Blair had passed her apparition test before the end of her sixth year. They had practiced all year and she had thankfully had her birthday in time to take the test before she'd leave for the holidays. But since then, she hadn't tried to spell again. So when she side-apparated with Professor Dumbledore, the nausea returned to her insides and she could barely see straight. She was able to hold in the sick that bubbled in her stomach, but lost her footing and had to sit down for a moment before walking again.

"Take all the time you need. We're in no rush," he had said as she sat down on the edge of the curb, squeezing her eyes shut to will the nausea away.

The street they had appeared on wasn't any different from the others that dotted around London. It had a block of flats that stretched from one end to the other and had multiple cars parked out front that lined the curbs. A sign sat in front of the gate that surrounded the building that said 'Grimmauld Place'. Blair had never heard of the street before but trusted Professor Dumbledore, who insisted that those who were offering her a home were real and content with her staying with them.

Miss Wool had barely looked at them as she and the Professor walked out of the orphanage. She had looked at the trunk that was being pulled by Blair and cringed at the sight of Jasper walking freely next to Dumbledore's robe-covered legs. It was as if the woman didn't want to believe that someone as oddly dressed as Professor Dumbledore was there, making her turn a blind eye to Blair walking out with all her belongings and a cat she had never seen before. Blair didn't say goodbye to any of the other children as she had made no friends at the place. It was like walking out of a public building of which she had never seen or spoken to anyone inside before. It was odd to think that she had spent her whole life there, yet could leave without any emotional attachments or difficult farewells.

"I would have come to transport you sooner, but I'm sure you can imagine how busy I have been lately," Dumbledore stated but barely turned to look at Blair as she finally stood up from the curb with a less green tinge to her skin.

"I can imagine," she agreed, stepping to be beside the Professor. "So which one is it?"

"None of them."

"Oh."

The man had surely gone mad for good.

After a while of staring stupidly at the flats, numbers' eleven and thirteen began to pull apart. Blair's mouth fell open as another window appeared and a door spurted from within the brickwork, displaying the number twelve in metal numbering. The Muggles who were in the flats either side of number twelve didn't seem to feel or see the whole new flat that had appeared from within. It was an amazing bit of magic and Professor Dumbledore smiled down at Blair, seeing her shocked expression.

"In you go, then," he cheered and reached down to Jasper, giving him one last pet. Jasper purred in delight before Dumbledore disappeared in a small whirlwind, leaving a soft 'pop!' behind.

Blair huffed lightly and started to pull her trunk across the street and up on to the path. Jasper padded along beside her and followed her up to the front door, waiting as she went to knock on the dark green wood. She raised her fist but Jasper had other ideas, walking forward and pushing the door open with only the force of his head. She then realised that the door had only been on its latch, letting it swing open once the cat and slithered through the crack that had first formed. Blair looked left and right to see if any of the building's occupants were watching her enter the new flat, before hurrying inside when she saw the coast was clear.

Putting her trunk against the wall, she shut the door behind her and made sure the latch had closed. Jasper hopped up onto the hallway table that sat up against the wall, waiting for Blair to move further from the door and journey down the rest of the hallway. She looked up and noticed a chandelier hanging from the ceiling that was in need of a dusting and intense clean. Spider webs strung from each corner and grime could be seen sinking into the dark purple wallpaper that lined the walls. The hallway was gloomy and dark, making Blair feel like she had just walked into her own closet (minus the unsanitary additions to the room). No candles had been lit and the chandelier hadn't been turned on, leaving her immersed in darkness.

She caught light that poured out from the end of the hallway and she decided to walk towards it, noticing another door that been left open to reveal what looked like a tiny kitchen and dining room combined. Blair was wary and hoped that she wasn't intruding into the owner's house, but considered the fact that the front door was practically open. So they must have been expecting her. Dumbledore surely wouldn't have just sent her in without letting the owner know that she was coming.

"The stove won't light at all! How can you live like this, Sirius?!" a voice carried from the small room and Blair recognised it immediately.

"I only drink wine and eat takeaway. What do I need the stove for?" another voice replied that Blair didn't recognise.

Finally coming to the door, Blair poked her head in and saw a long table with a set of chairs in front of her. At the end of the table, sat a man with medium length black hair that was wavy and groomed respectfully. He also had a moustache and thin beard that had been curled to match the same pattern of his hair. He wore an old-fashioned suit that was a mixture of black and purple that matched the decorations of the house, making Blair assume that the house belonged to him. Although she hadn't recognised his voice, she recognised his face straight away. He was Sirius Black, mass murder of Muggles and devoted follower of You Know Who.

"Blair! Oh, how good it is to see you!"

She was engulfed by the familiar grip of Molly Weasley and had her gaze pulled away from Sirius Black. The short woman was holding her wand in one hand while squeezing Blair against her, before pulling away with a wide grin on her face. The Weasley had just been tapping the stove with her wand when she heard the floorboard creak, making her look up to see the girl she had been waiting for all day.

"You're as thin as a post! I'll make you something right now! No hot food for the moment, I'm afraid, because the stove obviously isn't working," Molly shot a look over her shoulder towards Sirius who hadn't gotten up out of his seat yet, but sent her an innocent smile as she started to bustle about the small kitchen to make Blair something.

"Thank you, Mrs Weasley," Blair replied and turned to Sirius once more, still not believing that the man was sitting there.

"Blair Rosier I believe?" Sirius said as he stood from the table and walked around the chairs, soon standing in front of her with nothing but a kind smile on his face. "Someone else who comes from a dark family. I'm glad I'm not the only one that was 'born to be bad'."

His little joke went in through Blair's ear and out the other. She was too distracted by the fact that Sirius Black, prisoner escapee from Azkaban and murder of seven Muggles, was standing in front of her and trying to exchange pleasantries with her. She was surprised at how well groomed he was compared to his pictures that she had seen in the Daily Prophet two years ago. He had troubled and insane eyes in those pictures, but seeing him now made Blair think that the pictures had been tampered with. This surely wasn't the same person.

"I'm sure you're confused and possibly terrified," he spoke again with a nonchalant shrug. "But I've told the story at least six times these past few weeks and frankly, I'm tired of it. I didn't murder those Muggles and I never supported He Who Must Not Be Named. It was all a sham."

"I believe you."

"Y-You do?" his eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the girl's quick understanding.

"Sure," she shrugged. "You seem nice."

"R-Right. Well, thank you," Sirius cleared his throat and had his kind smile return. "It's nice to know that people can be persuaded."

"Is this your house?" Blair decided to ask as she started to look around the small and dirty room.

In truth, she didn't need Sirius to explain himself. He didn't seem like a Death Eater and he surely wouldn't be staying in the same room as Molly Weasley if he was. She hadn't believed many of the things that the Daily Prophet had published but at the time of Sirius's escape from Azkaban, she had believed that he was a bad person who wanted nothing more than to see You Know Who return and conquer the Wizarding world. But considering the fact that he hadn't been mentioned as often after her fifth year at Hogwarts, she thought something was odd about the whole thing. Dumbledore surely wouldn't have dropped her off here it was true that he was a mass murder. Why shouldn't she believe him? Many still believed that she was heading for the Death Eater path. So maybe there could be some understanding between Sirius and her.

"Yes. Isn't it delightfully awful?" he cheered and Blair liked his sense of humour. She caught Molly's distasteful look that she shot towards Sirius but the man ignored her completely.

"I inherited it from my ghastly mother and her awful family. I'm the only living relative and no one's been here for years. Molly likes to remind me often that it's been left to rot. But what are you supposed to do about it when you've been locked in Azkaban for twelve years?" Sirius explained with his hands sliding into the pockets of his slacks.

"You knew you were having guests over, yet you didn't try cleaning it at all?" Molly sassed and Sirius could be seen rolling his eyes. "We've been here for three weeks and you have done nothing!"

"We?" Blair repeated in confusion.

"Oh yes! I forgot you didn't know, dear," Molly perked up from her scolding demeanour and beamed at her. "Ron, Ginny, Fred and George are all upstairs. We're spending the summer here."

Blair's stomach leaped at the mention of George's name and tried not to look too ecstatic to see him. But the sparkle in her eyes caught Molly's attention and the woman smiled proudly to herself. The mother had specifically mentioned her son in order to see if there would be any reaction from the girl, and she was glad to see the small twinge of pink that could be seen on Blair's pale cheeks.

"I guess I should go up and see them," she said and Molly nodded.

"I suppose you should."

Sirius gave Blair a small nod before she left the room and Blair tried to keep her pace slow. She wanted nothing more than to take the stairs two at a time in order to reach the higher levels quicker. Her wand was packed away in her trunk so she couldn't apparate. But since she wasn't familiar with the house, she wouldn't be able to envision the upper levels anyway. She could risk splinching and that wasn't something she wanted to experience at all.

She soon came to a new corridor with multiple doors on either side. It was just as dusty and dirty as the last hallway. Making a random choice, she turned to the door on her right and came to a room that had dark green wallpaper that was peeling and moulding in the corners. Two beds had been placed against the wall and had their covers ruffled and unmade. She didn't have much time to take in the rest of the things in the room because she was engaged in yet another hug from a Weasley.

"Blair! Thank Merlin you're here!" Ginny cried against the girl's shoulder. "I was getting sick of hearing George talk about you nonstop. Mum was the same too."

"Hey Ginny," Blair was able to greet and they both pulled away from the embrace, smiling at each other. "George has been talking about me?"

"Of course I bloody have."