The Trouble Trilogy - Part 1: Trouble
Summary: I don't know why they left me out of the book. I played quite an important role in Harry's life. In fact, I was related to him in a way. Shall I tell you a secret then? Right, I am one of the descendants of Sirius Black and Lily Evans. That's right. I'm one of the legendary Black Sisters.
14th September, 1979
Lily Evans was dressed in a simple white satin gown that swept the floor and clung to her every curve, with a bouquet of roses and freesia in her hands. Her face was covered by a white veil, and she was taking deep breaths, trying, and failing, to calm down.
Next to her was James' wife, Grace Kelley, a very generous woman with caramel-colored hair, was dressed similarly, only not as beautiful. Lily had, surprisingly, become good friends with James in their seventh year, which was the last thing anyone could imagine. Grace and James were made for each other, and Lily was truly happy for both of them.
On the other side of Lily was a kind-looking Muggle man, Mr. Evans, dressed in a suit. He looked happy, nervous and tearful all at the same time, and kept dabbing at the corners of his eyes every so often with his white handkerchief.
Strands of music floated through the open door of the church, and Lily felt there were butterflies fluttering about her stomach. Realizing it was her cue to started walking, she threaded her arm through her father's and stepped into the church.
Lily was never a person who craved attention, and having so much people staring at her, whispering, was definitely not a pleasant experience for her. However, she would do anything for her only true love, standing at the end of the red carpet, looking at her with those beautiful dark eyes of his, his soft black hair falling attractively over them, waiting for her.
In no time at all, the priest announced, "Do you, Lily Katherine Evans, take Sirius Orion Black to be your lawful wedded husband?" "I do." Lily blushed under the veil, and was grateful that no one could see her.
The priest repeated the question, replacing several words as he asked Sirius. "I do." Such simple words, but they held a great deal of meaning for Lily. Hearing her beloved say he wanted to marry her… Nothing could ever feel quite the same.
"You may kiss the bride." Sirius lifted the veil gently with slightly trembling hands. He scanned his wife's face with flawless skin, perfect features and those wonderful, piercing emerald green eyes.
"I love you," he whispered softly as he wrapped his arms around her small frame, and their lips met in a passionate kiss.
~TTT~
17th February, 1981
James Potter and Remus Lupin were sitting in armchairs in a long, dim stone room. A weak fire flickered, causing dark shadows. The two men seemed unaffected by their creepy surroundings, however, as they discussed something in low voices, leaning over some sheets of parchment. Phrases like "Dumbledore said", "the Order" and "You-Know-Who" drifted over to the window, which was thankfully shut. They were, for the moment, alone.
The front door opened and shut violently with a bang, causing the door to shake for several minutes afterwards. An absolutely enthusiastic Sirius Black came in, practically bubbling over with happiness. "Prongs, Moony," he greeted them warmly, plopping down in a chair. "You guys won't believe what happened!" He looked at them expectantly, waiting for them to ask him.
Prongs yawned loudly, stretching. "Well, I'll welcome a break from the serious stuff." Sirius pretended to look hurt. "What! You don't want to know what the Sirius stuff is!"
Moony groaned. "Mate, you've made that joke for like, a million times since Year One. Don't you get tired of it?" "Nope," Padfoot said cheerfully. Moony sighed. "Never mind. Go on, tell us."
"Lily's pregnant again! And this time they're triplets!" He blurted out, unable to keep the news to himself any longer. "Gosh, Padfoot. Harry and Hermione are nearly one and soon three newborns! You and Lily are in a pretty pickle." Prongs chuckled.
"Pretty pickle? What pretty pickle? I don't even like pickles," Padfoot said, wrinkling his nose at the mere thought of the detested vegetable.
"Never mind," Moony sighed yet again. He found himself doing that a lot lately. Suddenly Prongs piped up.
"What do you guys say to some firewhiskey?" Without listening to their reply, he summoned several bottles and three glasses.
"Well, here's to Padfoot, his wife and the soon-to-be-born babies!" Prongs roared, who had already finished pouring the firewhiskey, his glass held high. They made a toast to everything they could think of, laughing often. The mini party was not unlike the ones several years ago, when Gryffindor won the Quidditch Cup.
The paperwork was swept to the dusty floor, forgotten.
~TTT~
31st October, 1981
A piercing scream broke the silence of the morning. It was 4:00 in the morning, and the sun was just peeking over the hilltops in the distance, opposite from the two-storied brick cottage where, currently, a family of four lived. However, that is to change.
"Sirius Orion Black! You get over here right this minute!" Lily shrieked at her husband from the bathroom. Thankfully, Harry and Hermione's rooms were at the other end of the house, and they continued sleeping.
"Lils? What's going on?" Sirius mumbled, rubbing his eyes sleepily. "I'll tell you what's going on! My water broke! Get the children to James' and go to St. Mungo's! It bloody hurts!"
Sirius snapped awake at those words and rushed around the house, rousing the kids and calling James over to babysit. He explained everything as quickly as he could, and with a shout of thanks, hurried back to Lily. He then Side-Apparated Lily to St. Mungo's, Pregnancy Ward.
It was agony, listening to his wife scream as if she was being tortured using the Cruciatus Curse, and just sit in the damn waiting room, doing nothing. He scowled darkly and his fists clenched as he thought of the bossy mediwitch with an upturned nose who told him snobbishly when he tried to follow his wife that men were not allowed in the room, so would he please wait outside, thank you very much, and then closed the door in his face.
Hours passed and still Lily was screaming. Finally, at 12:18 pm, a mediwitch – not the bossy one, thank goodness – poked her head out and said, "Mr. Black? Your wife has finished giving birth. Come with me."
Lily was on a standard hospital bed, her face pale in contrast to her dark red hair, but she brightened when she saw him approach. "Sirius, you won't believe how beautiful they are," she whispered hoarsely. "Look!"
"This is the youngest," Lily said, gesturing to the baby she was cradling. "Bianca, remember?" Sirius looked at her. Lils was right. She was beautiful, with little tufts of dark red hair and emerald green eyes, just like Lily. As they watched, her hair darkened into raven black, then lightened to chocolate brown. "Whoa," Sirius was taken aback. "She's a Metamorphmagus, like Tonks."
"So are her sisters." Lily proclaimed, with a grand sweep of her arm towards the other two. "Zoe and Jazmine, right?" Sirius was glad he remembered, or Lily would've given him a you-can't-even-remember-your-daughters'-names look.
A mediwitch placed the other two babies in Sirius' arms, and they were enclosed in their private bubble of happiness.
Little did they know that a great tragedy was soon to befall them.
~TTT~
31st October, 1981
James was standing at the kitchen counter, humming as he spooned milk powder from the can into the milk bottle. Ever since Lily had heard that Muggle milk formula was healthier that the magical one, she had insisted Harry and Hermione get what is 'best for them'. James had thought that was silly, but Lily was stubborn as always. Frowning as some of the powder spilled, he used a simple cleaning spell. He wasn't very good at this baby stuff, since Grace wasn't able to give birth. All his experience came from his frequent visits to the Blacks, and even then he was more of a watcher than a doer, since Lily had decided the babies should spend more time with their parents in order to 'bond'. Smiling, he took the milk bottles, tested them with his hand, and headed up the stairs.
Harry and Hermione were already awake, cooing and gurgling at each other as if having a conversation. "My, my, up already?" he called softly, checking to see if the twins needed to change their diapers. "Aren't you glad to see your godfather?" he said, tickling Hermione. She giggled, showing her only two teeth. Laughing along with them, he didn't notice a dark figure, cloaked in black, striding towards the cottage. The only thing that alerted him to an intruder was the ringing of the Black's wards, and luckily, James hoped, alerted Sirius to a break-in.
Within moments, the door to the nursery was flung open. The door flew off its hinges from the impact. There, stood the dreaded figure. Voldemort.
James groped for his wand in his back pocket. It was empty apart from a chocolate frog card. Too late, he thought of his wand, safe on the kitchen counter where he left it. He cursed himself silently as he stood defenseless against one of the most powerful wizards apart from Albus Dumbledore himself.
"You," he whispered. "Yes, me," Voldemort smiled coldly. "You know what I want. You know what I came for. Will you give it to me willingly and live, or need I take it forcefully and kill you? It's your choice. But I will succeed either way," he said, twirling his wand between his fingers.
James' blood boiled at the very thought of that thing who wasn't even human taking his best friends' children. "Better to die than to live – as a traitor," he spat viciously, glaring at him.
"My, my," Voldemort said, raising his eyebrows. "So brave, James – certainly worthy of the house of the lions. McGonagall would have been proud." James' eyes flashed with anger, but he did not utter a word. "Perhaps you would also fit in Hufflepuff. Such loyalty towards your friends… It would be useful to have a Death Eater like you. You are a pureblood, brave, loyal and not afraid to speak your mind… Would you like to join my ranks, James Potter?"
"I'll join you when hell freezes over!" James shouted. Voldemort's blood-red eyes glittered menacingly. "You have sealed your fate." He raised his wand.
James stood in front of the crib, his arms stretched out protectively, as if this would help ensure the babies' safety. Voldemort's lip curled with amusement. Yet James stood, as if he had no fear in the world, and he braced himself for the curse he was sure would come.
With a flash of brilliant green light, he dropped dead, like many others before him.
Two pairs of innocent eyes looked at Voldemort with interest – emerald green and chocolate brown. The girl did not matter – he would dispose of her after he killed the boy – and he raised the wand slowly until it was pointed at Harry's face.
"Avada Kedavra!" Such simple words, but they were what tore him apart, left him a ghost of what he used to be…
Sirius and Lily arrived at their cottage just in time to witness the explosion – flames erupted and licked the walls. Frozen with shock, they watched as the fire spread from room to room, burning up everything in its path. Then they broke down and wept, grieving for their deceased friend.
The flames continued to burn, lighting up the night sky.
~TTT~
8th June, 1986
It was a warm, sunny day, perfect for a family outing. Sirius was off Auror duty, and since Lily had a holiday from St. Mungo's, the Black family decided to have a picnic at Dewey Gardens, four blocks away from their house.
They sat under an oak tree with spreading branches, shading them from the mid-morning sun. They were sitting on a cloth patterned with teddy bears (actually Hermione's old bedspread), laughing at a joke Sirius had just told. Still giggling weakly, Bianca sat down on the bedspread with "The Tales of Beedle the Bard". Zoe, the sporty triplet, was doing cartwheels around the flower beds, and Jazmine was listening to pop music, nodding her head to the beat as she walked after her sister. Harry and Hermione went off for a quest for an ice-cream van, and Sirius and Lily was talking about the 'old days'.
A pair of teenagers watched them from a distance, sneering at the typical 'happy family'. "Were we ever like that?" Antoinette laughed, gesturing at the triplets. "Never," Louise replied. "We were never that neat, little, polite, girly or nerdy…" She spat in the dirt. "Shall we have some fun?" Antoinette smirked wickedly. "Gladly. Lead the way."
"Hello, little girl," Antoinette said sarcastically as she towered over Bianca. "How very hardworking you are," she continued as Louise stifled her giggles. "I believe we've once had a classmate like that, haven't we?" Antoinette asked her companion. Louise nodded. "You wouldn't like to know what we did to him…"
Bianca had sat motionless while they were talking, but she was not able to stop her fury from showing. Meanwhile, Zoe and Jazmine were walking – or in Zoe's case, cart wheeling – past their sister. They were just in time to see Bianca's hair turn dark red, so she looked just like a miniature version of Lily. They got the gust of what was happening, and they stood on either side of their youngest sister.
"No one ever messes with the Black triplets and gets away with it," all three of them said menacingly, taking a step towards the teenagers. Despite themselves, Antoinette and Louise felt a spasm of fear. "Really?" Antoinette challenged. "I think we just did!"
That sentence did it. Summoning powers they didn't know they had, Zoe waved her hand, and suddenly the teenagers disappeared, replaced instantly by two slugs. Bianca was next. She made a slashing motion, and a flash of gold light hit the two slugs, and they were bleeding black ooze. Jazmine was last, and she flicked her finger at the ash tree to the right of the slugs. The tree fell over at once, and squashed the two slugs.
Silence. The triplets were staring unbelievably at the tree, astonished by what they had done. Harry and Hermione were back from their search, and melted ice-cream was dripping down their arms onto the ground. Lily was the first to speak.
"Oh my god! Are you alright, girls?" She hurried over to the triplets, enclosing them in her embrace. "Have those people hurt you?" As she checked them for injuries, Sirius walked up, laughing, and gave each of the triplets a pat on the head, saying, "Good job! Congratulations!"
Lily looked at Sirius, surprised, but finally broke down, laughing herself.
One thing was certain: The Black family would never forget this particular Sunday.
~TTT~
24th December, 1990
It was Christmas Eve, and snow was falling thick and fast in the Black's backyard. Hermione shivered uncontrollably as she looked out of the glass sliding doors. She then turned her attention back to the warm and toasty drawing room.
A bright and cheery fire roared in the old brick fireplace. Its flames danced about, flickering when the front door opened and slammed. Sirius stepped inside, his heavy fur-lined cloak soaked by the melting snow.
"Hello, girls, Harry," he said as he took off his boots and left them over by the door. "You know, Sirius," a voice said dryly, "I might not be Lily, but I do think she wouldn't appreciate you leaving shoes by the door."
"Princess Minnie!" Sirius cried as he rushed to the woman and embraced her tightly. "Everyone, may I introduce Minerva McGonagall, current Transfiguration professor and deputy headmistress of Hogwarts, and godmother of the Black children?" Harry burst into loud guffaws; Hermione was smiling; Jazmine was trying to hold back her laughter; Zoe was grinning broadly; and Bianca was giggling. Huffing, Minerva pulled her hand out of Sirius' and stalked over to an armchair.
"You know, Sirius," she sighed, "If you can't behave yourself, I'm not going to teach your children how to become an Animagus anymore." "Which reminds me," Harry interrupted, "We're pretty close to finishing the transformation. The only part of our bodies we can't change are our heads!" "So close, but yet so far," Bianca muttered under her breath with a frustrated sigh.
"Becoming an Animagus is not easy, young man," Minerva snapped. "If it was, everyone would be one by now! And," Minerva continued, looking at the clock on the wall, "one more attempt at the transformation, and then it's dinnertime. Lily wouldn't want you to be too exhausted or I'll get the blame."
"Now, remember – concentrate on your Animagus form! Imagine you actually being that animal," Minerva instructed as she walked around the room. Sirius had taken into his head that he, too, needed to do so. With the slightest of pops, a big, black dog appeared, running around the room as he licked everyone's ankles, barking. Unfortunately, Sirius wasn't looking where he was going, and with a crash, Lily's pride and joy of the living room – an ancient china vase – fell on the floor and broke into uncountable pieces.
"Sirius Orion Black! What in Merlin's name have you do – " Lily stopped in mid-sentence as she stepped inside the drawing room. There were currently five – no, six animals in the room: a black dog (Sirius), a black wolf (Harry), an orange tiger (Hermione), a black panther (Jazmine), a black cat (Zoe) and last of all, a black owl perched on the window sill(Bianca).
Lily was the first to break the silence. "Oh my god!"
~TTT~
1st August, 1992
"I hate rainy days!" Jazmine grumbled, glaring at the sky as though she could stop the rain that way. "Rainy days aren't all that bad," Zoe said, munching on her buttered toast. "Scotland has less rainy days than England, and that's good enough for me," Bianca declared as she poured herself some more orange juice, having already drained her first cup.
"Still!" Jazmine was just as stubborn as Lily. Then again, all of the triplets are, and they left Jazz as she was: glowering at the view. Then, as if she had personally summoned them, five owls appeared, battling against the fierce wind, heading for the Black Manor.
"Dad! Mum! Look, owls, five of them!"Jazmine cried excitedly, forgetting her previous bad temper. Everyone hurried to the nearest windows, straining their eyes for a glimpse of the owls. "There!" Bianca's sharp eyesight spotted them before anyone else. She raced to the kitchen window and flung it open. Five obviously exhausted owls flew inside, one by one, and they laid in a heap by the sink.
"These are from Hogwarts," Harry said, having already identified the owls. "They have the Hogwarts crest on them."
"Finally!" Jazmine pounced on the letter like a cat would on a mouse.
Finally, the prologue, the work of mostly Bianca tabbycat herself, is completed! Of course, Zoe tabbycat and AddictedtoReadingJC helped me made some minor corrections as neither of us are native English speakers. Tell us what you think so far in a lovely little review... All we ask is: NO FLAMERS, PLEASE! Arrangements are on our profile and we'll try to update as often as school allows us!
Thanks,
Bianca tabbycat/ Zoe tabbycat/ AddictedtoReadingJC