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

206. Ghost of the Past

Sadie couldn't sleep. She hadn't really slept since that horrible night, just a week before, but today it was worse. Even laying still was too much. Finally, she grew so frustrated she sat up, attempting to control her breathing as she glanced cautiously over at the girls she was sharing a room with. Ginny was asleep in her bed which she was sharing with a young girl who had arrived just a few days prior, Althea Black-Lupin. There was another girl staying with them, Hermione Granger, but she was sharing a room with Bill's fiancé, Fleur, in what once was Percy's room.

Having enough, Sadie got up, slipping a thin, black robe over her tank top and shorts. Glancing in the mirror as she passed, she sighed, regretting her recent decision to not care for her fiery curls as well as she should. She had merely tossed her hair into a messy bun and hoped for the best when she lay down to sleep. There was no point trying to fix it now. When she stepped out onto the landing, she was surprised to find Bill sitting on the step just a few below the landing, looking tired and worn. Wordlessly, she sat beside him.

Bill looked up in surprise before he remarked, "I thought you were asleep."

With a humourless chuckle, she replied, "I haven't slept since that night, Bill, not really."

Bill quickly looked away, swallowing harshly.

Desperate to change the subject, Sadie asked, "Did Ellis return to England with you? What's he been up to these last few years anyway?"

Bill's eyes widened slightly as he met her innocently curious gaze.

"No one..." he began. "No one told you?"

"Told me what?" Sadie asked, her voice growing weak as she paled.

"Oh, Merlin, Sadie...I...I don't know how to tell you this," he said, averting his gaze from her as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Just say it, Bill," Sadie said softly. "Is he dead?"

"No," Bill said quietly. Finally meeting her gaze, he explained, "He joined him, Sadie. Ellis is...he's a Death Eater."

"What?" Sadie cried incredulously, jumping to her feet. "No, Bill, you must be mistaken!"

"Sh," he hissed quickly, standing up and pulling her down the stairs and outside, away from their sleeping family members. Facing her, he said, "I know, I thought the same thing, but it's true. He's not Ellis Morgan, either, his last name is-"

"Lestrange, I know," Sadie said, her brows still furrowed in confusion.

"How did-" Bill began.

"He told me while we were at school," Sadie explained. "But Bill, you must be wrong. I know Ellis. He would never join Voldemort!"

Bill flinched.

"Bill, this is Ellis we're talking about," Sadie insisted, tears springing to her eyes. "The same person who- You must be wro-"

"Sadie," Bill whispered, his voice breaking. "Everything you're thinking and feeling I've already thought and felt a hundred times before, but when you've finished thinking through every possibility, every explanation, it's all still true. Ellis pledged himself to You-Know-Who, he was at the Ministry a few weeks ago...he's one of them."

"But, Bill," Sadie whispered. "This is Ellis, we're talking about, the same Ellis who-"

"I know," Bill said softly. "The Ellis we knew is dead, Sadie, and the sooner you accept that, the sooner you can move on."

Without another word, he disappeared back inside, leaving Sadie feeling even more confused and hurt than she had felt before. When she had been standing outside for another five minutes or so, she finally followed Bill back inside, but she did not, as he did, go upstairs. Instead, she went into the kitchen where she was surprised to find her aunt awake and sipping a cup of tea.