SUMMER IN 1975 WAS TAKING OFF nicely. Siobhán Parten was sitting outside with a hot cup of tea in hand. Leaves were swaying around in the wind as it blew around England. She was beyond excited for the week that was going to come. Her brother Vinícius was sitting next to her while playing with his toys.
"Sis?" asked the small boy from below.
"Hm?"
"What are you going to do this summer?" he didn't glance up once from his toys. Siobhán thought about what she should say, but the answer was pretty evident.
"I'm going to go to the Potter's manor," she muttered. Vinícius looked up at her, a smirk plastered on his face. She rolled her eyes.
"Going to visit the love of your life's parents?" he teased, going back to playing with his toys. She set her cup of tea down on the floor. Grabbing Vinícius, she started tickling him. His giggles were heard inside the house.
"Okay, okay, stop!" he yelled through laughs. She stopped and patted the top of his head. Her mother, Judith, came outside to see the cause of laughter.
"Dears?" she raised an eyebrow. Siobhán glanced back at her mother who had her hands on her hips.
"Mother, you know how I was invited to a house for this summer?" Siobhán implored, grabbing her cup of tea from the ground. Judith nodded, tilting her head in confusion.
"Well, it's the Potter's manor." she chimed in. Her mother's jaw was unhinged as she realized the Potter's meant James Potter.
"James Potter?" she gazed down at her daughter.
"Yes, it's that Potter," she mumbled not wanting her mother to make a fuss about it.
"Meeting his parents already?" she gave her a smirk before entering inside the house once again. Siobhán groaned as her whole family thought she was in some kind of romantic relationship with James Potter. Every time she tried to convince them they were just friends they would completely disregard her existence.
"You lot drive me insane," she told Vinícius. He laughed, glancing up at her. "Is that supposed to be a compliment dear sister?"
"No, it's supposed to be an offensive one." she bluntly stated, sipping her tea soon after.
"Why don't you go meet his parents already?" groaned Vinícius while throwing a small toy soldier at her. She dodged it and glared at him.
"Imagine if that got in my tea and I drank it!" she yelled. He scoffed and threw a bigger toy soldier at her.
"Vinícius Theo Parten!" she stood up and threw the rest of her tea on the grass outside. He wavered, not knowing if he should run or stay. She took one big step near him and he took off towards the yard. Siobhán followed him, her empty mug waving around in her hand.
"Help!" yelled her brother. He was running in circles as she still followed him around with the mug in hand.
"Help!" he screeched loudly. Her father and mother heard from inside and immediately came out to the yard. There they saw Siobhán throwing her hand, mug in place, with full force at her younger brother. Vinícius was able to dodge every single one of her attempted hits.
"Siobhán and Vinícius Parten!" screamed their mother from the porch. Siobhán halted, turning her head slowly towards her mother. Judith had her hands placed on her hips, fuming with anger. Vinícius stopped running. He glanced around at Siobhán before smiling innocently towards his mother.
"Hi, mum!" he waved at her. She furrowed her eyebrows as he immediately went behind Siobhán in fear of a whooping.
"You kids have made your mother mad." their father shouted from where he was standing. Judith whipped herself around to glare at her husband. He raised his hands in defeat, not wanting to make his wife take out her anger on him too.
"Caetano, you are seriously no help." she heaved out a sigh and entered back into the house with a slam of the door. Caetano gazed at the door with a dumbfounded expression.
"Children." he walked over to the two still staring at the door their mother had entered. "Apologize to your mother later on in the day."
Vinícius gazed around, clearly not having it. "Why are we supposed to apologize? We did nothing t—"
Siobhán slapped him in the back of the head.
"Ow—, I mean alright." he gave his father a sweet smile, rubbing the back of his head in the process.
"That's the spirit." Caetano gave his two children a thumbs up before going back inside their house. Vinícius glared at Siobhán, quite angry with the fact she slapped him in the back of the head.
"Go enjoy your summer somewhere else." he looked at her up and down, sticking out his tongue.
"You'll miss me Viní!" she beamed as he went back into the house. She heard his scoff as the door closed.
"I know he loves me," she smirked, whispering to herself. "He just won't admit it."
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Potter manor was in view as Siobhán Parten glanced out the window. The house wasn't even a house, it was a mansion. Pillars after pillars were seen from the hedge outside. White flowers were scattered around the front of the manor. Her mother drove them to the front of the gate. It opened swiftly. Judith continued into the hedge pathway that lead to the front of the manor.
The manor itself was shining in its full glory. She sighed out in awe as she could see the marble stairs. Her mother parked in front of the stairs and glanced back at her daughter.
"Have fun, be safe, and don't do anything reckless." she narrowed her eyes at Siobhán. She rolled her eyes and nodded at her mother.
"Of course mum." she smiled before grabbing her small trunk and dragging it onto the pebble rock road. Her mother drove away. Siobhán just stood there in front of the manor awkwardly. It was humongous and extremely beautiful. She could feel the warmth radiating from it.
Grabbing her trunk, she pulled it up the marble steps. She gazed at the double doors. They were mahogany. It smelt and felt like the mahogany table she had at home. For some reason, anxiety started bubbling at the bottom of her stomach.
She shook her head and grabbed all the Gryffindor wits that she had. Knocking on the door multiple times, she squealed. This was much scarier than it was supposed to be. She stopped squealing as she heard the door unlock.
The door opened to reveal a kind looking lady who was on the older side. She smiled warmly at Siobhán who was just giving her an awkward smile.
"You must be Siobhán," she stated. "James has told me so much about you."
"Ah, I suppose I'm not surprised." she laughed slightly, gazing at the floor and then back up at the lady.
"How rude of me." the woman abruptly said. "I'm Euphemia Potter." she lent out her hand. Siobhán shook it quickly, smiling up at the woman.
"Siobhán Parten." she stopped shaking her hand, gripping onto her trunk tightly. "But you already know that," she added quickly.
"Come inside dear." Euphemia stood out of the way to let her in. Siobhán entered inside the manor and was astonished by the humongous hall she had just entered.
"You can call me Mia by the way," Euphemia told her, giving her a small smile.
"You have such a lovely house, Mrs. Potter." Siobhán halted. "Sorry, Mia."
"It's fine, sweetie," she reassured. "James will be down in a minute."
An old man came down the stairs, grinning. He looked exactly like James, but older. The only difference was their eyes. His were green and James' were hazel. She was positive he had gotten that from his mother.
"You must be Ms. Parten." she nodded at the old man who was ecstatic while coming down the steps.
"Indeed Mr. Potter." the old man waved his hand.
"No need to be so formal with me," he informed, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Just call me Fleamont." he smiled brightly, turning to his wife.
"Okay, thank you Fleamont." she grinned, rocking on her feet back and forth.
"James!" screamed Euphemia next to her. She heard feet shuffling quickly from above. Down came James Potter. He hadn't noticed Siobhán as he came down the stairs full speed.
"Yes mum?" he asked while finally reaching the last step. She smiled and gestured to Siobhán who waved at him.
"Little Red!" he ran towards her, crushing her into a hug. He picked her up and twirled her around. She squealed as he finally set her down on the floor. Fleamont glanced at his wife who was gazing at the pair in admiration.
"Loverboy." she departed from the hug. He nudged her on the shoulder before glancing up at his parents. Fleamont gave him a small smirk as he saw the encounter between the pair. James rolled his eyes.
"I'm glad you came," he whispered. "I have lots of plans for us."
"I came because I knew you would be miserable without me," she whispered back, not making eye contact with him.
"I most certainly would not," he whispered, his tone laced with an offense towards her words. She hummed while trying not to burst out laughing in front of his parents.
"Anyways, James will take you to the guest room." Euphemia smiled, her eyes wrinkled which made her look incredibly sweet. Siobhán did indeed think that Euphemia and Fleamont Potter were extremely thoughtful and welcoming to those who came to their manor. She had never felt more welcome in a house than she had in this one.
"James, please tell Sirius to come greet Siobhán." she gazed over at her son who nodded.
"Sirius?" she implored while tilting her head. James took her trunk from her hand and started going up the stairs. She followed him as Euphemia and Fleamont were gossiping about what they just saw.
"Sirius lives with us now." James began. "He'll tell you why on his own accord since I'm not allowed to speak on it."
"Alright." she chimed in.
"Mum's orders." they entered a long hall filled with doors. He went to the second door and opened it. Inside the room was a huge bed with a gold and blue bed frame. Marble was on floors, tables, and even the bathroom. She was beyond astonished as she examined the room.
"This is the best guest room we have." he set her trunk on the bed. Sitting down on the mattress, he laid back and groaned. She smiled and sat next to him.
"What plans do you have for me this week?" she asked with a playful tone. He grinned, closing his eyes in the process.
"Let's go to London," he muttered. "With Sirius of course."
"London?" she began. "With Sirius?" she laughed slightly.
"He'll be looking at the muggle woman's arses." she put a hand over her mouth to stifle her laugh. She snorted as she thought about how the woman would look at him.
"Padfoot is just a strange person." he heaved. "Perverted he is." he chuckled. "I can confirm he is."
"And how can you confirm that?" she gave him a weird expression. Siobhán's thoughts roamed around in places she wished she hadn't. She shook her head and glanced back down at James.
"One time I was taking a shower and by accident, I left the door unlocked. He came inside and watched me for a good two minutes." he shivered thinking of it. He quickly stood up as she bit down on her lip.
"Sirius was checking you out," she said with disbelief. "Is that what you're telling me?!"
"Indeed, but I'll leave more stories of Sirius and his adventures to another day." he patted her on the head.
"I'm going to get Sirius so he can say hi." he walked towards the door and closed it once he was out. She sighed while running a hand through her hair.
She had felt as if she was dreaming. The Potter's were beyond the typical prejudiced purebloods. They were kind, sweet, welcoming, and most of all very accepting. She adored the family and wondered what it would be like to be apart of such a family.
Grabbing her trunk, she placed it under her bed. She dusted off her hands and gazed at the artwork on the walls. This man and woman were having a picnic in the painting. The woman was of true beauty. She thought of those two being perfectly content with themselves.
A door clicked open behind her. She hadn't noticed that Sirius Black had walked in. His hair had grown longer, now shoulder length. He stepped next to her and observed the painting.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" he mumbled under his breath. She jumped slightly, quickly glancing at the boy next to her.
"It's divine." she agreed. He glanced down at her with a small smile.
"How do you like the manor so far?" he implored, gazing back up at the painting of the man and woman having a picnic.
"I adore it." she expressed. "It's quite lovely — way too big for my liking." she giggled slightly. He nodded as she spoke.
"I prefer this anytime over my old home," he muttered. She frowned at the mentioning of his leaving.
"Why did you leave?" she gazed over at him. He opened his mouth, trying to come up with words. Sirius hesitated to speak about the horrors of his old life back with his mother and father.
"I left because I couldn't handle it," he commented. "Mother has always tormented me about being this horrible son. One who isn't worthy of the inheritance. I'm the son who doesn't deserve the 'Noble House of Black'."
"That woman always compared me to Regulus, my brother. She always told me that he was the better son. Honestly, it's true. Regulus will always be better than me in multiple ways." he licked his lips. "When I was younger I wanted to prove to my mother that I was the son she raised. The son she wanted."
"I was so foolish as to even think of myself as worthy when I was placed in Gryffindor." he shook his head. "Ever since I was put into the house that sported red and gold she despised me. My whole family despised me. I felt like an outsider, which I am, and ever since then I've been left out and looked down upon."
"Euphemia and Fleamont have treated me like their own. Ever since I told them about my life back home they insisted on me to come and live with them and James. They told me if I ever got into an awful argument with my mother then I should just leave and come live my life here." Sirius talked about his family with disgust. Siobhán truly didn't know what to say at this moment.
"Nobody deserves to be treated like how I was treated back in that hellhole." his voice broke slightly. "There is this family tree in this one room. It shows the history of the Noble House of Black. I'm on it, but I think my face will be burned off it. It's not like I care anyways. They're just a bunch of vile humans who only care about how pure someone's blood is. They'll even take it to further measures by marrying each other's cousins."
She scrunched her nose at the thought. "That's incest."
"It's disgusting. Everything my family has down is disgusting, but it's for their 'pride'. I was made for their pride. You know what's awful?" he glanced at the ground, hands behind his back.
"My parents never loved each other. I was conceived so the House of Black could live on." he spat out in hatred. "I'm glad I left that place. I'm glad they consider me a blood traitor."
"I can't even imagine being called one of them — it's sickening that I was considered one of them when I was a child." he laughed sinisterly.
"Hail the Noble House of Black." he sneered with hatred.
"Sirius." she grabbed his arm and forced him to look at her in the eye. She could see all the hate and pain he went through with the ragged tears that came down his cheeks. "You're so much better than your family and always will be."
She grabbed his face and wiped the tears. "Sirius Black, you are the embodiment of power and bravery. You're so much better than you know, and I'm grateful — so grateful that I have gotten to know you. I'm beyond relieved that you are now free from the abuse because after all, nobody deserves such treatment."
He cried harder as she spoke. Nobody had ever seen Sirius Black cry, not even James who was one of his best mates. Something about Siobhán had made him feel so understood, so understood that he had opened up about how he felt. Sirius fell to the ground as the sorrow he felt was more than he could bear.
Siobhán knelt with him, grabbing his head against her chest. She soothed him by caressing his head with her hand.
"It's alright Sirius," she whispered. "Everything will be alright, dear." she comforted. Siobhán ran a hand through his hair trying to make him calm down.
"I'm glad we're friends," she mumbled softly as Sirius calmed down from his tears. She let go of his head as he sat up, clearing his throat.
"Thank you," he muttered.
"For what?"
"For being there for me." his voice was coarse. "Thank you for being my friend."
"You're welcome." she gazed at him as he was still facing the wall. She moved against her bed and just sat there. Sirius glanced back, his eyes puffy from all the crying.
"Can I lay my head on your lap?" he asked with a slight rasp to his voice. She nodded and he carefully placed his head on her lap. He glanced up at the ceiling as she ran a hand through his hair once again.
"Regulus has told me about your friendship with him." he smiled thinking about how kind she was.
"Has he now?" she quirked an eyebrow. He flashed her a small smile while nodding.
"He wants to thank you for treating him like a good person and not a monster." he slightly furrowed his eyebrows at this. "He told me to give you this as well."
Sirius grabbed a necklace from his pocket. It was a gold necklace with the Noble House of Black crest. She opened her mouth in awe as she saw how detailed it was. There was an emerald below the crest which completed the feel of the 'House of Black'.
"I know it's that horrible crest, but as long as no one sees the crest it's fine," he reassured her as she looked at the necklace with suspicion. She nodded and grabbed the necklace from Sirius's hand. She placed the necklace on her neck and hid it under her shirt.
"It suits you," he said while looking up at her.
"Tell your dear brother, Reggie, I said thank you," she smirked down at him.
"Of course," he promised. "Now, what are you going to do in London?"
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A/N
This chapter was long but I had a really good plan with this. I feel like I did a really good job conveying Sirius's feelings in this chapter and I always had the thought of Sirius giving Siobhán a necklace that Regulus wanted to give her but never had the courage to. This was by far one of my longest chapters that I didn't despise.
Next chapter is the London trip and more Euphemia moments! Also, thank you so much for 900 views. I'm so grateful for all of you who support this story. More to come soon.