Chapter 2 - The uninvited Guest.
A figure in dark, flowing robes and a thick, hooded black cloak walked down Grimmauld Place. It was a woman. She was holding in one hand a black carry case, in the other she had a wand. She muttered something under her breath and waved her hand, which held her wand in such a way that no one that might have been looking out of the windows of one of the houses on the street would be able to see it. All of the lamps in the street suddenly died and the entire street plunged into darkness. The only light was given by the half moon shining through the trees and casting eerie shadows on the road. The woman gave a small nod, having completed the first of a list of tasks she had set herself. She walked along next to the houses, reading out the numbers on each of the letter boxes.
"Number 10" she mumbled. "Number 11. Number 13?"
She stopped, looking puzzled for a moment, then turning back to number 11 and staring for a moment.
"Odd" she mumbled, pulling down her hood to reveal long, dark hair and a very pale face.
She knew it had to be here. She stood in between number 11 and number 13, concentrating hard on her destination. Sure enough, a house appeared out of nowhere, pushing the two houses beside it out of the way as it steadily grew to a normal size. The woman smiled and made her way to the front door. She looked over her shoulder to make sure that she was not being followed. When she was sure that there was no one around, she tried to open the door. It was locked. She muttered something under her breath and the door sprang open. She stepped inside the house.
She could hear voices coming from inside the house. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously as she closed the door loudly behind her. The voices from the other room ceased immediately as the curtain which covered the portrait of Mrs Black flew open and the portrait began to scream.
"FILTHY HALF BREEDS! SCUM! VER-."
Mrs Black stopped suddenly and looked at the woman who was standing in the entrance hallway. The dark haired woman smiled at the portrait.
"There are half breeds here! Get them out!" Mrs Black demanded in a lower tone than before. The woman smiled again and pulled the curtain back over the portrait. She heard hushed voices from the other room and frowned, pulling out her wand as she headed towards the room where the voices were coming from.
***
Fred, George and Ron began talking about quidditch and Harry joined in, wanting to stop thinking about Sirius for a little while. They stopped talking suddenly when they heard the portrait of Mrs Black begin to scream again and Mr Weasley jumped off his seat and headed for the door.
"FILTHY HALF BREEDS! SCUM! VER-."
Mr Weasley stopped and looked around at the others. He was now pale. The portrait had never screamed before when there was no one in the entrance hallway, and it had certainly never stopped screaming of its own accord.
"Harry did you close the door when you came in?" he asked urgently. Harry nodded, eyes wide with shock.
"Could it be someone from the order?" Mrs Weasley asked in a frightened whisper. Mr Weasley shook his head.
"They aren't due back for a while yet" he replied, also in a whisper.
"Wands out" Mrs Weasley said quietly to the older boys.
Mr Weasley nodded to the others and they took out their wands. They heard footsteps coming towards the dining room and pointed their wands at the door. The door opened in a flash and before any of them could do anything they heard a woman scream
"Expelliarmus"
All of their wands jumped out of their hands and clattered to the floor on the other side of the room. The woman that had cast the spell walked in, her wand pointed out defensively in front of her. Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys stared at the stranger who had just walked into the room. She looked to be in her late 20's or early thirties. She had long dark hair which fell loosely down her back. Her face was naturally pale, but looked even more pallid because she was dressed completely in black. Her deep brown eyes swept across each of their faces. The locked with Harry's for a moment and he had the uncanny notion that he had seen them before somewhere. They looked familiar to him somehow, but he didn't know where he had seen them. He couldn't remember ever having seen her before, only her eyes. Fear gripped him as she looked at the others, her wand still raised. He wondered if she was a death eater. He had seen many deatheaters eyes and not their faces.
"How did you get in here?" Mr Weasley demanded.
The woman's gaze shifted to him and she pointed her wand at his chest. Her expression was cold, almost menacing.
"I was about to ask you the same question" she said in a cold, even tone. She raised her eyebrows questioningly. "Who are you?"
They all looked at her strangely, but none of them responded immediately as they were distracted by Kreacher, who had just entered the room and was muttering something under his breath. He looked up at the newcomer and his eyes widened.
"Mistress has returned!" he exclaimed gleefully, running to her feet and bowing. He picked up the bottom of her robes and held them lovingly as he looked up at her with adoration in his eyes. She smiled down at him.
"Hello Kreacher" she said softly.
He looked happier than Harry had ever seen him.
"Would Mistress like something to eat?" he asked eagerly.
"No, no Kreacher. Go and get my bed ready and put my things away in my room" she said, passing him her bag, which he took willingly and bowed.
"Yes Mistress! Good, kind Mistress!" he said happily and left without any of his usual mutterings. The others in the room looked at the woman completely lost for words. They didn't know what to make of this new development.
"Well?" the woman said impatiently. "You haven't answered my question. Who are you all, and more importantly, what are you doing in my house?"
"This isn't your house! This is Sirius' house!" Harry yelled angrily, he was now on his feet. There was colour in his cheeks now from the anger boiling inside him. The woman turned to him with her head slightly tilted.
"Sirius?" she asked him. "You know Sirius?"
Harry nodded.
"I had thought that he was on the run" she said, her expression lightening a little.
She lowered her wand slightly.
"Where is he? I need to speak to him" she asked.
The Weasleys, Harry and Hermione all looked at her strangely.
"Who are you?" asked Mr Weasley.
The woman turned back to him and scowled.
"You have not given me your name yet, why should I give you mine?" she demanded.
Mr Weasley turned slightly red. He put his hand out to her politely and muttered
"Arthur Weasley".
She looked at his hand for a moment, as if trying to determine whether it was safe to shake it. She took his hand hesitantly and shook it slowly.
"Call me Sera" she said simply. "Where is Sirius?"
"He's dead" Mr Weasley said softly.
Sera, though she was already quite pale, lost all the colour in her cheeks. She grabbed onto the doorframe to stop herself from falling.
"D-dead?" she stammered weakly, her eyes wide with shock.
Mr Weasley was worried that the woman might collapse and so he pulled a chair out from the table for her to sit on. He led her over to the chair and she sank into it slowly, putting her head into her hands.
"How do you know Sirius?" asked Harry softly.
She looked up at him, her eyes swiftly taking in the scar on his forehead.
"You're Harry Potter aren't you?" she said softly. "You're his godson"
Harry's eyes narrowed a little and he nodded slightly.
"I'm Sirius' sister" she said softly.
Everyone at the table looked stunned. It was clear that none of them were aware that Sirius Black had a sister at all. Harry looked into her eyes and knew suddenly why they looked so familiar. They were exactly like Sirius' eyes, in the photo he had of his parents wedding. Before Sirius had gone to Azkaban.
"How do we know you aren't an imposter? Sirius never said anything about a sister" Ginny said curtly.
Sera gave a bark like laugh that was much like Sirius' except that the voice behind it was higher pitched and more feminine.
"So the fact that I knew where this place was, despite it's being hidden I might add, the fact that I shut up the portrait of my mother and the behaviour of Kreacher isn't enough proof?" she asked. Ginny looked a little uncomfortable at this.
"It's ok. She's telling the truth" Harry said softly.
Ginny started at this and stared at Harry for a moment, but didn't say anything. Sera also looked at him for a moment. Their eyes met and Harry saw pain in her eyes, similar to the pain that he himself had felt for the entire summer. He smiled slightly and she gave a small smile in return.
"You really are like your parents aren't you Harry?" she said softly.
Harry's eyes widened at this, but before he could respond, they turned towards the door, where they heard soft voices and footsteps approaching.
A figure in dark, flowing robes and a thick, hooded black cloak walked down Grimmauld Place. It was a woman. She was holding in one hand a black carry case, in the other she had a wand. She muttered something under her breath and waved her hand, which held her wand in such a way that no one that might have been looking out of the windows of one of the houses on the street would be able to see it. All of the lamps in the street suddenly died and the entire street plunged into darkness. The only light was given by the half moon shining through the trees and casting eerie shadows on the road. The woman gave a small nod, having completed the first of a list of tasks she had set herself. She walked along next to the houses, reading out the numbers on each of the letter boxes.
"Number 10" she mumbled. "Number 11. Number 13?"
She stopped, looking puzzled for a moment, then turning back to number 11 and staring for a moment.
"Odd" she mumbled, pulling down her hood to reveal long, dark hair and a very pale face.
She knew it had to be here. She stood in between number 11 and number 13, concentrating hard on her destination. Sure enough, a house appeared out of nowhere, pushing the two houses beside it out of the way as it steadily grew to a normal size. The woman smiled and made her way to the front door. She looked over her shoulder to make sure that she was not being followed. When she was sure that there was no one around, she tried to open the door. It was locked. She muttered something under her breath and the door sprang open. She stepped inside the house.
She could hear voices coming from inside the house. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously as she closed the door loudly behind her. The voices from the other room ceased immediately as the curtain which covered the portrait of Mrs Black flew open and the portrait began to scream.
"FILTHY HALF BREEDS! SCUM! VER-."
Mrs Black stopped suddenly and looked at the woman who was standing in the entrance hallway. The dark haired woman smiled at the portrait.
"There are half breeds here! Get them out!" Mrs Black demanded in a lower tone than before. The woman smiled again and pulled the curtain back over the portrait. She heard hushed voices from the other room and frowned, pulling out her wand as she headed towards the room where the voices were coming from.
***
Fred, George and Ron began talking about quidditch and Harry joined in, wanting to stop thinking about Sirius for a little while. They stopped talking suddenly when they heard the portrait of Mrs Black begin to scream again and Mr Weasley jumped off his seat and headed for the door.
"FILTHY HALF BREEDS! SCUM! VER-."
Mr Weasley stopped and looked around at the others. He was now pale. The portrait had never screamed before when there was no one in the entrance hallway, and it had certainly never stopped screaming of its own accord.
"Harry did you close the door when you came in?" he asked urgently. Harry nodded, eyes wide with shock.
"Could it be someone from the order?" Mrs Weasley asked in a frightened whisper. Mr Weasley shook his head.
"They aren't due back for a while yet" he replied, also in a whisper.
"Wands out" Mrs Weasley said quietly to the older boys.
Mr Weasley nodded to the others and they took out their wands. They heard footsteps coming towards the dining room and pointed their wands at the door. The door opened in a flash and before any of them could do anything they heard a woman scream
"Expelliarmus"
All of their wands jumped out of their hands and clattered to the floor on the other side of the room. The woman that had cast the spell walked in, her wand pointed out defensively in front of her. Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys stared at the stranger who had just walked into the room. She looked to be in her late 20's or early thirties. She had long dark hair which fell loosely down her back. Her face was naturally pale, but looked even more pallid because she was dressed completely in black. Her deep brown eyes swept across each of their faces. The locked with Harry's for a moment and he had the uncanny notion that he had seen them before somewhere. They looked familiar to him somehow, but he didn't know where he had seen them. He couldn't remember ever having seen her before, only her eyes. Fear gripped him as she looked at the others, her wand still raised. He wondered if she was a death eater. He had seen many deatheaters eyes and not their faces.
"How did you get in here?" Mr Weasley demanded.
The woman's gaze shifted to him and she pointed her wand at his chest. Her expression was cold, almost menacing.
"I was about to ask you the same question" she said in a cold, even tone. She raised her eyebrows questioningly. "Who are you?"
They all looked at her strangely, but none of them responded immediately as they were distracted by Kreacher, who had just entered the room and was muttering something under his breath. He looked up at the newcomer and his eyes widened.
"Mistress has returned!" he exclaimed gleefully, running to her feet and bowing. He picked up the bottom of her robes and held them lovingly as he looked up at her with adoration in his eyes. She smiled down at him.
"Hello Kreacher" she said softly.
He looked happier than Harry had ever seen him.
"Would Mistress like something to eat?" he asked eagerly.
"No, no Kreacher. Go and get my bed ready and put my things away in my room" she said, passing him her bag, which he took willingly and bowed.
"Yes Mistress! Good, kind Mistress!" he said happily and left without any of his usual mutterings. The others in the room looked at the woman completely lost for words. They didn't know what to make of this new development.
"Well?" the woman said impatiently. "You haven't answered my question. Who are you all, and more importantly, what are you doing in my house?"
"This isn't your house! This is Sirius' house!" Harry yelled angrily, he was now on his feet. There was colour in his cheeks now from the anger boiling inside him. The woman turned to him with her head slightly tilted.
"Sirius?" she asked him. "You know Sirius?"
Harry nodded.
"I had thought that he was on the run" she said, her expression lightening a little.
She lowered her wand slightly.
"Where is he? I need to speak to him" she asked.
The Weasleys, Harry and Hermione all looked at her strangely.
"Who are you?" asked Mr Weasley.
The woman turned back to him and scowled.
"You have not given me your name yet, why should I give you mine?" she demanded.
Mr Weasley turned slightly red. He put his hand out to her politely and muttered
"Arthur Weasley".
She looked at his hand for a moment, as if trying to determine whether it was safe to shake it. She took his hand hesitantly and shook it slowly.
"Call me Sera" she said simply. "Where is Sirius?"
"He's dead" Mr Weasley said softly.
Sera, though she was already quite pale, lost all the colour in her cheeks. She grabbed onto the doorframe to stop herself from falling.
"D-dead?" she stammered weakly, her eyes wide with shock.
Mr Weasley was worried that the woman might collapse and so he pulled a chair out from the table for her to sit on. He led her over to the chair and she sank into it slowly, putting her head into her hands.
"How do you know Sirius?" asked Harry softly.
She looked up at him, her eyes swiftly taking in the scar on his forehead.
"You're Harry Potter aren't you?" she said softly. "You're his godson"
Harry's eyes narrowed a little and he nodded slightly.
"I'm Sirius' sister" she said softly.
Everyone at the table looked stunned. It was clear that none of them were aware that Sirius Black had a sister at all. Harry looked into her eyes and knew suddenly why they looked so familiar. They were exactly like Sirius' eyes, in the photo he had of his parents wedding. Before Sirius had gone to Azkaban.
"How do we know you aren't an imposter? Sirius never said anything about a sister" Ginny said curtly.
Sera gave a bark like laugh that was much like Sirius' except that the voice behind it was higher pitched and more feminine.
"So the fact that I knew where this place was, despite it's being hidden I might add, the fact that I shut up the portrait of my mother and the behaviour of Kreacher isn't enough proof?" she asked. Ginny looked a little uncomfortable at this.
"It's ok. She's telling the truth" Harry said softly.
Ginny started at this and stared at Harry for a moment, but didn't say anything. Sera also looked at him for a moment. Their eyes met and Harry saw pain in her eyes, similar to the pain that he himself had felt for the entire summer. He smiled slightly and she gave a small smile in return.
"You really are like your parents aren't you Harry?" she said softly.
Harry's eyes widened at this, but before he could respond, they turned towards the door, where they heard soft voices and footsteps approaching.
