It builds
Snow coats the grounds and roofs of Hogwarts castle, flakes drifting past the frost-covered windows of gryffindor tower. Cold sunlight of the early morning spills in from the windows, illuminating the room full of sleeping and half asleep boys, all the beds full, except for four.
Hydrus’s cat had run into the gryffindor common room in a panic around three in the morning, Rowan, being the insomniac that he is, was alerted to the arrival of Connard via the cat yowling about “SHIT-SMELLING-HAMPSTER-MOTHERED-SHIT-EATING MEN IN DARK CLOTHES'' taking Hydrus in the night… Needless to say, Rowan was concerned at the time. His concern has only grown as the hours passed. Sirius was the first to come down to the common room, the silver-eyed boy suffers from severe nightmares as well, so it was no surprise when he came down around three-thirty. Sirius didn’t take the news well, shouting and waking James up, and he was now pacing back and forth in the common room’s mini-kitchen.
James came down around three-forty-five, after Sirius’s shouts had awoken him. He’s been sitting in the same armchair since Rowan told him what Connard, who has been hovering around Rowan since he ran in, had reported to him. A stressed look on his face and anxiety filling his brown eyes. Remus was the last to come downstairs, presumably waking up from a bad dream, or the absence of Sirius beside him in bed, around four in the morning. After hearing what had happened, he immediately went to comfort and soothe Sirius in the mini-kitchen.
“We need to do something” James pipes up, holding his left bicep in a vice-like grip “We can end this… save him..” he readjusts his glasses with his free hand “keep him from getting the mark…” “It’s probably already too late” Rowan responds, anxiously petting Connard’s thick black fur. “From what Reg told me, it’s administered in the first hour, it’s already been three…” he trails off, looking up to see Sirius and Remus coming over from the mini-kitchen “Pads…” Rowan murmurs, making eye contact with the incredibly stressed marauder. “What is it, Whiskers? What could you possibly say to help? My fucking family kidnapped my baby brother. Their only chance to produce an heir, since they refuse to admit he’s a man. He could be getting assaulted or worse.” He snaps, pacing around the couches instead. “FUCK! I said I would protect him- keep him safe- fuck fuck FUCK-” He sits on the ground, knees to his chest and hands gripping the sides of his head. He blamed himself for his parents’ actions, this much was clear.
Remus sits down next to him, resting a large hand on his shoulder. “The order will find him… You tipped them off, right Ro?” Rowan nods “Calico no doubt is hunting him down as we speak…” he trails off again, brows knit in anxiety and worry… They all felt helpless, and they all hated it.
. . .
Pain blooms from his left forearm as he screams. He had fought off the death-eaters his family hired to kidnap him from ravenclaw dormitory to the best of his ability, but it was worthless in the end. Hydrus Arcturus Orion Black sits bound to a chair, bruises, cuts, and slashes covering his body, tattered clothing barely concealing the more sensitive of areas. He hates this. He hates his family. He hates himself. He hates everything about this situation. He’s alone. Afraid. And utterly, completely alone.
“You can’t run from your responsibilities as a woman from the noble house of Black, Columba. You must produce an heir.” His mother’s voice rings out. At this, Hydrus struggles harder “FUCK YOU” he shouts, the stream of tears turning into a river “NEVER IN ALL MY YEARS WILL I CONTINUE THIS ACCURSED BLOODLINE”
Walburga ‘tsks’ from the shadows as the man approaches, he had to be at least thirty. “It’s not your choice. You will provide an heir.” Hydrus shakes and thrashes, trying anything and everything to resist. “PLEASE- MOTHER- PLEASE DON’T LET HIM- DON’T MAKE ME-” he screams, pleading with the mother he despises in a desperate attempt to stop this, to stop the man from-
“Oh honey, it won’t be that bad.” His mother, his accursed, vile mother says in response. “It is your role as a woman, after all.”
His world shattered. He hoped that his mother would have at least a shred of love left in her shriveled, cold, dead heart for him. The tiniest bit of mercy or compassion.
How wrong he was.
He watches in terror as the man gets closer, sobs wracking his body as the man grips his forearms, bruises blossoming under his hands.
“P-please-” he whimpers, the last bit of hope in his eyes being crushed as the man grins.
Things weren’t going to end well for him, were they?
. . .
Calico can hear his best friend’s screams and cries from the outside of the run-down, abandoned looking house as he approaches, breaking into a run and shouldering the door open in his haste.
“Fuck-! Fuck!” he hisses, firing off curses left and right into the bodies of death-eater guards.
In no time at all, he was at the door to the basement. He takes a deep breath, shaky on the exhale, and tries the door. Locked. Fuck! He tries it again, the panic was setting in- what if they were torturing him?! Going to kill him?!?! Okay Arminius. Think. They’re more likely to kill him if you barge in. He takes a step back, how could he… ah. “Alohamora” he murmurs, pointing his wand at the locked door, the door unlocking with a faint click. He wastes no time in stealthily making his way down the stairs, careful to step lightly so as to not alert the death-eaters below to his presence. Though with the crying and… were those chiding comments..? It would be hard to hear him… “Oh stop crying, Columba. It isn’t that bad. Just think of what you’re doing for your family!” A voice rings out, sounding disappointed and so incredibly threatening… who the fuck was Columba..?
Arminius shakes his head. Hydrus is trans. On top of all of the things his best friend is going through, he’s getting deadnamed as well? The thought makes his blood boil as he reaches the base of the stairs, freezing as he sees a horrific sight from the shadows. A grown, adult man between Hydrus’s bruised, torn-up legs… before he can think he’s raising his wand “CRUCIO” he shouts, rage blotting out any and all morality that would have stopped him from casting an unforgivable curse.
The red bolt just narrowly misses Hydrus’s assailant, instead hitting a support beam just past the man’s head. “GET. YOUR. HANDS. OFF. OF. HIM.” He shouts, stepping out from the shadows, wand still raised and glasses glinting in the dim candlelight. The death-eaters certainly hadn’t expected this. “Ohh, did one of your little friends follow you, Columba?” A woman’s voice rings out from the shadows, a green streak of light shooting from a spot in front of the young wizard.
Hydrus shakes his head, crying and in too much pain to respond as Orion Black steps from the shadows, wand raised and pointed at Arminius Calico. Thankfully the killing curse had missed him as he begins to duel who he can only assume is Hydrus’s father, since they share those trademark silvery gray eyes that all descendants of the Black family have.
Calico smirks, adjusting his glasses. “You really think you can kill the greatest wizard of all time without paying for your crimes?!” he raises his wand, “INCENDIO TORRONTAL”
Ropes of fire emerge from his wand, racing towards Orion, who has cast a shield spell. The ropes, five in number, bash against the invisible shield protecting the death-eater until they fizzle out, the shield being lowered as they do so. “You were saying, child?” Orion taunts, leering at the fifteen year old. Calico grits his teeth and aims again, using his opponent’s over-confidence to his advantage.
After about two minutes of this, a voice reverberates around the room, Hydrus’s assailant now holding a knife to the boy’s throat. “Stop this nonsense now or we’ll kill your precious friend.” it leers, and at this, the boy genius, upcoming best wizard of the century, Arminius fucking Calico, hesitates on firing his next spell “WAIT-” he starts to shout, but it’s too late. He’s hit square in the chest by Immobulus, rendering him unable to move. Walburga takes this opportunity to hit him over the head with the butt of an ax, knocking Arminius to the ground. The last thing the prodigy sees before passing out being his best friend being thrown to the ground by his assailant, a sickening crunch and a tidal wave of pain alerting him to his hand being broken by someone’s shoe.
He doesn’t care about that, though. He has to save Hydrus. He has to.