AN: For anyone who was curious, my AO3 name is "Miss_Mako" and you can find this story under that username with the same title!

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Aurelia,

How are you, mate? Haven't heard from you in a while. Or Harry, really. Been worried about both of you. Dad said you were stuck here till the trial. Hopefully not with Snape. Let me know if you are. I'll come rescue you. Mum and Dad have been dying to meet you, so I know they won't mind.

Clawdius is doing alright. Been a real comfort to Percy. He's still upset 'bout the Scabbers being a grown man thing. Can't say I blame him. He says hi, by the way. Fred and George too. And Charlie? Ginny's also really looking forward to meeting you. She's probably your biggest fan, though you aren't as amazing as Harry, to her.

Even if you aren't being held captive by the bloody git, you can still come by whenever. You don't have to wait until August.

Owl me more often, won't you?

Sincerely,

Ron

ps

You hear anything about Black's trial yet? The papers are going mad.

"There you are now. Nice and steady."

"This is child abuse," I hissed at Marius.

Elsinore rolled her eyes, "You cannot go about your life never even trying."

"I could die!" I moaned.

"You aren't even a meter off the ground! You took on a full-brown mountain troll last year. You can learn how to ride a broom."

"Grandpa! Save me! She's trying to kill me!"

I clutched onto the wooden handle and stayed still as possible, trying to balance for dear life.

The old man laughed. He'd been standing right beside me to make sure I wouldn't fall straight to the grass. Grandma dearest, on the other hand, was standing with what appeared to be a mojito in hand.

"My dear, if I were trying to have you killed, I'd be going about it in a much more subtle manner than this."

Snape was going to die for telling them that I skived off flying lessons. Now I was being forced to learn how to fly in the garden instead of spending the day curled up in the library researching how to get away with passive fraud.

I gawked at her and Marius rolled his black-bead eyes, "Love, you're frightening her."

Elsinore took a sip from her crystal glass, "I haven't the foggiest idea what you could be referring to. Now, try a bit higher.

I looked at Marius for help. He merely gave me a look of encouragement.

"Come on now. You can do it, Aurelia."

I gulped and the broom raised a few inches higher.

"That's it, keep going now. Don't be afraid. I'll catch you if you fall."

Deep breath in. Deep breath out.

I repeated this mantra in my head as I went higher and higher. I was now a solid six feet off the ground. My bones were shaking from irrational discomfort and paranoia. I didn't like heights. I've never once liked them, not even in my previous life. I just knew there was some unpleasant experience I could remember. Quite frankly, while sometimes my lack of proper memories was a curse, today it was proving to be a bit of a blessing. A double-edged sword pointing in my favor for once.

Seven feet.

Eight feet.

Nine feet.

Ten…

"Elsie, love, please let her come down. Look at her. She's crying."

Elsinore held up a finger and drank the rest of her mojito before nodding, "Yes, I suppose that's enough for today."

Marius sighed in relief then looked up at my shaking figure, "Can you come down on your own?"

I could not.

He opened his arms, "Come along, now. I've got you."

I looked at him hesitantly before closing my eyes and letting go of the broom handle.

I braced myself for the impact of the ground, only to find myself in a warm, familial embrace.

Marius's eyes crinkled as he looked softly at me, "There, see? That wasn't so hard. You did very well today."

He set me down on my feet and gently pat my head. Elsinore set her glass down and gracefully strides towards me.

"A Prince always strives to turn our weaknesses into strengths. You've got a long way to go, but I'm very proud of you, my dear. We'll have you soaring through the skies by September. Who knows? Perhaps you might fall in love and join the Slytherin Quidditch team."

"But," Marius cut in, "it's alright if you don't succeed at first. What matters is striving for improvement and putting the effort in."

Sometimes it was hard to believe someone like Marius Prince was real.

"How in God's name were you raised a Black, yet quite possibly be the nicest person I know?"

Elsinore snickered behind her black lace hand fan and Marius snatched the back of his head, "I have… made a considerable effort to be better than my family."

"That's not exactly hard though," I pointed out.

"Trust me," he said, "it's more difficult than you think."

"It's why we don't put up with Severus' nonsense," Elsinore kissed her husband's chin, "A difficult upbringing is never an excuse to make innocent people's lives miserable."

My brows furrowed, "Didn't you repeatedly torment your in-laws?"

"I do believe I said 'innocent,' dear."

Dear Ron,

Sorry it took forever to get back! I'm glad to hear that my son is doing alright. I knew I left him in capable hands. Send my regards to him and the rest of your family for me. I'll think about coming over sooner, but I haven't yet heard anything definitive on a date for the trial. I did, however, send them a written witness statement.

Harry's currently being punished by his relatives for existing, so he most likely won't be able to write for a while. I don't know if he'll be at the trial. If he isn't, you and I can kidnap him and bring him over to the Burrow. I can't imagine they'll just hand him over to Sirius after a decade in Azkaban. That cannot be good for one's psyche. Do they have therapists/psychiatrists in the Wizarding World? They might be known as mind healers. We should get Sirius one of those. And Harry too. And you know what, let's get Snape one while we're at it.

Love,

Aurelia R. R. Prince

P.S. I'm actually staying with my great-grandparents. You and everyone else would really like them. Maybe we could all have a slumber party at Prince Manor before school.

P.P.S. Is Hermione still mad at me or something? I haven't heard from her since the train ride home. Maybe she's just been waiting for me. I don't know, I'll write to her tomorrow. It… I don't know how familiar you are with certain things, but I've got this thing where sometimes doing simple tasks like writing a letter takes a lot out of me. So if I take a while to write back sometimes it's not because I'm ignoring you and I'm most likely not in trouble. It doesn't mean I love ya any less. My brain is just tired and needs a little break.

Child,

I am expecting you to be up and ready early on the morning of this Saturday. You have received a request to meet from a ministry attorney. Do not make me wait.

– Severus Snape

"Miss Prince, thank you for coming in today. We have much to discuss."

I shook Mr. Lee's hand before sitting down in the creaky office chair.

Snape glowered at him. As my guardian, he had to be present for all of my legal proceedings. I did not want to think about the fact that the public trial where Snape would publicly be there would reveal to the public that he was technical my father. Publicly.

The attorney, to his credit, was able to ignore Snape's expression.

"Now, Miss Prince, seeing as you are technically a citizen of the United States of America— both muggle and magical— and underage, this complicates matters somewhat. Alongside your father, a representative from the MACUSA will be accompanying you on the stand to make your statement. Under normal circumstances, this would also mean you would remain anonymous. However, your involvement, in this case, is… well beyond public knowledge at this point. Now, another thing, on your file it says your legal name is Aurelia R. Rodriguez. Yet you've signed your written statement as Aurelia R. R. Prince?"

"Blame him," I pointed at Snape.

The attorney raised a rather bushy eyebrow, "Should you not be Aurelia Snape, then?"

I gagged and Snape thwacked me upside the head.

I gave him middle-finger guns before turning to Mr. Lee, "Please have the courts address me as Aurelia Prince. And also please never put the words 'Aurelia' and 'Snape' directly after each other."

The worn-out attorney sighed at the antics before him, "Professionalism, please. Anyway—"

Mr. Lee was cut off by the door loudly opening behind us.

"Sorry, I'm late! Portkey was actin' up!" Said an American voice. "Have I missed anything?"

I turned around to see an attractive and corpulent woman with wild hair carrying a large briefcase stumble into the office.

"Ah! You're Miss Aurelia, aren't you? I'm Alya Kowalski. You can me Alya," she grinned brightly at me and took my hand, "I'll be your representative from back home. I'm here to protect you from the scary redcoats!"

I blinked rapidly, taking in her… large personality.

"…Hi?"

She whipped her head around, lime green curls bouncing, and held out her hand to Snape, "And you must Severus! Don't worry, I'll look after your little girl."

Snape ignored her hand and gave her his signature "fuck off" sneer.

Alya's grin widened even more, "Aw, it's okay. There's no need to be shy. We'll be best of friends by the end of the trial!"

I tried to cover my laugh with a cough.

"Detention," he said, not even looking at me.

"Oh, come on! We're not even in school!"

The balding man groaned and snapped his yellowed fingers, "Could we all please focus? Now, I've just received word that Pettigrew is refusing to plead guilty and that a date has been set for ten in the morning on July the twenty-ninth. This is a fairly cut and dry trial, so it should not take much time. Miss Kowalski will escort Miss Prince up to the stand and transcribe the events to report back to the MACUSA, as Miss Prince's involvement has made this an international matter. Should any threat come to Miss Prince, Miss Kowalski is to handle it on behalf of the MACUSA and see to it that it is corrected immediately. Are there any questions at this moment in time?"

I shook my head, "S'all good in the hood for me."

Mr. Lee and Snape cringed at me, but quite frankly it was right in the morning on a summer Friday so I didn't really care.

Alya, on the other hand, clapped her hands with glee, "Excellent! Oh! Do you mind if I speak to Miss Aurelia in private? You know, American to American?"

Snape, desperate to be out of the jubilant woman's presence, gave his consent to be alone with me.

"Wonderful! We'll be just down the hall. Come along now, Miss Aurelia."

"Phew! I wasn't sure how much longer I could keep that up!"

I blinked at the fellow American and looked around the empty office to see check if I was about to be ambushed. Alya smiled at me in a way that almost seemed nostalgic.

"Your resemblance is striking, you know."

I stepped back, "Excuse me? I can't be that ugly."

The green-haired woman laughed, "No, dear. I mean to Rita. You may have your father's hair and eyes, but the rest of you is very similar to her." Sensing my discomfort and confusion, she continued, "I was friends with your mother in school. We were both Thunderbirds, but I was a year younger, though. I wanted to say something the moment I saw you, but it could be considered a conflict of interest. Truth be told, I haven't spoken to her in the better part of a decade. I didn't even know she had a daughter. I heard she passed last year. My condolences."

"You… you were really friends with my mom?"

Mom never talked about any magical friends. Well, she didn't talk about magic period. I wish I could've gotten the chance to ask her why.

Alya nodded, "Sure was. Knew Black too. Well, not nearly as well as Rita, but I saw him around."

"Wait— what? Mom knew Sirius Black?"

How the hell could I have missed that?! Why am I only hearing about this now?

Her cognac-brown eyes widened, "Oh, you don't know, do you?"

"Know what?"

A knock at the closed door interrupted her.

"Child. We're leaving."

"Just a minute!" I replied.

"Now," demanded Snape.

I frantically turned back to Alya, "What don't I know?"

My mother's old friend looked conflicted before ushering me to the door, "If Rita never told you, then it's not my right to tell."

I damn near fell out the door, Snape's arm being the only thing keeping me from stumbling to the ground.

I laughed nervously and looked up at him, "Thanks."

He rolled his eyes, "Let's go."

"Wait, Alya…" I turned around to see her walking off. She threw a hand casually in the air and gave a slight wave.

"See you at the trial, kid! Owl me if you have any legal questions!"

"Wait—" I was cut off by Snape dragging me towards an apparition point.

I glared at him, "What's your problem?"

"Quit your whinging. Elsinore and Marius have something for you at Prince Manor. Spoiled child." He muttered that last part under his breath.

My eyes widened, "I don't have to go back to Spinner's End with you?"

"I am nothing if not a man of my word. Besides, I'd rather not deal with you being a nuisance on my months off. At least I can trust Elsinore to ensure you don't run off to fight the Dark Lord."

"You could have told me you believed me about that, you know. I don't know what you were trying to accomplish by yelling at me."

He ignored me and pulled me to his side before disaparating.

"You know, I really think we would benefit from family counseling. See, you Brits could greatly stand to talk about your feelings every now and then. Y'all are like breathing brick walls most of the time."

"Keep blabbering on, and I might reconsider you not coming to Cokeworth with me."

I put my hands up, "Alright, alright. You can cool your jets."

Snape, who hated my muggle-Americanisms, sneered.

"Cokeworth," he threatened.

"Severus, stop harassing our granddaughter."

"Grandpa!" I ran over to hide behind Marius and stuck my tongue out at Snape.

You might be thinking, "Aurelia, why are you being so childish? Aren't you at bare minimum eighteen?"

And the answer is: James Potter has been dead for over a decade and Snape still vehemently hates him and blames his son for all of his life's problems that he himself brought on. He's thirty-two. And that's not bashing; that's just an observation of facts.

So I think I'm entitled to act "my age" every now and then.

Elsinore looked Snape over, "Severus. You're looking particularly… adequate this afternoon. Though a quick shave would not kill you."

Snape clenched his jaw, "Do you not have something to show Aurelia?"

Marius held out his arm to me, "Indeed we do. May I have the honor of escorting you to the parlour?"

I raised my nose and gave my best impression of Narcissa Malfoy, "Yes, you may."

My icy-eyed great-grandmother looked over her shoulder, "I suppose you may come as well."

"I'm afraid I have prior… engagements."

"Do try not to commit any Azkaban-worthy offenses."

Snape simply smirked at her.

I looked up at Marius, "Do they ever get along?"

"Not in years, my sweet girl."

We reached the grand ebony door to the parlor. As I opened it I heard Elsinore say something to Marius about making sure I didn't faint, though I wasn't sure why until I saw what was behind the door.

Well, it would be more accurate to say who.

A small elderly woman with dark honey skin and pinned back grey curls sat up from the fainting sofa and gave me a shaky smile

"Hola, niña," Abuelita greeted softly.