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Essie.
Honey, you're familiar like my mirror years ago
Idealism sits in prison, chivalry fell on its sword
Innocence died screaming, honey, ask me I should know
I slithered here from Eden just to sit outside your door
~From Eden, Hozier
Her father was discharged from the hospital two weeks before school was set to resume and a week after he had come home, Dany was set to go see Lily in Diagon Alley. She was being permitted to go on her own on the promise that she would keep her wand with her at all times and not leave the Alley except to go to the Leaky Cauldron.
The week he had been home was filled with her mother fretting over her father and her father insisting, "Rhea, I'm fine, I survived. So if you don't mind, I'd like to get on with my bloody life". Rhaegar had done wonderfully at playing Minister but one night after their parents had gone to sleep, he had admitted that he was far from competent.
"Dan…I'm just not ready for it; not yet, anyways. I was so scared and what people were telling me and asking me to do…I just don't think I could do it right now. I hope Dad doesn't decide to suddenly retire because we're all fucked if he does." He had told her and she had nodded.
"You did a good job, Rae. No one knew it was you and you kept everything in working order until Dad could get out of St. Mungo's. And I don't think that Dad's going anywhere for a while; you've got plenty of time to practice." She had told him, patting him on the arm. "Besides, when you become Minister, I'll be there. Your shithead little sister will be right next to you, making sure that you don't screw it up too badly. I'd hate to see generations of hard work go crashing to the ground because you make some boneheaded decision." She said and he scowled at her.
"That was so nice until that last bit. You were so close to being comforting. How is it that I keep hearing from people that you're such a good listener? You don't seem it, Dan." He said with an eye roll. She grinned before responding.
"If I told you, I'd be breaking the promises I made to keep secrets."
"But I'm your brother. James said you don't tell him anything either; this is so unfair." He said and she looked at him curiously.
"What do you mean? Anything I know so does James. Except for…" She trailed off.
"Except for Black. Yeah. James said he has no idea how much he's told you but you definitely know more than he does. I think you can share with your own brother." He pried. Dany wasn't impressed.
"You're the world's biggest snoop. If you want to know, why don't you go ask Sirius yourself?" She said, not amused at all.
"Come on, Dan. What could he possibly have said?" He said, still looking like he would give an arm to get into her friends' personal lives.
"I'm taking that to the grave, Rhaegar. Goodnight." She said, clearly serious. She stood up and left him sitting in the family room, looking like he wasn't sure what had just happened.
She and Lily had agreed to meet in the Leaky Cauldron at noon the Tuesday before school started. So Dany sat idly at the bar, talking to Tom the Bartender and waiting for her best friend to arrive.
"I'm telling you, Miss Danilynn, I don't think the Cannons are ever gonna win another Cup again." He told her seriously as she sipped her butterbeer.
"Oh, I completely agree and am glad that someone else sees it too. My dad's just insistent that they'll make some big comeback one day. Unfortunately we'll all likely have been dead and gone for over two hundred years when that happens." Dany responded and the man laughed.
"Too true. But between you and me, ma'am, I don't think even two hundred years can fix that team." He said and she laughed too.
"Ah, it's so funny because it's true…poor Dad, he'll never live to see the revival of his favorite underdog team." She said. Tom opened his mouth to respond when she heard a sudden voice.
"Dany?" Dany turned to see Lily standing behind her.
"Hey, Lils! Oh, Lily this is Tom, he's the bartender here. Tom, this is Lily Evans; she's going into Fourth Year with me." Dany said. Tom and Lily said hello. "Alright well we best be off…good to talk to you Tom." She said before paying the man for the butterbeer.
"Always a pleasure Miss Danilynn. Tell your folks I say hello." He said merrily and Dany hugged her best friend.
"It's so good to see you, Lily. I've missed you, my ginger." Lily whacked her in the arm out of habit.
"I'm a redhead." She corrected and Dany laughed.
"Don't ever change." She said as the two girls walked through the Alley.
"So, Danilynn Masters I want to know what the hell happened to you this summer." Lily said, getting right to the point.
"Lils, we just got here. Don't you think we can hold off on the serious talk for a bit?" Dany sighed and Lily waved a hand.
"I'm not talking about your sketchy behavior and vanishing act, which we are talking about later, I'm talking about you." Lily said and gestured to her friend. Dany looked down at herself. She had gained back a couple of the pounds that she had lost during her dad's hospital stint and her mother had approved, saying she looked much too thin and the three extra pounds would be adequate.
"Yeah, I know I lost a little weight, but there's a reason. I'll tell you about it later." Dany said and Lily continued to stare.
"When did your boobs get that big?" Lily said bluntly and Dany covered her chest by crossing her arms self-consciously.
"Um, I don't know, somewhere between now and June apparently."
"Oh my god, you have a butt too. It's like puberty just ran you over like a freight train. Did this happen overnight or something?" Lily asked. Dany felt herself blush.
"Lily, this is embarrassing. Seriously, I'm pretty sure I look the same that I did three months ago. Can we start shopping and stop looking at my boobs?" Dany said. And they continued into Flourish and Blotts to get their schoolbooks. The two girls started looking around and soon Dany heard the whispers start. Damn. She looked around and people were staring at her. Everywhere she went was a circus these days. "Lils, come on over here." She said quickly and her friend walked over, now noticing the looks her friend was getting.
"Already?" Lily said and Dany nodded.
"Apparently. Well, we might as well make use of it…let's go get our books." She sighed and walked over to one of the people that worked in the shop. It was an older man that she vaguely recognized. "Excuse me?" She said softly and he looked up. He immediately looked at her and saw the trademark white hair.
"Miss Danilynn. It's always a privilege. How can we help you today?" He asked kindly and she smiled.
"My friend, Lily, and I need our books for our Fourth Year, please." She said and Lily smiled at him. The man shook her hand.
"It's lovely to meet you, Lily…Fourth Year you say? Yes, I do believe I saw your brother in here not a week ago purchasing his Seventh Year books. May I see one of your lists?" He asked and Dany handed him hers. "One moment, girls. Do you mind if I take this with me?" Dany shook her head.
"Not at all."
"I'll be back in a pinch." He said and quickly walked off. Lily watched him go.
"Well at least there's no wait. I should take you with me everywhere. I need to get something really quick from Madam Malkins? I'll bring Dany. I need something for Potions? I'll bring Dany." She joked and Dany laughed.
"Yeah, yeah go ahead and laugh; reap the benefits of my 'fame', Lillian." She said and bumped Lily's shoulder.
"I heard that sarcastic tone when you said fame. There's no sarcasm involved. Look around; you're famous." Lily said and Dany felt her stomach twist at the word famous.
"Yeah…it kind of sucks, doesn't it?" She said softly and Lily looked at her, clearly surprised. Before her friend could respond, the man returned with a giant stack of books. "Here, there's no way one person can carry all of those." She said, taking half of the books off his hands.
"Oh, thank you ma'am but I can carry them." He said, obviously struggling with only half of the books.
"No, really I insist." She said and he nodded.
"Well thank you greatly; I'm afraid I'm getting old, I must admit… and I must say, judging by the number of books you need, Professor McGonagall is certainly making the curriculum more rigorous." He said as Dany adjusted her grip on the books.
"That's fantastic. I'm really looking forward to extra work, aren't you Lils?" Dany said and Lily laughed. The man chuckled too.
"Why don't we ring these up?" He said and the two girls followed him towards the register. Dany placed the books she was carrying on the counter and he did the same. "Now let's see…one set of these books adds up to 20 galleons, 6 sickles, and 2 knuts." Dany raised her eyebrows and looked at Lily. Prices had apparently taken an upturn in the last year. Their books had been much less expensive last year. "I know what you're thinking but books have become harder to get…due to the state of things." He said and both girls nodded.
"We totally understand." Lily said and smiled, "No one can control the actions of a lunatic." The man nodded.
"All too true, Miss Lily. Well, I do believe that we can make an exception for the Minister's family and their friends in terms of price…I'll give you both half-price, as long as you don't tell anybody." He said quickly and they both were shocked.
"Are you sure?" Dany said and he nodded.
"All your family does for us, it's the least we can do for you. So that'll be 10 galleons, 3 sickles, and a knut from each of you." The girls dug out the money and handed it to him. "Oh, and you wouldn't want to forget your list, Miss Danilynn." He said, handing it to her.
"Thank you very much. I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name." Dany said and he smiled.
"Zachary. My name's Zachary." He said and she smiled at him.
"You're a good person Zachary. If there more like you, the world would be a much better place." She said and he hugged her.
"Bless you and yours, child. My thoughts and hopes are with your family. Bless you." He said before releasing her. She saw Lily look mildly amazed. The two girls left the store with their bags.
"I'm officially bringing you everywhere. No wait time and half-price. You're a coupon on legs, Dany Masters." Lily said with a laugh. Dany heard her but didn't respond. She had just accidentally made eye contact with a very familiar pair of grey eyes. Except it wasn't Sirius, and it wasn't his dad either.
Lily looked at Dany, expecting some smartass comment after calling her a coupon but received nothing. She followed the girl's line of sight and saw her looking at a man that was about ten feet away from them.
"Dany…do you know him?" Lily asked and she shook her head.
"No. But Lils, he has Sirius' eyes." She said and Lily shook her head to herself.
"Dan, you have a crush on Sirius, you're probably just seeing what you want to. He's not Sirius and he's not Orion. I've had the pleasure of meeting both and that guy is neither. Let's go before he comes over." She tried to pull her friend away but Dany continued to resist.
"I know he's not Sirius or Orion but I'm telling you that he has his eyes." Dany said, still staring at the guy. "Just look, Lily. Take a good look then tell me I'm wrong again." Lily rolled her eyes but turned her attention to the guy. Sure enough, her friend was right.
"Holy shit." She said and Dany nodded.
"Told you."
"Who do you think he is?" Lily asked, both girls now staring at him from under the sign for Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour.
"A relative maybe? He looks awfully nice to be a Death Eater though…" Dany said and Lily agreed. He didn't look like he had ill intentions; he actually looked quite cheery.
"Yeah, he does…crap he's coming over. This is your fault, Danilynn. You started staring first." Lily hissed and both girls looked away quickly.
"Hello, girls." The man said, sounding amused. Lily couldn't help but raise her eyebrows. He even sounded like Sirius. Both girls looked up at him. Lily noticed that he had the same mischievous, up-turned smirk that Sirius did too.
"Hi…can we help you?" Lily asked.
"No, but it's rather hard not to come over when the Minister's daughter and her friend are staring at you for a good couple of minutes." He said and they both nodded.
"Sorry…you just reminded us of someone we know. Our mistake." Dany said and looked like she was going to back away until he started laughing.
"Ah, Danilynn Masters…you don't seem to be everything that he talks you up to be. I'm assuming you're Lily Evans?" He said and Lily felt her jaw drop. She saw Dany was shocked, but controlled herself better.
"I'm sorry, but do we know each other?" She said and Lily saw her hand slide to her back pocket, where her wand was stowed.
"No, we don't. I've never actually met anyone from your family in person." He said cheerily.
"Man, not to be rude but if you don't tell me what your name is and who you are in the next five seconds, I'm screaming 'kidnap'." Dany said, looking like she wasn't joking. Lily supposed that something that had happened this summer had set her teeth on edge. The man laughed.
"I also heard that you were better than screaming 'kidnap'." He said. "I think I've used my five seconds, but my name's—" Suddenly her friend's face lit up and her body language relaxed, her hand moving away from her wand. Lily didn't know how smart that was, given that they had no idea who this guy was.
"Alphard Black." Dany said suddenly and Lily momentarily considered that her friend might have lost her mind sometime between June and now.
"Clever girl. What gave it away?" He said, eyes glittering. He reminded Lily of Sirius when he was receiving a month's worth of detention.
"Well, first of all you have 'my last name is Black' written all over you; it's the hair and the height and the smirk and well, everything. Second of all, you don't look like you're here to kill me. If you're trying to pretend that you're not related to your nephew, I'd think about changing your face. You have kind eyes." Dany said and Lily thought that the last part was strange.
"Dan…Why are we talking to one of Sirius' relatives? You're not exactly the Blacks' biggest fan. Last I heard you and James were fighting over who got to wrap their hands around Walburga Black's neck first." Lily said questioningly. Alphard laughed.
"I see you're a girl after my own heart." He said and Dany didn't seem the least bit concerned. "You've heard about me." She nodded.
"You're Sirius' uncle." She said. "You're not a raving blood supremacist." She said and Lily raised her eyebrows.
"There's more than one good Black? Did I miss the memo?" She said and Alphard laughed again.
"It wasn't a widely distributed memo, Lils." Dany said with a smile.
"You might never have heard of me, but I've heard about you, Lily Evans." He said and Lily inspected him closely.
"Oh yeah? Heard what?" She said and she saw Dany smile.
"Nothing too personal, just that James Potter's got it bad for you and your this one's" he indicated Dany, "best friend. And that you're a ginger." He said with a smile.
"I'm a redhead." Lily said automatically and then felt like an idiot for saying that to someone she hardly knew. He laughed.
"He said you'd say that too…not to be weird or anything but people are starting to stare so how about we take this party into the building?" He said and sure enough, people were starting to stare. Dany nodded and they walked into the Ice Cream Parlour. Florean greeted them; well, he greeted Dany and Lily.
"Miss Danilynn! And Miss Lily! A pleasure as always, you two. Pick a seat, anywhere please." He said merrily as they sat down.
"I see you two are popular here." Alphard said dryly. Dany shrugged, apparently undisturbed by Sirius' uncle's sudden appearance.
"It's not like we can do much else for fun."
"It's a sign of the times, I do suppose." He said and Lily noticed that he looked like everyone else did when they talked about the war; he looked rather sad and very worried. Florean brought them drinks and they all thanked him before he walked away.
"So, to change the subject to something far cheerier; how do you know so much about us?" Lily said keenly. He laughed.
"I see my nephew at those horrid family get-togethers that we're both forced to attend and we talk; he talks about his friends, I talk about how the war's going, not like he can get news from anywhere else during summer." He said with a shrug. "So what's this I hear about you wanting to strangle my sister?" He said and Dany accidentally snorted her drink up her nose at the word 'sister'.
"She's your sister?" Dany coughed out. "Shit, I'm sorry that you have a hag for a sister." She said and he laughed.
"That sentence didn't end the way I thought it was going to. And I have to admit that I'm rather sorry that I have a hag for a sister too." He said sadly. Lily had to nod in agreement; she had nowhere near the depth of knowledge that Dany did in regards as to what happened in the Black household but she knew it was nothing good.
"So, if you don't know much about me, what do you know about her?" Lily asked, pointing to her friend.
"Lily, I don't know if I want to know that…that feels a little invasive." Dany protested. She was ignored.
"About her? Much more than you. Sorry, dear." He said to Lily.
"It's okay, I forgive you." Lily said. She was actually quite relieved that he knew minimal information about her.
"Well, let's see…Dany Masters. James' Godsister, your brother's…three years older than you, Lily's your best friend, and you take after your father." He said and Dany raised an eyebrow. Lily agreed with that reaction; that evaluation was cursory at best.
"Not very impressive. No offense, it's not your fault that Sirius doesn't say much about me." She said and grinned. He laughed and looked highly amused.
"I didn't say I was done, did I?"
"I suppose not…why? What else has he told you?" She asked, curious. Judging by the look on his face, Lily guessed that he knew a lot about her. Sure enough, Sirius' uncle started up a list that became more and more lengthy by the second.
"Up until last year, you hid your hair color, turning it brown. You're competent at healing and you can't pass charms to save your life. You call your dad 'Daddy' even though you started calling your mom 'Mom' when you were nine. Um, your brother wakes you up in the morning with cold water to the face. Your dad used to sing to you when you were a little girl and you play piano. Dorea and Charlie Potter are your Godparents and your father cried when you were born. You have an enormous capacity for compassion and forgiveness and even redemption, which is a rare quality might I add. You hate the scrutiny that your family's under all the time and sometimes you wish that you were all a bunch of nobodies with no responsibilities. You'd never ask a guy out because your family doesn't believe in that and your parents married at nineteen. Oh, and all of my nephew's girlfriends hate you and you have absolutely no idea why. You're a remarkable girl, Danilynn Charlotte." He finished and Dany's mouth was hanging open. Lily hadn't known half of that.
"Dany…is that all true?" Lily said slowly.
"Sirius has a big mouth." Was all Dany said. His uncle shook his head. Lily felt her own mouth open. Apparently Sirius wasn't the only one that had a habit of talking; her best friend had been spilling to him in a major way.
"He actually doesn't. I do believe that I'm the only person he's ever told any of that to…and I must say, even after all of that being said, I can't believe he failed to mention your inherently trusting nature."
"I wouldn't say that." Dany said, but Lily disagreed. She had been willing to trust Sirius, someone they all had been slightly afraid of in First Year, without batting an eyelash.
"I would. You didn't know who I was; I could have been an axe murderer for all you knew, but you saw a set of eyes that you recognized and you automatically trusted me. Either you're naturally trusting or my nephew has done something drastic enough that you now automatically trust someone who even reminds you of him." Alphard replied and Dany raised an eyebrow. He had her there. Lily wondered which one of those was the truth.
"Alright, that's all very enlightening. But there has to be something else, something that isn't just fact." Lily said and Dany looked at her sharply.
"Lily. Enough." Dany said and Lily heard the warning but ignored it; unlike the rest of the Wizarding World, she didn't fear the wrath of the Masters temper.
"Seriously Dan? You're not even a little curious?" Lily asked her and Dany shook her head.
"Of course I am, but that's invasive. We shouldn't know that, we shouldn't know any of this as it is and you're well aware of that." Dany argued and Lily knew she was right but she had to know if Sirius had fessed up that he was in love.
"Alright, well he didn't say anything about either of our personalities, just a lot about the past." Lily said and turned her attention to the older man.
"Just so you know, I'm not outing him on anything that I think is important. I will, however, indulge your friend, Danilynn." He said and Dany rolled her eyes and sat back in her chair.
"What the hell? Start with Lily." She said with a hand wave.
"Okay. Nice girl, pretty girl; you have a temper but your bark is way bigger than your bite. Everyone thinks you're actually destined to marry James, just by the way. Smart, you're at the top of your class and that's exactly where you want to be; not because of the status but because you want to be the best you can be. You're tenacious but still flexible. You worry easy and tend to nurture your friends. You're the mother hen in your group of friends aren't you?" Lily nodded. "I thought so. Is that good enough for you?" Alphard asked her dryly and she nodded, actually quite flattered by the description that he had given her. That further fueled her curiosity as to what exactly Sirius thought about his best girl friend.
"Alright, lay it on me." Dany said and looked like she didn't know how she was going to like what was going to come out of his mouth.
"You're a strong girl, resilient. You can handle yourself and you've got a mouth on you. Unlike your friend here, your bark isn't nearly as big as your bite. But despite that, you still believe in and hope to marry for love, because somewhere in you, there's still a little girl that doesn't want to grow up. You're clever, not as studious as Lily, but smart and competent in a pinch. You're a funny girl, and I must say I agree with that, and you never stay down for long. At a certain level, you reject the lot you were born with and to some degree you don't really care what your family thinks. But you have low self-esteem, don't you? You don't see what everyone else does. You don't have the ego of your brother and ask for help if you need it, you're humble and have a kind heart that can't help but try to fix other people and their problems. But you're stubborn and willful and change doesn't come easily to you. And you're scared, about the war, about your family, about what's going to happen if something happens to them too soon, about just about everything. You're afraid of the responsibility of this war being thrown onto you because you feel like everything rests on your shoulders sometimes but you refuse to let anyone help you carry the weight of that." He said and Lily raised her eyebrows. That was an intimate description of her friend, who looked uncomfortable with all of her thoughts and feelings being said out loud.
"Well I see you've talked to Sirius recently." She said and he nodded.
"Last week. He's a good kid and he doesn't deserve the lot he was given. This break has been very hard on him. I know you return to school next week, and I thought I should let you know in advance. He may not look it, but he needs help, help that I can't give; he needs someone who's willing to pick up the pieces and put him back together." Alphard said and the girls exchanged worried glances. Lily knew that Dany would be losing a lot of sleep over that from now until September first. "I also thought I should tell you that I'll be seeing him again tomorrow, so if there's anything you want to write or say…" He said and Dany rummaged around in her bag and pulled out a Muggle pen. She wrote something on a napkin and handed it to him.
"Give him this." She said.
"Tell him that we all wish he wasn't there, with them." Lily said softly and the man nodded.
"I will. I best be going; I was only supposed to get one thing and then leave." He stood and just before he left he turned around. "And by the way, Miss Danilynn, I barely scratched the surface." He said before vanishing out the door, reentering the masses of people.
"Lily. What the hell was that?" Dany said.
"This is what happens when you stare at people on the street, Danilynn. This is what happens." Lily sighed.
The only upside of all of these damn parties was that his parents didn't have free reign to smack him into the ground. Having a bruised heir wasn't exactly…respectable, after all. He stared at his dress robes in the mirror hatefully and there was a knock at the door. He closed his eyes and hoped it was just Kreacher. The door opened and it was someone who he was actually glad to see.
"Uncle Alphard. I see you're early." Sirius said and his uncle smiled. Sirius had always felt like a younger carbon copy of his uncle.
"I know, I'm constantly changing things up; it keeps my sister on her toes. Her face when she opened the door was worth showing up early for. Forcing her to pretend that she can stand me is one of the funniest things ever…it makes her look constipated." Alphard said and Sirius laughed.
"Does she know you're up here?"
"Of course she does. Not like she could stop me anyways; it would be unbecoming of her to deny me the right to see my nephew, no matter how much she doesn't like it." Alphard said and Sirius rolled his eyes. Family members had often said that Sirius and his uncle had more in common than their looks; they both loved antagonizing Walburga in anyway possible. "Now, what's this I hear about you sneaking out of your room to hide dungbombs all about the house?" His uncle said with a laugh.
"Oh, it's exactly what it sounds like. And in case you were wondering, they didn't find them in time to keep the three in their room from going off." Sirius remarked and the other man laughed.
"Oh, ouch. I'm sure that went over great." He said and Sirius rolled his shoulder absently. Alphard saw him do it and looked unimpressed. "Now they're dislocating things?" Sirius nodded.
"Yeah, you haven't lived until you've reset your own shoulder…damn I'll be glad to get back to Hogwarts soon. I'm sick of having the shit kicked out of me almost everyday."
"Hopefully you won't have anymore battle wounds on the train. I don't think your friend would have a problem fixing them again but I'm sure she'd be less than enthused that they're there at all, judging by the fact that she inherently worries about you. But then again, I'm sure you want her to feel you all over so that wouldn't be a great burden for you, would it?" His uncle laughed and while Sirius ignored the teasing joke, he didn't miss the fact he was talking about Dany, something he never brought up instead opting to wait for his nephew to mention her first.
"What do you mean?"
"Oh come on, I'm assuming you know how babies are made; actually I know you do. There's a lot of touching involved, which I'm sure you're also aware of."
"Alphard."
"Okay, okay. I ran into a couple of your friends in Diagon Alley yesterday. They send their well-wishes and thoughts." He said and Sirius looked at him sharply.
"Who did you run into?" He asked, more seriously now.
"You know I'm starting to wonder if you actually have been with all of those girls…you don't seem to know much about the process. Or care very much about talking about it." His uncle said absently.
"Who did you see?" Sirius asked.
"Fine, fine. So serious. I ran into your good friends Danilynn Masters and Lily Evans. By the way, your white-haired friend trusts you quite a lot; she wasn't afraid of me at all. She said it was because I had 'kind eyes'." He said and Sirius felt his stomach give an uncomfortable lurch.
"What?"
"I asked her how she knew who I was, I mean she guessed my name on her own. She said that I looked like I was a Black and I didn't look like I wanted to kill her. Then she told me to change my face if I wanted to pretend that we weren't related. And she said right after that I have kind eyes. That's it." His uncle shrugged.
"What does that have to do with me?" Sirius asked disbelievingly.
"I walked up to her in the middle of the street and she didn't look thrilled but also not terrified; Lily was definitely scared though. She just kept staring at me and once she figured out who I was, she just completely trusted me. I probably could have gotten her to walk off with me if I had tried. Not that I would, but still. She trusted me and I'd put money down it was because I reminded her of you. Maybe it was that stunt you pulled by staying in the hospital with her or maybe it was something else but whatever it is, it made quite the impression. You wouldn't be willing to say what exactly she was doing in the hospital would you?"
"No way. I'm taking that with me to the grave." He said quickly and Alphard looked amused.
"I figured as much but it was worth a shot. Does she know about how your mother treats you—?"
"She knows that things aren't exactly dandy over here and that the basement occasionally doubles as my bedroom…other than that she doesn't. And she isn't ever going to know anything beyond that." Sirius said harshly and Alphard said nothing in response to that. "What did you say to them?" He said and the older man shrugged.
"Not much. But I see what you're saying about her, she's a good person. Smart too; she thinks on her feet. She's a beautiful girl." Alphard said and Sirius quite agreed with that. "She looks different from any of the pictures you have of her though. She looks…older. Less like a kid." He said and Sirius wrinkled his nose.
"Oh ew, you do realize she's like fourteen right?"
"Ugh no, gross. But all I'm saying is that you have good taste. She's a beautiful, smart, brave, kind, funny girl who happens to care a great deal about you. So why aren't you trying to ask her out every chance you get? She's everything you really want and need; the fact her mere existence pisses my sister off should just be a bonus. " His uncle asked him.
"What's the point? You know just as well as I do that nothing would ever come of it…she's the Minister's daughter; she's nothing like me, she's too…too good for the kid of Death Eaters. She'd never feel the same way. The Minister's daughter will never feel anything but friendship for a boy that's supposed to be the Black heir, and that itself is a miracle. Besides, I don't deserve her, not really." Sirius sighed and his uncle looked like he wanted to smack him. That was what differentiated his uncle from the rest of his family; he didn't actually hit him, he just looked like he wanted to whack him over the head for missing the point.
"Do you hear yourself? The minute you don't think you deserve someone is the minute you do. You're a fool and your being pigheaded on this. You love her and she obviously cares for you. And instead of actually doing something about it, you keep on dating girls who have nothing between their ears except for a head full of perfume and air. You're going to lose her if you don't do something Sirius, mark my words. She isn't a little girl anymore and other boys are going to notice. Do something before someone else does. And someone will do something sooner rather than later. She's too pretty to be ignored by the boys at school for much longer." He said before he started to the door. He was almost out before he paused and handed him something. "I almost forgot; Lily said to say that she wishes that you didn't have to be here and your beautiful and caring friend said to give you this; no idea what it says, I didn't read it." He said before closing the door behind him. Sirius looked down at what Alphard had handed him. It was a napkin. He unfolded it and there was a simple message in it.
Come back safe. Love, Dany
He put it on his bed and walked out of his room to the party his mother had been obligated to host this fine summer night. By the time he made it downstairs, there were people everywhere and it was abundantly clear that Alphard hadn't been the only one to show up early. He started wandering through the masses of his relatives and wondered if anyone would notice if he got drunk. Considering he got loud and obnoxious when he got drunk, probably.
"Sirius?" A voice said behind him and turned to see dark hair, fair skin, and warm eyes.
"Andromeda. It's good to see you." He said and he really meant it; Andy was a nice girl, sixteen or so and was currently carrying on a secret relationship with Muggleborn Ted Tonks. Sirius had never been prouder of one of his relatives than when she had told him that almost a year ago. They hugged briefly and then drifted over to a corner to talk, out of the way of their relatives.
"So, how has summer been? Did you get to go see James?" She asked and Sirius shook his head.
"Yeah, I mean I got permission to except I…got sidetracked by another of my friends and had to cancel with him." He said, skirting around giving her the complete answer. She seemed genuinely disappointed.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I know how you look forward to that every year…which friend was it?" She asked and just then Alphard walked over. Sirius was less than thrilled with that.
"Oh, he hasn't told you? Should you tell her or can I?" He said and Sirius waved a hand; he was getting sick of telling everyone the same half-truth over and over. "See, Sirius here was all set to go to James' when he got a panicked letter from none other than Dany Masters; said that she was at the hospital. So instead of enjoying himself at James', he went to the hospital, for completely unknown reasons that he refuses to tell anyone. Did I miss anything?" His uncle said and Andy looked intrigued.
"Dany Masters? The Minister's daughter?" She asked. Sirius nodded. "I knew you were friends but I didn't know you were that close." She said and Sirius shrugged.
"No offense but I kind of keep that…quiet at home. My delightful parents would love a living, bleeding person that could cough up the Masters' family secrets; which is something that I have no intention of ever doing, just by the way."
"How much do you know if you could give them something worthwhile?" She asked disbelievingly. Sirius considered that question for a minute. Most of the time, he felt like a mildly informed, half-familiar person around the Masters. But then he realized that that was far more than most people know about the Minister and his family.
"Enough." He said and decided that he wouldn't be elaborating any further than that.
"He forgot to mention that he's in love with her." Alphard said suddenly and Sirius put a hand over his own face. Fuck.
"What?" Andy said, looking like she was quite certain that she had heard wrong.
"It's true…he's got it bad too, by the look of things." His uncle said and Andy looked excited by this.
"Really? That's so cute! I've seen you two at school and I have to admit, you would look good with her. I mean you're like fourteen but still." She said thoughtfully and Sirius rolled his eyes and covered his face with a hand.
"Oh my God." He said to no one in particular.
"I know, but he's in the 'she's too good for me' phase." Alphard said and Andy smiled knowingly.
"You weren't joking when you said he's got it bad. I was already dating Ted," her voice dropped to a whisper at his name momentarily, "before he went through that, but don't worry he got over that quickly…not like you'd know anything about that, eh Uncle?" She said referencing the fact that Alphard was a proud bachelor.
"I just haven't found anyone that's made me change my mind on kids and a family is all. If I came across a woman that made me want to settle down, I'd put a ring on her." He said with a shrug.
"How's Ted, Andy?" Sirius said suddenly, changing the subject.
"He's good, last I saw him. He gets really worried when I'm home though…living with Bella and Cissy isn't what I'd call good for the psyche." She said and Sirius sympathized with that greatly.
"Hey, you only got a year or so left, you can do it." Sirius said and she looked rather hopeful at that encouragement.
"Yeah…I guess I do. Huh, I never really thought about that; I never could really see the light at the end of this tunnel. It's refreshing to know that it's not forever." She said thoughtfully and Sirius was rather jealous…he'd bloody kill to only have a year left living with his parents. She looked at him as if she was reading his mind. "Don't worry Sirius, you'll make it. It comes faster than you think."
James was a Fourth Year. He was officially a Fourth Year as soon as he walked onto the Hogwarts Express today. He passed through the barrier with his parents and immediately tried to pick out familiar faces. He saw a head of auburn hair and walked towards it, bidding his parents farewell. Lily was with her family. Her parents he recognized from last New Years and a girl she assumed was her sister was standing next to them, looking like she wanted to vomit.
"Hey Lily, you haven't seen Dan, have you?" He said and she turned around to smile at him, her entire family directing their attention to him.
"Hello to you too, James. And no, I haven't…not since last week anyways. Have you?" She said and there was worry clear on her face; she must know about Daniel.
"Not since she…came home a few weeks ago. Has she talked to you about her…trip yet?" James said, trying to phrase that as delicately and vaguely as possible. Lily nodded.
"Yeah, she told me about it; I was rather glad when she got home though." She said and James nodded.
"Me too. Oh, I'm sorry Mr. and Mrs. Evans; it's nice to see you again." James said politely and they both smiled.
"You too James. I do believe you've grown since last December…this is our oldest daughter, Petunia." Mr. Evans said and gestured to the girl James had correctly identified as Lily's sister. He keenly looked at her ring finger and sure enough, Vernon had proposed. He was rather glad that he had put his money where he had on that.
"Hi Petunia, it's nice to meet you." He said, forcing himself to be polite, despite knowing how unpleasant she was to her sister from Dany's rants on the topic. Fortunately for his patience, Petunia said nothing and stalked off, saving him from having to make small talk with the rude girl. Lily smiled sadly as she watched her sister leave.
"Sorry about that." Mrs. Evans said awkwardly. James shrugged.
"No worries, I hear that I'm not everyone's cup of tea." He said and they smiled.
"I don't know about you James but I'd rather be someone's shot of firewhiskey than their cup of tea." An amused voice said from behind him and he turned to see Dany. She looked good; she looked healthy and like the summer had treated her well. Even though they were practically family, he had to admit that puberty had definitely done a job on her; she no longer looked like a little girl. Sirius was going to freak.
"Very true, Little Godsister. How are you?" He said and hugged her she hugged him back. "How's Daniel?" He whispered into her ear and she looked shocked.
"Good. I'm good. What about you? Sorry I fell off the face of the planet for a while, it's just—"
"Vacation, right? I went over to your place and no one was home…my parents told me where you were." He said and she nodded.
"Yeah, nothing like getting away for a few weeks, completely unannounced…Lils! How are you, girl?" She said and quickly moved her attention to her best friend. Lily said she was good and said something about Petunia waiting off the platform in a huff. Dany laughed and said hello to Mr. and Mrs. Evans before they left, bidding their daughter a good first semester. Once they left, Dany turned her attention to James. "Who told you?"
"I went to your house and no one was there…I saw you wrote to Sirius; your owl brought his response back to your house because I guess it didn't know where to go. I confronted my parents about it and they confirmed but didn't say anything except to say nothing to anyone." He said and she relaxed. "But seriously, how is he?" James asked.
"He's good…I mean there were a few rough weeks and we didn't know if he was ever going to wake up but once he did, he recovered really quick. He's been home for a few weeks and has been back at work." She said and James noticed how haunted her eyes immediately became as soon as she started talking about it. Lily looked surprised.
"Sirius? How come Sirius got to know before us?" She asked and Dany looked like she had been caught in a crime.
"Thanks James. You suck." She said.
"Sorry, I thought she knew."
"She knew what happened. I just…omitted that part." She said carefully. Lily started to tap her foot.
"Danilynn."
"Okay fine! So my mom comes busting into the room saying that we had to go to St. Mungo's like now and I freaked. Alright? I knew James wouldn't be any use and you'd just throw me a pity party so I wrote him. It's not a crime to ask for help, you know." She said and James saw Lily's eyes narrow.
"You're bullshitting me…I know he cancelled with James and them, he was with you wasn't he?" Lily said and suddenly a voice spoke from behind her.
"Yes, Lily I was in the hospital with Dany and her family, is that what you want to hear?" Sirius said dryly and she looked surprised at his sudden appearance. She looked at Dany quickly and they both examined him thoroughly, looking for any extraneous damage. They apparently found none and said nothing. The four of them walked onto the train and started searching for a compartment before James said anything.
"You stayed? I thought that you just were there for like a day then went and hooked up with Kenzie or something." James said and Sirius shook his head and gave him a look that said 'later' as they sat down in a compartment in the middle of the train.
"Nah, I stayed a couple of days and then hid out in the Leaky Cauldron, enjoying my freedom and buying lots of ice cream." He said and Dany looked like this was all new to her and Lily easily bought the lie. He was a good liar and she was trusting.
"Oh, well you should know that your girlfriend's pissed that you cancelled last minute like that." James told him and Sirius rolled his eyes.
"Of course she is, I knew she would be. What can I say? I had something else better to do than sit around with her all week." He said and James saw Dany's eyes soften and James was mildly offended that his house was considered boring until he realized that this was all a lie to pass off in front of Lily. He didn't know how much Lily knew and he wasn't about to spill the beans on Dany's personal life.
"Alright, I'm just letting you know before she rains fiery teen girl wrath down on your life." James said, putting his hands up and Sirius shrugged.
"She's not that bad; the worst she can do is dump me." He said and James agreed with that, even if the girls looked like they didn't.
"I don't know…I'd be careful if I were you. Girls exact revenge differently than you all do; it may take a week or it might take a year but if you get her pissed enough, she'll come back for vengeance." Lily said and Dany nodded.
"She's just crazy enough to make it pretty brutal too. Like tamper with your broom to break your arm or something." Dany said and Sirius looked mortified. "What? I'm not saying I would do that but just be aware that you're dating a girl that's buckets of crazy. Trust us when we say you don't want to piss her off too badly. She's the jealous type and that could bite you in the ass down the road." She said and the train started to move. Lily nodded in agreement and then changed the conversation.
"So, in other news, Petunia and Vernon are engaged so I'd like to congratulate all four of us for betting correctly." She said and Dany cheered.
"You have to tell me all about them, Lils. I've been dying to hear more." She said and leaned forward, elbows on her knees, excitedly.
"I'll fill you in later; besides we have an entire semester before I can get anymore to tell you so I'm only going to tell so many at a time." Lily laughed.
"Lillian, you're killing me with this. The Petunia/Vernon love saga is my vice; I have to know more!" She groaned and James and Sirius laughed; it was looking like a good year already.