Chapter Twenty-One

Night falls from gravity

The earth turns from sanity

Taking my only friend I know,

He lives a lie, his name is Hope.

September 8th, 1974

Alexia sat in Dumbledore's office twirling her wand in her hand, waiting. She'd received the request to meet directly after the Welcoming Feast a week earlier and everything in her wanted to decline. It was only when the twins had pointed out that it could be important that she'd reluctantly agreed.

Four months earlier, she would've scoffed at the idea of him having anything to say to her that she would consider important. She'd have declined the invitation and ignored him to the best of her ability.

And then the first attacks had begun.

The summer had been a hard one. The first attack had been one she'd been there for. It had been on Diagon Alley and she'd fought. She'd glamoured herself to look older and different and then had fought for a full two hours until the six Death Eaters had disappeared or been captured.

From then on, she'd stayed in her room, talked little, and jumped every time someone approached her. Her episodes had gotten worse again and she'd been brought once more to a mind healer who she once more told to stay away from her mind. Going back to school was equally a relief and completely terrifying. She was glad to be away from the concern and overbearing love but she was also worried about how she'd react to being around so many people.

The door behind her opened and she turned to see Dumbledore and… Aberforth.

"Professor," she raised an eyebrow.

"Miss Potter, this is my brother, Aberforth," Albus introduced. She nodded hello at the surly man and turned back to Dumbledore.

"No offense, Professor, but I don't really want to be here so if it's important, please explain quickly."

Aberforth let out a short laugh. "You're right, I do like her."

"Of course," Albus smiled, sitting down. She felt her eye twitch when her sharp words didn't even make him blink. "I suppose I'll be blunt, then. Following the attacks this past summer, I have decided to form the Order of the Phoenix."

Alexia felt a breath sucked out of her. Some emotion she couldn't put a name to filled her and she wasn't sure if she wanted to run away or cry or possibly do both. "I see. Why am I here?"

"Because I hoped you could help us," he explained. "Help us to avoid some unnecessary deaths."

Alexia's lips thinned. "You really think that after telling fucking Croaker-,"

"I hoped," he interrupted. "That you would work with my brother."

"And you went behind my back again and told someone else that you don't even know if I trust," she accused, glaring at Albus. "You really think this will make me want to help you?"

"You knew him," Albus suggested. Alexia shrugged.

"We met a few times. He saved my life once during the final battle."

"I don't think Albus should have this shit either," Aberforth told her with a grunt. "It's the only damn reason I agreed to come."

She considered him and looked to Albus. "So what are you suggesting here?"

"I am merely suggesting that you work with him to outline the war and see if you can spot any deaths that you can change."

Alexia scoffed. "This coming from the man that was so disapproving of Sirius's Vow? What changed?"

"I believe that time is strong and perhaps impossible to change but that if we can, we should try to save those that we can," he explained. "I believe I was wrong in disapproving of your choice to attempt to change time."

"So you just want me to sit down with Aberforth and tell him how the entire war will go? What if we change something that ruins everything?"

"That is why you will only change seemingly unimportant deaths," Albus explained. The words disgusted her. The idea that any casualty of war was unimportant was infuriating.

Alexia looked between the brothers and sighed. "Fine. You are going to uphold your promise about my mark, correct?"

"I will," he assured her. "As a matter of fact, I'd like you to join the Order."

She let out a short laugh. "I'm supposed to be fourteen."

"You will not come to meetings, of course," Albus shook his head. "You will get the mark and Aberforth will tell you what has happened when you meet with him."

Alexia pushed her sleeve up and showed him her arm. "I already have the mark."

Albus waved his wand over it, amazed. "This was given to you by Sirius Black."

She shrugged. "I was staying with him and he couldn't tell me anything because of an oath, so he gave me the mark and told me what was going on. I was fifteen then, I think."

"Well, regardless, I will need to give you another one," he told her. "One with my magical signature that others, in an emergency, with recognize."

"Fine," she sighed. "And what will you do with any information you do get?"

"I will give you a code name," he told her. "Hermione should fit, I believe."

"My mark," she nodded, referring to the gentle Hermione flowers that she'd made her mark. "You'll tell them it's mine?"

"I will," he agreed. "I will tell the Order that you're a Seer and pass the information to them that way."

Alexia sighed and nodded. "Okay, fine. But I refuse to meet during Hogsmeade weekends. This is the first real childhood I've gotten and you're not messing that up again."

"You are free to go whenever you like as long as you meet once a week," Albus confirmed.

"Great."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

October 2nd, 1974

Alexia sat on the bed across from Lily, painting her nails. The rest of the girls, Alice, Mary, and Emmaline, were all out, giving them a rare moment alone.

"I don't get it," Lily sighed. "He was doing so well on that date, Lexi. Better than you expected. Why did he have to hex Sev?"

"I dunno, Lils," Alexia sighed, cleaning up the corner of Lily's nail. "Sometimes he just doesn't understand. He doesn't really think he's doing anything wrong. I honestly think this still has something to do with him thinking Sev knocked me down in Diagon Alley."

"That was before first year!" Lily exclaimed. Alexia paused when her eyes caught on something running across the floor and hiding under the bed. She put her finger to her lips and looked at her friend seriously. Lily nodded a little, surprised, and watched as Alexia shifted into her fox form.

Alexia waited until the familiar rat ran out from under the bed and headed toward the dresser. She sped at him and pounced, catching him in her mouth. He struggled and she growled. She knew he understood that he'd really messed up. Alexia jumped onto her bed again and dropped Peter. Lily dumped out the bag that held her nail things and shoved it on top of the rat while Alexia shifted back.

"Merlin, that was impressive," Lily laughed shakily. "Mary would've freaked if she saw a rat in here."

Alexia glared at the bag and held her hands out. "Move it."

"But-,"

"Move it, Lily." Lily did as she asked and Alexia caught Peter before he could run away and levitated him to the middle of the room with one hand. With the other, she cast another spell. "Ad Hominem."

The rat twisted into Peter and Alexia let him fall hard on the floor.

"You disgusting rat!" Alexia shouted, likely loud enough for even those in the common room to hear her. "What the fuck are you doing here? I swear to god, I'm going to destroy you! Better yet, Jamie will-,"

"Lex?"

Alexia smiled at Peter, a terrifying contrast to her sparking hair.

"Ash, please-,"

Alexia levitated him again to the door. "Out of the way, Jamie, I have a gift for you."

"Uh, okay," he called. When she peeked out the door and saw he'd moved, she shoved her hand outward and released the spell, tossing Peter down the stairs. She hesitated but caught him before he hit the ground too hard. She stormed down the stairs to find the rest of her friends staring at her.

"This rat was running through our dorm room!" She exclaimed.

"I was just-,"

Alexia waved her hand at his mouth angrily, silencing him.

"Pete," James said, his voice low. "Tell me you didn't go up there again."

"Again?"

"You're a fucking creep," Sirius scowled at their friend in disgust. "What the hell were you doing up there?"

"I'm taking him to McGonagall," Alexia told her friends. When they went to argue, she glared them silent. "I won't mention that he's an Animagus, you idiots. I'm also not letting him get away with this."

"But-,"

"No," she huffed, levitating him again before he could do anything. She ignored them and stomped out of the common room, heading down a flight of stairs to McGonagall's office.

"Miss Potter!" the woman exclaimed. "Put him down right now!"

Alexia did her best not to drop Peter too hard despite how much she wanted to. "I found him sneaking around in my dorm room. Lily will confirm that. I don't know how he got up there but the next time I see him there, I'm going to hex him."

McGonagall's lips thinned and she sat down again. "I see. You have no clue how he got there?"

Alexia eyed Peter. The urge to tell the woman that he was an animagus nearly overcame her but she pushed it down. "No."

"Well, you are dismissed," McGonagall told her with a shake of her head. Alexia nodded a little and, with one more glare at Peter, she fled the room and made her way down to the library. She knew it would be harder to calm down if she went back to Gryffindor, so she walked into the library and sat down with Regulus, dropping her head onto the table. He looked up at her, marking his page.

"What is it?"

"Peter got into my dorm," she muttered. "I gave him to McGonagall but I'm liable to murder him if I see him again anytime soon."

"How?" Regulus asked her in shock. "I thought that was supposed to be impossible."

Alexia shrugged. "If he did it once, he can do it again. If I find him in there again, I'll transfigure him into a rock and drop him in the Black Lake, damn the timelines."

"You knew him?"

Alexia picked her head up and glanced at her friend tiredly. "Yes, I did. Not fondly. He died a few weeks before I got sent here."

"That's why you don't like him," Regulus realized. "You know something about him."

"Something really fucking shitty," she confirmed. "He- it…" Alexia trailed off, shaking her head sadly. She hated thinking about the day her brother would die, which meant she hated being around Peter. "Fuck."

"If he was in your dorm, maybe your friends know how he got in there," Regulus suggested, trying to gently move the conversation away from what was obviously a bad memory. Alexia offered him a small smile.

"I doubt it. Hopefully he isn't foolish enough to try it again. If it didn't threaten the timelines, I already would've dropped him in the lake. Maybe I will, just for a day or two."

"Alexia, no."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

October 12th, 1974

Alexia pulled her cloak tighter around her and sped into the pub, letting the door slam closed behind her as she made her way to the bar, settling down in front of Aberforth, who grunted a hello at her and set down the cup in his hands.

The pair had been working backwards on the war, something that helped to jog her memory on the early parts as they moved closer. They'd only met twice so far because of various scheduling issues that had been fixed by Aberforth closing the bar every Saturday morning for a couple of hours to talk.

"Let's get right into it," he told her. "There's another Order meeting today."

"What happened last time?" she wondered, shedding her cloak. She'd put her hair in double braids and threw them over her shoulders to focus on the conversation ahead.

"Our spy has informed us that they're looking to approach the Black brothers over Christmas," he told her. "Lucius Malfoy as well, so watch out with him."

"He's harmless."

"He is not."

"Okay, he's harmless to me. For now."

"Other kids your age have been approached, mostly because of their parents. Yaxley and Avery being among them. Your next Hogsmeade weekend is going to see a raid on the town so keep your friends back."

"And how am I supposed to explain why?"

"No damn clue."

"Thanks."

"Your mark has been spread to the Order and connected to Albus's marks, so you can relax about that. Moody is giving the same information out to his trusted Aurors and hit wizards," Aberforth continued. "Your parents are still trying to get Dolohov arrested, by the way. My brother is doing his best to put a stop to it."

Alexia rubbed her face tiredly. "Mum told me we couldn't afford to do something like that."

"With the Dolohov family officially marked dark and a threat by the ministry, it seems they've changed their minds. An attack against the daughter of one of the strongest houses would, admittedly, be an unforgivable thing."

"Couldn't I just have a normal life for ten minutes?"

"No."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

October 15th, 1974

Lucius pulled his fingers gently through Alexia's hair, looking down at her closed eyes. Her head was in his lap and she'd been reading nearly an hour earlier, only to fall asleep quickly. He'd marked the page for her and set the book aside, relishing in the time to just watch her.

It startled him how relaxed she was. He'd found her asleep in the Room of Requirement before after a long night of studying and had noted each time that she was tense. She'd also woken up quickly at the slightest sound, so it surprised him how deeply she was sleeping.

"Stop staring," she muttered, her sleepy voice soft. She didn't bother opening her eyes, comfortable where she was. "How long was I asleep?"

"An hour," he answered quietly. "I marked your page."

"Mm," she smiled. "I love you."

"For marking your page."

"Yeah."

"I love you, too."

Alexia opened her eyes and looked up at him. "Aberforth said they'll be coming for you soon."

Lucius stiffened, his small smile slipping from his lips. "Why would Aberforth tell you-,"

"I joined the Order," she interrupted, pausing. "Again. Abe and I have been talking. He keeps me updated on Order meetings and who Voldemort is looking at, which includes Sirius, Regulus, and you."

"We knew it was starting," he reminded them both. He would admit to being a bit afraid. "Alexia, do you know anything about joining him?"

She considered his question quietly. "Yes, I do."

"What do you know?"

"I know that saying no to him is… near impossible. I don't know too much about the mark itself aside from the fact that it is extremely painful to receive and that to get it, you have to-," she cut off and sighed, pulling herself to sit up and look in his eyes. "You have to kill someone."

Lucius's eyes closed, though he nodded shortly. "How do you know?"

"Aberforth," she answered simply. "I don't… know what to do. I want to tell you not to do it-,"

"It will be okay," he assured her gently, reaching out to touch her cheek. "You should warn Regulus and Sirius."

"I will," she sighed. "I wanted to tell you first."

"I will be okay."

Alexia looked at his face sadly and didn't bother replying. They both knew that, for a long time, he wouldn't be. There was nothing they could do about it, though, which left them both feeling powerless and just a bit angry.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Sirius sat on his bed as Padfoot, his head resting on top of his paws. He'd been there all day and had refused to leave despite his friends' numerous attempts to get him out of the room. He'd been in a foul mood since being informed he'd be going back to Grimmauld Place for Christmas and was ashamed to admit he'd even shouted at Alexia when she came to check on him, something that just made his mood darker.

He'd avoided his childhood home to the best of his ability since going to Hogwarts, but it seemed his luck had run out. A part of him considered sneaking off to Potter Manor anyway, but the rest of him knew Walburga would only storm over there and throw a fit, and he didn't want the only true family he had to be forced to deal with the nasty woman.

The last Christmas he'd spent at Grimmauld Place had been… depressing. He hadn't been sorted into Gryffindor yet, so his parents had gifted him with a green and black wand holster with the Slytherin crest on it, something he'd thrown straight into the fire after they'd left the room. Walburga had given him a long speech about blood purity and the sorts of friends she wanted him to make in school. Ironically, she'd specifically named Lucius Malfoy. He wondered if she'd be proud that they spent time together often, if only for Alexia's sake. Probably not.

There was a knock on the door and he picked up his head, growling in preparation for whichever Marauder was ready to risk being bitten next. To his surprise, though, it was Regulus. The boy rolled his eyes at him and closed the door behind him, locking it shut.

"This is extremely childish," Regulus accused. "Shift back."

Sirius set his head onto his paws again, ignoring his brother.

"You can't skip all of your classes," the boy tried. "Mother will punish you for that, too. It's one Christmas, Sirius, you can handle that."

Sirius shifted back, scowling at his brother as he got to his feet to meet him in the middle of the room. "I'd rather jump into the Black Lake than spend a Christmas with her. Something's happening, Reg."

"She probably just wants to straighten you out," Regulus reasoned. "A few lessons in dark magic. You can handle that."

"But I don't want to!" Sirius threw his hands up. "Fuck, Reg, you don't even get it. I can and I probably will, but I don't want to. Not because I'm being pathetic or weak for not wanting to put up with it but because the Potters are better! They're kind, Regulus. They love me. It's entirely different. So yeah, I can. But I got away from her toxic bullshit for three years at Christmas and I don't want to go back. I deserve- we deserve to be fucking happy and safe and loved and not taught that pureblood dark magic bullshit."

"Well, we don't have a choice, do we?" Regulus asked stiffly. "You're right, I don't get it. I don't have the Potters, I just have the choice to survive or fight back like you do and I made my choice. We both rebel, they'll kill us and give the heir title to Bella's firstborn or something. One of us, we're the best chance at getting this House out of hell. So just suck it the fuck up because we have a job to do."

"No one fucking listens to me," Sirius glared. "I don't want to be the heir. I refuse to be Lord Black. You can have it, I don't fucking care."

"Fine," Regulus said, looking both calm and furious. "Do what you want. Spend your days as a dog, skip class, get hexed, I don't care. Just remember this was your choice. Whatever happens this Christmas, this summer, whatever they ever do to you, it's on you."

"But it isn't!" Sirius exclaimed angrily, frustrated that his brother just didn't get it. "I'm a child. You're a child! They shouldn't be treating us like this! It's on them, Reg, because they're the ones hurting and threatening us! Fuck, you need to spend some time with the Potters."

"It doesn't matter whose fault it is," Regulus bit out, his anger overwhelming him. Sirius didn't understand it at all. "We are where we are, Sirius. We can't just change that! No matter how much time you spend with the Potters, you're always going to be the Black heir. You're always going to be a disappointment to Mother and that won't change until you learn to fight smart and not with your bloody heart."

"Whatever," Sirius waved at him. "Get out, Reg."

Regulus scowled and stormed from the room, slamming the door shut behind him. He ignored the stares of various Gryffindors as he left their common room. Sirius had such a strong sense of right and wrong that he couldn't even see that it didn't matter - right or wrong, they were going to be hurt no matter what.

"Reg!" Alexia exclaimed when he accidentally hit her shoulder, walking so fast that he sent her to the floor. Her voice startled him out of his fury and he cursed, reaching down to help her up. She looked at him in concern, pushing some of his hair out of his eyes gently. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"Sirius," Regulus managed shortly. Alexia winced.

"He's still pouting? Did he manage to tell anyone why?"

"Because he has to come home for Christmas," Regulus answered her. She froze and he frowned. "What? Do you know something about that?"

"Actually, I do," she nodded slowly. "Maybe we should talk about this with Sirius-,"

"No," Regulus snapped. She blinked and he took a second to calm himself. "I do not wish to see him again today."

"Okay, well…" she frowned and grabbed his hand, pulling him down the hall to an empty classroom. When the door was shut, she gave him a grim look. "Voldemort is going to try to recruit you both."

"I see," he breathed. It made sense. Sirius was heir, so he'd be wanted the most. Suddenly, Regulus was genuinely worried for his brother's safety. "Perhaps he shouldn't come home."

"He has to," Alexia said reluctantly. "I'd love to keep him safe, both of you safe, but I can't. Legally, Walburga could destroy the Potters for 'kidnapping' the Black heir if he stayed with us without her permission."

"You're right, of course," he agreed tiredly. She looked at him sadly and, to his surprise, grabbed his arm, pulling him into a tight hug. "Lexi?"

"Sorry," she breathed, not releasing. "It's just- it's starting, and I- I'm scared for you. I don't want you to have to- to-,"

"I know," he told her softly, rubbing her back. "Would it help if I told you that without you here, I would do the same thing?"

She pulled back, her hands on her shoulders, and looked at him in surprise. "Really?"

"Sirius and I are very different people, Lexi," he told her slowly. "I know that I'll probably do really shitty things, but… I need to keep myself safe."

"But it isn't safe."

"Safer than if I denied him."

Alexia couldn't argue that. "I don't want you to fight a war. I don't want you to have to hurt people, to kill… I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," he reminded her, hugging her again. She was a very tactile person, he knew, and while he generally avoided being too touchy with her since she was dating Lucius, he also knew she needed touch to feel grounded. "Will you… tell me what it's like?"

Alexia pulled away and looked at him, considering his request seriously. She didn't want to burden anyone with thoughts of the war, but since she was pushing him into the war, she thought it was only fair he know what was ahead of him. "What do you want to know?"

"Bella said… getting the mark is like the Cruciatus. What is that… like?"

Alexia breathed in deep. "Merlin, it would've been easier if you asked me what it's like to kill someone."

"That too."

"Okay… you know what the Cruciatus does?"

"Mental and physical, right?"

"Right," she confirmed. "It feels like every individual piece of your being, your body and mind, are being slowly killed. The mental part… it can change memories, shift them into something more terrible than their truth, but if you have enough bad memories, things that really fucked you up, you'd just see those on repeat. That's what happened to me."

"What did you see?"

"No."

Regulus winced. "I'm sorry, that was insensitive. What is it like… after?"

"The first few minutes after it's lifted are the worst," she explained slowly. "It's like a ghost pain. Your body relaxes as soon as the curse is lifted, but you can still feel the curse. The shaking is… one of the hardest parts. You try to bunch yourself up, you know, to stop the shaking, but that can cause permanent damage to your body. The rest, the long-term pain, it all depends on how bad of a Crucio it is and how long it was held for. For me, I've gone through a lot of torture, Bellatrix and Dolohov being the worst of them, not to mention Umbridge. My damage is extensive and will last a pretty long time. I've never been able to do the physical therapy for it for varying reasons, and once it became possible, it wouldn't have helped anymore. I manage with constant potions that'll take me longer to get off of every time it happens again, even for a moment. Dolohov really fucked my recovery. Goyle made it worse."

"Shit," Regulus breathed, running his fingers through his hair the same way Sirius often did. "And- and killing?"

"Can be easy," she admitted quietly. "I try to, you know, mostly use the Killing Curse just because it's quick and causes the least amount of pain, but I've done less immediate and harmful things to stay safe."

"Like what?"

"Reg-,"

"Lexi, please," he begged. "I just- you've done this. I want to know… what to expect. I'm… scared."

Alexia grimaced but nodded. "I've thrown a piece of the falling castle at someone. It crushed them. I used a cutting hex to cut a throat before. I threw someone off a cliff, essentially. I used this one dark curse I found in your library that just… vanishes every internal organ in a body. Obviously I used Sectumsempra last year. Ah… I don't remember all of it, honestly. After a while… it's easier. They say it isn't, but it kind of is."

"Fuck."

"Keep in mind, most of these are during the final battle," she assured him hurriedly. "There shouldn't be a battle like that in this time, in this first war. Most likely, you'll be targeting muggles and muggleborns, maybe halfbloods and some blood traitors. I need you to be prepared for the possibility of having to torture someone."

"I can't… torture. Not after you described it like that."

"I've hit someone with a Crucio once."

Regulus stared at her, his mouth dropping open and snapping shut in surprise. "You have?"

Alexia nodded, remembering the incident. "It was sort of an accident, but it was the first curse that came to mind that would prevent him from following us. We were outed by the minister of the time, I think, and a bunch of Death Eaters showed up at my friends' wedding reception. He just- he wouldn't let go of me and I had to. To stay safe, Reg. Whatever you do during this war, it's to protect yourself. I know that."

"I'm going to get hurt," he told her after a moment. "No one doesn't get hurt in a war, right?"

Alexia nodded. "For the most part, yeah."

"Can you… you don't have to, Lexi, but could you tell me a little bit of what happened to you? I just… I just want to know."

Alexia hesitated. She didn't really feel like sharing everything with him if she were being honest. She had only told him so much already because she felt a large amount of guilt for his joining Voldemort. But at the same time… he was right. He'd be hurt and she thought he had a right to be aware of how.

"Let's see. There was a lot of the Crucio. Um… my first experience with it was in my fifth year. It's a long story. It's always a little bit different depending on who casts it. There are also… cursed blades," she winced. "Bellatrix carved a word into my arm when she tortured me that day. It's gone now, thankfully, but still."

"What word?"

"'Mudblood,'" Alexia told him. He paled considerably, but she moved on by pushing her shirt up a little to show him the dark scar on her hip. "This is only so bad because Dolohov opened it up again using the same curse, but it's a curse he created. He almost killed me with it twice." She pushed her shirt up more until it showed the bottom of her mark and a few scars. "A shrapnel curse. These still hurt often, honestly."

"That's a nasty curse," Regulus said softly. She watched him reach out to touch it, looking as if he didn't even realize he was doing it. His eyes shifted to another scar a few inches below her still covered bra. "What about that?"

Alexia made a face and dropped her shirt. "Not from the war. That was from the day Sirius and I were alone in Grimmauld Place and he got drunk and started breaking things. I heard him and went into the room just as he was tossing this ugly bowl at the door and it sort of… broke into me."

"Merlin," Regulus gasped. "Sirius gave you a scar?"

She rolled her eyes. "He was ridiculous about it, too. He offered me some of his firewhiskey for the pain, then try to pour some of it onto the injury. Then he couldn't find the first aid kit or his wand, so he ended up taking me to a muggle hospital while he was still super fucking drunk. They called my parents."

"Why were you staying with him?" Regulus wondered quietly. Alexia shifted. Talking about her parents made her uncomfortable, especially the longer she was away from them.

"It's sort of a long story. My parents and I… we didn't get along. My dad started drinking a lot in my second year and my mom didn't cope well, so she wasn't home often. The difference between my dad and Sirius was… Sirius was terrified when he accidentally hurt me. My dad was just pissed. So I stayed with Sirius a lot and then the Weasleys when Remus found out what happened and demanded he take him to a mind healer to get him to stop drinking as much."

"I'm sorry," he told her gently. She gave him a small, shaky smile.

"I've never told anybody that. My friends never asked me about my family. They met them once before our second year, before it went to shit. I get why things got bad. But my friends never thought to ask if… ah, I don't know. It's over. My parents don't remember me anyway, so there's no reason to dwell."

"I won't tell anyone," he promised, grabbing her hand. She squeezed his hand gratefully. "Can I ask what happened?"

Alexia shifted to stand next to him leaning against a desk and rested her head against his shoulder. He was younger than her, but he'd grown at least three or four inches over summer, making him already taller than her. "In my second year, I was… um, I was petrified by a basilisk."

"What?"

She let out a small laugh. "Yeah. For a couple months. And because I am- I was a muggleborn, no one told my parents. I used to write them twice a week, so they knew pretty quick that something was wrong. They had no way to get in touch with anyone, though, so they were just stuck waiting for news. When I finally woke up and wrote them, it was… tough. They were upset with me. They tried to keep me from going back and we had a big fight, so I went to stay with friends for the last week of that summer. I avoided them as much as I could after that. Christmas, Easter, parts of summer were spent with friends or Sirius. It had the effect of making Sirius and I pretty close when he figured out why I was staying with him so much

"I'd tell you my parents are shit, but you already know," he commented. "I'm glad you're away from that, Lexi. You deserve better."

She sighed tiredly. "Sure. I just wish I could've preserved their memories somehow. I had to Obliviate them before I could go on the run and since I didn't know how to do it without destroying the memories and I couldn't tell anyone… they don't remember me. I planned on going to find them, just to see how they're doing, you know, but then… I was sent here."

"You'd think hearing about all of this would make me feel better about becoming a Death Eater," Regulus laughed nervously. Alexia wrapped an arm around his shoulder comfortingly.

"I know. I wish I could say it'll be okay, but I can't. If you ever need to talk about anything that happens, though, I'm always here. I get it."

"Thanks," he smiled at her softly. "I might take you up on that sometime."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

October 20th, 1974

Gryffindor Quidditch tryouts were being held and while it was mostly a normal set of people trying out, there was one small, redheaded girl in the pitch standing between Sirius and James while they tried to comfort her.

It had been the cause for quite a few arguments in the first two months of school for multiple reasons. Despite the disastrous date, Lily had allowed James to teach her to fly well only because they'd taken oaths the night they played the Veritaserum or Dare and she had to uphold her dare.

Alexia sat in the stands next to Remus, cuddling up to him for warmth. With the full moon approaching, he was a human heater and she took advantage of that fact by using him for his warmth. He held her close when she began shivering, and they eyed Lily as she got up on her broom and began her turn.

They were shocked to find that she was actually incredible at the game.

She was trying out for Chaser and she did quite well getting the ball into the goal despite the keeper trying to stop her. After about thirty minutes of her doing different drills with the others, she was dismissed and went to join Sirius and James, who had also tried out either with her or before her.

It was another hour before the tryouts were finished, and Alexia and Remus made their way down to the pitch to listen as the Gryffindor captain, Corey Ross, called out the team. Sirius retained his position as beater and James as a chaser, and the same seeker and keeper was kept as the year before. When he finished, Alexia was already angry.

"Hey, I have a question."

Corey looked her over with a smirk. "See me after practice."

"Oi!" James snapped. "That's my sister!"

"She's fit."

"She's going to hurt you if you aren't careful," Sirius added.

"I mean about your team placements," Alexia explained with a much too sweet smile. "If that's okay."

"Of course, sweetheart, what is it?"

Remus and James both winced - they could feel her anger, disgust, and frustration and already knew nothing good was going to come of the conversation.

"Travers scored four less points than Lily and he couldn't manage that weird obstacle course without knocking shit over. He's not as good as her. Shouldn't she have made the team?"

"Girls are welcome to try out, but they're not really allowed on the team, love," he explained slowly as if she were stupid. "She looked good up there, though."

Alexia's eyes flashed. "I checked every Quidditch rule that Hogwarts has and there are no rules against women playing. I asked McGonagall, too, and then I even asked bloody Albus Dumbledore. Lily is allowed to play - Lily should play."

"Leave it, Potter," Travers snapped at her. She sneered at him.

"You're shit at Quidditch, Travers," she shot back. "That's Lily's spot."

"It's okay," Lily tried. She quieted at the glare she received.

"It's never been done before," Ross explained to her, getting irritated.

"Sure, and Quidditch hasn't won the Cup in six years," she shot back. "Maybe you would if you had a bloody good player on the team instead of Travers."

"It's not gonna happen, Potter!"

Alexia's smile relaxed and she stepped closer. "I heard your father is requesting a formal seat on the Wizengamot next month. My father planned to vote for him, and you know how many votes we hold… it would be awful if Daddy heard how fucking sexist you are."

All of her friends stared at her in shock.

Ross shifted and held her gaze for a moment before he looked at Travers sharply. "You're out. Evans, you have a spot."

Alexia grinned brightly. "Good idea, Ross."

Once the team had been given their schedules and released, Alexia found herself being rushed back to the castle by all of her friends and her brother.

"Dad would kill you if he knew you did that," James told her in horror. "That was… awful!"

"Dad would agree with me," she argued. "I know Ross's type, Jamie. Lily earned her spot, he was just being an ass."

"That was bloody brilliant," Sirius grinned at her.

"Can we talk about the fact that I didn't really want the spot?" Lily requested. The looks she got told her that no, they couldn't.

"If you're done politically intimidating people three years older than you, I need a nap," Remus told her tiredly.

"Politically intimidating?"

Alexia let out a short shriek at the noise behind her and the hand that touched her hip. She spun around to see Lucius raising an eyebrow at her and she blushed. "Ross was being ridiculous, so I gave him reason to give Lily the spot that she rightfully earned."

"Actually, you sort of blackmailed him," James reminded her. She rolled her eyes.

"It's his fault for believing me that Dad would retract his vote based on a Quidditch spot. Just about everyone knows we don't do that shit."

"We don't, but you apparently do," James disagreed. "Sounds more like something Sirius's family would do."

"Ew," Sirius made a face. "Don't say that. She's nothing like them."

"You blackmailed the Quidditch captain?" Lucius repeated with a disbelieving laugh. At her shrug, he shook his head. "I truly believe the only reason you are in Gryffindor at all is your brother. Everything about you is very Slytherin."

"You said I have no self preservation," she reminded him offhandedly. He hummed.

"That is a fair point, you do lack self preservation."

"I thought you fought a bloody vampire," Sirius reminded her, referencing a part of the final battle that she'd let slip. "Fighting it seems like you don't wanna die."

"Tell him why you were fighting it," Lucius requested. Alexia made a face at him.

"Because it was going to bite Harry."

"So she got in a duel with it instead so Harry could escape," Lucius finished. "No self preservation."

"Guys," Lily interrupted, looking stressed. "How am I supposed to care about Quidditch and school? I barely have time for anything!"

"Stop studying so much," Sirius suggested. She shot him a glare and he shrugged. "Ask Malfoy, he does it."

"I can help you work out a schedule," he offered, mostly because the girl meant so much to Alexia. "Another day. When is your first practice?"

"Saturday," James answered.

"Tomorrow," Lucius offered. "For now, I'd like to steal my beautiful girlfriend from you."

"Ew," James made a face. "Fine, but don't be gross until you're away from me."

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