The Other Side: A Harry Potter FanFiction

Chapter XIII

"I'm not angry at you, Kreacher, really!"

            Andromeda, wand in hand, directed a pile of plates into the large sink, where a floating sponge was waiting to clean them. "Just be careful next time, okay?"

            "Yes, Mistress," he said. He stood before a pile of broken pieces of dishware. With a snap of his fingers, they started to reassemble themselves in midair.

            Lana, who had gone downstairs to give Kreacher her plate, asked, "What exactly happened?"

            "Kreacher thought he saw a rat," Kreacher explained, "Kreacher has been given orders to capture any rats seen in the household. Kreacher was merely following orders-"

            "And dropped all the plates in his race to try to catch it," Cedric finished. He was leaning against the wall beside Lana, his arms crossed. "It ended up just being a dust bunny, though."

            "Why don't you all go back up to the dining room?" Andromeda suggested, "Kreacher and I can take care of this."

            Regina, who'd been scrubbing where leftover eggs had landed when the plates were dropped, shrugged and stood up. She stepped over to Lana and Cedric, saying, "All set, then?"

            "You guys go ahead," Lana said, "I'll meet you there in a few minutes."

            "You sure?" Cedric asked as Regina started up the stairs.

            Lana nodded with a smile. "I just need to talk to Andromeda about something."

            "Okay." He returned her smile and then headed up the stairs behind Regina.

            "You need to talk to me about something?" Andromeda asked, flicking her wand. All the chairs around the table pushed themselves in automatically. She pulled the one on the end out again and sat down. "What is it?"

            "Well, actually it's about Sirius," Lana said. She stepped over to the table and sat down. "I just... I want to know what his problem is."

            Andromeda frowned. "Everyone has problems, Lana. His are his own to deal with and no one else's."

            "I understand that," Lana assured, "It's just that... He said he got the people he cared about killed. I'm just curious, is all."

            Andromeda bit her lip. "I'm really not meant to tell you."

            "Please," Lana pleaded, "I just think that maybe if I could understand him better, I'd be able to help."

            "You just met him yesterday. Why would you want to help him?"

            "You've all given me everything; shelter, food... everything. When no one else would. Even though they could kill you for it. I owe all of you my life. It's the very least I can do."

            Andromeda grimaced. "Are you sure you want to know, then?"

            Lana nodded.

            Andromeda sighed. "All right. I'll start from the beginning, then.

            "Sirius was never really a happy child. Not at home, anyway. You see, his entire family-his mother, father, and brother-were all, in his opinion, pure-blood maniacs who didn't give a damn about anyone with even a drop of muggle blood in their systems. When he was sent off to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, it was probably the best thing that ever happened to him.

            "I don't know if you knew this, but Hogwarts was a very peculiar school. It had four Houses that students could all be placed in. Gryffindor was for the brave, Ravenclaw for the wise, Hufflepuff for the loyal, and Slytherin for the... well, for the rather sinister folk." She made a face. "I was in Slytherin. Both of my sisters were as well. When it was Regulus's turn, he was placed in Slytherin. But Sirius... Sirius was placed in Gryffindor.

            "As you can imagine, his parents weren't so happy about that. They threatened Dumbledore-he was the headmaster, back then-with everything they had. They even said they'd transfer Sirius out of Hogwarts. But Sirius didn't want to leave." She smiled sadly. "He'd made friends. Their names were Remus Lupin-you met him yesterday-Peter Pettigrew, and James Potter.

            "Throughout their years at Hogwarts, the boys became very close friends. They were all in Gryffindor, you see, and, though his parents disapproved, Sirius really loved the idea of being in Gryffindor. He could never really get over it, I think.

            "Like all young men, he had his ups and downs. When he was sixteen he ran away from home. He couldn't take it anymore. His parents disowned him. My uncle, Alphard, gave him gold to help, and he was disowned, as well.

            "I can't say that Sirius wasn't happy about being disowned. He was no longer part of the family he hated. He lived with the Potters for awhile. He and James were the closest out of their whole group.

            "After they graduated from Hogwarts, Sirius was the best man in James's wedding, and eventually he became the godfather of James's son, Harry.

            "Now, a prophecy had been foretold about Harry. Neither can live while the other survives. Basically, that just meant that as long as Harry was around, the Dark Lord, Voldemort, had to be dead, or vice versa.

            "The Potters knew about the prophecy. Believe me, they did whatever they could to try to protect their son. They put a Fidelius Charm over their household and made Sirius the Secret Keeper."

            "Fidelius Charm?" Lana asked.

            "It's the same sort of charm that helps hide this place," Andromeda explained, "The only person who can tell its secrets is the Secret Keeper.

            "Sirius, however, backed out of it. He said that Voldemort would suspect him, since he and James were so close. He suggested that they make Peter the Secret Keeper, because he was the weakest of the group and the Dark Lord would never think of him.

            "But, as it happens, Peter Pettigrew turned out to be a Death Eater. He betrayed the Potters to Voldemort. The Dark Lord went to their house on All Hallows Eve and murdered the three of them, right on the spot. The prophecy had come true. The Dark Lord came to power." She shook her head. "To this day, Sirius believes everything that has happened is his fault."

            "That's so sad," Lana whispered, "Sirius really thinks that?"

            Andromeda nodded. "It's been nineteen years since that day. He's made the decision to drown out his guilt in alcohol. I've tried to convince him otherwise, but he never listens to me."

            Lana stood up. "I think I should go talk to him."

            "Don't," Andromeda said, "When he's in one of his moods, it's best to let him be."

            Lana bit her lip. Now that she knew the story of Sirius Black, she wondered if he could ever be helped.

            "You should go meet with Cedric and Regina," Andromeda said, standing up and walking to the sink. "They'll be waiting for you."

            Lana nodded. "Thank you."

            Then she turned and rushed up the stairs.