twenty five most noble

✨

BUT THAT WASN'T THE END — no, the end is when she has the heads of Bellatrix Lestrange, Lucius Malfoy, and Peter Pettigrew (Harry told her what happened in the graveyard) on a spike. The end is a long slog, an extra two years of Mia bitterly waiting for the day she can avenge her parents and Cedric. She sneaks out on weekends to meet Remus Lupin, to get better at her defensive magic. She becomes a better student, a better witch, to prepare herself for when this all erupts.

And that time is coming.

✨

27 JULY 1997

          Mia stands in the kitchen at the Burrow, a crisp summer breeze floating through the house. She sits next to Ginny and Mrs Weasley; everyone else has gone to collect Harry, in an Order mission dubbed 'The Battle of Seven Potters.' Mia's magic is still deemed unpredictable — namely, they think if she gets panicked, someone will catch into flames — so she isn't allowed to go. Instead, she sits and waits, worrying about her friends.

          Briar returns to the room. She wasn't allowed to join in, either — they were worried she'd have a vision mid-flight, and if Death Eaters were around, they'd know it was her. She sits next to Mia, handing her an ice cream from the freezer.

          "How's it hanging?" says Briar, nudging Mia's shoulder.

          Mia raises an eyebrow. "What are you so perky about?"

          "The fact my fiancé is going to die," says Briar, and she laughs in such a way she believes herself.

          That's the other thing, dear reader: Briar and Fred got engaged the summer before, causing the biggest argument known to the Burrow. Mia and George had broken up by that point, so Mia only heard of the event through word of mouth, like a sighting of the Loch Ness Monster whispered amongst villagers centuries later. Apparently, Mrs Weasley threatened to kill Fred, who had to hide at the joke shop for two weeks before she calmed down — the calming down, though, was a result of an even more catastrophic event: Bill Weasley proposing to a French woman, better known as Fleur Delacour, Briar's best friend and Beauxbatons' Triwizard champion.

          "He's not going to die," says Mia.

          "If someone dies under the Polyjuice Potion, do they stay in that disguise forever? I think I'll die if Fred dies shorter than me—"

         Ginny turns around to glare at Briar.

         Briar whistles. "For peace of mind, no one's meant to die tonight. This is all light-hearted tomfoolery on my part. Unless you guys are planning on killing someone."

          Ginny leaves the room, clearly still annoyed about the short comment. Apparently, she had a (pardon the pun) short-lived thing with Harry last year, before he got back together with Holly. (It's been nothing but drama these past couple of years, Merlin. Mia's grateful to be proactively celibate. Apparently, if you don't have sex for six months, you become a born-again virgin, that's what she heard on a muggle show. Mia accidentally slept with Cormac — do NOT ask, she regrets it just as much as you — at Christmas, so technically, her time's up. Mia's a virgin again! Amazing days.)

          Anyway, back to the original point. Ginny's still upset about the whole situation, because apparently Mia's sort-of-brother is a catch. She doubts it. He's short.

          "Well, at least no one's meant to die," says Mrs Weasley, getting up. She's wearing her 'M' sweater, which always makes Mia happy to see. Last Christmas, Mia noticed that no one ever knitted Mrs Weasley a jumper, like the rest of them have, so she went to the closest Hobbycraft to her flat and stayed up all night knitting one. George begged to get back together with Mia the next day (she said no).

          "There's a couple raspberry Cornettos left, if you'd like one," says Briar to Molly. Ever since the engagement disaster, Briar's been walking on thin ice with Molly... She aids this by bringing food Mrs Weasley likes. Mia doesn't think Briar needs to try so hard — Mrs Weasley hates Fleur, so things can't be worse for Briar — but Briar refuses to stop sucking up.

          "I'm alright, thanks," says Mrs Weasley — which would be a reasonable response to anyone else, but the lack of enthusiasm makes Briar's shoulders visibly go down, disappointed.

          As Mrs Weasley leaves the room, Briar groans. "I don't think she'll ever like me again," she said, shaking her head in shame. "I'm going to die."

          "You're not going to die," says Mia, rolling her eyes.

          "Actually, I am," says Briar. She finishes her Cornetto, and jumps up to close the living room door. She walks back over to Mia, smiling softly. "So... George was asking about you earlier."

          "... And?"

          "He was asking if you had a date to Fleur's wedding," says Briar, looking mischievous. The wedding's next week, something Mia's painfully aware of. She ended up becoming the tailor for Fleur's vintage wedding dress, which resulted in Mia being given all of the bridesmaid and groomsmen outfits to tailor, too. (It was particularly awkward when George got his fitted, and he said the trousers were too tight.)

          Mia snorts. "I'd rather drown than go that close to a man right now."

        Briar gives her a funny look. "... Not even George?"

         "Especially George," says Mia. "It makes it too complicated. And I had so many boyfriends at school, I'm enjoying having some time on my own."

          "He doesn't die, you know," says Briar.

          Mia looks up, confused.

          "I know I shouldn't say, but if that's what's stopping you—"

          "It isn't," says Mia. "I'm just not interested, right now."

          Truth is, Mia's scared. She spent a long time on her own now, she doesn't feel ready to give up that peace (or quiet bitterness... waiting to kill the murders of her parents and best friend... anyway) just yet. Like, what's the rush? Especially if he isn't going to die, what's the point in rushing into a relationship that could be her last? What if they get together, and that's it, there's another engagement for Mrs Weasley to explode over? She's got her whole life to do that. She'd like another year, at least, of being on her own.

          "He doesn't have a date for the wedding," says Briar.

          "... OK," says Mia.

          Briar gives up after that, instead returning to talking about their respective outfits for the wedding. Briar's maid of honour, and she's got a pretty pink silk dress she found in Paris. Mia bought a purple maxi dress, one a little too sheer for a normal wedding, but Fleur gave permission — apparently Briar said they shouldn't kill Mia's vision. Besides, Fleur's part-Veela, so it's not as if it'll draw any attention from her.

          The sun starts to go down outside, as Briar tries to lighten the mood by putting some muggle records on. She's always cheery about what's going on, which Mia hopes is a good sign for whatever the future is. Mia opens up her copy of Vogue to pass the time, starting to get nervous that it's taking so long.

          Eventually, the first Potter arrives.

          Mia jumps to her feet every time someone shows up, quietly sinking back onto the sofa when she realises it isn't George. Harry arrives second, which means Mia's worry quickly hones in on George. The whole point of this disguise was to keep Harry safe, but George...? She knows Briar tries to keep it light, but she could tell Briar was getting nervous earlier about something. So, Mia waits for George, her hands starting to shake.

         Finally, the door flings open again.

         Mia stands up — and this time, it is George. Her heart skips a beat, but quickly, her eyes settle on the blood dribbling down his head. She goes quiet — numb, almost, seeing someone else she loves injured — as Mrs Weasley rushes to lay George on the sofa.

         "What happened?" says Briar to her dad, who was there with George.

         "Snape," says Remus, frowning. "We managed to dodge most of it — he was switched on, even after that happened... How are you doing, George?"

         "Been better," says George, kneeling over in pain. His mum tries to repair the wound with magic, but it makes matters worse; George cries out in pain, swearing loudly. Mia feels tears gathering in her eyes, and quickly slips out of the room.

          It's in the early hours of the next day when everyone else has finally arrived, and start walking off to their designated rooms. Mad-Eye was killed — something Briar knew about, but didn't realise it was today — which made everyone stay for a couple of drinks before retiring for the night. Mia, before Apparating home, walks back into the living room to retrieve her Vogue magazine.

          "No 'goodnight'?"

          George opens one eye at her, and smiles weakly.

           Mia rolls her eyes at him. "How's your ear?"

          "Well, I'm sure it loves its new home in someone's gutter," he says. "Other than that, I'm fine. The Firewhiskey has numbed the pain a little bit. How are you?"

          "You just lost your ear," says Mia. "And you're asking how I am?"

          "I'm just so kind," he says with a shrug.

          Mia kneels down on the floor next to the sofa, resting her arms next to him. George smiles at her; she realises she forgot how sweet his smile was.

          "How come you left the room?" he says. "When I came back."

          Mia frowns at him. "... I thought I'd be in the way."

          "Well, if I happen to lose another limb, I'd like you to be there, to hold my hand," says George. "Although, I'm really hoping this doesn't happen again. I'm all out of ear jokes, but there's a joke somewhere about praying and holiness."

          Mia smiles at him. She reaches forwards, and kisses his cheek.

          "Get some rest, silly," she says softly.

          "Love you too," he says, before she Apparates home.

✨

1 AUGUST 1997

          Mia arrives at the Burrow early for Bill and Fleur's wedding, a mini sewing kit in hand as she goes to check on the girls. Briar ends up sitting Mia down and re-doing her makeup, insisting that Mia needs a better blush than the one she had on (she did not have one on). Mia walks out of the room looking straight out of Kevin Aucoin's makeup book, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. She looks at herself in the mirror, and thinks she looks pretty. She does readjust the purple flower in her hair though, so her hair sits better on that side.

         She walks downstairs, to see if she can help with anything else. She finds George standing in the kitchen, eating a slice of toast. He looks over at her, and starts to choke.

         Mia's eyes widen, but before she can help, he coughs up the bit of toast, spitting it into the bin. She purses her lips. Ew.

          "Sorry, you caught me off guard," he says. "You look pretty."

          "Thanks." Mia smiles, blushing. "You do, too."

          George puts a hand on his heart. "I look pretty? You're too kind."

          "Loser," she says. "Your tie looks like shit, though — come here."

         George shuffles forwards, chewing the last bit of toast in his mouth. Mia looks up, sorting out his tie. She can smell his aftershave, they're that close. Mia loves the smell of men's aftershave. Sometimes she's tempted to buy sandalwood candles, just so her house stinks of man.

          "You smell nice," he tells her.

         She does, she'll admit that — now that she has no parents to buy her Christmas presents, she went a little crazy on Oxford Street last December. That included a hefty Boots receipt, alongside the biggest bottle of a Mugler perfume. She says it's good for the environment because it's refillable, so it's actually a good thing she spent so much money on it.

          "Shit," she says, softly. "I was gonna say the same. You're stealing my compliments."

          "Gotta think of better ones next time," George says, with a smile.

          Mia looks up at him, and contemplates for a minute, closing the space between them. She hears footsteps, so she scraps that, walking away to get herself a coffee.

         The wedding is beautiful — Mia sits at the back, feeling uncomfortable about being up-front. Fleur floats down the aisle, wearing the vintage wedding dress Mia has grown attached to. At the end of the vows, pink and blue petals are released from the air like confetti, Briar waving her wand behind her back. The chairs are cleared, creating tables and, of course, a dancefloor.

         Mia quickly decides that Briar, being maid of honour (and the best man being her almost-brother-in-law), had a hand in the music, some cute muggle songs being covered on a harp. She swears she hears Angel Eyes by ABBA at one point, just as she sees Briar and Fred dancing together. Mia sighs.

          Sometimes, she wishes she had that. She knows weddings make any single girl feel sad after a while, so she casts her attention away from the boy she's miserably in love with, and instead focuses on the profiteroles and wine in front of her. She knows she could ask out George, but she's scared. What if something happens to him? Briar might be wrong. Briar might know he dies, but she's lying to Mia. Mia doesn't want to risk anything. You can't be hurt if you're on your own... To the same extent, she means.

         As the evening turns into the night, the harpist is swapped out for DJ Briar (her own words). A blonde girl with flowers in her hair keeps on running to and from a set of speakers, swapping out mixtapes she's compiled for the night. Dreams by The Cranberries starts to play, as someone sits down next to Mia.

         "Hey," says Harry.

        Mia smiles at him. "If you're looking for profiteroles, I've eaten all of them."

          "Nah, I was looking for chocolate cake," says Harry.

         Mia nods. "Fair choice," she says with a smile. "How have you been?"

          "Alright, I s'pose," says Harry with a shrug. "Well, as alright as I can be... Now that Dumbledore's gone, who else is there to help?"

          "Dad would've known what to do," Mia says, quietly. "It's a shame. Mum used to say how much he enjoyed parties..." She looks around, at everyone on the dancefloor, at Remus and Briar dancing together, laughing cheerily. "You know, if you ever need a place to stay, Grimmauld Place is open."

          "Thanks," says Harry, with a soft smile. "How are y—?"

          Someone taps Mia on the shoulder. She jumps, and looks up, George slinking into the empty seat beside her.

          "Sorry, Harry," says George. "But Mia, you haven't had a single dance all night. Come on, please."

         Mia sighs, giving in. George grins at her, holding onto her hand and walking her through the tables. As Dreams finishes, a slowed-down cover of Lay All Your Love on Me begins to play. She puts her arms around George's neck, as he rests his hands on her back.

         She looks at his ear, still bandaged from the other night. "How is...?"

         "Still holy," says George. "I'm off to the Vatican tomorrow."

         Mia shakes her head. She glances over, to see Archie nervously dancing with Hermione. He looks up, and excitedly smiles at her.

          "You live just off Diagon Alley now, right?" says George.

          Mia nods. "Yeah... I wanna open up a clothes shop, once this is all over."

          "You do?" he says.

          "Uh-huh," says Mia. "I'm the heiress of two Pureblood family fortunes, I've got all of this money, I feel like I should spend my life doing something I enjoy. So, I bought a shop. I'm gonna live in the flat above it, but with what happened to you guys a couple weeks ago..." (For context: the Death Eaters keep on blowing up Diagon Alley, making Mia wary of opening a shop anytime soon.) "... I'm gonna wait a while before opening. But, I've got ages to travel, buy lots of amazing vintage clothes to stock in the shop, and make my own stuff, too."

          George smiles. "Well, if you ever want business advice, you know who to call," he tells her, and winks at her. Mia's heart flutters. "And if you're living near me, anyway, there's some muggle streets around there that are pretty cool. I can show you around, if you want."

           "That would be nice, yeah," says Mia, and she means it.

           The song ends, transitioning into Mariah's Fantasy. Briar, who's since thrown her hair into a Pamela Anderson-esque bun, begins dancing wildly with Fleur, the two spinning each other around. Mia laughs, and George twirls her around, too, holding onto her with ease.

           It would've been the perfect wedding, if not for the Death Eaters crashing at nine.

✨

1 MAY 1998

          The wedding was fine in the end — no one was injured, thank Merlin, since Harry, Ron, and Hermione escaped before the Death Eaters got them. But, it started the greyest of autumns, and the longest of winters. In fact, when the spring flowers bloomed in 1998, it didn't feel positive in the slightest. Instead, the sky remained grey, as if the heavens knew the evil looming over the Wizarding World.

          Mia lets herself into the flat above Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, holding a bag of food shopping. Don't get it twisted — nothing funny is going on here, it just felt dangerous for Sirius Black's daughter to live on her own. (Although, between us, Mia and George did get up to their own mischief after the wedding... Apparently Death Eaters gate-crashing got Mia eager to lose her virginity for a second time.)

          "This is the last time I get milk — the next time you leave it for four days without buying new milk, I'm going to Transfigure you into a cow and sell you to Mcdonalds," says Mia. She stops in her tracks, when she sees Briar.

          George smiles. "Honey, you're home."

          "I am not—"

          "You're so easy to annoy," he says, and then he starts rummaging through the Tesco bag she set down, looking for food to eat.

          Mia puts her hand over her face. "I wish I wasn't this close to you."

          George lets out a laugh, shovelling crisps into his mouth. "You love me, really."

         "I do not," says Mia, with a bit too much passion.

          She takes the crisps off of him. She was going to eat them and watch Pulp Fiction tonight, but he's already gone through half the bag. Her plans have been ruined.

          George takes them back off of her, and plops himself on the sofa. Mia scowls at him, as he smiles happily at her.

          "You know, it's a shame you weren't the same year as us, at school," says George. "I think we could've been friends."

          "Really?" says Mia, taking a handful of crisps. "What about Cedric?"

          "OK, OK," says George, thinking it through again. "If the whole thing with that Quidditch match didn't happen, I think we would've gotten along. We could've been friends... look at us now! I see you more than my own twin."

         "Only because he's at Briar's all the time," says Mia. She kicks off her shoes, jumping up and putting them away on the shoe rack she bought for the front door. After a week of sleeping here on the sofa (dear reader: George quickly gave up his bed, so now he sleeps on the sofa-bed, Mia in his room), she got fed up with the shoes the boys would leave littered around.

         Speak of the devil — there's a crack, Briar and Fred appearing in the middle of the flat. George raises his hand to say hello.

          "Hey... guys..." Briar smiles, but her voice is shaking.

         Mia frowns, slowly moving closer to Briar. "Are you... OK...?"

          "I'm fine," says Briar, and she sniffs.

          Her eyes are glassy, as if she's been crying. She holds Fred's hand, both of them equally anxious. Mia looks back at George. She isn't sure how it happened, but now, when Mia looks for comfort in a room, her gaze goes straight to George. And so does he — they exchange a confused glance, as he stands up.

          "Briar's dad just spoke to us," says Fred. "We need to go to Hogwarts."

           "... Why?"

          "Harry's on his way."

          Mia's stomach drops. She knows what this means — the past however many years, all building up to this one moment. Them versus the Death Eaters. She knew it was going to happen soon, anyway. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Holly (it's a long story — one Mia doesn't know) broke into Gringott's a couple of days ago, and the carnage of them taking the dragon left Diagon Alley restless.

          That was the only night Mia and George shared a bed; too freaked out to be on her own, the Death Eaters wandering the street all night long, she had crossed George's bedroom to sleep on the sofa bed. When she opened the bedroom door, though, he was standing there. They slept in his bed together — not touching, but it was comforting anyway.

           "OK... OK." Mia puts her fingers through her hair.

          George looks at his twin and his best friend, his brows furrowing. "Why are you both so nervous?" he says. He gives Fred a funny look. "Briar isn't pregnant, is she?"

          "Uh..."

          "Oh my God, you bellend," George groans.

          "It's not that!" says Briar, putting her hands up in defence. "That is not happening for a very long time — but the second of May is an important day! A lot of people are going to die... It's just... It's worrying me, OK? I don't want anyone to die."

          Mia thinks of Cedric, and she frowns.

          "Let's just be careful," says Mia.

          The four of them sort themselves out — Mia changes into something a little more practical (platform Doc Martens and her dad's leather jacket, which she charmed to bounce off curses) — before Apparating into Hogsmeade, and sneaking into their old school. This is it, she thinks to herself, thinking of her goal to kill Bellatrix, Pettigrew, Malfoy.

          Mia will spare the gory details. Or, at least, the worst parts. You don't need to know about Lavender Brown, ripped apart by Greyback, but Peter Pettigrew, the one that killed Cedric and in turn Mia, all those summers ago? He cried out for Mia to have kindness to her dad's best friend, to which she snapped back, "Because you did, when you got him thrown away, when you killed Cedric?" Or, Bellatrix, who was one spell away from killing Mrs Weasley when Mia cursed her, square in the shrivelled heart?

         She didn't get to Lucius, namely because the rest of the Malfoys seemed remorseful. When Mia saw Holly, she apologised for her uncle, and said how the family was just as destroyed as the Blacks now.

          Thing is, Mia didn't feel better, after killing them. She felt relief, but she didn't feel free. Her heart still weighed down with the knowledge that her parents were gone forever, alongside her best friend...

         ... But slowly, she let herself mend.

✨

SUMMER, 1999

         Number twelve, Grimmauld Place, was apparently a grand home, once upon a time. But, then, this was before; the eldest son was disowned and then killed; the second son lost his life trying to destroy a Horcrux; and, finally, the parents, two old cows, croaked. Now, the eldest son is dead, alongside his angel of a wife, and the house-elf that once scampered around the halls. Now, all is left is Mia Black, the final descendant of the ancient and most noble house of Black, and these mean spirits.

         Mia sets her bag down at the foot of the stairs. She spent the winter doing the place up, planning to turn it into a boarding house of sorts. Any kid like her dad, who had a family with differing views, could stay here over summer holidays, instead of hoping their friends will help out. She hopes to have it up and running by next September, and Remus said he'd help out with the kids, helping them out with school if they need it. They've called it the Marauders House.

         She's packed up the last of her family's bits from this house, and she steps into the fireplace, using the Floo Network to transport back to Diagon Alley. She steps out, leaving the bag next to the coffee table, and descending the spiral staircase to the twins' joke shop. Business has been booming, even more than before, since the war ended, so much so they're in talks of taking over the joke shop in Hogsmeade. Mia weaves through the crowd, slowly dying down as it nears closing time, and finds George, speaking to a customer.

          "Hey, what would you recommend for a boy with the most violent hair colour—?"

          George turns around, and picks her up, spinning her around. "A pair of sunglasses," he says with a grin. Mia lets out a laugh, as he sets her back down. "I'll be fifteen minutes, do you wanna wait upstairs?"

         "I'm alright," says Mia, smiling back at him.

         They're not together — they've had a couple of mishaps since last year, but it's growing at a steady rate. Mia's had time to mend, as has George. And, throughout it all, they've had each other to spend quiet moments with, especially with Briar and Fred's long engagement resulting in them moving out, and Archie's training to be a Healer, whilst visiting Hermione on weekends. (You should've seen the way he kissed her after the battle. Mia wept tears of joy.)

         George closes the shop up, and Mia sits behind the counter, helping with stock whilst he cashes out for the day. He looks across at her, smiling softly.

         "You're brilliant, you know," he says.

         Mia raises an eyebrow. "Where did that come from?"

         "I don't need a reason to think that about you," says George.

         Mia smirks. "Well, I do about you."

         He laughs. "Oh, really?"

         She nods. "Yep," she says, pretending to be serious. But, she starts to giggle — something she didn't think she could do, after Cedric — as George moves closer to her, effortlessly sitting her up on the counter. He stands close, in front of her. She thinks about when they were younger, how she'd sit in lessons and think about what his hands would feel like, how he'd kiss her. Now, she wishes he'd just do it.

          Mia puts her hands on his shoulders, lightly playing with his hair.

         "I still love you, you know," he says, quietly.

         She looks up at him, and smiles. "I didn't stop, either."

         George leans down and kisses her, holding her so tightly he could pick her up from the counter. She wraps her arms around her neck, her legs around his torso. They pull apart for a moment, George tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear.

         Mia doesn't know how to describe this. She feels as though her emotions are, at long, long last, at peace. She feels as if everything with George is full circle. Mia despises the idea of fate, she really does — if she catches feelings, she catches feeling, the stars have nothing to do with that — but fuck. With George, it feels like something divine had a hand in it all.

         And Mia Black, in all of her sunny yet gloomy life, had never felt this happy.

THE END

After four years, Most Noble is finally complete.

I wrote the first draft of this, when Emilia was always dead lol and Mia was raised by Walburga, when I was sixteen. I'm twenty-two now, having graduated uni and working. It's really, really crazy to think that the summer I wrote the main chunk of this, was the summer just before I moved to uni. And now, I've finally finished this.

I want to say a massive thank you to everyone that's stuck around for this long, or to anyone that's read this, and the rest of my Harry Potter fics. I don't know if I'll dip my toe into those kind of fics again, but we'll see. These fics meant a lot to me growing up, so I hope they brought you some enjoyment, in some way <3 Now, I'm writing a Stranger Things fic called Ruby's Body, so if you like that show, I of course would recommend having a read of that :)

For one final time, I hope you enjoyed, and let me know what you thought!

Much love xx