We Were Forever

Thirteen-year-old Sirius Black stared at his reflection in the mirror that hung on his bedroom wall at Grimmauld Place. He had grown this summer. He was taller and broader, and his jawline had become more defined. Although his dress robes were brand new, they felt tight and suffocating and he had to loosen the collar or he felt as though he might stop breathing. Taking one last glance at himself- looking a little too much like his father for his own liking- he left his bedroom and headed downstairs to the fireplace where his mother, father, and brother were waiting to floo to his Aunt and Uncles.

"Sirius!" Walburga scoffed, eyeing him with utter disapproval. "I just cut your hair! It's practically past your chin!"

Flipping his fringe out of his eyes, Sirius shrugged, "I like it this way."

"I won't have you looking like a street urchin in front of every respectable Pure Blood family in Britain!"

"A street urchin in designer dress robes?" Sirius asked, quirking an eyebrow. He saw Regulus stifle a laugh.

"Don't talk back to your mother, Sirius," his father warned without bothering to even glance at him.

"What's this bloody party even for?"

"It's for your cousin, Andromeda. And watch your tongue, boy!"

"An engagement party?" Sirius asked, genuinely surprised.

"Don't be ridiculous, Sirius! This is not the time for your nonsense!" Walburga said with an exasperated sigh as she and Orion stepped into the fireplace and disappeared into a cloud of green smoke. Sirius and Regulus exchanged an equally confused look before following their parents.

Upon their arrival, Sirius could instantly tell that his mother had not been exaggerating. Every Pure Blood family that his parents considered respectable surely was present at his Aunt and Uncle's lavish estate, and the string of introductions and hellos to relatives (whose names Sirius could not remember) seemed to be never-ending. He was in the middle of being scrutinized for his poor posture and hairstyle by his great aunt when a tall, graceful figure in emerald robes came swooping in, a long curtain of black hair falling around him as Andromeda kissed both of his cheeks.

"So sorry to interrupt Auntie Irma, but I simply must steal Sirius away from you for a moment!" She flashed her perfect white teeth in a charming smile and ignored the disdainful look the old woman gave both of them as she dragged Sirius to her father's empty study.

"Thank Merlin you're here, Sirius! I swear I'm about to rip my hair out," she ran a hand through her dark tresses, and silvery blue eyes looking tired and more full of stress than Sirius felt was suitable for a girl of just nineteen.

"Some party," Sirius said grimly, leaning against the heavy mahogany door.

"Have you noticed anything peculiar about the guest list?"

Sirius shrugged, "Seems like the typical Black Family Affair. Every Pure Blood family in Britain."

"And their sons," said Andromeda bitterly, sinking into the leather armchair behind her father's desk.

"Oh," Sirius' eyes widened with realization as he noticed the diamond ring hanging from a chain around her neck.

"I won't do it," she said from behind her hands. "I won't conform to what they want me to be. I'm marrying Ted whether they want me to or not!" Her voice shook in a way Sirius had never heard from anyone in his family and he shifted awkwardly on his feet, not knowing what to say. She looked at him and her eyes softened. "I'm sorry, Sirius. I don't mean to unload all of this onto you. I just… I haven't had anyone to talk to. Cissa and Bella won't even speak to me," Andromeda sniffled a little and took a deep breath. "I know everyone's been very hard on you since the sorting. I should have reached out to you. I'm sorry."

"You've had a lot to deal with," Sirius shook his head. "Besides, I've always been a disgrace to the family… So it hardly matters…"

In a swift movement, Andromeda had stood and crossed the room to him, taking his hands in hers. "No! It does matter, Sirius!" Her eyes bore into his pleadingly. "It matters because you're different from them! And what's more, you're the heir! You have the power to change the way this family does things! Just don't ever let them change you! Promise me that?"

Sirius nodded silently, swallowing past an odd lump in his throat.

"I know you don't hear this very often Sirius, but I am very proud of you."

A wave of emotions that Sirius did not know quite how to place washed over him and he felt his chest tighten. He felt pity for his cousin. For his kind, beautiful cousin who had found love and was being outcast by her family for it. He also felt an odd sense of comradery with her. That feeling that he had been hoping to feel with Regulus before his brother was sorted into Slytherin. He didn't know how to respond, so he squeezed his cousin's hands and said, "I'm really proud of you too, Andy."

Andromeda laughed and hugged him tightly. "We should be getting back. I'm sure they've noticed we're missing."

"Maybe they'll think we've run off together," Sirius smirked. "They'd be ecstatic."

"It's a sad day when they would be more accepting of me marrying my baby cousin than a muggleborn," Andromeda sighed.

"But that's just how this family is, isn't it? Sad," said Sirius. And together they left to rejoin the party.

The rest of the evening was long and boring and Sirius was forced to mingle with classmates and family members with whom he shared an equal dislike. The only saving grace had been Regulus, who seemed just as unhappy as he was to be there, especially once Sirius explained that the entire event had been planned to auction Andromeda off.

"It's not right," grumbled their uncle Alphard who had overheard them. "An archaic tradition! Toujor Pur," he spat. "We can't just keep marrying our cousins to keep the bloodline! The next generation will have extra limbs! We're lucky the two of you turned out as well as you did," he drained the rest of his glass.

"Thanks, Uncle Alphard," said Sirius, holding himself up a little straighter. Alphard patted him on the shoulder.

"You're a good lad, Sirius," he muttered before accepting yet another glass of wine from one of the house elves.

—-------

Sirius had never been so happy to see platform nine and three quarters. Once through the barrier, he disappeared into the floods of students and parents without a single word goodbye to his mother. It didn't take long to spot the tall lanky boy with a nest of black hair.

"OI! POTTER!" Sirius shouted, waving his arms wildly over his head. James turned, grinning hugely as he ran over to meet him.

"Sirius!" He eyed his friend for a moment. "Nice hair."

"Wish I could say the same to you," Sirius snorted, ruffling James' messy mop. "How was your summer?"

They heard Peter call to them before James could reply and the pudgy boy shoved past a few other students to catch up to them. No one had seen Remus yet.

"He's so bloody small. He gets lost in crowds too easily," Sirius said, craning his head to search for the werewolf. "We should really just tie a bell around his neck or something."

"On whose neck?"

James, Sirius, and Peter turned around and their jaws dropped.

Remus, who had always been the shortest, had certainly grown this summer. Now over a head taller than Peter, he was just about head-to-head with Sirius and significantly less scrawny looking.

"Merlin, Remus! Did you take some sort of growth potion over the summer?" Peter gaped at him.

"Aww, Ickle Remikins is growing up!" James cooed, pinching his cheeks. Remus swatted at his hand.

"Very funny," he grinned.

"You know who else has changed?" James said with a starry look in his eyes. "Evans. If you know what I mean…"

"Suddenly crushing on Evans?" Asked Remus. "I thought you said she was annoying…"

"She is. But now she's annoying with a pretty face," James grinned, taking a seat by the window.

"And that makes all the difference in the world!" Sirius added.

"How charming," Remus said flatly, rolling his eyes as the train began to move.