Chapter Thirty-four: Meeting the Family
I managed to coax Harry into coming down to his room, where Hermione was waiting with Ron and Ginny. Each used their own tactics to persuade Harry that he hadn't been at fault for Mr. Weasley's accident. Hermione listed reason after logical reason, Ron told Harry he hadn't left his bed from the moment the nightmare started, and Ginny told him what it was really like when Voldemort possessed you. All in all, we managed to drill it into his head that he wasn't at fault and that he should be happy that he even had the vision in the first place.
After enjoying the afternoon snack Mrs. Weasley had sent up with Hermione, we made our way downstairs to let everyone know that Harry had once again returned to the land of the living.
"Part of me wants to make a big stink about all this," I muttered as I went downstairs arm-in-arm with Harry.
"Please don't …" Harry moaned, but unfortunately for him, Ginny happened to be right below us on the stairs and heard every word. Wearing a grin reminiscent of the twins, she grabbed Hermione and Ron's hands and tugged them downstairs to the kitchens. We heard them whispering as we got to the kitchen doors and were met by three Cheshire-Cat grins when we got to them.
Ever the martyr, Harry heaved a long-suffering sigh and said, "Fine, go ahead."
Still wearing those grins, Ron and Hermione each grabbed a doorknob and pulled the French doors open to reveal an unusually-serious-looking Ginny.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" she called out at the kitchen, which had only four people in it. "I present to you, the new … and improved … Harry Potter!"
To my delight, Fred and George stood up and began applauding raucously as Harry and I walked in, still arm-in-arm. I managed to get out of the way just as a teary-eyed Mrs. Weasley hurried over to give Harry a massive hug that almost popped his eyes right out of their sockets. He simply gave her a sheepish grin and hugged her back.
"Reggie Dolan!"
I spun around at the aristocratic drawl to see my uncle grinning delightedly at me.
"Uncle Sirius!" I cried in glee, racing towards him and throwing my arms around his neck. I was even happier when he hugged me so tightly that he lifted me off the ground and proceeded to spin me around until I was hopelessly dizzy. The entire time, we were howling with laughter, so utterly overjoyed to finally meet face-to-face.
"Here, step back, let me look at you!" Uncle Sirius said, stepping back to hold me at arms'-length as he looked me up and down. He grinned so widely that I thought his cheeks would split!
"Merlin, you're beautiful!" he gushed. "Regulus's cheeks, jaw, ears, and mouth; my hair and laugh; and your mum's eyes! How many boys do I need to fight off?"
I let out a bark-like laugh, realizing the perfect opening to introduce Theo and Tracey's plan.
"Most guys can't handle all of this, Uncle Sirius," I chuckled, gesturing down at myself.
"Only most?" he asked, seeming to know what I was thinking. "Who's the guy who can?"
I smiled up at him and said, "He's more than a little sarcastic, but he's really witty and so insanely smart! He doesn't have a whole lot of friends, but that way, I won't have to share him with anyone!"
"Ha! That's my girl!" Sirius laughed, pulling me to his side to mess up my hair. "So, what's his name?"
I was now aware of the reactions of everyone else in the room. Harry was almost blatantly eavesdropping on us; Hermione was whispering conspiratorially to Ron, who looked horribly confused; Mrs. Weasley looked confused but accepting; the Twins looked like we'd hit them over the head with a cauldron; and Ginny looked as if she'd known about my relationship with Uncle Sirius all along.
Smirking slyly, I leaned up and whispered in Uncle Sirius's ear, "It's actually Harry, but I'm making him think it's my friend Theo cuz Harry's all into Cho Chang."
To his credit, Uncle Sirius only raised an eyebrow as I drew back.
"And this young man is behaving himself?" he asked ambiguously.
"Oh, yeah!" I snorted. "I'd have him on his ass if he wasn't!"
"Language," Hermione called out languidly from the table, where she was sharing a private smirk with Ginny. I simply stuck my tongue out at her, making Uncle Sirius laugh again as he guided me to the table with his arm around my shoulders.
"Anybody mind –"
"– Telling us –"
"– What the bloody hell is going on?"
Hermione and I laughed at Fred and George's twin freak-out moment. To my surprise, Uncle Sirius stood up and raised the goblet Mrs. Weasley had just filled for him.
"I would like to propose a toast," he said in a strangely genteel voice, sounding almost like a lord or something for a moment. "Firstly, to Mr. Harry Potter, for finally showing his ugly mug –"
"Hey!" I laughed, backhanding Uncle Sirius's stomach and nearly making him drop the glass as he laughed.
"– Taking the mick, relax! – and secondly, to the newest member of our little rebellion, Miss Regina Dolan, also known as My Favorite Niece!"
"Your only niece, Padfoot!" I quipped after everyone had raised their glasses to Harry and me. I nearly choked on my drink when Fred and George did a simultaneous spit-take.
"What'd you call him?!" Fred asked, looking decidedly starstruck.
"Padfoot," I said casually. "Y'know, one of the four Marauders, the greatest and most knowledgeable pranksters Hogwarts has ever known."
"You're making me blush, princess!" Uncle Sirius chuckled, only to stop cold when Fred and George hurried over and fell to their knees in front of him.
"You're serious?" George asked in awe.
"Indeed I am," Uncle Sirius smirked, making me snort when I realized the pun he'd just pulled.
Everyone around the table burst into laughter as Fred and George began to kowtow to my uncle, chanting "We are not worthy, we are not worthy!"
To my delight, Uncle Sirius played along tremendously! He simply smirked and asked the twins what they have done to follow in his "illustrious pawprints". The twins proceeded to spend the whole dinner going over their most impressive pranks, much to their mother's horror. The evening was full of laughter and the best food I'd had in a long time. The only annoying thing I had to worry about was Harry giving me what he thought was furtive looks. No doubt he was trying to find out who my secret beau was, but I figured why ruin a perfectly good night by introducing a new rival?
The next few days were full of cleaning and decorating amid thunderous caroling from Uncle Sirius. It was incredible to be around another member of my family who didn't make me feel … less in any way. Uncle Sirius was so blindingly happy to have guests over for Christmas that he seemed single-mindedly determined to give us the best Christmas experience we'd ever had.
By the time Christmas Eve rolled around, the house wasn't even recognizable! The tarnished, cobwebbed chandeliers were sparkling and covered in holly and streamers; magical snow that was used in many indoor snowball fights coated the hallway floors; a ginormous Christmas tree was set up in the center of the drawing room and decorated with live fairies in addition to handmade ornaments that we spent a whole afternoon making out of odds and ends found around the house; and even the house-elf heads that littered the hallways wore Santa Clause hats and beards! Uncle Sirius got a real kick out of hanging ornaments from the long, thin noses of some of them.
On Christmas Eve, I was exploring the newly cleansed drawing room and saw something that made me so excited: a gigantic tapestry featuring a family tree that listed each member of my father's family up until the Middle Ages! It was moth-eaten and dingy and had a few holes in it, but I could see so much more history in that tapestry than I'd known even existed in my family.
"Where's Dad?" I asked when Uncle Sirius came up to me a while later.
"Down here," he said in a strangely dull voice, nudging a place near the bottom of the tree. I knelt down and, sure enough, right next to a mark that looked like the remains of a cigarette burn was my dad's name as well as the years of his birth and death.
"Regulus Arcturus Black," I read quietly. "He was … what, only 18?"
"Yeah," Sirius said quietly. I could almost hear a twinge of regret in his voice, but I decided to not call him on it.
"We need to get you on this tree," he said unexpectedly, rummaging around in his pocket. "Molly! Come here a moment!"
"What?" I asked. "How are we going to do that?"
"With this," Sirius said simply, holding up a thin knife that seemed to be made out of …
"Is that obsidian?" I asked warily as Mrs. Weasley walked in, looking curious.
"Symbolic of self-control, resilience, and protection," Sirius said, gently taking my right hand in his left. "Don't worry," he said as he gently pressed the blade to my middle finger. "I only need a drop or two. Molly, if you would stand in as witness."
Without waiting for Mrs. Weasley's answer, he cut into the pad of my middle finger and squeezed with his left hand to bring some blood to the surface. I was in almost too much shock to flinch at the pain and confusion.
"I, Sirius Orion Black," he said solemnly, "current head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, do hereby recognize Regina Galadriel Dolan as my brother's daughter and my niece. I also hereby recognize her as my heir and declare that she shall inherit my position and my earthly possessions after I pass on. So will I, so mote it be."
"So witness I, Molly Igraine Prewett Weasley, so mote it be!" Mrs. Weasley said, sounding just as solemn as Uncle Sirius had been a moment ago.
To my surprise, the drop of blood on my finger turned gold as Mrs. Weasley finished speaking. Uncle Sirius carefully guided my finger to the tapestry and gently pressed the blood to a spot just below Dad's name. To my surprise, the tapestry began to glow golden as we backed away.
When the golden shine dimmed, the tapestry hung before us renewed. The holes had been repaired and replaced by names and dates that were now done in gold thread. The dingy and threadbare fabric was now thick and vibrant with expensive thread and extravagant patterns. And, best of all, my own name and birth-date was now on the tapestry, connected to Dad's name by a thick golden line. Mom's name wasn't on the tapestry – I assume because the marriage wasn't recognized – but I barely blinked at that.
I grinned a mile wide as I realized what had just happened.
I had been all but officially adopted into the Black Family.
"We'll need to get this officially recognized by someone at the Ministry," Sirius said, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. "Then, you're one of us!"
"That will have to wait until your name is cleared," Mrs. Weasley said bracingly. "If anyone else tries to get her into the family, it will raise too many eyebrows. If you try it now, it will raise almost every wand in the Ministry!"
"I know, I know, Molly," Sirius said before turning to me. "Welcome to the family, princess! Happy Christmas!"
I immediately wrapped my arms around his waist and buried my face in his chest to hide how much this truly meant to me. Uncle Sirius seemed to get the message, though, and wrapped his arms around me, holding me as I imagined a father would hold his little girl.
I didn't care what else I got for Christmas. I got the best uncle in the world and a lineage that would no doubt horrify me while making me proud to belong to them.
What more could a girl want?