𝐀𝐔𝐑𝐎𝐑𝐀 | 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬

✧ prologue ✧

1971

Sirius Black sat at his family's long dining table staring silently at his hands. The room was silent as the whole Black family awaited their breakfast; mother and father sitting at either end of the table while Sirius' younger brother Regulus sat opposite him. The large antique clock in the far corner of the room chimed signalling the hour and the kitchen doors swung open, house elves emerging with trays laden with a lavish buffet.

'Right on time.' He thought, checking his watch to see that it was eight o'clock on the dot. Same as the day before, and the day before that, and all the days to come.

There never was much conversation during meal times at the Black residence. Sirius had to focus all his energy on not scraping his cutlery against the fine crockery, for in a silent room that large everything echoed. The smallest noise was met with a harsh, disapproving glare from his mother. What was left of his concentration that wasn't focused on not scraping went into making sure that he took small mouthfuls, chewed quietly, sat up straight and never, under any circumstances, rested his elbows on the table.

On that particular day, however, the Black's strictly monitored schedule was interrupted by an owl bursting through the kitchen door into the dining room followed shortly by a gaggle of house elves trying to control the bird before it disrupted their master's meal. As soon as the commotion had begun it had ended. Sirius' father had risen to his feet immediately, stopping the house elves in their tracks. The owl landed on the back of an empty chair and cocked its head to the side, almost challenging the elves. After taking one look at Sirius' father they all began muttering apologies profusely and hitting themselves as they retreated back to the kitchen.

Wordlessly, Sirius father plucked the wax sealed letter from the beak of the bird and without another sound it took off again, swooping low over Sirius' head before gliding back through the kitchen door and out the open window. Orion Black turned the letter over carefully in his hand, reading the front before walking over to Sirius and returning it to the rightful recipient's hand.

Sirius felt an excitement bubble up inside of him. This was the letter he'd been waiting eleven years to receive. He read his own name printed in elaborate black cursive on the front before turning it over to reveal the wax seal of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

✧✧✧

James Potter awoke to the smell of bacon and eggs wafting up the stairs of his family home. He slowly rolled over and stretched, reaching for his glasses on the bedside table.

He slid out of bed and stretched once more, before heading towards the appetising smell. At the bottom of the staircase stood James' mother, a plate piled high with bacon and eggs in one hand and her wand in the other. A small gust of wind was pouring from the tip of her wand, blowing the delicious smell directly into James' face and making his mouth water.

"I thought this might wake you up," Euphemia Potter laughed, flicking her wand to disperse the wind, "follow me, a letter came for you this morning."

With that James' eyes widened and he broke into a run, the plate of bacon and eggs long forgotten as he hurried down the stairs and into the kitchen after his mother.

Euphemia set the plate down on the dining table where she had already set a place for James, a cup of freshly squeezed orange juice with a wax sealed letter leaning against the glass now accompanying the bacon and eggs. James pulled out the seat and clambered into it, reaching out and snatching the letter up. He quickly took in the neat writing on the front clarifying that it was addressed to him, before flipping it over and tearing open the wax seal stamped with a crest that was to become his home for the next seven years; Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.