Eleven For Wealth
Orion Black is a wealthy man. Two years out of Hogwarts he got a job in the Department of Magical Trade and Business, and not because of who his father is. Orion got that job through intelligence and hard work, and he got his promotions the same way. It's not the most exciting job in the world but Orion's happy there; he has friends in the office and the money's good. The money is excellent. His family eat the best meats and can afford to rent private houses when on holiday to avoid staying near Muggles. Orion earns enough to have afforded a governess for when his sons were younger, allowing Walburga to indulge in her passions for rune translation and wild cats. Her dresses and Orion's suits are always tailor-made, and Orion smokes Honduran cigars. Their house is plush and polished. From an outsider's perspective Orion's wealthy when it comes to family, too. He's been married to Walburga for seventeen years and they have two healthy sons, both away at Hogwarts. Orion should be relishing the peace at home and being able spend more time with his wife now the boys are away. But he isn't. Orion finds himself staying late at work these days, often when it's unnecessary to do so. He's avoiding Walburga; avoiding an argument. Arguments are always about the same subject: Sirius.
The boy has always been trouble. As a toddler his favourite word was, "No". At the time it amused Orion, who wryly thought that Sirius must have inherited his feistiness from Walburga, who is bolshy and highly-strung and likes to get her own way (Orion's father claimed, back then when the boys were small, that Walburga henpecked Orion. Orion had dismissed it as an exaggeration and besides, his wife's confidence came in useful at dinner parties when Orion could leave her to talk while he slunk away to a side-table. He's always been more comfortable as an observer). Sirius would yank off the collar and blazer Orion liked him to wear and would get sticky fingers and crumbs in his hair. Even as a toddler Sirius was surly at family gatherings. He grew into a clever boy and Orion knew that he'd be talented at music and languages, but Sirius would play deliberate flats in his piano lessons, and the only French he bothered to remember was swear words. He threw tantrums, he broke things, he snuck into the kitchen to ruin Kreacher's cooking. He was at constant war with the governess. Sometimes Sirius would barricade himself in his bedroom and refuse to come out, and other times he'd sprint naked round the house, howling. Orion was so worried that Sirius would do something like that during a dinner party that whenever colleagues or friends visited, Sirius was sent to stay with Cygnus and Druella for the night. Worst of all was when he bullied his little brother. Sirius hid Regulus' belongings and called him names and hit him. Once, when Cygnus had tried to take a family portrait of the four of them, Regulus' chair had to be facing almost sideways to hide the scabs on his face from where Sirius had scratched him. When the pictures were developed Orion hadn't put them up on the wall. No type of discipline worked; by the time Sirius was ten he must have been sent to bed with no dinner more times than the rest of the children in London put together. Taking away toys, giving him extra schoolwork and smacking him on the back of the legs had no effect. Walburga was a harsher disciplinarian than Orion but her punishments didn't work either. The boy was incorrigible.
It was a relief when Sirius left for school, but then of course the wretched boy was sorted into Gryffindor. Walburga burst into tears when she heard, and later claimed that Sirius must have done it on purpose and tricked the Sorting Hat. Orion knew that was ridiculous - the Sorting Hat doesn't take bribes- but it seemed the sort of thing Sirius would do. The boy came home from his first term at Hogwarts draped in a Gryffindor banner, and since then his fanaticism has got worse. Sirius' letters home, rare as they are, are written in red ink. When he's back for the holidays he'll sometimes get up halfway through a dinnertime, pick up his plate and announce, "I'm going to the Gryffindor table, Mother". Walburga wrenches him back into his chair but Sirius smirks throughout the rest of the meal. In the four years since Sirius started Hogwarts his bedroom has become a lion's den of Gryffindor posters and banners, with a new one added every time he comes home. He's stuck up pictures of Muggle sports cars and motorbikes, and some lewd photographs from men's magazines. During the Summer a package had arrived at Orion's office with a note- Thought you might like this, Dad! - and when Orion opened it he found that it contained one of Sirius' dirty magazines. Half of the pictures were cut out, no doubt for Sirius' bedroom walls, but there were enough pages left in to make Orion blush, glance round to check nobody was looking, and cast Incendio to set the magazine on fire. The boy deserved a hiding for that trick, but he's bigger than Orion now, and Orion suspects that Sirius would punch back if Orion hit him. Orion hadn't wanted to involve his wife either, so he'd had the shame of walking home and seeing Sirius' smug smirk, and knowing that the boy knew he had succeeded in humiliating him.
When Sirius is at school it seems that every week an owl arrives at Grimmauld Place telling Orion and Walburga that the boy has been caught out of bed at night, or stealing, or cheating in tests. This would be bad enough, but Sirius' misbehaviour seems specifically designed to infuriate Orion and Walburga. He's out of bed canoodling with another student, and when Orion reads the surname he knows that it's a Muggle-born. When he steals it suggests that Orion Black can't afford to support his own son, and moreover it removes suspension of pocket-money as a punishment- that'll only encourage more theft. Everybody knows that the Blacks are intelligent and honest, so Sirius knows how humiliating it is for Orion Black, Finance Officer of the Department of Magical Trade and Business, to have a son who cheats on tests. When he was a child, Sirius could be packed off to his Aunt and Uncle's to avoid embarrassing Orion. It's harder to control a teenager, and the boy is always coming up with new ways to shame the family.
Regulus is a consolation. Orion's younger son is well-behaved and mild-mannered. He's not tremendously bright, but he works hard and his teachers like him. He's good at Quidditch, and if the Slytherin captain wasn't a Seeker Orion is sure that Regulus could have made the team this year. He's got a nice group of friends- Octavia Flint came over during the Easter holidays and was a delightful girl. Walburga says that Miss Flint's father is one of the Dark Lord's followers, and Orion suspects that Regulus is interested in joining them. The boy's only just turned thirteen, but already he's studying the newspapers for news and cutting out his favourite stories. He listens wide-eyed to the stories his cousin Bellatrix tells of her work. Orion reminds Regulus to keep quiet about his interest and their family connections in front of people who may disprove, and Regulus nods seriously, promising that he will. He's understanding and obedient like that. Sometimes Orion detects some teenage grumpiness setting in, but mostly Regulus is a sweet and conscientious young man. Orion is proud of him.
One of the many problems with Sirius is the effect he's had on Orion's marriage. He and Walburga have had their ups and downs over the years, which Orion knows is normal. Sirius, however, has always been their sticking point. Walburga accuses Orion of being too soft on him, Orion protests that there's not much more he can do.
"That's the problem, isn't it?" Walburga hisses, "You're his father! Why is it always me who has to deal with him?".
The truth is, Orion would prefer not to have to deal with his oldest son. Sirius always wants to stay at school during the Christmas and Easter holidays but Walburga insists that it's important for the family to be together, so she demands that Sirius come home. The boy stays in his room most of the time when he's here (although Orion hasn't ruled out the chance of more rowdy naked parading). When Walburga makes him come out, they argue, and Orion gets dragged into it too. Regulus usually escapes outside to practice throwing and catching against the garden fence, and Orion stares longingly out at him. He wishes that Walburga would let Sirius stay at school. It'd be easier for everybody if the boy wasn't here. Once, foolishly, he said this out loud.
"If we don't bring him back here then it's going to get worse," Walburga had snapped, "He's getting these ideas from the filth Dumbledore lets into that school. He needs to come back here to reminded of real wizarding values".
She didn't need to mention Cygnus and Druella's daughter. The girl had run away two years previously, bringing shame on her parents. There's talk that Druella and Cygnus are having trouble finding a groom for their youngest daughter, Narcissa, although Orion hasn't asked Walburga how true the rumours are. He doesn't ask her much these days; he isn't interested in her life or her opinions anymore. Sirius has driven a wedge between them, and Orion knows that the boy would laugh his hyena cackle if he knew the effect he's having on his parents' marriage. That's what he wants, isn't it? Wretched boy's out to ruin everything Orion's parents and grandparents worked for.
Orion loves his family, so it pains him to admit how much he dislikes his wife and how much happier his life would be without his oldest son. To admit how impotent all this makes him feel. To admit that he thinks he's losing control of his own life.
Sometimes Orion Black doesn't feel like a wealthy man at all.