Chapter Thirty-Seven
Painted Eyes
"He did?" Seri said excitedly.
"Yes mama, just this morning." Phinneas Nigellua said proudly, a little out of breath still.
"I must see him, I have to." Seri said, pacing quickly.
"You may go child." Dumbledore said.
"Can I?" Harry asked franticly.
Seri looked at Dumbledore. His blue eyes feel into hers, and it was as though they were talking to each other.
"Harry," Dumbledore finally said, his eyes still on Seri, "I believe you, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Miley and Mark should all go."
"Why everyone else?" Harry asked.
"Because." Dumbledore fought over words, but they failed, "I just think it's best that your friends be with you. both of you at this time, no farther questions."
"Okay.." Harry said, trailing off.
"Seri, you and Harry go now, Hagrid, and the other students will follow you night by train." Harry swore Dumbledore winked, but his eyes might have been lying.
"Here you are Harry. Seri." Dumbledore handed them another spare of parchment such as he had done the last time. "Three. Two. One."
Harry's body was jerked, but only for a moment. He found himself in the dark ground in front of number 12 Grimmauld Place with in second. Lying next to Seri. "Come on Harry." Seri said, pulling him to his feet with her.
She threw open the door right are Sirius reached for the handle.
He was wearing worn blue jeans with knee wholes and Gryffindor robes. Harry kind of giggled seeing his use-to-be-tough-looking-godfather without a shirt on and a pie in one hand. "Gosh, I though I heard something." He said with a dashing smile.
Seri threw herself around his neck and as quickly as she did this, she pushed away and bolted up the stairs. Harry winked at Sirius, who by now had shrugged, grinned and retired to the living room. Of course, only after clasping Harry on the shoulder.
When he got to the top of the stairs he was met by a crowd. Seri had stopped just outside it, staring, smiling at them, but they were not smiling back.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked.
Mr. Weasley looked at him and sort of grinned. "He won't let us in."
"Who?"
"Kreacher." Remus said bitterly, crossing his arms.
About that time the door opened and an ear shattering scream entered the hall way. Everyone covered their ears, eyes shut tight.
The door snapped shut suddenly and crowd parted to where a short little house elf became glued to Seri's leg.
"Oh Mistress Sirius Angel, Kreacher found him!" He said merrily. "He was hiding behind that old picture of Master Regulus and the other portraits made him stay there."
Seri picked the elf up and hugged him.
"Thank you Keacher!" She said happily.
She went to open the door but Remus shot his hand out and stopped her. "Are you sure you want to talk to him Seri?" He said solemnly.
Seri's face dropped and she looked at him, her eyes dancing in question and she smiled, "I'm not scared Uncle Moony." She said teasingly, "Let me talk to my father."
"But he may not know he is your father." Remus said, still fighting.
Seri threw her arm around Remus's neck and hugged him tightly. "Then it is time he found out."
Seri pushed away from Remus and smiled. "Come on Harry," She said softly.
She opened the door.
A wailing like no other came from the room inside.
"Filthy little rodents! Vermin! Taking over my House! Poising my precious Kreacher, taking my lovely granddaughter, you dirty little sons and daughters of bitches!" The voice yelled.
Seri shut the door with a snap and the noise was cut off from the out side.
"Where are we?" Harry said softly, the howling still ringing in his ears.
"The Noble and Most Ancient Room of Black." Seri whispered. "I had to take down all those portraits and family air looms when I got here, so I made them there own room."
Harry looked around. It was a long, almost hall way like room. The walls were a deep, dark navy blue with black trim. The light came from the dimly lit torches between each portrait. Seri led the way down the room. The walls were decorated with up-turned-nosed witches and chunky old wizards. The old hanging of house elf heads was on his right and on his left was.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE POTTER?" Mrs. Black screamed from her frame.
"I slashed you once, don't make me do it again!" Seri snarled.
"SHUT UP YOU BLOOD TRAITOR! I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN YOU'D BE RUINED BY THE POTTERES, THEY WERE YOUR FATHER'S DOWN FALL! I KNOW IT WAS JAMES'S SON THAT MADE HIM DIE! IF HE NEVER GOT MESSED UP WITH THAT ANGEL OR JAMES, HE WOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN LOCKED UP IN AZKANBAN AND HE WOULD BE VOLDEMORT'S LEADING MAN!"
"Shut up!" Harry screamed.
"See, a Potter has no respect." Victoria said nastily.
"Women, if you don't shut your trap I'll cut it off and I won't have Kreacher restore you again." Seri said, turning on heal sharply, returning to her journey down the hall.
"No, wait!" Victoria Black pleaded in a much kinder tone. "Don't go down there child."
"Why not?" Seri asked, "Is my no good father down there?"
"Angelica, please." Victoria pleaded.
Harry ran to Seri's heels and as they walked, Mrs. Black's muffled cries and pleads died slowly.
"Seri," Harry said softly.
She whipped her eyes which had been watering and looked at him. "Yes Harry," She answered.
"What if Sirius well. doesn't know?"
Seri winced as though asking herself the same question. "Then I will tell him."
Harry nodded, only being able to dread the feeling that Seri must be having at that moment.
Half way down the hall a picture was off the wall, propped up against the wall, the canvas torn.
"Shut up you stupid idiot!"
"Oh grow up Sirius, you were never worth anything."
"I can't believe you actually became our parents' puppet. And a Death Eater."
"Yes, I know I'm such a disgrace for being a death eater. But what did you do with your life older brother? Run off with a couple of Potters and end up in Azkaban, killed by Bella and off your rocket not knowing what year it is!"
"SIRIUS!" Seri screamed, seeing one of the faces.
Harry stood behind her, supporting her, for her knees where shaking.
The two voices stopped fighting. Harry was almost shocked. They were portraits fighting, yelling at one another, though both in their own frame. One was the unforgettable face of Sirius Black and the other was a rougher, meaner version, on Harry suspected was Regulus, Sirius's younger brother. Regulus's picture was ripped and flapped over to the side.
"Potter." Regulus said harshly. "It seems James has given his stupidity and hair to another. poor boy."
"Shut up Regulus." Sirius said eyes big, studying Harry and Seri. "I think he's perfect. James would be proud."
Regulus rolled his eyes and walked out of view.
"I mean it Harry, James would have been proud." Sirius said again, eyes boring into Harry.
Harry pressed his lips together and nodded, fighting tears.
Sirius smiled and then pushed his eyes to Seri. He kinda just looked at her, while rubbing his painted hands over one another. "I don't know what to say to you." He said, "I'm sorry."
Seri fell to her knees, staring straight into the pictures' eyes. "For what?"
"For everything; for being young and stupid, not being who I was supposed to be, not seeing." Seri pulled her hand though her hair and smiled. "Angelica would be proud too, everything you've over come."
Sirius looked over his shoulder and kinda of grimaced. "I don't have much time." He said quickly.
"Why not?" Seri said desperately.
"Mother hid me behind Regulus for a reason, so I could never tell you something, but you have to know. The whole family loves you Seri. you are the last Black."
"No dad, you are. I'm a Potter."
"What did you call me?" Sirius asked.
"Dad." Seri said softly.
Sirius nodded, smiling. "No, you are a Black. you are my daughter."
Harry threaded his arm over Seri's shoulders to try and stop her trembling. "But they hate me, and will do anything to stop me from doing this."
"Do what?" Harry asked quickly.
"The Black family must die."
Harry's eyes bugged out.
"But not like that Harry.as long as the Black family name is still alive, so is the support the family had for you-know-who. Change your name Seri." Sirius said, looking to the side again.
"How? I'm a Potter. you and mum were never married." She said scornfully.
"But when she put your birth certificate under my name." Sirius said.
Seri smiled.
Voiced came from the wall. "What was that?" Harry asked.
"Mum," Sirius said sacredly. "I will remember Seri, I promise you. just remember." He said just before dashing out of view.
A few seconds later Victoria Black and a burly looking man entered their view from the opposite direction Sirius just left to. "Where did he go Angelica? What did he say?" Victoria asked hastily.
"He went the way you just came from and he said to never change my name." Seri said, sadly.
Victoria kinda smiled. "Good my dear." She said, smiling. "Get your hands off her Potter."
Harry grinned at Seri and removed his arm from her shoulders.
"Now dear," the man behind Victoria said to Seri, "Lucas just visited my frame, said he had a bad run in with you, I hope everything got sorted out."
"Actually Grandfather," Seri said, "We haven't sorted anything out, and I don't want to sort things out. Lucas is not my father no matter how hard he tries to make that true."
"You are Malfoy's daughter. No spawn of that son of mine could be such a right little hero." Victoria said, sounding out raged.
"So my name is Malfoy?" Seri said her face twisting into a smile.
Harry nearly fell to his knees laughing. Sirius said Seri had to change her last name, and the two people who would do anything so Seri wouldn't change her surrey name were arguing that she was a Malfoy.
"Of curse not, you are a Black, though and though. I was only saying it is odd how such a loyal and good girl can come from such a.devious. man." Their voices began to come slowly as they ran frame to frame to shout their words at Harry and Seri.
"Do you think we lost them?" Harry said as they passed an empty frame.
"I think so," Seri said with a blank Indian face.
The hall way became longer than it was. It was like running from something they wanted to forget, and chasing after their exit, but it never came. The frames were all the same, black gold against a deep, almost black wall. Dimly lit candles were in between each picture, but then they were all picture.
Something caught Harry's eye and he stopped. It was the Black Tapestry in which Harry had met half of Sirius's family with last year, but it was different. The names were smaller and there were so many gold threads on it, it could give you a head ache if you didn't know what you were looking at.
"You fixed it." He said, getting Seri's attention to stop also.
"Oh." She said nervously, coming to Harry's side. "Kreacher and I have been working on it." As she spoke, there was a sense of reassurance for herself in her voice. "Harry, how about you take a closer look?"
Harry nodded and stepped forward. The top was cluttered with long none sense names like Author Bradley van Frortly de Giggle San Hosa Black, and that was one name. But as Harry looked to the fringes of the bottom he found Victoria Black connected to a Mr. JR. Black. Two Gold lines fed down to Sirius Isis Black and Rebus Author Black.
"You got Sirius back on!" Harry exclaimed.
"Keep looking." Seri said impatiently.
Harry's eyes found Andromeda and Tonks were on the tapestry along with the Weasley family and event he Longbottoms were on there. Then a line that seemed to go straight down through the tapestry was the Potters. It seemed only a few married pure bloods, and it was pure bloods that were not well known. At the very bottom where only a few names, the youngest of the generations: Sirius Angel, Harry James, Draco Ganga, the Weasley children, Neville and.
Harry gasped.
"But. why didn't anyone tell me?" Harry stuttered, in disbelief of the two words staring at him. They were so familiar, but on this tapestry they were foreign, like in a different language.
"Another part of your mystery." Seri said placing her hand on Harry's shoulder gently.
"It's only a mystery to me." He scuffed. "Why didn't you tell me!" Harry screamed, pushing Seri's hand away.
"Because was safer that way in the beginning. Voldemort couldn't know you were related, both of you would be in danger. But he knows, so." Seri shrugged off handedly.
"Why would it put us in trouble?" Harry snapped.
Seri sighed and pushed her hair back. "Harry, you will understand everything soon. nothing will be a mystery anymore, but it has to be now. That secrets is between you and Mark."
Harry nodded, realizing he really didn't want to know how it would put him in trouble. His eyes averted back to the tapestry and his newly found cousin. Markus Evans.
"I don't feel like getting into this right now. Let's go Harry." Seri said, putting a hand behind Harry and pushing his back down the hall.
"He did?" Seri said excitedly.
"Yes mama, just this morning." Phinneas Nigellua said proudly, a little out of breath still.
"I must see him, I have to." Seri said, pacing quickly.
"You may go child." Dumbledore said.
"Can I?" Harry asked franticly.
Seri looked at Dumbledore. His blue eyes feel into hers, and it was as though they were talking to each other.
"Harry," Dumbledore finally said, his eyes still on Seri, "I believe you, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Miley and Mark should all go."
"Why everyone else?" Harry asked.
"Because." Dumbledore fought over words, but they failed, "I just think it's best that your friends be with you. both of you at this time, no farther questions."
"Okay.." Harry said, trailing off.
"Seri, you and Harry go now, Hagrid, and the other students will follow you night by train." Harry swore Dumbledore winked, but his eyes might have been lying.
"Here you are Harry. Seri." Dumbledore handed them another spare of parchment such as he had done the last time. "Three. Two. One."
Harry's body was jerked, but only for a moment. He found himself in the dark ground in front of number 12 Grimmauld Place with in second. Lying next to Seri. "Come on Harry." Seri said, pulling him to his feet with her.
She threw open the door right are Sirius reached for the handle.
He was wearing worn blue jeans with knee wholes and Gryffindor robes. Harry kind of giggled seeing his use-to-be-tough-looking-godfather without a shirt on and a pie in one hand. "Gosh, I though I heard something." He said with a dashing smile.
Seri threw herself around his neck and as quickly as she did this, she pushed away and bolted up the stairs. Harry winked at Sirius, who by now had shrugged, grinned and retired to the living room. Of course, only after clasping Harry on the shoulder.
When he got to the top of the stairs he was met by a crowd. Seri had stopped just outside it, staring, smiling at them, but they were not smiling back.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked.
Mr. Weasley looked at him and sort of grinned. "He won't let us in."
"Who?"
"Kreacher." Remus said bitterly, crossing his arms.
About that time the door opened and an ear shattering scream entered the hall way. Everyone covered their ears, eyes shut tight.
The door snapped shut suddenly and crowd parted to where a short little house elf became glued to Seri's leg.
"Oh Mistress Sirius Angel, Kreacher found him!" He said merrily. "He was hiding behind that old picture of Master Regulus and the other portraits made him stay there."
Seri picked the elf up and hugged him.
"Thank you Keacher!" She said happily.
She went to open the door but Remus shot his hand out and stopped her. "Are you sure you want to talk to him Seri?" He said solemnly.
Seri's face dropped and she looked at him, her eyes dancing in question and she smiled, "I'm not scared Uncle Moony." She said teasingly, "Let me talk to my father."
"But he may not know he is your father." Remus said, still fighting.
Seri threw her arm around Remus's neck and hugged him tightly. "Then it is time he found out."
Seri pushed away from Remus and smiled. "Come on Harry," She said softly.
She opened the door.
A wailing like no other came from the room inside.
"Filthy little rodents! Vermin! Taking over my House! Poising my precious Kreacher, taking my lovely granddaughter, you dirty little sons and daughters of bitches!" The voice yelled.
Seri shut the door with a snap and the noise was cut off from the out side.
"Where are we?" Harry said softly, the howling still ringing in his ears.
"The Noble and Most Ancient Room of Black." Seri whispered. "I had to take down all those portraits and family air looms when I got here, so I made them there own room."
Harry looked around. It was a long, almost hall way like room. The walls were a deep, dark navy blue with black trim. The light came from the dimly lit torches between each portrait. Seri led the way down the room. The walls were decorated with up-turned-nosed witches and chunky old wizards. The old hanging of house elf heads was on his right and on his left was.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE POTTER?" Mrs. Black screamed from her frame.
"I slashed you once, don't make me do it again!" Seri snarled.
"SHUT UP YOU BLOOD TRAITOR! I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN YOU'D BE RUINED BY THE POTTERES, THEY WERE YOUR FATHER'S DOWN FALL! I KNOW IT WAS JAMES'S SON THAT MADE HIM DIE! IF HE NEVER GOT MESSED UP WITH THAT ANGEL OR JAMES, HE WOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN LOCKED UP IN AZKANBAN AND HE WOULD BE VOLDEMORT'S LEADING MAN!"
"Shut up!" Harry screamed.
"See, a Potter has no respect." Victoria said nastily.
"Women, if you don't shut your trap I'll cut it off and I won't have Kreacher restore you again." Seri said, turning on heal sharply, returning to her journey down the hall.
"No, wait!" Victoria Black pleaded in a much kinder tone. "Don't go down there child."
"Why not?" Seri asked, "Is my no good father down there?"
"Angelica, please." Victoria pleaded.
Harry ran to Seri's heels and as they walked, Mrs. Black's muffled cries and pleads died slowly.
"Seri," Harry said softly.
She whipped her eyes which had been watering and looked at him. "Yes Harry," She answered.
"What if Sirius well. doesn't know?"
Seri winced as though asking herself the same question. "Then I will tell him."
Harry nodded, only being able to dread the feeling that Seri must be having at that moment.
Half way down the hall a picture was off the wall, propped up against the wall, the canvas torn.
"Shut up you stupid idiot!"
"Oh grow up Sirius, you were never worth anything."
"I can't believe you actually became our parents' puppet. And a Death Eater."
"Yes, I know I'm such a disgrace for being a death eater. But what did you do with your life older brother? Run off with a couple of Potters and end up in Azkaban, killed by Bella and off your rocket not knowing what year it is!"
"SIRIUS!" Seri screamed, seeing one of the faces.
Harry stood behind her, supporting her, for her knees where shaking.
The two voices stopped fighting. Harry was almost shocked. They were portraits fighting, yelling at one another, though both in their own frame. One was the unforgettable face of Sirius Black and the other was a rougher, meaner version, on Harry suspected was Regulus, Sirius's younger brother. Regulus's picture was ripped and flapped over to the side.
"Potter." Regulus said harshly. "It seems James has given his stupidity and hair to another. poor boy."
"Shut up Regulus." Sirius said eyes big, studying Harry and Seri. "I think he's perfect. James would be proud."
Regulus rolled his eyes and walked out of view.
"I mean it Harry, James would have been proud." Sirius said again, eyes boring into Harry.
Harry pressed his lips together and nodded, fighting tears.
Sirius smiled and then pushed his eyes to Seri. He kinda just looked at her, while rubbing his painted hands over one another. "I don't know what to say to you." He said, "I'm sorry."
Seri fell to her knees, staring straight into the pictures' eyes. "For what?"
"For everything; for being young and stupid, not being who I was supposed to be, not seeing." Seri pulled her hand though her hair and smiled. "Angelica would be proud too, everything you've over come."
Sirius looked over his shoulder and kinda of grimaced. "I don't have much time." He said quickly.
"Why not?" Seri said desperately.
"Mother hid me behind Regulus for a reason, so I could never tell you something, but you have to know. The whole family loves you Seri. you are the last Black."
"No dad, you are. I'm a Potter."
"What did you call me?" Sirius asked.
"Dad." Seri said softly.
Sirius nodded, smiling. "No, you are a Black. you are my daughter."
Harry threaded his arm over Seri's shoulders to try and stop her trembling. "But they hate me, and will do anything to stop me from doing this."
"Do what?" Harry asked quickly.
"The Black family must die."
Harry's eyes bugged out.
"But not like that Harry.as long as the Black family name is still alive, so is the support the family had for you-know-who. Change your name Seri." Sirius said, looking to the side again.
"How? I'm a Potter. you and mum were never married." She said scornfully.
"But when she put your birth certificate under my name." Sirius said.
Seri smiled.
Voiced came from the wall. "What was that?" Harry asked.
"Mum," Sirius said sacredly. "I will remember Seri, I promise you. just remember." He said just before dashing out of view.
A few seconds later Victoria Black and a burly looking man entered their view from the opposite direction Sirius just left to. "Where did he go Angelica? What did he say?" Victoria asked hastily.
"He went the way you just came from and he said to never change my name." Seri said, sadly.
Victoria kinda smiled. "Good my dear." She said, smiling. "Get your hands off her Potter."
Harry grinned at Seri and removed his arm from her shoulders.
"Now dear," the man behind Victoria said to Seri, "Lucas just visited my frame, said he had a bad run in with you, I hope everything got sorted out."
"Actually Grandfather," Seri said, "We haven't sorted anything out, and I don't want to sort things out. Lucas is not my father no matter how hard he tries to make that true."
"You are Malfoy's daughter. No spawn of that son of mine could be such a right little hero." Victoria said, sounding out raged.
"So my name is Malfoy?" Seri said her face twisting into a smile.
Harry nearly fell to his knees laughing. Sirius said Seri had to change her last name, and the two people who would do anything so Seri wouldn't change her surrey name were arguing that she was a Malfoy.
"Of curse not, you are a Black, though and though. I was only saying it is odd how such a loyal and good girl can come from such a.devious. man." Their voices began to come slowly as they ran frame to frame to shout their words at Harry and Seri.
"Do you think we lost them?" Harry said as they passed an empty frame.
"I think so," Seri said with a blank Indian face.
The hall way became longer than it was. It was like running from something they wanted to forget, and chasing after their exit, but it never came. The frames were all the same, black gold against a deep, almost black wall. Dimly lit candles were in between each picture, but then they were all picture.
Something caught Harry's eye and he stopped. It was the Black Tapestry in which Harry had met half of Sirius's family with last year, but it was different. The names were smaller and there were so many gold threads on it, it could give you a head ache if you didn't know what you were looking at.
"You fixed it." He said, getting Seri's attention to stop also.
"Oh." She said nervously, coming to Harry's side. "Kreacher and I have been working on it." As she spoke, there was a sense of reassurance for herself in her voice. "Harry, how about you take a closer look?"
Harry nodded and stepped forward. The top was cluttered with long none sense names like Author Bradley van Frortly de Giggle San Hosa Black, and that was one name. But as Harry looked to the fringes of the bottom he found Victoria Black connected to a Mr. JR. Black. Two Gold lines fed down to Sirius Isis Black and Rebus Author Black.
"You got Sirius back on!" Harry exclaimed.
"Keep looking." Seri said impatiently.
Harry's eyes found Andromeda and Tonks were on the tapestry along with the Weasley family and event he Longbottoms were on there. Then a line that seemed to go straight down through the tapestry was the Potters. It seemed only a few married pure bloods, and it was pure bloods that were not well known. At the very bottom where only a few names, the youngest of the generations: Sirius Angel, Harry James, Draco Ganga, the Weasley children, Neville and.
Harry gasped.
"But. why didn't anyone tell me?" Harry stuttered, in disbelief of the two words staring at him. They were so familiar, but on this tapestry they were foreign, like in a different language.
"Another part of your mystery." Seri said placing her hand on Harry's shoulder gently.
"It's only a mystery to me." He scuffed. "Why didn't you tell me!" Harry screamed, pushing Seri's hand away.
"Because was safer that way in the beginning. Voldemort couldn't know you were related, both of you would be in danger. But he knows, so." Seri shrugged off handedly.
"Why would it put us in trouble?" Harry snapped.
Seri sighed and pushed her hair back. "Harry, you will understand everything soon. nothing will be a mystery anymore, but it has to be now. That secrets is between you and Mark."
Harry nodded, realizing he really didn't want to know how it would put him in trouble. His eyes averted back to the tapestry and his newly found cousin. Markus Evans.
"I don't feel like getting into this right now. Let's go Harry." Seri said, putting a hand behind Harry and pushing his back down the hall.