the sun, the moon, and stars between

one

Home Invasion

June 4th of 1995

  "Young Mistress Eridanus mustn't dance through the halls!" Kreacher, a house-elf born into serving The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black called out to the youngest Black, and final child born to Walburga and Orion Black. Kreacher was so distracted by the fourteen-year-old running and dancing through the old house, waking up the portraits and almost getting cursed by an object in the house, that he didn't notice Sirius Black walk through the front door.

  "Oh come on Kreach, it's not like Mother is here to yell after me!" Sirius heard a feminine voice call back to the house-elf chasing her through the dusty halls. "Regulus back me up here!" The teen called over to a portrait of Sirius' late brother Regulus.

"She is right Kreacher, let her live a bit." Sirius held back a smirk at the sound of his brother defending the stranger in Grimmauld Place

"ERIDANUS IRMA BLACK YOU QUIT THAT THIS MOMENT!" The sound of soft giggles and padding feet stopped immediately and the sound of someone or something falling replaced it.

"I apologize, Mother, I hope that I could be forgiven." Sirius frowned at the familiar automatic response that he was taught at a young age by his father. "Yes Mother, Toujours Pur I know." He could almost hear the eye-roll that went along with the sound of the Black family motto.

"Master Sirius-" The escaped convict had finally been noticed by the family house-elf. The sound of Kreacher gasping caught the ears of another person also, a young girl, about the same age as Harry.

"ACCIO WAND! Who are you and why are you here?" Sirius was met with a wand at his jugular and a teenage girl pressing him up against one of the walls of his childhood home, her knee dangerously close to a very specific area.

"My name is Sirius Orion Black, son of Walburga and Orion Black, and brother to Regulus Arcturus Black, Toujours Pur." The girl looked shocked for a moment, but then her wand was wearily moved from his jugular but still pointed at him, the teen in the light green dress attempting to look intimidating towards the much older man.

"Kreacher- Dang it Kreacher calm down." The old house-elf got a hold of himself quickly "do you know this man?"

"Disgusting blood traitor, Master Sirius is Mistress Eridanus' oldest brother, disowned at age sixteen by Mistress Walburga." The house-elf glared at Sirius as Eridanus lowered her mother's wand from aiming at him, yet her eyes untrusting and her tiny hand had a grip of death around the wand.

  "Kreacher go make some tea. We have some catching up to do."

  "But Mis-"

"Now Kreacher! Please..." The teen gave the elf a pleading look before he walked into the kitchen. "I'm Eridanus, I thought it was just me but I guess there's two of us left huh." They both awkwardly chuckled as Eridanus began to think her bare feet were very interesting all of a sudden.

"I'm Sirius, uh, sorry I didn't know about your existence or else I wouldn't have let you grow up like" he gestured around the sitting-room they found themselves in "this." Eridanus gave a weak smile as she finally met his eyes again, they were blue- no, they were grey, with years upon years of secrets lying in them, dulling down the beautiful blue that had once lay there.

"It wasn't all that bad, I found a few portraits that actually liked having conversations, Uncle Alphard is pretty cool, I love talking to Regulus, he tells me about Hogwarts, but nobody spoke about you." Eridanus' eyes reminded Sirius slightly of his younger brothers, but much different at the same time. They were bluer than the midday sky, they reminded him of Mrs. Potter's blue topaz necklace that she always wore. Eridanus was pale, paler than should be possible, her hair was a dark shade of chestnut, going down her back. Her face was reminiscent of their mother and full like Andromeda's. Her face almost always set in a smile but it was never full. Her eyes were the only thing that was truly original to Sirius though, they were full of life that most children born into pureblood families could never hold.

"Well I'm not surprised there, most of them wanted me dead." Sirius gave a small smile as her eyes became downcast again, preferring to look at the floor than him. "You don't believe in that pureblood stuff do you?" He asked Eridanus quietly, praying to Godric that she shook her head or said something that indicated a no.

"You won't tell Mother, will you? She's already disappointed enough in me as it is." Eridanus never understood why her mother's approval meant so much to her, she barely knew the woman before she died, why should she care? It was a mystery to the teen.

"Oh Merlin Eri, of course, I won't," Sirius understood the need for approval, when he began to realize that he had a family elsewhere than the Black's he decided to stop needing their approval. Sirius understood that she hadn't had that approval and that she could never get it from someone. She was also a bit skittish around people. He could tell just by the way she acted around him, defensive and hand always near the wand she grew up using, that the girl had never had much human interaction, let alone any.

Eridanus was shocked at the new nickname, Regulus had never thought to give her any and Alphard often said it was unladylike. "Sirius?" Her soft voice rang out, Sirius met her eyes again with a small grin.

  "Yeah, Eri?"

"What's it like not being alone?" The two remaining children of Walburga and Orion Black sat there, looking into the familiar yet unique eyes of one another, knowing that after all those years isolated, only surrounded by people and things that despised or could never truly be there for them, they would not be alone.

  "Oh, Eridanus I-"

"Would Young Mistress Eridanus like dinner to be served?" Sirius was cut off by the house-elf that had suddenly popped up. Eridanus looked over at the clock near the door

"Yes please Kreacher, and make sure you make enough for two." The elf nodded and grumbled something about Walburga as he left. Sirius began telling the teen about why he hadn't been back to Grimmauld Place sooner, about his arrest, and how he escaped Azkaban. He was beginning to tell Eridanus about his Hogwarts days but Kreacher had come back, announcing that dinner was ready in the dining room.

  "Eridanus,"

  "Yes, Sirius?"

  "I promise, you'll never be alone again."

  Both siblings smiled lightly before walking into the dining room, for a feeling of normalcy, for the first time in a long time for both of them.