"Wait, what?"
"Gryffindor, Narcissa," Bellatrix repeated slowly, as if doing so made it make more sense. "I want to be placed in Gryffindor. For the time being, that is."
"But why? I thought Blacks were all about Slytherin, blood purity, and holding up family traditions. Well, there is that prat-" at the look Regulus shot him, Severus looked away but muttered, "What? He's obnoxious and cruel and you know it, Black, better than I do, too."
"...Pushing the drama in aisle Black aside, Snape has a point. What about your family's values, Bella? Are you so eager to toss that aside?" Lucius asked. If Andromeda Black were here, he was sure she'd be the one to swap Slytherin for another house. Ever since the middle Black sister became friends with that mud-blood Hufflepuff, Eddie Tonks or something, she became less and less intolerant of those of lower blood and more and more rebellious against the traditions of old pure-blood families. Specifically, the traditions of The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black.
"Of course not," Bellatrix replied, "I'd never toss my values aside. I'm swapping houses, not giving myself up for adoption and claiming I love muggles and the like- look," she pinched the bridge of her nose, "It's- I just want to see what Gryffindor looks like."
"There's nothing just about this- what would mother say, this is shameful-"
"She'd say you're starting to sound just like her, Cissy! You're beginning to sound like Aunt Walburga, too!"
There was a knock on the door. Older Snape walked in and strode towards the headmaster who, Bellatrix noted, looked quite pained after listening to their conversation.
Narcissa caught the older Snape's hateful glare, looked towards the younger one who deliberately stared at the floor, and wondered what could have happened to make him look so bitter. The Snape she knew - although not very well, she'll admit - was timid, keeps to himself so often that Slytherins named an area in the common room 'Snape's spot' where they charmed it so that Snape could study in peace without having to go back to his dorm and suffer through Malfoy's speeches about his beauty, and when angered was hateful but bottles his rage at best and petrifies people at worst. The Snape she knew was awkward with a few loose morals - she really isn't in a place to talk about morals, she's a Black for Merlin's sake - but she can't see him turning old and bitter and sadistic. What happened to him?
Older Snape drawled, "Their supplies have arrived and I've seen to it that they were placed in their respective houses."
Dumbledore nodded, "Thank you, professor. Although, Miss Bellatrix's items need to be moved to Gryffindor," the shock was apparent even if the older Snape tried to hide it, Narcissa saw it in the slight widening of his eyes, "Quite a surprise, I know."
"Well then," Older Snape murmured after a while. "Shall we get started?"
"Started with what?" Lucius asked, a bit of worry in his tone.
"Putting on glamours," Older Snape clarified, "Keep up, Mr. Malfoy."
Prick.
An hour and multiple wand-waving later, gone was Bellatrix's wild black hair. In its place was bright red hair, not any less wilder but combined with her new blue eyes, she looked like a Weasley. "You'll fit right in Gryffindor," the older Snape said, a small, smug smile on his lips at the way Bellatrix frowned in front of the mirror. Her skin was a shade darker and covered in freckles, like stars dancing around her skin. Her uniform became highlighted with Gryffindor's house colors - red and gold. Narcissa, unlike her sister, had her hair turned black, like coal. Her eyes narrowed and blue turned into dark brown. She became a bit paler - if that's possible, she already was white as she was - and she gained a little more flesh.
Regulus wasn't changed much at all. He kept the color of his hair, his unique grey eyes, and his pale skin. What changed was the length of his hair - it was longer, falling to his shoulders. He found it strange - wouldn't people recognize him like this? But neither Dumbledore nor the older Snape gave a clear answer. "No one will associate you with, well, the you of this time." Dumbledore commented, vague as ever. Lucius had his hair cropped short despite his protests - "It's still there, Mr. Malfoy, you and other people just won't see it with the glamours on," - and colored brown. His grey eyes were replaced with a dull green color.
The last one to have his appearance altered was the younger Snape. His thin frame was disguised to look healthier, he gained a bit more color, and his limp black hair was shifted to brown, and it was shorter and thicker. His eyes kept their color, but they were rounder than before, making him look younger, innocent and relatively harmless.
"You are Isabella Larson," the headmaster told Bellatrix, "You've been quite ill when you were a child, so you weren't able to attend Hogwarts and instead you were provided with tutors by your parents. You enrolled in Hogwarts for your seventh year to take your N.E.W.T.s." then he turned to Narcissa, "You are Natalie Larson. You and Ms. Isabella are sisters, although you resemble your mother while your sister resembles your father. You spent the last two years in Beauxbatons but transferred to Hogwarts to guard your cousin's health." The headmaster paused, "If memory serves me right, you are quite fluent in French, yes?"
Narcissa nodded. "Yes, I am." Turning to look at her sister - and wasn't that strange? She wasn't used to seeing Bellatrix sporting such bright hair - she said, "Looks like I'll be the keeper in this time period, Bella."
Bellatrix huffed. "I don't need guarding."
Dumbledore agreed, "Yes, you don't, not really. I have no doubt that you are more than capable of protecting yourself. That hasn't changed, even now. But as Miss Larson, you do, because Miss Isabella Larson is not Miss Bellatrix Black." And that silenced Bellatrix's protests for the time being.
To Regulus, he said, "You're Mr. Leon Laurens. You're a half-blood-" Regulus gave no reaction to the statement but Bellatrix choked on air, trying to suppress a laugh, "-who was recently released from an abusive home life and finally allowed to attend Hogwarts-" Bellatrix's laugh died in her throat and this time Regulus looked towards the tiles of the floor, quick flashes of Walburga raising her sparking wand flitting through his mind. But not at me. She wasn't aiming at me. It was never me. "You are allowed to start your second year instead of your first year because of your natural ability with magic and your quick learning pace."
"Mr. Malfoy will now be Mr. Lucas Mason. You were born in the Philippines but your parents were British, until they established a citizenship in the country. Both of your parents are pure-blood wizards and you were receiving your education via correspondence courses over the past two years. But recently you moved to London and now you will continue your education in Hogwarts."
Lucius looked a bit unsure, "What if I'm asked to speak the country's language? I don't know how to speak..." his words drifted off as he wondered what even is the language of the country.
"You can lie," Regulus piped up. "Say that you never learned to - from what I know, the Philippines uses English, too."
"How do you know that?" Lucius asked. Regulus shrugged, "The same way I know Alexander Hamilton wrote 95 pages about his extramarital affair - I read."
He found his first year in Hogwarts a bit lonely, what with Sirius shunning him for being in Slytherin. The only people he found bearable were Narcissa - who didn't pick on him for having a Gryffindor for an older brother unlike Bellatrix, thank Morgana she eventually grew tired of doing so - and Severus - he didn't like Sirius but he made an effort to not be a prat, even if he doesn't always succeed, at least he tried - but they were a year older and their timetable was different, so most of the time he was by himself. And being alone gets quite boring. Thankfully, books exist and books don't complain or demean people's family members, so books ranging from magical to non-magical became his constant companion during first year. He found muggle history fascinating.
"Alright then."
The headmaster carried on, "Mr. Snape will be Mr. Seth Mason. You and Lucas are cousins - your fathers were brothers. Your parents died of dragon pox when you were six and you were adopted by your aunt and uncle. Like Lucas, you received your last two years of education by correspondence. You moved to London with your cousin and his family."
"Professor, if you don't mind my asking, why are our covers related?" Severus asked.
"I don't mind at all, in fact, I encourage questions so that you all may know what situation you're in," the headmaster added, "Also, it's because it makes it easier for the students to grasp why all the transfer students seem at ease with each other."
"Bonding over lies and fake identities, then," Bellatrix grinned. "That's wonderful. I can't wait for the moment this all crumbles into pieces."
"Can't you be more positive, Bellatrix?" Narcissa asked, exasperated.
"Sure. I'm positive that this will all crumble into pieces."
Before Narcissa could retort, the older Snape spoke, "Yes, well, hopefully by the time the lies are uncovered you'll be gone."
"Now, now, settle down," Dumbledore said, "We'll have to set a few rules. The forbidden forest is off limits, no wandering outside after ten, and may I just say that you can get arrested for attempted murder, so if someone annoys you, it's not enough a reason to lure them to their deaths. Also, stay away from the Dementors to avoid any unfortunate events-"
"Dementors?" Regulus asked, surprised, "Why are there Dementors in Hogwarts?"
"There's been an increase in security after a prisoner escaped from Azkaban." The older Snape replied. Regulus raised an eyebrow, "No one escapes Azkaban, though."
"I admire your skepticism, Mister Black, and you're not wrong. No one ever escaped Azkaban. Until now, that is. So the Dementors serve as extra protection, though they're dangerous to the students themselves, so I advise you to stay away from them." Dumbledore explained, "Now where was I... Ah, Miss Bellatrix, your head of house is Professor McGonagall, though I am sure you already knew that. Do you know how to locate the common room?"
"Mhm. I also know the entrance is behind the Fat Lady's portrait." Bellatrix replied.
"Good. The password of the week is Fortuna Major. As for the rest of you, your head of house is Professor Snape." No one quite knew what to say about that. The older Snape added, "The password of the week is desiccate."
Narcissa blinked, "That list of rules is strangely specific. Also, is it wise to have done that? What if we decide to break into Gryffindor tower now that we know the password?"
"It pays to be specific. Secondly, whether you choose to enter the common room despite not belonging to the house is up to you. Now - that should be all," Dumbledore opened his palm and sheets of parchment were summoned, "Here are your time-tables, classes officially start this afternoon. It's currently eight in the morning, so you still have an hour and a half for breakfast, so let's all head to the Great Hall and introduce you to your fellow students."
- . -
Breakfasts after the start-of-the-year feasts weren't as grand as the previous night's meal due to the tendency of only few students bothering to show up. Most were tired after a whole night of catching up with friends. So it was expected upon their entry in the Great Hall that only a few students were there, but all the teachers were. Upon their entry, the few students turned their heads to stare, likely wondering why the Potions professor and the headmaster had five students trailing behind them like ducklings. The headmaster walked to the front, followed by Professor Snape. The mumbling ceased at Professor Snape's trademark look of disappointment.
"Good morning everyone, I hope you had a good night's rest," a groan coming from Hufflepuff indicated that that was not the case, making the headmaster smile knowingly, "This day, I would like to bring into attention the presence of transfer students. They were unable to catch the Hogwarts Express on time and so are a day late in arriving. I hope you all treat them kindly and help them adjust to our school."
"For Gryffindor," the few inhabitants of the table sobered up quickly, "You have one new housemate. Miss Isabella Larson, please take a seat at the table on the farthest right."
Bellatrix made a show of walking with her shoulders tense and her head slightly bowed, as if she was shy and unsure of how to behave. She took a seat next to a redhead who she noticed had a Head Boy badge. The boy smiled - all prim and proper - and stuck his hand out, "Welcome to Gryffindor. My name is Percy Weasley."
Of course he was a Weasley, look at that hair. "Hi. I'm Bella - Isabella Larson." she shook his hand, hoping the falter in her movements was seen as shyness and not disgust at the thought of having to shake a Weasley's hand.
"For Slytherin, you have four other housemates - perhaps some other time for Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw," the students in the aforementioned tables chuckled, "Miss Natalie Larson, please take a seat at the table on the farthest left."
Narcissa held her head high but made an effort to keep her eyes kind. She sat next to a girl with an unfortunate pug nose whose first sentence to her was, "Larson, huh? Are you a mudblood? I don't remember there being a Larson in the history of pure-blood families." Before Narcissa could retort, a beautiful blonde girl across her reprimanded the girl with the pug nose, "Pansy, be nice." And turning to her, the blonde girl said, "I'm sorry, Parkinson doesn't have clear priorities. My name is Daphne Greengrass, it's nice to meet you Miss Larson." the girl, Daphne, stuck her hand out and Narcissa smiled and shook it.
"Mister Lucas and Seth Mason, along with Mister Leon Laurens are also Slytherins. Slytherin house, please welcome your new housemates warmly." In response, the students seated at the table clapped and plastered smiles on their faces, regardless how tired they looked.
Lucius took a seat next to Narcissa. He noticed the look of exasperation that crossed her glamoured face and despite not being the usual face of the girl who was the target of his affections, he couldn't help but feel a little happy, knowing that no matter how ridiculous and dream-like the situation became, Narcissa would always be annoyed at him. It was a constant, no matter how negative, and it keeps the world, his sense of reality, stable a little even when it was literally falling apart and he was struggling to stay on his feet.
Severus took a seat next to Lucius and smiled as politely as he could to the current time period's Slytherins. Their house wasn't known for warmth but this welcome was warm enough, even if plastered on politeness and small talk wasn't what other houses qualified as 'warm greetings'. He looked around at new yet familiar faces and wondered who these children's parents are. He caught sight of a platinum-haired boy sitting at the far end of the table, protected by two large boys who literally screamed Crabbe and Goyle. A Malfoy? He certainly looked like one.
He felt a nudge and looked towards Regulus who sat beside him. The younger boy's eyes flickered to the platinum-haired boy and he leaned in to whisper, "He looks like Malfoy."
"I noticed that, too." Severus mumbled. After a minute of watching Lucius and Narcissa interacting with the Slytherins as if they were their own classmates from their time, Severus whispered, "I'm sorry, Regulus."
"About?"
"About what I said about your brother." He absolutely despised the older Black but strangely he couldn't bear the thought of the younger Black mad at him, and he knew Regulus still was. He knew Regulus well enough to know that the younger Black, though not prone to lashing out, had a temper that rivaled his mother's. The Incident at the end of first year was proof of it.
Regulus said nothing for a while and Severus was certain he wasn't going to say anything at all, until, "Apology accepted."
- . -
"So you're from France?" A seventh year Gryffindor girl, who Bellatrix came to know as Jane Stones, asked, "That's cool. You sound entirely Brit though - sorry if I sound a bit, uhm, what's the word..."
"Ignorant? Racist? Stereotypical?" Bellatrix supplied. Stones clamped her mouth shut and Bellatrix rubbed her wrist, trying to look nervous and knowing she was more than convincing, "I-I'm sorry, I tend to spurt out words that are entirely not helpful-"
"Oh, no, it's okay - I'm sorry, too, I should know enough that not everyone who goes to Beauxbatons are French, uh, wow I do sound ignorant-" Stones rambled, "What's it like, by the way? Beauxbatons, I mean."
Bellatrix sighed, "I never said I went to Beauxbatons. I am from France, but I never said anything about Beauxbatons."
"Then where did you get your education?" Percy Weasley asked.
"I was tutored privately. I've been ill when I was a child and my parents weren't confident that I'd be alright in Beauxbatons so they never let me go. My sister, Natalie in Slytherin over there, went to Beauxbatons so if you'd like to know about it, it's better if you ask her." Bellatrix lied easily.
"Oh, I see," Stones nodded in understanding. "What sort of illness, though? You look perfectly healthy to me-"
"And looks don't determine everything, Jane," another Gryffindor girl, Darrel Lee, cut in.
That's easy. "It's more of a mental illness than physical, honestly," she paused to think, "Sometimes I... lose myself. As in I'll black out and when I wake up people tell me I've been acting strange and calling myself another name."
"Oh."
"Yes, but I'm trying to live with it. Natalie is here to keep an eye on me, too, as awful as it is to have my little sister be the one to take care of me." she said.
"At least your sister cares," Percy commented with a sort of disgruntled air around him. What brought about the bad mood? The mention of family, perhaps? Stones sighed, "Oh, Percy, you know your brothers only tease you out of affection."
Percy sighed, "I know, but it wouldn't kill Fred and George to stop for at least a day, will it?" As soon as the sentence was uttered, the Great Hall's doors opened and in walked two redheads - twins, Bellatrix noted - followed by a slightly shorter redhead, a girl with bushy brown hair, and a boy with a familiar bird's-nest sort of black hair and wearing ill-fitting glasses. "Aaand here they are." At Bellatrix's questioning glance, Percy elaborated, "My brothers. That's Fred," he pointed to the twin standing on the right, "And George." He pointed to the twin on the left.
Apparently hearing this, the redheads protested in sync, "Oi!"
The one on the left huffed, "I'm Fred."
"And I'm George." the one on the right grumbled. This isn't going to be easy to live with.
"Sure you are," Percy remarked dryly with the aura of someone who's had to deal with this sort of tricks for nearly his whole life.
The twin apparently named George saw Bellatrix and said, "And who is this lovely lady?"
"Are you another distant-distant-distant cousin?" The one apparently named Fred asked, "Or not and it's surely okay to know you in the deepest sense-"
"Can you two not?" Percy snapped. The twins raised their hands in a 'calm down' and 'we surrender' gesture, but the looks on their faces said that they were everything but surrendering. "We were just asking," the redhead on the left said, "No need to get your wand in a twist." his twin finished with a little chuckle.
"Seriously though, who are you?" they asked in unison.
"I'm Isabella. Isabella Larson, I'm a transfer student." Bellatrix replied. "Transfer student?" the bushy haired girl asked, "I didn't know that Hogwarts accepts transfer students." then, she smiled a bit sheepishly, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. I'm Hermione Granger, welcome to Gryffindor." She gestured to the shorter - compared to the twins, but taller than her - redhead standing beside her. "And this is my friend, Ron Weasley-"
"I can introduce myself just fine, 'Mione," Ron Weasley muttered but was wholly ignored by Granger, "And Harry Potter." She gestured to the black-haired boy.
Harry Potter? James Potter's son, then. No wonder his hair was familiar. Now that she looked at him, he looked so much like James. Except his eyes were green. He probably got that from his mother and Bellatrix found herself wondering who she was. She briefly wondered how James, and in some extent, Sirius was these days. Have they finally stopped being so obnoxious? Have they finally matured? Probably, seeing as Potter has a kid who seems like a decent human being. What jobs did those brats take up? Did Sirius get to be an Auror like he wanted or did he take up the mantel as Lord Black?
Unlikely. He's getting more and more enamored with muggles. Regulus is most likely the current lord.
And as she shook their hands and exchanged pleasantries, she made a mental note to catch up on the past nineteen years.
- intermission ii -
Andromeda felt like slamming her head on the table but held herself back, seeing Rabastan's worried glances. She would have laughed at his attempts to look unconcerned at some other time, but not right now. Nearing midnight, the whole house was woken up by a whirring noise and a flash of light that seeped underneath the spaces of the doors and were consequently alarmed. After their head of house scanned the common room for any possible danger and did a head count to make sure everyone was present and accounted for, it was discovered that her sisters were missing and, after scouring through the dorms, that their possessions went missing with them. Their trunks and trinkets were removed from their dorms. There were no clues as to where they've gone. Regulus was gone, too, along with all his things, as if he never existed. Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape haven't been seen either and her mother were sending owls nonstop, asking her where her sisters are.
She silently wished Slughorn never informed their mother. Druella Rosier Black, underneath her cold exterior, cared so much. Cared too much that it felt suffocating. It's selfish of her, she knows. Her mother just wants to locate her sisters as soon to ensure their safety and here she is wishing her mother never knew. She's awful.
The school staff had been alerted and now there were Aurors investigating the case. The entire Slytherin house were aware and now keeping a lookout for their missing housemates while the rest of the students were slowly growing aware that there's something wrong, but they're not sure what.
She felt a tap on her shoulder and she turned to see Christopher Macmillan. He pointed to the entrance of the Great Hall, at a group of four Gryffindors who just entered. "Do you think he knows?" Macmillan asked, referring to Sirius.
"Judging by the way he's so at ease, no," Andromeda replied. She couldn't help but grow a little bitter. Here she was, getting pestered endlessly by her mother, yet Sirius walked around oblivious, without a care in the world. "I think he hasn't been made aware. I think Aunt Walburga didn't say anything about the matter." Her aunt was notified, too, considering how one of her sons disappeared as well but there's been no word from her or from Uncle Orion.
But just as she was about to stand and make her way to Sirius, a screech own flew down with what Andromeda recognized as a letter from Aunt Walburga. A ripple of silence seemed to spread as the letter landed on Sirius' plate and it was obvious many expected it to be a Howler - it's all Aunt Walburga ever sent to Sirius - but were surprised to see it only looked like a letter and not an actual Howler. Andromeda watched as Sirius frowned and opened the letter. She saw the Potter child lean in to see what the letter was about - no manners, honestly. She watched with a small, sick sense of satisfaction as Sirius considerably paled.
Before she even knew it, Sirius ran towards Slytherin table and was sitting in front of her, having pushed Flint aside.
"Andy," he said.
"Sirius," she replied evenly.
She had mixed feelings about her Gryffindor cousin. In one hand, she's glad to have a companion in breaking free of the family traditions and beliefs. On another hand, her cousin was an obnoxious brat who had prejudices against Slytherin, so much that he was willing to abandon his younger brother for a whole year. We're the definition of dysfunctional.
"What's this about?" he held out the parchment. She skimmed the letter and was surprise by the amount of pleading Walburga did to find your little brother, Sirius, please and the amount of civility that went into her letter. Honestly, the woman was so confusing. One time she'd be screaming at Sirius to stop being a disgrace and the other she'd be doting at him, granting every wish her children had with a flutter of her eyelashes at her husband. "What does she mean Regulus is missing?"
"It means he's missing, cousin dearest," she said, "Along with Narcissa, Bellatrix, Lucius, and Severus."
"Snivellus-" Potter had walked after his friend and was cut off by her glare, "I mean, Snape's missing, too?"
"How? What happened?" Sirius questioned.
"Wow, what a miracle, the elder Black actually gives a damn about his little brother," Barty Jr. said from one corner of the table. Having heard him, Sirius turned to the second year Slytherin, face turning into an alarming shade of red. "Look here-"
"He's right, though." Andromeda commented. "You pushed your brother away for a whole year, Sirius, nearly two years, in fact - and you ran off to the Potters during the holidays and during the majority of summer. It's a miracle you actually care that Regulus is missing." The satisfaction grew despite it stemming from the growing look of shame on Sirius' face. It was quickly replaced with anger, though, as Sirius scoffed.
"I don't. He's a little slimy snake. But mummy dearest will be mad at me even though I'm not at fault." he hissed. Andromeda noticed her fellow Slytherins - mostly Narcissa's friends - scowl at Sirius.
"Well then, I don't see why you're here." she said, "If you don't really care about what happened to your baby brother then I see no point in telling you what happened. It's not like you're going to help with anything. The DMLE are already on the case." She stood up, "Good day to you, Sirius."
"Hey, wait!" Sirius grabbed her hand tightly. "Why are you being so difficult?" She said nothing. Sirius glared, "Just tell me what happened to Reggie. I need clues - I'll figure it out eventually, before the DMLE even do."
Stubborn. Proud. Andromeda crushed the increasing want to hurt her cousin. Stop it, this isn't like you, you don't take out your frustrations on other people - that's Bellatrix. "All we know is that last night a loud whirring sound was heard throughout the whole Slytherin common room and the dorms. It woke people up. The early few saw a bright flash of light seep through the doors and when they opened them, all there had been was blinding light. When it finally faded, and most of Slytherin house were awake, the common room was a mess and golden sand was spilled everywhere - but no one was there. It was empty and the fire had gone out."
"Golden sand..." Potter murmured and Andromeda distantly noticed how the whole hall was listening.
"After Professor Slughorn scanned for any danger and for anyone hurt, it was discovered that five Slytherins were missing. And that's my two sisters, your brother, Malfoy and Snape." she finished.
"That's it? Does anyone have any clue what could have done it?" Potter asked. Sirius was too - stunned? - to say anything.
Andromeda shook her head. "None yet, or at least, none that I've heard. If anyone's found anything, the Aurors are probably keeping the information to themselves."
Finally, Sirius breathed, "Mother's gonna kill me."
Potter frowned, "Mate, it's not your fault they went missing."
"You're right, but she's going to do it regardless. If not her then father will. They expect me to always - somehow - know what Regulus is up to or what happens to him all day and all week, as if they forget I'm in a different house altogether." Sirius sighed. Then, with sudden determination, he said, "I'm not dying any time soon. Just you wait - I'll find them before the Aurors do."
With that said, he stormed out of the Great Hall, soon followed by his other friends. Andromeda found herself dealing with the guilt for cutting at her cousin with her words and, surprisingly, a sense of security. As though she wholly believes in Sirius' words.
And, perhaps, some part of her really did.
- . -
A/N: This ended up longer than I intended, oh boy. Thank you to those who commented and I think it's not needed to be said but I'll say it anyway: Yes! I shall continue this series. Also, your reviews/comments give me motivation, so maybe drop by and tell me what you think? And on another note - I made another Tumblr blog at .com where I reblog HP stuff. Maybe drop by a message and we can talk about stuff, like how pretty Newt Scamander's eyes are.
Thank you for you patience and I will see you soon. Bye!