Work Text:
Lily ran.
She ran as fast as she could.
She didn’t have time to look where she was going.
That, was a mistake.
She collided with something so hard she fell on her bum. Sobs caught in her throat as her teary eyes traveled up a pair of very polished shoes, long black dress, a massive tabby cat and a sharp face.
The girl and the boy stared at each other for what seemed an eternity; but could only be a second because the thunderous footfall of her pursuers was right around the corner.
“Evans wait! Evans! Where’d she go?!” she could hear one of them shouting her name. How did they know her name?
Suddenly a large hand grabbed her arm - the boy she barreled into, he shoved her into an alcove behind some really thick curtains.
And not a minute too late. The footfalls fell abruptly silent.
“Sirius.”
Lily covered her mouth with both hands and willed herself to be quiet.
“Baby black,” the voice she recognised as the spectacled boy who tried to grab her drawled. It sounded mean.
“Potter.” The coldness of that response sent chills down Lily’s spine.
“Have you seen a really really tiny first year running this way?” the mean boy said.
“Not even a hello for your brother?”
“…I have nothing to say to you.” That had to be the other boy chasing her!
“…Be that way. If I saw a first year at this hour, I would walk them to their common room as it’s after the curfew and they’re supposed to be in bed. As are you. Twenty points from Gryffindor each. I believe you can find the way to your dorms yourselves?”
“Twenty each?! For a little midnight stroll?”
“I can call Professor McGonagall if you have a problem with my verdict? It’s really no trouble.”
“…No thanks. We’re fine.”
“Thougth so.”
There was a moment of silence.
“Have a nice night, gentlemen.”
“Whatever, Black.”
Finally, there was the sound of footsteps heading away from her hiding place.
“Good night, Siri! …Well screw you too I guess,” the boy with the cat mumbled.
The tears she’s been holding back burst out with renewed fervor.
The curtains moved aside, and Lily stared up at the boy. She hiccuped. He offered her a handkerchief.
“My name is Regulus Black. This is Merlin Gudgeon.” He paused. “And your name is?”
“L-l-l-ily,” she managed and took the handkerchief from him.
“Nice to make your acquaintance, Miss Lily. May I ask how old you are?”
“‘M five.”
“Okay.” He petted the cat a couple times. “I need to take Merlin to his parents, but afterwards I’ll take you to the Hospital wing. The nurse, Madame Pomfrey, will check you out and contact your parents.”
The promise of Mummy and Daddy had Lily crying even harder. She crawled out of her hiding spot and latched onto the nice boy.
He made a bit of a face but he didn’t push her away.
“There there,” he patted her head awkwardly. “May I fix your clothes so that they fit better?”
Sniffing, she looked down at herself. She had squirmed out of the big black dress so that she could run better, and now she was only wearing a yellow undershirt that was so big it was almost like a dress too. Everything else but one sock she lost on the run, and the sock was half off and hooked around her foot uncomfortably.
She sat down and pulled it off completely. Then she held it up to Regulus to fix it. ‘Couse he said he would.
“…Right,” he said, pushed Merlin to sit more on his shoulder and pointed a long wooden stick at the sock. “Diffindo.”
Lily’s jaw dropped to the floor along with the bottom half of the sock.
She quickly picked it up and held both pieces with wonder. It was cut clean off!
Regulus licked his lips and swished the stick again. “Erit Calceamenta.”
The scraps of fabric transformed into little shoes! They weren’t made out of glass like Cinderella’s or even as nice as Regulus’, though.
But the boy was already pointing the wand at Lily.
“Sartorte.”
The yellow shirt shrank and shrank around her until it became a dress!
Lily jumped up and spun around. The skirt flared out so prettily! And it swished and swashed when she wiggled. All tears forgotten, Lily was jumping up and down in excitement. “Thank you! It’s so pretty! Are you a Fairy Godmoter?!”
“Am I… mother? No, I’m a wizard. Put on the shoes,” he said.
“Can you do lots magic?” Lily sat down and started wrangling one of the shoes on.
“Yes, lots of magic. The other leg. That’s - that is the left shoe. It goes on the left foot. Which one is the left foot?”
“Umm. This?”
“Yes, that’s correct. So put the shoe on it.”
“Is there, is there a spell to put shoes on?”
“Yes, but I’m neither pregnant or elderly so I didn’t learn it. Now the other one.”
“Uh-uh. And can you, ummm can you throw fireballs?”
“Fire- yes, I can… cast fire in different shapes.”
Lily gasped. “Can I see?”
“After you put the shoes on.”
Lily stuck her tongue out in concentration and after some effort, forced her heel in the shoe. She stomped her feet. “Done!”
Regulus took a criticising look at her. “Do they pinch anywhere?”
“No! Do the fireball! …Please!”
“Yes, alright,” Regulus sighed, looking much like mummy when she ‘had a long day’. “Can you hold Merlin? He could get spooked.”
“He’ll scratch me,” Lily frowned. She wanted to pet Mrs. Williams’ cat once and it bit her. Kitties were mean!
“He… He won’t,” Regulus promised, “but if you don’t want to, I can show you the spell after we’ve dropped him off.”
“Okay,” Lily declared after thinking about it. She grabbed the skirt of his dress so that he wouldn’t go too fast.
Regulus had long legs and Lily had to run a little to keep up, but there weren’t any mean boys chasing her now and she so could look around.
“We are in a castle!”
“Yes.”
“Are you a prince?”
“No. This is a school.”
“School for magic!”
“Yes.”
“Ooo. Can I learn magic?”
“Yes.”
Lily squealed.
“Can I throw fireballs?!”
“No.”
“Aw. Can I… turn mean people into frogs?”
“Human to animal transfiguration is very difficult but yes, you can.”
“Can I… turn me into animals?”
“Yes. Wizards and Witches who can turn into an animal and back by their free will are called animagi. Professor McGonagall is a cat animagus.”
Lily pouted. “I don’t want to be a cat. I want to be a bunny! Or a dragon!”
“You can’t choose your animagus form. That’s in here,” he pointed at his heart. “You could be a cat, or a dragon or something entirely different.”
“Like a bug?”
“Yes, like a bug.”
“Aaand… fish?”
“Fish? You could be a fish, yes.”
“And can I beee…”
“Can you be quiet? Some of us are trying to sleep!”
The sudden harsh voice scared the daylight out of her. She clung to Regulus’ robes and looked around wildly for the old man who wanted to sleep in a hall.
“Take your own advice,” Regulus called out, hand slipping around Lily’s shoulders, pushing her to go on.
“Who was it?” Lily wanted to know.
“Sir Quiddlethumbs over there,” Regulus pointed at a painting.
“That’s a picture,” Lily told him, because boys as big as him should know that pictures didn’t talk unless they were on a television.
“And you are a rude young lady,” the portrait scowled.
“It talks!” Lily squealed.
“Portraits tend to do that,” Regulus said, tugging her away instead of letting her look. “A shame they have nothing worth saying.”
“I wanna see!”
“In the morning.”
“But I wanna see now!” Her lower lip wobbled. She didn’t want to cry, she wanted to see the talking picture!
“Now we’re going to get Merlin home and you to Madame Pomfrey. In the morning you can go look at paintings. They’re all asleep now anyway, like you should be.”
Lily’s eyes filled with tears at his impatient tone. She didn’t want him to be short with her! She wanted her daddy!
“I want daddy!” she wailed.
POV switch
Regulus groaned. Why was she crying again? “Stop with the waterworks. Look, it’s the stairs. Do you know how to climb stairs?”
Evans’ bawling rose in pitch and volume. Big fat tears rolled down her quickly reddening cheeks. One would think he slapped her.
Rather than risk the staircase moving while they were standing on it, the teenager made the split-second decision to wrap his arm around the little girl’s waist and bodily haul her up to the next landing.
He ended up carrying the snivelling child on his hip for the rest of the way.
His arms were dying by the time they reached the entrance to the Ravenclaw common room, but at least Lily had exhausted herself to the point of sniffling quietly against his neck.
“Knock knock,” he announced himself as both his hands were full of spoiled brats.
“If I have it, I shouldn't share it, because if I share it, I won't have it,” the Knocker said in its bronze voice.
Regulus was about to tell it to stuff it and let him in or he will let himself in, when a wobbly little voice peeped up.
“Candy.”
Regulus remembered all the times Aunt Durella made him share his sweets with his cousins.
“A veracious answer,” the Knocker said and with a dramatic skweee of the hinges it allowed them to enter.
“Whathsh vevacioush mean?”
“It means very good.”
The girl preened. “Thanw you!” she yelled after the door, making Regulus vince. "You have tho shay thhanw you thoo."
"Uh-huh."
She didn't demand a better response, distracted by the cluttered comfort of the Ravenclaw common room with so much awe Regulus struggled to keep ahold of her.
“Look!” she pointed her little finger at the ceiling.
“Yes, it’s the stars,” or rather a heavily stylised star map.
“Prethy…”
Regulus kicked at the door of the fourth year boys' dorm. “Delivery for Gudgeon!”
There was a thunk and a thud and the door flew open.
“You found him? Where was he? Merlin!”
“Watching bats.” Regulus pawed the cat off. Was it possible for a cat to weigh as much as a five year old? “Stop letting him out of the common room.”
“But he likes to-”
“Don’t make me hex you Gudeon,” Regulus seethed. “The only walking he’s supposed to be doing is on an underwater tread-wheel. The painkillers are so that he’s not in pain, not for you to pat yourself on the back and ignore his condition. Accio cat treats!”
On his hip, Lily covered before the small hive of packets.
“Arresto Momentum. I’m taking these until you can be trusted,” Regulus plucked the treats from the air and stuffed them in his pockets. “Good night.”
“Good nighth!” Lily waved over his shoulder, then curled back into Regulus’ arms. He didn't fancy the snot on his collar but she was easier to carry that way.
“Can I see fire shpewws now?” she mumbled sleepily once they were outside the common room.
“You can see Lumos,” Regulus said. A glowing orb formed at the tip of his wand. He directed it to his shoulder.
“Ooo. So prethy…”
He didn’t have to look to know she was trying to touch the light.