Chapter 5
The moon was already faint to be seen in the sky when the meeting was finished. Miss Jones and the Weasley Boy had left already around one hour ago. They seemed to have gotten along quite well, one could see a friendship growing.
Sirius finished his tea, sighed and stood up. “Well, my dear Remus, it's getting dark and I think we’re all getting a bit tired.” Remus nodded in agreement and went to fetch his jacket.
“Andy it was great to see you again, you're still my favorite cousin if you're wondering by the way, we'll be in contact right?” Sirius asked, directing the question at Cecilia, who just nodded tiredly.
The two Black cousins gave each other a long hug, before the two men left the house and disappeared.
Now it was just Cecilia, Andromeda and a huge silence in the room. Nymphadora had been picked up by the Auror Alastor moody at some point during the meeting. The slightly intimidating wizard seemed to be her mentor while also being a member of the phoenix.
Cecilia took the men’s leaving as her clue to also make her way home but Andromeda seemed to have other things in mind.
“Well Celia, don't even think about leaving before having a proper chat with me. I'm sure that there's a lot to catch up on.”, she said.
To be honest, the only thing Cecilia wanted was to lay in her bed and recover from this eventful day but deep in her heart she knew that she owed it to her old friend. After all it was Cecilia who had disappeared all those years ago and who hadn’t reached out anymore.
But being confronted with her past at this hour?
Didn’t seem very tempting.
“Just sit white me a while, alright? I’m not gonna force you but I too have things I want to share and with you I never know when I’ll have the chance again. So just listen, please?”, asked Andromeda with a shy smile on her lips.
How on earth could Cecilia refuse this request?
And so Andromeda began to tell her about her life after the catastrophic war. She had married her former lover, Ted Tonks and together they had raised their daughter, who had found a second home in Hufflepuff and had already graduated a few years ago.
“She has a lot of Ted's temper, only the stubbornness, that’s through and through Black family genes.”, laughed Andromeda.
“Luckily she doesn’t have Bella’s temper, can you imagine?”, answered Cecilia with a smirk.
They both went silent for a moment until Andromeda dared to ask quietly, “ Did you ever see her again?”
1981
Cecilia could perfectly recall their last encounter.
By then Bella had already been too far gone for any help. The madness had overtaken her eyes completely. Her appearance hadn’t been as rundown as now and the witch’s hair also seemed to be somewhat clean.
But still, Cecilia was pretty sure that the young woman she had once known was gone.
The war was in its last stage, it was obvious that the ministry and its allies had almost won. Even the majority of death eaters had realized their defeat and were hysterically finding a way to seem innocent or to flee the country as soon as possible. The dark lord had been defeated by Harry Potter, who back then was still a baby. Only his most loyal supporters were still active and searching for their defeated master.
Among them Bellatrix Lestrange.
She and a few other death eaters had just tortured the Longbottoms into insanity, causing horrendous uproar in the wizarding community.
The Longbottoms had been a very liked couple by many and the last ones deserving of falling victim to such cruelty.
Both the ministry’s aurors and Dumbledore's order were desperately on the hunt for the remaining, most loyal death eaters.
The last years of constant war had damaged the witches and wizards greatly. A lot of families had been torn apart, and frankly most were incredibly tired of the horrendous news and fights.
Cecilia felt the same way. Despite her young age her body and mind felt heavy. In the beginning the young witch had been determined to fight against the dark lord and to simultaneously save her lover and friend from his claws.
Now, ten years later, the good side had finally won. But Bellatrix and Cecilia remained on opposite sides. And even worse, Bellatrix seemed to be as determined as always.
Cecilia wanted to get up and finish this war alongside the aurors and the order. She really wanted to, but she couldn't. There was no willpower, no strength left inside of her.
For almost two months now the castoff Black sister, Andromeda, had offered her shelter at her house. Even though she and her husband did not participate in the numerous fights, her house had become a safe house for members of Dumbledore's army.
Cecilia's body ached from injuries from death eaters. On most of her left forearm a bandage hid a terrible wound. In an act of desperation and hysteria the witch had tried to hollow out her arm, attempting to remove a well known tattoo. With the little strength she had left, Cecilia had managed to apparate to Andromeda's house, collapsing at the door.
With the help from the talented madam Pomfrey she had managed to block the tattoo from reappearing. It had been a tedious process and even after the procedure Cecilia had spent the following week unconscious. Even now she could still feel a faint throbbing underneath her skin.
One month after Voldemort's fall the news finally came: Bellatrix Lestrange and her radical group had been captured and were awaiting their trial.
Now, after almost a decade, the wizarding world could finally take a breath. With the capture of the last dangerous death eaters the war had been officially won. Now it was time to rebuild and recover.
In the Tonks house there was a strange atmosphere. Both women, Andromeda and Cecilia, were grieving. Grieving for a girl they had once known and loved. A girl who now was, without a doubt, no more. Bellatric Lestrange, the cruel and insane witch, had now taken the place of Bella Black, the big sister, the caring lover.
The trial was a freakshow.
Andromeda had chosen to stay at home, not wanting to look her insane sister in the face. The death eaters were standing in cages, repeating their loyalty to the dark lord over and over again. The audience had repulsed and disgusted looks on their faces. Aside from the parlament, there were civilians and, of course, the press documenting each word being said.
Cecilia didn't care about the lestrange brothers or even Barty crouch jr..
Her eyes were fixated on Bellatrix. Out of all four she seemed to be the most determined in her belief of the dark lord's return. She was dirty and her long hair was a mess but the witch didn't seem to care or notice.
Suddenly her wild eyes met Cecilias and for a moment she became calm. Only now Cecilia noticed how tired Bella looked. Her skin had a sick grayish colour to it and rather than insane, her eyes almost seemed exhausted and worn out. Ceilia couldn't determine if Bella had seen her too or if she had just become weary of tearing at her thick iron chains. Either way, it didn't really matter anymore.
All of a sudden Cecilia couldn't hold it in anymore. All of the pain, anger and exhaustion from the last years rose up in her chest at the sight of Bella's eyes. Already, Cecilia could feel tears beginning to make their way down her cheeks. Almost as if in trance she broke eye contact and pushed her way past the people towards the door. The ministry halls seemed blurry as she desperately searched for the exit, gasping for air. Witches and wizards looked at her strangely and some even offered their help but Cecilia couldn't speak. The only thing she needed was fresh air, now.
Out on the street the witch fell to her knees, completely exhausted and not caring what passers-by thought at the sight of her. She let all her emotions flow out of her, sobbing, not able to stand up straight anymore.
Cecilia didn't know how long her breakdown had lasted but at some point she must have lost consciousness.
The witch awoke in a white and hard hospital bed. Before she could even open her mouth a nurse rushed to her side, explaining how a stranger had brought her in just a few hours ago. They had stabilized her circulation, changed her bandage and given her something against the pain.
“We’d like to keep you here for a few days , is that alright with you? Only for observation and maybe you have something specific you need to talk about. Your issues seemed to be caused by extreme emotional distress.”
Even though the nurse seemed nice and caring Cecilia couldn't and didn't want to talk about the incident. Luckily, the nurse understood and just advised her to get some rest.
During her stay in the hospital, the main thing Cecilia did was sleep. She noticed how much she had needed a break in her life. The painkillers were numbing her brain a bit, allowing her to not think, for once. Not about the past, the future or even the present. It was nice.
On her release day Cecilia decided to not return to Andromeda's house. She had been a burden long enough. And seeing a face so similar to Bellatrix everyday? Cecilia wasn't sure if she could bear it. At least not yet. The one thing she needed was space. Andromeda too deserved a new life with her little family, detached from her past and her family which hadn't shown her the love she needed.
So Cecilia took one step after another, figuring out and building new life.