Author: Happy Belated Christmas everyone! Hope you all had a wonderful holiday! I had to work but was able to spend today with some of my friends. I wrote this chapter intermittently throughout the week and finished typing it today! Hope you all enjoy it and if I don't update again before the New Year, have a wonderful New Year! Thank you all for the follows/favs, you guys rock!
August 1971
Eleven year old Elaine Winters darted her way excitedly through the streets of Diagon Alley. Her bright green eyes were alight with excitement at the many sights and smells that lay before her.
" Elaine! Stay with me!" A younger Winifred Winters called from the entryway into Nocturne Alley.
" But Mama! I want to go to Flourish and Blotts!" Elaine said bouncing up and down eagerly. " Oh please, Mama! Please! Please! Please!"
Winifred's dark gaze rested nervously on her daughter's eager face before shifting to the surrounding crowd. She had always been protective of her only daughter and the fear of allowing her into the crowd unsupervised only made that fear worse.
No matter how old her daughter became, she would always worry. She knew that she would have to start giving her more and more freedom.
Especially since she was about to send her off to her first year at Hogwarts.
" Please Mama…?" She heard her daughter ask once more.
" Y-Yes Lainey, dear." Winifred said as she forced herself to remain calm. " Flourish and Blotts only!"
She saw excitement dance through her daughter's green eyes at the thought of going to the book store.
" Oh thank you, Mama!" Elaine squealed eagerly before darting off into the crowd.
" Of course, my little love." Winifred said softly.
Elaine peered eagerly over the many piles of books, searching for a title that would catch her eye. Her smile grew wider with each pile she passed.
" Constellations!" She whispered curiously to herself. She needed to find the astronomy section.
Elaine loved reading about stars.
Almost as much as she loved reading about both magical and nonmagical creatures. Her father was a biologist who worked with creatures in both the Wizarding and Muggle worlds.
" Astronomy…" She mumbled quietly, her cat shaped green eyes darting curiously around the shelves. " Where oh where are y-"
" OI! WATCH IT!"
CRASH!
" GYAH!"
Elaine found herself colliding with a dark haired boy as she rounded the corner. She felt a pair of spindly arms wrap around her as she slammed into the floor.
She flinched as the books fell all around them.
" You should watch where you're going!" A boy's irritated voice snapped.
Elaine blinked up to see a boy with shaggy black hair and almond grey eyes blinking down at her. His body was pressed over top of her, shielding her from the massive amount of books surrounding them.
" Oh Merlin, are you alright?" She exclaimed as the boy now glared angrily down her..
" I said you should watch where you're going!" The boy snapped angrily, his grey eyes now filled with annoyance.
" I-I'm s-sorry!" She said, heat rising into her pale cheeks.
" Sorry doesn't cut it!" The boy growled. " One of those bloody big books hit my head!"
" I-I-I-"
" SIRIUS!"
A shrill female voice made both children jump suddenly. A woman with long mahogany brown hair and narrow piercing grey eyes glared angrily down at them.
As her eyes ran over Elaine she gave the girl a look that said she was worse then dog feces under her foot, her lip curled in disgust.
" Sirius, get off that filthy little urchin! You don't know where it's been!"
The boy called Sirius glanced down at the unsure girl beneath him before helping her to her feet.
" Ugh, don't touch it, Sirius!" The woman, presumably his mother, growled. " You're a Black after all! You shouldn't be-"
Elaine's eyes widened as the boy called Sirius leaned forward and kissed her cheek lightly.
His mother shrieked in anger before jerking him by his hair away from Elaine. " YOU DO THESE THINGS TO VEX ME, SIRIUS!"
" All I do, I do because I love you, mother dear." Sirius smirked.
His grey eyes never wavered from his mother's, even as she backhanded him across the face.
The sound echoed loudly throughout the store.
It made Elaine flinch, her hands covering her mouth in shock.
How could a mother strike her child for something as insignificant as kissing a girl on the cheek.
The boy continued to smirk as his mother stormed off, still screeching about what an ungrateful son she had.
With trembling hands, Elaine reached out to touch his now reddened cheek, only to have him recoil.
" Don't be getting any ideas, you!" He growled, giving her an uneasy look. " I only kissed you to piss off the old hag!"
" Why would she hit you for being nice to me?"
" Because the wicked old cow thinks that just because her surname is Black that it gives her the right to be a bitch to everyone she meets."
" Why do you talk about your mother like that?" Elaine asked curiously. " She's your mum after all."
" Let me guess, your's gives you nothing but hugs and kisses and tells you how much she adores and loves you!" Sirius sneered in disgust causing Elaine to fidget uncomfortably. " Well let me fill you in on something, princess! My old hag is nothing like your's is! She's not loving and nurturing! She doesn't give a damn about me or anyone other than her precious Pure Blood Legacy!"
He narrowed his sharp grey eyes on her causing the red head to flinch lightly. " I bet your mommy and daddy's precious little baby, aren't you princess?"
" Sirius Black, you stop picking on that poor girl this second!"
The two children jumped at the sound of a musical female voice.
Turning, they saw a teen girl with light brown hair and eyes grinning over at them.
" Andy…what do you want?" Sirius snapped at her.
" Nothing really. I was sampling perusing the shelves when I heard a crash of books and the voice of my darling little cousin berating someone." The girl smirked before turning to Elaine. " Andromeda Black and please do ignore Sirius. He's mainly all bark!"
" Stuff it, Andy!"
" See, he's a mere puppy!"
" I-I'm Elaine." Elaine said shyly as she eyes the cousins curiously.
" WHAT!" Sirius snapped causing Andromeda to slap him upside the head.
" Are you named after the star in Canis Major?" Elaine asked before she could stop herself.
" Oh, you like Astronomy do you?" Andromeda smiled before grabbing Elaine's small hand and leading her down another row of books.
Her light brown eyes darted eagerly over the large stacks before her free hand darted forward and grabbed a random book. She examined the cover intently before handing it over to Elaine.
" The Gods of the Night Sky." Elaine said curiously.
" This is my favorite Astronomy book!" Andromeda smiled. " Are you a First Year?"
" Yes!" Elaine said excitedly as she flipped through the book's pages.
" Have you gotten all your books yet?"
" I'm waiting for my mama to get here but I did find where they are!"
" Ah."
" What year are you?" Elaine asked curiously.
" Third."
" Is Hogwarts hard?"
" Define hard…"
" S-Schoolwork…"
" The classes can be challenging but as long as you keep up with your studies you should be fine." Andromeda saw the girl nod nervously. " What House are you hoping to be Sorted into?"
" I don't know really." Elaine said shifting her feet awkwardly. " I'm not particularly brave or smart or even cunning."
" Those things don't always define a House's candidates." Andromeda said calmly. " I know some book smart Ravenclaw's who are definitely lacking in the common sense department. Some pretty whimpy Gryffindors. Some not so cunning Slytherins…and some less than kind Hufflepuffs. Each House has its own rich history and I hope you that whichever one you are Sorted into you'll embrace."
A tiny smile came across Elaine's face at the older girl's words.
" What House are you in?"
She saw hesitation flash through the girl's light brown eyes before she said. " Promise you won't think poorly of me?"
" Promise!" Elaine said beaming up at her.
" I'm a Slytherin."
" And?"
" And you don't think poorly of me?"
" Why would I?" Elaine laughed, her green eyes glistening with kindness. " My mama was in Slytherin and she's the nicest lady you'll ever meet!"
" I s-"
" Elaine?"
" That's her now!" Elaine squealed. " You should meet her!" Before Andromeda could think the little red head had grabbed her hand and pulled her towards her mother's voice. " Mama! Mama, meet my new friend!"
Winifred Winters smiled down at the two girls before her. " Hello dear, it's a pleasure to meet you."
" And you as well, Ma'am." Andromeda said giving the woman a small curtsey. " Your daughter and I were conversing about our mutual love of astronomy."
" I see. Lainey does love gazing up at the night sky." Winifred said ruffling her daughter's red curls. " I often wonder if she's going to discover a new galaxy or a constellation when she's grown."
" I have a feeling she's going to enjoy the astronomy classes, I know I sure do!"
" Oh, I kn-"
" ANDROMEDA!"
The brunette flinched at the angry screech of her mother's voice. Looking around Elaine's mother, Andromeda saw not only her own coming towards them but Sirius' mother Walburga following close behind.
" WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN! BELLATRIX HAS ALREADY GOTTEN ALL OF HER SCHOOL SUPPLIES!" Her mother snapped, grabbing her daughter's wrist tightly, jerking her to her side.
" Druella Rosier?" Winifred said in surprise, pulling Elaine securely to her side.
" Winifred LeStrange." Walburga Black said, her face curled in disgust as her gaze flicked from Winifred to Elaine and back. " Or should I say Winters."
" Your urchin can stay far away from my children!" Druella said, spitting on Winifred's shoe. Her gripped tightened so hard on Andromeda's wrist that the girl winced in pain.
" Let's leave all the children out of this, Druella." Winifred said calmly, stroking Elaine's soft cheek comfortingly with her thumb.
" You and your blood traitor brat can stay far away from our children! We don't need any of your twisted thoughts corrupting them!" Walburga sneered as she caught sight of her son watching them in confusion from a nearby aisle.
" SIRIUS! OUTSIDE NOW!" She snarled low. " WITH YOUR FATHER AND BROTHER!"
" But Mother dear-"
" SIRIUS! OUT!"
The dark haired boy began to walk out, his grey eyes lingered on Elaine curiously.
As he stood outside the bookstore he saw his mother and aunt attempt to gang up on the red haired girl's mother.
…Elaine…
Her name was Elaine.
It was a nice name.
In Ancient Greek in meant Shining Light.
She hadn't made fun of his own unlike most of the children he knew. She had actually known that he was named after a star.
She was kind of cute.
Freckles were delicately littered across her cheeks. Her rust colored curls frame her face and made her bright green eyes almost glow.
" Father…" He found himself saying to an older dark haired man beside him. " Who is that woman?"
" Her name is Winifred Winters." Orion Black said, his voice dripping in disgust. " She was once the rising star of the LeStrange Family until she married a blood traitor and was therefore disowned."
" What's a blood traitor?" Sirius asked.
" A pure blood witch or wizard who believes that we can live peacefully with Muggles and even breed with them."
Sirius heard his younger brother, Regulus, begin to gag at their father's words. Sirius, himself didn't understand what the big deal was.
So what if someone wanted to marry a Muggle…it was more appealing to him then marrying his second cousin as his parents had done.
" You'll have nothing to do with that traitor's brat, do you understand!" Orion growled threateningly at his eldest son who refused to respond. " Listen here boy, I'll not have you taking up with something like that!"
" Don't worry, Father! Sirius is going to be Sorted into Slytherin just like everyone else in our family!" Regulus chimed in obnoxiously. " He'll definitely not have anything to do with that Blood Traitor or her maggot!"
September 1971
Elaine sat in an almost completely empty train car. Her only companion was a sleeping thirteen year old boy with neatly trimmed black hair. He slept with his face pressed against the glass.
He hadn't stirred when she had taken the seat across from him. She pulled her knees up to her chest and then pulled out The Gods of the Night Sky and silently began reading.
" Excuse me."
Elaine looked up from her reading to see a girl with straight red hair and green eyes smiling at her from the compartment door. Beside her was an awkwardly looking boy with greasy black hair and untrusting black eyes.
The look on his face said he'd rather be anywhere else then there.
" Y-Yes…" Elaine said nervously.
" Do you mind if we sit with you?" The girl asked cheerily. " Everywhere else is full."
" S-Sure…" Elaine said calmly.
" Thanks! Come on, Severus!" The girl said pulling the boy into the compartment with her.
Elaine turned her eyes back to the book, becoming uncomfortable as she felt the boy's eyes locked on her.
Biting her lip, she started to feel irritated as he kept watching her and not saying anything.
" Stop staring Severus, it's rude!" She heard the girl say.
" S-Sorry!" The boy mumbled.
" I'm Lily, by the way!" The girl said as she extending her pale hand to Elaine.
" E-Elaine…"
" Well E-Elaine are you a First Year as well?" Lily asked eagerly.
" Yes, I am." Elaine said.
" Us too!" Lily said nudging Severus lightly. " What House are you hoping to get?"
" I haven't really thought about it." Elaine said. Ever since that incident in Flourish and Blotts she didn't want to think of Hogwarts.
Not if it meant seeing Andromeda and her cousin Sirius again.
Whenever she thought of them, she remembered the witches from the store and how cruel they were to her mother.
Winifred hadn't wanted to speak to her daughter about why they had been so mean to her. She simply had reassured her daughter that no of it had bothered her.
But it had bothered Elaine.
She didn't understand why they had been so mean.
" You haven't thought about it! It's all I can think about ever since I got my letter! I've been reading about the history of each House and it's only made me more anxious to find out!" Lily said, practically bouncing in her seat. " Severus here hopes to get picked for Slytherin!"
" LILY!"
" What?" Lily said as the boy beside the window snorted in his sleep. The three watched him cautiously before he fell silent again, returning to his undisturbed sleep.
" There's nothing wrong with being in Slytherin!" Lily continued. " The House has produced some amazing witches and wizards throughout history!"
" My mum was in Slytherin." Elaine said quietly. " She's the nicest lady ever."
As she spoke the memory of that day in Flourish and Blotts where Andromeda's mother and aunt had said terribly cruel things to her mother.
Winifred Winters had simply stood her ground, refusing to be chased off by the angry women, calmly stroking her daughter's cheek.
Elaine, however, had clung to her mother in pure fear.
She had never met anyone as hateful as those women had been.
She couldn't understand how someone as kind as Andromeda could have someone so cruel as Druella for a mother.
" Elaine!"
Green eyes shifted to the compartment door to reveal Andromeda standing there, smiling awkwardly over at her.
" Andromeda?" Elaine said cautiously, not sure how the girl would receive her. Or what her mother had done to her after they had returned home.
" Hey Elaine…" The brunette said nervously, her eyes flicking to the two other First Years before resting on the dark haired boy in the corner. " I-uh…can I speak with you alone?"
" S-Sure…" Elaine said shyly before standing to walk out into the hallway.
" I'm so sorry for that day!" Andromeda said the minute the compartment door closed.
" You don't-"
" No, no I do! My mother and aunt are cruel and twisted. My older sister, Bella, she's just as bad if not worse!" Andromeda said quickly. " My little sister, Narcissa…if I'm not careful, she'll become just like them."
Andromeda looked away as her eyes filled with tears. " I can't let Sirius or Regulus become like them either…they can't be so hateful of others."
" You shouldn't put such a burden on yourself. You're only thirteen…"
Andromeda bit her lip at Elaine's words. This kid was to nice for this world. She shouldn't have been brought into the political hatred of their family's.
Her light brown eyes flicked to the sleeping boy in the compartment. " Be careful of that one."
" Who?" Elaine said as she followed the girl's eyes to their target.
" He's my sister Bellatrix's fiancée…Rodolphus. His family hates Muggles and those who sympathize with them just as much as my parents…" Andromeda said quietly. " He and Bella have been engaged since birth…and if she catches you trying to be friendly with him she'll make your life a Hell on Earth."
" He's in my cabin though…" Elaine said as she began to fidget. " …and with how much Lily is talking, she'll no doubt wake him up."
" Just…give him his space and…don't…just don't be friendly with him. You don't want Bella upset with you." Andromeda said before turning to leave.
" Wait Andromeda!"
" You can call me Andy, Elaine." Andromeda said, looking her over her shoulder at the girl. " My friends call me that."
" A-Andy…thank you for telling me about this book." Elaine said showing her the title. " I really like it."
" I'm glad, I had a feeling you would."
" She told you to stay away from me, didn't she."
Elaine, Lily and Severus all jumped at the sleeping boy's sudden words. His voice was deepening into what it would be like as a man. His eyes were still closed but she had a feeling they were somehow still locked on her.
" I'm not gonna bite you, kid." Rodolphus said. " Might as well take a seat. We still got a long way to go before we reach Hogsmeade Station."
Elaine inched her way cautiously towards the empty seat beside the compartment door.
" So Andromeda told you to stay away from me, did she?" Rodolphus mused, his eyes still closed.
Elaine began to fidget at his questioning, unsure of how to answer him.
" So what's so special about you that caused Andromeda Black to become fond of you?"
Lily watched how Elaine was becoming more and more uncomfortable with each question asked.
" It's rude not to answer."
" Why don't you just leave her alone! She obviously doesn't want to talk to you!"
" LILY!" Severus gaped.
" What? She doesn't!"
Elaine glanced over to see the boy had opened his eyes and their deep blackness was locked on her. His mouth curled into an amused smirk. " Well?"
" I…Andy and I met at Flourish and Blotts last month when I went to get my school supplies." Elaine said in a tone barely more then a whisper.
Rodolphus broke out laughing.
" So you're the daughter of the Blood Traitors!" He smirked, his eyes never wavered from her.
" What's a Blood Traitor?"
Elaine flinched at the question Lily asked her friend.
No doubt she wouldn't want to have anything to do with her after Severus explained it to her.
Before that day she had never heard it herself.
After she and her mother had returned home she had asked her mother what the term had meant.
She had explained that it meant someone who went against the belief that witches and wizards were the superior race of humans. It was given to those who chose to live peacefully with Muggles.
Elaine found out that her mother had come from a family called the LeStranges.
They were one of the Sacred Twenty Nine families.
They believed that Muggles were inferior to them and deserved to be subjugated.
When her mother had fallen in love with her father, a Pure Blooded Wizard who believed in living peacefully with Muggles, she had been cast out of her family.
Disowned.
" Andromeda's mum and aunt wouldn't stop their screeching about you lot for days." Rodolphus laughed, his eyes never leaving her own. " It was quite amusing really. Not for Andromeda of course, and her sisters wouldn't shut the hell up about it, which wasn't fun for me."
" So what if her mum and dad are friends with Muggles!"
" Lily, stop yelling!"
" Elaine!" Lily said causing the red head to jump. Lily moved to sit beside Elaine, lightly nudging her with her elbow. " My family are Muggles and I'm the only one to have magic in me. Sev's has been helping to explain the magic stuff, but I'd still like to have a girl's opinion on things! So, if you're ok with it, I'd like to be your friend."
Elaine sniffled a little, eyeing the girl who grinned at her from ear to ear.
However, before she could reply, the compartment door slammed open to reveal a teen girl with long curly black hair and cold black eyes. The sight before made the girl groan in annoyance.
" So this is where you've been hiding, Rodolphus! I've been looking everywhere for you!" She snapped. " Sleeping as usual, lazy ass!"
" Bella," The boy groaned, running a hand through his messy black hair. " Must not have searched to hard, I've been here to entire ride."
" I searched!" Bellatrix Black huffed.
" And I see you were overcome with worry when you couldn't find me." Rodolphus smirked.
Bellatrix's black eyes swept around the compartment, taking in its inhabitants. " You should be with your own kind! Not this Muggle Born Trash and a Blood Traitor's Brat." She turned to Severus who blanched at her scrutiny. " And what are you?"
" I'm fine, Bella. I'm only here because there wasn't room anywhere else!" Rodolphus said causing his fiancée's gaze to snap back to him.
" Do you want me to come with you?" He asked finally.
" Don't do me any favors!" She huffed before turning her gaze to Elaine. " And you Blood Traitor, stay away from my sisters! If I catch you anywhere near them…well, I'll enjoy your screams as I peel the flesh from your worthless bones."
Elaine paled at the sincerity in the girl's words.
How could someone as kind as Andromeda be related to someone so cruel?
" Go away Bella," Rodolphus said lazily.
The girl huffed once more before slamming the door and storming off.
" Don't listen to her, Elaine!" Lily said as she wrapped her arms around Elaine's shoulders comfortingly. " I'm sure she's all talk!"
" She's not." Rodolphus said, propping his legs up beside Severus. " Bella enjoys torturing others. Her favorites are Muggle Borns and their friends. If I were you kid, I'd stay out of her way."
" You're not helping!" Lily snapped.
" You may not think so but I just gave you some great advice." He smirked. " If you'd like to make it through the three years Bella and I have left at Hogwarts without getting Hexed or Cursed then I suggest you heed it. Neither she or her friends will hesitate it."
" He does have some good advice, Lily." Severus said nervously. " The Black family is dangerous."
" Can it, Sev!"
" That's the only warning you'll get from me." Rodolphus said calmly.
" Why do you even choose to associate with someone like that?" Lily asked.
" I don't have to answer to you."
" Wizarding children from the old families are often only permitted to spend time with others of their own kind." Severus said.
Elaine knew that as well, but she wasn't familiar with any Pure Blood Children.
None lived close to where she had grown up in the Scottish Highlands.
She had only really known Muggle Children and had never been allowed to tell them what she was.
" But we're friends and I'm a Muggle Born." Lily stated. " And your mum's a witch."
" But not your dad, right. If you're Sorted into Slytherin you'd best keep that to yourself. Bella hates Half Bloods almost as much as Muggle Borns." Rodolphus said causing Severus to blanche again.
" Why are you even bothering to tell us this?" Lily asked, resting her cheek atop of Elaine's head. " Aren't you friend's with her?"
Rodolphus looked away.
" Andy said the two of you were engaged." Elaine said quietly.
" You two are only teenagers! Besides, how can you like someone like that?"
" Lily, Pure Blood families sometimes still use the practice of arranged marriages to keep the bloodlines pure." Severus said making her gag.
" How Medieval." She said. " But you didn't answer my other question. Why bother telling us this?"
Rodolphus stood, irritation evident on his handsome face. " I already told you Mudblood, I don't have to answer you!"
With that, he made his way to the compartment door only to pause.
He looked towards Elaine, who's gaze was currently locked on the closed book in her lap. " You're a Pure Blood With from an ancient family, act like one!"
She looked up to see him giving her the faintest hint of a smile.
But as quickly as it appeared it was gone, along with him.