PROLOGUE
❛We were just looking.❜
Hope James Lupin-Black was born the daughter of Sirius Black and Remus Lupin on December 14th 1979, a year and a half following her brother Alphard Evan. And both of her fathers were part of the brave Gryffindor house, along with the group of marauders.
During her fourth year at Hogwarts, Hope had experienced a loss greater than ever before. Her best friend had been murdered, Cedric Diggory was murdered by a ruthless wizard. And she knew that could never quite get over it.
The Peace Prophecy had finally come back into play after fifteen long years, and many dark wizards were starting to find out more about it. And the death of Cedric Diggory was the tip of the iceberg, all four members were ready to come together at last.
"Are the dishes done, Sirius?" questioned Remus Lupin, walking into the kitchen of their new home, 12 Grimmauld Place. "Because when people get here--"
"I'm not the maid, Remus." grumbled Sirius, who stood by the counter with a cup of coffee. "Ask that bloody house-elf, maybe he'll tell you."
The two men struggled to get along most days, and most people realized. Remus Lupin had always been a kind man, and wanted to help out with the upcoming war as much as possible, while Sirius Black wanted to keep everyone out and themselves safe.
Remus rolled his green eyes, grabbing his own mug of coffee. "I was only asking, there's no need to be rude. I just don't want the house filthy."
"I don't know why everyone needs to come here." Sirius finally said, slamming his coffee down. "This is our house, our lives--"
"With the order being back, and the amount of charms your father put on this house, it's safer--"
The Black man only rolled his grey eyes. "There's plenty of other places. We shouldn't have even moved here."
Alfie Lupin-Black stood around the corner, silenting listening to his fathers' argument. And once his younger sister had joined him, she let out a quiet sigh at their antics. The way she had done all summer long.
"How long have they been arguing for?" she questioned, fumbling with the sleeves of her sweater. "I'm kind of hungry."
"Here," he replied, giving her a chocolate bar from his pocket which she slowly took. "And not long, but it seems like it'll escalate soon."
And on his words, more yells came from the kitchen. "I hate when they do this. What're they even fighting about?"
"Dad's mad about people coming here. He wants the meetings to be held somewhere else." Alfie explained, rolling his green eyes. "Papa's right this time, it's safer here. I think Dad's just grouchy."
Hope nodded slowly, putting her head in her hands. "He's been that way since we moved in. According to Papa, this summer they spent a lot of time with Grandpa and travelling. This house makes him less fun."
"Maybe his favorite child will make him happier." muttered Alfie beneath his breath, but the confused expression made him chuckle. "I'm joking, but you know, Harry?"
A large crash came from the kitchen, which the two only assumed to be a pot or pan. And Sirius Black looked angry, while Remus rolled his eyes. The Lupin man had always acted that way when Sirius got angry, which happened a lot since James Potter had died.
"This is my house, Remus." he finally yelled, running a hand through his long hair. "I don't need to be asked questions like I'm a child."
Remus only calmly nodded, narrowing his green eyes. "You know what, Sirius, you're right. This is your house."
"I just said that."
"And even if you hate it, Dumbledore wanted the meetings here. I'm trying the best I can to help out." he continued, pouring more coffee into his mug before sighing. "Maybe me and the kids should go stay at my dad's--"
Sirius' grey eyes went wide, looking offended. "Is this what it's going to come to? Are you taking my kids away from me?"
The Lupin man shook his head. "I sure hope not. But this example you're setting, it's horrendous. You throw a fit when you don't get your way, I don't even know you anymore."
"I do not throw fits. But at least I'm not boring and strict--"
"At least you don't act like a parent? Is that what you mean? Yes, kids need love and fun, but they need a person they know will raise them and protect them from harm as well. It's how they become good people."
Hope Lupin-Black grabbed her brother's shoulder softly, looking him dead in the eyes. "I don't like this, Alfie. We shouldn't be standing here. They'll end up making up in the end--"
"You're right." he said, before looking around the hallways. "Want to go explore this old house? There's plenty of rooms."
"More than happy to."
Neither Hope nor Alfie knew what made their fathers fight the amount they did, but even for the teengaers, the return of Voldemort put them on edge. And with the Order of the Phoenix returning, it put them in more danger than before.
Ever since the two teenagers moved into 12 Grimmauld Place, the emptiness of the house tempted them beyond beliefs. Especially the door at the end of the hallway that told them not to enter, but nothing could stop them from doing so.
"It's very green in here." commented Alfie, placing his fingers on the cleaned green walls. "It's not dusty either, who's room is this?"
"I'm not sure, but Kreacher keeps it cleaned." Hope chuckled, looking at different pictures on the walls. "I know it isn't Dad's, that's for sure."
Alfie took a photograph off of the wall, of a group of students. "Hey, look, it's Snape."
Hope walked over looking at the photo of many Slytherins from an earlier time at Hogwarts. "And that's Draco's dad, Lucius Malfoy."
"I think I know who's room this is."
The Lupin-Black girl furrowed her blonde eyebrows in confusion. "Who?"
"Dad's brother." he spoke quietly, pointing to a black-haired boy in the photo. "Regulus Black, he died years ago, though. I figured his room would've been empty."
"I completely forgot about him, that would make sense." gasped Hope, looking around the bedroom. "That would also explain why Kreacher kept it clean."
Alfie walked over to a desk where many old journals sat. "Hey, look. These are his journals, they're filled. Shall we take a look?"
"Isn't that kind of invading his privacy, Alfie?"
"The man doesn't have privacy, he's dead." he added, sitting down on the bed. "Besides, he would love his favorite niece and nephew to learn about his life."
As the two siblings opened the journal, the first words on the page were Voldemort, ring, and Death-Eater. And the reminder of Voldemort made Hope's heart slow, while Alfie became more interested.
"We should go-- I can't." she managed to say as he continued to flip through pages. "Alfie?"
"Dad's brother was a Death-Eater?" he asked in shock, not looking up. "Did you know about this?"
Hope shrugged her shoulders softly. "Vaguely, Dad doesn't talk about him much. We shouldn't even be in here."
"Wait, Uncle Regulus wasn't a true Death-Eater." gasped Alfie, his green eyes wide. "It was Dad who betrayed him--"
"Pass me that."
On another page, there were many words about Sirius Black and how he betrayed his younger brother. About how he left him alone in the house he hated. And how he wished his older brother hadn't rebelled.
The Lupin-Black boy's blond eyebrows furrowed more. "He left him all alone. Uncle Regulus was only fourteen-years-old."
"That can't be right--"
"It has to be, Hope." said Alfie, shrugging his shoulders. "Why would he write lies in his own journal?"
Hope only shook her head more, setting the journal down. "Papa has never talked bad about him, maybe he knows more than Dad. It's none of our business anyways."
Alfie only looked over, knowing Hope was starting to get freaked out. "Are you alright? We can go if you want."
"It just reminds me of Cedric, everything reminds me of Cedric." she spoke softly. "Both were killed too young, left behind loads of people. I don't know, it's dumb."
"It isn't dumb." he corrected, sitting down beside her. "This just gives us another reason to fight back, yeah? Because we're old enough to do so."
The Lupin-Black girl smiled, looking her brother in the eyes. "I like the way you put that. Another reason to fight back."
"And both Uncle Regulus and Cedric were heroes--"
"What in the blood hell are you doing in here?"
In the doorway of the bedroom of Regulus Black stood an angry Sirius Black. The two siblings didn't know why this house affected him the way it did, but they didn't like the way it changed their father.
"Uh," Alfie stuttered, looking around the room. "We were just looking--"
"Looking, hm?" Sirius questioned loudly, the tone of his voice different than they had ever heard it. "In a room that clearly says stay out?"
Alfie's green eyes narrowed, only glancing at his sister once. "We were just curious, Dad. Calm down--"
"No, no, I will not calm down, Alphard Evan." exclaimed their father, his voice booming. "There is no reason for you two to be in here. I put that sign on that door--"
"Afraid?"
Both the father and brother of Hope turned towards her, while Sirius furrowed his dark brows. "What did you just say?"
"Are you afraid, Dad?" she spoke again, standing closer to Alfie in slight fear herself. "Afraid that we were going to find out how you abandoned Uncle Regulus?"
The grey eyes of Sirius Black became guilty for only a second before turning angry once more. "You have no idea what you are talking about, Hope James. You are fifteen, you don't know anything about life--"
"But you did? Merlin, I feel like I should be the grumpy one, I lost my best friend only two months ago." snapped Hope. "But Cedric wouldn't want me lashing out at people, and neither would Uncle James."
"Uncle James?"
Hope nodded, biting her bottom lip slowly. "He wouldn't want you acting this way, and neither does Papa. Ever since the start of summer--"
"You do not know like you're talking about." snapped Sirius, narrowing his eyes at his daughter. "Once again, you are fifteen--"
"You left home at fifteen, you abandoned your own brother!" exclaimed Alfie, waving around his hands. "You surely didn't know shit about life either."
"You do not talk that way, and you do not know--"
The Lupin-Black raised his hand, stopping his father's words. "You don't talk to her that way. This is our uncle's bedroom."
Hope's grey eyes narrowed as she stood closer to her brother. "And we just wanted to know who he was. It's no different than questioning about Uncle James and Aunt Lily--"
"It is nowhere near the same. You will get out of this room and stay out of this room."
Alfie rolled his eyes, holding his hands up in defense. "Right, because this is your house, isn't it? Mind us, Mister Black. Didn't mean to trespass."
"Alfie, stop it--"
"I don't want to live here anyways." he finally yelled, walking to the door and turning back one more time. "This isn't our home, this wasn't even your home."
And as Hope Lupin-Black stormed out of the bedroom, she couldn't wait for her fifth year to start. She couldn't wait for things to go back to normal, even though they never really would.
Because war was starting, and nothing would ever be the same again.
hey guys! i kind of wanted a more drama filled prologue that leads into this book, because let's face it, order or the phoenix through deathly hallows is nothing but drama!
i am also planning another fanic (i know, i plan a lot, but i got really excited for this one) called Aurors and the main OC is Astrid Moody and the love interest is James Potter. I will have the prologue on my prologue list here soon if you are on that!
happy reading!