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The next day, Antares spent the whole day inside his room. He ate early in the morning, skipped lunch, and ate dinner in his room. No one seemed to question him, certainly not Molly, who still held a grudge for their previous argument.
As for Antares, he sat sprawled on the bedroom floor, pouring over the books and photographs his father had hidden away in a compartment under the floorboards. Currently, he was staring at a photo of his parents, who looked young and freshly graduated. The one after it was similar, but now held in Regulus' arms was a baby with matching unruly hair. His parents were still students when he was born. If he did the math correctly, Antares was born during the summer of Regulus' sixth year. He wondered if it was before or after his father became a Death Eater. How did his parents manage to hide him? Antares huffed as he dropped the photo back onto the floor.
Not like it matters now, he thought bitterly.
Antares continued to lie on the floor until the house fell silent again, only stopping when he ran out of photos.
✯ ✯ ✯
He sat at his father's desk, hunched over a slightly rolled sheet of parchment. It was early morning, too early for most, and the house breathed in the silence. No one was awake, not even Sirius, who had taken to being an early riser ever since his 'release' from Azkaban. Having already bathed and dressed, Antares had decided to write to his best friend and confidant, Cole Eldine.
Cole, like Antares, was the son of an Augur. Cole's father, Lucas Eldine, was a Seer and the youngest member of the Circle. Since Lucas was fairly young himself, he had trouble raising Cole alone. So, like any good Samaritan, Marissa Kelly did what she could to help him. Antares and Cole grew up as brothers, having been babysat at the Kelly Manor together while their parents attended Augur meetings. It made Antares smile as he continued to write a letter to him.
My dearest Colette,
Things here are slow. I've spent the last few days couped up in this house, and I don't know how much longer I can resist taking a portkey back. I've become the protector of the Golden Boy. He's not as bad as I thought. He's a bit of a galah, but he means well. I think things are better now that I've graduated, and my education isn't in shambles from being disrupted constantly.
I met Bitzer, did I tell you? Well, he's nothing like Mum described. I suppose his time 'away' could explain that. He's great, honestly, and more than I could have asked for. I'm grateful I have family left over here, but I also think it hurts him. Sometimes I catch him staring, but I don't think he sees me. He does the same with Golden Boy.
How's Mum?
I haven't written to Aunt Diana yet, so don't go sending a howler about it. Speaking of, I got the one you sent earlier. Congratulations on becoming a junior reporter at the Chronicle! Maybe now you can pull your new badge on Caverly when you try to snoop on the next Augur meeting. Do me a favour and send me your first article, will you? I don't care if it's two sentences or two pages. I WANT TO READ IT!
Tell your dad to expect a letter in the coming weeks. There's nothing to report as of now. As I said, it's slow.
Your one and only,
Antionette
P.S. Stop feeding Peri lemon biscuits. She threw a fit last time because she had jam stuck in her feathers the whole flight.
Antares folded the parchment and pressed the creases before slipping it into a grey envelope. Near the edge of the desk sat a glass bottle and a pipette of copper-coloured liquid. Picking up the pipette, Antares dripped the liquid onto the top flap, sealing the envelope closed. After a few seconds, the liquid formed into an ornate wax seal emblazoned with the Kelly family crest.
✯ ✯ ✯
An hour later, a quick tempus told Antares it was close to half-past five. Once he stepped outside Regulus' room, he knew things were bound to be tense. Today was Harry's trial, and everyone knew that if he got expelled from Hogwarts, he might as well be a sitting duck. Sighing, Antares removed himself from the desk, letter in hand.
Turning the corner into the kitchen, Antares found himself graced by the tired faces of the adults. Lupin, who sat with his head in his hands, looked particularly haggard. Despite being aware of Lupin's furry little problem, Antares decided to comment on his former professor's state.
"Ruff night, Lupin?"
The tired mentor grunted in response, not bothering to raise his head. Sirius, who sat on his left, let out a short drowsy laugh. Tonks looked just as bad, her hair stuck to the side of her face and bags under her eyes.
"How're you not downright miserable right now?" she groaned.
Antares eyes zeroed in on a dusty window in the corner. As he made his way over, a shadow darted outside the frame.
"I've been awake for the past hour," the boy explained. "And I'm normally supposed to be training at this hour."
"Training?" Tonks frowned.
Antares hummed as he flipped the latch that was keeping the window sealed. As he opened the window, humid air rushed in and wormed through his hair.
"That's right," Sirius realized. "There's a tournament coming up soon. The one in Dartmoor."
"It got postponed," Antares scoffed. "Courtesy of our beloved Ministry, actually. There have been talks of a ban on dueling."
Sticking his head out the window, Antares made a series of clicking noises with his tongue. Seconds later, the same shadow he saw before swooped down and perched itself— herself, on the windowsill. Standing with a proud posture was Antares' favourite creature, Peri.
A present and symbol of love from Marissa Kelly, Peri was gifted to Antares on his fourteenth birthday. The masked owl has been a companion to him for nearly five years. Antares still remembered how enamoured he was by the dappled grey and tan colouring of Peri's feathers. As a type of barn owl, Peri had a dark ring that outlined her heart-shaped face. She was much larger than a barn owl, though, boasting a 50-inch wingspan that put most other owls to shame (a feat she was most proud of).
Antares continued to click his tongue but this time much softer.
"Hey, girl," he whispered, letting Peri nip at his finger.
The adults at the table watched with silent interest, except Sirius, who looked smug, as Antares cooed at the owl. It seemed like a hallucination, seeing him be gentle. How could he be so aloof with people, but an owl is what gets his affection? Flashing the letter at her, Antares gave Peri a meaningful look.
"Take this to the post office, will you?" Antares instructed as he put the envelope in her beak. "You can hunt all you want on the way back."
Peri let out a vibrant hoo before taking flight into the darkened sky. She made no sound as she flew off, becoming smaller and smaller in the distance. The Kelly heir walked to the table, pulled back a chair and smoothly sat down. He could hear the faint sounds of metal coming from the far end of the kitchen, presumably from someone cleaning or cooking.
"You're a Warlock?" Tonks pried.
"I've had the title for half a year," Antares shrugged. "I didn't win the last dueling tournament."
Sirius grinned like a proud uncle and nudged Lupin with his elbow. "I told you he's a perfectionist. He didn't lose. It was a tie."
Antares rolled his eyes.
"Where's Potter? I thought he had a trial to attend."
As if summoned, a pale-faced Harry stepped through to the kitchen. He, much like everyone else, had bags under his eyes and a dazed expression. Taking in the Gryffindor's appearance, Antares sighed. Slung over Harry's shoulders was, quite frankly, a drab brown corduroy jacket. It didn't match the rest of his outfit, which in Antares' pureblood opinion, was shabby at best. For Merlin's sake, he's about to be tried in front of the entire Wizengamot. He could have put in a little more effort.
Harry didn't seem to notice the other boy's look of scrutiny, judging by how he unceremoniously dropped into a chair.
"How are you feeling?" asked Mr. Weasley.
The boy in question only shrugged, not bothering to meet anyone's eyes.
"It'll all be over soon," assured Mr. Weasley. "The hearing's on my floor, in Amelia Bones' office. She's Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and she's the one who'll be questioning you."
"Amelia Bones is okay, Harry," Tonks chimed. "She's fair."
Harry nodded at her words.
"Don't lose your temper," Sirius interrupted, leaning forward. "Be polite and stick to the facts."
Again, Harry nodded, but this time he turned to Antares, face guarded with a blank stare. "Anything else useful?"
Antares stared back, also blank. "I've never dealt with the Ministry here directly." He tilted his head. "Once in a while, I have to renew my travel documents, but MaGAUS mostly handles that."
"MaGAUS?" Sirius frowned.
"Magical Governance of Australia. The Australian Ministry," Mr. Weasley explained. "Do they know you're here?"
"They don't know about all this," Antares said, waving his hand around the room. "They think I'm just here for a teaching position."
"You are," Lupin muttered.
"All you need to know," Antares spoke, eyeing Harry, "is that Fudge will try to undermine you in any way he can. Don't admit to anything besides self-defense."
Mr. Weasley glanced down at his watch, humming to himself. "I think we'll go now."
"Okay," Harry nodded before standing.
Everyone watched as Harry followed Mr. Weasley out into the hallway and past the portrait of Walburga. They only looked away when they heard the front door open and then shut.
"I'll have to tell Dumbledore I can't do night duty tomorrow. I'm just t-t-too tired," complained Tonks. "I haven't slept in almost two days."
"Speak to Arthur about it when he comes back," said Mrs. Weasley from where she just finished cleaning. "I'm sure he's planning on working tonight anyway."
With that, Tonks nodded before shuffling out of the kitchen, Mrs. Weasley following shortly after to head back upstairs.
"You know, Moony," Sirius sighed. "I think if we give Harry a few tips, he could be the second coming of Prongs."
Lupin, who lifted his head out of his arms, looked at his old friend bewildered. "He's about to be tried in front of the entire Wizengamot," he sputtered.
"None of us ever got that far," Sirius shrugged.
"Potter doesn't even come close to your detention record," Antares reminded his uncle. "The trouble he gets into is more of the life-threatening kind."
The Slytherin thought for a second.
"Fred and George have a pretty high detention count."
"How come you never got into any trouble like that?" Sirius poked.
Antares smirked.
"How do you know I didn't?"
"Here I was hoping that the apple would fall far from the tree," Lupin grumbled.
Antares' smirk faded slowly.
Sirius laughed, or giggled, at the thought of his nephew causing chaos at Hogwarts. Here he thought that Antares got stuck with his brother's grim personality. It didn't occur to Sirius that neither Antares nor Lupin were laughing. Instead, Antares was staring at the side of Lupin's head, his face a mix of astonishment and ire.
"What do you mean," Antares asked calmly, his voice guarded.
Lupin sighed, moving his hand up to brush his hair back into place.
"When I first saw you in my class, It was like seeing a ghost. I thought seeing Harry hurt. He looked so much like James, but you..." he trailed.
Lupin paused.
"You look so much like Sirius. It made me feel like we were all still students," he admitted.
Sirius glanced at Antares, concerned, but the younger man paid no attention.
Antares's thoughts raced, his mind scrambling to protect his secret, to deny everything Lupin claimed. One of Antares' hands gripped the table painfully, knuckles turning white at his impending panic. Sirius reached out, placing a comforting hand on Lupin's shoulder. Neither Black said anything, letting Lupin continue.
"I'll admit, I didn't think you had it in you," the man huffed. "Why didn't you tell me you and Marissa had a son?"
Antares and Sirius blanked.
✯ ✯ ✯
I wouldn't say that Antares has daddy issues, but I mean...
For those that don't know, the term 'Warlock' was given to witches and wizards who excelled at dueling or war-related spellcasting.
Here we have Remus 'not-the-brightest-wizard-of-his-age' Lupin. He would have gotten it right if he wasn't traumatized.
VOTES and COMMENTS are appreciated and don't hesitate to ask questions.
~ Hircines