ℒ𝒾ℊ𝒽𝓉 𝒰𝓅 𝒯𝒽ℯ 𝒟𝒶𝓇𝓀𝓃ℯ𝓈𝓈

92 | Family Tree

92 | Family Tree

"Do you really have to go?" James pouted.

"Esmeralda wants to talk to us." Mia muttered, yawning whilst wrapping a coat around her body.

"Can I come with you?" James asked.

"She specifically said not to bring you. So, I'm guessing no." Mia chuckled at the sight of James frowning. "I'll be back around dinner. I promise." she gave him a quick kiss before grabbing her wand.

"Stay safe, Amelia."

"You too."

With that Mia apparated outside of Esmeralda's house. She knocked on the door only to see Esmeralda.

"Morticia." Esmeralda smiled, letting the girl in. "Are you alone?"

"Please don't call me that." Mia said, politely. "And yes, I am alone."

"Why not?"

"Because you hated the woman that was named Morticia." Mia stated.

She chuckled. "You're right."

"What do you want to talk to me about?" Mia asked as she removed her coat and hung on the coat rack.

"Would you like some tea?" she asked and Mia shook her head. "I was supposed to be telling Grayson this story but I want you to know first."

Mia arched her brow in surprise. "Tell me what?"

Esmeralda waved her wand, letting a sparkling tree appear in front of them. Names started pop of the branches of the tree. Some of the names Mia recognized and some she did not.

"Are these—"

"Our family tree." Esmeralda answered. "We go a long way back, don't we?"

Mia hummed in response whilst scanning the names. Her eyes landed on a name she was familiar to Marvolo Gaunt.

"This name looks familiar." Mia pointed.

Esmeralda followed the girl's finger, only to shook her. head "Ah Marvolo Gaunt. The abusive father of Merope Gaunt."

"Who are the Gaunts?" Mia asked, innocently.

"The descendants of Salazar Slytherin himself."

Mia gapped. "Salazar Slytherin? And we are related to them?"

"Yes, we are." Esmeralda said. "Don't you recognize the other name below Merope Gaunt?" Esmeralda asked.

Mia eyed the name before falling down onto the couch. She glanced at Esmeralda. "You are joking, right?" she chuckled, nervously. "We can't be related to him."

Esmeralda didn't reply instead she gave the brunette a look that said it was all true. It was a punch in the gut in Mia's feeling. She was related to him. To the man who killed her parents.

"How are we even related?" Mia's voice cracked upon asking. "How are we related to the Gaunts?"

"Well, Claudette Acker was the mother of Morfin and Merope Gaunt." Esmeralda said, bitterly. "Claudette was forced into that bloody marriage by her parents. When she gave birth to Merope, she died and she was disowned because everyone thought she was weak to even bear children."

"That's pretty stupid." Mia muttered. "Who's Claudette? Was she your cousin?"

"My aunt." she answered. "Merope and Morfin were my cousins but I never met them. I was only told stories of them by my parents."

Mia's eyes widen in shock. “That would mean, Tom Riddle would be my uncle.” she said in such disgust.

She hated it. She hated the fact that she was related to the person who killed her parents. Tom Riddle killed his own flesh and blood. It was a nightmare.

"Sad, isn't?" Esmeralda asked. "Being related to a killer."

"Why are you telling me this, Esmeralda?" Mia asked, glancing at the woman who had a calm exterior.

"Remember the blood spell?" The older woman asked.

Mia nodded.

Esmeralda sighed. "You-know-who is after the spell for his own benefit. He does not know that the spell is, in fact, a blood spell. He, also, doesn't know that he has any living relatives." Esmeralda explained in a low voice. "He cannot know spell. He cannot know that he has any relatives alive."

It was starting to make sense to her. Voldemort sending Regulus to test his theory out on her. Regulus saying that Voldemort was after her. She couldn't understand how Voldemort found out about the fact that magic can't be used against her.

"During this time, You-know-who has seven family members he could use." Esmeralda said, like she was warning her. "Grayson, Damon, the twins, Gabriel, you, and me."

"How did he even found out about it?" Mia asked. "How did You-know-who found about me?"

Esmeralda shrugged. "I don't know, but I'm guessing someone who knows about you found out."

"The only people I've told were...." Mia trailed off. "The people closest to me."

"Like Austin said, sweetheart, someone closest to you will betray you."

A/N: Hello! I searched for the House of Gaunt and found out that the Gaunts and the Potters were related. Sooooo, just pretend that they aren't because that would mean that Mia and James are in a incest relationship and that's just gross.