Sunday 15th April 1973
12 Grimmauld Place, 11:00
Sirius really didn't know what was going on. He didn't think he'd done something wrong but then again, he seemed to be displeasing his family a lot these days. Getting dragged into his father's study wasn't exactly out of the ordinary for him. He just hoped that he wasn't going to get punished. It would suck if he was still all stiff and sore when he went to James's.
Absentmindedly, he looked around the study, waiting for father - he had been interrupted by a floo call from someone at the Ministry. He wasn't really taking any of his surroundings in, he didn't need to as he could probably map it out blindfolded.
There was his father's dark mahogany desk right in front of him, dominating the room with the window right behind it. Even though the window was also large it still didn't brighten the room very much, all the furniture being dark wood right down to the panelling on the bottom half of the walls.
He sighed heavily and resisted the urge to fidget. Waiting was never one of his strong suits, he'd rather just get things over with. No games, no hidden agendas. Unfortunately, that was exactly how his family worked. Which was stupid. Not that he'd ever dare say that out loud. He wasn't stupid no matter what his mother thought.
He toed the rug at his feet, there was actually a faint worn patch there where he had done it countless times before.
Where was his father? Surely whatever that person from the Ministry wanted wasn't too complicated? He strained his ears to see if he could hear anything. Nope. The incredibly solid door let absolutely not sound through it. That and he was sure that his father had noise cancelling spells around the room. He'd never get any work done in here otherwise. That and other 'activities' would just disturb the rest of the house. Which they never did Sirius thought somewhat bitterly. Either that or they just didn't care. Both was possible.
Just as he was about to sink into a pity party, the door swung open making him jump. Father strode through, dusting floo powder off his front. No matter how careful you were, sticking your head in a fireplace always meant that you come away from it covered in soot or floo powder. At least floo powder didn't stain.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," father said insincerely, walking past him to get behind his desk.
Sirius automatically straightened up and put his hands by his sides so he wouldn't fidget with them. He wouldn't be able to stop reflexively clenching them but that was better than the fidgeting.
Father went through his whole rigmarole of settling behind his desk and unnecessarily straightening papers and such. It was all designed to draw out Sirius' wait and put him more on edge. And Sirius was sorry to say that it worked. Far too well. Oh, how he wished he could tell father to just 'Get on with it' but he didn't. He did have some self-preservation after all.
Finally, things on his desk were to his liking and father turned his attention to him to give him a long look, again, just long enough to make him start to feel uncomfortable. He really had a skill for that. Surprisingly, Sirius managed to keep his hands by his sides.
"Regulus has informed me of something interesting."
If there was ever a phrase that made him freeze that was definitely it. Reggie was good fun, sometimes (when Sirius could coax him out of his shell), but he also had this need to keep in their parents' good books. Which usually meant reporting on his misbehaviour. What on earth had he done for Reggie to snitch on?
"I don't suppose you have any idea what it is?"
Trick question, trick question. One that he was not falling for. He was not going to admit to something that his father might not know. That was just stupid. He shook his head, not trusting himself to speak.
"Hmm," father threaded his fingers together and gave him a contemplative look. "So, what does the name 'Nymphadora Tonks' mean to you?"
Sirius tried hard not to but he was sure a small gasp escaped him anyway. He'd never felt such relief. Of all the things Regulus could have told on him that was not the worst thing. Not the best either but still, not the worst.
Not behaving as a Black should definitely topped this. His father just stared at him. Sirius still kept his guard up, not knowing what his father was going to do with this information. It looked like he expected an answer from him.
"She's a Hufflepuff student," Sirius answered. "In Reggie's year."
May as well tell the truth - the bare minimum truth but still the truth. Father obviously knew a lot about her.
"And what do you know of her family?"
That question made his mouth go dry. He swallowed heavily.
"Um, it's a muggle name. Her father is a muggleborn. And, jer mother, um, her mother..."
"Yes. What about her mother?"
That was a dangerous tone.
"Is a Black," Sirius whispered. "Andromeda Black."
"A disinherited Black," father corrected. "A shame on the family."
"Yes sir."
What else could he say to that? It was the truth after all. It was the height of shame to make your family turn its back on you. He knew that.
"And, according to Regulus, you have been talking to her, getting to know her. Seeking her out."
Sirius decided that it was best to stay silent again. Father hadn't asked him a question anyway.
"Am I to assume this is the truth?"
Now, there was a dangerous question. To deny it was to call Reggie a liar and a more intense questioning of both of them to follow. Which was best avoided. To agree meant that he was diving into uncharted waters. He'd never been told not to talk to Dora. Hell, she had never even been mentioned in his hearing. No one dared.
"Yes," Sirius finally said.
It wasn't like he could lie about it. Far too many witnesses, and his father was not going to take his word over Reggie's. He never did.
"I suppose that it is natural to be curious," father said in a thoughtful tone, no disapproval apparent.
Well, that was unexpected. Sirius couldn't help but stare. He expecting to get told off. Maybe even some sort of punishment.
"You don't mind that I'm not ignoring her?" He asked cautiously.
Dad linked his fingers together and gave him a long look.
"You should never ignore anyone," he replied in a chiding tone. "It shows bad manners."
Sirius resisted the urge to sigh, it looked like father wasn't angry and he did not want to mess that up. But still, he did not want another lecture on manners. Yes, it was important to have them. That's all he needed to be told.
As if he knew what his eldest son was thinking, father gave him a sharp glare.
"There is, of course, no need for you to be friendly with her. That would be completely inappropriate."
"Yes, sir," Sirius agreed quickly.
The very thought was obviously ridiculous. Almost as ridiculous as the thought of actually enjoy his little cousin's company. Which was ridiculous. Of course.
His father gave him another one of those long looks that he was so fond of. Sirius tried not to look away, knowing how much his father hated that. Sirius did not need for this rather mild telling off to turn into something more unpleasant.
"Make sure that the girl is aware of her place," father told him. "And you stay aware of yours."
Sirius sighed heavily at this pronouncement. His place. He'd heard far too much of that recently. He didn't care about how superior his place in the world was, or whatever his parents harked on about. It annoyed him. Stopped him from having fun. Young men didn't run around, didn't laugh too loud, didn't get into trouble. Boring.
His father gave him a sharp look that made Sirius automatically straighten again - he hadn't even realised that he had started to slouch.
"You are thirteen years old, now," he was lectured. "Old enough to know how to act properly and who you should be acquainting yourself with."
Sirius doubted that Peter and Remus were included in that. His father had made it quite clear on how he felt about Sirius consorting with a lower status pureblood and the child of a foreigner. He felt himself bristle under the instruction. Too bad. They were his friends, not acquaintances. Then he deflated. There was no point in arguing.
"Yes, sir."
Monday 16th April 1973
Evans Home, 13:45
"Told you the daffodils had come up," Lily said smugly.
Chryssie hadn't thought that they would this year, they had put on such a poor display the year before. Not even enough to be worth using as cut flowers. Which was a pity because it didn't seem like Easter without a vase of them on the windowsill. But it was good that they woukd be able to do it this year.
It was a bit weird for Lily to drag her out of the house just to show her this but Chryssie supposed that she just wanted to get away from Petunia. None of them had exactly made up with each other since the incident over Christmas. Well, not exactly. She and Lily hadn't had to make up w6oth each other because they hadn't argued. It had been them against Petunia. Which, now that Chryssie thought about it, had been rather unfair but Petunia had just been awful to them. She had no business talking about Hogwarts and magic like that. Which meant she had to apologise first in Chryssie's book.
"Think we should cut some now?" Lily asked, eyeing the flowers.
Chryssie gave them a brief look without really seeing them and shook her head. Her mind was preoccupied with something else.
"Maybe we should wait for more of them to come up," Lily mused, tracing the deep yellow trumpets with her fingers. "That way there'd still be a lovely display here as well as inside."
"Hmm," Chryssie agreed distractedly.
Lily nudged her. "You okay? You're being awfully quiet."
Chryssie shrugged her away and didn't say anything. She wanted to but she didn't know how to say it without sounding like a baby.
"M'fine," she mumbled in response.
Lily gave her a disbelieving look but didn't press. Good, Chryssie hated it when people went on and on at her. They walked around their garden in silence, taking in the new Spring growth. Well, Chryssie assumed that's what Lily was doing as she was trying to think.
"I got invited to Dora's house over the summer," she said abruptly.
"That's nice," Lily said. "I think Marlene is coming over to ours. Well, I hope so."
"You haven't asked mum and dad yet, have you?" Chryssie asked shrewdly.
"Well, not yet. But it's my turn. I went to hers last year."
Chryssie shook her head at Lily's silliness. She thought older sisters were supposed to be more sensible. But that lead nicely into another point that had been weighing heavily on Chryssie's mind.
"Is it much different?"
Lily looked at her questioningly.
"Your friend's house," Chryssie clarified. "Was it much different than ours?"
"It was a big farmhouse," Lily replied, frowning.
Chryssie shook her head. That wasn't what she meant at all.
"I meant was it magical in any way?" she asked insistently.
That was such an awkward way to phrase it but she didn't know how else to put it. She just wanted to know how much magic went on in a witch's or wizard's house. Was it a lot? Was their whole building magical like Hogwarts?
Lily tilted her head to one side and thought about it. Chryssie made an impatient noise, surely that sort of thing wasn't too hard remember? Surely something magical about a house was sure to stand out?
"Well, Marlene said that there were wards around her property," Lily said slowly. "Though, you can't see those."
"I know that," Chryssie interrupted. "I read all about them."
It was quite an interesting topic, though the language was a bit hard to understand though Chryssie put that down to not knowing enough about magical theory quite yet. She'd have to look in the bookshelves in the Common Room, there was bound to be a book on it there.
Lily shrugged. "Her parents do the chores like cleaning and peeling vegetables with magic. So, do any of her siblings who are of age."
"Is that it?"
That was almost disappointing. She would have thought that a magical house would have lots of things magical about it. Did that make sense?
"Well, yes," Lily said with amused exasperation. "It's not like they're a different species or something!"
Chryssie pouted at her. Lily didn't have to go acting all superior. She was only a year older than Chryssie! She didn't have that much extra knowledge.
"Shut up," Chryssie grumbled, unable to think of a good comeback.
Wednesday 18th April 1973
12 Grimmauld Place, 16:00
Regulus barged into his brother's room, not bothering to knock. Sirius yelped and practically fell off his bed. Regulus rolled his eyes at his antics. Sirius should not have been so surprised; it wasn't as if he had been trying to be quiet. He could have easily heard his footsteps.
"What do you want, Regulus?" Sirius demanded as he picked himself off the floor.
Regulus frowned at that, not liking the tone Sirius was taking with him. He shut the door so their parents didn't hear them arguing. If it came to that. Regulus hoped that it didn't.
"You've been ignoring me. You're mad at me."
Okay, he had been hoping that it would come out a little bit more coherent and better spoken than that but he was annoyed. And more than a little hurt.
"How do you know I'm mad at you?" Sirius asked belligerently.
"First, you sound angry," Regulus pointed out. "Two, you've been ignoring me and three you called me Regulus."
"That's your name, isn't it?" Sirius retorted, ignoring everything else he had said.
Regulus frowned at him. Well, yes. Regulus was his name but Sirius rarely, if ever called him by it. It was always Reg or the annoying Reggie. Not Regulus. But obviously he wasn't going to get anywhere with Sirius by fighting with him. And that might draw the attention of their parents which he did not want.
"Yes, but, well, that's not the point. Why are you angry with me?"
"I'm not angry at you."
Regulus snorted in disbelief. Yes, and he was the Minister of Magic.
"I'm not!" Sirius insisted.
Now it was time for Regulus to give him a sceptical look. He had really perfected over the years thanks to Sirius. There was a reason he was considered the sensible one out of the pair of them despite being younger.
"I'm annoyed."
That got Regulus rolling his eyes. Like that was much different. But, he took the bait.
"Why are you annoyed with me then?"
All he wanted to know why he was in his brother's bad books. Was that really so hard to explain?
"Why did you have to tell father that I was talking to Dora?"
Regulus in confusion. Who was Dora?
Sirius made an impatient noise.
"Nymphadora? Nymphadora Tonks?"
Now there was a name Regulus recognised.
"The disinherited brat?" Regulus asked incredulously.
That's what all this was about. He snorted. Sirius sat up and glared at him.
"What's so funny?" he demanded.
Regulus waved his hand at him, trying to get his laughter under control.
"Very good, Sirius. You almost had me there. "
"What are you talking about?"
"You being annoyed about getting told not to talk to that girl. As if."
He was chuckling again. Oh, this was good even for Sirius. He really had him worried for a moment there.
His chuckles died away as je realised that Sirius hadn't joined him. What the? Oh, he had to be joking.
"Seriously? You're actually mad that told father about you talking to her?"
"Why did you have to tell him?"
"Why did you have to talk to her?"
This was all Sirius' fault, not his. He was the one who went a talked to that girl. Sirius didn't even have the excuse of her seeking him out because it was him that did the seeking. Of course, he had to make father aware (not mother, as much as he loved her Regulus did not love being deafened). It was better that it came from him instead of, say, Narcissa or, even worse Lucius. That would not have gone down well and both of them would have just got into trouble. Regulus did not like getting punished. He rarely did and he'd rather like to keep it that way.
"It's not like she's important," Regulus pressed, wanting an answer.
He wanted to know what Sirius had been thinking. Did he not care about his reputation at all? Their family's reputation?
Sirius rolled over so his face was in his pillows.
"Just go away."
Thursday 19th April 1973
Smith Sett, 13:00
Alice finished off her letter to Mary with a flourish. She had finally got around to responding - having finally received permission to invite her friend over for Easter. Well, Ostara really but Hogwarts insisted on using Muggle terminology for the holidays. Such a common way of putting it.
Anyway, Alice couldn't wait for Mary to come over. She wanted to show her everything; the paintings mum collected, the new suite of furniture in the parlour and the flowers that she was growing herself! Some of the seeds had been quite rare but they were growing! The flowers were supposed to be beautiful. Maybe one of them would be in bloom when Mary was over, that would be perfect.
What would also be perfect if she could see Frank. Her parents told her that they really should start spending more time together now that they were both teenagers. Alice agreed but she didn't think that they realised how hard it was to talk to students outside of your year. All of Frank's free time was taken up by homework it seemed and his friends always teased him when she approached. Whuch made him go bright red.
Alice thought about it for a moment. Boys were weird, she decided amd she reached for a fresh piece of parchment.
Friday 21st April 1973
Potter Manor, 10:00
James was practically jumping up and down by the fireplace in excitement. He couldn't help it. One of his best friends was coming over for four days. It was going to be so much fun.
"Don't stand so close to the fireplace, Jimmy," his dad told him. "You'll just end up with a mouthful of soot."
James took a few steps back, bringing him in direct line with the big clock on the wall.
"He's late," he complained.
Sirius had said in his last letter that he'd be there just after ten. Well, it was after ten so where was he?
"It's only two minutes past," dad said in amusement. "That's not late."
"But he said he'd be here after ten. It's after ten!"
"After ten can mean anything up to half an hour after it."
James groaned at that. He was going to have to wait a whole half an hour? That was just torture.
"I can't wait until I can apparate," he grumbled.
"You still wouldn't be apparating to people's houses," Fleamont lectured him. "Apparation points on properties can weaken the wards or maybe your hosts don't like people arriving outside. Floo will probably always be the way to travel to other homes."
"Would still be quicker."
But James got the hint and he settled himself in the seat he had dragged in from the dining room. He may as well be comfortable as he waited after all.
Of course, as soon as he did get himself comfortable, the fireplace roared to life and a figure came spinning into view. Not just any figure, it was Sirius!
James leapt to his feet and as soon as Sirius' feet touched the mat, he pounced - engulfing his friend in a massive bear hug.
"Oof!" Sirius said, rocking slightly under James' weight. "Uh, hi, James."
"You're here!"
"Uh huh, oh, and hi, Lord and Lady Potter," Sirius greeted formally over his shoulder.
James thought that he should probably let go of Sirius so he could shake his parents' hands properly but he didn't. Sirius hadn't hugged him back yet.
"Nice to meet you Sirius," mum answered, probably with her usual smile. "And call us Mr and Mrs. None of that Lord and Lady nonsense at home."
"Yes ma'am."
"Are your parents coming through?" Dad asked.
James felt Sirius shook his head. "No, sir."
That was rather rude. Normally if you were first coming over the adults would do that silly small talk stuff. It was only polite, really.
"Oh, give him a hug, Sirius or else he'll never let you go," James heard his dad say in exasperation.
Finally, someone was speaking sense. Sirius chuckled and gave him a proper hug
"James?" Sirius asked, peering over his shoulder.
"Yes?" James asked, still hugging his friend.
"Why is there a chair in here?"
Sunday 23rd April 1973
Tonks House, 12:00
Dora put her soup bowl in the sink with a sigh. She was so bored. There was absolutely nothing to do. Not even her homework since mum insisted on her getting it all done within the first few days. This was one of those time where she really wished she wasn't an only child.
"How did the term go?" dad asked, finishing up his own lunch. "Are you used to Hogwarts yet?"
She had to hide a grimace at that question. Her second term had gone decidedly worse than her first. Sure, the first had been full of whispers over her, mainly about her abilities, which were annoying but manageable. Not many people, thankfully, recognised her surname or the scandal around it. Everyone was just kids; it didn't matter to them. Until they went home for Christmas. Their parents certainly remembered her parents.
"It went okay," she replied softly. "I didn't get lost as much."
"That's always good," dad said cheerfully.
Her mum shook her head. "I never understood why maps were never provided."
"Magic?" dad guessed.
Mum made an exasperated noise.
"That's not always the answer when it comes to Hogwarts."
Dad winked at Dora, making her giggle.
"It usually is."
That got him an eyeroll from mum. Dora actually really missed these interactions when she was at school. Who knew that she would miss her parents bickering?
Their attention turned back to her.
"Did you make any more friends?" mum asked. "Any in your own House?"
She hadn't really made any before Christmas. Oh, she was friendly to people and they were friendly back but she hadn't had anyone who she was close to.
"A few," she replied, not completely untruthfully.
Lots of people liked being around her. Too bad it was just because her hair could change colours. They constantly watched her, not even pretending that the wanted to talk with her. Though, that wasn't exactly the same thing as being friends.
Andromeda raised a questioning eyebrow.
"What are their names? Is it anyone we know?"
Dora shook her head mutely. Even if she had made friends, it most likely wouldn't be people her mother knew. Her parents' social circle got really small after they got married. Not everyone was willing to associate themselves with a disinherited Black.
"I'm just a freak show to them," she complained.
It was like everyone thought that she was only there to change colours. People would strike up a conversation and, before you know it, they were asking her to prove her abilities. Like her emotions didn't already prove that and everyone in her year knew it. She had been scolded several times about being a distraction in class. She couldn't control it!
"It will become boring to them," dad said sympathetically.
"They just have to get used to it," mum tried to encourage her.
"Well, it's taking a long time," Dora grumbled.
Tuesday 25th April 1973
James' Room, Potter Manor, 16:00
James flopped himself on his bed as Sirius perched at the end of it, glad to get sitting down. They'd been constantly on the go all day at this had to be the first time they took a break. They had even eaten their lunch while wandering about the grounds! It had been fun, well, until the ants started crawling all over them. That had definitely not been fun.
"That was so much fun," James said with a happy sigh.
"Yeah," Sirius agreed. "You have a lot of land."
"Yeah, well that's what you get when dad's Head of the Potter Family."
That was true. The Heads of families did have the bigger houses -it was needed to host all the events that was expected of them. His grandfather had a similar house, mansion really, down in the South of the country. But he didn't get to explore it like he had done at Potter Manor this past few days. There were always obligations to be carried out when he was at Grandfather's. Not here.
Heck, even James didn't seem to have too many obligations and the Potters had hosted that Easter party! Sure, James had had to greet all the guests (Sirius stuck with him and got an awful lot of side looks) but after that was done he could mingle as he pleased.
Sirius was actually quite jealous. James didn't get continuously reminded about how to act. James wasn't told what to eat at the party. And James didn't get scolded after it was all done for any perceived faults. None of that at all. And the party had gone smoothly. And it was sort of fun. It was still a stuffy event where very one was trying to outdo each other. And he still had to wear his uncomfortable dress robes. None of that changed just because it was a Potter party. Apparently, purebloods were the same no matter where you put them. Or maybe it was just people, Sirius had thought that he had seen some half-blood families present.
"Sirius!" James shouted, breaking him out of his thoughts.
"Huh? Yeah?"
James was giving him a worried look.
"You okay there? You kind of spaced out a bit."
"Just thinking about the party," Sirius answered truthfully.
"Did you have fun?"
James sounded a bit anxious when asking him. Like his experience was important.
"Yeah," Sirius answered woth a shrug.
Not many of the ones their age had really talked to him. Instead, they gave him a wide berth and suspicious looks. It didn't matter. None of them were people his parents woukd want him to associate with. That's what he told himself anyway.
"It went on a bit," James told him. "They always do. But still good fun."
What jad been fun was watching James get interrogated about how he was doing in school by "well meaning" family and friends. Surprisingly, there had been a McKinnon in attendance, they weren't exactly from the same social sphere as a Most Noble House like the Potters. But apparently one of James' cousins had married a McKinnon. Quite odd. It was basically the same thing as marrying a Weasley. Which he wouldn't put it past the Potters to do at some point (there weren't exactly any Weasley girls available for James), they didn't care about things like that.
But Sirius didn't really want to talk about the party. They werent a bunch of gossipy girls (though, there were a few decidedly odd robes being worn - someone wore one the was reminiscent of a strange abstract painting for heaven's sake) and nothing exciting had happened, like an explosion.
"Yeah, well, what are we doing next?" he asked.
He hoped it was just sitting around and resting for a while, though he didn't think he'd ever seen James do that -he was always on the go. Sirius, on the other hand didn't like to be always on the go. Relaxing for a while sounded nice but he didn't want to suggest that in case he came across as boring.
"I don't know. Whatever you want," James said dismissively.
"You're the host!"
That was the whole point of being the host. The host planned things. Made sure that there were things to do and that their guests were occupied. A bored guest meant that you weren't a good host. All those etiquette lessons had drummed that into him at the very least.
"Well, you're the guest."
That didn't make any sense! Sirius should not have to think of an activity! He didn't know what was safe to suggest, this wasn't his home.
Sirius poked James in the side. "Yes, I'm the guest, you're supposed to entertain me."
"Well, I don't know. Dinner will be soon enough so we can't do something big."
Sirius looked around James' room for some inspiration. There were an awful lot of models around the place, on shelves, an unfinished one on his desk (it kind of looked like a Quidditch Stadium but only because there were the tell-tale three hoops on one sode) and even some hanging from the ceiling. Was that one of those muggle air engine contraptions?
He spotted a piece of parchment on his desk. It looked like it had a diagram on it.
"Oh, are you planning a prank for when we go back?" he asked, getting off the bed and walking over to the desk to have a look.
"Huh?" James looked up from his bed to see what he was talking about. "No, that's just-"
"Homework?" Sirius asked in surprise, reading it. "You're not finished."
He wouldn't have been allowed to have anyone over if he hadn't finished his homework.
"I nearly am," James corrected. "Only need another inch."
"But it's Transfiguration," Sirius stated in disbelief. "It's easy."
"Which is why it's basically done," James pointed out very matter-of-factly. "I just need a conclusion."
"That's the easiest part!"
"Which is why I left it. I'll get it done."
Sirius gaped at his friend. Even after knowing James for more than a year, the boy's work ethic just astounded him sometimes. It wasn't like he didn't know the work; he was one of the smartest in the year. In fact, the work came so easily to him that he got bored. Now, Sirius did too but not like James - he knew it was important to get tasks done no matter how unpleasant they were so he got them done quickly which is why he got bored, nothing else to occupy him. James seemed to get bored of the actual work they were doing and inexplicably just leave it until he was interested in doing it again. He'd lost quite a few house points for missing work.
"You could just do it, get it over and done with."
"You're not my mother, don't nag."
"No, that's your job."
James really did nag them all. Looking after them he called it but it was nagging.
That comment did get James moving. To throw a pillow in Sirius' face. Oh, this was war.
