(Iris Potter - PoV)
Coeus! Phoebe!
I rush after them immediately but stop to take one last look at the stunned man in flamboyant robes as I make my way up the stairs. He sits unmoving, tea dripping off of his face and onto his soiled robes.
Coeus was worried he would ruin everything...well, I won't let him.
Taking the rest of the stairs, I make my way to the twins' room, finding them sitting on the bed, holding a picture. They look up as I enter.
"Ah, Iris...sorry..." Coeus apologizes.
Sitting on the bed, I draw him into a hug and look over his shoulder at the picture.
It is their mother, Liara Moon.
They talked about her a bit when we first started looking at pictures, but...
...
It takes me a moment to work up my courage.
"What happened to her?" I ask.
Coeus runs his thumb along the edge of the frame.
"She got cursed. Something no one had ever seen before. No one could cure it, or break it," he replies.
"She died slowly, over years. It was a long time before we understood. We watched..." he trails off.
...
"We watched her die," Phoebe continues for him. "We were in the room with her in Mungos. She was simply...there one moment, barely hanging on, and then...nothing. Empty. Her spark gone entirely."
...
"We couldn't do anything but watch..." he says.
I squeeze Coeus closer as the tears fall from his eyes.
I always hated the fact that I never got to know my parents. I've only ever gotten the vaguest, most generic of details, and most of those were lies from them.
But now I have to wonder if there isn't something worse...To have known them, to truly love them, and then have them taken away like that...
And then their dad, Sirius...They never knew him, never had the chance. Now they do, and they don't want to. They want nothing to do with him, because...
"He should have been there," Coeus mutters, his hands clenching the picture tightly.
"Sirius," I whisper.
Coeus nods.
"He should have been there. Maybe mother wouldn't have been cursed...or maybe he could have helped, or something. Or maybe not. But he should have at least been there. Ever. At all."
But he was in prison.
...Because he chose revenge over...everything.
"Family...family never seemed to mean anything to him," Coeus spits out.
"He left us, the Blacks. Abandoned his family the first chance he got. He left mother, he left you...he never cared for any of us," he continues, his hands clenching ever harder at the frame. "Then he just...waltzes in here, expecting to be welcomed with open arms? Expecting to be greeted like family?!"
The frame cracks in his hands, and Phoebe reaches over, gently taking the picture from him. He barely even seems to notice, I am not sure if he can even see through the tears in his eyes.
"He's not family," he whispers. "He's nothing. Maybe he didn't betray your parents, but he betrayed us, he betrayed you."
Coeus looks up at me.
"I don't know if he could have saved mom...but he could have saved you..."
I gulp, thinking about it.
He was...he was in prison...
"It was his job to look after you. His responsibility. Before anything else."
...He chose...
"And he threw it away, like he has done with his family every time..."
He didn't want me.
...
Everything...none of it had to happen. But, he didn't want me.
...
But it's ok.
I smile at Coeus, causing him to blink.
"It's ok," I tell him. "We don't need him, remember?"
I rest my head on his shoulder.
"We have a family without him."
He won't mess up what we have now.
Phoebe rests on his other side, and gradually Coeus settles down.
...
Despite my words, I continue to dwell on it. I can feel the worst spots under my robes, the worst scars.
It is difficult to resist the urge to squirm. So many people could have stopped everything...but he was supposed to. He was supposed to be my family, right? But he just...left. He wanted revenge more.
And so instead...
...
And then he expected us to hug him?
Well, he may not be family, but I suppose he is a Black. Everyone says they are all crazy.
I scooch over a bit, adjusting myself to a better spot on the bed. As I do, I notice Phoebe still holding the picture.
Ah...I hope I didn't...
...
I may be ok now, and getting better, but she isn't. She never will be.
...
The door opens, drawing our attention.
Thankfully it is Dora that enters, not...him.
She notices the picture in Phoebe's hands quickly, giving us a sad smile, before closing the door behind her.
*Yaaaaawwwnnnnn*
She stretches out further than humanly possible, before walking across the room and sitting in the chair near Coeus's enchanting chest, still not saying a word.
She spins in the chair quietly for a few moments before speaking.
"He's still there, for the moment, but should leave soon," she says.
We nod silently.
She stops spinning and extends her hand out to Coeus, offering him his wand back.
"Good casting there, damn fast. Need to work on your aim more. I can practice with you all later this week?"
He takes the wand, stowing it away, and clears his throat.
"S-Sounds good. I wasn't really aiming at anything in particular though..."
She nods.
"Something to work on, especially with a Stinging Hex. If you really want it to hurt, go for the face, or a sensitive spot, like the genitals, or the insides of the joints. Armpit, insides of the knees or elbow, wherever it rubs a lot. Spots where it rubs are the most painful overall, the face can be disfiguring, which is a nice bonus. Genitals...well, most people don't appreciate even a healer having to fiddle with their bits," she says with a smirk.
She...seems to know a lot about the topic.
The smirk fades, and she leans back in the chair with a sigh.
"So...Sirius."
Coeus, who had finally relaxed near completely, stiffens up a bit, just hearing the name.
"No happy family reunion in the near future then?" she asks.
"He's not family," Coeus says bluntly.
Dora winces slightly, but nods, before looking at me.
I nod.
"He didn't want me then, I don't see why he does now. You guys are my family, not him."
"I see, I see."
She blows her breath out as if she is trying to cool something off, leaning back in her chair and spinning once more.
"Well, first off, I want you lot to know I support you, one-hundred percent. You want nothing to do with him? That's your choice. Don't let mum or anyone else tell you otherwise," she says.
But...
"But, well. I don't know how to say it without sounding patronizing, and you lot know I hate doing that, right? Like, for real?"
Coeus snorts. "You give us crap all the time," he says. "But...yes. Not when it matters..."
Dora nods, despite the fact she is currently facing the opposite direction as the chair spins.
"Right. So, I gotta say, that while I respect your choice, I do think you are being a bit unfair to him. Not that you are entirely wrong, mind. He made some bad choices, but I suspect you don't quite understand things and are hitting him harder than he deserves. Hell, I don't understand everything, it was before my time for the most part. I only barely remember him. But he helped us out more than a few times, and was always a great guy."
She shrugs, now mostly facing us.
"Then again, maybe that's my own bias speaking. Like I said, it is up to you lot, and only you, if you want to have anything to do with him. But, well, and I am asking here, please, try to keep an open mind for the future at least? You are still young, and stuff like this is never as simple as it seems."
The chair stops, as she focuses on Coeus.
He stares back at her, considering.
Should we? It...sounds reasonable.
"I hate him." Coeus declares levelly.
Dora nods.
"...But you have a point," he admits. "I could be wrong. Maybe someone can say something to change things, but I don't want to see him. I don't want to talk to him."
She glances at me, and I nod in agreement.
She smiles.
"That's reasonable. A conversation for another time then," she says, as she gets up and comes over to kneel in front of us.
"I'm sorry," she says, running her fingers along the picture of Liara still in Phoebe's hand, "I really didn't know her that well."
She looks up at Coeus and Phoebe.
"But I have you midgets now, and I got your backs," she promises.
She snakes her arms around their waists and pulls them in close. "I love you guys. All of you," she says, looking at me.
We all sit together like that for a time, in silence but, as a family.
Until Dora groans.
"Metamorph or no metamorph, there is only so long I can do this, my knees are killing me. You good?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm good." Coeus responds.
"All of you. Good?"
"Yes," Phoebe and I answer.
"Great, great. Now, let's see if I can manage to stand up after this..."
(Ron(ald) Weasly - PoV)
Slamming the door behind me, I throw myself on my bed, my eyes not watering.
It's not fair!
Scabbers, that stupid, ugly, useless rat that I don't even like, disappeared, and somehow it's my fault.
Burying my head in my pillow I try not to yell.
Years. Percy had him for years! I get him, and not even a month later he vanishes.
It's not my fault! I did everything he told me to, I did! But mom won't listen. Percy won't listen. Nobody will believe me...
...
Why does is everything in my life crap?
Just...just a little longer...
I just have to wait a little longer.
Reaching over to my bedstand, I fumble around until I find it, my wand. Well, Charlie's wand, but it's mine now.
I can feel it. Barely, but I can feel it. The slight pulse of magic.
Laying back in bed, I stare at the old Chudley Cannons poster.
I just have to wait until I get to Hogwarts, then I will show everyone...I'll be the best...
I'll get all the spells...and Quidditch...and everything...
Zzzzz
