Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything you can recognise from any books or TV series or movies. I do however take liberties with the plots or mentions provided by JKR or other writers. The only profit I'm getting out of it is improving my English.
Title: The Blacks: Semper Slytherin
Rating/Warnings: R/M [AU; Slytherin!Sirius; Black family feels; profanity; canon-typical violence; references to child abuse of physical, verbal and sexual nature (affecting multiple characters though not all at the same time with the exception of Sirius); wizarding politics; description of a panic attack.
Chapter summary: First days of school.
Word count: Around 8900 words.
Author's note/personal ramble: It's been a long time but I hope that you're still interested in this story. Well, at least it was less than a year and a half and I'm still invested in this story and at the moment I might be a bit more invested in it than in Secrets & Keepers because I feel slightly burned out by that one. And it's not that I don't have ideas for it because I do but between too many ideas and my own problems at the moment I'm unable to muster the energy for writing the next chapter. I will eventually get to it but at the moment I'm in a headspace for this story. Hopefully, that means that I will have the next chapter of Semper Slytherin ready sometime this year.
Another, the most important, thing: It's a Slytherin!Sirius AU, therefore, his placing will affect literally everything but most importantly it will affect his budding friendship with James Potter. So, consider yourselves warned.
Dedicated to all of my readers who stuck with me for so long. Thank You, I hope that You will find this story enjoyable. I would be the most grateful for constructive criticism.
Remember upon the conduct of each depends the fate of all.
~Alexander the Great
The Blacks: Semper Slytherin
Chapter three: The School
Next morning Sirius woke up to Snape already closing the door. It wasn't exactly a slam but it was far from being a considerate and quiet gesture. It could have been worse, he reminded himself. At the very least they promised to try to be civil.
He sat up, stretched out his arms and checked his watch. He had enough time left before breakfast for a quick wash. While he was dressing up he contemplated whatever or not he should bring his bag with him. It wasn't as if Slytherin dormitories were that far away from the main areas of the castle. But did he really want to keep going back and forth?
In the end he packed his bag with everything except Astronomy, figuring out that even if he had it tonight then he would be able to return to the dormitory after dinner. Out in the common room he met with Davis and Percy, who smiled at him sheepishly and was about to apologise for abandoning Sirius but Sirius waved him off. Shortly after they were joined by Avery and yawning Mulciber. Other boys were either asleep or already left.
Soon enough on their way to the Great Hall they found the girls and together they herded Wilkes and Warrington from the corridor that definitely wasn't leading upstairs. They arrived at breakfast together to find Lestrange and Rosier already seated and Snape curiously missing.
Sirius glanced at Gryffindor table, searching for Evans girl and found her looking alternatively at them and around the room. Then he looked at James who was looking at the entrance door with a smirk.
Something heavy settled in his gut and he swallowed before he excused himself from the table and headed out to the entrance hall. Gryffindor and Slytherin didn't have that many areas in common outside of the classrooms where they could interact so if James was responsible for Snape's disappearance and say locking him up somewhere then it had to be relatively clo… As he scanned the entrance hall his eyes had fallen at the closet by the entrance that had its handle jammed with a mop.
He approached it and the closer he got the better he could hear the furious banging and knocking on the door that was coming from inside. He extracted the mop from the jam and was about open the door when they flew open and he found himself staring at a furious Snape.
"You wouldn't have anything to do with it, would you?" hissed Snape angrily.
"You leaving was what woke me up," replied Sirius before he threw the mop into the closet. "I arrived to Great Hall with the others a couple minutes ago. Couldn't find you there and neither did Evans, she appeared to be rather concerned."
"And you aren't asking who did this," said Snape sourly.
"Dead easy, he has no poker face whatsoever," replied Sirius with a grimace. "Come on."
They headed to breakfast together and found themselves sitting with their faces towards the rest of the school. As soon as she saw them Evans waved, most likely at Snape rather than both of them and when he looked at James he found the other boy scowling at him. He shrugged and allowed his gaze to slide over the Ravenclaw table until he found himself in Babbling's line of vision, she waved at him with a small smile and he found himself waving back.
After breakfast they received their timetables which could have been better but as far as he heard about them from Andromeda and Narcissa they also could have been worse.
On Monday morning about an hour after breakfast they had a double class of Theory of Magic that was only set to last for the first semester. Then they had a break before lunch and after lunch double Potions. Then they had nothing until dinner and after nine they had a double Astronomy.
On Tuesday they had nothing after breakfast with the exception of a single Charms lesson before lunch and after lunch there was a double period of Defence Against the Dark Arts and nothing before or after dinner.
Wednesday was the most packed as they had a double History of Magic first thing after breakfast then double Herbology and after lunch double Transfiguration and after dinner a solitary lesson of Astronomy.
On Thursday they had a double Charms before lunch with a solitary Potions lesson after that.
Fridays were relatively easy mixture of free periods between Herbology, History and Transfiguration.
Because they were a big year they shared classes. Potions and Herbology with Gryffindors and Charms and Astronomy with Ravenclaws. Weirdly they had no common classes with Hufflepuff with the exception of classes which they had with the entire year: Defence, Transfiguration, Theory of Magic and History of Magic. And while History and Theory of Magic he could understand as classes that required the presence of the entire year he couldn't see any sense in herding the entire year together in the other two lessons.
Once he noted where the Theory of Magic should be taking place he set off to write a letter to his parents and grandparents. The one meant for his parents was a dry note that simply stated where he was sorted and that he wished them both well. The one meant for his grandparents was more warmer and along with the news about him included mentions about other Slytherins. He even managed to squeeze in a short note to Reg, promising that he will write more during the weekend.
He barely made it to Theory of Magic before the bell and had found James already seated next to the Pettigrew boy at the bench meant for two people. Snape too was seated with Evans at the similar one. Predictably Percy and Davis as well as the girls grabbed similar benches. Avery was seated with Mulciber and Warrington in one meant for three people, as did Lestrange, Rosier and Wilkes.
They weren't the only people he knew but Cornfoot and Boot were sitting together, as did Jenkins and Fawley. Babbling he already found seated at the front with her friend. He chose to abandon the blatant batting of eyelashes from Gloria Yellow and found himself an empty bench behind Snape. When the bell rang a little while later he was joined by the other Gryffindor boy.
"Sorry," the boy mumbled. "Couldn't find a good spot," he added.
"I don't mind," replied Sirius as he looked at him. "Remus Lupin, right?"
"I'm surprised that you remembered," whispered the boy as the Professor walked into the classroom.
"Force of habit, Sirius Black," he offered his hand.
"I did remember that," replied the boy softly with a small smile as he shook his hand.
The lesson was dreadfully boring, at the very least to Sirius. To quote the fierce little witch whom he discovered on the playground a couple of years ago, who sadly didn't make it to Hogwarts, for people like him magic was something that got sucked out of mama's tit. Crude but not that far from truth, majority of pureblood children just learned magic as they grew, learning spells from older relatives and even using their wands before getting their own (properly subjected to Ministry's tracking spells).
He did make notes though. The class was going to end with an exam and as boring as it was he planned to pass it with a perfect score. Not that he didn't devote a moment here and there to make notes of a personal nature. The most interested in the lesson were people whom he didn't know personally or couldn't recognise by name.
Babbling for example spent as much time at fiddling with her pen as her friend did at writing everything down. Snape wrote less than Evans, just like Percy and Davis. From where he was sitting he couldn't get a good look at Cora and other girls but out of remaining boys Avery appeared to be the most interested while Mulciber appeared to be dosing on and off (periodically elbowed by the other two).
The lesson concluded with a reminder that magic outside classrooms was forbidden and they vacated the classroom. Some people hurried to class, some appeared to be going downstairs to the Great Hall (likely in hopes for an early lunch).
Sirius for his part wasn't that hungry so instead had chosen to locate a library, not that he needed anything from it after literally the first lesson of the school year. If anything it would be a good exercise in orientation and maybe he would be able to find something for leisure reading.
Curiously enough Lupin accompanied him without as much as a question about where he was heading. Or really any sort of question at all. Which was weird but Sirius didn't really mind Lupin's presence. If Lupin wanted to be quiet then Sirius could be quiet too.
Not that the silence lasted long, eventually they got into library and found themselves engaged in a conversation with a librarian, Mrs March, an elderly woman with a kind face and luscious steel-grey locks and warm brown eyes. She reminded Sirius strongly of Grandma and after some gentle prompting he learned that she did go to school with Grandma Mel and was even one of her distant cousins.
"I didn't get to see a lot of them," she commented. "My poor father was born a squib and he was always at odds with decision making parties. Grandma wanted to keep him at home but Grandfather and whoever was leading the family back then decided on a boarding school in Scotland, supposedly well respected."
"Was it?" asked Lupin curiously.
"Not really," she replied simply. "I wouldn't have been sent to Hogwarts if my mother hadn't violently rebelled against the idea of sending me to a local school. She was a Hogwarts students herself and couldn't imagine me not going here. So she involved the relatives and that didn't go very well."
"Nothing that involved Edmund had ever gone very well," commented Sirius.
"How do you know about him?" asked Mrs March curiously. "He died long before you were born."
"True but I heard stories," admitted Sirius.
"I bet you did," sighed Mrs March.
Strictly speaking Edmund Macmillan wasn't a very close relative to Sirius or Grandma Mel. He was the youngest brother of Grandma Mel's grandfather, an elderly and senile wizard that got easily manipulated into handling duties of the head of the family to his brother rather than son. Luckily for the Macmillans while the head of the family could appoint whomever he pleased the rest of the family had an option of disagreeing and overthrowing that decision in a family moot. Which was exactly what happened to Edmund, as an unattached, childless man, and according to the family legends, not exactly right in the head, he was relieved of the command and the position unanimously had been awarded to the rightful heir. But stories about Edmund's brief reign could be heard until these days.
He and Lupin left the library just as the lunch hour had started and per Lupin's request he entertained him with some of the stories he heard about Edmund. Why they interested Lupin he had no idea but he had no problems with indulging the other boy.
"Do all family gatherings end like that?" asked Lupin curiously as they were nearing the Great Hall.
"Or worse," confirmed Sirius with a shrug. "Rule of a thumb is that someone will always end drunk and that a displeased relative would be present. What about your family?"
Lupin smiled sheepishly before he answered, "My father is technically an estranged cousin of the Macmillans. His Mum was born Macmillan but had to come from some minor branch and managed to estrange herself by running away with a Muggleborn instead of accepting a chosen husband. According to Dad she was a very feisty lady."
"Was she named Rosamund by any chance?" asked Sirius curiously.
"How did you…" started Lupin in a slight shock.
Sirius shrugged before he answered, "The only Rosamund Macmillan I heard of that roughly fits the age brackets is the bone of contention between the Macmillans and the Greengrasses. According to what I heard my Macmillan great-grandfather had a younger brother who had a reputation with the ladies."
"Based on what?" asked Lupin sceptically.
Sirius didn't snort but it was a near thing.
"Regarding his ability to entertain them in the alcove," he clarified. "In an abundance and without care…" he continued.
"Got it," coughed Lupin.
"Well, one of such ladies was Aphrodite Greengrass. Cora supposedly resembles her very much. Hey, Cora!" he said and called out when he saw her passing by. She looked at him and smiled as she changed her course and approached them, "I found you a cousin."
Lupin turned bright red at that statement.
"So I heard," she said dryly. "Percy had been exercising his memory during the free period by doing cousin bingo to entertain Tommy. So what is your relation?" she asked as she turned to Lupin.
Lupin, still bright red and with a sheepish smile gestured to Sirius.
"Aphrodite's great-grandson," explained Sirius.
"Great," she chirped. "You have to sit with us during lunch," she said as she looped her arm with Lupin and started leading him to the Great Hall.
"But is it appropriate?" Lupin protested weakly.
"Family card," she replied simply.
"Better do what she says," added Wendy, who just appeared out of nowhere and lopped her arm through Lupin's other one. "And let Sirius handle the rest."
"Why me?" Sirius protested.
"Because apparently you have a reputation," said Snape as he was passing by with Evans by his side. "Would you mind?" he turned to her as he gestured towards the Slytherin table.
"No one would believe the cousin card," said Evans tentatively.
"His certainly not," agreed Sirius as he fell into a step with them. "My aunt is a Prewett though and with very few exceptions they're all red-haired."
"And you're happily claiming every red-head as your cousin?" Evans asked sceptically.
"If you want to devote some time to checking out stuff like Nature's Nobility you will learn that all old families are more or less connected," Sirius explained. "And for most of the time people have problems with remembering who is related to who," he said and lowering his voice to a whisper as he leaned towards her he added, "just throw in cousin Sirius a couple of times and you will be fine."
They found a nice spot at the end of the table by the entrance and for a good measure he and Snape along with Percy and Davis flanked the Gryffindors on either side leaving the opposite side to Cora, Wendy.
Predictably Lestrange, Rosier, Wilkes, Warrington and Mulciber were appalled by the presence of Gryffindors at the table and tried to involve Higgs who took one good look at Sirius and said simply that the table is long enough to accommodate everyone and if they find the company offensive they could always pick the other side. Which they eventually had, completely confusing Avery who sat down by Prunella next to Cora and dug in eagerly into his lunch before he realised that some of his fellow Slytherins were wearing different house colours. Luckily he was either more hungry than bothered or he really didn't care that much to not make any comments about the sitting arrangements.
Cora and Evans hit it off right away, quickly engaging other girls into discussion about wizarding culture which perplexed and annoyed Snape enough for Sirius to kick him under the table.
"You want her to get along with others," he muttered as he leaned close enough to Snape for Evans to not hear him.
"Do I?" Snape muttered grimly.
"Yes, you do," said Sirius, keeping his voice quiet but firm. "The better she gets along with other Slytherins the safer she is on our turf."
"If you say so," said Snape with a shrug. "You wouldn't understand…"
Except he had. That Snape and Evans had to be friends from before Hogwarts was evident from their exchange at the Hogwarts' Express and most likely it wasn't a very new friendship that formed within last couple of days. And Snape's possessive behaviour emphasised that most likely they were the only magical children in their area. And Sirius got that, probably better than anyone at the table. Except he wasn't as lucky as Snape.
For most of the time in recent years he no longer had to make a conscious effort to not think about her but the letter and the impending departure to Hogwarts awaken in him a foolish hope that maybe somehow, someway she…
Except her name hadn't come up during the sorting which meant that what he knew all along was true, she was really dead. He didn't burst into tears only because he knew that it never helped, not that he was able to swallow much around the bile that formed in his throat.
Judging by the slight press against his left arm his sudden change in mood hadn't gone unnoticed by Snape and when he raised his eyes from the goblet he also found Cora staring at him with a concerned look in her eyes.
He smiled at her quickly and shook his head before he returned to picking on his lunch.
"Do you want to talk about it?" asked Snape quietly.
"Not here," he replied. "It isn't exactly a happy tale."
Lunch eventually had ended and together they all headed to Potions, collecting on the way one of Evans' more sensible dorm-mates, a timid mousy-haired girl by the name of Mary MacDonald. That there were more, Sirius knew but he hadn't exactly cared about any Brown to make an effort to seek her out.
They got to the classroom early enough to appropriate longer benches, separating themselves into groups of four. Evans and Snape shared one with Sirius and Lupin. Behind them ended the twins with Davis and Wendy. Avery and MacDonald, still whispering amongst each other picked what Cissy called the dunce bench at front with Moon and Prunella
Eventually, just as the bell rang the others filtered in. Brown and other Gryffindor girls, whose names Sirius couldn't recall at the moment sat in the front on the opposite side of the classroom at the bench meant for three people.
Lestrange, Rosier, Mulciber, Warrington and Wilkes took the other bench meant for three people and the furthest table meant for two people which left the other bench to James and Pettigrew.
Sirius looked his way just as Slughorn was passing between the benches to reach his desk and almost winced at the scowl on James's face when he saw where Evans, MacDonald and Lupin were seated.
"What you're glaring at, Black?" James hissed lividly.
An arse apparently, Sirius thought to himself and shrugged before he turned to face Slughorn.
Predictably, because it was Slughorn, the rollcall had taken him much longer to get through than it had taken the Professor of Theory of Magic even though their class was smaller. He paused by each name he recognised, asking for how someone's relative has been faring before he started discussing the syllabus, already promising a quiz next week on standard safety measures.
"I know, I know," he said eagerly at the first murmurs of protest. "You just started but I'm obliged to ensure that you know how to safely conduct yourself in the class. That's why familiarising yourself with safety protocols will be your homework for the day and the subject of next week's quiz. You're beginners that's why I'm expecting you to not dwell deeper but if any of you want to earn extra credit and a couple of points you're welcome to do so."
Typical Slughorn, filtering slackers and ambitious students from day one. Not that, from what Sirius knew, he did it out of malice. Like any Slytherin Slughorn liked to know where he stood with each class and it was the easiest way to find out.
"Now I want you to familiarise yourselves with one of the safest concoctions you will be working in this class," continued Slughorn pausing briefly to look around the classroom before he added. "And quite frankly a necessary one, the Burn Salve, instructions are in your books on the page fifteen. You have…" he paused again as he looked at his pocket watch, "ten minutes should be enough and then we will start brewing."
"Technically it's a paste," muttered Evans.
"Excellent point, Ms?" said Slughorn eagerly.
"Evans," she replied.
"Five points to Gryffindor, Ms Evans," continued Slughorn. "Can anyone explain why?"
"Because brews require involvement of heat," said Snape as he raised his hand. "The salve doesn't which is why it's a paste and not a brew. There's a variation of it that is a brew though but it's reserved for third and fourth degree burns."
"Usually of magical origins," said Lupin eagerly. "Dragon handlers and Curse-breakers use them."
"Five points to Slytherin and five points to Gryffindor Messers," said Slughorn.
"Snape," he replied.
"Lupin," the other admitted sheepishly.
"The brew doesn't always work on injuries acquired via dark magic," added Sirius.
"And why not, Mr Black?" prompted Slughorn.
"Because they usually require a specific counter-spell to negate their effects," replied Sirius. "But both salve and brew can briefly relieve pain."
"And that's another five points to Slytherin," said Slughorn with a smile. "Now start reading."
The list of ingredients and instructions were relatively short and unproblematic to follow and after double checking everything he found himself preparing everything way before Slughorn's ten minutes had passed. As did Snape and Evans. But just as he moved to preparing the base of the salve Lupin started sneezing. Violently. Like jinxed violently.
Sirius knew the counter and could perform it without a problem as sneezing jinx was a big hit with kids his age last summer but he clearly had been doing something wrong because Lupin continued to sneeze.
"Oh my," sighed Slughorn when he approached them at Sirius's nonverbal invitation. "Are you allergic to any of the ingredients Mr Lupin?" he asked in genuine concern.
Replying 'I don't know' had taken Lupin at least three tries to finish between sneezes.
"Do you have trouble breathing?" continued Slughorn.
This time Lupin knew better than to try to answer verbally and simply shook his head.
Once he got the answer Slughorn waved his wand at Lupin and after a couple of seconds he said thoughtfully, "It doesn't appear that there's something wrong with you but I would like you to see Madam Pomfrey…" he paused looking around the room.
"I can take him," Evans offered. "We're finished anyway," she added gesturing towards two bowls of paste on her and Snape's desk.
"Excellent," said Slughorn. "Madam Pomfrey would likely want to run some tests and you Ms Evans appear to be doing well enough to not have a problem with a delay. Please return to the class afterwards."
Evans nodded and gently herded sneezing Lupin out of the class.
By the time the bell rang again signalising the break Slughorn asked if they would like to continue through it and leave the class early. Which they mostly had. Warrington and Wilkes didn't appear to be very happy with it as did James and Pettigrew but no one else appeared to mind.
Evans returned to the class with the second bell, apologising quietly to Slughorn for getting lost on the way. The rest of the lesson was spent on preparing another salve, for bruises this time, and once they were done with that Slughorn instructed them to start reading on the safety protocols.
Dinner passed in almost completely Slytherin company since Evans wanted to check up on how Lupin was doing and they both came in almost halfway through. The only Gryffindor that had been causing the disturbance by their mere presence was MacDonald, deeply lost in a conversation with Avery who appeared to be just as deaf and blind to his surroundings as she was.
After dinner Sirius along with Cora, Wendy, Percy and Thomas headed back to Slytherin dormitories, the others with intention to make a headway on their homework (which Sirius finished during the class). Since Astronomy wasn't supposed to start until eleven o'clock he reckoned that he could take a quick nap and maybe afterwards leaf through the first chapters of Defence book.
He barely managed to empty out his bag when the door behind his back opened and closed, with a thud much louder than it was necessary. He turned around to find Snape leaning against the closed door.
"That curious?" Sirius sighed heavily.
"Not as much as simply avoiding Lestrange, not that the door would be able to stop him," replied Snape and grimaced. "He's been nagging me all the way down about proper conduct and maintaining valuable connections."
"He's not exactly wrong," replied Sirius. "Both are important but he's too dumb to realise that his values aren't that of other people. A likely lost cause if you ask me. Rosier is the one who has some room for improvement, Aunt Druella had been raving about him being a proper gentleman."
"If he will keep spending time with his current companion…" started Snape with a grimace. "Avery on the other hand," he added, leaving the statement open for a debate.
"Seemed to be doing quite well on his own with MacDonald," observed Sirius.
"MacDonald is a half-blood so that can go both ways," replied Snape. "But I don't want to talk about them."
"No," agreed Sirius with a sigh. "I was well-trained, I recognise an opening when I see one. Stop propping the door and come and sit down," he added as he sat at his desk, turning the chair slightly towards the bed.
Snape passed through the room and sat down on the bed, propping himself slightly against the ladder that lead to the top bunk.
"You have friends," said Snape slowly. "Old friends. Good friends."
"Friendly acquaintances," said Sirius with a grimace. "Don't get me wrong, I like them very much but we aren't particularly close or inseparable," he added as he nodded at Snape.
"Potter…" started Snape.
"It's complicated," sighed Sirius. "Bear in mind that I'm a pureblood. My family is one of the ancient houses and very wealthy. I'm used to friendly overtures but I also can tell a difference between genuine interest and playing along because someone was instructed by their relatives to do so. And James…" he grimaced, "was the first kid that I met in a very long time that with no prior history was genuinely interested in learning more about me for myself rather than his own gain. And you saw how quickly he changed his tune the moment I didn't end in the same house with him."
"But he wasn't the only one," said Snape thoughtfully. "There was someone else, prior to Hogwarts."
"Yes," admitted Sirius. "How did you met Evans?"
Snape looked down at his feet.
"Your accent puts you in Northern England which isn't a widely populated area by wizards. At the very least those from or related to old families. It's too urbanised for their liking. And Evans isn't exactly a very popular name amongst magical folk," continued Sirius, slowly, in a calm tone. "I'm guessing that you're from the same town, likely same or close neighbourhood. That you met prior to Hogwarts is evident…"
"We were nine," admitted Snape as he looked up. "I saw her and her sister at the playground…"
"And most likely you were the first person who realised that she was a witch," finished Sirius.
"Told her too," said Snape and grimaced quickly. "Didn't go very well."
"Oh, I know," agreed Sirius.
"Since I hadn't seen you there I'm guessing that know that from experience," said Snape. "Who was it?"
Sirius shrugged slowly before he said quietly, "A girl from my neighbourhood. We were eight and she had the prettiest green eyes I ever saw."
Snape scowled slightly at that. Evans too was green-eyed and Snape had to be personally biased.
"When they were green actually," continued Sirius, allowing his lips a small twitch both at the memory and Snape's indignation. "Sometimes they were grey, but never as pale as mine, greener and at times bluer. Saw her on the playground too, with her younger brothers, she had three of them. Some older boy had been picking up on them. She flew in there like a bludger, sorted out the bully and then sorted out her little brother, I saw her healing his knee."
"She sounds feisty," observed Snape.
"She was," agreed Sirius. "I think that she would get along well with Evans," he added.
"What happened?" asked Snape, in what had to be his gentle manner.
"She died," said Sirius softly. "They all did," he added with a heavy sigh. "House fire. None of them made it out alive. It was just a couple of months after we met and I…" he hesitated briefly, "I never told anyone about her, not even my brother."
"Or your parents?" asked Snape pensively.
"Especially not my parents," said Sirius grimly. "They're like Lestrange and set in their own ways. They believe that the entire block should be a wizarding enclave but luckily they don't have enough power or money to pull it on their own. If they knew that a family of Muggleborns was living right across the square…" he grimaced and shook his head.
"And if they knew that you met them…" added Snape with a small nod. "I can't imagine the idea of losing Lily and I'm really sorry that you lost your friend, I genuinely am," he added quietly.
"Thank you," replied Sirius softly before he cleared his throat. "You know what I liked the most about her?" he asked.
"Aside of the attitude?" asked Snape with small quirk of his lips.
"Her name," said Sirius. "All of it. First name suited her to a t and the surname was even better. I was chuffed when I first heard it, couldn't stop grinning for hours."
"A couple of Muggle families with the surname Black live in our town," said Snape thoughtfully. "So I'm guessing that was her last name."
"It was," agreed Sirius. "Her name was Miranda Black."
"Correct me if I'm wrong," said Snape slowly. "Doesn't mirandus means admirable or worth admiration in Latin?"
"It does," confirmed Sirius with a smile. "And someone has been reading the last issue of Witch Weekly," he added dryly.
"Said the man who knows that that spell is in the last issue," deadpanned Snape. "We borrowed a copy from my Mum. Lily wanted to read about wizarding hair-care and I was looking through new spells section because I wanted to find something for her sister to turn her into a less judgmental cow."
"Did it work?" asked Sirius curiously.
"That spell?" muttered Snape. "I didn't use it. I don't particularly like Petunia and I would hate to improve her odds in life," he paused and snorted before he frowned briefly. "On the other hand," he added, "if she was pretty then maybe she would be whisked away by some guy sooner."
"Is she older or younger?" prompted him Sirius.
"Older, not by much," replied Snape. "Year to two at the most and luckily for both of us she's a Muggle. Not that she didn't try to write to Dumbledore to get in so she could continue making our lives miserable. Luckily magic is one of the things which money can't buy," he concluded.
The Blacks: Semper Slytherin
Next morning Sirius awoke earlier than Snape who was still snoring when Sirius climbed down the ladder. After checking how much time they had left before breakfast Sirius decided to let him sleep some more before heading to the shower.
By the time he got back Snape was awake and struggling with his ratty dressing gown. Neither of them had managed to catch any sleep after dinner or hadn't gone back to their beds before two o'clock in the morning because Professor Sinistra forgot that she had a class to teach and arrived an hour late. She was also very surprised by their presence and spent good fifteen minutes at grumbling about schedule making morons that can't label timetables properly as apparently their year was labelled as sixth year advanced class which technically had no students this year.
"What's the point of it," Snape continued to grumble as Sirius escorted him to the bathroom. "We wasted three hours and we had to listen to a hissy and unprepared lady that couldn't even tell if she was reading first or second year syllabus at us."
"I know, I was there too," quipped Sirius just as they found themselves by the entrance to the bathroom. "In you go," he added as he opened the door and pushed Snape inside closing the door firmly after the other boy.
"Morning," Percy muttered as he passed him by. "And aren't you cheerful this morning?"
"Someone has to be," replied Sirius. "Your companion in there is in a mood closer to yours so you can both groan to your heart's delight."
"He tried to take a shower last night just as I was washing teeth when Lestrange started bothering him. Sev is not a fan of listening to propaganda while washing his bits. And I'm sure that Stan will spend the day being offended by the suggestion that he likes staring at other people's crotches," replied Percy before he yawned widely. "Merlin, I'm exhausted," he added as he opened the door to the bathroom and called out, "coming in."
"Close the door you're making…" the door closed before Snape finished saying what Sirius presumed was draft.
"Morning," mumbled Avery as he passed by him. "Just so you know tonight I'm sleeping on the floor in your room," he added before he opened the door and stepped in.
"So am I," grumbled Rosier as he stopped by Sirius. "Maintaining pure linage is important don't get me wrong but there's a time and place for discussing that and crack of the bloody dawn isn't it."
"I see that Stan is making lots of friends," said Sirius dryly.
"Stan can go and fuck himself," Rosier concluded. "Mal… Mulciber too. We're sharing a wall with them and the voice caries. I swear that the moment Stan stopped grumbling about being called a pervert that other plonker started buggering Avery about that MacDonald lass."
"Do you have a problem with it?" asked Sirius curiously.
"Being roused from sleep by it, yes I do, but MacDonald alone," he shrugged. "She's a lesser half-blood but at least she's a half-blood which cannot be said…"
Sirius raised his left hand slowly to Rosier's face and quirking his forefinger as he said, "I will stop you right there, Evan. I know it, I know it all but I also know that we aren't our parents or grandparents. I also know that fate can get the last laugh."
"I know that spiel too, Black," sighed Rosier. "Here is the problem. I'm the heir and even if fate will make me fall for a Mud- Muggleborn I will still have to marry at the very least a proper half-blood."
"You do know that by the time you will get to that you will be an adult and would be able to marry whomever you please," pointed out Sirius.
"Find me a pretty, smart, talented and a wealthy Muggleborn and then we will talk about it again," replied Rosier. "Preferably a blonde."
"Hair-dyes exist," said Davis as he passed between them.
"Hair dye yourself," Rosier called out after him.
"Don't want a red-head?" quipped Sirius.
"After last night?" snorted Rosier. "Snape is vicious and territorial and I already got on Evans' bad side. Plus, I'm not sure that she comes from that wealthy family. Not really passing judgements but if any of them have money then it's the Delgado girl."
"Wrong Hufflepuff," replied Sirius. "Turner, the not twin," he added. "Cora has been talking," he clarified. "And that one apparently had been 'engaged' to her childhood best friend whom she left behind."
"How do you keep finding out stuff like that?" groaned Rosier.
Sirius smiled widely before he said, "Watch and learn."
"After the shower," agreed Rosier as he opened the door. "Coming in!" he called out before he closed it.
Sirius snickered softly at the closed door, finding the caution to not incur Snape's wrath so early in the day slightly funny before he headed to the common-room. He met there Andromeda and awfully perky Moon.
Moon, pun very much intended, was over the moon about astronomy as a field of study and in her eagerness revealed her mixed blood status by telling Sirius how a couple years ago Muggles had sent a man to the moon.
"Can you imagine how far I would be able to go in the field by combining both methods?" she asked excitedly.
"Well, I've been told that our limits lie in our imagination and I have no problems imagining you being able to achieve your dreams," he replied politely. "And who knows maybe with your determination you're going to become first person to step on Mars."
"You're a flatterer, Mr Black," she said with a cheeky smile and a hint of blush.
"Sirius, please," he replied. "My father is Mr Black," he added, managing to keep the ire at the mention of the man from his voice.
"Roxanne, then," she replied. "Only my Nana calls me Ruth."
"Family name?" asked Sirius curiously.
"Vagabond aunt," she replied. "Also my godmother and depending from whom you ask either a free spirit or a freeloader. Much younger than my father. She's gone off rails about the same year my parents got married and Nana believed that giving her responsibilities of a godmother would change her, hence the name too."
"But it didn't," said Sirius, nodding slowly.
"Last I heard she was backpacking through United States of America and was being awfully careless about her sleeping arrangements," she added with a snort. "As if not being able to catch syphilis was something to write home about to one's mother."
Sirius didn't even try to contain the burst of laughter at that comment.
"I would have," he admitted sheepishly after he stopped laughing. "I mean I would write to my mother about it rather than actually do it."
"Complicated relationship?" she asked sympathetically.
"Not ideal," he sighed. "And I live to disappoint her. Literally and figuratively."
"This sort of person who would be able to find a fault in a saint, isn't she?" she asked.
"She's…" started Sirius and stopped abruptly, looking for a word that described his mother accurately without revealing much. "Peculiar," he finally decided on one. "Very peculiar."
"At the very least you turned out all right," she offered.
Sirius shrugged simply without correcting her. Neither his mother nor his father had played a significant role in his or Regulus upbringing until Grandma Mel and Grandpa Arcturus left for Prague and even then the extent of child rearing had been left largely to elves and later to Sirius himself. Granted, they did spent odd couple of weeks with their parents between long stretches of time spent with their grandparents or on their own but…
He still remembered the betrayal that he felt when one of his aunts had taken upon herself to educate him that Papa and Father were synonyms rather than two different words just like they had been two entirely different people.
As reserved as he was, Grandpa Arcturus was kind, patient and indulgent parent (within reason of course), who always had time for both Sirius and Regulus. Well, maybe less for Regulus since back at that age Regulus preferred the safety of Grandma's arms and playing with toys for small kids rather than taking long walks, fishing or reading together.
Their abrupt departure to Prague was another betrayal he experienced and one that unlike the other bore fruits of distrust. Which was one of the reasons why he never dared to go to Grandpa Arcturus with what Father was doing to him. Disgust with himself and his father he could stand, just like he could stand the physical pain it brought him as long as father kept himself from doing the same to Regulus. But the possibility of losing the only home where he felt safe and for most of the time happy was too much to risk the status quo.
That didn't change the fact that once Grandpa and Grandma would head for their anniversary trip in November Reg would have to return home. To mother. And to father who no longer had an outlet for his frustrations in the form of Sirius.
He came back to the present when someone placed their hand on his upper arm and called out his name. As lost in his thoughts as he was he didn't manage to supress the recoil and stepped back straight into someone.
"Easy there," he heard just as he whirled around to face the person with whom he collided.
It was Rosier and he appeared to look concerned.
"Are you all right?" asked Moon nervously. "You completely spaced out."
"I'm fine," Sirius said quickly. "A bit hungry though. Where's the rest of the entourage?"
"Dressing up," replied Rosier, with a hint of scepticism in his voice.
"Are you sure," Moon continued to persist. "You look awfully pale."
"I said I'm fine," replied Sirius and it came out much harshly than he intended. "I'm going to hurry them up," he added before he hurried away.
He didn't manage to make it fully to the entrance to the dormitories when he heard Rosier saying, likely to Moon, "I'm not buying that."
Whatever Moon replied he didn't hear because he was already at the corridor leading to the first year wing feeling with each step overwhelming, irrational dread that was stealing his breath away.
Reg was fine. He was fine and safe and in Derbyshire with Grandpa and Grandma and would be there for a while. And he too was fine, and safe, and far away from father's reach.
What the hell was wrong with him. Why this crushing feeling wasn't going away.
He collided with someone on the corridor and managed only to register their dark hair which wasn't helping much with narrowing down who it was. Which weirdly made him feel even worse.
But in seconds he was at the door to his bedroom and not caring anymore about propriety he opened it and slammed it shut as he staggered towards the bed feeling completely out of breath and seeing how the room was getting darker with each second that stretched out into eternity.
The complete darkness enveloped him just as he managed to place his hand on the step of a ladder and he passed out.
Consciousness returned to him slowly with gentle but very monotonic breeze. Not opening his eyes he tried to get his bearings. Both of his legs were up in the air. Why? The back of his head throbbed slightly just as did his temples although both in a different manner. His back felt cold and not particularly comfortable and there was something jammed under his right shoulder-blade.
"He's coming around," said someone that was standing by his head.
"I can see that myself," came a scoffed reply from the direction of his legs. "Stop squirming you twat," followed shortly after when Sirius attempted to move his legs and they were both quickly forced into previous position.
"Go away," the other person called out just as the door opened. "We have everything under control."
"Avery ran after his cousin," answered another person.
"Please, no," mumbled Sirius. "Not Andromeda."
He opened his eyes only to immediately close them due to almost painful insanely bright light. He didn't have idea that the overhead chandelier could be lit so brightly.
"Lights," he muttered weakly.
"Dimmer," said the person by the door that sounded very much like Percy. "You can open your eyes."
Which he did, narrowly at first only to open them further after a couple of blinks. He looked around the room without moving his throbbing head much. Percy indeed was by the door, now closed. Snape was sitting on the bed and keeping Sirius's legs propped up on a schoolbag. And the one that was fanning him with some magazine was Rosier.
"What happened?" mumbled Sirius as he tried to squirm once more only to have his legs gripped even tighter.
"You fainted," Snape stated simply. "Went down like a sack of bricks, banged your head on the chair as you were coming down, toppled it, rolled away, tripped me in the process."
"And I came in here to check on you because you weren't very convincing," added Rosier, still fawning Sirius with the magazine. "I arrived just as Snape tripped on you again."
"Except that time he tripped as he was attempting to stand up and Thomas and I arrived here to find the three of you lying flat on the floor," finished Percy. "He's guarding the door from the other side."
"How is your head?" asked Snape.
"How is yours?" Sirius asked back as he managed to focus on a slowly disappearing bump in the middle of Snape's forehead.
"I've had worse," replied Snape simply. "And I wasn't the one that blacked out."
"Only the one that was seeing double," snorted Rosier.
"For thirty seconds," Snape countered.
"Kindly…" started Sirius only to stop for a sigh.
"Head?" Snape asked again.
"Aches," admitted Sirius. "Throbbing from the back and feeling like stuck in a vice at the temples."
"Concussion and oxygen deprivation," stated Rosier. "Do you think that you would be able to sit up?"
"I can try," admitted Sirius.
"Not on your bloody own, moron," snorted Snape when Sirius tried to prop himself up and he released the hold on Sirius's legs.
Standing up, even aided by Percy and Rosier had taken its toll on him and he sighed in relief when he was directed to the chair. Percy, the mother hen at heart, picked remains of Snape's bruise salve from the desk and started applying it to the back of Sirius's head, swatting Sirius's hands when he tried to direct him.
Which was how Andromeda found them.
"I'm fine," said Sirius as soon as she opened her mouth.
And he did feel fine, well, finer than he felt a couple of minutes ago. His head still throbbed and he felt as if he ran a mile chased by an angry dragon but at the very least his breathing was back to normal. Andromeda didn't appear to be convinced and told him as much.
"It's not blood sugar," she concluded once she shooed his entourage out of the room. "Not that you had been picking on your food last time I saw you eating…"
"I'm fine, really," he sighed as he stood up slowly. "There's nothing to worry about and the sooner we get to breakfast the better."
Andromeda narrowed her eyes but shrugged and ushered him out of the room, into the corridor where his entourage, sans Wilkes, Warrington, Mulciber and Lestrange had been waiting. The girls joined them in the common room.
Once in Great Hall he ate his breakfast dutifully under almost overwhelming scrutiny that was manageable as long as he wasn't looking at them. So he allowed his gaze to wander and because the closest thing to Slytherin table was the Ravenclaw table he focused his attention on them.
Boot, Cornfoot and Fawley were sitting together, along with the tiniest of them mousy-haired boy with big glasses. Quirke most likely because Blishwick together with Delgado were pestering Babbling over something while other three boys were talking with a prefect.
But there was one person that wasn't participating in any of the conversations, Babbling's mysterious friend and the only other Ravenclaw girl from their year.
Mirzam Verascez, a girl gifted with a name so peculiar that he remembered it after only hearing it once (well, apart from hearing it during the sorting but he was a bit preoccupied at the time) to remember it without exchanging with her a single word.
Her hair was fanned around her face like a curly, a bit messy, jet-black halo, with maybe a little too long fringe which prompted her to occasionally shaking her head as she was leafing through some thick book with her right hand and fiddling with her fork with her left hand. A lefty then.
Another.
He shook his head and was about to look away just as she looked up and saw him staring.
And weirdly instead of reacting the same way like say Brown would have reacted if she caught him staring, fawning and giggling most likely, Verascez straightened her back and looked him dead in the eye. Well, as much as one can do over the distance of two tables.
And just like that he was overcome with a feeling that all of it was very familiar. Which made zero sense because he never met her before. But he remembered the look and the posture. Except the last time it had been thrown his way it had been an over the shoulder glare and the hair, still jet-black and curly was much longer.
Mirzam, Murzim, which in Arabic means the herald, the traditional names of Beta Canis Major that were used to describe the fact that its appearance on the night sky heralded the raise of Alpha Canis Major, Sirius.
Just like Black, Miranda was supposed to come right before Black, Sirius. Except, she never had. How could she? She died nearly four years ago and yet it couldn't be a coincidence that a girl fitting her physical type, scrawny and on the small side, with curly, jet-black hair ended being named Mirzam.
It wasn't a popular name even amongst the families that subscribed to using astronomy related names, at the very least in Great Britain. It was far more likely to pop up in Southern Europe and even then it was quite a mouthful, with too many consonants to put accents on to differ it from other names, like Miriam. Even in traditional Arabic it sounded a bit harsh.
It really couldn't be a coincidence. No one would willingly take it upon themselves to make a point by making their lives harder. Well, no one except Miranda Black.
"Miranda," he breathed out.
She looked from him to the door and then back to him before she stood up and without looking back again she left the Great Hall.
Blessedly as he stood up himself he found the rest of his entourage preoccupied with their own breakfast and somewhat empty state of his plate earned him lack of Andromeda's supervision.
Quietly he picked his bag and tried to not appear as if he was in hurry until he left the Great Hall. He looked around the entrance hall and while he found other students in there, either waiting for their friends or simply chatting she was nowhere to be seen.
She could be hidden in the broom closet, except no, a Gryffindor prefect was herding out of there a pair of red-faced Hufflepuffs. A classroom nearby, perhaps? No, this was Miranda and they were on their second day of school, she wouldn't hide herself in any of the rooms without sussing out access to them and the likelihood of being interrupted.
Outside then, somewhere close but remote. He stepped into the inner courtyard but hadn't found her there either. Maybe she was further from the castle. On the outside path to the owlery maybe.
He checked if he wasn't followed, and he wasn't, and hurried across the wooden bridge into the hill path. He hadn't found her on the opposite side either, only a pair of Ravenclaw Quidditch players returning the long way from the training and making cow eyes at each other and once they stepped into the entrance he found himself alone.
Perhaps he imagined her, he realised. Wished her into being in his far from ideal mental state. Stuff like that could happen and with Mother… Maybe he was going…
Something sharp smacked into the back of his head and fallen at his feet. He whirled around and saw that one of the nearby bushes was swaying a bit too hard for the movement to be caused by the gentle breeze.
Checking again if there was no one else around he stepped around the bush and there she was, leaning back against the tree, slightly turned towards the Quidditch pit in the distance.
Carefully, to not frighten her, although he knew that there were very few things that could frighten her, he approached her and stopped by her side.
"Not dead," he said quietly.
"No," she replied slowly without looking at him. "Very much dead and I would like you to forget that you ever heard the name of Miranda Black."
TBC
