promises unkept
• • • • •
july 17, 1991
"Leo, get your ass down here!" The woman yelled as loud as she could, hearing loud footsteps follow shortly. She stood at the bottom of the stairs, fuming as the little boy ran downstairs.
The little boy looked at her in confusion and the woman pointed behind her. Leo followed her finger and saw a line of eggs shells, trailing from the kitchen to the living room.
"I swear, it wasn't me Ma! Skye did it!" Leo protested as the woman grabbed hold of his good ear, dragging him to the trail. "Ow ow ow Ma, careful!"
"Young man, you clean up this mess right now or so help me, that bird will be in a shelter before you can blink!"
"Skye isn't a bird, she's a sugar glider."
"I don't give a damn what she is, Leo! You will clean this mess up or there will be no more Skye!" With that, the woman threw a towel at him and retreated into the kitchen.
Leo huffed as he knelt, picking up the broken eggshell pieces. At that moment, the spoken sugar slider flew down the stairs and onto Leo's shoulder.
"Perfect timing. You got me in trouble again," Leo muttered as he collected the eggshells in the towel and threw them away. He took a rag and began wiping away the yolk. "I'm just lucky this wasn't on the carpet..."
The sugar glider only stood still, still perched on his shoulder.
After he was finished, he went back upstairs to his room. He shut the door, lay on his bed, and turned to the radio on his nightstand.
"Leo. It's time for bed!" Once again, Leo groaned. He fell back on his bed, his hand inches away from the radio's power button. He huffed as he looked at his pet.
"I would've been listening to music before bed instead of cleaning up after you if you just learned to stay in the room."
Leo sighed and petted the animal, gently twirling the black fur between his fingers. Leo turned off the lamp on his bedside table and pulled the covers over him, snuggling into the comfort of his bed. He slowly felt himself drifting to sleep, the last thing he sees being Skye on the windowsill.
"Leo? Leo, are you alright?!" A voice called to him, echoing from the walls of his dream.
'Who...'
"Leo? Are you sure you're ready?"
"Are you sure it'll work?"
A voice that wasn't his spoke. Leo looked down at himself. As well as not sounding like himself, he also didn't look anything like his 11-year-old body.
The body he was in was much older. It wore ragged and dirty clothes, clothes that Ma would never let him wear outside, and when he brought his hand up to touch his face, he could feel the cold silver of a ring on his right hand.
"Don't worry. After all of this is over, I'll get you an even better ring." A familiar-looking guy, with blonde hair and grey eyes, talked to him. He grabbed his right hand and smiled.
"Let's just focus on winning this battle. I'd very much like to go home." A girl that looked very familiar to the body Leo was in spoke. Her hair looked like she cut it with a rock and there was a scar that trailed from the bottom of her right eye to her chin.
"Yeah, Malfoy. Quit trying to make moves on Leo and focus on winning the battle."
"Scared you have competition and I'll steal your boyfriend, Potter?"
"You wish."
Although their words seemed mean, Leo could tell they meant no harm. The boy with messy brown hair mentioned his name. Could it be possible this body was his, yet older?
"Don't worry, Leo. We're in this together, remember?" The boy with messy hair leaned forward, pressing a kiss on his forehead. "When we're done, we can finally settle down in a cottage house on the beach, just like you want."
"Pack it up, lovebirds!" Leo looked up to see various people in front of him. A guy with long blond hair, a girl with brown hair and red streaks, a boy with dyed blue hair, and various people with all different appearances looked at him.
The boy with blue hair came up to him, holding out his hand. "Ready for another adventure, Snape?"
"Always, Flores."
"Leo! Someone's here for you!" As always, Leo was woken by Ma screaming something and pulled out of whatever dream he was having. Leo jumped out of bed, falling on the floor and hitting his head on the nightstand. He groaned as he got up and put on a nearby jacket, throwing open the door and rushing downstairs.
"I never-" Leo stopped short when he noticed the blond woman in their living room.
She has the same blond hair as the one the Potter guy called Malfoy...
Instantly, Leo's detective mode turned on and he straightened her posture. He held out his hand to the woman.
"Leo Snape. Who might you be?"
The woman just laughed, deciding to indulge Leo's behavior. She shook his hand with a slight smile.
"Narcissa Malfoy. I'm the caseworker for you. I'm just here to check up on you and your living space."
"Mrs. Malfoy, Leo has been-"
"Ms. Garcia, right? You adopted Leo with the intent to fill a void in both of your lives since your husband died. Am I correct?"
"Yes, you are."
"This visit is a way for me to speak with Leo, and I'm afraid I'll have to inform you that it requires not even a glance of you. If you'll excuse us, I'd like to take Leo to his room, or any private room of his choice, where I could speak to him privately. Do you understand?"
"Mrs. Malfoy, we can go to my room. However, I do ask that you don't speak to Ma like that. She's only looking out for me."
Leo gazed at her, not breaking eye contact. Narcissa could feel herself smile more and she nodded. Leo motioned for her to follow him and he lead her upstairs.
The room was painted a lavender color, with white drapes and carpet over the floor. A lavish bed with pictures and paintings all over the wall decorated his room.
"As you can see," Leo closed the door behind them, "I'm very taken care of. Now that you're here though, maybe you could help me answer some questions."
"Before we start, I feel as if I should clear up some things; one: I'm not a social caseworker, and two: you're not who you think you are."
• • • • •
july 17, 1991
"Hey, Heaven! Come on, let's go play in the fields!" Heaven's best friend, Max Flores, called to her from the bottom of the stairs. He jumped in excitement, yet still didn't dare to run up the stairs. Boys and girls were meant to be kept separate and neither was allowed on the others' stairwell.
East Bridge Academy for Young Delinquents is a school run by Ms. Abernathy, built in 1773 to 'pave the way of education for the less unfortunate by teaching the youth positive alternate ways for negative behavior and build respect and moral character.' In truth, it was just a way for the staff to cheat the government out of their money without any real consequences. The children all got their food from food drives or local markets and their clothes from flea markets and thrift shops. Sometimes, if they were lucky enough, people would create fundraisers or donations for them and drop them off on their front porch.
No one from outside was allowed in, lest they 'taint the carefully constructed minds of the young children.' Students from ages as low as a few months and as high as 16 years came to the academy. Heaven was barely 11, yet that still made her one of the eldest girls in the building. She got put here after she accidentally set her old caretaker on fire when she was told her parents had abandoned her because she was stupid. Heaven wasn't even sure how she'd caught on fire. There was nothing flammable and no fire source to even start the fire. However, Heaven was the only other person in the room, even in the house, so naturally, they blamed her.
"Are you coming?!" Max called again. Heaven took a deep breath, trying to keep her excitement composed as she walked down the stairs. She nodded in greeting to Max, and they made their way to the corn fields outside, along with others who also found fun in the seemingly forever-ongoing maze. As soon as their reached the corn fields and were far into the tall stalks, her composure dropped.
"Oh, man! Come on Max!" She grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him forward, laughing with him as they ran through the fields together. "Look, Max! Onyx is back!"
Onyx, the dog in question, bounded towards them with excitement. Onyx was a black hound with grey eyes. Heaven and Mac sat down as they pet Onyx, taking corn from the stalks to wave in his face and finding loose sticks to throw. "So did you have any weird dreams again?"
Heaven shrugged, trying to find the right words to answer his question. Max was Heaven's best friend and, therefore, the one Heaven told everything to.
"It was different last night... I was standing next to a girl who looks similar to me, except she wasn't me. From what I gathered, someone named Leo was leading us into battle. And..."
"And?"
"You were there too, Max. Except your hair was a darker shade of blue."
"I'm still incredibly handsome though, right?" Max joked as he strikes a pose, laughing when Heaven threw a pile of dirt at his feet. Onyx barked and wagged his tail. Max had made an impulse decision to dye his hair blue some months ago and it came out a bit brighter than he wanted. Nevertheless, he kept it, despite Ms. Abernathy's crazed looks and obvious sneers. Besides, there was nothing in the rulebook about dyed hair or changing appearances.
"Amazing dog, isn't he?" A man with unruly, dark hair and grey eyes stood above them. He was crouched forward and dirt created layers on his clothes. Heaven noticed how Max tensed, as he always did around adults.
"Oh, no. We're so sorry, Mister! Is this your dog? We swear we meant no harm." Heaven got up, dusting off her skirt and her shirt before bowing to the man. The man just laughed and waved at her dismissingly.
"No, no, you're fine. I'm Regulus and the dog you're playing with is Sirius."
"Sirius? We always just called him Onyx." Max put a hand on his neck sheepishly.
"Oh, that's fine. I'm sure he enjoyed the attention either way."
They stood there for a moment. Heaven analyzed the man, noticing the way he slouched slightly, how he tucked his hair behind his left ear, and how he fiddled with the silver ring on his right hand. "Was there something you needed? Ms. Abernathy takes all mail and packages on the front porch and, if you'd like, I'll be happy to-"
"No!" The man said quickly, and Heaven backed up slightly. "I-I mean no, I'm fine. I actually came to talk to you, Heaven."
"Me?" The more Heaven looked at him, the more she was intrigued. The man in front of her was so familiar and she just couldn't figure out why.
"Heaven, I think we should get Ms. Abernathy," Max whispered beside her but Heaven just waved him away. She stared at the man, trying to get a glimpse of something in his eyes that would uncover his true intentions. She straightened her posture and turned on her detective mode.
"Why would you want to talk to me?" Max sighed and glanced at the house.
"We've got about 23 minutes before Ms. Abernathy calls everyone inside for dinner."
"So? Why did you want to talk to me? How do you know my name?" Regulus perked up and leaned closer.
"Have you ever had weird dreams?"
• • • • •
july 17, 1991
"Alex!" The nurse came bounding into the room, as usual. She set the food tray on the stand next to Alex's hospital bed and removed the past day's tray. "Got your favorite - strawberries and chocolate milk. There's your daily sandwich and apple, as well."
"Thanks, Maya. You're the best."
"So what was it this time? Skateboarding accident? New bully to fight? Saving an old lady?" Alex was accident-prone, something she'd always been since she was small. It took everything they had for Alex's parents to keep the house baby-proofed until she turned 10.
"Uhh... I tripped...but it's not a big deal." Alex turned her head and blushed in embarrassment. Maya turned to her and raised an eyebrow.
"Ok, ok... I was running down the porch steps and I tripped." Alex mumbled. Maya pressed her lips together tight, trying to keep from laughing. Alex threw a pillow at her.
"Keep laughing all you want, prat."
"Oh! I almost forgot." Maya got up and opened the hospital door, motioning to a tall lady with a pointed hat.
"Picked her up near the entrance, looking like a lost pup. Must be your aunt, I reckon?"
"Minerva McGonagall, Hogwarts professor."
"Hogwarts? Sounds like a school for frogs."
"I assure you that it is indeed not a school for frogs." McGonagall closed her lips tight, trying to keep from smiling.
"So? What does this Hogwarts have to do with me?"
"Our Headmaster of Hogwarts deemed it necessary that it's time you learn of your true heritage. Haven't you ever wondered where you came from?"
"Uh... no, not really. But sure, go ahead and pull me into whatever crazy mess my parents made and take me away from my peaceful life." Alex rolled her eyes and sighed, leaning back against the headboard. Maya waved her goodbye and closed the door behind her.
"So? Are you gonna just stand there or are you gonna tell me about my drug-dealing parents?"
• • • • •
TO BE CONTINUED