Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter book series. J.K. Rowling does.
Part 4: Years Six And Seven
Chapter 19: Free
As Voldemort was gaining more power, Sirius's life at home was getting much worse. He very openly opposed the dark wizard whom his family were huge supporters of. "Lord Voldemort is doing the right thing, getting rid of all those filthy mudbloods! And if you had any sense you'd join him!" his mother yelled at him. "I would never join him! And I think that you all are the ones who are filty and I am ashamed to be a part of his horrible family!"
Those first few days of summer were extremely miserable for Sirius. He was still getting beaten the muggle way and his parents didn't hesitate to use the spell that Severus used on James and made nasty cuts and gashes all over his body. Not to mention forcing him to write 'I Love The Dark Lord' with a quill that makes the words show up on his bleeding hand. All the while hearing his parents say, "Regulus is a much better son than you are. Why can't you be more like him?" Sirius didn't think that he could take it much longer.
After one week, Regiel came into Sirius's bedroom. Along with the cuts, he had bruises all over him. "I've had just about enough of your traitorous ways, boy!" Regiel said and aimed his wand at his oldest son. "Crucio!" Sirius screamed bloody murder. He had never felt so much pain in all his life. Regiel kept the Cruciatus Curse on Sirius for quite some time.
When the curse was finally lifted, Sirius decided that he had had enough of the abuse. He was going to run away from home, something he should have done years ago. He grabbed his broom, his trunk of school supplies, and opened Hooters's cage. Then he opened the window. "Don't you dare try to get from me boy! Avada Kedavra!"
But Sirius had already jumped out the window. He picked back up his trunk and broom and with the small amount of strength he had left, he ran as fast as he could to get far away from home (with Hooters following him). When he felt that he gone far enough, he contemplated what to do next. He would to go to James's house. But how would he get there? He didn't have a fireplace to travel by Floo Power, and he was much too weak to ride his broom, besides he didn't even know the way there. He would have to take the Knight Bus.
Sirius reached into his trunk and pulled out his wand to call the Knight Bus. It appeared imediately. "Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or - Wo, what happened to you?" Stan, the conductor said when he finally looked at Sirius. He didn't answer; he just stepped on the bus and said "Potter Manor, please." "Are you sure you don't want us to take you to St. Mungo's?" "Yeah."
"Alright, that'll be Eleven Sickles." Sirius suddenly realized that he didn't have any money with him. "I . . . uh . . . don't have any money. I'll get off," he said heading toward the door. Stan looked at beaten boy and he couldn't leave him stranded. "Eh, don't worry 'bout it." Sirius took a seat and laid down. But the ride was very bumpy and not even resting made him feel better.
When they reached the Potter Manor, Sirius got off and walked up to the front door, with his last ounce of strength. He passed out before he could knock. Hooters started hooting and banging on the door, hoping someone could hear. Inside, Harold and Amy were playing wizard chess in the living room, while their daughter watched. When the heard the hooting and knocking Amy said, "Well, that's strange. Owls don't usually knock on doors. I wonder what this is about."
"I'll get it," Tara said and walked to the door. When she opened it she screamed at the sight of the unconscious sickly, beaten and cut up teenager lying on the ground. "Tara, sweetie, what's wrong?" Amy asked very concerned as she and Harold walked to the door. They both gasped at the sight. Then quickly getting over the shock, they carried him inside and laid him on the couch, while Hooters flew in.
"Do you who this is, Tara?" Amy asked. She and her husband hadn't met Sirus yet. She thought that was most likely who it is, but she wanted to make sure. Not that she wasn't going to help him if he wasn't Sirius. "Yes, Mum, this is . . ." "Padfoot!" said James running down the stairs. His parents looked at him confused. "It's a nickname. Is he gonna be alright?" "I don't know James," Amy answered him truthfully. "We've got to get him to St. Mungo's now," Harold said. "He should have gone there first instead of here."
The four Potters took Sirius to St. Mungo's and then waited for the healer to tell them if he would be okay. James was very worried. "I knew what his parents were doing to him! Why couldn't he have just admitted it?" "Fear," Amy answered. The healer came out some time later. "Sirius is going to be just fine," Madam Rusha told them. The Potters, especially James were relieved.
"He's had quite a lot of severe beatings and cuts and he also seems to suffering from the Cruciatus Curse. However, with lots of rest, food, and a special potion I'm going to give him, He will make a full recovery in no time. But I must ask you, do any of you have any idea who did this to him?"
"Yes, it was his parents," James said. "They wanted to kill him." "Now, Mr. Potter, James is it? I know that Agatha and Regiel Black aren't the nicest people on this planet, but I really don't think they would attempt to murder their own son." "Oh, yes they would, and they'll pay for what they did!" Madam Rusha looked at the other Potters waiting them to either agree or disagree with James's claims.
Harold looked at his wife and daughter who nodded. "We also agree that it was parents who did this," he told the healer. "Very well then," she said and walked away. "She still didn't believe us, did she?" James asked his parents. "No son, I'm afraid not," Harold said.
The next day Sirius woke up in a bed at St. Mungo's. 'What am I doing here?' he wondered. Then he remembered everything. From the Cruciatus Curse to the Killing Curse. To runing away to the Potters. They must have brought him here after he passed out at the door. He felt a lot better than he had yesterday.
Sirius saw a healer walk into the room. "Hello Sirius, I'm Madam Rusha. How are you feeling?" "Alright, I guess," he answered. "May I ask you who did this to you?" "It was a death eater." "A what?" she said confused. "A follower of uh . . . you-know-who. I didn't see who it was because he was wearing a large cloak that covered his face."
"And why would they be coming after you?" "I don't know. They're just so evil, I guess they'll just come after anyone." "Your friend James Potter seemed very adament yesterday, that it was your parents who did this." "No, it wasn't." "Then you will go back to their house when you are well?" "No! I mean, I'd like to stay with the Potters."
Madam Rusha was now convinced that the Potters had been right, but she didn't know what she should do about it. In the end, she pretended to believe Sirius's story. When Madam Rusha walked out James walked in. "Padfoot, are you alright?" "Yeah, I'm gonna just fine. I get to leave here in a few days." "You're not going back there." "No, I'm not. I'm gonna stay at your house . . I mean, if that's alright with your parents." "I'm sure it will be." He paused.
"Did you tell her that it was your parents?" "No." "So you still won't admit it!" "Prongs, yes, it was my parents who did this," he admitted to him that his parents abused him for the very first time and felt a huge weight being lifted off his shoulder. "But we've got to keep this between us and your family, and Remus and Peter, I suppose."
"Why? They tried to kill you! They should be in Azkaban!" "I know that, but if took this to trial, they'll win. They might even resort to bribery and they'd get away with it. Then they might send me back and Merlin only knows what would happen to me. But I am never going back to that house. Never again."
So Agatha and Regiel Black were never punished for abuse and attempted murder of their son, but Amy and Harold Potter took Sirius into their home and soon he became a second son to them. He was finally free from his family and all their hate and abuse. And he couldn't have been more happier.
Chapter Twenty: Serena's New Look
In a few days, Sirius was able to go the Potters' house, which was now his new home. They were greeted by the family house elf Rover. "Hello Sirius, Rover is pleased to meet you. Rover will show you to your new room." 'He seems like a lot nicer than Kreacher' Sirius said as he followed the elf to a huge room.
That summer was easily the best Sirius ever had. He and James spent a lot of the time when he was recooperating talking about girls. As soon as he was perfectfully well again, they were back to pulling pranks again. Of course they didn't have Severus to torment, but they were still having fun. Harold felt guilty that he told James that Sirius was a bad kid five years ago. He and his wife couldn't help but notice how much alike the two teenagers were.
Meanwhile at the Snape Manor, Serena and Severus's relationship was definitely not the same as it used to be. They were still very polite and nice to each other, but it just didn't seem like they were good friends anymore. They seemed to be distancing themselves from each other.
Over the few months, Tara had started to develop a crush on her older brother's sister friend. She had even started to join in their pranks, even she had never pulled a prank before, just so she could have an excuse to be around him. Sirius did not feel that way about her, but he was always nice to her and liked her as a friend.
But of course all good things must come to end, and the boys had to go back to Hogwarts, not that they didn't want to go to Hogwarts of course. So, just a few days before they would get on the Hogwarts Express; Sirius, James and Tara went to Diagon Alley to get their new school supplies.
They stopped by Gringotts first and when they Sirius opened his vault, it was empty. "I knew it! I knew my parents were gonna take away all my money." "Don't worry, Padfoot. I'll pay for everything," James said. Sirius didn't like taking charity from his friend, but there was nothing else that he could do. They got all of their school supplies and went back home.
When Serena left home to get on Hogwarts Exress she looked somewhat different. Her breasts had grown about four inches. No she hadn't gone to the plastic surgeon and decided to get breast implants instead of a nose job. They had grown naturally. She had also grown about three inches in height. Serena had also gained a few pounds and didn't look as much like a stick as she used to.
Her hair used to be shoulder length and straight like her brother. It was still greasy, but her she had it grow out a few inches and it was styled a little differently. Some might desribe it as wavey; it certainly had more volume and bounce in it. Her skin was still as pale as ever, but she had started to wear light make-up that blended in well with her light complexion.
After she had gone through Platform Nine and 3/4, she could hear people looking at her and whispering. "Is that Serena Snape?" "Wo . . . where did those come from?" "I'll bet she had a boob job." Severus groaned at all the attention his sister was getting. It was hard for him to tell whether or not Serena was enjoying it. She walked into a compartment where Carissa and Wendy, and another friend, Nicole Smith were already sitting.
Emily peeked into the Marauder's compartment. "Have you guys seen Serena Snape yet?" "Why would I want to see Ms. Snivelly?" James asked. "Trust me. You'll want to see this." All four boys got up and went to see what Emily was talking about. They opened the compartment door and James walked in and said, "Hello Ms . . ." His eyes trailed down from her face to her chest.
"Cat got your tongue Potter?" James couldn't stop staring and neither could Sirius and Peter. Remus walked in front of them. He smiled at her. "Hi, Serena," he said trying his hardest to keep his eyes on her face. "How was your summer?" "It was alright. Thank you Remus," smiling back at him. "I . . uh . . . think we'd better be going now," James said and the four of them turned to walk away. "Good bye, Remus. Goodbye, pervets."
When the boys had gone, Serena turned back to her friends. "Why do people keep staring at my chest. Why?" "Uh, because your boobs are big," Carissa stated. "Yes, but they're not huge. And I'm just a fourth year anyway. I'm sure there are plenty of seventh year girls with breasts much better than mine that everyone can stare at."
"It's not they're extremely huge," Nicole started to explain. "It's because they grew so big in such a short period of time. They're surprised." "Yes, but they're not surprised at how fast a girl's breasts can grow. They're surprised that a Snape finally has something that actually makes her not ugly for a change. But I don't get it. My hair is longer, I'm taller and the only thing people notice are my breasts."
"Oh, come on Serena, you can't say you're not allowing this," Nicole said. "Yes, I can. Because I'm not." "Yes, I'm sure you're in so much misery," Carissa said sarcastically with a smile on her face. "That's why you decided not to put your robe on yet so that people can see them better." Serena smiled. "Well, they do have their advantages." "Like?" Carissa wanted to know. "Making James Potter speechless. I don't believe anyone has ever done that before." They girls laughed.
"So what did your brother say when he noticed your . . . change?" Wendy asked. Serena stopped lauughing. "Nothing. In fact, he really doesn't say that much of anything to me anymore." "Oh, I'm sorry," Wendy said. "No don't apoligize. It's not your fault. But it's like . . .I mean, I know he still cares deeply about me and loves me, even though he avoids me a lot sometimes." She sighed. "I guess the whole Slytherin vs. Gryffindor thing has really gotton to him."
"So you're not as close as you used to be, but would you still want to curse James if, I mean when, he starts messing with Severus again?" Wendy asked. "Of course. In fact, it's his fault we're not close anymore." "Huh? How's that?" Carissa said. "Think about it. James is horrible to him, and he's a Gryffindor, which in turn makes him like dislike all Gryffindors."
"Rena, I don't think that's it," Nicole said. "It's not because he's a Slytherin and you're a Gryffindor. I really, really hate to say this, but I think it might be because he's a Death Eater and you're not." Wendy shrugged. "Same difference." "You're wrong!" Serena said to Nicole. "You are Sirius, you're all wrong."
"I wish I was, but maybe . . . maybe it is James's fault. Maybe it was James's treatment of him that led him to the Dark Side. It happens all the time. Some kid gets bullied at school, the next thing you know, he's blowing up the place." "I still say you're wrong! My brother would never join Voldemort." "I hope you're right, Rena, I really do," Nicole said truthfully.
Chapter Twenty-One: The Worst Trick Ever
Severus had not yet joined the Death Eaters, but he was very much seriously considering it. He was distancing himself from his sister because . . . Well, actually in his mind, she was the one who was distancing himself from him. Ever since the day he had called Lily a mudblood, he had felt that she had started to act different around; and that she thought less of him because he had said that.
But he didn't like muggle-born witches and wizards. What was he supposed to do? Change his views just for her? He couldn't do that. Severus had always known that he and Serena felt differently. It didn't used to matter before. But now that Voldemort was coming into power, things were starting to change. And not just for them. But for the entire wizarding world.
After a few days, boys were still looking at Serena's chest. "Stop starring at me, pervert!" She yelled at some boy she didn't know. She had liked the attention at first, but after a whole day of it, it got very nerve racking. She didn't know if she would be able to take this for three more years at Hogwarts.
Then she saw a familiar face walking towards her. "What do you want, Sirius?" she asked exasperated. "Just follow me," he told her. And against her better judgement she did. They walked into an empty room that Serena had never seen before. "Um . . . where are we?" she asked. "This is the Room of Requirement. It can be any room you want. You wanted a place to get away from all the pervets, so that's what the room is."
"Ah, yes, but I'm not away from all of them. One of them is standing right next to me," she said to him. "We're guys, Serena. That's just what we do." "Then stop doing it!" "Do you see me looking at them?" "Well, no," she admitted. "But you want to." "Look, I'm only trying to help. I guess I'll just leave then." "Yeah, you do that, then, pervert!" she yelled after him. 'She has got to be the strangest girl I've ever met. One minute she's nice to me and telling me she thinks I'm good looking, but when I think she looks good, I'm suddenly a pervent. OK, so maybe I shouldn't have been staring at her breasts, but I couldn't help it.'
The next night a curly-haired Serena went up to the Maradaurers who were in the Gryffindor common room talking about something. 'Probably plotting some stupid prank on my brother' she thought. "Hello, Serena," Remus said. "Hi Remus. Sirius, can we talk. Privately." "Whatever you want to say to him, you can say in front of us," James told her. "No, Potter, I'm going to talk with him alone," she said glaring at him. "I'll be right back," Sirius told his friends.
Sirius followed Serena into the Room of Requirement. "I thought you didn't like talking to perverts." "Look, about that, I'm sorry about the way I acted yesterday, all right?" "I think that's the first time you've ever apologized to me," Sirius pointed out. "It's also the first time I've had to. Now are you going to accept my apology or not?" "Fine. But I gotta ask you something." "So ask." "What was all that talk about not caring about looking good and now . . ." "I did not have breast implants. I don't know what everyone has been saying about me, but it's not . . ."
"I wasn't talking about that." "Then what?" "Your hair is longer, you're taller, and are you wearing make-up?" She looked at him surprised. "You noticed all that?" "Why wouldn't I?" "Nobody else did." There were silent for a few moments. "I meant what I said. Mostly. I mean, no I don't care to be the most popular girl in school, but no I don't want to be hated either. But I don't have to make myself look good so that others will like me either. Like I said, I don't want people to dislike me. I want people to like me for me, if they don't, I won't change myself for anyone. So wear make-up? Why curl my hair? Because when I look in the mirror every day, I want to like what I see. I want to make myself look good for me and not for . . . and I am making absolutely no sense whatsoever, I am?"
Sirius laughed. "Let me see if I can make sense out of that. You want people to like you, but you don't want it to be because of looks. But you do want to be pretty, but to please yourself, and not anyone else." "Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. I guess that's what I should have said, huh?"
"Serena, there's nothing wrong with wanting to look your best. You don't have to feel guilty about it." "I don't." He gave her an 'I don't believe you' look. "Oh, maybe I do. I see girls all the time primping themselves in the mirror and pining after a guy just cause they think he looks good. And I try so hard to tell myself I'm not like them, and sometimes I can even make myself believe it. But in truth, I'm probably just the same as they are. And I've just realized that I've told you a lot more about myself than I've ever told anyone."
"Even more than Sni . . I mean, Severus?" "We've talked about a lot of stuff before, but we've never talked about looks or popularity. The thing is, we look so much alike, and if I told him I wanted to improve my looks, he would probably think I was calling him ugly, which I would never do." "That makes sense."
"Sirius, there was one other reason, that I asked you to come here with me." "I want you to touch . . ." she caught him looking down. "You wish. No, I meant touch my hair." "Why?" "Just do it." "OK, I think this is a little weird, but . . ." He touched her hair. "Now tell what it feels like." "It feels like hair,"he said confused. "Exactly. So you see, greasy hair doesn't feel disgusting and won't give you diseases after all," she said and walked out of the room. 'She has got to be the weirdest girl I've ever met' Sirius thought. 'And probably the smartest.'
Over the next couple weeks, the boys of Hogwarts finally stopped staring at Serena's breasts all the time. And Serena was glad to realize that they hadn't grown anymore since summer. She and Sirius seemed to be getting closer and would meet often in the Room of Requirement in the middle of the night. None of their friends to seemed to notice that they were always sneaking off with each other. Except for Remus, who was their only mutual friend.
But Serena seemed to hate James more than ever. As she and Severus grow even more apart, she saw James as an easy scapegoat to blame her problems on. Every time she saw him, she would make a fake bow and say sarcastically, "All hail King James." She even once did a spell to make his head bigger, litterally. It had grown about five its times it's normal size! Of course, she got in big trouble for it.
And Sirius's friendship with Serena was certainly not making him stop pestering Severus. In fact one day, he did something more terrible to Severus than James ever did. It was a full moon and due to the extremely long Potions essay they had to do, they would be unable to accompany Remus at the Shrieking Shack. (Remus, being the studious one had already finished his). But writing the essay didn't stop Sirius from going through with his plan.
He followed Severus in the corridor. "What do you want Black?" Severus said turning around. "Oh, nothing, I just thought maybe you'd like to know where Remus goes every month, but if not I can just leave." Sirius had seen Severus watching Remus go with Madam Pomfrey to the Whomping Willow, and he figured that Severus would want to follow him anyway to try and get him expelled, so why not just give a little hint?
"And where's that?" "All you have to do is prod the knot on the trunk of the Whomping Willow with a long stick and you can get in to find him. It's that easy." "And why should I trust you? You're his friend. You wouldn't want him to get in trouble." "We had a fight," Sirius lied. "I really don't care anymore."
Severus knew he shouldn't listen to him, but curiousity got the better of him. He went to the Whomping Willow and did exactly what Sirius told him to. Meanwhile, Sirius walked back to the Gryffindor common room where James was helping Peter with his essay. Sirius couldn't stop laughing. "What's so funny?" James asked him. "I just played the best trick ever on Snivellus." "What did you do?"
"I told him how to find Moony. And when he sees him he'll be so scared, he'll try and get us all expelled again." "Either that or he'll die, Padfoot! This is not the best trick. This is the most stupid thing you've ever done if your entire life!" James ran out. "Where are you going?" Sirius called after him. "I'm gonna stop Moony from killing Snivellus."
James ran as fast as he could to the Shrieking Shack. Severus was already in the tunnel. "Sni..Snape, get out of there!" James yelled approaching him. "I will not, Potter! I am going to find out what Lupin is doing and he's going to be expelled. I would rather have you or Black expelled, but . . ." "No! I'm telling you that if you go any further, you're gonna get killed!"
"Get out of my way Pot . . ." That's when they both saw the werewolf approaching them. Severus was too shocked to move, but James quickly grabbed him and dragged him out as fast as he could.
Chapter Twenty-Two: Revelations
When they both made it back to safety, Severus said, "I knew you were no good, Potter, but I never thought that even you could go this low." "What? It wasn't me. Sirius was the one who did this. I was the one who saved your life." "You were in one it. You only saved me because you knew how much trouble you'd all be in if I was dead."
"That is not true Snivelly!" "You thought I'd be feel grateful to you for saving my life, that I wouldn't tell Dumbledore what you all did. But I am going staight to him right now and telling him that Lupin is a werewolf and that you all almost led me to him to have me killed and you'll all be expelled!" "No, please Snape. You don't have to . . ."
Of course Dumbledore already knew that Remus was a werewolf, and even though he was mad at Sirius himself was doing this, he did not want his best friend to get expelled. "What's this? The great James Potter is begging me. I never thought I'd see that happen," Severus sneered at him. "Goodbye, Potter. I doubt you'll be in here much longer," he said as he walked back to the castle and leaving a very worried James.
James went back inside to the common room and Sirius noticed the worried expression on his face. "What happened? He's not . . . dead, is he?" "No, he's not dead. But he's going to talk with Dumbledore right now, and you're about to be expelled! Padfoot what were you thinking!?" Sirius couldn't answer, he was too worried about being expelled.
Meanwhile, Severus had gone up to Dumbledore's office and said the password. "Ah, Severus, what can do for you?" He sat down. "Professor Dumbledore, Potter, Lupin and Black tried to kill me." Dumbledore had a look of much surprise on his face. Severus told Dumbledore his side of the story and then said, "Are you goinng to expell them sir?"
"I am fully aware that Mr. Lupin is a werewolf, and as the there is no is no proof that he or Mr. Potter were in on this, they will not be punished. As for Mr. Black, I can guarantee you that he will be severely punished for this." As Severus left, Dumbledore told McGonagall to tell Sirius to come to his office.
McGonagall walked into the common room and saw the three worried Maraduars. "Mr. Black, Professor Dumbledore wishes to speak with you." He walked to Dumbledore's office. He was more scared now than he ever had been when his parents were beating him. He said the password and walked in. "Sit down, Mr. Black," Dumbledore him.
Sirius sat down and immediately started talking, "Professor Dumbledore, sir, I wasn't trying to kill Snape. I . . . " "No, I don't believe that you were. But what you did tonight was extremely careless. Whether intentional or not, your actions tonight almost got two boys killed and turned another one into a murder. This is not to be taken lightly. And I am very disappointed in you Mr. Black."
"I'll start packing my things," Sirius said quietly. "You will not be expelled, Mr. Black." "I'm not?" he asked surprised. "I know that despite what you've done, that you are not a bad person and I will not deny you your education." "Thank you sir," he said very relieved. "However, you will still have to punished. You will receive detentions every night until Christmas vacation. (It was almost Halloween.) "Alright," Sirius wasn't happy about that, but he knew he deserved it. "You may leave now."
When he got back to the common room, James and Peter ran to him. "Please tell me you're not expelled?" James asked still worried. "No, I just detentions until Christmas." "Thank god," he said. As the three of them went to bed, James reminded him, "You know, Padfoot, when Remus finds out about this, he's not going to be very happy." "I know," he said. He didn't think Serena was going to be happy with either. Why in the world did he think that telling Severus how to find Remus was such a good idea, when it was actually the worst decision he had ever made?
James had been right about Remus. "How could you!" Remus yelled at him. "I trusted you! You know how much I try to be a good person even if I'm a dark creature and you . . . you almost turned me into a murderer! I'm never trusting you again! You are not my friend, anymore, Sirius!" "But Moony . . . " "Don't call me that! That is only a nickname that my friends can use and you are not one of them."
Remus's parents were not too happy either. "I knew it! I knew it!" Rachel said talking to her husband. "I said that he was a rotten kid, but did anyone believe me? No. Everyone kept saying all this crap about how he was a good kid and not at all like his family, but I was right the whole time!" Daniel sighed. "Yeah, I suppose you were."
Serena learned about the incident from her brother. "Serena, can we talk?" he asked. "If you're to tell me to stop hanging out with mudbloods then . . ." "No, that is not it!" "I just thought you'd like to know what your precious teammates did to me." "What did they do this time?" she asked. "They tried to have me killed!"
"What?! They wouldn't do that." "Did you know that Lupin was a werewolf?" "No," she said honestly. "Black and Potter knew of course and they almost fed me to him! All of you Gryffindors think you're such perfect heroes, when they are all stinky filthy murderers!" "I'm not the only in this family who hangs around murderers," she said quietly. "Now what is that supposed to mean?" "You know exactly what it means," she said and walked out of the room.
As she was walking down the hall, she ran into Remus. "Serena, hi." "Get out of my way, werewolf!" "Serena," he said calmly. "I didn't have anything to do with what happened. I mean, I didn't know Sirius had told your brother that, and James didn't either for that matter. James was the one who saved your brother's life when he found out. The whole thing was Sirius's idea." "Oh, that makes me feel a lot better," she said sarcastically. Remus didn't comment on that. "Look, Remus, I'm sorry," she apologized nicely. "Now If you'll excuse me, I have somewhere to be."
Serena also felt guiltly about being so cross with her brother after his near death experience. But the whole thing was hard for her to take. It seemed like the two people that she cared about most in the world, may not be good people after all. She quietly went to the Room of Requirement and cried alone.
Chapter Twenty-Three: Peace On Earth
Sirius walked in the room and saw her crying. She hadn't seen him yet and he didn't know what to say to her. "Serena, I'm really sorry for what I did." She turned around. "Sorry!? Is that all you can say, sorry?!" "Well, I . . . " "You almost got my brother killed! And your best friend, who I hate. But I don't want people I hate to die, and I thought that you felt the same way." "I do! Serena, I was not trying to kill, I only wanted to scare him." "And you almost made Remus a murderer! Don't you even give a bloody damn about that?!" "I know what I was stupid, but . . "And you know the only reason Dumbledore didn't expell is because then he'd have to tell the Ministry why you were being expelled and that would telling them about Remus." "That could be true, but . . . "Get out of my sight, Sirius Black and I never want to see you again, ever!" "Serena . . ." "Go!" He left.
From then until Christmas vacation, Sirius served his detentions. Things were still the same with James and Peter, but Remus and Serena were still not talking to him. Serena was not speaking with either Sirius or Severus and she was in deep misery. "You should talk to both them," Carissa told her, but Serena wasn't listening.
It was a few days before Christmas vacation and Sirius and Serena couldn't take this pain much longer. Sirius went to speak with Dumbledore. "What can I do for you Mr. Black?" Dumbledore asked smiling at him through his half moon glasses. 'Well, at least Dumbledore's forgiven me' Sirius thought. "You can expell me," Sirius answered. "I can't take this. She's still not talking to me."
"She?" Dumbledore asked. "No, not she, he," Sirius said quickly. "You were referring to Ms. Snape, weren't you?" "How did you know?" Sirius asked. "Well, I think it's quite obvious how you two feel about each other." "I guess I blew my chances with her then, huh?" "Maybe. Maybe not. I believe both Remus and Serena will come around and forgive you sometime, but you must be patient. Especially with Serena. She's been going through a lot lately and she's very confused about many things. She may need much time to sort everything out."
"But I don't want her to take her time, I want her to talk to me now!" "Sirius . . ." "I love her. And it didn't even realize it until now. I could have any girl I want, and the girl I want is Snape's sister! And she won't even talk to me!" "Then if you love her, you'll wait for her," Dumbledore told him. "Yeah, I'll wait for her, alright. But I don't have to be happy about it," he complained.
Meanwhile, Serena wanted an adult to talk to. But she didn't want to talk to Dumbledore because she knew one thing she may about her brother, could get him into big trouble and she didn't want that, so she decided to talk to Hagrid. She snuck out of the castle and knocked on the door of his hut. She could hear Fang barking inside.
"Who is it?" "Serena Snape," she answerd. "Come on in, Serena," he told her. She walked in and Hagrid could tell that she had been crying. "What's wrong?" he answered her concerned. "Hate. Hate is wrong," she answered simply. "Yes, I'd have to agree with that, but . . ."
"Hagrid, I think my brother may become a Death Eater. He's not one now, but I'm sure he's thinking about it." "What makes you think that?" "I dunno know. It's just . . . the things he says, the things he believes the people hangs out with. But despite this, I still love him. Is that wrong, Hagrid. Is it wrong to love someone who could be evil . . . just because he's your brother."
"No, Serena. I don't think that's wrong," he said truthfully. "But I think you should talk ter him about your concerns. See if you can get him ter change his mind." "I've tried that, but he's just not listening. But he's not the only . . . I'm in love with Sirius Black and I . . . it's just all so mixed up," she said crying again.
Hagrid handed her a handkerchief. "Sirius tried to kill my brother, and I should hate him for it, but I don't and . . . But the person he tried to kill could be a potential Death Eater so is what he did so wrong? It is because it was my brother and I love him. I love them both and I'm afraid I'm gonna lose them. I afraid they will succeed in kiling each other one day and I don't know what to do! Should I tell Sirius I love him? Should I stop loving my brother? I don't have the answers to these questions."
Unfortunately, Hagrid didn't have the answeres either. He had promised Serena that he would not tell Dumbledore what she told him about Severus, but he did anyway. Dumbledore said, "I have the same fears that Serena does about Severus as I do for many other students. Let us all hope that they decide to choose the right path."
When they left for Christmas vacation, neither Serena or Remus had still said anything to Sirius. The Potters had tried their best to cheer him up, but it was no use. James wondered why Sirius seemed extremely depressed over Remus not talking to him. 'He doesn't like Remus as more than a friend, does he? No, I don't think that's it.' He had no idea how his best friend felt about Serena and Sirius was definitely not going to tell him.
During Christmas vacation, Remus could hear his mother say things like, "Now, Remus, surely by now you've realized what Sirius Black is really like. He's an evil murderer just like his family and that's never gonna change." At some point he said to her, "No, Mum. He made a terrible mistake, but he's not a bad kid." That was the first time since the incident that Remus had admitted that to himself. He decided that when he went back to Hogwarts, he would make up with Sirius.
That Christmas Serena was so desperate that she decided to borrow a Muggle Christian Bible to see if it would give her the answers. She was reading the story of how Jesus was born and she came across the phrase, "Peace on earth, and good will toward men."
'Peace on earth' she scoffed. 'There is no peace on this earth. Only hate. Stupid hate. I hate hate. And I hate people who hate. Wait a minute that does mean I hate myself?' Then she decided right then that if there could not be peace on earth, she could still have peace in her own heart, and to do that, there was quite a few people that she needed to make peace with: her brother, her potential boyfriend and even her enemy, James Potter.
Chapter 24: Kiss And Makeup
That Christmas, Sirius was convinced that he would not get any Chocolate Frogs from Serena. He was wrong. "What's the note say?" James asked. "It just says, Merry Christmas. Enjoy the chocolate." But Sirius was lying. The note said: Dear Sirius, First day back from vacation meet at midnight at you know where. Sincerely, Serena. Sirius hoped this meant she was going to make up with him.
Also on Christmas day, Serena went into Severus's room to talk to him. (While their parents screamed at each other.) "Severus, I know we have a difference of opinion on things, but I still love you and I want us to be friends again. It's up to you. The ball is in your court. You'll know where to find me if you need me." She walked out of the room, and Severus didn't say anything. He wished they could still be friends too, but things just weren't that simple.
They were back to Hogwarts, and it was time for Remus to make up with Sirius. "Hey, Padfooot, wait up," Remus said to him while they were walking down a corridor. "Hey." "What you did terrible, nothing changes that. But I forgive you. And I want us to be friends again." Sirius smiled at him and they gave each other a manly hug.
Meanwhile, Serena caught up with James when he was walking down the corridors alone (which hardly ever happens). "Potter, I mean James. I wanna talk to you." "What do you want Ms. Snivelly?" he asked her. "First, I'll pretend you didn't call me that. Second of all . . . I wanna say something I should have said in October. I know you hate my brother and the only reason why you saved him was so that your friends wouldn't be murderers, and that you could really care less if Severus lies or dies. Still, having all that, I know that if it wasn't for you, he would be dead, and so I guess it's time to throw away the James Potter voodoo doll."
He gave her a strange look. "Metaphorically speaking, of course. I don't hate you anymore, James. I realize that this world has too much in it for me to be contributing to that, and I really don't want to have hate in my heart and I guess what I'm really trying to say is . . . thank you." "You're welcome," he told her and they walked away, no longer enemies, but certainly not friends either.
Now, the only one she had left was Sirius. When she reached their room he was already there. "Hi," she said. "Hi." They were a little uncomfortable at first, not knowing what to say. "Sirius, I don't know how you feel about me, but . . ." "I love you," he told her. "Okay, now I know, and I love you too, but . . ." "But what? If we love each other, then shoudn't that be the only thing that matters?"
"Yes, it should, but sometimes it isn't. Sirius, I love my brother very much." "Serena . . . " "I know, I know, future Death Eater, I'm aware of that. So you may wonder why I would still love him, and I'll tell you. Because he was my best friend when we were little. I'd watch our parents fight over the stupidest things. Sometimes my dad would hit my mom, but Severus was always there for, comforting me. We did everything together and we shared everything. When you love someone that much whether it's a brother, sister, parent, child, girlfriend, whatever, you never stopping them. Never. No matter what they do."
"Alright, I get it. But what does that have to do with us?" "It has a lot to do with us," she said taking his hand. "Sirius, I want you to be my boyfriend, but for that to happen you have to do me one favor. You have to stop being mean to Severus. I really don't think that's too much to ask. But if it is, then I'm afraid we can't be together. So what's your decision?" He thought about it for a second. "Alright, for you, I'll try to be nice to him." "Good choice," she said and they kissed for the first time. "So, who do we tell about us?" Serena asked when they broke apart. "How about no one. It'll be our secret." "Ooo, a secret love affair. I like that.
"And speaking of secrets," Serena continued. "Where do you all get your nicknames from? I know why you call Remus Moony, but the rest . . ." Sirius thought for a moment. 'Should I tell her? She is my girlfriend.' "I'll tell you, but you have to promise me that you won't tell anyone else." "Okay." "We're Animagi," he told her. "Our nicknames are related to which animal we are." "Really?" she said impressed. "Yeah, we did it to keep Moony company at the full moon."
"That's so sweet. Let me guess, you're a dog." "How did you . . ." "Your name," she said simply. "Besides, Padfoot sounds like a dog's name. Now let me see." He transformed into a big black dog. "You look like a grim! People see you walking down the street, they'll all think they're gonna die! Let's go scare the Malfoys!" she said laughing. Then Sirius changed back. "And James and Peter are? No wait let me guess. Prongs? Sounds like a . . . deer. He's a stag!"
"Correct." "This is pretty fun. Alright, one more. Wormtail. He could be a worm, but worms don't have tails. So . . . is he a rat?" "How do you do this?" "I'm just smart, I guess. Then I was right. Peter's a rat." She looked kind of thoughtful. "That's interesting." "Why?" She shrugged. "I don't know." But she did know why. Because wasn't the animal you were supposed to represent you in some way, and if Peter was a rat, well then what does that say about him? But she didn't tell him what she was thinking.
And so throughtout the rest of the term, Sirius tried being nice to Severus. It wasn't easy and occasionally he'd slip a time or two, especially when James was messing with him too. But Serena appreciated his efforts and so she did not break up with him. While her relationship with Sirius was going great, her and Severus were still not talking, and Serena figured it was only a matter of time before he would join the Death Eaters.
James and Peter were starting to wonder where their friend seemed to be disappearing all the time. (The Marauder's Map had been confinscated by Filch earlier that year. The boys hoped that future troublemakers would someday find it.) And why he wasn't going out with a bunch of girls all time. Again James wondered if his friend had turned gay. Not that he would think being gay was a bad thing. Serena's friends might have had a better idea of what was going out with their friend, as she had already admitted to them that she loved Sirius. But of the guys, it seemed that Remus was the only one smart enough to figure it out. He never confronted his friends, he just assumed that they would tell everyone when they were ready.
Near the end of the year Sirius discovered that his cousin Narcissa was engaged to her boyfriend Lucius Malfoy. No surprise there. (He found out from Serena who overheard her brother and Lucius discussing it.) For the first year since James and Sirius had come to Hogwarts, Gryffindor won the house cup. However, they had lost the Quidditch cup to Ravenclaw who had a extremely good team this year. (Or maybe it might have had something to do with that one game they lost when Serena wasn't talking with Sirius.)
Despite the continued rising of Voldemort and Serena's fears of her brother being a Death Eater, Serena felt good. She had a wonderful boyfriend and she was happier than she had been in a long time. She should have known that happiness wouldn't last forever.
Chapter Twenty-Five: The Vixen
That first part of summer, Sirius and Serena had sent each other tons of letters. Hooters had never worked so hard in her life. Sirius realized that if he and Serena were going to keep this a secret then he would have to get a place of his own. And so about midway through summer, when Uncle Alphard sent him tons of money, most likely getting himself blasted off the tapestry. Sirius sent out to find a house of his own. He found a perfect average-sized three bedroom house that he decided to move in to.
"Now, Sirius, you know we love you like a son, and you'll always welcome here any time," Amy told him. Sirius told the Potters a sad goodbye and took possession of his new home. But he didn't have to stay sad for long because Serena made frequent visits to his house. So did James, Remus and Peter; just never the same time that Serena was there. Just like the last summer, it seemed to pass by too quickly.
Also happening this summer: "Welcome Severus, to my inner circle!" Voldemort said to in high, cold voice. Yes, Serena's worst fear had come true, Lucius had finally convinced Severus to be a Death Eater.
Serena's breasts had only grown one inch over the last year and the rest of the girls in fifth year were now catching up with her. She was also now about 5'5' in height. The minute she got on the Hogwarts Express she went to Maradaurs's compartment to say hello the boys. "Hey, Remus," she said smiling at her friend. "Hi, Serena. I hope you had a nice summer." "Oh yes, it was great," she said, and Remus could have sworn he saw her winking at Sirius. "So, James, Sirius, I'll see you at Quidditch practice. I really hope we can win this year. Remus, we'd better head to the prefect's compartment." "I'll be there in just a minute," he told her. "Alright, then. See you in a mintute," she said and walked to the prefect's compartment hoping nobody but Sirius saw her wink.
"You know," James started to comment as Serena walked away. "I'll be Ms. Sni ..ape actually has a nice shapely figure under those robes." Sirius glared at him. But James didn't notice, he was mind had quickly switched to Lily. He only had more year to win her heart.
Then James just remembered something. "Oh yeah, I almost forget. I'm head boy. I gotta go sit with the head girl. I hope it's Evans!" He and Remus went to a compartment with where the prefects, head boy and girl were supposed to sit. "Potter, what are you doing here?" Lily asked him coldy. "I"m the head boy this year. And I see that you are the head girl," he said looking at her badge. "Potter? How could they have made Potter head boy? He's not even a prefect! It would even be better if they had made Sirius Black head boy!" "Oh, come on, Lily. It'll be great. The two of us working together." "Yes, it'll be so exciting," she said sarcastically.
So that year, as Voldemort's gained more and more power and followers, and Serena and Sirius continuing to see each other in private. And James continued to ask Lily out and kept getting turned down. "Please Lily, just go out with me one time, and if you don't like it, I'll never bother you again, I promise." "Oh, all right," she finally giving in to make him shut up.
So on the first Hogsmeade weekend of that year, James and Lily went out on their first date. They went to Honeydukes, Hogsmeade, Zonkos and just about every other shop. James had even bought her some flowers. They were lilies of course. Lily decided that she didn't hate James so much after all. In fact, she even decided that she wanted to go out with him again. Soon enough they were boyfriend and girlfriend. James had a much harder time being nice to Severus than Sirius did. So he would continue to hex him, and Lily never knew about it.
For Christmas, Serena got Sirius the annual Chocolate Frogs, but she also got him a pensieve as well. For the first time ever Sirius gave Serena a Christmas present: a charm bracelet.
Near the middle of the year, Sirius said to Serena "Let's go sneak up to the Astonomy tower." "Why would I want to do that? If I want to look at a good looking star, I'll look at you," she told him. "Wait, you don't wanna go there and do what I think you . . . "No, no, of course, not. Unless you want to, that is." "Not until after graduation. Mine, that is." "Fine," he said sounding a little disappoined.
"But we can still go up there if you. And actually look at the stars." "No, we can just . . ." "Uh, oh, I think I hear, Mrs. Norris. Filch is probably nearby." Sirius said, "I should have taken Jame's invisibility cloak with me." Sirius and Serena ran. They went into a room with a very interesting mirror.
They stared at the mirror for a minute, before Sirius said, "What the heck does that mean?" referrring to the inscription that read, Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi." "I think it says: Is how not your face but your hearts desire," Serena answered. "All the letters spell that backwards. So in other words, this mirror will show us what our hearts desire."
Serena walked up to mirror first. "What do you see?" "I see you and my brother getting along. I'm there too, of course. Actually so is Dumbledore most of the entire wizarding population and we're dancing . . . on Voldemort's grave. So my heart's desire is to have Voldemort defeated and everyone being nice to each other. No real surprise there. Your turn." Sirius walked up to the mirror. "I see me and my family and they're good people. And my parents are proud of me; they love me." Serena smiled at him sadly. She didn't want to admit it, but she thought her desire was even more likely to happen than his.
One month at the full moon, Sirius, James and Peter did not notice that a fox seemed to be stalking them. The fox stayed very close to the Shrieking Shack as Remus transformed. The fox did it again at the next full moon. One night, the maradauders decided to sneak out of the castle with the invisibility cloak and wonder out in the Forbidden Forest. The fox stalked them again, but was detained when it accidently stepped into a fox trap. The fox looked down and its bleeding ankle as if saying, 'How could I have been so stupid not to look where I was going?'
Then all of the sudden, a huge bear appears. The marauders reached for their wands, but the bear must have known that they were wizards, and easily knocked all four wands out of their hands at once. The bear advanced on James and then it bit deeply into his arm. But right after that, the bear released James and walked away as if in a trance. James fell to the ground, very much still in pain.
The other three marauders lifted him up to carry him back to the castle. "If you to see Madam Pomfrey, you're going have to tell her you've snuck out to the Forbidden Forest, and you guys have gotten into too much trouble already," said Serena stepping out from hiding in the trees. "I'd rather be in trouble than die!" James yelled at her.
Serena rolled her eyes. "You're not gonna die. Now quickly transform into a stag." "What?! How did you? Moony did you tell her?" "No," he said honestly. "Then who . . ." "Prongs, now is that the time for this," Sirius said to him. "It was you, wasn't it? But why would you . . .?" "Prongs, just do it," Remus said. James transformed into a stag, and Serena walked up to him.
"I can heal animals," she told them. "It also works on Animagi." She took out her wand and touched Jame's wound. It was completely healed instantly. "There; all better." James transformed back into a human. "How did you do that?" Peter said to her. "I've never seen healers do that so fast!" "I'm sure many other people can do that," she said humbly. "Now you boys better get back to the castle."
The boys turned to walk back, and Sirius said to his secret girlfriend, "Aren't you coming?" "In just a few mintues, I got something else I need to take care of." Serena walked the fox trap and raised her wand and destroyed it. In an instant there was a fox walking to the Hogwarts castle with a leg that didn't look or feel as it had been cut at all.
Chapter Twenty-Six: The First Big Attack
"Why didn't you tell me you were a healer?" "Sirius asked Serena the next day. "I'm not, I just heal animals. Not wizards." "But you healed Prongs. He's a wizard." "He was a stag. That's the only reason I could do it," she told him. "But Peter was right. That was pretty impressive. I've never seen or heard of anyone who could heal that fast, human or animals." "There are others," she said. "Like who?" "I don't know, but I'm sure they're out there somewhere." "So, Rena, is there any other interesting powers you have that I don't know about yet?"
"Just one. I'm an Animagus too." "Oh, so that's how you kept yourself hidden from us yesterday. Which animal are you?" "A fox, vixen, whichever you wanna call it. I've lurked around the Shrieking Shack a few full moons as well." "Why didn't you tell me?" "I didn't want you to know that I was spying on you guys." "You could have joined us." "No, I don't think James and Peter would like that." "Peter doesn't dislike you, and I don't think James hates you either anymore." "That may be true, but still I'm not a part of your special group, and I'm okay with that," she said honestly." They paused for a moment. "Are you sure you don't have any more unique powers though?" "Yes, Siri, I'm sure. Now can we talk about something else?" "Sure."
The next few months passed by quickly. Lily and James's relationship was going on good. So was Serena and Sirius's; and they were still keeping it a secret. Remus was going out with Emily now. Yes, things were going good, until . . . Serena thought it was a plain normal day until she saw her owl Bootsie brought her the Daily Prophet. It read: Death Eater Attack in London. 10 muggle-borns were killed and 20 were injured.
Serena panicked. Carissa had gone home a few days for a relative's wedding. Of course she didn't want anyone to die, because that's terrible. But it's only natural to care even more when it's people you know as opposed to people you've never met. She looked at the list of names of the people dead. "Please don't let Carissa be dead. Please, God, Merlin, just don't let it be Carissa." But it was. Serena's best friend Carissa Carpenter was dead. Her next thought was, 'Was my brother involved in this? No, of course not, he couldn't have left Hogwarsts, could he? But he most likely knows who did it.'
Sirius had read the Daily Prophet too and he wanted to go and comfort her immediately, but seventh year boys were not allowed in the dormitories of fith years girls. He'd have to wait until she came out for breakfast. But Wendy, Nicole and Zelda Zimmerman came out without her. Sirius walked over to them. "Where's Serena?" "She . . . uh . . . she's in her bed. She wants to be alone. I don't think she's coming out," Zelda told him. The girls were Carissa's friends too and they were grieving as well; Wendy definitely looked like she had been crying. But Serena took it the hardest, of course, and she didn't leave the dormitory all day.
Sirius caught up with her alone the next day, she simply put his arm around her and neither of them said anything. Finally Serena spoke. "I just can't believing this is happening. I mean, I know we all saw it coming but . . . why did it have to be . . . she was my best friend and . . . what if Severus was involved . . . I know it's unlikely that he could sneak out of Hogwarts, but . . . . " They sat in each others arms for some quite some time.
Serena somehow managed to get the courage to talk with her brother about this. She just walks up to him and says, "Did you do it?" she asked him. He didn't even need to ask her what she was talking about it." "No," he answered. "But you are a Death Eater, aren't you?" "No, Serena I'm not. I don't like muggle-borns, but I don't want them dead, and I'm sorry your friend died." "No, you didn't do it, but you are a Death Eater, and you know who did it, and you'll tell me right now!" "Serena, I do not . .
"You can't know Serena. Is revenge really what you want? To go out and kill someone yourself?" "To avenge my friend's death. Yes I think I do want that. Whoever killed Carissa deserves to die!" "Whether or not he deserves to die is not the point! If you kill someone, even if you have a good reason, once you've taken a life, once you've tasted that . . . there's a lot of power in that. Power that you don't want. Power that can lead you to the Dark Side. And once you've gone dark; it's almost impossible to come back. There's no hope for me Serena, but you . . . I'm not trying to save them, I'm trying to save you." Then Severus looked at her and talked to her more softly than he had in a long time. "Serena, I want you to know that matter what happens you'll still be my little sister. Always remember that I love you," then he turned and walked back to the Slytherin common room.
Serena went back to where her boyfriend who asked her, "Did you talk to him?" "Yeah, I did," she said quietly. "And?" "He didn't do it. He's not even a Death Eater." "Are you sure?" "Yes, I'm sure," she lied. Her brother had been right; she did not want to turn into a murderer and have that destroy her. She also knew that if Sirius had ever found out who did than he would want to get the revenge for her, and she already had a brother who had gone dark, the last thing she needed was her boyfriend to do the same. She decided it was best if neither of them knew which Death Eater had killed Carissa.
The end of the school year came very soon after Carissa's funeral. Dumbledore looked very proud as the students received their diplomas. Serena watched Sirius and three best friends graduating together and was very sad knowing that Carissa was not going to graduate with her, but she put on her best happy face for her boyfriend. She was thinking about her best friend, when Lily walked up to her. "How are you holding up?" "As good as I can be, I guess," she answered. "Do you think you could do me a favor?" "Yeah, of course." "Take a picture of me, and all the rest of the Gryffindors graduating this year."
And so Serena took the picture with Lily's muggle camera of the Gryffnidors: Sirius Black, James Potter, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Richie York (even though he still wished he had been a Ravenclaw), Lily Evans, Emily Hanson, Arista Kratt, Cindy Nelson and Gretta Gibson. None of them knew what the future held for them, but they had a feeling that this first big muggle-born was attack was only beginning of what could be the one of them biggest war in all of wizarding world history.
A/N: Thanks to Chimmerii Maiden for your complementory review!
Part 4: Years Six And Seven
Chapter 19: Free
As Voldemort was gaining more power, Sirius's life at home was getting much worse. He very openly opposed the dark wizard whom his family were huge supporters of. "Lord Voldemort is doing the right thing, getting rid of all those filthy mudbloods! And if you had any sense you'd join him!" his mother yelled at him. "I would never join him! And I think that you all are the ones who are filty and I am ashamed to be a part of his horrible family!"
Those first few days of summer were extremely miserable for Sirius. He was still getting beaten the muggle way and his parents didn't hesitate to use the spell that Severus used on James and made nasty cuts and gashes all over his body. Not to mention forcing him to write 'I Love The Dark Lord' with a quill that makes the words show up on his bleeding hand. All the while hearing his parents say, "Regulus is a much better son than you are. Why can't you be more like him?" Sirius didn't think that he could take it much longer.
After one week, Regiel came into Sirius's bedroom. Along with the cuts, he had bruises all over him. "I've had just about enough of your traitorous ways, boy!" Regiel said and aimed his wand at his oldest son. "Crucio!" Sirius screamed bloody murder. He had never felt so much pain in all his life. Regiel kept the Cruciatus Curse on Sirius for quite some time.
When the curse was finally lifted, Sirius decided that he had had enough of the abuse. He was going to run away from home, something he should have done years ago. He grabbed his broom, his trunk of school supplies, and opened Hooters's cage. Then he opened the window. "Don't you dare try to get from me boy! Avada Kedavra!"
But Sirius had already jumped out the window. He picked back up his trunk and broom and with the small amount of strength he had left, he ran as fast as he could to get far away from home (with Hooters following him). When he felt that he gone far enough, he contemplated what to do next. He would to go to James's house. But how would he get there? He didn't have a fireplace to travel by Floo Power, and he was much too weak to ride his broom, besides he didn't even know the way there. He would have to take the Knight Bus.
Sirius reached into his trunk and pulled out his wand to call the Knight Bus. It appeared imediately. "Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or - Wo, what happened to you?" Stan, the conductor said when he finally looked at Sirius. He didn't answer; he just stepped on the bus and said "Potter Manor, please." "Are you sure you don't want us to take you to St. Mungo's?" "Yeah."
"Alright, that'll be Eleven Sickles." Sirius suddenly realized that he didn't have any money with him. "I . . . uh . . . don't have any money. I'll get off," he said heading toward the door. Stan looked at beaten boy and he couldn't leave him stranded. "Eh, don't worry 'bout it." Sirius took a seat and laid down. But the ride was very bumpy and not even resting made him feel better.
When they reached the Potter Manor, Sirius got off and walked up to the front door, with his last ounce of strength. He passed out before he could knock. Hooters started hooting and banging on the door, hoping someone could hear. Inside, Harold and Amy were playing wizard chess in the living room, while their daughter watched. When the heard the hooting and knocking Amy said, "Well, that's strange. Owls don't usually knock on doors. I wonder what this is about."
"I'll get it," Tara said and walked to the door. When she opened it she screamed at the sight of the unconscious sickly, beaten and cut up teenager lying on the ground. "Tara, sweetie, what's wrong?" Amy asked very concerned as she and Harold walked to the door. They both gasped at the sight. Then quickly getting over the shock, they carried him inside and laid him on the couch, while Hooters flew in.
"Do you who this is, Tara?" Amy asked. She and her husband hadn't met Sirus yet. She thought that was most likely who it is, but she wanted to make sure. Not that she wasn't going to help him if he wasn't Sirius. "Yes, Mum, this is . . ." "Padfoot!" said James running down the stairs. His parents looked at him confused. "It's a nickname. Is he gonna be alright?" "I don't know James," Amy answered him truthfully. "We've got to get him to St. Mungo's now," Harold said. "He should have gone there first instead of here."
The four Potters took Sirius to St. Mungo's and then waited for the healer to tell them if he would be okay. James was very worried. "I knew what his parents were doing to him! Why couldn't he have just admitted it?" "Fear," Amy answered. The healer came out some time later. "Sirius is going to be just fine," Madam Rusha told them. The Potters, especially James were relieved.
"He's had quite a lot of severe beatings and cuts and he also seems to suffering from the Cruciatus Curse. However, with lots of rest, food, and a special potion I'm going to give him, He will make a full recovery in no time. But I must ask you, do any of you have any idea who did this to him?"
"Yes, it was his parents," James said. "They wanted to kill him." "Now, Mr. Potter, James is it? I know that Agatha and Regiel Black aren't the nicest people on this planet, but I really don't think they would attempt to murder their own son." "Oh, yes they would, and they'll pay for what they did!" Madam Rusha looked at the other Potters waiting them to either agree or disagree with James's claims.
Harold looked at his wife and daughter who nodded. "We also agree that it was parents who did this," he told the healer. "Very well then," she said and walked away. "She still didn't believe us, did she?" James asked his parents. "No son, I'm afraid not," Harold said.
The next day Sirius woke up in a bed at St. Mungo's. 'What am I doing here?' he wondered. Then he remembered everything. From the Cruciatus Curse to the Killing Curse. To runing away to the Potters. They must have brought him here after he passed out at the door. He felt a lot better than he had yesterday.
Sirius saw a healer walk into the room. "Hello Sirius, I'm Madam Rusha. How are you feeling?" "Alright, I guess," he answered. "May I ask you who did this to you?" "It was a death eater." "A what?" she said confused. "A follower of uh . . . you-know-who. I didn't see who it was because he was wearing a large cloak that covered his face."
"And why would they be coming after you?" "I don't know. They're just so evil, I guess they'll just come after anyone." "Your friend James Potter seemed very adament yesterday, that it was your parents who did this." "No, it wasn't." "Then you will go back to their house when you are well?" "No! I mean, I'd like to stay with the Potters."
Madam Rusha was now convinced that the Potters had been right, but she didn't know what she should do about it. In the end, she pretended to believe Sirius's story. When Madam Rusha walked out James walked in. "Padfoot, are you alright?" "Yeah, I'm gonna just fine. I get to leave here in a few days." "You're not going back there." "No, I'm not. I'm gonna stay at your house . . I mean, if that's alright with your parents." "I'm sure it will be." He paused.
"Did you tell her that it was your parents?" "No." "So you still won't admit it!" "Prongs, yes, it was my parents who did this," he admitted to him that his parents abused him for the very first time and felt a huge weight being lifted off his shoulder. "But we've got to keep this between us and your family, and Remus and Peter, I suppose."
"Why? They tried to kill you! They should be in Azkaban!" "I know that, but if took this to trial, they'll win. They might even resort to bribery and they'd get away with it. Then they might send me back and Merlin only knows what would happen to me. But I am never going back to that house. Never again."
So Agatha and Regiel Black were never punished for abuse and attempted murder of their son, but Amy and Harold Potter took Sirius into their home and soon he became a second son to them. He was finally free from his family and all their hate and abuse. And he couldn't have been more happier.
Chapter Twenty: Serena's New Look
In a few days, Sirius was able to go the Potters' house, which was now his new home. They were greeted by the family house elf Rover. "Hello Sirius, Rover is pleased to meet you. Rover will show you to your new room." 'He seems like a lot nicer than Kreacher' Sirius said as he followed the elf to a huge room.
That summer was easily the best Sirius ever had. He and James spent a lot of the time when he was recooperating talking about girls. As soon as he was perfectfully well again, they were back to pulling pranks again. Of course they didn't have Severus to torment, but they were still having fun. Harold felt guilty that he told James that Sirius was a bad kid five years ago. He and his wife couldn't help but notice how much alike the two teenagers were.
Meanwhile at the Snape Manor, Serena and Severus's relationship was definitely not the same as it used to be. They were still very polite and nice to each other, but it just didn't seem like they were good friends anymore. They seemed to be distancing themselves from each other.
Over the few months, Tara had started to develop a crush on her older brother's sister friend. She had even started to join in their pranks, even she had never pulled a prank before, just so she could have an excuse to be around him. Sirius did not feel that way about her, but he was always nice to her and liked her as a friend.
But of course all good things must come to end, and the boys had to go back to Hogwarts, not that they didn't want to go to Hogwarts of course. So, just a few days before they would get on the Hogwarts Express; Sirius, James and Tara went to Diagon Alley to get their new school supplies.
They stopped by Gringotts first and when they Sirius opened his vault, it was empty. "I knew it! I knew my parents were gonna take away all my money." "Don't worry, Padfoot. I'll pay for everything," James said. Sirius didn't like taking charity from his friend, but there was nothing else that he could do. They got all of their school supplies and went back home.
When Serena left home to get on Hogwarts Exress she looked somewhat different. Her breasts had grown about four inches. No she hadn't gone to the plastic surgeon and decided to get breast implants instead of a nose job. They had grown naturally. She had also grown about three inches in height. Serena had also gained a few pounds and didn't look as much like a stick as she used to.
Her hair used to be shoulder length and straight like her brother. It was still greasy, but her she had it grow out a few inches and it was styled a little differently. Some might desribe it as wavey; it certainly had more volume and bounce in it. Her skin was still as pale as ever, but she had started to wear light make-up that blended in well with her light complexion.
After she had gone through Platform Nine and 3/4, she could hear people looking at her and whispering. "Is that Serena Snape?" "Wo . . . where did those come from?" "I'll bet she had a boob job." Severus groaned at all the attention his sister was getting. It was hard for him to tell whether or not Serena was enjoying it. She walked into a compartment where Carissa and Wendy, and another friend, Nicole Smith were already sitting.
Emily peeked into the Marauder's compartment. "Have you guys seen Serena Snape yet?" "Why would I want to see Ms. Snivelly?" James asked. "Trust me. You'll want to see this." All four boys got up and went to see what Emily was talking about. They opened the compartment door and James walked in and said, "Hello Ms . . ." His eyes trailed down from her face to her chest.
"Cat got your tongue Potter?" James couldn't stop staring and neither could Sirius and Peter. Remus walked in front of them. He smiled at her. "Hi, Serena," he said trying his hardest to keep his eyes on her face. "How was your summer?" "It was alright. Thank you Remus," smiling back at him. "I . . uh . . . think we'd better be going now," James said and the four of them turned to walk away. "Good bye, Remus. Goodbye, pervets."
When the boys had gone, Serena turned back to her friends. "Why do people keep staring at my chest. Why?" "Uh, because your boobs are big," Carissa stated. "Yes, but they're not huge. And I'm just a fourth year anyway. I'm sure there are plenty of seventh year girls with breasts much better than mine that everyone can stare at."
"It's not they're extremely huge," Nicole started to explain. "It's because they grew so big in such a short period of time. They're surprised." "Yes, but they're not surprised at how fast a girl's breasts can grow. They're surprised that a Snape finally has something that actually makes her not ugly for a change. But I don't get it. My hair is longer, I'm taller and the only thing people notice are my breasts."
"Oh, come on Serena, you can't say you're not allowing this," Nicole said. "Yes, I can. Because I'm not." "Yes, I'm sure you're in so much misery," Carissa said sarcastically with a smile on her face. "That's why you decided not to put your robe on yet so that people can see them better." Serena smiled. "Well, they do have their advantages." "Like?" Carissa wanted to know. "Making James Potter speechless. I don't believe anyone has ever done that before." They girls laughed.
"So what did your brother say when he noticed your . . . change?" Wendy asked. Serena stopped lauughing. "Nothing. In fact, he really doesn't say that much of anything to me anymore." "Oh, I'm sorry," Wendy said. "No don't apoligize. It's not your fault. But it's like . . .I mean, I know he still cares deeply about me and loves me, even though he avoids me a lot sometimes." She sighed. "I guess the whole Slytherin vs. Gryffindor thing has really gotton to him."
"So you're not as close as you used to be, but would you still want to curse James if, I mean when, he starts messing with Severus again?" Wendy asked. "Of course. In fact, it's his fault we're not close anymore." "Huh? How's that?" Carissa said. "Think about it. James is horrible to him, and he's a Gryffindor, which in turn makes him like dislike all Gryffindors."
"Rena, I don't think that's it," Nicole said. "It's not because he's a Slytherin and you're a Gryffindor. I really, really hate to say this, but I think it might be because he's a Death Eater and you're not." Wendy shrugged. "Same difference." "You're wrong!" Serena said to Nicole. "You are Sirius, you're all wrong."
"I wish I was, but maybe . . . maybe it is James's fault. Maybe it was James's treatment of him that led him to the Dark Side. It happens all the time. Some kid gets bullied at school, the next thing you know, he's blowing up the place." "I still say you're wrong! My brother would never join Voldemort." "I hope you're right, Rena, I really do," Nicole said truthfully.
Chapter Twenty-One: The Worst Trick Ever
Severus had not yet joined the Death Eaters, but he was very much seriously considering it. He was distancing himself from his sister because . . . Well, actually in his mind, she was the one who was distancing himself from him. Ever since the day he had called Lily a mudblood, he had felt that she had started to act different around; and that she thought less of him because he had said that.
But he didn't like muggle-born witches and wizards. What was he supposed to do? Change his views just for her? He couldn't do that. Severus had always known that he and Serena felt differently. It didn't used to matter before. But now that Voldemort was coming into power, things were starting to change. And not just for them. But for the entire wizarding world.
After a few days, boys were still looking at Serena's chest. "Stop starring at me, pervert!" She yelled at some boy she didn't know. She had liked the attention at first, but after a whole day of it, it got very nerve racking. She didn't know if she would be able to take this for three more years at Hogwarts.
Then she saw a familiar face walking towards her. "What do you want, Sirius?" she asked exasperated. "Just follow me," he told her. And against her better judgement she did. They walked into an empty room that Serena had never seen before. "Um . . . where are we?" she asked. "This is the Room of Requirement. It can be any room you want. You wanted a place to get away from all the pervets, so that's what the room is."
"Ah, yes, but I'm not away from all of them. One of them is standing right next to me," she said to him. "We're guys, Serena. That's just what we do." "Then stop doing it!" "Do you see me looking at them?" "Well, no," she admitted. "But you want to." "Look, I'm only trying to help. I guess I'll just leave then." "Yeah, you do that, then, pervert!" she yelled after him. 'She has got to be the strangest girl I've ever met. One minute she's nice to me and telling me she thinks I'm good looking, but when I think she looks good, I'm suddenly a pervent. OK, so maybe I shouldn't have been staring at her breasts, but I couldn't help it.'
The next night a curly-haired Serena went up to the Maradaurers who were in the Gryffindor common room talking about something. 'Probably plotting some stupid prank on my brother' she thought. "Hello, Serena," Remus said. "Hi Remus. Sirius, can we talk. Privately." "Whatever you want to say to him, you can say in front of us," James told her. "No, Potter, I'm going to talk with him alone," she said glaring at him. "I'll be right back," Sirius told his friends.
Sirius followed Serena into the Room of Requirement. "I thought you didn't like talking to perverts." "Look, about that, I'm sorry about the way I acted yesterday, all right?" "I think that's the first time you've ever apologized to me," Sirius pointed out. "It's also the first time I've had to. Now are you going to accept my apology or not?" "Fine. But I gotta ask you something." "So ask." "What was all that talk about not caring about looking good and now . . ." "I did not have breast implants. I don't know what everyone has been saying about me, but it's not . . ."
"I wasn't talking about that." "Then what?" "Your hair is longer, you're taller, and are you wearing make-up?" She looked at him surprised. "You noticed all that?" "Why wouldn't I?" "Nobody else did." There were silent for a few moments. "I meant what I said. Mostly. I mean, no I don't care to be the most popular girl in school, but no I don't want to be hated either. But I don't have to make myself look good so that others will like me either. Like I said, I don't want people to dislike me. I want people to like me for me, if they don't, I won't change myself for anyone. So wear make-up? Why curl my hair? Because when I look in the mirror every day, I want to like what I see. I want to make myself look good for me and not for . . . and I am making absolutely no sense whatsoever, I am?"
Sirius laughed. "Let me see if I can make sense out of that. You want people to like you, but you don't want it to be because of looks. But you do want to be pretty, but to please yourself, and not anyone else." "Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. I guess that's what I should have said, huh?"
"Serena, there's nothing wrong with wanting to look your best. You don't have to feel guilty about it." "I don't." He gave her an 'I don't believe you' look. "Oh, maybe I do. I see girls all the time primping themselves in the mirror and pining after a guy just cause they think he looks good. And I try so hard to tell myself I'm not like them, and sometimes I can even make myself believe it. But in truth, I'm probably just the same as they are. And I've just realized that I've told you a lot more about myself than I've ever told anyone."
"Even more than Sni . . I mean, Severus?" "We've talked about a lot of stuff before, but we've never talked about looks or popularity. The thing is, we look so much alike, and if I told him I wanted to improve my looks, he would probably think I was calling him ugly, which I would never do." "That makes sense."
"Sirius, there was one other reason, that I asked you to come here with me." "I want you to touch . . ." she caught him looking down. "You wish. No, I meant touch my hair." "Why?" "Just do it." "OK, I think this is a little weird, but . . ." He touched her hair. "Now tell what it feels like." "It feels like hair,"he said confused. "Exactly. So you see, greasy hair doesn't feel disgusting and won't give you diseases after all," she said and walked out of the room. 'She has got to be the weirdest girl I've ever met' Sirius thought. 'And probably the smartest.'
Over the next couple weeks, the boys of Hogwarts finally stopped staring at Serena's breasts all the time. And Serena was glad to realize that they hadn't grown anymore since summer. She and Sirius seemed to be getting closer and would meet often in the Room of Requirement in the middle of the night. None of their friends to seemed to notice that they were always sneaking off with each other. Except for Remus, who was their only mutual friend.
But Serena seemed to hate James more than ever. As she and Severus grow even more apart, she saw James as an easy scapegoat to blame her problems on. Every time she saw him, she would make a fake bow and say sarcastically, "All hail King James." She even once did a spell to make his head bigger, litterally. It had grown about five its times it's normal size! Of course, she got in big trouble for it.
And Sirius's friendship with Serena was certainly not making him stop pestering Severus. In fact one day, he did something more terrible to Severus than James ever did. It was a full moon and due to the extremely long Potions essay they had to do, they would be unable to accompany Remus at the Shrieking Shack. (Remus, being the studious one had already finished his). But writing the essay didn't stop Sirius from going through with his plan.
He followed Severus in the corridor. "What do you want Black?" Severus said turning around. "Oh, nothing, I just thought maybe you'd like to know where Remus goes every month, but if not I can just leave." Sirius had seen Severus watching Remus go with Madam Pomfrey to the Whomping Willow, and he figured that Severus would want to follow him anyway to try and get him expelled, so why not just give a little hint?
"And where's that?" "All you have to do is prod the knot on the trunk of the Whomping Willow with a long stick and you can get in to find him. It's that easy." "And why should I trust you? You're his friend. You wouldn't want him to get in trouble." "We had a fight," Sirius lied. "I really don't care anymore."
Severus knew he shouldn't listen to him, but curiousity got the better of him. He went to the Whomping Willow and did exactly what Sirius told him to. Meanwhile, Sirius walked back to the Gryffindor common room where James was helping Peter with his essay. Sirius couldn't stop laughing. "What's so funny?" James asked him. "I just played the best trick ever on Snivellus." "What did you do?"
"I told him how to find Moony. And when he sees him he'll be so scared, he'll try and get us all expelled again." "Either that or he'll die, Padfoot! This is not the best trick. This is the most stupid thing you've ever done if your entire life!" James ran out. "Where are you going?" Sirius called after him. "I'm gonna stop Moony from killing Snivellus."
James ran as fast as he could to the Shrieking Shack. Severus was already in the tunnel. "Sni..Snape, get out of there!" James yelled approaching him. "I will not, Potter! I am going to find out what Lupin is doing and he's going to be expelled. I would rather have you or Black expelled, but . . ." "No! I'm telling you that if you go any further, you're gonna get killed!"
"Get out of my way Pot . . ." That's when they both saw the werewolf approaching them. Severus was too shocked to move, but James quickly grabbed him and dragged him out as fast as he could.
Chapter Twenty-Two: Revelations
When they both made it back to safety, Severus said, "I knew you were no good, Potter, but I never thought that even you could go this low." "What? It wasn't me. Sirius was the one who did this. I was the one who saved your life." "You were in one it. You only saved me because you knew how much trouble you'd all be in if I was dead."
"That is not true Snivelly!" "You thought I'd be feel grateful to you for saving my life, that I wouldn't tell Dumbledore what you all did. But I am going staight to him right now and telling him that Lupin is a werewolf and that you all almost led me to him to have me killed and you'll all be expelled!" "No, please Snape. You don't have to . . ."
Of course Dumbledore already knew that Remus was a werewolf, and even though he was mad at Sirius himself was doing this, he did not want his best friend to get expelled. "What's this? The great James Potter is begging me. I never thought I'd see that happen," Severus sneered at him. "Goodbye, Potter. I doubt you'll be in here much longer," he said as he walked back to the castle and leaving a very worried James.
James went back inside to the common room and Sirius noticed the worried expression on his face. "What happened? He's not . . . dead, is he?" "No, he's not dead. But he's going to talk with Dumbledore right now, and you're about to be expelled! Padfoot what were you thinking!?" Sirius couldn't answer, he was too worried about being expelled.
Meanwhile, Severus had gone up to Dumbledore's office and said the password. "Ah, Severus, what can do for you?" He sat down. "Professor Dumbledore, Potter, Lupin and Black tried to kill me." Dumbledore had a look of much surprise on his face. Severus told Dumbledore his side of the story and then said, "Are you goinng to expell them sir?"
"I am fully aware that Mr. Lupin is a werewolf, and as the there is no is no proof that he or Mr. Potter were in on this, they will not be punished. As for Mr. Black, I can guarantee you that he will be severely punished for this." As Severus left, Dumbledore told McGonagall to tell Sirius to come to his office.
McGonagall walked into the common room and saw the three worried Maraduars. "Mr. Black, Professor Dumbledore wishes to speak with you." He walked to Dumbledore's office. He was more scared now than he ever had been when his parents were beating him. He said the password and walked in. "Sit down, Mr. Black," Dumbledore him.
Sirius sat down and immediately started talking, "Professor Dumbledore, sir, I wasn't trying to kill Snape. I . . . " "No, I don't believe that you were. But what you did tonight was extremely careless. Whether intentional or not, your actions tonight almost got two boys killed and turned another one into a murder. This is not to be taken lightly. And I am very disappointed in you Mr. Black."
"I'll start packing my things," Sirius said quietly. "You will not be expelled, Mr. Black." "I'm not?" he asked surprised. "I know that despite what you've done, that you are not a bad person and I will not deny you your education." "Thank you sir," he said very relieved. "However, you will still have to punished. You will receive detentions every night until Christmas vacation. (It was almost Halloween.) "Alright," Sirius wasn't happy about that, but he knew he deserved it. "You may leave now."
When he got back to the common room, James and Peter ran to him. "Please tell me you're not expelled?" James asked still worried. "No, I just detentions until Christmas." "Thank god," he said. As the three of them went to bed, James reminded him, "You know, Padfoot, when Remus finds out about this, he's not going to be very happy." "I know," he said. He didn't think Serena was going to be happy with either. Why in the world did he think that telling Severus how to find Remus was such a good idea, when it was actually the worst decision he had ever made?
James had been right about Remus. "How could you!" Remus yelled at him. "I trusted you! You know how much I try to be a good person even if I'm a dark creature and you . . . you almost turned me into a murderer! I'm never trusting you again! You are not my friend, anymore, Sirius!" "But Moony . . . " "Don't call me that! That is only a nickname that my friends can use and you are not one of them."
Remus's parents were not too happy either. "I knew it! I knew it!" Rachel said talking to her husband. "I said that he was a rotten kid, but did anyone believe me? No. Everyone kept saying all this crap about how he was a good kid and not at all like his family, but I was right the whole time!" Daniel sighed. "Yeah, I suppose you were."
Serena learned about the incident from her brother. "Serena, can we talk?" he asked. "If you're to tell me to stop hanging out with mudbloods then . . ." "No, that is not it!" "I just thought you'd like to know what your precious teammates did to me." "What did they do this time?" she asked. "They tried to have me killed!"
"What?! They wouldn't do that." "Did you know that Lupin was a werewolf?" "No," she said honestly. "Black and Potter knew of course and they almost fed me to him! All of you Gryffindors think you're such perfect heroes, when they are all stinky filthy murderers!" "I'm not the only in this family who hangs around murderers," she said quietly. "Now what is that supposed to mean?" "You know exactly what it means," she said and walked out of the room.
As she was walking down the hall, she ran into Remus. "Serena, hi." "Get out of my way, werewolf!" "Serena," he said calmly. "I didn't have anything to do with what happened. I mean, I didn't know Sirius had told your brother that, and James didn't either for that matter. James was the one who saved your brother's life when he found out. The whole thing was Sirius's idea." "Oh, that makes me feel a lot better," she said sarcastically. Remus didn't comment on that. "Look, Remus, I'm sorry," she apologized nicely. "Now If you'll excuse me, I have somewhere to be."
Serena also felt guiltly about being so cross with her brother after his near death experience. But the whole thing was hard for her to take. It seemed like the two people that she cared about most in the world, may not be good people after all. She quietly went to the Room of Requirement and cried alone.
Chapter Twenty-Three: Peace On Earth
Sirius walked in the room and saw her crying. She hadn't seen him yet and he didn't know what to say to her. "Serena, I'm really sorry for what I did." She turned around. "Sorry!? Is that all you can say, sorry?!" "Well, I . . . " "You almost got my brother killed! And your best friend, who I hate. But I don't want people I hate to die, and I thought that you felt the same way." "I do! Serena, I was not trying to kill, I only wanted to scare him." "And you almost made Remus a murderer! Don't you even give a bloody damn about that?!" "I know what I was stupid, but . . "And you know the only reason Dumbledore didn't expell is because then he'd have to tell the Ministry why you were being expelled and that would telling them about Remus." "That could be true, but . . . "Get out of my sight, Sirius Black and I never want to see you again, ever!" "Serena . . ." "Go!" He left.
From then until Christmas vacation, Sirius served his detentions. Things were still the same with James and Peter, but Remus and Serena were still not talking to him. Serena was not speaking with either Sirius or Severus and she was in deep misery. "You should talk to both them," Carissa told her, but Serena wasn't listening.
It was a few days before Christmas vacation and Sirius and Serena couldn't take this pain much longer. Sirius went to speak with Dumbledore. "What can I do for you Mr. Black?" Dumbledore asked smiling at him through his half moon glasses. 'Well, at least Dumbledore's forgiven me' Sirius thought. "You can expell me," Sirius answered. "I can't take this. She's still not talking to me."
"She?" Dumbledore asked. "No, not she, he," Sirius said quickly. "You were referring to Ms. Snape, weren't you?" "How did you know?" Sirius asked. "Well, I think it's quite obvious how you two feel about each other." "I guess I blew my chances with her then, huh?" "Maybe. Maybe not. I believe both Remus and Serena will come around and forgive you sometime, but you must be patient. Especially with Serena. She's been going through a lot lately and she's very confused about many things. She may need much time to sort everything out."
"But I don't want her to take her time, I want her to talk to me now!" "Sirius . . ." "I love her. And it didn't even realize it until now. I could have any girl I want, and the girl I want is Snape's sister! And she won't even talk to me!" "Then if you love her, you'll wait for her," Dumbledore told him. "Yeah, I'll wait for her, alright. But I don't have to be happy about it," he complained.
Meanwhile, Serena wanted an adult to talk to. But she didn't want to talk to Dumbledore because she knew one thing she may about her brother, could get him into big trouble and she didn't want that, so she decided to talk to Hagrid. She snuck out of the castle and knocked on the door of his hut. She could hear Fang barking inside.
"Who is it?" "Serena Snape," she answerd. "Come on in, Serena," he told her. She walked in and Hagrid could tell that she had been crying. "What's wrong?" he answered her concerned. "Hate. Hate is wrong," she answered simply. "Yes, I'd have to agree with that, but . . ."
"Hagrid, I think my brother may become a Death Eater. He's not one now, but I'm sure he's thinking about it." "What makes you think that?" "I dunno know. It's just . . . the things he says, the things he believes the people hangs out with. But despite this, I still love him. Is that wrong, Hagrid. Is it wrong to love someone who could be evil . . . just because he's your brother."
"No, Serena. I don't think that's wrong," he said truthfully. "But I think you should talk ter him about your concerns. See if you can get him ter change his mind." "I've tried that, but he's just not listening. But he's not the only . . . I'm in love with Sirius Black and I . . . it's just all so mixed up," she said crying again.
Hagrid handed her a handkerchief. "Sirius tried to kill my brother, and I should hate him for it, but I don't and . . . But the person he tried to kill could be a potential Death Eater so is what he did so wrong? It is because it was my brother and I love him. I love them both and I'm afraid I'm gonna lose them. I afraid they will succeed in kiling each other one day and I don't know what to do! Should I tell Sirius I love him? Should I stop loving my brother? I don't have the answers to these questions."
Unfortunately, Hagrid didn't have the answeres either. He had promised Serena that he would not tell Dumbledore what she told him about Severus, but he did anyway. Dumbledore said, "I have the same fears that Serena does about Severus as I do for many other students. Let us all hope that they decide to choose the right path."
When they left for Christmas vacation, neither Serena or Remus had still said anything to Sirius. The Potters had tried their best to cheer him up, but it was no use. James wondered why Sirius seemed extremely depressed over Remus not talking to him. 'He doesn't like Remus as more than a friend, does he? No, I don't think that's it.' He had no idea how his best friend felt about Serena and Sirius was definitely not going to tell him.
During Christmas vacation, Remus could hear his mother say things like, "Now, Remus, surely by now you've realized what Sirius Black is really like. He's an evil murderer just like his family and that's never gonna change." At some point he said to her, "No, Mum. He made a terrible mistake, but he's not a bad kid." That was the first time since the incident that Remus had admitted that to himself. He decided that when he went back to Hogwarts, he would make up with Sirius.
That Christmas Serena was so desperate that she decided to borrow a Muggle Christian Bible to see if it would give her the answers. She was reading the story of how Jesus was born and she came across the phrase, "Peace on earth, and good will toward men."
'Peace on earth' she scoffed. 'There is no peace on this earth. Only hate. Stupid hate. I hate hate. And I hate people who hate. Wait a minute that does mean I hate myself?' Then she decided right then that if there could not be peace on earth, she could still have peace in her own heart, and to do that, there was quite a few people that she needed to make peace with: her brother, her potential boyfriend and even her enemy, James Potter.
Chapter 24: Kiss And Makeup
That Christmas, Sirius was convinced that he would not get any Chocolate Frogs from Serena. He was wrong. "What's the note say?" James asked. "It just says, Merry Christmas. Enjoy the chocolate." But Sirius was lying. The note said: Dear Sirius, First day back from vacation meet at midnight at you know where. Sincerely, Serena. Sirius hoped this meant she was going to make up with him.
Also on Christmas day, Serena went into Severus's room to talk to him. (While their parents screamed at each other.) "Severus, I know we have a difference of opinion on things, but I still love you and I want us to be friends again. It's up to you. The ball is in your court. You'll know where to find me if you need me." She walked out of the room, and Severus didn't say anything. He wished they could still be friends too, but things just weren't that simple.
They were back to Hogwarts, and it was time for Remus to make up with Sirius. "Hey, Padfooot, wait up," Remus said to him while they were walking down a corridor. "Hey." "What you did terrible, nothing changes that. But I forgive you. And I want us to be friends again." Sirius smiled at him and they gave each other a manly hug.
Meanwhile, Serena caught up with James when he was walking down the corridors alone (which hardly ever happens). "Potter, I mean James. I wanna talk to you." "What do you want Ms. Snivelly?" he asked her. "First, I'll pretend you didn't call me that. Second of all . . . I wanna say something I should have said in October. I know you hate my brother and the only reason why you saved him was so that your friends wouldn't be murderers, and that you could really care less if Severus lies or dies. Still, having all that, I know that if it wasn't for you, he would be dead, and so I guess it's time to throw away the James Potter voodoo doll."
He gave her a strange look. "Metaphorically speaking, of course. I don't hate you anymore, James. I realize that this world has too much in it for me to be contributing to that, and I really don't want to have hate in my heart and I guess what I'm really trying to say is . . . thank you." "You're welcome," he told her and they walked away, no longer enemies, but certainly not friends either.
Now, the only one she had left was Sirius. When she reached their room he was already there. "Hi," she said. "Hi." They were a little uncomfortable at first, not knowing what to say. "Sirius, I don't know how you feel about me, but . . ." "I love you," he told her. "Okay, now I know, and I love you too, but . . ." "But what? If we love each other, then shoudn't that be the only thing that matters?"
"Yes, it should, but sometimes it isn't. Sirius, I love my brother very much." "Serena . . . " "I know, I know, future Death Eater, I'm aware of that. So you may wonder why I would still love him, and I'll tell you. Because he was my best friend when we were little. I'd watch our parents fight over the stupidest things. Sometimes my dad would hit my mom, but Severus was always there for, comforting me. We did everything together and we shared everything. When you love someone that much whether it's a brother, sister, parent, child, girlfriend, whatever, you never stopping them. Never. No matter what they do."
"Alright, I get it. But what does that have to do with us?" "It has a lot to do with us," she said taking his hand. "Sirius, I want you to be my boyfriend, but for that to happen you have to do me one favor. You have to stop being mean to Severus. I really don't think that's too much to ask. But if it is, then I'm afraid we can't be together. So what's your decision?" He thought about it for a second. "Alright, for you, I'll try to be nice to him." "Good choice," she said and they kissed for the first time. "So, who do we tell about us?" Serena asked when they broke apart. "How about no one. It'll be our secret." "Ooo, a secret love affair. I like that.
"And speaking of secrets," Serena continued. "Where do you all get your nicknames from? I know why you call Remus Moony, but the rest . . ." Sirius thought for a moment. 'Should I tell her? She is my girlfriend.' "I'll tell you, but you have to promise me that you won't tell anyone else." "Okay." "We're Animagi," he told her. "Our nicknames are related to which animal we are." "Really?" she said impressed. "Yeah, we did it to keep Moony company at the full moon."
"That's so sweet. Let me guess, you're a dog." "How did you . . ." "Your name," she said simply. "Besides, Padfoot sounds like a dog's name. Now let me see." He transformed into a big black dog. "You look like a grim! People see you walking down the street, they'll all think they're gonna die! Let's go scare the Malfoys!" she said laughing. Then Sirius changed back. "And James and Peter are? No wait let me guess. Prongs? Sounds like a . . . deer. He's a stag!"
"Correct." "This is pretty fun. Alright, one more. Wormtail. He could be a worm, but worms don't have tails. So . . . is he a rat?" "How do you do this?" "I'm just smart, I guess. Then I was right. Peter's a rat." She looked kind of thoughtful. "That's interesting." "Why?" She shrugged. "I don't know." But she did know why. Because wasn't the animal you were supposed to represent you in some way, and if Peter was a rat, well then what does that say about him? But she didn't tell him what she was thinking.
And so throughtout the rest of the term, Sirius tried being nice to Severus. It wasn't easy and occasionally he'd slip a time or two, especially when James was messing with him too. But Serena appreciated his efforts and so she did not break up with him. While her relationship with Sirius was going great, her and Severus were still not talking, and Serena figured it was only a matter of time before he would join the Death Eaters.
James and Peter were starting to wonder where their friend seemed to be disappearing all the time. (The Marauder's Map had been confinscated by Filch earlier that year. The boys hoped that future troublemakers would someday find it.) And why he wasn't going out with a bunch of girls all time. Again James wondered if his friend had turned gay. Not that he would think being gay was a bad thing. Serena's friends might have had a better idea of what was going out with their friend, as she had already admitted to them that she loved Sirius. But of the guys, it seemed that Remus was the only one smart enough to figure it out. He never confronted his friends, he just assumed that they would tell everyone when they were ready.
Near the end of the year Sirius discovered that his cousin Narcissa was engaged to her boyfriend Lucius Malfoy. No surprise there. (He found out from Serena who overheard her brother and Lucius discussing it.) For the first year since James and Sirius had come to Hogwarts, Gryffindor won the house cup. However, they had lost the Quidditch cup to Ravenclaw who had a extremely good team this year. (Or maybe it might have had something to do with that one game they lost when Serena wasn't talking with Sirius.)
Despite the continued rising of Voldemort and Serena's fears of her brother being a Death Eater, Serena felt good. She had a wonderful boyfriend and she was happier than she had been in a long time. She should have known that happiness wouldn't last forever.
Chapter Twenty-Five: The Vixen
That first part of summer, Sirius and Serena had sent each other tons of letters. Hooters had never worked so hard in her life. Sirius realized that if he and Serena were going to keep this a secret then he would have to get a place of his own. And so about midway through summer, when Uncle Alphard sent him tons of money, most likely getting himself blasted off the tapestry. Sirius sent out to find a house of his own. He found a perfect average-sized three bedroom house that he decided to move in to.
"Now, Sirius, you know we love you like a son, and you'll always welcome here any time," Amy told him. Sirius told the Potters a sad goodbye and took possession of his new home. But he didn't have to stay sad for long because Serena made frequent visits to his house. So did James, Remus and Peter; just never the same time that Serena was there. Just like the last summer, it seemed to pass by too quickly.
Also happening this summer: "Welcome Severus, to my inner circle!" Voldemort said to in high, cold voice. Yes, Serena's worst fear had come true, Lucius had finally convinced Severus to be a Death Eater.
Serena's breasts had only grown one inch over the last year and the rest of the girls in fifth year were now catching up with her. She was also now about 5'5' in height. The minute she got on the Hogwarts Express she went to Maradaurs's compartment to say hello the boys. "Hey, Remus," she said smiling at her friend. "Hi, Serena. I hope you had a nice summer." "Oh yes, it was great," she said, and Remus could have sworn he saw her winking at Sirius. "So, James, Sirius, I'll see you at Quidditch practice. I really hope we can win this year. Remus, we'd better head to the prefect's compartment." "I'll be there in just a minute," he told her. "Alright, then. See you in a mintute," she said and walked to the prefect's compartment hoping nobody but Sirius saw her wink.
"You know," James started to comment as Serena walked away. "I'll be Ms. Sni ..ape actually has a nice shapely figure under those robes." Sirius glared at him. But James didn't notice, he was mind had quickly switched to Lily. He only had more year to win her heart.
Then James just remembered something. "Oh yeah, I almost forget. I'm head boy. I gotta go sit with the head girl. I hope it's Evans!" He and Remus went to a compartment with where the prefects, head boy and girl were supposed to sit. "Potter, what are you doing here?" Lily asked him coldy. "I"m the head boy this year. And I see that you are the head girl," he said looking at her badge. "Potter? How could they have made Potter head boy? He's not even a prefect! It would even be better if they had made Sirius Black head boy!" "Oh, come on, Lily. It'll be great. The two of us working together." "Yes, it'll be so exciting," she said sarcastically.
So that year, as Voldemort's gained more and more power and followers, and Serena and Sirius continuing to see each other in private. And James continued to ask Lily out and kept getting turned down. "Please Lily, just go out with me one time, and if you don't like it, I'll never bother you again, I promise." "Oh, all right," she finally giving in to make him shut up.
So on the first Hogsmeade weekend of that year, James and Lily went out on their first date. They went to Honeydukes, Hogsmeade, Zonkos and just about every other shop. James had even bought her some flowers. They were lilies of course. Lily decided that she didn't hate James so much after all. In fact, she even decided that she wanted to go out with him again. Soon enough they were boyfriend and girlfriend. James had a much harder time being nice to Severus than Sirius did. So he would continue to hex him, and Lily never knew about it.
For Christmas, Serena got Sirius the annual Chocolate Frogs, but she also got him a pensieve as well. For the first time ever Sirius gave Serena a Christmas present: a charm bracelet.
Near the middle of the year, Sirius said to Serena "Let's go sneak up to the Astonomy tower." "Why would I want to do that? If I want to look at a good looking star, I'll look at you," she told him. "Wait, you don't wanna go there and do what I think you . . . "No, no, of course, not. Unless you want to, that is." "Not until after graduation. Mine, that is." "Fine," he said sounding a little disappoined.
"But we can still go up there if you. And actually look at the stars." "No, we can just . . ." "Uh, oh, I think I hear, Mrs. Norris. Filch is probably nearby." Sirius said, "I should have taken Jame's invisibility cloak with me." Sirius and Serena ran. They went into a room with a very interesting mirror.
They stared at the mirror for a minute, before Sirius said, "What the heck does that mean?" referrring to the inscription that read, Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi." "I think it says: Is how not your face but your hearts desire," Serena answered. "All the letters spell that backwards. So in other words, this mirror will show us what our hearts desire."
Serena walked up to mirror first. "What do you see?" "I see you and my brother getting along. I'm there too, of course. Actually so is Dumbledore most of the entire wizarding population and we're dancing . . . on Voldemort's grave. So my heart's desire is to have Voldemort defeated and everyone being nice to each other. No real surprise there. Your turn." Sirius walked up to the mirror. "I see me and my family and they're good people. And my parents are proud of me; they love me." Serena smiled at him sadly. She didn't want to admit it, but she thought her desire was even more likely to happen than his.
One month at the full moon, Sirius, James and Peter did not notice that a fox seemed to be stalking them. The fox stayed very close to the Shrieking Shack as Remus transformed. The fox did it again at the next full moon. One night, the maradauders decided to sneak out of the castle with the invisibility cloak and wonder out in the Forbidden Forest. The fox stalked them again, but was detained when it accidently stepped into a fox trap. The fox looked down and its bleeding ankle as if saying, 'How could I have been so stupid not to look where I was going?'
Then all of the sudden, a huge bear appears. The marauders reached for their wands, but the bear must have known that they were wizards, and easily knocked all four wands out of their hands at once. The bear advanced on James and then it bit deeply into his arm. But right after that, the bear released James and walked away as if in a trance. James fell to the ground, very much still in pain.
The other three marauders lifted him up to carry him back to the castle. "If you to see Madam Pomfrey, you're going have to tell her you've snuck out to the Forbidden Forest, and you guys have gotten into too much trouble already," said Serena stepping out from hiding in the trees. "I'd rather be in trouble than die!" James yelled at her.
Serena rolled her eyes. "You're not gonna die. Now quickly transform into a stag." "What?! How did you? Moony did you tell her?" "No," he said honestly. "Then who . . ." "Prongs, now is that the time for this," Sirius said to him. "It was you, wasn't it? But why would you . . .?" "Prongs, just do it," Remus said. James transformed into a stag, and Serena walked up to him.
"I can heal animals," she told them. "It also works on Animagi." She took out her wand and touched Jame's wound. It was completely healed instantly. "There; all better." James transformed back into a human. "How did you do that?" Peter said to her. "I've never seen healers do that so fast!" "I'm sure many other people can do that," she said humbly. "Now you boys better get back to the castle."
The boys turned to walk back, and Sirius said to his secret girlfriend, "Aren't you coming?" "In just a few mintues, I got something else I need to take care of." Serena walked the fox trap and raised her wand and destroyed it. In an instant there was a fox walking to the Hogwarts castle with a leg that didn't look or feel as it had been cut at all.
Chapter Twenty-Six: The First Big Attack
"Why didn't you tell me you were a healer?" "Sirius asked Serena the next day. "I'm not, I just heal animals. Not wizards." "But you healed Prongs. He's a wizard." "He was a stag. That's the only reason I could do it," she told him. "But Peter was right. That was pretty impressive. I've never seen or heard of anyone who could heal that fast, human or animals." "There are others," she said. "Like who?" "I don't know, but I'm sure they're out there somewhere." "So, Rena, is there any other interesting powers you have that I don't know about yet?"
"Just one. I'm an Animagus too." "Oh, so that's how you kept yourself hidden from us yesterday. Which animal are you?" "A fox, vixen, whichever you wanna call it. I've lurked around the Shrieking Shack a few full moons as well." "Why didn't you tell me?" "I didn't want you to know that I was spying on you guys." "You could have joined us." "No, I don't think James and Peter would like that." "Peter doesn't dislike you, and I don't think James hates you either anymore." "That may be true, but still I'm not a part of your special group, and I'm okay with that," she said honestly." They paused for a moment. "Are you sure you don't have any more unique powers though?" "Yes, Siri, I'm sure. Now can we talk about something else?" "Sure."
The next few months passed by quickly. Lily and James's relationship was going on good. So was Serena and Sirius's; and they were still keeping it a secret. Remus was going out with Emily now. Yes, things were going good, until . . . Serena thought it was a plain normal day until she saw her owl Bootsie brought her the Daily Prophet. It read: Death Eater Attack in London. 10 muggle-borns were killed and 20 were injured.
Serena panicked. Carissa had gone home a few days for a relative's wedding. Of course she didn't want anyone to die, because that's terrible. But it's only natural to care even more when it's people you know as opposed to people you've never met. She looked at the list of names of the people dead. "Please don't let Carissa be dead. Please, God, Merlin, just don't let it be Carissa." But it was. Serena's best friend Carissa Carpenter was dead. Her next thought was, 'Was my brother involved in this? No, of course not, he couldn't have left Hogwarsts, could he? But he most likely knows who did it.'
Sirius had read the Daily Prophet too and he wanted to go and comfort her immediately, but seventh year boys were not allowed in the dormitories of fith years girls. He'd have to wait until she came out for breakfast. But Wendy, Nicole and Zelda Zimmerman came out without her. Sirius walked over to them. "Where's Serena?" "She . . . uh . . . she's in her bed. She wants to be alone. I don't think she's coming out," Zelda told him. The girls were Carissa's friends too and they were grieving as well; Wendy definitely looked like she had been crying. But Serena took it the hardest, of course, and she didn't leave the dormitory all day.
Sirius caught up with her alone the next day, she simply put his arm around her and neither of them said anything. Finally Serena spoke. "I just can't believing this is happening. I mean, I know we all saw it coming but . . . why did it have to be . . . she was my best friend and . . . what if Severus was involved . . . I know it's unlikely that he could sneak out of Hogwarts, but . . . . " They sat in each others arms for some quite some time.
Serena somehow managed to get the courage to talk with her brother about this. She just walks up to him and says, "Did you do it?" she asked him. He didn't even need to ask her what she was talking about it." "No," he answered. "But you are a Death Eater, aren't you?" "No, Serena I'm not. I don't like muggle-borns, but I don't want them dead, and I'm sorry your friend died." "No, you didn't do it, but you are a Death Eater, and you know who did it, and you'll tell me right now!" "Serena, I do not . .
"You can't know Serena. Is revenge really what you want? To go out and kill someone yourself?" "To avenge my friend's death. Yes I think I do want that. Whoever killed Carissa deserves to die!" "Whether or not he deserves to die is not the point! If you kill someone, even if you have a good reason, once you've taken a life, once you've tasted that . . . there's a lot of power in that. Power that you don't want. Power that can lead you to the Dark Side. And once you've gone dark; it's almost impossible to come back. There's no hope for me Serena, but you . . . I'm not trying to save them, I'm trying to save you." Then Severus looked at her and talked to her more softly than he had in a long time. "Serena, I want you to know that matter what happens you'll still be my little sister. Always remember that I love you," then he turned and walked back to the Slytherin common room.
Serena went back to where her boyfriend who asked her, "Did you talk to him?" "Yeah, I did," she said quietly. "And?" "He didn't do it. He's not even a Death Eater." "Are you sure?" "Yes, I'm sure," she lied. Her brother had been right; she did not want to turn into a murderer and have that destroy her. She also knew that if Sirius had ever found out who did than he would want to get the revenge for her, and she already had a brother who had gone dark, the last thing she needed was her boyfriend to do the same. She decided it was best if neither of them knew which Death Eater had killed Carissa.
The end of the school year came very soon after Carissa's funeral. Dumbledore looked very proud as the students received their diplomas. Serena watched Sirius and three best friends graduating together and was very sad knowing that Carissa was not going to graduate with her, but she put on her best happy face for her boyfriend. She was thinking about her best friend, when Lily walked up to her. "How are you holding up?" "As good as I can be, I guess," she answered. "Do you think you could do me a favor?" "Yeah, of course." "Take a picture of me, and all the rest of the Gryffindors graduating this year."
And so Serena took the picture with Lily's muggle camera of the Gryffnidors: Sirius Black, James Potter, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Richie York (even though he still wished he had been a Ravenclaw), Lily Evans, Emily Hanson, Arista Kratt, Cindy Nelson and Gretta Gibson. None of them knew what the future held for them, but they had a feeling that this first big muggle-born was attack was only beginning of what could be the one of them biggest war in all of wizarding world history.
A/N: Thanks to Chimmerii Maiden for your complementory review!
