Noble Blood

Eryn and Narcissa got off at a train station near the Secret Society, where they were to meet one of the volunteers to take them the rest of the way.

The Secret Society was a large hidden space home to hundreds of witches and wizards. It was built to be seemingly invisible until you made it through the entrance, which couldn’t be penetrated by muggles. The place was one of the oldest wizarding settlements in Europe. Eryn had only been there once when he was really young to see their Uncle Alphard; and if he remembered correctly the entrance was an abandoned house in a forest, opened with certain spells.

Their escort introduced herself as Euphemia Potter, a kind-faced older witch who smiled a lot. Right away she explained how their visits to Andromeda would play out.

“Andy told me about your situation, and I’m happy to help”, she began. “You two are to be in your assigned room every morning and evening, but I arranged with the faculty that you’re allowed to spend the rest of the day with your sister. I didn’t think it was a good idea to weigh down the excitement with the reality of an educational trip.

“But”, she continued as they exited the station and walked to a secluded alleyway. “If either of you are interested in learning more about the Secret Society, just let me know and I’ll find something in the schedule for you”.

Mrs. Potter took them to the entrance via side-along apparation. It was like Eryn remembered, a beautiful broken down Victorian house standing in a dark forest.

The three of them approached the door and Mrs. Potter cast a spell Eryn didn’t make out.

Inside the house could have been mistaken for a whole city. Buildings lined busy and crowded streets, all cramped together despite the vastness of the place. The ceiling was similar to the one in the great hall at Hogwarts, enchanted to match the sky outside.

“We’re just up here”, said Mrs. Potter, leading Eryn and Narcissa down the road. Narcissa appeared to be deeply fascinated with the scenery around them. She looked up at all of the lights and signs. Her eyes followed almost every person who passed them. Eryn, on the other hand, was beginning to feel deeply uncomfortable. The noise was overwhelming, and he couldn’t help the feeling of eyes landing on him. He hadn’t fully thought through the idea to crossdress that day; he was wearing a lacy black top that had once belonged to Bellatrix. The fact that he was going to a crowded area that day with people from distinctly different ideas and views. Eryn found the attention unsettling.

Their housing was located in what seemed to be a complex specifically reserved for the Society’s summer program. Based on the amount of rooms that were taken, Eryn concluded that the Society wasn’t commonly inhabited by families with children, and he wondered why.

“Alright, I’ll give you two the rest of the night to get settled and in the morning I’ll accompany you to Andromeda’s”, said Mrs. Potter after they’d set their things down in the room. “But we do need to go over some ground rules, standard protocol is all.

“One, you aren’t to leave the building without a staff member’s knowledge. And two, you are to be right here at 8 o’clock every night. The Society is notorious for Dark activity happening unnoticed until too late, so be careful. Any questions?”.

That last statement had answered Eryn’s question. He supposed it made sense why families wouldn’t want to live here.

Mrs. Potter cleared up a few of Narcissa’s confusions and then left the siblings to their own devices.

“She seemed nice”, said Narcissa.

“Yeah, glad we don’t have to study while we’re here”.

Narcissa sighed and sat down on her bed.

“I guess it’s happening then, we’re going to see Andy again”.

“You don’t sound that happy about it”.

“Well, I guess I’m just comprehending it all. We weren’t supposed to ever contact her again, and yet we are”.

Eryn nodded. “I’m tired”, he said. “We should get some sleep”.

“‘Night”.

***

Their sister was ecstatic to see them. She happily invited them into her home, a lovely little cottage on the outskirts of a village, and introduced them to her husband, Ted Tonks. Despite all the horrible things relatives said about him, Eryn found Ted quite friendly. He clearly loved Andromeda very much, and he treated Eryn and Narcissa kindly.

The summer felt like it went by in a blur of excitement and pure joy. Eryn spent a lot of time talking to Andy; about school, their family, and at some point he found himself telling her about Lucius.

“He’s in Narcissa’s year”, he said one day while they were sitting on the back porch with tea watching the sun set. “And there’s something about him, he keeps talking to me and sitting close to me and stuff like that”.

“I’m pretty sure he likes you, Eryn”.

“That’s what Pandora said, but I’m pretty sure his friends were the ones who wrote those things over my bed, if he wasn’t part of it, that is”.

“Hmm. You said he’s a Malfoy, right? There’s a chance those aren’t his actual friends, just people he feels like he needs to be around to be normal”.

“Even if he does fancy me, what am I supposed to do about it?”

“That depends. Do you feel the same way?”

Eryn stared off in the distance. The sun was getting quite low. He hugged his knees to his chest and sighed before he spoke again.

“I think so”.

“Then do what he’s been doing. Talk to him, be close with him. If he really likes you then he’ll catch on and then you can go from there”.

“What if he doesn’t? What if he’s just messing with me because it’s funny to play with the queer kid who won’t do anything about it?”

“Well, then that will suck. But I think you should shoot your shot, Eryn. You’re a tough kid, you can handle whatever ends up happening”.

Eryn sighed again and buried his face into his knees. Andromeda giggled.

“I love you, Eryn. You’re going to figure this out and maybe you’ll have a boyfriend by the end of it, who knows?”