Antares didn't leave his room for the rest of the holidays. He refused to go down for dinner and instead had the House Elf's bring it directly to him, and even went as far as to put a ward on his door to prevent anyone from entering. Even if his father could remove the ward, he didn't. Something that Antares was grateful for.
After his father had left, the gravity of the situation had hit him like a ton of bricks, his muscular frame crumbling to the ground in a show of rare vulnerability. He laid like that for what seemed like forever, letting his mind go over various possibilities about his future. What if his future wife didn't like him? Or what if he didn't like her? What if their relationship was as bad and as loveless as his parents? But most of all, he thought of a 5th-year beauty that would never know of his feelings for her.
Before long the summer holidays where coming to a close, and it was only on the last day before returning to Hogwarts that he remembered that he still hadn't been to Diagon Alley to retrieve his 6th Year reading material, and it was with great reluctance that he found himself leaving the sanctity of his bedroom, and down into the hustle and bustle that was the dining room of Number 12 Grimmauld Place.
His father was hidden behind the daily prophet, snide remarks about the ministry leaving his lips every so often, whilst his mother was reading the latest edition of Witch Weekly.
Seeing as they hadn't acknowledged his presence, he went to clear his throat. But just as he was about to his mother looked up from her magazine.
"Decided to finally grace us with your presence did you" she sneered, an expression that fit oddly well on her beautiful face.
This was how his mother always acted; she was never nice to any of her children, Sirius especially. Years of this treatment from his mother had made him immune to its effect, and so he simply nodded. His father folded his paper and shot a warning glare at his wife, who rolled her eyes and went back to her reading.
"Is there something you wanted Antares?" asked Orion.
"I have to go to Diagon Alley and pick up my school supplies. I'll be home before dark," replied Antares, his face not revealing the anger and resentment that was bubbling under the surface. It was times like these that he appreciated his Grandfather for teaching him Occlumency.
His father nodded before pulling several envelopes from his pocket, each sealed with the Black Family Crest.
"Drop these off at Gringott's whilst you're there," said his father.
Antares picked them off the table and placed them in his robe pocket before leaving his parents to their frivolous live and into the main lounge, where his brother Regulus happened to be reading one of his schoolbooks on the sofa.
"Antares!" exclaimed Regulus, jumping out of his seat with a grin plastered on his face. It had been a whole week since he had seen his elder brother, quite a long time if he did say so himself
"Control yourself Regulus" snapped Antares "You are a member of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, not some common mudblood Hufflepuff. Act in a way that befits someone of your station."
Regulus rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as he straightened his ruffled robes and stood with his head held high, his grin faded into a cool smirk. Even Antares was surprised at how quickly his youngest brother could replace his Slytherin mask.
"I heard about the Contract" whispered Regulus, his eyes downcast. Regulus knew the topic would be a sore point for his brother, finding out that you were to be married to someone you hardly knew would make anyone quick to anger. He was just glad it wasn't he who had a Marriage Contract.
"Bet you're relieved it isn't you," said Antares as he stepped around his brother and picked up the jar of Floo Powder.
Regulus looked up guiltily, wondering how his brother had known that was what he was thinking. His thought leaving him when he realized that Antares was planning on going somewhere.
"Where are you off to Ares," he asked, using his brother's childhood nickname.
Antares didn't respond. Instead, he took a generous handful of Floo Powder, placing the jar on the mantelpiece, before stepping into the families' grate.
"Diagon Alley" muttered Antares.
In a burst of green flames, Antares was whisked away from Grimmauld Place, leaving the questioning face of his brother far behind him.
Several Minutes went by as his body twisted and turned within the Floo Network, his eyes catching glances of other peoples grates as he travelled to his destination, The Leaky Cauldron. Suddenly his body came to a stop, and before he could even blink he was being shot out of the Cauldron's grate, where he landed with the utmost grace. Dusting a non-existent speck of dust from his robes, Antares strode straight past the various gawking witches and wizard, and out into the courtyard that acted as a gateway to Diagon Alley.
Antares pulled out his wand from his robe pocket (Blackthorn, 12 inches with a dragon heartstring core) before stepping forward and touching the red bricks of the wall in a certain order, the wall quickly transforming itself into an archway.
Even though he had seen Diagon Alley a thousand times, Antares could help the small smile that made its way onto his face as his eyes took in the magical site. His smile quickly vanished, however, when he spotted an obvious muggle family staring and pointing at everything in sight, expressions of wonder plastered on their faces. His eyes turned cold as he glared towards them, for it was people like they who made his - and every other purebloods - world so diluted. They, who came into his world and tried to force their mudblood views upon his people, trying to get things changed so that the Wizarding world resembled that of their precious muggle world, oh how he hated them.
28 Families. That was all that was left of the once great wizard Britain. 28 Families who had remained completely pure. 28 Families whose lines had not been diluted by that of the mudblood filth that was trying to invade his world. His family was one of those 28, and he would do anything in his power to make it remain so. These families, the so-called Sacred Twenty-Eight, were but a fraction of what was once the pureblood capital of the world. How it saddened him to see his world reduced to such a state.
He had heard whispers. Whispers of a man who called himself Voldemort. He had heard that this so-called "Voldemort", was gathering himself follows, followers that he would use to flip the Wizarding World on its head, purifying the world of mudbloods and muggles alike.
Antares knew that the man was powerful; nobody would follow him if he wasn't, but he also knew that to destroy an entire race was not the right way to approach things. Hadn't Grindelwald and his muggle puppet taught them anything? Antares knew that it was thanks to Grindelwald's revolutionary war that many pureblood families had been wiped out, and he shuddered to think what would happen to the remaining pureblood families if another such war was to take place.
He knew it was but a manner of time before this so-called Voldemort started to recruit from within the Pureblood families, promising the downfall of the mudbloods would gather him a lot of support. If it came to it, Antares was willing to oppose this "Voldemort" person, if only to keep his family, and that of every other pureblood, safe.
Putting these thoughts to the back of his mind, he continued on into the bustling streets of Diagon Alley. As he made his way towards Gringotts, his expensive robes billowing behind him, he caught several Hogwarts witches giggling as he passed. His good looks and family wealth where handy tools to get into any witches knickers, and Antares had used both to do so on numerous occasions. Smirking at them, which only seemed to send them into more fits of hysterics, he finally found himself standing outside the imposing figure that was Gringotts: Wizarding Bank.
Climbing the marble stairs, Antares nodded to the guards, each of who nodded in turn, before making his way into the bank. Passing several long lines, Antares walked straight to the back of the brightly lit hall where he found the desk of the manager of the Black Family accounts. A huge goblin sat behind the desk, his pointed fingers clutching a magnifying glass and an emerald the size of Antares fist.
"Arok" greeted Antares.
"Scion Black, what may I do for you" returned Arok.
"My father wanted me to give you this,," said Antares as he handed over the letters his father had given him. "And I need to retrieve some gold from my Vault"
Arok nodded, before signalling another goblin to escort Antares to his vault.
Antares followed the unnamed goblin to the carts, and after a very long cart ride deep underground, they finally arrived at his vault.
"Vault 655, Personal Vault of one Antares Orion Black" wheezed the goblin as he stepped out of the cart, Antares following suit.
Taking the key from his pocket, Antares placed it in the tiny keyhole before turning it anti-clockwise. The large stone door creaked upon slowly to reveal a huge room filled with piles upon piles of neatly stacked galleons. So this was what One and a half million galleons look liked, thought Antares. Pulling out his expanded money pouch, he began shoving piles of gold into the sack, only stopping when a sizeable chuck had been removed from the pile he had decided to take from.
"Balance?" asked Antares of the goblin.
"One million four hundred and 83 thousand galleons, 304 sickles, 93 knuts" grunted the goblin.
Nodding happily, Antares closed the vault door and got back into the cart. The ride back to the surface was once again filled with silence, and it wasn't long before he was walking out of Gringotts with a large stack of gold in his pocket that was just waiting to be spent.
Deciding to get his textbooks first, Antares made his way towards Flourish & Blots, where he preceded to buy his sixth yearbooks, as well as a couple books on warding and the properties of Magic. Shrinking his purchases with a tap of his wand, he slowly made his way towards Madam Malkins Robes for all Occasions.
"ah, Scion Black, what a pleasure it is. Here to collect your School Robes I take it" asked the smiling Madam Malkin, a squat witch dressed all in mauve and who had blue eyes and completely white hair.
"Correct, Madam" replied Antares, the smile on his face not reaching his eyes.
"Just the school robes today?" she asked him as she began taking his measurements, her measuring tape zooming around his body as she took jotted down the numbers on a scrap of parchment.
Antares thought it over. He was running out of clothes that fit properly, his recent growth spurt having made most of his robes two inches too short. His mother had taught him at a young age that what one wore was a major statement about their character, and that in order to be the acknowledged as the best, one must always look their best.
"I'll also need a new dress robe, black with a silver trimming and the Black Family crest on the breast pocket, as well as another three casual robes, two in dark blue and another in dark grey, these two should have my family crest. All of which shall be made with the finest Acromantula silk that you possess. I am also in need of several new shirts and slacks, all black in colour. That should do it for now." Listed off Antares, pausing now and then to think of what he wanted.
Madam Malkin jotted down each item as he rattled them off, tallying the cost of each item as she did so. Based on the number of items that her customer was wanting, plus the use of her finest Acromantula silk, she was about to make a hefty sale.
"The total comes to 234 galleons and 8 sickles, and everything shall be ready for you in about an hour"
"Very well" replied Antares, pulling the required amount out of his money pouch and placing it in neatly stacked rows upon the counter.
"I shall return within the hour," Antares said over his shoulder as he exited the shop.
'What to do' thought Antares as he looked up and down the Alley, wondering which store he needed to visit next. His eyes skipped over Quality Quidditch Supplies (he had no time for such a frivolous sport), and that of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour (one didn't get his kind of figure by eating such junk), before his eyes landed on something of interest.
Nestled between the Magical Menagerie and Obscurus Books, was a small store called Wedding Supplies and Gifts, so average and drab looking was the storefront, that Antares couldn't recall a time when he had ever noticed the dingy little shop.
His tutors, not to mention his parents, had taught him everything that a Pureblood heir needed to know and one of those things happened to be a little old tradition called Courting. Although he would of course honour the tradition, he by no means was looking forward to it.
Courting had been around since medieval times. It had once been used as a way to pick the perfect suitor for women to marry, but as he was already contracted to marry Helena it was more of a formality than anything else. The courting process lasted anywhere between one and two months, and in that time he was supposed to do a variety of things in order to show his betrothed that he was both a capable wizard and devoted to the relationship. The first step of courting was to for him send a letter and a personal gift to his betrothed every three days as it was considered inappropriate for a man to speak to his betrothed for the entirety of the first month. Seeing as he needed to buy several personal gifts for Helena, Antares took his noticing of the store as a sign that he should probably buy her some gifts whilst he had the chance. Wasting no time whatsoever, Antares strode across the cobblestone street and into the quaint little store, his robes billowing dramatically behind him all the while.
As his eyes readjusted to the dim lighting, he looked around the shop and was quite surprised at what he saw. Unlike the outside, the inside was neat and sparkling clean, shelves and shelves stacked high with a large assortment of gifts, both magical and mundane in nature.
"Great, just great" muttered Antares, knowing it was going to take him forever to find the perfect gifts for Helena. Stepping forward Antares introduced himself to the owner, a tall middle-aged witch, and so began one of the longest hours of his entire life.
Please Read and Review. Boring, Interesting! Let me know.
Criticisms? Complaints? Tell me.
Any tips or things you think I should know/do. Leave it in the Review.
In case people are wondering, Helena Greengrass is the second child of Jasper Greengrass, she has an older brother who has already left Hogwarts, he is the father of Daphne and Astoria Greengrass.