Disclaimer: Ah, you again. Disclaimer who wishes to destroy the lives of Authors and Authoresses everywhere. With Lawyers and everything. But so I am not destroyed, I do not own Harry Potter characters. I wish I did, but I don't. Okay, so, send your lawyers away, Disclaimer!
All right! Now this, this is what I am not particularly fond of. But, I hope you enjoy it, if you even read it. So, enjoy!
When We Were Once Young
By: -lost-yet-found-
James Reed Potter's 10th birthday was the best one he had ever had. For two reasons really, one: because all his relatives were there and two: it would be the last one before he went to Hogwarts. (His birthday was September 3rd) And Hogwarts was what James had been waiting for all his life. Ever since his neighbor, Arthur Weasley, had turned eleven three years ago, he'd been anxious to see the magical place his neighbor always described.
"C'mon, Jamsie! Open the next one!" James grinned and ripped off the wrapping paper, revealing a whole set of books, ones written especially for the most famous sport in the wizarding world, Quidditch.
"You'll be needin' those! Gonna be on the house team, aren't ya, James?" James's cousin, Melanie, pointed out in her thick, Irish accent. She had just graduated that summer so she also knew all about Hogwarts. And was James's other way of getting information.
James's face lit up at the thought of being on Gryffindor house team, he'd heard millions of stories from both Arthur and Melanie on the subject. How they flew up way high and dodged bludgers and how many of them broke several bones and got severely hurt, James's dream was to be Gryffindor captain.
"All right, last present!" James's mother, Brina, called out merrily, joggling her camera so that she held it at eye level. Harold Potter promptly hurried over at the call of his wife, carrying a very flat package. James took it from his father and stared at the present quizzically. Slowly he unfolded the paper and drew out a shimmering cloak. James's eyes lit up, "No way, Dad! An invisibility cloak! Thanks!" The young boy cried, grabbing his father into a hug. The family around them laughed jovially and James let go, hugging his present tightly to his chest.
Brina Potter smiled and then said, "Now that that's over, while we're waiting for the cake--" Brina stopped at the looks she was receiving, "Oh shush all of you, I didn't burn nor destroy it this time, the delivery wizard is just behind schedule." She sighed in relief as they seemed to accept this explanation, "Now, while we're waiting for the cake-that-is-not-my-fault-this-time, let's play some Figure Quidditch!" Cheers erupted from James's younger cousins, and he himself, and they raced over to her as she began to take out the board.
--
Sirius Baron Black, heir to the Black Fortune and home, struggled through the millions of prickly hands someone must call bushes. He had escaped, just barely, from the drunkenness of his father and the scrutiny of his mother. But not unscarred. Blood leaked out the side of his mouth in which he had not even bothered to wipe away and his left arm dragged along the ground at his side. An argument and then some drunken beating had led to his decision of running away; he could not take it any longer and would rather die than suffer the expectations of his parents. Ever since his 10th birthday had passed three months ago, the elder Blacks had been looking to him expectantly for any signs of Slytherin. And they found it to their great glee. They were heavily proud of him as well, to Sirius's blatant disgust. He did not wish to please his parents, for he neither loved them nor cared at all for them, their hatred towards him taught young Sirius so.
But, ah, Regulus, so young, so naïve, so much like his parents. Sirius's younger brother was the total opposite of himself. The boy wished to please his mother and father and so he always looked for ways to get his older brother into trouble. Sirius hated him for it.
Reaching a spot where he found himself no longer struggling with long spindly twigs, Sirius lifted his head and began to look around cautiously. He was in the backyard of some rich family, though not as rich as his own, and the black haired boy took time to marvel at its beauty.
It was as if Sirius had crawled into a garden, one that sparkled with pure, untouched light. It was about two acres in length, including the small forest that halted the one-acre of open space. Sirius was unsure if the family even owned that part. The grass was a healthy green and sparkled with the dew of midmorning. A small pond sat at the right of the property, about halfway between the house and the forest, and it glittered in the sunlight. Flowers bloomed and colored a good part of the land, most of it near the forest or in the mid, from the pond to the fence at the left of the estate. Some sat in flowerboxes lining the patio and some hung from baskets. It looked perfect and Sirius didn't remember ever seeing something as wonderful as this in his entire life. Which was much expected, it wasn't as if his life was sunshine and daisies. How had he crawled into this wonderland?
Sirius snapped himself out of his awe and quickly began to crawl toward the towering hedges that grew along the fence. He could hide there until it was safe. Flattening his small frame against the ground, he inched his way underneath and to his surprise found enough space to sit in as he straightened up. Sirius situated himself into a comfortable position beneath the hedge where he realized a small nook, just large enough for a child such as himself, was hidden. His back lay against the pale, faded fence and he stared at the inside of the hedge boxed around him. The hidden place was cool and dark; it calmed the boy down slightly.
As he sat there, knees pulled up to his chest and arms wrapped tightly around them, he stared out at the perfect backyard through the small gaps between the leaves and wondered what kind of people lived there and if they would find him. But they wouldn't be able to; for all could be seen were his glimmering grey eyes.
--
James huffed and puffed as he sped around the house and into the backyard, pausing to catch his breath and look around. They had just been playing 'Dodge the Bludger'(it was just a bludger shaped ball of course) and his idiot of a cousin Kirk had thrown it over the house and hit the backside of the roof. Talk about a winning pitch.
James quickly spotted the object by one of the hedges and hurried over. Quickly kneeling down and scooping it up, he began to turn around but stopped when he heard a rustling sound. James blinked, standing stock-still and hoping dearly it wasn't anything. He'd always been told that you should investigate and if you don't know what it is, go to the closest adult you can find. Time to be brave, James told himself as he slowly turned around. Kneeling down once again, he looked more closely at the place he thought the rustling was coming from.
Lowering his head slowly to the gap in between the ground and hedge, he heard the rustling yet again but this time it was quieter. The boy saw nothing but darkness and quickly slid himself out of the position and stared at the hedge in suspicion. James was caught off guard when he suddenly glanced two grey eyes staring out at him, slightly narrowed and suspicious. James cried out and threw himself backwards, landing upon his back, dropping the ball. He hastily sat up and scooted back a bit, afraid to move and watched the bludger-like toy roll back underneath the hedge, where the eyes were still watching him.
--
It had been two hours since Sirius had found his little space and his body was tired of the position it was in. Carefully he rearranged himself onto his stomach with his legs lying against the fence and his chin upon his crossed arms. It wasn't long after this that a sudden hollow "smack" was heard and a ball rolled into view, heading right for him. Sirius eyes widened as he watched it roll at quite the speed and as it began to slow and then stop right in front of his face. Slowly, ever so slowly, Sirius reached out and snagged it before anyone could see, if anyone was even there. Blinking, Sirius examined the ball and recognized it to be one of those toy bludgers. His family owned their own set of Quidditch balls but Sirius had always wanted one of these, just because they were simple and didn't hurt as much as the real ones did when Regulus and he played together.
A few slow seconds later a boy about his age came hurtling into Sirius's vision and his eyes widened even more. The boy's hair, black as midnight and the messiest mop he'd ever seen, gleamed in the sunlight and he blinked chocolate brown eyes, covered by his round black glasses, around the yard. He wore bright red formal robes and underneath, a white long-sleeved shirt and black pants with tennis shoes that just didn't match. He was a pureblood. Had to be, just look at the house. Sirius knew it was wrong judge others just because they weren't fully wizard, or not at all, but it was a hateful habit he'd caught from all his relatives, especially his parents.
Sirius suddenly realized the boy was looking for the ball and reluctantly placed it in front of the hedge, where the boy would most likely see it. And as Sirius suspected, the pureblooded boy quickly spotted the ball and began to head over. Sirius Black froze and began to breathe quietly, praying to any deity that would listen, and hoping that the ruffle haired boy did not see him.
At first, Sirius believed he was safe and sighed in relief as the boy picked up the toy bludger and turned around, this sudden blast of air causing the leaves in front of him to rustle. The long, black haired boy gulped. Crud. The other boy seemed to freeze as well because his shoes, for that was all Sirius could see of the boy now that he was near the hedge, stopped in mid step. After a second, to Sirius's horror, the boy turned around and regained the position he had been in when retrieving the ball. Sirius jumped up quickly, the sudden panic clouding his thoughts, and flattened himself against the fence, curling up his legs as if he was in a midair crunch. The boy seemed to not have seen Sirius, the long haired boy was deeply relieved, and disappeared from the space. But it wasn't over yet, for the other boy suddenly raised his eyes to Sirius's own and they stared at each other.
Then, the messy haired boy cried out and fell back, dropping the ball in his surprise. Sirius and the boy watched it roll and give a stop in front of him (the eyes in James's case). Sirius took a moment to stare at the ball longingly; he really had wanted to keep it, before slowly rolling it back out to the boy. He watched as the pureblood hurried over to stop it and stare from the ball back to Sirius's grey eyes. He then seemed to make up his mind to what he was intending to do and rolled the ball back. Stuttering out afterwards, "N-No. You can have it." Jumping up, the messy haired boy scurried back into the house and Sirius watched with surprise, then sitting up, clutching the ball close to his chest.
--
That night, as James clambered into bed, he finally found he had time to mull over what had happened that day. Something, he didn't know what it was, was under the hedges in his backyard. But why and what was it doing there? James hadn't been so sure about telling his parents of what he'd found, whatever it was didn't seem to be all that bad, it had given his ball back to him after all. He suddenly wondered if it had food, if it ate, or if it was thirsty. He wondered if he could find a way to sneak down something to eat…
"James?" his mother's soft voice gently broke his thoughts, followed by a quiet knock so to further grab his attention. Brina's young son looked up at her, startled, as she elegantly drifted over to his bed. Her long, wavy black hair and her pale blue eyes enhanced the beauty of her slender figure and she carried herself like an angel. Whilst James shared few features with his mother(such as her nose and ears), he was more so a replica of his father, whose eyes were his chocolate and hair his mess.
"Oh, Mum." James stated absentmindedly, thoughts still on the creature he had discovered that very evening. "'Oh Mum," is that it? No hello or anything?" Brina Potter huffed good naturally, gently setting herself onto James's bed with heavenly grace. James smiled sheepishly and, as if to apologize, scooted up to her and raised his arms. Brina smiled and accepted her son's hug, noting that he still seemed to have something on his mind.
"Did you have fun today?" she asked as James lay back onto his pillow. "Yeah!" James answered with a nod, causing his mother to chuckle at his abrupt answer. "Well, I'm glad." Brina said, a kind smile on her face as she smoothed the sheet. She stood up and leaned over, brushing a kiss on James's forehead and turned to leave. James reached his arms behind his head and stared up at the ceiling. Just as she opened the door and turned out the light, James murmured a question, "Hey, Mum?" "Hm?" She turned around and looked at her son curiously. "Do we have any leftover birthday cake?" Brina smiled, "Yes, we do. But none for you tonight. You can have the rest tomorrow." James nodded and watched her close the door. Then, after an hour of listening to his parents shuffle amongst the house and to their room. He then, as soon as he saw the light of the hallway flick off and heard the murmurings of his parents as they said goodnight, eased out of bed.
James quickly slipped on his socks and shoes and headed for the door, wearing only his white and blue striped pajamas. Opening the door as quietly as possible, James searched the hallway for any sign of his parents being awake, then promptly hurried down the stairs.
Padding over to the refrigerator, he began to search around for the cake. They owned one only because his father had been tricked into buying it when really he only wanted to borrow a pen. Harold Potter wasn't exactly the muggle expert.
Locating the white colored cake on the top shelf, he quickly pulled it out and after a bit of shuffling, found a knife and cut off a big chunk. Who knows how long ago the creature had eaten.
Wrapping the chunk of cake in a napkin, James walked to the door and quickly made his escape through it, suddenly realizing how dark it was. The ten-year-old dearly hoped nothing else but he and the creature were in his backyard.
--
Sirius was tired, hungry, thirsty, and uncomfortable. He'd been under the hedge for a rough eight hours and the bugs were really starting to annoy him. He sighed, and began to push through the leaves to get a better view of the yard. This had been his answer for his problem of not being able to see anything fully through the hedge without laying on his stomach. It was easier this way. When he first was able to dig through and actually succeed in seeing anything other than twigs, leaves and a bit of fuzzy background, Sirius found his first gaze to be upon a beautiful woman, the boy's mum he supposed. The beauty had been watering the flowers, using her wand of course, and hadn't remained out there long.
But now, Sirius was looking up at the now dark window that had been lit just a few minutes ago, either the boy's or the woman's room he was not sure of but it was his only way of knowing he was still in civilization.
Sirius hated it but he couldn't help but feel a tiny bit homesick, it was mostly for his owl and his room, two of which had been his greatest companions when times got rough. He hoped Lillian, his aforementioned Northern Hawk Owl, would be all right and could escape if one of his family members tried to get a hold of her.
A sound that very much sounded like shuffling broke through his musings and he suddenly let go of the leaves, withdrawing against the fence and listening. The footsteps, he recognized, were coming closer and he prepared himself for the worst, no wand to protect him. And then, to his great surprise, something was stuffed underneath the hedge, right at his feet.
Sirius eyed it curiously, and with the cautiousness of a cat, slowly unwrapped the package. Inside, with the helpful light of one of the streetlights near the fence, he saw it to be cake. The black haired boy was surprised and looked up, moving the branches and leaves only enough for his eyes to be seen.
It was the boy from earlier and he was standing a few inches away, eyeing the hedge nervously and fidgeting. Suddenly, seeing Sirius's grey eyes, the boy jumped and then whispered, "Th-There, it's food. You can eat it if you're hungry," the boy said and then added quickly, "but you don't have to if you don't want to." Sirius's eyes plainly showed gratitude as he let go of the branches and began to hungrily eat the cake. "Oh," the boy whispered before turning and leaving, "My name's James."
There. There it is, in all it's crappy glory. I have already finished the second chapter and am finishing the third. I will post the second one up if you like this fic enough!
EDIT: Organized chapter.