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Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 125: Family Matters
James closed the door behind them and dispelled the invisibility charms from them. At this point, it was doing more harm than good anyway.
Andromeda grinned while resting against a large couch. "I knew it was you, Potter."
"What is this place?" Peter asked while peeking around the room they were in.
It was filled with all sorts of fancy pieces of furniture, and it looked more like a living room that one would find in a pureblood family manor rather than something that should be in a school.
"It is a room meant for important meetings. And I am not the only one who knows about it, so… let's make this a quick conversation." She looked at James. "But first, I would like to thank you for the help. I may have been in a bit of trouble back there."
"A bit?" Sirius exclaimed. "Malfoy was threatening to cut your arms… what was that all about? What were they saying about Grandpa?"
Andromeda moved her eyes to her cousin. "I assume you didn't receive any letter from home about what transpired a few days ago?"
"I would be surprised if my parents told me anything of importance when it comes to family matters." Sirius's tone depicted his conflicted feelings.
He may not like his family, but being ignored was never a pleasant thing.
Andromeda nodded. "To be fair, I only know the basics. The other day, our grandfather had a meeting with Lord Malfoy, Lord Rosier, and Lord Lestrange. The discussion was about our three marriage contracts…"
"Don't tell me… he broke them?" Sirius could now start to understand the situation. However, he could not imagine why his grandfather would do such a thing.
"He did... broke all three. And knowing our grandfather, he was probably not very tactful when doing it."
"But why?" Sirius inquired while Remus, Peter, and James merely listened to their conversation. This was a family matter, and they had nothing to say in that respect.
"The motives… I don't know." Andromeda was telling the truth, as she had not been told many details in the letter. But she could not help but feel extremely happy when she read those words.
"Regardless… after giving the news to the three Lords, they responded by attacking our grandfather."
"Is he okay? They didn't kill him, right?" Sirius asked.
Andromeda shook her head. "They failed in their attempt… actually, they did more than fail. I only know that Lord Lestrange and Lord Malfoy ended up in the hospital with serious injuries, while Lord Rosier… is dead."
"Whoa, I didn't know Sirius' Grampa was such a badass," Peter said.
Sirius looked shocked. "Grandpa killed him?" He was aware of how scary the patriarch of his house was, but outright killing another Lord was not something he thought the old man was capable of.
Andromeda shrugged. "That seems to be the case."
James listened to their conversation with attention. 'It looks like Lord Pollux is trying to protect me by taking responsibility for the attack.'
This was likely his way to repay him for the help.
"So…" Remus finally spoke. "If I understood this right, your grandfather got into a dispute with these other Lords, and now their children are attacking you to get revenge?"
"It's understandable," said Andromeda. "My family has offended theirs. Now they want some restitution."
"That doesn't make any sense," Peter said. "This is something between the adults. Why do they have to involve you?"
Andromeda smiled. "Aren't you sweet?"
The comment made Peter embarrassed.
"But that is how things are in disputes between ancient wizard families. When something like this happens, the entire house is held responsible." She turned to look at Sirius. "It's not very likely since you have always kept your distance, but they may come for you as well, Sirius. Be careful."
Sirius huffed. "Let them come. I'll kick their asses again...just like today."
"It looked to me that Potter did most of the work back there," Andromeda pointed out. Even if she only saw the silhouettes, it was evident who was the most skilled of the group.
"What about your sisters? Are they doing okay?" James asked.
"Well, they haven't been attacked, if that's what you mean," Andromeda responded. "Narcissa has been depressed since she found out that she wasn't going to marry Malfoy. She really loved that prick for some reason I cannot comprehend…"
"No one can comprehend Narcissa, to be honest. She is an idiot," Sirius commented.
"And Bella… she has been acting weird for the past few days. She doesn't leave her room much, and sometimes she just disappears. I have no idea where she is, but she should be fine, since it's obvious that they came for me."
"Mmm…" James wondered what that was about. Had the impression of seeing him attack those men been too much for her young mind?
He had to keep reminding himself that this was not the Bellatrix he once knew.
She was not the crazy, murderous witch who spent over a decade in Azkaban.
This one was just a fifteen-year-old girl with a troubled childhood.
"We should get going now. Curfew is getting close, and we cannot be seen wandering these hallways," James said.
"Are you going to be okay?" Sirius asked Andromeda. He never thought he would be worrying over his cousins, but here he was.
Andromeda returned his question with a reassuring smile. "I am a big girl. This is not the first time I've gotten into a fight. And I doubt that Malfoy and the others will try the same thing again, at least not for now."
She looked towards James, and he had the feeling that she wanted to say something to him but didn't want to do it in front of everyone.
That would have to wait a bit. James was sure he was going to be very busy during the break that was now only a week away.
The Marauders left the room and ventured back to the Gryffindor common room. They were all tired and in need of a good night's rest.
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