This may come as a surprise to you all, but I am still alive! I sincerely apologise for taking so long, but for some
reason I found this chapter really hard to write. Then, when it was written, it sat under my bed for ages 'cos I
thought it was too crappy to post. But it has been improved! (I hope) and typed! So, without further ado,
chapter eight!
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
It wasn't until lunchtime when six red-faced and very hungry boys headed back to the castle. They made for the
Great Hall and food straight away, still laughing and joking; both sides were claiming they had won.
Hermione was making her way towards the Great Hall as well, accompanied by Ginny and Ron's 'date' Kaitlyn. The
three of them had been up in the common room since breakfast, and they were all looking forward to a nice lunch.
Over the past two days Hermione had spent quite a bit of time with Ginny and Kaitlyn, and she'd come to like them
a lot. It made a change from her best friends who, though they were great fun to be around, were guys. She'd
told both girls about her 'conspiracy' with Sirius after much needling about their 'relationship' - something they
found very amusing.
The food was already on the table when they reached the Great Hall itself. Hermione paused for a moment, looking
over the heads of the crowd for her other friends.
Something whacked into her shoulder.
"Watch it Granger." The all-too-familiar drawl of Draco Malfoy cut through the air.
"You ran into me!" Hermione retorted, but he had already disappeared around the corner.
Ginny glared after him, shaking her head with disgust. "Bastard."
"Bloody Death Eaters, the lot of them." Kaitlyn agreed.
Hermione said nothing. She was thinking about what Sirius had said the other night about Seraphina - that Draco's
father was abusive. "I'm guessing he's as rude as he is because of Lucius." He had said.
She noticed Harry was waving at them from the Gryffindor table and waved back. She followed Ginny and Kaitlyn,
who had already started towards them, and took her usual seat, between Ron and Sirius.
"So who won?" She asked, helping herself to fresh bread.
"We did." Said Sirius at once, getting in half a second before the rest.
Hermione rolled her eyes. Boys could be so immature… sometimes they were like a bunch of six year olds playing
soldiers.
"I'm sure." She commented dryly.
***
Seraphina walked through the empty corridors towards what would be her office, deep in thought. She was
completely confused. She was even beginning to wonder why she had taken this job in the first place. She would
have to face Sirius again, and she had no idea what to say to him. He seemed ready to forget the past fourteen
years, but things weren't so easy for her. She'd spent that time in the darkest depths of depression, hating Sirius,
hating herself for trusting and loving him, hating the whole damn world for taking Lily and James. It wasn't easy to
forget that.
**flashback**
Seraphina woke to an empty house. It looked like Sirius had gone to check on Peter again. He was always doing
that, ever since the Fidelius Charm had been performed three weeks ago. She shrugged it off and got dressed,
humming to herself. Life was beginning to look up. She would never have to see Lucius again, she was engaged to
the most wonderful man in the world, and James and Lily were as safe as it is possible to be.
She surveyed the kitchen. The remnants of last night's dinner still haunted it. She stacked the plates on the sink,
running some hot water.
A loud knock on the front door interrupted her thoughts. She turned off the tap, dried her hands and jogged down
the hallway, grinning despite herself. Sirius had probably forgotten his keys again.
She opened the door, but instead of the grinning face of Sirius Black she had expected, two official looking wizards
were waiting for her.
"Yes?" She was beginning to get worried.
They flashed Ministry of Magic ID's at her. "May we come in?" one asked gravely.
"Of course… what is it?" she lead them down the hallway into the living room, sitting down. They did the same.
"I'm afraid it's bad news." The official began reluctantly. He swallowed. "Mr and Mrs Potter's house was attacked
last night. They were both killed." He looked down at his hands. "I hate this job." He muttered.
Seraphina blinked a few times. "Excuse me?" She must have heard wrong… this was not happening… not now…
"He-who-must-not-be-named found their hiding place. They died noble deaths."
"…and Harry?" Seraphina asked weakly. "Did You-know-who…"
"Somehow Harry survived." The official couldn't help smiling a little at the thought.
Silent tears were now running down Seraphina's face. "He's coming to live with us then?" she managed. "Sirius is
his legal guardian now they're-" she choked on the dreaded word.
"..no." The official looked to his colleague to help him out.
"Black was arrested a few hours ago." This wizard's manner was cold, hateful.
"WHAT?!" Seraphina's hand flew to her mouth.
"He betrayed the Potters. He is also guilty of the murder of thirteen muggles and Peter Pettigrew. He is on his way
to Azkaban."
Seraphina's world shattered that day.
**end flashback**
Seraphina shook her head to clear it. It wasn't good to dwell on the past, especially those memories.
She opened the door to her office, noting with satisfaction that her bags had already been brought up. She carried
them into the adjoining bedroom, opening the first one. She pulled out her photos. She smiled, looking down at the
two people that featured in them, cheering up already.
She had only found out she was pregnant after Sirius' arrest.
***
Kaitlyn Tenebres straightened her dress robes in the mirror. She was pleased with the effect. Ginny was right -
purple did suit her. She knew she could never even compare with her mother, but Ginny had managed to both tame
her unruly black hair, (inherited, though she didn't know it, from her father) and make it look good.
She turned around to face her friends, grinning. She surveyed them mock-critically. "You'll do."
Hermione looked fantastic to say the least. She was clad in robes of sky-blue, with her straightened and tamed in
a simple clasp. The girls had been working on her dress robes for the past two days, and it had certainly paid off.
However, out of the three of them, it was Ginny that really shone. Her twin brothers had shouted her new robes of
pure white, which made her auburn hair even more distinct. Although she was quite flushed with anticipation, she
still managed to look fabulous.
"Let's go then." Ginny blushed even more, quickly making for the door.
***
Hermione searched through the crowd milling inside the Great Hall for Sirius. He had said he'd meet her at the
bottom of the stairs, but she'd already looked there.
She was pushing through a group of third-years when she saw the back of his head in the crowd. "Sirius!" she
called out. "SIRIUS!"
He turned around, flashing her a smile. The crowd seemed to part for him, letting him through.
"Hey Hermione. Where's Ron?" he muttered, glancing around.
"Over there talking to Kaitlyn." Somehow Hermione could smell a Sirius prank coming on.
"Tell me when he looks this way." He grinned cheekily.
"Why?"
"Just do it."
"…now, but I don't see-"
With a last mischievous look, he pulled her close and kissed her. "That oughtta annoy him." He whispered in her
ear.
It did.
Ron's face went so red it was almost in competition with his hair. He made a few apoplectic noises.
"What?" Kaitlyn followed his angry glare to Sirius and Hermione, who were kissing again. She stifled a laugh. It was
so obvious Ron liked her. He looked worked up enough to run over there and wrench them apart. "Calm down."
"But- they're-not supposed to-" Kaitlyn wouldn't have been surprised if he'd spontaneously combusted.
"They are dating Ron."
"But-but-"
***
Harry tapped his foot impatiently, waiting for Ginny at the bottom of the stairs. He glanced over at the doors to
the Great Hall, which had already opened allowing the crowd to slowly file in. He wished she'd hurry up.
Ginny grabbed the bag that was hiding under a discarded set of robes and rushed downstairs to where Harry was
waiting.
"Sorry, I forgot my bag." She apologized, a little breathlessly.
Harry shut his mouth with a snap. This couldn't be Ginny - not the blushing little girl he knew anyway. He'd
secretly thought she was pretty sine the start of this year, but not this beautiful-
"…Harry?"
He snapped out of his daze. He coughed nervously. "Uh.. let's go in, shall we?"
She smiled, making his heart melt. "Ok."
***
Sirius sipped at his punch, watching Harry dancing with Ginny, and Hermione with Ron. He smiled to himself. The
dance was a slow one, and all four were blushing.
He felt a pang of nostalgia seeing Ginny and Harry - they could almost have been Lily and James from this distance.
It was funny how things turned out, almost like history repeating itself.
He wondered vaguely where Kaitlyn had gone, glancing around at the other tables. She'd excused herself just after
he'd finished dancing with her, and hadn't returned.
Wait, there she was, sitting at a corner table with -
Seraphina?
He could only see her back, but that expanse of silver hair was unmistakable. But why would they be talking?
Kaitlyn eventually stood up and headed for the grounds, looking a little confused. After a few minutes Seraphina
rose as well, looking around. She soon spotted Sirius, and walked over.
"We need to talk." She muttered, stopping by his table. She looked troubled. "Outside in fifteen minutes."
He nodded. "Why Sera?"
She ignored his question and walked off again, following Kaitlyn.
Sirius sighed. It was a rather annoying trait of Sera's to be enigmatic. He settled himself, and watched his godson
finish dancing, wondering what on earth Sera wanted to talk to him about.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Behold, my attempt at a cliffhanger! Hmm…. So what does Sera want to tell him? It's not that hard to work out,
but hey, I tried!
Now I'll attempt to answer a few questions that people have been putting forward in reviews.
1. Sirius will not be ending up with Hermione. Not that I have any problems with that happening (in fact I'm
contemplating writing another fic with that pairing) but just not in this fic.
2. About the little bit in this chapter half in Sera's POV. I'm not saying Sera suffered more than dearest Siri, but
it's how SERA sees it. She's a little self-absorbed.
3. You might have noticed, but Ginny is over her crush on Harry. I don't think I've made it very clear, but she is.
She's gonna have a little FUN with lovestruck Hazza... mwahaha. I'm so mean to him ^-^
Disclaimer: You know the drill. Only the plot of this little storee (though its not so little anymore…*sniff* my
baby's all grown up!) is mine. Plus Kaitlyn and Sera. The rest belongs to my personal hero, J.K Rowling. May she
live forever!
^-^ Have a nice day! (I'm in a sickeningly happy mood… don't mind me. It's just the coffee. ^-^)
reason I found this chapter really hard to write. Then, when it was written, it sat under my bed for ages 'cos I
thought it was too crappy to post. But it has been improved! (I hope) and typed! So, without further ado,
chapter eight!
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
It wasn't until lunchtime when six red-faced and very hungry boys headed back to the castle. They made for the
Great Hall and food straight away, still laughing and joking; both sides were claiming they had won.
Hermione was making her way towards the Great Hall as well, accompanied by Ginny and Ron's 'date' Kaitlyn. The
three of them had been up in the common room since breakfast, and they were all looking forward to a nice lunch.
Over the past two days Hermione had spent quite a bit of time with Ginny and Kaitlyn, and she'd come to like them
a lot. It made a change from her best friends who, though they were great fun to be around, were guys. She'd
told both girls about her 'conspiracy' with Sirius after much needling about their 'relationship' - something they
found very amusing.
The food was already on the table when they reached the Great Hall itself. Hermione paused for a moment, looking
over the heads of the crowd for her other friends.
Something whacked into her shoulder.
"Watch it Granger." The all-too-familiar drawl of Draco Malfoy cut through the air.
"You ran into me!" Hermione retorted, but he had already disappeared around the corner.
Ginny glared after him, shaking her head with disgust. "Bastard."
"Bloody Death Eaters, the lot of them." Kaitlyn agreed.
Hermione said nothing. She was thinking about what Sirius had said the other night about Seraphina - that Draco's
father was abusive. "I'm guessing he's as rude as he is because of Lucius." He had said.
She noticed Harry was waving at them from the Gryffindor table and waved back. She followed Ginny and Kaitlyn,
who had already started towards them, and took her usual seat, between Ron and Sirius.
"So who won?" She asked, helping herself to fresh bread.
"We did." Said Sirius at once, getting in half a second before the rest.
Hermione rolled her eyes. Boys could be so immature… sometimes they were like a bunch of six year olds playing
soldiers.
"I'm sure." She commented dryly.
***
Seraphina walked through the empty corridors towards what would be her office, deep in thought. She was
completely confused. She was even beginning to wonder why she had taken this job in the first place. She would
have to face Sirius again, and she had no idea what to say to him. He seemed ready to forget the past fourteen
years, but things weren't so easy for her. She'd spent that time in the darkest depths of depression, hating Sirius,
hating herself for trusting and loving him, hating the whole damn world for taking Lily and James. It wasn't easy to
forget that.
**flashback**
Seraphina woke to an empty house. It looked like Sirius had gone to check on Peter again. He was always doing
that, ever since the Fidelius Charm had been performed three weeks ago. She shrugged it off and got dressed,
humming to herself. Life was beginning to look up. She would never have to see Lucius again, she was engaged to
the most wonderful man in the world, and James and Lily were as safe as it is possible to be.
She surveyed the kitchen. The remnants of last night's dinner still haunted it. She stacked the plates on the sink,
running some hot water.
A loud knock on the front door interrupted her thoughts. She turned off the tap, dried her hands and jogged down
the hallway, grinning despite herself. Sirius had probably forgotten his keys again.
She opened the door, but instead of the grinning face of Sirius Black she had expected, two official looking wizards
were waiting for her.
"Yes?" She was beginning to get worried.
They flashed Ministry of Magic ID's at her. "May we come in?" one asked gravely.
"Of course… what is it?" she lead them down the hallway into the living room, sitting down. They did the same.
"I'm afraid it's bad news." The official began reluctantly. He swallowed. "Mr and Mrs Potter's house was attacked
last night. They were both killed." He looked down at his hands. "I hate this job." He muttered.
Seraphina blinked a few times. "Excuse me?" She must have heard wrong… this was not happening… not now…
"He-who-must-not-be-named found their hiding place. They died noble deaths."
"…and Harry?" Seraphina asked weakly. "Did You-know-who…"
"Somehow Harry survived." The official couldn't help smiling a little at the thought.
Silent tears were now running down Seraphina's face. "He's coming to live with us then?" she managed. "Sirius is
his legal guardian now they're-" she choked on the dreaded word.
"..no." The official looked to his colleague to help him out.
"Black was arrested a few hours ago." This wizard's manner was cold, hateful.
"WHAT?!" Seraphina's hand flew to her mouth.
"He betrayed the Potters. He is also guilty of the murder of thirteen muggles and Peter Pettigrew. He is on his way
to Azkaban."
Seraphina's world shattered that day.
**end flashback**
Seraphina shook her head to clear it. It wasn't good to dwell on the past, especially those memories.
She opened the door to her office, noting with satisfaction that her bags had already been brought up. She carried
them into the adjoining bedroom, opening the first one. She pulled out her photos. She smiled, looking down at the
two people that featured in them, cheering up already.
She had only found out she was pregnant after Sirius' arrest.
***
Kaitlyn Tenebres straightened her dress robes in the mirror. She was pleased with the effect. Ginny was right -
purple did suit her. She knew she could never even compare with her mother, but Ginny had managed to both tame
her unruly black hair, (inherited, though she didn't know it, from her father) and make it look good.
She turned around to face her friends, grinning. She surveyed them mock-critically. "You'll do."
Hermione looked fantastic to say the least. She was clad in robes of sky-blue, with her straightened and tamed in
a simple clasp. The girls had been working on her dress robes for the past two days, and it had certainly paid off.
However, out of the three of them, it was Ginny that really shone. Her twin brothers had shouted her new robes of
pure white, which made her auburn hair even more distinct. Although she was quite flushed with anticipation, she
still managed to look fabulous.
"Let's go then." Ginny blushed even more, quickly making for the door.
***
Hermione searched through the crowd milling inside the Great Hall for Sirius. He had said he'd meet her at the
bottom of the stairs, but she'd already looked there.
She was pushing through a group of third-years when she saw the back of his head in the crowd. "Sirius!" she
called out. "SIRIUS!"
He turned around, flashing her a smile. The crowd seemed to part for him, letting him through.
"Hey Hermione. Where's Ron?" he muttered, glancing around.
"Over there talking to Kaitlyn." Somehow Hermione could smell a Sirius prank coming on.
"Tell me when he looks this way." He grinned cheekily.
"Why?"
"Just do it."
"…now, but I don't see-"
With a last mischievous look, he pulled her close and kissed her. "That oughtta annoy him." He whispered in her
ear.
It did.
Ron's face went so red it was almost in competition with his hair. He made a few apoplectic noises.
"What?" Kaitlyn followed his angry glare to Sirius and Hermione, who were kissing again. She stifled a laugh. It was
so obvious Ron liked her. He looked worked up enough to run over there and wrench them apart. "Calm down."
"But- they're-not supposed to-" Kaitlyn wouldn't have been surprised if he'd spontaneously combusted.
"They are dating Ron."
"But-but-"
***
Harry tapped his foot impatiently, waiting for Ginny at the bottom of the stairs. He glanced over at the doors to
the Great Hall, which had already opened allowing the crowd to slowly file in. He wished she'd hurry up.
Ginny grabbed the bag that was hiding under a discarded set of robes and rushed downstairs to where Harry was
waiting.
"Sorry, I forgot my bag." She apologized, a little breathlessly.
Harry shut his mouth with a snap. This couldn't be Ginny - not the blushing little girl he knew anyway. He'd
secretly thought she was pretty sine the start of this year, but not this beautiful-
"…Harry?"
He snapped out of his daze. He coughed nervously. "Uh.. let's go in, shall we?"
She smiled, making his heart melt. "Ok."
***
Sirius sipped at his punch, watching Harry dancing with Ginny, and Hermione with Ron. He smiled to himself. The
dance was a slow one, and all four were blushing.
He felt a pang of nostalgia seeing Ginny and Harry - they could almost have been Lily and James from this distance.
It was funny how things turned out, almost like history repeating itself.
He wondered vaguely where Kaitlyn had gone, glancing around at the other tables. She'd excused herself just after
he'd finished dancing with her, and hadn't returned.
Wait, there she was, sitting at a corner table with -
Seraphina?
He could only see her back, but that expanse of silver hair was unmistakable. But why would they be talking?
Kaitlyn eventually stood up and headed for the grounds, looking a little confused. After a few minutes Seraphina
rose as well, looking around. She soon spotted Sirius, and walked over.
"We need to talk." She muttered, stopping by his table. She looked troubled. "Outside in fifteen minutes."
He nodded. "Why Sera?"
She ignored his question and walked off again, following Kaitlyn.
Sirius sighed. It was a rather annoying trait of Sera's to be enigmatic. He settled himself, and watched his godson
finish dancing, wondering what on earth Sera wanted to talk to him about.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Behold, my attempt at a cliffhanger! Hmm…. So what does Sera want to tell him? It's not that hard to work out,
but hey, I tried!
Now I'll attempt to answer a few questions that people have been putting forward in reviews.
1. Sirius will not be ending up with Hermione. Not that I have any problems with that happening (in fact I'm
contemplating writing another fic with that pairing) but just not in this fic.
2. About the little bit in this chapter half in Sera's POV. I'm not saying Sera suffered more than dearest Siri, but
it's how SERA sees it. She's a little self-absorbed.
3. You might have noticed, but Ginny is over her crush on Harry. I don't think I've made it very clear, but she is.
She's gonna have a little FUN with lovestruck Hazza... mwahaha. I'm so mean to him ^-^
Disclaimer: You know the drill. Only the plot of this little storee (though its not so little anymore…*sniff* my
baby's all grown up!) is mine. Plus Kaitlyn and Sera. The rest belongs to my personal hero, J.K Rowling. May she
live forever!
^-^ Have a nice day! (I'm in a sickeningly happy mood… don't mind me. It's just the coffee. ^-^)