NOX° SIRIUS BLACK

Chapter Ten

          "Hi, Calypso! Hi, Ophelia!" Alex greeted them happily. Ophelia remained silent as she carried her trunk inside but Calypso said hello to Alex.

          "Wait, Ophelia, before you go upstairs, we have something to tell you." Rania recalled. Ophelia stopped trying to sneak off upstairs and tapped her foot impatiently against the ground as the sisters stood in front of the two adults.

          Calypso's eyes darted between her mum and Alex.

          ''I'm pregnant! And we're engaged!'' Rania exclaimed, holding her fiance's hands as she slid a ring onto her ring finger. Calypso and Ophelia stood silently stunned at the news. Calypso slowly blinked, trying to process what her mum was saying.

             "Congratulations," Calypso smiled between them. Ophelia remained silent behind her. "I'm really happy for your Mum."

              Rania smiled softly. 

             "Thank you, Calypso." She said,

           ''Did you tell grandma Astrea?'' Calypso asked.

            Her mother nodded.

           "I didn't want to spend time planning another big wedding, so we wanted it to be really small. We were thinking of having a small ceremony while we're in America so that Alex's family can be there, and my mum could come too." Rania explained.

           ''Does dad know?'' Ophelia asked darkly. Calypso tensed at the mention of their father and she noticed that her mother's face paled like she was going to be sick when their dad was brought up. Calypso rarely mentioned her father to their mother because her mother would always get this sad look in her eye as though thinking about her ex-husband physically pained her.

        ''N-no, he doesn't . . . he doesn't know.'' Rania stammered nervously. Calypso glanced at Alex, but he seemed to be in his own little world and didn't pick up on the tension that was filling the room. 

        ''You have to tell him.'' Ophelia said, crossing her arms over her chest.

        ''Why would I do that, Ophelia?'' Rania asked, exasperatedly. Calypso didn't fully understand what happened between her parents. The only explanation she ever got from her mother was that sometimes love wasn't enough to save a relationship. 

         ''Do you know what this may mean for us? People would be disgusted — appalled — that  Krane's are mixing with dirty blood.'' Ophelia spat.

         ''That is enough, Ophelia.'' Rania said, standing up and slamming her hands on the table.

        Alex looked beyond confused. Calypso knew her mother had yet to tell him that they were witches. As far as he knew, Calypso and Ophelia attended some prestigious boarding school in Scotland.

       ''It's the truth. It's bad enough Calypso hangs around with traitor Black, but now she's friends with mudblood Evans and you're giving birth to a half-blood?'' She scoffed in disbelief. "It's disgusting!"

        ''Ophelia, how dare you use that sort of language in my house!" Rania yelled at her, her face turning bright red. "If I ever hear you say that word again —"

         ''Mudblood?'' Alex repeated slowly.

        ''Don't you ever talk about Lily like that ever again, you rat! I hate you, Ophelia! I hate you and the person that you have become. You can't even set your stupid views aside for one bloody minute even when Mum tells us that we're getting a sibling.'' Calypso screamed at her sister. For a split second, Calypso thought she saw Ophelia's face soften, but that moment was over when her sister's face hardened once more.