Sympathy For The Devil
Just as every cop is a criminal
And all the sinners saints
As head is tails just call me Lucifer
'Cause I'm in need of some restraint
So if you meet me, have some courtesy
Have some sympathy, and some taste
Use all your well-learned politeness
Or I'll lay your soul to waste
12th March 1973
It was clear after the events of Valentines, that the Black siblings good mood could not last.
With the dead weight of silver on her wrist - an itchy inconvenience every night - Ara had reached a level of exhaustion that was frankly concerning. Made worse by the constant comments from Slytherins and pitiful looks of her own House.
Her dreams were of foreign parents; of being dragged to a Muggle church and told to hide her secret powers. Comic book superheroes and a man with hair greying at his temples telling her that she was destined to be great.
But sometimes, she’d dream of seeing them packing up their house. Looking at her as a stranger as she asked where they were off to and wished them well.
Her heart burned on those mornings.
Sirius could only do so much - his night ruined by glimpses of a better family. Not perfect, no. But so much better than their own.
It was the morning after one of those dreams, that the Black twins came to breakfast late. Their curls somehow perfectly tamed but uniform crumpled and buttoned incorrectly. Dark bags under their eyes and a look of utterly exhausted disappointment as they slumped onto the bench between Lily and Remus. Lily helped Ara to rebutton her shirt as the girl tried to fall asleep sat upright at the Gryffindor table. Spreading jam on toast as the girl’s head fell onto her shoulder, smoothing curls off her face as she held the food up.
Ara beamed at her sleepily, the ginger flushing at the warmth.
The eyes of the Prewett twins rested on the Black twins from further up the table - a flicker between them of something Lily couldn’t quite understand. Really, though, she’d never understood their odd attachment to her friends. It seemed that the Prewett twins were always watching over the younger lot; a familiarity she suspected Ara and Sirius did not comprehend.
One of them caught her eyes - Gideon, maybe - offering a warm smile and a devious wink that had her rolling her eyes back to her friends.
“Coffee?” Remus asked the two - holding a fresh pot with a wry grin.
“Godric, yea.” The two muttered together, fumbling for mugs to hold up. They did so in time, the scarred boy filling their cups with an amused shake of his head at their synchrony.
They even drank their mugs in sync, sighing together with contentment.
“Thank you, Remus.” They spoke together, the blond flushing bright red and coughing as he refilled his own mug - scratching at a new scar across his brow.
Lily looked away with amusement, glad at least her crush was well-hidden. And only on one twin.
Ignoring that, Lily fed Ara strawberries as she rested her head on her shoulder - an act that could not have been more obvious of her feelings.
“Where’s the others?” Sirius asked finally between bites of the jam toast Ara snuck his way.
Indeed, their little section of the Gryffindor table was oddly empty. Only Remus and Lily remained.
“James is off practicing with the Quidditch team, since they’re testing chasers for next year. Petey went cause he wanted to draw the pitch.” Remus explained, buttering a slice of toast to fling Sirius’s way. The boy gave him a sleepy grin.
“What about the girls?” Ara yawned, turning to Lily.
“Marlene and I got in a tiff so she stormed off.” The ginger admitted bashfully. “And Alice went to the Library to grab that book on modifying charms from the Library.”
“Wicked. I thought it’d be at least Easter before we were top of the queue.” Ara accepted an offered strawberry, munching happily as she passed the rest to her brother.
“Parkinson got himself removed from the queue for hexing some first year.” Lily shrugged, leaning in to impart gossip. “I heard it was his own cousin.”
“I’d expect nothing else from Pug-face.”
The four shared a laugh, conversation sliding to lessons that day as they waited for the Daily Prophet to finally arrive; the issue oddly late that morning.
When the owls arrived, however, the reason became clear.
The papers dropped in quick succession - students grabbing the pages with wide eyes at the headline.
“What’s going on?” Lily queried, nervously - looking to Remus as his grow furrowed at the paper before him.
“Dad’s been telling me about some group attacking Muggleborns and creatures. The leader’s given himself a name, now.” Remus grunted, tossing the paper towards the girls. They grabbed it hungry, both holding it with a hand each - scanning the words with horror. Ara now wakeful in her trepidation.
Lord Voldemort and his lackeys!
Horrifying revelations in the early hours of this morning, as Aurors rushed to a call at a Muggleborn’s residence in Middle St Keptown. They arrived to face battle with a group of domestic terrorists donning silver masks; only one of their company showing his face. A wizard described as looking “nearly inhuman […] his eyes, I’ll never forget that red […] like blood in the iris” by a nameless Auror at the scene. So far, this man has been described as having pitch black hair, with white skin and eyes the colour of blood.
Aurors unfortunately arrived too late to save Muggleborn Erica Knowles - a secretary in the Ministry’s Transport Division. Her body was reportedly displayed to them upon arrival, the red-eyed man (who’s words I’m legally not permitted to write) claiming to have killed her and to be named Lord Voldemort.
“Stop reading.” Sirius grit out, finally awake. “I can feel your stress.” He massaged his brow, groaning.
Ara looked to him in apology, before her eyes flickered to scan the Great Hall.
Most students were huddled over the paper now - eyes scrawling the pages with gasps and swears. Only the Slytherin table had composure. Some of the younger students were reading the article, eyes darting to their older peers with white faces. Most were sitting straight, masks of carefreeness cast over their faces as they ate and chatted. But right under the surface, in a way that only those who know the expression all too well could spy; fear lingered.
“He has a name.” The girls agreed, looking to each other with dread.
Their day did not improve in the slightest, once they made their way to lessons. Slughorn tried to pester them to join his club in Potions, and DADA was as pointless as it always was with Professor Tarin. The wizard seemed more focused on reliving his old glory days as an Auror, than in setting lesson plans.
Sure the stories were fun, but they hardly learned anything useful. Unless their final exam was on Tarin’s autobiography, they were screwed.
It was as they left History of Magic, stretching out their limbs after catnapping the lesson away, someone yanked the Black twins away from their friends and down the corridor to the next empty one. The very moment they were alone, their kidnapper let out a little sob and wiped his nose.
Sniffling in yellow lined robes, Regulus Black looked up to his elder siblings with hurt.
“Did you know that the Cruciatus is an Unforgivable curse?” Regulus questioned adamantly; his limbs shaking with dread, eyes lined with tears.
“Oh, Reggie.” Ara pulled him into her arms, soothing his back as he cried out.
“I just had to find out in DADA! That Professor said he sent people to Azkaban, and that… that…” he trailed off into guttural sobs, falling deeper into his sister’s arms.
After a while, his sobs turned to sniffles. He unwound himself from his sister and slumped against the wall, falling to the floor. They joined him, sitting on the stone.
“We learned it a few years back.” Sirius admitted finally. “Father explained to us, after that final summer with our cousins, that it was illegal and if we spoke up mother would just hurt us more. That a Black wouldn’t be caught for using an Unforgivable, and she would always return.”
“And you didn’t say?” Reg’s eyes burned, wide and haunted.
“What would be the point, Reg?” Ara sighed. “If I could let you keep your innocence a while longer, it was worth it.”
“Because it would have been nice to know that we were being abused!”
“No we weren’t.” Ara frowned.
“Apparently we were!”
“Stop it.” Sirius warned.
“No! I spoke to David about it and apparently our family would be locked up by Muggle standards. I bet they would be by magic too!”
“But they aren’t!” Ara snapped, Regulus freezing in shock at her raised voice. “Stop it, just stop it! I won’t listen. It sucked, but it wasn’t abuse. It was just how Black’s raise their kids.” Ara growled. “It could have been worse. And we got through it. We’re fine. It’s fine.”
“You were tortured until your mind broke.” Regulus spoke in barely a whisper, fighting every urge to silence. “And every year, we spend that day alone because it hurts all so much.”
Ara squeezed her eyes closed, lips pulled tight.
“You can’t pretend it isn’t-” Regulus began, Ara’s eyes snapping open as she interrupted.
“You barely faced it.” She snapped, bitterly - head shaking uncontrollably. “So you don’t get to label it. That’s my right.”
“But you won’t even admit it to yourself!”
“Why would I want to?” She demanded. “Why would I admit it? Would it magically solve everything? If I walk around telling everyone that my mother crucio’s me, it won’t change shit. We tried. I tried. And I give up. I tried to protect you both, and all I did was ruin everything.” She scrunched her legs to her chest, looking down at her wrist - absolutely seething. “I fuck up everything.”
“Stop blaming yourself.” Sirius chided her, bumping into her knee with his shoulder. “Wally never gives you a chance to win. If you’d said no, she probably would’ve betrothed me to Avery just to spite us. Or she would’ve forced Reg to spend holidays at Grimmauld. But we’re all going to the Potter’s for Easter. If anything, you did that.”
“James did that.” Ara scoffed.
“To help us figure this shit out.” Sirius rolled his eyes as though she were an idiot. “For you, which sounds to me like you did it.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“And you shared a womb with me. You were my wombmate.” He smirked.
“That was terrible.” The other two Black siblings deadpanned in sync.
“Shut up and hug me.” Sirius replied, lunging for the two and swallowing them in his arms as they were dragged to the floor. They laughed in protest, eventually relenting and tangling in laughter and comfort on the floor of a random corridor.
Unnoticing of the flow of students being redirected; unaware that Kingsley Shacklebolt and the fifth year Hufflepuff prefect stood guard at the end, blocking all view of the siblings. After all, Hufflepuffs were a loyal House. They would not let anyone spoil this moment for the siblings, not when it was so necessary. Not when David had gone to the prefects nervously just moments before, whispering that he was afraid for Regulus. Details of the boy’s confusion at the severity of his family life, not understanding how grave it all was.
No.
This was the day that Hufflepuff vowed to have their backs. This was the day that Hufflepuff decided their side in the upcoming war.