Chapter 13: Dad

When Christmas Eve arrived, I was sitting in our common room with James and Remus. James's parents were abroad so he was here to. His dad was the minister and was often away on business trips, or attending parties or official functions. James went sometimes, but mostly he liked to stay with us.

Remus was staying to. He loved his parents of course and they loved him. They just didn't know what to do for him or how to treat him. They pitied him. One thing we promised never to do was pity him or think he couldn't do something because of what he was. We were careful never to do anything big on the days before and after the full moon, but he knew his limits. His parents still treated him like the five-year-old he was when his life was drastically changed. We treated him like Remus, our friend.

We were practically the only ones who'd stayed this year. Erin, Lily, and Peter hadn't. I had just beaten James in Exploding Snap, when suddenly, I felt something, like a sudden feeling of loss. It just shook me and I decided that was a good time to go to bed.

Christmas day  dawned gray and cloudy, a misty rain coming down. It didn't bother me.  Many days are like that up here.

It was after the feast. James and I had just set off a bunch of firecrackers that lit the common room up in a brilliant display of colors when Dumbledore entered. I thought it was because we had been so loud. But he motioned for me. I wasn't really paying attention because one of the first years had discovered the rubber mouse we had put in his chocolate frog. Then I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"Sirius, come with me." It was Dumbledore. I shrugged and stood up.

"Where you going?" James asked.
"I just need to talk to Sirius for a moment, James."

"Can we come?" James asked.

"No, just wait here."

"Oh come on, Professor." Remus begged. He jumped up and down yelling "PLEASE????!!!!!!!!" at the top of his lungs. All the sugar in his system had made him very brave and VERY hyper. It made the rest of us very scared. Dumbledore gave him a very odd look and led him to a chair.

"Moony, you need help." I told him.

"Come along, Sirius."

I shrugged and got up to follow him.

" See you later then."

" Oi, Padfoot, you up for a snowball fight later?"

"Sure thing Prongs. Be prepared to go down."

" Just try it." He laughed. Remus was laughing so hard he couldn't move. That was the thing about Remus. Normally he was shy and reserved but give him sugar and you have a maniac.

Dumbledore led us to his office. I had been here before. When you get in as much trouble as we did you get sent to the headmasters office. There were two men in long black cloaks. We always wore black robes, but most of the older wizards didn't . Dumbledore almost never did. These men looked like they were wearing black for a reason. Their presence gave me a very bad feeling.

He led me to a chair and I sat down. He sat down behind the desk and stared at me for a few minutes. I fidgeted unsure of what was going on.

"Sirius, I'm afraid I have some bad news. Now as much as I am against telling you this on this day of all days, these men insist upon it. And I'd rather you hear it from some one you know rather than strangers." He glanced at the men, pausing to think. I bit my lip. Then he dropped the bomb and my world exploded.

"Sirius, there had been an accident. Your father was attacked last night."

I sat up in shock. No. No, that wasn't right! It couldn't be! There had to be some mistake! Not my Dad!  Anything but him! Please let it not be Dad!

"N,n,no!" I shouted. I scrambled to my feet, only to find my eyes were already filled with tears.  I stumbled blindly for the door.

"Sirius, it's alright. " Dumbledore said. I shook my head, more tears spilling out. Finally my legs  gave out and I collapsed. Dumbledore caught me and held me. I  grabbed his robes as I sobbed. I was still shaking  long after the tears stopped.   Finally, I felt strong enough to ask.

"Is he alright?"

"For now. They have him stabilized, but," he paused and sighed.  And I saw it in his eyes.

"He's dying, isn't he?"  Dumbledore nodded and tears threatened to spill again.  I wiped them away and forced myself to make my throat work.

"H, how?" my voice was shaking violently.

"Voldemort." In that instant, a fire was lit inside me fueled by the hatred of the bearer of that name.

"Addi?" She had written me that she was going home for the break.

"She is safe and sound. Voldemort never touched her." Suddenly out of all the questions that surfaced in my mind, one stood out. I raised my head looked at Dumbledore, straight in the eye.

"Why?" I asked, my voice steady now.  Dumbledore sighed. I could tell this was the last question he wanted to answer. I looked into his eyes. They weren't twinkling, as they usually were when he looked at me. But I saw the answer in his eyes.

"Me. He's dying because of me."

"Sirius. You can't blame yourself."

"But it's true, isn't it? He was after me, wasn't he?"

"Yes, but if you had been there he would have killed you too. And then all would have been lost."

"Why?"

"That I can't tell you yet. But there is a small problem."

"What?"

"What we are going to do with you. Your grandparents are claiming you as their own and will surly take you out of Hogwarts if you were to go with them. I know you don't want that. But your father is asking for you now. Do you want to go?"

I nodded.

"Good. After that we will find out that will take care of you." I nodded again. He led me to the fireplace where he threw a pinch of powder in and we stepped in.

We reappeared in a long corridor.  It was white, a sterile white.  There were people rushing up and down the hall. I'd never been in a hospital before, though I've been to many since.  I noticed a small group of people standing outside one of the doors.  Addi was among them.

She noticed me and ran forward, ducking under the arm of Mrs. Potter, and reached me.  We hugged, holding each other tight as if it would change everything if we closed our eyes and wished hard enough.  A hand on my shoulder shattered that dream.

"Come on, Sirius.  He's been asking for you."  I did not want to go in that room. I wanted to be anywhere but here.  I would have rather taken the worst test Beaker could throw at me, then taken on the entire Slytherin team by myself, rather than go into that room. But Dumbledore pushed me and I found my feet obeying him before I could even think about it.

Dad lay on the bed, eyes closed, tubes and wires everywhere. He looked so, so frail.  So weak. Someone had taken off his glasses. Somehow he looked incomplete without them sliding down the bridge of his nose.   Tears welled up and I began to cry again.  Addi held me tight as I whimpered.

Suddenly Dad opened his eyes. We rushed over to his bedside.  He smiled up at us, and reached up to brush my cheek before glancing around at Dumbledore.

"Hello Orion."  He said.

"Hello."  Dad's voice was weak and it sounded as if it were too painful to speak.

"Dad?" I asked, my voice shaking more than I wanted. He glanced at me and smiled.  Reaching his hand up, he stroked my cheek.

"Ah, Sirius. My bright star. Siri."  He whispered.  I swallowed hard.  Then I grinned, unsteadily.

"Hi Dad. How are you?"

"I'm alright." Dad whispered, but he had never looked farther from the truth.     A sob forced itself up in my throat, but I fought to keep it down.  Addi was crying softly beside me,  but all other people in the room had ceased to exist.   Dad stroked my cheek and smiled up at me.

"You be good, Siri. You promise me you'll be good?"  he asked softly.

"Da?"  Dad flinched and it looked as if his heart was breaking. I know mine was.

" Addi? You too."  Addi nodded behind me and I felt her hand slip into mine.

"You promise me, that you'll be good, and stay strong. Remember I love you." Dad whispered.

"N,no!"  the word forced itself out of my throat in a sob.  Dad looked like he was about to cry as well. I leaned over my father.  "No! You can't die! You can't!"  I threw my arms around him and felt him wince, but I didn't care. Neither did Dad as he pulled me tighter and  reached out his arm for Addi to join us.  She crawled up next to me and we clung to each other for a long long time.

Finally Dumbledore spoke. "Come along children,  your father needs his rest."  He pulled us off Dad and led us down the hall to the kitchen.  There, we were given a large amount of attention and were coddled over by every single one of the nurses.  I couldn't help thinking muggle hospitals were odd.

It was perhaps an hour before we made our way back upstairs.  When we arrived,  we were greeted by the sight of a doctor leaving, his face grim.  He noticed Dumbledore and pulled him aside.  They spoke for a moment, all the while my fear escalating.

Then Dumbledore glanced at us.  I knew something was very very wrong.  I  pushed past Addi, and burst into my Dad's room.  He lay much as he had been, only it looked as if he were sleeping.  I hurried to his side and checked.

Then I let out a sigh of relief. He was still alive.  I felt a hand on my shoulder. I glanced up and saw Dumbledore.

"Sirius," he began," your father has slipped into a coma.  It is," he glanced at Addi, then back at me, " it is very unlikely he will ever emerge."

He might as well as killed me right then.  My heart broke in two at his words.  And so did my resolve.  The sob burst out of my throat and  almost  made my knees give out. Addi caught me and rocked me slowly as I fell to the ground,  harsh  sobs racking my body.

Dad held out  for three more days.  He died on December 29th, 1973. He never woke up. 

I don't want to talk about the funeral. It hurts too much. I'm almost glad I wasn't allowed to go to Lily and James's. All I could think about is that they are dead. We will never play another joke, never laugh together, and never watch each other's children grow up together. Never grow old together like we planned to do. Never see his own kids grow up. I will never hear Lily laugh. She had a beautiful laugh. I'll never see James risk his life for me again. We'll never sneak out under his invisibility cloak again. We'll never blow anything up again. We'll never see so many things.

This wasn't supposed to happen! We were supposed to be friends forever. We were supposed to be immortal. Nothing could bring us down. No one could tear the four of us apart. But Peter succeeded where so many others and the tests of time had failed.

I still can't believe he betrayed us. He was my friend. I trusted him. James trusted him. He betrayed us. I almost wish Voldemort had gone after me. Then we all would have been spared this pain.

            My dad would have been disappointed in me for that thought. Once he told me failure wasn't in the dictionary. And to prove his point he cut it out. So the word failure didn't exist in our dictionary. And he wouldn't want me to give up on life, neither would James. He'd tell me " Sirius, you have to keep going. You have to keep on living. You're always thinking of your friends before you so do this for me. For Lily and Remus. Do it for Mari and Cassi. Do it for Addi and Harry. They need you and someday you'll find out just how much you need them." He told me that when I told him I couldn't be his secret keeper. He asked me to be there for Harry. And I can't. He probably doesn't even know who I am.

            There is a saying, oh what is it? I've been in here so long sometimes it seems like forever, oh yes, the good die young.  Well, it's true. I mean look at us.  James and Lily, how much better could you get?  Lily was smart, brave, beautiful, a perfect wife, mother, and friend.  James was brave, handsome, smart, loyal, trusting. He was the best. He never gave up on anyone.  And they died.  But then look at me.  If the good die young, then  that would explain why I am still here.

I miss them all so much. I miss my dad. He was so young so much life left to have lived. And he was killed because Voldemort was after me. There was so much he never got to see. He never got to see his granddaughter. All I could think about is what my dad would never see. Never do.

After the funeral, wizards surrounded me, offering their condolences and sympathy. Mr. and Mrs. Potter had come. Mrs. Potter swept me up in a big hug. I hugged her back as hard as I could. She was crying. Mr. Potter looked like he was about to. Dumbledore had never left my side. Addi clung to my arm. I caught a glimpse of my grandparents across the room. They glared at me, so I  stuck my tongue out at them.  They looked shocked, and I laughed. Then my grandfather led my grandmother out the door, without a word to us.  I wondered once again, how two people like that could have had a son like my father.

Mr. and Mrs. Potter took us home for the night. It felt good to crawl into a real bed instead of a hospital chair.  But that comforting feeling would only last a single night. The next morning, my grandfather was there to get us.

He announced that we would be going home with him as he was now our legal guardian whether we liked it or not.

"Come along, kids." My grandfather said, standing up.

Mr. Potter glared. " From what I heard from Orion, you hate these kids with a passion. Why would they ever want to go with you?"

" I don't hate them. That, that boy. It's all his fault. He's a freak, just like his mother." He pointed at me.

Mr. Potter's eyes flashed. " That boy has a name. Sirius is no more a freak than you are. And I happened to have gone to school with Fiona. She was no more a freak" he spat out the word " than her son or daughter."

" You're just sticking up for him cause you're a freak too. That boy needs a firm hand, I never did approve of his father being so soft on him. There is nothing a good beating and a little discipline would hurt. And I promise you that boy is trouble." He still refused to call me by my name.

Mrs. Potter tightened her hold around my shoulders. She squeezed my hand. " Don't worry Sirius, You'll be okay." She led us to the kitchen where she made us a huge breakfast.  I ate more to please her than because I was hungry. 

Chapter 14: Grandfather

But later that night he was back. I was supposed to be asleep. But I heard him come in and decided to stay and listen. I shook Addi awake gently. She stretched

"What?"

"Shh. Listen."

"Both children should be in my home. They are my grandchildren. And I'm taking that boy out of that school. He belongs where I can keep an eye on him"

"Orion wanted them to be with their own kind." Dumbledore was speaking quietly but his voice carried up the stairs as if he were shouting.

"Their own kind? Sirius is the freak. Addi is perfectly normal. She isn't one of you.

"Whether or not she has the ability to perform spells has nothing to do with the fact that she has magic in her blood."

"I never liked that little witch. She poisoned his mind and their children's blood."

"He loved her. And she him. Sirius and Adhara were blessed with wonderful parents."

" And then the boy got both of them killed." Addi glanced at me. I wouldn't look at her. No one said anything, so he spoke again.

" They are my grand children. I should take care of them."

"You may have them over the breaks, but during the school year, both children will continue to attend their present schools."

"This is all the boy's fault. You shouldn't be sticking up for him. He got your daughter killed!" There was silence. Dumbledore didn't say anything. I didn't know Dumbledore had a daughter. And I most certainly hadn't got her killed. I didn't even know her.

"That's right! If he had never been born both of them would be alive."

"Sirius was born to great parents. They died to protect him and in making sure he stays alive, they may have saved us all." NowI was confused. So was my grandfather.

"What do you mean?"

"Sirius has great power. He and James are some of the most powerful wizards to come to Hogwarts in a hundred years. It was seen at his birth. Why else would Voldemort go after such a young child unless he thought the child would pose a threat. Besides the hat saw it in him." he paused and I thought, so that's what the hat meant.  Then he continued. "They may spend the rest of the holiday with you, but when the term starts again, I expect to see them both back at school. If they are not, I will most certainly find out. "

There was more silence." Fine then. Bring them around in the morning." I heard the door slam.

The next morning, we were packed and waiting when the car came for us.

Mrs. Potter was crying. "I am so sorry, Sirius. I wish I could change it."  Addi was crying too.  Mrs. Potter hugged us both, and Mr. Potter wished us good luck, trying to keep the tears out of his eyes.  Then we were shoved into the car and we left them behind. As I turned around, I could just see the faces of the Potters vanishing in the distance.

            The ride was long. Through out it all, Addi and I sat in the back, unable to speak.  Addi lay in my arms, silent tears streaming down her cheeks.  The driver kept glancing back at us, with a sorry face.

"You know, you kids will be fine."  We said nothing. He tried again.

"My wife and I, we'll be here to help you two if you need it."

"Thanks." I said softly.

"Don't mention it. I'm Charlie Wright. My wife is the housekeeper."  He proceed to tell us about the house and our grandparents. God knows, he knew more than I did.  If I had known all I do now about the man who called himself my father's father, I would have jumped out of that limo, full speed and everything, run all the way back to the Potters and never looked back.

After a few hours, we pulled into a long driveway, and finally in front of a huge gray stone house. Like something out of a horror movie, it was. Little did I know just how what horrors we would endure in that  god-forsaken old mansion.  It was  huge and towering, cold impersonal gray marble lined everything.  Mr. Wright climbed out and opened the door.  We climbed out, staring at the place that was to be our home.  We climbed up the large steps and Mr. Wright pulled open the door.  He put our things down in the hall.  We didn't have much. Most of our things were at school.

"It's about time." A stern voice spoke. We turned; Addi's hand never left mine.  Our grandfather stood there, smoking his pip and frowning.  I wrinkled my nose at the horrible smell.

"Does my pipe bother you, boy?"

I did not answer and he glared. "Mrs. Wright will take you to your rooms, but first I want to make something perfectly clear.  If it were up to me, you two would both be in the worst orphanage I could find!  The only reason I tolerate you is that you are the children of my only son.  You will spend your holidays here, nothing more.  And while in this house, you will obey my rules. 

Rule number one:  there is to be no mention of your mother, or what she tainted your blood with." He scowled at me. I was all too aware of what he meant, but the sudden urge to nag him rose in me and I humored it.

"I'm sorry sir, I'm not sure what you mean."

He advanced forward and with one quick movement, had slapped me across the face.  Addi gave a gasp.  "You most certainly do, you insolent little brat.  That foolishness they call magic! There is to be no use or mention of it in this house. Is that understood?" I glared. 

"Is that understood?"  My face stung, but I nodded.

"What do you say?"  He raised his hand poised for another strike.

"Yes." I got out through gritted teeth.

"Yes what?" I glared and he slapped me again.  This time it really hurt.

"When you address me, you will address me as sir. And your grandmother as ma'm.  Is that clear?"

"Crystal." I shot back.  He inclined his head.  "Sir."

"Good, that goes for you too, young lady.  If there is not some respect drilled into your heads then you will both suffer.  I will not tolerate disrespect and if I hear of it from any member of this house or from your schools, you will be very very sorry. Now get out of my sight."

We wasted no time in doing so.  Mrs. Wright, the housekeeper, was as kind and gentle as my grandfather was not.  She took us to the kitchen where she made us a quick supper and gave me some ice for my cheek.

"Will he never learn? He did this last time too." I frowned, and then winced as she replaced the ice.

"What do you mean, last time?"

"Oh don't you remember?  Well, you were quite young.  Your father brought you here to stay while your sister had the measles."

"I remember getting those." Addi said.  Oddly, I did not.

"Well, you were about four or five, I'd say and a worse terror I've never seen." She laughed. " You were constantly running from room to room, throwing things or causing as much mischief as you could. Needless to say, your grandparents were not pleased.  You took it bravely, but by the end of a week you'd had enough.   You ran off and we found you at the neighbors a few days later when your dad came to pick you up.  He vowed he'd never leave you with them again."  

Looks like he wasn't very good at keeping promises.  I thought. Then Mrs. Wright led us to our rooms.

Addi's was alright, nice and comfortable.  She had large bay windows that looked out over the estate.  The room was decorated in a nice pale shade of blue.   She smiled a bit. 

"What about me?"  Mrs. Wright sighed and led me up a few more flights of stairs to the attic.  Once there, she opened the first door on the landing.  I took a deep breath and steeped inside, pulling my suitcase with me.

If I was expecting anything like Addi's, I was very mistaken. My grandfather's hatred of me shone in his decision of our sleeping arrangements. 

The room was very bare, with only a few pictures on the wall, no wallpaper, only chipped whitewash.  The only pieces of furniture in the room were a thin bed, a small desk and a wardrobe.  There were two large windows though and I put my suitcase down, crossed the room and opened them.

To my surprise, they opened up onto the roof.  The roof was flat there and the windows large. I wondered if it was possible to climb out them.  They also provided a very excellent view of the estate.

"Sir, if there is anything you want, please doesn't hesitate to ask. My husband and I will be glad to help you." I nodded.

"Thanks." She smiled and left me to my new room.  I sighed.  This was not how I wanted things to be at all. 

After a few minutes I heard a knock on the door.

"Siri? Can I come in?"

"Sure Addi." She opened the door and stepped inside.  She frowned when she saw my room.  But she said nothing. We both knew why I had gotten this room.

"Hey there's an awesome view of the roof. You wanna see it?"   I grinned.  I really did not feel like smiling, but Addi was taking it hard.  Very hard. I could see that.  And one of the things I was able to do was push things aside.  I pushed my own feelings of pain and loss aside and smiled at my baby sister.

True, she wasn't that much younger than me, only a few minutes, but still I thought of her as my baby sister.  I forced my mind to stop thinking about dad and his reason for dying.  All I needed to know was that my little sister was sad, we were stuck in a place neither of us wanted to be, and we had two weeks before we could return to the places we loved.

"Sure." She smiled and I slipped out onto the roof.  It was indeed flat. We were on top of the house.  In the garden I could see my grandfather smoking his pipe and reading his newspaper, sitting under an umbrella, shading him from the sinking sun.  My grandmother was   yelling something in a window.

I ignored them and looked out farther. The sinking sun above the forest gave the   place a red glow.  I helped Addi out and we sat, watching the sun sink on our old lives.

The days that followed were horrible.  I was never up to my grandfather's standards and so he felt that the only way to get me to behave was to use force.  He tried locking me in my room, but I just climbed out onto the roof. He tired keeping me from my meals, but I had a sympathetic sister and housekeeper. So he resorted to the only thing he believed worked:  physical punishment. 

By the time the holidays were over, I was black and blue everywhere.  It did not make me fear him.  Fights were not unusual for me and so had little effect on me.  Though they had the desired effect on Addi who feared for my safety.  Every night, after my darling grandfather had had his happy little game of see-how-much-you-can-hurt-the-grandson-without-killing-him, and I was sent to my room, bleeding and sore, Addi would make her way up to my room and we would sit on the roof and watch the stars rise.  Grandfather never found out about it, thank God. He made our lives too miserable during the day. Later he would go so far as to hit Addi too, but not that time.

Not to mention, he knew the reason why my father had died, and he blamed me fully for it. Now as I think back, I wonder if, maybe in a way he had loved my father, but was unsure of how to show it.  Instead he alienated himself from his son and Dad just thought he hated him. Then when Dad went and married some strange woman, they were angry. When they found out what she was, they were furious. When she died giving birth, they forgave him a bit.  But I was the very replica of my mother, and so I bore the full brunt of his anger.  At least, this was what I told Addi and tried to tell myself late at night after a day of pain and torture. 

His wife was not much help either. My grandmother was a hard cold woman, shallow even at times, worried only about her social status and her hair.  She would hold Addi while my grandfather smacked me around.  On the few times he actually went after her, she even held me.

Our last night, Addi and I had a heart to heart it was too cold to be on the roof, so we were sitting on my bed, looking through the clouds, trying to see stars.  Usually we didn't talk much. But there was something I had to know.

"Addi?"

"Hmm?"

"You were there, weren't you? When dad was killed."

'Yes."

"What happened?" she frowned and turned a bit.

"I don't want to talk about it."

" I need to know, please."

"Alright." She sighed and closed her eyes, trying to picture it. " We were just sitting down after dinner. I was writing a letter for you. And there was a knock on the door. Dad went to get it and he opened the door. I heard him ask in this really shaky voice ' What do you want?' and this voice answered. It was not like anything I'd ever heard before. It was high pitched, but it was a bloke's voice. And when he spoke it was like a blast of cold air shooting down my neck. " She shivered.

 I crawled over to the bed and sat down next to her. I wrapped my blanket around her shoulders. She pulled it tight and resumed talking " It said something like ' Where is the boy?' and Dad said ' you can't touch him. He isn't here.' And the voice said ' I don't believe you' and there was this bang and Dad came rushing back in. He grabbed me and threw me in the closet. The one behind the kitchen. And he said, " don't come out. No matter what you hear. Tell your brother I love you both and it's not his fault'"

A tear ran down my cheek. He had known I would feel guilty. " But there was this little hole. You know the one you made when James accidentally locked you in and your wand backfired." I nodded. " Well, I looked through it and Dad was running back toward the door and this figure steeped into the kitchen. It was dark and I felt scared, like I've never been scared before. And the figure raised his wand and pointed at Dad. He said. ' Tell me where the boy is or die.' And Dad just stood there and said ' you will never hurt him. Never."

"Then what?" I asked.

"He raised his wand and  muttered a spell.  Dad started screaming and thrashing about.  Most frightening thing I'd ever seen.  Then he collapsed. The man  laughed and slithered out."

"The unforgivalbes."

" What?"

" The unforgivables. They are three curses, If you use them, it is unforgivable, hence the name. Imperius, Cruciatus, and Avada Kedavra. You use them on another human and get yourself your own private cell in Azkaban."

"What's that?"

"Wizard prison. It's guarded by dementors. They can suck the happiness right out of you." I shuddered. " I don't like thinking about them. They brought one to the school one time. Some big ministry guys were there and they wanted extra protection. Half the students collapsed."

" Did you?"

" Yep. Fell right off my broom, I did. Lucky I was only a few feet off the ground or I would have been dead. Brought them to a match. How do you think the players are gonna react? They affect you worse if you've had something bad happen to you."

We were quiet for a minute.

" So then what happened?"

"Within minutes ministry of magic people showed up and I told them what happened. They took him and me to the hospital and the next morning you arrived. "

 I thought about what would have happened if I had been there. He probably would have killed us all.

"Sirius, Why was Dad killed?"

"Adhara please. Don't do this you don't want to know."

" Yes I do. Tell me, Siri."

" No. You'll hate me."

" Never. You are my twin, my brother. I will never hate you. Never. No matter what you do."

" Can I have that in writing?" She laughed and smacked me with her pillow.

"Ow!"

" Now tell me or get hit again."

" No, please not again! Please don't hurt me, oh great and powerful one."

" Haha. Now tell."

" Okay." I bit my lip. How would I tell her? I didn't know a lot of it myself. But, I told myself; you have to tell her what you do know. She has a right to know. " Right after we were born, a dark wizard came to our house. He was there to kill a baby. Dad got in his way so he cursed him. So was Mum. She wouldn't move and she was more of a threat to him, because she was a witch. So he killed her. I was that baby."

"You?"

"Yes. The wizard's name is Voldemort and he's bad news. He is after me. I don't know why. All I know is neither Mum nor Dad would let him near me so he killed them both. It's my fault. If I had never been born they would both be alive. It's all my fault."  My voice cracked with a sob.

Everything that had been building up for the past few weeks, all my defenses, my barriers, they all came crashing down and I broke down sobbing. Addi put her arms around me and I leaned into her shoulder.

"Shh, It's alright. It was never your fault. They loved you enough to die for you. I do too. Don't cry. It'll all be alright." I cried myself to sleep in her arms.