Ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ Ｆｉｆｔｙ：
𝐈𝐧 𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐀𝐭 𝟏𝟐 𝐆𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞
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❝ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬. ❞
─────𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚 𝐋𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐧-𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤
"I don't want her there," Regulus muttered, glaring at the house in front of him.
"I know, my love. It's safer for her," Cassandra took hold of his hand, a small frown on her face.
"How ironic is that?"
"This is where we are staying?" Accalia looked up at the goth looking building with a grimace.
"Unfortunately," Celeste looked at the building with an even bigger grimace than Accalia. She was trying to prepare herself for walking into the house she's never stepped a foot in since she was 22.
She was twenty-two, dragging her youngest brother out, practically by his ear, after her finding out her other brother was almost dead when he appeared in the Potter's fireplace.
"Wait," Accalia muttered, looking around the area before the others started to walk towards the house. "I've been here before."
Everyone's head snapped towards hers. They all were thinking the same thing.
"What?" Estelle questioned with a concerned look.
"Yeah, yeah. I remember that park." Accalia pointed across the street. "Me and Draco, I wanted to play on the swings but I just got a dirty look from Lucius when I asked. So, I snuck out, Draco, Blaise, and Theo following me because they didn't want me to like, get kidnapped or something. I got in trouble because I ruined a dress after I fell in some mud. I also got in trouble because the boys punched the muggle boys. Also, the fact I was playing with muggles. Got screamed out for a good hour and a half."
No one knew what to say as she looked at the park with a small smile, remembering how much fun she had with the boys. It was a good time before she got in trouble. She had taken the blame with Theo's and Draco's parents, saying how they just wanted to make sure she was safe. Mrs Zabini and Blaise's stepfather didn't care much, just pretended to.
"When was this?" Remus broke the small silence, drawing his niece's attention back to him.
"I don't remember. It had happened quite a few times to the point where Lucius and Narcissa made me stay with them every time we went somewhere so I didn't act like my mum, is what he said. Don't know what stick was up his arse. There was this one lady, she yelled at me for like an hour because I used the wrong fork...I still don't remember using a fork."
No one knew exactly what to say, making them happy for Accalia's short attention span for once.
"So are we living out here or are we going in? None of us want to but we have to."
"Yeah, yeah," Celeste took a deep breath and looked over at her brother. Sirius seemed just as nervous as she was.
Accalia and Sirius lead the way, mostly because Accalia started to lead the way and Sirius didn't like the way the muggle boys were looking at her. They walked up the steps and went she got to the door she turned to her uncle.
"So...can I just kick the door or what?"
"I mean, you could..." Sirius shrugged, pulling out his wand. "Usually we'd use our wands-or just kick it open that's fine too."
Regulus immediately looked over at Cassandra.
"That was one time!" she pouted.
"You we're the one that left the keys in the cottage."
"I was panicking!"
"I had Accalia in my arms!"
"I...forgot!"
Accalia started a coughing fit from all the built up dust. "Bloody hell," she coughed out as she and Sirius walked in. Sirius quickly waved his wand, making the dust disappear.
"This house is going to be the bloody thing that kills me," Sirius muttered, coughing once more. "I swear it."
"Missing Azkaban, are you?" Accalia teased her uncle, receiving a playful glare.
"How long have you been waiting to use that one?"
"Since I found out we were coming here."
Sirius rolled his eyes. "Just stay behind me, yeah?"
"Aw, you do care about me!" Accalia gasped dramatically as the two walked down a dingy corridor.
"C'mon," he rolled his eyes again.
Accalia listened for once and stayed behind, yet close to her uncle as they walked. Once the two got a few steps in, they heard a loud screeching and incoherent yelling. Sirius froze up as Accalia simply groaned from the screeching.
"WHO DARES ENTERS THE HOME OF THE MOST ANCIENT AND NOBLE HOUSE OF BLACK. THE HOUSE OF MY FATHERS-"
"What the fuck is that?" She groaned but Sirius was still frozen. "Sirius!"
Celeste came running in with Estelle and Remus, wands at the ready but Celeste seemed to freeze once she passed the threshold and heard the screaming. Estelle, Remus, and Accalia shared a confused look. Remus pulled Estelle and Accalia behind him, wand up.
The three followed the screaming, or rather screeching, into a small area by, if Accalia could remember correctly, was a dining room. The two made it to a portrait hidden behind drapes and were pushed open. Estelle and Remus both lowed their wands and looked at the portrait that seemed to not notice the three yet. Estelle threw a few silencing spells but the portrait wouldn't stop screeching.
"What do we do!?" Estelle tried to yell over the screeching, to Accalia who was rubbing her temples. She was far too tired and not in the mood to deal with this yelling.
Accalia lifted her head, not having look at who the portrait was yet but when she did, she grimaced and it made sense. She turned to Estelle and shrugged.
"Yell back!"
"Accalia-" Remus went to stop her but it was useless.
Accalia turned back to the portrait and took a few steps closer before she started to yell, at the top of her lungs;
"SHUT THE HELL UP, YOU BLOODY PSYCHO! YOU'RE SOUND LIKE WHAT YOU LOOK LIKE! A DYING FUCKING WALRUS!"
The screeching stopped once Accalia stopped screaming. No sooner did Sirius and Celeste come rushing in, having heard Accalia's screaming. Estelle just had a hand over her mouth to stop from laughing at the absolute appalled look on the portrait woman's face.
"YOU!" She screeched, glaring at Accalia, who just look bored. "YOU HALFBREED, PATHETIC, SCUM OF MY BLOOD-"
"-son killer, blah, blah, slur, slur," Accalia sighed and rolled her eyes. Sirius and Celeste just looked between the two in absolute shock, still slightly pale and horrified.
"If you could please be quiet, dearest grandmother, that would be appreciated-"
"YOU TWO!" Walburga seemed to notice her two disowned children and felt even more anger than seeing just Accalia. "YOU-"
"Please, HOW DO WE SHUT YOU UP?!" Accalia tried to scream over the slurs she was hurtling at her children.
"Mum, Sirius, Remus, try the curtains!" Estelle yelled over the slurs. The two siblings shook their heads and try to remember they were no longer fifteen-year-olds getting shouted at, and followed Remus to the curtains.
"Right, right."
The three worked together to pull the curtains close, which was a lot harder than it seemed and more annoying as well. They couldn't shut them so Estelle and Accalia both tried to help them, and after what seemed like years, finally got them closed. Then, Sirius and Celeste looked at Accalia with wide eyes.
"What-What the hell was that?" asked Celeste quietly.
It's been a long two, almost three weeks for everyone. To start, Ms Bennett had fallen ill a day before they returned from Hogwarts, so ill she could barely get out of bed. Dora and Zach had moved in with her and Antonio to help take care of her.
Since Zach is now a trophy partner (Dora finds it hilarious and Zach pretends he hates getting called such) and Antonio is back from Hogwarts it's been a lot easier to care for Ms Bennett and the baby. She's a muggle, which is one of the issues they have been having trying to take care of her. You can't give muggles potions but no one knows the side effects as it has never been documented. Antonio and Zach won't take any chances.
Antonio's been having a very difficult time, Accalia is surprised he hasn't snapped yet-that's a lie.
Two days ago, she went to go visit the Bennetts with Issac as the adults were doing Godric knows what. While Issac played with Teddy, she went up to Antonio's room. It was a day after the small memorial the Diggorys had for Cedric before they left. He was simply sitting on his bed and staring at the wall. In less than a second Accalia was sitting right next to him and staring at the chipped paint on the wall, not saying a word. She knew that he just needed a few moments of peace, she can relate to that better than anyone.
So, she sat there with his head on her shoulder as he silently cried. They sat like that for maybe an hour until Teddy and Issac burst their way into the small room and Issac convinced the two to play hide and seek with them.
Accalia though, Accalia's been doing fantastic.
Nightmares? Of course not.
Is she having anxiety attacks? Crazy talk. Why would that happen?
Has she been writing down exactly what her mum and dad told her and analyzing it thirty times? She hasn't even thought of that day in weeks.
Has she been waking up in the middle of the night screaming from nightmares only to be woken up and not even remember them? Maybe.
Has she avoided going to her grandfather's to search for the books her mum and dad talked about? It's really Remus' fault and not hers.
Maybe once in a while she might even know and blurt things out that she has no idea how or why she knows and now everyone is on her arse.
But, does she just want a fucking break?
Yes.
"Godric this house is awful," Accalia coughed as she looked around the room, hoping to avoid questions. "It feels like death."
"Looks like it too," Estelle mumbled, wiping her finger on a desk only getting it full of dust.
"Do not touch anything," Celeste said sternly as she looked around the house and shared an unspoken look with her brother.
"Why would we touch anything?" Accalia scoffed, pulling her hand back to her.
"We are going to need to clean this place before the Weasleys come," Remus grimaced as he looked around. For a moment growing up, he thought maybe they were just being a little dramatic at how awful this house was, the Black family tends to be known for their dramatics.
They weren't dramatic enough.
"Let's start with the bedrooms, bathrooms, and the kitchen. Those are the most important," Sirius said emotionless as he looked around the house once more.
"Who's staying in what rooms?" Estelle asked as she grabbed one of Accalia's suitcases.
"Remus and Sirius will stay in Sirius' old room...I'll stay in mine with Aaron...Accalia can either stay in Reggie's room or a guest-"
"I'll stay in a guest," Accalia said quickly and quietly as she focused on one object. They all sent her a confused look that she ignored.
"Okay. Molly said she wanted her kids to share rooms, even though there are enough...So, Ginny and Hermione can share a room along with Fred and George, Ron and Percy can share one. Harry can sleep in one of the other guest rooms-"
"Fuck!"
Everyone turned to Accalia who was waving her hand in the air and looking suspiciously at the vase.
"Lia," Remus scolds, quickly walking over to her and grabbing her hand to see what's wrong. "Celeste said not to-"
"I don't even remember touching it!" Accalia told him confused and sadly. "All I remember is screaming at someone and then getting burnt by something."
The others shared a look while Remus looked at her hand confused. There was nothing. If she claimed she was burnt, there wasn't a single amount of evidence on her hand to prove it.
"Your hand isn't burnt," Remus said confused, looking up at her.
Accalia looked down at her hand confused and shook her head, "It burnt me, I swear! It-It felt like when I touched Harry's scar last year. It didn't burn like fire, but like ice."
Sirius walked over to the vase and inspected it, using his wand to lift it and spin it. He frowned as he put it down and turned to Celeste.
"It's the vase aunt Druella gave Walburga at the last Christmas dinner before you got disowned. Remember? The one that-"
"The one that used to be a boggart? Unfortunately, I do," Celeste sighed and shivered at the unwanted memory.
"So it contained Dark Magic?" Estelle asked carefully, watching as Celeste and Sirius nodded. Remus was trying to keep Accalia from having an anxiety attack.
Did she forget to mention she's been blacking out regularly?
That's been fun.
"What are you thinking, my star?" Celeste asked her daughter carefully.
"I don't know yet..."
It was silent between them for a moment before they overheard Accalia whisper to Remus.
"What is happening to me?"
The next eight days they spent cleaning as much as they possibly could. They managed to get through all the closets, bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen, and one of the supposed family rooms, although it was never really a family room for the Black family growing up.
Accalia's anxiety attacks have only gotten worst living in the house. She started to have to wear gloves because they realized anything Accalia touched that had anything to do with Dark Magic or had Dark Magic associated with it. Turns out that that stuff ranges from a doorknob to a curtain. Whatever skin would touch it would burn or she'd get a horrible nightmare she can't remember.
Along with the more frequent anxiety attacks, her mood seemed to be as bad as the weather. Thankfully, to keep her from going crazy, she wasn't the only one either. It got to the point where if their last name was Black, you shouldn't take whatever they said personally. All three of their moods would change in a matter of milliseconds as if the house was cursed.
Rows were happening every ten seconds it seemed like, especially with people coming in and out for Godric knows what. Antonio, Aaron, and Remus had been the biggest help in stopping the family of three from committing murder.
The paper had been bashing Harry, Dumbledore, and for some reason, Accalia, claiming she belongs "in the psychiatric ward in St. Mungos." How have people found out about the freak-out? No one has any idea-no real idea. She was starting to think she was going crazy at this point.
The biggest row, even bigger than the Percy situation, was that Charlie and Estelle finally told Mrs Weasley they were engaged. You would think a mum would be happy their son was marrying the love of their life and be overjoyed.
Mrs Weasley was not, and she was not afraid to say so.
Accalia thought Celeste was going to fight her, maybe even Estelle. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on who you are, Dumbledore stopped them before any spells or punches were thrown. Not before the damage was already done.
Why was Dumbledore even getting involved in her family business? That's what Accalia wanted to know. He was not her favourite person lately. She liked Snape more than she does Dumbledore at this point. And it's for one reason.
"No."
"Told you," Sirius sang song, moving away before Remus could poke his side.
"Sirius, shush," Celeste sent him a look before taking another deep breath and looking back at Accalia. The bags under her eyes were worst than Accalia has ever seen them, and she's not trying to be difficult, but how is it any of Dumbledore's business?
"Lia, why not?"
"Why not?" Accalia looked offended by the question. "It's none of his business is why!"
"Accalia-" Aaron tried but was cut off by Accalia.
"What my dad wrote in his journals is none of Dumbledore's business. The years he's asking for, I've read them twenty times over and there is nothing in there that is his business! They are the only journals of his I read because they are the only ones that-" Accalia stopped talking mid-sentence and took a deep breath trying to calm herself.
"Accalia," Aaron said calmly, putting his hand over hers, frowning when she flinched at the contact. "I don't know what are in those journals, and they are your decision but if Dumbledore thinks your dad knew something to help end this before it becomes another war..."
"He didn't!" she protested weakly. "I've read those specific journals twenty times over and-and he barely even talks about the war!" And he writes to me.
Dumbledore had asked her family to ask her if he could read her dad's journals, specifically the ones between 1977 till his death. They figured it wouldn't be too hard. She would want to help end this before it starts, right? And although Sirius and Celeste don't exactly trust Dumbledore after events these past fourteen years, they had some faith in the fact that Dumbledore would want to end this. They didn't think it would be this hard.
What they didn't know was that once Regulus found out Cassandra was pregnant, he didn't just write into the journals, the entries are towards Accalia. From, "my little star," to "my little princess," to "Accalia Hope."
She will happily be called selfish when it comes to wanting to keep those to her.
"Maybe that's why you don't see anything," Estelle told her softly as if she could physically see how badly Accalia is struggling to not fall apart. "You've read it twenty times, could probably recite it in your sleep."
Accalia took a shaky breath and put her head in her hands. "Fine," she mumbled quietly, weakly dropping her hands. "Fine, but I swear if he ruins them-"
"I will not ruin them, Accalia," Dumbledore said calmly, speaking for the first time since he brought up the idea.
"If he ruins them," Accalia ignores him, "I'm blaming you guys. But there is nothing you can say to let me give him my drawing books unless it is over my dead body."
"That is far," said Dumbledore. "I do think we can come to another arrangement."
They did come to another arrangement, somehow that was almost worst than just giving him the books. Instead, she was forced to sit in the dining room during the meetings and draw to see if anything important comes up. Some people may be happy to know what the adults of the Order were talking and about and arguing about, but Accalia was not. All they did was argue. About what? She didn't know she'd zone out once the first argument broke out, which was about Harry.
One side of the Order believes Harry shouldn't know what was going on. The side that did think he should know was Sirius, Celeste, and Dora (Remus, Estelle, and Aaron were iffy). This sparked more arguments between Mrs Weasley and Celeste. Very, very explosive and big arguments that Accalia was happy to have learned to block out and draw after the third one. She couldn't ignore it much longer before-much to Moody and Mrs Weasley's opinion-asked her directly.
Why were they asking for a teenager's opinion? Accalia didn't know and they wished she didn't.
"What?" Accalia asked annoyed, slapping Dora's finger away from her cheek.
"We asked you a question, angry child," Dora said as she rubbed her finger and pouted.
"Yes, and I'm ignoring you," Accalia said dryly, not looking up from her drawing. It was just a bunch of books with scribbles on the top of it, but it looked like it made sense, to her at least.
"We can see that," Remus sighed tiredly. Accalia's noticed he's more exhausted and stressed than usual. She was certain that he was going to have as many grey hairs as someone would at seventy.
"What do you really think about-"
"Keeping Harry out of everything?" Accalia finished and looked up at the table. There were many, too many people in this house.
Besides her family and Moody, the only other person's name she can remember is Kingsley Shacklebolt-because he is such a sweetheart and her favourite person and always had an amazing outfit everyone she saw him; and Emmeline Vance, who she is quite close to. It helps that both the adults took a liking to her.
Emmeline and Kingsley, especially Emmeline, loved the fact that Accalia wasn't afraid to say what she thinks to anyone or threaten. Whether it be Dumbledore, Alastor, or one of her family members. Emmeline thought she was exactly like her mum, with her blunt nature and disregard for anyone's opinion on what she had to say. She gave back the same energy and wouldn't care who they were.
"I think that is the stupidest idea any of you have ever had. That's including when Dora convinced me and Antonio to break into-"
"I think we get the point," Dora cut her off quickly.
Accalia sighed and took a deep breath, "Look, if anyone should know what is going on, it's Harry. He may be...fourteen-fifteen-his birthday is in two weeks how old is he going to be-Doesn't matter. He's young, okay, he is. He doesn't need to know any gory details and stuff like that, but he above everyone else is the one that needs to be protected."
"Disappointed that Accalia is the only in there with common sense," Marlene mused, dodging a smack on the shoulder from Dorcas.
"You expected who else to have it? Dumbledore?"
"Voldemort, personally, wants Harry dead since he was a child, and he has gotten pretty damn close on more than one occasion. How is Harry supposed to protect himself or know what he is supposed to protect himself from if you keep hiding him in the corner? You are leaving him unprepared and in danger, if you want the truth, and you'll get him killed because of it.
"You guys," Accalia waved to the group, "you guys had a choice to fight at the end of the day. You guys still have a choice to fight. Whether or not you believe it, you chose to fight back in the 1830s."
The adults all glanced at each other with a slightly offended look.
"Harry, of all people, do not get the choice to fight in what will be a war-You want to know what I see and hear, it's that there will be a war whether any of us like it or not. Guess who is the centre of this war?" Accalia flipped through a few pages before tearing one out and giving it to Remus who sat right next to her.
"Harry. I get you want to try and keep him a child, but he has faced Voldemort every year since he was fucking eleven and-"
"Wait, wait," Sirius interrupted Accalia, rather rudely if you asked her. "Every year since he was eleven?"
Accalia just then noticed everyone staring at her with slightly wide eyes. "Oh, you guys didn't...Well, that is something you just take up with Dumbledore for hiding that fact not me."
"What happened-"
"The point is," Accalia cut Sirius' question off. "Is that you can hide all the gory details, but at the end of the day, you guys won't be the ones fighting. The ones fighting will be the generation with the dead parents. We may as well end up with them if you don't start telling kids what, how, who, to look for, to protect ourselves, to protect ourselves from. You guys had the luxury of not fighting until you were out of Hogwarts, meaning you got to choose whether to fight or not. And, if you want my try and honest opinion, we-my Hogwarts year and below, we won't get that."
°:. *₊ ° . ☆ ☾ °:. *₊ ° . ° .•
AUTHORS NOTE
unedited
4.1k words
these next two chapters are kinda blah and fast
and yah but it's fine :)