Chapter 50

LB

Since apparition classes only started in November, I needed to use a floo to get to Malfoy Manor. I didn't pack a bag the afternoon of the full moon, since I had everything I needed at the Manor. I quickly switched my robes for my baggy sweatpants with a crop sweater on top before I headed down to the common room. The group was waiting for me to head to the great hall for dinner.

"Hey-" George started but stopped when he turned to me. "Why did you go change?"

"I'm not coming to dinner with you. I have a meeting with my potion's masters." I lied through my teeth.

"And you're wearing that?" Angelina grinned, pointing to my casual clothes.

"He said wear something comfortable, because we'll be brewing all night to see what I can do."

"All night?" Fred asked.

"Don't know if it will literally all night, but don't wait up for me. At least you know where I am." I lied again.

"How will you get there?" Angelina asked.

"I'll walk to Hogsmeade and then floo from the three broomsticks." I glanced at my watch. "But I should really be going."

"We'll walk you." The twins offered with a tremendous smile. I was starting to decline, but they looked so hopeful.

I smiled at them. "You won't mind missing dinner?"

"We'll snag something from the kitchens later." Fred grinned.

"Then I would love the company." I stepped between them and looped my arms through theirs. I looked over my shoulder to Angelina, Lee and Alicia. "I'll see you guys in the morning."

"Go show him what you got, Alec." Lee gave me a thumbs-up. I chuckled as the twins led me out of the common room.

The twins were leading me to the front doors of the castle, but I stopped a few metres away. "Uhm - can we go through Honeydukes passageway?"

The twins looked over my head towards each other before shrugging. "Yeah, sure." And we turned around.

LB

"So, why did you want to take the secret passageway?" Fred asked as he pushed away a cobweb.

"Dunno." I shrugged a little. "Looked like it was going to rain. So, found a way yet to enter the tournament?"

"I'm glad you mention it." Fred started.

"Because we found the right potion yesterday. It's an aging potion."

"Just to add a couple of months."

"Hm." I hummed as I thought it over.

"You don't think it's going to work?" George asked softly. I turned to him with a sad smile.

"Depends on what precautions Dumbledore and the ministry will take. But my guess is that they will know how to block an aging potion."

"Fuck." They chorused.

"I'm sorry." I said biting my lower lip.

"It's not-" George started but his eyes flickered down to my lips. He breathed in deep and licked his own lips before his eyes shot back up. "It's not your fault. We'll look for a backup plan."

I quickly let go of my lip and cleared my throat, looking at the darkly lit passage.

"Are you going to enter?" Fred asked as we kept walking.

"I don't know, I don't think so."

"Why not?"

"It's not something to go over lightly, is it?" I asked dodging another cobweb. "We'll see, I still have time. Angelina is still debating too."

"Well, George and I already talked about it, and we know if you are going to enter, you would be the one chosen for sure."

"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow and looked between them with a smirk. "You two talk about me, do you?"

"All the time." George joked. But there was something in his voice that didn't seem like he was joking, at all. I looked away before a blush appeared. Just then I saw we reached the hatch that led up to the candy store.

"We're here. You two should head back."

"Are you sure?" They glanced from the hatch to me.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I'll see you guys in the morning, alright?" I stood on my toes and kissed their cheeks. "Now, be good boys and head back to the castle."

"Yes, ma'am." They saluted, but they waited to leave until I had climbed up the ladder and closed the hatch behind me.

LB

The manor was empty when I stepped out of the fireplace. I looked out the window and saw that the sky was nearly dark. I would've been here sooner but with the twins, I couldn't turn into Loki.

"Moony!?" I called out, but nothing. "Aunt Cissy?!" I turned around when a crack sounded behind me, Stovo, the head house elf, was bowing deep.

"Miss Alexandra."

"Stovo, how are you?"

"I'm fine, Miss Alexandra. How can I help you?"

"Is Remus or Narcissa here?"

"Missus Malfoy is in the garden, miss. Should I go get her?"

"No need, Stovo. I'm here." Narcissa Malfoy said with a flair I never had. Her hair loosely over her shoulders, she looked free. "Alexandra, dear, what are you doing here? Are you okay? Is Draco alright?"

"We're fine, Aunt Cissy. It's the full moon."

"Oh." She said softly. "I didn't know you were coming."

"I never missed a full moon. Where is he?" I looked around expectantly.

"I -" She glanced to the front door. "Where do you think?" She turned to me with a secretive smile, her perfectly shaped eyebrow high.

"Figures." I mumbled. "I should get going then before I'm too late." I stepped closer and kissed her cheek. "It was nice to see you, Aunt Cissy."

"You too, dear."

LB

I closed the door from Malfoy Manor behind me and started to walk towards the house of one Sirius Black. I should have known he would go to him, thinking I wouldn't be there for him. We didn't discuss it, but I thought it would be obvious I would come and stay with him. I did it for years, even when I went to Beauxbatons. I stopped before the front garden, looking up the house. The house was still as light and inviting as it was a few weeks back. Damn Black, for choosing such a gorgeous house. I pushed open the small wooden white garden gate as I stepped up to the house. Then I rang the bell. I waited and I waited. I rang it again, and again, and again. Almost ten minutes had passed before the door flew open, revealing an angry looking man. Not like the man I saw open the door like those years and years ago. But what was the same was, is that his face softened when he saw me.

"Alec." Sirius breathed out. He shuffled a bit, trying to decide to step towards me or not. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Is Moony here?"

"Yeah, he's-" He said pointing behind him. I took the last step up and walked inside the house. Sirius closed the door quickly and followed me inside. "Upstairs." He said, and I did not wait another second. I walked to the room Harry had said was for Remus. Without waiting or knocking, I opened the door. There were bars on the windows, and the walls were cushioned. I snorted at the sight before my eyes fell on my uncle, who was sitting on the bed cross-legged. Sirius appeared next to me, seemingly a little out of breath.

"This -" I gestured around the room. "Isn't necessary." I said to Sirius, but my eyes were on Moony. Moony's eyes snapped to mine.

"Alec?" He said jumping off the bed. "What are you doing here? Are you okay?" He asked, cupping me cheeks as he looked for any sign of injuries.

"It's not me, it's you."

"Huh?" Remus cocked his head and in the corner of my eye, I saw Sirius Black giving him lovey-dovey eyes. I held back a snort.

"It's the full moon." I pointed at the window.

"I didn't know-"

"Have I ever missed one?" I lifted a brow.

"No, but-"

"Wait!" Sirius interrupted quite rudely in my opinion, and I turned to him with a small glare. He smiled apologetically. "What about when you were in Beauxbatons?"

"What about it?" I asked.

"You said you never missed a full moon."

"I haven't." I said, not elaborating. Sirius huffed in frustration. Remus sighed with a soft smile before turning to Sirius.

"We had a deal with the counsellor. She came home whenever she liked."

"What about her schoolwork?"

Now I was the one who huffed. "Does it look like it suffered?" I crossed my arms over my chest.

Sirius frowned. "Well - well no."

"Alright then." I turned to my uncle. "Expect me to be here with you every month."

Remus smiled broadly and he stepped forward to hug me. "Thank you, cub."

"Anything for you." I murmured in his chest. "Black, close the door." I said as I saw that it had gone dark.

LB

It was already past midnight and I, as Loki, was sitting across from Moony. Between us was a checkers board. Padfoot was lying on the bed watching us. I didn't like being in this room, it looked more like a mental institute, an isolation cell than a room. I needed to change that before next month, because I knew Remus would stay here instead of the Manor. He still didn't want to explore outside in a large and distant forest. The moon appeared from behind the thick dark clouds, and Moony's nails dug into the skin of his knees.

"Scotty." I said low, coming forward. I stepped over the checkers board and leaped up on his lap. Padfoot had jumped from the bed and had taken my spot. He watched as I curled up in a ball on Moony/Scotty's lap. "You're okay." I whispered as he stroked the fur on my head. I felt him relax as he leaned back.

"I don't know how you do it."

I looked up to see Padfoot staring at me, I cocked my head to the side.

"You know exactly how to calm the wolf in him, just with one touch or one word."

I looked at my uncle, who had closed his eyes as he leaned against the wall. His chest was rising and falling slowly as he drifted to sleep. I looked back to Padfoot. "It helps that we don't keep secrets from each other." I said quietly, trying not to rouse him. "We know each other through and through."

"I figured that." Padfoot mused. "I'm jealous of him. The bond you two have, it's not one I've seen often."

"Hmm." I hummed. It took us a lot of arguments and fights until we reached that kind of place, but Sirius didn't need to know that.

"I know we probably won't ever have that kind of trust or bond, but only a fracture of it would be enough for me."

"Maybe one day." I whispered.

"I'll look forward to it." His yellow eyes gleamed and we fell silent. Remus's soft inhalation of breaths, send me right into my own dreamworld.

LB

The next morning, barely five thirty, Sirius was making breakfast in his kitchen. Moony and I sat on the kitchen table, half asleep while Black hummed a showtune. A year ago, I would never believe I would be sitting in Sirius Black's house waiting for him to be done making breakfast. I leaned into Remus as he put his arm around my shoulder. Sirius turned around with a warm look as he loaded our plates. As we ate, Moony said.

"So, the Triwizard tournament."

"Yeah, can't wait to see my friends again. Whoever will come, it still isn't decided."

"Harry wrote to me, telling me you knew." Sirius said.

"I did." I said buttering my toast. "Jack wrote to me. Moony knew I knew."

Black's eyes flickered between me and Remus. "I - you-." He breathed in deep before he said. "Who's Jack?"

"My best friend from Beauxbatons, we used to date."

"Why don't you tell me those things, Moony?" Black whined and I nearly chocked on my eggs.

"I'm not one to gossip, especially about Alec." Remus shrugged sipping his tea. "I told you, everything you want to know, you have to ask her. And respect what she wants to tell you and what she doesn't."

I knew he respected my privacy, and he would never do anything to hurt me. But I had figured he had told Black a thing or two about our years together. Sirius kept himself busy with setting up another pot of tea before saying.

"You're not going to enter, are you?"

"I'm not sure, maybe." I shrugged and Remus offered me a smile.

"Like hell you are!"

"Excuse me?" I said as Remus and I snapped our heads towards him.

"You can't enter. It's dangerous, and – and-" He sputtered. "I forbid it!"

"Oh, no." Remus groaned in his hands, shaking his head as I jumped off my chair.

"You forbid it?" I choked out a laugh. "You have no say over me. I can do whatever I want."

"I- you can't." He looked to Remus. "Moony, you're on my side, right? You said it was dangerous."

"I did." He admitted. "But she'll be seventeen by then, I can't stop her. But I wouldn't do it either, she's strong, Sirius. You know she is. I taught her myself for Merlin's sake. If someone could win this, it's her."

Sirius opened his mouth, but nothing came out, he just stared incredulously at Remus.

I looked to my uncle with a small smile. "You mean it?"

"Of course, I do, cub."

"Thank you, Moony." I hugged him tight. "I should get going, I'll see you next month." I kissed his cheek. I glared at Sirius Black, who was still dumbfounded, before I disappeared in the green flames. But one thing was certain, I'm going to bloody hell sign up for the tournament.