To Curse

Lara

"So, when are you going to accept that poor puppy of a boy who is currently mooning over you with lovely hazel eyes eh?" I said bluntly with a smirk and watched as Lily's face bloomed bright red. I am so glad I hardly blush.

"Lara!"

I chuckled.

I wasn't lying; Prongs had spent the last twenty minutes staring resolutely at my redhead friend. I could tell even with my back to him. Hell, I could practically hear his daydreams, ew, I know.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry. Still too soon, eh? I'm suffering relationship syndrome" I sighed "my heart is demanding that I do some serious matchmaking. Not to mention I'm trying to distract myself from, ah, the boys..."

Lily's eyes drifted over to a nearby bench and I heard her chuckle evilly.

Personally I was getting the bizarre urge to leave the room till my brother decided to remove his lips and hands from a certain brunette...

I suddenly understood one hundred percent the advantages of separating our minds, for at least a little bit.

"You know, I think most of the girl population are still recovering from this latest turn of events. Needless to say the fact their sexy Black and Grey are no longer on the market or even on the same side of the river has come as a bit of a shock. You know, I heard Ellie Trill has locked herself in her dorm" She said with a 'sad' shake of her head, her vibrant green eyes glinting.

"Ahh... poor little fan girls..."

"May their little hearts heal in peace..."

"And their stalkerish ways find new purpose"

Our eyes met and we both started laughing hard.

The reaction of the fan girls was rather humorous. I remember the first time the boys walked into the great hall hand in hand most of the girl populating because gapping fishes. The sound of dropped cutlery filled the large rooms and various cries of "hey!" were heard from indignant boyfriends. The effect was doubled when Alex neatly pecked the boy on the lips. We weren't in Gryffindor for nothing; my brother has some serious cheek to be sure. About five girls in the hall had promptly burst into hysterical tears, two ran out (I am sorry, but that is just sad...)

I didn't help that the two boys flaunted the fact to the whole school indifferently. They just didn't seem to care who saw them and I wasn't the only one getting a little nauseated. The other Marauders seemed a little miffed at the sudden fact, most of the time, their two friends were very much attached at the lips. And really, who could blame them?

I myself was rather amused by the whole thing, if a little shocked at how happy-go-lucky my brother was. Before Christmas he would never have paraded the fact he was dating a boy, it was one of his largest fears to face possible rejection from his friends for being gay. It had happened before. And yet... he just didn't seem to care now. When I asked him, he simply said that after facing what we did he was willing to take risks to get what he wanted. He wasn't scared about what anyone thought now that father was out of the question and was happy to just... be happy.

However, it was more than that, I knew, because he had seen me die. Consequently, I think our mortality had hit him and with the force of five stunners. No time to waste.

Personally, I was still dazed at the reaction of the student body, who had just returned from holidays, concerning their relationship. I was expecting scorn, even hate, though I tried to hide it. It was just how things had always worked in my old community. We pure-bloods mostly hated the 'unnatural' trait and yet... it was different here. Of course, there were still those people who were like that, who sneered and called out harshly, but that is hardly a surprise. No, the majority of people didn't mind, or at least didn't mind in a negative way. They certainly cared; it felt like all anyone was talking about was either me, Alex, Sirius or a combination.

Yay...

It had been a week and a half since Christmas and I was slowly becoming more connected to my normal life. My cut had mostly healed now, though there was still some pain in movement. Lily had continued to brush my hair in the morning and I retaliated by brushing hers. It was a therapeutic ritual to my day. There was an odd connection between us now, we had shared most of our secrets with each other and she had seen me at my weakest. We were more like sisters than friends or maybe we were best friends? It was a fairly odd concept for me. I'd never really had any close girlfriends. I'd had friends who were girls at Amalia's but they were all cold and just simply there. We'd never trusted each other. No, it had always been me, Alex and Irvine but I was finding I liked this new familiarity. There had hardly been a moment when I wasn't with her now unless I was with Remus who was always at my side.

Remus...

I had found myself sighing more and more often lately and I wasn't lying when I'd said I was suffering 'relationship syndrome'. I was just so... just so damn in love. It was ridiculously cheesy. My life inside the castle has reached a high I had never experienced, if you forgot the weird looks people were still giving me. The weight of the sapphire pendant under my robes was a steady reminder of my mysterious Remus. Mine.

The world outside the castle walls however...

Death Eater attacks had become more and more regular and horrific. Too many times I had seen my class mates being led of my members of staff with mortified expressions, waiting to be told who in their family was missing or dead. It was disgusting. I felt like I was in a bubble and slowly around me the storm was closing in, black and boiling. Everyone was scared. We heard news of torture and suddenly me and my brother's predicament wasn't so unheard of. Death Eater's were randomly murdering Muggles, for no other reason than they were there and helpless. There were even whispers that the fabled Order of the Phoenix was under serious attack. I was a healer at heart but suddenly I felt the desperate need for revenge on behalf of myself and everyone else effected. I wanted to fight, to help.

Often, I thought of the small figure in the mirror of Erised, of desire, my daughter. She wasn't alive but if she were I would not want her to live in the world that was growing around me.

"Um. Miss Grey? I was asked to give this to you and your brother" A small voice said breaking through my thoughts.

I looked up to see a small figure, a first or second year girl, blushing bright red under her blond plaits and fringe. She held up a rolled piece of parchment which I took then she ran off. I watched her back with a thoughtful glance. People had been acting differently around me lately; they avoided my face and kept giving me the most sympathetic looks ever. I didn't like it.

"They just haven't got used to it yet" Remus said as he walked to my side.

I smiled at him. He'd been doing that a lot lately, reading my thoughts from my face. It made me giddy when he did.

"Have you got used to it?" I asked, genuinely curious as I gently reached up a hand to trace the line across my skin.

"Sort of" He said shrugging and reaching out to remove my hand from the cut to kiss it gently "I'm just going to the Owlery, I'll be back soon"

"Kay, see you later"

He kissed my hand again and waved a hand in farewell as he headed out of the common room. I watched him go the reverted my attention to the note addressed to me and my brother. The script was in an elaborate loopy hand with bright blue ink. I frowned and unrolled the thick parchment, it made a crackling sound as I did. It wasn't long but I still had to read it several times for the words to process.

Alex?

I felt my brother detach himself from his boyfriend and turn in my direction.

We need to go see Dumbledore.

Albus

The headmaster sat deep in thought, as was his habit. He had a lot on his brain and very little of it was comforting, which wasn't unusual either. Voldemort was moving, he was slowly breaking down their forces and it was worrying. His spies for the Order were finding it more and more difficult to predict what was going on, but all of them were certain of one thing; his new lieutenant was not helping. The fact he was the father of two of Albus' new students, to be specific the traumatised pair of twins he had recently met, made him rue the mad man even more. The spies had reported, even before the twins had been tortured, that the guy was a power hungry twisted person who was nearly as bad as Voldemort, just lacking some of the power of the leader. Albus had been studying the man before hand, of course; one did when another wizard showed signs of turning dark, which he certainly had. It had taken a little while to notice the grip of the eldest Grey had on the German ministry, what with the chaos Gellert had created in that part of the world. It was hard to see at first that the previous corruption was still being held, and it was even harder to find out who it was at the top of the chain. Oh, Alexander Grey senior had been cleaver all right, he'd never taken the top seat but he'd still been in charge. Albus had been waiting to see what the man planned to do for a while, deliberating whether it was worth interfering.

That he'd decided to come and joined Riddle was not comforting.

The headmaster had been fuming about this particular wizard for a long time. The story the twins had told had been twisting in and out of his thoughts, producing a scowl he was sure would send a shiver up anybody's spine. If there was one thing that disgusted the headmaster most, it was when people abused their own family.

The fact it was his students did not help.

It was these students that he was thinking about now.

That the Grey twins intrigued him was an understatement. There was something about them that had his mind buzzing. It was in the air around them, it was in their eyes and their body language. They were powerful magically, that was clear, he had heard from their teachers that the twins were very capable and found very little challenging, in the way their fellow students did, and their knowledge was clear in their words and essays. Furthermore, they were reported to be a modest pair, quiet when away from the craziness the 'Marauders' exhibited.

There was also their twin connection which fascinated Albus, in all his hundred or so years he had never come across one so strong not to mention it went beyond just themselves. When he had been in the same room as them he had felt the light brush on his mind as they had skirted it. They did not try to enter it, but their awareness was incredible. They had glowed with silent magic that his senses had picked up on, like a twitch at the back of his neck.

That they were Legilimenatus was known to him, it was on their file for obvious reasons, but he hadn't realised their strength. Legimenatus, the in born ability to sense other's thoughts, were very rare and many could only read off the faint emotions of others.

It was hard not to slip in the thought of how they could help him, they would be invaluable spies, if they were not so well know and hated by their father.

Nevertheless, that was their choice anyway.

The knock on his door interrupted his thoughts and he knew (in the way that men like him knew) that it was the twins in question.

"Enter"

The twins came in, with their odd throbbing presence, and Albus studied them intently. Larissa was healing well enough however she seemed to wear the scar across her face defiantly, with her chin propped up. She looked like she was still moving stiffly, but nevertheless the gentle grace was obvious as she glided into the room. She seemed unaware of all of this though, as she stared at the old wizard with blazing eyes that were filled with the curiosity he had noticed before. Alexander Junior was equally dynamic, although in a more subtle way. While his sister radiated determination in a fiery passion, he was cool headed and seemed acutely aware of his settings. His eyes darted around the room, casually but all the same perceptively. He was obviously the more controlled of the two and avoided the professors gaze, as if knowing the he could see to his thoughts if he saw fit. The young man seemed to match his sister's constant motion with a solid will of stillness.

It certainly made a vivacious pair.

"Ah. Mr. Grey, Miss Grey please, take a seat"

They did and, as predicted, the bolder of the two quickly opened their mouth to ask what was clearest on their mind.

"Sir, you said that you had news concerning our parents? Our mother?" The German accent was still there, just like last time, sharp and keen under her voice.

He nodded briefly.

"Indeed, we have heard news that your mother is being held under arrest at your ancestral home. We had not been able to contact her but we have heard from sources that although shaken she is alive and well. We have also heard that you father tried to forge a marriage oath bond between yourself and Mr. Regulus Black but was unsuccessful. It is believed that he is desperate to regain you in his clutches and so it is vital that we take into consideration what you will do when summer comes. We are offering you protection of the Order if you will take it, though I am wondering if you know of anywhere you could stay?"

Albus watched them think in their interesting joint way. He could feel the magic in the air vibrating in between the two and there was a slight haze to their eyes that showed they were not all in their own minds. He found it fascinating that their connection affected their visual senses because it hinted that they could see to an extent through each other's eyes.

"Well... there is our Aunt, Marilyn Grey, she doesn't like our father very much... but we don't know if she'd take us in if there was a chance of getting on the Dark Lords bad side, or shall we say hit list?" Alexander said quietly.

"I think she would, she doesn't care much what they think of her" Larissa added.

"Though there is also our other Aunt, Lucille Parker, our fathers other sister."

"But she's already lost her husband and one child because of the Death Eaters; she married a Muggle you see"

"So we don't really want to put more pressure on them..."

"Or we could go to our cousin Andy's, she defiantly doesn't care about the Death Eaters and she's already on their hit list, Bellatrix it out for her blood" She concluded.

Albus thought about their suggestions. The names Marilyn and Lucille were both known to the headmaster, both of them being students of Hogwarts in the past much like Alexander senior. Marilyn had been a haughty but highly mischievous woman in Slytherin and Lucille a kind but fierce Ravenclaw with a sharp eye and strong will. The Order had been too late to save her husband and youngest daughter Helena, though they'd been able to get news to the two other children and save them at least.

Albus thought to be a good thing that they were both close enough to Andromeda Tonks to consider her. He trusted the middle Black child and her husband and he knew that the two had already put up security measures against Riddle's people. He was also aware that the two currently had a young daughter and thought they might like the chance for a baby sitter, though Andromeda was apparently very overprotective.

"I will contact Andromeda and Ted. Now, I think that is everything unless you two have something to add?"

"No sir, that's all." Larissa said rising to her feet as her brother copied her.

They both walked to the door and Albus looked back down at his current paper work.

"Thank you sir"

He looked up and saw that Mr. Grey was standing as the door, looking back directly into the vivid blue eyes. He was completely sincere, right down to the way he held himself. That he'd met the headmaster's eyes was enough to see that he really was very grateful. The older wizard inclined his head and watched as the boy left the room.

Regulus

Irvine was acting odd.

I had come to the conclusion that Darien Irvine was a very complicated and daftly confusing person. That he never made friends was well known and yet he seemed to be almost screaming out for somebody to talk to, in his own cold and distant way. It wasn't obvious, in fact it was far from obvious but nevertheless it was there under the masks. It had been a strange couple of months for sure.

I wasn't stupid; I could tell that the time I told Darien of my 'engagement' to Larissa was the same time that the other boy started to talk to me more. I had yet to figure out why.

And now the boy was acting damn right weird.

"Have you seen the Greys yet?" He said with a cold sneer that nearly covered up the fact he had been fidgeting ever since we'd arrived back at school.

I raised a brow.

I had heard the rumours all throughout the school concerning the twins and oddly enough my brother. I hadn't heard much, everyone seemed to be avoiding me for some reason. What I had gathered was that they had been... that they'd been tortured during the holidays. I didn't dwell long the idea, my conflicting emotions were not up for hearing the gritty details.

"No. I haven't, have you?" I asked blandly.

I watched curiously as the, usually composed and damn right vicious guy with a hateful stare, continued to twitch and his eyes momentarily went blank.

"Oh yes" He pulled himself together and smirked "I've seen them" The cruel glint was back.

I looked around the hall, sweeping my eyes over the Gryffindor table. They were not here yet. I was curious and, if I was honest with myself, a little scared to find out what had happened to them. It was hard to believe those steadfast twins could have been tortured. I didn't want that mental image. There was something about the way Darien talked about seeing them though that sent a shiver up my spine. What was it that I would see? What had he done to them, that man who was their own blood?

And then I did see.

The first thing I noticed solved a lot of my previous confusion. It also completely shocked me to my core. There was Alex, quite normal, smiling widely hand in hand with... my brother? Wait. What? I watched in mystification as my brother, Sirius Black, raised the clasped hand of the Grey and held it to his lips. Wait...

What the hell?

Huh... mother was going to hit the roof when she found out. The roof? Hell she would be worse than that. Oh My...

The next thing I saw was completely different.

Larissa...

Lara

I felt eyes on me. That wasn't unexpected, everyone looked at me now, but this was significantly different. I looked up and around and then my eyes settled on the other Black brother. I was confused at what I saw there. His eyes, so much like his brothers were wide, almost fearful, and his face was pale and drawn out. He looked like he'd watched his own death.

Another head near him turned to look at me and I met dark eyes. I scowled then stopped still. Suddenly I saw it and I was filled with a kind of anger I hadn't felt in a long time. I was frozen as I saw exactly what had happened in those eyes. I had seen that look before. That look.

Him. He had done it, again. He had dared to take that one step to secure that my brother had to go through- that I, me, had gone through- my brother whom he had already-

How dare he.

I watched him blink and plaster on a ruthless smirk. He wiggled his fingers in my direction and everything went red. I was rooted to the ground and I hardly even thought as my hand clasped around my wand. This bastard would pay. I would personally make him pay!

In a distant part of my mind, I felt Remus turn to me in shock and Alex spin on his heal to watch me, to run at me. But I hardly noticed. Alex had done that before, but hell was I going to let him stop me this time. No, I was out for revenge. Irvine rose to his feet with slow but clear intent and the whole hall was utterly quiet.

Regulus

Her gaze moved from me and then stopped still. I watched in confusion as her face suddenly filled with a deep seated hate, she seemed to be shaking and the air was vibrating around her. Her hand flew to her wand which she drew out sharply. The room was silent with fear and I turned to look briefly at Darien who was the obvious subject of her hatred. He rose to his feet.

The room was so tense I wondered if anyone was breathing.

I turned back to Larissa and I quivered with fear. Her hair was twisting around her and her brother was holding her elbow as if to pull her back. If he was, he wasn't succeeding.

"You" Her voice was twisted and hate filled "Oh, well done Irvine, well done indeed, you did it again. I hope you were congratulated well for this, it really is remarkable"

I looked between them in confusion. What was going on? Why do they hate each other so, what did Irvine do?

"Why thank you Lara sweetie that means a lot from you I must say the new loo-"

"Shut it, Darien." Alex cut in with a poisonous and unyielding look before turning to Larissa "Komm mit mir Lara, er ist es nicht wert"

"One second brother" The girl gave a wicked smiled and then, before anyone could so much as blind her wand whipped across the air and Darien grabbed his left arm in pain. With that the smirking victorious silver head swept out of the hall. There was a moment of complete silence before every person in the room started talking at once. Darien sat with a frown and rolled up the sleeve of his shirt. I peered over at him and saw plainly what Larissa had done.

Verräter, we wouldn't have.

The words in a dark black and elegant script curled over his skin like a snake. I wondered how she could have done something like that. Darien covered it with a scowl.

"Got to love the sneakiness of the Grey's, it's funny, she would never have used that spell before" he seemed deep in thought.

"What did you do? They wouldn't do what? And what does 'Verrater' mean?" I asked him "and what did she mean when she said 'did it again'?"

He looked at me shrewdly then cocked his head to the side thoughtfully.

"Verräter means traitor." He said offhandly before looking at me closer "But I know that look, I've seen it before, never mind me what have you done?"

I blinked. What look? What does he mean? I've done nothing! What did he mean by traitor? I watched as understanding dawned in his eyes and I though hurriedly to figure out what was going on.

"Ah... You Black's don't know what you're getting into... But then who can blame you I suppose" He said under his breath more to himself.

"What are you talking about?"

He didn't answer.