Chapter 112: A Surprise Test
Arcturus, Melania, Andromeda, and Orion hurried out of the room they had been speaking in and rushed outside the Leaky Cauldron where everyone else was. It was chaos, with spells flying everywhere. Andromeda ducked out of the way of an incoming lime-green spell just in time.
"Who is attacking?" she hissed.
"I think I know," Arcturus replied, putting up a shield around her. As a healer, she could not duel due to her healer's Oath, which prevented her from using harmful spells, even the ones that were only slightly harmful. "I believe it is Lucius Malfoy," he continued.
"That would not surprise me," Orion muttered. He had his wand out and was ready to attack at any moment. "But I don't think it's just him. There are too many spells flying around for it to be just one person firing them off."
"True," Melania agreed, deflecting a stunning spell. They moved forward through the crowd, hoping to get a peek at who was involved in this attack.
Sure enough, there was Lucius Malfoy, looking like he was having the time of his life. Next to him was Walburga.
"Oh no," Orion muttered. Andromeda squeezed his shoulder in support. "Why is SHE here?"
"Oh, look who it is!" Walburga called out. "It's the scared, weak Black! Lucius, may I do the honors? Pretty please?" Lucius gave her a nod. "Make sure they learn who is really in control," he whispered just loud enough for her to hear.
"Don't you dare!" Melania yelled, blocking a dark curse Walburga had been sending Orion's way. "How dare you even CONSIDER harming MY SON?!" Her eyes darkened with anger, her magic pooling off her skin in a large torrent.
"Leave, Walburga," Arcturus stated firmly.
"I will not leave, not until I show this man how much of a coward he is!" Walburga shot back. "Running away from me and hiding behind his FAMILY? What a disgrace!"
"SHUT UP!" Orion roared. "GET OUT OF HERE, YOU PIECE of SCUM!"
"Make me!" Walburga shrieked.
"Are you a child?" Andromeda asked coldly. "Only children say that."
"I am NOT a child, you good-for-nothing Mudblood lover!" Walburga exclaimed angrily.
"You never learn, do you?" Andromeda asked harshly. "You keep spouting that blood purity nonsense, and you seem to be stuck in the 19th century! So, stop being a jerk!"
"Well, you little..." Walburga began, but was interrupted by Lucius.
"Kill them already!" he snapped. "They're all Mudblood-loving fools!"
Walburga smirked and raised her wand, ready to shoot off a curse. Arcturus disarmed her, sending her wand flying.
"I can still cast spells, you know," Walburga stated with a gleam in her eyes.
"Yes, I am aware you can do wandless magic," Arcturus stated. "But without your wand, your magic's not as powerful." Walburga didn't seem to like his response.
"How dare you!" she screeched. She raised her hand, and with a flick of her wrist, a stunning spell came flying towards them. Melania blocked it, sending it back to Walburga, who dodged it just in time.
"Even that stunning spell didn't look all that strong," Andromeda said with a smirk. "Now, will you just leave? Please?" There was even a note of kindness there to soften the expression.
"Not a chance," Walburga replied coldly. Just then, Orion sent two stunning spells her way, followed by a stinging hex. The spells were coming at her so quickly, that she couldn't block or dodge them all. She was hit by both stunning spells, while the stinging hex just barely missed her.
"There," Orion said. "One down, one more to go."
Lucius looked furious. "What happened to you, Orion?" Lucius asked angrily. "Did you suddenly get scared of your wife?" Before Orion could respond, Lucius raised his wand and sent a Cruciatus Curse his way.
"Uncle Orion!" Andromeda shrieked as the curse hit him. Arcturus and Melania started shooting spells at Lucius as Orion tried to recover from the curse. Lucius sent spells of his own, which made for a colorful but dangerous display. Andromeda wished she could join in to defend her family, but she couldn't, due to the Healer's Oath. This was one of the few times she wished she wasn't a healer.
Orion finally recovered from the Cruciatus Curse, and he joined his parents in fighting Lucius. With it being three against one, they had the advantage.
"You're going to need a lot more people following you if you don't want to be knocked down so easily," Melania teased as Lucius struggled to get back on his feet while still deflecting spells from three different directions.
"This isn't over," Lucius snarled. "The House of Black will fall, and soon."
"Not while I am the patriarch of this family," Arcturus said calmly. Lucius smirked.
"We'll see about that," he hissed angrily before grabbing Walburga and Disapparating.
"He threatened the House of Black," Arcturus said bitterly. "I will not let him have power over us." He then turned to Orion. "Thank you," he said sincerely.
"Sure, whatever," Orion replied. "I was just doing what needed to be done."
"When someone thanks you, you say you're welcome," Andromeda said gently. "Blacks pride themselves on manners, yet they do not know how to respond to someone thanking them. I didn't learn until I was twelve, and that was only thanks to Grandmother and Grandfather."
Orion snorted. "You're welcome," he muttered, clearly uncomfortable.
"We'll finish our conversation another day," Melania said kindly. "You need to get checked out by Andromeda. You got more injuries than we did."
"And you were put under the Cruciatus Curse," Arcturus added. "We will finish our conversation another day. Just know that what you did today was brave. You fought with both Walburga and Lucius."
"Well, someone had to," Orion said awkwardly. Andromeda smiled and put a hand on his shoulder.
"We'll see you later," she said to Arcturus and Melania.
"See you next time, Andromeda and Orion," Arcturus said as he and Melania walked away to return to Hogwarts.