Hello hello my lovelies!
I know it's been the better part of a month since I last updated, but to be quite honest this month has been insanely hectic. Either way, I'm really happy with the response to the last chapter, and I know I didn't really respond to that many reviews, but I'm going to try to this week. Peter isn't the easiest character to get people to like, but my headcanon of him is that he was a Marauder in every single way, and he was someone that the other three trusted inexplicably.
Massive beta love to the amazing superwholocked-out-harry-potter on tumblr xo
Please leave a review and let me know what you think ;)
My tumblr: indiebluecrown. tumblr. com
Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, and only the story line and any OC's belong to me.
Friday, March 18th, 1977
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Sixth Year Gryffindor Girl's Dormitories
"Has anyone started the Potions essay we're supposed to be writing?" Hermione asked. The raven haired witch was lying on her stomach on her four poster bed; elbows digging into the soft mattress as she propped up her face in her hand. Normally she'd be working at her desk, but she was knackered from the impromptu game of Quidditch amongst several people in each house during lunch.
Hermione absently flicked to the next page of her Arithmancy textbook, and she pressed her lips together to suppress a yawn, whilst she perused the first few paragraphs of page three hundred and fourteen.
Hermione, Alice and Lily were alone in their dorm—after dinner Kira and Nancy popped in just long enough to change before they wandered over to the Ravenclaw Tower; apparently Lysander Smith and his mates were hosting a party.
Abruptly, out of nowhere, "Frank and I broke up!" erupted from Alice's lips.
Hermione's eyes shot up from her book and her mouth fell open in shock. Lily flew up off of her bed, almost falling face first on the ground as she was still tangled up in her sheets. Alice was facing away from both of them, shoulders hunched, head bowed, and quill in hand as she had seemingly been diligently working away.
"I beg your pardon?" Hermione asked dumbly, at a loss for words. The witch closed her textbook and shifted into a sitting position before she scooted off the end of her bed—in one continuous motion she deftly used her trunk at the foot of her bed to propel herself forward as she jumped off of it onto the ground. In a matter of moments she was beside Alice's side.
Lily was already there, and had promptly wrapped Alice in a tight embrace. When Hermione shifted so she could get a better look at Alice's face, she was met with a watery smile. Slow, fat tears were rolling down Alice's cheeks, and Hermione instinctively moved forward and engulfed the other two girls in a hug. She didn't care that Alice's hair was tickling her nose, or how awkwardly her body was twisted.
How did I not notice? Leaden guilt boiled in Hermione's gut and she mentally kicked herself for not even realising anything was amiss with her fellow lioness.
A few minutes later, the girls had relocated to Alice's bed and were sitting in a misshapen circle as Alice regaled the deterioration of her relationship with Frank.
"It was doubt...it's rare that the person you start dating when you're twelve is the person you'll spend the rest of your life with," Alice breathed in deeply, her eyes fluttering closed. "Well, with the exception of when you've been betrothed to them practically from the time you're born."
"Which often happens amongst Purebloods," Hermione nodded solemnly, and Lily was the only one who looked slightly perplexed.
Hermione knew that Lily had vague notions of what Pureblood society was like after being around so many Purebloods for the past five years, but she also knew that they weren't really the best examples; they often ignored a lot of the finer intricacies and rules that other families abided by.
Although Hermione did not know what she classified herself as anymore. Due to her adoption and the familial bond she'd forged with the Potters, her magical signature had changed (which she supposed technically made her a Pureblood).
"So when Sirius used to joke about arranged marriages...he was being serious?" Lily asked, tucking her short locks behind her ear—they'd already started to grow back, and Lily's hair growth rate was kind of astounding.
"He's always Sirius," Hermione said unwittingly. The words simply flew out of her mouth. On the bright side, the lame joke drew a soft chuckle from Alice.
Alice let her head fall onto Lily's shoulder, and with her eyes firmly fixed on her folded hands in her lap, she continued, "so we broke up at the end of January, and since then I've been on a few dates with a couple other boys, but it wasn't the same."
"You went on dates with other boys? How did no one notice? How did those boys not brag and tell the whole school?" Lily fired question after question, and Hermione noticed that Alice's knuckles were turning white.
"I don't know how no one noticed," Alice said quietly, and each word prodded at Hermione's chest, and drove the stake of guilt further into her heart. "The dates weren't really that exciting? A few kisses here and there, lots of awkward conversations, and far too many long silences."
Hermione never had to go through any of the uncomfortable dating experiences that Alice was listing off, and explaining in further detail at the request of Lily—who was doing a wonderful job of making Alice laugh.
The closest I would be to any of that was with Viktor, Hermione mused as she flipped through her memories back in time to her Fourth Year.
Viktor was sweet, took great care with his words when he vocalised his thoughts, and he listened. Nothing improper ever happened between them and it was a sweet relationship that never extended past hand holding, and some chaste but warm kisses on the cheek. Part of her wondered what would have occurred if she'd been brave enough to press her lips to his on one of their numerous afternoons spent quietly reading in one of the secluded corners of the library, but she immediately brushed off the thought.
Hermione cleared her throat, and her companions froze mid conversation to give her their full attention. "To make up for being a terrible friend, I propose that we help you get your wizard back."
Alice's fragile smile faltered and the light flickered out of her eyes, "oh...I don't know, Mione. Frank was the one who originally proposed we spend some time apart, what if he's happier now that we've broken up?"
"Unless we're thinking of different Franks, I'm almost positive that he's just as miserable without you as you are without him," Lily jumped in, and then with a furrowed brow she tacked on, "not that you need someone else in order to be happy. It's just that every time you two are together you light up like the sun."
"Frank hand sew that little red velvet waistcoat for Sir Nicholas so he would have a Christmas outfit, trust me, that boy is in love with you," Hermione grinned, reaching out to place a hand on top of Alice's.
Alice sat up a little bit straighter, and with a hesitant smile, asked, "okay, so what do you have in mind?"
The Next Morning
"This is insane," Alice said for the ninth time in less than five minutes. Hermione knew because she'd been keeping a running tally in her mind.
"People win back the love of their life with song and dance all the time," Lily said firmly, nodding her head curtly and a severe look of determination was fixed to her features. "Trust me, it happens in all the movies."
"The what?" Alice asked with a blank look, not an ounce of recognition on her face.
They had been standing at the entrance of the Great Hall for an excessive amount of time, and they were beginning to draw a bit of attention to themselves.
Strangely enough, in a way Lily was right, this entire thing made Hermione think of the 'You're the One That I Want' scene from Grease. Except in this case she was one of the Pink Ladies and Alice was Sandy.
"Not important," Hermione said with a dismissive wave of her hand, "what's important is that this is going to work."
Alice sighed heavily, "I hope so."
"Ready, Lils?" Hermione asked, her heart pounding.
Lily swallowed audibly, and very quietly said, "I think so."
Hermione's mind wandered to some of the public exploits that the other Marauders (not to mention Fabian Prewett and James Thomas) had conducted over the years; not even a week ago Sirius had jumped on his desk in Transfiguration, and began to serenade McGonagall as she walked into the classroom. Where do they find the confidence to essentially make fools of themselves in front of the whole school? Hermione mused.
"Frank Longbottom!" Alice yelled, her cheeks rosy and ears tinged pink.
Anyone that hadn't been staring at them before certainly was now. Lily closed her eyes, raised her wand and began chanting.
In that moment Hermione realised something: she didn't care if she made a fool of herself, and she didn't care if she looked like an absolute idiot.
Creamy white flower petals began to gently cascade from the ceiling, and Lily's brow furrowed in concentration.
Alice practically ran towards where Frank was sitting—shell shocked and rooted in place—at the end of Gryffindor table close to the front of the Great Hall. Whilst Alice made her way there, kicking up petals as she went, Hermione saw that as her opportunity.
Hermione began to sing. Even if Hermione was never going to win any awards or prizes for her voice, she could carry a tune, and in a way her singing was pleasant to listen to. (She'd sung soft lullabies to Draco over the years after they'd woken up from nightmares to help lull him back to sleep.)
Hermione closed her eyes, and she could feel the petals gathering on top of her head, but that did not slow her down. She sang an old song of reunited love that Missus Weasley used to sing lowly whenever she was waiting for Arthur to come home.
Hermione had many fond memories of being curled up by the fireplace, of delicious smells swirling together and wafting from the kitchen into the rest of the house whilst Missus Weasley sang. Oftentimes Hermione would be assisting her in the kitchen, or with the washing, or with any of the other tasks that Molly needed help with.
Hermione's eyes were closed so she didn't witness the moment that Alice bravely confessed that she was still in love with Frank, or how Frank stammered out his feelings.
"I've been such a fool, a bloody idiot, Alice," Frank said.
Lily squealed, and Hermione's eyes snapped open and she caught sight of the moment that Frank gathered Alice into his arms, lifted her up, and swung her around in a circle.
Lily threw her arms around Hermione in her exuberant excitement, and Hermione finished off her note before letting a laugh escape her lips.
"C'mon, let's go join the others," Hermione suggested, and Lily eagerly nodded.
In no time flat Hermione and Lily reached the others, and when Hermione met Draco's eye, she saw amusement and pride splayed across his features, and she quickly averted her gaze before anyone noticed her blushing.
"I don't want to date other people. Dating other people sucked. The entire time I wished I was with you. I was an idiot, and I just want you, Alice. I just want you," Frank said a ways away, his face buried into Alice's neck and he clutched her to him tightly. Hermione was so busy eavesdropping that she didn't realise that someone had saddled up beside her until they began speaking.
"That is the cutest shite I have ever seen."
Hermione whirled around to face Kira, and her brow drew together slightly as she saw the dark circles under Kira's eyes, and how her bright blue eyes looked a bit dull. "It is some really cute shite...what, doesn't Peter say mushy things to you when you are alone?" Hermione sent Kira an audacious wink, but the smile on her face fell when sticky guilt spread across Kira's features.
"Peter and I...well, we, he...we decided that it would be better to stay friends." Kira was wringing her hands together in front of her, and she lowered her gaze to her feet.
Hermione's eyebrows shot up towards her hairline, but she quickly stifled the surprise on her face, and with a soft sigh she pulled Kira in for a comforting hug. At least she hoped it was comforting.
Kira's voice wobbled a bit, and was slightly muffled, but Hermione still perfectly heard the next statement that fell from her lips, "it's funny. I was actually really starting to like spending time with him. He's incredibly sweet, and gentle, but I guess he didn't feel the same way about me."
Hermione jerked back, hands on Kira's upper arms and eyes wide, "wait, Peter was the one who suggested you break it off?"
Kira couldn't meet Hermione's eye, and she was staring off towards where Frank and Alice had been. Hermione followed her friend's line of sight and saw that the Marauders were all gathered around Frank now, clapping him on the back and cracking jokes, whilst Alice was clinging to Lily with a radiant smile on her face; Lily was toying with the ends of Alice's short hair and humming lightly as Alice rapidly spoke into Lily's ear.
Sirius jumped onto Frank's back and ruffled his hair, "true love does exist!" Sirius exclaimed joyously.
Most of the other students had gone back to minding their own business, whereas some were still watching the two lions reunion; they were entranced by the infectious joy that they were witnessing. Hermione was almost caught up in it herself, but the information Kira had just imparted on her was relentlessly prodding at her cerebrum.
"When did Peter break things off, Kira?"
"Last week Sunday. Why?"
What was Sunday? Wait, that was the day after the last Quidditch game of the season...which we won...but Peter, Peter wasn't in the stands during the game. However, he did show up on the Pitch afterwards during the festivities. Now that I think about it...I don't recall seeing him at all during the day on Saturday. I assumed he was off with Kira somewhere, but...she was in the stands, and her hair was gold to show her support. Right, dammit. Nancy's hair was red. I remember thinking they both looked amazing. Hermione's mind raced and tried to fit the pieces together. She was clearly missing something.
"Hermione?"
Hermione flinched as Kira's voice jolted her out of her thick contemplation, "ah, no reason. I was just curious."
Hermione's eyes darted about until they landed on Draco—his face was alight with laughter, but upon seeing her expression the smile faded away and was replaced by mild concern.
"What's wrong?" Draco mouthed.
Hermione shook her head, and weakly her lips tugged up into a smile. The witch dropped her head onto Kira's shoulder and wrapped her arms around the girl's waist.
I don't know, Hermione thought, eyes locked on Peter as he animatedly began to talk to Sirius about something she couldn't quite make out. I don't know.
Wednesday, March 23rd, 1977
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Library
Sirius fingered the letter in his hands, his eyes boring into blood red seal on the back of the cream envelope.
For the last couple of weeks Sirius had forgotten all about his familial troubles, about the War, and he threw himself into his work and Riley to forget about the passing of his Uncle; Alphard was one of his only relatives that he could without a shadow of a doubt say that he liked. Unfortunately the wizard had passed away almost two weeks ago now.
Then reality came, literally sailed through the window, and into the Great Hall this morning when a tawny owl with a standoffish disposition (he'd given it a treat, and it had pecked the palm of his hand before taking flight once more) had deposited an envelope in front of him. Not just any letter, a letter from the Ministry of Magic; which in his experience was rarely ever a good thing.
Sirius seldom frequented the library (he only ever came when he was prepping for exams), but it was a quiet place, and he needed a secluded corner to stick himself in. Right after classes finished, he meandered there, found a corner that was out of the way and plopped him and his book bag down. Sirius had been staring at the letter for a solid twenty minutes—he found himself incapable of just opening it.
Sirius wasn't sure how she knew where to find him, but he caught a whiff of sunshine, and looked up to see Riley peer around the long bookcase that he was essentially hiding behind. The Hufflepuff's face sparked with glee when she laid eyes on him, and she skipped over to him.
"Found you," Riley whispered happily, dropping down beside him and instantly making herself at home.
She folded her skirt underneath her, and extended her legs out in front of her, and she closed her eyes and let out a sigh. Sirius smirked when she reached out with a slightly dirty hand and grabbed a hold of his. "I know my hands are dirty, I hope you don't mind. I was helping Professor Sprout after class ended and before I knew it I was replanting things.
"Do you want a reward for all your hard work?" Sirius asked gently, lifting their clasped hands and placing a light kiss to the top of her hand.
Riley's eyes fluttered open and she smiled lazily, "what kind of reward?"
"I would say anything you want, but you're far more devious than you look," Sirius chuckled softly, letting his head fall back against the wall—a touch harder than he'd intended, so he ended up wincing.
"Sirius Black, I have no idea what you're talking about," Riley pursed her lips, shaking her head as she leaned in and quickly pecked his lips.
He so desperately wanted more, but they were in public, and someone could come around the corner at any moment. They shouldn't even be here together; they were supposed to be broken up.
Thus, in an effort to distract himself he turned his attention back to the letter, the accursed letter.
"Is that the one you got this morning?"
"Were you spying on me, Miss Paddington?"
"Mayhaps...what's it about?"
"Deflection," Sirius grinned toothily, "I like it."
Sirius removed his hand from Riley's so he could turn the letter over so that the seal was staring at him once more. "I don't know who sent it or why, just that it's someone from the Ministry."
Riley threaded a hand into his hair and her thumb soothingly stroked the side of his head, "it's okay. We can open it together if that will help."
Sirius ran the tip of his tongue back and forth across his bottom lip in thought, and after a long moment said, "that actually makes me feel a little better. Thanks, doll."
He could have opened it more eloquently, but he ended up messily tearing up the envelope. When he removed the parchment, a small rectangular card and a thin silver key flew out of the envelope and landed in his lap.
Dear Sirius Black,
Normally the Ministry does not interfere in Gringotts business as we do not have the jurisdiction to do so, but allegedly there was a bit of an altercation at the bank between the Goblins and two members of your family who were acting against the last living will and testament of your late Uncle Alphard Black. Thus we were asked to step in and clear up any misunderstandings.
Now that that has been dealt with, attached is the letter that was originally sent from Gringotts to your last known place of residence.
Sincerely,
Celeste Maxwell
Celeste Maxwell
Gringotts Wizarding Bank Liaison
Sirius was baffled. Firstly because he did not know that there was even such a position in the Ministry, and secondly the two members of his family that the note referred to must be Walburga and Orion. Why would they have made such a public scene? Sirius thought as he unfolded the parchment that appeared as though it had been crumpled harshly, and someone had tried to smooth it out to appear somewhat decent.
As Sirius's eyes scanned the letter, Riley had picked up the card and was casually perusing it.
Sirius's eyes widened with every word he took in, and his face got closer and closer as he devoured the latter half of it.
"Fuck, Riles"
"What?" Riley asked immediately, worry threaded through her voice.
"He left me everything."
"Everything?" Riley repeated, dumbfounded.
"Everything in his vaults at least...at the bottom here that Celeste woman scribbled that apparently he was going to give me his house as well, but Walburga sold it before he was even in the ground; in spite of the fact that she had no right to do anything of the sort."
"That's horrible...your Mother is dreadful," Riley gasped.
"Celeste apologises, she says the gold was already deposited into Walburga's personal account, and the Goblins are refusing to budge on that front."
"So they aren't going to do anything about it?"
"Nope, it's probably too much effort on the Ministry's part to take umbrage with the current Heads of the Black family. Plus that would mean taking on the Goblins, and the Ministry wouldn't jeopardise their fragile accord with them over a disowned teenager."
"That is thoroughly messed up," Riley said, stunned and shaking her head in disbelief. Quietly she rested her head on his shoulder and took his hand once more.
After several moments of serene silence, Riley piped up, "what are you thinking?"
"I'm still taking everything in...he left me all of it, Riles. He floated me a bit after I was disowned, but everything in his vault?" Sirius toyed with the parchment and blew out an abrasive puff of air.
"That is kind of mental..." Riley trailed off, "you should put it in savings or...something. I don't exactly understand how Gringotts interest rates work, or quite frankly, how it works at all. I probably should."
"That's a whole other issue in and of itself, I'll have to ask Charlus to help me during Easter Break," Sirius said with a furrowed brow.
"It's crazy how quickly this year is going isn't it?" Riley commented, snuggling into his side further.
"Yea, crazy," Sirius said dully, his mind elsewhere. The letter had opened the floodgates to the outside world: it had reminded him that there was an entire world outside of the safe bubble of somewhat blissful ignorance that Hogwarts provided. It reminded him that outside the Castle's walls, the beginning of a war awaited them all.