Aria Hart

== My name is Aria and this is my story.==

My name is Aria Hart. I was born on July sixth, twenty four years ago, two minutes after my twin brother. The prat can’t seem to let me forget it either. I grew up living a modest life. I shared a room with my brother until we were ten. Back then we were inseparable. On our tenth birthday, my gift was a room to myself and my brother’s gift was the bratty little brother wetting his bed once a month at the least. I probably shouldn’t have mentioned that.The loft was a three bedroom. It was a bit tight, and we had some neighbors that weren’t too considerate, but it was our home. Dad would always get mad about how the place came with silencing spells intact, but that wasn’t enough to keep them from dropping by everyday just to check up on the neighbors. It was pretty sad now that I think about it, though. They never really had a family of their own, so the Landas liked hanging out with us. They were often our babysitters when my parents went out on their numerous dates.

My brother and I both became Gryffindors the first year at Hogwarts. Everything was fantastic. I learned that Charms were not as fun as they looked when my mom did them, and that potions was bloody insane. People were always blowing up potions, even Ravenclaws. I had a really good relationship with my brother too. We had classes together, hung out with most of the same friends, and even played on the Quidditch team together.

He used to make fun of me a lot because I swore that I would be the Head of the Intelligent Creature Liason Office. It is a well known fact that only those with pureblood status would be allowed to hold such a position, but I didn’t care. There were always ways around that. My dad humoured me against my mother’s better judgment. She thought that my trying so hard should have been directed more at my studies or being a teenage girl. I won’t lie and say that I didn’t miss out on any of those cool teen moments in school, but I was determined. Passing that blood status test was the only goal I had.

Everything was pretty great for a while. My brother and I were both in our fourth year of Hogwarts when it happened. We were called into the Headmaster’s Office one night after curfew to receive the news that our mother had fallen gravely ill. We were able to go to St. Mundo’s immediately, but a part of me didn’t want to go. Because of my blind determination, I chose to ignore the signs that my mother was ill. It had been building up for over a year, and my brother wasn’t all that surprised when we heard the news. I felt so selfish for not paying attention.

After my mother died, my father became depressed. There were times when he would come home drunk and blame me and my brother for her death. He said that my dreams and my brother’s erratic behaviour were the real cause. I suppose for a while I kind of believed him. I knew that it wasn’t literally my fault, but we were all still grieving, so the emotions were high. The problem was that my father didn’t seem to want to let her go. My youngest brother began to get same treatment we did, until finally my dad just kind of stopped talking to us.

I took on the role of mother, I suppose. I gave up the idea of becoming a pureblood and instead learned how to cook and clean without magic. It was actually rather bad in the beginning. The Landas gave us many a casserole and other full meals. My father continued to provide for us, but he seldom actually came home. Up until our seventh year at Hogwarts when we all went together, the Landas took to watching our younger brother until the school year was over. We spent every holiday at home, just the three of us. As terrible as it sounds though, we were okay with it. We were own dysfunctional family.

Despite the hardships going on at home, I made the best of my school life. I had spent so much time at home, taking care of my brothers, that by the time I got into those castle walls I was ready to just let go and have some fun. I continued to study regularly, but I didn’t push myself nearly as hard as I had before. Herbology became one of my favourite subjects and getting Sugar quills at Hogsmeade was like a little edible feather of happiness. I spent a lot of time in The Three Broomsticks during those trips. I would sit by the window while friends cycled in and out. My brother always stayed the longest with me though. That old bar was home away from home.

After I turned seventeen, my father told us that he was selling the flat to get money for a trip. He was going to America to become a better man, or so the note he left told us when we returned home from Hogwarts to find our things all packed in boxes in the living room. That was the first time I ever actually felt a bit of hate for my father. I had always respected that he and mom were perfect for each other in every way, and that they could work through anything for the better of their relationship. I chose to see his neglect as his own sick sort of way of protecting us. He couldn’t bear to watch us grow up without our mother and be tortured by his drunken stupor and harsh words. It was okay because the three of us could stay together under one roof.

We tried everything to find a place to live. One of our aunts offered to take in our younger brother, but she said that she would not bring young adults into her home to pamper and coddle. I never liked her much anyway. Then, by a stroke of sheer luck, we received notice that our grandmother had left her house in Godric’s Hollow to me. She had passed away shortly after our mother, but the house had been trapped in some Ministry loop, being pushed aside to deal with other more important matters. We had a two story, four bedroom home all to ourselves.

A part of me hoped that my father would come home to us a changed man, but by the time I hit twenty two, I knew that it wasn’t going to happen. I had mostly worked odd jobs here and there. The house was paid for, but we still had to eat. My brother didn’t seem to want to work, so he mostly lived off of what little money I could get at well. One day when I was twenty, I had gone to Hogsmeade to visit the Three Broomsticks when the owner, Madame Bromilda, asked me if I would like a job. I instantly jumped at the chance to work there, and I still love my job.

One not so amazing part about the position was that I had to work with Brigham Potter. He had been labeled a blood traitor by the Ministry of Magic and forced to live and work at the bar. A lot of people were upset because of the children visiting the place on a regular basis, but since his magic was stripped down, the heat was off somewhat. I didn’t really care about his status as much as I just plain disliked him. At Hogwarts, we fought quite often. He was and will always be an egotistical ass. The whole reason why he got in trouble with the Ministry in the first place was because of his giant mouth.

Now I’d like to think that my brothers and I are pretty happy right now. It seems like my youngest brother has decided to take after my twin and be a handful in school. He does well in his studies, but he has behaviour issues apparently. He’s also already received an owl for using magic outside of school. I’m trying my best to figure him out, but I just don’t get it. I think my brother is the one to handle that beast. Aside from that though, life seemed to regain a bit of a normal pattern. I finally had the time to myself to revisit the idea of registering to become a pureblood.

My brother says it is a terrible idea, but as I get to meet the vampires and werewolves that stumble into our bar, I can’t help but want the position even more. It turns out that their rights are actually pretty limited, not that the Ministry would let anyone know. One vampire told me that by just being in Hogsmeade, he risked being captured. The place they are forced to live is pretty scary too. Apparently regular people like me aren’t even allowed to visit without special permissions from the Ministry of Magic. It’s pretty intense, and I want to help smooth it out.

I haven’t applied yet for pureblood status because I am afraid that I will be rejected. Rejection isn’t something I’m normally afraid of, but because of the extent of the background check, I’m not entirely sure that we will come up clean. My father had been shady about how he earned his galleons, and we never wanted to know. I have to find a way to ensure that our family be accepted before I apply.

If only Potter didn’t get in the way.