I had never told anyone about my family. Ever. Most people in Gryffindor house didn't care about whether you were pure-blood, or half-blood, or muggle-born. We all got along very well for the most part, although rumours were known to fly around blood-status if they got into the wrong hands. Ron was a pure-blood, blood-traitor, Hermione was a muggle-born and everyone knew about Harry Potter. I, as a rule, never talked about my family.
I never actually knew my mum. She died after I was born, and the topic was completely taboo around my dad. I guess that's what we did in my family, we just didn't talk. We didn't talk about my dad's job, or what he lied about being his job, that is.
I didn't ask when strange men came to dinner and spoke in code. I didn't ask when he disappeared for nights at a time and came back covered in wounds. I didn't ask when I found a long black cloak and a mask at the back of his closet, and I most certainly didn't ask when his bandage came off of his "horrible scar" and revealed a skull with a snake tongue tattoo.
Putting two and two together wasn't the hard part; I've known he was a death eater for about four years. The hard part was coming to terms that my father, the one who had vowed to protect me from all of the bad in the world, was a bad person himself. A wickedly evil person. It was just too hard to think that a man who had been so good to me, was so horrible to the rest of the world.
He might have been a Death Eater, but Voldemort had been gone for quite some time. What role was he to play with their leader gone? Sure he still had diners with Lucious Malfoy, but what active evil could they be up to?
Before coming to Hogwarts, I didn't have a clue as to what the real implications of his job were. I looked at Harry Potter, an innocent boy who lost his parents because of people like my father. Innocent people had gotten hurt because of who my father chose to align himself with...
I wanted to love him. But knowing the truth of the pain that he caused the rest of the wizarding world... I couldn't stomach the thought. I vowed last summer, before I left for school, and I would have nothing to do with him ever again. Or at least, I had until that night.
"I know what you are." I leaned against the doorframe of his room and watched him hesitantly. He narrowed his eyes at me, before patting the spot on the bed beside him.
"Ace" he sighed. I shook my head, holding firm on my spot in the doorway. I wasn't going to get near him, not after last night the way he snuck in the night before, robes singed and hair singed. "Acelynne, please, let me explain."
"Fine, dad, go ahead. Tell me why the great and powerful Dark Lord is so great, hmm? Tell me, how many have you killed for him" I could hear the hate just dripping into my voice. He frowned and stood up.
"Acelynne, everything you believe it wrong."
"Why should I believe a death eater?"
"Acelynne... When I was at Hogwarts, I fell into alliance with the like of Lucius Malfoy. He thought I would be a good fit, so he introduced me to... Him." I rolled my eyes at the dramatics. 'I knew right away it was wrong, I couldn't be apart of something like that. But once you meet You-Know-Who, there's no leaving."
"I'll admit it. I didn't want to leave, because if I left, I died. That's when I turned to Albus for help. He felt that my position within the ranks of the death eaters could be beneficial in learning their secrets... And ever since then, I've been working both sides. A double-agent, I believe its called. I was working for Albus at the time when He fell. I couldn't just leave them, they'd know immediately the part I played. Just because He was gone, it didn't mean that I was free. He had eyes everywhere. You had just been born, Acelynne, and I just lost your mother. I couldn't lose you as well."
"Its been years, Dad. Why can't you just leave now? We can run away, go anywhere." My dad just shook his head.
"It's never that easy Acelynne. Never that easy......"I could hear his usually strong voice crack as he looked down at his forearm. "He's gone, but the work his followers do lives on. The work I do is important, Ace, important in preventing anything like that from happening again."
"Dad, I'm tired of being scared. Why can't we just be a family? my voice was cracking as well. I loved my dad so much but he was so infuriating. What if this double-agent story was just a lie, too?
"Dumbledore can protect you, can't he? Can't you just casually slip out of the whole death eater role? Isn't that what Professor Snape did?" my dad shook his head and didn't say a word.
"Darling, I love you more than the world. If I were to back out of this now... Unlike some people, I have more than my own life to lose "he sighed regretfully. "They know I have a daughter. They know where we live, where you go to school... they know everything." Tears were now streaming down his face and something in me softened a tiny bit.
"I'll try eventually, but right now is not the right time" I crawled into bed beside him and rested my head on his shoulder.
"You need to be careful, Acelynne. You don't know what these men are capable of doing....." We spent a long time like this, sitting on his bed in complete silence. We were all each other had and if something were to happen to my dad, I don't know what I would do. If something were to happen to me, my dad would be completely lost.
More questions continued to run through my mind. Is he lying to my face? Is he really just a scared, concerned dad or was he something so much more sinister? Did being his daughter make me one of the bad guys, too?
The long walk down the twisting, winding corridors was something that my stomach could barely handle. What was wrong with my dad? Did he land himself in Azkaban? Was he sick and staying at St. Mungo's? Did he win the lottery and decide to sweep me away for some amazing vacation? My thoughts were getting less and less coherent as we continued trekking through the never ending corridor.
McGonagall was peering at me with her beady, bespectacled eyes. Her usually tight bun that would have been secured at the back on her head was now hanging at the nape of her neck in a loose knot as if she had run to fetch me. Her hands were held loosely behind her back, fidgeting and twitching in nervousness. Why wouldn't she just tell me, and put me out of my misery?
"What's going on?" I asked and she merely shook her head. This whole not answering thing was really starting to annoy me; I mean it wasn't getting me anywhere. The clicking of her heels was the only sound in the hall I just wanted to know about what was going on with my father.
An unsettling thought moved into my mind. He was dead and no one wanted to break the news to the unbalanced teenage girl, thus the silent treatment. He was dead because of me and my urging him to leave. I should have never told him to quit being a death eater, but he did to keep me happy, and now he was dead. I was sure of it.
We finally reached the gargoyle in front of Dumbledore's office. McGonagall mumbled the password under her breath and the gargoyle swung around to reveal a spiral staircase. Then the next minute I was in a large office, filled to the brim with spinning instruments of every odd shape and colour. A man with wire rimmed glasses and a ridiculously long beard sat behind a desk, picking through a bowl full of candy.
"Hello Ms. Connor's, how unfortunate it is that we meet under these conditions." Yep, he was dead. My eyes began to fill up with tears as the thoughts reappeared in my head. MY dad was dead; my death eater dad, was dead.
"Now now my dear, things aren't that bad. Just a tad... sticky for the moment" Dumbledore handed me a candy. I heard it before but I never would have guessed that the headmaster really was a total nutter.
"Not bad? My dad is dead!" I blurted out and the crazy man looked taken aback. He chuckled softly and sat up straighter, lacing his fingers together.
"He is, in fact, not dead Ms. Connors. He sent me this letter in confidence, hoping that I could pass it on to you" Hhe handed me a piece of parchment and glanced at me over his glasses. A wave of relief washed over me. Dad was not dead, but that didn't mean that we were through the woods yet.
I unfolded the parchment and strained my eyes to read the near illegible chicken-scratch that he called "hand writing".
Dear Acelynne,
I have sent this letter to Dumbledore to give to you. I am being watched by some of the other death eaters and I think they know what I am. I am going away for a while, to protect myself, but I know that you will be in safe hands at Hogwarts. I will try and make it back as soon as I can, when the heat starts to die down on me.
Love,
Dad
"So...He's just LEFT ME!!" I roared and threw the paper to the ground. Well really it floated lightly, which took away the effect I meant it to give to my words. Damn Gravity. "Are you kidding me? This is some sort of sick joke right?"
"Ms. Connors, please calm yourself. I was the one that suggested that he get away for a while. You are safe here, but your father is out in the real world, facing real dangers. We believe that the other death eaters may be catching onto our ruse and we all believe that it is in his best interest." What a crazy old man, why couldn't my father just acquire a Secret Keeper and that would be that. He would be safe, I would be safe, and everything would be just peachy keen!
"Oh" was all muster to say amidst all of my pent up rage. I mean seriously? Was I really that much of a wuss? "But he's safe, right?" I asked and Dumbledore nodded.
"Very, but you my dear must not tell anyone about this, do you understand? Both you and your father's lives are at risk." I nodded agreeably. "Therefore I must say that from here on out, you are banned from attending Hogsmead and are not allowed to leave the school on holiday breaks. I assure you though, that with the Tournament drawing to a close soon, that you will be able to enjoy those festivities with everyone else." He paused for a brief moment and popped another candy into his mouth. "And hopefully, by the time summer is here, everything will be back to normal. Do you understand me?"
"Yes Professor" I mumbled. Yeah, so maybe I was a bit upset about missing out on Hogsmead trips, amongst other things, but I mean if it was going to keep us safe then I would anything to keep us that way.
"Well that is it. You are dismissed. I now have a certain potions professor to remind about the school rules regarding the poisoning of students" and with a flourish of his hands, I stood up and walked out of the room.
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So I was a bit more quiet than usual, it didn't mean that everybody had the right to be badgering me about it. Leave that to the Hufflepuffs. Okay so that was a terrible joke, don't blame me okay? Blame my major emotional distress. George sat by my side, a look of worry on his face.
"Are you sure you are okay? You look a bit..... peaky, love" he said as he rubbed the small of my back lightly. My cold hands were shaking and I still couldn't feel my feet, but that was okay. I was okay; we were all going to be okay. This was my new mantra. I nodded looked up brightly at his face.
"You are absolutely freezing" he said, yet again. Maybe I had circulation problems. Laura and Kelly were slaving over a charms paper that was supposed to be a foot long, but so far they only had about an inch due to the fact they were too busy focusing on me.
"Does she need a blanket?"
"I think she needs to go to the hospital wing!"
"Oh just shove it you two and get back to work." They glowered at me and continued writing about some charm I had missed due my lovely little meeting with Dumbledore, and Professor Flitwick was kind enough to spare me the homework.
"I need chocolate" I mumbled and dug my nails into the couch. This is what I meant about addiction, this should be a legitimately recognised thing with group therapy sessions and everything. Where did all of my chocolate go you may ask? It was all gone because I had a breakdown, Kelly was dumped by Jean-Marc, and George seemed to think that what's mine was his and what was his, mine.
"I don't think there is any left in the castle, Ace" A bright light shown behind his eyes. He had an idea, one he wasn't going to tell me about. I rolled my eyes at him, and he gave me the slightest of smirks that I loved, but also hated.
"George FABIAN Weasley, if you go and break any rules for me, I will kill you" I warned and he rolled his green eyes back at me.
"Yes dear. Now off to bed, you need some sleep." George dragged me off the couch and onto my feet. He practically carried me to the stairs before putting me lightly back onto my feet. "This is my stop" he whispered and pecked my lips ever so lightly. He had to know that something was wrong, he would definitely not be treating me this delicately, otherwise.
I stumbled up the stairs and kicked open the door before throwing myself onto the bed. Exhausted, I fell asleep before I even hit the pillow.
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I woke up to the distinct smell of my favourite thing in the world, other than that smell that George had. I still couldn't place it, by the way. No, this smell was sweet and creamy and full of cocoa-like goodness that filled me up to the very tips and alerted all of my senses. Chocolate, the one thing that would never ever leave me alone, and would never hurt my feelings. My best friend. and when I forget to exercise, my worst enemy.
Stretching my legs proved difficult, because there were piles of boxes at the end of my bed, knocked off onto the floor with every small movement I made.
With a gasp, I lunged forward and took a box into my hands, ripping open the package and shoving a piece of goodness into my mouth. Soon the box was empty and I had to coax myself out of eating everything that was surrounding me.
"Good Morning A- HOLY CRAP WHAT IN THE NAME OF MERLIN IS ALL OVER YOUR BED!?" Laura tore the covers off of herself and flew over to my bed, nearly leaving speed marks behind her. She piled the boxes onto the floor, silently counting. "Eight, eight boxes of Honeydukes best and biggest chocolate. And look what we have here, five chocolate bars? Wow Ace, someone must really love you."
I giggled and got out of bed, tying my hair up into a sloppy bun. "So you're saying it wasn't one of you guys then?" I was slightly confused but decided not to push my luck. Free chocolate was free chocolate.
"Nope, neither of us" Kelly got out of bed and slipped into her uniform, her unruly curls looking distinctly unkempt today. She gave me a quirky smile and winked in my direction. "I wonder who else would be able to pull of a stunt this grand?"
"Guys, I really doubt that this was George. How would he even get it on such short notice?" they shrugged their shoulders.
The common room was empty, as we ran down to the Great Hall, tripping over ourselves in some kind of race to my boyfriend. They were convinced that it was him, whereas I would like to keep the faith and think that there really was a magical chocolate gnome.
He sat there with his face pushed into the Dailey Prophet, reading what seemed to be the classifieds. "Not looking for a replacement are you?" I asked as I slid in next to him.
"Never. You, my dear, are looking much better this morning. Get a good sleep?" he slid a plate full of pancakes to me while taking a few for himself.
"Someone left Ace a great little gift on her bed. And by little, I mean a lory full of chocolate" Kelly said through a mouth full of cereal. That girl just might be Ronald's long lost twin sister.
"And we think that special someone... is you!" Laura finished and poked at her omelette with her fork. George, looking clearly feigning surprise, and shook his head.
"I know it was you, Weasley! I know it, now I just have to prove it!" Kelly roared through a mouth full of cereal, her red-headed temper clearly showing. Laura looked calmer about the situation, merely shrugging and taking a bite of her food.
"Oh Kelly, love, just calm down and eat the rest of your cereal" Ginny said. Kelly glowered at all of us and shoved an angry spoonful of cereal into her mouth.
"If it wasn't George, that who was it?" Laura asked as she picked apart a blueberry muffin. She looked over at Fred who merely rolled his eyes in response.
"Really, why do you think it was us? Why couldn't the house-elves just have a fondness for our little Ace here?" Fred stood up and exited the Great Hall.
I took a bite of my blueberry pancake and savoured it. Secretly I wished it was chocolate but blueberry was a good second, I guess.
Kelly gave George an inquisitive look and pointed across the room behind George. "OI, what's that?!" George turned around and she pulled out a vile, pouring the contents into his pumpkin juice. Are you kidding me, really?
George turned around, brows furrowed, and picked up his pumpkin juice. "George, don't!" I called and reached over for his hand. He brought the cup to his lips but I swiped it away, spilling the contents all over his pyjamas.
"Bloody hell, Ace!" Kelly roared.
"What was that for?" George asked loudly, holding his hand up in surprise.
"Kelly just slipped some Veritaserum into your drink because she is too pig-headed to be wrong." I snapped because Kelly had just crossed a line. Was she bloody mental, pouring potion into MY boyfriends drink? How did she even get Veritaserum anyways?
"Don't ruin all of my fun, Ace" Kelly sighed like a child.
George, to my surprise, broke out laughing. "Holy Merlin, that would have been a good one! If you think a little Veritaserum is bad, I should tell you about the time we almost tricked Ron into an Unbreakable Vow!" he laughed and stood up, looking down at his juice-soaked clothes. "Now if you will excuse me, I need to go get changed" he said and I followed quickly after him.
We walked hand- in-wet-hand up to his room in a surprising silence. "Ace... I have a confession for you" he said and began to strip into his knickers.
"Oh no" I said in a hesitant tone. Those were the words that I didn't want to here. What had he done NOW?
"Nothing! I just wanted to let you know that, I REALLY was the one that gave you all of those chocolates. I just didn't want to give your friends the satisfaction of being right" he pulled on his trousers and grabbed my hands, pulling me against his shirtless torso. I stretched up onto my tip toes and pecked his lips.
"How did I ever deserve someone like you?" I asked, skipping over the thousands of questions that were bubbling up in my mind. How did he get all of that chocolate? Where?
"Well Acelynne, having a good boyfriend does come at a price" he wrapped his arms around my waist and lifted me up so he could kiss me harder. It quickly turned into a full on snog session, his hands playing with the hems of my skirt, my fingers tracing his beaters abs.
"We really should get ready for class" I mumbled against his lips as I lowered myself onto the bed. He didn't respond, his kisses getting progressively more passionate, his tongue working its way gracefully into my mouth.
I ran my fingers through his amazingly soft hair and broke apart. "George, we should really..." his lips had moved onto my neck, sucking on a particular spot that made me go limp. Screw it, we were already late for class. We actually hadn't gone all the way, yet, but boy were moments like this tempting. How often did we get to be alone in the room that he shared with five other blokes? Constantly was one of us pulling the other into a broom closet for a little TLC.
I ran my fingers down his back, resting them on the waistband of his boxer. Slowly, I moved my fingers underneath, straying a few inches lower that I had ever dared to before...
"Ahem" someone called from the door. We stopped and turned towards the voice, only to see Lee Jordan smirking at us with a book under his arm. "Oh, no carry on. I'm just here for a book." Grudgingly, George got up and put on his shirt.
"Oi, perhaps I ought to teach you a lesson about interrupting, mate? Care to try out a few of our new tricks?" George said and Lee obeyed, smiling. I stood up and flattened my hair. George gave me a quick peck on the cheek.
"We're going to be late for lessons!" I said and dashed out of the room. As I grabbed my book, I also grabbed a scarf. There was no way that session wasn't going to result in a few hickies.
Dear Merlin, was I going to get a scolding from Hermione now.