Pranking hearts

Rhea was standing in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place, cutting herself some fruit as a snack. It has been a rather quiet day. She hasn't seen either her uncle or her father around the whole day. The only one keeping her company was Kreacher, a house elf with whom she gained some sort of friendship over her time here, he saw her as a very kind and gentle soul. Might be because she helped tidy up the kitchen one night after her father's failed attempt at cooking. Anyone else who could keep her company today were the portraits on the walls, she had no desire to speak to any of them, oh and of course her new companion.

A black and white furry creature was resting on her shoulder, expertly looking at her hands that were holding a shiny knife. Thinking of the ways how he could steal it. A Niffler. Rhea got the creature at the start of the week from her father. It was his take on cheering her up and it worked out miraculously. Of course, it was a right shock for Remus when he came back from his business for the Order. But he couldn't say anything anymore since Rhea had already fallen in love with the creature.

His name was Sickle and over the four days, he became Rhea's most trusted companion. He was always around Rhea as if knowing she needed his support. The only time he wasn't was when he was sneaking around to snatch some glimmering objects around the house. Of course, the poor thing had to be careful of the cursed objects since the Black household seemed to be full of them.

Sickle had some quick grabbers on him. He was able to take anything from anyone without them noticing. Rhea had to return Remus' watch three times already and her dad's been losing spoons from his hands every time he tried to eat his breakfast last morning. Though he never even dared to steal Rhea's necklace which she still wore on her neck ever since she got it from her father.

"Want apple pal?" She asked offering the square of apple to the Niffler. He carefully took it into his paws, sniffing it before taking a careful bite. She was positive he would just suck the juice out of it and leave the rest but as long as he was occupied and didn't steal anything it was fine with her. Merlin knows what Remus would say if Sickle stole something of his again. It was obvious Remus wasn't really fond of the idea of having any magical creature in the house but figured he had no say in it since this was Sirius' house. So Rhea decided to at least make it easy on him and get her new companion to behave.

Rhea was already about to leave for her room with the bowl of cut fruits when she stopped at the sound of the front door opening and closing. Suddenly, she remembered her wand was left upstairs. Her dad said that this was the safest place to be since her grandfather secured the place with more than one spell. But still, intense worry was present in her all the time. She simply felt safer with her wand around, no clue why she left it upstairs on her bedside table.

Carefully she peaked from the kitchen towards the stairs and stared up the staircase trying to figure out who could have come into the house. Casting a look at her Niffler, who tilted his head to the side as if understanding what she meant by the look. Both of them nodded at each other and slowly walked up the stairs. Taking a step by step very carefully, making no noise. When she was almost at the top she could see the light coming from the corridor leading to the main door. She could hear voices coming from there. Too many voices for her liking.

"I'm sure they should be here somewhere. Sirius is usually in the dining room or somewhere upstairs. But Rhea is mostly in her room." She could clearly recognise her uncle's voice now. It gave her a bit of confidence to climb up the rest of the stairs. "Or she's right here," Remus stated when he finally saw his goddaughter. A set of heads turned around to greet her all of which she knew. They all had the usual ginger hair and it was impossible to mix them up for anyone else. The Weasleys.

She didn't even have time to say hello when suddenly someone rushed over to her capturing her in a bone-crushing hug. Long ginger hair tickled her nose as the girl as tall as her hugged her around the shoulders. Ginny. The only Weasley daughter. Sickle on Rhea's shoulder squeaked in discomfort, almost falling off of Rhea because of the ginger girl.

"Hey Gin, easy there." Rhea chuckled, pulling away from the girl and helping Sickle adjust himself on her shoulder.

"Oh my Merlin, you have a Niffler!" Ginny exclaimed. The creature hid in Rhea's hair, frightened by Ginny's endless enthusiasm. Rhea sighed, feeling the creature tugging at her hair in fright.

"That's Sickle. He's not that fond of loud noises." Rhea said, hoping Ginny would get the hint. The redhead blushed, slightly embarrassed by her previous behaviour.

"Sorry," She muttered softly. Finally, Rhea had the time to greet the others as well. Mrs Weasley immediately pulled her in a hug as well. The young Black smiled, content in the hug of the kind woman. She quite missed it, it's been long since she last saw her. Not counting the time Weasleys were visiting Hogwarts. She didn't have much time to interact with them then.

"Oh Rhea my dear, it is so lovely to see you." Mrs Weasley said happily, choking the life out of the girl. "You've gotten quite thin dear, it's a good thing we came." Finally released from the hug, Rhea took a step back. Rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly. A polite smile on her face.

That however disappeared when her eyes travelled from Ron to George until they fell on Fred. A frown replaced her smile instantly. She turned away very quickly, causing the Niffler on her shoulder to squeak in surprise. Her long hair swayed around her like a veil made of gold. At least that's what Fred saw it as.

The young girl turned to her uncle with a look that practically screamed she wasn't very pleased with some of their guests being there. She wasn't even aware someone would be coming in when the day originally began. So to say that she was surprised and not very pleasantly would be an understatement.

"Don't give me that look, young lady, if you'd come out of your room once in a blue moon you would know that the Weasleys are going to be staying with us here for the rest of the summer," Remus said back to her without her even having to ask or say anything.

He already knew that look. She wasn't happy with this. He was indeed aware of that. But on the other hand, he didn't really care at the moment. Since he believed her conflict should be resolved one way or another. And this was probably the best way for that.

"Sure would've been nice to know beforehand wouldn't it?" Rhea said through gritted teeth. She was trying to act nice in front of the visit. She didn't want to offend any of the Weasleys or give them the impression she didn't want them there. She just didn't want to see Fred. Yet here he was, in the hallway of her house.

"I'm sure it would. Now be a dear and show your friends to their rooms." Remus said.

"Which rooms?" Rhea asked, not fully understanding what he meant.

"Rhea darling, you act as if we didn't have any free rooms in this house." Came a new voice from the stairs. Rhea looked up only to see her father standing there giving her a teasing smile. Rhea frowned. Of course, her dad had to come in to interfere. "I'm sure you can find a room for your friends that will serve their needs," He encouraged.

"Just leave the guest room on the third floor out of the selection. We'll put Arthur and Molly in there." Remus said, giving a nod to the Weasley parents who smiled back in appreciation.

"Certainly." Sirius agreed with a nod of his head before turning to his daughter. "Off you go now, some walking around will do you good. No need for you to be locked up in your chamber all day princess."

"Yes, Dad," Rhea mumbled under her breath turning to her friends reluctantly. "Let's go then," She said without any enthusiasm in her voice, but the Weasley kids didn't seem to mind they just started following Rhea up the stairs.

"Oh, and Rhea," Sirius called out to his daughter when she was already almost on the first floor. He waited for her to turn around and look at him before he spoke. "Not the room where we keep Buckbeak." He warned her, already knowing what she might want to do. The blonde sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Fine." She dragged out the ending of the word, sounding pretty annoyed. But Sirius didn't take it to heart. He knew why she was like this. It was pretty obvious to him when he saw the two identical gingers, one of them with the most love-crazed look he had ever seen. Looks like the situation Rhea described to him wasn't as hopeless as she thought it was.

She led them up the creaky old stairs, pleasantly surprised that the portrait of her grandmother didn't start the usual howling session she so enthusiastically gets into whenever someone walks past. The old cloth they put over her must be helping the case, for a while at least.

Every time she walked up this staircase she did all in her power to not look at the walls. This wasn't like the Weasley house in the slightest. The walls weren't decorated with pictures of family or drawings. No, that would be far too simple and too normal for the likes of Black.

The wall on the stair is decorated with a row of shrunken house-elf heads, mounted on the wall on plaques. Poor creatures that once served the noble and most ancient house of Black, deserved their place on the wall next to the stairs. What a great reward for endless years of faithful service.

Rhea could feel Ginny and Ron growing uncomfortable behind her as they stared at the walls with wide, fearful eyes. She could relate to that as her impression of the place when she first came in was almost the same. Fred and George were looking at the dead creatures on the wall sceptically as if waiting for them to spring to life and jump out of the wall.

When they reached the first floor Rhea stopped by the drawing room. That's the room where her father usually crashed at night on one of the couches. In front of the tapestry. She wasn't sure why he would choose that place instead of the comfortable bed that he had upstairs but she didn't find the courage to ask about it.

She turned around to look at her friends. Trying to figure out who would be best suited for the room here. Her eyes instantly fell on Ginny. She was the only girl here and this area would be far from any of her brothers. Seemed like the best choice.

"Gin, this is you," Rhea said, pointing to the door at the end of the small corridor. Ginny grinned happily and walked over to the door to toss her bag with clothes in. Inside she spotted the same old interior as all the rooms had, but also found two beds in the room that looked pretty comfortable for being so old. With a shrug, she threw her bag on one of the beds and went to join the others in the tour of the house.

"Where's the kitchen?" Ron asked suddenly when Rhea went to explain everything that was on the first floor. She looked over at Ron with a weird expression.

"Of course, he would ask that," George muttered with a hint of a laugh. Wanting to poke some fun at his brother but Fred didn't look like he wanted to join.

"Um, the kitchen is in the basement, that's where I came from when I saw you in the entrance hall. And I'll have to get back there because I left my fruit salad there." Rhea sighed, remembering her snack got left behind in the haste of things.

She led them through the first floor, showing Ginny where the bathroom is and warning her about the bad doorknob the doors had. Briefly, she mentioned the drawing room, but she thought that no one would really be interested in the room since it only held the Black memorable things. Nothing that should concern them.

The tour took them to another flight of stairs. Everyone was already a little tired from seeing all the stairs in the house. They were all used to it. The Weasley household also had many stairs and Rhea was here for two weeks already so she got used to it. That didn't mean that she was happy to absolve the walk every time she needed something from the kitchen or when she was going to her room.

Once they reached the second floor there was a rustle coming from the master bedroom. Rhea sighed hearing Ron shriek. She told her dad that keeping the large creature in the old room of her grandparents wasn't the best idea.

"Relax, that's just Buckbeak. Probably is trying to find himself a place to sleep. He's been putting the room apart for ages." Rhea commented absentmindedly.

"Buckbeak?" Ron repeated with disbelief.

"Mhm, and here's your room Ron. Have fun bunking in with my great grandfather Phineas." Rhea stated with a smirk, opening the door to Ron to reveal his room for the rest of the summer. The room had two twin beds and a wardrobe, and like the rest of the house was gloomy and dark with the smell of mould but it also had a lofty ceiling just like the rest of the house, which Rhea quite liked.

And exactly as the young Black said on the opposite wall was placed a portrait of an old man that seemed to be asleep still.

"You can't be serious," Ron whined, looking at the sleeping man with fear.

"I'm not, my father is," Rhea said back with a smirk, receiving a bored look from Ron. "Cheer up mate, that's the previous headmaster of Hogwarts, you can learn so much from him. And he sleeps most of the time anyway and sometimes he's not even here. You'll be the best of friends, you'll see." She tried to cheer the boy up, patting his back encouragingly before walking away.

She was followed by the rest of the Weasleys down the corridor while Ron carefully put his bag in the room. He was sure to follow after the other at a neck-breaking speed. Finally, there was a last few steps keeping Rhea from finishing the tour.

"All right folks. The third floor. Here's where uncle Moony sleeps, so that room's a no, that one should be left for your parents. This leaves us with...this one." Rhea said opening the door that was right opposite the stairs, revealing yet another bedroom with two beds. "Twins, all yours."

The room looked quite normal, there were no house-elf heads on the walls, or creepy old portraits hanging around. The twins were quite satisfied unless some ghost comes through the wall they are happy. The only thing bothering them is that their parents are just down the hall. That will make pranking a little harder on them since their mum hears everything.

"Why do they get a portrait-free room?" Ron complained.

"Would you rather sleep with Buckbeak?" Rhea offered, causing Ron to shake his head.

"I'm sure me and Phineas will get along," He muttered. His head hanging low.

"Where's your room?" Fred asked out of nowhere. It was the first time he spoke directly to her. Actually, it was the first time he spoke to her since the truth serum accident. It shocked her, to say the least, but she didn't hesitate to put on a cold expression.

"In this house," She answered.

"And what's up there?" George asked, pointing to the stairs that led to the fourth floor, Rhea's floor.

"Fourth floor." Before anyone could say anything she continued. "No one's permitted to go there without permission. Got me?" Ron and Ginny nodded while the twins just smirked. She just gave them a challenge unknowingly. "Fine, that's all of the house I guess. Better not be opening any cupboards that seem suspicious and don't touch any jewellery or anything that looks ancient. Things here tend to be cursed." She called over her shoulder before she went to walk up the stairs.

The Weasleys all walked to their designated rooms to unpack and get settled in. It took a few moments for Rhea to realise she was missing something. She looked around her, trying to figure it out.

"Rhea! Come get your Niffler out of your grandmother's china!" Her father called from the ground floor, sounding amused but stern at the same time. Rhea looked over at her shoulder, finally noticing her Niffler was gone. Her eyes went wide as she tossed her hair over her shoulder and bolted down the stairs, pushed by twins who were just about to exit their room.

"Merlin, Sickle!"Rhea called, racing down the wooden stairs. Trying to get to her pet fast.

***

"Can you please just let me talk to you?" Was heard from down the corridor when Sirius made his way towards the kitchen. He could clearly recognise the male voice as one of the twins. He wasn't sure which one was it. Quite frankly he wasn't sure he would be able to tell them apart even if he saw them.

But it was safe to say that this was one of them. He got quite used to their voices while watching the Quidditch games in his dog form. Honestly, both boys were pretty loud. Could almost match up with the commentator Jordan.

The twin sounded desperate to speak to the person they were referring to. It was as if he had something very important to say.

"Of course, you can talk." This voice belonged to his daughter. It was pretty obvious now who was trying to talk to her. Fred Weasley. The poor lad's been trying to make things right between the two of them ever since he came into the house four days ago. So far Rhea's been doing a great job at ignoring the boy every chance she got. From time to time gracing him with a snappy comment.

Sirius could see that the boy was trying. His daughter just seemed too headstrong to listen. But he knew better. Every time Fred tried speaking to her she made a straight line to her room, locking herself in so she wouldn't have to listen to him. Knowing that anything the ginger would say would persuade her to stop being mad at him.

"It's just too bad I won't be here for it. Bye-bye," Rhea called to him quickly rushing out of the kitchen. She smiled when she passed by her dad, but didn't dare to say anything to him or stop by knowing Sirius would try to persuade her to get back and talk to the boy. He's tried that on multiple occasions.

The man walked into the seemingly abandoned kitchen. With great difficulty spotting the ginger boy sitting behind the table with his head resting on his hands. He looked quite tired and defeated by the failed attempt.

Of course, Sirius could understand the behaviour of his daughter. It was pretty clear why she was angry. But the hatred she was trying to push onto herself just to mask her feelings was hurting her as well and it was becoming hard to watch.

With a sigh he walked over to the ginger, sitting in a chair in front of him. The screeching sound the chair made against the tiled floor forced Fred to look up. He was surprised to see Sirius there, and a little embarrassed knowing that the older man most likely heard the conversation between Fred and Rhea. If one could call that a conversation anyway.

"You can breathe boy, I'm not here to bite your head off." Fred still looked embarrassed by a little more relaxed once he was assured that the man in front of him wasn't going to cause him any harm for hurting his daughter. "But I have to say that your attempt was pretty pathetic." He couldn't help but remark causing the young ginger to groan.

"I just don't know what to do. She keeps avoiding me." Fred whined, not minding the fact that he was confining in a man that he should actually be scared of.

"I wonder why that is," Sirius remarked sarcastically, rolling his eyes in the process.

"She told you, hasn't she?"

"Well of course she told me. I'm her father lad. Or you thought I wouldn't have noticed my kid locking herself up in her room heartbroken?" If it would be possible Fred would have obliviated himself out of existence right there on the spot.

He never wanted to cause pain. He was just being stupid...for a really long time, he was very stupid. And he truly was regretting all that he did and said. The look Sirius was giving him wasn't very supportive towards him. It just made Fred feel even worse. The Black was ready to leave the room, utterly disappointed in the boy in front of him.

Thinking that the Weasley boy would show him some fight. That he would, in some way prove to him that he really cared for Rhea and that it wasn't just some sort of teenage infatuation that would leave him in a matter of few weeks.

But so far the boy persuaded him of nothing but the fact that Rhea was doing the right thing by distancing herself from the ginger. He just seemed so in line with the fact that he hurt Rhea and there was nothing telling Sirius that he was truly having feelings for his daughter. Even if they would be on a friend basis.

Sirius pushed his chair back and was about to stand up from the chair and leave the room altogether in disappointment. That got Fred to act.

"I know I've messed up. You don't have to tell me. I knew it the moment I asked Angelina to the Yule Ball. From that moment I knew I had done something wrong. I just couldn't figure out what." Fred took a deep breath. He didn't take his eyes off the table but he could feel Sirius sinking back into his seat opposite to him.

Sirius was listening intently. His eyes hopeful. Maybe this was the moment he was waiting for. All Fred had to do was say the right thing now to persuade Sirius of his worth.

"Our friendship started crumbling after the Yule Ball. At that time I was just confused and hurt that she would let it get destroyed like that. We were best friends why wouldn't she talk to me, tell me what was wrong? Then I wanted to figure out what I did wrong. And I chose the easiest option only later realising how dumb it actually was."

Fred grew quiet for a second. Sirius wasn't sure what to say or if he should even say anything. It was shocking for him how well he related to Fred's feelings right now. It was the same hurricane of emotions that he once felt. It was so strangely similar. He didn't think he could ever relate to someone on this level.

"I regret it the moment she walked out of the common room. The whole time she didn't talk to me it was the worse pain I could imagine. Every time she ignored me it felt as if I've been hit by a cruciatus curse that just wouldn't let go of me no matter how much I tried. I wanted to make things better but I didn't know how. And I didn't know why it hurt so much but now I do...I love her. I've been in love with her for so long without even realising it. How stupid could I have been."

"So you love her?" Sirius asked carefully. Finally, Fred managed to look up to glance at the man in front of him.

"More than anything and anyone in this world sir. I've been trying to tell her ever since we came here." Sirius chuckled to himself. Liking the enthusiasm the boy showed.

"Well, then why don't you?" Sirius asked teasingly.

"Because she won't hear me out. You saw it yourself sir, she just flees from the room every time I try to approach her."

"And where do you reckon she runs off to when she tries to escape?" Sirius was giving him hints that Fred was yet oblivious to for now.

"Most likely to her room? She always locks herself in when she doesn't want to deal with someone or something. Does that at Hogwarts as well. The only ones that can get to her are her dormmates then." Fred answered absentmindedly, showing off his knowledge of the girl he loves. The Black rolled his eyes.

"Well, then she wouldn't escape out of there huh?"

"No, she locks the door so no one gets in or out."

"How old are you boy?" Sirius asked, trying to hide an annoyed sigh.

"Turned seventeen in April," Fred answered with a careless wave of his hand.

"Done with your apparition tests I presume?"

"Yes sir, got my license right after school finished." Sirius gave the boy a look, trying to get him to use his brain. Fred's eyes suddenly grew in size. He finally figured it out. "You are a genius sir," Sirius smirked, shrugging his shoulders.

"I don't know what you're on about lad, I'm just an old man with a lot of questions." Fred grinned, standing up from the chair and rushing away to talk to his brother. He needed his opinion since he wasn't going to approach Rhea without discussing it with his brother first. He learned his lesson.

Sirius stayed in the kitchen smiling to himself. His mind taking him places. Travelling down the timeline of his life. To the time when he wished he would have had the guts to tell his love how he actually felt.

"I hope you'll have more luck than I did boy." He whispered to himself, growing silent when Remus walked into the kitchen, looking tired. The full moon was nearing. And it was taking its toll on the werewolf.

Sirius could see and it was killing him on the inside. Even if he couldn't feel Remus' pain. He could just very well imagine it. He's so many times there. He witnessed it, every full moon in their school years, he was there. He was beating himself up for not being able to be there for him once he got locked up, once everything turned dark. Remus' loneliness and pain during the full moon was one of the many things tearing Sirius apart when he was locked in Azkaban.

A faint smile from Remus made him lose himself. That smile, the damned smile made him feel and see things he longed for ever since he was a teenager. Sad reality had it that those longings were never answered and were just a mere desire of his mind. A fragment of his desired future that he had destroyed for himself so long ago.