and I stand with you

seven

Morning light shined down on Fred and me's bodies, and whispering could be heard at the other side of the room. Our heads both peaked at the same time to the noise, seeing his siblings and mother standing in the doorway.
"They even wake up at the same time!" Ginny cried, trying to stifle her laughter.
"Merlin." Fred groaned and dropped his head back to his pillow.
"Come, children, let's leave the lovebirds be." Molly chuckled, pushing her kids out of the door.
"How do you feel?" Fred asked, rubbing my back. I only responded by putting my head back on his chest and letting out a low grumble.
"Thats what I thought."

"Eat up, pumpkin." Molly pinched my cheeks. This would have been unbearable if not for the potion Fred put in my coffee. Molly was a wonderful mother, and she was the most warm women I had ever met.
"Thank you so much, Mrs. Weasley." I thanked her again.
"Oh dear, please call me Molly." She pinched me again. Fred also pinched me between my legs on my inner thigh as he rubbed circles in my skin. I felt at peace.

Feeling peacefulness like this didn't come easy for me, really.

When I was 6 years old, my father was arrested for 13 counts of murder. I, Octavia Black, was taken in by Sirius Black when I was 4 days old. He gave me his name, he gave me his home, and he gave me his love. When he was arrested and thrown into Azkaban without trial, a part of me died. When I thought about if he had a black mark, I started digging deeper and deeper into dark magic, and I knew how powerful and dangerous it was.

And that was how I was sure he was innocent.

My father would have never dealt with such dark forces, because he knew you could never come back. He wouldn't have done that to me, to his godson, or to any of the rest of the family.

Following his arrest, I was brought in by a distant family member of Sirius', but I had kept in contact with my mother, who went into hiding after my dads arrest. I had chosen to stay at Hogwarts year round after a couple of years of staying with his family. They were awful, and treated me like a black sheep, no pun intended. Staying at Hogwarts had given me an advantage of taking classes all summer, getting me into advanced courses. Staying with Fred last night was the first night I had been away from Hogwarts for years.

The thought made me snap back to where I was, and I finished breakfast. Fred and I returned to his room and cuddled in his bed until we decided it was time to go back to Hogwarts finally.

When I got to my dorm, it was empty, but on my bed lay a letter, crisply folded parchment with dark green seal wax, and emblem I would recognize anywhere on top. I set it in the top drawer of my nightstand and made my way to the dining hall.

"Via! Finally, I thought you had gotten lost." Fred patted my head before messing up my hair.
"Hey, don't touch the hair." I swatted him arm away before taking my seat next to him.
"Where are your robes?" He asked, as I normally endowed them everywhere.
"Where are yours?" I ignored the question, sipping pumpkin juice.
"The names are being announced for the tournament today!" George said from the other side of me, which got the whole group giddy. Students from all over filled the hall, and I looked back at the Slytherin table to see them pointing out flaws in anyone who passed by. Sickening.

When Cedric Diggory was announced as the Hogwarts contender, every table cheered in unison. It seemed that few, if at all, were concerned for these kids safety.

We were all in disbelief when the goblet spit out a second name for Hogwarts, and when Dumbledore read aloud the name of our friend, the whole Gryffindor table stayed silent.
"Harry Potter." He read a second time, and while the other students cheered, I squeezed Fred's hand silently, and stared at Harry in shock.
"He had to have cheated somehow." Ron snorted, and we all knew he was upset that Harry would have entered his name without telling him. Harry was too young, however, so it would have taken some strong magic to get his name to stick. Nothing like the age potion I had given Fred and George, which I purposefully messed up so they couldn't have entered.
"Just be glad I gave you a bad potion." I mumbled to Fred and George, and they both looked over at me in disbelief.
"You did what?" George asked. I shook my head.
"Nothing." I replied, getting up from the table and taking a seat at my own houses table. Neither of the twins looked twice, and instead squished together and started bickering.
"Lover boy doesn't love you anymore?" Draco dissed as soon as I sat down.
"I'm not dealing with your shit, Malfoy ." I grumbled, waiting for Dumbledore to let us leave.

I thought it over in my head as I walked back to my common room. Who could have put Harry's name in the goblet? Why would they? What kind of magic would override a binding contract like that? My mind floated to the letter sitting in my nightstand, and I rushed to my room to find it. I tore the seal, and pulled out the parchment inside.

My dearest Octavia

I stared at the words in front of me, tears swelling in my eyes. My father had written me. Since his arrest, I had not seen him, and since his escape I hadn't heard from him. My stomach churned, and I felt like I would most definitely hurl when I read the only words on the page. No 'how are you', no 'I'm doing alright', nothing about him or me. No questions, no answers. Instead, two words scribbled quickly into the parchment, words that made me fear what would come next.

Brace yourself.

I felt the room swirl around me, and the letter fell from my hands as darkness came around me.