Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything you can recognise from any books or TV series or movies. I do however take liberties with the plots or mentions provided by JKR or other writers. The only profit I'm getting out of it is improving my English.
Title: The Blacks: Semper Slytherin
Rating/Warnings: R/M [AU; Slytherin!Sirius; Black family feels; profanity; canon-typical violence; references to child abuse of physical, verbal and sexual nature (affecting multiple characters though not all at the same time with the exception of Sirius); wizarding politics.
Chapter summary: Young Slytherins after the sorting.
Word count: Around 4200 words.
Author's note/personal ramble: It's been a long time but I hope that you're still interested in this story. Meanwhile, I finished Secrest & Keepers - Collision Course (previously Keep Us) and the prequel/sequel to it which is Secrets & Keepers - Supernova. Originally I planned to come back to this story between Collision Course and Supernova but I was in such a good spot with the amount of time I had and muse that I decided to finish Supernova first before coming back to this story. Not that I had a lot to come back to as this chapter was mostly written and only required another page or two to finish it. I'm still unsure about posting schedule of this story. It still isn't my primary story but at the moment I'm taking a break from Secrets & Keepers to decompress so who knows. I'm in chapter three at the moment and before I will get back to Secrets & Keepers - Entropy I want to at the very least have that chapter done if not another. Don't expect a scheduled posting of Supernova with this one, hopefully finishing the next chapter won't take me another year and a half but most certainly it wouldn't have the same regularity as Secrets & Keepers.
Another, the most important, thing: It's a Slytherin!Sirius AU, therefore, his placing will affect literally everything but most importantly it will affect his budding friendship with James Potter. So, consider yourselves warned
Dedicated to all of my readers who stuck with me for so long. Thank You, I hope that You will find this story enjoyable. I would be the most grateful for constructive criticism.
Remember upon the conduct of each depends the fate of all.
~Alexander the Great
The Blacks: Semper Slytherin
Chapter two: Slytherins
"It's a relatively small year," Narcissa remarked once the feast finally started to the intense relief of pretty much every student and some of the professors.
"Small?" asked Avery curiously. "It felt as if it was going for forever."
"Oh, we didn't even hit fifty people marker," said Andromeda.
"Forty-six," Cora interjected simply.
"Do the numbers vary that much?" asked Wendy curiously.
"Does a Hippogriff…" started Narcissa simply.
"Cissy, please," sighed Sirius.
"The numbers vary from year to year," said Andromeda as if her sister didn't just try to ask if a Hippogriff defecates where it stands. "It all depends from a lot of factors that affect one another. Your year isn't big but you're far from being the smallest year that had seen this walls."
"Then there are years like 1962 when eighty-something students were sorted," added Narcissa. "It still isn't the biggest year Hogwarts had seen but it was one of the biggest in this century."
"But usually the number averages between fifty to sixty students per year, so you aren't that far of the marker," concluded Andromeda.
"Right, but what sort of factors you're talking about?" asked Wendy curiously.
The discussion about the number of students in their year captured everyone's attention but as soon as Andromeda delved deeper into explaining socioeconomic factors that affected the number of births in wizarding world the interest of the others seemed to dissipate. Well, Wendy Crabbe and Prunella Parkinson remained focused and interested in the subject and continued to ask Andromeda questions with such frequency that Avery at some point took his plate and goblet and switched seats with Parkinson.
Davis and Perseus returned to their earlier, halted, conversation, ignoring pretty much everyone else, with the exception of answering a question or two from respectively, Snape, Avery, Wilkes and Warrington. Wilkes and Warrington too shared a private conversation, from time to time making an effort to include the other boys that were sitting nearby.
Avery wound up in a discussion about Quidditch between Lestrange, Mulciber and Rosier and turned out to be quite a big fan of Puddlemere United, like Mulciber which led to a quarrel between him, Mulciber and Lestrange and Rosier about which team was better, Puddlemere or Rosier's favourite Appleby Arrows.
Cora and Moon meanwhile busied themselves with a talk about a new play which they both saw and what they liked in it. Occasionally they asked Sirius for an opinion on the matter but while he saw it and enjoyed it too he decided to let Cora converse freely with the other girl without much interruption on his part. Not that he would have much to say about who Cora should or shouldn't be talking with. He wasn't his father and was never planning to end like him. But with the number of boys heavily outweighing the number of girls it would do Cora good to befriend one of the remaining three girls so maybe she would have a friend in her own house unlike Sirius.
If he still had a friend in James that's it, he thought as he settled his eyes on James's back.
Maybe it was just shock. Maybe if he gave the other boy a day or two to think about it and allow him to see that the Sirius he met at Hogwarts' Express was still the same Sirius regardless of the colour of the tie he was going to wear for next seven years…
He shook his head. It wasn't sensible to count one's dragons before they hatched. But he would allow the other boy to sleep on it and he will approach him at breakfast or maybe better during lunch.
He took his eyes of James and looked around the table. At some point Wendy and Parkinson abandoned Andromeda for a conversation between themselves while Meda shifted her attention to her right hand neighbour occasionally including Narcissa and the girl opposite to Narcissa in it.
Curiously enough there was one person who didn't immediately join any conservation clique. Oh, when asked a question he did answer it and a time or two he asked one in return but for most of the time he allowed the conversations around him flow without interruption on his part while he still remained aware on what was going on in all three neighbour conversations as if he remained a keen participant in each. It was Severus Snape.
It wasn't common, this level of social focus. Sure it was taught but they weren't exactly expected to carry on three different conversations at that age. It was welcomed though but highly uncommon in average pureblood child, at least pureblood children he came in contact with anyway. At this age it was perfectly acceptable to hold a conversation with ones neighbours and usually on the same or similar subjects.
It was curious.
The rest of the feast passed mostly peacefully, with the exception of several exclamations coming from Lestrange's, Rosier's, Mulciber's and Avery's conversation on the subject of Quidditch.
By dessert Sirius got himself roped into a conversation about favourite kind of music with the girls and had lost much of interest in the rest of the group.
Predictably at some point Dumbledore rose from his seat and after issuing a warning that Forbidden Forest was indeed strictly forbidden to all students to enter, reminding everyone that doing magic on corridors was also strictly forbidden and saying that the list of banned items could be found with Mr Filch he sent them all to beds.
The prefects, from fifth year as it turned out, that came to collect them introduced themselves as Martha Bulstrode and Reuben Higgs. To Aunt Druella's utter shock and disappointment Narcissa didn't get a Prefect's badge but Captain's badge. Narcissa only cared about the one she got, after all Andromeda was a Prefect and unlike Cissy, Meda actually wanted to be one.
Even before they left Great Hall Bulstrode informed them that if they by any chance managed to get themselves lost they should approach fellow Slytherin students, other prefects, ghost and teachers. Students from other houses were also allowed but they should be asked for help as a last resort and asking Gryffindors for help should be avoided, especially if said Gryffindors happened to be red-headed twins. One should also be wary if only one of them was in sight but not the other.
"And how we're supposed to recognise them?" asked Avery simply.
"Quite easily," shrugged Higgs. "There are two red-headed Gryffindor families. Well, three of them actually, but only two of them breed in excess without contemplating what number of children does to the state of their finances. The Weasleys and the Prewetts. The Weasleys are tall and lanky, the Prewetts are short and bulky. At the moment there are no Weasleys at Hogwarts. So if you see a pair of Beater looking red-heads in Gryffindor colours you should avoid confrontation unless someone older than you is around."
"Which year they're in?" asked Sirius pensively.
He wasn't stupid enough to risk going after fifth and higher years even though he felt that he had enough of theoretical and practical knowledge of curses and hexes that he could hold his ground for a little bit. Fourth years could be problematic but he felt confident in his own abilities to not worry about and lower…
"Fourth one," answered Bulstorde. "Why do you need to know that?"
"To visualise them better," quipped Sirius. "I'm not going to run away screaming at the sight of every Gryffindor red-head. Not that I'm planning to run away screaming at the sight of them because that would be plainly stupid."
"Why?" asked Rosier curiously.
"Because noise attracts attention, usually of people and things which attention you wish to avoid, Rosier," replied Sirius.
"Did you suck this out of your mum's tit?" snorted Higgs.
"Prefect Higgs!" Bulstrode scoffed. "I will report…"
Oh for the love of Merlin, Sirius groaned inwardly.
"Prefect Higgs," he said calmly. "The only thing which you need to know about my mother is that you wouldn't want to see any part of her," he paused for a dramatic effect. "Dressed, let alone naked," he added after a beat.
Cora and Perseus snorted at that in perfect unison.
"Why?" asked Higgs curiously. "Is she that ugly?"
"As far as Banshees go, no," deadpanned Sirius.
Cora nearly howled with laughter at that comment, Perseus and Davis actually did.
"She's a beautiful woman, Black," stated Lestrange .
Sirius contemplated setting him straight but decided against it. After all Lestrange believed that his older brother married a beautiful woman. Not that Bellatrix was ugly. Bella like Sirius's mother and to a certain degree Andromeda inherited a particular brand of beauty from Crabbe and Bulstrode relatives with typical Black family colouring (unlike Cissy who had fair hair of a Rosier with the Black family features). That beauty, according to Aunt Cassie ensured that they grew up beautiful but were supposed to age quickly and with passing time lose their beauty.
Besides what was her beauty worth if underneath it his mother, like Bellatrix, was nearly completely barmy. Her moods changed unpredictably with a flourish that could make one's head spin. Furious at breakfast and weeping at lunch by dinner she could be in fine enough mood for reading a story at loud while Sirius and Regulus practiced playing music. Sirius suspected that the only reason she managed to somewhat behave at public gatherings (big family dinners included) was because she was under influence of potions (or because father did his best to keep her under Imperius for the duration of the visit).
"Does anyone else wishes to discuss my mother?" asked Sirius sourly.
"Was it an invitation?" asked Wilkes.
"If you think you know what's the best for you it was quite the opposite," replied Sirius. "Shall we?" he motioned at the door before he offered his arm to Cora and Moon.
"Pillock," muttered Mulciber.
"Actually, a gentleman," quipped Perseus. "My lady?" he asked.
His comment was followed by a giggle which by the sounds of it had to come from Prunella Parkinson because one of the positive things about Wendeline Crabbe was that she didn't giggle. Perseus's choice didn't really surprise Sirius. As the third son he didn't have a chance to inherit the title of the head of the family, unless his older brothers managed to exclusively father daughters. Not that Hyperion Greengrass had a chance to father something other than sons since just last year the oldest Greengrass brother married Eleanor Ingleberry.
The Ingleberry family was known amongst the purebloods from two things. The first was their uncanny perchance for finding business opportunities everywhere. The other was their daughters. While born no more or less frequently than sons and with varying degree of beauty and intelligence Ingleberry daughters possessed a very desired trait. For some reason they could only carry sons. Some speculated that it was their beauty others that it was a form of malediction. Then there were also some cynics that speculated that daughters happened to the Ingleberry daughters just as often as sons but because for some reason they could tell whatever or not they were carrying a daughter or a son they had plenty of time to fix the issue before it became visible.
Sirius didn't really care about it. As far as he knew Eleanor Greengrass, de demo Ingleberry, she was a kind, creative soul that was devoted to two things. One was her young husband (as devoted to her as she was to him) and the other was designing décor of the china sets her family produced. Sirius along with Cora and Perseus as well as older Greengrass twins, Hecate and Hector wished them both at least a century together and at the minimum three sons (that was Sirius, the Greengrasses wished them at the minimum five).
Hector himself was quite tentatively courting either Georgina Boot or Imogen Gamp, Sirius's very distant cousins through his paternal grandmother and great-grandmother. Either way it was one of aspiring painters whose continued education was the reason why the courtship was very tentative. Then there was Hector's own higher education that he wished to finish before settling down.
By the time Perseus would reach marriageable age, which for Greengrasses was graduation from fifth year at Hogwarts his older brothers surely will have children of their own. In Hyperion's case a son or even two was almost certain. So Percy didn't really need to look for an available female of a likeable disposition.
Sirius liked Wendy. Blessedly, for her and for many reasons, she was a very distant relative to the main line from which Sirius's maternal grandmother descended. In their early childhood years she was a very infrequent guest of any social gatherings that included children and almost exclusively the Crabbe family ones. Her mother bred roses for perfume industry while her father bred horses and every now and then Corgis. They weren't as wealthy as the main branch but by Sirius's standards they were the saner ones. Then, about a year or so ago the main branch decided that it was the highest time for them to promote their distant relative in wizarding society and Wendy was put in the spotlight.
Wendy abhorred being the centre of attention, especially that of potential suitors that were far more older than her. She welcomed with relief the arrival of a distraction in the form of Gracelynn Goyle's pregnancy. Had Goyle been married or at the very least courted at the time it wouldn't be much of a problem. Had she given up the name of the father it wouldn't be one either. The Goyle scandal drew attention away from Wendy but not before Percy planted himself by Wendy's side as a potential who knows why that young Greengrass boy is hanging around that young Crabbe lady.
Sirius knew and knew that they both could score better (or worse). But for now they were both eleven to twelve years old and at the minimum five years away from making any official statements about their plans for marriage.
By the time Bulstrode and Higgs caught up with them Sirius managed to locate the entrance to the dungeons (not that it was hard) and led those that followed him there. For certain it was Percy with Wendy and Avery with Moon (whom he offered to accompany) but he wasn't going to turn around to check if he was being followed by the others.
At some point Bulstrode and Higgs pushed ahead of him far enough to actually lead them rather than pretend that they were doing so. The road was as boringly predictable as Narcissa said it would be and soon enough they turned right into a corridor that ran in a gentle curve away from the main corridor.
Suddenly Bulstrode and Higgs stopped dead in their tracks. Sirius looked around expecting some sort of danger but he didn't see anything. Well, on the opposite side of the corridor to the spot in which Bulstrode was standing where the wall and the ceiling met there was a spider in a web. At the moment it wasn't a source of danger until someone would get a brilliant idea to enlarge it. So Sirius turned his gaze from the spider to Bulstrode, hoping that she would provide an explanation.
Instead of doing so, she smirked.
Oh.
He smirked back and slowly and very carefully looked around. Spider couldn't be the only hint that they were in the vicinity of the entrance to the common room. Then he looked at the torches above Bulstrode's head and then those up and down the corridor. All of them were burning brightly but the ones above Bulstrode's head behaved as if from both sides of the corridor there was coming a draft that Sirius didn't feel but could see. Then there was this odd stone just a few feet away from him that looked like it was placed the wrong way at the point when the corridor was build. There were probably other hints but to examine them closely he would have to have the whole corridor to himself.
"Come on, kneazle," said Bulstrode suddenly and a bare stretch of the stone wall just moved out of the way behind her back.
She quickly turned on her heel and walked through a short narrow corridor into the room that felt eerily familiar to Sirius. Maybe it was a matter of furniture. Sturdy, durable looking leather couches and armchairs with grey, dark green and brown throws placed here and there. Tables of various sizes and shapes that were liberally spread around the room with accompanying chairs looked both solid and comfortable. Bookcases were both discretely placed and breaming with books in a manner that reminded him of Grandpa Arcturus's study in the Black Manor.
The grand fireplace with its mantelpiece looked as imposing as it was supposed to be. But the thing that drew and focused Sirius's attention the most were the windows. They were huge and magnificent. Submerged under the waters of the lake they gave the light in the room a green tinge which together with here and there placed oil lamps produced a calming and welcoming atmosphere. At least to Sirius.
"Grandma's music room," Cora whisper so softly that only Sirius heard her.
And also Cora.
Maybe it was the matter of the weight of Cora's hand on his arm and her proximity. The Greengrasses after all were the closest companions Sirius and Regulus had aside of very distant cousins (and in so far had been the only family to which the Blacks hadn't been related directly in seven generations). They weren't close enough for Sirius to unload his doubts and worries on her but apparently they were close enough for both to draw comfort from each other's presence.
Or maybe it was the general look of the room that reminded him of the illusion of safety he found in the Black Manor, under the wings of his grandparents for as long as he was there.
Or maybe it was the matter of magic within the walls. Meda did warn him that if one was sensitive enough to this kind of magic then they could feel the magic that was left behind by former students still course through the walls.
Or maybe it was all of it together and the exhaustion of the day finally hitting him but slowly something inside him unclenched. His sorting didn't really change his problems (and probably created new ones, with James) but it seemed right.
I'm home, he thought to himself.
"Current password to the common room is 'kneazle' and it changes every fortnight in normal circumstances. Although I strongly urge you to take a look at the notice board every morning before leaving the room because the password could have been changed during the night spontaneously," said Bulstrode swiftly. "I strongly discourage you from sharing the password with students from other houses. Some of you might have friends or family in other houses but Slytherin common room isn't a place for maintaining those relationships. If you find yourself disinclined to use common areas around the castle on our way down we walked past several unused classrooms that become accessible as soon as you can use alohamora."
"However you're strongly discouraged to use them after dinner. Curfew for first three years starts at nine and you're supposed to be in beds by ten. Not that we're expecting you to be actually asleep by that point but we do expect you to be present in your dormitories by that point. If by midnight you aren't sleeping the Head of Slytherin will be summoned either by one of the prefects or Bloody Baron or the elves," added Higgs. "And trust me, you don't want to mess with the elves. They're here to serve us but they will continue to do so as long as you treat them and they work with respect."
"That includes keeping a modicum of order in your dormitories. No one expects you to make house-elves work for them but you will make sure that your dirty clothes end in a hamper and that your beds are straightened, otherwise you will find yourself wondering around in dirty clothes and sleeping in dirty beds. And for that you can lose points if any teacher or a prefect catches you," said Bulstrode.
"Okay, that was the nice part," said Higgs as he looked at Bulstrode.
"Now I'm going to take the girls to their dormitories while the boys will stay for a moment with Prefect Higgs," added Bulstrode and she started walking away from them, with the girls falling in line after her.
"Here is the less nice part," said Higgs after the girls disappeared behind the doors on the right side of the common room. "As most of you might already know this, Slytherin is the only house at Hogwarts that believes that every student should have a privacy of their own quarters. They might not be as big as what you're used to but I strongly advise to take comfort in that as small as they might seem they're yours to use and that you don't have to share them with other students," he added and paused for a moment. "Unfortunately, that was the case until the end of the last week when a regularly scheduled maintenance revealed some issue with the pipes that requires an urgent and very careful remodelling."
"But how it affects us?" piped up Avery.
"Until further notice, hopefully for no longer than a month to six weeks you will have to share your dormitories with another boy. Luckily for me there's ten of you so all of you will have to share. So I strongly advise…" explained Higgs but stopped for a moment when the other boys started shuffling around, "to find yourself a roommate," he finished slowly. "All right, follow me."
Sirius looked around mildly curious with whom he will share a dormitory for next six weeks. He didn't really expect Percy to share a room with him and predictably found him beside Davis. He also noted with a certain degree of relief that Lestrange paired himself with Rosier. Then he spotted Wilkes and Warrington and Avery with Mulciber which meant that he was left with Severus Snape for a company.
Snape looked as delighted with the prospect as Sirius felt. It wasn't that he hated the boy, he just wasn't sure if shacking up together for a couple of weeks was a good idea without cleansing the air. Not that he was certain that it would help. Snape was one cantankerous bugger and in so far only managed to bring out the worst in Sirius.
It was going to be very long six weeks.
Their room turned out to be the last room on the corridor leading to first year dormitories. As Higgs promised it was far from what Sirius had gotten used even without the additional clutter of a bunk bed or a second desk. On the wall opposite to the bunk bed there was a modest-sized round stove with railings. There was only one wardrobe and small, somewhat rickety armchair. Next to the door leading to the corridor was a tiny room with a toilet and a washbasin. The showers and baths were located at the entrance of the corridor leading to the first years corridor and common for all ten of them.
When Sirius was busy with examining the room meanwhile Snape seated himself at the lower bunkbed.
"Right," Sirius muttered when the other boy only raised one eyebrow at him.
"Any objections?" asked Snape curtly.
"None whatsoever," replied Sirius. "I assume that you want the desk by the bed too?" he asked.
"And the wardrobe," added Snape.
"And me gone as fast as possible," commented Sirius with a shrug.
"My, aren't you the smart one," said Snape with a snort.
"Well, I'm not exactly rooming with you due to your charming personality," replied Sirius simply which made Snape snort again. "But we have to make do for next month or so then why don't we bury the hatchet?" he asked.
"Only for you to unbury it again as soon as what's his name will decide that he's on talking terms with you again?" asked Snape.
"Well, I can only be responsible for my behaviour," said Sirius with a shrug. "I'm sorry," he added sheepishly.
"No, you're not," replied Snape.
"Well, I was taught better and I still behaved like an arse," said Sirius. "I promise…"
"Don't promise that it won't happen again," Snape cut him off. "But if you will keep sarcastic commentary to the minimum so will I. Deal?"
"Deal," admitted Sirius. "Shake on it?" he asked as he extended his hand.
Snape looked at him sceptically but after a moment of hesitation, he extended his own and gave Sirius hand a small, short shake.
"Now, the question that interests me is, do you snore?" asked Snape.
TBC
