I finally got a Beta guys! I've been in need of one for a while now but never knew how to get one. I met this beautifully bitchy person during the summer and found out that we both read fanfic. Long story short, she's now my Beta and will be double checking my work to make sure there are no spelling or grammatical errors before I update my chapters.
Disclaimer: You know these characters aren't mine
UPDATED/ REWRITTEN CHAPTER 5 (A/N Lmao this is when she became my Beta?! I had such high hopes for her too hahaha she spends more time just leaving inappropriate comments than actually correcting my grammar but oh well)
1972
He sat on the train with Sirius and his stupid Gryffindor friends on the way here. Sirius pointed out the sites from windows and told him about secret passages at Hogwarts they found last year and used to pull their infamous pranks. His stupid friends laughed with his big brother and looked up to him like he was the next coming of Merlin. And they were actually nice to him.
Maybe it had something to do with Sirius being convinced that he would be the second Black to break the Slytherin tradition.
Oh. Conflicted are we? You're a bright one. Ravenclaw is a pathway. But-Oh no. That wouldn't be the right fit for you. Hmm. Slytherin is practically in your blood yet-Gryfindor with your brother huh? That could be interesting. But your cunning would be wasted there. Better be...Slytherin!
Sirius' shout of disappointment quickly turned to fury and Regulus' legs couldn't walk faster to his seat at the table with the Green banners waving ominously above it. When Regulus got to his seat his food appeared in front of him, and maybe he would have been a little amazed if he hadn't looked up at that exact moment and seen his brother glaring daggers at him, while the Potter boy whispered in his ear and peeked at the Slytherin table.
Regulus quickly looked back down at his food and ignored the other Slytherins around him trying to curry with favor with the Black heir.
Dinner was a blur, mostly. The quiet, shaggy haired boy to his left murmured to him that it was best to leave the hall before the Gryffindors finished dinner as well. Plus he was a first-year, he'd be an easy target.
Regulus couldn't sense any ulterior motives from the boy so he wrapped up his dinner and left the hall, letting the boy follow him. Absently he noted that a lot of the heads at his table bowed as he walked past, with his head high in the air he showed no inclination that he noticed.
Quickly after exiting through the doors the quiet boy grabbed his arm. "You don't exactly know your way, Black."
Regulus felt his cheeks color and he nodded once and let the boy lead the way. But they barely got a yard from the Great Hall doors when they opened again and heard the rambunctious Gryffindors.
"Oi! Reggie don't get any grease on your new robes from Snivellus!" Sirius called, prompting a laugh from his friends.
"And to think your brother was actually going to turn out better than a snake." James snorted.
Sirius scoffed. "Should've known the she-devil got her claws into you." He sneered at Regulus. Regulus felt himself shrink back, slightly. Snape stormed past him, flushed and fists clenched for war.
"So that's what it's about Black? Got rejected from your mother one too many times, huh?"
Sirius whipped out his wand, James following suit. Remus pulled on Sirius' arm muttering for them to calm down. Peter's eyes bounced beadily back and forth. "Shut your greasy mouth, Snivellus!" He spat.
"Sirius Black and James Potter. Why am I not surprised?" Another voice chimed.
Regulus took note of the group of girls in red lined robes trailing after the redhead. Behind the leading redheaded girl there were two blondes, a girl with dark brown hair, and another girl with auburn curls following her. They stared at two groups of boys in varying degrees of boredom and annoyance.
"Mind your own business Evans." Sirius rolled his eyes. James quickly hit him on the arm, lowering his wand.
"Hey! That's my future wife you're talking to like that." He grinned a goofy smile and wiggled his fingers in Lily's direction. "Hi Lily-kins." This prompted giggles from the two blondes and the brunette, but the curly haired girl only rolled her eyes.
Regulus heard a low growl coming from his new Slytherin friend and stepped a bit closer. It was his first day. No need getting detention. And he still doesn't know how to navigate his way to the dungeons yet.
The Evans girl made a retching noise and her face screwed up unattractively. "Please, Potter. I wouldn't marry you if you were the last boy on Earth! And you shut up Black. You have nothing better to do than to pick on someone from a different house, huh?"
Sirius barely spared her a glance. "And you have nothing better to do than to stick your nose where it doesn't belong, Evans? Take your little girl friends back to the common room and paint your toenails or something."
Remus slapped a hand to his forehead and quickly yanked Peter with him out of the way as the girls quickly started in on Sirius and James. And then something occurred to Regulus and he looked at James. "Evans? A mudblood." He sneered. "You spent the entire train ride talking about a mudblood."
Everyone in the hallway froze. Lily had heard that word directed at her a lot last year, especially when she hung out with Severus, but it still caused her stomach to drop when she heard the slur. James launched at him but Sirius held back the messy-haired boy, straining with the boy's weight and his wand.
"You let your friends call your other friends slurs, Snape?" The girl with the auburn curls glared at him and Severus Snape, the boy from Slytherin who offered to show him around. Blue flames flickering in her eyes.
Regulus sneered.
Evans grabbed her eyes and spoke in a lowered tone. "Helen, it's okay…"
Severus narrowed his eyes at the shorter girl who called him out. "This is of no concern to you."
The small redhead who he now knew as Helen snatched her arm from Evan's and marched up to Severus, hands firmly on her hip. "You're nothing but a coward, Snape. A lowlife coward. And not because you're poor or because you're in Slytherin. It's because you can't stand up for the few friends you do have. And you don't have that many." She looked Regulus up and down and dismissed him like a bothersome fly in her path.
Regulus bristled at the dismissal. So this is what Gryffindors were. Rude, foul-mouthed, ill-tempered, no-class, mudblood lovers? This is what Sirius spoke so highly about? He wanted him to go against their mother-their family-and everything they were raised to believe, for people like this? If Sirius' treatment of him wasn't the final straw, this was. This little girl who he did not know, who was the epitome of everything he was taught to hate, looked at him as though he were dirt between her toes.
Regulus felt shame, for a very brief moment for not being able to be strong and courageous like his big brother Sirius, and being sorted into a different house. He thought he wasn't enough. He didn't have that something special his brother was naturally born with that gave him the ability to defy his upbringing and stand out from the crowd. But now, Regulus felt justified. He felt...he felt vindicated in this very moment. He was sorted in the right house. He would fulfill his roles and the duties expected of the Black family heir. He would reaffirm his house's values that Sirius disregarded so easily. And the little dirty spitfire in front of him would be his first demonstration.
"Helen was it?" Regulus crooned.
Her head snapped to him and she glared. Her nose scrunching up and her mouth tightening. "What of it?"
"Has all that mud finally seeped into your brain? Do you not know who you're talking to?" Regulus stepped closer to the irate redhead.
Helen rolled her big blue eyes at him. "Someone who thinks he's more important than he actually is."
Regulus sneered at her audacity and the laughing behind her caused his cheeks to lightly flush. "You watch your filthy mouth-"
"Is there a problem here?" A strict voice pulled the group's attention. Professor Mcgonagall stood sternly beside the Great Hall doors at their group. Everyone straightened out and hid their wands.
"Nothing going on here, McGoogly. We solemnly swear." Sirius smirked at their head of house. Mcgonagall's lips pinched further at the name. James swiped him on the back of the head.
Mcgonagall took a measured look at everyone before turning to Severus and Regulus. "Perhaps you should show him the way to the dorms, Mr. Snape. Hurry on, now. It will be easier before the after-dinner rush."
Severus stiffly nodded and threw one last glare before leading the way to the dorms. Regulus bit back his own glare and stared unimpressed at the petite redhead before turning his nose up and following Severus.
1987
"What'cha reading now, bookworm?"
Hermione looked up to see a skinny boy with dirty blonde hair and dark brown eyes. Freckles were sparsely spread across his cheeks and nose and his thin lips were twisted into a grimace. Aaron Masen III. His parents drove a really expensive car and wore expensive clothes, but his clothes were never as immaculate looking as theirs. Every time she's had a conversation with him, his clothes were messy and had some type of stain on them somewhere—and by conversation she meant it very loosely.
She sighed and responded without looking up. "Something you undoubtedly have never read."
She practically heard the glower his face transformed into.
"You can't even spell that word."
Her eyes remained on the pages in front of her but she quirked a dark, perfectly shaped eyebrow at him. "Do you really believe that?"
He suddenly snatched the book out of her hands. She quickly stood up and reached for the book.
"Give it back Aaron! Mr. Daren said you're not allowed to mess with me anymore."
Aaron laughed as he dangled the book out of reach. "Mr. Daren isn't here, now is he? What are you reading about anyway? Who reads during recess?" He flipped through the pages unnecessarily rough.
"Be careful! That's my mom's. This isn't funny Aaron!" She crossed her arms and stomped her foot. She barely held back the pout, knowing he would only use it further as ammunition against her.
Aaron stopped holding the book above his head and tucked it under his arm.
"You know, if you didn't read so much, people would like you more."
"Has it ever occurred to you that I don't care if you like me or not? Why I want you to like me anyway, you're nothing but a bully!' Hermione quickly snatched the book away from him.
Aaron frowned. "I'm not a bully. "
"I would beg to differ." A voice said.
"Harry!" Hermione smiled.
Harry stopped glaring at Aaron long enough to give Hermione a bright smile. "Hey Mimi, is he bothering you?"
"What's it you Potter?"
Harry stepped forward with his fists balled. Hermione stood in front of him, her forehead reaching his chin. Oh, the perils of being short.
"Stop it right now, Harry. You know what Lily said if you get in trouble for fighting again." She stood on her tippy toes so she could look him in the eye seriously. But in reality she was eye to eye with his chin.
Harry rolled his eyes.
She took a step back, standing between the two boys with her hands fisted firmly on her hips. "Besides, I don't need you to protect me from everything."
Aaron let out a sharp laugh. "You're just a little girl with a mouth too big for her own good. What are you gonna do, read me to death?" He laughed at his own joke.
Hermione's fists tightened and she glared at Aaron fiercely. Suddenly, Aaron let out a shrill shriek. He began furiously patting down the sleeve on his left arm where a small spark was lit. It was slowly eating away at his white and blue plaid button down. Harry and Hermione took a step back at his frantic movements caused him to swing his arm around wildly and he wasn't paying much attention to where he was going. His screams caught the attention of the other children and the few professors on the playground. Two professors came running over, but before they could reach the three of them Aaron had already tripped over a thick tree branch growing out of the grown and fell face flat.
Harry and Hermione sat with their hands in their lap as Lily looked down at them disapprovingly. Aaron sat three chairs down, clutching a bloodied napkin to his nose and his arm was being tended to by the nurse. They could barely make out a patch of red skin from the way he was facing away from them.
"We have reason to believe it was your children that started the fire, gentlemen." Headmistress Jones calmly stated. The Masens were glaring at James and Sirius, the latter who casually stood with his arms crossed listening to the headmistress relay Aaron's story.
"I don't think you gentlemen understand the severity of this situation. Your children could have seriously harmed, not only Mr. Masen, but also themselves by playing with matches." The headmistress finally got fed up with their lackadaisical demeanor.
"Matches that you never saw," Sirius pointed out with a shrugged.
"And what makes you think that it was our children that even had the matches. Maybe Mr. Masen over there was playing with them and accidentally started the fire?" James added.
"Our son knows better than to play with fire." Mrs. Masen turned her nose up James, looking at his clothes up and down.
Lily bristled and tensed when she noticed the look. She stood in front of her husband and pointed a finger at the woman's chest. "And just what are you implying about our children? That they weren't taught such a thing? I'd hate to break your prissy little bubble, Mrs. Masen, but our children were brought up with the utmost care and taught the dangers of playing with fire just as well as your son. And let me just point out that it was your son that started the altercation, if I recall correctly. It was your son that was bullying my friend's daughter, whom he has a history of picking on. Or shall I remind you of the last time you were called here? Your son was told to leave Hermione alone on multiple occasions. You may have taught your child not to play with fire but you never taught him how to be a decent little boy with manners and respect towards women. And if you ask me, the world could use more decent young men with respect for young women."
"Go Lily-kins." James whispered.
Mrs. Masen gasped. "How dare you—?"
Mr. Masen put a hand up stopping his wife. "Karen, please."
"But she—"
"I said enough."
Karen Masen pouted before she quickly fixed her face. Mr. Masen looked at the Potters, then Sirius, and then finally the headmistress. "Look, there is no way of telling who started the fire. Aaron does not recall seeing any matches, there were none found at the scene, and Aaron admits to messing with the little girl. I say we give each of the children a few days off from school so that they may learn their lesson and forget this ever happened." He smoothed over.
"But dad!" Aaron spoke up for the first time since they entered the office. "I have a game tomorrow and Coach said that if we miss a day of school we can't play in the game."
"Well you should have thought of that before you decided to pick on that little girl." He adjusted his son's shirt, straightening it out. "I have told you already, if you like a girl, you buy her jewelry and tell her she's pretty. Not steal her belongings and pull on her hair. Masen men are charming, not rude." Mr. Masen stared hard at his son, who flushed under all the attention in the room. "Besides you're nine, it's not like you have any scouts coming to these games of yours."
Harry glowered at the boy as he noticed Hermione's blush. Aaron peeked at her out the corner of his eye.
"I don't like her." He grumbled under his breath.
The Masens left shortly after the nurse finished applying burn ointment and wrapping a bandage around his forearm.
"If you are done reprimanding our children for something you have no proof of them doing, I think we'll leave." Lily straightened the purse on her shoulder.
Harrys sighed and slid out the chair. James put a hand on his shoulder and walked him out the room, Lily following behind. Sirius stood back, staring at Hermione, whose head was still down, not making contact. He sighed at how small she looked in that daunting chair.
He nodded his head towards the door, even though she couldn't see. "Let's go little devil."
Hermione slowly trudged down and out of the room. The walk home was silent. The Potters walked a couple yards ahead of Sirius and Hermione.
"Are you going to tell me what really happened?" Sirius asked quietly.
"Depends, are you going to get mad at me?"
"Hermione." Sirius said seriously. He hardly ever used that tone with her.
"It was an accident. I know I'm not supposed to use it, but it keeps happening." She replied, just as quietly.
"Hermione. I've told you that it is connected to your emotions. You have to find a way to keep them under control."
"I can't help it. He kept saying things about how little and weak I was. And he took mom's journal."
Regulus hadn't given him a lot of things after he left Hermione with him. Regulus was in a bit of a rush and only brought a few things from him, and as Regulus was the last remaining heir of the House of Black, Sirius could not gain access to Grimmauld Place. Besides a few nappies, some clothes of Hermione's that he'd accumulated, and a blanket, Regulus only left behind a few trinkets of his and Helen's. One was Helen's journal.
He never read it, truthfully, he was afraid to. Regulus had left behind a small trunk filled with odd trinkets in it, a lot he suspected belonged to Helen that Regulus had sentimental attachment to. He finally looked through it with Hermione on her fifth birthday, after Hermione had began to ask questions about where 'her Lily' was. It damn near broke his heart to hear her ask such a thing. Of course he knew she would become curious one day and that he'd have to face that fact that he can't always be both mom and dad, but he still wasn't prepared. The fact that she didn't say mom, but rather 'her Lily' tore his heart to pieces further.
On some level she knew what a mom was and that she had one at some point, but she wasn't here now. She wanted a figure that could be for her what Lily was for Harry. Lily was amazing and made sure to never leave Hermione out. But she wasn't her mom. Harry had James and she had Sirius. But Harry also had Lily and she had...nobody.
Narcissa was also a motherly figure in her life, but she wasn't very nurturing, like many Pureblood mothers are. In Pureblood households it is common for House elves to take on most of the childcare duties, therefore giving the Pureblood wives more time to organize and attend society events and host parties. Narcissa is the epitome of a Pureblood society wife, effortlessly graceful, beautiful, and sharp wit that could cut a man down to his britches before he'd known he was hit. But she catered to Draco often, whenever he cried she'd coddle him and let him get his way. But Narcissa was more interested in etiquette lessons and Black family traditions, so Hermione's times with her felt more like school.
Lily suggested to Sirius that he should come clean about everything. And he did. Mostly everything, anyway. He told her about Regulus, and how Regulus was his younger brother and he was the one that gave him to her. And that her mother, Helen died when she was born. She seemed to understand Helen's death but she asked a lot of questions about Regulus. Where was he now? Why did he leave her here? Why didn't he and Regulus get along? Was Sirius not her father anymore?
It was tough. And one of the biggest helps of all during this time, and he'd chew his own tail off before he'd admit it, was Severus Snape.
Severus Snape was Reggie's best friend. Despite the fact that he was a year behind him, Snape had found that one person who he'd found that he could be his complete self with. He held back a lot with Lily, out of fear that she would run screaming someday like her sister did. But Regulus and Severus had a lot more in common than people thought. From opposite sides of social and economic bars, they had both witnessed long term abuse of people they cared the most about. They both felt the weight of the names they carried and reluctantly were forced to live up to, in Severus' case his mother's family. They had reached out to him his sixth year after his father finally hit his mother a bit too hard. His grandfather wanted to make amends and reconnect, and despite his reluctance, he found himself clinging to the last bit of family that he had left.
Severus knew Helen as well. They weren't friends, even in secret. Helen was kind to him, always, but he knew she disagreed with a lot of things that he did. Regulus looked up to Severus, and Helen didn't like the path that Severus was quickly turning down. But he knew her from how much Reggie talked about her.
Severus frequented Lucius' house often, especially coinciding with Hermione's visits. Severus occupied one of the rooms in Malfoy Manor as a Potions lab and Hermione spent a lot of time with him when Draco wasn't hogging her time.
"Really?" She asked, surprised. She knew better than to turn away from her boiling pot.
Severus hmm'ed. "Not too fast. You're making an elixir not a draught. And yes, your parents couldn't stand one another at first. They did nothing but argue. Your mother thought your father-"
"You mean Regulus?" She interjected.
Severus frowned. "Regulus is your father."
Hermione wanted to put her hands on her hips and stomp her feet at that declaration, but she settled for a glare at her uncle. "Papa Sirius is my father. Regulus is...well he's my dad, but-"
"No buts. Regulus is your father. He may not be here to raise you himself, but he would have if he could have. Family was the utmost importance to him. Which is probably why he asked his imbecilic brother to care for you." He sneered, dropping in several ingredients as the elixir turned from a dark orange to a bright pink.
Hermione rolled her eyes but said nothing about the insult. Papa and Uncle Sev constantly called each other names. She tried getting them to be nicer to each other, but some things could simply not be changed on pure will alone.
"Have you started reading your mother's journals yet?"
Hermione shrugged. "Not really."
Severus' eyes looked up to the ceiling and he mentaly counted down from ten. Children, he thought. "'Not really'." he mocked. "You either have or you have not. What is it?"
Hermione huffed. "No. But I think about it all the time. And I take it with me everywhere."
Severus peered at her out of the corner of her eye. "That journal was something your mother carried with her everywhere. She'd write it in during class sometimes. It was very special to her, I gathered. Black-your papa," he rolled his eyes at the ridiculous pet name, "can tell you all sorts of stories about your father, Regulus. And I can fill in the gaps of his adolescence. But no one can tell you about your mother, but her, through her journal. I strongly advise you to get a start on that."
Hermione took her Uncle's advice very seriously. He was always so serious and stern, even when he was being sweet and kind, but she knew he meant business about her mother's journal. Truthfully, she was afraid of discovering how amazing her mother was. What if-what if she didn't live up to her mother's expectations.
"Your mother was an obnoxious know-it-all," Uncle Sev continued. "And you're exactly like her."
She smiled toothily up at him.
Sirius thought about peeking in her journal on a few occasions when she left it open after falling asleep with it on her bed, but he didn't dare betray her trust in that manner. He also felt like it was an invasion of privacy. By the time she turned nine she had read that journal cover to cover seventeen times. Learning more and more as she read it. He didn't want to ask her what was in the book. One time he even swore he heard her talking back to it, but Lily told him to not say anything to her about. It was her way of coping and connecting with the mom that she lost before she had a chance to have her.
"Hermione, stop for a second." Sirius kneeled down in front of Hermione taking each hand in his own. His large hands dwarfed hers.
"I know your mom's journal means a lot to you. But this is only the beginning. People will always try to hurt your feelings and knock you down. It is my job to protect you as much as I can, but I won't always be there."
She opened her mouth to say something but he squeezed her hands lightly.
"I know that you are not a baby and that you can protect yourself. Not only because you are a Witch or even because you are a little something extra," he gave her a look, "but because you are my daughter. I raised a strong and beautiful little girl who could never be described as anything close to weak. So when you let people get the best of you, when you let them have control over your emotions, you let them win. You give them a little bit of power over you, and trust me baby, you never want anybody to have power over you. Because then they take advantage of that."
Hermione looked into his eyes searchingly. She nodded slowly.
Sirius nodded and patted her on the shoulder encouragingly. "Good. Now with that being said," he snuck a peak at Lily, James, and Harry ahead of them. "Good job. But if you're going to set someone on fire, make sure you don't leave behind any evidence."
Hermione giggled making Sirius smile.
"I think you should seriously consider calling Narcissa about it Sirius." Lily said to him later that afternoon. Harry and Hermione were doing their homework in the living room with the help of James. Or more like Hermione helping James help Harry with his.
"And tell her what, Lily? That my daughter can do things that haven't been heard of in centuries? I don't see how she would be of any help anyway."
Lily puffed a strand of her hair out of her face as she continued to do the dishes. "Her magic—well, her other magic is natural-based. It has to do with the elements of the earth. And Narcissa had some of the highest Herbology scores this decade. So she may be able to help Hermione with some aspect of it. Not to mention that Narcissa is utmost a society woman. She knows everyone. Perhaps she knows someone that could help Mione control these new powers."
"The less people that know about them the better, Lily. I don't even want to think of what would happen if the wrong person would catch wind of her. If your research is correct than my little monster is more than just a bit more special than the rest." Said Sirius seriously.
Lily looked at Sirius and could see fear written all over his face. She could understand where he was coming from. Hermione had been showcasing Elemental magic, some of the oldest magic known to wizards.
"I know you're scared Sirius. But if we don't help Hermione understand her own powers she'll never be able to control them. She'll feed off of your own fear and it will prevent her from embracing her powers."
Sirius chewed on his lip in deep thought. He knew there was really no thought necessary. Lily was right. She was always right. But this was his baby girl. He just doesn't want to lose her.
"I'll call her, Lily. But only because I know in the long term it will be better for her."
Lily rubbed in his shoulder soothingly. "It will be."
UPDATED/REWRITTEN CHAPTER 5 (minor grammatical corrections, added scenes, deleted text)
I don't know why this chapter was so hard to rewrite. I guess I don't love this chapter a whole lot, and it's more of a filler chapter than anything, just showing more of Hermione's childhood. This chapter does show the first meeting of Helen and Regulus, and Aaron the bully may or may not pop up in later chapters...hmmm…..
Anyway, I'm just gad all of the first five chapters have been rewritten/updated and now we can continue with the rest of the story, as well as more chapters of my other stories. LETS GOOOO
#AllBlackLivesMatter
