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Grimmauld Place, London

August, 1995

Truth Serum

Number 12 of Grimmauld Place was two things. Dark and dank.

Every breath she took tasted stale on her palate and she couldn't help the feeling that with each step, she was walking through dozens of disgusting spiderwebs. The very thought made her skin crawl.

"Let me light things up." Lupin muttered, still far too close to her, but this time on her starboard side. He took out his wand and gave it a swish – there were sounds of metallic twisting and the lights along the wall and the chandelier hanging from the ceiling began to brighten the room. Well, 'brighten' wasn't exactly the right word. It more lightened the house's colors from black and grey to brown and grey. The sight gave a bit to be desired – it's decor theme seemed to be gloomy with a touch of 'snake.'

"It's nice." She lied.

Several wizards chuckled behind her as they shifted further into the entryway.

Once the door closed behind them, there was the sound of muffled voices ahead, followed by hurried footsteps from the door at the end of the long hallway. A homely, smiling, red-haired woman came from it and hurried towards their group. "Harry!" She whispered. "Oh, Harry, it's lovely to see you!" She grabbed her nephew and pulled him into a tight-looking hug before holding him in a motherly arms-length as she looked him over. "You're looking peaky; you need feeding up, but you'll have to wait a bit for dinner..." The woman looked around at their group and then paused on her.

"Oh Tonks, that's an awfully nice look, but – "

"Mrs Weasley, I'm over here." The pink haired girl informed her from within the group. She was trying to kick something long that had entangled itself over her foot.

"I'm Harry's Aunt." Daisy quietly clarified as Moody grunted and stomped forward with the rest of the group, all filtering forward to the room that 'Mrs Weasley' had left.

Her face became a bit stony then, but confusion still was written in her features. "Oh. You're Petunia, then?"

Harry gave a short bark of a laugh. "No. Um, Mrs Weasley, this is my Aunt Daisy. My Mum's younger sister. Daisy, this is Mrs Weasley, my friend Ron's Mum." He introduced, gesturing between them.

The stony look rippled away from Mrs Weasley's face and she smiled now, taking her and and giving her a firm shake. "Oh! Well, then, hello there."

"I'm going to be living with her from now on. Here, in London." Harry said, sounding pleased and a tad embarrassed, like he was bragging.

"Oh." Mrs Weasley said, looking her over. She looked almost like she was about to protest, a line beginning to grow in between her eyebrows, when Lupin, who'd lingered with them instead of joining the others at the end of the hall, interrupted her.

"Has Severus arrived yet?" He asked.

The older woman blinked and said, "Yes – he arrived just a few minutes before you all did."

"Good." Lupin looked down at her, kindly. "We'll bring you in now, alright? We'll get your questions out of the way – just for Moody's sake. Harry, we'll see you after the meeting is finished." He smiled pleasantly at both Mrs Weasley and her nephew, and then left them to lead her down the long hallway.

"So who's Severus?" She asked him quietly. If I had a buck for every familiar name in this place...

His face was calm and revealed next to nothing. "Severus Snape. He's a rather brilliant Potions Master. He's the only one of us who would have veritaserum on hand at anytime." His tone and words were just as infuriatingly neutral, the man could have been a therapist.

"So you called in a specialist just to test me?" Daisy inquired, on the cusp of being irritable.

"No, not exactly. Severus was meant to be at this meeting anyway, we just asked him to arrive early."

Deciding to accept his explanation, she shifted and prepared herself as Lupin gestured her into the room at the end of the hall, which was just as dark and unnerving as the hallway had been, even with the dozens of lamps that had been light along the walls and on top of the long dining table that Moody had settled himself at. There were also a handful of other people there, wizards that hadn't joined her and Harry on their late-night broomride.

"Sorry." Tonks said apologetically to her after tripping on the moulding on her way in.

"Easy does it, klutz." Daisy said off-handedly, giving the pink-haired girl a short smile while also trying to absorb the faces of the people settling on the table, hoping to guess which one was the Potions Master. Tonks winked at her and went to the end of the table (tripping again, this time on a chair leg) before sitting beside a dark haired man dressed in a beyond faded Metallica t-shirt. Was he Severus? She thought cautiously, looking him over. But he didn't look all that familiar – and he didn't look the part of a brilliant Potions Master.

"Who's this, Moony?" The man asked, likely having noticed that she was sizing him up.

"Daisy Evans." She said coolly, sick of being talked over. The two men stalled, and Metallica-shirt smiled crookedly.

"Little daring Daisy?" He said, chuckling. 'Little.' Great. Another man who knew her as a child. Well, fuck this guy, she thought. "Oh, that's right! You were Lily's flower girl – at the wedding! You walked right up to me the second the reception started and demanded to dance on my feet."

Embarrassment heated the back of her neck, and Daisy braced herself by gripping the chair in front of her while looking coldly down at Metallica-shirt's amused face.

"Sirius, Daisy is taking over for Petunia as Harry's guardian." Lupin said evenly, smartly sensing how volatile 'Sirius' had just made the conversation. That smacked the smile right off 'Sirius's face. There was little time for a response however, as Mrs Weasley had just bustled back inside of the room, the creaking silencing the three.

"Snape." Moody suddenly growled, glaring past her and into the darkest corner of the room. "Have you brought it?"

"Yes." Said a dark voice. "I have."

/~/

He'd been dressed entirely in black, she remembered while in her assigned bedroom, which was as dusty and dark as the rest of the house.

Even his hair and eyes were black. He'd been almost entirely hidden within the shadows. It had startled her, seeing him drift out of the blackness. So much of the shadows there had actually been him, draped over in equally pitch-colored robes.

The Potions Master had been the only person that night to look her directly in the eyes, as if he was searching for her soul. It had sent the hair on the back of her neck on end, and there was a tremble in her gut. Daisy still felt it, even out of his presence, without her looking at her.

She placed a hand over her stomach, as if she could squash the feeling from it with just her hand.

"What is that?" Daisy had asked as the Potions Master drifted closer. His face was as pale as paper, making him look all the more like a creeping vampire. He'd been holding a small, glass vial in his hand, which she'd directed her eyes to as quickly as she had Moody's wand just a short hour ago. And it was better than to continue their eye contact, which had chilled her. He lowered himself into the chair in front of her, where she had been lead to sit by Lupin.

"This is veritaserum." He answered shortly, tucking his tight, black sleeves to bare his long, but otherwise normal looking hands.

"I know that." Daisy said. His head looked up, regaining her eyes then. Her stomach twisted. "I mean, what's it do?"

The Potions Master lowered his head back down and removed a black wand from his sleeve, making her tense. But he did not direct it towards her. Instead, he gave it a simple wave over the vial and from it, she heard it give a short 'clink.' "It is a truth serum." He said simply, putting away his wand to take hold of the delicate-looking dropper. "With two drops, you will be unable to tell a lie."

"Really?" Daisy asked, fascinated, looking closer at the vial he held. The liquid inside looked no different or more interesting than water. She almost didn't believe it, but given everything else that had happened that night, a mere potion that made her spill her guts wasn't all that strange sounding. It's probably just magical vodka, she smiled shortly at the thought and sat back in her seat as the Potions Master measured the truth serum. She cleared her throat. "So, how do I take it?"

"By mouth." He informed her.

She had finally re-met the intense gaze of the Potions Master then. Thinking back, she was pleased that she had then held out her palm to the man. His pitch eyes, which had been showing her nothing until that moment, looked taken-aback.

"You can drop it there." Daisy told him, with no room for adjustments. He'd paused – not for long, only for a beat, maybe two. Then, he dropped a few ice-cold drops of the potion into her palm. She poured it into her mouth, holding her palm to her face to make sure there was nothing remaining, before flashing her hand to him, and then Moody, who'd been watching them with his fake blue eye. "Good?" She asked.

Severus Snape had given her a short nod and then swept away, allowing his seat to be taken over by a gruff Moody, who'd begun questioning her with vigor.

Daisy had been sent to one of the cleaned bedrooms when he was finished, to let the potion fade from her while the meeting started. Lupin had muttered to her that he'd inform her of anything that concerned her, what with her taking over her sister's responsibilities. They'd be taking instruction from a person named 'Dumbledore,' regarding her, but until then, she could not join them.

It phased her very little to not be in their meeting – the amount of that night that she'd understood weighed very little, and what she was truly waiting for was a full explanation. She considered searching for Harry, but then shifted her jaw, remembering the potion that the Potions Master had given her.

Of the people she'd met that night, his face was the face that frustrated her the most. He was both familiar and not. Just as shadowy as he'd been in that corner.

"Okay..." Daisy muttered, feeling her exhaustion catch up with her. "I need a nap."

/~/

She woke up in a dark, windowless room. Daisy felt around, feeling panicked as her eyes struggled to adjust to the brutal blackness around her, when she heard a creak. A creak, not unlike another she'd heard before. She quickly looked toward where she heard the noise, her gut twisting, fear sending her heartbeat racing as she stared into the blackness, expecting to see the door crack with blinding white-light, a dark, red arm reaching inside beneath the chain-lock.

But there was a rapping on wood, and she was sent spiraling back to the present, and the sweat on her forehead coolled. "Aunt Daisy?" Harry. "Mrs Weasley says breakfast is ready, if you wanted to come down."

"Shit," she muttered, wiping her forehead. Her eyes had begun to adjust, and she glanced around, recognizing the room she'd be set in last night and realized that she missed dinner. "I'll be down in 10." Daisy called back, putting some cheer in her voice. Harry said his agreement and she heard the floorboards creak again as he left.

"This place." She said grimly, looking around the bedroom. There were only two lights in the room, on either side of the four-poster. With a cautious inspection, she found them to be gas. She twisted one of the knobs – and then was promptly shocked. She yelped, yanking her hand back as the lamp emitted it's gas and seemed to light itself. Daisy stuck her finger in her mouth, staring suspiciously at the demented-looking lamp. It was wrought iron, and decorated with snakes that had wound their way around the lamp base. Upon closer inspection, she saw that their eyes were even decorated with rubies.

'Don't touch anything, especially you, Daisy.' Lupin had said yesterday.

"Huh."

There was another rumble of footsteps outside of her door. How many people stayed there last night? The Potions Master came to mind.

Daisy got up then squinting and searching for her things, finding them on the bench at the end of the four-poster. She changed quickly, and tied her slightly sweaty hair up into a small ponytail. With a shrug, she found her mostly-empty body spray and gave it a cursory mist over her body. The first thing after this, I'll find a shower.

The rest of the house was just as dark and creaky as her room was. There looked to be dozens of paintings or artworks on the wall, most of which were draped over with sheets. For a second, she thought she heard snoring coming from a few of them.

"Oh – Evans." Sirius.

Daisy stopped at the end of the stairs. The man was standing in the hallway, dressed in a velvet robe over a pair of silk-looking pajamas. He was holding a teacup and looking not quite at her, but over her shoulder. He even looked contrite.

"Hey." She greeted him simply. Sirius still didn't meet her eye, but he did look at her face then.

"I'm sorry if I – upset you, last night. Or embarrassed you."

"Forget it." Daisy dismissed, sensing this was a Lupin-inspired apology and walking around him. Sirius came up beside her, stubbornly continuing his attempt.

"Hey, Evans, I'm not forgetting it." He reached out, blocking her escape into the kitchen. With a quick glance, she realized that the door had been left open open and noticed Harry's messy hair inside, just out of the corner of her eye. He'd trapped her. "Listen – you're Harry's Aunt. And – his guardian – now that you've bypassed the Dursleys." He looked like he was passing a gallstone, just by saying 'guardian.' "I'm his godfather." He said, earnest now. "We should get along. Be friendly." Harry's head turned in the kitchen, and she knew that he was listening, even as he continued to speak to the red-haired boy beside him.

She could have erupted into a dragon right then and there and spit fire all over his ass. This might have been encouraged by Lupin, but even he wouldn't have told him to force his apology and will on her while in front of her nephew. He'd looked too intelligent to attempt that on a virtual stranger.

"We'll talk later." Daisy forced, making Sirius' face drop. That alone satisfied enough of her fury to let her walk away and join the kitchen table.

She was greeted very adult-ly by Mrs Weasley, while who Daisy guessed was her husband, almost scrambled to get up and shake her hand. He shook her so vigorously that his thin glasses almost knocked right off his face, even as his wife gave him a withering stare.

"Arthur finds Muggles, I'm sorry, non-wizards, fascinatinating." She informed her.

"I have my own collection of batteries." Mr Weasley told her proudly, making her let out an amused snort.

"Dear, aren't you off?" Mrs Weasley asked her husband lightly, who nodded at his rotten luck, but gained himself an 'interview' at dinner that night, much to his wife's dismay.

Feeling better, even as Sirius slunked back into the kitchen as Arthur bustled by, Daisy turned her attention to the children at the table and absently ruffled her nephews hair, who flushed a tad but did not protest. Petunia had likely never shown him affection in his life. "Mornin' Harry." She said pleasantly, accepting a floating teacup full of coffee from Mrs Weasley, who'd amazingly sent it to her with a wave of her wand.

"Morning." He replied. Then, he introduced her to his friends. There were four Weasley children there, but seven in total, they informed her.

The twins there, identical right down to the pattern of their freckles, Fred and George, both gave her a wink and crooked smiles.

Ron, whom she was sat besides, shook her hand with his head slightly down, showing her that his ears were growing to an alarming shade of red.

Ginny, the girl with long ginger hair and an edgy expression, had ignored the introduction and instead asked her if her nose ring had hurt, to which her Mother scolded her with a tone that said, 'Don't you even think about it, young lady!'

Hermione was the only non-Weasley in attendance, and was a slightly toothy looking girl with voluminous brown curls, which she'd attempted to control with two red clips that she'd placed on her temples. She'd taken on an air very similar to the one that Mrs Weasley had – of an almost adult-approach to speaking, which although was done with a lot of skill, didn't match well as Hermione's voice was still so youthful. It was like having a young genius as a thesis advisor, informing her to redo 'the entire first page, with an open mind for change.'

Breakfast went by quickly, devolving from questions, to a discussion from Sirius for what was wrong with the house.

"There are doxies in the drawing room right now." He said. Mrs Weasley frowned at that and even put down her tea.

"Doxies? What has that elf been doing here for the past ten years?" She inquired.

Daisy guessed the puzzled look on her face was a bit too visible. Because Sirius spotted her and grinned, as if their encounter in the hall hadn't even happened. "Doxies are, well, they're almost like an infestation of bats – if bats had opposable thumbs and could curse. And we have the pleasant job of getting them out of this wretched fucking hell-hole I call my parent's house."

/~/

'Wretched' was a good word for this place.

Daisy wasn't allowed really to do much to help – the entire house was cursed, Sirius had said. Every door knob, fastening, light switch or knob was set to harm anyone who tried to touch it without a wand, leaving her perpetually in need of assistance until Mrs Weasley decided that until they removed the curses, that they would be leaving every light switched on and every door ajar (or, as Daisy had begun doing, with a candlestick shoved in between.)

'Doxies' it turned out, were a lot like bats, as they were strange, fairy-looking creatures covered with black hair and complete with sharp-looking teeth.

"Peter Pan would've been a way more interesting movie if Tinkerbell looked like you guys." She'd said as they cleared out the green-ish drawing room, spraying the hundreds of doxies stiff with old-fashioned looking spray bottles. She poked one of them, which now felt like it was made of stone.

The twins looked particularly interested in them, especially in their shiny, black eggs to which they sent covetous looks.

It took several days to clear out the drawing room, during which she only caught passing glimpses of the Potions Master, as, according to Lupin, she was still not cleared to join them in the meetings.

She'd still not spoken really to him, nor to Sirius, although they'd kept up an almost professional relationship while cleaning out his home from the bizarre, magical infestations that had taken root there. He tried to pull her aside at least once a day, but with no success. Daisy was still pissed at him, and would skillfully avoid him at every turn. But as day three passed, she thought that she was settling into disliking Sirius too easily.

Harry liked Sirius. He did, even if she found him to be a prick sometimes. And as much as she didn't want to admit it, Sirius had a point. They should get along, at least for Harry's sake.

However, her plan to reconvene was back-burnered when the man they called 'Dumbledore' arrived Tuesday evening, with the Potions Master beside him, and requested to speak with her.

I considered making it longer, but this felt like a more natural end rather than a page break

Feel free to leave comments, I'm loving the engagement :)