OUTCAST | SIRIUS BLACK

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

I BET YOU MISS THE DRAGON CONVERSATION NOW
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"How did the exams go, Sera?" Arthur asked later that night when the Weasley family had gathered around the table for dinner. Sera was seated with Bill beside her and Charlie in her lap since both boys had missed their aunt.

"Good, I think," Seraphina shrugged. "I mean, I haven't gotten the results yet. But I think they went okay."

"Sera, look at the dragon," Charlie waved the stuffed toy dragon in her face. "It can fly."

"No toys at the table, Charlie," Molly scolded her son. Seraphina's good-sister was now heavily pregnant with their third child that were due in August.

Seraphina gently pried the dragon out of his hands, "And now it's flyyyyyyying," she zoomed it past his face, "and landing over here until you have eaten your carrots," she placed it on the table out of his reach. She then picked up his fork, and picked up a sliced up carrot before handing it to Charlie.

"What did you say during your Career Advice meeting with Professor Slughorn?" Arthur wondered. "Last time we spoke you had no idea what you wanted to do after Hogwarts."

"Uh, I told him I was considering a career as a Curse-Breaker," Seraphina told them. "That way all the Arithmancy classes I've suffered through won't be for nothing."

"What's a Curse-Breaker?" Bill asked curiously.

"It's like a treasure hunter," Seraphina explained with a mysterious smile. "That finds gold and diamonds hidden inside pyramids and ancient graves."

"I want to be a Curse-Breaker too!" Bill exclaimed excitedly. "Then Aunt Sera and I can find treasures together."

"No you don't want that, dear," Molly gently told her son. "That's quite a dangerous job, Seraphina. Are you sure you wouldn't be more happy working at the Ministry?"

"No, I told Slughorn that my backup plan was becoming a Dragonologist," Seraphina informed them. "Imagine to study dragons for a living."

"I want to be a dragonolist," Charlie exclaimed, with an excitement that rivalled that of his brother earlier.

When she noticed Molly's unimpressed look, Seraphina offered her a sheepish smile. "And if neither of those careers work out, I will just marry rich and become a housewife."

"The only one in danger then would be your husband," Arthur joked, earning a laugh from his little sister.

"So how are things at the Ministry?" she wondered. Arthur had been working at the Department of Magical Law for years now and from what she had heard, he was aiming for a job in The Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office. He had a strange fascination with Muggles.

"Nothing much," Arthur shrugged. "There has been a lot more Muggle disappearances lately-"

"This is not a conversation for children to have," Molly said firmly, sending a warning look towards her husband.

"I bet you miss the dragon conversation now," Sera joked.

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"Why do you have to leave so early?" Bill pouted as he watched Seraphina pack her clothes into a trunk. "I thought you would stay for your summer break."

"I will be back before the term starts," Seraphina promised, sitting down on the bed beside her nephew. "You won't get rid of me that easily."

"But why do you have to stay with your friend?" Bill complained. "You see your friends all the time when you are at Hogwarts. But we only get to see you during the summers and Christmas."

Wrapping an arm around him, to bring him into a side hug, "I know. But I will only be away for three weeks. The rest of the summer I will spend here with you and Charlie. And then I could teach you both how to play Quidditch, or I can show you the best trees to climb up in."

"Do you promise?" Bill asked, holding up his pinky finger. "That you won't want to stay there longer?"

"And miss spending time with my favourite boys?" Seraphina gasped before linking her pinky with his. "I promise that no matter what happens, and no matter how old and grey I grow - I will always arrange time to spend with you."

She then stood up and brought Bill with her, placing him on his feet on the floor in front of her. "Now come on, we should see if your mother has finished preparing lunch."

"But don't you have to pack?" Bill wondered. "I was supposed to help you-"

"You have, my darling," Seraphina assured him. "I just have a few more things to pack and I will finish it tonight. But now, I am hungry. So let's go." The two bounded down the stairs, with Seraphina staying in front of Bill so she could stop him from falling if she needed to.

"Be careful in the staircase!" Molly shouted, from the kitchen.

"Sorry, Molly," Seraphina apologised as she reached the end of the stairs. "Do you need any help with preparing lunch?"

"No, I'm almost finished already," Molly said, back turned to them. "Oh, and a letter arrived for you. It's on the table."

Seraphina found it lying beside the newspaper and she immediately recognised the handwriting. Picking it up, she sat down and opened the envelope and took out the letter inside to read the familiar cursive handwriting.

Dear Sephy,
To be honest I do not know why I'm writing to you. Not that I don't wish to, it's just that I don't usually want to burden you with my problems. I'd much rather tell you about something happy, but I'm afraid I've experienced little of that since I returned home. And I remember our talk at the Astronomy Tower and how you claimed that you feel like an outcast when you return home, so I thought that perhaps you could understand me better than the lads.

Things here at Grimmauld Place, I refuse to call it home, have been much worse than usual, and that says a lot. Mother has been her normal charming self, the mixture of a dementor that can suck the joy out of any room and an acromantula that sees and hears everything with her eight eyes. Only now we have added a basilisk to the list of creatures because her very gaze has become lethal. I can barely stand being in the same room as her, and I'm certain the feeling is mutual.

My father is almost as bad and Regulus just sits there quietly or spends his days reading in his room. I'm not certain how much longer I will be able to stand it here. Or survive, really. I'm certain she would have killed me a long time ago if she wasn't scared they would throw her in Azkaban for it.

I know you are coming to stay with the Potters in a few days, depending on when I manage to sneak out and send this letter, and I hope that I will be able to get out of the house and come to visit you. My mother won't be happy if I do, but then again, when is she ever happy? You probably shouldn't write back to me, because my parents check every letter that is delivered.

I hope to see you soon, darling Sephy,
Sirius

Seraphina frowned at the letter, worry for Sirius filling her. She had always known things were bad for him at home, but never before had he outright told her. Sirius would always joke around about how terrible his mother was, and if he was outright telling her something must be very, very wrong.