See You Again

-𝕃𝕏𝕍𝕀𝕀-

'Shh! Quiet!' James whispered as he tiptoed into the room. 'I am being quiet!' Sirius whispered back. 'Both of you be quiet!' Remus whispered, cutting off James' reply. They both stuck their tongue out at Remus, before moving to their places. '3 ...' James whispered, '2...' Sirius whispered, 'ONE!' The three of them chorused as they pointed their wands in the air and spelled out orange and black confetti, 'HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!' They shouted as they jumped onto Ara's bed to wake her up. 'Happy Halloween...' She mumbled, pulling herself up into a sitting position. 'Why so glum, chum!?' Sirius asked. Ara let out a sigh, 'Halloween and me tend to not get along...' 'What do you mean?' Remus asked. 'Something bad always happens around me on Halloween, every year! It's like a curse!' Ara mumbled. 'Surely, you've had at least one good Halloween.' James asked, baffled. 'Nope.' Ara said. 'Well, then that year is this year!' Sirius beamed. 'If you say so.' Ara relented, smiling at their annoying enthusiasm that she couldn't help but love. 'Come on! Time to go wake up Reggie next!' James cheered. With a snort, she got up and followed the trio out and one by one they went to everyone's rooms to wake them up. It seems this was a tradition of James' as by the time they got to Euphemia and Fleamont's room, before they could cheer and shoot out confetti - Ephy and Monty suddenly opened their eyes, sat up and pulled out their wands beating them to it. Ara and the others burst into laughter seeing James stand there pouting as the confetti fell over them all, one even getting stuck on his lip. 'Oh, cheer up Jamie! You'll get us eventually, love. Just not today!' Euphemia beamed.

'Morning.' Orion greeted, handing Abraxas a cup of tea as he silently watched the chaos in the kitchen. 'I don't know what's more surprising, a rambunctious bunch of teenagers attempting to cook... or that I can't imagine ever going back to my silent morning's at Malfoy Manor.' Abraxas mumbled, as he eyed Lucius full of amusement watching him attempt to flip his pumpkin shaped pancake. Orion and Abraxas exchanged glances with one another before mumbling at once, 'Both.' They let out small snorts as Fleamont and Alphard finished up with making their cups and quickly joined them, escaping the chaos of the kitchen. 'Any updates with Thaddeus?' Fleamont asked. 'Last week. Said he'd be gone for a bit but that he narrowed down the list.' Orion replied. 'Which means he obviously has someone in mind, and is trying to confirm it.' Alphard mumbled. 'Sounds about right.' Abraxas voiced, cringing at Lucius dropping his pancake on the floor. Orion wasn't listening anymore as he focused on Ara helping the boys cook. Her smile reminded him of when she'd win her Quidditch games or was with her godfather, in the memories he saw. And now she's gotten to experience life with a real family, as odd as this group of us are. 'She looks happy.' He mumbled out with a fond smile. 'She's finally let her guard down, took a while but... I believe she finally realized that she doesn't have to be scared with us.' Fleamont answered with his own little smile, watching as Ara was busy separating Regulus and Sirius from their little food fight. 'How's the cure coming along?' asked Abraxas. The group let out a little snort seeing Barty melt like ice the moment Ara spoke to him, making him accidently put his elbow in the batter. 'Thanks to Ara's gift, we've got a werewolf to test freely on. And we've got time to figure out a way to safely extract some blood during the full moon.' Alphard answered. 'I just hope we manage to create it soon, poor little Fin is still very terrified over being a werewolf.' Fleamont added. 'How is he doing with the Longbottom's?' Orion asked. 'Good, a few times Ara had to go over to help calm him but he's been adjusting.'

The Floo flared up and Thaddeus Nott stepped out of the fireplace, drawing the little group's attention. 'Ah, he lives.' Abraxas joked, though the smile quickly fell as he noticed Thaddeus's tense shoulders and pale complexion that was lighter than usual. 'You know.' Orion answered, heart plummeting to his stomach. Thaddeus nodded. All at once Orion, Thaddeus, Fleamont, Alphard and Abraxas turned their heads to look at Ara, who was laughing and smiling as bright as ever. 'Must we tell her?' Abraxas choked out. 'We have to...' Thaddeus whispered. 'What if we don't destroy it?' Alphard asked, 'Can't we just lock him up somewhere, l-like Grindelwald?' Fleamont numbly shook his head, 'He'd live forever with the Horcruxes, no one can keep him captive that long. Especially with how skilled he is... he'd get out eventually. Ara would never - ... She'd never accept it.' He croaked out, trying to hold back his tears and keep his composure. Orion put his tea down on the coffee table and quickly left the room. The others silently watched him leave, faces displaying their sad emotions. Ara came skipping into the room with a bright smile, 'Breakfast is ready!' she cheered. Her smile fell as she looked from one person to another, 'What's wrong?' Silence passed, before Thaddeus reluctantly took a step forward and cleared his throat. 'I know who has the cup.' 'Oh.' She whispered out, numbly. 'W-Who has it?' Thaddeus took a deep breath before forcing out, 'Thorfinn Rowle.' 'Rowle...' She croaked out, immediately getting flashes of the moment she killed him in Azkaban. She shook her head, clearing her mind before redirecting her gaze. Looking from one person to another before noticing someone was missing, 'Where's Ori?'