"Cap'n says ships 'bout to dock. Get yer stuff packed!" A grubby looking ship worker called out gruffly, sticking his head into the large wooden room I shared with many other people.
"How many times I have told you lot not to come in here and speak to these girls, especially this one," The strict matron stiffly stated as she nodded her head towards me "Out!"
The ship worker turned his attention onto me and I sent him a sly smile before he quickly slipped out of the room, probably to go and tell other passengers that the ship had arrived at the port.
"I'll be very honest with you Calliope, I'll be glad to see the back of you for the last time." The matron sneered as she briskly walked out of the room to tell the other girls the news the ship worker had shared.
I decided not to bother with a rude insult. I detested that old, dried up hag. But now that we were able to depart each other's company permanently it would be a waste of my breath.
This ship had left the port of Fremantle in the Colony of Western Australia approximately six weeks ago. It was mostly full of people in situations like me, English born who were returning to the motherland after not finding what they wanted in the land now known as Australia. However there were a few Australian born young men and women who were children of both convicts and free settlers who were going to the lands their parents were from.
The unmarried women aboard the ship had been allocated this space on the ship to be kept safe from all the jeering men on board. We were watched by the matron like a hawk, who was in charge of keeping us in line. However instead of being kind and nurturing she was cruel and unkind. We had been getting into disagreements daily and I had found the most entertaining way to pass the time was to rile her up.
The biggest issue she had with me was that I disobeyed orders and would constantly go into out of bounds areas on the ship. I had befriended a few young men my age, and we would constantly swap food and other items. I could turn a lot of unneeded items into wine so it was easy to barter with other passengers to find something I wanted. However I wasn't supposed to be associating with young men, so the matron was constantly chasing after me to usher me back into our part of the ship.
"Have you heard? We're docking!" Mary, one of the other passengers beamed as she came running into our large dormitory-type room.
"I know." I weakly grinned.
Mary had been the bane of my existence over the journey. She was a cheerful girl which was pleasant when it was a good day, but her over-the-top perkiness grated my nerves on days when the sea was rough and I just wanted to get my assigned chores done before the matron could give me grief. It had been so very tempting to wind her up and tell her that her long lost lover she was traveling to England for had probably married someone else by now, but I always felt that would be too mean. Muggles were far too romantic and sentimental and saw the world with rose coloured glasses.
Mary, like all the others on the ship, was a muggle. A few times a year a magical logistics company would organise secret wizard and witch bunkers on charter ships to and from England (I had been told that it wasn't a profitable enough route to organise costly magical transportation using port keys or floo powder, Australia was just too far). But in my haste to run away from my parents and the arranged marriage I had to take the first ship I could, which was a purely muggle operation.
It was certainly a real eye-opener. In the past few years I had spent more time with muggles compared to my time in England. It was much harder to avoid them as the magical community was far smaller and less influential to my parent's dismay. But living amongst them for two months in a contained space out at sea was a whole new level. I had really learned a lot about them.
It also helped me keep my mouth shut. It amused me to know that Annoying Mary had to scrub floors, whilst all I had to do was a quiet Scourify charm to take care of most of my chores the matron assigned me.
"I just spoke to the captain's assistant. We are indeed docking in two hours. I expect you all to start gathering your belongings and do your final tidying up." The matron yapped as she slid back into the room.
I found myself becoming increasingly nervous as I began to wander up Grimmauld Place. Over the past couple of months I hadn't been nervous, not even once. Once I was free of the future my parents had tried to impose on me it felt like I had nothing left to be afraid of. Until now.
I was staying at the Black ancestral home with my Aunt Elladora. It was a muggle house built last century that my grandfather had stolen off a muggle. Surprisingly he didn't kill the poor man but instead confused the lad with magic into believing that he didn't actually live there. Not sure what happened to the muggle, but my grandfather moved in with his wife, my dad, my uncle and my two aunts.
The house had gone to Elladora upon my grandmother's death. My dad (Sirius Black) had moved to Australia and thus had no use for the home. Therefore as second child the house went to her. However even if her birth order were different she would have always gotten the house over my second aunt, Aunt Iola. Aunt Iola had married a muggle man and was banished from the House of Black. To say my family detested muggles would be an understatement. So therefore it was still comical months later that my father had attempted to marry me off to one.
Then there was Uncle Phineas, who also had no need for the house. He was current headmaster at Hogwarts so during school term he boarded at the school, and outside of school term he stayed in Hogsmeade with his wife and children. I never understood why he didn't stay permanently in Hogsmeade due to its close proximity to the school. All I can do is assume he's one of those men who not-so-secretly detests his family.
I dropped my gladstone traveling bag onto the cobbled street with a large thud as I looked at the two houses in front of me. House eleven, and house thirteen. I scrunched up my face in concentration as I attempted to remember what to do. I do remember that the house had an enchantment to hide itself from muggles. My family were more than happy to live in a muggle home in a muggle neighbourhood but that's where the communal living ended. Many enchantments were used to hide the house from prying muggle eyes.
Before I could try and think of a spell to use, the two houses on either side began to slide away. It was a peculiar sight, even though I had seen it before. I was expecting the houses to crumble but then reminded myself it was an optical illusion. Number twelve had been the whole time and was only hidden from view.
Before I could even make my way up the front stairs they had been thrown open and there stood Aunt Elladora in all her glory.
Aunt Elladora reminded me of the muggle matron on the charter ship I had just traveled on. She was a formidable and unmarried woman in her forties, with a stern glare permanently etched on her wrinkled face (which was far more weathered than witches of her age, I suspect dabbling in the dark arts had aged her). As much as I detested the ship matron, I knew that Aunt Elladora was worse. But I had to 'fake it 'til I make it' for now until I returned to Hogwarts in two weeks time. That meant I had to be a good little girl who represented the House of Black adequately. I could do this.
"Calliope my dear popkin, how are you?" Aunt Elladora called out.
It wasn't a Black tradition to use endearing names for members of the family and I was slightly taken aback at being called 'popkin'. But my father always talked nasty about his siblings behind their backs, and always talked about how Aunt Elladora was one to force sophistication to try and seem more upper class than she actually was. I suppose this was part of that act.
"Oh I'm fine, thank you!" I responded, trying to mimic her voice rather than the unflattering lower class drawl I had picked up from my time abroad.
"It's so good to see you again. Come give your aunt a hug!" Aunt Elladora called out as she opened her arms wide.
This had caught me off guard. The Black family weren't known for showing physical affection. In fact, many pureblood families did not hug or kiss their dearest ones. We were all created through carefully arranged marriages, and most of us were unsightly after the pureblood "dating pool" had shrunk significantly and forced cousins and siblings to marry each other to keep muggles out of our lineage. A few mutations had caused some of us to not be completely hideous (and I like to think I'm one of them). But quite a lot of us pureblood folk left had faces like a porlock's behind.
Therefore I had to quickly think of a way to dodge the hug of my bony aunt.
"I would love to, Aunt Elladora. But I had to pass muggles whilst disembarking on the ship. I reek of the filthy creatures and I would like the chance to wash the stench off and not pass it to you."
My words had the desired effect as my aunt's face turned sour and she immediately dropped her arms to her side.
"Very well. We have a washtub up the first staircase to the left. You make sure you give yourself a good scrub before you come down to the kitchen. I'll have my new house-elf cook you up something nice."
"What happened to the old one?" I asked as I picked up my gladstone bag and made my way into the front door Aunt Elladora had propped open. I remembered Clink, the old family house elf. He had been serving the family since my grandfather acquired him.
"Oh, Clink? He got too old to carry my tea so I decided he would be more useful if his head was mounted on the wall for decoration." She grinned wickedly.
"Miss Calliope looks lovely in her evening gown. Miss Calliope will look very pretty at this wedding she is attending." Tock, Aunt Elladora's new house elf sighed wistfully as she ruffled the hoop skirt she had just wrapped around me.
I only sent her a small smile as a response. I was having trouble communicating with her as I had to restrain myself from asking her if she worried about joining her uncle Clink on Aunt Elladora's macabre house elf wall she had started. I had seen a number of dark things in my life (and had been attracted to them earlier in my schooling years) but seeing what my aunt had done to her trusted house elf had disturbed me. So instead I was staying quiet.
"Is Miss Calliope happy with her appearance?" Tock asked me.
I was having a feeling of dejavu. This took me back to a few months prior where I had run away from the wedding my parents had tried to set up. The only difference was that it was a house elf helping me get ready, and not peasant servant women who served my ex-fiance and his land. I still had a feeling of impending doom, although not quite as strong. I wasn't about to walk into my own wedding but somebody else's, but my aunt was about to show me off like prized cattle in an attempt to find me a husband. Unlike an Australian muggle, I don't think I'd be able to get away from one of those pureblood types quite so easily if she was able to set something up.
"I'll be the judge of that." Aunt Elladora sneered from the doorway. It caused me to jump as I wasn't expecting her.
"Yes, mistress." Tock quickly squeaked as she curtsied her filthy dress and ran out of the room.
I stiffened a little as I felt the room grow cold upon Aunt Elladora's entrance. No words were spoken between us as she approached me from behind. I sucked in a nervous breath as I waited for her to speak up.
I assumed she was looking at me from behind, but also watching my front from the mirror that was placed in front of me.
I saw her give me a wicked grin and place her painted black nails upon my bare collarbone. Without warning she dug her nails in hard, withdrawing mere moments before it would draw blood.
I winced but didn't speak up as I waited for her to provide her reasoning.
"You've kept that pale Black complexion, even after spending years in that horrid Australian sun. I've heard the stories of what it does to people." She sneered as she watched my pale skin turn red from her touch.
"I did, yes." I responded, not really knowing how to respond to her odd comment.
She took her black painted fingernail from my shoulder and placed it upon my face. I grew fearful for a moment, wondering if she was planning on scratching me for some unknown reason. But in a very out of character manner for her, she stroked my face tenderly before removing her finger from my face.
"You're a very pretty girl, Calliope. I'm not stupid, I know the reason why I never married is because I'm considered unsightly to most men. But I still serve a purpose in this family. I'm good at keeping this family pure. My brother Sirius and his stupid wife, it seems, are horrible at this." Aunt Elladora sneered.
"I know. Hence why I ran away." I half-lied.
I had contacted Aunt Elladora when I was on my trek from the Colony of Victoria to the Colony of Western Australia. Wizard post between the new world and the mother land was slightly faster than the muggle post so I knew my letter would reach her in time. In my letter I told her everything I knew she would want to hear. I told her my parents had arranged for me to be married off to a wealthy muggle because they care more about money and land than keeping the bloodline pure. I told my Aunt I planned to return to Hogwarts for my final year of schooling and needed a place to seek asylum for a few weeks before school started.
An owl was waiting for me when my ship docked a few hours ago from Aunt Elladora. She let me know she had burned both my parents off the Black family tree for their sins against purebloods. She also let me know that I was welcome to stay with her before school started. Which made me sigh a breath of relief, as my only backup plan would be to ask Uncle Phineas if I could stay with him in his summer home. Aunt Elladora was a dried up hateful old bag, but it was still far less insufferable to stay with her.
"Yes, well. I always had a good feeling about you, popkin. As soon as I saw those baby blue eyes when you were born I knew you'd be beautiful enough to have your pick of the noble families. You seem intelligent too, so you'll be one of those Black women who make us proud and hold all the power in your marriage." Aunt Elladora smiled wickedly, her yellowing pointed teeth showing through which made her look even more ghastly.
"Isn't that just a Black family thing in general? The Black spouse in a marriage always seems to hold the power." I pointed out.
It was something I had never really thought about until this moment, but it was true. In every single marriage I could think of, it was the Black who held all the cards. Even the women who took on their new family name still seemed to be the one in control of a marriage. It made me smirk for a second when I realised that was in my future but then I dropped it. That didn't seem like love to me. It's probably not the thing I should hold in my aspirations.
"Yes, but it's far easier to do if you have a good head on your shoulders." Aunt Elladora smiled.
She went silent as she eyed off my outfit. It was definitely the most extravagant thing I had worn in my adult life. People in Australia (both muggles and wizardkind) didn't bother with all the fancy bells and whistles of special occasion wear. Partly because they were far more relaxed, but also because the weather was far too warm for layers and layers of clothes.
I was wearing a pastel purple gown with large puffy sleeves. It bunched in at my waist hugging my tight corset, but flowed around my hips as I was wearing a large petticoat enchanted with magic to make it flow outwards even more. A pink ribbon was tied around my waist to accentuate the corset making my waist smaller.
I knew I looked fancy and it was slightly fun to dress up. But I was already yearning for my casual clothes again. At least I could breathe in those.
"You look magnificent, popkin. Now let's go to this wedding where I can show you off to the rest of the family. You'll certainly be upstaging the bride that's for sure." Aunt Elladora smirked as she offered me her arm for side-by-side apparition.