The Newcomer | Marauders Era | Sirius Black

Urgent 20

A month from the end of term

Ali's P.O.V-

"Hagrid said he saw you by the forest love, what are you up to?" a voice that I've come to grow annoyed by asks from behind me
"Sacrificing babies is a hobby of mine." I respond sarcastically to an amused Black
"Well with your family, can't say I'm surprised. But let me save you from that, won't you darling?"
"You're one to talk about dark families. Didn't one of your aunts try to pass a law saying that one house elves got too old that they should be beheaded?"
"Ah yes, Aunt Elladora. Not so much a law, more of a family tradition. Beastly nonetheless." He says seeming ashamed, for a nice change.
"For once we agree."
"You still haven't answered my question, why did Hagrid see you and your girls by the Dark Forest?"
"None of your or Hagrid's business. Why is he telling you my whereabouts anyway?" I ask annoyed again, setting up our tea dishes before the professor scolds us for talking too much
"The gatekeeper's a friend of ours, he was expelled for something he swears he didn't do. The lads an I believe him."
"Okay, that doesn't answer my question but I'll bite. Why did he get expelled?" I ask, shredding the leaves in to powder
"In his third year they accused him of opening the Chamber of Secrets. A muggleborn girl died."
"What's the Chamber of Secrets?"
"Excuse me?" we look up to see the professor with a slightly bitter expression on her face
"Ms.Prince, it would be nice if you allowed Mr.Black to do some of the work."
"I wasn't stopping him, Professor." I defended
"Not stopping, perse" Black cuts in "however it is unfair how you keep distracting me."
"Excuse you?" I ask apawled "Who was it asking me invasive questions and telling me the life story of the gatekeeper and how he killed a muggleborn girl?"
"You don't have to say anything to distract me love."
"Excuse me, the pair of you. Mr.Black I'm sure you can flirt after class and as for you Ms.Prince, do not comandeer the assignment. You're not Mr.Black's mother." she spits
"Thank Merlin for that." Black mumbles
"Now, your N.E.W.Ts are less than a month from now. You two had better start taking this seriously." she says and walks off
Turning to look at Black I say "I don't do anything to you and you accuse me of distracting you? What is wrong with you?!"
"You did distract me love, whether you meant to or not."
"Bullshit, and if this is just some cheesy pick up line, save it. You've told me enough to last a lifetime." I shove back
"All good and well then. What can I help with?" he asks
"You could start of boiling the water, then every minute, drop in a two miligrams of the tea leaves until they're all boiling."
"Yes ma'am." he says and gets on it, finally not detailing my work
*********
"Ms.Prince, I thought I asked you to let Mr.Black do some of the work. This reader is perfect and looks entirely done by you."
"Professor,-"
"I did do work, Professor." Black says interrupting me for the first time for something actually important
"Hmmp? Well done, then." and she walks off
Turning to Black I ask "You didn't make something more difficult for me when you had the chance to. Why?"
"I don't purposefully make you hate me, love. Annoy and tease you I do, but not this." he responds cheeky
"Alright, for what it's worth you did what you did well." I complement
"Thank you." he says, a little surprised "That's the first time you've ever given me a genuine complement."
"Ah huh, and most likely the last."
"Aww, darling. C'mon, no need to get so cold so fast." he says preparing himself to leave like the rest of the class
"I'm just as lukewarm to you now as I was two minutes ago, no need to alarm yourself, Black."
"You still never told me what the Chamber of Secrets was." I say
"Oh right." he pauses
"I'll tell you what it is," he smiles too sweetly and says "if you tell me what you were doing by the forest."
"I wasn't doing anything Black, not that its any of your concern. We were just talking."
"About what?"
"About life, Black. Our lives at home, who we miss, what we want, all that type of shit. What's the Chamber of Secrets?" I ask again
"Oooh, pushy. Yes alright, it's something the professors insist doesn't exist and yet they never give a concrete answer as to why Hagrid was expelled."
"Elaborate."
"Enjoy giving orders, do we?" he asks cheekily
"Black...I could ask someone else."
"Alright, it's a chamber housing some hideous monster. No one knows where it is, only that the monster was brought here by Salazar Slytherin himself and brought here to purge the school of muggleborns and half-breeds."
"Merlin! And teachers insist that something like that doesn't exist? But why did they expel Hagrid, then?"
"Not sure to tell you the truth, love. All I do know is that I find you very attractive and would like to have a butterbeer or two with you at the Three Broomsticks."
"What the hell does that have to do with this?"
"Nothin', I just thought it worth mentioning."
"Don't hold your breath, Black. I'll jump in the lake and swim laps with the giant squid before going out with you." I remark
"So cold, so harsh. A gorgeous face like yours should utter such ugly words. Although I must say your particular brand of American vulgarity is refreshing."
"And your posh ignorance is annoying, what's the point of this conversation anymore?"
We hear a breathy voice behind us say "I believe Mr.Black was trying to catch your attention by telling you about the chamber but it was all really a rouse to try and get you to talk to him more since, although it may not seem like it, you Ms.Prince, make Mr.Black feel quite insecure."
"I beg your pardon?" Black says, looking slightly pink. Not sure if that's because he's angry or embarrassed, maybe both.
"Awww, it's Siri embarrassed?" I ask in a baby voice
"The word "shame" is not in my vocabulary, beautiful." He snaps back at me while still glaring at our teacher
"You need not fret Mr.Black, this happens to everyone. Eventually, someone in our lives knocks us down from our pedestals and humbles us. I must say, it was about time for you." She says in her light tone, a grin playing with the edges of her mouth
"I don't have a pedestal, professor." He sneers
"Dear boy, I'm sure you're not oblivious to the outrageous preferential treatment the headmaster gives you, as well as how the students in this school respond to you... Make sure you hand in the parchment due next class, both of you. Head to your next hour, come on." She says, exiting.
Giggling, I head out. I feel Black's eyes burning a hole in the back of my head and I walk away even faster because, although I might act tough, the teacher said herself: Those guys could get away with murder here...
**********
The library is always a good place to listen to my music, especially since I discovered 1990's music. I need to think of an amazing gift for Jack, I don't know if I could ever top this. My TimePlayer has shown me Nirvana. I don't mean the Buddhist paradise, I mean a band from that era with that namesake. These are some of the deepest lyrics I could fathom and you can tell this guy is stellarly messed up....
I feel a tap on my shoulder and see Sev, with an anguished expression on his face.
"What's wrong, cousin?" I ask
"My mum is worse."
"What? Why?" I ask
"She had another accident."
I know what that means, she didn't have his dinner prepared for when he got home or she said something not entirely coated in sugar or she looked at him funny or breathed and he got irritated with her.
"Where is she now? No-mag hospital or St.Mungos?"
"Right now? At home, no money for medical expenses and such." He chagrins
"My aunt is alone, with that man, injured with no medical help?" I ask outraged and tearing
"What could we do, Ali? We've no money, no transportation home, no back up and no solid plan for getting rid of the problem to prevent things like this from happening again." He says bitterly
"Well we have to do something, we can't just leave your mom hanging. Can't we contact my dad, I mean he has to be able to do something!"
"Who do you think told me, Alexandra?"
"So did he say he was going to do something? Gimme the skinny!" I demand
"He tried to talk to the local police but they said that if it's a domestic dispute and it's no longer on going then there's nothing they can do."
"Your father physically assaulted her! What do you mean there's nothing they can do?"
"My mother has to be the one to report him for that and merlin knows she won't."
"So if someone else reports him it doesn't count? Not even you?"
"Troublesome, no?" He says sneering at the air, a whisper so angry it's scary.
He really does look like a male version of his mother, there's almost nothing of Tobias in him. In more ways then one.
"Al, my mother could die.."
"He beat her that badly this time?"
"A part of her face is sunken in.."
"Severus my dad will pay for the medical bills, for the love of merlin she has to go to the hospital."
"My father is under the impression that she's being hyperbolic of how bad it is, apparently you can exaggerate how concave your face has become."
"He's repugnant." I say scowling
"Well if this served us for anything it has made us feel not only worried sick but also completely useless."
"I have to talk to my dad, do you think Lola could use the Gryffindor fire place to contact him?"
"Most likely, why can only Gryffindor have a fire place? That'd be so bloody useful for all other houses, too." He asks
"In case you haven't noticed, Gryffindor is the school's favourite. And by that I mean Dumbledore's."