Walkabout
The house was cold. Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place was always cold. It was located in an expensive, extravagant part of London where only the richest lived. Every house glared down at the visitors in cars and on the sidewalk, disapproving of the unknown, untrusted rabble disrupting their noble existence. The only trees in the neighborhood were the viciously pruned, stunted decorative trees that the residents allowed to grow as display pieces. The houses did not have back yards, rather they had courtyards, walled off from their neighbors by high stone walls. There were small spaces in between each house, where a man could walk if he didn't mind the oppressive silence of the houses around him.
Number Twelve was one of these houses, but most people would never know of it. Unlike the other houses of Grimmauld Place, Number 12 was home to a wizarding family. Not just any wizarding family, but the Blacks, one of the oldest and most respected families of the wizarding world. Also one of the most feared. Even the youngest of wizarding children knew not to cross the Black family. The Blacks held even more power than the Malfoys in the government; to challenge or irritate them would be virtual suicide. The current Minister of Magic owed his office to the Blacks; many members of the Wizengamot owed their positions to Black favor.
No non-wizard would ever find Number Twelve, indeed, most wizards would never find it. Thanks to ancient spells laid down over hundreds of years, it was impossible to find Number Twelve on any map. Only those who knew the family could find the house. Its cold front was deceptively innocent. Unwelcome visitors would never get past the first three stairs to the front door. The door itself was locked with hundreds of locks, and many spells and hexes. Only the Blacks could open this door, and then only for a select few. The Blacks did most of their socializing outside of their stronghold, usually at one of the other Black households.
Only the core of the Black family lived in Number Twelve. Trajan and Augusta Black were the heads of the family, commanding their relatives like monarchs would command their subjects. They were often away, in one of their many town houses across Europe and Russia. When they went away on family business, they left their two sons, Sirius and Regulus Black, at Number Twelve with some worthy caretaker.
Such was the situation on August 14, 1970. Trajan had been called away to Paris, and Augusta had gone with him, faithful wife that she was. Sirius and Regulus had been left with Maira Malfoy, a strict old woman, a pureblood widow with no children. It was high noon, and unbearably hot out. Yet Sirius and Regulus still toiled with their trainer, Master Cyran. Master Cyran was a physical trainer, whose job it was to teach the Black boys the ancient art of chivalry. He was now focusing mainly on Sirius, who had always been the more promising of the two sons. He fenced with the tall eleven year old boy, drilling him mercilessly. The boy had been sick recently, but he had continued with his training as though nothing was different. His face was much paler than usual, and he had lost weight. He still fought, though. His family expected it of him.
Sirius stumbled slightly, leaving his side open for attack. Cyran slammed the practice sword into his side, knocking the boy to his knees. Regulus guffawed, turning red with mirth while sitting on the sidelines.
"You'll have to do better than that, brother!"
Cyran scowled down at Sirius. The boy was still on his knees on the ground, his sword now lying forgotten next to him. Cyran's eyes narrowed.
"Get up, boy. Go. You have classes, and I have no more use for you."
Sirius stood, head down. He walked from the courtyard into the house. Up the main stairs, through the big hall. Turned left at the end of the hall, walked up the spiral staircase. He opened the door, entering his room. He closed the door, then slumped against it, sighing. He lifted up his shirt to see a large bruise forming where Cyran had hit him. He tried to take a deep breath, and winced as his side screamed in protest. He figured he had broken the rib, but he doubted anyone would check. Those around him very rarely noticed anything about him. They knew him, yes, but they didn't know who he was.
Sirius sighed again, looking around his room. He had been moved to the tower room when he was seven, when he had been caught watching the Muggle children out his window. He had been beaten and moved to the room at the top of the house. He looked around.
The spiral staircase was an architectural oddity, it made one think he was going to a tower room, when really it led to the attic at the top of the house. Sirius liked his room, because though it was less grand than his brother's, it was bigger. His were the only wooden floors in the house, and there were windows all along each wall. The ceiling was slanted with the roof, but Sirius didn't mind that either.
Sirius liked his room mostly because his family hated it. None of his family would follow him to his room unless they were really angry with him. Sirius admitted to himself that they were really mad at him a lot, but he felt safer in his room than he did anywhere else in the house.
He laid himself down on his bed, which was a fine bed, though not by the Black standards. It had black silk sheets, and a large black and green down comforter folded at the foot. His bookcase stood at one end of the room, a desk at the other. A rug covered part of the floor under his bed, keeping his feet from freezing during the winter.
Sirius sighed again. I should be eating lunch, he thought. But I'm just not hungry. He hadn't eaten since breakfast the day before but he hadn't really noticed. He had been too distracted. My Hogwarts letter should be coming soon. I wonder what it will be like, being away from home. He turned over to lie on the side that didn't hurt, staring at the wall. Probably not much different. I'll be a Slytherin, no doubt, and they're all like my family.
He knew that his family thought he didn't belong. He wasn't like the other purebloods his age. Not like Narcissa, who was always seeking to please her family. Not like Severus, whose studies had led him to have a life goal at the age of eight, and who was now well on the way to achieving that goal, even though his first year of formal schooling did not start for another two months. He was not like his brother Regulus, whose charm and wits had earned him an early place in the Black family, and who was eventually hoping to become a lawyer.
Nor was Sirius like his cousin Bellatrix, for which he was grateful. Bella was devilishly smart; the whole family was proud of her. She knew amazing amount of history, having learned the history of the Black family perfectly by the time she was six. Her knowledge of the history of the Dark Arts was formidable, for one so young. She was not yet practiced in the Arts, but Sirius had no doubt she would be.
What most of the family did not know about Bella was her after lesson activities. Sirius used to play with her, when he was younger. They had gotten along wonderfully; he and Bella had loved to imagine themselves in new, interesting places on grand adventures. Things had gone beautifully between the two until Sirius was nine.
A stray dog that lived near Grimmauld Place had given birth to a litter of puppies. One day, when Bella was over, Sirius had gone outside after a Latin lesson to play with her. She had snuck up behind him, and told him she had a surprise for him. Bella led him to an alley, and told him to close his eyes. He waited while Bella prepared something. When she told him to open his eyes, he nearly threw up. She had found the puppies, and she had cut two of them open. One of them had clearly been burned, while one was whimpering, many of its bones obviously broken.
Bellatrix had turned to him, her eyes gleaming. "Isn't this a good game, Sirius?" She had asked. Sirius had shaken his head and run away from the scene, to cry under the covers of his bed.
Sirius shook his head as he lay on his bed. No, he thought. I don't belong with my family at all.
His parents were almost constantly furious with him; at least when they were home. He was eleven years old, and he still did not have a clear idea of what he wanted to do. It wasn't that he wasn't smart; he was very intelligent, a match even for Bella. He simply was not focused. He excelled in everything, yet had no real motivation to follow any one path. His parents found this infinitely disappointing. "Why can't you be more like Severus?" they asked. He had heard this question for years, and it had driven him to despise the other boy.
There was another factor in his parents' hatred of him. Sirius had a dangerous love for fiction, and he had always been something of a dreamer. When he was supposed to be doing schoolwork, he would be daydreaming, thinking of the stories he had read about great adventures in far away lands, dreaming up his own stories and living them inside his head. He loved animals, and he loved people. People of all sorts. His fascination with people had led him into Muggle neighborhoods more than once. The last time he had interacted with Muggles, his parents had beaten him senseless and locked him in his room for a week.
Sirius sighed again. He had only wanted to know what it was like to live a Muggle life. He had only wanted to see whatever it was his family hated so badly. He couldn't understand it. They seemed the same as him, except for the fact they couldn't do magic. He wanted so badly to understand others.
"Sirius! Get down here, NOW!" The voice pierced through his reverie. He wondered what he had done this time to make Mrs. Malfoy shriek at him. He stood up gingerly, not wanting to jolt his ribs. Walking down the stairs, he tried to think what he done this time. Could it be the baby birds he had hidden in his room, where he could feed them until they could fly? He didn't think anyone knew about them. He continued wondering what he had done wrong as he walked into the drawing room, keeping his face carefully neutral.
"Your letter." The older woman thrust the letter at him, a stern look on her face. Sirius took the letter, recognizing the Hogwarts seal on the front. He wondered why the delivery owl hadn't delivered the letter to him, then shrugged it off as unimportant. He opened the letter carefully, reading what it said with a sort of apathy.
This letter signaled the start of a new life for Sirius. He would leave his house, his family. He would start his schooling, surrounded by his peers. Even those who his parents would gladly see dead; the Muggle borns, half-bloods, and the bloodtraitors. He wondered why instead of feeling excited, or maybe afraid, he felt only a mild disappointment.
"Now Sirius. I know I don't have to tell you the importance of your Sorting into a decent house. Slytherin. My boy, you are the heir to the Black family. You must uphold the family honor, and be Sorted into Slytherin. You have no idea what an embarrassment it would be to your parents if you were Sorted into, say, Hufflepuff. I wouldn't put it past you; you've always seemed weak to me. However, for the sake of your family, you must get into Slytherin. Do you understand me, Sirius?"
Sirius had been expecting the long rant. He knew he would get many more of the same next six weeks or so. He looked up at the woman who was watching over he and his brother this time. "Yes, Madam. I understand."
The woman nodded curtly. "You may have the afternoon off, boy. Now, off with you. I have things to do."
Sirius trudged back up the stairs to his room, still holding his letter. When he got to his room and had safely closed the door, he sat down on the bed and looked at the letter again.
"I've been waiting for you since I was little, you know," he told the letter. "I've been looking forward to this time for so long."
He sighed. He thought he should be more excited than he was. He'd been waiting so long, why did it feel like he had just lost something important?
Sirius flopped down on his back, his arms spread out on either side of him. He'd been waiting for the Hogwarts letter for so long, and now he had it. He had what he had been looking forward to for years, he supposed now it was time to find something new to anticipate. That was what made living with his family bearable, after all. If he had something to look forward to, he would be fine.
Sirius wracked his brain, trying to think of something he could anticipate. To his dismay, he could find nothing. There was nothing in his future that he felt would be terribly exciting or worthwhile. He would be Sorted into Slytherin, make the friends his parents wanted him to, follow the path his family set for him. Sirius, as the heir, had very little choice in his future. He would do what his family said, and there really wasn't much left after that.
He laughed quietly to himself. How fun his life would be. He was to be a slave to his family the rest of his life. He had always been a slave to then, he supposed, but now the stakes had gotten much higher. Now he stood to lose what little support his family had for him. If he failed, they would turn to Regulus.
He sighed and stood up to get a book off his shelf. He thought he would read for his free afternoon. He and King Arthur had people to save, lands to rebuild. He smiled. He loved reading.
When his parents heard that Sirius had gotten his letter, they finished their business in Paris and quickly headed back to London. Three days after Sirius had gotten his letter, both his mother and his father arrived home, with the house elf toting packages behind them.
Sirius was very excited. His parents had never cut short a trip for their children. Not even when Regulus had pneumonia, or when Sirius had been poisoned in an attempt to remove the Black heir from the scene. Yet they had come home from France a week early this trip.
In light of this new excitement, Sirius and Regulus had been excuse from their lessons with Cyran. They were given the morning to prepare themselves for their parents. Sirius broke his personal code and ate breakfast, Regulus stuck to his older brother hoping to bask in the reflected glory. Sirius' acceptance into Hogwarts was no small thing. While the family had known both children would be accepted, it was still a great thing for Sirius to receive his letter.
Sirius waited in his room after lunch, his brother for once staying quiet and reading one of Sirius' many books. Sirius sat on his bed, waiting for his parents to call for him.
Soon enough the family house elf Kreacher enter Sirius' room. "Your father and mother await you, Master Black." He said. Sirius stood and walked out of his room. To an outsider, he would have seemed like a person headed to a meeting with a monarch, not a son headed to his parents.
He entered the sitting room, where his mother and father waited for him. Trajan Black sat in a regal wing chair in the center of the room, his dark purple robes arranged around him perfectly. His shoulder length black hair was pulled back in a tail at the base of his neck, emphasizing his sharp cheekbones and his stormy grey eyes. His eyebrows cut over his eyes, divided his face with mathematical precision. The trademark gaunt cheeks and sharp chin of the Black men finished the sharp sculpture that was Trajan's face, a sculpture that was mirrored in Sirius.
Augusta sat to the left of her husband wearing a white dress in the finest of silks. Her black hair was braided back in intricate patterns against her head, with golden cords interwoven in the braids. Her glittering eyes shown down at her son from her seat. Sirius' mother was an incredibly intelligent woman. She had once had ambitions in Transfiguration research, but those ambitions had been put on the shelf when she was promised to Trajan in marriage.
"Hello son," Trajan said. "We have returned from Paris to congratulate you for your acceptance to Hogwarts. Do you have anything to say?"
Sirius bowed his head to Trajan. "Thank you father, mother. I am most honored by your interest in my schooling. I am deeply glad to see you returned home, and I hope that you will be staying for a while."
Augusta nodded. "We are glad to be home. We have been away too long. You have grown since we last saw you, my son."
Trajan spoke again. "I am sure you understand that your position requires certain things of you, Sirius. As the heir of this family, we expect more from you than from your cousins or your brother. It is very important that you not be a disappointment to us, Sirius. It would reflect badly on the family if you were to do something unexpected. You have many generations of tradition to uphold, Sirius. It is imperative that you do not disappoint us. The family is depending on you. When I am gone, my responsibilities will be passed to you. So it is written in the book of Black, and so it will be. If you disappoint us now, by being Sorted into an inappropriate house, or displaying ignoble behavior at Hogwarts, we will be forced to take some you some unpleasant actions to rectify the situation. Do you understand?"
Sirius nodded. "Yes father. I understand."
"Good. We expect you to be Sorted into Slytherin, of course. There is really no other acceptable house. We will expect you to have good grades. Your first year and second years at Hogwarts will determine a lot about your character. We will expect you to work hard, and associate with the right people. There will be mudbloods at Hogwarts, nd you will unfortunately have to suffer exposure to them. However, we expect you to avoid unnesacary contact with their creed. Also, we expect you to avoid the blood traitors, such as the Potters, the Weaslys, and it might be best to avoid the Bones family as well." Trajan leaned forward to look at his son. "Do not disappoint me, Sirius."
Sirius looked down again. "Yes father."
His father nodded to him. "I expect you to be ready to go to Diagon Alley tomorrow morning. I will find a suitable escort. You may go."
Sirius turned and left. He wished he could have talked to his mother. She had grown more and more distant from him over the years. He sighed. At least he could look forward to going to Diagon Alley the next day.
Sirius lay sprawled on his bed, the afternoon before he would be going to Hogwarts. He couldn't remember a month of his life where he had been lectured more often. His parents had come home and lectured him about upholding the family name. Then all of his aunts, uncles, and older cousins had come to tell him how important it was he act up to the standards set by the family. The Malfoys had then added their words of wisdom, telling Sirius how important it was to the wizarding nobility that he behave well. Even Lucius, who was just entering his fifth year of Hogwarts, had lectured Sirius on the difficulties of being the heir to a major house.
He looked down at his wand, which hadn't left his side since he had bought it a month before. Hawthorne and dragon heartstring, and thirteen inches long. Sirius had stayed in Ollivander's for hours, trying to find the right wand. When Sirius had finally found the right wand, he flicked it and turned the chair in the corner into an iguana. His family told him that he must have talents in Transfiguration.
Sirius sighed. It wasn't like it mattered where his talents lay. Regardless of what he could do, Sirius was to become the leader of the Black household. Whether he was good at Transfiguration, or his talents lay with the circus, it wouldn't matter. Sometimes he wondered why his parents even bothered sending him to Hogwarts. They could just keep him home and teach him the Dark magic they wanted to, along with the endless lessons in aristocracy.
Sirius turned his head to look at the dress robes he was to wear for dinner tonight. His family had invited his cousins and several friends of the family to a party before sending him to Hogwarts the next morning. Bellatrix, Andromeda, and Narcissa would be there, along with Severus Snape and Lucius Malfoy. Regulus was extremely excited. Sirius quite frankly couldn't care less about the dinner, he knew it would just be another opportunity for the adults to lecture him. He hoped something would explode, so he wouldn't have to sit through hours of people telling him again and again his duties to the family and the people.
Sirius' glared at his dress robes for the occasion. Made of black silk, with a high neck and long sleeves, Sirius thought they would make him look exactly like Dracula, a vampire character in a Muggle book he had read once. He dragged himself off of his bed to put the robes on. His cousins would be here soon, and he would have to be ready for them. Shucking off his deep blue robes, he squirmed his way into the black robes. Looking at himself in the mirror, he found that his suspicions were correct. If he had pointy teeth, he would look exactly like Dracula.
"You look very noble, young Master." The mirror told him. Sirius rolled his eyes.
"Sure, I look noble, if you think that evil is the same as noble. I look like Dracula."
The mirror huffed at him. "I had a boy once, looked rather like you. Little Tom. He looked noble as well."
Sirius sighed. "I'm sure you did, mirror. Now, if I can leave?"
The mirror huffed again. "So rude. You would do well to take a leaf out of Tom's book."
Sirius rolled his eyes and walked out of his room. His cousins would be here soon, and he didn't have time to waste with the mirror.
"Sirius! Get down here boy! Your cousins are here!" His mother's voice hissed up the stairs at him. Sure enough, his cousins were there. Narcissa stood off to the side, wearing a pale rose gown with her fine blonde hair piled on top of her head. She didn't even spare a glance at Sirius; she was bursting to study the Black Family tree again. Bellatrix, however, was very happy to see Sirius.
"Sirius!" She squealed. "How very good it is to see you, my cousin! It has been long since we saw each other!" She dashed forward to hug him tightly. Sirius looked down at his cousin's curly black hair. "Bella," he wheezed through crushed lungs. "I can't breath."
Bellatrix giggled again and released him. She stood in front of him hold her arms out. "What do you think of my new dress, Sirius? Isn't it a lovely color?" She twirled, causing the dark red velvet to swirl around her. "Daddy thought it was pretty. He said it brought out the blood in my cheeks."
Sirius nodded. "It's lovely, Bella. Truly."
The family moved towards the dining room. Sirius moved to sit at the small table set off for the children, but his father motioned to him.
"You will sit with us tonight, Sirius. You are going off to Hogwarts tomorrow, you are no longer a child. You may now sit with the adults."
Sirius swallowed and walked to the seat set for him at the large table. His father was gesturing to the seat to his right. Sirius' mother had taken her seat at the other end of the table, with Bella, Narcissa, and the mother of the two surrounding her. He sat down next to his father and looked across the table at his dinner partner. He flinched inwardly. Sixteen year old Lucius Malfoy sat across from him. As Lucius' dinner partner, Sirius would be expected to speak civilly to the older heir. He and Lucius had despised each other for as long as Sirius had been old enough to attend his parents' parties. They were the heirs of the two most powerful pureblood families in England; they were expected to compete ferociously for the most powerful political positions.
Lucius smiled coldly at him from across the table. Sirius forced himself to smile back at the blonde boy. He suppressed a shudder; this evening would not be pleasant.
After the dinner, the younger diners were released to their own devices. Bellatrix cornered Sirius almost immediately, full of chatter about the dinner.
"Wasn't that lovely, Sirius? Our first formal dinner, with the adults! It was lovely. Severus was my dinner partner. He's so intelligent, Sirius. He's brilliant, exactly what a young heir to a pureblood family should be. He set an example for all of us. Don't you agree, Sirius?"
Sirius resisted the urge to sigh or run his hands through his hair. "Yes Bella. I think he's a wonderful example. He fits himself exactly into the mold of an heir. His parents must be proud."
"You do not sound approving, Black. Might I remind you that it is even more important for you to fit in your 'mold?'" Lucius looked down on the two young Blacks. "I trust you have grown out of your childish fascination with the Muggles, Sirius?"
Sirius smiled bloodlessly at Lucius. "What use do I have for Muggles or Mudbloods, Lucius? I have deeper concerns than the scum of this earth."
Lucius nodded curtly at Sirius. "Good. That is a proper response. You may yet make a good Chancellor, Black."
Bellatrix scowled. "He won't be Chancellor, Malfoy. Sirius will be Minister, and you will be his underling. You don't stand a chance against my cousin, you overgrown peacock!"
Lucius was silent for a moment, then he tilted his head back and laughed. "Very good, Black. Your," he paused, examining his fingernails. "Female cousin must defend you. Perhaps I should look for a close friend and underling with more backbone. Like Severus, for example." Lucius turned and walked away from the two, towards Narcissa Black.
Bellatrix looked up at Sirius. "I think you'll do well, Sirius. I think you're more than a match for that piece of scum."
Sirius smiled at his cousin. "I'm glad you think so, Bella."
The curly haired girl looked at him gravely. "Sirius?"
"Yes Bella?"
"You.. You might try being more like Severus. He really is a wonderful example. It might be good, if you followed his lead at Hogwarts, at least for a while."
Sirius' nose twitched. "I see. Thank you for your advice, Bella." Sirius walked away, his black robes billowing behind him. He scowled towards Lucius and Narcissa; just his luck get stuck with the most irritating of the Black sisters. He loved Bella, very much. However, he despised Narcissa and her haughtiness. He wished Andromeda was still part of the family. He envied her freedom; she had left the family when he was about six, to marry a Muggle born wizard. He was very happy for her, but he missed her presence at these noble functions. She had really lightened the mood.
"Hello Black." Sirius whipped around to face Severus Snape. He sighed inaudibly. Of all the people he wanted to avoid, Severus was near the top of the list. The other boy's cold black eyes bored into Sirius' pale grey eyes.
"Hello Snape. It is.. Pleasant to see you again."
"Don't lie to me Black. You'd rather I be on the other side of the planet, and I would like to be as far away from you as possible."
Sirius was startled by the blunt statements of his rival. "This is true. We hate each other. This does not explain why you are standing here talking to me."
Severus continued glaring at him. "We will both be going to Hogwarts tomorrow, Black. With our backgrounds, we will most likely both be Slytherins; perhaps Ravenclaws. It might be profitable for us to put aside our childhood animosities."
Sirius nodded. "I see your point." Sirius eyed the other boy. "What do you suggest?"
"I suggest we make an alliance, of sorts. We study together, we stay near each other. We watch each other's backs. You realize there will be many out to slander our names; we must prevent this. I am not suggesting we be friends, I am simply suggesting we not let our childhoods force us apart. We cannot be divided now, in this time when those horrid liberals are suggesting we let werewolves attend school like normals. We cannot allow those around us to divide and conquer us."
Sirius nodded again. He was mildly surprised; he had never heard Severus utter such a long speech. "You are correct, of course. An.. Alliance, as you call it, would be quite profitable. Are we agreeing to put the past behind us, then?"
Severus held out his hand. "We are. It amazes me even now, but we are agreeing."
Sirius took Severus' hand and shook it. "Good. I'm glad."
Severus nodded curtly. "As am I."
"Severus. It is time for us to leave now, child." Serena Snape, Severus' mother, looked between the two of them. "I am surprised, and proud, to see the two of you speaking to each other civilly."
"We have decided to ally ourselves, Mother. We shall study together."
Serena nodded, and Sirius saw where Severus inherited his curt nod. "That is a good plan. It is a strong alliance."
She turned to Severus. "It is time for us to leave, Severus." She inclined her head to Sirius. "We shall see you tomorrow, Master Black."
Serena swept out from the room. Severus met Sirius' eyes. "Thank you for your hospitality. Until tomorrow." Severus gave a slight bow, as was traditional for a young man leaving an Heir's presence. Sirius bowed his head slightly, showing that he accepted Severus' farewell.
Sirius was relieved to see them go. Once one family left, the others would soon follow. He would be able to go to bed, and get some rest before the train ride tomorrow. He resisted the urge to run his hand through his hair. He wasn't sure he could sleep before tomorrow, but he could at least spend one more night in his bad before he had to sleep in the Slytherin dormitories tomorrow.