Ink and Parchment ~ blood and bone

35

Eliza slammed the Daily Prophet onto the table at breakfast that morning.

‘DUMBLEDORE CLAIMS HE-WHO-MUST-NOT-BE-NAMED IS BACK’

‘GIRL -WHO-LIVED OR GIRL-WHO LIED? CONFIRMS DUMBLEDORE’S CLAIMS’

It was only the second day of her summer holiday and already it was being ruined.

“Sirius open up the floo connection – I need to have a few words with my lawyer”

“You mean Lucius” Sirius said apparently unconcerned about today’s damning headlines.

“Yes I mean Lucius” Eliza snapped and ignored Remus’ barely muffled snort “Dumbeldore takes my name and drags it through the mud. He’s not my guardian and he has no right to use my name to sell his baffling lies”

“I know pup but-

Sirius cut himself off and Eliza watched as he and Remus seem to silently communicate for a few minutes before Sirius finally spoke “If Voldemort really is back wouldn’t it be better for the word to get out?”

Ah, well for some people it would indeed be better.

“Why do you care?” she asked shiftily and frowned when Sirius let out a great heaving dramatic sigh and Remus began pouring an extra cup of tea.

“Sit down pup, it’s time we had a serious talk”

“I already know how sex works – we can skip the birds and the bees”

Sirius let out an amusing sort of choked squawk, his face flushing a deep beetroot red as he looked at her in undisguised horror.

“You- don’t, this isn’t about that” he managed to squeak out and both Eliza and Remus snickered at his spluttering as Eliza slipped into the chair at the table.

“Then what is it about?” she asked somewhat nervously. Narcissa had encouraged her to come clean to Sirius and Remus but Eliza still remained doubtful. She had a good thing here, even if it was full of lies, she didn’t want to ruin it.

“It’s about the war” Remus cut in sternly and Eliza immediately tried to protest but quieted down under Remus’ disproving stare “because there is a war coming Eliza. We know it and we know you do too, but we need to know what side of the war you’ll be standing on”

Upfront and brutally honest, typical Gryffindors. There was no avoiding that question, no dancing around the truth or out manoeuvring. Eliza knew she could beat around the bush, she could lead them in circles and question their motives so much that they gave up till another day. She could lie or bargain her way out but in the end didn’t it all lead to the same place? Didn’t it lead to Eliza, alone and questioning if her new family would eventually grow to despise her?

“I’m standing with the Dark. I’ve allied myself with Lord Voldemort”

Remus dropped his biscuit.

“Okay” Remus said a bit hysterically “you’re going to have to explain that a bit more”

“Like the who’s and the what’s and the why’s and the when’s and-

“I think she gets the point Sirius” Remus smoothly cut in. Eliza took it as a sign in her favour. She hadn’t been kicked out yet and they were willing to hear her out which meant she was already doing a lot better than she imagined.

“I’ll start with the how and then explain the why later” Eliza said and took a sobering sip of her tea before she continued “I suppose you could say that it started when I met ‘Voldemort’ as everyone likes to call him but really I think it started before that. It started in my first year at Hogwarts, Yule and my very first friend got me a very illegal book on wizarding traditions”