White Heather for Protection

Wedding Bells and Vicious Spells

The day after Hadrian's birthday was a slow one. There was nothing planned except to recuperate in the aftermath of the party. Sure, Hangover Potions were a thing, but no one was quite able to manage brewing one that cured a person completely. There would still be a lingering sense of nausea for the next few hours after taking it.

So yes, it was to be an uneventful day. That was, until Kingsley Shacklebolt flooed into the Burrow, clutching a newspaper, wide-eyed.

The auror headed straight for Mr and Mrs Weasley, whispering furiously as he pointed to an image in the paper. The two looked horrified by what they saw, which did not help the churning in Heather's gut. She had hoped for a few more days of peace before Volde- no, Voldie struck, but it seemed she would not be getting her wish.

She wasn't surprised when she and Hadrian were called to have a private talk. Wild imaginings of what could possibly have happened ran through her mind. Had their parents' graves been ransacked? The muggleborns on the registry captured and killed? What?

Mrs Weasley looked at them with watery eyes and handed them the newspaper wordlessly.

The first thing she noticed was that it was a muggle paper, as the pictures and words stayed static. The next thing was the gigantic headline splashed across the page.

GRISLY TRIPLE MURDER AT PRIVET DRIVE

She didn't even need to read the rest of the article to know what had happened. But she continued anyway.

...bore marks of torture...eviscerated...

...slow, painful deaths...

...bodies hacked to pieces...

...no signs of perpetrator found onsite...pending investigation...nothing abnormal witnessed by neighbours...

She ignored the family picture included on the page, not needing to see the faces of the victims. Stone-faced she put the article back down. She could feel her brother's unease from next to him.

"Was it Vold-"

Heather cut him off with a sharp movement. "Don't say his name!"

Her brother looked at her, stunned. She had never been afraid to speak the word, but that was before she had learnt of the Taboo. She shook her head slightly, indicating she would address it later.

Mr Weasley understood her brother's question, however. "Yes, You-Know-Who attacked your relatives last night."

"Why?" she asked. "Surely he knows that we haven't lived there in ages!"

"I'm not sure," Mrs Weasley said, frowning, "Maybe it was to draw Hadrian out."

"And because he thought he could hurt us by killing them," Hadrian said darkly.

"Thank you for telling us, Mr and Mrs Weasley. May Hadrian and I be excused?" Heather could tell that the couple were worried about them, but hesitant to pry. In the end, Mrs Weasley simply nodded and gave them each a hug.

Heather and Hadrian walked mutely up to the boys' currently-empty bedroom. Once sitting across from each other, she realised she didn't know what to say.

Hadrian being Hadrian, was the first to break the silence. "Is it horrible of me that I don't feel sad? I mean, I should, right? They were our relatives. And they died so horribly."

Considering her words carefully, she finally said, "I think that it's perfectly fine you feel that way." Ducking her head, she confessed, "I'm actually a little- well not happy, but, relieved, I suppose you could say. I wonder if that makes me a bad person."