Trouble (The Marauders Era» Sirius Black Fanfiction) *Editing*

24» One Condition

Chapter Twenty-Four

One Condition

<Stuck between a rock and a hard place>

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Thea pushed her luggage cart quickly, trying to avoid crashing into muggles and ignoring her aunt.

"Oh, Theodora! Are we almost at the strange wall yet?" she called out, trying to keep up.

Thea sighed. Ever since she went home, she hadn't said much to Aunt Ali. She still believed it was her aunt that destroyed her bedroom along with the rest of the house, and the fact that she tried to blame it on a mythical intruder only made Thea more frustrated. As she arrived at the space between platforms nine and ten, she turned to her aunt and forced a smile.

"This is it," she said. "Bye. I'll write when I can."

"Do try to send an owl better behaved than that other one," Ali said, reaching out and giving Thea a hug, which she tried to make as short as possible. Her aunt could sense Thea's distance, so she dejectedly stepped away. "Alright. Well have fun, dear. And... I am sorry, Theodora."

Thea considered forgiving her aunt and letting it go. She did look upset. But instead, Thea gave a small nod and walked away.

She passed through the barrier easily, already pushing aside all thoughts of Aunt Ali and ready to see her friends again. Many students were dreading the homework and exams, but she wasn't. She was excited to go back to school; it was the one place that had felt like home to her since her mother's death.

"Thea!" a familiar voice said. Remus' head was poked out the door of one of the train cabins. He gestured for her to come inside, which she quickly did. She had been on automatic pilot since passing through the barrier, and hadn't realized they were already about to leave the station. She plopped down in the seat in between Remus and Sirius. Across from her sat Peter, James and Lily.

"Did you get my owl?" Thea said to Sirius. He nodded.

"I didn't have time to reply," he said, closing his book about the history of Aurors. "Any new developments?"

"About what?" Lily asked.

"The break in?" James said. Lily looked alarmed.

"What? What break in? Are you ok? Is your aunt ok? Was anything sto-"

"We don't know," Thea interrupted. "The house is still a wreck thanks to Aunt Ali, so we don't know if anything is missing. I was going to write to all of you but there wasn't enough time or owls."

"What do you know?" Remus asked.

"I talked with the local police," she said. "They reckon it was my aunt who tore up the house. As do I. I talked to our neighbor; the old man says he didn't hear anything like a break in. He said he saw Ali leave the back door open, but he's old and a bit creepy. I don't know if I trust him or not."

"He seemed alright to me," Sirius said.

"How's your aunt?" Lily asked.

"Crazy, as always," Thea said. She sighed. "Anyways, how were your Easter breaks? Remus?"

"Er, lovely," he said, pretending to read his copy of The Daily Prophet. "Mum and dad took me to meet a friend of theirs, a healer."