|In The Dark|

26

Gone

ANNABELLE LUPIN-BLACK

I got halfway down the hall when my dads, I mean Sirius and Remus caught up to me.

"Annabelle, please wait!" Remus said. They blocked my path and I stopped. "Move." I said. "Please talk to us, Anna" Sirius said. "Don't you mean Daliah?" I snapped. "We need to talk-" he started. "Why? So you can lie to me again?" I asked. "No, you don't understand. This was a complicated situation." Sirius said. I just pushed past them. They ran again and stood in front of me. "I don't want to talk to you. You lied to me. About everything. From the day I met you, it's been a lie. The story, those pictures. Who were those people?" I asked. "We don't know. They were a muggle couple we met and we took their picture to use." Sirius said. I scoffed. "Brilliant. Are the adoption papers fake too?" I asked. They exchanged sorrowful glances. "Oh my- you have to be joking. I'm not even your daughter, am I?" I asked, I forced away tears. "You are. We raised you and we love you." Remus said. "That's not what I asked." I said. They sighed. "Legally, we can't adopt you because Crouch and Bellatrix refused to sign away guardianship." Remus said. "So yes, the papers are fake." Sirius said.

It was like a thousand blows to the chest. This hurt more than any pain I've ever felt. "Please, just let us explain. We couldn't tell you Anna." Remus said. "You couldn't or you wouldn't?" I asked. "We couldn't." Sirius said. "I don't believe you. I don't trust a single thing that comes out of your mouth. I was right. People are cruel. This world, this world that I saw the good in, that's gone. This is so fucked. You guys are fucked." I said. "Anna please-" Remus pleaded. "No, why don't you go find Harry. The chosen one probably needs you." I said. "Anna, don't do this. We are your family. We love you unconditionally." Sirius said. "You can't be alone right now, you almost died." Remus said. "I wish I did." I said. Tears fell down my cheeks. "I'm going to the infirmary. I'm pretty sure after getting tortured with the cruciatus curse that it requires some medical attention." I said. "What? You were-" Sirius started. "Yes. He wanted me to take the mark and fulfill my legacy. I said no. So he used the cruciatus curse while he used legilimency and found the memories of that night and the night in the lake." I said as I walked down the hall. "Fucking hell-" Sirius said. "What night by the lake?" Remus asked. Shit, I forgot they didn't know. "It's none of your business." I said. "Of course it's our business, your our-" Sirius started. "What? I'm not your daughter." I snapped. We arrived at the infirmary and I stopped. "Just leave me alone. I'll be fine by myself....Professor," I said looking at Remus. Remus's eyes filled with tears. I almost never see dad cry. I tried not to break as Sirius pulled him away.

"Give her time." Sirius whispered as they walked away. He just nodded.

I walked in the infirmary and Madame Pomfrey immediately rushed over. "Hi Annabelle, please stay right here." she said. I noticed how full it was. Harry sat on a cot staring at the floor. Then Dumbledore was talking to Mr.Diggory on the opposite end of the room. I assumed Cedric got hurt because there were a bunch of curtains up. Then I saw Julia. She sat on a chair, she was crying. I was about to walk over when Harry looked up and saw me. He walked over and hugged me. "What's going on?" I asked. Harry pulled me over to his cot and we sat down.

"Where were you?" he asked. "I followed Moody during the task. He turned out to be Crouch. He tied me up and I found out everything." I said. "Is he really your father?" he asked. I nodded. "He wanted me to take the mark. He tortured me when I refused." I said. "Fuck Anna-" he said. "Is Cedric ok? Is he hurt badly?" I asked. Harry sighed. "He's gone." Harry said.

My stomach lurched and my heart stopped beating. "What did you just say?" I asked. "Pettigrew killed him, right when we got in the graveyard," he said. "No, you're lying." I said standing up. My entire body hurt from the curse but I didn't care. "I'm not Anna, I'm sorry," he said. I ran over and yanked past the curtains. Cedric laid there on a cot. He wasn't breathing. His skin was pale and his eyes were closed. The world came crashing down and tears streamed down my face.