Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
She spent the first week of the holidays at the Leaky Cauldron. She couldn't bring herself to go back to the manor. The immense marble building had always seemed cold and grim to her. Sirius's presence during the summer had always cheered the place up, made it feel like a home. But ever since Halloween five years earlier, even those memories had been tarnished, and she couldn't look back on them without a stab of guilt. Now, to go back to that place, without even the distant presence of her father, she couldn't do it.
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On the fifth day of her stay in Diagon Alley, Anahid received a letter carried by an energetic young owl. The letter was from Bill, but said only that he had big news, and asked her to come to the Burrow in three days time. The afternoon of the day before her visit to the Burrow Anahid returned to the manor.
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She stepped out of the grand fireplace, her footsteps echoing around the entrance hall. She set her trunk on the polished marble floor, and wandered through her house.
She paused at the door to her father's study, oblivious to the change she had undergone, a few months ago she would have referred to him, even in her head, as Artemis Black. Hesitantly, she opened the door; she couldn't remember the last time she had been in this room.
A muggle portrait of a woman, who bore a striking resemblance to Anahid, hung above the fireplace set into the same wall as the door Anahid entered. The opposite wall was mostly taken up by a large window, which, facing west, caught the late afternoon sun. In front of the window, facing the fireplace, was a large oak desk. Anahid sat in the leather chair that stood behind it, the back of the chair loomed over her, and she glanced around guiltily before catching herself.
She stroked the polished wood surface of the desk with her hands. Gently, she fingered the pens sitting in the gold holders. A stack of parchment sat to her left, she flicked through it briefly, before turning her attention to the three drawers on each side of the desk. The top ones held nothing but spare parchment, ink, and pen nibs. The bottom two on the right hand side held account books, and other things referring to the running of the household. The middle left drawer held nothing but dust, and in the back corners long abandoned cobwebs. She didn't expect to find anything in the bottom drawer, and that too was empty, except for an envelope. It was sealed on the back with the Orion crest in black wax, her father's sign. The front bore only one word, Anahid.
Hands shaking, she used the desk's letter opener to slip under the seal, opening the letter without breaking the wax. Enclosed was a folded piece of parchment, and another sealed letter, also addressed to her, but in a different, more looping hand. She read the first letter before opening the second.
Anahid,
That you are reading this means my time has come, and I have rejoined my beloved Persephone.
I placed this letter where I was sure your inquisitive mind was bound to look.
I'm sorry my daughter, for the loss of my dear wife caused me such anger and pain, that I failed to see how remarkable the daughter she had given me was.
I ask for your forgiveness, and hope death will bring us a peace neither of us had in life.
Enclosed is a letter your mother wrote to you while she carried you beneath her heart. Not in my deepest grief could I destroy it, and I give it to you now. I know not what it says, but hope it will remove from your soul some of the pain I know I put there.
I love you my daughter, I hope only that you can forgive me the follies I made in grief that I was too stubborn to rectify in life.
Your father,
Artemis Black.
Speechless, Anahid let the letter fall to lie on the desktop. Hastily she picked up the second letter, and with great care opened it by slipping the opener under the Orion seal set in white wax. Hands still; she read the letter from the woman she loved more than any other, though she had never met her.
My dearest daughter,
Do not hold your father to blame for a blunder of his heart.
I have seen a life for you a life that does not feature me. I fear there is much grief and pain in your future.
But remember this, life is short.
Divination is a remarkable skill, but before you can master it you must realise that you can not live in the future, sometimes you must forget what will come and dwell instead in the present.
It is the only advice I have to give you, my darling.
Your mother,
Persephone Black.
Anahid was surprised to find her cheeks were still dry when she finished her mother's letter. She couldn't see the faint spark that overcame the emptiness in her eyes, but she could feel the hollow in her chest shrink just a little. She reread both letters numerous times before falling asleep, enveloped in her father's chair and watched over by her mother's portrait.
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She stepped around her trunk the next morning in order to get to the kitchen. Once, the manor had had a large staff of house elves, but an ancestor of Anahid's had released them some time before. Only the Preserving Charms in the kitchen enabled her to have a breakfast of an apple, which she ate while walking through the gardens surrounding the building. She took her trunk up to her room, and after a shower and a change of clothes, Anahid sat at her dressing table, brushing her hair. She replaced her ring on her right hand, pulled her shirt out of her jeans, grabbed a jersey, and tried to psyche herself up for the floo trip to the Burrow.
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The Weasley home was just as hectic as she remembered it. Molly greeted her with a hug, and helped her dust the soot from her clothes. After expressing her condolences for the death of Anahid's father, Molly directed her to where Bill was; in the field the Weasleys also owned, playing Quidditch with Charlie. No clues were forthcoming from her about Bill's 'big news,' so Anahid headed off to track him down and find out for herself.
The field was surrounded by trees, which kept it, and anyone on a broomstick, hidden from the view of the nearby muggle village. Anahid stood in the shelter of the trees, watching the two brothers play one on one Quidditch. She didn't know enough about the rules of the real game to be able to pick out the alterations made for the two-player version, but she couldn't see any bludgers.
Charlie spotted her first, on his way back to the centre of the field after Bill had scored. He waved, and scored himself while Bill was looking around.
"Who won?" she asked as the two landed beside her.
"I did of course." Charlie boasted. He tossed his broom to Bill and headed back down to the house, calling, "Teach the girl to fly," over his shoulder.
Bill offered her the broom. "You've got to joking," she said.
"Come on, one little flight."
"I wouldn't know how."
"You're kidding right." She looked at him. "Ok you're not kidding. How can you not know how to fly? Didn't you have lessons first year?"
"It didn't seem important at the time. That, and breaking my arm when I was four when I fell off a broomstick while Sirius was trying to teach me kind of put me off."
"Come on," he grabbed her hand. "I promise I won't let you fall."
"Oh alright," she agreed, "but not for long, and not too high."
"Deal." He sat further back on his broom, to make room for her to sit in front of him. Anahid sat down, gripping the handle tightly with both hands, just behind where his own hand rested.
"All set?" he asked, Anahid nodded and Bill kicked off, sending them soaring. Anahid screwed her eyes shut, her hands gripping the handle so tight her knuckles turned white. "Relax," his voice whispered just above her ear. He wrapped his free arm around her waist, "Trust me."
Cautiously Anahid opened one eye, then the other, looking down, she saw the ground fly past at a dizzying speed. "I think I'm going to be sick." She muttered.
"Nonsense; just breath."
"What good advice, because that's something I was so likely to forget." She clenched her teeth together as they turned. She took his advice though, inhaling deep breaths and looking straight ahead, she almost enjoyed herself.
"So what's your big news?" she asked as they completed their second circuit of the field.
"Hmm? Oh, I got the job at Gringotts. I'm going to be a curse breaker!"
"Really?" she turned her head to look at him over her shoulder. "That's fantastic! The holidays have hardly started, and already you've got a job."
"I know, I applied before the exams, and when I got all of my N.E.W.T.s they couldn't wait to hire me."
"Do you think we could land now? I'd feel more comfortable talking on the ground."
Bill just laughed and the broomstick descended.
"How's the manor?" he asked, in an attempted casual voice, as they walked back down to the house, both his and Charlie's brooms slung over his shoulder.
"Big and empty," she replied. "I found these in my father's desk." She handed him the letters from her parents. Any comments he was going to make were cut off by their arrival back at the house, and a yelling twin. He handed the letters back to her and went to put the brooms away in the shed. Anahid went to help Molly with lunch.
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They were unable to get a quiet moment to talk to each other all afternoon. Anahid was helping Molly with Bill's celebratory dinner, or they were both involved in entertaining the younger family members.
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During dinner, Molly reiterated Bill's invitation for Anahid to visit whenever she wanted.
"Don't say that," Anahid replied, "you'll never get rid of me." Still a pleased blush had crept over her cheeks, and she smiled.
Molly refused to let Anahid help with the dishes, and as Bill had taken the opportunity to steal her away, Charlie was stuck doing them.
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"So?" Bill asked her when they were both settled at the top of the neighbouring hill.
"So you'll be leaving soon?"
"In a fortnight or so. But I was talking about you and you know it."
"It was a one word question." She let out a long breath. "I'm…I'm ok. Really," she added at his doubtful look. "I'm not as empty inside, I've forgiven him. He loved me." Wonder crept into her voice, "He loved me."
"What about the other letter?" he asked, looking across at her.
"From my mother? It's some good advice."
"Do you plan on taking it?"
"I'd like to, it's not as though I have a future to live in."
"Don't get all melodramatic on me." Bill cut in. "It doesn't suit you."
"I'm not being melodramatic, just realistic."
"Uh huh, you seem to confuse the two easily."
"Be nice." She admonished him, her smile taking the sting off the rebuke. "I just don't want to start anything I won't be able to finish," she said carefully, watching the setting sun.
Bill seemed to understand everything she wasn't saying because he quickly changed the subject. "I have two weeks left to be an irresponsible teenager," he said. "Any ideas?"
"When have you ever been irresponsible?" Anahid asked with a smile, the sombre mood of the moment before eagerly cast away.
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Bill, who had turned eighteen back in April, got his Apparating license before he left. Anahid was over at the Burrow on just about all of the fourteen days before his departure. She helped him pack, unpack, and repack. Listened as he excitedly shared all the details of what he would be doing. Tried to relieve his fears of moving so far away from his family.
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Time files when you're having fun, but it rockets past when you're trying to savour every moment, and avoid saying goodbye.
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The day before Bill left, Anahid didn't go to the Burrow, he visited the manor. Anahid showed him around, then they both flooed to Hogwarts, it may have been the holidays but Anahid still had a potion to take. She wouldn't be there to say goodbye when he left, so Anahid had given him a parcel he had been forbidden from opening until he reached Egypt Bill placed a package on the table next to her sleeping form in the Hospital Wing. Neither ever said 'goodbye.'
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When Anahid woke the next afternoon Bill was already seven hours gone. She opened the package he had left her and tried not to miss him too much. Enclosed in the brown paper which had covered the parcel was a photo of her and Bill, taken at Christmas, while they sat quietly together on the couch. She lay with her head on his lap reading her Summoning Charms book, he read the Daily Prophet while absent-mindedly stroking her hair. There was also a box of sugar quills and a letter, dated the day before, which it appeared he had written while she slept.
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At about the same time as Anahid was opening her parcel in Britain, Bill was opening his in Egypt. It was a short trip from London to Cairo by portkey and Bill had already been shown around the wizarding section of the city, the Gringotts Acquisitions Division, and the small house he would be living in, paid for by the bank. After a meal, and a bath, Bill unpacked, and found Anahid's farewell gift. He opened it, curious to see what she had forbidden him from seeing until arriving at his new home.
Inside the small cardboard box were more things than should have fitted in there ordinarily. He pulled out a leather bound notebook and a new set of self-inking quills. A book entitled 'Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphics for Dummies' and a small square box that held a thin, plain, band of silver, which fitted perfectly around the base of the third finger of his right hand.
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Anahid spent more of her time at the Burrow than the manor, during the rest of the holidays. She watched Fred, George, Ron and Ginny while Molly took Charlie and Percy, who would be starting at the wizarding school that year, to get their Hogwarts supplies. She was adopted into the family with more ease than she would have imagined possible six months ago.
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Bill wrote often to his mother and Charlie, both of whom happily shared their letters with the others. Anahid received one, two-page letter, wrapped around a sugar quill, a month. They arrived while she slept in the Hospital Wing.
That was what Anahid remembered most about her sixth-year, waking in the Hospital Wing once a month to find a letter and a sugar quill waiting for her. It was also the year she told Charlie, Molly and Arthur about having Degenero Disease, Anahid told them before the start of the school year. She felt that, after they had welcomed her into their family so warmly, they deserved to know what they might have to watch her go through.
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She spent Christmas with the Weasleys again that year. She had thought Bill was spending his Christmas in Egypt, so his arrival at the Burrow, midafternoon on the twenty-third of December came as a total surprise. They went to see the window displays in Diagon Alley again that year, and took the opportunity to spend several hours alone, in the Leaky Cauldron, catching up.
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Christmas morning dawned grey, cold and miserable, out side at least. Inside it was bright, cheery and filled with the sounds of tearing paper. Anahid helped Molly with dinner, and everyone ate far too much. Bill had to go back to Egypt on Boxing Day, and this time Anahid listened to her mother, and kissed him. It was just as brief and chaste as when he had kissed her six months earlier, but it was her kissing him, and that made all the difference.
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Charlie finished his final year at Hogwarts with a win over Slytherin to secure the Quidditch Cup, but a loss to them for the House Trophy. He got almost as many N.E.W.T.s as his brother had, but without working quite so hard. Anahid, for the sixth year in a row, finished top of her class.
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Bill didn't come home that summer, the letters he sent his mother claimed he was too busy working, and studying. Charlie was home for a month before joining the Dragon Sanctuary in Romania. Anahid still spent most of her time at the Burrow, though its two main appeals weren't there. Bill had invited her to visit him in Cairo, but she had declined, the visit would have clashed with one of her appointments at the Hospital Wing.
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Seventh-year started well for Anahid, she wasn't Head Girl, but then, she had never wanted to be. Unfortunately around December it took a down turn, her hands began to shake, just tremors at first, when she was tired. She declined the invitation to spend Christmas at the Burrow, she needed to study, begin revision, and practise casting spells with hands that shook. By Easter she had to wear glasses. She told none of this to Bill in the letters that she sent him. Remus she told, Charlie too, but she didn't tell Bill.
Despite her deteriorating health Anahid passed all of her N.E.W.T.s and finished third in her year. She also passed her Apparating test, and happily didn't have to floo any more.
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She wasn't sure if it was her declining his invitation for her to visit him due to poor health, or if Molly or Charlie told him of her worsening condition, but Bill came home that summer, contrary to what he had said in his letters.
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When Anahid saw him walk through the door and out into the Burrow's back garden where she sat, she expected him to yell, to reprimand her for not telling him how much sicker she was. He didn't. Instead he walked over, wrapped his arms around her, clutched her tight, and cried. Anahid's eyes were dry; she had shed all the tears she could over this already. Bill had been too busy holding her as she cried, being strong for her, to weep himself. Now it was his turn.
When his tears had stopped, Anahid drew back slightly. She noted his changed appearance. He had a tan now, and his hair was longer, not quite long enough to tie back, but getting there. He wore dragon-hide boots, and had a dragon fang earring in his left ear. She knew she looked different to the last time he had seen her. Now she wore glasses, rectangular lenses with black wire frames, in front of eyes lined with deep shadows. The lenses grew thicker every time she returned to Madam Pomfrey for a checkup, she still went once a month though she had stopped taking the potion when she had finished school. Her hands shook continually now, and her once slim frame, was thin.
"So…" She said quietly.
"So, I'm on leave for two weeks." He answered, repositioning them so he sat leaning against the tree, Anahid in front of him, sitting crosswise on his lap; head tucked in a perfect fit beneath his chin.
"I should have told you, huh." Her voice was softer than he remembered, quieter, as if even speaking sucked vital energy from her body.
"Yes," he agreed. "But it's too late for that now. It's just as bad to live in the past as the future."
"When did you get so wise?" she asked, wrapping her arms around his waist, seeking a more comfortable position.
"I've always been this wise," he replied, attempting his old, cheerful tone. "I just hid it so you mere mortals wouldn't feel overawed by my brilliance."
She laughed; it was a weak, breathy sound. "Egypt's made you cocky." She commented dryly.
"Britain's mad you sarcastic." He retorted.
They sat like that, wrapped around each other, holding the other tight, until Molly called them in dinner. Neither said the words that would have hurt them both. That they were sorry, one for staying away, the other for hiding the truth. That they were scared of what was going to happen, for themselves, but more for the other. That they loved each other in a way and depth neither could begin to describe.
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They spent two weeks like that, near each other if they couldn't touch, silent more often than not, words falling far short. There was rarely one without the other, and not even Charlie commented when Bill left Anahid's room every morning, after a night spent sleeping, wrapped in each others arms, not bearing to be a part even to sleep.
The two had never been sadder at parting than when they were forced to at the end of Bill's two weeks leave. He promised to be home at Christmas and sooner if he could manage it.
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AN: Please R&R, any comments are appreciated. The next chapter will be up soon, where in goodbyes are said.