A/N: Well, my first Harry Potter fanfic. I guess I'm expanding. We'll see how it goes. Lately I've been fascinated by the intrigues of the Family of Black so I thought I'd write this story. Hopefully you like it. If you read this, I would be very grateful for a review. And by that I mean, feel free to say whatever you thought, even if it's criticism. If I don't get criticism, I will never improve, so even if you read this and hated it, please tell me why so I can work on making it better for you and everyone else. Thanks for your interest.
SUMMARY: Ambition, love, and the desire for freedom come between the Black brothers.
Regulus Black wants to hold his family together during the turbulent years leading up to Voldemort's defeat, but his rebellious brother, Sirius, who is supposed to be the head of the family, doesn't want to cooperate. The story of the Black family told through two brothers' perspectives.
DISCLAIMER: This story is for non-commercial entertainment purposes and doesn't intend any infringement on the property of JK Rowling, Warner Brothers, or any of the involved people who own Harry Potter. Part of the inspiration for this story came while I was listening to the soundtrack to Elisabeth. Some of the later plot development is loosely based on those songs.
Thicker Than Blood
They say that blood is thicker than water, and I've always believed that it's true. Surely no connection between two people is as important, lasting, or meaningful as that of family. And yet, I find myself in a position where I am forced to ask the question: Is there anything thicker than blood? What terrible emotions can inspire a mother to abandon her child? A son to rise against his father? A brother to strike down his brother? Is it ambition? Is it anger, resentment, or hate? Is it love? How did it come that the tragic events I am about to tell you came to pass?
My story begins before I was born. It begins with my brother, the heir to the family fortune, and the future leader of our clan. Technically, my uncle, my father's brother, is the family head. He is the eldest son of the eldest son of the eldest son, etc, of some ancient Black, and therefore the most direct descendant and the most important, by the family's reckoning. However, while he ran the family well, he did not produce a son.
My uncle had two daughters already by the time my father, the younger brother by quite a few years, married my mother. My mother and my aunt were then expecting around the same time. It was quite a tense few months, so they say. My aunt was not as young as she used to be, and the need for an heir was great. The Black clan had suffered the curse of too many daughters—who married out—and too few sons. Also, there had been a war a few decades ago which claimed many lives. In short, the Blacks were dying out; a son was needed to carry on the name.
My aunt gave birth to a third daughter. Two months later, my mother gave birth to a son: my brother, Sirius Black. There was much rejoicing, and, with the exception of my uncle and his family, all of the relatives were relieved. My grandfather was so relieved, he instantly transferred the title of heir to my brother.
My father, having been the "second son" all his life, had given up hope of winning my grandfather's pleasure. My uncle had shown such promise, he had been given almost the entire inheritance and the family's support. My father had had to use his pure blood and good name alone to win his wife, and she had had to use her own fortune to support him. We resided in her house, inherited from her father, and lived off of her money. Fortunately, as the only child of an old bloodline, she'd had quite a fortune. All the same, she'd suffered at having to marry a penniless, unambitious wizard, and had put up with it only because the name of Black was old and highly respected; it had elevated her socially.
Now, as the mother of the heir to the Black line, she saw a chance to elevate herself further. And indeed, she spared no expense insuring her position through the person of her son. In some ways, Sirius was terribly spoiled. No toy, no treat, no frivolity was too expensive for the future head of the family. On the other hand, every precaution had to be taken to ensure his safety and good upbringing. He was given the best tutors available, forced to spend hours locked in the house, studying, and forbidden to play with any children who were "unworthy" of his company. This restricted him to spending most of his childhood with his girl cousins, most of whom were quite a bit older than he, and two or three children from select "quality" families in the neighborhood.
But now I can begin including myself in the story. My mother was so busy molding Sirius into the perfect heir, that even her pregnancy—with me—two years later couldn't distract her, and as soon as her second son was born, she committed him to the care of a nursemaid and forgot about him. I don't mean to criticize. Of course, she had her hands full with Sirius. And to be fair, I was given the same careful education. I just didn't merit as much attention. Sirius constantly had to be bundled off to family gatherings, social functions, and other educational occasions. I stayed home. Sirius had to sit for a portrait. I was too young. And so on and so forth.
It soon became clear that Sirius had inherited most of his personal characteristics from our mother, and I from our father. Sirius was, even as a child, spoiled, bad-tempered, and stubborn. He was given to throwing his toys, pulling my hair, and pouting in the corner. Our family used to compare him to our cousin, Bellatrix—who also used to pull her siblings' hair— who had just entered Hogwarts and showed great signs of potential. Everybody had high hopes for her, and so everybody had high hopes for Sirius.
And then everything changed. There must have been some fundamental difference between Sirius and Bellatrix, alike as they were, which, perhaps awakened by my mother's suffocating treatment of him, caused them to turn out entirely different. Little signs popped up all through his childhood. Bellatrix was strong-willed, demanding, and merciless, but she aimed to please. Far more than her even-tempered sisters, Andromeda and Narcissa, she worked to have the best grades, the highest scores, and the most commendable talents. And she positively basked in the glory of being "the best." My earliest memories of her are of when I was six or seven and she was twelve. Underaged wizards and witches are not allowed to use magic during the holidays, but my Aunt Elladora thought that was a ridiculous rule and didn't apply to old wizarding families, who were surely capable of raising their children properly. She knew the old Headmaster, Armondo Dippet, personally as well as the Minister of Magic and the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and she had arranged for an exception to be made in Bellatrix's case.
At every family gathering, while Andromeda held me, and Narcissa pinched my cheeks, Bellatrix would show off her unusually developed skills to the assembled family. Everyone always praised and congratulated her. I thought, back then, she was the most amazing witch I knew. I was in full awe of her until I was at least twelve myself. Only my mother remained cold. She would take my eight-year old brother into the next room and have him recite the family tree or answer trivia questions. Perhaps this was why Sirius never seemed impressed by Bellatrix himself. Or maybe it was because she used to steal his sweets or knock over vases and blame it on him. Whatever the reason, Sirius did not take to Bellatrix the way the rest of the family did.
So, in the end, pressured by the family to adore Bellatrix, and pressured by my mother to compete with and, ultimately, outshine her, Sirius did the only thing he could: neither. He rebelled. He annoyed the family by playing tricks, making jokes, and otherwise not taking things seriously. I was always appalled. How he could be so disrespectful as to trip people during dances, munch loudly on biscuits during grandfather's sermons, or stick his tongue out at the portraits of our ancient and noble forefathers is beyond me. Surely this is no laughing matter. He never appreciated how privileged he was, nor showed gratitude for the blessings bestowed on him by having been born into such a position. I tried to convince him to be more considerate, but to no avail. When he was nine, he stole out to the yard with my uncle's broomstick and rode it around—illegal for under-aged wizards. He used to catch and raise the spiders and Nifflers that lived in the attic and the woods nearby or snitch little magical implements belonging to my parents and experiment with them. At first, he used to include me in these activities. But mother used to demand I tell her what I was up to. She used to ask if Sirius had been rummaging in her cupboard again. How could I lie to her, my own mother? She expected me to be good and obedient, and favored me with smiles and attentions only when I was. I had to admit the truth to her—or suffer the consequences—so I did, whereupon she would march up to our room, snatch up her belongings, kill his pets, and punish him severely with chores or hexes.
This didn't subdue him; it only made him resentful. He would look at the dead Nifflers forlornly and pout. After a while, he stopped including me in his secret undertakings. Soon, he stopped confiding in me at all. I tried to explain how upset and hurt Mama was, and that I only wanted to heal the wound between them—and besides, his Nifflers kept escaping and tearing up my things—but he didn't listen.
The biggest turning point, however, and the real beginning of my story, happened around my eighth birthday. Sirius had just turned ten when grandfather died. There was a great funeral. Everybody had to wear solemn, black dress robes and march in a long procession following the coffin-bearers. All the distant relatives turned up, as well as many members of other ancient wizarding families, the Malfoys, the Lestranges, the Averys, to pay their respects to the old head of the Black clan.
Dec, 1970, The Black Family Tomb
My grandfather's younger brother, Alphard, was there. He took Sirius up on his knee while we were waiting for everyone to pay their respects to the coffin. Sirius had already gone. He'd had to make a very fomral show of it. Now we were waiting outside with my great uncle, the Death Chamber being too stuffy and solemn for us.
"Well, boy," Uncle Alphard said, balancing Sirius on his left knee, "You're the heir now."
"I won't inherit 'til my uncle dies," Sirius replied matter-of-factly.
"But it's of no consequence. Claudius has no sons. You'll be up soon enough. Then it'll be your duty to carry on the family name. There's precious few of us Blacks left now," Uncle Alphard mused. "Regulus, I hope you won't be a stubborn old bachelor, like me, who fails in his duty to perpetuate the line."
"Yes, sir... I mean, no sir..." I wasn't really sure what he was talking about, but I was eager to agree. Uncle Alphard laughed.
"And you, Sirius, you'll meet some nice, young girl at Hogwarts, I suppose. You're going there next year, eh?"
"Yes, sir," Sirius nodded. "But I don't know about any girls. My cousins are girls and they're no fun."
Uncle Alphard chortled again, loudly. "Your opinion may change with time," he said wisely. Sirius shrugged.
At this point, Mama appeared, followed closely by Aunt Elladora whose pale face was looking even more sickly than usual despite the powder and makeup she'd layered on.
"Well," Mama said upon spying Sirius, "How is my little heir?" She sounded more cheerful than usual and she reached out her arms to her eldest son.
Sirius remained motionless. "I won't inherit until Uncle is dead," he replied like a little Muggle automaton. Then, seeing Aunt Elladora, he added, "God forbid."
"Tut," said Mama contemptuously. "That's all changed now, Sirius. Your grandfather's will quite unexpectedly stated that you are the legal heir now, with all the duties and benefits that honorable title contains. The fortune is yours." Her triumphant grin reached from one side of her face to the other. She was seldom so pleased, and I was really glad to see her face lit so radiantly. I didn't understand what was happening or why, but if it made Mama happy, it must be good.
"Hardly unexpected," Aunt Elladora cried shrilly, "considering your recent visits to the old fool! Don't think I don't know what you've been up to, Hecuba!"
"Of course," Mama continued as though she hadn't been interrupted, "your father and I will be in control of your inheritance until you're old enough to use it responsibly."
"He was not of sound mind and body when he wrote that will," Aunt Elladora pressed on, her eyes open so wide in indignation I thought they might pop out.
"Why, Elladora," Mama said sweetly, "our dear, old father-in-law has hardly been cooling seventy-two hours. One would think you might be more respectful of his memory."
My aunt was speechless. "Well," Uncle Alphard murmured to my brother, "looks to me like you're up already, young Master Black."
"Indeed," Mama rejoined, lifting Sirius off of Uncle Alphard's knee and placing him on his own two feet. "Time to start acting like a young man instead of a little savage. Don't baby him, Uncle," she added as Uncle Alphard reached out to pat Sirius on the head.
"Well, ladies, Uncle," called a low, strong voice from the doorway and my uncle, a tall, broad-set man with narrow eyes and a black, grizzled beard appeared, followed by his three daughters. "We'd better be going or we'll be late for supper. Come along, then, Elladora."
"Claudius," my aunt cried, "You can't..." but he cut her off with a sharp, "There's nothing to be done about it, dear. Now come along." With a last glare at Mama, Aunt Elladora turned and followed her family to the large fire which burned in an old, stone niche at the entrance of the tomb. It was ceremoniously lit after the coffin was placed in the Death Chamber, and it would serve as a quick way home.
"Come along, then," Mama echoed as my relatives disappeared, one by one, into the flames. She motioned for Sirius and me to follow. Now, all the mourners and guests were streaming out of the Death Chamber and towards the fire. I sincerely wished we didn't have to go to the great supper at Uncle Claudius' house, but for once, I was not excluded from the activities and Mama pushed me ahead of her. I called out my uncle's address and rushed into the fire, eyes closed. I was embarrassed to admit it, but I was still a little afraid of traveling on the Floo Network. I hardly ever had the need to, and when I did, I couldn't help imagining what would happen if the powder suddenly wore off, and I were engulfed in flames.
The powder, however, did not wear off, and we all arrived safely at my uncle's house where a great feast had been prepared. The adults quickly gravitated towards the drawing room where drinks and appetizers were being served. The house was much larger than our own; it was practically a manor, and it was one of the things my uncle's family had retained from the inheritance. Sirius disappeared for an instant, reappeared with a plate of crackers and little wieners that had been speared on toothpicks, and we went, as was our custom, upstairs to the large nursery-room where my cousins had used to play as children. Here, among the faded robes, abandoned story-books, and mutilated dolls, we threw off our neckties and cuffs, settled ourselves down, and Sirius offered me the plate of food. "Have some," he said, and we began munching in silence.
All too soon the nursery door opened and Sissy slunk in. Sissy was very pretty, even at ten, and that day her golden hair had been meticulously curled and she wore the most delicate robes. She carefully made her way to our corner, making sure not to catch her hem on any of the dusty toys around her, and plucked a few crackers from our plate. "I didn't offer you any," Sirius grumbled, but he didn't try to stop her.
"Since we're in my house, these are really my crackers. Everything here belongs to me, not you." Sissy made an expansive sweeping motion with one hand while the other crammed crackers into her little, pink mouth.
Through the open door, I saw Bellatrix and Ann walking down the hall, talking. I waved, and Ann, seeing me, turned round and came in with Bellatrix at her heels. Sirius rolled his eyes and kicked me with his toe, but I saw no reason for his discourteousness.
"Well, if it isn't widdle Reggie," Bellatrix cooed, completely ignoring Sirius. "How cute he is in his widdle dwess wobes." She was always talking to everyone younger than herself in a baby voice. Sirius said it was demeaning, but I found it endearing and sisterly. Sometimes, after visiting my cousins, I wished I had sisters myself, and not just my one, moody brother.
"Congratulations, Sirius," Ann said, turning to said brother after giving me an affectionate kiss.
"Humph, yes, we were just talking about you," Bellatrix sniffed, letting her gaze fall on the unlucky Sirius. She was tall, for a girl, and although her long, shiny black hair and her ivory face made her appear serene and regal, her flashing black eyes shot sparks in the most menacing way. "You...and your mother."
"Oh, hush," Ann reprimanded quietly. "Sirius had nothing to do with that."
"If he had nothing to do with it, I don't see what we need to congratulate him about."
There was a stiff silence broken only by the crunch of Sissy shoving another cracker in her mouth.
"Oh, Sissy, you'll ruin your appetite," Ann said by way of changing the topic of conversation, and Bellatrix threw herself moodily down on a huge plush unicorn whose stuffing was coming out at every seam. Clawing her black veil out of her hair and tossing it on the ground, she cried, "the old man chose a poor time to die! Next week we have exams, and here I am wasting time with my cousins!"
It was true, Ann and Bellatrix had been pulled out of school—a rare occasion—to attend the funeral. Tomorrow they would be sent back, just in time for winter exams. Then they would come home again for the holidays.
"It's not as though he planned it," Ann sighed. "Although, I admit, it's uncommonly bad luck. I've got to graduate in the spring, and I'd rather not miss any class."
"I wouldn't be sorry to miss class," Sirius commented, sucking on a toothpick.
"Oh, what do you know?" Bellatrix threw a toy broomstick at him. She missed, and the broom hit a wooden rocking griffin which complained loudly, although no one paid it any mind. "You've never even been to Hogwarts yet. Although it wouldn't surprise me if you turned out to be a worthless slacker like your father."
"Say that again," Sirius shouted, spitting out the toothpick and jumping up, spilling the plate of crackers which had been on his lap, all over the floor.
"I said your..."
"Bellatrix!" Ann swung a stuffed owl at her sister's head and gave her a cold glare. "I'm sure Sirius will make the family proud," she added, although she didn't sound quite convinced herself.
"I don't want to go to Hogwarts," Sissy broke in, oblivious to the fight and concerned only with her own fate. "Studying sounds boring."
Personally, I was jealous of them all. I couldn't wait to go to Hogwarts, even though I was terrified of not doing well enough to please my family. "I think it'll be fun," I ventured timidly. All faces turned and focused on me.
"Oh, of course you do!" Bellatrix leapt up again and kissed me on the forehead. "Reggie'll make us proud, won't you? You'll bring home lots of House Cups for Slytherin, eh?"
Sirius snorted, which hurt my feelings. "I will," I told him heatedly. He thought just because he got all the attention, I wasn't worth noticing. "Lots and lots," I added. Bellatrix laughed and Ann patted me affectionately.
"Never mind this brute," she soothed, jerking her thumb at Sirius. "You'll get your chance, too."
"And now, Andromeda, let's bring these children down to dinner," Bellatrix said, motioning to us. She pointed at Sirius and then at the crackers on the floor. "But you, you clean that up first!"