"Number 12 Grimmauld Place is an awful home to spend the summer in,"
thought Sirius as he lay on his bed staring up at the ceiling. It was now a
month into the summer holidays and he couldn't wait to go back to Hogwarts.
Most of all he wanted to see Auria and find out what had happened with her
and Snape. Sirius read the Daily Prophet everyday to see if there had been
any attacks in Edinborough. All had been quiet in Auria's town, even though
the Death Eaters themselves were being quite active. The constant mention
of the dark arts and the killing of Muggles and Mudbloods had livened his
mother's spirits, and she joy was pushing him to the brink of insanity. She
would always tell him what a failure he was and how he would never live up
to his younger brother Regulus, a Death Eater. So life continued on this
way for another week before Sirius' life took a drastic change.
Two very important things happened on July 16. The first was that Sirius ran away from home to spend the rest of the summer with the Potter's. He could no longer stand his family, his home or the constant pressure to become a Death Eater. The second occurred at lunch in the Potter home.
Sirius and James were sitting on James' bed playing Wizard's Chess when Mrs. Potter called them down to lunch. The two of them trudged down the stairs and sat down at the table.
"Must you walk so loudly?" asked Mr. Potter.
"Yup" replied James grinning. "Its to make sure you know we're coming and don't eat all the food without us."
"I don't think we could ever eat as much as you boys," said Mrs. Potter as she placed a plate of sandwiches on the table. "Or even as much as Sirius by himself."
Sirius blushed as he looked down at the ten sandwiches he had taken.
"Oh don't worry dear" said Mrs. Potter seeing the look on his face. "We have plenty of food."
Just as Sirius was finishing his seventh sandwich he noticed the Daily Prophet lying on a chair.
"Um, Mr. Potter, may I see the Daily Prophet?" he asked, angry with himself that he had not remembered to read it before he had left.
"Sure" replied Mr. Potter passing him the paper. "Ugly news today."
Sirius' face went pale as he read the headline.
Five Wizards and Ten Muggles Killed in Death Eater Attacks in Edinborough.
He looked at the picture of burning homes and dead bodies below the title and then, with a sickening feeling in his stomach, read the article.
Five Wizards and Ten Muggles were killed in a large organized attack
by You-Know-Who's followers, the Death Eaters, last night. They
arrived at two o'clock in the morning and took the wizarding section
of the town by storm. It is apparent that they were targeting anyone
associated with Muggles and ministry officials. Mr. and Mrs. Small,
both of whom work in the town's muggle post office were killed by the
unforgivable curse. The three members of the Trook family, Mr. and Mrs
Trook and their 2-year-old son Andrew were also killed by the curse.
Apparently this family had many muggle friends in the town and
associated with muggles quite often.
The most tragic death was that of Peter Jacobs, a member of the
Ministry of Magic, who worked in the department of Muggle Relations.
He was severely wounded by a spell and died shortly thereafter. The
spell used remains unknown because the Death Eater that killed him,
Maria Avery, was killed shortly after and the murderer remains
unidentified. His wife, Clair Jacobs, a muggle, has reportedly fled
the country. His daughter, Auria Jacobs, who will begin her sixth year
at Hogwarts this fall, was found a mile from her home hiding in the
woods. When questioned about her father's death, she explained that
she saw him wounded, attempted to help him, and then fled into the
woods as the Death Eaters approached. Arrangements made by the
Ministry have her staying at a friend's house for the rest of the
summer.
The 10 muggles killed did not have any relation to the wizarding world
and it is believed that they were killed for enjoyment. This has been
a terrible and tragic event and the ministry wishes to expresses its
deepest sorrows to all the families involved.
When he finished the paper Sirius stared at the article for so long that the words began to blur.
"Sirius, Sirius. Hello, earth to Sirius" called James waving his hand in front of his friend's face.
This startled him so much that Sirius fell out of his chair and landed with a crash on the floor.
"Are you alright dear?" asked Mrs. Potter as she helped him up.
James started laughing hysterically as Mrs. Potter slipped to the floor beside Sirius.
"Did you know one of those people?" questioned Mr. Potter.
Sirius, on standing, looked around the table and then turned to James.
"Shut up! You're so stupid and arrogant; it's not at all funny! What if that had been your family?" he screamed at him, and then stormed up the stairs without a look back.
Sirius lay on his back staring up at the ceiling in the guest room. All he could think about was how sad Auria would be when he returned to school. He knew that she would not be the same happy, devious girl he'd talked to in the bathroom. Though worst of all, it made his blood boil to think that she was going out with Snape and that stupid Snivellus had probably been involved in her father's murder. Sirius guessed that Snape had been passing information on to Voldemort about Auria's family all summer. If Snape was at all involved in her father's murder Sirius was going to kill him. As he fell asleep that night he had no idea how close to murder he would eventually come.
Two very important things happened on July 16. The first was that Sirius ran away from home to spend the rest of the summer with the Potter's. He could no longer stand his family, his home or the constant pressure to become a Death Eater. The second occurred at lunch in the Potter home.
Sirius and James were sitting on James' bed playing Wizard's Chess when Mrs. Potter called them down to lunch. The two of them trudged down the stairs and sat down at the table.
"Must you walk so loudly?" asked Mr. Potter.
"Yup" replied James grinning. "Its to make sure you know we're coming and don't eat all the food without us."
"I don't think we could ever eat as much as you boys," said Mrs. Potter as she placed a plate of sandwiches on the table. "Or even as much as Sirius by himself."
Sirius blushed as he looked down at the ten sandwiches he had taken.
"Oh don't worry dear" said Mrs. Potter seeing the look on his face. "We have plenty of food."
Just as Sirius was finishing his seventh sandwich he noticed the Daily Prophet lying on a chair.
"Um, Mr. Potter, may I see the Daily Prophet?" he asked, angry with himself that he had not remembered to read it before he had left.
"Sure" replied Mr. Potter passing him the paper. "Ugly news today."
Sirius' face went pale as he read the headline.
Five Wizards and Ten Muggles Killed in Death Eater Attacks in Edinborough.
He looked at the picture of burning homes and dead bodies below the title and then, with a sickening feeling in his stomach, read the article.
Five Wizards and Ten Muggles were killed in a large organized attack
by You-Know-Who's followers, the Death Eaters, last night. They
arrived at two o'clock in the morning and took the wizarding section
of the town by storm. It is apparent that they were targeting anyone
associated with Muggles and ministry officials. Mr. and Mrs. Small,
both of whom work in the town's muggle post office were killed by the
unforgivable curse. The three members of the Trook family, Mr. and Mrs
Trook and their 2-year-old son Andrew were also killed by the curse.
Apparently this family had many muggle friends in the town and
associated with muggles quite often.
The most tragic death was that of Peter Jacobs, a member of the
Ministry of Magic, who worked in the department of Muggle Relations.
He was severely wounded by a spell and died shortly thereafter. The
spell used remains unknown because the Death Eater that killed him,
Maria Avery, was killed shortly after and the murderer remains
unidentified. His wife, Clair Jacobs, a muggle, has reportedly fled
the country. His daughter, Auria Jacobs, who will begin her sixth year
at Hogwarts this fall, was found a mile from her home hiding in the
woods. When questioned about her father's death, she explained that
she saw him wounded, attempted to help him, and then fled into the
woods as the Death Eaters approached. Arrangements made by the
Ministry have her staying at a friend's house for the rest of the
summer.
The 10 muggles killed did not have any relation to the wizarding world
and it is believed that they were killed for enjoyment. This has been
a terrible and tragic event and the ministry wishes to expresses its
deepest sorrows to all the families involved.
When he finished the paper Sirius stared at the article for so long that the words began to blur.
"Sirius, Sirius. Hello, earth to Sirius" called James waving his hand in front of his friend's face.
This startled him so much that Sirius fell out of his chair and landed with a crash on the floor.
"Are you alright dear?" asked Mrs. Potter as she helped him up.
James started laughing hysterically as Mrs. Potter slipped to the floor beside Sirius.
"Did you know one of those people?" questioned Mr. Potter.
Sirius, on standing, looked around the table and then turned to James.
"Shut up! You're so stupid and arrogant; it's not at all funny! What if that had been your family?" he screamed at him, and then stormed up the stairs without a look back.
Sirius lay on his back staring up at the ceiling in the guest room. All he could think about was how sad Auria would be when he returned to school. He knew that she would not be the same happy, devious girl he'd talked to in the bathroom. Though worst of all, it made his blood boil to think that she was going out with Snape and that stupid Snivellus had probably been involved in her father's murder. Sirius guessed that Snape had been passing information on to Voldemort about Auria's family all summer. If Snape was at all involved in her father's murder Sirius was going to kill him. As he fell asleep that night he had no idea how close to murder he would eventually come.