Loud music thumps around the house, making it shake slightly. Phoenix is sat drawing at the kitchen table, he has an eye for art. He's sketching a picture of his best friend, missing them terribly during the long summer at home. His black hair keeps falling in his eyes, so he uses a headband to push it out of his face so he can concentrate properly.
Zion comes tumbling down the stairs in a rage, his own black hair tied in a bun on the top of his head. He smacks his younger brother on the back of his head with a loud thud. Phoenix stands up from his chair, pushing it over and runs after his brother. He jumps onto Zion's back, thumping him in the head. Zion spins around and floors Phoenix to the ground and kicks him in the ribs.
"Dickhead." Zion spits angrily.
"Munter." Phoenix spits back glaring at him.
"Stop touching my fucking stuff!" Zion warns, glaring coldly at his brother.
Phoenix rolls his eyes, "I haven't touched anything you utter knob!"
"Boys, please for the love of god stop fucking fighting." Kate complains as she walks through the door with the shopping, the dog immediately at her feet almost tripping her over.
She groans in annoyance, as she places the shopping bags down and flicks her blonde hair over her shoulder. Bowie starts sniffing at the bags hopefully.
"Bowie. Sit!" Phoenix tries, the dog looking at him dumbly, "Why is he so thick?"
"Just take him for a walk. Both of you." Kate sighs, putting the last grocery bag on the table, "Don't go too far."
Zion and Phoenix roll their eyes behind their Mums back. She was so overprotective. They had strict rules they had to follow when at home. Both boys couldn't wait to be back at Hogwarts, where they were free to act as they wanted and do as they pleased. Zion was itching to be back with his friends and causing mayhem. As long as his grades didn't slip, it didn't matter what else he did.
Himself and his three best friends, Lee Jordan, Fred and George Weasley were known at school for their pranks and tricks. They were always getting up to trouble and never getting caught. They were the best at what they did. The twins and him were on the Gryffindor quidditch team, which gave them royalty points amongst their peers.
Phoenix was looking forward to returning too. He was really good friends with the infamous Harry Potter and it sucked during the summer when they couldn't write to each other. Phoenix would even say Harry was his best friend, although he's certain Ron Weasley was Harry's best friend.
"Hurry up, Nix!"Zion yells impatiently from the front door.
Phoenix grabs the dog lead as Bowie bounces out of the door, he hugs his Mum as she packs away the shopping and runs out to catch up with his older brother. They lived in the middle of nowhere, their house sat in the middle of a country road and they were surrounded by fields and wildlife. There was nothing for miles, but the strong stench of cow shit. Bowie, their large German shepherd runs ahead happily as Nix finally catches up.
"You heard from your little girlfriend?" Zion smirks annoyingly.
One of Zions favourite past times was winding his little brother up. Phoenix rolls his eyes as he starts up hill, "She's so..ugh."
Zion snorts, "Poor Nix."
"Hang on, why don't we talk about your love life?" Phoenix raises his eyebrows.
"Shut up." Zion mutters, "There's nothing wrong with my love life."
"Having three girlfriends at once and being found out is pretty bad..."
Zion shrugs, "I never said it was perfect."
"Idiot."
"Wimp."
"Slag."
"Slag? Really?"
Phoenix nods, "Yeah, a big man slag."
"Nix?" Zion pauses, looking around him, "Where the fuck did Bowie go?"
Phoenix starts to search too, both boys running up hill towards the forest that surrounds their house. Cutting them off from the main town a few miles away. They shout for the dog, calling him desperately but nothing. Zion starts towards the forest, pushing past branches and looks at his little brother expectantly.
"We're not allowed in there!" Phoenix stresses.
"I'm sure we can make an exception when the dogs gone fucking awol you pussy." Zion states with a shrug.
Phoenix shakes his head, "You know why we're not allowed in there."
"Fine. I'll go." Zion says letting go of the branches, "Just stay there."
It wasn't that Phoenix was scared of the forest, it was more that he was scared of what had happened in there. Zion was always braver than he was. Phoenix was the kind to use his brain and run away from fire, but Zion was the kind to run towards it if someone else was in danger.
Phoenix waits for his brother and the dog to emerge, he taps his feet against a nearby rock impatiently. He can hear Zion calling Bowie's name in the distance, he's not sure how deep into the forest they've gone.
Kate puts the last of the groceries away and boils the kettle, she listens to music booming from upstairs and rolls her eyes. As she goes towards the stairs, there's a knock at her front door. She freezes. They never got visitors, they were in the middle of nowhere. As she edges closer, she recognises the outline of the person on the other side.
She swings the door open, Professor Dumbledore smiling warmly as he steps into the house.
"The boys aren't here." She says, eyeing him up suspiciously.
"Kate. I'm not here about Zions troublesome behaviour." Dumbledore sighs, "There's no easy way to tell you this."
Kate feels her heart beating heavily against her chest, "What is it?"
She braces herself to hear news of someone she knows passing away. It's been awhile since anything like that had happened, but Dumbledore rarely had good news.
"There's been a breakout from Azkaban." The man says not too kindly, "Sirius Black, escaped from Azkaban."
"What?" Kate blinks, stumbling back into the chairs behind her. She takes a seat, her entire body shaking.
"I can assure you the children will be safe at Hogwarts. I just thought you had best find out from me and not the daily prophet." He says, "I must ask that if he reaches out to you or if he finds you, then please reach out to us. He is a dangerous man."
Kate scoffs quietly, "He's not dangerous."
"Kate." Dumbledore says sternly, "We have to ensure the safety of the children."
"He wouldn't harm the children."
Dumbledore frowns at her, "Do you still believe him to be innocent after twelve years?"
"I don't believe him to be innocent." Kate says, "I know he is."
"It is a dangerous game to hope and to hold onto the past." Dumbledore whispers, peering at Kate over his spectacles, "Azkaban can drive even the sanest of people to insanity."
"He's innocent." Kate mumbles again, "And I am glad that he is finally free."
*******
Zion, Phoenix and Bowie return, Zion and the dog are covered in mud. Kate eyes the three of them suspiciously and just shakes her head. She can't deal with this right now.
"Jump in the shower." She tells Zion, "Dinner is almost ready."
Bowie sits by her feet, begging for a piece of chicken. It's the only time he's ever still, when begging for food. He's a dumb animal, but they love him all the same. Phoenix tidies his stuff away from the table, admiring his drawing of Harry once more. He'd definitely improved since the last time.
"Nix?"
"Yeah?"
"Go and tell your brother to hurry up." Kate instructs as she starts dishing the food out onto plates, "Tell your sister to come down too."
Phoenix runs upstairs, Bowie chasing after him trailing mud around the house. Kate does not mind. Kate is far too busy thinking of other things. She places the food at the table, lining everything up neatly. She feels sick with nerves but she has to tell them.
All three children take their seats at the table. She looks at Zion, who looks so much like his father and has that same incredible wit and charm about him. She looks at Phoenix, who also looks just like his father but resembles his Uncle Regulus massively with his love for art and learning.
Then she looks at her youngest. her daughter, Marlie. She has the same jet black hair as her Dad and brothers, she loves music and quidditch like her Father did but everything else is Kate. She's the only one who never got to meet him. She's the only one Sirius doesn't know about.
"What is it?" Zion asks, staring at his Mum.
"Zion went into the forest after Bowie, not me!" Phoenix says, receiving an aggressive nudge from his older brother.
"Dick." Zion mumbles.
Kate shakes her head, not really hearing the words leaving their mouths, "Your Dad, he's escaped Azkaban."
Zion blinks at his Mother then looks at Nix and Marlie. Phoenix places his hand on Marlie's shaking hands. Zion stands to his feet, giving the begging dog his chicken as he tries to think.
"Are you absolutely sure?"
"It'll be in the daily prophet." Kate confirms with a gentle nod, "Marlie, don't be afraid. Remember what I told you three okay? Don't forget. Don't listen to a bad word anyone says about him."
"Because he's innocent." Phoenix and Marlie chorus at the same time uncertainly,as Zion shrugs continuing to feed the dog his food.
Zion was old enough to remember some things, they're hazy from being such a long time ago but he wasn't as young as his siblings. He grew up as soon as he was able. He spent his childhood helping his Mum to keep Nix and Marls safe. Whilst his Mum dealt with Marlie, he entertained Phoenix. He'd spend hours playing with him, reading him stories and teaching him how to tie his shoe laces. It was nobody's fault but he was angry at Sirius for leaving them behind. He didn't know if Sirius was innocent or not. He had looked into Sirius in the news archives at school but he didn't know his Dad. He couldn't decide if he was innocent or not. That wasn't up to him.
Both brothers were very protective of their baby sister, she wasn't like the other children. She couldn't do the things that they could do. She was special. They wouldn't dare use the word weaker because she wasn't,she was strong and brave, she was just different. When they were younger, Marlie needed extra care and only their Mum could give that to her. Zion and Phoenix tried their best but as they were children, they just wanted to play with her. They didn't really understand.
Sometimes, Marlie would be okay. She would be able to play with her brothers, if they were careful. Those days were the best ones because it meant they could all relax and their Mum could play too. Now they were older and Marlie was better, the brothers annoyed her with how protective they were. She couldn't speak to boys, she couldn't play Quidditch and she couldn't even walk the damn dog.
"Will he come here?" Marlie asks, glancing nervously at her Mum.
Kate shakes her head, "He doesn't know where we are."
"Will he go to Hogwarts?" Phoenix frowns, glancing at Zion who is scowling as he feeds Bowie.
"I doubt it."
Zion doesn't dare speak a word of what he thinks. Instead, he takes himself upstairs to his room and lays on his bed, trying to drown out Marlies shit music,that's still booming around the house. He puts a pillow over his head and screams into it, unexplainable rage burning through his body.
If he ever saw Sirius Black, he would probably punch him in the face.
*********
In London, Remus has just read the daily prophet. The moving photo of Sirius Black screaming wildly on the front over, makes his heart stop. It takes him a minute to actually read it. Before he actually reads the words, his heart aches in his chest for he believes for a single moment that Sirius Black is dead. Once he reads the article, he doesn't know which is worse.
Tate places his hand of Remus' shoulder and gives it a squeeze, "All the more reason to go to Hogwarts."
"Yeah." Remus agrees, thinking of Sirius' two sons and Harry.
"Are you packed?"
Remus nods, "All ready to go."