killer | harry potter (DISCONT.)

6. nobody is ever missing

"You're a mother, Ma. You're also a monster. But so am I—which is why I can't turn away from you. Which is why I have taken god's loneliest creation and put you inside it."

Ocean Vuong, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous

—

Orion, as she was prone to do, complicated things.

She very adamantly refused to stay behind. And she was as (if not more) stubborn than Cass. Which meant trouble.

They fought about it. A real, screaming, slamming doors fight. Which was rare for them.

Rye accused Cassiopeia of treating her like a doll, and acting as if she was her mother. Cass accused Rye of being a spoiled brat, and never listening.

It took them over a week to come to an agreement. And Cass... had to give in. Rye would be allowed to go along to England, but only if she agreed to do as Cass said, and not to leave the house, unless she was accompanied by either Cassiopeia or a pre-approved adult.

So here they were. All in all, it wasn't so bad going back to England. Cass got to see her (biological) grandmother and aunts and uncles who lived there, which was nice because she missed them.

They were currently staying at Grandma Muna's house, mostly because the woman wouldn't hear about them staying anywhere else. But it was good. She was a great cook and Rye always listened to her.

A couple of days after Cass's questioning, she met with her friend Maury to talk about a possible gig editing the zine he worked for. It'd be a good little freelance job. If it materialized.

Either way, Cassiopeia took longer than she'd thought in the meeting, so she had to rush home in order to make it to a much-dreaded meeting.

"Rye! Are you ready? It's time to go," Cassiopeia called out the second she opened the door to her grandmother's midsized cottage.

Cass was about to climb up the stairs to go get her sister when Rye emerged like a ghost from the kitchen. She did not look ready. She was dressed but her hair was a mess. Then Cass noticed her face. She looked upset.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She sounded like she was holding back tears.

Cass's gaze travelled down to the newspaper in Orion's hands. Cass snatched it from her. MALFOY HEIR IMPLICATED IN BOXING DAY ATTACKS.

Oh, fuck. "Where did you get this?"

"I'm fourteen, I can get a newspaper by myself."

That wasn't an answer. "I have told you many times that the Daily Prophet is a corrupt organization."

Rye crossed her arms over her chest. "So, it's not true then?"

Cass gritted her teeth. She quickly went over the article. It was brief. Talking about her being a suspect in the case.

...Malfoy, 24, was seen at the DMLE this past Tuesday and has been 'minutely questioned' by several Aurors...

Cass had to resist the urge to tear the page apart. She settled for a frustrated sigh. "It's not technically... untrue."

"What the hell, Cass!" Rye cried.

"This is exactly why I didn't want to tell you."

"So, you would've let me find out when you were put on trial?"

"I would've told you, eventually, if you let me. But right now things aren't that clear. I didn't want you to be upset before anything even happened."

Rye groaned in frustration. "I've told you so many times that I want to know these things. I don't like it when you lie to me."