Rising Shadows
Chapter Twelve - The Letter and Star Gazing
Sirius sat alone three mornings later. It was a weekend, so there were no lessons, and everyone third-year and above had gone off to the village.
Being alone wasn't something Sirius got to do often. At least one of his fellow Gryffindors was around him most of the time. James had been uncharacteristically silent. He didn't offer answers in lessons, and his transfiguration work was below his norm.
Sirius only found himself alone now because he was hiding in the halls behind a statue. He'd received a letter that morning at breakfast. As soon as he'd read the first line, he'd left the table and the Great Hall. Remus had followed him, and stood behind him while he read the rest of the letter.
Sirius felt horrible for just walking away and leaving Remus standing alone, but Sirius felt for once that he needed to be alone.
Sirius knew it was after lunch now. He hadn't seen his friends since breakfast, and he wasn't hungry now. He sat up and walked toward the front door.
He headed for the Quidditch pitch, but found the Ravenclaws practicing. He sighed and searched the snow-covered grounds for somewhere else to go. Many people were outside today, as the sun was shining. Sirius spotted Hagrid's cabin, and then the forest behind it. Mind set, Sirius walked toward the forest. He knew it was forbidden, hence the name, but Sirius also figured no one would follow him there.
He slipped into the forests when he was sure no one was watching. The boy walked a little further in, then stopped to rest on a large rock.
Sirius propped his head up with his hand and pulled out the letter to read it again.
Dear Mr. Black
As a result of the Court's decision, you will remain in custody of the Ministry of Magic unless a suitable home is found before June 5th.
Miss Selena Remington has been disapproved for custody, due to her lack of experience in childcare.
If you have a suitable guardian in mind, please send notice, and the courts will make their decision.
Thank you for your time,
Robert A. Slighton
Sirius sighed and put his head down on the rock. For half an hour he lay like that, listening to the students beyond Hagrid's hut, the whistling of the wind in the trees, and the rustle of little forest creatures running through the clearing.
Sirius was just drifting off to sleep when a sudden noise caught his attention. He started, but forced himself to keep still, incase whatever it was would attack at a movement.
Sirius stilled his breathing, listening hard for a noise. for a moment there was nothing, then again he heard rustling, coming from his left.
He closed his eyes and turned his head to the left, pretending to be shifting in his sleep. The noises stopped for another moment, then continued.
Sirius's heart thundered in his chest. He opened his eyes just enough to let him see. The blurred vision showed him what ever it was, it was an animal. It had four hair-covered legs. But then a hand reached down into his sight range, and Sirius opened his eyes wide in fear.
Before him stood a creature, half-horse, half-man. A centaur. Sirius gasped, and leapt from the rock. He backed away from it, but it smiled.
"'Tis dangerous to sleep in the forest, little human. You should go back to your school, where it is safe."
Sirius nodded, and turned to run back toward the school.
"Child?"
Sirius stopped and turned obediently to face the centaur - after all, they were very honorable creatures.
"Watch the stars tonight." the creature stood still a moment, then he added. "My name is Falen." and galloped away.
Sirius stood in the clearing until he could no longer hear Falen's hoofs hitting the earth. He turned and ran back toward the castle.
Sirius met his friends at diner. Having skipped most of breakfast and lunch, he was half-starving. His friends looked up as he sat down.
"Well, look who decided to join the land of the living," said Frank. "Where have you been?"
Sirius shrugged. "Around." He looked at the questioning gazes surrounding him and sighed. He handed the letter he had received that morning to Frank.
Sirius could tell they'd wanted to read it all day by the way all his friends jumped up and encircled Frank as if they were hunters and he was the prey. Sirius shook his head and sat down to eat while they read. Once the whole circle had read the letter, they sat down around him again.
"Sirius, are you alright?" asked Remus.
"Yeah, I guess so."
"I'm sorry Sirius." said James
"It's alright, really. I'm sure I'll find some other place to stay."
James nodded, his eyes cast down to the floor.
James, Remus, Peter, Frank, Lily, Kristin, and Jen stood behind Sirius that night as he pleaded to Professor McGonagall.
"Please, Professor. We won't stay long."
"Why don't you just wait until Wednesday? You have Astronomy."
"Yeah, but I'd really like to go tonight -- the sky is really clear."
She sighed. "Fine, but I'm going with you, and we're not staying out all night."
"Thanks Professor!" said Sirius. Behind him the other Gryffindors groaned. They would have rather been in bed.
In the end none of Sirius's companions wanted to be out on the Astronomy Tower on Saturday night, but out of pit for Sirius and his situation, they didn't complain. Much.
Sirius kneeled down and gazed at the sky. His friends sat down around him. Remus and James made an attempt to act interested in the stars, though the others didn't even bother.
"Why did you want to come up here anyway?" asked James. "You like the stars?"
"Yeah.my mum taught me a lot about them."
Remus smiled. "So then your mum liked the stars too?" Sirius nodded.
The boys stayed quiet for a while. Professor McGonagall interrupted the silence. "I remember your mother loved star-gazing." The boys looked up at her as she looked up at the sky. "I believe she named you after her favorite star." she added.
"Yeah." said Sirius, a note of pride in his voice. "The brightest star in all the sky!"
"What star is it?" asked James, not feigning interest this time. Sirius looked back up at the sky, trying to remember how his mother had pointed it out to him.
"Well, first you have to find Orion. He's easy because he has three stars in a row for his belt." The boys and teacher found the stars and nodded for him to continue. "You just follow that line down, and to the left, and the first star you'll see is Sirius."
"It's really bright," observed Peter.
"It's the brightest star in the sky."
Professor McGonagall looked down at her watch. She should have taken the students back to the common room ten minutes ago, but as she lifted her head to tell them so, she found she couldn't. She watched on as Sirius explained everything he knew about his star and those around it. She noted how he skipped over Rigel without so much as a second thought.
Selena Remington looked down at the rejection letter. It had been wonderful to care for a child again - to comfort him and guide him. She still felt awful for what had happened. It was unreasonable, but she felt responsible for Sirius being caught under that curse.
Selena opened the door to her closet and lifter through the organized stacks. A moment later, she emerged carrying an old trunk.
She closed the curtains of her small bedroom out of habit, and then opened the trunk. The trunk hadn't been opened for four years, but with all that had happened in the past few days, she knew she had to do something.
A book lying at the top of the trunk caught her eye. She pulled it out and opened the cover. Inside, she was met with a woman and boy - Mother and son. They both had long black hair, the woman with deep blue eyes and her son with dark gray - same as his father. It was Jillian and Sirius Black, both smiling and waving as though there were no problems at all in their lives - as if there was nothing to worry about at all.
Of course, that wasn't true and she'd known it since the day the two had married, but Jillian had always acted as though everything were normal with her son.
Oh, how Selena had loved seeing Sirius again. She wanted so much to take care of him, if only there was a way to convince the Ministry.
James snuck down the stairs and out of the portrait hole, moving in silence so he wouldn't wake anyone up. Even with the security of his new cloaked he peeked around every corner, always fearful of being caught. (My brother wrote that sentence. Just that one.) He made his way to the owlery where his owl, Dante, slept. Dante swooped down to land on his shoulder. The boy stoked him with one hand while writing his letter with the other. Upon finishing, he folded the parchment and tied it to the owl's leg. James threw him out of the open window, praying that his mother would understand.
Amethyst Potter closed the door to her husband's room. St. Mungo's had released him earlier that day. He was still in bad shape, but they were next to certain that he would live. She walked to the sitting room and put o9ut the candles to prepare for bed.
A sudden tapping sound stopped her in her tracks. She spun around to face the window, and relaxed when she saw her son's owl perched on the ledge. Worry for her son soon filled her, though, and she hurried to open the window and untie the letter from his leg She unfolded the parchment and saw her son's messy scrawl, which read:
Mum,
Sirius got a letter yesterday, which told him that ms. Remington couldn't take him and unless he finds somewhere to stay before school's over, he'll have to go to an orphanage.
I know he really doesn't want to, and you're always saying how the house's to big for just the three of us. So he could stay with us, for a while, right? I really hope so. If not, could you find someone with the right experience to take him?
Thanks anyway,
Love James.
Amethyst read the letter through again and sighed. She put the letter on a table, and continued to bed. She'd think about it later.
Sirius sat alone three mornings later. It was a weekend, so there were no lessons, and everyone third-year and above had gone off to the village.
Being alone wasn't something Sirius got to do often. At least one of his fellow Gryffindors was around him most of the time. James had been uncharacteristically silent. He didn't offer answers in lessons, and his transfiguration work was below his norm.
Sirius only found himself alone now because he was hiding in the halls behind a statue. He'd received a letter that morning at breakfast. As soon as he'd read the first line, he'd left the table and the Great Hall. Remus had followed him, and stood behind him while he read the rest of the letter.
Sirius felt horrible for just walking away and leaving Remus standing alone, but Sirius felt for once that he needed to be alone.
Sirius knew it was after lunch now. He hadn't seen his friends since breakfast, and he wasn't hungry now. He sat up and walked toward the front door.
He headed for the Quidditch pitch, but found the Ravenclaws practicing. He sighed and searched the snow-covered grounds for somewhere else to go. Many people were outside today, as the sun was shining. Sirius spotted Hagrid's cabin, and then the forest behind it. Mind set, Sirius walked toward the forest. He knew it was forbidden, hence the name, but Sirius also figured no one would follow him there.
He slipped into the forests when he was sure no one was watching. The boy walked a little further in, then stopped to rest on a large rock.
Sirius propped his head up with his hand and pulled out the letter to read it again.
Dear Mr. Black
As a result of the Court's decision, you will remain in custody of the Ministry of Magic unless a suitable home is found before June 5th.
Miss Selena Remington has been disapproved for custody, due to her lack of experience in childcare.
If you have a suitable guardian in mind, please send notice, and the courts will make their decision.
Thank you for your time,
Robert A. Slighton
Sirius sighed and put his head down on the rock. For half an hour he lay like that, listening to the students beyond Hagrid's hut, the whistling of the wind in the trees, and the rustle of little forest creatures running through the clearing.
Sirius was just drifting off to sleep when a sudden noise caught his attention. He started, but forced himself to keep still, incase whatever it was would attack at a movement.
Sirius stilled his breathing, listening hard for a noise. for a moment there was nothing, then again he heard rustling, coming from his left.
He closed his eyes and turned his head to the left, pretending to be shifting in his sleep. The noises stopped for another moment, then continued.
Sirius's heart thundered in his chest. He opened his eyes just enough to let him see. The blurred vision showed him what ever it was, it was an animal. It had four hair-covered legs. But then a hand reached down into his sight range, and Sirius opened his eyes wide in fear.
Before him stood a creature, half-horse, half-man. A centaur. Sirius gasped, and leapt from the rock. He backed away from it, but it smiled.
"'Tis dangerous to sleep in the forest, little human. You should go back to your school, where it is safe."
Sirius nodded, and turned to run back toward the school.
"Child?"
Sirius stopped and turned obediently to face the centaur - after all, they were very honorable creatures.
"Watch the stars tonight." the creature stood still a moment, then he added. "My name is Falen." and galloped away.
Sirius stood in the clearing until he could no longer hear Falen's hoofs hitting the earth. He turned and ran back toward the castle.
Sirius met his friends at diner. Having skipped most of breakfast and lunch, he was half-starving. His friends looked up as he sat down.
"Well, look who decided to join the land of the living," said Frank. "Where have you been?"
Sirius shrugged. "Around." He looked at the questioning gazes surrounding him and sighed. He handed the letter he had received that morning to Frank.
Sirius could tell they'd wanted to read it all day by the way all his friends jumped up and encircled Frank as if they were hunters and he was the prey. Sirius shook his head and sat down to eat while they read. Once the whole circle had read the letter, they sat down around him again.
"Sirius, are you alright?" asked Remus.
"Yeah, I guess so."
"I'm sorry Sirius." said James
"It's alright, really. I'm sure I'll find some other place to stay."
James nodded, his eyes cast down to the floor.
James, Remus, Peter, Frank, Lily, Kristin, and Jen stood behind Sirius that night as he pleaded to Professor McGonagall.
"Please, Professor. We won't stay long."
"Why don't you just wait until Wednesday? You have Astronomy."
"Yeah, but I'd really like to go tonight -- the sky is really clear."
She sighed. "Fine, but I'm going with you, and we're not staying out all night."
"Thanks Professor!" said Sirius. Behind him the other Gryffindors groaned. They would have rather been in bed.
In the end none of Sirius's companions wanted to be out on the Astronomy Tower on Saturday night, but out of pit for Sirius and his situation, they didn't complain. Much.
Sirius kneeled down and gazed at the sky. His friends sat down around him. Remus and James made an attempt to act interested in the stars, though the others didn't even bother.
"Why did you want to come up here anyway?" asked James. "You like the stars?"
"Yeah.my mum taught me a lot about them."
Remus smiled. "So then your mum liked the stars too?" Sirius nodded.
The boys stayed quiet for a while. Professor McGonagall interrupted the silence. "I remember your mother loved star-gazing." The boys looked up at her as she looked up at the sky. "I believe she named you after her favorite star." she added.
"Yeah." said Sirius, a note of pride in his voice. "The brightest star in all the sky!"
"What star is it?" asked James, not feigning interest this time. Sirius looked back up at the sky, trying to remember how his mother had pointed it out to him.
"Well, first you have to find Orion. He's easy because he has three stars in a row for his belt." The boys and teacher found the stars and nodded for him to continue. "You just follow that line down, and to the left, and the first star you'll see is Sirius."
"It's really bright," observed Peter.
"It's the brightest star in the sky."
Professor McGonagall looked down at her watch. She should have taken the students back to the common room ten minutes ago, but as she lifted her head to tell them so, she found she couldn't. She watched on as Sirius explained everything he knew about his star and those around it. She noted how he skipped over Rigel without so much as a second thought.
Selena Remington looked down at the rejection letter. It had been wonderful to care for a child again - to comfort him and guide him. She still felt awful for what had happened. It was unreasonable, but she felt responsible for Sirius being caught under that curse.
Selena opened the door to her closet and lifter through the organized stacks. A moment later, she emerged carrying an old trunk.
She closed the curtains of her small bedroom out of habit, and then opened the trunk. The trunk hadn't been opened for four years, but with all that had happened in the past few days, she knew she had to do something.
A book lying at the top of the trunk caught her eye. She pulled it out and opened the cover. Inside, she was met with a woman and boy - Mother and son. They both had long black hair, the woman with deep blue eyes and her son with dark gray - same as his father. It was Jillian and Sirius Black, both smiling and waving as though there were no problems at all in their lives - as if there was nothing to worry about at all.
Of course, that wasn't true and she'd known it since the day the two had married, but Jillian had always acted as though everything were normal with her son.
Oh, how Selena had loved seeing Sirius again. She wanted so much to take care of him, if only there was a way to convince the Ministry.
James snuck down the stairs and out of the portrait hole, moving in silence so he wouldn't wake anyone up. Even with the security of his new cloaked he peeked around every corner, always fearful of being caught. (My brother wrote that sentence. Just that one.) He made his way to the owlery where his owl, Dante, slept. Dante swooped down to land on his shoulder. The boy stoked him with one hand while writing his letter with the other. Upon finishing, he folded the parchment and tied it to the owl's leg. James threw him out of the open window, praying that his mother would understand.
Amethyst Potter closed the door to her husband's room. St. Mungo's had released him earlier that day. He was still in bad shape, but they were next to certain that he would live. She walked to the sitting room and put o9ut the candles to prepare for bed.
A sudden tapping sound stopped her in her tracks. She spun around to face the window, and relaxed when she saw her son's owl perched on the ledge. Worry for her son soon filled her, though, and she hurried to open the window and untie the letter from his leg She unfolded the parchment and saw her son's messy scrawl, which read:
Mum,
Sirius got a letter yesterday, which told him that ms. Remington couldn't take him and unless he finds somewhere to stay before school's over, he'll have to go to an orphanage.
I know he really doesn't want to, and you're always saying how the house's to big for just the three of us. So he could stay with us, for a while, right? I really hope so. If not, could you find someone with the right experience to take him?
Thanks anyway,
Love James.
Amethyst read the letter through again and sighed. She put the letter on a table, and continued to bed. She'd think about it later.