Title: Clumsy Little Heart
Rating: M
Theme: Sirius Black x OC
Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter world, which is trademarked by J.K. Rowling. All the characters mentioned in her series - Like Sirius Black, Lily Evans, James Potter, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew etc. - are created and owned by J.K. Rowling, and I do not clain any ownership over them or the worl of Harry Potter. The story I tell here about the Marauders is my own invention, and it is not purported or believed to be part of J.K. Rowling's story canon. This stroy is for entertainment only and is not part of the official story line. I do not profit financially from the creation and publication of this story.
I lay on my bed staring at the ceiling. I wasn't able to get any sleep the night before, something Nathan had given me very strict instructions to get. I turned over to my side to look at the silhouette on the bed separated from mine by a table.
"Callum? Are you awake?" I whispered. I waited for a response but didn't get any. Slightly
disappointed I jumped of my own bed, not able to take it anymore. It was four am according to the clock on the wall which meant there were only two hours until Nathan went full on psycho and woke everybody up.
I carefully made my way down the stairs to the kitchen. If I managed to trip over and wake everyone up, they would kill me. People took sleep very seriously in this house. I made my way to the fridge and took out some orange juice. I seated myself on a chair and drank it through a straw. Don't laugh, I love it that way.
"Not able to sleep?" a voice said, startling me. My Uncle took the seat beside me, smiling. He was a young man. In his early thirties but he looked much older. Being an Auror did that to you..
"Hey Sam, I didn't know you were back!" I said, grinning at him. "No, not a wink. I'm just too nervous. Did I wake you up?"
"No, not at all. I came back home just an hour back. If I go to sleep it'll be hibernation. And now that Nathan's come of age I don't think he'd hesitate to hex me to wake me up." he said. I nodded, knowing fully well how literal he was being. "I remember a lot of September 1sts, you know?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I was four when your father got his first Hogwarts letter. We were delighted. Your grandmother even went to the extent of throwing a small party. Even though we expected the letter and everything. It was just very exciting," he said, smiling at the memory.
"Your father couldn't get a wink of sleep on any of his September 1sts, you know?" he laughed. "The night before his first day at Hogwarts, he was up all night tossing and turning. Nathan takes after him, you know? They're both poster boys for perfection." We both laughed. "Your father told me something then, he told me that he wanted to be something of value to the world. He was only eleven years old. What kind of eleven years old say things like that?!" he asked, shaking his head.
"Nathan-type of eleven year olds," I answered, snorting.
"Truer words were never spoken," he laughed. "He did though."
"He did what?"
"Be something of value to the world, Ryelle. He was a great man, the best auror the Ministry has seen. After your mother, some would argue."
I nodded, quietly.
"I know you and Callum don't like to talk about it, neither does Lucas but-"
"It's not that, Sam. We were a little over one year old. Lucas was just a couple of months old. It doesn't make up very sad. honestly. You're as good as our father...and mother," I added, with a grin.
"I hope that's a compliment," he laughed. "I know I haven't been there for you much but-"
"Okay, Sam. Are you ambushing me with emotions?" I asked, frowning. The whole Voltaire family were never big on emotions. In fact, it was hard for us to even recognise them. "Sam, you're an Auror, come on. No one expected you to take care of four children when you were what- twenty two? But you did."
"Nathan did most of the work, though. That boy is..."
"Something else." I completed the sentence, grinning. "Think he'll let me onto the Quidditch team because I'm his younger sister? I don't want to wait a year."
"I think that Nathan will make sure you don't come anywhere near the try outs just because your his younger sister, Rye," Sam said, gravely.
"Oh good, both of you are up!" said Nathan who had just appeared behind Sam. "Ryelle, are you drinking orange juice without brushing your teeth? That's disgusting! Go now!"
"Psycho," I mumbled under my breath. Running up that stairs, I banged loudly on Lucas' door. "Wake up, shrimp. We're all leaving you this year!"
Callum was my twin. Both of us were eleven years old while Lucas was one year younger. Nathan was six years older than us, at seventeen. It was his last year at Hogwarts this time. Lucas would be staying at home alone this year, much to his disappointment.
I banged on the bedroom door that Callum and I shared, but he was wide awake when I walked in.
"So, this is it, Rye," he said, his eyes wide.
"This is it," I responded, smiling back at the face that was so similar to mine. We looked remarkably alike for fraternal twins. In fact, all the four of us looked very similar. We all had the same light brown skin, jet black hair and deep grey eyes. We were similar in other ways too. We all had the same temper, same skills at Quidditch and same discoordination when we weren't on broomsticks.
"You're going to be in Syltherin," he told me, sneering.
"With that face, you're going to be in Slytherin," I shot back, scowling at him.
"Speak for yourself, Slytherin girl," he countered, childishly.
"Speak for yourself, Slytherin girl," I mimicked in a shrill voice. He in turn mimicked me in a shriller voice. Soon we were screaming at each other in pitches that had to be out of an average human's hearing range.
"YOU TWO!" Nathan screamed at the door, causing both of us to freeze. "I AM GOING TO KILL BOTH OF YOU IF YOU AREN'T STANDING DOWNSTAIRS WITH YOUR TRUNKS IN THE NEXT TEN MINUTES. THAT GOES FOR YOU TOO, LUCAS! HAVE I MADE MYSELF CLEAR?!"
"Crystal," Callum and I chorused, gulping.
"We're late, thanks to you two. One would think you would be better organised on your first day of school," Nathan scolded checking through his check-list before we made our way through the barrier to Platform 9 ¾." Lucas giggled as Sam made faces behind Nathan.
"Stop being so immature, Sam," Nathan scowled. "Well, we're ready," he announced. He nodded at us and ran through the barrier without casting a backward glance. Lucas followed him with Sam leaving Callum and I behind.
"I hope we both end up in the same house, even if it's Slytherin," he said, gravely. What was with my family and pouring out their emotions today?
"I hope so too. But we'll try not to get into Slytherin, hmm?" I said, smiling.
"Like Slytherin would take slime like you."
We both spun around to come face to face with a boy who was several inches shorter than Callum and I. His hair was oily and he had a significantly long nose.
"And who are you?" I asked, smirking.
"Severus Snape. You two must be Voltaires, you all look the same. Slytherin wouldn't take slime balls like you."
"Slime balls, do you hear that, Ryelle dear?" Callum asked, mirroring my smirk. "This boy has quite the bag of insults."
"Listen up, Severe-Rust or whatever you said your name was," I said, using my height to tower over him. "If you've heard of the Voltaires then you must know a little more than just our names, correct?"
"And if you hold Slytherin in such high regard, we know what type of relationship a Voltaire would have with your kind," Callum conti"Stay out of our way, Rusty. And we stay out of yours," I said,
mentally giving Callum a high five for the bully routine we carried
out perfectly. Nobody improvised as well as us, fact.
"Let's go before Nathan develops a tumour," Callum said, pulling at my sleeve. I noticed the same thing he did, an adult lady who could only be Snape's mother.
"See you around, Sevvy Dear," I said with a wink before following Callum across the barrier.
"Well, that was interesting," he commented as we searched for our brothers in the crowd.
"Very. I think we scared him," I laughed.
"I know we scared him, little Slytherin wimp," he snorted as we made our way through the crowd. We saw Nathan towering over everyone else at his six foot five a few metres away.
"I hope we don't see much of him, I'll tell you that," I said, frowning. "On a more serious note, it's obvious we'll both end up in Gryffindor. Everyone in our family did."
"I hope so, Rye. I'm nervous anyway," he mumbled.
"There's a chance you could go to Ravenclaw," I said, shrugging my shoulders. "Ravenclaw is pretty impressive."
"I wouldn't mind Ravenclaw," he said, as we reached Nathan and a few other Seventh Years.
"You wouldn't mind Ravenclaw? Ravenclaw is the greatest honour," a tall boy who was standing beside Nathan said. "Aye, Nate, are these two yours?" he asked ruffling my hair much to my embarrassment.
"Yup," he said, offhandedly. "That's Lucas and that's Ryelle, they're twins. First year here."
"Voltaires? Then you're Gryffindors, we don't need a Sorting Hat to tell us that," a red haired girl said, smiling at us. "I'm Celia. Your brother's um, friend."
"So you're Celia," I exclaimed. "We've heard a lot about you."
"Good things, I hope," she said, smiling at Nathan who was turning redder by the second in the background.
"VERY good things," Callum said, enjoying himself as Nathan turned a deeper shade of red. Celia herself began to blush.
"There you guys are," Sam said, walking up to us. "I put Rye's and Cal's trunks in, Nate can take care of himself," he said, winking at Nathan. "You guys better get in, the trains leaving in five."
"Yeah, I have Head Boy duties," Nathan said straightening the shiny badge on his shirt. "I'll write to you, Sam. Bye Lucas, you be good," he said, before running off.
Lucas burst into tears running forward to hug me and Callum. Really, my family was an emotional mess pried him off us before ushering us onto the train as the first whistle blew.
"Don't cause too much trouble, you two. Don't do anything I wouldn't do," he said.
"There's nothing you wouldn't do," Callum called back as the train began to move.
Sam walked along with it for a while, laughing. "Exactly my point," he said with a wink, before standing back and waving.
"Come on, let's find a seat," Callum said, pulling me along. Most of the compartments were full, we reached the end of the train only to be pushed out of the way by a girl our age. She had flaming red hair and looked very angry as she pulled none other than Snape behind her.
"Was that the Severus boy?" Callum asked, surprised.
"Apparently. Come on, this one's free," I said, pushing the door open. Two boys who were laughing inside, turned to see who we were.
"Is this compartment free?" I asked them. The one with the glasses nodded. Callum and I made our way to the other side, occupying the window seats.
"You two are First Years too, right?" the other boy asked. He had jet black hair and black eyes. He looked vaguely familiar...
"Yeah, we are," Callum replied. "I'm Callum Voltaire and she's my twin-"
"Ryelle Voltaire," I introduced myself.
"I'm James Potter," the boy with the glasses said.
"Potters? You must know-"
"Sameth Voltaire? Yeah, he's a good friend of Dad's. I've heard of Nathan Voltaire too, hell of a Quidditch player, isn't he?"
"Yeah, he is," I said, puffing out my chest in pride. "He's Head Boy this year too."
"That must mean they appointed a new Quidditch Captain, I'm assuming," the other boy said.
"Yeah, his girlfriend actually. Celia Clearwater."
"I've heard of her. Parents work at the Ministry. She's a Chaser, right?"
"Yes," Callum replied. "She really good two. They both hope to go professional after this year."
"I hope to go professional one day too," James said, running his hand through his jet black hair, messing it up even more.
"What do you play?" I asked.
"I'm Chaser, you guys play too?" he asked, the question directed to all three of us.
"I play Keeper," the other boy said. "You two?"
"Callum and I are Chasers too. What do you know, we might play against each other one day," I said, grinning.
"We might play together too. If you're Voltaires then you'd end up in Gryffindor with me," he said, grinning. "Sirius here," he said, referring to the other boy, "His whole family is from Slytherin."
Sirius shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not like them," he said simply. "I'm Sirius Black, by the way," he said, offering his hand out for me to shake.
I ignored it, my eyes wide in horror. "Are you related to Orion Black?" I asked, gritting my teeth.
"Yeah," he responded, confused. "He's my no good Father, why?"
I didn't know how to respond, Callum kicked me causing me to break my stare on Sirius Black and look at him. He shook his head lightly, forbidding me from doing what I was itching to do.
"No reason," I responded, burying my hands in my pockets and turning away.
"Um, okay," he said in bewilderment.
"Abbot, Avery," Mrs. McGonagall's calm voice called out. We were all huddled on the stage, shivering from the cold boat ride.
"HUFFLEPUFF!" the Hat screamed, startling all of us, even the ones who knew what to expect like me and Callum.
The Sorting continued, one more student joined Abbot at the Hufflepuff table and two went to Slytherin.
"Black, Sirius," McGonagall called. The boy strode up to the hat. I turned to Callum to give him a look.
"GRYFFINDOR!" the Hat yelled, much to both of our surprise.
"See?" he whispered. "He's different from the rest of his family. Don't judge him because of what his father did, alright? Keep it between us."
I stared at him, not responding.
"Black, Regulus!" McGonagall called, causing both of us to be surprised again. The boy who walked up was obviously not Sirius' twin but still a Black. Maybe a cousin?
The Hat was dropped over his head and almost instantly the Hat screamed "SLYTHERIN!"
"Promise me, Rye," Callum whispered as Regulus Black ran over to the Slytherin table to be greeted by a tall blonde boy, a prefect.
"Promise you what?" I asked.
"That you won't bring it up, ever. Not even if the Blacks live up to their name. Don't let the ghost follow us, Rye," he said, holding my arm.
I looked him in the eye and nodded. "I promise, Callum," I said.
"RAVENCLAW!" the Hat screamed and another girl scurried over to the Ravenclaw table.
"Evans, Lily!" McGonagall called out. The girl with the flaming red hair who was with Snape earlier walked out. McGonagall dropped the Hat over her head.
"GRYFFINDOR!" the Hat called. I smirked and turned to Snape, wondering how happy he must be that his new friend wasn't 'worthy ofSlytherin'. I was taken aback to see he looked as if he were close to tears.
The sorting continued. Frank Longbottom, Alice Scott, Mary MacDonald, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew joined the Gryffindor table.
Finally McGonagall called out, "Potter, James!"
James strode up like he owned the place and dropped the hat over his own head. Quicker than it had for anyone else, the Hat called out "GRYFFINDOR!" James stood up and handed the Hat back to McGonagall before joining the Gryffindor table. He took the seat beside Sirius.
Shortly after, McGonagall called out, "Snape, Severus!"
He walked up very slowly, hunching and hiding his face. The Hat was dropped over him and almost as fast as it had for James Potter, Sirius Black and Lily Evans the Hat screamed "SLYTHERIN!"
He pulled the Hat off and handed it over to McGonagall, hurrying over to the Slytherin table to be greeted by the blonde Slytherin prefect.
The Sorting continued, until it was only me and Callum left behind. I cursed our last name for starting with 'V' and cursed Callum for having a name that came before mine alphabetically.
"Voltaire, Callum!"
Callum gave me a weak smile before making his way up to the stool. McGonagall dropped the Hat over his head. It almost reached his neck. The Great Hall was silent for a while, the Hat seemed to be weighing it's options. After what felt like eons, the Hat called out "GRYFFINDOR!"
I found myself cheering with the Gryffindor table, much to the amusement of other students. I quietened down as soon as McGonagall cast me a sharp look.
"Voltaire, Ryelle!" she called. I walked up to the stool and took a deep breath in before the entire Hall disappeared from before me.
"Well, well, another Voltaire, eh? That's nice. Are you the last one?"
"Um, yes," I said in my mind, not sure if I was allowed to talk aloud.
"Then you'll forgive me for keeping you here a little longer, it gets pretty boring, not doing anything for an entire year, you know."
"Um, okay."
"Your parents were great people. So is your Uncle, Sameth. All sure Gryffindors. Your brother has traits of a Ravenclaw, but I see him living up to a Gryffindor's destiny, if you know what I mean," the Hat said.
"I don't know what you mean," I responded.
The Hat seemed to chuckle, at least that's what the vibrations in my ear sounded like. "You'll see when the time comes, young one. You're a Gryffindor, with no doubt, just like the rest of your family. You'll face some tough times, young Ryelle, I hope you make the right choices."
"I better say goodbye before McGonagall catches up with me. Goodbye, Ryelle. Say 'hi' to Sameth for me... GRYFFINDOR!"
McGonagall snatched the Sorting Hat off my head, glaring at it. She did catch on, I guess.
I jumped off the stool and made my way to the Gryffindor table. Nathan was up on his feet screaming. He gave me a large thump on my back which almost sent me crashing to the floor. I slipped into the seat between him and Callum, noticing that James Potter and Sirius Black were sitting opposite us.
"What took the Hat so long? I was afraid it went back into hibernation and they'd send you back next year or something!" Callum whispered furiously as Dumbledore stood up.
"Believe it or not," I whispered, "The Sorting Hat was chatting with me! How weird is that?" I whispered back, shaking my head with bewilderment.
"Not that weird. He did it with me too. Can't blame him, can you?" Nathan said, grinning. "Imagine waiting for a whole year before having a chance to do anything at all."
Dumbledore cleared his throat causing a hush to spread out over the Great Hall. He was a tall, old man with piercing blue eyes. He spread his arms out as if to give all of us a hug.
"Welcome back, to those who have already made Hogwarts their home," he said, his eyes twinkling. "And welcome to those who have just joined us. We are all hungry no doubt, so I shan't bother you with an old man's nonsense. Please dig in!"
Much to our delight the plates in front of piled up with food. Pumpkin juice, mashed potatoes, chicken breast, sandwiches, everything that one could think of.
"You heard the man," Sirius said, rousing James, Callum and I from our wonder at the wide array of food. "Dig in!"
And we did.