Penny sat with her back against the fence in the small courtyard of Grimmauld Place. Surrounded by tall houses, her chosen corner was the only patch that had any sunlight hit it, and even then Juno had claimed the majority of it. The snake was definitely going through a growth spurt, Penny noted as Juno's large coils forced her to be content with a couple of inches of sunlight on her. She wasn't shedding as frequently as she had in the first few months, but the older she got the more unpleasant her sheds seemed to be. Now whenever she was due to shed Penny warned others to avoid Juno, a lesson Kreacher had learnt the hard way. Though the young witch could still carry the serpent, these days it was no easy task, her own growth spurt struggling to keep pace with the snake. She was now taller than both Hermione and Mrs Weasley, and positively towered over Ginny, which Penny frequently mocked by pretending to trip over the small witch. It must be a Black thing, Penny decided, as both Tonks and Sirius remained taller than her.
Penny had continued her duties at the hospital, attending to the huge mess of paperwork whenever Hilda Smock was working down the Janus Thickety end of the fourth floor. To Penny's surprise, Hilda never brought up her erratic behaviour nor it seemed had told any of the other Ward Caretakers about it. She pitied her, Penny sensed, which although irritating, Penny was grateful for her discretion, and kept her attitude to a minimum. Neither addressed this change of behaviour and it was as if the two of them had come to a respectful understanding of one another.
Penny's ability to instantly memorise the contents of pages meant she was organising the mountain of parchment fairly rapidly, but it was mind numbing and tedious. Coupled with the endless cleaning of Grimmauld Place, Penny was thoroughly fed up and itching to go anywhere or do anything other than continue to be trapped in either of the magical buildings.
Several members of the Order had tried to keep her entertained by various means. Sirius had shown her the Black family library, at least, a row of bookshelves that ran along the lounge wall. Mrs Weasley had made many loud comments about whether or not such books were appropriate, but thankfully her cousin had chosen to ignore them. He too, Penny sensed, was feeling the effects of cabin fever, being increasingly irritable after meetings, especially the ones that Snape attended. Knowing trying to get anything out of the dark Professor was pointless, Penny's exchanges had been limited to polite nods of acknowledgement. Even these seem to irk Sirius, who would glare at Snape's back with intense dislike.
Kingsley Shacklebolt had begun attending meetings too, and had greeted the young witch warmly. His deep reassuring tones seemed too calm compared to the otherwise tense atmosphere. Lupin too, added a calm voice to the house. Unlike Sirius who discussed magical theory and concepts with bored tone, Lupin appeared genuinely interested and talked quite animatedly at times. Tonks had joined in these discussions at times, her contributions often inspired if sometimes questionable. At other times Tonks had stuck around to chat with the three young girls, providing them with comic relief. Her violet haired cousin also had a knack for mischief, potentially another familial trait.
"So when they are sleeping, you take the smallest square of chocolate you can, chocolate drops work best" She told the three of them, sitting crossed legged on Ginny's bed. "And when they are sleeping, just slide it very gently down the back of their pyjama bottoms. Right down the crack if you can." She said, the three young witches laughing hysterically. "It's so warm down there, it melts perfectly. And when they wake up…" She trailed off, snorting.
"Goodness, I need to pee!" Hermione said, rushing from the room still laughing. Sitting with their legs resting against one another on Penny's bed, Penny and Ginny continued to shake with laughter, their giggles continuously setting the other off again.
"One time" Penny managed to choke out eventually. "Ginny and I put an enchanted ball of yarn on McGonagall's desk." Penny finished before cackling again.
"Brilliant!" Tonks laughed. "Did you get caught for that one?" Penny and Ginny grimaced at the memory. "I bet that was a lot of detentions!" Ginny groaned in response.
"Merlin it was. They were the worst!" Ginny said.
"Oh I don't know Gin" Penny replied, a wicked grin on her face. "They certainly had their...moments." She said as Ginny's brown eyes met hers, with a fierce blazing look in them. The two of them held eye contact for a long moment more as Tonk's eyebrows shot up her face at the two of them.
"Well you too do make a cute couple." She said in a cheerful tone, chuckling as Ginny blinked in surprise.
"I have a boyfriend." Ginny said quickly, her voice getting a tad too defensive.
"Relax Gin, Tonks is cool with it." Penny said rolling her eyes.
"You told her?" Ginny began hotly, moving away from Penny. Tonks moved across the room to Ginny's side.
"Nah she didn't. Chill out Ginny it's not a big deal." Tonks said gently, placing a hand on Ginny's shoulder. Ginny wriggled out of Tonk's grip as she continued to glare at Penny.
"Penny likes boys now too, so neither of us are...that." Ginny said stiffly as Penny scowled.
"Really Ginny?" Tonks said with a laugh. "That's not how it works dearie. Merlin you sound like they did at school. Tonks is with a girl, she must be a lesbian, oh she is with a guy, now she is straight." Tonks said, flopping back onto Penny's bed clumsily, earning a pained hiss from Juno as she sat on her tail tip. The bright haired witch shifted apologetically away from the snake as the two younger witches eyed her intently as she continued. "For some reason being with one meant I suddenly wasn't interested in the other. Simply not true. I have always like both, and I will always like both whoever I end up with." Tonks shrugged. "Same is true for you two." Ginny opened her mouth to say something, but at that moment Hermione reappeared, and Ginny quickly closed her mouth once more. The three of them did not broach the subject again, though Ginny and Penny's interactions remained somewhat snippy for the remainder of the day.
One morning Kreacher was lurking as usual when Penny called him to her room. Ordering him to sit on the floor, Penny gracefully lowered herself to sit cross legged opposite him, Juno watching the scene from Penny's bed. Kreacher's large eyes watched her lovingly as she peered at him thoughtfully.
"Kreacher, I have a favour to ask you." Penny said, Kreacher tilting his head in curiosity.
"Kreacher is happy to do anything Mistress Penny asks..." He began before trailing off. "Except that which Master has specifically forbade Kreacher to do. But then Kreacher would still attempt to do anything Mistress wants and Kreacher hates to serve the unworthy brat Sirius..."
"Kreacher." Penny firmly interrupted the House Elf's rant. He fell silent immediately. "I wish to practice my Legilimency on you...if you are willing." Penny said carefully.
"Legilimency?" Kreacher said in a puzzled voice. "Kreacher did not think Mistress was allowed to perform magic."
"I am not allowed to perform wand magic." Penny said with a bitter note. "Wandless magic and natural gifts...arguably do not count." She looked at the elf who nodded his consent enthusiastically. "Ok..." Penny began, watching the elf in consideration. "Try and relax..." She said, unsure if she was trying to reassure herself or the elf.
Taking a deep breath she looked into the elf's eyes, willing herself in. He twitched slightly as she touched his mind, scattered images and thoughts darting across his eyes. She saw her own face, paired with overt devotion, Sirius' with a stab of resentment and bitterness. From Sirius a rush of other faces flashed by, Sirius' mother, sadness and oddly a weird layer of guilt that puzzled Penny. Next a man who looked a great deal like Sirius, with kind eyes. He was giving Kreacher an affectionate rub on the head. Kreacher's eyes widened as Penny pushed gently further. The images began to flash faster, as did the whirlwind of emotions linked to each. Sirius' mother wailing hysterically, shouting obscenities about Sirius, waving a crushed scrap of parchment around in rage. The young man again, showing Kreacher a collection of clippings of Voldemort and images of the Dark Mark from the Daily Prophet.
Kreacher began wiggling uncomfortably as more images flashed through his mind. Penny's heart went to her throat as the face of her father flashed up, his eyes no longer the bluey green ones like her own she had seen in the Chamber of Secrets, but bright red and gleaming. They looked down with a malicious glint, a cruel smile on his mouth.
"Mistress..." Kreacher whimpered, snapping Penny back to reality as she withdrew from Kreacher's mind. The second his mind was released Kreacher slumped to the floor, shaking and whimpering.
"Is the snack injured?" Juno hissed inquiringly.
"I'm not sure." Penny hissed back anxiously.
"Kreacher are you ok?" Penny said, moving across to the elf, who had curled into a foetus ball. "Kreacher?" Penny asked as the elf sobbed uncontrollably. "Kreacher, talk to me." Penny ordered more forcefully, placing her hand on the creature's back.
"Please don't hurt Kreacher." Kreacher whimpered out, shuddering under her fingers. Penny breathed a sigh of relief, her panic she had damaged the elf subsiding.
"You were worrying me that I had Kreacher." Penny berated gently. "I didn't know you actually met my father." She commented lightly, feeling Kreacher tense under her hand. Penny's hand slide off his tiny frame as he sat himself up, Kreacher keeping his eyes buried in his hands.
"Only once Mistress Penny." He mumbled through his hands with a suspiciously dismissive tone, making Penny looked at him intently.
"What is bothering you? Did my father hurt you?" Penny asked, concerned when the elf began rocking back and forth slightly, his fingers curling into tiny fists over his face.
"Kreacher did as Kreacher was bid. Kreacher did what Master Regulus asked of him. Kreacher is a good elf." Kreacher began rambling incoherently. "Most of what Master Regulus asked of him. Kreacher failed, Kreacher is a bad elf." He went on, his words becoming garbled.
"You have broken him. Can I eat him now?" Juno asked as Penny gave her a scathing look.
"Kreacher what are you talking about?" Penny asked, alarmed by the elf's erratic behaviour. Had she done some sort of damage to him? She fretted as he began more agitated.
"Nothing! Kreacher is a good elf, Kreacher keeps his Master's secrets! Don't ask Kreacher no more!" He wailed, face planting the floor again and dragging his large ears over his face.
"Ok, ok. Relax Kreacher. I won't prob your mind anymore, just calm down ok?" She said, the elf nodding into the floor with a grunt. Satisfied the elf wasn't anything besides a bit hysterical, she left him in peace. Wondering upstairs with Juno reluctantly following at her heels, she found the others clearing out what looked like the master bedroom.
"Nice of you to finally join us Persephone." Mrs Weasley chastised, throwing Penny some spray as the latter rolled her eyes. "Roll your eyes at me again, and I will jinx them to remain that way." She threatened.
"Oh didn't you know? Persephone is too good to clean like the rest of us." Ron sneered from the other side of the room, ducking as Ginny threw what looked like a silver perfume bottle at his head. Penny reluctantly pitched in, somewhat distractedly, her thoughts whirling round what Kreacher had shown in his mind, her thoughts dwelling on the sight of her father's cruel smile. The image of his eyes on her made her hair stand on end.
"Sirius." Penny muttered quietly, getting a grunt in response as the tall man crouched down at the side of the bed, trying beat the thick dirt out of the mattress. "What happened to your brother Regulus?" The tall man paused, straightening up with scowl on his face.
"What makes you ask so abruptly?" Sirius asked. Penny sensed the rest of the room's attention gradually turning towards the two of them.
"Kreacher mentioned him and..." Penny began before being interrupted.
"Yes well that little git worshipped the very ground my perfect little brother walked on. Much like my parents did." Sirius said sharply, a nerve in his temple twitching. "My mother's choice of bedside photographs tell you all you need to know of their favour." He said indicating two intensely dusty photo frames on the bedside stand. Picking the first one up, Penny rubbed the dust off it to reveal a late teen Regulus peering haughtily back at her.
"Do you think the other one is of their other son?" Sirius said bitterly as Penny peered at him warily. Replacing Regulus, Penny picked up other frame, scrubbing it clear. Her heart leapt to her throat as the face of her mother stared back up at her. A long moment past in silence before Penny's became acutely aware of everyone watching her. Slamming the frame picture down on the side she turned away, blinking rapidly before fixing Sirius with a haughty glare.
"I don't remember asking about your mummy issues." She snarled, a collective gasp circling the room as Sirius' face tightened angrily. "I asked what happened to your brother." She reasserted as Sirius let out an angry grunt, his hands curling into fists.
"Killed by Death Eaters, the cool kids he joined only to realise he didn't have the stomach for it." Sirius snapped before turning his back on her, breathing heavily. Crouching again to resume cleaning, his face still tightly wound and his eyes glaring into the distance. Penny watched him with thinned lips before stomping past him and joining a slightly wary Ginny and Hermione, the latter who shot a anxious glance between her and Sirius.
A quiet but tense hour or so later Kreacher sidled into the room, giving Penny a slightly nervous look and a little bow before his eyes swiveled around the room. Inching towards the rubbish bags he darted his hand inside before placing whatever he had taken down his loincloth. Before he could leave the room again however Sirius side stepped grabbed him, and in spite of Hermione and Penny's protests shook the elf violently until a silver necklace fell out of his loincloth.
"I knew you were in here trying to steal things back again." Snarled Sirius dropping the elf. Kreacher dove on the necklace, wailing as Sirius tried wrestle it from him. Prising it from the House elf Sirius stood up, only to have the necklace snatched out of his hand by Penny.
"Kreacher you can keep it." Penny announced, going to hand it back to Kreacher, Sirius and her glaring intently at one another, the air between them pulsing from their earlier tiff and weeks of pent up frustration.
"No, he bloody well can't." Sirius snapped, glowering down at Penny, Kreacher's hand froze in mid-air reaching up to take the necklace.
"What does it matter if you are only going to throw it out anyway? Why not take my share?" Penny challenged hotly, her fists in balls as her temper rose to match Sirius'. The two of them were barely a foot apart now as they stared each other down.
"I can do whatever I see fit with it, given it solely belongs to me now as the last Black." Sirius answered, scowling deeply.
"I am a Black too, and as the eldest of the eldest of the eldest..."
"First of all, inheritance follows the male line, and second, you are not a true Black, you are a Riddle bastard." Sirius spat nastily. An intake of breath across the room followed that statement as Penny's face went white. Not even wasting a second reaching for her wand Penny landed her fist into Sirius' jaw with a deafening clunk that made Sirius stagger backwards. Clutching his jaw, he continued to scowl angrily but otherwise showed no reaction. Fists still clenched, Penny resisted the urge to lay a follow up blow, instead turning on her heel and storming out the room. Juno slithered rapidly after her as she grabbed her small bag from her trunk.
"Wait for me Mistress!" Juno hissed as Penny strode down the stairs. Penny paused for a second, her mind rushing through options rapidly.
"I can't take you Juno, stay here." Penny decisively called over her shoulder, getting a colourful and disappointed response as Penny grabbed the door handle and stormed out onto the street. She would only have a couple minutes head start, she pondered as she power walked down the street. Around the corner she felt her hackles rise slightly, feeling eyes on her. Looking round she saw a Muggle man walking casually few metres behind her. Although his interest didn't seem sexual or to be threatening like the Muggle from the garage, he was watching her too closely for her liking. Unnerved she darted into the Angel Underground Station, ducking behind a stand until the Muggle man had past her. Confident she had lost him, she followed the elevator to the lower floors. Within minutes she reemerged on Charing Cross Road, making her way to the Leaky Cauldron. She looked around herself in the pub, noticing how people had stopped their conversations to stare at her, a few letting out slightly shrieks of fear. Mistaking her for her mother, or reading too much Daily Prophet? Penny wondered, her lips thinning as she recalled some of the subtle and some less subtle comments that had been made about her recently. Approaching the bar, the barman gave her a quizzical stare.
"Butterbeer for you, young miss?" He asked, only a hint of fear showing on his face.
"No. I was wondering if you knew if Mundungus Fletcher is around?" She inquired as the barman looked surprised.
"What would a young thing like you want with 'Dung?" He asked as Penny's eyes narrowed.
"What a young thing like me wants is none of your concern." Penny replied curtly. "So if you know where he is, tell me. If not, stop wasting my time." She said, the barman blinking slightly.
"He isn't welcome here. He is more likely be in the White Wyvern down Knockturn Alley, its no place for a young witch like you, s'not safe." The barman warned her.
"There isn't anywhere in the world it is safe for a young witch like me." Penny retorted snidely before exiting the pub.
Making her way down to Gringotts she reluctantly boarded a cart to visit her vault. Grabbing a few fist-fulls of gold she soon returned to the surface. Sitting on the white steps out front, she took a couple minutes to gulp some air to settle her churning stomach before heading down Knockturn Alley. Walking through the grimy archway for the first time Penny's eyes wandered over her surrounding with uneasy interest. A few dark creepy figures lurked in the shadows eyeing her, but she did her best to ignore them. Don't let them know you are afraid, she thought to herself, recalling the first time she had met some of Joe's contacts. Showing fear makes you a target, she reminded herself. From what she had heard about the alley, underage magic would be a crime that would pale in comparison, a fact that gave her some comfort.
Making her way down the alley, she peered curiously at some of the shops, finally spotting the sign for The White Wyvern besides what looked like a tattoo and body piercing shop. Markus Scarrs Indelible Tattoos, she read on the sign. She eyed a tongue piercing stud shaped like a small serpent with sparkly emerald eyes. As she watched it, a ripple ran down its length, mimicking the hiss of a snake. In her fascination, a large dirty hand on her shoulder caught her by surprise.
"And what would a pretty little thing like you be doing in a place like this?" A gritty voice said too close to her ear. Jumping Penny looked round to see a large filthy man with missing teeth leering down at her.
"Get your hand off me!" Penny snapped, trying to prise herself from the man's grip, but his nails dug into her shoulder.
"Don't be like that my pretty" The man cooed, a nasty smirk on his lips. "You would do well to be nice to old Cadmus." He said, pulling the witch towards him. Next second he froze, Penny's wand tip pressed into his windpipe.
"Want to know what happened to the last man who wanted me to be nice to him?" Penny snarled, her eyes blazing. The wizard looked taken aback but didn't release her shoulder.
"Jumped up little whore" He spat angrily, his creepy cooing manner gone. A flick of Penny's wand and a flash, and the man crumbled to the floor, clutching his windpipe, heaving. Penny sneered down at him, very conscious of many eyes on the street watching the commotion.
"Miss Black?" A voice said from behind Penny, the smell of tobacco and alcohol wafting over Penny.
"Wotcher 'Dung." Penny said cheerfully, turning to face the short man, who was looking cautiously at the man on the floor.
"What he do?" Mundungus asked, as the man on the floor gave Penny a scathing look.
"Something I daresay he won't be doing again in a hurry." Penny said, wrinkling her nose in an expression worthy of Narcissa. "Anyway, you and I have business to attend to, 'Dung." She said turning her back on the man. Mundungus looked surprised but didn't challenge the young witch. He escorted her from shop to shop, filling her in on what the various shops offered, above and below the counters. Penny popped into a few, a few owners tried to imply they were unsuitable places for her, but most seemed to treat her with a suspicious amount of respect, although they gave somewhat evasive answers to her questions. Mundungus informed her they probably knew who she was, and were keeping their cards close to their chest until they had decided if she was trustworthy to trade openly with. For most part Penny just browsed interestedly at the contents of the various shops, only purchasing a few potion ingredients from Mr Mulpepper's Apothecathy. A couple hours later, satisfied with her trip Penny walked with 'Dung back towards Diagon Alley. Coming level with Markus Scarrs again, she stopped, staring at the snake piercing in the window once more.
Decisively, she turned and walked into the palour, followed by a weary Mundungus.