Sirius had been right.
Aries did not like where headquarters was being held. At first she had laughed it off when Chloe had told her, but quickly realised she wasn't joking.
That had been a week ago and now Aries was getting ready to leave her house and go back to the one she grew up in. The pit in her stomach had grown deeper and deeper as the day got closer but she elected to ignore it.
She hadn't been to Grimmauld Place since she was sixteen, when her parents tried to make her become a death eater, the night she had escaped thinking of one thing... one person.
She wondered if he had thought about her the past fourteen years whilst in hiding, if he ever felt guilty for leaving her, guilty for hurting everyone, or maybe he didn't care, it was all just a game to him.
"I will never let anyone hurt you ever again,"
His words flooded.
"cross my heart and hope to die."
She closed her eyes. She didn't want to think of him, she had wasted too much time mourning him, he didn't deserve it.
The door slipped open, Leo poked his head through, he smiled sympathetically. "You alright?"
"Fine." Aries said, then she bit her lip. "Not fine... I don't really know what I'm feeling."
Leo stepped into the room. "We don't have to go if you don't want to."
She shook her head. "No, I have to. I have to help them. We should get going, Moody said to be there at four." Aries told him, and he replied with a nod.
"Aries, are you sure you're going to be okay?"
She pressed her lips into a smile, and grazed his arm. "I'll be fine. I've got you and Daisy."
"Not forgetting Angelika."
"Ah yes, Angelika."
It had been a long argument between her and Kingsley, to the fact that Moody almost left him stranded, but after long while the two had made up, and Angelika would be going to Grimmauld Place with them.
"I tell you what, I do not envy Kingsley." Leo joked.
"I think it's cute." Aries said, "Even though it's been years since they last saw each other."
"Bit like us."
"Yeah," Aries smiled. "Bit like us."
"Okay! Let's go, I'm ready!" Angelika shouted from the hall. "Daisy and I are bored!"
"Right, we better be off then." Leo said, taking her bag.
"Finally," Angelika said as the two walked downstairs.
"Come on then." Leo nodded to the front door.
"Wait!" Daisy said, halting to a stop then ran up the stairs into her bedroom.
"What's she forgotten?" Aries muttered as Leo shrugged.
She ran back downstairs. "I forgot Cuddles." she held out a worn out teddy bear she'd had since she was born. It had been from her mother and she didn't stay anywhere without it. "Now we're ready."
The four of them and Solo got into the car, ready for their journey.
"Should we play some music while we drive?" Leo asked, tuning the radio..
"I'm on the highway to hell!
Highway to hell!
Highway-"
He quickly changed the channel. "That songs really fitting for our destination,"
Aries let out a stifled laugh as he began to drive, she stared out of the window, the pit in her stomach had grown much deeper, and she felt as though she would be sick at any moment. But she had to overcome it. It was just a stupid house and her parents were far gone now, she would never have to see them again. Which made it a little bit easier for her.
☽☆☾
A few hours later they drove into the borough of Islington. The sick feeling was still churning in her stomach as she saw the familiar streets, then she saw the houses.
Leo leant down and looked out of the windshield at them. "I thought you said there was a ballroom, you can't fit one of those in these houses."
"With an expansion charm you can." Aries muttered.
"There's no number twelve." Daisy mentioned, she had lifted herself up to the front as they stopped. "Eleven and thirteen, no twelve."
Leo gave Aries a look. "More magic?"
She nodded.
Angelika looked out the window. "For some reason I assumed you lived in a mansion. Not a townhouse." she said, with slight disappointment.
"Oh this is nothing compared to our other houses in Paris."
"You have more houses?" Leo asked.
"In France and Italy."
"And we've never gone on holiday there because?"
"Because I forgot about them." Aries said, turning her head back towards the houses.
She never did understand how her family despised muggles yet lived in between them. She wondered what her mother would say if she knew she had married a muggle... and was now bringing him into The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black.
"Aries? Air?" Leo prodded her, putting his hand on hers. "Ready?"
"As I'll ever be." she replied, opening the car door.
They gathered all their stuff and stood on the pavement between number eleven and thirteen. Aries looked at Leo and Angelika. "You two might not be able to see it at first because you're muggles-"
"Non-magical beings." Angelika corrected.
"Because you're non-magical beings, just give it a moment." she turned back, picturing the house.
It began to rumble, as the walls expanded.
"Wow!" Daisy said in awe.
"What's happening?" Leo asked, staring at the wall which hadn't moved for him.
"You can't see it dad? The wall is moving!"
"I can't see anything." Angelika said.
Aries smiled to herself and muttered. "Muggles, you don't see nothing, do you."
Moments later Number twelve was on full show, the aged door with no letterbox nor handle stood in front of her.
"Can you see it yet?" Daisy asked her father.
Leo shook his head. "Can't see anything- wait, what the hell?"
"It just came out of nowhere." Angelika said in disbelief.
Aries and Daisy gave each other a mischievous grin as the door opened.
"Hurry up, inside." Moody grunted as he rushed them in.
"Good afternoon to you too." Leo muttered, he turned his head to Aries but she wasn't looking at him, she stared around the hallway, the house had been vacant for ten years and it looked like it, dust covered every inch, the smell of mildew lingered. The house was just as she had thought it would have been, dark, dull and dreadful. Her eyes guided towards the paintings on the walls by the staircase, most of them empty.
"Air?" she turned towards the voice, the person seemed to be afraid of her reaction but she gave a heart warming smile.
"Sirius," she squeezed him into a tight hug, at first he was stunned but then returned the hug. "I'm sorry," she said, faintly as she pulled away. "I should have known, I'm so sorry."
Sirius shook his head. "It's not your fault, Air. Pettigrew... he tricked us, he tricked all of us." he said, "You didn't know."
She got a closer look at her brother, his eyes were hollow so were his cheeks, bruised and battered by the twelve years he had spent locked up. His hair once shiny and sleek was a faded black, with strands of grey.
"Aries, don't blame yourself," he said.
She nodded. "You look terrible."
"There's my sister." he rolled his eyes.
"Looks a whole lot better than he did when I found him." Remus added with a grin.
"You always did say you'd love me at my worst."
"I don't recall ever saying that."
"You two haven't changed a day." Aries shook her head, she smiled softly the sunken feeling had dissolved.
Sirius grinned, turning his attention to the others. "Leo, good to see you again."
"It's been a long time." Leo smiled, shaking his hand.
"I hear that you're courting my sister-"
Aries rolled her eyes. "It's not courting if we're married, Sirius."
He ignored his younger sister looking towards Angelika. "You're the one that used to ignore everyone?"
Angelika hesitated before nodding. "Yeah, I was a little antisocial back then."
Sirius nodded, his eyes fell beside Leo. "And you must be Daisy."
Daisy gave a glance to Aries who gave her a comforting smile. "Uh, yeah..." she nodded her head shyly.
"Bet you're excited to go Hogwarts."
Daisy's eyes lightened up. "Yeah! Mums told me loads about it, she's told me about the feasts and the lessons and everything."
"She told you about Quidditch yet?"
"What's Quidditch?"
Sirius shook his head at Aries then looked back at Daisy. "Only the best game in the entire world, come on I'll tell you all about it while I give you the grand tour." he turned towards Leo and Angelika. "You two as well, and if you're unlucky enough you'll be able to meet my darling mother."
Leo looked at Aries.
"Go ahead, I'm gonna take these bags upstairs, plus I don't really need a tour of the house." she said, taking Solo off of his lead.
"Can't wait to check out the house you grew up in," he said.
"Oh, it's the best house ever." Aries replied sarcastically.
"Come on Leo! You're gonna miss the ballroom where I almost got married."
Leo furrowed his brows. "That really happened?"
"Yup, go on, you're gonna miss all the good parts of that story."
He turned following Sirius and the rest of them towards the ballroom, Aries used a spell making the bags follow her as she walked upstairs to her bedroom, the door creaked terribly as she opened it. It hadn't changed since she left abruptly years ago, her bed was still unmade and covered in a layer of thick dust, she walked towards the curtains, pulling them apart so sunlight would shed light in, but it still looked dingy no matter how much light was produced.
She walked towards her vanity table, opening the draws which were filled with old yellowed letters that she had hid from her parents signed by Dorcas and Benjy. She smiled softly as she picked up the faded photo of them taken by a muggle camera.
Her fingers traced over their faces, their smiles, they had been about fifteen in the picture, Benjy had snuck into Hogsmeade after being banned for the year and Marlene had been showing off her new camera, so Dorcas had forced Aries to get in the photo with them.
She held the picture up to her chest, closing her eyes for a moment. What she would do just to have a conversation with them again, just to hear Benjy's laugh and Dorcas' whining. She wished that Daisy could have met them, she knew how great role models they would have been for her.
Aries could imagine Dorcas teaching her everything she needed to know about Quidditch and how Benjy would ward all boys away from her because she needed to focus on school, and then he'd tell her how to sneak out of detention.
She placed down the picture, her eyes shifted towards a pot full of paint brushes. Peter had given them to her before they had gotten together, she paused before reaching for one, touching the bristles with her fingers.
How could someone she knew to be so kind turn out to be corrupted.
Clatter from outside her room caused her to jump, "Hello?" she called out, walking into the hallway. A pair of moth-eaten curtains were hung up at the far end, but Aries never remembered there being a window before, she walked closer reaching for them.
It only took her fingers brushing against them to fly open, her heart pounded as a familiar screech bellowed.
"BLOOD-TRAITORS IN THE HOUSE OF MY FATHERS!"
Aries' eyes widened as she was faced with a portrait of her mother, she tried pulling the curtain back but struggled heavily.
"YOU! YOU WRETCHED GIRL!" her mother shouted when she realised Aries was the one trying to pull the curtain back. "BLOOD-TRAITOR! BACK IN THE NOBLE HOUSE, CONSPIRING WITH HALF-BREEDS!"
"Close!" Aries struggled, she placed her foot on the wall to give her more strength.
"THE CRUCIATUS CURSE WASN'T ENOUGH FOR YOU WAS IT! I SHOULD HAVE USED IT LONGER-"
Her voice stopped, the curtain pulled back, as Aries stepped away shakily.
"I see you found mum." Sirius said, holding the curtain down.
Aries struggled to find her words for a moment as she tried to calm herself down. "I didn't know she was there."
"Yeah, permanent sticking charm. I've tried to take it down but I guess she wanted to burden us." Sirius said.
Aries flinched back as she felt a hand on her arm. "Hey, hey, you alright?" Leo asked, concernedly.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, eyeing the curtains.
He checked her over. "You look a bit pale, love."
"I'll be fine, I just need a moment." she pressed her lips into a smile, avoiding his eyes, she had never told him the extent of her abuse during her childhood, something she wished to avoid. He only knew she had left years ago and hadn't spoken to her parents since.
"The spare room downstairs." Sirius started, "It's already cleared out, you can stay there instead of your room so you're not on the same floor as... she is."
Aries nodded. "Yeah, I think that'll be for the best."
Leo stroked her arm.
"I'm fine," she said, giving him a reassuring nod, she knew he didn't believe her but he also knew she wasn't ready to tell him anything yet.
"Who's for pumpkin soup?" Sirius asked, "I've been practising."
Aries stifled a laugh. "You've been cooking?"
"Very well actually, Remus ate my food last night... well he had a bit, I blame the full moon ruining his appetite."
"Full moon?" Leo grinned. "What is he, a werewolf?"
Sirius and Aries looked at one another then burst out laughing. Leo's grin faded as none of them denied it.
"Wait, really?"
"Oh Leo, you have so much to learn." Sirius wiped a tear from his face as he patted Leo's shoulder, as they walked downstairs.
"Like a real werewolf?"
"Merlin, wait til you find out I turn into a dog."
"You turn into a what?!"
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