ink - sirius black

peach pastries and black leather jackets

February 16, 1977
5:57 am
Queenie's Apartment

The first thing that Anneliese noticed was how cold her bare back was.

Confused for a few seconds, Anneliese kept her eyes shut as the memories of the previous night came back to her in a pleasant rush and she realized who was lying next to her.

There was still a steady drip outside from the leftovers of the rain against the window near the bed, and the muffled sounds of cars honking in the early traffic and crowds chattering could be heard in the streets below.

Two narrow beams of yellowish lamplight streamed into the otherwise dark room, creating a warm atmosphere on the cold winter morning. One of them was illuminating a pair of sweatpants on the floor, and Callaway shivered slightly despite how harmless they looked.

She hadn't completely told Sirius the truth.

When she had woken up in his bed in the Gryffindor dormitories after her birthday when she was drunk, the first thing Anneliese had done was check to see if all of her clothes were in place.

This was a practice she had learned from the orphanage when boys thought it would be amusing to go onto the girl's side of the building when Ms. Jenkins had gotten particularly wasted on certain nights and messed around.

Most of the girls were happy for a bit of male company when they had been particularly deprived while waiting for a family to foster or permanently take them in, but Anneliese hadn't.

There were a few girls a year or so older than her who had been just like her when they were fifteen and sixteen, and those older sister figures taught Callaway a few lessons that no one should have to be told.

Number one: if you were to ever kiss a boy, let it be either because you want something from him and that's the only way you're going to get it or because you truly care about him.

That second one is particularly rare, one of the girls had told Anneliese. Most of us here need something from one of the boys at some point, but we're broke in money. Always rely on yourself, A, because you don't ever want to be in debt to a prideful moron who will always think you owe him something if he even helps you once.

Number two: if you ever go to a foster home, try to stay as quiet and polite as possible, but do not make yourself vulnerable or weak in any way until you make sure the family is completely safe.

This rule was a hard one to follow, especially when the Wings of Love Orphanage's background check on foster families was just a glance as the family, or just one adult, walked in. The staff were so happy to get rid of the kids that as long as the boy or girl was off their hands for the time being, they didn't care much what happened to them.

This was one of the reasons Anneliese hadn't held back much in her misbehavior at the orphanage as to not be taken into one of these foster homes because she was deemed 'a troublemaker.'

She had seen girls come back after only a week and never talk to any of them again with tears always in their eyes, as well as much more horrific cases when they returned with bruises on their thighs and necks.

Sure, there was the occasional good hearted, kind family who genuinely wanted a child.

But such goodness was rare.

When Anneliese herself had been assigned a foster home over one summer, she was told the third and final rule.

Number three: always check your clothes when you wake up. If there's anything out of place more than normal or the night seemed like it went black, then you were either drugged or your mind went through so much emotional trauma that it blocked out that part of your brain.