Chapter Three. Memory Two A Dinner Party at Grimmauld Place.
"…Bellatrix?" Druella Black's haughty, soft voice came swimming abruptly into the lazy, early morning mind of her eight-year-old daughter with tired, bloodshot eyes and rumpled, vaguely shimmering pale green silk sheets. The girl, obviously Bellatrix, opened her dark lashed and bright silvery eyes exhaustedly in waking irritation. She could barely see the early rays of the sun glimmering through the small window at the head of her guest bed. Rays which gently sparkled against her moon-glowing eyes…
No, thought Bellatrix. Later, much later. Images flashed quickly through her mind. Bits and pieces of the events of that day at Christmas swam before her, though she did not hold them for long. They were bright for a moment, but not what she was looking for. She kept going, searching for the precise time…
At Christmastime, the usual Christmas concoction of colors, shining and fiery red and piney, cool green, were never seen in Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. It was taboo to the proud and pure Slytherin family to even have the two colors seen near each other at any given moment, let alone at Christmas. Nevertheless, the ancient and noble home was decorated exquisitely with sparkling Silver and Green, the colors of Dearest Salazar Slytherin, in a fashion that was faux holiday but Christmassy enough. The railing of the ebony dark-wooded stairs had a magical garland hanging off of it, wound around the bars of the railing with snakelike tendrils of tinsel and orbs of gleaming moonstones dotted with tiny gems, and even haphazardly half-put-up in several places, as if the project had suddenly and inexplicably been abandoned. The tiny moonstones and diamonds seemed to snow from the garland, glittering pleasantly and collecting in little fluffy piles at the base of the stairs and wherever the garland lay.
The young and delicate Bellatrix and heartier Andromeda Black were playing happily, babbling quietly at each other, discussing what nine year old girls discuss, next to the silver-strung evergreen tree that rose higher than the ceiling of the heavily decorated and overly furnished sitting room. The girls were tossing a silver-winged magical bulb back and forth with the greatest of ease, as a Seeker does when catching or tossing a Snitch. The pale, skinned, curly-haired girl caught the small silver bulb and tossed it gracefully back to her less graceful elder sister. Andromeda, who was the clumsiest of the three Black daughters, at once dropped it and watched in horror as the silver bulb let out a vicious and dying screaming noise before smashing upon the floor in one swift and abrupt movement. Andromeda smiled nervously as Bellatrix's silvery eyes caught her own dark ones, narrowing in a bit of flashy sibling annoyance. A distant cousin or uncle, probably Arcturus, came ushering in a short, stocky looking wand into the room at once and flicked it at the remnants of the beautiful broken bulb. It struggled for a split second, but the glittering bits and bulb's shards lifted and shone silver in the light and reformed into the beautiful, winged bulb it had been. Bellatrix let out a happy giggle, obviously neglecting the fact that she should probably thank her cousin-or-uncle Arcturus for fixing her elegant toy. Bellatrix threw the ball a bit harder at Andromeda, who again dropped it, but the ball flittered away from the floor and set itself on one of the topmost branches of the Christmas tree, obviously in an attempt to get out of reach of the two careless witches. Bellatrix's full, girlish lips curved into a sly smile.
Bellatrix stood on limber legs and made quite a scene stretching her thin limbs in all outlandish directions. "Andra', I'm gonna go look for Sirius. Kay?" she said, in the midst of a wide and tiresome yawn. Andromeda Black nodded slowly at the ground, letting her wavy, mousey hair fall into her devastatingly bright, childish eyes. Elegantly black-haired Bella's silver eves darted and glanced at the brilliantly enchanted Christmas tree before heading off. It was tall and of the deepest emerald green, with every branch dripping in magical tinsel, shining and shimmering silver and glittering spectacularly in the low candlelight of the house. The silver and shining emerald green bulbs were spinning slowly counterclockwise through the branches, changing design ever so often, and some even changing color from green to silver and vice versa. The bulbs were delicately made, each of magical blown glass with tiny, shimmering gemstones changing color simultaneously with the bulbs as they spun lazily around and through the tree. The star atop the tree was made of silver, and it quickly changed into the shape and a scale size of stars in constellations for which the family was named. It hung, for a moment, with the word "ORION" underneath it in a silvery, spider web like manner, and it morphed slowly into curvy, spindly letters spelling "SIRIUS" and then bulkier, heavy ones that announced "CYGNUS". Bellatrix observed the gradual, shimmering change in star closely with great intent, and turned swiftly around, skipping happily to the moonstone snowing staircase and jumping wholeheartedly up to the first chestnut hardwood step.
She felt the feathery, plush green velvet underneath her tiny fanned out toes and continued onward, rushing quickly up the stairs with each kick of her skinny, strong legs. At the top of the long, spiraling staircase, she saw Sirius and Regulus Black, her dear cousins darting down the long hallway on a shining and brand new toy broomstick, one better and obviously faster than the one Bellatrix's mother Druella had so generously bought Sirius for his birthday two years before. Bellatrix frowned for a moment when she saw that Regulus was riding Sirius's; the one Druella had shelled out forty Galleons for. This aside, however, Bellatrix was quite visibly ecstatic to find her favorite cousin Sirius once again, as their Christmas-Eve playtime the magnificent day before had been rudely interrupted by expectation-raising talk of presents and a delicious Christmas Feast the next day.
The young Sirius Black's gleaming and pristine mahogany handled toy broomstick swept a generous four feet off the lush, emerald shag carpeted floor, as it was lovingly and evidently charmed to not allow any collisions (as if it had not been, Regulus and Sirius would both be sporting a few relative broken limbs and particularly nasty abrasions, not to mention extensive damage to the house and any disarray said damages would cause.) Regulus Black's dull metallic eyes flashed in Bellatrix's direction, as she caught his vague, dreamy call to Sirius to turn around. The elder brother's broom skidded graciously and gently to a definitive halt at the end of the expansive hallway, at the end of which held the Family tapestry. Sirius leapt off the broom and fell gracefully with the skill and training of a Quidditch star and landed with a muffled, strange "oomph" sound. He turned slowly, his long, black hair falling into his youthfully round face beautifully with the already-apparent boyish Black features that would one day make him desirable to everyone who laid eyes upon him. He stared down the hallway, his stirring silver eyes blank, until finally gazing at Bellatrix Black who was both breathtakingly tressed and dressed.
"Sirius?" she called distantly down the hallway warmly, her happy inflection rising. Sirius smiled crookedly, white fanglike teeth flashing in her direction with joy.
"Bella!" Sirius tossed his new toy to the side, (where it ricocheted off a dark, unrelenting door and nearly smashed into the ground.) Sirius, however, was oblivious to this, as his intent and focus was apparently on getting to his cousin. She smiled at him, receiving his embrace lovingly and with a joyous, girlish giggle. The pair's embrace was lengthy and too-soon broken, but Sirius kept his small, long fingered hands on Bellatrix's waist, as Bellatrix kept hers around his strong neck. The two smiled and Bellatrix coughed a little, at which Sirius removed his hands and placed them slightly awkwardly at his sides.
"What took you s'long to see me, Bella?" Sirius asked her quizzically, before hugging her again. Their embrace was sweet and long with the two children feeling safe and warm.
"I was with 'Dromeda. We played catch with the silver bulbs on the tree," She pointed down the stairs with her young, delicate fingers after breaking the embrace, which Sirius's eyes followed hastily. The two continued to banter about Christmas and their potential presents, about Uncle Arcturus, and their odd aunts and cousins.
Regulus listened to his brother and cousin silently. Eventually, he slunk darkly down the wall and started to smash his toy broom against the walls in a totally nonviolent way (if that was possible) and gently prodded Bellatrix in the leg, causing her to jump.
"I'nint time to go eat, Berratwix?" He said, slurring Bella's name and causing her to wince a bit at his awful, younger speech. Regulus looked up at her with dull eyes.
"Yeah, probably Regulus." She gazed down at Regulus, and then turned to Sirius, whisking her skirt in his direction and smiling. She took him by the tiny, pale wrist and led him down the stairs, with Regulus Black, an odd-looking image of his brother, following close behind.
In the elaborate and large dining hall in Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, the décor associated with the heavily adorned rooms of the house was in full, if not more spirit than the rest. Each carefully carved, ebony seat was high-backed like a throne to each of the Blacks and trimmed in emerald cushions and silvery, spider-spun lace of the most expensive kind. The chairs had silver tinsel embedded in the wood, which moved throughout the wood by means of a charm Bellatrix had never seen before. The table, carved of the same material the chairs were, was decked in mistletoe and a huge tapestry-like tablecloth that sparkled and depicting a large silver "S" and emerald green serpents winding their way around it. Bellatrix was seated on the one of the long sides of the table, near her father Cygnus who sat at the head of the table. Cygnus was in deep conversation with Walburga, Sirius and Regulus's mother, and he kept nodding with intent and kept his chin firmly in the grip of his forefinger and thumb, stroking the gently goatee he had sported since a few weeks before. Bellatrix gently kicked her Mary-Jane clad feet in gentle arcs, sometimes curving them into a delicate "S" shape, taking great care not to scuff the shoes or hit anyone that sat near. The other guests, children of the Blacks and numerous uncles, aunts, and distant relations Bellatrix had never met, sat around, discussing everything from the tinsel on the tree to the degradation of the Ministry of Magic and the employment of something called "Mudbloods".
Bellatrix's searching silver eyes wandered wildly around the table and the crowd gathering, attempting to find her cousin Sirius and potentially invite him to sit in the empty chair next to her. Her eyes fell first on Arcturus, who was staring blankly at her Mother's bottom, unbeknownst to her, for to Bellatrix it simply looked as if he was trying to remember something important. Arcturus noticed her gaze and abruptly turned away, turning faintly pink, but why Bellatrix did not know.
Something brushed her shoulder and caused Bellatrix a moment of intricate fear. She turned in her seat and found her face a mere inch away from that of Sirius's, his handsome features smiling at her, his fantastic smile gaping beautifully at her. Bellatrix's eyes widened.
"Siri, I was looking for you. Wanna sit by me?" She asked innocently, placing her tiny hand on the arms of the seat nearest hers. Sirius shook his head and closed his long-lashed eyes gently.
"No," he said slowly. Bellatrix's face fell at once into despair. She lowered her head, allowing her soft, dark curls to fall into her face.
"Oh…" the girl trailed off, her hopes of dinner talk with her favorite cousin fading fast. Sirius interrupted her dwelling dark thoughts quickly.
"I was wondering if you want to come sit under the tree with me instead, Bella?" He asked her quietly, leaning in to whisper in her ear. Bellatrix shivered a tiny bit. His breath was cool and enchanting.
"But won't they know we're gone?"
"Sure, eventually, but for now we can play for awhile. They're just gonna talk like this for ages, Bella, and I'm bored," Sirius shot her a desperate and pleading look. He puckered his perfect lips into a frown and batted his lashed for a bit until Bellatrix hopped out of her seat and stood next to him, taking him by the hand.
"Alright, Siri. But if we get in trouble I'm telling mum it was your idea," she whispered. Sirius's smile widened and he led her off quickly, locking his fingers with hers on the way. Uncle Arcturus apparently took notice of the pair leaving.
"Oy, young man! Where d'you think you're goin' with that lovely gal?" His speech was slightly drunken. He bellowed a laugh afterward, that caused a heavily embarrassed Walburga to stare, though Sirius brushed the comments off at once, his calm face intent on leaving the room. Bellatrix twirled a long curl of hers around her tiny finger, sucking in on her lip a bit until they were out of the room and the burning scent of Firewhiskey had faded with Uncle Arcturus's laughter.
Once in the clear, Sirius turned to Bellatrix, still holding her hand.
"I'm glad we're out of there, Bella. Arcturus was acting off, yeah?" He asked quickly. Bellatrix nodded gently, closing her eyes. Sirius turned and yanked her by the hand and smiled at her. "C'mon, Bella, we're almost at the tree..."
Bellatrix Lestrange's memory started to swim before her. She caught a single momentary glimpse of her young self leaning forward to a very handsome and childish Sirius, kissing him gently on the cheek as he led her to the decorated tree at Grimmauld Place. She felt a tear run down her gaunt cheeks. Had they once been that innocent, that beautiful? Had she once loved him in a way that was not as mortifying as her family found it to be, long after they had found out? She tossed a handful of rocky, filth and dust from the more-filthy ground into the Pensive, and growled sadly at her memories, at her stagnant feelings and her stoic feelings for him as well. She stood gently and felt her knees almost give way beneath her frail body, wasted from fourteen years in Azkaban, and maybe more if she wasn't as lucky as she had been in the past. She leaned into the silver-striped couch and closed her eyes, hoping to dream of Sirius Orion Black.