Savior Complex || Sirius Black

(one.)

Dalia Raycroft internally groaned when she saw Alastor Moody and her older brother Evander making their way towards her. 'Seriously?' her inner voice grumbled, 'at our father's funeral?'

Dalia and Evander had never been close; not since she had crawled into his bed seventeen years ago and told him that their mother was about to be killed by Death Eaters. He'd never understood why it had been him, and not their father, that Dalia had gone to. Dalia hadn't understood either for a long time, but eventually she realized it was because even back then, at five years old, she had known it would only end up being the two of them. Dalia had proven throughout the years that she always had a way of knowing things like that; who was going to die, who would be left, how people would react.

Alastor reached her first, despite his wooden leg, and his magic eye rolled in it's socket frantically.

"Wotcher, Dalia. Look at how you've grown." The man said. Dalia offered an appropriate smile, and smoothed out the silk black dress she wore. Alastor had been her father's best friend back at Hogwarts, and they'd fought in the war together. After the attack, though, Edmund Raycroft had moved his family to America. He figured that being across an ocean from the war was as good a place as any to continue raising his three children.

"Always a pleasure, uncle Moody." She said back politely, electing to ignore her brother as he came up behind the older man's shoulder. Evander- now an auror- had left the US after their middle sister, Ophelia, was killed during her cursebreaker training three years before. He believed vehemently that the man who had murdered their mother was still out there, and had been the reason for Ophelia's death as well. Despite knowing that he was right, Dalia was furious at Evander for leaving her all alone with their grief stricken father, and let him know the moment he'd arrived that it was his fault the man had drunk himself to death- not hers.

"Yes, well." Alastor said awkwardly, glancing between the two tense siblings, "Wishing it was under different circumstances, of course. Now, Dalia, Evander here and I were wondering if we could have a word with you. He's told me you're very proficient in Divination."

Dalia shot a sharp glance towards Evander, who kept his eyes stubbornly on her chin.

"Yes." Dalia relented when Evander proved he would not meet her gaze. "Yes, I seem to have a knack for it."

Alastor nodded and gestured for them to walk into the garden. It had been a fine day for a funeral; sunny, and warm, and Dalia turned her face towards the sky as they maneuvered themselves a ways off from the lingering grievers. Edmund Raycroft, their father, had been an esteemed auror back in England as well as a good member of the MACUSA, and his funeral was full of all sorts of interesting people who had come a long way to pay Dalia and Evander their respects.

"Did your father ever mention a group called 'the order' to you?" Alastor was asking, his voice hissing and hushed, his eye rolling towards anyone that happened to walk by. Dalia glanced questioningly at Evander, who had finally found the courage to meet her gaze, and he looked at her with a hard and serious expression. Dalia shook her head a little absently.

"No- um, no I don't- I've never heard-" She muttered, but the name had struck a chord with her. She knew it would be important. She knew that this talk would be changing her life. Alastor hummed gruffly, grabbing her shoulder and pulling her close.

"Alright, then, Dalia, this is very serious business. I trust you've got a good head on those shoulders, and understand that what I'm about to tell you is some very dangerous information."

Dalia blanched, looking wildly between the last two members of her family.

"What's all this about? What's going on?" Something clenched in her stomach, and her eyes found Evander's of their own accord. "What have you gotten yourself into?"