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Perseus Black was moping in the library when a first-year Hufflepuff ran up to him, his cheeks flushed red and chest heaving up and down as he handed the older boy a handwritten letter by Dumbledore before rushing off again. Perseus glanced down at the note and frowned at the few words that stared back at him, simply telling him to meet Dumbledore in his office. A knot twisted in the pit of his stomach as he didn't even bother grabbing his stuff before taking off towards Dumbledore's office.
He lost track of how long it was or how many twists or turns he had taken before he ran into Fred Weasley. Glancing at each other and sizing each other up, the two noticed they both had similar handwritten notes crumpled in their hands. They shared worried glances as they ran the rest of the way. It wasn't long before they stood in front of a somber Dumbledore as he told them the news.
Maria Black was dead.
She was stabbed to death by whoever was behind the cause of the Chamber of Secrets. There was no magic that could save her, or so Dumbledore claimed. Even if their had been, she had died before she had even made it to the hospital wing.
Fred didn't know how to feel, so he focused on his friend instead. His best friend who had just been told his sister was murdered. He glanced over to Perseus worriedly but was surprised by his unmoved face. It almost seemed as though he didn't care that Maria was dead.
"Now I'm sure-" Dumbledore began only to be cut off by Perseus.
"She's not dead," Perseus voiced, much to Fred and Dumbledore's concern. Dumbledore opened his mouth again as Fred's concern for the boy grew.
"No," Perseus refused to listen to anything Dumbledore had to say about his sister. "I want to see her."
"Perseus, are you sure that's a good idea?" Fred asked softly. He was upset by Maria's death as well, but he knew looking at her dead body wouldn't do anyone any good.
"You don't understand," Perseus told Fred with a grim look. "Although I suppose it was only a matter of time before you found out."
Fred furrowed his eyebrows together at the words, confused at what Perseus had meant. None of it mattered anymore. No matter what secrets he thought the two siblings were hiding meant nothing now that Maria was dead.
"Very well," Dumbledore agreed, both intrigued and confused at Perseus' insistence that his sister wasn't dead. There had always been something off about the Black girl that he had never been able to uncover and perhaps Perseus could shed some light on the matter. "Follow me."
Dumbledore led them out of his office and down the dingy corridors of Hogwarts as both boys followed him somberly. It wasn't long until they came along the hallway where Maria had her last breaths, but they were surprised to find George leaning over the girl's body with a pale face and shaky hands.
"George?" Fred questioned as George's head shot up so he could look at his brother.
"Fred," George's voice cracked as he stood to meet his brother. "I tried. The-here was just to-too much blood."
Fred couldn't think of anything to say, for there was nothing he could say to make anything better as he hugged his brother tightly. George sobbed into his brother's chest, traumatized by what he had witnessed as Fred stared numbly at the walls around him, too afraid to look anywhere else. He was having difficultly comprehending his emotions and he didn't want to. He wanted to stay as numb as possible to avoid the feeling of guilt and sorrow that would surely plague him.
He comforted his brother as best he could, but he knew he wasn't doing the best job when he too was having trouble comprehending his grief. He pulled himself away from his brother several minutes later as he turned all his attention to Perseus, who had not moved from his sister's side since they had arrived.
"Perseus," Fred finally mumbled as he avoided looking at Maria and placed a hand on his best friend's shoulder only for Perseus to shrug him off.
"She's not dead," Perseus repeated with a whisper as he held his sister in his arms, waiting for her to come back. "Or at least she won't be."
Fred, George, and Dumbledore all shared confused looks through their tears and grief as they stared back at Perseus, who seemed to be waiting for her to come back. Fred opened his mouth to argue some sense into his friend, or at least move him away from his dead sister when a sudden gasp filled the room as Maria Black's eyes snapped open.
Three pairs of eyes zeroed in on the Gryffindor girl in absolute shock as Maria bolted upwards into a sitting position, breathing heavily as she took in her surroundings. Her eyes seemed even more haunted as they darted around the corridor and seemingly looked through everyone standing there in front of her. With every second, she seemed to panic more as she struggled to adjust to coming back to life.
"Hey, it's okay," Perseus reassured his sister as he reached out and grabbed her hands in an attempt to calm her. "Everything's going to be fine."
Maria's eyes darted to where Perseus held her hand as he quickly followed her gaze, both twins paling when they realized she wasn't wearing any gloves.
