Chapter 2
You Can't Chose Family
Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter or any of his friends. No matter how much I want them, I don't really own anything from the books folks. They belongs to J.K.Rowlings. That's why it's her name on the cover, not mine. However, if you find any plot (it's in there *somewhere* I know it...) I can claim that as my own. MINE! Op-Center still belongs to Tom Clancy (what is it with authors and ownership? I'm haven't made any money off this crazy story of mine, so please don't sue me. I don't own enough to make it worth your while.
Thanks a million to my first reviewer animegirl-mika, I love you soooooooooooooooooooooo much. You made my whole day bright and happy, and when I write melodramatic stuff like this, that's saying something. Spectacular? ~blushes vividly~ About Sirius, I have no real idea when he plans to show his face. I only know sometime before the real plot starts to bust up lives and after all the kids start to absolutely hate his guts. Sirius hasn't really told me yet. ~glares at Sirius~ I can definably say before school starts.
....~Blinks~ Wait a minute, somebody else reviewed? Oh my gosh, somebody pinch me ~pinch~. It's still there! Wow, thank you, animalcrackers. This is just beyond me ~sniff~. Your review means a lot to me. Well, here it is, Chapter 2. Hope you like it!
Allemande: Yay! This has got to be my day! Somebody else reviewed. And they still like it. I might just pass out with joy! ~waits patiently to pass out. nothing happens~ Oh dear, I'm sorry. I meant to pass out, it must be all this studying screwing up my brain (worse than it already is). I understand, I did mess up the perspective. It's been a long time since I wrote the Prologue, I've had it sitting around my house for a while before I posted it. I though it'd be fun to write in 1st person, but there was so much else to tell, and different people to write about... I forgot all about it. Consider it a flight of fantasy that never got fixed, or something like that. I love you too!
Upon entering the wizarding world, one of the first things children just excepted to Hogwarts always look for is toy stores. It makes sense. After all, it seems their dreams are all coming true. The voice of reason, with opinions parallel to their parent's, has lost to that little voice in the corner of a child's mind that dared to dream about magic. 'Maybe, just maybe, Mom and Dad could be wrong about magic' has become a triumphant 'Magic! So I didn't just imagine, it's right here, in front of me.' Feeling more confidence about their ability to tell what's real and what's still imagination, the line becomes blurred. Imagination takes flight. Suddenly they remember wishes about having a teddy bear that talks, picture books that read themselves, flying carpets and all manner of impossible things. The child wonders 'Could they be real, too?'
So eleven year-olds clutch newly bought wands, anxiously peering in every corner 'Where are they?'
And parents weave and dodge to stay behind a bobbing head, carrying the brunt of their offspring's school supplies. patience running dangerously low. 'What could they be looking for?' the parents wonder. Sadly, this discovery of magic was just that. A discovery. No great expanding of horizons, or recalling or childhood dreams. So they had no idea why their son or daughter was thoroughly searching every street sign. For all they knew, the kid was looking for magical dust that they couldn't see either. Finally, after passing Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions a forth time, they snag their elusive prey and wrench them out of the way of passerby. Struggling to keep frustration out of their voice, they ask,
"Why are you still looking? We have your school supplies. It's getting late." The adults check their watches, sigh when they remember it stopped working and wait for an answer. Few people, children or otherwise, feel comfortable explaining the inner workings of their hearts. Few children even know how to explain their need to confirm imagination. In much the same way they could never explain how the tree in the backyard dropped vibrant red and yellow leaves in the heat of summer or how their holiday picture clothes walked away with no-one in them or how their dog disappeared, but barking sounds could still be heard and the dog food left inside overnight still got eaten or... well, you get the idea. They just needed. Some tried to articulate their desires, and they end up asking a random witch or wizard. Most just shrugged, and both parent and child went home, child determined to ask someone on the train. Other children would understand.
Whatever the circumstances, every muggleborn child was robbed of their magical toy supermarket. On the train to Hogwarts, young witches and wizards heard gossip and learned about Rooms.
When a child could talk, parents could buy Room Spells. Every room spell could be personalized depending on the child a room was for, or how many. Room spells commonly had tree different parts. The servant version, used on an empty room, would create the furnishings the parent asked for (wallpaper, carpet, a few durable toys), the user version, cast on the child (or children) the room was for, and the control version, for parents to monitor the use of each room. Once all three parts had been cast, the actual room spell was activated, and only when all parts had been cast would the spell become active.
And this is how the room spell worked; if a child with a user spell cast on them wanted a toy broomstick, they would ask the parent with the control spell. Said parent could 'command' the room spell ( and therefore the room) to give the child a toy broom, and 'poof'. There it was. Also, when children had been using room spells long enough, they became connected, so thoughts would trigger commands and rooms would respond to their user's feelings. Magic had a way of growing on you like that.
Muggleborn children were astounded. Room spells went beyond their wildest dreams. Well, perhaps not beyond their wildest dreams, but beyond the dreams they'd dared hope were real. Unfortunately, room spells required an extensive background check, bags of galleons, not to mention a grown witch of wizard to cast to spell. Interestingly enough, rumors hinted their was another option. New children looked for someone to tell them about it.
The other option with room spells turned out to be exclusively for children of Ministry workers. Even though they couldn't use this new spell, muggleborn curiosity was aroused. So after scarfing down Licorice Wands, Cauldron Cakes and Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans and leaving souvenirs on their shirts, children looked once more for wizarding born children.
It turned out the rumor they were following up on was a closely guarded Ministry secret. Or so upperclassmen whispered importantly to first years. Special room spells could be cast without a control version is the user spell was changed just so. Instead of verbal permission (commands from control version), knowledge could be taken directly from the 'users' subconscious, the 6th and 7th years said. Nobody could fool their subconscious, and if a child 'knew' something was wrong, the room would deny the command. This was very hush-hush, of course. Children of the Ministry were targets for kidnapping, and a spell that connected to the sub-conscience could be extremely dangerous. All two-part room spells where canceled in fear back when You-Know-Who had been raising in power. Who knew what he could have been capable of if he learned to use them against the wizarding world. Children's imagination (and magic) were quite powerful and unpredictable. Naturally, room spell had been re-cast upon You-Know-Who's defeat and were currently in use everywhere. This statement was said with a bitter note in it, and students who had known or remembered the fallen Hogwarts Champion had a special glint in their eyes.
Back in their seats, muggleborn children sat in awe of the magical world they had so recently entered. Many had a sense that quite a bit of the conversation had been left unspoken. They wondered, maybe their was more to magical than waving a wand and instantly getting what they wanted. Many remembered You-Know-Who and shuddered. He was something to avoid, nobody needed to tell them that. Some of them imagined how much everyone would look up to them if they defeated this You-Know-Who. They were wizards now, they could handle anything. The more reasonable children just wanted to stay away from You-Know-Who. Maybe, they thought, being part of all this magic was dangerous. Years later, when just who the Dark Lord was and what he had done, they become truly scared. Almost like a wave of homesickness, they would wake up after a nightmare and wish they could go back to not knowing about magic.
Madam Fey Bell used her arithmetic ability to create Room Spells (not an uncommon job), and Mister Liam Bell worked with the Aurors, so naturally they had a room spell for their children without diving too far into their purse.
By silent agreement, all the Bell children met in their Room. Down the hall, past the steps and across from their parent's room was the wizarding equivalent of a play room. The room was accustomed to giving the children decorations in their own house coloring, so the room currently looked like a splattered canvas. Everyone had pulled more or less comfortable chairs against opposite walls. A large blob of forest green shot through with pastel green spirals covered the wall the twins shared and was creeping onto the walls adjacent to it. The green wound it's way up to the ceiling, surrounded by two smaller splashed of red. One was vibrant blood-red (Dean was sitting in front of it), the other faint and hinting of pink, a fact that never ceased to remind Kate of her younger years. Pink had been an important color then. Lastly, facing the twins with his chair back propped against the door, was Chris. Surrounding him was a blue teal that filled the remaining space, holding it's own again the opposing colors. Chris, being the last one in, closed the door behind him and set down a thick book from somewhere. The book contained an owl-by-order pamphlet stuck somewhere in the middle of the book, most likely a bookmark.
From their positions against the walls, as far away from each other as possible, each child offered a prayer to whatever supernatural deity was listening for silence. They had been instructed never to use spells in the play-room (other spells might interfere with the Room spell). The room heard them and the birds stopped singing. Dean grinned and started to talk. Nothing came out of his mouth, and everyone started chuckling silently. Eventually Lauren got a brainwave (when she stopped laughing) and wished for only a silencing charm to be placed around the play room. The bird's song came back, and everyone was reminded it was still early in the afternoon. Kate, who had been not-laughing the hardest, became heard at the tail end of a snort. She quickly shut her mouth and shirted self-consciously in her seat. Dean spoke up, trying again to cover the lack of talking and halt any pig jokes before they began.
"So." He said. Dean realized his attempt at conversation had failed and looked embarrassed. Kate shot him a grateful look. Now she was no longer the center of ridicule. Chris looked down a t his book and raised an eyebrow at Dean from his side of the room. The meaning was obvious. Chris was telling his brother if Dean couldn't come up with anything more interesting than that he was going to read. Kate tried to return the favor.
"So." She said. Amy smirked.
"Is it just me, or does anyone else hear an echo in here?" Amy commented. For once her twin sister seemed unwilling to continue torture and was looking to Chris. Chris looked thoughtful. Amy looked venomous.
"Remember what Dad said about the Op-Center?" Chris asked the congregation. Amy rolled her eyes.
"Father's said a lot today. Be specific." Chris chose not to respond to Amy sarcasm, instead he took her remark at face value and became more specific.
"He mentioned something about the Op-Center having a Search and Rescue department. He also said something about people dying because of Black." Chris explained his train of thought. Amy glared even more, but Chris was starring off into space. Dean and Lauren looked sadly at Chris. Lauren spoke up.
"Father told us our parents died fighting Voldemort. And ah... some other stuff." Chris looked up and stared from Amy to Lauren to Dean. They all looked down, hiding knowledge about their parents.
"Why didn't you...?" Chris asked, hurt obvious in his voice. Dean sighed, as the details of his parent's deaths were too great a burden to carry any longer.
"They told me just last year. I don't think they're going to tell you till your forth year, too." Dean tried to explain. Amy and Lauren nodded. Amy excused how"They told us in second year, but Amy was really upset. Totally freaked out. I guess they decided to wait longer for you." Kate nodded. She knew Amy had always been the more emotional of the twins, and she tried to hide it by becoming even more sarcastic or making crueler comments. She hid it well too. Either that, or Kate didn't know emotional turmoil when she saw it. Wouldn't surprise her in the least if that was true.
Understanding had come in third year, when a biting remark on Kate's Quidditch skills had left her crying. Kate had sat in the play room, the walls bright pink despite her protest (Gryffindor colors please), Lauren had come to her. With the air of someone revealing a huge secret, Lauren had whispered,
"She doesn't mean it. Amy's just sad." Kate had looked up curiously at Lauren, her tears still drying on her cheeks.
"What do you (sniff) mean by that?" Lauren shrugged and walked away. If the little Gryffindor didn't understand now, she probably never would. She really hadn't understood, so she had turned to her friends for an explanation. Amy walked back into the room, outwardly calm, and Kate was glad she had asked Markus. Unlike Dean, who was confused at why Amy had left at all. Kate's school friend, Markus Flint had graduated last year, but if anyone understood people, it was Markus. Being a Slytherin, he generally used his perception to make people's lives a living hell. Luck for Amy, she was a Slytherin and so Markus would never have tormented her. Markus never tormented Slytherins, except first years, but everybody tortured first years. It was an unspoken law of Hogwarts. Kate's one-time friend claimed he avoided insulting Slytherins because it was important to keep up the facade that Slytherins would unite against a common enemy. Kate had refrained for mentioning everyone thought Slytherins were backstabbing murderers and wouldn't ally themselves with Merlin himself. Kate shrugged off her memories and spoke up.
"Amy, Lauren, Dean?" She asked. Said individuals looked at Kate.
"If you know what happened to your parents, why didn't you tell anyone else? Dean, why didn't you tell Chris?" Kate asked them. Dean looked embarrassed.
"Mom and Dad said we couldn't tell anyone." Dean said slowly. It was obvious to Kate (who really couldn't read someone to save her life) that Dean's answer wasn't the whole truth. Amy must have felt the same way, because she didn't scoff at his answer, lacking as it was.
Dean and the twins shared an understanding look. Kate just didn't understand how important the identity of their parents was, how much a part of them it was. Telling other people, even just her, was like giving away a piece of themselves. But then,
"You know who your parents are. They live here. They didn't die at the hands of Death Eaters and traitors." Amy voiced Dean's, Lauren's and her own opinion in the matter. Kate looked shocked.
"No they're not." She said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Lauren looked confused.
"Sure they are. I mean... look at you!" Lauren countered. Kate snorted. Amy sat quietly.
"Yeah. Look at me. Really look at me? Do Mom or Dad look anything like me?" Kate explained , annoyance plain in her voice. The truth finally dawned on Chris. Kate Bell compared to Liam and Fey Bell. There was little that could be compared. They didn't look anything alike. Kate's dirty blonde hair and blue eyes couldn't have come from Fey's brown hair and hazel eyes or Liam's auburn hair and brown eyes. Liam boasted a tall, stocky frame and Fey was more of a willowy tall, Kate was of middling height and a heavy build. This might of had more to do with their respective lifestyles than anything else, but they really didn't look at all alike. Fey and Liam tan quite easily, but Kate couldn't go outside on a sunny day for long without a sunburn somewhere (usually the bridge of her nose). The differences were shocking. 'Why didn't we notice before?' Chris wondered. He guessed it was because they had never looked for it. Chris, Dean, Amy and Lauren all had their own lives to worry about, their own missing real parents to look for. It seemed crazy to taint Kate's normal life (for a witch, anyway) with suspicions.
"Did they tell you?" Chris asked, breaking through the stunned silence. Kate looked thoughtful.
"I don't think they've come right out and said anything..." She confessed. Dean looked outraged. To be more specific, he looked like a thunderstorm about to burst.
"Well then you don't really *know*, do you? Think it's fun to be adopted? Think it's in style to call people you've never met parents? Some kind of game, huh?" Dean shouted. By the time he had reached the end of his speech his arms were in the air, flailing about in righteous indignation. Lauren look vaguely annoyed, Amy was starring elsewhere. Chris, shocked at his brother's outburst and Kate's hurt look, muttered something to himself that sounded vaguely like 'stupid Gryffindor'. Lauren mouthed 'I give it two minutes' across the room to Chris. Chris nodded. He wasn't quite sure what Lauren was talking about, but something had to happen soon.
Dean waited for Kate's response, panting softly like he had just run a mile or two. Kate calmly squinted at something over Dean's right shoulder, only her watery eyes and the faint red stain on her cheeks any indication she had heard Dean. Dean, seeing her lack of response and thinking it meant he wasn't good enough to even be listened to (what, was her past just too mysterious for him?) turned purple. Amy looked far away, and Kate spoke.
"Actually Dean, not thack... wait! No, scratch that! Ahem." Kate cleared her throat. "Lets try that again. I do remember a conversation that hinted I was adopted. On my birthday. Dad said when I was born... ah... angels sung. I asked if the angels would sing today, or something like that, and Dad said they might, this was the day they found me. The Mom nudged him and said it was time to eat cake. Which was odd, because we hadn't eaten dinner yet. And you know how Mom is about mealtime." Kate's voice had a distant quality to it. Then she turn and looked Dean straight in his brown eyes, darkened almost to black by emotion.
"Besides Dean, your parents didn't die in the Dark Lord's reign of Terror. Who says they even died at Death Eater hands. The Thomas character's probably your uncle." Dean growled. Everyone looked rather startled including Dean himself. Lauren was so startled she didn't mention to Kate that Amy was the one to mention parents being killed by Death Eaters. Dean wasn't ready to give up his argument yet, he was too deep to just back out now. Besides, Kate and her talk of Death Eaters brought up thinks he didn't want to think about.
"And how do you know that, missus high and mighty?" Dean asked, a malicious tone in his voice. Chris cut everyone off.
"I'm only twelve. Voldemort was defeated by Harry potter (Dean's chest swelled with pride. He was in the same house as *the* Harry Potter) fourteen years ago. Death Eaters don't just go and murder people, especially when their master is gone." Chris matter-of-factly answered. Dean looked crestfallen. Chris was right. But Gryffindors are know for their stubbornness (among other things), and Dean Thomas wasn't about to give up yet. Just because it looked hopeless didn't mean it really was.
"So Kate, when was this birthday of yours?" Dean asked politely.
"Ah....." Kate had no idea, obviously.
"Don't know? What a shame. Could it be just made it up?" Dean asked, his voice heavy with false pity. Kate looked down, defeated. But Dean wasn't over yet.
"And so, you're willing to forget the parents you have right now, great people, for what? Emptiness? What would you pretend you are? Voldemort's love child?" He spat, the contempt heavy in his voice. Kate's shoulders closed in, her knees came up to her chin and she hugged them like a lifeline. 'You-know-Voldemort's love child?' Kate shuddered. 'That's just...ew.'
"I....I don't know." Kate's words tumbled out, muffled only be her knees. Lauren looked at Dean.
"Do you see us making fun of your lack of parents?" Lauren asked. Dean flinched and shock his head.
"Then leave her alone." Lauren finished. The 'or else' part was implied, not said. Lauren looked over at Kate, but she was busy starring into the abyss. Lauren sighed. What did Gyffindors get out of saving each other's butts?
"He's right Lauren... I don't really know. Who am I trying to fool?" She said sadly, half to herself.
"That doesn't mean he has to be such a bastard about it." Lauren replied, glaring at Dean some more. Dean was desperately trying to become one with the floor. 'One with the stone, one with the wood...' He was silently chanting.
Amy blinked rapidly, like she was coming out of a sound sleep. Silently she surveyed the mess around her. Kate was starring miserably at the wall, Chris was mumbling to himself and absently patting the ground around him, looking for his book, currently in his left hand. Lauren was trying to murder Dean with her glare, and by the petrified look on Dean's face, he was anxious to comply. She wondered what she had missed.
"Look everybody, I don't think now is the best time to create divisions." Amy said. Chris looked up. He was an emotional wreck and willing to do anything to keep from thinking.
"What do you mean by that?" He asked.
"I mean, this can be classified as difficult times, right? We're all emotionally screwed right now, right?" Chris snorted. *That* was the understatement of the week. Amy continued without glancing in Chris's direction.
"We're a family, so me need to stick together. So maybe we aren't real flesh and blood. Who really cares? Are you all that shallow? So lets quit all this fighting." Amy said from her side of the room. It was one of the longest speeches she had ever made without some sarcastic comment, and was extremely proud of it. She meant everything she had said.
Chris smiled and nodded. Kate pulled herself outwards, smiled a watery smile at Amy and Lauren, unhooked herself and scooted her chair towards the center of the room. Lauren stopped glaring at Dean, (she had seen Kate's smile and got a small glimpse of the *why* of Gryffindors) and he stopped cowering. Eventually everyone dragged their chairs inwards so everybody was shoulder to shoulder, chairs scrapping. Cautiously, Kate leaned over and snagged Laurens hand. Lauren started, then shrugged and grabbed Amy's hand. Amy slowly reached out and clasped Dean's hand, looking determined to overcome her house's moral codes for the sake of family. With painstaking slowness, Amy's hand closed around Dean's hand, the other of which was already clutching Chris's, who was holding Kate's.
I'd like to take some time out to remind you about the colors of this great play room. Remember how all the children had their house colors on the walls? I forgot to mention how obvious the color barriers where. All the Bell children stayed by their walls. Red stayed away from green and didn't mingle unless forced. Now all the children were close together, holding hands no less. There was a defendant 'togetherness' to the whole thing. The blue, green and red that had been contained inside distinct barriers bended together until the entire wall was a massive rainbow with watercolor intensity. It was a stunning metaphor. Not that anybody noticed.
Lauren started talking, because she had a feeling her twin had missed quite a bit of the conversation.
"Okay. Let's say Kate is right. She was adopted too." True to form, Amy shot Lauren a grateful look. Dean looked mildly outraged, but deiced for the sake of the *family* to listen. Lauren decided this Gryffindor saving arse thing wasn't so bad. "Why would Mr. and Mrs. Bell wait so long to tell us? It muse be something really bad." Kate looked nervous. She had thought of that, but the possibility her parent's past was too awful to tell until she was 17 never seemed real until someone else said it. Amy reminded her twin.
"Family, 'member? They've been Mom and Dad up till now..." Lauren nodded at Amy. Chris looked around, and squeezed Kate's hand.
"Maybe her parents were Death Eaters." He said in a hushed voice. Kate gulped. That was enough reason in her mind to not be told. It was also darn scary.
"Death Eaters?" She whispered back. 'Please let someone say it's not true, please oh please oh please...' Dean cleared his throat. Lauren raised an eyebrow at him.
"I don't think that's enough reason for our father." Dean said quietly.
"What do you mean?" Kate asked, quickly, ignoring the hurt in Dean's voice. Any shred of prove again the Death Eater parent idea was to be followed up on at all costs.
"Well, you see... my father was a Death Eater." Silence reigned.
"You mean your-our parents told you more about... ah... your other parents and you didn't tell us?" Amy growled. Dean glared at her, an action which surprised several people, including Amy herself. Apparently Dean's father (and Chris's) was a painful subject for the older Thomas. Dean proceeded to tell everyone what he had left out earlier. Lauren looked increasingly uneasy.
"You see, Dad told me about my other father was uncovered as a Death Eater. His name was Gene, I think. Anyway, Gene goes along living his happy Death Eater life" dean scowled at his own sarcasm. His dark expression made it clear any Death eater's life would be made less than pleasant when *he* got a hold of them. "Voldemort is defeated and the..." Not wanting to say the words, Dean taped his left forearm. There was o need to explain. Dean meant the Dark Mark. "mark turned white. Gene was dark-skinned, more so even than me, so it stuck out. I couple of years later, when the Ministry had sufficiently regrouped enough to round up the Death Eaters, Gene was caught. He was sentenced to life in Azkaban, not uncommon. He died a few years later. Our mother" Dean looked towards Chris and squeezed his hand. "Was heartbroken. She didn't want anything to do with Gene. But she was pregnant with Chris. She took care of you as long as she had to, then pushed us off to whoever would take us. Then she left for the Americas." Dean paused and gulped down the lump in his throat. "Gene's and our Mother's only family were already dead, so Dad took us. He was married to Mum by then. I think he wonders if he made a mistake in taking us. I think he think we'll be...like Gene." Dean finished in a rush. Chris noticed Dean had refrained from calling their birth father by anything but Gene. Dean bit his lip. Kate looked sadly at Dean. No wonder he had been so happy to get into Gryffindor, so enthusiastic about hating Slytherins. And why he had been so angry about her Death Eater comment. Kate blinked, thinking back to father's confessions.
"Wait! Maybe your father worked for the Op-Center... you know, as a spy against Voldemort? Dad said the Op-Center had spies everywhere. Why not your father. That might explain why he adopted you." Dean looked unconvinced.
"If he was a spy for the Op-Center, why did he still get a lifetime sentence in Azkaban? Wouldn't his spy status stop all that? And why didn't Chris and my Mother want to get way from him so fast? If he was spy, that makes him innocent, right?" Dean questioned. Amy looked annoyed.
"Of course not! The Ministry of Magic doesn't know about the Op-Center. Showing the Ministry proof that Gene was a spy would blow the Op-Center's cover. And the Op-Center didn't want to do that. After all, they would have to work for the Ministry and that would lose any advantage they had gained by keeping secrets. After all, I'm sure the Dark Lord has spies in he Ministry, too. The same goes for telling your mother, Dean. I'm sure he would have wanted to. That is if he's anything like you..." Amy explained. And she hadn't been very sarcastic, either. Dean looked even more upset.
"Cold-hearted fellows, aren't they?" He said sadly. Kate blinked. She had expected Dean to get mad at the Op-Center. After all, they condemned Mr. Thomas to certain death. Chris just looked blank. Amy nodded. She was rather proud of the Gryffindor. He wasn't mad at the wrong people, a very un-Gryffindor thing. Lauren got a brainwave.
"Maybe your Dad isn't dead. Maybe he escaped. I mean, could our Dad be that cruel?" Lauren voiced. Dean smiled mirthlessly.
"You forgot one thing. Nobody's ever escaped from Azkaban. 'Cept Sirius Black." Dean said without emotion. Kate realized what Lauren was implying.
"Your Dad died pretty fast, right?" Kate asked Dean. Dean flinched, but nodded.
"Maybe he faked his death. The Op-Center would have helped him out, right?" Kate said. Dean nodded. 'Maybe Kate is right...' Chris starred at the ground.
"You know what scares me?" Nobody said anything.
"I don't miss my parents. I never knew them. I wasn't born most of the time they were around, I don't have any memories about them. I mean, I know Gene is probably dead or in hiding right now, and our mother, whose name I don't even know, could be living in America somewhere, and *I don't care*. It doesn't effect me too much. I feel numb, maybe a little sorry. Like it's happening to someone else. Does that make me an unfeeling bugger?" The hopelessness in Chris's voice touched Lauren. She silently debated with herself. Should she say anything about her own parents and hurt Amy? Too late now.
"I know who you feel. I...I can't feel like Amy." Amy looked confused. "I know my parents were brave and all, but I don't feel very proud." Lauren explained. Chris felt slightly better. At least he wasn't the only one. Amy looked startled.
"Wha-wait a minutes. Lauren, what did you mean when you said you knew our parents were brave? Do you know something about our parents you never told us? Lauren!" Amy would have whined, if Slytherins did that sort of thing. As it was, she didn't care anyway. Habit, or something like it kept her a 'Slytherin'.
Lauren breathed a sigh of relief. Amy didn't hate her. Dean watched Lauren out of the corner of his eye. Lauren and Chris had something in common. Maybe... he had let his house's predetermined prejudices influence him. Lauren explained.
"The Coons, my parents, worked against Voldemort. I think our birth father and Dad knew each other pretty well, so I'm going to assume they worked for the Op-Center, Search and Rescue. Together they were sent out to search for survivors after a Death Eater strike. Both were quite used to the grisly after-effects of Death Eaters and well-trained in medical magic, so I'm told. One day, they when out for a search and rescue and never came back. Their bodies were never identified. They're in a mass grave somewhere outside London. Probably under a farm. the only reason Dad knew was because they had come to tell him where they were going before they left. that's what our dad said. It's a flimsy excuse, so I guess it is a cover-up for the Op-Center. The Center sent the Matt and Joy Coon out, so the Center knows what they never came back from. The official title is missing in action, but during Voldemort's reign, missing in action makes them dead beyond a shadow of a doubt." Kate and everyone else looked downwards. Amy looked downright betrayed.
"Sis.. why didn't...?" She left her question hanging. Lauren looked pretty upset herself.
"Amy.. you were so upset. After you left, Dad told me the rest about them. I didn't want to hurt you anymore." Lauren explained. Amy said nothing. It hurt now too. Chris remembered why this whole conversation had started (wow. I don't)
"So now we know Kate's parents probably didn't die painful deaths (Amy winced) or Death Eaters, or even Death Eaters spies (Dean winced). Amy, Lauren and Dean still got told about their parents. What could be worse?" Chris wondered aloud. Lauren glared at Chris. Chris must be a little preoccupied, because that had been awfully blunt. Chris honestly couldn't think of anything. Kate thought there were more important things to be worrying about right now. Like what they were going to do with all this information, truth, rumor or assumption.
"What if they just don't know?" Kate asked. "They *found* me. Chances are they really don't have anything to tell me, so they let me think I'm their child. It's easier for them and for me than saying they found me on the street-side or something." Chris nodded to that.
At least he knew what had happened to his parents, what they had done. He knew they were real, had had friends. Perhaps someday he could even find his parents. He knew something about them.
Kate looked at her siblings. Nobody wanted to leave. Essentially, they hadn't done anything. But the instant they left the play room, the full impact of what they had been talking about would be heavy on their shoulders. The play room was where all of them had come when they had problems. Things just seemed so much less real when the wall-paper danced across the walls. Problems where easier to deal with. But every time the door opened, the real world would sink back in and life would go on. The instant they left the play room, everything would be *real*. There was no getting around it, the truths they had shared with each other, the other sides they had discovered.
Amy and Lauren's kindness, dean's blind anger. To Kate it seemed the roles had been reversed. Slytherins were stereotyped to be cruel, and the twins had been loyal to family, and they had helped hold everyone together. But Gryffindors were supposed to be the loyal house, supposed to be courageous, and Dean had kicked Kate when she had been down. A patented Slytherin move. Dean looked embarrassed at the monster he had let lose, but the cold truth of it was the monster had been let lose. Amy and Lauren looked embarrassed too, but not ashamed. Just reserved. Kate guessed they weren't too sure what had happened to them. Kate wondered what she would be like when push came to shove. And if her house really had anything to do with it. 'Prolly not'
More important than her mussing was the state of her family. No matter how much it hurt, they needed to make some decicions about the information they had learned before they left and tried to forget. They may never be this 'close' for a long time. But nobody could do that right now. Everyone was still coming to terms with what they had learned. Dean, Chris, Amy, Lauren and herself needed some time to absorb and except. 'So buy time to/and keep everybody here. Buy time. Right.'
"Chris?" Chris looked at her. "Remember that Charm of Origin? You said it was unreliable. Why is that?" Kate asked. The question had actually been bugging her. Chris brightened and opened his textbook.
"It says right here in this teacher's edition you have to understand about the mechanics of a spell to see it. To understand about how a magical object, wood and length effect a wand's spell casting abilities. It doesn't go into depth here, but in the Appendix (Chris flipped to the back) that the same thing goes for wandless magic. You have to understand a how emotions effect person's magic to see emotions felt during the casting of wandless magic. Only extremely powerful or knowledgeable wizards of witches, for example Merlin, could see what spells were actually cast using wandless magic. That's part of the unreliability. It's unreliable because you have to surpass the magical abilities of the caster to see the spell. It's also unreliable because you can't always see the full magical picture. Mister Ollivander could see wad characteristics, but not nessisarilly the spells the wand cast. That's why it's hardly ever used by the Ministry. The Animagi spell is different. To see it, even though it's wandless, you don't need to understand wandless magic, just emotions and animals because-" Amy covered Chris's mouth with her hand. Kate silently offered her thanks. Chris had a tendency to explain something too well. So well you never wanted to hear about it again. Amy didn't notice Kate's look of gratitude, though. She was starring over Chris's chair (lightweight, serviceable, but easy on the backside for people prone to settling down with a 3,000 page book, a common activity of Ravenclaws) at the door.
"What is it?" Dean asked.
"Shh!" Was the only answer he got from Lauren.
"What?" Kate asked.
"Sh-h!" Amy told her, glaring at the door. Lauren's eyes dared anyone to speak. Kate was about to ask 'What?' again. Then she heard it. There was a scuffling sound on the other side of the door.
TBC
A/n- Phew! That was...long. And really hard to write ~glares at muses. Muses stick their tongues out at Katie and go back to eating~ Ah well, there it is, everybody! Hey, I've got an idea, I know it sounds crazy, but tell me what you think. Write a review. I'll love you forever! Really, tell me everything. I want to know what you thought about everybody. Notice- I'm looking for a beta-reader (can't you tell) and I really appreciate the help. I don't want to let anyone down. In case you didn't know, room spells are complete bogus from me to you. *I* want a room spell. I know nobody's gone back to Hogwarts after Cedric Diggory's death, so call it my incredible author skills at work (I can look into the future! ~one Muse mutters to self "Course she can. It's her story" Said muses hair turns red. Muse runs about screaming~) About the muggleborn parent's watch not working in the hypothetical situation in the beginning of the chapter, I'm pretty sure I read somewhere about muggle stuff not working when they're around too much magic, it's not just something to make the parents mad. *
You Can't Chose Family
Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter or any of his friends. No matter how much I want them, I don't really own anything from the books folks. They belongs to J.K.Rowlings. That's why it's her name on the cover, not mine. However, if you find any plot (it's in there *somewhere* I know it...) I can claim that as my own. MINE! Op-Center still belongs to Tom Clancy (what is it with authors and ownership? I'm haven't made any money off this crazy story of mine, so please don't sue me. I don't own enough to make it worth your while.
Thanks a million to my first reviewer animegirl-mika, I love you soooooooooooooooooooooo much. You made my whole day bright and happy, and when I write melodramatic stuff like this, that's saying something. Spectacular? ~blushes vividly~ About Sirius, I have no real idea when he plans to show his face. I only know sometime before the real plot starts to bust up lives and after all the kids start to absolutely hate his guts. Sirius hasn't really told me yet. ~glares at Sirius~ I can definably say before school starts.
....~Blinks~ Wait a minute, somebody else reviewed? Oh my gosh, somebody pinch me ~pinch~. It's still there! Wow, thank you, animalcrackers. This is just beyond me ~sniff~. Your review means a lot to me. Well, here it is, Chapter 2. Hope you like it!
Allemande: Yay! This has got to be my day! Somebody else reviewed. And they still like it. I might just pass out with joy! ~waits patiently to pass out. nothing happens~ Oh dear, I'm sorry. I meant to pass out, it must be all this studying screwing up my brain (worse than it already is). I understand, I did mess up the perspective. It's been a long time since I wrote the Prologue, I've had it sitting around my house for a while before I posted it. I though it'd be fun to write in 1st person, but there was so much else to tell, and different people to write about... I forgot all about it. Consider it a flight of fantasy that never got fixed, or something like that. I love you too!
Upon entering the wizarding world, one of the first things children just excepted to Hogwarts always look for is toy stores. It makes sense. After all, it seems their dreams are all coming true. The voice of reason, with opinions parallel to their parent's, has lost to that little voice in the corner of a child's mind that dared to dream about magic. 'Maybe, just maybe, Mom and Dad could be wrong about magic' has become a triumphant 'Magic! So I didn't just imagine, it's right here, in front of me.' Feeling more confidence about their ability to tell what's real and what's still imagination, the line becomes blurred. Imagination takes flight. Suddenly they remember wishes about having a teddy bear that talks, picture books that read themselves, flying carpets and all manner of impossible things. The child wonders 'Could they be real, too?'
So eleven year-olds clutch newly bought wands, anxiously peering in every corner 'Where are they?'
And parents weave and dodge to stay behind a bobbing head, carrying the brunt of their offspring's school supplies. patience running dangerously low. 'What could they be looking for?' the parents wonder. Sadly, this discovery of magic was just that. A discovery. No great expanding of horizons, or recalling or childhood dreams. So they had no idea why their son or daughter was thoroughly searching every street sign. For all they knew, the kid was looking for magical dust that they couldn't see either. Finally, after passing Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions a forth time, they snag their elusive prey and wrench them out of the way of passerby. Struggling to keep frustration out of their voice, they ask,
"Why are you still looking? We have your school supplies. It's getting late." The adults check their watches, sigh when they remember it stopped working and wait for an answer. Few people, children or otherwise, feel comfortable explaining the inner workings of their hearts. Few children even know how to explain their need to confirm imagination. In much the same way they could never explain how the tree in the backyard dropped vibrant red and yellow leaves in the heat of summer or how their holiday picture clothes walked away with no-one in them or how their dog disappeared, but barking sounds could still be heard and the dog food left inside overnight still got eaten or... well, you get the idea. They just needed. Some tried to articulate their desires, and they end up asking a random witch or wizard. Most just shrugged, and both parent and child went home, child determined to ask someone on the train. Other children would understand.
Whatever the circumstances, every muggleborn child was robbed of their magical toy supermarket. On the train to Hogwarts, young witches and wizards heard gossip and learned about Rooms.
When a child could talk, parents could buy Room Spells. Every room spell could be personalized depending on the child a room was for, or how many. Room spells commonly had tree different parts. The servant version, used on an empty room, would create the furnishings the parent asked for (wallpaper, carpet, a few durable toys), the user version, cast on the child (or children) the room was for, and the control version, for parents to monitor the use of each room. Once all three parts had been cast, the actual room spell was activated, and only when all parts had been cast would the spell become active.
And this is how the room spell worked; if a child with a user spell cast on them wanted a toy broomstick, they would ask the parent with the control spell. Said parent could 'command' the room spell ( and therefore the room) to give the child a toy broom, and 'poof'. There it was. Also, when children had been using room spells long enough, they became connected, so thoughts would trigger commands and rooms would respond to their user's feelings. Magic had a way of growing on you like that.
Muggleborn children were astounded. Room spells went beyond their wildest dreams. Well, perhaps not beyond their wildest dreams, but beyond the dreams they'd dared hope were real. Unfortunately, room spells required an extensive background check, bags of galleons, not to mention a grown witch of wizard to cast to spell. Interestingly enough, rumors hinted their was another option. New children looked for someone to tell them about it.
The other option with room spells turned out to be exclusively for children of Ministry workers. Even though they couldn't use this new spell, muggleborn curiosity was aroused. So after scarfing down Licorice Wands, Cauldron Cakes and Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans and leaving souvenirs on their shirts, children looked once more for wizarding born children.
It turned out the rumor they were following up on was a closely guarded Ministry secret. Or so upperclassmen whispered importantly to first years. Special room spells could be cast without a control version is the user spell was changed just so. Instead of verbal permission (commands from control version), knowledge could be taken directly from the 'users' subconscious, the 6th and 7th years said. Nobody could fool their subconscious, and if a child 'knew' something was wrong, the room would deny the command. This was very hush-hush, of course. Children of the Ministry were targets for kidnapping, and a spell that connected to the sub-conscience could be extremely dangerous. All two-part room spells where canceled in fear back when You-Know-Who had been raising in power. Who knew what he could have been capable of if he learned to use them against the wizarding world. Children's imagination (and magic) were quite powerful and unpredictable. Naturally, room spell had been re-cast upon You-Know-Who's defeat and were currently in use everywhere. This statement was said with a bitter note in it, and students who had known or remembered the fallen Hogwarts Champion had a special glint in their eyes.
Back in their seats, muggleborn children sat in awe of the magical world they had so recently entered. Many had a sense that quite a bit of the conversation had been left unspoken. They wondered, maybe their was more to magical than waving a wand and instantly getting what they wanted. Many remembered You-Know-Who and shuddered. He was something to avoid, nobody needed to tell them that. Some of them imagined how much everyone would look up to them if they defeated this You-Know-Who. They were wizards now, they could handle anything. The more reasonable children just wanted to stay away from You-Know-Who. Maybe, they thought, being part of all this magic was dangerous. Years later, when just who the Dark Lord was and what he had done, they become truly scared. Almost like a wave of homesickness, they would wake up after a nightmare and wish they could go back to not knowing about magic.
Madam Fey Bell used her arithmetic ability to create Room Spells (not an uncommon job), and Mister Liam Bell worked with the Aurors, so naturally they had a room spell for their children without diving too far into their purse.
By silent agreement, all the Bell children met in their Room. Down the hall, past the steps and across from their parent's room was the wizarding equivalent of a play room. The room was accustomed to giving the children decorations in their own house coloring, so the room currently looked like a splattered canvas. Everyone had pulled more or less comfortable chairs against opposite walls. A large blob of forest green shot through with pastel green spirals covered the wall the twins shared and was creeping onto the walls adjacent to it. The green wound it's way up to the ceiling, surrounded by two smaller splashed of red. One was vibrant blood-red (Dean was sitting in front of it), the other faint and hinting of pink, a fact that never ceased to remind Kate of her younger years. Pink had been an important color then. Lastly, facing the twins with his chair back propped against the door, was Chris. Surrounding him was a blue teal that filled the remaining space, holding it's own again the opposing colors. Chris, being the last one in, closed the door behind him and set down a thick book from somewhere. The book contained an owl-by-order pamphlet stuck somewhere in the middle of the book, most likely a bookmark.
From their positions against the walls, as far away from each other as possible, each child offered a prayer to whatever supernatural deity was listening for silence. They had been instructed never to use spells in the play-room (other spells might interfere with the Room spell). The room heard them and the birds stopped singing. Dean grinned and started to talk. Nothing came out of his mouth, and everyone started chuckling silently. Eventually Lauren got a brainwave (when she stopped laughing) and wished for only a silencing charm to be placed around the play room. The bird's song came back, and everyone was reminded it was still early in the afternoon. Kate, who had been not-laughing the hardest, became heard at the tail end of a snort. She quickly shut her mouth and shirted self-consciously in her seat. Dean spoke up, trying again to cover the lack of talking and halt any pig jokes before they began.
"So." He said. Dean realized his attempt at conversation had failed and looked embarrassed. Kate shot him a grateful look. Now she was no longer the center of ridicule. Chris looked down a t his book and raised an eyebrow at Dean from his side of the room. The meaning was obvious. Chris was telling his brother if Dean couldn't come up with anything more interesting than that he was going to read. Kate tried to return the favor.
"So." She said. Amy smirked.
"Is it just me, or does anyone else hear an echo in here?" Amy commented. For once her twin sister seemed unwilling to continue torture and was looking to Chris. Chris looked thoughtful. Amy looked venomous.
"Remember what Dad said about the Op-Center?" Chris asked the congregation. Amy rolled her eyes.
"Father's said a lot today. Be specific." Chris chose not to respond to Amy sarcasm, instead he took her remark at face value and became more specific.
"He mentioned something about the Op-Center having a Search and Rescue department. He also said something about people dying because of Black." Chris explained his train of thought. Amy glared even more, but Chris was starring off into space. Dean and Lauren looked sadly at Chris. Lauren spoke up.
"Father told us our parents died fighting Voldemort. And ah... some other stuff." Chris looked up and stared from Amy to Lauren to Dean. They all looked down, hiding knowledge about their parents.
"Why didn't you...?" Chris asked, hurt obvious in his voice. Dean sighed, as the details of his parent's deaths were too great a burden to carry any longer.
"They told me just last year. I don't think they're going to tell you till your forth year, too." Dean tried to explain. Amy and Lauren nodded. Amy excused how"They told us in second year, but Amy was really upset. Totally freaked out. I guess they decided to wait longer for you." Kate nodded. She knew Amy had always been the more emotional of the twins, and she tried to hide it by becoming even more sarcastic or making crueler comments. She hid it well too. Either that, or Kate didn't know emotional turmoil when she saw it. Wouldn't surprise her in the least if that was true.
Understanding had come in third year, when a biting remark on Kate's Quidditch skills had left her crying. Kate had sat in the play room, the walls bright pink despite her protest (Gryffindor colors please), Lauren had come to her. With the air of someone revealing a huge secret, Lauren had whispered,
"She doesn't mean it. Amy's just sad." Kate had looked up curiously at Lauren, her tears still drying on her cheeks.
"What do you (sniff) mean by that?" Lauren shrugged and walked away. If the little Gryffindor didn't understand now, she probably never would. She really hadn't understood, so she had turned to her friends for an explanation. Amy walked back into the room, outwardly calm, and Kate was glad she had asked Markus. Unlike Dean, who was confused at why Amy had left at all. Kate's school friend, Markus Flint had graduated last year, but if anyone understood people, it was Markus. Being a Slytherin, he generally used his perception to make people's lives a living hell. Luck for Amy, she was a Slytherin and so Markus would never have tormented her. Markus never tormented Slytherins, except first years, but everybody tortured first years. It was an unspoken law of Hogwarts. Kate's one-time friend claimed he avoided insulting Slytherins because it was important to keep up the facade that Slytherins would unite against a common enemy. Kate had refrained for mentioning everyone thought Slytherins were backstabbing murderers and wouldn't ally themselves with Merlin himself. Kate shrugged off her memories and spoke up.
"Amy, Lauren, Dean?" She asked. Said individuals looked at Kate.
"If you know what happened to your parents, why didn't you tell anyone else? Dean, why didn't you tell Chris?" Kate asked them. Dean looked embarrassed.
"Mom and Dad said we couldn't tell anyone." Dean said slowly. It was obvious to Kate (who really couldn't read someone to save her life) that Dean's answer wasn't the whole truth. Amy must have felt the same way, because she didn't scoff at his answer, lacking as it was.
Dean and the twins shared an understanding look. Kate just didn't understand how important the identity of their parents was, how much a part of them it was. Telling other people, even just her, was like giving away a piece of themselves. But then,
"You know who your parents are. They live here. They didn't die at the hands of Death Eaters and traitors." Amy voiced Dean's, Lauren's and her own opinion in the matter. Kate looked shocked.
"No they're not." She said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Lauren looked confused.
"Sure they are. I mean... look at you!" Lauren countered. Kate snorted. Amy sat quietly.
"Yeah. Look at me. Really look at me? Do Mom or Dad look anything like me?" Kate explained , annoyance plain in her voice. The truth finally dawned on Chris. Kate Bell compared to Liam and Fey Bell. There was little that could be compared. They didn't look anything alike. Kate's dirty blonde hair and blue eyes couldn't have come from Fey's brown hair and hazel eyes or Liam's auburn hair and brown eyes. Liam boasted a tall, stocky frame and Fey was more of a willowy tall, Kate was of middling height and a heavy build. This might of had more to do with their respective lifestyles than anything else, but they really didn't look at all alike. Fey and Liam tan quite easily, but Kate couldn't go outside on a sunny day for long without a sunburn somewhere (usually the bridge of her nose). The differences were shocking. 'Why didn't we notice before?' Chris wondered. He guessed it was because they had never looked for it. Chris, Dean, Amy and Lauren all had their own lives to worry about, their own missing real parents to look for. It seemed crazy to taint Kate's normal life (for a witch, anyway) with suspicions.
"Did they tell you?" Chris asked, breaking through the stunned silence. Kate looked thoughtful.
"I don't think they've come right out and said anything..." She confessed. Dean looked outraged. To be more specific, he looked like a thunderstorm about to burst.
"Well then you don't really *know*, do you? Think it's fun to be adopted? Think it's in style to call people you've never met parents? Some kind of game, huh?" Dean shouted. By the time he had reached the end of his speech his arms were in the air, flailing about in righteous indignation. Lauren look vaguely annoyed, Amy was starring elsewhere. Chris, shocked at his brother's outburst and Kate's hurt look, muttered something to himself that sounded vaguely like 'stupid Gryffindor'. Lauren mouthed 'I give it two minutes' across the room to Chris. Chris nodded. He wasn't quite sure what Lauren was talking about, but something had to happen soon.
Dean waited for Kate's response, panting softly like he had just run a mile or two. Kate calmly squinted at something over Dean's right shoulder, only her watery eyes and the faint red stain on her cheeks any indication she had heard Dean. Dean, seeing her lack of response and thinking it meant he wasn't good enough to even be listened to (what, was her past just too mysterious for him?) turned purple. Amy looked far away, and Kate spoke.
"Actually Dean, not thack... wait! No, scratch that! Ahem." Kate cleared her throat. "Lets try that again. I do remember a conversation that hinted I was adopted. On my birthday. Dad said when I was born... ah... angels sung. I asked if the angels would sing today, or something like that, and Dad said they might, this was the day they found me. The Mom nudged him and said it was time to eat cake. Which was odd, because we hadn't eaten dinner yet. And you know how Mom is about mealtime." Kate's voice had a distant quality to it. Then she turn and looked Dean straight in his brown eyes, darkened almost to black by emotion.
"Besides Dean, your parents didn't die in the Dark Lord's reign of Terror. Who says they even died at Death Eater hands. The Thomas character's probably your uncle." Dean growled. Everyone looked rather startled including Dean himself. Lauren was so startled she didn't mention to Kate that Amy was the one to mention parents being killed by Death Eaters. Dean wasn't ready to give up his argument yet, he was too deep to just back out now. Besides, Kate and her talk of Death Eaters brought up thinks he didn't want to think about.
"And how do you know that, missus high and mighty?" Dean asked, a malicious tone in his voice. Chris cut everyone off.
"I'm only twelve. Voldemort was defeated by Harry potter (Dean's chest swelled with pride. He was in the same house as *the* Harry Potter) fourteen years ago. Death Eaters don't just go and murder people, especially when their master is gone." Chris matter-of-factly answered. Dean looked crestfallen. Chris was right. But Gryffindors are know for their stubbornness (among other things), and Dean Thomas wasn't about to give up yet. Just because it looked hopeless didn't mean it really was.
"So Kate, when was this birthday of yours?" Dean asked politely.
"Ah....." Kate had no idea, obviously.
"Don't know? What a shame. Could it be just made it up?" Dean asked, his voice heavy with false pity. Kate looked down, defeated. But Dean wasn't over yet.
"And so, you're willing to forget the parents you have right now, great people, for what? Emptiness? What would you pretend you are? Voldemort's love child?" He spat, the contempt heavy in his voice. Kate's shoulders closed in, her knees came up to her chin and she hugged them like a lifeline. 'You-know-Voldemort's love child?' Kate shuddered. 'That's just...ew.'
"I....I don't know." Kate's words tumbled out, muffled only be her knees. Lauren looked at Dean.
"Do you see us making fun of your lack of parents?" Lauren asked. Dean flinched and shock his head.
"Then leave her alone." Lauren finished. The 'or else' part was implied, not said. Lauren looked over at Kate, but she was busy starring into the abyss. Lauren sighed. What did Gyffindors get out of saving each other's butts?
"He's right Lauren... I don't really know. Who am I trying to fool?" She said sadly, half to herself.
"That doesn't mean he has to be such a bastard about it." Lauren replied, glaring at Dean some more. Dean was desperately trying to become one with the floor. 'One with the stone, one with the wood...' He was silently chanting.
Amy blinked rapidly, like she was coming out of a sound sleep. Silently she surveyed the mess around her. Kate was starring miserably at the wall, Chris was mumbling to himself and absently patting the ground around him, looking for his book, currently in his left hand. Lauren was trying to murder Dean with her glare, and by the petrified look on Dean's face, he was anxious to comply. She wondered what she had missed.
"Look everybody, I don't think now is the best time to create divisions." Amy said. Chris looked up. He was an emotional wreck and willing to do anything to keep from thinking.
"What do you mean by that?" He asked.
"I mean, this can be classified as difficult times, right? We're all emotionally screwed right now, right?" Chris snorted. *That* was the understatement of the week. Amy continued without glancing in Chris's direction.
"We're a family, so me need to stick together. So maybe we aren't real flesh and blood. Who really cares? Are you all that shallow? So lets quit all this fighting." Amy said from her side of the room. It was one of the longest speeches she had ever made without some sarcastic comment, and was extremely proud of it. She meant everything she had said.
Chris smiled and nodded. Kate pulled herself outwards, smiled a watery smile at Amy and Lauren, unhooked herself and scooted her chair towards the center of the room. Lauren stopped glaring at Dean, (she had seen Kate's smile and got a small glimpse of the *why* of Gryffindors) and he stopped cowering. Eventually everyone dragged their chairs inwards so everybody was shoulder to shoulder, chairs scrapping. Cautiously, Kate leaned over and snagged Laurens hand. Lauren started, then shrugged and grabbed Amy's hand. Amy slowly reached out and clasped Dean's hand, looking determined to overcome her house's moral codes for the sake of family. With painstaking slowness, Amy's hand closed around Dean's hand, the other of which was already clutching Chris's, who was holding Kate's.
I'd like to take some time out to remind you about the colors of this great play room. Remember how all the children had their house colors on the walls? I forgot to mention how obvious the color barriers where. All the Bell children stayed by their walls. Red stayed away from green and didn't mingle unless forced. Now all the children were close together, holding hands no less. There was a defendant 'togetherness' to the whole thing. The blue, green and red that had been contained inside distinct barriers bended together until the entire wall was a massive rainbow with watercolor intensity. It was a stunning metaphor. Not that anybody noticed.
Lauren started talking, because she had a feeling her twin had missed quite a bit of the conversation.
"Okay. Let's say Kate is right. She was adopted too." True to form, Amy shot Lauren a grateful look. Dean looked mildly outraged, but deiced for the sake of the *family* to listen. Lauren decided this Gryffindor saving arse thing wasn't so bad. "Why would Mr. and Mrs. Bell wait so long to tell us? It muse be something really bad." Kate looked nervous. She had thought of that, but the possibility her parent's past was too awful to tell until she was 17 never seemed real until someone else said it. Amy reminded her twin.
"Family, 'member? They've been Mom and Dad up till now..." Lauren nodded at Amy. Chris looked around, and squeezed Kate's hand.
"Maybe her parents were Death Eaters." He said in a hushed voice. Kate gulped. That was enough reason in her mind to not be told. It was also darn scary.
"Death Eaters?" She whispered back. 'Please let someone say it's not true, please oh please oh please...' Dean cleared his throat. Lauren raised an eyebrow at him.
"I don't think that's enough reason for our father." Dean said quietly.
"What do you mean?" Kate asked, quickly, ignoring the hurt in Dean's voice. Any shred of prove again the Death Eater parent idea was to be followed up on at all costs.
"Well, you see... my father was a Death Eater." Silence reigned.
"You mean your-our parents told you more about... ah... your other parents and you didn't tell us?" Amy growled. Dean glared at her, an action which surprised several people, including Amy herself. Apparently Dean's father (and Chris's) was a painful subject for the older Thomas. Dean proceeded to tell everyone what he had left out earlier. Lauren looked increasingly uneasy.
"You see, Dad told me about my other father was uncovered as a Death Eater. His name was Gene, I think. Anyway, Gene goes along living his happy Death Eater life" dean scowled at his own sarcasm. His dark expression made it clear any Death eater's life would be made less than pleasant when *he* got a hold of them. "Voldemort is defeated and the..." Not wanting to say the words, Dean taped his left forearm. There was o need to explain. Dean meant the Dark Mark. "mark turned white. Gene was dark-skinned, more so even than me, so it stuck out. I couple of years later, when the Ministry had sufficiently regrouped enough to round up the Death Eaters, Gene was caught. He was sentenced to life in Azkaban, not uncommon. He died a few years later. Our mother" Dean looked towards Chris and squeezed his hand. "Was heartbroken. She didn't want anything to do with Gene. But she was pregnant with Chris. She took care of you as long as she had to, then pushed us off to whoever would take us. Then she left for the Americas." Dean paused and gulped down the lump in his throat. "Gene's and our Mother's only family were already dead, so Dad took us. He was married to Mum by then. I think he wonders if he made a mistake in taking us. I think he think we'll be...like Gene." Dean finished in a rush. Chris noticed Dean had refrained from calling their birth father by anything but Gene. Dean bit his lip. Kate looked sadly at Dean. No wonder he had been so happy to get into Gryffindor, so enthusiastic about hating Slytherins. And why he had been so angry about her Death Eater comment. Kate blinked, thinking back to father's confessions.
"Wait! Maybe your father worked for the Op-Center... you know, as a spy against Voldemort? Dad said the Op-Center had spies everywhere. Why not your father. That might explain why he adopted you." Dean looked unconvinced.
"If he was a spy for the Op-Center, why did he still get a lifetime sentence in Azkaban? Wouldn't his spy status stop all that? And why didn't Chris and my Mother want to get way from him so fast? If he was spy, that makes him innocent, right?" Dean questioned. Amy looked annoyed.
"Of course not! The Ministry of Magic doesn't know about the Op-Center. Showing the Ministry proof that Gene was a spy would blow the Op-Center's cover. And the Op-Center didn't want to do that. After all, they would have to work for the Ministry and that would lose any advantage they had gained by keeping secrets. After all, I'm sure the Dark Lord has spies in he Ministry, too. The same goes for telling your mother, Dean. I'm sure he would have wanted to. That is if he's anything like you..." Amy explained. And she hadn't been very sarcastic, either. Dean looked even more upset.
"Cold-hearted fellows, aren't they?" He said sadly. Kate blinked. She had expected Dean to get mad at the Op-Center. After all, they condemned Mr. Thomas to certain death. Chris just looked blank. Amy nodded. She was rather proud of the Gryffindor. He wasn't mad at the wrong people, a very un-Gryffindor thing. Lauren got a brainwave.
"Maybe your Dad isn't dead. Maybe he escaped. I mean, could our Dad be that cruel?" Lauren voiced. Dean smiled mirthlessly.
"You forgot one thing. Nobody's ever escaped from Azkaban. 'Cept Sirius Black." Dean said without emotion. Kate realized what Lauren was implying.
"Your Dad died pretty fast, right?" Kate asked Dean. Dean flinched, but nodded.
"Maybe he faked his death. The Op-Center would have helped him out, right?" Kate said. Dean nodded. 'Maybe Kate is right...' Chris starred at the ground.
"You know what scares me?" Nobody said anything.
"I don't miss my parents. I never knew them. I wasn't born most of the time they were around, I don't have any memories about them. I mean, I know Gene is probably dead or in hiding right now, and our mother, whose name I don't even know, could be living in America somewhere, and *I don't care*. It doesn't effect me too much. I feel numb, maybe a little sorry. Like it's happening to someone else. Does that make me an unfeeling bugger?" The hopelessness in Chris's voice touched Lauren. She silently debated with herself. Should she say anything about her own parents and hurt Amy? Too late now.
"I know who you feel. I...I can't feel like Amy." Amy looked confused. "I know my parents were brave and all, but I don't feel very proud." Lauren explained. Chris felt slightly better. At least he wasn't the only one. Amy looked startled.
"Wha-wait a minutes. Lauren, what did you mean when you said you knew our parents were brave? Do you know something about our parents you never told us? Lauren!" Amy would have whined, if Slytherins did that sort of thing. As it was, she didn't care anyway. Habit, or something like it kept her a 'Slytherin'.
Lauren breathed a sigh of relief. Amy didn't hate her. Dean watched Lauren out of the corner of his eye. Lauren and Chris had something in common. Maybe... he had let his house's predetermined prejudices influence him. Lauren explained.
"The Coons, my parents, worked against Voldemort. I think our birth father and Dad knew each other pretty well, so I'm going to assume they worked for the Op-Center, Search and Rescue. Together they were sent out to search for survivors after a Death Eater strike. Both were quite used to the grisly after-effects of Death Eaters and well-trained in medical magic, so I'm told. One day, they when out for a search and rescue and never came back. Their bodies were never identified. They're in a mass grave somewhere outside London. Probably under a farm. the only reason Dad knew was because they had come to tell him where they were going before they left. that's what our dad said. It's a flimsy excuse, so I guess it is a cover-up for the Op-Center. The Center sent the Matt and Joy Coon out, so the Center knows what they never came back from. The official title is missing in action, but during Voldemort's reign, missing in action makes them dead beyond a shadow of a doubt." Kate and everyone else looked downwards. Amy looked downright betrayed.
"Sis.. why didn't...?" She left her question hanging. Lauren looked pretty upset herself.
"Amy.. you were so upset. After you left, Dad told me the rest about them. I didn't want to hurt you anymore." Lauren explained. Amy said nothing. It hurt now too. Chris remembered why this whole conversation had started (wow. I don't)
"So now we know Kate's parents probably didn't die painful deaths (Amy winced) or Death Eaters, or even Death Eaters spies (Dean winced). Amy, Lauren and Dean still got told about their parents. What could be worse?" Chris wondered aloud. Lauren glared at Chris. Chris must be a little preoccupied, because that had been awfully blunt. Chris honestly couldn't think of anything. Kate thought there were more important things to be worrying about right now. Like what they were going to do with all this information, truth, rumor or assumption.
"What if they just don't know?" Kate asked. "They *found* me. Chances are they really don't have anything to tell me, so they let me think I'm their child. It's easier for them and for me than saying they found me on the street-side or something." Chris nodded to that.
At least he knew what had happened to his parents, what they had done. He knew they were real, had had friends. Perhaps someday he could even find his parents. He knew something about them.
Kate looked at her siblings. Nobody wanted to leave. Essentially, they hadn't done anything. But the instant they left the play room, the full impact of what they had been talking about would be heavy on their shoulders. The play room was where all of them had come when they had problems. Things just seemed so much less real when the wall-paper danced across the walls. Problems where easier to deal with. But every time the door opened, the real world would sink back in and life would go on. The instant they left the play room, everything would be *real*. There was no getting around it, the truths they had shared with each other, the other sides they had discovered.
Amy and Lauren's kindness, dean's blind anger. To Kate it seemed the roles had been reversed. Slytherins were stereotyped to be cruel, and the twins had been loyal to family, and they had helped hold everyone together. But Gryffindors were supposed to be the loyal house, supposed to be courageous, and Dean had kicked Kate when she had been down. A patented Slytherin move. Dean looked embarrassed at the monster he had let lose, but the cold truth of it was the monster had been let lose. Amy and Lauren looked embarrassed too, but not ashamed. Just reserved. Kate guessed they weren't too sure what had happened to them. Kate wondered what she would be like when push came to shove. And if her house really had anything to do with it. 'Prolly not'
More important than her mussing was the state of her family. No matter how much it hurt, they needed to make some decicions about the information they had learned before they left and tried to forget. They may never be this 'close' for a long time. But nobody could do that right now. Everyone was still coming to terms with what they had learned. Dean, Chris, Amy, Lauren and herself needed some time to absorb and except. 'So buy time to/and keep everybody here. Buy time. Right.'
"Chris?" Chris looked at her. "Remember that Charm of Origin? You said it was unreliable. Why is that?" Kate asked. The question had actually been bugging her. Chris brightened and opened his textbook.
"It says right here in this teacher's edition you have to understand about the mechanics of a spell to see it. To understand about how a magical object, wood and length effect a wand's spell casting abilities. It doesn't go into depth here, but in the Appendix (Chris flipped to the back) that the same thing goes for wandless magic. You have to understand a how emotions effect person's magic to see emotions felt during the casting of wandless magic. Only extremely powerful or knowledgeable wizards of witches, for example Merlin, could see what spells were actually cast using wandless magic. That's part of the unreliability. It's unreliable because you have to surpass the magical abilities of the caster to see the spell. It's also unreliable because you can't always see the full magical picture. Mister Ollivander could see wad characteristics, but not nessisarilly the spells the wand cast. That's why it's hardly ever used by the Ministry. The Animagi spell is different. To see it, even though it's wandless, you don't need to understand wandless magic, just emotions and animals because-" Amy covered Chris's mouth with her hand. Kate silently offered her thanks. Chris had a tendency to explain something too well. So well you never wanted to hear about it again. Amy didn't notice Kate's look of gratitude, though. She was starring over Chris's chair (lightweight, serviceable, but easy on the backside for people prone to settling down with a 3,000 page book, a common activity of Ravenclaws) at the door.
"What is it?" Dean asked.
"Shh!" Was the only answer he got from Lauren.
"What?" Kate asked.
"Sh-h!" Amy told her, glaring at the door. Lauren's eyes dared anyone to speak. Kate was about to ask 'What?' again. Then she heard it. There was a scuffling sound on the other side of the door.
TBC
A/n- Phew! That was...long. And really hard to write ~glares at muses. Muses stick their tongues out at Katie and go back to eating~ Ah well, there it is, everybody! Hey, I've got an idea, I know it sounds crazy, but tell me what you think. Write a review. I'll love you forever! Really, tell me everything. I want to know what you thought about everybody. Notice- I'm looking for a beta-reader (can't you tell) and I really appreciate the help. I don't want to let anyone down. In case you didn't know, room spells are complete bogus from me to you. *I* want a room spell. I know nobody's gone back to Hogwarts after Cedric Diggory's death, so call it my incredible author skills at work (I can look into the future! ~one Muse mutters to self "Course she can. It's her story" Said muses hair turns red. Muse runs about screaming~) About the muggleborn parent's watch not working in the hypothetical situation in the beginning of the chapter, I'm pretty sure I read somewhere about muggle stuff not working when they're around too much magic, it's not just something to make the parents mad. *