Value Your Virtues (Book 4)

Chapter 4

Athena

The next day, after I kissed Fred goodbye, I gathered a few things and apparated to my godfathers house. I walked in without knocking and looked around. Nothing had changed since I was last here, almost three months ago. "Moony!" I yelled in a sing-song voice. He walked out from the kitchen, not speaking, and stared at me for a moment.

"You're almost eighteen," he paused, leaning against the doorframe. "And you still haven't grown up?"

"Yeah, that's about right." He smiled and pulled me into a hug, which I didn't hesitate in returning.

"I was wondering when you'd be back."

"You know I couldn't stay away for too long. No matter what, this will always be home." I said as we pulled apart. He put a loving hand on my cheek and gave a nod.

"You're absolutely right." He ushered me into the kitchen.

"Now, how are you?" I asked. "Please, be honest."

"Fine, actually." He said. I stared at him for a moment before speaking.

"Sure you are." I sighed and hugged him again. "I have something I need to talk to you about." I said.

"What's that, now?" I said ushered him to sit down. He was looking tired, run down, too. I knew he was grieving just as much as I was. I made the both of us tea before I answered. I sat his mug in front of him, and sat across from him with mine. "What did you want to talk about?" He asked again.

"Dad and Regulus." I said. I didn't want to waste time, I just needed to know. He held a hurt in his eyes when I mentioned my father. Maybe it was too soon to be asking about him. On another hand, it might never be the right time.

"What about them?"

"Did you know uncle Regulus had a kid?" I asked. He looked at the table and didn't answer. His fingers danced around the handle of his mug. "Did you know, Remus?" I asked, repeating myself.

"What you need to understand, Athena, is that what I did know of your uncle, was he wasn't exactly the fatherly type. He had a lot of issues, and believed in everything the rest of your family did."

"Moons, he took her to America when Voldemort was at large. He took her there to keep her safe." I said. He didn't understand what I was getting at. I was having a hard time getting to the point, to get him to see what I was saying. "Remus, why would he take her there to keep her safe? I mean, it doesn't make sense unless he had a reason to fear her safety."

"He was in a bad place when he had her. There's not much more you need to know. It doesn't matter what happened to Regulus, he's gone now, too."

"I'm asking if there's a chance of something bigger. Did he defy Voldemort? Give him a reason to get him angry at him?"

"I can't say for certain. He may have just been afraid. Even his followers are scared of him, Athena. He could have just been scared she would get hurt if she stayed." We fell silent as I thought about his words. He could've been right, but I believed there was something bigger. The Blacks were in Voldemort's highest rankings. Regulus must've fuelled a fire to make The Dark Lord angry with him.

"I met her the other day." I changed the subject. "She could be my twin, Moony. It was almost like looking in a mirror."

"Well yes, I could see why."

"Why is that?" I asked, leaning forward. He took a drink of his tea and thought about what he was going to say.

"Well you know how your mother had a sister?" He asked. I gave a slight nod. "Well, they looked a lot alike, too." He gave a slight grimace.

"So, my mother's sister had a child with... my fathers brother?" My face scrunched in distaste. "Really keeping it in the family." Though there was nothing truly wrong with the relationship, it still made me uneasy. That made Artemis my double first cousin, which would really explain the shared genetics.

"Yes."

"This family is disgusting." I scoffed. "We're they arranged to marry?" He gave a shrug and a nod. "God I hate this pure-blood mania." I knew about my mother's blood status, but I was fuzzy on details about her side of the family.

"We thought about telling you, but it wouldn't have done you any good." He shifted in his chair. "We thought it might make you feel worse."

"What house was my aunt in?" I asked, curiosity seeping out. I wanted to know about my family. Not only was I old enough, but it was well past a point where I needed to be sheltered from anything. I wanted to know all I could.

"Slytherin."

"Was she as bad as bad as the rest of them?" I asked.

"No, not at all." I wasn't sure what to say.

"I think Regulus tried to switch back to our side."

"What?"

"I think he did something to betray Voldemort. I think that's the reason he took Artemis away." I said.

"Athena, are you sticking up for them? Both of them were Death Eaters, they weren't good people. It doesn't matter if he tried to switch, he still had that dark part inside of him."

"They were my family, Remus. Now Artemis is all I have left of them. She's a really nice girl. Maybe she was his soft spot, the reason he wanted to make a better world. Why are you so quick to judge people, Moons? I mean, dad came from that family, he was good. I came from that family. I'm not evil."

"Athena, please just hear me out. They were in Slytherin, and people in that house always turn out bad."

"Andromeda was bad?" I asked. He didn't answer. "What about Horace Slughorn. Sure, he was strange, but he wasn't evil. I've heard so many times that people in Slytherin are so much worse than the others. The houses are just some stupid thing to sort us from the differences in our heads. We change, Rem. Everyone changes! Do you think that in twenty years from now I'll still be a Gryffindor? Do you think you'd still be a Gryffindor?" He shrugged, seeing a point. "Really, the whole 'sorting into your houses' thing is rubbish. It was made to cause rivalries and you're feeding into it." I ran a hand through my hair. "Have you thought of Peter? Or any other witch or wizard that went bad that wasn't in Slytherin? People turn out bad from every house."

"Why are you on the same side as all of the wrong people?"

"I'm on their side because nobody ever decided to get to know them. If you did, you might see that some of them are actually good people. Everyone is so fast to blame a person's evil on their Hogwarts house, but there's no justice for any of the good people. You of all people should know what it's like to be judged. It doesn't seem like you understand."

"I don't understand? Why would I? I just turn into a bloody werewolf every month, it's no big deal. I get discriminated against on everything. I can't get a job, I could barely pay for the both of us when you were growing up. Do you realize how terrible that felt? It's hell when someone finds out. They suddenly become afraid of you for something you can't help. I'm still the same person, yet when someone find out I'm a werewolf, they see a totally different person. Besides that, according to you, I apparently don't understand." He finished and couldn't meet my eyes. He looked like he never thought I would say something like that. I moved out of my chair and I hugged him. I felt terrible for saying that. It slipped out in the heat of the moment. In truth, nobody knew the situation better than my godfather did.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to say that. I know that I was wrong, nobody would understand more than you would."

"It's fine. I just want to know why you're sticking up for the house you've been against since you started school."

"Because the hat considered putting me in Slytherin. I struggled with that for a long time, and I was scared of that part of me. It hurts to think that if I was a Slytherin, you guys would think different of me."

"Athena, you are my god daughter. In every way but legitimately, you are my actual daughter. I love you, and I could never think less of you. You're right, good people have been in Slytherin. Nothing could make me stop loving you, because you've loved me unconditionally. You changed my life."