Chapter 2- Back in the High Life Again
Disclaimer: Don't own, sadly...
(Back in the High Life again is a song by Micheal Bolton)
~*~
"Ohh, Charolette!!" screamed Maggie as she opened her door to find Charolette and Emma waiting outside. "I'm so happy you've come!!"
"Yes, thanks for inviting us, Mag," Charolette smiled at her beaming sister. "No problem at all, come in come in!"
Charolette and Emma trudged inside the cozy manor dragging their huge suitcases behind them.
"Oh dear, please, have you taken to the muggle way of life that much?" Maggie scolded her sister. "Let me get your bags." And with a flick of her wand, the bags were floating effortlessly in the air.
"Heh, ya thanks..." Charolette shrugged. They entered the large parlor and two small house-elves came out of the kitchen. Maggie ordered them to take the luggage upstairs and they obediently did so.
"So, how was your flight dear?" Maggie questioned, seemingly over enthusiastic about her sister being in her home.
"Oh, it was alright..."
"We met this really cool guy named Sirius!" Emma interupted, smiling proudly at her mother as if she'd just let out the biggest secret in the world.
"Ah is that so.." Maggie said, raising her eye-brows at Charolette. "Was this guy handsome, Charolette?"
"Uhh..." but before Charolette could answer, a house elf entered the room and cleared her throat. Which was much to Charolette's relief because she was now hiding her blushing cheeks.
"The misses rooms is ready, Miss Maggie."
Maggie smiled at the elf and said thank you and ushered her off to finish with whatever she was busying herself with before their guests arrived.
Charolette vividly remembered back to her childhood when the house elves had been her only friends for some time. Her and her sister always had a condescending relationship.
Charolette was interuptted from her reminising when Maggie cleared her throat and talked Emma into going upstairs to get ready for bed, as she was nodding off in the large armchair she was sitting in.
When Maggie was sure that Emma was upstairs and out of earshot, she pulled her sister off into the living room and told her to sit in the small white couch adjacent to where she was about to sit.
"Now, Charolette, I must ask you..." Maggie said cautiously, as if thinking through everything she was going to say with great worry. "What was the last name of this Sirius fellow you met down at the airport?"
Charolette thought for a moment, "Blackwood, yes, that was it, Blackwood."
Maggie gave her a strange look and looked down nervously at her hands, a trait both sisters seemed to possess which characterized deep thought and nervousness.
"That's interesting...because you see, a wanted criminal has been on the run for some time now, and his name was Sirius Black, I doubt you heard of him, being so far away and all, but it was definately a big issue here..."
Charolette shrugged, seemingly uninterested and knowing for sure that the man she met could not possibly be a criminal.
"What did he do that was so bad?" she asked finally, giving into the tiny bit of curiosity that hung in the air.
"Well, he killed a bunch of muggles and a man named Peter Pettigrew in the name of Lord Voldemort...or so we all are led to believe..." Charolette looked at her sister, who seemed comfortable in talking about Peter Pettigrew and Voldemort, but seemed to shudder when she thought about Sirius Black.
"Ahh...I think I remember hearing something about that..." Charolette said finally after an uncomfortable pause, "But of course I don't keep in touch with other wizards or witches or in their news for that matter...I simply lived the life of a muggle, it's much easier then you would think, but it's tiresome and repetitive."
"Oh you poor dear...why don't you go upstairs and get some sleep?" Maggie stood up, her arms pointing up the winding stairs.
"Alright, goodnight Mag, and thank you for letting us stay here and for getting Emma admitted to Hogwarts." Charolette hugged her sister and walked up the stairs and settling down in her room, never giving a last thought to Sirius being a criminal. Somehow, in her heart, she knew it to be false.
~*~
Sirius hurried up to the doors of Hogwarts, trying hard to not be seen. The students were in class, so the halls of the castle and the grounds were virtually empty. He ran to the large gargoyle that stood as the entrance to Dumbledore's office.
"Lemon Drop," Sirius said, wondering to himself why Dumbledore always had his passwords be names of candy.
Sirius stepped onto the rising staircase. Reaching the landing by a large wooden door, he stepped up to it and knocked softly, pushing open the door. Dumbledore sat at his desk, stroking Fawkes.
"I see your bird is still alive and well," Sirius said, grinning happily at the older wizard.
"Sirius! How nice it is to see you at last," Dumbledore smiled cheerfully and stood up to hug his young friend.
"Albus," Sirius muttered as he hugged the old wizard. "I've come to ask for your help."
"What help do you seek, Padfoot?" Albus smiled whole-heartily and chuckled as his friend blushed and looked at his feet.
"I've been on the run...as you know, and I've been down in the states for the past while, but I've decided to come back here, and I was wondering if you would be able to use some sort of charm on me to make me unrecognizable so I could stay here."
"Ah, well let's see..." Dumbledore disapparated and returned a minute later, accompanied by Professor Flitwick. "I think Theodor here has the perfect charm for you Sirius."
Professor Flitwick smiled at Sirius, and took his hand in his tiny one. "It's so nice to see you again, Mr. Black."
Sirius smiled and Professor Flitwick began explaining the charm he wanted to use on him.
"It's called the Fidelius Charm(I read this in another fanfic...so copywrite to them, sorry I can't find the fanfic I read it in...but ya, its not my idea), and it will make it so that when a person sees you they will look away and forget they saw you or what you look like. It is very effective, but has its downsides..." the tiny wizard looked up at Dumbledore, worriedly, then continued. "Certain people will be able to recognize you, family, close friends, etc."
Sirius smiled, "Well, I don't see how that is a downfall...but alright."
"No, it is a downfall because someone you might be enemies with now could recognize you, or someone you don't even know but are connected with spiritually may recognize your face."
"I'm willing to take the risk...but...does this mean Harry will be able to recognize me?"
"Lets hope so," Albus said with a smile, and ushered the small wizard on to perform the charm.
~*~
Maggie, Charolette, and Emma stepped into the Leaky Cauldron, taking in the musk of liquor and sweat. Maggie waved to several people, and led Charolette and Emma into a back room.
Maggie tapped the wall in the correct order, and Charolette and Emma watched in awe as the wall pulled itself apart and showed Diagon Alley.
"Welcome to Diagon Alley, ladies!" Maggie said exitedly as she grabbed Charolette's arm, who was awestruck by everything she saw.
Small shops stood left and right, all filled with unique tools for magic. One shop encased a hundred owls and cats and other pets who all seemed to chirp, meow, hoot, and squeak in a strange unison. They passed by a shop filled with robes of all different colors and styles, and another shop that held a bunch of Quidditch supplies, all stacked neatly on top of eachother.
Witches and wizards swarmed around, chattering to eachother about deals and stores and items. Maggie dragged them into Ollivanders to get Emma a wand.
Charolette watched proudly as her daughter was handed a wand with a Phoenix feather in it, and glanced around the musty old shop at the millions of wand boxes that were on top of one another.
When they'd left the wand store, Maggie insisted that they head off to buy Emma new robes. Emma, even more excited at the thought of new clothes, rushed off ahead of her mother.
After buying everything Emma would need for school, they stopped at the small Ice Cream shop and sat down for the best ice cream Charolette had ever tasted.
She was completely happy and content, watching her sister who she hadn't seen for years talk joyously to her young daughter who was about to start a great education at the best of the best where schools were concerned.
That evening, Charolette slept soundly. Her dreams far away from haunting her.
~*~
Sirius stood at the window of the chamber Albus had given him to stay in. It was near Gryffindor tower, and it overlooked the lake.
The Fidelius Charm was set, and no one would recognize him now except Harry and the staff who were informed of his presence.
And now, the night before the students were to pour back into the school, Sirius felt happy and at home. He also felt safe, knowing he was under the watchful eye of the man he considered his father.
Yet, somehow, he wished he had someone who he could share the night with. Someone to hold and to have hold him back. But he knew that was too far off and impossible for him to have.
~*~
Today was the day. The day Emma was to leave her till Christmas holidays, Charolette thought to herself as she climbed out of the car, grabbing Emma's suitcase and owl cage and placing them on a trolly.
Maggie got out and assisted Charolette, then the three of them walked into Kings Cross.
"Now what platform are we going to?" Charolette asked her little sister, who was smiling broadly.
"Platform 9 3/4's Charolette dear," Maggie replied, the smile on her face getting larger if possible.
Charolette shrugged. She knew the wizarding world was strange; she should've known they'd have a hidden platform.
After a long walk down to platforms 9 and 10, Maggie suddenly stopped. Charolette curiously looked around, trying to notice some sort of strange door or something peculiar. When Maggie whispered something in Emma's ear and Charolette watched Emma run head first into the wall bearing the numbers 10 and 9 on it she screamed.
"What the hell!?" Emma had passed through the wall. Maggie started laughing hysterically at her sisters reaction, and told her what she had told Emma.
"Just walk through the wall to get onto the platform, trust me."
Charolette nervously stepped forward and ran into the wall. Preparing herself to crash, she winced when she went straight through the wall and her eyes got large when she saw that she stood in front of a huge black and red train and that Emma was sitting down on her trunk, grinning profusely at her mother.
"Didn't think it'd work, eh?" she asked jokingly.
"Ya ya, shut up."
Next thing she knew, Maggie was standing next to her, ushering Emma to the train. Emma handed her luggage and owl cage to a man loading things onto the train.
She turned back and hugged Charolette, kissing her cheek.
"I'll miss you mom," she said, smiling happily with tears in her eyes, "I'll be home for christmas, and I'll send you an owl like Aunt Maggie told me."
With that, she gave her mother a final goodbye kiss and stepped up onto the train.