Illusory § Order of the Phoenix

XXXIII. CAST BACK

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      Contrary to popular belief, Antares didn't know everything.

Surprising, considering Antares tried to know most of everything, a habit that came naturally with his academic inclinations and being a Seer. However, his recent scare had practically diminished his willingness to flaunt it.

It was near the end of the lunch period, and Antares wandered through the quiet corridors of Hogwarts with no clear destination in mind. He kept his steps measured, creating a rhythm that distracted him from the unsettling imprint on his psyche. The experience was as terrifying as it was humbling, causing him to confine himself to his chambers for the entire day after it happened. He didn't bother leaving his room to join the rest of the school for dinner, but he was thankful that McGonagall found time to send him a tray of food from the kitchens.

During that time, his only company was Peri. Antares thought about writing to Sirius. If there was anyone who understood what he was going through, it would be him.

Antares heard it some nights when he stayed at Grimmauld Place — his uncle's nightmares. It was hard to ignore since their rooms shared a wall. There were nights when he woke to pleas for help and short cries of panic, and sometimes, on the worst nights, Sirius would wander the halls. Antares would often join him, saying nothing while he led his uncle to the living room, where they would sit and watch the fireplace burn. One night, Sirius was angry enough to try and hack away at the family tapestry with a knife, so they saw nothing better than to make a game out of it.

They called it Black Darts. Essentially, they would stand at the opposite end of the room, taking turns calling out a name on the tapestry. The first person to hit that target earned a point, or if they both hit the target, whoever was closer to the centre would get it. Naturally, Antares lost the first few games, but he slowly learnt where each person was with each game. He was thankful that the tapestry was self-repairing, or else they wouldn't have been able to play after the second game. He wondered if Sirius continued to play without him, though he suspected it wasn't much of a challenge.

Oh, what Antares wouldn't give to play a round right now, but instead, here he was trying to think of a plan to evade the Ministry's backlash. Antares knew his final words to Umbridge would go poorly — a clear understatement. Peri delivered him this morning's issue of The Prophet, and with it was Fudge's denial of his allegations. The Minister even announced that his actions have led to Umbridge demanding a formal inquiry and his expulsion from Hogwarts. The Senior Undersecretary claimed that she would not sit idly by while he, an outsider, slandered her.

There stood another issue. With no real ammunition to use against him, Umbridge has decided to take the stance of the old, purist society. She was banking on the families of the Sacred Twenty-Eight to over-pride themselves on their longstanding history in Great Britain. By calling him an outsider, Umbridge means to call his blood status into question and, by extension, his family and, by even further extension, his father.