3rd October 2012
Sirius was laying in bed when Mina came up to him.
"Sirius?"
There were only two boys sharing a room, its how the Slytherin dormitories worked because the only rooms used in the dungeons was the Potions classroom and the potion masters quarters, which weren't being used at the moment because Slughorn like to stay on the same level as the Great Hall.
From the common room there were two hallways, one for boys and one for girls, and each door had two or three names on it. Luckily for Sirius, His dorm mate was hardly ever in, Lucian Biancardi was a very studious boy and spent all his free time in the library.
Sirius rolled over to look at Mina.
Mina brought her hands up and with a deep look of concentration said, in sign language, "I learned sign language for you." Mina smiled at her now beaming friend, who jumped out of bed and crushed Mina in a massive hug.
"You'll have to go slow tho, Siri, I'm not very good." She warned.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Sirius signed, Mina smiled at him.
"That's what the big book was, sorry for ignoring you, by the way."
"Its ok Mina," Sirius signed slowly.
"We need to talk, you've been miserable since you got home, is Lyda alright?" She sat down next to Sirius on his bed.
"Lyda's fine," Sirius signed, "She's a seer, but she's been having a vision about me dying, in a fight."
"Like a bar fight or something?"
"No a duel, Dad thinks another war is coming, he's gone all crazy soldier again. Ayah said he was a really big part of the Voldemort wars."
"Yeah he was," Mina agreed, "He killed Voldemort." Sirius laughed.
"I knew that, but he did more than that, he was fighting since he was eleven."
"That's even younger than us!" Mina said. "And how are you and James?"
Sirius stopped laughing.
"He's ok when we're at home. But he'll hate me again soon."
"He's a prat, Siri, try not to dolphin about him."
"I know," Sirius sighed, trying not to laugh at her mistake. "We should probably get some sleep, Mina, goodnight."
"Ok," Mina said getting up, "Goodnight, Sirius," She left for her own room, flicking his lights out. Lucian still wasn't back.
"Hey James, how is your cousin?"
"Ok, she's a seer, so there was never a problem."
"Freaky," Nathan whispered.
"I know, 'ey?" James went back to his letter from Draco.
Sirius has been having a lot of trouble fitting in at school. And you need to step up and be a big brother to him, James. You ignore him, your father and I both know it, and I'm sure you do to but he needs your help.
We want you to be happy, but you have a responsibility to your brother too and we shouldn't have to tell you to fulfil it. It could have just as easily been you that Lucius took, and Sirius would be expected to help you out too. He is anyway I know he's been offering to help you with your school work. You can't let the house rivalry come between family.
Love you, Ayah.
James scrunched up the paper and threw it in the fire.
"Wasn't that from your Dad?" Nathan asked.
"No, it was from Draco, he's my step mum, pretty much."
"You're family is so screwed up," Nathan said, then turning to greet Derrick and Randy as they sat down.
"I know," James replied. "Why can't dad have just remarried another woman after mum died?"
"Ah talking about your step mum again?" Derrick asked. Derrick Carlyle was a muggle born wizard. He had brown hair and was really tall for a 12 year old, but very plain looking.
"Yeah, James replied, you know my mum's family think my dad killed her?"
"Really?" Nathan asked. Nathan Robins was the son of Demelza Robins and had dark hair and tanned skin, he was also very self confident.
"Yeah, that's why we don't talk to the Weasley's much," James said. "And then Draco came along and ruined everything. That's why Sirius is in Slytherin and why he can't speak."
"So your step dad ripped out his vocal chords or something?" Randy McLaggen asked. Randy was a big boy, and as arrogant as his father.
"No, Lucius Malfoy did. And both my parents were in Gryffindor. So Draco must have done something to Sirius to make him in Slytherin."
"Hello boys," Victorie Weasley slid herself into their circle, "What are you talking about?"
"James' screwed up family," Randy supplied.
"Oh," Victorie said, glancing over her shoulder at Teddy. "I'm on the good side of the family," she said smiling at them.
"Shut up Victorie," James snapped at her.
"Well I am, there are no dark wizards, no Slytherins, no murderers, no loons."
"No Loons?" Nathan asked, "what about George Weasley, he runs the joke shop in Diagon Alley, he's mental!"
"Yes but he's brilliant mental. He still talks to dad," James said, "I like Uncle George."
"He's embarrassing." Victorie said. "Hey James?"
"What? Why are you even here?"
"Does Teddy have a girlfriend?" Again Victorie was looking at Teddy, who was changing his hair different colours while he read a book.
"I don't know, he wouldn't like you anyway. You're too little. Go away."
"Fine then." Victorie flicked her hair over her shoulder and stomped away.
"Why doesn't she like one of us? We're in her year!" Randy exclaimed, not talking his eyes off her as she sat down and started talking to her friends.
"Well she's related to me, and you three are ugly," James said, only to have three pillows thrown at him.
"Draco?" Narcissa Malfoy slowly walked into the room.
"Mother?" Draco got up and helped his mother across the room, at nearly 58 Narcissa had gracefully aged into a little old lady.
Whilst the events of the war had added nearly 20 years to her actual age she was a picturesque grandmother. Her blonde hair had greyed to a startling white and she had cut it short. She walked slowly and a little unsteady, but always smiled, she had even taken a liking to cooking sweets, and never showed up to their house empty handed.
"Llaria told me about Lyda, how is she?"
"Llaria Zabini?" Draco asked, "I haven't seen her since Lyda was born. She's fine now, Mother, we were worried for a while there though."
"And Harry?" Narcissa asked.
"That's a different story." Draco said, Narcissa just waited for him to offer further information.
"He's not doing so well, mentally, I mean." Draco said quietly. "Do you remember Mad Eye Moody?" Draco asked his mother. A look of understanding crossed her pale features.
"Moody lived through two wars though; he was how he was because of the second war, Draco," Narcissa trailed off. "What's going on?"
Narcissa snuck from her guest room up the stairs to the next floor. Grimmauld place was still familiar to her; it was where she grew up, at aunt Walburga's house. There were five floors, the basement, with the kitchen and laundry, then the ground floor, where there was a small study and library, sitting room, a bathroom and some bedrooms; this was where she stayed, in one of the two guest rooms. Then there was the floor where the Zabinis stayed, there were four bedrooms on that floor, then there was another floor with some more bedrooms Sirius', James' and Teddy stayed here, then the top floor, with the master bedroom.
But it was the second floor Narcissa was interested in.
Lyda's room was light purple, decorated with purple silhouettes of unicorns on the walls. Narcissa went to the girl and gently shook her shoulder.
"Aunt Cissa?" The little girl asked groggily. "Is it time for breakfast?"
"No sweetie, it's very late at night. There's something you need to tell me."
4th October 2012
Sirius was almost at the end of his patience. He really wasn't cut out for teaching. It was the biggest difference between him and his father. Harry loved teaching. Sirius hated it.
Tasmin was a smart girl; she was just a bit slow. It took her forever to grasp a concept. Sirius was easily bored. He wanted to dive straight into the hard stuff. But no. Basics were needed, Sirius grumbled as Tasmin again asked for help on the same thing for at least the tenth time.
"This is really hard, Sirius," Sirius shrugged.
"Practice will help. Have you been practicing?" He asked with sign. Obviously.
Tasmin thought for a second, "What do you need help with?"
Sirius was very proud of himself for not upending the table.
He wrote his question down.
"Oh, sorry, well I've been really busy, with homework and my friends and stuff."
Tasmin, you wont improve if you don't practice, I'm putting in the time and effort to plan the lessons, I don't want to waste all that work for you to make excuses.
You have to work at this if you want to do it. It's easy.
"It might be easy for you, but it's really hard for me!"
"Well I don't have a choice, Tasmin." Sirius wrote.
"Sorry."
"Hey Sirius, Tasmin," Teddy looked over his shoulder at the paper scraps covering the table. "How's the lesson going?"
"Terribly!" Tasmin exclaimed, "It's so hard! Sirius doesn't get how hard it is."
Sirius lost it then, he just left.
"Stick around Sirius I need to talk to you!" Teddy yelled after him, and then he sat down with Tasmin.
"Remember it's not his choice to have learnt sign language, Tasmin, He lost his voice at a very young age, he had to learn it so he could communicate."
"He lost his voice?" Tasmin asked, "I thought he was born like that?"
"No, he lost it in an… accident when he was three. My dad made all of us learn sign language with him, and I found that signing as you speak is a good way to practice. I still do so I don't start to forget like James' does."
"That seems easy enough, I guess. My friends laugh at me because I spend time with him."
"Why?" Teddy looked at where his little brother had disappeared.
"He's in Slytherin." Tasmin said blushing.
"Ok, do you keep a diary, Tasmin?"
"Yes."
"Every night you should sign what you write in there for practice, how does that sound?"
"That's a really good idea, Thank you Teddy; I like your hair by the way." Giggling, Tasmin left.
"Sirius?" Teddy asked the library. A piece of paper fell into his lap.
Your hair looks ridiculous. Purple, really?
Teddy laughed. Sirius sat down across from him.
"Dad wants to see you; he's in the Shrieking shack." Teddy handed Sirius the famous silvery cloak. The boys knew about the Whomping Willow tunnel, Harry had told them when they first went to Hogwarts.
Sirius nodded seriously to Teddy before donning the cloak and swiftly disappearing from the library.
"Bloody Potters!" Hermione was sitting in the lounge room of their house. They lived in London, far away form before mentioned Potters. Hermione had a handful of papers to mark, all of them from the three Potter boys. Apparently, Malfoy had taken it upon himself to cover the whole syllabus, and had them write an essay for every topic. She was expected to mark these?
"Look at what they've done, Ron!" she brandished the papers under her husbands nose. "Who do they think they are? Think they can walk all over anyone because it suits them?"
"It's terrible," Ron said from where he was lounging, half asleep with a quiddich magazine draped over his stomach. Hermione just kept ranting as she left the room.
Rose walked into the lounge room with her father.
"Dad?" She said, he looked up.
"Hello Rosie!" He picked her up and sat her on his knee.
"You're going to be better than Potter,s kids," He told her, "You'll be the one everyone looks at, you'll be the one who gets all the money and attention, won't you? Rosie. You'll beat his little Slytherin spawn at Quiddich, and in all your exams, you'll be my perfect little Gryffindor; better than them all."
Harry stood very still in the old broken house. Sirius poked his head above the floor and looked around cautiously.
"Sirius?" Harry said, Sirius spotted him relieved and pushed himself through the tunnel. He waved meekly.
"Sirius," Harry said, "I know what its like to have a prophecy looming over my neck, I want to help you, son."
Sirius just nodded, he was expecting this.
"I want to teach you non-verbal offensive and defensive spells, there are spells designed to work better without the incantation said, Draco is working on developing some more, closer to the ones we know, and what you learn at school."
"Is this entirely necessary?" Sirius asked.
"Hopefully not, but it will help you at school a lot anyway."
And so Sirius' training began.
Early that Morning
"Aunt Cissa, why do I have to tell you?" Lyda looked up with her big tired eyes.
"Don't you ever get tired of worrying about things all to yourself?" Narcissa asked, sitting down on the side of her bed.
"Uncle Daco already tried that. I don't want to tell, and Liv told me not to." Lyda just looked tired, and stubborn.
"You have a special power," Narcissa said, "You know, I have one too."
Now Lyda was interested.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Tell me what I want to know, Lyda, and I'll tell you."
Lyda was thinking.
"There's a girl, she's a big girl, and she's very sad, then she's very angry, then she calls an older boy into the room and tells him to 'get Potter'. He's wearing a dark red cloak with the hood up." Narcissa looked at her intently.
"That's not all," She said to Lyda.
"No," Lyda said, "there's another vision, I think the same man is fighting Sirius, and Sirius looses, he dies."
"There's one more, Lyda. What is it?" Narcissa had her eyes closed now.
"It's about you, Aunt Cissa, you're fighting with a man, and he keeps yelling, 'death eater scum' at you then he curses you, I can't remember any thing else though, I'm sorry."
"Thankyou little one," Narcissa said, pulling the little girl close to her. "Would you like to know my power?" Lyda nodded.
"When I was a little girl, my Aunt got very angry at me, because my cousin ran away from home, and I knew he planned it, but didn't tell anyone." Narcissa paused.
"She was so angry she cursed me, but she didn't do it properly, she messed it up."
"So what's your power aunt Cissa?"
"I don't know how, but since then, I know things. I don't know how, I just do."
"Like, reading minds?"
"Yes a bit like that, I suppose, except I don't need someone to be thinking about it, I can tap into their subconscious, know what they're thinking about. I can't control it though. It's a funny sort of power." Narcissa smiled at the little girl.
"Aunt Cissa can I go back to sleep please?"
"Yes darling, goodnight." Narcissa left the room with a troubled grimace on her face.
Saturday Afternoon (4th October)
"James!" Randy ran up to him waving his arms frantically, "James! Quiddich tryouts!"
A huge smile spread across James' face.
"Yes, we can try out this year!" I want to be a seeker like my dad." The boys continued up the corridor, a spring in their step.
"I want to try for beater, my dad was a keeper, but he said I'm more of a beaters build," Randy mimed swinging a big heavy bat.
"I can't wait, when are they on? Who's captain?"
"They're next Saturday and the captain is a seventh year, can't remember the name, someone Wood I think."