Last Christmas
Hello there, so this oneshot tells about Andromeda and Sirius's last Christmas in 12 Grimmauld Place.
Prompts: (total 39)
Dialogue: (7)
We could always dump the body in the lake and tell them the Giant Squid ate it. 4
When I said use your head I didn't mean to literally use your head! 3
Character: (9)
Sirius Black 2
Bellatrix Black 4
Andromeda Tonks 3
Pairing:
Lucius/Narcissa 8
Word: (7)
Resuscitate - Vomit - Knickers - Grasshopper - Autumn - Name of foreign country - Fixate.
Spell: (8)
Accio 2
Protego 6
Side notes:
*Bellatrix is twenty years old, has been married to Rodolphus for nearly a year and hasn't joined the Death Eaters yet.
*Andromeda is seventeen years old, and secretly dating Ted Tonks.
*Narcissa is fifteen years old, is dating Lucius, and plays Beater for the Slytherin Quidditch team.
*Lucius is sixteen years old.
*Sirius is fifteen years old as well, single, and plays Chaser for the Gryffindor Quidditch team.
*Regulus is fourteen years old, single, and has only recently been admitted to the Slug-Club.
*Rabastan is sixteen years old, a player, and plays the Keeper for the Slytherin Quidditch team.
*Alphard is thirty-six years old and lives abroad.
It was nearing midday when Andromeda sighed for the umpteenth time before leaving the kitchen of 12, Grimmauld Place. Aunt Walburga's Christmas receptions had always been a bore, but every Pure Blood family always looked forward to the event. And so it was that the black haired witch returned to the sitting-room where the guests were to arrive by Apparition or the Floo Network if they had underage wizards and witches along. She had arrived earlier that morning, with her sister Narcissa and her parents to help Walburga prepare the ancestral House of Black.
The first to arrive were the Lestranges: Rabastan, Rodolphus, their parents and aunt, and the newest addition who was no one other than Bellatrix, née Black. The latter politely greeted her parents, aunt and uncle before going to see her sisters.
"Evening, sisters," she said, failing to hide her smug attitude.
Andromeda scowled at her, "You're so lucky to have escaped Aunt Walburga's screaming!"
"This is why you should hurry up and find your match, that way you are no longer a Black and do not have to be here and endure it all," she said, no longer trying to hide her smug smile.
"Yeah, rather you than me. How is your marital life going?" Narcissa asked, obviously trying to conceal a blush.
Bellatrix smirked, "My marital life is doing just fine, Cissy. What about Lucius Malfoy?"
Narcissa smiled softly before saying, "We've been dating for a month now."
"About time, too," said Andromeda with a smug smile that ressembled Bellatrix's.
"Meaning?" Narcissa asked.
"He's been after you for more than a year, poor boy," Andromeda said sympathetically.
"'Poor boy'?" Bellatrix asked, sarcasm oozing out of her voice.
"He fancies her," Andromeda said with a shrug.
"And..?" Bellatrix asked, "It's not like she's dating him just because her knickers are in a twist, you know?"
Narcissa's eyes widened at her statement while Andromeda stiffled a giggle. Just then, they were joined by their cousins: Sirius and Regulus.
"What's the laughing about?" Sirius asked, casually sliding his hands in his trousers' pockets.
Bellatrix snickered, "I was just stating the fact that our baby sister was too young to have her knickers in a twist."
Sirius's booming laugh startled the three sisters and made Regulus, who was in his dawning teens, blush. At that moment, green flames bursted from the black marble fireplace to show Alphard Black, the youngest— and coolest uncle of the five cousins. He greeted his brothers and their wives, did the same for the Lestranges and walked toward his nieces and nephews.
He grinned at them before saying, "I heard you laugh, Sirius. Something funny?"
"Bellatrix's tongue is funny, Alfie," Sirius replied, smirking.
Narcissa's eyes widened again, "Uncle Alfie, Sirius!"
Alphard put a hand on her shoulder, "Cissy, dear, this is alright. You can call me Alfie too, if you like, I don't particularly mind."
She blushed before asking, "How have you been? How is Bosnia?"
"Same as always," he said dismissively, "how is school? You still play for the Quidditch team, right?"
She nodded but Sirius spoke first, "Yeah right, my arm and right side can tell you that!" he said sourly.
"It's not my fault that you were in the way of our Seeker," she said haughtily, "you know the rules Sirius. And besides, we did not even win that game so stop complaining!"
"The fact that the Gryffindor Seeker is the best of the century is beside the point, my injuries are still healing from that Bludger you sent toward me," Sirius complained.
"Quit whining, Gryffindork," Bellatrix said in a scolding tone, "I still can't believe that a Black was Sorted into the red House, it's…"
Alphard filled her loss of words with, "Unprecedented?"
She scoffed, "I may vomit even thinking about it. A Black in Gryffindor, pff…"
"At least Regulus got into Slytherin," Andromeda complied with a sympathetic look aimed at Sirius who winked at her.
"What are you all doing here?!" Walburga yelled suddenly, startling the younger girls and boy.
"Talking?" Sirius said sarcastically.
"Do not use that tone with me, you filthy Gryffindor, or I swear to Salazar that I will kill you!" She growled, making Narcissa stare in fear, for she was not used to hear the mother-son interactions.
"Then you'd have to resuscitate me for your dinner, if you don't want the Aurors showing up," he said smugly.
She waved her wand and a brush flew to hit Sirius square in the chest, he winced as she said, "Brush the tapestry in the drawing room, you useless filth!" she turned to his brother and cousins, probably even their uncle, and yelled, "I WANT THIS TAPESTRY SPOTLESS IN TEN MINUTES!"
"See you later, youngsters," Bellatrix sang as she was about to sit on the couch.
"What are you doing?" Walburga asked, a bit calmer by then.
"I am going to talk to my husband and his parents. We haven't heard much of them lately," Bellatrix replied, hoping to get away with that excuse.
Walburga raised a black brow at her before saying, "You will bring your beloved husband to the drawing room and clean like the rest of those."
Bellatrix's eyes widened in shock as she heard Alphard and Sirius stiffle a snort, "Excuse me?"
The oldest Black cousin had a temper that was not to mess with, but Walburga Black's wrath was to be feared from every person who crossed her path. The two most frightening Blacks stared at each other until the younger gave in.
She sighed heavily before saying, "I'll bring his brother as well."
Walburga smirked with satisfaction as the cloud of bushy black hair disappeared into the hall, she then turned to the onlookers and raised her eyebrows, "What are you looking at? BACK TO WORK!"
Alphard and Andromeda quickly summoned brushes for Regulus and Narcissa, respectively, and themselves. And so the cousins and uncle begrudgingly set to work on the already spotless family tree tapestry. They were joined by the younger Lestranges a few minutes later and all set to work, fearing Walburga's wrath if anything was out of place. Bellatrix sat on the sofa and lazily waved her wand while levitating her brush which barely even touched the tapestry.
Sirius glared at her, "What if you really set to work, Bellatrix?"
She cackled, "Look at you brats, trying to clean that rag like little Squibs!"
"Shit!" Regulus hissed suddenly.
"Language, Reg'," Rodolphus said.
"What happened?" Narcissa asked concernedly.
"I messed up this thread, mother is going to kill me!" He hissed again.
"Oh, I'll fixate it, Regulus, don't worry," Andromeda said calmly as she drew her wand whence a golden thread started coming out and replacing what he had messed up.
Regulus sighed as she repared his mistake, "Thank you, 'Dromeda."
She smiled at him, "Of course, Reg'."
"Who was Cassiopeia?" Narcissa asked Alphard.
"She was our aunt. Quite the grasshopper, really, you never knew who she was dating. Grandpa nearly disinherited her because she never wanted to settle with one man," Alphard explained.
"Reminds me of someone," Sirius said, pointedly staring at Bellatrix from over his shoulder.
"What are you looking at, Gryffindork?" She asked harshly.
"How come you got married?" Sirius asked boldly.
"Sirius, this is unbecoming," Andromeda said patiently.
He shrugged and stopped brushing his part of the tapestry, "Well?" he asked Bellatrix who glared at him.
"I wonder what happens when you summon only parts of a person's body," she said dreamily before pointing her wand at Sirius who paled, "Accio right arm!"
"Protego!" Andromeda squealed, making a shield appear between her sister and her cousin, "Bella, honestly!"
"He asked for it," she said dismissively before resuming the levitation of her brush.
"Sirius, don't talk to her anymore," Andromeda said, putting a restraining hand on his shoulder, knowing that he was burning to use his wand on his older cousin, "you're underage anyway, it's not worth getting expelled."
His glare softened as he looked at his favourite cousin and sighed, "You're right."
The group worked silently for a few more minutes before Regulus spoke up, "What was he like, Alfie? Regulus I?"
"He was my favourite uncle," Alphard said with a sigh, "I remember he used to take us to Quidditch games every autumn before we started attending Hogwarts, and he gave us the best Christmas gifts, too…"
"But he never got married," Narcissa, who had shifted slightly to inspect her great-uncle's name.
"He never liked committment," Alphard said, "for instance, you never knew his address. He always moved out of every house he bought before it was a year. Father always said that it was because he had committment issues so I think he didn't settle for that reason. Though I suspect he had one or two kids with his conquests."
"That means that you might've had cousins you don't know about?" Regulus asked.
"Less talkie, more workie people!" Bellatrix ordered, "This tapestry won't clean itself."
"It would if you legal witches and wizards put a spell on these bloody brushes," Rabastan complained, "I don't even know why I'm doing this, I'm not even a Black!"
"You're related to the Blacks by marriage," Bellatrix replied, "and I won't put a spell on the brushes because then you wouldn't know the value of hard work."
"Like you would," Sirius muttered under his breath.
"I heard that, brat," she said dryly.
"'Course you did," he muttered again.
"Stop it, you two," Andromeda warned.
"Was that the fireplace I heard?" Narcissa said hopefully.
"Waiting for someone to show up, Cissy?" Sirius teased.
Her cheeks flushed bright pink as she brushed the tapestry a bit harder, "No…"
Andromeda smiled at Sirius knowingly, "A certain blond Malfoy, perhaps?"
"All Malfoys are blonds," Rabastan remarked.
"True," Regulus added.
At that moment, they heard Walburga's voice from the hall and everyone had the same reaction: brush the tapestry harder. But to their relief, she was not at the door; instead was a nicely groomed Lucius Malfoy who held a brush in his gloved hand and whose face was distorted with shock.
"There he is," Sirius said, "set to work as well, eh Malfoy?"
Lucius raised an eyebrow at the Gryffindor before saying, "I think not. I asked whether Narcissa was here and was sent in this room with a brush."
"My words exactly," Sirius said as he slid down the wall and let his brush fall on the floor next to him.
"Stand back up and brush," Bellatrix ordered.
"This rag is cleaner than it'll ever be," he said, lazily waving his hand at the 'rag'.
Meanwhile, Lucius and Narcissa were greeting one another on the couch opposite Bellatrix.
"I have missed you, Cissy," he crooned, caressing her knuckles with his thumb.
"And I more," she said, resting her head on his shoulder.
He kissed the top of her head, "How have you been?" he whispered.
"Rather good, dear. What about you?"
"I've been counting the days separating me from you," he said, putting an arm around her shoulders lovingly.
"Rodolphus, why do you never do things like these to me?" Bellatrix complained, making him look at the blond couple.
He raised an eyebrow at her, "Would you let me?"
She contemplated the thought before shaking her head, "Never mind…"
"Is there not a chessboard, in this house?" Rabastan asked boredly.
"I know a game that's better than chess," Sirius said excitedly.
"What is it?" Andromeda asked as they all sat around the round ebony table.
"It's called Truth or Dare," he said, taking a seat next to her, "who would like to play?"
"How is it played?" Rabastan asked.
"We take turns in asking whoever the wand points at if they want to answer to a question truthfully or if they want to be assigned a dare," Sirius explained.
"Huh?" Regulus said, confused.
"We'll do a round and you'll understand," Sirius said drawing his wand.
"You're underage, kid," Alphard remarked.
"I'm not going to use magic," he said, "aye, Malfoys, will you play?"
"'Malfoys'?" Narcissa asked.
Sirius winked at her before saying, "A matter of time, Cissy."
"I don't think I will play," she replied.
"What about Luci'?" Rabastan asked.
"Some people need to take a hint," Bellatrix said nodding at the couple.
"Oh," he said slowly.
"Will you Lestranges play?" Sirius asked dryly.
"Yes," Bellatrix said and Rodolphus soon joined in.
Sirius placed his wand on the center of the table and used his thumb and forefinger to spin it, it pointed at Alphard, "Truth or dare, Alfie?"
Alphard eyed him suspiciously before saying, "Truth."
"What was the name of the first girl you kissed in Hogwarts?" Sirius asked with a smirk.
"Wait, these are the questions?" Andromeda asked, her face paling a little.
"You can't ask the same question twice," Sirius said.
"Alba," Alphard said after taking a minute to think about it.
"Now you spin the wand and ask whoever it points at."
Alphard did so and the wand pointed at Bellatrix, "Truth or dare, Bella?"
She paused for a second before saying, "Dare."
"I dare you to… Kiss Rodolphus in the most loving way you can," he said.
"What?" both Lestranges asked, one with shock and the other with utter disgust.
Rodolphus looked at his wife sideways, "Thanks a lot, Bella."
She ignored him and glared at her uncle, "'Lovingly'? You know as well as I that love is a myth!"
"Hey!" Narcissa shrieked.
"I never thought of it that way," Alphard said, "it's your dare, you have to do it."
"If you don't, you'll have to give us your wand for as long as the game lasts," Sirius lied warningly, trying to hide his smirk.
She glared at her cousin, and then at her husband before saying, "Whatever you try to slide in my mouth, you will lose."
Rodolphus gulped hard before nodding and she leaned in, trying as hard as she could to perform her dare. She was about to kiss him on the lips when he derived it to her cheekbone. She blinked at him.
"What was that?" She asked.
"The most loving kiss I can give you without it leading to shagging," he replied with a smirk.
"Hey!" Regulus and Rabastan yelled, disgusted expressions on their faces.
"Kreacher," Alphard called, making the elf Apparate next to him, "bring a pot of tea and cakes for everyone here."
"But Mistress said—"
"That's an order, Kreacher!"
The elf bowed, "Whatever Master desires."
He disappeared to the kitchen and Bellatrix spun the wand, it pointed at Sirius, "Truth or dare, Gryffindork?"
"Truth, I don't trust your dares," he replied.
She thought for a minute before saying, "Who would you kill in Hogwarts and how?"
"I would kill Snivellus Snape," he said without an ounce of hesitation, "I would probably poison him or something."
"What about the body? And the teachers?" Andromeda asked.
"We could always dump the body in the lake and tell them the Giant Squid ate it," Sirius said with a shrug.
"You really do scare me, sometimes," Andromeda said with a shiver.
"That only proves that behind the red tie, he really is a Black," Bellatrix said.
"I think that's the nicest thing that you'll ever tell me, Bellatrix," he said surprised.
"Don't get used to it," she said curtly.
He spun the wand and it pointed at Rabastan, but before he could speak Kreacher was back with the tea, cakes and an assortment of dried fruit. He served the Blacks, Lestranges and Lucius and disappeared again. They ate and drank, the discussion turning into small talk as they forgot about the game completely.
Rabastan took a walnut and tried to open it, he looked at Alphard who was already eating some and asked, "How'd you open it?"
"Use your head, son," Alphard replied.
Rabastan stared at Alphard incredulously before hitting the walnut straight on his forehead. Everyone in the room laughed out loud at the sight of the sixteen year old's bruised forehead.
Alphard managed to regain composure first as he said, "When I said use your head I didn't mean to literally use your head!" then he took two walnuts that he crushed in his palm, and said, "Here, you Muggle."
Rabastan's mouth fell open at the insult, he was about to retort when everyone jumped in fear at Walburga's yelling.
"WHAT ARE YOU ALL USELESS SQUIBS DOING?! DID I SAY YOU COULD HAVE A TEA PARTY?! CLEAN THIS ROOM AT ONCE!"
Sirius grabbed his wand from the middle of the table while Andromeda used spells to clean up the mess on the table while the others all busied themselves to avoid Walburga from assigning them any harder tasks.
Andromeda smiled at Sirius before whispering, "Happy Christmas, Sirius."
He winked at her, "Happy Christmas, 'Dromeda."
And that was the very last time that they would get to say it to each other's face. The next year, Andromeda had run away to Ted Tonks's and Sirius to James Potter's. Though neither really did like the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, that Christmas remained their favourite memory of 12 Grimmauld Place.
R&R?