cry for a shadow

Number 12 Grimmauld Place

Number Twelve Grimmauld Place was a large, ornate building. It housed many dark rooms and many dark secrets. Each room was large and lavishly decorated with tapastrys, paintings and other furnishings that would not have looked out of place in a palace, after all the family considered itself royal in all bar the title. Inspite of its hansom decoration the house had a definite unfriendly air, it was the sort of place that you could never quite feel comfortable in; magic swirled murkily through the air like dust and you could never quite shake off the feeling you were being watched. The strangeness of the house was nothing to the strangeness of it owners.

Infact, house rather reflected it's owners who where very rich, deeply magical and extremely unfriendly.
So unfriendly infact that they had gone to great lengths to conseal the whereabouts of Number Twelve from unwanted visitors, not that many people would have cared to call upon the family.
The house was unplottable on a map, invisible to the outside eye and so full of trap doors and secret passages that should any 'unwated visitors' find there way inside it they would have little hope navigating their way around it.

Mr and Mrs Black prided themselves on their hauty uninvolvement in the non magic world, for each were what wizards called "pure blood". Mr Black, a tall dark haired man with milk white skin and a perpetual glower, could trace his family back ten generations of wizards and witches, and his wife, could do the same. This was a point that each made sure to advertise and, if you ever did find your way inside number Twelve, you would see their family tree plastered across the walls in the large drawing room, on each of the bed spreads, carved into the stone above the front door and worked into each if the many tapestrys.

Mr Orion Black and Mrs Walburga Black had two young sons: eleven year old Sirius and nine year old Regulus. Regulus was slight and slightly weedy, with piercing blue eyes, milk white skin and jet black hair he looked almost ghostly. Sirius was a different story, tall for eleven years old, with thick brown hair, a sweep of which fell casually down over his eyes which were a bright blazing blue, he had a thin chiseled face and a much warmer complextion than his father or brother. Although he would never admit it,
Sirius was the image of his mother.

Sirius slammed down the lid of his trunk. He was finally packed for Hogwarts, in less than twelve hours time he would be sitting on the Hogwarts express. In less than twelve hours time he would be free. He flicked his wand at the trunk and the catch flicked shut with a satisfying click.

"You will write to me?" Asked Regulus, staring glumly at his older brothers packed trunk.

"'course" replied Sirius, flashing Regulus a grin. Standing up he stretched then plonked himself down next to Regulus, who had been perched on the end of Sirius' bed watching him pack with a gloomy expression upon his face. Sirius nudged his brother grinning at him, when Regulus continued to look glum he spoke again.

"In two years time you'll be comming with me, I can try and find all the secret passages and we can go on adventures together... imagine Reg, they'll be a whole castle to explore and-"

"Two whole years" Regulus sniffed, "I want to go with you"

"I know" Sirius replied "but it'll be alright..."

Just then a shouts began to echo from down stares "SIRIUS ORION BLACK YOU GET DOWN HERE THIS MOMENT!"

"what did you do?" Asked Regulus, looking wide eyed at his brother.

"Nothing!" Replied Sirius, but after a look from his brother he bit his lip "I only... I may have made some improvements to the living room wall paper"

"What sort of improv-" but Regulus's words were drowned by another shout from down stairs
"PINK!" came the unmistakable voice of his father "PINK WALLS... YOU JUST WAIT UNTILL YOUR MOTHER HEARS ABOUT THIS YOU WRETCHED CHILD"

Sirius grinned down at Regulus, who smiled weakly back.
"It'll be alot quieter without you" Regulus muttered "that's for sure"

"Where is Mother?" Asked Sirius

"At another one of those meeting things, with the Lestranges and the Malfoys and that lot, not sure what it's about"

"Right" said Sirius, he could hear his Father beginning to climb up the stairs. "You better go" he mumbled "I don't want her thinking you had anything to do with this"

"Why did you do it" Regulus asked as he scurried to wards the door.

"I was practicing" Sirius replied
"I've got big plans for my time at Hogwarts"