The Art of Cartography

Attention

June 22, 1971

Twinkling lights of fairies dancing above the heads of dozens of men and women swarmed below Sirius Black's dangling feet as he sat, several stories above them on the balcony of an old castle. Couples dressed in the finest of wizarding dress robes danced, while others chatted merrily under the fairy lights, sipping away at elven wine. At eleven years old, the party below held little interest for Sirius. There had been a distinct increase in the number of social gatherings he had been forced to attend in the last year. The increase had done nothing to change Sirius' opinion of them— they were just as dull as ever. However, his spot perched above the partygoers made the perfect place to drop stink pellets into the robes of those unfortunate enough to stray under him.

"Sirius Black! How dare you—" screeched a voice from behind Sirius, and he scooted quickly away from the ledge, stuffing the rest of his stink pellets in the pocket of his dress robes. In his panic he failed to notice the screech turn to laughter at the panicked expression on his face. "Calm down, punk," the voice chortled. Sirius' cheeks flushed pink as he recognized the voice and stared up into the grinning face of his favorite cousin, Andromeda Black.

Tossing a stink pellet toward his cousin—which she easily dodged, Sirius growled, "That was cruel."

"But funny," came her reply as she curled her legs under her to sit beside him. Sirius thought it took her an absurd amount of time to do so, but blamed it on her height. Andromeda was quite tall for a girl, and willowy.

The two cousins remained in silence for quite a time, tossing stink pellets down amongst the guests. Their faces bore the same aristocratic features, with pale skin and dark hair, the same worry lines between their eyes. No one could deny that either child was quite beautiful. Sirius still very young and bright, and Andromeda flowering into womanhood prettily.

"A lot of parties lately?" Andromeda questioned breaking the silence. Her attendance at school preventing her from appearing the multitude of gatherings Sirius had been forced to bare over the past few months.

Sirius grumbled, tossing his hair out of his eyes, "One a week. Or it feels that way at least." Giving Andromeda a slight smile, he continued, "At least you'll be here for the rest of the summer. I won't have to get into mischief alone now." In the past, Sirius discovered annoying the guests at these gatherings required his parents to take notice of his presence and pretend to scold him in condolence for the guests. Though recently, neither parent had noticed his misbehavior.

Andromeda laughed. "You're much braver than I am. Aunt Walburga scares me something fierce."

With a shrug, Sirius turned his gaze back down to the partygoers. Easily spotting his mother, Walburga Black, amid the crowd, her black hair gleaming in the fairy light, expensive robes draped around her frame so exquisitely they seemed to be part of her. "Mother barely notices I exist. Doesn't matter what sort of mischief I find myself in. She doesn't bat an eye." The sadness in his voice was evident, he craved attention—any at all would do. His parent's social calendars kept them occupied with everything but tending to Sirius and his brother's desire for acknowledgement.

"You excited to start school in September?" she changed the subject, allowing herself to pretend she hadn't heard the longing in his voice. With age, came knowledge. Neglect was far better than the abuse that came from angering one of the elder Blacks. Andromeda hoped Sirius never learned that lesson and the most he ever suffered from her aunt was neglect.

Realizing that she wasn't going to acknowledge his remark, Sirius answered, "I guess." He stared up at his cousin, but she appeared lost in her own thoughts. Even if she wasn't listening, Sirius continued to talk. At least he could pretend she cared, with her sitting that closely. "Father and I went and brought all my things last week. He wanted to have it done before the place was crowded with 'mudbloods and the like.'" He parroted off the last few words, mimicking his father's drawl.

Andromeda tilted her head as she stared at Sirius, concern drawing her dark brows together. "Sirius?" she queried, "Do you know what 'mudblood' means?"

With confusion clearly written across his face he answered, "It someone born without a wizarding parentage." His brows furrowed over his grey eyes as he frowned. "I'm not stupid, Andromeda."

Giving him an eye roll, she teased, "Yes, you are." She raised a hand to brush Sirius' hair from his eyes and he flinched away from her reach, unused to affection. Giving him a small smile, she placed her hand back in her lap. "Sirius, promise me, you won't use that word anymore. Muggleborn—that's what the rest of society uses. That's the word that isn't—wrong." As his eyes clouded with more confusion, Andromeda explained her thoughts. "Listen, this—" she gestured to the crowd below them. "Their ideals and their way of life—That's not all there is out there. When you get to Hogwarts, you're going to learn that the way we are raised isn't—" She kept starting and stopping, looking for the right words. Sirius had never seen her so open, or so conflicted in his life. He clung to every word, as if they were the only honest words he'd ever heard. Perhaps they were. "Just promise me, that you'll remain open minded and decide for yourself. Okay?"

Sirius nodded and whispered softly, "Muggleborn."

July 15th 1971

The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black was elegantly embroidered across the tapestry that hung the far wall of the room Sirius and his younger brother, Regulus, found themselves in on the quite Thursday afternoon. Beneath the words lay the family motto (Torjours Pur) and crest before the golden thread spilled out into a magnificent sprawling tree with each family member connected among the branches. It was Sirius' mother's prized possession: The Black family tree.

Unknowing of the events unfolding that caused their parents absence, Sirius and Regulus entertained themselves throughout their day free of lessons with chess, Gobstones, Exploding Snap, and any other game they could get their hands on. It was a rarity, for the Black family heirs to have so much spare time on their hands and they enjoy it to the fullest extent.

"What do you suppose mother and father are doing?" Regulus asked his elder brother, nudging his knight as it attempt to refuse his request, knowing the play would lead to its demise.

Sirius shrugged. "I'm not really sure I care, Regulus," he responded through a mouthful of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. "As long as they are gone we eat candy for dinner and don't have to attend stupid dancing lessons this evening. Let them stay gone!"

Laughing at his brother's enthusiasm, Regulus plucked out a toffee colored bean from the pile on the table and popped it into his mouth. Sirius grinned as his brother made a face which clearly said the bean had been one of Bertie's more disgusting flavors.

Much later in the day, as the sun began to fall beneath the horizon line, the room was turned quite upside down— candy spilled from the table and wrappers scattered about the floor, bits of game pieces were spread out willy-nilly around the place in a fashion most unfitting of the House of Black. The two boys were in a mock duel. Licorice wands pointing at each other, Sirius behind an upturned couch and Regulus taking cover near the bookcase. Each boy smiling at the other with brotherly affection as they threw pretend curses at one another. The game was brought suddenly to an end with a loud crack that made both boys freeze.

The front door slammed with such force the entire house seemed to shake, Sirius and Regulus both jumped fear evident in their eyes at the sound of footsteps in the entrance hall. Walburga Black's infuriated voice echoed through the house and the boys shared panicked looks before their eyes darted to the mess they had created. "Kreature?" Regulus called, bit it was much too late.

The mistress of the House of Black had already arrived in the room in a dramatic swirling of robes, her fury radiating off her in waves. Sirius made to exit the room as his mother whirled passed him without taking notice of his presence and waved for his brother to follow. Regulus nodded and sneaked his way toward the door as well.

"How dare she!" Walburga roared. And the brothers froze, eyes wide watching their mother remove her wand from her sleeve and point it at the tapestry in a rage. Magic sparked around her, crackling in the air as her wand tip flamed up and burned out a name on the family tree. "Running off with a filthy mudblood! A disgrace!" Walburga raged.

Sirius motioned for Regulus to move for the exit again and Walburga caught sight of him. "Sirius!" she screeched. "Did you know about this?" Sirius shook his head in confusion and her glare intensified. The anger in his mother's voice was nothing like Sirius had ever experienced before, and for the first time in his life, he was afraid of her. "Did you know, Sirius?" Her voice wavered as if she had lost her sanity and Sirius glance meaningfully at Regulus, trying to convey the urgent need for Regulus to get out of the room with his eyes. "You two are so close!"

Her rage had overtaken her now and Sirius drew her attention completely, giving Regulus a moment to escape. "Who, mother?" he asked timidly.

Magic was still sparking off Sirius' mother in a way Sirius had never witnessed before. Her wand was pointed at him and he was sure that she would end his life in that moment. "Did you know, boy?" she screeched again.

"I don't know what you are talking about, mother," Sirius answered honestly, his voice trembling.

Her eyes flashed dangerously at him. "Don't. Lie. To. Me."

"Mother, truly," he begged. His mind traveling a million different places trying to find an answer and not finding one.

"You mean to tell me, your dearest cousin, didn't tell you that she was going to marry a—" her voice broke in anger and she started to stutter,"—a m-m-mu—"

"A Muggleborn?" Sirius offered. At Andromeda's request, Sirius had made it a habit to repeat the word whenever mudblood was used, to help him remember to use the right word.

Sirius Black spent the majority of his childhood fighting for his mother's attention—to be noticed in any way at all. By accident, he found the answer in doing the right thing.

A resounding smack echoed throughout the room as Walburga's hand collided with Sirius' cheek. The cooper taste of blood filled his mouth and tears stung at his eyes. Despite the pain in his cheek and the fear he felt at his mother rage, he felt the swelling feeling of happiness. Finally, she noticed him. Finally, attention.