"Sheep"
It was storming throughout England. The roads were flooded. Lightning had caused power outages all over London. The only light that showed came from the Leaky Cauldron where Tom, the bartender, was about to close up. He figured no one else would come in because of the storm. Sirius Black, James Potter, and Remus Lupin had come in to rent rooms half an hour earlier. How Potter and Lupin had gotten mixed up with Black, he'd never know. Everyone in that family was an evil, treacherous snob. Lupin and Potter were quite the opposite.
As it turned out, Tom was dead wrong about no one else coming in. The door suddenly opened and a hooded figure stumbled inside. The figure was short, only five foot four or so, and even under the heavy cloak, Tom could see it shaking. "Can I help you?" he asked.
He was answered by a distinctly female voice. "Please, do you have any spare rooms?" She sounded exhausted. The girl, on the verge of fainting it appeared, tripped and fell, hood falling off her face. Tom saw a young girl, only 13 or 14, her face covered in cuts and bruises. Tom ran over to help her up.
"Let me call a Healer do – "
"No!" shouted the girl. "I'm all right, really. I just need a room, a place to rest."
Tom looked skeptical, but nodded. "Do you have any luggage outside?" She nodded. Tom set her down on a chair and went to collect her things. While he was outside, Sirius came downstairs, looking for a book that Remus had lost. He stopped when he saw the girl. "Riley? What in the name of Merlin happened?" He demanded, running to his cousin.
Riley just broke down crying and explained her story between sobs. "I couldn't stay there anymore, Siri." She looked defeated. "I thought he was going to kill me."
"Your father?"
Riley nodded. "He's been so much worse lately. When he fount out I had muggleborn friends, he freaked out. Said he was going to send me to as far away from America as possible, to knock some sense into me. And then, after that, he found out I had all of my mother's traits." Riley's voice dropped so it was barely audible. "He carved out my wings two days ago, Sirius. I'm just now able to walk again."
Sirius's eyes widened. Riley's mother, unknown to her father when they married, was a member of an ancient race called the Icarii, winged enchanters. Taking the wings of an Icarii is extremely painful (worse than Crucio, he was told). An Icarii's wings were as vital to him or her as air. Most died of depression within two weeks of having their wings carved out. Sirius could think of nothing to console his cousin. He hugged her. "We will get through this, Riley. I don't care if I get disowned, I will help you through this."
Tom had been watching from the door. He'd never expected to see anything like this. He'd surely misjudged Sirius. Sirius, and this new girl, Riley, were two of the very few white sheep of the Black family. Tom only hoped that they could find a shepard to take them in.
Note: This story takes place before the Marauders start their 3rd year at Hogwarts. Riley lives in America with her father. She is the only thing in this story that I own. She also appears in Marauder's 6th Year! And the Curse of the Werewolf.