A/N: Due to busy scedules for the rest of the summer, there may be instances where one may have to wait an extra week.
Chapter 111: Aches from the Past
On the twenty-fifth of September, Arcturus and Melania walked into the Leaky Cauldron, and were greeted by Tom.
"Good morning," Tom greeted them with a smile. "Mrs. Tonks told me you'd be coming. Come, I will show you to the room she has reserved for the next two hours."
"Thank you," Melania said politely as they followed him to the private room where they were to meet Andromeda and Orion. Both were already there, waiting patiently, or, as patient as Blacks could be.
"Can I get the four of you anything to eat or drink?" Tom questioned. Arcturus, Melania, and Andromeda ordered tea while Orion ordered a glass of water. Once the drinks appeared, Tom left them to talk.
Orion was failing to hide his nervousness as he glanced at his parents. Andromeda noticed this, and decided to help out.
"Grandmother, Grandfather, how are things going at Hogwarts?" she asked, trying to break the ice.
"Well, we have exchange students this year from Brazil," Arcturus explained, understanding what Andromeda was doing.
"Wait, why do you have students from Brazil?" Orion asked curiously.
"In the Muggle World," Arcturus began, seeing Orion's lips tighten, but he did not interrupt. "They have an exchange student program, which is where a student from a different country comes to your school to learn there and see how that country is different from the one they're from. For example, in the United States, they may have a student at one of their schools who is from Norway. Usually, the exchange student studies there for a year. Therefore, we decided to start an exchange student program of our own. Hogwarts teamed up with the school from Brazil to send some of our students to their school, and they sent some of their students to our school."
"One of the students who is studying at Hogwarts this year is Mauro. We met him when we were in Spain this past summer," Melania explained.
"You went to Spain?" Orion asked.
"We did," Melania affirmed. "A lot of Blacks went on the trip."
"Even the children?" Orion asked.
"Yes, even the children," Arcturus said firmly. "They enjoyed themselves. They got to meet Mauro and his sister Emilia, and they got along well."
"But children tend to cause trouble and make it less fun for the adults," Orion remarked. Melania wanted to scold Orion right there on the spot for even suggesting such a thing, but she kept her mouth shut. Orion was still learning and healing mentally, and she did not want to make it worse for him or slow down his progress.
"We believe that showing children the real world gives them experiences that nothing else can," Arcturus explained calmly.
"How?" Orion demanded to know.
"Well, what about all the vacations we took you and your sister on?" Melania asked. "What did you learn from those trips?"
Orion took a moment to respond. When he did, he didn't have the usual harshness to his voice. "Well, I suppose I learned about how other countries differed from ours and the way they behave in society," Orion remarked.
"Exactly," Arcturus said. "There is always something to learn, and sure, children can misbehave at times, but around the ages that Sirius and Regulus are, they're old enough to really start understanding the world around them. Of course, vacations are meant to have some fun and get away from responsibilities for a while, but it is also a perfect learning opportunity."
"I guess you have a point there," Orion conceded.
There was a slight pause in the conversation before Andromeda broke the silence.
"Uncle Orion, do you feel comfortable sharing what you and I have been talking about?" she asked gently. Orion stiffened, but nodded.
"Alright," he agreed. "Andromeda and I have been talking about my childhood and how I came to be the way I am when it comes to half-bloods and Muggle-borns." Arcturus and Melania nodded at him, encouraging him to continue. "We figured out that a huge part of it was that I was told the same things growing up, that half-bloods and Muggle-borns are just as intelligent and powerful as pure-bloods. However, I never was told how or why that was, so naturally, when I heard from other family members something that made more sense to my childish mind, I clung onto what you would call blood purists were telling me."
"So it was our fault," Melania said sadly. "We didn't explain anything to you, we just expected you to believe us. Is that what you're saying?"
"Yes, that's exactly what I am saying," Orion replied. "It's easy to listen to something that makes more sense to you when you don't understand the first thing that was drilled into your head."
"Oh Orion, I'm so sorry!" Melania exclaimed with tears in her eyes.
"Orion, you have pointed out things that we never thought about," Arcturus said sadly. "If we had realized, we would have explained things to you better. I am sorry that we failed you on that front as your parents."
"It's alright," Orion reassured his parents. "It's not a big deal."
"It is a big deal!" Melania exclaimed. "Maybe, if we had done a better job of explaining why half-bloods and Muggle-borns are equal to pure-bloods, you wouldn't have tried to teach your children to be the same as you, and you wouldn't have harmed them!"
"Mother!" Orion exploded, losing his cool. "We're not here to talk about Sirius and Regulus! Besides, that was all Walburga!"
"But you can't put all the blame on her!" Melania shot back. Melania was usually the calm one in the room, but she was not calm now. She was trying to defend her grandsons.
"Perhaps not, but she still did all the damage!" Orion nearly yelled.
"An absent father that doesn't stand up for them does just as much damage if not more."
Andromeda and Arcturus knew it was time to break up the argument.
"Enough!" Arcturus stated with authority.
"This is not helping anyone," Andromeda added quietly. "Let's sit down and calmly talk about this." Melania sat down, but Orion stayed standing. "Uncle Orion, it's alright," Andromeda said gently. "Your mother was not trying to get into an argument with you. Come on, let's sit down and have a conversation, alright?" Orion sighed and sat down.
"Sorry," he muttered.
"No, I'm sorry," Melania said with a frown. "I didn't mean to start anything."
"Now that we're on the same page, let's discuss things calmly," Arcturus cut in.
Orion nodded. "Alright," he agreed. "Let's talk. Let's give this another try." Before they could continue their conversation, however, there was a loud bang and a flash of light. The four of them whipped out their wands, ready for anything.