nine nine lives
✨
MIA SITS DOWN ON THE FLOOR, and George sits down opposite her. Tears fall down her cheeks, still, as she sits there, her legs crossed and her hands awkwardly clasped in front of her. The argument with Sirius repeats itself over and over; sometimes she misses the dreamy vision she used to have of him, when he wasn't around. That dad wouldn't be like this.
"Harry said you didn't know about the map," says George.
"I didn't," she says, shaking her head.
"The thing is, right, me and Fred only realised the marauders were your dad and his friends last year. And by that point, we had given it to Harry, just out of coincidence," he tells her. He's speaking in a softer voice than usual. She thinks it's sweet... She wishes Cedric was here, of course she does, but this is nice. "If we had known before we gave it to Harry, we would've found you and asked if you wanted it—"
Mia looks across at him. "It's not your fault," she says. "Like, Mum used to say that she saved most of the stories for Dad, if I ever got to see him again..."
She remembers being little, and Emilia would tell her what her dad got up to in school — because there weren't that many happy stories about him, save the ones about the wedding and the ones Mia was there for — but she'd always say, "There's so many more, but he'll tell you every single one, one day. I promise." And Mia, when she got older, started to argue back, but Emilia shook her head. "He'll be free one day." Well. He is, but he isn't.
"What was that like?" says George.
Mia frowns. "What?"
"Him... Being away."
Mia's confused, still. No one asks about that.
So she sighs. "Shit."
"Brilliant description, Black—"
She can't help but laugh — the laughing, though, is a little awkward, considering the wet face, and the quivering bottom lip. "Well... It's the best way to describe it!" she says. "Isn't conciseness a good thing?"
"Well, there's got to be more!" he says.
She wipes her cheeks with her jumper's sleeve. "I don't know how to word it... I mean, when you're that young and he's gone you don't really think about it, do you?" she says. She's sure he can imagine it. "But then, when I got here and people started talking about him... It was just... rubbish, knowing that I have a dad, remembering him and everything, and knowing that I couldn't see him. I always knew he was innocent, though..." She smiles. "I had this goal, right, where I was gonna be the next like, Great Uncle Capulet, and get so high up in the Ministry that I'd be able to sneak him out of Azkaban."
"Hang on," he says. "Wasn't he—?"
Mia nods. "The one that died, yeah," she says. "Merlin, when Dad first escaped people wouldn't shut up about how Mum's powers burned Capulet alive. Like, everyone knows that he wasn't nice, but still, people always brought it up..." She remembers when the Aurors searched their house for Sirius, and they made comments about Emilia and Capulet.
"That's true..." he says, and he looks up at her. A small smile creeps across his face. "You've stopped crying."
"Oh, yeah," she says, and she smiles. "Thanks, for, uh..."
"It's nothing," he tells her. He sits forwards. "Look, Mia, I know this is shit, but he'll come around, I'm telling you. Your dad loves you, he's just shit at showing it."
Mia reluctantly nods. "Yeah."
George smiles back at her, comfortingly, and stands up. He extends his arm, for her to take his hand. "C'mon. Let's get some ice cream."
She can't help but smile back. Maybe Cedric would've liked him...
✨
THEY STAY IN THE KITCHENS for a while, or at least long enough that Mia stops paying attention to the time. Eventually the two of them head out — after Mia's helped the house-elves with the mess (or at least, tidying up before they noticed) and talked George into doing the same — and walks down the hallway. There's only a short gap between the door to the kitchens, and the door to the Hufflepuff common room. Mia loves it. It's so close that everyone knows about the secret door to the kitchens, and yet everyone thinks they're the only one that knows about it.
She's about to reach for the nook in the wall, which opens the door, but she glances at her watch. It's half an hour past curfew. "Shit, it's already half-ten," she says.
"Really?" says George.
She knows Sprout will be fast asleep already, but Filch will be waiting for someone to be roaming the corridors. Hesitantly she glances at him. "You can, uh, come in, if you want..."
"I've never seen the Hufflepuff common room before," says George.
Mia smiles. "It's the best one, what can I say."
She pulls on the nook in the wall, and the circular door swings open, revealing her common room. Even without the fire burning, it's cosy. Everything's a warm tone, or green, and the entire room feels like the quaint living room of a garden witch's cottage. Mia loves her common room. A portrait of Helga Hufflepuff hangs above the fireplace. She looks away, pretending she doesn't see the two students out of bed, past curfew. Amazing.
The door closes, and takes the draught with it. Mia turns to George, frowning. "So, uh... Thanks again, for earlier," she says, awkwardness settling in. She feels as if it's very different, talking to a boy, past curfew, having just let them into your common room... Actually no, as someone who has done that, multiple times, Mia can safely say — this means something, and Mia knows it doesn't mean that, here, but it still has the connotations.
"It's all right," he says, and he smiles gingerly. "You know, one day, it'll be me in tears and you can repay the favour." Mia rolls her eyes, moving to sit down on one of the sofas. He scrambles to catch up with her. "Not that it's a problem, I mean—"
Mia smiles softly. "You're so weird."
George sits down next to her. "I thought Hufflepuffs weren't bullies."
"I'm not bullying you," she says. "Just because you can handle the truth—"
"Oh, yeah?" he says, and he raises an eyebrow. She starts laughing, and he laughs along, too. Mia quickly realises how close the two of them are, and she sits back, only just enough that there's space, but not enough he notices. "I'm glad you're all right, though."
Mia smiles. "I am... Or at least, I will be."
"I don't know what it's like, having a dad like that, but it sounds pretty rubbish," he says, softly. Mia nods. She feels awkward again. A high-pitched voice in her head is going, the connotations! "Don't tell anyone this, but I guess you were right, when you said that stuff about my family." Mia has almost forgotten about all of that. "My mum... She means well, really. Like you said... She just doesn't get it."
"I spent the whole summer with you, George, you start to notice stuff," she says, and she shrugs her shoulders. She sits back, into the sofa, and moves her legs, so she can hug them, pressed against her chest. Mia rests her head on her knees, and George grins at her. Oh, no.
"Like what?" he says.
Mia raises an eyebrow. "Uh...!"
"C'mon, there's got to be more than that," he says.
Mia rolls her eyes at him, sighing. "You're weird."
"Yeah, you said that," he says. "So. Go on."
She shakes her head. There is absolutely no way that she'll expose herself like this. Merlin. Some things don't die, do they? But anyway.
"I'm tired," she tells him.
George's jaw drops. "You won't tell me?"
Mia shakes her head. "Not a chance."
"I'll tell you if—"
"Nope!" she says, standing up.
"All right, all right," he says. He looks up at her, a charming little smile across his face. Stop it, she thinks to herself. "Say — why weren't we friends before?"
Mia's stomach sinks. He doesn't even remember?
"Because of Cedric," she says.
"Oh," he says. "Right."
Mia picks up her school bag. It's weird she's still carrying it around, but she went straight from her class to the Room of Requirement, so there's been no chance to ditch it. But, she picks it up, feeling shitty again. She hated him for that, and he wasn't even bothered to remember it?
"I really didn't mean anything bad," says George. "When that Quidditch match happened..." He looks sheepish. "You know me and Fred. We're, erm..."
"Hot-headed?" she says.
George nods. "Yeah," he says. "So I'm sorry about all of that."
Mia smiles softly. "It's OK."
"So," he says, with a smile, as he stands up, stretching his arm out to shake her hand. "What do you say? Friends?"
Mia grins back at him, and shakes his hand. "Definitely," she tells him. She lets go of his hand, and she rolls her eyes at him. "Oh, come here."
She puts her arms out, and hugs him. He wraps his arms around her, like he's holding her, and it's so bizarre to her, but it's nice. It's sweet. He's sweet...
Anyway...
✨
THE SECOND MARXIST MEETING is a couple days afterwards, the official starting time being eight. Be there, or be square, she imagines the trio telling everyone as they were organising it. Both Archie and George told her separately, because there's no other way she'd find out. Fred appeared soon after George, too, and said the same; apparently befriending one twin automatically grants a friendship with the other one. And Fred's nice. But then, since the summer he's always been friendly-ish with Mia. Mia's still convinced Briar's behind that.
But anyway. The route to the Room off Requirement is explained over and over to each and every student attending; Mia's somehow enrolled into explaining it to the Hufflepuffs (and in turn the Ravenclaws since she has Transfiguration before Cho Chang, who grabbed her after class to ask about it.) It's fifteen-to when she walks into her room, Harry's golden trio looking around.
"Uh," says Mia, realising she's first to arrive. "Hi."
"How did you find this place, Mia?" says Hermione, amazed as she looks at the bookcases. "This is perfect!"
"It appears when you need it," says Mia with a shrug. Harry looks across at her, and they share a strange glance, before she looks away. "Uh... Where's everyone else?"
"They're meant to show up any minute," says Ron.
And he's right: within seconds, the door opens slowly, Luna and Ginny arriving. Then it's Cho and her friend, and a couple more Gryffindors. Zacharias looks around, impressed with the place, and then, the door opens, and Mia can already tell who it is.
"There's my favourite Hufflepuff," says George. Mia can feel her cheeks burning. He puts a hand on her shoulder and she shrugs it off, crossing her arms.
"Weirdo," says Mia.
"How's your day been, then?" he says, standing next to her. Mia still feels reluctant about this friendship, but anyway.
Mia shrugs. "All right," she says. "I had a test in Magical Creatures earlier."
"You still do that?" he says.
"I like the animals," she says with a shrug. She glances across at him. "What about you?"
Before he can say anything, the meeting itself begins. Archie appears, too, and Mia realises he had been talking to Hermione. Mia gives him a wink. He tries to contain a smug grin.
"Good thing it's starting," says George quietly, go Mia.
"Oh, is it?"
"I don't think you'd be impressed by my incredibly boring day," says George.
Mia turns to look up at him. "Well, thank God for that."
It's weird, being here. Especially now, what with being friends with Archie, and George... she doesn't think they're friends but still, there's something there. But anyway. This is strange. Mia's found herself standing between two Gryffindors; one, with his eyes fixed on the back of Zacharias Smith's head, waiting for him to comment on whatever Harry's saying, and the other, his hands in his pockets and a constant smug look across his face. She feels... included? She doesn't know if that's a good or bad thing but the feeling's there. This is what she imagined the summer would be like, if she didn't dislike every other teenager under Grimmauld Place's roof. Is this what... being a Gryffindor feels like?
"I think we ought to have a name," says Hermione, after everyone's voted Harry as the official leader. Like anyone else here could teach defence. Merlin. "It would promote a feeling of team spirit and unity, don't you think?"
Archie, next to Mia, nods enthusiastically. Mia smirks.
And it begins.
Angelina. "Can we be the Anti-Umbridge League?"
Fred. "Or the Ministry of Magic are Morons Group?"
"I was thinking," says Hermione, with a slight frown across her face. "More of a name that didn't tell everyone that we were up to, so we can refer to it safely outside meetings."
"The Defence Association?" says Cho. Mia remembers when Cedric had a mad crush on her. "The D.A. for short, so nobody knows what we're talking about?"
"Why not Dumbledore's Army?" says Mia, feeling a little nervous, just including herself into the conversation. The black and yellow of her tie feel even more prominent against the sea of red and gold. "That's... what the Ministry's scared of, right?"
George crosses his arms. "I think that's the best one."
"Definitely," says Fred.
"Truly," says Lee, too.
"All in favour?" says Archie, with a grin.
There's a staggering raise of hands. Mia and Harry exchange another incredibly awkward look, before he clears his throat and tries to continue whatever he had been saying. Dumbledore's Army. Nice one, Black.
"Right, shall we get practicing then?" says Harry. "I was thinking, the first thing we should do is Expelliarmus, you know, the Disarming Charm. I know it's pretty basic but I've found it really useful—"
"Oh please," says Zacharias Smith, crossing his arms. Mia, in the corner of her eye, can see George stiffen. She already knows Archie's waiting for an excuse to throttle Zacharias. "I don't think Expelliarmus is exactly going to help us against You-Know-Who, do you?"
"I've used it against him," says Harry, his voice soft. "It saved my life last June."
Mia forgets sometimes, that Harry's had to fight for his life.
"But if you think it's beneath you, you can leave," says Harry. Mia feels sheepish. "Okay, I reckon we should all divide into pairs and practice."
Mia feels a strong sense of guilt, as the noise in the room grows. She sees Archie looking over at Hermione, and she rolls her eyes. "Go," she says to him, nudging his arm.
"You sure?" he says.
"Yeah, I'll be fine," she says, which roughy translates to, who the fuck do I partner with now?
She looks around. There's Neville, maybe. Obviously the twins are together because that's what they do. Archie is with Hermione, and Mia doesn't wish he picked her, she wants them to spend time together, but Mia's stuck. She's on her own. But that's fine. She's always on her own. She doesn't have a Cedric looking out for her anymore...
"C'mon," says George.
Mia frowns. "But Fred—?"
George shrugs. "He's with Lee," he tells her. "Honestly, right, this is payback for the amount of times he ditched me or Lee for Briar." He looks around. "Right, let's move to the side, maybe..."
"I'm not very good," says Mia, brows furrowing. "Maybe you should just practice..."
"Don't be daft," says George. "You'll be fine."
"Will I?" says Mia, rubbing her arm. She's never worried about this stuff, she's always been comforted by the fact that her magic will protect her. But now, there's a pit in her stomach, worried that she'll make a fool out of herself.
George smiles softly at her. "I believe in you," he says. There's an odd pause where they look at each other. His smile grows into a grin. "I'll go easy on you, don't you worry."
"Shut up," says Mia, shaking her head, a little smile across her face.
She moves so that there's a decent gap between them, and she draws her wand. Her palms feel sweaty, and her tummy hurts, at the idea of looking stupid. But she tries her hardest to calm herself down. She takes longer to learn things, she always has done, she knows this. She'll be fine. She'll get there. It'll just take more time.
"On the count of three," says Harry, to the whole group.
Mia wants to puke.
"One—"
Suddenly she wishes she was Briar, equipped with future-seeing powers, not just oops I'm panicked gonna blow out all the lights.
"Two—"
Mia looks across at George. Dear God.
"Three!"
It's safe to say he disarms her. George picks up her wand and walks over to hand it to her. She hates school.
"I'll go back over there, and you try," he tells her.
Mia looks up at him. "OK."
So he walks back, and Mia raises her wand. George smiles warmly at her; she can't help but think of Cedric. Merlin, she wishes he was here. Fuck.
She tries, but it hits the wall behind him, leaving an angry dent in the stone bricks. George looks back, at the considerable mark in the wall, and he whistles. Mia frowns.
"Merlin, Black," he says.
"I didn't even get you," she says.
"There's still power to that," he says. "Bloody hell. Don't want to get on the wrong side of you."
Mia smiles softly. Her cheeks feel warm. He lets her try again.
It gets him this time, but he just stumbles back a couple paces, the power gone completely. Mia feels foolish. She can't do this, not really. Just because she's got emotion issues at times doesn't mean—
"You'll get there," says George. "Try again?"
Mia shuts her eyes, sighs, and then nods.
She tries again. And again. And again. And it's shut, every single time, and Mia wishes the ground would swallow her whole. She'd better hope that her magic will protect her, because she certainly can't...
"How, erm, are you doing?" says Harry, now doing the rounds.
Mia finds George next to her. "Good," he says. "With a little more practice, Mia's gonna take my eye out."
Harry looks like he doesn't want to stay for too long. He keeps on looking at Mia, nervous. Not as if he's scared but as if... he thinks she might break, maybe.
She frowns at George, once Harry leaves. "I'll take your eye out?"
"Maybe just an ear," he says. "But I feel like an eye patch is a lot fitter than a bandaged ear."
"You tell Van Gogh that," she says.
"Who?" he says, tilting his head.
"I'll tell you later," she says.
George smirks. "Oh?" he says. "Say, Mia, I know you're into Quidditch players and all but do you like it, when they're a little—"
"Shut up!" she says, starting to laugh.
"I'm just saying," he says. "Because I'm all ears. Or all eyes. Or maybe just a broken leg—"
Mia shakes her head. "George Weasley—"
"And Nurse Mia, getting me back to fighting shape—"
"Is that what you're into?" she says with a smirk.
"Woah, woah, woah," says George.
Mia raises an eyebrow. "Sexy nurse? Really?"
"That wasn't... what I was emphasising, Mia," he says. She looks up at him, her brows furrowing. She doesn't understand him. George steps back. "Let's get back to practice."
Mia raises an eyebrow at him. She can't help but compare him to Cedric, because she compares everyone new to him, and it's astounding. This would never happen with Ced. It's... funny, though. She doesn't know. She feels bad thinking I like this when she knows full-well that Cedric, her dead best friend, wasn't like this.
They keep on practicing. Mia glances to her left and sees Harry inspecting her dad's map. Her stomach jolts. She feels as though her knees were about to give in. Merlin.
That was probably her fault, for thinking, George is different to Cedric and I like that. She thought badly of Ced and then she saw that stupid fucking map that she never knew about. Merlin, do you think her dad was ever going to tell her? Because he did escape what, two years ago, now? He's had time. He's had time to sit with her and talk about what he got up to with his friends, the people he loved so much that he went to prison for them—
"Uh," says Harry. He's doing rounds again. Mia forgot to make George practice when he came over. Shit.
"I know," says Mia. "I'm rubbish."
Harry glances over at George. Mia knows that Harry doesn't want to offend her, because she knows he knows that she could snap at him. He's been a lot more sympathetic recently, but still. There's fear behind his eyes.
"I, erm, I think," he says. "You need confidence."
"I am confident," she says, her bottom lip jutting out. Have you seen her wardrobe?
Harry looks at her, as if to say, I don't know what else to tell you, and he makes an excuse to go to the next pair.
"I am confident," says Mia, to George.
George scratches the back of his neck. "Uh, sure."
Mia folds her arms. "What's that supposed to mean?"
I am confident, she grumpily thinks to herself, as she walks back to her common room. Her brows are furrowed as she looks at the ground, the hallways lit by candlelight. She catches her reflection in a passing mirror and thinks, how am I not confident?
She is. She is. She's confident in the fact that her magic will help her out. She's confident in her clothes, in her appearance. What makes Harry, of all people, think she's not confident?
Jesus Christ. First Mia gets into the worst fight imaginable with her dad, then she can't perform expelliarmus, then she finds herself thinking she likes that George is different to her dead best friend, and then she has Harry stinking Potter telling her that she's unconfident. This is fucking ridiculous.
Mia bitterly wishes Cedric was still alive, because then she could talk to someone properly. Someone who sees her completely transparently. But he's gone... She supposes she could talk to Archie, but it's not the same. Not yet.
She steps into the common room. Sprout jumps to her feet the second Mia appears, and rushes towards her.
Mia frowns. "Uh... What's...?"
She has an awful flashback to Cedric's death. To when her dad escaped. To when she found out her mum was being made to help Death Eaters.
"Your mum," says Sprout.
Mia looks to the boys' hallway, forgetting that Cedric won't appear like he used to.
"She was attacked on the way home... No one knows who did it... She's at St Mungo's now..."
And Mia feels as if the world's caving in.
teeheehee
also i am SO sorry for the lack of updates. it's honestly awful and like i'm struggling to write whilst at uni and keep writing as a part of my routine like it always used to be. but i'm trying my very hardest. xx