Disclaimer: All ideas are based on characters and events belonging to J.K. Rowling. I own nothing.

Calm Before the Storm

Chapter 9: Shock

Olivia sighed as she snuggled deeply into her over plush comforter. The sun was shining through her window warming her face and she was perfectly content to just lay there for a while. Her plans were faulted, however, as she heard her mother coming up the stairs. "Liv, honey, breakfast is ready."

"Ok, mum. I'll be right down." Olivia smiled. She had missed her mother horribly and it felt good to be back home, even though she missed her friends. Summer vacation had only started three days prior but she had already received owls from Kiley, Lucius, and even Remus. James had been extra edgy for some reason but he always shrugged it off as readjusting to home life when she asked him.

She slowly got up and, after slipping her bunny slippers on her feet, made her way downstairs to the smell of bacon, eggs, pancakes, and homemade biscuits. She inhaled deeply as she entered the kitchen and sat down in a chair across from James. Secretly, she couldn't believe that he had beat her downstairs, even if food was involved. James was always the last one out of bed for any occasion. As her mother assisted their house elf, Minnie, in serving the food, she kicked him under the table just hard enough to get his attention. He looked up surprised and she gave him a questioning look, silently asking if he was ok. In return, his face broke out into a smile that may have fooled many people but to Olivia, was totally fake.

She momentarily forgot about James, however, as the first bite of food entered her mouth. She would never get tired of Minnie's cooking. Their house elf was small built, even for elf standards, with floppy ears and a short stubby nose. She had been best friends with Olivia ever since she could remember and her cooking was always amazing.

After breakfast, Olivia and James both ran upstairs to change clothes for a day of one on one quidditch. They met back out in the back yard of the house with brooms in hand. They had thier own personal make-shift quidditch pitch not too far from their house in a small field surrounded by trees. James was a superb player but Olivia could hold her own against him. She loved flying and she loved quidditch, she just didn't have the best aim in the world so her brother, the captain/chaser on the Gryffindor team, usually killed her when they played.

Two hours later they landed in the middle of the field, laughing. They both had played hard but ultimately, James had won. He patter her on top of the head, "You know, sis, I think you should try out for the team this year."

She swatted his hand away, laughing. "Are you in another world or did you not notice that my aim sucks?"

He plopped down to rest for a few minutes watching her follow suit, "No no, I saw. But you are an amazing flyer. I think you could out fly me if it came down to it, your the perfect build for a seeker, and ours just graduated."

She looked thoughtful. She loved quidditch and had secretly always wanted to be on the house team but would always chicken out of trying out, always telling herself 'next year'. Well, it looked like next year had come. She nodded her head in conformation. "Yea, I think I will." James laughed at the huge smile on her face and she examined him closely. "So, are you going to tell me whats been bothering you?"

He sobered instantly, the smile disappearing from his face. For a moment, she didn't think he was going to answer her but right as she was going to change the subject and let him off the hook he looked at her. "It's Sirius."

Olivia paused. She saw the seriousness in his eyes. "What do you mean, Jamie?"

"He hasn't owled me yet."

She relaxed, "James, its just been three days."

He took his eyes off her to stare out across the field into the trees. "I know, Livey. But I worry about him. He was supposed to owl me as soon as he got home, like he always does. And he always does, but I haven't heard from him yet. I'm afraid somethings wrong." Finally, he brought his gaze back on her. "He lives in hell, Livey."

Olivia took in the look on James face. She knew Sirius didn't get along with his family, everybody pretty much knew that. But she thought back on what she actually knew about his family and home life, suddenly realizing that it wasn't a lot. She felt guilty. Guilty that Sirius was always so nice and sweet to her but she realized that she didn't really know him as well as she previously thought, and even more shockingly to her, realizing that she wanted to. "What're you going to do?"

"I don't know what to do. I've thought about it and I think I'll give him till the end of the week and if he hasn't owled me, I'm going to his house and finding out whats wrong."

"Well, he did say that he was in trouble for last summer. Maybe they won't let him owl."

"He's in trouble almost every summer, and he always finds a way. I mean, he is Sirius."

Olivia laughed but it was short-lived. "That is true. He does what he sets his mind on."

They shared a laugh together, both reminiscing on times that Sirius had done outlandish things, just because he wanted to. Finally, James stood and held his hand out to help Olivia up which she took with appreciation and they made their way back to their cozy house.

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Three more days passed and James had heard nothing from Sirius. By this point, anybody who saw him could tell he was deeply stressed. That night, him and Olivia sat in the kitchen enjoying their steaming cups of hot cocoa that Minnie had made for them.

Olivia took a deep drink, enjoying the feeling of the hot liquid running down her throat. "So, your going to Sirius' tomorrow?"

"Yea. Dad's already agreed to take me." She nodded her head and they sat in a peaceful silence, just enjoying each others company. It was times like these that she missed while at Hogwarts. They each had their own friends and it was seldom when they got moments alone to just be siblings. Soon enough though, the cocoa was gone and James stood. "Ready for bed?"

"I think I'm going to see if Minnie will whip me up another cup of cocoa." Seeing his pause she added, "You go on. I won't be long anyway." After James left the kitchen she called for Minnie, asking for a refill in which she happily obliged. The silence was appreciated. She just sat there, sipping her cocoa and let her mind wonder.

She thought of Kiley and how excited she had been when Remus asked her on a date. She couldn't believe that she had never realized her best friend's crush on her other best friend. She was so happy for the both of them. Kiley had given her step by step details of their date with such

enthusiasm that Olivia was envious of her.

Her thoughts were broken by a knock at the door. Immediately, she was on full alert. These were dangerous times and her father, being a key employee in the Magical Law Enforcement branch on the ministry, was a target. She drew her wand and started to ascend the stairs to fetch her father. The knock sounded again, stopping her. For reasons unknown to her she turned around and, wand still drawn, made her way to the door. Looking out the peep hole, she couldn't see anybody which made her skin prickle. She grabbed the door handle, and after gathering her nerve, slowly turned and pulled it open about two inches.

What she saw made her blood run cold. Sirius. She yanked the door open and paused in shock to take in the young wizard before he. He was sitting on a trunk, bent over, and had what suspiciously looked like blood caked to the side of his head. Upon hearing her open the door, he looked up. He had a gash down one side of his face, sweating profusely from the effort of dragging his belongings in his condition. one of his eyes was black and his lip swollen. The look is his eyes shattered her heart.

Her mind finally started functioning again and she stepped outside and kneeled before him. "Sirius? What in the bloody hell happened? Are you ok?"

He glanced nervously over his shoulder. "Can I come inside?"

She stood and, with much effort, he followed suit. He turned around to grab his trunk but Olivia was quick to stop him. "Don't even think about it. I'll get Minnie to fetch it." She watched as he started to walk inside but stumbled and fell. She hurried up beside him and helped him stand but this time, not letting him proceed without her support. She led him to the couch so he could sit down before she ran upstairs as fast as she could to get her parents.

She ran back downstairs followed by her mother and father to find Sirius laid over on the couch looking so weak it scared her. Her mother instructed her to fetch some water and a rag which she did in record time. She bent by Sirius' head as her father was healing some of the minor cuts and bruises that racked his body. She soaked the rag and gently began to clean his face.

"What the bloody hell?" James rushed down the stairs, having been awoken by the commotion. "What's wrong with him?"

His mother headed him off, wrapping her arms around him. "Calm down, honey. He's going to be ok. We need you to go get him some clothes." James stood there a minutes, motionless, just staring at his best friend. "James." He turned and immediately raced back up to his room.

Olivia was slowly getting the dried blood off the side of his face. His eyes were closed, and he seemed to have finally relaxed. She couldn't even begin to imagine what had happened to him.

Slowly, he cracked his eyes open. He looked at Harold and Evelyn Potter, at Olivia, and he realized he was safe. After a week of total hell, he was safe. He felt the wet rag brush over his face again and moved his eyes to Olivia's face. He couldn't quite place the look in her eyes and his attempt was interrupted as James came back downstairs. Slowly, he sat back up, surprising the family in front of him. The family that he had always loved, and had always loved him, more than his own.

Harold helped him into a more comfortable sitting position and Olivia took a seat beside him, continuing her work on his face. He smiled at her. "I can do that, you know?"

She looked at him sternly. "Nonsense. Now look forward and hold still."

He obediently did as he was told, silently enjoying the feeling of the wet rag on his face. He was waiting for the onslaught to come but surprisingly, everyone seemed to be holding off, perhaps afraid of how he would react. He was the first to speak after several full minutes of silence. "I'm sorry to barge in Mr. and Mrs. Potter. I just...I didn't know where else to go."

Harold sighed and sat down beside Sirius. "Sirius. You know your welcome here any time. What we really want is to know what happened."

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Author's Note: Please, please, let me know what you think. Give me some opinions. -PJ