𝙰 𝙳𝚘𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙰 𝙳𝚘𝚟𝚎 - 𝑠𝑖𝑟𝑖𝑢𝑠 𝑏𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑘

Chapter 18

"Let me take that, Lia," Sirius offered to the girl, taking her trunk from her as they collected it from the large luggage pile by the steaming Hogwarts Express. The scarlet train had just pulled into the station, and James had gone ahead to find his parents, followed by Remus who promised to write over the short break.

"Such chivalry, Siri," she replied with a warm grin, leaning up to kiss his cheek affectionately. He blushed an immense crimson, and quickly shook his head, following her as she spotted James with his parents.

Euphemia and Fleamont were fussing over their son, when Sirius cleared his throat, standing beside Aurelia who had suddenly become shy. Euphemia was the first to look over to Sirius and Aurelia, and practically squealed as she took in the small girl her two boys had been talking about since September.

"Oh, aren't you just adorable," she said kindly, moving James aside to get a better look at the Ravenclaw witch. "Hello deary, it's wonderful to finally meet you. I'm Euphemia, but you can call me Mia."

Euphemia pulled Aurelia into a warm hug, and though she froze at first, Aurelia quickly melted into Euphemia's embrace, shutting her eyes tight to stop tears from falling down her cheeks. Her own mother had never once hugged her like this, deeming it improper and unladylike, and Aurelia could see where James got his kindness from.

Though his strut, she could not decipher.

Fleamont padded over, pushing his glasses up to his nose, and also brought her into a hug, before stepping back to shake her hand.

That was where James' strut came from.

"Fleamont Potter, my dear girl, I am so happy to finally meet you," the man said with a flamboyant chirp, using his free hand to adjust his wild tuft of greying hair. Aurelia could not stop the smile that she bore at the two Potters, and it became contagious as Sirius was dragged into a hug by Euphemia, who adored the boy like her own.

"Your hair, it has gotten so long my darling boy!" Euphemia exclaimed fondly, brushing her hand over it to tame Sirius' wild curls. Sirius blushed under her hands, and she brought his cheek to her lips, giving it a firm kiss.

"Come, my darlings, we have much to do before the Weasley family join us tomorrow," Euphemia said gently, offering her arm to Aurelia to apparate. The Ravenclaw girl shut her eyes tight, always loathing the feeling of Side on Apparition, and clutched to Euphemia tighter as she felt her feet lift from the ground.

"Hold on deary, we're nearly home."

Home.

Aurelia had not heard that word with such tenderness for a very long time.

As her feet settled onto plush grass covered with snow, she opened her eyes, squinting to adjust to the bright winter sun. Euphemia still held onto her, keeping her steady as her dizziness faded away.

"Here we are, home sweet home," Fleamont said with giddiness, walking with his son and Sirius towards a large dark-stone mansion, where turrets stuck out at each end, and arched windows reflected the morning sun. Smoke billowed from the many chimneys, blending into the greyed roof, and a hedge, taller than Aurelia, surrounded the large property, encasing the home inside so that no muggle eyes could spot it.

"Welcome to our home, Aurelia," Euphemia said kindly, looking to the girl with a fondness in her eyes.

☽ ☼ ☾

Euphemia had taken it upon herself to personally decorate Aurelia's bedroom, promising the young girl that it would always be there for her as the woman led Aurelia towards a dark wooden door. Opposite the door in the hallway was Sirius' room, right beside James' and they were quick to flop onto their beds to get more sleep, unlike Aurelia, who only wanted to explore her new home.

She had already been treated like another of Euphemia and Fleamont's children, as if she were the daughter, they'd never been able to have. An entire wardrobe had been filled for her, courtesy of Mia, as she insisted on being called, and she'd been given a daily allowance, just as James and Sirius received, to go shopping in the local muggle village for gifts.

Her bedroom walls were a light blue, complimented by white and gold curtains which reached from the ceiling to the floor, billowing out in the wind from the open French door windows. A bay window surrounded the four-poster queen bed, which had been finished up with crisp white and blue bed covers, and an array of cushions adorned both the bed and windowsills surrounding the room, all carefully hand-stitched and embroidered by Euphemia and Fleamont.

Despite only knowing her personally for a mere few hours, the couple had shown her more love and affection then her own parents ever had, and had made her feel safe, even as tensions in the rest of the Wizarding World grew over muggle-borns and the Dark Lord's army.

"Aurelia darling? Could you go and wake the boys please?" Euphemia called up from the end of the hallway, trotting down the staircase to the kitchen to check on her cooking. Fleamont was out in his shed on the estate, tinkering away at his latest invention, but Euphemia knew he'd enter the dining room at exactly seven o'clock as he did every evening for supper.

Aurelia scooted off of her bed, snapping shut her book, and quietly walked over to Sirius' room first, knocking twice before opening. Sirius was fast asleep on his bed, cuddling one of his pillows to his chest with a small smile on his face. His room covered with band posters and Gryffindor banners, and Aurelia was quick to notice not a single hint of green could be found.

"Siri," she sung out, moving to take a seat by his head. She reached for his hair, tangling her fingers throughout the curly ebony hair, as he quietly stirred, his dark eyes glancing up at her through thick lashes.

"Was I out for long?" he asked groggily, snuggling up into her hand as she continued to run her fingers through his hair. She shook her head gently, allowing for her dark brown locks to fall upon her shoulders, and leant down to kiss his nose, effectively waking him up.

"Mia's calling us down for supper," she whispered, her breath tickling his nose. "Can you help me wake James?"

She smiled, the dimples in her cheeks sweetening her already pure face. Sirius found himself unable to look away from her bright blue eyes, and even considered dragging her down into his arms so that they could both fall asleep, her body safely tucked into his so that he could protect her the way he always did in school.

"Do we have to?" he whined quietly, earning a chuckle from his best friend.

"Of course, we do, silly," she said, tapping his nose with a pointer finger. "It's my first ever family dinner, I don't want to be late."