Chapter Ten

A Black Christmas

"Are you going home for Christmas?" Sirius turned his head to the left side of him, where there stood Lily Evans. The red headed spitfire who was his sister's best friend. "Why do you want to know Evans?" She shrugged her shoulders and sat down next to him, ignoring the fact she was getting dirty looks from the other girls in the great hall. All because she was so close to the Black heir.

All the students and professors were just enjoying their last day at the castle. There weren't too many students left in the great hall. Most had left a few days earlier to get started on their Christmas holidays. A few 6th and 7th years were lingering around. Probably because they had no one to go home to, Sirius surmised. Dumbledore and McGonagall were the only two left in the way of professors. Everyone from 5th year and below had already left. Sirius and Hermione were the only two besides Evans that is.

"I don't know. Maybe I want to know why Mione doesn't want to go home. But she won't talk to me about it. Do you know something about it Sirius?" He put his fork down and sighed at his half-eaten plate. He could lie to her, and tell her he didn't know why his sister was acting this way. On the other hand, he could divulge his most deadly secrets about their home life. Things that James and Remus didn't even know about. That won out in the end. Lily shouldn't be exposed to those horror's. It's bad enough that he and Mione had knowledge of it inside their minds.

He stood up, unable to look into her expressive green eyes, that he knew would soon be full of anger towards him. "Sorry Evans. Don't know anything. Merry Christmas." As he walked away, he couldn't get Lily's voice out of his head. "You have to let someone in Black! That loneliness will kill you someday!" Didn't he know it. But first things first. He had to find his sister.

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When James and Remus both extended invitations to their house for Christmas holidays, Hermione should have said yes to at least one. When the days past, and all of their exams had been completed, she knew the invites would start pouring in. First it was Alice, and the other girls. Hermione told them she had to spend the time with family, and for the most part, that was true.

She just failed to mention how much trouble she and Sirius were in because they didn't get put into Slytherin, like their mother wanted them to be. Usually when Walburga's children were in trouble, their punishment was usually in the form of the cruciatus curse. All to keep the pureblood children in line. Keep the white sheep of the family in line. For example, her and Sirius.

Punishment like that, other kids knew about it, but it wasn't talked about. It was one of many hidden skeletons in the closets of all the wizarding world. The twins wanted to make damn sure no one finds out the truth about their home life. Least of all, their friends. So, Hermione did what she does best. Push people away, to prevent them from getting hurt. Even if she ended up dying a little on the inside. Sure, it becomes a lonely life for the twins, but these people they've met, gotten to know, became friends with, they quickly turned into family. They might not be blood, but family is not all blood. So, Sirius and Hermione make sure that the family they made don't get hurt.

"I thought I'd find you here." Sirius looked around, and smiled to himself. "You always go flying when you're feeling bad." Hermione was just lounging around on one of the school brooms, tossing a snitch in the air. She was going around in circles on the quidditch pitch. Sirius smirked up at her. "You know you're not allowed out here right?" "What, are you going to tell on me Siri?" She rolled her eyes and continued to toss the snitch up in the air. She wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention to Sirius getting a broom himself out of the shed, and joined her up in the air.

"You know I wouldn't do that to you." He flew over to her, and snatched the snitch out of her hands, and started playing with it. "So, would you like to tell me what's going on in that head of yours Mione?" Hermione took the snitch back, and focused her eyes only on the golden object, instead of her brother. "There's nothing to worry about Siri. I'm fine."

"That's a cop out and you know it. Why didn't you tell Evans the truth? Why didn't you accept James or even Remus's invitation for that matter?" It started raining slightly, but the two took no notice of it. "Why didn't you?" Our reasons are the same Sirius."

Hermione closed her eyes, and tilted her head up to the inky black sky, to catch the raindrops on her face. "Once people find out the truth about what goes on, do you really think they won't treat us any differently? That they won't look at us with nothing but pity in their eyes? It's like a ticking time bomb Sirius, and I for one would rather it not explode all over us."

"You have a point there sis, but what if we keep all of this inside, and that slowly starts to kill us? " He sighed and looked over to her with a resigned expression on his face. "Hermione, I honestly think it's damned if we do, damned if we don't. " She looked over to him, and she could see how serious he was about this whole thing. "Sirius." "Don't Mione. You know it's true. No matter what we do somehow being a Black will blow up in our faces. So, I say to hell with it."

"What do you propose to do then?"

"Rebel." Hermione raised an eyebrow at her brother, like it was the craziest thing to ever come out of his mouth. "Come again?" "Think about it sis. Mommy dearest is already pissed at us for getting into Gryffindor, so let's show her that we can be true Gryffindor's. but still adhere to the Slytherin lifestyle we grew up in." "How do you see us doing that?" "Simple. We act like ourselves, but in the meantime, we gain allies. We already have James and Remus as allies and friends. You have Evans and the other girls. I'm sure that in a few years' time, it can grow. This can help us."

"Not to dampen your Machiavellian plan there Siri, but there is a fatal flaw in it." "What do you mean?" She gave him a look that spoke volumes. "What about Regulus? If we're all about adhering to being a true Gryffindor, that includes not being the heirs to the Black family, so where do you think Walburga will turn to make sure she gets the perfect heir for the family?"

"Hell." Sirius sighed and looked at her with a scowl on his face. "I didn't think of that." "I know that we can handle whatever she throws at us, but I don't want to leave our little brother unprotected. Not in that bloody house." "As much as I don't like it, we can't protect him 24/7 Mione, so what can we do?"

"Make sure he has allies when he comes to Hogwarts next year. I'm 95 percent certain that he will get into Slytherin, and that's a good start. Especially if he's seen as someone who hates his blood traitor siblings." Hermione muttered. She could feel the stare of Sirius on her face, and sure enough, he was practically burning holes onto her flesh. "What the hell are you talking about Mione? Are you crazy?"

"Think about Sirius. If Regulus is seen as someone who hates blood traitors, then those in Slytherin will see him as a potential ally and friend. Someone that eventually will have people to help him should the need arise. " "Even if it means to the rest of the world, that our own brother hates us?"

"it's a chess game Sirius. I'm trying to make sure we all are safe enough to checkmate the king, because I know even at the earliest stages now, there is a war coming. And I want to make sure that we all survive that." "How can you be sure he's that good of an actor? There can be nobody who doubts him Mione. If someone does, that could mean his death! Do you really want the weight of that on your shoulders?"

She looked Sirius straight in the eyes, and gave him a feral grin. "I'll do anything to keep the ones I love safe."