𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗸, harry potter

˗ˋ 19

CHAPTER NINETEEN
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-: fifth year :-

── IN WHICH THE TRUTH IS TOLD

. . .

Aviana settled down on the least dusty looking chair within the drawing room, which had cleaned the day before - meaning she didn't need to worry about some doxy jumping out the curtains at her, or a boggart rattling in the locked cabinets on the bottom of the shelving units.

She moved upwards for a moment, folding her skirt beneath her, before sitting back down, crossing her legs and claspings her hands together. If she weren't to follow all the rules of etiquette that her mother had forced upon her, she would at least follow some.

A moment later and she was joined Sirius, who looked rather nervous as he sat in the chair opposite, coughing at the cloud of dust that rose out of it. Aviana couldn't help but be glad she hadn't sat in that once, although she did feel rather bad.

"Should I go ask Mrs Weasley for a glass of water?" She asked eventually, shifting awkwardly in her seat. Aviana hadn't expected to speak first, especially not about that either.

Sirius shook his head, coughing twice more before stopping. Silence filled the room, neither knowing exactly what to say to each other. Before it had been so easy-going, the man being able to strike up a conversation with Aviana despite her answers being short, or slightly disturbing. 

He had been the only person she could talk to in the house of people who essentially hated her, but she didn't even have that anymore - and it always almost necessary for her to talk about how she felt. 

This was such a pivotal point in her life, something complicated and needed conversations to be able to understand to get through it. But Aviana didn't have that. She was already keeping enough from her friends - staying in the old Black house for the summer, reasons why her family had fallen apart - and she just knew that she couldn't talk to Draco, Blaise, Astoria, Theo or any Slytherin about this.

Her first family had disintergrated, her father in prison and her mother somewhere in France. And now, her supposedly true family halved by death, the only survivor sitting in front of her. She couldn't lose the school family she had, which she knew she would if she were to reveal what she had been doing for the final month of her summer holidays.

"Did you know?" Aviana took the first leap, the words leaving her mouth quietly. Sirius looked up at her, hand on the side of his chair tapping a pattern into the old leather. "Did you know I was your daughter." She continued.

"Well yes.. I'd heard some of the other inmates - Barty Crouch Jr. had come in with Evan Rosier, brother of your father, and I heard them talking about how William Rosier had a little girl." Sirius  began to explain, and despite Aviana's gaze being solely focused on the floor, her attention was taken up entirely by this story.

"Your mother, her name was Ophelia.. went by Lia." The corners of Sirius's lips turned upwards. "We had come up with baby names, she wanted to continue the tradition of the constellation names. So, for the first year of your life, I had been calling you Aquila, following her wishes. But when Evan Rosier talked about William's child, he was talking of a girl name Aviana."

"My middle name is Aquila." Aviana murmured, during one of the pauses that Sirius had taken.

"And before, your middle name had been Aviana. Aquila is Latin for eagle, and Aviana is Latin for bird. It seems that William and Eleanora only swapped around your name. I knew then, that you were my daughter rather than theirs." Sirius continued.

"I had nothing to escape for. I'll admit it, I should've gotten out sooner for you, but it's clear I would've ended up right back in that cell. But when I found out Pettigrew was alive, I had to get out and.." He trailed off, not voicing what he had wanted to do to the man he once called his friend. 

"You tried to drag me to the Shrieking Shack." Aviana said. "Were you going to tell me then? If Blaise and the others hadn't managed to pull me back."

"I'd been around since Halloween, I suspect Snape and Dumbledore were keeping quite the eye on you." Aviana nodded. "And I'm guessing the Dementors had quite the effect as well."

"Because of you.. right." She nodded again, and Sirius shook his head.

"I'm so sorry." He replied. Aviana's gaze finally moving from the floor up to him. "I should've told you straight away when you arrived here." 

"Why didn't you?" The Rosier girl asked, fiddling with her sleeves. 

"Dumbledore told me that you were coming right before you did. And just in case I hadn't figured it out, he told me all about you. But when you came along, you were so uncomfortable with everyone in the house. I didn't want to add to that, so I didn't. Instead I just tried to talk to you, and it seemed to work." Sirius replied with a shrug. 

"And then the other day I saw the tapestry and thought you might be on it. Despite you not being the child my mother wanted me to have you would be on their by default. Face blasted off because of me. And there you were, joined with the remains of my portrait and the empty space of Ophelia's. I should've told you sooner." He sounded so apologetic, and now that Aviana had it all laid out and explained, she understood. And she felt awful. 

It was the first time in a long time that her exterior had slipped in front of anyone. It had happened plenty of times up in her bedroom since arriving in this house, but this was the very first time anyone at the house had seen her like this. 

The panic when she found out was fitting, but the crying wasn't. And Aviana felt shock coursing through her veins as tears welled in her eyes, and she stood up suddenly. 

"I'll.. um.. I'll see you at dinner. Could someone bring up my lunch?" Sirius looked up at his daughter, careful not to meet her eyes - Aviana had too much pride to be seen crying, so he would just act as if she wasn't. 

"Of course." Sirius nodding, letting out a sigh and sinking into the old leather chair after Aviana had stalked out of the room, moving quickly up the stairs. Soon enough, a door slam could be heard, and once again, Aviana would be locked away in her room.

It had gone the best it could, it could've turned out way worse. And Sirius was so glad it hadn't.

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