Carina McGonagall is named after the constellation containing the second brightest star in the sky - and it just so happens one Sirius Black is named after the brightest. They've always had an interesting relationship throughout the years - pranks...
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18th July 1976
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
The entire previous night Carina had gone back and forth over telling her mother about what Sirius had said and what he had instructed her to do and Minerva had noticed something was off. Of course. But the idea of her mother potentially wanting to storm over there to the Black residence to inquire about it or to investigate with Dumbledore before she knew all the facts made Carina feel severely uncomfortable so she said nothing. Whether that was the right plan or not, she would have to find out.
The rest of the day was rather ordinary for Carina. A new letter from Remus as he had just got back from his holidays and he told her all about the trip to France and how he poorly attempted the language and might've vaguely flirted in French with a few people from the way they looked at him.
Carina decided she'd ask her mother the next day if the boys could come and stay over, but of course that would be a risky proposition because Minerva did know the boys as their head of house and because of potential "activities", with Sirius being her boyfriend. Not that Carina wanted to even contemplate that yet; she was quite happy to just stick to kissing and she did not want a baby as even magical contraception wasn't 100% effective. However, whether her mother would trust her and take that potential risk was another matter.
A very very different other matter.
Carina could only hope it would go over well.
While the morning had been soft and warm, making it so easy for Carina to sleep in rather late, the afternoon had ticked by, unproductive, and rather slow. Carina had tried her best to busy herself as twelve o'clock slowly stretched out into one, then two and then three, but a few hours felt like a century as they dragged on in the mid-summer - but still rather British - heat. Although it was barely reaching thirty-five degrees Celsius, that was still about twenty-five more than normal, especially for the northern end of Scotland in particular.
Slowly, Carina had run out of holiday homework to finish, new books to read and new potions to try to make. By quarter to four, Carina had finished Charms and practised the recommended spells a few times too, finished her muggle botanist and magical Herbology books and made a decently strong sleep solution that smelled wonderfully of lavender. The lack of productivity, of things to do, on the day where she was waiting anxiously for something made Carina deeply unsettled as the less she had to do, the more her mind spurred head long into worst case scenario, well, scenarios where any number of horrible things could happen before, during or because of this conversation she was going to have with Sirius.
The very thought of it made her shudder, in spite of the afternoon warmth that has filled the McGonagall home.
Minerva often liked to nap - in cat form, of course - when this sort of weather was around, allowing herself to curl up on the windowsill, in the midst of the lovely sunbeams and simply bathe in the soft and very sleep inducing light. This was where she was as the sun began its slow, sleepy descent down the sky, casting golden sunlight across the entire house. Her tabby-self was asleep in the little living room area of the house; a mere corridor, with no doors, away from the only fireplace in the house - an old cobbled stone one that had been there for Carina's entire life and probably even longer than that.
Softly Carina padded light across the wooden floorboards of the living room with her socked feet, her dress swishing as she did so, as a breeze floated in through the open window. Breathing as deeply and as quietly as possible, Carina placed herself as gracefully as possible on the kitchen floor, just beside the fireplace. In the cold of the kitchen where the sunlight didn't touch, Carina sighed. She wondered how long it would be until Sirius appeared or whatever he was planning to do. Finally, after two minutes sitting on the cool tiles of the floor, Carina lit the fire in the fireplace and began to boil her cauldron. Even if she had no idea what was going on, at least she could be productive and perfect the new potion.
The next time she looked back into the flames as her water slowly simmered, Carina had to stop herself from screaming aloud.
In the centre of the glowing fire floated Sirius's disembodied head, or at least the fiery outline of his face.
He grinned up at her as he surveyed the shocked look on Carina's face. "You should've expected this, darling, Flitwick covered it just before the end of the year. And why else would I have asked you to sit by your fireplace?" He was laughing at her, she could tell, but there was something else in his eyes too.
Worry, maybe. Fear.
"I didn't think you'd have been paying attention," she whispered back. With another glance up to her mother, Carina could see she was still asleep, but she was still nervous.
That was when she saw it - a giant bruise that had been almost impossible to see with only flames defining his features until he moved his head slightly. There was a small cluster of nasty looking cuts too and Sirius immediately knew she had seen them as he raised his hand to cover them.
The concern laced through his girlfriend's surveying look over his face made Sirius shift uneasily. "It's nothing. Just an accident."
But even as he said it, Sirius knew Carina was too smart to believe that for a second. "Not to be rude, but I'm not an idiot, Sirius. You said your parents were watching your mail and when we finally get to speak, you're all bloodied up? It doesn't take a genius to work it out and it also doesn't take a genius to realise that you need to get out of there. I can ask my mum if you can stay around here, or we can ask James, his parents love you, they'd be happy to get you out of there - "
Sirius shook his head. "I don't want to be a burden on you or them - "
"You wouldn't be a burden, Mr Black." The sudden voice of her mother behind her made Carina almost jump out of her skin and she could feel her cheeks flushing red as she realised her mother had probably known about this from the start. "In fact, I'd already contacted Mr Lupin, Mr Pettigrew and Mr Potter's parents to see if they would wish to stay over too. You are always welcome here. Especially to make sure what has happened to your face does not happen again."
"I would love to... But my brother, I don't want to leave him alone..." "Don't worry, Mr Black, Professor Dumbledore and I will see that Regulus definitely returns to Hogwarts in September unharmed. Any problems, we shall deal with them." Minerva nodded at the boy and he gave her a small smile.
"Go to James' house tomorrow. He'll take care of you for a week and then all of you boys can come up and stay here for as long as you need."
"Thanks, Professor." Sirius's grin returned to his face once again, as he turned back to Carina. "I guess I better go pack, and then I can give you a hug in person."
He blew a kiss to her and then Sirius was gone.
Carina turned to her mother and looked up at the tall woman. "I'm so sorry, Mum, I should've talked to you. Am I in trouble?"
"No, love." Minerva helped her daughter up off of the floor and hugged her. "Not at all. I just want you to remember you can tell me about your friends and their problems. I might be a professor, but I'm still your mum and that means I care about you and the people you care about. And that does include..." She paused, clearly thinking of what word to use, before settling on: "Sirius."
The two women smiled at that and simply stood hugging in their kitchen for a while.
