New Faces
Sirius called for Kreatcher as soon as (y/n) left his room. The house elf instantly appeared, rubbing his eyes, tired. He glared up at his master, very obviously displeased with being woken up.
“There’s a mirror on the floor down the hall, Kreatcher. I need you to put it in the off-limits room downstairs.” Sirius ordered.
“Whatever you say, Master Black.” Kreatcher snaps his fingers and vanishes, coming back nearly instantly. “There isn’t any mirror, sir.”
“What? I saw it, (y/n) even kicked it away from me.” Sirius looked puzzled, running a hand through his hair. “Check again Kreatcher, check the entire house for it.”
“Any old mirror, sir?” Kreatcher raised an eyebrow.
“No, small, hand-held. Possibly silver.” Sirius instructed. “Something you’ve not seen before.”
“Sirius, what if only (y/n) can see it, or make it seen?” Remus thought aloud.
“I’ll see what I can find,” Kreatcher muttered, vanishing once more.
“She was the only one that could hear it, she found it in a section of the hall not commonly used, she’s the one that moved it before you could touch it.” Remus scratched his head. “Sirius, if You-Know-Who knows she’s not being tortured anymore, that she’s at least partially cooperating, he won’t just be angry with her…”
“He’ll be enraged. And with the sight she has, he’ll do his best to drive her towards him somehow, but not without punishing her first.” Sirius sighed. “How are we supposed to fight against something neither of us can see?”
“That’s not entirely true though is it?” Remus plopped down into the old chair (y/n) had previously been sitting in. “You saw it when you were reaching for it.”
“Yeah, but I don’t remember seeing it after I got her to stand up.” the dark-haired man grabbed a bottle of fire whiskey out from his desk, sitting in the wooden chair. “Actually, the only time I saw the mirror was when she kicked it away.”
“Were you touching her?” Remus asked, stretching his legs out. “You told me you were trying to comfort her at first, so she could tell you what was wrong. How?”
“I hugged her, my hand was still on her shoulder when she kicked it away.” Sirius realized. “Of course, why would he trust what she told him about seeing the spells when he could just as easily see them himself by using her.”
“That’s why she’s important to him. But why would he want the Order to take her prisoner?” Remus scratched his chin. “We know Lucius is the one who tipped us off, we’ve never been able to find her before. So what did he need her gone for, or rather need her to be here for?”
“(Y/n) has been in a cell until yesterday.” Sirius was perplexed. “She could only see the barrier spells we had, so far that’s all she’s seen. What good could that do?” the men both sat in silence, trying to figure out what could possibly be the Dark Lord’s motive for letting his own daughter get kidnapped.
They both ended up falling asleep in their respective chairs, Sirius halfway flopped over onto the desk, the bottle of whiskey still in his hand. Remus had laid his head back against the wall, his mouth slightly agape, snoring softly. They were both awoken by Kreatcher’s return, making both men jump awake. Sirius knocked the whiskey over, spilling the remainder onto the floor.
“Damnit!” he grabbed a dirty towel and started soaking it up off the wooden floor. “What’d find Kreatcher?”
“No unknown hand-held mirrors, Master Black,” Kreatcher reported, holding up a small wriggling bag. “However I did find a pest. A small field mouse, quite far from home.”
“Animagus or mouse?” Remus asked, leaning forwards.
“Not certain. Found her hiding in a spot she shouldn’t have been able to get to though.” the house-elf handed Sirius the bag, backing away quickly. Sirius dumps the mouse out of the bag onto his hand, grasping it quickly.
“Homenum Revelio!” Remus casts, his wand pointed at the small creature. Suddenly a woman appears, growing out of Sirius’s hand and falling to the ground. “Petrificus Totalus!”
“Merlin’s beard! Is that, no it couldn’t be. Alecto Carrow, of course.” Sirius stood up, hoisting the angry-looking woman onto her feet. “Now, how about you explain what it is you’re doing here, in my house?”
“What do you think I’m doin, fucking blood traitor?” she sneers, glaring daggers at him.
“Sirius, perhaps we should get her downstairs?” Remus urges, looking at her nervously. “If, if a certain someone sees it could turn pretty badly.” he nods his head towards the wall against (y/n)‘s room.
“Kreatcher, take Ms. Carrow downstairs. Put her in the cell, make sure she can’t escape in any way.” Sirius barks at his house-elf.
“Sure thing, Master Black.” the house-elf grumbles, looking quite upset. He grabbed Alecto’s arm, vanishing quickly.
“I think it’s time we make up Molly, don’t you?” Remus says fixing his ruffled shirt.
“Better tell her she has someone else to make food for. What are we going to tell (y/n)?” Sirius asked. “We’ll have to, can’t exactly preach about honesty and doing the right thing if we can’t do it either.”
“We’ll just tell them the truth, Kreatcher caught an intruder.” Remus shrugged, opening the door and walking out into the hall. “We put them in the cell and will question them later, after they’ve had some time to stew.”
“So, you want to leave out the important parts, such as who it is and what they were most likely doing here?” Sirius rolled his eyes. “And people think I’m the sketchy one.”
“Don’t judge, she just still isn’t quite sure who she is yet. I don’t want her to feel pressured to make a choice too soon.” Remus explains, lowering his voice as they pass by (y/n)‘s room. “You should’ve seen them yesterday after they accidentally woke your mother’s portrait… she’s in a delicate place. And with what happened last night, she’s got more than enough to worry about.”
“You’re right.” Sirius gave in. “If Alecto is here, her brother probably isn’t far behind. We’ll have to eventually let her go if we don’t want the entirety of You-Know-Who’s army on us.”
“We can let her go later tonight, oblivate all her memories of Grimwald Place and leave her in the Forbidden Forest.” Remus suggests. “See what we can get from her first, which won’t be much.”
“Yeah, but anything is better than nothing,” Sirius says, heading up a flight of stairs and knocking on Molly Weasley’s door. After a few minutes of waiting she comes to the door, rubbing the crusties out of her eyes and yawning.
“Remus? Sirius? Is something wrong?” she asked.
“We have another guest in the basement, Alecto Carrow,” Sirius tells her. “Also, (y/n) had an ‘incident’ earlier tonight.”
“An incident?” Molly quirks an eyebrow. “What kind of incident? She didn’t let Carrow in did she?”
“No, no, not at all,” Remus assures her. “Rather when she was going to bed she heard whispers, followed them, and found a mirror with You-Know-Who staring directly at her.”
“You mean, he knows she’s not in the basement anymore?” Molly seems more alert. “Is she okay?”
“She isn’t, not that she’ll admit it to either us or herself right now.” Sirius sighs. “And we think that he might’ve been banking on that somehow, though we aren’t sure why.”
“What time is it?” Molly asks, pushing past the two men. “Tonks said she would be here by breakfast today. And with what you’ve just told me, we could use her help.”
“I’m not sure, three? Four maybe.” Remus guesses, lifting his watch up to check. “I was close, it’s a quarter to four in the morning.”
“Right well, I’ll head downstairs and start on breakfast for everyone. You two should go check the defenses. I’m assuming one of you has a plan for our friend in the basement?”
“We’re going to obliviate her tonight, drop her in the Forbidden Forest,” Sirius confirms for her. She nods, heading down the stairs, using her wand for light. Sirius looks at his friend. “I’ll check the top floors, you check the bottom?”
“Meet you in the dining room in an hour.” Remus heads down the stairs, his wand in hand.
(Y/n) headed down the stairs as soon as the sun hit the top of her door. She hadn’t slept much, at most she had an hour she believed. The dining room was mostly empty, only Ginny was sitting at the table, reading the newspaper aloud so her mother could hear. She gave (y/n) a small wave. Molly placed a basket of freshly made croissants on the table, giving (y/n) a sweet smile.
“I didn’t hear you come in, (y/n).” The older woman said, brushing her hands onto her apron. “Have a seat, everyone else should be down shortly. Oh, we also have another member of the Order joining us today.”
“She’s great, you’ll love her,” Ginny said, grabbing a croissant. “She’s a little strange though, at least most people seem to think so.”
“Okay.” (Y/n) sat down in the same place she had been the night before.
“You alright, dear?” Molly asked, looking worried. “If you’re not feeling up to it I can always bring you breakfast in bed.”
“I’m fine.” (Y/n) forced a tired smile onto her face. “Just not used to sleeping in an actual bed again is all.”
“Are you sure?” the older woman walked over to her, putting her hand on (y/n)‘s forehead. “You don’t have a fever… if you swear that you’re fine, you’re fine I guess.” she leans in close enough to whisper in the young woman’s ear. “Remus and Sirius told me about last night, just let me know if there is anything I can do, okay?”
“I promise, I’m fine.” (Y/n) avoided eye contact, her face reddening.
“Morning, Ginny. Molly.” Remus said entering the room, pausing when he saw (y/n) in her seat. “Morning (y/n), how’d you sleep?”
“Not used to the bed yet.” she lied smoothly, not looking at him directly. “Morning George, morning Fred,” she told the twins as they entered in behind Remus.
“Morning.” They said in unison.
“Is she here yet?” Fred asked his mother, a hopeful look on his face.
“Not yet, should be any minute though,” Molly told him, heading back towards the kitchen. “Ginny, would you mind helping me with the rest of breakfast?”
“Coming!” Ginny hopped out of her seat, handing her brothers the paper. Hermione and Ron walked in soon after, wishing everyone good morning as they took their own seats.
“Good morning Weasleys, morning Remus!” a woman with pink hair exclaimed as she entered, followed closely by Sirius. “A new face, you must be (y/n).” she held her hand out. “Name’s Nymphadora Tonks, but everyone just calls me Tonks.”
“Hi.” (Y/n) carefully shook her hand. “Uh, nice to meet you?”
“You sure put the “Mad” in Mad-Eye’s nickname, huh? Merlin, he wouldn’t stop complaining, hell he’s still complaining.” Tonks laughed. “And of course, I’m the one that has to listen to it all. Last time I apprentice under someone with the title “mad” in their nickname, huh? Just non-stop; “She won’t say a word, only laughs when I try to get information from her. I’ve been interrogating her for weeks, and still haven’t learned a thing! If i could just find some way to prove to her that it’s in her best interest to cooperate, oh I’ll be the happiest person alive!”
“Tonks, I don’t think this is an approp-” Remus starts, but Tonks waves him off, not listening.
“I tried to tell him, you know. You’re You-Know-Who’s kid, of course you aren’t gonna crack under torture.” Tonks munches on a croissant, leaning back in one of the seats. “I told him, you’re gonna have to get creative. Think outside of the box.”
(Y/n)‘s face must’ve given her thoughts away, Sirius putting his hand on her should as she abruptly stood up. Tonks’s smile fell and she pointed her wand at (y/n) defensively. (Y/n) pushed Sirius’s hand away, glaring at him and storming out of the room. Remus shot Tonk’s a glare, shaking his head at her.
“I tried to warn you, you don’t know what all Moody did to her down there. Hell, I doubt we know everything either.” Remus growled. Sirius chased after (y/n), following her into the hallway.
“Hey, I’m sorry about her. She doesn’t mean anything by it-” Sirius starts apologizing.
“Why does everyone always have to bring it up?” (Y/n) turns towards him, tears in her eyes, fists balled up. “Every time I’ve met someone after I graduated, it’s been brought up. No one ever can ignore the fact that he’s my father. As if I had a say in the matter!”
“(Y/n)…” Sirius says softly, looking at her carefully.
“And then gloating about how she was the one that pushed Moody to “get creative”? Just icing on the fucking cake.” she paced up and down the hall. “Even Lucius wouldn’t have gone as far as Moody did. Stealing memories from someone who can’t defend themself? It’s low, like something my father would think of low. And she’s laughing about it? To my face?”
“She doesn’t know. Not all of it at least.” Sirius tells her, stopping her in her tracks. “We haven’t had the chance to tell her yet. Didn’t want to risk anyone other than the Order finding out.”
“What?” she is taken aback, not sure what to say. Sirius steps towards her, closing the distance.
“Tonks doesn’t know about what Moody did. I doubt he even told her exactly what he did in his “interrogations”. She just doesn’t have the best of social skills.” Sirius explains. “She means well, truly, she just isn’t the best with expressing it.”
“Does that include pointing her wand at me?” (Y/n) spits back. “Or was that part of her charm too?”
“No, that was out of line.” Sirius agrees. “I’ll have a talk with her later about it.” They were both quiet for a moment. “C’mon, let’s go eat breakfast. Just let me know if you need a second okay?”
“Fine, but I’m not talking to her.” (Y/n) huffs, reluctantly heading back into the dining room. Everyone was quiet when she entered, Tonks was sitting at the farthest end of the table from(Y/n)‘s seat. Remus flashed (y/n) a small smile, pulling out her chair for her as Molly placed the last plate of food onto the table.
Breakfast was painstakingly slow, with very little chit-chat. Hermione and Ginny spoke in hushed tones, eyeing Tonks and (y/n) while talking. (Y/n) barely ate any food, mostly just moving it around on her plate. Sirius and Molly both tried to get a conversation going, to no avail. Tonks avoided looking anywhere near (y/n)‘s direction the entire time.
(Y/n) rushed out as soon as Molly grabbed the first of the dishes from the table, making her way up the stairs and to her room. She quickly shut the door and grabbed a book she had started reading, perching on the bench by the window. She ignored the knocks at her door, not wanting to face the reality that was on the other side of it. No one knew that she had heard them earlier this morning, talking about Alecto Carrow being the new guest in the basement, their plans to obliviate her memories of this place.
Knowledge at this point felt like the ultimate bane of her existence, a curse worse than anything her father could think of. She knew no one found the mirror last night, as it was currently sitting in her desk drawer, the bright purple glow seeping through the cracks. She didn’t remember putting it in there, let alone leaving her room to grab it. The whispering was muffled, still not quite making sense. She wasn’t sure how to get rid of it, every time she thought about it she felt like her head was going to explode, a pain like a red-hot fire poker directly behind her eyes.
The same pain happened when she thought about telling someone about the mirror and its location. She wanted to, desperately, she wanted to tell them everything but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. The pain was too immense and the guilt of lying to them was starting to become just as bad. She felt like she wasn’t worth all the trouble everyone was going through, trying to make her feel safe and not judged. What was the point if all she brought was problems and more lies?
~~{𝘌𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘚𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯}~~