Blood Status || Marauders Era

Chapter 67|| Running Away

Needless to say that we won the hide and seek game.

It was a surprise actually, I was sure that since Sirius and Remus has the Map and the Cloak of Invisibility that they would win. But, true Marauders style, they started to argue and then the Cloak came off and they ignored the Map and gave themselves a detention by Filch for the first night back in sixth year. The others were found pretty quickly after that, but they were all amazed at our hiding spot.

Myself and Lily recounted the fact that we were basically sat in a room on comfortable chairs, talking and reading books that we found that I was sure wasn't there before, all night. "How did we not find you quicker than that?" Peter asked for the fifth time as we walked down to get the train at Hogsmeade station, all of us ready to go back to King's Cross. "Magic," I told them mysteriously.

"It was a lot less troublesome than I imagined, and we didn't even get caught, did we Athena?" Lily said to me. Sirius and Remus had bagged themselves a detention, and Alice and Marlene nearly got caught by Mrs Norris on the second floor near the Defence corridor. As we got on the train, James asked Lily, "Hey Evans, can you do me a favour?" Lily turned around to him, fed up, and yet again, rejected him, but then, the unexpected happened. 

James said, "I only wanted to ask if you could help me with Muggle Studies, I'm doing that again next year."

After that, the train ride was pretty silent, everyone had split up to sit with who they wanted, Alice had left to sit with Frank, the boys were in their own carriage and Aafiya had gone to the bathroom. The only noises were occasional whispers if someone asked a question or the train's continuous whirring as it rolled across the tracks like a majestic horse that was on an important journey.

We arrived at the station ten minutes earlier than I expected and as I got off, I held onto my luggage and decided what to do next. I bid the girls goodbye and the boys, I made my apologies to the Potters, saying that I needed to go home, and then I walked through the barrier dividing the magical and Muggle worlds. I walked through the only thing that had separated me from the Muggle world for five years. 

I used my strength to carry my luggage and my owl which was causing a small racket (I had to give her a treat to be quiet), and I did the only thing I could think of, I did what Lily told me to do, hail a taxi. It took a few attempts but on the fifth try, one of them actually stopped and let me get in and he asked me where I needed to go. I told the man my address, the address of the house I hadn't been to in a few years.

I had to rummage around for some Muggle money in the bottom of my slightly smaller trunk and paid the man, it wasn't too much and I still had some left over. I got out with a, "Thank you," and stared at the building in front of me. The outside was small, deceiving the public to the inside, and it was dark, it looked like a depressing place and all of the curtains were drawn, blocking the inside from the outside. There was only one thing left to do, knock.

There was a certain knock that my parents made every guest do when they came to our house, it was three taps, then a pause, then one knock, and it would signal that it was someone invited and not a random Muggle. I did so with hesitation, waiting for the door to swing open, and after seconds, the door opened to my father with a frown on his face, he was obviously not expecting guests, especially not me.

"Athena?" my father said breathlessly, he was surprised to say the least, I had succeeded in that aspect. "Who is it?" I heard from inside the house, that was my mother's awful shrill tone that echoed down the halls, I knew she was in the main room, probably reading or writing a letter. My father stepped aside to let me in and shut the door, he then said, "It's your daughter." I heard a gasp from inside the main room.

My mother then said quickly, "What do you mean? My daughter is already in her room, we got her from King's Cross half an hour ago." My heart sank, I knew my mother didn't exactly like me, but pretending I didn't exist was another low, now it was obvious who was sending me presents and gifts, and it wasn't her. "I apologise about your mother. She's changed, and not in a good way," my father said.

I was astonished, after all these years, after everything that had happened and probably a lot of my mother's taunts about me, he still cared for me, even if it was minimal. There was a noise coming from the main room and a click of heels and I saw my mother, in full demonic form, her dark brown hair cascading and her dark eyes glaring at me like a hawk. Her voice was crisp and cold, "Why are you here? You shouldn't be. You are no daughter of mine."

I felt tears sting my eyes, after everything she'd done, everything she's said, all of the hexes and curses I'd been put through, that sentence was the most painful. I scoffed, "Don't worry, I won't be here for long, I'm just getting the rest of my things and then you'll never have to worry about seeing me ever again." With that, I stormed up the stairs, looked around my room for the last time, grabbed all of my things, shoving them in a trunk and left.

Just as I stepped out of the door, two things happened, my father and mother started to argue and my sister stepped in front of me. "Goodbye then," she said, holding out her hand. I looked at her, confused, before pulling out my own hand , putting one trunk on the floor, and shaking her hand. "Where has this come from?" Belle laughed, shaking her head, "Just don't get used to it."

She then went back inside the house and closed the door to the many rooms that I thought I would never see ever again in my lifetime. I didn't know what to do, it was quite late, and there was probably not as many taxis around this area, I didn't have as much Muggle money left and so, I walked on. I walked for two hours and spotted a Muggle thing driving up to me. It stopped next to me and I stared at it from the path.

I bet I looked desperate, it had started to rain and I didn't have an umbrella, I was carrying three trunks, one with an undetectable extension charm, and an owl that was hooting from under one of my jackets covering the top of it. The window rolled down and from inside I saw someone who was glancing at each of my things in turn and then asked me, "D'you need a ride somewhere?"

"Do I know you?" I asked. I knew that it wasn't too safe to get into an automobile with a stranger, even James had told me that, even though he thought a murder mystery sounded fun. "I don't know but you're about to if you get in," the man said, smiling. I hesitated, getting into somewhere dry and getting to my location quicker sounded very good right now but I couldn't be sure, "What's your name?"

The man answered, "Maxwell McKinnon, anything else you need to ask? What's your name darling?" I gasped, it must have been the coincidence of a lifetime to meet one of the McKinnon brothers this way, "You're Marlene's brother, Maxwell. Is there any chance you can take me to the Potter manor?" 

Maxwell's face showed one of surprise, "You know my sister? Oh, and sure I can, it isn't far from here." I got in the car and pulled all of my things in after me, even the raging owl and the suspiciously light trunk.

"I'm Athena Pattinson, I'm friends with Marlene, we're in the same year and both Gryffindors." Maxwell laughed and talked on about coincidences and how much he'd heard about me, but I didn't really listen, I was determined to get to my location without much more stress. And that was a very good goal as within ten minutes, the clocks struck ten pm and we had just arrived at the Potter manor minutes after. 

"Thank you Maxwell, what do you need?" He shrugged it off and watched me towards the door before driving off.

I knocked by the lion knocker on the door hesitantly, I was unsure at whether they were still up or not, I heard feet coming behind the door and it opened to Fleamont Potter stood with a towel in his hand. "What are you- never mind, come in and sit on the couch." I made my way in, he told me to leave my things by the door and I followed him into the living room to sit on the couch. What I wasn't expecting was Sirius Black to be sat on the same couch.

"Athena?" Sirius questioned. I nodded and we both shared an understanding, for the first time in a long time, we'd paid a visit to our families and they'd both kicked us out, it was standard for blood traitors in a blood manic family. "Well isn't this a jolly get together, the whole gang's back together!" James cheered. Euphemia slapped her son on the back of his head and the bespectacled boy shrunk in his seat.

"It's fine Mrs Potter, humour is my only coping mechanism too," Sirius sighed, lowering his head down dramatically. "What am I going to do with you lot, eh? Welcome to the Potters I guess, welcome home," Euphemia laughed. Home, I liked that word, it was fitting, it was nice. This place felt like more of a home than that house ever was.