𝓗𝓪𝓻𝓻𝔂 𝓐𝓭𝓭𝓪𝓶𝓼 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓟𝓱𝓲𝓵𝓸𝓼𝓸𝓹𝓱𝓮𝓻'𝓼 𝓢𝓽𝓸𝓷𝓮

𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙁𝙞𝙫𝙚: 𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 & 𝙐𝙣𝙪𝙨𝙪𝙖𝙡

More and more Harry realised that even though his mother and aunt were twins, they were not the same. No matter how similar they were—though they had totally different aesthetics and viewpoints—his aunt was not his mother.

Case in point, the home his aunt and cousin live in was bright. It hurt his eyes to look at it—it was different from what he was used to. It looked as if it was plucked from an impressionist painting and plopped onto a piece of land outside Ottery St Catchpole in Devon. Harry narrowed his eyes at the sight of roses with their heads still attached and tulips growing in the front of the house.

His aunt really was strange, allowing those pesky red flowers to keep their heads and not behead them. Thorns really were the much-preferred choice, in Harry's personal opinion.

As Harry studied the large house, his aunt was rambling on about how they—he assumed she and her husband—built the house after they graduated from Hogwarts and how it was their pride and joy. Beatrice just stood there, silently, as she, too, stared at her home. Harry wondered if she felt the same as he did. The house was just too happy. It reminded him of the houses back home, all of them happy and white, with bright flowers blooming brightly. Harry preferred the dead trees and the tall sentient willow tree that lived on the grounds of the Addams Manor, Ichabod.

"Shall we go in?" Aunt Ophelia didn't leave room to object, and Harry followed his aunt and cousin inside. If the outside was ghastly, the inside was worse. The walls were painted pastel colours and had splashes of yellow and orange splayed here and there. There was no grey nor black in the house. Flowers practically grew everywhere. And somewhere in the house was the sound of laughter. Not the terrified and sadistic laughter he and his siblings were used to, but joyous and reaching-inducing cheerful laughter. It turned his stomach.

"Richard? Cordelia? Olivia? We're home!!" The cheeriness of his aunt's voice made him sneer. His mother would've never held such a tone. It would've been cold and vindictive.

Harry watched as two little girls, one sporting the same blonde–yellow like hair as his aunt, and the other black hair, dark as night, like Beatrice. Like his mother and Wednesday.

"Mummy!" the black-haired girl jumped into his aunt's arms, and... Harry didn't understand what she did, but she looked as if she was squeezing his aunt Ophelia. It reminded him of a snake coiling around its victim.

The yellow-haired girl simply stared at Harry. Her blue eyes were studying him, taking in his appearance. He did the same and was repulsed to find her dressed in a horrid pink dress with frills and bows. Wednesday would've gotten shears snipped them off, claiming she wanted to hang herself with the fabric.

"Harry, dear," Harry looked away from the ugly, pink-dressed girl. "I would like you to meet your other cousins, Olivia," she gestures to the black-haired little girl. Olivia waved and smiled brightly at Harry. While Harry simply nodded in greeting. "And that's Cordelia." What a fitting name for her. Cordelia, what a horrid name for a horrid girl. Harry had many questions for her. First, why did she choose to wear that hideous colour? And second, did she hear of hair dye? Her hair was literally the colour of the sun.

"Girls, this is your eldest cousin, Harry. Say hello."

"Hello Harry." They spoke in unison. "Hello, cousins," He responded.

"Darling? You're back already? I'd expected you to be gone all day," A man bounded down the stairs. He wore a three-piece suit and square glasses on the tip of his nose. He had dark brown—almost black hair—that was cropped close to his head.

"Richard, darling, meet my nephew," Harry watched as his aunt walked towards whom he assumed was her husband, meeting him at the last step of the stairs, holding her hand out towards him. Richard clasped his hand in hers and Ophelia pulled him towards Harry.

"Harry, this is my husband, Richard. Richard, this is Harry. Morticia's eldest boy." Richard offered Harry his hand.

Harry stared at the hand, his cold green orbs eyed the piece of flesh in front of him. Realising that Harry wasn't going to shake his hand, Richard coughed awkwardly and turned to his wife. "Um, h-h-has Ophelia showed you to your room, H-Harry?"

Harry shook his head. "No. Not yet. Are you some sort of doctor?" Richard gulped and nodded. His hazel eyes flickered back and forth to his aunt. "Why y-yes! I'm an h-healer at St. Mungos. H-how'd you know?"

The green-eyed boy smirked. "I can smell it on you. The darkness. The curses. The death. The antiseptic. You smell like death. I like it. Reminds me of the cemetery."

Richard's smile fell from his face, and he cleared his throat. "Oh. H-h-how nice." A pregnant pause filled the air. Harry could hear the wind whistling outside.

"Uh, Harry, let's go get you settled in, shall we?" Harry nodded his head and noticed how Ophelia shot her husband a glare. Strange.

Together, aunt and nephew climbed up the stairs, as Ophelia led Harry to the room he'd be staying in until September 1st. Together, they passed paintings–both muggle and magical as they walked down a long corridor.

"This floor is where the girls' rooms are, and where your room is as well." Harry watched as Ophelia pointed to a few of the closed doors in the corridor. They stopped at the last closed door of the corridor and Ophelia smiled at him.

"Harry," her voice dropped an octave. It was no longer the high and bubbly tone she carried. "I know that you aren't exactly used to..." she waved her hands around. "--all this. I know that being raised in my sister's home, you'll have a different taste of comfort." Harry watched her, his arms crossed in front of his chest as he looked at his aunt through his lashes.

"So, dear, I've done something." She smiled and opened the door.

Unlike everything in this house, this room—his room—was black. There was no colour, nor flower tainted the dark oak furniture. It was plain, but reminded him of home. If only he could close his eyes and try to think of the smell of dust coating the home.

He walked in, taking in everything. The walls were bare, but there was room for decoration. The window was covered with heavy curtains, blocking out the light. Perfect for protecting his pale skin. The bed was simple and had striped black and white sheets and a black comforter. It reminded him of his own bedspread back at home. Pushed in the far corner of the room was a bookshelf with a desk next to it. Across from his bed sat a dresser, and behind a door was a small closet.

"I know it's not much, but..."

"No. It's ... not horrid." Ophelia cracked a smile.

"I'm glad. I'll have our house-elf place your belongings in here." Harry watched as she left the room, calling a name, before he was left alone to his own devices.

~~~

After dinner—which was strange and unusual (Harry asked where the brain was from the cow–they had roast beef–and his uncle and cousins stared at him as if he was an alien and Harry sighed and explained that his grandmama always saved the brain for him when they ate animals, which caused little Olivia to turn green.)--Harry saw that his empty room was no longer empty. His books were on the bookshelf, his clothes were hanging and in the dresser, and his desk now had quills in a pot, ink-wells and parchment sat neatly, and the picture of his family sat on the wood next to a simple lamp.

Harry thought this was what his aunt called a house-elf doing and he couldn't really complain. He was exhausted. The day was eventful, and Harry just wanted to sleep and dream of the night. However, as he got settled in bed, he couldn't force his brain to turn off.

All he could think about was the wizarding public. How they all reacted to him. He didn't like it–to be worshipped as if he was a god. All he wanted was to hone his skills and learn how to control his magic and see his parents' roots. Maybe learn something else about them besides their demise.

As Harry slowly started to close his eyes and slip under the effects of sleep, a pair of orbs stared at him. Silver orbs.

A/N:

I do hope you enjoyed this chapter, I'm aware it's a bit short, but I do hope you enjoyed it nonetheless! ^_^ xoxoxo