Time for some Malfoy family secrets to spice things up and of course, Marcus Flint making an arse out of himself. It's gonna be a doozy.
Hidden Secrets
In the lead up to the Christmas holidays, Ursa was preparing herself for the unavoidable dinner with the Flints. If her parents had to try and hook her up with someone, she was at least glad that it was someone she knew. Though Ursa knew that nothing would ever become of her and Marcus Flint, even if they were to be together under genuine circumstances. They were just too different, and Ursa could only put up with his denial and idiocy for too long. She saw herself being with someone that was her equal, not someone who would have better chemistry with a broomstick than her.
Of course Ursa had told Hermione about her potential to save Buckbeak, though Ursa did not tell Hermione what she would be required to do. Hermione would probably try to talk her out of doing it, but since it was just a dinner, Ursa was willing to sacrifice her sanity for one night if it meant sparing Buckbeak. Hermione had also told her some surprisingly new information about the story of Sirius Black. According to Minister Fudge, Sirius had been the Potters Secret Keeper when they went into hiding and betrayed them to Voldemort. The whole thing in general didn't make any sense, since to Ursa she had always been told that Sirius was a traitor to his family, not the Potters.
"It just doesn't make sense to what I know about Sirius. He was disowned by his mother for merely associating with the Potters, and she even burned my great-uncle Alphard off the Black family tree just for giving Sirius money after she disowned him," Ursa argued.
"Well, maybe he wanted to redeem himself to his family and what better way to do that then to become You-Know-Who's right-hand man and deliver the Potters to him on a silver platter?" Hermione suggested.
"Maybe," Ursa pursed her lips. "But based on what I know about my first cousin once removed, he would've never betrayed the Potters. Something just isn't adding up."
"Ursa, I know that you like to look for an explanation in everything like I do, but the facts are right in front of us. Black had been posing as a double agent and turned on the Potters. There's nothing more that needs to be said," Hermione said.
"Oh yeah? What about Peter Pettigrew? Sirius supposedly killed him, yet all they could find was his finger. That's not enough evidence to say that he's dead. A person can live without just one extra appendage," Ursa insisted.
"Well, I guess we'll never know what really happened because I doubt that Black will ever tell anyone. Even though the Dementors apparently don't have an effect on him, he's said to be mad. Twelve years in Azkaban is sure to mess someone up," Hermione commented.
The thought of Azkaban sent shivers down Ursa's spine, since that was where her Aunt Bellatrix now resided for her crimes against the Longbottoms. Bellatrix was already mad before she was imprisoned, and Ursa hated to think about what her deranged aunt would be like now. She'd probably be even more frightening.
But Ursa couldn't spare her mental Aunt that many thoughts, since she had bigger things to worry about, like her dinner with the Flints. She didn't see Marcus again until a few nights before they were scheduled to leave for the Christmas holidays, which was when she brought up their impending family dinner.
"So, are you aware that you'll be coming over to the manor during the Christmas holidays with your family?" Ursa asked.
"No, why?" Marcus replied.
"Because, I agreed to have dinner with you and your family on the grounds that my father spares Buckbeak from execution," Ursa explained.
Marcus snorted, "You'd risk signing your soul over just to save some bird?"
"It's just a dinner and Buckbeak is a Hippogriff, not just a bird," Ursa pointed out.
"Well, you'll certainly be in for a night of ridicule if my parents are involved," Marcus remarked.
Ursa narrowed her eyes, "I don't think that I've ever met your parents before."
"You'd be lucky if you didn't. My fathers just an ass, but my mother is a real piece of work. Nothing ever satisfies her so I guarantee that she'll probably hate you," Marcus said.
"I think I can handle one judgemental pureblood parent considering the fact that I live with two of them," Ursa commented.
Marcus scoffed, "Please, my mother will make both of your parents seem tame."
Despite having been surrounded by purebloods her entire life, there were only a few of the elite families that Ursa could remember meeting, like most of the pureblood families in Draco's year. As the saying goes, all pureblood family's are related somehow and the Flints were no exception. Marcus' parents, Laverne and Edmund Flint were actually second cousins, as one-half of their great-grandparents were Vorena and Rufinus Flint respectively, with them also sharing Ursula Flint as a sister. Ursa was no stranger to inbreeding, since the House of Black was infamous for doing so with Walburga and Orion Black being a prime example of that.
"So, have you started having any fantasies of shoving Wood into a broom closet and doing Merlin knows what with him?" Ursa asked in an attempt to change the subject.
Marcus glared at her, "The only fantasies that I have of Wood are me shoving him into a closet and beating the shit out of him."
"I can tell you're lying," Ursa said in a sing-song voice with a small chuckle.
"I am not!" Marcus exclaimed.
"When people lie, they have a tell-tale sign that gives them away, like where you look or fiddling with your hands or something," Ursa stated.
"What's mine then?" Marcus crossed his arms.
"It was hard to tell, at first. But the more I asked you if you'd studied the material before our sessions and you said no when I knew you were lying, the more I realised that your Adam's apple bobs up and down when you lie, like now," Ursa explained.
"Well, you're wrong. And delusional," Marcus growled.
"You're doing it again," Ursa remarked.
"Will you just shut up about me and Wood?" Marcus hissed.
"Why does it bother you so much?" Ursa asked.
"Because it's ridiculous. And could you do me a favour and not bring that up when we have our eventual dinner with your parents? Cause if my parents even suspect that I don't want to find a pureblood heiress, they'll skin me alive," Marcus said.
"So, you aren't straight?" Ursa clarified.
"Ursa," Marcus snarled.
"Wow, you're using my first name. You must be seriously pissed then," she chuckled. "But fine, I won't bring it up. Are your parents really that stingy about you getting married?"
"They're stingy about marriage in general. I don't know if it has anything to do with the fact that they're second cousins or what, even though I don't think that they even knew they were related when they first got betrothed. They cracked the shits when my sister married an American wizard instead of a British one. The fact that he was pureblood didn't even matter, they only cared about the fact that he was American and not British," Marcus explained.
"How is your sister these days?" Ursa wondered, referring to his older sister, Victoria Flint, who was eight years older than him. Ursa didn't hear much about the older Flint sibling like she did when it came to other pureblood families since Victoria kept her name out of the news.
Marcus shrugged, "Like I would know. She moved to America with her husband after she got married two years ago and I haven't seen her since. That pissed my parents off even more, since I think they expected her to take after them in the Ministry cause they know I don't want anything to do with that place. I also think that part of the reason why I don't see Victoria anymore is because of our parents."
"Doesn't that make you sad? Weren't you and her close at all growing up?" Ursa wondered.
"Well, yeah. We were close when she was still at Hogwarts. But then she left to go travelling after school and then I started school as well so we didn't have time for each other anymore," Marcus replied.
Hearing about Marcus' relationship with his older sister, Ursa couldn't help but think about her own relationship with Draco. They had been close growing up, but the older Draco got, the more her father turned him away from her. Ursa was convinced that the only reason they grew apart was because her father got into his ears about how she was a bad influence for him. She wished that her and Draco were still close, and Ursa wasn't sure if they would ever be able to be as close as they had once been.
"Let's just finish what we came here to do and be done with it," Marcus grumbled.
Ursa was all-too happy to agree with Marcus on that and continue their session. She didn't like thinking about things that made her depressed, and thinking about her strained relationship with her family definitely made her feel depressed. But with Marcus' warning about his family in her mind, Ursa found herself dreading their impending dear meeting and could only hope that she'd be able to make it through without pulling her hair out.
~*•°•*~
The Christmas holidays soon arrived, and Ursa found herself heading home once again. Draco had also came home with her, though he would be spending time at Theodore Notts house while the Flint family came over. On the dreaded day, Ursa found herself getting ready from the crack of dawn. She knew how important it was to make a good impression for her father, so she couldn't afford to make any slipups. Ursa also took the time to find out more about the Flint family, and everything she did find only reinforced Marcus' statement about his mother. Laverne Flint was said to be an almost insufferable woman with her husband barely being any better.
As the time of the dinner grew closer, Ursa found herself getting more restless. She just wanted to get it done and over with so that she could save Buckbeak. Ursa resorted to pacing around the Manor in an attempt to ease her nerves. She would not let her nerves get the better of her and ruin this important night. Not when Buckbeak's fate was on the line. Though her pacing was cut short when she heard the hushed voices of her parents in her father's study.
"I just do not think that it is safe for us to let our children stay at Hogwarts, Lucius. Not when Sirius is out there," her mothers concerned voice caught Ursa's attention.
Her father snorted, "You know just as well as I do that Black is no threat to them."
"What if he tries getting to Potter through them? You said it yourself; Sirius could go after Potter. It may have been years since I last saw him, but I just know that my cousin is a desperate man and there's no telling what he'll do to get what he wants," her mother said.
"Draco would know better than to go off asking for trouble with Black, though I can't say the same for our daughter," Lucius stated, and Ursa certainly didn't miss the distaste in his voice when he referred to her. That was nothing new.
"If Sirius is to find Ursa, he could manipulate her. You know just as well as I do that when our daughter cares for something, she won't let it go. Look at how passionate she is about the Hippogriff," Narcissa argued.
"Our daughter is passionate. If only she could be passionate about things other than protesting for muggle and Hippogriff rights," Lucius spat.
"I would just feel a lot more at ease if I knew that Ursa wouldn't want to associate with Sirius. I know my daughter, Lucius. She won't stand for any injustice and she would see what happened to Sirius as one of the greatest injustices of all," Narcissa proclaimed.
"What happened to your disgraced cousin is hardly an injustice, Cissa. The way I see it, Black got what was coming to him for being a blood-traitor. I remember how he acted with that Potter brat when we were still at Hogwarts with them. Even as first-years they walked around acting as if they owned the place. And from what Severus has told me, those actions never changed," Lucius said.
"Yes, they were certainly dislikeable. I can still remember the Howler that Sirius got from Walburga after he was sorted into Gryffindor," Narcissa recalled.
"Your foolish cousin relished in being a troublemaker. If Black wasn't so loyal to the Potters, it would almost be believable that he would betray them. If the Ministry wasn't so corrupt, they would've actually bothered to have done more of an investigation on the attack to discover the truth. Yet they were all-too willing to lock Black up into Azkaban without a doubt, when there should have been plenty of doubts. We should consider ourselves lucky that they did, because if they had actually done their jobs, they would have discovered the truth," Lucius stated.
"It helped that Sirius also confessed to betraying the Potters, which I will never understand why he did since it's not like he actually did betray them," Narcissa said.
Ursa instantly slapped a hand over her mouth to quieten the inevitable gasp that would come out at that revelation. She immediately wanted to burst into that room and demand that her parents tell her what they knew, but Ursa opted to keep quiet and listen to the rest of their conversation.
"Black probably felt responsible for their deaths since after all, he was the reason that they changed their Secret Keeper. It was just luck that Pettigrew was true to his form as a rat and betrayed them to the Dark Lord. If only Pettigrew would show himself again. I know that he's hiding out there somewhere when he shouldn't have to," Lucius revealed.
"Given the fact that Sirius has escaped from Azkaban, Pettigrew would probably be worried that Sirius would come after him so he'd have every reason to hide now. I wouldn't put it past my cousin to do that," Narcissa commented.
"Why don't we continue this conversation another time, Cissa? We should be preparing for our dinner with the Flints," Lucius suggested.
"I still can't believe that you actually got our headstrong daughter to agree to that. Oh, and I may have let it slip my mind, but Laverne Flint just sent a letter telling us to expect an early arrival from Marcus," Narcissa said.
"Of course. We should get ourselves ready as well," Lucius stated.
Realising that she'd need to make a move for it, Ursa forced herself to walk away from her fathers office even though there was so much that she wanted to say to him. Like how on earth is Peter Pettigrew supposed to be alive? Why was it believed that Sirius Black was the traitor if it was apparently Pettigrew? How could any of this make any sense? But more importantly, why did her father just sit by and let a supposedly innocent man rot in Azkaban for twelve years?
Of course Ursa knew the answer to that, but it still made her blood boil. If Sirius Black was innocent after all, that would be a severe miscarriage of justice. Her father was right. She would not stand for any injustice, especially one like this.
"Wait until Minnie gets a load of this," Ursa muttered.
Needing some fresh air, Ursa left the Manor to walk around the front grounds that were protected by the many wards and gates. Only a Malfoy was able to bring down the wards, so Ursa was free to roam as she pleased. That was, until she heard a loud commotion near the front of the main gate that sounded like someone apparating onto the grounds.
"Who is there? Show yourselves," Ursa demanded as she gripped tightly onto her wand in case it was necessary to use it.
"Calm your tits, Malfoy. It's only me," came the slurred reply.
Lowering her guard, Ursa approached the front gates, only to be surprised by the sudden appearance of one Marcus Flint. Only he looked absolutely dreadful, and by dreadful, she meant wasted. Ursa suddenly remembered how her mother had mentioned him showing up early in the conversation that she had just eavesdropped on, though she didn't say that he'd be showing up looking like a mess.
"Marcus?" Ursa squawked. "What in Merlins name do you think you're doing showing up here like this?"
"N-need to speak w-with you," Marcus slurred.
"You're drunk, aren't you?" Ursa stated.
"Wasted," Marcus grinned.
"That's nothing to be proud of, you buffoon!" Ursa exclaimed. "In case it slipped your mind, we have a dinner with our parents in less than two hours and there is no way that you are going to be able to make it through it like this. What were you thinking? Oh, that's right. You probably weren't thinking at all."
"Hey, I didn't come here so that you could badger me like my parents!" Marcus growled.
A look of understanding morphed onto Ursa's face. "You got drunk because of your parents?"
"Yeah. They were being annoying as fuck and I couldn't stand to be around them anymore, so I left saying that I was gonna come here early," Marcus replied.
"How are you even standing, let alone talking properly with the way you look?" Ursa asked.
"I can hold my liquor well," Marcus answered.
"And you somehow managed to get away from your parents looking like this?" Ursa stated.
"I was sober when I left. Went to some muggle bar. They've got better alcohol, you know. Then I apparated here," Marcus replied as he fell forward, just barely clinging onto the gate to keep himself up.
"You what?" Ursa screeched. "And here I thought that your stupidity couldn't amaze me anymore than it already has. What were you thinking, apparating like this? You could've gotten yourself splinched, you moron!"
"See, this is why I could never be married to you," Marcus remarked. "Just let me in, Malfoy, before I puke up my guts cause I can feel it coming."
"Fine, I'll bring down the wards," Ursa muttered.
The moment she did that, Marcus just about collapsed on top of her, though Ursa forcefully shoved him off her in retaliation. He was a lot more of a drunken mess up close, and Ursa dreaded the thought of how this dinner would go if he walked into the room looking like this. She most certainly didn't miss it when he slobbered all over her shoulder.
"Srry. Got some slobber on you…" Marcus slurred.
"Keep it to yourself," Ursa muttered as she internally thought: kill me now.
With a half-drunk lug dragging her down and with the same half-drunk lug expected to show up for dinner in a presentable fashion, Ursa was now dreading this dinner more than ever. And with the thoughts of what she had learned from her parents revealing conversation about Sirius Black still on her mind, getting through this dreaded dinner was the last thing on Ursa's mind. Just when she thought she might've caught a break in all this mess, there was more to it than she realised.
Well, this chapter certainly didn't go as planned, because I had fully intended to include the dinner in it but then I figured that the dinner would've made the chapter too long. So, Ursa now knows the truth about Sirius, but just what will she do with it? And now she's got a drunk Marcus Flint to deal with, which is sure to put a damper on things. Speaking of the Flints, I actually went all extra on the background for this chapter and created my own Flint family tree going as far back to Josephina Flint once I decided to make Marcus' parents second cousins. It was a whole lot of work that took me all night to do, but I feel quite chuffed that I was able to create my own elaborate family tree for this.