December 18th, 1976
December fell over the castle accompanied by a sheet of ice that materialized overnight. James had us practicing four times a week, determined to have us ready to play in any weather conditions; our next match wasn't until after the Christmas break, but he wasn't going easy on us. Remus had a particularly tough moon, and when I asked Sirius where the Marauders went on the night of the full moon, he told me a half-assed lie. I decided to let it go, realizing that when the time was right, he would tell me. Plus, I didn't want to make anything harder for Remus, who spent the better part of a week recuperating in the hospital wing. Peter had been noticeably absent, citing multiple nights of late night study in the library that Sirius and I knew were lies…since we had spent those same nights snogging in the Divination section. Lily had thrown herself into her prefect duties, determined to display her candidateship for Head Girl next year.
After the initial shock of finding me in Sirius's bed the night of the Quidditch match, the sixth year boys all grew used to catching me sneaking out of the dorm in the morning to get ready for breakfast. Even James. Most nights, you could catch Sirius and I running upstairs to capture a few minutes…or hours alone before the rest of the boys decided to turn in for the night.
Sirius and I were spending a lazy morning in bed the last weekend before the break, exploring each other's bodies over and over again. I was panting, leaning against his pillows, while he took a long drink of water that he had just conjured. He offered me the cup, and I finished off the glass in one greedy gulp.
"You know kitten, I can't think of a single thing that would convince me to get out of bed today," He crawled back up towards me seductively, pulling me underneath him while he hovered on his elbows. With his long, wild hair he looked like a lion coming to devour it's prey. My long brown hair splayed out behind me, creating a halo around my head. Sirius leaned down and kissed the hollow of my throat, and I purred in response. The sound encouraged him, and I could feel the evidence pressing against my leg.
"Again?" I giggled, reaching down to feel him.
"What can I say? Beautiful witch writhing beneath me…I'm only a man," He kissed down my neck reaching my chest. I was moaning at his ministrations when the door slammed open.
"Speak of the devil," I giggled, pulling the sheets to cover myself while Sirius hung his head in exasperation.
"Someone better be dying," Sirius warned, checking to make sure I was covered before opening the curtains of his four-poster. "And if not, someone will be dying shortly." Remus was panting, clearly having just run from downstairs. He turned around when he realized I was naked, his cheeks already flush with a blush. I was relieved, knowing that Remus was the most gallant of all of the boys who could have run in on me naked. Thank Merlin it wasn't Peter again…
"Sorry, Addie. Listen Padfoot, you need to come downstairs," Remus said breathlessly, running his hands through his hair awkwardly.
"Can't it wait, Moony?" Sirius asked, pulling me closer to him, causing me to giggle.
"It's your uncle," Remus said. The giggle died on my lips and Sirius froze. We stared at each other for a moment before jumping into action.
After quickly pulling our clothes on, Sirius, Remus and I made our way to the entrance hall. Remus explained on the way down that an article had been printed in the newspaper that Alphard Black, esteemed head of the House of Black, had died of unknown causes the night before. According to the Aurors, foul play wasn't suspected.
"Right, a healthy man barely forty just drops dead of his own accord. I'll bet you anything that Bellatrix was involved," Sirius spat out, storming towards the grand staircase ahead of us. "Probably imperiused the Aurors when they arrived, too."
"Why would she do that? Kill her own head of house?" Remus asked, confused.
"Because of me." I realized, stopping dead mid step with my foot hanging in the air. I put my foot down. "Because I had him send Sirius support. The watch."
"Stop it, kitten. Bellatrix is a fucking crazy woman – anything could have set her off. She probably had already planned to do this, so that Regulus would officially be named head of house and could be marked early. You-Know-Who won't care if he's underage as long as he's officially the head of the house," Sirius assured me. He turned to me and put his hand on my shoulder, looking me in the eyes to make sure I understood. I nodded demurely, not completely believing him. The pit in my stomach was heavy – guilt. I was probably the reason a man was dead and it would take a lot more than Sirius's assurance to ease that guilt.
"But how will Regulus become the head of house? I thought you were the heir?" Remus asked. Sirius was the only one of us whose family participated in pureblood etiquette and politics. James's family – although a highly respected pureblood family – was so small and non-traditional that he had never been educated on pureblood customs. My family was pureblood, but not one of the Sacred twenty-eight so we didn't have a seat on the Wizengamot and didn't have to participate in many of the more traditional customs, like the Potters. Technically, my Uncle Leo was our head of house, and his son Ralph was the heir. Sometimes we made fun of Uncle Leo at holidays for failing to exert his power at the ministry to influence certain Muggle Rights Bills, but that was the extent of our expectations of him. My cousin Arthur, on my mom's side, had joined the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Division, which my Uncle Leo was the head of – they were constantly trying to get bills passed that would better the treatment of muggles, but so far no luck. Our family had been labeled blood-traitors for as long as my Dad could remember, so we were used to being ignored in politics.
"Well, Alphard was the head of house, and he named me his heir. Because my mother blasted me off the family tapestry, and Alphard backed me after I was declared a blood-traitor, he created reasonable doubt that he is a blood-traitor. That created an opening for our family to argue he didn't respect our family values, thus opening up the floor for them to circumvent his decision and name a new heir. Of course, I wasn't privy to any of these discussions, given that I was excommunicated from the family," Sirius rolled his eyes at all of the dramatics. "It's an old ceremony, naming a new heir, and I'll bet that's what Regulus wants from me – that is why we're running downstairs right?"
"He caused a scene at breakfast just after post was delivered– must have received an owl from home. Came over to James and I demanding that he speak to you," Remus nodded, confirming Sirius's assumption. "James and him were getting pretty heated so Lily made me run upstairs to get you."
"Time to go tame a snake," he said. There was a crowd in the Entrance Hall blocking the staircase, which we pushed our way through. I followed Sirius, with Remus trailing behind me, through the crowd, until we came upon an open circle. James and Regulus were in the middle, facing off against each other. Lily was just a step behind James, pulling on the back of his robes. Peter was at the front of the crowd, cowering behind a group of fifth year Ravenclaws.
"James Potter! Stop this before one of you gets hurt!" Lily was shouting, desperately trying to pull him away from Regulus.
"That's right, Potter. Listen to your little girlfriend," Regulus scoffed, his wand held high. Behind him were Severus Snape and Evan Rosier, their wands held out as well.
"Yeah, Potter. Listen to that mudblood of yours, wouldn't want her to get hurt," Rosier sneered, his eyes narrowing as he looked at Lily's hand on the back of James's robes. At the slur, James launched himself forward, pulling himself out of Lily's grasp. Remus ran forward and pulled Lily back, out of the line of fire, while Sirius rushed to James's side, his own wand raised high. I was frozen in my spot, not sure if I should rush to Lily's side and comfort her or defend Sirius and James.
"Say it again, Rosier," James threatened, taking another step forward. The look on his face was murderous, but his voice was calm and his wand hand was steady.
"Black, why don't you just do what you came here for," Snape stepped in, addressing Regulus. He looked over his shoulder at Snape, as if debating his next move. Rosier, however, made the decision for him.
"Snape, don't defend the mudblood. I thought you'd finally realized how dirty her blood is. Maybe I just have to spill some, so you can see for yourself," Rosier snarled. At those words, James and Sirius started throwing hexes without abandon. Remus pushed Lily behind himself, shielding her with his body. He had pulled his wand out, ready to defend her if need be. A flash of red light hit Rosier in the face, his cheek splitting open; at the same time, Snape was hit with a furnunculus charm, his entire body breaking out into boils. James was hit with a leg-lock curse, but Sirius had dodged the two curses that had been sent his way. He spun around and threw a stinging hex at Snape, hitting him squarely in the chest. I saw Snape raise his wand in retaliation, and knowing that it was going to be a nasty spell, I jumped in front of Sirius. I raised my wand and threw up a shield, just in time to defend the two of us against a flash of white light.
"Enough!" I shouted, my wand still held high, prepared to throw up another shield if I saw any of the Slytherins move. "If any of you throw another hex, or say another slur, you will find out how nasty my bat-bogey hex is." I looked behind me at Sirius and James, making sure they knew they were included in my threat. I quickly performed the counter-curse for James, his legs springing apart. Regulus stepped forward, stowing his wand to show he was taking my threat seriously. Rosier didn't put his wand away, but did lower it. I turned my aim towards him; sure that he would be the one to act rashly.
"You know why I need to speak to you," He said, directing his gaze towards Sirius. As he took another step forward, getting closer to me, both James and Sirius stepped around me in synchronization, shielding me from view. I huffed, annoyed. I clearly had just saved them, but now they decided they needed to protect me?
"There was no need for any of this," Sirius said, lowering his wand slightly. "I'm going to give you what I want. It's not like I want to be head of this stupid house, anyway."
"What is he talking about?" James whispered, looking over his shoulder at me. I shushed him, not wanting to miss a word of what was about to happen. I assumed the Head of House transfer included a blood ritual, but I had never seen one happen. It only happened in old families, when the elder son was considered inferior and was…persuaded to transfer the title to their younger sibling. And in those cases it was usually either complete the ritual or be killed, so it used to happen often in medieval times. Now, it was a rare ritual, considering most families didn't care about titles anymore – but it was just the sort of antiquated ritual the Blacks would hold on to.
Sirius turned to look at me, shooting me a look that clearly said to stay put. I started to object, but with one look James had grabbed my arm and pulled me back. I stomped my foot, like a child, and struggled against James's hold.
"Behave or I will stun you," Sirius warned, with a sharp look. I stopped struggling and shot him a dirty look, but he just laughed at me and stroked my cheek. He turned and walked towards Regulus, coming toe to toe with him. They faced each other for a moment, sizing each other up.
"Let's just get this over with," Sirius sighed, cutting his palm with a slicing hex. "You need to cut yours too."
"I know the ritual," Regulus snapped, quickly cutting his own palm.
Sirius touched the tip of his wand into his bleeding cut and chanted, "Ex frater ut fratrem, et onus tuum est, per humilitatem et sanguine." A bright white light emitted from the tip of his wand, encircling his hand and creating a bridge between his own palm and Regulus's.
Regulus gasped, as though a great force had just overtaken him. He said, "Accipio onus," and the cage of white light that encircled their hands pulsed a golden color before retreating from Sirius's palm into Regulus's. Sirius turned immediately once the light faded, walking towards James and I. His face was pale, devoid of his usual healthy glow. He looked utterly dejected and exhausted. The crowd around us was murmuring, confused. Most people, besides the Slytherins and the few pureblood students who were educated in the old ways, would have no idea what they had just witnessed.
Not wanting Sirius to stick around and have to answer any questions, I grabbed his uninjured hand and pulled him with me outside. James, Remus, Lily and Peter followed us out. It was freezing and snowing, so I conjured flames and scooped them into a jar that I pulled out of my bag, levitating the jar so it floated between us.
"Are you okay?" Remus asked, looking through his bag for something. He pulled out a chocolate bar and snapped off a large piece for Sirius. He accepted it gratefully, nibbling on a corner. Immediately, some of the color returned to his face – magical exhaustion often was cured with chocolate, so this didn't surprise me. Sirius had just exhausted his magic, altering the Black family magic so that it would accept Regulus as their head of house instead of him. Although it was a simple, and honestly underwhelming, ceremony, it had clearly taken a lot out of Sirius magically.
" 'M fine," He muttered, pulling his hands into the sleeves of the leather jacket that he had thrown over a white t-shirt. He was shivering slightly, and trying to hide it. I cast a subtle warming charm on him – depleting your magical core, like he had just done, would make him feel colder than the rest of us. When he felt the heat, he shot me a grateful look, and wrapped his arm around my waist.
"Can somebody please explain what the fuck I just witnessed?" Lily asked impatiently. Her cheeks and nose were already red from the cold, and her red hair was whipping around the emerald green hat she had pulled on when she had followed us outside. Her eyes were whipping back and forth between the rest of us, while she waited for someone to answer.
"Had to transfer over the Head of House Title to Regulus. Did a blood ritual. Figured I'd do it willingly so Bella or Cissa or one of their fucking crazy husbands didn't take more blood than that from me forcefully," Sirius explained shortly, taking another bite of chocolate. "Not like I want to be a part of that fucking mess anyway."
"Pete, what the fuck were you doing while we were fighting?" James said suddenly, spinning around to face Peter who had migrated outside of the circle the rest of us had formed around the fire. He clearly had not been listening to a word that Sirius had said, as he had been quietly stewing in anger since we came outside.
"I…I was…" Peter sputtered, his eyes opening wide and clearly panicking.
"Sirius ran in to help me; fought his own brother! Remus was protecting Lil–" James continued but was cut off.
"I did not need protecting, Potter!" Lily snapped, her eyes blazing.
"Addie jumped in and saved all of our arses. She's the one who managed to diffuse the situation. And what were you doing? Hiding? Like a coward?" James ignored Lily, his voice cold. It was unusual for James to speak this way to anyone, especially to his friends. But James was also fiercely loyal, and not stepping in to protect your friends was the biggest transgression someone could make. Especially when that friend was Lily.
"Prongs, that's enough," Remus put a hand on James's shoulder, trying to stop him.
"No!" James shouted, shrugging Remus's hand off and advancing on Peter. "I could have died. Sirius, Addie or Remus could have died. Lily could have died. Who knows what kind of curses those snakes would have thrown next. And you stood there like a little fucking rat while all of your friends were in danger."
"And while we're on the Peter topic, where the fuck have you been going every night that you tell us you're in the library? Because Addie and I can attest that you're not fucking there," Sirius joined in, turning to face Peter as well.
"I…I am in the library. You must've just missed me," Peter lied, his watery bug eyes darting all over the place. James and Sirius both shook their heads in disappointment, while Remus looked unsure what side he wanted to take. He just wanted to keep the peace, but this confrontation had been coming for a while – I had also noticed that Peter had been distant all year, and was building towards confronting him myself. I may have chosen a different method than James or Sirius, but I did understand being angry with him for not stepping in while all of his friends were attacked.
"Get out of here, Wormtail. Re-evaluate where your loyalties lie – because lately, they sure as hell haven't been with us. Don't come back until you've figured it out," James had calmed down. He turned his back on Peter, ending the conversation. Peter stared at us, shocked. He whimpered and ran back into the castle. None of us watched him leave – we all knew we had witnessed a turning point in the Marauders friendship, and none of us knew what to say. So we said nothing, but we huddled together and stayed for a while.
December 21st, 1976
The train ride home for Christmas holidays was a quiet affair without Peter. Not that he was the life of the party usually, but the whole group was affected by his absence and adjusting to the change in dynamic. I could tell that James had been regretting being so harsh with him, but when I mentioned it to Sirius he muttered, "that fucking rat got off easy." I wasn't inclined to bring it up again, as he had pouted for the rest of the night and completely ruined our last night together before leaving for home.
The mood in our compartment perfectly matched that of our last train ride – depressed and moody. James was staring out of the window, watching the scenery change as we sped through the open fields of Scotland back towards London. Remus was sitting next to James, his eyes closed and his head leaning against the back of the seat; he hadn't moved since boarding the train. Sirius sat next to me, across from James and Remus, and had been angrily watching the Marauder's Map for the last two hours, watching Peter scurry around the castle. Peter had decided to stay at Hogwarts from Christmas break, given that the original plan had been for the boys to spend the holiday at Potter Manor. Lily had told me that his parents had already planned a vacation to France, and they were not happy when he told them his plans had changed. She had been the only one of us who had talked to Peter in a week, clinging to the belief that if things had gotten really out of hand he would have stepped in. I had doubts about that, but Lily was so kind-hearted she wouldn't hear a bad word against him, so I kept my opinions to myself.
I had mixed feelings. On one hand, I was upset that my best friends and my boyfriend were upset and hurting, but on the other I was glad that I could spend less time around Peter. He had always struck me as odd, and sometimes downright creepy. He was always leering and me and Sirius any time we touched, and more than once he had followed us upstairs. Sirius had always laughed it off as innocence, but I was convinced he was more cunning that that, especially since he had been involved with that Slytherin girl for a while.
Sirius was picking his nails anxiously, something I had never seen him do before, so I grabbed his hand to stop him. He looked at me sharply, but softened when he saw the worried look on my face.
"Sorry, Addie. I'm just worried about Peter. He's been in a hallway outside of the library for the last five minutes with Rosier and Wilkes. I hope he's not being attacked," He passed the map over to James who had turned his head from the window at those words. James and Remus put their heads together and looked at the map. When he looked up James looked utterly crushed, and Remus looked upset.
"We didn't even think that he would be there alone," James muttered. "We shouldn't have left him behind. We did to him what he did to us; left him to deal with the Slytherins on his own." Remus looked about ready to say, "I told you so," but closed his mouth quickly when Sirius stood up suddenly.
"It's not our fault that the slimy bastard doesn't stick up for his friends! Maybe getting the shit kicked out of him will show him where his loyalties lay," Sirius was heated now, drastically different from the worried look he had shown just seconds before. "How can you count on someone who isn't there for you?"
"That's not the point. The point is that he's our friend, and we needed to be there for him. Two wrongs don't make a right," Remus said, his own eyes blazing in anger. He sat up straight in his seat, glaring at Sirius.
"Two wrongs don't make a right, but sometimes getting the hell beat out of you fixes a wrong," Sirius seethed, pacing back and forth in front of Remus.
"That…might be true," admitted Remus, the fire burning from his eyes. He leaned back in defeat, putting his head into his hands. "I just hope they don't get him too bad."
"We'll make it up to him when we get back. We should all send him an owl too," James sighed, knowing there was nothing else they could do.
"Well, it looks like whatever was happening is over. They're all walking in opposite directions," I said, peeking at the map that James was still holding. "Couldn't have been that bad."
"He's walking, so he must be okay. We'll fix things with him when we get back. I need more time to cool off anyway," Sirius sat back down, looking much happier now that we knew Peter wasn't in danger. He threw his arm around me and settled in for the rest of the journey.
Kings Cross was busy, as usual. Platform 9¾ was full of families waiting to greet their children, younger siblings running around playing with toy wands, and the bustling chatter of excited parents. Sirius helped me unload my trunk while I scanned the platform anxiously for my parents. I spotted a familiar head of auburn hair, and the tall salt and pepper haired man standing next to her. I squealed once in excitement, and hustled over to my mom and dad. When I saw my mom's kind face, I launched myself into her open arms.
"Mom! Dad! I missed you so much! There's so much to tell you from this term, so much has happened!" I chattered excitedly, so happy to be back with my parents.
"Lewis wanted to be here, but he couldn't get off work. He has a big case coming up, and hasn't even been able to get home for family dinner in weeks," my mom said, pushing me back in her arms so that she could look at me. "You look good, Quidditch has been treating you well. We want to hear about everything, but especially about this young man." My mom was gesturing to Sirius, who had come up behind us, pulling my trunk with him. I turned to him and thanked him, before turning back and addressing my dad, specifically.
"Mom, Dad. This is my boyfriend, Sirius Black," I said proudly, grinning at Sirius when he immediately stuck his hand out to my dad.
"Hello Mr. Jones. It's a pleasure to meet you, officially," He shook my dad's hand, who took his hand hesitantly but shook firmly, before introducing himself to my mom.
"Sirius Black? The same Sirius that you've complained about for six years straight?" My mom's eyebrows shot up in shock, and she looked at me incredulously. I nodded at her, sure that we would discuss the matter further at home; a conversation I was not particularly looking forward to.
"Walburga Black is your mother?" My dad asked innocently, hiding his opinion on the family pretty well.
"Unfortunately, she is. I haven't figured out how to change my own biology, but I assure you if there is a way, I will find it," Sirius joked awkwardly, running his hand through his hair. My dad laughed and clapped Sirius on the back.
"We're going to get along just fine, son. Your mother has caused quite a bit of trouble for my brother Leo – he works in the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Department. He's always coming around calling her that Black Bit–"
"Harold!" My mom interrupted him, shooting him a look. Most mothers would be worried that he was going to curse in front of two children, but I knew my mom was mostly worried that he was going to insult Sirius.
"Oh, that's alright Mrs. Jones, I've called her much worse – in fact, just this morning I called her a right bigoted cun–" Sirius laughed before speaking, but a swift slap to the chest from me cut him off before he could finish his sentence. I shot him a warning look, and he laughed again but sobered up quickly, shrugging his shoulders at my dad in a "got to listen to our women" way.
"You, my boy, can call us Harold and Esme. I'm just delighted that my daughter finally found a man with a sense of humor. That Jase…phew stiff as a board, worst dinner of my life," My Dad said laughing in awe at Sirius's gumption. Sirius, noticing my slight reaction to Jase's name, put a comforting hand on my back subtly.
"Thank you, Harold. It's really a pleasure to meet you. I'm really looking forward to getting to know you better, and meeting Lewis," Sirius said. Despite the mention of Jase, I was shocked at how well this was going. I hadn't been too nervous to introduce Sirius to my parents – Sirius was generally pretty well mannered when he wanted to be, and both of my parents were incredibly relaxed. They appreciated nerve and personality, and our family dinners were known to get a little rowdy; Sirius was bound to fit right in. But still, I hadn't expected my parents to tell him to call them by their first name – they had never done that to any girl Lewis had ever brought home, and certainly never to Jase.
"We'll have you over for dinner. We do a big family dinner every Sunday; come by the Sunday after Christmas. Meet the whole family at once; they're going to love you," My mom said, smiling at Sirius kindly.
"That would be wonderful, Esme," Sirius said, pulling her into a hug. He shook my father's hand again, before turning to me and giving me a chaste kiss. "I'd better be off. The Potter's have taken me in recently, and I see Mrs. Potter coming over."
"Yes, go. Euphemia Potter, lovely woman, old classmate. Scares the living shit out of me, so I think we'll take off," My mom said grabbing my father's hand and turning towards the floo. "Addie, we'll see you at home in a minute."
As my parents stepped into the floo, Sirius pulled me into his arms for a more extended kiss goodbye. Once we separated, he looked me in the eyes for a minute. "I know you don't want to, but I think it's a good idea to tell your parents, or at least your mom. An adult needs to know, kitten." I nodded at him, knowing that he was right. "Now go home, and I'll floo you in a couple of days to set up dinner. You should come to Potter Manor for a night too, because once I tell Euphemia and Fleamont that I finally "settled down", they're going to want to meet you."
"I knew I wasn't going to get out of meeting the parents," I joked, kissing him quickly. I saw Mrs. Potter moving closer, past the couple that had commandeered her on her way over to us. With a last wink, I stepped into the floo and called out, "Chateau." I was finally heading home.
