A/N Thanks sooo much to Eira AKA phoenix_anamagus for beta'ing this for me and offering support and advice.
The next couple of weeks flew by, almost too fast for Alexia. While she was excited about seeing her own family, she was terrified about meeting the Potters. Mrs. Potter had already sent her and Lily both a formal invitation to dinner on Christmas Eve. She had also invited their families. Lily had declined on her parents’ behalf because she knew her sister, Petunia, who resented Lily for her magical ability, would cause a scene or at least be rude to their hosts. But Mrs. Potter had seen Alexia’s mother at the Ministry and mentioned the invitation so Alexia couldn’t refuse. She actually preferred her family be there as she’d have someone to distract any attention from herself. Her sister was very outgoing and tended to be the center of attention.
After the girls had found out about him, Remus avoided them for a few days until finally convinced they didn’t harbor any strange misgivings towards him. Now he was closer to them than before. He too had been invited for dinner at the Potters for Christmas Eve as had been Peter. Apparently Peter’s parents thought James and Sirius were bad influences, and he wasn’t allowed to be anywhere near them during holidays.
When they reached Platform 9 ½, Alexia saw her family and waved them over to her. Her mother and father hugged her tightly. She felt relieved that things had settled down. Nina kissed her then asked, “Who’s that?” pointing at Sirius standing beside her.
“Mum, Dad, this is Sirius Black. Sirius, these are my parents and my little sister, Nina,” Alexia said with a smile.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Morgan, and you too Nina. I’ve heard a lot about you all.”
“We’ve heard a lot about you as well Sirius. It seems my daughter is rather fond of you,” her father replied.
“Dad!” Alexia exclaimed, mortified. Her mother laughed as she put her arm around her daughter.
“My apologies, Sirius. My husband has no sense of discretion,” her mother said. “Alexia, we must go now. We have guests coming tonight from your father’s company. Sirius, we will see you on Christmas Eve.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Sirius nodded. After a moment’s hesitation, he kissed Alexia on the cheek very chastely. Alexia couldn’t help but blush, even though she was pleased he was showing her parents so much respect.
~*~
“She’s probably just running a little late,” James said, as Sirius paced the sitting room on Christmas Eve.
Alexia and he had exchanged letters almost daily during the holiday and he knew she had intended to come. Obviously, something was wrong. “Two hours? No, something has happened. I need to go to her house now.” Grabbing his coat, Sirius threw it on and headed for the door only to be stopped by Remus and James.
“You’re not going anywhere without us. Lily, you stay here and we’ll…” James began.
“I’m going with you. She’s my friend too, and I can protect myself if need be. Besides, strength in numbers and all that,” Lily interjected. “How will we get there though?”
“Brooms are our only option without telling my parents. Let’s go.”
When they arrived at the Morgan’s house in the country, they landed their brooms in the field across the gravel road from her house. Lily whispered, “It’s really dark out here. They don’t have any lights on in the house. Are you sure this is the right place, Sirius?”
“Positive. Maybe we missed them. But let’s go at least knock on the door,” Sirius said as he began walking across the field.
They had not reached the door before Remus hissed, “Wait!” and grabbed their arms. “The door has been blown off the hinges.”
Hearing screams and crashes from the back yard, Sirius and the others ran into the house with their wands drawn.
“Lissa! You unbelievable, bloody traitor! He’s your uncle!” Sirius heard Alexia scream and saw her and her father run behind the dog house and duck down.
Remembering what Alexia said about her cousin hanging around Death Eaters, Sirius’ heart pounded as he saw shadowy figures further away in the field, blasting off curse after curse at Alexia and her father.
“Sirius, get down!” James yelled, pushing his friend to the ground and pulling Lily down with him. A spiral of red flew overhead and hit the house, blasting a chunk of the brick out of it.
“Sirius Black? How good of you to join the fun!”
Sirius recognized Bellatrix’s voice and pushed his friends away just as a stunning spell hit him in the shoulder, slamming him against the wall.
“Come on!” Remus yelled, and he and James grabbed his limp body, pulling him back into the house as Lily threw stunning spells back towards the four Death Eaters.
Once in the house, Sirius was able to move again and struggled to regain his footing. Curses continued to be yelled in the yard and it kept them trapped in the house for a few moments. When he heard someone yell “Crucio!” and Alexia’s scream, Sirius and James both ran out of the house. A small Death Eater, obviously female, was standing beside a taller one who was telling the smaller one it was ‘time to prove she was ready to be a Death Eater’.
“Kill the Muggle,” Bellatrix screamed and Sirius responded by diving on top of Alexia.
“She’s trying to kill my dad! Let me go!” Alexia tried to crawl towards her dad.
“Crucio!” Bellatrix’s curse hit them both, and Sirius almost blacked out. Apparently, the arrival of her hated cousin had made her curses stronger.
“Avada…”
“Stupify!” James and Remus yelled together, stunning the small Death Eater trying to kill Mr. Morgan. The Death Eater flew backwards and her mask was knocked off, revealing a girl not much older than they were.
“Crucio!” Bellatrix yelled repeatedly, pointing her wand at Mr. Morgan who was screaming in pain.
“NO!” A voice came from the doorway where Mrs. Morgan had appeared, bloody and bruised. “Repello!”
Bellatrix’s body was blown backwards as she screamed then crashed into the unmasked Death Eater. After the appearance of Mrs. Morgan, a male Death Eater said, “Let’s go. There are too many of them now. We’ll kill the Muggle another time.” The Death Eaters grabbed the unconscious one and disapparated.
Mrs. Morgan ran to Mr. Morgan’s side and crouched down. He was unconscious, and a trickle of blood was leaking from his mouth. Alexia crawled slowly to her father’s side.
“I need to get him to St. Mungo’s. Can your friends take you and Nina to the Potters’ house?” her mother said, her voice full of worry.
“Mum, are you sure you can apparate? You’re hurt,” Alexia asked, wiping away the tears from her cheeks. Her lip quivered as she asked, “Is dad going to be okay?”
“I don’t know,” her mother said, then reached over and hugged her daughter tightly. “He’d be dead if it were not for you and your friends. Now I need you to take care of your sister. I’ll be fine. I’ll have them take care of my injuries too. Maybe you need to go too.” Reaching out she pulled Alexia’s hair from her face and examined her wounds.
“I’m fine, just a little pain but nothing unbearable.”
“Where is Nina? I’ll get her,” Lily offered.
“She’s hiding in our closet, if she did as I asked. Take her out the front door. I don’t want her to see her father, if possible. Sirius, please get Alexia out of here. I want all of you far away from this house before I leave.”
“Don’t worry, Mrs. Morgan, we’ll take care of them. Alexia let’s get your broom. Nina can ride with me,” Sirius said as he stood. Pain flooded through his body and he paled.
“Nina can ride with me,” James said, putting his arm around Sirius as Remus helped Alexia up. “I think you two will be lucky to stay on the broom after what you’ve been through tonight.”
~*~
After healing Alexia’s and Sirius’ wounds, Mrs. Potter sat down beside them and asked, “What happened?” Gently she placed her hand on Alexia’s arm.
Turning toward her with tear filled eyes, Alexia replied, “It was my cousin and three other Death Eaters. Apparently, to become a Death Eater, my cousin was told she had to kill my ‘filthy Muggle father’.” A sob escaped her lips and Sirius put his arm around her. “We were getting ready to leave to come here, and they showed up. My mom ordered my sister to go hide then the Death Eaters came after her first, knowing my mom was the most skilled of us all. Once she was unconscious, Bellatrix told Lissa, my cousin, to curse my father. I tried to stop them or disarm them, but they were too fast…”
“It’s not your fault, dear! Four Death Eaters against one student isn’t a fair fight. Not that Death Eaters are known for being fair, mind you, but you’re lucky you weren’t killed. You’re all lucky you weren’t killed. While I’m proud of you for defending your friend, I’m very disappointed in you James. You should have told us where you were going and why. We would have gone with you,” Mrs. Potter admonished her son.
“I’m sorry mum. Sirius was very worried, and I didn’t stop to think. I just thought the Morgans were running late.”
“It’s my fault they came along with me, but I’m grateful they did. If it weren’t for Remus and James, Alexia’s father would be dead now,” Sirius commented. “And Lily kept her cool and helped them when Bella stunned me -- foul, evil gargoyle that she is. I just wished we had stopped them long enough to bind them and turn them over to the authorities. My cousin needs to be locked up in Azkaban along with Alexia’s cousin.”
Alexia got up and walked over to her sister. Sitting down, she pulled a crying Nina into her arms. “Dad will be okay Nina. I’m sure we stopped them from doing any permanent damage,” she lied. She wasn’t sure at all. In fact, she worried that her father would die from the curses thrust upon him. “And don’t worry about Lissa. She doesn’t know where we are, and before she can find out, mom will think of something to protect dad and you from harm.”
“I know no one feels like celebrating, but you have to eat and keep up your strength. Why don’t we go ahead and eat some of that huge feast my wife prepared?” Mr. Potter said and standing up, he reached for Nina’s hand. “Come on Nina. I’ll even let you eat dessert first if you don’t tell on me.”
Alexia smiled slightly and nudged her sister to go with Mr. and Mrs. Potter. Looking around at the others, tears ran down her face. “I don’t know what would have happened if you guys hadn’t shown up. I don’t know what I can say to thank you properly for rescuing us.”
“That’s what friends are for silly.” Lily came and hugged her tightly. “I hope your dad gets better soon. I know he’ll just be fine in the end.”
“Do you think so? I don’t know how long a Muggle can tolerate the Cruciatus Curse without permanent damage,” Alexia replied.
“He’ll be fine. Trust me,” Lily said as she shot a worried look to Sirius. “Let’s go eat. You and Sirius need to keep your strength. You’ve had a rough night.”
Story Summary:
Before Lord Voldomort ruined his life, Sirius Black enjoyed his best years at Hogwarts. In his final year, a fellow student manages to turn things up side down for him but he has no complaints.
PG13 for now - might rate higher later
A Birthday Fic for Viv!!!
Chapter Eight
Thank you for the venom. Did you think it would paralyze?
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