You know, at the time I had honestly thought this was as complicated as life would get… quite naïve, don't you think? Now I can only wish things were once again so simple. Isn't it always like this though; do not we all wish for the chance to go back to simpler times, undo all our past mistakes and relive the joys of youth? Ah youth… those who have it waste it, and those who've lost it spend the rest of their lives longing for it's return. Is that not the solemn-most truth?
This contest for instance, the memory remains as clear as if it were yesterday. I can still feel the anticipation we had all felt, the seemingly unwavering urge to win engulfing our entire being… the blood-traitor was probably the most spectacular example of this… you ought have seen him! Out, in the middle of the night with a half-drank bottle of Fire Whiskey, screaming at the top of his lungs out across the lake!
You think I'm lying, don't you? Well, I'm not. You know, just because I'm Slytherin doesn't mean all I say and do is some trick or evil. I hate when people do that… everyone who aren't Slytherin themselves think we're devils or servants there of… Guess what, we're not.
Cunning? Yes. Ambitious? Naturally. Brilliant? Most definitely.
That does not mean we're evil, sly and thoroughly learned in the Dark Arts. And yes, I did say brilliant. Most of us could have been Ravenclaws; some actually had to fight the hat against such a decision! Sev was set to be a Raven, surely, his mind's sharper than his tongue (which is largely fueled by the former might I add)!
Anyway, back to my dear Gryffindor relation… Yes, Siri has been quite dear to me throughout most of his existence despite his zealous fight with the hat to stay out of Slytherin… you ought have seen the ceremony, it was just too obvious! I can still see his face, all scrunched in worry as he fidgeted on the stool, shaking his head every so often, his chubby hands rolled into tight fists. Oh and the relief on his face when the hat said 'Gryffindor!' By Merlin, it was the funniest thing all sorting! He was an okay kid though, as gullible as he may be… It's all that Dumbledore's fault of course, conniving old coot he is. He'd brainwashed the poor tike since Siri was six! And of course he'd always have a chocolate frog on his person, appearing strategically when Siri was upset over something or another… real shame him. But that was years ago.
Now, as I was saying… there he was, drunk and raving at the edge of the lake, screaming at the top of his bloody lungs and waking the entire castle up.
"Under the midnight's sky, " He swore, " I'll show them, I'll show them all! I'll show them how I'll win this bloody game. I'll go to any lengths just to win …whatever it takes…You hear me mother?" His voice rang far more spiteful than I had ever heard it that night, echoing eerily in the crisp night air. He had run away that previous summer, to that no-good Potter's house.
Now that had been a hard blow to the Blacks… their eldest son, their heir running off into the care of lowly Gryffindors- Potters no less! His mother had cried her eyes out, she had, little Reg had to call my mother and I over almost every day to help him calm the poor woman… first her husband died, only months later her eldest abandoned her… I swear, as much as I liked him, I've known, even then, that he'd be the death of her… She had tried so hard with him, truly she did, right until the day Siri had beat poor Regulus into the medical ward! The mediwizards claimed the boy had several broken bones and that his nose would never be the same… much like Sev's come to think of it… But honestly, Regulus was never as muscular or fit as his big brother, and he had been right in his stand, after all. Reg knew someone had to stuff some sense into Siri, make him realize how much his actions hurt their mother, their dwindling family. I think that's when my feelings toward Siri changed too, he had no right to do that to Reg… I'm actually glad his mother resented him after that.
But I'm falling on a tangent I fear… So there he was, him and Potter… together as always, strutting around the school as if they'd won already. It was in the last round that things got interesting you know… up until then neither Narcissa nor I paid any heed to them; they were other, more important, things to worry about. The contest was rigged with all sorts of traps and Sphinx-type riddles to solve, quite annoying really, which kept our minds from other players. The last round was different though… It was an all-out extension of the inter rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin at this point you see, each house having but two teams to represent them, no Hufflepuffs or Ravenclaws having advanced. I swear, Siri only got this far on his partner's bottomless pit of never-ending luck. All Potters have it, something in their genes as far as I can tell.
The last round consisted of a moonlit walk through a forest maze (with a horde of curses, traps, creatures and whatnot tossed in for the heck of it). The winning team was the one whom first caught the golden rabbit statue (charmed to run all around the maze like a real rabbit). The idea was inspired, I must admit, since there was no actual center to make for and you might have to go in circles as the prize might have run into the area you've already searched. The way I see it, the Gryffindors cheated, all four of them. Yes, Gryffindors… though I guess, since they're Gryffindors and all, they'd call it 'strategizing' or perhaps 'utilizing their assets'… It's still cheating I tell you! Now, you didn't hear this from me, but dear little Siri has been able to turn into a dog for a while before this competition and his form had a sharper sense of smell than full fledged dogs could dream of… After the contest, Samantha (a fellow Slytherin a few years my junior) mentioned that on many an occasion the duo had paused, Siri had covered his nose for a few moments and then they'd turned a certain way- he was sniffing and I know it! He'd done that same 'just change my nose' trick when we he had been sniffing out cookies (and thought we were not paying attention) two summers ago at uncle Malfoy's. Samantha said the other Gryffindor team had done something similar, the Lupin boy that is, but I didn't find out about the resident werewolf until a few years after we all graduated… I'm serious, they both had advantages; the contest taking place only three days after a full moon (and what Lupin had said had been some family emergency or another) so his werewolf senses were still peaked. And you wonder why we lost!
Not that we Slytherins hadn't had our won 'strategies' and 'assets' we had utilized to their full capacity…we were Slytherins, after all! Severus had brought all sorts of potions with him, everything from one that would make you weightless to one that would make you invisible, not to mention the assortment of healing, strengthening and sensory boost draughts. He was always good with potions, Sev, he sucked at flying though… I guess that's why Luci didn't bring portable brooms. We did, Cissa and I, though honestly they were nowhere near as useful as she thought they'd be.
Anyway, we were almost there when Potter caught the blasted thing, using his blatant luck once more, Sirius having ceremoniously sniffed him out. We had been bumping into them all night it seemed, and I don't think I've ever seen Siri's grin wider… truly sickening it was, looking back on it now, but I was honestly almost happy for him then… I actually thought he might use this to return to where he belonged… He didn't, of course, he mostly used it as extra topic of slander actually, underlining how much better off he was without them. If it were me, I'd have stayed, if only for the status he'd gain when his mother croaked if not to lovingly ease the woman's transition into the next life… she truly did love him you know, under all the resentment. Her portrait, on the other hand, took what she pretended to feel toward him and made it her true feeling, I think the damn painting hurts the poor woman as much as Siri himself!
So, Siri won… the actual win was rather easy. We saw it all. We had just finished fighting off a Boggart which, upon seeing Cissa, immediately turned into something I don't even know the name for… nasty thing though, truly gruesome. It took me a bit to get her to calm down so we could vanquish it, which is probably when the Gryffindor duo came from somewhere on our forward right. They weren't there when we first found the Boggart, in any case. There was a pit between us and the boys, but all four of us had seen the glittering rabbit. I guess they were just lucky it was on their side of the chasm. Potter luck again… I think I've mentioned that once or twice… see what I mean? Anyway, Cissa, of course, was still hyperventilating from the monster thing so I had to unshrink the brooms. It took a bit, seeing as Cissa was holding them as if they were life preservers… I gave her a good yelling for that mind you. Cissa's always been a girly girl, perfect for Luci (also known as the shallowest and most conceded guy this side of Gryffindor); at least they'd be able to get their hair and nails done together… poor Sev, stuck with him… She's okay though, as long as you don't get her frightened… did I mention I was mad as hell at her? I was. I wouldn't let her so much as open her mouth in my presence for a full month there after, not to mention all the spiders that somehow kept ending up in her be… Hey, I said Slytherins aren't evil… I never said we're nice!