Chapter Four “ The problems with sending a letter
Sirius finished writing the letter begging James to find a way to get to Machrie Moor. There was some sort of Muggle summer festival coming up; Mrs. Potter was always interested in things like that and Mr. Potter was willing to follow his wife’s lead if there was a good spot to drink nearby. Fortunately, both were available. The Drift Inn had places to drink both inside and out, a lovely view, and it was near to the festival, and the Blackwaterfoot Lodge was a very nice place to stay, as well as being renowned for its wonderful food.
He rolled up the parchment and tucked it into his sleeve. Time to see if he could get to an owl without having to explain himself. All he had to do was slip past his grandparents, brother, and cousins. Bella, Cissy, and Reggie could be counted on to crow to the rooftops if they thought he might be trying to contact James. Thankfully, if he met Andie on the way, she could be counted on not to draw attention to him. His cousin knew what he was trying to do and had her own concerns. Her husband had decided to stay in the village, and with their grandparents off having tea with friends, Andie had smuggled her daughter to the Manor again.
Just as he was making his way down the stairs, a small, wet, naked girl dodged around him, giggling like crazy. “Nymphadora!” bellowed Andie, from the bathroom the child had obviously escaped from. She practically flew down the stairs, robes billowing around her, demanding, “Which way did she go?” Leaning against the banister, Sirius shrugged. He wasn’t willing to give a good prank away. Nymphadora had already disappeared from view, but her mad giggling could be heard from one of the drawing rooms at the foot of the stairs. Her record so far was to make it to the gardens before she was captured and hauled off to finish her bath.
Andie rolled her eyes in affectionate derision. “You’re no better than she is, and she’s just a baby! What’s your excuse?” She didn’t wait for an answer before bolting the rest of the way down the stairs. Sirius chuckled to himself; this was just the distraction he needed to make his escape to the owlery. Silently, he thanked the mischievous little witch for giving his uptight relatives in the drawing room something besides him to shriek about.
He made it to the tiny owlery, tied the note to a likely bird’s leg and released it when he heard the voices of his cousins clambering up the stairs.
“You know I promised Lucius to write regularly, Bella.”
Sirius paled. If they knew he’d sent an owl to James they would go straight to his mother. Thinking quickly, he shooed the remaining owls out the windows and hopped onto a sill, arranging himself in a comfortable slouch.
“Ah, but you see, poor Lucy won’t be getting a letter from you today,” Sirius called out roguishly.
They rounded the door to stare at the empty owlery. “What did you do?” Cissy demanded. Her face suffused with red as she realized there were no owls available to send her letter.
Sirius studied his fingernails indifferently. “Oh, get over it Cissy. Without a wand there are only so many pranks that can be played.”
Cissy ran to a window to see if there was an owl in sight she could summon. Turning back to Sirius, her eyes blazing, she drew her wand. “I’ll get you for this, you ruddy bastard!”
“Wait Cissy,” Bella said calmly. “Don’t forget, Andie is here and she’s on his side. Anything you do to him, she’ll reciprocate ten times over.”
Sirius doffed an imaginary cap. “Good thinking Bella. I never knew you had it in you.”
“This was an awfully childish prank, Sirius,” Bella replied, tapping her wand against her leg. “Not quite up to your usual standard.”
“As I said, Bella, there are only so many things that can be done without a wand,” Sirius replied calmly. He turned his gaze to the floor, swinging his leg idly, holding in a sigh of relief.
“Sirius,” Bella drawled. “How did you know Cissy would be trying to send an owl today?”
He stopped swinging his leg and raised his eyes to meet Bella’s speculative gaze. Forcing himself to speak in the normal sarcastic tone he used for his Slytherin cousins, he said, “It only makes sense doesn’t it? She’s constantly owling him from school. Why would that change just because she’s in Scotland?”
“Just you wait Sirius Black!” Cissy warned. “I’ll add to this letter of mine and have Lucius come to the Betrothal. We’ll see if you play any pranks with him around.”
She swept through the door, calling over her shoulder for Bellatrix to follow.
Sirius let out the breath he’d been holding. That had been close. Fortunately, he had always been a prankster, and Cissy one of his favorite targets. Bella, on the other hand, wasn’t quite so gullible. Besides being the oldest of the three, she was the most calculating. Sirius wouldn’t be surprised if she had already joined Voldemort’s group of followers.
Later that night, Sirius couldn’t sleep and decided to see if there was anything worth reading in the library. He was perusing the books on the upper balcony when he heard the door click shut; a quick peek showed him Regulus was standing by the fire digging in his pocket. Sirius drew back into the shadow of the bookcase and watched Reggie pull out a box and open in to reveal the unmistakable glittering substance of Floo powder. Raw envy filled Sirius. All he needed was a handful and he could escape this dismal place.
Reggie knelt by the fire and whispered a name Sirius couldn’t make out. Lucius Malfoy’s famed white-blond locks bordered by dancing green flames appeared. Sirius made his way silently to the back of the library and circled around to a better vantage point, now he could hear what was going on.
“…if she thinks I bloody care about missing one of her insipid letters, she’s more ignorant than I thought.” Lucius’ unmistakable drawl was tinged with boredom.
“My Muggle-loving cousin is here protecting him. Narcissa is beside herself. She needs you to come. I’ve told her I would contact you and I have. If you want peace with your betrothed, I suggest you take some time out of your busy schedule and come here for a day or two and deal with him,” Regulus warned.
“Why can’t she deal with him herself? Or Bella? Why doesn’t Bella do something?” Lucius asked petulantly.
“Andromeda is protecting him. None of us dare to cross her; she knows too much and could ruin too many things. You, on the other hand, she doesn’t know. She doesn’t have anything which she could ruin you with.”
“She’s a muggle-lover. Who would listen to her?”
“Lucius,” Regulus whined, “it’s not who she is. It’s what she knows. After a lifetime of living with our family, she knows every bloody skeleton in every closet. Do you really think Bella is going to cross anyone that has that kind of knowledge?”
Lucius let out a long-suffering sigh. “All right, I’ll come. But it won’t be until the end of the week at the earliest.”
“Excellent! I’ll pass the word on to Cissy!”
“Do stop calling her that vile nickname,” Lucius snapped. “It makes her sound like a pet cat, not the future Mrs. Malfoy.”
“Whatever you say Lucius,” Regulus agreed spinelessly.
The flames flickered once more and died away. Regulus, unaware he’d been watched, pocketed his box of Floo powder and slipped from the room.
Sirius leaned against the bookshelf and sighed. “Prongs, you’d best get here soon, I need backup!”
OoOoO
The next morning an owl tapping on his bedroom window awakened Sirius. He leapt from the bed and opened the window, grabbing the owl before it could hop inside. “Oh you beautiful bird, what do you have for me?” He sat the bird on his desk and poured it a goblet of water before untying the letter from its leg.
Padfoot,
You’re in luck, old boy! You put together all the right ingredients; Mum and Dad went for it hook, line, and sinker. We should arrive Friday morning at the Blackwaterfoot Lodge. If all goes well, we should be able to talk them into bringing you with us when we come home!
See you then,
Prongs
OoOoO
This chapter was fun to write! Let me know if you think it was fun to read! Honestly, reviewing only takes a moment!
Once again, special thanks to my wonderful beta, Kerichi!