Orion breathed a sigh of relief as the flickering green flames of the Floo fireplace finally faded away, carrying away with them the final party guest. He took a moment to savour the silence of the drawing room, broken only by the sound of raindrops pelting against the window glass outside.
November, this year, had dawned with a foul, icy temper more akin to the depths of January than mid-autumn. Such weather often brought with it a sense of gloom and melancholy - but there was no weather horrid enough to dampen Orion's mood today.
He smiled indulgently as he listened to the raindrops hammering against the windows of the house. It had been raining on this day last year, too.
His task of seeing out the last of their guests now complete, Orion made his way through the room - past the many end-tables littered with abandoned drinks glasses and plates of canapes - and returned to the parlour to rejoin his wife.
Walburga sat on the sofa by the roaring fire, with their son, Sirius, sat on her lap - one-year-old today and the subject of the afternoon's celebrations.
"That's Slughorn away, at last" said Orion as he strode across the room to stand beside his seated wife. He breathed a sigh of relief as the warmth of the fire washed over him, keeping the early November chill at bay.
"Finally" Walburga sighed, rolling her eyes. "Horace never did know how to recognise the polite time to leave a party"
There was a weariness to her voice, brought on by the effort of playing hostess to the large gathering of family and associates which had filled their house for most of the day in honour of Sirius's first birthday.
The boy in question sat upright in his mother's lap, far more awake than he had any right to be at such an hour and clutching at the silver rattle which he had clung to determinedly for most of the day.
"Such a peculiar gift" Walburga shook her head as Sirius gave the toy a vigorous shake and giggled delightedly at the loud rattling noise it made. "I can't think what good Alphard thought would come of giving him such a silly thing"
In truth, when his wife's youngest brother had presented him with the shining silver object in its sleek, black case, with Sirius's name and birth date engraved on the handle, Orion hadn't immediately twigged exactly what it was. An ornament of some sort?
"It's a toy for the child, of course" Alphard had chuckled at his brother-in-law's obliviousness. "What else would it be?"
Considering the nature of the other gifts he had accepted on behalf of his infant son throughout the day, Orion didn't think his lack of immediate understanding quite so inexcusable.
From Orion's own father, Sirius had received a large, leather-bound volume on the history and lineage of the Black family - an exact duplicate of the book Orion himself owned and which also took pride of place on display in Arcturus's study at Noire House. A key text for any heir to the House of Black, the patriarch had insisted, regardless of the fact that Sirius was several years away from knowing what it was, let alone being able to read it.
From Walburga's own parents, a gold-framed, hand-painted image of the Black family crest had been received, with Sirius's name in shining gold lettering beneath it, which the elf had already been sent to hang up in the boy's nursery.
Cygnus and Druella's gift to their young nephew consisted of a set of gold-brocaded dress robes, which Walburga had politely accepted before shooing the elf away to hide them. She'd always found gold vulgar, she later murmured to her husband. Silver was far more elegant.
Indeed only one other of Sirius's many birthday gifts had been a toy - and it had proved by far to have been the worst-received.
A large and beady-eyed stuffed toy serpent from Horace Slughorn.
"Another young Black to look forward to!" the professor had boomed as he'd over-enthusiastically brandished the serpent at the baby in Walburga's arms. "A true Slytherin, born and bred"
A moment later, his almost-smug smile had faded, his moustache twitching with concern as the infant Sirius screwed up his face and began to wail, thrashing in his mother's grasp to avoid the toy snake.
Alphard's gift, on the other hand, had been met with such enthusiastic approval by Sirius that it had proved almost impossible to take it from him for the rest of the afternoon. Any attempt to pry the silver rattle from his fingers had been met with such distraught (and loud) protest that his parents had given up, allowing him to keep hold of it for the sake of not spoiling the occasion with one of their son's fierce tantrums which he was fast becoming known for.
"You'll spoil that boy, coddling him so" Arcturus had barked disapprovingly at Orion as the offending toy was returned once more to Sirius's outstretched, starfish hands. "Firm discipline - proper handing, that's what he needs"
Orion had never been one to openly disagree with his father, as a rule. But when he looked at his own son, smiling delightedly at the toy in his grasp on his birthday, he failed to see anything about the scene which warranted Arcturus's disapproving scowl.
"Yes, Father" he'd replied dutifully as he led the elder man away into the crowd in search of distraction from the current, unfortunate topic.
The clock above the parlour fireplace chimed. Seven o'clock.
"We ought to send for the nursemaid," said Orion, somewhat reluctantly. "The boy ought to be asleep by now"
Walburga's fingers tightened slightly around the toddler in her lap.
"Just a few more minutes" she said, as though it were she herself being sent up to bed. Her gaze flickered up for a moment and caught sight of her husband's questioning look. "I'd just like to- sit a while, is all. It's been a long day"
"Indeed, it has" Orion agreed, staring into the embers in the hearth and savouring the peace they had not known all day.
The quiet tranquillity was shattered by a sharp, rattling noise as their infant son gave the toy rattle another vigorous shake.
"Little scamp" Orion chuckled as he leaned down to pat the boy's mop of black hair. "We'd best take that toy away from him. I daresay he won't sleep a wink with it in his grasp"
"He won't be parted from it," Walburga said, looking down at her son with mild disapproval. "Your son knows his own mind already"
"Just like his mother"
She tilted her head away and bit the inside of her cheek, but Orion knew the telltale signs of his wife's hidden smiles like the back of his hand.
"He certainly isn't one for sharing" Orion added as he outstretched a hand towards his son, who attempted to hide his toy in his arms defiantly in response.
"He'll have to learn, soon"
"Pardon?"
"He'll have to learn to share"
Walburga's voice was quiet, hinting.
"And what, precisely, do you mean by that?"
A pregnant pause followed - the air saturated with foreshadowing. Even little Sirius did not dare break the moment with a shake of his rattle.
Walburga stared down at the floor, her face tense with the effort of attempting to keep a smile from her lips, a look easily spotted by her husband's keen eye.
"Are you hiding something from me, madam?" Orion demanded, in that voice so oozing with fatherly authority which he seemed to have acquired the moment their son was born, exactly a year ago today.
Under the weight of that voice, Walburga gave in at last. She looked up at her husband, her silver eyes glittering with excitement.
"I'm expecting"
Orion felt a lurch of joy springing to life within him, with all the force of a cheetah pouncing out into the savanna.
"Again?" he whispered - the only word he could force out through his shock.
Walburga nodded, grinning like the cat that got the cream.
"Yes" she answered, breathlessly. "Next summer. I'm not far along at all, barely a week in fact. But after last time, I just-"
She took a moment to compose herself. Her hands had begun shaking with excitement and she tightened her hold on the baby in her lap to steady them.
"After last time, I just knew. So I went to visit Healer Farrows yesterday, and he confirmed it"
"And- did he say... what it is?"
Walburga shook her head.
"It's too early to tell. We won't know for a few more weeks, yet. But I'm sure it will be a boy. I can feel it"
"Another boy..."
Four years of worry, they had endured. Of uncertainty and dread. And now here they were, on the birthday of their firstborn son and heir, expecting a second son.
Orion draped his arm around Walburga's shoulders and squeezed protectively.
"What a truly blessed day" he sighed, smiling down at his wife and son.
Walburga grasped the hand on her shoulder with her own and squeezed, smiling up at him in agreement. Her other arm tightened around their infant son, holding him tight to her.
Orion suddenly frowned at the stillness of Sirius in her lap - the boy had fallen curiously still in the last few moments. He peered closer and saw he had fallen fast asleep, leaning against his mother's chest, the infamous rattle in danger of slipping out of his grasp at last.
"Peace at last' Orion remarked with a quiet chuckle, being careful not to wake the sleeping child. "We really ought to send him up now"
Walburga ran her fingers softly through her son's hair and sighed contentedly.
"Just a few more minutes"