Life without my brothers was strange. I'd gotten used the sound of their shouts and laughter filling up the house. It would almost feel lonely, if I didn't have Molly with me. For some reason, she looked up to me and tried to do everything I did.
Unfortunately for her, I wasn't the greatest role model. I really didn't give a shit about what I did.
Accidentally blowing up half of the house with a failed firework experiment? No worries. Destroying my entire bedroom and shattering all the windows? Just another day in the Prewett household.
I really didn't know how my mum dealt with me. She'd probably been a saint in her previous life.
It helped that magic was so convenient—just a flick and a swish there, and the most destructive of my acts could be repaired in a few seconds. After seeing my mum repair the entire roof with a wave of her wand, I'd concluded she was some kind of genius. Honestly, she made everything look as easy as boiling water (not that I could do that without messing up).
Somewhere along the way, she'd gotten tired of screaming at all the havoc I wreaked on a daily basis, and just accepted it as a part of her life. Thankfully for her, she had Molly—who was quickly becoming an anti-Genevieve destruction expert—and the two bonded over doing household chores.
This puzzled me, because chores were one of the dullest things in my life, excluding textbooks. But for some reason, Molly liked cleaning up—she'd mentioned that it made her feel good about herself—so it was probably therapeutic for her or something.
For me, though, I found blowing things up to be therapeutic. There was just something about the way something so neat and orderly could be turned into utter chaos in the span of a few seconds. If I had been born into a Muggle family, they'd probably have diagnosed me with some kind of mental illness. But this was a magical family, and my parents just chalked it up to my affinity with fireworks and my ever-growing curiosity with new ideas for pranks.
My magic was extremely volatile, and I tended to blow things up whenever my emotions went haywire. So basically, there was nothing my parents could do about the daily explosions I made, besides trying to teach me how to control my emotions. That hadn't really worked, so they'd actually developed a whole set of directions that they followed for the aftermath of a Genevieve explosion.
I was a hundred percent sure that my mum regretted giving me monthly allowance and Floo-powder access to Diagon Alley. (I bought all my supplies from Diagon Alley since I hadn't gotten my wand yet).
Still, despite my shortcomings, my family loved me; and for that, I couldn't thank them more. Family was one of the most important things in the Prewett household, and we were a close family as a result. It was weird, at first, to have such an affectionate and loving family, but I'd gotten used to it, and it only made me love them more.
0000
The day I realized that my brothers and I had accidentally corrupted Molly was a terrifying day for me.
We'd brought out her wild side—she'd been such a shy and sweet, child, but I guess that the insanity my brothers and I created (well at least when my brothers were back for the holidays) had given her a mischievous and sharp edge. I wasn't surprised—after all, with all the havoc we wreaked while growing up, you'd have to be at least a little crazy to survive it all.
By this time, my brothers were well into their second year of Hogwarts, and I'd become a lot more diabolical.
Whenever my mum invited other Pureblood families with kids our age over, I'd annoy the crap out of the kids. It was hilarious, seeing their chubby cheeks glow red with rage, and they'd descend on me, trying to destroy me with all their childish wrath.
Finding what made other people tick had become a habit that I didn't plan on getting rid of.
This day, mum had invited the Blacks over. The Prewetts were a mostly neutral family, and my parents wanted to stay on the good side of both Dark and Light families. They didn't want anyone giving them crap for staying neutral, so they often house parties to get into everyone's good books. Molly and I were often exploited—well, I called it exploited, my dad called it good practice for future alliances—and were forced to befriend the children of other Pureblood families.
Molly was always the perfect hostess, playing nicely with all the other children and being polite to the adults. I, on the other hand, was pretty much a menace.
But today, mum had invited the Blacks, a prominent Dark Pureblood family, over for dinner. I guessed that it was because I would be starting Hogwarts in a few months, and they wanted me to have some connections before I went to school. (There had been a few Slytherins in the Prewett ancestry, and I think my parents were guessing that I'd be in Slytherin, for some reason).
"You MUST be on your absolute, best behavior. Understand?" Mum threatened, warning me with a deadly glare. "The Blacks are a very important family, and if you cause trouble, they could give our family a lot of difficulty."
"Yeah, yeah." I drawled, looking bored. I'd heard the "be on your best behavior" speech hundreds of times. I tried every time, I really did. But it got monotonous, fast. So I usually turned into an annoying hellion that played subtle but annoying pranks on the guests. The best part was, they never figured out why their forks were suddenly disappearing, or why their shoes were covered in neon pink glitter, so they'd leave the house in extreme confusion.
"Make sure your sister stays on her best behavior, okay Molly?" Mum instructed Molly. She had her serious face on, and Molly nodded solemnly like she was going onto a top secret mission to save to world or something.
"Please, mum. I'm always on my best behavior." I grinned innocently.
Molly and mum shot me identical looks of disbelief and exasperation.
"Just make sure Gen doesn't cause any trouble." Sighed my mum, rolling her eyes.
"Got it!" Chirped Molly. She turned to me and smirked. "I'm watching you."
I just sniggered under my breath and skipped away before Molly could bring out her death glare. She could probably kill a horde of sharks with that glare.
While I absolutely loved creating chaos, I also was acting out a bit more in the months before I had to leave for Hogwarts. After all, once I left, my mum wouldn't have anyone to clean up after, or to yell at for breaking something. I figured I could just go crazy for a bit and savor the times with my family before I had to leave.
The Blacks had been over once in the past (my uncle Ignatius had married Lucretia Black, after all), but I'd gone out to Diagon Alley that time to avoid them, breaking every rule in Pureblood society. It kind of shamed me, but I was scared of meeting Bellatrix Black. In the books, she'd been an absolutely insane murder who was crazy about blood purity. Not to mention the fact she'd worshipped Voldemort like he was the second coming of Merlin.
I'd have to face her, no matter what I wanted, so this would be the best time to do it. She was around seven at the moment, so hopefully, she still had a bit of childish naivety and innocence (though it wasn't likely).
According to mum, Andromeda was six, and Narcissa was three. They probably would get along best with Molly. I was hoping that they wouldn't be snotty blood purists yet, though I doubted it. The Blacks were notorious for their stress on keeping bloodlines pure.
I wasn't sure about how Andromeda would be, but I guess out of the three sisters, I wanted to meet her the most. It took a certain amount of badassery to be born a Black, break away from your family, and marry a Muggleborn.
The doorbell rang shrilly, and I tried not to wince. I was not ready for this.
"Molly?" I asked, gripping her sleeve tightly. She flashed me a confused and concerned look.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing." I took a deep breath to steel my nerves. If I was going to meet Bellatrix Black, I might as well get onto her good side. I wasn't invincible, after all, and I didn't need an enemy. I wanted to live as long as I possibly could this time around.
"Ah, Druella, Cygnus! It's so good to see you. How are you two doing? Three daughters can be quite a handful, I'd imagine." Mum greeted them warmly, ushering them inside. Dad welcomed them as well, and led them to the fancy seating area that we normally weren't allowed to touch.
As the Blacks were settling down in the parlor, my mum shot me a look that screamed "go greet them!" and I pinched myself to dissipate my fears before striding over to where the Blacks were sitting.
"It's nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Black. I'm Genevieve Prewett." I curtsied, and Molly did the same.
Druella Black was holding a young Narcissa in her lap, and I had to admit, it was the most adorable thing ever.
"These are my children, Narcissa, Andromeda, and Bellatrix." Introduced Druella. Cygnus just gave Molly and me a nod and sat there with a cool expression.
Bellatrix introduced herself with a rare self-confidence and a cocky smirk. She really did have wild hair, as described in the books. Even as a child, it had to be wrestled into a braid that was barely staying together. She hadn't quite reached the point of insanity yet, but I could see a haughtiness in her that would be present through the rest of her life.
Andromeda, on the other hand, smiled kindly and seemed much calmer than her older sister. I could tell Molly liked her, and I did too.
Narcissa was too young to really introduce herself, but she waved a chubby fist at us and went back to playing with her mum's necklace. I had to hold in a squeal from her sheer cuteness.
As the adults descended into conversation, I took the lead, as the oldest, and took the others to a separate room where we could play. I was carrying Narcissa, and Molly was trying to make conversation with Andromeda and Bellatrix.
"Hey," I cooed to Narcissa, "What's your name?"
"Narcissa." She answered shyly, turning her face away.
"Awww, you're so cute!" I squealed, holding her closer to me. She blushed lightly and giggled into my neck.
Narcissa and I were in our own bubble as I tried to get her to open up to me. She was actually a really sweet child. Although she'd eventually be a regal and haughty Malfoy, she was the cutest child I'd ever seen—aside from Molly of course.
Meanwhile, Molly started chatting with Bellatrix and Andromeda about flying. I didn't bother to include my input in the conversation. In all honesty, I still felt a bit uncomfortable around Bellatrix, but I knew that I'd have to get rid of the feeling. We were only children, for Merlin's sake. She wasn't evil—yet.
"Have you got a broom?" She asked curiously. We all had the newest brooms, since my brothers and gotten the two of us into flying. It was the best thing after explosions.
"Yeah," Bellatrix said proudly, "And I'm gonna try out for the Beater position when I go to Hogwarts."
"Me too." Andromeda smiled, "But I think I'm going to try for Keeper."
"I love flying but I don't think I'll be any good at Quidditch." Molly gave them a sheepish look.
"Really?" Sneered Bellatrix, "You scared of Bludgers? Or you can't fly well?"
Andromeda flashed her sister a warning look.
"No," Molly frowned, "I just don't want to fly competitively, that's all."
"What are you talking about? Winning's everything!" Bellatrix looked a bit crazed (or maybe it was just my prejudice against her).
Molly kept quiet. She wasn't very happy with Bellatrix's personality so far, and I could tell she was holding in her temper. Her ears had gone a bit red, and she kept her eyes glued to the wall as they walked.
"I get it." Andromeda told her softly, and hooked an arm around hers. "If I didn't like the thrill so much, I wouldn't play Quidditch either."
There was a small moment of silence as Molly beamed at Andromeda and Bellatrix digested the fact that her sister was siding with a stranger.
"Bella's mad." Narcissa whispered solemnly, "She's gonna yell."
Well, this wasn't going exactly as planned, but at least I had a warning. Narcissa was really perceptive for a three year old.
"Shut up!" Bellatrix screeched. There it was. The volcano eruption.
I sighed wearily. I really didn't want to deal with a bratty seven year old's temper tantrum, but I had a feeling that if Bellatrix didn't get along with us, the Blacks wouldn't be having a terribly good impression of Molly and I any time soon.
She continued to fume loudly and I quickly shut the door so the adults wouldn't hear.
There was a nervous tension in the room, and Andromeda was starting to look a bit cowed by her sister's screaming.
This was not turning out to be a good day.
I clutched Narcissa tightly and she buried her face into my neck. Her body trembled slightly, but I could tell that Bellatrix's tantrums were a common occurrence from the look on Andromeda's face.
Bellatrix continued to rant loudly. "I'm the right one! Not her! Not that stupid Prewett girl. Flying's for winning, idiots!"
"Shut up!" Exploded Molly, red in the face.
I jerked in surprise. It was the first time I'd ever seen her yell at a stranger. Most of the time, Molly was polite and understanding towards others. She wasn't an overly temperamental person, but I guess Bellatrix just rubbed her the wrong way.
"What did you just say to me, ugly?" Asked Bellatrix dangerously.
Things were quickly going downhill and if I didn't do something soon, the whole situation would get out of hand. The whole "ugly" comment wouldn't have usually bothered Molly, but she was already angry, so it was just adding fuel to the fire.
"The damn sun is shining so you two better stop arguing and enjoy the shitty day before I set your hair on fire!"
Well, there went my award for cleanest language.
"What?" Spluttered Molly, giving me a strange look. "What does the sun have to do with anything?"
"I have no idea." I told her gravely.
"You can't make me!" yelled Bellatrix shrilly. She advanced toward me with the intent of pulling my hair out, but I carefully set Narcissa on the floor. And promptly set Bellatrix's hair on fire.
"Haha! Take that!" I laughed evilly as Bellatrix ran around the room like a headless chicken. That's right. I wasn't a very good person either. I had absolutely no qualms in setting someone's hair on fire.
Andromeda shot me a horrified look and quickly ran towards her sister. "Calm down! Stop! Genevieve, please put it out!" She begged me desperately.
I really didn't want to, but Molly was giving me The Look, so I put it out. It was kind of amusing, how Molly had looked as cool as a cucumber during the whole hair-on-fire-thing (she was already used to these kind of things) and how Narcissa had just sat there, wide-eyed. Andromeda had been the only one to spring into action.
Bellatrix panted heavily from the other side of the room as Andromeda patted her back soothingly.
"That wasn't a very nice thing to do." Andromeda told me unhappily.
"I'm not a very nice person. And I don't like it when people make fun of my sister."
As I reached down to pick up Narcissa, I smirked triumphantly. No one messed around with Molly and got away with it.
Narcissa cocked her head at me curiously. "How you make Bella's hair go fire?"
"Magic." I winked.
She clapped her hands excitedly and cheered. "Fun!"
"What the hell?" Screeched Bellatrix, once she'd recovered. "You won't get away with this!"
"Meh." I told her nonchalantly, "Do what you want. I don't really care."
And I really didn't care anymore. Why had I even been so scared of a child? She was even younger than me, and she was human. She wasn't a terrifying murderer. She was just as vulnerable as me. Setting her hair on fire had opened my eyes to that, and it was satisfying.
Bellatrix let out a roar of frustration and tried to lunge at me, but Andromeda held her back.
"Stop! She'll set your hair on fire again."
For the rest of the visit, Bellatrix fumed in the corner while Andromeda tried to mollify her. Molly and I ended up playing with Narcissa. All was well.
"Don't tell your parents about what happened." I tried to look menacing. My parents did not need to find out about this incident, especially when I was supposed to be on my best behavior.
I was pretty sure my threatening face worked, because Andromeda nodded.
I wasn't too worried about Bellatrix. She wouldn't be saying anything to her parents because of her pride. If she told them she had been beaten by me, she'd be reprimanded for being weak, and it would be an even bigger blow to her pride.
During the entirety of dinner, Molly was an absolute menace to Bellatrix. Discreetly, of course. But she pretty damn ruthless and I finally realized how much my brothers and I had influenced her. Now I knew to never mess with Molly.
Poor Bellatrix was chasing around her silverware and constantly getting her foot stomped on. It had been someone's bright idea to put Molly and Bellatrix next to each other. Molly was using her wandless magic to mess with Bellatrix, and though Bellatrix knew someone was harassing her, she just didn't know who it was.
When it was time for the sisters to leave, Bellatrix couldn't look happier. I think Andromeda shot me a dirty look on her way out, but I couldn't be sure. She was probably angry that I'd set her sister's hair on fire, but had conflicted feelings about it because Bellatrix bullied her a lot. I definitely didn't make a good first impression on those two, but Narcissa had started crying when her mum took her from my lap. I'd actually grown rather attached to Narcissa as well—she was such a cute and innocent child.
"Here." I handed Narcissa a white stuffed rabbit. "Come and visit me again, okay?" I ruffled her hair fondly.
She gave a watery sniff and hugged me as tightly as her tiny arms could. "Bye, Genny." She squeezed the rabbit so hard I thought its stuffing was going to fall out.
After they left, mum sat Molly and I down.
"What happened?"
Molly shot me a sly look.
"Nothing, mum. Bellatrix was just mad that there wasn't going to be any pudding for dessert. And Gen was on her best behavior the whole time."
"Yeah, I was super good." I added, "So good that I deserve an extra slice of cake. And Mols, 'cause she was nice to the Black sisters."
"Really?" Mum peered at us suspiciously, but decided it was better not to ask.
"Fine, fine." She laughed, and brought us to the kitchen for another slice of double chocolate cake. I was pretty excited because I'd just gotten rewarded for setting someone's hair on fire, and chocolate cake was the food of the gods.
000
And when the year finally ended, and my brothers came home, I was ready to start my year at Hogwarts. I'd been waiting years for this, and it was about time I'd finally get my wand. I couldn't wait for all the things I could do with my magic, now that I had a wand.
My brothers shot me alarmed looks when I chuckled gleefully under my breath.
"What are you planning?" Fabian asked. Good things did not happen when I laughed like that. The last time I'd had a big plan, I'd accidentally blown up their textbooks. Don't ask me how it happened; it'd just happened. My hate for studying had nothing to do with it.
"Nothing." I smirked evilly and went back to flipping through a book of destructive spells.
"By the way," Fabian continued, wisely moving away from the subject.
"We heard that you set Bellatrix Black's hair on fire." Gideon finished his sentence.
"Molly told you?"
"Yeah. I'm so proud of you! You really are our sister." Fabian and Gideon pretended to wipe away fake tears of pride.
"Oh, shut up." I told them fondly. I'd really missed their antics, and I could tell the rest of my family had too. Having them back was like a puzzle finally being completed.
There was a long future ahead of me, if I stayed alive, and I needed my family to stay alive as well.
And it wasn't like I was completely ignorant towards the future. I knew my brothers were going to die, and I wouldn't let that happen—but that was twenty or so years into the future, so I figured I had enough time to make myself into a brilliant witch and ensure their survival. I didn't like planning ahead; plans never went the way you wanted them to go, and I'd much rather go with the flow and just take things as they came. If life was going to be unpredictable, then so was I. I only had my years at Hogwarts until the war officially started, and I planned to make the most of them.
A/N: Thanks to all the people who reviewed, favorited, and followed! I know the timeline is moving on pretty quickly but I'll try to make everything make sense. I actually wasn't sure on how to portray Bellatrix, Andromeda, and Narcissa, but I hope it was plausible. Narcissa is just three, so she's innocent and doesn't fully understand the world yet. Andromeda seems like the type to try to get along with her sisters, and is really nice. And Bellatrix seems like she'd be a bratty and whiny child. Though I'm not really sure how her descent into insanity started. Also, does anyone know any of the characters from Molly's timeline besides Arthur? I have no idea which characters went to school during that time period besides the Black sisters. And if there are any mistakes or problems you see, please let me know. Thanks for reading!