A Circle of Flame- Sirius Black x OC

Chapter 31

"Baby sis!"

Liza snapped her head up from where she was brewing a practice potion for their examinations. She automatically erected her mental wall. Her brothers never approached her at school.

"Yes?"

Gideon and Fabian were sporting mischievous grins, their blue eyes twinkling in the dim light of the dungeons. Their torn jumpers seemed out of place among the dark vials and jarred remains. It was like seeing a child in Lestrange's dining room.

"What are you concocting?" Fabian leaned closer, the longer strands of his bangs falling over his face. Molly was certain to make them get a haircut upon their return. Their sister had an extreme distaste for seventies fashion. He aimed to give the brew a sniff.

Immediately slapping his head away, Liza cast a simple ward over the potion. "You dunderhead!" She tried to calm the jolt in her heartrate. "This is the Draught of Living Death."

Gideon looked mildly interested. "I've been needing a good nap in Transfiguration for ages. McGonagall's breathing down my neck."

"One, this brew produces the most powerful magical comas known to the Wizarding World. Two," Liza ushered the twins from her dungeon chamber, "I haven't finished yet. The draught in its improper form could kill in an instant."

The ginger boys exchanged a gleeful look. "Wicked!"

Giving up on her warning, Liza wiped her slime-covered hands on her robes. She would have to wash them later. "Now, what did you pair want? I'm not giving you any of my notes."

"Don't worry about that, Lizzie," Fabian waved a dramatic hand before resting it on his brow. "Gid and I realized that to do what we want after graduating, we need to pass our NEWTS."

"So, you've been studying?"

Gideon wrapped an arm about her shoulder. "Aw, sis, you don't think you're the only soul we've bribed notes from, do you?"

"In the case of the Slytherins, I would say the proper term is threaten." Fabian was entirely unbothered as he began to lead Liza back up the stairs.

She felt a rise of suspicion in her chest. Whatever had prompted the boys' desire to get good marks? They had always done just enough to pass to the next year. "And what, exactly, do you want to do after Hogwarts?"

For the first time in her life, her brother's faces grew slightly solemn. The change would have been nearly indiscernible if Liza hadn't grown up paranoid of their every antic.

"Just a bit of action here and there." Gideon ruffled her hair and made the curls even frizzier, "now, back to our current mission—" he looked at Fabian.

He needn't have bothered. His twin was already finishing his sentence.

"Get Baby Lizzie some friends!"

Liza felt her face heat up with irritation. Her brothers had successfully ignored her for the better part of six years. Why they felt social intrusion was now necessary, she had no idea.

"Why the sudden interest?"

"We're leaving, Lizzie." Gideon shrugged, his long legs easily making it up the stairs towards the main corridor. "We need to be sure that you're in good hands."

"Times are changing. We no longer feel alright leaving you in a dungeon of snakes. You might find that they bite."

Rather disconcerted, Liza frowned at Fab's serious tone. She wasn't sure what information they had gathered, but the twins were dangerously perceptive. Perhaps they knew more about Regulus and Myra than they had let on.