✧A FRESH CHAPTER✧

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Regulus wasn't shocked in hearing that Aria and Aidan broke up, Sirius was—As was Orion. But Reg kept it to himself on the terms the two broke up on, and it wasn't pretty nor hopeful for the future. Which of course, was heartbreaking in it's own right, as Aria made it clear that she loves him.

And Aidan loves her, life was just not in the cards for them right now. Which brought her back to the idea of not getting married until thirty—At least.

When it came time to sending Wyatt off to Hogwarts, it was a bitter sweet moment. And Randall was quick to offer his support, he aided Wyatt—As a lad needed another lad's aid in some things.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you'd want to jump on too." Randal nicked her elbow into her stomach, and she rolled her eyes to her friend.
"Actually...I think I'm good. Your father might have a good friendship with Dumbledore but we don't see eye to eye." Randall hummed, looking down tauntingly to his friend.

"I mean, you do have a pack of clothes and all."
"Not for classes, and besides—I've been counting down for this too." Randall was excited as well, he had always traveled with his father or with both his parents.

He was going on his own exhibition with Aria the same way his father had before he met Tina. To say they weren't both excited was an understatement, so while they waited for the train to ride along off to Hogwarts, Randall took one last look at their tickets and reminded her that they had to get a move on.

And so the two were off, Randall's hand securely in hers as they managed their way through the crowd of muggles and to a quiet place so they could apparent—It was interesting on how the Scamander's would use muggle transportation rather than the illicit portkey to take them from one place to another.

But Randall repeated his father's words of 'it wouldn't be an adventure if we just ended up where we needed to go' and thus, they took the normal train off towards their first destination.

Oh she could see it in his eyes, the fact that he could plan the entirety of it. That he could take the lead and yet—His heart was beating fast for another reason.

He caught the light in Aria's eyes as she looked out the cabin's windows, while her brother's were back to school she was out estivating an escape.

The Academy was closed near the end of the summer as an explosion allowed for a rather deadly toxic in the air. Luckily Aria wasn't scheduled for class that day or else she would've surely been exposed.

So she took the liberty and found herself on a vacation, a much needed one. So when they arrived to the first hotel room, Aria went directly to the window and pulled the curtains back, making her way to the balcony and taking in the fresh air of the late night.

Goddess it was beautiful.

"Did you want to get some late dinner?" Randall asked, setting the suitcase on the bed before shedding off his own travel jacket.

"The restaurant downstairs looks lovely...Are you hungry?" He nodded shyly but Aria herself could use a snack as well. So the two secured the case, hiding it in case a muggle decided to come into the room.

The two decided that they could divulged in a bit of beer, they were in Germany after all. So the two dinned on the customary dinner and drank the never ending steins, acting like their was no problem left in the world.

Until they came back to the hotel room and fell straight on the bed in a daze looking up the ceiling, one would say something witty before their laughter followed suit.

They were being young and oh so dumb.

But speaking of dumb, Rabastan made the damned mistake in telling Avery and McNair that Aria came to his manor over the summer.

And Avery took it as a sign of reconnection while McNair was in serious question of what the hell was in either of their minds for that.

"Do you have a death wish?"
"No but I was almost dead, I made it to Aria's manor and she healed me. Nothing more than—Well father did come home and she was almost caught." Avery and McNair stopped their unpacking as they couldn't bloody understand what was happening to their mate or with Crawford.

"She morphed into my brother—Played it well actually, and besides, it got father off my arse about dancing with her." He had to share what happened, and while they weren't surprised by their friend's father's behavior. They were surprised on the sudden punishment that came with it.

Senior Lestrange knew they dated, so what was it? And why was he suddenly backing off at the idea that Rabastan had danced or even dated her at the soul purpose of her being an Order member.

It made them suspicious if she even was offered—Or if she even declined.

"You morphed into his brother?! Merlin, oh that's brilliant." Randall laughed, the two were simply coming down from their first night gitteries—That was more or less because they were drunk.

"I thought so too, but I've hardly talked to him since. And now he's off to Hogwarts and I'm about to hardly have an address to send to—So perhaps this is a good distance for the both of us, same with Aidan."
"Both dumbarses, the lot of them, I wouldn't give you a reason to be mad at me if I had a gal like you Ari." They were in a mess of giggles, and Randall had never been more thankful that Aria was intoxicated and had fallen asleep not long after.

She didn't need another bloke to bagger her in being in a relationship...But he had his father's luck in failing to plan out accordingly.

*

It was a blessing, truly it was—To explore the world for her own sake. She wasn't reading another person's experience, she wasn't taking their filtered interests...She stood on the highest peek of the Swiss alps, yodeled with the fellow witches in Norway.

Prayed at the alter of Freya, and learned new dances to pray to other religious deities.

In addition, she was bringing home a new family member to the manor. And of course the once abandoned wolf pup would cause a mess of trouble when mummy wasn't around.

Randal didn't want to impose, considering they had spent the last fourish months together he was sure that she was over his presence. But the second her lips leaned up to kiss his lightly—He fell back in ease.

They managed to make the manor pup proof, bought the much needed groceries as Wyatt was coming over as well as the Crawford family.

After all this time, Aria's family would be visited by her, and sure enough there would be enough room. As she'd give up hers and sleep up in the loft.

Course Randal and his parents were invited to dine with them as well, and Wyatt was bustling at the idea of helping Aria coo for a whole lot of people.

Everything from decorating the Christmas tree, to morphing the usual dining table that seats four at most—To sit about eleven guests was easier said than done.

It was brilliant, the activities, the laughter...Aria was a perfect host and knew how to throw a party down to the minute.

To say Eli and Chrissy were proud was an understatement, and better yet...They enjoyed seeing her with Randall.

As apparently Aidan was falling down the ladder, his parents were worried about him of course but there was little to do.

So when a shaggy mutt had peeked into the window of their sister's manor...How was he meant to ruin her chance of a happy holiday when he's run away from his own family, which meant he ran away from her as well.

Orion knew her family was over, but they were all due back before the New Years came—Leaving Aria to enjoy the holiday with just Wyatt as she pushed Randall to spend time with his own family after spending so much time away.

So Aria spent the quiet night in a recliner, with a wine in hand and a good book to solve a previous theory. While Loki was curled on her lap while Omen on her legs.

Though her evening was cut short as she heard a noise from her fireplace.

"Aria?"
"Father...? Is everything alright?" Omen had let out a hiss of distaste for being abruptly moved away from her spot. While Loki was dead to the world as she crouched beside the fireplace.

"Is Sirius with you?"
"No, I haven't seen him since the first day of their break...Is everything—"
"Step back love, I'm coming through." She listened rather quickly and called out that it was alright to proceed and there was hardly a taken breath before Orion had stepped through and smiled to his daughter.

Though there was a heaviness to it.

"Is Sirius okay?" She said taking the step forward and looking beyond worried. "He ran away...I would've thought that—That he'd come here to stay."
"What?! When did he run away?" The grim face washed over Orion as he looked down to his daughter, his beautiful and intelligent daughter that he so foolishly gave away.

She was right, he should've told Lestrange to mind his business and wait the given years until Hogwarts—He would've had more time.

He assumed that his friend simply wanted to move on from his son's betrothed and get another contract in the works before Rabastan was any older. And it worked, or it did until the lad himself ended it himself because of Aria, not that fraction of the equation Orion knew that.

He expelled all his worries, all his faults to the open ears of his estranged daughter. If anyone understood in needing someone to listen, it was Aria herself.

She provided him a glass of fire whiskey and curled up in his side, he had so many hopes and dreams to provide for his family and yet...He never would've predicted that Walburga would turn so brutal.

Aria promised that she would inform him if she ever saw Sirius, but she had a feeling as to where he had gone...Which she disclosed, but at the very least it calmed him to know he wasn't outside in the cold or starving.

"Father...? If I may be blunt for a moment?" There was nothing more that could anger him, and so he nodded silently and she pouted. "Do you think...Do you think his Hogwarts house has to do with his views? Do you blame it on being a Gryffindor?"

"Of course! He wouldn't have to be surrounded by those blood traitors or mudbloods!" 

"Then you don't understand why he ran away then father, he ran away to get away from those titles. I can promise you that the pureblood faction is scary at the bottom and even scarier at the top. You isolated him for being a Gryffindor and then faulted him for his friends, what type of world is it that you have to be friends with who your parents chose?" Her question washed years worth of guilt towards him, but she did warn him that would be blunt, it indeed held no bounds.

"Could you see Sirius serving the Dark Lord father?"
"No."
"And marrying out of a whim of who or Walburga saw fit?"
"...No."
"So if he's made his stance on muggle-borns or those you call blood traitors, did you see it ever working out after he gradated from Hogwarts?" What Aria was trying to get her father to see, was that his leaving was for the better.

"I think you need a break father, why don't you and Alfred go and enjoy Germany for a bit? It'd do you some good." 

"And leave you at the whims of your mother? Not a chance little light."

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Date Posted: 09-12-2020

Time: 11:50

Words: 2070

Friendly reminder to drink water, don't text that boy and do your homework:)