Child Of Grace: Chapter 40 - Child Of Fate (Part 1)
ZeldaQueen: Hello everyone, and welcome to another exciting horrendous boring as hell GODDAMMED INFURIATING sporking of Child of Grace! We're starting Holly's fourth year and boy howdy, is it a doozy! The only saving grace is that the suethor hasn't updated since she finished this year, so this very well may be the last of it. Or not. Only time will tell!
Finally, for old time's sake, I've brought in Link and we're going to have a good old fashioned sporking! Say 'hi', Link!
Link: Hi. I'm only here because I'm getting paid overtime and I need to save up for a quiver upgrade.
Projection Room Voices: Starting Media in 3...2...1...
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Chapter 40: Child of Fate
ZeldaQueen: To hell with you and your idiocyncratic arc titles, Suethor
Holly Potter woke screaming. Heart beating rapidly in her chest, she flung herself upward in her bed. Her hands shook as she held desperately onto her blanket. The rest of her trembled, sweat-soaked and chilled by the night air. She grasped for air, throat raw, somehow managing to draw a breath.
ZeldaQueen: Pull the noose tighter, Link! I think we've got her!
Link: Doing the best I can, Captain! These damned Sues don't strangle easily!
"Holly?"
ZeldaQueen: - jolly Christmas
The open diary on the chair beside her bed flared to life. A dark-headed boy with equally dark
Link: - heart
eyes appeared, Hogwarts robes swishing as he stepped forward. However, before he could say anything further, the door to her bedroom silently opened. Another boy slipped inside and shut it behind him, ghosting across the floor to her bed.
ZeldaQueen: Jesus Christ, do these people do nothing but monitor her?
Link: Now that's a silly question
ZeldaQueen: Oh, right, of course they do. She's a Sue and their lives revolve around her. Silly me, carry on
Unfortunately, someone else already occupied that position,
Link: Well damn!
ZeldaQueen: Hey guys, a threesome could solve that problem in an instant
and the two males eyed each other for a moment as they bumped. A silent conversation passed between them in an instant before the older of the two stepped to the side. Blaise climbed onto her bed and settled by the edge.
ZeldaQueen: Oh fuck
Link: Eh?
ZeldaQueen: I really hope the Suethor isn't setting up for some pissing contest between Riddle and Blaise. Edward and Jacob was bad enough
She was calmer now, no longer hyperventilating. But her hands still shook, and she buried them in her covers to make it stop. Holly inhaled very slowly through her nose and then out through her mouth. Her panic had left her in a wash of tiredness, mind slow and numb.
Link: Does this chick ever do anything that isn't overblown and over the top?
Blaise quietly slid her glasses onto her face. The room came into sharp focus.
ZeldaQueen: Because she's clearly too useless to put on her own damned glasses!
"Voldemort again?" he questioned.
Holly took another shuddering breath. "He was with Pettigrew. They killed an old man who'd stumbled on them." Her eyes flicked to Tom.
ZeldaQueen: ... She remembers the dreams?
Link: Well, duh. She has to be better than Harry, right? And Harry was an idiot who couldn't remember his own dreams, REM be damned, so she can't make the same mistake
ZeldaQueen: *flailing* I...but...no! She already knows! She already knows it's Voldemort and he's up to something!
Link: Calm down, they just know it's Voldemort. It's not like they know anything really vital to the plot
His face was a mask, completely unreadable. But he toyed with the ring on his right hand as he always did when bothered, and his eyes gleamed with something a lot like regret. Guilt, perhaps. Or sorrow. Possibly all three.
ZeldaQueen: Yes, just call attention to the ring there, Suethor. How is he even wearing the thing if he's a memory? And shut it with the regret, guilt, and sorrow, will you? I don't feel an ounce of sympathy for Riddle, considering that he won't lift a finger to stop his "evil seventh of a soul" or wahtever
Blaise watched them for a moment before continuing. "Did they say anything like last time?"
Link: Yeah, they said "Oh my lord, A MARY SUE! Avada Kadavra!"
Her attention returned to him, and she absentmindedly noticed that his hair was sticking up. "They've left Albania. I think they're back in Britain, but I don't know where." She paused to recall. "A big house. Like a manor or mansion. Not magical. But dirty and almost abandoned."
ZeldaQueen: They aren't. The Suethor isn't.
"Not magical?" Tom tapped his foot on the carpet. "Like a manor... Could you see anything outside?"
"No." Holly shook her head. "What're you thinking?"
Tom studied the far wall. "It might be his... my... Tom Riddle, the original. His parents were very wealthy. Muggle nobility even. He was their only child, so if both they and he are dead, their manor might be empty now."
ZeldaQueen: . . .
Link: Huh. Well, there goes that mystery
ZeldaQueen: SON OF A BITCH!
"Perfect for Voldemort if he knows where it is," Blaise allowed, leaning back against Holly's headboard and placing one hand on her trembling wrist.
Link: Yes, just grope her while talking about a genocidal murderer
"Well, if I know, he should." Tom seemed to be considering. "It was in the same village my mother was from. And I tracked that down when I was still a third-year."
ZeldaQueen: And murdered your uncle, father, and grandparents, don't forget that one
Blaise patted Holly's hand. "Where?"
Link: Okay, why is he getting all grabby with her? Riddle's the one who is talking about hos angsty, horrific past!
"It's... It's in..." Tom stumbled. He blinked and furrowed his brow. "I can't... It's there but not."
ZeldaQueen: What?
Blaise and Holly exchanged a look.
"Fidelius," the brunet concluded. "Has to be."
Holly concurred, "Definitely." She yawned.
ZeldaQueen: *groans*
Link: So they have a vague idea of where Voldemort is holed up, plotting murder. Hey, who wants to bet they don't do shit with this information?
Tom crossed his arms over his chest. "It's so strange. I know it exists, but it's like the knowledge of where leaks through my fingers like water." He exasperatedly rubbed his chin with one hand.
ZeldaQueen: I don't think that's how the Fidelius charm works. If you already know where the place is, you can still find it
"Don't worry about it. If it really is Fidelius, then it's beyond us." Holly exhaled.
Link: (Sue) "Yes, let's just give up, without making any attempts to get around the conditions or exploit loopholes! That's what a real Slytherin would do!"
"We should focus on what we can do. Try to figure out what they're doing."
ZeldaQueen: They're having tea and cookies and watching It Happened One Night on Turner Classic Movies
Blaise glanced at her. "Do you remember anything else?" He rubbed her fingers.
Link: STOP FONDLING HER!
"He mentioned a Ministry witch. Bertha... Jenkins... Jorkins, I think." The girl bit her lip. "Pettigrew captured her while she was on holiday; I think he tortured her for information." She fought to keep herself steady. "Voldemort talked about freeing someone. One of his servants. But he wasn't in Azkaban. And of course, the usual plot to kill me," she jested and then strained for another moment but shrugged. "That's all of it. All I can remember. Maybe I'll think of something else later."
Link: Okay, if the Sue hears about the disappearance of Bertha Jorkins and doesn't say anything, I vote we tie her up and let the Deku Babas gnaw on her
ZeldaQueen: Dude, it's even sicker! She remembers specifically that Voldemort has had someone kidnapped, tortured for information, and murdered! And she probably won't tell anyone at all! SHE KNOWS SOMETHING IS UP, WHAT IS WRONG WITH HER?
The fact that she might dream of Voldemort and his plots again went unsaid.
Link: Except by the narrator, so we have to listen to it
Blaise sighed. "I'd hoped things would be better your last night here." He redirected the conversation, "It's hard to believe that a month's already gone by since school let out."
ZeldaQueen: So she's been having other dreams about Voldemort and doesn't seem to have told anyone. Lovely
"Hard to believe that she'll be leaving you for Black, you mean," Tom inserted loftily, catching on. A smirk etched onto his lips.
Link: And that's so amusing, why?
Blaise stilled for a second but allowed the comment to pass. He felt her tremble again beneath his fingertips.
Link: Oh, that stupid pissing contest. Carry on
"Holly, are you sure you're all right?" he asked with concern.
The girl hesitated, not completely trusting her voice. "I'm fine. Really. Just tired."
Tom rolled his eyes. "You would say that even if you'd been bitten by a Basilisk. Oh, wait... you have, and you did."
ZeldaQueen: She also angsts more than Rah
Zyn: *sticking his head in* Now that is low
ZeldaQueen: Ah, just the man I wanted to see! *drags him inside*
Zyn: Hello? Excuse me?
ZeldaQueen: We're about halfway through this abomination and you can help out
Zyn: But I am on break!
ZeldaQueen: Which is why you shouldn't stick your head in the Sporking Chamber if you value your free time
Zyn: Well, might Leah be called in to join?
ZeldaQueen: No, she's not tempting fate and thus can keep her break time. C'mon, let's do this!
Zyn: Very well
Holly gifted him with a weak glare but
Link: - forgot to include the receipt
ZeldaQueen: Better than the air of her lungs
Zyn: Or her spittle
didn't argue. It was true enough, but that didn't mean she had to like it. Instead, she just sighed and rubbed over her now aching forehead
ZeldaQueen: *brandishes sledgehammer* More where that came from!
"You should go back to sleep," Blaise said as he noted the weary cast to her face and the way her eyes were drooping. He gave her a final pat before sliding off her bed. "Goodnight, Holly." He watched as her eyes drifted half-closed.
Zyn: Little did they realize that the sleeping potion had taken effect
Link: As soon as her eyes were closed, a group of M.A.R.Y.S.U.E. agents snuck into her room and drove a spork through her chest
She didn't even hear him leave. Nor did she notice Tom give her a searching look before he slipped back into his diary. Holly just laid back and stared up at the ceiling, not seeing as it blurred. It didn't take her long to fall asleep. Just a few minutes and she was lost to blissful darkness. One devoid of all dreams.
ZeldaQueen: How come she can devote that much detail to tripe like this, but can't be bothered to properly explain the climaxes?
The next morning was hazy but promised to clear by noon. Holly sat down to breakfast with the Zabini family as usual, though there was a hint of tension to the air.
Zyn: They all knew there was a Sue at the table. They knew they must strike before she did
Eren barely ate, and the two Zabini girls kept shooting her mournful looks over their plates, while their father often sighed and stared off into space. Even Xavier seemed to notice that something was amiss, his usual baby-grin absent. Only Blaise was outwardly normal, but Holly could tell that there was an internal war waging inside of him. He wanted her to be happy, for her to be able to spend time with Sirius. However, he also wanted her to stay with him.
ZeldaQueen: Oh, so the Sue's just that special that they are in the depths of despair by her leaving?
Link: Are you surprised?
ZeldaQueen: I'm disgusted!
An epic battle of sorts. But eventually her desire to see Sirius won out and just in time for breakfast to be over.
Holly headed upstairs to do one final check of her luggage with Eren following in her wake.
Link: "Wake"? She killed the Sue? Oh YEAH!
The woman was less than enthused to see her charge leave.
Zyn: The Sue had been using her credit cards nonstop
She still had doubts about the entire arrangement to be perfectly honest. Something very obvious by the thinning of her lips as she stepped into Holly's room.
ZeldaQueen: What is it with these people being so weirdly possessive of her?
Quite frankly, they were wary of Sirius.
Link: Ah, that's not at all judgemental
ZeldaQueen: No kidding, especially since Blaise is always going on about how misunderstood they all are!
Certainly, the Animagus had been over at Zabini manor several times for meals, and Holly knew for a fact that both Dante and Eren had seen him on their own. They were hardly about to let her go off with a complete stranger, after all. Regardless of what the Wizengamot decreed. They would fight him if need be, take the children and leave the country. Holly didn't even need her telepathy to figure that one out.
ZeldaQueen: They're willing to UP AND LEAVE THE COUNTRY over THAT LITTLE WHINY BITCH? GAH!!!
It wasn't that they didn't like him. Eren actually found him rather funny, and Dante liked everyone on principle.
Link: So, why are they bothered?
However, he was a Black, a family notorious in their own right. He had also spent a significant portion of his life in Azkaban. Not the stuff of a great guardian and father-figure. Further, the Zabinis didn't know that Sirius had spent the last year masquerading as their son's cat.
ZeldaQueen: Point, although how often have these folks been looking after Holly?
Still, Sirius did have several things in his favour. Holly herself for one.
Zyn: And as we know, that counts for everything
Albus Dumbledore for another.
ZeldaQueen: Pfft, like he matters at all in this fic!
He was also on his absolute best behaviour whenever he saw them, completely prank-free.
Link: You know, there's more to Sirius than his days as an idiot teenager
ZeldaQueen: No kidding! This is Arianna Black all over. "Oh look, Sirius just runs around, laughing and pranking everyone! How cute!"
And the fact that he was quietly seeing a Mind Healer three times a week didn't hurt matters either.
ZeldaQueen: STOP "FIXING" SIRIUS!
Nor did the fact that Remus was all but living with him,
ZeldaQueen: Holy cats, they are gay in this!
meaning that Holly and he wouldn't be alone. Even better, Eren didn't share her son's revulsion of werewolves.
Zyn: Ah yes, the son is horribly traumatized by his father's death, but she is not bothered that her husband was killed
ZeldaQueen: Don't complain. At least we don't get double standards here
All in all, the Zabinis were reluctant but allowing Holly to go on a trial basis. She would have a week to stay with Sirius, and if she wasn't happy by the end of it, she would move back. Of course what Sirius didn't know and what Holly refused to tell was that Eren planned to do this every week for at least the rest of the summer. The Zabini matriarch was going to check back regularly. Just in case.
ZeldaQueen: *holds head* I really can't stand this. I know that there are people who become this attached to their children's friends, seeing them as members of the family and all, but why her? She is bland and boring and angsty and...just WHY?
It went without saying that Blaise would be his mother's eyes and ears, probably Flooing over every day if he could get away with it. And of course, Holly would see them at the World Cup in August. This didn't even include the fact that both Dante and Eren had insisted Sirius and Holly have dinner with them at least once a week. Or that the Zabini girls had already made her promise to come over for a genuine tea party. Or even the invitation to spend the day with her Slytherin year-mates at Whimsic Alley, the theatre and art district in Edinburgh.
Link: Why don't they stick a tracking beacon on her, while they're at it?
Holly suspected that Narcissa Malfoy had a hand in the last. Especially when the Slytherin remembered that Draco had been the one to give the invitation and the fact that his mother and Sirius were cousins.
ZeldaQueen: Wait, the Suethor's acknowledging that they're cousins? And yet she insisted in an earlier chapter that she was treating Sirius and Malfoy like fifth cousins or something?
Link: It makes sense...somehow
But all of this didn't mean that Eren and Dante were any less concerned. A fact that solidified when Eren sat Holly down on her bed.
"Are you certain about this, hija?" the older woman questioned softly.
Zyn: Ah yes, gratuitous foreign languages. Lovely
"We'd love to keep you longer. The entire summer if you'd allow us. Even longer." She shifted and very slowly closed her eyes. "It is just that we don't know Sirius Black. Not really. Yes, he is your godfather and was innocent of those crimes, but we have only known him a month. And he's never had a child or a teenager. Much less a young witch." Eren took Holly's hand.
Link: Okay Suethor, we know that everyone loves your Sue! You can stop gloating now!
The girl exhaled but allowed the action. "I don't want to impose upon your family," she put in after a moment. "You've done more than enough. More than I can ever repay."
ZeldaQueen: Never stopped her from imposing on the Weasleys
"You don't have to repay us." Eren shook her head. "You are our family, dear heart.
All: STOP CALLING HER THAT!!!
Legal and binding." She swallowed. "And not just because I am fostering you. Blaise is like a different person since he met you. So much more open. Less lonely. You're the first real friend he's ever had besides his cousins." The woman exhaled softly. Her eyes flickered to the far wall, gazing out the window at nothing.
All: GET ON WITH IT!!!
"I know that the way I raised my children kept them isolated. But I was so afraid to lose he
All: HIM!
and his sisters," she admitted, fingers grasping Holly's firmly. "I nearly didn't let him attend Hogwarts, but I'm so glad that I did.
Zyn: And why, may I ask, would that be? If you know that you are raising your children to be isolated and lonely, why do so?
I can hardly recognise the laughing boy I see. That alone would put me in your debt forever." She smiled then and turned back to the girl at her side. "But I'm afraid that you have worked your magic on us as well. I honestly feel like I have three daughters instead of two."
Holly was speechless.
Link: (Sue) "I successfully have groomed them to be substitutes for the Weasley family, only with an Old Family name and money! This is great!"
Eren laughed. "Don't be so surprised, my dearest heart.
ZeldaQueen: *screams*
You have to know that it's true. If we could outright adopt you, we would." She seemed ready to add something to that but apparently changed her mind.
Link: Did she get a better one?
"I..." the Slytherin began through her suddenly tight throat. "Th-"
"You don't have to thank me. Not for this," the woman interrupted.
ZeldaQueen: (Eren) "It's only because you leeched on to us"
The girl bit her lip.
Zyn: The blood gushed all over the floor. It was beautiful
"I do appreciate everything you've done for me, more than you could ever know. But Sirius... I need to do this." She felt Eren's fingers tighten around her own. "Sirius has lost a lot. Both before and after Azkaban. I can't leave him to rot like everyone else did. I think... I think this is just as much for him as for me."
ZeldaQueen: (Sue) "I mean, so many opportunities to angst and show up Harry, the loser!"
The older witch just studied her for a moment before nodding. "You are very kind, hija.
ZeldaQueen: I seriously doubt that word is Spanish
Compassionate.
ZeldaQueen: "Compasionate"? After how she treated Ron, Hermione, and Ginny? HA!
No matter what happens, never let anyone take that away from you. Not even me." She paused and took a slightly shuddering breath. "We'll be sad without you here, but you are old enough to make your own decisions now. Just know that you will always be welcome here. With us." Her face took on a more cheerful cast. "Now, remember, we expect you for dinner on Thursday. No excuses. And make sure that your godfather is here, too."
Link: By the Goddesses, this is boring!
Zyn: Is this almost over?
ZeldaQueen: Hang in there
"Of course," Holly replied, the knot in her chest loosening. "Even if I have to drag him here."
Eren gave a satisfied jerk
Link: - off
ZeldaQueen: LINK!
of her head. With a wave of her wand, all of Holly's possessions shrunk to the size of a snap deck. The Slytherin nodded her thanks and quickly tucked her trunk away. She looked up then, gaze meeting Eren's watery but firm eyes.
Zyn: I believe there are prescription eye drops to cure that
"Thank you," Holly whispered anyway.
She didn't have to say what it was for.
ZeldaQueen: All of the fish
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ZeldaQueen: Alright, Link gets a break. Zyn stays for the second half and Leah will join in
Link: YES! *runs*
Onward to: Chapter 40: Child of Faith (Part 2)
Back to: Chapter 39: Black Dawn
Return to: Table of Contents
Finally, for old time's sake, I've brought in Link and we're going to have a good old fashioned sporking! Say 'hi', Link!
Link: Hi. I'm only here because I'm getting paid overtime and I need to save up for a quiver upgrade.
Projection Room Voices: Starting Media in 3...2...1...
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Chapter 40: Child of Fate
ZeldaQueen: To hell with you and your idiocyncratic arc titles, Suethor
Holly Potter woke screaming. Heart beating rapidly in her chest, she flung herself upward in her bed. Her hands shook as she held desperately onto her blanket. The rest of her trembled, sweat-soaked and chilled by the night air. She grasped for air, throat raw, somehow managing to draw a breath.
ZeldaQueen: Pull the noose tighter, Link! I think we've got her!
Link: Doing the best I can, Captain! These damned Sues don't strangle easily!
"Holly?"
ZeldaQueen: - jolly Christmas
The open diary on the chair beside her bed flared to life. A dark-headed boy with equally dark
Link: - heart
eyes appeared, Hogwarts robes swishing as he stepped forward. However, before he could say anything further, the door to her bedroom silently opened. Another boy slipped inside and shut it behind him, ghosting across the floor to her bed.
ZeldaQueen: Jesus Christ, do these people do nothing but monitor her?
Link: Now that's a silly question
ZeldaQueen: Oh, right, of course they do. She's a Sue and their lives revolve around her. Silly me, carry on
Unfortunately, someone else already occupied that position,
Link: Well damn!
ZeldaQueen: Hey guys, a threesome could solve that problem in an instant
and the two males eyed each other for a moment as they bumped. A silent conversation passed between them in an instant before the older of the two stepped to the side. Blaise climbed onto her bed and settled by the edge.
ZeldaQueen: Oh fuck
Link: Eh?
ZeldaQueen: I really hope the Suethor isn't setting up for some pissing contest between Riddle and Blaise. Edward and Jacob was bad enough
She was calmer now, no longer hyperventilating. But her hands still shook, and she buried them in her covers to make it stop. Holly inhaled very slowly through her nose and then out through her mouth. Her panic had left her in a wash of tiredness, mind slow and numb.
Link: Does this chick ever do anything that isn't overblown and over the top?
Blaise quietly slid her glasses onto her face. The room came into sharp focus.
ZeldaQueen: Because she's clearly too useless to put on her own damned glasses!
"Voldemort again?" he questioned.
Holly took another shuddering breath. "He was with Pettigrew. They killed an old man who'd stumbled on them." Her eyes flicked to Tom.
ZeldaQueen: ... She remembers the dreams?
Link: Well, duh. She has to be better than Harry, right? And Harry was an idiot who couldn't remember his own dreams, REM be damned, so she can't make the same mistake
ZeldaQueen: *flailing* I...but...no! She already knows! She already knows it's Voldemort and he's up to something!
Link: Calm down, they just know it's Voldemort. It's not like they know anything really vital to the plot
His face was a mask, completely unreadable. But he toyed with the ring on his right hand as he always did when bothered, and his eyes gleamed with something a lot like regret. Guilt, perhaps. Or sorrow. Possibly all three.
ZeldaQueen: Yes, just call attention to the ring there, Suethor. How is he even wearing the thing if he's a memory? And shut it with the regret, guilt, and sorrow, will you? I don't feel an ounce of sympathy for Riddle, considering that he won't lift a finger to stop his "evil seventh of a soul" or wahtever
Blaise watched them for a moment before continuing. "Did they say anything like last time?"
Link: Yeah, they said "Oh my lord, A MARY SUE! Avada Kadavra!"
Her attention returned to him, and she absentmindedly noticed that his hair was sticking up. "They've left Albania. I think they're back in Britain, but I don't know where." She paused to recall. "A big house. Like a manor or mansion. Not magical. But dirty and almost abandoned."
ZeldaQueen: They aren't. The Suethor isn't.
"Not magical?" Tom tapped his foot on the carpet. "Like a manor... Could you see anything outside?"
"No." Holly shook her head. "What're you thinking?"
Tom studied the far wall. "It might be his... my... Tom Riddle, the original. His parents were very wealthy. Muggle nobility even. He was their only child, so if both they and he are dead, their manor might be empty now."
ZeldaQueen: . . .
Link: Huh. Well, there goes that mystery
ZeldaQueen: SON OF A BITCH!
"Perfect for Voldemort if he knows where it is," Blaise allowed, leaning back against Holly's headboard and placing one hand on her trembling wrist.
Link: Yes, just grope her while talking about a genocidal murderer
"Well, if I know, he should." Tom seemed to be considering. "It was in the same village my mother was from. And I tracked that down when I was still a third-year."
ZeldaQueen: And murdered your uncle, father, and grandparents, don't forget that one
Blaise patted Holly's hand. "Where?"
Link: Okay, why is he getting all grabby with her? Riddle's the one who is talking about hos angsty, horrific past!
"It's... It's in..." Tom stumbled. He blinked and furrowed his brow. "I can't... It's there but not."
ZeldaQueen: What?
Blaise and Holly exchanged a look.
"Fidelius," the brunet concluded. "Has to be."
Holly concurred, "Definitely." She yawned.
ZeldaQueen: *groans*
Link: So they have a vague idea of where Voldemort is holed up, plotting murder. Hey, who wants to bet they don't do shit with this information?
Tom crossed his arms over his chest. "It's so strange. I know it exists, but it's like the knowledge of where leaks through my fingers like water." He exasperatedly rubbed his chin with one hand.
ZeldaQueen: I don't think that's how the Fidelius charm works. If you already know where the place is, you can still find it
"Don't worry about it. If it really is Fidelius, then it's beyond us." Holly exhaled.
Link: (Sue) "Yes, let's just give up, without making any attempts to get around the conditions or exploit loopholes! That's what a real Slytherin would do!"
"We should focus on what we can do. Try to figure out what they're doing."
ZeldaQueen: They're having tea and cookies and watching It Happened One Night on Turner Classic Movies
Blaise glanced at her. "Do you remember anything else?" He rubbed her fingers.
Link: STOP FONDLING HER!
"He mentioned a Ministry witch. Bertha... Jenkins... Jorkins, I think." The girl bit her lip. "Pettigrew captured her while she was on holiday; I think he tortured her for information." She fought to keep herself steady. "Voldemort talked about freeing someone. One of his servants. But he wasn't in Azkaban. And of course, the usual plot to kill me," she jested and then strained for another moment but shrugged. "That's all of it. All I can remember. Maybe I'll think of something else later."
Link: Okay, if the Sue hears about the disappearance of Bertha Jorkins and doesn't say anything, I vote we tie her up and let the Deku Babas gnaw on her
ZeldaQueen: Dude, it's even sicker! She remembers specifically that Voldemort has had someone kidnapped, tortured for information, and murdered! And she probably won't tell anyone at all! SHE KNOWS SOMETHING IS UP, WHAT IS WRONG WITH HER?
The fact that she might dream of Voldemort and his plots again went unsaid.
Link: Except by the narrator, so we have to listen to it
Blaise sighed. "I'd hoped things would be better your last night here." He redirected the conversation, "It's hard to believe that a month's already gone by since school let out."
ZeldaQueen: So she's been having other dreams about Voldemort and doesn't seem to have told anyone. Lovely
"Hard to believe that she'll be leaving you for Black, you mean," Tom inserted loftily, catching on. A smirk etched onto his lips.
Link: And that's so amusing, why?
Blaise stilled for a second but allowed the comment to pass. He felt her tremble again beneath his fingertips.
Link: Oh, that stupid pissing contest. Carry on
"Holly, are you sure you're all right?" he asked with concern.
The girl hesitated, not completely trusting her voice. "I'm fine. Really. Just tired."
Tom rolled his eyes. "You would say that even if you'd been bitten by a Basilisk. Oh, wait... you have, and you did."
ZeldaQueen: She also angsts more than Rah
Zyn: *sticking his head in* Now that is low
ZeldaQueen: Ah, just the man I wanted to see! *drags him inside*
Zyn: Hello? Excuse me?
ZeldaQueen: We're about halfway through this abomination and you can help out
Zyn: But I am on break!
ZeldaQueen: Which is why you shouldn't stick your head in the Sporking Chamber if you value your free time
Zyn: Well, might Leah be called in to join?
ZeldaQueen: No, she's not tempting fate and thus can keep her break time. C'mon, let's do this!
Zyn: Very well
Holly gifted him with a weak glare but
Link: - forgot to include the receipt
ZeldaQueen: Better than the air of her lungs
Zyn: Or her spittle
didn't argue. It was true enough, but that didn't mean she had to like it. Instead, she just sighed and rubbed over her now aching forehead
ZeldaQueen: *brandishes sledgehammer* More where that came from!
"You should go back to sleep," Blaise said as he noted the weary cast to her face and the way her eyes were drooping. He gave her a final pat before sliding off her bed. "Goodnight, Holly." He watched as her eyes drifted half-closed.
Zyn: Little did they realize that the sleeping potion had taken effect
Link: As soon as her eyes were closed, a group of M.A.R.Y.S.U.E. agents snuck into her room and drove a spork through her chest
She didn't even hear him leave. Nor did she notice Tom give her a searching look before he slipped back into his diary. Holly just laid back and stared up at the ceiling, not seeing as it blurred. It didn't take her long to fall asleep. Just a few minutes and she was lost to blissful darkness. One devoid of all dreams.
ZeldaQueen: How come she can devote that much detail to tripe like this, but can't be bothered to properly explain the climaxes?
The next morning was hazy but promised to clear by noon. Holly sat down to breakfast with the Zabini family as usual, though there was a hint of tension to the air.
Zyn: They all knew there was a Sue at the table. They knew they must strike before she did
Eren barely ate, and the two Zabini girls kept shooting her mournful looks over their plates, while their father often sighed and stared off into space. Even Xavier seemed to notice that something was amiss, his usual baby-grin absent. Only Blaise was outwardly normal, but Holly could tell that there was an internal war waging inside of him. He wanted her to be happy, for her to be able to spend time with Sirius. However, he also wanted her to stay with him.
ZeldaQueen: Oh, so the Sue's just that special that they are in the depths of despair by her leaving?
Link: Are you surprised?
ZeldaQueen: I'm disgusted!
An epic battle of sorts. But eventually her desire to see Sirius won out and just in time for breakfast to be over.
Holly headed upstairs to do one final check of her luggage with Eren following in her wake.
Link: "Wake"? She killed the Sue? Oh YEAH!
The woman was less than enthused to see her charge leave.
Zyn: The Sue had been using her credit cards nonstop
She still had doubts about the entire arrangement to be perfectly honest. Something very obvious by the thinning of her lips as she stepped into Holly's room.
ZeldaQueen: What is it with these people being so weirdly possessive of her?
Quite frankly, they were wary of Sirius.
Link: Ah, that's not at all judgemental
ZeldaQueen: No kidding, especially since Blaise is always going on about how misunderstood they all are!
Certainly, the Animagus had been over at Zabini manor several times for meals, and Holly knew for a fact that both Dante and Eren had seen him on their own. They were hardly about to let her go off with a complete stranger, after all. Regardless of what the Wizengamot decreed. They would fight him if need be, take the children and leave the country. Holly didn't even need her telepathy to figure that one out.
ZeldaQueen: They're willing to UP AND LEAVE THE COUNTRY over THAT LITTLE WHINY BITCH? GAH!!!
It wasn't that they didn't like him. Eren actually found him rather funny, and Dante liked everyone on principle.
Link: So, why are they bothered?
However, he was a Black, a family notorious in their own right. He had also spent a significant portion of his life in Azkaban. Not the stuff of a great guardian and father-figure. Further, the Zabinis didn't know that Sirius had spent the last year masquerading as their son's cat.
ZeldaQueen: Point, although how often have these folks been looking after Holly?
Still, Sirius did have several things in his favour. Holly herself for one.
Zyn: And as we know, that counts for everything
Albus Dumbledore for another.
ZeldaQueen: Pfft, like he matters at all in this fic!
He was also on his absolute best behaviour whenever he saw them, completely prank-free.
Link: You know, there's more to Sirius than his days as an idiot teenager
ZeldaQueen: No kidding! This is Arianna Black all over. "Oh look, Sirius just runs around, laughing and pranking everyone! How cute!"
And the fact that he was quietly seeing a Mind Healer three times a week didn't hurt matters either.
ZeldaQueen: STOP "FIXING" SIRIUS!
Nor did the fact that Remus was all but living with him,
ZeldaQueen: Holy cats, they are gay in this!
meaning that Holly and he wouldn't be alone. Even better, Eren didn't share her son's revulsion of werewolves.
Zyn: Ah yes, the son is horribly traumatized by his father's death, but she is not bothered that her husband was killed
ZeldaQueen: Don't complain. At least we don't get double standards here
All in all, the Zabinis were reluctant but allowing Holly to go on a trial basis. She would have a week to stay with Sirius, and if she wasn't happy by the end of it, she would move back. Of course what Sirius didn't know and what Holly refused to tell was that Eren planned to do this every week for at least the rest of the summer. The Zabini matriarch was going to check back regularly. Just in case.
ZeldaQueen: *holds head* I really can't stand this. I know that there are people who become this attached to their children's friends, seeing them as members of the family and all, but why her? She is bland and boring and angsty and...just WHY?
It went without saying that Blaise would be his mother's eyes and ears, probably Flooing over every day if he could get away with it. And of course, Holly would see them at the World Cup in August. This didn't even include the fact that both Dante and Eren had insisted Sirius and Holly have dinner with them at least once a week. Or that the Zabini girls had already made her promise to come over for a genuine tea party. Or even the invitation to spend the day with her Slytherin year-mates at Whimsic Alley, the theatre and art district in Edinburgh.
Link: Why don't they stick a tracking beacon on her, while they're at it?
Holly suspected that Narcissa Malfoy had a hand in the last. Especially when the Slytherin remembered that Draco had been the one to give the invitation and the fact that his mother and Sirius were cousins.
ZeldaQueen: Wait, the Suethor's acknowledging that they're cousins? And yet she insisted in an earlier chapter that she was treating Sirius and Malfoy like fifth cousins or something?
Link: It makes sense...somehow
But all of this didn't mean that Eren and Dante were any less concerned. A fact that solidified when Eren sat Holly down on her bed.
"Are you certain about this, hija?" the older woman questioned softly.
Zyn: Ah yes, gratuitous foreign languages. Lovely
"We'd love to keep you longer. The entire summer if you'd allow us. Even longer." She shifted and very slowly closed her eyes. "It is just that we don't know Sirius Black. Not really. Yes, he is your godfather and was innocent of those crimes, but we have only known him a month. And he's never had a child or a teenager. Much less a young witch." Eren took Holly's hand.
Link: Okay Suethor, we know that everyone loves your Sue! You can stop gloating now!
The girl exhaled but allowed the action. "I don't want to impose upon your family," she put in after a moment. "You've done more than enough. More than I can ever repay."
ZeldaQueen: Never stopped her from imposing on the Weasleys
"You don't have to repay us." Eren shook her head. "You are our family, dear heart.
All: STOP CALLING HER THAT!!!
Legal and binding." She swallowed. "And not just because I am fostering you. Blaise is like a different person since he met you. So much more open. Less lonely. You're the first real friend he's ever had besides his cousins." The woman exhaled softly. Her eyes flickered to the far wall, gazing out the window at nothing.
All: GET ON WITH IT!!!
"I know that the way I raised my children kept them isolated. But I was so afraid to lose he
All: HIM!
and his sisters," she admitted, fingers grasping Holly's firmly. "I nearly didn't let him attend Hogwarts, but I'm so glad that I did.
Zyn: And why, may I ask, would that be? If you know that you are raising your children to be isolated and lonely, why do so?
I can hardly recognise the laughing boy I see. That alone would put me in your debt forever." She smiled then and turned back to the girl at her side. "But I'm afraid that you have worked your magic on us as well. I honestly feel like I have three daughters instead of two."
Holly was speechless.
Link: (Sue) "I successfully have groomed them to be substitutes for the Weasley family, only with an Old Family name and money! This is great!"
Eren laughed. "Don't be so surprised, my dearest heart.
ZeldaQueen: *screams*
You have to know that it's true. If we could outright adopt you, we would." She seemed ready to add something to that but apparently changed her mind.
Link: Did she get a better one?
"I..." the Slytherin began through her suddenly tight throat. "Th-"
"You don't have to thank me. Not for this," the woman interrupted.
ZeldaQueen: (Eren) "It's only because you leeched on to us"
The girl bit her lip.
Zyn: The blood gushed all over the floor. It was beautiful
"I do appreciate everything you've done for me, more than you could ever know. But Sirius... I need to do this." She felt Eren's fingers tighten around her own. "Sirius has lost a lot. Both before and after Azkaban. I can't leave him to rot like everyone else did. I think... I think this is just as much for him as for me."
ZeldaQueen: (Sue) "I mean, so many opportunities to angst and show up Harry, the loser!"
The older witch just studied her for a moment before nodding. "You are very kind, hija.
ZeldaQueen: I seriously doubt that word is Spanish
Compassionate.
ZeldaQueen: "Compasionate"? After how she treated Ron, Hermione, and Ginny? HA!
No matter what happens, never let anyone take that away from you. Not even me." She paused and took a slightly shuddering breath. "We'll be sad without you here, but you are old enough to make your own decisions now. Just know that you will always be welcome here. With us." Her face took on a more cheerful cast. "Now, remember, we expect you for dinner on Thursday. No excuses. And make sure that your godfather is here, too."
Link: By the Goddesses, this is boring!
Zyn: Is this almost over?
ZeldaQueen: Hang in there
"Of course," Holly replied, the knot in her chest loosening. "Even if I have to drag him here."
Eren gave a satisfied jerk
Link: - off
ZeldaQueen: LINK!
of her head. With a wave of her wand, all of Holly's possessions shrunk to the size of a snap deck. The Slytherin nodded her thanks and quickly tucked her trunk away. She looked up then, gaze meeting Eren's watery but firm eyes.
Zyn: I believe there are prescription eye drops to cure that
"Thank you," Holly whispered anyway.
She didn't have to say what it was for.
ZeldaQueen: All of the fish
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ZeldaQueen: Alright, Link gets a break. Zyn stays for the second half and Leah will join in
Link: YES! *runs*
Onward to: Chapter 40: Child of Faith (Part 2)
Back to: Chapter 39: Black Dawn
Return to: Table of Contents