Chapter 3: Courtship
I laid on my bed in my new room in my new dress mother had commissioned. Today my courtship was about to become official. It seems weird to think that when I am 23 I will be marrying my eighteen year old cousin. Andromeda came in my room and looked around. Her room was silver and white with a large ebony wood canopy bed in the middle of the room across from the marble fire place.
My room had been painted a pale powder blue with black lace curtains hanging over my large floor length windows and the French doors that opened up to my own personal balcony over looking the rose gardens. A fluffy black silk comforter sat on my canopied dark ebony bed that sat in between two of my large windows against the wall in the center of the room; the fabric of my canopy was a powder blue silk covered with a black French lace that covered my bed to create security for me at night. My black obsidian fire place was opposite my king sized bed. The floor was black marble, a floor length mirror stood next to my closet door and my bathroom door. My house banner hung over my fire place and a portrait of Sirius and myself hung over my bed.
Two high backed chairs a love seat and a antique chaise lounge sat in the corner next to my open French doors allowing the summer breeze in. Also in this corner was two large book shelves filled completely with English and French books on every subject, but mostly romance novels.
"Sirius will be here soon. I'm to bring him up here. Your ready right Bella dear." I stood up smoothing the wrinkles out of my satin sapphire gown.
"I'm ready, do I look all right?" Rome looked me over and smiled at me the smile reaching her eyes lighting them up like cat eyes in the dark.
"You look lovely, I should go wait for Sirius, have a seat." I sat down artfully on one of the high backed chairs to wait for Sirius. I was trying to imitate Rome when she was with Romulus; I sat in the chair strait backed for ten minutes when there was a knock on the door.
"Who is it?" I asked knowing Rome's knock any where.
"Andromeda and your betrothed Sirius Black." She called back following all the silly protocol and tradition.
"Come in." Sirius entered the room and once the door shut I ran strait to Sirius and we hugged each other. He was eight and still looked like a child to me,
"I'm not sure what to do." Sirius admitted loosening his tie; I smiled at him,
"Me either Sirius." Over the years Sirius and I would spend summers together. One summer that sticks out the most is the one when he was thirteen and I was eighteen. I was laying with my head in his lap under the willow tree beside the lake in our vaste estate grounds; Sirius was running his now large calloused fingers through my curly light brown hair.
"Your so beautiful Bella." He whispered his voice beginning to deepen. I smiled up at him then replied,
"But your so brace, a Gryffindor coming home to a family of Slytherins." Sirius stopped mid motion,
"Mmmm, why'd you stop?" I whined so he started again then asked me,
"Can I kiss you?" My mouth gapped a little I'd never been kissed by a boy nor had I kissed one.
"Okay." I whispered Sirius nervously leaned foreword and placed his lips on mine. His lips were nice against mine; they were chapped and tasted like chocolate. Sirius pulled away and blushed,
"That was nice I." I whispered rubbing his thigh gently; he nodded and kissed me again more sure of himself this time, letting his lips linger a little longer this time.
"Yeah, it is nice. You have nice lips." He agreed linking one of his hands with mine the other still running through my hair. I blushed under Sirius' compliment as he rested his back against the tree with a smile on his lips.
"Sirius I'm going to miss you once you go back to school. Promise you won't forget me?" Sirius shook his head then took his Black family ring off of his finger and slipped it onto my thumb,
"I could never forget you Bella." I looked up at Sirius.
"Think I love you Sirius." I just smiled at me nervously not sure how to respond. I smiled back at him enjoying the feel of the cool breeze blowing in off of the lake on my face.
"Fourth year will be lonely with out you." Sirius whispered causing me to giggle,
"I'll still write silly." He caressed my cheek and I leaned into his soft touches,
"You're my best friend Bella." He whispered. A small tear leaked from my slowly,
"Better then James? Even though I killed that cat and it's kittens that Rome had been taken care of." More tears started streaming down my face. Even though Rome had been gone for two years, what I had done will haunted me and I still miss my sister so much,
"Of course you're a better friend then James, I tell you everything." He kissed my eye lids, then the tip of my nose , "Besides we're children of the Noble House of Black we're all doomed to do evil at lease once." I sniffled,
"I'm scared of how I felt." I sniffled again, Sirius kissed me,
"Oh Bella!" He exclaimed holding me close to his chest as I sobbed into his silky red Gryffindor shirt.
"I miss Rome, Sirius, I miss her so much." I exclaimed felling like the rag doll I used to carry with me every where, wile Sirius rocked me against his chest, as I clung to him sobbing,
"I know Bella, I miss her too." He whispered into my ear one hand supporting my head, his fingers tangled into my curly hair.