'Love,
Sophie.'

The last letter crumpled completely in her hand, the sweat from her palms smudging the ink ever so slightly. The rest of them laid scattered around her.

'What happened? You never showed up at school.'

'About Isabella.. is it true?'

'Are you okay? Please, give me an answer.'

'Ria, write something!'

'I can come visit anytime you like. Or stay, if you want.'

'It'll be no trouble. No trouble at all. Just say the word and I'll come running to you.'

'Or if you don't wanna stay there.. if it feels too lonely, just come here. I'm sure Grandpa and Grandma won't mind.'

'Mum and Dad heard about what's going on. I can't tell if they're mad or concerned.'

'I'm freaking out here. You're not answering. Blaise and his mother have gone into hiding because she doesn't wanna get dragged into any mess with You-Know-Who. And have you heard anything from Theo?'

'At least, tell me where you are! Or are you too scared that I'll show up there and slap the hell out of you for senselessly drowning yourself into misery?'

'Ria, my love, a lot of shit's going on, right now. And you're not helping. I'm ready to listen to you, I'm all ears even if they bleed off. Just talk to me!'

'That's it for me, I guess. I'm getting dragged to New York, where my parents live. I don't wanna go. I don't wanna leave when I know what will be going on here. I'd rather fight alongside you.'

'I don't care if you're ready or not, I'm finding you and I'm coming to meet you.'

She had written so many letters, and not one had been opened before this moment. Ria had refused to. She refused to submerge Sophie into her life any more than she already was.. or anyone else.

And as she thought about it for the past thirty minutes, she had given in and taken another sip of the Draught of Peace.

She'll stay away. She'll stay safe.

Safe. Right. That's all I want. I want her to be safe. I want all of them to be safe. I want—

Though the loneliness at her heart contradicted everything her mind declared. And she cursed at the feeling, telling it to shut its mouth and shove itself in some room where no one could hear its whining.

No one cares. You aren't important.

With a huff of determination, she gathered all the letters off the floor. She walked to her desk where the rest of them were and began looking through the names. Sirius, Remus, Molly, Blaise— she separated his letters from the heap.

It would be better to just burn them; to make sure her mind stayed off them. She could hold herself back from opening them, from indulging into their warmth and comfort, from letting them in to feel a bit whole again. 

But not for another month.

She wasn't that strong, nor that patient.

Hence she continued sorting them apart, picking the sweet words apart from the informative ones.

So many of them.. Ria sighed with mild frustration. So damn insufferable.

Esther, McGonagall, Amelia— another separation, Hermione— separate, Tonks, Ron— separate, Ginny— separate.. any letter that would probably not hold information about what was going on in the world, and—

She looked through the rest of them, her pace slowing to make sure she wasn't misreading names. Her lips turned into a frown. Before her mind could comprehend, she was reading through the pile of letters again as if she had somehow missed it. But it wasn't there..

His name wasn't there.

The loneliness prodded at her again, managing to whisper from the room, suggesting she check again for a third time. And Ria scoffed at herself.

He hadn't written a letter. Well, good. That was what I wanted, and that's what I got, for once.

Yet she stayed there, staring at the dozens of parchment in front of her, lingering over the thought of him. She became painfully aware of the ring he gave her resting against her chest. And her heart gave a lurch that she wished she could ignore.

It was nothing. It was nothing.

She opened the door to step outside, but a crunch of paper under her feet made her stop. She crouched down, inspecting it. Had Sophie left it? Or Esther?

She scooped it up anyway and walked back inside, deciding that the cremation of letters could wait. As she examined each one hurriedly, she realised that all of them were cutouts of news articles.

And Merlin, the world was not doing well.

There were a few about 'You-Know-Who's return, and almost all of them had one or another mention of Katherine Lagarde and her goddamned curse that keeps him from dying. Oh.. so now you all believe her, huh?

Could've done that a few years ago.. and you would've saved a lot of people from shitty lives, you know?

Then she moved on to other news, and her heart began to pace.

A Muggle bridge had collapsed, cleanly cut in two, taking a lot of civilians and vehicles with it. Probably the work of Death-eaters.

Amelia Bones— the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and Emmeline Vance— who Ria knew to be a part of the Order.. both had been brutally murdered.

An uncalled, unpredictable hurricane in the West Country that had caused a lot of property and life damage.. also the work of Death-eaters, unless Ria had unknowingly lost control and let out her Obscurus again, which was impossible since someone from the Order kept an eye on her all the time.

All of what she had seen..

She should get used to this.. but how could she possibly?

It was all beyond terrifying.

For now she moved on to the next news of Dementors leaving the Azkaban prison, joining Voldemort's side, and multiplying. She had heard about it.. from Kingsley, maybe. He had visited first when she had moved back in the house. And from what she'd heard, he was now in charge of the Muggle Prime Minister's protection.

"Oh, heavens.." She hissed under her breath. Many Death-eater's from the Department of Mysteries escapade were now locked up in jail.. some of them being Lucius Malfoy and Theodore Nott Sr.

'And have you heard anything from Theo?' The words from Sophie's letters came rushing back to her, and Ria wondered if she should take a sip from the Draught again.

She felt restless again, after many days. She hadn't heard the siren in her head since the day at the Department of Mysteries.

Was he okay?

Maybe she should ask someone to check.. But who would do that for her?

With this worry still blaring in her head, she tried to move on to the next news. 

'SCRIMGEOUR SUCCEEDS FUDGE'. 

There was a new Minister of Magic. Not surprising, after Fudge's heavy ignorance and delusion last year.

The last one was today's edition of the Daily Prophet. On the front page was Harry's picture, with a headline that said: 'HARRY POTTER: THE CHOSEN ONE?'

"What the fuck..?"

'Rumours continue to fly about the mysterious recent disturbance at the Ministry of Magic, during which He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was sighted once more.

"We're not allowed to talk about it, don't ask me anything," said one agitated Obliviator, who refused to give his name as he left the Ministry last night. Nevertheless, highly placed sources within the Ministry have confirmed that the disturbance centred on the fabled Hall of Prophecy.

Though Ministry spokeswizards have hitherto refused even to confirm the existence of such a place, a growing number of the Wizarding community believe that the Death Eaters now serving sentences in Azkaban for trespass and attempted theft were attempting to steal a prophecy. The nature of that prophecy is unknown, although speculation is rife that it concerns Harry Potter, the only person ever known to have survived the Killing Curse, and who is also known to have been at the Ministry on the night in question. Some are going so far as to call Potter "the Chosen One," believing that the prophecy names him as the only one who will be able to rid us of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

The current whereabouts of the prophecy, if it exists, are unknown, although (ctd. page 2, column 5)'

But below that was another block of text in bold.

'"What about the Seer's Curse, then? Will Harry Potter be the one to break the Curse too?" The questions arise to everyone just as they do to us. It is assumed— almost confirmed— that the Curse Katherine Lagarde (infamous Seer, Inventor and Azrael) left on the world might just be the reason He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named continues to flourish and succeed in the way he does. Though the possible counter to this Curse will be better explained in Friday's edition of—'

Ria clicked her tongue as she began flipping through pages. The newspapers and their way to make sure they sold every piece infuriated her sometimes. People are dying.. And all they care about is splitting an important piece of news that would possibly bring some relief to the worl—

The air in her lungs disappeared as her eyes fell at the very bottom of the page where the rest of Harry's article was.

There it was.. a small picture of her back from the Triwizard tournament: a picture Rita Skeeter had used in one of her 'juicy' articles about Harry's love life. And below that was the text in bold.

'This Friday—  THE LAST AZRAEL: THE ANSWER TO THE SEER'S CURSE?'

"Yeah— yeah, that's what he told me, but it's risky! And I can't—"

"Esther..?"

A soft call of her name made her turn around, pulling the telephone slightly away from her ear. "Just a moment, Sirius.. Yes, Asteria?"

Her face looked horrified as she clutched onto the newspaper in her hand.

Esther placed the telephone aside and walked towards Ria to take a look at what she wanted to show. And her eyes widened.

She frantically looked around the living room, trying to find something, but when she didn't, she rushed towards the telephone again. "Sirius! Sirius, did you read today's edition of the Daily Prophet?" She asked, exasperated. "Then read it! And do something about it, please!" She almost screamed at him before hanging up.

She looked up at Asteria, who still had the expression of terror on her face. Esther could tell she was going through all the possibilities of 'what could happen' in her mind.

This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all. 

Did someone from the Ministry search the backgrounds of the children that were caught in the fight?

But how did they link it? She ran a hand through her hair. Most of them never suspected Isabella being Lagarde's daughter, from what she had heard..

Did someone find out she's a Seer? The doubt dawned in her head. Is that what..

She snapped out of it almost too quickly. Right, I'm supposed to be the one giving the support, not the one stressing the hell out.

But as she opened her mouth to speak and saw Ria's sulking face, she realised she had no words to say to her. And she felt utterly pathetic because of that.

Esther took a deep breath to steady her thoughts, and dialled on the telephone again. "Hello? Sirius, did you— yes. Yes, exactly what I was talking about."

She looked at Ria. "We still have two days, right? Can we try to find out who was responsible for the news? Because I'm pretty sure Scrimgeour wouldn't have approved of such a news. It's true he doesn't want to scare the citizens, but he doesn't want to give them false hopes either."

"Yeah.. okay. I'll let her know."

She hung up pretty quickly. And with an exhale, she walked towards Ria and gently held her by her shoulders.

"They're going to find out who did this. And they're going to stop whatever that person planned to publish this Friday. Okay?" Esther informed her.

But Ria didn't seem assured at all. She had tears brimming her eyes. "They're gonna hate me.." She whispered.

"No! No.. They're not—" Esther shook her head frantically. 

"Because I'm Azrael.. or because I'm her granddaughter.. or because I won't be able to break her Curse.." she chuckled in disbelief. "Either way.. they're gonna end up hating me, aren't they? All of them?"

She wasn't thinking at all. Those words just slipped out of her mouth like she hadn't ever known restraint.

"I don't want that.." The newspaper was crumpled in her tight grip, tears falling down on it. "No one would.. ever!"

A knock echoed against the front door, and Esther's gaze fell in its direction before turning back towards Ria. "Stay behind me, okay?"

She nodded, following behind her as the woman kept her wand tight in her hand.

No one would be able to see the house unless Dumbledore wants them to. She assured herself. No one else can get near the house without getting confunded. But then a question sprouted. 

Could it be..?

Her thoughts vanished as a voice outside asked. "Esther Goldstein?"

She heard Asteria gasp, and when she looked back, her eyes had been wide open.

Ria was so sure her ears were lying to her but she rushed to the door and opened it anyway.

Were her eyes deceiving her too?

Amos sighed with relief as soon as he saw her.

"I'm so— so sorry, it took me so lo—"

He felt the wind getting knocked out of his lungs as she hugged him tightly, burying her face into his shoulder. He couldn't stop his tears either as he hugged her back, softly patting her head.

"You're back.." Her voice was quivering, but there was something else too.. something that hadn't been there for a while now: It was relief. 

"I'm so glad."

"Me too.. me too."

"How have you been?" She asked.

He took a little time to answer. "I'm trying my best."

He'd ask her the same question, but then he thought against it. Maybe she'd prefer it if I did not. So he just stood there silently, giving his niece all the comfort and warmth she needed.

Asteria took her time to gather herself, but when she did and opened her eyes again, she jumped back a bit.

"Oh— it's okay. It's.. right." Amos sighed. "You haven't met him yet, have you?" He looked back.

The man came in front to stand beside him; his broad posture, brown hair and striking blue eyes hidden behind rectangular glasses was a sharp jab to Ria's memories.

"Hello, Asteria." His smile too. He was too similar to him.

"This is your other uncle, Ria." Amos introduced him. "Abel Edwards. Daniel's brother."

Right.. right, brother. That's why he looks like him. She felt grateful that it wasn't something her mind or someone else had made up to mess with her.

Abel tilted his head slightly. "You never knew you had an uncle from your Dad's side?"

"I.. I knew he had a brother. But I didn't know your name; Mum never told me. Don't— Don't take it personally, though." She added quickly. "There were many other things she didn't tell me about." 

Her eyes moved towards Amos. "Things that other people helped her hide."

With a purse of his lips, he quickly glanced down. But as he opened his mouth to apologise, she cut him off.

"Please don't." said Ria timidly. "I'm.. I'm past apologies, really. I don't really know what they mean to me anymore."

A small smile dawned on her uncle's lips. "So, were you just trying to take a jab at me?"

Ria chuckled with a roll of her eyes. "Well.. Mum's not here anymore. So it's my duty to do that on her behalf, I think."

"Of course."

She slowly exhaled with a firm nod, feeling much lighter than before somehow. Almost like the nauseating, compact feeling was going away.. like she was moving a bit more easily, breathing a bit more freely than before.

She then looked back at Abel; the small smile still on her face. "Nice to meet you."

"The pleasure's all mine, Asteria." He gave her a polite nod before they all entered the house.

And standing a bit away from the family was Esther, trying to think of ways she was going to kill Dumbledore for not giving her a prior notice.

"How.. How are you doing, now?" Ria asked as they all settled around the couch. They all had a cup of tea and some snacks for themselves as they talked.

"I'm doing.. well, I think." He answered with an exhale. 

"Took me a while to get myself together," he said. "The only regret I have is that I couldn't do it sooner.. If I did, maybe I would've—"

He stopped himself from talking further. Maybe it's better if I don't. He thought to himself as he spared a glance at his niece, who had read the direction of his thought.

She must've thought of that too. He reminded himself. She was there too, she must've come up with another hundred scenarios where she could've saved her..

She was his only family left.

First his Kora, his best friend.. then his parents, then son.. and now his sister, who he didn't even share blood with, yet loved with all his heart. 

Her death had been his waking call.. a warning that told him to gather himself— whatever of him that was left and come back home.

Ria had been alone all this time.. sinking deep into the mess that Dumbledore had informed him of— the revelations of her past and her blood, the fight at the Department of Mysteries, facing Carrow, Isabella's death, her Obscurus.. 

He wasn't going to let her suffer alone anymore.

"Maybe I would've been able to come for you sooner." He said to her.

She was his priority now. He was sure Bella and Daniel.. and Cedric, would be watching him, expecting him to take care of her.

And of course, he would.

Ria only watched him with a small smile on her face. Words couldn't express how happy she was, seeing him somewhat be the way he was before Cedric's death.

"It's okay. What matters is you're home at last." And he couldn't help but smile at that.

She then looked at the man beside him. "But I.. I don't understand.. How are you here?" She asked in the nicest tone she could. "I don't recall Dad's brother being a wizard or anything."

"That's true, I'm not." He said with a pursed smile. "I came here to make sure Amos reaches home alright. After all, he'd been living with me and my family all this time. And to meet my niece, of course. See how's she's doing. I last saw her when she was about a month old, I think."

Ria blinked in confusion. "Really?" Was he the therapist?

"Yeah." Now that she thought about it, he did have a slight Irish accent. "Your mother knew I was living in Dublin. She'd asked me for this favour.. telling me that she wanted to keep Amos away from the war for a while, till he got better."

"She'd also told me that she'd found a therapist.. Healer, you call them?" Ria nodded in response. "Yeah, she'd found a Healer for him."

"And you just.. just agreed?" she asked. "As a Muggle, you just agreed to keep a wizard with you?"

She didn't want to be biassed; in fact, she'd be the last person that would be. But the way the Dursleys treated Harry..

"Why not?" He chuckled, his accent thick. "I don't know how it works in the Wizarding world, I guess. But you're my family. Of course, I'd take care of you."

Ria only blinked at his answer, at loss for words.

"And I owe the Diggorys for taking care of my little brother. I owe Isabella too.." he nodded with a sigh. "..for what she made of him." His blue eyes seemed to be sparkling. "Never in my 23 years of life had I seen him look as happy as she made him."

"She's the reason, you know?" She couldn't help but say.

"Ria—"

But she paid Amos no mind. Her own fear was finally showing through her words. "Her blood— her curse was the reason he died. Did you know?"

It was supposed to be a simple fact that she had stated. But she couldn't help but hold her breath in anticipation of his answer.

"What do you think should've happened instead, then?" It was a question without any specific context. But only because Abel wanted to hear what she had to say.

"She could've asked him to stay away.." The answer came easily to her, the tone of her voice rushed and factual. "I wouldn't exist. None of this would happen. None of them would die." Resentment seeped off her tongue.

Amos didn't show the expression of hurt on his face. Instead he gave her a real answer. "She did that. But he'd made his decision already. He wasn't going to change that."

"He was naive." she retorted.

"But Daniel was the happiest when she was with him.. when he had you. He wished for nothing more." His brother answered simply. "Why'd he want to throw it all away?"

"Well, maybe because it's better than fucking dying?" She let out a chuckle of frustration.

Abel only stared at her. And now that they were right in front of each other, he could see how much she looked like Daniel. He could've sworn she looked just like Isabella when he'd first seen her, when she was very little. Like her, but with his eyes, just like everyone else thought so. 

It had changed now, obviously.

"Tell me, Asteria. Do you really think death is the worst thing that could ever happen?"

Ria blinked, wanting to laugh at his face. Why does no one ever give me a straightforward answer?

"My Father was a preacher— did Isabella ever tell you?" He asked. And when she shook his head, a small, sad smile dawned on his face. 

"Our father was a preacher, and our mother was an elementary school teacher as well as a strong believer." He clasped his hands together silently. "You see, Daniel and I came from a very.. very religious family. So you could imagine what our parents' reactions were when they found out there was a wizard in our household.."

It was mild, but he saw Ria's expression change to horror.

Behind her, Esther had gotten a bit more curious as well as cautious. She didn't know what Ria's father's story had been, neither did she know if she'd be able to handle it. "Asteria.. if you're—"

"No, I'm okay with that." she assured her. "I wanna hear."

She only nodded. If Ria believed in herself, then Esther did too. "Alright."

Abel offered Esther a small nod of appreciation before turning back to her. "Are you sure you've never heard this story?"

She shook her head. "The only thing I've heard about his family is that they weren't exactly supportive of him.. and that he had an older brother."

"Right." Abel sighed. "So.. as I said, our father was a preacher in a group of believers in a town in Sebeș, back in Romania. Our family had been living there for decades, starting from our great-great-grandfathers or something."

"And as any responsible, religious and God-fearing preacher would, our father made sure that he married a woman of his belief, and that his children grew up to be believers too." He said, leaning back on the couch. "It wasn't bad, really. We really seemed to enjoy our childhood, Daniel and I, as far as I remember. But all that changed when Daniel was eleven. When we came to Sheffield in December of 1969 for our great aunt's funeral."

Ria didn't even realise she had leaned forward with curiosity. "Was that when Dad first showed his magic?"

Abel nodded in answer. "Two days after that, when we were the only relatives left in our great aunt's house. I don't really know what he did. He didn't either, probably, since that memory was tainted for him. He didn't remember what he did, but what happened after that.. he never managed to get out of his head."

"It was that bad?" asked Ria with concern, and the man only nodded. "What happened?"

"Our parents were shocked, of course." He said with a sharp inhale, as if he remembered the incident like it was only yesterday. "How could a boy who grew up in faith turn out to be like this? That was definitely one of the things on their mind. Shock.. fear.. disbelief.. disgust.. you name it, and it wouldn't be enough."

"I don't like where this is going.." Esther muttered with a shake of her head. And Ria could only agree in silence.

Abel looked down at his hands, the cross he'd taken out of stubbornness on the back of his right palm when he was twelve.. wanting to be just like his parents. He didn't want to be like them now.. ever, after that day.

"Father couldn't stop praying and crying, and Mother couldn't stop weeping. They sent me in another room, but I was trying to get a look through the keyhole anyway. Daniel stood in the corner of the living room, he already had tears in his eyes, and they wouldn't even look at him properly. But Father stopped after a few minutes. Maybe he realised praying wasn't going to help, in this situation." 

He looked up at Asteria, and his little brother's face flashed in front of his eyes for only a moment. "Our great aunt used to have a giant rosary hanging from her altar. He took that down, carefully made him wear it and sprayed him up and down with the holy water she kept on her altar."

"But nothing happened, obviously." His words had the two ladies almost on the edge of their seats now. Amos knew this story, so it only brought back memories of his best friend's tears. "Maybe they were expecting some reaction from Daniel.. like an evil spirit leaving his body, or something like that."

Abel cleared his throat of the lump that had started to form. "Then.. Father— he took the rosary off.. and told Mother to hold Daniel while he.. he held the cross of the rosary over the fireplace."

As if on instinct, Amos and Esther's gaze turned to Ria. But she was only listening intently, her expression showing no change.

"He pressed it hard on the side of his neck." Ria only gulped, nose itching as a sign that she might tear up if she allowed herself to, but she only blinked the feeling away. "Daniel was.. wailing, loudly. He was begging for Mother to help him.. and for Father to stop. That it hurt. But Father told him to calm down. 'It's to chase the devil away,' he said."

"I don't know what would've happened to Daniel if a Ministry worker hadn't shown up that night. Because I know.. I wouldn't have been able to stop my Father." His voice quivered before he immediately gathered himself again.

"But thankfully.. The Ministry woman.. her name was Norma Russell.. she showed up and froze everyone in the room. And when she realised that Daniel was the one who'd used magic, she spoke into something attached to her jacket."

"She then unfroze Daniel, freed him out of Mother's hands.. and held him as he cried." He remembered it, every moment of it. He'd cried worse than the moment his father had burnt him. "Then.. Dumbledore arrived."

"First thing he did was look around the room.. look at Daniel and his wound. I couldn't see his face properly, but something about him told me that he was very angry." He said with a sigh. "He healed it pretty quickly, but the scar remained. And then he looked at the room I was in."

"I thought I was going to die that day, for some reason." He said with honesty. "But he only unlocked the room and let me out to see my brother."

"I went out, stood beside Daniel as he hid behind me. And then Dumbledore asked me what happened. I told him everything."

"What did he say then?" asked Ria, the question only a low mumble.

"He first asked me how I felt, and what I wanted to do." Abel gave her a small smile. "And I just told him that I never wanted to see Daniel cry like that ever again."

The warm smile on Asteria's lips was unexpected, but he welcomed it anyway.

"Dumbledore then told us about the Wizarding world and Hogwarts.. whatever of it that our little minds could understand." He chuckled lowly. "And asked us if Daniel was okay with joining."

"You agreed, of course." Ria continued. "But why Hogwarts? Why not Durmstrang or Beauxbatons? They're closer to Romania than Hogwarts is."

"I don't believe Durmstrang takes Muggle-born students." Esther answered the question for her.

"And Hogwarts was the better option." said Abel. "Daniel hardly had any interest in learning another language. He was also too eager to go to a Wizarding school and get out of the house. And Dumbledore.. I suppose he wanted to keep an eye on him."

"And the woman.. Russell? She must've erased your parents' memories. But how'd they convince them to send Dad away? All the way to England?" Ria asked again.

"Well.. after we got back to Sebeș, Daniel's school held an exam in search of talented students. He excelled, and was offered a scholarship to an excellent school here. That was what Dumbledore made them believe."

"They weren't ready, obviously. Until a professor from the school.. Dumbledore.. paid them a visit from that prestigious school in England." He clarified. "It took them a while, but by the time it was May of '70, they were ready for it."

"He began his first year in 1970.. when he was twelve. Made his first friend." He offered a grateful smile to Amos, who smiled back in return. "When he came back for summer vacation, he told me all about it. About Hogwarts.. how things happened there.. how he spent Christmas at his friend's house.. how they were so nice to him.. and how he met Amos's sister too."

"I remember that Christmas so vividly.." Amos chuckled to himself. "It had been only two and a half months since Isabella had been adopted. I'd met her for the first time too. She was shy.. a bit too nice and polite."

"Dad had called some of his friends home for Christmas Eve." He recalled, looking around the room where the scene had happened. "And when he announced that the Diggorys had an official, new addition to the family, one of them just happened to spot Isabella's mark."

"Let me guess, they freaked out." said Ria nonchalantly, as if she had saw it coming ages ago.

"That they did." He nodded. "Not just that.. they began badmouthing her so much that she started crying.. to the point Mum kicked them all out of the house. And Dad only got up.. went to the kitchen, and came back out with a pot of cinnamon rolls some minutes later, to celebrate her birthday."

Their Christmas tradition..

Ria was smiling wide, eyes teared up. The things Minerva had told her about the Diggorys being her mother's saving grace made sense now.

"I think that was when Daniel fell in love with your family." said Abel, with a tone of honesty. "He saw something in the Diggorys that he didn't find in our parents. And I don't blame him for that."

"I think we were in our third year when he finally told me why he doesn't write any letters to his parents.. or doesn't go home for Christmas." Amos recalled. "I brought him home that Christmas too, and also told my parents about everything he'd told me."

"What did they say?"

"They said he could stay with us as long as he wanted to. That he was always welcome here." said Amos.

She'd had good people in her life.. Ria realised suddenly. Truly good people.

"Did they.. Did your parents ever find out?" She asked eagerly, looking at Abel.

"About Daniel?" She nodded. "Yes. He told them himself."

The face Ria made was enough to tell him that she wanted to know more. So he just continued.

"He still used to come back every summer vacation.. Dumbledore and Norma always arranged a.. what you say? Portkey for him to go back to Sebeș, and then Father and I would pick him up from the main city." He recalled. "I used to go with him every time, and not because Daniel asked me to.. but I was just scared that Father would suddenly remember everything and do something worse."

"Then.. a year after he graduated and while I was still in University in Dublin, some of my friends and I managed to open a small restaurant—"

"Where Dad sang for Mum?" she asked curiously.

Abel nodded, lips curling up. "He got that from Father. He wanted to be like him when he was young."

He huffed out a breath. "I think that's the one thing I didn't like about him." He admitted. "He was half an idiot by mind, and a complete treasure by heart. It didn't matter that Father had hurt him once. He still wanted to sing like him.. he always did, since we used to see Father sing Gospels all the time."

"Our parents loved each other, and we saw it everyday: the affection, the care they held for each other.. the way they always had each other's backs." He sighed. "Daniel wanted what they had. He always told me about it."

"That was the thing that pissed me off about him. Didn't matter who the person was.. or what they had done to him, he'd find one way or another to be inspired by them, and admire them."

"But maybe it wasn't just that." He speculated. "Maybe somewhere, he had hope that they'd changed."

"He must've been twenty-one when he told Isabella that he wanted to marry her. And that he wanted to talk to them about it, as well as about what he was.. when our parents were visiting me in Dublin." Abel pursed his lips. "He didn't want to hide that he was a wizard anymore, I believe." He cleared his throat. "And he'd also decided something."

"If they accepted him as he was, then well and good. But if not.. he'd made them believe that they were angry with him for some reason.. that they'd cut ties with him a long time ago. And that he wasn't a part of the family anymore."

Ria looked down at her hands, at the cuticles of her nail that she'd been picking on all this time, and soothed it with the pad of her thumb. It comforted her somewhat that her Mum had been with her Dad at that time.

"He told me that there was another way.. they would've forgotten that they ever had another son. But Daniel couldn't bear the thought of them forgetting him. So.. he carried on."

"But you know? In the end, he was the happiest of all Edwards." Abel couldn't help but smile. "That little bastard always wanted a family.. someone he loved.. someone he could sing his heart out to.. someone he'd recite all his words of adoration to. And he got what he wanted."

"So no, I don't think he ever regretted it.. even though he died." He concluded with a sigh.

"So according to me, there are things more unpleasant than death.. It isn't the worst thing."

And Ria was suddenly brought back to reality. To where they had left for before. Back to the question he had asked, to the one she had failed to answer. Do you really think death is the worst thing that could ever happen?

Abel had stayed for dinner that night. And having a day off duty, Esther had decided to stay instead, letting Sirius do the work of investigating the person behind the article.

"You really didn't have to.." She said to Amos, who stood behind the kitchen counter washing dishes. "I could've taken care of them."

He only smiled at her. "Ah.. don't worry about it. You took care of the dinner, didn't you?" He said with a small chuckle. "And to be fair, it feels a little homely.. doing the dishes."

Esther smiled in return. She could still hear faint noises from the living room, where Ria and Abel were talking.

A part of their conversation made them both pause though.

"I just.." It was Ria. "I wondered if you could take Dad's guitar with you."

Amos could almost imagine the questioning scowl on Abel's face. "Why? Do you not want it anymore?"

"No.. it's not that." She answered quickly. "I'm just scared that I'll break it, somehow."

There was a silence, and then he let out a small chuckle. "No, you won't." He assured her. "Take care of it, yeah?"

And with a sigh, Amos returned to his task. 

Then a thought struck his mind. He looked at Esther. "I'm sorry, by the way."

His apology caught her off guard. "Coming here so suddenly, without any prior notice, in dangerous circumstances like this. I should've given it a bit more thought."

She shook her head, about to say something but Amos only continued. "I heard what happened and wanted to come back as soon as I could."

"You didn't know till now?" She asked, slightly surprised.

He only shook his head. "I became suspicious when Isabella's letters stopped arriving. It's true that I was quite better than I was back when my son died. But the lack of her letters sort of woke me up completely. I could feel something was wrong."

"So you decided to come here directly?" She questioned.

"No. I wrote to Arthur first. He's a good friend of mine." He explained, finishing the rest of his work and drying his hands. "It took me a while to get a response, but he told me to come back if possible."

"Then I met him, then Dumbledore. And then he sent you the message through his Patronus, this afternoon."

Esther nodded slowly. "Back when I first came to live with Ria, Sirius told me about what happened to you." She said. "How are you now, Mr. Diggory?"

He took a deep breath. "I.. I might be okay. I don't know. I am better though, I know that." He said with a hollow chuckle.

She nodded, looking at the floor. "Your sister did the right thing."

"Hm?"

"Isabella." She repeated, looking at him now. "Sending you away to stay with Mr. Edwards.. somewhere new, but familiar.. away from the environment you were stuck in. It must've helped to clear your head a little."

Amos nodded, slightly impressed. She knew her stuff. "That it did."

"Just like it helped Asteria now."

His gaze softened. "It.. It did?"

Esther nodded, smiling with a little glint in her eyes. "You see Mr. Diggory. Asteria has been stuck in this cycle for the past month." And he listened to her a bit more carefully.

"She can't stop thinking about her mother.. Carrow— the person who killed her.. her curse, her Obscurus.. all that has been eating away at her to the point where even the smallest amount of stress makes her think she'll lose control. So she just.. she ends up taking the Draught of Peace a lot." She said with an exasperated sigh. "She refuses to write to anyone, or read anyone's letters.. so she doesn't have anything else to think about but all her problems."

"But now.. since you two showed up, she's had someone to talk.. someone and something to listen to. I don't think she has thought much about any of those things she did before. All she wanted to do was get to know about things that she didn't."

"..Is this why Dumbledore wants her to attend school this year too? Despite her Obscurus? To keep her distracted, but in a healthy way?" He asked, and she quickly nodded before continuing.

"I know she says she wants to break herself from the people in her life, but if she really wanted to, she would've slammed the door on your face the moment she saw you." she said. "But seeing you broke her from the way she was hyperfocusing on all her problems. It gave her the breather she needed."

"So.. so what do you think will help her realise that she needs to stop doing all this?" He asked, concerned as well as eager.

"She needs to.. try to go back to her regular life, which is hard, but possible." Esther explained. "And she needs to trust herself as well as the people around her. For now, this is the only way I can think of."

If she doesn't trust.. I won't be able to help her.

Amos seemed to be deep in thought for a moment. Then he looked back at her. "Miss Goldstein, I—"

"Please, just call me Esther."

"Okay. Esther, I know you've been taking care of Ria for the past month now." He started with a polite tone. "And I thank you for that. Really. I'm beyond grateful. But.."

"But, if you don't mind, I would like to take care of my niece, from now onwards." 

He had always considered Ria as his own. But she was also his sole duty now.

"I've talked to Dumbledore about this. I— I know it might seem that I'm only talking because it's supposed to be my responsibility, but.. but I want to protect her, to take care of her." He confessed. "I want to remind her that she still has a family. That her curse doesn't define her. Not for me, and not for the people that care about her. So please.."

Esther blinked a few times, before a small smile broke on her face. She couldn't think of anything better for her. She had almost lost hope before this.

"I'm glad too that you're back, Mr. Diggory."

Amos felt as if a burden had been lifted off his chest. He was glad Dumbledore had chosen her. "Thank you, Esther."

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