"do not wait for a coronation; the greatest emperors crown themselves." ~ Robert Greene
~august 1974~
Artemis's mother's kitchen looked relatively the same as it always had when Artemis let herself through the front door on a hot August afternoon and wandered through the rooms of the little house. "Mum?" she called out, poking her head into the little laundry room.
"Up here!" a shout came and Artemis could hear her mother's footsteps crossing the upper floor and coming down the stairs to meet her daughter. "Artie!" Jane enveloped Artemis in a bone crushing hug and Art buried her face in her mum's chest, breathing in the sweet scent of lavender soap and perfume.
"Hey, mum," she said when Jane finally let her go and held her at arm's length. It had been a year since the two had seen each other. Aunt Isobel was hesitant to even let Artemis go to her mother's house for the day, but when Jane stepped in it was impossible to tell her no. She wanted to see her daughter, so she would see her daughter.
Jane looked down at Artemis, who'd grown to almost her height in the last year. It was obvious Artemis had grown up, even over the summer. She'd hit a growth spurt in the last few months and her narrow face now looked older and more confident now. Jane noticed all of this, but she didn't bother with it. What struck her so much now was how much like Andrew Artemis looked. She had the same eyes, the same unruly hair, even the way her mouth quirked up into a contagious smile and the way she stood ever so slightly slouched with her hands tucked into her pockets was the same. It took Jane's breath away for a moment. "Artie, I've missed you so much," she said at last, reaching a hand out to lovingly touch Artemis's choppy hair.
"I missed you too," said Artemis. "It's been a little while." She let out a small laugh. "So, you're making... wedding plans?"
Jane's face lit up. "Oh, yes! I wish Alfie could be here today, he really wanted to see you, but he got this job offer in the city and today's his first day of training. He won't be back until late. Will you be here for dinner or do Gregory and Isobel want you back?"
"They're picking me up at seven," Artemis said, trying not to sound too unhappy with the arrangement. She'd wanted to spend the night at home, in the bedroom she really called her own with her father's old books and the smells of her childhood lulling her to sleep, but her aunt and uncle would have none of it. "So, are you having the wedding here?" she changed the subject.
"Yep, in the garden when all the flowers are just blooming. I'm determined to keep them alive this year."
Artemis snorted. "Good luck with that, Mum." It was a running joke between the two that neither of them could keep a plant alive longer than a few days.
They headed to the dining room, which was sprawling with wedding decorations Jane had already bought and magazines telling her the latest fashions and styles of wedding dresses. Artemis sat at her usual chair and flipped open a magazine, scanning a page filled with bridesmaid's dresses. Her mother looked over her shoulder. "I circled the ones I was thinking about for you, but I do hope you'll think about this one." She pointed to a pale pink sleeveless dress with little flowers designed all over it. It was simple, but elegant. In all honesty, Artemis couldn't see herself wearing it. It looked more like something Marlene would like, but it was her mother's day.
"It's perfect," she said softly, trying hard to sound excited. "Really, I'd love to wear it."
Jane practically jumped up and down for joy. "Oh, I knew you'd like it! I'll get your measurements later, and you'd better not grow before the wedding."
"I'll try my best," said Artemis with a dry smile.
They spent the next hour or so flipping through magazines, circling the things they liked and showing each other their favorite styles of dresses, decorations, and flower arrangements. Jane got up and pulled down a recipe book. "Now, I'm really having trouble coming up with a menu, so I was hoping you'd help me decide. Everything just sounds so good!"
Artemis couldn't help frowning at the sight of the recipe book. It brought her back to the day in the kitchen with Aunt Isobel, which her ribs were still aching and bruised from- a constant reminder. Artemis had been having trouble all day really getting excited for her mother about the wedding. She didn't like the fact her mum was getting remarried, but even aside from that, she'd been having trouble feeling happy about anything lately. She'd hoped it was just the darkness of the Goyle manor that was making her feel helpless and despondent, but she couldn't even shake the feeling in her mother's brightly lit dining room filled with afternoon sunlight.
Jane noticed a shift in Artemis's expression instantly and sat down beside her. "Artie..." she said softly, "Is everything alright?"
Artemis nodded silently, then bit down on her lip and looked up at her mother, tears finally filling her blue eyes. She hadn't cried all summer, but something about her mother's gaze and the tone of her voice made it impossible for Art to hold the ache in her throat back. "Everything's fine," she said hoarsely.
Jane reached out and brushed the hair out of Artemis's face with all the lovingness only a mother can express. "Artie, baby, what's wrong? Are Gregory and Isobel giving you trouble? Is everything alright at school?"
It took Artemis a moment, but she finally swallowed the lump in her throat down and blinked the tears away, forcing herself to stop crying. "No, Mum," she said, lifting her chin and putting on a brave face. She thought about something her father used to say sometimes when Artemis was small and would cry over little things like going to bed and eating foods she didn't like. Keep your chin up, Artie. We cry when there's something to cry about, love, he'd say. And that's okay. But sometimes we have to conquer it for the sake of bravery. She felt like she was fighting now, fighting a losing battle between herself and the rest of the world. She forced a small smile, reminding herself to conquer the feeling- not for the sake of bravery but for the sake of her mother. "No, mum," she said, calm once again. "It's nothing, really. I've just missed you."
The rest of the day passed with ease. Artemis and Jane spent hours flipping through magazines before making themselves a simple dinner of cheese and tomato sandwiches and eating them on the back porch because the house was too hot from the midday heat. When it was finally time for Artemis to wait outside for her aunt and uncle, she found that saying goodbye to her mother was the hardest thing she'd done all day.
Jane never did well with goodbyes. She stood in the foyer with her daughter and reached out to give her one last hug, holding her close and tearing up emotionally. "You don't have to go back there," she said when she'd released Artemis, her eyes shining brightly. "You could just stay here. I know there's a lot of... problem... but we could work through it."
"No, Mum," said Artemis, sounding more harsh than she'd meant to. The truth was, she wanted to stay with her mother more than anything, but she knew she couldn't for a million reasons. She needed her aunt and uncle to pay for her school things, she didn't want to get in the way of her mum and Alfie, and she always had the crawling hope that perhaps staying with her aunt and uncle would heighten the chances that Percy might visit her. She had to stay with Goyles... for her mother's sake if nothing else. Jane couldn't afford to support Artemis, especially with the wedding so close. "Aunt Isobel and Uncle Gregory aren't that bad, really. And I'm starting to come around to Greg. Really, I don't mind it."
"And you're sure?"
"I'm sure."
Jane wiped at her eyes, which were now spilling with tears. "I just hate that I don't know when I'm going to see you again."
Artemis lifted her chin and refused to let herself cry. "Mum, it's not like I'm going to war. I'll see you for the wedding and maybe sometime over Christmas." She wished Remus had been able to come with her that day. He'd know how to deal with this. She wondered how his transition was going and where he went during the summer to turn into a werewolf. Why had she had to go to her mum's on a full moon? There was a crack from outside and Art looked out the window to see the formidable figure of her uncle standing in the garden, waiting for her. "Look, I'll see you, okay? And I'll write, I promise."
"I love you, Artie."
"I love you too, Mum." And with that, Artemis slipped through the back door to meet her uncle, not at all ready to go back to the Goyle manor.
~
Artemis had been dreading her trip to Diagon Alley with the Goyles, but she quickly learned that her aunt and uncle wanted nothing to do with her in public. When they arrived at the top of the street, Uncle Gregory gave Artemis a bag of money and told her to go and get the things she needed for school- including a dress for the upcoming dinner party- and to meet them back at the top of the street at dark. She took her time browsing the stores, paying top price for items she didn't even know that she needed just because she was using her uncle's money until at last she came upon Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.
A little bell dinged over the door when she stepped through and Madam Malkin turned from where she was shelving hats and gave Artemis a skeptical look. "What can I do for you?" she asked, eyeing Art's muggle clothes and untidy appearance doubtfully.
Artemis squared her shoulders and drew herself up to her full height. "I need a new full wardrobe- plus a dress for a dinner party," she said confidently. "None of my clothes fit me anymore."
Madam Malkin took a step closer to Artemis, and then nodded her head. "Ah, yes, I remember you coming in a few years ago. Scrawny little thing- makes sense they don't fit anymore. You've grown up. Have you got any money?"
At this, Artemis opened the bag of coins her uncle had given her- still mostly full even after all of her purchases- and showed Madam Malkin. The shop owner's eyes widened. Artemis smiled. "Yeah, so I really don't care how expensive anything is. I just want clothes that look nice."
"Well, you've come to the right place. Let me get your sizes and then we'll get started."
Artemis stood up on the little stool Madam Malkin directed her to and stood still as about five magical tape measures flew out from nowhere and began taking her sizes. Malkin took notes at rapid fire speed, and when the sizing was over, opened a dressing room and told Artemis to wait for her.
Artemis waited in unsettled silence, toying with the fringes of her denim jacket for a few long minutes before Madam Malkin reappeared, this time holding an enormous pile of clothes. "I want you to try all of these on," she said bossily, setting the pile on the bench in the dressing room, "And make a pile for what you like, what you don't like, and what you might like. Then call me back."
It took Artemis nearly an hour to try everything on and make her decisions. When she was done, the pile of things she liked was far bigger than that of the ones she didn't. While in the dressing room, she'd made the last minute decision to ditch her usual jeans and t-shirt style and go for something Marlene would like more. The only difference was that instead of going for pinks and other bright colors, Artemis carefully picked out deep reds and ocean blues. She tried on plaid skirts, jumpers, robes, and pants that fit her figure better than anything she'd ever worn before. When she wasn't sure about something, she stepped out of the dressing room to show Madam Malkin, who would make a few quick adjustments with her wand until the item was perfectly tailored to Artemis. After the first time Malkin did this, Art made a point to go out as much as possible to get more clothes altered to exactly how she liked them.
When she'd finally made her last decisions, the pile of clothes sitting on the counter of the robe shop was almost over her head. Normally, she would've felt bad about spending this much money on clothes, but instead she felt a sort of seething satisfaction at throwing away as much of her uncle's money as possible. "Now all I need is a dress for this dinner party," she said at last, sizing up the pile of clothes.
"What kind of dinner party?" asked Madam Malkin, already heading to the dress section.
Artemis shrugged. "Formal, I guess. I'm supposed to dress up."
"And what style of dress were you thinking?"
"I have no idea."
Madam Malkin turned to give her an almost pitiful look. "Alright then, what colors do you think you might want?"
Artemis thought for a second, and then a mischievous smile curled onto her lips. "Red," she said decidedly. "Gryffindor red."
~
Artemis took almost the entire afternoon to get ready for the dinner party. She did her makeup the way Marlene had taught her, carefully contouring her face and stroking on eyeliner with an expert touch. Where Marlene usually went in with bright blues and greens, Artemis put subtle red and brown eyeshadow that darkened her eyes, giving her a moodier and more mysterious look. She finished it off with dark red lipstick that gave her lips a pouty, older look. When she'd finished her makeup, she stepped back from the mirror and scrutinized her face, at last deciding that she liked what she saw. Then, she brushed out her hair and pulled out the magical hot rollers she'd bought in Diagon Alley, a purchase her friends would be sure to steal as soon as they got to Hogwarts. Artemis didn't mind, she'd made half of her purchases with Lily, Marlene, and Mary in mind. When her hair was curled, she swept some of it to the back of her head, clipping it there with a jeweled red clip she'd gotten as a last minute decision from Madam Malkin's.
At last, it was almost eight o'clock and the voices of guests just arriving could be heard echoing from the hall downstairs. Artemis pulled the dress she'd bought from her closet and laid it carefully out on her bed before slipping out of her jeans and t-shirt. She unhooked the dress from its hanger and gently slipped it over her head. It fell in a satisfyingly silky curtain around her body, falling all the way to her feet.
Artemis stared at herself in the mirror. The dress was fitted to her, cinching in at the waist before flowing out in an elegant satin red skirt. It was cut low on her chest and the sleeves fell off of her shoulders ever so slightly in simply cut straps. She didn't look like herself, but something about that thrilled Artemis. She stood back and admired her handiwork, priding herself on the way she'd made herself look. Then, she slipped on a pair of black heels and headed out of her bedroom to join the party.
Heads turned as she descended the stairs, but Artemis didn't look at any of them. She kept her chin up and waded through the crowd, not meeting anybody's eyes. She made her way from the foyer to the living room and into the dining hall, all of which were teeming with with people Artemis had no doubt were dark wizards. In the corner of the dining room, Aunt Isobel was standing with a portly blonde woman, talking to her in her usual uptight way. When she spotted Artemis, her eyes grew wide, but she kept her expression carefully controlled. "Ah, Artemis," she said in a tightly unreadable voice. She turned back to the woman she'd been speaking with. "I'd like you to meet my niece, Artemis. Artemis, this is Floricia Dolohov."
"Pleasure to meet you," Floricia said with a cold smile.
"Likewise," said Artemis without smiling.
"She's very pretty," Floricia said, more to Aunt Isobel than Artemis. "Although..." she turned back to Art, "I don't know about the red." She was smiling as though she and Artemis were sharing some sort of inside joke.
Artemis gave Floricia a cordial laugh. "Well, green and black is just so horribly out of fashion," she said lightly, her eyes flicking down to the dark green dress Floricia was wearing. "Bores me to death." Artemis gave another lighthearted laugh, nodded to her aunt, and whisked away to the rest of the party.
Still running on the high of her aunt's shocked expression and the way Floricia's face had colored at her remark, Art made her rounds, introducing herself to the scariest looking witches and wizards and making the most passive aggressive comments she could manage.
"Oh, I just love your hat," she said to a woman with long black nails and villainous eyes. "I believe my grandmother had one like it- she had awful style, that woman." She gave the woman a pointed look and then excused herself to head to the living room, where dancing had started. She was getting bored of talking to people, restless for something else to do.
Artemis stood on the fringes of the room, watching couples waltz around the wide floor to music that flowed magically from seemingly nowhere in particular. It was beautiful in a way, but she couldn't appreciate it through the rage that had been burning in her chest all night. There had been more disappearances in the paper, and here were the people she was certain were responsible for it, dancing and partying like nothing was wrong.
"Can I have this dance?"
Artemis jumped and looked up at the tall man standing over her, eyeing her like she was a piece of meat. She had no idea how old he was and she was certain he didn't know she was as young as she was, but she needed something to do. "Of course," she said coolly, and followed him out onto the dance floor.
She allowed the man to put his hands on her waist as they swayed to the music, moving with the flow of the other couples on the floor. "That's a dangerous color to wear to a party like this," the man said, his eyes dancing.
"Maybe I like being dangerous," she said, sounding offhand and distracted.
The man looked intrigued and she felt his hands on her waist tighten ever so slightly. "Then I'm a lucky man."
"Why's that?"
"Out of all the dangerous people in this room, you decided to dance with me."
She laughed, but winced at how forced it sounded. "You asked me, didn't you?"
The man lowered his lips to just by Artemis's ear and she felt a shiver go down her spine as his breath tickled her neck. "Then maybe I'm the dangerous one."
Her lips curled into a knowing smile as the man let her go and twirled her around, and then the song ended. She stumbled ever so slightly, not enough to be noticeable, and gave the man a drained smile. "I think I'm going to go find some water," she said, turning to go.
The man reached out and caught her hand. "And leave me stranded here?"
"I-"
"Hey," a familiar voice came up from behind the man, "-mind if I steal her?" Artemis's heart jumped when she saw Sirius's face emerge from behind the man, a confident grin covering his face as he took Artemis's hand from the man. "She promised me a dance earlier and I'd like to take it now."
The man frowned, but didn't protest. "I'll see you later then," he said to Artemis, and swept off into the crowd.
Artemis turned to Sirius, genuinely smiling for the first time that night. "What are you doing here?" she asked eagerly, overjoyed at seeing a familiar face.
Sirius shrugged. "My parents love this sort of thing. Wanna dance?"
"Yes!" They moved back onto the dance floor and Artemis settled her arms rather awkwardly around his shoulders. "Why didn't you write to tell me you were coming?"
"I was hoping to get out of it," Sirius said darkly.
She nodded. "Wish I could've. Is Regulus here?"
"Nah, he got out of it to go to the Puddlemere game with our uncle."
"Why didn't you go?"
Sirius gave her a dry smile as they waltzed around as though they were experts. "Well, that same uncle called me a blood-traitor last Christmas so I didn't exactly feel comfortable asking him to get me a ticket."
"Ah, makes sense," said Artemis. "Have you been here long?"
"Long enough," Sirius said in an offhand voice. "Boring as hell, by the way. Your family has no clue how to throw a party."
Artemis snorted. "Tell me about it. I tried to get a fireworks show at the end, I swear, but then I got sent to my room for the rest of the night."
"Worth a shot," said Sirius. "So, is there anything fun to do around here?"
Artemis's face took on a pensive expression as she thought, and Sirius watched her closely. Her makeup was done carefully to make her look older, but her eyes gave her away with their constant flickering childish mischief. She'd gotten taller, but Sirius was relieved that he'd finally passed her up. The last year had been awful when he was one of the shortest out of his friends. Artemis met his gaze again, her eyes twinkling. "My uncle stocked up on imported Schletter's Whisky. There's crates of it in the kitchen."
"Let's go," said Sirius, and before Artemis knew it, she was following Sirius out of the living room, one hand still clasped in his.
When they got to the kitchen, Sirius quickly let go of her hand as they snuck through the door. The room was thankfully empty. "Let's just grab a bottle and go somewhere nobody'll find us," Artemis said, already reaching into a box to pull out a full bottle of whisky.
"Sounds good to me," Sirius said, grabbing two glasses. "Where are we going?"
Artemis thought for a second. "There's a pantry down the hall. Let's go there."
The pantry was big enough for the two of them to sit comfortably on two boxes in the middle of the room, and Artemis sat down and carefully opened the bottle as Sirius locked the door before joining her. "Here." He held out the glasses and let Artemis fill them both nearly to the top. She set the bottle on the floor next to her and took one of the glasses. Sirius held his up, grinning widely at Artemis. "To hypocrites and fucked up parties."
"To hypocrites and fucked up parties!" Artemis echoed, and took a sip of the whisky. It was bitter and burned her throat on the way down, but then a warm feeling spread through her insides and she took another sip.
Sirius sipped from his own glass and leaned back in his seat against the shelf behind him. "So, sounds like you've had a good summer."
"Oh, the usual," Artemis said airily. "You know how it is."
"Oh, I know," said Sirius. "You look nice."
Artemis laughed, her head already buzzing ever so slightly. "And that's all that matters, isn't it?" she said teasingly.
"You know it." Sirius winked at her and took another sip. "Who was that guy you were dancing with?"
"No idea," said Artemis, and she burst out laughing. Sirius laughed with her, the events of the night suddenly becoming the funniest thing he'd ever heard. He picked up the bottle to refill his own glass and offered it to Artemis.
She held hers out and let him top it off. "This is all that's going to get me through the rest of the night."
"Might steal a bottle for the rest of the summer."
"Take whatever you want," said Artemis. "So, how's your summer been?"
"Well," Sirius said, lowering his voice even thought there was nobody else there to overhear him. "I've been writing to James and Remus and Peter all summer. There's big things coming this year, Art. Big things."
"Like what?"
"That's classified."
She rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, Black."
When Artemis and Sirius rejoined the party, stumbling ever so slightly from the alcohol and feeling much better than they had before, they made their rounds together to talk to people who had shown up late or they hadn't talked to on their first times around.
"You two are at Hogwarts?" a man in crisp dark dress robes inquired. "I do hope you're in the... right house, if you know what I mean."
"Gryffindor all the way," Artemis answered without hesitation. "The only right house in the school. Glad we're on the same page about that." She grinned at the man, whose pleasant smile had faded.
Sirius laughed. "I mean, everyone knows Gryffindor's the best house. Imagine having to suffer through Hufflepuff, or worse... Slytherin." He and Artemis burst out laughing again. The man gave them a disapproving frown and excused himself to join the rest of the crowd. Sirius turned to Artemis, his face glowing iridescently in the low light of the party. "I love messing with them," he said gleefully. "They're all so dumb."
"I've been doing it all night," said Artemis. "Only thing that made this bearable before you showed up." Her eyes met Sirius's for a heated moment, both of them falling silent. Artemis was suddenly struck by how deep Sirius's eyes were, dark and glittering in the light. He'd gotten taller over the summer and his hair was growing, touching the collar of his sleek dress robes. "You look nice," she said softly, swaying in the warm room.
"Thanks," said Sirius, his gaze never leaving hers.
Just then, Artemis was snapped back to the present by something she'd heard a woman say in the group of people standing nearby. "That Andrew Blake..." she'd said. Artemis perked up, taking a step closer to hear the woman better. She'd obviously had too much to drink and her wrinkled face was flushed red as she ranted to the crowd around her. "That Andrew Blake... a blood-traitor if I ever saw them. Foolish muggle lover- I think he's better off dead. In fact, I hope he suffered when he died-"
Artemis wasn't listening anymore. The pounding rage that had been weighing on her all night finally bubbled to the surface, making her ears ring and her sight blur around the edges. She didn't know what she was doing. She was storming to a nearby table. She was pulling out a chair. She was stepping up onto the chair and balancing precariously on the seat. Sirius followed her, his expression a mix of worry and exhilaration for whatever Art was about to do. "Art... what're you doing?" he asked, looking up at his friend standing on the chair, her face stormy. She didn't answer.
"Hey!" Artemis shouted to the crowd. Heads turned. "Hey!" she screamed, demanding the attention of everyone. "Are any of you aware of what fucking hypocrites you are? You stand here in your expensive clothes drinking your imported fucking drinks when there's people disappearing every day! And it's you! Isn't it? It's all of you- you fucking pigs! And you-" She rounded on the woman who had spoken about her father- now looking shocked and horrified at the spectacle. "You don't know what you're talking about! My father was a great man- a better man than any of you can ever dream of being, and you know why? It's because he left this fucking bullshit! It's bullshit! All of it! He got out when he could, and-"
A rough hand wrapped around her arm and pulled her down from the chair painfully. Murmurs spread through the crowd as angry tears pricked Artemis's eyes and she was dragged into a room just off the hall from the dining room. Then, Uncle Gregory's face came into focus, contorted in rage. "What the bloody hell were you thinking?" he hissed, his grasp on her arm tightening painfully. Artemis didn't flinch. "Filthy mudblood! You don't know what you've done- I'll make the rest of this summer hell for you- you know I can."
In one motion, Artemis forced herself out of her uncle's clutches and took a step black, glaring at him furiously. "I'm not afraid of you," she said, her voice surprisingly strong. "You hear me? I'm not fucking scared of any of you. You can do what you want to me, I don't care. I said exactly what I meant back there, and I'll say it again. You can't stop me."
She expected her uncle to strike her, but it happened too quickly for her to react. Her face stung, but she didn't care. She didn't back down. "I'm not scared of you," she said through gritted teeth. "I hate you. I hate all of you."
Uncle Gregory was practically spitting with rage. "You go to your room," he said, struggling to even get the words out. "You got to your room- and you stay there. You stay there until I say you can leave, understand, mudblood?"
"Crystal clear," Artemis said unflinchingly, and then turned and strode up the flight of servant's stairs to the upper floor, her only regret of the night being leaving Sirius alone in his boredom at the party.