The sun dipped slowly in the horizon, tucking itself away from the darkness of the night. The winter air had not yet succumbed to the rebirth of spring, so, its chill lingered through the castle as hours passed. Classes had ended for the day and many students retreated to various parts of the castle to finish as much homework they could complete before dinner.
James Potter stood on the astronomy tower, his fingers fiddling with the edges of the letter he received in the morning. He had not had the chance to read it and knew better than to the second he recognised the cursive handwriting. It did not require much effort from him to sneak away from his best friends since Remus decided to study at the library and Peter followed him there. Sirius was meant to have detention with Professor Flitwick, except that the Ravenclaw head cancelled because of a meeting he had with other staff members. So, James was stuck with his loud best friend on the tower, trying to figure out how best to read the letter without Sirius snooping into his business.
"You know, you could probably stop playing with the letter and just open it, right?" Sirius said, his tone playful as he sat on the floor, scribbling in the black journal that he often poured his thoughts into.
"I was hoping to be alone when I finally did read it," James replied, leaning his back against the railing and watching the dark haired boy tilt his head from one side to another. Sirius did not lift his head or respond to James' sentiments. So, James asked, "Whatever do you write in that diary of yours?"
"Maybe one day I will let you read it, but that day is not today," Sirius wore a smug expression as he answered.
James shook his head. He looked at the ivory coloured sheet in his hand and then back up at his friend, "Fine, you write your little secrets, and I will read mine."
Sirius nodded, not lifting his head up to see James' expression. The older of the two wondered what was contained in the letter given to his best friend, especially since he, too, had recognised the handwriting. Anya Zion. A part of him was curious to know what his friends were discussing without his knowledge, especially after the pair had spent all of Christmas together. Sirius forced himself to continue writing in his diary, doing his best not to look up at James and attempt to decipher the message through the boy's expressions.
"Anya and her cousins will soon be returning," James declared out of the blue. Immediately, Sirius looked up, shocked. He was surprised by the revelation, mostly because it seemed like nothing to be secretive about. James added, "Apparently, the Zion family has been restructured and Anya has a new brother."
"I thought you said that her parents were incapable of having children, and that Anya was a one-off?" Sirius pondered.
"Huh?" James stupidly muttered as he looked up from the letter. He met Sirius' gaze and watched as his friend rose an eyebrow, urging him to speak more. James nodded when he finally understood his best friend, "Oh, right. No, yeah, her parents cannot have anymore kids."
"So, how did she randomly get a brother?" Sirius asked.
"Adoption," James answered, his eyes scanning the letter once more as he struggled to string his thoughts together.
"My friend, they are an ancient family that consists some of the most powerful wizards and witches ever. They are not about to go and adopt a random child into their family, magical or not. And plus, I doubt that Nora Zion would open her house to such a young child. As long as she is, Anya tests her patience enough, no need for another," Sirius said. He spoke as if his words were biblically true, with confidence and certainty.
James shook his head, trying to hold in his laugh. He massaged his neck as he awkwardly explained, "You're right. I did not mean adopt an orphan or something from an orphanage. They simply took in another member of their family into their home."
"So, they are looking after a relative?" Sirius questioned, raising a brow. Finally, tired of being confused, the raven-haired boy stood up and approached his best friend. He watched as James held the letter out and began to read it to himself.
As James made the message accessible for Sirius, he said, "Read what it says."
♠
January 1973
Dear James,
I cannot tell you how annoyingly missed you are. It feels insanely quiet and lonely here. I have written this letter at least fifty times over before deciding on how best to send this message to you. But now, I will just send you whatever I can manage to write.
Unfortunately, we did not return to India. There were matters that needed to be taken care of before we could. And by the time this letter reaches you, it most definitely would have been resolved. I know that, because we have been asked not to say a word about anything to others. My parents say that you can be trusted, and whoever you trust with this can also be trusted. The last part is what my mother said, and I presume she was referring to Sirius. In truth, I think she has taken a weird liking to him, even though his entire personality is too rebellious for her liking.
Anyways... too much has changed in our family.
The Zion family is massive, and you saw that when you came to that party. And not everyone was there too. In our family, there are people we refer to as 'leaders', they tend to decide the best courses of action for us all. And since Adam was the only one to have survived the attack on his family, he became the subject of most discourse. The issue became about looking after him, because his father was a powerful and well-respected member of the family, so, he needed someone powerful to raise him and take him in. Of course, many people volunteered themselves, and many refused to even look in his direction. My father silenced the room and asked Adam to choose where he wanted to go, and he was not allowed to say that he wanted to be alone. So, Adam picked my parents, and now, I am going home with a brother. Mother said to call him my brother and to not make him feel like a stranger in our house. And even though I like him, that is quite the impossible task.
Anyways, I thought that his adoption would have been the last of the family squabbles for the mean time, but I was wrong. They started to talk about our schools - not just Hogwarts. Some people wanted us to withdraw entirely, saying we were best protected amongst ourselves. A lot of people did not agree, obviously, especially those of us who go to magical schools. Eventually, we were allowed to return and continue, however, we are expected to all be pulled out if another incident like this happens again.
You once asked me what it was like to belong to such a powerful family. At the time, I could not answer, because I knew nothing of my family. But now, knowing the little that I do, I cannot help but feel burdened by the significance and responsibility placed on each of us to ensure we reach the expectations fixed for ourselves. It feels suffocating at times, especially in moments like these ones: where everyone is too busy deciding your fate because it apparently affects everyone else. I cannot help but miss the days before I joined Hogwarts. I could use magic, so long as Abba was around. And all I had to worry about was getting good grades and knowing how to behave. My life was not at risk as easily as it is now.
I wrote a lot, I just realised. It is just that I feel like I have no one to talk to. Even though I have Adam, he is always being pulled away by the adults. So, I am pretty much left to entertain myself. And I cannot help but miss your annoying company.
From,
Anya
♠
Sirius returned the letter to its owner and said, "That was a lot to read."
"Mhmm," James hummed as he nodded. He welcomed the parchment back in his hands as he slid his thumb across the surface.
"So, she will be returning and has a new brother? The very one that did not die with his parents?" Sirius questioned, rhetorically. He ran his hand through his hair, as if the thoughts related to her kin troubled him more than anything else did at the time. He paused and suddenly asked, "Do you think this Adam will be joining Hogwarts with her?"
James shook his head, "I doubt it. When I met him, he said he went to Durmstrang Institute with a couple of his other cousins. I met one of them, the pair were close and one of them did not like me much."
Sirius threw his head back and laughed, "I cannot believe this. Someone did not like the James Potter? Impossible."
James rolled his eyes, "Get over it, Padfoot. I was delirious when I said that back in first year. And it is not that funny!"
Sirius refused to stop laughing, instead, he held his stomach and knelt forward, as if the joy was too overwhelming and took control of him. James ignored him and pushed him away, hoping the boy would trip. Alas, Sirius did not fall and simply walked over to the wall and picked up his diary, still laughing as he recalled the memory of his best friend in first year.
♠
"I cannot believe Professor Drull did not give us extra marks for the extra study we did for that stupid vampiric essay," Phoebe whined as soon as she completed her next essay for the tormenting teacher.
Remus hummed in agreement. He had let Phoebe complain about their efforts being ignored as opposed to going unnoticed. Professor Drull knew that the pair of them went above and beyond to meet his demands, and yet, he cared little for it. She had dedicated the past hour to writing her essay for him, while also complaining about him the whole time. Every once in a while, the thought of her average grade would anger her and force her to approach another rant about him. Remus listened intently and chimed in every once in a while. Of course, he wanted to say more about him, but beside him, Peter struggled with his essay. Remus promised to help his friend, so, he had to split his efforts between playing a whining child and a loyal tutor.
"Honestly, I think the past hour has taught me not to get on your bad side," Peter commented, looking up at Phoebe. The brunette's face was red with rage and she could not help but let the anger control her. Peter had awfully efficiently adapted to her turbulent nature and mood swings.
Phoebe grunted as she mumbled about how awful their professor was before she stood up to return the book she used for her essay.
Peter quickly turned to Remus and asked, "Do you think she is on her period?"
Remus was taken aback by the question and looked flustered. He shook his head, "I doubt it. And even if she is, that is a rude question to ask."
"Sorry," Peter replied, feeling guilty about his abrasive question. But he quickly got over it as he said, "I am surprised you are calm about the grade you got too. I mean, it is no different to anyone else's, especially with all the hard work you put into it."
Remus reclined onto his chair and let his body slide into a lazy position that made him look like he was melting off his seat. He said, "I am mad, of course I am. But I am too busy helping you with your work to express that rage. So, hurry up with this essay, so I can be angry freely."