Chapter 10

"Parents are usually more careful to bestow knowledge on their children rather than virtue, the art of speaking well rather than doing well; but their manners should be of the greatest concern."

I wasn't quite sure how to react. I know Regulus well enough; he's a snotty little pipsqueak who never says anything to us without disdain, or thinly-disguised pity. The last time he'd spoken to Sirius, at least when I had been there, he had said something along the lines of; "And great company you keep, brother. A Quidditch hooligan who doesn't know how to be the pureblood he is, a dilapidated drip who may as well live in the Hospital Wing, and this...well, what can't be expressed in words is shown with far too many fat cells." But this was entirely different.

"I suppose Mother and Father sent you." Sirius said. Neither of them were paying any attention to us.

"No, actually." Regulus's voice was cold. He pronounced every syllable he said.

"Liar. Is this some sad act where you pretend to love me or something?"

Regulus blinked. "I'm not about to lower my dignity by throwing myself on me and sobbing at you, if that's what your arrogant mind is expecting me to do. If we may, I'd like to talk to you alone."

Sirius didn't seem quite sure what to do at that point. In the end, he nodded and agreed to go and talk to Regulus in the kitchen.

I had no idea what they said to each other until I heard the door shutting from my room upstairs. I expected Regulus had left, but I didn't know if Sirius was going too. That, or they'd decided to hex each other and Mum wouldn't let them do it in the house. A short while later, Sirius knocked and came into my room. He looked pale.

"What happened?" I asked. "If you don't mind me asking."

Sirius sighed. "Well, he just wanted to say that Mother and Father were concerned about my welfare and they basically wanted to know if I was still alive. I said yes. Then he said the house wasn't the same without me, which is probably true, it's probably worse now that the only decent person has left, and I'm not flattering myself there. He doesn't want to be alone with them, but that's his problem, not mine. They'll probably corrupt him, or hopefully drive him as insane as they drove me, and then he'd be a decent brother. But for now, he's just the same as he always was, and he's not worth going back for. That's basically it."

There was a difficult silence."You OK?" I asked.

"Yeah, I actually feel...more satisfied. I feel like I've properly severed my ties now. Apparently I'm going to be burned off the family tree, I would have been straight away but I am the heir, so they gave me a second chance. I've made it quite clear I'm not taking it, so it's really over now. Before, I just ran away and it was all really rushed and crazy...it was the middle of the night..."

"What exactly happened?"

"I never told you, did I?" Sirius was acting, of course, like he'd forgotten to tell me what the homework was. I didn't mind...I never have any idea what to do when people get too emotional around me.

"No...I didn't want to ask." I admitted. "Thought you might be a bit...I thought it might bother you a bit."

"Thanks for that. Well, basically..."

It was approximately nine o'clock. The Blacks had just finished dinner, but their eldest son Sirius was not with them. He was in his room, packing his bags. The action itself wasn't new; he'd considered it many times, more than most teenagers. But tonight had been something extraordinary. He couldn't live in a house with those people any more after tonight.

Recently a terrible thing had happened in London. Death Eaters had entered Diagon Alley, and taken hostages. The Muggleborns among the unfortunate had been killed (though it was unclear how they knew exactly which ones, so it could have been anyone) and the other hostages, though alive, were hurt, some physically and probably all emotionally. It had been too close for home and it seemed like too much to take in. That night at dinner, Sirius had remained silent, his thoughts dominated by it.

Father, however, didn't quite feel the same way.

"So some Mudbloods have been killed again? Probably not much of a loss."

"Those people had families." Sirius muttered, almost subconsciously. "It was probably a loss for them, wasn't it?"

"Plenty more where they came from." his mother said.

"You make it sound like they're squashed fruit, not murdered people." Sirius said, but his parents ignored him.

"Maybe the Ministry'll learn from the experience. Decent people were hurt, maybe a couple of purebloods. If they don't want it to happen again, they'd better sort out the Mudbloods. Trouble, all of them."

"They shouldn't be allowed to breed."

"Don't you realise you're talking about human beings here?" Sirius snapped.

"Sirius Black! How dare you?!" His mother said, in her high-pitched voice.

"Not letting them breed...are they evil? Are they dangerous? If they are, it's not because they're descended from Muggles, because at the end of the day, family's just genetics..."

"Don't be so ridiculous!" his father spoke angrily. Regulus had frozen in his seat, his goblet of pumpkin juice halfway to his mouth.

"...apart from the emotional stuff, and that's something every human can do!" Sirius knew this was going to have terrible consequences, but he wasn't about to be silenced. Not tonight, when families out there were mourning their murdered family members and his family were there thinking 'Oh, they shouldn't have families'.

"Sirius, when you are told to be quiet in this house, you are quiet. You will not say such things, do you hear me?!" What was annoying his parents so much wasn't even what he was saying, it was just the way it contradicted them. Politeness, propriety, image, that was what mattered to them. That, and for some reason believing that they were special.

"Do you hear me? Why do you hate Muggleborns so much? Half-bloods? Half-breeds? People who aren't just like yourself?"

"Because they are humanity's mongrels, and if you don't understand that, then clearly, you are not part of this family!"

"...I know it doesn't seem like much in itself, but it was the last straw."

"It is much." I said, not sure what else to add. "I like what you said, though, about Muggleborns, and family and stuff. It's true."

"I remember it exactly." Sirius said. "The whole moment repeats itself in my mind all the time. We had dinners like that before, but my parents never said things like...that...they usually just told me to shut up, only in a kind of posh way."

I was moved by this. I took my parents for granted all the time, being a teenager and at boarding school most of the time. When you don't spend much time with your family, you begin to think they don't matter, but the truth is, they're part of who you are, and if they're not like you, then who are you? But of course, Sirius had a different family. A non-genetic kind, like an adopted kid.

"You don't need them." I said. "They can get stuffed, to use a clean expression. You've got the Potters on your side, plus you've got Peter and Remus."

"Ah, it's all very good and soppy to say that." Sirius said, though he sounded like he did appreciate it. "But family is family. I can't change anything."

"You could be my kid's godfather!" I said, spontaneously, though I had imagined it before in moments of fantasy. "That's family, isn't it? In a way."

Sirius just stared at me, some incomprehensible emotion in his eyes. He then nodded. "I could do that. Godfathers...they teach the kid about God, and moral life stuff, don't they? Well, I can do that. Child, despite the fact your daddy named you Quidditch, God loves you, and so do your mummy and daddy. Even though Daddy 'persuaded' Mummy with everything he could, we think she will one day love him without the aid of a potion. When she is old and senile and thinks he is her childhood puppy."

"That is excellent, Sirius." I laughed, feeling like we could relax again. "My child will no doubt go on to great things with your guidance."