Chapter One
The Tale of a Wolf and a Sheep
xxxoooxxx Remus xxxoooxxx
It was a warm July afternoon in Scarborough in the year of 1971. Atop one of the many rolling hills rested a quaint two-story cottage and the high afternoon sun was busily seeping through the attic's stained glass window. The streaks of colored light illuminated the dusty attic crammed with shelves that were piled high with books and parchment, the smell of ink and old paper filling the room.
A young boy of eleven sat at a desk, his disheveled brown hair quickly brushed back. The day had a lazy feel to it and the sun was so warm that he found himself drifting off to sleep as he read from a large tome. While he looked upon the book, as if bugged by some loose thread, he reached over to his arm and gently scratched against his tattered clothing delicately pressing against his skin.
His soft golden amber eyes moved back and forth slowly and then stopped as he reached the end of his page. With very delicate movement, he flipped the page and a cloud of dust billowed through the air. As he read on, his head slowly drooped and his eyelids began to feel heavier. Just as his head finally collapsed upon the old page, a loud scream echoed through the house causing him to jerk back up.
The boy quickly rushed down through the trapdoor, across the second floor hall, down the stairs, and through the living room until he found himself in the kitchen. There he found his mother and father staring open mouthed at a neatly unfolded letter.
"Er-is everything alright?" he asked nervously as he edged forward. He wondered what could possibly be so horrible in that letter that it caused his mother to scream like that.
She looked up at him, her cheeks streaked with tears. His mother then replied with little more than a whisper, "Remus-I-I-" When her voice failed her, she shakily handed him the letter.
After a moment of hesitation, Remus looked down and read it.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Mr. Lupin,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
It took no less than six re-reads before Remus could process what he just read. And even then, it didn't seem quite real.
He looked up at his parents, unsure of what he just read. There's no way they could know about his condition; if they did, surely he would not be accepted. He had known since he was young that he could never get a real education. "What about-"
Before he could finish his question, his father handed him another part of the letter that was more personalized.
Dear Mr. R. J. Lupin,
You have been accepted to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry out of the benevolence of our headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. He believes that no student should be denied an education no matter what the circumstances. We are aware of your situation and have prepared to make the appropriate accommodations for you. After the sorting ceremony on the first day, we ask that you speak to myself and Albus Dumbledore to go over the procedure. We look forward to seeing you on the first of September.
~Professor Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
"I-I cannot believe this," Remus managed to say weakly. He was actually being handed the chance to go to school. No other headmaster wanted him because of his lycanthropy and he had just about given up all hope of studying magic. But now he could finally -
After a moment, Remus was able to remove his eyes from the letter and to look up at his parents. His mother was crying uncontrollably out of joy and his father beamed proudly at his son. He soon found himself trapped in an extremely tight hug.
This was officially the best news Remus John Lupin had ever received.
xxxoooxxx Sirius xxxoooxxx
November second was a breezy late autumn day. There was a party being held at the Black residence and everyone was in a rather cheery mood despite the absence of the 'guest of honor,' aka the 'birthday boy.' To be truthful, the guests preferred it that way and were really only there because they enjoyed spending time with said boy's parents.
The young boy just so happened to be upstairs, peacefully dreaming away. It wasn't going to last much longer though as, at that very moment, his younger brother tackled him.
"Argh! Bloody-" The boy sat up quickly, shoving his little brother off the bed. "What the-Regulus? What do you want?" His glossy black hair was still in sleep formation, all wavy and frizzy and cascading down to just above his elbows.
"Good morning! Mum sent me in to wake you. She says she wants you to get downstairs or I'm allowed to burn your presents." Regulus offered his older brother an evil smile.
"Oh, right." The boy scratched his head and yawned, wiping the sleep from his sharp silver eyes. "Well, go ahead and burn them. I'm going back to bed." He laid down again, but right at that moment, their mother, Walburga, came sauntering in.
She was a very poised woman with strong facial features and black eyes as sharp as a hawk. She had a large build without appearing overweight, and her two sons would soon be taller than her. She was currently adorned in a silky green and black robe with gray fur trimmings and had her hair in a sleek bun clasped with silver pins.
"Good morning, Sirius! How's my birthday boy?" She swooned over and kissed him wetly on the forehead causing him to wince and viciously rub the saliva off. "You're finally eleven now and you can go off to school and make us proud! You'll be a fantastic Slytherin, I just know it." She grabbed Sirius and forced him to sit back up. "In only a few years, you'll be able to take charge of this family and you'll be the master! I'm so happy! I'm so proud of you!"
Regulus rolled his eyes discreetly and shot a jealous glare at Sirius before he left the room.
"Come, come. Get dressed and join the guests downstairs. They're growing impatient!" Walburga kissed Sirius one more time on his forehead before heading towards the door. "And remember, Sirius. You're now eleven so it's time for you to mature-up and stop with your childish shenanigans. Try to look good in front of all your cousins, won't you?" She then turned back to the door and swept out, her dress robes billowing behind her.
"Childish shenanigans? Is that what she's calling it?"
Sirius shook his head and climbed out of bed, glancing towards his reflection in the mirror across the way. "Master of the Black family, huh? I'll be in charge of the 'Ancient and Moste Noble House of Black'." Sirius chuckled and shook his head. As far as he was concerned, he was the complete opposite of anything a Black should be.
"Well, in any case, I suppose it is rude to keep guests waiting."
xxxoooxxx John xxxoooxxx
Remus John Lupin was always a child with loving parents. While he may not have had a great childhood, he at least had a great family life.
When he was just a little boy, no older than two, his mother Serena and his father John purchased a beautiful two-story house in Nantes where they planned to raise Remus and try for another one or two kids.
Serena worked as a potions mistress which was a decent job but not quite enough to get them by. It was mainly John Wilson Lupin that supported the family with his ministry job. John worked with the ministry to regulate and control magical creatures. He was always off on one mission or another to make sure that creatures were being lawful and that wizards weren't collecting any illegal pets.
This was a very important job but it was also what ruined the Lupin's lives so irreparably.
On the seventh of December in 1959, John Lupin located one specific werewolf named Fenrir Greyback at a muggle tavern in Saumur. He was just passing through after a long day of clearing the nearby lake of grindyow and decided to stop by the tavern for a warm cup of cocoa. Before he reached the counter however, he noticed a deranged-looking man in a corner.
This man was drinking from a large mug with much vigor and, from the look of it, that was most definitely not his first mug tonight. His hair looked matted and his eyes wild - almost yellow and feral looking. John could see that his clothes were very battered and destroyed but, instead of looking homeless, this simply made the man look very dangerous.
John could recognize immediately that this man wasn't human. Most humanoids look at least semi-human but this one didn't even try to hide it. Everything about his wild, dangerous, strong, and psychotic appearance just screamed 'werewolf.'
John let out a sigh, all hopes of having a relaxing evening leaving his mind. He knew that, even though off duty, he would have to turn him in to the ministry. Especially since he looked so dangerously unhinged.
Brushing off some snow that had fallen on his jacket, John went up to the barmaid and ordered two pints of mead. He paid her, picked up the mugs and walked over to the man, sitting down across from him.
He offered the werewolf one of the mugs and took a swig from the other. The werewolf, in exchange, offered John a suspicious glare.
"What'd'you want," the werewolf growled.
"Cheers!" John rose his mug and offered a friendly smile. In all his nine years of working for the ministry, he had learned how to be a very smooth talker and an excellent people reader. "Just wanted to celebrate. My wife's pregnant."
The werewolf's eyes flickered with interest before he reverted back to scowling. "And how does this concern me?"
John shrugged lightly. "You just seemed the best one here to celebrate with. Don't really care for muggles."
The man grinned menacingly and John could just see his yellowed and pointed teeth peeking out from between his lips. The sight only went to confirm John's opinion of how disguisting and vile those monsters are.
"Yes, muggles are very uneventful. Weak." The werewolf looked around the pub briefly before picking up the mug John had given him. He brought it to his nose and sniffed it, clearly ensuring it wasn't poisoned.
"I didn't do anything to the drink," John offered.
"Can't be too careful."
"Why would I want to harm you? I'm out here to celebrate!" John grinned, trying to look as giddy as possible.
"Yes, a baby." The werewolf nodded before downing the mead in large gulps. "But why are you here to celebrate instead of somewhere higher class?" He gestured around at the shabby bar that was really meant for those that resided in the poor areas of town.
John froze momentarily. This monster was a bit sharper than John had originally suspected. "My brother lives in town. He's a squib. I wanted to tell him the news but he wasn't home so I'm waiting for him."
The werewolf's eyes narrowed slightly in disbelief. "Your brother is gone? Where is he?" Clearly he was trying to catch John in the middle of a lie.
"Dunno. He just isn't home."
There was silence from the werewolf. John could tell he wasn't loosening up as John hoped he would so he decided to try a different technique.
"I'm John Lupin, by the way." John introduced, sticking out his hand.
The werewolf looked at the hand as if offended and made no move to shake it. Instead he just replied roughly to the introduction. "Fenrir Greyback."
John withdrew his hand somewhat awkwardly. "Well it's nice to meet you Mr. Greyback."
"How far along is your wife?"
John looked at Greyback startled for reverting the topic back but let it pass. "Couple months."
"And you're just now celebrating?"
'Damn, he's really clever.' John quickly thought of a cover-up. "I was away. I'm a traveling herbologist and I just recently got back home."
Greyback appeared to accept the answer. "Where do you live?"
If John wasn't mistaken, he could have sworn he saw something in Greyback's eyes. Like there was a deeper meaning behind those words.
"Well?" Greyback spoke rather irritably.
John hadn't realized that three minutes had passed. "Oh-sorry. Um."
Greyback grinned. "You know Lupin, I know that you want something."
John rose an eyebrow. "And what is that, Greyback?"
"You know what it is so why should I tell you?" Greyback leaned forward over the table and John could smell blood and raw meat on him; it was absolutely revolting. He spoke again but this time softer and with a subtle growl in the back of his throat. "But I want something from you and, unlike you, I'll get what I want."
John stared at Greyback bewildered. "What are you talking about?"
Greyback glared and John could see the wolf behind his eyes very clearly. He realized smooth talking was over. This werewolf was dangerous and needed to be captured. Now.
Under the table, John quickly pulled out his wand. Silver ropes burst out and wrapped themselves tightly around Greyback. Greyback howled in pain and fell off the chair and onto the floor.
The muggles all crowded around, curious as to what was happening. John stuck out his wand and shot out a flare to signal the ministry before knealing down next to the writhing, growling, howling, and biting werewolf.
"It would appear I'm the one to get what I want! Were you really stupid enough to think no one would know you're a monster?"
Behind the intense pain the silver was causing, John could see anger deep inside those feral eyes. "I'll g-get you b-back!"
"I'm sorry," John spat sourly. "I don't speak 'dumb dog'."
Several pops echoed throughout the pub and John turned to see several ministry officials surrounding him.
"I've caught a werewolf," John informed them. "Fenrir Greyback. Take care of the muggles." And with that, John and Fenrir apparated to the werewolf reservation.
Although Greyback was locked up, John could still remember what he had said. 'I'll get you back.' It wasn't too intimidating as Greyback himself was no longer a threat, but John couldn't forget it. The memory continued to haunt John every night it seemed; especially on the nights when the moon was full. He kept swearing he heard low, menacing growls behind him on those nights.
When Remus was born on the tenth of March in 1960, it was the happiest day of John and Serena's lives. The baby boy was beautiful and such a happy little kid. He had the most adorable smile, a perfect head of light brown hair and sparkling amber eyes just like his mother.
As the years passed, Remus grew up to be very talkative, imaginative and quite the little terror. He was always doing one thing or another to get on his parent's nerves. Whether it was filling the toilets with sardines or putting confetti on the fan blades, Remus always kept his parents on their toes.
They loved him more than anything in the world.
On the fourth of March in 1966, a tragic event occurred. John went to the reservation camp for him monthly check-up to ensure the werewolves were properly being handled by the staff to find that everything was not as it should be.
A group of medi-witches bustled out of the main doors with three dead staff members on stretchers. Concerned, John bolted inside to find security wizards lining the halls and casting dozens of locking and barricading spells.
He quickly went over to the main guard room and saw six on-lookers staring white faced at the grounds where they kept the werewolves. Curious and worried, John peered over to see what they were looking at.
All the resident werewolves were currently being restrained with silver dust and chains while a good number of cleaning wizards ran around picking up the area. He then paled when he realized just why the grounds were being cleaned.
The floor was scattered with what looked like torn human flesh and picked off bones. Blood and various slimy body parts were splashed throughout the room. But that wasn't the worst of it.
On the far wall, written in blood, were the words: 'Watch Out Lupin.'
John stared transfixed for what felt like an hour, long after the blood letters were cleaned off.
"Er-Mr. Lupin?" John looked over shakily at the worker that addressed him. He was a young, freckle faced blond boy that was most likely a new hire.
"Where's Greyback?" John asked shakily in barely more than a whisper.
"What, sir?"
"Where's Greyback?" John repeated, more firmly this time.
"Oh-" the worker flustered a little. "You see sir-"
"Where is he?" John grabbed the boy by his crisp white collar and forced him against the nearby wall.
The boy coughed and struggled to be let go, his face changing purple alarmingly fast.
"TELL ME!" John could feel his own heart rate quicken and his breath was hitched. Every pore of his body just wanted to scream in both terror and frustration.
One of the older female workers came and pulled John off. "Please, Mr. Lupin. Elton is just doing his job."
John rounded on the woman. "Well Elton is incompetent! Do you have an answer? It's not that hard! Where the BLOODY HELL is Greyback?"
The woman winced back as he yelled.
"He escaped," Elton answered so quietly that John scarcely heard him.
He froze. "What?" John looked over at Elton with shock, fury and fear. "What did you say?"
Elton backed up and looked at the floor. "He escaped, sir."
"How?"
"W-well, he got some of the other werewolves to help him jump at meal time. We managed to restrain the others before they escaped but he slipped out before we could stop him. In all we lost seven good men in the fight."
John glared threateningly at Elton. "How could you let this happen? Do you know how dangerous he is?"
Elton nodded. "Y-yeah. We can see that," he responded, gesturing towards where the human remains once were.
"Oh, you can see that? You can see that?" John rounded on Elton again. "How could you let something like this happen? You're supposed to be keeping control of the werewolves, not setting them free!"
"Please Mr. Lupin, calm down," the woman tried up again.
"Yes, Mr. Lupin. Calm down."
John turned to the new voice. It belonged to Nobby Leach, the Minister of Magic. However, John didn't quite care at the moment just how much authority the man possessed. The only thought in his head right now was that Fenrir Greyback's threat all those years ago was going to be fulfilled.
"Calm down?" John spat as if the idea was ludicrous. "Calm down? Fenrir Greyback is coming for me! How can I calm down?"
"No Mr. Lupin, we don't know for a fact that he's coming for you. He's deranged and could have just said the first name that popped into his head."
John glared at the minister. "He may be deranged but he still will come for me."
"Now, now, Mr. Lupin." The minister placed a hand on John's shoulder. "Come, come. Let's get you out of here. We don't need you ranting and raving."
"I have every right to be ranting and raving! Because of these people, Greyback got out!" John shoved the minister's hand off. "I want this fixed!"
"Mr. Lupin! That is enough!"
"No, I don't believe it is!"
The minister glowered. "Fine. You may rant and rave all you want. But from this moment on, Mr. Lupin, you no longer work for the ministry. I expect your desk cleared by one this afternoon."
John gapped. "What? You mean you're firing me because these workers can't keep one werewolf in? How is that my fault?"
"No, Lupin," the minister gave John a firm look. "I'm firing you because you are arguing instead of handling your work like the professional I thought you were. After fifteen years, I am thoroughly disappointed."
And with that, John was left feeling utterly drained. First, Greyback escaped. Second, Greyback remembered John Lupin. And third, John now lost his job at the ministry.
Three days later, John discovered that his fear wasn't over exaggerated. The worst thing happened. The most terrible way Greyback could have gotten back at John happened.
Remus John Lupin, the gem of John and Serena's eyes, was bitten and infected with lycanthropy.
As they sat in the living room, Serena tried desperately to clean out the large bite mark on her son's left shoulder.
"What are we going to do Serena?" John placed a damp cloth to Remus' sweaty forehead, watching his little mouth twitch open and closed as he lay unconscious.
"Well, we aren't turning him in, that's for sure," Serena answered sternly.
"But how can we raise a werewolf? It's not exactly an easy thing to do!"
Serena poured a small amount of potion onto Remus' shoulder. "We-we'll manage somehow. He's our son and we can't just abandon him. I won't condemn him to a lonely and miserable life, John."
John bit his lip. She was right. He had seen his fair share of werewolf reservation camps to know they weren't pleasant places. He shuddered at the thought of having his sweet little Remus in one of those horrific camps.
"We have to move," he stated bitterly.
Serena looked up from wrapping a bandage on Remus' arm. "I agree. It's not safe here. Greyback knows where we are and wherever we have Remus has to be somewhere secluded.
John nodded. "It'll be hard keeping him hidden but we'll make it." He nodded again fervently, trying to convince himself. "Yeah, we'll make it."
Serena gave a sad smile to her husband and continued tending to the little boy.
They did move. They even left France. The new house was much smaller than their last as money was now tight with the high costs of the potions they purchased for Remus' injuries. It was located on the outskirts of Scarborough with all signs of civilization a mile away to ensure no one would suspect the howling on those dreadful nights.
The backyard was next to a small forest and there was a worn-down shed in the backyard. John used spells to reinforce the shed and made the shed lead to an underground room where Remus could safely transform.
After the werewolf bite, Remus' joyful nature severely changed. He was suddenly very withdrawn and usually did nothing but stare off out of windows and watched birds fly.
It was very hard for the Lupins to raise a werewolf son but their determination made it work. John was able to get a job working as a maintenance wizard at the Leaky Cauldron and Serena made her schedule include more time at home so she could help Remus open up a little - constantly giving him the family support that he so desperately needed.
Serena had always been a kind-hearted woman and had a soft spot for everyone, no matter who or what they were. Despite their son's condition, she refused to look at him any different than she did before. Remus was still Serena's son and she wouldn't let a monthly transformation change that.
For John however, it wasn't as easy. He struggled day and night trying to think of Remus as the same child he was before the attack. No matter how hard he fought though, he couldn't help but feel that prejudice towards werewolves that had been so engrained in his mind. It was hard for him to accept the fact that Remus was a monster and for John, it felt more like he lost his son and adopted a wolf.
While Serena insisted he was the same boy as before, John did not agree. He noticed with much disdain that their son had developed animalistic attributes that werewolves tended to have. If he ever had a bad dream, John could hear him whine like a dog. If Remus ever got hurt by anything he would yelp and cower back into a corner. He would even growl sometimes if he got upset or even if there was a skunk crawling around in the front yard. It disgusted John more than he would like to admit.
Of course, he would never allow his son or wife find out how he really felt. He knew that it would break Serena's heart as well as destroy any progress they could make in their son's upbringing. Prejudice was not what their son needed. He needed support and love.
By the time Remus turned ten, John and Serena were happy to see that he had made some progress. They noticed him smiling at least once a week and he would now hold a complete conversation with them instead of simply speaking in single words or short sentences. They even would find sardines in the toilet or confetti on the fan blades from time to time.
It still pained them however when they would look in his eyes. For they could see that, even though he seemed alright on the outside, his eyes were empty. Remus had lost that brilliant sparkle he once had.
Serena prayed every night that one day their son would be able to honestly smile once again and John prayed every night that one day he could learn to love his monstrous son.
xxxoooxxx Sirius xxxoooxxx
Sirius stared at himself grouchily in the mirror. It may already be one in the afternoon, but he still didn't see the purpose of being awake at this unreasonable hour. He was most definitely a night person and had stayed awake until all hours last night coming up with a massive list of things he would need to do when he got to Hogwarts. The top priorities for this list, of course, included finding a way to sneak into Hogsmeade and locating all the female washrooms for future purposes.
Sirius tilted his head to the side, examining his reflection with an air of vanity. Sirius knew he was 'good looking' with his sharp and elegant features; silk-like hair, graceful eyebrows, keen eyes, aristocratic nose, and strong jaw. But, as far as Sirius was concerned, he wasn't 'great looking.'
He scowled. Despite the fact that Sirius was still just a boy, he cared very much about his appearance. He knew, however, that there wasn't much he could do about it yet. He would just have to wait until he got older and, hopefully, 'sexier.'
Sirius grumbled and trudged over to his armchair upon which his mother had placed the dress robes she wanted him to wear. It was a dark green velvet with silver embroidery and clasps. Clearly it was more of a celebration that he would be going to Hogwarts than that it was his birthday. The robes just screamed 'Slytherin' which was the house Sirius was destined for.
Sirius slipped into the robes which fit him perfectly and felt pleasurably soft on his snowy-white skin. He looked back into the mirror to examine himself once again and nodded in approval. Although the young heir was secretly disdainful towards the colors, Sirius did have to admit that the garmet was indeed beautiful and looked great on him. He ran his hands smoothly down his robes to ensure no creases were present. He did have to look perfect, after all.
Taking his brilliant silver eyes off of his robes, he looked up at his face, cringing in disgust. Compared to the intricate work that was put into his clothing, his face and hair looked like a complete train wreck.
Sirius went over to his vanity and sat himself gracefully in front of his bowl and towel. If there was one good thing that came from being raised so rigorously in proper etiquette, it was that Sirius Orion Black was naturally graceful and Sirius prided himself on that gracefulness. As far as he was concerned, no one would ever catch him plopping, slouching, flopping, or slumping.
He dipped his wash rag into the beautiful onyx bowl, long and slender fingers sprawling out into the clear lukewarm water. Sirius lifted the cloth and wrung it out until the dripping slowed. Then, leaning over the bowl, he pressed the cloth to his face, letting the steamy wetness ease him awake. Sirius offhandedly noted that today the cloth was enchanted to smell of hydrangeas.
He wiped his face liberally before setting down his cloth next to the bowl and drying off his face with a fresh one. Sirius looked at himself in the vanity mirror again. Ignoring the pink tinge from washing his face, he did look significantly better.
"And now for this spider's nest," he murmured, looking at his beautiful ebony hair. For him just waking up, it was surprisingly neat. In his opinion though, it was horrendous. Sirius Black was definitely vain through and through and he didn't bother trying to hide it.
Sirius opened the middle drawer of his vanity and pulled out an emerald encrusted silver brush. He brought it up to his hair and ran it through in long, gentle strokes until every last strand was perfectly straight. Nodding in content, Sirius clasped his hair back in a loose ponytail with a silver barrette. He then set down his brush, stood up, looked himself over once more, and then sauntered out his bedroom door.
"There he is!" Sirius immediately recognized the voice of his aunt Cari with much disdain. "Oh come here, Siri-dear and give your auntie a big kiss," she ogled, stretching out her arms for him from the bottom of the stairs.
Not at all anxious to be swept into her arms, Sirius continued to slowly glide down the steps until he was finally forced to give that crazy woman a hug. And yes, she did give him a big sloppy kiss.
"Now why don't you go over and say hi to Paulina, my pet? She's been just dying to see you, I'm sure. She's just there."
His aunt tried guiding Sirius over to the window where Paulina Crouch, her daughter, was standing. For some reason she always seemed to want to put the two of them in the same activities as much as possible. Sirius had a sickening hunch that she was trying to get the two of them together despite the fact that she was very much his cousin.
"Oh hi Sirius," Paulina smiled kindly when she noticed him. "You really slept in today, huh?"
He grunted in response. He wasn't really too excited about this party that his mom set up. They were always so boring and all people did was talk. Sirius believed that parties needed to be full of dancing, laughing, games, and food of all sorts.
Paulina clearly understood that Sirius was bored as she had reverted her attention back to the window. Sirius didn't mean to blow her off but he really didn't want to give his aunt the impression that he actually liked that girl. Well, he did like her. But he didn't like-like her. There was a big difference.
"There's my favorite nephew!"
Sirius spun around quickly to see his uncle Alphard rushing towards him. Suddenly he was being lifted in the air and twirled around before being placed back down dizzily.
"Hey, Uncle Alphard," Sirius grinned. He always did like him best out of all his family members.
"You excited about going to Hogwarts?"
Sirius nodded fervently. Of course he was excited. He'd have a whole ten months with no family interaction.
"So, you planning on going into Gryffindor?"
"What?" Sirius asked, caught off-guard.
"Haha. I'm just playing with you, kid." He smiled widely and patted Sirius on the shoulder. "I just know how much you like to see your mum get her knickers in a twist so I figured you'd try to pull something like that. That would definitely be a sure-fire way to get her to lose it."
Sirius laughed casually. "Yeah, that does sound like something I'd do."
"'Course you wouldn't go that far though; that would just be suicide. Who knows what that Wallie would do if one of her children didn't get into Slytherin. I doubt it would be a pretty sight." Uncle Alphard shook his head, chuckling. "Hey, so look what I got."
Sirius looked down to see Alphard pull out a handful of long, plump worms. "What're those?"
"These, my dear boy, are Whizzing Worms."
"Whizzing Worms?"
"Yup. You just pull one until it clicks and then let it go. I thought you'd need something to really get this party started, yeah?"
"But what does it do?"
"Well, why don't you find out?" Alphard put the worms in Sirius' hand and then casually strolled away. "Have fun," he added with a quick wink.
Sirius tucked all but one of the worms in his pocket. Curious, he held the remaining worm in his hand and pulled it until it clicked as his uncle told him. He then let go of the worm and all of a sudden a loud screeching sound came from it as the worm started zooming through the room at an alarmingly fast rate.
All the people that were gathered in the room shrieked and darted around, trying to avoid the flying and screeching worm. It honestly was very funny to watch a room full of highly refined people behave in such an undignified manner.
Enjoying their reaction, Sirius pulled out a couple more Whizzing Worms and set them free to join the party. The screams grew louder and Sirius couldn't help but let his head fall back, laughing soulfully, as he watched their eyes bulge out. Uncle Alphard really did have great taste in presents.
"SIRIUS ORION BLACK!"
Sirius stopped his laughing immediately to look at his mother who was lovingly death-glaring him, her blue eyes fierce with anger. Before he had time to react, she was grabbing him roughly and tightly by his wrist and dragging him into the kitchen. Her grip was so tight, he felt his fingers go numb as his wrist began to throb painfully.
"What in Salazar's name were you thinking? I threw this party so my cousins could see how mature you've become. Not so you can make a fool out of me!"
Sirius stared at the ground, trying his hardest to avoid eye contact. He hated seeing how ugly his mothers face became when it was twisted with anger. That usually meant punishment was soon on its way.
"Wally, Wally. Settle down now." Sirius looked up to see Uncle Alphard casually strolling in. "The boy was just trying to have a little fun. You can't blame him for that."
She spun around and glared at her brother-in-law. "Oh, don't you go trying to protect my son. You're not the one that looks bad when he acts out."
"I'm just saying that he was probably bored. This party isn't really for kids, you know."
"It is if your kids are well behaved. You never see Narcissa or Bellatrix acting out like Sirius does! I'm trying to teach him how to grow and mature and I don't appreciate you trying to tell me how to do it."
"Look, I know you're upset now but it did give us all a good laugh, right? I mean, who else can say they were attacked by flying worms at a party?" Uncle Alphard tried to give the best grin he could muster under her cold gaze.
Sirius swore he could literally see the steam rising from his mother as her face reddened and her breathing quickened. She was definitely about to explode.
There were slender fingers that wrapped around Sirius' hand and he was suddenly tugged backwards and dragged out the door leading to the informal dining room. He turned around to see Paulina smiling at him. "I thought you might want to get out of there before it got bad."
Sirius smiled back sheepishly. "She's going to go looking for me as soon as she turns around, you know."
"Then I guess we'll just have to hide from her." Her violet-blue eyes darted around quickly and finally fell on a trap door in the corner of the room between the wall and china cabinet. "What about in there?"
He shook his head. "That won't work. Dad keeps it locked and I don't know where the key is."
She gave him a quick mischievous grin before pulling out her wand. "I learned a helpful spell just for the occasion." With a quick flick of her wrist, she pointed at the lock and said bravely, "Alohomora."
The silver lock that had been sealing the trap door popped open. She pulled open the door and climbed down the stairs. "Come on, Sirius."
Sirius' eyes lit up in excitement. That was definitely a spell he needed to learn and he made a mental note to remember it. He followed after her, closing the door behind them.
Paulina and Sirius found themselves in a relatively short hallway lit only by torches hung sparingly on the wall. To the right were four doors and Paulina slowly opened the first one. He followed her in and saw a dark wooden desk and chair straight ahead. To the left were a good amount of bookcases with rather large and intimidating books.
He glanced at a couple of the titles but didn't understand any of them: 'Nox Lux', 'Pyro Dauthus', 'Sanguin', 'Bloth Hydor Skaka'. These books clearly weren't in English, French, Gaelic, or Romanian which were the only languages he knew.
To the right of the room was a large trunk. Paulina went over to it and tried lifting the lid but it wouldn't budge. Even her unlocking spell didn't do anything. "That's odd," she mumble.
She then turned around briskly. "Well, let's see what's in the other rooms, yeah?"
Sirius shrugged. He never liked exploring with a girl for some reason. He always felt like they just got in the way and were too quick with things. If he was down here with his brother he would most likely spend three hours on that chest before giving up. He wasn't going to complain though. After all, it was either being down here with that girl or having to listen to his mother rant and rave for Salazar knows how long.
"Sirius! Come on!"
He jumped out of his thoughts and quickly walked out the door, heading into the next one that Paulina was already through.
This room contained a multitude of high shelves with a massive amount of various trinkets and knick-knacks on said shelves. Sirius immediately recognized some of them from when he'd play spies with his little brother. His father was always bringing home various random objects that he said were 'special'.
As Sirius stepped through the entryway, he immediately got a weird and creepy feeling. Almost as if a cold chill was sweeping over his entire body. Sirius looked to his right where a large pewter statue of a skull stood and he would've sworn on his entire collection of World Cup Trading Cards that the cold chill he felt was coming from it. He looked back at Paulina who was still in front of him, caught up in looking at many of the objects on the shelf.
Sirius would've joined her in looking but he was much too frightened to go in the room, not that he would ever admit it. He didn't understand how a girl of such petite stature would have the courage to stand being in such an ill-boding room.
She had just picked up a small black ball with engravings on it and was holding it up to her face when Sirius saw it. Right behind her was what he assumed to be a silver statue of a horned lizard. At least, that's what he thought before it started moving and gazed at her, legs looking as if readying itself to pounce. He noticed its mouth open to reveal purple-tinted fangs and a small hiss could be heard.
"Paulina, look out!"
She quickly dropped the ball, spinning around to look at Sirius, and he immediately grabbed her wrist, pulling her back and out the door. He apparently pulled her too hard as the next thing he knew, her body weight hit him hard and he fell backwards.
Paulina rose up onto her hands realizing that she had Sirius pinned beneath her. "Why'd you do that?"
"That lizard thing was going to attack you," Sirius tried to explain.
"Lizard thing?" She rose an elegant eyebrow, baffled by Sirius' answer.
"Yes. Lizard thing," he repeated defiantly.
Paulina laughed lightly and shook her head, her curly strawberry blonde hair tickling Sirius' face.
There was the creak of a trap door and then footsteps, followed by Sirius' mother's voice. "Sirius? Are you down here? Oh!" She stopped in her tracks as she took in the sight of her eldest son lying on the floor with her cousin's daughter straddling him.
"Oh, I-" she stammered. "I didn't realize you were busy." Walburga cleared her throat awkwardly.
The kids looked at her as if she had grown two heads.
"Well, whenever you two are done, I need to speak with Sirius." With that, his mother quickly walked up the steps and closed the trap door behind her.
They caught eye-contact with each other and laughed.
"Well, at least we didn't get in trouble for being down here," Paulina said mirthfully.
"Yeah," Sirius replied. "What do you think she meant by 'busy' though?"
Paulina shrugged in response. "Grown-ups never make sense."
They stood up and brushed themselves off, Sirius fixing his hair, of course.
"Well, I suppose we should go," Sirius suggested. "It's wise to not keep mother waiting."
xoxoxoxoxox
So, there is the first chapter!
Thanks for reading and I really hope you enjoyed it.
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Constructive criticism is always welcome. :)