Disclaimer::

I do not own anything from Harry Potter, wizard, witch, magical creature or otherwise.

I DO own the Cromwell family respectively, and all the creative liberties that come along with them. We're just going to pretend they're one of those well-known pureblood families, so you're going to have to give me liberties there. I'll explain the family better in later chapters, but bear with this childhood fluff for a moment.

Enjoy!

A nervous little girl was standing on the doorstep of 12 Grimmauld Place with her father. Looking down at her, the man only smiled, and patted her messy deep auburn curls, if only to reassure her that things would be alright. The girl's mother was already inside the house, and had been for a while now, chatting with her friend Walburga Black. This was an important meeting for the little girl, and well she knew. The door opened with a creek and a groan of complaint from the old house, only to reveal a crooked old House Elf with a surly expression on its face until it looked to see who was calling.

"Mr. Cromwell, and little Missus, the Lady's been expecting you…..come on then, little sprite, go cause trouble with all the other little tripes. Your wife and the Lady are waiting for you in the drawing room, sir, just follow Kreacher, he can get you there," the crotchety old elf advised, opening the door wide for the pair to step inside, and leaving the little girl to her own devices in the main hallway while leading her father off. She waved to him goodbye, and he smiled back at her and blew a kiss as he turned a corner off out of sight. Biting her lip, the little girl looked in the mirror that happened to be in the hallway, and frowned, straightening out her forest green velvet skirt and brushing off stray dust. Little cerulean eyes stared back at her, the blue of them mixing into a pale green as she became more and more nervous just standing there.

Mother had always said it had come from her side of the family, something called a….a…..meta-something, she knew. She'd forgotten what the full word was, but somewhere back in her mother's family there'd been a person that could change their appearance at will, and as the generations had passed the talent had dwindled down into everyone in the family having color changing eyes. It was like having a mood ring plastered on your face, really. But those eyes of hers were a pretty contrast with her father's deep auburn hair. You could tell it was red, but it was so deep a red one could say it was only a few shades lighter than black, and as it caught the light the traditional red highlights shone through. Normally, the little girl wouldn't be sizing up her looks like this since Papa always said she was his beautiful little princess, but her mother had told her about the little girls that would be over today.

Cousins of the Black boys that actually lived here, apparently two girls were coming over today as well, and Megghan was to do her best to become friends with them. Her father had assured her that if she didn't like playing with them she wouldn't really have to, but her mother was always the one who put more emphasis on social standing, especially since the main manor was so far away in Ireland. Her mother always felt the need to make lasting political and social relationships with people here in England, seeing as her family was from London respectively. Truthfully, Megghan would much rather be playing with some of the newborn magical creatures back at Papa's stables than play with some girls. But, she aimed to please her mother, whom never seemed satisfied that her daughter was becoming more and more like her father every day.

While she thought about these things and scrutinized herself, another reflection popped up in the mirror. It was a girl a little older than her, maybe ten, and had some of the most beautiful if not a bit unruly raven hair that the little girl had ever seen. Her eyes were almost black they were so deep brown, and seemed warm, like baked chocolate, beckoning you to come closer while at the same time warning you that it was hot to the touch. Her skin was pale, paler even than Megghan's own, and without the little Irish girl's abundance of facial freckles. There wasn't a blemish on the girl that could be seen, and her completely black dress didn't poof out in the back the same way that Megghan's did, which made her instantly envious that this girl got to wear something simple but pretty. But suddenly, the black-haired girl in the mirror's expression turned into a sort of cross between a truly displeased frown and a stubborn pout.

"I don't like you. You look funny, and you only want to play with us because they tell you to," she stated, voice clipped and authoritative. It wasn't even a question that Megghan was only here because her mother was forcing her, just a statement that the odd raven-haired girl was making. She frowned in response, turning with a pout and crossing her arms.

"I don't like you much either, then. I could be playing with the new hippogriff hatchlings right now, but Mama made me come play GIRL games with you….I don't want to play with silly dolls and a rude prat," she retorted, nodding her head definitively and stomping down the hallway, only to be slightly disturbed by the long line of mounted House Elf heads leading to the stairs. She made sure to make QUITE a noise as she stomped up those stairs to make sure her mother and father were aware that she was VERY displeased to be here. She wondered what Sirius was doing.

Papa had invited him and his baby brother Regelus over once or twice to see some of the foals of the Hippogriffs and Winged Horses, since it had seemed like a boy-themed activity. Megghan had tagged along and found it hilarious when an Aethonan Foal had back-kicked Sirius in the gut when he'd tried to tug on its baby feathers. Sirius had not thought so, and so took every opportunity to tug on Megghan's hair when he could. But he wasn't that bad a sort. At least she could play with him and rough house without anyone noticing she wasn't playing house with the girls. But alas, as she reached the second landing another little girl popped up out of nowhere, causing her to fall on her backside in shock.

This one seemed much more docile than the first, but regrettably for Megghan's self confidence, even more stunning.

This one was a stark contrast to her older sister, and seemed to be about eight, a year older than Meghann and Sirius. Her hair was a brilliant golden color, her eyes a clear crystal blue. Her skin was the only thing similar to her sisters, as both were unblemished, but while the black haired girl had been pale, this girl had a peach-colored tint to her. Her pink lips made a delicate 'O' of shock as she looked at the girl she'd bumped into on the ground, and she knelt down to make sure Megghan was alright. The Cromwell girl could understand immediately that this girl was much nicer than the other, and maybe she didn't have to dislike her IMMEDIATELY after all. Though she figured it would be, when the girl finally spoke her voice was just as beautiful and soft as the rest of her.

"You're not hurt are you? I'm sorry….I wasn't looking where I was going….that dreadfull Sirius was pulling on my hair, he almost lit it with a match! I don't know how anyone can stand boys at all…..they're dreadful, and I hope I never have to marry one, like mother says," she explained, making Megghan's usual firey temper calm for a moment and sympathize with the girl. She smiled at this angelic-like figure, and nodded, sitting up straight and inspecting the curl of hair that was indeed partially singed.

With a frown, Megghan almost regretted doing this to her, and promptly took the end of the curl with one hand, and pinching a little higher up with the other, and tore it as neatly as she could. The girl she was doing it to simply gasped at the horror that was someone torturing her hair in such a way, and pouted delicately as fake alligator tears crested her long eyelashes. Inwardly, Megghan sighed. This must be the kind of girl her father always told her not to grow up to be, the kind that just made pretty faces and cried to get her way.

"Oh hush. I was only taking the burnt part off. It's not like your Mum can't use a charm to cut it straight…..even Papa knows how to do that. He does it for me alllllllllll the time when one of the animals starts chewing on my hair back home. The hellhound puppies like doing it most, though," she said informatively, which caught the little girl's attention immediately. What little girl didn't want to know more about puppies? With interest, she leaned forward as if it were some kind of secret to be kept from the ears of others.

"You own puppies?"

Megghan nodded and spread her arms as large as she could. "Large puppies. Most of them have one or two heads, but a couple of them have three. Papa says they chew on things because they're teething, like a baby……..my name is Megghan Cromwell," she explained, extending her hand in a sort of silent apology and request for returned friendship. The golden haired girl obliged happily, and they stood up together with smiles on their faces, giggling all the while at the circumstances. Wiping some of the fake tears from her eyes, the golden haired girl bowed a little, her hair tumbling over her shoulders as she did so.

"I'm Narcissa Black. My sister, Bellatrix, is around here somewhere. We have a big sister too, Andromeda, but she's off at school at Hogwarts. She's graduating this year, isn't that exciting? I can't wait to go too. Are you going to Hogwarts Megghan?" she introduced herself politely, then immediately looked up with excitement and a childish curiosity and pride in her voice. Lacing her arm with Megghan's as if they were dear old friends like she'd seen her mother do with HER friends before, Narcissa led Megghan down the hallway to the room she was playing in.

Megghan only nodded with a smile, happily holding onto Narcissa's arm in childish companionship, her instant aversion to Bellatrix completely forgotten, along with her determination to not like the pair of sisters and not play with them despite her mothers wishes.

"Papa says when I turn eleven, I will. I'm only seven now though, so I have to wait a little longer. Papa says I'll do well in Care of Magical Creatures though, since everyone in our family does well in that subject. He's teaching me to take care of lots of different animals, because I'm an only child, even though I'm not a boy like grandpa wanted. Mama doesn't really approve, but it's lots of fun! Oh! Maybe……maybe when our dogs are having puppies again you can come over and play with them, and even take one home!" she offered excitedly as they entered the room, only to find a young Sirius burning the hair of one of Narcissa's porcelain dolls. Funny, how they looked almost exactly like Narcissa herself.

Sirius brightened considerably upon seeing Megghan with Narcissa, and not Bellatrix.

"Maggie! Have you come over to play? Regelus is sleeping so mother told me to keep quiet, so I found some matches!" he beamed with pride, taking out the matchbox to show Megghan his prize while his other hand clutched the doll with the singed black hair.

Narcissa was completely mortified and gasped, letting go of Megghan's arm and letting loose a loud wail that put Megghan in shock. She hadn't thought that Narcissa was capable of such a loud sound, she was so delicate and pretty, especially not this caterwauling. Consequently, she glared accusingly at Sirius for breaking her new friend and tromped over to snatch the matches away and knock him upside the head.

"What!? I didn't do anything! Cissy came into MY house, demanding that I play GIRLY things with her just because she's older! I thought we'd have fun when you came over because you're…..well…..you're kinda…." he dwindled off, attempting to find the least insulting way to put what he was thinking into words, which only made Maggie seethe loathing for him and give him a pointed glare, lighting one of the matches herself and holding it dangerously close to the edge of his sleeve while holding his arm out roughly.

"I'm WHAT, Sirius? You made Cissy cry," she accused, as if he'd committed the worst crime in history by offending both girls at once. Sirius just gaped at her dumbly, his mouth hung open in disbelief. Maggie was supposed to be HIS friend.

Granted, they'd only played together a couple times at her family stables, but they'd had fun. Boy fun. Getting dirty and laughing when their mothers scolded them for it fun. In a huff, he jerked his arm out from Maggie's grasp and stomped out of the room and up the stairs to the third floor where his own room was, shoving Cissy out of the way and onto the floor as he did so. Letting out a yell of frustration of his own, he threw up his hands and continued up the stairs.

"Bloody girls! This is bollocks!" he lamented, partially glad his parents were allll the way downstairs and couldn't hear him say things he wasn't allowed to yet. A pair of darker than dark chocolate eyes watched him go curiously, a frown on her pale features, and walked into the room to find Maggie with her younger sister, Narcissa, scrambling over to her and attempting to comfort her while holding the damaged doll.

"It's okay Cissy, you'll see! Papa will fix her! I promise, so don't cry okay? Sirius is just a boy, and boys are stupid so don't ever cry over a silly boy, because Mama says that means he's won," she was hurriedly consoling, rubbing Narcissa's back as the girl hiccupped her tears away, looking over ruefully at her new companion.

"…..really?" she sniffed, to which Megghan smiled and nodded. All the while, Bellatrix was staring at the pair from the doorway, half insulted that someone else was able to console Cissy in her time of need, and half happy. Maybe this new playmate wasn't here to JUST please her parents. Bellatrix had been wrong about things before, even if she didn't admit it out loud, granted she was only ten and didn't know everything like she said she did. Coming into the room and flopping into a sitting position on Narcissa's other side, she took her sisters hand protectively and looked across at Megghan with a stubborn pout but an apologetic look in her eyes.

"Maybe you're not THAT bad…..if Cissy likes you, then you're alright….." she huffed, holding out her hand unceremoniously in truce. Maggie stared at it a moment, considering her options, then blinked twice and took Bella's hand with a small nod and a smile. Playing with them wouldn't be so bad, now that she thought about it. She'd never had any friends that were girls before, maybe they could do other things that she couldn't do with Sirius? He'd never seemed particularly interested in decorating cookies with her grandmother, for instance.

Just as they'd finished their truce, both Mrs. Black and Maggie's mother and father came tromping up the stairs and collected at the door, concern on their faces because of Narcissa's wailing. Mrs. Black was first to recover from the scene of the three girls huddled up together, two of them consoling the third while holding a half-burnt doll in their hands and promising to fix it. With a frown, she put her hands on her hips angrily.

"What exactly has happened up here, ladies?" she demanded, making both Cissy and Maggie flinch at the word 'ladies' because the adults only called them that when they expected something out of you. Bellatrix was the first to pipe up with a scowl to equal her aunts.

"Sirius was being a prat, and got hold of some matches. He was burning Cissy's dolls until Maggie came and stopped him," she tattled easily, her voice accusing and harsh, as if it was the adults fault for not keeping an eye on stupid old Sirius. Which in Bellatrix's mind, was entirely the case, and shocked the adults into mild silence. Recovering from that, Maggie's parents both came into the room as Walburga tromped up the stairs ranting and raving at her oldest son already and causing all sorts of displeased noises. Maggie almost felt bad for him.

Almost.

He had made Cissy cry after all, and Maggie decided that Cissy was too pretty to cry, and looked to her parents desperately for something to alleviate the burden of her loss of a doll. Her mother smiled graciously, a polite but all around cold gesture, and took the doll from Cissy's hands.

"Kreacher!" she called, her voice sweet and even-tempered, after all, it hadn't been her child that had caused this ruckus. In fact, she was vaguely pleased that Megghan had ingratiated herself with Narcissa, as that was the only way anyone ever got along with Bellatrix. The elf popped up to the room in a flash, and examined the doll, taking it from Mrs. Cromwell silently with a nod.

"Kreacher will fix the young Missus's doll, right away Mam," he promised, bowing his head. Megghan and Narcissa smiled at him at the same time, their heads touching as they looked at him.

"Thank you, Kreacher," they said in unison, to which the old elf only looked at them in shock for a moment, until a determined glint in his eye arose. Determined to please the young girls, he bowed to them and disappeared with a 'pop'. Megghan's father knelt down on one knee to put himself a little above eye level with the girls and smiled, ruffling his daughter's hair and giving both Narcissa and Bellatrix a warm pat on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, your aunt will give Sirius his scolding. Don't hold it against him though, boys are a little restless, you know. One day you'll find them less unappealing, I'm sure," he smiled knowingly, to which all three girls only wrinkled their noses in disgust and disbelief. As her parents left, her father conjured a rocking flying horse for them to sit on and a few other toys. Narcissa made her way over to it and even knowing she was too old, hopped on happily, giggling as the soft downy wings of the toy horse fluttered, making itself rock back and forth gently without Cissy's help.

Bellatrix frowned and sat on the windowseat, watching Cissy and Maggie, whom was reading a picture book where all the characters moved through the story. Clearing her throat to get the other two girls attention, she crossed her arms defiantly.

"I don't want to have to deal with stupid boys like Sirius ever……lets all make a promise to never like boys, no matter what any silly adult says," she offered, to which both younger girls nodded, leaving the toys they were playing with behind to come stand near Bella. Putting both their hands in, they waited for the eldest to put hers on top, and as she did so they finished their promise.

Smiling, Cissy looked at the two of them as if an idea had struck her.

"We'll never ever like any boys, and ESPECIALLY ones that the other two don't like. Let's promise to be best friends always, no matter what! Bella and I don't have many friends really, so you'll be our BEST friend Maggie," she beamed, as if it were the latest stroke of genius for the century. And as many other young girls before them, and many young girls after them, the three promised to stay friends always and never like any boys for whatever reason.

It would have been one of those adorable heartwarming scenes, had a particular little boy not been forced to come down and apologize, and if that particular little boy hadn't brought his training broom with him and a bucket of water that he obtained through questionable resources. Before the three could do anything about it, Sirius doused all of them, dropped the bucket, and zoomed off on his child's broom cackling to the high heavens with unbridled laughter at his brilliant revenge. Sopping wet, all three girls fumed with anger and stormed after him, yelling various phrases, all of which were not very ladylike and not very appropriate for their age.

Little did they know their relationship with Sirius was not likely to change in the coming years, but in this way the dangerous trio was formed, determining the courses of their lives indefinitely. They would become neigh inseparable during these early years, never knowing the minute they stepped on that highly anticipated Platform 9 ¾ they'd slowly grow apart over the very boys they'd promised never to like on this day.

AN::

Okay, so yes, this had NOTHING to do with Severus. But it's important for their upbringing anyways, just for the sake of explaining how the three of them came to be friends and what their dynamic is. I felt the need to put a foreshadowing for the next chapter, so that explains the cryptic ending for this one. :3

Also, the reasons for Megghan knowing all this magical creature business will be revealed in the next chapter, and more so as she ages and learns more about it herself. I found an EXCELLENT recource for all this information via the Harry Potter Lexicon, so all information I spout on here goes to them or my own Irish heritage that my family has told me many folklore stories from.

I hope you guys liked it, and please review! It makes the plot bunnies in my head work doubletime and post things faster.