Keep Breathing ♢ James Potter

6 | Entry 1 - Sticking Together

September 1, 1971

Dear Diary,

Sirius and I are finally going to Hogwarts today! Oh, how excited I am. I have been waiting for this day for ages. It feels like just yesterday we saw our cousins getting ready to leave for Hogwarts, and now we will be doing the same.

Everyone is in their rooms getting ready to go to Platform 9 and 3/4. I'm so nervous I wouldn't be surprised if I accidentally left a few books behind. My cat, Midnight, is not very fond of having to be stuck in a cage for the day, but I'm sure he will be fine.

I  hope to be sorted into Slytherin. After all, that's where everyone in the Black family has been sorted. Oh- Mother just said we need to hurry and get downstairs. I'll write more once I've settled into my new dorm after the sorting.

A.B.

-

From what Harry could tell, Astrid was only 11 years old when she first wrote in the diary. Glancing at the writing, he noticed a word scribbled to the bottom of the page.

Ostendo

After reading the word, Harry noticed how the diary began to glow, and smoke filled the room. It covered every inch of the space, and soon, Harry could no longer recognize his surroundings.

When the smoke finally began to clear, Harry was stunned by what he saw. He was no longer in his dorm; he was in a bedroom.

The room was decorated with black furniture and silver accents on the walls. A young girl lay flat on her stomach on the bed in the middle of the room.

Harry had never seen this girl before, but she appeared to be scribbling in a journal. The journal looked remarkably similar to the one Harry had just been reading.

The girl had a young, innocent face. Her black hair fell over her eyes as she tried to write in her diary. Her gray eyes squinted with concentration, making her look as if she were writing the most important thing in the world. To her, the diary probably felt like the most important thing in her life at the time.

As he approached the girl, Harry noticed that she hadn't acknowledged his presence at all. It was as if he weren't there. He also noticed that she had a trunk next to her bed, one that he assumed she would soon take to Hogwarts.

Before Harry could reach her, an older woman barged into the room. "Astrid!" shrieked her mother, "Stop it with your nonsense and get downstairs this instant!"

Harry recognized the woman: Walburga Black. He remembered seeing her portrait on the Black Family Tree, next to her husband, Orion Black. Walburga wore the same stern face she had in her portrait, one that would probably scare children if she passed by.

The girl, whom Harry now knew was Astrid, jumped up, grabbed her journal, and rushed toward the door.

"Yes, Mother," Astrid answered as she stuffed the diary into her trunk.

"Kreacher," she called. A younger version of Kreacher appeared in front of the girl. While this version wasn't much younger than the one Harry knew, he didn't look as glum when he saw Astrid.

"Kreacher, can you please bring my trunk downstairs?" she asked.

"Of course, my lady," Kreacher agreed, vanishing with the trunk. Astrid ran out of the room, and Harry tried to keep up.

The house was just the same as Harry remembered from his time there—nothing was different, except how much cleaner everything looked. As Harry followed Astrid, he noticed a boy who poked his head out of a room down the hall.

The boy had black hair and piercing blue eyes. He seemed younger than Astrid and didn't look happy about going downstairs.

"Do you have to go, Astrid? You can always stay another year and start with me. I swear, I doubt anyone would even notice," the boy pleaded. Harry assumed that the young boy was Astrid and Sirius's younger brother, Regulus Black.

"Oh, stop whining, Regulus. You'll be going to Hogwarts next year. Quiet down unless you want Father to hear you," said another boy who popped around the corner, wrapping his arms around Regulus's shoulders in a teasing manner.

Upon closer inspection, Harry noticed the boy's long, black hair and dark eyes. He had seen those eyes before. Realization dawned on Harry as he continued to look at the boy.

"Oh, stop being rude to him, Sirius. You're just jealous that Mother prefers him over you," teased Astrid as she took note of her brother's jealousy over Regulus.

Harry marveled at the scene before him. Not only did he have Astrid in front of him, but also a younger version of Sirius and a brother that Sirius hadn't mentioned before. Harry felt overwhelmed by all the information as he watched the siblings walk downstairs and toward their parents.

"Children, it's time to go. Kreacher is already taking care of your belongings. No fooling around. You must act accordingly and represent the Most Noble and Most Ancient House of Black." Orion Black threw a harsh glare at Sirius as he spoke.

Even before Sirius was sorted into Gryffindor, Harry could tell that Sirius had always been the disappointment of the family. He could only imagine how much worse it would get once his parents found out where he was sorted.

As they began to head out, Harry noticed Astrid slowly reach over to Sirius and grab his hand.

"Don't worry, Sirius. You know how Father gets," said Astrid in a soft voice. Harry noticed the slight frown on her face.

"It's alright. I think it's about time I embrace being the family disappointment," Sirius said confidently, puffing out his chest and masking his emotions from his sister.

Before they went to the fireplace, Sirius turned to Astrid and whispered into her ear, "Promise me we'll never turn out like them. We'll stick together."

Astrid smiled and slowly wrapped her arm around his. "Don't worry, Sirius, we aren't like them." Little did they know, this would be the last nice moment they shared before they were split apart by the Sorting Hat.

With that, Harry watched as they all disappeared into the flames, leaving him alone to process what he had just witnessed.