Disclaimer: I don't know if you haven't noticed this but....I'm not JK Rowling. Far from her, actually...so do you really think I'd claim her characters? No...I do own Roz.
AN- Correct me if you disagree with this story, I don't care. I like the idea, and I didn't know anything about his family...so I made it up. Including his mother and father's name...of course, if anyone DOES know their name, I'd appreciate you telling me! Thanks! And...does anyone know a good beta?
Chapter 3: Blackmail
I ran up the sixteen steps to the front porch and burst through the front door. It came! It finally came! After ten years of being told it would come, I finally recieved my acceptance letter to Hogwarts. "Mummy! Mummy! It finally came! Let's go to--Oh." I stopped, my tennis shoes screeching on the white marble floors as I did so. My parents were gathered around a couch. I could see tears in my mother's eyes.
"What's happened?" I asked, my voice dropping to a whisper. Papa turned around, gazed at my face before glancing down at my letter. He sighed and turned back to the couch. I looked too. Remus was laying across the couch, his body covered to his neck in blankets. I could tell he was running a fever. Peeking around my father's side, I took a look at my brother.
His eyes were rimmed with red while the rest of his face was a ghastly pale. My mouth opened into an 'o' shape. Before I could even ask what was wrong, my mother spun on her heel and grasped my shoulders. I was turned around and rushed out of the room as if I had some infectious disease that would harm Remus even further. "Mum, what's wrong with him?"
"He just had a rough weekend, Roz. Please, go upstairs and...and I'll be up in a little while to call you for supper." I nodded and lifted the envelope, turning around.
"I got my..." The large living room doors snapped shut. "...letter."
The ride home was bumpy, to put it nicely, unlike how I wanted to say it. We were on the Knight Bus so you can imagine how uncomfortable I was at the present moment. The couch I was seated on, or should I say smashed into, was crowded by me, Remus, Sirius, and James. Peter sat on the arm chair across from us while my parents had to move upstairs to the couches up there.
Needless to say, I wish I had Peter's seat right about now.
He was smiling as the chair rolled around, slamming into the side of the couch as the driver, an older man with greying black hair turned a sharp left. "First stop on the right, Ernie!" Mum yelled down from the second floor. Her voice shook as she spun in her easy chair, hitting against Papa. He chuckled softly and I took my eyes away from them. I rolled my eyes and gripped the side of the couch tighter as I prepared to withstand the abrupt stop ahead. Sure enough, the bus lurched forward, sending me sprawling across my brother and his friend's lap.
"Oi, Roz.." Remus muttered, lifting his legs, dumping my own into the floor. "The Lupin Estate." The conductor announced, pointing with his hand toward the door. I gathered my backpack from the floor, along with the pink suitcase, and rushed out, thanking God above for not making me puke in front of his friends. (Which is what usually happens when we randomly take the Knight Bus.)
"Roz, go call Mitzie down." I nodded and bounded down the red, stone walkway as the Knight Bus roared away from the side walk. I didn't bother to tote my bags, the house elfs would get it. As soon as my feet were on the porch, I pressed the white intercom button, making a small beep ring out in the air. "Yes, madame?" A squeeky voice replied. I smiled and spoke back. "Send Gregory down for the bags please, dear." Mitzie abliged and I skipped back to the walk way. Mum and Papa were checking the bags to make sure they had not forgotten any from the Knight Bus.
By the time they clasped their hands together in delight, Gregory and Mitzie were running out from the side of the house, scuttling to our bags. "Did the Master have a good train ride?" Gregory said, bowing to Remus who only nodded simply. Why does he think the full moon gives him the right to be a bastard? I should be able to be the bitch I want to be around a 'full moon' that only the women have to go through.
"Roz?" Mum asked, smiling down at me before walking on. And then there was that. She addressed me as if to ask me a question, then walks away. This isn't the only time, it's been like that since...I was three. "Come on, honey." I nodded and followed behind my family. My ears tuned in and out of the conversation my father was having with Remus. "Are you sure?"
"Yes Dad. They can come, they know what to do." My eyes narrowed on the back of my brothers head. Who can come? When? Where? Why is he going anywhere when its a full moon in less than three hours? Well, there's only one thing Rosalyn A. Lupin can do. Follow my brother, spy on him, then have some fun....
I glanced down at my watch. 5:27. There was still three minutes to spare and I only had to do one more thing. "Mum? I'm not feeling well. Why don't you and Papa just have supper together?"
"Are you sure? Is everything alright?" She lifted her eyes over the novel she had opened in front of her face. I pressed my lips together and nodded with a shrug. "Just a headache." Before she nodded, I turned on my heel and walked back up the stairs. That is, until I reached the second floor. Remus was already gone, heading toward the cellar. Oh, don't worry. My parents didn't make him go there every full moon. He volunteered to make sure we were safe.
What a suck-up.
I tip-toed to the large window at the end of the hallway, pressing my hands against the glass. The fading sunlight was enough to let me see three shadowy figures crossing the front yard. Sirius was leading, followed by Peter with James making the back. With a smile, I opened the window, slipped out onto the sloping roof and carefully made my way to the drain pipe.
Getting down was harder than I anticipated. With my legs dangling off the side of the roof, I shimmied over to the thin strip of ivy, hoping a vine would at least be strong enough to hold my weight. Of course, there wasn't and I ended up falling off the roof. I slammed into the bushes, leaves and twigs sticking into every exposed inch of skin on my body.
With a groan, I stood up and looked out over the yard. James had just turned into the cellar, letting the door slam shut behind him. Little did they know, that the door didn't have a sturdy lock. Letting it shut wouldn't do the trick.
I climbed out of the bushes and ran through the shadows, hiding from the last rays of the Sun as I did so. Once I reached the cellar, I cautiously looked around in case someone had seen me, and decided to follow along.
Alas, there was no one, and I opened the door to the cellar. I was instantly met with darkness. How the boys manuvered their way through, I couldn't figure out. But, I was soon to find out.
With one step into the darkness, I whipped out my wand and whispered into it. "Lumos Maximos!" A bright flood of light hit the tunnel exposing every inch of cobweb and wall there was. In addition to the usual things one would find int a dusty tunnel that has been unused for most of the year, there were two animals about twenty feet in front of me. One, a wolf, and the other a deer. Hardly a pair that would be found waltzing around in the dark.
My mouth dropped at the sight of the wolf, and I backed up into the metal door. My elbow knocked into the switch and the only exit locked behind me. "Oh shit!" I shouted, dropping my wand to the floor, letting it roll to the walls. I spun on my heel and clutched the side of the lock. It was jammed, just my luck.
All I could think of was how close that wolf had to be to me by now. I'd be torn apart in seconds. But, I wasn't met with a bite to my body.
"Roz! What the hell are you doing here?! Your brother's already turned!" I spun around, my back slamming against the door. Sirius Black stood before me, his eyes blazing with something that I couldn't describe. They didn't look angry, or even crazy. But I can tell you that he wasn't too thrilled to see me standing their either.
"What the hell am I doing here?! And of course he's already turned! Which is why I want to know why you were here...wait...What happened to the....growling...and...wolf?" Perfect way to show your Ravenclaw abilities. Hah! Rowena would be proud of me. I'm in the smartest house and I can't even form a coherent sentence.
"Shit." James muttered, running a hand over the back of his neck. He was sweating heavily with beads of prespiration rolling down his temple. He didn't look very comfortable. "Tell her the truth...I'll be..." He never finished his sentence for a second later, he was, right before my very eyes, transforming into that same stag I saw earlier. My jaw opened even farther than it already had been.
"Oh wow, James is half deer." Sarcasm dripped from my voice. How could they be animagi and not tell me?!
"What? No..We're animagi, Roz."
"I'm not stupid." I rolled my eyes. Clearly he hadn't picked up on my being sarcastic. Sirius sighed heavily and put his hand on my shoulder, pushing me aside so he could wrench the lock up, allowing me a free exit.
"You can't breathe a word of this, ok? We're...we're not technically...listed as animagi." This made my eyebrow raise nearly two inches above its normal position.
"What do you mean by 'technically'? Either you are listed...or you're not."
"We're not."
"Oh Goodie." A grin stretched on my lips and I bent to pick up my still lit wand. Sirius didn't quite understand what I meant. Perhaps I should spell it out for him. "Confused? Listen good...B-L-A-C-K-M-A-I-L. Pass that little message on to my dear, poor, aching brother. He'll know what I mean by it." And before Sirius could grab me and probably slap me like he wanted to do, I cross the lawn and bounced up the stairs. Giving one last look at the cellar door before I left, I smiled and turned on my heel.
I was really hoping to find a way to get to London over this break. And it seems I have my way.
AN- Please review! This story will be sort of long...and it's just all about Roz and how hard it is to be Remus' sister. Also, there's a bit of romance involved...but I'm not revealing anything. Thanks to my reviewers: WickedFaith, Trinity Cloud, hunni07, and FeemeLoki! this one's for you!
