It was late afternoon at the Tonks Household, the peak hours of activity in the house with Dora and Ted coming home for lunch while Andromeda cooked and Vega did her homework – yet today, it was very uncharacteristically silent. There was not a single creak in the house, and all the rooms had been left completely unlit and dark.
Early July had brought its warmth and the sun had at last looked out from behind the puffy clouds but it was unable to stream into the room, suffocated by the thick dark red curtains, allowing only a dull light to hit the wooden flooring of the bedroom.
The window itself had been left open, allowing the warm breeze to permit into the room, stroking past the red drapes. And beyond it, the sound of chirping could be heard as waxwings swooped into the rowan tree right outside the window, picking at the brightly ripening red berries to feed on the juicy fruits to fill their tiny bellies.
In the corner of that bedroom laid Vega, her head stuffed into her pillow, her stomach pressed against the mattress, and her hand laid on the wooden floor limply – all lamps in the room were dark except for her eyes that sat unseeingly on the ground.
If Vega was to summarise her and her family's current situation – it was that each and every one of them were feeling downtrodden in one way or another. And surprisingly, none of that came from the reality of Vega's parentage.
Well, aside for Vega.
Andromeda was taking Sirius's death rather hard; it seemed like she had suddenly realised that she was left on her own. It wasn't that they even met often but Vega knew that Andromeda had found solace in the fact that she wasn't the only one who had objected to the Black Family traditions, and that she wasn't the crazy one – her family was.
It was something that Vega had been struggling to deal with as well, and she found the more she thought about it, the more it hurt, and on the other hand, she felt guilty over the fact that had she put her foot down and stopped them, it wouldn't have come this far. She did, however, get some distraction while she cared for Dora at St. Mungo's.
Dora had to visit the hospital for check-ups, and Vega made sure to stay by her side – and fortunately, she had gotten back on her feet rather quickly. But the real problems started for Dora a week later than that when she went to meet with the Order.
When the older female had returned back, Vega could immediately notice the change in her cousin, and it wasn't just the colour of her hair. Dora had been crying – her eyes were red and her face was flushed and clammy. Vega was on the case quickly.
Remus Lupin had rejected Dora's affections, it had turned out and Vega had been rather concerned – she had a suspicion that her cousin was feeling something for the man but she had not expected it to be something she would confess; Dora rarely did.
Of course, Vega had tried to comfort her cousin the best that she could but there was nothing that could console Dora, and she had started to blame herself for Sirius's death and the sorrow that put onto Lupin's head following that.
Vega's eyes moved, finally, when she heard noises in the house and she stared at her door, waiting to see if something was going to happen.
The noises seemed to be coming from Dora's room – she had arrived earlier to rest in while she waited for her Auror duty late in the evening. Vega heard a muffled conversation before heavy footsteps came toward the direction of her bedroom.
Door opened to reveal Dora but Vega didn't react, still laying still as she watched. Dora, however, had noticed that she was awake and walked over to her bed.
"Mum's stress-cleaning my room," Dora muttered as she climbed over Vega and laid down heavily in the open space on the bed. "Don't mind me crashing here,"
Vega simply hummed in response, not bothered over sharing a bed with her.
For a moment, there was silence between them, and Vega thought that Dora had gone asleep.
"Why doesn't he love me, Vega?" Dora asked in a whisper from behind and Vega kept her eyes on the ground, staring at the fainting light. "Am I... not good enough? Is there something I must change for him to look at me?"
"I... don't think it's any your fault," Vega replied quietly. "He must think that... he is too old for you, and dangerous, and that he wouldn't be able to care for you... and I do understand where he is coming from – and I'm sure he thinks you will get hurt if you hang around him, especially since he is going through Sirius's...."
"How can you say that, Vega?" Dora mumbled. "Don't tell me you agree with him,"
"I do agree with him – that he is too old and dangerous for you," Vega confessed. "But I also think that he is quite wrong in thinking that thing of that sort would stop you from feeling affection for him – it's not how love works, of course,"
"It's more than affection – I love him, Vega," Dora told her. "He thinks that I'm being childish with my persistence but it is true that I love him with whole my heart,"
"Dora... why do you say that?" Vega whispered.
Silence fell upon them once again and Vega almost turned around to look over her shoulder to see what Dora was feeling when a spiral of light balled out into existence over them. Vega stared at the spectre, watching the Patronus shift and within seconds, a silvery wolf ran around the length of Vega's bedroom until it dissolved into a ball and vanished.
The silence persisted amongst the two females as Vega processed what she had just witnessed, feeling her insides go cold when she realised that Dora really did love Lupin, and suddenly, she felt sorrow for her cousin over her plight.
"When did this happen?" Vega asked quietly.
"Two weeks ago," Dora answered. "Am I wrong to feel this?"
"No," Vega replied. "You're not wrong at all... no, it's okay to love, I think... even though we're facing an uncertain future, it's okay to love. I don't think it is childish to love, and I think Professor Lupin will come around if he loves you, too – and I'm sure he does. You're lovely the way you are, and even if he doesn't love you, you are perfect as you are,"
That had been a few days ago, and Dora had fully returned to her duties and was quite busy away from home.
Vega had returned to her sorrowful misery, unable to find anything to distract her – she was trying to finish with her homework and she had not yet gotten her results back from Hogwarts. She took care of her animals and garden but it was starting to become a routine that didn't spark anything in her as she was mostly lost in thoughts.
Uncharacteristically, she even went out of her way to go and play some cricket with the local kids but most of them kept talking about the World Cup that had happened earlier in the year and Vega hadn't watched it yet so she couldn't give any input.
How do you explain to someone you're a witch?
In the end, Vega just told them that she was off in her boarding school where they didn't have any television and that she had gotten herself busy with her O-Level exams. It seemed fair to them but she couldn't get in with their conversation about the matches.
I wish you lot played Quidditch, I know that.
And with that, having nothing more to do, Vega returned back to her bedroom where she laid day and night, staring at any particular corner of the room and waiting for the day to just go by until she would get to do something worthwhile, maybe studies.
But everything seemed just... useless.
Letters from friends continued to arrive, and half-hearted responses continue to return – Vega knew that they were aware by now but she had no desire to meet anyone. She just wanted to alone by herself where she knew nothing would hurt her feelings.
After having that conversation with Dora, it was all Vega could think about. All she could think about was if she, like Lupin, decided to break ties with her significant other, would Fred also become so sad and despondent like Dora had become? Just the thought of that made Vega sick to her stomach and she tried to keep it all only to herself.
The weekend of July brought sorrowful tidings as the Daily Prophet informed Vega of the death of Amelia Bones, and Dora informed the murder of Emmeline Vance.
Friday passed away slowly, and Vega was mulling over the thoughts of that in the dark of the evening, stroking away at Aerglo's grey fur as the Kneazle laid behind her, giving her company in her reclusive episodes when she heard a knock on her door – something that surprised Vega given that no one would usually come to her room after dinner.
"Come in," Vega whispered softly, and she watched the door open.
It was bright in the hallway and for a second, it was hard for Vega to make out who was standing in the doorway until she recognised the figure.
"Freddie?" Vega asked, her heart leaping expectantly.
"Vega, love," Fred replied and Vega pushed herself to sit up rather quickly, and the dim lamp in her room turned on with a flick of a wand.
"I'll leave you two kids here," Ted said, who had been the one to light the lamp, and he nodded at Fred before Vega heard his footsteps leave hallway.
Fred was dressed rather casually; his hair was damp and he looked a bit tired – it was obvious to Vega that he had just finished with his shop, took a shower and came right here. He stepped right into the bedroom and closed the door behind him. And with that, there was a spot of silence between them as they stared at each other.
"When did you come by?" Vega asked, looking up at his face. "Come here... you can sit down,"
"Just now," Fred replied and gratefully took the open seat next to her. He looked toward her and she knew he was very concerned. "How are you doing, love?"
"I..." Vega whispered, about to say that she was okay as she usually did, but she paused. "... don't know, Fred... I can't understand anything that's going on,"
Vega moved her hands around aimlessly and then dropped them into her lap as tears started to fill her eyes, breathing choking up and she tried to calm herself down – but the second that Fred had wrapped his arm around her and pulled her into a hug, Vega began to cry into his chest, clutching on his sweatshirt as tightly as she could.
For how long she cried, Vega had no idea but when she finally looked up, Fred was still there to rub her back consolingly and kept her in his arms gently.
"You're not leaving me, are you, Fred?" Vega asked in a whisper, staring at his face with her blurry vision. "You're going to be here, right, Fred?"
"Shhhh, I'm here," Fred assured her, wiping at her cheeks gently. "I'm here – I knew my Vega must be really upset so I came, okay? I'll stay the night, and I have tomorrow and the day after free, okay? So, I can be here with you for a long time,"
Aerglo got up and stretched, jumping off of the bed now that Vega had someone to give her company in her sadness. Vega kept a hold on Fred even as she closed her eyes, hiding her face away in his shoulder, trying not to feel lonely.
"Fred?" Vega whispered, and she felt him hum as he continued to stroke her hair to soothe her. "I love you very much,"
"I love you very much, too," Fred answered, moving his head down to press a kiss on her forehead. "Good night, love, I'm here with you,"
For the first time in a long while, Vega felt completely carefree as she slept – and she wished that the night would continue on for a very long time. But unfortunately, things as often came to an end and when Vega woke up in the morning, she was alone.
It took Vega a moment to realise that she had not dreamed it all when she saw that there was still a lingering scent of him having been there in her bed.
Vega got out of the bed in a frenzy, snatching her dressing gown from her sofa and pulling it on as she rushed out of the room, making her way down the hallway and staircase all the way to the kitchen where she could hear conversation.
"Fred?" Vega asked. "Aunt Dromeda?"
There were only two people in the kitchen – Fred and Andromeda, and they both seemed to have been in a serious conversation. Relief set into her and she breathed out, knowing that Andromeda would not tell Fred about her parentage; she had told everyone that she would do it herself when she got the chance to do it.
"You're awake, dear?" Andromeda asked as she got up from the table. "I asked Fred not to wake you up but I felt he needed some breakfast. Come on, sit down, I'll make some fresh food for you,"
"I'll help," Vega said.
"No, no, sit down," Andromeda told her and busied herself away with food, leaving Vega to turn and look toward Fred, who gave her a gentle smile.
"Good morning, Fred," Vega mumbled as she pretended that she hadn't freaked out and almost shyly sat down in the chair next to Fred.
"Did you sleep alright?" Fred asked, reaching out to tuck her hair behind her ear and tilting his head to give her a wider smile. "I missed seeing you,"
"It was good, thank you," Vega replied. "And... I missed you a lot, too – I didn't know you were coming by, or you had days off on the weekend,"
"I couldn't wait around until your results came," Fred told her as he poured her some strawberry juice. "And letters weren't enough for me,"
"You used the ring all day long, every day," Vega pointed out, trying to smile at him and he laughed, passing her the glass. "Thank you, Freddie,"
Breakfast was usually a quiet affair – but not today. Fred talked up, down, left and right everything that he could think of, and maybe because Vega was distracted as she ate, she ended up eating a lot more than she usually did these days, much to Andromeda's pleasure.
Conversation continued from there as Vega finally got the chance to speak after finishing eating and asked Fred little questions with big answers – all directed to his work. They left the kitchen to the care of Andromeda and headed out the backdoor to where the garden was and the property beyond laid waiting in a dazzling, romantic July sunlight.
They found themselves seats on the edge of the stream down the hill, sitting on large boulders eroded from the running water now pulled to the edge. Vega had changed into her jean shorts, and freely put her feet in the cool water with Fred, who had rolled up his sweatpants.
All the fairies had wanted to come and embarrass Vega but it seemed like even they understood how downtrodden Vega had been and let her be for once.
"You're a life-saver, Vega," Fred went on excitedly as he stroked the head of the eager Pluto, who was wagging his forked-tail so rapidly, it was a blur. "All of your estimations have been a real help for us – and we're putting even more stuff this coming week,"
"If you need any more help, I'll be glad to do so," Vega told him quickly, hoping that it would bring the distraction that she needed. "I'm almost finished with homework,"
"I know you're not allowed to travel around in the Diagon Alley right now," Fred said. "But when you do get the chance, I would love to show you around the shop – I think you'd love it,"
"I already love just listening to you talking about it," Vega admitted truthfully.
Fred smiled at her and reached over to ruffle her hair.
Ted came home for lunch around noon and informed that Dora wouldn't be coming due to the increasing burden at work. Vega, who had been helping Andromeda out with cooking lunch, hoped that her cousin would find some distraction in that, too.
Lunch was brighter for one because it appeared that both Fred and Ted seem to be competing to see who made the other laugh more – but it quickly changed into intrigue as Fred told them about exactly what sort of work he and George did.
"That's just brilliant," Ted was saying, laughing as a grinning Fred finished telling what he and George did to Umbridge in vivid detail while Andromeda just shook her head.
It was very certain that Andromeda's mind was boggled –
they had three Cornish Pixies in the family now.
Vega allowed the conversation go on and smiled through the jokes, and she waited until the food was finished and the chatter had died down until she decided to bring up the topic that she wanted to ask, which she did as she gently picked up the dishes with Fred.
"Um, Aunt Dromeda, Uncle Ted," Vega said, picking up the empty food dish. "Fred and I... were wondering if I could go with him to his flat? It's right above his shop – and no one will know, I promise not to step outside the door,"
"It's fine by me," Andromeda replied, and Vega looked at her in surprise – but it seemed like Fred had hinted it to her already in the morning.
"That sounds... quite nice," Ted agreed, a bit surprised at how easily the usually over-protective Andromeda had relented. "When do you plan on going and for how long?"
"This evening," Vega answered calmly, meet eyes with Fred. "I'll come back by tomorrow evening – Fred has his day off on Sunday, you see, and we'll have time to hang out..."
"If Dromeda has no problem, I don't mind either," Ted told her. "Just as long as you're careful,"
"Vega will be completely safe there," Fred informed them eagerly. "George and I have all protective charms on aside from Fidelius – and only specific locations can travel through the Floo Network. I'll make sure that Vega stays safe inside,"
"We give you permission to take her along, and bring her back on time," Andromeda told him. She paused for a moment. "I do trust you with my girl,"
Vega felt her heart leap.
When evening rolled around, and Vega got the chance to follow Fred to his new home, she had barely stepped outside the fireplace before her eyes were running all over the place, taking each and everything in, finding it very obviously belonging to two boys.
"We share the living area and the kitchen," Fred informed her. "The bedroom and bath on the right is mine and the one on the left is George's – he's gone until late with Lee so we have the place to us. But he knows that you'll be coming around so he'll be quiet – for once – and you'll see him the next morning, or whenever he wakes up,"
"That's okay, and I don't mind seeing George, too, it's been a while..." Vega replied, still looking around at everything. "Have you gone home since you left?"
"Once or twice," Fred answered, reaching over to place her bag with a change or two of clothes on the deep red sofa in the living. "Mum's coming around to the idea of the shop,"
"I'm glad about that," Vega admitted.
"I'm not sure if you've heard yet but Bill's looking to marry Fleur, the French Champion," Fred told her and Vega looked at him in surprise. "Yeah... I found out the other day, too – she's going to come visit Mum and all at the Burrow one of these days,"
"Is that right?" Vega asked. "I suppose they want to be together... especially since the war is upon us," She met eyes with Fred and looked away, suddenly very aware of the ring on her finger. "Um, this is a really nice place – very Gryffindor-like, in fact,"
"I'm glad about that," Vega admitted. "This is a really nice place – very Gryffindor-like, in fact,"
"Knew you'd like it," Fred replied, grinning. "You'll love the shop even more, you should come by when its open and showing off its glory,"
"I look forward to that," Vega said, smiling back at him before she noticed something on the ground. "Oh, what is this? Are you guys working out?"
Vega had noticed several weight-lifting equipment scattered in one corner of the large wide room. She picked up one of the dumbbells and was quite intrigued by how heavy they were, and Fred quickly moved over to take them from her.
"Hey, hey, I don't want you to get hurt," Fred told her, setting the dumbbell down. "It's just mine – George's thinking of getting into it but hasn't found the will yet,"
"This is quite strange," Vega said and looked over at her boyfriend. "What about your will? Where did you get some of that for all this?"
"Well, it's you," Fred confessed, a bit quieter now. "I want to stay in shape, which is hard to do now that I can't play Quidditch all too often, and I don't want to become one of those guys who get into a comfortable relationship and just let themselves go,"
"Fred, you don't... think that you're not good enough, do you?" Vega asked, suddenly feeling like he might be feeling a bit uncomfortable with himself. "Hey... you're handsome for me in every way, shape or form. I'll love you even if you've got weight on or not,"
"I know, I know," Fred told her. "But I want to be able to keep up with you – and I want to be able to do this," Vega's eyes widened as he easily picked her off of the ground.
"Fred!" Vega gasped, wrapping her arms tightly around him to keep herself from being dropped but Fred laughed, his arms locked gently beneath her.
"What?" Fred asked, chuckling. "Can't I hold onto my girlfriend? I've been waiting for so long to be able to spend time with you – without any interference,"
And the evening turned into one of the nicer ones that Vega had in a very long time, and while Fred just wanted to hold her the entire time, Vega still managed to free herself long enough to make the two of them some nice dinner, which Fred seemed to like... watching.
"I'm horrible at cooking!" Fred told her; his hands raised in surrender. "But the next time you come around; I'll cook you something nice, too,"
With the steaks and side dishes that Vega had prepared, Fred had pulled out a bottle of wine – which he warned was only for himself – but when Vega questioned how it tasted, he ended up allowing her to take a few sips from his glass to taste.
"Oh, Vega!" Fred said, laughing as Vega made a face, scrunching her nose as she took the first sip. "What do you think about it?"
"I'm still deciding," Vega told him and tried to focus as she took another sip, and Fred continued to laugh. "It feels warm – but it doesn't taste that good,"
"Okay, okay, that's enough for you," Fred replied, taking his glass from her. "I don't want you to upset your stomach, it can get you too warm,"
That was true – but the things still heated up between Vega and Fred, especially since it had been far too long for them since they had gotten to even kiss each other. Vega took it in stride, feeling very strongly for Fred as they descended in his bedroom.
But morning brought a somber Vega.
It was completely silent in the flat, and even streets outside were quiet when Vega's eyes opened, and she knew that it was quite early in the morning. She laid still in her place; her head set upon Fred's bare chest as she listened to his faint breathing. She was too tired after last night to really move but the same tiredness was filling her chest with guilt.
Fred didn't know who he was dating, and Vega had asked even to lay off telling anyone about what she had found out, and she had wanted to tell Fred on her own. And in a way, she felt like Fred might not want to be too happy to hear about this.
"You're up, love?" Fred mumbled and Vega moved her head over to see his bright brown eyes open and his lips in a lazy smile. "Good morning,"
"Good morning, Freddie," Vega whispered, pressing a kiss against his skin before mustering up the energy and courage to push herself to sit up.
Vega pulled some of the blanket up to cover her skin, albeit more to feel secure than to hide herself given that Fred had seen every inch of her, as mapped out by his scattered love bites. She stared down at her boyfriend for a moment, tracing his freckles and tousled hair.
"Is something wrong?" Fred asked, concerned.
"Fred... there's something I wanted to tell you," Vega said quietly, moving closer to his body and she watched as he pushed himself back on his elbow to look at her properly. "If that is alright?"
"Of course, anything, love," Fred told her, rubbing her arm to comfort her. "You're not feeling sick, are you? I can go fetch you some water, and medicine –"
"No, no, it's not that," Vega interjected quickly. "It's about me," She lowered her eyes down to her fumbling hands. "You know... after what happened in the Department of Mysteries... Dumbledore told me a few things about myself,"
Fortunately, Fred did not say anything and allowed her to continue – because she was certain she wouldn't be able to speak if he tried to comfort her.
And with that, Vega told him everything, all about the way her brother and her were born with some sort of black parasitical 'creature' within them, and that it was an Obscurus, how it had showed itself to her and those around her, told him about the prophecy, and by the time that she came around to how it all started, she was starting to choke up –
"Everything, all this, is wrong with me, and was wrong with Rigel," Vega went on in a wavering voice. "It was... it was because Rodolphus Lestrange isn't our real father, instead..."
Thick silence persisted between them, and Fred reached for her hand but Vega didn't look up.
"You mean to say, that the rumours were true?" Fred asked quietly. Vega nodded, her vision blurring as the tears invaded her eyes, and Fred's hold on her hand tightened slightly – whether out of shock or concern, she didn't want to see from his expression. "Vega..."
"And because of that, if you don't want to be with someone like me," Vega choked out. "Then I completely understand – and I would never bother you again –"
"Shh, shh, shh, Vega," Fred interrupted, pushing himself up rapidly to sit and he reached for the girl, one hand on her shoulder and the other under her chin, pulling her face up to so her watery grey eyes could meet his concerned yet serious ones. "How can you say that?"
"But –" Vega responded but her own tears silenced her, unable to think any defence for herself.
"Don't you remember what you told me when we first talked to each other?" Fred asked. "You told me that you're not a Pure-Blood supremacist, that you're not a Death Eater or believe in You-Know-Who's ideology. And that you're not your mother. Then, why are you acting like this? I believe in you and I love you for who you are – someone who is insanely intelligent, mind-boggling beautiful and yet so sweet that everyone just loves to be around her.
"I told you this before and I will tell you again – stop thinking what others are thinking. You are not a bad person or like your parents, whoever they are, and you are the last person who should be walking with her head down. You are not guilty of anything. Keep your head up. You are my feisty little Vega, and I love you, too, in every way, shape and form.
"It doesn't matter who your parents are, Vega... you're a big part of my life now, and I have loved you for a very long time. I think I'm right in thinking that I know you very well now... and I'm very certain that you're not like your parents, even if you yourself don't believe yourself,"
"I'm sorry," Vega whispered as Fred wiped her tears away from her cheeks. "I-I love you, too, I just thought – maybe – I'm sorry –"
"C'mere, love," Fred said, holding his arms out to Vega and she crawled into his embrace, setting her head down on his shoulder, her arms around him in a desperate hold as he stroked the back of her head to soothe her out. "I thought I hurt you last night, I was so worried,"
"You can never hurt me," Vega breathed, knowing he was trying to lighten the conversation, and she tried to do the same. "And as for your stamina... I don't think you need any more weight-lifting after all that last night..."
Fred laughed, and Vega weakly smiled.
"I love you, Freddie," Vega mumbled, stuffing her head away against his warm skin. "I love you very much, more than you can imagine,"
"I love you just as much," Fred assured her, kissing the top of her head as he continued to calm her down, rubbing her back. "I love you very much,"
⚡️