Alexandra Weasley: Book 6

31

"What can I do for you?" Pedro asked as Alex stayed behind after class. She didn't make a move to speak, though there was clearly something on her mind.

"Do you- I mean- okay I swear I'm genuinely curious and I'm not trying to be offensive, but would you really not want to know if you had family?"

"Why would that be offensive?"

"I dunno, I'm asking your point of view as someone with no family and Harry got really offended when I asked him the same."

"It's because you added that last bit with no tact." He told her.

"Sorry."

"This seems like a lot of thought for a hypothetical."

"There's this person who turns out to be related to me. They don't know. But, like you, they haven't got much family. And I'm not sure if telling them would be the kind thing to do or if I'd be putting a burden on them that they never asked for."

"What about you? What do you want? It's a two way street, you both get an opinion."

"I don't know. I don't want to gain family only to lose them."

"Hermione made some good points." He said. "Take me for example. If you and I happened to be related and I never knew despite you being right under my nose, then I'd find it frustrating. I guess for me, I change my previous answer to maybe. If it's someone I know, someone I could have gotten to know better and later on I do lose the person, it would hurt more. If it's a total stranger, I think I wouldn't want to know. I don't think it would affect me all that much. And these are just worst case scenarios. You might not lose the person. Instead, you'll have a developed and established relationship."

"That easy?" She asked.

"Maybe."

"So, is that your final answer?"

"I can lie to you if you want." She laughed.

"No, I need honesty."

"Then yeah. It's my final answer." She hummed. "Is it the wrong answer?"

"There's no wrong answer." She said.

"You look like you sucked on a lemon."

"Because I have to think about stuff now. How do I even tell them?"

"Just say it. Go up to whoever it is and tell them before you lose your nerve. Or write to them."

"I don't lose my nerve." She objected. He looked dubiously at her. "Fine. We're related."

"Exactly like that." She groaned.

"Pedro. I'm talking to you. You and I are related. Your grandfather and my grandmother were siblings. Your great aunt had a daughter who had a daughter."

"What?"

"I'm adopted. You and I are second cousins. Technically."

"But you-?" He looked confused.

"You look like you need time to digest this. I'm gonna go." She spun on her heels and briskly walked away.

"I blame you." She fell into the seat next to Hermione. It was dinner and Hermione was sitting with the boys who'd been discharged from Madam Pomfrey's care.

"I'm going to need some context."

"I told him we're cousins and it's all your fault." She started the sentence in Japanese so as to keep up the secret but finished it in English.

"You what?!" Hermione froze, her fork hanging mid-air.

"I know. I don't what I was thinking except you've been nagging me about it for months and I did it."

"What did he say?" Hermione asked, keeping to Japanese and finished her bite.

"I think I broke him." Hermione looked like she was hiding a grin. "It's not funny."

"What did you do?" Ron asked curious.

"Something stupid." Alex grumbled. Hermione speared her fork through some chips and held it up to Alex's mouth.

"Eat." Alex opened her mouth and took the bite grumpily. "Seriously, though. Get a plate."

"No, I'm going to go hide away for the rest of my life. I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you." Hermione grinned at her friend's dramatics and watched Alex walk away. Ron and Harry looked at her expectantly. "I'm not telling you, if that's what you're waiting for."

"Why not?"

"It's not up to me to tell you. Hell, it's not even up to Alex." Ginny headed up to the table, slipping into the seat Alex had just vacated.

"What happened to Alex? I just bumped into her muttering stupid over and over again."

"Some sort of secret Hermione won't tell us." Ron answered.

"Will she be okay?"

"She's okay. She's just freaking out. Kichiro and Saph will calm her quick enough." Hermione said and Ginny nodded.

"Great." She said and began serving herself some food. "Can you help me on my arithmancy essay? I'd ask Alex, but..."

"Yeah sure. We can look through it after dinner."

Alex was laying down on Saphira's back, facing the sky.
"Let's fly away." She said. "Just head off into the distance. I'll cast some concealment charms on you and no one will ever find us again."

You've suggested that ten times this year. Saph answered amused.

"You're not supposed to call me out on my nonsense." Saph let out some sort of snort that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. "I just wish Voldemort would die and stay dead. If he's made a horcrux, possibly multiple, then I don't see how we can defeat him. Not without knowing how many and what they are. Let alone the difficulty of actually destroying them. And no matter how much he trusts Snape, he'll never trust him with that knowledge."

So what are you going to do?

"I don't know. Dumbledore had a point. I'm not an idiot. He doesn't want me because he's a doting grandfather. He's just been rejected by his family his entire life. His mother, and father. His relatives. Even his daughter eventually left him. He wants me to choose him. I'm his last chance at a family who might want him."

But you don't want him.

"It wouldn't be hard to convince him I did. He's got Draco and Snape, and I care about them. I wouldn't jump into everything easily, but I could pretend that I could be persuaded. And I would have the best chance at getting the information we need."

Are you going to?

"I just told Pedro we were related. It would be callous of me to leave and join Voldemort. Even if it is pretend."

But you want to.

"I don't want to. All I want is to retire on a farm with you and Kichiro and a lot of magical creatures. But, if I don't do it, aren't I being selfish?"

That all sounds complicated.

A/N- Yeah, okay. She told Pedro. I love Alex and Pedro. She's like the little sister he's never had.

Favourite line is "No, I'm going to go hide away for the rest of my life. I'll see you tomorrow."