It's two weeks into summer and I miss Sirius more than ever. Why? Don't ask me. I have absolutely no clue.
I dress in a summer [muggle] outfit and sit on my back porch to tan a little with a good book. My mum has run to the store for groceries and hasn't returned yet, so I have the house to myself.
After a while, I go inside to put on more sunscreen, when I hear a knock at the door. I look through the peep hole and see my mum. I open the door for her and let her inside.
"Hey, Mum! How was grocery shopping?"
"Good," she says as there is another knock on the door.
"I got it," I call from the living room. I open the door and am shocked by the person standing there. It's Sirius.
What the heck is he doing here?
I open the door and greet him with a hug. He hugs me back, but only for a second. He looks stressed.
"Sirius! How did you find my house? Oh- come in! You can meet my mum, she's just putting away groceries," I say frantically.
"Chloe, listen, we haven't got much time. We have to go," he says.
"Sirius, what's wrong?" I ask.
"Take my arm."
"Sirius, you're scaring me!"
"Just hold my hand. Please."
I take his hand and he whispers, "I'm really sorry about this, Chloe." I feel the sensation of apparition again. Where is he taking me? Why did he apologize?
Without taking a good look at my surroundings, I ask, "Where are we?"
"My house," Sirius says.
I gasp. "You told them? What happened?"
"They don't know anything about you. She demanded to meet you and talk to you herself," he says sadly.
I pause for a second, just taking in my surroundings. "This is your house? I guess I just figured it would be a bit-"
I am cut off by the image of apartments separating to show a house in between the two halves.
"That's your house."
"Yes. Now, I'm really sorry for what may or may not happen here."
Sirius leads me to the door and I feel like my heart is going to beat out of my chest. I don't know if I've ever been more nervous in my entire life. What Sirius is forced to break up with me? I can't let that happen. I love him.
We stop in front of the door. Sirius turns to face me. I look into his grey eyes and he looks into my green ones.
"You can lie, you know. About..." His voice trails off. He knows that I know what he's talking about. I just pray that she doesn't ask me.
"Why did you tell them?" I ask, shaking my head.
"It slipped out. They had to know at some point."
I hug him and our faces become dangerously close. Without thinking, I lean up to kiss him. Nothing can take me away from him.
He opens the door and I step into the biggest house I've ever been in. But before I can even adjust to my surroundings, Walburga Black, Sirius's mother, steps in front of us. Sirius tenses up.
"Is this that Carly you were talking about?" she says and crosses her arms.
"Chloe," Sirius corrects.
"Whatever." She pauses, looking back and forth between me and Sirius. She looks at me and narrows her eyes. "Come with me."
My heart has never been beating faster. My legs are shaking and my palms are sweating. I exhale deeply as I enter a room with Walburga. Just as she was about to close the door do I realize that Sirius had been following us, but Walburga closes the door and locks it before he can enter.
I look around and find my self in a bedroom that looks like it hasn't been slept in. It must be the guest room.
Walburga snaps and I focus my attention solely on her. I already know what she's going to say. Why do I even bother?
"First thing's first. What's your name?" Walburga asks.
"My name is Chloe, ma'am," I say, putting my hands behind my back.
"Your full name."
"Chloe Brooklyn Reynolds." I wipe my hands on my jeans. This is off to an okay start.
"Mm. What are your job ambitions?"
"My plan is to be a healer after leaving Hogwarts."
"Where do you live?" Walburga leans against a wall and crosses her arms.
"I live in London with my mother, ma'am," I say. I try to be as formal as possible, despite the clothes I'm wearing. I didn't really have time to prepare.
"What about your father? Where is he?"
I was hoping that she wouldn't ask this. Ever since I found that picture at Christmas, I always tear up talking about Dad.
"He left when I was eleven. When I was twelve, I found out that he died in a car accident." I feel tears build up, but I decide to blink them away. I won't show her that I'm weak.
"A car, huh?" Walburga says. Oops. "That leads me to my last question: what's your blood status?"
I swallow hard. I know I could lie, but I've already given away that at least one of my parents is a muggle. I know that she would prefer me to be a halfblood than a muggleborn but what she wants is a pure blood. I can't lie.
"I- I'm a.... muggleborn," I peep.
Rage fills Walburga and she opens the door and stomps out. She finds Sirius leaning against a wall and barges up to him. Her face is inches away from his.
"WHY WOULD YOU DATE A FILTHY MUDBLOOD? DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH OF A DISGRACE THIS IS TO YOUR FAMILY?"
Sirius kept a straight face during her screaming fit. He must be used to this. Who am I kidding? I know he's used to this.
"Yes," he says plainly. "And I don't care."
Maybe if I hadn't been talking about my dad earlier, I would be able to contain myself better. But I can't help it. I start to cry. Partly because Walburga just called me a "mudblood", partly because of talking about Dad, and partly because I have heard of things like this happening in the Black house but have never witnessed it. Until now.
Just as I wipe away the tears rolling down my cheeks, I see a fifteen year old Regulus poke his head around the corner. He makes eye contact with me and turns to go back to where he came from.
Walburga turns around to face the wall. I walk over to Sirius and throw my arms around him. He wipes away the rest of my tears.
"Leave my house," Walburga says. "Both of you."
We walk out the door and come to a stop just before crossing the road. Sirius looks at me.
"That went well," he says sarcastically.
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A/N:
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xoxo,
Caitlin ❤️