Twists of Fate: Entangled Threads || Sirius Black FF

Chapter 54: Christmas Break

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Due to having no place to leave to, it hadn't occurred to Sandy. With one too many things in her mind, she had completely forgotten about the Christmas break. Sure, people had talked about it near her, or even to her, but she still did not come into conscience about this Christmas break. Not until the day for everyone to leave had arrived. 

Frantically, she looked for Sirius. However, he had avoided her yesterday, and the day before that had been the party itself. No matter where she looked, he didn't seem to be there. So, when she spotted the other Black, a plan B had to come to play. "Regulus!"

"Oh, hey, Sandy." He waved slightly, stiff as he carried his trunk behind him. As soon as Sandy approached him, and examined the boy from head to toe, she knew then, he did not want to go back 'home'. "I assume you might be staying in Hogwarts? Or are you going to a friend's house?"

"Hogwarts, unfortunately. How are you?"

"Fine. Why wouldn't I be?" When those words left him, he was met with a look. Swallowing slightly, he looked away. This year would be different, and even he knew that, without having intel from the future. This year, he had sort of made amends with Sirius, and the two had figured out their parents' schemes. It was likely that somehow, their parents had found out that they were getting along, knowing that they liked to owl the Slytherin prefects 'in secret'. Not to mention, he did not trust Sirius to keep his mouth shut about 'the misunderstanding'. "We'll be fine."

She knew that wouldn't be the case. Sure, things would get better, but that didn't mean they wouldn't have a hard time during Christmas. And she really didn't want the younger Black to be left behind. According to the adult Sirius of her time, he had asked Regulus to come with him, but he had declined. Her hope was that this time around, things would be different. That they'd both seek refuge with the Potters. "Just in case, I'd like to talk and do something to you."

"Do something to me?"

"Nothing bad, I promise." She looked around, but fortunately no one seemed to be around. Even then, she still preferred privacy. So, she guided him to an empty classroom, before locking it, and silencing it with a charm. Regulus, although a bit nervous, was more so curious over what would happen. When she rose up her right sleeve slightly, he looked at the 'tattoo' on her wrist, waiting for an explanation. "This is a spell of my own creation. I made it... Before I came to Hogwarts. It works, I assure you. If the Ministry knew about it, they'd likely make it illegal for that reason. But they don't. I want to cast it on you, with your permission."

He shifted his eyes between her spell 'tattoo' and her eyes, a few times in consideration. "What's it do and why would it be illegal?"

"It will allow you to do underaged magic outside of Hogwarts without the Trace being able to detect it." She had intended it for Harry. However, by the she finally made it, he had turned 17. And so, she had cast it on herself, and little Teddy. Ginny too, whom she hoped would spread the spell while she went with the others on the Horcrux hunt. However, in this new timeline, only she and Dumbledore knew about it. "If you need to defend yourself, or Sirius, against your parents, you can have this advantage."

Regulus stared at her blankly, unsure how to respond. Up until that moment, she had not been so blunt about the behaviour of his parents towards them. Yes, she had discreetly danced around the topic, something he had chosen to ignore, to pretend it to be a different reality from what awaited them in Grimmauld Place. But now, she was outing something that could get her into trouble, for the sake of his safety. "And... You say it works?"