Huda collapsed onto her bed, her heart pounding as she checked the wards of her house. The wards were held up with no disturbances and she breathed a sigh of relief before pulling off her dress robes. She left them in a heap on the floor and pulled on a pair of jeans and a sweater. She still couldn't believe what had just happened to her. She had just been at a rally. Lord Voldemort's rally. She watched Death Eater's being initiated.
She had officially been invited to join the Dark Lord's ranks. She took a deep breath before calling for a bottle of Firewhiskey. Nothing could have prepared her for facing Lord Voldemort for the first time. He had looked almost normal in comparison to the monster most were describing him as. After a couple of glasses of Firewhiskey, Huda Disapparated to Hogwarts to meet Dumbledore. She passed through the gates and sneaked up to the Headmaster's office.
"This is rather frightening news, Ms. Shafiq" Dumbledore replied after Huda recounted her entire tale.
"Most if not all people there were Slytherins. Almost all of them were older than me. They all took the Mark in front of me. And he was watching all of us. Addressing all of us and people agreed with what he said! People who I thought were actually neutral or had no intention of fighting in the war!" Huda fell silent knowing that ranting at the Headmaster wasn't really going to help her at this point.
"So Dolohov and Rosier took the Mark?" the older man and Huda nodded.
"And Bellatrix and Yaxley. I think I saw the two Lestrange brothers as well"
Dumbledore sighed, all of a sudden looking rather aged. "This is worrying. At least we have a few names but to catch them and charge them will put you in danger, Ms. Shafiq. You have been very brave to have infiltrated, stayed and brought this information back to me".
"I wish to do more, Headmaster but I don't know how far I can go without being caught as an outsider" Huda's hands gripped the ends of her sweater. She was definitely on edge after recounting the whole scene she had witnessed.
"I feel your role is good enough for now, Ms. Shafiq. We shall discuss diversifying your role come graduation" Dumbledore replied. Huda nodded and stood up. The phoenix, Fawkes, let out a chirp and she smiled at the creature tenderly. Despite her love of magic, she was quite wary of magical creatures and did not want to reach out to Fawkes and pet him.
"I'll see you in September, Headmaster" Huda allowed the stone steps lower her down until she reached the exit. She had never been to Hogwarts during the summertime and she felt like having something sugary sweet and a cup of steaming tea. She didn't waste any time and began making her way down to the kitchens. On her way, she heard footsteps and immediately hid herself in a nearby tapestry.
To her surprise, Severus Snape passed right by her hiding place, still dressed in his school robes, his nose in a book. She almost fell out the tapestry but watched him walk away. What exactly was Severus Snape doing at Hogwarts during the summer? No student ever stayed at the school during the summer holidays. Huda pondered this while eating her syrupy pancakes and asked a nearby house elf for clarification.
"Mr. Snape be an orphan, miss!" the elf replied. "He be having no home so Dumbledore allows him to stays!".
Huda blinked in surprise and the elf ran off to presumably do something else. She had had no idea that Snape was an orphan. He was mostly known as being a half blood and Lily Evans best friend but even she had noticed in her stupor state last year that he had begun hanging around Death Eater types which Evans being muggleborn would definitely not approve of. She sighed before finishing off the food and Disapparating back to her home.
"So you're a spy?" James mumbled, his voice muffled due to the insane amount of food he had decided to stuff in it.
"Just for now until Dumbledore finds something else for me to do" Huda replied, delicately rolling her pasta around the fork and taking a bite.
"I can't believe we never tried this joint before. We always pass it on the way to town" Sirius commented, almost moaning at how good the garlic bread tasted.
They were currently seated outside a veranda at an elegant Italian restaurant. The sun was shining and there was not a cloud in the sky. Huda, not wanting to risk being seen with Sirius and James at magical premises, pulled them towards Romano's for a light lunch. No pureblood would be caught dead in a muggle establishment and it provided the perfect cover. The waitress herself was over the moon at seeing two handsome young boys seated outside.
"So how has the rest of the summer been for you two?" Huda asked, wiping the corners of her mouth with a napkin.
"About that…." James glanced over at Sirius rather oddly.
"I ran away from home" Sirius admitted and Huda blinked at him in shock.
"Are you damn serious?" Huda asked and Sirius grinned at the pun.
"Yes I am Sirius" James guffawed at this and Huda cracked a smile despite herself.
"You actually ran away from home? Sirius, you're fifteen years old! Where did you go? How did you get out? Walburga actually allowed you to leave? What about Regulus-mmf!" Huda's eyes widened comically as a slice of garlic bread was stuffed in her mouth.
"Too many questions!" James laughed even harder at the sight of her, hazel eyes crinkling with mirth.
"I couldn't take it anymore. All that pureblood propaganda. They just kept going on and on and on at the dinner table and I just…snapped, I guess. I just started yelling at my mum and my dad stayed completely quiet while she tortured me. I had no choice. My mum was ready to kill me" Sirius looked down at his food, appetite gone as he recounted his tale.
"Regulus saw all this?" Huda asked quietly.
"He was whisked away by our house elf Kreacher. My dad ordered him to be taken away" Sirius let out a mirthless scoff. "At least he did one good thing out of his entire time of raising us,".
"So how did you get out? You went to James? How?"
"Apparated illegally. Thank Merlin, he didn't Splinch himself. We were just about to go to bed when he popped into the living room all messed up and wild. My parents took him in" James explained, taking over the story.
"I'm so sorry, Sirius" Huda reached over and enveloped him into a hug.
"I'm okay. Just happy to be out of there" Sirius patted her arm awkwardly and they pulled away just as the waitress walked up to their table.
"Anything else you'd be wanting?" her eyes wandered between James and Sirius and finally settled on Sirius, sending him a flirty smile.
"Nothing else, hun. Just the bill" Huda interrupted, draping an arm around Sirius and winking at her. The waitress frowned before turning and walking away. James nearly fell off his chair laughing as Sirius leaned over to kiss her hard on the mouth. Huda kissed him back in earnest, her hands tangled in his long hair.
"Oi, oi, we're in public!" James hollered and they split apart.
"Bet you would do the same if it was Evans" Sirius teased and James turned bright red at the mention of Lily Evans. He threw a slice of garlic bread at Sirius who yelped and tackled the other Marauder with ease. Huda sat back and smiled at the two. She wouldn't trade this time for the world.
The next couple of weeks of summer were more or less domestic bliss for Huda. She would wake up with breakfast made by Sirius and Brownie, the Daily Prophet was long forgotten, lunches with James in Muggle London was a daily occurrence and dinners at the Potters residence was also a bi-weekly arrangement. Huda and Sirius spent the remainder of the time either in bed together or working on their Animagus project which was back in full swing with Peter and James in tow. They had started again with the Mandrake leaves and were determined to finish the project before year end.
Huda smiled up at the ceiling as she awoke half an hour before sunrise. She felt Sirius's right arm around her waist and his face buried into her neck. His breaths tickled her neck as she stretched out and turned towards him. He seemed almost peaceful, fast asleep away from the worries of his parents, his brother and the war brewing around them. She reached in and kissed his lips gently but that was enough activity for him to stir. His eyes opened and focused on her before kissing her in earnest. Huda pulled him closer to her and he pulled her on top of him, his arms around her tight. She laughed as he began to tickle at her sides and yelped as he flipped them over. Now on top, Sirius began his assault on her neck and she laughed as his stubble tickled her even more along with his fingers poking her side.
"Stop, stop, stop!" Huda begged and Sirius relented, getting off her and flopping down on the bed next to her.
"Good morning to you too" Sirius chuckled and Huda breathed out a laugh.
"We have to do the spell" Huda said and Sirius shot up and they quickly made their way out to her balcony. They whispered the spell and Sirius jumped in surprise.
"I felt a heartbeat" he whispered as if the moment would shatter if he spoke any louder.
"That's amazing" Huda replied.
She was happy for him but she couldn't help but feel a prick of jealousy at the fact that she was older and advanced magically but she was still not hearing a heartbeat. Sirius whooped before rushing off to Floo James and inform him of the good news. Huda crawled back into bed and tried to distract herself from the little green monster which was threatening to jump out of her body. Sirius didn't come back and Huda opted to wallow in her frustration for the rest of the morning.
The next few days were even more awful. Sirius and James had both felt their heartbeats at the same time and were busy encouraging Peter to continue on his Animagus journey. Huda opted to voice her opinion when they met once again for lunch at Romano's Italian Bistro that day. She started talking about the horrors that people faced when transforming for the first time.
"Stop psyching him out of this, Huda. Nothing will happen" James reassured the smaller blond boy who looked positively terrified.
"I'm being realistic, James. I have confidence in you and Sirius but Peter is just too nervous for this sort of thing" Huda smirked and Peter nodded.
"Maybe I shouldn't do this, James" Peter turned to the bespectacled boy who shook his head stubbornly.
"You'll be fine, Peter" Sirius turned to Huda and grabbed her hand. "We need to talk". He proceeded to drag her out of Romano's and they began the walk back to her home.
"Sirius, let me go" Huda tried to pull her hand away but Sirius held on tight, only letting go once they had crossed the threshold of her home.
"What is wrong with you?!" Huda cried as she examined the red handprint on her wrist.
"Why did you say that to Peter? You know how he is. Why do you want to make him scared?" Sirius asked, loud enough for Brownie to come running into the room.
"I'm being realistic, Sirius. You know how Peter is" Huda replied, looking up at him.
"This is about me being an Animagus, isn't it?" Sirius asked in a low voice and Huda truly felt like tearing her hair out. She had been avoiding this conversation for the past couple of days but Sirius being the direct person that he was, he wasn't going to let anything go without talking about it.
"No it isn't!" she insisted, glaring at Sirius.
"Then why have you all of a sudden begun researching of the side effects of transforming and the illegalities of being unregistered? You want us to stop even though you know we've been working so hard at this for Remus! You don't like that your genius brain can't help you transform from the beginning! You aren't being happy for us or even supportive. Before being my girlfriend, you're supposed to be our friend! You don't like it that you're not as skilled as you thought you would be!" Sirius was breathing hard when he finished his tirade and Huda felt tears prick her eyes. Everything he said was right. He was right but she didn't want to admit it to him.
"Get out of my house!" Huda screamed out and Sirius nodded. He stalked out of the living room, presumably to pack up his things. He disappeared into the green flames and Huda ran to the kitchen and pulled out a bottle of Firewhiskey. She cried out in frustration as the top wouldn't come off the bottle and threw it against the kitchen wall where it shattered to a million pieces. She leaned back against the fridge door before sliding down onto the floor.
She didn't know how long she cried for until Brownie entered the kitchen ready to make dinner and to clean up after the mess she had made. Huda picked herself off the floor and bounded up the stairs to her room. True to his word, Sirius had stripped everything of himself from her room. It looked like as if he had never even been there. She sighed and called for Brownie to clean her room. She changed into something more comfortable and settled at her desk in her father's study.
Immediately, there was a tapping at her window and she spotted a brown tawny owl holding a letter in its beak. She ripped open the letter only to find it an invitation for a Dueling Club for fourth year to seventh year Slytherins at Hogwarts. Most likely, this was brought on by the newly joined Death Eaters in order to corrupt the younger years. But this way, Huda would be able to get more information on the next generation and of course to protect Regulus now that Sirius wasn't around. She grinned as she signed off the letter with a flourish.
There was nothing she wouldn't be able to do.
Whispers erupted immediately in the Prefects carriage when Huda stepped in, already dressed in her Hogwarts robes with the Head Girl badge on her chest. This was the first time in two decades that the Head Girl or Boy had been selected in Slytherin House. Her male counterpart, Gideon Prewett was already waiting for her and Huda was counting on him for leading the charge since he had been a prefect since fifth year. It wasn't as if she wasn't familiar with him.
The Prewett twins were well known as loud and proud blood traitors and their older sister Molly had married Arthur Weasley right out of Hogwarts who was also another well-known blood traitor. The fifth year Prefects looked the most out of place. Huda greeted the Slytherin prefects, Priscilla Nott and Hector Fawley and nodded to the Gryffindors namely Remus Lupin and Lily Evans. She seated herself quickly next to Gideon who looked like he had been waiting for her to appear before starting.
"So we shall start the meeting. Welcome to our new fifth year prefects" Gideon gestured to the fifth years who were looking quite uneasy. "And welcome back to our old prefects" he gestured to the sixth years. "And a very warm welcome to our new Head Girl, Huda Shafiq" Huda nodded to all of them and began listening raptly.
"Now it's a pretty simple thing being a Prefect. Enforce the rules, be a role model to the students, stick to your patrols, report anything suspicious and stay out of trouble. I've already set the patrol schedule but we can do some switches if you all have Quidditch or other things to attend". Gideon handed out the schedules and Huda quickly skimmed through her own. It seems he had slotted himself in with her twice a week for the entire semester and the fifth years had been shuffled quite well.
"So begin your patrols now while on the train and we'll start officially from tomorrow. Cheers!" Gideon grinned and they all began shuffling out of the carriage.
"Nice work" Huda commented with a smile and Gideon bowed low with flair, making her chuckle.
"To be honest, Shafiq, I didn't really think they'd put you up as Head Girl but I guess you're the best they could get after Lynette Moon left" Gideon flopped down onto the seat and gestured for her to join him.
"Why did Lynette leave?" Huda asked in curiosity and Gideon sighed.
"Her family was wiped out by Death Eaters. Her aunt took her in and refused to let her come back. That's happening to a lot of kids. We might not have a lot of first years this time" Gideon explained and Huda fell silent, unable to reply to that.
It was true that Lord Voldemort was getting bolder with his moves. Bellatrix Lestrange had already been seen attacking a Muggle village in Somerset and there were numerous wanted posters out and a reward in her name. Many muggleborns had opted out of Hogwarts and simply gone into hiding. Huda had already sent her acceptance to the dueling club and was itching to attend the first meeting on Friday evening after class.
"You seem alright, Shafiq. I haven't really seen you get in trouble or get involved in any of these attacks or bullying at school" Gideon commented, his blue eyes twinkling at her.
"Not all Slytherins are bad, Prewett" Huda replied with a small smile. His enthusiasm and optimism was infectious. He was rather handsome as well but in a different way than Sirius. Sirius's features were cold, his face pale and striking while Gideon's face was softer, his eyes warmer and his skin tanned which didn't clash with his copper red hair. Many girls swooned at the twins especially Fabian, who was the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain this year.
They turned when they heard a knock at their doors. James Potter popped in but stopped short when he spotted Huda.
"Looking for someone, James?" Gideon asked.
"Looking for Remus. I didn't know your meeting was over. Cheers, mate" James scarpered and closed the door rather loudly behind him.
"Well that was peculiar" Gideon muttered and Huda shrugged.
She was quite content to sit here and pulled out a book to read. Gideon stifled a smile before busying himself with a Quidditch magazine. They sat quietly in the carriage with their own activities until the train stopped at Hogsmeade station. Huda walked out of the compartment and into the nearest available carriage. She reached Hogwarts rather early and seated herself at the Slytherin table.
"Huda!" Regulus Black spotted her immediately and rushed over to take the seat next to her. Huda smiled at the boy who had somehow become even more handsome over the summer. He was growing taller, already reaching her shoulders and it looked like he had been exercising a lot over the summer. Huda exchanged greetings with him, Mulciber, Snape and Crabbe who seated themselves opposite her.
"Had a good summer then, Reg?" Huda asked as they watched the other students walk in and take her seats.
"It's been heavy. Sirius ran away from home" Regulus replied and Mulciber scoffed.
"Finally, at least he's done your family a favor. The Dark Lord would never have accepted him with his blood traitor ways" Crabbe remarked and Huda chuckled.
"Speaking of the Dark Lord, did anyone attend the wedding?" Macnair popped up and sat down on Huda's other side, pushing aside a second year in the process.
"We didn't receive invitations" Mulciber replied looking rather put out.
"I did" Huda smirked.
She reveled in the shocked and jealous looks she received from the group in front of her. immediately they began barraging her for details which she dropped easily. Eventually, a few other fifth years and fourth years were listening in to her story. She edited the part of the ladies' room debacle with Narcissa but enjoyed speaking of the Dark Lord and his presence on that stage.
"Wow, that sounds amazing" Regulus commented and Huda nodded.
"I'm surprised, Shafiq. Always knew you were special in the brain but didn't think the Dark Lord would ever invite you because of your… connections" Mulciber's eyes were rather keen as he stared Huda down.
"It seems Malfoy didn't want to invite me" Macnair looked rather disappointed when he said this.
They settled down as the Sorting ceremony began and Huda was quite startled to see only fifteen students compared to almost thirty-five first years sorted last year. She caught Gideon's eye from the Gryffindor table where he was watching her with a frown on his face. She sent him a small smile before her eyes wandered as if on instinct to find Sirius. He was seated with his back to her opposite James and Remus. Remus spotted her and elbowed James who sent her a grin. She nodded to him and quickly looked towards the front before they alerted Sirius to her presence.
After dinner, Gideon and Huda met up once again to lead the charge of students and directing the prefects to lead their respective houses back to their common rooms. The Great Hall quickly emptied and Gideon offered to escort Huda back to the Slytherin common room. Huda refused and walked away before he could say anything further. Despite, Gideon being rather nice, she did not want to draw attention to him during her rather difficult mission at Hogwarts. The Slytherin common room was empty with only a few seventh years scattered on sofas. Huda sat down next to Macnair who still looked downtrodden from the feast.
"Come on, cheer up. That wasn't the only time the Dark Lord would be issuing invitations" Huda attempted to comfort him but Macnair scoffed.
"You were chosen first. I don't want to be a second pick".
"You don't need to be jealous, Walden. I didn't know this was going to be a rally. And trust me, you'll make a great servant of the Dark Lord" Huda almost gagged as she said this.
"You think so?"
"You aren't a coward like Carrow. Can't believe he just dropped out" Huda sneered and Macnair laughed. Edgar Carrow had sent a quiet letter to Huda at the end of August stating that he was moving away. He had received an inheritance from his father's vault when he turned seventeen and disappeared the very next day. Huda had known this was coming and wished him well. She had agreed to cut off all contact with him until it was safer to do so. But she would never admit that to Macnair and the rest of the Slytherins.
"So Dueling Club. Are you in?" Macnair asked and Huda nodded with a grin.
"We'd learn a lot more than what we're learning in school" she agreed.
Later that night, she quietly snuck out of the Slytherin dorms and made her way towards Dumbledore's office. The portraits hissed as the light of her wand illuminated the hallway and disturbed their sleep. Dumbledore was still awake, reading a rather large book and making notes on a parchment. The quill was writing away and Huda noted that it was a Quick Quotes Quill.
"Good evening, Professor" Huda greeted and Dumbledore gestured for her to take a seat.
Huda reported on her findings and Dumbledore listening attentively, with the quill scribbling quickly on the parchment. Huda finished by mentioning the Dueling Club and Dumbledore sighed gravely probably at the thought of young impressionable witches and wizards being taught the Dark Arts illegally in the school.
"I am rather relieved that you are there for those young students, Ms. Shafiq. Infiltrating the club is the only way to keep your mission up" Dumbledore smiled at the young girl sitting in front of him.
"I want to protect them, Headmaster. They do not deserve to join the Dark Lord" Huda replied.
"Or you would rather protect just one" Huda blanched when he said this and Dumbledore smiled rather kindly. "Regulus Black is very lucky to have someone like you in his life, Ms. Shafiq". Huda sighed and fidgeted with the end of her jumper. "But you cannot protect someone who has been destined for something you do not like".
"He's just a boy, Headmaster! He does not belong in this war. He's just misguided" Huda protested.
"You are young as well, Ms. Shafiq. I would never have joined this cause at your age, mind you. You are being selfless by devoting yourself to the Order but you cannot expect someone else to do the same. Especially a boy like Regulus Black who spends more time with his parents and his friends than he does with you" Dumbledore explained and Huda sighed.
"I don't want him to change, Headmaster. I just wish for him to realize that the path he is taking is not a path he should be taking".
"That is something he needs to understand for himself. Regulus is not Sirius".
Huda sighed once more as she absorbed his words. Dumbledore was right, whether she agreed or not. She just hoped that Regulus would be able to find his courage sooner rather than later.