minnow // sirius black

twenty-two

"Je-"

"Please."

Dad nodded, and I immediately set out for the kitchen. I stood in the doorway of what was a massive kitchen, and took a deep breath before I moved to the charred wall next to the refrigerator. I started knocking on each wooden panel until I heard the 5 panels where it was hollowed. I stepped back, somehow knowing how to get through, and pushed Sirius behind me.

"Trust me," I mumbled to Dad as I drew my wand and pointed it at the door.

I took multiple deep breaths before taking three steps forward, aligning myself with the center of the five boards. I raised my wand up, just a bit higher, and breathed.

"Descendio," I whispered, flinching the slightest bit when the five panels immediately started sinking into the ground.

I could hear the confusion behind me, but I ignored them as I went to the space and began to walk down the stairs. I went slow, looking back occasionally to see that all four of them were still following me.

"Who's there!?" I heard a terrified voice, immediately pocketing my wand and raising my hands in the air. I came to the bottom of the steps, and smiled. "Who are you, and how did you find us?"

The woman in front of me was burnt, badly, and had soot covering her face and neck. She, and a boy about my age, were standing in a defensive position, with their wands out, in front of a small group of children. There were six kids, varying in age, the oldest two holding small babies. That made eight total, ten when counting two with their wands trained on me.

"My name is Jemina, I had a dream about this place and the fire," I quickly said. My heart was thudding, and my stomach was in knots. I heard Dad start to speak, but I continued. "In my dream - or whatever it was - I saw someone leading a group of screaming children to a kitchen, to a wall, and then into a cellar area. There was a fire, and... I didn't think it was real."

"Is that what you were trying to tell me?" Lily whispered as she stepped forward, her hands just barely in the air like mine. I nodded as I watched the boy and woman, my eyebrows furrowed.

"Are you a Seer?" One of the older girls asked. She looked to be about thirteen, and she had white hair, and striking blue eyes.

"I -" My words fumbled. "I might be."

"I am too," She said quietly. She grabbed the woman's arm, pulling her down to her before whispering. When the girl was finished, the woman lowered her wand, leading the boy to do so too. "I had a vision about you a few nights ago. You were sunbathing."

I let out a small dry laugh, glancing to Lily.

Dad moved from the back of our group, forward, and shook the woman's hand before he started helping her to the stairs and up. He didn't look at me.

Sirius went to the older boy, and the girl with white hair as James went and squatted by the younger children. Lily and I looked at each other, before we both went to the older two, taking the babies from them and telling them the fire was out, and the bad guys were gone.

James picked up two of the smaller kids, both around 6 or 7, before he started to go upstairs. Sirius picked up a small girl, who looked only 3, and took the hand of an older boy. The boy grabbed the hand of a dark-haired boy who did the same to the girl with the white hair, as the two oldest kids followed me and Lily. When we got to the ground floor, and then outside, the kids were taken to the side by volunteers.

Lily and I handed the babies, who were actually twins, to an orphanage worker, she thanked the both of us, telling us to thank the boys for her too.