Chapter 3

Return to the Black House

"You could stay!" Harry blurted out.

"I'm sure its already too much hassle for Mrs Weasley," started Mr Winters, placing a protective hand on Roxanne's shoulder.

"Yes, I'm afraid Harry it would be too much hassle," said Mr Weasley, staring at Harry. They couldn't let her see where the Headquarters was. But unbeknown to him, Harry had told her everything. Roxanne thought the Order was an excellent idea.

"Its up to me," Harry said in a sinister tone.

"Yes, quite right," said Mr Weasley in a strained voice. He glared at Harry.

"Would you want to?" Harry asked Roxanne.

"Yeah, absolutely!"

Mr and Mrs Winters didn't look too happy about this, but eventually let her go.

"Shall I drop her belongings by your house?" asked Marilee Winters.

Mrs Weasley glanced at Mr Weasley uncertainly.

"How about I meet up with you…here, tomorrow? We're very busy you see," she said.

Mr Winters frowned slightly, "alright."

They made the arrangements and Roxanne hugged them goodbye.

"Have a good time, dear!"

"I will. Bye!" she called back, waving over her shoulder.

Harry was beyond happy at this point. He felt an overwhelming giddiness and desire to celebrate.

"Why is it up to you?" asked Roxanne.

"My house, my rules," he said, suppressing the urge to cheer.

"Wow! I knew you owned it but never knew you were in control! Wicked!"

Ron looked angrier than anyone. He evidently thought Harry was an idiot. He even told Harry this when they got to the house. He pulled him into the bathroom and locked the door.

At first he looked incapable of speech, but then he burst out, "you are really off your rocker, Harry! She's obviously the daughter of Deatheaters!"

"Listen very carefully Ron. I…don't…care! She's a good person, you're just jealous!" replied Harry. Ron was definitely getting on his nerves now.

"Jealous? Of what?" snapped Ron.

"Of what? Because I've had a girlfriend and hopefully I might be getting another and you're just jealous because you don't. Don't deny it."

"Why would I be jealous of you?" he retorted, "anyway, I'm going to argue with you."

"Well don't then. I could get you chucked out of this house like that," said Harry, snapping his fingers. He realised how big-headed he was acting and put his hands by his side.

"I'd be glad to go," growled Ron. He unlocked the door and strode out.

"Walk away, like you always do," Harry yelled after him.

"SHUT UP SCARHEAD!" Ron shouted back to him.

"STOOPING AS LOW AS MALFOY NOW ARE WE?"

"AT LEAST ITS NOT AS LOW AS YOU!" hollered Ron. He went into his bedroom and slammed the door shut. Mrs Black started screaming again.

"Filthy, dirty scum walking about the house of my fathers like they own the place! Mudblood vermin!"

"Wow! Storm at number twelve!" said Fred, appearing out of nowhere. George soon followed. Usually they were at their shop, but frequently came to the house to cheer people up with new jokes and gags.

Harry felt suddenly very guilty. He had acted such an idiot to his best friend just to protect someone he had just met. But the last thing he was going to do was apologise.

"You gotta keep your voice down, mate. She's been driving me nuts!" said George. Just as he finished his sentence Mrs Black stopped screeching. But no one was in the hall to quieten her.

"That's strange. She's never shuts up on her own," said Harry. He peered round the corner and saw Roxanne standing in front of the picture.

"The first worthy person I have seen in this house for decades!" Mrs Black was saying to Roxanne.

Ron had even come out of his room. Roxanne glanced over to Harry. Her face was full of dawning comprehension.

"Roxanne, come over here," Harry urged, he had a bad feeling about this.

"Roxanne? Roxanne Winters?" gabbled Mrs Black, "my dear! What an honour!"

"Ok, time for you to shut up now!" said Harry, attempting to pull the curtains shut.

"NO! I want to speak to my niece! Be gone you half-bred scum!"

He managed to close the curtains, aided by Fred and George.

"You're a Win –?" but before George could finished, Fred jabbed him sharply in the ribs.

"Anyway, we've got business to attend to – bye," said Fred, he vanished with a loud crack followed reluctantly by George.

Harry couldn't believe it, she was related to Sirius! Why hadn't he mentioned anything? With help he closed the curtains and Mrs. Black's screeches died down.

"I know what everybody thinks of me," muttered Roxanne, "just because my family was horrible doesn't mean me or my aunty and uncle are."

"We don't think you're like them," said Hermione, who had just come from downstairs.

"That's like Sirius. Look at his family, and then he was a really…" he took a sharp intake of breath, "really innocent person."

"He was my uncle. His mother was my father's sister," explaimed Roxanne.

Roxanne remembered when she was small; she used to come visit this place often with her parents. It was much different then, more dark and gloomy but very well cleaned. It wasn't nice being back here. Horrible memories seeped into Roxanne's mind and entwined her brain like a vine.

"Roxanne?" said Harry, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Huh?" she said blankly.

"You wanna tour of the house? Just so you know?"

"Oh yeah…sure," she didn't mean to say that…the last thing she wanted to do was see the whole house.

"This is where me and Ron sleep. This is the second bathroom; it's bigger than the one downstairs. In Mrs Black's bedroom there's an en suite bathroom but we can't get in there, its locked. No one knows what's in there."

Roxanne did, she had been in there before. When she was four Mrs Black took a strong liking to her. Everybody in her family did. They all loved her. Apart from her mother's brother and his wife, who obviously felt two emotions. Hatred and sympathy. But they had still taken Roxanne in, without question.

"That's George, Fred, Charlie and Bill's room when they actually do stay. I wouldn't go in there if I were you though. There's been an awful smell coming from it."

"Why?" asked Roxanne.

"They do experiments in there, some go wrong," said Harry, eyeing the new door. It had been replaced after Fred blew it up with a firework.

"Harry," said Roxanne, standing in front of him, "you don't need to show me around here, I know it off by heart."

"What? How?" he asked, totally flabbergasted.

"It was my second home! If the Blacks' were alive today I would have been adopted by them, not my aunty and uncle," she muttered darkly, "but it doesn't matter anyway…"

"Why didn't you tell me in your letters? I mean…I'm the one Voldemort wants and then you…you're related to his Deatheaters!" said Harry, staring at her with disbelief.

Roxanne didn't flinch at Harry saying Voldemort's name, just at the 'related' part.

"I'm sorry Harry! I know all about you and all the things you've done. Amazing things!" she added, smiling gently yet nervously, "but I knew that you wouldn't want to talk to me if you knew about my parents and how they were involved with your par –" she stopped suddenly by the confused look on Harry's face, "I mean Sirius' parents."

Harry frowned and then realised what she had said made sense.

"Yes I would have! I wouldn't, I couldn't just forget about you," he said, feeling his face redden.

"Thanks Harry, you know, you're the only person who has befriended me," said Roxanne, putting her slender fingers around Harry's wrist.

His face reddened slightly. "Well now you've got loads of friends! As long as you don't get put in Slytherin you'll be fine," he said, "come on, dinner's ready."

The hallway door was shut and behind it a low rumble of many people chatting could be heard. Most probably talking about me, thought Roxanne grumpily.

"Listen, Harry. I'm really sorry mate. Didn't mean it, nobody can stoop lower than Malfoy," said Ron, walking up to Harry.

"S'ok," replied Harry, patting Ron on the back awkwardly.

Ron knocked on the door leading into the hallway and the chatting stopped immediately.

"Come in," called Lupin.

Roxanne, Harry, Hermione and Ron ambled in and found themselves face to face with what looked like nearly every person in the order. Harry looked over his shoulder and noticed all the wizards and witches behind him were looking at Roxanne with a look of utmost loathing. They saw Harry looking and their faces turned to smiles. Harry scowled and led Roxanne to the kitchen where the table was laden with food and a familiar pile of rags lay in the corner. Roxanne looked on the verge of tears as she sat in between Hermione and Harry. Dinner was unusually quiet. The silence was so thick you could slice through it with a knife. Roxanne only ate everything on her plate to be polite, but the second she walked out of the room with Harry she felt very sick.

"You ok? You look paler," said Harry.

"Haha Mr Comedian. I'm fine, just feel a bit ill," she said, "I think I'll go to bed now."

Harry was quite disappointed.

"Or we could sit in your room together and talk?" she said, noticing the fall of his face.

"Yeah ok! Hold on, let me check its ok…" he said, meaning of course the clothing that was strewn around his room. "Ok, come in."

Roxanne walked in and sat down on Harry's bed. This room used to be the place she slept in whenever she came visiting.

"What position do you usually play in Quidditch?" said Harry, sitting next to her.

"Chaser. You need to be strong to be a Beater and a Keeper seems boring. And I am not good enough to be a Seeker!"

"That's great! Two Chasers have left. Ron's the Keeper; he's…pretty good when he sets his mind to it. And the new Beaters are called Kirke and Sloper, dunno what their first names are. Well they're rubbish anyway…" said Harry, looking quite forlorn, "Quidditch is the only thing I'm looking forward to in school."

"I'm just worried about the way people will treat me and think of me," murmured Roxanne.

"Hmm…I can just imagine what Malfoy would say. But don't worry, me and Ron's second favourite sport is beating the sh –"

"There's a Malfoy at the school?" asked Roxanne, thunderstruck.

"Yeah, Draco Malfoy…let me guess, you're related?" said Harry in a cynical tone.

"By marriage," said Roxanne, waving her hand as if trying to waft away the unpleasantness of being related to him. "I can't believe they've kept him in school! He's been leaking out information about Hogwarts since he started there!"

"What?"

"My aunty told me. But Lucius Malfoy hushed them up with money, as usual," said Roxanne heatedly.

"That little slime-ball," muttered Harry, massaging his knuckles, "is Dumbledore stupid?"

"No," said Roxanne, shaking her dark, silky mane of hair, "he needs Malfoy too. Rumour has it he once used Veritaserum on him to find out something. Then wiped Draco's memory."

"Bet he's done it more than once."

"I hope so. Anyway Harry, I'm really tired. I'll see you in the morning," she said. She gave Harry a quick hug and then walked out of the room. Harry fell asleep that night with a big grin on his face.