(Andromeda Tonks - PoV)
She doesn't...she doesn't understand!
I pace the living room while Ted reads another of his books in the corner, occasionally glancing my way but not saying anything.
How can I possibly get her to understand?
Arcturus is dangerous. Incredibly so, all Blacks are. Which...ok, she may seem to have some idea, considering her mention of him being "mostly evil"...
But why would she be so willing to side with him then?
...
...Why am I?
...
...He is family, of course, and family is everything. It is good that she seems to be coming to understand that. But will she really accept everything? Does Nymphadora have what it takes to be a true Black? I would love to see her brought into the family officially, but...but I don't know...
...
...
It is a long, long, night, as I try to work out my own thoughts.
((Nympha)Dora Tonks - PoV)
Pacing my room, I practice quick-drawing my wand, while lost in thought.
Mum...ugh.
She is...mum, ya know? I love her, sure, but we have never gotten along, as far back as I can remember. But in the past, she was just...pushy. Controlling.
Now?
I...I don't know what is wrong with her now.
She was always unhappy about how things went down after she finished Hogwarts. I thought she would be happy she got the chance to reconnect with her family, or whatever was left of it.
I mean, I didn't really know why, considering, you know, the Blacks, but whatever.
The twins really warmed me up to the idea though. I was hesitant when I first met them, but can't imagine life without them now...
Mum though, instead of either going back to being a Black Princess or finding some middle ground, like any reasonable person, has been...I don't know what she has been doing. I want to say she has been vacillating, wavering between the two, but it seems so much worse than that. She will just...swap back and forth at random, and no amount of pointing it out to her seems to be helping.
I...I worry. I hear so many stories of the infamous Black Madness...
And her sister, my aunt, Bellatrix...
I even...I even sort of met her, once. Back during the war...I remember...
I was what, 5? 6? We were having dinner when the ward alarm went off, and we could hear her yelling.
"ANDY!" she yelled. "ANDY! IT'S BEEN TOO LONG! I CAME TO VISIT! COME OUT AND SEE YOUR BIG SISTER!"
I got one good look out the window, seeing a trope of masked figures, wands drawn, before dad carried me to the living room, making me hide under a table.
"COME ON OUT ANDY! AND BRING THE MUDBLOOD TOO! ALL MY FRIENDS WANT TO MEET HIM! AND WHERE IS THIS NIECE I KEEP HEARING ABOUT? THERE'S SO MUCH WE NEED TO TEACH HER!"
I could just barely make out the flashing lights from outside, as Mom screamed into the fireplace.
I didn't understand what was going on at the time and wasn't nearly as scared as I should have been, at least at first. Not until I heard that sound. That feeling. The bone-deep Warrrrrrrrbbblethat you can feel in your soul.
Again, I had no idea what it was at the time, but that...that finally got to me and made me start crying.
I know what it was now, of course...it was the wards failing. Apparently, Bellatrix had a talent for ward breaking, along with everything else. One more reason she was so infamous.
...
Help arrived in time, the Order and Aurors driving Bella's little group off, but...yeah. Not a memory I will ever forget.
...
And now...now I am considering rubbing shoulders with people that might have actually been under those bloody masks.
Unlikely, true, but...possibly.
...
Sighing, I put my wand back and collapse onto my bed.
There really is no good choice, is there?
Dumbledore...he was my hero for so long, his reputation has always painted him as some messianic figure but...well, they say to never meet your heroes.
I'm sure he is a good man, really means the best, but...when was the last time he really, truly succeeded in his goals? I don't have much of a head for politics but I have tried to look over some legislation and such. And I have been attending Hogwarts, and I know recent history.
The Order was losing the war. Everything I remember and saw suggested it. We were losing, and then Iris's miracle saved us all. And then he failed with her too. And with the Longbottoms. And with Sirius. And Hogwarts standards are about as bad as they have ever been. Defense, History, and Potions OWLs and especially NEWTs are all in the toilet, and there are sooo many other problems I don't even want to start...
Politics wise...Ok, again, I can't really tell left from right, but the little I can make out doesn't really look like he is accomplishing anything. He does vote against some of the more extreme measures, but most of those I don't expect would pass anyway...right? The bills he does support talk a big game but seem kind of overblown to me.
Meanwhile, Gramps, the old bastard...
He's a monster, I know he is. Considering what he was willing to admit to us, I hate to imagine what he does in the dark, what skeletons he hides in his closet.
And yet...and yet he was the one who bothered to learn Sirius was innocent and pushed for him to get a trial. He was the one who backed us to the hilt with Iris, politically and financially. He has always had the twins' backs, no matter what they needed, and, in general...not going to lie, I feel a lot more confident with him in our corner than Dumbledore.
He is a bastard, but he gets shit done and...
Well, if there was ever a choice between what was good for us, and what was good for everyone else, I know what he would pick. We would never be the lambs hung out to dry for the good of the country. He also won't hesitate to do...well, whatever needs done to help out. To keep them safe.
...
I...think I am ok with that.
But, am I ok with everything that goes with it?
Because while I might be leaning harder towards Gramps rather than Beardy...
Can I tolerate rubbing shoulders with people who were likely wearing masks and trying to kill people like dad just a few years back? Who even today occasionally try to push legislation against him?
Gramps doesn't pull that shit, being anti-muggle instead, but a lot of those he hangs with are.
Ugh, of course, the fact they are still around was another failure on Dumbledore's part. He didn't even try to lock them away. One little "oh, but I was Imperiused!" and they walked, even when everyone with the slightest bit of sense knew the truth. It was one reason I decided to become an Auror, to deal with those bastards.
Of course, there is 'didn't try hard enough to put them in jail' and there is 'invite them to your Christmas party.'
...
"FUCK!"
Jumping up, I resume my pacing.
Why can't it just be easy, like before? Good guys good, bad guys bad. But then the twins, those adorable little shits, had to come along and turn my world upside down. And Iris's story twisted it even more.
Ugh.
I guess I will just have to go with the flow for now and see what happens. I certainly will be going to this little pureblood party with them. See if I can tweak a few noses, and keep an eye on Iris, make sure nobody messes with her or the twins.
Because in the end, that's what really matters. Light, Dark, Gramps, Beardy...
They are what really matter, I think. Everyone is going to be trying to use them for their own agenda, they need someone to watch their backs.
(Vernon Dursley - PoV)
Freedom! At last, we are rid of that little freak, once and for all! Papers signed and creepy old men never to darken our doorstep again!
No more do we normal folk have to deal with her weird outbursts or unnaturalness.
No more do we need to worry about when another one of her kind will show up, or answer questions from too nosy neighbors about what the little bitch has gotten up to this time,
No more filling out more paperwork to send her to normal schools where she doesn't belong and causes trouble for our precious boy.
No, now she is finally out of our hair for good, back with the other freaks where she belongs. Good riddance to bad rubbish.
"More wine dear?" Petunia asks me.
"Well, don't mind if I do, we are celebrating after all!" I reply, holding out my glass.
Of course we are throwing a party! Officially to celebrate her having found her long lost family member or whatever, but really, just to celebrate her finally being gone from our lives forever.
We bought the biggest cake the supermarket had, though good ole Dudders is doing his best to change that fact.
"Hah, you work that cake son! Good is it?"
He nods, mouth too full to reply.
Yes, this is a marvelous day. Finally, everything is right in the world.
(Sirius Black - PoV) (Earlier)
I hear the guards coming, and it is all I can do to work up the will to shift back, out of habit as much as anything.
What if I just let them find me in my animagus form? What difference would it really make?
No, no, STOP. That's the dementors talking.
They need you.
The Twins, Iris...
You have failed everyone too damn much, don't fail again. You cannot fail them again. You will not fail them again. Hang on just a little longer, and the old bastard promised you will be getting out of here.
And as much of a cunt as he is, he at least tends to keep his promises.
I slowly pick myself up off the floor as the guards stop in front of my cell.
"Sirius Black?" the one in front asks.
Ugly bastard he is, has got to have a bit of troll ancestry in there. Maybe it gives him resistance to dementor exposure?
"Nope, Stubby Boardman. Black's on vacation, I am filling in for him. Need something?"
Three wands are leveled at me.
'No sense of humor at all, these guys,' is about all I can think before the stunners hit me.