Chapter Five:
After leaving the wand shop, Sandy led us to the other stores we needed to visit. She escorted us to the book store, where I purchased all the books that were required for a first year Salem student. I'd always loved to read, so I decided to put my never ending money pouch to good use. I purchased a book about the history of the Salem Institute, as well as the three other major magical institutions around the world. I was especially interested in Hogwarts, A History, because they had also invited me to study there. I also purchased some books on wizard genealogy in hopes that I could find out the truth about where I came from.
We also visited an apothecary where I purchased all my potion supplies, and a robe shop where I was fitted for my school uniforms and everyday robes. My second favorite shop, after the bookstore, was the sporting goods shop. Apparently there is a sport called Quidditch that is widely popular in the magical world. The shop keepers explained the game to me, and I was ecstatic. It sounded way more fun that baseball! Charlie and Jacob were also excited about this exciting new sport. They convinced me to buy the latest racing broom. Enablers, the both of them.
After exploring more of the little town, we came across a pet store. Students were allowed to bring an owl, cat or toad with them to school. Sandy explained that owls are also used to carry mail, and suggested that I buy one in order to keep in touch with Renee, Charlie and Jacob. Upon entering the shop, my eyes zeroed in on a beautiful barn owl that had hidden itself behind all the other owls preening for attention. I immediately like him. As I approached their section, the owl turned his white, heart shaped face to me and blinked, well…owlishly. I held up my arm and he immediately flew to me. I stroked his white chest and asked him if he'd like to come home with me. He hooted and nipped my finger affectionately. I wanted to name him Hooter, but Charlie and Renee wouldn't hear of it. They're no fun. I ended up naming him Caelen.
After paying for Caelen and stocking up on owl care supplies, our group returned to the hotel exhausted and starving. We ate dinner, and then Sandy taught me my first two spells. Throughout our shopping spree she had been shrinking our packages to make them easier to tote around. She showed me how to reverse the spell and then recast it for the journey home. It was so exciting to finally get to do magic! She warned me about trying unknown spells without supervision, stating that I should wait until I arrived at school to try any of the spells I read about. After witnessing my first casting of the enlargement and shrinking charms, Sandy, Charlie and Jake headed back home while Renee and I crashed exhaustedly into our hotel beds.
The next few days were spent exploring both wizard and muggle New York. The city was so beautiful, and there was so much to see. The culture there is truly amazing. After the vacation was over, I spent most of my time reading up on the subjects I would be studying in the next year. It was also awesome to have access to the floo, as I could visit Charlie and Jake any time I wished. I had to stay in Charlie's house to avoid being seen, but it was still nice to know that they were just a fireplace away.
About a week before I was set to leave for school, I received a package from Doc. I had so much fun in New York, and been so engrossed in the new knowledge that I almost forgot I had written to her. Upon opening the package, I found an old jewelry box and a letter from Doc. She informed me that I did have an accent when I first arrived at the orphanage, but that I lost it within six months of living in there. She said the man that dropped me off didn't give her much information about me. Just that my name was Isabella, and he was my uncle Regulus. He told her that my parents died, leaving no one to look after me. The only thing he left for me was the jewelry box. He had asked her to give it to me a week after my 11th birthday, but she'd forgotten until she received my letter. I guess he assumed no one would want to adopt me and I'd still be at the orphanage. Thanks for the vote of confidence, Uncle Reg.
I opened the jewelry box, and found a letter and a necklace. The necklace had a key and a pendant of what looked to be some sort of crest. There was a shield with a skull at the top. Under the skull was a knight's arm holding a sword. Under that were three ravens. At the very bottom it said, "Toujour Pur." Well that's cheery. I wondered what that motto meant. I could speak Spanish pretty well, but this looked like French.
After examining the necklace, I picked up the letter. It was addressed to Isabella Black. I opened it with shaking hands and read the words that would turn my world upside down.
Dearest Isabella,
I have asked your caretaker to give this to you a week after your eleventh birthday. On your birthday you should have found out the truth about your magic. You were such a gifted child; I've no doubt that you have already determined that you are different from the muggles in the world in which you have been confined. You must know that I am terribly sorry for removing you from the magical world, but you would not be safe if you stayed.
I asked that this letter be given to you a week after your birthday, because the news that I have to tell you is not happy. I wanted to give you the opportunity to enjoy the revelation that you're a witch before exposing you to some of the harsh realities of the magical world. You see, there are some witches and wizards in our world that use their magic for dark purposes. Regretfully, I was one of those wizards. I aligned myself with one of the darkest wizards in the history of our world. He was the Dark Lord, and leader of a campaign that sought to purge the world of muggles and muggle borns.
You see, the House of Black is one of the oldest and most prestigious pureblood families in the wizarding world. The members of the House of Black have always been strong believers in blood purity and devoted followers of the Dark Arts. There are a few notable exceptions, your father, Sirius, being one of them. However, even though he didn't care a thing about blood purity, he was a pureblood wizard who fathered a pureblood daughter. Your mother was a pureblood witch named Isabella Jones. She became pregnant with you shortly after their graduation from Hogwarts. There were complications with your labor, and unfortunately she died shortly after you were born.
It wasn't until he ordered your capture that I started to see the true evil The Dark Lord was perpetrating. You were but an innocent child. The Death Eater's (the Dark Lord's servants) spread the word that they killed you, but that obviously wasn't true. I was not told that you were alive, and had been planning my own covert way to help end his reign of terror when I overheard his true intentions for you.
Isabella, you are a very powerful witch. This has been evident since you were born, and you displayed this power as a mere four-year-old child when you were captured. You injured two Death Eaters using raw magic driven by your desire to protect yourself and your nanny. The Death Eater's reported this to the Dark Lord, and he then decided that you wouldn't be killed, but that you would be raised by Rodolphus and Bellatrix Lestrange nee Black. Bellatrix is your second cousin and a devoted follower of the Dark Lord.
They were to raise you to follow the Dark Lord and worship him above all else. He had planned to take an active role in your education and training in the Dark Arts. He was grooming you to become his Dark Lady. As fanatical followers, Rodolphus and Bellatrix would have stopped at nothing to ensure that you were molded into his perfect mate. I could not allow this to happen to you.
It was said that Sirius went crazy and betrayed his friends to the Dark Lord. The information Sirius supposedly provided gave the Dark Lord the means to take out his biggest enemy, and I knew I had to act fast. While all of his followers were focused on the mission and the preparations to celebrate its assumed success, I sneaked in to the Lestrange mansion and stole you away. I didn't know if there was any truth to Sirius' treachery, so I couldn't take you to him. Even if I knew he was innocent, the Dark Lord would have known where you were and stopped at nothing to bring you back.
I decided to hide you in a small town in the United States, because it was an English speaking country far from the Dark Lord's reach. The US also has different views on blood purity than many have in Europe. It is unimportant to the magical communities there. Because of this, you can live your life as a muggle born witch without dealing with the prejudice you would undoubtedly face if you stayed in wizarding Britain, for you must keep your identity secret. This is imperative, Isabella. If by the time you read this the Dark Lord has not been defeated, he will come after you no matter where you are in the world. There will be no place safe for you. Even if he is defeated, the name of Black will have been ruined. You do not want to live your life with that cloud hanging over your head, Isabella.
I cannot tell you what has become of your father, as I do not know the outcome of tonight's events. After leaving you, I am going to embark on a mission that I suspect will ultimately lead to my death. I have committed many abhorrent deeds in my life, but I'd like you to know, my niece, that I tried to do the right thing in the end.
In the jewelry case, you will find a necklace with the Black family crest and a key to our family vault at Gringotts. The goblins are very discreet, and will never reveal your true identity. The key and your blood will give you access to the vault, where you will find generations worth of Black family fortune. There is more gold than you could ever spend in ten lifetimes, as well as many ancient artifacts and family heirlooms. I suggest that before you touch anything other than the gold, you hire a curse breaker to test the artifacts for harmful dark magic.
I'm sorry if I've overwhelmed you with all of this information, and at such a young age, but you need to know the truth about who you are. As I hope you heed my warning about concealing your true blood line, there will be no one else to give you this information. You also need to be aware of the danger you would be in if the truth about your identity were to be released. I imagine that whatever school you plan to attend will be made magically aware of your surname, and it won't take much for them to put the pieces together. For this reason, I implore you to attend a school in America, and to request that they keep your true identity concealed.
Again, I am very sorry to have removed you from your rightful place in the magical world. I just don't see any other alternative that would give you the opportunity for a happy life. I placed a memory charm on you before I dropped you off. I did not remove the memories; I just placed a block on your access to them. The charm will start to wear off over the next few years, so you will eventually have access to any memories that you would have originally retained.
I wish you the best of luck in your life,
Your Uncle Regulus
After rereading the letter multiple times, I was left staring blankly at my bedroom wall. My mind was reeling. A murderous despot decided that he wanted me to be his future wife when I was four? My uncle was a Death Eater who betrayed his cause to rescue me, and died trying to end said murderous despot's reign of terror? My father betrayed his friends to the man he thought ordered my death? It was all just too much.
I let the letter drop to the floor and curled into a ball on my bed. I then felt the emotions rush through me like a tidal wave and let out a strangled sob. My whole life I'd been longing for my father. I had always felt such a strong connection to him, even after all these years. I just didn't understand. None of this made any sense. No. Regulus said he was unsure about what happened to my father, or whether he was even the person to betray his friends. I wiped my face and determinately stalked down the stairs to the living room. I grabbed some floo powder, stepped into the fireplace and with a shaky voice stated, "Toils for your Troubles."
When I stepped out of the fireplace, the first stop I made was to Gringotts. I approached the first available goblin and asked him to tell me if the funds for the money pouch came from the same vault opened by the key on the necklace Regulus left me. The goblin eyed me curiously and examined both the pouch and the key. He then requested a drop of my blood, and performed some spell over the two items using my blood as some sort of catalyst. He was then able to confirm that the pouch was indeed funded with the gold from the vault opened by my key.
I couldn't hold in my snort, which caused the goblin to glare menacingly at me. I apologized for my rudeness and left with my key and money pouch. I left the bank and sat down on a bench just outside, contemplating what this meant. Sandy knew that I was no muggle born witch. She knew that I was Sirius Black's daughter, and that is why she noticeably tensed when I mentioned my father. She told me that I was receiving a scholarship so that I could have access to my money without knowing who I really was. I didn't know how I felt about that.
I decided that before I could judge her actions, I needed to understand what happened to my dad. I went to the book shop in search for information on the last British war. On my way to the history section I passed a section on languages. I picked up a French to English dictionary and looked up "Toujour Pur." Ah, Always Pure. Lovely. My family sounds like very charming people, don't they? I don't think I'd ever appreciated Charlie and Renee more in all my life.
Absorbing the latest disappointment of the afternoon, I returned the dictionary to its shelf and wove my way to the history section. I found the book that seemed the most comprehensive and made my way to the front. I paid 3 galleons of what I now knew was my money, and headed home. I was about to open the book when I noticed the genealogy book mixed in the pile of books on my desk. I looked through the index until my eyes landed on "House of Black," and hesitantly turned to my family's section. I looked through the trees until I saw "Sirius Black." Oh. My. God! Sandy wasn't joking when she said that the purebloods aren't shy about marrying relatives. My grandparents were third cousins! Squick!
After recovering from that shock, I saw a line extending from Sirius Black to Isabella Black (1979 – 1983). I couldn't pull my eyes way from the dates. It's not every day you see your death published in a book, especially when you're not dead. I finally slammed the book shut. I couldn't think about it anymore, so I returned to my bed with the book on the war in tow.
I read all about the war over the next couple of days. It didn't take long for me to be eternally grateful to my Uncle Regulus for taking me away from this horrible situation. I don't even want to think about what my life would have been like had I been raised by those animals.
Toward the end of the book it was mentioned that I had been captured and killed by Death Eaters. Again, it was very strange to read about my own death. The name "Potter" started to appear more frequently in the text, and it sounded so familiar. I kept getting fuzzy memories of a handsome man with wild black hair and a beautiful woman with red hair and the most beautiful green eyes. The clearest image this name provoked was a little boy with the man's wild hair and the woman's brilliant green eyes. I had visions of myself around age three doting on the little boy like he was my own living baby doll. I could also see the boy at about age one giggling uncontrollably while riding the giant black dog from the dreams I've had as long as I could remember. I knew this dog was my father; I'd seen him transform in my dreams before. How could this loving playful dog be the same man that betrayed his friends? It was just so hard to believe.
I continued reading until I reached the following paragraphs:
After the death of his daughter, Sirius Black went mad. It had been well known that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had specifically targeted the Potters. It was believed that the Death Eaters killed young Isabella Black because her father was hiding them. Instead of focusing his need for revenge on the people who killed his little girl, he'd blamed the Potters. It is this author's opinion that Black reasoned that if he hadn't been helping James and Lily Potter, his daughter would still be alive. So he gave up their location, and because of his betrayal, they were killed. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named also tried to kill their son, Harry, but something went wrong. The curse backfired and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was vanquished that fateful Halloween night.
After the Potters were found dead, another of their friends, a Peter Pettigrew, went after Black to avenge the Potters' death. Upon confronting his old friend, Sirius snapped and murdered Pettigrew and the twelve muggles in the way. Pettigrew was killed so brutally that the only thing that remained of his body was his finger. A dozen aurors arrived on the scene immediately after the curse was fired and subdued a raging Sirius Black. He was then taken to Azkaban prison, where he will spend the rest of his days.
I squeezed my eyes closed and slammed the book shut as I took in this new information. I now understood why Sandy didn't want to tell me who I really was. I suddenly felt very grateful for her attempt to fool me with the scholarship. This was not easy to digest. My father used my supposed death to betray his friends. Harry is an orphan because my father sought revenge in the worst possible way. I felt sick. I was the catalyst for two people's deaths.
I ran down stairs and asked Renee if she still had the letter from Hogwarts. We went up to her room where she was keeping all my magical papers hidden and pulled out the Hogwarts acceptance letter. The envelope was addressed to Isabella Swan. I felt relief course through my veins. They didn't know I was the daughter of Sirius Black. Gah, how much worse would it be for Harry if he knew that his parents were killed because of a lie? Feeling thoroughly deflated from the revelations of the week, I trudged back to my room and collapsed in bed, asleep before my head even hit the pillow. I didn't have a peaceful night's sleep, though. It was a restless sleep plagued with dreams and memories.
I'm wearing a pretty pink dress with a princess tiara on my head. Daddy gave it to me, and said that I would always be his little princess. We are going to Harry's birthday party today. He's turning one. Even though I'm a big girl, Harry is still my best friend. Daddy and I got him a little broom, and I couldn't wait for him to open it. He'll be able to hover around a little bit off the ground. He's going to love it!
When we got to Auntie Lily and Uncle Jamie's house, I ran in to give Harry, Lily and Jamie big hugs. I loved Auntie Lily and Uncle Jamie so much. They were so much fun! I looked around and squealed in delight. Uncle Remy and Uncle Peter were here! I ran up to them and gave them both big hugs, too. Harry and I played while the grownups talked.
I wasn't really paying attention to what they were saying until I heard Daddy say something about Jamie and Lily going into hiding. I love hide-and-seek! I ran up to them and told them that I wanted to play, too. They were giving me funny looks, so I pouted and told them they were not going to play hide-and-seek without me! Daddy just chuckled and told me he'd never dream of it.
I noticed that Uncle Peter was looking kind of nervous so I wiggled out of Daddy's arms and grabbed his hand. I told him that he could be on my team, because I was the bestest at hiding. I promised him that if he was on my team, we'd never be found. All the adults just smiled adoringly at me, except Uncle Peter. He still seemed nervous. Oh well, I'm sure he'd be more comfortable once we found our hiding spot.
Auntie Lily said that before we went outside to play, Harry needed to open his presents. After he opened the broom that Daddy and I gave him, he didn't care a thing about Remy's book or Peter's chocolate. All he wanted to do was ride around on his new broom. He was so cute!
After singing "Happy Birthday" and eating the delicious cake Aunt Lily made, we finally made it outside to play hide-and-seek. As promised, Peter was on my team. Uncle Jamie was hiding with Harry and Remy and Lily were on their own. Daddy was it. I found the perfect hiding spot in a hollowed out tree, but Uncle Peter couldn't fit. I told him not to worry, that'd I find us an even better place, but he just grinned and transformed into his rat form.
The scene then blurred and changed into a busy street with muggles milling about. My dad was storming through the streets like a man possessed. He looked as crazy as the book claimed him to be. He was storming up to…Uncle Peter? Dad suddenly started screaming at him, asking him why. "Why did you do it, Peter? They were your friends!" Peter just looked nervous and shifty. "I didn't mean to," he squeaked. "He made me do it." That was not the right answer. Dad's face became enraged and he screamed, "I'll kill you!" However, Peter already had his wand ready, and with an evil smirk he sent out a curse that obliterated the dozen muggles around him, as well as severing his own finger. He then transformed into his rat form and scurried down the sewer while my Dad was surrounded by a dozen wizards with their wands drawn.
I woke up with a start, breathing erratically while my heart beat out of my chest.
In a cell thousands of miles away, Sirius Black awoke in a similar fashion after experiencing a dream that seemed more a memory of his lost little girl's before morphing into his own memory of the day he confronted that traitorous rat, Pettigrew.
A/N:
First off, thank you to Twilight Gleek, symmsters and Writers Of The Gods for your reviews! I really appreciate them!
Two general notes: I changed my avatar on my profile to a picture of what I imagine Bella's owl, Caelen to look like. Also, I'm making it so that in there aren't underage restrictions on magic in the US.
Okay, so a lot happened in this chapter. More, actually than I had originally planned. I had always planned for Regulus to reveal her identity in this manner, but the rest of it just seemed right once I got to writing. I don't see my Bella sitting idly by after everything that Regulus revealed. She's always been pretty independent, and she would be determined to find out the truth about her dad. The dream just sort of came to me while I was writing, and I ended up really liking it. Bella always felt connected to her dad, and when she needed to know the truth she sort of connected their subconsiouses. She has no idea she did this, of course. So, the next chapter will be focusing on her years at Salem, and then chapter seven we should meet the Cullens.
Please let me know what you think! Thanks!