A figure towered over the boy curled up in a ball on the pavement in the darkened alley. The boy, no more than fourteen years old, gritted his teeth and glared at the man looming above him. "Crucio" the blond man drawled, a sneer curling one corner of his lip. The boy writhed on the floor in excruciating pain but bit his lip and gritted his teeth, stubbornly refusing to cry out. "Did you enjoy that, my little blood-traitor nephew?" He gave a rumbling, bass chuckle, his broad shoulders shaking with mirth. The boy's only reply was to spit blood at the highly polished boots in front of him. "No? Your mother really should have taught you better manners boy. I'll have to do it instead, after all, what's family for? The Cruciatus hasn't loosed your tongue so I suppose I'll have to be a little more… inventive." He laughed and pointed his wand at the boy once more. The edges of his vision blurred and then it went dark, he couldn't see anything and the only thing he could feel was pain, a deep burning pain that seemed to flow through his body with every beat of his heart.
Aries jerked awake with a pained cry, glad that he had remembered to place a silencing charm on his curtains. He lay, sweating and shaking with remembered pain, in his tangled sheets for a minute then struggled out of his bed and collapsed on the floor, chest heaving. A noise from close by startled him and he skidded backwards but it was only Harry, who was curled on the window-seat and had turned to look at him. Aries couldn't look him in the eye, instead he staggered to the bathroom.
Alone in the cool, white tiled room, he relaxed a little. His breath was still ragged and uneven, harsh in the peace of the early morning and he leaned heavily on the edge of one of the sinks. He ran the tap for a minute and cupped his hands and splashed water over his face, trying to shake off the shackles of the nightmare that still clung stubbornly to the edges of his mind.
He stared at himself in the mirror; he was going to look like hell in the morning, or later in the morning anyway, as it was already 3:30. A young version of his father's face stared back out of the frame at him. He really did look remarkably like his dad, the only traces of his mother were the curl to his hair, the large eyes (though they were the Black family's stormy grey) and the slight point to his ears. Shaking the water from his face and hair like a dog, he pushed away from the sink, taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly to calm himself.
There was no way he could stay in here any longer without it being clear he was hiding from Harry so he exited reluctantly, entering the dorm room once more and moving to his bed. He leant against one of the posts at its corner and studied the boy sitting with his head resting against the window pane and gazing longingly at the night sky outside.
Harry turned and met his gaze "Couldn't sleep either?" he asked softly. Aries shrugged embarrassed but he just smiled wanly and said "I get nightmares too". An echo of shared pain and grief flashed in two sets of eyes, for a moment making them look almost identical despite the vastly different colours, there was a maturity in them only gained through suffering and acknowledging that nothing is permanent and that everything fades and dies. "Want to go talk in the common room so we don't wake this lot?" Harry jerked his head in the direction of their slumbering dorm mates.
Aries nodded shyly and pushed away from his bed, gesturing for Harry to lead the way. Paddy raised his head from where it had rested and fixed his eyes on them, he tilted his head quizzically at them, as if wondering what they could possibly be thinking of, getting up at this hour of the morning. He let out a sigh and got wearily to his feet, padding out of the dorm after the two boys on soft, bearlike paws.
Once in the common room Harry led them over to what were clearly a couple of his favourite chairs next to the fire. He settled in one and Aries curled up in the chair opposite. They were a little threadbare but comfortable and clearly well loved, the coverlets a faded scarlet that matched the rest of the room's décor. Paddy wandered over lazily and lay next to the hearth, the fire was low, nearly down to the embers but it still emitted enough heat that the huge dog stretched in pleasure before slumping in front of it. He appeared to settle into a comfortable doze but one eye was half open, fixed on his master.
The two boys stared at each other for several minutes, at a loss for what to say. They were both dark haired and handsome but while Aries had finely chiselled cheekbones and aristocratic looks, Harry had a less refined but still appealing appearance, his face still clinging to some indefinable sense of innocence and goodness, in comparison to the roguish looks of his companion.
They examined each other for a moment longer then both spoke at the same time "You look just like your dad". There was a moment's awkward silence before they both chuckled; Aries released a bark-like laugh so eerily similar to his father that it made Harry start. A grin spread over his face slowly, "How long do you think before we start confusing the teachers?" An answering grin spread across Aries face "They'll think they've gone back twenty years". "BLACK! POTTER! What do you think you are doing?! DETENTION!" Harry's imitation of McGonnagal made Aries collapse, giggling, into the embrace of his chair. "Oh, man" snickered Harry "Snape's gonna love you! This year's gonna be so much fun!" Aries pulled a funny face and the two boys lapsed into giggles, laughing comfortably with each other as if they'd been friends for years rather than hours.
Eventually their giggles quietened and Harry's face turned serious "I can't believe Sirius never told me about you. We should have known each other for years." Aries grimaced "Don't take it personally, he didn't tell anyone, well, except your mum and dad. Remus only found out last September when we moved into Grimmauld Place. The rest of the Order didn't find out until after…" he trailed off. Matching pained looks flittered across both their faces before Harry said "I guess I just don't understand why he thought it was necessary to hide you". Aries sighed "I suppose I'll have to explain everything, you deserve it, after all, he told me all about you, only fair you should know all about me. Just, don't interrupt, okay? It's gonna be hard to explain. Painful. If I stop I don't think I'll be able to start again". Harry nodded and Aries sighed before staring into the embers of the fire and starting to speaking, his voice soft with a lilting Welsh accent.