Cursed Child Years 1-4 | Marauders Era

29 | Soppy Git

Soppy Git

Elizabeth woke to her mouth feeling dry as sand. Her lips were chapped and her tears dried against her flushed cheeks. Her nerves were still twitching, her head was pounding, she must have hit her head when she fell. She tried to move, only her head began to throb, and her muscles tensed.

"Hey, stay still," Andromeda said, placing a gentle hand to her shoulder.

"Dromeda?"

"Yeah, bloody sisters aye?"

"Hmm"

"Bella told me about what happened when you were away. I can't imagine what you're going through."

Elizabeth opened her eyes and looked around.

"Pomfrey has gone to talk to Dumbledore, you're the only patient in the wing today. Sirius and the others are still asleep. It's the middle of the night," Andromeda explained.

Elizabeth nodded. "I didn't know what to do. I just stood there, watching as that child was being killed. After I killed his mother."

"Don't think of it as that, El. You did what you needed to survive. It was at a great cost, but there wasn't a thing to be done. I know it is probably weighing you down and you feel incredibly guilty but you're alive, Jake as well."

"I suppose so," Elizabeth replied.

"I wanted to talk to you about something. I knew you'd be alone at this hour, so I thought now would be a good time to discuss it with you," Andromeda said.

"What's up?"

"Well... You can't tell anyone. I would be disowned and banished from my house if anyone found out."

"Dromeda, you can tell me anything."

"You know I told you about a boy when I wanted to break up with Jake?" Elizabeth nodded. "Well he's called Ted. Ted Tonks. The past several months we have been meeting in secret. He's a muggleborn, so my family wouldn't approve. I really care for him, but I can never be with him."

"Are you being careful?" Andromeda nodded, "then carry on seeing him. If you care about him, and you're willing to risk so much to be with him, then he must mean a great deal to you. If he feels the same way, then you must carry on meeting with him," Elizabeth said with a smile.

"He knows about my family and he's warned me not to carry on meeting him as he's worried what will happen if anyone was to find out, but I know he cares about me the same as I do him."

"Then go be with him, stupid," Elizabeth said, pushing Andromeda away lightly.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

Andromeda hugged her goodbye, before leaving the hospital wing to go and meet with Ted. So, Elizabeth went back to sleep.

"Please, don't hurt my baby," the woman begged.

"I don't want to kill you, I have no choice."

"Kill them, or suffer the consequences," Divicci hissed.

Elizabeth took a deep breath before closing her eyes. She pointed the tip of her wand at the woman and said,

"avada kedavra."

The child began screaming louder as his mother's hand fell from his. He stood over the lifeless body of his own mother.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm sorry, I can't- I'm sorry!" Elizabeth wailed.

Elizabeth.

"I'm sorry, I really am."

Elizabeth.

"Please, forgive me."

Elizabeth!

"I had no choice."

"ELIZABETH!" Remus shouted, shaking her awake.

Elizabeth sat up, gasping for air. Remus brought his hand to the back of her head pulling her to his chest, letting her cry onto him. Remus glanced over to where Sirius and James were sitting, both looking just as concerned as he felt.

"What happened while you were away?" Remus asked gently.

"I can't- I... I just can't," Elizabeth sobbed.

Sirius didn't know what to do. Of all his years of knowing Elizabeth, he had never seen her cry before. They were both brought up to believe the emotion weak, to block it out and replace it with anger or numbness. Sirius seeing her as broken as this, immediately knew something terrible must have happened at the manor to break down the layers of walls she had built up over the years.

"It's ok, we won't judge you," James promised, taking a seat at the edge of the bed, closely followed by Sirius.

"I can't- I... I can't say anything," she sobbed.

"El, it's just us three. We swear to you that whatever you tell us, stays between us," Remus said.

Elizabeth pulled away, looking Remus in the eye. "I killed someone," she whispered.

She watched as his eyes widened, possibly in maybe fear?

"Say something," she begged.

"You did... what?" Sirius whispered, horrified.

She quickly turned to him, "I had no choice, it was- you don't understand!"

"Tell us then," James said, trying to understand.

So, Elizabeth told them. She told them how she was called to the manor, that as soon as she had arrived, she was told she was there to learn, watch and observe. How the following morning, something happened, she didn't tell them what exactly it was, she refused too as it would only get Jake in trouble with the Ministry. She told them how something had happened in the morning, then the Dark Lord was there, ordering the rest of the Death Eaters to kill five families. How they disapparated to the village, how her father dragged her and Jake to the end of an alley, hidden and discrete. She spoke about how Divicci ordered Elizabeth to kill the women, and that she hesitated. She was told if she didn't, something worse would surely happen, so she did it.

She told them how she killed a defenseless woman in cold blood.

When she was done going over the story, she just sat there waiting. She was a Selwyn, she was waiting for the remarks and for them to leave her, but they never did. Instead, they did quite the opposite.

"It's ok," James forced a smile.

"Yeah, you did what you had to do," Sirius said.

"It's not like you wanted to. That would make you like them. But you hesitated, you didn't want to kill her. That's what separates you from them, El. You didn't want to," said James firmly.

Elizabeth began to cry all over again, this time, James was the one to bring her into a hug.

"You... you don't hate me?" she asked.

"Merlin, are you daft?" Said Sirius, sitting beside her.

"El, we know who your parents are. We know it wasn't easy for you, the stress you're under from your parents, sister and everyone else really. You're fighting to stay good, you're on the right side," James said.

"What a soppy git," Remus chuckled.

Elizabeth, despite her sobbing, laughed at this, followed by Remus and then soon, all four of them were laughing.

Elizabeth wiped her tears away, looking between the three boys in front of her.

"Thank you for being here and for not running away."

"We'd never leave you," James said.

"Yeah, now come on, let's get you out of this bloody depressing wing," Sirius said.

~~~