Of Divination & Insanity

Chapter 1

Beatrix's breath bloomed out of her mouth, spilling into the air in plumes of white mist that dissipated like a Patronus might. Her teeth chattered incessantly and her nimble, spindly fingers were numb, curled stiffly within her sopping cloak. Everything itched and burned and radiated a throbbing soreness - bile licked the back of her throat as she grasped at her crumbling occlumency shields. Her feet were swift as she all but ran to the outer reaches of Little Whining - tear tracks of blood dribbling all the way down to her knees. Thunderous rain congealed the fallen leaves into a thick muck that clung to her bare feet, causing her to slip and stumble, but she managed not to fall.

It felt like ages before she reached the edge of town and she nearly sobbed in relief before abruptly remembering she was without a wand. Panic soon swept over her tenfold - she was all but a muggle without a wand, a defenseless little muggle girl. She couldn't summon the Knight Bus without it nor could she apparate yet - she hadn't even a broom, not that that would have been a viable option in a storm.

Think, Beatrix. Think. Consciously trying to slow her hyperventilation to shallow pants, she surveyed the countryside surrounding Little Whining with wild eyes, internally reviewing her options. She needed someone to apparate to her - she needed to gain someone's attention. But attention was also the last thing she needed right then - the worst thing that could possibly come her way. Even if she got someone's attention, it would likely be a Ministry official or an Auror. Scorching tears of frustration burned down her cheeks in sharp contrast to the frigid rain beating down on her. If she closed her eyes, it felt like she was drowning…

Had circumstances been different and this scenario was simply a climatic scene in a novel, Beatrix would have taken a moment to bemoan the author's cliche usage of pathetic fallacy. Unfortunately for her, fate had no qualms against pathetic fallacy and was rather liberal with it on that occasion.

A pained whine broke through the downpour and Beatrix nearly thought it her own. It may have been the dimm hour, the sheets of rain, or the hysterical panic, but when she opened her eyes she thought she saw a grimm morph into a man. But when she blinked again, it was just a man - a man she immediately stepped away from.

"Wait," His hand reached out towards her, as if to grab the hem of her cloak from meters away. His voice was raspy and muted against the backdrop of thunder. "Please, I'm here to help - I-I would have helped sooner, but I didn't know how. I'm a wizard, it's okay."

Beatrix froze then, unsure. "S-show me your wand then?"

The man held his hands up in peace before reaching for his pocket, wherein he drew his wand - he crossed the wand over his chest in a traditional pureblood greeting. "Merry meet, Beatrix."

Those should have been the most beautiful words Beatrix could have ever heard in that moment, but life was a series of unfortunate events and no happy ending was awaiting her at the end of this fairytale. Beatrix blinked the rain out of her eyes, trying to get a glimpse of the man, but it was dark and the man's only visible characteristics were his skeletal build and black curls. She took a step back, bracing herself for another run, "How do you know my name?"

The man paused, uncrossing his arm and let it hang limply at his side - his wand pointed to the ground. "I was once… I am a close friend of your father's and took refuge in House Potter… before the war."

"How did you know I live in Surrey" She bit her lip before adding, "Amongst muggles?" No one knew where she had been abandoned - about the muggles. Not a single soul in Hogwarts knew that. Not even Nott knew that and he knew nearly everything about everyone.

"Well, as I told you, I was a friend of your father's… I came here once, before the war, when your mother was pregnant with you. For some muggle ritual called a 'Baby Shower' for your newborn cousin."

"Why did my mother bring you, why not my father?"

The man actually snorted then, "Your aunt and uncle wouldn't have had that, not after your father ruined their wedding. Your mother couldn't apparate alone while pregnant, so I came in his stead." The man chuckled but maintained the stiffness of a gravestone. "Not that I was much better, I ruined the 'Baby Shower'. It was an accident, honest."

Swallowing thickly, Beatrix looked around them - her options were non-existent and her tutelage under Madame Pomfrey had taught her enough to know that hypothermia would soon creep in. "How can you help me?"

Another long pause before, "When I was a lad, a bit older than you are now, my mother Crucio-ed me to near insanity. Your grandparents took me in… I'd like to repay them if you'd let me?"

The question hung in the air heavily like the blackened clouds above them,, " ...and you might be?"

Yet another dramatic pause in what must have been the most dramatic evening of Beatrix's life. "Black, Sirius Black."

This terrible chapter of a day deserved it's own novel. "E-excuse me?" Fate couldn't be that cruel - to put her in the direct path of her parents' torturer and mutilator? "The Sirius Black?!"

"No, not the Sirius Black, Sirius Black the Third." The joke was there and it was rather funny, but for rather obvious reasons was of poor taste and sorely out of place.

"You're not joking, are you." She knew he wasn't - no one's humor was that demented.

The man walked towards her slowly, stopping only when he was but a meter away. Pureblood features creased against a gaunt yet hauntingly handsome face as his lips ripped open into a Cheshire smile. "Perfectly Sirius, actually."