Fear of a Name

Chapter Eighty-Three: Saying Goodbye

A/n: ok, before I start with this chapter I just want to say sorry for not publishing it yesterday! I had a power cut, and then I fell asleep 🤦🏻‍♀️
Aaaanyways, I hope you enjoy the final chapter! 🖤
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"That's Uncle Vernon," Harry said quietly to me as we got through the barrier, pointing to a big, beefy man with a rather unpleasant expression. "He — uh — doesn't like magic." He had said this last part because his uncle was standing a good distance from two adults with fiery red hair — who I recognised from Sirius' newspaper clipping as Ron's parents — eyeing them suspiciously, and when Mrs Weasley hugged Harry in greeting, his worst suspicions about them seemed confirmed.
"I'll call about the World Cup!" Ron yelled after Harry as Harry bid him, Hermione, and me goodbye, then wheeled the trolley bearing his trunk and Hedwig's cage toward his uncle, the letter from Sirius clutched tightly in his hand.

"Ron, who's this?" Mr Weasley asked, nodding his head at me.
"Oh, this is—"
I gestured for him not to say my full name, but he didn't see.
"—Ivory Riddle," he finished.
"Great, thanks, Ron," I muttered as his parents' faces both paled considerably, and they carefully pulled both him and Hermione away from me.

"What do you think you're doing, being so near to her?" I heard Mrs Weasley hiss at Ron. "You know what her parents have done—"
"I'm not defined by my parents' actions," I said, looking up at the big clock on the wall. "Ron, Hermione, did either of you see what time the note showed up?"
"No, but at a guess, I'd say it was about five minutes ago," Hermione said, pulling herself away from Ron's parents, and walking back over to me.

"I-I should get back onto the platform... just in case she comes early..." I muttered, my eyes stinging with tears.
Hermione suddenly flung her arms around me, tears running down her face.
"I-I'm going to m-miss y-you," she sobbed, ignoring Mr and Mrs Weasley's protests in the background.
"I-I'd say I-I'll miss you t-too, but I-I—" I said, finally allowing my own tears to fall.
"I-I know," she said quietly, stopping me from finishing my sentence — not that I'd have been able to do so anyway.

Then Ron pulled free of his parents as well and ran over, joining in our hug.
"It's not going to be the same without you, Ivory," he said quietly, his voice shaking.
"I'm sorry," I whispered.
We stood like that for a few minutes, then I finally pulled away from them.
"I've got to go," I said, forcing myself to stop crying and wiping the tears from my face. "She'll be here soon..."
And without waiting for them to say anything, I walked through the barrier again, so I was now back on platform nine and three-quarters.

There was only one person there now, and when I saw who it was, I stopped in my tracks. My eyes, which were now red and puffy from crying, grew wide.
"So," Mother said, walking threateningly over to me. "You decided not to listen to what I told you to do."
"I-I—"
"How dare you?!" she hissed, her voice so thick with venom that I took a few steps backwards, almost going right through the barrier again. "How dare you disobey my orders?!"

"P-please, M-Mother... I-I was just—"
She grabbed my arm so hard it felt like it was going to break, her nails digging painfully into it.
"The rat's already told your father exactly what happened that night." Her voice was soft now, but I knew this meant danger. The softer her voice became, the more danger you were in. Right now, the danger levels were off the scale. I cowered backwards.

"I-I-I—" I started, my voice barely audible, but she cut me off again.
"Silence!" she snarled. "You disobeyed my orders not to leave this platform, and you disobeyed too many of your father's orders to even count!"
She jerked my head up sharply so I was looking straight at her.
"And you've been crying," she said, looking at my puffy, red eyes and the tear-tracks on my face in disgust. "Showing weakness again... you're not even worth the air you're breathing."
I didn't say anything this time, though I was silently agreeing with her in my head.