Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/7877854.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage, Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence, Major_Character_Death
  Category:
      F/M, M/M
  Fandom:
      Harry_Potter_-_J._K._Rowling
  Relationship:
      Sirius_Black/Original_Character(s), James_Potter/Lily_Evans_Potter,
      Regulus_Black/Peter_Pettigrew, Bellatrix_Black_Lestrange/Rodolphus
      Lestrange, Bellatrix_Black_Lestrange/Voldemort, Lucius_Malfoy/Narcissa
      Black_Malfoy, Sirius_Black/_Valyn_Malfoy
  Character:
      Sirius_Black, Original_Character, James_Potter, Lily_Evans_Potter,
      Regulus_Black, Peter_Pettigrew, Bellatrix_Black_Lestrange, Rodolphus
      Lestrange, Voldemort, Lucius_Malfoy, Narcissa_Black_Malfoy, Albus
      Dumbledore, Valyn_Malfoy, Horace_Slughorn, Minerva_McGonagall, Rabastan
      Lestrange, Harry_Potter, Draco_Malfoy, Original_Characters, Original_Main
      Characters_-_Character
  Stats:
      Published: 2016-08-26 Completed: 2016-10-17 Chapters: 20/20 Words: 46579
****** The Girl From Ilvermorny ******
by Xx_Astrid_xX
Summary
     Valyn Alain Malfoy was born in Detroit, Michigan in America, despite
     being the second cousin of one Lucius Malfoy. She, of course, was an
     esteemed pureblood, but living in the States, she attended
     Ilvermorny. However, when her father dies and leaves her orphaned,
     she's left to her closest family member- Abraxas Malfoy- and
     transfers to Hogwarts.
***** Her First Train *****
Chapter Summary
     Valyn bumps into an unfriendly (albeit extraordinarily attractive)
     face on the train, as well as several welcoming, and a couple
     entirely indifferent.
     Also, dragon!
Valyn didn't listen much to Lucius as he spoke to her. Usually, she was more
than happy to converse with her distant cousin, but today was not the day. As
soon as she was finished tucking away her trunk, she excused herself. It was
10:21 after all; she had time.
Attor, her pretty little pet, followed. Honestly, she was amazed that
Dumbledore had allowed her to bring him. Back at Ilvermorny, where pygmy
dragons were much more common, she'd had to leave him at home, although she had
been allowed to visit him on the weekends.
At first he was content stumbling about under her best pair of gogo boots, but
when he discovered she was leaving the compartment, he leaped onto the seat
before transferring himself to her shoulder blade, head resting on her
collarbone.
He was a two-tone Antipodean Opaleye- his main tone was the normal pearlescent
gleam, but his belly was tinted darker, still shining all of the colors of the
rainbow.
He was deformed, as many pygmies were, with his little arms connected to his
wings. When he walked, he tucked the outer halves of his wings in, but the
edges were still a little scraped, making it harder to fly.
He was gorgeous, though, with his small nubby teeth and long, graceful snout.
His nostrils flared when he was happy, and as they engorged with every inhale,
Valyn knew he was ecstatic to accompany his mistress.
His eyes were short and wide, not shining like the rest of his body, but were a
slightly eerie, pupiless creme. They shone with intelligence; dragons were more
intelligent than both dogs and cats, and were known to count up to twenty, when
they were taught.
He had long tendrils of cartilage travelling in wisps over his head and down
his back, changing to small spikes along his swaying tail. Valyn had been sure
to round them before coming here, which he had not enjoyed. His claws and
fangs- the only other sharp edges on the beast- had also been dulled, but he
hadn't minded those much.
He had a tuft of skin beneath his jaw, for creating his fire, but as he was a
pygmy, it was hollow and useless. Instead, he used it for storing water, a feat
that thoroughly amused Valyn. Whenever he saw her poster of a full-size
Antipodean Opaleye spitting vibrant red flames, he'd sputter the water out of
his mouth, causing Valyn to erupt into a giggling fit. It didn't matter that
she was sixteen.
His neck was long and mobile, like the body of a snake, and was attached to
thin shoulders. His arms were bent at the elbows, small fingers with their
dulled claws clinging to her shirt beside his shoulders, wings pulled in tight
behind them. His wingspan was as long as he was- a foot and a half. A slim body
lay between them and short, rabbit-like legs, parted by his tail- it took up
half of his size, and much of the other half was neck. Valyn smiled at her pet,
and he mocked it by baring his teeth into a grin.
She'd left the smaller of his teeth sharp- he did eat meat, after all. She
often gifted him with a meal of goat and lamb meat, something he enjoyed quite
much. She had a near farm of them, all shipped from his homeland, Australia.
His breed was from New Zealand, although his mother had been in Australia when
she had birthed the egg. It’d been small for an egg, and dragons knew when
their offspring were pygmies, so she'd abandoned him. Luckily, however, a
visiting young witch had stumbled upon the valley they were in, right as the
mother had cast the egg from her nest- Valyn herself. She'd begged her father,
the great Belial Malfoy, known all over Romania for his wonderful dragon
skills, until he'd finally agreed to let her keep the small, grey egg.
That had been six years ago. Since then, of course, wondrous things had
happened.
They'd kept in in the fireplace until he began to hatch, before he'd come out
on the living room floor. He'd been tiny and blind, eyes still closed, and
Valyn had fallen in love. When her father had pointed to fangs covered in
mushy, purple gums, he'd warned her that the fangs were venomous and lethal to
humans, even on a pygmy. She'd named him Attor in honor; it meant 'venom'.
He'd grown quickly, and on his first birthday, only months before her eleventh,
he'd been fully grown- but there was a problem. He had one cartilage tendril
that was too-long for his head, and it often sent him toppling over whenever he
tried to fly.
Her father said they'd have to cut it off, something that terrified Valyn. Of
course, her father did things like that often- but still. Father had convinced
her by bringing a wandmaker to the house, who could make the cartilage inside
the tendril into a wand for her. That had made her giddy!
They'd set the surgery for a week before her birthday. The wandmaker and her
father chose a wood for her- dogwood. It was to be a six inch, unbending
dogwood wand with a dragon cartilage core.
The removal was easy, especially at her father's dragon reserve in Romania. The
wand was finished by her birthday, and as soon as she shifted the wand in her
hand, fireworks much like a dragon’s fire flared from it. The wand was perfect
for her.
The wandmaker- a boy barely older than she with a thick Scottish accent- had
explained to her the meaning of all of the traits. Dogwood was silly, quirky
and adventurous and would not answer to non-verbal magic. Dragon cartilage,
much like dragon heartstring, showed that the user learnt quickly and was meant
to be strong. Six inches was very rare for a person to take, especially as
quickly as it took to Valyn, and signified the wielder's character to be
lacking in some way. Unbending meant that it's allegiance to Valyn would never
change nor falter.
Valyn looked down at the wand in its sheath at her hip. The wand was bowed
slightly, like Attor's tendrils, and very dark, thin, and smooth. The sheath
was connected to a belt Valyn never took off (other than sleep and shower) made
of dragonhide thought to be from Attor's mother- there had been only one female
dragon on Australia at the time, and she'd had father buy it. She had a backup
wand, as did her father, made of two of her heartstrings. Her wood had been
hazel, one of her personal favorites, and her father's had been poplar unlike
his first, which had been Cypress- also, by the way, the cypress had had a core
of unicorn hair.
She nearly bumped into someone while reminiscing.
"Hey," a deep, British accent barked angrily. "You're on the right side of the
hallway, girl,"
She blinked at the guy before realizing- here, in Britain, one walked on the
left. Valyn sighed.
"I'm sorry, I'm not from here." Valyn said, stepping into the left wall. She
examined the four boys before her.
The deep-voiced one she'd nearly ran into was probably six foot, with skin
probably as fair as her own. His hair was shoulder length and the deepest shade
of brown- she would have thought it black if the candle light didn't shine upon
it. He had a remarkably handsome face, one of royalty, with pronounced features
and thin, smouldering eyes the darkest shade of blue Valyn had ever seen. He
wore No-Maj clothes; His old, worn grey shirt boasted Aerosmith, but most of
the logo was worn out. A black leather jacket sat on broad shoulders, and
ripped black jeans fell around muscular looking legs. Combat boots finished the
look.
Directly beside him was a boy the same age as the punk guy and the same as Val-
and he wore a tight, gold-and-orange patterned shirt tucked into the male
equivalent of bell-bottom pants, bright crimson. His belt was white with
scarlet polka dots, and his shoes looked to have heels. His hair was pitch
black and wild, and big, square glasses sat atop a relatively attractive face
with large, round hazel eyes. He was much tanner than his punk friend.
Behind him was the tallest, a scrawny kid maybe a head taller than the bell
bottom boy, who stood easily 5'10. He had lighter brown hair with highlights of
red and blond, and pale, acne-ridden skin. His eyes were light caramel.
He wore a dull, brown plaid button up, open, and a brown-and-tan striped shirt
beneath it, tucked into old jeans. Brown dress shoes, old and dirty and worn,
finished his look.
And finally, the shortest boy. He had a light blond bowl cut that framed a
cute, chubby peach face with small blue eyes. He had one small hoop earring and
wore a fringe jacket a top a medium blue button up with three buttons undone,
showing a small mess of yellow chest hairs. The shirt was tucked into brown
leather pants atop brown sneakers.
"You're..." Valyn felt herself grin, something people did not often urge her to
do. "An odd bunch."
The punk straightened, eyes narrowing. The tan kid grinned proudly. The acne
guy got a small smile, looking down and nowhere near towards Valyn. The chubby
boy beamed.
They were the nerds.
"Don't mind them," said a harpie-like voice with a british accent. Valyn
turned. "They're nothing but nothings." The girl was again around Valyn's age,
with curly, wild black hair and cold black eyes, and facial features remarkably
similar to the punk's. "I'm Bellatrix Lilith Black, but you can call me Bella,"
She took Valyn's hand and smiled. "Don't worry, I of course know who your are-
my sister is Narcissa, your cousin's girlfriend!"
The punk snorted. "This is Lucius' cousin? Should've known, I reckon." He
sneered at Valyn as he gave her a once-over.
Valyn pictured herself as she remembered from the morning. Her long, straight,
thick hair was white-blonde and obedient, trailing down her back. Her skin was
soft and flawless like this morning, unridden with the breakout she was
terrified she'd have- stress gave her pimples. Her eyes were small and a nearly
colorless shade of sepia, her lips glossed over with clear chapstick. She wore
her Led Zeppelin shirt beneath a dragon hide jacket made from Attor's mother
(she was surprised no one had remarked on his behalf), tucked into a short,
white snakeskin skirt. Long, hueless and hairless legs led down to white vinyl
go go boots that took her height from 5'10 to 5'11. She looked good, honestly.
She looked over at Bella. She wore a black lace dress to her ankles and wrists,
and had black eyeshadow that faded up into grey before hitting her eyebrows.
She was the epitome of goth... So why was she acting all... Not ready for
death?
Two girls were behind Bella, Valyn noticed.
One was familiar to Valyn through photographs on Lucius' dresser- Cissa Black.
She had hair only slightly less white than Valyn's, skin only slightly darker
than hers, though her face was not long and elegant like Valyn's, but stunning
and contoured like her sister's and the punk's. She wore a pastel, short, long
sleeve psychedelic dress and gogo boots like Valyn. Her blonde hair was short,
though, cut as short as a boy's to frame her gorgeous face. She had giant, ice-
blue eyes.
There was another girl, too. She wore khaki pants that stopped just below a
pale navel and a sparkly magenta bustier that really looked like a glorified
brazier under her hogwarts cloak thing. Her feet were bare. She had orange-
brown curls down to her shoulders and had the same face as her sisters, though
her eyes were green.
"I'm Andy," the bustier girl said. "Andy Black. That's Cissa, by the way."
Valyn nodded. "I'm Valyn." She glanced over so as to include the odd boys in
her introduction. "My friends call me Val, though."
The red-and-orange boy stepped forward before someone else could reply. "I'm
James Potter, Charms and Potions extraordinair. Nice to meet you, Val," He
offered a big, tan hand, and she shook it. He, like Lucius and the Black
sisters, as well as his punk friend, had the more refined British accent, the
one better understood by the American girl.
"He's nothing!" Bella shrieked disapprovingly, very un-goth. Valyn looked
behind her.
"So?" Valyn asked. "Are you so rude as to deny a gentleman the introduction to
a lady?" Her father had not raised her to be rude, brazen, or shrieky. She
began to dislike Bella.
"Ha! James Potter is no gentleman," Andy spoke this time, smirking. "Still,
it's only polite. Calm down, Bella." The not-goth huffed and stalked off. Cissa
and Andy exchanged looks.
"This, m'lady, is Sirius Black, cousin of that frightful wench," James bent and
offered both arms towards Sirius, the gorgeous punk, who glared down at James.
"You're an out-and-out wanker," Sirius said, and the chubby kid snickered.
"Just because my prince's hand isn't too busy pleasuring a Muggle's trash
doesn't give you reason to insult me."
Valyn raised a brow, confused. Andy, too, gave the boys an odd look, but Cissa
was disinterested.
"I'll be in the compartment," She said, then smiled at Valyn. The American
returned it, then glanced at her watch- 10:43.
"This tower of a boy is Remus Lupin, the most intelligent guy at Hogwarts." The
acne-ridden boy grunted something in what father called Muggle british- the
poorest, least understandable accent. His voice wasn't deep naturally, it
seemed, but the grunt made it nearly as deep as Sirius'. "And, finally, we have
Peter, this unfortunately endowed boy over here," The blond stuck a pink tongue
out, and Valyn blinked.
She offered her hand to Remus next, who looked at it a moment before shaking it
unsurely. His fingers were long, his shake loose. Her father would have shunned
the guy publically for a shake like that.
Next, she shook the hand of Peter, who squeezed her fingers and shook rapidly.
She had to wiggle her hand free.
James' had shake had been brisk and unprofessional, but definitely not bad-
they were meeting in an unprofessional setting. She looked over at Sirius,
whose dark eyes all but dared her to attempt to shake his hand. She
straightened and offered her small, pale hand.
To her surprise, he took it immediately in his large, callused hand. It was
warm and folded against Valyn's easily, despite the size difference, and she
had the impression he was taught to do this. He shook her hand in a warm,
enveloping shake, unprofessional but not casual. His eyes never broke contact
with hers, and he smirked. Valyn swore to herself in that moment she was in
love.
But then he released her hand and she refused to hold his gaze. He probably had
that effect on many girls. Valyn would not be one of many girls.
"C'mon, Val," Andy said as if Valyn's heart wasn't imploding repeatedly. "Let's
go to the compartment."
She nodded, then followed Andy the way the boys had came.
***** Meeting the Headmaster *****
Chapter Summary
     Valyn makes new friends and chooses her fate after a rather
     uncomfortable meeting with the oddest man she's ever met.
Valyn had an uneventful train ride after that, she followed Andy back to their
compartment where Lucius sat, Cissa on his lap, then Bella on one side with two
open spaces (presumably for Andy and Valyn) and on the other, two men each with
a girl in their own laps, and then another fellow on his own on the other. Andy
and Valyn did take the seats beside Bella, Valyn closest to the window.
The boy across from Valyn who did not have a girl a top him was Regulus Black,
brother of Sirius. He had the same face as his brother, though his build was
smaller, athletic at best, his hair was cut short and slicked down, and his
eyes were a dark, dull green. He smiled cordially and resumed peering out of
the window.
He did not wear No-Maj (or Muggle, as the brits called them) clothes, but the
more royalty-esque wizard garb. His pants were dress pants, relatively loose
but not baggy, and he wore a black dragonhide jacket and a ruffled white
undershirt. If he were a prince, his brother was the devil.
Beside Regulus-or Reg- was Greyson Goyle, a large boy with a few too many
pounds a top a relatively attractive, relatively plain face. Above him was
Demeter Greengrass, a pretty, slim girl with flaming red hair and eyes. She was
tan and looked Scottish, to Valyn, which was confirmed with her voice when she
greeted Valyn. Beside Greyson was Carlisle Crabbe, a frightfully ugly boy with
too many muscles. In his lap was the less than beautiful (although not
necessarily ugly) Joanna Bulstrode, who had dull brown hair, dull brown eyes,
and nearly grey skin.
Demeter was the first to comment on Attor, and they chatted about him for a
little while before Valyn turned to get some sleep, her pet curled into her
chest. She asked Lucius to wake her in time to put on her robes before sleeping
for the rest of the train.
Wake her Lucius did, about ten minutes before arriving. Crabbe, Goyle and their
girls had left, as they were all prefects, and Lucius followed suit soon after,
being the same. Regulus and the Black sisters were the only ones in the
compartment, all of them already in their uniforms.
Valyn stood and pulled off her jacket, but left on her clothes. She pulled the
robe over her- it was her old one from Ilvermorny turned inside out. The
cranberry and blue hugged her outfit. She sat down.
The place for her Ilvermorny badge sat painfully empty. She looked at her four
companions to see they all had a crest- green and silver, it boasted a snake.
They were Slytherins.
Valyn had done her research on the school long before her father passed- after
all, she was a descendant of Martha Steward, who, a Squib, had produced a line
of wizards and witches, carrying on the Slytherin heritage. Law stated that the
No-Maj in her was so washed out she was, indeed, pureblood, however. She held
her lineage with pride.
Hogwarts, like Ilvermorny, had four Houses; Slytherin, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff,
and Ravenclaw. If one were to compare these to the Houses of Ilvermorny, they
would be Wampus, Thunderbird, Pukwudgie, and Horned Serpent, respectively.
However, they weren't exactly the same- Valyn had been Sorted to be Thunderbird
at Ilvermorny, but she was sure she'd receive Slytherin, due to her ambition,
cunning, and (honestly) preference.
Thunderbird represented the soul and preferred adventurers. Valyn identified
strongly with both. Horned Serpent represented the mind and preferred scholars.
That had been her second choice. Wampus represented the body and preferred
warriors- her third choice. Pukwudgie represented the heart and preferred
healers, her last choice.
She thought Lucius would have been Horned Serpent. He was shrewd and
intelligent, and studied for fun. He loved experimenting with spells and
potions. He was wicked, in the best sense of the word.
Valyn looked at Andy. She'd fit nicely into Pukwudgie- she seemed kind and
brilliant, the kind who loved a good laugh.
She looked then at Bella. She'd fit nicely into Wampus- fierce and
temperamental, she was, and argumentative. Valyn began to like her a bit more;
Webster Boot, a founder of Ilvermorny, had been all those things.
And Thunderbird... Who, too, would have been Thunderbird? Sirius Black popped
into her head. Would he have been? ... Yes, Valyn decided, ignoring how odd a
thought that was. She sat down, fully dressed, and almost smooshed Attor, who
spat water her way. Valyn only sighed and reapplied her chapstick.
She followed Andy off the train, being instructed to leave her trunk. Attor
took up his residence on her shoulder, looking back occasionally at Reg.
Albus Dumbledore was waiting outside the train, something that was commented by
Andy to be odd. Old, blue eyes landed happily on Valyn.
"Valyn Alain Malfoy," Dumbledore announced. Everyone looked at her- including
the odd group from before, Sirius' group. "Descendant of the founders of her
old school on her mother's side, and also descendant of Salazar Slytherin."
Everyone seemed surprised, and several gasps were heard- everyone except
Sirius, who kept hungry eyes locked on her. "Please, follow me, child- you must
be Sorted with the first years." His voice was old and grainy. Valyn followed,
Attor huffing excitedly- he might tinkle if he doesn't calm himself, Valyn
thought- and passed by Sirius, in his robes baring a Gryffindor badge. Pity,
she thought. She definitely wasn't getting that.
She followed the old man to the castle. It was big and complex, but still,
Valyn couldn't help but decide Ilvermorny was prettier. Her old school had had
decor, statues of the founders, children in cranberry and blue... Hogwarts was
grey, and named quite ruefully after a pig with herpes. Valyn tried to lift her
mood when she noticed a large, red bird- a phoenix, from what little of it she
could see as it flew- flying around the castle.
She studied the old man himself. He was about the same height as Remus, but not
quite as thin, though he definitely wasn't average, either. He had long, white
hair and an even longer, white beard. Walking beside him, she noticed his half-
moon glasses perched on a nose that had broken a very long time ago. Dumbledore
looked at her through the sides of his eyes.
"I'm quite glad to accept a transfer from Ilvermorny," He said in his smart
Brit voice. "It's not often we get Americans here. However, I would like to
extend my sympathies for the reason behind your attendance."
Valyn nodded, unsure what to say before words popped into her mouth. "Thank you
for permitting Attor," she said, lifting the dragon from her back. He stood
proudly, weightlessly, in her hands before the old man, appraising him.
"You're welcome, dear." Dumbledore said brightly. "What House were you in at
Ilvermorny?"
"Thunderbird," she said, pride dripping from her voice.
"Very interesting. What House would you like here?"
"Either Slytherin or Gryffindor, but I think I'm more ambitious than brave."
"Regardless, one House is going to gain a wonderful addition. Your grades at
Ilvermorny were flawless... I was expecting you to want Ravenclaw."
Valyn smiled. "I like learning, but I don't think that's my core quality. It's
too... easy. I don't have to study; I rarely even take notes. All I have to do
is listen, and I can remember."
Dumbledore looked surprised. "That's quite the ability. I can hardly remember
which socks I put on this morning." He looked over at Valyn and smiled. "And
I'm quite fond of socks."
Valyn laughed as the sea of students parted for Dumbledore, Valyn in tow.
She was taken into the Great Hall while the first years were seemingly taken to
a waiting room. Dumbledore sat her in a seat beside him, one obviously for a
professor.
On her right was a middle-aged professor who looked at her with much interest.
He had retreating, brown hair and big, grey eyes. He wore a robe as well, one
that boasted Slytherin. She smiled his way.
"Hello," he said. "You must be the American transfer?"
Valyn nodded, offering a hand. "Valyn Malfoy, sir," she said politely.
The professor grinned, shaking her hand. "Professor Horace Slughorn! I've got
your cousin in my House... You see, I'm the Head of Slytherin." Valyn smiled.
"Well, I hope to join him there," She kept her smile as charming as possible.
"Since I am a descendant of Slytherin, myself."
Slughorn's eyes widened. "Is that so, my dear?"
She told him the story of Isolt Sayre, Slytherin's wand, and Martha the Squib,
as well as how she was still considered pureblood.
Slughorn ate every word she spoke. "Well," he said when she finished, as
children began flooding the Great Hall. "I'd be honored to add you to my Slug
Club, that's-"
"Horace," Dumbledore interrupted. "Recruit the poor girl later. She's just
arrived."
"Oh, alright," Slughorn's voice held amusement. "If you insist."
Valyn giggled and sat forward.
A tall, beautiful woman walked in, black hair in a bun beneath a tall, pointed
green hat. She had green robes to match.
"Is she Slytherin, too? Since she's in green?" Valyn whispered to Slughorn; the
room had gone silent.
"Oh, no. Professor McGonagall is the Head of Gryffindor." The man explained.
Valyn nodded.
McGonagall explained to the first years that followed to come up when their
names were called. She started with Allen, Orville, and continued until the
fortieth, and last, name was called- Zyrill, Fletcher.
"Valyn Malfoy," the woman said, turning. Dumbledore, seated to her left, smiled
at her. Valyn walked to her, and Dumbledore stood.
"We, for the first time in nearly a hundred years, have a transfer- for the
first time, from Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, in America."
Valyn shifted; everyone had their eyes on her.
"Everyone, meet the sixteen-year-old Valyn," Slowly, a clap for her began.
Valyn, for the first time, was uncomfortable under the gazes of her peers.
When motioned to do so, she shuffled to the stool upon which Fletcher Zyrill
had recently sat, and slowly lowered herself. McGonagall dropped the old,
smelly hat on her head.
Interesting, The hat spoke in her head, throwing her off-guard. She jumped. You
wouldn't be out of place in any House, would you? You're perhaps the most
brilliant person since Ravenclaw- at least in the booksmarts area. You're very
kind, extraordinarily loyal, and about as prejudiced as Hufflepuff. But you're
not interested in those Houses, and those aren't your main traits. No, your
main traits are, in equal parts, determination and resourcefulness.
And you would be equally happy in either House. It doesn't change your fate
much, either.
Valyn thought about her father, who'd attended Hogwarts himself. He'd been
Sorted into Gryffindor... And been immediately disowned. At eleven, he'd been
kicked from his house. He'd moved himself to America, deeply shamed, and
enrolled in Ilvermorny, where he'd became a Pukwudgie.
She did not want to be cast out of another family.
"Slytherin!" The Hat yelled. Valyn stood and removed it, thanking it silently,
and walked calmly towards the applause of her cousin, fully aware of the
devil's scorching gaze on her.
***** A Real Show *****
Chapter Summary
     Valyn gets friendly with James Potter while Sirius Black gets
     unfriendly with her, so (naturally; what else would one do?) she
     sneaks into their dorm and spies without shame.
Valyn looked over the tables. Slytherin was, in reference to the teacher's
table, the rightmost table. It was some dark wood, and covered in an emerald
table cloth with silver trimmings that hung onto Valyn's lap. Beside it was the
Ravenclaw table, with what looked like deep blue and bronze trimmings. After
that was the Gryffindor table, and she had a fortunate view of Sirius, who'd
stopped staring at her to dig into the feast they'd been allowed to eat. Their
cloth was crimson, and from the badge Sirius wore, their trimmings would be
gold. Beyond that was Hufflepuff, who- if Valyn's memory served her right- had
a yellow and black cloth.
Sirius sat between Peter and some girl with a short, black pixie cut. She was
short and cute, with an upturned nose and a dimpled smile, and anger burned
it's way into Valyn. Across from him was James, who sat between Remus and some
girl with long, fiery red hair.
"Tell me about the Gryffindors," Valyn whispered to Andy, who sat on her left.
"Okay," Andy said, looking towards Sirius. "Well, Sirius is my cousin. He's the
coolest of his group, but they're all regarded as total prats. They pull
stupid, rude pranks on everyone and think they're the shit... But they're only
good at Quidditch, really. Sirius sleeps around, I think, and he's totally
anti-magic. He only wears Muggle clothes and learns magic only because he has
to. James, he's the real Quidditch star- captain of the team this year, I
think. A Chaser. He really likes girls, but he doesn't really flirt with them
much- he's like, totally obsessed with this one muggleborn girl Lily Evans. She
doesn't give him the time of day, though. I think that's her next to him,
though, which is weird. Anyway, Remus. he's an uber nerd, and a prefect. He
goes down really hard on everyone but to his friends, he's way too soft.
Literally, they get away with everything. And there's Peter- he's creepy.
Follows girls around and stuff. Only ones who talk to him are the ones who're
trying to get to Sirius- not that it works. Those four call themselves the
Marauders- lame, right?" Andy flipped her hair. "I like Sirius well enough,
though. He's not as uppity as most of the family. Other Gryffindors- that dark
haired girl next to Sirius is Alice Fortescue. She's totally loaded, since her
grandfather is Florean Fortescue from that ice cream shop in Diagon Alley. She
flirts with anything that moves, but Sirius says she doesn't do anything
because she's in love with that guy next to her- Frank Longbottom. I don't know
why though- look at him." Valyn looked to see a blond boy with a bland face,
next to the loaded, flirty Alice Longbottom. He was talking to the ginger next
to James. "Frank is bad at everything, and he tries to make it all a joke,
which is kind of sad. Lily there- the redhead- has to help him all the time.
Lily's really good at everything, but she's a stuck-up bitch. She stopped
talking to Sev-" Andy nodded towards a dark-haired boy a little down the table.
"-Because he got mad that she tried to defend him against James. Called her a
mudblood- big deal. It was one time, and James was totally mortifying Snape.
But whatever. Beside her are Gideon and Fabian Prewett- they're alright, I
guess. Twins, and they're both really protective over their older sister Molly.
I think she graduated about ten years ago, but she visits every holiday- they
don't usually go home. Those are the Gryffindors you'll encounter most, I
think. The ones in our year are the Marauders and Frank, Lily, Alice, Emmeline
Vance, Marlene McKinnon and Mira Luna. Emmaline doesn't talk much though, and
Marlene's just awkward. She only talks to Lily, Alice and Remus. Mira... She's
bonkers. Brilliant, but totally insane. That's why she's with Lovegood."
"Lovegood?" Valyn asked, peeling her eyes from Sirius to look at Andy.
"Xenophilius Lovegood. Graduated about two years ago. He was a Hufflepuff, I
think. Really, really weird- used to talk about nuggets and bratwursts and
triple horned snackracks, or whatever."
Valyn looked at the table. "Where is this Mira?" My-ruh. A pretty name, really.
"Uh... Three seats down from Peter. Emmaline's next to him, then Marlene, then
Mira."
Valyn examined the three girls. Mira had truly white hair, thin and long, and
skin lighter than Valyn's- her eyes, too, were colorless. She had to be albino-
she was so white she almost glowed. Beside her, Marlene had a thick mess of
black curls that fell to her shoulder. She was tan with big, dark eyes. She
wasn't gorgeous, but she wasn't ugly, either. Next to her was Emmaline, a
pretty, thin blonde girl with an air of superiority. Valyn looked at her own
Housemates then.
Across from her was Lucius, with Crabbe and Goyle on either side, both beside
their girlfriends. Cissa was beside Val, and Bella was beside her, across from
a handsome boy with a mess of dark hair. Rodolphus, next to his brother
Rabastan Lestrange. Next to Joanna was Severus Snape, the last Slytherin she'd
been introduced to.
"So..." Valyn said. "Who's in sixth year, like me?"
"Well," Andy said. "It's you, me, Umbridge, Demeter, Alecto Carrow- she's sick,
she went to Madam Pomfrey, the nurse, as soon as we got here- Lucius, Crabbe,
Sev, Rabastan and Evan Rosier, who's next to Reg." I looked over to Reg, in
between Snape and a cute brunette boy.
"So, Slytherin's is in the dungeons," Valyn said. "What about the other three?"
"Gryffindor's in the Gryffindor tower, seventh floor, I think. Don't think much
about it, now that my feet just know how to get there." James said.
"Ravenclaw's towards the west, on the fifth floor on a spiral staircase. Piper
McPeeler says you have to answer a question to get in." Peter added.
"I think Hufflepuff's in the kitchens, or by the kitchens, or something," James
finished.
"Where are we going?" Valyn asked as they happened upon some stairs.
"Well, we're going to the common room," Sirius said tiredly. "Dunno where
you're going."
She followed them. James and Peter started arguing over Piper McPeeler, and
then how easy it would be to get into the common room. Sirius stayed quiet,
too, and his eyes never left some part of Valyn. He didn't seem to trust her.
Her thighs ached by the time they reached it- a portrait of a bigger woman in a
pink dress.
"That's..." Valyn said, taking it in.
"Dead jumper," Peter said, and the portrait swung open.
"Uh," Valyn looked uncomfortable. What??
"You wanker," Sirius growled. "You just said the password in front of-"
"Shhh," James said. "Now she knows it's a password!"
"If she's got half a brain she would've already-"
"Hurry up!" barked the woman in the portrait. Valyn spun and walked off as the
boys filed into the portrait.
She checked her watch- 8:23. She sat on a window sill.
She waited, thinking. She didn't have any Slytherin garb on- she could sneak in
and challenge Sirius to a duel. He was a dick, and she didn't like him- plus,
having her there would definitely urk him. Now that a Slytherin knew the
Gryffindor password they'd surely change it- and good. That was a weird
password.
It was just past 8:30 when she stood and walked back to the portrait.
"Dead jumper," she said, careful not to look suspicious. Blood was pounding in
her ears.
Apparently, the woman hadn't been paying attention earlier, because she swung
open. Valyn stepped inside- that was the easy part. She had to casually find
Sirius in a room full of people she didn't know and couldn't ask.
She'd made a mistake.
She scanned the room- no one paid her any attention. There were two staircases-
a pair of girls were walking up one. The other had to be for boys.
Valyn walked quickly to it, rushing up it. She wasn't thinking straight- what
if she were noticed? What if Sirius wasn't even up there?
But she was faced with another problem when she got up the stairs; seven rooms,
one for each year.
She figured the easiest thing would be- leaving, honestly, but she'd made it so
far, and in only... Four minutes. Valyn went into the sixth door from the left,
only to see-
An empty room. She closed the door, lest anyone come towards their room.
There were five beds, all obviously lived in; two to the left, two to the
right, one across from the door. Each bed had a wardrobe to one side and a desk
to the other.
There were pictures up by all the beds. The first to the left had pictures of
James and an old couple- probably his parents. Exhilaration overwhelmed her;
this was the right room. The next one in held pictures of Peter, a girl who
looked like him, and his parents, as well as one of a big, fluffy cat. The lone
bed held pictures of Frank and a woman in atrocious clothing... Next, there
were no photographs, only drawings. They were beautiful, stunning- some hand
drawings of his friends, casual and laughing. One had Remus sleeping, and Valyn
knew this was Sirius' bed- the prefect didn't seem much of one to do anything
of himself. Some were of Hogwarts, but it wasn't the Hogwarts Valyn saw- a
courtyard with silver brick, shining in morning light, a happy McGonagall
surrounded by transfiguration notes, a simmering cauldron with a redhead's
laughing face. It was lovely. The next bed had photos only of the Marauders,
and Valyn sat herself on Sirius' bed.
A door opened, and Valyn instinctively hid under the bed, peeking up. Sirius
was stepping out of one of three doors on the wall Valyn had entered through-
from her position, the left one. It seemed to be a bathroom.
His chest was bare, his hips wearing a towel, hair hair, too, wrapped in one.
His eyes were downcast and unguarded.
Valyn looked again at his chest. It wasn't as buffed-up as she'd pictured it to
be, but his chest was stil broad. His belly had a cute little bubble on it, and
dark hair dotted his abdomen. A v shape peeked over the towel, and Valyn found
herself blushing.
He didn't notice her as he walked to his wardrobe. He pulled out a pair of
black pajamas and pulled it on, and Valyn had the decency to look away when he
dropped his towel. When she looked up, he was drying his hair a final time
before throwing it behind him to the open bathroom door.
He plopped on his bed and Valyn shrunk down. How he wasn't seeing her was a
mystery. He bent down to the other side of the bed and came back with a
cigarette in his mouth and a lighter in one hand. He lit it.
"Enjoy the show, Val?" Sirius asked without looking at her.
The American didn't move.
***** 1,000,000 Unanswered Questions *****
Chapter Summary
     Valyn gives her first kiss to Sirius and finds out exactly why she
     shouldn't have. Also bad British slang written by an American.
Valyn finally moved her head up. "I looked away."
Sirius reclined on his bed, then exhaled the smoke without removing the
cigarette from his mouth. "I'll have to remember to get Remus to change the
password."
Valyn slid onto the bed. "I was going to challenge you to a duel,"
Sirius looked at her and pulled the cigarette from his mouth, exhaling smoke
again. "Why?"
"I thought I don't like you," She explained. She was uncomfortable, she
decided.
"Thought? Sugar, you don't."
"I think I could," Valyn said, looking at his art. "If you stop being a dick."
"It's who I am."
Valyn took his hand and touched it to the morning courtyard. "Is it?"
Sirius looked at her, and she looked at him. Something passed through his eyes,
but it was replaced by coldness. "Yes."
"Maybe I can live with it, then," Valyn said, right before she kissed him.
He let her. In fact, he ground the cigarette out on the bed frame and dropped
it to the floor, then kissed her back.
Her kissing him was soft and unsure, but when his mouth responded, it turned
harsh quickly. His hands, now free, pushed her back into the bed, and he pinned
her. His mouth locked with hers, showed her how to kiss- she hadn't known, had
been just suckling on his lip- and one rough hand- the hand she'd held to the
drawing- ran itself through her hair, brushed her face. She felt tendrils of
sunlight and moonlight tickling her sleeping heart until it awoke, his tongue
crashing against hers simultaneously, and Valyn groaned hungrily. The
consciousness travelled from her heart down, making her stomach flutter, her
diaphragm sputter, taking away her breath. She felt alive for the first time
she could remember, in a way she'd never dreamed of- only, perhaps, had she
ever dreamed of a ghost of this sensation. She whimpered into him as the life
travelled lower still, introducing her to yet another almost new sensation-
something she'd felt a spark of, but this... These were steaming, fiery embers.
They kissed like that for God knew how long, her tucked underneath his big,
significant body, before the door creaked open.
"Oh," a familiar, distant voice said in surprise. Sirius kissed her again
before pulling away. Valyn felt her eyes open wide to see him there, her
chapstick around his face, eyes like flame. His breathing was only slightly
off; she'd felt him breathe as he'd kissed her. She, however, was gasping in
breath. Her asthma might act up if she didn't stop...
"Don't stop for me," James snickered. "I'll leave-"
"It's almost curfew anyway," Sirius said. "She should leave, anyway."
Valyn blinked at him, ignorant to what he was saying. "What?" She asked her
voice impossibly high.
Sirius looked at her. "Was that your first kiss?" he asked. Valyn nodded, and
Sirius did, too.
"Go to bed, Val. It's 9:30."
9:30? Didn't she have somewhere to-
Andy!
Valyn stood and started towards the door. "Wait," Sirius said. She turned.
He slipped something into her hand and she rushed away without another word-
down the stairs, through the portrait. She knocked into someone and they
snapped at her to watch it, but she didn't care. She flew towards the Great
Hall, asthma tightening her chest. She pulled out an inhaler from her bra and
puffed on it, soothing it for then. She got to the Great Hall at 9:46.
"Jeez," Andy said, looking at her. "You're late."
Valyn tucked whatever Sirius had given her into her robe pocket. "Y-yeah," she
said in a quiet, broken voice. "Sorry about that. I was... exploring."
Exploring the inside of Sirius' mouth counted, right?
Andy grinned. "Well, c'mon, cutie." Valyn started to follow the Black sister.
"Okay, so. It's down past the dungeon corridor behind a stone wall- the
password for the next week is Ilvermorny, in your honor," Andy winked at Valyn.
"We all kind of have passwords; ours is chosen by the prefects, everyone in
their House votes for Hufflepuff's, and the Fat Lady chooses Gryffindor's- the
Fat Lady is the portrait their House is hidden behind. Ravenclaws have to
answer a question to get into their passage- which confuses me, honestly, cause
who can't answer a question? Anyway," Andy looked over at Valyn. "Don't let in
anyone who isn't Slytherin. It's not technically against the rules- Hufflepuffs
let people in a lot, and sometimes Gryffs and Ravenclaws do, too, but no non-
Slytherin's been in our common room in, like, a century, or something. There's
this huge prefect spiel about it." Andy led her down to the dungeons. "Anyway.
Yeah, curfew's ten, but that's the curfew to be in the common room- long as
you're not annoying, you can stay up all night. You wanna?"
Valyn blinked, then shook her head. "No, I'm pretty beat."
Andy boo-ed. "Lame!"
It was cold when Valyn slinked behind the stone wall after Andy and she
shivered, but the farther they walked down the passage, the warmer it got until
they were in a grand, gorgeous common room.
One wall was all glass, showing beautiful green waters, a giant squid swimming
passed. There was a fireplace underneath a giant serpent, and two spiral
staircases across from the Squid. Green and silver furniture was dotted
throughout.
"Woah," Valyn whispered. This was the most beautiful place she'd seen since
leaving Ilvermorny- the second or third most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.
"Where's your dragon?" Lucius asked somewhere behind her.
"Huh?" Valyn asked, then looked down at her shoulder. Attor was gone. "I-I-"
"Lucius!" Bella's voice was a shriek. She ran into the common room.
Her entire body was covered in gross, gooey slime. It was a bright, eye-hurting
gold. "Those stupid, filthy, blood traitors-" she started, but suddenly,
something in Valyn's pocket exploded.
She shrieked and shielded her face, falling back. Lucius yelped and Bella
really shrieked, an ear-piercing, jaw-clenching, high-pitched banshee noise.
When Valyn looked up from her spot on the ground, Bella was covered in crimson
feathers- they were even in her mouth as she sputtered wordlessly.
And then she was crying- weeping. Rodolphus appeared from the crowd and held
her, sticking to her, and not caring.
She punched him in the chest a few times before whimpering and sinking into
him.
"Th-those... Those damn bastards! This the la-last time..." Bella wept. Valyn
stared, confused.
"What were you doing with them," Rodolphus growled. His eyes turned to her,
face full of hate. "When did they give you that? Did you think it'd be funny to
prank one of the very few friends-"
"I-I didn't know," Valyn stuttered. "I swear. I wanted to duel him, but... He
gave me that, and James said it was almost curfew, and so I just, left." Valyn
looked at Bella. "Wh-what is-?"
"Potter adhesive, and cardinal feathers." Lucius said. "It's a prank they save
for Bella and Cissa."
Valyn frowned. "The... The Marauders? They used me to-"
"Yes," Lucius growled. "They're bad people. But we'll get back at them, won't
we, Bella?"
The pranked girl nodded into Rodolphus, glue keeping her head on his chest.
"How?" Valyn asked. Andy sighed, and Lucius spun.
"How?" Lucius laughed, a cold, evil laugh that Valyn had never before heard. He
got to his knees before her, still on the floor. He took her face in his hands,
his eyes desperate and wounded.
"How do you return six years of being plastered with the widest array of
embarrassing things? Six years of spells cast behind your back that paralyze
you, or put a boy in a dress, that put a girl in a chicken suit? Six years of
the entire Gryffindor House making everyone who wasn't a Slytherin laugh and
ridicule you? Six years of being put down for being in the only House that
doesn't laugh when the Marauders cast their 'harmless jokes' on you? Six years
of listening to Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs and even Gryffindors insulting those
fools, only to laugh and spit in your face when you find yourself trapped on
top of the castle, and the detentions that follow because the professors don't
care. McGonagall doesn't care, Dumbledore doesn't care, and Slughorn's too much
of an idiot to notice. How? By taking it up a notch. By following a real, true,
pure cause. By being better than those low life blood traitors." The
desperation in Lucius' gaze had turned to stone cold hatred, something Valyn
had never seen.
"Wh... What cause?" She asked, her voice small.
"Voldemort," Bellatrix spoke up. "He wants to get rid of people like them."
"He wants to get rid of everyone! Everyone who isn't like you and me and him."
Snarled Andy. Bella met her eyes.
"Exactly." Bella said in a low voice. Andy shook her head.
"Voldemort?" Valyn asked.
"The Dark Lord," Rodolphus said quietly. "He wants to get rid of blood
traitors, muggleborns, and muggles."
Valyn blinked. "... Why?"
Bella laughed. "What do you mean, why? Your father was a Malfoy, was he not? He
had to have taught you-"
"He was disowned. Uncle Abraxas said... He said I was a part of his family, but
my father..." Valyn sat up, curling against Lucius, the boy who'd been her one
comfort over the summer. He held her like she were a puppy, stroking her hair
in a way very, very unlike Sirius had.
"Well. Let me just tell you this- Muggles, mudbloods, and blood traitors should
be wiped out. Half Bloods are barely any better!" Bella twisted against the
adhesive.
"Someone get her some water," Lucius roared out at the crowd. Cissa. Andy,
Rabastan, Crabbe, Goyle, Jo, and Demeter rushed off, and returned a few minutes
later with three buckets of water and a bottle of Potter Anti-Adhesive. Lucius
glared at the bottle as Andy, Jo and Demeter began to scrub Bella free.
After a moment Valyn moved forward. "Can I help?"
"Please," said Bella quietly, sobered again.
Valyn began to work carefully at Bella's hair and Rodolphus' chest, being sure
to be careful with her.
"To your beds! Now!' Lucius roared. Everyone obeyed except for those dealing
with Bella and Lucius.
"If we have prefects, why can't we get them in trouble?" Valyn asked, cleaning
Bella's curls carefully.
"It makes it worse, and we don't have enough people behind us for that. Most
people believe them because they're Gryffindors and we're Slytherins." Bella
said, voice full of pain.
"But you said they do it to everyone," Argued Valyn.
"Doesn't matter," Cissa said, obsessively cleaning her eldest sister's back.
"They have Lupin, and he has Dumbledore in his back pocket. Slughorn's hot for
Potter and McGonagall's favorite is Sirius. Everyone is against us... The best
we've gotten, is Longbottom got detention once. That's when they locked Lucius
in one of the real dungeons and left him to rot. If Bella and I hadn't gone
down there to practice her occlumency..."
Valyn's chest constricted. She imagined spazzy, odd James locking her brother
in a dungeon, or giggly Peter spurting adhesive on Bella. She couldn't imagine
Sirius... It made fuzzy white dots appear in her vision and made her stomach
ache.
She imagined the drawings on Sirius' wall. She imagined Sirius ignoring his
friends to stare at her. She imagined Sirius at dinner, laughing and grinning
at James. She imagined his face as he snarled at her on the train.
My family has issues, His voice played in her head. I'd rather be a dick than a
freak.
"He kissed me," Valyn whispered. Bella snorted in annoyance, and Lucius
snarled.
"He did what?" Valyn and Andy met gazes. He sleeps around alot, I think.
"He... Kissed me. Or, I kissed him. I don't remember..." Valyn scrubbed Bella's
head free, and she sat forward. A few more scrubs from Andy, and she was free-
though still filthy. Andy moved to clean Rodolphus' chest, and Valyn cleaned
Bella's front while Cissa stayed at her back.
"Don't even talk to him again," Lucius growled. "No cousin of mine will be just
one of Sirius Black's slags," He spat the last word angrily, as if it were an
insult, and it probably was- Valyn just didn't know what it was.
"Sl-slag?" Valyn whispered.
"Slut. Whore. Harlot." Lucius snapped, and Valyn winced with each one.
"I-I'm not-"
"Then it would be in your best interests to stop talking to the filthy minger."
Another british insult... Valyn had been under the impression that they spoke
the same language as she.
Everyone was silent until Bella was clean of adhesive, and still then- everyone
retired without a word.
Valyn put her Slytherin garb away and changed into her nightgown. She took the
bed on the lone wall, and briefly wondered if there had previously been another
girl in it. She lay there, in the dark, thinking.
"Andy," Valyn whispered to the girl whose bed was the first to her left.
"Mmph?"
"What's a minger?"
"A disgusting person, now go to bed."
Valyn turned on her side and saw that Cissa, who was immediately to her right,
had put the veil things on her bed down. Valyn sat up and, eventually, managed
to do the same thing, then lay down.
Where was Attor? He left her at home occasionally, and she'd find him later in
the pool or forrest, sometimes by her father's bed. She had no doubt he was
fine, but missed him...
What was wrong with her? Why had Sirius kissed her? Why had he used her? Had
James known? Peter?
Why did they always get away with that? Why did girls still want him? Why did
she still want him?
She fell asleep with a million unanswered questions.
***** Double in Trouble *****
Chapter Summary
     Valyn duels the Marauders, befriends a Mudblood, and argues with
     Sirius (and reveals some exposition in the process.)
Valyn awoke to see Andy above her, shaking her awake. "Get up, you big oaf,"
Andy hissed.
"Hmm?" Valyn cooed, rolling over. "We have class, you big dickhead," Valyn's
obsidian eyes opened.
"What class?" She grunted.
"Double potions with the Gryffindors," Andy said.
"Sirius?" She asked, then smiled brightly.
"Uh, yeah. Wake up, girl, and get ready for breakfast." Valyn reluctantly rose.
She stood soon after in her panties and bra, then looked at her cloak. "What do
I wear under my cloak?"
Andy laughed. "Nothing." Valyn looked at the girl as if legitimately offended.
"What?"
"The cloak is your clothes, nerd," Bella interjected.
Valyn looked reluctantly at her, watching as Bella pulled the cloak onto her
pale body in her plain black underwear. She wore no brazier, despite the tight
fit of her cloak, and suddenly Valyn was uncomfortable with her own, over loose
cloak.
She looked between the sisters- Cissa was short and thin, Andy curved and
short, Bella tall and thin. She'd probably fit best in Bella's robes...
"Bella?"
"Yeah?"
"Can I borrow a cloak? Mine's kind of..."
"Ginormous," Cissa said bluntly, and Bella laughed. The raven haired girl
tossed another fitted, jet-black cloak to Valyn.
"Here," Valyn smiled and thanked her, then slipped into the cloak and examined
herself in the mirror.
She liked it, really- it looked more like a dress than a cloak. At Ilvermorny,
the cloaks had been like jackets, with uniforms underneath. Valyn examined the
neck- it wasn't turtleneck and ruffled like Bella's, but lowcut like Andy's.
The arms were tight down to the wrists, where they flared out. The bodice was
tight, and so were the tops of her thighs, but the skirt flared into a mermaid
style. She sat to pull on green dragonhide boots, open toed, showing her cute,
french pedicured toes.
She fastened her Slytherin badge into place and stood, then walked to the
mirror in the right bathroom. She wrapped her hair up in a poofy bun,
reminiscent of a beehive, but much cuter. She put little dragon earrings in and
spread her makeup across the sink and got busy.
She had green and silver eye makeup and nude lipstick, adding silver blush to
accentuate her cheekbones.
She walked out then, ready. Cissa had silver and ice blue makeup, and Bella had
stuck to black and grey; Andy, however, kept her face bare.
But then Valyn turned around. "Wait," she said. "Cissa and Bella aren't in
sixth year,"
Bella snickered. "We switched. Not a big deal, really."
Valyn sighed. Apparently, absolutely no one cared about anything here.
"Alright,"
The four girls all walked down to the Great Hall, but they were early;
breakfast started at six, and it was only five thirty.
Three people, however, were also early- Alice Fortescue, Frank Longbottom, and
Lily Evans.
They all looked up and stopped talking. Anxiety instantly filled Valyn.
"You're the new girl, right?" The redhead asked in a poor accent, surprising
Valyn.
"Yes." Valyn replied. Yesterday, she'd have introduced herself to them
immediately... Today, she was not feeling as polite.
"Well, I'm Lily Evans," the ginger said brightly. "Nice to meet you. Sorry
about... Sirius."
Valyn raised her eyebrows coldly. "Valyn Malfoy, and likewise. What about him?"
She forced her voice to be emotionless. Frank and Alice exchanged looks.
"Well, didn't he-"
"He's done nothing to me, other than plant one of his stupid prank things on
me. Bella's the one who should be getting a sorry."
Lily looked at the girl in question, who had her arms crossed and gaze
averting, a glare on her pretty face.
"Okay, look... I know she's your friend, or whatever," Alice spoke up. "And the
Marauders aren't completely innocent, but neither are they-"
"I'm sorry, did I miss the story when they super glued feathers to you people?
So that it stuffed their mouth and made their eyes burn? So that they-" Valyn
sucked in a breath, not daring to admit for bella that she'd wept.
Alice and Frank looked down and Lily sighed, looking away.
"We're not endorsing them," Lily said.
"Val!" A voice hollered, and everyone looked over to see James coming forward,
the rest of the Marauders in tow.
In a split second, Valyn whipped her wand out and pointed it directly at James-
the adhesive had said Potter, had it not?
"Alarte ascendare!" Valyn roared, and James was sent flying up to crash into
Sirius.
Peter was quick to respond, but stumbled over the word 'levicorpus', so Valyn
was quick to protect herself from the unknown spell,
"Protego!" A shield enveloped the girl.
"Levicorpus!" I recovered Sirius roared at Bella.
Valyn shot the shield to block her friend; none of them had their wands out.
They weren't going to help her?
"Confundus!" Valyn snapped at Sirius, who stumbled back.
"Expelliarmus!" James cast at Valyn, and her dogwood wand flew away.
Within a split second, however, she had her other wand out. "Immobulus!"
James tensed, imobile.
"Levicorpus!" Sirius spat, recovered. Valyn spat out 'protego' just in time.
"What is that?" growled Valyn, before silently shooting Incarcerous at Peter,
who was looking back and forth between everyone. He was tied up and, and fell
to the ground.
"It hangs you by your ankles," said a new voice from behind her. Valyn kept her
Protego up to look back; Snape. He joined her.
"Levicorpus!" Both Sirius and Severus said at the same time- Valyn transferred
her shield to block Snape. Sirius lifted into the air.
"Expelliarmus!" Valyn cast at Sirius, and his wand went flying.
"Hey!" an older, wicked voice called. They turned to see McGonagall. "What in
Merlin's name?"
"They started it!" Valyn roared. "Not the duel; that was me." She corrected.
"But what they did to Bella last night-"
"Unfortunately," McGonagall interrupted, eyes narrowing. She drew herself up
and looked impressively terrifying; Valyn, however, raised her chin defiantly.
"I was not there to see last night, Ms. Malfoy. Thirty points from Slytherin
and detention for you and Mr. Snape every Saturday night."
Valyn scoffed. And opened her mouth, but a recovered James spoke up.
"Liberacorpus," he said, freeing Sirius. "We pranked Bella. She was just
retaliating."
McGonagall looked at James. "Ten points from Gryffindor, then?"
"Only ten!" Valyn shrieked. McGonagall turned to her.
"Why, yes, Ms. Malfoy. Duelling in the middle of the school is a far greater
offense than a simple prank-"
"Simple prank it was not! We were scrubbing cardinal feathers and 'Potter
adhesive' off of her for the better half of an hour! Not to mention whatever
Sirius gave me exploded in my pocket and sent everyone flying!"
Sirius was smirking, and James had a grin. Peter was giggling. "And they're
laughing at it! I near had a panic attack because these devils planted
something on me, and my friends thought that I was in on their stupid, not-so-
harmless joke! And they're getting off with a lost duel and ten less points!"
Valyn was shaking, nearly crying. Her voice was high; a crowd had gathered, all
silent, all watching.
"Minerva," a familiar voice said. Valyn turned to see Dumbledore. "I think I'll
handle it from here."
"From what they've said, it's about time." Valyn grumbled, motioning towards
the Black sisters, all stoic and peaceful. Snape was watching Lily, an odd look
in his eye.
Dumbledore's brow raised. "Do they feel like they've been treated unfairly?"
Valyn raised her chin again. "Why don't you ask them?" she snapped. Dumbledore
smiled.
"If what you're saying really happened, did- and I'm quite sure you're right-
then the four boys would be in much greater trouble. However, you can't prove
it, and though I do believe you, it would be unfair to punish them without
proof."
 
"I can prove it!" Valyn said. "Use legilimens on me, simple as that."
Dumbledore blinked at her, then he smiled. "Legilimens."
She felt him probing at her mind, and struggled to keep her guards down.
She was following the boys to their corridor, then sneaking in behind them. She
went to Sirius' room, hid behind his bed. He was kissing her- and then he gave
her a small, round object. She was running back to Andy, then followed her to
the dungeons. Lucius had come in behind her, then Bella- and the thing had
exploded. She let the memory play up until she was about to ask how, then used
occlumens to push him out.
And then, she was in the real world again, head spinning.
"Forty points from Gryffindor," Dumbledore said mildly.
"That's fifty in all!" exclaimed Sirius. "For one stupid prank-" He was
furious, which only angered Valyn more.
Dumbledore turned and tipped his head to the side, a small, odd smile on his
face, and Sirius clamped his mouth shut. The Headmaster walked off, into the
Great Hall, and McGonagall gave Valyn a once-over before following.
Attor flew in over the Marauders' head and landed on Valyn's back, and curled
into her, yipping. She rubbed his snout and, glancing at the time (5:56)
strolled into the Hall as well. Severus was the first to follow, and then the
Black Sisters.
Valyn sat with her back to the rest of the Hall this time, and Bella and Andy
surrounded her. Cissa sat across from her, Lucius to the left of her, Severus
to the right. Others joined them; Rodolphus and then Rabastan by Bella, Crabbe,
Goyle, Jo and Demeter by Lucius, Avery and Mulciber by Snape.
"Don't do that again," Lucius growled at Valyn without looking at her.
"Do what?"
"Stand up to them," Bella finished. "They're going to make it worse."
"And then I will, too."
Lucius looked at her. "No, Valyn."
"But-"
"Please," Cissa whispered. Valyn looked at her.
"... Alright. Fine- I won't involve you people in my fight. But I am not going
let them do anything to me.
Her friends didn't reply, and she scooped up plain oatmeal on her finger and
held it to Attor's mouth. He ate it greedily. Valyn ate bacon, fried eggs, and
milk, and fed Attor porridge. Soon, Lucius and Andy were discussing their first
class; double potions, taught by Slughorn, with the Gryffindors. Cissa and Reg
had double transfiguration with McGonagall and the Ravenclaws, and Bella had
double Charms with the Hufflepuffs. Classes confused Valyn, but Bella assured
her she'd be fine if she stuck with Andy- something Valyn would definitely do.
Breakfast ended at eight, and class didn't begin until nine, but nine of ten
Slytherin sixth years still headed down to the potions dungeon right after,
though they did have a pitstop in the restrooms.
The class was empty, save the professor, and they began to pair up.
Severus and Rabastan sat together in the back left. Lucius and Carlisle sat in
front of them, and Evan and Andy before them. Demeter and Alecto sat next,
until only Valyn was left; she took her seat at the two-person table beside
Lucius.
"You'll have to have one of the less annoying Gryffindors pair up with you,"
Lucius said. "Delores isn't welcome with us."
Valyn blinked, then sighed. "Alright,"
Lily, Frank and Alice walked in next, and Valyn made eye contact with Lily,
really paying attention to her for the first time.
She had long, flowing red hair, almost unnaturally crimson. Her skin was a
natural orange/peach, and her eyes were a pretty, lime green. She had her hair
down, trailing about as long as Valyn's, and her robe was fitted but simple.
Alice, beside her, had a tighter robe, though plain as well. Her hair had been
done in little knots along her scalp.
Lily walked over and sat by Valyn, but Crabbe grunted at her; "Oi, mudblood.
What makes you think you're welcome to-"
"She is," Valyn interrupted, turning to look at Carlisle, then Lucius; the
former shook his head, but the latter nodded. The American turned to smile at
Lily, who smiled back. "And I don't know what a mudblood is, but your weird
British slang is giving me a headache."
Alice and Frank took their seats in front of Lily and Val.
"Sorry about... This morning," Valyn said. "I was very-"
"Don't apologize," Lily assured her. "They did something wrong, and you
attempted to right it."
Emmaline, Marlene, Mira and another girl walked in, the fourth trailing behind
and obviously not a part of their group. Emmaline and Marlene sat in front of
Alice and Frank, the front row, and Mira took a seat at the next table.
The fourth girl was short and pudgy, with dull yellow-grey eyes and short brown
hair. She wore pink go go boots and a pink headband, as well as atrocious, pink
makeup. Mira invited her to join her table, calling her Delores. Valyn wondered
why she was not welcome with her new friends.
Only the Marauders were absent, and only the table behind her and beside that
were free. She checked her watch; 8:37.
She listened to Lily and Alice chat about Quidditch for about fifteen minutes
before the remaining four boys strolled in. Sirius took it upon himself to look
meaningfully at Valyn before sitting as far away from her as possible before
yanking Delores' bow from her hair and flinging it.
"Hey!" Delores shrieked, and Sirius grinned.
"Five points from Gryffindor! Sirius Black, you move to the other table, behind
Ms. Malfoy. She's a respectable young lady- I'm sure you wouldn't dare mess
with her in my class." Sirius snorted, and Valyn was sure they shared the next
thought; He was obviously unaware of the fight that morning.
But Sirius did as he was told, sinking into place behind Valyn. James took the
seat beside him, then Peter, then Remus.
"Hey, Val," Sirius whispered. "You miss me?"
"You're scum," she growled under her breath.
"I just wanted to say," James interrupted. "I didn't help them yesterday. It
was all Sirius and Remus."
Valyn turned to glare at him. "You didn't stop them, though."
"He's not a traitor to his friends," Sirius said accusingly.
"Neither am I," Valyn said defensively. Lily, Alice and Frank were all
listening.
"You kissed me," Sirius said with superiority. "Not that I could blame you; I'm
bloody irresistible."
Valyn sneered at him. "Don't flatter yourself. I kissed you because-because I
liked your drawings, and that's all."
Sirius barked a laugh. "That's a terrible excuse."
"It's the truth," Huffed Valyn, turning around. "And I won't be kissing you any
time soon."
"Wanna bet?" Sirius challenged. Valyn looked behind her again, eyes like black
fire.
"I want to bet that you're a no-good, egotistical, good-for-nothing billy no-
mates who found himself a bunch of other motley idiots to make himself feel
good," Valyn said, voice raising to a normal octave. Everyone looked at her,
though conversations thankfully continued. She hoped she used the british
phrase correctly- 'billy no-mates'.
"And I want to bet that you're a goodie-two-shoes spoiled little munter who
thinks she's all that; I want to bet that your father raised you on a pedestal
to think all is always right in the world, and now you think everyone's got to
be all sweet and lovey-dovey to you. I want to bet that you're a sad, pathetic
little girl living in her own, righteous vision of the world, and I want to bet
that you'll grow up to be a sad, pathetic drunkard who's been awoken to the
hardships of life and couldn't cope; that you'll be a wretched mother and a
wretched wife to a boring, brainless git and that you'll realize that a filthy
slag like you never could have been anything happier had you tried." Sirius
responded, voice cold and hard. Tears of rage stung her eyes, and she tipped
her head to the side.
"You're just a sad little boy, Sirius Black. Your best insult is apparently to
describe your family to me, yeah? Tell me, is that why you're so messed up?
Because your 'mummy' was too busy in a bottle-"
"Don't talk about my 'mummy'," growled Sirius. "You know nothing about me-"
"And you know nothing about me! About how I was raised! How I'll end up to be!"
Valyn roared. Everyone, including Slughorn, was silent. "Don't mock me because
my father gave a damn about me. Don't tell me I'm spoiled, because I'm not."
Sirius hooted a cruel laugh. "You're telling me the rich and famous Belial
Malfoy didn't-"
"My father was disowned by his family at eleven and stolen by Dark wizards and
used for spell experimentation," snapped Valyn, feeling rage grow from the
uncomfortable pulse in her chest. It poured out of her the moment Sirius had
said her father's name. "My father, at thirteen, escaped the brink of death and
fled to America. My father was penniless and loveless and fled to Ilvermorny,
where at fifteen, he knocked up the Headmaster's daughter and was kicked out
again. My mother died birthing me and he had me, no money, no home." Valyn felt
tears on her face as Sirius stared at her, the whole room stared at her. "My
father made us a house with his bare hands, wandless, magicless. He finally got
a job cleaning up dragon dung when I was five. I grew up in a stick house
filled with bugs, but it was filled with love. I was dirt poor, but I had love.
I knew hardship, but I knew resilience, and I knew ambition and passion, and I
kept it when my father worked up the ranks until he owned his own damn dragon
reserve. Don't tell me I'm spoiled. Don't tell me I'm sad or pathetic because I
know I am strong, and you know nothing." Valyn finished, face covered in tears.
She breathed in and out slowly. She felt and hand on her shoulder and turned to
see a wide-eyed Lily stroking her arm comfortingly. Valyn wiped her eyes and
turned, then glanced at her watch.
It was 9:00.
***** Sound of Silence *****
Chapter Summary
     Valyn reveals a hidden talent or two, and finds the secret place from
     her favorite of Sirius' drawings. Also, awkward musings about love,
     and she passes out due to sheer stupidity on her part.
Valyn wrote lyrics out in cursive on spare parchment, her i's dotted with
hearts, her y's curling up. She was supposed to be taking notes for History of
Magic, but Professor Binns' teaching made her want to drop dead.
She sat surrounded by her friends. The Hufflepuffs were on the exact opposite
side of the room, as if Slytherins were lepers. It made Valyn uncomfortable;
Houses at Ilvermorny didn't care who was what.
Feelings were dancing in Valyn's chest as if it were a ballroom of light and
dark. In one moment, she was hating Sirius for everything he said, everything
he did. In another, she was grateful to Sev for joining her in her duel. And in
another still, she was furious at her friends for laying down and taking the
abuse. She remembered Sirius' drawings, all fresh in her mind... But she could
see the courtyard drawing as if it were in front of her. Every detail, every
pencil line, every fraction of an inch. She remembered the light, brilliant
green of the grass swaying slightly in the wind. She remembered the pale rose
tones, casual golds, sleepy peaches of the sun, the beams shining and making
small particles of dust sparkle... She could see the detailed, silver stone, as
if pouring from the hand of God himself. The stones had detailed, passionate
cracks of time, the filing scorched charcoal by the elements. Deep, sensation-
inducing emerald vines sputtered up around a pale yellow window, a candle just
inside, burned down as if left lit all night long. She could picture the vast,
colorful sky, the right edges of which were pretty, innocent blue.
That drawing sparked something deeper in her than her heart, her stomach; it
stirred life in her soul. The Sirius she'd kissed had not been the Sirius who'd
created that drawing... The Sirius she'd kissed had not been the unguarded,
freshly clean Sirius she'd seen as he walked from the bathroom.
The Sirius she'd kissed was the Sirius who'd pranked Bella, the Sirius who'd
ridiculed her and blamed her for retaliating.
The Sirius who'd she'd seen straight from the shower was the Sirius who'd drawn
that picture, and the one she'd briefly seen laughing with James, and Valyn was
determined to unlock that Sirius, because...
Because, Valyn became sure in an instant, the Sirius who'd drawn the courtyard
held the key to the stirring in her soul. He was her love... Her soulmate.
Valyn sighed through her nose. She'd never thought about that before; she
hadn't thought about romantic love at all, she realized. Many a nights she'd
stayed up deciding everything about familiar love- the love she'd shared with
her beautiful, wonderful, perfect father.
 
Whenever she saw her father, something automatic kicked her brain into life.
He'd stirred that in her, always- her mind. He made her think, made her aware,
made her every emotion of the brain. Love was just a mess of chemical reactions
after all, right? He was her logic, her ambition, her focus and her love; the
only one worthy of her.
But Sirius was... Something else. He stirred the emotions in her heart- things
that she had never felt before. Passion held a different meaning to her. Love
meant something else. Desire was nothing like the drive she had felt but a week
ago.
A week ago. She'd known Sirius for just over twenty four hours; she thought of
her father mocking Romeo and Juliet, and anyone else who made-believe love
because their beau was cute.
But how could love take time? It was predecided, Valyn felt. How could you meet
your other half and not know right away?
What was love, anyway? Wasn't it just... A manifestation of passion, quite
similar to hate? In a way, they were twins... She hated one Sirius, and loved
another... Or rather, one part of him. If they were twins, then the opposite
was... Indifference. Passion and indifference were opposites, yes- and love was
the opposite passion of hate. She'd lived in a world of pleasant, happy,
content indifference, and Sirius had spun her into a world of passion she
wasn't sure she could handle- she wasn't sure she wanted.
Where did the passion come from, then? Had it been laying dormant inside her,
waiting for something to give it a single ripple before spinning outwards until
a single finger's tap turned the sleeping emotions into a giant, raging
tsunami? Was she doomed to feel it raging in her for the rest of her days, or
could she leave it alone until it slowly lie back down at sea level, never to
be disturbed again?
Matter couldn't be gained; she'd learned that in primary school. Matter was a
definite thing, with matter not being created nor destroyed... So where did it
come from? Did everyone have their own alotted amount, or could it be stolen?
Had she taken those ripples from the very core of Sirius? Is that why lovers
slowly became more and more alike?
She didn't know, and she couldn't decide. Her head hurt and her chest ached
with emptiness. She was craving Sirius, the things he awoke in her. She was
craving sensation, emotion, feeling. Her ripples had settled too quiet for her
body to be content.
Her final class of the day finally came to an end, and she- like many others-
fled from the room. It was three in the afternoon, and Valyn needed to find
something- someone.
But who could awaken her like he? Who could make her heart flare, her stomach
flutter, and the apex of her legs yearn?
No one. She ran outside, small satchel of her supplies on her shoulder.
"Valyn?" Lucius called after her as she started to run towards the front
entrance. She ran out and scaled the building, searching.
The castle was giant, and it took her nearly an hour to find it, but-
There. Here. This place... This was the muse of the soul drawing, the morning
courtyard.
It was hardly a courtyard; just a little coincidental area, a half-circle
between two towers. No candle sat inside the rectangular window, but blackness
poured from it. She could see the drawing as she stroked the cracks in the
stone wall.
And Valyn sunk into the grass, tucked into the corner from the picture, and
hugged her knees. She was free until dinner, and even then, she didn't have to
go. Attor climbed over her shoulder into her lap, and she lay there, petting
his snout, staring into the swaying grass. The shape of the nook made it well-
ventilated; air entered and was brushed along by the walls, circling the nook
until it left again.
She closed her eyes, feeling safe for the first time since she'd lost her
father. No- safe was not the right word. Feeling... Secure. Calm. Sound.
She basked in the silence as the wind drew to a stop, and even the wind in the
nook ended, and listened to the sound of silence a moment before it started to
burn her ears, her mind.
And then she remembered the one thing her father had ever sung, and began to
sing it there, over and over, by Simon and Garfunkel.
She slowed it after the first verse, deciding she liked it better that way, and
made the tone more mellow, deeper.
 
Hello darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains within the sound of silence
In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
'Neath the halo of a street lamp
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed
By the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence
And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs
That voices never share
And no one dare
Disturb the sound of silence
"Fools, " said I, "you do not know
Silence, like a cancer, grows.
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you."
But my words like silent raindrops fell
And echoed in the wells of silence
And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon God they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
And the words that it was forming
And the sign said,
"The words of the prophets
Are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls."
And whispered in the sound of silence
 
Valyn closed her eyes. Her father had had a nice, plain voice- honest and pure,
calming and warm. The song was over ten years old, and as soon as it had come
out, her father had used it to sing her to sleep whenever she'd had a
nightmare.
Her father had had a nice voice, but it hadn't been anything special. Valyn,
however, had been gifted a golden voice, or so her father had said. It was her
one true talent; she couldn't create a story, nor sketch anything pretty. She
couldn't coordinate a bouquet, nor cook a mouth-watering meal. Song was her
only art, and she made it often.
The wind began slowly again, colder now, and it tickled her arms until
goosebumps formed on her cheeks. She shuddered into herself and let her voice
carry louder, deeper, as she reached 'Fools' in the song, adding undesignated,
raw feeling pour into her voice, and she sang on, the same song over and over,
until her voice was raw and the air made her clench her arms around herself.
She stood, shivering in the shade. She was east of the castle; sunlight didn't
bless the nook anymore. She urged Attor into his spot on her back and headed
into the castle.
It was six thirty when she walked into the Great Hall and joined her friends.
She wordlessly took a spot in between Reg and Snape, across from Greyson, Jo
and Demeter.
She pulled parchment from her satchel and pushed aside her empty plate,
ignoring her growling stomach, placing the parchment on the table and hunching
over it. She took out a pencil, figuring drawing with ink would be difficult,
and drew a very unpretty sketch of the other side of the nook, carefully
shaping the wind as it blew. She drew carefully, and though it wasn't pleasant,
it was obvious as to what it was.
Her view of the nook. Attor's head was at the bottom of the page, and two
tendrils of hair was sucked from the left to the right of the page.
She took out her dogwood wand to charm the page into life, and soon Attor was
swaying to the beat of her song, her hair billowing to the pound of the wind.
She folded the page until only a tiny hole into the center was visible, and she
pressed her lips to it, taking a good three minutes to sing the song into it so
that it would play when opened. She finished folding it after, ignoring the
fact that her company was watching her. No one spoke, though, something Valyn
had gotten used to in her new clique.
It was five minutes until eight when she finished. She carefully flew the
folded parchment using 'wingardium leviosa' to drop in front of Sirius, who was
not facing her then. He turned around just as Valyn turned back to face her
plate and grabbed a piece of some meat to quickly harvest until dinner ended,
unsure what would happen next. She should have written a time, or a date, or
something... She could, perhaps, simply go right after dinner. She'd go the
long way, though- the way she'd gone originally. She hadn't thought about east
or west; she rarely did.
She handed Andy her satchel when dinner ended and said she'd see her at curfew.
Confused, the usually talkative girl only nodded. Valyn walked away, quickly as
she could.
She was almost to the western side of the castle when she began to run. She
padded her bra, but her inhaler was absent; her chest began to tighten, but
Valyn didn't care. She wanted to meet Sirius in the nook...
She ran as fast and as long as she could, and made it to the back of the
castle; the north. She paused, leaning against the castle, panting fervently,
until her breathing calmed and her chest soothed. The, she continued running.
She felt like she was about to die by the time she reached the northeastern
corner of the castle, but she was so close... She continued running.
She collapsed when she reached it, falling to the ground, but the wind made it
harder to suck air into her thin, clogged airway... She crawled to the window
and curled up, waiting for her breathing to come back, but it didn't. Maybe she
shouldn't have ran... Maybe she shouldn't have given Andy the satchel with her
inhaler... Maybe she shouldn't have gone the long way...
Maybe she shouldn't have come, she thought, a mere moment before the lack of
oxygen pulled her into unconsciousness, and there she slept all night to the
sound of silence.
***** A Different P.O.V. *****
Chapter Summary
     Sirius' point of view! He find shis unconscious not-girlfriend and
     rushes her to safety. We get some background on Sirius and Moaning
     Myrtle gets involved, and Sirius gets some well-deserved, albeit
     horribly timed, payback.
Valyn wouldn't wake up, not even when Sirius smacked her as hard as he could.
It was four in the morning, when Sirius always went to this spot. He'd strolled
here, listening to Valyn's angelic voice play from her atrocious sketch,
mesmerized, but when he'd saw her, he'd dropped the parchment on the soaking
dew. She was wheezing pathetically, curled underneath the window, and she was
freezing to the touch.
Sirius picked her up. Her dragon was nowhere to be seen. Sirius held her in his
arms; she weighed more than she looked to. He tucked her cold, limp body close
to him and started speed walking. He had to get inside; then, all he had to do
was yell.
He rammed his shoulder into the door and it opened- he yelled loudly.
"Help!" Professors and House Elves always seemed to be in earshot at Hogwarts.
"Help!"
Filch was the first to come into view, and he stepped heavily on the ground
five times. Sirius was rushing towards the hospital wing, but it was on the
other side of the castle. As if on cue, Valyn's breathing stopped, and her body
began to spasm into itself.
A House Elf rushed forward and took hold of both Sirius and Valyn and Apparated
them into the hospital Wing.
Madam Pomfrey rushed over when the gunshot sound of it sounded, and Sirius
rolled Valyn into a bed at her direction. He shooed to the edge of the bed at
her command, and Madam Pomfrey began casting spells.
Sirius was only then overwhelmed with a flood of emotion.
He was angry. Why had she been there? Why had she looked for that spot? Why had
she found it?
He was afraid. What was happening to her? What if it got worse? What if she
died, if he'd found her too late?
He was a lot of things, and most of them didn't have names that he knew.
It was a flood of feelings all too familiar to him, things he hadn't felt in a
long, long time. Mother'd done a lot of shitty things when he was younger,
after Father had died. She often couldn't be woken, often spasmed in front of
him. Terror and horror and hatred surged in through him, familiar but still
very, very impactive. He sunk to his knees at her bed.
What the fuck was going on- with Valyn, and with him?
"It's just an asthma attack, Sirius," Pomfrey said. "But it doesn't want to get
under control. I need you to go get her inhaler; just knock on the Slytherin
wall until they open it."
"They're not going to let me in, and they won't give her inhaler to me." Sirius
said.
"Then have them accompany you," Pomfrey said, annoyed.
She didn't understand... But he couldn't argue. He turned and walked as quickly
as he could.
Asthma, huh? Why had it acted up in the corner? Sirius didn't know much about
that, but Wormy had it and it didn't just randomly work up, at least for him.
Had she been running? Why hadn't she had her inhaler? Wormy always had his. Did
singing make the asthma work up?
He pushed her from his mind. He could ask her when Madam Pomfrey got her
conscious again. As for himself...
He'd promised himself when he came to Hogwarts he wouldn't allow himself to
care about anyone other than himself. His relationships with his roommates had
started off cold and hateful... But eventually, when they were all worried
about Remus disappearing, he couldn't deny how... Happy, his three friends made
him. He'd changed his promise on the train home; never, ever would he let love
make him feel the way his parents made each other feel, or made him and Reg
feel. Never, he'd added, would he feel more than desire for a girl; he hadn't
that far, and James and Peter had been well into their wet-dream self-discovery
portion of puberty.
But in second year, he'd started crying at night, and could only be comforted
by sharing Remus' bed. They didn't touch or anything (James said that would
have been 'gay'; something bad, to most people, anyway.) at first. But after
the first time Remus came back from a full moon, exhausted and near tears
himself, Sirius had curled into him, and Remus had curled back.
It didn't stop until fourth year, when Moony started dating Emmaline.
Sirius had been very, very hurt. He'd loved Remus, in his own way... Drawn him
pictures and snuck him food from the kitchens. Remus had been something solid
to cling to, a salvation... And Remus had started going with Emmaline, a
prissy, girly girl. Females were the root of all his problems; his mother, his
cousins, Dolores Umbridge, and now Emmaline.
But Sirius had gotten over it... In a really dick-ish way. Remus left Emmaline
because he'd started to like Marlene (who definitely had been in love with
Remus since first year.) But she didn't know... And Sirius had kissed her,
knowing full well that Remus was going to ask her out; really, that was his
only motivation.
But that night Sirius had found out the 'temptations of the pleasures of the
flesh', as Mother had referred to it. And he'd become addicted; every girl,
every House, was his target. He worked up a bit of a harem, and never had the
same girl more than once in a row. He'd at least snogged over half of the girls
at Hogwarts- including Emmaline (Remus' first girl), Marlene (his crush), Alice
(Frank's girlfriend) and Lily, his best mate's girl.
But James, to this day, didn't know that, and he was sure Lily would never,
ever tell that she'd found comfort in sharing a bed- or rather, desk- with an
arrogant rake one day in fifth year, after O.W.L.s, after she'd lost her best
friend.
It had taken Sirius admitting that to Remus for their friendship to really be
normal again. Soon after that, they'd started their Animagus transformations.
And now, here they were, a new girl in their midst. He hadn't liked her; she
was snotty looking and uppity, though he couldn't ignore she was extremely
attractive to him. Not many girls peaked his interest the way she did... But no
one had made him so bloody angry, either.
She'd spoken weird, too, pronouncing things in a weird way that he did not
like. American accents, he decided, were atrocious. But she was fiery and
righteous.
He remembered seeing her behind his bed. It'd been hard not to laugh; did she
think she was covered? He'd enjoyed slowly slipping off his towel, dressing in
the slowest, most endearing way possible... Had she really looked away? What a
shame. And then that deer-in-headlights look when she'd crawled onto his bed
like a toddler, sitting in front of him. She'd been so... Innocent, and pure,
and bright. That shouldn't have endeared him the way it had.
And the things she'd said! Of course she didn't like him. The only girls who
did only wanted to share an hour or two, and that was perfectly fine with him,
as he wanted just that with them and nothing more. And she'd suggested...
And then she'd kissed him. By Gods, was she a bad kisser... Just sat there with
her little lips on his bottom lip. Still, her touch had set fire to his skin,
and it had taken all he'd had to get rid of his cigarette before pinning her to
his bed.
Her stupid, gigantic robe had been much in the way; he couldn't rub her hips,
tickle his skin against her breasts, but that was probably for the best. When
he'd started kissing back, she'd learned quickly, and soon became one of the
best kisser's he'd ever tasted...
And her mouth itself. She tasted odd; she wasn't sweet, she wasn't salty, she
was... Sour. Her saliva seemed tangy, but... He'd liked it. He drank from her,
not sure what she'd eaten, but wishing she'd never eat anything else... She was
cold, too, her tongue like thick, round, soft ice in his mouth, and he liked
it. It was so, so mad... But he needed her.
And then James had came in, and Sirius had broken the kiss. He'd almost let her
get away before remembering the prank he'd started with Moony... And he'd given
her the feather bomb. Luckily, she hadn't inspected it, just ran off.
And then the next morning... She used the shield charm too much. But she'd
fought off three people quite easily; Remus never involved himself in that, And
when Snivellus had joined in... She'd protected him! That had turned Sirius
from exhilarated to furious in a half of a moment. He could have shown her
levicorpus, shown her which side she should choose...
And she'd ruined it. He was going to accept her! Didn't she want that?
And what she'd said to McGonagall... No one talked to the Head of Gryffindor
like that, but she didn't know; it was awesome. Sirius had been amused again.
And she'd suggested Dumbledore use legilimens on her... Did the girl have any
secrets? Dumbledore could have- and probably did- see them kissing...
And then, in the classroom. He'd been angry at her, for teaming with Snivellus,
for her superior attitude, for her self-righteousness, for making him want her.
He couldn't clearly remember what he'd said to her, but she'd cried. And what
she'd said to him...
He needed to pay attention to where-
But he was lost. His feet knew enough to lead him here, to the dungeons, but...
Where was he?
"Fucking cunt," He exclaimed, then spun in a circle. Then, as loud as he could;
"Myrtle!"
It took a moment, and he thought she wouldn't come, but the ghost of a girl his
age called Moaning Myrtle slowly appeared. "Yes, Sirius?' She cooed
flirtatiously, but he knew she was still mad at him.
"I seem to find myself lost," Sirius said, looking around. "Can you lead me to
the- no, actually. Can you go into the Slytherin girls' dorms and get me an
inhaler?"
"Why?" Myrtle asked, circling Sirius.
"My... Friend. She's got asthma; she needs it."
"So? Why should I care about your 'friend'? I'm sure you have lots-"
"I'll send her to your bathroom later," Sirius said. "I'm sure you'll get along
great."
Myrtle turned to him. "Promise?"
Sirius smiled his brightest grin, and Myrtle all but swooned. "I promise."
She disappeared, and came back about five minutes later. "I found it in a
little purse... Next to your rotten cousin, Andromeda." Myrtle made a face, and
Sirius laughed wolfishly, taking it. "Thanks, doll. D'you know where I am?"
"She sure does," said a voice behind him before everything went black.
 
Sirius woke up sometime later, head wet, brain pulsing painfully. Everything
was dark, and Sirius was groggy... He rolled over, onto his back, and the back
of his head stung- more. He sat up with a groan, then touched the back of his
head. Blood. Where was he? What happened? The last thing he remembered was her
pretty voice...
'Fools, said I, you do not know. Silence likes cancer grows...'
Sirius lay back down and listened to her sing. So pretty... Blackness overtook
him.
***** Blood and Elvendork *****
Chapter Summary
     Valyn is visited by her friends, and sleeps way too much. She
     sacrifices her happiness to find Sirius for James, and gets to fly
     Elvendork!
Valyn awoke in a bed in a big, bright room.
"Oh, thank God," Andy whispered gently from somewhere to her left.
"I... Where am I?" Valyn asked, voice quiet and dying, throat raw.
"Hospital wing," said Rodolphus to her right. She looked to see him and Bella.
"Why?"
No one responded.
"Sirius Black found you outside of the castle early this morning. Sometime last
night, you experienced a debilitating asthma attack and fell unconscious. He
brought you here." a woman came in, looking like a nurse.
"Where is he? Who are you?" Valyn sat up and scooted back against the
headboard.
"I sent him to get your inhaler, but apparently he had Rodolphus deliver it,
instead. He hasn't come back. It's just past six; he's probably eating
breakfast in the Great Hall."
Valyn looked over at Rodolphus.
"I am Madam Pomfrey, the nurse."
Valyn closed her eyes. "I suppose I have to go-"
"You're not going anywhere," Pomfrey said, and Valyn opened her eyes to look at
her. "You're staying here where I can monitor your airways. Your friends,
however," She cast them all a look. "Need to get to the Great Hall for
sustenance before class."
Andy sighed. "You're not allowed to go anywhere without your inhaler ever
again," she muttered.
"Did you cry?" Valyn teased, and Andy shot a playful glare before standing.
"Seriously, Valyn," Bellatrix said. "We were worried,"
Valyn snorted dismissively, but a happy feeling piqued her chest as they left
her.
She stayed the whole day in the Hospital Wing, going in and out of sleep
throughout. It wasn't until just past five that someone again visited.
Rodolphus was to her right, closer this time. His eyes were sunken and tired,
his usually neat hair falling into his handsome face.
"Hey," she whispered tiredly, mildly surprised that he was here.
"Hello. I'm sorry about- about Black." He said. Valyn blinked.
"What?"
"Pomfrey said he hit you, repeatedly." She blinked, trying to remember last
night. She remembered running to the nook after flying that note to Sirius.
"I... He... What? Why'd he bring me-"
"Maybe to try not to seem guilty. He must've Oblivated you, if you don't
remember... You've got marks."
Valyn didn't understand why he'd hit her. She yawned and turned... Maybe
because she was still half asleep.
Rodolphus chuckled. "And... I'm sorry about accusing you of being in on it,
before. You're tired, I see, and it's almost dinnertime... I just wanted to let
you know, I took care of it." Valyn was practically asleep by the time he
stood, and her brain didn't register his next words. "I took revenge, for Bella
and for you. You needn't worry about Sirius Black... Ever again."
Valyn slept through dinner, but near seven, someone else awoke her.
James Potter sat to her left in the same seat Andy had earlier. Yawning, the
American motioned for her company to speak.
"We can't find Sirius," the usually perky Gryffindor said somberly. "Which
usually wouldn't be very worrisome, but... I've got a bad feeling, y'know?"
Valyn met his hazel gaze. "I know that you probably don't know, but..."
"No, I don't. I'm sorry."
"Could you... Could you help us look?" James asked, looking away. Valyn
frowned.
"I mean... Why?" James sighed.
"I think he likes you," James murmured quietly, and Valyn outright laughed.
"You're definitely wro-"
"No, Valyn. I've been his best mate since first year. I know him better than
the poor lad knows himself. He likes you loads, and that's why he treats you
like he does. I mean, it's been two days, and you've insulted him plenty and
bloody duelled him."
Valyn thought about that, and decided she was lame.
"I don't like him," she said in a matter-of-fact voice, lifting her chin. James
snorted at her.
"Oh, please. I'm not stupid." Valyn raised her brows at him.
"You sure?" James pushed her.
"Madam Pomfrey?" the tan boy called. She came out then. "Can she go now?"
Pomfrey sighed, and nodded. Valyn stood and took her inhaler from the night
table, then pocketed it. She was accompanied by James out.
"Alright, well. How do you usually find him?" Valyn asked, strolling towards
wherever James was leading her. His face turned reluctant, but he sighed and
put a finger to her lips, picking up the pace.
He led her up several staircases, and Valyn thought he was leading her to his
common room, but he stalked past the Fat Lady's portrait. He was going very
fast, and they were practically jogging, but soon, they were walking straight
at a brick wall.
"Wh... Where are we-"
But then, a door appeared in the wall. James opened it for her and she walked
into-
It looked like a dungeon, cold and unwelcoming, and James followed her in.
"This is the Room of Requirement. It shows itself only to people who need
something; I need to know where Sirius is. We use it to get away, or for..."
James got a little smile. "We're making a map, you see. It'll have the entirety
of Hogwarts on it, any floor you want to see, and every single person in the
castle. But it's not done yet... So we can't find where he is right now. But,
anyway, the Room is showing me where he is... Only, I don't know where that is,
other than in the dungeons, and I don't know why he's been there all day."
Valyn looked at James. On his usually bright face there was a deep concern was
etched, and in his hazel eyes there were traces of fear.
She remembered a spell her father had taught her... But also his warning to use
it only in a life or death situation. She couldn't...
"He hates the dungeons, Valyn," James whispered. "The only time he ever, ever
goes down there is for potions. It reminds him of- of his mother." James
cleared his throat. "And if he'd gone to get your inhaler, he wouldn't've had
Rodolphus deliver it; and he definitely wouldn't've missed out on the
opportunity to razz you for needing saving,"
Valyn tensed. "You're suggesting someone got a little payback on him? Trapped
him down there?"
James sighed. "A few years ago, I don't remember when, me and Sirius hit Malfoy
upside the head and trapped him down there for a bit. he was down there for
about a day, and we would've gone down to free him, had Snivellus not found him
beforehand."
Valyn stared at James. There was no humor nor ill-will in his voice; he spoke
as if of the weather. "Why? Who's Snivellus?"
"Why? Well... Malfoy smacked Narcissa, and Narcissa's Sirius' cousin. He
deserved it, you see." James scratched his chin while Valyn imagined Lucius
smacking Cissa. "Snivellus is Snape."
"Why d'you call him that, then?"
"Dunno. We don't like him; he's a slimy git."
Valyn couldn't form a response to that, and when she was silent, James looked
at her.
"You've got bruises on your cheeks," he informed her.
"Have I?" Valyn asked with a frown. "Well. If Lucius was alright in the end,
what makes you think Sirius won't be?"
James sighed. "You see, that's the thing. Sirius hit him a little too hard; he
got a concussion and almost fell into a coma. If we'd known-"
"Oh, my God," Valyn picked her hair up and held it as if in a ponytail. "Y'all
are idiots,"
"But, listen- they're worse than us because-"
"Because they're Slytherins?" snarled Valyn, anger bubbling up in her.
"No! Because they're Death Eaters. You probably don't know much about that,
but... They're followers of this really bad guy, named-"
"Voldemort?" Valyn asked. James nodded. "Well, whatever." Valyn dropped her
hair. "Come on, to the dungeons... Just, stick to the shadows or something. No
one can know I'm helping-"
"I'll grab my Invisibility Cloak," James said brightly. "It's in my dorm." They
walked back to the portrait of the Fat Lady and James slipped inside, then
returned a few minutes later. He wrapped the Cloak around himself, and
disappeared. Valyn reached out and touched him, awestruck.
"I've never seen an Invisibility Cloak that worked so well," She whispered. "Is
it new?"
"Oh, no. It's been in my family for generations." Valyn gawked, then shook her
head.
She led him down to the Slytherin dungeons, but motioned for him to wait behind
the stone wall, out of the way. She rushed to her room, where only Bella was,
asleep in her bed. Valyn silently grabbed a vial and rushed back out, to James,
and led him off to the side, out of sight. He removed his Cloak.
"This vial is full of a mix of dragon and unicorn blood. It puts the drinker in
a meditative state and someone has to cast a spell on the drinker for it to
take effect... The seven spells are for killing, healing, finding, warming,
cooling, changing perpetuating states. It is infallible, but at a terrible
cost... The drinker is doomed to be the last of their loved ones to die." James
looked at the silver-pink liquid, before reaching a hand out.
"No, I'll drink it," Valyn said quietly. "I promised my father I'd never let
anyone else resign themselves to it... But I need to drink all of it for this
to work. I need you to tell me that this is definitely necessary..."
James stared at the vial for a long, long time. "I... I..."
Valyn yawned, then closed her eyes, thinking. Was it really that urgent? Why
did she feel so... Inclined to do this? Why did she feel so afraid that Sirius
was-
I took care of it. I took revenge for Bella and you. A familiar voice rang
through Valyn's head and she opened her eyes with a start, memory popping into
her mind.
"Rodolphus," she whispered.
"What?' James asked, looking behind him as if the Slytherin boy were there.
"He came to visit me before dinner. He told Sirius had hit me... And that he
'took care of it'." Valyn frowned. "But still-"
"Valyn," James said, fear overtaking his face. "Rodolphus- he's already gone
and gotten the Dark Mark-"
"The what?" She asked. James sighed, urgency in his very breath.
"Please, Val. I promise I'll explain everything- after we find Sirius. I
promise it's necessary to take that potion; it's life or death, potentially.
Because if Rodolphus put him somewhere, Rodolphus does not intend for him to be
found."
Valyn looked down at the vial. "The incantation is Invenio Incustoditus, and
the hand movement is a counterclockwise swirl starting on the outside top." She
shuddered, preparing herself. She'd skin Sirius Black alive... Then she
uncorked the small vial and drank.
"Invenio Incustoditus," James spoke, doing the motion.
Valyn felt the visions of her world fade away until everything was a dark,
foreboding blue. James's hair was white, his skin blue, almost as if she were
seeing life in the negatives. Thought melted from her as a bright white light
appeared, like a string leading the way. Her feet began to follow as she failed
to notice the bottle fall from her hand.
It led her though dungeon after dungeon as her company placed himself under his
Cloak once more. For nearly half an hour she led James around, until her string
of light went through a closed door.
Her ears were deaf to the labored breathing that came from behind the door, the
pain in it's raspy gasps, and deaf to James' screamed "Padfoot!" as he lunged
himself at the door.
"P-prongsie," croaked Sirius. "I-I'm hurt."
James alohamora'd the door, but nothing happened. Valyn pushed him aside
thoughtlessly and gripped the door handle, twisting with inhuman strength until
the lock and the magic that held it still shattered. She pulled the door open
and Sirius Black fell onto her feet; only the contact with what she was
searching for broke her magic induced state.
She gasped out of it and looked down; he looked like he'd been splinched,
chunks of flesh missing. He'd been stripped of everything but boxers.
"Paddy," said James in terror. "What-"
"A Praetrunco potion," heaved Sirius.
The meaning sunk into Valyn quickly. "Accio dittany!" she cried, and imagined
the dittany from her trunk fly all the way down until...
It landed in her hand, a giant tube of essence of dittany. She dropped to her
knees behind his head and James sat beside Sirius; together, they applied it to
all of Sirius' wounds until they all appeared several days old.
She handed James the tube. "Have him drink it,"
"It's poisonous if you-"
"He's bleeding internally, James. He'll die." James looked at her, then Sirius,
who opened his mouth. James poured it in.
"Accio bezoar!" cried Valyn, and it took a moment to arrive, as she did not
have her own. Sirius began convulsing, but she stuffed the small rock down his
throat. A moment later, he stilled, and in relief, James sagged onto the
doorway.
"We need to get him to Pomfrey-" James fell off the doorway as the old, rotting
wood gave out.
The dungeon started convulsing in a very specific manner... A booby-trap jinx
often used to keep people out.
"Fuck," Valyn hissed, looking out.
"Elvendork," Sirius hissed, voice still cracking.
"What did he just?" Valyn began as the dungeon started collapsing, but a
motorcycle with a side cart flew at them.
James shoved Sirius into the side cart. "Can you drive this?" James said before
shoving her into the driver's seat. She twisted the right handlebar and it
zoomed forward.
"Kind of, just not very well," She cried. James threw his Cloak on Sirius.
The destruction of the dungeon became more rapid, and Valyn kept on giving the
bike more gas. James reached forward from the passenger seat to flick two
switches; instantly, they and the bike grew invisible, and the sound the bike
produced died. She led them for an hour out of the dungeons, eventually finding
the way out.
She flew them up from the Slytherin dungeon where first years were entering the
common room; it was probably almost curfew. She didn't land the motorcycle
until they were inside the Hospital Wing, where James un-flicked the
invisibility switch.
Madam Pomfrey nearly fainted.
"Oh, Merlin's beard-!"
James lifted his mate up and dropped him into the closest bed, the one Valyn
had occupied not two hours ago.
"Someone used a Praetrunco potion on him and left him in the dungeons. I used
essence of dittany on him and had him drink it, then gave him a bezoar." Valyn
said. Pomfrey was already casting healing spells.
"Go get Dumbledore, a-and Slughorn," said the nurse, cheeks reddening. "I don't
get paid enough for these disasters."
"I'll get Slughorn," Valyn said. "I don't know where Dumbledore could be."
James nodded and ran off, and Valyn quickly ran to the Potion Master's office
back in the dungeons, puffing twice on her inhaler. She rapidly rapped the door
until he answered.
"Quickly," Valyn said breathlessly. "Pomfrey needs you."
They ran up together, dodging the motorcycle precariously in the middle of the
wing. Dumbledore and James apparated in moments later.
James started pushing the bike out of the way. "Valyn, run and get Remus and
Peter. They'll be in the common room waiting; the password's still dead
jumper."
With a sigh and a puff on her inhaler, the girl ran up all the way to the
seventh floor to fetch the two remaining Marauders.
"Dead jumper," she panted at the fat Lady, who opened up. Valyn climbed in.
"Remus Lupin!" she called. "Peter... Er, whatever!" Remus and Peter popped into
sight, both frowning. "It's Sirius," she said breathlessly, then held up her
inhaler... to find it empty. She shook it, tried, again, and cursed.
"Here," peter said, taking one from his pocket. Valyn thanked him and puffed,
knowing very well that could be a bad idea... But it worked. Better than her
own, actually. She handed it back and led them back down towards the Hospital
Wing.
They didn't run this time, thankfully. Valyn's legs ached, and so did her head
and chest.
"What happened?" Remus asked, worry in his voice. Valyn explained everything,
and Remus and Peter exchanged looks.
"So, what's a Death Eater? A Dark Mark? Who is Voldemort?"
Remus answered: "Voldemort is the most powerful Dark wizard in history. He's
got himself a bit of a following, and most of your new friends are a part of
it. Rodolphus Lestrange is the only one who's got a real Dark Mark... But it's
not illegal yet, so Dumbledore's got to let him stay. There are Death Eaters
attacking the Ministry and muggleborns, but Fudge and his merry lot have turned
a blind eye..." Remus clenched his jaw.
"Hard to believe that he's the same Roddie Lestrange from first year," remarked
Peter lightly.
"Why isn't this a more widespread thing? We usually hear about it in America
when someone attacks someone else's ministry,"
"Because Fudge is denying it's happening, saying that they're unrelated
homegrown terrorists." Peter explained. Valyn kept her mouth closed.
"Valyn!" someone roared as they got to the first floor. She spun to see her
cousin. "It's after curfew, and i told you to stay away from-"
"Rodolphus did something to Sirius," Valyn said. "I know I'm supposed to stay
away from him, but I couldn't let him die. I-"
"Rodolphus may have done something," said Lucius, annoyed. "But he wouldn't
have killed-"
"He gave him Praetrunco potion and put a booby-trap jinx on the dungeon." Valyn
said. "Sirius would have died."
Lucius looked at his cousin for a long time, then looked down. "Is Black safe
now?"
"Yes, he's-"
"Then go to bed, Valyn. It's past curfew."
Valyn looked back, but Remus and Peter were gone... Probably to Sirius, without
her. Valyn sighed gently, then nodded and walked to her cousin, who put his arm
around her,
"I'm on patrol... I'll walk you, though." he said quietly, leading her away.
She leaned into her.
"I love you, Lucius," she whispered. She'd never thought about having a
brother, but... Maybe she did now. She was so tired... Sirius was but a sub
thought as Lucius led her away.
***** Little Miss Purity *****
Chapter Summary
     More pureblood crap, a rendesvous with the Marauders, and rejecting
     Sirius.
"Valyn," Lucius replied with a small smile. "I love you, too."
Valyn yawned and thoughtlessly followed Lucius' guiding until she was in her
own bed, where he lay her and kissed her forehead.
"Goodnight," he whispered. If Andy, Bella, or Cissa were awake, they didn't
show it.
"Goodnight," Valyn replied in a high-pitched, sleepy voice.
The next few days, Sirius Black was not seen in the Great Hall or in classes.
Valyn often thought about him, deciding that she was being... odd. She would
wait for him to talk to her, and if he didn't... well, she'd write off her
weird, girly urges as hormones and force herself to forget about him. She knew
she should do that anyway; he was a jerk, to her friends and to her, and he
didn't seem particularly fond of her.
She would often argue with herself over him, and muse over James' words. She
didn't allow her thoughts to travel to the blood vial, and what that meant for
her, much preferring torturing herself over Sirius. He'd kissed her; he
obviously liked her well enough... but he slept around, Andy had said, he was
just treating her like... like a slag, according to both himself and Lucius.
The word, though foreign to her, made her wince.
She thought of his motorcycle, too. And the word Elvendork replayed itself in
her mind over and over... Was it a spell? A spell to call the bike? Could it
be- had Sirius named his bike that? It was an odd name... Even in the Wizarding
world.
It was Saturday that Valyn saw him again. He was walking out of the Hospital
Wing, one arm around James and one around Peter. Remus was beside James. Sirius
tried to make the arms slung around his friends look natural, nonchalant, and
casual, but the limps and winces every time he took a step suggested otherwise.
Valyn was alone, a rare thing since she'd rescued Sirius; her friends seemed to
be worried she'd do something else heroic. Bella had scolded her for risking
her life for them, and Lucius had forbade them from telling Rodolphus that
Valyn had helped retrieve Sirius from the dungeons.
She'd gotten to see more sides of her friends. Bella was wicked and witty,
bright and sharp-tongued, but utterly enjoyable. At night, she tended to
whimper in her sleep. Rodolphus was her boyfriend of four years, and was
very... Odd, to Valyn. He was polite and absolutely doted his girl, but
whenever the topic of muggles, muggle borns, or those who didn't despise them
both as much as he did, he got very... Well, he would remain tolerant and his
voice would stay neutral, but he would say horrible, horrible things that made
Valyn squirm.
Pureblood supremacy, Andy called it; from how she'd explained it, it was kind
of like racism, but for blood status instead. She thought it wasn't his fault,
it was how he was raised and all he knew. Valyn didn't know how to feel about
that, so she tried to just ignore that and what he'd done to Sirius. Andy said
that she hated those parts of her friends... Bella, Cissa, Lucius, Rodolphus,
Rabastan, Crabbe, Goyle, Jo, Demeter, Evan, Reg- even Sev, a halfblood- all had
a little bit in them. She said Reg, Sev and Evan were the least, but... Valyn
shuddered.
She learned more of Voldemort and his merry Death Eaters, too. All of Valyn's
new friends, save Andy, were at least interested in joining the Lord Voldemort,
dubbed the Dark Lord by his followers. She learned that there was an actual war
going on outside of the school, a whole messy situation that she, being a
foreigner and tucked into Malfoy Manor, had been blissfully safe from.
She'd also learnt of the Order of the Phoenix, something the Marauders were a
part of, as of the summer. Something Andy was interested in; it was the only
thing that opposed the Death Eaters at that point in time.
So Valyn stood there, mind racing, as she watched Sirius hobble out with his
friends.
"Hey, Val," James called brightly, breaking her thoughts. "C'mere,"
She glanced around, but they were alone. Still, Valyn felt a sense of dread.
"We can go somewhere more private," James said as if reading her mind. "If
you're worried about that. We need to talk to you though..." Valyn shifted,
looking at him. He was it an outfit similar to what he'd worn on the train, but
purple. "Meet us in that, uh, room, on the seventh floor. We've gotta get
Sirius some clothes first."
Valyn nodded, then rushed away. They were headed the same way, but Valyn didn't
want to risk being seen with the boys. Before, it was just a silly schoolyard
quarrel; now, if she were seen with them, it would place her within a
belligerent of a war she didn't even see the purpose of.
She rushed quickly to the Room of Requirement, really unsure if it would even
let her in... But it did. The room this time held four chairs and a single
desk, on top of which was a very long piece of paper. The floors were wooden,
the walls a golden brown, and it was a very rich, homey room. She sat herself
in the seat in the middle of the desk and looked down at the paper.
It was a Map, the top of which boasting it's name, as well as Messrs: Moony,
Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs, and Valyn briefly remembered Sirius and James
calling each other the last two. If memory served her as correctly as it
usually did, Padfoot was Sirius. She reclined, thinking about her outfit
entirely because of Sirius Black; she hated both herself and him for it.
She wore a psychedelic crop top, mainly yellow and orange, and yellow bell
bottoms atop yellow gogo boots. There was a yellow headband on her head, and
her hair was bumped up behind it, a few strands in her eyes. Her makeup was tan
and yellow, very natural.
The Marauders hobbled in about ten minutes after Valyn's arrival.
"That's my seat," Sirius grumbled, arms not on his friends but the wall as he
stumbled into the small, office-like room.
"There are only four seats," Valyn said. "And I'm not going without one."
"I'm injured," Sirius said incredulously as his friends stole the other seats
before he could hobble to one.
"Make one them move. Sit on one, I don't care," Valyn said, crossing her arms.
James snickered at her. Sirius hobbled over to her, though.
"You're the girl, you sit on someone's lap." He argued. Valyn scoffed.
"Oh, please. I wouldn't touch any of you with a ten foot pole."
Sirius' eyes grew amused, mocking, and Valyn glared. "Oh, pretty please,
m'lady," he sneered. Valyn looked away.
Sirius shifted his body weight to lean on the desk, quite close to Valyn, and
lifted her into the air. She yelped and twisted, but even injured, Sirius was
much stronger. He threw himself into the chair and held Valyn quite tightly in
his lap. James laughed at her, and Remus watched in amusement. Peter didn't
seem to be paying attention.
Valyn squirmed, making sure to put all of her weight on the leg that seemed to
be worse, but Sirius didn't seem fazed. His hands were around her waist, big,
warm and rough against the soft, pale skin of her thin, curved waist.
"Get your hands off of me," she snarled. Surprisingly, he listened, reclining
in the seat. "Uh, thank you. Now- what do you people want?"
"Rodolphus tried to kill Sirius," James spoke up, sobering. "And all of your
friends are practically Death Eaters."
Valyn crossed her arms, saying nothing. "I don't know enough about that to
care," she said, quieter than normal. Luckily, no one commented on that.
"Dumbledore's going to ask questions soon," Remus spoke up. "If he hasn't
started already."
Valyn's neck got a shiver, and she shuddered. Rodolphus would get in trouble.
"So?"
"So, we're not going to lie for your friend, and we thought you should know,"
Sirius said in a tone that was both unembellished and superior, which irked
Valyn.
"I wouldn't expect you to," Valyn said righteously. "What he did was wrong. You
got your punishment, however weak it was. He said he did it partly for Bella,
and partly because you hit me,"
"I didn't hit you!" Sirius exclaimed, suddenly angry. "I don't hit girls-"
"My cheeks had giant bruises, and one started to welt. Madam Pomfrey said you
probably tried waking me up, but she said when she first saw me, it looked like
I'd been beaten. Rodolphus read it wrong, I suppose." Valyn didn't look back at
Sirius.
"Speaking of that," Sirius said, still livid. "Why were you there in the first
place? What made your asthma work up?"
Valyn squirmed at the other Marauders looked at her. "Your drawing was pretty,
and I went looking to see if it was real. It was, and I liked it. I sent you
the paper to tell you I found it... I just like the place, is all." Valyn
mumbled the entire excuse.
"Mmm, I bet," said Sirius doubtfully. Valyn turned red.
"Listen, jerk, it's school property I can go wherever I-"
"Yeah, whatever," Sirius dismissed. He wasn't the suave, cool punk guy she'd
previously envisioned... He was as snotty as she was, and a bully. All of the
girly thoughts she'd had about him seemed stupid, and it made her redder. Why
would she ever kiss him?
She went to stand, but he pulled her flush against her chest and she let out an
oomph.
"Why don't you just admit, you're in love with me?" said Sirius in a cocky,
mocking tone. James grinned, amused, and Peter looked up from staring at the
golden necklace he wore.
"Oh, please!" Valyn exclaimed. "I've known you for all of a half of a week, and
even if I'd known you a lifetime, it wouldn't change the fact that you're an
annoying, pretentious, womanizing dickfuck!" He let her go then, and she
immediately got to her feet and turned. He was glaring up at her.
"What did you just call me?" He snapped. Valyn sneered.
"Annoying. Pretentious. Womanizing. Dickfuck."
James burst out laughing, doubling over, and Valyn snarled at him in annoyance,
but he didn't seem to hear.
"It's better than being-"
"What, Sirius? What is it better than being, and how would you know?" Valyn
snapped. Sirius didn't reply, just glared. "I may grow up to marry someone who
isn't a leather-wearing, motorcycle-driving, adventure-seeking punk but at
least I won't grow up to be a sad, bitter, lonely burnout with no friends
because they at least seem to be half-decent, and all too good for me." She
hissed at him. Something in Sirius' eye twitched, and she knew she'd hit a
button in him. James had stopped laughing.
Valyn didn't move. She didn't want to leave, for some reason, so she just stood
there, trying to figure out what had changed in Sirius' eyes for a full moment
before he looked down and closed his eyes, rubbing them with a thumb and an
index finger.
"Get out," he whispered without his usual meretricious and tawdry tone, instead
just sounded completely and utterly blank; it was like seeing a blank canvas
come from a dark, evil masterpiece. Valyn didn't move. "Get out!" Sirius
roared, looking up, eyes painted with hatred.
Valyn raised her chin, but her usual defiance felt like vulnerability. "Why?"
she whispered. "You're allowed to insult people, but as soon as they say it
back-"
"I said get out, you little whore," he growled, surging to his feet and peering
down at her as if she were tiny. She stood her ground.
"I'm not a whore,"
He paused, head tilting, and then he sneered.
"No, you're right. You're a self-absorbed tease, little Miss Purity." He
stepped closer to her, and they were all but touching. "You judge me for being
a 'womanizer' just because I like to have a little fun. Not like every girl I
kiss doesn't already know what's up. Don't condescend to me because you're too
high-strung to do what you want."
"I do exactly what I want, when I want." She was getting dangerously angry, the
passionate hatred surging up into her chest.
"Then why was I your first kiss, buttercup?" he said, smiling at her as if she
were digging herself into a hole; maybe, she was.
"You're the first person I've wanted to kiss!" She exclaimed angrily.
Sirius' smile changed, brow quirking, and soon, he was smirking down at her.
"Oh, I'm honored-"
"Don't be," she hissed, then turned. Sirius grabbed her shoulder.
"What!" she exclaimed, spinning. "You hold me in your lap, then you tell me to
get out, then you're grabbing me again!" Valyn was nearly spitting. "Make up
your damn mind!"
"I'm trying," Sirius said, as much hate in his eyes as Valyn felt.
He kissed her then, holding her head in his hands. She gasped in surprise and
his tongue pushed itself into her mouth. James cleared his throat, and despite
the hatred rapidly turning into happy, stupid love, she had the sense to pull
away. She turned and fled from the Room of Requirement, panic overwhelming her.
***** Princes and Devils (And Parental Murder) *****
Chapter Summary
     Daddy issues are the root of all evil, delivered by Regulus Black and
     Valyn's traumatized flashbacks.
Valyn was back in the dungeons before she realized where she was going. She
rounded the stone wall and, murmuring the recently changed password (Exploding
Dungeons) and slinking into a chair, mind and heart racing.
        "Hey, Val," It was Reg, who was beside her; she hadn't even noticed
him. He seemed to be in a very foul mood.
        Well, so was she. "Your brother keeps kissing me, damnit," She said.
"He hates me, but he won't stop. It's confusing."
        Regulus looked at her sharply, eyes calculated, and for a moment she
regretted telling him. After all. she didn't know him, and if Sirius was a dick
to all his friends-
        But he laughed, and looked down at his folded hands. "Yeah, he's...
Diconcerting."
        Valyn gave a snort at the fancy vocabulary, before realizing that she,
too, was fond of ridiculously uncommon, unneccessary adjectives. "He's
absolutely vexatious. Positively exasperating. Incredibly maddening."
        It was the boy's turn to chuckle at her words. "Sounds like you're made
for each other," He said in a decidedly mild tone.
        "Are you two close?" Valyn asked, deciding not to rise to his comment.
        "Oh, no. We used to be, before Hogwarts, though." Regulus gave a smile.
        He had the exact same face as Sirius, though the way he wore it was
entirely different. His smiles were small, guarded and tense, albeit cordial,
whereas Sirius wore giant, arrogant, fiery grins. Like she'd thought before- if
Regulus were a prince, Sirius was the devil. Unfortunately for Valyn, she'd
always been much more infatuated with evil than royalty.
        Regulus' hair was wet, presumably from a shower, if the fresh, brisk
scent wafting from him meant anything. The short-ish hair was drying, though,
and it fell into his face. His eyes held a wicked intelligence in them and
Valyn thought that he may be a prince, but he couldn't be too noble a prince.
She wondered briefly if it was environmental.
        "What is Elvendork?" Valyn asked, and Regulus gave a loud, honest
laugh, one that held a whisper of Sirius' playful demeanor with James.
        "Elvendork is Sirius' motorbike," Regulus said, grinning. "He got it
from Potter's dad for his sixteenth birthday, and not a month later, he left."
        "Left?" Valyn asked, studying the slightly younger Slytherin's face,
which was sobering.
        "Sirius ran away last year, a bit after his birthday. Lives with
Potter, I do believe." Valyn folded her legs, one on top of the other; not
quite Indian style, it was actually a yoga position.
        "May I ask why?" Valyn asked quietly. Regulus cleared his throat.
        "Well, believe me when I say I am not the one to speak for Sirius
Black, but.." Regulus sighed and smiled in a resigned fashion. "Let's take a
walk, Val."
        They walked out of the common room and through the dungeons, Valyn's
companion assuring her they wouldn't get lost.
        "Sirius was our father's golden child when we were younger; he was
their heir, and I was the spare. Mother doted on us both equally, but I believe
saying father was partial to Sirius is an understatement. We were close,
though; we have compatible personalities. He's big and bold and playful and
mischevious, and I'm mild and observant and I enjoy seeing others enjoy
themselves," Regulus gave a smile, far away smile, reminiscing. "I was his baby
brother, and he was my best friend. But he's about ten months older than me,
and he went to Hogwarts first. When he got Sorted into Gryffindor..." Regulus
looked down, somber. "It didn't chang that he was the heir, but Mother was
livid. She began to favor me, and whatever happened, when he came back that
Christmas he was not the brother I remembered. He was... Distant. Cool, if you
will. I thought it was being a Gryffindor... I thought it changed him. He was
cruel when I got Slytherin the following year, and he progressively got worse,
standing up for blood equality and the like. Things like that didn't bother me;
I'm not a supremiscist, you see. But he's gotten so irksome; he'd do things for
the sole purpose of angering our parents. Our mother was enfuriated- she swears
she hates him. Their relationship went from average, over-spoiling mother and
the son who'd shrug her off to a wicked, evil woman and some self-righteous
fool. It wasn't until he started going on about loving a male werewolf that she
started..." Regulus cleared his throat. "My father had had enough of it. Said
Sirius was no heir of his; I became the favorite of both of my parents. Sirius
got even closer to Potter, and started visiting them over the holidays instead
of m- us. Me and Sirius continued to drift apart, as he's been an outright
maggot to my mates. Then, during the winter holidays, he came home, loaded up
what he wanted from our house, and flew to the Potter's on his massive
enchanted Elvendork. Refuses to speak to me, too, what little I've tried.
Mother mailed him the emancipation and disowning malarkey, and she burned him
off the family tree." Regulus sighed.
        "I... I'm sorry, Regulus." Valyn whispered, he looked at her for a long
time, and she didn't break eye contact. Suddenly he stopped and faced her, and
for thirty seconds, she watched as the walls, restraints, and decorum slowly
faded from his eyes.
        "Our mother is insane. She was amazing to us one moment and would jinx
us the next. Her favorite curse was the Cruciatus."
        Valyn froze, looking at him. "Sirius doesn't like love. he's not fond
of niceties, or companionship, and he isn't used to it, either. I don't know
what he accepts from the Potters or the Marauders, but from anyone else, he
accepts nothing, Valyn. Don't get attatched to him. Don't fall in love- you'd
do yourself best by forgetting about him entirely."
        The blonde looked into the brunet's eyes, green and vibrant with
stunning patterns visible with her close proximity, which were filled with some
feeling Valyn was pretty sure did not have a name. She breathed out her mouth
something like a long, drawn out, silent sigh, shaky and visible in the dungeon
chill.
        "I don't know what love is, really," she said quietly. "But I do
believe I feel every emotion in the world for Sirius Black, all at once."
        Regulus looked at her for a long time, his seemly composure rebuilding
inside his eyes. "That's very unfortunate for you, Valyn. You'd do well to stay
away from black cats, white lighters, and ladders- they're bad luck."
        Valyn got a brilliant smile. "I only use white lighters," she said,
knowing exactly what he was referring to.
        "That's your problem, Val," Regulus joked. "Now Sirius will never love
you."
        Valyn laughed brightly, and they turned around.
        "I've tried to kill myself three times," Valyn said, and Regulus' head
swivelled to look at her, but said nothing.
        Feelings surged throughout the girl, and she looked to the side and
down, giving a small smile. When Regulus found that she would not indulge more,
he asked in a very quiet, gentle tone, "Why?"
        "My mother died giving birth to me. The first thing I ever did was
kill," she said, feeling the tears prickle her eyes. "And it ruined my father.
He loved me dearly with what little heart he had, but he... He would go insane,
I guess. Grow cold and distant and cruel, and he'd leave me alone in the woods
for weeks. Sometimes, I was his perfect little princess, and others, I was the
devil who killed the only person who'd never rejected him." Valyn was crying
now, and Regulus stepped in front of her. She let him wipe her tears away and
pull her forehead onto his shoulder. "And I couldn't handle it. I am a weak,
weak person. The forst time, I was eleven, and I tried to use the Killing Curse
on myself. My dad made me kneel on pine cones and screamed at me that the next
time I wanted to die, he'd gladly assist. The second, I was fourteen, and my
dad was crying because he'd nearly thrown me into a dragon pen on purpose. I
tried to cut myself but my hand... It wouldn't cut deep enough no matter how
hard I willed it to. And the third was..." Valyn wrapped her arms around
Regulus' shoulders, which was easy, since they were the same height. "I
magicked myself to be tied to a traintrack, and waited. My father found out,
but his magic... It doesn't always work, ever since I killed mum. He untied me
but his stupid boot got caught. We would've barely made it, but he- he lost his
leg, and I was panicking, and I didn't get help because I was too stupid to-"
        "Shhh," Regulus said as Valyn became hysterical. She could see it all
happening again...
        It was the middle of the night and Valyn couldn't take it anymore.
She's scratched through the skin in her arms again and stalked out to the
railroad tracks, barefoot and in her nightdress, her hair a mess. Her eyes were
wild, practically unseeing, and she could hear her parents whispering; You
killed me, her mother accused. You stole my life and left your father stuck
with you, a rude and useless ingrate. You've driven him insane! He's nothing
now, just like you.
        Did you mean to do it? Her father was asking cruelly. Did you mean to
wrench the life from her beautiful eyes? I bet you did; you're evil. But even
if you didn't it doesnt change the fact that you're repulsive, nasty, and
worthless. I'll be much, much better without you- maybe even happy. Don't you
love me, Valyn? Don't you want me to be happy?
        Yes, Valyn thought. It was the only thing she wanted...
        But that was a lie. She was a selfish, evil little girl, and the only
good she could possibly do was rid the world of herself. She sped up and pulled
out a wand made from Slytherin's tree; the tree that grew from Salazar
Slytherin's wand, her ancestor. She used the Incarcerous spell to tie herself
to the tracks.
        The train was coming, and Valyn was numb, listening to her parents
ridicule and belittle her. She was crying as she lay there, though she did not
utter a peep nor move a muscle in her face. Her finger nails, too long for her
own good, were digging into the soft flesh of her palm, and she felt blood
drip.
        She could feel vibrations from the oncoming train by the time her
father found her, frantic and near tears himself.
        "Valyn!" He cried out loudly, panic in his handsome voice. His accent
came out whenever he felt something wtrong, or was drunk. He was both that
night.
        He tried to use magic to get her out, but it simply wasn't working, so
he feverishly worked at the thick rope until she was free. Valyn didn't move at
all, and barely noticed that she was being removed until her father tried to
pick her up.
        "No!" she shreiked in the voice of a deranged woman. The train was too
close to stop now, and if it did, it would only kill her slower- if they were
even seen in the black abyss of the moonless night. "No, I have to die, I have
to make you happy-" she babbled, fighting her father with bloody fists.
        He was strong, but so was she, and it took him a hot minute to flig her
out of the train's way. The buckle of his brown leather boot caught- and the
train was so close-
        Logic broke through her catatonic self-hatred, and she dove for her
father, but his magic prevailed and he sent her flying.
        She shot towards her father again, the night blocking the details of
the loss of both of his legs.
        "Daddy!" she shrieked so loudly that the Heavens shook. She dragged him
away from the train, weeping. "It's all my fault," she gasped. "It's all my
fault, all my fault, all my fault again-"
        "Princess," he muttered. Had the bloodloss and intoxication not been
unravelling his train of thought, he'd have told her to call someone, but he
just touched her face. "It's not your fault. I love you,"
        "You shouldn't," She sputtered, and moved to push on the wounds before
the smell hit; she wrenched away and vomitted.
        "Daddy don't leave me," Valyn grunted when she turned back.
        Her father bled out in minutes.
        When she stopped remembering, she was in someone's arms, being carried
bridal style. She opened her eyes to see Regulus, who was carrying her into the
common room.
        He set her on an empty couch when he noticed she'd woken up.
        "What happened to her?" Bella said from somewhere over the back of the
couch, voice surprisingly concerned.
        "We've all got demons, even little miss perfect," Regulus said, sitting
in a chair by the couch. "Valyn graced me with the opportunity to see a few of
hers."
        "I don't have any others," croaked the sleepy girl. It probably wasn't
even dinner. She didn't know much besides the dream, and the walk she'd gone on
with Regulus, and their talk...
        But Andy jumped the back of the couch and sat in front of Valyn's legs.
Things were coming back.
        "What is it, four?"
        "Just about five," Andy corrected. Valyn nodded and turned onto her
side.
        "What demons?" Bella asked, peeking over the back of the couch. Curls
fell into Valyn's face.
        "I killed both my parents."
        "You did not," Regulus and Lucius said simultaneously.
        "She seems vicious enough, with her pretty blonde hair and pretty
voice," Bella said, feeling Valyn's forehead. "You're warm."
        "I'm smokin' hot," corrected Valyn, and Andy laughed.
        "Seriosuly, the dungeons are freezing. How-?"
        "Overactive blood flow." Valyn said without the slightest clue as to
what that was.
        "Yeah, and I've got dragon pox," Bella said with a frown.
        "Should probably get that checked out," Valyn informed her, running
fingers through Bella's hair.
        "You're a pest,"
        "A surprisingly enjoyable one, though," said Valyn with a smile. Her
friends laughed.
***** Regulus' Lucky Lad *****
Chapter Summary
     Regulus is a raging homosexual for the least likliest suitor, as well
     as Slytherins spilling the dirt on everyone- including each other.
Valyn awoke on her own just as Andy was stirring awake, too, and she smiled and
sat up. The Slytherin blonde definitely was not a morning person, but for some
reason, she was very happy today.
        She got out of bed with flourish, standing and looking for clothing to
wear. On weekends, she decided, she'd wear her own robe with clothes
underneath- as uniform clothing was not required out of class, but was during
meals- and until she could get to Diagon Alley for Christmas, wear the spare
robe Bella had lent her for the semester. Today Valyn chose a denim skirt and
psychedelic crop top, paired with her favorite gogo boots. She tied her hair up
and out of the way and put on only mascara, then headed to the common room to
mingle before breakfast.
        Regulus was there, something that made her even happier. After last
night, when they'd both shared secrets neither were close enough to deserve,
she decided she'd befriend him and hopefully get that close. She sat beside
him, but he wore a heavy face.
        "Reg?" She prodded gently, holding her oversized cloak in her lap. He
looked at her and gave a debonair smile. Valyn deduced that something was
bothering him, but not enough to spoil his entire mood. "What's up?"
        "With me? Oh, nothing-"
        "Codswallop." she said with a fake accent, and he laughed quietly.
        "I, uh... Relationshop issues, I suppose."
        Valyn's brow raised and she grinned. "Who's the lucky lady?"
        Regulus cleared his throat before scanning those around them, then
leaned slightly closer and whispered. "He's a lucky lad, if you will," he
grumbled under his breath, and surprise jutted through her.
        Her father had never taught her about anything like that. As far as she
knew, boys liked girls and girls liked boys... She never really talked to
anyone at Ilvermorny- she was more than a little bit of a bookworm, at least
when it came to reading for leisure- and she'd never actually heard what being
gay was.
        "Oh," Valyn said, voice more than a little confused. "Okay," she said
with a shrug.
        Regulus examined her face for a moment before sitting back, apparently
satisfied with what he'd seen. "S'Peter," he added quietly.
        "Sirius'-?"
        "Indeed," Regulus said, sitting back before chuckling as if he found it
ironic.
        "You've got to tell me everything," Valyn ordered happily, ecstatic
that she was not the only one in an odd situation with a bullying Gryffindor.
        "We'll go for a walk by the Black Lake after breakfast," assured
Regulus with a smile.
        "Reggie!" someone announced from behind the couch. Evan Rosier, an
attractive blonde, jumped over the back of the couch much like Andy had and
plopped onto the seat beside Valyn. "Scoping out the cuties before I can?"
        Regulus smirked. "Back off, Rosier," she said teasingly. "She's hot for
Sirius."
        Evan got a dismissive snort and examined Valyn. "She's not his type,"
        Valyn tensed, frowning. "And what is, if I might ask?"
        "Stupid, shallow slags, I reckon," Evan said thoughtfully. Valyn turned
her pretty nose up, and Evan leaned forward and whispered seductively in her
ear. "Luckily for you, brilliant, bright-eyed beauties are my type, and I'm
recently single." Evan put his hand behind her.
        "Because his most recent bright-eyed beauty dumped him for Longbottom,"
Regulus said in a cruel voice.
        "Little does Emmeline know, though, that Longbottom's hot for
Fortescue," Evan said, not seeming fazed by the mention of his ex. He gave a
finger wiggle.
        "So does everyone here have a thing for a Gryffindor?" asked Valyn
girlishly. Regulus laughed outright.
        "Well, no," Evan said brightly. "Here, lemme spill the dirt for you.
Reg likes-" The boys' eyes met. "Well, you know. I like no one, really, right
now. Bella and Rodolphus are dating, Andy has a secret thing for this
Hufflepuff bloke Ted Tonks-"
        "Do not!" said Andy's voice right before she appeared. She and Evan
shared a look, then Evan continued. "Cissa and Lucius are together. Carlisle
and Jo, Grey and Demeter, Rabastan likes a Ravenclaw named Saiorse O'Briar, but
she's hot for that Finnigan bloke. Hmm... I think that's it for us?" He looked
between Reg and Andy.
        "Valyn's part of us," Reg said after a moment.
        "Well, yeah, but I'm not gonna tell her who she likes!" Evan grinned.
        Valyn giggled and reviewed it in her head. Regulus and Peter... She
thought about that. Regulus was a cute, thin, quiet and debonair guy, who
seemed formal and honest and bright. Peter was short and goofy, though quiet
and imitating. He was short and chubby, and while he wasn't neccessarily ugly,
his resemblance to a mouse was undeniable. Valyn wondered how in the world that
had ever come to be.
        Bella and Rodolphus. Bella was crazy, in the most enjoyable way, and
very... Screachy. Passionate, decisive, harsh. Rodolphus was kind and
comforting most of the time, but he had a streak... A streak of... Death Eater,
Valyn supposed was the easiest way to put it. Valyn could see easily how that
had happened.
        Andy and a Hufflepuff named Ted Tonks. She hadn't interacted with any
Hufflepuffs, but weren't they the kind, loyal, fair ones? Andy seemed playful,
dangerous, adventurous...
        Cissa and Lucius. They were the cutest- Lucius was saucy and righteous,
charming and good, kind and reassuring. Cissa was cute and sweet, like honey
and milk. Together, they just... Fit. They clicked, sparks were visible, all of
the cliches.
        Carlisle and Jo, Grey and Demeter. Valyn hadn't conversed much with
them, but the two pairs seemed quite similar, and they were cute to look at.
Neither couple could bear to not have physical contact with the other for very
long, though were professional enough in class; they weren't the type to
makeout in between them, either. Rabastan liked a ravenclaw named Saiorse...
And Valyn didn't care.
        And Valyn... Liked Sirius? No, she couldn't put it that way. She was
hot for him? Well, sure. But it was more than that-
        "Like I was saying, though," Evan said with a grin, moving arm from the
back of the couch to Valyn's shoulders. "I could be a really good cure for
Sirius-itis," he offered. For all the playfulness in his voice, his eyes looked
genuine.
        He had short blond hair, slicked back at a curve. He had one small gold
hoop in his right ear, a small diamond at the top of the other. He had pretty,
fair skin and a handsome square face, masculine and actually a bit dreamy. He
had brilliant glittering blue eyes...
         You'll be a wretched mother and a wretched wife to a boring, brainless
git. Sirius' voice rang hatefully in her mind, and Valyn cleared her throat,
looking away. It was stupid, Valyn knew, to take his words to heart. What would
Sirius do if she started dating-
        No. She wouldn't go with someone just to spite him. He wasn't worth the
effort and no one deserbed that, and she wasn't ready to sink that low.
        Valyn smiled at Evan but said nothing, but he seemed to get the
message. He shrugged and sank back, no worse for the wear. Andy snickered in a
mocking tone, and he gave her a once over.
        "You're just jealous Rosier never hit on you like that," teased Andy,
who snorted in denial.
        "It's almost six," Cissa said, suddenly above Valyn's head.
        "Should probably get going then," Evan said with a sigh before helping
Valyn stand. Graciously, Valyn accepted his assistance.
        They all walked together down to the Great Hall, but in little mini
groups. Lucius, Cissa, Bella, and Rodolphus; Crabbe, Goyle, Joe, and Demeter;
Valyn, Evan, Reg, and Andy. Not far behind them, Snape walked with Avery,
Rabastan, and Mulciber.
        "Does Severus like anyone?" Valyn asked curiously.
        "Why, think he's cute?" asked Andy with disgust. Valyn made a face.
        "Not particularly, just seems nice enough,"
        Evan laughed. "Snape's cool. He used to like Lily Evans, but last year
during O.W.L.s, Potter and Black were bullying him and when she tried to defend
him, he called her a mudblood and now, they don't talk. I reckon he's still
into her, though. She's bloody gorgeous, and they grew up together, I think, in
Cokesworth."
        Valyn looked behind her at Snape, who noticed and nodded politely. She
offered a smile, then turned around again. "And the other two? Avery and
Mulciber?"
        Regulus sneered in disgust. "No. They're both a pair of Death Eaters,
worse than Roddie's worst. They're not concerned with girls, just hate."
        Valyn frowned at Regulus. "I still don't understand this whole Death
Eaters thing,"
        "Okay, well." Evan said. "Voldemort's a bad guy with a good goal and a
bad way to get to it."
        Andy's head whipped around. "Good goal?"
        "Yeah. Purebloods need to preserve being pure, muggles need to preserve
being non-magic."
        "Evan-" Andy started.
        "We're not talking about this," Regulus announced, and both parties
dropped it.
        Valyn walked on, still confused. For the entirety of breakfast, they
talked about who liked who in which House.
        Afterwards, however, Andy and Evan were bickering, something that
seemed to be normal, so Regulus led Valyn out of the Great Hall alone.
        "So," a familiar voice boomed purposefully loud on their way out of the
castle. "Valyn's taken to hanging out with Sirius' look-alike," the two
Slytherins turned to see James looking at them, his Marauders behind them.
Valyn scowled at him, and Sirius sneered in response. Peter was avoiding
looking their way, and so Valyn did an about face and marched up to the four,
Regulus following reluctantly.
        "Hello," she said brightly. "I'd appreciate it if you talked about me
at a level where not everyone in Scotland can hear your insufferable voice,"
she gave him a sickly sweet smile.
        James crossed his arms, looking her up and down. Sirius shifted and
Valyn forced herself to startle, causing the five males around her to look at
her.
        "Sorry, I was afraid he was gonna kiss me again," Valyn crossed her
arms. "Seems to want to most right after he's been as gittish as possible,"
        Sirius gave her a disdainful once over. "I haven't said anything to
you."
        Valyn looked at James. "No, but it seems the two of you are pretty
volatile,"
        Remus gave a little chuckle from the left of James, who was to the left
of Sirius, who was to the left of Peter.
        "How are you, Peter?" she asked, before remembering that he was
Regulus' lucky lad.
        "I..." Peter physically turned away, and Sirius frowned in a concerned
manner before looking at Valyn again.
        "What do you want, Valyn?"
        "To know why James made that comment,"
        "Mind your business," scoffed James, and Valyn glared at him.
        "If it's about me, it is my business, at least after you announce it
loud enough for me to here." Valyn crossed her thin arms.
        "Nice cloak," Sirius said sarcastically, and she glared at him before
slipping it off. "Nicer body," he added sleazily, and she nearly hissed at him.
        "I hate you," she snapped. He raised his brows.
        "I hadn't noticed."
        She looked him over, then James. "You'd think after i betrayed my
friend to help James save your life, you'd all be a bit more grateful to
me." Sirius laughed without humor, grinned hatefully and looking up. "You might
have died without me!" exclaimed Valyn, and he stopped, looking down at her.
        "Thanks, babe," he said dryly, insincerely. Valyn slapped him across
the face, and Sirius actually gasped in surprise before grabbing her arm and
shoving it behind her back, twisting it painfully. Regulus cleared his throat
as Sirius' vice-like grip held her arm there. He was closer to her now, glaring
down at her, a red spot already on his beautiful cheek.
        "Let her go, Sirius," Regulus said quietly.
        "She hit me," he roared, and twisted more. Valyn kept the whimpers in
and glowered at him with as much hate as she could muster- which was a lot.
        "She's a girl," Regulus reminded him, and Valyn tensed.
        "So?" both Valyn and Sirius said. Their eyes locked, and the sheer
anger in Sirius' eyes would have made her shiver, if she hadn't noticed that
there was not an ounce of hatred. He released her and she rubbed her shoulder.
        Valyn looked at James then, who was watching. She pointed with her
right hand, the hand she'd hit Sirius with, and felt a tear-worthy agony run
through it, but she did her best to shrug it off.
        "Keep my name out of your mouth unless it's got something nice coming
after it," she hissed, then spun again and stalked away, adding "Good day,
Remus," before she was too far.
        "And to you as well," the acne-ridden boy added with much humor in his
voice.
        Regulus followed her out, a small smile on his face. "Not many people
stand up to Sirius Black to his face,"
        "Peter wouldn't even look at you," Valyn said as they left the castle,
and Regulus sighed. Thye were silent until he led her to the only part of the
black lake that was uninhabited.
        "Scoop a handful of water from the lake and try not to let it slip
through," Regulus instructed and took out his wand. A confused Valyn obeyed.
        "The Black Lake was Rowena Ravenclaw's gift the Hogwarts, and it has
special abilities compared to other water," Regulus pulled silvery strand from
his head and dropped them into the water in Valyn's hands, and Regulus put both
of their noses into it.
        They were somewhere else then. Peter was sitting alone not too far from
where they were now, perhaps twelve or thirteen. He was a bit thinner than he
was now, though still heavy. His hair was longer and wavy, and he looked much
more introverted. He was watching Sirius and James swim in the Lake while Remus
was asleep in the grass.
        Regulus was approaching them from their rights, and called out.
        "Sirius! Mother-"
        "I don't care, Reg," Sirius responded, jumping on James' back.
        "But she-"
        "Just go away!"
        Regulus had longer hair, hanging down past his ears, and Sirius' hair
was shorter, about the same as twelve-year-old Regulus. The younger brother
moved away and spotted Peter, before moving to him with a curious glint in his
eyes.
        Valyn looked at the older Regulus, who was watching the scene as well.
For the most part, young Regulus was the same as her own Regulus. Twelve-year
old Reg sat next to Peter, who stared at him like he had several heads. Neither
of the other conscious Marauders noticed.
        "I'm Black, Regulus Black," he announced, offering a hand.
        "P-pet-peter P-pettigrew," young Peter said. Regulus looked him up and
down and smiled brightly.
        The memory shifted a great amount then, and Valyn realized that they
were now in a different one. A thirteen year old Regulus with very short hair
was dangling by his ankle in the air, Sirius with his wand pointed at him.
        "I'm your brother!" exclaimed Regulus incredulously, but Sirius
snarled.
        "P-padfoot," a fourteen year old Peter said quietly, hair long and in
his eyes.
        "Want a turn, Wormy?' Sirius asked brightly, grinning at his mate.
        But Wormy looked down, face covered in some indescribable emotion not
unlike the one he'd worn in front of Valyn earlier. "I, u-uh... Maybe you sh-
should put him-him do-down," Peter suggested. Sirius blinked at him, then
frowned.
        "You okay, mate?" Sirius asked as he let Regulus drop.
        And then, Valyn and older Regulus were somewhere else; a dilapidated
building half in ruins. Peter was behind a broken brick wall, hiding and
panting. He was maybe fifteen or sixteen; the memory must have been from within
the last year. Valyn could see behind the wall the other Marauders as well as
several others fighting people in black cloaks, most of which with skeletal
masks. One of them ducked behind the same wall Peter sat behind, wand pointed.
        "Avada-" The masked man began, then stopped. Peter was shaking, eyes
squeezed shut, until the figure stopped.
        Peter looked up, and the figure moved his mask off. Regulus was behind
it, and Valyn inhaled sharply. Her real Regulus was examining her, but Valyn
watched on; Regulus sat down beside Peter.
        "You didn't kill me," he whispered in surprise. Regulus looked over at
him, watching him, emotions flying through his eyes. Peter met his eye. "Wh-
why?"
        Regulus got a slow, sad smile, then pressed his lips against the
blond's.
        The memory changed again then. They were in a big No-Maj apartment, on
a couch. It must be the summer before the school year they were in now. A woman
who looked like a big, ugly, albeit friendly rat was smiling at them.
        "You know, Petey, your friend looks like that boy with the motorbike!"
she announced, pulling her coat on. "Anyway, my ickle little sweetums," Memory
Regulus surpressed a smirk. "Have fun! I've gotta go out to meet with your
daddy- maybe he'll take mummy back again! Don't you miss him?- but I'll be back
in a few hours!" And then, she was out the door.
        Regulus and Peter sat on the couch silently for a moment. "Your mother
seems lovely," Regulus said in an innocent voice.
        "Just as lovely as yours," Peter responded sarcastically. "In a
different way, mind."
        Regulus gave a soft laugh, then looked at the blond with love in his
eyes. "I love you, ickle sweetums Petey,"
        "And I you, perfect, manly, heir o' mine,"
        The boys grinned at each other, and Regulus kissed Peter hard.
        The boys' kiss deepened, and if there was a 'girl' in the situation, it
was Peter. Soon, Regulus was on top of the blond, holding him, stroking his
hair. It was still escalating by the time the memory changed, and Valyn grimly
realized the switching was making her head hurt.
        The last memory was Regulus sweeping through the dungeons, urgency in
his eyes. Soon, he met up with Peter, who stared at him with big eyes. It must
have been the fight from last night, after Reg had put Valyn in the common
room.
        "If we get caught-" Regulus started, but Peter waved him off.
        "Are you a Death Eater?" Peter demanded.
        "I've shown you, I don't have-"
        "Rodolphus doesn't have the Mark, either," Peter pointed out. Regulus
looked into Peter's eyes for a long moment.
        "Yes." He admitted softly.
        "A full-fledged Death Eater?"
        "Yes, but-"
        Peter shook his head, eyes squeezing shut. "We're done."
        "Pete, please-"
        "No!" Peter roared, eyes opening, tears rushing out, "No, no, no!"
        The blond rushed away, and Regulus didn't chase. "... I'll explain it
to you, Pete, if you'll only listen," Regulus said sardonically before the
memory disappeared, and Valyn was back in the real world.
***** Lots of Blood *****
Chapter Summary
     Some serious Sirius lovin', some physical fighting, and lots of
     (Valyn's) blood.
Valyn looked at Regulus until he spoke. "It was Mother and Father," Regulus
explained. "They told Bella to sign me up to be a Death Eater, and she did. You
can't just go 'oh, whoops, I changed my mind!' to the Dark Lord or to Bella."
Regulus hugged himself. "And that's how me and Peter... I was already a Death
Eater when we started..." Regulus sighed. His elegance, poise, suaveness... It
was gone.
"I'm sure you and Peter will be fine," Valyn said reassuringly, and Regulus
gave a grim smile.
"I need to talk to him. He has to allow me to explain. I've been risking my
life for him, and he won't let me explain." Regulus cleared his throat then,
and recomposed himself, before looking behind Valyn.
"You've got company," Regulus said after a moment. Valyn turned and groaned
audibly.
It was, of course, Sirius Black. His head was down, hair covering his face. He
was in the shade of several trees from the Forbidden Forest.
He'd lost his cloak and wore white swimming trunks and a black tank top and
grey flip flops. He looked rather odd, to Valyn.
"I'll leave you two," Regulus said, and Valyn glared as he hightailed away.
"How's your face?" Valyn called to Sirius mockingly. He looked up, and a bruise
was already forming. Valyn felt an odd mix of regret, anger, and satisfaction.
"Devastatingly handsome, as always."
"If I wanted to kill myself, I would jump from your ego to your IQ."
"I wasn't born with enough middle fingers to properly express how I feel about
you, darling."
Valyn sneered. "I'd like to see things the way you do, but i can't seem to get
my head that far up my ass."
Sirius laughed. "What was that? I was trying to imagine you with but an ounce
of personality, but I simply can't manage."
"Maybe because your IQ is lower than your shoe size." Valyn crossed her arms as
Sirius finally stood before her.
"Please, I bet you stare at juice boxes because they say 'concentrate'," At
that, Valyn forced her face not to smile, despite the grin Sirius wore.
"Are your parents siblings?"
"Cousins, actually."
"Explains a lot," Valyn hissed, and Sirius grinned wider.
"You're so dense, light bends around you,"
Valyn couldn't stop the little sputtered laugh that came out, and Sirius let
out a triumphant sneer. "I'm bloody irresistable," he declared, but Valyn
crossed her arms, becoming solemn once more.
"You're a bloody idiot."
"Americans shouldn't say 'bloody', it sounds atrocious."
Valyn curled up her lip and gave a sardonic scowl.
"That is unbefitting of your face, Valyn," Sirius said patronizingly.
"So's that bruise, I reckon," Valyn said in a sobby tone.
"Oi, stop," Sirius said, then smirked down at her.
Valyn looked up at him for a long minute, and what she saw confused her. There
was amusement, adoration, appreciation, adulation, admiration... And love. Very
strong, obvious, giddy love.
After the minute, however, she grabbed his head and pulled him down, kissing
him.
He responded as if he'd expected it, grounding his feet, and slipping his arms
around her. Their eyes closed at the same time and he sucked her bottom lip
into his mouth, nibbling gently and pulling her into him.
One hand pulled her skirt up, resting on the smooth, round shape of her butt,
holding most of one cheek in a large, hot hand. Valyn groaned girlishly as he
squeezed, and he groaned into her mouth as she returned the favor to his cute,
boyish bum. That's what they called it here, right? A bum?
Sirius leaned against Valyn until she fell back, walking backwards, and he
walked her like that until her back rested against a tree. They were far enough
away from the castle that no one would know what they were doing... Unless they
were doing the same thing.
Sirius lifted her up off her feet and she wrapped her legs around his waist
instinctively so as to have a grip to keep her in place. Valyn tangled her
fingers in his hair and he growled a warning, but she ignored it and marvelled
inwardly about it; it was so soft, and thin... Sirius pushed her skirt up to
her wiast and teased the band of her panties, and Valyn was quickly losing
coherent thought as his finger inched closer and closer to the nether parts
that no one, including herself, had ever touched.
She stroked the place she'd hit him earlier gently, one hand holding him by the
hair, holding his head close to her so he could drink from her like a well. She
ground her hips into whatever part of him they were touching, and he groaned
his approval before yanking her shirt up over her head, then resealing his
mouth to hers. She was panting, so he let her breathe by kissing down her jaw
to her neck, raising her up so he could easily suck and kiss and bite her
collarbone, and she moaned happily at the surge of pain that tickled her
throat. One of his hands slipped behind her back to protect her from the harsh
pattern of the bark, and the other moved to trace patterns of it's own on her
side, making her squirm slightly, and buck against him even harder.
"More," Valyn sputtered when she couldn't take it anymore; her lips were
falling off, her girl bits were melting, and her body radiated more heat than
the depths of hell. Her thighs twitched occasionally, tired of being spread so
wide for so long. He scooped her into his arms bridal style and carried her
into the forrest, and Valyn was too far gone to think of the shirt or the cloak
she was abandoning.
Sirius lay her down after a few yards, on a patch of soft grass where the lake
was still very visible. He muttered something about being outside of centaur
territory before kneeling between her legs. She spread them and Sirius smiled
down at her, a bright smile, and removed his own shirt. She gave a noise of
approval as his smooth abdomen came into view, and he covered her with his
body. She traced his entire upper body as he remelded their mouths, and soon
Valyn didn't know where she ended and Sirius began.
Soon she was moaning and purring beneath him, and he moved his thigh until she
was clutching it between her own, and grinded it against in a way that made her
back arch as pleasure exploded through her like a starburst, her mouth tearing
away from her as she sucked in breath, eyes squeezing shut at the wonderful,
new, almost painful sensation coursing through her like a drug, like a disease.
"Sirius," she gasped seven times. "My Sirius,"
He nodded against her face. "Yours,"
"Mine," she cooed desperately and he nodded, burrying his mouth against her
throat and she ground herself into his muscular thigh.
Sirius sucked the skin of her throat into his mouth, running his tongue along
it, and it hurt. She whimpered but held his head still, jellyfish swimming in
her vision.
"Take me," she begged sometime later, not sure how else to phrase it. "Take me
right here,"
Sirius pulled his head up and looked down at her with heavy eyes, staring at
her face. He was searching, though for what she wasn't sure.
But he must not have liked whatever he found, because he pushed himself up onto
his hands. "Valyn," he said, voice hoarse, like gravel spilling from his
beautiful, swollen lips.
"I want-"
"No," He said, and Valyn looked at him, into his eyes, for a very long time.
Hurt was blossoming in her chest. He sleeps around, I think.
No cousin of mine will be just another of Sirius Black's slags.
He sleeps around, I think.
He sleeps around. Just not with Valyn.
Anger surged in her heart and she shoved him hard, something he was not
expecting, and he was flung back. She was on her feet like lightening and
quickly out of his reach.
"Valyn-" he began, but she went to slap him. He grabbed her wrist in his vice
grip, and she let out a noise of rage.
"Let go of-"
"Valyn, listen-"
"No!" She tried to wrench her arm free but only hurt herself, twisting it. She
continued until her wrist popped, when Sirius let go of her so that she didn't
break her own wrist. She was quick, agile, and out of his way before he could
grab her. She dashed to where her shirt and cloak where, while he followed,
trying to convince her to stop.
"Goddamnit, woman!" he roared as she yanked her shirt on easily, flying away
from him like a cornish pixie. She grabbed her cloak and ran all-out, emotions,
mind and body still burning. She ran until someone grabbed her and she spun to
look up at Rodolphus. Her lungs were burning now, too.
"Valyn?" She looked up at him. "Are you-"
"Centaurs," she lied, taking the momentum from her run and pushing it into her
lie. "I saw them, a-and they saw me, so I r-ran-"
"Filthy half-breeds," Rodolphus growled, and he turned, looping his elbow with
hers like a proper gentleman. "Let me assist you inside. You must be thoroughly
shaken up. It's a good thing you left when you did, Merlin only knows what they
would've done to a pretty young lady such as yourself." Valyn saw Sirius
heading towards them in the distance and looked away. Her head found Rodolphus'
shoulder and he smiled down at her.
"Do you know where Bella is?" Valyn asked absentmindedly.
"She's-"
"Valyn!" Sirius yelled. Everyone outside and near the Lake looked his way.
"Valyn whatever-your-middle-name-is Malfoy!" Rodolphus narrowed his eyes and
tensed.
Valyn continued walking, and Rodolphus- still linked to Valyn by the arm- came
with. She went as fast as she could, but Sirius ran up in front of her before
she could enter the castle.
"Move, blood traitor," Rodolphus hissed.
"What'd you tell him you were doing?" snapped Sirius, actually fury in his
eyes. Valyn clung to Rodolphus, dread swallowing her heart, chilling it.
"Picking daisies? Petting thestrals?"
Rodolphus glared at Sirius, but Valyn could tell he'd stopped believing her
story. He wasn't stupid.
"Valyn?" It was Andy's voice behind her, but Valyn couldn't remove her eyes
from Sirius'. Not five minutes ago she was a moaning, writhing mess for him,
and now she was too afraid of him to break eye contact. Andy popped up beside
her.
"What's-"
"Valyn kissed me," snapped Sirius. The blonde winced. "Again. She told me to
take her, like an animal, right on the ground of the-"
"I didn't say-" snapped Valyn, her face burning bright red. How could he even!
That was so, so indecent!
"Don't lie, little snake, it isn't befitting of a lady," Sirius took a step
closer and Rodolphus surged forward, but Valyn clung to his arm.
"I said take me, I didn't say those- those dirty-"
"You didn't need to," he sneered hatefully, and Valyn felt tears forming in her
eyes.
"You didn't want to, anyway!" she said shrilly. It only made her worse, but she
couldn't do this. Andy was looking between the two rapidly, and Rodolphus
looked half a second from removing Sirius' head.
But suddenly, Sirius was flying to the right, and Valyn jumped, letting a
little gasp come out. The force urged a tear or two from each eye.
Evan was behind Sirius, and apparently, he'd hit him. Sirius was on the ground
and kicked out so that Evan's knees hit the ground hard, and he cried out and
Sirius returned the head blow.
Evan recovered fast, though, jamming his fist into Sirius' jaw. Sirius kicked
Evan right in the chest, and Evan flew back. Sirius rose up and spat blood at
Evan.
"Get up," snapped Sirius. Evan did, and readied his fists. "Your hit," Sirius
said, spreading his arms. Evan went at him just as Valyn flung herself in front
of Sirius. Evan was too close to pull away, but he cursed loudly right before
his fist sunk into Valyn's nose.
She squealed and Sirius immediately wrapped both arms around her. Blood gushed
from her nose and pain seared through her face; her eyes immediately began
watering. She grabbed Sirius' forearms and dug her nails in.
"O-ow," she gasped, then fell back. Sirius caught her, holding her. She
couldn't breathe, and she couldn't think; only pain existed as she sagged down,
clutching to Sirius' arms, her fingernails like daggers in his skin. Blood was
filling her mouth; it was coming out her ears, her eyes. Her nose was full to
the capacity with blood, even as it gushed freely.
Valyn briefly heard a 'you fucking shitcunt,' before Sirius lifted her, unsure
how to carry her, and walked her quickly into the castle. Movement jerked
through her and she started weeping, making little noises as she tried to
breathe without inhaling blood.
"Hurts," she whimpered pitiously.
"I know, baby," it was Sirius' voice, and someone else scoffed. Valyn was sat
on her butt on a bed as Pomfrey came to work on her. She weeped openly and
nearly fainted when she finally reopenedher eyes to see herself and Sirius
covered in blood. She did faint, however, when Pomfrey used her wand to snap
her nose back into place.
***** The Catalyst's Chaos *****
Chapter Summary
     Valyn vents to Dumbledore (who, as usal, doesn't do shit), and Sirius
     gets to know exactly how the Slytherin girl feels about him.
        Valyn woke up to see Sirius asleep next to her on her right, and Evan,
Regulus and Andy asleep to her left. She gave a smile before wincing; why did
it hurt to-
        Memories of earlier flooded into her. Evan punching her in the face.
What the fuck had she been thinking? He couldn't just stop his fist that fast.
        Why had he hit Sirius? Why had Sirius hit him? Why had Rodolphus just
watched?
        Why was there something on her face? Why couldn't she wiggle her nose?
Why were her eyes drooping...?
        She reawakened sometime later to find only two people by her bed;
Sirius still to the right, and Dumbledore to her left. She looked at him and
groaned eloquently.
        He laughed quietly. "You're very much a catalyst, Valyn," Dumbledore
said with his weird, old man smile. Valyn sat up and her head throbbed, making
her groan again. Dumbledore handed her water, and as she drank, Valyn studied
Sirius. He was in a chair, curled halfway into a ball, his left cheek- the one
wearing her now ugly bruise- was on the back of the chair.
        "I have a lot of questions I'm supposed to ask you, Valyn, as
Headmaster."
        "I'm not telling you anything about how I found Sirius," Valyn said,
and her voice sounded odd, nasally.
        "... I think I can overlook that," he whispered quietly. "If you stop
causing chaos in my school."
        Valyn started to chuckle, but whimpered, eyes tearing up. She drank
more water, finishing the glass. When she set it down, it filled up again, and
she downed that one, too.
        "There was... So much blood," she managed, then shuddered.
        "I've had a broken nose twice, but neither time did I suffer from blood
leaking from my eyes, ears, and mouth," Dumbledore said, almost amused. She
still tasted the metallic tang, though she hadn't realised it at the time.
        She breathed in heavily despite the pain, and exhaled through her
mouth. "Did your voice change?"
        "No, but it sounds as if yours has, hopefully temporarily,"
        Valyn whimpered and looked over at Sirius. They needed to talk- once,
and never again.
        "What happened, Ms. Malfoy?"
        Valyn frowned, then looked at her lap. "I... I."
        Dumbledore raised his brow, waiting patiently. "Start from the
beginning, please,"
        Valyn laughed. "I'm afraid I don't know what you mean by beginning,"
she said.
        "I wouldn't mind hearing everything, if you'd like to share,"
Dumbledore offered quietly. Valyn leaned against her pillows.
        "I was walking in the Hogwarts Express, on the right side because I'm
not used to this wonky place, with everything backwards, and Sirius Black ran
into me. He was a dick, but James and Peter were nice, and Remus seemed well
enough. Bella and Andy and Cissa came up and I recognized Cissa and they seemed
nice, and Sirius was an ass. I followed the girls to their compartment and
everyone was nice to me. I met you, then got Sorted into Slytherin- that was
nice. Sirius was right in my line of vision, and- he was so cute, having fun
with his friends. Andy told me about everyone, all the prefects, notable
Gryffindors, who her friend group was- our friend group, cause i guess they've
taken a liking to me, but now- anyway. The Marauders were walking with me after
dinner because Andy told me i need to explore. Sirius was a giant dick, but the
others were fun. They went into their dorms, and I heard the password- dead
jumper. Very morbid. Anyway, I snuck in after them. I ran up the boys' steps-
there were girls on the other staircase, I remember, and just... Knew where he
was, I guess. They all had lovely photographs, except Sirius and Remus, but
they had the most gorgeous drawings, and I think they were Sirius' but of
course, how could I know? Then again, how could I have picked the right door?
But then Sirius came out of the shower. I didn't have anywhere to go, so I hid
behind the bed and prayed. I looked away when he changed, of course, but he
looked so... Different from the sardonic Sirius who spoke to me. I liked him,
or I thought I did, and he saw me and we talked and I kissed him and we kissed
for a while, before James came in. Sirius gave me something and it was close to
curfew so I just... I ran, and when I got to the common room, Bella came in,
too, covered in goop. The thing Sirius gave me exploded and then Bella was
plastered with feathers. I helped wash them off... And they told me about
Voldemort, and Death Eaters, and... Then we went to bed. We saw the Marauders
before breakfast and I duelled them- you saw- and my friends warned me I
couldn't get back at them because everyone favors them. We ate, went to
potions. Sirius and I said stuff to each other- rude stuff, and I talked about
my dad and cried. He's so... Bipolar. He'll be nice, and cute, and the boy I
saw with his friends and from the shower, but then he'll be the douche I bumped
into on the train again. After class, I looked for one of the places in the
drawings, because it was beautiful, and I found it, and I sat there until
dinner. It was nice, and Attor was with me." As if on cue, the dragon flew in
and landed on her foot. She assumed he liked exploring the castle. "Then I went
in for dinner and drew a shitty picture of the place and magiced it to have a
song I shared with my dad in it and sent it to Sirius, then went there, but I
felt like running and I'd just given Andy my purse with my inhaler in it, so I
fell unconscious I guess, and woke up in here. I was visited by my friends, but
I fell back asleep, and then when I woke up, it was just Rodolphus. He said
something about getting revenge for me and Bella, and I fell asleep, and when I
woke up, James was there. Madam Pomfrey said I could leave and James wanted
help finding Sirius and I remembered what Rodolphus had said so I took a
unicorn/dragon blood potion and we found him and we got him here, but James
sent me to get their friends, so I did, and then Lucius made me go to bed.
Nothing really happened until yesterday, and the Marauders took me to a room
and they talked to me, but they were gits and Sirius kissed me, so I left. I
went to the dungeons and Reg told me... Told me about his and Sirius'
childhood, and what happened after they both went to Hogwarts. So I told him
about... My dad. I kind of passed out, maybe because I'm a giant wuss, but.
Regulus told me about his- his relationship problems, this morning and we went
for a walk.  On the way there, I argued with the Marauders- James was a dick,
and so I took it out on him and Sirius- and I ended up hitting Sirius. He got a
bruise and twisted my arm, but we were okay. Anyway, after Regulus had finished
his story, Sirius came up and we argued again, but playfully, and I... I kissed
him again. We, uh. It escalated, and then we were in the woods, and he was on
top of me, and I... Wanted more. I-I've never done anything with a guy before,
not even kissed, so I don't know where that- but. He said no, and I got mad,
and he tried talking to me, but I ran away. I'm really fast, and my asthma had
calmed down after whatever Madam Pomfrey did, so I got away, and me and
Rodolphus were walking when he yelled at me and... And said a lot of gross
things. Then Andy was next to me, and then Sirius was on the ground, and he was
fighting Sirius, and he went to hit him and I moved forward to stop them but he
hit me in the nose- that stopped them- and then... I was here."
        Dumbledore was listening, a small, thoughtful smile on his face. "... I
see," was all he said, the gears of his mind still turning.
        "What is a Death Eater? Who is Voldemort? Why are purebloods supposedly
better than non-purebloods?" Valyn asked, not expecting an answer. "People have
told me all these answers before, but it doesn't make sense to me. It's not my
argument; this isn't my world." Valyn ran a hand through her messy hair. "I
don't understand."
        "I'm not entirely sure what to tell you, Valyn," Dumbledore sat back.
"There isn't much I can do to anyone yet, for anything, other than you, Mr.
Rosier, and Sirius. I'm not even sure who to punish for that."
        Valyn said nothing. Repurcussions... There were always repurcussions.
Valyn wasn't the type of person who disliked the ones she earned, before.
        She hadn't had any friends at Ilvermorny. Everyone had known that she
was the daughter of a disowned pureblood, once esteemed, and the heiress of
Salazaar Slytherin. William, one of the Pukwudgies that lived at the school,
had seemed fond of her, but that was it.
        When she wasn't studying or in class, she was either sewing, shopping,
visiting home, or exploring. Ilvermorny, like Hogwarts, had been surrounded by
forrest, and Valyn had become expert at fighting unfriendly Pukwudgies and Hide
Behinds. However, her favorite place to be was Slytherin's tree in fron of the
school; she danced around it and could swear it were as if someone else had
been dancing with her. Rumor had it that Isolt Sayre, heiress of Salazaar
Slytherin and Valyn's maternal ancestor, had buried Slytherin's wand here,
which had then grown into the tree. She loved to brew potions from the
medicinal leaves.
        She'd been known as a freak, an evil monster, something to be avoided,
and that suited her fine. People hadn't interested her much, anyway.
        But, having no friends nor enemies, she hadn't gotten into any trouble
other than the occasional late-for-curfew or wandering too far off school
grounds. She wasn't truent nor insubordinate. 
        And then, she'd come here. Everything was different, and she wasn't
sure she liked it, but she was positive she didn't dislike it. Valyn closed her
eyes as she sighed.
        "You seem to be punished enough," Dumbledore commented so quietly,
Valyn had to thinka  moment to process the words. She looked down at her hands.
"Evan will get a detention for starting the fight, and you will get one the
next time you're caught fighting, whether you start it or not."
        Valyn looked at Dumbledore, but he was looking across her. She turned
to see Sirius watching her, quite awake. Her face flushed, but she only closed
her eyes again.
        "Pomfrey will probably have your nose fixed up by the end of the day.
You probably won't miss much class, but I'll have Horace send your cousin to
retrieve what you do." And with that, Dumbledore was gone.
        Valyn debated wondering how long Sirius had been awake, but she
couldn't bring herself to. It didn't really matter, after all. She was tired,
and she didn't want to talk to him right now. Why was he there, anyway, beside
her? Why had he called her baby, held her, slept over her? Did he want her or
didn't he? Why did she even care? Valyn pulled the sheets up over her arms. She
just wanted to wake up and be in her bed in Michigan, or her bed at Ilvermorny.
She pictured her father's chartreuse eyes, his translucent skin, his chilly
embrace that was more than comforting. She imagined him holding her, like he
had when she was young and had had a nightmare, stroking the hair that
identical to his own. She imagined waking up to see grumpy Pukwudgies picking
up the dorm room she'd shared with four other girls; Marilyn Boot, Katelyn
Chenning, Amanda Travertine,  and Fiona Gregories.
        Sirius touched her hand. "Why did you like the drawing of the spot?"
His voice was quiet, tired, and a bit odd. He was hurt, but no one had treated
him, she knew. Evan hit hard; he probably needed attention, if only a little
bit.
        But Valyn couldn't open her mouth, as much force as she used; her
muscles wouldn't respond. She couldn't even care that she couldn't move. She
managed to open her eyes, however, when Sirius kissed her temple.
        Words burned her throat and she stared at him eloquently. She didn't
know what words she was conveying to him, but felt their meanings seep through
her eyes, and somehow, he seemed to be listening.
***** The Nightmare Prophecy *****
Chapter Summary
     Some weird admissions from Sirius and Valyn, followed by bad dreams
     by Valyn and a prophecy delivered in the form of a nightmare. Also,
     we see a singing, loving, sisterly Bellatrix.
        Pomfrey released her right at curfew on Monday, but insisted she keep
the nose brace on it. Healing nasal fractures was difficult work, the nurse
witch had told her, and since Valyn had said her change in voice was absolutely
unacceptable, it had been even trickier. Slughorn had dropped off her work
while she'd been sleeping this morning, and Sirius was there to escort her
away. Valyn decided not to determine how she felt about that, but couldn't
ignore the sting of pain caused by the fact that none of her friends- not even
Lucius, her family, or Regulus or Andy, who she thought were really her
friends, had come.
        They walked slowly, and as soon as they were out of sight of Pomfrey,
who'd watched them walk away, Valyn began to weep without even an internal
warning.
        Sirius grabbed her immediately and she tried to lean against him
without agitating her nose, but couldn't. Sirius saw and dropped to his knees
before her, and she sagged, her jaw on his shoulder. She wept for hours, it
felt, but she knew if the timeframe were accurate, a prefect would've stumbled
upon them.
        Sirius didn't speak or comfort her anyway but holding her, and she grew
angry near the end of her sobs she pulled back and beat him, but not in a
tough, threatening way- the way she'd been taught by her father, with pride and
strength to rival a man's, the kind she needed because she insisted on sneaking
out to walk the streets of Detroit and some of the areas weren't very safe for
a pretty white girl at night- but in a pathetic, emotional, brainless way,
primal and weak, just like she. Sirius let her for a while, but she collapsed
onto her knees in front of him on his, and she snuggled him again.
        "I hate you," she gasped, and he nodded, though Valyn didn't know or
see. "I hate you and Evan and my friends and your friends and Dumbledore and
Hogwarts and Scotland and Europe and I hate everywhere that isn't my home! I
hate your brother and Andy and I hate school and I hate fights and pain and
kissing and touching and loving and I hate loving you!" She screamed
nonsensically. He put a palm over her mouth and lifted her face to look at him.
His brilliant dark eyes were filled with all of the emotions Valyn felt- good
and bad- and she hated and loved him more for it.
        "I hate you, too, Valyn," he whispered insincerely. She was furious
that she didn't believe him.
        She shook her head and plopped onto her bum. "I want to die," she
whispered honestly. "Right here. Right now."
        Sirius looked at her, looking very un-Sirius. No, looking very much
like her favorite Sirius.
        "I don't want you to die, ever," he whispered back. She laughed without
humor and shrugged.
        "I want you to love me!" she gasped, feeling tears coming back.
        "I do," he laughed out quietly. "And I don't think you understand how
terrible that is for me."
        She scooted close to him and leaned against him. She wondered what this
was like to him. She was probably some weak little bipolar thing and he hated
feeling affection for such a nasty little creature. She whimpered.
        "You're beautiful," he whispered to her as if he were reading her mind.
He could be, for all she knew. "And you're perfect to me. Sirius Black is two
different people to you, you said; the cute, nice boy with his friends, and...
The other. Well, you're two different girls. You're strong, fierce, and
intelligent, bright-eyed and silly. ANd then. you're like this, sad and angry
and... Brainless," he laughed out. "I've known you for a week. I hated you, and
I love you, and I don't understand."
        Valyn only laughed another dry, humorless laugh, and sagged into him.
"And who are you now, and who am I?"
        "I'm the good Sirius now, and you're the bad Valyn," he said. She
hugged herself, still leaning on his barrel of a chest.
        "I want to be the good Valyn for you," she whispered, barely audible.
She wasn't sure he heard her.
        Sirius stood and lifted her up like a child, hands under her armpits.
He picked her up and she clutched to him like she used to clutch to her father,
legs around his waist, arms around his shoulders. He was much bigger than her
father, around the waist, though the same height. The familiar embrace eased
the bad Valyn away, but good Valyn was very much asleep, and the shell of a
girl was left an empty, tired, thing, not little, not strong, just... Valyn.
        He carried her to the Slytherin entrance and she hopped down, unwilling
to be seen clinging to Sirius Black like a child at midnight in front of
Lucius, or Bella, or Rodolphus. Or Evan Rosier, for that matter.
        But she kissed him, hard on the lips, after pulling his face down to
her own, and they kissed like that. Sirius was just Sirius, not good and not
bad, and Valyn was just Valyn, completely neutral, and it was the nicest Valyn
had ever felt, but not the best. The best came when they were both good; the
nicest, when neutral; the worst, when they were both bad.
        And it ended quickly. Sirius was gone, and Valyn was just, there. She
murmured the password and slinked inside.
        Rodolphus was the first one on her. He grabbed her head in both hands
and looked at her, madness in his eyes. "You filthy blood traitor," he hissed,
and she just blinked up at him. "You're a traitor to your blood and a traitor
to your friends."
        "She's no cousin of mine!" Lucius roared from behind them, and
Rodolphus shook her. "She's just one of Sirius Black's whores. He'll probably
fit her in between Alice Fortescue and Marlene McKinnon. Maybe he'll like all
three of them together."
        "She's nothing but a nothing!" Bella shreiked. "Nothing! Absolutely
nothing!"
        "How could you, Valyn?" It was Evan this time. "You made me. You made
hit Sirius, and you made me hit you. I was wrong about you."
        "You're hurting my brother," Regulus hissed. "You've hurt him, and
you've hurt my friends."
        "No," Valyn whimpered. Rodolphus shook her again.
        "Yes!' They all screamed at once. Cissa was sneering in disgust, and
Andy wasn't even looking at her. Severus was glaring distastefully, and Avery
and Mulciber looked ready to rip her in two.
        "Did you really think we'd wait up for you?" Lucius advanced and
suddenly, he took Rodolphus' place, though he didn't touch her. "You're not one
of us. You never will be. You're not one of them, either, You'll never belong
anywhere, and you never have. No matter how hard you'll try you'll always be
nothing but a worthless, nameless slag who killed both of her parents and
muddled everything in the life you pretended to be a apart of here."
        Valyn bolted up in bed, panting and sweating. She was in her bed in the
Slytherin dorm, and her nose brace had fallen off. She was bleeding, but not
bad. She looked around her and didn't know what was real and what was dream.
        "Valyn?" a sleepy Bella asked, and she looked over to see the dark
haired girl frowning at her with concern.
        "What happened?" Valyn whimpered, and Bella stood and walked to the
girl. Valyn hugged herself.
        "You're bleeding," Bella said quietly, and wiped Valyn's upper lip with
her thumb. Valyn could not resist the urge to hug Bella around the middle.
Bella slid into Valyn's bed and sat beside the girl. The blonde curled against
the curly-head, clutching.
        "Sirius Black walked you down here," there was disapproval in her
voice. "And Lucius helped you into bed. You fell asleep, and now we're here,"
Bella stroked her hair. "You really should leave him be. I heard Rosier's
single, and you'd be so cute-"
        "I love him," Valyn whispered. "I know I shouldn't, but I do."
        Bella's face scrunched up, but the exhausted American couldn't read the
emotion. "I can relate, there," she admitted quietly.
        Valyn lay down and looked up at Bella. After a moment, the Brit lay
down on her side next to Valyn and draped an arm over her tummy. The younger
girl looked up into her pretty eyes.
        "But Rodolphus-"
        "I don't love him," Bella said, and Valyn all but gaped at her.
        "But-"
        "We'll get married and produce an heir, as is expected of me. Roddie
loves me, and he's sweet to me. We have common interests and we work well
together, but..." Bellatrix put her mouth against Valyn's temple, and she was
warm against the smaller girl. "I'm in love with Tom Riddle."
        Tom Riddle? Valyn didn't know any Tom Riddles. "Who?"
        "Lord Voldemort."
        Valyn looked up at Bella. Her eyes held desperation, but she was
smiling. Me, too.
        "I don't want to be a part of your war," Valyn said, and Bella nodded.
        "I know," said the older girl.
        "I want to be friends with you guys, and I want Sirius to love me,
too."
        "I don't think you can have us and him, Val,"
        Valyn laughed a noise of sadness and closed her eyes. Bella held her
and, after a few minutes when Valyn showed no sign of sleep, she kissed her
temple. "Andy and Cissa have trouble getting to sleep sometimes, and i hold
them like this and sing to them," Bella suggested brightly.
        "Sing to me, please, Bella," Valyn asked.
        "You are my sunshine,
        "My only sunshine.
        "You make me happy
        "When skies are grey.
        "You'll never know, dear,
        "How much I love you.
        "Please, don't take
        "My sunshine away.
        "The other night, dear,
        "While I lay sleeping,
        "I dreamt I held you in my arms.
        "When I awoke, dear,
        "I was mistaken,
        "So I hung my head and I cried."
        Valyn fell asleep, thinking about Bella's pretty, mediocre voice and
how impossibly comforting she was. She'd be a good mother to her heir... A good
mom...
        Valyn dreamt that she was in a big, beautiful bed, too big for her own
tastes. She wore a silken dress, white and lacy, too sexy for the innocent
color. The room was giant, the carpet light shag, the walls white and grand.
There was a chiffarobe on each side of the bed, a desk on either side of the
door across from her. The room was symmetrical and furnished with expensive
things, nice things. Valyn sat up and the door opened.
        It was Evan, but he was older. He had a big, bright smile on his face
that didn't quite meet his eyes. "Goodmorning, honey," He said in a sickly
sweet voice. "Tea?"
        Valyn smiled and nodded, even though she didn't want to. He was her
husband after all, she had to humor him into thinking she enjoyed his pointless
Ministry talk.
        Evan walked to the bed to assist her to her feet, and they locked arms.
Evan was such a gentleman...!
        They walked together through a giant, grandeur house.
        "The Ministry is doing well," Evan commented as he led her outside to a
little patio outside. A long, vibrant green yard stretched before them with a
lovely pavement driving, long and winding to the road. They sat in patio chairs
and three little House Elves came out, one with tea, one with plates with a
crepe and a fork on each, and one with a bottle of Brandy. The first two Elves
set down their gifts and scurried away, and the third spiked Valyn's tea.
        "There was resistance to the new Minister at first, but our Lord and
Master convinced them." Evan got a small grin.
        "How did he do that?" Valyn asked, smiling, sipping her tea. She knew,
though; their Lord was simply the best.
        "Well, we've slaughtered all the mudbloods, and we've almost finished
with the Muggles."
        Valyn laughed happily. "The Dark Lord is simply the best, purifying the
world such as he has," she commented lightly.
        "Oh, yes indeed!" Mr. Rosier said brightly.
        "And yet..." Valyn said, then frowned into her cup. "Something troubles
me. Something threatens our perfect world!"
        "Oh, honey, no!" Evan looked at his Mrs. Valyn Rosier. "The Dark Lord
had accounted for everything!"
        "Then what of the filthy halfbloods! The repulsive halfbreeds!" Valyn
asked her husband.
        "We'll turn on them when the Muggles are gone!" Evan exclaimed with a
smile. "Honestly, honey, thinking doesn't do you well."
        "I'm a lady, of course it doesn't," Valyn shrugged as she spoke airily.
"I have you, my husband, for a reason."
        "That you do, honey, that you do." Evan stroked her cheek.
        "Mummy! Daddy!" Two children were running up the drive then. The boy
started to swerve towards the grass, and sheer panic bloomed in Valyn.
        "The grass, Belial, the grass!"
        The little toddler looked down and giggled. Soon, the children were at
their parents, and the girl, older than the boy but still quite young, extended
her arms, requesting to be held. "Oh, alright, Dru," he said, lifting the
blonde girl into his lap. She clung to him.
        "Mummy mummy, guess what we found!" the young Belial said.
        "Belial found him, not me!" Druella shreiked. Evan patted her head.
        "What is it, darling?" Valyn asked Belial.
        "Sirius Black!" he said brightly.
        Suddenly a big, snarling black wolf appeared, and Evan laughed. "Now,
now, Valyn, you didn't say that mutt was visiting!"
        Valyn leaned back in her chair, and the wolf growled.
        "Didn't you miss him, mummy?" Belial asked. Sirius- wolf Sirius-
growled louder. "Didn't you love him?"
        Sirius couldn't be here. This was her world! Her and Evan's! They were
the Rosiers...
        "I was right," the wolf Sirius growled. "And now you're worse than bad
Valyn. You've come to be a sad, pathetic drunkard who's been awoken to the
hardships of life and couldn't cope; a wretched mother and a wretched wife to a
boring, brainless git. A filthy slag like you never could have been anything
happier had you tried. You know that, right?"
        "Mummy's a slag!" Belial laughed. Evan was frowning at Valyn, agitated.
He'd punish her later...
        "What are you doing here, Sirius?" Valyn asked, awash with pain. This
was her life, her new life, her Sirius-free life.
        "On the run from Voldemort. He's killed Lily because she's muggleborn,
and James killed himself. Remus is dead because he's a halfbreed. Peter's
already joined them. It's just me now."
        "What do you want from me!" she yelped and downed the rest of her tea,
which visibly angered her husband. She just wished it was pure brandy... Or
something stronger.
        "I want to make you pay!" And then Sirius transformed into himself.
        "I didn't do anything!" she shreiked.
        "Exactly!" Sirius yelled back.
        "Just leave me alone, Sirius," Valyn wept.
        "No! You wanted this! You wanted me!" Sirius advanced on her, and her
family and house melted away. They were somewhere else, a nursery, but there
were bodies on the floor. Lily, James, Remus, Peter. Lily was just dead, but
James' brains were shot out, quite graphically. Peter had a green snake and
skull on his left wrist, and it had inflamed, and green and black twisted
through his veins and shot out his eyes. Remus looked ripped to pieces by
claws; another werewolf. Sirius held his arms out.
        "It's your fault, Valyn," Sirius looked near tears, and angry. Emotions
surged through her, and she rubbed her hands on her jean-clad thighs, not
realising she'd been wearing something else.
        "I didn't do anything," she repeated, her voice heavy with a sob she
didn't let out; a sob she couldn't. Not if she wanted to stay relatively sane.
        "That's the problem!" Sirius said, almost wept, desperation filling his
eyes. He grabbed Valyn's face, but softly, gently, and nudged her to look at
him, but she started to cry softly, tried looking away. He eased her face to
his own, though, and put his forehead on hers. "You could've stopped it. You
could've joined me and made it all okay." His voice was getting quieter.
        "I-I... This isn't my fight, I-I'm not like you!"
        "Do you want us all to die?!" He screamed.
        "No, no, no, no!" Valyn shook her head.
        "Do you agree with the Death Eaters?" Sirius asked accusingly.
        "No! But I'm not like you. I don't fight, I-"
        "Ignore." Sirius finished, looking down. He released her and motioned
towards the dead bodies. "Well, this is what happens when you ignore. Lily was
pregnant, you know. James was so happy..."
        "No," Valyn whispered, shaking her head. Her head wasn't thinking, she
was just... Doing.
        "Yes. Was gonna name him Harry. He was going to save the world, defeat
Voldemort... Make everything okay. And you could've helped him live, but you
ignored-"
        "No!" Valyn shrieked. Sirius grabbed her arm and yanked painfully, and
Valyn wept more. He pushed up her sleeve and showed a Dark Mark, just Like
Peter's.
        "Obviously."
        "What... What if i chose you?" she asked quietly.
        The scene changed. They were in the same room, but it brightened, and
the bodies were gone. In a big, white cradle, was a pretty toddler no more than
a year or two old. She was standing on her feet, reaching out.
        "Mama, dada," she gasped, eyes the same dull, piercing green as
Regulus'. Her hair was stark white, like Valyn's, and her skin was the same
pale, but her face was Sirius'. She was beautiful.
        "If you choose me, we'll have little Sovereign." He smiled at her,
touching her cheek with his finger. She cooed at him.
        "Sovvie..." Valyn whispered, and suddenly, she felt strong. Smart.
Wicked and witty. she grinned at Sirius, and he grinned back.
        Valyn bolted upright. It was bright, and Bella was still beside her,
asleep. She touched her throat, gasping.
***** Valyn's Bride Price *****
Chapter Summary
     Valyn finally sees Sirius at the nook, and they get to know each
     other a little better before deciding to make it a real thing. Lucius
     smacks her for it, though, so Sirius argues for her hand in marraige.
     Naturally, because, what else would one do?
Valyn blinked wildly. What day was it? The fight had been on Sunday.
Dumbledore's visit had been on Monday. She'd been released on Tuesday
evening... Which meant that today was Wednesday. She'd met Sirius on a Monday,
which meant that today was the tenth day of knowing Sirius Black. It felt like
her life was split into three parts; her father, Malfoy Manor, and Hogwarts.
They were all very, very different.
What class did she have? She looked beside her to see a sleeping Bella, Attor
beside her head. He'd slept between them, it seemed. She looked at her watch;
3:47. The girls all rose at four thirty, so she had just under an hour.
It was... Divination, yes. She and Andy had it together. Valyn swung her feet
over the bed and stood, getting dressed in Bella's borrowed robe. She didn't do
anything to her hair, other than brush it, and she didn't do her makeup. She
used a spell to clean her teeth and fled out of the Slytherin dungeons, Attor
on her shoulder, praying she wouldn't get in trouble for rising so early.
She didn't know where to go, one hand on her satchel, the other tucked into her
wand belt. She could go to the Gryffindor common room, see if the password was
still dead jumper, but she didn't think it would be. She walked outside, mind
still half asleep, until her feet found their way to the tower nook.
Sirius was sitting on the grass right where Valyn had. He was dressed and his
eyes were closed, his too-long hair in his face. He didn't seem to hear Valyn,
so she silently walked over and sat next to him.
"Good morning," she said quietly. He responded by putting his head on her
shoulder.
"D'you want the drawing?" Sirius asked after a long moment of silence. She
kissed the top of his head and hoped he didn't notice.
"Do you want to give it to me?"
"I wouldn't ask if I didn't, Val," his voice was hardly more than a breath.
Valyn nodded.
"I would love it," she said.
He sat up and cracked his neck one way, then the other. Valyn leaned over until
she was curled up in his lap, and his fingers found her hair.
"I had a dream last night. About you." Valyn confessed after a long time. Attor
was standing on her shoulder, staring at Sirius, deciding what he thought of
the Gryffindor.
"I did, too."
Maybe it was the same. "What of?" she asked.
"You show me yours, and I'll..." Sirius trailed off.
"I asked first," the American pointed out. Sirius Black sighed.
"You were married to Rosier, and you were a Death Eater. James, Remus and Lily
were dead. I confronted you, and then we were somewhere else. Their bodies were
there, and we were fighting. And then-"
"Then we had a baby." Valyn finished. Sirius nodded solemnly. "Are you an
Animagus?" she asked, letting the shared dream sink in.
"I... Yes."
"And Remus is a werewolf."
"Yes."
"Do you think it's really real? A prophecy of sorts?" Valyn turned to look up
at him, and Attor fell onto her chest. Sirius looked into Valyn's eyes.
"Peter would never become a Death Eater."
No, but he would date one, Valyn thought. Best to leave that alone, though.
"Maybe some things just mean other things. Prophecies aren't entirely
straightforward."
Sirius thought about this for a long time.
"I don't want to choose between you and my friends," Valyn said after a long
pause. He looked down at her. "It isn't my fault you all are apart of some big
war."
Sirius got a small smile, his lips twisting up a centimeter to one side.
"I don't even see the point of it," She admitted, then tentatively moved her
fingers through his silky hair. He let her.
"Protection." Sirius said seriously. (SORRY)
"From what?"
"From... Them. They want to kill muggles and muggleborns, and we won't let
them."
"They said they're joining for revenge." Valyn said, and Sirius looked sharply
at her. "They like the cause, but that's not what it's really about... They
just want to fight you."
Sirius closed his eyes. "Maybe that's why Regulus is neutral." he didn't seem
to have made the comment for Valyn's sake.
"I wonfer what would happen if you all just... Stopped," Valyn mused, looking
up at the sky. It paled in comparison to Sirius' face- his bones were so
beautiful, so elegant, and somehow so different from Bella's, Andy's, Cissa's,
and Reg's, even though they were exactly the same- but the sky, by itself, was
still quite pretty. "If no one fought for Voldemort, maybe he'd just be a
man... Not a Lord."
"He's not a man," Sirius said, and Valyn looked at him. "He's a monster. A
snake monster." Valyn laughed, but Sirius' expression was as solemn as it could
ever be.
"You're joking," Valyn said, her laugh ending.
"Am not. He's got arms and legs and all, but his skin is grey and sallow, his
eyes red, and he hasn't got a nose. No hair, no ears, nothing. The size of a
man, though,"
"D'you wanna go out with me?"
Valyn looked at him, face sobering. He still had a grin on, playfulness
gleaming in his dark eyes. "Go out with you, as in date?"
"Yeah."
Valyn sat up, and Sirius' face slowly grew less amused. She scooted close to
him, their legs over lapping, until her face was mere inches from his. He
looked down at her, his lips almost touched her small nose.
"What do you want to be when you're older?"
"I don't need a job, I've got enough money. Maybe I'd sell some art, though."
Sirius put his forehead on Valyn's. "And you?"
"I want to be a singer," Valyn said, with a bright smile. Sirius returned it.
"Your voice is like Heaven," Sirius said in a low voice, and Valyn beamed at
him.
"You think?"
"I love it."
"Do you want to get married?" She asked next.
"Of course," Sirius grinned. Valyn smiled. They were very close now.
"How many children?"
"Of mine? Zero, but shit happens." Valyn's brow twitched together.
"You don't want kids?"
"Not particularly, no. How many do you want?" He looked at her eyes, examining
them, analyzing.
"An heir and a spare," Valyn said. "A boy and a girl."
Sirius frowned deeply. "That's why I don't want kids."
"What?" Valyn sat up, petting Atto, who still clung to Sirius.
"Children are people. Children are people to love, to cherish, to help and to
be respected. You're talking about them like things- daughters aren't spares.
Sons are more than things for one to invest their inheritences into."
Valyn listened to Sirius. "I mean... It was a joke, Sirius," her voice was
quiet, unsure, and Sirius sighed.
"If you had kids, what would you want to name them?" Valyn continued after a
moment.
"Never thought about it," Sirius admitted.
"Well, think!"
"Hm... If he were a boy, and I had full reign, I'd name him Remus James Black.
A girl could be Samantha Peyton Black."
"Remus and James are self-explanitory... Peyton for Peter, right?" Sirius
nodded. "And Samantha?"
"Closest thing to Sirius that I like," the Gryffindor grinned.
"If I had a son I'd name him Belial Asmodeus- my father, whom I love, and my
grandfather, whom I hate. If I had a daughter, I'd name her Sovereign Alain."
Sirius raised an elegant brow. "Explain."
"I love my father and want to honor him. Asmodeus would be a reminder as to
where he comes from, good and bad, and remind him to stay vigilant, to stay
strong." Valyn curled her face onto Sirius' collarbone, her face beside
Attor's. "Sovereign means ruler, it means a strong leader. I want my daughter
to be strong. Alain is my middle name, and my mother's first name. My father
said my mother was sweet, kind, playful and understanding, so my daughter would
be all the good and neccesary things- strength, kindness, bravery, and
playfulness."
"I see," Sirius said after a moment.
They sat for a little while, and Sirius wrapped his arms around the girl when
she started to shiver. He was warm, and Valyn curled into him.
"Yes," Valyn said, glancing at her watch, seeing that they really, really
should be off to the Great Hall.
"Pardon?" Sirius said, as if awoken from a daydream.
"My answer is yes," Valyn smiled against his heat.
"Your answer to..."
"The question you asked earlier, dummy."
"You're my girl, then?" Sirius perked up when he finally realized, and Valyn
giggled at him.
"I'm your girl."
Sirius was on his feet in an instant, and had one of Valyn's hands in his. He
spun her around and danced with her, and she laughed all the while. He really
was lovely at it, after all, and a giant dork.
He dipped her and leaned forward, and she grabbed his face gently.
"If I fall, I will kill you," she giggled, and he grinned at her.
"It's a Hogsmeade weekend. You have your permission slip?"
"Of course," Valyn said, still laying in Sirius' arms.
"Good." He stood her up and spun her once more, twisting her back into his
arms, holding her. "We'll go together every time it's a Hogsmeade weekend."
Valyn smiled up at him, feeling absolute adoration in her chest. He was the
loveliest boy, and he did the silliest things... She didn't even have the time
to properly react, to absorb her feelings. She pulled on his hand and led him
into the castle, into the Great Hall.
It was 5:54 when they arrived, and while most people were seated, he pushed her
against the wall and pressed his lips to hers. His hands were on the wall on
either side of her, and he stood a stride away from her, leaning down. They
kissed over and over, little pecks, smiles on their faces, until someone
cleared their throat beside them.
Valyn turned to see a rather livid Lucius, his pale face colored nearly red.
Her eyes lost their smile before her mouth found it appropriate to follow suit.
"Luc-" she started, but he cut her off.
"What are you doing, Valyn?" he snapped, then grabbed her by the forearm and
yanked. He succeeded, the force bending her and slipping her under Sirius' arm.
She was behind Lucius by the time Sirius straightened.
"Listen-" Sirius said, face serious but not angry.
"No, you listen," Lucius was seething. "You don't touch her from now on. You
don't talk to her, you don't look at her ,you don't even think about her!"
Lucius stepped forward, and Valyn did, too.
"Lucius-"
He turned around and smacked her clean across the face, and she howled. Sirius
growled and readied his fists, but McGonagall was there in a second.
"Mr. Malfoy!" She roared as loud as Lucius had. Everyone silented at her voice,
though. Valyn was seeing stars, and her ears were pounding. He'd hit her
hard... She'd had enough pain to last her lifetime, all from fights at
Hogwarts.
Someone was next to her, and she didn't know who. At first she went to push
them away, but after they tried to coax her to them, she leaned forward and
rested her head on their bosom; whomever it was, it was a girl. Maybe Andy? She
had the largest chest of her friends.
After a while, though, she could hear again. She opened her eyes to look up and
see Lily Evans, and she pulled away quickly. She looked around; Bella was
standing and she rushed away from Lily. The muggleborn's pretty eyes looked
hurt, but Valyn couldn't mind that right then. Lucius had hit her!
Bella hugged her tightly. "He h-hit me!" Valyn whimpered.
"I told you to stay away from Sirius," Bella said in a quiet voice, like a
mother chastising her child for touching the stovetop.
Valyn pulled away. "Lucius hit me."
"I know," Bella frowned the girl, as if wondering why she kept repeating that.
"He physically hit me! On purpose!" Valyn was incredulous, a bit hysterical.
"Should've stayed away from Sirius Black," Lucius growled at her. Slughorn and
McGonagall were arguing, and Sirius was glaring at Lucius.
"Why? Least he doesn't hit me!"
Lucius sneered at her. "I told you. No cousin of mine will be added to his
collection of trollops-"
"She's not a trollop," Sirius hissed, stepping forward, McGonagall gave him a
death stare, but he couldn't see her. He didn't go to hit Lucius, though.
"She's my girlfriend."
"Your girlfriend?" Narcissa laughed. "You've never dated anyone-"
"I am now. What have you to say against it? I'm pureblooded. My family is more
than eligable for yours, Malfoy."
"Your family disowned you!" Bella shrieked.
"Doesn't change blood, does it, dear cousin?" Sirius didn't look at her. "If
Lily's mum disowned her, would she suddenly not be muggleborn?'
Lucius glared, but said nothing. None of this made sense to Valyn. None of this
had been any reason for concern at Ilvermorny; Valyn was out of her element.
"Call up your father. He's her guardian now, yes? I'm sure he'd be happy with
the arrangement. I'll personally apologize for not consulting him before
courting Valyn," Sirius said. "Hell, I'm almost of age. We're old enough to be
betrothed. How much d'you reckon her bride price would be, Lucius?"
Valyn's distant cousin was almsot hissing like a cat. Fury boiled out of his
ears. His fists were clenched extraordinarily hard.
"Too high for you," Andy said. "What with you being disowned."
"I have money, I assure you," Sirius said.
"Bride price?" Valyn spoke up, lightheaded- whether from the bitchslap, or the
conversation, she couldn't tell.
"The price a groom pays in exchange for the lady's hand in marraige," Cissa
explained. "Usually paid as soon as one decides he'll marry the girl. Lucius
had already paid mine, meaning we're lawfully engaged."
Did she move to biblical times? She gaped at Sirius.
He wasn't looking at her, but staring Lucius down. After a moment, he turned to
the professors. "Valyn's alright, and he won't hit her again- an act of
passion, y'know. I don't think it'd be a big deal if you let it slide, would
you? He was only protecting his cousin."
"Five points from Slytherin," Dumbledore was approaching. "And that will be the
end of the matter."
"Professor!" Sirius exclaimed brightly. "I have a really, really urgent
question for Mr. Abraxas Malfoy, if you would help me ask him as soon as
possible?"
Lucius sucked in a breath and swivelled, staring Valyn down. "Do you see what
you've done?' He asked, his voice like acid. She winced.
"I-"
"Do! You! See!" Lucius roared, grabbing her by the collar and heaving her up.
She shrunk away from him, and Sirius eyed him as he walked away with
Dumbeldore.
"Release her, Lucius," Slughorn said, fidgetting. Lucius all but shoved her
into Bella, who caught and held a shaking, terrifyed Valyn. Lucius stalked to
the Slytherin table, but Valyn didn't want to follow.
"Come," Cissa coaxed gently, putting her hand on Valyn's elbow. "He'll be fine.
Sirius would make a fine husband, despite all of his-"
"He is a blood traitor and a member of the Order!" Bella snapped, leading them
to the table.
"That isn't passed down through the generations, silly," Cissa said.
Valyn wasn't following though. "I need the lavatory," she explained.
"D'you need company?" Andy offered, speaking up. Valyn shook her head,
wondering how to tell Andy.
"No, I'm fine. I think I forgot one of my quills in the dorms, too, so I may be
late-"
"Be careful," Bella looked back, concern on her stunning face. "We care."
Valyn smiled at her friend before nodding. James was at the door and Valyn sped
up; just the boy she needed to see.
***** Valyn's Wedding Vow *****
Chapter Summary
     It's a flash forward to Sirius and Valyn's wedding days, and the
     participants are not who you'd expect... And Valyn's vows are
     absolutely gorgeous.
Valyn couldn't believe what was going on, not even for a moment.
It was December 20th, 1977 and the sixteen year-old Valyn was standing in a
flawless white wedding gown, sparkling and flawless, staring at a giant brown
chapel door.
She was getting married to Sirius Black.
He'd asked her out in September, and later that morning asked her gaurdian,
Abraxas Malfoy, for her hand in marraige. She and Sirius' best friend, James
Potter, had snooped on that conversation... Abraxas had accepted immdiately.
Negotiations had begun between Abraxas and Fleamont Potter (who served as
Sirius' gaurdian) over the wedding until it was satisfactory to both parties.
Abraxas stood to Valyn's right and offered the girl his elbow, interrupting her
memories, and she looped her arm through his to be properly escorted.
There were seven bridesmaids and seven groomsmen, a maid of honor and a best
man, and a flower girl and a ring barer. Negotiations on who was allowed had
been... Heated, to say the least. Sirius never dropped his charm nor his
debonair, however.
The Maid of Honor and Best Man were the first to be going into the chapel
through the leftmost door. James was on the left of Andy. The brides maids, in
order of entrance into the chapel, were Cissa, Bella, Alice, Klio and
Klementine Nott, Mira, and Marlene. Their male counterparts were Lucius Malfoy,
Rodolphus Lestrange, Frank Longbottom, Fabian and Gideon, Evan, and Regulus.
The ring barer and flower girl were the only ones entering through the
rightmost door of the chapel with Valyn and Abraxas... And those chosen for the
roles were most curious, indeed.
The ring barer was Charlie Weasley, a five year old ginger boy whom Sirius
apparently babysitted. Abraxas had been entirely against allowing him to be the
ring barer... But, after all, he was from an ancient pureblood family and could
not legitimately refuse without being rude and outlandish against the Weasleys.
Abraxas had nearly had a heart attack when Sirius had asked for a girl named
Nymphadora Black to be the flower girl, a four year old metamorphagus girl.
However, when Valyn had asked why a pureblood daughter of Cygnus and Druella
Black could not be her flower girl, Sirius had given Abraxas a pointed look
and, dejectedly, Abraxas had relented.
Later, Sirius had told her a secret. Nymphadora Black was not her name... She
was Nymphadora Tonks, and she was Andy and Ted's daughter. However, Ted and
Andy were sixteen and seventeen, and Dora was four... They had been frightfully
young. Ted didn't even know about his secret daughter; Andy hadn't shown at
all, and they'd put forth that it was her parents' baby. Only Cygnus, Druella,
Bella, Andy, Cissa, Orion, Walburga, Sirius, Regulus, and Andy's godparents
(Abraxas Malfoy and Tarendella Nott) knew of the scandal. Valyn had taken it
upon herself to grow close to the young girl, and had found she was quite
lovely indeed.
The bridal party made their way into the chapel. Nerves were eating Valyn's
stomach. She wore a lovely dress; it was sleeveless and loose around the bosom,
accentuating it without being scandalous. It was long and semi form-fitting;
the bodice hugged her in the right way to make her hips look large and the
skirt was just loose enough for Valyn to walk comfortably. Not a very common
style, but it had been the same dress her mother had designed for her own
wedding... One she never got to have. It was white with golden shimmers
throughout, the sleeves covering most of her shoulders. When she walked, golden
strappy heels poked out and so did Valyn's pale foot, her toes painted gold.
Her hair was swept up, her makeup simple, golden sparkles all over her. She
looked like a goddess.
Charlie and Dora walked into the chapel. Dora threw her golden petals with
expert skill, making sure it looked random but nice and left no space too
covered or too sparse. The carpet was golden; the flowers were golden; the
archway was golden; the candles were golden; the priest's clothing was golden
and white; the walls were white; the floor was white; the chairs were white;
the flames of the candles were white. Everything was expensive and gorgeous.
Muggleborns and halfbloods were, as a rule, not allowed at the weddings of
esteemed purebloods, but Abraxas had begrudgingly allowed a select few to be
invited; Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Ted Tonks, and Lily Evans. They blended
well into the crowd, and had Lily not had brilliant red hair, she would've gone
unnoticed. Not many others were invited; the Averies, the Bulstrodes, the
Burkes, the Carrows, the Crouches, the Fauleys, the Flints, the Greengrasses,
the Lestranges, the Longbottoms, the Macmillans, the Malfoys, the Notts, the
Parkinsons, the Potters, the Prewetts, the Rosiers, the Rowles, and the
Yaxleys, as well as Sirius' estranged parents and his aunt and uncle, Cygnus
and Druella, and finally Alphard Black, who had apparently been disowned.
A portrait of Valyn's father sat where the father of the bride would usually
sit. Abraxas would sit where the mother generally would. Instead of Orion and
Walburga taking their place as parents of the groom, Fleamont and Euphemia
Potter did. Valyn had still not had the honor of making their acquaintance,
formally or casually.
Valyn walked to the sound of the organ playing magically in the corner. She
felt excited, overwhelmed, and terrified, opting to examine her wedding rather
than her feelings. She met eyes, finally, with her groom.
His hair was in a low ponytail. He was the only male in the room who wore a
black suit jacket, though it was long and frilled in the British Wizard way; to
American Wizards, he would've looked like a pirate. His shirt was starch white,
his tie golden, his trousers black, his shoes black. He had pride, love,
excitement and fear in his lovely eyes, as well as a couple of tears. Valyn
thanked Merlin and Morganna mentally, as well as Cissa, for the magical no-tear
drops she'd used on her eyes. Her makeup probably could withstand it, but she
wanted to appear strong. It was not befitting of a lady to cry... Nor a
gentleman, for that matter, but Valyn had learned over their short engagement
that she held little sway over the actions of Sirius Black.
Everyone was standing and staring at her, the star of the show. Valyn smiled at
her audience, meeting the eyes of her friends as well as people she had never
seen in her life before. The men all wore cream, the women all wore gold, and
everyone had their hair either up or slicked back. She looked at her
bridesmaids; they all wore the brightest shade of gold, their gowns long and
while pretty, were nothing that kept one's attention, as was to be expected;
Valyn was the center of attention, not them. They all held gold and white
roses, even little Dora, in her white dress with golden flowers. Her hair was
half-up, tied with a bow, and it's traditional brown. She beamed up at Valyn.
The bride turned to face the groomsmen, who wore eggshell suit jackets and
white bowties, their hair slicked back no matter how long it was, which looked
rather odd on the long-haired Lucius. Their hands were clasped in front of
them.
Valyn took her place in front of Sirius, taking his hands.
"Thank you. All be seated," the priest boomed. Everyone but the parents sat.
"Who gives this girl to be married?"
"I do," Abraxas said in his crisp accent. "On behalf of my brother and her
father, Belial Malfoy."
"Very well. Be seated." The parents sat.
"We are gathered here today to witness the joining of Sirius Orion Black III
and Valyn Alain Malfoy in holy matrimony..." Valyn did not listen. No one
objected when it was offered, and everyone recited the prayers the man spoke.
Valyn stared into Sirius' gorgeous eyes, and he stared right back. She tried
very hard not to smile, and his face was set pleasently but without a grin of
his own.
"Do we have the rings?" the booming voice of the priest asked. Charlie happily
gave the couple the bands. "Bride, your vows." In the Wizarding World, it was
custom for the bride to go first, and for the couple to write their own vows.
"I wonder so often," Valyn said, her voice shaky but loud. "About life and
death. And in saying this, I do not exclusively mean the particular acts of
living and dying; rather, I refer ti tge biological, psychological, emotional
and physical acts of each. I wonder so often about what it feels like to live
in that true, extraordinarily rare way that most only experience once or,
perhaps, twice. Prior to meeting you, I had felt it but once myself; and so
long ago that the taste of it had all but faded entirely from my metaphorical
tongue. I wonder so often about what a brain must do- or rather, fail to do-
before it is truly considered to be lacking of life. I wonder so often whether
the act of living, the actual and simple state, so fleeting and pure, is what
eats its own self up, and I wonder so often if, instead, it is one's very soul
that life uses as it's fuel, for that would explain the bitterness so many are
infected with in their latest years of life; for that would explain the
irrevokable taint and jadedness that plagues one's personality more and more as
they grow older. I wonder so often what it is that makes us alive; I wonder
what it is that makes us sentient and intelligent and et cetera. I wonder so
often what it feels like to die. Does one become consciously aware of their
very life force being drained? Does one feel pain from the actual act of dying,
rather than simply because of one's injuries? Shall I be so curious as to the
answers of my questions in my own time of dying? Does the onset of death drive
one insane, or return to them the insanity they had once thought to be
irreversably driven from them, or cure them of all responsibilty, or simply
finalize the hatred one may feel for the world? Is it as painful to die as it
is to experience the pain of a loved one's passing? Yes, I wonder so often
about such things as life and death. Recently, however, I find myself wondering
so often about a life and a death with you. Thinking about living with you- in
the most straightforward of ways, in a lovely house with lovely children and
lovely love- simply existing close to one another, our hearts nuzzled up close
and revelling in the feel of the other's-existing with our souls as one, in the
eyes of God and of everyone else, forever and unchangably one and the same and
equal and together. Thinking about dying with you- of us being old and grey and
frail and our lives long-lived- of you falling ill with some irrelevant illness
and passing quietly in your sleep after a battle that lasted from age 150 to
160, and me dying simply of age not a year after- of me growing insane with
dementia or Krueller's Disease or the like, of me no longer being me and you
not caring and showering me in your love until we pass together. And I find
that I do not mind either as long as I do receive both; I cannot live with you
or at all if I am to die without, nor can I die with you or at all if I am to
live without. Whatever life brings us, and where ever death brings us to, as
long as I am indeed with you, I can face it all. Because you are my strength
and I am your weakness, because you are too cruel without me and I am too frail
in your absence. It is for this reason we are here today, or at all, and this
reason why I am willing to bind myself to you through God, through magic and
through love, irrevokably to you."
***** God, Forgiveness, and Tears *****
Chapter Summary
     Sirius' impromptu vows, James' bad, drunken speech, Andy's thoughts
     on how Sirius and Valyn are like Romeo and Juliet, and the approval
     of a dead parent.
Valyn, as she spoke, pushed Sirius' ring onto his left ring finger. She had no
tears to shed thanks to the conncoction Cissa had given her, but she could feel
her body crying, a subtle quake every once in a while. Sirius did not cry but
stared into her eyes, listening and absorbing her words like they were the fuel
for his life.
"Groom, your vows."
"I have never been a fan of marraige," Sirius began after a moment, swallowing.
Despite his largness, his significance, he looked small and weak. His face look
full of pain. "Nor have I been a fan of lineage, or of continuing bloodlines,
or of commitment. Always I have vowed to myself, however secretly, however
privately, that I would not subject myself to such- pain. The marraiges I grew
up around were perfect in the eyes of the particapents and the eyes of society
and, I am sure, the eyes of God, but not in the eyes of me. I didn't see the
worth of a marraige when power must be shared and exchanged; I didn't see the
worth of sharing or exchanging anything. I didn't see the worth of love, or of
caring, or of needing, another person in the way I now love, care for, and need
you. Before I met you, I was a shell of a man, and barely that, walking around
doing what I thought ought to be done, and now, it all means nothing to me, for
you are all I see. Before I met you, I was a child and a blind one at that, and
before you, I was nothing. I did not live, and I barely survived, and I hardly
felt. I was cynical and harsh and took my own opinions as the God-spoken truth,
because before I met you, I might as well have been God to myself. I insulted
and dismissed love, especially all-too-sudden and all-too-volatile love like
our own, but only because I had never felt it. And I have to thank Orion and
Walburga Black for not hiding the truth of marraige, not the good or the bad,
from their children, because had I not seen the exact extent of what can go
wrong in marraige, I would not know that this feeling is worth all of it. I may
not be on the closest terms with them, and we may not speak or see eye-to-eye
or even, I daresay, tolerate the thought of one another, but if I have anything
to thank them for, it is that. And I know that we will be different from any
marraige I have seen before, because we are unlike any people I have before now
met. It seems to me now that every marraige is like an optical illusion;
depending on where you are, it may look more or less plausible, enjoyable, or
'right', if you would accept the improper word. And so it is now that I have
met such a wonderful, beautiful, perfect and blessed woman such as yourself
that I accept marraige, accept the carrying on of our blood, accept the good
and the bad and the inevitable and the never-to-be. Because with you, I can do
and be and say anything that pops into my rather peculiar mind, and it is with
me you can do and be and say anything as freely as you will wish. If you ask me
for the world, I shall give you the universe, and if you ask me for love, I
will give you my heart. Because it is now that I have met you that I see that
there is something in this world that matters more than me and what i think and
what I feel; it is now that I see the value of all of the the things I once
ridiculed. I am honored to have been deemed worthy of your hand by your uncle
and deemed worthy of your heart by your friends and deemed worthy of your soul
by you, yourself."
As he spoke, Sirius slipped the band onto Valyn's left ring finger. Despite the
charming flow to his voice as he spoke, the undeniable ease and charm and
preparedness that slipped through his hard mouth like melted butter with
thoughtless nonchalance, Valyn got the distinct feeling the more-than-mediocre
orator was making up his vows on the spot. Knowing him, it was not at all
unlikely.
The ceremony was finished rather quickly after their exchange of vows. Their
kiss was brisk and unlasting, but the familiar feel of Sirius' mouth on hers
lingered as it always did.
A young, up-and-coming photographer named Rita Skeeter took them aside for
wedding photos, and the couple signed their legal documents. Valyn Alain Black
did not have the same ring to it and Malfoy.
Afterwards, Andy and the bridesmaids rushed the newlywed girl to a changing
room. She was not to wear her wedding dress to dance; she was put into a
shorter (though still respectably lengthed) white gown, made of lace with long
sleeves. Her stomach poked through a bit.
The reception was to be very different from the ceremony. Many of the guests
from the ceremony were not invited; it was for 'close family and friends' only.
Sirius' groomsmen changed, and so did Valyn's bridesmaids.
Andy rushed her into the hall where the reception would take place. The floor
was dark hardwood, the walls white, and golden chandeliers hung with beautiful
wax candles. The tables were covered in white lace table cloth and golden
roses, other than the Bridal table which was reversed. The Best Man and Maid of
Honor remained; Sirius' groomsmen were now Regulus, Remus, Peter, Frank and Ted
and Valyn's bridesmaids were now Bella, Cissa, Lily, Alice and Mira.
The Malfoys and Blacks did not attend this, other than Regulus, Bella, Cissa,
Andy, and Lucius. Valyn's friends were all there- excluding Snape, Mulciber,
and Avery- and so were all of Sirius'. Charlie and Dora were not in attendance,
nor were any young children; it was an open bar. Also at the bridal table were
the Potters.
Cocktail hour was still going. Valyn sashayed happily over to Fleamont and
Euphemia, who stood with James and Sirius. Her husband wrapped his arm around
her (she noticed he'd ditched the jacket) and smiled at James before offering
her hand to Euphemia first.
"Mrs. Potter, so very nice to finally meet you. Sirius has told me much,"
Euphemia shook her hand. "Likewise, dearie! Only, Sirius hasn't been around
recently to speak of you."
Valyn shook Fleamont's hand then. "And nice to meet you, too, sir,"
"And you, darling! My, my, you're lovely, aren't you?"
"Far too lovely for Sirius, that's for sure," teased Valyn lightheartedly. She
made nice with them a while longer before Valyn excused herself to greet the
others.
"Yes, dearie, by all means, mingle! It is your wedding after all- Sirius ought
to be doing the same, but then again Sirius Black is not one to do what he
ought to..."
Valyn was greeted as 'Mrs. Black' more times than she could keep track of.
Lucius, Rodolphus, and Bella all seemed calm enough despite their extreme
dissaproval of the match, and Lucius took it upon himself to congradulate her.
Bella said she seemed truly in love. Rodolphus did not glare at her once.
Andy seemed particularly fond of firewhiskey and Ted Tonks. Ted seemed
particularly fond of her and the little half-sandwiches they served. It was
rather adorable.
She met Molly and Arthur Weasley, who were older than her by a handful of years
and the parents of little Charlie. She was very cute and petite, while he was
very awkward and large, and it was all very amusing to Valyn.
The cocktail hour did end, however, and eventually everyone took their seats.
James stood up when everyone was situated and quiet. His jacket, had been
ditched, too, as well as his tie, and his shirt was unbuttoned. His hair was
ruffled and his glasses were askew. He grinned out at the audience with flushed
cheeks... James was buzzed.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" He greeted with a clear voice. "It's toasting time."
James lifted his glass. "I've always thought Sirius to be a bit doggish, the
lone wolf kind. He's my best mate, you see, and we've been like twins in a
litter since first year. We've been through alot together, and I know
everything about the poor mutt. He's doggedly handsome, as you can see, but
he's and inbred chihuahua compared to Valyn. He's got a heart of gold, however
covered in plumes and ruffs he may be. His love is anything but deciduous and
he'll always have a sturdy brisket for her to lie her dish-faced apple head on.
Whever she goes, he'll always be close-behind her to support and drive her.
Together they will trot through all of life's issues, and I'll be dam-ed if I
don't help them. She helps him with his dystrophy and he helps her with her
lung dysplasia, and because of that I know they're meant to be. Never again
will she allow him to go feral, and he will be very content living in his
kennel with his woman. Without her he is like a stray dog, lost and wandering,
abandoned." James lifted his glass. Valyn was thoroughly confused... Were those
dog jokes? Because of his Animagus? He was terrible at puns... Or maybe it was
because he was drunk?
Regardless, the toast was finished. Sirius was ginning out at the guests. His
hair was out of it's ponytail and wild once more, and a shadow had formed on
his too-handsome face. He looked older here, in the fading purple light of the
dusk, and if Valyn tilted her head, she could see Sirius, 35 years old, a
wonderful, silly, goofy father.
Andy stood up next. "Hello, everyone," she said alluringly, dark eyes pointed
out playful. Her feminine wiles were in full power. "We've all come here to
celebrate the union of two very wonderful people... Sirius and Valyn Black.
I've known her for as long Sirius himself has, and I'd like to thing we have as
strong a bond as they do. She knows more about me than some people do after
having known me my entire life... Including her husband. I admit I haven't
known her long, but the things I have seen in her make me believe that no man
could ever be worth her and all of who she is, but my experience with my cousin
had told me that if anyone were to come close, it's him. Seeing them together
is what I imagine it would be like to see Romeo and Juliet... If Juliet had
come from a different planet and been dropped unexpectedly into everything that
was Verona, Italy and the family war. However, unlike the young couple, it
seems that Sirius and Valyn have risen above the destinies their family had
created for them. I wish them a life full of happiness, a house full of love,
and a bed full of activity." Andy winked as the room laughed and toasted.
Valyn's face flushed at the last part of the speech.
When Andy sat down, the portrait that was hung behind Valyn and Sirius spoke
up. "May I?" Belial's familiar voice spoke. The newlywed shuddered and looked
to her husband.
"We would be honored, sir," Sirius said quietly.
Belial smiled and looked out at the crowd. "I am but a whisper of the great
Belial Malfoy, nothing like the man himself, as you all know portraits are.
Luckily, however, I am the whisper that holds his heart, which is full of
nothing Valyn and everything she ever has been, a beautiful little girl that
has blossomed into the most beautiful and exotic of flowers. As this kind girl
has said, no man could ever be deserving of my perfect daughter, but any man
strong and brave and good enough, as well as patient and stubborn enough, to
earn my baby's approval is good enough for me. I remember one day when she was
young, a day that stuck with me and pounded little Valy farther into my heart.
It was a Sunday in late summer, not three weeks before her first year at
Ilvermorny. She's always been a religious girl but never in the conventional
way, and she had us spend our Sundays barefoot outside, dancing and laughing
and talking and singing. God makes his home in the trees, she would say, and
the Virgin Mary's song was what fueled the wind. This particular late Sunday,
she'd dropped to the ground in the brilliant light of dusk, her white sundress
and white hair and holy white light billowing around her, and she said to me
this: "Daddy, when I get married, I want to be as strong and confident and
silly as Mama was. I want to be as beautiful and as in love as Mama was. I want
to be as happy and healthy and whole and pure as you tell me she was everyday,
and only then will I say yes to a man. And Daddy, that man has to be weak for
me. He's got to be the mountain that parts for me and only me the way the Red
Sea parted for Moses. He's got to be as strong and courageous and smart and
stubborn as you, Daddy, because you were perfect for Mama and Mama is what I
wanna be." Now I'm not saying my little Valy grew up to be like her mother;
they're both strong and independant and goofy and loving, but Valyn is so much
more than my beloved girl ever was. No woman, no witch, no person, no angel and
no goddess could ever be anything but paled and disgusting compared to my
beautiful baby girl. And I'm not saying that Sirius is a strong man like me...
But I will say that my daughter is no liar, and if she's taken him as her
husband, then he is everything she wants and needs and nothing that she does
not."
Slowly, everyone drank the toast. Sirius stared downwards, thought scrunching
his perfect brow. Valyn touched his shoulder.
"I love you," she whispered.
"I love you, too."
***** A Lost Maidenhead *****
Chapter Summary
     Descriptions of the dances, a ride on Elvendork, and many hours of
     sweet, sweet, Sirius lovin'. Valyn gets creampied and loves it.
Valyn and Sirius' first dance was, of course, a Muggle song. Elton John's 'Your
Song' started playing as Sirius and Valyn clutched hands. There was no father-
daughter dance, obvious, but there was a dollar dance for each of the
newlyweds. Sirius' song was Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd; Valyn's song was
Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen.
Everyone had fun. After a bit of dancing, dinner was served, and then they cut
the cake, and the dancing continued until just past midnight. After that,
Sirius and Valyn took their leave.
She hastily pulled pants on before crawling onto Elvendork behind Sirius. He
now donned his leather jacket, and she'd pulled her dragonhide jacket on. Valyn
clung to her husband as he drove them to the Potters' Cottage in Godric's
Hollow. Mr. and Mrs. Potter and James were staying somewhere else, and they
would have free reign of the house, though she was sure they'd stay in the
basment; that was Sirius' domain. It was meant to be a rental apartment, but
luckily Sirius had come at a time of vacancy for the family. It was his for
free as long as he wanted it.
Valyn sat on his bed. It was four poster, red and gold silks tied to the posts,
the sheets mahogany. The carpet was a pale yellow, the walls white. Valyn
watched as Sirius sat next to her and lit a cigarette.
This was it, her wedding night. She was going to lose her virginity... To her
husband. To Sirius. She was giddy and happy and impatient and terrified and
worried all at once. She nudged his shoulder with her own.
Sirius ignored her and kicked off his dress shoes, removed his belt and tie,
and lay on his bed. puffing away at his cancer stick. "C'mere, baby," he
beckoned.
Valyn pushed off her strappy heels with her own feet, pushed the pants down and
crawled onto Sirius' body, curling into him like she could hardly do at
Hogwarts. She fit nicely against him. She curled one knee over him, his warm
thigh pressed against her panties. His hand warmed her waist. She pressed her
bosom to his inexpertly, and he snickered at her. He smoked until the square
was half gone before extinguishing it on the nightstand and setting it down,
then turned to face Valyn, laying on his side, their noses not a millimeter
from touching. His beautiful eyes bored holes into her soul.
"You're nervous," Sirius said. Valyn moved so that her head was under his.
"It's gonna hurt, isn't it?" she whispered. Bella had been the one to tell her
exactly what sex was... And what to be prepared for. Valyn shuddered at the
thought, but it wasn't all bad. The thought of being filled by Sirius... Being
possesed, inhabited by, overwhelmed by him... There was a stirring in her
loins. She giggled into his cheek.
"Not sure," he said, wrapping his arms around her. He held her for a nice,
wonderful five minutes before gently pulling her dress up and off. She wore a
clear bra with white trim that shone her pale skin and bubblegum nipples and
matching panties that revealed short, white curls. White thigh-high stockings
that clipped to the panties were also on her. Valyn pulled her hair down in one
swift motion, then plucked the hair pretties from it. She pushed off Sirius'
shirt and he pressed his lips against hers.
Their kiss was like any other; long, drawn out, passionate, and exciting.
Valyn's blood began to boil and her skin turned to lava, her pudendum melting
like vanilla ice cream down her thighs. Her legs soon wrapped around his waist
and he ground his erection into her. She made noises that were like a wild
animal's, noises that made her little moans and purrs of the past seem like
innocent giggles. She clawed hungrily at Sirius' back as he drank from her, the
passion between them as tangible as Valyn's arousal.
Sometime that could very well have been years later, Sirius broke the kiss,
face swollen and eyes mad, and he ripped her bra off. His fingers grabbed at
her thighs, digging into the flesh, but since he had no fingernails the
stockings did not rip. He did make quick work of the crotch of her panties,
which were thoroughly soaked through, and Valyn gasped as a new wave of arousal
washed through her. He was so hot, and strong, and he made her so hot... She
squirmed as fingers explored her down there. New sensations blossomed in her
lower belly, and she rubbed against his hand frantically like a bitch in heat,
practically cooing when Sirius' thumb circled her button. His index and middle
fingers teased her folds and his cold wedding band felt intense on her
entrance. His bruised lips found her erect nipple and sucked greedily, and he
back arched. His left ring finger entered her, and even that was immediately
hugged by her walls. His tongue circled her nipple and jumped from one to the
other, and his other hand was somewhere Valyn couldn't see.
Eventually he tired of messing around with his fingers and he removed his
trousers. He kissed her again, long and hard, before moving onto his knees
above her. She stared at him.
His manhood was tall and pround, pointing to his navel and nearly touching it.
He looked huge, like a long cylinder that would not fit in her little, virgin
hole. Veins pounded in it, blue and purple, though the skin was white and
tinted red towards the top. He stroked it a few times, pulling the skin back to
reveal a rounded, less terrifying tip. He rubbed it against her core and she
inhaled sharply at the new, nice sensation.
He kissed her gently, lovingly, and held onto her hips, rubbing her for a
moment before pushing in. She was unbelievably ready for him, her need for him
moistening the blankets below them, and after the initial discomfort of
something far too big being inside of her, being stretched was very, very nice.
He stayed still inside of her. She felt split in half but in an utterly amazing
way. Her eyes rolled back into her head and her tongue lapped lazily at his. He
moved after she started squirming beneath him, and like a giant, great machine,
he pulled back nearly all the way before pistoning himself back inside of her.
Something in her walls shifted and she grunted. He did it again, the slow
removal and fast thrust, several times, before her grunts turned to moans.
He seemed to be satisfied with how acclimatized to him she was, because he
began to do things Valyn could not comprehend. He pistoned into her several
times, fast, driving her to some quaky, almost painful height, creating a
pleasant discomfort oddly similar to needing to pee, before delving himself
completely and utterly into her and just kind of grinding into the end of her
tunnels, making it feel as if he were shifting her womb itself. Hell, for all
she knew, he was, and she didn't care; his movements inside of her were
phenomenal.
Maybe an hour into their lovemaking, something else new happened to the new
bride. A sudden... Pleasure, overtook her, and her toes curled up, all of her
muscles clenched (including her vagina, which Sirius seemed to enjoy) and her
brain malfunctioned. It was the best thing Valyn had ever felt... And it made
her more sensitive, more attuned to what he did to her. Another fourty five
minutes and it happened again; over and over is occured, each time more quickly
than the last, until the sun was rising in the high windows and Valyn was never
not in her state of bliss. She knew her body and mind were aching on some far-
away, irrelevant level, but not too long after dawn, Sirius' arms gave out and
his hard, heavy body fell on hers. He continued making love to her, though, and
she whimpered as something hot and wet began to fill her. It was so good, and
she clung to him, clenching around him and begging for more, for him to never
stop, for him to stay buried inside of her forever,
Eventually, however, when his orgasm stopped, he pulled out. He kept her legs
splayed as she fell slack into the bed, feeling the hot liquid leaking
naughtily from her stretched womanhood. He watched with intense interest on his
utterly exhausted face.
When he was satisfied, he lay on her once more in a way that permitted her to
breathe then buried his fingers into her and wiggling them occasionally,
keeping her unbelievably aroused well into the sex-themed sleep she fell into.
***** Life and Death *****
Chapter Summary
     Two babies are born, lots of people die, and Sirius is royally
     fucked.
It was July when Valyn went into labor, two months before little Sovie was due.
She was with Sirius is their small Wizarding flat that was practically walking
distance from Wales, and it was two in the morning on July 22nd.
"Sirius," she cried out after a terrible contraction awoke her. The bed was wet
with her water and a gross, yellow-pink blob of mucus; her mucus plug. That
didn't necessarily mean labor... But the water, she thought, did. And so did
the contraction. Her thighs were dotted with blood.
"Sirius!" she shreiked when her husband didn't wake up. Sirius awoke then,
taking one groggy look at Valyn before shooting forward, lively enough.
"S'wrong?' he demanded, looking in mild distaste and extreme terror at the mess
between her legs. "Is Sovie-?"
"Doctor's. Now," Valyn rolled out of bed, her big, seven-month-pregnant belly
preventing too much movement. Her nightgown slipped from her hips to her knees,
covering the slight mess, and she slipped into her slippers, grabbing Kleenex
to clean up and the nude Sirius slipped hastily into clothing. She slipped into
some undies and her husband assisted her outside to the parking garage,
slipping her into the side carraige of Elvendork. He flew away.
"James, and Remus, and Peter... And Andy and Reg and Evan and-"
"We'll call from the hospital," Sirius replied as they rushed away.
There was no speed limit in the sky, and Sirius fled quickly, though slower
than usual; Valyn assumed for her comfort, which annoyed her. Sirius had had
made it clear to her he'd risk Sovie's life for Valyn's, much to her outrage.
She hoped if it came to that today, she'd have the say-so in the matter.
They reached St. Mungo's, almost 330 kilometers away, in 20 minutes. She was
rushed into the emergency room and then to her own room within another five,
and Sirius called James first. Valyn had heard birth for No-Majs was very
stressful; no one was allowed in the room and they needed potentially dangerous
drugs to bear it. Luckily, however, St. Mungo's had wonderful nurses and
docters with spells to null the pain, and as many as half a dozen people could
attend.
Remus and Peter were at James' that night, luckily, saving a few phone calls.
Which left two people for Valyn to invite;
"Andy and Regulus."
Sirius looked at his wife for a long time. She stared back defiantly, daring
him to challenge the woman who would soon be shoving his baby out of her most
intimate bits. His eyes closed and, slowly, he dialed the nurse, requested he
be allowed to use the fireplace; the Blacks did not have a telephone.
He left the room just as the doctor rushed in and talked her through what would
happen. The baby would be fine... They'd stay here for two weeks... She
couldn't hold the baby right away... It was a blur for Valyn as the
contractions were closer together. She was 7 centimeters already, they said.
She was doing beautifully, they said. Oh, look! They said. Eight centimeters.
Her cervix was expanding at an unprecidented pace...
She reached ten just as all four Marauders rushed in with Lily. Sirius rushed
to her left and Lily to her right; Peter sat next to the ginger and James next
to Valyn's husband. Remus went behind Sirius and James.
Andy arrived next, just as the doctor got situated between Valyn's legs. She
held Nymphadora in her arms, who was fast asleep, but neither of the two nurses
commented on them being one person above the quota; probably because Dora was
so young.
Regulus was not far behind, and reluctantly, the eldest nurse spoke up.
"I'm sorry... One of you will have to go. We can only have so many-"
"My apologies," Regulus said quickly, turning.
"No!" Valyn shreiked oddly, motioning him in. "Please, please..."
"I will," Remus said after a moment. "I think I may faint if I stay."
Sirius embraced his friend and Remus left. Regulus slowly walked behind Sirius
to take the seat Remus had left vacant. The brothers didn't acknowledge one
another.
The baby was born at 3:14 a.m. on Saturday, July 22nd, 1978 not a year after
her parents had met. The doctor hurriedly put her wherever they put babies to
clean them up... A sink?? Little cries kept Valyn awake, noises like an angel.
Sirius and Peter held her hands, and Lily played with her hair. Valyn muttered
something about calling Lucius and Cissa and Bella and Rodolphus and Severus
and Evan and...
She fell asleep shortly after they took little Sovie out of the room and did
not awaken until hours later; nearly seven in the afternoon.
Different faces surrounded her. Sirius was silent in the left corner, his feet
on the chair, hugging himself and staring unseeingly at Valyn. Lucius and Cissa
were immediately to her left; Bella and Rodolphus immediately to her right;
Andy was behind them, Reg and Evan behind Lucius and Cissa.
"Sirius, she's awake," Andy said. After a moment, Valyn's husband relivened. He
cleared his throat and stood, and Valyn realised he hadn't been hugging
himself, but craddling a small baby.
He walked to her and Lucius and Cissa backed up. "He wouldn't let anyone hold
him before you," Cissa said, bemused, just as a little piece of heaven was slid
into her arms.
Something inside of Valyn changed. That little bratty voice, broken and angry,
froze as soon as little sleeping Sovie touched Valyn's skin, and she grew up in
an instant. Maternal love overflowed her person like a brilliant, pink magic
and she physically gasped, feeling her heart soften and enclose around the
mental, flubber Sovie in Valyn's consciousness. What had been Bad Valyn grew
into a mother, taking over Valyn as a person. Good Valyn, the Valyn Sirius
loved deeply, was pushed to side but kept. She started to cry happily, sheer
joy sliding from her black eyes, and Sirius watched in admiration. She slipped
the top of her gown open and discreetly pushed a nipple to the baby's lips, and
somehow, Sovie began to suckle. She awoke and opened small eyes, eyes whose
color were indistinguishable. A small brushing of dark hair sat on her head.
Her cheeks were round, and she was so small... She would fit on her forearm.
Later, someone came in with a birth certificate. Regulus was the next to hold
his niece, and Valyn filled it out with her husband. Sovereign Samantha Black-
Malfoy. Her godparents were to be Andy and Remus. The boys had already had a
plan for their firstborns godfathers; Remus would be Sirius', Sirius would
James', James would be Peter's, and Peter would be Remus'.
Little did they know then that Valyn was entirely different. She and Sirius
bickered often, sometimes screaming at one another, but they always forgave
each other by bedtime. The young Sovereign (who soon grew to prefer her middle
name, Sammie) was soon revealed to be quite fond of the Marauders, Remus
especially. She also adored Bella. Dora absolutely adored her, and often helped
her mother babysit. When Valyn and Sirius attended their last year at Hogwarts,
Euphemia and Fleamont Potter were more than happy to take care of her. Little
one-year-old Sovie served as James and Lily's flowergirl, alongside Percy
Weasley as their ring barer.
A year passed and Sammie adored Harry. She, Valyn, and Sirius were usually at
the Potter's house, even when Euphemia and Fleamont passed away the same day,
not two weeks after Harry's birth, even as the war progressed and the boys were
constantly gone. Lily and Valyn couldn't leave because of their children, and
they often sought comfort and companionship from one another.
A year had passed, and it was almost Sirius and Valyn's fourth anniversary and
James and Lily's second had just passed. Remus was seeing one Marlene McKinnon,
and Peter was planning on telling Sirius about him and Regulus. In August,
however...
In August, Regulus died. He'd done something to counter the Dark Lord,
apparently, and had died during the matter... Sirius was deplorable afterwards.
He got angry and cried often, lashing out. Peter, too, was obviously shaken
up... Right before October began, he revealed to his friends why.
James and Remus were stunned. Lily was absolutely floored. Sirius, however...
Sirius was furious. He stormed out, and Peter broke down. Sammie had to calm
him down.
And then it was Halloween of '81.
Valyn was rocking Sammie to sleep, as she was having a fit. She was quieting
down, however... And truth be told, Valyn was rather bothered as well. Sirius
was out, as he had been every night since Peter's reveal, drinking where
Morganna only knew.
She didn't hear when Voldemort came into her flat, and she didn't notice when
the door opened. She had just enough time to cover Sammie with her body when
the Killing Curse was cast, and then Voldemort left, apathetic to the crying
toddler left in her dead mother's arms.
Valyn died without knowing why. Peter, James and Lily's Secret Keeper, had told
Voldemort about James and Lily the day before. He'd asked, in his desperate,
broken, incredulous state for the same fate that would befall James to befall
Sirius... But Sirius had not been home. The Dark Lord had figured he may as
well kill Valyn; she was part of the order and a blood-traitor, and Lucius had
messed up yet again. He cared not for the little girl she left behind.
Soon after, the Dark Lord saw to the deaths of James, Lily, and himself. Sirius
arrived to find his wife dead, his daughter shrieking. He, confused, took her
to the Potter's on Elvendork after calling the Wizarding police. But they were
dead, too.
Sirius was even more broken and terrified and hateful and wretched then before.
Sammie found solice in her father's arms, ignorant to the fate that would soon
follow them all.
***** And, The End *****
Chapter Summary
     Valyn is dead as a doornail still, Sammie's pretty chill, and Sirius
     is in love with Valyn again... Also, Draco's life kinda sucks.
Valyn's daughter was not left to either of her godparents; as next of kin,
Regulus was supposed to have her, but upon his death everything went to his
parents. Thus, little Sovereign Samantha Black-Malfoy was left to Walburga and
Orion Black, the latter of whom was gravely ill.
Sammie had a shock of blonde curls her grandmother allowed her to color.
Walburga herself was going grey, and she dyed her granddaughter's hair as often
as her own. Sammie had the same deep green eyes as her uncle, the same royal
bones as her father, the same tall, thin build as her mother. Her nose was
upturned like Belial's. She had aspects of everyone's personalities; her
grandmother's pride, her mother's kindness, her father's rebellion, and
Regulus' hidden insecurities. She grew up being told secret stories about her
father, mother and uncle by Andromeda while her grandmother assured her she
was, indeed, her own daughter.
Walburga also dubbed her granddaughter Samantha Sovereign Black, despite that
not being her legal name. Sammie adored her sharp-tongued grandmother and
silent, upright grandfather very much, and Walburga had a soft spot for Sammie
she'd never shown to either of her sons. Orion addressed Sammie as he would
have his own daughter; with a quiet fondness and without any of the wise
admiration he'd offered whichever son had been considered his heir at any given
time.
Sammie was five when Orion passed away, and that was when her grandmother
changed.
She grew weak, feeble, and bitter, and she was always quite angry. Sammie
believed that whatever sanity the woman had had had died with her husband. Her
punishment was the Cruciatus Curse and from then on, Sammie endured long
speeches of the vileness of Muggle, muggleborns, and blood traitors. The old
Walburga still shined through sometimes, however; she conceded to Sammie that
she was not her mother, but Valyn Malfoy had been, though she refused to tell
her who her father was. Andy never spoke their names, either. Sirius was in
Azkaban for a crime he did not commit, and slowly, the dementors sucked every
memory of Sammie out of his mind and most memories of Valyn until, to him, she
was just another girl he'd played.
When Sammie was ten, Walburga became ill with the same disease that had claimed
her husband; dragonpox. It was for this reason that Sammie did not begin school
on time; when she was thirteen, her grandmother finally passed, and she started
school at the same time as Harry Potter, being Sorted into Slytherin.
She was left to her next closest relatives; Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. She'd
been raised around Draco and soon became even closer to him. Her best friends
were Daphne and Astoria Greengrass, Pansy Parkinson, Draco, and Blaise Zabini.
Though she managed to stay under the radar of Harry Potter, she was semi-
popular at Hogwarts; she dated many people, including (but certainly not
limited to) Blaise, Draco, Marcus Flint, Gregory Goyle, Theodore Nott, Artemis
Rosier, Oliver Wood, Cedric Diggory, and Fred Weasley.
Valyn watched over her daughter every day from the afterlife, accompanied by
Lily and James, who were watching over Harry.
Things had been odd there, in the afterlife. Valyn had awoken, almost, after
she had died, in a place that looked like a white-washed version of her and
Sirius' flat. She'd been so confused... But slowly, she started remembering
things. And, eventually, she started to "realize" things, random things that
she'd never known, including that the afterlife looked exactly like her own,
only filled of dead people, white-washed, and you could watch the real, living
world whenever you wanted.
And that was basically all she did. She'd rushed to Godric's Hollow- distance
here was not a thing. She'd wanted to go to the Potters' house, and suddenly,
it had been only a few feet away.
And she'd lived with them here.
And Sammie, her life, everything about her, had consumed her most of the
time... And she checked on others, too. Sirius was in prison... And now, he
knew nothing of her. It would have killed her had she not already been dead.
She watched Peter (oh poor soul...) and Remus, and watched little Dora grow
into the prankster Tonks. She adored Draco and even young Delphi; her bond to
Bellatrix and Narcissa could not be broken, especially watching both women care
for and about her daughter. Sammie visited Bellatrix in Azkaban often; she was
Bella's only visitor. Rodolphus enjoyed her, as well...
And Evan. She saw him die not long after she herself passed. He left behind a
nephew, though; Artemis, a boy who often sought after Sammie and dated her
once.
Yes, although she kept tabs on everyone, Sammie consumed her afterlife.
Her life at Hogwarts went well enough. First year, she became absolutely
obsessed with the Marauders. She was a sneaky girl and found out unbelievably
amazing things about them. She formed irrevokable bonds with many of her
yearmates, but many of the older Gryffindors mocked and cursed her, much to
Valyn's outrage.
Second year, she began to form friendships outside of her House and year, and
joined Quidditch, playing as a Chaser. She was good, but not amazing, and
probably only made the team for two reasons: Flint, the captain, thought she
was hot, and was really sick of being called sexist for not having any girls on
the team.
Third year, when she heard about her father, she grew very, very introverted,
angry, and cynical. She didn't know her father didn't know who she was, and was
therefore very offended that he didn't half care about his own flesh and
blood... Especially after first year, when she'd seen her and him and Valyn, a
happy family in their pretty flat... Had it all been a lie? A mask? Did she
truly mean that little?
Fourth year, when she was seventeen, she put hed name in the Goblet of Fire and
became a Triwizard Champion.
In the first event, she beat the dragon by charming it with controversial magic
created by her grandfather, Valyn's father, Belial. Watching her elegantly
charm the giant beast without a wand was amazing to Valyn; Sammie was downright
stunning.
She discovered the secret to the egg rather quickly and her soon-to-be-ex
boyfriend told Harry Potter, someone she hated blindly without caring to
discover was due to his importance to Sirius. She discovered the secret,
however, whilst talking with the merpeople, something she did often, and
convinced one to give her a hair to use altered polyjuice potion for the
competition. Draco Malfoy was the person she had to save.
She dumped Cedric not long before the Yule Ball. He asked the girl shr hated
most in the school as if to spite her; as if she cared. She went with the
younger albeit charming Blaise Zabini.
And during the final task, Cedric discovered everything after eavesdropping on
"Moody" and Karkaroff. He went into the maze to try to warn Sammie and Harry,
and all three were transported with the goblet.
Sammie was smart enough to hide. Cedric still died. Harry still fought
Voldemort. Sammie somehow remained under the radar of Voldemort, unless he
simply chose to ignore her. She attempted to intervene several times, but Harry
made it obvious he didn't want her help and she would not risk her life
unnecessarily for someome who did not want help. She, Harry and Cedric took the
portkey back; Harry was still considered the winner.
In fifth year, Sammie started dating Fred Weasley. She was the only one of her
friends to not have become a member of the Inquisitorial Squad... And the only
to join the D.A.
She didn't speak often to most of them, and kept mainly to herself, the twins,
and Neville.
She accompanied Harry and his friends to the Ministry, but only because no one
else knew where it was. Valyn was sad to see her refuse to pick a side in the
war. Valyn was even sadder to know that if Sammie had fought, she would have
met Sirius before he died. She broke up with Fred not long afterwards.
In the afterlife, Sirius joined his wife, best friend, and Lily. He remembered
Valyn now... Remembered Sammie, too.
He stared at her for a long time. He was old, with crows feet and laugh lines
and a sort of hardness to his jaw that usually set in when a man approached
forty. His hair was far too long and his cheeks were far too scruffy, his face
a little unfamiliar. Valyn knew she had not agaed a day over twenty-one, her
white hair the same, her black eyes unchanged, her fair skin unlined.
Sirius didn't move. Didn't look at James, or Lily, just stared at Valyn with a
wall blocking everything as always.Valyn finally regained her ability to move
and threw herself at Sirius, who held her for a long time. He was thinner and
softer, no longer a self-absorbed boy in his prime. She laughed, realising that
maybe, she preferred this Sirius; he had undergone the same change as Valyn,
through caring for Harry.
Voldemort had Draco Malfoy turned inti a werewolf as punishment to Lucius.
Sammie became fiercely pro-werewolf and fiercely anti-Death Eater. She was a
part of the Slug Club, as her father had apparently been, and she fought with
Draco often. She was angry and broken and hurt, and every bit as jaded and
alone as Sirius had been during early sixth year.
She was helpless to do anything but watch as Dumbledore fell, as the Ministry
fell, as equality crumbled before her very eyes. She no longer had ties to the
order, not during the summer, and she outright refused Voldemort. It was a
wonder the man hadn't killed her.
She kept up with the DA during school and conveyed to her scared clubmates the
point of view of many of the young Slytherins, a speech that made Valyn cry and
Sirius puff out his chest.
"Imagine for a moment that you are, for example, a young Draco Malfoy. You know
only your family and they tell you that there are these people who suck the
power from law-abiders such as yourself. They tell you that you're the best of
the best, noble, pure, and true, and imagine you're the single most important
thing to everyone you know. Imagine messing up once; there was a muggle boy
down the street, and he had a toy truck that was absolutely astounding. So, you
played with him... And your father locked you in the dungeon and made yiu
believe he was going to let you rot. You messed yourself and yiu were left down
there, at the sensitive age of five, for two whole days. You're terrified if
the dark. Mother comes and gets you then, cleans you up and assures you that it
wont happen again if you behave... And so you ignore the muggle boy with his
trunk and to mask the shame, you convince yourself that magic makes you better
than having a truck. You have lots of cool, magic toys, dont you? You're a rich
pureblood. Of course you do. Now, imagine you're eleven year old Draco Malfoy
and you come here and meet the famous Harry Potter. You make grown-up talk with
him, just like your great dad, and accidentally insult everything he likes. So
when he insults you back, knowingly, you're confused and angry- why, everyone
has always told you that you're the greatest being on earth. What does a snot-
nosed, poor blood traitor and a frumpy, paradoxically crass mudblood have on
you?? ... But soon, you find out that you're not so great, and no one likes
you. At all. Instead, they like some halfblood who could have been the reason
you never knew your dad since 1981. And then he just gets better and better...
And he "saves the school", or whatever. So you hate him. Then in second year,
only Snape thinks you're good enough to beat him duelling class. And you would
have, too, if everything hadn't been stopped by- get this- Harry talking to the
damn snake. And then, in fourth year- and by now everyone hates you for no
apparent reason- he gets chosen as a Triwizard Champion. He's too young to even
compete! And your father hates him. He's embarassed you countless times, and
for what! Fulfilling your birthright? In fifth year, he mocks you, acts like
he's above you. And he gets your father imprisoned... And as punishment, the
Dark Lord had you bitten by none other than- and I promise to kill any of you
who utter a word of this- Fenrir Greyback, and suddenly, you have to hide every
full moon. You've been turned into everything you hate... And all because of
Potter. And it isn't if you've chosen to side with Voldemort, or completely
sided against Potter! The summer after first year, you sent your elf Dobby to
make sure he didn't die. In second year, you gave Hermione the clues to stop
the Basilisk- discreetly, of course. Third year, you knew the truth behind
Sirius Black and urged Potter to go after him. Fourth year, you made your best
friend, his competition, help him as much as possible. During fifth year, you
purposefully let the D.A. allude you! In front of your friends! Not that Crabbe
or Goyle are smart enough to notice, but still... And then, he made you a
werewolf. He made you everything you despise... And still. It was because of
him you couldn't finish off Dumbledore, because stupid Potter needed the old
bat... And you lied to your parents, Auntie Bella, everyone, saying that that
deformed boy was not Harry Potter. And still, everyone hates you, and your
parents have stopped telling you you're important, because they know now that
you aren't."
After Harry won, and Kingsley was appointed the Minister for Magic, Sammie took
over as warden of Azkaban; the only permanent resident, as the guards were all
Aurors. She fell in love with Artemis, and they married. Sirius and Valyn
couldn't be happier...
Oh, yes. Valyn herself, when not preoccupied with Sammie (usually at night;
sleep was not neccessary), she and Sirius rekindled their love. It was a tough
start, but...
They were walking down a path in the white-washed version of the Potter's
garden. Valyn felt young and giddy and girlish, and Sirius had an uncomfortable
sureness about him, and an odd smile her husband of old would never have worn.
Sirius suddenly slipped his hand into Valyn's, and the dead woman held it,
looking back at him with a look in her sepia eyes he'd seen before. She was
playful and breezy, like a lungful of fresh air Sirius had not felt since
Hogwarts, since Valyn, and it made Sirius feel anew. He swept forward in a rush
of courage that, having once been unending, had shifted into nonexistance, was
coming back to him more often, and kissed her.
His lips were looser, his kiss less authoritative, and surprisingly, Valyn
found she appreciated it. He let her cut his hair in the kitchen that midnight,
and she cut it down to his chin. The shorter it was, the straighter, and the
unruly waves calmed down into the spikes she had once known. He looked less
like a slob and more like a father.
All in all, considering everything, Valyn had to admit that she was happy.
Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed
their work!