𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞 - 𝐉𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐏𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫

50 - 𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙧𝙩 - 𝙢𝙮 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙘𝙧𝙖𝙯𝙮

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There were many things Aquila expected from her own graduation, but crying was not one of them.

Her parents standing on the platform was also not one of them.

With Rowan's father, no less, still looking a bit pale but very much alive after his battle with flu for the past two or so years.

Aquila, Regulus, Rowan and Adrian had been greeted with warm smiles, which immediately made all of them suspicious. With a nod in Rowan and Adrian's direction, Aquila stepped forward to greet her parents stiffly. Her father's eyes betrayed him and flitted down to her left forearm, filled with guilt. She regarded them both with cool contempt, nodding at them like they were strangers she'd passed on the street, not the parents who she'd grown up with.

Because the people in front of her, they truly were strangers. This was not the father who used to crack jokes and make fun of their mother behind her back. This was not the father who began responding with 'No, I'm Orion' when asked if he was serious. This was not the father who had helped his kids set up a prank on their mother when they were children.

This was not the mother who had hugged them all warmly, regardless of house, whenever they came back home. This was not the mother who had wished best of luck to both Regulus and Sirius in a Gryffindor vs Slytherin Quidditch match. This was not the mother who used to tuck Aquila's hair behind her ears, and who cut her hair till her shoulders to encourage Sirius to cut his.

They were strangers, and Aquila felt like crying because of this.

While being the best of friends, Aquila had never interacted with Rowan's father. He was a rather nasty man, and he was to be thanked for all the different bruises blossoming on Rowan's arms when they came to school. Thankfully, now that school was over and they were of age, Rowan was able to claim the money left to him by his mother and buy a house of his own, moving far away from his father and his abusive tendencies.

So yes, it was odd to see Rowan's father smile warmly at her and stiffly hug Rowan, who looked like the Giant Squid had just poked his arse.

That is to say, uncomfortable.

Walburga smiled warmly at Rowan's father, so this was all definitely more suspicious, because Walburga Black never smiled willingly at anyone, and especially not warmly.

Aquila flinched as she felt a hand on her left arm, and turned to look at Orion, who immediately retracted it and looked away from her. Walburga didn't have the same care, and grasped Regulus' arm, which to their knowledge was void of any tattoos. Regulus hissed through his teeth in pain, and Aquila silently opened the mental shield and clenched her jaw as some of the pain washed over her and kept the shields open until she saw his face relax.

Regulus barely had a second to grasp Aquila's hand before their mother apparated them out of there.

"Are you mental?" Regulus gritted through his teeth at his mother as they stumbled into the living room of the Black Manor.

Walburga's eyes flashed as her face lost a bit of colour. "What did you say to me, boy?"

"Are you deaf? I asked you if you were mental?" Regulus asked, brushing off invisible dust of his shoulder.

Walburga started forward and clutched Regulus' jaw, her nails digging into his cheeks. Aquila felt a slight burning on her cheek as well, immediately going forward to pull her maniac of a mother off her brother.

"You have some gall talking to me like that, you insolent boy," Walburga hissed out, her hand faltering a little on Regulus' face.

"Walburga, stop this instant!" Orion Black boomed from the doorway. "Have you lost all your senses?"

Oh great, Aquila thought. It's family fight night.

"Di- did you not hear him, Orion? He has the audacity to call me mental!" Walburga screeched, letting go of Regulus and turning to Orion.

Orion glared at her. Hard. "Should he be calling you anything else, with the way you're acting?" Walburga opened her mouth to reply, but Orion held up a hand. "You're already sick, Walburga. I think it's best if you lie down."

Regulus and Aquila turned to their father. "She's sick?" they chorused. Walburga settled on the sofa, ringing for tea.

Orion hesitated. "Your mother has taken ill these past few months. Healers say that it is hard for her to hold on at her age."

"Hold on? What do you mean?" Regulus asked, a droplet of blood dropping on the collar of his shirt from his cheek.

"I'm dying," Walburga said, taking a sip of her tea.

Aquila looked to Regulus, startled. "Well, that is better than the last news they gave me when I came home," Aquila said.

Orion's face lost a bit of colour. "What do you mean?" he whispered.

"Oh, you know, when you called me home and locked me in a room to certain death with the Dark Lord?" Aquila said, tilting her head to the side.

"Oh, please, father, you can stop looking so horrified. It's become plenty clear to us how much you care for us and our well-being, so let's all stop pretending to be a family," Regulus bit back.

Orion looked horrified now. "I just told you your mother is dying," he said, his eyes wide.

"So when's the party?" Aquila said through a clenched jaw.

"That woman birthed you!" Orion shouted, pointing towards a now sleeping Walburga.

Regulus thrust a finger to his father's chest. "That woman allowed us to be tortured," he hissed.

Walburga opened her eyes. "Orion, let them be," she spoke hoarsely. Aquila reckoned she was laying it on thick a little bit. "Tell her the good news."

That was the moment when Aquila genuinely felt time stop, the clock stop ticking, everyone stopping in their motions. And she only remembered thinking, I don't want good from you, because what is good for you is seldom the good for me.

And it turns out she was right. Orion pulled the lapels of his coat, straightening it. "Your friend, Rowan Mulciber and his father have been invited to our house for dinner."

Aquila felt a stone drop in her stomach. Dinners were never good.  

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