Sirius Black
Saturday, 25th December 1971.
12th Grimmauld Place
Now looking back at it, opening a tempest in the bottle in the middle of a waltz was probably a bad idea.
Orion had a different tactic from Walburga when it came to punishments. Instead of making Sirius suffer by cutting all the way across his arms and back, Orion opted for legs. That way each time Sirius took a step, he would be remembered of what he did.
He really wanted to be good and obey the wishes of his parents during the Christmas banquet, not fully, but mostly. All he planned on was maybe setting off a couple of dungbombs he found buried in the back of the closet. He didn't even bring the tempest in the bottle with him to the ballroom.
The plan was created when Sirius started to talk with the families that came to the banquet. With each exchanged sentence with them, the desire for chaos grew inside of him. The desire to just do something in protest of their statements and views.
He remembered knowing even back at Hogwarts that he wouldn't be able to keep his mouth shut when it came to the topic of blood purity. After meeting so many talented and nice people in the Gryffindor house or in general at his classes, Sirius knew that his trip back to 12th Grimmauld Place was doomed from the start.
Lo and behold, the banquet was just an excuse to ill talk the muggleborns and halfbloods. It was all about how they, as purebloods, were so much better than filthy wanna be witches and wizards.
It made Sirius want to rip his hair out from the stupidity of ignorant people who only looked at the world through power and status. Each time someone would approach him, Sirius wanted to scream in their face how he didn't agree with those horrific things they were saying. If it was up to purebloods, muggleborns and halfbloods would have been extinct.
It was even more frustrating that he couldn't actually say anything because it would be a scandal if the Black family's heir were to contradict any claims that muggleborns should be dealt with accordingly. Whenever he would start to open his mouth to protest against some idiotic statement, Sirius would get a threatening glare from Orion. It was like his father could read his mind which frustrated him even more.
In all that frustration, an idea came to Sirius' mind of how to express his disagreement without actually saying anything. Curse James Potter for making him pack and causing him to open the drawer of his bedside table.
As Sirius went to his bedroom under the excuse of having to use the restroom, his mind played Orion's words on repeat. He only said that Sirius had to agree and not argue with the guest. He didn't mention anything about releasing a tempest in the bottle that was hidden underneath his son's bed. Grated, that was a little bit specific, but it gave Sirius enough encouragement to continue on with his new plan.
He really should work on his impulsivity. Maybe that will be one of his New Year's resolutions along with managing to resist the afflictio curse. The latter would have really come in handy that Christmas night.
Sirius got pulled out from his thoughts by unexpected noise. There was a clear sound of someone or something pecking on his bedroom window. Since he was lying in bed facing away from the sound, if he wanted to see what was actually happening Sirius would need to turn around. Just thinking about moving made him want to crawl out of his skin, but the curiosity won like always.
When he gathered enough courage, Sirius turned to look at the window. A burning pain immediately started in his legs making him shut his eyes. It was like little scalpel that was previously heated over the fire was gliding up and down his thighs, calves and ankles, making straight lines all over his legs. Orion really had a sturdier hand than Walburga.
With quite a bit of concentration, Sirius managed to ease the pain by distracting his brain with thoughts about the window pecking. It was like the hot scalpel was slowly being lifted away from his legs.
This was the first time that the distraction worked on his first try. Granted, Sirius actually had something distracting him rather than trying to distract himself, but a win was still a win. Maybe he will be able to complete at least one of his New Year's resolutions.
When the pain eased to only a throbbing feeling rather than slicing, Sirius opened his eyes and was met with a small, snowy owl on the window ledge. Nix. He would recognize an owl that beautiful anywhere. James' child, as the boy preferred on calling him, was carrying a package wrapped in Gryffindor red paper with a golden bow. Sirius could also see a letter tucked in under the silky ribbon.
His heart gave a little happy skip at the sight of the Gryffindor red. He missed the bright colors of the common room so much, all he could see back here were dark emerald and black. Colors so boring and monotone that it made Sirius feel like he came back for a funeral, not for holidays.
Nix pecked on the glass again, indicating that he should open the window and let the owl inside instead of leaving it in the cold.
Okay. Just get up. Don't think, just quickly get up.
This was the new tactic he wanted to try out. While the Marauders were spending time in the library for the time delay charm, Sirius decided to find some books about mind spells and bring them back to the dorm for his research. The book he found most useful was "Tricks and Beguiles of the Mind"
Upon reading it, he found some interesting information when it came to mind-made pain. The main one being that if the movement in real world was done fast enough, there was a chance that the mind could be misled into not registering it. It was all a bit confusing to Sirius, especially because the book was kind of advanced for a first year and poorly written, but he tried his best to understand most of it.
From what he gathered, if an action is done quickly enough, for example him standing up, the mind will have a delayed reaction. By the time it catches up with the body, the reaction will be too late or as the book said out of its natural reaction interval. So then, because the reaction is out of its natural reaction interval, the mind will decide to just not react at all, meaning the pain caused by him standing up will not appear.
Of course, this theoretical solution was only valid when the mind was already under some curse that caused it to do responses to non-existing situations. That way it was occupied enough with imagining the situations instead of concentrating on body's actions. Sirius figured that him not actually having injured legs met these requirements, or better said, he hoped it did.
The only problem with this notion was that there wasn't actually any information about how quick the action had to be. The whole practical part of this solution was very poorly explained. All it said was that it had to be fast. Not to which actions it applied, not how fast, not what would happen if it didn't work... Basically, all Sirius had to go off on was theory and hope.
Although nothing could really go that wrong, he was only scared of one scenario. If his mind decided to catch up with the body, or in other words actually proceed with performing the reaction, would that mean that the reaction will be stronger as many times as seconds had passed from when he managed to evade it? Because if the answer to this question was yes, Sirius wasn't sure if it was worth it. The pain was already strong on its own, let alone intensifying it.
Nonetheless, he pushed all of these concerns to the side and just jumped out of the bed as fast as he could while trying to continue on concentrating on Nix and the letter.
Sirius stumbled at first from the force he used to get up. Catching himself on the bookcase, he closed his eyes and prepared for the worst pain of his life. Yes, he managed to dull it back in bed while he was still, but it was a whole different experience trying to dull it while creating it with movements, especially movements that needed more muscle energy like getting up.
To his relief, the initial pain never came. The only pain he experienced was the one from standing on his feet, but that was nothing compared to the pain he always had to deal with while trying to get up from sitting or lying position.
Huh... Guess my natural reaction interval is short, he thought to himself not quite sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
Nonetheless he was thankful. With every step towards the window, Sirius still felt sharp cuts being made on his thighs, but it wasn't as bad as the ripping feeling the getting up part would usually bring. It really seemed that the theory from some old book actually worked to his surprise.
When the window opened, Nix flew inside, happy to finally be able to rest for a bit in a warm room. He flew straight onto Sirius' bed and made himself comfortable on the pillow while extending his leg, indicating to Sirius to take the package and the letter.
Sirius obliged. He quickly sat down on the edge of the bed, again without any pain thanks to the old, dusty book, and carefully untied the present from the owl.
When the box was in his lap, Nix withdrew his leg back and sank his head further into the warm feathers of his body, making himself at home on the small pillow. The sight of him falling asleep made Sirius want to just hug and join him, but he had another thing to dedicate his attention to.
He grabbed the blanket and gathered it lightly around Nix to make his nap even more warm and comfortable, then he turned back to his lap.
With his attention fully on the box and the letter, the pain was even more reduced. Instead of heated scalpel, there were now little needles poking his skin and only on the calves. The letter was sealed with bright red wax which held a symbol Sirius had never seen before.
He knew it was a family crest, but unlike the Black's crest which had three crows, a hand holding a wand and a motto Toujours Pur, this one seemed somehow less intimidating, less dark.
In the middle, proud and fearless stood a griffin above which were three borage flowers. At the bottom, written in letters so small that Sirius was barely able to read it, was the Potter family motto Semper Fortis Quid Sit Verum.
For someone who knew only basic Latin, the literal translation would be Always Strong in What is True, but for someone as educated in the ancient language as Sirius was, it clearly said Always Brave for What is Right. At least this confirmed James' claims that he was from the family full of Gryffindors.
Sirius carefully broke the seal, which resulted in the griffin being separated in half. Light brown parchment peaked through the envelope and he quickly opened it and started reading.
Dear Sirius,
Happy Christmas!
I hope that everything went well on the Black family's banquet yesterday. You didn't release those dungbombs you talked about on Pete's birthday, right? I hope not.
How are things? Is everything okay? I know you said to let it go, but I just wanted to make sure that you know you have a place here in the Potter Manor with me. Always. Please take care of yourself, we will be back at Hogwarts in no time doing pranks and exploring the castle!
The chocolate frogs were an amazing choice for my and Remus' presents, we are delighted to inform you that Remus finally got Edgar Stroulger, the wizard who invented the sneakoscope.
I, on the other hand, got the coolest chocolate frog card there is. Devlin Whitehorn! I know you know who that is, but let me have this moment. I, James Fleamont Potter, the lover of every Nimbus broom there is, literally got the Nimbus founder! Crazy right? Mom yelled at me when I almost knocked the Christmas tree over from standing up too quickly from excitement.
Thank you, my forever devoted friend, for getting me this amazingness and feeding into my obsession with Nimbus, I am forever grateful to have you.
Peter gasped when he opened his gift from you. The blackest paint there is in the Wizarding World? Really? Could you be any more self-centered? Just kidding, he loved it and, like Remus, said to thank you for being an amazing friend!
We hope that you will like our presents as well, they are all packed together in the box. Mom insisted on the ribbon and said that you have to join us next Christmas! Dad said hi as well, he couldn't stop talking about your "perfect" hair from the second he saw you at the station. Hair potioneer and all that, you know.
Sorry for the long letter, but our gratitude for the cards and paint couldn't fit in a standard, boring one. I wish you nothing but the best. Thank you for becoming my friend, it has been a wonderful experience so far and I can't wait for us to go on so many more missions.
Please be smart and pet Nix on the head,
J. Potter,
your best friend in the entire world
After reading the last sentence, Sirius felt his eyes fill up with tears. He was so happy that they all liked his presents. So happy that James offered his home to Sirius yet again. So happy for having all of them.
One single tear escaped his eyes and rolled down his cheek, but then, this beautiful magic he was felling disappeared in an instant. Dark voice inside his head hissed Boys don't cry Sirius!
He flinched, quickly rubbing at his eyes out of reflex, trying to quickly hide his emotions, trying to act like he had no weak spots, no Achillies heel. If they knew it, they would use it. If anyone found out how much friends meant to the young Black heir, they would have an ace up their sleeve. An ace with which they would be able to control him, to make him do anything under the threat of cutting off every form of communication with his friends.
That was exactly what Walburga did when she found out how much Sirius liked playing Quidditch with Reg. The blackmail became too much for him to handle because they always wanted more, so in the end Sirius just gave up.
With that, his amazing broom, Beater's bat, Quaffles and Bludgers were hidden away from him somewhere in this labyrinth of a house. Sirius tried to find them countless times, but each time he was unsuccessful. In the end, he figured that his parents must have used some type of spell to hide the stuff away, so he just made peace with the fact that he will have to wait for a couple of years to play Quidditch again. He did miss his broom very much. It was so precious to Sirius because he learned how to fly on it.
Sirius calmed himself down and looked over at his pillow. Thankfully, his heavy breathing didn't wake the little owl up. He took a few deep breaths before composing himself and returning back to the red and gold present.
Sirius carefully removed the bow and tore open the wrapping paper. When he looked inside the box, there were four presents.
First one was from Peter. It was the same drawing that caught Sirius' eye after the Sorting Ceremony four months ago. A small squirrel on the deck with improvised tail as Peter called it. Sirius loved this gift, loved the fact that his friend remembered the exact drawing that he liked. Peter looked at all of his drawings like some precious prizes so the fact that the boy really gifted Sirius one of them was a great deal.
Second one was from James. It was a bright red hoodie made from material so soft that it reminded Sirius of his Hogwarts pillows. Sirius told James back at school that he hated not having any colorful and cozy things in his closet, making this another perfect and thoughtful present.
Third gift was from Remus. It was a beautiful golden frame. Inside, instead of a photo, was a message that read:
Since you stole the first polaroid Peter ever took from me,
I thought that it will be appropriate for you to at least have somewhere nice to display it.
Happy Christmas thief!
Sirius was speechless. The whole frame was made from glass, front and back. The only thing making it an actual frame, was the golden outlining that kept the two glass pieces together. It had a tiny clasp making it possible to actually open it and put the photo inside. It was the most beautiful piece of décor Sirius had ever seen. It didn't look expensive like everything the Blacks owned, it just looked beautiful and timeless.
Immediately, he reached for his bedside table drawer and pulled the polaroid out. He put Remus' note inside the frame as well so that the note was displayed through the back glass while the polaroid was visible from the front. There was no other word for it, it just looked perfect.
He felt a bit bad by only getting the chocolate frogs for James and Remus. Granted, he got each of them a whole pack with ten boxes inside, but still he felt bad for not putting more thought into it like they had. Although the two boys expressed their gratitude, Sirius still decided that he will get them both something amazing for their birthdays in March. He shook his head, there was still another thing left in the box that required his attention.
The fourth and last gift also had a note.
Happy Christmas Sirius!
I hope that you like shortbread cookies.
We are looking forward to seeing
you with us next year,
Love,
Euphemia and Fleamont
This was the fourth time that Sirius Black was speechless in the last fifteen minutes. Just the thought of Mr. and Mrs. Potters being this kind and thoughtful to remember to send him something was enough to make tears make another appearance in his eyes yet again.
This time Sirius didn't fight them. He let himself enjoy the happiness he felt. The fear of someone seeing was still there, but the happiness was way bigger.
After this emotional episode, Sirius sat at his desk and wrote a letter thanking all of them immensely and saying that they shouldn't have bothered so much. He expressed his gratitude and said that he couldn't wait to be reunited with the rest of the Marauders in two weeks.
When the letter was finished, Sirius put it back on the desk to wait for Nix to wake up. He then opened the tin box Mr. and Mrs. Potter sent him.
The moment he removed the lid, a warm and sugary sent spread through the room making Sirius smile. The box was filled to the brim with shortbread cookies. He pulled out one of his handkerchiefs out from the dresser, opened it on the desk and placed half of the cookies on it. Then he carefully wrapped them with the rest of the material, paying close attention to not break any of them, making it look like a handkerchief present.
The pain in his legs completely went away with his concentration and emotions being directed at the beautiful letter and presents he got, so Sirius didn't even need to be quick while getting up from the desk.
With the handkerchief present in hands, Sirius made his way towards the room that belonged to the only occupant in this house he loved, his little brother.