared at her in surprise, Mrs Weasley unceremoniously grabbing her chin and yanking it down to look. The ice lolly in Penny's hand fell to the floor with a clunk.
"What is that?" Mrs Weasley demanded staring at the wriggling serpent piercing, Penny trying to twist out of her iron grip.
"Nothing." She slurred as the older witch held her firm.
"Take it out this minute!" Mrs Weasley ordered, Penny scowling.
"No." She replied forcefully, finally managing to free herself from Mrs Weasley's grip, backing away and holding her hand up defensively in front of her jaw.
"Take it out now!" Mrs Weasley repeated, drawing her wand. Deflecting Mrs Weasley's charm there was a moment of stunned silence as Penny lowered her wand.
"I said no." Penny repeated, a slight tremor in her voice. She saw a flicker of fear cross Mrs Weasley's face for the first time, her anger drowning out the small trace of guilt at the sight of it.
"Let it be, Molly" Sirius interjected, earning a sceptical look from Penny. "There are more important things right now than a teenager's fashion sense." He said earning a murmur of agreement from both Mrs Weasley and Dumbledore. "Penny you know you are not allowed to use magic– "
"I don't care!" Penny shouted angrily. "I am sick of being treated like a child- "
"You are a child!" Mrs Weasley interjected.
"Sick of having to act all defenceless and helpless, and just take it like I can't stop you. As if I am not capable of doing just as much as any of you! More than most of you!" She went on as if Mrs Weasley hadn't spoken.
"Persephone I am doing my best to protect you…" Dumbledore began.
"Protect me?" Penny retorted hotly. "Or control me?" She challenged. "Protect me, or keep me prisoner?" She went on, electricity virtually sparking in her hair. "I have kept my nose clean, done my community service, help clean this shit hole, refused Harry's endless requests for any information." She saw Sirius' face struggle at her last statement. "And yet you still trap me here, keep me in the dark –"
"Persephone you know more than most of the Weasley children do." Dumbledore refuted.
"Only because you knew I would figure it out well enough on my own." Penny snarled back.
"And you know full well why Harry can not know more than necessary. And why he is safest where he is." Dumbledore replied, his voice taking on a bite of impatience.
"And I suppose it would be impossible to tell him that, so he at least knows why he is being punished for having the nerve to survive my father?" Penny sneered.
"The less Harry knows the safer he is." Dumbledore reaffirmed. "The safer we all are."
"People don't like being kept in cages!" Penny shouted.
"Persephone whether you like it or not, whether you trust me or not, you must understand that everything I do, I do for the greater good." Dumbledore said, Penny noticing a strange flicker across the old man's face, as if something he said tasted bitter. A tiny lightbulb glimmered in Penny's brain but she brushed the thought away to reconsider later.
"Pretty sure my father uses the same argument." Penny retorted, a flash of anger crossing the Headmaster's face. "Now let me out NOW!" She demanded, hoping the tinge of fear in her gut didn't come out in her voice.
There was a loud click above her, but looking round it was Sirius rather than Dumbledore that had raised his wand. Glancing a slightly softer look at him, Penny climbed the stairs, hissing loudly for Juno. Penny frowned as no response came, and even more as she walked into a fleshy piece of string that wasn't yanked out the way quick enough. Scowling upwards she saw the twins, Ron, Ginny and Hermione all stood on the landing listening. Circling round and up the stairs she was met with a frosty reception.
"What?" She asked as the Weasley children all glared at her, Penny looking at Ginny's flaming eyes.
"If you ever hurt my Mum I will hex you into next week." Ginny threatened as Penny snorted, half exasperation and half amused as the rest of the Weasleys nodded in agreement.
"I didn't hurt her, I just stopped her surgically removing my piercing." Penny said defensively, making her piercing wriggle and hiss. Ginny's face took on a hint of admiration against her will as she eyed Penny stonily. Sighing Penny went on. "Has anyone seen Juno?" She asked.
"She disappeared somewhere upstairs after you left, haven't seen her since." Hermione answered helpfully, even as she looked freaked out by the wriggling snake in Penny's tongue. Mumbling a thanks Penny climbed the stairs higher, calling for Juno. The lack of response annoyed her, certain the snake could hear her, where ever she was hiding. The sound of movement behind one of the doors make Penny go to it and open it, peering inside. Instead of Juno, on the far side of the room Penny saw a large body, a mix of horse and feathers, with scattered bones amongst its bed of newspapers.
"Hello Buckbeak" She said quietly, the Hippogriff lifting its head, his piercing orange eyes staring her down. Penny approached cautiously, bowing politely at the waist. The Hippogriff eyed her sternly for a moment before returning the bow.
"I don't suppose you have seen my moody snake have you?" Penny asked him as she reached his side, gently stroking the feathers round his shoulder. He made a shriek like noise before leaning into her touch. "Unfortunately I don't speak Hippogriff." Penny commented before settling beside the large creature, avoiding the sodden newspapers underneath the creature. "Bet you hate it here as well" She went on, her eyes wondering over his worn wings, which looked distinctly less muscular than she remembered. "You are meant to fly free, not be trapped indoors. Not that you would catch me flying, but I guess its different when you are relying on your own wings." Penny went on, the orange eyes looking at her quizzically.
"Glad its not just me who chats away to him." A voice made Penny jump, Buckbeak shrieking at her sudden movement. Sirius bowed low to Buckbeak, approaching when he returned the gesture. Penny watched him with a haughty expression as he settled easily against Buckbeak, with a level of grace that suggested he had rested on the Hippogriff many times before.
"So being able to speak Parseltongue and having a massive pet snake wasn't enough reference to your Slytherin bloodline then?" Sirius asked with a grin, his tone a little too light. When Penny remained silent he carried on. "My parents weren't too pleased when I got my first tattoo at a Muggle tattoo shop." He said, rolling up his sleeve to reveal what looked like a couple Japanese symbols on his wrist. Penny raised her eyebrows curiously.
"Why would you go to a Muggle tattoo shop?" She asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.
"James wanted to explore some of the Muggle world, as a way to impress Lily I think." Sirius said with a grin. "He thought understanding a bit more of her background would help win her over. You know, instead of reining in his cockiness." Sirius went on, his grin vanishing as a look of sadness took over. "Must have been about the same age as you I think." He finished as Penny looked back at Buckbeak. "I'm sorry about what I said." Sirius said quickly, as if such a phrase was a challenge to say. Penny glanced at him stonily as she continued to run her fingers through Buckbeak's feathers. "It was cruel of me. I am finding being stuck here, unable to do anything very frustrating too. We Blacks don't do well in cages."
"Oh, so now I am a Black?" Penny sneered. "I was under the impression I was a Riddle bastard."
"You are without a doubt a Black, you have always been a Black." Sirius said a slight grin growing on his face. "We both have the good and bad qualities of the family. Powerful and gifted with magic, our good looks…if somewhat weathered away in my case" He added with a slight bitter tone. "But also with the family temper, and more than a hint of pride." He finished as Penny pouted.
"I hate it here." Penny admitted, a grin on Sirius' face at her statement.
"You and me both kiddo." He said. "I mean, almost adult" He added hastily at the look of distain on her face. "If it were up to me Penny, you would be getting stuck in, we both would. But the Ministry –"
"I am underage and the Ministry are still looking for you. I know." Penny finished sharply, rolling her eyes.
"And you know Fudge wants any excuse to have you and Harry kicked out of Hogwarts. Especially you." Sirius went on.
"Fudge can go –" Penny began, being drowned out by Buckbeak, noisily ruffling his wings.
"He's afraid of you." Sirius began.
"So he should be." Penny chipped in, Sirius letting out a bark of a laugh.
"So he should be." He repeated sniggering. "But all the while he is refusing to see the real enemy, he will force all the attention on you. Daughter of two of the most feared magical people in recent history, you are an easy scapegoat." Sirius explained as Penny scowled.
"And eventually the Ministry will be forced to admit my father's return and Harry and I will be free of persecution. I just have to sit and be a patient good little girl until that time." Penny finished sardonically. "I already know all of this." Penny sneered.
"Yes, but somehow I got the impression you needed a reminder."
"Repeating the same crap again and again doesn't make it less frustrating. If anything, it just makes it worse." Penny retorted. "And it has no expiry date. It could be years before my father messes up. You expect me to sit around half waiting to be attacked or kidnapped indefinitely?" She asked incredulously. Sirius sighed, looking as irritable as Penny felt.
"I guess it's a game of who messes up first, your father or you." Sirius answered eventually, giving Penny a meaningful look. Penny just scowled in response. A long minute of silence followed before Sirius broke it. "By the way, I thought you might want this." He said, drawing out a photo frame. Penny's gut did a squirm as she looked at the face of her mother.
"You thought wrong." Penny snarled looking away.
"Persephone." Sirius said lightly, startling her slightly at the use of her full name. "I know what its like to want to hate the woman who gave birth to you."
"Your mother raised you, I have never met mine. Its not the same at all." Penny snapped, pushing the frame away from herself.
"Ok. You can lie to all of them out there." Sirius said, gesturing widely. "You can even lie to yourself. But you can't fool me, because I know." He said, Penny watching him warily as a mournful look she had never seen on the man's face appeared. "Not being what your mother wants you to be, or your mother not being the mother you wish you had. You can challenge it with logic, you can pretend you don't care, you can bury it so deep inside you almost believe you don't. But it's a hurt that never truly leaves you." He finished, placing the photo frame on the floor beside Penny before turning and leaving the room. Penny stared after him for a while, pondering what he had said.
Leaning forward, she tentatively ran her fingers along the edge of the frame, before lifting it to her eye level. The face of her mother stared haughtily back, a slight look of puzzlement on the figures face. Penny watched her for a while before pocketing it inside her robe, sighing heavily. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw a picture moving on the one of the clean newspapers. Glancing over at it she pulled it free from the pile and unfolded it. A photo of Dumbledore looked back her, making her lips thin. The article reported how the Headmaster had been stripped of his Order of Merlin First Class and removed from the position of Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. The reasons being, the newspaper claimed, was the old wizard was going senile and power hungry, spreading lies to cause fear and disruption amongst the wizarding world. Penny raised an eyebrow before turning over the parchment. A cartoon on the other side made her lip curl into a snarl.
An unflattering caricature of herself and Harry faced her. The cartoon of herself wore an evil smirk, her hand on cartoon Harry's back as if he were a puppet. Cartoon Harry was looking at her own cartoon with a goofy expression and tiny little hearts round his eyes. He also had a speech bubble protruding from his mouth full of supposedly absurd claims about her father and other obvious nonsense. Underneath it, a caption stated "We see the one pulling the strings." Penny looked down at it with an angry bubble boiling in her gut as she pictures Harry's face when he saw how the world viewed them both. If she could barely cope, knowing all that she did, then she could only imagine how Harry must be feeling. Glaring at the door where Sirius had left, she came to a decision. To hell with them all, she thought to herself decisively, she was done waiting around like a naughty child. But how? She considered, her mind racing.
A couple minutes later the door clicked open, a tiny creature entering the room.
"Mistress Penny, would you like Kreacher to fetch you some food, maybe some drink?" Kreacher said, bowing low. Buckbeak clicked his beak at the house elf, who sneered at him.
"An ice lolly would be nice Kreacher." Penny began, stopping the elf as he went to dash off. "Kreacher, I have a favour to ask." She said, the house elf freezing at her words. "Don't worry, no Legilimency this time." She hastily promised.
"Yes Mistress Penny?" He asked nervously.
"You can Apparate both Juno and I with you can't you?" She asked as Kreacher looked concerned.
"Kreacher….could." He said slowly. "But Master has forbidden Kreacher from leaving the house." He said regretfully. "Kreacher hopes Mistress Penny is not angry with Kreacher." As Penny looked disappointed.
"House elves can disobey their Masters if they really want to, can't they?" Penny pressed as Kreacher looked agitated. "I am only asking hypothetically Kreacher, I wouldn't ask you unless it was important."
"Kreacher… can…but Kreacher would have to punish himself….severely." He answered, wringing his hands together.
"Ok." Penny said, thinking hard. "I won't ask you to Apparate us, not if I don't have to." She thought, considering other options. "But if for whatever reason….I was in danger for example…or truly desperate to get away…would you do it for me Kreacher? Please?" She asked the elf, looking down at his wide eyes.
"If Mistress Penny was in danger, Kreacher would gladly lay down his life to protect her." He said bowing so low his nose touched the floor.
"Thank you Kreacher. I don't want you to lay down your life for me though. Keep yourself safe as best you can." Penny ordered firmly. Exiting the room Kreacher followed her. "Kreacher, have you seen Juno?" She asked the Elf, who confirmed the snake was sulking in the attic. Penny climbed into the small space, coughing with the amount of dust.
"Juno?" She wheezed shifting boxes here and there. Eventually she came across the serpent curled up moodily under a box. "Juno, what are you doing up here? A dusty unlit unventilated attic is hardly the place for a snake." Penny chastised going to scope the snake under the belly, surprised when Juno hissed angrily. "You aren't still mad I left you, are you?" Penny asked, hunting for the head of her snake, finally finding it under one of her coils.
"Just leave me here to die." Juno hissed sulkily.
"Oh don't be so dramatic." Penny replied scoping the snake up, despite her lethargic annoyed hisses. "I am sorry I left you."
"You abandoned me. I could have been kicked out, I could have been starved." Juno went on, coughing dust up as Penny lowered them out of the attic.
"Doesn't count if you starve yourself on purpose by sulking in the attic." Penny continued, making her way down to the small courtyard so Juno could bask. "Next time I leave, I am taking you with me." Penny promised.
Settling in the courtyard, she filled her beloved pet in on her plan.