Chapter Two
Year Two
"Here we are, no one else"
-The White Stripes
LENORA'S second year at Hogwarts proved to be as lonely as her first.
Sirius had remained friends with those boys, quickly adding a fourth to their small group early in the school year; a quiet, blonde boy named Peter. The lot of them were nothing but trouble, constantly pranking one another and goofing around in class. Lenora kept herself far from it, knowing that Mother would not approve in the slightest. She avoided her brother when she could, and reminded him of what was expected of children of the House of Black when she could not. Sirius would roll his eyes at her, and the tall boy, Remus, would call her princess. That had become his favorite thing to call at her when she attempted to redirect her brother; princess, he would sneer. She would stomp off each time, holding back tears.
The summer had not been much different. Sirius hardly spoke to her, spending most of his time in his room to avoid Mother, writing to his friends. Mother had been so disappointed when Sirius had been sorted into Gryffindor, and even more so when his behavior at school resulted in a near constant stream of letters home from Professor McGonnagall. Mother had kept her busy with her lessons; her voice and piano tutors ignoring the sounds of Sirius's blaring music as they guided her through her lessons in the drawing room.
He had been disciplined by Mother when they returned home that year for Christmas, Lenora listening from the top of the stairs as he cried, picking at her nail beds until they bled and biting her nails down to the quick. Mother had disciplined her once she saw her mangled hands at breakfast. Young ladies didn't chew their nails. It was dirty.
Lenora had tried to speak with Sirius, to beg him to change his behavior, but he had slammed the door in her face. The beginning of this term was no different than the previous one. She missed her brother terribly.
Winter fell upon Hogwarts, bringing with it a thick blanket of snow that coated the grounds. The Great Hall had been adorned for the upcoming holiday; wreaths and garlands draped across every surface, grand trees decorated in gold and silver baubles in every corner. Lenora was entranced by the festivities, excitement building in her as Christmas approached. She knew that she should feel sad, as she and Remus were of the small group of students remaining at Hogwarts for the holidays; Father was away to Paris for business and Mother and Regulus were to join him. But after the previous Christmas, Lenora was happy to remain at the school and away from the conflict that was bound to happen between Mother and Sirius if they went home. Furthermore, Mother had instructed her to watch over her brother. She should be honored that most trusted her with such an important task. Young ladies were responsible, after all.
Besides, Andromeda's friend Ted had told her that the feast that was served to the students who stayed on Christmas was the best of the year. Lenora looked forward to eating all of the desserts she wanted without Mother there to send her plate off to the kitchen and dismiss her from the table once she had decided that Lenora had eaten enough. She hoped that there would be pumpkin pie.
"No bow today, princess?"
Lenora looked up as he walked down the corridor, Sirius and Remus bounding past her into the Great Hall. Lenora's hand went to her hair, her curls undone and loose around her shoulders. She frowned, Remus glancing at her over his shoulder before slipping into the Great Hall. He and Sirius ran to their table, quickly piling plates with eggs and sausages.
She rolled her eyes, finding her way to her own table and pouring herself a glass of pumpkin juice. She looked over the various breakfast foods on the tables; sausages, eggs, toasts, and pastries. Her eyes lingered upon the assortment of cereal boxes, her stomach grumbling as her eyes fixed upon the box of Sugar Smacks within arms reach. Lenora sighed, instead reaching for the halved grapefruit. Young ladies watched their figure.
Sirius's laughter echoed through the Great Hall, Lenora rolling her eyes again at his outburst. She wasn't sure what came of her when she drew her wand under the table, giving it a sharp flick towards the boys.
"Moreve nivis."
A thick, fluffy cloud grew above the boys' heads, neither of them noticing until thick snowflakes fell over them, sticking their hair and clothes.
Lenora stifled a giggle when they both began to shake the snow from their hair, looking at each other with confused expressions. Sirius looked up, hitting Remus on the shoulder and pointing up, the other boy's eyes following.
"Are you doing that?" Sirius asked incredulously.
"No," Remus responded, equally as confused, "Are you?"
"Why would I ask you if you were doing it if I were doing it?"
"I don't fucking know, mate. Move down."
Sirius and Remus picked up their snow drenched plates, shifting down the bench and out of the flurry. Satisfied, the two boys exchanged a shrug before returning to her breakfast. Lenora watched with wide eyes, fingers pressed to her mouth in an attempt to hold back her laughter when the cloud slowly began to float towards the boys, covering them in snowfall once more.
"What in the fucking hell?" Remus reached up, swatting through the cloud. The cloud separated as his hand passed through it, quickly knitting itself back together. Remus let out a frustrated groan. Sirius pointed towards the end of the table, both boys standing and walking quickly to the end of the table, picking up their pace when the cloud followed them.
Lenora watched as they dropped their plates, cursing and running from the Great Hall, covering their heads as the cloud followed them out. She held her sides, finally allowing the giggles that she had been suppressing to tumble from her. She pushed her plate away, quickly finishing her pumpkin juice and following her brother and Remus out of the Great Hall.
This she just had to see.
Remus pulled his cap down over his ears, teeth chattering as he drew his coat tighter against his body. Sirius wrapped a scrap around himself, pulling it up over his bright red nose. Both boys glanced over their heads, the cloud that had followed them all day still looming above them.
"Fucking mental," Remus grumbled, zipping up his coat.
The boys had tried all day to rid themselves of the flurry, both desperately trying every charm and jinx they had learned over the past year. Nothing seemed to work, the fluffy gray cloud still hanging over their heads. Someone had to be responsible for this. Someone had to be messing with them. And frankly? Remus was impressed. Incredibly cold and a tad miffed, yes. But impressed.
The boys sat before the fireplace in their common room, the warmth of the flames doing little against the constant snowfall. The cloud had earned a confused look and shake of the head from a fourth year who came down the boy's dormitory stairs, Remus and Sirius offering him tight lipped smiles and nods.
"Who do you suppose it is?" Sirius asked, teeth chattering. He sniffled under his scarf, adding a pair of earmuffs over the wool cap he already wore.
"Like hell I know. James and Pete are gone. Snape went home, too." Remus wracked his brain, going over the short list of students who were still at the castle. None of the names stuck out to him as someone trying to get even with them.
Sirius shook his head, "Mad, isn't it? Who the bloody hell could it be?"
"I dunno, and I don't really care. I'm so bloody cold."
Sirius stood up, the cloud rising to adjust for his standing height. "Come on, we should head to the Great Hall for dinner. Maybe we can convince Flitwick to help us get rid of it."
Remus groaned, following Sirius, the cloud keeping their pace overhead, "I doubt it. All last week was weather charms. He's probably still probably pissed that we spent the week shooting spitballs at McCraggen instead of paying attention to his lectures."
Sirius returned his angry groan, the jobs breaking into a sprint, hoping to lose the flurry. Their jackets swished as they ran, but the cloud simply quickened its float, hanging omnipotently over their heads.
Lenora stifled a laugh when the boys burst into the Great Hall, dressed like a pair of marshmallows on toothpick legs. She watched as they waddled towards their table, bundled as if they were prepared to go out into a blizzard. Her flurry followed overhead, leaving a trail of glimmering white flakes behind the boys. Sirius sniffled and sneezed as the boys jogged, obviously hoping that a quickened pace would somehow evade the cloud.
"How the hell are we supposed to eat in all this?" Remus asked as they sat, the eyes of every professor at the head table falling on them.
Lenora smirked, flicking her wand under the table again. The cloud slowly rolled overhead, lazily drifting away from the boys and heading down the table. Sirius stopped shivering, looking up in a mixture of relief and wonder. He pointed at the cloud, ripping his combination of hat and muffs off, "Look! It's leaving!"
Both boys stripped off their layers, throwing them off behind them into a rather sizable heap on the ground. Remus let out a relieved sigh, grabbing his plate and pilling it with food. "Finally, I'm fucking starved."
Lenora watched as the boys attacked their plates, shoveling food in with both hands. The cloud floated away from them towards the head of the table. Neither boy recognized as the cloud turned the corner of the table, floating back to where they sat.
"No, mate," Sirius gasped, whacking Remus on the shoulder, pointing at the cloud with a trembling finger. The flurry slowly crept towards the boys, creeping back towards them.
"No," Remus exclaimed, "No! Piss off!"
"No! Go away!"
"Fuck right off, you fluffy little demon!"
The cloud continued to lurk down the table, Remus and Sirius growing more animated as the cloud came closer. They were both on their feet, pleading with the cloud. Sirius began to puff out short breaths as if he could blow it away. The cloud fell over their heads once more, dusting them with snowflakes. Sirius sat, his head banging against the table in defeat. Remus erupted into a string of curses.
"WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCK IS GOING ON?!"
Lenora snorted out a laugh when Professor McGonagall dropped her fork in surprise, shooting Remus a nasty glare. Remus and Sirius's eyes fall upon her, Sirius bursting into laughter as Remus pointed at her and shouted, "You!"
Lenora cackled from where she sat, her head tipped back in laughter. Sirius matched his twin's laughter, clutching his sides when Lenora let out a loud snort. McGonagall shook her head, fighting back a bemused smirk when the brother waved his sister over to his table, applauding her as she skipped over to his table. Lenora plopped down across from Sirius, Remus's eyes still wide.
The three erupted into a fit of giggles, Remus's shocked expression replaced with a smile when Lenora's head tipped back again, his friend's wild, throaty laughter echoing out of the princess's throat. Sirius raised a hand to his sister, Lenora leaning across the table to high-five her brother, smiling brightly.
"Nicely played, princess," Remus said with an amused smirk, "I'll admit it; you got me."
"How'd you do it?" Sirius asked, shoveling a forkful of potatoes into his mouth.
Lenora shrugged, "It's a simple charm, really. You would know if you paid any attention in class."
Remus gave her a wide-eyed look, "Why would we ever need to pay attention? We've got you as our secret weapon now! No one would suspect the perfect princess of the Black Family! It's fucking brilliant!"
"You better hurry up and eat. We need to get up to the common room and plan," Sirius gestured to the empty plate in front of her, both boys eating quicker when she spooned potatoes onto her own plate, raising an eyebrow.
"Plan for what?"
"For where we are going to meet you tonight when you sneak out of your dormitory to join us. You have to show us how to do that to Filtch," Sirius explained.
Remus's eyes met Lenora's, offering her a half smile, "Unless you're scared, princess?"
She returned his grin, bringing her own fork to her mouth with a newfound determination as she ate quickly, "I'm in."
The three ate together quickly, Sirius pushing what remained of his slice of pumpkin pie across the table to his sister. Lenora finished it happily, listening to the boys talk excitedly about the snowball fight they had challenged Frank Longbottom and his friends to the next day. Remus was strategizing how they could use Lenora's trick to their advantage, Lenora quickly learning that the lanky boy's favorite word was indeed 'fuck' and that he peppered it in multiple times in each sentence.
They had filled mugs with hot cocoa before setting out to the Gryffindor common room, Sirius laughing at Lenora every time the liquid sloshed out of her mug, gasping each time a marshmallow got too close to the edge and muttering polite curses like "shoot" and "darn".
Lenora was amazed by the common room when she entered it, the cozy room beckoning her in like a warm hug. She was quickly drawn to the blazing fireplace, plopping herself down on the floor before it when the boys settled themselves into the armchairs before the fire, the flames warming her back. The Slytherin common room was far too cold for her liking.
They spent some time scheming, Lenora listening intently as they sipped their cocoa. After some time, Remus had retreated to his dormitory, returning with a sack of sweets and a wizarding chess set. The three sat before the fire, wrappers strewn about, Remus explaining to Lenora how to play while Sirius watched, laughing at his sister each time she became confused by Remus's expletive-laden instructions.
Lenora laid on her belly, feet kicking in the air as Remus explained her possible movements to her. She cleared her throat, tapping the chessboard with a chewed fingernail, eyebrow raised.
"So, if I move my bishop here, your knight will… how did you put it? Fuck his shit up?"
Sirius burst into shrieking laughter, falling onto his back, clutching his stomach. He had never heard his sister curse, much less twice in the same sentence. Remus's cheeks went pink, Lenora letting out a laugh as well.
"Nora," Sirius pointed at his sister, "You just cussed!"
Lenora blushed. She enjoyed the feeling that burned in her belly as she laughed with them, rolling onto her side. Remus's eyes stayed on her in a way she didn't recognize, but she didn't particularly mind. She noticed the bit of brown that flecked his green eyes. She pulled herself back onto her belly, moving a piece on the board.
"Checkmate."
Remus watched as her knight usurped his king from the board, a bemused half smile meeting a smug smirk. Sirius chuckled, pushing himself up with comments of needing more sweets and retrieving them from his trunk. He left the two alone in front of the fire, sitting cross legged opposite of one another as they reset the board silently.
Lenora reached for where his king sat, Remus reaching for it at the same time. Their fingers touched clumsily, Lenora pulling her hand away. Something stirred in her when she looked up at him, his eyes fixed upon her again. He quickly looked away, Lenora unsure if the color on his cheeks had been casted there by the glow of the fire. They sat in silence again, waiting for Sirius to come running down the stairs and jump off the second to last step like he always did.
Lenora played uncomfortably with the hem of her sweater, her curls falling over her shoulder. The fire crackled and popped beside them.
"I like your hair down," Remus said quietly. Lenora looked up at the uncharacteristic compliment from the boy, unsure of how to respond.
"It's pretty."
Lenora suppressed a smile, eyes falling upon the chess board. Sirius's feet hit the floor when he jumped from the step, the chessmen rattling. Remus stood, sinking into the armchair above her when Sirius took his place at the chessboard across Lenora.
She didn't wear another ribbon in her hair the rest of the holiday. Or the rest of the term, for that matter.