The Golden Quartet: Year 4

PROLOGUE

Sirius had managed to convince his two young daughters to stop packing for the Weasley’s, but they were still very weary.

Astrid’s dark eyebrow was raised at her parents as she sat next to her sister on the sofa.

“So, you won’t kiss anymore in front of us, right?” Astrid asked, looking up at her parents who were standing over them.

Amilia rolled her honey-grey eyes and Sirius spoke, “Yes, we will refrain from snogging-“

Athena and Astrid recoiled, “Ugh! Gross! Also, please refrain from calling it ‘snogging’!” Athena said, shaking her head.

Astrid shoved Athena and gave her a nod, signaling her to say something else.

Athena looked sickly, “Oh, yeah, and, uuh…. If …. You know… you get…” She shuttered. “… urges…. Can you please, for Merlin’s sake, put up some… silencing charms?”

Sirius and Amilia exchanged glances and then broke out into a fit of laughter.

“Ok. Forget this. Let’s start packing again.” Astrid and Athena stood up.

“No, no, no, wait,” Sirius calmed down and placed his hand on his daughters’ shoulders and pushed them back down. “Ok, we agree to your terms-“ they smiled, “but-“ they frowned. “I’ve got my own terms. You’ve got to indulge all my poking and prodding about you and your life, alright? I haven’t been here… and I know nothing about you two.”

Astrid and Athena smiled lightly, “Yeah, sure, no problem!” Astrid smiled wickedly, “You can start by asking Athena all about her boyfriend.”

Athena’s eyes widened.

Astrid got up, “I think I’ll be going to bed now.”

“Boyfriend? But you’re too young to have a boyfriend.” Sirius crossed his arms over his chest and was frowning.

“One day, Astrid… one day I’ll get you back for this.” Athena hissed.

~~~

ATHENA

Amilia and Athena had managed to convince Sirius to put off the interrogation until the morning – but they should have been more specific to what time in the morning because at 5:00 am, at the first sign of daylight, there Sirius was. Looming over his daughter, waiting for her to wake up… but he could wait no longer.

“Hey, wake up!” He shook her shoulder.

She grumbled and then her grey-hazel eyes cracked open, “AAAHH!!!” she screamed and threw herself back and she fell off the bed.

“Good! You’re awake!” Sirius smiled and then grabbed her hand and helped her back up.

Athena sat down on her bed as Sirius turned on the lamp that was sitting on her desk.

He began to slowly pace, “Athena… you’re my first born child… I don’t think you fully grasp what that means…”

“Um,” Athena yawned, “what time is it?”

“Athena I know… that this might all be odd… I… haven’t been around… you’re used to only being raised by your mother and being scolded by her and only following her8 rules… but…” He sighed and ran his fingers through his dark shaggy hair. “I am8 your father and I am not going anywhere and… this… Fred… I don’t know him. So, I’m not sure…”

“Can you just, please, stop,” Athena spoke and then yawned again. She then gestured to the chair at the desk, “Will you sit down?”

He sighed again and sat down in the chair across her.

“Hi, I’m Athena, Gryffindor, Chaser, and yeah, I’m dating Fred Weasley. Nice to meet you.” She smiled and held out her hand.

Sirius chuckled and took it and then shook it, “I’m Sirius, I, too was in Gryffindor and I was beater for our Quidditch team. I’m married to your mother, it’s nice to meet you as well.”

Athena placed her hands on her lap, “Okay, so you want to know about Fred?”

“Yes.” Sirius stated and crossed his arms over his chest.

“He’s a Weasley, one of Ron’s older brothers. He’s part of a set,” She smiled, “he has an identical twin, George.”

“A Weasley?” Sirius smiled. “I knew his parents… Arthur and Molly… back during the war. They’re good people… Ron is a good boy as well. I can only assume Fred is like his family?”

Athena smiled, one that reached her eyes, “Yes, he’s great. He’s really funny. He and George are always getting into trouble though… they’re quite the pranksters.”

Sirius smirked, “A prankster, aye?” he actually looked impressed.

“Yes. They’re favorite target is Filch.”

“Filch? That old geezer is still around, is he?” Sirius shook his head.

“But he’s more than a silly boy,” Sirius frowned at this, like he didn’t want Fred to be more than a ‘silly boy’. “He’s… he’s actually quite sweet… and smart, and brave and he does what’s right.” Athena was beaming.

Sirius wasn’t sure what to think of Fred. He sounded like a fine young boy… but Athena is his first daughter. An innocent, little girl!

“Are… you okay? You don’t seem pleased from what I’ve told you about him.” Athena asked, concerned.

“It’s just… I… I remember everything from… before I was taken from you. I remember the day Amilia told me she was pregnant…” he smiled.

“You… you do?” Athena smiled lightly, and she tilted her head curiously.

“Yes,” he gave a weak smile. “I was terrified.”

“You were? But mum said you loved us and was an excited father-“ Athena began, looking confused.

“Yes, yes, wait now,” he gave her a comforting smile. “That’s all true, but, admittedly, I wasn’t like that when she told me she was pregnant with you.” Athena was looking at him, waiting for him to continue and explain.

“I was upset. We were in the middle of a wizarding war, danger and death was all around us. Now, not only would I be worrying about your mother, but I had to worry about you too. And… I didn’t know how to be a father. My… father wasn’t the best role model… I wasn’t sure how to go about raising you. What if I raised you wrong? What if you hated me like I hated my dad?” Sirius shook his head. “All of this was just racing through my mind when she told me she was pregnant. Not really thinking, I told her,” Sirius let out an airy laugh and then a heavy sigh, “I told her, ‘you can’t.’”

Athena raised her eyebrow and narrowed her eyes.

Sirius’ eyes widened, “That’s exactly what she did!” He let out a hardy laugh and slapped his knee.

Athena relaxed a bit, “Then what happened? Obviously she didn’t murder you.”

Sirius chuckled, “No, but I thought she would. She gave me that dirty look and chewed me up and spat me out. She’s so good at arguing… actually I wouldn’t even call it arguing… ‘devour’ would be more of an accurate word…” Athena laughed. “Then she said, ‘if you don’t want to be a part of this, then you don’t have to be’ and it just sort of hit me…” Athena looked eager for him to continue. “I… wanted to be a part of it.” Athena smiled. “Don’t get me wrong, I was still terrified… but I thought… there is no way this kid could turn out wrong. She’s got Amilia as a mother.

“I then told your mum exactly what I was feeling… it wasn’t that I didn’t want you… I just didn’t want all the fear that would come with you. She understood, and she told me, ‘the world is filled with a lot of death right now, Sirius, and we’re about to bring some life into it… and I will make you a part of that death toll if you make me go through this alone!’” Sirius chuckled as Athena laughed.

“Your mother… she’s something…” Sirius nodded.

“Well… then, you must be something too if she loves you.” Athena said, smiling slyly.

“I like to think so. You know, you’re pretty wise for your age.” Sirius smiled.

Athena smiled, “I like to think so.”

~~~

ASTRID

Astrid’s eyes shots open once her nostrils picked up the scent of breakfast. She smiled and threw her covers off and jumped out of bed. American biscuits and gravy – her favorite! Astrid swung open her bedroom door, and there stood Sirius, fist raised, ready to knock. Astrid’s smile turned into a beaming grin, “Dad!”

Sirius blinked, surprised at that word… the sound of it coming out of Astrid’s mouth. It was strange, it felt foreign and odd… but good and it felt right. He smiled, “Just came to let you know-“

“Yeah, breakfast is ready! I can smell it! Come on, it’s been years since you’ve probably had this for breakfast – literally.” Astrid grabbed her father’s hand and pulled him down the hall towards the kitchen where she heard her mother setting the plates.

“Actually, I’ve never had it. Ever.” Sirius said and Astrid came to a halt, right at the end of the hall.

“What? Why not?” Astrid asked, looking up at Sirius.

“Well, believe it or not, but you’re mum wasn’t exactly the best cook when we first married and had you two.” Sirius chuckled.

“She wasn’t? Did you do the cooking? How did we ever eat?” Astrid’s grey eyes were wide as if realizing she had starved as a child.

“Oh no, I am a lousy cook. Actually Lily cooked. We practically lived with each other. James and Lily would always be over, or we’d always be over at theirs. Lily learned to cook from her parents, and after cooking one too many meals, she decided to try and teach your mother.”

“Er, and how did my mum feel about that?” Astrid was skeptical.

“Well, she’d come up with any excuse not to learn to cook. Usually things like not feeling good, or just being too tired, usually Lily would be sympathetic and let her off the hook, but she also knew when your mother was just being outrageous. Like the time she said she couldn’t cook because she had been temporarily blinded by one of Voldemort’s followers, even though your mother had just been to a Quidditch game, right before claiming to have gone blind.” Astrid grinned as Sirius chuckled at the memory.

“So, then, eventually Lily managed to teach my mom to cook?”

“Lily got in a few lessons towards… the end… I guess your mother learned more on her own.” Sirius looked over at Amilia who was now putting the food on the plates. Sirius then looked at Astrid, “So, what about you? Do you like to cook?”

“I, uh, attempted cooking a few times… I had a tendency of getting distracted… and getting things caught on fire.” Astrid smiled sheepishly and Sirius laughed.

“Sounds like me!” Sirius leaned back against the wall.

“Morning you two!” Amilia came out of the kitchen, smiling. “I’ll run up and get Athena.” Amilia went up the stairs.

“So, you’re terrible at cooking… what are you good at?” Sirius asked Astrid.

Astrid smirked deviously, “Spells.”

Sirius raised his eyebrows, “Spells? What kind of spells?”

“Mostly advanced spells-“

“Advanced spells?”

“Yeah, like in my first year, I conjured a successful shield charm!”

“That is advanced… especially for a first year… wait, why did you need to use it in the first place?” Sirius crossed his arms over his chest.

“Oh, well, I had to protect my friends and I from Fluffy.” Astrid said nonchalantly.

“Who’s Fluffy?”

“A three headed dog that was guarding the entrance to the Philosophers Stone.” Again, Astrid said this as if it were no big deal.

Sirius blinked a few times, mouth sputtering, and then just frowned at his daughter, “Care to explain?”

“It’s a really long story… not to mention what happened in our second year…”

Sirius raised an eyebrow, “What happened in your second year?”

Astrid sighed, “Chamber of Secrets, Tom Riddle’s diary - Tom Riddle is Voldemort’s real name by the way- um, let’s see, what else happened… oh Ginny Weasley was involved, sort of, oh and Lucius Malfoy-“

“Lucius Malfoy?” Sirius stood up straight, eyes narrowed. “Okay, okay, tell me everything, from the beginning.”

Astrid let out a heavy sigh, “Okay, well, I guess I might as well tell you the whole story, starting from first year…”

~~~

Sirius was sitting down on the floor in the hallway, looking up at his daughter who was leaning against the wall and smirking, proud of herself for the adventures she just shared.

“You two, your breakfast is cold.” Amilia said from the kitchen. Her and Athena were in there, cleaning up after themselves.

“Okay, so, I – you…” He ran his fingers through his hair, “You’ve had a very eventful first few years at Hogwarts.” He chuckled and looked quite proud. “You’re going to be fourteen in August, and already you know more spells than I did at age 17 and you’re an animagus.”

“And a psychic.” Astrid added.

Sirius laughed, “Yeah, and that.”

“And Athena’s an animagus too.” Sirius nodded with a smile. “But it’s not like we were born great…” Astrid now spoke softly, “Mum… she’s taught us so much… she’s really great… Always knows when to treat us like kids and when to treat us like adults… she’d never tell us we were too young to understand stuff, unless we really are. She knows what we can handle and what we can’t. I mean… I know she worries about us, and she gets scared… but she also believes in us. She believes we can handle ourselves…”

“And what about you? Do you believe you can handle yourself?” Sirius asked gently.

Astrid was silent for a moment, thinking, and then a grin broke out on her face, “Of course! I’m Astrid Black! Daughter of Sirius and Amilia Black! Sister of Athena Black, niece of Alastor Moody! Best friend to Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and Harry Potter!” Her hands were on her hips. “I’m a Gryffindor!”

Sirius was chuckling and then there was a small commotion in the kitchen and Sirius quickly stood up.

“Ah, oh!” Athena sounded surprised rather than scared. “Astrid, we’ve got a letter from the Weasleys!”

“Great! Probably an invite for the summer!” Astrid said. She turned to Sirius, “Sorry we won’t be spending much time with each other this summer but, you know, that’ll leave you and mum… to do stuff that I don’t want to know about.” Astrid mumbled and shivered.

Sirius chuckled, “We’ll just probably watch some TV. We both enjoy muggle shows.”

“Oh, okay. Good. Lie to me, I like that.” Astrid beamed.

Athena ran into the hall, “They’ve invited us to stay for the summer. Harry and Hermione will be going over later too. Mr. Weasley got tickets to the Quidditch World Cup!”

“Oh, brilliant!” Astrid said excitedly.

“They say we should come over soon. Later tonight if we want, but definitely this week.” Athena said looking over the letter.

“Let’s go over tonight! I want to practice Quidditch. I’m going to try-out this year!” Astrid said with a smile. “Mum, can we go over tonight through the fireplace?”

“Mmm, I suppose. Ask your father as well.” Amilia said leaning against the doorframe of the kitchen.

Athena and Astrid turned to Sirius.

A smile crept on his face, “Oh yes, that’s right. I’m in a position of authority now, aren’t I?”

Athena sighed and Astrid rolled her eyes.

“Alright, I guess you can go over but-“

“Thanks!”

“You’re great!”

Both Athena and Astrid kissed Sirius on the cheek and then they both ran to their rooms.

“Astrid, what about your breakfast!”

“I’m not hungry anymore! Oh, can we go to Diagon Alley before I go to the Weasley’s? I want to get a broom!” Astrid yelled over her shoulder.

“Oh, yeah, sure.” Amilia mumbled as she went to stand next to Sirius.

“Are… they always this excited to leave?” Sirius asked.

Amilia chuckled, “You’ll get used to it. And just think…” Amilia leaned over and whispered, “We’ll have the house all to ourselves…”

Sirius smirked, “Yeah… to watch muggle shows.”

Amilia grabbed Sirius by the scruff of his shirt and turned him to her, “Really? That’s the most exciting thing you can think of?”

Sirius wrapped his arms around her waist, “I might have other things in mind…”

They leaned towards each other – “On second thought, I am actually hungry- ah! No! STOP!”
Astrid looked mortified as her parents quickly pulled away from each other.

“I-“

“We weren’t-“

“You’re just supposed to watch muggle shows!” Astrid shook her head and ran back into her room.

After a moment Sirius turned to Amilia, “So, how am I doing as a father so far?”

“I’d say pretty good.” Amilia smiled.

~~~

“The Cleansweep Eleven. I’m surprised you didn’t want a Firebolt.” Amilia said to Astrid who was beaming at her new broom.

Sirius entered the living room, “Well, it really depends on what position she’s going for.”

Astrid nodded, “Exactly. The Firebolt is all about the speed, which is great for Seekers and Chasers. The Cleansweep Eleven has anti-jinx varnish and a built-in vibration control feature for stability. I’m thinking about trying out for the Keeper position for this year, but once Fred and George leave, I’m going for a Beater position.”

“Don’t think you could take on these twins this year?” Sirius asked with a small smirk.

“They’ve got a system, dad!” Astrid began and Sirius’s smirk turned in to a smile. “They’re in sync with each other. They’re twins – they can practically read each other’s minds! I would never go against a good strategy as that!”

“And when they leave? What’ll happen to that good strategy?” Sirius asked, liking the look of passion in her charcoal eyes that the talk of Quidditch brought.

“Well, obviously I’m twice as good as anyone else so they’ll be no need to worry.” Astrid shot him a cocky smirk and Sirius laughed.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, “You are definitely my daughter.”

“Was there ever any doubt?” Astrid smiled.

Athena and Amilia stood there in front of the two with their arms crossed. “Great. Two of them.” Amilia mumbled.

“Dad isn’t exactly like Astrid, is he?” Athena asked, looking up at her mother hopefully.

“I’m afraid so, dear.” Amilia stated.

“Oh, what are you so afraid of? Laughing at our hilarious and witty jokes?” Astrid asked.

“Or getting to see our lovely faces every day?” Sirius inquired next.

Despite shaking her head, Amilia was smiling. She loved that Sirius was going back to his old self so quickly. She knew it was Astrid. Her ability to make everything okay – it was what helped Amilia stay sane when Sirius was locked away.

Astrid didn’t get that quality from either of her parents. Both Sirius and Amilia were actually sensitive to bad emotional situations.

It was a quality Astrid developed herself at a young age. Though Amilia was a functioning mother; feeding, cleaning, and taking care of her children – as just a being; she was a mess and even at a young age Astrid could see it.

She would sometimes walk in on her mother just sitting on the living room couch, looking up at the photos of Sirius and her, whether it was their wedding, a family photo with the children when they were infants, or Astrid’s personal favorite – a photo of them and the rest of the Marauders and Lily at Hogwarts, hanging out by a tree next to the lake.

Astrid could just sense when she’d see her mother in one of these states, that she was unhappy. So, Astrid would waltz in, say or do something completely ridiculous, which would distract her and make her laugh.

“We’re doomed.” Athena stated.

“Oh, please, you’re saved.” Astrid stuck out her tongue.

Sirius chuckled, “Don’t worry, Athena, I’ll try and leave the childish things to only Astrid.”

“Ha, I’d like to see that.” Amilia laughed.

“Oh, I’m sure there are a lot of things you’d like to see.” Sirius smirked.

“Oh, gross!” Astrid slinked out from under Sirius’s arm.

“Yeah, seriously you guys, can you just… not?” Athena shivered in disgust.

“I’m going to start packing.”

“Yeah, me too.”

Athena and Astrid both quickly slipped away to their rooms.

“This is really going to be so much fun.” Sirius said, smiling.

~~~

“Alright, you’ve got everything?” Amilia looked over her two daughters who were standing by the fire, trunks and hawks in hand.

“Yes.” Astrid stated. “Also, dad, don’t forget to write Harry!”

“I’ve already written one up. I’ll send it to him soon. I’ll need to go somewhere else to send it from, though.” Sirius stated.

“What? Why?” Astrid asked, confused.

“Oh, of course!” Athena began, “he can’t send a letter to Harry from here – the Ministry is still watching us for any sign of him! He’ll have to leave to send a letter to Harry.”

“But you’ll be back, right?” Astrid asked.

“Yes, of course, I’ll be back.” Sirius said.

“Where will you go? When will you leave? How long will you be gone?” Astrid demanded to know these answers before she left to the Weasley’s.

“Not sure… maybe somewhere tropical. I won’t be gone long. Maybe two weeks. Long enough to send the letter and get a response back from Harry.” He stated.

“Don’t worry – I’ll be going with him. The Ministry would just think I’m on a much needed vacation with the family dog.” Amilia said with a small smile and then ruffled Sirius’s shaggy hair.

“Yes, thank you very much, dear.” Sirius gave her an annoyed looked and fixed his hair.

“Do you know when Harry will be going over?” Amilia asked Astrid.

She shook her head, “No, but I know the Weasleys really want him to come to the World Cup – so I’m sure they’ll go fetch him, whether the Dursleys approve or not. Anyways, if they don’t, Harry will probably just casually drop your name into the conversation; I’m sure that’ll sort them out.” Astrid smiled.

“Good.” Amilia said with a smirk. “Alright then, off with you two.” Amilia opened up her arms to receive goodbye hugs from her daughters.

Astrid smiled and gave her mother a tight hug and then went to hug her father as Athena went to hug Amilia – then Sirius after as well.

Amilia pulled out her wand and pointed it at the fireplace, “Incendio!” a fire ignited.

“Have fun – and stay safe! And, uh, be good! And… no kissing!” Sirius looked to Athena whose face turned pink.

Athena picked up her trunk and her hawk, Aldara, and then stepped into the fire, “the Burrow!” the flames engulfed her and she disappeared.

“Alright, well, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” Astrid stated with a cocky smile. She grabbed her things and stepped into the fire, “the Burrow!”