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The rest of the holidays passed with little to no activity. Sirius kept himself holed up in his room, refusing to come for mealtimes until his mother apologised for talking to him in a 'barbaric and unorthodox' manner. Of course, Sirius was being dramatic and there was no way in hell Walburga Black would ever apologise. Sirius got a pass out of family gatherings, and Kreacher brought his food upstairs.
Aquila and Regulus were planning to finish the map with the Marauders coming year, considering James had apologised and so had Sirius, albeit begrudgingly. Remus' condition was to be kept in mind, and Peter had already designed a cover page, and it was wonderful, if the photograph that had come in the mail for Sirius was to be believed.
Cygnus and Druella had wanted to visit the Black Manor to 'keep check of the grounds', but Walburga and Orion had strictly refused, saying that Walburga had taken ill and was not in a position to be attending to guests. To this, Druella had sent a Howler which had erupted in their mother's parlour, with Druella screaming about how Walburga could be pregnant and that she should get it tested immediately. When the Howler had said the word pregnant, Walburga had promptly lit it on fire and tossed the ashes in the fireplace.
It had still made Regulus blush red at the impropriety of its contents.
Pressure was being placed heavily on the families of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, urging them to join the Dark Lord's cause and get branded by him. If rumour was to be believed, it was the same man who had come looking for Slytherin's locket in the Black treasury many years ago. But unfortunately, if the Blacks were in possession of it, they were not people who would have hidden such an heirloom in their vaults, but rather wear it with pride. Nonetheless, the Lord who was simply a boy back then, had complimented the Ancient and most Noble House of Black, and charmed his way into their parents' thoughts.
Saying a hello to Rowan and Adrian, Aquila sat down next to Rowan in the train. Rowan seemed to be more sickly and a little more pale than he usually was, which was a feat. It seemed his dying father had pledged the Mulciber's loyalty to the Dark Lord, and Rowan was to be branded with the mark when he came of age.
Adrian was suffering a similar fate, with his numerous cousins taking the mark with pride and even showing it off at family gatherings and events. It seemed he was expected to take it as well, and unlike the Mulciber's, his family had no issue with underage tattoos. It was only his mother's coddling nature that had saved him from wearing full-sleeves throughout his time at Hogwarts.
Arriving at Hogwarts, the muggleborns and half-bloods steered well clear from the Slytherins, especially the older ones.
We are the older ones now, Aquila realised with a jolt.
Fourth year. Huh. Time flew, indeed.
Ahead of them, Evan Rosier had taken to hissing at the Gryffindor, making Aquila scrunch her nose. Classy. Lily Evans stepped forward and started scolding him, and Rosier listened to her with a mock pout on his face.
Lovely. This would be interesting.
"Who exactly do you think you are? What makes you think you have the right to look down on us? How dare -" Alice Fortescue was restraining the red-headed girl, but the tiny slip of a girl to hold back a hurricane on crack? Impossible. Another figure jumped out from one of the carriages. Marlene McKinnon. Of course, all they needed was one more loose cannon ball to join the grand triumvirate.
"Blonde, black, red. They completed the Holy Trinity," Rowan said, straightening the sleeves of his robe. Aquila snorted lightly, and ignoring the conversation, er, fight, they continued to make their way towards the castle steps.
"The whole lot of you! Every Slytherin has nothing in their lives except they all are Death Eaters. If anything, you're the ones who shouldn't be allowed into this school!" Evans shouted.
As one, the entirety of the Slytherin House stopped, and turned to look at the redhead. She flushed, as if realising what exactly she had said.
"She didn't mean anything by that," Fortescue tried to amend, but the damage was already done.
"She didn't mean it, but she did say it," Rookwood said off-handedly, as if telling the weather.
The Slytherins stood in a circle around the three girls now, and offence aside, Aquila was really impressed with this united display. Now, wands out, it was just a matter of who would fire the first spell.
But, of course, what was a Hogwarts spectacle without its friendly neighbourhood losers?
Seemingly unaware of the drama unfolding ahead (unlikely), the four Marauders stumbled into the tense circle, laughing, only to stop at the sight of three girls standing back to back with their wands out within a circle as if facing certain death.
And yes, if a teacher did not arrive soon, they would.
"Hey, guys, what's up?" Sirius said cheerfully, sporting a blinding grin.
"Oh, good, Black, you're here. Act as a middleman, will you?" Rookwood crooned, using the tip of his wand to scratch his forehead. It can't have been that effective, considering the tip of his wand was really blunt. And also because he subtly scratched with his hand just moments after.
Sirius straightened and looked at Lily. Lily looked back with a stubborn tilt in her chin. Aquila wished they would hurry up. Her wand arm was getting tired.
"What is the matter here?" James asked, casting a tense look from Lily to Rookwood and over the crowd until his eyes landed on the twins.
Well, me, I suppose, Aquila thought bashfully, doing a mental hair flip.
You smitten fucker, and you're not even together! Regulus said in glee. She subtly nudged him, and lowered her wand a bit to greet James in a subtle yet nice way.
She'd think along the way how to accomplish that.
Unfortunately, James' attention wasn't on her anymore. He was bent down to Marlene's level as the girl (who was the height of Aunt Druella's heels) whispered furiously into his ear. James had a grimace on his face, and reached out a hand to lightly hold the back of Remus' robes.
"Hurry up, Black, we don't have time for you to maintain diplomacy," Rookwood snarled. Sirius half turned to face him.
Aquila was already mentally groaning at the bullshit that was about to come flying out of his mouth.
"Rookwood, you should -" Sirius began, but a throat clearing got his attention.
"Mr. Black, I suggest you give your opinions to Mr. Rookwood at a later time," McGonagall said sternly. "Such atrocious activity, the whole lot of my older children standing outside. In, now!"
"I had a few choice suggestions where Rookwood could shove his wand and a few innovative ways to make Evans shut up, but sure, Professor," Sirius grumbled.
Before Evans or Rookwood could give out some sort of retort (or a spell), Sirius pulled James' collar, hence him, and James, who was still holding Remus' robes, automatically pulled him and at the last moment, Remus grabbed Peter's arm (which was somehow longer than before, due to puberty or something gross, Aquila thought).
In a merry Marauder train, the four boys took the current problem with them, but war was coming, and everyone knew that this face-off would have someone hurt someday.
Only difference was, some people wanted the other side hurt, and some were just victims of circumstance.
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wow this one is LONG
i didnt even meant to
also i forgot to update?? im sorry??
UM ALSO OMG
5K READS ON TROUVAILLE?
YOU GUYS ARE LIKE ANGELS SCUSE ME?
༻hy༺