The Untold Tragedy Of Morana Black

Chapter Eleven

(Mentions of alcohol, drugs, abuse, and rape.)

Chapter Ten: The Hogwarts Express

September 1st, 1991

Morana stood outside Kings Cross Station in London, watching the cars crawl past as people fought to find a parking space or push through the crowds to catch their train on time. Morana watched with bitter amusement, once again reminded how people never cared for those around them - she had seen two old ladies get knocked over, a man have his foot run over by a trolley, and a tiny dog get trampled by impatient feet.

Still watching for Vernon's car, Morana placed a cigarette between her lips and pulled out the expensive-looking skull-shaped lighter from her pocket. She had stolen a packet of cigarettes and the lighter from an unconscious wealthy man on the street this morning, who had partied too hard the night prior.

"Did you smoke with Harry around?!" Lily snarled as she stood up to glare at Morana.  

Morana gave the red-haired teenager an impassive look, unimpressed and unaffected by the Gryffindor's hatred for her. Everyone could see that Morana couldn't care less about James, Lily, and Sirius. It was almost as though she was used to their behavior. 

"Sit down," Fleamont barked at his future daughter-in-law, equally unimpressed with her impulsive and selfish attitude. "I think everyone but you and James has realized that Morana, my granddaughter, wished to protect Harry from everything. She would not expose him to such habits. Now be quiet."

No one bothered to spare her a second glance as they dashed in and out of the station. Morana didn't care; she didn't want someone to scold her for smoking at such a young age. She might punch someone in the face if they tried to mother her - though that might be the alcohol-dulled exhaustion talking.

"How old were you when you started drinking, Lady Slytherin?" Madame Bones inquired, concern lacing her voice as she studied Morana's cold, unreadable expression.  

Morana thought for a moment. "I believe I was eight when I started smoking, nine when I started drinking, and eleven when I started experimenting with drugs."

Madame Bones made a note on her parchment, promising to take legal action once she gathered an unignorable amount of evidence from Morana's memories. She wanted to bring Morana closure and justice by punishing the Dursleys. All she could hope was that Morana didn't take matters into her own hands; it looked like several people were desperately searching for something to hold against her.

"Well, there goes any chance of mercy the Dursleys had," muttered a Gryffindor, noticing the dark expressions on the Black Family's faces. The Blacks would kill the muggles, and no one would stop them because they secretly believed the Dursleys deserved everything they got.

This last month had been dreadfully unbearable for the redhead; Vernon's abusive behavior worsened after Hagrid's visit a month ago. The weak flame of his hatred and anger was now a roaring wildfire. It didn't matter what Morana did to try and appease him - his wrath was untamable.

Morana wanted to hate Hagrid for worsening an already terrible situation, but she couldn't blame the overly friendly, somewhat witless man for her Uncle's actions. However, that didn't mean Morana liked him.

"Keep your mouth shut," Rodolphus snapped, the first to notice Mrs. Weasley opening her mouth to scold Morana for being unnecessarily cruel to Hagrid.