BEWITCHED
“Vera get the hell up!” Sirius shouted, shaking her shoulders.
“What?” she gasped, disoriented at the sudden intrusion. The light that filtered in the room blinded her and she blinked rapidly at the visual assault.
“Where were you last night? We waited for you for hours, we almost sent out a unit” he sat back on her bed, breathing heavily.
“I just needed a minute. Why are you so worked up?” she said, annoyed at the sudden commotion.
“Why am I worked up? I don’t know if you forgot but we’re in the middle of a fucking war. You’re so childish, you can’t just go out whenever you please.”
“I don’t know if you forgot but I actually can and don’t give me this bullshit like you’re older than me. We’re the same fucking age!”
“You can’t handle your own out there, you don’t know what it’s like” he huffed.
“Yes the fuck I can? What’s up with you today” she said, getting up and stomping out of the room.
“Just don’t do that again gods” he called out before walking off towards his room.
Well that wasn’t how she expected to wake up today.
However she was in for a real wake up call when she walked in the kitchen to see James and Lily standing at the counter quietly nursing cups of tea.
“James” she rushed over to him, pulling him into her arms. The sight of him whole and well in front of her compared to the horrors of last night grounded her. Here, in the kitchen, silhouetted by golden light next to his wife and her best friend helped remind her that there was still good in the world.
“Where were you?”
“I’m sorry I went to Muggle London and I stayed out late and I’m so sorry I-”
“Shh, it’s fine, you’re here now. We were worried.”
She pulled away, “I’ll make breakfast, whatever you want!” She desperately wanted to overcompensate for how monumentally she messed up last night.
“We already ate” Lily said sympathetically and that’s when Vera noticed the time.
It was almost noon.
“Where’s Remus?” she inquired, noting the silence in the home.
“Dumbledore sent him away again,” James frowned.
“How? He was here last night.”
“He left in the middle of the night, leaving a note on the table.”
That probably explained Sirius’ nasty mood.
She just made a scant breakfast for herself and disappeared upstairs.
Sirius knocked on her door some time later before opening it and standing in the doorway.
He sighed. “Vera…I wanted to apologize for this morning. I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that or said what I did…I know you could beat my arse in a second.”
“You’re right, I could” she smirked before patting the mattress next to her.
Sirius came over and plopped down on her bed.
“Sirius.”
“Hmm?”
“What’s going on with you and Remus?”
He didn’t respond immediately.
“I don’t know, he's just…different. You know Dumbledore’s started to send him off to the packs and he talks about it like he’s enjoying himself. I feel like I can’t connect with him anymore.”
“Sirius, he’s been shamed for his lycanthropy for his entire life and this is the first chance he’s been given to truly explore that part of himself without shame. He deserves some grace.”
“But you don’t know what they do out there. Most of the dark creatures have gone to Voldemort’s side what if-”
“You don’t know what they do out there either okay. We have to trust Remus,” she nudged his shoulder.
Sirius remained silent and Vera sighed.
“Where’s Pete then?”
“He couldn’t come this morning but I’ll be seeing him tonight, we have another round.”
“Be careful okay?”
“Always am” he winked before getting under her covers.
“Hey” she protested.
“Shh, it’s nap time.”
She couldn’t argue with that. She tucked herself under the covers as well and fell asleep again.
___________
A low buzzing sound woke her again for the third time today.
“Hey, it’s time for me to go,” Sirius whispered, turning the alarm off on his wand.
She nodded into her pillow and he left, Leo replaced his spot, basking in the warmth he left behind.
“Mmm it’s just you and me now.”
He purred happily and she smiled.
There it was again, that incessant tapping.
It was time for Biscuit to start learning that the downstairs window was left open for her . She took the term “direct delivery” a little too literally, always going directly to her room whenever she was in it.
She got up nonetheless and let the owl in.
She tied the letter off her leg and read its contents.
Time to see Snape. How exciting.
She went to the bathroom and almost gasped when she saw herself. She looked horrible. She also caught sight of the scar marring her right arm. It was an angry red color and jagged, stretching across her forearm in a slash, the edges lightly frayed.
Voldemort’s magic was anything but soothing and she just stared at the mark, wondering if it would ever fade.
She went straight to the shower and let the warm water release the tension that lingered in her body. She brushed through her hair and realized for the umpteenth time that it was a lost cause and just went downstairs, filling Leo’s bowl before taking the floo there.
It was a lot easier to leave with James and Lily gone on Order duty. She hated the thought but it was true.
Snape was in the living room again and he looked up at her arrival.
He assessed her for a moment then unexpectedly asked, “How are you?”“Do you care?”
“I do.”
She eyed him, “I’ve been better.”
“I spoke to the dark Lord again today.”
“And?”
“He has taken a personal interest in wanting to further your knowledge in the dark arts. He has assigned you to Regulus.”
It took her a moment to process the name. “Regulus Black? Why?”
“He is young and has knowledge far beyond his years in the arts. The Black library also contains a wealth of knowledge that will aid you.”
She grumbled at the idea of seeing Regulus. She didn’t hate him by any means but she was not excited at the prospect. Sirius hated him and that was enough for her. But of course, she just plastered a smile on her face.
“I look forward to it. When?”
“The sooner the better I’d say.”
She nodded.
They stood in silence for a moment before Vera felt compelled to say it.
“Thank you by the way. For last night. I’d probably still be sprawled on their floor if you didn’t drag me back so thanks.”
He nodded.
“Occlumency will indeed be your greatest ally now. It will be your armor and shield for the future to come.”
“It didn’t seem to matter last night.”
“That should serve as motivation to keep working.”
“I will.”
She turned back towards the fireplace, “Goodnight…Severus.”
“Goodnight Vera.”
_________
The next day she stood in front of her wardrobe with her head slightly tilted to the side.
Mary barged into her room a moment later and sprawled across her bed. Sybill and Marlene not far behind.
“Come in, why don’t you” she muttered.
“Thank you” she smiled and propped his head up on her hands as she laid on her stomach.
“While you’re here, make yourself useful.” She pulled out two outfits, one was a navy blue set of robes, long and flowy while conservative. The neckline was high and the sleeves were snug. The other was a deep violet color. It was a bit tighter around the top and flowed down to her knees. Neither had any true embellishments and they were quite boring to be honest.
Mary just stared at her, eyebrows furrowed, mouth open in a “What the fuck?” expression.
“Who died?”
“What do you mean?” she gasped offended, looking at the outfits in her hands.
“Vera those are hideous” she said matter-of-factly.
Were they ugly? Yes. but she didn’t necessarily know what constituted a death-eater dress code, she was going to Grimmauld after all, not a ball. Although, she was pretty sure she did wear one of these to a funeral.
“Did you finally say yes to Bagman because he definitely deserves better than that sack” Marlene piped up.
If she went on a Bagman he would take whatever she offered thank you very much but she did agree they were ugly.
"I'm not going on a date" she grumbled going back into her closet for more.
“Oh come on ! , we won’t tell anyone, promise!” Mary practically begged, Sybill just perched on the edge, her elbows on her knees, her head resting on her forearms. Marlene sitting up by the head.
“Sybill will just See it anyways” Marlene laughed and Vera snorted.
Sybill excelled in Divination at school and had a family history of Seers but she didn’t seem to have developed any sort of specificity or usefulness for her skills. Her visions often came in bursts and never had any meaning that she could decipher.
In her opinion, Divination was absolute bollocks.
“It’s Bagman isn’t it, he’s been pining for ages” Marlene cheered when Vera just disappeared into the closet.
“I told you, I’m going to Muggle London for some research for Madam Pomfrey.”
“A muggle boy then! You’ve been going there quite often” Sybill pointed out and Marlene ooh’d as if she’d foretold some prophecy.
Vera popped her head out, “Tell me, how’s Dorcas?”
Marlene turned a vibrant shade of red. She’s had a crush on Dorcas since sixth year when she was paired with her for an Astronomy project. They spent so much time together, Vera suspected they were doing more than staring up at the stars every night. They only revealed their feelings to each other relatively recently and have been exploring themselves and their relationship.
Marlene liked to think she was being discreet about it, only a few others knowing about them but she was dead wrong and the blush spreading down her neck was proof enough of that.
Sybill opened her mouth but Vera cut her off, “And how’s Peter? Did you two kiss yet?”
Sybill suddenly found something very interesting outside and took to staring out the window pointedly.
It was wonderful watching her and Peter dance around each other, they were both so painfully shy but she could tell in the small laughs and lingering looks that there was unexplored magic there.
She pulled out a regular pair of navy blue robes and threw it on the bed before heading to the bathroom but Mary’s scoff stopped her.
“Absolutely not,” she said, getting up and rifling through her closet instead.
She pulled out a pair of revealing green robes and Vera almost laughed out loud, imagining showing up to Grimmauld in them.
“Mary, what part of simple did you not get, I can’t go out in these.”
“Oh fine” she went back in.
In the end they agreed on a simple pair of black robes, Vera not quite knowing how to dress for a “dark magic study date with your best friend’s death eater brother”
She swiftly said her goodbyes and went downstairs, leaving them to their own devices.
She had to apparate there as the floo to 12 Grimmauld was permanently blocked ever since that night years ago when Sirius showed up bloody and bruised.
She landed on the outside porch and knocked once before a wrinkly old elf materialized in front of her, opening the creaky door.
“Hello, is Regulus home?”
“Master Regulus is here. One moment.” He bowed and left again and she stepped inside.
She stood, idly tapping her foot when she heard footsteps approaching and she was instantly back at attention.
“Potter.”
“Black.”
He looked so much like Sirius that she had to do a double take and she wished she could stand them next to each other just to compare but she was beginning to be able to see some slight differences. His nose was sharper and jawline more defined. His hair was cropped, just slightly curled at the nape whereas Sirius’ flowed freely at his shoulders. He was soft everywhere Sirius was rough.
His eyes were the color of mercury, instantly alluring and she wasn’t happy with just how appealing she found them to be.
“You have a newfound interest in the Dark Arts I take it?”
“Perhaps.”
With his hands behind his back, he gestured with his neck for her to follow and she did, following the sound of his clocking boots through dark corridors lined with sneering portraits and up a set of stairs. The house was certainly larger than it looked on the outside.
He stopped in front of a set of intricately carved doors, the oak coming to life in a series of swirling patterns. He slowly pushed it open and the door creaked to reveal a library.
It was hauntingly beautiful with its’ gothic architecture. The room was lined with dark shelves filled with tomes both old and new. One wall was lined with windows and had a small sitting area and hearth tucked into the corner. As she raised her eyes she saw a small metal staircase lead up to another level that housed even more books.
She stepped in without even realizing it and couldn’t mask her excitement.
The library at home was wonderful and she spent almost all her time there but she had likely read every book in there twice. The prospect of a completely different library filled with an entirely new selection was alluring.
The room also buzzed with a certain sort of energy that ebbed and flowed depending on what book she walked fast.
She instantly turned around, silently asking for permission that Regulus gave with a dip of his chin.
The wooden floor creaked under her feet the deeper she got within the library and she turned a corner down one the stacks and in doing so, she peeked from the corner of her eye and noticed Regulus wasn’t standing over there anymore.
She couldn’t quite get a feel of him yet. She wondered if he resented her because Sirius felt safer with them than with him or hated her just because of her general association with Gryffindors. Maybe he didn’t hate her if she was on their side? All she knew about him in regards to the mission was that he was marked but that was so painfully obvious it didn’t bear importance.
She could hear footsteps fluttering around and assumed it was him picking out books so she just continued at an idle pace. Then suddenly she heard humming.
It was a bit quiet and she followed it, unable to believe Regulus could be doing something as innocent as humming. It was a delightful little sound so she quieted her steps, not wanting it to stop.
She was just about to peek around a turn but saw he wasn’t there, despite the humming seeming to originate from this area.
She continued and noticed it was exceptionally loud about halfway through the aisle and she approached.
The humming turned uncomfortably loud as she stopped and when she ran a hand over the books, trying to see which one could be humming and suddenly her finger brushed over one and she felt like Sirius was playing the drums in her head, her head throbbing with the overwhelming noise.
She picked up the book and opened it and it was all ancient runes written in scrawling patterns, swirls, and snakes.
The words were moving on the page and she didn’t know whether that was intentional or if the pounding in her head was making them do so. Her eyes followed the runes as they slithered across the page and she couldn’t take her eyes away from the mesmerizing pattern.
She realized that she couldn’t move then. Her eyes were glued to the runes, her hands on either side, her feet planted in the floor. She couldn’t even open her mouth to call for help. Even the magic in her veins froze so she couldn’t do anything wandlessly.
She stood there, paralyzed and felt undeniable fear. Regulus could hex her right now, kill her if he wanted to and there’d be no consequences. No one would even know.
Instantly, the book was ripped out of her hands and she felt like she had been doused in cold water. Regulus was in front of her, waving his wand over the book before tucking it back on the shelf. She craned her neck back up to look at him and she knew her fear was written all over her face in doing so.
“Dark books tend to be attracted to the light…” he mentioned before turning around and she decided following him would be safer than anything else.
“What do you mean the light?”
“Opposites attract. I, nor anyone else in the house for that matter, have ever experienced the allure of these books, therefore they are safe in our possession but for someone like you, they would affect you easily.”
“You’ve never felt that?”
“Maybe we would have as a child but we stayed away from the Library then. Over time we just got used to it or rather our souls became darker.”
She imagined a child falling under the same spell and felt a shiver of disgust. She became aware of just how easy it was to fall into the natural allure that came with the dark arts. The humming called to her and she easily submitted.
He guided them over to the sitting area and took a seat on the low sofa and she sat across from him on a chair.
He set a stack of books on the table
“And they won’t hypnotize me or anything right?”
“They shouldn’t.”
That didn’t really instill confidence in her though she had to admit she felt just a tad more at ease in Regulus’ presence than Snape’s. At least there was no literal animosity between them and Regulus just seemed apathetic about it all.
“You should start with this one. It’ll help to understand the theory first,” he handed her a leather bound book that appeared to be in good condition, just some slight fraying at the edges.
She examined the title marked on the cover in gold foil: Theory vs. Application: The World of Dark”
She nodded and went to pick up the stack.
The numerous tomes were so heavy she could barely get it off the table but in an instant, she was able to get them into her arms and she realized he cast a weightless charm on them.
She nodded and said, “Thank you, I’ll get these back to you soon, I don’t know if Biscuit can carry them but maybe one by one-”
“Don’t strain Biscuit.,” he said with a slight upturn of his lips, “You can have them, truly, they’re elementary anyways.”
Okay subtle jab.
She nodded and apparated away, slipping them into her extended pocket.
When she got home, her right side got significantly heavier, her robe sagging as the distance from Regulus caused the spell to weaken so she cast it herself.
It was a quiet night and she savored the cool breeze on her skin but the sounds of shouting inside the house caused her to run in and it wiped away anything good that she had felt moments prior.