97

33.4K 888 1.2K
                                    

ARES'S SECRET

_____________

After having dinner all together and staying for a little while in front of the fireplace, Remus finally stood up from the armchair;

"Alright, kids, I have to return to Burrow. Forgot to ask Arthur for the Order's reports. Besides, I wanna give a little visit to Tonks, she's staying at her parents' place."

We nodded, enjoying our last cup of tea before going to sleep.

"Tomorrow morning we can start trying to investigate in Circe's studio, if you don't mind, Lilith," he said, coming straight to hug me.

"It's all yours," I immediately said, hugging him back. "Take care, please."

Remus left us in the warm living room, hearing the wind whistling, caressing the leaves from the trees against the big window. The fire kept crackling as Dondey interrupted the silence, coming from the kitchen;

"Lilith, tomorrow Dondey will open the door of Master Ares's studio, if you want, of course."

I took a deep breath. I was still quite hesitant about reopening such a wound as Ares entailed to me, but at the same time, some part in the depth of my mind eagerly wanted to know what was behind that door.

"Sure," I smiled, "Besides, I bet that the twins and the girls will need more space."

"Great idea it is," said Fred, looking kindly at the elf, "Even if we're out of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, the Order and other clients still need our products. We will need a place to work."

A couple of minutes later, we finally decided to leave to our bedrooms, but as I walked through the dark and silent corridor that guided me to the room that used to be mine when I was little, I realised something.

I can't go back to that room.

Create new memories, Lilith.

Still in absolute and complete silence, feeling the cold floor under my bare feet, I walked in the other direction of the corridor with the immobile eyes of my ancestors' portraits fixed on me. I stood in front of one of the many unused dorms in the house, and after taking a couple of deep breaths and meditating about if it was the best idea or not; I finally knocked.

"Come in!"

I opened the door, finding Fred right about to lay on the bed, shirtless and in sweatpants, ready to go to sleep.

"Yes?" he asked, curiously, when he saw me there almost unable to speak.

"Can I-" I gulped, "Can I sleep with you?"

A soft and tender smile covered his face.

"Come 'ere, darling," Fred patted the bed, inviting me to join him.

✵ ✵ ✵

Remus arrived again the next day when the sun was barely up in the sky. Even though we were still in summer, the cold inside the Arambella House and this enchanted place of the country, made it feel as if we were in midwinter.

Lupin was incredibly pale when he arrived, crumpling up a piece of paper in his hands that I recognised as The Prophet. Without saying any word, he sat at the table, put the paper on it to show it to me and stayed there with his haunting gaze.

TONKS FAMILY INTERROGATED BY THE MINISTRY

After the disappearance of the Undesirable nº1, also known as Harry Potter, after Albus Dumbledore's death, the Ministry has proclaimed him as the principal suspect of the Headmaster's murder. To enquire into this cause more profoundly, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement has decided to officially interrogate some of the participants of Potter's inner circle. The Tonks family, formed by the blood traitor Andromeda Tonks, neé Black, the mudblood Ted Tonks and their daughter married to a Half-breed - who we do not consider worthy to be mentioned -, were some of the first lucky ones to experience the new interrogation method created by the great and unique Dolores Umbri...

𝖶𝖨𝖢𝖪𝖤𝖣 𝖧𝖠𝖳𝖤 | 𝖥𝖱𝖤𝖣 𝖶𝖤𝖠𝖲𝖫𝖤𝖸Where stories live. Discover now