Parseltongue Heiress

Chapter 3

"It was the height of You-Know-Who's power. Oh, I'm sorry, Voldemort. He was a wizard who was obsessed with the Dark Arts. His rebellion against the Light occurred with the help of his Death Eaters, who served him and brought terror to both Muggles, (non-magic people), and magical innocents. They were opposed by the Ministry of Magic, (the governing body for this section of the wizarding world), and the Order of the Phoenix, an organization founded by Albus Dumbledore. Your mother was his daughter, born simply out of his desire to have an heir. He ended up with Aurora instead. She was his 'perfect heir' for those first ten years. But she never agreed with his teachings, or the way he said things had to be. And then she came to Hogwarts. That's when the real rebellion came. I've told you about how everyone is sorted into houses, right? Well, his family line was descended from the founder of Slytherin house, Salazar Slytherin himself. Aurora was a Gryffindor. Now on to your father."

I interrupted her, "Is he dead?"

She shook her head. "Your father's name is Sirius Black. I'm getting to that. The Black family line was also a long line of people who were sorted into Slytherin. He was the first to be sorted into Gryffindor, much like your mother. Sirius was the last remaining heir of the House of Black, a once-notable wizarding family. His parents were both Blacks by birth. The Black family believed strongly in pure-blood elitism. They refused to consort with Muggles or Muggle-borns, Squibs, (non-magic folk born of a magical lineage), and even disowned Squib family members, and insisted that their family members only marry within respectable pure-blood classes; because of these beliefs, they were forced to marry their own cousins. They also held the Dark Arts in reverence. Sirius rejected these values, leading to conflict with his family. Aurora and Sirius were very much alike; that's probably what drew them together.

They met after Tom, (Voldemort's normal, original human name- Tom Riddle), tried to pull Aurora from Hogwarts, because of her Gryffindor sorting. Sirius' family reacted very similarly, but he was used to it. He found her crying in the common room of Gryffindor tower, and that's how they bonded. After that, they were inseparable, even after they graduated. Then, the war happened."

That was where the Headmaster piped in. "In 1970, Voldemort proclaimed himself . With his army of followers, he planned a revolution against the with the intention of toppling it and creating a new world order run by pure-bloods with Muggles kept in bondage and Lord Voldemort himself as the immortal ruler for all time.

To achieve these ends, the Death Eaters and their allies began carrying out attacks on Muggles for sport and to sow chaos. As they grew in strength, they began targeting Muggle-born witches and wizards as well. With many Death Eaters occupying strategic positions within the Ministry of Magic itself, they used blackmail and the to expand their influence and destabilize the government, which was desperately trying to keep order and continue to maintain secrecy from the Muggle world. The Minister of Magic at the time was ill-prepared to lead during wartime, and it seemed that the Ministry was incapable of gaining the upper hand. In response to the growing threat of Lord Voldemort and his minions, I formed the to take the fight directly to the Death Eaters. The Order of the Phoenix strengthened as its ranks were bolstered in 1978 with the addition of Hogwarts graduates James Potter, Lily Evans, Sirius Black, Aurora Riddle, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew, enabling the forces of good to make headway.

However, the Death Eaters were also reinforced, as Severus Snape, Evan Rosier, Wilkes, Avery, and Mulciber graduated and joined Voldemort's cause that same year. Terror and chaos continued to grip the populace of wizarding Britain, to the point that many began to fear to speak Voldemort's name, instead referring to him only when necessary, and even then, calling him You-Know-Who or He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named. Numerous ordinary witches and wizards died in the war and the identities of their killers, the Death Eaters, were still largely unknown. This made people suspicious of one another, even within the Order.

Despite being amid a war, life went on for those who had not yet become its victims. Recently married Order members James and Lily Potter had a son, Harry Potter, while your parents had you. In an unexpected twist, Severus Snape covertly defected to the Order of the Phoenix, informing me that Voldemort had marked the Potter family for death. I urged the Potters to go into hiding under the protection of the Fidelus Charm. However, their Secret-Keeper, your father, betrayed them to the Dark Lord."

My aunt took over at this point, and I could tell the story was almost over. "On , 31 October, 1981, your mother fled from her hiding place with you, trying to get you to Sirius. She knew she had a target on her back, and she wanted to protect you. She had just barely hidden you when the Death eaters caught up with her. She was just outside of Sirius' house when He Who Shall Not Be Named showed up. Sirius came out and witnessed her death, then found you. He brought you to me, and I've had you ever since." Realization dawned in the back of my mind as suddenly I recalled the entirety of my recurring nightmare.

Albus continued through my epiphany to finish the story. "Voldemort went to the Potter's hiding place and murdered James when he opposed him unarmed, but offered Lily a chance to save herself if she stepped away from the crib containing her infant son. Lily refused and Voldemort murdered her before using the on Harry. However, Lily's loving sacrifice gave her son the protection of an ancient magic and the curse backfired, destroying Voldemort's physical body and leaving a lightning-shaped scar on Harry's forehead. He is the only known person to have ever survived the killing curse. This made him famous in the wizarding world and inadvertently dubbed him "The Boy Who Lived."

I stood and grinned. "Well, I have some exciting news for you both. And it might even reveal something you didn't know. I've have been having a recurring nightmare these past few weeks, and I have reason to believe it is actually a memory, especially after what you have just told me." I went on to describe the dream, word for word. Dumbledore shook his head, astounded after my recounting.

"So, he wasn't the Secret-Keeper. It was Peter instead. That more thoroughly explains why Sirius would have been angry enough to attack him, but not why he decimated him." I frowned, confused. Minerva saw my confusion and took it upon herself to explain the story of how my father supposedly murdered Peter Pettigrew in cold blood, leaving nothing but his little finger behind.

I shook my head. "But that just doesn't make sense. From what you just told me, that doesn't sound like my dad at all!" Then another thought occurred to me. "The danger forcing you to keep me in hiding with my mom's last name has passed. Is that the reason you still are? Because no one knew the infamous murderer Sirius Black had a daughter, and it was just better that way?" I stood, knowing I needed to figure out the truth.

***

So I've recently discovered that Wattpad is deleting chunks of my story. It would be great if y'all could let me know if something seems wrong, or like something is missing, even if it's as small as a comma or a space. I want to give y'all the best experience you can get, so if this keeps happening, I'll be forced to relocate the story to another site. I'll let y'all know before I do, and I'll make sure to give you the link.

Thank you for reading, please leave a comment and tell me what you think!
Mac