✧COMPLICATIONS AT ITS FINEST PT.1✧

♕♕♕

◊━━━━━✥━━━━━◊

***

Aurora had been awake for quite some time, knowing that her eldest wouldn't make it until morning without being awoken by one another stomach. She was high-wired, all things considering.

Her interest in all her children's academic statures would alleviate some stress that was burning into her chest. But even now as she heard about their Quidditch season and possible lessons they had managed, it still didn't settle the ache.

Something else was coming forward, and her wondering intuition was starting to pick up on the possibility.

"And your OWLS? Was it as awful as everyone claimed it was?" Imara groaned into her hands.
"I feel like I've tanked my History of Magic's essay, fumbled the dates I'm sure of it!" She claimed, and Aurora had raked her hand through her daughter's hair to soothe her damning thoughts.

"It might seem that way now, but that quill you use during the exam is helpful at times to pull out the information you surely know...What about you, Romulus? Are you worried about any subject?" Romulus didn't even know where the bloody hell to begin.

"Divination of course, otherwise Transfiguration was rather difficult than I would've thought it to be."
"Yeah mum! Professor McGonagall bumped it up this year! I heard loads of the sixth years saying it wasn't as challenging." Aurora shook her head with a smile.

"That's because it's been a while since she's had two metamorphic students in her midsts, you two have transfiguration in your blood."
"And potions," Imara said with a smile, and Romulus chuckled. "You feeling good about the potion's practical?" His twin nodded fitfully, the transparent sign of her honesty had been in the form of her hair returning to its blue tips.

"Well, I certainly like to hear that...And Lori told me you helped her at the beginning of this year with her potion assignments?" Romulus nodded and began itching his the back of his neck in pure hesitation—Was it something he should've told her then?

"Er, yeah. But she's got the hang of it now, Snape wasn't going to be lenient forever." Aurora knew that to be true, but was thankful regardless if it was ordered or not.

"There is something I need to tell you, I haven't told Ronan or Lori about it. And I doubt Cara had the gull to tell you herself—"
"Romulus, be nice to your sister. What is it thats happened?" Imara eyes widened, not understanding why he would do something in the sort now.

"I have every right to be aggravated mum, she was rather careless these last few months. She, Potter, and another Gryffindor in their year had gone and used a time turner to make sure Uncle wouldn't be captured and receive the Dementor's kiss." Aurora had been blindsided by the reveal, having been left to wonder all this time why the parcels from her Ravenclaws seem so barren.

Not Imara's, though, she always seemed prepared to speak about the first interesting topic that comes to mind.

"Well...I—I don't know what to say then. Other than I'm extremely disappointed that this is the first time I'm hearing about it." She said, looking between her two eldest, and Romulus gritted his teeth.

"We had OWLS to focus on, mother. Right alongside prefect duties and other various tasks that require keeping our siblings safe and out of harms way. After all the threats of pulling us out of Hogwarts, we couldn't take it anymore. We finished the school year and Black is safe. I'd say that's brilliant work on all parts, Cara's especially." Imara watched cautiously as her mother's hand had turned into a fist, worried that this aggravation would spark a war between both her mother and brother—In addition to returning her awful headache.

"Romulus...I told you to tell me if—"
"And it was handled beautifully. Everything was solved last month, there is nothing more to be done. He's safe and has supplies, and better yet we don't know where he went. Perfectly—"
"But it's not perfect!" Aurora yelled, slamming her fist to the table. Her eyes turning wide and darting between both Imara and Romulus—But more so on her son.

"I have tried to protect all of you from this for so long and it's...It's finally coming to bite me in the arse. I know you can take care of yourselves, and I'm so utterly proud of you both, all of you. But it hurts to know that you're being exposed, that all my effort are being thrown out the window!" Her hand had started to seize as she stopped her ranting and pulled it close to her chest and soothed the ache.

"Seems you've been hiding something as well," Romulus said, reaching forward and taking hold of her hand and gazing upon the blackened veins.

"It's gotten better, and I'm your mother—I'm meant to worry about you. Not the other way around." Imara shook her head. "Mum, we're allowed to worry about you and father just the same. This year has been stressful and harsh. Holiday's here, can't we just forget about it all?" It felt like a beautiful idea, to get everything put behind them.

But Aurora couldn't possibly remain ignorant. Not when Romulus' face had turned grim.

"Mum, were you close with Peter Pettigrew?" She thought for a moment and shook her head. "Not more than a few conversations here and there. He was a shy fellow from what I can recall. I've always got the impression he was jealous of Sirius and James."

"He was their secret keeper...The Potter's. They switched Sirius to Peter and never told anyone." Aurora's eyes had felt like she had been transported back to that faithful night, nearly drowning in the tub in front of Romulus as she felt the Potter's death as if it were her own.

The silent tears streaking down her face as she shook her head. No. It couldn't be.

No. He was a brother to them.

It simply couldn't be.

Aurora had turned to see Cara offering her a kind smile only for her to fall into her mother's lap with a suffocating hug. "Remus and Sirius were distraught too mummy, he was their friend—You're friend."

"He's no friend of mine." She claimed, combing through her daughter's hair and thanking her for a job well done. It tugged heavily on her heart, that the answer was in everyone's faces so perfectly.

But Peter? He wasn't the most logical of the bunch, so how did he manage to fool everyone?

It only confirmed that Rabastan was still holding parts of his Death Eater secrets and Aurora didn't know what to think, not when she betrayed him in the same way.

"What can be done to prove his innocent otherwise? It seems like the ministry is getting more faulty the closer we look at it. It's unbearable." Aurora chuckled, though a sniffle had still managed to sneak its way out into the open. "That's because you're getting older, and this isn't America." Not that America wasn't without its own issues.

"Not to push the conversation to something else, we'll speak of this at another time...Your father and I had decided that you two can pick something for us to do for powering through your OWLS. What will it be?" It caused their mother to smile through her tears in witnessing their silent communication, it happened frequently since they were young babes.

"Final decision? You two could always think about it or sleep on—"

"Could we go to the Quidditch world cup?" Aurora blinked, having not thought that they simply want to go to a game. Even when either of their teams made it to the final running.

"Is that what you both want?" She questioned, and they nodded eagerly. As well as Cara who was a bucket load of excitement as well.
"And here I thought you wanted to do something out of this world, alright...Alright. We'll make a weekend trip out of it. And allowance to purchase souvenirs." The children grinned to one another, through Aurora had padded to Cara to rise up.

"Don't stay up too late, I believe you all have a few jobs this summer to enjoy. Best not to get into the habit of sleeping the day away..." The three birds had watched their mother say her goodnights before dismissing herself. Though she hardly wanted to go to bed, her body was craving it.

Upon entering the master suite, she caught Rabastan still awake—And she mentally cursed herself. "Decided to finally join me, goddess Rory. I was going to come and get you soon." Aurora's smile and disregard of what she had just learned had managed to go completely unnoticed by her husband.

Instead he had marked his book and started a small discussion as she hurried away into the closet. "Did you end up waking the twins?" Aurora laughed as she was neck-deep into her sleep gown.
"Not at all, they were stuffing their faces at the table. I'm glad I cooked up extra."

"Suppose they're like their mother in that way, having forgotten to eat because studying is more important." Aurora had leaned against the doorframe of her closet and narrowed her gaze.

"Are you still bitter of that little bet of our after seventh yea—"
"It was petty. Funny to others, awfully petty." She grinned, coming to bed and kissing his cheek before settling in herself.
"That was the point, love. And weren't you the one who hid...Oh, I don't know—The fact that we were getting married that very summer? I have the right to be petty." She said, and Rabastan could only follow down in pursuit of his wife.

"Point taken, did you ask what they want to do for their OWL's gift?" Aurora grinned at the idea, knowing full well it would pass beautifully with her husband.

"I'd say that's easy, I'll take care of the tickets. Sure we can manage a ministry box." Aurora groaned, knowing full well what that meant. "Rabastan, that'll mean we'll be near Malfoy."

"He isn't that much of an arse...He's starting to come around once again, and it's not wise to keep a grudge. Don't you miss Narcissa?"
"I have no issues with my cousin. It's her husband that I am not fond of. Nor will I be in a box with him, I don't care if the minister himself will be there—"
"Well actually, he most likely will be. Lucius has been putting an effort at the ministry, so I wouldn't be surprised if he'd be invited as well." Aurora took a moment to digest it, but after realizing that her husband knew all this time that Pettigrew was the one who betrayed the Potters...

Aurora didn't know what to think.

It would be hypocritical for her to get angry, as Rabastan would surely feel the same if he knew she was a part of the Order during the high of the war.

"Have you forgiven him...?" She asked, the frog in her throat nearly causing her to choke on such a simple statement. Did Rabastan's grudge only limit for a few years?

Would she be granted the same?

"Not entirely, no. But there'll come a time when Draco and Ronan will wonder what happened between the two of us." She nodded, and he had taken her silence in worry. "Love, I know it's sudden but it's becoming tedious to avoid conversation with him."

"I don't expect you to hold a grudge on my account, I've talked to my cousin loads of times...When did you decide all was well between you two?" Rabastan held his breath, not knowing whether or not to tell Aurora that Lucius was the one to come to him.

That he was desperate for an answer on what to do, having lost a precious item that the Dark Lord had entrusted him to keep safe and hidden. But all was lost, since it now laid in the hands of Dumbledore.

"It's not all well and nice, it's civil. I'm not sure why you're being so irrational—"
"Irrational? Do you not remember those months we spent apart because you went on a wild goose chase for a dead Lord? No, because you were busy off doing god knows what else." His eyes grew tenfold at the mention of his disappearance and sighed.

"And I'm thankful that I'm out and back with you and the children, I'm only being civil with him, love. Nothing more. It's inevitable, he's a businessman in the apothecary world. Am I meant to avoid him at all cost?" Aurora didn't know whether to hold her ground when her soul was screaming at her to do something.

She knew full well that Lucius was the main recruiter for those in Hogwarts.

The answer was screaming at her, but she withheld. Wanting to keep the anger to herself as everything was perfect in her life. Her husband and children were happy and healthy, she didn't want to stake an overreaction for something that could potentially be nothing.

"...But I'll purchase another booth to avoid an issue." Aurora had dragged her hands down the likes of her face, not only did she have to worry about Wormtail's reappearance and his Death Eater motives.

The answer was right there in front of her for the longest of times, and it never became apparent.

How could she possibly track down a rat among all the other problems she's faced with? As if Lupin's exposure and danger to the Hogwarts population, the ministry was looking to blame her...Yet again.

◇──◇────◇────◇──◇

Date Posted: 10/17/2021 (

Time: 2:41

Words: 2382

So sorry this is late, my internet has been out since Tuesday and won't come until this Tuesday. Just about surviving with assignments and all this and that.
Next week will be another Immer Ende update (Part two) because I'm a little behind with Immer Waise.

I'm not particularly happy with how I wrote the next few chapters for Immer Waise, so I need to make some alterations before posting them. Otherwise, I'll regret it later on.

Long story short, Immer Ende chapter coming next week!