"Looking a bit lost there, eh?"
Guinevere was once again pacing around her room, caused by anxiety for the events that were soon to take place.
Grant was arriving today, and for some reason, seeing her brother was making her nervous.
Today was quite a gloomy one indeed, caused by the cold weather and the emptiness of the house. The usual chatter that would fill up the air was absent, as the three of them were left alone.
Guinevere checked the window, looking for any signs of Grant's arrival, slumping when he was nowhere to be found.
She was about to draw the drapes again, when she saw a dark figure pop out from the shadows. Even from a distance, she recognized the familiar stance and shape.
Grant.
----------
Grant huffed as he looked around the empty street, the cold wind blowing against his face.
He has never been to Grimmauld place before, as his parents only sent his older sisters there as a punishment. His parents valued him too much to send him there.
He didn't exactly know what he's looking for, Grant looked down at the parchment where the address is written, starting to think that he had apparated to the wrong place. He skimmed the place once more, only finding a row of lonely houses and a few pigeons frolicking on the street.
Grant walked further into the street, inspecting the row of houses. Each one had an aura of gloom, which was intensified by the effect of the bitter weather.
He squinted at the numbers attached to the front of the houses, hoping that the number he was looking for was amongst them.
10, 11, 13...
Wait, what?
Confused, Grant counted again and saw that number 12 was missing. He squinted again, thinking he must've missed it but it wasn't there.
Grant turned to look around, not knowing why he felt the need to, but searched the area for a number 12.
"Looking a bit lost there, eh?" A voice started from behind him making Grant quickly pull his wand out, pointing it at the speaker.
Remus held his hands up in surrender, raising his eyebrows. "Sorry, thought you might've appreciated a bit of help," He said carefully.
Grant raised his eyebrow, not lowering his wand. He was taught to be alert, especially at times like these, he knew he can't go around lowering his guard.
"Where did we first meet?" Grant asked coldly, ready to hex him, if ever he was an imposter.
"Your safe place, the Juniper tree." Remus answered calmly, making Grant lower his wand but not his guard.
"Alright, what're you doing here?" Grant questioned again, Remus' lips curled into a little smile.
"Your sister thought you needed some assistance." He answered and made a face, "She asked rather rudely, you should teach her some manners." he joked.
Oh, so he was forced to fetch me, great. Grant thought.
For some reason, this dispirited Grant a little bit but he ignored it. After a few moments of awkward silence Grant cleared his throat, grabbing Remus' attention.
"So, are we just gonna stand here, or what?" He asked, crossing his arms, making Remus chuckle.
That's a nice sound. Grant decided.
Remus gestured behind him, making Grant raise his brow. "Did you not see number 12?" He asked, Grant snorted.
"Of course, I did!" Grant exclaimed sarcastically, "That's why I'm standing here like a twit, eh?"
Remus did not seem to be affected by his sarcasm as he merely sniggered. "Just like your sister, I see," Remus voiced out, "Well, anyway, all you have to do is read the address- you have, haven't you?"
"What an amazing idea, why didn't I think of that?" Grant said, dryly. "Of course I did, I'm not daft."
Remus frowned, the house should be appearing to Grant by now. Remus reached out for the parchment Grant had clutched in his hand, Grant handed it to him, making Remus realize the problem.
"Ah, I see, it's missing a word." He said, rolling his eyes. He pulled out his wand and muttered something under his breath, then gave the parchment back to Grant.
"Here, try again." Grant read the parchment again, noticing there's a word added to the address.
The younger lad looked up to see that the row of houses was now parting, as if making way for something. Grant watched on, surprised that the muggles seemed to not notice the commotion.
Another house, bigger than the rest and had a majestic sort of aura surrounding it, made an appearance. It had a number 12 engraved to the finely detailed front door.
"See it now?" Remus asked, seeing the amazed look on Grant's face.
"Yeah, I do." He said nodding, even after growing under a roof full of magic, it never failed to amaze him.
"Great, now follow me," The older man said, gesturing for Grant to follow him. Grant trailed behind him, walking towards the house.
Remus opened the door, and a light cloud of dust emitted from the inside, making Grant scrunch his nose in disgust, but he followed the man inside nonetheless.
The hallway was a bit dusty and gloomy, and from what he was seeing now, it was quite hard to believe that his relatives, who were known to be quite powerful and had always radiated a kind of royal aura, once inhabited the place.
The house was quiet, and he has yet to see his sister. Grant walked along with Remus, not knowing where they were headed.
"Guinevere's in the sitting room, by the way." Remus piped up, as if reading his thoughts. Grant merely nodded, inspecting the unkept walls of the hallway.
"To your left," Remus added as he put a hand at his back and pointed the way to the sitting room, "She's waiting there I reckon. I'll just call the rest of the order."
At that, Grant followed the direction he was just beckoned to earlier and entered.
"Afternoon, sister." He greeted, as he saw Guinevere staring blankly at the fireplace. Guinevere gave a start at the sound of his voice, and immediately stood up and approached her brother and pulled him into a hug.
"I'm glad you're safe." said Guinevere, right after she let go.
"I know perfectly well how to handle myself, thanks." he replied, his voice sounding a bit bored.
"Apparently."
Grant chuckled at this and sat on an armchair near the fireplace's hearth, staring at the orange glow the fire had. "S'good to see you're holding up. This place isn't exactly the type you'd stay in huh?"
Guinevere sat on the opposite armchair and looked at her brother, her eyes slightly narrowing, "You'll never believe that Walburga actually resided in here, kept it tidy in her days."
He laughed genuinely at this comment. It's been a long time since he's actually smiled and meant it. Pretending to be someone he's not was rather tiresome, yet if he were to be completely honest it was his expertise. Lies, lies, and lies. These days it seems to have come naturally to him, as though he'd already been accustomed to a lifestyle like this and had finally accepted it.
But, there was always a but. These lies came with casualties. Casualties that meant putting his life and others at risk. The moment they suspect his loyalties, it's over for him. Grant was so tired, it was evident in his eyes. But he knew what had to be done.
Grant had been spending the past month trying to find something to prove useful to the order but at the same, tasked to please the Dark Lord. Their parents of course, were more than happy to oblige. At this point they were so blinded by power and hatred that they were just as worst as the whole lot. He grimaced at the thought of his reality.
His reality.
"Grant?"
At this point Guinevere was now beside Grant, a comforting hand placed at his shoulders. "What's wrong?"
"Listen, Guinevere." He shifted in his seat to face Guinevere properly, making her drop the hand on his shoulder. "Remember the prophecy I mentioned last time?"
"Of course I do."
"Here's the thing, I've spent the-" Grant suddenly stopped when he was cut by the entrance of someone.
"They're here."
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A/N
and that's a wrap<3 What are your thoughts on Grant so far? also I changed accounts so instead of dollyhoeran i am now demelzablack:)
-demi xx