Mortem . Sirius Black

chapter one hundred and twenty-seven

July 3rd - Paris 

The view from Nephera's mother townhouse in Paris truly was exquisite, and Remus thought it a huge pity that the group was holed inside the entire day, going over their plans for that night, "So where exactly is the Chamber of the lost sisters?" asked Peter, "I mean, the catacombs stretch all over the city, don't they?" 

Nephera walked into the room, carrying a huge and admittedly very heavy dark green book, letting it drop roughly against the coffee table, dust flying everywhere, "With this," she announced, falling back on the couch 

Sirius leaned forward, reading the title, "The Hidden History of France?" he translated, looking at his witch in question 

Nephera grinned, nodding her head as she opened the book, "A detailed history of witchcraft in France, it has an entire chapter focused on the lost sisters and the catacombs," 

"I thought you said the Lost Sisters were considered a tale? That they weren't real," pointed out James, furrowing his eyebrows 

"Over the years, yes. This book was written in the mid-1800s," explained the girl 

Getting tired of holding the heavy book up, she flicked her wrist and all five watched as the pages turn to the one she wanted, "Here we go," she announced, squinting slightly as she started translating from French, "The lost sisters built the catacombs as a  vault, in a way, to hide their most prized possession, the Tenebris Wand," 

"Tenebris wand?" interrupted the werewolf, popping a grape in his mouth 

It was almost comical how casual the group was being as they were discussing magic of inconceivable power, but then again, they were still teenagers. 

Sirius lit up a cigarette, giving one to Remus as well, "Latin for Dark, Merlin they really didn't fuck around, did they?" 

"No, no they did not," replied Peter, eyes wide 

Nephera spared the mousy boy a quick glance, so quick, that no one in the room saw it. Peter had been awfully quiet that day, as well as the previous one, and she could guess why. The mousy boy wasn't a coward by any means, but he definitely had a larger sense of self-preservation than the rest of his friends. James and Sirius hardly thought before they rushed into danger, throwing all caution to the wind. Remus too was that way, although slightly more reseserved. 

However, when she looked into the boy's eyes that morning, it was not fear that she saw, nor was there any anxiety. No, it was admiration and need. 

Peter Pettigrew, fascinated by a wand specifically created for Dark Magic, who would've thought? 

It was definitely a weird occurrence, but then again, as long as she knew him, Peter had always been attracted to power in a way. The Slytherin supposed that was the reason why he had become friends with the other three boys over in first year when he had yet to come out of his shell and was still a timid little boy. The sight of the three loud and mischievous boys would've appealed to him back then, definitely. 

Oh well, far be it her to judge people for wanting more power and to dabble in the Dark Arts. 

Sirius took the book from his witch's hands, noticing how she got sidetracked by the engravings on the sides and extra information, "No offence, mon coeur, but as fascinating as the story is, we should get to the good stuff before nightfall," he teased, eyeing her playfully, "All right, according to this..." 

He trailed off, scanning his eyes over the page and translating in the process, "So, it says that we need to start at the end, great," he scoffed