3. A letter from who after how long?!
After Alex had settled into a room or her own, she walked out to find a ministry worker standing there, smiling at her. "Miss Selwyn, if you would follow me please," he told her. "The minister would like to speak with you."
Groaning, Alex glanced around, making sure Harry was waiting downstairs before following right behind him. They made it to a private parlor where the Minister of Magic stood at the fireplace, holding a cup of tea. The door opening pulled his attention away from looking into it as he looked up to see Alex standing there. Relief flooded his senses and he smiled warmly at the young girl.
Alex had met the minister several times. He had come on more than one occasion to Severus' home at Spinner's End. His reasoning was because there had been several times that Sirius had requested that Alex come and visit him in Azkaban. She always refused, never wanting to see that man for as long as he was there to rot.
"Alexandria!" He greeted. "How have your summer holidays been?"
The look on the young girl's face was enough for Fudge to drop that happy talk as he walked over to the table to set his tea down.
"Why wasn't I informed of my father's escape from Azkaban?" She snapped as she walked towards him. She knew she should have shown more respect, this was the Minister of Magic, but she was angry and scared, understandably so.
"We didn't think he would be on the loose for this long," he told her. "Everybody is looking for him and I assure you that he will be caught."
Alex couldn't help but roll her eyes. "How long has he been on the loose?"
"As far as we can tell, just a few days," he told her, nervously fiddling with his fingers.
The young girl ran her fingers through her hair before looking at him again. "Has there been any news on my mother?" She asked desperately. "Would he be after her as well?"
On the times when Fudge would come to Spinner's End, she always asked if there had been any unidentified deceased witches that had been found. According to his knowledge, there wasn't, but he let her know that he would keep an eye out for any reports and keep her informed. No news was good new that her mum was still alive, but why hadn't she tried to contact Alex?
"No reports worth mentioning," he told her truthfully. "But I have been watching for them. As far as I know, your father did not mention your mother too much-" he paused, considering his next words "-but he did talk quite a bit about you again."
"What was it this time?" She asked, her tone sarcastic because she had no interest in whatever her father had to say about her.
"He just asked how you were doing," he spoke softly. "What Hogwarts house you were in, if I knew how well you were doing school, how your mother was, things like that."
Alex's blood ran cold as she looked at him. "You mean he knows I don't live with my mum?" She asked fearfully. "He knows she's on the run?"
Fudge nodded. Alex didn't know why, but that thought made her worry. Would he care that her mother was in danger? Or were the two of them simply a means to an end when Voldemort took power? She didn't know.
"We have almost everybody looking for him," he reassured again. "And I've informed the Muggle Prime Minister to be on the lookout as well to ensure Muggle safety, there's no reason for you to worry."
Alex furrowed her brow. "Minister, shouldn't everyone be looking for him?"
Fudge began chewing the inside of his cheek. "Well, there's some security that needs to be taken into the matter, especially when it comes to the students of Hogwarts."
"More specifically, Harry and I," she groaned. "Don't tell me I have to walk around with an auror trailing right behind my everything step, do you know how embarrassing that would be during social gatherings like quidditch games?"
He shook his head. "You won't have to have an auror with you but there will be security on the grounds of Hogwarts. Not one that will follow you and Harry though, so there is no need to worry about that."
"Good, is there anything else I should know regarding his escape?" She asked, not wanting to keep Harry waiting any longer.
"No," he simply told her. "But like I told Harry, stay in Diagon Alley, no wondering into the Muggle world."
"Very well," she stated, making her way to the door. "Have a lovely day, Minister."
Without waiting for a response, Alex walked out of the parlor and to the lobby where Harry stood patiently waiting for her by the back door. She couldn't help but smile as she walked up to him before they walked to the back to enter Diagon Alley.
It was refreshing seeing the familiar shops. However, she was quick to see her father's wanted poster at the front of every window, as well as on any blank wall. The look in his eyes caused a shiver to run down her spine and her stomach to tighten. She immediately looked away, focusing on her task at hand.
The first stop was to Gringotts to refill her money bag for the year. Her mother had left a spare Gringotts key with her to have access to their vault to use the money as needed for school supplies and anything else she could need. Though in the back of Alex's mind, she wondered if her mum came to the bank regularly to get money herself.
With it being Alex's third year, she was allowed to go visit Hogsmeade village now and see old places she hung out in the first few years before she began at Hogwarts. She was looking forward to it, but with the thought of Sirius Black being on the loose, she wasn't sure if she wanted to go now. Maybe it would be better to stay at the castle on those weekends.
"So how hard do you think Wood will be pushing us this year to win the Quidditch House Cup?" Harry asked as they made their way into Flourish and Blotts.
"I think we can forget about ever sleeping at all this year," she joked. "Nothing I'm not used to already."
"I think you're right," he laughed. "Especially with Sirius Black on the loose."
Upon hearing that, Alex felt her stomach drop as did her smile. She knew she'd be losing sleep over the thought that he was out there, hunting her, Harry, and possibly her mum. She just wanted it to stop.
After purchasing her books for the year, which included an aggressive book that tried to bite her, they made their way to the quidditch shop because Alex needed new arm guards. As soon as they walked into the store did she spot the broom display in the middle of the room.
"Wow, would you look at that!" She exclaimed, the two of them walking up to the new Firebolt display.
The two teens gaped at it and read the poster that claimed what its specialties were. But she knew better than to try and ask for the price. Defeated, she moved away from the display. Besides, she already had a broomstick. It was a Comet 260, not the newest broom but it was reliable and was in perfect working condition. She didn't need a new broomstick, as tempting as it was.
After grabbing the arm guards and paying, they made their way out onto the street to just walk, no destination in mind. As they walked Alex kept seeing her father's wanted poster at every turn, which made her stomach tighten more with fear at every turn.
If she looked long enough, she could see the resemblance she had towards him, but no one would be the wiser that she was related to the mass murderer. After all, her mother had decided to have them go by her maiden name to avoid the backlash that came with the Black name after the wizarding war. Now, no one would know that she was his daughter unless they asked and she revealed it. The only people who knew were her, Severus, and most of the professors at Hogwarts, as well as Hagrid.
The thought of him being close by, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike at her and Harry caused her stomach to tighten worse with anxiety and she stopped in her step, right in the middle of the walking path. Harry had taken a few steps further when he realized Alex had stopped walking. He noted the unusual paleness that crossed her face and his brow furrowed with concern.
"Are you okay?" He asked, walking back up to her. "Are you feeling tired or ill?"
Giving her head a little shake to clear it of the thoughts that plagued it about her father, she offered a small smile to Harry, though it was fake. "I'm okay," she lied before looking down the way to the ice cream shop not too far. "I'm actually craving ice cream if you're feeling up to it."
The two teens found themselves walking out of the shop, having acquired necessary ice cream to feel better before walking back towards the Leaky Cauldron. There was some homework that Harry needed help finishing for their Potions summer homework and Alex was happy to help.
☽
The rest of the month had dragged on slowly with Alex and Harry spending it all in Diagon Alley. She continued to aid Harry with his homework as they would study in random places in Diagon Alley and often see fellow classmates getting supplies. They admired the Firebolt everyday, the temptation of wanting to buy it being far too great.
Alex sleeping schedule didn't get any better as the summer dragged on, knowing her father was still on the loose and possibly looking for her and Harry. The nightmares had caused her to not want to sleep for fear of waking up screaming, but the lack of sleep was evident in the morning and Harry was worried for her. But she couldn't find rest when her father was still on the loose. She was slowly losing her mind.
Now, it was a couple days before they left for Hogwarts. After a long day of hanging out and laughing together, both preteens had retired to their rooms, Harry had gone to sleep by then, but Alex was awake, reading a Muggle book Hermione gave her since she knew she wouldn't be going to sleep anytime soon.
Her train of thought was interrupted by a light tapping at the window and looked over to see a tawny owl at the window, holding a letter in its beak. She furrowed her brow before walking over and opening the window to grab the letter, offering the owl a treat as a thank you. Turning it over in her hand, she recognized the handwriting on it but couldn't remember where she had seen it before. She ripped the envelope open and unfolded the letter.
'My dearest Alexandria,
You don't know how long I've wanted to write to you and tell you I'm okay but still not safe. It's still evident that someone is after me but I don't know who and I couldn't risk keeping in contact with you because I didn't want to put you in danger. I couldn't do that to my child.
I hope you can understand.
But things have changed. I'm sure you've seen that your father escaped from Azkaban and is on the loose. There have been things I've learned in that short time and though I won't go into detail in this letter, you will know soon enough. Things didn't happen the way we thought they did and you will soon learn the truth.
We will be seeing you soon.
I love you so much, angelus meus
Love, Mum.'
Alex's blood ran cold as she re-read the words several times. Her mother had written to her after five years of silence and she wasn't sure how to feel. She knew it was her mum because only her mum used the Latin phrase that meant 'my angel' when referring to Alex. What did she mean she had learned the truth about things? Who was 'We' referring to? And the last question that caused her blood to freeze completely it seemed like: Was Sirius Black looking for her mother?
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I have decided that I'm just going to update when I have chapter written. I don't like being kept to just updating on the weekends when I have chapter burning a hole in my Wattpad drafts!
How did we like this chapter?? I know it wasn't super exciting but it was something. Also, Alex's mum wrote to her.. what is going to happen hmmmmmmm???
Also, please follow the Wattpad Instagram @/sunflower_squid where I will be posting any funny memes I make for my stories, such as this one:
IYKYK lol
Don't forget to vote and comment!
Love you guys!
-Squid☽
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