October 28, 1982
Aurora's POV
"Hey, Aurora!"
Aurora had been sitting outside, staring at the black lake, lost in thought when she had heard Fred calling her name.
"Yes?" She called, eyes narrowing as Fred and George jogged across the grass, grinning wickedly at her.
"You know-" Fred began.
"We were thinking-" continued George.
"That you could really use our help" they chorused together.
Aurora scowled.
"With?"
"Why, getting back at the Slytherins of course!" George exclaimed.
"It's been weeks though" Aurora sighed, averting her gaze back to the black lake.
"Exactly, they won't be expecting a retaliation" Fred said smugly.
Sad green eyes stared into the twins' twinkling brown ones.
"But, they're like me" Aurora whispered, tugging on the grass to distract herself.
"Oi!", Fred yelled "none of this but I'm a muggle hater crap and I don't belong in Gryffindor again."
"But I don't."
"Do too" the twins chorused.
"Well, I don't belong in Slytherin either, if that makes you feel any better" Aurora said, tossing her black hair back over her shoulder.
"Finally, you've come to your senses" Fred said gleefully.
"Yeah, I know I'm an outcast."
"What? No!" The twins both stared at her.
"Come on, Aurora, please prank them with us" Fred pleaded.
"It's time for revenge" George added.
"Fine" Aurora snapped "I'll go with you, but I'm not doing anything other then standing there."
"Better then nothing, eh Freddie?" George said clapping his hands together. Fred nodded.
"Right then, let's go."
Aurora reluctantly got to her feet and trailed moodily behind the twins as they made their way back to the castle and towards the Slytherin common room. On their way, the twins found an empty classroom and gestured for Aurora to follow them inside.
Once the three of them were inside the classroom, George shut the door. The twins both turned towards her.
"So, here's the plan-" George began.
"We're going to disillusion ourselves and hide in one of the storage cupboards by the Slytherin common room. When Draco goes to lunch, we're going to spray him with shaving cream." Fred said eagerly, pulling out a bottle from his robe pocket.
"What's disillusion and why shaving cream?" Aurora asked perplexed.
"Disillusion is where we're charmed to be practically invisible. Taking on the appearance of our surroundings. Like you know, blending in. So Draco and the other Slytherins will have trouble finding us and knowing where the shaving cream came from." Fred explained.
"Plus, it's not just any shaving cream," George said smugly. "It's Weasley twin made shaving cream. It smells awful and turns wherever it touches a hot pink for 5 hours."
Aurora nodded without a word, noticing the pride in George's voice as he talked about him and Fred's invention.
"So, ready to go? Fred asked.
Aurora nodded. She couldn't help, but feel a little excited.
Fred disillusioned himself, George and Aurora before the three left the empty classroom to continue their walk to the dungeon.
"In here," George whispered to the other two as they approached a closed door.
The three of them squeezed their way into the small space. George kept the door open just enough for them to peer out into the hallway.
After around 15 minutes of silence, the three could hear the quiet rumble of chatter and laughter coming from their left, which meant the Slytherins were coming up from the dungeons to lunch.
Aurora made herself even smaller by squeezing herself behind Fred and George and backing as far away as she could manage in their hiding space.
As the noise from outside their spot grew, Aurora could hear Draco, Crabbe, Goyle and Nott coming in the group.
"NOW" Fred mouthed.
Both twins reached into their pockets and began spraying the passing Slytherins with the shaving cream.
Aurora watched in awe as the smell began to suffocate the air and the Slytherins began coughing while their skin, clothes and hair (depending where the shaving cream hit) turned pink.
"WHOSE SPRAYING US?" Draco yelled.
"HELP-ARGH" Crabbe cried stupidly, trying to duck away from the spraying.
As the Slytherins yelled and screamed in fright and confusion, Fred and George shut the door to the storage cupboard and locked it. The three were then standing in total darkness.
Aurora began to whimper, feeling the space closing in on her as painful memories began to resurface.
"Aurora, shhh" Fred breathed.
Scared green eyes stared back.
"Are you scared of the dark?" George asked, not unkindly.
Aurora nodded.
George reached his hand to her tentatively, but she flinched violently, hitting her head on the wall and letting out a hiss of pain and surprise.
"Oh, Merlin, Aurora it's okay" Fred said gently.
"We're not going to hurt you" George added.
Aurora was shaking like a leaf, but she reminded herself to stay strong, Malfoy's didn't het scared. It was just a storage cupboard and she was wth the Weasley twins, not the Malfoys.
She concentrated on the commutation going on outside the door.
"Who would do something like this? Draco was yelling.
"How do we get it off?" Pansy shrieked.
"Look, even the hallway has turned pink!" Draco exclaimed in disgust.
"Bet it was a Gryffindor" Nott said.
Aurora's heart dropped.
"They. Will Pay." Draco hissed.
"Flint, do you know a cleaning spell?" Nott asked.
"Er-"
"Right, you're just as bad at magic as a squib" Draco snapped.
"Let's go back and get this stuff off" he added.
The three of them sighed in relief as they heard the group of Slytherins turning around to go back to the dungeon. Thankfully, a teacher hadn't come because of all the commotion. Once the hallway was silent, the three ran out of the storage cupboard (Aurora on shaking legs, gasping as she saw the hot pink floor and walls just outside their hiding spot).
When they reached the Great Hall, the three of them sat down at the Gryffindor table. Aurora immediately poured herself a glass of pumpkin juice.
"What happened to you?" Ginny asked.
"Nothing," Aurora gasped, downing her drink.
It took almost a half an hour before the Slytherins who had been pranked came into the Great Hall, still covered in pink, with their heads down and shoulders slouched.
"Merlin!" Ron gasped gesturing to the Slytherin table "look at them!" All the Gryffindors turned and burst out laughing.
"Hey, Malfoy" Ron called "pink really isn't your colour!"
"Shut it, Weasel!" Draco roared from the other end of the hall.
The Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws were also laughing.
"Can someone get this off of us?" Pansy shrieked.
Dumbledore who had been sitting quietly at the head table, eyes twinkling got up and made is way to the Slytherin table to try and remove the pink from the effected Slytherins. The rest of the students watched as he was unsuccessful.
The doors banged open and Snape came striding in with Professors Black and McGonagall.
"Headmaster, the floor and walls of the hallway near the Slytherin common room have been graffitied pink" Snape said, lip curling.
"I see," said Dumbledore, "I'm afraid it's not like typical graffiti."
"What do you-" The Gryffindors watched as Snape's black eyes began to sweep over his Slytherin students, noticing the pink that covered many of them.
While McGonagall's mouth had remained in a thin line, Professor Black's grey eyes were sparkling.
"Brilliant!" Professor Black exclaimed, cutting off Snape.
Snape sneered "I think we have different definitions of brilliance, Black."
"Enough!" McGonagall said, stepping in between the two men.
"I am quite curious as to who did this" Dumbledore said thoughtfully.
Aurora's heart dropped as she noticed Professor Dumbledore turn towards the Gryffindor table.
"As do I" Snape sneered "and when we find out, they will be punished."
"Now Severus-" began Dumbledore.
"Look at my students!"
"Oh, lighten up" Professor Black said cheerily "it'll wear off soon" he reassured as he cast the Gryffindor table an almost knowing look.
The teachers walked away from the Slytherin table and took their spots at the head table.
"Did you see Professor Blacl's face?" Harry exclaimed brightly.
"Yeah, he looked just as happy as the students" Ron said, munching on a piece of chicken.
"He really shouldn't be finding this funny" Hermione tutted "he's a teacher!"
"Oh, lighten up" Fred called from his spot next to Lee Jordan at the table.
"Aurora, you really should eat" Ginny said, changing the subject.
Aurora said nothing.
"She's right" Harry said gently "come on Aurora, you're so thin"
Aurora just sighed and shook her head. Getting up from the table to go back to staring at the black lake.
As she left, she heard the twins confessing it had been them to do the prank to the others. She heard Hermione's scolding voice
"Honestly, you three could have been in serious trouble and bringing Aurora into the middle?"
"Relax, Hermione" George groaned in exasperation.
Aurora took a quick glance at the head table and noticed Professor Black looked the youngest she'd ever seen him looking. Like he had never spent 8 years in Azkaban. Like he for a moment, he was free. Free from the pained expression she sometimes noticed in his eyes and free from the gauntness that remained etched in his features sometimes.
Aurora wondered what it was like to be free from pain.
Was this what it was like to be free from pain?
Professor Black's POV
He was the happiest he had been in years. Memories of himself and the other Marauders flashed through his mind as he finished his lunch and headed back to his quarters.
Was it just him, or did he see a sparkle of innocence flash across Aurora's sad green eyes?
He appreciated the Slytherins getting pranked, especially with how cruel they were to Aurora. Even though he was a teacher now.
He say down and poured himself a glass of Firewhiskey. Yes, it was just after lunch, but it was a weekend and a very painful day for him at that.
Yes, today had always been painful for him, since the October 31st attack. He shuddered knowing that day was only three days away.
Yes, today brought memories and what if's in the same way October 31st did.
He downed his glass and poured himself another one, sitting back in his chair.
Today would have been her 11th birthday.
He wondered what she would have looked like now. He imagined her looking like her mother, with long red hair.
He pictured her running down the stairs "Uncle Siri! Uncle Siri!" she might yell, or would have been "Uncle Padfoot?" he mused. "Is my letter here yet?" He would have laughed at her antics, wishing her a happy birthday and handing her Hogwarts letter to her.
She probably would have wanted to go to Diagon Alley right away.
He would have bought her a special gift and taken her to get ice cream.
He sighed.
Yes, in a perfect world she would have had her parents looking after her, but at the very least she would have had him.
He was supposed to be the one looking after her if something happened to her parents and something did happen to her parents.
But he couldn't find her.
His little one, who was now 11.
He knew she was out there somewhere.
A tear trickled down his cheek as he whispered
"Happy birthday little one. I love you. I will always protect you. Please come back. Please come home."
He was met with silence.
Another tear trickled down his cheek.
Then another.
He had lost too many.
But today, as much as he was currently wallowing in the what if's and memories he at least had the chance to feel young again.
Even if just for a moment.
Flashback
October 28, 1982
He stared at the baby in the red headed woman's arms.
"She's beautiful," he breathed.
The man with messy black hair standing beside the red headed woman's bed laughed.
"Will you be godfather?"
"Of course!" He beamed as he gently took his newborn goddaughter into his arms.
The baby's green eyes stared innocently back at him. Warm, just like her mother's.
"I'll protect her with my life" he promised the girl's parents.
"We know you will" the woman said smiling, green eyes sparkling.
"What's her name?"
End flashback
Aurora had green eyes, he thought to himself as he shook himself from the memory, but not her green eyes.
She was the spawn of god knows who probably a death eater and maybe Regulus. He smiled sadly.
He couldn't help. But feel that she had a part in the prank that day.
Good, he thought. She needed to be a child.