Ch. 15 �“ An Unsuspecting Crisis
When Sarah, Mack and I went downstairs for breakfast there was someone new at the table. The girl was a tad too thin and she looked exhausted but it was still obvious she was quite beautiful. She had long blonde hair and sharp facial features that made her appear almost regal. She seemed completely at ease in her surroundings which I found odd because I had never seen her before.
“Who is that?” Sarah asked as we sat down.
“No idea,” I replied.
Mack was talking to Gran about accompanying Sarah and I on our routine summer visit when the unknown girl sat next to me.
“You must be Lily,” she assumed, smiling.
“Yes, I am. Who are you?”
“I’m Abby Malfoy. The last time I saw you, you were still a baby. We were both obviously much younger,” Abby answered, still smiling.
“Malfoy…Malfoy…why do I know that name?” Sarah asked, tapping her forehead.
“Draco Malfoy is Dad’s friend and an Order member,” I reminded her.
“Oh, right. Sometimes I forget,” Sarah admitted, blushing.
“It’s understandable, there’s a lot of people to keep track of,” Abby agreed.
“So, what are you doing here?” I asked her.
“Oh, I always stop by and visit with Molly when I’ve been away for a while. Besides, I knew everyone would be here so it’s a one-stop check in,” she informed me, pouring coffee.
“It’s so good to see you dear,” Gran said, patting Abby’s shoulder.
“So, where’s your mum, Lily?” Abby inquired.
“I don’t know. Didn’t she come down already?”
“Not that I know of but that’s okay. You all aren’t heading back to Hogwarts until tomorrow, right?”
“Yes, that’s the plan,” Sarah answered.
“Well then, I’ll just stay here until you all leave and then I’ll drop by and visit my dad and Sybill before I finally go home,” Abby said.
I coughed on my orange juice and Sarah’s jaw dropped. Gran froze by the sink and Mack looked at both Sarah and I as if she wasn’t sure she had heard Abby right. Abby caught every reaction and grew incredibly pale instantly. Her eyes darted between me and Gran as if hoping one of us would explain the situation to her. I couldn’t do it since I didn’t know much and Gran wouldn’t do it because she can’t stand delivering bad news. I avoided Abby’s gaze completely and Gran’s sympathetic expression did little to ease the pending blow.
“What happened? Is someone hurt?” Abby asked, her voice shaking. Her eyes were still darting back and forth and her face only expressed one emotion: fear.
When no reply came, she grabbed my shoulder and forced me to look at her. “Tell me,” she demanded, her grey eyes brimming with tears and her body shaking.
“I…I…”
“FOR THE SAKE OF MERLIN TELL ME, LILY!” she cried, gripping my shoulder even tighter. I was now shaking too, either due to her grip or my own fear from what she may do if I don’t say something soon.
“Ibby, let her go!”
All eyes turned to my dad standing in the doorway. He looked exhausted and a bit anxious but when Abby stood up, he walked to her and held her in his arms as her tears finally began to flow.
“Harry, please tell me what’s going on. Is he okay?” Abby sobbed.
“I don’t know,” Dad whispered, his voice full of pity.
Abby began crying in earnest and Aunt Hermione came rushing in from the backyard to see what the all the commotion was about. She immediately took Abby from my dad and sat her down at the table again. Then she began rubbing Abby’s back in an attempt to comfort her but even I knew that wasn’t going to help at all.
Sarah, Mack and I just sat there in shock and watched as Abby became increasingly more upset and the kitchen became more crowded with people checking on the situation. Abby was trembling so much her teeth were chattering and she even pounded her forehead against the table a few times in frustration or agony, I’m not quite sure. It wasn’t until Luna arrived with an array of potions that Abby was able to remain still.
“I feel awful,” I told Sarah as we watched Luna cradle Abby.
“Can you imagine coming home and finding out your dad is missing while a mad woman is on the loose?” Sarah asked.
“And don’t forget that this Sybill was her friend too. So Abby is dealing with one sure death and bracing herself for the possibility of another,” Mack pointed out.
“Was it Bellatrix, Harry? Did Bella do this?” Abby demanded in a hoarse voice.
“It’s possible but we aren’t sure,” he told her.
“We think Saiph might be involved too,” Minerva added.
Abby shook her head defiantly. “It’s not possible. Viktor and I followed her back to England late last night,” she informed them.
“What’s going on? Why do we always miss everything?” James asked as he, Bry and Siri made their way to us. They had been out playing Quidditch all morning thus missing most of what had been unfolding in the kitchen.
“Shh!” Molly hissed. She had arrived shortly after Luna and she was now as caught in the moment as the rest of us.
“So Saiph is back here then?” Mum questioned, her voice filled with concern.
Abby nodded and sniffed. “It’s only a matter of time before her and Bella have a nice little family reunion,” she answered, sarcastically.
“We won’t be able to prevent that so we need to start anticipating their next moves,” Dad acknowledged.
“We should be looking for my dad!” Abby cried.
“Neville, Kevin, Lydia and Maddie are already doing that, Abby,” Aunt Calli told her.
Mum stood up and headed toward us. I knew she was going to tell us to leave so I just stood up and walked out to the backyard. I wasn’t surprised to find Jack already out there or see everyone follow me. I was surprised when Mum joined us in the garden and even more so when Dad showed up moments later.
“We need to talk,” Dad stated.
“Are you going to tell us about Saiph?” Sarah asked, hopefully.
Mum nodded. “Yes, we are but you need to know that we don’t have much information on her. If it seems that we aren’t telling you much, we aren’t being evasive, we truly don’t know much more,” she confessed.
“What about Abby?” I asked.
“Remus gave her a Sleeping Draught and we took her upstairs to lie down,” Dad told me.
“Is her dad going to be okay?” Molly asked.
“I hope so, Molly,” Mum replied.
“When did life get so suddenly complicated?” Siri asked as he uprooted a handful of grass.
“I think it’s always been this way, we just didn’t know,” I told him. “Anyway, tell us about Saiph,” I said to Mum.
“Saiph is a very devoted follower of Bellatrix and the Dark Side. She happens to be a very gifted, very powerful witch. While Bellatrix was in Azkaban, Saiph was abroad recruiting people to join the Dark Side. When Bellatrix escaped, Saiph came here and the people she recruited are following her. It’s only a matter of time before they all come together and start causing trouble,” Mum informed us.
“Uncle Harry, how did Bellatrix escape in the first place?” Jake queried.
“Well, the Ministry has been having trouble finding a sufficient security replacement since the dementors left. We think that one of the guards accepted a bribe of some sort and allowed Bellatrix to leave or somehow allowed a wand to reach her possession. The people who know those details aren’t exactly on speaking terms with us,” Dad answered.
“Just stay alert and pay attention to everything going on around you wherever you go. Saiph does not appear evil, she lures people with her beauty and seemingly sweet disposition. In truth she is well on her way to surpassing Bellatrix’s own capabilities to inflict pain and coerce followers,” Mum said.
“Coerce?” Sarah asked.
“Just think of it as persuading,” Bry said.
My head began to ache and my stomach felt as if it had dropped to somewhere around my knees. What was happening to all of us? Were we doomed to live a life like this forever? We were going back to school tomorrow and we’d be expected to concentrate on classes, not the band of mad people seeking revenge for something that happened before we were even born.
“This sucks!” I yelled.
“Indeed,” James agreed.
“So, there will be no more midnight strolls through the castle, you can only be on the grounds for classes and no more Hogsmeade visits either,” Dad instructed. His rules were met by a series of groans and arguments. Dad put up a hand to quiet us. “I don’t want to hear a word of it. This is for your own safety and I know it’s not fun, but please obey me,” he pleaded.
“Why don’t you kids go back inside? I’m sure lunch will be ready soon,” Mum suggested.
“What ever happened to letting us lead a carefree lifestyle and making our own mistakes?” Bry asked.
“Since when are we treated like criminals for doing absolutely nothing wrong?” Katy spat.
“Since Bellatrix,” I snapped. “Bellatrix is the one to blame.”
**
Abby didn’t come out of her room for lunch but we knew she was awake because we could hear her walking around. When she didn’t come down for dinner, Gran started to really worry. If there’s anything that distresses my Gran most, it’s people who skip meals for any reason. Sometimes she takes it as a direct attack against her character, times like today, she won’t stop talking about whatever pops into her head until the meal is over or the missing person shows up.
“You kids know how much you need your strength and you know how you get it right?” she quipped in quite a biting tone.
“Yes,” we all muttered.
“Well, starving yourself doesn’t fix any situation! I’ll never understand why you people do that. Harry used to do it all the time, you know. Shut himself in some room for some reason or another and not come out for anyone at all. Why, when Dumbledore finally let him come to the Burrow over the summer, Harry would always be much too thin and moody. Always a moody boy, weren’t you Harry?” Gran said, distracted.
I pretended I wasn’t paying attention to Gran’s babbling by pouring me and Sarah more pumpkin juice. Sarah was having an animated conversation with Mack about one of Uncle Fred’s new jokes but I caught James watching my dad out of the corner of his eye.
“If you say so, Molly,” Dad grumbled.
“Abby should be down here! She needs to eat some food, have a nice dinner with her family and talk about something other than all this nonsense going on. She needs to take her mind off of things,” Gran continued.
“Mum, stop it. Do you really think it’s possibly to ignore the fact that your father has disappeared and might possibly be dead? Let her deal with it the way she feels is right,” Uncle Ron argued.
“But it’s not the right way, Ron! You kids never saw that either, carrying all your burdens with you, not telling anyone the truth, hiding information…you drive yourself mad that way! I never understood it!”
“Understood what, Gran?” Mack asked.
“How everything was perceived! They always thought we were against them! They thought we were hiding information from them because we didn’t think they were smart enough when we were just doing it to protect them. They never understood how ignorance could save them. No, no, not until they had kids of their own!”
“Who are you talking about?” Bry questioned.
“Mum let it go, please,” my mum said, a pleading note in her voice.
“I’m sorry, Ginny but I just can’t. I’m very upset and it just makes me think of the way things were when you were younger,” Gran acknowledged.
Siri’s head perked up a bit and Jake elbowed Molly in the side to get her attention.
“It’s not like that at all Mum,” Ron disputed, his ears turning slightly pink.
“Well, someone’s shut up in a room brooding, people are dying and disappearing, known Death Eaters are escaping and recruiting members and lies are being handed out like candy! Now tell me, Ron, how are things ‘not like that at all’?” Gran argued, growing close to hysterical.
Now, I have seen my Gran in her rants before when she really gets rolling in a scold or just lets anything on her mind fly out of her mouth, but nothing compared to her rant at dinner. People grew more and more tense each time she would start talking and Dad kept asking us if we were done with dinner. Mum tried to remind us to go pack twice and even Aunt Hermione was trying to distract us by asking if we had finished our assignments. That’s how we all knew that we needed to keep Gran in her moment for as long as possible.
“Voldemort’s dead, Molly,” Aunt Calli reminded in her quiet voice.
“Of course he is! But he wasn’t the only person guilty of over exposing our world to evil. I wish someone would prove me wrong by explaining how things are so much different now but I know not a soul will because that would be a lie and Merlin knows there’s enough of those around to feed the entire student population at Hogwarts for an entire term. Besides, we don’t lie to each other, do we? No, we just lie to them ! I’m telling you I’ve realized far too many mistakes that I have made in my life and it hurts even more to watch your kids do the same thing. But the vicious cycle of misinformation, hidden facts and watered down stories must continue in order to spare the innocent. Take on three more burdens to prevent someone you love from carrying one, am I right?”
I gave a bitter chuckle. “Of course, Gran, that’s the Potter way,” I said, bitterly.
Minerva’s glass clattered to the floor and Remus dropped his fork. Aunt Calli’s face went white and Uncle Fred looked speechless. But that was nothing compared to my father, the man who Gran’s rant was directed at. At first I thought he was going to hex me, send me to my room or even yell at me. His face was screwed into some awful, hateful expression and his fists were clenched. Mum tried to grab his hand but he simply stood up and walked out the backdoor, making sure to slam it behind him. Mum took a deep breath and followed him while Remus seemed to debate something and then walk outside too. I felt cold all over and mentally slapped myself for not realizing how horrible that comment had sounded. They have been opening up quite a bit lately…and this is what I do in return? I take the side of my ranting grandmother in a situation I know little, if anything about and completely insult my father? I felt a tear slide down my cheek and I slumped down into my seat.
“See what happens when you don’t come to dinner?” Gran mumbled right before heading to the stairs.
“Sure do, Gran goes mad and someone storms out and nearly breaks a door,” Jake whispered.
I silently stood up and walked upstairs to my room, telling myself that I was going to have to do a lot more then just say sorry this time.
To Find the Truth by hopelesslyhopeful
Chapter Notes: A new visitor causes a bit of commotion at the Burrow and Lily's mouth gets her into trouble again. We also get a bit more information about Saiph and who she is. I hope you all like it and leave a review to let me know what you think!