Around the World: Saint Kitts & Nevis - Character: Sirius Black
Barbegazi: The Golden Snitch: Trick or Trick: Pairing: Irma Pince and Orion Black: bonus prompts (word) obvious, (dialogue) "I didn't think we were supposed to come in costume."/ "So why did you come dressed as a hag?", (word) exotic
T'is a Figure of Speech: 'dropping like Muggles'
Word count: 2085
Slight AU as things happen earlier than they do in canon. Warning for Character Death (and infidelity)
your filthy love (it's mine to keep)
love at first sight
is always cursed
1970.
He first meets her on All Hallows Eve, his eldest son at his side. The woman with black hair and troubled eyes bumps into him down Diagon Alley, barely mumbling an apology from those pink lips. "Watch where you're going, Mudblood," he snaps, for she must be a Mudblood if she dares to bump into a member of the House of Black, as only a Mudblood would be so stupid.
His eldest son, forever his biggest supporter, bares his teeth at her, supporting his father in any way he can. Nearly eleven, but he's already a smart kid. He will go far. "I said I was sorry," she spits, angry-toned, before sidestepping him and walking into the bookshop.
Orion's gaze follows her retreating form, the blue robes swishing around her heels and hips waggling as if she has an attitude. "Come on, Sirius," he says, his dark gaze turning away from the Mudblood and turning warm as he looks at his son. "We need to get the ingredients for the ritual tonight."
1971.
Almost a year later, once Orion has all but forgotten about the Mudblood from Diagon Alley, he learns her name and her story. His eldest is at Hogwarts, expanding his mind and broadening his horizons and he finds her. He is expanding his network, getting to know the people at his school, and making his father proud. Walburga disapproves of the boy, but then she always has: he's too bold, too daring, too full of life for her dark soul to keep up with. The boy was born a Gryffindor, and a Gryffindor he will remain until his death. Walburga doesn't understand how Orion still talks to him. Sirius is dastardly, she says. An abomination. He should have never been born.
Orion thinks that Walburga is a lousy Slytherin. She doesn't understand the subtleties of getting to know people. The Gryffindors are a rambunctious bunch, always have been, but they are useful allies in a fight and Orion wants his son to hold on to that. His son will need all the help he can get, with the talk of war coming up in conversation everywhere he goes. His son deserves the protection.
Sirius talks to him through the mirrors that him and his brother share. Regulus' is decorated with the Black family crest and the letter 'R,' and he knows that Sirius' is the same but with an 'S.' Regulus sits next to him, so innocent for a nine-year-old boy, pulling silly faces at his older brother whilst Orion talks to him. "You know that Mudblood we bumped into last year?" Sirius asks, his grey eyes looking shiftily at something Orion couldn't see as if he is afraid of getting caught saying such a bad word within the den of lions. "She works here. She's the Assistant Librarian."
"It's taken you this long to go to the library?" Orion asks, but his tone is playful. His eldest is a definite Gryffindor—they always avoided the library when he was in school.
"I never needed to before." Sirius brushes off that point easily, as if it is irrelevant, but Orion knows the implications of what he means. His son is smarter than Walburga thinks, that's for sure. "Anyways, her name is Irma Pince and she was once a Ravenclaw here. She has two Muggle parents so a definite Mud-Muggle-born."
"Thank you for telling me this," Orion says. "It is very useful."
He hands the mirror back to his youngest son, who begins to talk about Halloween feasts and the like. He has a ritual to plan. It will be different without Sirius here, but not unmanageable.
1972.
It's four days after All Hallows Eve, and Orion is walking down the halls of Hogwarts. His son's first Quidditch match is today, and he's dressed appropriately for it—a green and silver scarf on his neck, but a Gryffindor flag in his hair to support his son. What would be best now is if he could find the bloody Quidditch Pitch. He doesn't notice the woman in blue robes until they're both on the floor, him lying on top of her. He gets himself up first before helping her to her feet, and only after her warm hands are out of his does he recognise her face. "You!" he declares, not knowing what else to do. "You're the Mudblood that bumped into me two years ago!"
She blinks at him coolly, her blue eyes seeming to sparkle despite the frosty glare. "You just knocked me onto the floor, so I guess we're even now."
He doesn't know how to react. "I suppose so," he replies eventually, looking away.
"What are you doing here, anyway?" the woman, Irma Pince, asks.
"Trying to find the Quidditch Pitch. My son is playing in the match today."
She sighs, a melodic sound, one that made Orion want to tear his ears off as he likes it so much. "I'll show you the way, then. And then you'll definitely have to get over the fact that I bumped into you, as I will have done you a favour and you Slytherins like them."
She's a Mudblood. She shouldn't be saying such things to a member of a Pureblood family, yet Orion finds himself intrigued by her bold nature. He shouldn't be intrigued. To be intrigued is a plague on his family. Mudbloods cause nothing but trouble. But he's interested in her.
"How long have you been working here?" he asks, hating the silence more than the implications of talking to a Mudblood.
"Just over a year. Where do you work, then?"
"Ministry. I'm a lawyer. Deal with murder cases and the like."
Orion watches her tilt her head to the side. "I can see you doing that," she says as she pushes open a big door to reveal the light of day.
They question each other all the way down to the Quidditch Pitch. The game hasn't started yet: in fact, students are still filing in. Orion finds himself trying to see his youngest son, but the crowd is too thick and it becomes obvious that he is never going to find him. Irma turns to him, pulling on the sides of her robes. "Teachers and parents get to sit in the same section," she says, looking up at him with those bright blue eyes that he has only really known for ten minutes. "Would you like to sit with me?"
He should say no. He really should. It's improper for a Pureblood to sit with a Mudblood. Incorrect. An abomination. "I would love that."
He leads her to their seats, his arm in hers, trying not to think of what would happen if Walburga hears about this. Death may be the best thing that happens to him. His wife has a mean streak that stretches wider than the Quidditch Pitch his son is going to play on.
(Gryffindor wins the match, of course: how could they not when they have a Beater like Sirius on the team?)
1973.
Orion stares at himself in the mirror. His face is practically white, his grey eyes are now red, and his robe is more like a cape, with a high collar and a dark suit underneath it. He smiles at his reflection and reveals a set of pearly white teeth, sharpened to resemble a vampire. He looks handsome, but he can't help feeling ridiculous in this costume.
The Ministry is holding a ball this year for Halloween. They have to dress up, as if they're bloody Muggles. It is probably the Mudbloods who have infiltrated the Ministry who arranged it. They're always meddling.
Orion is mainly annoyed because this interferes with his yearly ritual. The ritual is the only thing that Walburga and Orion agree on. They do not even agree on simple things like where the House Elf's head should go when it dies or the wellbeing of their children. They're always arguing.
He apparates without Walburga and meets her outside the ballroom. Her grey eyes look him up and down, seemingly trying to burn a hole through him. "I didn't think we were supposed to come in costume," she says, crossing her arms over her robes.
Walburga looks beautiful: the robes hug her figure nicely and her black hair is curled to frame her face. But Orion cannot resist. "So why did you come dressed as a hag?"
She growls before storming into the room, leaving him on his own to socialise with the other important figures within the room. He walks up to Abraxas Malfoy and Cygnus Black, who welcome him with stiff greetings. "Have you heard about the Mudbloods?" Cygnus asks, turning to look at his family member, idly stroking the long, grey beard that he has grown for tonight.
"What about them?"
"They're dropping like Muggles." Cygnus laughs, and Orion forces a smile. "I always knew they were dirty. Now I know for sure. They're just like Muggles."
He spots her at the edge of the room, sitting on a table all by herself. She's dressed as a black cat, in a small, figure-hugging dress and black tights. "I've seen someone I have to talk to," he says, brushing past his two old friends before making his way over to her.
He sits on the chair beside her, and touches a pale hand onto her bare shoulder. She jerks, then smiles when she sees him. "I thought you were going to kill me," she says softly.
"What are you doing here?" Orion asks, taking his hand off of her shoulder and putting it in her lap.
"My friend works in the Ministry, and I'm her plus one." Irma straightens her cat ears. "She's left me to explore some other cats, though."
"So you're alone now." Orion means to ask it, but it comes out as a statement instead.
She nods anyway. "Do you want to dance with me, then?"
She nods again, so Orion takes her hand and leads her to the dancefloor. There are many couples on the floor, so nobody will be able to see them. They sway to the beat, Irma's body soft on his hands. Orion stares into Irma's blue eyes, and she stares back, eyes seeming to soften every second that passed. He must be possessed, if he wants this Mudblood so bad. He must be possessed, if his lips are touching hers and his arms are wrapping around her and he can't stop touching.
They break apart for a few seconds. "Do you want to go somewhere more private?" Irma asks, whispering in his ear.
He follows her back to her place where they spend a few more hours kissing and touching. This is wrong. He shouldn't be doing this. Yet he can't stop.
1974.
Whispers and giggles fill the dark room. Gentle touch here, loving caress there. Their love is an inferno that will never burn out. It's exotic. It's beautiful. It's worth missing a ritual for.
1975.
Orion knows it's the end when Walburga is waiting for him when he returns home from a night out with Irma on the first of November. "Hello, my love," Walburga says, her voice bittersweet.
"What do you want, Walburga?" he asks, sounding weary.
"All I ever wanted was for you to love me," she says, her voice insincere.
"Bullshit. What's really happened?"
"I've found out about your Mudblood whore."
Orion takes a deep breath in. "My Mudblood whore?" He fakes a laugh. "That's preposterous, Walburga."
"I've seen you with her. All smiley and giggly. It makes me sick."
"You make me sick," Orion replies, his face going thunderous, "with your disgusting talk of skinning Muggle-borns and your revolting habits."
"Oh, 'Rion. You can get out of this, you know. Just tell me the Mudblood's name, and we can forget all about this and go back to how we were."
"Over my dead body."
Walburga grins, her blood-red lips looking menacing. "As you wish."
(Sirius Black gets the news of his father's death two days later, on his sixteenth birthday. He spends his birthday in the library, sitting next to the woman he knows to be his father's Mudblood. She's upset, understandably, but he feels even worse.
He goes home for the funeral, and when he comes back he becomes known for his outright hatred for his father and people do not care.)
it may appear sweet at first
but it was never meant to last
Walburga gives him something worse than death: his favourite son hating him and relishing in his death. She cursed Sirius when he went to the funeral.
I like the idea of Irma being pregnant and having his baby. I also like the idea of Walburga finding out about said baby and killing it. I don't know.
~Buttercat