Part 8
The boys made their way to The Great Hall discussing their plans on their revenge and how they would set up the necessary charms and spells for it to work and of course Regulus was the one to provide the knowledge. He was practically a walking textbook and dictionary.
"Hey! Boys! Don't forget about us!" a Pandora called out from behind them. She was coming from the direction of the Divination rooms with another girl coming up from the potions dungeons. They met near the stairs and linked arms, laughing as they approached the boys. They began making their way as the boys shared their ideas and how they would execute it. Pandor stared at them thoughtfully.
"You have thought of everything except of how to enter the dorms without getting caught. Unlike the Gryffindors we don't have an Invisibility Cloak to disguise us." She said as if she was still deep in thought, which wasn't unusual for her.
"Oh and Evan, I got an Owl this morning from Father. You know how he refuses to talk to you so for some reason he only sends them to me. It's only to do with an upcoming pureblood meeting during the the near holidays and recent behaviour. I really don't know why he does this."
"It's fine. Who are we meeting with?" Evan sighed pinching the bridge of his news. Pandora hesitated slightly as she knew this would affect not just Evan but the other two boys as well.
"He may have mentioned the Blacks and Crouchs in the letter." She cringed slightly as Regulus and Barty turned towards her. Regulus looked unbothered, he must have been informed this morning as well, she deduced. Barty, though, looked completely startled. Evan stiffened t the mention of those names but he continued, this time not wanting to look at her.
"Where is the even set this time?" They went through this every time. Evan always asked where they would be meeting up. It was an old habit that he refused to let go.
"It will be set at Crouch Manor from what I have heard." Barty stiffened when he heard it. It was obvious that he had not been told anything. Not even a letter from his father briefing him on the plans. "I am so sorry Barty but it has been decided." Pandora whispered. It was much harder than she thought breaking the news. Why did their parents have to be so complicated? Some refused to talk to their children others did talk to them but not in the way they re meant to. They were either silent or filled with hatred. She wished that they all had welcoming family. She and Evan had parents that refused to talk to each other and Evan. Barty had a father that was barely even there for him and only gave him attention when he got in trouble. Regulus was a case they never spoke about. It was a silent agreement to never talk about his family. it was to never be mentioned.
"Any requirements or specific rules?" The final question that normally had no answer. Regulus gave sympathetic look to Pandora as she prepared herself to give her brother the bad news. She opened her hand and scanned over the writing sprawled on her palm.
"There are 2 actually. Both are specific rules." They all stopped in their tracks. It was the first time in ages since there were any rules or requirements in a meeting other than formal clothes. Pandora took in a shaky breath. "There will be no wands or magical objects, this is including the adults and you are not allowed to have any forms of communication with you."
"This is going to be a fun meeting isn't it." Regulus and Barty both muttered under their breath in unison, rolling their eyes. Evan turned away from her and followed the others. Neither of them liked the meetings but Evan handled it the worst as Father never spoke to him even at home and would always rely on her to spread any news to him. She was the messenger but not the favourite child. Evan was the one that made it into Slytherin and was a boy meaning that he was the future heir of their fortune even though that she was the older twin. She never wanted the fortune anyway. It tied back to their Father. It tied back to their family. She missed their Mother. She had left when they were young and Pandora couldn't blame her. Her family was now trainwreck and completely derailed.
"Dora?" Dorcas asked from behind her. A hand placed itself on Pandora's shoulder and she immediately relaxed at the touch. "It's going to be ok Dora. I know I don't know much about these situations but I'm sure you'll survive, just like you survived the past times."
"I only survived the past times because I had my wand on me."
"Oh."
"Thankfully nothing too bad happened but I never knew Father was able to cast silent magic." Pandora muttered. She turned towards Dorcas and hugged her, smiling when Dorcas's arms wrapped around her too. She had always viewed her as an older sibling. Dorcas knew this and welcomed the role with open arms. They pulled away and walked into The Great Hall sitting down at their respective tables.
She really wasn't prepared as the holidays were only two weeks away and the event would take place on the 1st week of them meaning that she only had two weeks and two days to accept the fact that she was going to have to survive on pure luck and wit for the 4 hours she was going to be there. She felt even worse knowing that Barty had to deal with his Father acting pretentious and noble only for that time frame before returning to his usual self. Pandora then found herself looking at the long list of worries she had for Regulus. She had only heard a few stories from him and even though they were quite watered down they were still horrible to her standards.
She then wondered. Would she have to sit on their Father's right side this time? It was usual for the heir to sit on the right so she doubted it but then again their Father was not one for rules even around others. He would just pretend like she was the prised heir to their fortune.