How To Annoy A Gryffindor ; harry potter

Step 52: Scheme and Lie for Them

"You're mad," Ember snapped, looking at her father incredulously. "I'm not going to kill someone."

"You need to toughen up, it's only one life of a muggle," said Austin, shaking his head disappointedly.

Ember crossed her arms over her chest and gazed at the vampires around the room, "Why aren't they eating us? I thought vampires weren't like werewolves, they don't have a set time when they can feed."

"Yes, but these vampires have been trained not to feed on anyone in the Rowle bloodline," explained Austin proudly.

"Why does everything have to do with being a Rowle... and how the hell do you even tame vampires?" Ember said, furrowing her brows.

Austin sighed dismissively. "I'm not telling you how to tame vampires, that would be stupid of me to do. I need you to test if they work, that's why I want you to make a Horcrux."

"But then half of my soul is missing?" Ember said, her face scrunched up in confusion. "You'd rather me lose half of my soul jus to see if these things work? We don't even know anyone who had Horcruxes."

"You don't know anyone who has Horcruxes," Austin said bitterly.

"Who does?"

"The Dark Lord," said Austin, "and me."

"You have Horcruxes? What? When?" Ember said, taking a step back from her father. "I knew that you had killed someone but I didn't realise it was for your own benefit — wait." her mouth dropped open in realisation. "The vampires... You killed them, made the Horcrux and then turned them into a vampire? Merlin's beard, what is wrong with you?"

"They're still alive — well, not really... But they seem happy, right? At least they're not buried underground! I did them a favour, honestly -"

Ember groaned, "Did them a favour by murdering them and turning them into blood-sucking demons? Yeah, a really great favour — you're such a hero." she said sarcastically, glaring at her father.

"Well, I had to do something!" Austin said angrily.

"Why? Why do you ever have to do anything? I don't understand anything you do anymore!" Ember sighed, rubbing her temples as she tried to take in the whole load of new information that just crowded her brain and fogged up all other thoughts that she may have had.

"I needed to know if the vampires worked. Ember, I'm planning something big. Which is why I need you to trust me and the process that I'm going through. I know — I know that I haven't been the best father, but please... it's for your own good."

Ember shook her head furtively, "Don't say that. I'm not accepting some half-assed apology from someone who has ruined my life the way you have."

"I haven't ruined your life, don't you think that's a bit dramatic," Austin said, raising an eyebrow.

Ember laughed harshly and began listing off her fingers, "When I was only just born you wanted to kill me just because I was a girl. When I was three you brought one of your Death Eater friends home and tortured them for fun. When Mum died you 'forgot' to feed me for three months and I had to live off the food Willa made me... Oh yeah, then there's that time you went off and cursed the Longbottom's which ended up with you in Azkaban... Would you like me to continue?"

"Merlin, you're just like your mother." murmured Austin, scowling at Ember. "She was always pointing out things that were wrong with me. Very charming."

"I don't understand why the two of you were together in the first place," Ember said, looking at her father curiously.

She'd never been told anything about how the two of them met, only short things like 'it was love and first sight' and 'I knew they were the one'. Obviously, after venturing in the Secretum, Ember knew just how much of a lie all of this was. When she was younger, she believed everything that they had ever said. Anyone who knew Ember would be able to tell you that she wasn't gullible, but there were times where she wanted to believe things... or didn't in that case. She guessed that's why she had never considered Romeo and Sabrina as her family until she realised just how much they had been there for her.