Chapter Two; Dining Dissension

By the time Sirius awoke the next morning, the fact that his mother had a boyfriend had finally sunk in.  Not that that made it any easier to bear.

Andromeda and Orion Black had divorced just over three years ago, after several years of a rocky marriage consisting of numerous fights and arguments.  Their main dispute was over the serious lack of time they had for one another and their children.  Andromeda worked as part of a potions research and development team.  Potions were her passion in life and she spent most of her time either at the team's central laboratory in Devon or in her own laboratory at home during the summer so that she could be there when Sirius and Ursa were back from school.

Orion had a full time job as a member of the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol and was a highly skilled Hit Wizard.  Unfortunately, the demands of his job kept him away from his family for long periods of time and was often the catalyst that sparked off yet another fight.

Sirius and Ursa rarely witnessed their parents fighting, often taking refuge in their rooms or across the road with their neighbour and her children.  But the aftermath of the fights always hung over the whole family like a dark cloud.  The relationship gradually deteriorated to the point where the only thing that Andromeda and Orion could agree on was to separate and file for a divorce.

After nearly three years of marriage feuding, Orion Black moved out with obligations to pay child support and a mutual agreement with his ex-wife to spend as much time with his son and daughter as work would allow.

Just before he left, Orion had made his children a very solemn promise; that he wasn't going to just disappear out of their lives, and that they would still be a family.

The promise did make the separation a little easier for Ursa, but privately Sirius was still waiting for his father to keep to his word.  Letters passed between them on a fairly regular basis but work and school just complicated the arrangement of holidays or even just a day out together.  Not that Sirius could really blame his father for that; it wasn't for lack of trying.  Several times arrangements organised weeks in advance had been postponed or forgotten about when the Ministry needed Orion for some catastrophe or another that they couldn't deal with without him.  Personally Sirius didn't believe it to be a viable excuse but he couldn't be mad at his father for long.  He missed him a lot when he wasn't around.

Orion and Andromeda, when they did come face to face, were stiff and formal with each other, trying to avoid unnecessary arguments for their children's sake and confrontations were often very brief.

Ursa had often confided in Sirius her belief that their mum and dad would get back together.  Sirius knew the truth however; they were better off apart.

Yet it had never occurred to him that either one of them might find another partner.  He didn't feel that they shouldn't; it just didn't feel right to him.

Making his way downstairs to the kitchen, Sirius couldn't help but notice how many small changes had occurred since last summer, that he hadn't noticed the night before.

The framed photographs down the stairs and in the hallway had gone, replaced by strangely motionless paintings.  The talking mirror was nowhere to be seen.  The open fireplace in the living room was empty and the jar of Floo powder that normally rested on the mantel was gone.  In the kitchen, the post-owl perch that hung outside the window had been removed. 

All in all, it felt rather bare and strange.  It didn't feel like home.

Cosmic was lying awake on the backdoor mat, staring unblinkingly at the empty dish before him, as though trying to will his breakfast into existence.

'Greedy cat,' said Sirius, scooping up the bowl and grabbing a tin of cat food out of the cupboard.  Cosmic weaved between his legs, mewing hungrily.

Ursa entered the kitchen, dressed in a pale purple dressing gown with matching slippers, haphazardly making a bowl of cereal with her eyes only half open.

'Morning!'  Sirius flashed a big open-mouthed, perky smile at her, eyes wide and staring.

Ursa spared just enough energy to frown sleepily at him, grunting in response.

'Ah, you're not awake yet?'

Monotone grunt.

'Any sign of Mum?'

Ursa made some sort of grumbling noise that Sirius interpreted as a no.

'Oh, come on, wake up.'  Sirius shoved her shoulder.  Ursa swatted his hand away.  'I'm not having you moping around with that face if you're staying in here.  Cheer up!'

'No.'

'Ah, it does speak something other than Troll.'

'You're just sore that I'm not going to stuck in here all day,' said Ursa haughtily.

'This is a first,' said Sirius, looking stunned.  'A complete sentence before nine o'clock.  You feeling okay?'

However difficult Ursa found it to form coherent phrases so early in the morning, Sirius silently had to admit that she was right.  Nevertheless, later that afternoon, Sirius set about his mother's request without fuss.  Cooking was rather enjoyable once you got the hang of it.  The kitchen was soon full of enticing smells and warm smoke.

While a pan of butter and oil was warming up, Sirius carefully sliced up some onions, his eyes stinging madly.  Repeatedly wiping away the tears, Sirius was on the verge of ditching this recipe when Ursa walked in, considerably more awake than she'd been earlier that morning.

'There's no need to get so upset, Siri,' she said sweetly.  'It's only an onion.'

'Sympathy pains,' Sirius grumbled, reaching for a cloth.  'How would you like to be hacked into pieces with a sharp knife and eaten?'

Ursa smirked.

'Do chef's always get emotional over their vegetables, or is it just you personally?'

'Are you going to stand there all day spouting smart remarks or are you going to make yourself useful and set the table?'

'Oh, but this is more fun.'

'Ursa, stop taunting your brother.'  Andromeda bustled into the room, her arms full of parchment notes and test results.  She looked tired and dejected.

'How's the research going?' asked Sirius, more out of habit than genuine interest.

'Urgh, badly.'  Andromeda dumped the papers on the table.  'It's been over a fortnight and we're no nearer to figuring this one out.  The formula just won't balance out and I can't figure out where it's going wrong.'

She looked around the kitchen, sniffing the air.

'What's that smell?'

'Sirius didn't wash this morning,' said Ursa, grinning. 

'Go set the table Ursa before you force me to hurt you,' said Sirius, mockingly raising the little knife he held, making slight stabbing motions in the air.  Ursa snatched up some cutlery from the drawer and left the room.  'Please tell me she's adopted,' he added to his mother.  She ignored the comment.

'So what are you making for tonight?' she asked.

'Fegato alla Veneziana!' Sirius declared dramatically in a fair attempt at an Italian accent.

His mother rolled her eyes and assumed a long-suffering look.

'In English, please?'

'Liver and onions,' Sirius nodded towards the colander by the sink, which contained a generous amount of sliced liver coated in flour, waiting for the pan to heat up.  'I hope he's not a vegetarian.'

'He isn't.'

'Good, I didn't want to start over.'  Ursa came back from the dining room.  Sirius swiftly placed a carton of eggs into her hands.  'There you go, sis.  You can do the pudding, save me doing it.'

'What are we having?' she asked.

'Something called …' he squinted at the open cookbook which helpfully flipped over several pages to the right recipe.  'Zabaglione,' he said slowly, trying to pronounce it correctly.  'You'll need some dry white wine, that's in the cabinet in the hall - and grab the marsala while you're there,' he added as she disappeared again.

Andromeda peered disapprovingly over his shoulder at the book.

'Sirius, I don't want your sister drinking wine.  And you're still too young for it as well, really.'

'Mum, I'm sixteen.  Anyway, she won't be drinking it, it's going in the pudding.'

'An alcoholic pudding?'  Andromeda raised an eyebrow questioningly.

'Yes, all right, Mum, I confess; the purpose of the pudding is to get Ursa drunk,' said Sirius placidly.  'Do we have any strawberries?'

'Sirius -'

'I won't let her drink any, I promise.'

'Good.  By the way, I've had a look at your OWL results.'

Sirius nervously looked up from tossing the onions into the pan.

'And?'

Andromeda smiled.

'And I think we have one very clever young man in the family.'  Sirius flushed, slightly embarrassed.  'Twelve OWLs certainly aren't very easy to achieve.  Though I daresay you only just scraped through Potions?'

Sirius shrugged.  'I got it, so what's the problem?'

'The problem is that you excel in every other subject available yet only perform at a satisfactory standard in a subject that your mother is considered a professional in.'

'What's wrong with that?  Everyone has something they're not particularly good at.  Potions just happen to be mine.'

'But Sirius, I don't understand how you can be such a natural in the kitchen yet you can barely master the basics of potion brewing.  Shouldn't one go with the other?  I mean, there really isn't that much difference, is there?'

Sirius snorted.

'This is coming from someone who is incredibly skilled in potions development yet who seemingly graduated from the 'When It's Black, It's Done, School of Cookery'!'

'Cheeky!'  Andromeda laughed, playfully aiming a backhand to Sirius' head.  'If that's what you think, I'm going back to my lab.'

'Fine.  See you next summer then, will we?'

'Hopefully I'll have discovered a Manners Potion by then.  Care to help me test it?'

'Not after last time.  I'd like to keep my hair, thank you very much!'

'It was an honest mistake -'

'But you're supposed to know what these mixtures are going to do!'

'Side effects are always a risk.'

'Gee, thanks for the warning.'

'Get back to work, Sirius.'

Sirius mockingly snapped a salute as she left for the lab.

'Yes, ma'am!  Oh -'

The onions were smoking.

'Onions ready, are they?'  Ursa smirked, sensibly keeping out of arms reach as she came back in.

'What took you so long?  Sampling the wine?  Naughty girl.'

'Ruined the dinner?  Mum will be pleased.'

'It's no worse than her culinary delights.  Come on, hurry up.  Those eggs need beating.'

*

At six o'clock Sirius and Ursa served up dinner with a minimum of mishaps (Sirius decided against mentioning that Ursa had been slightly over generous with the wine in the pudding) just as Richard arrived, armed with a bunch of pale orange roses for Andromeda.

Once they'd sat down Richard appeared to approve of the meal before him.  Indeed, after the first forkful, he sighed like he'd never tasted anything so delicious.

'Ann, I have to say your many talents just continue to amaze me,' he purred to Andromeda.  'Where did you learn to cook?'

Andromeda laughed airily.

'Oh no, I couldn't open a tin of beans without making a mess of it.  Sirius cooked for us.'

'Really?'  Richard turned to Sirius in mild surprised.  'Well, it's very impressive.'

'Err … thanks.'  Sirius slowly scraped some more liver onto his fork, avoiding eye contact, hoping Richard wasn't about to ask where he'd learnt to cook.  His mother would not be happy about Sirius bringing up his father again.  But Richard had already moved on to the next topic of conversation.

'So, Sirius, your mother tells me that you and your sister go to boarding school?'

'Err,' said Sirius again, casting a wary eye over to his mother.  Andromeda was looking nervous, fiddling with her wineglass, clearly praying that Sirius wasn't about to put his foot in it.

'Yes,' said Sirius carefully.  'It's up in Scotland.'

'Interesting,' Richard smiled warmly, leaning forward.  'Do you like it there?'

'Definitely.  I love it.'

'You enjoy your lessons, then?  Which is your favourite?'

Muggle Studies right about now.

Sirius thought fast.  'I like Geography,' he said evenly, thinking of the Marauders' Map.  'But I can't stand History.'

'Yeah, it's really boring,' Ursa piped up.  'Most of my class fall asleep.'

'Neither of you like History?'  Richard frowned.  'But History is what makes the present what it is.'

'Full of boring History lessons?' said Sirius jokingly.  'Our teacher's so dull he can even make the wars and gory battles sound boring.'

'History is very important,' Richard said sternly.  'You should have more respect for it and your tutor.'

'Sirius did ever so well in his exams,' Andromeda interjected quickly.  'He's come top of the year several times.'

'I see … and what about you, Ursa?  Did you have any exams this year?'

Ursa nodded.  'I passed all of them,' she said smugly.

Andromeda took advantage of Richard's distraction to nudge Sirius hard with her foot.  Sirius was starting to get fed up.  Richard was not rising in his estimation very much at all.

Then something else touched his leg, rubbing up against him.  A pair of bright green eyes blinked up at him from under the table.  Cosmic turned round, arched his back and purred.

Sirius gingerly picked up a slice of liver from his plate with his fingers and lowered it under the table.  Richard noticed; he leaned over and lifted up the tablecloth as Cosmic delicately took the liver from Sirius' hand.

'What is that … thing … doing here?'  he exclaimed.

Sirius straightened up.  'He lives here.  Is that a problem?'

'It is when it takes food from the table,' said Richard pompously.

'But Cosmic didn't take it, I gave it to him.'

Richard's cold eyes narrowed.

'Clearly you lack common sense.  Do you not realise how unsanitary that it?  Animals carry all sorts of germs.  That is a high risk of infection and cross-contamination.'

'But I've always done this and I've never caught anything.  Cosmic is perfectly healthy. He doesn't even have fleas,' Sirius protested stubbornly.

'My point is animals should not be allowed anywhere near food that is designated for human consumption.  You may not care about your own health but do you not consider other people's?  I dread to think what may have tainted this liver if that cat's been near it.'  He put his knife and fork down, and pushed his plate away.

Ursa looked very confused, eyeing her next forkful that she'd been about to put in her mouth.  Sirius was glaring stonily at Richard, about to tell him what he could do with the liver if he didn't like it, when -

'Richard's quite right.  Sirius, will you put Cosmic outside or put him in your room, please?'

Sirius stared at his mother.

'Mum, Cosmic was never anywhere near the liver, or even the kitchen!'

'I don't care.  Take him up to your room,' she said firmly.

Richard's face contorted with further puzzlement, squinting at Sirius.

'The cat belongs to you?'

'Why, something wrong with that too?'  Sirius snapped, earning him a very angry look from his mother.

'It's just that I wouldn't expect a boy to own such a feminine creature.  A feline is a woman's pet,' said Richard.

Cosmic made a snarling sound in his throat.  Sirius pushed back his chair, scooped the cat up in his arms and abruptly left the room without another word.  Luckily, the stairs and bedroom door were quite capable of making a noise.

With a loud meow of protest, Cosmic was dropped onto the bed.  Sirius sat down heavily, scowling.

'What a git,' he muttered.  'If he thinks that he can tell me what I can or can't do in my own home, he's got another think coming.'

Cosmic yowled, annoyed at the lack of food.  Sirius stroked him gently, taking a few minutes to calm down, the cat settling down beside him.

Grinning slyly, Sirius withdrew a napkin of liver slices from his pocket.  Cosmic's eyes widened and he purred loudly, licking the area around his mouth with his soft pink tongue.

'See?  Never underestimate a Marauder's sleight of hand.'

Feeling slightly better, Sirius slowly made his way back downstairs.

*

To Be Continued

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Please review.  All comments and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated.

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Authors Notes

MorganD – Hi Morgan! Glad to have you back! *hugs* Just so you know, my Beta Lil Lupin and I have gone over this fic several times, weeding out the mistakes and errors, so if you do spot some, there shouldn't be many at all. ^_^   And sorry about the 'weekly' postings; I just wanted enough time to get going on my next project.  It's going to be another lengthy one and I don't particularly want to go for months without posting anything; hence my 'post-slowly-and-stall-for-time' approach.

NightSpear – You've been checking my profile daily? Wow *sits stunned and grins stupidly*  I did pay attention when you suggested posting comments as to how far the fic had progressed on my bio but I didn't know if anyone was actually reading them – thank you!   

Yoda – *squeals delightedly*  YODA! *hugs*  Hi! Great to have you back (again).  ^_^   I will read YoS as soon as I can – just need to fine-tune this one (last minute corrections and such)   Jealous? Don't be – I had a lot of help. Aren't Beta's great?!   Wish I'd had the sense to find one when I first started writing, my first 'efforts' wouldn't have been such a mess if I had.  Oh well, live, write and learn, I guess.  Yep, Ursa, another 'starry' name.  I did originally have Sirius' mother named Ursa, or Ursula, and his sister was to be Andromeda; but Andromeda is such a mouthful and I didn't want Sirius to keep shortening it to Ann or Annie, so I swapped them.   Head in a cauldron?  I have made Andromeda very work-orientated; some people are like that.

Prongs – Thank you!

Lil Lupin – You've never held back on the criticisms so far, Lil, keep it up! ^_^  Yeah, it's going alright so far.  I never expect a huge response for a first post but you never know; this fic may turn out to be fairly popular.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed in any case.  Looking forward to having chapter 20 back!