'I'll get the door love,' I say, stealing a quick peck on his cheek.

'Jude,' laughs Ominis, as he continues chopping.

I dry my hands on a towel and open the door, 'Hello?' I ask, my smile faltering when I see the man in front of me.

He's someone I've never seen before, at least not around the hamlet. His dark hair swept back from even darker eyes. Eyes that make my hair stand on end, eyes that burn with hate. A feeling creeps over me that tells me to run, to slam the door in his face and lock it behind me. I move to do just that, when I feel blinding pain surge through every nerve in my body and my vision blackens at the edges. I feel bile welling in my throat, my knees scream as they hit the cottage floor. It takes everything in me not to bellow over the fire coursing through me. I'm barely aware of glass breaking, of Ominis screaming, of the strange man kicking me further into the cottage. I try to steady my breathing as I fade in and out of clarity. I can't catch what they say to each other, all I know is this man must be more practiced with curses because it's not fading nearly as fast as the first time I was on the receiving end of the cruciatus curse. When I finally manage to look up, Ominis is standing on the other side of the table with his wand drawn. My heart drops in my stomach, I don't have my wand on me. I make out the tail end of their conversation as my mind clears.

'-Father knows that.' stresses Ominis.

'He knows you and your Mudblood pet are playing house,' mocks the strange man as he spits in my direction, 'Mother is inconsolable and Father,' the man pauses, a cruel crooked smile spreading on his face, 'Well you know how he deals with things.' A look of panic ripples through Ominis's face as he takes a step forward, and the man trains his wand on me. 'Ah, ah, ah do something stupid and your pet gets it.' He warns in a sing-song tone that makes my blood run cold.

'I'm alright.' I say through gritted teeth, the last of the pain subsiding.

The man glances in my direction, 'Aw already? Stronger than I thought.' he pouts, 'Shall I do it again Ominis? Such fun–you remember, don't you?'

'Marvolo,' Ominis demands, straightening himself. I can tell it's taking everything in him to stay calm, to not to look in my direction, 'Leave now, I made it quite clear years ago, I don't want anything to do with the family.'

Marvolo laughs, wholly ignoring his comment, 'Word travels Ominis, Father doesn't stand for your actions.'

'You did mention that,' says Ominis, choosing his words carefully, 'So he sends his mindless attack dog?'

'I won't take insults from nothing more than a spare ,' he bites back, but his eyes betray him. Ominis has plunged a knife in a sore spot.

'You've always been stupid enough to do Father's dirty work Marvolo.' retorts Ominis with a sarcastic laugh, 'Never one for critical thinking, never one for asking questions.' he scoffs, knowing full well he's twisting the knife further in, 'If Father asked you to run into a Manticor den you would do so without a second thought.'

'You've always been a self-righteous little prick,' Marvolo snarls, his attention fully pulled to Ominis. 'You, Noctura. You both have always thought yourself better than us,' he continues, 'Your. Own. Blood.' punctuating his words with his wand, a sinister, mocking smile carves itself on his face 'And now you're rutting in the muck like a pig.'

I take my chance and lunge while he's preoccupied with insulting Ominis, throwing a quick jab to knock him off balance as I plant an uppercut right on the side of his jaw knocking him to the ground. Marvolo is a large man, sure, but he's weak and slow. Once on the ground I quickly pin him, digging my knees into his arms and my full weight on his chest. I make quick work of tossing his wand away. My adrenaline still surges as I punch him once, twice, three times in the face, feeling the crunch of bone beneath my fist.

'Ominis, could you hand me my wand please love?' I ask as calmly as I can, hands shaking from adrenaline, 'It's on the table.'

Marvolo starts to laugh as blood flows from his nose soaking into the white of his shirt. He tries to move but I dig my knees in further, causing him to let out a sharp hiss, 'Mudblood filth,' he spits.

'Yeah, I know,' I say, unphased by the words I've heard so often.

'Jude here,' I hear from behind me.

'Thank you,' I say as I train it on Marvolo, 'This is how it's going to go, I'm going to get up and you are going to leave.'

'And why would I do that filth?' sneers Marvolo, spitting a spray of blood onto my shirt.

'Because,' I say, 'The moment you turn your wand on one of us you'll be a dead man.'

'My baby brother doesn't have it in him,' he mocks, 'Nor do you.'

'I wouldn't be so sure Marvolo,' warns Ominis, his voice colder than I've ever heard before.

'I doubt you'd be hard to get rid of either,' I continue, a casual edge in my own voice, 'There's a quintaped just north of here, or I can simply call in a favor from a colleague and leave you to a Lethifold.'

There's a hint of fear in Marvolo's eyes. One he quickly hides with a rabid snarl.

'Right then,' I say as I slowly get up, keeping my wand trained on him, 'Leave.'

Marvolo wipes the blood from his face with his sleeve, snatching his wand from the floor.

'Go Marvolo!' shouts Ominis.

'Thank you for having me,' he says with a bow, 'I'll have to make another house call soon little brother,' he snarls with a smile so wicked and unnatural it looks like a grimace, then he's gone. The pop of the disapparation charm the only thing left.

I take a breath for the first time since this nightmare started. A dull pain from the bite of my nails radiates in my palms. I try to still my trembling hands, and swallow the nausea of the encounter as I look over at Ominis. He's bracing himself on the table as if it's the only thing keeping him grounded. His face is pallid, tears streaming down his cheeks.

'Hey, come here,' I say, gently pull him into an embrace, 'We're alright, we're ok.'

'You have to go Jude,' he cries into my shoulder, 'You have to leave, it's not safe. I-I'm not safe to be around,' He sobs, his voice nothing more than a whisper, 'I'm not safe.'

'I'm not going anywhere love,' I say as I hold him close, 'I'm not going anywhere.'

We stay there for a long moment, until we both calm down. Until his sobs turn to nothing more than sniffles.

'On the bright side,' I say, trying to get a laugh out of him, 'All those years of boxing dad forced me to take seemed to pay off.'

'Lucky for us indeed.' he laughs, dissolving the last of his tears.

I smile to myself, kissing his forehead, 'You're not getting rid of me that easily,' I say, 'Where you go, I go.'