The sun shone as brightly as ever even though it was still extremely cold. A small amount of snow had fallen in the night, and it partially covered a figure of a man that was on the ground. He seemed to be a traveler, seeing as how he had an open satchel lying next to him with a map, a history book, and what looks to be a Time-Turner all spilling out of it. The history book was wet and tearing because of the snow and the map seemed to be getting just as bad as the book. The Time-Turner was in perfect condition, even though it was sitting in the cold and snow for a long period of time. A tree branch was lying next to the man, and it had a small amount of blood on it. A person walking by would have thought that the man was merely struck on the head by a falling tree branch. In all reality, the man was attacked. He was knocked unconscious, and left to die in the open field. The person who had struck him was long gone. There was no way of knowing who had done it, and for all anyone knew, the man may have had some serious damage to his head.
The figure stirred, and a moan escaped his lips. His hand went to his head, and he felt dried and fresh blood on the gash that started at his hairline, and ended at his right eyelid. He attempted to move, and as he did, a sharp pain went through his left leg. He lifted his head in an attempt to see what was wrong, but was extremely lightheaded. The sudden movement of his head caused him to lose consciousness once more. It didn't last as long as the first time, but anyone could tell that he was in extreme pain. Once he came to, he pulled a medium sized stick out of his pocket. To a Muggle, it would have looked like a small, skinny twig, but any witch or wizard would know that it was just merely a wand. The man graciously twirled his wrist, and muttered a few words. He could hear the bones in his legs connecting, and he could feel the gash in his head slowly starting to heal itself. He slowly rose to his feet, brushed himself off, and looked around.
A rustling noise caught his attention. He glanced over to his right, and saw a small piece of parchment that was stuck underneath a rock. Before going over to see what it was, he looked through the things he had with him to see if anything was missing, and seeing that there wasn't, he slowly walked over to the moss covered rock. Bending down, the man picked up the rock and the piece of parchment at the same time. Throwing the rock behind him, he walked back to where his things were, and sat on a large boulder.
His mouth dropped open, and his eyes widened as he read what was on the paper. He didn't know what to make of it, and he didn't understand why he was being sent to do the things on the list.
Sirius Black,
These are the things that you must do. If you refuse to do either of the two things on this paper, I will be forced to do much worse to you than what has already been done. It does not matter in what order you do the tasks, but they must all be done in order for your life, and your loved ones’ lives, to be safe.
Now that I have told you what would happen if you refused to do these things, here are the two things that you must do.
1. You must bring me the wand of Harry Potter
2. You must bring me either a piece of clothing from Harry Potter or a piece of his hair.
I will know if the hair is really his, or if it is someone else's. I will also know if it is actually his wand or not, so don’t try to play tricks on me. If you do not listen to my directions, you and all the people you hold dear to you will suffer. After you receive these items, you must bring them back here, to where you are already. You should already know the spell that will keep them hidden.
Do it well, and you will be rewarded.
Sirius didn't know what to make of the letter he had found. He didn't want to do it, but if it meant that his friends and Harry will be safe, then he was determined to do so.
Sirius gathered up his things; putting his map, history book, Time Turner and now the parchment with the list, into his satchel. He threw the bag onto his shoulder, put his wand back into his pants pocket, and began to walk in the direction of a small village. It seemed as though he was the only person awake, maybe even alive, even though it looked to be early in the afternoon. He looked all around him, and the only things he saw were many trees, and what looked to him like a small, contaminated lake.
As he continued walking, he noticed the amount of trees was decreasing, and that he could no longer see that small lake. Ahead was a small village with lots of buildings, and as he got closer, he noticed that there were many people walking around. Sirius would have thought there would be less people for as small as the village was, and possibly less buildings. There just didn't seem to be enough room for all of them.
The wind began to grow colder, and the sky wasn't as blue as it was when Sirius first awoke. He could tell that there was a storm coming and began to walk faster. As he approached the village, he noticed that everyone was wearing strange clothes. All of the women were wearing long, brown, over-sized dresses and matching brown shoes that were scuffed and worn. The men were wearing black pants with overalls that were made out of rope, and matching black shirts. Many of the men's pants and shirts were torn, and the women's dresses looked extremely old -- some even looked filthy.
Sirius continued to walk through the village noticing that everyone was staring at him. He looked down at his own clothes and realised that he stuck out like a sore thumb. He was wearing a pair of denim jeans, a T-shirt, and a zip-up jacket that he had been meaning to give back to Harry months ago. He decided that it would be best if he quickly changed into something that would help him fit in better, so he turned into an enclosed alley, pulled out his wand, and changed his outfit into the disgusting things that all the men were wearing. Afterwards, he continued to walk through the village. Sirius had no idea where he was, or why everyone was dressed so strange.
Being the curious type, Sirius walked over to a group of women that were standing in front of a store that sold extremely large hats. He smiled, and nodded his head at them.
“Excuse me, but I seem to have forgotten what the name of this village was. I was wondering if you could tell me.” Sirius waited as the women gathered closely together and began to quietly whisper to each other.
“Silly man, you are in Britain. How could you forget that?” giggled the prettiest of the group. Sirius was still confused. This wasn't the Britain that he had grown up in. People didn't wear strange clothes like this, and the towns weren't as small and cluttered. It just didn't seem right to him, and he didn't know if he wanted to find out what had really happened. He knew he had a Time Turner with him in his satchel, but he couldn't remember if he used it or not. Obviously, he must have, but he just didn't remember.
“Oh, yeah. You're right. I don't know how I could have forgotten that.” Sirius played along, and acted as though he knew exactly what was going on. There was just one more thing that he wanted to know. “Um, could you tell me what the year is?”
Once again the group of women quietly whispered to each other, giggling until the same woman answered his question. “Why, it is 1871. Now, it is my turn to ask you some questions.” Sirius ran his hand through his hair, and rubbed his eyes. He then nodded his head in the direction of the woman, urging her to continue.
“What is your name, and why are you asking such strange questions?” Sirius looked at the woman, and tried to think of an excuse for behaving so, 'strange'. He couldn't exactly tell her that he was a wizard, and that he had an object called a Time Turner that made it so you could go back in time. She would definitely think he was strange if he did that, but he couldn't think of anything to tell her.
“My name is Sirius Black, and the reason for the strange questions is that I was hit in the head. I don't know by who, or why, but all I know is that I can't remember much of anything besides the basics, like name and age.” Sirius lifted up his hair, and showed the women the cut that was still healing on his head. He didn't want to mention his leg; he knew it didn't matter. “Now, if you don't mind me asking, what is your name?”
“I'm Elladora, and did you say your name was Sirius Black?” The woman stared at Sirius as if he was insane. He nodded his head, and the woman, he now knew to be Elladora, continued to stare at him in disbelief. “Well, this is extremely strange.”
“Um, what's strange?” Sirius was confused. He had no idea what this woman was talking about, and he didn't know if he wanted to find out.
“Your name. It's Black. My name is Elladora Black, and the strange part is that I have a brother that is named Sirius Black.” Sirius took a step back, and for the first time actually looked past the woman's beauty. He could see it; the features of the Black family. He could also see the little bit of a resemblance, and then suddenly, the world went dark.
When he awoke, Elladora was kneeling next to him pressing a cold, damp rag to his forehead. He began to sit up, and as he did, he noticed a man that stood out perfectly from everyone else. This man was dressed in the same type of clothes Sirius had been in just an hour before. He began to look closer at him, and he realized exactly who it was.
“Snivellus.” Sirius growled. Elladora looked questioningly at him, but continued to wipe his head. Sirius knew that he had to get away from Severus Snape as fast as he could. There had to be a reason for why he was there, but Sirius knew that no matter what, he could not be seen by Snape. Sirius wasn't one to follow rules, but the rules of the Time Turner were the only ones that he did follow. He quickly stood up, and began to walk down the street to another small building that served tea and things to snack on, and if you needed a place to stay, you could sleep there, too. He glanced behind him, and noticed that Elladora was following him, but Snape had started walking the other way.
Sirius and Elladora walked through the door of the building, and as Sirius looked around, he noticed that it wasn't just a place to eat, drink, and sleep, but it was in fact the Leaky Cauldron. Even though he was confused, he decided that it was better than running into Snivellus again. The two walked up to the counter, and Elladora asked for a cup of tea with two cubes of sugar, while Sirius asked for a Firewhisky. They paid and looked around for a place to sit where no one could hear them talking. They settled for a table that was closest to the back of the building and sat down to talk.
“So, Elladora, how old are you?” Sirius asked after taking a large gulp from his glass. He continued to look around the room just to make sure Snape hadn't followed them in.
“I've just turned twenty-one, and you, Sirius?” Elladora began to swirl the light brown liquid in her glass, as she waited for Sirius to answer. When he didn't, she decided she would continue the conversation. “Isn't it weird, though? Out of all of the people in the village, you came to me to ask your strange questions.” She laughed as she said this, but continued. “I have to ask, though. Why didn't you realise the resemblance when you first started talking to me?”
Sirius kept looking around the room, but he answered Elladora's questions as he did so. “I'm thirty, and it is weird. And, to be completely honest, I went up to you because you are extremely good-looking.” He smiled at her, but then shook his head. “I still think you are, but it's even weirder now. I mean, I guess I could tell you now, seeing as how we're family.”
Elladora smiled back at him, and nodded her head in a ‘Thank You’ sort of way. She waited for him to continue talking, but he didn't. Sirius had begun to look around the room again, and his eyes stopped on a certain spot. Elladora turned to see what it was he was staring at, and neither of them realised that someone was standing behind Sirius's chair.
“Well, well, well. Look what the Kneazle dragged in!” The voice was extremely deep and cold. Sirius turned his head back to Elladora and lifted any eyebrow.
“Snivellus.” Sirius growled. He turned on his chair, and glared at the man. Snape smiled his crooked smile and took a seat near Sirius and Elladora's table. Elladora looked over at Sirius and tilted her head to the side.
“Sirius, who is your friend?”
“He's not a friend.” Sirius continued to glare at Snape. “What the bloody hell are you doing here?”
Snape looked from Elladora to Sirius, and then began to speak. “I could ask you the same thing, but I don't think I will.” Snape turned his attention to Elladora. “I'm Severus. Severus Snape, and like he said, we're not friends now nor were we ever.”
“I'm Elladora, and may I ask, why you aren’t friends? Sirius seems like a good guy.” Elladora smiled at Sirius, and then turned back to Snape.
“Well, why don't you ask him?”
Sirius didn't take his eyes off of Snape as he started to talk. “We went to Hogwarts together when we were kids. Snivellus here was always getting in the way of me and my friends, so we always put him in his rightful place.” Sirius smiled, and looked over at Elladora. He watched her as she thought over what he had said.
“What do you mean by 'his rightful place'?” Elladora asked.
Sirius chuckled. “Well, you see, Snivellus had a crush on the girl my friend James was after, and it seemed as though he was trying to turn her against James, even though everyone knew Lily didn't feel the same about Snivellus here. Actually, she didn't feel the same about James either, but eventually, she came to her senses.”
Snape glared at Sirius, “I did not have a crush on Lily, and you know that. We were friends, best friends to be exact. We grew up together in the same city.” Snape watched Sirius, who continued to laugh at him. “If it wasn't for you and your 'friends,' Lily and I would have been closer then we were while we were at Hogwarts, but you just had to ruin it.”
“How did he ruin it?” asked Elladora as she took a sip of her tea that was beginning to turn cold.
“Every time he and his friends were around, something horrible would happen. They were always using their magic to make my life a living hell.” Snape looked over at Elladora even though all of her attention was on Sirius. Sirius looked back at Elladora, shaking his head.
“Snivellus, Snivellus, Snivellus. Everything we did to you, you deserved. Especially since that one time you called Lily a… what was it again? Oh yes, a 'Mudblood'?” Snape glared at Sirius, but didn't say anything. “How could you call your 'best friend' something so terrible?” Sirius laughed, and gulped down the rest of his Firewhisky. He loved being able to put Snape in his place, even after all of these years. Nothing felt more satisfying than making Snivellus's life a living hell, even though he had brought it upon himself half the time. The rest of the time, it was just for pure fun. Sirius smiled to himself, and ordered a second Firewhisky and a new cup of tea for Elladora.
Elladora watched the two men argue back and forth as she took the second cup of tea from Sirius. She still thought Sirius was a nice guy, but she also thought that Snape didn't seem as bad as Sirius was making him out to be. What's wrong with calling a muggle a mudblood? she thought. Being a Black she had been brought up to take the idea of purity of blood seriously. She didn't agree with letting Muggles into Hogwarts, which was a school for Witchcraft and Wizardry. She decided she would voice her opinion even though she didn't know the entire story.
“Um, excuse me, but, what's so wrong with calling a Muggle a Mudblood? I mean, they are Muggles. They shouldn't be given the chance to join in on the wizarding community.” Elladora watched as Sirius's face fell. She thought that since he was a Black too he would think the same way she did.
“What's wrong with it?” Sirius snapped. “Everything is wrong with it. There are plenty of muggles out there that are magical, and Lily Evans just happened to be one of the few.”
Elladora took a sip from her cup, “Yes, but maybe it'd be best if they had a school just for Muggles where they can learn separately from actual witches and wizards.”
Sirius's face turned red from anger, and Snape turned to look at Elladora as she spoke. Snape didn't agree with what Elladora was saying, but he thought it was entertaining to see how Sirius was reacting to the things Elladora was saying. Sirius on the other hand was realising that it wasn't just his father, Orion, that felt this way, but that it was every single person in the Black family. He continued to sulk about everything his relative was saying, and as he did, he continued to think about the way they were related. He tried to trace his family tree back all the way to the 1800s in his head, but before he even made it to the 1950s, he realised who Elladora was.
“Elladora. Aunt Elladora.” Sirius said, as he continued to stare at her. Elladora tilted her head to the side in a questioning way, but before she could say anything Sirius continued talking. “You're the aunt who started the tradition of beheading the family house-elves, aren't you?”
Elladora chuckled, and began to shake her head. “Well, I haven't actually done it, but I have been thinking about beheading the house-elf we have now. He can't even carry a tray of tea anymore!”
Sirius shook his head, and laughed. He couldn't believe he was actually meeting an aunt that he had heard about ever since he was a kid. He didn't agree with most of the things his family did, but he didn't really like house-elves. He hated Kreacher with a passion, but it was mutual for the two.
As Sirius continued to shake his head, he saw something shine out of the corner of his eye. He looked over at Snape, and he noticed a gold chain hanging around his neck. Since Snape wasn't paying too much attention, Sirius grabbed the chain, and pulled out a Time turner. He raised an eyebrow and then looked on the floor next to the chair Snape was sitting in. He noticed that he had a satchel that looked the same as the one he had.
“What the bloody hell are you doing?” Snape growled. He pulled the Time Turner out of Sirius's hand, and placed it back under his shirt.
“Why do you have a Time Turner?” Sirius asked, still shocked.
“And why would you think I would tell you that?” Snape snapped back. Sirius could tell that Snape didn't actually know the reason for why he had a Time Turner. He then noticed that there was a cut on Snape's cheek, almost as big as the one he had on his forehead. Thinking back on it now, Snape had walked with a limp when he went to sit down near Elladora and Sirius.
“Well, if you won't tell me where you got the Time Turner, than tell me where you got the limp and the cut on your cheek.” Sirius looked over at Snape again, and waited for the man to answer him.
“Well, I “ I -- don't know,” Snape muttered. He reached down to pick up his satchel, and pulled out a piece of parchment. He opened it up, and showed it to Sirius. “I woke up in the woods over by some disgusting lake, and this was under a rock near where I was.”
Sirius looked at the piece of parchment, and as he read it, he realised it was the same thing that he had gotten when he woke up in the open field. He didn't want to tell that to Snape. He didn't want anyone to know that someone had gotten to him, and he definitely didn't want anyone thinking that he had something in common with Snivellus.
“You got one, too, didn't you?” Snape said. He could tell by the look on Sirius's face that he had already read what was on the parchment. Being able to perform Legilimency helped him a lot, too.
Sirius looked away from Snape, “How dare you use Legilimency on me! I'm not stupid, Snivellus. I can tell when someone is looking into my memories.” Sirius shook his head, took a gulp of his Firewhisky, and continued to talk. “Yes, as you already know, I did get a letter like the one you have. Actually, it was the same exact thing; the same mission.”
“Well, what are we going to do? You know we can't just take Harry's wand, or give an unknown person a piece of his hair.” Snape ordered a butter-beer, and began to drink it. “We don't even know who this person is. For all we know, it could be someone that works for the Dark Lord.”
“How do I know it's not you? I mean, you do work for him, don't you, Snivellus? You just didn't feel important enough being a Professor at Hogwarts?” Sirius finished the rest of his Firewhisky and looked over at Elladora. She had been sitting there quietly the entire time, drinking her tea. She looked up at Sirius and smiled.
You have no idea what we're talking about, but there may be a way you could help us, Sirius thought to himself as he smiled back at his aunt.
Snape looked from Sirius to Elladora, but didn't say anything. He could tell Sirius had a plan, and he didn't want to jump into it without knowing what it was first. As he waited for Sirius to continue talking, he finished his butter-beer, and then ordered a second.
“Snivellus, I have an idea, but I'm not sure how it's going to work yet,” Sirius said as he looked away from his aunt and back to Snape sitting next to him. “I mean, I have all of the technicalities figured out, but I just don't know how to put everything together.”
Snape glared at Sirius because of the name, and then began to think about what the plan could be. “Well, Sirius, maybe if you told me what the plan was, I could think of a way to make it work.”
Sirius thought about this. “Well, I was thinking that maybe Elladora could help us.” He turned to face his aunt, and watched as she contemplated this.
“I could help you, but I'm not making any promises until I hear what I have to do.” She took another sip of her tea and waited to hear the rest of the plan.
“Fair enough. Elladora, is your brother Phineas the headmaster at Hogwarts yet?”
Elladora laughed, “Why, yes, he is. This is his first year being the Headmaster. He was the Potions Master first, though.” Snape's head turned as soon as she said 'Potions Master'. “Why do you ask?”
“Do you think he would have anything to say against us using the library at the school to do research?” Sirius asked. He had heard a lot about his great-great grandfather, but the only thing he could remember was that he was the most hated Headmaster of Hogwarts. He didn't know why, but it was just what he was told.
“Why do you need to use the library at the school? You could use the library here in town if you'd like.” Elladora stood, and motioned for Sirius and Snape to follow her. The two men mirrored Elladora and picked up their satchels. They followed her out of the door of the Leaky Cauldron and into the over-crowded streets of London.
None of them spoke as they made their way through the crowds of people, and towards the largest building in the city. Sirius and Snape looked at all the people as they walked in and out of the stores, stopping every now and then to talk to someone they knew. Before they knew it they were already at the steps to the building, and they made their way in.
“Now, may I ask, what is it you're looking for exactly?” Elladora asked as she began to walk through the aisles of book shelves.
Sirius thought for a moment, and then began to speak. “Actually, I just wanted to look up more information on our family. I know you're the aunt that beheaded house-elves, and that Phineas is the most hated Hogwarts headmaster, but I don't know anything about your brother, Sirius, and your sister, Isla.”
Elladora shuddered at the name of her sister. Isla had been “removed” from the family because she had married a Muggle. No one in the Black family spoke of her nor did they even want to. Sirius, on the other hand, had passed away when he was only eight-years-old. No one talked about him or his death, and Elladora certainly didn't want to talk about either of her siblings. She was, however, curious as to why Phineas was the “most hated headmaster of Hogwarts” in Sirius's time.
“Why is Phineas the most hated Headmaster?” Elladora asked curiously.
“No one really knows. I think it was probably because he didn't actually care about the students very much. He never wanted to help them with their problems and stuff,” Sirius answered. He continued to look through the books in the aisle they were in. He didn't know what he was looking for exactly, but he had a feeling it would jump out at him as soon as he saw it.
“Yes, that sounds like him alright. He never was one to care about others.” Elladora nodded her head in agreement as she too looked through the books.
“If you don't mind me asking, why haven't I heard anything about Sirius and Isla? Growing up my family has always talked about our relatives, but they never talked about them.” Sirius said.
Elladora debated with herself whether or not to talk about them. It upset her to even think of Sirius, and it made her angry to talk about Isla. She knew that Sirius would find out eventually what had happened to the two, so she finally decided she would talk about it.
“Well, no one really likes talking about them, but I guess you will find out soon enough, so I suppose I'll tell you myself.” Elladora took a deep breath, and continued. “You see, when Sirius was eight-years-old, he accidentally put himself between two men who were having an argument. No one knew that they were going to pull out their wands and duel, so no one tried to get Sirius away from them.
“One of the men cast a spell, and it just so happened that Sirius was standing in front of the opposite man at the time. The spell missed its target, and “ and it hit Sirius. We tried doing what we could to save him, but “ it just didn't help. He passed away that same night.” Sirius put a hand on Elladora's shoulder, and gave her his best ‘I'm sorry’ look. She smiled a small smile, and took another deep breath.
“Isla. Well, what can I say about her? She never really fit in with the rest of the family. She was “ how can I put this? “ different. She was the only one who didn't believe in the purity of blood, and she began dating a bloody Muggle when she was of age. She kept it a secret from the rest of the family, but our parents ended up finding out.” Elladora shrugged. “The rest is quite obvious. She was kicked out of the house, and the family, and the next year she married the stupid Muggle.”
The way Elladora used the word Muggle made Sirius angry. He didn't like how Elladora sounded disgusted by the fact that her sister was different from the rest of the family. She didn't know that Sirius had also been kicked out of the family for being sorted into the Gryffindor House when he was in his first year at Hogwarts. He didn't want to tell her because he still wanted her help, but he put the information he had told her into the back of his mind. He would never forget what she said, and he would probably never forgive her for the way she was. His hatred towards his family grew stronger as Elladora finished her story, but he tried to hide it.
“I'm sorry about your brother,” was all Sirius could bring himself to say. He turned from Elladora, and continued to look for a book about his family.
All of the books in the library seemed to be about many of the pureblood families. Mainly the books were about the Blacks, and some were even about the Weasleys. This fascinated Sirius to the point where he stuck a book underneath his clothes, told Snape and Elladora he was going to go for a walk to clear his head, and left.
He began to walk down the still overly crowded streets not knowing where to go. As he reached the end of the block, he had a choice to go either right or left, so he chose left. He followed this street until he could go no more, and found a small park that was nearly empty. Sirius walked over to a secluded area of the park, sat down, and pulled the book out from under his shirt.
“Now, let’s see.” Sirius said to himself as he turned to the first page of the book. He was not one that liked to read, but since he was extremely desperate, he decided he would do anything. He had grown up not knowing much about his family, seeing as how he had moved out at the age of seventeen. He figured this book would make many things clear to him, so he grabbed the book that was about the Weasley family. He didn’t know why he wanted this one; he just had a feeling that there was something in it that was important.
“Septimus Weasley. Born in the 1910s. Hmph, he married into the Black family, what a shock.” Sirius said to himself sarcastically. “Let’s see, what else. His marriage to Cedrella caused her to be burned off the family tree? Wow. They even did that way back then, too.”
Sirius stopped reading. There weren’t really any other people listed in this book, and to him, the information was a little dull. He closed the book and put his hands over his face.
Suddenly, the idea came to him. He grabbed the book, and ran back to the library where Elladora and Snape were still looking for books about the Black family.
“You can stop looking. I’ve got an idea,” Sirius quickly stated. “Snivellus, since you have a Time Turner, too, for some reason, we’re going to use them. Aunt Elladora, if you want to, you can come along.” Sirius watched as Snape looked at Elladora. She shrugged her shoulders, smiled, and nodded her head.
“Of course I’ll come. When is the next time I’ll have a chance to do something like this?!” Sirius laughed, and nodded his head. He motioned for Snape and Elladora to follow him, and he quickly ran back to the small part of the park that he was at just five minutes earlier. Sirius and Snape stood next to each other, and Sirius had Elladora put part of the chain to the Time Turner around her neck. Sirius told Snape the time that they were going to, they set the Time Turners, and before they knew it they were right where they wanted to be.
Elladora was completely amazed. She had never seen anything like what had just happened. The way they had just ‘magically’ appeared in another time period amazed her to a point where she couldn’t help wanting to do more of this. She continued to look around, and since she was very concerned with the latest fashion, she noticed that the type of clothes people wore had changed. She pointed this out to Sirius and Snape, and all three decided they would find a place soon to change their clothes.
Once changed, Sirius began to tell Elladora the rules of the Time Turner.
“First of all, seeing as how this is the year 1910, I suggest you stay far away from any place that you would normally go back in your own time. No matter what, you cannot see yourself. Like Dumbledore has said many times, bad things happen to wizards who mess with time.”
Elladora nodded. “Alright. I will make sure I stand my distance.”
Sirius nodded back, looked over at Snape, and began to walk down the main street. He had no idea where this person lived, but he knew he had to see them. He didn’t know why, but once again, he just had the feeling that something good would come out of seeing this person. Who was this person? Why, they were someone who was related to him, and they were the person who made it so that Arthur Weasley was part of the Black family. They were Arcturus Black, who, in this time period, is Elladora’s age; twenty-one.
After walking around for about an hour, the group finally found the house they were looking for. Sirius walked up the stairs first, and rang the doorbell. He heard the sound of footsteps from behind the door, and patiently waited for the door to open. Once it did, a young woman who looked to be about eighteen, smiled at the three that stood on the step.
“Can I help you, sir?” the woman said as she smiled again at Sirius.
“Um, yes. Is there an Arcturus Black home?” Sirius asked. The woman was extremely beautiful. She had long, golden brown hair, and the brightest blue eyes he had ever seen. She had a small build, and wore a dark green skirt that fell to her knees, and a light silver blouse. Sirius knew she must be the maid, but that fact sat at the back of his mind.
“Yes, he’s in the living room right now. You may come in. I’ll let him know that someone is here to see him. Can I ask what your names are, please?” The girl stepped to the side to allow the three to come in, and smiled as each one past her.
“I’m Sirius, this is Sniv “ I mean Severus, and this is Elladora.” Sirius smiled back at the girl, and waited for her to close the door behind them. After she did, she had them follow her into the living room where a tall man with short, jet black hair was sitting.
“Sir, there are people here to see you,” the girl said, as she led Sirius, Snape, and Elladora into the living room. “This is Sirius, Severus, and Elladora.” The man in the chair nodded his head, and the young girl smiled one last time at Sirius, and left the room.
“She’s young, but I swear her mind is going. I could have sworn I heard her say your names were Sirius and Elladora.” Arcturus Black shook his head, and continued talking. “You see, I have an Aunt Elladora, a brother Sirius, and an Uncle Sirius, but I hardly talk to any of them.” Arcturus nodded in the direction of an old looking couch.
Sirius, Snape, and Elladora all sat down, and Sirius was the first one to speak.
“She’s not losing her mind. My name is Sirius Black, and her name is Elladora Black.”
Arcturus shook his head again. “That can’t be true. My brother Sirius is much younger then you are, and my Aunt Elladora is much older then you. You can’t be my Uncle Sirius because he passed away years ago when he was eight-years-old.”
“She is your Aunt Elladora, but I’m not your brother or your uncle. I’m your nephew.” Sirius stated. He watched as Arcturus shook his head again for a third time. He was beginning to get aggravated, but decided he would explain the situation anyway.
“You see, I’m not from this time period. I used this to get here.” Sirius began. He showed Arcturus the Time Turner, then continued to tell his story. “Actually, I ended up in Aunt Elladora’s time period, and I have no idea how or why. I was hit in the head by someone, and when I woke up I was in the year 1871, and there was a piece of parchment that had a list on it. There isn’t a name, but Severus and I, think we know who could have done it.”
Arcturus tried to take in all of this new information, but he still didn’t know if he believed it.
“There are plenty of books out there that you can use to look up information on this family. How do I know you are really a part of it?” Arcturus said.
“Arcturus, obviously you must be the son of my brother, Phineas Nigellus Black. You’re just as stubborn as he is. The only thing I’m not sure of about you yet is if you actually care about other people or just yourself, like he does.” Elladora spoke before Sirius could answer Arcturus’s question. Sirius smiled at how quick she was to judge people, and he realised that they were similar in many ways.
Arcturus was at a loss for words. No one else would know who his father was besides his siblings, himself, and his mother.
These people have to be who they say they are. No one would have been able to know that from reading a book, Arcturus thought to himself.
“Well, if you are who you say you are, then why are you here? Why did you come talk to me instead of someone else?”
Sirius thought this over before he opened his mouth to speak. “Well, I wanted to know more about your brother, Phineas Black.”
“Why would you want to know more about him? He’s a disgrace to the Black name! Supporting those stupid Muggles. Who does he think he is?” Arcturus growled. He stood, and began to pace back and forth.
Sirius watched his uncle, but didn’t say anything back to what he was saying.
“Actually, I was just wondering if you happened to know where Phineas lives,” Sirius cautiously inquired. Arcturus gave Sirius a stare that would have made any one else shudder.
“If you must know, he lives right down the street.” Arcturus spat at him. “Now, if you don’t mind, I have work to do. Serena will show you out. SERENA!”
The young woman from earlier showed up in the doorway. “Yes, sir?”
“Show these people out, please.”
“Right away, sir,” Serena said. She motioned for the group to follow her, and opened the door. “Have a nice day, sir.” She smiled at Sirius as he walked past her.
Sirius smiled back at Serena, and followed Snape and Elladora out the door, and down the street towards Phineas’s house. Once again, Sirius had a feeling that Phineas was going to make him see thing in a whole new way.
Arcturus had made it clear that all of the Blacks, no matter what time period it was, hated Muggles. They all still believed in the purity of blood, and just the fact that Phineas was like him with getting blasted off the family tree, showed Sirius that he was the perfect person to help him with his mission.
Sometimes An Enemy is Your Only Way Out by TCole
Chapter Notes: Thanks to harrypotterfangirl21 for betaing this for me, and to mugglemathdork for being a great guide!
I hope you all enjoy this!