Window into the Past

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"You're not helping," Harry sighed with exasperation. "Wasn't trying to," I murmured honestly, scratching the back of my neck.

"No one has tried to attack me!"

"Yet," Hermione told him. "This is the final task, they'll try this time."

"But whoever snatched Crouch waited until after I left," Harry made a very good point. "All you can do is get ready for the third task, I can ask my aunt to help with teaching you some hexes," I offered.

Later on during lunch, I knocked on my aunt's door. "Not right now," I heard Tia's voice. "It's your niece," I told her. "Oh, then come in."

I opened the door and I saw Tia wearing cat-eye reading glasses, looking at some paperwork. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun and her wand was poking through it. "Hey, what's wrong?" she asked me, not looking up.

"I wanted to talk about London..I know I've been avoiding the subject for a while," I murmured, tapping my foot off the floor. "Joy, I know leaving the house isn't easy since it's where you were born and partially raised but I don't want to put you on house arrest either," she muttered, placing her quill down. "But London is great too, there's tons of museums and shops, I always stayed in London when I had the chance, the city is more exciting and you'll be harder to find in London."

"So we're living in Sirius' old house?" I clarified. "Yes, it's a little smaller than ours and his house elf is a bit of a dickhead towards him," she told me. "He told me that there was a racist portrait," I said to her. "Oh, that's his mother and she was a total bitch, story for another time," she told me. "But the house doesn't need two house elves so I uh...I freed Angie."

My face immediately morphed to sadness. "I'll miss her," I murmured. "Me too," Tia mumbled. "She'll be happier here in Hogwarts."

"What about Pip?" I wondered. "He's with my friend," she told me. My face fell once I realised I'd probably never see that happy dog again.

"Is it because I still have the Trace on me?" I wondered. "Something like that, they got too close to the cabin, that can't happen again."

"They attacked me in broad daylight so I couldn't fight back with magic, wand or no wand," I murmured. "This is stressing me out."

"Let's go somewhere," Tia suggested.

***

Tia and I went through the Floo Network and we ended up in a small bookshop. "Who's there?!" a Scottish elderly lady armed herself with a newspaper. "Tatiana Jones, Fran, I came down here all the time with Alivia when I was a child?"

"Oh! Of course! My goodness, you're all grown up!" she pinched her cheek. "How is Alivia? Ever since those bad people came...."

"She passed away, Fran, fourteen years ago," Tia told her sadly. "The bad people found her but this is her daughter, Joy."

Fran looked down at me and looked at me in shock and awe. "She looks just like her. You both grew up too fast."

"I know," she sighed.

After Tia and I had some tea with Fran, we walked down the streets of Inverness. We were in the backroads, just by the coast and Tia opened the gates to a big mansion.

I looked up to see a once majestic mansion in complete ruins. "This is where Alivia and I grew up," Tia told me. "It used to look more brilliant, trust me."

I walked down the path and Tia and I climbed through the wreckage. "Holy shit, they did a number on it," I sighed. "Haven't been here since the place burned down," Tia sighed. "Neither has Alivia, it's just been sitting here, ashes and debris for the last twenty years, I was nine years old. My parents were Muggles, I'm sure you know, they had great jobs in the Muggle world and were rich. They spoiled me and Alivia all the time. Until they died."

I picked up a broken frame to find a portrait. "Look at this."

Tia picked it up and chuckled. "Wow, I hardly remember this, 1972 this was painted."

Part of it was burned but the main part was still there, you could still see who was in the painting.

Tia looked into the garden and she sighed. "I know why my parents died but Alivia, she was all I had growing up and then she was gone. I want to know what she did, everything, as I'm sure you do too. I just want to see my stupid big sister again but with everything that's happening...." she stopped herself and looked down.

"I'm scared," I admitted.

"I'd consider you a fool if you weren't."

Tia and I went to the cemetery and there was a huge cherry blossom tree in the middle. The pink petals falling onto the headstones.

Tia stopped at a grave. This was the first time I'd ever visited her. I read the headstone.

Alivia Zelda Jones

March 30th 1960 - July 10th 1981

Devoted mother, sister, daughter and friend.

"May your wisdom grace us until the stars rain down from the heavens."

"Narnia was her favourite," Tia told me, referring to the quote. She let out a soft whistle, resting her head against the headstone. Her and Dad's whistle, to let each other know they were okay after an ambush or battle in the war.

Tia had whistled Dad's part and wanted desperately to hear that whistle again. I held her hand and I conjured up flowers with my wand and I looked at my aunt and whistled Mum's part, letting her know she had me.

Tia smiled through her tears. "She's just like you, Livvy, you'd be proud of her."