"I would've been able to tell you that if you had just let me speak." Adam said softly. "You have no idea what it's like, in the Horned Serpent common room, on the Horned Serpent quidditch team." His voice trailed off. "You made me feel as though you didn't love me anymore-"
"That was never the case." Credence cut in. "No matter what you do we will always still love you. Isn't that right, Percival?"
Percival nodded solemnly. "I'm really sorry, Adam. I should have given you the chance to explain yourself. And I shouldn't have reacted in the way that I did. I was so caught up in all of this that I couldn't even think straight when I heard what you had done from Professor Thrain. All I kept thinking was that you had betrayed us, and I felt so hurt... But now I know that that isn't the case, so none of that matters anymore."
"No, of course it doesn't." Adam's voice rang out hollow and bitter, and there was an awkward silence.
"He didn't mean it like that." Credence said eventually. "He didn't mean that it doesn't matter that we hurt you, he just meant that we can all put this behind us now."
"I mean, not really." Sophia said. "There's still an issue inside the school. But once we've sorted that out I'm sure we can go back to just being normal again."
Percival nodded. "Adam I'm very sorry for how I made you feel, and now I feel terrible to have to ask for your help. You have the greatest advantage out of all of us here to find out what is really going on. Would you be willing to help us?"
Adam thought for a second before nodding slowly. "Fine. But I don't see what I can do that's so good."
"You are at the centre of it all. You are already close in one way or another to someone who you might be able to use to work out the person or people who are behind all of this. I mean we could be wrong. John could end up being one of the people that Daniel eluded to; someone who is treating the whole situation as a joke and taking it too far. But whatever is going on with him, I think you're the person to find it out."
"How?" Adam asked.
"Ask questions, steer conversation. Of course, don't do anything to make him suspect what you are trying to do. We don't want word spreading about where we stand. Otherwise who knows what could happen? The last thing we need is for them to pack it up and destroy any evidence before we have the chance to find out the truth."
Adam sighed. "Alright." He said uncertainly. "I can't promise anything, but I'll try and dig a bit deeper. I guess it's the least I can do."
Credence looked at his son with an expression that was meant to be a reasurring smile but ended up looking more like a grimace. Percival put a comforting hand on his shoulder.
- - - - -
The rest of the Easter holidays trudged by slowly. Although sometimes awkward, the Graves family managed to go about their days in the presence of each other in comfort and very little dispute. Sophia would still spend time with David, although far less than she did over the Christmas holidays and instead focused more of her attention on her brother, who seemed pleased to have her company again.
"The worst thing about what happened was the fact that I thought you hated me." Adam opened up to his younger sister one morning. "I didn't think I'd be able to cope, after that."
"I did too, at first." Sophia said as Adam's smile dropped from his face and was replaced with a look of concern. "But then Daniel fixed that for me."
"Well, thank goodness for Daniel then." Adam said stiffly.
- - - - -
Back at school, life resumed as normal and Sophia fell back into a routine with her classes and work. She was settled until David came bursting into the common room late one day a week into term.
"We've got an issue." He said, coming to stand straight in front of the armchair Sophia was sat in, attempting to do her astronomy homework.
"When don't we?" She sighed, setting her quill down. "What is it?"
David didn't answer, but slammed a sheet of paper down on the table in front of her. Sophia leaned forward to get a better look at it, squinting at the messy handwriting. Her body stiffened.
"What? So now they are after people who have No-Maj parents?" She asked quietly.
David nodded. "Sophia, do you know what this mean?"
"That our problem has just grown even bigger just as we start to believe that we've made progress with it?"
"Not just that. Don't you see? Before it was hatred directed towards people on the outside. People in here, hating people out there. Now, there are people in here who are being targeted. People who may be in danger by being surrounded by those who hate them and who are trying to spread that hate." David lowered his voice and sounded pitiful. "People like Daniel, Sophia."
Sophia's eyes grew wide, before she took the piece of paper, screwed it up and flung it into the fire. David spoke again, voice wavering.
"What are we going to do, Sophia?"
Sophia sighed. "We'll do as much as we can. For the time being though, we'll continue to do what we've always been doing: collect as many posters as we can, destroying them in the evenings, all while making sure people don't see us so that word doesn't get back to Professor Blackrose as that's the last thing we need. Meanwhile, we hope that my Father pays a visit to the school soon so that he can be kept up to speed with what is going on. Until then, though, I think I need to have a conversation with someone."
"Who?" David asked, scrunching up his nose.
"The captain of the Horned Serpent's quidditch team. John."
- - - - - - - - - -
Ta da! Another chapter done! Only nine more to publish!
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Innocence
Fanfic'Percival carefully took Credence's hands in his. "My darling." He said softly. "Hatred is a foul creature born initially from fear. But like a fire, as it spreads it becomes all-consuming and destructive. In time, the hatred may be quenched but fro...
