Meetings and gossip
Prunella Fournier stared blankly at the man in front of her—the man who solely altered her life’s course.
As a teen, she had often wondered what it would be like to grow with Lily instead of in her shadow. What type of woman would she have become if this man hadn’t stuck his crooked nose where it didn’t belong?
But that was in her past. After all, she was quite happy with her life now.
He was but a bug that she wished to squash beneath her Louboutins. Although she would prefer not to mar the sole of the muggle shoes, they were rather lovely; the cushioning and self-cleaning charms allowed them to be a staple of her everyday outfit. Petunia Dursley would have been so envious.
As her toe bounced in a circle, she occluded her emotions and buried her intrusive thoughts behind the multitude of doors within her mind. It would not do to have old men waltzing through, so she barred the front door and raised the bridge. He would have to swim if he wished to attain her secrets.
Her brothers were masters of the art, and she felt her capabilities had improved immensely under their tutelage over the past month and a half. She was now able to mostly keep both of her brothers at bay, and it would be a tragedy if she somehow let this old man in.
“Lemon drop, Petunia?”
She wanted to hurl the bowl from the table, but instead, she took a deep breath and calmly replied, “It’s Prunella.”
Professor Dumbledore templed his hands and leaned back in his ornate chair, “I see.”
She didn’t grant him a response, continuing to glare at his left ear.
One of his hands moved to touch a file on his desk, “I see that your son will soon be joining us.”
Prunella sniffed as she turned away from him and toward the large window overlooking the grounds, “Unfortunately.”
“I can't help but feel you are being abnormally hostile with me, Petunia.” His voice was soft but held a sharp edge.
Her head whipped around to glare at the man who had the nerve to call her out, “Imagine that, me being indifferent to the man who denied me my schooling. And, as I stated before, it’s Prunella.”
He chuckled, “My dear, I cannot teach those who lack magic.”
Prunella smiled maliciously, “I see.”
Acting on the intrusive thoughts she had attempted to bury, she flicked her hand. The crystal bowl that housed the professor’s beloved lemon drops exploded, showering the office with minuscule tripping hazards.
“I assume you also believed those little bindings would hold?” She flexed her fingers, and the crystal shards on the floor vibrated intensely, “I'm afraid those pesky little things are long gone.”
He stared at the empty spot on his desk where the bowl had previously sat before turning slowly to her, his mouth opening to reprimand her for her brash actions.
Prunella raised a manicured finger to cut off any retort, "Before you start your high and mighty speech, you will listen to me.” She lifted a brow and waited for him to nod in agreement, “I have learned much about myself in the last decade. You also would have learned an interesting fact if you ever bothered to test me instead of jumping straight to bindings.”
Her gaze found a mirror on the wall, and she smiled at her reflection. Her once pale green eyes were now so pale they appeared grey, and when her magic was agitated, they glinted like molten silver. A small token she had inherited from the blood adoption.
She continued to smile as she wove the story she and her newfound brothers had crafted, "You would have learned that I was adopted." She turned and took delight in the slight widening of the old man's eyes.
She twirled a black curl between her fingers; she had worn it down to emphasize her story, "There never was much resemblance between Lily and me. Her red hair and vibrant green eyes, my black hair and grey eyes; No, I fear I only become a true sister to her after we completed that little blood oath ritual when we were seven."
The old man absently reached for his pocket, "Those are illegal."
Prunella flicked her eyes toward his pocket, causing the man to still, "Tell that to a muggle-born witch and adopted pure blood raised in the muggle world." Her eyes flicked back to the baby blue eyes behind half-moon spectacles, "We had no clue the simple wording would essentially bind our family lines. To think, muggle-raised children able to bind themselves so thoroughly at such a young age. If only we were taught what was right and not at an earlier age…"
Albus cleared his throat, cutting her off, and returned his hands to their templed state, “If you don't mind me asking, do you know your birth family?”
She sighed dramatically and tapped her nails on the chair arm, “When my husband found me, he helped to unbind my magics, but in doing so, he found that I had been ritually disowned.”
“You had no family at all listed? Usually, at least one or two of the outliers remain.” His tone told her he was not buying the story she was selling.
Prunella nodded sagely, "Yes, it turns out that while I may only be a sister by muggle adoption and blood oath to Lily, I actually am the half-sister of Severus."
Albus blinked owlishly and took a moment to think it over, "I knew old Ambrose wanted a male heir, but to my knowledge, the child was disposed of."
She hummed at the knowledge that he knew of the child, "Disposed of, dropped off in the muggle world... same thing.” She waved her hand in dismissal, “I fear someone in that household thought it too cruel to murder an infant." And, if he were to go snooping, he would find the only remaining Prince house elf would collaborate with their story, fessing up to dropping baby Prunella off at an orphanage. One in which her new stepmother had created a false trail for him if he wished to chase the crumbs.
The old man sighed, “So you are Severus's sister.”
“Half-sister, but yes.”
Dumbledore ran his fingers through his beard, "It is strange that you only found these truths as an adult."
Prunella nodded, "If only I had been able to do so when I was young. If only my parents hadn’t been murdered by death eaters before they could tell me I was adopted. There is much that I wish I knew earlier on in life, sir.”
He held up a hand, “Very well, very well. Now, on to the topic of your son.” He touched the file again, “Is he to attend Hogwarts just this year, or will he be remaining to finish out his schooling?”
Prunella stared at the wall of portraits of prior headmasters. She caught the wink of Phineus and held back a chuckle, “It is undecided. I enjoy the thought of him having family in the school, but he would be leaving much behind if he were to stay additional years.”
Dumbledore nodded, “Then we will deem his attendance this year as probationary.”
She nodded in understanding, “I can agree to that.”
“We will send a booklist within the next week. I have his transcripts here, and my deputy will verify that he is signed up for the appropriate classes. The booklist will be based on her decisions.”
“Very well. Now, will there be anything else? Dudley will be attending the World Cup this weekend, and I would like to spend some quality time with him before he’s off.”
He shook his head, “No, we are done. I look forward to welcoming Dudley in a few weeks.”
Prunella gave him a dry smile before strolling out of the room, meeting Severus at the bottom of the stairs.
He eyed the staircase and only spoke when the griffin came to a standstill, “How was it?”
She glanced back at the griffin, “Dull.”
Severus chuckled, “How I’ve missed your humor, dear sister. Come on, the rest are in Hogsmeade for lunch.” He eyes her shoes, “We will have to walk as the carriages are stowed away for the summer.”
Prunella chuckled, “I will alter my footwear when we reach the front lawn. I rather enjoy hearing myself saunter through the halls I was denied entry to so long ago.” She grinned sharply as she started off down the hall, “It’s therapeutic.”
He shook his head and followed in the wake of the sharp clacks on stone, “Women.”
Rita collapsed onto the couch, flinging off her robe and propping her feet onto the plush ottoman, “What news do you have for me today, my dearest little gossip?”
Her longtime roommate, Bertha Jorkins, hummed as she flicked the curtains closed, turning from the window, “Aside from this weekend’s World Cup?”
Rita rolled her eyes. Everyone was reporting on the World Cup; she wanted more.
Bertha smirked at her, knowing that sports commentating wasn’t her cup of tea, “Moody has asked for a leave of absence.”
The blonde’s brows rose as she waved over a bottle of wine, “Has he now?” She flicked a green talon along the top, and with a slight tug on her core, the cork vanished, “Why?”
Bertha fell onto the couch beside her, “Two reasons.” She held a finger up, “First, It appears he has a son he’s attempting to get to know.”
Rita couldn’t help but gape. The bottle was snatched from her fingers as she processed the news, “A son? Seriously?”
“That’s what I’ve heard.” Bertha chuckled and took a swig from the vintage red Rita favored after a long day.
Extending her hand for the wine, Rita asked, “What have you heard of the son?”
Bertha shrugged and took another swig before returning it, “His mother died last year. She lived in France, where she moved to avoid Moody ever finding out about his offspring. The boy became curious after his mother’s death; he wanted to know why his mother hid him away from his father.”
Rita’s mind raced as she drank heavily from the bottle, “I could imagine a few reasons...”
Pulling her brunette curls up into a bun, Bertha scoffed, “We all can. Yet, he’s been with him all summer. They have apparently got along thus far.”
“Interesting.” Rita passed the bottle back and reached into the basket on the side table for her nail file, “What’s the second reason?”
Bertha smirked as she smacked down her latest sip, “He’s to work at Hogwarts this upcoming year.”
Rita’s nail file stopped mid-pass, her eyes wide, “No.”
Bertha nodded, tipping the bottle upside down and finding it dry, “He’s to be security for the tournament. Dumbledore called in a favor.”
Setting the file down, Rita eyed her desk in the corner, thinking of the headlines, “I’ll need to persuade Cuff to give the tournament coverage to me…”
Bertha grinned at her, her face flushed red. She vanished the empty bottle and summoned another, “Oh, you’re very persuasive when you want to be.”
Rita grinned viciously as she snatched the bottle away, “True.”