۰ ━━━━━ ❪ ❛ PROLOGUE ! ❜ . . . 𓄹 ❫
一 ꗃ ꔛ﹅ : the lost puppy.

IT WAS SUCH A PEACEFUL NIGHT. The raindrops fell onto the ground and trickled down the windows, giving Janie a sense of calmness. With her brother on his hyper rampage around the house, she needed a bit of silence. Her face was in one of her favorite books; it was one of the first days of summer, and the sun was setting, giving the sky an array of beautiful, melting-together colors that were vibrant even through the rain. She sat in the sitting room of her family's home, to the right of the front door. The room was dim from candlelight, and the air was cool. She was wrapped in her most comfortable sweaters, despite it being the hot months of the year (she was a tad cold-natured), and she had a fluffy blanket covering her legs.

Nothing was going to break her moment of peace.

And then a knock echoed against the front door, and she sighed.

"I've got it!" James called, marching down the stairs, jumping down when he reached the second-to-last step, and smoothly (since he was wearing just socks on his feet) sliding across the wood floor as he reached the door.

Boredly, Janie looked up from her book, pausing on her spot to see who had knocked. She wasn't even sure if James knew who was at the door, but he seemed extremely excited to open it. Perhaps he believed it was Lily Evans coming to confess her undying love for him. Janie snorted at the thought, shaking her head in amusement.

With one swift movement, James turned the knob, either not hearing Janie's in-head teasing of him or he just didn't care, and pulled open the door. The rain grew louder, now not having a barrier between it and the inside of the home. But that was not what Janie was focused on. The brightness on James' face dropped the instant his eyes landed on whomever stood in front of him. "What happened?" he asked the person.

This made Janie curiouser as her parents trailed into the sitting room, standing to her right as they looked where their son stood. She closed her book, using her finger as a bookmark, and leaned a little forward, trying to see who was on their doorstep.

"Can I stay here for a little bit?" that voice replied, sounding shaky. From the coldness of the rain or from something different, Janie didn't know. But she didn't care. She recognized that voice, and that voice made her blood boil.

James nodded, and Janie inhaled deeply. "Come in." Her brother's voice was soft, almost concerned, as he waved his hand, gesturing for the guest to enter the home. He opened the door a few inches more, moving out of the way for his best friend.

In stepped Sirius Black. Janie noted that he didn't have his typical, tried-to-be charming smile on his face. He was soaked to the bone due to the rain; his eyes were wide and welling with tears; and he was shaking from the chilly air of the house. He looked like a mess, and usually she would make some comment about it. But right then, she felt like it would've done more harm than good.

The air grew thicker as James closed the door, muffling the rainfall once more, and Sirius moved to stand in the sitting room. Euphemia, James and Janie's mother, moved towards the boy quickly. Her wand was drawn, and she was muttering drying charms in an instant. Next was warming charms, trying to make her son's best friend as comfortable as possible with no hesitation.

Janie sat back in her seat, going to flip open her book once more, but her father turned to face her. "Janie, don't just do nothing. Go and get Sirius some tea," he instructed, pointing towards the way to the kitchen.

Inhaling through her nose, Janie fought a retort, knowing that she shouldn't disrespect either of her parents with backtalk, though she always had the urge to, growing more and more tired of their lesser treatment of her that they did not grant to James or anyone else for that matter. Her brother was the Golden Boy, after all. He could do no wrong, and all she could do was be wrong. She closed her book once more, setting it on the table beside her, and pushed herself up by bracing her hands on her knees. She shot Sirius a look, only to see him already staring at her with those deep brown eyes that she hated with everything in her. Quickly facing away, she rounded the chair and made her way past her father and to the kitchen.

Pushing open the doors, she caught sight of the two—and only they had—house-elves hard at work. But her attention focused strictly on Mellie, the house elf she talked to the most. Not that she didn't try; it was the other elf, Giply, that didn't like to say more than three words to her at a time. She supposed they thought she was a bit rude. She knew she could be, but never to them on purpose.

"Mellie, I need a pot of tea," Janie began, clearing her throat and cracking her knuckles. Her voice was strained, tired of being told to treat James's friends whenever they came up when she wasn't even allowed to invite her own over unless they were Gryffindor (so none of her friends). "We have a guest. Sirius Black, James's friend," she added, running her hands down the length of her wide-legged jeans.

The house elf nodded, looking up at the teenager with big, bright blue eyes. "Oh, yes. Mellie will get that done."

"Thank you," Janie muttered, glancing around the kitchen.

After a moment of Janie just standing there, rocking back and forth on her feet, Mellie made her way back over to her. She held a tray with her bony fingers, and there was a pot of tea on it, with about five tea cups, just in case anyone else wanted some, a small bowl of sugar cubes, and a small milk pitcher.

"Here you are, Miss Janie," Mellie beamed, handing off the tray.

Janie took it, offering the elf a small smile, then left the kitchen, going back to the sitting room.

When she returned, she found Sirius sitting on one of the couches, still shivering with her blanket draped over his shoulders. He wasn't soaked any longer due to her mother's drying and warming charms, but he still slightly shook. And she wanted to roll her eyes at his dramatics, but she didn't. Stopping at the table, Janie set the tray down as gently as she possibly could. "Here's your tea," she said, straightening her spine and clasping her hands together in front of her as everyone stared up at her. She only focused on Sirius, though. "Would you like some milk or sugar?" she inquired with a hint of sarcasm.

"Janie," her mother warned, giving her a pointed look.

"No, thank you," Sirius retorted, his tone smooth and his eyes narrowed ever-so-slightly.

Humming, Janie grabbed a cup from the tray, set it on a saucer, and then lifted the teapot, beginning to pour the boy a cup with the fingers of her right hand, keeping the lid from falling. Once Sirius's cup was full, she set the pot down and handed the cup and saucers to him with a snarky smile.

He took it from her hands, returning her smile. Even when supposedly upset, he could still get under her skin and make her heart race with hatred. She hated it. She hated him. Rolling her eyes, hoping the act went unnoticed by her mother and father, Janie moved back to her chair, sitting down and resuming her position in her book.

Taking a sip of his tea, Sirius ignored the curious looks from the others. He remained silent for a good few minutes, and Janie was grateful for it. His voice was so annoying. Perhaps Merlin didn't completely hate her. Then the boy cleared his throat, and her gratefulness died. "I suppose I should explain why I need to stay here," he began, sheepishly chuckling. He cleared his throat again, setting his tea cup and saucer back on the tray.

Janie glanced up from her book, watching him closely as he looked at the table, running his hands over his trousers. His shoulders were tense, and she could tell something was truly bothering him. He remained quiet, though, despite mentioning an explanation as to why he showed up on their doorstep like a lost little puppy.

"Long story short, I've grown tired of being under my parents' roof with their overbearing rules and..." he paused to clear his throat again. Perhaps he should take another sip of his tea. Janie sighed, looking back down at her book as he continued. "And their never-ending disappointment in me." He picked at the skin around his nails, breathing in and out deeply. His words pegged something in Janie's chest, but she didn't think about it for too long. "So I left," he admitted, glancing up at James and then looking over at the twins' parents.

"Well, you're always welcome here, Sirius," Euphemia assured him, planting a soothing hand on his shoulder. She gave it a slight squeeze with a small, pitying smile on her face, while Janie watched the side of her face, feeling a pit growing in her stomach.

"Thank you." He dipped his head in gratitude. "I promise I'll try to be out of your hair as soon as I can," he divulged, sounding as if he didn't want to be a burden for anyone to bear.

"Stay as long as you want," Fleamont offered.

Many retorts swirled in Janie's mind, and she was close to muttering some, but she didn't want to be too rude given why he was there, so she bit them back and focused on her book. Sirius was clearly in need of a place to stay, but that didn't mean she had to like that the place he chose was her home—her family's home. Why couldn't he have gone to Remus's or Peter's? He was just as close to them as he was to James.

Sighing, she shook the thoughts from her mind.

"I suppose you're hungry?" Her mother raised her brows, standing up from where she had been sitting on the couch, and kept her focus on the houseguest. "We were just about to eat," she continued, offering a more genuine, less pitying smile. "We just need Janie to set the table," she muttered, glancing back at her daughter.

Janie met her mother's eye and was no longer focused on the pages of her book. She saw the knowing look the woman was giving her, and she let out a sigh. "Yes, mother," she muttered, closing her book and standing up from the chair once more. She placed the book in the chair, then made her way to the dining room.

She quickly gathered the plates, silverware, and placemats from the kitchen and set the table. She could hear her parents in the sitting room talking to Sirius, swooning over him like they always did when he visited. They loved him. They loved James and the rest of their friends. But there was no room left for Janie and her friends.

Sighing as she walked back into the sitting room, she boredly crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the door frame. "The table's set," she told them, interrupting their conversation. Her mother turned to her with a pointed look, yet stood with a smile on her face. Then she just walked back into the dining room, and everyone else followed. Janie, James, Sirius, and the twins' father sat down while their mother made her way into the kitchen. She came out a moment later with Mellie, and food was placed on the table. And then they ate in silence. Well, Janie was silent. Her parents, however, began asking Sirius a ton of questions. How has he been? What has been going on in his life? Why was he there? What exactly happened between his parents and him? Janie just remained silent, eating her dinner and pushing the food around with her fork. And Sirius explained it all.

At least, he said that was all it was. Janie has a feeling he wasn't being completely truthful, as if he was leaving something of importance out.

"Well, I am glad that you're here," her mother told him with that kind smile she granted everyone else.

"I don't understand why he has to stay here," Janie mumbled, pushing around her food some more as she eyed her plate. Her voice, however, was loud enough for everyone to hear.

Their eyes all found her, but she didn't look up until her mother spoke. "Janise Potter, do not be rude!" her mother scowled, causing her daughter to find her gaze at the use of her full name. "Sirius is your brother's best mate; he needs a place to stay, and he needs our help," she explained, though Janie already knew all of that. "That is the end of that, not another word."

"I know that, but..." she began to argue. But then her mother's eyes widened tellingly, and she sighed. "Never mind." She rolled her eyes, shaking her head, as her mother looked away from her and focused back on Sirius. Then, just as she was about to focus on her plate once more, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the boy staring at her. She glanced over at him, seeing a slight smirk on his face, causing her gaze to narrow in on him.

This just made his smirk deepen.

Janie looked away from him quickly, her annoyance at an ultimate high as she stabbed a piece of potato with her fork.

When dinner was done, Janie quickly got up from the table, wanting to get to her room and as far away from Sirius and his obnoxious voice and presence as possible. But before she could get too far, her mother told her to help clean up the table and dishes, so she turned back around and did just that—the "help" being Janie doing everything. And once that was done, she raced to the stairs, but not before passing by the chair she had sat in before and retrieving her book.

She just wanted to be alone. She wanted to go to sleep and wake up, hoping that this was all just a nightmare. She could not live with Sirius Black. She'd lose her bloody mind more than she already was!

Footsteps were heard behind her, and she glanced over her shoulder, seeing the bane of her existence right on her trail. She just turned and faced forward, planning on ignoring him as he said, "So I suppose we're housemates now. How brilliant is that?" Based on his bright tone, he wasn't looking for an answer, and Janie was glad for that because she wasn't planning on giving him one anyway.

She just continued walking.

"I hope we can get along," he continued, now walking alongside her, his long strides having easily caught up with her shorter ones. "For your parents and James's sake, of course. Who knows, perhaps we could even be friends." She could practically hear his smirk, and his voice sounded just a bit closer to her.

She side-glanced at him with knitted brows and a sneer, not turning her head, just her gaze, and saw that he was bent down a bit and leaning closer to her. He had his aggravating smirk turned at his lips, and she just rolled her eyes and turned to her bedroom door, that was just across from her brother's and beside the room she assumed Sirius would be in. She turned the handle, pushed the door open, and entered her room.

Sirius stopped behind her, still standing in the hallway, and she turned to face him with her hand still on the handle. He smiled as if he were trying to be sweet, but she knew he wasn't. It was all fake. All for him to get under her skin and drive her mad. Sirius Black was not kind, caring, or even remotely respectful to anyone unless he gained something from it. "What do you think?" he asked.

She didn't reply. She just gave him a sarcastic grin before shutting the door a little harsher than she probably should've. It was written in the air. He was living there, and she was going to lose her mind before the summer was over.

━━━━━

▊ 一 ꗃ ꔛ﹅ : ❛ ELLA'S SPEAKING ! ❜
     : first thing's first, i know that some people are split between if the potters had a house elf or not, but assuming that either fleamont's or euphemia's parents had house elves, i think that they would also (bc a house elf serves a family unless it's freed and wants to leave)

     :  also, when i discussed it with someone, they said that they think the potters would have houses elves, and they would be free but serve the family due to loyalty, which i like the idea of

     :  honestly, it's not that big of a deal bc the houses elves aren't going to be mentioned that much besides whenever james & janie are home, and in act three (maybe!)- i just wanted to put it out there tho

: and can i just say that it should NOT have taken me this long to finish this prologue lmfao- i started it in november and didn't finish it until may, like huh!? i wrote most of it when i first started but then i gave up for some reason and didn't touch it for months (clearly)

     :  n e ways, i hope you enjoyed!! sorry it took so long to update, and make sure to comment & vote bc it gives me extra motivation!!

kisses.

ˏˋ . ° ꒰ ❪🕯️❫ ⨳ ━ ❛ BAD IN COMMON ! ❜
&&.                © -LOSTGARDENS,   2024

word count. 2782   written. 11.19.23-5.11.24   published. 5.12.24