Chapter Five; Orion Black
Padfoot,
Don't worry about it; we'll sort something out. You know you're always welcome at my house, probably because Mum loves those Italian dishes you can make – she still wants the recipe for that bolognaise sauce.
Only thing is, I can't offer an escape for a while. We're all off to Ireland for a couple of days. Some second cousin I've never met before is getting married. Sorry! Can't wait to get back home.
Don't let Richard get you down. With any luck he won't be as bad as he seems. Failing that, you won't see him for dust when your mum tells him that she can turn him into a toad if he upsets her!
Prongs
*
'Cottingham Road,' announced the Knight Bus conductor, pushing open the doors and beckoning to his two young passengers.
Sirius and Ursa gratefully leapt down the steps and out onto a dirt track leading up to a cluster of small country houses nestled into the surrounding woodland. A lone figure stood waiting for them.
'Daddy!'
Ursa ran up the track as fast as she could go, her long black hair streaming out behind her, leaving Sirius with their backpacks.
'Hi sweetheart!' Orion drew his daughter into a bear hug, Ursa flinging her arms around his neck. Releasing her, Orion held Ursa at arms length, beaming at her. 'Every time I see you, you've grown,' he said, at which Ursa grinned, looking very pleased, and stood up on tiptoe. Orion chuckled. 'You might be as tall as Sirius the next time I see you.'
'Hey, we can't have that; she's supposed to be the little sister,' said Sirius, as the Knight Bus rumbled off down the road, disappearing with a loud bang.
'Sirius, I doubt you have anything to worry about. You're growing much too fast for Ursa to catch you up,' said Orion, taking Ursa's bag, clapping him on the shoulder and steering them both towards the houses. 'Come on, let's drop your stuff off. If we get there fast enough we can get better seats!'
Grinning like a thoroughly over-excited child, Orion hurried them through the gate and up the garden path of the nearest building; a small single-story house covered in ivy. A few gnomes poked their heads up out of the over-grown lawn for the briefest of moments before ducking out of sight, giggling and scurrying off.
Leaving their bags in the narrow hallway, Orion led them round the back of the house towards the woods. Ursa eagerly ran on ahead, her father calling after her to stay on the path.
'How's your mother?' Orion asked Sirius as they walked into the shadow of the trees. He always asked this question as soon as possible, partly because he wanted to get the dutiful-yet-awkward questions over and done with.
'She's fine,' said Sirius.
Orion raised an eyebrow, catching the tone.
'But?'
Sirius shrugged, scuffing his shoes in the dirt.
'Mum's got a boyfriend,' he blurted out, instantly regretting it.
Orion looked at him, mouth slightly open. For a few moments he said nothing. Then he cleared his throat noisily.
'Oh,' he finally said.
Sirius kept his eyes on his feet.
'What's his name?' asked Orion, his voice sounding odd.
'Richard,' grumbled Sirius, kicking at the ground. 'And he's a git.'
Orion chuckled softly.
'You don't like him?' He sounded relieved.
'No.'
'Does your mother?'
'I guess.'
Orion nodded soberly. He sighed.
'Well, if she's happy …' he trailed off, staring off into the trees.
Sirius hated these awkward silences. It wasn't often he couldn't think of something to say to break the ice. Luckily, Ursa appeared on the path ahead of them.
'I've found it!' she called joyfully. Spinning round, she ran off through the trees again.
'Come on, slowpoke – race you!' Sirius broke into a run, darting between the trees after Ursa. Orion raced after them, declaring them both cheaters for taking a head start.
Up ahead was a huge clearing. The surrounding woodland was so dark and dense that Sirius was sure that they'd reached the heart of the forest. Temporary stands had been erected, running round the perimeter, seating about a thousand witches and wizards, plus those trying to gain a vantage point by sitting high up in the trees, clutching binoculars and telescopes.
It was about three quarters full already. Orion, Sirius and Ursa flashed their tickets at a young man in forest green uniform robes who directed them over to the far side. They took their seats near the top of the stands as a fanfare boomed out across the pitch.
A tall witch with floor-length blond hair braided with summer flowers and also wearing forest green robes appeared in the commentators' booth. Her voice, magically magnified, echoed loudly around the clearing.
'Welcome ladies and gentlemen,' she called, 'to our first match of the summer season!'
The crowd cheered loudly, some wavering banners and coloured scarves.
'Presenting our home team – the Tutshill Tornadoes!'
With a thunderous roar of approval, seven sky-blue robed players flew out onto the pitch, swooping low enough to touch the grass then rocketing up above the crowd, flying just over their heads. People ducked instinctively, clapping and cheering.
'And their challengers – the Ballycastle Bats!'
A storm of applause rang out as the Northern Ireland team, dressed in jet-black robes flew out onto the pitch from the treetops in a V-formation, shooting right round the stadium at incredible speed. Squinting at the players as they shot past, Sirius just managed to read the name Nimbus 1500 on the handles of their brooms.
A sharp whistle blast summoned both teams to the centre of the pitch. Hovering fifty feet above the ground, the Bats faced the Tornadoes, their faces set.
A wizened wizard in white robes strode out onto the pitch, broom in one hand and a small crate under his arm. He put the grate down, lifted the lid and stumbled back as the two cannon ball-like Bludgers rocketed past his head and up into the air. A tiny streak of gold followed, vanishing in an instant.
'Referee Dexter Brackley releases the Bludgers,' declared the commentator excitedly. 'The Snitch is loose … the Quaffle is released – and the game begins!'
Throwing the Quaffle up, Brackley hastily beat a speedy retreat on his broom as all six Chasers dived for the scarlet ball, spurred on by the cheering crowds.
'And the Quaffle is seized by Bats Chaser Kyran Lifford! Lifford passes to Fern, back to Lifford, to – no, Quaffle intercepted by Marlow, nice loop round Foxford there. Marlow heading for the goalhoops, ducks a Bludger, nice Reverse Pass to Olney! She dodges Fern, Foxford – shoots – oh dear, no score. Keeper David Summerhill sends the Quaffle back into play. Beaters Ripley and Bolton closing in on Lifford; narrow miss there! Bludgers almost catch Bats Captain in the head! Very lucky miss.'
The Tornado Beaters were not discouraged however; a particularly hard swing from Dylan Ripley sent a Bludger pelting back towards Lifford forcing him to drop several feet and lose the Quaffle.
'Tornadoes' Chaser Hythe now in possession, passes to Marlow – fantastic throw to Olney! But Beater Quin's on her tail! Olney's hit! Quaffle stolen by Ferns – snatched out of her hands by Tristan Hythe – where did he come from? Swoops round Foxford, passes Rossan – Keeper Summerhill's looking nervous … Hythe shoots – he scores!'
Deafening tidal waves of cheers rang out through the stadium. Flocks of birds took to the air in fright as the Tornadoes' fans roared in delight. Orion whistled shrilly, clapping hard. Sirius craned his neck to watch Chasers Hythe and Marlow quickly draw back to check on their injured team-mate. Dawn Olney waved aside their concern. Pulling away, she flew up alongside Bats Beater Quin and cut across his path so sharply she caught him in the face with her broom tail just as the Quaffle was thrown back into play.
The match proceeded with the Tutshill Tornadoes scoring another five goals while the Ballycastle Bats fought back to achieve three goals themselves.
Sirius was cheering so much his throat was becoming sore. His hands were numb from clapping as Chaser Marlow put a seventh goal past the unwary Bats' Keeper.
Ursa let out a squeal, leaping out of her seat.
'Look! Look at the Seekers!' she screamed at the top of her lungs.
The two Seekers, Kesh and Luton, had gone practically unnoticed the entire game, but now they were both tearing up the pitch, scattering the Chasers, in hot pursuit of a tiny flash of gold.
'The Golden Snitch has been spotted!' cried the commentator shrilly, hanging precariously over the edge of the box. 'Kesh and Luton are neck and neck! Everybody just get out of their way! Look at them go!'
Ballycastle Beater Rossan took a vicious swing at a passing Bludger, sending it rocketing into the path of the speeding Seekers.
Yelling indignantly, the Bats Seeker Sean Kesh jerked his Nimbus up sharply to avoid being smacked in the head. Valerie Luton, never taking her eyes off the Snitch, threw herself flat to the handle of her broom, the Bludger zooming past so close it rippled the back of her robes –
The Tornadoes fans, Sirius and Ursa included, were all on their feet in an instant, screaming her on as Kesh desperately flew after her, gaining little by little. The Snitch fluttered teasingly over the heads of the crowd before zipping away towards the goal hoops.
'Come on!' Sirius yelled. 'Cut left! Cut left!'
Valerie Luton pulled up sharply to the left, cutting into Kesh's path, forcing him to hold back. Pulling ahead, she wove skilfully round the long poles of the goal hoops, reaching out a hand. She made a wild snatch and plucked the little golden ball out of the air.
The stands erupted into even louder screams of delight. Ursa waved frantically to the ecstatic Seeker as she soared over the pitch, her team-mates swooping down on her from all directions, their joy evident from their beaming faces, attempting a group-hug in mid-air in a tangle of broomsticks.
'And with an absolutely fantastic capture of the Golden Snitch by Valerie Luton, the winners, with 210 points to 30, are the Tutshill Tornadoes!'
Punching the air with their fists, the Tornadoes took off, spiralling up into the sky, waving energetically to the screaming fans.
The Ballycastle Bats had landed on the pitch below, their captain, Rupert Quin, making angry gestures at both Rossan and Kesh. They glowered mutinously back while the noise of the happily celebrating Tornado fans drowned out the calls of the disappointed Bat fans.
When they were finally able to leave the stadium half an hour later, Sirius felt as though nothing could dampen his spirits. James and the others were going to be so jealous when he told them about the match. He knew James would have given an arm and a leg to have been able to come along.
Orion led them back to his home, cheerfully going over the entire game and scorning the hasty actions of 'that idiot Beater'.
It was getting dark by the time they got back. Too excited to feel particularly hungry, the three of them collapsed into the comfy armchair and sofa in the living room, enjoying mugs of creamy hot chocolate and marshmallows, verbally replaying the entire game.
The fireplace was alight with flickering flames, casting a warm light across the floor. Sirius sat in the armchair, his feet tucked underneath him. Ursa was trying to stay awake but her eyelids were drooping lower and lower every time she blinked. Eventually she laid her head on her father's arm and fell asleep. Orion draped an arm around her shoulders, smiling contentedly.
'How's it going at Hogwarts, then?' asked Orion, adding another marshmallow to his drink. 'If you and your friends haven't brought the old castle to its foundations yet?' he added grinning.
'Hey, the worst we did was flood the dungeons!' Sirius protested in an innocent tone of voice. 'And that was a total accident.'
'Oh, really?'
'Yes, really. We were trying to do our homework.'
Orion raised one eyebrow suspiciously. Sirius, careful to keep his expression neutral, continued.
'Professor Kettleburn asked us to research suitable habitats for Lobalugs, and we figured it would be more interesting if we created our own so – '
'Don't tell me,' said Orion, his face working to keep from smiling.
'Well, we knew they liked cold, dark places – and obviously wet.' An evil grin contorted Sirius' mischievous face, his eyes twinkling. 'Do you know how much water the Slytherin common room can hold?'
Orion snorted into his mug of chocolate.
'Sirius! You didn't!'
'We didn't fill it up completely, but only because the experiment was so rudely interrupted. It would have worked out fine if Professor Scythe hadn't demanded we take down the Containment Charms holding the water in. It wasn't our fault, we were just following instructions.'
'How long were you in detention for?' asked Orion, still trying not to laugh.
'A fortnight; took us that long to find all the Lobalugs and put them back in the lake.'
Orion was shaking his head, one hand over his eyes.
'How Hogwarts is ever going to survive another two years with the four of you, I don't know.'
'At least we'll be remembered,' said Sirius cheerfully. 'We'll be a part of Hogwarts' history. Years from now, the Marauders will still be talked about by future generations of pranksters and magical mischief makers everywhere.' Sirius' eyes lit up in sudden thought. 'Magical mischief makers,' he muttered. 'I must remember that, Prongs will like that.'
'Prongs? Who's that?'
'James, of course!'
Orion looked blank.
'Okay, 'Marauders' I know is the 'collective name' for your little gang, I remember you telling me, but how has 'Prongs' come about?'
'Just a nickname,' Sirius shrugged. 'Peter is Wormtail, Remus is Moony and I'm Padfoot,' he said proudly.
Orion sighed, muttering something about crazy teenage stunts, long since resigned to never fully understanding his son's antics. Ever since Sirius had enrolled at Hogwarts, he had either been in trouble or busy charming his way out of it. Yet he'd also proved himself to be a very gifted young wizard, passing exams and mastering complicated spells with ease. Such a brilliant mind, but all he seemed to want to do was cause as much chaos and play as many tricks as he could possibly manage. It didn't help matters that his three friends wholeheartedly agreed with his foolhardy agenda.
'Please tell me you put at least half as much effort into your schoolwork as you do on all these pranks,' said Orion pleadingly, knowing that he needn't worry.
Sirius beamed.
'Twelve OWLs passed with flying colours.' Off his father's mildly sceptical gaze, he sheepishly added, 'Yeah, okay, Potions was a close call, but I still got a good grade overall.'
'Your mother didn't try to kill you, then?' chuckled Orion.
'She had words.'
'Did you pay attention?'
'Maybe.'
'Sirius.'
'Sheesh, what is the problem? I passed the exam, I didn't come anywhere close to failing; so what if I didn't get one of the highest marks out of the year?'
'You do it easily enough with all your other subjects.'
'So?'
Orion heaved a sigh.
'Sirius, you know how much your mother wishes that you'd at least try to apply yourself to the subject. Don't think for a minute that she isn't proud of you for everything else you've achieved – we're both extremely proud of you, it's just … well … Andromeda feels very passionate about potion brewing. She'd love for you to be the same.'
'Dad, I don't dislike Potions, I just don't find them interesting, that's all,' Sirius protested, shifting uncomfortably.
'I know that; she's just very disappointed that it's practically your worst subject,' said Orion.
Sirius was silent for a while, gazing blankly into his mug, swirling the half-melted marshmallows round on the foamy surface.
Orion cleared his throat.
'So … how's her research going lately?'
'Okay, I guess,' Sirius murmured, not looking up from his warm drink. 'She's still spending hours on end down in her lab. Not sure what she's working on. She's gone and changed her safeguards again,' he added. 'Nearly turned me into Swiss cheese with a swarm of darts firing at me from nowhere.'
'Well, she is very protective of her research,' Orion said bracingly.
'There's protective, there's over-protective, then there's Mum.'
'I don't blame her. She has good reason.' Orion peered at Sirius questioningly. 'Didn't she tell you about the main laboratory being broken into?'
Sirius lifted his head.
'No. When did that happen?'
'There've been several security breaches in the past four months,' said Orion gravely. 'Your mother's team was the targets of some of them. They fear that someone is deliberately targeting their research; notes, test results and sample formulas have been reported stolen. Not very many considering how much could have been taken, but everything has a distinct link to your mother's work. That's why she's decided to work at home instead. She doesn't trust the lab's security any more. I'm not surprised she's concocting her own security measures – quite inventive from what I've heard.'
'She never said anything about that to me,' said Sirius, sounding rather put out. 'How come you know about it?'
'Because my patrol group was called out when the first few break-ins were reported. We've taken over responsibility for the site now.' He sighed. He looked tired and worn. 'There was another one a few weeks ago, nothing taken but we didn't catch those responsible either.'
'Do you know who it was?'
'If we did, we'd have tracked them down by now. As it is, we know who we think it was, but we don't have any way of finding them.'
'Why not?'
'Haven't you been reading the Daily Prophet lately?'
Sirius shook his head.
'You should keep up with what's going on in the world,' said Orion sternly. Then his tone softened, almost worrisome. 'There's a wizard who has been causing the Ministry an awful lot of trouble over the past few years. At first he was simply a pesky nuisance, hardly something to worry about; however, its recently transpired that he's been busy forming some sort of … Order … practising the Dark Arts.'
Orion lowered his voice, speaking so softly that Sirius had to lean forward to hear him.
'This Dark Lord, as he calls himself, is gathering a lot of followers. He's sanctioned plotted murders, using the Unforgivables.'
Sirius felt a shiver run up his spine.
'The Unforgivables?' he whispered, stunned. 'B-but it's against the law!'
'Care to tell them that? No, this wizard is big trouble, he's causing absolute chaos. He's even targeting Muggles,' he added. 'The Oblivators are on 24-hour emergency callout. The entire Ministry is in chaos, struggling to contend with everything.'
'Who is he?'
'Who?'
'This Dark Lord; what's his name?'
Unless Sirius' eyes were deceiving him, a flicker of fear was evident in his father's face. But that was absurd; his father wasn't scared of anything.
'You don't want to know,' he said darkly.
'Yes, I do,' said Sirius stubbornly. 'What is it?'
Orion fidgeted with his empty mug for a few moments, as though trying to decide whether it was wise. Finally, he beckoned Sirius closer. Sirius leaned forward, listening intently.
'He goes by the name … Lord Voldemort,' Orion whispered, so quietly that as close as Sirius was, he only just caught it.
'Voldemort?'
'Shh! Not so loud! Never use that name, you hear me? It's just asking for trouble if people hear it. He has followers everywhere. They're the ones we think are breaking into the your mother's lab.'
'What for?'
Orion shook his head, face screwed up in frustration.
'Those eggbrains won't breathe a word of what they're working on, so we don't have a motive. But someone's leaking the information, which sort of defeats the object of highly classified investigations.'
'So that's why Mum moved out of the lab?'
'She figures her own is the safest place. She can work in peace without distractions and, as far as she's concerned, she can make more progress. Plus she gets to be at home and spend some time with the two of you.' Orion brushed Ursa's hair off her face. She shifted slightly in her sleep.
Sirius scowled darkly.
'I think she's more interested in spending time with her new guy,' he said bitterly. 'Stupid … Muggle,' he grumbled, taking a gulp of hot chocolate, almost burning his tongue in the process.
'He's a Muggle?'
'Yeah, and a total prat to boot. Mum has 'conveniently forgotten' to mention that we're wizards, so she's trying to hide it altogether.'
Orion considered his son for a moment.
'You really don't like him, do you?'
'Whatever gave you that idea?' Sirius knew he sounded bitterly sarcastic but he didn't care. 'Just because he waltzes into my home acting like he owns it, fawns over Mum like a love-sick puppy and talks to me like I'm getting in his way all the time – Mum thinks Richard is some perfect guy that can do no wrong –'
'Sirius, slow down,' said Orion, his face etched with concern. 'Take a deep breath and calm down.'
Sirius slumped in his chair, shaking a little. His gripped his mug tightly.
'Now then, obviously you aren't happy with this Richard fellow –'
'Obviously,' Sirius drawled.
'But,' said Orion pointedly, 'while I knew this was always a possibility I also know that it doesn't really matter if I agree with it. What matters is whether or not your mother is happy. Is she happy with … Richard?'
'I suppose,' Sirius finally admitted, still glaring into his mug.
'Then wouldn't you say that's what's important right now? You're sixteen now, Sirius, and I hope you're mature enough not to make a bigger deal of this than it needs to be.'
The words washed over Sirius, though; he wasn't sure he wanted to hear them. They made him feel guilty. He glanced up at his father. By the look on his face, he was blatantly trying not to show how he truly felt about this news. His pale blue eyes mirrored his son's, in more ways than one.
It struck Sirius that maybe his father was feeling lonely; jealous in a way, that Andromeda had been lucky enough to find another partner, whereas he had not.
'How does Ursa feel about him?' asked Orion evenly.
Sirius shrugged.
'Not sure.'
Ursa was dozing peacefully, snuggled up against her father, a small contented smile on her lips.
Sirius swung his legs out from underneath him and stood up.
'Want another drink?'
Orion nodded. 'Thanks.'
The kitchen was tiny compared to the one back home. It only took a few minutes to make up two fresh cups, the warm smell of chocolate wafted pleasantly into the hallway.
Sirius had always loved coming to visit. The house was constantly in a state of 'organised chaos' according to his father. A comfortable, lived-in mess was how a home should be, in Sirius' opinion.
When his parents had spilt up, Sirius had hoped that he would be allowed to live with his father. However, while Orion admitted that he would have loved for Sirius to stay with him, Orion had also deemed it unfair to separate him from his mother and sister, especially when Sirius would have been left on his own for most of the time, given that Orion worked long shifts at the Ministry. His mother wouldn't hear a word of it anyway, so Sirius really had had no choice in the matter. He was to stay with his mother, and that was that.
Normally, these rare visits were all that sustained Sirius over the holidays, yet this time it felt completely different. So far, all his parents had done was lecture him on maturity and his schoolwork. This weekend was supposed to be a break from all that, not a repeated performance.
Feeling sullen, Sirius stirred in the milk and returned to the living room. He handed his father his drink and was about to return to his chair when Orion moved up to make some room on the sofa and motioned for Sirius to sit down.
Wordlessly, Sirius sat down beside his father and sunk into the cushions. They sat in silence, staring into the flames.
'You didn't flood the Slytherin dormitories as well, did you?' asked Orion after a while.
'Why do you ask?' said Sirius, the smile evident in his voice.
Orion chuckled.
'Oh, I was just wondering if you had a specific target in mind.'
Sirius grinned impishly.
'Of course not, Dad.' However, he followed that with a loud false cough that Orion swore sounded like 'Snape'. Sirius cleared his throat and took another drink from his mug.
Orion laughed softly.
'Well, so long as you learnt something – '
'Absolutely,' said Sirius, perfectly seriously. 'We learnt that it takes Snape exactly three and a half minutes to realise when a Lobalug is sharing his underpants with him.'
'Sirius!'
*
To Be Continued*
Please review. All comments and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated.
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Authors NotesLin-z1 – Thanks! Glad you like it.
WallyTheWhale – Oh, opps! *slaps self on the forehead* Duh! Sorry, I completely forgot that you call it something different in the States. Yes, candyfloss is cotton candy. I've got into the habit of using sweater instead of jumper because that's something completely different in your country isn't it? Gets confusing sometimes.
No, Richard is not secretly gay. Yes, he is cheesy at times, but then that's part of his irritating character. Anything that makes him come across as a nasty, un-likable character is a good thing as far as I'm concerned. If anyone can honestly say that they like him, I think I will have failed terribly as a writer – he's not supposed to be liked!
NightSpear – Your story is fantastic, it deserved more reviews! I like giving one for each chapter of the fics I read, otherwise I'd get to end and only say a small part of what I'd like to comment on because I'd have forgotten bits. I hope to see an update soon! Enjoy the chapter.
Lil Lupin – Glad to have you back, Lily! Don't you go giving too much away. ^_~ Must be hard to comment again on something you've Beta-ed already. Is it possible you've exhausted your criticism?
Christy – True, Ursa hardly poses the same kind of threat so it's natural that any problems would be dealt with differently. I don't want to give anything away, (especially after just asking my Beta not too!) so all I'll say is that you'll have to wait to see how that develops.
My next project? I'm currently working on the sequel to Tell No Lies and Take It Back. No title yet. (I'm awful trying to decide on titles, takes me forever – just ask Lil Lupin, she knows what I'm like!) It's still on the plotting and planning stage but it's coming along really well. As it's going to be such a long one I doubt it'll be ready for posting by the end of the year. Early next year maybe? I'll try to slip in a few smaller projects in the meantime. I've got a songfic that's been floating around in my head for months and I still haven't done it. ^_^
Squintz1 – Thank you very much for saying so! I have to admit, I've read a few fics that have it at one extreme or the other and they've never come across as quite 'right', a bit too unrealistic, so I'm glad you feel I've got it right. ^_^ Oh the joys of siblings, I know it well.