XIV
Phineas Nigellus Black
(born to Cygnus Black 1 and Ella Max, 1847)
I hated what I had to do, but there was no one else.
Mother had begged me in the dead of the night, when I was at home for Christmas. She was a wreck of the woman she used to be, all skin and bone and heavy purple bags under her eyes. The beautiful Ella Max had become a ghostly, angry entity, just another widowed Black woman left with a handful of unorthodox children and a stately home.
Sirius was long since dead, and Elladora lost what remained of her sanity shortly after discovering what she had done. Of course, Isla was out of the question, considering what she had done.
The fate of pruning away the dead branches of our family tree fell to me, and only me.
oOo
I felt a warm wetness seeping down my cheeks as a thicker substance marred the silver blade that I wielded. I could practically feel the soul leaving the body below me; his silvery essence exiting his shell from the gaping slit that I had opened in his throat.
Cunning and resourceful as I was, and however much my deranged ancestry might have seeped into my blood, I never had dreamed of being a killer. I never thought I would take the life of another, as easily as if I were cutting into soft cheese. I had hopes that I would go on to achieve great things, but yet I was to be forever tethered to the ground by a regret that would no doubt haunt me for the rest of my life.
I was bending down and using the robes of my victim to wipe clean my blade, when I heard footsteps and a door creaking behind me. "Bob?" a female voice called—a voice so familiar, yet so foreign, as I hadn't heard it for years.
I remained silent, shrinking back into the shadows as my estranged sister suddenly entered the bedroom, her face stretched into a wide smile. It was at that point when I felt my heart sinking; my sister was round in the face and swollen in the stomach—she was carrying his child.
Her face fell as she spotted Bob's limp form on the bed, and fear flickered across her face as she realised that blood splattered his skin and the sheets. "Bob?" she gasped, her voice nothing but a horrified echo of her hopeful call just a few seconds earlier.
I took a breath and strolled out from the corner of the room, exposing myself to my sister. Her eyes widened at the sight of me, and a hand jumped to her stomach protectively. "Phineas?" she murmured, eyes wide and unblinking. "D...did you do this?" Tears were springing into her eyes, and she was backing towards the door nervously.
"I had to do it!" I told her.
"No, you didn't!" she shot back, her voice suddenly unnaturally high. The tears burst free from her eyes, and she was suddenly crying, collapsing to the floor with her face in her hands.
My own throat constricted a the sight of my sister, the woman who I loved despite the rift that split our bond right through the middle. "I had to," I repeated, though I knew that I didn't sound very confident. "I had to do it. For the good of the family."
She didn't reply, only continued to sob loudly. I edged closer, and placed a soothing hand on her shoulder, trying to ignore the way she tensed.
"You can return home now," I continued. "You can come back, now that he's been removed. Blood is thicker than water, Isla. Surely you understand that."
She flung my hand away so quickly that I flinched, and whipped her head up to glare at me, pure hatred in her glassy eyes. "Don't you talk to me about blood," she snarled, drawing into a standing position quickly.
She advanced on me, pulling her wand out of the pocket of her robes. Despite her odd, slightly comical appearance with her large tummy, Isla looked intimidating; her hair flaring wildly around her shoulders, and a maniacal look in her eye.
I had no reason to remain, so I quickly disapparated from the scene before Isla could slay me. I had done what Mother had begged of me—the family tree was clean once more.
Written for Hogwarts Book Club
Prompts used:
(Sentence) Blood is thicker than water... - Bonus!
(Word) Bond
(Genre) Family
(Dialogue) "I had to do it!" / "No, you didn't!"