It's not the Prologue anymore; it's the Epilogue.

Time had been allocated to Elijah, time for him to attend the funeral and time for him to spend time grieving with his family. He hadn’t so much as cried yet. He was beginning to feel claustrophobic, though. Everyone was coming out of the woodwork because Marina was dead. He couldn’t remember some of the relatives that had gathered in Sofia. They’d descended upon the house abruptly without warning. Elijah had returned home from Fauve and Thierry’s school, having gone to pick them up, only to find that his relatives had arrived. Even people that he didn’t know had made it their business to be there.

Fauve and Thierry were as wary as he was. Their rooms had been taken over by other people and the three of them were in Elijah’s bed. He hadn’t slept since he’d been at home, though. Harry had tried to in vain. Viktor had suggested a potion. Lis had even punched him. Nothing worked and instead he stayed up during the nights, playing poker with Euan, Finn, Georgio, Gustav and Jakob. Exhaustion was taking its sweet time to overpower his body, too. Harry had decided that it was Elijah’s way of grieving. Elijah didn’t know what he was supposed to do or say. Everyone else was crying or comforting someone else. He felt like the odd one out, the one that couldn’t bring himself to do or say anything.

Excess alcohol had finally gotten the better of Elijah, though. So on the day of the funeral he woke up on the couch in one of the many sitting rooms in the manor with a splitting headache and Gustav asleep on his chest. Elijah was quick to tip his cousin onto the floor. He left the room and headed for the nearest bathroom. He opened the first cupboard he came to and put his hands straight on a hangover potion. Elijah uncorked it and drank it down. The lack of food, too much alcohol and far too much nicotine caught up with Elijah then and it resulted in him throwing up whatever was actually in his stomach.

It was in that particular bathroom that Harry found him.

The dark-haired Harrow gathered his cousin up into his arms and carried him upstairs. Fauve and Thierry were thankfully already up and about. They were eating breakfast to Harry’s knowledge and from there they’d play in the garden with the twins who hadn’t even bothered to dye their hair back to black for the affair. No, they were still green and pink and nothing Harry said would get them to change it back. Harry was just glad Elijah hadn’t seen them yet. Whatever Elijah would do to them would be deserved. Harry just hoped they would repent at the last minute. There were a lot of people that cared about Marina under the facade of hating her. Elijah was one of them. He and his sister were now without a mother. Harry didn’t know what he could do that would make Elijah feel better. Nothing seemed to be working.

The bedroom that was usually so clean looked as if a bomb hit it. The children had been clean for the most part; the House Elves had yet to pick up the dirty clothes though. The mess was all Elijah’s. It looked as if he’d been searching for something in the middle of the night – heaven knows what. Harry set Elijah down on the bed and cut off the young man’s shirt with a severing spell. A chain fell into the crease between his arm and torso. The gold glint piqued Harry’s interest and he loomed over Elijah, wondering how best to take it off of him. In the end, Harry decided to sit down and look at it.

It was a locket, he deduced as he brought it into his palm. He flicked the clasp back and opened it up. Foreign light of all colours expanded from inside the locket and bathed the room in its glow. Then, sound came; laughter, familiar voices. Then pictures danced around Harry. A woman wearing a baby pink dress was dancing around in a meadow, a man that looked uncannily like Elijah hot on her heels. Her dark hair was dancing behind her and her baby pink headband flew off of her head as she ran, her eyes alight with joy, love and excitement. Then he caught her. He tackled her to the ground and they rolled over a few times before he found himself on his back with her laid upon his chest. She leaned down and Harry watched as they shared a kiss.

But just as the image began to change, it disappeared. The locket was torn from Harry’s hand and he looked down to see Elijah inching across the bed, trying to put space between them. Harry turned and crawled onto the bed, catching Elijah by the ankle. He curled his fingers around the boy’s ankle and pulled him back to him. Elijah began to fuss but came to Harry willingly enough. He didn’t complain as Harry pulled him up into a half-sitting, half-kneeling position. He just allowed it to happen. He let Harry take him into his arms. He focused on the hands that were warming his frozen body.

Elijah felt Harry draw a sheet around him and he gripped the elder boy’s shirt. “I heard her laugh,” he whispered against Harry’s chest. “There were so many times that I heard that laugh. I never knew who it belonged to. I don’t know what I was looking for the night gone but I found this and it seemed right, Harry. It seemed right. I watched some of it and I knew who it was. I knew exactly who it was. But it didn’t make sense did it? She never wore pink, she never smiled...she never laughed. Yet I heard her. I dreamed of her so often when I did not have nightmares of Alice. “I don’t understand who she was. She was my mother. That screaming banshee wasn’t but that woman was. That beautiful, beautiful woman that looks so very much like Cecilia. Or rather, Cecilia looks like her. I would draw her but I do not feel I could do her justice.” Elijah lifted his head and his tear-sodden eyes searched Harry’s. “I don’t know who I am anymore, Harry. If I don’t understand her then how can I understand myself? My own mother is a complete stranger to me now...”

Harry didn’t say anything, he just let Elijah talk. As the boy spoke, Harry moved them slowly down onto the bed. When Elijah was lying down, Harry lowered himself down beside his cousin. Elijah fell silent and curled into Harry. Harry accepted him into his arms once more and felt Elijah’s hand settle over his heart. The boy had always described Harry’s heartbeat as the melody that belonged to him; the song that was written especially for him. Harry always believed that if it was a comfort to Elijah then so be it. He’d never quite understand how it worked but he knew why. His words with regards to the heartbeat were always brief and were often simply: “My Song.” It was Elijah’s song because it was these times when he beat for no one else; when it beat solely for him.

“I love you, doe eyes,” Harry murmured, his fingers cutting through Elijah’s long hair. The next words were those that Harry hadn’t heard since Mira’s funeral. He’d never had the request from Elijah since then. “Don’t leave me, Harry...” were his words from so long ago and they were the words he spoke now. Harry swallowed, hard. The words struck a cord with him and he tightened his hold on Elijah. “I’m not going anywhere, beauty,” Harry whispered the words he’d spoken so long ago. “I promise you that. I won’t leave unless you want me to.” Elijah nodded against Harry’s chest and sniffled, his hand reaching out for Harry’s. Harry laced his fingers with Elijah’s and kissed the young man’s hair. “I promise you,” he whispered in his ear. “That Zeus himself will have to strike me down to take me from you.”

Cecilia was in her bed room. She had come home from Hogwarts with Eli just after hearing the news of her mother’s death and she went straight to her room locking the door behind her. She didn’t know what else to do. She had never really known her mother all that well. This happening made Cecilia realize that she should try harder to spend time with her family but she didn’t want to admit that she was wrong in only flying around on her broom and reading books all the time.

Late at night a few days before Cecilia had snuck out of her room and down to the kitchen where she found some alcohol then went back to her room. Now that bottle hunted her. She had only taken a few sips but it had been the first few sips. She had never drunk any thing that could make her drunk before, but there was a first for every thing.

Now as she was getting ready for the funeral of the mother she had never knew more than as the person who gave her life, Cecilia picked up the bottle and put it to her lips. She wasn’t thinking straight and thought that it would help cloud everything that was going on. She was thinking she wouldn’t even be able to leave the room again for a long time.

Cecilia put on a black dress that reached to her knees and had three quarter sleeves. Slowly she started to put on some make up as tears ran down her face. “I can’t do this,” to her self. The only reason she even knew that there where other people in the house was the fact that she could hear their voices muffled coming from the hall way that lay on the other side of her bed room door.

The room was silent; the only sounds that broke that silence was the sound of Elijah and Harry’s breathing and the birds who sang despite the weather. It was raining. The heavens had opened and rain was falling on Sofia. Yet despite this, the two boys slept. The wanton moans and the sounds of squeaking mattresses coming from the rooms that had been turned into a makeshift brothel overnight did not faze the boys. Elijah knew the sounds well and could sleep through anything associated with such places. Harry, who would always be a little unnerved by the sounds, was growing used to them. What he would never get used to was the fact that they went 24/7. He didn’t know who used them and frankly, he didn’t want to find out.

The door of Elijah’s room opened and a blonde head appeared. Elisabeth’s eyes danced across the room, taking in the mess and then finally the two men on the bed. She smiled sadly and stepped inside, closing the door softly behind her. She slipped off her slippers and crossed the room to the bed. She lifted back the covers and climbed underneath, getting into the other side of the bed. She touched her brother’s wrist and watched as he came to, instinctively hugging the sleeping Elijah close to him. Elisabeth was glad her cousin was still asleep. Another night with no sleep, frittering money away, drinking in excess and chain-smoking would surely kill him. But he was sleeping now. Now he could heal even if it was for a limited amount of time.

After the funeral they’d all get sloshed and indulge in what ‘upstairs’ had to offer. From what Elisabeth could hear, Matthew was enjoying himself; the sod. It was all so very wrong yet at the same time it fit. It fit their unconventional lifestyles. Elijah knew no different. Most of them had to adjust, though. The change had been overnight. They’d been brought in when Stefan had arrived and it was an open secret that he was indulging in the prostitutes. The only one that didn’t know, conveniently enough, was his wife. Elisabeth was so glad that she was just a Harrow and by no means a Krum. She didn’t believe for a second she’d be able to live their lifestyle. It was Bohemia, anarchy. Nothing made sense, there was no direction, it was completely and utterly hedonistic.

“Hey,” Harry whispered, rolling Elijah over slightly so he was fully resting on his chest. The boy’s head fell into Harry’s neck and Elisabeth smiled. Pure, unadulterated unconsciousness was what he needed and it was what he had. Thank Merlin. Elisabeth reached out and let her fingers mingle with Elijah’s. She moved closer to them and absorbed some of the warmth radiating off of the two. Harry smiled sadly and pushed a lock of her hair out of her eyes. “I assume it was the alcohol?” Elisabeth shrugged. “Or something else?” Elisabeth gave a half nod. Harry sighed. “This place has gone to the dogs. Is there a Madame around here somewhere; after us all? It’s a bloody funeral not a stag-do.”

Elisabeth winced and watched as Elijah stirred. Her breath locked in her throat. The boy turned slightly before settling back into Harry’s arms. Elisabeth exhaled and wriggled closer to her brother and cousin. “Don’t leave...” the words left his lips and his grip on Li’s and tightened. She sighed and rested her head against Harry’s shoulder as Elijah continued to mumble. She knew, as Harry did, that they’d all have to get a move on. Harry leaned forward and placed a lingering kiss on Elijah’s forehead. He sighed quietly and rested his head against Elijah’s. Lis watched as Elijah’s eyelids flickered. They pealed back, revealing the ebony eyes that Harry loved so dearly. Lis leaned forward and kissed him gently on the lips. Elijah returned the kiss sleepily and managed a smile when she pulled away. He rested his head against Harry’s chest and all three shared a sigh of collective silence.

There was a moan from another room and Elijah snickered, the cracks showing as he found the hilarity of the situation. Elisabeth kissed him on the cheek and slid out of bed, a smile on her lips. Elijah looked up and watched as she wafted from the room like smoke, mumbling something about getting dressed. Elijah looked down at Harry and bit his lip. He felt Harry’s thumb gently nudge the lip out from between his teeth and he smiled a little. “Doe eyes...” Harry murmured. He rubbed his thumb across Elijah’s cheekbone and smiled sadly. “You’re tired aren’t you?” Harry asked. Elijah nodded regretfully and Harry rolled him onto the bed. He brushed Elijah’s hair from his eyes and chuckled upon seeing the look Elijah gave. “Sleep, beauty. I’ll have Rin get your suit and wake you up last minute okay? Unless you want some breakfast that is?”

Elijah’s mind emptied of thoughts of his mother and were replaced with that of breakfast. He jumped from the bed, pulling Harry with him. The elder man laughed at his cousin and walked willingly with Elijah who was thinking about his stomach more than anything else. The two arrived in the kitchen to find people gathered around the table. The double dining room doors were open and people were seated in their two. Some were smug, some were still mourning and some of them were chatting amicably with the twins. Finn had Thierry and Euan had Fauve. At least those two were safe and content. Elijah released Harry’s hand and walked over to his aunts who were cooking up a storm.

“Hello darling,” Arlene kissed him on the cheek and rubbed his arm. “Hungry?” Elijah nodded. “I’ll get you and Harry some food shall I? Your father is with Stefan and Adric, by the way. Have you seen your sister? I seem to have lost track of her. Make sure you have a shower of some description, darling. Someone will have a cow if you don’t turn up right and I’ll bet you any money it’ll be Kalina.” Arlene winked and pressed a cup of coffee into Elijah’s hands. “Drink up. Don’t put anything in there either. They’ve all been drinking like mad since four o’clock in the afternoon last night. Buggered the lot of them,” There was a knock at the main doors and Javier got to his feet. He swept his mop out of his eyes and strode towards the foyer, hoping to beat the House Elves to the doors. Arlene turned her attention back to Elijah who she found to be sharing a cigarette with Harry by the window. She shook her head. “I’ll get breakfast ready then...” she mumbled.

After she got ready Cecilia sat on her bed facing the door holding the bottle in one hand. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t go down stairs and see all the people mourning her mother. She couldn’t’ see her brother mourning. She took another sip from the bottle not even sure what it was. She could tell that breakfast was cooking from the sounds that came from the dinning room. There where a lot of people here in the manor and she couldn’t leave her room.

Cecilia glanced over at the mirror that hung in her bed room and saw a girl with dark hair that was slowly waiting away to nothing. The girl she saw looking back at her was just a memory of what she uses to be, of what her mother use to be. If Cecilia knew anything about her mother is that she looked like her. Like Elijah looked like their father. She looked like their mother. This made it even harder for her.

“you stupid girl,” Cecilia said to reflection, “you shouldn’t have spent all those years reading and flying you should have been spending time with your family.” Like that would have done much good. Cecilia would still know nothing about her Mother, her Father, or her brother. Cecilia took another sip then set the bottle down on her bed side table falling back on her bed. “Your to weak,” she though. She couldn’t even walk over to the door and unlock it with out fear of tears falling from her already red and puffy eyes.

Chase bit her lip and looked up at the large house. She wore a rather large coat that almost covered up her protruding stomach. She had only ever seen Elijah's mother once before, and that was from inside a room, her eye had been pressed to the crack in the door to watch her and her husband. Viktor Krum and Mariana had been there for Elijah after he had been rescued from Felix Barker. Of course she had never actually met Mariana, but she had been introduced to Viktor, and he had been told about her.. well her baby, and that had been it. And now, the woman who hadn't seemed the nicest in the world, was dead. It didn't seem right.. She had lost both of her parents, and then her mother-in-law. Of course she had never even met the woman, except to realize that she wasn't nice at all, and didn't even seem to care about the family in any way. But still, it was her mother-in-law, and now she was dead.

She hadn't been told how she died, or anything really about it, just told that she really should be there for Elijah and the Funeral. So after getting out of school for this, she had gotten someone to apparate her to their front door and then they had left, leaving Chase with a small bag in her arms, and a protruding stomach. So very carefully, a hand on her lower back, she half waddled up the stairs and made her way to the door, ringing the bell carefully, she found herself looking around the beautiful grounds. The place was gorgeous and absolutely huge. Even her house hadn't been this large, and she was in awe, as she waited for someone to answer the door. She set her bag down and turned so her back was to the door, taking in the grounds and things around it. Some birds were hopping in the snow, leaving their little prints in it, as they pecked at the ground, looking for bits of food that weren't there. Biting her lip she looked around and then turned back to the door, waiting for someone to open it up and let her in from the cold.

Whether the inhabitants of manor realised it or not, tensions were running high. It would only take a spark to explode the barrel of gunpowder they were sitting on. It was just a matter of deciding who would instigate the fight first. Viktor’s brother, Stefan, had been asking for it the moment he decided it was a good idea to invite Nia Angelova’s bastards. When Ana-Maria didn’t deliver the children her husband wanted, he turned to Nia who readily produced children; the whore. None were legitimate, every single one a bastard, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was that they still had access to the family despite this. The animosity towards them proved to be a good thing. Currently they were all huddled in a corner at their own table and Arlene’s best efforts at being friendly were being shot down by any Krum within earshot.

The plume of cigarette smoke was like a curtain between the two men standing before each other. Elijah cut through it with his hand and smiled weakly at Harry. The elder Bulgarian returned the smile and took Elijah into his arms. Elijah’s arms wound around Harry and he hid his face in Harry’s neck. Harry took one last drag of the cigarette before flicking it out of the window and blowing the smoke in that general direction. Harry rubbed circles into Elijah’s back and watched as Javier stalked back into the kitchen, a grimace on his face. “Whoever invited the English can send them home on the same train as them.” He gestured to Angelova’s descendents in the corner and scowled. “Elijah!” The half-Spaniard prompted Elijah to turn around and he looked at Javier wearily. Javier pointed to the door. “Make yourself useful, get the door.” Elijah scowled and Javier scoffed. “Get a butler then! Jesus. Ma is my food ready?”

Elijah chuckled to himself and took a seat at the table between Lorelei and Andres the latter of which had already started on the booze. Elijah leaned over picked up the bottle of whisky that Andres had by his arm. Elijah uncorked the bottle and took a long swig as Arlene set his breakfast down before him. Iskra handed him the cutlery and leaned over to kiss his cheek. She winked and ruffled his hair before hopping away. Elijah smiled a little and dropped the knife, deciding instead to just use his fork. He cut up a bit of sausage and held his fork out to Fauve and who took it from him happily. She nibbled on the sausage and smiled at her father who only managed to return it weakly.

Arlene rushed out of the room, untying the apron around her waist as she went to answer the door. She shooed away the house elves and opened up one of the colossal wooden doors that truly did need someone else to open them. No one just seemed to want to move. Arlene pushed the door open and looked at the girl stood on the doorstep. She’d climbed the marble stairs that separated the house from ground level. Arlene smiled brightly. She knew who this was. “Hello there, love.” She greeted the girl with a smile. “You must be Chastity? I’m Elijah’s aunt Arlene. Just call me Arlene, darling. None of this formal rubbish. We’re family now. Families have to keep close.” Arlene looked wistful for a few moments before shouting into the house. “ADAM! Come and make yourself useful!”

A door opened and Arlene’s moody seventeen-year-old sauntered through leisurely, a blanket in hand. He held it out for his mother to take, which she did, and walked out to retrieve Chase’s bag. He picked it up and turned, taking her by the elbow and giving her a light push in his mother’s direction. “Elijah’s room?” He questioned dully with regards to the bag. Arlene shook her head. No.
“Elijah isn’t staying in that room anymore. I’m relocating him to the east wing.” She looked at Chase. “There’s more privacy there. The children will be there too so have no fear. Even if they weren’t I’m sure they’d be well looked after by someone. Finn and Euan no doubt.” She smiled wistfully and covered Chase’s shoulders with the blanket. She looked at her son and scowled. “Well go on, Adam! What are you waiting for?”

“Orders,” the Harrow quipped tediously. “I don’t know the orientation of this house from here. Why can’t you take the bag and I’ll look after his missus?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Adam. You’ll bore her silly. I will take her to see the twins. They’re far more interesting wouldn’t you think?” Tactless as ever but not meaning to be cruel, Arlene replied to her son. She guided Chase towards she doors, continuing to smile, and stopped when she realised Adam hadn’t moved. He held the bag out and Arlene took it, her face now red with embarrassment and irritation. “Fine! I’ll wake up those who are sleeping in shall I? Oh, and send your brothers to go and see Khaat and Brian – I think I saw them. Tell Harry to stop smoking with Elijah and get him to eat. Oh! And don’t forget your suit is in-”

“Mum!” Adam cut her off, exasperation leaking into his words. “I know, okay? Go and find Cecilia would you? I haven’t seen her since yesterday.” He sighed and held his hand out for Chase to either take or to curl her arm around his. Arlene bustled away and Adam watched her go, smirking at the three French girls that ran down the stairs barefoot. They disappeared into the dining room and yells of “KHAAT” could be heard along with several rounds of squeals and chuckles from the kitchen. Adam sighed. “It’s been like this for the last couple of days. You are unfortunate enough to have to experience the Krum’s genes at their peak. They’ve got alcohol, which is a depressant to begin with, they’re mourning and there are scantily clad women running around. It’s not a good combination. Can I take your coat? The House Elves have a collection. I think they’re hoping to get to one-hundred before everyone leaves.”

Cecilia was till in her room the bottle in her hand once again, though this time it was empty, as she lay in bed trying to focus on the ceiling though she was having problems throw the tears. She whished she could summon her brother with her wand but knew that cacao didn’t work on a human that well. So instead the just lay there the light filtering in throws the windows. When Cecilia locked her bed room door she had forgotten all about alohalmora which would just unlock it any way. It was sad she had forgotten it. She hard the silverware hitting plates and herd her stomach growl. She smiled a little at the idea she got and summoned some food from the dinning room, though with the spell she used it started to float up the stairs and towards her room instead of just appearing in front of her.
Cecilia sat up and waited for the food or some one to fallow it and knock on the door. But if some one did fallow the food then she would most likely give up on eating anything and not open the door.