Chapter 51: Hannah's Birthday
Blackmoor, Essex, England
April 16, 1987
Sirius Black watched the party goers with a sense of triumph. To say that he had been a bit panicked over the planning of a little girl's birthday party was a big understatement. After leaving Alicia in Holland Park five days previously he had managed to make his way to his home of 25 Drayton Gardens in Chelsea. It was not more than three minutes after he had arrived home when he swiftly realized that he had absolutely no clue what he should do for a little girl's birthday party. He could plan a boy's party with ease, but a little girl? What if he came up with games that Hannah and the other little girls invited would hate? What if he chose the wrong food selections? The wrong party decorations?
He couldn't plan on his own. He needed advice. Advice from someone who was an expert at planning for a variety of social events. He needed to visit Narcissa.
He didn't delay in collecting the floo powder and making the call to Malfoy Manor to speak to 'Cissa. He was relieved to find her at home dealing with her many correspondences. With her permission, he stepped through to visit her in person. He was practically vibrating with both exuberance and anxiety as he laid out to her how he had gained Alicia's acquiescence to throw a party for her daughter.
This was important to him. Hannah deserved a wonderful party and it was his way of declaring himself to both Hannah and her mother. He wanted to show Hannah that he could be a father to her, that he would take care of her. The poor little girl deserved that kind of love and devotion and while he knew she had a loving uncle, he had a sense that Hannah really needed a father. He was more than willing to be her father. That little girl had touched his heart when he had first met her, and he had seen how terrified she was of her paternal grandfather. He wanted to show Hannah that he would honor her as his daughter and love her. He also needed to show that to Alicia, because he was positive that Alicia would never marry him if he could not earn Hannah's love and trust.
"The party has to be perfect 'Cissa," Sirius had told his cousin as he paced before the settee in her favorite parlor of Malfoy Manor. The parlor was called 'Narcissa's Parlor' and she had decorated the entire room to her specifications. Sirius had been told by Draco that it was her sanctuary and where she handled most of her personal and business correspondences. It was also her preferred place to entertain intimate guests such as close friends and family. A glance in her direction had shown him that she found his exuberance amusing. He had shot her a pointed glare when he noticed just how truly amused she was. "I need your help dear cousin," he had said with such saccharine sweetness that it had caused her to giggle.
"Of course, I will help you, Sirius," she had reassured him. "What do you need from me?"
Her assurance of help had reassured him, and he sighed then. "I need a venue for Hannah's party. I had at first thought my London home, but that simply will not do. I wish to invite a lot of children and give them room to play. The garden at the London house is not large enough to host so many and to let the children engage in so many activities."
Narcissa had silently agreed with that. "I don't suppose that you have thought about hosting this at Stonekeep?" she asked referring to his manor in Northumberland.
He had winced at that. "I had, but Stonekeep is not yet renovated," he informed her.
She had given him a soft smile of understanding then. "You haven't yet met with Lord Macmillan to speak about the changes you want to be made to Stonekeep then," she said simply.
Sirius had frowned at that. He liked Malcolm, but the man was also the husband of Olivia, Sirius's lost love. He wasn't eager to face Malcolm and Olivia yet, though he knew that he should and soon for a variety of reasons. Thus far he had not needed to speak with either of them one on one. They had all been together at family events of course, but he had not been back in England for very long yet and he had been able to only meet Olivia and her husband with many other family members there to act as a buffer. That would not always be the case. Someday he'd need to speak with them about Ernest and Leonis. Surely Ernest should be allowed to stay in his home some of the times when he had Leonis. He also wanted Ernest to like him and be comfortable with him. He was Olivia's little boy and his oldest son's half-brother. He already felt a bit protective of the child, but then he suspected that he always would have felt protective of any child of Olivia's. He would have also felt that protective of a child of Marlene McKinnon's.
Marlene had been his school sweetheart. He had spent years at Hogwarts chasing the beautiful Marlene and trying to win her favor. They had dated for several years, even a year after Hogwarts. At one time, he had thought that she would be the woman he would spend the rest of his life loving. She had surprised him when she had ended their relationship. He had often dealt with her jealousy and tried to reassure her that he didn't want other women, but she hated the attention he received from women and men alike. She had ended their relationship in a jealous fit and after a week of sulking, Sirius had sat down with James and Lily to talk about what had happened between him and Marlene. Lily had been a big help. She had told him that the breakup had less to do with him and more to do with Marlene. Sirius could not help the attention he gained from others and Marlene had not tried hard to overcome her own jealous insecurities. Perhaps Marlene had needed to be with a man that didn't garner attention. Regardless, it had been awkward dealing with Marlene while they were both members of the Order of the Phoenix.
"I thought it could wait until May," he had defended.
"That would be best," she had agreed amicably. "Stonekeep is out of the question then. Perhaps you should consider Blackmoor," Narcissa had suggested.
Sirius had stopped by the mantle, staring at a more recent photograph that had been taken of Draco, Dane, Theo, and Blaise. "Scorpius looks remarkably like your Draco and your Theo," he said thoughtfully as he stared at the photograph.
"Yes, he does," Narcissa had agreed. "Theo resembles his grandmother's Malfoy blood and his mother's Greengrass blood more than he does the Nott blood. I consider that a blessing. Orran Nott is already a taint on his future if he looked like the man it would only complicate his life more," she had said. "Scorpius clearly takes after the Malfoy blood. I think he must have got it through Amaryllis's Parkinson blood. Amaryllis's grandmother was Jolicia Roper nee Malfoy. All of the current Parkinson's resemble Jolicia in various ways."
Sirius had looked thoughtful, but he was not entirely convinced. "He does look more like Amaryllis than like Bellatrix and Rodolphus," he had finally allowed. "It is odd though for him to resemble Amaryllis more than Rodolphus and Bellatrix. From what little I remember about blood adoption, he should resemble them more."
She had frowned at that. "Only if their blood was considered more powerful in the ritual," Narcissa had said thoughtfully and it was clear that it was something that had been bothering her as well.
"Considered more powerful?" Sirius had questioned. "The Black family is a very ancient family," he murmured remembering the lessons of his youth that had been quietly whispered into his ear as he had sat on his father's lap. His father had been a gentle person, a quiet man who had delighted in the antics of his children when they were young. Sirius had loved him when he was small and had hated him when he was a teenager. He had hated his weakness. Walburga had walked all over Orion and she had walked all over Sirius and Regulus too. Now, Sirius felt sadness when he thought of his father. Orion had tried to stop Walburga, but he was beaten down by her too. Sirius wondered what horrors she had visited on her husband? Surely, she had done terrible things to him. She hadn't hesitated to torture him, so why had he never realized that she must have tortured Orion as well.
"It is, and by that alone Scorpius should resemble the men of House Black," Narcissa had said with a frown. "Yet, he looks like a Malfoy. I asked Lord Malfoy about Blood Adoption after explaining my curiosity concerning Scorpius. I wondered if perhaps Rodolphus had used more of his blood than Bellatrix had in order to make the child resemble his side of the family rather than the Black's. He said it was possible. He also said it was possible that it was the boy's true blood-line that we are seeing in his looks. When a Muggle-born is blood adopted, it is easy to overwrite the original bloodline in its entirety. The look of the child will change. Where once hair was blond it could change to black. But in the case of a child who is born of Pure-blood's the blood adoption will change their blood and all documentation will show that this child is now a child of their adopted parents, but it will barely alter the look of the child."
Sirius had mulled over this new information for some minutes and then had spoken. "So, Scorpius might not be taking after Amaryllis in looks? He might actually be a scion of the Malfoy family?"
Narcissa had nodded. "Yes, but how, we do not know," she had admitted. "At times like this, I lament that the Malfoy family doesn't have a Tapestry like the one our family has at Blackmoor."
Sirius had agreed with that. The Blackmoor Tapestry was a truly marvelous piece of magic. Very handy for keeping track of the family. It was a pity that no one had thought to consider the thing sooner. He had then stridden toward the sofa that was across from her settee and changed the topic back to their original purpose. "So, why Blackmoor?"
"Room," she had answered succinctly. "Blackmoor is the largest of the Black estates and it has the most space to happily accommodate playing children and their adult guardians. You can set up a wide variety of games to please the children in various parts of the gardens and not have to worry about the time it might take to dismantle a game only to prepare the set up for another one."
"Won't I need Lord Black to sign off on the use of Blackmoor?" he had asked.
"Yes, but I think that you'll find him amenable," she had said with a smile. "He'll be happy that you are showing an interest in a woman of good birth. He doesn't have to know how far those interests go. If she is just your friend and you feel protective of her and her little girl then that is fine Sirius," she had reassured him. "Just leave Lord Black with enough information to let him contemplate possibilities. He needs things like that every now and then."
Sirius had smirked at that. "I often think that he knows too much about what I am about," he had admitted.
She had agreed. "He does, but that is because you let him. You should learn to be a bit more mysterious Siri," she had teased him. "But do not despair for Andromeda and I shall teach you."
"That does not fill me with confidence," he had remarked dryly making her laugh.
She had set her teacup down and then called for her House Elf to summon parchment, quill, and ink. When her Elf returned with the items she had thanked them and then sent them on their way. She had then settled the parchment and ink on the coffee table and then she took up her quill. "Alright, let's talk party games to please the children, shall we?"
Three hours later he had felt drained but satisfied that Narcissa had things well enough in hand to begin preparing Blackmoor for the party. He just had to gain the permission of Lord Black. It was with that thought in mind that he had flooed home and then floo called the Chateau Noir.
"Sirius, darling it is good to hear from you," his grandmother, Melania Black said pleasantly. "What do I owe the pleasure?"
"Grandmere, is Lord Black available to see me today?" he had asked with warm affection in his voice. He truly loved this woman. She had always been kind to him and Aunt Cassie had told him that if it had not been for Melania then a death sentence would have been cast over his head when he had attempted to disown himself from the family those many horrible years ago. Melania had loved him too much to allow it to happen and she had asked her husband to spare him. Lord Black had and no one in the family knew if it was due to the man's love for his wife or his love for his grandson. Sirius could only speculate.
"Yes, he can see you, he has a few hours free right now actually," she had informed him. "Use your portkey and come over. I'll meet you in the receiving room."
Sirius had gratefully ended the floo call and then had swiftly fetched the medallion that he should have been wearing all along. His Grandmere would be angry if she realized that he had not been wearing it always. It reminded him of his old Auror medallion. It was set with various colored stones and each stone was a portkey to send him to a different location. He had pressed the blood red garnet at the bottom of the medallion and then felt the pull of the portkey engage taking him to the Chateau Noir in France.
"Sirius, darling," Melania's voice had greeted him as he opened his eyes and swiftly oriented himself to his surroundings. He had smiled at the sight of her. His grandmother was an attractive witch and she had an inner light that seemed to shine out of her. Many said she was too good a woman to be saddled with the handsome and forbidding Arcturus Black. Sirius had once agreed with that judgment. Now, he was old enough and wise enough to see just how good the two were for one another. She was a light to his grandfather's darkness.
Sirius hadn't hesitated to pull her into an affectionate embrace. He kissed both of her cheeks and smiled at her. "It is good to see you Grandmere," he had told her and smiled as she looked at him with affectionate blue eyes, the same color of blue as his own.
"So what business brings you here?" she had asked of him.
"The personal kind," he had assured her. "You are more than welcome to join us. I could use your input as well."
Melania had smiled at that. "It would be nice to know some of the family gossip first hand instead of after Arcturus has already had the time to chew on it. This way then," she had said as she led him out of the receiving room and down the hall toward her favorite parlor.
Sirius had not been surprised to find his Grandfather seated in the feminine looking room, his form seated in an elegant sprawl in a high-backed Queen Anne chair that was upholstered in a mulberry velvet material. His Grandmere favored mulberry and antique white in her parlor.
"Sirius," his grandsire had greeted him warmly. "Have a seat and tell us what this business is that you wish to discuss."
Sirius had settled himself in the matching Queen Anne chair and then, once his Grandmother was settled upon her settee, he took the time to explain about how he had gained the acquiescence of Alicia Abbott to throw her daughter a birthday party.
"I don't know much about Alicia Abbott," Melania had said with a frown. "She's the granddaughter of Valdemar Vaisey and Caisonia Malfoy," she had murmured thoughtfully. "I remember that much about the girl. A Slytherin, I think she was."
"Yes," Sirius had admitted. First Olivia and now Alicia, he idly wondered why he was pulled toward former Slytherin's so easily. He hadn't given himself the time to consider the matter further as he turned his attention to his grandfather.
"Her reputation is mixed," Arcturus had begun to explain to his wife. "Alicia was married to Warring Abbott's oldest boy Johnathon."
Melania had scowled then. "Oh yes! Now I remember. There was a bit of scandal. Lord Abbott threw out Alicia and her daughter Hannah a few weeks after the birth of the little girl. Claimed that Alicia had been unfaithful to his son throughout their marriage."
Sirius had clenched his fists at that. "I've met the girl, Grandmere," he had told her. "Hannah is the spitting image of her mother and of Johnathon. She has many of his facial features and her mother's beauty."
"I don't doubt it," Melania had said then. "Lord Abbott is a bigoted old fool. He would slice off his nose to spite his face. Rumor against him is that he would have never disavowed Alicia if she had given birth to a male child."
Sirius had frowned at that. "So, you think Warring Abbott wanted Hannah out of the way and therefore cast aspersions on her parentage?"
Melania had nodded. "Oh yes," she had said.
Arcturus had hummed at that. "His second son already had a son when little Hannah was born. It is possible that he saw it better to have Hannah removed so that his second son's son would eventually be Lord Abbott."
"Monster!" Sirius had growled with rage burning in him. Hannah had been displaced, he had known that. Still, to have the reasons so easily presented to him as to why she was displaced was horrific. "This means that it was not a suspicion on Lord Abbott's part. He made a conscious decision to ruin the reputation of his widowed daughter-in-law and his blooded granddaughter."
Arcturus had looked at him grimly and nodded. "Yes, Sirius, that is exactly right."
Sirius had shaken with the power of his rage, vibrated with the need to go to Lord Abbott and rip him to shreds. "This cannot be allowed to stand."
Arcturus had given him a calculating look. "Then come to me when you are willing, to begin your plans of vengeance," the man had said simply.
Melania had scowled at them. "No more talk like that in my parlor," she had scolded them. "Now, tell me about what you and Narcissa have decided that you need to have for this party."
He had reluctantly obeyed because although he wanted to begin planning the destruction of Warring Abbott immediately, he knew that Hannah should be put first. He had only days to plan her birthday party, he could carefully draw out Lord Abbott's ruin. So he had settled in and conversed with his grandparents of his and Narcissa's plans to use Blackmoor for the party, with the permission of Lord Black of course.
"Your Mrs. Abbott might see the use of Blackmoor as a declaration of intent," Arcturus had warned him as he saw him to the receiving room so that Sirius could return to London.
Sirius had smirked. "Good, because that is what this is. I intend to have them both. Alicia as my wife and Hannah as my daughter," he had told the man. He was too forthcoming and didn't possess the guile to play the games of intent that Narcissa would have played with the older man.
"I approve," Lord Black had said to Sirius's surprise. "Your Alicia has endured hardship and it has tempered her. I think she can handle standing by your side in the ways that you will need. I also think that you will be good for Hannah."
"Thank you, Sir," Sirius had said in a tone full of warmth and happiness. He had not realized how much his grandfather's blessing might mean to him until Arcturus had chosen to give it.
The sound of a girlish voice calling out his name brought Sirius back from his musings on how he had managed to gain help in preparing a party for Hannah. Sirius found himself watching as little Hannah Abbott came running toward him. He laughed as he picked her up and spun the girl around swiftly. Her joyous laughter made him incredibly happy. It was strange. Somehow it was as if this little girl and her mother were missing pieces of him. Pieces he had not known that he was even missing. He pulled Hannah closer, protecting her from falling. "Are you having fun, princess?" he asked her. They were several hours along in the birthday party that he had carefully planned for her with the help of Narcissa and the Black family house elves. Hannah had been a bit shy when she had been introduced to the other children and she had clung to Romilda Vane at first, but soon enough both little girls had loosened up when each realized that the other children just wanted to play with them and be friends. When Hannah had won the first game and had been congratulated by the Greengrass twins, he had caught sight of Alicia in tears. The sight had made his heart clench. He would never be able to stand seeing her cry, he was sure of it.
Hannah wrapped her arms around his neck as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "This is the best," Hannah began to babble happily. "I don't think I have ever been so happy. Not even when you sent me Nora," she added referring to her Kneazle kit.
He almost winced just thinking about that little present. Hannah had told the other children about Nora and now many of the kids wanted a Kneazle of their own. Andromeda had already decided that a Kneazle kit each for Hermione and Eleanor would be a good idea. The sentient cats would be good protectors for her two charges. Narcissa had not been as pleased because now Dane wished for one. The worst part was that Dane was the sweetest of her boys so saying no to Dane always made one feel like the worst sort of Dark Wizard.
"I am glad you are having fun Princess," he replied to Hannah as he hugged her close and then slowly eased her back to the ground so that she could play with her friends some more.
She was almost immediately met by Romilda Vane and Astoria Greengrass. Each girl smiled at Hannah and grabbed her hands. "Come on Hannah," Romilda said excitedly.
"There is a pretty fishy pond and Lord Prince promised to show us all how to properly feed the fish there," Astoria added.
Sirius smiled as he watched the three girls take off at a run toward the towering image of Severus Snape. Standing at his side was Romilda's mother, Miranda. Sirius raised an eyebrow at that. The two were engaged in some sort of conversation. By the wicked twinkle in Miranda's blue eyes, he suspected that she was enjoying herself. Oddly enough, Snape seemed to be enjoying himself as well. He was smiling, a genuine soft smile at her. He had seen that smile directed at Leonis, Draco, and Aleksei, but the smile was rare.
"She's having a wonderful time," the soft voice of Alicia reached him, drawing him in.
'Moth to a flame,' he thought as he turned to look at her. "Yeah, she was just telling me that she's really enjoying herself," Sirius admitted to the beautiful woman at his side. "She's now going to be instructed in the fine art of caring for exotic fish. I had forgotten that that pond was here at Blackmoor. Regulus had convinced Grandfather to set it up after he had read about exotic fish. He was seven or eight then," his tone had taken on a wistful quality.
"You miss him," Alicia said and she placed a hand upon his arm.
He simply nodded. "I was an idiot where he was concerned," he said. "I deserve to miss him as penance."
She shook her head. "You deserve to miss him because you loved him, even if you were an idiot where he was concerned," she said in a teasing tone that brought a smile to his lips.
"Thanks," he said because he didn't trust himself to talk about Regulus. He tried hard not to talk about Regulus. "So, you know Mrs. Vane better than I do," he said changing the subject. "Am I alone in thinking that she is flirting with Lord Prince?"
Alicia giggled then as she stared at the two adults that the host of children had gathered around. "Yes, she's flirting with Lord Prince," she admitted. "She thinks he's intriguing. He's not typically handsome but he has a certain handsomeness and charm to him. He's striking and he is highly intelligent. Miranda thinks intelligent men are sexy," she stated simply.
"Really?" Sirius said thoughtfully. "And what about you? What type of men are sexy to you?" It was a daring question, but one that he really needed an answer to. He needed to know how deeply he had affected her over the last few weeks. He needed to know if he was wrong to pursue her. Ever were Leonis, Orion, and Harry in the back of his thoughts. Even little Hannah now resided there as well. Precious treasures that he needed to protect. He couldn't pursue Alicia if she didn't want to be pursued. Maybe if it were just him, but those kids could come to like the idea of the two of them together. He could dash his own hopes but he didn't want to do that to the kids. It was better to know now before the kids could get their hopes up any more than they already had. It was clear enough to him from the covert glances and the whispers of Leonis and Harry that they were already considering the idea of Alicia as his wife.
Alicia blinked in surprise at his daring question. A slow sexy smile curved her lips and Sirius felt fire ignite in his blood. "I think men who keep their promises are sexy. Men who are decisive and know what they want are very sexy," she teased him. Sirius wanted nothing more than to pull her to him and ravish her in that moment. He had rarely felt so strongly about a woman. Olivia was the only one that he could compare this feeling and he was grateful that he no longer felt this way about Olivia. He swallowed hard, trying to keep himself from grabbing and taking. This was not the time, not the place. Furthermore, if he gave in and took her, he'd never let her go. He decided to tell her just that.
"This isn't a game for me Alicia," he informed her, his voice rough with suppressed desire. "I intend to have you, I will have you, and I will not let you go," he said with emphatic conviction. He watched her face transform from sexy taunting to confused wonderment. He stared deep into her eyes, forcing her to hold his gaze and see his conviction, to know just how intent he was on this path. He watched those beautiful golden-brown eyes widen in surprise. Her mouth curved into a soft smile that seemed to transform her, making her look truly content and at ease and he found himself staring at her lips wanting to caress them with his own, wanting to ravish them, wanting to make her moan.
"Is this a proposal Sirius?" she asked softly, her eyes staring into his searching.
"No, because you deserve a proper proposal and this day is for Hannah," he said decisively. His hands found their way to her upper arms just like that had five days ago at Holland Park. He was running hands up and down her arms because he needed to touch her and he couldn't let himself go further than this. This was already tempting his self-control as it was. "This is an expression of my intent. I intend to marry you Alicia of House Vaisey. I intend to call on Lord and Lady Vaisey and negotiate for your hand. I will learn their demands and then I will run the gauntlet that they will put me through to have you."
She looked close to tears, but she was still smiling so Sirius considered that a good thing. Her voice sounded uncertain though when she spoke again. "What of Hannah?"
Sirius was confused for a moment as he stared into her eyes. He didn't understand why she was asking about Hannah. The little girl liked him. Surely, they could ease her into a good relationship with Sirius as her step-father. It took him another moment for it to dawn on him that she was afraid he would not want Hannah to live with them. He had to fight back his consternation at the thought. The idea of Hannah living anywhere other than with them was unacceptable to Sirius, but he knew that other families did it all the time. It would not surprise him if that was part of why Miranda Vane was still a widow. "Hannah will be mine," he informed her. "My child because she is your child," he reassured her with ancient words that he had never wanted to learn but was now grateful that he had.
"Seriously?" she asked of him.
"I'm always Sirius," he joked because she needed to laugh again.
An exasperated little laugh escaped her lips. "Thank you, Sirius," she said softly. She was smiling again and he wanted to keep this woman smiling. "Though you are getting a wife with a horrid reputation," she told him.
"Don't," Sirius said because today was supposed to be a happy day and thoughts of Warring Abbott would cloud the day and leave Sirius with dark thoughts of plotting revenge against the man. "You leave Abbott and his lies to me," he ordered. "I will set things to rights," he told her and his tone was implacable. His tone reminded him of what he realized when he had finally been given a trial. He could pretend to be a Light Wizard but he'd always really be a Black and his kind were Dark Wizards. He'd settle the score with Warring Abbott. The man had hurt Alicia, nearly destroyed her reputation. He would not be surprised if that man was Hannah's Boggart. The man needed to be systematically ruined and Sirius was all for leading the charge to see that done. He needed subtler hands than his own to help him along. He needed the help of a few Slytherin's. What luck that he was related to a whole clan of them.
Thank you for reading! I hope you have enjoyed this chapter.
