Disclaimer. Harry Potter and all the characters are JK Rowlings, I've just borrowed a few to tell a story.
If you can't be good, Be a Marauder
This is hopeless I sighed hefting two books from the shelves. It wasn't there, no matter how hard I looked. Homework could wait as I picked up the feather duster and started sweeping it over the book bindings hoping the books wouldn't bite back like so many of them tried to. That seemed to be one of the more "fun" things about the Ancient and Most Noble (and derelict) house of Black. "Toujours Pur" I snorted, more like "toujours fou". I hated the house with a fiery passion even though technically it was my inheritance along with the decapitated house elves, doxies behind the curtains and Mrs Black's portrait. I swore loudly as something pulled the duster from my hands and began to chew on it loudly. Seemed the bookworms were getting more aggressive or they were getting into some serious magical tomes. I heard the door go behind me and shouted over my shoulder,
"That's the third duster this week, those bookworms have to be hungry." assuming it was Remus or Tonks I turned round and got a shock to see green eyes staring at me. I flushed a little, wasn't expecting Mr Potter to be standing there. He looked as calm and unassuming as usual. 'C'mon, smile for once in your life' I muttered inwardly at him. He shuffled awkwardly. Obviously he didn't expect me to be in here.
"Just bringing a message, Remus is downstairs, he wanted to see you" he spoke quietly. I knew I made him more than a little uncomfortable, apparently I was too much like my father not that I knew him but I had the same grey eyes and dark hair and according to the adults around me, the mannerisms as well. Not that I knew much else about him, my adoptive parents were cagey on the subject, would rather put the pain of the past fifteen years behind them. I knew little snippets, that he'd fallen through the veil in the department of mysteries, that they'd found out about my existence only after the remnants of the death eaters had gone on a rampage and murdered my mother and that at five years old I'd survived only because I'd been asleep in the coal hole in the back garden where I'd made my den and they got disturbed before they could find me by the aurors assigned to dispel and capture them. I shrugged at the impromptu mental history lesson and made my way to the kitchen.
"Moony?" I saw him jerk his head up from the table as I uttered the word that sometimes made him grin.
"Hannah, wish you wouldn't call me that" he quietly and calmly chastised me. Had to be one of the bad days for him, though to look at him you wouldn't know it. Memories seemed to be hitting everyone who entered this house hard. Normally we lived in a small house near Cornwall, but of course Tonk's work had driven her back to London for a while, and the house had been free and that was the long story turned short. Remus looked shattered and it wasn't even anytime near a full moon, seeing him like that was worrying, he was beating himself up again over something or other."Sorry" I said as I crossed over to his chair and gave him a hug "You alright?" He stared blankly for a moment or two.
"I'm fine, just thinking," he paused "Get much work done then young lady?" I rolled my eyes.
"Lost another duster trying to look for a few books for homework whilst I was working," He looked at me quizzically in the patented; don't lie to the parent look. "Ok It wasn't exactly homework, I was looking for something to read." He seemed satisfied with the answer and sat at the kitchen table talking to Mr Potter about something or other that left me mentally tuning out.
It was difficult to admit I'd been having bad dreams over and over again, a curtained door and people screaming behind it. I wanted to find out what it was and soon. I had the notion that some of the stranger books in the library might deal with something like it, but what I'd found so far was gruesome to read. The dreams had only really started since we'd moved here to Grimmauld Place and I didn't want to worry Remus or Tonks as my adoptive parents or any of the other occasional visitors to the house with my worries. After all they'd probably think I was headed for St Mungos.
"I'll make some tea then?" I breezily said, grabbing the kettle to fill it. Suddenly I slipped and lost my balance, I felt disjointed from my body as I hit the floor. I could see Remus rushing to me out of the corner of my eye and Mr Potter pausing as he heard me begin to speak. Out of my mouth I heard words come out in a voice that wasn't mine. They said. "The veil has parted. The Son of Black will return." There was darkness after that.
I came to moments later to see a sea of shocked faces and I was convinced I'd banged my head and was seeing double. I tried to sit up but it was too much effort for me. Tonk's had at some point breezed in and stood a little aside pale with worry. I half heard voices. "Didn't know she was a seer… bloody hell." I felt like I wanted to cry useless tears.
"Remus? Tonks?" my voice sounded pitiful, like a child's whine. All I could feel now was a lump rising on the back of my head where I'd knocked myself on the way down. Unknown hands lifted me and sat me on one of the kitchen chairs.
"Hannah. How are you feeling?"
"Han, you scared us" Tonks came towards me for a hug and I felt so much safer. Mum in everything but name, she wrapped her arms around me in a large enveloping gesture and nearly knocked over the glass of juice placed nearby just a few moments earlier. My throat felt dry but I tried to speak.
"What happened?" I said looking around at them.
"You fell Han, you started talking. Don't you remember?" She gently said to me.
"A little, my head's killing me though." I said rubbing the back of my head with my spare hand.
"Hannah." I was a little surprised to hear Mr Potter speak. "Have you had any dreams or anything like that recently?"
"Um. Yes sir." I said and began slowly to explain about the dreams with the curtain and the voices and somewhere in the midst of it I began to cry.
"We'll get you up to bed now, think you need some rest." I heard Remus speak. I was helped upstairs to the room I'd claimed as my own and I curled up on my bed. Everyone left except for Mr Potter,
"Hannah, " he spoke quietly. "If you have any more dreams like that don't keep them to yourself. Merlin knows I did when I was younger. Stuff like that's enough to send a sane person mad."
"Mr Potter" I started.
"Hannah you've known me long enough to call me Harry."
"Um… Harry. Do you think he's coming back?"
"Who knows, seer prophecies are normally accurate and sometimes it's just a matter of time. I was there when he fell, I didn't want to believe he was gone any more than the next person." He said sadly.
"Can I ask, what was Sirius, I mean, my dad like? Remus is always vague about it and I know how much memories hurt him so I don't like to ask much or often." Harry seemed taken aback by my question.
"Just remember I only really knew him for a short time. Twelve years in Azkaban affected him possibly a bit too much, but he was caring, protective, willing to have a laugh. At school, from what he's told me he was a prankster, one of the marauders with my dad and Remus… You look a lot like him, same cheeky grin I think and his grey eyes not to mention the hair. Think Remus is a little relieved that you aren't such a prankster though." He smiled. "Don't worry though. We're going to find him, even if it means breaking into the ministry. Tonks mentioned something about dragging Shacklebolt with her later tonight. I've got to go, Gin will kill me, take care of yourself." He left the room and I heard goodbyes in the hallway and the pops of apparition not long afterwards.
I couldn't sleep or rest much even though I felt weak and still had a blinding headache. For now I just wanted time to think. Oddly enough the story of my adoption kept on playing itself out in my head. I had sketchy memories of that time as it was, having half of it confirmed in recent years by my adoptive family but what stuck out in my memories was of waking up in St Mungos and being told Mummy had gone to heaven wherever that was. I remember picking up my stuffed toy dog which was big and black and called Snuffles and offering it to Harry because he'd seemed upset when I'd found him sitting in the corridor outside my room. When I had told him the name I saw him laugh out loud. And after that I found it made so many of the grownups taking care of me smile as well even though I didn't know why at the time. Later, last year to be exact, Tonks and Remus had sat me down one afternoon and explained the full story, that in the days after the war the remaining Death Eaters had caused chaos in Britain and that I had been rescued from one such attack cuddling my stuffed toy dog with my mother who'd died in the hospital. I had learned it had been a literal battle of another kind for them to adopt me because of his lycanthropy and strings had been pulled to make it happen. They had no other children because the Ministry frowned upon the thought of them producing a werewolf child. I thought that was unbelievably sad, Remus was not a danger; he had his wolfsbane and his self control. It meant I was an only child though.
My thoughts then turned to the current situation. I wondered what it would be like having Sirius. I thought of how happy it would make so many people who had grieved despite there being nothing to grieve over. Those thoughts lulled me into sleep.
I woke only a few hours later desperately trying to think of something other than the events of the past few hours. I tried to focus on the idea that there were only a few weeks left till school started and the thought filled me with odd feelings of apprehension. OWLs and everything this time I thought, even though it felt unimportant for the moment. And it wasn't like I had many friends to go back to. Amid the gossips of Gryffindor tower I knew I'd acquired the label of class weirdo. My thoughts turned to my favourite hiding spot in the library where I sometimes hid after lessons and the fact that I knew some of the professors kept a watchful eye on me.
I pulled myself out of bed and tentatively felt my head. It felt a little sore, no matter. I felt I could move now. I edged off the bed and tried to make as little noise as possible as I crept downstairs. I checked my watch, not long past eleven. Either one of my parents would probably still be down in the kitchen; well that's what I hoped. I didn't like the idea of finding them snogging on the sofa and seeing them act bashfully like teenagers when they were caught out. I'd given up now on the phrase "get a room" because the response always came back. "We're in one. Get lost." I managed to avoid the squeaking stairs and saw the light on in the kitchen. I tiptoed past the portrait of Mrs Black, my head case grandmother all snug and silent behind her velvet curtains. And silenced temporarily with a muffling charm until it wore off. I crept to the kitchen. They were talking, thankfully, but I caught glimpses of their conversation. I heard Tonks first,
"Kingsley's gone there now, he's been hearing the department has been a bit noisy recently from the unmentionables." I knew Remus had interjected there but could hear nothing beside the low murmur of his voice and a garbled "didn't know there was any seer blood in the Black clan" followed by a laugh which sounded forced. I knocked on the door, or was about to when I heard him say quite audibly.
"Hannah, I can smell you out there, come in and stop hovering outside." I pushed the door open sheepishly and sat myself down on a chair and got wordlessly handed a mug of tea.
"I'm sorry." I mumbled, barely looking up from the mug.
"About what Han?" Tonks looked at me quizzically, scrunched up her nose and turned her hair pink from the dark purple of earlier.
"That I scared everyone" I took a sip of tea "I don't know what happened to me earlier, it was frightening. I need to ask, can you take me there please?"
"Where Hannah?" Remus asked.
"To the department of mysteries. I think something, whatever it is will happen tonight." I set down my mug on the table.
"I'll contact Kingsley" Tonks added as she left the room thankfully not knocking anything down. Remus snorted into his mug.
"Knut for your thoughts Daddy Wolf" I grinned trying to finish my tea.
"You haven't called me that in years." Remus brightened.
"Well thought you needed reminding. You're worried aren't you? That if he comes back he'll be some slathering madman or something barely human. You're worried he'll take me away from you two. I just wanted to let you know, you're the dad who's been everything to me. Sirius returning won't change that.
"I'm touched," he said looking a little bit stunned. The moment was burst by Tonk's bursting in to the kitchen. In the background I could hear Mrs Black's protests increase in volume as the muffling charm broke. She half shouted over the noise outside.
" I just heard from Kingsley, the veil in the courtroom started acting strangely about half an hour ago. It spat Sirius out then imploded on itself. He's back. He's barely alive Remus, but he's back. Kingsley reckons he hasn't aged since the day he fell through… He's getting him to St Mungos as we speak..." She carried on but now I zoned out completely.
Sirius Black, My father. Back from the dead?