Damned and defective, Lizzie Black was born to a mass-murderer and a vampire. As the culmination of two legacies of darkness, Lizzie's mind is as black as her surname. But, luckily for the girl who was named after the faintest constellation in the s...
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Chapter III
For the Love of Frodo
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Apollina Didymos could barely recognise the upbeat, chipper girl that emerged out of Doctor Saltzman's office that day in Germany.
The girl wore her niece's heart-shaped face and had her pale, golden hair, but other than that, the girl was a mystery to Apollina. Where Lizzie had always been deadpan and unenthusiastic about her appointments and emerged from them more snarky and irritated than ever, this Lizzie – whatever Doctor Saltzman had done to the blonde – had walked out of the office with a skip in her step and a grin on her face that told Apollina that everything was going to be alright.
And that good mood had continued for the next two weeks as Lizzie took an enthusiastic approach to mental well-being. She took her potion without needing to be reminded or convinced; she, willingly, participated in meditation sessions with Apollina, without needing to be convinced with a treat and she had started practicing some of the calming exercises Doctor Saltzman had taught her.
All in all, Lizzie hadn't had an episode in weeks, and things were starting to look up for the dysfunctional but mostly loving Didymos family.
And that continued –– until Apollina's father decided to reintroduce darkness into their lives, as he often had before.
Atticus Didymos was a man who radiated coldness. It was as if he had a large, invincible wall in front of him with 'do not come near me' plastered on it. For as long as she could remember, Apollina had never went to her father with any kind of problem, nor had she ever looked to him for anything that wasn't household-related, like money or discussing the twins. Approaching his golden years, Atticus had established himself in the ministry as one of the most talent curse-breakers in the Wizarding World, and had an influential role in foreign and internal wizarding relations. There was barely any curse the magnificent and mysterious Atticus Didymos couldn't break. Many wondered how he accomplished such impressive feats –– the answer? He didn't.
Her father's secret lay in the 'defective' abilities that he liked to look down on; the abilities Apollina's brother and sister were once burdened with, the ones that her niece now possessed. Siphoning –– the cursed legacy of the Didymos bloodline. Atticus had looked at his own children like they were scum because they were siphons, yet he still used it to his advantage. That had been Arabella and Adrian's only purpose, apart from being scapegoats. Now, Lizzie was Atticus Didymos' dark magic bin, and there was nothing Apollina could do to stop it.
That didn't stop her from trying.
She had been applying ointment to Aquila's burns when she had been alerted to her father's latest transgression. The burns had faded into pale pink scars, but Apollina still worried about them getting infected, and she knew that Aquila would prefer not being scarred for life, so she did her very best with the little healing knowledge she had to prevent that.
