call it what you want // sirius black

i.

If Addie had all of the guesses in the world as to how her last Sunday after Easter went before she headed back to school, she never would have, in five hundred million years, been correct.

Her grandmother, Catherine, apparently the Queen of Genovia, sat before her and calmly sipped at her tea as if she hadn't rocked the entire foundation of Addie's life.

"Pardon?"

Catherine, with all the elegance in the bloody world, lowered her tea cup down on the table. "You are the heir to the throne of Genovia."

Is she even aware of how bonkers that sounds? Or how unbelievable it is? Addie might not remember much about her mother, but she would certainly remember if her mother was a princess.

Addie involuntarily laughs, but it comes out as more of a garble. "That's not true, nope, I'm not the heir to anything and definitely not the throne of a country seeing as that would be insane and an awful thing to hide from a person and spring on them the day before they go back to school! Absolutely not, this must be a joke."

Catherine silently observes Addie's tiny mental breakdown and once Addie has finished, she carries on as if she hadn't spoken in the first place. "Your Uncle has abdicated from the throne without an heir, which places you, as your mother's child, the heir to the throne."

"No," Addie shakes her head vehemently. "I don't want to be heir to the throne. Why can't you rule the country? You've been doing a splendid job, better than I ever could."

"I am only royal through marriage, Adeline. You are royal by blood." Blood Addie would gladly give back.

"But I don't want it, I don't know the first thing about running a country. I had to grow a plant for herbology and I killed it within three days. Running a country is a huge no no." Her friends had kindly mocked her for a week and she got a T for Troll. That's how awfully she murdered the plant.

"I could teach you how." Catherine says camly, the complete opposite of how Addie is feeling. She can hear her heartbeat pounding at astronomical rates in her ears. "You can study languages, history, art. I can teach you how to walk, talk, sit, stand, eat, dress like a princess. Given time you will find Genovia a pleasant place to live."

Addie is frozen in place and searches for any hint of a joke in her grandmother's eyes. She reckons she would forgive her if it all turned out to be a huge prank. "Live in Genovia? I haven't even finished my sixth year at Hogwarts! I can't move to another country!"

"Adeline, I'm sure if you take the time to think about this calmly–"

"No! I'm not going to think about this calmly! I've just been told I'm a bloody princess who will one day rule a country!" Addie stands up from her seat, the legs of the chair scraping loudly against the floor, and walks quickly to the fireplace where she throws the floo powder on the floor with perhaps a bit of anger.

Irritatingly, she can't even get a moment of peace and quiet for herself as her dad was sitting on the sofa opposite the fireplace as she came through. "Did you know?" She asks, despite the sinking feeling in her gut that he did.

He at least had the sense to appear guilty for it. "Addie..."

"Alright then." She turns on her heel and walks out of the room, not even bothering to look back at him as he calls her name, simply heads straight to her room.

---

Addie stayed in her room all afternoon and evening, like the mature woman she is, and used the time to pack her trunk before she went back to school in the morning. It was rather easy to unleash her anger by throwing the clothes into the trunk instead of folding them neatly to prevent any wrinkles. It worked for nearly ten minutes until she became too frustrated and her anger deflated, leaving her with unfolded clothes and a messy room.