First summer
The staring match between the headmaster and himself had been going on since he flooed into the office. Remus could feel the wolf inside him aching to come out and rage out in pain and fury from being denied his pup yet again, and it was taking all his self-control to keep the wolf leached.
The silence continued.
It was the headmaster that broke the stalemate.
"So, I take it you have heard the news." The fact that he said it so calmly and without guilt was the trigger Remus needed to lose control.
"HOW COULD YOU!?" He furiously spat out as he stood from his seat. "I've been searching for her for years, waiting to take her back and be a family again… and you… someone I trusted, just gave her away to the Malfoys without a thought to me!"
"She is her father's daughter Remus." Was all Albus had to say to make Remus stop short. "She looks so much like her mother, yet her eyes and the fire that burns inside of them belong to Sirius. Even though she has never truly known him, will never know him. Could you have taken her in knowing that the friend that betrayed you, betrayed James, and killed Peter was looking at you through her eyes?" Albus said this all calmly, his eyes locked onto Remus's own burning amber.
Remus breath was coming out in a huff, but as he stood there staring into the blue eyes of the headmaster he couldn't help but think back to his own time in Hogwarts with James, Peter, and Sirius. Could he do it? For the first time since that Halloween night, he stopped to consider what he was doing. Could he take his daughter into his home and still care for her the way he should? He wanted to answer yes, he probably never wanted anything as much in his life than to answer yes, but he knew he couldn't.
Remus slumped back onto his chair, burying his face in his hands. All he could say was, "I love her."
"I do not doubt that you do, but that would not stop you from resenting her as well." The headmaster answered not unkindly. "The Malfoys are many things, but they care about family. They will look after her until she is ready to look after herself. Something I doubt very much will take long."
"Can I see her?" Remus asked brokenly already knowing the answer.
"Not yet my boy, not you or she are ready for that reunion just yet. When you can see past Sirius to see Aurora for herself, then you can reunite with her." Remus couldn't help the tears that started flowing as he pictured a laughing baby with gray eyes playing with a big black dog. 'I'm sorry pup, please forgive me.'
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"You have to sit up straight Aurora. A Lady never slouches." Aunt Narcissa repeated for the tenth time. Aurora held in a sigh of utter boredom as she looked around the garden, hoping she would see a way to escape the tea party her aunt had put together. It was the 6th tea party this month alone, and she couldn't help but want to bang her head against the table.
Living with her aunt, uncle, and cousin was not like anything she had imagine. She didn't know what she had been hoping for but whatever it was… it wasn't this. She had spent the last month listening to her aunt 'instruct her on how to be a prober Black, but apparently growing up with those 'filthy muggles' had made the task harder than need be. Her hair was ''atrocious', her manners were lacking, and her knowledge of what was appropriate for a pure blood was below that of a muggle-born.' Thinking back to when she had first met them a month ago, she should have known that things were going to go from bad to ridiculous.
Flash Back
"Hello Aurora, welcome to Malfoy Manner, your new home." The lovely woman said smiling, "My name is Narcissa and this is my husband Lucius. Our son will be along shortly to meet you, he couldn't decide what to put on." The woman, Narcissa finished laughing at her son's antics.
Smiling shyly Aurora said, "Thank you for having me, I know this must be an inconvenience towards you and your family, but I am honored to be here." It was something she had said many times before to each of the families that had taken her in. She meant what she said every time, but with each family, the line lost a little more meaning. It felt good to say it again with heartfelt sincerity.
Taking the time to look at their colors Aurora was left with conflicting feelings. Her Aunt had a deep blue aroura around herself that shined brightly, it was beautiful and graceful and yet it had a slightly harder edge than you wouldn't believe when first looking at her. Aurora knew her Aunt must be a powerful woman, she just didn't know her own strength. The man standing beside her was a completely different story. His aurora was a harsh dark grey with dark swirls along with the sparks that she was starting to realize all magic users possessed. While Aurora didn't want to judge him before she truly knew him, she had the sense that he was a man that was capable of bad things.
When Aurora started to pay attention again, she saw that it seemed as if her aunt was about to deny her claims about it being an inconvenience, but before she could say anything the handsome man, who had to be her uncle, answered her first with a slight mocking smile. "Indeed. Come inside." Aurora glanced up at the Professor who had been calmly whistling a jolly tune as the introductions were taking place.
"Well, I suppose this is where I take my leave, my dear," Professor Dumbledore said smiling gently, "I look forward to seeing you at Hogwarts." He gave her a warm hug before giving the Malfoys a nod and taking his leave. Once the professor had left her sight Aurora took a calming breath and took a step inside the imposing looking Manner.
"So, this is supposed to be the last heir to the House of Black?" A drawling voice said from behind the two adults. "She doesn't look anything like a pure blood. How am I supposed to present her to any of my friends if she looks like that?" A boy with a pale face and blonde hair swaggered his way in front of his parents his nose so for up in the air she thought he would have trouble breathing. "My name is Draco, and I am your cousin."
Aurora looked at the boy, her cousin, and tried to smile even though what he said was bouncing around in her head. Looking at the boy she noticed that his colors were a mix of his mother's and fathers' colors only without the dark swirls. However, she knew that he was git just by looking at his face. Still, she wanted to make a good impression, so she tried to reassure her new family that she was very good at blending in… when she wanted to. "I'm sorry, I'm sure that-"
"Now Draco," Her Uncle smiled, "There is no need to worry about her lack of status. Of course, your mother and I won't let her be seen until we can guarantee she won't hurt the family."
Aurora felt her face flush red before she stuttered something out, " I…I don't, I mean…"
"She can't even speak correctly! Mother!" Draco exclaimed aghast about the obviously dim-witted new addition to his family.
Aurora watched as her Aunt and Uncle turned to each other discussing how to 'fix' her. All the excitement she felt, the hope for a happy home shattered as she stood there being ignored and judged by these strangers.
End of Flashback
"Aurora! Stop fidgeting this instant." A cold voice whispered to her snapping her from her memory. Looking towards her Aunt Aurora sat up and crossed her legs and folded her hands like she had been shown how to do. She turned back into the discussion when she heard her name.
"Poor dear, it is so sad that the last Black was raised by muggles. It is painfully clear that Aurora never had a proper education." Mrs. Parkinson said with a fake smile. She glanced to her right where her pug-faced daughter was sitting perfectly still only moving to take small sips of her tea. "It's no worry dear, my Pansy will show you how to behave in appropriate company. You just make sure to stay close to her in Hogwarts." Here she paused to give her simpering daughter a proud smile before turning back to Aurora, "You will, of course, be in the same house no doubt, so that should make it simpler for you to learn."
Aurora kept her eyes away from the pair of pug-faced Parkinsons' for a moment before she smiled prettily at her. "Well with an example like your daughter I'm sure I will be just fine." Turning to her aunt she asked as politely as she could, "May I be excused, I need to visit the powder room."
Narcissa gave her a look but nodded her approval once before calmly saying, "Be back in 10 minutes Aurora."
Aurora did not wait before rushing away from the table, but instead of going to the bathroom, she headed towards the kitchens.
"Dobby," Aurora called looking around all the busy House-Elves. As soon as she stepped into the room they all stopped and rushed to her.
"Lady! Lady has returned!" Their squeaky voices shouted excitedly. Aurora laughed and gave each little elf a hug making some of them burst out in tears.
"Oh please don't cry," Aurora said smiling a little, "Remember what we discussed if you cry that will make me cry, and you do not want that do you?"
"No my Lady, you should never cry!" Aurora smiled again before looking at the elves gathered around her… one was missing. "Where is Dobby? I need his help with something."
"My Lady Dobby is with Master Draco he is," Opal answered her large eyes looking distressed. "Is there something Opal can do for the Lady?"
Aurora thought for a moment before grinning a little evilly, "Yes I do think there is something you can do for me."
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A high pitch scream rang through the garden before there was silence.
And then….
"AURORA!"
"I didn't do it!"
Narcissa glared at her before turning back to a vomiting Pansy. The reason for her sickness was clear. On Pansy's plate was a cupcake with worms coming out of it.
The Next Day
"After yesterday's incident, it is clear you cannot be allowed free reign over the house. From now on you are only allowed in the diner room and your bedroom unless given permission from your Aunt or I. Am I clear Aurora?" Lucius asked from behind his desk.
"Yes, uncle," Aurora muttered with her head bowed. She had her hands clasped tightly trying to hide their shaking from his prying eyes.
"I will not have you humiliate this family again," Lucius said, his eyes hard and unforgiving. "If you do anything that reflects badly on your aunt or me, you will be punished. Never forget that one word from me and you will be rotting with those muggles again before the day is through."
"Yes, uncle." Aurora croaked losing the battle with her shaking hands.
"Return to your room, you won't be eating today." Aurora stood with her head still bowed. She hurried to leave the study her legs feeling like lead.
"I wouldn't get too comfortable if I were you. If father has it his way you won't be here long and I can't wait until they drag you back to where you belong, in the gutter."
"I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you," Aurora said calmly. She didn't wait for a response, she simply walked away knowing it would frustrate him more than any sly remark. She would not be going back to that place. If they wanted the perfect pureblood daughter, then that is what they would get. All she had to do was fake it until she made it to Hogwarts.
It should be simple enough.
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The days passed at the pace of snail for Aurora. Since the pug face brat ate the worms (that she still claims she had no knowledge of) her life became a routine that seemed never-ending.
Mornings: Breakfast with the family. Then lessons with her aunt where she learned how to 'properly' drink tea.
Evenings: The best part of her day. She ate dinner with the family and afterward she was allowed to return to her room and do what she wanted for the rest of the night.
Afternoons: Lunch with Draco and his two buffoons he calls friends. Then lessons on magic. This was the best and worst part of her day. There wasn't one lesson that she didn't master in the first few tries. Charms, potions, transfiguration, it all came naturally to her. Draco couldn't stand it. He was so used to being the best at everything, the center of attention, yet even he couldn't help but be in awe of her magic. It was beautiful, there was no other way to describe it. Lucius had even taken to being present during those lessons discussing them with the tutors, he couldn't place it but there was something different about the magic that Aurora did. He even considered asking Dumbledore for his insight but discarded the notion almost at once. The girl was just gifted, no reason to go to the muggle-loving fool for that. Yet, the worse part of the lesson was when Lucius took over. He said that as Pure Bloods they should be knowledgeable in all types of magic, including Dark Magic. When Lucius would enter the room after the tutors left, Draco would lose the cocky attitude and become silent. Something she would relish most of the time, but this was different.
At first, Aurora didn't understand why Draco was nervous, or why her uncle had an almost fanatical gleam in his eyes. But once the lessons started…. She wished she could go back to the orphanage. That she didn't know about magic. When she did magic, it was wonderful, like something inside of her pulsed and leaped for joy as she cast a spell or mixed a potion. That feeling of pure joy made her sick when she perfected a spell her uncle taught her. And he always made sure she perfected them.
Flash Back
"I can't believe you did that!" Draco yelled his face flushing pink. Aurora couldn't stop laughing, they had been practicing lavation charms today and while Draco had mastered lifting a feather, she had mastered lifting him. Unfortunately, she hadn't been able to control the spell for long and Draco had landed hard on his back with a loud 'uhf'.
"Sorry, I thought you would only go a foot in the air, not ten," Aurora said giggling all the while.
"Once father hears about this-"
"Once I hear about what?" Uncle Lucius said in his usual drawling voice. Aurora stopped giggling at once as her shoulders hunched, almost as if she were trying to cave into herself. "If you both are done, then we shall continue with today's lesson." Even Draco had lost what little color he had and morphed his face into what Aurora called his Pure Blood mask. "Now as we left off yesterday this curse cuts off all senses but the sense to feel. Once hearing and sight are taken away a soft itch will begin, and gradually that itch will become an incredible pain that will cause all blood vessels to pop and, in the end, even the heart will explode from the pressure." Draco and Aurora were so still it was as if they weren't even breathing. She couldn't help but want to gag at the image his words made, she couldn't believe that magic could be used in such an awful way. "Now I will transfigure some chairs into rats and you will cast the spell on them." Aurora gasped in horror.
"But they will die!" She exclaimed with shock.
Lucius stared at her with hard uncaring eyes and said, 'So… they are vermin. Would you rather I have Draco practice the hex on you?" Aurora and Draco both flinch back in surprise, they couldn't believe he would say such a thing. When they did not give a response, Lucius continued with the transfiguration of the chairs. "You first Draco."
Aurora watched in morbid fascination as Draco shakily walked forward and raised his wand.
"You will say the incantation 'Tantum dolorem' clearly as you flick your wrist just so." He said as he demonstrated the wand movement to both Draco and Aurora. "Now Draco, show me."
Draco cleared his throat and moved forward to a reddish rat that was licking his paws unaware of what was about to happen to it.
"Tantum dolorem!" Draco exclaimed falling backward with the force of the spell. Aurora tracked the movement of the maroon light as it hit its intended target. The rat stopped all its movement and for a few minutes, it simply twitched around the floor, slow at first then faster until blood started to seep from its eyes, mouth, and ears. Draco pale and with sweat on his face rose from the floor without taking his eyes from the rat. When it stopped moving completely he turned to his father who looked unimpressed.
"It should have taken longer for it to die. Work on your wrist movement." He simply stated before looking at Aurora, "Your turn."
She took a step forward and looked at the white rat that was looking at its companion with what she thought was confusion. Even though Aurora could sometimes understand animals when they are transfigured from other objects by magic she could not. But still, she could imagine the screams it would let out if she cast the spell.
She looked at her shaking cousin and then at her Uncle before turning back to the rat.
She couldn't do it.
"I'm sorry… no. I won't." She said as firmly as she could. She didn't want her uncle to see her afraid.
"I thought you would say that. So I prepared a small demonstration for both of you." Lucius said as he raised his wand at Aurora.
Gasping she stumbled back as Draco let out a confused and afraid, "Father?"
"This is how you properly cast the hex Draco, watch and learn. TANTUM DOLOREM!"
Aurora couldn't even scream as the hex hit her. She didn't notice that she hit the floor, and at first, she thought that the spell didn't work, but then she noticed that she couldn't hear anything or see anything when she tried to say something nothing came out, yet she did feel a slight tingle in her lower back. It started small almost unnoticeable, but it kept growing until it felt like it was burning her alive from the inside. She wanted to scream, she wanted to raise her hands and scratch at her flesh until it bled.
She wanted to die.
And then it stopped.
The first thing she noticed was that she could hear a panting sobbing. It took a few seconds to realize it was her. Next, she tried to open her eyes but her tears were making her vision bleary and unfocused. Everything ached and she continued to cry on the floor until her uncle said, "Get up." She tried and failed to raise her head, but it was hurt too much, "Get up Aurora or I will cast the spell again."
Aurora sobbed just thinking about it, she raised herself slowly as she wiped her cheek. When she looked down at her hand she saw blood making her cry harder. She hadn't noticed the copper taste in her mouth. Once she was finally standing she painfully looked at her uncle in a haze of red. She thought she knew what hate was when she lived with Mrs. Hennery, but standing there panting and crying with blood still flowing from her mouth she knew she had been wrong. At that moment she hated her uncle with such a passion it felt like it would explode from inside her.
"Now let's try that again, do the spell Aurora or I will repeat this process until you do." Aurora recoiled just thinking about it. That powerful hate was growing by the moment, but under it was the fear that she would suffer the same pain again. Aurora turned back towards the rat that had been kept in place by a spell and raised her wand. She looked at it and felt none of the remorse she had before, she only felt hate. She didn't scream the spell like Draco or her uncle had she whispered it, but it was heard throughout the room. It felt wonderful to release all the hate that had built up inside her. She didn't look away from the rat as it twitched and rolled around on the floor for up to an hour. She didn't notice Lucius was smirking or that Draco was staring at her in horror… all she could focus on was the rat and releasing her hate for her uncle on it.
Afterward, Lucius had praised her on her spell work before sending her back to her room. When she entered her black and purple room Dobby was waiting for her with a potion in his hands. Looking at the potion she knew that Lucius had been planning that little performance since the beginning. She barely made it to the bathroom before she vomited everything she had eaten that day.
End of flashback
She still had nightmares about that day. Never again did she refuse to cast any spell he taught them, but with every new spell Aurora felt like a piece of her was dying. Not because of the horror some of those spells caused… but because with every new spell… it became easier.
Aurora came to dread the private lessons that she and Draco had with Lucius. Even then laying on her bed thinking back, she had to hold back her tears thinking about spells she had learned. She thought magic and the Malfoys were going to be the answer to her happiness, but now only a month later… she couldn't help but think that they would be the cause of her continuing terror.
She wanted to talk to Dumbledore, but she was afraid that he would send her back to the orphanage if she complained. She had come too far and was too close to September 1st to go back now.
She felt trapped and it was only the thought of Hogwarts that kept her smiling at the tea parties, the group gatherings that Draco had with his friends (that she was forced to attend), or the business dinners where Lucius presented her as the heir of the Black fortune.
It was only a week away. She only had to get through one more week.