PREVIOUSLY: Marilyn Horsefeather, a sixth-year Slytherin, slips into the Room of Requirement, hoping to avoid the endless torment of Draco Malfoy. Instead of only transforming the place inside its walls, it transforms time, sending her into the past to recreate a new life for herself… as a Gryffindor. She meets the Marauders and begins a relationship with Sirius Black. A seventh-year Slytherin, Zephyros Horsefeather, who happens to be Marilyn's father, discovers that she is from a different time and gives the new information to Voldemort, whose power over the wizarding world seems to have reached its all-time peak. After a failed attempt to capture Marilyn and torture her for information, Voldemort leads an attack on Hogwarts in search for her. On her way to the Shrieking Shack to hide, she is hit by a Full-Body Bind curse and is only found by her nemesis, Zephyros. Knowing now that she is his daughter in some inconceivable way, he has a change of heart and lets her go, freeing her from the curse. She then exits the castle and finds Voldemort using the Cruciatus Curse on Sirius. Having been through Animagus lessons with him, she discovers her inner animal, and pounces on Voldemort as an enormous black jaguar, digging her jaws into his skull, killing him. After the battle is over, they all meet in Dumbledore's office and are informed that Zephyros will be granted amnesty for his earlier actions. Marilyn then warns Dumbledore that Voldemort will rise again. At the end of seventh year, Sirius takes Marilyn into the Room of Requirement one last time and asks for her hand in marriage (From the story Becoming Someone Else, Somewhere Else).
Chapter 1
My name is Carina Black. I was named after the constellation which houses the second brightest star in the night's sky: second only to the dog star, Sirius. The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black was notorious for naming each member of the family after some cosmic entity, and although my father disliked being a part of that so-called nobility, he decided to stick to the tradition, only honoring his bloodline's custom solely for the sake of whimsy.
I was four years old when my life had changed. I was not old enough then to understand just how drastically my world was altered that night that the full moon glowed orange in the August night. I had been around my Uncle Moony on nights like this countless times before. Sure, he looked a bit different than he usually did by day. His limbs were longer and more animal like, and his nose was pointed and sometimes got caught by something as it followed its scent in the air, but he was still the same man, just as human. Usually he sat by me as I played on the floor and he gnawed on something hard and chewy. But this night, he was not the same as he had been the previous times I had been around when he transformed. We all sat on the couch in the living room: me, my mother, my father, Uncle Prongs, Aunt Lily, and little Harry in her lap. He was a few months younger than I was. Uncle Moony sat in an arm-chair across from us. A light patter fell onto the window sill as it began to drizzle outside, although there were hardly clouds in the sky, allowing the moon to light up the darkness outside. I crawled over a few adult laps as I made my way toward the window to watch the rain, but my father wrapped an arm around me and drew me close to him.
"Daddy, let me go!" I said playfully, but I felt his grip tense. This was not a loving, playful gesture he had made. I looked up at this face and his pupils were like pinpoints as he stared across the room at the werewolf, a vein just barely visible on his forehead.
"Marilyn," he said softly, not moving his head toward her. "Take Carina to the back bedroom. Slowly." He handed me to my mother, still not moving his gaze away. "Lily, you and Harry also." I looked over at Uncle Moony. His eyes were completely black as they rested on me, devoid of any readable emotion. I let out a small whimper. I had never seen such coldness looking back at me from that furry, once friendly, face. My father then looked at me and placed a finger over his lips, signaling me to stay quiet as my mother lifted me off the couch and tiptoed toward the back of the house, Aunt Lily and Harry following right behind us. I looked over her shoulder as she held me tightly and caught a glimpse at my Uncle Moony, still sitting up straight in the arm-chair. I saw his upper lip curl into a snarl before we turned the corner into the small, spare bedroom. The door clicked into place softly as Harry and I were placed onto the twin bed in the middle of the dark room. Aunt Lily turned on a lamp beside the bed while my mother locked the door with a furtive clunk. They had their wands out, pointed toward the doorway, as if they were waiting for someone to knock it down.
I could hear my father and Uncle Prongs talking in the other room. Softly, gently. "Remus. It's Sirius. James is here, too. You will not hurt us."
"It's alright, Remus. Everything is fine." The rain began to pick up outside as it hammered down against the windows, the wind blowing along the side of the house, rattling the shutters. I looked outside and saw that the moon was still perfectly visible, glowing a deep orange-red. Then the sky lit up with a giant flash of lightning as thunder boomed, shaking the entire house. Harry let out a wail from beside me, frightened from the enormous sound. Then there was a commotion that came from the hallway. He was not the only one who was disturbed by the roaring of the storm. A low, long growl was followed by what sounded like a dog fight. Things were falling to the ground and shattering as teeth clanged together and claws were swiping. Harry was crying at the noise and Lily ran over to comfort him, but the monster outside the room had already heard him, and made its way to attack. There was another yelp, then the sound of heavy strides bounding toward the door. It hit once, like a wrecking ball had collided with it, nearly ripping the door frame away from the wall, but it held. Aunt Lily grabbed me and Harry close to her and huddled behind the other side of the bed as I watched my mother disappear, and a giant, black, cat-like beast take her place. She hunched over, digging her back feet deeply into the carpet and protracting her claws, ready to pounce. The monster hurled himself at the door a second time. Splinters of wood flew in every direction as the creature burst through, ripping the door clean off its hinges. The black panther attacked, digging its claws deeply into its chest, causing him to bark with pain. His eyes glowed a deep red as I peeked past Aunt Lily, trying to keep my whimpers muffled. He flung the cat from him as he caught my eye, baring his enormous yellow fangs. He jumped at me, his body stretching through the air as he leaped across the bed. His mouth was open, easily wide enough to fit my entire head inside. A pair of antlers stabbed him in the stomach, knocking him to the floor beside me. I scooted closer to Aunt Lily as I saw the black dog grab his hind leg and pull him away. With one swipe of his giant, mangy paw, the werewolf caught my pants leg and dragged me into his mouth.
I did not realize the pain of his jaws sinking into my leg until after those three enormous animals, the dog, the panther, and the stag, finally had him subdued. Aunt Lily was shrieking at the sight of the blood soaking into the ivory carpet. I felt my neck becoming like jelly, and it was difficult to hold my head upright on my shoulders. I let it flop to the side as my vision became blurry.
"Can she apparate?" I heard my mother say in a frenzy as my father hoisted me into his arms and wrapped a hand tightly around my thin, bleeding leg.
"She will have to if we want to save her leg," my father said. "James, keep an eye on Remus. Hopefully he will stay knocked out until sunrise. We will go straight to Saint Mungo's. Send a patronus if anything happens." James nodded, and with a faint pop we were gone.
We landed sloppily in front of what looked like a run-down brick building. My head was becoming heavier and heavier to keep up, so I let it rest on my father's shoulder as he held me closely to him, one arm carrying my small body while his hand was still wrapped around my leg, keeping the blood from escaping the massive bite wound. We walked straight through one of the windows and were greeted by a petite witch whose kind smile turned into utter concern. "First floor, Creature Induced Injuries!" She said urgently. My parents nodded and as the bright fluorescent lights buzzed and shined down warmly on my clammy skin, I slumped in his arms as I passed out.
"The silver and dittany has healed the wound, and her leg will be fine. I have given her some Valerian root, to counteract the shock. She just needs to rest now," a deep, gentle voice said from the foot of my bed.
"That's good news," I heard my mother say in a sigh of relief. "But what about—" her words trailed off, and I heard the Healer expire deeply.
"She will be plagued by lycanthropy for the rest of her life. I wish I could tell you that we have found a way to cure this, but sadly we have not." My eyes fluttered open slightly, and I could see the silhouettes of my parents, their heads down as they gazed toward the floor, my mother's face in her hands. "There is a potion, however."
"Yes, we know about the potion," my father said, sounding utterly defeated. I allowed my eyes to close again as I drifted back to sleep. I thought I heard a faint sob escape from my mother, a sob that, for some reason, seemed all too familiar.
Author's note: Hey everyone! I hoped you liked the first chapter of my new story! I have so many things planned for this story and I know it will make you go "SAY WHAAAAAT?!" I want this fanfic to go big. I'm talking HUGE. ENORMOUS. GIGANTIC. So if you would please oblige me, I would love it if you would review for two reasons: 1) People read stories with reviews, and 2) I love reading what you think about this story! So pretty please with sugar on top, review for me and I will be eternally grateful! Keep an eye open for the following installments of Black and Grey.
Oh, and by the way, in case you did not know before (though the beginning of this chapter was a pretty plain giveaway), this story is a sequel from my earlier story Becoming Someone Else, Somewhere Else. If you have not read it, I highly suggest giving it a quick peak. It is actually pretty great, if I do say so myself. Without having read it, a few things in this story may be a bit confusing (like why Sirius, James and Lily are still alive, and why the course of time has completely changed). Humor me.