After spending the better part of two weeks trying to avoid Cassius, keep on top of homework, and subtly semi-stalk Karkaroff, Aurora was only too glad to get away from Hogwarts Castle for a couple weeks. There were few of her friends travelling back with her; only Theo and Gwen, though as agreed Potter was now joining her with her father. He didn't join her on the train though. They met one another briefly on the quiet platform, where he explained he was getting a compartment with his fellow Gryffindor Dean Thomas, and Aurora was only too glad to hear it. Having to interact with Potter in front of her friends seemed too great an ordeal, even if Theo and Gwen were the more neutral pair.
As it happened, Aurora was sure Potter was only a few compartments down, but it didn't bother her. She sat in an unusually spacious compartment with Stella curled up purring in her lap, legs stretched out as she flicked through one of Gwen's Charles Dickens books. Theo sat opposite her against the window, brown hair glistening with gold in the streaming springtime sunlight, while Gwen snoozed against the compartment door, having complained about the early rise all morning.
The train rattled on through the countryside and they all sat in quiet but amicable silence, until the trolley witch came by, muttering in annoyance about some greedy first years. At that, the prospect of lunch, Aurora perked up considerably, as did Gwen once she had roused her. Theo, though, she noticed, only picked at the sandwiches he had and barely finished his chocolate frog. Gwen noticed, and she and Aurora exchanged concerned glances when Theo looked away, but neither would say anything yet. When Gwen excused herself around two o'clock, Aurora took the opportunity to hand one of her books over to Theo, who was staring blankly at his own textbook.
He stared at her, blinking slowly, head tilted to the side. His gaze roamed over the title. "Your geology book?"
"It's a worthy read," she said lightly, with a shrug, "I'd recommend it. You can come to visit me and return it whenever you need to — or to get another recommendation, whatever you fancy."
Understanding dawned on Theo's face, and a faint smile grew over his lips as he took the book. "Thank you," he told her softly, "I'll keep that in mind."
"And, you know," Aurora carried on before she could overthink her way out of it, "if you would like to discuss the particulars at any point — or to discuss any subject of your choosing, book-related or not — you need only visit. Libraries are convenient for conversation when none of your household dare set foot in one, and returning a book is always an essential journey."
The smile grew and Aurora's conscience settled somewhat to see it. "Thank you. I — I'm not sure the particulars of what I might discuss right now." Coming from his mouth, the mimicry of the words sounded so stilted and almost comical. "But… Yeah. It's going to be an odd sort of holiday, I think."
She caught his eye with a twinkle of understanding and knew he understood her, too. "Offer always stands," she told him, "book or holiday or none."
With a grateful smile, Theo nodded and placed her book carefully in his satchel. A moment of quiet silence passed before he asked, "Do you mind, what actually was the project you were working on with this? You never did say."
"I haven't completed it yet," Aurora told him, "but I'm getting there. I'm hoping to get a lead on it during the hols, but… That's all I can really say."
Theo raised his eyebrows at that. "And here I thought you'd be dedicated to your studies."
"You and I both know the miracle of multitasking," she said, and to her relief, Theo laughed. "I love taking a study break to crack curses."
"Oh, you think there's a curse involved?"
"Well, now I'll have to kill you for knowing my secret."
It was more than she would have admitted to anyone else, Aurora knew, but it made Theo relax somewhat, and engaged him in the first true conversation he'd managed all day, and so she figured it was worth it. Whether he thought she was being serious or not, she did not know.
"I assume this book will contain all the rest of your deep secrets?"
"Of course, Mr. Nott, but you mustn't tell a soul."
"Lady Black, I wouldn't dare."
Aurora laughed, and leaned back in her seat, just as Gwen scraped the door open and hurried in, some kind of blue powder in her hair. "I bloody hate first years," she declared, and sat herself down with a dramatic huff on the seat next to Aurora, planting her head on her shoulder. Aurora patted it awkwardly.
"Unfortunately, we are now technically outwith the bounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," Theo said drily, "and so there is simply nothing any of us can magically do to fix this. Ministry rules, I'm sure you know."
"I hate the bloody Ministry, too," Gwen said with a scowl. Aurora grinned, and was glad to see both her friends did the same.
The rest of the journey had a more upbeat feeling to it, thankfully, even when Harry Potter appeared round the door 'just to check' that Aurora was actually there, and proceeded to ask Gwen why she'd turned her hair blue, something which Theo really seemed to be struggling not to laugh at.
They arrived at King's Cross station to dying sunlight coming soft through the glass paned ceiling. Aurora got off the train with Gwen and Theo, already searching the platform for any sign of her father. Before she could, she felt Theo stiffen next to her, and followed his gaze along the platform, to where his grandfather and mother stood. The former was aloof, always with his cold stare and harsh lines; Theo's mother, by comparison, looked like she was trying to shrink into herself despite her height, wan and pale. Greying hair wisped around her face, and she was clearly clutching onto a cane. Pity surged through Aurora all at once, wrenching around her heart as she looked at Theo and saw reflected on his face the most terrible emotions she herself could ever remembering feeling.
She couldn't bring herself to try and tell him that it would be okay. She knew she wouldn't have appreciated it.
"Don't forget to read my book," she told him instead as she spotted his siblings careening along the platform towards them.
He turned slightly, so their gazes met, and swallowed tightly. "I won't." For a second, he moved a little towards her, and then stopped himself. His gaze lifted. "Gwen, I think I can see your little sister."
"I wish you bloody didn't," Gwen muttered, because Jessie had clearly spotted them too and was yelling across the station very loudly. Gwen turned to them with a sarcastic sigh, but Aurora could see the fond sparkle in her eyes. "Aurora, don't kill Potter. Two weeks gives you less time to figure out how to cover it up than the summer holidays does. Theo… Try to enjoy it, yeah? And bloody write to us, at least Robin because he does actually worry about you and he's just too much of a boy to tell you himself."
A short laugh. "Cheers, Gwen."
Gwen saluted, hugged them both quickly, and then darted away, her suitcase swaying precariously on its wheels behind her. Theo said, "I'd really best be going. My grandfather's giving me a look. Can you spot your father?"
Aurora looked again, searching for her father's long hair and stupid leather jacket. There he was, leaning against a wall and trying to look cool but really coming across as rather anxious; she recognised the expression he wore as her own, too. And Potter was somewhere swimming in the mass of people, presumably. "He's trying to act nonchalant," she told Theo, "but he's here." With a faint smile she added, "Look after yourself, Theo."
"You too, Aurora," he said, and with tight smiles, they parted ways, headed in opposite directions.
"Evening," she greeted her father, sneaking up behind him. He jumped, turning sharply, and broke into a grin. Aurora waggled her fingers in greeting and then he swept her into a tight, warm hug. She hated to admit how much that gesture made her smile — but, really, she hated it a lot less than she used to.
"I was starting to think you got lost," he chided, holding her close. "Did you get lost?"
"I couldn't see you," she said, "and the train only got in five minutes ago. I was with Theo and Gwen."
"Ah well, you made it here at least. And, God, I reckon you've gotten taller."
"I'd hope so," Aurora muttered as he let her go, but she was grinning. "I hate being short."
Her father chuckled and ruffled her hair, before taking her trunk from her. "It's funny, your mum used to say she hated being tall."
"Well, that's ridiculous. Tall people can reach any books they want in the library. Short people have to suffer the humiliation of finding a stool to stand on."
"You did get rather rotten luck there. We're all rather tall and you… You're tiny."
"Thanks," Aurora said with a glare, but she secretly rather liked to note that he had said 'we'. Like he was including himself with the rest of her family, subconsciously.
"And speaking of tiny," her father said brightly, "here's your only slightly taller godbrother."
Aurora rolled her eyes but followed his gaze to spy Potter hurrying towards them, his cheeks red, but beaming. "Sirius!" he was calling out, trunk bumping behind him as he ran. "Sorry, I got held up talking to Dean's mum, they're just over there, Dean and I came down on the train together." He said this all very quickly yet still seemed to walk even faster, catching up to them and bounding to her father for a hug which was reciprocated with a hearty laugh and a beaming smile. "Happy Easter! It feels like I haven't seen you in forever."
"You too, kid," Aurora's father said, and clapped him on the back. His eyes twinkled. "From your letters it seems we've got a lot to get caught up on. From both of you," he added quickly, gaze darted to Aurora as he and Potter parted. She forced a smile.
"Certainly," she replied, "Harry and I both have our share of gossip, don't we? And more than gossip, I suppose."
"Yeah, Aurora," Potter said, eyebrows raised, "there's a bit of a difference between your relationship problems and everything me, Ron and Hermione have been writing to Sirius about."
A completely unnecessary comment. Aurora said quickly, turning her head to try and ignore the sharp sting behind her eyes, "I never said that there was not. As for your problems, if you wish to discuss them, I suggest we ought to get on home beforehand. Don't you?"
"Aurora's right," her father said, before Potter could get a word in. She held on tightly to Stella's cat cage, and the cat mewed softly. "Come on, you two. We're taking the bike."
"We are not," Aurora said immediately, and turned to face him. He grinned. "We cannot take that thing home!"
"It's a shorter journey than between Arbrus Hill and Surrey. And it flies well, you know it's fine!"
"Yes, but…" She groaned. "Potter can sit with the luggage. And if Stella gets travel sick, it will be your fault."
-*
Aurora hated to admit the motorcycle was not as bad as she wanted to remember. Her father had done a lot of work on it, as he had told her; the concealment charms were stronger, everything ran smoother, and to the dismay of the part of her that wished to find something to be irritated by, it really was not much worse than a broom. Even the engine barely made a sound; it felt like a motorcycle in aesthetic only.
Still, Aurora couldn't help but make a show of what an ordeal it was when they finally touched down outside the old stables at Arbrus Hill, and maintained the performance all the way into the house and as she unpacked her trunk in her room. The emerald green walls twinkled at her, speckled as they were with glitter. It was a strange feeling being there. The colour reminded her of Slytherin House, but the noise around her and the chirping of birds outside simply felt like home, reminded her of childhoods spent running through the forest at the back of the manor and climbing up trees. Once she had unpacked and made sure everything was in its place, nothing too far apart from anything else, not a single ornament unbalanced or precariously placed, Aurora went to her grand bay window and stared over the horizon of the rolling hill down to the glistening stream that marked the boundary of their estate from the Muggle town below.
It was odd to see it at the beginning of spring instead of the height of summer. It was even odder to feel as at peace as she did right now, assured by the gentle breeze that ruffled the leaves and the quiet calling of gulls. Aurora smiled softly, feeling that calm in her heart, a certainty that she hadn't felt in a while.
Dinner was a surprisingly civilised affair. It seemed something had settled between her and Potter, at least for tonight, that Aurora didn't really feel a need to antagonise him, nor he her, and they held conversation together. Even telling her father about their suspicions of Karkaroff and Snape, they managed to fill in the gaps for each other. And it was oddly comfortable.
She hoped the next two weeks would remain that way.
-*
Two days into the break, Aurora was again unsettled for a reason quite separate from anything to do with Harry Potter or even her Hogwarts life at all. As she had promised Marius Black, she was to visit with him and his granddaughter Elise, today. She had thought she was prepared — how hard could it really be? — but when she looked at herself in the mirror, dressed in the Muggle jeans and pink t-shirt Dora had let her borrow when she had been round at the Tonkses' the night before, a well of anxiety rose up inside of her and churned her gut. She didn't know what to say, or how to act, and they were supposed to be going to some cafe in Muggle London and she didn't even know what to expect. She had had to get Dora to exchange money for her into Muggle notes, and she hated the too-crisp feel of the bank paper when she had counted it out and put it in a purse.
Aurora toyed with the necklace around her throat. "You look…. Ssssilly," Julian said lazily when she brushed her fingertips over the silver serpent.
"I look like a Muggle," she said.
"Even Muggles cannot dress so… Strange."
"They do nowadays. A lot has change in the last few decades, so Dora tells me. This is better than the skirts she made me look at, they all feel far too short." Julian only let out a hiss in response, which usually meant he desperately wanted to find something to complain about but didn't know what.
There was a knock on her door and Aurora startled, tearing her gaze from her reflection. "Come in!" she called, and her dad opened the door, eyes bright.
"You look different," he said first. "Very convincing."
"It still feels weird," she told him, looking at herself, "I feel like I'm going to be cold. And the jacket Dora gave me looks flimsy." She nodded to the blue denim jacket lying on her bed, random pins stuck in the breast pocket which she didn't understand the meaning of.
"I'll see if I can sort some charm out on it if it is," her father said, "I used to be right good at that."
"What, tailoring?"
He nodded. "I count myself as having been rather fashionable, you know. Anyway, give it to me and I'll see what I can do, but I'm sure Dora knows what she's giving you. And as for you yourself, I reckon you've only got about ten minutes before we have to head. I've just told Harry to get a move on, too."
The two of them were accompanying Aurora to London, where she would meet Marius, Elise, and Cedrella, and go for a bit of a walk around London before her father and Potter headed to Diagon Alley and she went with the rest to the cafe Cedrella had picked out. She was thankful for the company, and for the fact that they knew when it was their turn to keep their distance later on.
"Alright," she told her dad, "I'm almost ready, might just put a bit of mascara on."
He nodded. "I'll see you in ten, then. Want me to take the jacket?" With Aurora's nod, he ducked into the room and picked it up from where it was strewn over her bed. "Give me five minutes and we'll be grand."
"Thank you," Aurora said softly, and her father gave a gentle smile on response, before closing the door behind him. His footsteps echoed as he headed downstairs.
Staring back into her mirror, Aurora took a deep breath. She took herself in, and wondered, briefly, if Elise Black would look very much like her, or nothing like her at all. They were barely related, after all, but then she had been determined to notice the similarities with Callidora and Cedrella, in the eyes and the nose and the sharp jaw. Though, perhaps one could recognise anything that they wanted, when searching for it.
In a last, impulsive bout of nerves, Aurora reached for her mascara and applied it, then a hint of rouge and pale pink lipstick. Perhaps it was excessive but she felt better for wearing it, more comfortable in herself. Forcing herself to smile and whispering, "It'll be absolutely fine," Aurora grabbed her bag from where it was slung over the back of a chair, fluffed her hair out quickly in the mirror, and then headed downstairs to meet her father, who true to his word had placed a rather nice insulation charm in the lining of her jacket so it wouldn't let her get cold, but equally wouldn't make her too warm.
Then, Potter bounded downstairs, running his hands through his hair, and together they headed through the Floo towards London.
-*
They met outside Charing Cross Station, not too far from Diagon Alley. Aurora spotted the group immediately; Marius with his long grey hair and short beard in a navy blue jumper and dark trousers; Cedrella, dark hair bound in a long plait behind her, trailing over a long but light brown coat; and between them a short girl, with curly black hair and a bright smile, wearing a denim jacket and a pink dress. The girl seemed to know who Aurora was as soon as they made eye contact, or at the very least she could guess. Her whole being seemed to light up with cheer and Aurora wondered if that was normal.
Marius noticed the girl looking and turned, smiling as she saw them and walking down the street. At her side, Aurora felt her father stiffen, his gaze locked on Cedrella. Potter, on the other hand, merely shoved his hands in his pockets awkwardly and meandered down the path. That meant Aurora had to lead the way, of course.
"Aurora," Marius said once they had reached one another, smiling pleasantly. He held out his hand and, slightly awkward, Aurora took it. Elise seemed to stifle a laugh when Cedrella glanced at her. "It's lovely to see you again. I presume this is Sirius. And…"
"Harry Potter," Cedrella said in a whisper, before Potter could say it himself. Her gaze darted around the street.
"Yes," Marius said, blinking, "of course, Aurora said you would be here — blimey, it's strange, isn't it?" He looked at Potter, but all the boy could do was to shrug. Raising his eyebrows, Marius turned swiftly to the little girl, who was watching them in confusion. "Anyway, this is my Elise. El, this is Aurora, obviously — her da, Sirius, and Harry. He's…"
He flailed slightly, and glanced to Cedrella to fill in the gap. Aurora said swiftly, "My godbrother."
Elise raised her eyebrows. "Sweet. I'm Elise." She glanced at Potter. "Cool glasses."
"Thanks."
Aurora wrinkled her nose. "Those glasses are the last thing he needs to get an ego about."
At that, Elise turned back to her, frowning, and Aurora forced herself to brighten. "You'll figure that out soon enough, Elise. It's nice to meet you. I've heard so much about you already."
"I know, like, nothing about you," Elise said quite bluntly, and Marius muttered something in admonishment. Potter snickered. "No, really, Granda's hardly said anything other than you're from his parents' side of the family and go to some boarding school. I like your jacket though."
"Oh." Aurora blinked, but was oddly pleased by the compliment. "Thanks. It's my cousin, Dora's. Er." She glanced at Cedrella, who was watching with amusement.
"We ought to get walking," Marius said, catching her eye, "down to the cafe."
"We'll walk a ways with you," Aurora's father said, as the group turned and made their way back down the street, "Harry and I have a couple of errands to run though, if that's alright."
"Of course." Cedrella smiled and flicked her plait over her shoulder. "Elise, tie your laces up before you fall, there."
"Yes, Auntie Drell," Elise said, and Aurora smiled, amused, to see that she rolled her eyes. The others went on slightly ahead when she stopped, but Aurora lingered awkwardly. Tying her lace, Elise looked up at her and grinned. "Do you really go to some fancy boarding school like Granda says?"
"Yes. Well, I suppose. It is a boarding school."
"Then it's inherently fancy." Elise said the word inherently like something who was very proud of having learnt it recently; a grin flickered on her face when she spoke, and she enunciated it carefully. "I think it's kind of cool."
"Really?"
"Oh, yeah. Is it like in Enid Blyton?" When Aurora did not answer — she did not know who or what Enid Blyton was — Elise added, "You know, with the midnight feasts and pranks and everything."
"I suppose there's a bit of that," Aurora admitted, "I tend not to get involved, though."
"That's so cool, though." Elise straightened up and skipped onward to catch up to the others. Aurora hastened to keep up to her, the girl swinging her arms by her side. "It's like getting to have a sleepover with your friends every single night. I'd never go to sleep at all!"
"Oh, trust me," Aurora drawled, "I can never sleep for my roommate's snoring."
Elise giggled, and turned to her. "Still, it must be cool. Does Harry go to school there too?" Aurora nodded. "That's so cool."
"Believe me, he is anything but."
Elise laughed at that too, which made Aurora quite relieved. Possibly she was doing something right. "What about you then," she asked as they got close behind the adults and Potter, "your school? I know it's probably a dull topic for you," she added, seeing the girl's grimace, "but is there any subjects you really like? English… Maths?"
"I like History," Elise said after a moment of thought, "we studied the Vikings last term whih was cool. And I like P.E., but only when we do gymnastics, because I'm good at that."
"Oh, really, you do gymnastics? I dance at school."
Elise nodded, quite pleased. "Yeah, I've been doing gymnastics for years. My coach says I'm a natural, I've done really well in loads of competitions and stuff, not that they ever let me show that in school, but I am the only one in my school class who can do the splits and all the other girls think it's cool."
"I'm sure they do," Aurora said with a light laugh. "It's a useful skill."
"Yeah, I'm not sure it actually is," Elise mused, "but it is fun to see people getting all weirded out by it."
That made Aurora grin, and she caught the glint in the little girl's eyes. Elise was kind of cool, she supposed. She reminded her of how she thought Dora might have acted at that age, especially when she ran her hands through her hair and skipped to catch up to Marius. It was the energy, she decided, as she swept after her. Chaotic, excitable, with just a hint of amusement in everything that she did.
They chatted all the way on the fifteen minute walk to the cafe, where Potter and Aurora's father left them. The four remaining took a white and pink painted table by a wide window that looked out onto a street of bustling people, yet it was oddly muted inside.
Aurora looked over the flimsy laminated menu and tried to remember how much Muggle pounds were in galleons. How much was too much for a scone?
"I like the strawberry tarts," Elise said, leaning across the table to Aurora. "They're really nice."
Aurora nodded in agreement. If strawberry tarts were approved by her company, then they were acceptable for her to order. It made being in Muggle society a little easier to manage.
"So," Marius said once they'd ordered, "how's school been, Aurora? Elise, did she tell you about school?"
"Only the basics," Aurora said, with a glance at Cedrella, "about dance club and such."
"Boarding school doesn't sound as fun as in Enid Blyton," Elise said, which made Cedrella laugh.
"It isn't," Cedrella said, "but our family's gone there for… Well, generations." Elise wrinkled her nose.
"Yeah, she said her brother went there too."
"Godbrother," Aurora corrected swiftly. She knew where this was going to go; she and Marius had discussed it already. They would introduce the idea of Hogwarts slowly, and the possibility of Elise attending. "But yes, Harry does. So does my cousin, Draco, and Dora went there too, and my father."
Elise wrinkled her nose, and frowned, like she too was figuring out where this was going. "You're not trying to indoctrinate me, are you?"
"Indoctrinate?" Marius repeated, laughing.
But Elise was still frowning, looking rather perplexed and vaguely insulted. "You didn't go to boarding school, though, Grandad, did you?"
"No, sweetheart. I escaped all that nonsense." He winked but Elise's face had turned serious. "Still. It'd be interesting, wouldn't it?"
"I guess," Elise said, looking between them all, "but I don't… I mean, I'm just going to St. Anne's, right? Like everyone else?"
"Of course," Marius said quickly, "just, you know… Making conversation. Aurora's never known any other type of school."
Elise shrugged, and looked sideways at her. "Yeah, that's definitely weird. You've been away since you were, what, five?"
"Only eleven," Aurora told her, "I was educated at home until then."
"What, homeschooled?" Elise looked at Marius and Cedrella. "Granda, are all your family like this?"
"More or less."
"Blimey. Right posh." At that, Aurora couldn't help but laugh. "Anyway, I don't want to talk about school, Granda, it's the holidays, and you've just introduced me to some random — no offends — long lost cousin, we do not need to talk about this."
"Well, what do we need to talk about then?" Marius asked, eyes narrowed.
"First of all, why you're all acting so bloody weird and sent the other two away." Aurora held back a laugh at the affronted look on Marius's face. "Second of all, how the hell did you find her?"
"She has a name."
"Okay, how'd you find Aurora. I'm not stupid, I heard you talking to my mum and dad about it ages ago. How come now?"
"It's complicated, Elise, you know that."
"Yeah, but…" Elise looked to Aurora, brow creased. "No one tells us anything. Even Charlie doesn't know anything. He's seventeen," she added for Aurora's benefit, "so, older than you, so, what do you know?"
"I only know myself," she said, a distinct feeling of discomfort creeping over her. She got the feeling this was not in Marius and Cedrella's plan. But she couldn't blame the girl for curiosity. Really, someone should have given her some sort of briefing. "Whatever happened, with your Granda, I don't… Really know."
Elise didn't believe it and Aurora knew it. She also knew that if it was true Elise was a witch, she would have to be told everything. There was no other way for her to learn, to become a part of Aurora's world, one way or another. "No one talks about much in this family," she went on as breezily as she could, under Elise's surprisingly piercing stare, "even to me."
Again, Elise frowned. Aurora got the feeling she'd said something off there, but wasn't sure what.
Marius said, "It's in the past, Elise. You'll understand when you're older."
"God, I hate when you say—"
"El," Marius warned, and she flushed. "Come on, you don't want me to have to tell your mum you're misbehaving."
"I'm not misbehaving, I'm just asking questions!"
"Watch your tone."
"Oh my God—"
"El."
"Right. Fine." She shrugged, staring at the table. A moment of silence fell and Aurora shifted uncomfortably in her own seat. "You are all acting a bit weird though."
No one could come up with an answer to that until Aurora said, "To be honest, Elise, I think we're all finding this a bit weird. I… It's an odd experience for me, too. I mean, I didn't know Marius or Cedrella until October, and that was weird enough and now I've met you and finally there's another girl in the family around my age."
"There's a million of us," Elise said, "you haven't met my sisters and cousins yet. Which, yeah, why am I the only—"
"I thought you'd get along with Aurora best," Marius said before she could finish her sentence, "before she gets introduced to the whole circus."
Elise mumbled something none of them could make out, but which Marius seemed to instinctively understand. "Can we just try to have a nice day?" he asked, and Elise closed her mouth.
"Sure," she said, and tossed her hair. She glanced at Aurora, then at Cedrella and Marius. "Aurora, have you been to London much? You don't sound like you're from London."
"I grew up here," Aurora replied, and caught Elise flush, "at least, until I was five. Then I moved to Cornwall. I do like London, though, but it can get a bit overwhelming. I was in Piccadilly Circus last year and it was… Rather awful."
"Yeah, but, that's not really London. That's just where all the tourists go, isn't that right, Granda? Granda complains about tourists all the time."
"They get in the way, once you've lived here seventy years, you'll understand." Elise rolled her eyes, but in a small, secret way, as though she had reacted to this many times before.
"He always says that. I've never been to Cornwall though, is it cool?"
Aurora smiled slightly at the phrasing, but caught Marius and Cedrella exchanging uneasy looks. "Very cool," she said, and Elise grinned. "I grew up right by the sea and I'd go there all the time…"
And it was easy to talk and then let Elise prattle on; once the girl got going she opened up about her school and friends and family, and over tea and cake, gradually Aurora was able to piece together the parts of Elise Black's life. She had a multitude of siblings — Charlie or Charles, Lucy, Evelyn, and Jacob — of whom she was the youngest, along with her cousins Mary-Anne, Ross, Chris, and Andrew. From what she said, they all got along wonderfully in one great big happy family, all living near one another, and the thought made her hurt with envy.
And, Elise told her, yes, she loved gymnastics, but also had a passion for books and histories, for storytelling and acting, and the more she spoke about it the more Aurora could see the performer in her, the creativity in her turns of phrase and the way she moved, the expressions of her eyebrows and the timing of each line. She watched as the girl's life unfolded, harried sentence by harried sentence, and she realised with an unsettling sort of clarity, precisely how well Elise fit with her Muggle world, how she had a place in it despite her roots, and she felt a sudden, cold unease in the pit of her stomach at the thought that one day very soon they might have to tear all that away from her.
It seemed Marius we beginning to realise this, too. The sadness etched further into his features, as he regarded his granddaughter with something between hope and despair. Aurora supposed she couldn't blame him. He knew all too well the darker side of the world Elise might wind up in.
When they finished eating and drinking and Elise had exhausted her supply of chatter — Aurora still expected her to slip a random question about the day in there just to trick someone into slipping up — they paid up and made their way back out onto the street. It had brightened up somewhat, and warm sunlight reflected off a nearby building which seemed to have been made entirely from glass and steel; Aurora imagined it to be an awful sun trap.
Marius pointed out different sights as they went, places he had been and seen. Muggle London had always felt strange and overwhelming and it still was — so many people, so much pollution and noise — but she felt slightly more grounded than she had the last time she had ventured out here. There were patches of grass around, and trees by the sides of black roads, and she was caught up and comfortable enough in chatter that she barely had to think about the steel trap cars that rattled down roads or the trains she knew to be hurtling through tunnels far below her feet.
When they got near to the Leaky Cauldron, where they had agreed to meet — across the street, of course, pretending that the Muggle bookshop was the meeting point — Elise hung back and they let Marius and Cedrella walk on. For once, Aurora wasn't worried about punctuality even though it was nearing one o'clock; her father and Potter would almost certainly be late anyway, left to their own devices.
Elise made what was clearly a pretense out of doing up her shoelaces, and then said to Aurora, "Do you think Charing Cross feels funny, too?"
To that, she had no idea what to say other than, "What?"
"Charing Cross. This whole kind of area. I wondered why Granda wanted to come here to meet you, because I hate the way it feels. It's all… Claggy and stuffy. Like when there's about to be a thunder and lightning." She narrowed her eyes. "It's weird, right?"
"Oh, I — I don't know what you mean."
But she did. She knew how magic felt, like the beginning of a storm, that tingle of anticipation along the arms. But she was used to that. Elise was not.
And yet. Elise grinned. "You look so creeped out right now," she said happily, "but you feel like Charing Cross, too."
Then the girl skipped on ahead and Aurora got the distinct impression that Elise knew far, far more than any of them had wanted her to figure out yet.
"Ravenclaw or Slytherin," she muttered to herself, half-annoyed, half-impressed, before hurrying to catch up with the rest of the group.
Merlin help her. Elise Black knew far too much already; and if she could really sense magic, well... She already had far more connection to it than Aurora could have anticipated. She knew how to play on Aurora's mind, too; there was that mischievous glint in her eye that told Aurora, yes, Elise knew something more was going on and she was going to exploit every nerve they had about it until they cracked. Because why else would someone say something so odd? Unless she believed she was on the right track with it, and knew the reaction she would get, and the one that she wanted.
It was kind of impressive, really. And Aurora felt sure that she would be seeing Elise walking the corridors of Hogwarts soon enough.