Adele Black: The End

Our Coming-of-Age Has Come and Gone

Adele Black: The End

Our Coming-of-Age Has Come and Gone

"Mom! Mom! Mom! You'll never guess what Res is doing!" Lyra grinned with a smirk.

"Yeah Mom, you'll never guess!" Leo said with an impish grin.

"We'll help you out, though! He's trying to set James up!" Phoebe exclaimed.

A smile played on my lips as I looked at the three troublemakers.

Lyra was now 15 years old and was growing up into a remarkable young woman. Her blonde hair was cut to her shoulders, and her eyes were the same blue that they were when she was born. She would be going into her fifth year at Hogwarts in the fall, where she would find herself back in the cool dungeons of Slytherin house with her cousin Albus. The two of them had been sorted into Slytherin during their first year and were lucky to have each other. The two of them had a friend group consisting of three other Slytherins in their year.

First, there was Scorpius Malfoy, who was hopelessly and helplessly in love with Rose Weasley, a Gryffindor. He also happened to be Lyra's cousin, but they hadn't met much throughout their childhood. Unfortunately, Draco and I drifted apart as the years went by, but thankfully our children becoming friends at school brought us closer together again. Their second friend was Ethan Zabini, a kind young man who had recently begun to stumble over his words whenever Lyra was in his presence. Third was Alice Longbottom, Neville's daughter, and Albus could hardly look at her without blushing nowadays. The five of them were as thick as thieves.

Leo and Phoebe were twins and had turned 11 in March. They were two of the youngest Weasley cousins. Lily, Harry and Ginny's youngest, was two years older than them, and so was Hugo, Ron and Hermione's youngest. They wouldn't be heading into their first year alone, however, because Lucy, Audrey and Percy's youngest, would be attending with the twins as well.

Leo's full name was Leo Regulus Black-Weasley. Leo came from the constellation, not Leo Valdez, and Regulus came from not only my Uncle, but also from the brightest star in the Leo constellation. His hair was bright red like a fire, similar to that of his father's. He had piercing stormy gray eyes though, just like his brother. Aside from that, his face was all Weasley. He was mischievous just like his older brother and dad, and often didn't know where to draw the line.

Phoebe was Leo's twin sister, and she was born 15 minutes after him. Her full name was Phoebe Asteria Black-Weasley. Phoebe came from one of Saturns many moons, along with Phoebe, the Titan of intellect. Asteria came from Asteria, the goddess of the stars. Her hair was bright red like her brother's, and but her eyes were bright blue instead of a stormy gray. She was mischievous and intelligent, and often the mastermind behind the pranks that she would pull with Leo and Lucy.

After Lyra was born, I briefly went back to working with Themis on the odd occasion. I worked long hours and was gone at random times. It was probably the most drained I had ever felt, but I pushed through until one case was my breaking point. I don't regret working that case, but I shouldn't have, considering how close I was to the situation. When Lyra was 2 and Res was 4, it was discovered that the monster that shot a poisoned arrow at Thalia wasn't a monster at all: Hera had enlisted Eris, her daughter with Zeus, to see that Thalia was taken care of once and for all. Eris, the goddess of strife and discord and basically chaos, had one of her children do it. Whichever child that was had been killed by the Hunters of Artemis the day of Thalia's death.

It was a gruesome trial and it was long and hard and awful. The whole process felt like a year despite it really only being 6 months. There were 2 goddesses on trial: Eris and Hera. It was pure hell putting that case together, and I was hardly ever home. I owed it to Thalia to ensure that justice was brought. If not to her, then I owed it to myself. My constant absence from home during that time put huge strain on my marriage, and it all came to a head on Christmas Day.