Disclaimer: see chapter 1
"…and after Adam and Eve at from the tree the noticed that they were naked and fashioned for themselves clothes. They found that their magic wasn't working so from the branches of the tre they fashioned for themselves wands…" said Harry, Portia, Persephone, and Galatea in union as they read from the Bible atop the stairs. Peter had been forgiving but Addie had not. She had decided to punish them in the worst way she could…Bible reading. Now she had nothing against the Bible but reading the entire thing was boring and did strain the voice.
"This is ridiculous." Muttered Persephone digging the toe of her boot into the rug. She was too old for this. She saw Galatea nod in agreement from the corner of her eye.
"At least mum didn't punish us worse." Said Portia thinking of the groundings. Though she wouldn't have minded being grounded form school which started soon. She didn't like it and missed Hogwarts. At least interesting things happened there even if it was the dark lord growing out of the back of a teacher's head.
"Speak for yourself I want to sit down." Said Galatea rubbing her lower back. Everyone looked at her concerned. She had done that a lot when she was pregnant with Timothy.
"You're not-" started Portia before being silenced by a harsh look from Galatea. She didn't want to discuss this and she certainly didn't want to be punished. She wished that her mum was still there and not off doing breeding experiments with her new husband and brother Templeton Pettigrew. She didn't realize it as a child but her family was very might have accounted for a few things.
"No, I've just been standing in one place for too long." Said Galatea feeling their burning eyes on her abdomen.
"If you were you'd tell us right?" asked Portia searching for signs of life within her cousin. Galatea sacred her a bit. She was both afraid for Galatea and then for herself. For what she'd have to go through in a few years to the man she was to marry. She knew she might have had a marriage contract being the first born daughter of the Pettigrew family but she had no idea to whom or even what the parameters were. It could have been as simple as getting pregnant form the man or as difficult as providing him with a very generous dowry.
"Why the fascination with my reproductive functions?" asked Galatea crossly. She didn't want this attention or to have another child. She wanted to be young again. Well, almost. By being the Lady Black she had come of age which was useful though it couldn't get her out of this punishment. She considered using the Phoenix Gate to go back to the moment of creation to see if this was true but she decided that maybe there were some things man wasn't meant to know.
"I don't know, I've never known a married woman before I guess." Said Portia. Persephone snorted.
"What about your mum? You calling yourself a bastard?" asked Persephone giggling. Portia swore that she even saw Harry crack a smile. He had been no fun since coming home and knowing the truth. Portia knew how he felt. Their father, her father, was a murderer but he had just been trying to protect her and her mum. Besides, he made it up to Harry with the roof he put over his head.
"No but mums are…different." Said Portia. Her mum was simply her mum. She couldn't imagine, even after seeing it, that her mum had at some time been young like her.
"They're married and so is Galatea." Said Persephone in a 'case closed' sort of voice. Portia shook her head.
"But Galatea's…different." Said Portia looking for word which seemed to describe this invisible change in her cousin. It wasn't just the ring and the title. It seemed to make her older somehow.
"I love how you all discuss me like I'm not in the room." Said Galatea but nobody paid her any mind.
"She's a married woman and a mum just like you're mum and mine." Said Persephone
"But she's Galatea. Harry, back me up here brother." Said Portia
"I'm not your brother." Said Harry darkly causing everyone to take a step away from him
"The circumstances of your birth not-withstanding but we cannot ignore the simple fact that you were raised together as any siblings can be." Said Galatea
"You know what that man did! You know and I'm just supposed to stay here and pretend to be…his son?" said Harry slumping to the ground.
"But he saved you and that must be worth something." Said Portia putting her hand on his shoulder. He threw it off violently. Portia looked hurt and went back to her family.
"He wanted his own redemption. Nothing more." Said Harry sourly. He both hated and loved Peter, the man who raised him but stole his original family from him.
"He gives you everything and yet you still feel betrayed?" asked Persephone sarcastically. Harry gave her a glare and she just stuck out her tongue childishly.
"I wouldn't expect you to know. You all have mums and dads. Well, not you Galatea but you know what I mean!" said Harry throwing himself against the wall. The wall gave a slight shake which was enough to disturb a portrait.
"What's that racked? Why don't I hear reading?" yelled Addie as she poured over record books. Timothy and Beadle were playing at her heels whilst her second daughter kicked her repeatedly in the ribs from the inside. She was adding Timothy to the Pettigrew family record books even though he was so different. The Black family records books would be harder to come by, for her at least. She looked over at Timothy and shuddered. Half breeds always took some getting used to. She went back to her books and was surprised when she felt a small weight on her stomach.
"The little girl needs more room." Said Timothy. Beadle got up and stood next to him making the physical differences more evident. Black hair against blonde, thin against short, blue eyes against darker blue, and human against fey.
"How do you know that?" asked Beadle curiously. Addie nodded in agreement with his question. She knew that Timothy's magic was different from hers and Beadle's. He might have also just been saying some of the nonsense that children came to say from time to time.
"Just do." Said Timothy. Addie reached a tentative hand and rubbed his head. His hair was unusually soft, even for a child. Beadle almost looked jealous. Addie reached over and pulled him into a hug. This seemed to make him feel better.
"This is a mad house." Muttered Peter as he paced his study. He was close enough to, with a charm, hear what the children were going on about. Harry knew. Harry knew who he was. This was bad. This was worse than bad. He was going to have to hide again. He had thrown himself to the mercy of the Remordierian tribunal and forced to pay a fine but the Ministry of Magic didn't answer to Remordiere. He knew one thing for a fact, he was not going to Azkaban. No matter what happened he was not going to Azkaban. He uncorked a bottle and poured himself a glass of wizarding absinthe. More powerful than the muggle version and addictive, very addictive. At least he had been told so. He was more of a dragon whiskey sort of person but he needed to calm down, to forget even for a moment. He gagged as eh gulped down the green fairy.
"Sit Snuffles. Sit." Said Ron as he held a bacon treat out for his dog. If Sirius was human he's be rolling his eyes. He obediently sat and was fed a treat. He knew he was safe here but he needed to find Harry. To find Peter. He needed to clear his name and get his revenge. The rat would pay. He would suffer as no one had ever suffered before.
"Ron, let Ginny play with Snuffles to." Said Molly worried for her only daughter. Ginny had been very introverted lately and everyone had attributed it to school starting soon. She understood but she knew that Ginny couldn't spend the rest of the summer in her room.
"Mum she doesn't want to. All she wants to do all day is sit in her room and wait for Hogwarts to happen." Said Ron
"Well go ask her if she wants to play too." Said Molly in a tone that left no room for contradiction. Ron got up and motioned for Sirius to follow. They went up to Ginny's room and were given an order to go away.
"See? Girls are mental. I hope she gets better in time for our trip." Said Ron. Sirius' head perked up when he said that.
"I told you to go away." Said Ginny angrily. Ron pulled Sirius with him and went outside.
"I heard mum and dad talking and they said that we might use the money dad made to take a trip either to Egypt or this Remoridere place dad likes. Dad only wants to go there because they live like muggles. Harry and Portia were from there. " said Ron finding a stick and throwing it. Sirius almost forgot his disguise as Snuffles. The wheels in his head were turning. Peter was from Remordiere. He must have been hiding there. He had a daughter didn't he? Galatea? No not Galatea. His sister had a daughter named Galatea. There was something about her, something important. Portia. Peter's daughter was Portia. Harry. Peter. Remordiere. Revenge. Dog thoughts clouded his mind once again as he chased the stick.