Updated 9/9/2021: Edited


Secret Gifts

February 1972

A shiver went through Paisley as she took sight of the unfamiliar female floating in the air, her face contorted in pain, but no sounds came from her.

She walked around the room and listened to the discussion, most of it not making any sense to her. Still, she did recognise some of the names that were being mentioned as well as locations. It was evident some people were terrified of the person sitting at the head of the table, while others seemed to be overjoyed at their appearance.

When the term 'Death Eater's' was heard, Paisley tilted her head, listening in further on the conversation and wondering what was happening.

"I have received valued intel. Dumbledore has placed some of his misconceived followers in what they believe to be vital areas with hopes of disrupting our plans for the next raid." At the head of the table, the male joked almost positive tone to his voice at the mention of disturbing Dumbledore's plans.

"So, what do you wish for us to do now, my Lord?" Paisley looked over at the voice, tilting her head as she tried to examine the person that spoke but merely passed it off, unable to place the face to someone she knew.

"We will use this knowledge to try and ambush them." The 'Lord' replied with a sinister tone and a smirk on his face. "I've been told that some of his best duellers will be placed in these locations. Let's use this to our advantage and try to swindle Dumbledore's numbers." He continued, and everyone seated at the table nodded.

"Bloody Prewetts." Someone muttered, and Paisley once more went back to trying to put names to faces that she was seeing. She was getting better at this after several dreams now. She was able to see who was involved in these potential future events.

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.

.

As usual, after a dream, Paisley jotted down notes in the secret book she kept, trying to will herself to remember what she needed for the future. The dream ended when someone muttered the name Prewett, and she knew that name. It was a Sacred Family. A very influential family on the Light side was rumoured to be reaching the end of its name with only three children in the current generation, two boys and a girl.

She had begun placing Daily Prophet clippings in the same book, ones that she thought maybe valued knowledge for the future. She knew that it was all proposed futures, that her dreams may not come to fruition. Still, at the same time, some of the moments she was seeing, she may not even be present to see if they went to the light of day since so far, she had only seen herself once in the future. It showed her, and Sirius did, in fact, get married one possible future.

Paisley let out a yawn before shoving the book back in her trunk. Making sure it was securely hidden before she headed off for the bathroom to shower before the day ahead.

Lucas stated that some years had shown some rather exciting events take place on Valentine's Day.

Paisley entered the Great Hall earlier than she usually did since her dream had caused her to wake up earlier. She wasn't at all surprised to see that it was relatively empty.

She just took her usual seat at the Slytherin table. She slowly began eating her breakfast while she flicked through the Daily Prophet left on the table.

At first, she assumed that maybe an older student left it on the table after already having breakfast. Except she noticed a few copies left at various points on the tables. She then believed it was something that Hogwarts did for its students. Allow them to try and stay involved in what was happening out in the community as one could feel incredibly sheltered hidden away at Hogwarts.

There wasn't much in the way of magical creature movements. Still, there were some smallish announcements towards the back about missing Ministry personal and asking the community to reach out should they know about their whereabouts. She fought the frown as she read about how there was currently five high profile Ministry workers missing.

She looked up at the sound of a laugh, it being awfully familiar and caught sight of her brother entering the Great Hall with his friends. The two siblings locked eyes but merely smiled at each, Lucas tilted his head slightly, wordlessly asking if she was okay, and she nodded.

She watched as he walked over and sat down with his friends. It was always the same three people he was with. He knew that one was a Muggleborn, and the other two were Pureblood twins belonging to the McKinnon family. She wondered if latter friendships helped prevent him from being a blood traitor in their parent's eyes.

She pushed aside her worries about her brother and how their parents view him as she tucked the Daily Prophet in her bag and pulling out the Potions essay. She had finished late the night before, making sure it was complete before she had to hand it in this afternoon.

She was so distracted, she hadn't even noticed that the rest of the students had started arriving for breakfast.

"Earth to Paisley," Alecto spoke, and Paisley looked up to see Alecto waving a hand to get her attention.

"Sorry, I finished the potion essay last night. I wanted to make sure it was good enough to hand into Slughorn this afternoon," Paisley explained, and Alecto nodded.

"I'm assuming you were up early again this morning?" Paisley nodded as Alecto looked down the table. Paisley turned to see what grabbed the other girl's attention to notice Amycus waving his hand from further down the table. "See you in class," Alecto spoke, quickly getting up and moving down the length of the table to sit beside her brother and his friends.

Paisley was beginning to find the interactions between the two siblings to be rather strange, but she couldn't question it. She refused to be the one to force Alecto away as it would look bad for her.

"She's with her brother again?" Maxton questioned as he took a seat at the table, and Paisley merely shrugged her shoulders.

"So, they're close. I would probably be closer to my brother if we were in the same house."

"You mean if you were sorted into Gryffindor?" Maxton questioned, a slight smirk on his face.

Paisley shook her head. "I just said the same house, he could be in Slytherin with us, or we could both be in Ravenclaw." Maxton let out a laugh, taking in the consensus that Gryffindors were dumb, but Paisley didn't take a bite.

"Speaking of Gryffindors, I witnessed a duel break out between those first years and Snape and his associates," Maxton explained, and Paisley had to fight the urge to look over at the Gryffindor table.

"Again?" she questioned in shock, and Maxton nodded. "What on earth is going on there? They've been at each other's throats nearly every day lately."

"I'm not sure about lately, but this morning," Maxton questioned, looking around before he leant over the table to whisper to her. "Potter said something about Snape not receiving anything today, not even his own mother because he was a greasy git that needed to take a shower."

"Well…" Paisley commented a smirk on her face, and Maxton shook his head as he leant back. "I get it, house loyalties for us. You didn't hear what Snape may have said to start Potter like that?"

Maxton shook his head. "All I heard was Potter say, 'oh yeah, and like you can talk' before going on about his mother."

Paisley just nodded. She and Maxton had been getting closer in recent weeks, ever since Alecto first mentioned the Dark Lord. They had been meeting up in empty classrooms and carefully discussing things. Paisley was careful with what she said in case she was being set up. It was evident that he was doing the same thing. Still, one thing had become apparent rather quickly, they both weren't too happy with some of the things happening in their house, and they were just playing a role to survive.

Paisley explained a few more things to Maxton that she knew of and explained some of the things that Alecto had mentioned deeper. It seemed as though despite the Flints being a Dark Sacred Family, they didn't have the connections to reasonably be included in the ongoings on the magical community at the moment.

"Do you know what started it between them? I swear they all hate each other," Maxton pointed out what seemed to painfully evident to everyone in the Castle.

Paisley shook her head, looking at where she noticed James, Sirius and their friends had entered the Great Hall. "All I know is Snape sat with Potter and Black on the train, and it didn't end well between them." Paisley offered up; it wasn't exactly the worst of things to spill, considering she honestly didn't know what caused issues between them.

She found it genuinely odd that Lupin and Pettigrew were going on with it, yet she didn't believe they were in the same compartment before she arrived. She clearly remembers Snape commenting about the other two making her think that Lupin and Pettigrew were just following what James and Sirius were saying and doing.

"Surely they will grow out of it?" Maxton questioned, but Paisley merely raised an eyebrow. "Or not." Maxton laughed out, and Paisley shook her head.

"Come on, it's time for Charms." Paisley picked up her bag before she stood up and walked down the length of the table, grabbing Alecto as they passed her. The three of them headed upstairs to where their Charms classroom was situated.

It wasn't until it was time for dinner that Paisley saw something to indicate that it was Valentine's Day. She understood that she and her classmates were either eleven or twelve. They were still a bit young to participate fully in the day. However, she was still curious about the things her brother claims to have witnessed over the years.

She was sitting there, laughing with Alecto and Maxton about what happened during Potions. They had witnessed Pettigrew throw the pickled liver into his potion instead of the pickled spleen. As such, a colourful cloud erupted from his cauldron, turning both his and Lupin's hair a vibrant horrid orange colour.

It was when a Hufflepuff stood up on the table, looking down at those sitting beside her. When it seemed like she had everyone's attention, she started singing.

"A million stars up in the sky.

One shines brighter – I can't deny.

A love so previous, a love so true,

a love that comes from me to you.

The angels sing when you are near.

Within your arms, I have nothing to fear.

You always know just what to say.

Just talking to you makes my day.

I love you, honey, with all my heart.

Together forever and never to part."

There was applause from everyone in the Great Hall, a small smattering of claps from those at the Slytherin table. But Hufflepuff merely bowed her head before she sat back and kissed the boy she intended the poem for. Neither of them seemed particularly embarrassed about the scene that was just made.

"They're definitely not Purebloods," Alecto muttered.

"How can you be so sure?" Paisley argued. "Just because they like to be public about their relationships doesn't mean anything."

"Can I have everyone's attention, please!" James Potter called out across the Great Hall, everyone watching curiously at what the first year could potentially be up to before he looked down at his friends.

"A friend is like a star that twinkles and glows

Or maybe like the ocean that gently flows.

A friend is like gold that you should treasure

And take care of forever and ever.

A friend is like an angel that is there to guide you.

A friend is someone you can trust out of a few.

A friend is more than one in a million.

They one in a ca-zillion,

And you, my friends, are very special

and so it is official."

James bowed when he was finished, and it caused laughter to erupt in the Great Hall, and Paisley caught sight of Sirius putting him in a headlock.

"You were saying?" Paisley pointed out to Alecto, but she just turned around to look at the Gryffindor table.

"He just needed to be in the spotlight, didn't he?" Alecto murmured, more to herself than Paisley or Maxton.

Paisley kept her mouth shut. She wanted to point out the irony in her statements. Still, She knew it would most likely cause her issues within her house, considering they are meant to show a united front to the rest of the Castle.

Alecto turned back around and faced Paisley. "Tell me, I know your grandfather associated with those kinds of people. Did you spend time with Potter at all?"

Paisley looked at Alecto, wondering where the other girl was going with the line of questioning. "Does it matter? My parents didn't want children but had them out of obligation and dumped us on our grandparents when they wanted to travel. My grandparents didn't stop having people over just because we were there." Paisley responded. It was the easiest way to respond without making things harder for herself when the truth was when she was younger. She enjoyed spending time with some of those families on both sides.

"Why does it matter, Alecto?" Maxton cut in. "She's in Slytherin with us and doesn't associate with them."

"I just heard a rumour during Christmas break, is all," Alecto responded softly, a smirk appearing on her face while Paisley's eyes narrowed slightly.

Paisley had an extreme suspicion that Alecto was hinting at the arranged marriage that both hers and Sirius' parents were trying to have put in place. She was incredibly curious about how she found out because she knows the adults would have kept the arrangement to themselves until the contract was signed and a date was set.

The screeching of owls interrupting their conversation, and the three of them looked up.

Usually, mail only arrives during breakfast. The first years had since discovered that on certain days and holidays, mail would arrive during dinner and when there seemed to be an influx in the mail.

Paisley wasn't expecting anything, her parents barely wrote to her, and she had received a total of three letters from her parents since September. The first one congratulated her on being sorted into Slytherin and making them proud. The second was just letting her know that her allowance had been increased. Paisley thought that could have waited until Christmas break anyway. While the third was her parents reminding her that she needed to return home for Christmas break.

So Paisley was definitely surprised when a package was dropped in front of her.

"So, it wasn't a rumour?" Alecto questioned, lifting her goblet to her lips. Still, Paisley didn't pay her any attention as she opened the package, peering inside.

It was filled with all her favourite sweets; she had a strong feeling it was sent to her by Lucas, but there was no note indicating who sent it, and as such, she couldn't be one hundred per cent sure.

"Who sent it to you?" Maxton questioned.

Paisley looked over at them both, shrugging slightly. "There was no note, so I guess I have a secret admirer."

"Oh, come on, tell us," Alecto commented as she reached over and grabbed the box, peering inside to see if there was a note, and Paisley looked a little smug when it was evident that there was no note.

While Paisley was highly curious about why Lucas sent her a box of sweets on Valentine's Day.

"Anything?" Maxton questioned, but Alecto merely shook her head as she pushed the box back towards Paisley, helping herself to a pack of sugar quills.

"By all means, help yourself," Paisley commented dryly before turning to Maxton and offering him something as well, but Alecto just let out a laugh.

Paisley wasn't bothered by Alecto helping herself. She would have offered some to them both at some point anyway. Still, she also knew that Alecto was a little annoyed because she refused to admit what was happening.

"Alright," Maxton spoke, eating a chocolate frog. "Who do we think the secret admirer is?"

Paisley merely shook her head, grabbing some of the ice creams that appeared with dessert. Maxton and Alecto discussed the potential secret admirers, listing anyone with an important family of some sort or another from Slytherin and Ravenclaw under the age of thirteen.

"What about Black?" Alecto questioned, and Paisley choked on her juice. When she recovered, she looked over at Alecto to notice a smirk on her face.

"Well, aside from him being placed in Gryffindor, last I heard, he was still accepted by his family," Maxton pondered. Paisley looked at him before over at the Gryffindor table, where she could see Sirius laughing with James about something.

She never once considered it could have been Sirius or James, for that matter. Still, after her conversations with them over Christmas break, she was looking at their strange friendship in a new light. The box of sweets might have come from any of the three Gryffindors she had known.

"Speaking of Gryffindors, it could just be her brother," Alecto mused, and Paisley shrugged, once again tuning out the conversation.

She didn't look up until she heard her name once more. "You don't have any idea at all?" Maxton question.

"Nope, I honestly don't care, and since I haven't had any yet. If anything happens to you two, then I know they been tampered with," Paisley teased, smirking as their eyes went wide for a moment. She let out a laugh as she gathered up the box and left the Great Hall.

She wanted to swing by the Slytherin common before heading up to the library. She tried to find a way she could communicate with her brother when needed. In passing in some books related to Charms, she had seen that there were ways to communicate through pieces of parchment that were linked but no mention to the spell. She wanted, no needed to find that spell.

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"What are you looking for?"

Paisley jumped slightly at the voice spoke. She looked up to find her brother standing there, looking down at her with a smirk on his face.

"Did you send me that box?" she questioned instead, becoming worried when he looked confused. "The box of sweets on Valentine's Day." Valentine's Day was only a couple of days ago, so her brother couldn't have already forgotten the day.

"No, I have no idea what you're talking about," Lucas confessed as he took a seat across from her. "Any idea as to who it was then?"

Paisley shrugged, placing a piece of paper in the book she was reading to remember her place. "I assumed it was you, but after Christmas break, maybe some others." Paisley didn't want to say James or Sirius specifically. She was unsure who was on the other side of the aisles and potentially heard something she didn't want to be shared around the Castle.

Lucas raised an eyebrow, falling silent before nodding in understanding. "I could ask and see what they know."

"Thank you." Paisley gave him a smile before opening her book once more and passing it over. "Do you know anything about this spell?"

Lucas grabbed the book but didn't say anything as he read the passage. It didn't say what the spell was but just made mention of its effects.

"I think so, I've heard others mention it, but I wouldn't know what spell it is," Lucas responded, not looking up from the book. "Why is that?" he carefully closed the book and handed it back to Paisley.

"I'm trying to see if there is a way we can still communicate without being seen," Paisley responded, letting out a sigh as she placed the book on a pile.

"Have you seen something?" Lucas questioned, and Paisley shook her head.

"Just want to make it easier for us. We can't talk often, but sometimes I wish we could speak like we used to. Moments I wish it was simple," Paisley confessed, a sad smile on her face causing Lucas to reach over and place a hand over his.

"I'm always here for you, no matter what," Lucas responded, a sad smile on his own, and Paisley nodded.

"I have to go meet Marlene," Paisley sputtered, standing up. She looked at the books and, with a shrug, just left them there, someone else could put them away, and she didn't remember where she even got them from.

She couldn't help but notice that Lucas didn't say anything as she walked away, but he let her regardless.

Paisley made her way through the Castle, still not used to the grandeur that was the Castle, and she slipped into an empty classroom on the fifth floor, giving Marlene a smile as she did.

"Glad you could make it," Marlene responded, jumping off the desk.

"Lucas stole my attention while I was in the library. I read passages that indicate there are ways to communicate easier." Paisley walked over and gracefully sat down on the desk, causing Marlene to laugh at her.

"Who knows the truth about us?" Marlene questioned, looking over at Paisley.

"Obviously, my grandfather knows, but I haven't told him about you. My brother knows you are Fire," Paisley confessed, hoping Marlene wouldn't be mad at her. "Have you told anyone about me?"

Marlene shrugged. "I figured your brother; he gives me odd looks. I wonder if he thinks I'm going to set the common room on fire." She let out a laugh. "My father knows I've found another Elemental but not who or which clan."

"Your brother doesn't know the truth?" Paisley questioned, and Marlene shook her head. "Now, as to why I wanted to meet you. I read a passage about how Mind was able to protect our minds from those who wish to know our secrets."

"You mean those we can't trust?" Marlene questioned with a slight eyebrow raise, but Paisley merely gave her a look before carefully climbing down from the desk.

"My future self, for whatever reason, doesn't trust Dumbledore. If I can protect our minds from legilimens like Mind has been able to do in the past, then maybe we won't get caught out. Since we don't even know who Mind is, if she exists in this generation, I was hoping your book might mention what happened. I've got a passage explaining how Air was able to create these massive lightning storms and how Time could replicate it. I've tried finding something for Mind, but nothing," Paisley explained, heading for the door.

"I can see what I've got, still no idea on who the others are?" Marlene questioned, and Paisley stopped in front of the door.

"Well, we both think there was something odd in Ollivanders that our magic reached out for, just it does with the two of us. Occasionally I get it around the Castle, but I just wonder if it's you and I haven't spotted you," Paisley responded. Still, Marlene just shrugged, and Paisley had to hold in her annoyance.

She was used to dealing with her brother and his laid-back attitude. She just thought that was who he was. Now she wondered if that was a Gryffindor thing because even on occasion, James could be the same when he wasn't reckless.

"Whatever," Paisley huffed out. "Just see if you can find any mention on Mind."

"Yes, boss," Marlene mocked with a salute and all. Paisley just narrowed her eyes before she left the room, muttering to herself about damned Gryffindors.