The Enemy of my Enemy

The Memories of Avery Sutherland

"Hello, Teddie, how are you doing?"

Teddie shrugged as she closed the door to the study behind her. Sitting on the edge of Mo's desk was Caroline Kyle; she had arrived a few hours ago and had been escorted to the Flint's Summer house from a second safe house as not to draw suspicion, or just in case she was followed.

It seemed that in the last three months Voldemort's forces had extended beyond the British borders and was now happening abroad, too.

"Mo tells me you're still resisting the trials," said Caroline. "Any particular reason?"

Again, Teddie shrugged. She didn't mean to resist the trials, but they were so painful that sometimes fighting them was the only relief she got.

"You know that we have to do this, right?" Caroline asked.

"Yes."

"Ah, so you can speak."

Teddie glared at the woman that was supposed to be her aunt. "I'm not particularly in the mood to speak with the woman who put a target on my parents backs," she said.

Caroline sighed. "Speaking of which," she said. "Last year, Dumbledore mentioned to you about taking sessions with me. Do you remember?"

Teddie nodded.

"Well, since we didn't actually get around to doing them last year, I figured we could do them now," said Caroline.

"You want to show me how Avery grew up?" Teddie asked. "What makes you think I care?"

Caroline shrugged. "You don't need to care," she said. "But understanding Avery may help you to stop her. Of course, the choice is yours."

"Do I really have a choice?"

"Of course you do. You're eighteen now, Teddie, you can choose to say no."

Teddie studied the older woman. To say no meant giving up, at least in her mind it did. That was something she wouldn't never do. "What exactly are you expecting me to learn from this?" she asked. "I want Avery's head on a plate for what she did to my parents. I want her to feel the same agony they did, want her to scream for me as they screamed for her."

Caroline's eyes widened.

"How is showing me how much of a good girl Avery was as a child going to help me get that payback?" Teddie asked.

"As I said, it will help you understand what Avery went through in order to become the woman she is today," said Caroline. "She wasn't always so bloodthirsty, you know."

"You're supposed to say that. You're her sister."

"I mean it," said Caroline. "I remember a girl that loved butterflies and wanted to learn. Yes, she always wanted freedom, but when she met the Dark Lord she changed. He manipulated her into the woman she is today."

Teddie scoffed. She was having a hard time imaging Avery Sutherland as anything other than ruthless and cruel. "I'll go down memory lane with you, Caroline," she said. "But I can't promise that my feelings for Avery will change. Regardless of the person that she was, she murdered the only two people that loved me more than life itself. I won't ever forgive her for that."

Caroline nodded. She would be lying if she said she was disappointed to hear this, but Teddie was an adult now, she was entitled to her opinion, even if it didn't align with her own. And, on some level, while she still loved her sister, she knew that Teddie was doing what was best for her remaining family.

Everything Caroline had wanted for Avery, Teddie wanted for Mason. Love, freedom, protection. The coloration was easy to see, the only difference being Mason wasn't about to turn into a cold-blooded murder to obtain his freedom.