Unpaid Debts
A series of one-shots. Sirius grows up in a house where everything is measured. Money, power, debts, all are carefully kept track of. Watch as he finds The Marauders and is taught the beauty of true friendship and unconditional love.
Sirius Black hates his mother, hates that all she does is shriek, that she can never keep her calm. He hates his father, hates that his Dad (who he would never dare actually call Dad) punishes him for being soft, like a Gryffindor. He hates his little brother Reggie (Regulus really, but he does dare use this nickname) who snivels and snitches, and never stands up for him. Most of all though, he hates his house. It's cold and filled with dark artefacts that will kill him if he touches them. It forbids laughter.
By the time Sirius turns 11, he is cool and collected, the opposite of his mother. He tells everyone he sees how much he wants to be in Gryffindor, and he sticks up for his little brother and his cousins, just because he can. He laughs, hard and defiant, but he isn't happy.
It's the 29th of December and his extended family is gathering to celebrate his birthday and his first wand- he is, after all, heir to the Noble and Most Ancient of Black. They are all going to his Uncle Cygnus' house, as Father doesn't want to compromise the security of 12 Grimmauld Place. It wouldn't be proper if just anybody could find their house.
Wizards don't come of age until 17. According to the Ministry of Magic, they aren't allowed to do magic outside of school, apparate, or drink, until then. While the magical elite (purebloods, untainted by non-magic blood) say that they agree with this age while in public, the actions of their society are quite different.
At 11 wizarding children prove ultimately that they aren't squibs- they prove that they aren't something to be ashamed of. At 11, they enter the power plays as themselves, instead of relying on their parents. Sirius, as of today, is able to acquire debts and able to be owed favours. He is, according to his parents, to then use his manipulations to raise the Black family name higher.
He's nervous. He stumbles as he steps out of the floo network- he never can keep his balance upon arrival. It's Andy that catches him. She's 18 and half way through her final year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
"Clumsy as always, cousin?" Her mouth twitches upwards, almost breaking through her haughty demeanour.
Sirius nods, cheeks tinged a light pink: so much for being calm and collected. But he is glad that it's Andy greeting them. Bella, only a year younger than her sister, would have claimed that Sirius owed her for catching him. Cissy, a much friendlier 13, would have been so concerned that everyone in the house would have heard about his trip. Yes. Best that it was the quietest of the 3 Black Sisters.
"Uncle Cygnus. Aunt Druella." He nods coolly as they enter the foyer.
"Ah, Sirius!" Aunt Druella, while carrying the same aristocratic features as his father, seems to have more warmth. "Go on through to the ball room- I'll send your parents through when they arrive."
Sirius swallows, gathering his courage, and smiles before sauntering out to the ballroom.
"Sirius!!!" Cissy runs to hug him, her white blonde hair making her stand out among the rest of the Blacks. "Oh! Is your wand here? What type is it? It's dragon heartstring, isn't it?" She pauses, taking a breath, but continues before Sirius manages to speak. "I think it would be. You're so brave!" She glances around the room and lowers her voice to prevent eavesdropping. "You belong in Gryffindor, Sirius. Your parents will be mad, but you have to be yourself."
Her pale skin is flushed by the time she's finished. She's going against her family by encouraging him- a big deal for Cissy, who is loyal and loving above all. And as he blinks, and swallows, and tries to speak, Sirius realises that her love and loyalty extends to him. "I-"
"Ooh! Ickle baby Siwius!" Bella is suddenly standing beside them, black haired, black eyed and strong jawed. Where Cissy is a fairy princess, Bella is a Siren. "Managed to find a wand then?"
Sirius nods, carefully avoiding Cissy's wide, frightened eyes. "Black Hawthorn, 12 inches, with a Dragon Heartstring core." A trace of pride slips into his voice- didn't Cissy say it means he's brave?
"Huh." Bella looks surprised, grudgingly impressed. "Almost the same as mine." She shakes the thought from her head and drags Cissy away, entirely unaware that she has just ruined her cousin's pleasure in his wand.
While Bella is brave, and loud, and haughty (just as Sirius wishes to be), there is nothing kind about her. She has always taken pleasure in tormenting them, by both stealing teddy bears and with hexes. Sirius is not like Bella.
He finishes his social rounds ("Why good evening Mrs. Crabbe, that robe is simply divine!" and "Can I get you a drink, Sir? The sparkling nymph champagne is particularly fine.") and moves to a corner to enjoy his pumpkin juice.
He knows he has done well. Charm, unlike so many other things his parents try to teach him, comes naturally. His wide, grey eyes and dimples please the ladies, his careful flattery, the men. And his occasional brashness is considered 'high spirits'. In truth they are insults, to stop himself dying of boredom.
He wonders, absently sipping his drink, how much longer they are going to stay. The boys his own age don't like him, mainly because he doesn't like them. The adults (his cousins are classed as adults) bore him, and while Reggie could at least be entertaining, he is not yet 11, and so is not allowed at the party.
He is watching people, pretending that he knows lots of spells already- fun spells that is, not the curses that his father has taught him. The tall, gothic lady now has a baby pink dress, instead of black… Old Mrs Rosier's corset comes undone… And then the fire in the ballroom turns emerald green.
He blinks, forgetting about the black dress and the fat straining against it's bindings. No-one floos directly into a ballroom. It is, as his mother is already exclaiming, "Completely uncouth!"
The entire gathering leans forward in anticipation as a head spins to a stop in the flames. It's a young man, 19 maybe. He looks as shocked as everybody else, but, Sirius suddenly notices, he is scared too. His face is horribly pale, terrified like only one person in the whole ballroom is terrified. Andy is white, horror all over her shaking head.
"Well boy!" Uncle Cygnus steps forward, anger and royalty in every movement. "What are you doing here?" Then, before the boy does more than open his mouth, "What's your name?"
"T- T- Tonks, Sir. It's Ted Tonks." His eyes are frantically searching the crowd, looking for anyone (or is it someone?) who will help him.
"TONKS!?!" Uncle Cygnus' glare is ferocious, and muttering breaks out in the ballroom-
"filthy mudblood-"
"-you can tell by-"
"How dare he!"
Uncle Cygnus, his voice booming, cuts across them all. "What are you doing here? Who told you the password!?" His furious gaze is searching the crowd now, and Sirius knows it's only a matter of time before it lands on Andy's guilty face.
He wants to help her, but he'll be in so much trouble, and he's scared, just like the boy- the boy who, he notices, has a Gryffindor tie around his neck. Cissy's words echo in his head. 'You're brave…be yourself…' And as Uncle Cygnus finds Andy in the crowd, Sirius steps forward, shaking. "I did it Uncle."
His mother shrieks, clutching at her husband.
His uncle looks at him shocked, as does Andy.
"I- uh-" He looks at the boy, 19, an adult, but shaking with fear, and Sirius doesn't care about his punishment. "Go," he whispers, and the boy disappears with a pop. "I sent him a letter, asking about Gryffindor, you know?" He tosses his head back, a poor attempt at his old arrogance. "I've been telling you all for years that I-"
"Wretch!" His mother is standing next to him, twisting his ear so hard his eyes water. The people blurs as she tugs him towards the fire, and he sees his father apologising to the room, and shaking hands with Uncle Cygnus. And he sees Bella glaring at him.
And he sees Andy. Andy, his oldest, most sophisticated cousin, and she is crying, staring at him as he is dragged to what should have been her punishment. And as his mother hisses into his ear about his father's belt, and no dinner for a week, all he can hear is Andy whispering, "Thankyou, thankyou, oh Sirius…" And as the flames whirl around him, taking him back to a home he hates, all he sees is a perfect, pureblood daughter on her knees.
A week later he receives an owl signed Andromeda Black. It is polite, and courteous, and tells him that she owes him a debt. And Sirius, hands still shaking from his punishment, lays on his bed and cries, because his love and courage and sacrifice and her fear and despair and gratitude have been reduced to a debt. To something measurable.
A/N. So this is just the start, the rest of the Marauders arrive in the next chapter. Please review! It only takes a second. If you liked it, then this fic was inspired by chapter 8 of my Lily centred story 'Changing Life'. Cheers!
Rach