~Everything's Not What It Seems~
Alex and Justin are siblings sent to Hogwarts to learn about magic just like their father. There they meet new friends, fall in love, and find out that truly everything is not what it seems.
Disclaimer: J.K Rowling and Disney Channel own the right to all these character. I am only borrowing them :)
Alex grabbed onto both sides of her pillow and pressed the pillow against both her ears. Why do these stupid wizards insist on waking up early! She just wanted to sleep in one time. ONE TIME!
"Shut up!"
Alex grabbed her blanket and threw it over her head as she buried her face in her pillow. As her body began to relax into the bed, a realization entered her mind. Wait... my blanket doesn't feel like this. She turned her body over, throwing the blanket off herself. She scanned the area before her. Hospital wing?
Justin, Hermione, and Harry were standing a few feet away from her. They looked a little flustered as Max and Ron look at them in shock.
"I don't know what you mean Ron." Hermione's smiled at him.
"Will someone tell me what's going on?" Alex asked.
Harry, Hermione and Justin all turned towards her. They looked relieved when they realized she was awake.
"We did it! We saved him!" Justin said excitedly as he walked over to his sister.
"Saved who? Where's dad?" She looked between her brother, Harry and Hermione.
"We saved Sirius!" Harry answered.
"So dad is safe? He's not going to the dementors?" Alex looked hopefully at Justin.
"Alex, what are you talking about? Dad's in New York!" Alex froze as it dawned on her that Max was still in the room.
"Max…"
Before Alex could think of an excuse, Max cut her off. "No more lies Alex! I know you guys have been hiding something from me! You and Justin, even mom and dad! Just tell me what's going on! Does this have something to do with the sorting hat saying that you are like dad? How he said he hadn't seen a Russo in a long time. Why didn't he say anything like that when you guys got sorted!?"
Alex looked at her brother's frustrated expression and something snapped inside her. They had been lying to Max for years and she couldn't do it anymore. It was time to tell him the truth. Alex looked at Justin. His expression seemed to mirror hers. He was fed up with all the lies. He nodded towards her in agreement.
"Max... you're right. We have been hiding something big from you, essentially all our lives. You see..." she took a deep breath. "Justin and I aren't really your brother and sister. We're actually your distant cousins. When-"
"Oh come on Alex." Max interrupted her. "Is this like when we were little and you convinced me that Justin was our butler? I'm not gonna fall for this again!"
Alex looked at Justin to see him staring at her in disbelief. She mouthed a sorry to him before turning her attention back to Max. She ignored the snickers that came from Ron and Harry.
"Max... I... it's not a lie. We're actually your distant cousins. Your dad is our dad's cousin. Our mom died when I was only a year old and Justin was two years old. Our real dad went to jail for a crime he didn't commit. We thought he was dead all these years but he escaped Azkaban and found us so-"
"Wait." Max interrupted her. His eyes going wide. "Are you telling me, that your dad is the notorious mass murderer, Sirius Black!"
"He's not a murderer." Alex frowned.
"Hold on." Justin interjected. "How do you know about Sirius Black?"
"Oh, everyone at school talks about him like all the time. Haven't you guys heard about him around school?" Max shrugged.
Alex looked at her older brother who seems as confused as she was. They looked at Harry, Hermione and Ron, who were nodding with Max in agreement.
"Everyone at school knows about him. Then how didn't we hear anything?"
"Well Alex, you've kind of always busy with Cedric or with Fred and George. And Justin's always in the library studying..." Max explained.
Alex rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Yes, Sirius is our dad. He-"
"So you and Justin are the kids of a mass murderer? That's awesome! Wow! My uncle is a convict!" Max cheered.
"Um-"
"You think he'd tell me what it's like to be in the slammer? Man, I gotta go tell my frog." Max stood up and started talking to himself.
"Wait, Max-" Justin tried calling after their little brother but he was already heading towards the doors of the hospital wing. Justin looked at Alex in disbelief but she just shrugged.
"Well... he took that well..."
"His reaction was very…" Justin paused, considering his word. "... very Max? Yeah, that's it. It was a very Max reaction. Lucky for us, he took it extremely well." Justin smiled at his sister in relief.
"So... where is dad?"
Justin sighed as he walked closer to his sister. He took the seat beside her bed where Max was seated a moment ago. "He's safe. I'm sorry you didn't get the chance to see dad before he left. We had to get him out of here before the dementors got to him. He sends you his love and promises we'll see him again."
"He's gone?" And she didn't even get to see him. Alex's heart dropped a little at the thought. She'd barely got to spend time with him. "What did he say?"
"He said a lot. He actually wanted to tell you but since he couldn't, be told Harry and I to tell you. For one, I had a godfather, Harry's dad. Guess we're more connected to the Potters than we knew. And dad, he is Harry's godfather. And.." Justin smiled at his sister.
"What?" Justin smirked at her. "Stop being a jerk, what else did dad say?" Alex shoved her brother. He laughed as he tried to keep his balance on the chair he was seated on.
"Okay, okay! He told us that Professor Lupin is your godfather."
"Really?" Alex smiled as Justin nodded in confirmation.
This explained why he'd been so nice to her since the day they'd met. And why he'd been so surprised to see her. It also explained why he kept making comments on how he would have told them everything if it was up to him. She thought maybe it was because he was friends with their dad. But if this was all true, why didn't they grow up with him?
"I need to go see him!" Alex jumped off her bed and pushed past her brother. She could hear her brother and their friends call after her but she ignored them as she quickly ran out of the hospital wing.
~~~~~
Alex opened the door to Professor Lupin's office, not bothering to knock as she slipped into the room. She found him kneeled on the floor next to a bookcase, a stack of books in one arm. She noticed there were more books stacked on the floor besides a suitcase. "You're leaving?"
Lupin smiled, dropping the books on the floor beside him as he picked up a folded parchment and waved it over his shoulder. "I saw you coming."
"Why are you packing? Did they fire you? They can't! You can't go!" Alex walked over to him as he stood up and turned around.
He looked at Alex with a sad smile "Alex, I wasn't fired. I resigned. Soon word that I'm a werewolf is going to reach parents and owls will be sent by tomorrow. I don't want to go through that. It's best I just go on my own now."
He turned back towards the stack of books and picked them up in his arms. Alex watched with tear-filled eyes as Lupin packed the rest of his belongings with his wand.
First her father and now her godfather. Just as she found out about her dad he left. And now, just as she found out about her godfather, he was leaving too. Maybe the problem is they didn't want to stay for Alex.
Lupin turned towards Alex to find her looking at him with tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry." She quickly turned away, hoping to exit from the embarrassment of crying in front of him but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder.
"No, I'm sorry Alex. I know this must all be so overwhelming for you." Lupin said as as he turned her back towards him. "Sit." He motioned towards his desk. Alex took the chair on the opposite side of his desk while he leaned against his desk to face her.
"I know it has been tough for you, living your whole life without your parents. Living your life with the fear that you might lose your brother, the only family you thought you had left. You have it all wrong. Life isn't all loss. You never lost you father, and your mother will always be in your heart even though she isn't with you. You also had your brother Justin and the family that raised you, the Russo's. And you need to know, I was out there too and not a moment passed where I didn't think about my goddaughter." Lupin smiled at her, a look of emotion passing through his eyes. How did he know she knew? She couldn't help smiling back at him.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"I wanted to, so much. From the first time I saw you. I just didn't think it was the right time. There was so much you wanted to know and if I told you that I was you godfather, then you would have demanded I tell you everything." Lupin looked at her with a raised eyebrow. He wasn't wrong.
"Fine, I can't deny you're right about that. But, explain to me why we didn't grow up with you? Didn't you want us?"
Lupin smiled. "Alex, I'm a werewolf. How would I have cared for a two year old boy and a one year old girl whenever the moon came out? It would have been a scary and unsafe upbringing for the both of you. I wanted what was best, so I sent you two to Jerry, with your father's approval of course. The Russos happily took the both of you in and promised to keep you as far away from England as possible."
"Did you and dad decide that we shouldn't know he was alive?"
Lupin shook his head. "No. I had no idea you were not aware of your father being alive. I found out when I took the job at Hogwarts. Jerry and Professor Dumbledore were the ones who made the decision to hide this from you. I don't mean to, how you say, throw them under the bus, but it's the truth. They wanted you to have a normal upbringing and I respected that."
"I guess it makes sense. I'd never heard about Voldemort when I was at my American wizard school. None of the wizards spoke of him either. It would have been easier to hide everything from us if we were nowhere near the British Ministry of Magic."
Lupin nodded in agreement. "When I found out you were here, I called Jerry. I demanded he explain to me why my goddaughter wasn't thousands of miles away, living the life of a muggle. He failed to mention that you thought your father was dead. But he did tell me he kept you and your brother away from anything related to the life you would have had. I knew I had to be careful around you. I couldn't let anything slip that you were not aware of. Everyone knew your father as a murderer, and I couldn't risk putting you, Justin, and even Max in danger."
"That's what Jerry told us when we were younger." Alex remembered. "I was six years old when Uncle Jerry and Aunt Theresa told us about our parents. He told us we could never tell anyone or try to find out more about our past beyond what he tells us. He said we would be at risk of putting ourselves and Max in danger."
"And he was right." Lupin nodded.
Alex remembered that as she was growing up, it was that one thought that kept her from ever trying to find out anything about their mother and father. The worry looming over her at the possibility of her brothers getting hurt. Especially Justin, who was the last family she had left.
"Alex, are you alright?" Alex quickly composed herself before looking at Lupin.
"Yes, I'm fine. I'm just trying to take it all in. Thank you for this. I think I really needed this one moment where someone told me something real. I was upset when I came in here and saw that you were leaving. I was thinking about how I gained a dad and a godfather and they were both leaving me already. But now I know that's not true. My dad and my godfather were always here and they will always be here." Alex smiled at Lupin. "And I'm really glad you're my godfather. I couldn't ask for a better one. I wish we had more time and that you weren't leaving. I already miss you and you haven't even left. But now... I know I'll see you again and when I do, be prepared to make up for all the years that were lost."
Lupin smiled, nodding at Alex as he stood up straight. "Without a doubt." He walked over to the shelf where he was pulling book from earlier and grabbed the folded parchment he had left there. He also picked up a small, wrapped box before walking back over to her. He held out the parchment to her first. "This parchment belongs to Harry. I hope you will return it to him." Alex nodded, taking it from him. He held out the box next. "This box is also for you. You and your brother actually. It contains two items, one that belongs to you and the other that belongs to your brother. I think it's time I give it to you both." Alex nodded, taking the box from him.
"Thank you."
"Alex, I am looking forward to seeing you soon. I promise, we will most definitely be seeing each other again." Alex watched with a smile as Lupin grabbed his bags from the corner of the room and made his way out of the office.
~~~~~
Alex walked into the great hall, the box and parchment given to her by Lupin in each hand. Alex made her way to her usual spot at the Gryffindor table as she watched a swarm of students surround Harry at the center of the table. Ron amongst them. She rolled her eyes as a few of the third year boys ooh'd and aww'd as Harry and Ron showcased a broom to them. Alex turned her attention to the end of the table where she found her brother already seated with Hermione right across from him. Hermione waved her over and she took a seat beside her brother.
"We were wondering where you were." Hermione smiled at her.
"Here I am." Alex shrugged.
"Can you believe that this year is almost over?" Ron said, shaking his head as he and Harry took the empty seats on either side of Hermione.
"It went by quickly, but it was another good year." Hermione smiled.
"What's with the box?" Alex looked at Justin who was eyeing the wrapped box in front of her.
"Lupin gave it to me." Alex turned to Harry as she held out the parchment that was for him. "Lupin also wanted me to give you this."
Harry's eyes went wide as he took the parchment from her. "Why… why did he give this back to me?"
"He left you know, he… resigned." Harry's eyes grew wider as he stared at Alex. She looked around the table to see the others bowing their heads sadly. They all already knew "Anyway, he gave me this box, he said there's something in it for Justin and me."
She pushed the box towards Justin who eyed it a while longer before picking it up. He gently peeled off the wrapping paper to reveal a small black chest. Justin looked at Alex questioningly.
"Well... what are you waiting for? Open it!"
He lifted the lid off the chest as both of them leaned in to look inside. Alex smiled in excitement as her eyes fell on the item closest to her in the box. They each picked up one of the items. Alex picked up a purple-jeweled pendant on a black chain. One she remember her mother describing in her journal as a gift from their dad. Justin picked up a silver hand mirror. Alex looked at the item in her brother's hand and became momentarily distracted when she realized what it was.
"Is that-" She started.
Justin nodded, interrupting his sister. "Yes. It's the mirror that mom and dad used to use to talk to each other with during the summer and winter breaks. Mom's mirror was silver so this must be hers."
Justin smiled as he began polishing the mirror. What a dork. She rolled her eyes at him but couldn't help the smile that dawned on her face as well. Now they each had something that belonged to their mom.
"There's a letter." Alex looked at Justin to see him pointing into the box. Her eyes also went to the box and she noticed the envelope inside. As she was about to reach for it, they were interrupted by a group of Gryffindors that had made their way towards them.
"Harry, aren't you going to test out your thunderbolt?" Seamus appeared behind Alex.
"I'd love to see how fast that broom rides." Ron said excitedly.
"Harry, let's go so you can try it out. Justin, Alex, you both should come too!" Hermione stood up and walked over to her, pulling Alex from the table. Alex stared at the chest in front of her brother as he placed the necklace and mirror back inside and closed it.
"We can look at this later." He smiled at her before pulling out his wand and flashing the box away.
"Fine." Alex let Hermione drag her outside with the rest of the Gryffindors.
Updated!
