OK, I just had this idea for a new fanfiction. This is basically how the
hell did Sirius turn out to be a good guy with the family he has. Enjoy!
I'm always looking for beta readers, the more the best.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, neither does the Warner Bros, JK is the real genius here. Consider it said for the rest of the story.
On with the story.
**************
Young Sirius Black was walking in Diagon Alley with his mother. He had been there since 8 o'clock that morning, and knew he would still be there late at night. For most people, being Hogwarts stuff didn't take very long, but the Blacks didn't care. They wanted to make sure everybody knew their eldest son was going to Hogwarts. As it turned out, it really worked. Sirius was sure his mother had talked to at least 15 people since the beginning of the day, and that was saying something, seeing as it was only 10 am. His feet hurt, his back hurt, but he knew better than complaining. His father had spent an entire hour the previous night explaining him that he was a man now, and he had implied he was expected to act as one. Sirius was pretty sure that hurting everywhere after walking for two hours was not his father's idea of "acting like a man".
Sirius sighed as his mother stopped to talk with a witch he didn't remember ever meeting. This day was never going to end.
"Oh my God!" the witch said like she had seen a white elephant walking down Diagon Alley, "This is Sirius! He grew up so much since I last saw him! How old is he, now?" she asked, as if Sirius wasn't there.
"He's eleven. He's entering Hogwarts this year."
Sirius already knew what was going to happen. They were going to talk for fifteen minutes, during which he would be supposed to smile stupidly, as if standing in Diagon Alley talking to a woman he didn't know was his idea of a great morning. He wasn't going to let that happen one more time.
"Mother, while you are talking with this charming lady, couldn't I just go to Mrs. Malkin's to go my school robes? It would save you the bother to have to sit and just look at me for half an hour."
"Oh, isn't he such a gentleman!" the unknown woman said, "My son would never propose such a thing. He would just run off in the street to play without asking anything!"
Sirius knew that his mother was going to say no, because his proposal meant they were actually going to save time. Therefore, he blessed the unknown woman. If it meant he was a better gentleman than her son, his mother would without a doubt let him go.
"Of course, Sirius, dear," she said with a forced smile, "You may go right now."
Sirius ran away without need to be told twice. He couldn't believe it. This was as close to freedom as he had ever been. He might actually get to MEET people! He didn't know anybody outside of his family. When he was about 4, he didn't even know there was a world outside his family. And now, he was off, all alone in Diagon Alley.
He found Mrs. Malkin's shop and entered. Nobody was there.
"Hello?" he called.
"Hang up a second, I'll be right with you!" a voice said from the back of the store.
Very soon, a woman of about 35 entered. She had a very usual, yet rather pretty face. Her hair was curly and rather short. Her eyes and her hair were exactly the same color, light brown. She was rather thin, but not scrawny. She smiled at Sirius when she saw him, and her eyes smiled as well.
"Uh," Sirius said, not sure what to say to someone he just met, "Nice to meet you. Are you Mrs. Malkins?"
"No, I'm not, young man. I'm her assistant, Anita Potter, but I'm sure I can help you anyway. What can I do for you?" she asked.
"I'm here to get my Hogwarts robes," he answered, his confidence back.
"Well, in this case, you're in the right place! Will you please follow me in this room, I'll take your measurements."
Mrs. Potter led him in a small room and made him stand on a chair. Sirius felt pretty stupid, and was sure he would have been embarrassed with anybody else, but this woman had the gift to make him feel very at ease.
"So, what's your name, young man?" she asked.
"Sirius Black."
"Really? I heard about your family a little bit."
"Well, most people have. There's a bunch of people who seem to know me, but I don't know any of them."
"What do you mean?" she asked, really interested.
This was entirely new to Sirius. Never before had anybody seemed to care what he thought, and this woman he didn't know talked to him like she never talked to anybody more interesting before.
"My parents are a bit overprotective, and I never get to meet any people. See, this is the first time they let me go in a store on my own."
"Well, your parents are some very lucky people. My oldest son wouldn't ask me before leaving, he always seems to do whatever pleases him. He's a pretty good student, so we forgive him about everything he does, but he still worries me sometimes."
"Is he going to Hogwarts?" Sirius asked.
"Yes, he's going in forth year. He's a Ravenclaw. My second son is going to Hogwarts for the first time this year, you might meet him."
"What are their names?" Sirius asked, eager to hear from people he was going to meet.
"The oldest one is Harry, and the one your age is James. I have a third son, but he won't go to Hogwarts anytime soon. He's just 2. His name is Inigo."
"Inigo? I didn't even know it was a name!"
"Well," she said with a smile, "it wasn't until I invented it. See, the two first times after I gave birth, I was completely out of it, so my husband got to name them. He gave them so common names, it drove me insane. So when Inigo was born, I was perfectly fine, and my husband was away, so I got to name my son whatever I wanted!"
Sirius laughed.
"Well, my first name is not Sirius, it's William. Sirius is my middle name. There are so many Williams in my family, it's driving me insane. My name is actually William Black the fifth, so you can imagine. But hopefully, my middle name is Sirius. It's a family tradition to give kids a star as middle name. The star is supposed to protect us, then. I don't know if it protects me, but I like it as a name, so I just use it."
Sirius didn't mention how he had had to make up a legend that said that the star would protect him better if he use its name as usual name to convince his parents to call him Sirius. He like Mrs. Potter a lot, but she didn't nee to know everything.
"You are one interesting young man, Sirius Black," Mrs. Potter said, laughing. "You probably will meet James this year. As for us, we're done! You don't need to pay, your family has a permanent account in our store."
She led him back to the door.
"Bye Mrs. Potter! Hopefully I'll see you before going to Hogwarts!"
He ran back to his mother. She was just done talking with the unknown woman, and Sirius was relieved. If he had kept her waiting, his father would have been pretty angry at him.
The rest of the day went pretty much as it had started. Sirius didn't find a way to escape his mother one more time. She had made it pretty clear that if he ran off again, he might not eat that night.
That night, in his bed, Sirius checked his countdown again. Only 12 days left until Hogwarts. That night, though, he had one more reason to wait. If James Potter was anything like his mother, Sirius was sure they would get along pretty well.
The last thought he had before going to sleep was to wonder if Anita had talked to her son about Sirius.
I'm always looking for beta readers, the more the best.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, neither does the Warner Bros, JK is the real genius here. Consider it said for the rest of the story.
On with the story.
**************
Young Sirius Black was walking in Diagon Alley with his mother. He had been there since 8 o'clock that morning, and knew he would still be there late at night. For most people, being Hogwarts stuff didn't take very long, but the Blacks didn't care. They wanted to make sure everybody knew their eldest son was going to Hogwarts. As it turned out, it really worked. Sirius was sure his mother had talked to at least 15 people since the beginning of the day, and that was saying something, seeing as it was only 10 am. His feet hurt, his back hurt, but he knew better than complaining. His father had spent an entire hour the previous night explaining him that he was a man now, and he had implied he was expected to act as one. Sirius was pretty sure that hurting everywhere after walking for two hours was not his father's idea of "acting like a man".
Sirius sighed as his mother stopped to talk with a witch he didn't remember ever meeting. This day was never going to end.
"Oh my God!" the witch said like she had seen a white elephant walking down Diagon Alley, "This is Sirius! He grew up so much since I last saw him! How old is he, now?" she asked, as if Sirius wasn't there.
"He's eleven. He's entering Hogwarts this year."
Sirius already knew what was going to happen. They were going to talk for fifteen minutes, during which he would be supposed to smile stupidly, as if standing in Diagon Alley talking to a woman he didn't know was his idea of a great morning. He wasn't going to let that happen one more time.
"Mother, while you are talking with this charming lady, couldn't I just go to Mrs. Malkin's to go my school robes? It would save you the bother to have to sit and just look at me for half an hour."
"Oh, isn't he such a gentleman!" the unknown woman said, "My son would never propose such a thing. He would just run off in the street to play without asking anything!"
Sirius knew that his mother was going to say no, because his proposal meant they were actually going to save time. Therefore, he blessed the unknown woman. If it meant he was a better gentleman than her son, his mother would without a doubt let him go.
"Of course, Sirius, dear," she said with a forced smile, "You may go right now."
Sirius ran away without need to be told twice. He couldn't believe it. This was as close to freedom as he had ever been. He might actually get to MEET people! He didn't know anybody outside of his family. When he was about 4, he didn't even know there was a world outside his family. And now, he was off, all alone in Diagon Alley.
He found Mrs. Malkin's shop and entered. Nobody was there.
"Hello?" he called.
"Hang up a second, I'll be right with you!" a voice said from the back of the store.
Very soon, a woman of about 35 entered. She had a very usual, yet rather pretty face. Her hair was curly and rather short. Her eyes and her hair were exactly the same color, light brown. She was rather thin, but not scrawny. She smiled at Sirius when she saw him, and her eyes smiled as well.
"Uh," Sirius said, not sure what to say to someone he just met, "Nice to meet you. Are you Mrs. Malkins?"
"No, I'm not, young man. I'm her assistant, Anita Potter, but I'm sure I can help you anyway. What can I do for you?" she asked.
"I'm here to get my Hogwarts robes," he answered, his confidence back.
"Well, in this case, you're in the right place! Will you please follow me in this room, I'll take your measurements."
Mrs. Potter led him in a small room and made him stand on a chair. Sirius felt pretty stupid, and was sure he would have been embarrassed with anybody else, but this woman had the gift to make him feel very at ease.
"So, what's your name, young man?" she asked.
"Sirius Black."
"Really? I heard about your family a little bit."
"Well, most people have. There's a bunch of people who seem to know me, but I don't know any of them."
"What do you mean?" she asked, really interested.
This was entirely new to Sirius. Never before had anybody seemed to care what he thought, and this woman he didn't know talked to him like she never talked to anybody more interesting before.
"My parents are a bit overprotective, and I never get to meet any people. See, this is the first time they let me go in a store on my own."
"Well, your parents are some very lucky people. My oldest son wouldn't ask me before leaving, he always seems to do whatever pleases him. He's a pretty good student, so we forgive him about everything he does, but he still worries me sometimes."
"Is he going to Hogwarts?" Sirius asked.
"Yes, he's going in forth year. He's a Ravenclaw. My second son is going to Hogwarts for the first time this year, you might meet him."
"What are their names?" Sirius asked, eager to hear from people he was going to meet.
"The oldest one is Harry, and the one your age is James. I have a third son, but he won't go to Hogwarts anytime soon. He's just 2. His name is Inigo."
"Inigo? I didn't even know it was a name!"
"Well," she said with a smile, "it wasn't until I invented it. See, the two first times after I gave birth, I was completely out of it, so my husband got to name them. He gave them so common names, it drove me insane. So when Inigo was born, I was perfectly fine, and my husband was away, so I got to name my son whatever I wanted!"
Sirius laughed.
"Well, my first name is not Sirius, it's William. Sirius is my middle name. There are so many Williams in my family, it's driving me insane. My name is actually William Black the fifth, so you can imagine. But hopefully, my middle name is Sirius. It's a family tradition to give kids a star as middle name. The star is supposed to protect us, then. I don't know if it protects me, but I like it as a name, so I just use it."
Sirius didn't mention how he had had to make up a legend that said that the star would protect him better if he use its name as usual name to convince his parents to call him Sirius. He like Mrs. Potter a lot, but she didn't nee to know everything.
"You are one interesting young man, Sirius Black," Mrs. Potter said, laughing. "You probably will meet James this year. As for us, we're done! You don't need to pay, your family has a permanent account in our store."
She led him back to the door.
"Bye Mrs. Potter! Hopefully I'll see you before going to Hogwarts!"
He ran back to his mother. She was just done talking with the unknown woman, and Sirius was relieved. If he had kept her waiting, his father would have been pretty angry at him.
The rest of the day went pretty much as it had started. Sirius didn't find a way to escape his mother one more time. She had made it pretty clear that if he ran off again, he might not eat that night.
That night, in his bed, Sirius checked his countdown again. Only 12 days left until Hogwarts. That night, though, he had one more reason to wait. If James Potter was anything like his mother, Sirius was sure they would get along pretty well.
The last thought he had before going to sleep was to wonder if Anita had talked to her son about Sirius.