𝒞𝑜𝓇𝒹𝑒𝓁𝒾𝒶'𝓈 𝒮𝓉𝓇𝑒𝑒𝓉 || OC x OC

All You Had To Do Was Stay

After Bellatrix left, to say I was shocked was the least you could say. The whole family left after lunch but my mind had been fixed on the whole conundrum that occurred between Bella and I. I wanted to excuse myself because I felt like throwing up, I didn't want to be around them when they were all being so mean to me, like I was only 10 there was no reason to be so bloody aggressive but I had done my best to kind of move past the situation. I decided to focus on the day.

The day I would get to see Regulus and Sirius, the winter break was coming around and so was my birthday. Siri and Reg told me they would definitely come back to celebrate. To say I was excited was an understatement. Last year when Sirius came back all three of us stayed in our room and talked and laughed and it was just great, it was a really good birthday. So there I was waiting for my parents to go pick them up from the platform until my father came into the living room to find me sitting patiently just staring at the door.
"Cordelia, what are you waiting for?" He asked
"Well I'm ready," I answered, well it wasn't really an answer, just informing him I was prepared to go pick them up.
"Ready for what..?" He questioned.
"To pick Sirius and Regulus up!" I said, excitement bubbling from my voice. I could see my fathers confused face twist into one of pity, but not the nice pity, the type of pity which is like "Oh! I'm so sorry your dog dies but it's not my dog so I don't really care."
"Cordelia, this year Sirius and Regulus are just going to stay at Hogwarts. They asked your mother and she agreed to it," When my father muttered those words, I could feel my eyes start to prick with tears.
"Oh. I didn't know that," a pause, one so obvious that if my father had cared one bit he would've asked me if I was feeling fine or good. "I'll just go back to my room."
"Alright then," He replied.
Turning myself away from him, I headed towards the door before he added, "Oh- Um and I recommend you don't depend too much on your brothers, it's now clear to see that they're not the best set of people to look up to." I nodded  in agreement and continued walking towards the staircase. When I realised I was out of my fathers sight I felt the need to run up to my bedroom and sob into one of my pillows, one whole year I hadn't seen either of them and they couldn't even come to my birthday?

They promised me.

They promised me that they'd come and celebrate with me. I know that maybe this isn't  fair to them in the grand scheme of things  but it's my 11th birthday! Turning 11 means a lot. It means I'll go to Hogwarts, meaning I can finally leave this place for a bit of time. I tried to make excuses trying to convince myself there was a real very important reason they couldn't come. Maybe something absolutely terrible happened but the things Bellatrix had said to me last time we met were looming in my mind. Maybe she was right. I know that I shouldn't be mad at them just for this but come on - I've been looking forward to this day forever and the two most beloved people in my life were not here. Worst of all, maybe they didn't want to be here.

Whatever, it doesn't matter. I need to be less dependent on them anyway. Right? Like Bella said, they didn't care. They didn't matter. Merlin's beard! I hated how much I still cared. I just wanted to stop. Stop everything, I wanted to stop how much I cared, how much I missed the two of them. It was so unfair, how did they expect me to be fine when I'm completely and utterly alone. I miss them, but can I tell anyone? NO! Of Course not because it would be so odd for me to miss the only two people who care about me or cared about me. Nonetheless, I decided to just block my memories and thoughts on Siri and Reg the whole summer and focus on the things I had to prepare for before going to Hogwarts, so I read up on Defense against the dark arts and Potions as those were really the only subjects I found even a tad bit interesting. The whole winter was filled with me just studying and then going daisy picking. What a life.
"Cordelia!" My mother screeched. I shuddered and walked to the dining room where she stood next to my father. "Your letter came," she said holding out a brown envelope, my name and our address signed on it with green ink. A wide smile was plastered on my face when I took it from her hands and practically jumped up and down.
"Yes!" I yelped so happily that my letter had arrived. My parents exchanded proud glances and my father placed his arm on my shoulder.
"You'll make us proud, right Cordelia?"
"Yes. Yes, I will," I decided. I would. I would make them proud. My eyes were trained on both of them exchanging glance, prominent smirks on their faces.
"Come. Let's eat dinner," My mother said. My father nodded and we all took our places. I sat down looking down at my plate, I usually avoided eye contact and just ate quickly so I could leave.
"Are you excited for Hogwarts Cordelia?" My father asked. I was almost too stunned to speak, were we talking?
"Pardon?"
"Are you excited?" This time it was my mother who asked and oddly enough she was smiling, like actually smiling. It practically put a smile on my own face.
"Uh- Yes, I am," I replied.
"What about the subjects, are you excited for any of those?" My dad asked.
"Well..." Looking around I saw my parents hopeful face, I knew what they wanted me to say. Either Defence Against The Dark Arts or Potions, and to be fair those were the ones I was even slightly excited for. "Potions. I'm excited for potions," I looked over to my father. He was smiling, I had convinced myself that the action of smiling would be impossible for my father to do.
"Wonderful. That's wonderful Cordelia," My mother confirmed. Everything went silent again and I assumed our conversation was now over however I was very wrong because for the whole dinner my parents asked questions like what I would want to do at Hogwarts and which teachers I want to meet. Even though I didn't answer honestly to most questions I still appreciated the thought. I guess it made made me feel sort of important, like they cared. And the way they asked me question it sounded like they were curious to hear my response and maybe even a little excited? Ever since that night, diners had been a tad bit more fun, sometimes we'd talk about Hogwarts, my dads work or something my mother was planning. It was good. I was having fun in a way. All I could say is that it sucked a little less after the whole Regulus and Sirius incident. Not a lot but still a bit well until the day of my 11th Birthday.