Okay, this is the first chap of "Betty's boys". I suggest that you read the chap first, and after that, read my AN.
Running, running frantically down the hill. A memory of her childhood came to her, it was so fitting it surprised her.
Running, running frantically over the grounds. Sirius, she had to find him. Had to get him before it was too late. Had to find him, before things got out of hand. Reggie was hot on her heels. Where was he? Where was her brother? If she didn't find him, there would be hell to pay. And it wasn't Sirius who'd get into trouble, not the heir, never the heir. And it wasn't Reggie who would suffer, not the perfect son, never the perfect son. She didn't feel like getting grounded, she loved being free to run around, thank you very much. Where was he? Where was her brother?
Betelgeuse shook her head. Now was not the time to take a walk down memory lane. Besides, the whole situation was different. This time, Sirius would be the one who would be hurt if things…. This time, things would have a happy ending. This time, they would, because if this spun even more out of control… No, this time, things would go right. This time, she would make it in time. This time, the stakes were just too high.
She heard a bark, Reggie couldn't keep up with her. He couldn't back than either…. Okay, then, she turned and took the poodle in her arms. Running again, running, running frantically down the hill. Down the hill, through the village, ignoring the villagers stares.
There it was; the shrieking shack. She felt a twinge in her chest; once upon a time, she and a boy with black hair and a large…. No, don't go there now. Not now. She pushed thoughts of sloppy kisses and cuddling to the back of her mind.
Carefully she put the poodle down. Then she used her elbow and a part of her arm to break the glass of one of the already-shattered windows. Once again carefully, she placed Reggie inside, then practically threw herself through the opening. Reggie squeaked and leaped out of the way. "Sorry Reg, didn't think that you'd still be there," she apologized. "But why are we still standing here? Let's get moving, brother."
The poodle climbed the stairs first, she followed, not caring about the noise they made, realizing that they probably heard the glass breaking anyway. On the first floor, she burst into a room. "Okay, Siri, not to worry we finally arrived!!"
She came to an abrupt halt and took in the scene. Sirius was on the ground, with a fluffy cat on his chest (which he tried to push away, but his attempts were in vain) and Harry holding a wand pointed at him. She laughed. "Did that cat decide that it liked you? Well, there's a first for everything, I guess. But it's ironic like hell! Wow, it's ugly, by the way." A young girl started to protest that last statement ("He's not ugly, he's just different…") but she ignored the kid.
"Shush. Okay, Harry dear, I think we should talk about this like the mature adults we are." It was only then, that she realized two things: a.) Harry was not an adult yet and b.) the kid looked pretty freaked-out that she knew his name. "I'll explain how I know you later, now drop the wand. Or stop pointing it at my brother, at the very least."
She saw something in his face harden. "So, you're his family. You're like him. Well, then you're going down as well." He shifted the point of his wand to her. "How nice of you to do what I asked from you, even through all that anger," she muttered sarcastically. "Now, I know you're a decent boy, Harry. I know since you were born. I watched those muggles treating you like dirt…. And I didn't do anything. Hate me for that later, more important is now, that….."
Sirius interrupted her, he looked angry. "Stop this immediately. Wand away from my sister, you insolent little….." She shook her head at him. "Now, now Siri, that's not the right way to rebound with your godson. But if it annoys you so much that he is pointing his wand at me…. It's easily fixed. Expelliarmus. Harry dear, it was quite stupid of you to let me keep my wand. Never forget to take ones' wand when you get the change to, dear."
That was the moment when Sirius' old friend Remus Lupin decided to join them. He was a teacher at Hogwarts now, and demanded that she'd return Harry's wand, because it was pedagogical irresponsible to threaten kids. Or something like that. He also used this to win back the trust of his students and they finally listened.
They told the whole story and were about to de-transform Pettigrew and kill him when Harry stepped in to save him. Betelgeuse remarked: "I told you that you were a decent boy, Harry, but this is a bit over the top, don't you think? Let's kill that little rat. You wanted to kill Sirius, too. It's only fair." But the kid was set on Pettigrews survival.
And at that exact moment Severus burst into the room, disarming all occupants and sneering. Again those memory's flooding back to her: dark hair and a large, hooked nose were the last things she saw when he leaned into kiss her. For one moment, their eyes met. "You can give my wand back, you know," she said, lifting an eyebrow in a suggestive way. "You know me, don't you?"
"Yes," Severus snarled. "I know that you're more trouble than you're worth." She shook her head. "Such a pessimist. Only remembering the bad sides of a good relationship. It does make you interesting for a certain group of young girls… That and your nose, of course."
Severus looked pretty confused now. "What would young girls like about my nose??!" Betelgeuse made sure to smile suggestively when she answered. "You know what they say about men with a large nose, don't you? They most of the time also have a large…." Severus looked positively peeved now and hissed: "Not in front of my students!"
"Not in front of your students… Not in front of your students…. What are you going to do Professor…. Assign me a detention?" She wiggled her eyebrows. Sirius looked sick, now. Betelgeuse grinned deviously. That was an added bonus.
Severus tied her up for that one. "That's the way you like to see me, don't you?" After that one she was gagged as well. Severus' students looked about as sick as Sirius looked. She could imagine. There were some things you just didn't want to know about your teachers life. "Black, Lupin, revenge is so sweet…." Severus continued. This was about the right moment for Reggie to interfere. As if Reggie read her thought he transformed. Suddenly the poodle's limbs grew and grew, melting into a human, than finally the poodle's head lost a lot of hair and grew bigger. Reggie shook his black manes and said lazily: "Severus, old mate, I don't want to do this, but that's my brother you're talking to. Expeliarmus. Go and play with the rat, Siri."
Severus seemed very angry that Reggie turned on him. Which was understandable. Once upon a time Severus put his own life in jeopardy, just to keep Reggies survival silent. He had done it for Reggie and for her, and this was how he repaid him? Yet, Betelgeuse was proud of her brother. Severus wouldn't have been able to be objective about the whole thing and they all knew it.
Sirius made a movement towards Severus, but Reggie shook his head. "Go and play with the rat, Siri, go and play with the rat." Reggie tied Severus up himself, making sure that the rope wasn't too tight. After that he released Betelgeuse, all the while ignoring the stares the youth send towards him.
Betelgeuse got up and sat down next to Severus, with one finger tracing his neck. "Get away from me, don't touch me!" Severus face was so handsome when he was angry. A little harder, a little less control. As if he finally became himself, his real self. Sirius glanced at her. "Betty! Get away from Snivellus. I don't want you to have anything to do with him." She ignored him and held her mouth close to Severus ear. "You remember how we sat here, well downstairs, but almost here? You remember how you felt about me back then? Have you ever felt that about a girl since then, a girl who liked you back? Don't answer me, I know. You crave for it, don't you?"
Severus shook his head. "You're delusional." But it didn't have the usual bite. Her eyes trailed over his face. It was perfect, because of the imperfection; his nose too big, his lips too thin, his eyes almost holes of darkness, his hair anything but silky and his chin too sharp. It was all in perfect balance, like that: nothing right, nothing even pretending to be right. It made him look…human. Or evil, according to several Gryffindors back in their days. Which was essentially the same, Betelgeuse thought.
"You can do better than that, can't you? Seriously, I think we should meet up some time. I thought about you today…. I always do when I see the Shack. Don't tell me that you don't feel the same." His eyes met hers. He hesitated than nodded. "We should meet after this. You owe me a detention. I'll see you in my office, young lady." He grinned wickedly and she threw her head back laughing. "I'm so happy that your students can't hear this. They would be scarred for life. Poor kids."
Sirius turned around again. "Betty, I told you that you should stay away from Snivellus." She was getting angry now. "And I provided for your living, gave you a roof above your head and kept you safe from Aurors. If one of us should tell the other what he should do, it's me telling you. And if you value your life, you keep your mouth shut. Go back and play with the Rat, Siri."
"Rat's bound and gagged, ready for transport. If you'd watch the show instead of talking to the likes of Snivellus, you'd know that." Sirius actually sounded hurt, and humiliated. Of course, his godson was here. She had been out of bounds; she shouldn't have pointed out his dependency. "I was distracted, Siri. Let's get the hell out of here, than. Why don't you take the little rat along? Then I'll take Severus…."
"What!?!?!? The hell I'm going to let you sleep with him!" It took a while before Betelgeuse figured out what he meant. "It's my business who I do, Sirius. You should know that by now. The time that you could tell me what to do is long past, and back then you were to busy playing the hero to see me. So, please do shut up." Their eyes met. Both pairs were brown, but Betelgeuse's told about pain, while Sirius' eyes showed guilt. "'M Sorry, Betty. You were… I was… The world…. Things were difficult back then. I was needed." "By me, amongst others. It was only logical I was second place, wasn't it? Because I was just that little sister, four years younger. In trouble yes, and partly due to you, but unimportant nevertheless. I don't blame you, Siri, but a long time I did."
Sirius looked at her. "I always wanted to be there for you, you know that? But every day there were people dying and I had to come and protect them. I would think: tomorrow, tomorrow I'll check up on her, but the next day there would be another attack… Every day. And frankly: they were dying, you were not. You were being beaten up by our own parents, because I ran away, but they were dying. So they came first. Until you ran away yourself. 'M sorry about that Betty, I really am."
The girl grinned wickedly. "It's okay, Siri. It's okay. Just like it's okay that I'm starting an affair with your enemy. We're even." Making a deal out of childhood trauma's. Boys will be boys, girls will be girls and Blacks will be Blacks.
AN. There is a prequel to this. Yes, there is. "A White Sheep from a Black Family," covers Betty's feelings about her brothers and is set in the beginning of POA, when Sirius has just escaped. It's supposed to explain some things about the life of the Blacks before the story starts. (But it's not necessary to read it.)
My story covers the things that happen between the Blacks. There will be some slash in here, but don't expect it to be uhm, romantic. I hate romance and so it will not be in here. It's only there to make things a tad more complicated between the Blacks and the rest of the world. So it's there, but it isn't and won't be "fluffy".
Betty has the potential to become a Mary Sue. I realise this and try not to make her one of those 'cool' girls. The thing is, that I myself hate her type, both as a charactre as a real life person. I try to make her as flawed as possible. Please click that nice review bottom and tell me whether I succeeded.