Chapter Text
Late August, 1977
Autumn hangs heavy in the air of the Potter estate.
Willow trees taking up space wildly and naturally in casual disarray, with no intended purpose of placement; they sway along to the wind. Old and wise they stand tall yet shimmer with magic as if alive and brimming with stories only old age provides.
Wisteria vines hang low as they jut out against the stark contrast of the white planked exterior of the manor, purple petals beginning to brim with brown as they wilt. Hot humid air growing softer with the change of cool breezes, week old summer weather melting along with the changing season of autumn as the sun readily sets faster than the day before.
The homely Potter manor is bright and lit with life compared to the acclimating landscape, red and orange paint the land and darkening sky in tinges of warm hues. Vaguely romanticising the death of living things in well seasoned practice, the end of summer and green life paving way for anew.
Inside, the commotion of laughter and singing fills the air, the distraction heavy amidst the challenge of a rising war.
“Do you cry a lot?” Mia snorts, brown eyes brimming with mischief.
Sirius stares at her incredulously, his mouth agape, “Excuse me- Do I what?” He questions further; eyebrows raised hysterically high.
Mia huffs amused but also slightly annoyed at the prospect of having to repeat herself. “Do you, Sirius Orion Black. Cry a lot?”.
“No no I definitely heard you, I’m just wondering where the fuck it came from.”. He muses, he was fully facing her now while his body still lazily took up the whole couch.
She smiles, her joy melting into her next words.
“Well I was thinking about it and your initials spell S.O.B don’t they?” she questions like it was obvious to deduct her thought process. “I hardly think it was unintentional,” The latter makes an expression as though to show he’s thinking rather thoughtfully about her words, she continues.
“Your mams a bit of a sadistic bitch isn’t she?”.
Sirius barks a fit of laughter.
“Just made me wonder if y’know Walburga damned you to eternal sadness right from birth.”, she shrugs off her statement.
A pillow vaulted towards her face, no doubt coming from the direction Sirius is sitting in, although he’s sat upright now. He pouts, characteristically “Oh shut up,” he whines, though humour is still evident in his voice.
“I do not cry.” He moves to kneel on the floor, decency thrown out the window and to the dogs as he begs James to tell her, he in fact does not cry. Actually she’s pretty sure he’s just begging to be defended at this point. He’d been the receiver of her more short fused comments lately after he targeted her in a prank that resulted in unsuccessful sleep for a week on her end.
“Nah Mia’s right padfoot, you cry a lot for a bloke.” He makes a face when he sees the look Sirius shoots him and widens his eyes. “Not- that there's anything wrong with that, you know me.” He chuckles, “I’m in touch with my feminine side.”
Mia cringes, James is now flexing his muscles. It’s hardly an odd sight but she’s had enough of their stupidity for some time now, she ignores the motion entirely.
James grins at the two, he’s busied himself the last hour by cleaning and scrubbing all over the kitchen to her left. Between the three of them, mess had accumulated over the long few weeks of their school break and his indifference to the stains and dirty bowls was beginning to falter.
It’s one thing she likes about her brother James, he loves to clean. Although a bit obsessively at times. She grins nonetheless, preparing herself for another snarky comment.
“I hate how you say that while cleaning -- In a kitchen,” Mia adds. “It’s nice to see that times are progressing.” She turns away from them to flick between the muggle movies they had picked out and placed on the coffee table. Most of the covers decorating them have depictions of blood and gore, she frowns and her expression picks up when she sees Grease as an option. She was fascinated by the muggles in America; they were very different from the ones she had seen in England.
“Hey!” He calls from the kitchen, “I was getting sick of your mess, besides…”
“Everyone knows I’m a feminist. It’s one of my more charming qualities, Lily told me so herself.”
James crossed his hand over his heart still holding the rag, he looked absolutely ridiculous with his head tilted up adorning a ridiculous expression of playfulness, his lips pursed downwards.
“I love women, no I adore them. I promise to worship the very ground they walk on”
Sirius snorts, fondness resting in his gaze.
James looks towards Mia, “Except you of course, m’not sure if you actually count as a girl.” He eyes the movie she has in hand. “Ugh, nevermind you definitely are, what is with girls and that stupid movie it’s not even good.” He complains.
He threw the rag he was holding towards them, it landed flat on the dark haired boy's face. Water drips from it as Sirius extracts it from his face.
Disgusted and slightly mortified, he reacts quickly, throwing himself up from where he was lying face up on the floor.
“Excuse me! I am an innocent bystander in this bickering.” He argues. “By no means should my handsome face be defiled by whatever was on that.” His eyebrows raised high.
James and Mia laugh, the sound filling up the space they’re inhabiting no doubt as a result of his absurdity. Padfoot soon joins in once his disgustion wears off, his own grin widening.
Fleeing to the Potter’s was probably the best decision Sirius had ever made. Moments like this made him forget about what he went through inside of the Black household. Although Mia had never heard the full story she understands fully well the severity of his past situation and the torturous things that he had gone through at 12 Grimmauld place.
Sirius chose not to let his thoughts linger on the Black residence any longer, he was here now and that wasn’t going to change anytime soon, he hopes.
Mia eyes Sirius and his face as it crinkles with an emotion she can't quite place, she thinks of Regulus for a second, blinks, and thinks of him no more when she notices the slight change of Sirius’s slouched posture. Mia speaks up this time with new found vigor,
“How’re we getting to Kings Cross tomorrow? Mum and Dad are out on official Order business, did they say when they’d be back?”
Sirius reaches over from where he’s sitting and wraps his arms around her shoulders as if to guide her thoughts. “Oh you let us worry about that little Potter, your big brother Sirius will take care of it.”. She shrugs his arms off.
“And how exactly will you be doing that, need I remind you your seventeenth birthday isn’t for a few months and as I recall that means no magic outside of school.”.
He looks at her for a second and then back at James who’s grinning, “We have our ways.”.
-
When James said that- what she didn’t expect was the three of them lugging around their trunks in the busy streets of London, the trio had received one or two odd stares but not enough to deter them.
They had floo’d via the leaky cauldron and were currently covered in a small degree of soot, all of them slightly sneezy. “I thought you would’ve had a more efficient way of travelling when you said something yesterday if I had known this I would’ve stayed home.” Mia mumbles.
“Oh shush up.”
James looks left and right on the street they were currently on, as he makes a curt face as if deeming it an adequately empty street he manoeuvres the wand tucked into his sleeve into the palm of his hand. Tapping it three times against the sidewalk they were standing on and cautiously took a step back.
Mia stared at her brother incredulously and wondered what the hell they were doing while Sirius was looking rather bored. He perked up, suddenly, when a gust of wind and blur of dark navy colours appeared in front of the trio. Smugly James looked over his shoulder towards his sister “Our ride is here.”
The doors of the knight bus opened and a driver with thick round glasses barely even glanced at them as he spoke. “Right so where’re you lot off too?”
“Uh- Kings Cross station,” James was fumbling with his words, their luggage had disappeared from hand and murmurs were heard to the left of them. Mia stared watching with interest as a tired man fumbled with their belongings. When he was done he ushered them into the cramped bus.
“One trip to Kings Cross, 15 sickles.”
“Bloody hell, 15 sickles? I should be getting vip service for that price” James adds on, though it was only meant for Sirius’s ears the bus driver called out to his partner. “Write that down, boy. 15 sickles and a toothbrush er somethin’ to go along with it .Maybe we should start selling hot chocolate once it gets colder…” he mumbles off talking and muttering his own thoughts aloud.
Pulling on the gears of the bus they hurdled forward, Mia grabbing onto her brother’s jacket slightly for an ounce of stability. The knight bus was famous for getting wizards to where they needed to be incredibly fast; mainly those that couldn’t afford more private means of transportation. It was rare to see purebloods aboard the mode of transport. Save for the three blood traitors that were on it right now.
Mia was quite aware of the magic it took to power such a bus she just never assumed it would feel so powerful as this. She wonders how the bus driver was able to sit up straight amongst the chaos of London traffic and pull of gravity.
Experience, she presumes soundly.
With one swift movement of his hand he pulls up to the station and opens the doors for them. “Here we are, Kings Cross.”. Mia’s hand rushes to hold her mouth, “I think I’m gonna be sick.”.
The trio practically fall out of the bus as a result of her rushing forward out of the confines of the small charmed space, finding balance on a nearby pole she holds herself upright though slightly hunched and manages to steady herself of any oncoming sickness. She hears James and Sirius offer a ‘thanks mate,’ to the bus driver of the death contraption she thinks dramatically and see’s the two give him the fare for the cost of the short but magically intricate trip.
James eyes his sister and tosses her luggage in her direction. “Alright?” He asks, himself picking up his own belongings, his voice comes out softer than he means too.
“Yeah,” She raises, although it sounds more like a question. “I think - I think I swallowed breakfast for the second time”.
James thinks thoughtfully for a second before speaking, “If you need to rest for a sec,” James looks behind his shoulder to SIrius whose impatience is showing “ I can tell him to bugger off, I mean it-”
“I know James,” Mia smiles, her eyes crinkling. “Thanks.”
Padfoot who had been quiet for a while speaks up, “Prongs, for the love of - Oh sweet merlin. Can you two hurry up? Please.” he quips softly albeit a bit harshly at first.
“I haven’t seen Moony and Wormtail for weeks now.” His hands are practically on his hips, she knows he’s itching to see Remus.
A full moon had occurred two days ago and she’s sure Remus would still be feeling the effects of it. “Yeah- er right lets go.” She wonders if he realises that they all haven’t seen each other for two consecutive weeks, with Peter travelling abroad and Remus stuck in Wales they hadn’t had the time.
She spares James a look and she knows what he's thinking but she promptly moves past it, she’s okay. She’s sure of it.
The three of them make their way to platform 9 ¾’s, dodging muggles dressed in business attire on their way to work as they push their way through the crowds of people, slipping into the charmed brick wall. They enter and are met with an even busier platform, huddles of families and parents kissing their precious children, friends seeing each other for the first time after time apart, and a multitude of idle people here to say goodbye and wave their people off with last minute necessities she’s sure will barely be used.
Hogwarts students have a knack for over packing and bringing rather useless items from home, just last term all four girls in her dorm including herself had brought hair irons and none were touched as they simply waved their wands in its stead.
She watched with mild interest the concentration on Sirius’s face and how it faltered briefly, only for a moment, like a mispress of a key when playing the piano as he saw his mother Walburga before she apparated promptly leaving the only heir of noble house of Black to gather himself together on his own, Regulus undoubtedly stands out, with his intimidating height.
He stood a head taller than the boy in front of him, someone she briefly recognised as being in James’s year.
Geez, she wonders.
Where the height went when it came to Sirius’ she has no idea. While he wasn’t short or lacking perpendicularly, a comparison of the two siblings easily finds Sirius looking smaller and perhaps his height has him mistaken as the younger brother because of it.
Amongst the growing crowd of people her own brown eyes were surveying the heir, she could definitely see the distinct similarities held between him and Siriusl. It was uncanny how identical they looked.
From the distance that separates them Mia could still see the regal way in which Regulus held himself, cursed Black genetics.
What must it be like to grow up that beautiful? She thinks. Her eyes blinking slow and wide, it’s cruelly unfair the way his hair cascades into place like dominoes, it’s cropped and dark perched above his eyebrows; dauntingly perfect as ever. He's so poetically beautiful she feels sorry, she’s unsure why.
Regulus Black just has that effect.
His presence alone demands attention. Or maybe that’s just her false perspective she deems because absolutely no one else on the platform spares him a second glance, too caught up in their own affairs.
The strange feeling she has when she observes him is oddly melancholic but it peters out before she has the chance to care. Unsure when exactly it happens; Mia blanks out. She finds Regulus staring back at her straight in the eyes; he’d apparently caught her looking much too long for her to simply direct her eyes and pretend he’d just caught her glance as she was looking around.
Something about the silent staring contest is oddly embarrassing but looking away now would be even more humiliating, and she doesn’t know why.
A look is thrown her way by Regulus it’s almost accusatory, she sees his eyebrows tilt upwards slightly, his lips parted just a little. Mia swears for the life of her she sees Regulus fucking Black smirk. Almost instantly it's covered and a new indifferent expression is plastered on his face.
That whole minute interaction has completely thrown her off her previous thoughts. Mia’s own thoughts echo back to her unsolicitedly, Regulus Black just has the effect. Instead of dwelling on their brief, very brief interaction she mindlessly follows James as he directs the three of them into the train.
She trails after James, who was currently following Sirius who had jumped in front to lead them past the array of wildly crowded compartments, their eyes scanning each one hurriedly to find where their best mates were.
Upon looking into the occupants of the next one Sirius recognises the curly mop of hair that was Remus Lupin chatting to a happy red head. A smile etched across his face, sliding the door open Moony was the first to recognise the trio arriving. “Remus bloody Lupin, I missed you,”
Sirius’s arms were thrown up and wrapped promptly around the taller boy, his own smile a cause of Sirius’s infectious nature. He gently removed the latter off him, receiving a pout from the action. “I saw you two weeks ago?”
“Two weeks too long I say-”. Their conversation lost in and amongst the chatter of everyone catching up.
James eyes Lily while she recounts her summer to him, he takes in her long red hair that he admires dearly, he takes in her green eyes that all but gleam and twinkle, swimming with life. Mia knows there's something about Lily that's so poignantly beautiful, she can see it in her magic. The way it encompasses her and settles over her like cascading warmth.
Her existence is breathtakingly wild with life; she supposes James has always been a selfish git.
He can’t help but want to treasure someone so enchanting. He can’t help himself. He’s never been able to share when he truly loves something. The radiance Lily is gifted with all but materialises in James eyes, he sees stars or something close because he’s positively glowing.
Mia settles herself against the plush seating and stares out the window, watching the buildings recede and wide open country spread as far as she can see; the rolling hills gradually multiplying as the soft sway of the train lulls her to sleep. She yawns and closes her eyes, preparing herself for a long train ride and perhaps an even longer school year.