Chapter 4 – Sirius Black
Harry found himself in a little pink room. It had a small pink bed, white trim on the walls, dolls on the shelves, and a closet full of girly clothes. Harry figured it must be Narcissa's room.
The small blonde was sitting on her carpet feeding tea to one of her dolls. She was talking to it, hints of a baby voice lingering though she was three or four. Harry noticed Maisie sitting in the corner working on a monogram for a towel.
There was a knock on the door, and Druella stood there. She looked particularly dignified to Harry, more so than when he had seen her in earlier memories. She stood in the doorway in a green jacket and skirt, with a fancy black hat perched on her head. She had a black pearl necklace on, and matching earrings. Her hair was tied into a fancy knot.
"Cissa, we're going to Aunt Walburga's. Let's get your hair up."
Narcissa stood between her mother and her dressing mirror as her mother combed her white-blonde hair. Druella combed it all out, and then braided it, twisting the braid into a bun on the back of Narcissa's head.
"Mommy?" asked Narcissa, nervously, eyes shifting.
"Yes, baby?" Harry could tell that Druella loved spoiling her girls, and babying Narcissa. He couldn't really blame her though; he didn't want his children to grow up.
"What's Azkaban?"
Druella paused from where she was picking out a necklace for Narcissa and turned toward the little girl. "Where did you hear of that?"
"Bella. Bella said if I don't do what she says I'm going to Azkaban, and that it's the worst place and I'll never be happy again." The little girl turned to her mother, frightened.
"Azkaban is the wizard prison. It is a terrible place, but you won't get there for not listening to Bella. You must do something very bad to go there. Don't let your sister scare you." Narcissa looked appeased, and her mother finished dressing her in peace. Druella then took Narcissa by the hand to get her sisters.
As Druella approached Bellatrix's room, she crinkled her nose. Harry also could swear he smelled smoke. Druella quickly opened the door, obviously fearful there was a fire. Bellatrix lay in her bed, pale and lethargic, with blankets tucked around her. Harry could tell it was a hot day, and the phial said this was the middle of June, so he could only assume Bellatrix had some sort of illness.
"How's my Bella?" asked Druella, sighing as if bracing herself to deal with her most difficult daughter.
"I'm bored, Mother, I don't see why you can't just fix this with your wand."
"Bella, I'm not nearly that good at healing magic. If you still feel bad tomorrow, I'll call the healer, alright? And as for being bored, we need to go to Aunt Walburga's."
"I'm sure I could heal myself, I read about it, just let me use your wand. And I'd rather stay here, bored, than go to Aunt Walrus's." Bella yawned.
"You're going, we all must go. And no, you know how your father feels about wands. Bella, what is that smell?"
Bellatrix smiled, a mischievous glint in her eyes. The room was dark, the curtains drawn as usual, and Harry squinted to watch Bellatrix. She sat up, crossed legged on her bed in her nightdress, and Druella turned away to the closet to find an appropriate dress for her sick daughter.
"Incendio," muttered Bellatrix, and she fixed her eyes in concentrtion. Some papers in the wastebasket lit on fire. Narcissa shrieked. Harry couldn't believe his eyes. This girl had just made fire with wandless magic. Druella turned around.
"Bella! Bella put that out!"
"Finite," she said, calmly, and the flames disappeared.
"Bellatrix!" said Druella, feeling around in her pockets, "What did I say about you taking my… wand," she finished, pulling it from her pocket. "Bellatrix, you did that without a wand?"
Bellatrix nodded, and Druella looked equally impressed and frightened. Harry felt that he also would be frightened if his child showed this propensity for magic at such a young age. "We'll talk about this later, young lady, you get changed."
Soon, Druella and her three girls were assembled in the drawing room, where they stepped into the grate and each disappeared with a handful of Floo Powder. Harry twisted and turned and flew through the Floo Network with Narcissa, and finally stepped out of the grate at 12 Grimmauld Place.
Grimmauld Place was almost exactly as Harry remembered it. There was more furniture, and the upkeep was much better than Harry had ever seen it, but still, it was mostly the same. The girls dusted themselves off, and walked up the stairs. They were led by a much younger Kreacher. Walburga was in one of the bedrooms Harry hadn't been in, laying on the bed and holding a child in her arms. Harry got closer as Narcissa moved forward, and he saw a tiny baby in her arms, probably born that morning.
"Sirius," said Walburga. "Sirius Black. First-born heir to the family." Harry had a sharp intake of breath. Sirius. He was looking at a newborn Sirius. He suddenly paid much more attention.
"Oh he's just beautiful," said Druella, her voice slightly pained.
Sirius was not actually very beautiful, or even cute for that matter. He was a normal sized baby, but he was very clenched up, and his face was small and wrinkled. He had a tiny mop of hair on his had, and was wearing a ridiculous gown Walburga had put on him. He began to fuss as Druella and the girls came closer to look.
"Sirius? Like the stars?" asked Andromeda, and Walburga nodded. "Very nice family tradition," she said, and looked down at the cranky baby.
"Is Orion home?" asked Druella, still stuttering and shy.
"Yes, Cygnus arrived earlier, they're in the drawing room having a bit of a toast, and catching up I'm sure."
Druella smiled and went about fixing Narcissa's dress, even though it was already pleated perfectly. The little girl stayed perfectly still, and Harry again marveled at how well-behaved the girls were.
"Can we go play?" asked Bellatrix. Her voice sounded deperate, and Harry could tell she was ready to leave.
"Yes, go ahead girls, I'm sure Kreacher has some treats in the kitchen," said Walburga, commanding her nieces. The girls ran off, and Harry was pulled from the room with Narcissa's bumbling steps.
When they got down the stairs, they passed the drawing room on the way to the kitchen. There were low voices coming from within, and Bellatrix put a finger to her lips and crept to the opening. Harry began to get nervous, he didn't want the girls to get into any trouble. He could feel himself caring for the girls, even as he tried hard to hate Bella.
"Yes, we spoke last week," said Orion, "he just wants me to chat with a couple of colleagues, apparently he's got some big plans that will take decades to pan out."
"Hm, most interesting. Unfortunately, I don't have a son to spare," responded Cygnus and the two chuckled.
"A rising dark wizard," continued Cygnus, "Has no need for girls. I respect women, and I want my girls to do well, but there is just no place for them in this. That kind of magic, shouldn't be used by women- Bella!"
"What kind of magic can't I do?" asked Bellatrix, storming into the room.
"Bella, why aren't you with your mother? Have you been listening in on a private conversation, you little shit?"
"No, I was just going to the kitchens. Walburga said to."
"That's Aunt Walburga, Bella, and this does not concern you. Get going now, shoo! All of you!"
The sisters left and went to the kitchen, digging into some treacle tart that Kreacher left them. "I'll show him," said Bellatrix, her little feet dangling above the ground. "I'll be the most powerful witch he's ever seen."
"Me too!" said Andromeda, lifting her spoon to Bella.
"Me too!" yelled Narcissa, even though she hadn't been following the conversation. The two older girls giggled, and Harry was blasted black to the Ministry. This memory hadn't revealed a whole lot to him. He really wanted to see Bella starting Hogwarts, but he was still taken aback. She was so powerful at such a young age. He'd never seen that kind of prowess.
Andromeda wasn't far behind either, yet she never amounted to a witch that anyone would know by name. It made Harry wonder what exactly shaped Bella and Andromeda to go down the paths they chose. He also was surprised to hear talk of Voldemort so early. Orion was probably around Tom Riddle's age though, so he supposed it made sense.
Even though Harry knew the Dark Wizard was defeated, it still made him shudder thinking about watching his rise to power. He left to get some lunch and take a break, when he was surprised by a courier owl bringing him a note from Neville. He wanted to meet up for lunch. Harry scribbled back that he would see Neville shortly, then wondered whether he should mention this or not. He thought about it on his short walk to the tavern, but when he stood outside the large wooden doors, he still hadn't made up his mind.