The Reincarnated Twin

Chapter Three - The Letters

It was November 3rd 1970, Sirius and Shaula's eleventh birthday. All three children sat at the dining table with Walburga and Orion, awaiting for the two Hogwarts letters to come. Sirius sat in his chair, bouncing slightly as he ate his breakfast whilst Shaula sat in trepidation. A million thoughts flying through her head as she contemplated a thousand different scenarios.

The sound of an owl entering the room broke her thoughts as everyone watched it drop two envelopes onto the table, grab a piece of bacon from Regulus' plate, and fly out the window. Sirius let out a bark of laughter as Shaula let out a sigh of relief as they both reached over to grab their letters.

Sirius Black
Number 12 Grimmau-

Shaula furrowed her brows and lets out a giggle before holding out Sirius' letter to him.

"We grabbed each other's letters." Shaula said as they grabbed each other's letters from the other. Sirius let's out a chuckle as Regulus smiles, amused by our letter swap.

"Thanks sis, I don't really fancy going to Hogwarts as you." Sirius replies, before tearing open his letter to read it. She only shakes her head in reply before opening her letter.

Dear Miss Black

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Please find enclosed a list of necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on the 1st September. We await your owl by no later than the 31st July.

Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress

Shaula grabbed the second piece of parchment from the envelope and gave it a quick scan, not entirely caring as to what it really says.

"Later today your mother and I will take you all to Diagon Alley so that you both may collect your school items and you can begin reading the material." Orion said.

"Yes Father." Shaula replied as Sirius nodded in response. Walburga glared down at him in disdain before giving Shaula a tight lipped smile.

Later on the five flooed to the Leaky Cauldron and walked round to the back. Orion tapped on a couple of the bricks and the wall moved, revealing the bustling street that was Diagon Alley.

Shaula, Sirius and Regulus all shared a large grin. They very rarely got the chance to go to Diagon Alley due to it being constantly busy. The three prepared to rush off in excitement before their curiosity was broken by a harsh cough by their mother.

"I don't want any of you running off. You are to represent the house of Black and must act sophisticated and proper. If I see anyone of you running rampant you will not like your punishment." She sneered at the three children, which visibly dampened Shaula's and Regulus' mood and angering Sirius who let out a huff of frustration.

They start off at the clothes shop, Thimble's Threads. Only the finest tailored clothes for the Blacks, and Shaula suspected that Madame Malkin's either wasn't open yet or wasn't the what the finest quality that Walburga liked.

For an hour the twins stand on their pedestals as they're measured and fitted into their school robes. Sirius becoming twitchy after the first five minutes and getting scolded. Shaula however becoming light-headed from standing in the same spot, she never had the best health. Every now and then she would take a deep breath to try and hopefully help her head.

Eventually they left with the promise of their uniforms being sent to them over the next few days. They then went over to the apothecary, allowing Walburga to collect their required items as they wandered around the shop.

"Don't you rascals touch anything! If you break it you pay for it!" An elderly man at the till yelled across the room to them from the counter, Regulus nodded, visibly scared by the man. Sirius simply glares at him as Shaula wraps an arm around Regulus' shoulders.

"Ignore him Reg, if anyone breaks anything it'll be Sirius anyway." Shaula said and giggles as Sirius spins round to them and gives a mock gasp. Regulus laughs as well.

"Me? Break anything? I'm offended Shau!" Sirius gives a fake look of betrayal to which she only rolls her eyes at. They continue browsing until they're called out by their mother. Next was Shaula's favourite shop.

Florish and Blotts.

Shaula turns to her mother, "May I go look around Mother?" she asks once they enter the shop. Regulus looks up expectantly at Walburga whilst Sirius rolls his eyes, not at all surprised by the question.

"20 minutes. I want you all standing by the desk in 20 minutes, and have your school books with you as well. Sirius, keep an eye on your sister and brother." The elder woman replied before both she and Orion walk off to another part of the store. Again Sirius rolls his eyes, before walking off as well to the Quidditch section most likely. Shaula and Regulus both grin at each other before running off to look at all the books.

Shaula first finds and grabs all the required books she needs before she begins to browse. Her fingers glide over the spines of the books on the shelves.

Curses for Beginners
100 ways to Jinx a Person
How to Occlude the Mind V.1
Magical Spells and it's History in Britain

Shaula plucked book after book from the shelves, reading blurbs and flicking through pages before placing them back on the shelves. She thought over the future, what skills she needed to learn to defend herself, how to be stronger, fight better. For the time being, Shaula reckoned she had a good few years before the First Wizarding War started and decided that her training should be properly evened out.

'Three books. Just three books for now will do.' She thought to herself and grabbed the three books she thought most useful for the time being.

Healing for the Clusmy by Honey Klutz
Helpful Herbs and how you can Benefit from them by Ivy Word
Charms: A Guide around the Wand by Thomas Randell

"Why are you getting a book on healing?" Asked Regulus as he looked at his sister, his own book choices clutched in his arms.

"Because Sirius is a very clumsy person Reg and I bet the Healer at Hogwarts will get sick of seeing him all the time." Shaula lied, hoping Regulus would believe her and leave it. He nodded, his curiosity satisfied before he looked down at his feet, a frown on his face.

Shaula places a finger under his chin and lifted his face to look him in the eyes. "What's wrong Reg?"

"When you go to Hogwarts... Promise you won't forget about me." He said, his eyes filled with worry and sadness. She smiled at him.

"How could I ever forget my favourite bookworm? Who else am I going to complain about Sirius' antics to, huh?" Shaula laughed, ruffling Regulus' hair before pulling him to her chest. Regulus moaned, his hair now a mess but didn't protest against the hug.

"Come on, I think it's been 20 minutes so we should go meet mother." Shaula said as she grabbed Regulus' hand and walked to the cash register together, their books held tightly against their chests.

The rest of the day was spent going around the shops in Diagon Alley, collecting school supplies for the upcoming year at Hogwarts. Shaula felt both excited and nervous. She was finally going to meet the rest of the Marauders, Minerva McGonagall and loads more of the characters that she had once read about in her books when she lived as Chloe.

But she was also going to watch as friendships were torn apart and what House she will be placed into. She knew already that she wasn't going into Slytherin, she was nowhere near cunning enough to make it into the House. Shaula just prayed that whatever House she ended up in, didn't cause a large rift between her and Regulus. She loved the boy too much to lose him.