• — • — •
Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not their
I do not sleep
I am a thousand winds that blow
I am the diamond glints on snow
I am the sunlight on ripened grain
I am the gentle autumns rain
When you wake in the morning's hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight
I am the soft stars that shine at night
Do not stand at my grave and cry
I am not there
I did not die
-MARY FRYE
• — • — •
"We're all gathered here today to pay our respects to a great wizarding family and reconcile the loss we all feel..."
Aeliana ceased listening at the beginning of what was bound to be a long, meaningless eulogy. There were no words in existence that could express the loss she suffered.
"And now, a member of the family would like to say a few words."
A member of the family would like to do what now? she thought absently to herself.
The man next to her, a young red-headed Ministry official her brother had once been friends with, subtly nudged her arm, breaking her from her reverie. She glanced at him briefly in acknowledgement, receiving a warm, yet sad smile in return.
Arthur. That was his name.
Lia rose to her feet and made her way to the podium. Behind her, thirteen coffins containing everyone she loved, and before her, hundreds of people she couldn't care less about. So many faces she'd never seen before; perhaps, some of her family's killers were among them.
"My entire family is dead." She waved a hand in their direction, going from the smallest coffin on the far left, to that of her father on the right. "Every. Last. One. Down to the very last child! My cousin Antony was only five years old and got murdered in his sleep. My cousin Ophelia and her twin Laertes were merely eight years old, and I had to see their bodies clinging to each other, defenceless and cornered into a wall." Her voice broke, but she pressed on. "Their parents were were murdered trying to buy them time to escape, but it still wasn't enough. they all died anyway. The Death Eaters and Voldemort were so afraid of my ancestor's legacy that they murdered three innocent children who had nothing to do with this filthy war!"
Aeliana could feel her temper growing with each passing second, so much so that she had to work to prevent herself from screaming out in frustration.
Breathing deeply to calm her erratic heart, she continued, "I know he wasn't a child, but Caius Godric Gryffindor is... was my only brother, the heir to our household, and he didn't deserve the fate he got dealt. The loss of him is the greatest tragedy of them all. He sent a patronus message to the Ministry to warn of the attack... and also the family sword of my house to Hogwarts; what we know of the attack mainly comes from his sacrifice. He was killed last, alone and surrounded by his enemies." She swallowed down the lump growing in her throat. "Lastly, my father, Valdus Godric Gryffindor. According to Caius, he was murdered by Voldemort himself.
"Men who break into houses and murder children in their beds are not great. They are cowards!" She slammed her fist into the podium, surprised it didn't splinter beneath the force. Several people looked up, startled, from wiping away tears. "People who break into people homes in the dead of night are not powerful. They are weak! They knew they could not take my family down on even ground, so, like the cowards they are, they ambushed them..."
Lia looked around at all those present, taking care to avoid eye contact. Remembering that some people here no doubt worked for that evil, murdering Dark Wizard, She clenched her teeth and plowed on with reckless abandon.
"I have no doubt that Voldemort has followers here this evening, corrupting a sacred passing on. My next words are to you: if you or your master are brave enough to attack an underage girl on equal terms, I am waiting. You were so afraid of children you had to murder them in the dead of night while they slept in their beds, so I don't hold much stock in your courage. Tell your Dark Lord I am not afraid, and neither should anyone else be. I will stand up for what is right, even if no one else will. I will carry on my ancestors' legacy."
With that, unable to contain her rage any longer, so she stormed off the stage and hurdled into her seat, staring straight ahead and not seeing or hearing for the remainder of the unbearably long ceremony.
To forego well wishers, Lia shot up from her seat at the funeral's conclusion. Dumbledore, as a representative of the school her ancestor founded, laid the Gryffindor family to rest with the flick of his wand, while Lia made a daring dash towards the manor. She, unfortunately, was somehow not faster than the hundred year old headmaster, and he stopped her before she could flee too far.
I should really start doing cardio if I can't run faster than an old geezer, she thought bitterly.
Dumbledore didn't speak, only held a light hand on her arm to prevent her oh-so-desired escape, until she finally looked up into his crystal blue eyes.
"I am afraid we have some unfortunate business to discuss, but I dare say you don't seem to want to enjoy the company here anyway?" he observed solemnly. "Let me deprive them of your presence for only a few moments."
With that, his grip on her arm tightened. She immediately felt her stomach lurch, feeling suddenly as though she was going to be sick. As soon as it began, it was over. The second she retouched ground, she keeled over, hacking up her lungs.
"This seems private enough," Dumbledore mused amiably, looking around at the plain surroundings.
Aeliana recognised this as a room in an old bar in Hogsmead. The Hogshead was anything but lavish; dust coated every surface the same way one might expect snow to coat the ground on a particularly cold winter night. Dumbledore pulled out his old wand to clear the grime from a pair of wooden chairs in the corner, indicating to Lia she should sit down.
She made no move to sit. "What am I doing here?"
"Please, sit. As I mentioned before, we have much to go over." He waited patiently until her curiosity got the better of her and she fell into the chair across from him before pressing forward. "As we mentioned in the owl we sent you earlier this week, you will not be expected to take the exams you missed in light of this tragedy."
Lia almost snorted when he said tragedy; that was the understatement of the century. The word was hollow and meaningless. And to even think she cared about her grades at this point was downright hilarious. She knew she must have made her thoughts clear on her face, because Dumbledore narrowed his eyes before continuing.
"Your teachers quite agree that your marks are good enough that you should move on to your seventh year unfettered."
The least of her worries, no doubt.
"The Ministry has designated that you be a ward of Hogwarts, at least for the next two months, until you turn of age at seventeen." He paused, waiting for a response, but she didn't deign to offer one. "The Sword of Gryffindor, naturally, will be returned to you-"
Lia cut him off. "Keep it. I don't care."
"You do care. You care too much, that's why you are upset."
"No. I really don't care." She set her features into their stoniest expression. "Caius sent the sword to Hogwarts for a reason, and it's not my place to revoke that decision."
Dumbledore reached across table to pat her hand comfortingly, while pulling out a necklace- her brother's necklace- and dropping it onto her palm with his other.
"My dear girl, it is only your place. You are now the last Gryffindor, the last of your line."
Had she been old enough to apparate by herself, Aeliana would have been out of there in a second.
"Don't... don't say that!" she hissed. "I-I'm not- Caius is-"
"What happened to your family was horrible, but you must accept that they are gone. You can't move forward if you keep living in the past." Dumbledore peered over his half-moon spectacles, saying softly, "They wouldn't want you to suffer. By accepting your role as the head of the family, you can bring them justice."
She didn't want justice. She wanted revenge.
Still, she closed her fingers around the Gryffindor pendant. "Take me back, sir."
• — • — •
Dumbledore dropped Lia off suspiciously near where a certain group of troublemakers had huddled up after the funeral, leaving her a sitting duck for them to prey upon.
"There you are."
"We were looking for you."
"Yeah, sorry. I've got to go," she muttered noncommittally, brushing between Sirius and Remus.
An arm snapped out and took hold of her wrist.
"Let me go, Sirius."
"You're not being yourself, Lia. Come on, we're here for you. Don't push us away."
He sounded so desperate, she almost felt guilty when she said, "Take a hint already. I just want to be left alone."
"Lia..." Remus started sympathetically.
"Don't 'Lia' me, Remus!" she snapped, feeling guilty immediately for taking her anger out on him. "Look, I'm sorry, but just leave me alone for awhile. I've got... things... I have to take care of."
"Come on. You shouldn't stay here alone." James sighed, running a hand through his already ruffled hair. "I'll ask my parents if you can come stay at my place."
"They're sure to say yes," Sirius assured her. "They're practically running an orphanage over there. I've been living there for months."
"Don't say that," James mock hissed, swatting at Sirius' head. "With you there, she definitely won't want to stay."
Peter tittered and Remus hid an amused smile, but Lia was not in the mood for their antics.
"No, thank you. I've a house all my own, so there's no point staying elsewhere," she answered curtly.
"Come on, Lia. What you said earlier, about not being afraid of Voldemort, it was brave and all, but if you weren't a target before, then you definitely are now."
Aeliana could hear James' tone grow more agitated with each word. Obviously this conversation was not going as he hoped.
"Did you actually believe all that crap?" She choked out a forced laugh. "I only said what was expected of me, as the last of my house. Everyone is too stupid and cowardly to make a move without our guidance, apparently."
She wasn't sure why she was lying. Maybe it was the fact that they thought they understood. There was James, who had a perfect, living family, and Sirius, who would be more than happy if all his relatives dropped dead. What could they possibly understand about what she was going through? The mere thought was infuriating.
"If you'd kindly escort yourself from the property," she said, gesturing vaguely towards the front gates. "I've got too much to do already without babysitting you lot."
Admittedly, Lia's storming off would have looked much more convincing if she hadn't come to a halt outside of the oak doors leading inside the manor. It was only a momentary hesitation before she slipped inside, but she couldn't help but feel dread at the thought entering the place where her family perished. When she closed her eyes, she could still see their bodies littering the ground, still smell the iron tang of their blood in the air.
Lia swallowed back the weakness and pushed foreword until she reached the library. It was the perfect base for what she had in mind. It housed thousand year old manuscripts that could be found no where else in the world, along with the shining bonus that, as far as she was aware, no one had ever died there.
She pulled various tomes from the shelves, grumbling when she climbed the bookcases like ladders to get the books that were higher up. As soon she turned seventeen, she wouldn't have to deal with that muggle nonsense.
After a near fall from the top, she threw herself, exhausted, onto one of the plush chairs, with the books scattered around. The nature of the books varied from defence, to charms, dark arts, history, and even genealogy. If she was going to avenge her family, she needed to know as much as possible about her enemy and about magic. She swore she would become stronger than Voldemort, stronger than Dumbledore, the strongest witch to ever live. And then she would crush him for what he'd done.