Chapter 8
Family Trees
Ron opened the kitchen door, and Ginny along with Hermione and himself stepped out from the crowded room. Their expressions were that of an insane person that ran away from St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Malodies and Injuries.
Ron was gasping for air, as if fish out of water. The pupils of his gray eyes were greatly enlarged that it seemed he received a rather large amount of opium. Ginny looked at him concerned, but her own appearance was not in any better state. If it was anymore possible to have much paler skin tone, for that girl, it was now. She looked as if meeting death itself. It seemed to me that Hermione's bushy hair stood on its ends. Her hazel eyes were clouded, and she revealed neither her feelings not her emotions. Her face was motionless, as if she was a robot.
I must admit that my own look was not any different from my three stunned friends. I couldn't see myself, although I was dying to, but I can only imagine what I must have looked like. To tell you the truth, I couldn't even imagine of what the potion did to me, but by everyone's reaction I should be speechless. I was trying to comprehend every new detail that was told to me just a moment earlier.
"Ah, you had to use the potion." I heard Snape's voice above me. As my eyes were cast downwards, all I saw were black robes. I quickly realized that he was addressing me, so my eyes shifted from his captivating robes to meet a pair of jet black eyes.
"Didn't you hear me?" Without me noticing and before me stopping, the aggravation and hatred boiled within me. The thoughts that lurked in my mind turned into words and came tumbling down from my lips.
"If you are asking a question make sure that the person you are addressing does not confuse it with a statement. If it was a statement," I began once again in a much louder tone of voice before he could spill another word with his disgusting voice, "then I'm not obliged to respond. Furthermore, you can see perfectly well for yourself that we had to use the potion, otherwise your phrase would not sound as if a statement. Now if you excuse me, I do not wish to prolong the continuation of the meeting with my presence." I stepped out from the room and cleared the way for him. He observed me for some time. He was defiantly stunned, but he did not loose himself and the corner of his lips curled upwards in wonder. He entered the kitchen, and as soon as he disappeared from my view I slammed the door shut.
"What is it with you and Snape?" Ron finally came back to his scenes. I felt my face flush. I had no answer to his question. Why was I so rude to Snape? He was like everyone else. After all, he was a part of the Order; however, I didn't trust him. Whatever the reason must have been, his apprehensive attitude at our first meeting, his peculiar ways of observing me, or the fact that he was a Death Eater, I did not trust him or liked him.
"Anybody home?" Ron's long skinny fingers moved back and forward before my eyes. I quickly blinked keeping my eyes from any tears, caused by the dryness of them, and gazed at him.
"Sorry, what?"
"Nothing," he groaned, "honestly, you should pay more attention to the outside world then sitting trapped within your own head, cousin." He put a strong emphasis on the word "cousin" that I couldn't hold away the laughter. Our eyes were filling with hysterical tears. My stomach was beginning to hurt and, I bended down to quiet myself. After we calmed ourselves down, I looked about the hall.
"Where's Ginny and Hermione?"
"Oh they went to that room over there." He pointed to a heavy wooden door with a large snake drawn upon it.
"What are they doing in there? Or better, what's in there?" Ron began walking towards it, and I followed.
"To tell you the truth," he began, "I never been there. That's stupid of me out of all people. Harry and I know every bit of this old house. I guess Harry got to know an extra room before I did. Actually there are plenty of places in here that we never been to. Some of the rooms are closed by some spells, even Sirius doesn't know what's in there. Now, I'm very curious what's in this little chamber!"
"Why do you think that they are in there?"
"Well, Harry told me that he has sessions with Snape in there, so Herms and Ginny went to fetch him. They are probably telling him about your wicked transformation!
"I want to see what I look like!"
"You'll get the chance. Besides you remind me of Ginny. I like you better the old way." He reached for the handle that was shaped like a serpent's head.
"Your sister is quite charming!" I didn't know who to defend Ginny or myself. He truly didn't mean it to be a compliment, so he didn't think Ginny pretty, but then he said he liked me better the old way. I was just confusing myself.
"Ron turned the knob and pushed the door open. The two girls along with Harry sat on the stone floor. Ginny was loudly filling him in about the meeting. Harry's mouth was half-open. He wasn't blinking, and all he did was nod after each passing phrase.
"Shut your lips mate, or you'll start drooling." Ron patted Harry on the back.
"Nice for you to join us." Hermione was back to her normal self. She was annoyed about something. Honestly, she was either irritated or angry with everyone. "Are you done admiring Katie's audacious ways of talking back to professors?"
"I'm not audacious!" I protested. "I'm fair and take no backing to myself. 'An eye for an eye'. It's just the way he treats me that make me treat him the way I do. And what do you mean 'professors?'" I tried to say 'professors' in the most Hermione like voice that I could manage to format. She jumped to her feet and faced me. Her expression was furious, and I felt offended and wrongly accused.
"The way you talked to Dumbledore at lunch!" She shouted.
"What are you talking about?"
"Like you don't know, being know it all and talking smart!"
"Now, you are going way across the line! Just because I know what to say and act the way I do does not mean I disrespect him. I was polite and considerate! My words reflected no scornful attitude or rudeness! I simply answered the questions that were addressed to me!" My voice bounced off from the stone walls. Her eyes flashed with anger. Her hands were turned into fists and trembled, as were my own.
"You don't deserve to be a Weasley! They are kind and loving!"
"Hermione!" Harry was trying to stop her. All three of them stared at us with awe.
"Leave me along Harry!" She snapped at him.
"Hermione that would be enough! You don't know what you're saying! What got into you?" Harry's voice was steadily rising with each word that he spoke.
"You are nothing like them!" She continued shouting at me. "Ron was right about you from the beginning, but I have no idea why he came to like you! He was right that you are a Malfoy and worth not to be saved. You might deny it, but that's what you really are inside. You are a real Slytherin, and that's where you'll be placed. I don't know why the Order is trying to protect you, one filth less! The Death Eaters got rid of your filthy mother, and you'll be..." Before she could finish and before I could restrain myself, the snapping feeling within my body overshadowed my mind, and my hand placed a blow upon her rosy cheek.
"You might feel that I'm not worthy of respect, but you'll not speak ill of my family!" My voice was low and penetrating. I felt coldness spreading over me. Hermione's eyes were filling with silent tears, as Harry, Ron, and Ginny looked shocked at us.
Without another word Hermione flew out of the chamber. Ginny rushed after her. Ron took a look at me. His eyes were full of sympathy, but in the same time the message; "you shouldn't have" flashed vividly within them. He also left Harry and myself, following her.
I was avidly breathing. My heart was rushing out of my body, but something caught it within my throat and permitted no way out. My knees buckled under me, and I dropped to the floor. Slowly hot tears rolled down my face, falling to the limestone that decorated the floor. They created small wet circles that glittered every time the light from the candles gently glided over them.
"She should not have said it all!" I cried angrily as Harry sat about me. He conjured a glass of water and handed it to me.
"I know, Hermione will always remain Hermione. Something is obviously bothering her. Whatever it is, you are the cause of it. She's embarrassed to come out in the open, so she holds the emotions within herself when they are trying to brake free."
"She should just say what's on her mind! Why keep it to yourself? She'll feel much better sharing her feelings. We might help her. She might be taking everything in a wrong way, in a false nature." Harry's hand brushed off my hair from my face, and I slowly calmed down.
"Give her time. She'll turn around." I heard him say. It was so funny to hear him say that. I known him to be foolish just like a little kid. However, he seemed older and wiser to me at that very moment. I chuckled at his statement, and his eyes glowed with delight.
"I'm not even trying to be funny, and I still manage to cheer you up! What a gift!"
"Thanks for the pep-talk."
"No problem!" He raised to his feet and pulled me up as well. "Don't listen to her. Your red hair and those brown eyes make you look like a true Weasley."
"Do I have freckles like they do?"
"Ya a bit," he studied me carefully, "it's a pity they shortened your hair, but now you remind me of Ginny. No one will ever suspect that you are anyone else then a Weasley."
"I'm Mr. Weasley's long lost niece from his younger brother that left to Russia. No one even knows about him."
"Does he actually have a brother?"
"Yap. Dumbledore said that his name was Jacob Hubert Weasley. He had a row with Mr. Weasley's father, and he simply left. He just finished Hogwarts. No one heard of him from then on." Harry looked at me bewildered. "Ya sounds insane; I know. I can't imagine some one hating their father. I can't get the fact of my parent's death settled in my head; can't even picture myself leaving them out of my own free will."
"I just wish I knew my parents. We should go upstairs; the others will be worried."
"Right," I mumbled to myself. I rubbed my puffy red eyes and stepped out from the dark chamber. Harry carefully closed the door and came up to me.
The meeting was over. The kitchen stood motionless and soundless. The fire was still burning, but it was much lower and gave off less light.
"Lets go to..."
"Shh...!" I placed my index finger before my lips. "Do you here...this...this..."
"What?"
"...like a hissing noise?" Harry listened for a moment. His eyes wondered from one corner of the hall to the next under his round glasses.
" Now that you mention it, I hear something coming from that corner over there." He pointed to the furthest and darkest wall at the hall. I glanced at it, but all I saw was a dead end.
Harry walked towards it. His hands began inspecting the stones that lined it. Suddenly he stopped and began pressing on one of the stones.
"Give me a hand! Don't just stand there!"
I rushed towards him and pressed all my weight upon it. The stone fell under our weight and half of the wall flipped open revealing a dark staircase.
"You could have said 'please.'" I shortly told Harry entering the passage.
"Are you going to go in there?"
"Of course! Why not?"
"Because you don't know what's in there. Besides, you don't have a wand." I felt my robes for the wand.
"Shoot! Do you know where it is?"
"Dumbledore took it when you came last night. He was quite astonished by it. I don't know what he did with it to be honest."
"Dumbledore! But he's going to leave, if he didn't leave already!" I began running
towards the stairs that led to the first landing. "Wait for me! I'll be quick!"
I raised up to the first floor and looked about. I heard Mrs. Weasley talking to Tonks. Mr. Black was sitting in the living room looking into the fire. Mr. Lupin, Mr. Weasley, and the twins were discussing some invisibility spells. Finally I heard Dubledore's voice. He was standing by an old, black, worn out, and very beaten door. There was a small circular glass opening to look outside and the side of it was covered by countless locks and chains. I suppose it was a normal, muggle like entrance door to the manor.
"Professor Dumbledore!"
"Well Miss Weasley, what can I do for you?"
"Harry told me that you've taken my wand. I was just wondering if I could have it back." His eyes sparkled with glee and mischief.
"Ah, that wand is one of a kind."
"Aren't they all, professor?" I smiled.
"Yes, each wand is different; you are correct. However, there was only one wand in the world made of a dragon's fang. It is quite interesting that you were destined to have it. Do you know if you are parselmouth?"
"No of course not!" I laughed. "Well, I don't think that I am." I quickly added seeing Dumbledore's expression. "Am I?"
"Well only time can tell that. You might be and might not be, but you are able to wield this wand. Are you not?"
"Well, I did cast a spell and it worked fine."
"You wield the power of..."
"Dumbledore, I'm glad you're still here. It completely fell out of my head. I need to speak to you before you'll go!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed with her high pitched voice. She marched in our directions, both hands about her waist. She wasn't angry or happy, more like irritated. I wished to know what Dumbledore had to say, but the staircase was more attractive then he was. Dumbledore took out my wand from the pocket of his robes and handed it to me. Taking advantage of Mrs. Weasley's disturbance, I rushed back to the secret passage.
Harry was sitting by the opened door, rolling his wand on the floor.
"Took you long enough! I thought you left me here to die!" Harry yelled out as so as he spotted me.
"Sorry! Dumbledore asked me questions, and I couldn't just leave him. Thanks to Mrs. Weasley, I got away."
"Nice. So are you sure you want to go?"
"Come on Harry, don't you want to check it out? Besides, if you didn't want to go, you would have left by now. Now come on!"
"You have a weird sense of logic. I'm just worried about you. I haven't seen you use magic before. For all I know you might be bad. You don't know what kinds of things go around in London. I seen those things, seen death itself, and let me tell you it's not pretty."
"Harry, stop fussing about it. I don't need a lecture. Lets go if you're coming. I'm not going to push you and force you to go," I thought for a moment, "if you're a coward." With this I turned around and began descending down the stairs. "Lumos" I said and the tip of my wand began glowing with a bright green light.
I heard Harry saying Lumos as well. His wand began glowing with a simple yellow glow.
"Why is your wand glowing green?"
"I'll tell you later." We climbed down in silent for some time. The air was humid and immediately the robes clenched to my moist body, and my hair plated to my face. I heard Harry's breathing behind me. He was so close to me that I felt his breath upon my back.
"Harry come next to me, just don't breath down my back. You are giving me goose bumps." My voice was suppressed, but it slipped the hint of annoyance and aggravation. He quickly leveled off with me.
"For how long are we going to go down for?"
"It's only been fifteen minutes. We're getting closer; the hissing is getting louder."
"It's a snake. It's guarding something."
"How do you know?" I gazed at him in amazement.
"I'm parselmouth."
"Well, I suppose Dumbledore was wrong."
"About what?"
"That I can speak snake language. All I hear is unclear hissing noises, sometimes it sounds like words."
"Well same with me."
"The difference is you can understand the words, I can't."
We finally came to the bottom of the stairs facing a huge door. It was made off silver. A huge serpent was pressed into it with a golden contour and designs. Its eyes beamed at us, and it began to sizzle.
"What is he saying?" I asked Harry motionless and as quietly as I could manage compressing the panic within me.
"It says that the owner of the house or its kinsman must accompany us to this room. But we can't leave, as we trespassed along his territory."
"What does that mean?"
"It means we're dead meat!"
"Well, lets just run for it!"
"You two are not going anywhere!" The snake's head and body came off from the door and jumped on to us. We barely managed to jump from its way into two different directions.
"You are parselmouth!" Harry screamed breathlessly.
"No I'm no!" I shouted back dodging another blow from the snake.
"You can clearly speak it!"
"You couldn't find a better place to discuss this!" I yelled falling to the ground. Harry leaped to pick me up, as the snake rushed our way. Suddenly white lights filled the room, and we saw the silhouetted outline of Sirius Black. The serpent retrieved back to the door and it squealed itself open.
"You guys are lucky!" He exclaimed and ran up to us. We saw Professor Lupin coming down the rigid steps.
"How did you know we were here?" I asked them while catching my breath.
"You were overexcited about something while talking to Dumbledore, so Lupin and I decided to follow you."
"Good thing we did." Professor Lupin noticed. "What were you doing here anyways?"
"We just wanted to see what was in here."
"Curiosity can destroy the most powerful wizard, Harry. It would do the two of you some good if you keep away from such nonsense as placing your long noses in things that do not concern you. That goes for Ron and Hermione, too. Where are Sirius and Natalie?"
"We're inside, Lupin!"
While Professor Lupin lectured Harry and myself, Sirius dragged me away to the room that was guarded by the serpent. It was filled with many pallets that were full of names and lines connecting their spouse and their children. It was incredibly large, and no matter of its size every bit of the walls was covered by a different wizard family.
"I knew this room existed, but I never been in here." Sirius whispered. Harry and Lupin poked their heads, and their eyes circled the chamber. Harry ran into it and examined every name upon the walls. Professor Lupin walked towards his own family tree.
"What is this place?" Harry asked in bewilderment.
"I read about it back home. Its called Eert Ylimaf. Every pureblood family has this room somewhere within their house. All of the pureblooded families are here. Because of this room the house remains in the hands of the family for centuries. However, once a muggle or muggle born witch or wizard enters the family their spouse is colored bright red. At that moment the kinsman that betrayed the pureblood line can't possess the house after his or her parents death. Their new home will not have this room, and on every other tree the continuation of their line will not be shown."
Harry was slowly absorbing each ward that I've spoken. He finally reached the tree that read Potters on the very top. It was dated way back to the Dark Ages. He looked down to see James Potter, as the last pure Potter, connected to Lillian Evens. His mother's name was colored in ruby red.
"Well, I guess dad ended the pureblood of the Potters." I looked back at Professor Lupin. He was still by his tree staring at his father's name. His family was not that old and none of the people glowed red. I wondered why he wasn't married. He was fun and intelligent. He cared about his friends and was faire. However, he was all alone and unwanted.
My eyes rested on the name Malverons.
"That's interesting.' I said aloud without noticing it.
"What?" Harry came up to me and observed the tree I was looking at. "What's so unusual about the Malverons?"
"Look at their last pureblood witch." Harry's eyes drifted downwards and came to a stop upon Jarubelle Claversha Malveron. A golden light connected her to Maxwell Mal, whose name was burning scarlet.
"Those are my parents," I said calmly, "but mum always told me that she was a muggle born." I couldn't understand the reason of her lying to me. Why didn't she wish for me to know?
Next to Malverons's side stretched the Malfoys. I was particularly interested in them. If I resembled them, then I must be on the tree. Of course if I was a Malfoy, and there was no chance of me being one.
Harry also glared at the Malfoy's tree. His expression was scornful and full of disgust. His fingers brushed off the names and finally rested on Lucius slowly moving to Draco.
"I never knew Lucius had brothers!" He exclaimed. His eyes were greatly enlarged. Due to his glasses' magnification he looked like an owl in the dark. Remus and Sirius exchanged delightful looks. They both chuckled obviously remembering something amusing.
"The good old days." Professor Lupin walked towards us and places his hands on Harry's shoulders. Sirius, on the other hand, became gloomy all of a sudden and walked up to the Blacks.
"Wow! Does Lucius have a twin?"
"He had one, Harry. A nasty one, too. He was, however, the best out of the three. One could catch the human side in him, as it was virtually impossible to do with the other two. He dearly loved his family, but it's hard to express your affection with the Malfoys."
"Who was Revers married to? He has a child, but there's no mother." Professor Lupin glanced gloomily at Sirius. Harry and myself turned our heads to face him.
"He wasn't married," Sirius began bitterly, "he just had a go with my sister."
"Now Sirius, we all know it wasn't a game for him."
"Oh please Remus! He allowed his father to kill her and the child!"
"You don't know how everything happened. He might never known."
"What happened?" I tried to prevent an argument between them.
"Lucius's father thrown away the child and the mother off some cliff." Sirius said through gritted teeth.
"But there is no death date under her name."
"They never found the girl's body, so the trees had no idea if she died or not; therefore, they've placed a question mark for her death date." Remus simply answered the question. I walked to see the name of the mother that Revers Malfoy "seduced". It read Victoria Jennifer Black, born April 12, 1968 and died November 2, 1989. Under her was a name written in pink, Catherine Moonavern Black, born January 19, 1988-?.
"Wait a minute," I exclaimed confused, "why is her surname different here from the Malfoys's tree? She's a Malfoy back there!"
"They were not married, so each tree placed her under its own name." Lupin nervously ran his fingers through his hair. I didn't ask anymore questions about the girl or the parents. It was obvious that I made the two men uncomfortable, so I dropped the topic. Besides Harry distracted me by his own questions.
"If the Malfoys has this room, wouldn't he know that Katie is a fake?"
"Natalie," Remus quickly corrected him.
"Right Natalie. Or was she placed onto the tree by magic?"
"Well, lets see..." all four of us cam up to the Weasley's tree. Jacob Hubert Weasley was at the right side of Arthur Weasley. He was connected to Julia Callaway that glowed red.
"I suppose now I'm half-and-half."
"Like you were before." Harry chuckled.
"Seems that way. We better head back upstairs. The others are probably looking for us, and I don't want Molly giving me another lecture on my irresponsibility." Sirius broke out from his trance and walked out from the chamber. We followed him quietly. The door slowly closed behind us, as we climbed up the stars.
We finally reached the secret door and came out. The kitchen was once again filled with people. We heard Mrs. Weasley's shouts about our absents. Tonks was running back and forwards with plates. Ron was sitting by the fire, while Ginny hissed at him about not helping everyone else. I searched for Hermione, but she wasn't there. I didn't feel hungry, so I sneaked into my room and immediately fell asleep.