A New Decade
Potter Mansion
Lily was pregnant! She had sent her Patronus to tell me and a few days later I managed to sneak away after work and Apparate to Potter Mansion, one of the few safe places I could go to besides Headquarters.
James had told his parents who Nicole really was and while Mr. Potter had to take some time to process the fact that his adopted son loved a suspected Death Eater, Abby kissed my cheek and treated me as if I were still 'Nicole'. Mr. Potter, though he was a pureblood himself, thoroughly disliked the idea that this made him superior to anyone else. After a long conversation we had together, he was convinced I did not agree with my family's ideas.
"Welcome," Roger Potter smiled.
Relieved, I answered, "Thank you."
"If you're done interrogating the poor girl, Roger, I can offer her some tea," Abby said, looking sternly down her nose at her husband. "Would you like some, dear?"
"Yes, please."
Lily sat next to me. I leaned over to her. "How far along are you?"
"A month and a half. Exactly the same as Alice, can you believe it?" Lily smiled.
"What a coincidence."
"James is ecstatic. He keeps buying me pickles for some reason. Says he's heard pregnant women crave them, but all I crave is a day without morning sickness."
"Really? I wonder who gave him that idea," I said thoughtfully, raising an eyebrow at my boyfriend who had just appeared in the doorway.
"Whatever it is, I didn't do it," Sirius said quickly, interpreting my look correctly.
Lily snorted. "He looks a bit guilty, doesn't he?"
"He always looks guilty," I answered with a nasty grin.
"That's because he is always guilty," Lily finished. We smiled triumphantly at each other.
"Two women. I can't win," Sirius mumbled.
"Glad you realise that, dear," Abby smiled, letting a tray float in front of her.
Mr. Potter sent Sirius a pitying look.
I chuckled and relaxed in the chair as Abby busied herself with tea and scones. I felt some of the tension slip from my shoulders. It was there almost all the time.
Sirius walked over to me to give me a quick kiss. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the comforting feeling of his warmth and scent. His hair brushed against my face. I tugged at a long, black strand. "It grows like weed," I said.
He pushed his shoulder-length hair out of his face. "Maybe I should shave my head."
"Tell me you're joking," Abby intervened. "You have such a pretty head with all that hair." She glanced at her husband, who tried to flatten his obstinate hair in vain. "Unlike some others."
Lily and I laughed at the glare Roger sent his wife.
"You don't call a man pretty, Abby," Sirius sulked.
"I can call you whatever I want," she retorted. Within moments they were bickering playfully about the appropriate compliments for the male half of the wizarding population.
I sipped my tea and tried not to spill the hot liquid when I snorted with laughter at Sirius, who was growing more indignant by the minute about Abby's insistence he had pretty hair. Finally Abby gave in when Sirius threatened to pull out his wand and magick his hair into a mohican. She handed him a scone as an olive branch.
I was unbelievably grateful for Abby and Roger taking me in like they had done with Sirius. There were few moments left when I could feel at ease. Disguised as Nicole I had loved it here, and I was very glad I would not have to stop coming now that 'Nicole' was gone. The old house was protected with many spells, so I would not have to worry about being discovered here. Besides Headquarters, this was the only place safe enough for Sirius to see me.
I knew he was worried about me. I was worried myself. No matter how much I tried to quench the Dark Lord's thirst for Sirius's and Nicole's blood, it didn't work. I was in charge of the search operation and though I kept myself busy tracing every rumour, I knew I would never be able to report a success. The Dark Lord had taken his frustration out on me once, but he could do it again any moment.
I flinched when I remembered that last punishment. I was so sure my cover was blown when my Occlumency slipped. The fight with my mother with which my mind had been preoccupied saved me. I never thought I would be grateful for my mother's interference in my life. But now I was. I would thank her on my knees had that not been a tad suspicious.
A smirk played on my lips when I saw that image in my mind. It faltered when that dark sense of foreboding descended on me again. Everything would go wrong eventually. There would be a day when I would not be miraculously saved. Sirius knew it too. The times I did see him he was often wrapped in deep thoughts, shooting anxious glances at me, as if he were trying to figure a way out of this mess. There wasn't.
I shook my depressing thoughts from me and asked Lily, "When is James coming home?"
"Not for a few hours at least. He had to go along with Aurors to investigate some serious Muggle-baiting in Suffolk," Lily answered. "Normally they let the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol take care of it, but this was particularly vicious. James says it's getting worse every day."
"I think I can manage to scrape some ideas on who it is that's behind all that on the Christmas parties," I said. "Speaking of which, I should be going. I have an appointment with my mother, aunt, two cousins, and a sister-in-law to discuss the organisation of the Cardens' Christmas dinner."
"Oh joy," Sirius chirped.
"I love it when you're sarcastic," I grinned and turned to Lily. "Tell James I'll try to congratulate him in person as soon as I can and if he buys you anymore pickles you just force him to eat them himself."
"Trust me, I'll do that," Lily laughed.
"I'll walk you to the room," Sirius said and got up.
"Roger, Abby, thank you," I said sincerely.
"You're very welcome," Abby answered.
I followed Sirius to the single room in the house where I could Apparate from.
He heaved a deep sigh. "Be careful."
"I will."
I stepped into his arms, pressing my nose into his chest. Sirius's large hand stroked my hair. After a while he weaved his fingers through my curls and gently pulled my head back so he could look me in the eye.
"Promise me you'll be careful," he demanded gruffly.
I smiled teasingly. "All these worries from a reckless Gryffindor? You never cease to amaze me, lover."
Sirius's eyes darkened in anger. "I mean it," he barked.
"I'm sorry. I'll be careful, I promise."
His anger deflated. "Good." He bent down and claimed my mouth in a rough kiss. I felt every ounce of his worry and fear and clamped my arms tightly around his neck.
"I'll see you at the meeting, okay?" he said after he had pulled back. "Try to send me a message every now and then."
"I will."
Sirius was so obviously reluctant to let me go that I simply leaned against him once more and cuddled him.
He laid his chin on my head. "I hate not having you around at Christmas," he grumbled.
I looked up. Caressing his tense mouth with my fingers, I smiled, "I love you."
He kissed my fingers in reply. "I love you too."
My hand gripped his neck and I pulled him down to me to taste him once more. Sirius mumbled something in approval and tightened his arms around me. He lifted me off the ground in a bone-crushing hug before he let me go. "Off with you now, or I'll seduce you on the spot."
"I don't need to be seduced, sir," I winked suggestively. "You can have me whenever you want."
"Tease."
"Bye."
Grinning naughtily at him I turned on the spot and Disapparated.
I hid my yawn behind my hand. Aoife, my twenty-one-year-old cousin, noticed it and chuckled. Our mothers were caught up in deep conversation about the menus our staff had prepared for the party. They had been discussing the proper amount of appetisers per platter and the right size for said platters for the last fifteen minutes, bringing up examples from parties held the past three years.
I rolled my eyes at Aoife, who quickly covered her laugh with a cough. She and I got along rather well. Her older sister Saibh gave us a scolding look.
Saibh had a rather sour complexion, as if she were constantly chewing on a lemon. She had made a respectable marriage at the age of eighteen and had given her Greenway in-laws two sons. I reckoned the sour look on her face had something to do with me being heir to the Carden fortune in combination with me not acting as a proper heiress should do. Saibh considered herself a much better witch for the job.
Aoife wrinkled her nose at her sister. She was more like me. She had turned down three suitors and when her father – my father's younger brother – had threatened to force a marriage on her, she had told him she would join a convent if he did so. Fionn Carden would rather die than have his daughter make a mockery of him, so he gave in. Aoife now spent her days leisurely at her father's estate in Longford.
All the Cardens resembled each other and I considered Aoife a prettier version of myself. Where my hair had bright red and copper locks, all of Aoife's hair was a deep chestnut colour and waved down her back in smooth curls, different from the bird's nest I possessed. Unlike me, she was tall as most Cardens were, but our faces had the same features.
At this moment she was scrunching her face into a horrible cross-eyed expression. I snorted with laughter. My mother threw me an annoyed look. "Is something the matter?"
"Nothing, Mother," I said, trying to smooth the grin from my face. "Just remembered something funny."
My sister-in-law, who was sitting next to me, bit her lip, but managed to keep her composure. Alexia's mourning period was almost over. Two more weeks and it would be a year since my brother died.
"By the way, Alexia," I said quickly. "I haven't seen Cissy for a while. How is she doing?"
"She's fine. Her pregnancy is going very well, but Lucius makes her rest a lot anyway. He has been showering her with presents."
"Let's hope the baby's a boy then, so he won't have gone through all that trouble for nothing," Aoife said, slightly malevolent.
Alexia's eyes fixed themselves on her.
"What do you say we go on a shopping spree in Diagon Alley, Aoife?" I interjected quickly. "I'm sure Mother and Aunt Aubrey can manage the finer details themselves."
"Wonderful idea," my cousin agreed.
We got to our feet and hurried from the drawing room.
I stared at my red wine. Light conversation was going on all around the table, but it went in one ear, and out the other. This Christmas sucked as much as the last one. Last year Sirius and I had not been on speaking terms and this year I couldn't even speak to him even though I wanted to.
Aoife kicked me under the table. She leaned over and muttered, "You're supposed to enjoy yourself at Christmas."
"I am enjoying myself. I am glowing with joy," I retorted. "Can't you see me sparkle?"
"Ouch, such sarcasm," she grinned. "Come on, cousin. Twinkle, twinkle, little star. Or is that not a Christmas song?"
"How should I know? Just don't let my mother catch you singing Muggle songs," I warned her. "She'll serve you as dessert."
Aoife chuckled. She leaned over the table again. "So why did your mother invite your ex-fiancé to her Christmas dinner?"
I huffed. "Because for some strange delusional reason she still wants me to marry him, even though he is practically engaged."
"Just threaten to join a convent. It works quite well," she shrugged.
"I'm afraid that, unlike your father, my mother will take my word for it and be glad to be rid of me," I grinned. "And I am not prepared to actually go through with a threat like that."
"If you had seen my last suitor, trust me, you would have been." Aoife shuddered.
"I don't understand. You're gorgeous," I said. "You can have any wizard you want."
"In Longford there aren't many pure-blood wizards from good stock that you can marry. And you know my father. He refuses to leave the manor for such frivolous things as enjoying yourself in Dublin and meeting other people."
"Stay here then. I'm sure I can introduce you to some fine young wizards," I suggested, raising an eyebrow.
"Since when are you running a match-making service?" Aoife asked distastefully.
I laughed. "Come on, if you do want to marry, there's no better place to be than London. The winter season's not over for a few months. Everybody is here. Maybe you can even stay for Deirdre's graduation. I bet she'll marry that Zabini within a month after that."
'That Zabini' was in fact seated next to my sister right now and he kept my sister completely occupied. Her diamond engagement ring sparkled in the candle light.
"Well, I'm not sure about the marrying part, but at least I'll have some fun here," Aoife accepted.
"Great," I smiled. I had already decided to introduce her to Lana. I was sure those two would get along. And I hoped her company would be able to cheer me up.
After dinner I could not worm my way out of spending some time with Evan. After all, he was a friend of mine. "How is Miss Westley?" I asked, winking at him.
Evan smiled. "Sophie is fine. She regrets that she couldn't come tonight, but when your mother's invitation arrived, she had already consented to go to her grandmother's family dinner."
"What a pity," I said, knowing my mother's scheming had ensured that said invitation had arrived so late there was no doubt Sophie had other obligations. "I really think you should have gone to her grandmother's with her," I scolded him playfully.
"That would have been a little inappropriate. The engagement has not been announced yet. I'm not family."
"Details, details," I waved his propriety away.
It seemed my wish for Evan to find a naïve woman to marry had come true. Sophie Westley had been educated at home and had had a very protected childhood. How in Merlin's name she had ended up as the soon-to-be wife of Evan Rosier I had no clue.
"How are you doing?" Evan asked with a hint of concern. "No luck yet?"
"No. Not at all," I shook my head. "But I don't think this is the right time to discuss that."
Evan let his eyes wander through the room for a moment, before he nodded. "If you need help…"
"Thank you. I'll let you know."
Evan stiffened at being dismissed like that, but the last thing I needed was him prying into my search operation.
I sugared the offence with a smile. "Thanks for your care."
"We're friends, and we used to be more," Evan said. "Of course I care."
Sure.
I could almost hear Aoife's voice in my head. "Ouch, such bitterness, cousin."
I smiled at Evan and linked my arm in his. "Let's talk to my cousin. You'll adore her."
"If she's anything like you, I will."
"She is."
Aoife managed to take my mind of Evan's comments, but nevertheless I found myself staring out of the window some time later. It was only a few days till New Year. 1980. I hoped the turn of the decade would bring some positive change.
A/N: Thanks for all your reviews. I hope you liked this chapter. Let me know!
