"There is no evil in sorcery. Only in the hearts of men."
- Merlin
Almost everyone in the wizard community know who the Weasley Family is; an old line of purebloods with red hair, freckles and enough children to start their own Quidditch team. But S...
I'M FAIRLY CERTAIN THAT'S A CRIME ✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧
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"I don't want you to leave!" Bill protested loudly and the mere sight of tears pooling in his blue eyes broke Seraphina's heart. "You can't go!"
"I wish I didn't have to, Bill," Seraphina said softly, giving her nephew a sad smile. "But it's for work and the goblins won't be happy if I refuse their orders."
"Then quit!" Charlie told her like it was the simplest thing in the world. And for a young child it was. "Then you can stay here with us more."
Casting a quick glance over at Molly and Arthur, practically begging them for help because she honestly didn't know how to make it clear for her nephews that she needed to leave. A child didn't listen to reason, all they heard was that Sera wouldn't be around for the unforeseeable future.
The morning on the day before James and Lily's wedding, Seraphina broke the news to her family. Knowing her brother and sister-in-law, telling them too soon would only mean spending three weeks with Molly trying to guilt her out of going – because being a Curse-Breaker was such a dangerous job – while Arthur subtly would try to get her to change her mind.
In the meantime, Bill and Charlie would practically attach themselves to her and Seraphina knew herself. If the two eldest Weasley children got the time, they'd eventually convince her not to leave. A few tears and her heart would melt because the thought of being the reason for their sadness broke her heart.
"Molly, could you bring the boys upstairs?" Arthur asked his wife, wishing to have a chat with his little sister without any interruptions. Bill and Charlie would never accept their beloved aunt leaving – they always hated when the term started and Seraphina left for Hogwarts – and Molly had her own opinions about Seraphina's line of work.
Despite the displeased frown adorning the Weasley matriarch's face, she ushered her two eldest sons out of the room; they protested loudly but one silenced glare from their mother and they must have realised the fight was pointless. Molly Weasley may be warmth and motherhood personified, but getting on her bad side never ended well.
"I always feared you'd follow Bilius' footsteps," Arthur sighed tiredly, taking off his glasses to run a hand down his face.
"To be fair, I'll be travelling for work," Seraphina argued, "Bilius can't even spell work." Her brother's truly followed the stereotype of the firstborn son settling down with a wife and kids at a young age while the second son travelled the world without a thought of settling down. "And I have no intention of being gone for longer than necessary."
"And this is something you want to do?" Arthur asked. Deep down he didn't want his baby sister to go anywhere near a possible danger. Since their father died, he'd been the one to raise Sera. It brought them to that weird relationship just between brother-and-sister and father-and-daughter.
"It's a good opportunity," Seraphina said, wondering when lying had become a second nature for her. It never became easy in the sense that she was riddled with guilt after every lie leaving her lips, but lately she found herself lying with such ease. "And I guess this is the time in my life where I should travel and take chances."
"I suppose that is true," Arthur forced a smile. "And you're an adult, so I can't exactly force you to stay."
"No, I'm fairly certain that's a crime," Seraphina said, matching his tight smile.
"And you have no idea for how long you will be away?" Arthur wondered.
"No, I guess I'll return when the job is done," Seraphina said – which wasn't actually a lie. When her job as a spy served its purpose, she'd be able to return home. And for as long as she was discreet, she should be capable of making visits home; perhaps Voldemort would believe her if she said that she needed to visit home because otherwise her family would grow suspicious.
"And where exactly is it you're going?" Arthur asked. Every other time she'd left for a work trip, Seraphina gave them a time she'd be back and the location she'd be going.
Seraphina grimaced, "You know how the goblins are with their secrecy. I wouldn't want to upset them by breaking confidentiality."
"Yes, they can be rather testy with their contracts," Arthur said, buying her excuse because the goblins were known to have a certain attitude towards witches and wizards — which Seraphina knew to be their own fault due to how poorly they'd treated the goblins throughout history.
Changing the subject, Arthur casted a glance up the stairs, "The boys will be devastated to see you leave — even if it's just for a few weeks."
"I know," Seraphina sighed, leaning forward to rest her forehead against the kitchen table. "This feels worse than leaving for Hogwarts."
Each time Seraphina left for Hogwarts, her nephews would be saddened to see her go, but at least they understood that she needed to go to school. They expected it. This would be much more difficult for them to accept.
"They will understand once they're older," Arthur reassured her. It truly warmed his heart how much his sons loved their aunt.
"It won't help me now," Seraphina straightened up, pushing a few strands of red hair away from her face.
"What does Sirius say about this?" Arthur wondered, having met his sister's boyfriend less than a handful of times, but it was quite clear that the young man was utterly in love with her.
"I can't say he's excited," Seraphina snorted. "But he's — supportive."
. • ⚯͛ • .
After finishing her talk with Arthur, Seraphina climbed up the stairs to speak with her nephew. Percy was still a little too young to understand the true meaning of her departure and the twins wouldn't notice the difference. But Bill and Charlie had grown old enough to not like it when she couldn't give them an answer on when she'd return.
Sitting down on Bill's bed, Seraphina said, "Come here, little ones," she patted the mattress. Though they were still a little cross with Sera for choosing to leave them, both boys obliged her request.
Bill sat down to her left while Charlie took the right. Wrapping her arms around them both, Seraphina began, "I really wish I didn't have to leave-"
"Then don't!" Bill pleaded, wrapping his arms around her waist like he thought she could disappear any second.
"It's not that easy," Seraphina said, feeling a sudden tightness in her throat. "When you grow older, you will both see how we sometimes must do things we don't really want to."
"Why?" Charlie frowned, holding onto her arm with the same fierceness as his older brother. The young boys' minds could not comprehend how an adult — someone who didn't have to listen to anyone — ever needed to do something she didn't want to.
"It's just the way it is," Seraphina said, finding lying to her nephews much more difficult than to Arthur and Molly. "There are many people depending on me to go to this job, and it would not be fair of me to let them down because of my own selfish reasons. No matter how much I'd like to stay here with all of you."
Seraphina didn't register the tear running down her cheek until Charlie brushed it away, "Don't cry, Aunt Sera."
"I'm just going to miss you both so much," Seraphina said, fighting to keep her voice steady. As an adult, it was her job to remain strong in front of the kids. If Sera broke down, she couldn't exactly expect them to keep it together. "My little dragons."
