I'd frozen in place watching Dad and Sirius Black smile in the unmoving picture (that I later supposed may have just been undeveloped). They both wore big grins with their dress robes, and I could see Mum in the background with Remus, smiling at the two. In Sirius Black's eyes was no madness. There was only a cunning, but still merry sparkle. He looked much better than he did in The Daily Prophet. Here, his elbow length black hair was tame, his cheeks were less sallow, he looked alive.
Sirius Black was near unrecognizable. In fact, I had nearly not been able to put the pieces together. Surely, Sirius Black couldn't be one of the Marauders. There was no way that Sirius Black was Padfoot. He had to be Wormtail. For Harry's sake, he had to. Sirius Black just couldn't be Harry's godfather.
I gulped and shoved the picture in my pocket. I collected myself before I went to Divination. I was going to confront Remus about this right after classes. I would tell Harry afterwards. Calming the anger that I had directed at Remus, I headed to Divination alone, hoping to be able to take a few breaths.
*
I rapped my knuckles against Remus' door roughly. He opened it without magic, pulling it open when he saw it was me. I, for the first time, didn't smile. I almost felt it hard to be mad him. I was almost scared to be mad at him, for fear of losing the first family that Harry and I had ever had. But I remained so.
"You're early."
I simply shoved the picture roughly into his hands. Remus' eyes fell, and it seemed he was near tears at seeing the smiling faces. He said nothing as he beckoned me into his quarters, and set the photo in a potion to develop.
"Why, Remus? Why wouldn't you tell us that he knew my parents before he joined Voldemort?" I wasn't sure if the quietness in my voice was due to anger or a sadness that I was trying to let back into my heart.
"I didn't know how. I didn't..." Remus trailed off. "Please don't hate me."
Remus' voice was surprisingly scared. His eyes, I noticed when he glanced up at me, reflected that same fear. I slowly felt some of the anger bubble away as we both settled into chairs in his sitting area.
"When I was in Hogwarts, your father and I had two other very good friends," Remus said, pointing his wand at the kitchen so that the kettle and mugs began to prepare the tea themselves. "Their names were Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black. We were, as you have mentioned, the marauders. I'm Moony, obviously, your father was Prongs, Sirius is Padfoot, and Peter was Wormtail.
"We were all the best of friends all throughout Hogwarts, and when Voldemort came after your family, they chose Sirius Black as their secret keeper. He, and only he, knew where you all were. He wasn't... he..." Remus sighed. "He gave them up."
"And what about Peter? What happened to him?"
"I'm sure you heard that Sirius Black blew up a street, killing twelve muggles?" Remus asked. I nodded. "Well, he blew up not only the street, but also Peter Pettigrew. I've never been able to accept that he'd done such a thing, he was always such a good friend, and a good person. He never wanted to be like his family, they were all Voldemort supporters."
I sighed. "If Sirius Black Padfoot, then he is Harry's godfather."
*
I finally admitted to myself that Hermione had rubbed off on me, and maybe I didn't hate the library. I had spent countless hours in here last year. I went to the old newspapers, searching for the date that I hadn't dared search for before.
November 1, 2001.
Of course on the front page was a picture of my family. I didn't read the article that went along with it. I wanted never to relive that night again, and wanted not to read about it either. So I flipped the page, and sure enough, Sirius Black, younger, and not yet haunted by dementors, stared back at me.
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Harry Potter's Twin Sister and the Prisoner of Azkaban
FanfictionThe Chamber of Secrets is closed and Hogwarts is safe once again, but Harry and Lily can't seem to get a normal year at Hogwarts. This year, with escaped mass murderer Sirius Black on the loose, the dementors are called to guard Hogwarts. What's mor...