Dark Magic

Grimmauld Place

Grimmauld Place was much bigger inside than out. It was vast, cold and unwelcoming; and I felt a force try to push me back out the door once I stepped inside. Remus was taken aback a little, so I knew I hadn't imagined it.

"Cosy, isn't it?" I flinched slightly at the sound of another voice, my eyes darting further down the corridor where stood I looming figure. I hardly recognized them, scanning them up and down for any form or shape of familiarity. Their voice, I recognised from somewhere. As they stepped forth, I retreated, nearly bumping into Remus as he fumbled with our bags. "Emerald, it's alright." He quickly dropped them, placing his hands reassuringly over my shoulders as the figure stepped into the light.

His hair was no longer manged and matted. Only a light stubble from where his long beard was once situated, remained. No longer soaked in dirt and his yellow teeth were now a pearly white as he glanced at me with a guilty expression in those grey eyes. The man wore all black and a leather jacket, taking at least a decade from how he looked a mere couple of months ago; his Azkaban prison wear now gone.

"Sirius?" My voice doubted what I was seeing as he nodded with a small curl in his lips. "Sorry for the fright. Remus asked that I be here for your visit so I can help, should the worst happen." I watched him explain with fascination; he did look very different to before. He had gained more weight and colour in his cheeks, a slight relief overcoming me in comparison to how he looked the first night we met. Sirius Black looked healthy...But his thoughts swirled through my mind for a moment, plaguing me with a sudden vision of Azkaban prison. That was all that consumed him; his confidence cloaking his fear quite masterfully.

"Emerald?" Remus voice pried me from Sirius' mind, causing me to glance towards my Godfather with a hitched breath and a wave of cold. His eyes were narrowed sternly as he shook his head; angry with me for reading Sirius' thoughts. "Sorry." I spoke, barely above a whisper as I looked back at Sirius, eyeing us both with suspicion. "Did I miss something?"

Remus' sigh from beside me was hard to ignore as he straightened up and made his way towards the kitchen, passing his best friend as I followed in suit. "Emerald is a Legilimens, Sirius. So it might be a good idea to try and keep your thoughts to yourself."

I could feel Sirius' eyes lingering on me as I took a seat in the old, dusty kitchen. The house really needed a clean. "Scourgify." I spoke, waving my hand as the room began to clean itself. Sirius watched in astonishment, his eyes latching onto me as Remus continued to explain. "And she can do wandless magic, even though she's not supposed to." My Godfather reprimanded, causing a chuckle to emit from his best friend as he shrugged, "Oh, what's a little rule-breaking every now and then, Remus?"

I smiled at his response, causing a voice to echo through my mind, "Just like James."

"That's funny. Remus said I was like dad, too." I said simply, causing Sirius' smile to grow. Remus, however, was shooting him daggers, knowing he had allowed me to read his mind, once more. "She's just a kid. What are you doing?" My Godfather asked his friend angrily, causing him to laugh and shrug in response. "Oh! Come now, Remus. I didn't let her see anything else, I promise."

An awkward silence followed as the two adults had a stand-off. I found it quite uncomfortable, to the point where Remus' angry thoughts were trying to seep through. "Tea?" I broke the quite, quickly scrambling towards the sink but Remus held his arm out, stopping me from grabbing a cup from one of the shelves. "I'll make it. You, go and take your bags upstairs."

Huffing, I nodded and began making my way towards the hallway. "You can use my room, Emerald. It's on the far left corridor." Sirius' voice instructed. "Okay, thanks." I returned, grabbing my things and making my way up the stairs. Their voices were hushed, obviously discussing something I was not meant to hear, to my slight annoyance. The house must have had twelve bedrooms, so I was quite surprised to find Sirius' room was separate and further away than everyone else's. I crossed one door, scanning the initials that were embedded into a silver plaque; reading out R.A.B.