The Quiet Kind Of Beauty -Marauder Era

Chapter 38

"Clara...?" This was Remus, voice concerned but drifting through one ear and out the other. Clara was too busy drawing the connections in her mind, dust and fog clearing and string unravelling. She took her drawing from Remus and found othala with her finger, tracing it forward, around the circle to another rune. A stick with two slanted branches, parallel to one another. "Fehu," She whispered. Mother. And the runes behind othala, an X and a rune similar to Fehu. "Gebo, Ansuz," She felt a little sick.

"Clara," Sirius said with concern.

Clara pursed her lips, and cast a look sideways towards him. "I think I know what these four mean," She explained, tracing the symbols back and forth. She rested her finger on Ansuz. "This is Ansuz, a symbol of Odin, supreme ruler of the Nordic gods. It represents lineage, ancestors. Because of its link to Odin, it represents god, too,"

"'Our ancestors were great people'..." Aaron repeated blankly, moving from his spot against the wall to stand beside Remus. Clara thought of the marks lining her back.

Clara nodded, her stomach dropping even further with Aaron's validation. "And the next one," she pointed to the X. "Gebo. Divine interaction. And of course, othala, family,"

Remus and Lily exchanged a worried look.

Clara carried on, the pad of her finger hovering over the next rune. "Fehu," she said quietly. "Symbol of Freya, the mother,"

Aaron made a strangled noise in the back of his throat, and stepped away, turning his back to them all as his frame tensed. He pressed his hand against his forehead.

Lily held out a hand and pointed to the rune after Fehu, a sort of lightning bolt. "Eiwaz," She said, eyes troubled.

"Death," Remus finished for her.

James looked unnerved. "So your suspicions were correct," he said to Clara.

Clara hated that she was right and she could see that Aaron was just as stressed as she was. But beneath the obvious tension he was refusing to make eye contact with anyone, even Clara. This nagged Clara's suspicion. Hide from the others, sure, but why hide from Clara? The one who he shared a family with?

"Aaron, there's something you're not telling me," Clara finally said.

Aaron said nothing. Clara was nearing desperation.

"Aaron, please,"

Abruptly, Aaron turned around and Clara was shocked to see that his expression was bordering fear. "He told me, a long time ago,"

"Told you what?"

"That our family descended from Angels," He revealed, dropping a bomb that Clara had begun to suspect herself. It didn't make it any easier to swallow.

Clara felt like she might be sick. "Was it Belial?"

Aaron shook his head. "I don't know. All I know is that we're different. When Joseph was talking to you about our blood being special, he wasn't just hyperbolizing. Our blood is laced with Angel blood, Clara,"

There were a wide range of emotions that appeared on each of her friends' faces. James, with pure, unbashful surprise, Lily, eyes blown wide by shock and Remus let out a sharp gasp. Sirius lowered his head in his hands. Clara had never seen Aaron so upset, but the feelings of betrayal lashed against her mind.

"When were you going to tell me this?!" Clara cried, raising to her feet.

Aaron was all but pulling at his hair. "I don't know! Clara, I was so young when he told me, and you know how hard it is to hold onto memories of then. Trauma-" his voice choked. "You know how it is,"