23Full Summary: Meet the Dumbledore family: Albus, Minerva, Alice, Jacob, and Katherine. The five of them are a close knit and happy group of people. Meanwhile, Bartholomew Bagshot has vowed to fulfill his cousin Gellert Grindelwald's dying wish, something that will surely affect the Dumbledores. Aberforth and Albus try to deal with Ariana's death, and Alice eventually must choose between a fellow prefect and the rest of her friends and family. Will the these things tear the Dumbledore family apart?
Author's Notes: This story has been in the works for awhile. I really wanted to write something about Albus and Minerva's family. I don't think that this particular chapter has any major spoilers, but to be safe I'm going to say that the story will have general spoilers for the whole Harry Potter series. I hope you like what you read.
Disclaimer: I do not own any characters that you recognize. I do, however, own the Dumbledore children and the many other original characters that will appear in later chapters.
Ties of Blood and Loyalty - Chapter One
It was a pleasant summer afternoon, exactly one day before the start of term. Jacob Dumbledore sat on the old swing set that stood behind his family's house, deep in thought. The swing set had been there for as long as Jacob could recall. His father Albus often recounted the story of how the swing set had come to be where it currently was. Albus had brought it home one day when Jacob's older sister Alice had been very young. Their mother Minerva had scolded Albus for bringing "that ridiculous muggle contraption" home. Alice, however, had loved the swing set, thus securing its place in the Dumbledore backyard.
That had been nearly fourteen years ago. Alice and Jacob grew and started primary school. Meanwhile, their younger sister Katherine had been born. The years passed, and eventually it was time for Alice to begin her magical education at Hogwarts; Jacob followed the year after. Now, four years later, it was Katherine's turn. The rusty swing set creaked as Jacob slowly began to swing under the summer sunshine. He wondered where the time had gone; it seemed as if their father had just been pushing a six year old Katherine on the swing set that he now occupied. It was even stranger to think that Alice would be of age in just two short years. To Jacob, it felt like it was just yesterday that he and Alice had been in primary school.
Time, Jacob concluded, was odd. It seemed to slowly creep along while he was in the present, but when he looked back and reflected on years past, he realized that it had flown by. Yes, time was very odd indeed.
While Jacob was lost in his thoughts, Albus sat down at the kitchen table and cheerfully popped a lemon drop into his mouth.
Minerva gave him a look, "Keep doing that and you'll spoil your dinner."
"I have no intentions of doing such a thing," Albus replied, "Especially tonight, when you're making pumpkin soup. Your version is the best that I've ever tasted!"
"You flatter me," Minerva said wryly.
"It's true, my love," Albus told her, "What time did Aberforth say that he would arrive at?"
"Seven," Minerva replied as she busily stirred the soup. She paused and frowned, "He's bringing Amy."
"Oh," Albus looked thoughtful, "Well, he does love her very much."
"It's hardly appropriate," Minerva said, "And she eats like a pig."
Albus chuckled.
"Albus!" Minerva exclaimed, "It isn't funny!"
"I'm sorry, dear," Albus said, still laughing.
Minerva glared at him.
"You know," Albus said a few moments later, changing the subject, "If I'm lucky, I'll be able to persuade Alice to make brownies tonight."
"What was that, Dad?" A tall girl with long auburn hair and beautiful green eyes framed by glasses walked into the kitchen.
"Could you be persuaded to fix brownies for after dinner tonight, Alice?" Albus asked with a smile and twinkling eyes.
"Sure," Alice said good naturedly.
"What have you been up to today?" Albus asked his older daughter as she sat down at the table with him.
"Nothing out of the ordinary," Alice replied, "Reading."
"What were you reading?" Minerva asked as she joined them.
"I finished Othello and started Pride and Prejudice," Alice replied.
"How did you like Othello?" Albus inquired.
"It was alright," Alice wrinkled her nose, "Although Iago was a vile toe rag."
"Yes," Albus agreed, "He was quite malicious."
"Mum?" Alice asked after she and her father had completed their discussion of Othello. Albus had gone into the library, and was now enjoying a different book.
"Yes, love?"
"What time do we have to leave for Hogwarts tomorrow?"
"Early," Minerva replied, "Do you and your brother and sister have all of your things together?"
"Jacob and I do; I think Katherine is packing right now."
"Could you check with her and make sure that she had everything that she needs for the school year?" Minerva asked Alice as she stood up, "I need to check on the soup."
Alice climbed the stairs, headed towards Katherine's bedroom. Her family's house was over one hundred years old. On the first floor, there was the living room, kitchen, library, dining room, and her parents' bedroom. Alice and her siblings had the second floor to themselves. The house was so old that creaking noises were often heard in the middle of the night, and the stairs creaked as someone was walking on them. When they had been younger, she and Jacob had believed that a ghost had occupied their house. However, Alice had done much research on the subject, and had discovered that (much to her disappointment) there was no evidence that her family had a paranormal roommate. Still, Alice loved her home.
She knocked on her sister's door, "Katherine?"
There was no answer.
"Katherine?" Alice called, louder than before.
"I'm up here!" A voice came from the attic.
Alice climbed the stairs to the attic to find her sister amidst the dust and forgotten things that were scattered about the room.
"Hi Alice," Katherine greeted her sister sweetly.
"Hi," Alice responded, "What're you doing? Mum wants to know if you're all packed for tomorrow."
"Well," Katherine replied cautiously, "I think I am."
"Wand?" Alice asked.
"Check," Katherine said. The family had gone to Diagon Alley the week before and picked up school supplies, including Katherine's wand. It was ten inches and made of holly, with a core of unicorn hair.
"Robes?"
"Check."
"School books?"
"Check."
"All of them?"
"The Standard Book of Spells, A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration, The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection, and One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi," Katherine replied.
"Are you sure that's all?" Alice asked, her eyebrows frowning in thought, "I think you're missing one book. The trouble is, I can't remember the title of it."
"Oh," Katherine said, "Well, I have the books for Charms, Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Herbology. What subject is missing?"
"A History of Magic, by Bathilda Bagshot!" Alice exclaimed, remembering the title of the book, "Dad must have a copy lying around somewhere. Well, you're all set."
Katherine smiled.
"What're those?" Alice asked, pointing to a series of large books covered in dust that Katherine had been looking through.
"Photo albums," Katherine replied, "There are all sorts of pictures. Mum, Dad, Jacob, you, me, Uncle Aberforth…"
Alice sat down next to Katherine and opened one of the photo albums. It flipped open to a picture of younger looking versions of their parents.
"Mum and Dad," Alice said, "Gosh, they look young."
"And happy," Katherine added. In the picture, Albus and Minerva waved at their daughters.
"Mum's dress is nice," Alice commented on their mother's burgundy colored outfit before flipping to another photo.
"Oh look, it's their wedding photo," Katherine said as she saw the new picture. Their parents were standing on the front steps of a church, smiling at each other. Anyone who looked at the picture could tell that the two were deeply in love. They had been married on May twenty-second, nineteen-forty-eight. Two years later, Alice had been born.
A third person entered the attic. The girls looked up from the photo album to see their brother Jacob.
"Hi, Jacob," Katherine greeted him.
"Hi," Jacob replied. He glanced at Alice, "What are you looking at?"
"Pictures," Alice said.
"Mum wants you two to come downstairs, since Uncle Aberforth will be here soon," A smile suddenly appeared on Jacob's features, "He's bringing Amy."
Katherine giggled; Alice grinned. The three Dumbledore children trooped down the stairs and into the living room.
When Albus, who was still in the library, heard noises in his front yard, he went outside to welcome his brother.
"Hello Aberforth," Albus greeted him.
Aberforth nodded in response and walked towards Albus. Beside him, Amy paused and munched on some grass. She had snowy white hair and horns. Aberforth patted her on the head affectionately.
He sure did love Amy the goat.
"How has Amy been?" Albus asked politely.
"Good," Aberforth replied. He paused awkwardly, "Eh, listen, Albus, I've got something I want to talk to you about."
"Alright," Albus said, "Would you like to come in?"
"Not just yet," Aberforth told Albus, "Can we talk in the backyard?"
"Certainly," Albus said and led him behind the house.
"So, I'll get right to the point," Aberforth said once they were in the backyard. Amy was there, too, happily munching a plant in the garden (something that Minerva later would be furious about), "I've been thinking about Ariana a lot lately."
Albus flinched as he heard his sister's name. Aberforth, however, did not notice; or, if he did, he chose not to mention it.
"We never really dealt with her death, you and I. What I mean to say is that we moved on and put it behind us too quickly. It was so horrible; we badly wanted to forget about it. After the funeral we shot back into normal life and didn't do a lot of things that we should've done. We got involved in other things and focused on those instead. I had my goats and you had your teaching. Am I right?"
Albus nodded, his eyes closed.
"And so I'm trying to properly deal with it now. That means I've got to do some things that involve you. So, first of all, I'm sorry I was so horrible to you. You know, after. At the funeral. I laid all the blame on you, and it wasn't completely your fault. And I'm sorry for that."
Albus nodded again, unsure of what to day. He received all the credit for being the intelligent one of the Dumbledore brothers, but Aberforth was no idiot. It wasn't very obvious, but he could often be much more perceptive than Albus, especially at times like these. Albus was an intellectual, and Aberforth was somewhat a philosopher.
"I'm unsure of exactly what else I need to do, but I'm pretty sure that was the first step," Aberforth concluded unceremoniously, "So when do we eat?"
The two brothers entered the house to find Minerva and the children in the living room.
"Whatever you say…prefect," Jacob was teasing Alice. The two seemed as if they were in the middle of a conversation.
"Philosopher," Alice playfully shot back at Jacob.
"Genius," Jacob grinned.
"Cannon's fan."
"Hi Uncle Aberforth!" Katherine exclaimed upon seeing him.
"Kathie!" Aberforth exclaimed upon seeing his favorite niece. The two had always been close. With her blonde hair, blue eyes, and pleasant temperament, Katherine had always reminded Aberforth of his sister.
"Are you alright?" Minerva asked Albus softly, going to stand next to him. She was concerned; such a forlorn look on her husband's typically smiling face was foreign to her.
"I'll live," Albus told her, "Let's eat; I'm famished."
"Could you pass the brownies, Jacob?" Albus asked his son, who did as his father asked.
"Uncle Aberforth," Katherine said, "Did you know that Alice is a prefect now?"
Alice blushed. Couldn't her family find something else to talk about? She understood that her recent award was indeed somewhat of a big deal, but all of the extra attention was beginning to irk her. Besides, it wasn't as if she was the only Dumbledore sibling who had accomplished something recently. Couldn't they talk about Jacob and how he had been elected co editor of The Quill, Hogwarts' literary magazine? Or the fact that Katherine would be starting at Hogwarts in less than twenty four hours?
"Somehow I'm not surprised. Congratulations," Aberforth nodded in Alice's direction.
"Thanks," Alice mumbled.
"Somehow that doesn't seem entirely fair, though," Aberforth continued, "Minerva, don't you think that it's a bit biased, with your husband being the one that elects the prefects?"
"You aren't the only one with that concern, Aberforth," Albus spoke up, "I asked Horace Slughorn to choose prefects this year."
Aberforth nodded.
"I wonder what house I'll be in," Katherine thought out loud.
"I'd bet money that you'll be in Gryffindor," Aberforth said, "Just like the rest of us."
"Though we wouldn't disinherit you if you're not," Jacob said playfully.
"I almost expected Alice to be in Ravenclaw," Albus said, smiling, "She inherited her mother's mind."
Minerva smiled, "You'll find out tomorrow. Alright, you three, it's getting late and we have an busy day ahead of us -"
"Mum," Alice protested.
"Not yet," Katherine said.
"We were hoping you'd let us stay up until the early hours of the morning and admire the beauty of the night sky," Jacob added.
"Bed," Minerva said in a tone that one does not argue with. She was beginning to sound like Professor McGonagall again. It was rather fitting, considering that school would start tomorrow.
Thoughts? Questions? Criticisms? Suggestions? Please let my know by leaving a review! They (reviews) are awesome like Panic At the Disco's New album, which I am in love with. I will post the next chapter ASAP, which will probably be pretty soon, since I have no school right now because of Spring Break. Plus, this story is really fun to write. Sorry; I'm rambling. But anyway...review! Make a writer happy!