The Disgraced of the House of Black - A Multi-Character Fanfiction - Part One

136. Tremble

Althea felt excited for the first time in weeks as she stood around with the Order members who had come to celebrate Ron and Hermione becoming prefects. Tomorrow, they would board the Hogwarts Express and finally be out of Grimmauld Place. It was true that Amara's decorations had made the place nearly unrecognizable, but it was still not a place Althea much enjoyed being in with no other place to go. As it was, however, she was so excited, that, after quickly finishing her food, she went back upstairs to finish her packing.

Before she had reached her room, however, a strange sound reached her ears. It sounded curiously like sobbing. Cautiously, she approached the sound, opening the door to the drawing room. Inside, she found Molly Weasley curled up on the floor, sobbing her heart out as she stared at the dead bodies of several of her children.

"Mrs Weasley!" Althea said quickly, rushing forward to help her, but as she did so, she suddenly noticed the boggart taking notice of her.

Desperately, she closed her eyes, blocking her ears as she waited for the horrible, mangled corpses that always appeared third year, but they never came. Cautiously, she opened her eyes. What she saw instantly stopped her in her tracks. Hovering above her with an unnaturally wide smirk was Voldemort himself.

Althea shrieked, scrambling back as several figures suddenly dashed into the room. Remus instantly jumped in front of the boggart as Amara went to Althea, wrapping her arms around her tightly as Sirius and Moody followed. Remus quickly killed the boggart.

"Oh - oh - oh!" Molly cried, beginning to sob into her hands as Remus approached Althea, lowering beside her worriedly.

"Are you all right?" he asked gently.

She nodded, but she was shaking so badly she couldn't move. As she already had Amara, however, Remus went over to Molly.

"Molly," he said soothingly. "Molly, don't-"

Soon, however, she was sobbing as though her heart was breaking. Harry, who had been hovering by the door, sat down by Althea, taking her trembling hand into his own.

"Molly, it was just a boggart," Remus said soothingly. "Just a stupid boggart."

"I see them d-d-dead all the time!" she cried. "All the t-t-time! I d-d-dream about it...D-d-don't tell Arthur. I d-d-don't want him to know...being silly..."

Her tears had slowed and she had begun to calm down slightly.

Blowing her nose, she said, "Harry, Thea, I'm so sorry, what you must think of me? Not even able to get rid of a boggart..."

"Don't be stupid," Harry said, trying to smile even as he tried to calm Althea.

Her eyes were closed now and she was so focused on her breathing she wasn't listening.

"I'm just s-s-so worried," Molly cried. "Half the f-f-family's in the Order, it'll b-b-be a miracle if we all come through this...and P-P-Percy's not talking to us...What if something d-d-dreadful happens and we had never m-m-made up? And what's going to happen if Arthur and I get killed, who's going to look after Ron and Ginny?"

"Molly, that's enough," Remus said. "This isn't like last time. The Order is better prepared, we've got a head start, we know what Voldemort's up to-"

Molly squeaked at the sound of the name.

"Oh, Molly, come on," Remus said. "It's about time you got used to hearing it - look. I can't promise no one's going to get hurt, nobody can promise that, but we're much better off than we were last time, you weren't in the Order then, you don't understand, last time we were outnumbered twenty to one by the Death Eaters and they were picking us off one by one..."

Glancing over, Harry saw that Amara had gone slightly pale as she listened to Remus.

"Don't worry about Percy," Sirius said unexpectedly. "He'll come round. It's a matter of time before Voldemort moves into the open: once he does, the whole Ministry's going to be begging us to forgive them. And I'm not sure I'll be accepting their apology."

"And as for who's going to look after Ron and Ginny if you and Arthur died," Remus resumed with a small smile. "What do you think we'd do, let them starve?"

"Being silly," Molly muttered.

"Come, let's get you some tea," Remus suggested, helping her to her feet. Before he left, he said, "I'll be right back, Althea."

She didn't answer, but once he had gone with Mrs Weasley, Amara asked, "Are you all right?"

"Y-yeah," Althea said, her voice shaking slightly. "I just...my boggart changed. I wasn't expecting...that."

Sirius sat down in front of her as he said, "Sometimes, when your fear changes, your boggart does the same. What was it before?"

Althea was silent a moment before she admitted, "It would go all dark and then these mangled, rotting corpses would tackle me to the ground. Sometimes they were people I didn't know, sometimes they were you and Amara, sometimes they were unrecognizable...Dad thought I was afraid of my past."

"And now that you're not, it was Voldemort," Amara said softly.

"I guess," Althea said softly. "I didn't think I was that afraid of him."

"Fear can be a good thing," Harry said unexpectedly. "When it doesn't stop you from doing things, I mean. Fear keeps you smart."

"He's not wrong," Sirius agreed with a small smile.

Standing up suddenly, Althea said shakily, "I need to go finish packing."