Chapter 45. Home
Sitting in the train compartment, we couldn't help sighing, silently grumbling about having to waste time here instead of just going home by Floo. But what can you do… Traditions.
"Don't get why all of you are so gloomy?"
"…" When Ron asked, we only glanced at him for a moment before, still sitting wrapped up in each other's arms, trying once more to fall asleep and at least kill some of the hours on the way.
"The Headmaster said I'll have to spend at least a month with my aunt and uncle before my godfather can take me," Harry answered, giving his reason.
"Don't worry, that month will be peaceful for you. Sirius will discuss everything with your relatives," we did eventually speak up. Hermione, meanwhile, was reading a book by the window.
"By the way, we never told you. We found Sirius's daughter, so when you come back, there'll be just a tiny bit more of us," we said through Andromeda, then added through Regulus, "I'm actually curious how far along she is with magic."
"Sirius told me about her. Said she's very proud and absolutely useless at being honest with herself."
"Yeeeah, sounds like trouble," Ron remarked, scratching the back of his head.
"You just don't know what she's been through," Regulus answered, shaking his head, and Hermione, who'd been reading up till then, finally couldn't help herself and decided to join in.
"Is it related to how she was found?" the girl asked.
"Yes," we nodded, and then Regulus went on: "Our house-elf found her by a surge of magic. She'd been beaten half to death, and her mother killed herself right in front of her. And even though she seemed to recover quickly, that still had to leave its mark."
"Bloody hell," Ron swore, stunned.
"Sirius never said…" Harry muttered quietly.
"But why, what actually happened there?" Hermione asked helplessly.
"In short, Sirius seduced her mother, she got pregnant, her cheating was found out, her fiancé dumped her, the family made her an outcast, and then one thing after another, and her mother just snapped from grief. First she beat her daughter, then hanged herself, most likely thinking she'd accidentally killed the girl," we explained through Andromeda.
"So if anything, Harry, just be a bit more patient with her, but don't pity her either."
"Speaking of which," Ron began, giving us a dark look.
"What?" we asked in unison.
"Can you finally stop clinging to each other all the time? It looks weird, especially when you know you're twins."
"None of your damn business," we answered roughly, not caring whether that would hurt his feelings. The way we relate to ourselves is definitely not something that concerns others, and if it does, they can just go to hell.
"Uh…" Clearly not expecting such a harsh response, the boy looked helplessly at Harry and Hermione. Harry just shrugged, while Hermione chose to retreat and went back to her reading.
The rest of the trip, aside from Harry and Ron's conversations, went by fairly quietly, and we slept through most of it, until the whistle finally announced the arrival at the station, where Sirius and Coraline were already waiting for us.
"You really killed a basilisk?" were the words with which the girl greeted us, looking at us with a complicated expression.
"Yeah, some lunatic possessed our professor and brought a basilisk along. We had to deal with it," Regulus answered with a sigh, while we put on the air of "nothing to be done, it had to be done."
The girl's eyebrow twitched irritably.
"By the way, our present for you should be arriving soon."
"Present?" the girl's eyes lit up at once.
"Of course. It'd be a waste if killing a basilisk didn't earn something," we smirked.
"All right, all right, you'll have plenty of time to gab at home," Sirius cut in, putting a hand on Harry's shoulder and nudging him forward.
"Daughter, allow me to introduce my godson, Harry Potter," he presented Harry, and then decided to introduce his daughter to Harry: "Harry, this is my daughter, Coraline Black. I hope you'll keep an eye on her, otherwise this little mischief-maker—just like her father—will turn Hogwarts upside down before anyone has time to blink. Hahaha!"
Throwing Sirius a thoroughly displeased look, the girl stepped forward and held out her hand.
"Nice to meet you."
"Er, nice to meet you too," Harry said, slightly taken aback as he shook her hand.
"Where's your friend?" Coraline asked, looking around with curiosity.
"You mean Hermione? She already ran off to her parents. Don't worry, you'll still have time to meet her," we chuckled.
So, as one friendly crowd—while Ron went off with his family—we first met Hermione's parents and then the Dursleys, who were scared shitless.
And after that we finally went home.
It was an extremely strange feeling of unfamiliarity. It was our home, of course, but because we'd spent so long at Hogwarts over the year, it now felt like we weren't at home but visiting. Still, we were sure that wouldn't last long.
"So how did you beat the basilisk, anyway?" our sister finally asked over dinner, under Sirius's no less curious gaze. We had no choice but to tell it all as it happened.
"You wanted to use a forbidden spell? What is it? Fiendfyre?!" the girl bombarded us with enthusiastic questions, and we couldn't quite see the supposedly almost-tsundere girl Harry had described.
"It's something similar, only instead of a fire spell, it's an ice spell."
"Eh, seriously? And there isn't something like hellish lightning so that—boom!—lightning beasts shoot from your wand and tear everything to shreds?"
"We've never really thought about it," we answered, a bit lost. "But on the other hand, if there's fire and ice, maybe someone's come up with something for other elements too?"
"If there is, I'm definitely going to learn it, and then, if I ever meet this Voldemort, I'll just be like: wham!—and he's fried by lightning before he even knows what hit him."
"That's my girl," Sirius said proudly, ruffling her hair.
"How many times do I have to tell you, don't ruin my hair, stupid Dad!" the girl snapped at once.
And we couldn't help smiling as we watched their relationship. At the very least, we were sure that this father–daughter pair was doing just fine.