The Blackest Sheep

Sirius. Gryffindor. Far sexier than you could ever hope to be.

[orionsblackbelt]

Sirius winced at the thought. “Eugh, tea? Not my style, Macdonald. I’m more of a caffeine and smokes oriented man, myself.”

[mary-mcdonalds-deactivated20151]

“And here I thought you were British,” Mary said with a huff, before giving him a soft smile. “Luckily, they also have coffee if you wanna sit down and have a chat?”

[orionsblackbelt]

He laughed softly at her jab. "Sorry, have I betrayed Britain, now?"

Nodding, he decided to take up her offer. "Sure," he pulled out a chair and sat down, "thanks."

After catching the attention of the waitress he turned to Mary, reclining in the chair. "So, how are you, Macdonald? What's been happening in your life?"

[i-am-lucinda-talkalot]

New Beginnings: Lucinda & Sirius

[i-am-lucinda-talkalot]

Lucinda smirked “Not just the younger years. Anyone who wants cash will do anything for it. This I learned in the snake pit. Sure you do. I’m sure you have plenty but so do we.” 

“Exactly! But sometimes it gets hard to figure out who you can trust these days. Even family members with this war going on. But sometimes the family you choose is the best option.”

“That’s because you don’t know how not to get caught unlike me and my housemates. You lions get attention purposefully or not. Us snakes? We are the masters of not getting caught although Ravenclaws are pretty good at that too.” 

Lucinda laughed and gave him a tiny shove “Bullshit you can. Having an houself make it for you doesn’t count either Sirius.” Lucinda teased “It is like a second home. I’ll be sad to leave. The beds here are lovely.”

[orionsblackbelt]

Sirius growled under his breath, embarrassed and annoyed at his house. “Well then, James and I need to have a serious talk to our house about honour and loyalty.” He shook his head. “No, you have no idea of what we’re capable of. People usually underestimate us, Lucinda. Don’t be one of them!”

He nodded along emphatically at all of her words. “Agreed. I feel like, for me anyway, you can always rely on the family you choose more than the family you’re given, because you’re picking them based on your similarities and your likeness and what you admire about that person. You’re not stuck with them, you choose them. That’s what I like about friends.”

“Sometimes it’s fun to get caught, anyway,” he shrugged. “You get the honour afterwards. Sure, you get detention, but you end up with the glory from people afterwards. Especially when you’re out to get someone in particular. Sorry to say it, but we often target older students - particularly Slytherins and quite often Ravenclaws - as they seemed to be the ones to pick on those in our house. We don’t let that go unnoticed. And then the people who we seek revenge for know it’s us and are eternally grateful, thus adding more people to our team for whatever reason. It’s a clever tactic for us.” Sirius didn’t usually talk about the Marauders’ pranks or their intentions, but Lucinda seemed like the sort of person who wouldn’t blow their cover, so he took a leap and trusted her.

“Not always a house elf!” he protested, pointing a finger at her accusingly. “Mrs Potter is an excellent cook, also. And she’s taught me a few things! I’m not all that I appear,” he winked at her, teasing back. 

Moving on, a tone of nostalgia entered his voice. “Totally like a second home.” He laughed at her reason for being sad to leave. “They are nice. But I’ll miss the people, and the food, and wandering the grounds, and all the castle’s hidden secrets and uncovering them all.” He sighed, half out of happiness and half out of sadness from thinking about leaving. “Such fun we’ve had here.”

[regulus-blackened-blog]

Regulus let out a dramatic sigh as he realized his wishes weren’t going to come true any time soon. He was so goddamn done with people telling him what he should or shouldn’t do, or can and cannot do, and he knew this was exactly where this conversation where his brother was going to go. Crossing his arms and refusing to met Sirius’ eye, Regulus kept everything about him cold and steely, maybe Sirius would eventually get the message to fuck off.

“I heard. About what? Ready to admit about how you’ve been shacking up with my best friend?”

[orionsblackbelt]

Regulus let out an over-exaggerated sigh and Sirius couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at the typical teenage attitude of his little brother. Sirius kept his gaze solidly on Regulus to prove how serious he was about this, but Reg didn’t return the favour. Sirius couldn’t tell if it was because he really hated Sirius and couldn’t even look him in the eye, or if it was Reg’s way of telling him to bugger off.

“Excuse me?” Sirius snapped, unable to help himself as the sharp snap of the insult ran through him. “Not that you’d have noticed but I haven’t been ‘shacking up’ with anyone lately. Especially not Lucinda.”

 Pushing a calmness into his voice, he tried to regain his composure. “Now, will you please come with me a little more quiet so that our conversation isn’t overhead by everyone in the castle and we end up in Skeeter’s articles?” Sirius thought he may as well ask, even though he wasn’t giving Regulus the option. “And just in case you think about saying no, just realise that it’s not up for debate.”

[messrrremus]

Bloody hell, what is it with all of this school work?

[orionsblackbelt]

Flicking his hair out of his face so that he could glance over at Remus, Sirius shrugged, a look of boredom on his face. "Beats me," he said, already turning back to the multiple parchments in front of him.

"Why does Slughorn want a full essay on the effects of a shrinking potion? I mean, that's all it does: shrink. I've already dragged it out as much as I can, and I still need at least five more examples." 

Sirius groaned, rubbing his hands over his face. "I'm sick of this," he said, dropping his quill and leaning back. 

[mary-mcdonalds-deactivated20151]

Have you tried this new tea? It´s really amazing.

[orionsblackbelt]

Sirius winced at the thought. “Eugh, tea? Not my style, Macdonald. I’m more of a caffeine and smokes oriented man, myself.”

[i-am-lucinda-talkalot]

New Beginnings: Lucinda & Sirius

[i-am-lucinda-talkalot]

“Technically both is the aim of the game. Not just one or the other. Its not really a game when you know you will win. I mean, I have friends in your little tower that will willing let me in not to mention your house is swayed with money.”

“Fair enough. People were made differently. I was raised with the motto of family above all. And as I grew older I realized family wasn’t just your blood but who your friends were. You would die to protect your friends. I’d kill everyone on this earth to protect them if I had to.”

“No problem. With everything happening it would be cruel to not let you have a smoke. I mean, I know Slytherins are mean but I’m not evil like that.” Lucinda joked

“Damn right it is. Do you doubt me, Sirius Black? Perhaps we shall have a little practice duel now. But don’t you dare hold back on me. If you do I’ll just kick your sorry ass.”

“Making toast doesn’t count as cooking Sirius. Everyone knows that. You know I’m surprised you and your friends haven’t burned this place to the ground yet. I mean its seems like your style.” 

[orionsblackbelt]

“Who is swayed with bribes?! The younger years? Ugh, we have to have a talk with them,” Sirius said, a look of disgust on his face at the shame of his house. “And if you think you’d be the triumphant ones, then you’re obviously pretty ignorant to the Marauders’ ways. You think you know our tricks? Trust me, we have so many more up our sleeve,” he smirked.

His smirk turned into a genuine smile as he found something to agree on with Lucinda. “That was the best lesson I ever learned - that your family doesn’t necessarily mean your blood relations, it purely can be the people you care for, the ones you’d lay down your life for without a thought.

Sending smoke up into the air again, as soon as the breath left him he laughed. “Thanks.”

“Hold back?!” he exclaimed, waving the hand with the cigarette in it. “I don’t think so. You can handle yourself pretty well, I think. And I’d happily duel you anytime, anywhere, but every time I duel or do something out of the ordinary in the halls I get caught and end up in Skeeter’s bloody articles. So maybe not now.”

Feigning a look of outraged shock, he placed a hand over his heart. “I am wounded. I also can cook spaghetti, thank you very much.” He raised an eyebrow at her, surprised at her thought. “We wouldn’t burn it down - we put far too much effort learning the ins and outs of this place. Besides, for me, at least, it’s home. And far too full of memories.”

[ferrettmalfoy]

“You might belong in Gryffindor, Where dwell the brave at heart, Their daring, nerve and chivalry Set Gryffindors apart.”

[i-am-lucinda-talkalot]

New Beginnings: Lucinda & Sirius

[i-am-lucinda-talkalot]

“Oh, Sirius, me and my friends could easily take you on and win because we could get away with it. And you can;t.” Lucinda said and winked at him. “You don’t stand a chance.”

“We are loyal in a sense but its the Slytherin type of loyalty and that is to each other and the family and protecting them at all costs. Sides my mother has never had an issue with muggles or muggleborn. Does she think we are somewhat superior? Yes. But so are they.”

“No, knock yourself out. I used to smoke. I quit a bit ago. Now I just sleep or play quidditch as a stress reliever. Sweetheart, I’m always right.” Lucinda laughed 

“Then why don’t you go to the duelling club or something. I mean its kinda fun. Especially if you are angry at someone you are partnered against. You can just ruin them. But if you don’t want I’m up for a duel in an empty classroom. It will be fun kicking your ass.”

“I mean I had to learn how to function as a muggle, well, a rich muggle. But a muggle nonetheless. I mean, I can’t cook but I can clean and I can take care of babies without magic. It will probably be the best thing to come out of the war period. War only bring pain and death.”

[orionsblackbelt]

“Getting away with it isn’t the aim of the game, Talkalot. It’s how about how loud the bang you make is.” He gave her a warning shake of the head, sighing dramatically. “You don’t want to challenge us, Lucinda, that’s a dangerous game you’re playing.”

“Yeah, I can understand that. I’m a big admirer of loyalty to one another - like your house and your friends. And I do know what you mean, I just don’t think I could do it,” he stated simply with a shrug, not really sure how else to put it. It wasn’t his way of acting like they weren’t doing the right thing - it was just a simple state of fact that there was no way his personality would ever allow him to make those kinds of decisions.

Sirius lit his cigarette quickly and with a grateful sigh. “Thanks. These are some of my greatest pleasures in life,” he said, blowing smoke up into the air. Pulling out his wand, he waved it, twisting the smoke to turn into a roaring lion before quickly making it dissipate. “Not giving them up now.”

“Got kicked out,” he said, his words slightly muffled as he talked around the cigarette. “Sneak back in every once in a while, but I find the books in the library and practicing with the Marauders a lot more fun and useful - no restraints that way, either. And we’re good at patching one another up, now.”

He gave a bark of laughter. “Is that another challenge, I hear?! I could kick your ass in a duel any day, Talkalot. I’d send spells flying that you’ve never even heard of,” he put on his cocky exterior, cocking an eyebrow as a part of his challenging face.

“Well, I for one, and am excellent cook. I only set off the fire alarms once every week or so. And I could clean if I wanted to, I’m sure.” 

He nodded in agreement, he would’ve said more, but he wasn’t sure Lucinda would’ve agreed with him. So instead he blew  more smoke up into the air, this time making shapes of swirls and angles with his wand.

[callme-oli]

Oliver began to chew on the inside of his cheek. It was an old habit he started back in third year to help prevent him from speaking out of term and keep his mouth shut. The last thing he wanted to do right now was upset the other boy, especially when they seemed to be getting on well which felt weird to Oli, but he couldn’t help but disagree. “To be fair, Hogwarts has had the same teachers and the curriculum for years. They didn’t exactly plan on a big Wizarding War to occur so I’m sure that’s why they haven’t changed all of our classes to ‘how to kick the Dark Lords ass 101′. We are still just kids, Sirius. I’m sure the last thing our professors, who have seen us grow up for the past six years, want to do is prepare us for our funerals because you know ultimately that’s what’s going to happen if you jump right into the war swinging.” He took a moment to collect his thought before responding, “I believe that ultimately is a choice. No matter how much light and goodness you shove down someone’s throat, they can always choose to go a different route. Besides, if everyone turned out to be good guys then we wouldn’t need people like you.” It sounded much harsher than intended. Oliver shook his head as if to take back his words. “I just mean- Y’know- The brave idiots who have to go around saving the day all the time.”

“Ignorance truly is bliss I suppose,” Oli agreed. “I almost feel bad for the muggles though. Most live their entire lives not knowing about this entirely different world and they never get to learn the beauty of magic. Because I know for damn sure that it saved my life.”

He couldn’t help but laugh at Sirius’ last statement. “Right, real twats sometimes. But you don’t need to apologize either, really. I may have had it bad but I’m sure you’ve had it far worse than I ever will…”

“For sure. Maybe I’ll find one with an animal, like a dog or a monkey or something on it with a corny landmark in the back.” Oliver chuckled at the idea. “Sounds- wicked. That’s amazing. Where the hell did you get a Muggle bike from?”

[orionsblackbelt]

Whilst their conversation was obviously grave, Sirius couldn’t help but laugh at Oliver’s sarcasm. “If there were a class for ‘how to kick the Dark Lord’s ass 101′ I would so go to that.” He sighed, tired of trying to argue his point - he got the feeling that his case wasn’t convincing anyone, so he tried to settle. “You make valid points. Ones I don’t wholly agree with, but they’re your beliefs, so,” he finished his sentence with a shrug.

Watching in amusement as Oliver hurried to take back his words, Sirius waited for him to finish his stumbling. “True on the brave idiots front, it does give a purpose to my life,” he said it jokingly, but it was an ultimate truth; fighting and possibly dying in the war gave Sirius something to work towards, something to focus his life around. But his conversation with Lucinda came back to his mind, that there were kids out there who hadn’t been shown the light, only the dark, and could possibly change if they were shown the right way. He couldn’t help but focus on Regulus.

“I guess, but I feel like everyone should be given all sides of the story. Some of those pureblood kids have known nothing other than the ‘darkness’ as you say. I feel like, if they knew about it, and felt like they could, some of the kids may end up in a safer place; a ‘lighter’ place, to put a metaphor to use.”

Sirius nodded, “yeah, I see what you mean. But at the same time, isn’t it admirable? That they have other beautiful things in the world - other wonders, and other ways to save themselves. It intrigues me.”

Hesitating, Sirius normally would have jumped at the chance to have sympathy towards his case, but even though Oliver was offering his sympathies, Sirius felt like he didn’t deserve it. “We can’t measure everyone’s pain - recently I’ve come to think that you can’t ever decide who’s ‘had it worse’, because everyone’s struggles are different.”

Laughing at the thought, Sirius nodded eagerly. “Sounds perfect.” He gave Oliver a sly look and tapped the side of his nose. “I know a guy. Surprisingly, muggle contraptions can actually be of great use in everyday life, like for pranks, day-to-day life, and - apparently - transportation.”

[regulus-blackened-blog]

Regulus kept his gaze steely and his voice came out rough. “I care what I have to say, though, and I say it’s time for you to leave, Sirius.”

[orionsblackbelt]

Sirius took a deep breath. He’d wanted to ease Regulus into the idea first, brought him somewhere quieter rather than using a phrase to capture his younger brother’s attention. The words of Lucinda ran through his mind; did Regulus really want him around? His attitude wasn’t really suggesting so. But Sirius tried again.

“I’ve been talking to Lucinda. Now I need to talk to you.”

[regulus-blackened1-blog]

Daisy chuckled at Sirius’ teasing. “Will wise, generous Sirius make sure that there is milk available with the cookies? Lovely, bright Daisy will only reappear fully with both cookies and milk.”

Daisy chose to ignore the look Sirius gave her in response to her denial. She was always being told how ‘nice’ she was, but surely that was annoying to people. It was obvious that not everyone liked her, what about the Slytherins? They were constantly teasing her. No, not everyone liked her, and she knew it. Daisy fell silent after her laugh and listened to Sirius talk, nodding occasionally and shrugging now and then. When his arm came out, she allowed it to stop her, turning to face him with a soft smile. Only then did she speak up.

“That all sounds great, Sirius, but…Allison…I don’t think she wants to raise me. She may’ve been the sister to my mother, but her and my mum were polar opposite. Where mum was soft and caring, Allison was blunt and harsh. And…” Daisy trailed off, wondering whether she should say the next part. Finally deciding, she avoided Sirius’ gaze and continued. “She’s sort of got an alcohol problem. And she doesn’t go out much, other then to the bar. I don’t think I’ll need you to come to take her away, but maybe I’ll hop on that bike one day.”

[orionsblackbelt]

“Wise, generous Sirius can certainly provide milk, but lovely, bright Daisy better be lovely and bright for the rest of the week,” Sirius replied, raising an eyebrow as he proposed his deal.

Sirius could see that Daisy wasn’t really believing him, but he knew that was something to be settled at a later date. The focus was now on Daisy and her holidays.

“Then why are you going to stay with her?” Sirius frowned, unsure why someone would put themselves through something that was causing them so much distress. “And if you really think she doesn’t want to raise you, then why is she taking care of you?” Frowning further in concern, Sirius dithered over how to respond to Daisy’s confession. “Would you be safe there? I’ve been around with people who have alcohol problems, and sometimes it’s not the best environment to be in, Daise. Your mum wouldn’t want that for you.”

He replied with a small, soft smile. “You should. It’s good fun.”

[i-am-lucinda-talkalot]

New Beginnings: Lucinda & Sirius

[i-am-lucinda-talkalot]

"Your band of misfits could never defeat us." Lucinda said and winked at him before laughing with him. This side of Sirius Black was more fun to be around. To joke with and to tease and not worry about them hexing you.

"My parents have already lost one kid. They don’t need to lose another to a war that is based off of the dumbest thing. We don’t care particularly. We understand how both muggleborn and purebloods are superior in different ways but we don’t believe they should be hunted down."

Lucinda laughed “Do you need a smoke or are you just excited? People really do. Its the quiet ones you have to watch out for. They are the most dangerous because you tend to forget they are there.”

"Sirius you are thinking to much of the writing portion. You forget they teach us defensive spells, tactics, ability to fly and get away, how to use potions to not only heal but to harm. You just have to pay attention in school." 

"Or we could just not use house elves and have the kids begin to work for what they want and to clean and get them assimilated to muggle culture in case we have to place them in the muggle world. I highly doubt either one of us will cave especially if you can place each other under a spell not to mention the place to anyone who isn’t each other. I hope so. I don’t want these kids to grow up like we did."

[orionsblackbelt]

Sirius gave her a challenging, amicable look, a small smile still breaking through. “I dunno, we’ve been challenged by many people, and we quite often win. You’d have your work cut out for you.” He liked the sort of relationship that was developing with Lucinda; teasing and challenging one another.

“I do see where you’re coming from. The Potters are quite similar,” he explained - he knew the stand that the Potters had taken, it was what had led him to live with them, and he respected them for their decisions. “I guess it’s a smart way to go about things, but I’ve never been able to swap cleverness for pride and loyalty.”

He gave a dry laugh. “A bit of both. Do you mind?” he asked, reaching for his pack of cigarettes, ignoring the castle’s rules, fully intending on having a smoke to focus himself. “Mm,” he agreed, “you’re right on that one.”

“I’d pay more attention if they were teaching us anything new,” he grumbled. “I’ve already learnt all of the things they’re teaching us, and it’s pretty basic stuff compared to what we could be learning.” He’d sped through the spells and potions they were learning in class, desperate to learn more magic at a young age. It irritated him that there was another whole universe of magic out there that Hogwarts didn’t often push into.

He pointed to Lucinda with his cigarette. “I like that idea. Teach them a thing or two to survive and appreciate the muggle world.” Face dropping at the thought of his past, Sirius nodded sombrely. Enough kids had been put through being forced into the Dark Arts, there needn’t be any more, especially if they could do something about it. “This may be the best idea to come out of the war, yet.”

[marley-mickinnon]

Smoke Break

[marley-mickinnon]

Taking another drag from her cigarette, Marlene blew smoke in the opposite direction. She opened her mouth to protest but he cut her off. She closed her mouth but opened it again to laugh. “You prick! I’m amazing and you know it. Don’t deny it.”

Marlene shook her head, almost finding it flat out amusing that they were talking about dying. Normal sixteen year olds do not discuss death like this. So nonchalant, so relaxed. But they were not normal sixteen year olds. They were going to be soldiers soon. They were being forced into adulthood and going to fight a war that didn’t belong to them. “Do you think that makes us selfish? To want to be remembered forever? To try and be the heros the world needs in ordered to die but live forever through people’s stories? I’m sure if it makes us incredibly brave or just incredibly dumb.” She did let out a dry laugh then, thinking way too hard about this but it definitely wasn’t the first time.

"You don’t just grow a beard on accident," she squinted at him and laughed. "But if you ‘accidentally’ grow a beard and it looks at least semi-decent then I’ll allow you to keep it. If not I can get James and possibly Remus to help save it off you in your sleep or something."

[orionsblackbelt]

Blowing smoke over his shoulder, enjoying the silence of smoking for a moment, Sirius took a quick glance over at Marlene to watch her laugh. “Bit full of yourself there, McKinnon?” he grinned, enjoying riling her up and watching her reactions.

Brow furrowed in thought, Sirius shook his head, “Maybe. But so what? I’ve had enough of being ridiculed for being selfish, and we’d be dying for a cause, and I am ready to die for that cause, so the least we can ask for to be remembered through stories.” He shrugged and shared her dry laugh. “Maybe a bit of both.”

He gave her a look that can only be described as jokingly patronising. “You obviously haven’t been in a pranking war that began with a discussion of who’s the old man in your group of friends.” He laughed, “you wouldn’t dare. And neither would they.”

[callme-oli]

Letting a sarcastic comeback die down on his lips, Oliver just chuckled and let it go. He’d never win that one.

"They say that experience is the best teacher, which is why I agree whole-heartedly with what you’re saying. But I think that people think that if they don’t talk about it then it’ll just go away, but that’s not the case. No matter what they teach us the world outside these castle walls is still falling to shit whether we’re prepared for it or not. Even if you’re not standing in the line of crossfire, you’re going to get hit eventually. So they might as well teach us how to properly defend ourselves. But then again that’s risky on the staff’s part. It’s like training kids to be soldiers which wouldn’t be so bad if we were all on the same side. But it’s obvious that we aren’t."

Oliver shrugged. He had never thought of it that way before. “I’ve always sort of thought of the muggle world to be similar to a safe haven. As crazy as it sounds, the wizarding world is like the real world to me and the muggle world is the alternate reality. So when the going gets tough here, I can just run off to a better place.” He was quiet when he spoke. Almost like he was ashamed to be talking like that in front of the other boy.

He tried to be comforting, but he couldn’t exactly relate. “Been called a lot of names over the years, but never a traitor. So that’s unfortunate for you. Sorry.”

"Sure thing. I’ll send you a post card or something," Oliver laughed, happy to discuss something more lighthearted. "What kind of bike is it?"

[orionsblackbelt]

Nodding his head, Sirius began to agree with Oliver. “I’m with you on the whole idea that people think it’ll just disappear if they don’t talk about it, not enough information about the war is heard inside these walls. The strings I have to pull to find out what’s going on outside is ridiculously annoying.” Pressing his lips together in objection to Oliver’s words, he worked to find a civilised way of expressing his disagreement. “I dunno, I feel like we’re rarely being taught to protect ourselves. I mean, I get the whole idea that history repeats itself, but do we really need to learn about the Goblin Wars for three years in a row? Don’t get me wrong, DADA is great - when we have a decent professor, and I actually find potions to be quite useful, and sometimes charms, but other than that, the rest of these classes seem a bit pointless. If I was running things I’d be teaching more things to help these kids in the outside world of the war.” Pausing on Oliver’s final point, he hesitated before retorting. “But maybe if they told kids more about how dreadful the other side is, there wouldn’t be so many people falling into the Dark Arts.”

“I can see what you mean, I love the muggle world, and I think when I blend into it, the ignorance they have is quite easy to like - a sort of numbness from your Wizarding problems. It’s come in handy every once in a while. But in the end, I always get drawn back to the Wizarding world, it’s where I feel most at home.”

Sirius made a face and waved a hand. “Don’t apologise. It’s not the worst thing in the world - I’ve come to embrace it, actually. Best way to deal with it and not let something get to you. Sorry you’ve been called a lot of names over the years. People can be right twats sometimes.”

Laughing easily, he nodded. “Please, do - the really cheesy ones as well, can’t get enough of them.” Sirius grinned as the topic fell to his bike. “Muggle bike; a Harley. I’ve fixed her up over the years, put a few charms on her so she has a few tricks up her sleeve, you know, defensive charms, invisibility, flying - all the useful stuff plus more. Good fun.”

[i-am-lucinda-talkalot]

New Beginnings: Lucinda & Sirius

[i-am-lucinda-talkalot]

"Of course we could. Our combined good looks, as much as it pains me to say you are somewhat attractive, your bravery and charm along with my cunning and manipulative skills. We would be the ultimate dream team. Thank you. Years of practice." Lucinda said bowing slightly

"My family is neutral in this war. But I can’t be neutral in this war. I find Voldemort to be a mad man and must be stopped. No matter the cost." Lucinda said firmly. She knew the risks of being a double agent but she could handle it.

Lucinda glanced down at his jittering hands and grabbed them “Stop with the jittering, its driving me slightly insane. And yes, Narcissa. She only does what she needs to do because of your family. If we can convince her not to follow the family then we’ll be good.”

"You need to stay in school and get better and smarter than old Voldy. Being reckless won’t do you any good beside getting yourself killed. Hopefully people join your side and not ours. We don’t need anymore Death Eaters." 

"We could buy or build a home. I am getting a large estate when I turned of age. We could always use that and place a charm over it to protect us and make only you and myself the secret keepers." 

[orionsblackbelt]

A smug smile rising to his lips, Sirius fought the urge to make Lucinda regret her words. "Thank you," he settled with, laughing at her little bow, "and you're right about all of the above - we'd be quite the crime-fighting duo."

He nodded, understanding perfectly. "As much as I respect those who are neutral I can't understand why they wouldn't fight. It just seems inconceivable to me to sit back and do nothing." 

He had been moving a little too fast so when Lucinda gripped at his hands he let out a breath of pent-up, excited air, crossing his arms and pushing his hands against himself in order to stop them from moving. "Thanks. Bad habit." And he dropped the matter. "The more the merrier," he responded to the thought of Narcissa joining them. "She sure would know a fair bit about the goings-on - I get the feeling that people underestimate her quite a bit."

Disagreeing, a small frown was present on his face. "It's not like school's helping us to prepare to fight 'old Voldy'. There's not much around here that's preparing us to be better enough to fight him. Half of my time here is pointless. I'd rather be out there learning by practice rather than writing essays about duels in here." Shaking his head at the thought he agreed with Lucinda, not wanting to think about anybody else joining the Death Eaters. "You've got that right."

His eyes lit up at her suggestion. "I probably have a fair amount of galleons left to invest and get a bunch of beds in there and other things to make it a suitable home for these kids. We could easily set it up. Find a couple of house elves from people in the Order to help out with food and cleaning, but other than that we could run the place ourselves. We're both clever enough to cast proper protective enchantments to keep it hidden, and I don't see either of us caving and giving away its secrets away to anyone. People would find out about it through way of mouth, once we're out of Hogwarts we could have people in the younger years who are willing spread the word more - we could really do this, Lucinda. We could help these kids out." 

[regulus-blackened-blog]

"I don’t care, I said fuck off.”

[orionsblackbelt]

"Well, I don't care what you say. We need to talk," Sirius reiterated forcefully.

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Daisy let out a small chuckle, leaving a small smile on her face. “Lovely, bright Daisy will reappear when she’s given choc chip cookies.” 

Daisy merely shrugged when Sirius said it would be fine; in reality, she didn’t think it would be fine at all. Aunt Allison had never really been her favorite person, and now, as they approached the summer, she would have to live with her, and she wasn’t sure how that was going to be. Nodding, Daisy fell into step with Sirius (which was rather difficult with her small legs) as they began to make their way to the owlery.

Daisy nodded along with Sirius’ words, chuckling at his comment about how everyone in the castle loves her. “I hardly doubt everybody loves me. And she does love me, it’s just…she has no experience raising a teenager. She doesn’t know what to do with me. And…” Daisy trailed off, realising maybe she was sharing a bit too much. Sirius didn’t need to hear her whole life story. “Never mind. Sorry.” Daisy laughed slightly when Sirius nudged her, nudging him back, which was rather difficult when she was that small and he was that tall. “I’ll try.”

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"Well, lovely, bright Daisy shall have to pretend to be lovely and bright until she's sent her owl and wise, generous Sirius can bring her down to the kitchens to get her chocolate-chip biscuits," Sirius played along with a smile, knowing he'd outsmarted her for the moment.

Answering her doubts with a sarcastic look, Sirius didn't even need to use words to get across the obvious point that Daisy was loved by everyone. Opting out of the conversation in favour for listening attentively, Sirius watched Daisy closely as she confessed. Only when she fallen silent with her awkward laugh did he open his mouth.

"Don't apologise. That's what friends are for - to listen when you need to vent," it was a bit of a joke, but he said it with a solemn face. "You can always ask to have friends over and spend time with them? Or why don't you try coming up with things for the both of you to do, and then she may get an idea of how to treat you? But the most important thing for you to know," he stuck his arm out to stop her, turning her gently by her arm so that he could look down at her, "is you say the word and I'll be there on my bike in a minute to either scare off your Aunt Allison or stow you away," he cracked a smile.