Black

Chapter 1

I was never one for material things. Quite in the contrary to my younger sister who had no less than seven trunks to be loaded onto the Hogwarts Express on the first day of term. The air was full of excitement and delight as first years crossed through the barrier for the first as students or perhaps at all. Students dragged cases and trunks and owls and toads through the chaos of platform 9 ¾ brought a warm feeling to my chest. My mother stood like a stone statue from the fringes of the chaos watching Narcissa speak to the porters as if they were paid personally by her to carry her bags and her bags alone. "don't drop that, it's valuable" she snapped as one young gentlemen with dark skin and golden eyes reached for her bag.

"last I checked, Narcissa, manners are in fact an attractive trait"

"you can shove your prefect bullshit up your backside Drom" she spat at me, I didn't even bother give her a withering look, it would be take to much energy. My mother, who's face reflected nothing but a clean slate of obsidian stone. I wasn't expecting her to say anything and I wasn't surprised when she simply dragged her eyes up and down my younger sisters body and went back to staring into the crowds.

"Come on, we should go" I muttered as I gathered the last of my things, and went to kiss my mother on the cheek "bye Mum". She seemed sombre, far from the normal howling, screaming and borderline psychotic woman she was on any given day, it was strange. My lips touched her cold skin that felt like parchment. She would normally be barking orders or screaming about grades or cursing the muggle parents arriving at the platform with their children. But no. She was silent.

"see you at Christmas" Narcissa mumbled as she gave our mother a small embrace and we headed towards the train. We melted into the crowds and hit for the deep red train that would bring back to Hogwarts. "that was"

"weird"

"if you had to spend the next four months planning Bellatrix's wedding to someone like Rudolphfus you'd act like that too". To be fair she was right. Rodolfus was a spineless creep and I quite honestly hated him. He had been a few years above us in school and he always looked like he could use a first year as a tooth pick. It was unnerving and to think he was to marry Bella. Perhaps it was unnerving to think that Bella would marry anyone. She didn't seem like the marrying type. She was too cold and detached and far away for anyone to ever marry. I didn't want to get married. I didn't want to even think about what my life would look like at the end of this year when I was faced with leaving Hogwarts and never returning as a student again. What a terrible thought.

"no, it's something else, all summer she's been off"

"can we talk about this later? I want to go find my seat and don't you have first years' shoelaces to tie or something?" I gave her an insufferable glare as her blonde hair disappeared back through the crowds of people gathered to say goodbye to their families. Something did feel strange. Parents were gripping their children, weeping as they parted ways. I was uneasy. It was strange. Just as soon as that thought breezed into my mind it flew out once more as a flash of black curls and chaos flew past me with a cage in its hand holding poor Pig Widgeon

"Sirius!" I yelled after him. The blur stopped and turned with a cheeky grin, his black shirt was untucked form his trousers and his hair was not too far from the likeness of a pygmy puff, "that owl is going to implode if you give rattling him around in that cage like that" I smiled as he waltzed towards me. freckles dotted the bridge of his nose. I straightened the lapels of his shirt and hunkered down in front of him. I looked him in the eye, narrowing them jokingly.

"I'll be on my best behaviour" he moaned at me,

"I wasn't going to say that!"

"you were"

"just be yourself, have fun and you know where I am if you need anything", he flung his arms around my neck and as quick as he was there he was gone. "mind that owl!" I yelled after him and his black curls disappeared. Sirius Black, a first year. Merlin help us all.

§ § § §

The ride to Hogwarts could feel long and short all at once. We went through trees, suburbs, mountains and fields of all varieties. I walked the corridors of the train as had been requested by Dumbledore in the letter I had received along with the badge denoting me as a prefect for the academic year. First years making new friends, other students reuniting after a long summer with stories of holidays, new pets and failed exams from last year. I smiled to think of my first time on the train, so proud to finally be going to Hogwarts with Bella.

"anything from the trolley dear?" the lady with plush lips and cheeks asked as I strolled up the corridors and before I could even answer that cocky voice, smooth as honey and wit sharp as knives floated from behind me.

"she'll take two pumpkin pasties and I'll take a box of Bertie Bots". Ted Tonks slipped a couple of sickles into the ladies. My heart skipped a couple of hundred beats as that familiar smell of coffee, fig trees and the air straight after a rain storm fell over me.

"I'm actually fine thank you" and I slipped past the darling old woman to escape that inevitable conversation we always ended up having. I walked in double time to the end of the corridor and had just made it to the doorway when I his footsteps caught up to me and he quickly appeared in front of me. he leant against the door in triumph and looked me head to toe as he so often did. His chocolate brown hair waved at his eyes in a muss of messy curls and his honey brown eyes could suck you right in and drown you in their warmth. I let out a deep sigh, cutting a glance at the length of him. His prefect badge gleaming on the cream sweater he wore.

"Edward"

"Andy" he smirked, knowing just had much I hated that pet name he had given me nearly two years ago.

"Don't call me that" I glared at him, "and honestly you're blocking the corridor for everyone else"

"I don't see anyone else around" he chuckled, running his fingers through his hair and settling his gaze on mine, looking at me like I was something to play with.

"stop that" I spat at him.

"stop what?"

"I'm not playing this game with you Ted" I took a small step back from him, his aura and sent becoming slightly overwhelming for me, "you flirt, I ignore you, you look at me, I tell you to stop, you never do and all we ever end up doing is fighting, so how about you just leave me alone"

"it would end differently if you would just give over and admit I'm actually a decent chap"

"I never said you weren't" his eyes lit up at that, but I wasn't finished, "but you are most certainly a prick and a prick that I have no time for". He liked this. The playing, the arguing, the bickering the competition. It was fun to him. He bridged that small gap between us, backing me up until my back hit the cushioned wall of the carriage. My mind trailed back to that one half drunken night we had shared at the end of last term. It had been an accident we had ended up in the same place at the same time. Although nothing of significance had happened. No kiss, barely hand holding. The whole thing had felt significant and scary. His fingers reached up to brush a stray hair behind my ears, the slight moving sending shivers all over my body.

"I wrote you this summer". He had. Several times.

"I know". I never replied. My throat closed slightly and my gut told me to quit now or face the consequences and I dodged away from his reach.

"I need to go see professor Slughorn" my tone was less than strong. I gestured for him to remove himself from my path which he eventually did with those cunning, teasing eyes. Honestly he was the most insufferable Hufflepuff one could possibly come across. I let my breath loose, a breath I hadn't even realised I had been holding as I escaped from him.

"what a wonderful coincidence, so do I". 

Sweet mother of Merlin, what did a girl need to do to get a bit of peace?