Chapter Seven
This beat is a chemical,
Beat is a chemical.
December 30th, 1971
Christmas was a happy, quiet day. Since the first night back and Alexia's big nightmare, the group had taken to sleeping together in Alexia's bed. Dorea had taken a picture the first morning and woken them up without a word.
The days following Christmas were spent in chaos. The kids helped the elves clean; they didn't have to, but Dorea liked to make them do chores occasionally, and cleaning out old cupboards of heirlooms was a fun time with Alexia. In the end, they'd found a beautiful silver and red ring that looked like vines twisting around her finger delicately and it had readjusted its size to fit her perfectly.
The day before the Ball, all that was left was finding the perfect outfits, something that the kids themselves had put off since they'd gotten home. Sirius felt fine letting the Potters pay for his dress clothes, but Remus was a different case. It took severe Slytherin meddling before Remus gave into Dorea's quest to buy him a good set of formal robes.
The shop was quiet and mostly empty, save for the four kids, along with Lily and Severus, who had tagged along as Lily didn't have anything appropriate and Severus didn't want to stay at Lily's house alone with Petunia.
"Oh, this one is pretty," Lily gasped, grabbing a plum colored floor length dress. Alex nodded and waved for her friend to try it on. Once the other girl had left for the dressing rooms, Alex moved to another rack, gently touching a deep green dress. As much as her brother and Sirius hated the color, she enjoyed it greatly. It complimented not only her skin well but also her now black hair. She plucked it off the rack and made for the dressing room when she ran straight into someone.
"Oh my god, I'm so-," she cut herself off as she caught sight of the boy in front of her and grinned, giggling softly.
"We can't keep meeting like this," Lucius told her as he grabbed her shoulders to steady her. "Are you alright?"
"I think I'll survive," she confirmed. There was a moment of silence and she bit her lip. "Will you be at the Ball?"
"I will," he nodded curiously.
"I'd like to talk to you for a moment if that's alright," she requested impulsively. The serious look on her face made him curious and he tilted his head. "It's serious. I need to ask you a favor that you may very well be uncomfortable with."
He dipped his head. "We'll talk tomorrow."
She offered him a smile. "Thank you."
He went to turn away but paused. "Green suits you, Alexia."
She nodded, her smile growing as she met his eyes for the briefest of moments. "I think so, too."
OoOoOoOoOoOo
December 31st, 1971
The day of the ball was just as hectic as the week leading up to it. Caterers had arrived and house elves had prepared everything before anyone had even woken, and yet both Charlus and Dorea were in a tizzy as they double and triple checked everything for the night ahead.
The kids, now including Lily and Severus who had opted to spend the night in Potter Manor, spent most of the day playing or doing their own thing. For Alexia, Lily, and Severus, that meant reading quietly in the library.
Alexia had been undergoing the process of trying to find her Animagus form for months and she knew she was almost there. She could see something with a tail and ears and she only hoped she wasn't a dog like Ron's Patronus.
As she slipped deeper into her meditation, she could see… three different animals, much to her surprise. One was a snake, and it made her pause. She knew she had a fierce snake in her and she was starting to accept that, but she also knew it wasn't all that she was. Another was a bird, one that she didn't recognize. She liked the idea of it, but she didn't want to fly away. She wanted to be present and close to her friends. Which led her to her last form.
A fox.
The sight surprised her a little. The fox had red hair and a dark, bushy tail. It was on guard, but also open to fun. Which, she supposed, was what she wanted to be. And as she decided that, the other two choices faded away, and she felt the fox.
She felt the fox just a little too much.
Before she could stop herself, she was sinking to the ground and she could hear Lily shouting in surprise at the sight. Her book fell to the floor and she sat patiently. She had absolutely no clue how to change back, that much was for sure. She felt stuck with the form she was in, and it made her itchy. She watched carefully as Lily ran out of the room in fright and Severus slowly walked over to her, his hand out in front of him to pick up the book. She could smell his uncertainty and worry, and she saw his eyes close as he took a breath.
"You are ridiculous," he muttered with an eye roll. "You should know better than to do this alone, Lexi."
She just let out a small bark, which made her want to cry.
"Okay," he let out a breath, kneeling down to look at her. "Okay. Do you remember how it felt to be human? Do you remember how soft your skin was?"
She did, and she missed it.
"Remember that. Hold onto that. Do you remember what you looked like? Do you remember your hair?"
She did. It was black now, and she liked it better that way.
"Do you remember what it felt like to grab a handful of grass or dig your toes into the sand? Remember that, Lexi."
She did, and she focused so hard that she thought she might explode. And, she supposed, it did sort of feel like exploding. Her body shot outwards and she felt so abruptly human that she turned to the trash can and threw up.
"Lovely," he muttered a couple minutes later, plucking her book from the floor. "This specifically says to have someone with you while you try this, Alexia."
"There was no one I could have with me," she defended herself. "I was fine until just now."
"I'll sit with you the next time you do it," he told her, sighing as if it were a chore.
"Um," she frowned as she poked her head out the door. "Where did Lily go?"
"Probably to get your mum," Severus suggested. Alex's eyes widened in horror and she sped out of the room to stop her well-meaning friend.
OoOoOoOoOoOo
Alexia sat in her bedroom with Lily as she charmed the girl's hair to stay put as she shoved in about a hundred bobby pins. Lily had done the same for her, and she was grateful. She wanted everything to be perfect for Dorea and Charlus.
"Okay," she stepped back to admire her handiwork. "Looks like a good updo to me."
"It's perfect," Lily grinned.
"Okay," Alex stepped over to the bed to pick up her dress. "Time to get dressed and go downstairs."
"Are you ready for this?"
"No," she let out a short laugh. "Are you?"
"No," Lily agreed. "My first wizarding party. How bad will it be?"
Lexi shrugged. She'd asked James the same thing and he'd assured her it would be fine as long as she avoided the old people. "Just steer clear of people you don't know and you'll be golden."
"Gotcha," Lily muttered as Alexia slipped into the bathroom with her dress. She quickly pulled her clothes off and put on the beautiful floor length dress she'd gotten. It had long sleeves, much to her relief. The glamour Madame Pomfrey had given her had only lasted for an hour before the dark magic left over in the scar had torn it apart.
"Ready?" she asked, poking her head out the door. Lily stood in her beautiful plum colored dress and fidgeted with the bracelet that Alexia had given her for Christmas. It was the only jewelry she wore, and it made Alexia smile. She herself was wearing only the Potter ring and a necklace Fred had gotten her to make up for the joke product that had given her a black eye. She'd appreciated it and wore it whenever she could and when she couldn't, she'd kept it in her bag, just to remember.
"As ready as I'll ever be," Lily agreed. The girls linked their arms together and left the room, walking down the large staircase together. The ballroom was already bustling with people, and they slipped easily into the group.
It was a full thirty minutes of just dancing with her friend before the boys had even finished getting ready and joined the group. There were plenty of kids from school along with their families, and they mingled with them mostly to be polite.
James pulled Lily away from her for a dance and she made her way over to the drink station where she desperately wanted to steal something alcoholic. With a desolate sigh, she grabbed a cup of water instead.
"You sound absolutely miserable," an amused voice said. She looked over to see Lucius smirking at her and she rolled her eyes.
"Is it really that obvious?"
"Only to anyone looking."
She let out a huff. "I don't like dancing and I especially don't like big crowds. They stress me out."
"Perhaps you'd like to get away and talk," he suggested, holding his hand out. She took it with great relief and let him lead her from the ballroom. Once out, she led him up the stairs to the library, where she locked the doors and put up about three wards to discourage prying eyes and ears.
"Thank god," she breathed, closing her eyes for a moment. "Too many people talking down there."
"Are you alright?" he asked her in concern. It seemed just as genuine as the night they'd met and that was infuriating to her. He'd raised his son in the hands of Voldemort, watched her be tortured for more hours than she could count, and still, as a child, he was kind to her.
"A lot is going on," she admitted. She could tell he didn't mind delaying the subject but she certainly did. The nightmare she'd had at the beginning of Christmas break was haunting her and she needed to know. Unfortunately, her options were Sirius or Lucius, and for some reason, her gut leaned toward Lucius. "I need you to use Legilimency to help figure out who I dreamt of."
"I'm no master Legilimens," he looked at her cautiously. She'd been right the day before- the request did make him uncomfortable. Still, he could tell it was important, which was the only reason he was considering it at all. "What is so important?"
"I'm not sure," she frowned, looking down at the ring on her finger. "But it feels crucial."
"Alexia," he said, waiting until she looked at him again. "I cannot control what we see. I can only guide us along the path you're looking for. Are you certain that you want to do this?"
"I do," she agreed nervously. Truthfully, she hadn't thought it through much. If she had, she'd have considered the things he'd see and how telling they'd be. If her desperation hadn't overcome her, then sense would've taken over. But it didn't, and she placed herself on the arm of the couch and met his eyes, waiting silently.
Lucius took in a deep breath and raised his wand. Something in him knew that whatever was about to happen would be bad, but he ignored it. "Legilimens."
Hermione threw another curse at the man in front of her, grunting with the effort to dodge his spell. They'd been dueling for a while and she was exhausted already. He hadn't stopped grinning at her the entire time and it made her a little sick. She knew there were some Death Eaters, like Draco, who didn't belong there. But this man enjoyed what he was doing. It was hard to keep up and he'd been stepping closer the entire time, forcing her to back up.
He'd had a pattern the entire time. Three spells in succession, a shield, and a two-second break to take a breath. She'd been watching and counting and waiting for her opportunity. So when he was supposed to take a second, she also paused to breathe, her fast breathing making her dizzy and lightheaded. Unfortunately, he must've been waiting for just that. In that moment, he threw a dark curse at her, and she didn't notice it until it was too late. It hit her side and she felt like her entire body was on fire, though she knew it wasn't. The pain was excruciating and she fell to the hard stone floor with a cry. He stalked over to her, a smirk on his face and his wand pointed down at her.
"I've been looking for you, Alexia."
The memory shifted and Lucius was tense. Whatever he was watching only proved what he'd guessed at already. Lucius looked around. He was in a very familiar place with Bellatrix and Dolohov, who he'd already identified as the man - not boy - in her dream.
Hermione screamed in pain, tears streaming down her face as Bellatrix trained her wand on her and laughed loudly. She was lying on the ground, curled up into a ball with her head hanging back. She could see two people - Lucius Malfoy and someone she couldn't recognize - walk into the room and sit there, watching.
Through the pain, a thought danced through her mind, and she almost laughed. She must have truly been desperate to think about begging Lucius Malfoy for help. Seeing the careless look on his face, she knew it would've done no good.
The pain stopped suddenly, and she let out a gasp as her entire body began to shake violently. She whimpered, unable to control herself. With a glance at a clock across the room, she guessed it had been going for at least four hours. She wondered if she was done, and her question was answered by the man, who had switched places with Bellatrix after a few words. He pointed his wand at her, and the pain began again. The screaming began again. But the shaking stopped, and that was something.
As the door closed, she realized she was alone with the man, and he lifted his wand, kneeling down next to her. He pushed a lock of hair out of her face and stroked her cheek lightly, shaking his head at her as if she were a disappointment.
"You're almost there," he told her. She could barely hear him or understand him. Her body shook and her chest hurt, and she almost didn't care what he had to say. His breath tickled her lips and she wanted to move back or cry, but she couldn't move. "You're almost her."
He kissed her chapped, bleeding lips and stood, beginning the curse again.
The terrifying memory slipped away from them, replaced by a scene outside the castle.
She ran as fast as she could, dodging hexes and curses as she did so. She threw up a shield for Remus as he ran beside her and was almost hit by something she couldn't identify. Hagrid's burning hut was behind her, and she heard more Death Eaters join the fight against few Order members and even fewer students.
She turned around to glance behind her and saw a cruel, laughing face running at her. She realized far too late that he'd sent a curse her way. Only Remus shoving her to the ground saved her life from what would've been a fatal hit.
The memory changed for the last time and she felt her chest tighten at the sight before her, unable to stop the memory from playing.
She was running around the Veil room, ducking and dodging Death Eaters as she went. She let out a yelp of pain when Lucius got another hit in, the cutting hex digging deep into her thigh. Still, she kept running even as he kept aiming for her. She knew he was only trying to keep her busy, but he was rather difficult to hold her own against, and she wanted to cry.
The fight was taken from her, however, when a pair of arms wrapped firmly around her waist and she felt herself be pulled abruptly backward. She nearly fell as the momentum of running was taken abruptly, but the man holding her held her firmly up. She felt his breath on her neck, could smell it, and it made her sick. She nearly threw up when his lips brushed her neck, and she began struggling, but then her eyes caught sight of Bellatrix dueling Sirius.
Hermione groaned in pain as the man behind her tightened his grip on her, crushing her hand awkwardly against the openly bleeding wound on her stomach. He laughed and the sound was disgusting, but the feel of his laugh behind her was worse.
They were now watching Bellatrix dueling Sirius, and she could almost forget the man behind her as she watched. It was brutal as the pair exchanged hexes and curses. Bellatrix threw an Avada but Sirius ducked out of the way and it hit the ground behind him instead, much to her relief. Truthfully, Sirius was doing extremely well. He was gaining speed and Bellatrix looked overwhelmed by it.
When Bellatrix threw a dark curse toward Sirius while he was also casting, Harry tossed a shield in front of his godfather, just barely managing to save the man. Sirius glanced back and grinned, though Hermione could see him sweating from the stress.
"Nice one James!"
Harry's smile froze, but Sirius didn't catch his own mistake. He turned back to his cousin, but she'd already taken the opportunity to throw another spell. Hermione watched in horror as the stunner, of all things, hit her friend's only family left. It wouldn't have been a problem, but Sirius tipped back just a little too far and fell into the Veil.
Hermione struggled against the man holding her, who was laughing, and screamed as she tried to get away. Luckily, Remus rushed to Harry and grabbed him, holding him back from rushing after his godfather.
The man holding her dug his fingers into her arms and pulled her back against his chest again, leaning down to whisper to her. Luckily for her, someone ran straight into the pair, alerting the Order of where they were. The man released her by shoving her hard away from him and out of the wards he'd set up. After that, he apparated straight out of the ministry after his friends, leaving her to be found by Tonks.
They slipped out of the memories, out of her mind, and Lucius found himself once more standing across from Alexia, whose eyes were closed tight and her hands balled up into fists.
"Alexia," he said, his voice soft. He could see her chest rising and falling quicker than he thought was strictly healthy. She opened her eyes slowly and looked at him. He was only one year older than her but she still looked tiny, and now much smaller than he felt she should be.
"Sorry," she muttered. "I didn't… it I'd known you'd see that, I wouldn't have-,"
"I did warn you," he reminded her gently. She didn't reply, so he answered the question she'd come to him to answer in the first place. "Antonin Dolohov."
"Yeah," she muttered, glancing down at her covered arm and shuddering. "Thank you… I've been gone for a while now, Lucius. Jamie is probably looking for me."
Lucius had two options. Ask her about the things he'd seen - including him as an adult and her as a younger adult - or let her go and figure it out later. Looking her over, he knew any conversation would only make things worse for her, so he let it go, despite his strong urge to understand what he'd seen. "Let me escort you to him."
She smiled at him in great relief and took his arm, waving her wand to remove the wards she'd put up. With that done, he escorted her down the stairs to where James was sat in the hall, whispering hurriedly with Remus. At the sight of them, both boys jumped to their feet and rushed over. Lucius released Alexia as James grabbed her face and pressed their foreheads together.
"Is she okay?" Remus asked him with worry. Lucius considered the boy before him. He was a young Gryffindor half-blood, and also a werewolf, something that his father had told him before school started. But he was kind and a good person, so Lucius answered him.
"She will be," he assured him. "I must get back to the party."
As he turned to leave, Alexia broke away from her brother and grabbed his hand, looking in his eyes. "Thank you."
He dipped his head and waited for her to let go. When she did, he slipped back into the ballroom and tried to temporarily forget what he'd just seen.
OoOoOoOoOoOo
Sirius ducked behind Peter, peeking to see if his mother had caught sight of him. Luckily, it seemed she'd been caught up in a conversation with Cygnus Black. He let out a deep breath and stepped back to where he was, leaning against the table once more.
"You have to see them eventually," Peter told him, sipping at some punch. Sirius glared at him.
"Easy for you to say," he muttered. "You don't live with her. She didn't raise you."
"I know," the boy agreed, glancing toward the open doors where he could see Alexia speaking in hushed tones with James and Remus. "What do you think happened?"
"Dunno," Sirius replied after he realized what his friend was talking about. They watched the small group together and Sirius noted the look of anger on James's face. "She must've run into trouble or something."
"In her own home?" Peter raised an eyebrow.
"In her own home that has a bunch of evil bigots in it," Sirius shot back.
"Why are your parents invited, anyway?" Peter wondered, looking at the room of politically diverse people wandering around and mingling as if they didn't hate one another. "Wouldn't it make more sense for Lady Potter to just invite people they actually like?"
"Purebloods," Sirius scowled. "You're lucky, Pete. Your parents don't care. The rest of us have to go to parties with evil people."
"Don't call her evil," Narcissa scolded as she came to stand with her younger cousin. "She'll hex you for that."
"You've met her," Sirius replied, rolling his eyes. "What are you guys doing here? I thought Cygnus refused to come to a Potter party ever again."
Narcissa looked around them before leaning in to whisper to him. "It's the Potter girl. There are… inconsistencies and he's determined to prove it."
Sirius tensed, worried. "Inconsistencies?"
"The family trees," Narcissa confirmed with a nod. "She doesn't show up on some of them correctly."
"Huh," Sirius's eyes flicked over to where he saw Alexia standing with James and Remus, this time having moved inside the ballroom again. "If you'll excuse me…"
He stepped around his confused cousin, leaving Peter with her, and made his way through the maze of people until he reached his friends. "Guys, come here."
The three exchanged a look and ducked once more out of the room with him, not stopping until they were in the kitchens with the elves.
"Sirius, what is it?" Remus asked, shaking off his friend's hand from his arm.
"It's my uncle," he told them, glancing worriedly between Alexia and James. "They noticed you're not on all of the family trees. That's why they're here. Narcissa told me."
"Wonderful," Alexia breathed, biting her lip as she thought. "Is there anything we can do about it?"
"I can check the Black tree at home," Sirius offered. "I know it can be spelled. Reg did it once a couple of years ago to say that he'd died."
"Why would he do that?" James asked him, startled.
"He wanted to run away," Sirius rolled his eyes. "He told me that if our parents thought he was dead, they wouldn't look."
"Merlin, what sort of kid is he?" Remus blinked at his friend.
"A smart one," Sirius replied with a faint of a smile, despite the fact that he'd been avoiding his brother the entire night. "But there are tons of books filled with the family trees. I don't know what we can do about that."
"Hey, I've got an idea," James spoke up, looking to Alexia nervously. "But… you won't approve, and our parents would kill us."
"Jamie, no," she frowned at him, already aware of his idea, as she'd had it herself at the same time. "We can't!"
"Lex, what else can we do?"
"Ask our parents for help? And Dumbledore, god forbid."
"And what can they do? It's the best idea we've got!"
"Care to share with the class?" Remus asked dryly. The twins flushed and looked to their friends.
"James thinks it would be a good idea-,"
"I never said it was a good idea!"
"To break into the homes that hold the family trees I'm on to steal and/or burn them all." Sirius and Remus exchanged a glance, and she threw her hands up. "I'm serious! We can't do that!"
"No, kitten, I'm Sirius," the boy joked, earning himself a glare.
"No, but James has a point," Remus told her, raising an eyebrow when she glared at him. Of all of them, Remus was least afraid of the girl. Her attempts to intimidate him got her nowhere. "Everyone is here tonight, so if we go now, we can get them all before they get home."
"Guys, breaking and entering!"
"We don't have to do the breaking part," Sirius reminded her.
"And you can handle the wards," James added. Alexia frowned at him.
"Jamie, you need to be a ward breaker to get past complex wards."
"Yeah, but you know tons of stuff. You can't tell me you don't know how."
Alexia thought back to the day the summer before they'd left when she'd confided in Bill about their plans and he'd spent whatever extra time he had up until his wedding teaching her how to break down the most complex warding. It wasn't her best subject but doubled with her knowledge of runes, she was pretty good. "Okay, possibly. A friend spent a summer teaching me."
"Your friend sounds cool," Sirius grinned. "Let's go!"
"No!" she shouted, smacking him. "We're not doing this!"
"Alex," Remus touched her arm, grabbing her attention. "I know it's a bad idea, we all do, but we have to do something. They might be suspicious now but if we fix it, they have nothing to go off of. They might forget. We don't even have to burn them, we can just use magic to change what they say, okay? I think what I want to know is how they noticed, to begin with. Don't people only look at those when someone new is born?"
"Sure, or when a random girl pops up in one of the most powerful pureblood families," Sirius added. "We should've seen this coming."
"Probably," Alexia allowed. "I've been distracted. I got there and barely two hours later Dumbledore took me here. It's been a rush, and honestly, I haven't been the best at concealing everything about myself."
"Yeah," James snorted, rolling his eyes. "Like the snake earlier?"
"That was a bad judgment call," Alex defended.
"What happened earlier?" Sirius wondered.
"She won't tell us exactly," Remus shot a look at James. Alex had specifically requested they not tell Sirius. "But apparently she asked Lucius to look at a memory to help her identify someone and he saw… more than she meant for him to see."
"Lexi!" Sirius gaped at her. "Who?"
"It's not important," she let out a huff. "Fine! Fine, but we have to go now. It takes some time to dismantle wards in a way that wouldn't be noticed, and we don't know what wards I'll need to take down."
"Really?" James grinned at her, excited. "Yes!"
"Shush," she rolled her eyes, moving out of the kitchen and up the stairs as her friends followed her. They moved into her bedroom and she grabbed her beaded bag and wand and looked to Sirius. "Who would have the trees?"
"My parents, the Malfoys. The Potters, obviously. Oh, maybe the Weasleys and the Prewetts."
"Wait, what?" Lexi stared at her brother. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah?" he looked at her in confusion. "The Prewetts and Weasleys are old pureblood families. We're probably distantly related to them somehow. Why?"
"Ah, nothing," she sighed. "So, where do we have to go?"
"Well, we don't have to worry about the Potters," Sirius said. "I guess we'll have to stop by Grimmauld Place… ah, after that, we should get to Malfoy Manor, and that might take awhile- Lexi?"
She'd gone pale, her eyes wide as she considered the prospect of going back to the place she still had nightmares about. "Huh?"
"Lex, what's wrong?" James asked. She looked between her friends, unsure what to say. Since they didn't know she was from the future, she didn't think she could say anything, which also meant that she had no way to explain how uncomfortable she was.
"Nothing," she shook her head, forcing herself to relax. "What next?"
"The Prewetts and then the Weasleys," Sirius finished, still eyeing his friend.
"We should go," she told them. "I'm going to go let mum and dad know what we're doing."
"What?" James looked at her with wide eyes. "No! You can't!"
"Jamie, chill," she let out a short laugh. "They know everything. Dumbledore told them before asking them to take me in."
"They do?" his mouth opened in shock.
"Yep," she answered, popping the 'p'. "I'll be right back and we can apparate there."
"How will you know where to go?" Remus asked, and she paused.
"Ah. I can't really… tell you that. The only one I don't know is the Prewett's."
"Your secrets are tiring," Sirius sighed, though he winked at her. "Hurry up, kitten. We need to do this as quick as possible. We only have a few more hours before midnight."
Alexia rushed out of the room and made her way into the ballroom where she spotted her parents speaking with a tall man she couldn't recognize and…
"Oh, Lexi," Dorea smiled, wrapping her arm around her daughter. "Have you met Cygnus Black and his daughter, Bellatrix?"
"Just the girl we were speaking about," Cygnus said, his piercing stare on Alexia. She forced herself to smile at the man.
"Oh?"
"We were just telling him how close you and James are," Charlus confirmed, looking down at her with worry on his face. "Are you okay, sweetheart?"
"Yes, of course," she looked up at her parents. "Can I borrow you both for a minute?"
"We'll be right back," Dorea assured Cygnus before leading Alex to a quieter area. "What's wrong, darling?"
"It's the family trees," she told them. "Narcissa told Sirius that they're here to investigate me, so we're going to… Merlin, I can't believe I'm saying this, but we're going to break into a bunch of pureblood homes and like… edit them. I don't know. Sirius knows the spell."
Her parents exchanged a look before Charlus spoke. "We trust you, Alexia. But can you ensure that your brother and friends are safe, too?"
She nodded with certainty. "I can."
"And the wards?" Dorea asked her. "They can be very complicated, they're meant to be."
"I spent some time studying under a Gringott's curse breaker," she promised. "We can do this. Besides, there's not much else we can do and there won't be an opportunity like this for a long time."
"Okay," Dorea nodded firmly. "Let us know if you get in trouble, alright?"
"Yes, mum," Alexia stood on her toes and kissed Dorea's cheek and then Charlus's before rushing back out of the ballroom to meet her friends in her room. "Okay, ready?"
"Yeah," James sighed, shoving his wand in his back pocket.
"Sirius, you said we're going to Grimmauld Place first, right?"
"Unfortunately."
"Okay," she looked to her friends. "I can't side-along more than two people at a time, so I'll take Sirius and Remus and come back for you, Jamie."
"Why do I go last?" he whined.
"Because you're distracting and I'd rather not splinch anyone," she shot back as she grabbed Sirius and Remus's hands. She thought about the steps of Grimmauld Place and took them there, wincing at the sight of the place. She hadn't been back since they'd hidden out there and they'd left to get the locket. They'd tried to return but with a Death Eater grabbing onto them, they had to leave again as soon as they arrived. After dropping her friends off, she went back for her brother and apparated back to the steps, where she found Sirius staring at the door in disdain.
"Let's go, Sirius," James said, patting his friend's shoulder. Remus opened the door, which wasn't locked because of the wards, and stepped inside. Alexia looked around in wonder at the brown and green walls.
"Oh my god," she muttered as she followed Sirius into a room she'd seen his future self and Harry talking in. "This is… not as dark as I expected."
"Father refused to let Walburga decorate," Sirius explained, and it did really make sense to her. After Orion had died, Walburga must've redecorated. "It's in here…"
The group of kids entered the room and Alexia looked at the elaborate wallpaper that had the family tree all over it.
"Hey, Lex," James called, tapping the Potter line that was attached to Dorea. "You're here."
She walked over to look at it and stifled a gasp at the sight of her true birthdate. Luckily, James hadn't seen, so she charmed the area black to match the space next to it before he could notice. "Sirius, how do these work?"
"This one updates automatically," he told her, pausing from his search through the books to find the one that held the Potters. "Someone is born - or adopted in your case - and their names and birthdates are added. But what we're looking for here is the books… ah, here we go. Looks like my parents were looking at it, too."
Alexia looked at the wallpaper, her nerves hitching. "I see."
"You okay, Lex?" James asked, touching her arm lightly. At her nod, he turned away, not believing her at all.
"Oh, here you are," Sirius nodded before freezing. "Wait, Lexi-,"
"Let's get this over with," she interrupted him. Their eyes met and she stared him down for a long second before he nodded once, a threat in his eyes of questions to come. He cast the spell, and she sagged with relief. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," he replied with another glance as he shoved the book back on the shelf with the others.
"Where next?" Remus wondered. Lexi steeled herself and grabbed Remus and James, the two closest to her, and silently sent them away before returning for Sirius, who took a step back when she grabbed for him.
"What the fuck?" he asked her loudly.
"Sirius, you can't say anything," she begged. "Please."
"Your birthdate is eight years from now, Lexi!"
"I know!" she shouted back, moving closer to him. "Please, come on. We have to get this over with. We can talk about it later."
He looked at her for a long, intense minute before he nodded. "If you promise."
"I do," she assured him, grabbing onto his hand. "Now come on."
When they appeared in Malfoy Manor, she felt her panic grow at the sight. It had been, unfortunately, the only room she'd been in and the only way she knew to slip past the wards.
"Lex?" James asked. Remus looked at her in worry as well, but she just pushed past them.
"Can we- can we just get out of here?" she asked, breathing quickly as she nearly ran from the drawing room. When her eyes fell on a familiar spot, she stopped in her tracks and felt her breath leave her. "Oh my god…"
"Alex," Remus winced, grabbing his own chest as her intense emotions rushed into him. "Holy shit, Alex."
"Fuck, Lex, what's wrong?" James asked her, touching her arm. She winced away and backed into Sirius, who grabbed ahold of her to steady her, but his touch startled her too and she stumbled back and fell to the ground.
"Alexia!" James ran to help her up, but she just stared at the ground as her memories raced through her. "Hey, come on. Let's hurry up and go, okay?"
"Leave," she muttered, staring at the spot she'd stayed curled up in a ball for hours. "Leave."
"That's right, kitten," Sirius assured her. "Their books might be in the library. Let's go find it. This looks like the drawing room, so it's probably nearby."
"Leave," she whispered again. James helped her to her feet and she let her friends guide her through the house until they reached the library, where Sirius rushed around until he found the book. He glanced at Alexia again upon seeing the date confirmed once more. Once he'd changed it, he made his way over to Alexia, where James was trying to carefully bring her back to reality.
"Kitten, come on. We can go now, but you have to apparate us out. Just apparate us out and we don't have to come back, okay?"
She looked at him with wide, distant eyes and reached out. Unsure, he grabbed her hand and watched as she grabbed James's as well. She managed to successfully apparate them out and go back for Remus. When they were all there, she looked better and seemed to relax at their surroundings.
"Where are we?" Remus wondered. She gave a soft smile.
"The Burrow," she told them. "The Weasleys live here."
"It's nice," Remus commented with a smile.
"Let's keep going," Sirius suggested, walking in the door to look at the place. It was much cleaner and less cluttered than Alexia had ever seen it before. "There's a bookshelf over here…"
While Sirius looked, James touched Lexi's arm. "Lex, what was that? Are you okay?"
"Yeah, just… do you remember what I told you that first night? When I freaked out over going to school?"
"Yeah, the… what was it? PTSD?"
"You have PTSD?" Remus asked in surprise. She sighed and nodded.
"I do. And it was triggered and… I'll be okay. I just want to finish this."
"Then I've got some good news," Sirius told her, slipping a book back into the large bookcase. "Done here. Just the Prewetts now."
"Yeah, and I'll need to mess with their wards," she told them. "I'm not sure how to get there either."
"Oh, it's not that far from here, I think," James hummed. "We could probably walk."
"Let's go," she said, leading them out of the house. She smiled once more at it before catching up with her friends.
To her surprise, James was right. It was just before the Lovegood house, and she shivered at the sight.
"Cold?" Sirius asked, handing over his jacket. She accepted it gratefully - she had been cold, though it hadn't been the cause for her shivers.
Once they were able to see the house, she grabbed a rock and threw it, noting where the wards destroyed it. She walked over and began drawing runes and activating them, slowly making an unnoticeable hole that they could walk through. The process took her nearly a half hour and when she was done, she breathed out in relief. "I've never done that before."
"Wait, but you said your friend taught you," James frowned at her. She shrugged.
"I only had their wards to pick at and it was hard because I'd already been keyed in. But we're in, that's all that matters."
Upon entering the house, she smiled softly at a portrait of Fabian and Gideon standing with Molly.
"I wish there was an easier way to do this," Sirius sighed, looking at the rooms.
"Oh," Alex hummed, looking up. "Accio family tree book."
The book flew at her and Sirius caught it thankfully, flipping it open to the Potter page. She glanced over his shoulder and was startled to find that it really did have her birthdate down as September 19, 1979. He removed it quickly and she sent it back before looking at her friends.
"We finished in an hour. Let's get back, Mum and Dad will worry."
"The sooner, the better," Sirius told her with an eyebrow raised. She sighed and grabbed him. After two minutes, everyone was standing back in her bedroom.
"Let's go," she told them, ducking out of the room before anyone could say anything. She felt Sirius rush after her and pull her into a different hallway, waiting until James and Remus passed them to speak.
"Alex, you have to explain."
"Later, okay? After the ball. We can sneak out and go to the library to talk. Just… not now, okay?"
"Tell me, though," he requested, making her pause. "Malfoy Manor. Was that where… the torture?"
She nodded shortly. "And I'll tell you about it later. I promise, Sirius."
"You promise?"
She looked in his eyes. "Sirius, I will never promise you anything that I can't keep. So yes, I promise."
"Okay. Okay, let's go."
"Thank you."
OoOoOoOoOoOo
Severus watched his friend walk into the ballroom looking absolutely sick. Sirius Black was behind her, his emotions carefully hidden behind a mask that was built for Slytherin. Still, James Potter wasn't as subtle about looking to his sister in worry.
"Whatcha doing?" Lily asked him, trying to figure out what he was looking at.
"Alex is back," he told her. "She brought her brother and friends as well."
"I wonder what they're up to," Lily frowned. "Surely they wouldn't prank at their parents' ball?"
"No, I don't think that's it," he disagreed. "Who knows."
"So you're certain your mum won't be home until tomorrow?"
"Or the day after," he promised. "It'll be okay. She said she wasn't sure she'd be there to see me off."
"Oh, wonderful," Lily smiled before pausing. "Well, not wonderful. I'm sorry. It's just that Lady Potter offered for us to stay here until we leave again."
"Because I want to stay with James Potter."
"You want to stay with me and Lexi," Lily shot back. "What if she does that… thing again and we're not there to help her?"
"She promised she wouldn't try it without me," Severus reminded his redheaded friend. "And it's called Animagus. She'd just found her form. Which is incredible, actually, for her age. She might be the youngest ever."
"What is an animagus exactly?" Lily wondered. "I've never heard of it before."
"Well, it's an old charm that can be done in different ways, but I'd guess Alex went with meditation and runes. You can find your animagus and from then, with practice and guidance, you can shift from human to your animal. Obviously, hers is a fox. Professor McGonagall is a cat."
"That's amazing!" Lily grinned excitedly. "Can you help me learn?"
"I've only heard of it, Lils," he told her with a laugh. "I can't do it. Maybe she can teach you. Although you should know that I don't think she's doing it legally."
"Legally?"
"You have to be registered," he explained. "With the ministry. I doubt she did that."
"Oh," Lily breathed. "Oh no, is she going to get in trouble? Should we talk to her?"
"I doubt it," Severus shrugged. "The ministry doesn't like to act against the Sacred Twenty-Eight. She'll be fine. But if it'll make you feel better, I'll bring it up next time we talk."
"Wait, what's the Sacred Twenty-Eight?"
Severus sighed and set down his drink to answer his friend. "It's a group of the twenty-eight oldest and most powerful families in not only Britain but the world. They have family magic that they can call upon and have automatic seats on the Wizengamot. Alexia's dad holds the Potter one."
"That's awful," Lily looked at him with wide eyes. "They get to govern just because their families have strong magic?"
"It's how it is, Lily. But for what it's worth, the families really are very strong and powerful, both with magic and politics."
"Okay, so who else is in this ridiculous club?"
"Club? It's not- okay," he shook his head, looking around the room. "Right. Lady Longbottom holds the Longbottom seat. Her husband died earlier this year."
"Lady Longbottom… Frank's mum?"
"That's her. There's also the Blacks, obviously. The Malfoys. The Weasleys, the Greengrasses, the Notts, and… oh, the Abbots, the Travers… the list goes on, Lils. Some of them have lost their seat and money, like the Weasleys, but most remain powerful."
"That doesn't seem fair," she said stubbornly. "How can they lose their seat if they're so powerful?"
"Ah," Severus rolled his eyes. "I believe the last Lord Weasley gambled his away and then began ranting about how much he hated the system when he lost. The seat was given to Gibbon, and once he passed, it went back to the Ministry appointed officials."
"This is ridiculous."
"Politics are rarely anything but."
OoOoOoOoOoOo
Sirius stood with Peter again, watching Alexia flit around the room nervously. She had a good enough mask hiding it, but he saw the tension in her shoulders and the anxiety in her eyes. She was standing with Andromeda talking quietly when he saw Bellatrix come to a stop next to them. Alexia froze in her spot, and Sirius's stomach did flips at the sight of her fists clenching until her knuckles turned white.
Without a word to Peter, who was speaking to a Ravenclaw girl, he rushed over to put an arm around his friend. "Cousins. I see you've met Lexi."
"She's very interesting," Andromeda smiled kindly. "She was telling me about this muggle repelling charm she learned."
"Wish we could repel muggleborns as well," Bellatrix joked. Alexia bit her lip hard as she stared at her feet. "What? Can the girl talk or is she mute?"
"Okay, we're gonna go," Sirius told them. "Lovely seeing you, Dromeda. Bella… go to hell."
He pushed her quickly out of the ballroom and into the locked sitting room across the floor. Once he deposited her on a couch, he locked the door again and sat next to her. "Lexi, take a deep breath. It's alright."
"I'm sorry," she whispered through labored breaths. "I saw her earlier and I got away but now- now Andromeda introduced us and she was just… there and I couldn't do it."
"Hey, she doesn't know you," Sirius reminded her. "You're just another pureblood to her. It's okay."
"But it's not," she insisted. "I was at Malfoy Manor and- and that was the only room I was ever in and I had to drop us there but then I just kept seeing it, Sirius… oh god…"
"Come on, kitten, breathe," he told her as he rubbed her back. "Look around. Yesterday you were sitting in that chair talking to your dad, yeah? What were you talking about, huh?"
"Sirius, I don't-,"
"Just tell me," he requested gently. "What was it?"
"We were talking about the new minister," she replied quickly. "Bagnold."
"Great, that's wonderful. And what do you think of him?"
"Her," she corrected, making him smile a bit. "I think she's cruel and will make terrible, terrible mistakes."
"Good, good. Tell me why."
"Well… she's trying to change 'being' and 'creature' to become the same department, which would deny rights to werewolves, vampires, and even Veela. They couldn't get benefits or healthcare or even be allowed to live among other people. It's absolutely despicable."
Sirius grinned at her. "It is. There you go. How do you feel?"
"Better," she confirmed, though she looked confused. "How did you do that?"
"Oh, it's how I used to call Regulus down after a nightmare," he told her. "Just get him talking about something he feels strongly about."
"Thanks," she smiled softly.
"I'm not going to ask," he told her after a minute of silence. "And we don't have to talk about it tonight if you're not up for it."
She considered him for a long moment before sighing. "No. Let's talk about it now. The party is almost over. Everyone should be distracted by the fireworks. Just… ask me whatever you want."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah."
"Okay…" he let out a breath. "So you're from the future."
She laughed. "Yes, I am. I'm from 1998. As I said, I was nineteen."
"And when you left, you were at Malfoy Manor?"
"Um, no, actually," she sighed. "There was a war, Sirius. When I left, we'd ended it barely an hour before. We won."
"That's why you were hurt," he realized. She nodded. "How bad was it?"
"Uh," she frowned. "Not that bad. I healed some of my injuries as I went through the battle but truthfully I had a mission to take care of so I stayed out of the fight for the most part."
Sirius, showing his age, asked a question that she actually rolled her eyes at, though she did wince. "Did you kill anyone?"
"Sirius, it was war. We all killed. I was lucky to only have lost a few people. Do you remember how I said Greyback killed my friend's ex?" Sirius nodded with wide eyes. "That happened during that battle."
"I'm sorry," he told her, beginning to understand how insensitive his question was. Truthfully, purebloods were much more mature than the average eleven-year-old, but even Sirius still thought war was cool.
"It's okay. What else?"
"Okay, uh… Bellatrix?"
She winced but held her hand up when he went to take it back. "Bellatrix was one of the ones that tortured me in Malfoy Manor. She's the only one I remembered up until recently. She… used a cursed blade and left me a nasty scar."
"My cousin tortured you?" He asked loudly, shooting to his feet in fury, pacing in front of her. "I knew she was a bitch but… what the fuck, Lexi? Did she get arrested?"
"No. It was war," she told him tiredly. "She thought I had something that was hers and was important to ending the war. Apparently, that warranted countless hours of torture and a scar I'll never be able to rid myself of."
"What scar did she give you?" He asked, his voice soft as if he were afraid of her answer. She shook her head firmly.
"That's not something you want to see," she told him. "Ever. No one needs to see it."
"Kitten, come on. It's just me."
"Yes. And you love me and you'll try to kill your cousin if you see it."
"Come on, it's not like she wrote mudblood on your arm-," he cut off when she stared at him blankly. "Oh my god!"
"Calm down!" She held her hands out. "Calm down, okay?"
"Let me see it," he requested. She shook her head and he nodded vigorously. "Let me see it!"
"What good would it do?" She asked him seriously. "You already know it's there and you know how I got it. If you see it, it'll just make you angrier."
"Lexi," he said seriously. "I'm imagining it right now and it can't be worse than I'm imagining."
She let out a sigh and pushed up the sleeve of her dress to reveal the ugly, jagged word that had been carved into her arm. Sirius stared at it silently, and she was surprised to see tears in his eyes. "Sirius?"
He said nothing but reached out to touch it. As much as she hated herself for it, the touch felt nice. She let him touch it for a few minutes before he spoke again. "I'm so sorry."
"Sirius," she let out a small laugh. "You shouldn't be sorry. Knowing you helped me get through it."
"Really?"
"Yeah," she nodded. "For the first week after, I kept thinking of the times you and I talked. The thought of your anger actually made me feel better."
"So we knew each other?"
She smiled softly. "We did. You were my best friend's godfather. We stayed with you for a summer and I wrote to you while I was at school. Yeah, you told me to dump my boyfriend because he couldn't say my name."
Sirius let out a laugh. "You dated someone that couldn't say your name?"
"He was lovely! He spoke English beautifully for it not being his first language." She defended, though she did laugh. "But you spoke with me. When I was afraid of the war, everyone else was too busy for me. You told me I'd be okay and you distracted me by talking about runes and muggle bands and stories from when you were a kid. You were a friend when I really needed one."
He smiled brightly at her. "Sounds like you had a crush on me."
She flushed brightly. It was true, but he didn't need to know that. "I did not!"
"How long have you known me for?"
"Oh," she breathed. It was an innocent question, but all she could think about was how long she knew him, which reminded her only of the day she watched him die. Staring at the boy in front of her, she felt sick. He was her best friend and she couldn't imagine a life without him anymore. "Oh, um… we met in my third year. So… seven- seven years, I guess. Wow."
He frowned. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, um… yeah, just… memories."
"What is it?"
"I can't- Sirius, I can't tell you about your personal future, and this is it. I don't want to risk… I don't want to..." she paused. Did she? Normally she didn't want to risk changing the future, but with Sirius… she couldn't let him die.
"Lexi?"
"Sirius, if I told you something, something important, would you take an Unbreakable Vow that you'll avoid it?"
"Woah," he stared at her with wide eyes. "What could be so important that I'd risk my life?"
Alex hesitated. "Your death."
"Oh, shit," he breathed. "Holy shit, Alex, I died?"
She nodded quietly, holding back tears as the sight of him dying played over and over in her mind. "I'm sorry. I was there, I- I watched it. It was horrible."
"How did I die?" He questioned, his voice soft as if he were afraid. In her opinion, he had every right to be scared.
"There was a fight in the Department of Mysteries," she sighed. "In my fifth year. You showed up to help us with some friends and Bellatrix killed you. I tried to help, I promise, but Dolohov was holding me so tight and… I'm sorry."
"You want me to swear not to go," he realized. She nodded quickly and he sighed. She could tell he wanted to agree. "What about time? What will happen?"
"I don't know," she admitted. "But I don't want to watch you die. I don't want to go back and you not be there. Sirius, please."
He nodded, and she sagged in relief. "Okay, okay. But we have to have someone else help us with the Vow, Lexi. Does anyone else know?"
"No one that would approve of this. Although…" she paused. "Lucius kind of knows."
"Oh, the snake? Really?"
"Hey, it was an accident!" she assured him quickly. "The point is, he knows. He can help."
"Yeah, okay. I'll go get him."
"What? No," she scowled at him. "You make a face at him every time he's around. I'll get him. I'll be right back."
She turned to walk out and as she unlocked the door, Sirius grabbed her arm. "Kitten, wait."
"Huh?"
"Your arm."
She winced at the sight of her scar and pulled her sleeve back down before slipping away. When she reached the ballroom, she found it empty with the doors to the large garden open. There was a warming spell on the area and there were blankets all over the place. The fireworks had begun already and the light helped her navigate until she found Lucius sitting with Severus. "Hey, Lucius, I need some help."
"Is something wrong?" Severus asked her.
"No, no," she shook her head with a smile. "I just need him for a moment."
"Hurry up," her friend told her with a small smile. "It's almost midnight."
She nodded quickly and led a quiet Lucius back to the room where Sirius was waiting. Once inside, she locked the door and warded it from eavesdroppers.
"Alexia, is everything alright?" he asked her, glancing between her and Sirius.
"Yeah, um," she bit her lip. "You know those things you saw earlier?"
"Yes."
"Well, do you remember one memory where you and I fought a little and then Dolohov grabbed me and-,"
"I do," he confirmed, his eyes flicking over to Sirius. "Are you sure we should discuss this here?"
"No, yeah, don't worry. I told him."
"Alexia," he stared at her in shock. "Why?"
"Because I'm going to make sure it doesn't happen," she explained.
"You can't," he told her. "We didn't discuss it but I assumed you knew how time travel works."
"At this point in time, no one knows how it works," she argued. "And it doesn't matter. I have to try, Lucius."
"What exactly do you need me for?"
"I was hoping you'd oversee the… Vow he promised to take."
The look he gave her did not give her hope that he'd do it.
"Alexia, he is eleven years old!"
"So am I!"
"No, not really," he reminded her. "You're an adult, regardless of what you look like now. You have memories and learned lessons that he hasn't yet. Vows aren't supposed to be made between minors anyway. It's too dangerous."
"Lucius, please," she begged him. "I need him to live. There's so much I'd change about my life but this… please help me."
"You don't even know it'll work."
"But it's worth trying."
"Fine," he sighed, shaking his head. "Have you written your Vow?"
"I thought it up while I was getting you," she confirmed. "Sirius, come here."
Sirius moved over and Lucius pulled out his wand and touched it to both of their hands once they held one another's forearms. "Go ahead, Alexia."
"Sirius Orion Black, do you swear not to fight Bellatrix Lestrange on the 18th of June in 1996?"
"I do."
"Do you swear not to die?"
Sirius held back a laugh at the ridiculous question. "I do."
Alexia nodded at Lucius, and he muttered the words to confirm the Vow. With that done, tendrils of white flames sunk into both of their arms. They both winced and pulled up their sleeves to see a long black line each running down their forearms.
"Cool! It's like a tattoo!"
Alexia rolled her eyes. "Thank you, Lucius."
"I still do not approve."
"I'll keep it in mind," she laughed. "Really, thank you."
He dipped his head in a nod and looked between them. "May I go?"
"Oh, yes," she blinked, waving away her wards. "Sorry."
"I'll see you in school, Alexia."
She offered him a smile and relaxed when he closed the door behind him. "Thank you, Sirius. This is- this is something."
He nodded, staring down at his arm. "So did you know all of us?"
"Huh?"
"You know, James, Remus, Peter."
"Ah," she frowned. "Yeah, um, Remus was actually my teacher third year. He was the best DADA teacher I had. James was actually my best friend's dad - no, I can't tell you who his mom was - and Peter… we met once."
Sirius grinned at her, eyes wide. "You said I was your best friend's godfather! James is gonna make me godfather?"
"Yes, but you're eleven, so I wouldn't expect him to ask soon," she replied dryly.
He went to reply but stopped as his eye caught the clock over the door. "It's midnight."
Alexia smiled at him and kissed his cheek. "Thanks for this, Sirius." She touched his shoulder and left the room, leaving him with a weird tingle on his cheek and a tug somewhere deep inside of him that confused and concerned him.
OoOoOoOoOoOo
