Dear readers,

another update for you to enjoy. Thanks for reading, reviewing, favoriting and/or following my story. It means the world to me ;).

Have a nice day/night,

Vani12

Chapter 12 – An olive branch can mend bridges!

Prince Manor, Countryside near Manchester, December 1976

Serena Prince smiled at her fiancé. "Count on Sirius Black to crack a joke at the end of our engagement deal. Yeah, I'm sure gonna love him in no time," she thought shaking her head slightly. "He can be such a man-child sometimes, but it's awesome that he agreed to my terms. I'm relieved that our engagement doesn't seem to be some living hell, for we can't bully or hex each other into oblivion. Although I somehow trust his words, I guess that our trip to St. Moritz and our return to Hogwarts will be the first touchstones of his truthfulness. If he defends me against Potter, I'll know that his words aren't some empty shells once and for all. I can't wait to see the dumb face of this dunderhead when Sirius sides with me." Serena's obsidian eyes sparkled with glee. She wanted to ask Sirius about his favorite Beatles' song and show him her Grammophon when their dining room doors were opened and their families stepped in.

They quickly jumped up from their armchairs. Serena blushed slightly at her grandpa's confused look and transfigured their armchairs and couch table back into their dining table and chairs. He chuckled good-naturedly at her transfiguration skills and whispered something in the ear of her grandma, which made her laugh. Her mum and stepdad looked as if they had survived a taxing boxing fight. Her mum's pale face was heated in anger, her porcelain skin sweaty and her jet-black bob clung flatly to her cheeks. Her obsidian eyes pierced Orion Black with a scathing glare and she looked as if she wanted to attack him with a nasty dark curse. Her stepdad's icy-blue eyes looked exhausted and he exuded a pissed-off aura, although he tried to soothe his furious wife with soft touches and reassuring smiles. Orion Black, on the other hand, looked like his Christmas and birthday wishes had come true. He smiled victoriously at her mum, exuded an air of confidence and arrogance and held his wife's arm in a distant embrace. Though Walburga Black looked like she had eaten a sour lemon, her sapphire eyes sparkled with pure-blood superiority and glee. She obviously loved to see her mum in such a furious and unladylike state.

"I guess our families battled out their own fights in grandpa's study. And judging by the defeated and furious look on my mum's face, the Blacks won this round. Merlin, I hope that they can somehow act civilly with each other at our engagement party, during our wedding planning, and at our wedding party, for I can't handle fighting relatives on top of everything else," Serena thought in an annoyed tone.

Her buzzing thoughts were interrupted by the deep baritone of her grandpa. "Serena, my dear. I hope that you have managed to map out your engagement deal without ripping each other's heads off. But judging by your uninjured bodies, you have agreed on something. I'm amazed," he joked good-naturedly. Ignoring the eye roll of his granddaughter, he went on, "Your parents and Sirius's parents have also agreed on some points for your engagement party and skiing trip to St. Moritz after exhausting negotiations. Eileen, my love, would you be so kind to disclose them to our engaged couple?" He asked in a soft tone.

While her mum looked as if she wished she was on a sole island instead of at this awkward family gathering, she approached Serena and Sirius and exclaimed in a calm voice. "Serena, my love, Sirius. We have decided to announce your engagement on Walburga's Christmas Eve Ball and in a notification in the Daily Prophet. We expect that you treat each other civilly and put on a brave face in front of the gathered Wizarding community. We will go shopping for an appropriate dress and jewelry tomorrow, Serena. As Walburga has already selected a dark-blue suit for Sirius, we will shop for an indigo dress by Madame Malkin's. We will be expected at Grimmauld Place at 6 o'clock in the evening on Christmas Eve. Hence, we will transfer our Christmas celebrities to a morning brunch. As you both know from your Pure-blood culture lessons, you are required to seal your engagement with a brief kiss on the lips. I know that you don't love each other – hell, you don't even like each other – but we can't take your feelings into consideration. Hence, please don't cause a scene and act like two self-independent teenagers who want to get to know each other.

"After our New Year's Ball on the 31st , which will be your first official social event as an engaged couple, we will apparate to St. Moritz into our winter vacation. We will stay at the Carlton Hotel and you will share one suite there. Orion has suggested that Sirius should stay at Prince Manor between the 26th and the 31st to get to know you better. We agreed that it would be a lovely opportunity to accustom you to live in one manor together. Hence, Sirius will stay at one of our guest rooms in close proximity to your rooms. Hopefully, you can work out your differences and become friends. Do you have any questions?" Eileen Prince MacMillan asked in an earnest-sounding voice.

Orion Black looked pleased at Sirius's and Serena's ashen faces. He wanted to force them to spend some time together, to set the record straight and move on as friends. "If I had had the chance to spend some time alone with Eileen without my goading friends at Hogwarts and my nagging mum at home, I would have made her fall in love with me. Naturally, she would have still been in love with Sebastian and probably terrified of my closeness, judging by her slap in the face after I forced a kiss upon her lips on the Hogwarts Express, but I would have surely been able to win her over. I mean which girl in her right mind would have been able to resist me, if I flattered her with compliments, listened closely to her interests and declared my crush on her? I only treated Eileen so horribly, because I had a crush on her and didn't know how to handle my overwhelming desire for her, the Potions' obsessed Hogwarts bookworm.

"I knew that she would be my bride eventually, so her lovey-dovey display with my boring cousin Sebastian drove me nuts. It let my blood boil with jealousy and urged me to show my possessive side to her. If I could turn back time, I would act entirely different. I would try to earn Eileen's friendship with shared study sessions, academic debates about Potions and our shared love for arts. I wouldn't insult her looks to egg her on, but compliment her beauty and flatter her with presents. Sadly, I can't turn back time and Eileen will never be mine. But I will do anything to secure that Sirius will have the chance to fall in love with his fiancé," Orion vowed in a determined voice inside of his mind.

Orion cleared his throat and exclaimed in a steady voice, "Believe me, Sirius and Serena, we only want the best for you. And this shared time could help you to establish a friendship. I know that you both are very intelligent teenagers who are deeply loyal to their friends, love music and want to leave their marks in the Wizarding community. Naturally, you have some broken history and misunderstandings looming above your heads, but you will work them out with time. You're going to be engaged in two days after all."

Serena wanted to scream. Naturally, she had agreed to act civilly with Sirius Black, knew that she needed to kiss him on the lips in two days in front of the upper Wizarding society and vowed to establish a friendship with him, but to have him stay at her home for roughly a week? That really took the cake. "Merlin, I have to endure his constant presence for a week. Sure, he will thankfully sleep in the guest room beside my room, but I can imagine him strutting in my room to have long nightly chats. It's going to be a nightmare. And it's all happening way too soon. Yes, I have offered to show him my Muggle records collection and let him listen to my Grammophon, but to have him living inside of my home is a whole different story.

"Regulus stays in my guest room for several weeks in the summer hols, and I enjoy this times immensely. But Regulus is my best friend, kindred spirit and the single human who always manages to make me smile. Whereas his visits at Prince Manor consist of academic debates, fun-filled flying around our Quidditch pitch, laughter-filled hours in front of our Muggle cinema and cuddles-filled reading sessions in our library, Sirius visit would be highly likely filled with awkward talks about our married life, hurtful reminiscing about our past history, silent movie evenings and angry shouting matches. I'll do anything to make his stay at Prince Manor as enjoyable for both of us a possible," she swore in a strong-sounding voice inside of her head.

Serena locked her onyx eyes with Sirius's grey ones. "I can detect a mix of fear, hope and determination in them. Hell, I also haven't dreamed about spending a whole week in Prince Manor. It will only break Regulus's heart more, for I know that he wanted to spend some days after Christmas there. Merlin, why do I need to fuck everything up for Reggie? I want him to be happy. But now, I'm marrying the girl of his dreams and spending some time alone with her. I can only imagine which horrific pictures are flying through Regulus's head at the moment. He probably thinks that I'm going to make a move on her and seduce her into my bed. I really hate my womanizer reputation now. I'm determined to establish a friendship with Serena. And judging by our engagement deal and her fiery look, she is also game for it. Hence, I'm going to make my stay at Prince Manor as friendly and easy-going as possible. I don't want to waste our time with stubborn arguments, awkward silences or clumsy fumblings. I want to show her the real Sirius Black. A guy who loves to listen to Muggle music, to read Edgar Alan Poe and to fly around the Quidditch field. I'll prove to her that I can be a great friend and fiancé. But first, I need to show her that I want to see her happy," Sirius vowed in an emotional voice.

He broke the awkward silence with his calm voice. "Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Prince, for allowing me to stay at your manor. I'll cherish my time here and try to get to know your granddaughter better. I apologize for the pain and humiliation I caused her in the past, and promise that I'll do anything to make her happy. I hope that we will be able to establish a friendship between us. I especially thank you, Mrs. MacMillan, for your trust in me. I can only imagine that it can't be easy to allow the bully of your daughter a place in your family. I vow to not disappoint your trust in me." Sirius looked at Serena's parents and grandparents with honest eyes.

Then, he turned his attention back to his fiancée, took her delicate soft hand into his and gazed into her stunning obsidian eyes. "Damn, she really is strikingly beautiful. How have I managed to overlook this and branded her an "ugly know-it-all" all those years? But the past is the past. I promise to be a better person now," he mumbled in a sincere tone. "Serena, I can't wait to listen to your records together and fly around your Quidditch pitch with you. Your elegant flying moves and strong blows as a Slytherin beater a really terrifying to us Gryffindors. You helped to score the Quidditch Trophy for Slytherin for four years in a row now. I know that Reggie's genius Seeker skills secure you many victories, but I have experienced the aftereffects of your wicked hits often enough on my own to realize that you are an important asset for Slytherin. I promise that I'll try to keep up with you. But I vow that I'll try anything to establish a friendship between us. If I'm overstepping your boundaries, you can hex me into oblivion. But before we try to form a friendship, I know that you need some alone time with your best friend. Hence, I suggest that Reggie stays until our mum's Christmas Eve Ball at Prince Manor. You can surely need his support by preparing for our engagement party." Sirius ended his speech with a sly smirk.

Serena's eyes widened. She gazed over Sirius's shoulder at the flabbergasted face of Regulus and smiled widely at her best friend. He returned her smile with a smug wink, but still looked puzzled by his brother's peace offering. "Wow, I guess Sirius Black has a good heart after all. To suggest that Regulus spends some days at Prince Manor shows that he wants to mend his relationship with Reg. He naturally detected Regulus's distress over our impending marriage and his fears to be replaced as my best friend. And he seems to be focused on making our week at my home as fun, easy-going and friendly as possible. Naturally, I know that our week will not be all sunshine and roses, but I feel relieved nonetheless. I need some long honest talks, comforting hugs and reassuring words from my best friend.

"And although Sirius isn't my keeper and can't enjoin who I spend my time with on me, it means a lot that he noticed that I need my best friend and voiced his approval of our close friendship. While Sirius doesn't love me, it must be difficult to encourage your brother, who shared his first kisses with your future wife, to spend some alone time with your fiancée. Naturally, I wouldn't betray his trust and our engagement deal by kissing Reg behind his back, for it would be simply wrong to both of them, but I can't help but wonder if I would act so cool if one of his groupies decided to spend some days with him at Grimmauld Place. I know that I'm not his keeper and he can spend his last days before our engagement how he wants, but it would hurt me nonetheless to know that he shagged some blonde big-breasted bimbo. Hence, I can't admire him enough for this olive branch, " Serena thought in an awed voice.

Her obsidian eyes twinkled at Sirius and she answered in a playful tone, "I can't wait to beat you on the Quidditch field, Sirius. I will wreck you, you will see. I hope that you love adventures, for we will undoubtedly spend some hours playing with Aurora and Silas in their new Adventure Room. I trust that you aren't afraid of spiders," she giggled at his fearful face and joked, "Well, I will need to make sure that they won't eat you then. But it's really rare to see a Gryffindor whose afraid of some tinny hairy insects. Were is your Gryffindor bravery when you need them?" She nudged him good-naturally in his side. "Thanks for the suggestion that Regulus should stay some days at Prince Manor. Although I can imagine that our shopping trip will bore him to death, I appreciate having my best friend around till I have to get engaged to his devilish big brother. But I guess he has a heart after all." Serena mused in a happy tone and squeezed Sirius's hand in thanks. "My Christmas wish has come true after all. I'm going to spend some more time with Reg and it seems like my bullying by the Marauders will thankfully be a dark issue of my past, " Serena thought smiling at Sirius's stunned face.