I'm butchering family trees here a little bit, but considering everybody with prior magical blood in their families is related in some way then I think I can get away with it to give a bit more development to a character.
The Easter timeline seems to be a bit messed up. Easter in 1996 was 3 weeks earlier than the author made out based on the comment from Ron about the first day of the holiday being 6 weeks before the exams in June. Based on his comment and my character plan for Leo, I'm moving Easter back a few weeks as the author seems to have done.
discord . gg / kKpcuquDYB
Harry eventually reappeared, walking through the portrait hole and into the Common Room around an hour after the tremor that had shaken the castle, and after being surrounded by all of the Gryffindor DA members, he explained everything that happened to him since Dobby's warning, leaving everyone silently raging at the Ravenclaw that had betrayed them, as well as leaving them all nervous about what was about to follow given that Professor Dumbledore had seemingly abandoned them. Leo had gone up to bed that night more worried than ever before, thinking partially about how without Dumbledore and the DA, Umbridge would have no reason to hold back.
His immediate worry was Anna though. When he met up with Fay the next morning to go to breakfast the red-head had already left the Common Room, and it was Leo that spotted her sat at the Hufflepuff table when they entered the Great Hall, though Fay was the one to drag him over to the Gryffindor table instead of talking to her first. Both Leo and Fay ate their morning meal with one eye on the Hufflepuffs and one ear towards the head table where Umbridge looked completely out of place in Professor Dumbledore's chair, and when Anna and Wayne rose to leave, they quickly finished their mouthfuls, grabbed their bags and followed.
"Anna! Please!" Fay called out slightly out of breath from the rush.
"Go away, I don't want to talk to you." Anna snapped, grabbing Wayne's hand roughly and trying to drag him away towards the Grand Staircase.
"Please, let us explain." Leo tried, but again she wasn't having it and completely ignored him with a scowl as she began to move.
Wayne stopped her from walking away however, and turned around to get in between them and Anna. "She doesn't want to speak to you guys." He told the worried pair. "Just… give her time. She'll come to you when she's ready to talk."
And she did at lunch that same day, pulling both Leo and Fay outside for a walk around the Great Lake after Herbology. The trio walked around in silence for a little while, with Leo and Fay waiting for Anna to say something, Leo using the silence to awkwardly skim stones across the surface of the water, managing 5 bounces before Anna's voice, unusually timid, sounded. "Why didn't you include me?"
Leo turned, looking towards Fay who just sighed. "Remember Hogsmeade in October?" Fay asked, and Anna nodded. "It started then. When you went off on your date and curled your nose up at that meeting with Hermione Granger, we thought you wouldn't want to be a part of a group led by both her and Harry, given your adamant refusal to believe him too this year."
Leo took over then. "That meeting was about what Harry said in the Quibbler, just less detailed and it went on to all the crazy stuff he's been a part of. He's been able to perform the Patronus charm since 3rd year!"
Fay grinned and whipped her wand out. "Expecto Patronum!" She cried, and her silvery Chaffinch flew out of her wand and above her head. "It's a N.E.W.T. level spell, but Harry taught it to us in weeks."
Anna, to her credit, was in awe. "Wow!" She let her guard down, before shaking her head as she regained her emotions. "But that doesn't explain why you didn't tell me afterwards? If it was so important then why couldn't you include me later?"
"Hermione said we shouldn't." Leo sighed. "And two days later that decree came about. We were breaking rules, and we didn't think you would be one hundred percent invested and could go telling Wayne, or whoever else. We were wrong." He held his hands up in a mock surrender when she glared at him icily. "But we didn't want to be the ones to break the vow."
"Spot Marietta Edgecombe when you can." Fay added. "Harry told us last night that she has boils that spell sneak across her face because she went running to Umbridge."
Anna gasped in horror. "That's evil." She hissed.
Leo shrugged nonchalantly, feeling no sympathy whatsoever for the Ravenclaw. "It was serious stuff Anna. We've learnt so much that the Ministry are trying to keep from us. Stunning spells, shield spells, all kinds of hexes and jinxes that would be very useful if the worst happens and we need to defend ourselves against Death Eaters… or worse." He then thought for a moment. "We can try and teach you too if you like. So you're not left behind."
Anna scoffed. "That's the least you can do." She frowned over at him. "It isn't nice being the only one in our year to be left out, let alone the last one in our friendship group."
"It won't happen again." Fay insisted. "We'll tell you everything from now on. Won't we Leo." She looked at him pointedly.
It took a moment for him to commit to what he had decided on, but Leo eventually nodded in response. "Starting now." He said, before letting out a dramatic sigh, looking around to see that they were all alone and couldn't be overheard. "Fay knows some of this, but not everything. Over Christmas… I found out the truth about my Father."
Fay's eyes widened in realisation, while Anna was simply shocked. "You said he was dead… died in the first war and you never knew him." She whispered.
"That's what I was told by my mum and Grandad for all of my life." Leo said. "But with everything spiking up again… the truth came out. I'm still not allowed to say a lot, but I can tell you some bits. My mum was a part of a group that resisted You-Know-Who last time around… and she is again. This Christmas she dragged me off of the platform to pack some things before going somewhere else… but before we left she told me the truth. My dad's alive."
"Did you meet him?" Fay asked eagerly.
Nodding, Leo looked back out to the Great Lake. He saw the Giant Squid's tentacles waving around above water level and watched them for a moment as he worked out what to say. "I did." Was all he could settle on. Turning back he saw both girls were looking at him, hanging on to every word he was saying. "Just, don't react until I tell you the full story." They nodded. "Sirius Black is my Father, and he's innocent. I was with him over Christmas in a place under the Fidelius Charm which is why no owls could find me."
The girls were horrified at the revelation. "But…" Fay began to protest, and Leo quickly went to tell her the truth before either of them could start on how he was a convicted criminal or the like.
"He was set up and had no trial to prove his innocence." Leo interrupted. "He wasn't the Potter's secret keeper but led everyone to believe that he was. He tracked down the real traitor, Pettigrew, and Pettigrew blew up the street and the muggles and cut off his own finger." He sighed again, grateful to get that off his chest. "This is all top-secret guys, nobody else can know. I'm telling you because you're my friends. Despite our differences." That last sentence was aimed more at Anna, who grinned amusedly.
"Sirius Black…" Fay whispered, her eyes wide in fear.
"We call him Snuffles in school." Leo explained.
"What's he like?" Anna asked, intrigued.
Leo was taken aback, not expecting Anna to be the one that could grapple with the revelations the quickest. "Normal? He's really bored of being cooped up in the house all the time. He argues with my Mum a lot." He laughed.
Fay wrapped her arms around Leo. "Well, if you're sure that he's innocent that I believe you. I'm so glad for you, Leo, that you've finally found him." Leo returned the hug.
"Me too." Anna nodded. She then took a deep breath, causing Leo to look over in concern. "I want to learn everything. If you're all preparing for another war… then I won't bury my head in the sand any longer." She looked to Leo, determinedly. "Before my mum married my dad, she was a McKinnon." Leo gasped, remembering his mum talk to him about some of the travesty's that happened in the first war, including the fate of the McKinnon's, and suddenly Anna's denial throughout the entire year made total sense. "Exactly, that's why we don't share that fact around. Mum's entire family were butchered and she only survived because she was with me overseas, in hiding. That's why I've been so against all of this talk about him being back… my mum is terrified. All summer long she was crying, worrying about if they would come and find her to finish the job off."
This time Fay wrapped her arms around Anna, who gratefully reciprocated the embrace. "I'm so sorry… we had no idea."
"It's not your fault, I didn't tell anyone because we don't talk about her family a lot at home." Anna explained. She wiped a tear away from her eye. "You guys are sure it's starting again? No bullshit, you're certain that You-Know-Who is back?"
"Without a shadow of a doubt." Leo nodded firmly.
Anna took a deep breath. "Then it's time to grow up, sorry mum." She whispered. "I forgive you both, so long as you teach me EVERYTHING you know."
Leo nodded, wrapping his arms around both girls. "We can do that." He agreed, moving them over to a slightly larger clearing where a tree was sat prominently, perfect target practice. "We started with the disarming spell…"
After an impromptu mock duel and a light telling off from Professor Hagrid for casting spells on the school grounds, the group managed to catch a few minutes of lunch to eat something before they had to go to Transfiguration, a lesson in which absolutely nothing happened because of an odd appearance of magical fireworks all over school. Even Professor McGonagall seemed amused by them as she instructed Lavender Brown to retrieve the new Headmistress to deal with the problem rather than the Head of Gryffindor take the risk of breaking Educational Decree 26 by getting rid of the fireworks herself.
The new emergence of the Inquisitorial Squad had also been a big talking point as the Slytherin's that Leo thought least deserved power suddenly gained the ability to dock house points. Already Leo had been unjustly docked 5 points from Malfoy for his shoelace being untied in the Great Hall, something that he was sure hadn't been the case 5 seconds earlier...
Thankfully however April arrived and very quickly the last week of lessons before the Easter holidays was on the horizon, with the Sunday before the break being Leo's 16th birthday. Waking up excitedly to the small stack of presents at the bottom of his bed he very quickly got dressed and raced downstairs to the Common Room, happy to see Fay and Anna waiting for him.
"Happy birthday!" Fay exclaimed, jumping at him and forcing him into a hug.
Anna repeated the sentiment with enthusiasm as she thrust a package into his hands. "Open it!" Chuckling, Leo sat himself down into an armchair and ripped open the brown packaging, seeing that it was an old autobiography of Licorus Black. "He was a part of the Wizengamot in the 19th century." Anna explained, before leaning closer and whispering. "And an ancestor."
Leo grinned, though he placed the book back in the wrappings. "Thanks, that must have been short notice."
Anna just shrugged. "Someone owed me a favour." Was all she said.
Laughing, Fay pushed her present into his lap then, and Leo opened a calendar for the Wigtown Wanderers. "I know it's late for a calendar, but it's really cool… even if it is Wigtown. July has the European Cup winners." She explained. Leo grinned, racing through the pictures to see the team photo of the most famous seven in Wigtown history, laughing as the players waved up at him.
"Thanks." Leo grinned.
More presents followed then as Leo opened up a small parcel of sweets and chocolates from Mr and Mrs Weasley, a crate of butterbeer from his dormmates. He had just opened up a Chocolate Frog when Hermione had come down the stairs with Ginny, the former holding a neatly wrapped parcel. "Happy Birthday Leo." The brunette smiled. "This is from me."
"You didn't have to get me anything." Leo exclaimed, though the smile on his face gave his appreciation away. "Thank you." He opened the wrapping and saw that it was New Theory of Numerology by Lukas Karuzos.
"That book has been a lifesaver for me since Christmas." Hermione explained. "It really gives a whole new meaning to Bridget Wenlock's theories on why seven has the most magical power…"
Leo opened up the first page, only for a cushion to be thrown at him, hitting him in the head. "Read it later, you've still got gifts here!" Anna called over to him. Leo, bashfully, thanked Hermione again and went to sit down, spotting a larger package and an envelope. Picking up the envelope first he realised it was from his mum, and he opened it to a pair of letters.
"Mum's gotten us box tickets for the first Wigtown match of next season against Caerphilly Catapults." Leo grinned.
Fay groaned in jealousy, but Leo simply grinned at her as he took the second letter, which was surprisingly blank. Placing it back down on the table he looked towards the final package, though a wince from Anna brought his attention back to the blank letter. "Your mum is furious." Anna half laughed.
"What?" Leo asked, picking it up again.
"She's having a go at you for joining an illegal group, are you blind?" Anna asked, pointing to blank parchment. "Right there."
Knowing what was happening, Leo smirked and placed the letter back down. "She's a genius." He bragged, pulling his wand out and tapping the parchment. "Aparecium." Ink began to scrawl over the parchment in his Mother's handwriting, and Leo found himself grinning at the shocked look on Anna and Fay's faces, also noticing the impressed stare from Hermione and Ginny just further over. Picking up the parchment once more, Leo began to read. "Mum's proud that I stood up for the truth and didn't just coast by on an easy education." He explained. "She's also going to show me some of her old notes from the first war…" He dropped his voice looking over at Hermione, mouthing 'order' at her.
"Isn't your mum in the Department of Magical Games and Sports?" Fay asked.
Leo simply shrugged. "In her day job." He told them cryptically, waiting for both girls' mouths to turn into O shapes in realisation before changing the subject. "Right, one more." He looked at it, noticing that unlike the other packages this one didn't have the large red stamp showing that it had passed inspection. Confused, he turned it around a couple of times just to see if anything was off.
"Professor McGonagall dropped that off last night." Fay admitted. "I don't know how she got it passed Umbridge though…"
Confused as to why their Head of House would be giving him a present, Leo began unwrapping it slowly. Inside was a picture frame, and a letter was attached to the back. Opening that first before turning the picture over he began reading the words of Sirius Black out loud.
"I've not been there for you and I can never apologise enough for that." Leo whispered the pen markings out loud. "I can't get 15 years' worth of presents to you with the screenings at Hogwarts, but consider this a start to show how much I care. Snuffles." He turned the photo frame over, and smiled softly at the image. He was a baby, no more than a few months old. His Mum was sat down holding him, while either side of her stood his maternal Grandparents. Behind Mary however was the person he had taken to staring at more, his clean-shaven and young-looking Father, Sirius. It was a lovely image, and one that brought a tear to Leo's eye.
"That's so sweet." Fay whispered. "You look so happy."
Leo nodded. "I'm sure we were." He answered, wiping his eye. "I can't put it up anywhere…"
"Here." Hermione had been eavesdropping clearly and she held her hand out. She whispered a spell before following that up with a declaration of Sirius' innocence and Leo felt something warm float through his body. "It's an adapted disillusionment charm. Now, only those that have spoken the truth and truly mean it will be able to see the picture for what it is. Others won't be able to see Snuffles."
She held it up to Anna, who gasped when she realised that the picture was now blank to her. "What do I say?" She asked.
"Sirius Black is innocent?" Hermione shrugged as she guessed. "It's more a feeling than a specific password, you have to have conviction that what you feel is true."
Anna repeated the words and grinned as the picture returned to her vision. "That's brilliant magic." She said in awe at the frame.
Leo agreed wholeheartedly, thinking that the charm was possibly the best present that Hermione had got him. Silently but heartfeltly thanking her, he took the picture back and stared at it some more, the loss of a complete family throughout his childhood being felt fully. "Right." He sniffed, placing the picture down. "Who wants to help me with these chocolate frogs?"
O.W.L.s may have been on their way and the stresses of fifth year life mixed with the uncertainty of the future were taking their toll on the year group, but for one day Leo was more than happy to slack off and just appreciate a day of happiness, as those sort of days would soon be few and far between.
Reviews:
SkepticPrinceArthur: What an excellent name for a dog!
Lightningscar: Thank you for that tip! The Patronus is definitely meant to be Sirius, that's an intentional choice. The Irish mythology part wasn't my own thinking but may possibly have been the authors. Growing into a leader is definitely something I'm eager to show going forwards, especially as we get into 7th year. The sign up sheet consequences are still a thing, but in the moment Hermione obviously doesn't realise who the guilty party is, that was the point of that part, Hermione wanting to know immediately who gave them up. As for the shockwave, it's based off of a line from the book - A streak of silver light flashed around the room. There was a bang like a gunshot, and the floor trembled. – I've just enhanced that perhaps and allowed the rest of the castle to feel it. In reality it was more likely just a light tremor, but Leo and co are in a heightened sense of alert because of the night's events. The explanation probably is a bit woollen, but the effects of it will last the entire story. I've met plenty of persuasive Scottish women before and I could certainly see even Lily accepting her friend's decision if Mary's anything like some of the people I have met…