The time of his life…
15 year old Sirius Black stood next to his younger sister, Samantha Black, on the front doorstep of his house as they farewelled their father. Their father, Gary Black, waved before turning away and walking from the only fruits of his loins forever. Sirius stood there for another few seconds, tears beginning to leak down his cheeks, before he and Samantha were ushered inside by their mother, Sara Black.
"Mum, why did Dad have to go?" he asked his mother softly as she pulled him into a hug.
"Your father's been having a few difficulties with the law. He has to move permanently to Australia. I'm sorry Sirius, I know I should've told you." She replied, tears also glinting on her cheeks.
"Can we visit him sometime, Mum?" Sirius asked persistently.
"I promise we'll find time to visit him." She replied in a whisper as Sirius ran up to his room.
Sirius sat on his bed for a whole hour, thinking that he was likely never to see his father again. He was not likely to have a male role model to teach him how he was supposed to act and someone he could ask male questions to. He knew there was always his mother, but he felt it was kind of embarrassing talking to her about his male problems. He felt empty now that his father had left and just wanted more than ever to curl up and die.
Why did Dad have to leave? He thought to himself. Who am I going to confide in to keep my male secrets? I can't talk to Mum, and Dad's gone because of the stupid law. So who can I trust and look up to?
"Sirius?" his mother asked, poking her head around the door. "Sirius, Natalie's here to visit."
Sirius looked up and saw his only female friend, 12 year old Natalie Talleo, standing at the door, looking nervously at him.
"Hi Nat. How are you?" he asked her, inviting her into his room and shutting his mother out.
"I'm okay Sirius." Natalie replied, hugging him. "What about you? Why were you in your room all alone? Is something wrong?" she asked him, concerned.
"Only that my father had to leave England for Australia because of the law. And from what I know, he's innocent of any crime that he was convicted of."
"Sirius, I believe you, but you never know; he might be guilty. It's quite possible. But at least he's not being sent to Azkaban." She whispered to him.
Sirius looked into her eyes and his heart raced. He'd been in love with Natalie for almost a whole year now – ever since he'd met her – and now he just had to tell her how he felt about her.
"Natalie … I'm … ummm … I'm in love with you, and I have been since we first met." He whispered uncertainly, his face going bright red.
"Sirius." She whispered. "First of all, you look like you have a tomato for a head, but besides that, I'm in love with you too. But I've only been in love with you for half the time you've been in love with me."
"Natalie …" he whispered, as he and Natalie drew slowly closer until their lips touched and they kissed, Sirius now with his hand around her waist.
"Sirius, have you been practising? You're a pretty darn good kisser." Natalie asked him softly and he began to laugh.
"So are you. Have you been practising?" he asked her, still laughing softly.
"Yeah, I've been practising on my dad." She said, with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
"Yeah, and same here on my mum." He said with the same amount of sarcasm in his voice, and both of them laughed.
After about ten minutes, there was a knock on Sirius' bedroom door and he and Natalie, who, up until then, had been sitting on Sirius' bed and talking and expressing love for each other, looked up. Sirius stood up and opened the door, only to see his mother there, tears in her eyes.
"Sirius, it's your father. He sent a letter to me and told me that he was guilty of two of those crimes and says he loves us all and hopes to see us soon." She said softly and Sirius just stood there, rooted to the spot for about another ten minutes, before Natalie timidly placed her hand on his shoulder.
"What's wrong Sirius?" she asked softly, and he closed the door and sat back on the bed.
"Mum just found out that Dad is guilty of two of the ten crimes he was convicted for." He replied, not looking at Natalie, instead, staring straight ahead, his breathing shallow.
"I'm sorry to hear that Sirius." She replied, placing her arm around his shoulders, but he shrugged it off.
"I don't think it'll be a good idea if you and I are together as more than friends now, because being his son, I'm not sure if I'll end up taking after him and becoming a criminal, as much as I'll try not to." He said sadly.
"Sirius, don't say that." Natalie said desperately. "I love you. Why can't you just promise not to commit any crime? Please? For me?" she said softly and Sirius looked into her eyes for the first time in minutes.
"Okay. But promises can be broken. The Unbreakable Vow can't. How about I make the Unbreakable Vow?" he asked.
"But what is the Unbreakable Vow?"
"It's a vow that seals the person's soul and if they break it, they die. I don't ever want to die and leave you and the other five marauders alone, so if we make the Unbreakable Vow, it'll be a better way to make sure I don't commit any crimes."
"But do you know the spell for the Unbreakable Vow?"
"Yes. I'll tell you how the spell is done. The person has to agree to three things in order for the spell to work. Wait here. I'll get my sister."
"Why your sister?"
"She can act as our soul binder. She knows the spell, but while I'm gone, write down three yes or no questions that I'll have to agree to. Okay?" he asked. "But my mum is not to know anything of the Unbreakable Vow being done in her house, okay?"
"Okay." Natalie agreed and Sirius ran off to find his sister.
Samantha was sitting in her room when Sirius found her. He told her everything about making the Unbreakable Vow and she agreed to be their binder and followed him to his room, where Natalie was waiting, a piece of paper sitting on her knee with three questions written down on it.
"Ready Natalie?" Samantha asked and Natalie nodded as Sirius sat in front of her, holding her hand in his, out in front of them. "Okay, ask your first question." She said, casting a spell over them.
"Sirius, do you promise to always remain truthful and never tell a lie?" Natalie asked nervously.
"I promise." He said and a thin tongue of flame shot from Samantha's wand and wrapped itself around Sirius and Natalie's clasped hands.
"Sirius, do you promise to not follow in your father's footsteps in any way?"
"I promise." Sirius replied and another tongue of flame shot from Samantha's wand and wrapped itself around Sirius and Natalie's hands.
"Sirius, do you promise never to commit any crime in your entire lifetime?"
"I promise."
A third tongue of flame shot from Samantha's wand and wrapped itself around the couple's clasped hands and it made a fiery mass, engulfing their hands, but without burning them. Eventually the fiery mass diminished back to the three fiery tongues which then melted away and soaked into Sirius' skin. Sirius felt a slight tug at his heart before everything became normal once again. Samantha nodded at the pair and went to leave the room.
"Wait Samantha." Sirius said, standing up. Samantha turned around and looked at her elder brother.
"What is it Sirius?" she asked him curiously.
"Please don't tell Mum about the Vow."
Samantha looked shocked at the prospect of telling her mother that she'd helped her elder brother do the Unbreakable Vow in her house.
"Why do you think I'd do that!?" she asked. "We'd be skinned alive for sure!"
"Okay, I know. I was just making sure, okay?"
"I know."
Three weeks later, Natalie's parents had decided they were going on holiday to Germany for six weeks, and they told her to stay at a friend's house until they got back, so she'd decided to stay at Sirius' house, as he was closest to her, with them being deeply in love with each other, even though she was also friends with Sirius' other best friends, James Potter, Remus Lupin, Jason Potter, Larry Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Marcus Marlo and William Wilkinson. Sara opened the door and invited her inside.
"I hope it's no trouble for you, Mrs. Black?" Natalie asked as Sirius ran up to her and hugged her.
"Hello again Natalie!" he exclaimed happily.
"No it's not a problem, Natalie." Sara replied, laughing. "In fact, I hope you're able to teach Sirius to actually act like the 15 year old he is, not like a 5 year old."
"No need to fear, Mrs. Black, I'll make sure he behaves." Natalie said, laughing at Sirius' expression.
"She can sleep in my room, Mum." Sirius told his mother, leading Natalie towards his bedroom, but his mother appeared in the doorway.
"Alright Sirius, what is going on between you two?" she asked her son, blocking his path. Sirius sighed, letting go of Natalie's hand.
"Mum, Natalie and I are in love." He said softly, blushing slightly.
"Then my fifteen year old son shouldn't be sleeping in the same room with his twelve year old girlfriend, in case something goes on between them."
"Mum!" Sirius exclaimed, his face going even redder. "I can control my urges thank you very much, if I actually ever had any, which I haven't!"
He could vaguely hear Natalie giggling in the background.
"Gee Sirius, you got a bit too defensive, too quickly there." She laughed and he looked at her, his face so red it looked like it was on fire.
"Natalie!" he exclaimed. "You're meant to be on my side!"
"Sorry, I just couldn't resist. You're so good at making those remarks to me, so I decided to do the same to you."
"Mum, just trust me. Natalie and I aren't even that far into it yet. We've never done more than a few kisses, so what makes you think I'll end up making love to her tonight or for the rest of the holidays?" Sirius said, turning to his mother.
"Fine, we'll see how we go for a week. If it turns out you've made love to her, Sirius, I'll forbid you from sleeping in the same room."
"Can we at least share a bed?" Sirius asked.
"Sirius, that's getting way to hopeful."
"But I told you, it's pretty much the same – sleeping in the same room, we could still get into the same bed, and I told you I'm not likely to make love to her."
"Fine. You can try the same bed for one night, and we'll see after that." Sara said, finally giving in.
"Thanks Mum, now can we get Natalie's things into my room?" Sirius asked his mother and she moved aside. Sirius and Natalie walked up the stairs into Sirius' room, laughing.
"How is it your mother listens to everything you say, Sirius?" Natalie asked curiously.
"It's because she's not as strong as Dad used to be, and it was always Dad who disciplined us, Mum could never bring herself to argue with us or hit us; that was Dad's job. Occasionally Mum would tell us off, but she never hit us to discipline us." Sirius replied as they put Natalie's things in the corner.
"I still can't believe it's still legal to hit your child. I'm telling you now, the sooner they make it illegal to hit your child, the better, because people are bound to go overboard with it and end up seriously hurting them." Natalie commented.
"I agree with what you just said Natalie. Because sometimes, when Dad was really drunk, he would even hit Mum, but Samantha and I copped it the most." He added and Natalie's jaw dropped in shock.
"He … he hit your mother?" she whispered in a shocked voice. "And you and Samantha copped an even worse beating?"
"Yeah, but don't tell Mum I told you this, this is only between us, okay?"
"Okay, I promise."
"Thank you Natalie." Sirius said, briefly kissing her. "On a completely different subject, what do you want to become when you leave school?"
Natalie pondered her answer for a while.
"I've wanted to become a nurse for a year now, but Mum says it's a stupid goal and career. She wants me to become a member of the Ministry like Dad is. She wants me to become a member of the Department of Defence. And when she saw my grades for Defence Against the Dark Arts last year, she was furious. She told me that if I didn't improve my grades she'll forbid me to see anyone, including friends. She'll constantly check up on me all year for the rest of my schooling."
"Holy S***! And my mother thought I was getting too hopeful! Your mum is one tough one."
"I know. But that's just the start. She's a muggle, right, so she heard on the news that some guy named Gary Black was causing a bustle on the plane leaving for Australia. Apparently this Gary guy is a wizard, so she told me that if I ever become friends with anyone with the surname Black, that she'll beat me when I get home."
"Gary Black's my father." Sirius said in a shocked whisper, his face going incredibly pale. "And she said if you even become friends with anyone with the surname Black that you'll get a beating?"
"That's exactly what she said. And I'm telling you now, when she hits you, she really hits you. I've been beaten before by her. What's more, my dad's powerless to do anything about it. He disapproves highly, but he can't do anything to stop her. When she starts beating my sister or me, she can't stop for ages. She doesn't care if she's hurting us; she'll just do it harder each time we wince. She even told me she was better off not having us, that she'd much rather a boy."
By the time Natalie had finished this explanation, there were tears visible in her eyes. Sirius hugged her tightly. He couldn't help it, Natalie's story was so sad that even he felt like crying, and he hardly ever cried.
"I asked her once why she didn't disown me if she so badly wanted a boy and she just said 'Shut up, you stupid girl, you're just lucky you're still living under this roof! If it were up to me, I'd have aborted you and your sister as soon as I'd found out I was having girls.' Then she beat me. Dad told her that she was going to regret it and she just slapped him and laughed. She asked him when she would regret it and he used her delay in the beats to pull me away. He hugged me like you are now and asked me if she hurt me anywhere sensitive and I showed him bruises just under my ribs. He asked me 'Are your bruises fresh, from today, or are they from previous incidents?' I told him they were from that same day and he swore under his breath and started yelling at my mother. My mother rounded on him and told him I deserved it. He showed her my bruises and told her they were from that day's beatings and told her that if she didn't stop, that he would divorce her and take me and my sister with him. But she just laughed and told him he wouldn't be able to live without her and wouldn't be able to bring himself to divorce her. He told her to try him and took me away from my mother's house and into another house and, using his best friend, Dave, as his Secret Keeper, used the Fidelius charm on the house so my mum couldn't find us. He's divorced her now and is looking for new love." Natalie finished with a small smile. Sirius looked at her and laughed.
"Mum told me about a week ago she wanted to divorce Dad, because she didn't want to be married to a criminal and is looking for other love so she doesn't get thrown into nothingness when she does divorce him."
"Maybe we could organise a meeting for them, to see how they like each other."
"Maybe. Mum's even got rid of her wedding ring so the men didn't think she was still with Dad."
"Good. Dad's a bit wary of the women he meets, but so far, he's been unsuccessful in finding a suitable woman."
"That'll make it so much easier to get them together. By the way, just out of curiosity, where is your sister now?" he asked softly.
"Still with my mum. Unfortunately, she told him as he left with me that she demanded full custody of her and he couldn't stop her, because she is a member of the muggle government, and therefore, could take the matter to court. She's even been offered the job as a member of the Department of Defence by the Minister for Magic himself! Even though she is muggle, they'll just say she's a squib and not make an issue of it."
"I do agree that our Minister is a complete ass hole, and my belief has just been confirmed, after what you told me."
A few months later, the two entered Kings Cross Station and walked through the barricade and onto Platform 9 ¾. On the platform, Sirius met up with the other members of the Marauders (Remus, James, Peter, Marcus, Larry, Jason and William).
"Hey Sirius!" Marcus exclaimed happily, before noticing Sirius and Natalie were holding hands. "Ummm…Sirius, why are you holding Natalie's hand?"
"Ummm…guys…" Sirius began and Remus looked shocked.
"Don't tell me she's your girlfriend! She is, isn't she?" he asked and Sirius blushed slightly and nodded.
"Holy s***, mate!" James exclaimed, and Sirius and Natalie looked at each other, before looking back to where Sirius' mother and a tall man with short, dark brown hair stood, eying the pair and each other nervously.
"Dad's here." Natalie whispered, dragging Sirius and running up to her father. "Hi Dad!" she exclaimed, hugging him.
"Hello Natalie. I hope your stay at a friend's house was enjoyable?" he asked and Natalie nodded enthusiastically, before dragging Sirius forward.
"Dad, this is Sirius Black." She said softly to her father. "Although he is the son of Gary Black, he's nothing like him, and I couldn't care what Mum said about it. Also, Sirius and I have discovered feelings for each other." She added in a soft whisper.
"That's fine Natalie, I'm not your mother, remember?" he said and Natalie smiled.
"Although that would be physically impossible is beside the point." She added in an undertone. "Anyway, enough of talking, Sirius and I have someone for you to meet. This is Sirius' mother, Sara Black." She added, gesturing towards Sara. Sirius quickly motioned her to come over and she approached nervously. She smiled shyly at Mr. Talleo and he smiled in return.
"Mum, this is Natalie's father…"
"Terry." Mr. Talleo said, smiling shyly as Sara returned the smile.
"Pleased to meet you Terry." She said.
"Pleasure to meet you too, Sara." He said and Sirius and Natalie looked at each other, grinned and farewelled their parents before running to join the rest of the Marauders, who were laughing at something Remus was saying.
"What's up, guys!?" Sirius asked them excitedly and Remus stopped talking abruptly. "What? You weren't talking about me, were you?" he asked his friends.
"No. Well, unless talking about your mother and Natalie's father is counted as talking about you." William said, laughing softly.
"No, not really. What were you talking about?"
"I was just saying what if your mother and Natalie's father got together and had kids?" Remus said, laughing.
"Well, the sensible answer to that is that they'll be both Natalie's and my half brother or sister. And if they actually ended up getting married, that would mean that Natalie and I would be step siblings." Sirius said.
"Yeah, and that would mean it's pointless for you and Natalie to go out with each other." James said.
"Not to mention, just imagining it is just as scary as imagining Hagrid having kids." Peter said and everyone laughed.
"What, Hagrid actually giving birth, or his girlfriend giving birth?" Marcus asked Peter and everyone roared in laughter, even Natalie.
"Okay, that is just really wrong. If we keep talking about this, we'll all end up with nightmares." Natalie laughed and everyone agreed as they boarded the train, still laughing.
"Good point. Let's stop imagining your father and Sirius' mother nude." William laughed.
"William, that's just gross! Will you please stop imagining my mother naked with Natalie's father?" Sirius asked his friend, shaking his head to clear his mind. "Most especially not in bed!"
"Sirius!" Natalie exclaimed, massaging her temples with her fingers. "That was not necessary!"
"Sorry." Sirius said, looking guilty.
"Hey guys, changing the subject, what about we try becoming animagi this year?" James asked his friends, laughing.
"Good idea, James!" William said, laughing. "But do we even know what we want to become when we do become animagi?"
"Not really." Marcus laughed guiltily.
"We do, though. Marcus, you were told to do that as holiday homework!" Sirius said, still laughing.
Suddenly, the train let out a loud hoot. The Marauders and Natalie all ran onto the train, finding a compartment and sitting down.
"So Marcus, why didn't you do your homework?" Remus asked him, no longer laughing.
"Ummm … because I was spending time with Eve." He admitted. "And she just recently found out she's pregnant."
"Marcus, we really needed to know that you'd made out with her during the holidays!" Sirius exclaimed, shaking his head again. "Not!"
Suddenly, just as the train started moving, there was a knock on the door and Marcus' girlfriend, Eve, walked in.
"Hello Eve. How were your holidays?" William asked her. "Because, apparently, Marcus got you pregnant, did he?"
"Admittedly yes." Eve said and the boys all looked at Marcus, all with expressions of mingled shock, praise and disgust. Natalie, however, looked at Eve.
"Congratulations Eve. Ignore the boys. They're just being idiots." Natalie said and Eve sat next to her, laughing.
"As boys tend to do!" Eve laughed. "But thanks for the congratulations. What really gets me, though, is that Marcus is actually one year younger than me. And yet I still managed to fall pregnant with his baby."
"That's rather interesting, so Marcus will be a father at about sixteen, whereas you'll be a mother at about seventeen, counting nine months from now."
"Actually, I suggest you start counting seven months from now." Eve commented.
"You mean you're two months pregnant?"
"Yep. And already feeling the hardship that comes with motherhood."
"What do you mean?" Natalie asked her, confused.
"Well Natalie, it would seem you have a lot to learn about pregnancy and motherhood. Then again, so do I. But what I meant was morning sickness." Eve laughed.
"What is morning sickness?"
"Morning sickness is when a woman starts feeling rather sick, usually in the mornings, and ends up running to the bathroom to throw up. It usually lasts from the fourth week of pregnancy to the eighth week."
"The eighth week is another name for the second month, isn't it?"
"Yeah. Well, well, you are rather smart and knowledgeable about pregnancy and motherhood, aren't you?" Eve said. "What do want to become when you finish school?"
"Probably a nurse. I've already got Madam Pomfrey teaching me nursing."
"Really? Wow, awesome. You're lucky. I've wanted to become a nurse since I was in my third year. But I was too scared that I wouldn't be allowed to learn nursing from her. I'll have to ask her if she'll be able to teach me." Eve said, looking at Natalie with envy.
"Gee Marcus, so much for the 'recently' getting her pregnant. You managed it two bloody months ago!" Sirius laughed, tuning out of his girlfriend's conversation with Eve.
"Well, time just sped by. Besides, it's no big deal, she'll just be a mother." Marcus said.
"The mother of your child, Marcus." Remus pointed out.
"Well, no s*** Sherlock!" Marcus said and Eve laughed, walking over to him.
"And Marcus, becoming a father should a big deal for you." Remus said. "Because I know it would for me if Minerva got pregnant with my child." He added, referring to his girlfriend, Minerva McGonagall, who was the same age as the Marauders.
"Okay, admittedly it is a big deal for me almost being a father." Marcus admitted as Eve sat down next to him.
"And Sirius, what were you thinking eavesdropping on my conversation?" Natalie asked her boyfriend and Sirius walked over to her, kissing her briefly before sitting next to her.
"I dunno, I guess I just wanted to make sure you weren't talking about me." Sirius said, grinning guiltily at Natalie.
"You naughty boy." Natalie whispered to him and the two of them laughed.
"And who said you're not a naughty girl, Natalie?" Sirius asked her in a whisper.
"Sirius, I just remembered something. You know how you originally thought my mother was that violent muggle woman who beat me every time she was in a foul mood?"
"Yeah …" he said slowly, wondering where on earth this was going.
"Well … Dad told me over the holidays that Madam Pomfrey is only a couple of years older than him, and when she'd become the matron just after she'd finished her seventh year, when my dad was in his sixth year, they'd fallen in love and … well … you may not believe this, but … I'm Madam Pomfrey's daughter. Madam Pomfrey is my mum." She said and Sirius' jaw dropped.
"Okay, it's lovely to know that your father made love to our matron, getting her pregnant with you." Sirius whispered.
"Please don't tell anyone else about this, Sirius." She whispered, holding his hands in hers. "I'm begging you. They'd practically kill me if they found out."
Sirius sighed, kissing her forehead.
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. I promise." He whispered back to her, kissing her.
"Thank you Sirius." She whispered, just when the train suddenly stopped and everyone looked up from what they were doing and saw a cloaked figure walking close to their window. Sirius hugged Natalie, holding her as close as possible and Marcus did the same with Eve. About two minutes later, the group heard a strangled yell and a thump from the next compartment and all the Marauders and Natalie and Eve took out their wands and pointed them at the door. Suddenly a scream filled the air as two girls ran into the compartment, pursued by the darkest and most feared wizard in the whole wizarding world, Lord Voldemort. Eve and Natalie screamed and all the Marauders stood in front of the four girls with their wands on the Dark Lord.
"I wouldn't try that if I were you." He said, walking forward, but all six boys stood their ground. "In fact, I'd be scared for my life."
"SHUT UP!" Sirius yelled, his breathing shallow as he took a step closer to Voldemort. "You ass hole! How dare you confront us and threaten the girls! You're sick! I HATE you!" he yelled and he took another step closer to Voldemort, who just stood there, looking remarkably calm. Sirius suddenly ran forward and punched Voldemort hard in the stomach. He could hear the air leave the Dark Lord's lungs with a soft whoosh as he doubled over, clutching his stomach. Remus took the chance to run forward and kick him hard in the shins, before William ran forward and kneed him in the groin. Voldemort was now on the ground, his face contorted with a mixture of rage and pain, and his hands groping his nether regions. Eventually he got up again, limping forward, and it was obvious that Remus' kick had probably almost broken his left shin. He pointed his wand at Sirius, Remus and William, but Natalie and the two newer girls took this chance to run forward and point their wands at him.
"Angelina, don't. Please, don't endanger your life in order to protect mine." William whispered and one girl turned around. This one had long, light brown hair and hazel coloured eyes. She was William's girlfriend, Angelina Johnson.
"Don't worry about me, William." She replied, before turning back to Voldemort. Voldemort looked in surprise at the three girls standing in front of the boys with their wands on him. He shrugged and pointed his wand at them and was just beginning the incantation of the killing curse (Avada Kedavra), but Sirius, who was now obviously really pissed off, ran forward and pointed his wand at the Dark Lord.
"STUPEFY!" he yelled, but it wasn't only his voice that he heard. The spells missed Voldemort by a second, as he'd only just disapparated before they hit him. The driver must've taken this chance to get moving again, and several Aurors from the Ministry of Magic suddenly apparated into the carriage and took the names of those threatened by Voldemort. They entered the compartment and told everyone to sit down.
"We've been told that you ten had fought off the Dark Lord, and everyone escaped injury. That was very brave of all of you and well done. I think an award of bravery is in order for each of you. Now if I could please take your names, we'll get Professor Dumbledore to pass the awards on to you." One Auror said to the students in the compartment, who, besides being rather shaken and bruised slightly, were completely unharmed.
"You should know me, Dad." William said to the Auror who had spoken to them. He smiled at him and Sirius looked at the two of them, just realising the similarities between them.
"I do know you, William, and I'm sure your mother would be very proud of you, because I know I am." He said and William laughed, hugging his father before introducing him to his friends.
"Dad, this is Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, James Potter, Peter Pettigrew, Marcus Marlo, Sirius' girlfriend Natalie, Marcus' girlfriend Eve and this is Remus' girlfriend Minerva. Now you know all our names." He said, grinning. Remus was hugging the other girl, who had long black hair and brown eyes. This was Minerva and she had her head resting on Remus' chest. Marcus was hugging Eve and Sirius was hugging Natalie, all relieved that they were all still alive.
"Well, this is something that you'll all be able to tell your kids and grandkids. You fought off Lord Voldemort and survived with nothing but minor bruises. That is an incredible feat, and you did well." William's father told the others before leaving the compartment and walking into the next one, in which they'd heard the strangled yell before Voldemort had pursued Angelina and Minerva into their compartment. Everyone followed, stopping in the doorway looking on at a horrifying scene. In the compartment, there were three students on the ground, bleeding profusely and Natalie and Eve's first reaction was to run forward and check the vitals of those three, but shaking their heads, moving on to the five others in the compartment, who were groaning and bleeding profusely from deep wounds to their chests and stomachs. Both healed their wounds and helped them onto the seats. They were then covered with blankets the two girls had conjured from thin air. All the Aurors in the room were looking at them with their mouths open. Sirius and Marcus walked over to their respective girlfriends and placed their hands on their shoulders. Natalie looked up at Sirius and smiled slightly.
"What about those three lying on the floor?" Sirius asked her.
"We can't help them if they're dead, Sirius. I reckon it may have been the killing curse that killed them, because their wounds weren't bleeding enough to kill them, and they're cold to the touch, obviously because they'd been dead since before Voldemort appeared in our compartment." Natalie replied and Sirius thought he heard Natalie sob slightly.
"Are you okay Natalie?" he asked her softly.
"I'm fine … okay, maybe not. One of those three was my half-sister. You know, the one that lived with the muggle woman I thought was my mother?" she said, tears beginning to spill out of her eyes and down her cheeks. Sirius sighed, pulling her into a hug and she began crying in earnest into his chest.
"I'm sorry to hear that Natalie." He whispered, holding her close. "It's alright, I'm here to help you through it."
"Thank you Sirius. She and I had gotten close over the holidays because of the amount of times her mother got us into trouble, and we both helped each other get over it, and although my father divorced Penny, I'll still have to let him know of Lana's death, and I don't want to have to do that." She said, her voice muffled slightly from Sirius' chest.
"Its okay, Natalie. We're almost at Hogwarts, so you'll be able to talk to your mother then. Maybe she'll be able to let your dad know for you." He said softly to her.
"Okay." She replied, just as the train began to slow down and eventually it stopped.
"Ummm … guys, I think we're there now." Remus said and Sirius and Natalie parted, and Natalie and Eve produced stretchers to carry the five injured students up to the school. Sirius, Marcus and William helped them, and soon they were all slowly walking up to the school, the five students on stretchers and they met Madam Pomfrey in the Hospital Wing. She took the students from them and laid them gently on some beds, checking them over.
"They'll live. You did well guys. Thank you." She said.
"Thanks Mum." Natalie said softly to her and she looked surprised and pleased at the same time.
"Your father told you, then?" she asked in a whisper.
"Yes. He couldn't keep it from me forever." Natalie replied. "And speaking of Dad, Mum I need you to help me tell him something." She added, tears entering her already moist eyes again.
"What's wrong Natalie?" Madam Pomfrey asked her daughter softly.
"It's my half-sister, Lana. She's dead." She said. "And Dad should know, because he's her father."
"I'm sorry to hear that," The matron replied, hugging her daughter gently. "But I hope you don't mind me asking how these students got injured and how Lana was killed?"
"Lord Voldemort appeared on the train. He killed three students including Lana and injured those five there, before coming into the compartment Sirius, his friends and I were sharing. He was going to kill us, but we all fought back, eventually forcing him to disapparate." She said and Sirius, who had been listening slightly to what they were saying, walked up to Natalie, whom Madam Pomfrey had released from the hug. "And Sirius and I are also in love." She replied, looking up at her boyfriend, smiling slightly, the tears still rolling down her already tear-stained cheeks. Madam Pomfrey smiled slightly on hearing this, nodding slightly to her daughter.
"That's okay Natalie. As long as he treats you in a satisfactory manner, I'm fine with it. But it would help greatly if you actually told me if you suddenly fall pregnant, okay? Because then I'd be able to help you." She replied. "But I'd very much prefer it if you didn't fall pregnant." She added and Natalie nodded, smiling at Sirius, her eyes slightly drier than previously. "Now I'm going to write a note to your father, telling him to come to the school and talk to us, okay?" Madam Pomfrey said. "But in the meantime, I suggest you go down to the feast before you miss the sorting and the meal." She added and Natalie nodded, hugged her mother briefly before walking with her friends down to the Great Hall on the bottom floor.
"Ummm … Natalie, why was Madam Pomfrey hugging you before?" Marcus asked her softly as they walked down the stairs to the ground floor.
"Don't tell anyone about this, guys, but Madam Pomfrey is my mother. That's why she was hugging me." Natalie replied, addressing all the Marauders and Minerva, Angelina and Eve.
"Are you serious, Natalie?" Remus asked her, sounding shocked.
"No, I'm not Sirius, he's over there." Natalie laughed.
"I didn't mean that. I meant are you joking?" Remus said, not laughing.
"No, I'm not joking. Madam Pomfrey is my mother. Just please don't tell anyone about this." She said softly, as they approached the doors to the Great Hall.
"We promise." The others chorused, except Sirius.
"Sirius, why didn't you promise?" James asked his friend.
"I did. On the train." Sirius replied, placing his arm around Natalie's shoulders.
"Sirius, not now. Please wait until later before you hug me." She said, shrugging his arm off.
"Awww … but Natalie …" he whined and Natalie and the others all laughed as they walked into the Great Hall and sat at the Gryffindor table, second to the right of the four tables.
"No buts Sirius." She said as they sat down. Once the room had filled up, Dumbledore walked in. Dumbledore was a tall and extremely old man with long silver hair and beard. Half-moon glasses rested on his long nose and he wore a long purple cloak.
"Welcome all, to another year at Hogwarts," he said. "Let us welcome our new appointments: for Defence Against the Dark Arts, we welcome Professor Goodwill," he said and a huge applause rang through the hall as a short, plump man stood up and waved at the students. "For Potions, we have Professor Slughorn," he said as an enormously large man with light brown hair stood up and bowed as another warm applause rang out through the room.
Eventually, Sirius and his friends had all started their classes, and Marcus was obviously nervous, considering his girlfriend was pregnant with his child.
"Marcus, there's no need to be nervous, its fine. Come on, we'll go become animagi after this. Remus, you can too, if you want." Sirius said, clapping Marcus on the back.
"Nah, I won't. You guys go right ahead, but I don't want to. You're only doing this because you all want to be with me on full moons, and I'm already a werewolf, so there's no point in me becoming an animagi too." Remus replied.
"Suit yourself. You can supervise, then." Sirius shrugged, before laughing. He led his friends to a private area behind the school.
"Do you guys even remember how to do it?" Remus asked them and the rest of them laughed.
"Of course we do, Remus!" James laughed.
"Well, I was just making sure. No one said it was against the law to ask questions." He replied.
"Okay, fine Remus. We were just surprised you could even think we wouldn't remember." Sirius laughed as the boys all sat down in a circle. Remus didn't sit down, however. Instead, he stayed standing, watching them all carefully. Especially Peter, for he wasn't the sharpest quill in the bag. Sirius went first. His heart racing with a mixture of excitement and nervousness, he took out his wand, taking a deep breath before muttering "Incomperium!", keeping an image of a large, scruffy black dog in his head. He soon transformed into the same black dog he'd imagined and barked once, wagging his tail, before transforming back. Sitting back down, James stood up, doing the same, before a large, brown stag appeared where he stood. He shook his antlered head, before transforming back. William went next. He stood up, taking out his wand and muttering the incantation and a large tiger appeared where he stood. He let out a roar and transformed back, sitting back down. Marcus stood up and a medium-sized brown hyena appeared. He transformed back and sat down. Peter stood up, shaking with nervousness and eventually a small, brown rat appeared where he stood. He transformed back, glowing with pride. Remus ran to them, laughing.
"Well done guys!" he said and everyone laughed as they headed back up to the school.
THE END!!!