#and she's like *gasp* but hes Married to Bellatrix Black

[mauveberries]

ok but bella/voldemort/fem harry ministry + soulmates au with healer bellatrix would go so hard

[lulublack90]

Prompt 6 - Extinct

@jegulus-microfic August 6, Word count 919

CW - Broken bodies

Previous part First Wolfstar part

James clasped his hand over his mouth to silent the gasp he inhaled as the entire extended Black family entered the room. Orion Black sat in the large leather armchair beside the fire. Cygnus Black, took the matching chair opposite, while the three ladies, Walburga, Druella and Narcissa took the wide settee. James and Sirius were stuck.

“Cygnus, Druella, I want to start things off by saying how sorry I am for your loss. The family’s loss. Bellatrix was the best of our family. We and I’m sure the Dark Lord will miss her presence.” Orion spoke solemnly. The gathered members raised glasses of red wine and firewhisky that had suddenly appeared beside them and toasted to Bellatrix. 

“It is a shame that she did not think to conceive, before her untimely end. But I suppose she thought she’d have more time. Plus the loss of the last of the Lestrange’s to boot. It was a dark day when the Order attacked them.” Cygnus sighed, staring darkly into the depths of his whisky glass. 

“Albus Dumbledore's holier than thou little group of do-gooders, murdering all those witches and wizards? Come now, Cygnus, you don’t believe that for a second, do you?” Orion scoffed. 

“But the Dark Lord—” Cygnus began, but Orion cut him off. 

“No, it was ferocious. I saw the destruction left behind. They were animals. Tore them limb from limb. I couldn’t tell the Lestranges apart. The only way I knew it was Bella was by her hair and the wand clutched in her arm a few feet away from her body.” Orion tutted. “Absolute animals. I have no idea who the others were with them and there's no record of the prisoner in the dungeon. Merlin knows who they had down there.” He finished drinking deeply from his glass. 

“But who would do such a thing?” Druella sniffled, taking a silk handkerchief from her robes and dabbing at her eyes. “My poor Bella, so much talent gone to waste.”

“And now we are without an heir, again!” Walburga spat unhappily. “I suppose it will have to be Narcissa, but I am loath to let the Malfoy’s get their claws on our riches. Dragons, the lot of them!" 

“But what about Sirius? He’s the only one who can carry on the family name,” Orion argued. James felt Sirius stiffen beside him and grabbed his arm in a vice-like grip. He’d been so caught up in the conversation he’d almost forgotten that they were actually standing in the room. 

Walburga leant forward, her teeth bared, not unlike the werewolves when they got angry. 

“I would rather have our family name become extinct before I welcome that worthless excuse for a son back into the fold.” She sat back and composed herself. “Regulus may not have been the best choice for an heir, but at least he followed orders. It’s an irritating inconvenience that he didn’t live.” She turned to Narcissa, seated beside her. “You are the only one left who can carry on the bloodline, it’s just a shame you were born a female and there aren’t any other Black family members you could have married.” Narcissa squirmed uncomfortably in her seat just once, before correcting herself. 

“I’m sorry, Aunt. I promise any children Lucius and I can bear will be raised with the Black family values the same as I was,” Narcissa said with no emotion in her voice. 

“As I would expect,” Walburga barked. “When they are old enough you will bring them to me for instruction. I was too lenient on my own sons, but I shall remedy that.” Sirius scoffed and James had to nudge him, reminding him they needed to be quiet. Orion turned his head in their direction, his blue eyes, the same as Sirius’s, slowly examining the area where they were standing. His eyes crinkled and the corners of his lips twitched. James felt his stomach drop. Did Orion know they were there?

“Yes Aunt,” Narcissa said, her jaw clenching. James watched as her hand fluttered over her stomach and rested gently against her dress.

“I believe lunch is being served. Shall we?” Orion stood and gestured to the others. He waited for them to go, using his drink as a way to delay his exit. James and Sirius watched as he took a quill and a scrap of parchment from a drawer and scribbled something down. He looked again to the corner James and Sirius stood in and smiled warmly before walking out of the room, leaving the door open for them. 

Before James could stop him, Sirius was dragging him across the room to see what his father had written. 

‘Take whatever you need. Be safe and don’t linger, Sirius.’

Sirius froze at the words, his hand brushing across the parchment. He snatched up another piece to leave a message of his own. 

“Sirius, no!” James hissed under his breath. “If anyone sees it, you’ll be putting us all in danger,” Sirius stopped, his quill hovering over the parchment, dripping a few spots of ink as he warred with himself. 

“I have to, Prongs,” He said before scribbling across the parchment. 

‘The dog saved the cat from its strange underground cage. They took to the trees where they both are free. 

A Riddle they have found. A Riddle they will end. Only then will they be seen again.’

“Poetic shit. Alright, let’s go!” James hurried Sirius from the room, and they fled the house as silently as they could. 

Next part

[a-foray-into-magic]

Traitor.

"I am marrying Ted Tonks." Bellatrix's chocolate-hued eyes landed on her sister and she blinked. For once, words failed her. There was silence in the Black family parlour, where they had been sitting and playing cards. It was a rare pastime that all of them seemed to enjoy. Andromeda may well have dropped a bomb because, for a moment, they had no idea how to respond. Andromeda was always unique. It wasn't a trait appreciated in their household. On more than one occasion, it had been beaten into them. Divergence wasn't appropriate. The most ancient House of Black had their 'ways' and all were expected to follow them. If they did not, there were consequences. In such cases, Cygnus chose violence. Bella had been beaten so much that after a while, she would laugh when he raised his hand. While she did fall in line for the most part, she ensured her parents knew she wasn't always happy about it.

Cygnus raised his decanter of firewhisky whilst Druella closed her eyes, clenching her jaw. Cissy's eyes filled with tears, but beyond that, there was a lack of emotion shown. Inside Bella, turmoil mixed with loathing and betrayal. They would never be the same after today. She clutched her wand and was tempted to send a few blasts at Andromeda's head. Andromeda stood tall, her Black bearing apparent. She had to know that this wasn't going to be well received. The silence lingered and Bella hopped up from her seat, glaring at her sister. "You can't do that!" She spat out, pointing her wand under her sister's chin. Red sparks sputtered from the top and Narcissa gasped. "Expelliarmus!" Andromeda hissed, and Bella's wand flew across the room. Their eyes met and tensions in the room were so thick, the family house-elf could have cut it with a butter knife. "I can, and I will. You cannot stop me. None of you can." "You've got an hour to pack a bag," Cygnus declared in a cold, emotionless voice. Standing up, he looked at Andromeda, his eyes narrowed. Druella simply looked at the smoke rising from her cigarette as if that were the most interesting thing in the world. Bella's eyes narrowed. She could detach from anything--except her social parties where she paraded over everyone about her esteemed pedigree. That she did not defend her daughters was nothing new. "From such point, you are no longer a Black. We do not know you. We will not acknowledge you. If people ask about you, you are as good as dead." "I expected nothing less," Andromeda replied, stepping away from Bella and heading up the winding stairwell to her room. Following her, with hatred etched on her features, Bella simultaneously fought her anger and the burn of tears. Her younger sister was on the unemotional side. She was resigned to it. There was no fire, no fight. There was only acceptance. Bella's jealousy surged. To choose her own marriage would be grand, but it was not allowed. (And if she was honest, she didn't want to get married.) But at least she knew that her marriage would be pure. A muggle-born. Why couldn't Andromeda at least have chosen a pure-blood? Narcissa seemed more torn. Loyal to her family, upset by the events. Bella sniffed. She was a soft touch sometimes, but it wasn't something Bella minded, so long as she did her duties to the family. Andromeda was quiet as she waved her wand, packing her clothes into her suitcase. She took nothing beyond what was her own, nor to state who she was. Or had been. Not a single photograph. Nothing. Bella would scratch her out of every photo later. The only problem was, anytime she looked in the mirror, she would see Andromeda's face. It was a curse she would carry--one that would affect her more than even a Cruciatus curse.

"Blood Traitor!" Bellatrix screeched venomously, following Andromeda as she marched down the stairs. She took notice of their similarities once more. Knowing she would never again set eyes upon the little sister that she had once loved so much. It was like looking at herself if she took this path in life. There was some tiny voice in Bella's mind that kept nagging her to stop with the insults, but her anger was far too volatile to be ignored. Stopping at the front door. Andromeda looked back at Bella, leveling a gaze at her. There was pity in that stare. The older witch scowled and shoved her out the door. Their parents were talking in the parlor, no doubt planning to discuss how to go forward. Bella looked beside her as Cissy took hold of her arm. As much as she wanted to wrench it away, she didn't. Not to Cissy. If there was any softness left in Bella, it was reserved for her baby sister.

"Goodbye, Bella. Cissy. Mother. Father," Andromeda uttered calmly, before turning on her heels and beginning to walk away. Her shoulders were squared as she walked, her head held high. Why did it seem like there was a weight off her shoulders? "If you two ever escape...this. I hope you'll find me."

"Toujours Pur!!" Bellatrix shrieked as Andromeda walked down the long stone pathway from the Black estate. She never would admit it to anyone, but she would miss Andromeda. But it also fuelled her hatred of muggle-borns. Stealing her sister away like this? May they all burn and writhe in the hottest of fires.

[straightouttaneptune]

Luna

Pairing: Harry Potter x Slytherin!Reader (past), Dad!Harry Potter x daughter!Lily Potter

Warning: This is like... legitimate angst. Honestly, it’s so bittersweet. There’s mentions of blood, but I mean, it is Harry Potter.

Summary: Harry tells a story about a girl, Y/N Y/L/N, his first girlfriend. Ginny’s out for the night, and Harry’s daughter, Lily Potter, is more than excited to hear about her father’s teenage romance.

A/N: This came to me while I was daydreaming during class. Amazing what a weekend of binge rewatching Harry Potter will do to you, lmao. Also, I’m debating on making an alternate ending to you and Harry’s story. Oh! Also it’s super long!!

—————————————————————

“Dad, was mum your first girlfriend?” The 9 year old Lily Potter whispered to her father with a faint blush appearing on her cheeks. 

It was a snowy winter night, the day before her brothers, James and Albus returned from Hogwarts for Christmas break. Her mother, Ginny Potter was out for the night, preparing for the other Weasley-Potter kids’ return. 

“Well, do you promise to keep this a secret between us?” Harry replied enthusiastically, sitting down on Lily’s bed as she sat up with her girlish excitement twinkling in her eyes.

“Definitely. So it wasn’t mum?” She giggled as she got situated to hear this very exclusive bed-time story, her sleepiness cast away, nowhere to be found.

“No, although I love your mum very much. My first girlfriend’s name was Y/N Y/L/N.” He paused for a second, for just speaking your name brought back so many memories that made him almost tear up.

“That’s such a pretty name! Was she in Gryffindor, like you and mum?” Lily reacted, and with that Harry resumed the story.

“Actually, cupcake, she wasn’t. She was in Slytherin.” Harry smiled, watching Lily’s face turn into a look of absolute shock as she gasped.

“A Slytherin? Really? Was she pretty?”  

“The prettiest girl at Hogwarts. You see, in our first year, me, Uncle Ron and Auntie Hermione, we had to face this big, scary troll in the girls bathroom. She saved us, because she knew a lot of charms, even as a first year!”

“So she was smart, too!”

“Yeah. She was brilliant.”

December, 1993 Outside the shrieking shack

“He was their friend!” Harry yelled out angrily, hopelessly, powerlessly. He was so frustrated, so sad, and yet he was so powerless in that situation. He couldn’t possibly go after Sirius Black, he didn’t even know where he was. He couldn’t go back in time to save his parents. He could only feel hatred. Intense hatred.

Just when the dark, black smoke of anger started to crowd his senses, his head snapped upwards, his darkened eyes making contact with your unbelievably bright and gentle ones- as your warm hand enveloped his affectionately. The thick smoke vanished in a second, a wave of tears replacing it. He weakly wraps his hand around yours, feeling the small moon-shaped charm on your bracelet to calm himself.

You held him silently, as Ron and Hermione watched him helplessly weep into your shoulder. 

November, 1994 Outside the champions tent

“Harry, you’re brilliant.” You sighed happily, each breath filled with adrenaline as you went to greet him first thing after his first task in the Triwizard tournament.

“Thanks to you, Y/N. You taught me the accio spell.” Harry chuckled proudly, the golden egg heavy in his arms like a trophy worth billions of galleons. 

You rolled your eyes with a grin, laughing as you shove him into the crowd of Gryffindors waiting for him. “No Harry, you just are brilliant. You were amazing.”

You stand there smiling at him and his friends, one by one telling him how they believed him now, and that he was doing justice for the Gryffindor house. That was all you ever wanted for him- to be happy. 

He glances at you with a hint of guilt, his gaze flickering down to the green emblem on your robes for just a split second. If only you were in Gryffindor. He thought multiple times. Because even though he didn’t care at all, the others did. Teachers did. Fate did. 

But you only smile back at him and raise your brows, as if to say “Go, have fun with your friends.” With the overwhelmingly kind look he couldn’t find even if he searched for it in the eyes of the whole Hufflepuff house. Only in yours.

“Why were you talking to Potter? Come on, then.” Pansy pulls on your robes, pulling you away from the bright, cheery crowd of crimson red and yellow.

December, 1994 Gryffindor common room

“You really should just gather your things and come live with us.” Hermione joked, watching you nibble a candy cane while you faced your potions report in the Gryffindor common room that has now become your second home.

Looking up from the parchment at the three of your favorite Gryffindors sitting on the couches, you nodded in agreement. “Honestly, ‘Mione, I would if I could.” 

Harry and Ron burst out laughing, imaging you packing up and moving into the Gryffindor dorms. “You should!” Harry encouraged.

“And- Y/N, have you decided who you’re going with to the Yule Ball yet?” Hermione asked rather hesitantly, her eyes locked with Harry’s.

But you don’t notice, replying “No, the person I really wanted to go with hasn’t asked me yet.” You mutter bashfully, everyone in the room, except Harry knowing who you meant exactly.

“Oh, that’s a shame. I’m sure he’ll ask you soon. I know you’ve already got plenty of asks, he should hurry.” Hermione sends Harry a death glare, her head cocking towards you, demanding him to ask you right now. Harry blushed intensely, gazing at you pondering whilst your stare bore into your unfinished report.

“That’s cause Y/N’s the pretty Slytherin princess, who wouldn’t ask her?” Ginny interrupted for a brief second, giggling at your reaction to the nickname the students had given you.

“For God’s sake, Harry!” Hermione blurted out, sending Harry into a state of complete panic.

“Okay! I get it! Y/N, willyougototheyuleballwithme?”

“Huh?”

“Hermione, what’s a god?”

“Ronald, this is not the time!”

“Y/N!” Harry yelled, practically everyone in the whole common room listening now. “WILL YOU GO TO THE YULE BALL WITH ME!” He screamed, your mouth hanging open as you stared at the chosen one in shock.

After a brief second, everyone bursts out laughing, and in the midst of the uncontrollable laughs erupting from your stomach, you wipe a tear away and scream back, “YES!” 

And the cheers go wild.

June 1996 Ministry of Magic

“Harry!” You yelp, dashing towards the limp figure laying in the sand, ignoring every other adult there that tried to stop you.

Harry, trying to fight the daunting whispers of Voldemort, gets a sudden surge of power hearing your voice. He can feel you close by, kneeling down next to him. The warm, strong yet inviting aura of yours makes him feel invincible as he regains control of himself. 

“Harry.” You sigh a breath of relief as he wakes, clutching onto your arm of dear life. He dives into your arms, and you slide your arms under his, head buried in his shoulder. 

His voice is tired and deep, but you still hear it very clearly.

“I love you, Y/N.”

“I love you too.”

August 1997 The Burrow

“Love, you look... brilliant.” Harry gravitates towards you in the after-ceremony of Bill and Fleur’s wedding. He admires your amazingly attractive figure wrapped up in the gold and royal blue dress that reminds him of the night sky. 

“You’re supposed to say that to Fleur, y’know. But... you look good too, darling.” Your shy, yet bright smile ignites an eternal flame in his heart, wondering how he managed to snag such a brilliant human being. 

“Speaking of, have you seen how beautiful the sky was tonight?” Your soft hand takes his and he lets you lead him out of the crowded tent- if he was being honest, he’d let you lead him anywhere.

“Well, you know, they’re alright.” Harry joked, earning him a light punch on the shoulder from you. “One day, do you think we’d marry under the moonlight like tonight’s?” He knew it was forward, but he couldn’t help but to ask. Every day felt more and more rushed, and he wasn’t sure if he was going to be alive the next day, the next week, or the next year.

You squeezed his hand gently, meeting his brilliantly emerald eyes as he desperately searched for an answer in your gaze. “We will. I’ll love you forever, Harry.” 

His heart feels like they’re about to burst through his ribcage, as he hastily closes the gap between your lips. Your lips taste like vanilla, and he savors every second, feeling your warmth, your soft skin, until the moment is broken by the chaos inside.

March 1998 Malfoy Manor

“Throw the three into the cellar! I... want to have a chat with this one!” Bellatrix Lestrange stomps over to you, recognizing your face immediately. She ignores Harry’s cries of threats and drinks you in dangerously. You stand tall, with nothing to hide, even though her presence sends chills down your spine.

“So... Y/L/N, that’s your name, isn’t it, girl? Your parents told me ALL about you, Y/N! Associating yourself with blood traitors! Mudbloods! Friends? With Gryffindors? Hufflepuffs!” She circles around you, like she was debating with herself on what she should do with you.

“Your parents... disowned you, I heard! You! Are a traitor to your blood!” With a swift flick of her wand, a deep cut appeared on your right arm. You screamed in pain, trying to supress the want to collapse on the floor.

“To your house!” Her wand swishes through the air, and another long, claw-like cut. This time almost slicing off your left leg. Your throat itches from the force as you let out another heart-wrenching scream, horrified at what she might end up doing to you. 

You didn’t want to die. 

“Y/N!! We have to help her. Please. Open, God-dammit! Bellatrix, she’ll kill her!” Harry yelled, tears splitting from his darkened eyes in the lit cellar, feeling the dark knot form in his stomach, hinting at something horrible that he felt was going to happen. He continuously banged his fist at the metal bars, but everyone knew it wasn’t going to come down.

Ron held Hermione silently as she cried.

“Bella, stop, her father-” Narcissa Malfoy’s fearful shout made Harry drain all colors in his face. 

“Harry, I love you.” You whisper under your breath.

“Avada Kedavra!” 

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the remaining prisoners in the cellar found themselves on the beaches of the shell cottage, all confused on what had just happened.

“No... Y/N, she did this.” Hermione gasped, tears blurring her vision as she looked out at the blue sky that seemed like it stretched out for miles.

Harry let out a pained shudder. Without even checking if you were here or not, he could feel that he lost you. That you were gone. From his grasp. You said forever. That you’d marry him under the moonlight. You said, you loved him. He was supposed to defeat Voldemort, and live the normal life you both craved. The realization that he wouldn’t be able to hear your voice, or your laugh, and he wouldn’t be able to feel you against him, your angelic eyes on him, dawned on Harry’s fragile heart. He let out yells of agony, knowing that no matter what he did, nothing would bring you back.

But you said forever.

“Oh, no.” Lily gulped, seeing that just talking about it pained her father, still. “But I don’t understand, what did she do before...” Lily trailed off, curious as to why your death resulted in the rest getting saved.

“It was ancient magic she used. Even Auntie Hermione didn’t know the incantations to it. She’d only read about it years ago. Before Y/N’s death, the charm would grant her to use one last spell without her wand. She used it on the disapparation and apparation for the 6 of us.” Harry looked distantly into the air, his hand reaching for the bracelet on his wrist.

“This was hers, cupcake. Recognize anything?” Harry held out your charmed bracelet in front of Lily, her eyes twinkling as she figured it out instantly. 

“My name?” Harry nodded with a hopeful smile on his face.

“Lily Luna Potter.” 

-

ps. Lily was named after you. You had always worn the moon charmed bracelet, and Luna = Moon. Many people thought it was after Luna Lovegood, but in reality, it was you.

[rainydayhogwartsimagines]

Draco Falling in love if you were in Gryffindor Pt2

Warnings: Swearing. Angst.

You were there for the last trial and some anxiety just fucking hit you like a bus

Something was wrong. You knew this and you tried to voice that.

Draco could tell you were nervous for your two friends that were in this

Most of the trial was spent trying to calm you down, Fred and George also trying to distract you

That's when Harry came back and you stood up and saw it

"No." You whimpered.

Draco couldn't see what made you react like that until he realized that Harry was on top of Cedric.

You buried your face in Draco's jacket and just sobbed

Fred and George couldn't believe this happened.

Hermione and Ron watched as Mad eye Moody walked away with Harry sobbing

You were left to hear Cedric's poor father screaming over his dead son's body.

The next few days were hard

No one dared to separate you and Draco.

Which finding him asleep on the couch with you in his arms in the Gryffindor common room was now a regular occurrence.

Mcgonagall never questioned shit.

You helped Harry through his grieving and he helped you with yours.

You spent the summer again with the Weasleys

Fred and George's business was surprisingly well

Something strange happened though.

Mid-day, all of you were sitting around having lunch and there was a knock on the door.

Draco was standing there with this shocked look.

"Draco? Sweetie what's wrong?" Molly asked.

"I've uhm..." He walked in and ran a hand over his face. "I've been disowned." He said making everyone stand up.

"What!?" You asked.

"My uhm.. my family called me a blood traitor for being with you and uh..." Draco blinked a few times.

"They disowned me." He repeated.

"Good lord!" Arthur gasped and you hugged him.

"You've got us Draco... We're not going anywhere." Fred said putting a hand on his shoulder.

"If I see Lucius in public can I kick his balls?" Ginny asked making everyone turn to her.

"What? I'm just saying! A swift kick to the--"

"OKAYYY GINNY!" Molly said putting a hand over her daughter's mouth making you all laugh.

Draco stayed with all of the Weasley's too.

Molly found him sitting outside one night and she sat next him.

"Are you alright?" Molly asked.

"Couldn't sleep. I give Y/n so much crap about staying up late but I'm the one who can't sleep." He chuckled.

Molly put a hand on his shoulder and he sighed.

"We love you Draco. Just the way you are and we wouldn't change a single thing about you. You're not a blood traitor." Molly said.

Draco hugged Molly and she gained a son that day.

The school year started with Umbridge.

That damn woman and cats. What the fuck was with her and cats!?

You hated that woman more than anything and when Fred and George pulled a bunch of fireworks out you were like "Right on!"

Course when they were expelled it pissed you off more than you could possibly say.

For some reason Draco was loved by this woman though and he used that to his advantage.

When he found out about her hurting Harry you actually had to restrain him from killing her.

When centaurs took her you wouldn't stop smiling.

You kept singing "ding dong the bitch is gone" and everyone couldn't stop laughing.

Draco's parents did try to convince him to leave you and come back home to which he responded with a simple "No. Fuck off."

You guys joined the order

You stood by Harry every step of the way and when Arthur nearly died Draco was pissed.

Like he had some murderous rage in him

You all worked with Harry and Sirius though

Sirius actually loved Draco

Like yeah, the kid's dad is an unbearable asshole but damn this kid's got a spark!

Draco actually thought Sirius was awesome too.

When he found out the two of them were related they were like "Hey! Disowned buddies!"

But everything came to a screeching halt when you helped Harry

and ended up in that battle.

Shit hit the fan and of course Draco's father was there.

It all happened so quickly, flashes of light going by you as Tonks tried to get you and Draco to safety.

Then you heard it.

Bellatrix's killing curse.

You turned around and saw Sirius stumble and your heart dropped.

You broke away from Tonks, sprinting to Harry.

You had to pull him back as he let out this hauntingly sad scream.

When you finally got out of there Harry was of course having a meltdown.

Draco was there for him though listening to it all

It was almost hard to believe that Draco hated him at one point.

Draco made him laugh at one point

"Did you see my father's face when the thing actually broke though? I think he almost cried"

Harry was glad he had this guy as a friend

The school year was of course hard on Harry

Ron could see the poor guy's mental state just deteriorating

Draco no longer had to worry about things getting back to his parents, so you bet your ass Harry sat at that table every fucking day.

"Wait wait wait. You're telling me that his cane is also his wand?" You asked about Lucius's cane.

"Yeah he pulled out at the ministry, that's why he carried it with him? I always figured it was because he was a pompous ass who wanted to look official." Harry said making you all laugh.

When Albus died all of you were in this state of shock

Like holy shit this is bad.

Like it was bad before but now it's bad.

When Snape took over Draco genuinely could not tell if he was evil or not.

He was literally the only one in the group who was automatically like "He's evil dude"

You guys didn't realize how bad this would get until you had to bust into Bellatrix's vault

You were more of a look out of sorts

And uhm

All of you ended up at the Manor.

"Seriously, is your dad goth or just a fan of black?" You asked.

"Personally I think he takes the whole evil thing too seriously." Luna said.

"See Luna gets it." You said.

Then they chose a prisoner... Or two.

They figured the quickest way for information was to ask Draco while hurting you.

And boy it almost worked

You screamed bloody murder as she carved into your arm

He had to restrained by two people as you screamed.

Even Lucius thought this was too extreme, for fucks sake you were children.

Harry finally got free though and you all left

You were crying like crazy, you couldn't catch your breath as Draco held you.

The two of you were so scared then and damn it only got worse as that final battle approached.

You told your family to run and do not fucking look back and they did

Molly hated seeing you come home that day

You looked so exhausted and you just hugged her crying.

Fred and George both hated seeing you like this.

I mean: yes you spent your past few years here in the burrow but damn it that was your family.

You finally got to that battle

You fought strong and hard the whole time

Any death eaters near you or your friends went down in seconds

Draco saw Fred in danger and saved his life.

"You just saved my life!" Fred panted.

"Anything for a friend." Draco said also out of breath.

"We're not friends Draco." Fred breathed. "Sorry I--" "We're brothers." He finished.

And damn it Draco fought even harder because the Weasleys became his family.

When Ginny and Molly were in trouble he was not having that shit.

"GET AWAY FROM MY MOTHER YOU PRAT!" he said before fucking destroying her.

Molly managed to find a smile in such a tense situation.

Ginny also thought "This guys an asshole. But he's my brother so it's fine."

You and Draco fought together at one point against his parents

Oh God Draco was a wreck as he was arguing with his father.

"YOU COULD'VE BEEN WITH US! YOU COULD'VE HAD THE WORLD WHY DIDN'T YOU WANT THIS!?" Lucius screamed as he threw attacks.

"I JUST WANTED YOU TO FUCKING LOVE ME!" Draco answered, knocking Lucius on his feet.

"Go. Don't you ever show your face again!" Draco told him.

And Lucius booked it with his mother.

Then the battle reached a halt when Harry was dead.

Draco took it hard, burying his face in your shoulder as Hagrid held Harry.

Hermione and Ron both couldn't believe this was happening. This was their best friend.

You listened to Neville's big "Fuck you" to voldemort before noticing Harry's leg twitch.

You touched Draco's shoulder and Harry finally fell out of Hagrid's arms and Draco grabbed the wand and threw it to Harry

The battle was so bright it looked like the light from it was fucking melting

And then Harry won

It was over.

Everyone was cheering until their throats gave out

You hugged Draco and the Weasleys hugged you guys.

When you finally let go Draco let out a laugh.

"Y/n I have a question." He finally said.

"What is it?" You asked.

"Will you marry me?" He asked.

Everyone in your vicinity went dead silent before you said

"YES YOU IDIOT!"

Your wedding was awesome by the way

Molly made the cake

Later down the road you had kids

And you spent every holiday at the Burrow because the kids loved their grandparents

Course they also loved their uncles who gave them free stuff from their shop.

Everytime you went to King's cross you and the group would get dinner together.

You became a journalist, Draco worked at the ministry alongside Arthur

You absolutely loved the people sitting at the table.

Because damn it: This was family.

And it wasn't going anywhere.

[omgrachwrites]

Tell a Tale of You and Me- Chapter Fourteen

Pairing: Sirius Black x Reader

Summary: You knew that making a bet with Sirius Black was like making a deal with the devil but you just couldn’t help yourself. You had never been a heavenly woman.

Warnings: lil bit of angst, fluff, dialogue heavy

Words: 2203

Disclaimer: These gifs don’t belong to me!

A/N: I’m sorry this is up so early but I’m back at work today! I hope you guys enjoy this part and please let me know what you think and if you would like to be tagged! I love you all! xxx 

Chapter Fourteen

For the first time that lesson, it was as silent as the grave; everybody – well almost everybody – in the class seemed to be holding their breath as Slughorn looked over the completed potions before him. He has spent his lesson reviewing The Draught of Living Death and he promised one tiny bottle of liquid to luck to the student who created the best potion. Though, everybody knew that it was going to be a toss-up between Lily’s potion and Snape’s.

There was a cauldron of Amortentia – love potion – simmering away on Slughorn’s desk, you had tried to ignore it but still, the scent of cinnamon and spearmint invaded your senses. Finally, Slughorn grinned as he found his winning potion, “a perfect potion, yet again. Well done Miss Evans,” he beamed as he placed the tiny bottle in the palm of her hand. Lily smiled while Snape grimaced.

Slughorn dismissed the class, “perhaps, Mr Black will be joining us for our next lesson, Miss Y/L/N,” he smiled at you and you nodded feebly before following Lily out of the dungeons, biting your lip at Slughorn’s words.

You grinned over at Lily, you were so proud of your best friend but the smile died on your face when you saw the worried look that she was giving you, “do you want me to wrap up some lunch for you? I don’t think that you’ll have time to eat anything.”

You shook your head though you appreciated her kind offer, “no thanks, really Lils. I’m too nervous to eat; I don’t know what Sirius is going to say to me.”

Lily bit her bottom lip as her eyes searched yours, “okay, well, please take my potion. I think you’ll need it more,” she held out her lucky potion in the flat of her hand, “take it Y/N.”

Tears filled your eyes, you felt so choked up that she’d be willing to give it to you, “Lily, no. I’m not taking that from you. You won it fair and square, besides you don’t know when you will need it. I’ll be fine. Really,” you offered her a smile, your voice was so much more confident than you felt. You hoped that everything was going to be alright.

You and Lily parted ways at The Great Hall and she pulled you into a warm, bone crushing hug, “good luck Y/N.”

“I’ll be fine,” you smiled, repeating your earlier words in a shaky voice before going to meet Sirius. You were meeting him by The Whomping Willow; the boathouse didn’t feel like your special place. Not anymore, and you resented him for it.

It was a cold day but you hardly felt the wind whipping your hair, your nerves were keeping you much too occupied to feel anything. Sirius was pacing on the grass as you approached him; he stopped and looked up at you as you called his name. His eyes wide and fearful, it was a relief to know that you weren’t the only one who was nervous.

“Hello Sirius.”

A small tentative smile crawled onto his handsome face and he reached out as if to hug you but he seemed to think better of it. You would have quite liked a hug though, “Y/N, thanks for coming,” he gestured for you to sit down beside him on the cold grass and you waited for him to continue, “I’m so sorry for everything, I wasn’t thinking straight. I should have just been an adult about it and asked you what was going on. I should have seen that you were acting differently.”

“I agree, you should have been an adult about it,” you admitted and he nodded though his face fell at your words, “but I have to apologise too, I’m sorry Sirius. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Regulus.”

Sirius shook his head vigorously as he placed a finger against your lips to cut off your apology and you pretended not to feel goose bumps at his touch and you forced away the urge to kiss his finger, “no, Y/N. Don’t even think about apologising, you did nothing wrong, you just didn’t want to let anybody down. I don’t think that’s anything you have to apologise for.”

You nodded and he took his finger away, Sirius was quiet for a moment, his eyes fixed on the grass. You had to steer the conversation forward, you had to know why you were here, “what did you want to talk about Sirius?”

He sighed as he forced himself to look up at you and the expression on his face was so pained that it broke your heart, “are you going out with my brother, for real?”

“Well,” you started, “I don’t want to completely hate my future husband so we have been spending time getting to know one another and we’re going on a double date,” it wasn’t your place to tell him about Remus and Morgana. Remus would tell his friends when he was good and ready, “but no he’s not my boyfriend, if that’s what you were getting at.”

Sirius rewarded you with a lazy beautiful smile and his eyes seemed to twinkle as he gazed at you. But, perhaps you were just imagining it, “well, that’s a relief,” he beamed and you were sure that you had never seen someone so beautiful. You gave him a questioning look at his words and he chuckled, “I have feelings for you Y/N, if it wasn’t obvious enough. I’ve had these feelings for a while but I guess I was just too proud to admit it. You’re beautiful Y/N, and kind, and smart, and funny. When we’re not fighting, I feel like I can be my best self when I’m with you,” he smiled sheepishly.

Your throat went dry as you gazed at the boy of your dreams; on the one hand you were ecstatic that he had feelings for you. But, on the other hand, you were scared that this was just some kind of sick joke. Like before. You sighed and turned away from his burning lingering gaze, you studied the branches of The Whomping Willow as you replied to him.

“Nice try Sirius, but I’m not falling for that a second time,” the memory still stung.

“Y/N, I’m sorry but I don’t know what in Godric’s name you’re talking about,” you glanced back at him hopefully to see that he looked extremely confused and you had to bite back a giggle at the expression on his face.

“In fourth year, Bellatrix told me that you had told her that you had feelings for me. And, when I came to confront you, you were with another girl and you looked at me like I was nothing. It broke my heart,” you admitted, looking away from him again as you began to fiddle with blades of grass.

“That’s why you seemed to change almost overnight,” he gasped, realisation clear in his voice and you looked up at him from beneath your eyelashes, “Y/N, I swear that I had nothing to do with that. I didn’t have feelings for you in fourth year but now I do, I truly do have feelings for you. Please believe me,” his eyes looked so honest and sincere that you couldn’t help but believe him.

“I believe you Sirius, and I have feelings for you too,” you sighed happily, it felt good to say it out loud. To say it to him. And, what was more was the fact that he felt the same way.

He gave you a dimpled smile that made his eyes light up, it was a smile that could melt the coldest of hearts, “Y/N,” he breathed, reaching forward to cup your cheek, “I want to know what it feels like to be with you. If you’ll have me? Come this summer, my brother will have you for the rest of his life and it’s gonna hurt so much so I have to know what it’s like to be with you. If only for a little while.”

His eyes were wide and pleading and it made you incredibly sad. You wanted to be with him, more than anything but you didn’t want to betray or hurt Regulus. He had been so sweet and kind with you when he didn’t have to be. You didn’t want to take advantage of Regulus’ good nature. You didn’t want Regulus to turn into something he wasn’t; if you had to have an arranged marriage you wanted it to be easy.

“Sirius, I don’t know. I want to, more than anything but I don’t want to betray Regulus because he’s so nice. Can I think about it?”

A muscle twitched in his jaw as you talked about how nice his brother was but he smiled at you as he ran his thumb against your bottom lip, “of course beautiful, think about it. It can be a secret if you want, whatever you want Y/N,” he pressed a sweet kiss against your forehead.

You thanked your lucky stars that he was so patient and understanding with you. You wanted to know what it was like to be his, before you married his brother, “thank you for understanding Sirius,” you smiled as you cupped his cheek, counting the freckles that were dusted along his cheeks. Merlin, he was so beautiful, “but maybe, I’m not the only girl that you need to apologise to.”

—————————-

Freya squinted at Sirius, her eyes were hard and cold in comparison to the warmth he’d seen in them the last time he saw her. Sirius started to feel self-conscious as she stared at him and he began to fiddle with his fingers. He vaguely wondered whether she enjoyed making him nervous or whether she truly didn’t know what to say.

“Freya?” he prompted and she shook her head, offering him a small smile.

“I’m sorry Sirius, what did you say?” she blushed and he chuckled.

“I came here to apologise for using you, I never meant to go that far.”

Freya’s eyes widened slightly, “yeah, that’s what I thought you said, I’ve never known you to apologise for anything,” she laughed nervously, running a hand through her hair and Sirius felt pretty awful for the way he had acted.

“Yeah, I know,” he muttered and Freya rested a hand on his shoulder, smiling at him.

“I forgive you Sirius, sure it did hurt but it’s okay. I just really hope that you and Y/N can be happy together. You both deserve it.

“Me too,” he grinned, she was taking this way more gracefully than he thought she would, “do me a favour though and don’t tell anyone about Y/N and I. We don’t really need that kind of gossip right now.”

Freya nodded understandingly, “of course, of course. Absolutely no one will be hearing it from me. Now, go and get your winning Seeker and love her Sirius. Really love her,” she smiled but Sirius noticed that it looked a little sad.

Sirius pulled the young woman into a tight hug and he kissed the top of her head, “I’m sorry,” he whispered into her hair before he took off in search of Y/N.

He found her walking up the stairs with her hair damp from her shower after the match, “hello again,” she giggled and Sirius’ breath got stuck in his throat at the sound of her laugh. He was so proud of her; she had helped Gryffindor claw its way to the Quidditch cup – James had sobbed when he lifted it.

“Congratulations again darling! It was a cracking match!”

“Well of course it was, Gryffindors are the best Quidditch players, its official now,” she smirked cockily and nudged his shoulder.

He smiled and rubbed the back of his neck nervously, he had to ask that one question that was on his mind, “how was yours and Reg’s double date yesterday with Remus and Morgana?” Remus had recently admitted to his friends that he was going out with Morgana. Sirius was pretty shocked at first but Remus seemed really happy. Sirius hoped that he wouldn’t get hurt.

“Err,” Y/N stuttered, “it was….nice. Remus and Morgana seemed to really like each other. Your brother is so sweet but by Merlin, he’s boring! Bless him,” she groaned.

Sirius burst out laughing, Regulus, the golden son was boring! “I can’t say that I’m not glad.”

Y/N smirked as he snickered and she stopped them on the staircase landing, holding his wrist gently, “I’ve um, been thinking about your proposition and I want to take you up on it Sirius. I want to know what it’s like to be yours, even if we don’t have long together. It has to be a secret though, I don’t want to hurt Regulus,” she glanced around before she cupped his cheeks in her warm hands and she kissed him. She kissed him until he was breathless.

He backed her into the stone wall slightly; her lips were so intoxicating, he just wanted more and more. When her teeth pulled at his bottom lip gently and when her tongue snaked into his mouth, he knew that he was done for. He was well and truly done for.

—————————- 

@approved-by-dentists​ @thefuturelawyer​ @a-miserable-hufflepunk​ @firelordmillie​ @seriouslysiriuss​ @sleep-i-ness​ @play-morezeppelin​ @pregnant-piggy​ @sleepingalaska​ @smiithys​ @blisfvll​ @rexorangecouny​ @findzelda​ @wangmangagavroche​ @the-moon-and-the-book​ @hxrgreeves​ @ghostofstudentspast​ @they-write-once-in-a-blue-moon​ @my-unique-mind​ @im-an-angel-of-the-lord-you-ass​ @acciovisio​ @obsessedwithrandomthings​ @kashishwrites​ @fific7​ @blackbirddaredevil23​

@toasted-crispy-emo27

[lilana163]

Reunited: Chapter 3

Cygnus Black definitely had a favorite, he wasn't the best father but he was certainly better than Druella when it came to parenting, for the most part. Bellatrix was seen as a disappointment because all Cygnus ever wanted was a boy to call his own, even though the poor girl did everything to please her father and mother. Andromeda was always quiet and kept to herself, Cygnus never thought of his second as a disappointment or disgrace because quite frankly she never gave him a reason to. Narcissa was much like Andromeda, the blonde had a liking to being invisible so it was rare that the angel of the Black sisters would have to face the wrath of Cygnus or Druella. Aurora on the other hand always had a goofy and kind persona, she never felt the need to go invisible and not be herself or beg for the attention of either of her parents, which is why Cygnus Black adored the raven-haired girl the most.

So when he overheard Walburga speak to Orion about Druella almost torturing his daughter into insanity all he could see was red, he loved his wife and would sometimes agree to the punishments she gave their children, but the only person Cygnus loved more than Druella Black was Aurora his precious little star, or so he called.

The black-haired man furiously slammed the door to both his and Druella's bedroom open, his wife sat on the couch with a cigarette between her fingers as she stared into nothingness.

" You almost tortured her into insanity!" Cygnus screamed slamming the door behind him, a bitterness crept on Druellas face as she glanced at her husband.

" That girl needs to learn how to behave," Druella spoke letting a tear fall from her eye, Cygnus rushed up to the blonde lifting her up from where she sat, pinning her up aggressively on the dark green walls grasping onto her neck tightly making the blonde gasp for air.

" You don't torture her to an extent where she could be driven to insanity, if I lose Aurora because of you I'll kill do you hear me?!" Cygnus screamed into the blondes face tightening his grip around her neck, his grey eyes watery as they stared into Druellas green ones.

" You wouldn't d- dare," Druella managed to respond her words barely audible from the tight grip on her neck, Cygnus let on an amused laugh that disturbed the blonde who slowly started to let fear consume her.

" What makes you say that?" Cygnus asked his wife who stared into his cold watery eyes, she then figured out that the man who stood in front of her isn't the man she married but just someone who looked like the shy man who said I do many years ago.

" Because you love me," Druella muttered her words making Cygnus expression soften, he let her go dropping the blonde on the floor, Druella held onto her neck taking as much air she could, Cygnus walked over to the door opening it but before Cygnus left he glanced one last time at his wife.

" Don't count on love, it can get you killed," Cygnus last said leaving the blonde alone in the room. Druella curled up into a ball laying on the floor allowing her tears to fall, she looked at her reflection on the wall desperately crawling to the mirror. Druella winced as she touched the marking of her husband's hand on her neck, she stared into her eyes crying with uneven breathes Druella Black a protective mother, loving wife, a broken woman, she was slowly falling apart, her perfect picture life getting harder to maintain by the day. She was lost, the woman who stared back was unrecognizable she had no idea what her life was to become, and that fearless woman who wasn't afraid of no one was now fearing for her life in many ways.

Cygnus walked across the manor to find his daughter, he reached Aurora's room finding Walburga pacing back and forth in front of the closed white door. His loud footsteps caught the attention of his sister who looked back at him with worried eyes.

" Walburga?" Cygnus whispered loudly slowly approaching the black-haired woman, her grey eyes held concern and nothing more, she was a vile lady but that didn't stop her from caring which was an emotion all Blacks learned to hide, at moments like these maybe it was appropriate to show feelings, yet that's showing weakness, and Blacks are far from weak.

" I'm to assume that you're here to check on Aurora?" Walburga asked Cygnus not bothering to cover the worry which laced in her words.

" Yes," Cygnus replied not quite sure what to make of the situation, his sister never showed anything but coldness, so it would be an understatement to say that he was surprised.

" I would like to know of my niece's well-being, so if you could find me after you see Aurora, that would be much appreciated," Walburga quickly stated rushing off to the direction Cygnus came from with her long black dress flowing behind from the quick movement.

A gentle knock was heard behind the white door alerting all the young Blacks of someone wanting to enter, they all shifted their gaze to the young black-haired girl who put on her brightest smile in an attempt of easing the tension.

" Come in," Aurora announced watching as the door opened revealing her father, the man seemed tense but once he locked eyes with his daughter's green ones he felt his body relax letting out a loud breath he hadn't known he held.

" How's my little star?" Cygnus approached the young girl standing on her bedside, Bellatrix loudly scoffed at the nickname earning a hard glare from Andromeda.

" I'm doing just fine Papa, I could outrun you in a race if I really wanted to," Aurora teased her father nudging him lightly with her elbow, he let out a low laugh playfully shaking his head.

" Rubbish, I always win when we race!" Cygnus boasted puffing out his chest and fixing his posture, looking down at the girl who held amusement in her eyes.

" Because I'm nice enough to let you win old man," Aurora revealed laughing as his facial expression dropped at the word old, the group around them awkwardly stood around the pair feeling nothing but envy at the interaction, though a certain blonde smiled brightly at her father and sister she was certainly happy that they had the relationship they did.

" How about we go and paint, what do you think little star?" Cygnus asked Aurora who nodded excitedly jumping out of her bed, she stumbled a bit from the effects of the cruciatus curse but the little girl managed to hide her weakness and masked it with an energy she didn't have, at a young age Aurora Black learned how to mask and hide things away, not for her but the benefit of those around her, all she ever wants is for good energy to surround those around her which meant that she would have to learn how to hide her true self, but everyone always has that one person who could see through their fake happiness and Auroras person was Narcissa Black.

Cygnus and Aurora left the room not before saying one last goodbye to the others, the father and daughter duo walked across the dark corridor into an art studio, when Aurora was younger she found Cygnus painting and from there, Aurora took interest in her father's hobby which soon became hers.

The studio was surrounded by painted canvases all that belonged to both Aurora and Cygnus, the artwork around them always had a deeper meaning than what caught the naked eye. Cygnus taught his daughter that Art should always have a deeper meaning than just art drawings of an apple and so on, the black-haired man believed that art is one way to express feelings, thoughts, a story, and observations. He always made sure that his daughter's art held a bigger purpose and each canvas the little girl painted always did.

" I'm going to start a new painting Papa," Aurora hummed making her way over to a blank canvas taking it to her easel and paint.

" Fine by me little star, may I ask what you plan to paint this time?" Cygnus told his daughter while he prepared himself to finish his own painting he started two weeks ago.

" You'll find out," she glanced at her father with a small smile before sketching her face on the blank canvas occasionally looking into the mirror she set up beside her.

" Papa, do you love mum?" Aurora mumbled not moving her eyes from her work, Cygnus stared at the girl in shock she had always been so upfront with him on many occasions but this particular question set him off.

" Of course I love your mum Aurora, why wouldn't I?" Cygnus answered going back to his painting not without sparing a few glances at the girl who took a while to respond.

" You two argue a lot, are you sure you love, mum?"  Aurora stated glancing into the mirror analyzing her mouth and each detail that came with her plumped pink lips.

" Do you love mum?" Cygnus returned with a question watching how Auroras let out a genuine smile that reached her eyes.

" Of course I love mum," Aurora turned to met his gaze smiling lightly before turning back to the canvas which stood in front of her.

" But don't you two argue a lot?" Cygnus sent a cheeky grin to his daughter who playfully stuck her tongue out at the grey-eyed man.

" Touché, Mr. Black," Aurora said nodding her head in amusement, Cygnus chuckled at his daughter's reaction before resuming back to his half-done painting.

" I heard you singing to Sirius a few weeks ago, I must admit I'm oddly curious where you heard such a song," Cygnus let out changing the subject unknowingly triggering something inside the little girl.

" You heard that?" Aurora dropped her attention from her painting instead focusing on her father, he rose a brow at the girl her confidence no longer lingering in her tone.

" It was quite a beautiful song, I'd love to listen to it, who's it by again?" Cygnus questioned glancing at his green-eyed daughter who blushed by his comment.

" I actually wrote the song," she shyly whispered Cygnus looked at his daughter not knowing how to feel, he had only heard a few sentences as he passed the corridor though it was enough for him to realize the song was made because of dark thinking.

" I only ever wrote it for Sirius and me, it brings peace to us," Aurora added trying her best to hint that he wasn't meant to hear the song, Cygnus had a worried expression covering his face recalling each word he managed to hear.

" And you relate to the song?" the grey-eyed man queried hoping he was wrong, Aurora simply nodded moving her uncomfortable gaze to her canvas.

" The shadows in your head, they've got you down again, got you feeling low," Cygnus softly spoke staring deep into his daughter's side, Aurora felt his burning gaze but instead kept her focus on the canvas before her.

" It's just words," Aurora remarked fiddling with the hem of her white dress, Cygnus didn't know what to make of the idea of his daughter or nephew feeling such away, so he sat there on his stool letting the silence linger once more.

" Songs are considered art, and art is not meaningless it always tells a story," Cygnus responded under his breath loud enough for the black-haired girl who sat across the room to hear.

" I'm aware Papa," Aurora said with tears brewing in her eyes which she quickly blinked away before they could get noticed and attract unwanted attention.

[maraudersbutmuggle]

Anything for Love. Part 2.

Check out Part 1.

February, 2010.

Ted hadn't answered Andromeda. And she had called and called and called. Andromeda thought they could fix it. And be them again. Andromeda was going insane. It couldn't be possible to miss someone this much. To need someone this much.

Andromeda even started calling Ted's friends.

"Look Andromeda" Adam Mckinnon told her when she called him "Can I give you an advice?"

"What?"

"Just leave Teddy alone" he answered "This is too much for him. You're making his life even more complicated"

Andromeda knew Adam was right. Nothing for Ted would be easy if he kept seeing a Black. Even worse if Cygnus kept inviting Rodolphus over for dinner. And insisting Andromeda to go out with him. And Bella was keeping an eye on her, because she was acting distant and sad since her breakup with Ted. But Bella didn't know about that.

"Who are you talking to, Andy?" Bella asked entering her room.

"I have to go" Andromeda told Adam. And she hung up "Just a friend" she told her sister.

"Rodolphus is here" Bella sat on her bed "With a bouquet of flowers... again"

Andromeda let a soft groan.

"Doesn't he get tired?"

"I don't understand" Bella shook her head "He was the most handsome bloke at Hogwarts and Uni. Why don't you accept him?"

"Because I don't love him, Bella" Andy snapped "If you like him so much, why don't you marry him yourself?"

Bella rolled her eyes "Marriage is boring. Why would I do that?" then she giggled "You just haven't given him a chance, sis. You don't know Rod at all"

"I know that he is pretentious and annoying" Andromeda said "I don't understand why you used to fancy him at school"

"Me neither" Bella sighed lying in bed "I was silly girl" she smirked "He is a bloody good kisser though"

"Arrg... Bella!"

"What?" Bellatrix giggled "It's true"

"OMG!" Narcissa walked into the room "Rodolphus is here again!" she squealed. Narcissa was a great romance fanatic.

"Great" Andromeda sighed.

"Where were you Cissy?" Bella asked

"Oh talking with Luci" she blushed "He's doing pretty well in Oslo... But I miss him so much"

"Do whatever you want with Rod, Andy" Bella said "But don't turn like her" she smiled.

Narcissa gasped "Very funny, Bella" she said "You will fall in love one day, right Andy?"

"Yeah right" Bellatrix laughed. And Andromeda smiled.

Andromeda had to accept dinner with Rodolphus. Because of her family. But she didn't even try. She didn't even put makeup on. Andy wanted to make Rodolphus' crush with her be over. So he could leave her alone.

But dinner with Rodolphus turned our to be nice. He was a gentleman with her, opening his car's door, pulling out her chair for her, offering his coat for the chilly night.

Andromeda didn't know why he liked her. Rodolphus was popular at Hogwarts. He was a king. He had many friends. And many girls were after him. He was very handsome: well scrulpured, dark skin, caramel eyes, and perfect white teeth. Andromeda and Rodolphus had barely spoken. They shared the same friend group. And Bellatrix was their bond. That was it.

But Andromeda had never given herself the chance to really know him. Until that night. Andromeda found herself enjoying Rodolphus' company. And laughing for the first time in months. Rodolphus was nice. And it wasn't his fault that Andromeda kept comparing him with Ted.

But Andromeda was cursed. Because after a few dates with Rodolphus, as she and Rod went to the movies one afternoon, Andromeda saw him.

"Isn't that Tonks?" Rodolphus asked. And Andromeda turned to look immediately.

There he was. Ted. Her Ted with another girl on his arm. She was brunette, with wild curls and a piercing in her nose. Andromeda hated her. And in that second, Ted's eyes turned. And they flickered towards Rodolphus. And for a second. A second that felt like ages, Andromeda and Ted looked into each other's eyes.

Ted broke their gaze first. And he turned and left. Leaving Andromeda speechless. And the worst part was that they ended up watching the same movie.

"Are you okay, Andy?" Rodolphus asked in her ear "I sense you're a bit... tense"

"I just need to go to the bathroom" Andromeda answered, standing up. Because she saw Ted getting out of the room too.

"So quickly you move on?" she asked once both were out of the theatre.

"So do you..." Ted said, looking at her carefully.

Andromeda snorted "You were the one to tell me to marry him" she sounded angry. Because she was.

"Yes, Dromeda" Please don't call me that "I have a date, because I'm trying so hard to forget about you..."

"Is it working?"

Ted was silent for a second.

"No"

And that was it. Andromeda wanted him back. She wanted to kiss him and hug him and never let him go.

She approached. But Ted backed away.

"I think we both should go back to our respective dates..."

Andromeda got angry now. Why did she have to insist and act all needy with Ted if he didn't want to? If he wanted her. If he truly did, he would do something. Confront her family. And run to the end of the world together. Maybe she just should forget about him.

"Fine..." she spat. She started walking.

"Are you gonna marry him?"

Andromeda stopped and turned to look at Ted. He looked hurt.

If you want me, do something.

"I might" she answered.

Ted nodded "Then I wish you all the happiness in the world"

"So do you" Andromeda answered, trying not to cry "With your new girl" it hurt Andromeda to say it out loud.

Ted walked into the Theater first. And Andromeda let out a sob. And she wiped her tears before going inside.

March, 2011.

"I had a wonderful time with you these couple of weeks" Rodolphus started one afternoon while they were having a walk by the garden.

"Yeah me too..." Andromeda answered. She would've. If she hadn't been thinking about Ted.

"Andy I..."

Rodolphus stopped walking. And took a tiny box from his pocket. Andromeda went pale.

"Rod..." she gasped.

"You know pretty well what had been my intentions..." Rodolphus smiled "I've not been very secretive..."

"We've been hanging out just a couple of weeks..."

"But we've known each other since we were eleven" Rod snorted "And I've fancied you since I was fifteen..."

"I thought you used to like Bella" Andromeda said surprised.

"Bella is nice..." Rodolphus used a non-convincing tone "But it's always been you. I acted like an idiot because I was a teen, and I thought girls liked that"

"Aha..." Andromeda was distracted, since she had noticed her parents and her sisters were watching the scene from inside.

"Andy..." Rodolphus continued "I know I can make you happy. My dad's firm is going pretty well and I would be a good lawyer soon... I can give you the life you deserve..."

"Oh Rod..."

"Andromeda Black..." Rodolphus kneeled and Andromeda could hear Narcissa's squeal "Would you marry me?"

Oh fuck... How could she say no? Okay, Andromeda was sure. She was in love with Ted. Not Rod. Never Rod. But she couldn't deny he was nice. And he loved her. She could have it all with Rod. Her family could be happy. She could have a good life, a good relationship with her family. Maybe she could. Forget about Ted... And love Rod instead. If she said no, she would break her family's heart.

"Yeah I would" It was more like a whisper.

Rodolphus chuckled happily. Andromeda told herself she could love him. She just had to give it some time.

Rodolphus stood up and they shared a kiss. Rod's lips were soft and he tasted like mint. But he was not Ted. With his cigarette, hazelnut breath. Rod was delicate. Ted was passionate. Rod wasn't Ted.

Rodolphus hugged her. And Andromeda thought he wasn't Ted. He wasn't Ted. But she had to learn to love him.

[fanficflaneuse]

Life in Black - Episode 2

A/N: Hey lovelies! I know I said I’d update the series every Friday, but this week I just started my master’s and it crushed me lol so, better late than never? I hope you enjoy it. Also, GIF’s not mine, found it on Giphy. 

Index  

Pilot 

Opening Sequence 

Episode 2: The One with the Anniversary 

Words: 1951

Summary: the family celebrates Sirius and Remus’ anniversary. 

Narcissa, Bellatrix and Lucius stood on Grimmauld Place, waiting for the building to stretch and reveal number 12. Sirius and Remus had moved in after Walburga Black’s death and redecorated the house, weeding it of horrible memories.

“Do we really have to do this?” groaned Lucius, “it’s still a good time to bail.”

“Coward,” muttered Bellatrix, who eyed the street uninterested.

“It’s their anniversary. And they were kind enough to invite us, so can you please drop it and enjoy the evening?”

A few minutes later, Regulus Black stood on the other side of the door and welcomed them inside.

“You’re early,” Bellatrix pointed out.

Regulus scoffed. “I live here.”

(REGULUS BLACK) TALKING HEAD

(Regulus sits, legs crossed, on a wooden chair with a red cushion. The walls are covered with some very intricate tapestry, as well as painting, moving and still. The room is heavily decorated with items. The thick rug, in a pattern of red and gold, matches the chairs and the curtains. Behind him, there’s a piano and a bookcase. Musical scores sit everywhere, as well as open books and notebooks and a couple of empty teacups. Regulus is wearing a three piece suit and looks pretty much at ease.)

“I moved in one day,” he says gingerly, “at first it was just for a week, but then I never left. Why would I? I was our parents’ favourite son. It’s Sirius who should be paying rent.”

[Back to scene]

“Salazar, this is tacky. Are you poor? Auntie Walburga must be rolling in her grave,” said Bellatrix as they made their way to the living room.

“Bella! Those are the kind of things you think and not say. Sometimes it’s impossible to live with you,” chastised Narcissa.

“Well, imagine how it is to live with Elio and Oliver,” said Regulus offhandedly.

“Who are Elio and Oliver?” Asked Lucius.  

Regulus stopped on his tracks, utterly mortified as he realized what he had just said.

“Reggie, is that a muggle reference?” Narcissa asked, eyeing him humorously. He looked away.

“Poor baby, what have they done to you,” commented Bella as she shook her head in disapproval.  

The whole family was waiting for them. Andromeda stood up to greet her sisters, as their relationship had gotten a little better with months of almost weekly meetings.

“Happy anniversary,” Lucius said to Remus as he took a seat by Ted’s side. As Andromeda, Bellatrix and Narcissa rekindled their relationship, Lucius found himself constantly talking to Ted, Sirius and Remus. Out of the three, he liked Ted better because he was the most discreet. He could also really identify with Remus, as they quickly came to the conclusion that being married to Sirius was very much like being married to Narcissa.

“Yes, anniversary,” murmured Remus, eyeing his husband with an amused expression.

“I’m here, bitches” said James Potter as he burst into the room.

Sirius squealed and soon he was clinging to his best friend like a koala. The family eyed the exchange wearily, already used to Sirius’ fits of dramatics. What they didn’t expect, though, was Narcissa’s outburst as Lily Potter crossed the threshold. The blonde gasped and stood up from her place, her whole face distorted by surprise and histronism. Soon, both women almost tackled each other.

When Narrcissa and Lily started getting handsy, the room went wild.

“What is this?” Asked Lucius, his face drained of colour.

“Seriously, what’s going on?” said Nymphadora from the other side of the room.

“They’re...they’re kissing very close to the lips?” said Lucius unsurely.

“Are you blind? Your wife is snogging mine!” answered James, Sirius still hanging from his neck.

(NARCISSA MALFOY) TALKING HEAD

“Lily Jean and I had a histoire d’amour back in our Hogwarts days,” she says with a nostalgic smile, “we were young and crazy. We sneaked into each other’s dorms, made out in every hallway. We even had a bucket list of forbidden places to have sex in. Merlin, I miss those days. When did I get so...domestic?”

[Back to scene]

A few minutes later, Narcissa and Lily share one very small armchair.

“You know those are made for one?” Regulus said.

“Reggie,” said Lily, trying to sound motherly.

“You can’t ‘Reggie’ me after you snogged my cousin, Lillian.”

Lily laughed it off and snuggled into her ex-girlfriend. For a while, everyone tried to keep the conversation going. Ted made sure Lucius had his fix of firewhiskey so he wouldn’t have a fit. Sirius and Remus humoured James. Andromeda tried her best to keep Bellatrix at bay.

After the first half an hour of relative peace, everyone noticed how Narcissa kissed Lily’s neck and caused her to giggle. People - namely their husbands - turned uncomfortable. Sirius then set his foot down.

“You two ruined my soirée!”

“Sweetheart,” said Remus as he came closer to his husband, “right now it seems like Bellatrix might not be the only divorcée in the family. The celebration is the least of our worries.”

(BELLATRIX LESTRANGE) TALKING HEAD

(Bellatrix smokes a cigar)

“Divorcée life is treating me wonderfully. I’d prescribe this to Cissy any day.”

[Back to scene]

Sirius looked at his husband like an annoyed child. He even pouted a little before complaining again: “It’s not fair. Today marks 17 years since I realized I had the hots for you!”

“Wait, aren’t we celebrating your fifth anniversary?” asked Regulus.

“Do you really believe we’d serve this lowly chardonnay if we were celebrating five years of marriage?” asked Sirius in disbelief.

“What’s wrong with the chardonnay?” murmured Nymphadora to herself after downing her fourth glass, much to her mother’s chagrin.

(SIRIUS BLACK - LUPIN & REMUS BLACK - LUPIN)

(Sirius and Remus seat in two champagne coloured poufs. Behind them, there’s a royal bed with many pillows and a spread in the same colour scheme. The room is big and airy, with big windows on one side, overlooking the street. The couple have their hands intertwined.)

“We’ve been married for five years, but we’ve been together for sixteen,” said Remus, smiling dreamily at his husband.

Sirius lets go of Remus’ hand and hugs him. “I’m lucky I fell in love with my best friend.”

“I’m not your best friend,” said Remus matter-of-factly.

“What? Of course you are! Who else would my b-”

“James.”

“He won’t see this,” said Sirius nonchalantly.

Remus gave him a knowing look. Sirius proceeded to sit up straight and look straight at the camera. “I love you Prongs.”

Remus rolls his eyes.

[Back to scene]

“So, you are telling me we came here, brought gifts and are trying our very best not to kill each other,” said Lucius as he eyed his wife and Lily, who were blissfully oblivious of the scene, “to celebrate you realizing you wanted to get in Lupin’s pants?”

“It was one autumn day when I saw Moony’s face and said to myself, this is the man I want in my bed right now,” said Sirius dreamily, making his husband blush.

“Who does that?” asked Regulus, rolling his eyes at his brother.

“Someone who enjoys life?” answered Sirius.

“I can’t believe you all went to the wedding - “

“I wasn’t invited,” Bellatrix interrupted

“I can’t believe most of you went to the wedding and don’t even remember the date,” huffed Sirius.

“Bitch, please last year I forgot my son’s birthday. Right, Lily?” asked James, only to be greeted by silence.

As everyone looked around the room, they realized Narcissa and Lily had ditched the party. Lucius looked like he was about to combust and James was on the verge of tears. Andromeda called her cousins and cousin-in-law to an emergency meeting on the hallway.

“Listen here,” she said, trying not to give too much attention to the giggles and moans coming from a broom closet, “if Cissy divorces Lucius, both she and Bella will need a place to live. So either we fix this mess or we share custody of my sisters. Got it?”  

Sirius shuddered.  “Cissa’s ego takes too much space.”

“Exactly,” said Andromeda.

“Alright everybody,” decided Regulus “we’re going to therapy.”

“What did you do to him?” Bellatrix demanded Sirius and Remus.

Regulus scoffed. “I’m perfect. I don’t need therapy.”

“Doubt that,” murmured James. Ted snorted in response.

“It’s for your sister,” said Regulus, trying not to feel offended by James. His statement coincided with Narcissa and Lily coming to the room, disheveled, unkempt and hand in hand.

“I didn’t know Andy and Ted needed therapy,” Narcissa said.

“We have the most perfect marriage, right Ted?” Said Andromeda. Ted nodded stiffly.

“If you need any help, breath once and we’ll take you out of it,” whispered Lucius to his brother-in-law.

(ANDROMEDA TONKS) TALKING HEAD

“Ted’s mother inspired me to enroll in a muggle university. It was hard, being pregnant with Nymphadora and all, but I got a degree in psychology and then a masters  in family therapy. I’m loaded now, all thanks to the wizarding community’s crumbling interpersonal relationships.”

She shifts uncomfortably. “It would be unethical to try psychotherapy on my own family. So we resort on...roasting each other and calling it a day.”

[Back to scene]

Andromeda sat on a chair in the middle of the room. Lucius and James sat side by side on a sofa as Narcissa and Lily shared the same armchair as before. The rest of the family stood behind Andromeda, watching the back and forth between the spouses. Andromeda tried her best, asking questions for them to open up, but they proved to be the hardest people ever.

“Andromeda, I’ve got a minor in psychology, none of your tricks will work on me,” said Lily.

“Fix this, Malfoy,” said James to Lucius.

“So, James,” asked Andy, “how does it make you feel, to see your wife in another woman’s arms?”

“Are you really a shrink? Because I could do better,” said Bellatrix.

James gave his wife a look. She was snuggling Narcissa. “C-confused?” he said almost in disbelief, “distraught? And frankly a bit turned on.”

“I really don’t understand straight people,” Remus sighed.

“Me neither,” said Nymphadora. Her eyes widened when she realized the room had gone eerily quiet and everyone was eyeing her.

(NYMPHADORA TONKS) TALKING HEAD

(Nymphadora sits on her bed, cross-legged. Her room is painted black, the walls covered with frayed band posters and political messages. She has some drawings around, a stringless guitar long forgotten in a corner and a desk full of papers and some pictures.)

“Did I just come out to my family with two careless words? Perhaps. Did I pretend it was a joke? Definitely”.

[Back to scene]

“Listen,” said Narcissa, “we are not wrecking anyone’s marriage. We are happy with our spouses and overjoyed with our children who won’t stop babbling about each other. We decided to be best friends.”  

“Best friends?” asked James unsurely.

“Best friends,” agreed Lily as she kissed Narcissa’s cheek.

Lucius and James exchanged worried glances.

“Pads, Moony, we’re sorry we ruined your night,” said Lily, “we were just excited to see each other after so many years.”

“Bitch, I didn’t ruin anyone’s night. If anything I gave them a show...and a sense of purpose,” she said, eyeing Andromeda, “and just for the record, if I was to divorce Lucius, I’d keep the house, Draco and the peacocks.”

Lucius gulped.

(NARCISSA MALFOY) TALKING HEAD

“It’s good to rekindle old friendships. You discover pieces of yourself you left with them and realize how much you’ve grown…” she smirks mischievously, “bonus points if you find out you never really broke up with your Hogwarts sweetheart and so you’re technically still a couple.”

“I invented side pieces,” she adds, seemingly very pleased with herself.

Roll credits. 

Executive producer: @hufflefluff-writer​

Tags: @gloriousrebelrunaway​

[shadowdianne]

As a courtesy to Harry's friendly relationship with the Malfoy family, she invites Narcissa to her wedding day... Sometimes falling in love happens when you see someone in a new light. Or her wedding dress. About to walk to her kind but totally-wrong-for-her husband-to-be.

Let’s try to do this. I’m already writing the author’s note and I’m feeling paralyzed. Heh. This is going well.

At any case, let’s see if I still have it in me, alright? Fingers crossed and eternal apologies if this sucks. Brain doesn’t seem to work properly ever since I stopped writing fic prompts.

She had considered on not answering to the invitation, fingers curled around the tasteful paper in where the names had been written with ink that would change from gold to black if she decided to RSVP. She wouldn’t have gone as far as admitting she was nervous, her magic pooling around her, climbing through the walls of a manor that felt far too big and far too constricting at the same time ever since the end of the war. Yet, as she had smoothed the invitation, careful on how her nails scraped the very corners, she hadn’t quite been able to shake the tightening sensation at the back of her throat.

Many words had been spilled about how the magic community have taken the news of the war being over, many more regarding the incessant trials, the perception of them being too much and yet not enough for the public. Her story, the one that should have been a note forgotten in the wind of time about how she had knelt next to Harry Potter and decided to lie through her teeth, mentioned far too much for her liking until the words and the actions had blurred together in a vortex of memories that she wasn’t entirely too sure were hers anymore to have. If she now closed her eyes tight enough, after two anniversaries of that day, she still could smell the musky scent of the forest around them: air tinted green and red due to the spells, energy blast sweeping at every robe that moved in unison in order to aid the one they had called their Dark Lord as she was instructed to check if the Boy who had survived still breathed. She could remember her decision, her question, the gritted way in where she had gotten her answer.

She had been called brave by some, multifaceted by others, she had been called traitor, given the title of someone who would betray anyone. She had never felt inspired. Nor righteous. She had done what she needed to do at the time. Which, in the end, had been the same reason why she had looked up towards where portraits of old names of the House of Malfoy had hung and, while pressing her lips into a thin line, had murmured her agreement to the invitation, the swirling ink transforming its color the silent yet deafening answer she got from her final decision.

It wasn’t, she had considered while perusing through the clothes she would wear to the wedding as if she felt compelled to say yes. Not exactly, the words in the invitation on itself had been polite, perfectly thought. But she knew that, in the same way, she hadn’t needed to be present in every trial performed to what had been the Death Eaters after hers and Lucius had passed -with him being sent to Azkaban- and yet she had attended  them all out of that very same sense of duty, showcasing that she was, indeed, someone else beside being her now ex-husband shadow, she needed to go all the same. For herself. For the boy, now a man, that kept on including her as one that needed to be taken for everything she was and not merely a surname she had married into.

It was, to put it simple, baffling.

She had, also, not quite expected a similar treatment from the others who had actually stood next to Harry Potter. The young man was far too kind sometimes but she hadn’t seen beyond that night the one back at Hogwarts and when the dust had settled her mind had been too full to actually consider what her actions could warrant beyond, maybe, a smidge of some levity on her own sanction. She had been wrong. And the fact that Hermione Granger had invited her to her own wedding was something that still murked her mind the moment she traveled to where, if she had understood it correctly, Bill and Fleur had once married as well: The Burrow.

She had been there a few times already. Always outside, always careful, back when Draco himself had been invited with the same brittle carefulness for everyone involved as his boy also mended his relationship out of that same sense of duty, he seemed to have had the day he had told Bellatrix how the hexed boy in front of him could be or could not be the one they all were seeking to bring forward to the Dark Lord. She had followed those days, a year in after the war, with the same curling nerves at the end of her throat. Yet when his son had shared with her his growing relationship with the dark-haired one her happiness for him had been genuine. Because atop everything else, Draco would forever and always be her son.

Her train of thought, the memories of those days, the scandal the news had brought into the magical community, were halted as she took into the changed setting of the Burrow. The open field now filled to the brim, the grass seemingly to be under a spell so their colors would mimic the sky in all its oranges and purples as the sun settled above them all. She kept to herself, smiling politely, making small talk to the ones who greeted her, as poised, as careful, as ever. She hugged Draco the moment she spotted him, tightly yet quickly as the scent of sweet flowers filled the air, traipsing over the ones who, in unison, turned all towards the groom as the ceremony began its initial notes.

If Narcissa Malfoy -now Black- had learned something was how not to expect anything, how feelings were difficult at times, how things never quite went in the direction one expected to. The power of one’s magic wasn’t rooted in the fact of how much one witch could change what came in her way but how quick and resilient said witch was to those very same changes. Moving like a spell, unable to be grasped, rather than the very physical wand that could or could not hold a hit, was something she had needed to understand and then rely on as she saw everything she had believed once fall around in jagged shapes.

And yet, when the initial fanfare began to play and she saw the wife-to-be walk down the aisle, walk past her in whites and notes of gold that peppered the edges of her dress as the very same metal had condensed in vaporous lace, the blonde witch felt her own breath being stolen away.

She had talked with Hermione a few times before, always smidges of conversations that felt as if they could be larger specks into the very intelligent woman’s mind. She had felt interested in the way the younger witch hold herself, by the way she always commanded a very different kind of power she herself had done back when Malfoy Manor had been full and a light atop everyone who had considered themselves to be better. That very kind of thing that could not be quite taught and yet it was not merely natural. The brunette had it on spades and she had always felt such pull whenever she was able to get a few minutes with her. A mere comforting interest that she had felt some other times, on her younger days.

Yet, the dress, the way she kept her eyes ahead, her lips parted, the blossoming red on her cheeks. It came far too sudden for her, a hit and a gasp, a murmur that didn’t quite escape her lips as she swallowed, the most obvious, physical reaction of her body hidden away beneath her clothes.

Narcissa tended to prefer to use her wording as specific as possible, as right and perfectly well-put as humanly able. Yet, the word beautiful lost its meaning in a slight, slanted way, as if she looked at it through a murky, dirty glass.  Blinking quickly, regaining herself, she looked back to the groom, the redhead young man. The third part of the trio, the one who had eyed her with less kindness on his eyes for the longest of times. The one who, in the end, had turned out to be the most comforting one amidst the faces who looked wearily but trusting her due to some words Harry Potter had said time and time again. The Weasley family would probably always superimpose the image of her sister, of Bellatrix, of the death eater, with her own shadow. A truth she was ready to admit and a weight to bear. And, still, when she looked at the man that now glanced back at Hermione as she slowly came in front of him, she saw the kindness that he professed for her, and the careful way in where the brunette witch took on his offered hand, a gentle squeeze making muscles tremble and jump against the dying light.

She was beautiful.

And she needed to leave.

[nothingeverlost]

The One You’re Born into and the One You Find (Marauder Era HP fic)

Thing I was not planning to do this week: write 10,000 words about Sirius Black.  He’s an insistent muse, though, so a little drabble about him and Andromeda talking as now a full blown fic about the time Sirius ran away from home.

Summery: Sirius runs away and finds out something about home.

Warnings for references to abuse/torture.

II

It’s two days before Christmas when Sirius Black leaves Grimmauld Place for the last time. His first impulse is to go to the Potter home, but he can’t, not with his mother’s voice in his head, the threats and ugly things she’s said.  He can’t risk that she might follow through with her promises.  It’s not safe.  Besides, James would owl Peter and Remus, and he needs to keep them safe too.

Perhaps it would be best to take a room above the Three Broomsticks, but after a week of cold silence from his family he can’t take any more isolation.  There’s only one place he can think of to go.

“Sirius?”  Warm light floods the front stoop when the door opens.  In the doorway stands his cousin, the only person that might understand what it means to be a disinherited Black.

“You wouldn’t happen to have a sofa I could crash on for a day or two, would you ‘Dromeda?”  They’ve barely talked in years; the last time was the summer before Fifth year when they both happened to be at Diagon Alley.  He’d been with his friends, his parents not wanting to be seen with their son who was buying a new Gryffindor uniform, ‘Dromda with her husband.  He’d been eight when she’d been struck off the family tree, but she would always be his favorite cousin.  His only cousin, now.

“Nonsense.  You’ll take the guest room.  I hope your silencing charms are up to par; our Nymphadora is an early riser.”  She holds the door open wide for him, enough so he can levitate his trunk into the house.  He’s not sure about accepting the room, though.

“Mother is going to be angry if she finds out you took me in.  I really only need a day or two so I can figure things out.”  He needs a lot more than a couple of days but he wasn’t about to ask for more.  It isn’t fair to her.

“Auntie has been angry with me for almost a decade now.  I’m a blood traitor, after all.  It doesn’t get much worse than marrying a muggle-born.  You’ll stay as long as you need.”  Andromeda doesn’t roll her eyes, she wouldn’t stoop to something so immature, but Sirius can almost see it anyway.  “Now shut the door behind you and come into the kitchen.  Ted is cleaning up but there’s plenty of leftovers and I’m sure you’re hungry.  Left before dinner, didn’t you?”

“During, but I didn’t eat anything.”  There had been company, people that made Sirius’s skin crawl.  His father had spoken so casually of his son joining The Cause, only debating if he should wait to finish his education or begin during the coming summer.  Perhaps, Orion Balck had speculated, his position in Gryffindor could end up being a blessing in disguise.  No one would expect a Death Eater under the scarlet and gold robes.

“You’re in luck.  Ted made his beef stew and it’s just the thing for a cold evening like this.”  She doesn’t say, but they both understand, that ‘cold’ refers to more than the weather.  “Ted, my love, we’ve company.”

“Cousin Sirius, what a treat.  Welcome.”  Sirius is surprised by the warm welcome and the following hug.  Perhaps he shouldn’t be; Ted Tonks is a muggle and a Hufflepuff, after all, but the only person he knows who is so open is James.

“Do you mind reheating some of your stew, Ted?  Siri hasn’t had dinner.  I’ll put Dora to bed.”

“Her hair is pink.”  Sirius has almost forgotten that there was a kid.  His family doesn’t acknowledge the marriage let alone the child, and kids aren’t really his thing.  He can’t remember the last time he’s seen a kid younger than eleven.  Andromeda’s daughter is a lot smaller than a first year.  Not as shy as they were either, as she climbs up on a chair to get a better look at the stranger in her house.

“Play?’  Sirius is pretty sure the tips of her hair darkened.  

“Nymphadora, this is your cousin Sirius.  You can play with him tomorrow but now it’s time for bed.”

“See-us.”  The little girl wrinkles up her nose as she tests out the name.  “See-e-us.”

“My friends call me Padfoot sometimes.”  It might be easier to say.  No one in his family considered easy names, it seemed.  Not ever his cousin.  Nymphadora, really?

“Padfoot play?”  She spreads her arms and jumps, leaving Sirius with no choice but to catch her.  She is a little thing, with less force than a bludger, but she squirms a lot.  

“Tomorrow,” Andromeda says firmly, helping to free Sirius from arms that seemed to be longer than they should be.  “I’ll be back down after storytime, Sirius.  Don’t worry about your trunk, I’ll take it up to your room.  Ted will show you where the drinks are.  There might even be a bit of firewhiskey to add to the butterbeer.”

His mother would be horrified to see him eating in the kitchen like a common person or a house elf.  The Tonks kitchen is a warm and comfortable room, though, and Sirius is glad to sit with Ted, who is keeping an eye on the cleaning charms.  They share a drink and Sirius empties a bowl of stew and accepts the second helping Ted gives him  It wasn’t like the food was bad at Grimmauld Place; it was the company that robbed him of his appetite.  He is too used to laughter and teasing and camaraderie as he eats with his mates at school, and out of practice choking down food under his mother’s sour expression and his father’s ranting.

“I’m sorry to spring this on you, Ted.”  He is halfway through his second bowl when he finally looks up at his companion.  He doesn’t know much about the man, other than the fact he was muggle-born, a Hufflepuff, and married to his cousin.

“Nonsense, you’re family.  It’s a rare treat for Andi to get to have family around.  You know what it’s like.”  Ted frowns.

“She’s lucky she got out when she did.”  Just this past summer the engagement between Cisssa and Malfoy had been announced.  The only good thing Sirius could say is that he wasn’t quite as disgusting as Bella’s husband.  The talk of pure blood had gotten worse at family dinners and words like ‘cleanse’ and ‘purify’ were tossed around more.  “They don’t bother you, do they?”

“Ignore us completely, which is probably for the best.  It’s not easy on Andi when we run into any of them in public, though.  We saw Narcissa when we were at Gringotts last and she wouldn’t even look at our Dora.  I don’t think Bellatrix has even seen her.”

“Best to keep it that way.  She’s gone mental.  More mental than she used to be.  And her husband…” Sirius bites his tongue to keep from saying more.  He didn’t need to talk about Rabistan LeStrange.  Didn’t need to think about him, or what he was capable of.  One time alone with the man had been one time too many; he still had bruises on his arm from their ‘conversation’ three days ago.  “If you’re lucky they’ll forget about you completely.”

“Your turn, Ted.  Dora’s tucked in and ready for her story.”  Sirius is almost done with his second bowl of stew when Andromeda comes down, turning off the water in the sink as the last of the dishes dry themselves.  She settles into the seat her husband had occupied moments ago.  “Do you want to talk about what happened?”

“What’s the point?  It’s over and I’m never going back.  I’ve probably been blasted off that damn tapestry already.”  It had been his mother’s last threat as he’d left as if the worst thing that could happen was being disowned by the family that hated not only him but everything he cared about.

“Walking away from family isn’t that easy.  I know.”  For a moment she looks lost in memories before shaking her head.

“Family doesn’t…”  Sirius clenches his hands around the edge of the table.  He doesn’t talk about the things that happened in his home, not even to James.  Andromeda would understand more than anyone else, but that doesn’t make it easier to speak.  “They’re not my family.  I have James and Remus and Peter.”

“You have me and Ted too.”  Andromeda reaches across the table and covers one of his hands with her own.  “It’s two more weeks until term starts.  You’ll stay here and we can take you to the train.”

“I wasn’t planning on staying that long.”  He hasn’t planned anything but thought perhaps he might be able to leave for school sooner.  Hogwarts would be safe.

“You’re staying.  It’s Christmas, Sirius.  And if you’re worried about earning your keep you don’t have to worry.  Dora will adore having a new friend and you can pay us back in imaginary tea parties.”

II

Exhausted, Sirius falls asleep almost the moment he turns off the light in the guest bedroom.  It doesn’t last; a few hours later he comes awake abruptly, gasping his way out of a dream.  He fumbles for his wand, casting a ‘Lumos’ as he sits up.  He needs to be sure he doesn’t fall asleep again, not while the dream slithers inside his mind.  

He barely noticed the bedroom when his cousin had escorted him up, beyond noting that his trunk was under the window.  Everything he owned was in his trunk, and he only had that much because he’d never unpacked it when he’d gotten home for winter hols.  He’d gone up, grabbed it and his broom, and had been heading for the front door before anyone could stop him.  There hadn’t been any time to get Freddie, his owl, from the family owlery.  He hoped his mother didn’t take out any of her anger on poor Freddie.

The room, now that he can focus better, is as different as it was possible to be from the bedroom he’d abandon hours ago.  Instead of grey walls and antique furniture that had been passed down for generations, the walls were painted a pale yellow and the bed was new.  The quilt he’d been sleeping under seemed handmade, a patchwork of mismatched colors that would never earn his mother’s approval.  On the wall across from the bed is a painting of the shore, waves gently lapping at the sand.  It reminds him of a trip he’d taken with the Potters the summer between fourth and fifth years; Remus had joined them as well, though Peter hadn’t been allowed to come.  It wasn’t home - the only home he knew being his dorm at Hogwarts - but it was a cheerful and cozy space.  

He hoped his presence didn’t make it an unsafe place.  While his mother had been the loudest with her threats it was harder to guess what recourse his father might take.  Or his father’s friends.  He would run again if he needed to.  Sirius resolved not to unpack his trunk in case any threats were made. If anyone in his family so much as sent an owl he’d be off.

It’s dark outside his bedroom window, enough that he can’t make out anything in the back garden.  The moon wasn’t much more than a sliver, which was good.  It would be two weeks until Remus would need him.   If he was still with Andromeda and Ted by then he could make an excuse for going back to school early.  Until then he would lie low and hope that his family decided he was no longer worth any of their time.

After an hour of trying to go back to sleep, Sirius transforms and curls up at the foot of the bed.  Sometimes it is easier to sleep for a few hours as Padfoot; he would just have to hope his cousin didn’t ask about the black fur.

II

Someone is trying to suffocate him.  His mouth is covered, his lungs straining for want of oxygen.  He can hear Bella’s laughter and see the cold steel of his mother’s eyes.  Behind her, Regulus looked ill.

“Ge-off,”  Sirius struggles to open his mouth, to take in a breath, and almost chokes on a piece of bacon.  He blinks and opens his eyes to find that he isn’t in Grimmauld Place.  He’s in Andromeda’s guest room, and he is chewing on a piece of bacon.

“Breakfast.”  Nymphadora’s hair is blue this morning and she is holding out a piece of bacon between two chubby fingers.  “Welcome.”

“Thank you?”  He can’t think of anything else to say.  Waking up to find a kid staring at him is odd, but it was a million times better than anything that had happened the day before.

“Dora, where are you?”  The door to the hallway is open; apparently the kid was old enough to open doors because Sirius had closed it the night before.  He can’t sleep when a door is open, it felt too vulnerable.  At home he locked the door, even knowing that wouldn’t really stop anyone.  At school he was grateful for the curtains around the bed.  Here the door was now open and Ted was coming in, shaking his head.  “Sorry about that, mate.  Did she wake you?”

“I’d rather be awake.”  Memories weren’t quite as bad as dreams.

“Breakfast is ready if you’d like to join us,  I promise you can eat at your own pace, and not worry about this little scamp trying to feed you more.  You’re lucky it was just bacon.  She might have decided you were thirsty.”  Ted grins, an easy expression that reminds him a little of James.  His best friend’s smile comes easily too.  Sirius wonders if Ted’s parents were also as wonderful as the Potters.

“I’ll be down in a minute.”  He’s only slept in his pants and waits until Ted had scooped up his daughter and taken her out of the room, closing the door behind him, before getting out of bed so he could dress.

Breakfast was as good as any meal he’d had at Hogwarts.  Ted, apparently, did all the cooking in the family.  His cousin had learned as much cooking as he had, which meant nothing at all.  Pureblood snobs were supposed to have house elves to tend to their needs, rather than actually learning anything practical.  Ted cooked the muggle way, and his scones were good enough that Sirius had three.  He eats some bacon too, as well as quiche.

His plan for the day is to hole up in the guest room.  It was Christmas Eve and he didn’t want to interfere with the holiday for his cousin’s family.  Christmas wasn’t a big deal anyway; he loves the traditions he shares with his friends before the holidays but generally spent the day itself being miserable.  Andromeda has other ideas.

Once breakfast is over and the dishes are put away she pulls out flour, butter, sugar, eggs, and a mass of sprinkles.  Sirius somehow finds himself rolling out dough and cutting out cookies, often with the ‘help’ of Dora.  Once the first batch cooled he is in charge of frosting while Dora added three times as many sprinkles as anyone would call normal.  Somehow there was frosting in his hair and he is certain that his fingers would be red and green for longer than they were the last time he’d ‘accidentally’ snuck dye into James’s shampoo, but it is the most fun he’s had on a Christmas Eve in years.  When he makes one of the frosted snowmen dance across the table Dora laughs and then viciously bites his head off.  It was then that Andromeda decides it is time for Dora’s nap.

While Andromeda is putting her daughter down for a nap Sirius takes the opportunity to escape.  No matter what they say Ted and Andromeda deserved to have at least part of the day to themselves, and he can use a walk.  When staying with his parents long walks were about the only thing that kept him sane.  The walls of his childhood home were oppressive on the best of days.  Dangerous on the worst.  His cousin’s house was nowhere near the old neighborhood where his parents live, but the moment he’s gone a few blocks from the house he realizes how exposed he is.  If anyone sees him it wouldn’t be hard to make the connection to the Tonks family.  On his own he doesn’t have anyone to watch his back and it would be easy enough for a couple of people to drag him home.  Would his father have any interest in forcing him home?  Making him bow and scrape, making him swear an oath of fidelity?

“I’m not going back there,” he swears to himself, walking faster.  He looks at each alley he passes, half expecting to see someone he should fear, half looking for a plan of escape.  All he would need was a moment out of sight; no one would know to look for Padfoot once he transformed.

“Sirius?”  At the sound of his name he turns, wand already raised and a disarming spell on his lips.  

“Thought that was you.”  Frank Longbottom looks curiously at his wand but shrugs.  “Don’t usually see you on this side of town, mate.  Enjoying your holiday?”

“It’s alright.  Just stopped by to see a friend,” he lies.  Fortunately, he has a lot of practice at lying.  Frank is a nice enough sort, a year ahead of him in school.  Rumor was he was all set for the Auror program after graduation.  That didn’t mean that Sirius was about to trust him completely.  He didn’t trust anyone completely except the Mauraders.

“Alice lives around the corner.  We had lunch with the family.  Her dad has to warm to me eventually, or at least that’s the hope.  Not so pleased about the half muggle status, that one.”

“Screw him,” Sirius growls with more force than he meant.  He is so tired of the hate against muggle-borns, half muggles, and his most hated word, ‘half breeds.’  His father was of the opinion that the only good werewolf was either a dead one or a vicious pet, and had talked at length during Tuesday night’s dinner about a need for more regulations to protect against monsters.  His father’s definition of a monster is very different from his own.

“It’s important to Alice.”  Frank was so mild-mannered it was sometimes a surprise that he was a Gryffindor.  Then again Pete was pretty affable too.  He’d seen Frank’s reaction, though, when a Slytherin was scaring a first-year Hufflepuff.  Frank hadn’t been mild-mannered then.  “He’s not a bad bloke, just set in his ways.  Not like, you know.”

“Yeah, I know.”  Not like his family or the loony bin they kept marrying into.  Still, he had no patience for any of it.  It didn’t matter if he’d never met Mr. Fortesque, he already didn’t like the man.

They walk a bit farther, not talking of anything important until they reached a row of muggle shops and Sirius mentions stopping to pick out some gifts.  

“A bit last minute, aren’t you Sirius?” Frank teases.

“Same way I get my essays done,” he says with a shrug.  The truth is he spent as much time plotting his gifts as he did some of his most elaborate pranks, and he’d gotten gifts for his fellow Marauders before school had even started.  Other than sending something to James’s parents they were the only gifts he had to worry about.  Even in better days his parents had not held with gifts for Christmas.  He’d be a prat if he didn’t at least have something under the tree for his cousins this year, though.  Fortunately he still had some muggle money from a trip to muggle London he and James had gone on during the summer.

He returns to Andromeda’s an hour later with a cookbook for Ted by a muggle named Julia Childs that the shopkeep had assured him anyone who liked cooking would enjoy and a stuffed dog for the sprog.  It was black and not unlike his own secret form, which amused him.  His cousin was harder, but when he’d walked past an antique shop he’d found a little painting of an owl.  It looked like the one Andromeda had when she was a girl; Sirius could remember visiting and seeing his cousin petting the bird, whispering to it softly.  Bella had rolled her eyes.  It was a muggle painting so it didn’t move, but Sirius thought Andromeda might at least appreciate the sentiment.

“Sirius Black what do you mean by vanishing for hours without even saying that you’re leaving?”  Andromeda is every inch a Black when she appears in the hall just moments after he enters the house.  Her jaw is firmly set, chin lifted at just the right angle to make it feel like she looked down her nose at him despite being half a head shorter.  For a moment he is reminded of her mother, and then his own.

Shite.

“I thought you could use some time without an intruder around.  Christmas Eve traditions and all that.”  It had started snowing as he’d walked back from the shops.  Sirius tries to distract himself by brushing the snow off one shoulder.  Regulus had given him the same look that Andromeda was giving him now, just a few days ago when he’d said the only right side of any fight was standing against everything the family stood for.

“Great.  Lovely.  So I guess if my sister’s friends had seen you and decided to hex you into the new year it wouldn’t have mattered to me because at least I had a nice afternoon away from my ungrateful little cousin?” She glares at him in a way he hadn’t seen since he’d been seven and had used the essay she’d left in the study to make paper airplanes that had magically flown themselves.

“I wouldn’t tell anyone you let me stay here.”  He’s had enough experience with Cruciatus to know that he would be able to keep at least that secret.

“You think that’s what concerns me?” she asks incredulously before her crossed arms fall to her side and she deflates.  “Merlin, they did a number on us, didn’t they?  Our family.  Toujours pur but jamais fidèle.  I was worried about you, Siri.  You haven’t told me what happened but I know enough the guess.  I’m not totally unaware of what’s happening with my sisters and their social circle.”

“I know how to take care of myself.”  For a moment he hears the shadow of another argument, weeks earlier with Remus.  They had been fighting about the full moon and returning to school early so they could be there for him.  He tells himself it’s not the same thing.

“Of course you do.  Another lesson we learned well.”  Andromeda takes a step forward and brushes the snow off his other shoulder.  “I know family is a pretty complicated word for both of us but you are my family Sirius.  I care what happens to you.”

“Does it ever get easier?”  He wants to ask if he would always hate them this much.  If he would always carry around the hard ball of anger that sometimes threatened to choke him.  Would he always feel the guilt in leaving Reggie behind, not even trying to stop him from becoming the son his father wanted?  Would he ever stop mourning the family he never had?  He has a hundred questions but doubts there are really any answers.

“I remember when I heard you’d been sorted into Griffindor.  Auntie was so angry.  There was talk of sending you to Durmstrang, but they decided against it because of the way it might look.  The first time I saw you that winter you were in Zonko’s with your mate James, and you were laughing.  I don’t know how you’d gotten permission to be there without your parents but you looked so happy.  I knew then that the sorting hat had changed something that couldn’t be changed back.  I think it’s already better.  It doesn’t go away, we can’t change where we came from, but it’s better than what could have been.”

“I remember that trip.  Mum thought the Potter connection could be useful.”  The Potters were purebloods, and rich, but in every other way as different from the Blacks as it was possible to be.  “You brought us ice creams after the joke shop.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t get to do that more often.”  

“Mum would have hated knowing we spent any time together.”  He’d missed his cousin, but there had always been an extra thrill knowing his mother would disapprove.  “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have left without saying anything.”

“You’re wanted here, alright?”  They don’t hug, not in their family, but Sirus has learned it from his mates and Andromeda from her husband.  It is a quick hug, but heartfelt.  Afterwards Sirius drops his packages off under the tree and finds that on the mantle there was now a fourth stocking, one with his name on it.

II

Christmas is a quiet day, or as quiet as it can be when a three-year-old has a newly acquired broom that hovers a foot off the floor.  The stuffed dog he’s picked out, who somehow has been dubbed ‘Spot’ despite being solid black, has a place of honor on the broom and only falls off six times.  The snow from the night before has left a fresh powder on the ground, and the afternoon is spent building a snowman that briefly joins them in an animated game of tag thanks to some clever wand work from Andromeda.

To say it is the best Christmas Day he’s ever had isn’t saying a lot, considering what Christmas is like in his family.  It is more than a good Christmas, it is a good day.  When he watches Dora feed her stuffed dog invisible hot chocolate he can’t help wondering what it would have been to grow up in a family that saw children as something other than an obligation to continue the family line.

“Would you care for a cup of chocolate that’s not invisible?”  Andromeda asks once her daughter’s attention is drawn away from their ‘tea’ party.  Ted is giving her hippogriff rides.

“Yeah.”  He follows her into the kitchen, leaning against the counter while she melts a bar of Honeyduke’s finest into simmering milk.  Moony would approve.

“I remember getting my first broom.”  His hadn’t been a toy.  His parents didn’t believe in toys.

“If memory serves you were six, and the first thing you did was try to stand up on it.”  Andromeda laughs as she stirs the chocolate, adding vanilla and a pinch of salt.

“They locked it up for a month after that, until I could promise to be more respectful.”  He’d only learned to be more careful, waiting until he was out of view before practicing loops and dives and quidditch moves.  It had been his first taste of freedom.

“Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I hadn’t met Ted.  Would I have ever defied the family or would I just have accepted it as my lot?  But I never wondered about you, Sirius.  Worried, but never doubted that you were meant for something else.”

“You never would have stayed.  You’re too good for them.”

II

The letter comes during breakfast on boxing day.  Sirius is so focused on the red envelope that he doesn’t notice the owl at all.  He’s been expecting at least a letter for three days now, and his only thought is to snatch the letter and get up to his room before it explodes in his mother’s amplified and shrill voice.  No one else needs to hear the hate in her voice.

He is too slow, or the letter is faster than usual.  He’s barely taken it from the owl and stood from his chair when it begins to shake.  It grows in size, shaking and looking like a firework about to explode before it bursts open.

SIRIUS ORION BLACK YOU GREAT GIT WHERE THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU?

It takes Sirius a moment to realize that the shooting that fills the small kitchen is not his mother, but his best friend.

YOU HAVE NOT ANSWERED MY OWLS FOR THREE DAYS.  I EVEN TRIED FLOOING TO YOUR HOUSE BUT THAT CREEPY HOUSE ELF OF YOUR MOTHER’S ONLY SAID THAT HER MISTRESS HAD GOTTEN RID OF YOU.  I’M WORRIED PADFOOT.   MUM AND DAD ARE WORRIED.  RUMUS SENT ME AN OWL BECAUSE HE THOUGHT MAYBE WE SHOULD TRY GOING TO YOUR HOUSE TO SEE YOU.

“No.”  Sirius stares in horror at the envelope as if it can hear him.  Remus can’t go anywhere near Grimmauld Place.  He’s only let James come once and that was bad enough but at least James comes from a wizarding family almost as old as the Blacks.

RUMUS IS STRESSED ABOUT YOU AND YOU KNOW WHAT HE’S LIKE WHEN HE’S STRESSED.  IF WE DON’T HERE FROM YOU IN AN HOUR I AM SENDING HIM AN OWL BACK AND WE ARE GOING TO MAKE A PLAN.

A moment later the howler tears itself to pieces, the confetti burning like ash.  The only thing left was the echo in his ears.

“I can’t let Remus go to Grimmauld Place.”  He looks at Andromeda.  

“Bloody git.”  Dora waves a bit of pancake around on the end of her fork, apparently amused by the howler.  “Great bloody git.”

“Those are not words for little girls, my love.  They’re words for grown-ups who have to deal with problems.”  Ted reaches over and picks Dora up from her seat, balancing her on his knee and distracting her with a floating grape.  Sirius knows he should probably apologize, but all he can think about is Remus showing up at his parents’ door and them somehow seeing in an instant what it took him two years to figure out.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea for any of your friends, but at least if they’re looking for you it rules them out as anyone who knows where you are.  It might protect them in the long run.”  Andromeda stirs her tea carefully.  “Remus is the quieter lad, isn’t he?  The one with the nice manners.”

Sirius nods, afraid to open his mouth and say anything about Remus, afraid he might say too much and spill secrets that aren’t his to tell.  It has taken months to recover from the Snape Incident. All he knows is that he has to stop any of his friends, but Remus especially, from confronting his parents.  The things the Black Family would do if they knew they had a werewolf in their home were unspeakable.  “I need to borrow your floo.”

“The floo powder is on the mantle where the stockings were.  You’ll let me know if you’re not home for dinner, won’t you?”  Sirius nods his promise.

“Your friends are welcome to tea. We’re having bangers and mash,” Ted adds supportively as Sirius carries his dishes to the sink.

“Padfoot play?”  Dora asks as he leaves the kitchen.  He hopes she won’t be too upset that he’s ignored her request.

A minute later he is in the Potters’ library, startling Fleamont Potter from his post-breakfast nap.  A newspaper half covers his face but he pushes it away as he sits up.  “Sirius my lad, what a relief.  James will feel so much better when he sees you.  Last I checked he was pacing the front hall.”

“I’ll go find him.”  At least he hadn’t dashed off and done anything stupid; that was Sirius’s job.  He doesn’t have far to go far; after walking through the library door he is tackled and might have fallen if he wasn’t so used to the surprise attacks of James Potter.  This one involved a hug he couldn’t have escaped if he wanted to.  He doesn’t want to.

“If I wasn’t so happy to see you Padfoot I’d punch you and then lock you in a small dark room.  Where have you been?”  James’ hair was messier than usual, standing on end where he tugged on it when he was nervous or frustrated.  The fact that he was wearing shoes was alarming; when he was at home his feet were always bare, so he really was planning on going somewhere.  Sirius hates thinking about where that place might have been.

“I’m alright, Prongs.”  There is no person on the entire earth that he trusts more than James Potter.  His reluctance to mention his cousin was not out of worry.

“Not one peep yesterday from you.  Even first year you popped in to say Merry Christmas and last year you came for almost two hours after you got yourself kicked out of dinner.  I kept my mirror with me all day yesterday and nothing from you.  When I popped into your kitchen the house-elf said…”

“I left.”  He shrugs as if it doesn’t mean anything.

“What do you mean, you left?  Left the house on Christmas?  Can’t imagine that made your mum happy.”

“I left a couple of days ago, actually, and I don’t give a toss what my mother thinks.”  He looks down at his shoes, noticing that there was a scuff mark on the left one.  “I’m not going back there.”

“What did they do?”  His best friend’s voice sounds like fire.  Sirius knows that James would go to war against the whole Black family without a single hesitation if he thought that they had hurt Sirius.  It is the reason he keeps the worst stories to himself, to protect James.  Remus knows more, whispered confidences in the black of night when neither of them can sleep.  After all, Remus has his own monsters and knows something about enemies being bred into your blood.

“I’m not going to be one of them, and hate who they tell me to hate, and fight who they tell me to fight.”  Rudolphus and Bella have matching tattoos on their arm.  At first he’d thought they were a warped couple sort of thing, but then he’d seen the same mark on Narcissa’s finance, and the slithering edge of black ink on his father’s arm when his sleeve hitched up a little.

“Of course you’re not.”  James smiles a little, just for a moment, before the smile fades.  “Hold up, you said days ago.  Where have you been since you left?  Pete would have said if you’d been at his place and I know you haven’t seen Remus.  Please tell me you haven’t done anything naff like sleep on a bench or take a room at Three Broomsticks.”

“I need to lie low for a bit.  I am somewhere safe, I promise.”  His mother’s threats ring in his ear, promising that no one that dared offer him sanctuary would be safe.

“You’re safe here.”  James snakes a hand around his wrist, dragging him towards the back of the house.  “Mum,” he shouts.

“It’s not about my safety.”  When the kitchen proves empty James pulls him to the backdoor, through the snowy yard to the greenhouse that is always warm and humid no matter the weather.  In the center of the space is a pond where lotus float.  Euphemia Potter is kneeling beside her herb bed.

“Mum, Sirius showed up finally and he’s run away from home so he needs a place to stay.  He can have the room next to mine, right?  Dad can figure out how to handle the guardian stuff so you can sign his school papers and..”

“Prongs, stop.  I just came so you didn’t do anything stupid like go to Grimmauld Place.  I’m not staying.”  

“Don’t be stupid, Pads, of course you’re staying.  Right mum?”

“This is always your home, Sirius.”  She stands with a grace that his own mother would never be able to emulate, no matter how many centuries of ‘good breeding’ have gone into molding her.  Deep purple and gold robes flow around her.  Indoors she’s just as apt as her son to have bare feet, but in the garden she wears leather sandals.  “Monty and I have been worried about you, dear.  It’s good to see that you’re safe.”

“I’m sorry for making you worry.”  The last thing he wants to do is worry his friends or the Potters who are always so kind to him.  Without the Potters he wouldn’t know what a real family is supposed to look like, or how lacking his own family really was.

“A mother always worries about her children.”  When she touches his arm Sirius has to fight to remain stoic, torn between the wanting to break down and wanting to make a bitter comment that some mothers want nothing more than to eat their own young.

“See, Pads?  Mum said you’re staying.  Dad will agree and that’s everything sorted.  The family barrister can send papers to your…”

“No.”  If he lets himself listen to any more it will sound too much like a dream and not having it will hurt all the more.  “You’re not listening to me, Jamie.  I will see you in two weeks when we go back for term.  I need you to let Remus know that I’m safe and that he’s not to go to my parents’ house under any circumstances ever.  Let him know that I’ll be at school on Wednesday morning like I promised, okay?”

“Tell him yourself, Pads.  You haven’t forgotten how to write a letter in the last week have you?”  James stands between him and the door to the greenhouse, arms crossed and ready for a fight. “No, but I don’t have a way to send a letter.  I couldn’t bring Freddie with me when I left.”  Damn it, he misses his owl.  It is the least of his problems, and it’sjust a stupid owl that he ignores too often when he is at school, but when he is home visiting the owlery is often the only good part of his day.  No one in his family would deign to sit amoung the birds.

“Shit, I’m sorry.”  James sighs.  “I’ll write Remus, okay?  Or you write to him and use one of our owls.  He’s sent me three letters since yesterday and seeing the scrawl you call penmanship would probably do him good.”

“I’ll write to him before I go, alright?”

“Sure, as long as you mean that you’re going to go get your trunk so you can bring it back here.  I was thinking we could transform the closet between our rooms into a lounge, maybe with a foosball table or something.  Mum’s brill at things like that.”

“Damn it, Prongs, you’re not listening to me.”

“I’m listening, I’m just ignoring you being a dense pratt. This is your home.”

“My mother…”

“Your mother is a miserable bitch and you’re well rid of her.  You can share my mum with me, she always wanted more kids and she and dad both love you.”  James speaks with the confidence of someone who has always been certain of his place.  

“You don’t understand, James.  The things she would do if she found out you’d taken me in.  The things she might set in motion.  My family is full of fucking Death Eaters.  My cousin...”  But he doesn’t want to think about Bella and what she could do.  What she’d hinted that she’d already done, the snake of her tattoo slithering around her wrist.  He knew what she could do to someone she wanted as an ally, the echo of pain still in his bones as she tried to make him agree.  The war was coming so much quicker than he’d realized.  He would protect the people he cared about as long as he could.

“We keep each other safe, just like we’ve always done, Pads.”

“This isn’t trying to get out of detention when a prank goes wrong.  I’m not going to risk any of my family coming after the people I care about.”  He could still see, too clearly, the look in Moony’s eyes when he realized how close he’d come to attacking Snape on a full moon.  If anything had happens Remus would be the one to suffer and it would have been his fault.  He couldn’t let it be his fault again.

“So instead I’m supposed to just stand by and hope you’re okay?  Do you know what it would do to me if anything happened to you?”  James tugs on his hair.

“I’ll see you in two weeks, alright?”

“Padfoot…”

“It’s better if you don’t know where I am.”  He’s been seventeen for almost two months, but won’t take his apparating test until spring like any other student.  That doesn’t stop him from disapparating, but it did mean that he is a block away from Andromeda’s, instead of in her backyard, when he reappeared.  It takes him a moment to get his bearings and to find his way to the house.  By the time he does he’s shaking, and collapses on the back porch, using the last of his energy to change into Padfoot.  

II

“Puppy.”  He wakes to find Dora stroking his fur enthusiastically, Ted and Andromeda watching with varying looks of caution and amusement.  Because it seems like the simplest option he spends an hour fetching sticks and racing through the snow, decimating the snowman they had made the day before and chomping on snowballs.  When a cat crosses the back fence he doesn’t resist the urge to chase it; James has often remarked that if they ever came across McGonagall in her animagi form there would be some serious explaining to do.  Chasing professors was not a good idea even if they were a cat at the time.

When it starts to get dark outside Ted tries to lure him in with the promise of something to eat, but he refuses.  As tempting as it is to see if they would talk about him in his absence, it wasn’t fair and Andromeda would worry if he wasn’t back for tea.  He’d promised, after all.  Sirius slinks around the corner, waiting until he is sure everyone is inside the house before turning back.  His jeans are soaked and his mouth is freezing from the snow he’s eaten, but an hour of running around and a nap have done him some good.  He is able to walk into the house without feeling like the world is completely falling apart.

“Anyone with you?” Ted asks, poking his head out of the kitchen.  Sirius shakes his head.

“Padfoot play?”  Dora asks, her hair the same black color as his own.  She’d changed it when they were playing outside, ironically wanting to match the dog.  

“It’s bathtime, remember?  And I’m sure Sirius is wanting a hot shower, considering the look of him.”  Andromeda gives him the same speculative look she’d given a dog an hour ago until she was convinced that her daughter was safe playing with the mutt.  “Your friend’s alright?”

“I think he’s mad at me.”  James wasn’t mad, not really, but it was easier than saying that he was hurt by the secrets he wouldn’t share.  He and James shared almost everything.  “I’m going to go take that shower now.”

“I’ll let Ted know to start a kettle; you look like you could use some warming up from the inside too.”

II

The next morning he lets himself sleep in, and is still in his pajamas just before noon, making himself a bacon sandwich with leftovers from the breakfast he’d skipped.  He’s just taken his first bite when someone knocks on the front door and Ted calls for him.

“See?  I told you this was the logical place.”  When Ted steps back Sirius can see a grinning James Potter in the doorway, a Gryffindor scarf wrapped around his neck.  Beside him is Remus, not dressed nearly warm enough for the day.  Crowded on the back of the porch is Peter.

“Yes, but ‘Padfoot’ and ‘logical’ aren’t usually things we say together.”  Moony has a crease line between his eyebrows, looking Sirius over.  He tries to smile, but it is a small one, his attempt at a joke falling flat.  Sirius can almost feel the worry vibrating from him.  

“If Sirius is trying to lay low maybe we shouldn’t be standing out here where anyone can see us?”  From the way James steps forward suddenly it was clear that Pete had given him a friendly shove.  Ted is smart enough to take a couple of steps backward, clearing the way for three-fourths of the Marauders to invade his home.

Sirius says the only thing that came to mind.  “What the fuck?”

“I sent an owl to Remus.  He agrees you’re being stupid.”  James aims a drying spell at his feet.

“That’s not what I said, Prong. Don’t put words in my mouth.”  The gloves Remus takes off look new, probably a Christmas gift from his parents.  They were practical souls, and most of Moony’s gifts from them are the sort of things that Sirius takes for granted.  He knows that new quills and gloves are not so easy to come by in the Lupin household, though.  “I said I didn’t like the idea of you without anyone to watch your back.”

“I agreed with James about you being a git.”  Peter grins.  Ted closes the door behind him.

“Gee, thanks Pete.”

“You’re Ted, right?  Nice to meet you.  I’m James and I’m just here to relieve you of this annoying houseguest of yours.  His bedroom is all ready for him.”  James shakes Ted’s hand when it’s offered.

“Sorry about the invasion, Mr. Tonks, only Sirius does seem to need reminding about a promise he made.  We’ll be out of your hair once we knock some sense into him.” Remus looks at him very carefully, and Sirius can almost read his mind.  He can see the bonfire they’d had the first summer they’d been together, could hear the vow they’d made to always have each other’s backs.  Marauders forever.

“Stay as long as you like, boys.  I have some biscuits in the oven that will be ready in a little while, so when you’re ready come down for a snack,” Ted offers as he shakes hands with Remus and then Peter.

“Fresh baked biscuits?  Maybe Padfoot does know what he’s on about, staying here.”  Peter licked his lips.  He’d been the one, second year, to figure out the secret of the ticklish pear that lead into the kitchens.  The house elves loved him.

“I’ll take this lot upstairs so we don’t bother you.”  He gives his friends a pointed look and heads up the stairs, trying not to think about the fact that the bedroom he’d been using suddenly feels so much more like home when all four of them are crowded inside.  Remus is the one to cast a silencing charm, meaning he doesn’t have to keep his voice down when he speaks.  “Damn it, Prongs, what part of our conversation yesterday didn’t you understand?”

“The part where you seemed to suddenly forget the last six years and think you’re a lone wolf like that prat first year who wouldn’t talk to anyone for the first week of school.  No offense meant, Remus.”

“None taken,” Remus shrugs, sitting down on the trunk under the window.  Peter has already sprawled out on the bed.  James was pacing, like he often did when he was plotting a prank or coming up with wild schemes to get Evans to date him.

“It’s not the same.”  He’d been terrified that first week after the hat had sorted him into what he’d considered the wrong house.  His mother had sent him three howlers the first two days, and he knew that Dumbledore had gotten a howler as well.  He’d never asked McGonagall if she’d gotten one; it was too embarrassing to even contemplate.  He hadn’t wanted to get to know the boys he shared a room with, not when he was going to be moved in a matter of days.  Surely someone would realize that he couldn’t be a Griffindor.  Blacks were always in Slytherin.

He’d been scared of his family then, and he was scared of his family now.  Maybe it wasn’t so different, but the threat of his family was worse than it had been six years ago, or maybe he was finally understanding just what the Black name meant.  “It‘s not safe.”

“Neither was spending two years learning to be an animagus so you could spend full moons chasing after a werewolf.”  Remus rubs a scar on his forearm that Sirius swears is fading a little every year.  The fact that he hadn’t gotten a new scar in over a year is a victory that Sirius privately celebrated every morning after a moon.

“That’s different.”

“How?”  Remus stares at him until he has to look away.

“So Wormy, how long do you think we can hang around the Tonks place before they kick us all out?”  James plonks down on the bed.

“Well they’ve already put up with Padfoot for four or five days so their tolerance is pretty high.  Might be able to stretch it a couple of days.  A week at least if we find some chores to help with.  Longer if everyone remembers to shower.”  Peter glances at the door.  “You think those biscuits are ready?”

“We could go check and let the man of the house know we’ll be crashing here for a bit.”  James heads for the door, breaking the silencing charm as he opens it.  Peter is swift to follow.

“Moony.”  Sirius looks at him, hoping that he at least will understand.  Moony, he thinks, understands what’s coming with the war more than the rest of the group.  He knows at least some of what a family like the Blacks can do.

“We’re not leaving you alone, Sirius, no matter the risk.  You’re ours.”  Remus squeezes his hand as they stand in the doorway.  “It’s going to be okay, Pads.  We’ll figure this out the way we always do.  Together.”

Sirius thinks maybe he’d like to stand in the doorway for a while, the warmth of Moony’s hand in his, but everyone else is downstairs and he still has to find a way to convince them all to go home.  

II

“Puppy?”  After she is done with her biscuit Dora slides off her chair and runs to the kitchen door.

“We can look, love.”  Ted follows her, opening the door to reveal an empty back porch.

“No puppy,” Dora sighs, her lower lip sticking out.  “Want puppy.”

“There was a stray dog in the yard yesterday.  Dora quite enjoyed playing with him,” Andromeda explains to the boys at the table.  “It was quite funny, actually.  Sirius got her a stuffed animal for Christmas and the dog that showed up looked almost the same.”

“Black dogs are common enough,” Sirius comments, shooting a look across the table at James.

“Probably just a mutt,” Peter supplies helpfully, wincing when Sirius kicks him under the table.

“He’s probably in the doghouse now,” Remus arches one eyebrow as he looked sideways at Sirius.  “He might not be very good at listening.”

“I hope he has a good home.  He seemed to be such a nice dog.”  Ted lures his daughter back to the table with another biscuit.  She decides that Remus’s lap is where she wants to sit while eating it, and tugs at his sleeve until he picks her up.

“I’m sure he’s found a very nice home.  Most dogs are clever enough to go where they know they’re loved.”  James is smiling, most people might think he is making an idle comment but Sirius knows that look in his eyes.  He was not playing fair.

“Maybe he’s not looking for a home right now, but is wandering for a bit.”  Sirius looks across the table at James pointedly.

“He looked too well fed to be homeless, and despite the lack of collar he certainly wasn’t a matt.  He had good pedigree, you could tell that by looking.”  Andromeda, of course, has no idea of the second conversation that is happening right in front of her.  Her comment is enough to makes James choke on his biscuit, though.

“He had pedigree, Sirius.”

“Sod off, Prongs.”  He was going to give away at least one of their secrets if he wasn’t careful.  Andromeda is clever, and while she’d been out of the family for years she’d been raised on subterfuge and lies.

“Prongs,” Dora repeats.  Sirius is just glad that’s the part she has decided to mimic.

“We call him that because his head is pointed,” Sirius grouces.  “Not much room for a brain up there.

“I got just as many OWLS as you did, you berk,” James fired back.  It had been a matter of great amusement, the year before, that their score on their OWLS had been exactly the same.  Peter had nearly tied them, but was short by one O.  Remus had beat them all, of course, practically acing his exams.  Only his potions score kept him from being perfect.

“I was having an off day.”  He can’t keep from grinning, for a moment forgetting everything else as he slips into the familiar patter of fake insults.  Almost two weeks without his friends has been a lonely experience.

“I swear I can’t take you two anywhere.”  Remus rolls his eyes, breaking off a bit of his biscuit for the little girl on his lap.  She seems enthralled with him, her dark hair lightening into an auburn.  “I’m sorry, Mrs. Tonks, I’d say that they’re not always this bad but my mum taught me not to lie.”

“It’s Andromeda, please, and it’s good to see that Sirius has such support.”

“Whether he wants it or not.”  James leans back in his chair and looks at the back door that leads to the yard.  Sirius doesn’t like the look in his eye; his best mate is plotting something.  “Speaking of, you don’t mind if we borrow a bit of your yard, do you?  My parents have a tent we could borrow, don’t take up much space.  We wouldn’t want to impose, and we can manage all our own food.”

“You’re not staying here.”  For effect Sirius throws half of his biscuit at James’s head.

“Good, then you’ve decided to come home with me.”  James calmly catches the treat and pops it in his mouth.

“James.”

“If you think this is the safest place of you then it’s safe enough for all of us,” Remus points out calmly.  Sirius bites his lip hard enough to draw blood.  He can’t argue the point without making it sound like he’s willing to put his cousin’s family in danger.  He looks over at Andromeda, willing her to say something to derail the current conversation.

“I think a camp out in the backyard sounds like fun.”  Sirius stares at her in shock.  Damn it, that wasn’t what he was expecting.

II

“I’m sure they’re hoping you’ll join them.”  Sirius looks away from the window, pretending he hasn’t been staring at the shadows around the campfire in the backyard.  It’s dark enough that he can’t see much of their faces, but his mates are all sitting outside the tent and drinking bottles of butterbeer.

“They should be at home.”  Remus actually enjoys spending time with his parents, and Peter seems happy enough to go home for the hols.  James has the best parents it’s possible to have.

“They don’t seem to agree with you.”  Andromeda sits on the edge of his trunk, her leg not quite touching his.  “Ted wanted to come with me when I told mum and dad about being engaged.  I wouldn’t let him, couldn’t trust that they wouldn’t lash out at him.”

“So you get it.”  Their family is capable of a great measure of cruelty.

“I understand the fear and the desire to protect.  I also know that the first place I went after I told them was to Ted’s flat and I didn’t leave for three days straight.  I couldn’t bear to have him out of my sight.  The first time I saw my sisters and they walked past me as if I didn’t exist he was the one that was holding my hand.  When the only family member at my wedding was Uncle Alphard Ted promised that he would be my family until the day he died.”

“They’ve been my family since my first year at Hogwarts.”  James was the first person to make him laugh, nine days into first term.  Peter had snuck him food when the idea of going to dinner and facing a whole table of Slytherins whispering about him had been too much to handle.  And Remus, who he’d judged as quiet and odd had hexed his cousin when she’d made a cruel comment in the hall.  Since then they’d proven themselves a thousand times, while his blood family had only been belittling and hateful.  “That’s why I have to protect them.”

“It seems like they have the same idea regarding you.”  Andromeda looks out the window where the fire seems to be dwindling.  The tent flap is open, a light burning inside.  Last summer they’d taken the tent to the Quidditch World Cup.  It had been brilliant.  He and his friends had slept in bunk beds in one room while James’s parents had the second bedroom.  Euphemia had painted mehndi designs on their hands that swirled in gold and green, proud that India had made it to the finals.  Even Fleamont, who was secretly rooting for England, wore mehndi on his hands.  “Something’s coming, Siri, and I know that’s frightening and it’s going to get bad.  But I also know that turning our backs on everything good in our lives is exactly what the Black family would like to see.  Your mother wants you to think you’re alone.  To think that the only option you have is to be one of them.”

“I’ll never be one of them,” he swears fiercely.  

“Of course you won’t.”  Andromeda is full of surprises today; she kisses him on the forehead the same way he’s seen her kiss her daughter at bedtime, then gestures to the door.  “You’re welcome here anytime you want, Sirius, but I think there’s somewhere else you’re supposed to be right now.”

“Yeah.”  He’s not sure if this feeling of worry in his belly will ever leave him, or how long he’ll look over his shoulder for a member of his family.  But maybe he can protect the people that matter better by being with them.

Tomorrow he’ll worry about his trunk.  For now he heads down the stairs and out of the house to find that the fire has been dowsed with snow but the tent flap is still open.  He closes it behind him, following the sound of talking to the same bedroom he’s used before.  

“It’s about time.”  James is on the top of one bunk, the bed beneath him empty but made up with blankets and a pillow.

“We saved you some chocolate.”  Remus has the other bottom bunk; he’s never been fond of heights, not even something as mild as a top bunk.  Flying classes first year had been miserable for him.  He points to the chocolate frog on the pillow next to a bottle of butterbeer.

“My feet are freezing.”  Peter is pointing helplessly at his feet with his wand, but he’s never been very good at warming charms.

“That’s what happens when you have a campout in the snow.”  Sirius finds warming charms easy, probably because he’s used them on Remus often enough.  He’s always cold the morning after a moon.  He helps out his friend, who grins down at him.

“Does this mean you’re done being a stubborn git?” James asks, hanging over the edge of the bed, his hair even more wild then usual thanks to the assist from gravity.

“It means I’ve accepted my doomed future of having to share a bathroom with you for all eternity, knowing you steal my shampoo and shed hair all over the place.”  He catches the chocolate frog before it can hop away, viciously biting off a back leg.  

“Good, because the kidnapping plan had a few snags in it and this is so much easier.  Mum said she’d make a cake to celebrate and anything you want for dinner.  Dad says not to worry about anything, he’s already talked to Dumbledore about the change in address.  This is going to be brill.”  James’ excitement was infectious, and despite his worry Sirius couldn’t help grinning back.  No one had ever been excited to have him come home before.

James falls asleep as quickly as he does everything else, and within minutes there’s a soft snoring coming from above him.  Peter had fallen asleep almost the moment his feet warmed up.  Sirius rarely found sleep easy unless he’d completely physically exhausted himself first.  He’s just about to contemplate turning into Padfoot, which sometimes helps, when there’s a whisper from his left side.

“I’m glad you don’t have to go back there, Pads.  I’ve always dreaded holidays knowing you had a home like that.”  Remus speaks softly but Sirius can hear the concern in his voice.

“It hasn’t been home for a long time. Maybe it never was.”  He’s never been wanted by his parents, not in the way Euphemia and Monty so desperately wanted a son.  He was an asset, like a land holding or the contents of the family vault, only with less value.  “But it’s over now.  I’m never going to see my family again.”

“You see your family every day, Pads.  We’re right here.”

“Yeah, you are.”  It didn’t matter if it was a tent, or a dorm room, or the guest room at the Potters that was secretly being redecorated to welcome him.  It didn’t matter if the blood in their veins wasn’t the same.  He had his family and his home, and hadn’t lost any of it when he’d walked away from Grimmauld Place.  “G’night Moony.”

“Night Padfoot.  Sweet dreams.”

Sirius doesn’t remember his dreams the next day, but he wakes up feeling rested and more relaxed than he’s felt in months.

“Your cousin has invited us all for breakfast before we go home.”  James is already dressed and using a charm to clean his glasses.

“Good, I’m famished.”  He dresses quickly, joining his friends as they dash across the yard, dodging snowballs that they levitate at each other.  The kitchen smells like cinnamon and chocolate, and as they eat breakfast they make plans to come back for Sunday dinner.  His mother can’t forbid him from spending time with his cousin now, and he’d like to get to know Ted better too.

Monty and Euphemia are waiting for them when they get home, welcoming him with hugs and a meal comprised of all his favorite foods.  Remus and Peter stay for the first couple of days, the four of them taking shifts to make sure nothing happens.  Other than a howler from his mother all is silent on the Black front.  He almost doesn’t mind the howler because Freddie’s the one that delivers it and he knows enough to stay.  James is with his mum in the greenhouse and doesn’t hear it.  Monty’s there, though, and it’s the first time Sirius has heard him swear.  

“They’re just words, son,” he says when the howler explodes.  Sirius knows it’s not true, it’s more than that, but the hate is tempered by being called ‘son’ by someone who means it.

“Yeah.”  He takes Freddie to the owlery to get settled and joins James and his mum in the greenhouse where they’re transplanting a bloodspot into a larger pot.  

“Just in time, my dear.  Do you mind holding a few of these leaves out of the way?  They are too tender to use a freezing charm on them.”  James has dug the hole and Euphemia has the roots supported.  Between the three of them they get it settled into the new pot, the dirt anchoring it in place.  Pleased, Euphemia steps back to admire their work.  “Just right.”

“Just where it belongs,” James says, but he’s not looking at the plant.  Sirius rolls his eyes and sticks out his tongue, but he can’t disagree.  He didn't run away from home, he ran towards it.

[spookyrobbins]

what have we done (can i be undone?)

pairing: bellatrix x hermione

description:

in the midst of the hogwarts repairs, hermione granger comes across the absolute last person she expected to see.

xx

bellatrix black wakes up to hogwarts in ruin and the year is certainly not 1968.

chapter six. 

plenty more tears in the sea

links: ao3 || ffn 

“Why do you think she keeps passing out?” Hermione asked as Hagrid laid the prone body of Bellatrix Black down in the hospital wing. “I mean, this is the second time.” 

“Gentle, Hagrid,” scolded McGonagall when Hagrid almost knocked Bellatrix’s head into the bed frame. Hagrid grunted in response. “I’m afraid Miss Black’s condition is beyond my magical expertise. I have called in Poppy. I doubt Poppy would recognize Bellatrix in her current state and even so,” she cleared her throat, “I trust that Poppy would keep this to herself.” She fixed Hagrid with an even state. “The pandemonium that would ensue if her existence got out would be beyond anything we could contain.” 

Hagrid swallowed audibly and nodded. “Er, I best be gettin’ back to the forest. Lots to do.” Hagrid ran a hand through his beard, glancing between Hermione and the professor nervously. “I’ll be seein’ ya around.” He nodded again before making his way out of the hospital wing. 

“When will Madame Pompfrey be arriving?” Hermione brushed her fingertips over Bellatrix’s wrist, marveling at how delicate and breakable she seemed, like a porcelain doll. 

McGonagall pursed her lips. “Hopefully before the Minister arrives.” 

Hermione’s mouth fell open. “You called the Minister? What are you planning on telling him?” 

“I don’t know, Miss Granger,” sighed McGonagall, pinching at the bridge of her nose. “But the longer we wait, the worse it may be for Miss Black.” Hermione’s response was stalled by the flurried arrival of Poppy Pomfrey, fresh off a shift at St. Mungo’s. 

“Minerva, what is so urgent?” She stopped in front of Bellatrix. “Who is this? A student?” 

“Of sorts, it’s very complicated and I would be happy to appraise you of the situation after you have uncovered what is wrong.” 

Pomfrey furrowed her brow, but aquiested, turning back to Bellatrix. 

Hermione watched with fascination as the medi-witch performed a series of diagnostic tests over Bellatrix. Most of the time, Herrmione was on the receiving end of such tests and as such, had no opportunity to study the techniques. 

Pomfrey, after some long minutes of testing, looked up and motioned for Hermione. “Miss Granger, I need to examine the patient’s ribcage and chest.” Hermione gingerly lifted the patterned sweater she had lent Bellatrix, far too amused by the other witch’s moaning about wearing ugly muggle clothes. A gasp fell involuntarily from her mouth. 

The black bruise that Hermione had attempted to treat the previous day had spread even further up towards her chest. The magic radiating off of Bellatrix was so dark it made Hermione’s skin crawl. 

“Sweet mother of Morgana. It is as I suspected. Dark magic, very dark magic indeed has taken ahold of this girl.” 

“What can be done, Poppy?” 

Pomfrey shook her head, looking up to McGongall. “I can make her comfortable for now, but it will come down to her own strength. Both physically and that of her magical core. This is dark magic unlike any I’ve ever seen. It feels ancient, untouchable. I have a colleague at St. Mungo’s who specialises in the effect of dark curses, I think I will consult with her. For now, I can make the girl comfortable until she wakes, which may be any moment or may not be for a while. I’m sorry, there is little I can do.” Pomfrey looked down sadly at Bellatrix. “What is her name?” 

“Bella,” said Hermione quickly, briefly squeezing Bellatrix’s fingers. 

“I’ll be back shortly. I’m going to send a message to my colleague.” 

Hermione found herself fully engrossed by the young woman asleep before her. Her dark lashes brushed against pale cheeks with a faint smattering of freckles. Hermione wanted to reach out and touch and feel how soft Bellatrix’s skin would be. 

“Minerva, Miss Granger, is everything alright…?” Kingsley’s appearance thankfully broke Hermione out of her creepy trance as she snapped her attention to the new Minister of Magic. The man’s gaze fixed on Bellatrix in the bed. “Who is this?” In a few short steps, Kingsley covered the length of the hospital wing. He stared at Bellatrix for a few long moments, trying to place her. “Minerva?” 

“That is Bellatrix Black.” 

“Black? Not Lestrange?” 

“Miss Black appeared not two days ago, plucked out of 1968. She has no memory of her life after the 9th of May, 1968, which was the last month of her final year at Hogwarts. She has no memory of marrying Rodolphus Lestrange, or becoming a Death Eater, or Azkaban,” McGonagall explained in a cool tone. 

Hermione braced herself for the inevitable explosion that would come upon the revelation of their hiding of one of the most dangerous witches in Britain.  

But it never came.

“Time turner accident then?” 

“No,” Minerva explained the circumstances of Bellatrix’s arrival, of her reincarnation. 

Kingsley sank down onto one of the nearby beds, his head falling into his hands. “Minerva, Merlin, what do you expect me to do? It’s not as if she was insignificant between 1968 and 1998. I would say after Voldemort, her death would be the one most would celebrate. What do you expect me to do about this?” 

“That is why I have asked you to come.” 

Kingsley swept a hand towards Bellatrix. “Did you stupefy her or something? Why is she asleep?” 

“She’s been having fainting spells. According to Poppy, it is the result of ancient magic.” Hermione quirked an eyebrow at McGonagall’s omission of Pomfrey’s assessment of dark magic. If even the faintest hint of dark magic was sensed around Bellatrix, the Ministry would happily obliterate her. 

Neither of the adults in the room spoke for a long while until Kingsley said, “You’ve put me in a terrible position, Minerva.”

“I understand, Kingsley,” began McGonagall, her steady voice betrayed by the way her eyes darted towards Bellatrix’s prone figure. “Perhaps for now, it would be for the best if Miss Black  remained here in secret. A leak to the public would only cause panic.” 

“A panic is the last thing we need at the moment.” Kingsley removed his glasses, revealing dark circles. “Do you know what kind of ‘ancient magic’ has afflicted her? Have you spoken with Albus?”

McGonagall shook her head. “I have consulted with Albus, which is how we determined that this was Miss Black. It’s still unclear exactly how she ended up here. Poppy is reaching out to a colleague of hers who specializes in dark and ancient magic at St. Mungo’s. Hopefully we will know more with their help.” 

The small part of Hermione’s mind that was solely focused on academic work couldn’t help but be thrilled by the potential of meeting an advanced healer. It was an area of research that Hermione had been intimately concerned with practically from the moment she met Harry Potter, but resources on the subject were few and far between. To have the opportunity to not only meet, but also observe a treatment would be amazing. 

The rest of her was highly concerned with the impending trouble of what Kingsley might do upon Bellatrix’s waking. 

(And she was certainly not thinking about the fact that she was still holding Bellatrix’s hand.)   

xx 

For what felt like the millionth time in the past few days, Bella was woken by the sensation of not being able to breathe. She clawed at her throat, her eyes still heavy from the darkness. 

The entirety of the time she was in darkness, it was as if she was falling. There were flashes. Flashes of faces that she didn’t recognize. Screams that felt as if they might tear at her skin. So much of it she didn’t recognize, except for one thing. Except for the crackling red light that had filled her nightmares longer than anything else. But it wasn’t the usual voice casting the curse. It almost sounded as if were her voice. 

“Bellatrix, you have to stop. You’re hurting yourself!” Someone finally managed to tear her hands away from her throat, half their body covering hers. “Bella!” 

Bella’s eyes flew open. 

Barely a wands-breadth away from her face was a pair of warm brown eyes, wide and terrified and again, so familiar. 

“Granger?” The other girl shifted slightly away from her, her fingers still tight around Bella’s wrist. “Granger,” she sighed with relief as she focused on the weight over her, letting it ground her. “Why’re you always staring at me?”

Granger rolled off of Bella, dropping her wrists as if Bella’s skin burned her. “You were trying to claw your own skin off.” Wordlessly, she summoned a mirror from the other side of the ward. 

Bella almost wished that this was the worst she had ever looked, bright red scars crisscrossing over her neck, but tragically, like most things in her life, it wasn’t. “Oh….” She traced a finger gingerly over the deepest mark where a thin bloody line had emerged. “What happened?” 

“You passed out again. Did you, you know, see anything maybe? The nurse thinks your fainting spells are linked to the black mark on your side.” Granger gestured to Bella’s damaged ribs. 

Bella blinked slowly, the edges of her vision still foggy. “I, hm, maybe. I’m not sure. Have you ever gone in a Pensieve?” Granger shook her head. “It was almost like that, but as if you were falling through it, rather than actually viewing a memory.” 

“What did you see?” 

Bella scrubbed a hand over her face roughly. “I-I-I don’t quite know. It was only flashes of things. Like faces I don’t recognize, but they seem familiar. And so, so much screaming.” Bella shuddered violently as a wave of cold crashed through her. To her surprise, Granger gingerly rubbed her arm as if to comfort her. “It was terrifying.”

“I’m sure, Le-Bellatrix. I can’t imagine it. How horrifying everything…” But Granger caught herself before she said anything further on the screams. Bella was so sick of the secrets, but Granger spoke before she could press the issue, “So you saw faces and heard screams? Could you make out any words?” Bella turned away from Granger, one word, in particular, echoing in her mind. “Bella, please.” The soft sound of her name, spoken in such gentle, caring way, caused her to turn back to Granger. “What did you hear? Anything could help you at this point.” 

“Not this word.” 

“Just tell me. It can’t be that bad.” 

Bella let out a high pitched laugh, her voice cracking on it. She purposefully chose to ignore the flinch that crossed Granger’s face. “Crucio.” At this, Granger all but lept away from her. Her skin went an ashy shade as her eyes widened in what Bella knew must be fear. 

Almost imperceptively, if not for the deathly silence of the hospital wing, Granger’s breath picked up. “Th-th-the Cruciatus curse?” 

“Yes,” Bella said shortly. “Only, it, it was the wrong voice.” 

“The wrong voice?”

Bella nodded. “It was my voice. Or I think it was. And there was so much light.”

Even more blood drained from Granger’s face as the girl moved towards the door, her hands trembling slightly. “I-I need to go speak to Professor McGonagall. There’s a healer coming from St. Mungo’s to check you and they’ll be coming through the Floo in her office so I’m sure we’ll be back soon. There’s, uh, feel free to read my book. I think you’d enjoy it.” Without another glance towards Bella, Granger took off like a fox fleeing a hound. 

Bella ignored the foreign ache in her ribcage as she pulled up the borrowed sweater to examine the bruise. A small gasp escaped her lips. It no longer looked like a bad Quidditch hit. No, now it stretched across her torso, as if reaching towards her heart. 

“What the actual Hades…?” 

Shaking her head a bit, she figured there was no point messing with it while she waited for the healer. 

“Gone With the Wind, oh great, I’m sure this will be the pinnacle of Muggle brilliance,” she scoffed, but opened the first page anyway. 

xx 

Hermione all but burst into the Headmistress’s office, her heart still pounding in her chest like a rabbit’s. 

“Hermione, is everything alright?” McGonagall was at her feet in an instant, moving quickly past Kingsley to catch Hermione’s arm before she stumbled over the stones. 

Hermione sucked in sharply. “I’m sorry, sorry for intruding like this, Professor, Minister.” 

Kingsley waved her apology away. “There is no need for such formality, Hermione.” 

Hermione nodded sharply, slightly shifting her weight away from McGonagall. “Uh, she’s awake.”

“Thank you for telling us so promptly, but you could’ve sent a Patronus or an elf.” McGonagall was still appraising her carefully as if searching for some hidden wound. “Are you sure you’re quite alright?” 

Hermione’s hands twisted into the sleeves of her sweater, tugging at any loose string she could find. “I asked her if she could recall anything. She said there were faces she didn’t recognize and screaming. Lots of screaming.” 

“Azkaban,” declared Kingsley, his voice low and solemn. “Within weeks, all the inmates can think to do is scream. It is truly a breeding ground for madness.” 

Hermione’s expression pinched and a brief tangent on prison reform floated to the forefront of her mind, but she pushed on. “She also said she could hear one word through all the screaming. Crucio. But, but she said that it was the ‘wrong voice’, that it was her voice. Do you think she could be remembering her life?” 

McGonagall shoved a bit of chocolate into Hermione’s hand. Where she got it from, Hermione had no clue, but nibbled at it nonetheless. 

“From what Minerva has told me, the Bellatrix who is currently in the hospital wing exists slightly outside of our reality as she is physically and mentally Bellatrix Black, but she exists after Bellatrix Lestrange’s death. Have you heard of the Muggle theory of past life regression or remembrance?” 

Hermione scoffed, “The sort of thing you’d see on late-night telly?”

Kingsley chuckled, “Precisely. Perhaps Miss Black is experiencing only brief moments or images from her later life rather than remembering its entirety.” 

“I suppose that’s possible. But it doesn’t explain why she keeps fainting.” Hermione conceded after finishing off her bit of chocolate. “The fainting and the flashes seem to be directly linked to the magic on her body.” 

“And her emotions, but I suppose Miss Black has always had a close relationship between her emotions and her magic,” McGonagall inserted, an almost wistful look on her lined face. 

“Is that,” Hermione began, but paused until McGonagall motioned for her to continue, “Is that why she went so mad and her magic became so corrupted?” 

“Perhaps. As Kingsley said, Azkaban breeds madness and Bellatrix, with her family history, would be at special risk for madness. The emotional connection with her magic would only worsen it. It is part of what makes her such a dangerous dueller, that she taps into instinct and emotion, rather than intellect as she fights. Rather like Mr. Potter, I’d say.” 

Kingsley hummed in acknowledgment, his gaze lingering on Snape’s portrait, which was conspicuously empty. “We still have the issue of what to do with her. Obviously we can’t reveal her to the public, but sooner or later people will recognize her.” 

“She does have a rather recognizable face,” Hermione said as images of bright eyes and wild hair flashed before her. 

“And most of the wizarding population has become intimately acquainted with it,” Kingsley continued, “Even if she is thirty some years younger and without the impact of Azkaban, I think many would make the connection.” 

“For now, I suggest she remains at Hogwarts. There will be few visitors at the castle for nearly four months, giving us further time to come up with a plan. Perhaps, if you would be amenable to it, Minister, you could send an Unspeakable to run further tests on Miss Black. If there’s a chance she can be returned to her time, I think that would be in everyone’s best interest.” 

As the two adults discussed the logistics of an Unspeakable at Hogwarts, Hermione couldn’t help the strange twinge in her chest at the idea of Bellatrix leaving. On the one hand, she was terrifying and her potential for violence and terror cast fear into Hermione’s heart. But on the other, all Hermione could see was a brilliant girl who had her potential snuffed out at seventeen. 

Even as she ruminated on Bellatrix’s potential innocence as she was now, that prickle of fear when Bellatrix had said Crucio reappeared. There was no denying the deep wounds Lestrange had imprinted upon Hermione both physically and mentally and she wasn’t sure if she’d ever be free of them. Everyone carrying scars from the war, but few were as emotionally taxing as the one carved into Hermione’s arm. 

To put it frankly, Hermione wasn’t sure if she’d ever be able to separate the bright-eyed Bella from the manic Bellatrix. 

xx 

Bella was curled up on one of the beds in the hospital wing, waiting for the medi-witch to arrive. 

The magic along her torso felt like it was slowly eating away at her, corrupting her. 

Whoever this witch was, she hoped they could at least tell her what was happening. 

She had just been introduced to Rhett Butler and found him to be a rather infuriating character when the fireplace in front of her bloomed green flames. 

A witch emerged, shaking soot from her hair. 

The witch’s face was so familiar, just older than when Bella had last seen her. 

“Andy?” Bella’s voice cracked on her sister’s name. Everything in this time was so strange and unfamiliar to her: the broken castle, Headmistress McGonagall, screeching elves, the lot of it. So to see her most beloved sister’s face was a balm unlike any other. “Andy, it’s really you!” 

She launched at Andromeda, her book long forgotten. She wrapped her arms around her sister’s neck, burying her face there. Andromeda still wore the same perfume, even after all these years. It was as close to the smell of home as Bella ever would get. The soft notes of gardenia never ceased to settle Bella from even her most dangerous states. 

But it was gone too soon as Andromeda pushed her away, her eyes wide and wild. 

“Bellatrix!” Andromeda had never said her name with so much, with so much hatred. “Get away from me, you, you monster!” 

“Andy?” Bella’s lip trembled as she stared at her sister. “Andy, please…” 

“Stay back.” 

But Bella had never been very good at listening to directions and took a step towards her sister. “Andy, it’s me, it’s Bella.” Bella stumbled back as Andromeda punched her, her wedding ring slicing across Bella’s left cheek. 

“Oh god,” Andromeda gasped, taking a step towards Bella, but Bella stumbled back, trying to fight the fog threatening to overtake her mind. 

Bella didn’t linger to hear what Andromeda had to say. She just took off running. She wasn’t even aware of where her feet took her until she collapsed at the top of the Astronomy Tower. Her chest ached painfully as if her heart was trying to escape her ribcage.

Something dropped onto her hand, shocking her slightly. She glanced down to find a dark droplet of blood on her pale skin. The moonlight made it almost luminescent. She brushed her fingers along her cheek as blood spilled from the cut along her cheek. 

It was too much. Too much. That Andy, her Andy would raise a hand to her. 

After everything Bella went through to protect her. 

Of course, Bella would do anything to protect both her sisters. But what she was doing and had done to save Andy. 

Did this mean she failed? 

It must be. She must have failed to protect her. 

The voices of two little girls came softly to Bella as she curled into a corner of the Astronomy Tower. 

“Andy, can you hold Cissy for a while? You havta keep her sleeping.” 

“Of course, Bella. Cissy loves me holding her.” 

“You hold Cissy and stay quiet while I go down stairs and talk to Father.” 

“Where’s Mother?” 

“In the bottle, I’m sure. Don’t you worry, little bird, I’ll always keep you safe.” 

“I’ll always keep you safe. I’ll always keep you safe.” Bella kept repeating the words over and over to herself, rocking slightly as the cool night air cut through her sweater. “I’ll always keep you safe.” 

[tmvoldemort]

@thestrongestmagic

Bella was bored, she had been bored since she had first found herself married to King Rodolphus. She knew that she had been elevated above all others and yet she had expected more from him. She had been looking for a touch of adventure in her life, of something more than just the endless parade of royal duties and conforming once more to the expected behaviours. She was Bellatrix of House Lestrange, once Bellatrix of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. There were many who whispered her name in fear of her extraordinary magical abilities. She had forged her own reputation above that of her husband and yet it wasn’t enough. There was still something missing and she couldn’t figure out exactly what it was. At least, that was true until the knight in the black armour had accepted the challenge.

She leaned forward slightly in her seat when he announced he would fight the champion. His eyes glittered and she was drawn in, intrigued, her own dark eyes shining with the prospect of something of genuine interest actually happening.

“May I know your name Sir Knight?” It was phrased as a question but it wasn’t, it was a demand that he would be best not to refuse.

At being addressed the Black Knight laid his hand upon his metal chest and bent at the waist. His lower head was pointed to the Grand Lady. As she sat above and away on her raised platform. 

He could feel the self importance in her tone. Knowing she was use to getting what she wanted. The Noble Lady could not see it for his visor was down but he was smirking, amused.

“Oh Honorable one. Daughter of Ravens and hosanna on high,” He said a bit flowery, “have your Knight defeat me and you may pry it from my dead lips.”

There came a gasp from the onlookers. A few clicked their tongue and shook their head. Seeing The Black Knight as a fool who likely would get a lashing from The Queen. If not worse.

A few shifted to look around for who had sponsor this Knight to fight, likely to suffer the same fate as him. Little did they know it was The Dark Lord Voldemort who had put himself into the tournament. A rues to get in pass the Queens men. It had been fair to easy. 

The Queen’s champion step forward enraged. He was the King’s younger brother in fact. Smaller, slender and far less threatening then the older. Prince Rastaban spew vile words at Lord Voldemort. Calling in to question the nature of The Black Knights birth, his hygiene and even lacking of brains. 

Finally Rastaban called for his sword, “Put to rest this bastard filth.”

The Black Knight stood calm and ready himself. Not swaying from the taunts. In fact Voldemort would used the outrage to his advantage. Long having study the Queen’s favorite Knight. Knowing Rastaban hot temper made his judgement poor.

The Black Knight did not bother to make a show of his skills. A quick few choice hits and he had the man on his back. Voldemort’s blade to fallen mans expose throat and his foot pressing hard into his chest.

“Yield,” Said The Black Knight, “Yield or I shall free your head from your shoulders. It is your choice. It will not trouble me.”

The Black Knight turn to gaze back up at Queen Bellatrix, “Better yet, how about at the Lady’s request?”

He dug his foot hard into Rastaban chest until the other was gasping.

[callwrites]

BENEATH THE WILLOW TREE: Chapter I

This is, at some level, a love story. But before Andromeda’s name was burned from the tapestry of her family tree, before she took Ted’s name and Ted’s ring, she was Andromeda Black; a girl caught between worlds. This is the story of how that came to be.

read on a03 @Linquist 

Narcissa’s hand gripped Andromeda’s arm so tight she  was sure it would leave a mark. On her other side, Bellatrix’s elbow dug into her ribs and she could vaguely hear Valerian growling lowly in distaste. But the discomfort only lasted a couple seconds before the pressure was replaced with the stifling heat of the platform.

“Merlin, I despise apparition,” gasped Narcissa, stepping away from Andromeda and the cat whose voice was slowly rising into a yowl.

“It isn’t so unpleasant when done by a wizard,” said Bellatrix stiffly, also instinctively stepping away from her sister and her distressed pet. Bellatrix’s own dark gray owl, Wenlock, eyed them all judgmentally; displeased but without a feather out of place. “Thank you, Winny,” she added as an afterthought.

“Yes, thank you, Winny,” agreed Andromeda, offering a small smile to the little house elf who had been holding Bellatrix’s other hand.

Winny lit up at the praise, which did little to improve her features. The ancient house elf was more wrinkle than elf at this point, bent in on herself and leaning on an old chair leg that had been fashioned into a cane.

“Of course, mistresses,” squeaked the elf. “Winny hopes you have a wonderful year at school.”

“Narcissa, thank Winny.” Andromeda frowned at their youngest sister, but Narcissa was already tugging at the robe of her sleeve.

“Oh, please, Meda, can I please come to the prefects compartment?” She begged for possibly the millionth time that day. “I’ll be completely quiet, I won’t say a word.”

With a crack, Winny disapparated back to the estate; causing a fourth year nearby to almost jump out of their skin.

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” said Andromeda with an unlady-like snort. “And Bellatrix already told you no. I know you just want to get a peep at Lucius.”

At this, Narcissa flushed bright red. “I-”

“And if Lucius ever took a real look at you, I’d skin him,” threatened Andromeda.

“She could do worse.” Bellatrix pointed out, fingering the lock on Wenlock’s cage.

“When she’s a third year, I’m not sure she could,” said Andromeda with the sigh of someone who had said this many, many times.

“I’m turning 14 in two months,” complained Narcissa.

“And if you like your boyfriend with his skin attached you won’t try flirting with him,” Andromeda replied in a sing-song voice. “Then I’d be out of a prefect partner.”

Narcissa scowled, but had to stifle her smile when Andromeda pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“Now go, I can see Alecto and Amycus trying to wave you down. Poor Amycus’s heart would break clean in two if he knew who you really pined for.”

If possible, Narcissa flushed a deeper red. But a few train cars down, Alecto was waving for her friend and Narcissa reluctantly scampered off to join them.

“You’re too hard on her,” drawled Bellatrix. “You know Mum’s been encouraging her little crush all summer.”

“She’s too young, Bella,” sighed Andromeda. “Let her have silly crushes on boys her own age before you try to marry her off.”

The sisters made their way onto the train, Bellatrix waving her wand so their trunks and carriers lifted themselves up the steps and floated in front of them. “You know Mum will be depending on you to make sure she keeps the right company next year,” reminded Bellatrix for the thousandth time. “She won’t be happy to hear you chasing off appropriate suitors.”

“I know, Bella,” said Andromeda patiently. “But it isn’t like I chased her into a compartment of Gryffindors to talk about muggle studies. She’s with the Carrows.”

Bellatrix reached the prefect’s compartment first, which already contained several familiar faces. Narcissa’s beau in question sat by the window, conversing quietly with Evan Rosier, the 6th year prefect. Opposite, two Hufflepuff prefects and a Ravenclaw were talking in low voices. The Ravenclaw in particular cast a cold and appraising glance over at Bellatrix and Andromeda. She snorted, seeming to not like what she saw, and turned back to the Hufflepuff boy.

But standing in the center of the compartment was someone very familiar to them indeed, checking something off a sheet of parchment with an eagle feather quill.

“Rodolphus,” nodded Bellatrix.

“Bella,” he nodded back, then smiled slightly. “Andie.”

“Rod.” She smiled. “Settling into autocracy already?”

“It’s a natural gift,” said Rodolphus sagely, then glanced at Bellatrix who looked impatient. “After you two we’re just missing the Gryffindors and a couple of the Ravenclaws. We should be able to get started soon.”

Bellatrix sighed, waving their suitcases up over the seats. “Leave it to the Gryffindors.”

Andromeda took hold of Wenlock’s cage and Valerian’s carrier. She carefully stowed Wenlock off to the side of the compartment with some of the other owls, but kept Valerian at her feet. The cat had finally settled down after the traumatic apparition, but Valerian always was a nervous traveler.

While they waited, Rodolphus sat down beside her and nudged her side. She smiled at him and received one in return, causing the shadows under his eyes to soften. He was far more handsome when he smiled, though in fairness he never looked bad. His dark hair somehow always looked soft and perfectly smooth. His features had grown more defined over the summer, she realized; his jaw sharper, his cheekbones more pronounced. Normally she never noticed the minute changes that happened over time. She saw him too often. But this summer, she’d only had a couple weeks with him at their family estates in France. He’d even lost the last of the tan he had gained from their walks on the coast. But his eyes were the same: hazel and kind whenever they settled on her.

Across the compartment, Bellatrix raised an eyebrow at her and mouthed the words ‘too young’.

Andromeda rolled her eyes. This was different. Narcissa was only thirteen and Andromeda hardly believed she was in love with Rodolphus. He was her friend, her person. He had been so since they were children when she would follow him through their families’ formal parties, clutching at the back of his robes. Sure, they both knew where it was going; precisely where their parents had encouraged it to go practically since birth. But Andromeda counted herself lucky.

Her future was known, secure with a man who knew her well and treated her kindly. She shuddered to imagine being in Bellatrix’s shoes, knowing her distaste for the ‘afternoon teas’ she had been forced to sit through all summer as parade after parade of mothers and their sons visited the manor.

The last two prefects arrived, rowdy Gryffindors who were playfully shoving each other as they walked in. They settled with only a hard stare from Bellatrix, a skill which Andromeda had always envied.

Rodolphus cleared his throat. “Good morning, prefects. Welcome back. I am Rodolphus Lestrange, I’ll be your Head Boy for this year.”

“Bellatrix Black,” Bellatrix put in, glancing around dismissively at the gathered prefects. “Head Girl.”

Rodolphus launched into a basic explanation of prefect duties and Andromeda allowed her mind to wander as Bellatrix took over the explanation on patrols and how they would get their schedules. She knew the duties well enough, both in following Bellatrix around on enough patrols and from her mother’s instructions. Prefect wasn’t an extracurricular option for the Black girls. If there was a measurement of excellence, they would achieve it.

Outside the train window, they had finally left the urban setting of London behind. Her thoughts were already flying ahead to Hogwarts, causing butterflies to erupt in her stomach. Perhaps butterflies was not the right word. These felt much heavier and nauseating than butterflies; slugs perhaps. Fifth year was the start of O.W.L.s. Another measurement where nothing less than perfection would be tolerated. The thought alone had Andromeda wringing her hands in her lap.

Bellatrix was wrapping up her explanation of patrol schedules and Rodolphus tapped twice on her knee. She tapped back. It had been their ritual since they were children, not allowed to speak out of turn. Tapping first was a question. Tapping twice back meant ‘I’m okay’.

But apparently Rodolphus was also making sure she was listening, because he didn’t then wrap up the meeting to let them patrol the train or return to their compartments.

“Dumbledore asked me to address a couple things,” said Rodolphus, clearing his throat. “After the events of this summer, he wants everyone to feel assured we are taking student safety seriously.”

“Oh, I bet you care about every student’s safety, Lestrange.” The surly Ravenclaw from earlier snorted.

“Something to add, Meadowes?” Rodolphus asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Nothing at all,” she said and crossed her arms.

“For that reason, there will be a few changes this year.” Rodolphus went on as if he hadn’t been interrupted. “Patrols will be done in pairs, no exceptions. If you need to reschedule, you will have to trade patrol partners with someone. If you have a conflict, you’ll need to let Bellatrix or I know a week in advance.”

“That’s unreasonable!” Cried a Gryffindor. “We have quidditch practice and assignments!”

“You’re a prefect,” Rodolphus said coldly. “At this point, you are expected to know how to balance your responsibilities.”

“Prefects will also be required to patrol during Hogsmeade.” added Bellatrix, seeming displeased with the safety measures. “We’ll sort out a schedule once we are notified of this year’s Hogsmeade weekends. There will also be a curfew of 9pm. Students will need to check in with a prefect when they return to the common room at night to ensure everyone is accounted for.”

“Professors are able to give permission slips for studying or detentions,” said Rodolphus. “But they will need to be given a day in advance. 7th year prefects will be given a list of their house after the sorting and will be in charge of their students this evening, but we will be sending out a schedule sometime tomorrow.”

“Isn’t this a lot to ask of prefects?” Abigail Clearwater, the 6th year Slytherin prefect, asked with uncertainty.

“I'm certainly glad.” A Hufflepuff girl said nervously. “One of the girls in my dorm was at Diagon during the attack this summer.”

The Hufflepuff next to her patted her hand comfortingly, but Bellatrix went on as if she hadn’t spoken.

“If anyone doesn’t feel up to the task,” she frowned, “they may turn in their badge with either Lestrange or myself. It hardly seems to me like the Headmaster has picked the best this year,” said her sister derisively, finally looking at the two Hufflepuffs. Andromeda was pretty sure they were both muggleborns and the girl flinched under Bellatrix’s cold stare.

“That will be all then,” Rodolphus finished with a clap of his hands. “Collect your schedules and you are free to go. It will include your patrols for the train ride.”

Bellatrix had the schedules for the girls, so Andromeda held back while the other prefects flocked around the head boy and girl. When all the others had collected theirs and departed, only Bellatrix, Rodolphus, Andromeda, and Lucius were left in the compartment.

Bellatrix tossed the last schedule at Andromeda and collapsed onto the seat opposite her.

“I still can’t believe we have to go so far out our way for the safety of a bunch of mudbloods and blood traitors,” Lucius Malfoy grumbled.

“It wasn’t only muggleborns at Diagon Alley this summer,” Andromeda pointed out. “Azalia Greengrass was in St. Mungo’s for three days after the attack.”

“But Hogwarts is not Diagon Alley,” argued Lucius, lip curling. “And certainly no one is going to be attacking one of us here.”

“Merlin only knows with Dumbledore,” sighed Bellatrix. “He allowed three mudbloods to become prefect this year.”

“It will be good for us to maintain appearances,” Rodolphus frowned. “Discretion will be wise given recent events.”

The other three exchanged a look and, not for the first time, Andromeda felt like she was out of place among them. They had always spent so much time together, both before and at Hogwarts. During breaks they had practically been inseparable. But this past summer, she had hardly seen Lucius and Rodolphus. Even Bellatrix had rarely stayed at their summer estate for long. It had begun to feel like they were all part of a club to which she didn’t belong, which she knew wasn’t far from the truth.

“I’m going to go find Camelia and Alder,” she mumbled, taking hold of Valerian’s carrier and shuffling to her feet. “I’ll see you all at the feast.”

“Hold on a second, Andromeda,” called Rodolphus. “I’ll come with you, I have my patrol anyways.”

Her heart was still sinking somewhat, even as he got to his feet to follow her into the corridor. But she kept her expression even as he slid the door closed behind them and placed a hand on her back.

“Haven’t gotten to see you in weeks,” he said as they walked and it sounded apologetic. “I’m sorry for how chaotic things have been.”

“I understand,” Andromeda said with a small smile. “I know your father has you readying for the estate.”

He flushed slightly, rubbing the back of his neck. He often seemed uncomfortable whenever the subject of his duties came up and it only had seemed to grow worse in recent months. “Yes, well, I’d much rather have spent the summer with you . The rest of the summer was … uneventful?” He asked and it was Andromeda’s turn to flush.

“Yes,” she said, a little harsher then she intended. “I mean … I mostly just spent it on the estate,” she said more quietly. “I learned a few new pieces on the piano.”

“I didn’t mean … I just….” he broke off, flushing again. “Well, I’d love to hear them sometime.”

“Sounds like a date,” smiled Andromeda as she spotted Camelia and Alder in the compartment next to them, already drowning in sweets. She leaned up on her toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I’ll see you at the feast?”

“It’s a date,” he repeated with a strained smile and let his hand fall away as she slipped into the compartment and closed the door behind her.

“Your beau let you go?” Camelia asked with a raised eyebrow as Andromeda let Valerian out in the much calmer compartment. The fluffy white cat purred as she stretched and nosed around for Alder’s familiar offered hand.

“He’s not my beau,” Andromeda said airily, but she was smiling. “And he didn’t ‘let’ me do anything. I was on my way and he walked with me.”

“I don’t know how you like him,” Alder shuddered. “He gives me the creeps.”

“How was your summer?” Andromeda asked, ignoring his comment. “Did you get my gifts?”

“Nearly had to face my little sisters in hand to hand combat for the last of the macarons,” joked Camelia. “But nothing exciting. Mum wanted me to start looking at internships, but I persuaded her that it wouldn’t make sense until I had my O.W.L.s.”

“It’s been miserable since I wrote,” Alder said glumly. “You remember my cousin Molly?” The two girls nodded, remembering the red-haired girl who had graduated last year. The two never spoke, hardly acknowledging each other. “She eloped with that Weasley bloke and Mum has been wailing ever since. I mean it was hardly any secret that that side of the family were blood traitors, so I don’t know why she is making such a big deal of it now. You’d think Molly’d broken off an engagement to Salazar Slytherin and eloped with a muggle the way she’s carrying on.”

“I can’t imagine what Aunt Walburga would do if I’d done the same,” Andromeda joked weakly and both of her friends winced.

Valerian was pawing at the seat beside her, so Andromeda swept aside Bertie Bott’s containers and pumpkin pasty wrappers to make room for the cat. Feeling Andromeda pat the empty space, she dutifully hopped up, circled a few times, and then curled up purring.

Andromeda remembered Molly from the few encounters they’d had. She hadn’t seemed too bad, if a bit strange - especially her interest in that odd Arthur Weasley fellow. But Bellatrix had hated her and frequently returned from prefect meetings raging that Dumbledore had allowed two of the biggest blood traitors at Hogwarts to be prefect. While Andromeda understood to keep her distance, she had never quite grasped what had been so particularly offensive to her sister.

But Andromeda’s words left a moment of discomfort in the compartment. Both friends understood that any pressures from their families had nothing on what it meant to be a Black. Druella had been displeased with even Andromeda’s choice of friends - despite them both being Sacred Twenty-Eight. But they were Ravenclaws and not of the same ‘class’ as the Blacks, Lestranges, and Malfoys. Andromeda was sure it was only Bellatrix’s assurances of Andromeda’s otherwise spotless behavior that kept her parents from cutting off the friendships.

“Ah, well, why would you elope when you’re likely to get drowned in galleons for your wedding,” Camelia teased, perhaps a little too late to feel totally natural. “Is it a Lestrange honeymoon tradition to shower your new spouse in jewels, or do you think that will just be because you're you?”

“Shut up,” Andromeda said with a roll of her eyes, but she was smiling.

They settled into a more relaxed conversation about how they had spent the couple weeks since their last letters, before focusing on the sweets that still had yet to be tackled. Andromeda’s turn for prefect rounds finally came in the last hour of the train ride, so she left Valerian in the care of her friends - who were crinkling up wrappers and tossing them for the blind cat to hear and give chase.

The train corridor was darker now, the yellow lights flickering as the shadowy silhouettes of the Scottish mountainside flashed past. Dusk had settled too much for Andromeda to make out details as she walked farther down the train. She periodically glanced into compartments, occasionally waving to familiar faces, and once breaking up a fight between two second years with a threat of telling McGonagall once they arrived. After so many hours on the train, most had settled, already changed into their robes, and were unlikely to wander far. Her patrol was uneventful, therefore, and her evening quiet.

She made it to the back of the train, alerted two seventh years that the loo was not the most subtle of places to snog, and began the process of wandering back towards the front. She’d have to make a write up of her patrol, but both the second years and the seventh years had cleared out and calmed down without any trouble. She didn’t feel the need to report them to lose house points when they hadn’t even arrived yet. A first year nervously tugged at her robes and asked where they would need to go when they arrived, but once she had sent them back to their compartment with answers and a chocolate frog, nothing much else occurred.

Most of her hour patrolling was up when she finally reached the front of the train. She was considering making for the trolley and fetching a glass of pumpkin juice when she realized the door to the prefect compartment was slightly ajar and familiar, frustrated voices were drifting out.

“-know Cissy and Meda aren’t fighters,” Bellatrix snapped. “It is okay, since it is clear they’re both going to make good matches, but you know it is even more important that he does not doubt her loyalty.”

“I understand that!” Rodolphus answered sharply. “He has no reason to. Unless you’re suggesting something?”

“Don’t start that with me!” She hissed and Andromeda pressed herself against the wall between the prefect compartment and the end of the train car. It sounded like they were the only two left in there. “Andromeda has always kept herself in line. But that doesn’t explain why he expressed his concern for my sister’s loyalties. He certainly didn’t mean Narcissa. She’s a child.”

Andromeda’s heartrate picked up. She had a good idea of who Bellatrix and Rodolphus were talking about. Their father had sung his praises enough times over the dinner table. Until this summer, Andromeda hadn’t even truly thought he was real. She had thought him just a rumor that people like Cygnus and Druella Black wanted to believe in. But then her sister and Rodolphus turned 17 that summer. Pollux Rodolphus had brought them both to a ‘meeting’ and that was when things had really begun to change.

Summers before had always been spent with each other, their summer estates close enough that their families were always together. If it wasn’t all of them, it was Rodolphus and Andromeda. But that summer they both disappeared for weeks at a time. Rod would return looking exhausted, Bella almost manic . But why would he  be saying anything to Bella about her ? Unless Rod had told him … but he wouldn’t. He promised.

“There’s nothing he would have to be concerned about,” Rodolphus said firmly, but Andromeda didn’t think it sounded convincing. “And you know our families are just waiting until I’ve graduated to make the formal announcement. Once we’re married, he’ll welcome her.” He said this with more confidence.

At these words, Andromeda shivered. She was not sure she wanted to be welcomed by him, regardless of how her father seemed to like his ideas. The reverent way her relatives spoke of him, like he was some kind of deity frightened Andromeda. She was perfectly content keeping her distance. Even Bellatrix’s involvement seemed too close.

“You had better convince him,” Bellatrix threatened, but she too sounded afraid. “I am not losing my sister, Rodolphus.”

“You won’t,” he promised fervently. “I’ll take care of her, I always have.”

Andromeda softened slightly. Then someone cleared their throat on the other side of the prefect cart door - causing Andromeda to jump and something to knock over within the prefect cart.

The sour-looking Ravenclaw prefect, the one Rodolphus called Meadowes, stood watching her from where she had emerged from the front of the train. She raised an eyebrow as she took a slow lick on the blood-red lollipop in her hand. Andromeda froze where she stood, having clearly been eavesdropping.

Meadowes was a small thing - almost a foot shorter than Andromeda, who wasn’t that tall to begin with. But the tight coils of her hair added several inches and her attitude made Andromeda feel strangely small; irritating her somewhat. She raised her chin defiantly, waiting for Meadowes to oust her. They stared off for a moment, until the Ravenclaw girl snorted and banged open the sliding doors to thrust a fairly crumpled report into Rodolphus’s hands.

“Here you are, Head Boy,” she drawled as Andromeda walked in casually behind her. “Caught that rat brother of yours trying to turn a first year’s scarf into a snake. Have fun with that one.”

She turned on her heel and bumped into Andromeda, taking on a look of theatrical surprise that only Andromeda could see. “Oh, didn’t see you there,” smirked Meadowes as walked past.

[malfoygrass]

Superhero Au Drabble: the dark knight of Ministry City

"You've been gone for too long Black Dragon, I hate to admit it, but Ministry City needed you" Harry Potter sighed, as the leader of the city's League of Valor, his alter ego "Chosen One" had been too busy for the past seven years, with powers he sometimes still couldn't understand Chosen One had come a long way from the little boy in privet drive who couldn't control his super strength and flying. Now he worked for the Daily Prophet like a regular Joe.

"I had to leave, my parents were dead, Lord Voldemort was in prison, Bellatrix locked up in Askaban asylum" Black Dragon replied, to which Wondermind, the smartest girl in the team scoffed.

"You just didn't want to get locked up with all his other cronies" the gifted Amazon princess shot out bluntly, ( how Hermione Granger worked as a junior barrister was a mystery), at her side her boyfriend of ten years, Red Beater agreed, silently munching on a snack. (Weasley hadn't changed, much at least)

"Too bad most of them don't stay locked up" the Thunderbolt twins said at the same time " you've missed out"

"We also have new villains popping up left and right, so you better watch out, this isn't the Ministry City you left" Aquastorm said with a sigh, although Neville Longbottom, just like Draco was a wealthy philanthropist, their similarities ended there, where Draco courted the attention, Neville made a show of being shy "for what it's worth, I'm glad you're back"

"The children of some villains have grown up, others have come out of retirement, some have even trained replacements" Moon girl said dreamily then catching everyone unaware she added "You'll be married soon although it will be a hard courtship, since she's not happy to have you back" and sometimes Draco Malfoy really hated Luna Lovegood's cryptic second sight

_______________________________

He came to realize that the League of Valor had been downplaying the ammount of crime in Ministry City as soon as he was back in the fray. Mobsters, supervillains, wannabe sidekicks were ganging up to meet him. Plus the local vigilantes didn't stay behind either.

On one of those days, while helping Aquastorm sort out a problem with toxic chemicals, they got the unexpected help of someone who took Black Dragon by surprise.

"Need any help Aquastorm? I heard a little darkness could do the trick" a musical voice chimed in the distance

"Who was that" Black Dragon gasped as the black clad girl with the silver flower shield conjured a mist of pure dark fog that helped them get the upper hand over their assailants.

"That was the new Nightshade" Aquastorm replied waving at the retreating back of the mysterious superhero "one never knows what she will come up with, but she seems to like me, so if I ever need backup there's a fifty fifty chance that she will show up"

Nightshade? What Draco remembered from that one was that he used to be an antivillain in league with the superheroes of his father's golden age. This new one seemed to be far too young and too female to be the same person.

"Why the afinity with you?"

"Her powers depend on nature and mine on water, we understand each other" Neville shrugged "most of the time she involves plants that grow in dark places and the fog they produce to hide her presence"

Over the weeks Black Dragon had more encounters with Nightshade, tough they didn't talk, she was always showing up to help any superhero she liked or commit her own crimes. and he didn't like it one bit, not only because the girl was halfway between a white collar criminal and a superhero, but because he knew who the previous Nightshade was and if the man had retired then the new Nightshade could only be his daughter.

And he really didn't want her to be.

Nevertheless his theory was proven right when the Malfoy Gala to celebrate his return to Ministry City brought things to head.

So many people showed up he was almost sure that today ten attempts to his life were in progress. Nevermind the ammount of undercover alter egos.

All he needed to do was remain close to Neville and Nightshade would find him.

"Astoria darling, how good to see you, I must say you look enchanting" Augusta Longbottom said drawing Draco's attention to the delicate brunette making her way towards them

"Madame Longbottom, always a pleasure, everyone knws Greengrass Corporations wouldn't be the same without your sponsorship" Astoria replied with the same warmth "Neville, we missed you at the Veteran Awards benefit, I hope Hannah Abbott was worth it" she teased making Neville chuckle

"And what about me? Don't I get a kiss little Greengrass?"

"Dear me, Draco Malfoy I almost didn't recognize you" Astoria pretended to be startled and her pretty socialite smile never wavered "How long has it been? Nine? Ten years? Isn't that right Ollie" She'd arrived in the arm of Oliver Wood, the famous sports player and Draco hated her a bit, just for that.

They all knew it had been seven years.

"Well since it's been so long I suppose you wouldn't mind granting me this dance little Greengrass?" He made his insincere apologies to Oliver Wood and easily spirited Astoria into the middle of the dancefloor

"Must you always have your way?" Astoria muttered annoyed

"Must you always pretend we haven't seen each other lately?" He shot back into her ear "you're playing a dangerous game Astoria, those corporate secrets you stole can be tracked" he slid his hand sensually across her waist "Daphne wouldn't like it"

"Why do you care, Daphne is off playing sidekick to Nott and I'm all that's left" Astoria rolled her eyes "not that it matters, you left that part clear in your little goodbye letter"

"If I'd stayed in Ministry City I would be no better off than Pansy: another second gen villain" Draco hissed slowly maneuvering their dance towards a secluded spot in the balcony "And you were sixteen, I had no business getting involved with you and you know it, no matter how much I cared about you"

"So the alternative was leaving?" Astoria glared at him " don't you know the hell I went through? I LOVED YOU" she accused and Draco felt it like a punch in the gut "then you left and it all went kaput, father died, Nott became a villain and my sister abdicated her place in Greengrass Corporations, I had nobody"

"Astoria I didn't think..." But he had, he'd known that Astoria would survive at a high price "you have to understand I did it to protect you"

"Fat good it did you! I had to learn to protect myself" and he could read the pain in her eyes, before they hardened back to stone "now do us both a favor and stay out of Nightshade's business, I have enough dirt on Malfoy Industries to make life a little harder for you if you keep interfering"

"Not happening, in fact I might just decide to keep a closer eye on you"

"Don't make this harder than it needs to be, I'm engaged to Oliver Wood" she hedged as the music ended "we are to be married next month" And one had to wonder about the perfect timing of Draco's return

"So? Engagements can be broken" Draco shrugged "I hope the honeymoon package offers refunds, we both know they'll be no wedding" not if he had to tie Astoria to his sheets and remind her what had made them so explosive in their teens

"Don't you dare, you left Draco, you can't just come back from the dead and pretend everything is okay anymore than Black Dragon can" Astoria protested "it doesn't work that way"

"You grew up"

"I had to" she glared at him "Greengrass Corporations needed a leader, the streets needed a clean up" Astoria shrugged

"And you Astoria? Did anybody stop to ask what you needed?" His eyes were sad, taking her hand he brought it to his lips for a kiss wondering what Ministry City had done to his boyhood sweetheart

"I just needed you" and if that wasn't the most heartbreaking thing for Astoria, then she didn't know what was "my world fell apart and all I needed was you, but now it's too late...I don't need you anymore"

"Liar" Draco chuckled, crushing his lips to hers, savoring the first stolen kiss with the girl he hadn't been able to forget in seven years "is it really too late Astoria?" He whispered into her lips

Astoria was looking at him with a mixture of aprehension and desire "I don't know" she whispered back "things are so complicated now"

"Then I'll make them simple" Draco shrugged walking her back to Oliver Wood and her court of hypocrites "let's have dinner in Malfoy Mannor, tomorrow at five my car will pick you up" and the look he gave her left no room for protests "I'll let you seduce me for a change"

"You have no idea what you're asking for Malfoy"

"I'll be seeing you Little Greengrass" it occurred to him that Moon girl was right once again. He was going to marry Astoria Greengrass one day, because this time, he wouldn't let her go that easy.

An: Drabble companion to the superhero au Aesthetic I posted a few hours ago

[theprodigypenguin]

👀💚

A Slyther-heart, my first one!!! In honor of it, I’ll show you a WIP I was writing called “The Malfoy Lie”. Cursed Child Compliant and taking place the summer after Scorpius and Albus’ fourth year and all that mess with Delphini. It was my attempt to write about Drastoria, Scorbus, and explore Draco’s character and his relationship with Scorpius as well as his parents. NO this is NOT Dr@rry, I need that to be understood. I did intend to explore Harry and Draco slowly becoming legitimate friends, but there is NO ROMANCE. We good? Alright:

The Malfoy family was decidedly not sentimental or nostalgic. They didn’t normally dwell on memories, maybe because there were very few worth remembering, but ever since Scorpius had been born, some, at least, the majority in fact, had started to hold memories more closely.

The relationship between Draco and his parents was notably strained, and had been since he announced his intentions to marry Astoria; no, in fact, his relationship had been strained long before that. Back when they decided to open their home up to a monster. Lucius insisted, Lucius didn’t give his wife and son a choice in the matter, bowing and backing away as a dark form cloaked in black drifted across the floor like a phantom.

“Yes, this will do,” Draco remembered the voice perfectly, soft and silky and horrible. “An absolutely abysmal disgrace of a home, Lucius… but it will do.”

No surprise that he would insult the house Draco’s father was so proud of. A mansion, a manor, that had been in the Malfoy family for generations, millennia even for all he knew of it.

When he was small he used to love his home. It was big, the interior was like its own little town. He had vague memories of playing hide and seek with his mother, remembered she lost interest when he got a bit older so he made the house elf play with him instead, remembered he stopped once he started school. A lot stopped once he’d started school in fact.

Draco started to hate his home after his fifth year, when his father was arrested and sent to Azkaban. It became lonely, Draco remembered how scared he was, how he tried to look brave, how his mother cried with hands shaking, but placed a face of steel on her face, not letting anyone break through.

The memories of that time were contorted and poisoned into nightmares, sitting alone in his room hugging his knees to his chest, feeling like a child at seventeen and trying to remember how to breathe as he heard the screams of muggle borns enduring the torture of the Dark Lord.

Horrible, the laughter of his aunt, it contorted to something not as high pitched, morphed into a different voice, and the shrieking screams lowered in octave, into something distinctly male, distinctly familiar.

Delphini.

Scorpius. 

She was hurting him.

Draco woke with a start, jerking and gasping in the burning air around him, hands sweeping the bed unconsciously searching for Astoria, though he knew she wasn’t there. His night clothes were damp with sweat, his entire body shaking as he shoved away the covers and grabbed his wand from the bedside table, storming from the room and towards his son’s.

He tried to be as quiet as he could, hands shaking as he cracked open the door and slipped halfway inside, whispering lumos to light up the room in a dim glow, his heartbeat slowly starting to settle.

Scorpius was in bed, curled up and hugging his pillow, no creases to his face, peaceful. Draco leaned his back against the doorframe and drank in the air until his lungs had stopped hurting. Scorpius was fine, he was safe.

Draco wandered to the bed and reached down, pulling the covers higher over his son and sweeping his hair back, watching him burrow his face deeper into his pillow and murmur something incoherent. He was fine.

Draco, though, was not.

He ended up wandering the halls in a state of disturbed nostalgia, his night clothes sweat heavy and cold, drying in the hours he wandered and making him feel heavy and disgusting.

In the past when he had these kinds of nightmares, Astoria would be there to cradle his head and play with his hair, kissing his temple and promising he was safe, and so was Scorpius, and so was she. She was gone now, though. There was no one to help him through his nightmares, he certainly couldn’t expect his son to do anything about it. That was hardly his responsibility.

When Scorpius woke up that morning, Draco was in the drawing room at the mantle, staring somewhat blankly at the painting hanging above it, at the memorabilia and knick knacks sitting on the mantle, wand still in his hand and eyes heavy. He could see a different painting there, a hallucination from the past, one that Lucius and Bellatrix had hung, a profile of that… monster. He felt something sour in his mouth.

“Dad?” He jumped at least a foot in the air and spun around to look at Scorpius, who seemed puzzled, mostly awake with his hair a mess; it was getting longer, Draco realized. “You okay?”

Draco just blinked, but his son stayed in his place standing there, then nodded. “I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” Scorpius further questioned, and Draco felt a little bit of that pain lift.

He was so good, Scorpius was, so kind hearted. He was just like his mother.

Draco gave a nod, not wanting Scorpius to waste time worrying for him. “Hungry?”

“Oh, yea,” Scorpius answered, still looking very puzzled, and Draco put a hand on his shoulder in passing.

“Go sit down before me, I’ll join you in a bit.”

“Take your time,” Scorpius said. “I have a book to keep me company.” He grinned proudly, and it was contagious enough to bring a small, equally proud smile to Draco’s lips.

It was a task to wash away the nightmare from the previous night, more than once Draco had his face in his hands and something beastly in his throat, a scream he barely contained by reminding himself it was fine, Scorpius was safe, healthy, happy, sleeping peacefully and currently eating his fill.

When Draco stepped into the dining room, he felt a little more like himself, though he didn’t bother to do more with his hair than tie it away from his face, he was too tired to do much else with it.

Scorpius was sitting at one side of the table at the far end, closest to the window. He was leaning over the table eating with a fork held clumsily in his left hand, right hand holding open his book. He kept missing his mouth when he attempted to maneuver the forkful of food into it, stabbing himself in the cheek and chin but not appearing too terribly bothered by it.

Draco smiled, waving his wand to open the curtains further and bask morning light over Scorpius, who looked up and smiled in greeting.

“You look a little better,” he said, and Draco arched an eyebrow as he took a seat at the head of the table just next to Scorpius.

It was a huge table, meant for banquets, but most of it was never utilized. So many meals, Draco remembered either eating alone, or down the table from his parents, and feeling so isolated from them. He didn’t want Scorpius to feel that way, so he and Astoria made it a point to always sit close to their son.

With the light coming in from behind Scorpius, there was a white glow around him, particularly against his hair. He looked almost out of place, something so perfect stuck in a house so cursed.

“Did I not before?” Draco asked, taking a cup that seemed to fill quickly with black coffee; he didn’t particularly enjoy it, but he needed the caffeine.

Scorpius just shrugged, closing his book and taking his fork in his right hand. “You just looked really tired. Did you sleep last night?”

“No,” Draco lied with a straight face. “I was finishing a crossword puzzle.”

Scorpius made a face. “You were not!”

Draco had to grin, looking at the window when there was a tap. Scorpius was on his feet before Draco, opening the window and letting the owl swoop into the room, landing on the table with a small bundle of post that Draco accepted as Scorpius sat back down and offered the large owl pieces of his sausage, pouring water into a small goblet for the bird to have.

Draco flipped through the mail, brandishing the first letter into the air. “Something for you,” he said, and Scorpius lit up. 

“Really? Who from?”

But honestly who else could it have been from? Scorpius eagerly accepted the letter with a grin that seemed to light up the entire room, and Draco went back to the mail in his hands. There were several things addressed to him aside from the Daily Prophet that he was half dreading to go through. Some of the handwriting he recognized without opening, and he held three of the letters with a tight look on his face.

Why would three former schoolmates be writing to him, after having a falling out with each of them and getting cut off from them all for more than fifteen years? He set them down to go through later, feeling very suspicious, and lifted the letter that was clearly from his mother.

He already knew what it would be about when he got it open, Narcissa saying she and Lucius would be stopping by to see them. Draco couldn’t imagine why they would need to, even when she explained she’d heard from an acquaintance that Scorpius had gotten into some trouble at school and they were going to stop in to see what happened. That was literally the last thing Draco wanted, and he was half ready to tell them not to come.

For the first time since the delegation at the Ministry discussing Delphini and the strict hold on her existence, prohibiting the Prophet from disclosing little more than her being a dark witch, Draco was grateful. At first he was furious with the Ministry, and Hermione, for withholding information that could both warn the wizarding community of the presence of a new, powerful dark witch, and successfully stamp out the rumors that Scorpius was Voldemort’s son.

Now, though, he was glad. His parents didn’t need to know Voldemort had a child. Who knows what they would say or do? His father especially. Sometimes Draco got the aching suspicion that he was still hoping for redemption in the eyes of an evil wizard, to be brought back up to the height he was at before his arrest. Lucius was old now, and desperate. Draco worried about what he might do to get what he wanted. He didn’t want that man around Scorpius.

“Dad!” Scorpius was practically glowing. “Albus invited me over for the weekend! Can I? Please? He said they got an extra pass into the Scamander Center! The wizard zoo! We went there with mum once, ages ago, you remember? Can I go?”

Draco stared at him for a minute. In the past, whenever Ginny had written asking if Scorpius wanted to stay over with Albus, he’d bitterly told her no, because he didn’t trust her, he didn’t trust any of them, he was just too protective. Now… he was even more protective, especially after the events of the previous school year, but… if Narcissa and Lucius were really going to show up…

“Sure.” Scorpius absolutely glowed. “Write to him and let him know, finish eating first, I don’t want you going there already hungry, and prepare an overnight bag.”

“Yes, sir!” Scorpius spun and jumped up, scrambling over to a table near the window that held a menagerie of items like quills, ink wells, paper, books, and cups.

He quickly scribbled down a reply and enclosed it before writing Albus’ name on it and giving it to the owl, who flapped its wings experimentally and puffed its chest proudly before swooping out the window.

He then dropped back into his seat and started to eat, a bit too fast. Draco told him to slow down, but of course he didn’t, hiccuping and laughing into his cup as Draco chuckled with him. Seeing Scorpius so excited made him feel a little lighter, even though he knew he’d have to deal with his parents, and the letters from his old peers, as soon as Scorpius was safely out of the house.

Draco figured if they were quick enough, they could be at the Potter’s before his parents showed up, and how gleeful it would be to make them wait. Maybe Draco would linger and talk with Ginny and Harry, just to make them wait longer. He could almost see the affronted scowl on his father’s face when he’d returned. It made him feel quite happy.

Not as happy as Scorpius of course, who was bouncing on his heels as he scrambled around getting ready, throwing clothes into his bag, taking the fastest shower in history before hopping on one foot down the hall trying to yank on his shoe, tripping halfway to his room and falling on his face.

“Calm down, Albus isn’t going anywhere,” Draco said through a huge grin, but Scorpius just scrambled to his feet with wide eyes.

“I know!”

They were so close. Narcissa’s letter hadn’t given a time for when they’d be showing up, but Draco would only assume noon. No doubt his father couldn’t be bothered to come any sooner, not for something as unimportant as his own grandson. That’s what Draco had hoped for at least.

Until they got to the fireplace, Scorpius still bouncing in place as Draco reached for the floo powder on the mantle. “You told them we’d be coming by floo?”

“Yes!”

“Good, faster this way anyway,” but before he could even touch the powder, the fireplace erupted in green fire.

Draco backed away rapidly and stood in front of Scorpius, face twisted in irritation as his mother stepped out first. Her age was apparent in the lines of her face, but she wore it well, hair so neat and pinned up with silver clips, dressed pristinely and holding a small black hand purse. Lucius came next, exiting the fireplace with a single hand dusting ash from the shoulder of his black coat.

Draco felt himself steel in absolute indignation, keeping one arm down to keep Scorpius behind him, and Lucius tipped his head in both greeting and question.

“You won’t even greet your parents, Draco?”

“What’s the point in that? I know who you are, not like I’ve never seen you before.”

Scorpius gave a barely audible noise, something like a squeak, one hand clinging to the back of Draco’s coat. He wasn’t surprised. For all intensive purposes, Lucius Malfoy frightened him; and that was something Draco had never tolerated. 

He could never stand up to his father on his own before, but with the most important person in his life hiding behind him, Draco never felt braver.

“You’ll have to wait if you want to talk. We were just about to go out.”

“Out? When we’ve just arrived?” Lucius walked forward, still moving with a haunting elegance despite his age, sitting down on one of the couches and pointing to the one across from him with his walking stick. “Take a seat.”

“I’ll have to decline,” Draco said stiffly, his eyes set in a glare. “I’m taking Scorpius to a friend’s house. If you’re still here when I get back, I’d be happy to talk, but until then-”

"Sit down, Draco,” Lucius ordered in that familiar tone, and Draco knew if he wasn’t careful, this could end badly.

He didn’t want Scorpius exposed to this.

“… fine,” Draco relented, reaching back to wrap an arm around Scorpius, who was as stiff as a board, but had a brave look of defiance on his face that Draco felt extremely proud of.

He and Scorpius took the couch across from Narcissa and Lucius, and the coffee table separating them wasn’t nearly enough. Draco kept himself sitting as straight as he could, arms folded and hand lingering near the pocket of his coat where his wand was tucked away.

Scorpius was keeping the same posture, bag at his feet and hands clenched in his lap as he stared at the table top. For a long moment there was only silence. Draco was prepared to sit there until Harry realized they were late and came to investigate. Lucius would leave immediately if Harry Potter showed up; but not long after, Lucius finally spoke.

“Not even going to offer us a drink?”

“No,” Draco answered, and Lucius’ eye twitched a little. “Say what you want to say and get out.”

“Don’t be like that, Draco,” Narcissa chided him. “Did you not read my letter? We’re here for Scorpius.”

Scorpius glanced up through his eyelashes but didn’t raise his head as Draco spoke. “I read it. I just don’t care.”

“We were worried-”

"What did you hear? And from who?” Draco demanded.

Lucius was the one to answer him. “An old friend at the Daily Prophet,” he explained in a haughty voice, like he thought having newspaper friends made him so high and mighty. “He mentioned there being a bit of trouble at the school because of Scorpius and that…. Potter boy.”

Scorpius cringed, his face contorting in something like anger that he desperately hid by keeping his head bowed low, face shadowed. Draco was unsurprised. Of course he’d get angry that Lucius was spitting Albus’ name around like it was poison.

“What of it?”

“We only know vague details. One of the boys got hurt?” Narcissa asked this in a rather gentle voice, glancing at Scorpius, and Draco had to thank everything in existence she had a soft spot for her grandson, despite how he hadn’t been raised ‘correctly’.

“Albus broke his arm,” Draco answered.

“We heard someone was killed,” Lucius said, and Scorpius seemed to shiver. “It was left from the papers, the details of his death. A freak accident on the Quidditch pitch. Craig Bowker Junior.”

“That has nothing to do with Scorpius or Albus, and nothing to do with you.”

“Of course.” Lucius’ hands flexed around his walking stick. “It isn’t like Scorpius is our grandson or anything of the sort.”

“Since when did you care, father?”

“Do not patronize me,” Lucius snapped, but Draco had long since stopped caring about the bitterness in his tone. “I’m asking what happened out of the goodness of my heart.”

“Funny, I wasn’t aware you had one.”

By now, Astoria would be laughing so hard she’d be snorting, half trying to get Draco to stop riling his father up and half goading him on. Lucius’ face was growing redder and redder as his eyes bugged, even Narcissa looked utterly taken aback by Draco’s shortness and clear disinterest in discussing the situation. 

It was none of their business in the first place. He didn’t trust them enough to tell them the details, he would never risk his son like that, and… how truly sad it was that he didn’t think he could trust them.

“Al and I got into some trouble before we got to school,” Scorpius’ voice took Draco by surprise, and he turned to gape at him, and the look his son gave him. “It’s fine.”

“Scor-”

"Albus was trying to do something good, his heart was in the right place. The only thing that went wrong was who we trusted. We were manipulated by a witch who was falsely masquerading as the niece of an old wizard that Mister Potter knew from years ago.”

“Is that so?” Lucius eyed him with a deadly look in his cold eyes, Draco quickly put an arm around Scorpius and glared back at his father. “And you were foolish enough to follow along with her?”

That had Draco bristling, but Scorpius just twisted his fingers together. “She seemed genuinely nice at first. She helped us, she… even helped me with Albus, when we got in kind of a fight. We just… were too distracted.”

“She killed that boy?” Narcissa assessed easily, and Draco nodded to her. “What happened to her? Did she hurt Scorpius?”

Draco inhaled sharply, Scorpius winced and rubbed at his wrists; there was a slight discoloration around them, scarring left over from Delphini’s bindings. Draco didn’t have to answer his mother as she covered her mouth with a hand, but Lucius just squinted.

“Where is she now?”

“Where do you think?” Draco asked. “Azkaban, and she’ll stay there.”

“No trial?”

“She’s awaiting trial, but she killed a student, kidnapped two more, and tortured Scorpius. She utilized two of the three forbidden curses, either one would have set her down for Azkaban, and she used two. What more proof do you need to convict her?”

“What was her reasoning for manipulating the boys?” Lucius asked, and Draco started to feel increasingly confused, suspicious, on edge, at all the questions.

“What did you say your friend’s name was? The one at the Prophet?”

“You’re not going to answer me?”

“I-it was from a prophecy.” Scorpius looked at Draco anxiously. “Something her… her step father told her.”

“That’s enough.” Draco met his eye. “You don’t have to say anymore. No, I’m asking you not to. No more. They don’t need to know. It’s none of their business.”

Scorpius actually seemed to relax, nodding slowly, and Lucius scoffed. “Is our grandson’s health not our business, Draco?”

“You don’t give a damn about his health, or mine.” Draco stood up. “We’re done here, feel free to leave any time. I’m bringing Scorpius to his friend’s house.”

“Friend. That Potter.” Lucius spit the name again. “What a disgrace you are-”

“Lucius!”

“-allowing your son to fraternize with the likes of them.” Lucius got to his feet. "It’s Potter’s fault our family is in shambles, don’t forget.”

“No, father.” Draco looked him dead in the eye. “Our family is in shambles because you were stupid enough to welcome a murderer into our home and our lives. You’re the one who soiled the Malfoy name, father, by disgracing it with dark magic. Me, a disgrace for trying to fix the mess you made. I revel in that disgrace.”

Draco supposed he should have seen the hit coming, but it happened so suddenly, half of him was distracted by the burst of green from the fireplace that he only noticed because his head had been forced in that direction when Lucius swung the back of his hand and the silver snake head of the end of his walking stick straight into Draco’s face.

A ring rose in his ears and a burn spread across his cheek as he staggered, somehow managing to stay stubbornly on his feet as Scorpius yelled for him, jumping up to grab his arm to help him stay standing. Draco had his wand in his hand and pointed at Lucius an instant later, and was dizzily stunned at what he saw.

Narcissa on her feet with her own wand in hand, the tip stuck under Lucius’ chin and digging into his throat, eyes wild. Lucius had both his hands held out in a type of submissive manner, there was blood on the silver snake head topping his walking stick, and Draco could feel it on his cheek.

What really took him by surprise was Harry Potter, standing at the end of the coffee table with his wand out, pointed at Lucius, eyes wide in both shock and fury. Perfect timing as usual, to see Lucius sucker punching his own son. Brilliant, really.

“How dare you.” Narcissa hissed, very much like a snake, and Lucius stared down at her across the bridge of his nose.

He didn’t look scared though, he looked annoyed and inconvenienced, cold eyes snapping to Draco, then Harry, then back again to his son.

“This isn’t the end of the discussion,” he said simply, taking a step back to alleviate the pressure of the wand digging into his neck. “There’s much of the situation you don’t understand, Draco. For your sake, and your son’s, I recommend reassessing what side you’re really on.”

“I’m on whatever side you aren’t,” Draco snapped. “Get out.”

Lucius glared, then looked at his wife, who sneered in anger, something told Draco they would be having a chat later. Then Lucius disapparated with a pop. Narcissa slowly lowered her wand, so did Draco, returning it to the pocket in his coat before lifting the same hand to tentatively touch his cheek.

“What exactly did I walk in on?” Harry asked suddenly, and Narcissa turned to glance at him, then at Draco.

“Family reunion,” Draco said bitterly, turning to Scorpius, who was shaking furiously. 

He had a look of anger on his face, fear in his watery eyes, clinging to Draco with both hands, staring at the spot where his grandfather had been just moments ago.

“I’m sorry, Scorpius. I wanted you out of the house before they showed up.”

“Dad… dad your face.” Scorpius shook, his voice trembled, Draco tried to keep his cheek covered so Scorpius wouldn’t see.

“Just a scratch, can’t really feel it.” He looked over at Harry, who was watching him closely. "We’re late then, are we?”

“… Albus was getting anxious,” Harry admitted slowly. “Suppose he had a right…”

“I had it settled.”

“Of course.”

“Dad.”

“I’m fine Scorpius.”

“But-”

“You know what that man is like.”

“I’m sorry.”

“This was hardly your fault.” Draco wrapped an arm around his shoulders, tugging him close into a hug, hiding Scorpius’ face against his shoulder and pulling his hand from his face to squint at the blood before covering his cheek again.

“I’m sorry you had to see that,” he said, speaking to Harry, who had a wince on his face. “Would you mind taking him ahead? If your invitation still stands.”

Harry nodded. “It does. Albus is excited about it. This is the first time you’ve written back actually accepting a day out for them.”

“I like to think I’ve grown a bit more on that level this past year. The last thing I want to do is keep two good friends apart.” He arched an eyebrow and Harry rolled his eyes up in a sigh, turning.

"Come on, Scorpius.”

“But- dad-”

“I’ll stop by later,” Draco offered when Scorpius pulled back, running his hand into his blond hair to ruffle it. “After I’ve fixed myself up.”

“Do you want to come now?” Harry asked. “Ginny wouldn’t mind helping.”

“No, I think I still have some things to do here.” He glanced at his mother, who met his gaze with a painful one of her own. "I’ll come by floo later.”

“Fine.”

Scorpius still looked like he wanted to protest, torn between staying with Draco and going to see his friend. To alleviate the panic on his face, Draco squeezed his shoulder, shrugging.

“You have to admit, Scorp, that was pretty brave of your old man.” Scorpius’ lips twitched a little. “Think your mum would be proud of me?”

This made him smile, thankfully, and nod. “Yea, and mad you riled him enough to hit you. She’d probably call you an idiot.”

"That’s true.” He slid his hand down to Scorpius’ back and lead him towards the fireplace, picking up his son’s bag and handing it to him. "I’ll see you in a couple of hours, go enjoy yourself.”

“Okay…”

“No worrying about me.”

“Okay…”

Draco met Harry’s eye again, and in a few moments both he and his son were gone in a flare of green fire. When he turned to his mother, she had a strained look on her face, swallowing thickly and opening her mouth.

“Draco-”

“Wasn’t your doing.”

“No… we need to talk.”

“What about?”

“Your cousin,” Draco didn’t know what she was talking about, until she continued slowly, her voice low, like she was afraid Harry might still be around to hear her. “Delphini.”