Hi!
I have been trying to update more regularly but its been too hard, what with work, life, etc... Anyway, sorry to make you wait...
This chappie has no title but does have a flashback (which makes it a little longer) so...
No warnings except for smatterings of language here and there (not living up to it's M rating yet!)
R & R and enjoy!
Disclaimer: Not my world, I just like to visit.
Chapter 7
"Remus?" he said uncertainly, after watching his friend pace a few minutes more. Remus came to a halt, his back to his mates.
James gave Sirius another worried look and spoke up. "Moony," he started, "are you okay?"
Remus stood in front of the fire, his hand on the mantle. Sirius noticed that his knuckles were white. "That's an interesting question, James," they heard him say. His low voice sounded forced, calm.
Sirius knew Remus was holding back. Just like him, he thought, getting rather annoyed. Impatience beginning to replace anxiety, he stood up and strode over to Remus, placing a hand on his shoulder. He felt his mate immediately stiffen. "Just let me have it, will you," he demanded as he pulled Remus around to face him, "just let it – " His voice died away when he saw Remus' amber eyes burning into his. Instinctively, he backed away.
"How can you be such a hypocrite?" Remus seethed, his voice still low and dangerous, "How can you stand there and judge her when you're just like her."
Sirius was stunned by his words. He was nothing like Eris Sloane. Yes, they were both from prominent pureblood families with ties to the Dark Arts, but that's where the similarities ended. Whereas Sirius could see his family for what they were – fanatical, prejudice gits – Eris could not. She was the darling of her family, the apple of her parents' eye. The Blacks and the Sloanes being from the same social circle, Sirius had seen it with his own eyes years ago, witnessed the same 'pureblood – is – thicker – than – mudblood' mentality his parents shared with hers. Though he barely remembered the girl, he could never forget what he'd overheard from his parents, at he age of ten, about the Sloane family and what they did to one of their own – or rather, what Eris did to her own brother.
"Listen, mates," James said, jumping up and trying to get between them, "maybe this isn't the best time for this." Sirius felt a hand on his elbow pulling him back. "Remus, you've just received a shock, you should let things sink in before – "
"Before what?" he growled, raising his voice. Both Sirius and James moved back even further. They could see the wolf in Remus' eyes. "Before I say something I regret?" He had an ugly look on his face, one neither boy had ever seen before. It was unnerving.
"I'm not the one who lied," he continued, his voice moving steadily higher, "I'm not the one who decided to play God with other people's lives!" He took a step toward Sirius. "What do you think gives you the right to decide if Eris is right for me?"
"You didn't know the truth about her!" he shot back angrily, feeling hurt by his friend's lack of gratitude.
"You could have told me!" he yelled.
Sirius knew he was right but being angry and hurt, he would never admit it. "I was trying to protect you, you fucking idiot!" he snapped. He felt a tug on his arm and looked around. A handful of students, some glaring and others curious, had gathered on the steps to the dormitories to watch.
"Guys," James insisted, "this is not the place!" There was a note of panic in his voice that seemed to bring Remus to his senses. He blinked and looked around, noticing that they had an audience.
"You had no right," he whispered hoarsely. Sirius opened his mouth to retort, though he wasn't sure what to say, but James nudged him hard in the side. "Let's go upstairs," he urged softly.
Remus sighed resignedly and gave him a hard, piercing look. "Just leave me alone," he breathed, then pushed them both aside and left.
Sophie stood on queue waiting to board the Hogwarts Express, her mind going over and over their conversation. On the train to London, as she sat quietly and listened to her father as he told her the truth about the mysterious Animagus, Sophie had tried to push aside her shock and disappointment. Of all the possibilities, her father's explanation had been the one furthest from her mind. Indeed, she'd never have imagined her father once knew the notorious wizard let alone been as close to him as a brother. There was barely enough time to wrap her mind around the fact that a convicted murderer, the most dangerous man in the wizarding world, had saved both their lives, when she found herself pulling her trunk towards the barrier of Platform 9 ¾ and standing among her fellow students. The truth was Sophie had been expecting a very different explanation – one that would have made all those silly daydreams she'd had as a child seem like premonition.
"Sophie," her father said, rousing her from her thoughts, "someone's waving you over." She looked back towards the entrance to the platform and saw one of her roommates, Alicia Spinnet, beckoning.
"Go on," her father said, "I'll take care of your trunk."
She looked at him and hesitated. Even though she was feeling less than generous towards him at the moment, she still felt twinges of guilt and concern at leaving his side when he was still obviously in so much pain. "I'll find you on the train," she said.
"No," he answered, placing a hand on her shoulder as if to steady himself, "you sit with your mates, I won't be good company anyway." He gave her a reassuring smile and urged her towards the closest thing she had to a friend.
A few hours later, Sophie found herself in a compartment near the end of the train among a small group of her fellow fifth years (and a couple of seventh), pretending to listen while Fred and George Weasley recounted a prank they'd pulled on their older brother Percy over summer vacation.
"…And then he said – "
" – It must have been fertilizer!"
The compartment erupted into laughter and Sophie joined in half – heartedly, her mind finding its way back to the single thought in her head. It wasn't her.
For a tiny window of time that morning, Sophie had been sure the dog – the Animagus – had been her mother. For years, she had dreamed about her mother coming back to them, telling Sophie she'd made a mistake and asking forgiveness for abandoning her, and for a little while she had hope that the dream would become reality. That hope slipped away almost as quickly as it had settled into her heart.
Just that morning, she'd had a strong urge to see her mates, to laugh, to talk, to forget about the last few days, but now, the truth rattling around in her head, the disappointment firmly settled, she was keenly aware of just how different she was. While her mates chatted about summer trips with family and lazy days finding something to do, Sophie could only think about how she'd almost killed a man, how her own father had almost died, and how a convicted and escaped murderer had saved them both. She could only think about her parents and Sirius Black.
A deck of cards let off a stifled bang and a puff of smoke burst into the air, making Sophie jump. She winced as she felt a stab of pain in her ribcage. Probably broken, she mused. Black missed that, I guess. Or did he?
She looked around the compartment and wondered how they would react if they knew the truth about her. Probably very badly, she thought bitterly, watching as Lee Jordan played a game of Exploding Snap with Alicia, while the twins and two other Gryffindors, Oliver Wood (the Gryffindor quidditch team captain) and his girlfriend (and popular seventh year) Lauren Meadows, talked loudly over the frequent bangs. She touched her side gingerly, inwardly wincing at the tenderness when she noticed Fred stealing a glance at her. He looked away quickly when she caught his eye. Losing interest in the progress of the game, she continued to watch the small group surreptitiously. She always kept them at arms length, letting them know only so much about her without it seeming like she was holding anything back. It was a delicate balance, but one she managed for the last four years with the skill of someone who'd been duplicitous all her life. She didn't feel badly about lying to them (as far as she was concerned it was a matter of necessity to lie) but a part of her was only too aware that the walls she'd built up would always leave her feeling like an observer and not a participant. Little did she know she was now the one being observed.
"So, who was that old bloke Alicia saw you talking to?" Lee asked suddenly. It took her a moment to realize he was speaking to her.
"What old bloke?" Fred echoed with interest, breaking conversation with the others. Alicia gave her a quizzical look.
"That old bloke is the new DADA professor," she answered rather haughtily, annoyed by the fact that Lee Jordan had just referred to her father in such a way.
"No way!" Alicia exclaimed. "For a minute, I thought it was your father, but then I saw him board the train." Alicia had only seen her father from afar a few times over the years.
"He is my father."
"No way!" Alicia exclaimed once again. Sophie stifled a chuckle at the girl's overenthusiastic reaction. Her roommate was always full of so much energy; Sophie wasn't surprised when she joined the Quidditch team in third year.
"Can he do that?" Lee asked, looking confused.
"What, mate," Fred jumped in, "be her father? You know something about Mr. Lupin the rest of us don't?" George snickered as their mate threw his twin a filthy look. Lee hated to be the butt of a joke.
"Apparently," she said, noticing the looks on their faces. "Dumbledore did hire him, after all." She knew what they were thinking. It had been many years since they'd had a decent Defense Against the Dark Arts professor and she couldn't blame them for being skeptical of the next – even if it was her father.
"He any good?" Lee asked. Sophie had a feeling he would be the first of many.
"Of course," she said assuredly, "he taught me everything I know."
"Oh, we're in trouble then," offered George, smiling wickedly.
Sophie's relationship with the twins had started in first year when they pulled her seat out from under her with a flick of a wand in Herbology and sent her sprawling backwards into a table full of rare plants, all of which were ruined when they crashed to the floor. She was so embarrassed she grabbed a clump of soil and threw it across the room at them, hitting Professor Sprout squarely between the eyes. They spent a week in detention scrubbing the greenhouse floors by hand and got to know each other very well after that, though she never did find out which one of them actually knocked her on her arse.
"Shut it, you git," she threw back jokingly. Her mind was almost off her troubles.
"Speaking of gits," Fred piped in, gesturing towards the compartment door, "I think that one's looking for you."
Sophie turned to see Cedric Diggory, a fellow fifth year, Hufflepuff quidditch house team Seeker and prefect, standing in the corridor waving to her sheepishly. Her heart leapt a little at the sight of him. She looked at Alicia who gave her a wink and a nudge and noticed the filthy looks the others were throwing him. She opened the compartment door and shut it quickly, so he wouldn't hear the lip smacking noises the twins were making.
"Uh, hi," he said, fidgeting nervously.
Near the end of fourth year, after talking in Care of Magical Creatures on occasion, Cedric had asked her to join him on a trip to Hogsmeade. Taken aback by his invitation but flattered the popular (and handsome) Hufflepuff seemed to be interested in her, she accepted. It had been an uneventful trip; the only thing that happened was conversation, but she learned they had a lot in common, including birthdays near the beginning of the school year (his in September and hers a month later), a secret love of muggle music (preferably with loud guitars) and a strong desire to get top marks in every class. It seemed to be a match made in heaven, at least from her point of view, but when the school year ended she came to her senses. She couldn't afford to get too close to anyone.
"Hi." She could feel half a dozen pair of eyes boring into her back through the window and noticed a few others around them watching with interest as well.
"Sorry I didn't write over summer," he said quickly, "I was away at Quidditch camp."
She smiled, feeling a little less guilty at not writing him as well. "It's alright," she replied, "I was really busy, too." It was a lie but by her standards, it was nothing.
He glanced over her shoulder and furrowed his brows and she caught herself thinking how cute he looked like that. Oh, Merlin, I am lame, she thought in self – deprecation.
"I don't think you're mates like me much."
She glanced back to see Oliver, Lee, Fred and George all glaring at him.
"Just ignore them, they're all a bunch of gits obsessed over Quidditch," she said turning back to face him, "and you're the enemy as far as they're concerned." As far as she was concerned, he was dangerous to her as well.
"But not to you," he stated, though it almost sounded like a question.
"Course not." She smiled at the small look of relief that flit across his face, feeling elated at the realization that he was actually worried that she'd changed her mind about him, then realizing, despite her efforts to the contrary, she hadn't.
"Well," he said uncertainly, "I should get back to my mates… I'll see you around."
The smile dropped from her face, though she tried her best to mask it. "Oh, um, okay," she said, uncertain what to think. Why did he come to see me? She asked herself, confused.
He turned to go and she did as well, grabbing the handle of the compartment door and trying to rearrange her features; she didn't want the others to see the disappointment on her face.
"Wait," she heard him say just behind her. She turned and found him squeezed closer to her as a crowd of people passed, his face just inches from hers. "When we get to the castle, can we, uh, share a carriage? Just the two of us?" She could almost hear his heart's rapid beating in his chest.
"Sure," she replied, trying not to sound too eager. I can't believe I just said yes, she berated herself.
"Brilliant," he said his grey eyes darting over her face nervously. "Good." He leant closer and almost pressed his lips to hers, then turned and bolted down the corridor so quickly, she barely had time to register what he was about to do but hadn't. Feeling a flush rise in her cheeks as she noticed other students still watching, she turned just as quickly and fumbling with the handle, slid the door open and stepped into the compartment once more.
"You traitor!" Fred exclaimed accusingly.
"You tart!" chimed in George.
"Leave her alone," Alicia said, flicking a card at the twins. It hit George in the arm and exploded, causing him to wince and rub his arm. He glowered at Alicia but cracked a smile when she stuck out her tongue. (Sophie had a feeling he had a soft spot for her roommate).
"Is he your boyfriend, then?" Lauren asked. Sophie was a little surprised, not just by the question (she really didn't know the answer to that one) but by the fact that Lauren was the one asking. She was more of an acquaintance than a friend and even Alicia or her other dorm mate Katie Bell, who probably knew her the best, knew not to ask her too many questions.
"I don't know," she mumbled, feeling her cheeks burning. She didn't like feeling so exposed.
"Well, boyfriend or not," George said, "You're consorting with the enemy." He looked completely serious as he said this.
"Never mind that," Fred joined in, causing his twin and Oliver to look at him with mild surprise (making it clear to Sophie that all the boys saw him that way), "you're dating a prat!"
The others laughed and Sophie made a lunge for him, but ended up punching George in the shoulder instead when his twin ducked.
"Oi!" he exclaimed, rubbing his shoulder, which only caused the rest of the compartment to break into another round of laughter.
Sophie threw herself back down beside Alicia, feeling happier than she had in weeks. Suddenly, things didn't seem so bad; her problems, her worries, seemed miles away.
She was busy daydreaming over Cedric a few hours later, while the others napped or stared out the rain – spattered window, when the train came to a sudden halt. Groans could be heard all around as students were pitched forward suddenly and the lights flickered then extinguished. They were in total darkness. Sophie could see fairly well in the dark (a lycan trait, she supposed), and she looked around as her mates stumbled blindly around, bumping into one another as they felt for the door.
"What the fuck!" Lee exclaimed as Oliver trampled on his foot.
Sophie stifled a laugh at the comical sight then suddenly felt the laugh die in her throat. The fine golden hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as a feeling crept over her, and she was suddenly aware that something not human was approaching. She sensed a deep rattling of breathe rather than heard it, coming from somewhere in the middle of the train and she knew whatever it was, it was dark and dangerous. Then she felt a tingle down her spine and she knew that it had sensed her, too.
"Don't open it!" she hissed as she watched Fred fumbling with the handle.
"Why not?" he asked turning towards the sound of her voice.
She could feel it coming nearer. "It's out there," she said, aware of the panic in her voice.
"What is?" Lauren asked, sounding just as frightened.
She could see a dozen orbs searching the dark fearfully, trying in vain to look at her. She closed her eyes and a shiver ran down her body, from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. She opened them again and saw the creature seeming to glide along the corridor past their compartment. It stopped and turned its hooded head slowly towards her and she couldn't help but gasp when she saw what was supposed to be its face.
"What's wrong? What is it?" Alicia asked, panicked.
Sophie knew at once that it was a Dementor but didn't answer. She could see a hand, skeleton – like and shining white in the dark, reaching out for the handle on the other side. Without thinking, she jumped up, pushed Fred out of the way and jammed the handle.
"Oof! Who did that?"
Her face pressed up to the glass, she looked into the scabbed – over eyes of the creature, which seemed to be staring at her with interest. Lauren began to sob and the creature turned its grotesque face towards the noise. She felt the handle move in her hand but she held on, her abnormal strength coming in very handy as she struggled to keep the door closed.
"Make it stop!" Lauren shrieked, her sobs growing louder and louder.
Sophie felt a low growl build in her stomach and move up into her throat. Oh, no, she thought, panicking as her lycan instincts took over, but try as she might, she couldn't stop it escaping her lips.
"What the fuck is that?!" Lee exclaimed, while Alicia joined in Lauren's chorus of sobs.
The creature froze and lifted its head, seemed to look into her eyes, which burnt amber, reflecting in the glass, and glided away.
A moment later, the lights flickered on, and Sophie, moving swiftly, stepped away from the door. She watched as her mates blinked in the dim light, trying to focus, the boys turning immediately to the two sobbing girls in comfort.
Fred, having obviously known it was her that pushed him aside, gave her a dark look of wonder but said nothing.
"What was that?" Lee asked, as he patted Alicia on the back.
All eyes turned to her.
"You don't want to know," she replied.
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Later that night, Sophie lay in her luxurious four – poster bed, staring at the night sky through the crack in her scarlet bed hangings, her mind unable to stop its incessant buzzing.
With the added drama of the Dementors on the train, the last 72 hours had been unlike any she'd ever experienced before and never wanted to again. She'd barely had time to speak to Cedric, let alone ride in the same carriage with him, and she'd had to endure stares from the other house tables as her father was introduced as the new DADA professor. At least the story filtering through the Great Hall about how he had chased the Dementors off the train and helped Harry Potter when he fainted, were positive. The only students who seemed to have a problem with him where the Slytherins, some of whom she overheard making fun of his old shabby cloak and sickly appearance. She'd tried not to let it bother her (it was only the Slytherins, after all) but couldn't get it out of her head. Especially since she noticed the way their Head of House, her least favourite teacher, Professor Snape, had been glaring at him all through dinner. Like all the staff, he knew her father, like her, was a werewolf but the way he stared, with black, beady eyes burning with loathing, it was as if he had a personal grudge, not merely a general prejudice. Sophie wondered what was behind it and made a mental note to ask her father (though she was unsure he would actually tell her).
While the memories of the day were freshest in her mind, they were by no means the only thoughts keeping her awake. The last few days had also brought up so many questions, only a handful of which she had an answer to. It was frustrating to know that her father was holding a secret that was the key to the capture of a dangerous criminal but couldn't reveal it. What bothered her more was that it had now become her secret, too. How was she supposed to sit back and stay quiet while Dementors patrolled the village and castle and Harry Potter – the Boy Who Lived – walked around like the weight of the world was on his shoulders? Because he knew – she was sure of it. She'd seen that look of desperation, stoic pride and some fear mingled on his face for a split second as they entered the Great Hall, telling her that he was aware that his life was in danger. It was the same look her own father wore when he finally confessed to knowing Sirius Black. But despite her misgivings about keeping the secret, she knew she would do it – not because Black knew her secret but because she could never betray her father. Never. No matter what happened. Or what was about to.
Dum, dum dum!...
Coming Soon - Yes, there is more Sirius to come, especially OC/SB interaction, as well as the answer to the question, "What did Eris do to her brother that was so evil Sirius Black was offended?"
..."And why is Fred suddenly so interested in Sophie? Does he suspect? Well, does he?!"
...And just when you thought this story couldn't become more convoluted or confusing, another problem surfaces for Sophie...
