The Broken Limbs of the House of Black
Quinn woke up from a nightmare, sweating violently and clutching her chest. She looked over at a small clock on the wall: 3 a.m. Quinn rolled off the bed and peeled off the clothes she had worn to the airport and changed into pajamas she dug out of her trunk. Suddenly, she was extremely hungry and she quietly peaked her door open to a dark and empty Burrow.
She tiptoed down the stairs and poured herself a glass of water. On the counter a plate was wrapped in magical foil, keeping her dinner warm. She smiled and grabbed the plate, stepping out onto the porch. She sat on the first step and crossed her legs, looking down at the meat and potatoes sizzling.
“Urm, sorry I didn’t think anyone was awake,” a voice behind Quinn said, causing her to yelp. She whipped around to see Harry sitting on a porch swing, drinking a cup of tea.
Quinn started to get up. “Sorry, I don’t want to bother you,” she mumbled, making her way back inside.
“No,” Harry said shyly, “you’re not bothering me.” He scooted over on the swing to make room for her. “The company would be nice.”
Quinn wordlessly sat next to Harry and began shoveling Molly’s dinner down her throat. “Thanks.”
Harry shrugged. “I know all this… Weasley business can be overwhelming. When I first came her I thought I would have to sleep in a closet again-”
“You had to sleep in a closet?!” Quinn blurted with her mouth full. “Fuck, sorry…I just, didn’t know about that” she mumbled, feeling embarrassed that she spit potatoes at the goddamn Choosen One.
Harry just chuckled. “They don’t print that shit in the papers,” he smiled. He looked back at the stars beyond the Burrow. “I get a lot of nightmares, too. Sometimes about my parents, sometimes about Voldemort…more recently about Cedric.”
“I heard about that,” Quinn said, putting her fork down. “I’m sorry about your friend.”
“Thanks. You know, nobody believes me. Molly tries to keep The Daily Prophet from me, but I know about the articles. That I made it up,” he shook his head. “I wish I made it up.”
They sat in silence, looking at the stars.
“I just learned my mom’s name today,” Quinn whispered. Harry turned back to her. “My Aunt… she took an Unbreakable Vow. She was never able to tell me anything about my parents, I didn’t even know they were from here until she died.” Quinn put her plate on the ground and hugged her knees.
Harry thought for a moment. “Well now that you’re here, you can figure it out.”
Quinn realized how right he was. She had Molly now, she could ask her about where she came from. She was sure Hogwarts had records of her mother’s time at school. She could ask the professors, hell, she could even ask the ghosts!
“If you ever want to talk,” Harry stood, “or not talk. I’m staying up in Ron’s room in the attic.” He sent her a nod and walked back into the Burrow.
For the first time in months, Quinn felt hope.
***
“Quinn… QUINN… Blimey, George, how do you reckon we wake her up?”
“I’ve got an idea.”
Suddenly a wave of water splashed over Quinn’s face, jolting her awake. She sat upright to see the ginger twins giggling over her. “Morning, princess!” one of them laughed.
“Is that the way you all wake up on this side of the pond?” Quinn grumbled, throwing a pillow at the boys.
The boys laughed and made their way to the door.
“We’re leaving in 5 minutes!”
***
Quinn stumbled down the stairs 4 and a half minutes later. She was still zipping her jeans when Molly shoved a muffin in her face.
“Good morning, Quinn!” Molly beamed, handing her a cup of tea.
“Uh, thank you,” Quinn said.
One of the twins (Quinn thinks George?) puts his arm over her shoulder. “You ever used the Floo Network?”
“The what?”
George laughs, “Hopefully you won’t end up in Knockturn Alley like Harry did his first time.” Harry, between a bite of his eggs, flips off George while Molly’s back is turned. George ruffles Quinn's hair and makes his way into the living room where the rest of the group had gathered. Quinn sends a slightly nervous look to Harry who gives her a thumbs up. Quinn took a deep breath, took a bite of her muffin and joined the group in the living room.
Arthur looks up from The Daily Prophet when Quinn enters, “Not a morning person are we?” he asks, “You and Ron have something in common.” He looks over to Ron who is snoring on the couch fully dressed. Quinn couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of the redhead drooling onto the couch cushions. Arthur stood from his chair and loudly clapped, jolting Ron off the couch and on top of Hermione.
“Get off me, Ronald!” Hermione squeaked, “you’re getting drool all over me.”
Ron grumbled while Ginny laughed along with Hermione. Ginny stood to stand by Quinn.
“How did you sleep?” Ginny asked, looking worried at her new friend.
“Okay… when I woke up I completely forgot where I was, until your brothers poured water all over me,” Quinn nodded her head over to the twins who were whispering suspiciously in the corner.
“WHAT?!” Ginny screamed. She stormed over to her brothers giving them both a smack on the head, “honestly, you two are unbelievable! Hazing our guest in less than 24 hours of her arrival!” Quinn chuckled at the wide looks the redheaded twins shared as they looked terrified of their younger sister.
“Now, now,” Arthur separated the siblings before Ginny drew blood, “let’s start for the Leaky Cauldron. I told Lupin and Snuffles we’d meet them and the kids at the Leaky Cauldron.”
Harry and Molly came into the living room as Fred and George hopped into the fireplace. Quinn had seen a lot of strange things since learning she was a witch, but throwing ash onto yourself to travel across the country was certainly something she had never witnessed before. Harry, Ron and Hermione took their turn as Ginny showed her how to use the Floo Network. She lightly pushed Quinn into the fireplace and Arthur handed her some ash. Here goes nothing, Quinn thought, closing her eyes.
“THE LEAKY CAULDRON, LONDON.”
***
Quinn stumbled out of a strange fireplace and right into the arms of the twins. They laughed as they all nearly fell onto the floor of the pub.
“Thought you might need a hand,” Fred chuckled, wiping some of the ash off Quinn's face.
“Thank you,” Quinn said, feeling stiff at the contact.
Fred just smiled. “You’re a Weasley now, whether you like it or not.”
George chirped in, “and we Weasley's stick together!”
Quinn smiled at the boys. She was already fond of the pair.
“Oh, oh,” George squealed, “before Mum gets here, let’s take her to Zonkos!”
Fred smirked and grabbed Quinn’s hand, pulling her out of the pub. “What the hell is Zonkos,” Quinn asked, starting to lose her breath as they weaved through the crowds of Diagon Alley. She didn’t have much time to marvel at the street or all the different stores she was dying to see.
“You’ll see,” Fred said, grinning back at her. But before they could reach the opening of the door Molly Weasley apparated in front of them.
“Boys!” she hit them on the head, “You scared me half to death!” She grabbed Quinn from the boy's arms. “We have to take her to Gringotts, her mother left her some money.”
The boys groaned and entered the joke shop, dejected.
“My mom left me money?” Quinn asked as Molly made her way towards a marble building at the end of the street.
“Of course, sweetheart,” Molly replied, “I’m surprised Kendra never told you.”
“She was under a Vow,” Quinn said, causing Molly to stop in her tracks, as if remembering a secret.
“Right,” Molly mumbled.
They continued towards the bank, but Quinn still had more questions.
“Can you…tell me anything about her? And Kendra?” Quinn asked quietly, “I didn’t even know her name until you said it yesterday.”
They were at the entrance of the bank when Molly turned to her sadly and grabbed her hands. “I’ll tell you as much as I can.”
Quinn furrowed her eyebrows. “Are there things you can’t tell me?”
Molly turned red but sighed heavily, “Hopefully one day, you’ll learn everything,” she opened the door to Gringotts and continued, “but I can tell you about Ana.”
They got into line as goblins spoke to witches and wizards all around the room. Quinn was too focused on Molly to marvel at the building any longer. She wanted answers.
“What house was she in at Hogwarts? Was Kendra a witch too? Who were their parents? How did you know them-”
“One question at a time,” Molly chuckled, “your mom was in Ravenclaw.”
Ravenclaw.
“And Kendra? What house was she in?”
Molly looked uncomfortable. “She didn’t go to Hogwarts.”
“What do you mean?”
“Ana and Kendra’s parents are wizards but Kendra didn’t inherit it.”
Aunt Kendra was a Squib.
“Wait, my grandparents, are they still alive?”
Molly stiffened, "Oh look! They’re ready for us.”
They made their way to a goblin and Molly began to show them her and Quinn’s identification and wands. But Quinn wasn’t listening.
Why did she evade the question? Who were her grandparents?
Before she knew it, Quinn was sitting in a terrifying roller coaster through the dungeons of the bank. Molly looked green, holding onto her hat for dear life before the goblin abruptly stopped in front of a small safe. The goblin opened it and Quinn was ripped from her racing thoughts when she saw the large amount of gold that stood in front of her. She tentatively stepped inside as Molly collected some money for Quinn to take to school into a small canvas bag.
Quinn picked up a sickle and examined it. She ran her fingers over the engravings and saw the year it was made. 1995. She frowned. If her mother had set up the account before she died, why was the money so recent? She decided it was best to keep this clue to herself, Molly didn’t seem like she was ready to give her all the answers quite yet.
Soon, Mrs. Weasley and Quinn were back on the streets of Diagon Alley, making their way back to the Leaky Cauldron.
“The rest of them should be getting butterbeers with the others now,” Molly smiled.
“The others?”
Molly thought for a moment and sighed, realizing she couldn’t keep everything a secret. “As you know… He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has returned,” Quinn couldn’t help but shiver at the thought of the man who had her Aunt murdered lurking around the corner, “your mother was apart of a group during the first war. The Order of the Phoenix. We fought against him and his Death Eaters. We’ve had to band together again.”
Quinn suddenly realized that all the things she had read in books and newspapers were actually happening, right in front of her eyes. She may have not been safe in America, but she certainly wasn’t safe here either.
“I’m sorry you had to pay the price of this war, Quinn,” Molly shook her head. “Your mom was killed in the first war…by a Death Eater. They thought you would be safe with your Aunt. But it seems as if you cannot outrun the past.”
“Who’s they?” Quinn asked, slightly annoyed at Molly’s vague answers.
Molly shook her head. “Another day.”
Molly opened the pub door and they made their way to a large booth in the back, where two other figures had joined Arthur, the teens nowhere to be seen.
A woman with bright pink hair stood when she saw Molly, giving her a hug. “Molly! We were about to send out a search party!” the woman turned to Quinn and grinned, “the woman of the hour! I’m Tonks, best Auror in the Order!”
A man with deep scars across his face chuckled, “Debatable.”
Tonks turned to him as her hair turned bright orange, “Shut it, Remus!”
Molly gestured to the man Tonks was glaring at. “This is Remus Lupin, he used to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts.”
Lupin smiled at Quinn, “And this,” he said, gesturing to a shaggy black dog sitting under the table, “is Snuffles. But you can meet him properly later.” He winked. Quinn had no idea what he was talking about but waved at the dog who seemed to smile back at her. “The kids are outside. We’ve got to…” he trailed off, suddenly serious, “talk shop.”
Quinn nodded. “It was nice meeting you both.” She turned to leave, wondering what the Order of the Phoenix had to talk about.
As soon as she opened the door outside, she was greeted with shouts from the group.
“Why can’t I hit on her if she’s hot? It’s not like she’s actually your sister,” a male voice laughed as the twins shook their heads, not noticing Quinn in the doorway.
“I know we met her yesterday, but she’s family now. You better watch it, Black,” George pointed his finger at the brunette boy who was chuckling with a cigarette hanging from his mouth. Quinn almost choked on her own spit when the boy peered up from the dark curls framing his forehead. His eyes were piercing and his lips lifted into a smirk when they made eye contact.
“Speak of the devil,” the boy mused, “you must be Quinn.”
The group turned to her in the doorway and she could feel the heat rising in her cheeks as she realized they were all staring at her.
Ginny patted the chair next to her and Quinn obliged, suddenly feeling self-conscious.
A brunette girl smiled at her from across the table, “Don’t mind Leo. He’s a sleaze,” the girl glared at the boy next to her, who mimed being stabbed in the chest. “I’m Lyra Black, and that’s my idiot twin Leo.”
“Are there a lot of twins at Hogwarts?” Quinn laughed. Leo smirked at her and winked. Merlin, were all British boys so attractive?
Lyra smiled at her. “You’d be surprised,” she pointed to the blonde girl who sat across from them, “and this is our cousin, Phoebe Tonks.”
Phoebe smiled at Quinn and shook her hand. “Did my sister say something about being the best Auror in the Order?”
“Yes, actually,” Quinn laughed as Harry pushed a mug of butterbeer towards her. He gave her a nod, making sure she was okay. She smiled back. She took a sip and marveled at the way it tasted like velvet as it coated her throat.
“We were just discussing which house we thought you’d be sorted into,” Hermione chimed from the end of the table. “I think Ravenclaw, since they match the most with the Horned Serpent.”
“But I said, she’s got to be a Gryffindor!” Ginny butted in.
“How do they pick houses at Ilvermorny?” Phoebe asked.
Quinn smiled, remembering how exciting it was when she chose her house. “I’ve read about the Hogwarts ceremony and it’s much different at Ilvermorny. The four houses have a statue that comes alive when a student that they want comes forward. More than one house can come forward, and the student gets to choose.”
“How many came forward for you?” Lyra asked, intrigued.
“Four,” Quinn blushed. She remembered how surprised all the professors had been that day when all four houses wanted her.
“All of them?” Hermione yelled, “That’s so rare! I read that only a handful of wizards have been chosen by them all!”
“Blimey, that’s impressive,” Ron said.
“Why’d you choose the Horned Serpent?” Ginny asked.
“I was 11 and I liked snakes,” Quinn laughed, “I didn’t put much thought into it.”
Leo smirked. “Then Slytherin might be it. Ron, fork over that galleon now.”
Ron rolled his eyes at the boy. “You have no faith!”
“As much as I would love to have you in Gryffindor with me,” Leo winked, “I’m set to make five galleons off the Weasley’s if you get sorted into Slytherin.”
“I’ll try my best,” Quinn smirked.
She had never really had friends at Ilvermorny, and she had been sure the same would be true at her new school. But this group was so welcoming and loving that she couldn’t help but wonder if she had always been missing out on this. Friendship.
Phoebe flicked Leo on the nose, pulling Quinn from her thoughts.
“Stop drooling over the newbie, Leo, it’s disgusting.”Quinn blushed, she couldn’t deny the flirting was nice. She wasn’t sure anyone had ever flirted with her before.
“You wouldn’t say that if I was staring at the Mona Lisa!” Leo retorted, flicking Phoebe back. Ron rolled his eyes. Fred and George gagged.
“It’s a wonder you get any girls at all with those lines,” Harry laughed. Leo glared at him.
“Well, not all of us are the Chosen One, Harold,” Leo took another drag of his cigarette before tossing it on the ground and stomping on it with his sneaker. “Some of us have to work for things,” he mumbled as he stood and left the patio, slamming the door shut behind him.
Lyra shook her head and put hand on Harry’s arm, whispering an apology. Harry shook it off and rose as well, going back into the Leaky Cauldron.
Fred shook his head. “Don’t mind that, Quinn, Leo and Harry have a…tense relationship ever since-”
Lyra suddenly rose as well, clearing her throat. “I’m going to check on them,” she mumbled. She smiled at Quinn, “I hope to see you at the Ravenclaw table,” then she was gone.
Phoebe shook her head, “Sorry about that Quinn, my cousin is not very good at hiding his resentment for Harry.”
“Why does he resent Harry?” Quinn asked.
“It’s…complicated,” Phoebe murmured, looking at the others as if to see if she was revealing too much. “ Lyra and Leo’s father is also Harry’s Godfather and Leo has not been able to forgive his dad for being absent in their lives until recently but being so devoted to looking out for Harry.”
“Not to mention, Harry is dating his sister,” Ginny mumbled, which earned her a glare from Hermione.
“That doesn’t help matters,” Phoebe sighed.
“Wait,” Quinn’s head was going a mile a minute, trying to piece together the names she had read in books about the first wizarding war, “who is their dad?”
The group shared a look before Ginny rolled her eyes and said “Sirius Black.”
“Sirius Black?” Quinn’s jaw dropped, pointing to the Wanted sign tacked up on the wall behind her. “That Sirius Black?”
“The one and only,” Fred said, “and you already met him.”
Quinn looked around confused and the whole table bursted into laughter.
***
The group gave Quinn the abridged version of events from the past few years, helping her fill in some blanks that the history books and newspapers had left out.
“So, you’re telling me that you slept with that man in your bed for three years?”
Phoebe, Hermione and Ginny couldn’t hide their giggles as Ron turned beat red, “He was a rat at the time, not a grown man!”
“Still,” Quinn said, clutching her ribs from laughter, “that’s so creepy.”
“Well those two knuckleheads,” Ron said, pointing accusingly at Fred and George who simply shrugged, “never said anything about some guy named Peter Petergriew sharing a bed with me every night on their bloody magic map.”
“It didn’t seem relevant at the time,” Fred put.
“It didn’t seem relevant?” Ron nearly screamed, staring at his older brothers in disbelief.
“We don’t know what you’re into,” George added.
The girls were all clutching their stomachs, nearly falling out of their chairs as they laughed at Ron who mumbled something about finding Harry with the twins following him asking if he fed Scabbers cheese.
Suddenly Hermione jumped out of seat and checked her watch, “Blimey, Quinn, the robe shop is about to close!” She yanked Quinn from her chair and stepped onto the street outside the Leaky Cauldron patio, Phoebe and Ginny following closely behind.
Hermione dragged her all the way to a small robe shop and went to go find a manager. Ginny glanced behind them and shook her head, “well look who it is, the albino ferret of Slytherin.”
Quinn whipped around to see a tall blonde boy towering over the trio of girls. Quinn could see what Ginny was talking about, the boy was incredibly pale. So pale, in fact, that you could nearly make out the blue veins pumping blood to his forehead. Another boy was standing slightly behind him, he had curly brown hair and deep brown eyes. But Quinn couldn’t keep her eyes off the blonde boy.
He seemed to command power, he didn’t flinch at the nickname the youngest Weasley had thrown at him and he certainly didn’t look like he gave a fuck. His steel gray eyes pierced each girl individually. “It looks like the blood traitors found a new pet,” he said, getting a slight chuckle from the boy behind him.
Phoebe and Ginny didn’t seem fazed by the pretentious attitude of the blonde, though, because Phoebe simply smiled, “it’s good to see you too, cuz.”
This seemed to get a reaction out of the blonde. His jaw clenched and he glared at the girl in front of him, “You are no family of mine, I think you’ll find your mother’s limb on the Black family tree has been severed, Tonks.”
Phoebe just smiled, which seemed to piss the boy off even more. “That’s my sister’s name, Draco.”
“Leave us alone, Malfoy,” Hermione said, stepping in between the estranged cousins.
The boy behind Malfoy smirked at Hermione’s sudden appearance. “Hey Hermione, do you think you could tutor me again in Charms?”
Hermione blushed but quickly recovered. “In your dreams, Theo.”
“Every night,” Theo winked as Malfoy rolled his eyes.
“Why the fuck are you flirting with a Mudblood, Nott?” The boy snarled.
“Don’t call her that,” Quinn snapped. She didn’t even realize that she had spoken, let alone taken a step towards the blonde who had a few inches on her. She had never heard someone use that slur before, the students of Illvermorny were never focused on blood status but from what she read about the Sacred Twenty-Eight and blood supremacy in the U.K, she knew Hogwarts would be running rampant with assholes like this.
Malfoy took a step forward, taking in Quinn’s frame. She didn’t squirm under his gaze, as much as her body wanted to, she refused to give the man of stone the satisfaction of seeing her uncomfortable. “And who are you?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” she said sweetly before lifting her knee straight into the blonde’s groin.
Malfoy keeled over in pain, clutching his nether regions while his friend stood back and laughed at his anguish. “Shut the hell up and help me Nott!” Malfoy screamed and Nott reluctantly opened the door to the shop.
Malfoy staggered out but not before saying, “I swear I’ll get you back for that.”
Nott simply smiled at the girls and bowed. “See you around, ladies,” he said before the door swung shut behind him.
Quinn turned back to Phoebe, Hermione and Ginny who stared at her in complete disbelief.
“What?” Quinn shrugged, “He deserved it.”
Ginny slapped her knee. “I told you Calloway’s gonna be a Gryffindor!”
“That was better than the punch I gave him back in third year,” Hermione said while attacking Quinn in a hug. “I think I’m in love with you,” she whispered before kissing her on the cheek.
Phoebe just shook her head. “You better pray he never figures out your name.”
“Why?”
“‘Cause Malfoy never breaks a promise.”