CHERRY // marlene mckinnon

-twenty six

"Yeah, I don't know why you're surprised given my family's reputation and history." Aurora casually replied, as if using a curse on your child was normal. "You know, on the outside, my parents act all high and mighty. And my family may even seem perfect to some people. But you do not want to know what goes on inside. Back when Sirius was still with us, there would be constant yelling. All the damn time. And he had it a lot worse than me. He would go from arguing with them, to limping back upstairs because of the punishments. And then other times, mostly after he left, none of us would even say a word to each other. We would eat dinner, not even exchanging glances. I would mostly stay in my room because I basically didn't have a relationship with my parents, at all. We had to live up to their expectations and had to be flawless and perfect. One mistake, and that defines us for the rest of our lives. After that, we're all of a sudden deemed as 'worthless'. My so called parents are vile and selfish people. They use their power and money to get what they want. They throw money at all their problems, expecting it to be fixed. They even try to buy our happiness with money. But no amount of money can change who they truly are. Monsters."

Everything Aurora had said was true. But in way, she also couldn't really blame them. After all, Orion and Walburga were raised that way by their parents. And the last thing Aurora wanted was to become just like them.

"I'm so sorry." That was all Veronica managed to say. "Just know that we're here for you. Always."

"I know. And I don't know what I would do without you two." Aurora said.

"Ahh stop. You're going to make me cry." Narcissa squealed. "Ugh, come here you two."

And the three girls hugged each other. They felt safe in each other's embrace, knowing that no matter what, they would always be there for one another.

But would they live up to those promises?

After all, there was a war brewing up, and in the end, they would each have to choose a side.

*****

  Back in the Gryffindor common room, a group of boys were sitting on the couches, eating candy, laughing and joking around.

"Okay but did you see his face when he saw that his hair was pink?!" A certain Sirius Black exclaimed, bursting out laughing with the other three boys.

"I think we got him good. Now, he probably won't even bother going anywhere near your sister!" Peter squealed, throwing a Bertie Botts Every Flavor jellybean in his mouth, but his face soon turned into one of disgust. "Ew, it was the Earthworm flavor."

"How ironic, wormy." Remus said, taking a bite of his chocolate bar. "And I agree, it'll take at least a week before Avery's hair changes back to normal. He won't be a bother anymore."

"I don't know about that." Sirius muttered, remembering what Aurora had told him in the morning.

*****

At last, the school year was over. The students were currently making their way to the Hogwarts Express.

"I'm going to miss you guys." Veronica said as she walked alongside her friends. "I guess we can still write to eachother though."

"Please, this time, don't do anything stupid to get yourself grounded." Narcissa groaned.

The voices of Aurora's friends soon started to fade, and all she could hear was her fast heartbeat and breathing. In only a few hours, she would see her so called parents again. And she didn't have a good feeling about it. Aurora tried not to think about it, but the thought of her parents lashing out at her kept creeping back into her mind. Before she knew it, they had arrived in front of the great, big, red train.