Growing up Pureblooded

Enough is Enough

     The next day was a Saturday, and Harry awoke exceptionally early. Wood, Quidditch-mad as always, had scheduled a practice for the very break of dawn. Aries dressed quickly and washed his face before grabbing his Firebolt and heading downstairs. He felt odd that morning – almost naked, and a bit chilly, rather like someone with very long, thick hair who has recently had it all shorn off. He couldn't imagine what could cause such a feeling, and wondered whether he was getting ill. He brushed it off with a shake of his head and made his way to the Quidditch pitch.

     Practice went reasonably well, though Aries's mind wasn't on the game. Wood yelled at him a couple of times, but most of his ire was reserved for the Weasley twins, who seemed to be drifting off to sleep on their broomsticks. After practice, Aries washed up and went to the Great Hall, where Draco and Dean were almost finished with breakfast. Aries heaped bacon, eggs and tomatoes on his plate and demolished them in moments. He had already finished his second plate and drained his third goblet of pumpkin juice when Draco rose from the table, so he got up to join him. The blond boy seemed somewhat amused.

"Hungry, Aries?" he asked wryly as the two made their way to Sirius's quarters. "Not at all," Aries replied. "I feel quite satisfied, thank you." Draco rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean." "I do, indeed," Aries said. "And I was rather hungry before breakfast. But that's only to be expected when one is a growing boy and has just returned from an intense Quidditch practice."

     Aries walked twice as fast as he usually did, and his brother struggled to keep up. He wanted very much to visit the Chamber of Secrets that day, and perhaps to take care of the Horcruxes before his cooking lesson with Daphne that evening. He was particularly eager to discover the secrets of Ravenclaw's diadem, and wondered momentarily whether, with such a resource at his disposal, it would even be worth it for him to continue his studies at Hogwarts. He dismissed these thoughts as quickly as they had come. The point of school was not to learn; he could do that well enough on his own. The point of Hogwarts – as his dad had so wisely pointed out on more than one occasion – was to have a good time.

     "Jamais pur," Aries said when they reached the large painting. He smiled a bit when he saw the figure of Athena standing tall. He thought it rather appropriate that the image of the goddess of wisdom should stand watch over the most powerful source of wisdom the world had ever known, after the Philosopher's Stone. The painting swung open and the boys entered the suite. Judging by the heavy breathing coming from the bedroom, Sirius was still asleep. Draco snorted. "Figures. I wondered why he wasn't at breakfast." Aries chuckled. "Dad's never been an early riser."

     "Early riser? It's nearly ten o'clock!" Draco exclaimed in disbelief. Aries shrugged and walked into the dining room. The Horcruxes no longer lay on the table. He frowned and looked around. In fact, they could not be seen anywhere. "Where are the Horcruxes?" Draco asked, expressing aloud the question that troubled Aries's mind. "Do you think he moved them somewhere?" Aries supposed that was a possibility, but it didn't feel right. The night before, he had sensed the Horcruxes' presence as soon as he walked into the room. He didn't feel them anymore...at all. Aries realized with a terrible flash of insight why exactly he had been feeling so oddly empty all day.

     "Damn him," he cursed beneath his breath. "I can't believe he'd do something like this." Draco was confused. "What are you on about?" he asked. "Dad destroyed the Horcruxes last night after we left," Aries replied. "How do you know that?" Draco questioned. "I just do," Aries snapped. "I can feel it." His eyes darted to the empty fireplace. That must have been where Sirius did it. Aries walked over and knelt on the stone floor beside the fireplace. Sure enough, the stones were covered with the thick purplish-black soot that only Fiendfyre could leave behind. He ran his fingers over the soot and rubbed them together. A tingle ran up his spine, and Aries felt hot, angry tears rising to his eyes. Even the soot felt charged with power. What a terrible waste!

     "Bastard," he muttered. "Reckless, stupid idiot." Just then, the idiot in question came out of his bedroom, wearing his pajamas and a bathrobe. Judging by the confused look on his face, he was still not completely awake. He half-grinned at the sight of his sons. "Good morning, boys," he yawned. It felt like a volcano erupted deep inside Aries. "HOW COULD YOU?" he roared. "Of all the stupid, foolish, reckless, idiotic, moronic, brainless..."

     Sirius stopped cold and raised his eyebrows in surprise. "What the hell's got into you?" he asked. "What's got into me?" Aries repeated incredulously. "Why don't we talk about what's got into you? Why did you destroy the Horcruxes last night?" Sirius frowned. "How did you know about that?" he asked. "It doesn't matter," Aries said dismissively. "Why did you destroy them?" "Because they're monstrously evil, perhaps?" Sirius replied in a falsely casual tone. "Or because they're the only things keeping the most feared Dark wizard of modern times from receiving his everlasting reward? Or maybe because that same wizard is responsible for the deaths of my best friend and his wife, my brother, my great-uncle, and numerous other innocent people, and has attacked both of my sons?"

     "I know all that," Aries replied. "Of course they need to be destroyed, but couldn't you have waited?" He gritted his teeth in frustration. "Think of all the ways the diadem could have helped us! And we hadn't even begun to discover the powers of the ring. We could have saved them." "Riddle corrupted the bloody things when he made them Horcruxes," Sirius said adamantly. "I don't believe you could have destroyed the Horcruxes without destroying the vessels." "Well, now we'll never know, shall we?" Aries retorted. His face was turning red. Draco decided to step in and try to defuse the situation. "You said you could feel that the Horcruxes had been destroyed," he said. "So how did that work?" "I've felt oddly empty all day," Aries replied. "Like something was missing."

     Sirius's face turned very white for a moment, then his jaw set in determination. "Now I know I made the right decision," he said firmly. "You're not going near any of the Horcruxes ever again." "WHAT?" Aries shouted. "How the hell are you going to destroy them without me?" "You've given us enough information," Sirius said. "The adults can take it from here. I don't like this connection you have with Riddle." "Like it or not, I have it," Aries replied. "I'm the only one who can destroy him."

     "You've done enough," Sirius repeated hotly. "You're still a child. From now on, I expect you and Draco to be normal boys. It's not right for you to feel like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders. I've half a mind to put an end to your special training." Draco winced. This was not going well at all. "You can't do that!" Aries protested. "I've got to be ready to face him." "You're never going to face him again!" Sirius shot back. "Not if we have to spend the rest of our lives holed up in bloody Transylvania!" "But what about the prophecy?" Aries demanded.

     "I DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT THE EFFING PROPHECY!" Sirius roared, fire flashing in his grey eyes. Sirius was a very gifted wizard, though many people failed to realize it, inasmuch as he usually cloaked his potential beneath a façade of leather jackets, sunglasses, sports cars and prank wars. For an instant, however, the boys could feel magical power rolling off of him in waves. Both Aries and Draco actually felt a bit frightened, which was not an emotion they normally associated with being around their dad. Fortunately, Sirius noticed their distress and calmed himself quickly. "I don't care about the prophecy," he repeated quietly. "I care about you, and about keeping you safe."

     Aries snorted, almost immediately recovering his composure. After all, he was a very powerful wizard as well, and a Gryffindor to boot. He didn't frighten easily. "What if I don't want to be kept safe?" he asked cheekily. "Too bad," Sirius replied. "I'll do it anyway. That's my job." Aries spun around on his heel and marched out of Sirius's quarters. "Bonne chance!" he called over his shoulder. "Merde," his dad muttered as he turned around and made his way back into his bedroom. "What am I ever to do with that kid?"

     He grabbed a towel and stormed off into the bathroom, and soon steam was pouring out the door. Draco, having tried very hard not to take sides, was conveniently forgotten by both. He carefully tiptoed out through the painting, then returned to Gryffindor Tower, wondering whether Dean, Lee, Fred and George might be in the mood for a game of Exploding Snap.