28 September, 1970

Sirius Black anxiously watched the crack under his bedroom door from his bed, waiting for the light to turn off. As soon at the hall went dark, he reached under his mattress and pulled out a small hardcover book. He crept to the door and opened it just enough to stick his head out, peering up and down the shadowy hall before stepping out.

Sneaking down the stairs, he finally reached the door at the end of the hall. Quietly opening the door, he poked his head in and grinned and the little girl bundled up under her covers.

"Rus! I was starting to think you weren't going to come down." She whispered excitedly. He stepped into the room and softly closed the door behind himself. Sitting down beside the girl and making himself comfortable, he kissed her forehead softly.

"Of course I came, Lu. No one could keep me away from our nightly story time. Now, which one do you want to hear tonight?"

"Can you read Babbitty Rabbitty?" Sirius raised an eyebrow incredulously, giving her a small smile.

"Again, Aludra? Aren't you sick of that one yet? This is the fourth night in a row that you've wanted Babbitty Rabbitty." Aludra looked at him, widening her eyes innocently.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Sirius. Besides, you can't tell me that the lady turning into a rabbit isn't fascinating! Do you know if it is really possible, Rus? I want to be able to turn into a rabbit! Can you imagine the places you could hide?" Sirius shushed her as her voice started to rise to a worrying level. She grimaced and hissed a quick apology. He rolled his eyes and picked up the book, flipping to the page of Lu's favorite story.

"Well, I guess it'll be your birthday in a few hours, so I'll let it go this time. But tomorrow night we're reading a different one! I know you like The Wizard and the Hopping Pot, right?"

"I guess, Rus. Can you start reading now? I'm kind of tired and I really don't want to be tired when mother has the seamstress come over to figure out my dress for that ball thing." Aludra's face scrunched up, imagining the tugging, pin pricks, and stiff legs that were inevitable when the seamstress came along. Sirius snickered, only stopping when Lu whacked his arm lightly.

"Okay, okay. 'A long time ago, in a far-off land…'"

Sirius's voice trailed off halfway through the tale, as he realized his little sister was fast asleep. She'd snuggled into his side, clutching his nightshirt in her fist. He gently pried her hand from his clothing and slowly stood from her bed. He tucked her stuffed rabbit under her arm, and pulled the blankets up around her torso. Placing a kiss on her forehead, his whispered a quick goodnight and walked toward the door, pausing only briefly to glance back at the small girl before making his way back to his own bedroom.

After tucking the book safely back under his mattress, Sirius climbed into his own bed, blowing out the candle on his nightstand. He always made a point to spend time reading to Aludra before bed, as it was something their parents would never even consider doing. The nearly nine year old girl deserved much more than their parents offered, and Sirius was determined to pick up some of the excessive slack that their neglect left behind.

As his eyes started to close, the only thing on Sirius Black's mind was how he was going to make Aludra's ninth birthday at least somewhat exciting.

3 November, 1970

"Sirius Orion Black! Get back here! I want to read it, too!" Aludra screeched up the stairs, clamoring up them as quickly as she could. Sirius cackled, his lanky legs able to move significantly faster than Lu's tiny ones.

"Aludra Melania Black! It's my Hogwarts letter, not yours! Let me read it first!" Sirius slid to a halt just outside his bedroom door, stepping inside and plopping himself on his bed. His eyes began to skim over the parchment, his grin growing wider by the second.

"Come on, Rus. I just want to see!" She panted, clutching her side as a cramp struck her, "I really need to exercise more." She grumbled to herself, sweeping her long, brown hair out of her face. Sirius snorted at her statement, presented the parchment to her with a flourish.

"I'm done. Here, it's official! I'm starting at Hogwarts in ten months!" Aludra snatched the letter from her brother, reading it over. She looked at him as she finished, giving him a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"This is awesome, Sirius. I'm happy for you." Sirius's eyebrows furrowed, confused as to why she was reacting this way.

"What's wrong, Lu? Isn't this exciting? I finally get to learn real magic and get a wand and stuff!" Aludra shrugged her shoulders, the small smile falling from her face.

"Yeah, but you won't be here anymore Rus. I don't know what I'm going to do without you. What if mother starts up again and you aren't here to help? What if I get lonely? How am I going to fall asleep without you there?" She whimpered, her voice trembling as her breath started to come in quick gasps. Sirius's eyes widened, his arms scrambling to wrap around her neck, pulling her into a close hug. After a moment, he placed his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her away a step. He wiped the tears off her cheeks, taking a deep breath.

"Aludra, listen to me. I am going to learn how to protect you while I'm at school, I promise. I can try to talk to Regulus; he'll keep an eye on you. I love you; I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you. We are both going to be okay, Lu."

"Rus, just don't do anything stupid, okay? I know we still have a while until you leave, but if you do something wrong while you're at school it's going to fall to me and Reg. And we both know who mother's favorite is." She grimaced, imagining the pain of their mother's punishments. Sirius always got the brunt of it, but some of the torture always ended up trickling down to Aludra. Sirius already wasn't too keen on the family ideals, and his little sister was definitely making a point to follow in his footsteps. Once her brother was away from home ten months out of the year they both knew that she was going to be the focus of their mother's abuse.

"I'll do my best, Lu, but you know how I can be. Just keep your head down between now and September, and I'll try and do the same. We can try and get a few months of peace before I go. And remember, you'll be with me soon!" Aludra chewed her lip silently for a moment, before nodding her head determinedly. Sirius grinned, pulling her into another hug before letting her go.

"So," Aludra smirked, "When do we get to go to Diagon Alley for your school supplies? Are you going to get an owl? What house do you think you'll be in? What subject are you most excited about?" She spewed out in quick succession, her brother breaking out into laughter at her impatience.

"One at a time, Lu. I'm definitely going to be a Gryffindor, though, just you watch." He exclaimed, beginning to bounce on his toes.

"Careful there, Rus. Don't let mother hear you say those dirty words." She snickered. He joined in, both of them getting joy out of the idea of angering their mother with something seemingly so petty.

Sirius sighed after their laughter ceased, reaching a hand out to Aludra so they could head back down the stairs, the house elf almost inevitably having finished preparing dinner by now.

"Let's go eat, Lu. Try not to spill your water down your front this time, eh?" He glanced at her out of the corner of her eye, trying to hide his smirk. Aludra gaped at him, having seen the smirk immediately.

"I knew that was you, Sirius! I thought mother and father were going to kill me! You're lucky father was in such a good mood and was able to talk mother down from throwing a fit!" She scowled at him, pulling her hand from his and starting down the stairs toward the dining room.

"Aw, come on, it was pretty funny!"

"Next time do it to Reg, I'm sure he'll get a real kick out of it, Sirius."

Aludra passed through the archway into the ornate dining room, seeing Regulus and father already seated at the table. Mother was sure to not be far behind, so it seemed she and Sirius had made it just in time. She sent a small smile to both her father and brother, before sliding into her seat between Sirius and her father.

"How has your day been, father?" She asked delicately, grabbing the gemmed goblet of water that had already been placed at her seat and taking a small sip.

"It has gone well so far, Aludra. And I should expect it to stay that way, should I not, Sirius?" Orion raised a skeptical eyebrow at his oldest son, barely fighting back a grimace.

"Of course, father. Why would I want to ruin such a spectacular day with foolery?" Sirius remarked, just on the edge of sarcastic. Aludra reached out discreetly and pinched his thigh hard, Sirius suppressing a wince of pain. Two sets of footsteps stepped from the kitchen, one the harsh clack of heels and the other the near silent pattering of bare house elf feet.

"I would certainly believe not, boy." The harsh voice of Walburga Black slurred from behind them, as she lumbered her way to her seat, sitting in it roughly. It was clear she had made a trip to the wine cellar for a pre-dinner binge. "Any day now, Kreacher! I expect to be served at once!"

"Certainly, Mistress. My apologies, Mistress." The elf snapped its fingers and the extravagant meal seemingly materialized out of nowhere. The family began slowly eating their dinner, making strained small talk. Sirius's birthday wasn't mentioned.

21 August, 1971

Diagon Alley was bustling with wizards and witches trying to get their shopping done, many of them searching for the same things that the Black family was. Sirius and Aludra's hands were clasped together tightly as they wove their way through the crowd, trying their best to not be separated. A group of young witches were clustered around Madam Primpernelle's shop window, squealing between each other over a new Sleekeazy's Hair Potion formula. The siblings followed behind their parents and brother, slowly making their way towards Gringott's Bank.

"Alright, children, you will remain here while your mother and I deal with the goblins. Do not move." Orion Black stressed, before stepping away with Walburga not far behind. She briefly turned back around to send a slight glare towards her children, daring them to defy their father.

Once their parents were out of sight, Sirius grinned. Aludra looked at Regulus, a small amount of fear bleeding from both their eyes.

"Sirius, no! We have to stay here; I don't want to get in trouble!" Regulus begged, Aludra nodding along with him. Sirius raised an eyebrow, wondering why his siblings were so determined to follow their parent's demands.

"Come on, guys. Live a little! They're going to be gone for ages, why couldn't we head over to Quality Quidditch and then come back before they return! They won't know we ever left!" Regulus and Aludra's eyes met again, and to any outsider it would almost look as if they were telepathically communicating. With small facial gestures, they came to the same conclusion.

"We can't, Rus! They could be back at any minute, you know how mother is. The goblins will rush just to get her out of there!" Aludra bounced back and forth on the balls of her feet anxiously, "I don't want you to get in trouble right before you leave, then we won't be able to spend as much time with you as we want! You're going to be gone for so long; I want to get as much Sirius as possible." Sirius sighed, his shoulders slumping. Just as he took a breath to respond, he suddenly straightened his back and cast his siblings a look telling them to do the same.

"Children, this way. We need to get going so we can leave this wretched place as quickly as possible." The voice of their mother called from a few feet behind Aludra and Regulus. Regulus sent Sirius a look that clearly conveyed exactly what he was thinking, 'told you so'.

"Darling, I think we should split up so we can finish sooner, we can head to purchase the schoolbooks, and I believe Sirius is old enough to head to Ollivander's alone, aren't you boy?" Orion reasoned, glancing briefly at Sirius's nodding head before turning back to his wife.

"The boy will get into some sort of mischief without supervision, Orion. You and I both know that he is the irresponsible child." She said haughtily, not even looking at the boy she was speaking of. Orion contemplated this for a moment, before speaking.

"Aludra, would you go with your brother? You can keep him in line. Meet us at Madame Malkin's in ninety minutes. We should all be finished by then." He said finally, handing Aludra a bunch of shiny galleons. "You should also be sure to pick up whatever equipment you'll be needing for classes, Sirius." Aludra's eyes lit up, Sirius smiling happily.

"Of course, father! We won't be late!" She exclaimed, grabbing Sirius's hand and skipping away before their mother could protest. Sirius took the lead, heading straight towards Ollivander's. Aludra bounced excitedly, "I'm so excited for you to get your wand, Rus! I can't wait to see how this works!" she giggled as they opened the door, a bell ringing above them.

A sharp metallic shriek sounded from down a row of shelves as a crazed looking, white haired man flew across them on a ladder. He studied the siblings curiously for a moment before smiling.

"Ah, Sirius Black, I was wondering when you would be coming." Sirius frowned for a moment before shaking his head and shrugging, "Orion, hawthorn, dragon heartstring, 11 ¾ inches, slightly yielding. Walburga, elm, dragon heartstring, 10 inches, unyielding. Correct?"

"Erm, sure, sir." Sirius affirmed, still puzzled by this man's bizarre behavior.

"I have a few ideas for you, young man." Ollivander chirped, sliding his ladder back down the aisle and pulling a few boxes off the shelves. He walked back to the counter and opened one of the long boxes. "Ash, dragon heartstring, 12 inches, slightly yielding," He babbled, placing the wand into Sirius's hand before quickly snatching it back. "No, no. Not right." He rushed off, abandoning the boxes on the counter to find another in the maze of shelves.

Sirius peered around at Aludra, her green eyes watching the whole spectacle with a look of complete wonder from beside the door. He sighed and turned back around just as Ollivander reappeared.

"Cypress, unicorn hair, 12 inches, quite flexible," He stated, watching Sirius unnervingly as he gave him the wand. A green candle that was seated on the windowsill immediately exploded, showering the three with partially melted wax. "Oh, dear. No bother, son." He sighed, quickly cleaning them of the wax and reassembling the candle with a flick of his wand. Ollivander eyed Sirius yet again, this time looking quite perplexed. He slowly reached under a bunch of wand boxes that were precariously stacked up from the floor.

"Spruce, dragon heartstring, 15 inches, swishy." He marveled breathlessly. As Sirius took the wand a spray of red sparks flew from its tip. "Splendid! Oh, I would never have expected this from you, child. I expect we'll be seeing some fun and interesting things from you, Sirius Black. That's for sure. Well, you both best be going now, I'm sure you have a lot of purchases still to make before you start at school. And I look forward to seeing you, Miss Aludra, in a couple years." He quickly shooed the two Black children out the door, but not before taking the seven galleons that Aludra held out to him. He left the two standing befuddled on the street for a moment before they got their wits together.

"That was so cool!" Aludra finally proclaimed, "I can't wait until I get my wand! Yours is so pretty!"

"Sure, Lu, now let's head to Eeylops before we have to rush in finding the rest of my supplies, we only have forty minutes before father is expecting us back."

"You're gonna get an owl, Rus? What kind? Oh, can I pick it out?"

"Of course, Lu. You'll probably be seeing it as much as I will. Just make sure you pick one that can actually fly and I'll be happy, okay?" He teased as the two stepped into the shop that was surrounded by cages inside and out. Aludra looked around the shop before stopping dead in her tracks.

"That one, Rus. It's gorgeous! What do you think?" She pointed to a brown and cream striped owl tucked into the back corner of the shop. She pulled Sirius over to the cage and poked her finger in to stroke its cheek. Sirius flagged down an employee of the shop who quickly made her way over.

"Are you thinking of purchasing this beauty? She's a Barred Owl, been tucked away in this corner for a couple months now, people just keep passing her over for the ones up front."

"Yes, please, ma'am. How much is she?" He responded.

"It'll be 11 galleons, if you want her." The employee remarked, smiling at Aludra who was still petting the owl. Sirius rolled his eyes and took the coins from his sister's blindly outstretched hand, counting them and passing them to the woman.

"I don't think I have much of a choice here, thank you, ma'am." She smiled again and nodded, before heading over to another customer who was eying a menacing looking screech owl by the window.

"Alright, Lu, let's go finish up. Oh, what should we name her?" He asked, knowing Lu would want to do the honors. She grabbed the handle of the owl's cage, pondering his question.

"I dunno, Rus," She paused, her face lighting up, "How about Electra?"

"If that's what you want, it's a nice name. Now I can send you letters while I'm at school and you won't have to miss me too bad." Aludra gave him a small smile and responded.

"I'm still going to miss you, Sirius. But if you promise to write me at least once a week then I promise to try my best to not get too sad about it." He smiled back at her and nodded his head.

"I promise, Lu. I'm going to write you so often that you're going to get sick of me rambling on, I swear!"

"Sure I am, Rus. Now let's go before we get in trouble! What else do we need to get you?"

"I need a cauldron, phials, a telescope and a set of brass scales. Where do you think we should go?"

"Well the cauldron shop of course, and then I imagine Wiseacre's, right?" She questioned uncertainly. He pondered this for a second and then nodded his head, pulling her in the direction of the cauldron shop a couple doors down. They quickly purchased his cauldron, rushing out of the surprisingly crowded shop and walking across the street to Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment.

"Do you think it's really necessary to have a whole shop dedicated to cauldrons?" Aludra mumbled quietly as they perused the various pieces of equipment that were undoubtedly too fragile for the eleven and nine year old to be messing with.

"I'm sure there's some reason for it, Lu. Now help me find these glass phials, please?" The two made their way through the shop as quickly as possible, knowing that they were running out of time before they were expected at Madam Malkin's.

Sirius and Aludra stepped through the door to Madam Malkin's hand in hand, just before their family turned the corner to the shop front as well. Aludra breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that they had made it in time. She really didn't want Sirius to be punished just before he went to Hogwarts, as she was certain that his punishment would have involved isolation from his family.

"I assume you purchased everything you needed, Sirius?" Walburga huffed, already flicking through Madam Malkin's fall catalog. Orion and Regulus had evidently decided to stay outside, rather than stand around in the cramped shop. Sirius nodded his head, glancing around for the shopkeeper. Madam Malkin stepped out from the back room, her robes billowing behind her. She brusquely waved Sirius onto a pedestal in front of a cluster of mirrors, flicking her wand at a tape measure that began taking his measurements.

"What'll you be needing, young man? I assume you're headed to Hogwarts?" She questioned, her voice kind despite her seemingly cold manner.

"Yes, ma'am. I need the things that are on the first year supply list." He replied, ready for this to be over with already. Madam Malkin nodded her head, walking over to a rack of robes and pulling a few off. She waved her wand over them, the fabric stretching and shrinking in places, and placed them on a nearby table. She opened a drawer and removed a black pointed hat and pair of gloves, adding them to the pile of garments.

"Do you need a cloak, or do you have one already?"

"I have one at home, ma'am. That's the only thing I don't need." Walburga sighed impatiently from the corner, loudly turning the page of the catalog that she was holding.

"Alright, well this will be all, that'll be 17 galleons for the lot." Aludra glanced at her mother who made no move to pay the woman and rolled her eyes discretely. She pulled a handful of coins from her pocked and counted out the necessary amount, handing them to Madam Malkin, the shop owner smiling at her gratefully.

"Finally. Let's go children, your father and I have wanted to head home for the last hour." Walburga walked rapidly out the door, not even checking to see if her children were following her. The siblings thanked Madam Malkin quickly and left the shop to find their family.

Hi! I'm working on this as a personal NaNoWriMo type challenge, 50k words in the month of December. This is my first time posting something here, so please be gentle! This is also posted to AO3.

Fun Fact: Aludra is a star in the constellation Canis Major, just like Sirius. Canis Major is one of the dogs following the constellation Orion, the namesake of Sirius's father. It took me two weeks to finally decide on a name, and Electra, now the owl's name, was a contender.