Mitigate [S. Black]

eight | dancing queen

That weekend, Alessia was surprised to wake up and find that Millie was there. She had apparently asked Dumbledore to send a patronus asking if it was alright for her to visit by Floo, and Sirius had sent one back saying it was fine. When Alessia came downstairs, one side of her curls pulled away from her face with a small braid, she found her sister sitting at the table with Sirius and three plates of breakfast along with steaming cups of coffee. 

"Sleeping beauty awakes at last," Sirius remarked with a smirk as Alessia entered the kitchen.

She scrunched her nose up at him and slid into her seat. "Hi, Millie."

"Morning, Alessia!" Millie chirped excitedly. "I wanted to visit you again, but you were sleeping when I asked, but Sirius and Dumbledore said it was okay, so I just thought --"

"Might wanna slow down a bit," Sirius interrupted the younger girl with a slight chuckle. "Our dear Alessia isn't much of a morning person, and I'll bet she's still half asleep. Isn't that right, love?"

"Hush," Alessia mumbled in response before taking a drink of her coffee. "Millie, did you make this?" She asked, gesturing to the plate of breakfast before her.

"Oh. Um, yeah," the Hufflepuff admitted, her cheeks tinging a slight pink. "I just figured, you know, the least I can do for coming over so early was to make breakfast."

She smiled. "Well, thank you."

"Oi! How come she gets a smile in the morning, and I don't?" Sirius asked, feigning offense. Alessia kicked him under the table, causing him to snort. "As I said last night, I'm always getting injured whenever you're around."

"I'd hardly call that an injury."

"Oh? Well, my throbbing shin begs to differ --"

"I barely touched you!"

Their bickering was cut off as Millie laughed in amusement. "You two are cute," she commented. "Are you two going steady?"

"Yes," Sirius said firmly at the same time Alessia said, "No." Millie raised an eyebrow in confusion, causing Alessia to sigh. "We're not, really, but I suppose I should start saying we are... It's a sort of cover-up for me, so no one will pry and figure out who I really am."

"Ah," Millie said, nodding slowly. "Well, I think it's a good cover-up. I mean, you do live with Sirius, and are normally always with him because of it."

Millie, of course, grew up knowing the truth about Alessia's prophecy. Her parents had told her stories of it, but she had always been under the impression that her estranged older sister really had died as a baby. It wasn't until Dumbledore spoke to her, just before going to get Alessia, was she told the truth. Millie's parents had kept it from her, just to be sure no one would ever find out about what they had one to hide their older daughter and keep her safe. As a child, Millie had always been a very open girl and never really understood the concept of secrets. They didn't want to risk her accidentally telling the wrong person, for the girl had an unfortunate knack for trusting mostly anyone she came across.

However, even though Millie obviously knew what Alessia was there for, the older Ashwood was reluctant to tell her little sister any more details. She may have only been two years younger than Alessia, but Millie just seemed too innocent and fragile for war. She wanted the Hufflepuff to be spared from it entirely, or at least however much she could. 

After they finished breakfast, Remus came over and the four of them went outback once more to help Alessia train. She was doing a lot better than she initially had been, when she first started learning. However, she still struggled with the disarming spell -- something that vastly frustrated her, as Alessia felt it should be easier for her to do than others. And there was also the patronus charm she had yet to conquer, but she figured that was mostly because she hadn't been able to think of a happy enough memory to use.