Disclaimer: Nothing but the plot is mine. All the people from the HP books belong to J.K. Rowling, Lindsay and Carly belong to themselves I think…
A/N: OK a couple of things I need to tell you before I start.
1. It is written in first person, but from Sirius' POV.
2. It starts before Hogwarts, but they end up at Hogwarts before the end.
3. James and Sirius may or may not act a little older then they are, my sister seems to think they do but I don't really…
Enjoy and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE r/r!! Thanks!!!!!
I was 9 years old the day my life changed forever. It was actually the day after my 9th birthday. I woke up early and went downstairs to eat a quick breakfast. James was coming over today and I dad and I were going to go pick him up using Floo Powder. When I was done eating I found I still had an hour to wait so I went upstairs and began gathering up ingredients for James' and my latest project. There was this bratty boy down the street named Lucius. Even though he was already a 5th year in Hogwarts we had decided we were going to go teach him to stop picking on kids, as long as we didn't get caught…
James and I have been best friends since practically before we were born. Our parents have known each other since their own days at Hogwarts and every year James' parents go out of town for a week in January and James comes and stays with us. I love it but it drives mum crazy. She says we are unbearable together. Since we were about 7 we have been causing havoc in both my house, his and our neighborhoods. We both attend the same Magic Prep class on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursday mornings from 6:00 am until 11:00 am.
On the particular day I was bouncing around in excitement. Every year on James' annual visit we had fun and this year we had big plans. When it was finally time to go get James I ran up the stairs and tore into my mum and dads room. To my surprise I found them both awake, dad was fully dressed and mum was in a bath robe looking worried.
"Oh Sirius." Dad said to me. " You are going to have to go get James alone. Think your old enough?"
"Dad!" I protested. "I'm already nine. Of course I can handle it." But even as I said it I felt my stomach fill with dread. Why wasn't dad coming with me?
"Good."
"But what happened why aren't you coming?"
"Just some important ministry business." Dad replied. (He is head of the department of Magical Curse Breaking.)
"OK…" I replied. "Well I'll be going now.."
And I ran from the room, trying to ignore the feeling of worry welling up inside of me. Quickly I ran down the stairs grabbed a pinch of Floo Powder and threw it into the flames. I didn't bother with some for the return trip because I knew there would be some at James' house. When I got there I found James sitting alone, also looking worried.
"Hey!" I said with a smile, trying not to let the worry appear on my face.
"Hi.." James replied.
"Where is your mum and dad?" I asked him.
"They left early this morning after they got a letter from someone. They told me they just wanted to get an early start on their trip but I know better. Something happened."
"Really?" I asked, sounding worried now too. "MY dad left early this morning and said that I had to come get you alone and mum seemed real upset. Something is definitely going on here.."
"Yeah.." Jame answered.. But what??"
"I don't know.. let's go back and ask my mum. I know she knows!" I replied.
"OK.. let's go."
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
It was an hour later when we finally gave up. Mum refused to tell us anything. It makes me so mad the way grown ups always keep secrets and won't tell us. Even when they affect us. James and I decided to go and try and find out what happened. We made sure mum was busy down stairs with her Magical Problems soap opera and then ran back up to her room. We finished searching discouraged. We hadn't found a single thing. So instead we went in my room and began working on more ideas for pranks, neither of us really felt like it though..
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Three days later dad was still not back and I don't think mum had heard from him either. She was jumpy and couple of times I think I saw her crying. When we first caught sight of her crying James and I had a serious conversation. We had decided there was something very wrong here. And we were determined to find out what. That night when mum had gone up to bed we tiptoed downstairs to dad's study. We had been searching for about an hour with no luck when suddenly there was a tap on the window. It was an owl! I hurried and opened the window. The owl flew away as soon as I had taken the parchment. Slowly I opened the letter wondering who was writing this late. When I read the first line a feeling of dread came over me.
Dear Mrs. Black,
With regret I write to inform you that the secret group your husband was working in was found out. There was a great battle and Voldemort won. There were many casualties… your hustband included. As well as Adolph Grinders, Mark Athens, Missy Patker, Johnathon Boren and Katie Potter. We have His body here if you wish to have a funeral. We believe it was only an Avada Kedavra curse. Some of the others weren't so lucky. I am very sorry about your loss.
Albus Dumbledore.
"No…" I moaned sinking to my knees. Dad couldn't be dead…
"Sirius.. what is it?" James asked, looking concerned. James' mum was one of the people who died! It took me a moment to realize.
"James… I know what was going on.."
"What?"
"They were all going to fight Voldemort. That wizard who has been gaining power? A-and.. My dad and.. your mum were killed. It doesn't say anything about your dad though."
"What?" said a voice behind me. "Did you say he's dead?"
"Mum!" I exclaimed.
She came forward and snatched the letter from me. AS she read it her face paled and she collapsed in a heap on the floor sobbing. James and I were both upset but we were OK compared to mom. She lay there while James and I stood awkwardly above her. She must have lain there for over an hour before she finally got up. As she did she whispered hoarsely.
"No… No I won't do it. I'm sorry Sirius."
Then she ran up the stairs. James and I looked at each other then dashed up the stairs. We had no clue what was going on and we had a feeling mom need someone to be with her. As we reached the top of the steps we saw a bright flash of green light. James and I dashed towards her room. When we entered the room what I saw made my heat pound. I felt dizzy and light headed. Mum was lying on the floor, her wand in hand. I screamed then ran to her, tears finally blinding me. I felt at her neck for a pulse.. She didn't have one.
"Mum.. how could you do this to me?" I sobbed. "I already lost dad and now I lost you. You are such a… a selfish baby! Did you even stop to think about me? I hate you!"
I turned and ran from the room. I didn't know what to do, or where I was going. I just ran. I ran out the door and through the snow without a coat or anything. I kept running and running. I didn't notice the cold, or where I was headed. I didn't notice the pain in my chest or how out of breath. I didn't hear James calling out to me from behind. Suddenly I was tackled from behind. I turned around to find James laying on the ground panting for breath.
"Sirius… you have to… come back… We'll write to… Dumbledore… he'll tell us what to do."
"But.."
"Just… come on.."
I obeyed and we trudged back up to my house. I hadn't realized how far we had ran. It took almost 5 minutes to get back to the house. By then I have stopped crying. When we got up there I got some parchment and a quill and wrote:
Dear Professor Dumbledore,
I am scared,,, My mom found out and she killed her self and I don't know what to
"Sirius." James said gently. "I think you'd better let me write this."
"OK.."
Dear Professor Dumbledore,
This is James Potter. I am at Sirius Black's house. And his mum found out about his dad dying ands she killed herself and now we are all alone here and we don't know what to do. Please help us. Is my dad all right?
James
As I watched shakily James took t he parchment and attached it to my owl, named Jezzebel. I had just received her on my birthday 4 days before. When it was sent James came and sat by me. He put his head in his hands. I forgot he was only 9 years old like myself. He had been calmer and braver than my mother. After all he had just found out his mother was murdered. I was so angry and embrassed. I wish I had helped. But I just couldn't do anything. We must have sat at that table for hours. I had finally stopped crying and James still hadn't cried. I don't think he quite believed me about his mother, looking back on it. Just as I had decided I was going to get up and do something useful there was knock on the door. I got up and dragged myself over to the door. When I opened it I found a stern faced woman standing at the door. When she saw me her expression changed to sorrow.
"Are you Sirius Black?" she asked me in a gentle voice, that it seemed she wasn't used to using.
"Yes."
"Where's James?"
"I-in the kitchen."
"OK.. you 2 are going to come with me for now."
"Er… not to be rude but… who are you? And where are we going?"
"Oh yes. I did forget to introduce myself. My name is Minerva McGonagal. I am a teacher at Hogwarts. Professor Dumbledore asked me to come get you and bring you to Hogwarts. He needs to talk to you."
"I'll be right back I have to go get James… how are we going to get there?"
"Do you have Floo Powder?"
"Of course."
"Then we'll use that."
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
The rest of the day passed in a sort of blur. Professor Dumbledore talked to us for a long time. He told us that James' dad was alive and he was at the local healers office being taken care of. In a few days he was going to be back. And until then James and I were going to stay at Hogwarts. When James' dad came back Dumbledore was going to ask him who I was supposed to live with. We spent most of our days hanging out in Hogsmeade. And we would eat breakfast, lunch and dinner in the staff room. It would have been a lot of fun had it not been on such a terrible reason we were there. One day we were returning from Hogsmeade, me a few feet ahead of James. I turned to look back and slammed right into an evil looking boy with greasy black hair. He turned and glared and pushed me hard. I fell down the steps and into the snow.
"Stupid babies." The boy sneered. "You're the one whose mum killed herself aren't you?"
"So what if I am?" I asked defensively.
"It's just… oh never mind.." the boy turned and stormed away.
I slowly got up and James walked over to me. We slowly walked up the steps, me freezing with the cold of the snow. We didn't talk until we were up in North Tower in the little hidden room where we were sleeping. There were only 3 beds in there and the 2 of us stayed there alone. We each fell back onto our beds and began to talk about everything. About what had just happened and what had happened to our parents. We speculated what James' dad was going to say to do with me. We talked so long that we missed dinner. We talked until nearly one in the morning. Suddenly there was a knock at the hidden passage door. James and I looked at each other. Then I walked over to it and called out,
"Who is it?"
"It's me. Professor Dumbledore. Is it all right if I come in?"
I nodded then remembered that he couldn't see me. "Sure come on."
Slowly he came in and sat down on the edge of the unused bed. He just sat there for nearly 5 minutes and James and I just looked at each other wondering what he was doing. He played with the end of the comforter for awhile then he looked up at us. He raised his eye brows when he took in me, lying in soaking wet clothing. I hadn't even noticed while I had been talking to James.
"Anything you want to talk about?" he asked.
"Er… no." I told him.
"What happened?" he asked, I guess he decided he wanted answers even if we weren't going to talk.
"Nothing really." I replied, shrugging.
"James?" Dumbledore turned to him.
"Nothing.. Sirius just slipped and fell into the snow."
"Why didn't you come to dinner?" he asked.
"Because we weren't hungry and we had things to talk about." James told him in his calm and innocent voice.
"Well I came down to make sure you were OK and to let you know that your dad, James, should be here early tomorrow. I will talk to him then about what to do with you Sirius and then you can come up and see him. But remember he had been through a terrible ordeal and will need to rest."
"We know." James smiled at him. "Thanks for letting us come here and stay. Sorry if we caused any problems with you and your staff." James is so good at talking to adults- a skill that came in handy talking our way out of trouble more times than we can count already. Plus both of us were excellent liars.
"All right." Dumbeldore smiled at us as well. "Well I'll see you tomorrow."
~ * ~ * ~
The next day Dumbledore came to get us at only 8:00 am. James' dad was back. He escorted us upstairs and he told us some excellent news. I was going to be living with them from then on. James' dad said he couldn't bare to see me go live in some foster home or somewhere. We left for home that day. When we got there we had a looong talk about what had happened and how we felt about it. I was beginning to realize then what a great father he was. He must have been hurting a lot but he never let it show. He took care of us and our feelings. He accepted me right away as his son. I never knew then how much it meant to me…
I was still hurting but it was a lot easier to deal with it with Mr. Potter helping me. We talked nearly every night. Sometimes with James about his mother and other times just to me. I cried a lot of times. I was quite ashamed of it but he made me realize that it was OK to cry. He told me how I had suffered a lot already in life. The loss of both my parents, watching one of them die myself. He even cried in front of me once or twice. But mostly he held himself together for my sake. I never really got the chance to tell him how much I appreciated it. I hope he knew.
~ * ~ * ~
The next year and a half passed with out much incident. Together the 3 of us made it past the hurt and moved on with out lives. We had fun together. Then on May 16th I got the letter saying I was accepted to Hogwarts, along with James. Two days before start of term we went to Diagon Alley and got our books, wands and everything else we needed. The rest of the time seemed to drag by. Finally it was time to leave for the train. When we hugged Mr. Potter before leaving he acted perfectly cheerful but inside it must have been killing him. He was going to be alone for the best part of the next 7 years. Alone to think about his wife, about Voldemort, about everything that had happened 2 years before.
I honestly don't know how he put up with it all these years. But on September 1st I put all that out of my mind. I was concentrating on having a good time at school. We got a compartment at the very back that was completely empty and lugged are trunks into it.
We had only been on there for about 10 minutes when suddenly the door opened and outside stood a girl with silvery blond hair, pale blue eyes and pale skin. She looked like she was probably a first year too. She smiled apologetically at them and said,
"Sorry… I didn't know anyone was in here."
"That's OK." James said, looking at her curiously. "You can sit with us if you want.." It took a lot of self control for him not to ask the question he had wanted to ask. He thought it would be too rude. I however was not quite as nice.
"Are you related to the Malfoys?" I blurted out, thinking of Lucius who lived near me.
The girl made a face. "No way! And that is an insult to even compare me with them. Especially that bratty boy Lucius."
"That's good." I replied with a smile, glad she wasn't a Malfoy because she looks really pretty. "My names Sirius."
"I'm Carly." The girl smiled. "You don't look like you have ever in your life been serious." She teased. Then she turned and eyes James. "What is your name?"
"James. James Potter." He told her, smiling back.
"Are you first years?" she asked us.
"Yup." James replied. "Both of us."
"Me too." Carly told us.
"You can sit down." I said grinning up at her.
"Oh.." she blushed a little. "Right."
The train had began to move when suddenly the door was thrown open and a girl was hanging onto the handle of it as it moved, being dragged along. She tried to pull herself up but couldn't/ James and I jumped up and ran to her aid. We pulled her in. Then I, without even thinking, jumped off the train to grab her luggage. I tossed it up to James and he helped me climb back on. Breathing hard I sank into a chair. James sat down beside me. I studied the girl we had rescued then. She had messy brown hair (well it probably wasn't always messy just because of her little mishap with the train), brown eyes and she was very short for her age. Smaller than James and he was also very short. She smiled at us looking slightly embarrassed.
"Thanks.." she mumbled.
"No problem." I replied.
"I… er.. had some family problems and it made me very late getting here." The girl told us. "By the way my name is Lindsay." The girl told us.
We all laughed. "No problem. Sit down." Carly told her.
"I can't believe you jumped down off the train to get my bags." Lindsay laughed, shaking her head. "Thanks a lot."
"I don't know why I did that, to be nice I guess. And I wasn't thinking." I replied, shrugging.
"He never does." James said smiling.
Everyone but me laughed. "I do too!' I said indignantly.
"I'm sure you do.." Carly replied, smiling sweetly at her.
~ * ~ * ~
The rest of the train-ride passed by fairly quickly while we talked happily, getting to know each other. I was especially keen on getting to know Carly. She was really pretty and seemed like an interesting person. The only problem was she seemed interested in James. The good news was James seemed totally oblivious to this. I sighed. It looked like this was going to be a good year.
When we pulled into Hogsmeade Station we all piled off the train looking around at all the people there. All the older students were heading towards carriages so we decided to do the same. We followed them and climbed onto an empty one. We fit perfectly in one and we settled back for the ride to the castle, not at all realizing that we were supposed to be getting in boats at that time- not riding in carriages….
A/N: Well how do you like it? I'm honestly not sure how good it is. So tell me in your review if you like it and want me to continue. If I get 10 reviews I will write more. I promise there will be more of a plot, I have some ideas of where I am going with the story. And Lily will be in the next part. One other thing.. I promise that it won't all be perfect with them. So please r/r. Thanks!