Written for the QLFC, Season 9, Round 3.
Prompt: The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde: Write about someone whose beauty is only skin-deep.
Optional prompts: 10. (character) Marius Black
11. (genre) tragedy.
/
There was a reason that the Black men and women were so alluring - their looks, that was. On the outside, they were beautiful, with grey eyes commonly mistaken for liquid silver and curly dark hair that witches of Black heritage liked to flick over their shoulders to seduce men. Sharp features defined a Black easily. Picking out a Black in a crowd was as easy as counting to ten.
But inside? Inside, it was a whole different story. Blacks were cold and vicious, and wouldn't hesitate to torture or murder anyone, even their own family members. The only exceptions to this rule were Dorea Black, who married Charlus Potter, her sister Cassiopeia, who remained unmarried and childless throughout her entire life, Sirius Black, who was disowned for breaking the Black tradition of being Slytherins and refused to become a Death Eater, running away to the Potters' instead, and Regulus Black, who made all the wrong choices right up to the end of his life, when he made a right one - a right choice which killed him.
One such Black who did not break any of his family's traditions was Pollux Black.
Pollux Black was born in 1912 to proud parents Cygnus Black the second and Violetta Bulstrode Black. From the moment he was born, his mother doted on, hugged, and kissed him constantly, and basically treated him like a delicate doll that would break any second. Cygnus Black's reaction to his son was very different. Not being an affectionate wizard, he simply acknowledged Pollux, his son and heir, once in a while, and favoured him above Cygnus and Violetta's other children.
Once, shortly after Pollux was born, Cygnus had approached the Black paterfamilias, Arcturus Black the Third. Arcturus was married to a witch named Melania McMillan, who, though she had a kind face and a soft demeanour and rarely used her wand to attack, was excellent at ruining people, in all the ways known to wizardkind. She was particularly vicious to those who harmed her family, which included Arcturus, so Cygnus made sure that she was out of the way when he was speaking to the Black paterfamilias.
"So," said Arcturus, taking a sip of elven wine, "What did you want to talk to me about, cousin Cygnus?"
Cygnus set down his glass. "Cousin Arcturus," he began, a sly smile playing around his lips, "we have been friends for a long time, have we not?"
Arcturus frowned, but nodded slightly in reply.
"But it is no longer our youth, the days in which we were free from the responsibility of having heirs to carry on the Black line. We are adult wizards now, ready to carry on our noble line."
Arcturus's sharp, pewter eyes narrowed. "And what are you implying, cousin Cygnus?"
"I am simply wondering," Cygnus drew out the word slowly, "what will happen when you are unable to produce an heir."
"I will, of course, produce an heir, so your concern is invalid." said Arcturus, his eyes now slits.
"Pollux is eligible for the position of heir of house." Cygnus pointed out.
"Pollux is not in the direct line of the head of house," Arcturus returned. "I shall produce an heir, and that is final, cousin Cygnus. Do not make me use brute force."
/
When Pollux was two years old, his mother announced that she was pregnant. However, nine months later, Cygnus and Violetta Black did not welcome another heir of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black into the world - they had a daughter.
They named her Cassiopeia.
From a very young age, Cassiopeia loved potions and experiments. Perhaps that was Pollux's fault - with the use of magic, he had accidentally locked her in the potions lab and when Cassiopeia finally came out, she was grinning and holding a few vials, with sloshes of different coloured liquid on her baby robes. Later in life, Pollux thought that one of them must have muddled her mind.
In 1918, another child was born to Cygnus and Violetta Black. It was a boy, and Cygnus proudly named him Marius.
Then two years later, another child was welcomed into the world - a baby girl, Dorea Black.
When Pollux was old enough, his father began training him in the duties of an heir of House Black. Arcturus had refused to give heirship to Pollux, but Cygnus forged on anyway. It was a very dangerous move - Arcturus Black was the Head of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black and in the House, his word was law.
Pollux learned to be cynical, to be manipulative, to be sharp, but most of all - that Blacks were the best, and that muggles, squibs, halfbloods, and 'filthy mudbloods' (as Cygnus called them) were dirt on their shoes.
Early on, Pollux noticed that while Cassiopeia and Dorea had great big displays of accidental magic, Marius didn't. Marius preferred to stick to the library, in little alcoves, to read and sometimes experiment with his sisters. He had the occasional accidental magic displays - but they were small, and very occasional.
There have been no squibs born to the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black.
His father had told him that once, and Pollux remembered it. He believed it, and tried to comfort himself about Marius' lack of magical ability, insisting to himself that his brother simply was a late bloomer, and soon, he'd be off to Hogwarts learning spells and earning a reputation as a true Black, upholding the family name.
But there was always that voice in the back of his mind that wondered, what if Marius is really a squib? What if…
Pollux always ignored it.
/
August 21st, 1923
"Master Pollux must get up! It is Master Pollux's birthday today! It is -"
"Shut up, you miserable creature!" Pollux growled, rolling over. The house-elf's voice stopped for a moment, and Pollux relished the moment of silence. Then -
"But it is Master Pollux's birthday today -"
"Fine! Just shut up and get out of my room!"
There was a pause, then the sound of shuffling. The room's door opened, and closed with a small bang.
His birthday. It was his birthday today. He'd nearly forgotten.
The day he would get his Hogwarts letter.
Suddenly filled with excitement, Pollux leaped up from his bed, changed quickly, and darted to the dining room.
Cygnus Black looked up when he arrived. "You're early today, Pollux."
"I know," agreed Pollux. "But it's -"
His sentence was cut off by a loud hoot coming from the floor-to-ceiling window. A barn owl was flapping its wings frantically outside, its beady eyes staring directly at Pollux.
Pollux stood up and opened the window, closing it when the owl had flown inside and landed on the dining table. A letter was tied securely to its leg.
The tiniest of smiles appeared on Cygnus Black's face, and he gestured at his son. Slowly, carefully, Pollux untied the letter from the owl's leg, and stared at the address.
Mr. P. Black
The Second Bedroom
Black Manor
London
Cassiopeia entered the room, sat down at her seat, and was about to shovel eggs in her mouth when she noticed the letter in Pollux's hands. She bounced on the balls of her feet. "That's it, then?" she asked, in an excited voice. "The Hogwarts letter? Open it, Pollux!"
Dorea, who had followed her sister into the dining room, grinned. "Yeah, Pol! Open it! I want to see what it says!"
"You already know what it says," said Cassiopeia.
"Still, it's cooler to see it in real life, Cassie!"
Unnoticed by the others, Marius did not talk, bounce on the balls of his feet, or even react at all. He simply sat there, an unreadable expression on his face. Pollux was too intent upon his Hogwarts letter to pay any attention to his brother.
Pollux ripped the letter open, noticing that, despite his efforts to preserve it, the Hogwarts wax seal broke. He took out the letter, and read out loud:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Armando Dippet
Dear Mr Black,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.
Yours sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore
Deputy Headmaster
"Albus Dumbledore?" asked Cygnus, snatching the letter away from Pollux to peer at it himself. "How did he, of all people, manage to become Deputy Headmaster?"
Dorea cleared her throat rather loudly. "Perhaps," she drawled, "it is to do with his Transfiguration achievements, his ascension to a member of the International Confederation of Wizards, his chances of becoming Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, and -"
"We get it, Dorea," said Cassiopeia soothingly.
"How about the list of things that Pollux needs for his first year?" Marius finally spoke, shifting slightly in his seat.
Pollux ripped the other piece of parchment out so quickly and haphazardly that his mother gave him a dark look. He pointedly ignored her.
Cassiopeia peered over his shoulder. "Lemme see."
"How many times have I told you, Cassiopeia Violetta Black, to not use slang words like that?" Violetta asked, clearly fed up with it.
Cassiopeia began to shrug, then thought better of it. "Sorry, Mother. It won't happen again, I promise."
Violetta gave her daughter an annoyed look, and proceeded to ignore her. "Pollux, darling, allow me."
Without asking for Pollux's permission, she plucked the letter out of his hands, and frowned immediately. "How Hogwarts' standards have fallen!" Violetta exclaimed dramatically. "Only a size two cauldron? And pewter? What happened?"
"Can we please skip that?" asked Dorea, poking at her egg. "When can we go to Diagon Alley?"
/
September 19th, 1923
"Abbott, Bernice!"
A blonde-haired girl walked slowly up to the stool and sat. The Hat was lowered onto her head, and not a second later, it shouted, "HUFFLEPUFF!"
The yellow and black table exploded into cheers. The Hat was taken off the blonde-haired girl's head and she walked over, to greetings and handshakes and back thumping.
"Black, Pollux!"
Clearly, there weren't any other wizards or witches in his year with surnames that began with 'A'.
Pollux tried not to let any of his nervousness show through. He was a Black. He was a Black. He was a Black, and Blacks didn't show fear. Or nervousness. Or anticipation. Or any sort of emotion, really.
He repeated it in his head until he reached the stool. He sat down slowly, and the Deputy Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, lowered the Sorting Hat onto his head.
The moment the Hat touched his hair, it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!"
Pollux walked over to the silver and green table, which had not exploded in cheers but instead permeated a bit of arrogance that a Black was Sorted into their House. He could practically feel it radiating off an older boy with silver-blonde hair.
"Crabbe, Irma!"
Pollux blinked. Clearly, he'd been in a daze for so long that some students after him had already been Sorted. A black-haired girl was walking towards the Ravenclaw table and a curly-haired boy had just slid into place in the Gryffindor one.
The Hat settled on the cold-looking, blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl. After a brief moment, in which everyone in the Great Hall stared at her in undisguised curiosity, the Hat shouted, "SLYTHERIN!"
Irma Crabbe took the Hat off and walked over to the Slytherin table, sliding in smoothly. Pollux's gaze met hers, but she didn't shy away. She met him head on, her icy blue eyes boring into his.
She might be someone to think about.
/
February 25th, 1929
Today was Marius's eleventh birthday - the day he would receive his Hogwarts acceptance letter. Cassiopeia had gotten hers on her eleventh birthday, and had been sorted into Slytherin, though the Hat took longer in Sorting her (Pollux thought that it must have been trying to place her in Ravenclaw, but she vehemently told him no, no and no, the Hat wouldn't have dared place a Black in Ravenclaw). Pollux was entering his sixth year, and Cassiopeia was entering her third. Dorea would be entering Hogwarts as a first year in 1931, in two years.
As it was in the middle of the school year, Cygnus had to pull both Pollux and Cassiopeia out for the day, just like he had done with Pollux on Cassiopeia's birthday. Tension was palpable in the full Black household when they all settled down to breakfast. It was the same tension that had been there when Pollux had received his Hogwarts letter, though he had been too enraptured and excited to notice it. This time, he could practically feel it, zinging energy that stretched between every Black at the table. The air was filled with it, and Pollux felt like choking.
Marius glanced up every ten seconds anxiously, his eyes trained on the window, where the owl would surely be coming. It was nine o'clock. Nine fifteen. Nine thirty. Nine forty five. Nine fifty nine.
Finally, the distinct outline of an owl flew closer and closer, until finally, it flew through the open window and landed -
Right in front of Dorea, who glanced at it, eyes widening. She opened it gingerly, and drew out a letter written on fine parchment. Scanning it, she said, "It's an invitation. From Maria Shafiq."
"Shafiq?" Cygnus rumbled. "Acceptable."
Then Cassiopeia looked at the window, her eyes trained on something. Pollux glanced out of glass, following his sister's gaze.
A beautiful black owl was flying towards them, a letter in its claws. This one, too, flew through the open window and landed, not in front of Marius, but in front of Pollux. He checked it for negative spells, then opened it.
"Letter from...a friend," said Pollux evasively.
"Pureblood?" his mother asked.
He nodded, hastily shoved the letter into his robes, and continued staring out of the window, sneaking the occasional peak at Marius as he did.
/
"That's it!"
The roar made everyone at the table jump unnecessarily. Pollux's quick, sharp eyes noticed that Marius looked slightly more frightened than everyone else at the table.
"Father?" asked Dorea nervously, quickly scooting away from her empty plate as if it was cursed.
Cygnus's cold, dark eyes met Marius's. "Come, squib," he sneered. "Let's see what to make of you. Pollux…"
"I can help!" said Pollux excitedly, forgetting that his voice had to be 'aristocratic, cool, and polite' (in his mother's words).
"Very well," said Cygnus, standing up. "You two," he pointed at Cassiopeia and Dorea, "stay here with your mother."
Cassiopeia's lips pressed into a thin line. "But -"
"No buts!" Cygnus roared. Cassiopeia stopped talking immediately, and settled on glaring. Her eyes promised murder.
Dorea turned her silver eyes onto her father. "Please, Father, don't do this," she begged, a tear rolling down her cheek. "Please, Marius hasn't done anything wrong, h-has he?"
"Marius is a shame on the Black name," Cygnus replied with a sneer. "What's our motto, girl?"
"Toujours Pur," Dorea recited, her voice shaky. "Always Pure."
"Yes. And what do we do to those who are not pure?"
Another tear streaked down Dorea's face. "We terminate them, ensure that they are not a threat to our family name."
"Correct," Cygnus growled. "And so…"
Not giving Dorea time to reply, he grabbed Marius's arm. "Come," the elder Black hissed venomously. "You'll get what you deserved from the very beginning. I always knew that you were a disappointment."
/
"Pollux, you didn't," said Cassiopeia, her eyes hard. "Tell me you didn't."
But he stood his ground. "Yes, I did," he said proudly. "I helped handle the squib and I'm proud of it."
"Tell me the truth," Dorea threatened softly, "or I'll kill you, I swear it."
Pollux laughed. "How can you kill me?" he asked, his voice mocking. "You haven't even got a wand."
"I'll strangle you with my bare hands and, and, and -"
"I thought I loved you," Cassiopeia yelled, her voice echoing through the corridor. "I thought that you were my brother!"
"I am," said Pollux. "Can't figure out why you're so sad about the death of a squib, though. You're a true Black, Cassiopeia."
"I don't want to be a true Black if it includes killing my brother!"
"Becoming a blood traitor, sister? Shame. Thought you were of good stock."
Finally, Dorea lifted her head up, tears flowing freely down her cheeks. "Cassiopeia's right," she said. "You're...you're a monster. You're cruel and vicious. You're a true Black."
And when Pollux turned to leave, a soft hiss, full of venom, followed him.
"You'll pay for this, Pollux Cygnus Black, mark my words."