Celestial Beings

“Fear, despair, anger, hatred. Simple, easy-to-manage emotions.” a disembodied voice lectured. “But only if you have the strength to do so. Otherwise, you’re no better than those mud-bloods and half-breeds. And what would your father say if he saw you like this?”
(Y/n) looked up, a broken mirror showing a small, bloodied child. Tears streamed down her face as she tried to scream but no sound came out. She tried to stand, to move anything other than her head, but to no avail. Her limbs felt like lead, too heavy to lift.
“Poor (y/n), can’t even stop sniveling for a moment, can you?” Lucius appeared behind her in the mirror in a puff of black smoke. His hand grabbed at the back of her neck, squeezing tight. “Look at yourself, the mess you’ve made! You’re a failure! Incompetent, foolish, nothing more than a cockroach to be squashed beneath someone’s foot!”
The scene changed as he threw her to the ground, the black room turning into the gardens at Malfoy Manor. It was nighttime, a full moon illuminated the sky as she made her way through the hedge maze. The sound of a twig snapping behind her made the hairs on her arms stand up, fear rushing through her veins. She whipped around only to be met with the snarling face of Fenrir Greyback. His face contorted in an expression of wicked pleasure, hands grabbing her arms and pulling her towards him, close enough that his putrid breath was searing her nostrils.
“Lookie here, my favorite chew toy.” He growled, claws digging into her flesh. “Now come on, be a good little bunny and run. I want to have some fun.” he pushed her towards a path, causing her to stumble into the green walls to catch herself. She turned to run, but then everything changed again.
This time she was in a quarry with Lucius, on a boat in the middle of the water. He was covered in water and she was gasping for air, her hair wet, hands tied behind her back. He hoisted her up over the edge, throwing her beneath the water, and watched as she sank. She tried to use her feet to swim up, but they had been tied together as well. Her lungs felt like they were on fire, that they would explode, her head was pounding.
Sirius jumped when he heard it, (Y/n)‘s scream. She was thrashing in her sleep, eyes shut tight. He scrambled out of his chair and tried shaking her awake.
“(Y/n) wake up!” He started to shout as he shook her. “(Y/n), you’re safe! (Y/n)!”
She woke up after a few more seconds, pushing Sirius away like he was the one causing her nightmares. She looked around the room, getting her bearings. She looked at Sirius who was as pale as a ghost, his eyes wide.
“Sorry, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to push you.” she apologized, clenching her fists. “Had a bad dream, I thought you were… someone else for a second.”
“Are you okay?” Sirius questioned, taking in a few deep breaths. “You were thrashing around, screaming like you were being killed.”
“I’m fine, just a bad dream is all.” (Y/n) assured, trying to get her breathing under control. She rubbed her face, helping to calm herself. “I feel so, so stupid for scaring you like that. I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.”
“Hey, no it’s okay.” Sirius gave her a comforting smile. “I get them too, it just happens sometimes.”
“No, I should be better than that. I need to be better than that.” (Y/n) stood up and walked over to her desk. “I’m not supposed to be scared anymore, I’m supposed to be scary.”
“It’s human to be scared, it’s a normal reaction.” Sirius told her. Remus and Molly both rushed into the room, looking sleepy and confused.
“We thought… didn’t someone scream?” Molly asked, curlers in her hair still. Sirius pointed at (y/n), who was unfolding her piece of parchment and scribbling something else down.
“I’m fine, he’s fine, no one is seriously injured.” she said in a monotone voice. “I may have pushed him though, and judging by how he keeps rubbing his elbow he’s gonna have a bruise or two.”
“What the hell happened?” Remus demanded, frantically looking between (y/n) and Sirius. “Someone explain something!”
“She was having a nightmare, a terrible one by the looks of it.” Sirius admitted. (Y/n) glared at him, picking up a light book and throwing it towards him. “Merlin’s beard! They aren’t going to think you’re weak or whatever!”
“Stop telling people things about me! I’ve had enough of you lot all whispering around me, treating me like I’m as fragile as a pixie’s wing!” (Y/n)‘s face was red, whether from embarrassment or anger no one was certain. “I never said it was a nightmare either, just a bad dream! That’s all it was, a bad bad dream that I’ll never have to live through again.”
“(Y/n), Sirius is right, it doesn’t make you seem any more weak.” Remus sighs exasperated. “Throwing a book like a toddler however…”
“Remus Lupin, you’re not helping!” Molly shushed him, lightly slapping his arm. “You two boys go finish whatever you need to finish, wake up the boys and have them start too. Go on, hurry it up!” the older woman commanded, waving the two men out of the cell.
“I’m fine, you can go too if you want.” (Y/n) lied, wiping a few stray tears from her eyes. “You’ve still got your, erm what are those exactly? It’s on the tip of my…Curlers! Go and take them out, before your hair gets all tangled and whatever.”
“Oh my hair’ll be fine, dear.” Molly snapped her fingers and the curlers vanished, her hair falling down around her face gently. “Now be honest with me, I won’t tell the boys either, what’s wrong?”
“Mrs. Weasley I truly want to tell you, but I’m in enough trouble as is.” (Y/n) looked the woman in her eyes. “I just can’t risk anymore retribution from, You-Know-Who. Or Lucius. I can’t.”
“Oh honey…” Molly ran over and hugged the young woman tightly, gently petting her hair down. “Honey, I know it’s hard to come to terms with, but I don’t think he would act any differently even if you escaped and figured out all of our plans. Telling us about your bad dreams hardly seems consequential.”
(Y/n) had very rarely experienced anything close to the caring nature of Molly Weasley. Narcissa Malfoy was the closest thing she had had to a mother, and her priority had always been her own son. The small act of kindness that Molly had given her was more than enough to cause her to burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably. She let herself feel everything she had been bottling up over the past month and a half or so.
“It’s okay, let it out honey. Just let it all out.” Molly assured her softly.
Neither of them knew how long they were like that, but by the time (y/n) stopped a younger redhead girl and a curly-haired brunette were at the door with breakfast. The brunette knocked on the concrete wall, startling the two women.
“Sorry to interrupt, Mom, but we brought breakfast.” the redhead said, holding up two plates of eggs and toast. “Sirius told us to bring them down for you.”
“That’s alright Ginny, dear. Just set them on the chair next to the door.” Molly pointed at it. “And Hermione, will you be a lamb and grab up the dishes I left here last night? I meant to do it this morning but I’ve been a bit busy.”
“Of course, Mrs. Weasley.” the brunette smiled, nervously glancing at (y/n) as she gathered the dishes. “Profes- sorry, Remus and Sirius also told us to tell you that they should be finished by lunch. The twins are double-checking a few of the spells and Ron is testing from outside.”
“Thank you, girls. Will you two tell Sirius and Remus to come and get us when they’re ready? I imagine (y/n) might want at least her books to be brought up with her.” Molly smiled, still partially hugging her.
“With?” (Y/n) clarified, confused at the plans. “You mean that you’re all actually letting me out of this room?” she sniffled lightly, rubbing her face clean of any tears or snot.
“Did you think we were lying?” Molly asked, looking at her. “We were being honest when we said we could find a way to give you some freedom. It’s not a lot, you’ll mostly be moved from one small cage into a much bigger one, but it’s the first step.”
“Mom, are you sure about this, especially with Har-”
“Yes Ginny, I am. Tonks will also be coming shortly too, next week I think.” Molly cut her daughter off abruptly. “Besides, the entire Order has taken a vote, we came to an agreement and this is what that is. I understand your reluctance, but that is no way to behave in front of (y/n). Now go on back upstairs, both of you. Hurry up!” she called after them, listening for the sound of their footsteps to have dissipated. “Sorry about that, she’s just overly cautious.”
“It’s fine, I’m just still trying to understand why you’re all letting me out in the first place.” (Y/n) said, taking the plate Molly handed her. She took a bite out of the toast, face grimacing slightly. Molly followed suit, politely spitting the chewed-up toast out onto her plate.
“Either Ginny hasn’t ever listened to a single thing I’ve told her about cooking, or Ron made breakfast, in which case I wouldn’t eat the eggs if I were you. He can cook dinner pretty well, but he’s always struggled with breakfast.” Molly set her plate to the wide and chuckled. “Now, how are you feeling?”
“I don’t know.” (Y/n) admitted, pushing the plate of food toward the end of her desk. “I’ve never really been good with my own feelings, not that I was ever given the chance to be. Lucius maintains the idea that emotions are the same thing as a poison dagger, they’ll kill you if you touch them.”
“I wish I could say I was surprised by that, but it is fairly obvious to anyone who meets him.” Molly starts folding the pile of clothes (y/n) had in the corner. “And I’m sure your father is even worse, Lucius is a coward and truly only follows whatever You-Know-Who tells him.”
“Yeah, that’s pretty true.” the younger woman concedes. “I guess, what I’m trying to say is I can’t tell what I’m feeling. I think I’m feeling a lot of things all at once, and they’re all not mixing well. I just wish that I was strong enough to… I don’t know, do what I want instead of worrying about what my father had planned for me.”
“So do something small first.” Molly yawns. “If telling us how you’re feeling is still too out there for you, start small and work your way up. Start with a small want, something easy that if he found out wouldn’t result in whatever various torture method he would think up.”
“Even small acts would cause that.” (Y/n) groaned, head resting in her hands now. “Every mistake, no matter how small, results in the same thing; punishment.”
“Well then, if it’s all going to end the same way, why not just do it anyways?” Molly asked, eyeing her. “I don’t mean to sound pushy, but if talking about how you’re feeling and also divulging secrets gets you the same level of punishment, why bother?”
“I-I don’t…I guess I’ve never really thought about it. It’s just what I’ve always done.” (Y/n) opened the book she was reading from the night before. “I’ll think on it. Thank you, Mrs. Weasley.”
“I’ll be right back, I’m just going to run these up the stairs and set them by the door. Is that okay?” Molly held up the pile of folded dirty clothes. (Y/n) nodded, turning the page of her book.
Molly quickly made her way up the stairs, giving (y/n) some time to think alone for once. The Weasley woman opened the basement door and set the clothes right outside it. She caught a glimpse of Ron and waved him over.
“Will you put these in the laundry room, dear?” Molly smiled sweetly. “I don’t want to leave her down there alone for too long.”
“Course I can.” Ron looked tired, his hair uncombed and wild. “Mom, how do you all think this little idea is going to work?”
“I’m not sure…” Molly answered honestly. “Hopefully there will be very few issues, although with how their imprisonment started, I doubt it. I think we’re all going to have to be very patient for a while.”
“Does that include her?” Ron hissed, eyes narrowing at the steps. “She’s his daughter after all, I don’t really see how-”
“Ronald Weasley!” Molly exclaimed. “If I find out you’re causing any undue issues with her, or helping along everyone’s paranoia I will put you in your own cell for a month, see how you react.”
“I didn’t mean it like that, I just-”
“Just what? Go put those in the laundry room and finish helping Sirius and Remus. Go on! And if you so much as-” Molly was wagging her finger at him.
“Step a toe out of line, yeah I know, Mom.” he finished glumly. “I’ll be on my best behavior, swear it.”
“Oh, you better! Make sure your brothers and sisters know it too, I will not be having any of you upsetting the delicate trust she has put into us so far.” Molly said, shutting the door to the basement and continuing to mutter to herself as she returned to the room.
After a few hours of very little small talk, mostly Molly trying to start a dialogue, and (y/n) finishing the book she was reading, Remus appeared in the doorway, his hair ever so slightly ruffled. He smiled at Molly, looking excited about something.
“Sirius is finishing the last touch-up of her room, and then we’ll be ready. He even got Kreatcher to help some.” Remus beamed.
“I’m right here!” Sirius called from the stairs. Everyone in the room heard a ‘thud’ sound, followed by a string of curse words. Sirius appeared beside Remus, his hair pulled into a loose bun. “Ignore that, I didn’t fall.”
“Sure, you gracefully laid down suddenly, right?” Remus joked.
“Well, are we ready, Moony? Got to take down the barrier before she can, you know, go upstairs.” Sirius held up his wand.
“Course I am.” Remus faked being offended. They shut the door, and from the outside took down the barrier. (Y/n) watched the walls turn to regular concrete, no longer glowing a blueish hue. Remus opened the door and stepped in. “Now, before we bring you up I’m assuming you have questions?”
“Rules?” (Y/n) asked, looking between him and Sirius.
“No sharp objects unless supervised by Sirius, Molly, or myself. There are rooms that you won’t be allowed into, a few have barriers on them, but not all. No trying to hurt, scare or kill anyone. No asking Kreatcher for anything, unless someone is dying.” Remus listed off about ten more rules, and Sirius was counting them on his fingers. There was a total of twelve rules.
“Sounds reasonable. How far is my room from here?” she turned to gather her unread books.
“It’s in between my room and Remus’s. The second floor of the house, so two floors above us.” Sirius told her.
“And last question for now, how many people live here?” (Y/n) raised an eyebrow.
“Currently, eight of us, nine including you,” Molly affirms. “My husband stays sometimes, usually for about a week before he has to head back home for work, but you won’t see him for a while. Right now it’s the three of us, the girls that you met earlier, and three of my sons. I’ll introduce you later today.”
“If that’s all, would you like to actually leave this room, or would you prefer to keep standing there?” Sirius asked, grabbing her books out of her hands.
“Fine, can you just, give me a second? I didn’t actually believe you when you guys were talking to me.” she took a deep breath, straightened her shirt up, and popped her knuckles. “Okay, I’m good now, just needed to mentally prepare a bit more.”
Remus carried her sleeping bag and blanket, along with her pillow and her box of graphite. Sirius was barely managing all the books, only dropping a couple up the stairs. Molly was following behind (y/n), breakfast plates in one hand, her other holding onto the railing.
Remus opened the basement door leading to the very back of the kitchen. (Y/n)‘s eyes squinted, not use to the amount of light pooling in from outside. Molly must’ve noticed, waving her wrist and the curtains drawing close.
“You all really put some effort into these barriers, huh?” (Y/n) chuckled. “The ones downstairs were simple but meant for a smaller space so it worked, these are intricate. Kind of pretty to be honest. Although I might suggest double-checking the floo network, there’s about three different ways I could get in still.”
“We’ll get right on that then.” Remus made a mental note. “Well, this is the kitchen, you probably won’t be in here often.”
“He’s trying to say that he thinks you might poison us given the opportunity.” Sirius jokes. “Can we hurry a bit? My arms are starting to give out with these books.”
“I am wanting to see my room, we can do the tour afterward.” (Y/n) suggests, earning a grateful smile from Sirius.
“Of course, let’s go before Pads topples over.” Remus heads towards a door opposite of where they came out of, and up the stairs taking a left on the second floor. Everyone else followed him, Sirius falling behind momentarily. “This is my room.”
Remus had pointed toward a dark grey door, the constellation for Lupus on it, just missing a single star. He pointed towards one further down the hall, tucked away in a corner. It was pure black, partly scratched at the bottom, and had the image of a giant star on it along with a nameplate that read ‘S.O. Black’.
“I feel like that one is fairly obvious, but it’s Sirius’s. Which makes this one,” Remus stopped at a dark green door, golden shooting stars on the top half. “Yours. We repainted it, hopefully, you won’t mind the colors.”
(Y/n) opened the door, revealing a very sizable room. There was a queen-sized canopy bed along the left wall, an ancient dresser across from it, two large windows with a bench for a ledge, and a chair on either side of the bed. The walls were a marbled juniper green, with gold as the accent. The bed itself was a sea foam green, the canopy black with tiny cascading golden stars.
“It’s beautiful…” She looked in awe, slowly walking over to the windows. While she could still see out of them, the barrier spells impeded her sight slightly, making it look like frosted glass that had a red tint to it. She pressed her hand against it, watching the barrier change shades, going from a normal red to a dark intimidating maroon.
“So you like it then?” Sirius asked, setting down her books on top of the dresser.
“Very much so, it’s way better than my room at the manor,” she admits, turning around to face them all. “Would it be possible though to get a bookshelf in here? It would be perfect next to the window, right by the dresser.”
“I’ll see what I can find.” Sirius seemed pleased with himself. “Now, it’s lunchtime and everyone is going to be downstairs in the dining room soon, did you want to join us or stay up here for a little bit?”
“If it’s alright, I think I would like to be in here for a while. I don’t think I can handle too much all at once, you know?” (Y/n) sat down on the bed. It was incredibly soft and pillowy. “I’ll come down for dinner though, don’t want to make the kids any more nervous than they probably are.”
“That’s alright.” Remus nodded, setting her stuff in the chair closest to the door. “Completely understandable, you’ve gone from a small cell to a newly furnished room, just take it in for a bit. If you need anything just come find one of us, we’ll probably be meandering about after lunch.” he smiled softly. Molly waved goodbye as she left to go get lunch ready.
(Y/n) pulled out her piece of parchment and grabbed a graphite pencil, shutting the door partly as she sat down on the bench. She smiled softly to herself before unfolding the paper. She quickly wrote down the words “Maybe they aren’t horrible.” She folded the paper back up, sticking it in between the mattresses of her bed.

~~{𝘌𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘍𝘪𝘷𝘦}~~