The Story of Paul S. Black

Chapter 1

Before Hogwarts

This chapter will sort of "skim" through the important incidents and developments in Simon and Paul's early childhood, before either of them was accepted at Hogwarts. It will read almost like a timeline.

A year after they moved into their grandparents' house, the Black family had settled in and taken rooms for themselves. Paul had Meredith's old room, which was the largest bedroom in the house. Simon had Julia's old room, which was the smallest. Julia stayed in what was formerly a guest room. She never sold the double bed Sirius and she used to sleep in at their old house. It was one of the few pieces of furniture that wasn't sold.

As very young children (ages two-five), Paul and Simon stayed at home for most of the day, with their grandparents, since their mother did not trust them to venture outside into the city alone just yet. When the boys were three and five, their grandmother became very ill. Being a Muggle, she was much more susceptible to common illnesses than her husband. As a result of these factors, and their mother's need to work, Grandpa Florean was one of the most influential people in their lives during this time. He taught the boys how to read, write and speak not only in English but in French, German, Italian, Russian and Goblin. They weren't taught the "traditional" way though, they weren't given homework or forced to translate long passages. Instead, Grandpa Florean taught them the way most experts agree is the best; he spoke to them only in these languages from an early age. Their mother would join in and help, since she, too, had been taught this same way and made her living by it, being a translator for Obscurus books.

Also, during this early period, Julia and Remus had begun dating steadily. It was nothing really serious yet. Remus still liked to keep his distance from the rest of the family, after all that he had been through; he preferred to be emotionally detached from people. Julia, on the other hand, did her best to avoid letting her friends from work see him, God forbid they knew she was dating a werewolf.

At the end of the hallway which ran behind the kitchen and in front of the family's rooms was a mysterious closet. Naturally, as a very young child, little Paul was always interested in what lay in it, at the same time he was getting used to the idea that he was one of the few kids on the block with no daddy. He heard few stories of what happened to his dad; all anyone had really told him was that "he had been a very bad man who killed a lot of people and now he's being punished". Being a toddler, he wondered if the room contained his father in it, perhaps chained to the wall. He tried to open it. His attempts included throwing himself against the door, convincing his brother to join him in throwing themselves against the door and jumping onto the knob and pulling on it with all his might. None of this worked. Sometimes, when he was really frustrated with it, the knob would turn slightly or the door would shake. He supposed this was part of his magic showing, but since he was so little, his magic was too weak. He often wondered why Simon wasn't as interested in knowing what was behind it as he. Perhaps Simon was afraid of getting into trouble, because whenever an adult caught him trying to open the door, he would receive a light scolding and be cleverly led away, usually being distracted by another activity. Perhaps, it was because of the fact that Sirius had not been Simon's real father so he wasn't as concerned about finding him as Paul. Paul never really understood the answer. In general, Simon was always more careful about rule-breaking than Paul was.

Sometimes, old friends of Julia's came over. These people would include Hogwarts' professors, old Order members or family members of old Order members. Neville Longbottom's grandmother (Neville sometimes came with her) came over a few times. Every time they would come over they would always make some remark about how Paul "has the face of his father" and "he's got his daddy's good looks". But their eyes said something else. He knew what they really meant. Looking back years later, only one comment stuck in his mind as being the most brutally honest: "the resemblance is almost...frightening, Julia. I don't know how you live with him. It must be like looking at a murderer all day". In truth, Paul didn't look that much like his father. He did have the same hair, same face shape, same nose. His eyes, however, were a beautiful, deep blue like his mothers' and his mouth seemed to be a combination of both.

Naturally, Simon had to deal with none of this, since he did not share Sirius's blood and bore only a small resemblance to Julia. He was always much better received by guests because of this lack of connection with Sirius.

Simon had always been allowed to call Julia "mom" as opposed to "Aunt Julia", because, unlike Aunt Petunia and Lily, Julia had always been on fairly good terms with her sister. As a result, Simon wasn't abused or neglected like Harry was, in fact, he was just as well-loved as Paul. There was never any tension between the two; indeed, they were more like friends than brothers. As little boys they liked to roughhouse, play Quidditch on mini brooms (not in the house, their grandfather would accompany them to a little park in Diagon Alley). They were getting their first exposure to Quidditch during this age. They would also begin to trade Chocolate Frog Cards.

Even at that age, the boys did not take to wizard music. They thought they preferred the Muggle music their grandfather kept in enchanted old records. They had to be enchanted so that they would play in Diagon Alley.

Eight years old was the age Simon was finally allowed to take his brother through Muggle London alone. Most people would think eight is still a young, vulnerable and irresponsible age, and in most cases they'd be right, but Simon was not the average boy in terms of maturity. His mother knew this. Simon felt he differed from average boys in other ways too. Whenever he would go out to play with the other children who lived on Diagon Alley, for some reason, he felt much more comfortable hanging out with the girls than with the boys. He couldn't explain it, but for some reason, he understood the girls more. Julia noticed this too and thought at first it may be because he was raised by a mother. Yet, Paul grew up in the same house, and hung out with mainly boys. Paul was also quickly developing a normal, "girls are icky" attitude.

Nevertheless, Julia allowed Simon to take his brother out into London. They had been there enough times with their grandfather to know where to go. Before she left for work, she would leave them money already converted to pounds, to pay for lunch, cabs and sightseeing.

The boys loved London. They explored nearly everything. Hyde Park was one of their favorite places. Heckling the speakers became one of their favorite pastimes, shouting random phrases at them like "Jeremiah was a bullfrog!" or "You-know-who likes your momma!"

Inevitably, they become exposed to Muggle culture, finding they enjoyed some parts of it more than others. They would stop by and watch free concerts and soon developed a taste for Muggle music. They also tried watching a game of soccer but quickly decided it simply wasn't the same as Quidditch.

Although they did make friends with some of the Muggle children their age, most of the time, they spent together. The Muggle boys mainly wanted to play soccer, which Paul and Simon found to be a very boring pastime; it was nothing on the level of Quidditch. Another place they liked to go to was the London Zoo. They found the Muggle animals fascinating and wondered why they didn't have something like a zoo for the Wizarding world.

They were spending less and less time with their grandfather, their original source of education (their grandmother had died a few years ago from the illness). But, like with many home schooled children, the absence of formal assignments and classroom only instilled curiosity in them. Whenever they were curious, or wanted to know something, they felt no strangeness about going to the library and looking it up themselves.

Back in the grown-up world, things between Julia and Remus had become a lot more serious. So much more serious, that she and Remus started taking vacations together, alone, leaving the boys at home with their grandfather. Julia received a promotion which meant marriage to Remus was a lot more probable. Since it was so difficult for him to support himself, the more money Julia made, the better a chance he could have of living off of her. It would be much easier for him to rely on her for the money. Also, if married to Julia, he could afford some of the experimental potions designed to treat his condition.

Remus finally had allowed himself to get closer to the boys, but still resisted becoming too close. One Christmas he bought the boys a pair of acoustic, steel-stringed guitars because an electric one wouldn't work on Diagon Alley, and Remus didn't know how to enchant one so it would work (Paul made it rather clear when Remus left that he wanted an electric one). Remus also began to take them to Quidditch games and their favorite team by far, became the Wigtown Wanderers. There is a slight stigma to being a Wanderers fan, because many fans like them simply because of their "cool" robes (which sport a large meat cleaver, in honor of their butcher founder) rather than their ability to play. Of course, this was not the case with Paul and Simon. For them, the team's appeal came from the fact that they didn't lose all the time like the Cannons, nor did they win constantly like the Magpies (it is a tradition in Britain to go for a team that doesn't win too much). The humorous history of the team helped their appreciation as well. After watching a winning game, Remus even bought the boys two posters of the team to hang on their walls and then took them out to dinner.

There was a certain bitter-sweetness in the air during the summer before Simon went off to Hogwarts. In some ways it was the most memorable summer of them all. Julia and Remus were going to Munich together for the month of July, and the boys would be left at home with their grandfather.

It was a sad day for Paul when Simon had got his letter (his birthday is in May). Of course, the adults in the house were proud, and Simon was, of course happy to be going, but Paul knew he would miss his brother. They bought all his school supplies in addition to any extra birthday presents he wanted. They got an broomstick (even though he couldn't take it to Hogwarts), and an owl which he named Nike (she became good friends with the family's other owl, Puck).

Paul's eighth birthday was on June tenth nineteen-eighty eight. He received some of his best presents ever, which included a keeshond puppy named Marble. It wasn't a magical breed, but neither Paul nor Simon cared, it was a dog!

Paul and Simon were not too sorry to see Julia and Remus leave (although they did wish they could come along); this certainly wasn't the first time they had left together. It was, however, the longest they'd be gone for. They'd have the whole time with Grandpa Florean. During this time, he treated them once or twice to a Quidditch game, and even took them to the museum of Quidditch at the Ministry of Magic (they'd never been there before). Mostly, however, the boys did everything together. They had more excuses to be outside now, thanks to their having to take care of the new dog. Neither of them wanted to think about what was coming at the end of the summer.... Then, it would be a whole six months before Paul would see his brother again, and after that, for only a week or two during Christmas.

Yet, Paul found out that summer that time does not slow down for those dreading something. It seemed that Julia and Remus were back in a day, and within a minute, Simon was packing to leave.

There was an odd feeling between Julia and Remus now and both boys sensed it. Something was not quite right. Had they had a fight during the trip? They seemed to talk in hushed tones whenever they were together, and usually asked the boys to leave the room, saying they had to "talk grown-up things". Right as the door would close, Remus would shout an anti-eavesdropping spell at it, and so they couldn't even press their ears against it to listen. Even Grandpa didn't seem to understand what had happened.

Julia seemed to be changing a bit too, in her very habits. She began to get more nervous, tense, becoming hysterical once when one of Simon's socks went missing. They also noticed her taking more helpings at meals, as well as more in-between snacks.

These small changes, although puzzling to him occasionally, were of course footnotes to the real worry of Paul's mind. There were times when he didn't want to see Simon out of his sight for a minute. His brother had been more than a friend of his for longer than he could remember. Unlike ordinary brothers and sisters, they hardly ever fought. Even though they liked to rough-house and arm wrestle, it was all done playfully. Surprisingly, although Simon was much thinner and taller than Paul, who was growing slightly more thickset and muscular, he would always beat him at these games. The thought that when Simon got to Hogwarts, he would have even more of an advantage over him (magic), wasn't comforting. Simon had already attempted to do some magic with his wand, and although he had only been able to shoot some red sparks, it made all the adults very proud. He had been reading his books already, some of which they got discounted through the publishing company. He wasn't as fascinated with the books as he could've been, because he had grown up in the Wizarding world, seeing magic wasn't so spectacular to him.

It had been a long time since Paul had attempted to open the mysterious door at the end of the hallway. A small part of him still thought (or rather hoped) it actually contained his father. By now, he had heard a bit more of the truth of what had happened. He knew Sirius had been locked up in Azkaban and that he was one of the most terrible Death Eaters that ever lived. Paul was still only eight, an age most of the adults deemed too innocent to know any more of the truth.

A week before Simon was to go away, Julia and Remus left for the day to go somewhere. There was a tense feeling when they left, it seemed as though wherever they were going, it would mark the climax of their relationship. Simon and Paul tried not to think about what was going on. Paul helped his brother pack, and for once, they talked about what was ahead of them.

"It's time you made some friends, you know, with some of the other boys on the block," Simon advised.

"I am friends with them!" Paul replied. "It's just...you won't be around."

"You have Marble now too," said Simon, ignoring what Paul said "to keep you company."

"But she's a dog."

"So?"

Paul didn't say anything. He continued to help Simon pack some more, trying to decide what he should bring, or if they were leaving anything important behind.

"Paul?" said Simon suddenly.

"Yes, Simon?"

"Don't you ever feel that you're a bit...I dunno...different from other boys?"

"No. What do you mean?"

"I mean, different. It's hard to explain. You know, like, as a kid...but you weren't different. I remember now, you weren't. You wouldn't understand."

"What are you talking about?"

"I told you, I can't explain it. I can't quite put my finger on it. It's like...oh I can't explain it. I mean, you know how when we were kids?"

"Yeah, and?"

"Well, remember how I used to play with only girls? But you always liked the trucks and shit."

"Yeah, you still play with girls, except when we're together. What's your point? It's nothing new."

"It has something to do with that. Listen, just forget I said it. I'll figure it out later. Hand me that sock will you?"

Within in the next week, Remus walked out of the house. He had been living there since he had lost his last job. Neither of the boys could understand what was going on, and although Grandpa seemed to have grasped something, he wasn't saying it.

Remus was normally a very calm man. A man who liked to be gentle, rational, take a step back, but today, he just wasn't himself. Paul had never in his life seen Remus show this much emotion, not even when he was scolding him.

"Remus, where are you going?" Paul asked as he followed Remus out.

"Somewhere...else...away from-,"

"Remus! This is stupid!" Julia had come rushing out "The boys! I understand you don't want to speak to me, but the boys don't leave them, they're innocent! They've come to regard you as a second father!" Julia knew this was a large overstatement, but she didn't want Remus to leave, she really didn't.

"Julia, it's not that I 'don't want to speak' to you, it's that I can't speak to you. You understand why. I can't look at you" He was barely controlling himself.

"Oh Remus how could I have gone through with it?"

"Why couldn't you have gone through with it? You've done it before! Why? Because of your stupid friends at work? Why?"

"I couldn't sup...."

"DON'T GIVE ME THAT RUBBISH! YOU COULD'VE SUPP- oh never mind! I can't allow myself this...."

"But the boys...."

"Merely reminders of what I can't have. Thanks Julia."

He Disapparated.

"Then you should've said something dammit!" She shouted at that space formerly occupied by Remus. "You were fine with it 'till this morning! What the fuck?"

"Julia, watch your language...the children," said Grandpa Florean. He had his hands over the boys' ears. Julia hardly ever cursed in front her children, but today was different. She and Remus had been dating since Sirius left, a whole eight years. And now, this stupid thing...well, it wasn't that stupid, but if he had a problem with it why didn't he say it until now?

The day finally came to see Simon off on the train to Hogwarts. Naturally, Remus wasn't there.

Paul had finally gotten to the point where he could actually muster some pride for his brother. Yet, he realized how alone he'd be now, with the loss of both Remus and Simon, all he'd have at home was his grandfather and Marble. He'd have to really become friends with the boys on his block. He was friendly with them already, but not that close.

The next two years, the years between Simon's departure for Hogwarts and the year before Paul himself started, were a small, but significant stage in Paul's life. He began to read more than usual, mainly at night or whenever he was bored. He made better friends with the other boys on Diagon Alley, and sometimes took them into London with him, to the places he and Simon used to go.

Through his reading, which included both magical and Muggle literature, he was exposed to many different and interesting concepts. He practiced Legilimency, a very interesting subject in which one could tell the feelings of others. It was useful for knowing when one was being lied to. Legilimency was also accompanied by Occlumency which was sort of the defense against Legilimency. He wasn't very good at it. It required a lot of concentration, which was difficult. Yet sometimes, when he really tried, he felt he could get some of the feelings and thoughts of people like his mother and his new friends. Like most things, he found the more he practiced, the better he got at it.

He learned to like his acoustic guitar a bit more; playing by ear some of the songs he heard on the magically enchanted boom box (he would buy magically enchanted CDs as well, Muggle objects enchanted to work on Diagon Alley). To other people, the songs didn't sound at all like they were supposed to, but somehow, to his ear, they sounded right. To improve even more, he got a few basic books on guitar to help him.

Marble was something else he was learning to love. He would take her outside for walks, run her with his friends and play fetch. Sometimes, he would tie her to a tree while he and his friends would play Quidditch, no longer on mini-brooms but slow, grown-up ones like Comets.

Simon came back the summer after his first year (he had been over for Christmas of course) having made a whole new bunch of friends. He told his mother he was spending the first half of the summer at his dorm mates' Fred and George Weasley's house and asked if it were possible for Fred and George to come over for the other half of the summer. It was perfectly alright with her.

Simon had also made another friend in school, a boy named Martin Langford. He was a muggle-born, with white, spiky, blond hair and bright green eyes. He was tall and thin, like Simon. He also spent that summer at the Weasley's house.

Julia brought Paul along when she went to pick up Simon at the Weasley's house that summer. There, Paul was introduced to another Weasley boy, exactly his age (there were seven children in all, though five in the house at the time), named Ron. Ron and he hit it off nicely for the few minutes they were together. Paul remembered to look for him at the station, next time they dropped off Simon.

Oddly enough, Fred and George took to Paul as well when they were at his house. Perhaps, because Simon had always been close with Paul, that it was hard for him to discount him suddenly as a "little brother", or perhaps because Paul had spent more time with an older, mature boy, he acted a little older than Ron did. Whatever the reason was, Paul and the older boys had a great time together. The Weasley boys and Martin loved London. They also stopped by Lee Jordan's, another Gryffindor boy's apartment (Lee lived in London too) a few times. At Simon's urging, (Martin had some influence too) they would visit Katie's apartment.

The next summer was the summer before Paul would be starting at Hogwarts. Julia had made plans to go visit a distant relative of theirs living in the States during the month of July. It was a fun vacation, they even brought Marble along, but grandfather didn't go because he didn't want to leave the ice cream parlor. He didn't feel up to going even if he did want to.

Uncle Andrew was the brother of Simon's father. He lived with his family and Paul's great aunt and uncle in the wizarding section of Brooklyn. He treated the boys once, to a game of Quodpot, which, Paul found to be as boring as it was described to be in Quidditch Through the Ages. He did enjoy going through wizard Manhattan, which, like its Muggle counterpart, was larger and busier than wizard London. It was also less medieval.

That was the last thing of note that happened in Paul's life before Hogwarts. Paul was about eleven when he left for Hogwarts. He was very good-looking for a boy his age, with his father's beautiful black hair, which he decided to grow out past his shoulders. He was heavier built than his father had been, yet not overly so like Crabbe and Goyle. He had his mother's bright blue eyes, along with her nicely curved eye-brows. As a going away present, his mother splurged on him, and instead of getting him an owl, got him an expensive Pensieve. Paul found it helped him with his Occlumency practice (it was difficult to know if he was getting better at this, as opposed to Legilimency, since he was never put in a situation where he needed to use it).

As Paul boarded the train to Hogwarts with his brother that year, he took a seat next to a boy he knew fairly well, as a friend of the family's, Neville Longbottom. Neville had already lost his toad, Trevor and was in a panic.

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