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This chapter isn't really long, the next one will be longer! Please tell me what you think.

Chapter 2 - There's nothing like family

By the time they arrived in Hampshire Sirius was very hungry. As much as he disliked his uncle's residence, with all its pompous pure-blood furniture and nasty inhabitants, the house elf in charge of cooking, really knew what he was doing. Sirius hoped his uncle hadn't beheaded him yet; it was something he tended to do quite often.
The Knightbus came to a very sudden halt, which send Andromeda's suitcase flying. While Sirius and Regulus helped their cursing cousin pick up her things, Narcissa complained to the conductor. Unfortunately he didn't seem to take in a word she was saying, since he was too busy staring at her cleavage. Narcissa ended up jinxing him. Sirius was pretty impressed by the purple spots spelling 'pervert' across his face.
"A counter-jinx, Cissy, now!" Andromeda hissed, when she saw the unhappy conductor.
"He deserved it. And I complained for your sake in the first place!" Narcissa spat back.
The continued to bicker all the way up to the iron gates where their parents awaited them. Walpurga Black, Sirius' and Regulus' mother was standing next to her brother, greeting her them with one of her sour, little smiles. After she had hugged her younger son and given Sirius a short nod, she faced her older niece. "Andromeda, I haven't seen you for such a long time, my girl. You're looking just like your older sister, very beautiful. And your mother told me you are now captain of the Slytherin Quidditch Team. Whoever you will marry, will be a very lucky wizard!"
Andromeda's smile was perfectly gracious and haughty as she kissed her aunt on both cheeks in greeting, but Sirius saw that her fists were clenched at her sides.
His uncle engaged Regulus, who was seeker in Andromeda's team, in a conversation about Slytherin's chance on winning the cup this year and his aunt and mother continued to fuss about Andromeda, as the party moved up to the manor.
Sirius found himself walking next to Narcissa, who was staring at the snowy path ahead of them apparently lost in thought. "That was a pretty cool spell." Sirius didn't even know why he said it. Narcissa was such a bitch, really, but right now she seemed somehow lonely. His blonde cousin looked up at him and frowned. Sirius could see that she thought he was making fun of her.
"Well, hello, if this isn't my cute little sister and the filthy blood-traitor!" Sirius' head snapped up. Leaning to a statue, wearing a long dark red cloak, snow-flakes melting in her shiny black hair, stood Bellatrix. She smiled broadly. Sixteen years of life-experience had taught Sirius that a smiling Bellatrix was never good news. Not that a non-smiling Bellatrix had ever done him any good.
"Bella! Finally!" Narcissa threw herself at her sister, squealing. Bellatrix patted her sister's back absentmindedly; her eyes were still on Sirius. "I must say, I'm impressed that you still dare to show your face around here. Are you still that Potter boy's little lapdog?"
Sirius shifted his feet uneasily. His cousin had used the word 'lapdog', but she couldn't possibly know that he was an animagus. He pulled himself together and smiled sarcastically. "I've to say, I'm also impressed, Bella. I never thought there was someone out there, insane enough to marry you."
Narcissa let go of her sister and shot Sirius a filthy look, but Bellatrix just smiled.
"Ah, there's nothing like family, is there, little Sirius?, she said, "I'm really looking forward to this Christmas."

To his relief Sirius found out that the cooking elf had not been beheaded and that his skills in the kitchen were as good as ever. The first two courses went by uneventfully and no one paid Sirius much attention, for which he was quite thankful. His aunt and mother gossiped about a scandalous marriage made by some Prewett relative, his uncle gave Regulus and Andromeda some career-advice and Bellatrix told Narcissa and Sirius' father about her year abroad and the up-coming marriage with Rudolphus. Every now and then his mother made a snide comment addressed to him, but otherwise he was pretty much left alone.
Sirius was just starting to feel bored, when the doors opened and three tiny house-elves brought in the main course. It looked magnificent.
"This is of course nothing." he heard his aunt boast, "Just wait until you see what I've planned for Christmas Eve, Orion."
Sirius picked up the goblet of streaming hot met, one house-elf had just put in front of him. He put it to his mouth and then suddenly froze. Something was wrong. The steam rising form the liquid was oddly silver. Potions had never been his favorite subject at all, but he recognized this silver vapor. Poison. He put the goblet down and looked up. Bellatrix was watching him attentively. "I see your instincts are as good as ever.", she stated conversationally.
"You evil slut", Sirius hissed across the table. "I would be plain stupid to let my guard down around a sick freak like you."
She grinned. "Yes you would. But it was worth a try; you Gryffindors have never been the world's greatest thinkers after all."
"What is the matter?" His mother had joined the conversation. Great, just great.
"Oh nothing.", Sirius said, his voice heavy with irony. "Darling Bella just tried to poison me, but otherwise I'm having the time of my life, thanks mother."
"Don't you talk to me like that, boy!", his mother flared up at once. "You little brat! What have I done to deserve such an unthankful, foul-mouthed blood traitor as a son? Apologize at once to your cousin for telling such a nasty lie!"
Sirius held his mother's deranged gaze for a few seconds, then he got up. "I'm going to bed."
"This is the best idea you had today, son." Orion Black said in his deep, dark voice. "We are guests in this house. I do not wish for you to disturb our family reunion with any of your nonsense." The angry retort was already on the tip of Sirius' tongue, when Andromeda got to her feet beside him. He felt her hand tightening around his wrist. "I'll show him his room. If you'll excuse me" She gave her father her well rehearsed pure-blood smile, her nails digging themselves painfully into Sirius' arm. Cygnus Black nodded and then turned to resume a conversation with his wife.

Sirius followed Andromeda upstairs into one of the big guest-rooms, decorated in the Slytherin colors. "Don't do that!", she snapped as soon as she had closed the door behind her. Her angry brown eyes were reflecting the flames dancing in the fireplace in the left-hand corner of the room.
"Don't do what?", her retorted just as angrily.
Andromeda frowned at him. "You know exactly what I mean", she hissed, "you are not even trying. We could actually have something remotely like a nice time, but you always have to mess things up!"
Sirius could hardly believe his ears. "Your mad sister poisoned my drink!"
Andromeda looked annoyed. "You know what she's like."
"That's not a good excuse.", Sirius snarled. "And anyway, don't be such a little hypocrite, Andromeda!"
Her eyes flashed dangerously. "What did you call me?" He saw her hand twitching and knew she was tempted to pull out her wand and hex him.
"A hypocrite!", he replied evenly, her anger somehow calmed him down. "Admit it. You hate the lot of them just as much as I do. You are just scared to say it aloud. You are probably afraid that mummy and daddy won't buy you any new, pretty dress-ropes for Christmas if you don't behave –" BANG. Andromeda's hex only narrowly missed him. Sirius nevertheless stumbled in his attempt to get out of harm's way and fell to the floor. His cousin stood towering over him, shaking with fury, her wand still pointing directly at his chest. He stared into her usually kind and alert brown eyes, now narrowed in rage and glinting with angry tears. After a few seconds Andromeda broke their eye contact and left the room, slamming the door behind her.

Did it turn out well? I'm never satisfied with my arguments in fanfiction. Please tell me what you think! Thanks.