Chapter 10: [Sirius POV] Getting to know you


Summary:

private affairs
Longest chapter by far


On Friday, after their first potion class, Sirius's chance came when Professor Slughorn singled them out and asked them to linger.

Slughorn had been easy to predict. He had been head of Slytherin house for a long time and had welcomed both his parents. He was sure to advance further with the noble house of Black through Sirius.

Unfortunately, he had a tendency to make decent people uncomfortable with his greasiness. He wasn't saying it for himself; it was for the girl with him, who took the brunt of the blow.

"Ah, Benetnasch, how long have I longed to see you! I have known you since you were born! I heard you named your first horse Aldebaran. You sly little thing! Your father kept me updated, of course."

Sirius was hearing very personal things about his fellow student, and he could literally feel her embarrassment radiating off her. He knew he should respect privacy, but he couldn't help but enjoy the information.

Aldebaran, the brightest star in Taurus, means "follower" of the Pleiades. It was not a name he would have chosen, but he had to admire her drama, and her fancying herself as a Pleiad proved to be even more amusing. Not a goddess, but a nymph; not gorgeous and empowering, but fair and quiet, hidden in forests and mountains. This girl really merited further attention; she was intriguing. 【1】

There was a turn of events after that, however.

Slughorn first made a point of babbling further about her father.

"A brilliant student and one of my all-time favorites, I was so sorry to learn of his passing; a terrible loss, a terrible loss..."

Sirius was struck by that news. He hadn't seen it coming; from the manner in which Slughorn had spoken about him, you'd think the guy was still alive and well, ready to provide more information on his beloved daughter. Had Slughorn considered how inappropriate he was being?

Sirius could not believe that it had to be pointed out by him; of all people, he was the one most berated for improper behavior. Slughorn should have respected Sovermerge's privacy instead of revealing this kind of information in a fellow student's presence.

However, the man's intentions were not misguided, Sirius thought as the man turned around, saying he had to find a picture; he just had an awful way of showing it.

Making use of Slughorn's short deserted time, Sirius turned and said, "My condolences, Benetnasch." Sorry for your loss; sorry that I am here, too.

He didn't hesitate to address her by her first name, even though it was the first time and he hadn't been given permission. It would be a terrible reminder now that her father was also a Sovermerge, and using last names sounds cold and distant.

He expected a curt response, but he heard her small voice acknowledging him: "Thank you, Sirius."

And with that, Slughorn reappeared, holding a small picture frame in his hand, and he showed it to Benetnasch. Sirius was close enough to catch a glimpse of the young, golden-haired man in the picture standing with Slughorn himself, wearing brilliant blue robes.

Slughorn kept on saying, "He was an excellent teacher, one of the youngest ever, the head of Ravenclaw House, and taught here for ten years, no less; I was actually surprised at first to learn he applied to astronomy. He was accomplished in many fields of magic, and astronomy just didn't strike as an imposing suit for him. But I suppose I see now that it only fits. He must have loved that subject; after all, he did name you Benetnasch, didn't he? That was a star."

Interesting: Her father had been a Hogwarts professor whose specialty had been astronomy, while Sirius's great-grandfather had been the least-favoured Hogwarts headmaster. Knowing the significance of the subject to her, Sirius wondered again about her feelings towards being paired up in astronomy with him. It seemed a lot more intimate now.

Slughorn's watchful eyes then fixed on Sirius—so he had not forgotten about his presence—and he said, "Sirius is a star, too, isn't it? I heard from Professor Sinistra that she has set you up in a group."

He didn't wait for a response, however; he kept on saying, "Ah, the ancient house of Black. Fascinating people. I heard your grandfather just got into the Order of Merlin, first class! Congratulations. I'd always thought it would be hard to live in those shadows, but oh, you surprised me there, Sirius. Before you, every Black had been in Slytherin; I got both your parents and all your aunts and uncles, so I thought I would get you too. I'd have liked a full set. But you had to prove me wrong, didn't you?"

Sirius was now the one who was awkward, and Slughorn was once again thriving by pointing out the obvious to the person in question while outsiders could hear. Sirius wasn't proud of his family history for one bit, and his grandfather only got into the Order of Merlin by giving them a huge stash of gold. And it was as if, at that moment, Sirius himself had been the only part of a collection Slughorn didn't get, and he had this terribly intense smile on his face.

This really wasn't anyone else's business.

"Your mother might have been a little depressed; she wrote to me and asked me that, although I might not be your head of house, I should watch out for your behavior." Slughorn's smiling face faltered a bit, and Sirius could only imagine what his mother had said about him.

His heart stung a little, so it still hurts when she does things like that. That moment passed quickly, however, and was replaced by an almost blinding rage.
How could she do these things? What right does she have to judge? But, of course, that was his mother's nature. He had never really put too much stock in her.
He missed the next part of Slughorn's speech, lost in thought. It wasn't as if he really cared what Slughorn thought of him, and he was proving his unimportance with every minute.

He was jerked back to earth when Slughorn asked him a question. "So what do you say? Sirius, your mother did express a genuine hope that you could be friends with Benetnasch." What was he talking about?

At least he caught the last part of his inquiry. Why was his mother suddenly interested in him making friends with Sovermerge? That was not an impressive surname by his mother's standards. It would be more likely for her to bully him into making friends with some awful Slytherins.

His mother was not a kind person, and she was never thoughtful toward him. And if he'd had to guess, this was his mother asking Slughorn to make Sovermerge his potion partner, too. This plan had her name all over it. He had no intentions of going with any of his mother's wishes.

"No, professor, I'm afraid not." Sirius kept a blank face. He was determined, and there was really no voicing of reason.

For a moment, he wondered. He had not heard any declarations from Sovermerge herself; what were her thoughts on this?

Slughorn's face, however, looked as though he had been slapped; it seemed that he was not used to refusals. An odd kind of satisfaction grew in Sirius.

However, it seemed that Benetnasch was there to soften the blow; her voice was softly convincing when she said, "The offer is appreciated, professor, but I'm afraid we cannot."

Sirius watched his newfound alley attentively, and in the back of his mind, strings were being pulled. He was sure he had an exceptional presence, and his partnering skills with her were unquestionable, so what were her reasons?

Normally, this is where he would play the part of being highly self-conscious and offended, which often wasn't exactly true. It was striking that he continued to be calm. Close-up, the little details of Benetnasch's expression were mesmerizing.

She tried the playful banter next.

"I already stole Sirius from James Potter in one class; making another intent would be extremely unjust. I'm afraid Sirius is actually trying to save his friend from a crazy attempt at a name change in the future." Benetnasch, quick-witted and silver-tongued, thwarted Slughorn's schemes with a twinkling wink of her eyes.
She was bold, and Sirius had to give her credit. It wasn't cunning he saw in her eyes, but what he deciphered as a spirit that refused to be imposed on. She was actually speaking on behalf of Sirius, and he didn't mind the reference at all.

"With all due respect, despite their names, they are a highly compatible pair; you must have seen their potion. That colour was remarkable for a first-year!" Now that was a strike, "for a first-year?"

Was she mocking him? That small giveaway was cute and laughable. Sirius had to restrain himself from smirking.

"And of course, I couldn't possibly leave dear Remus to the wolves." She grinned.

"He'd be completely lost without me!"

Her joking manner suggested that she was really, really close to Lupin, which was true, as anyone with eyes could see. Sirius had noted that she practically doted on him today.

"And I'm afraid Mrs Black's concern was invalid." she kept on saying, and Sirius could have kissed her the way she casually cast his mother aside.

"I'm sure, professor, you would be so kind to enlighten her that shorter times are always more cherished." She meant being partners in one class instead of two, of course. Sirius made a mental note to write her a thank-you letter later because, graciously, she'd let Slughorn handle the loose ends!

"Of course, I would be delighted, young lady! Charming, just like your mother! You'd be a brilliant Countess of Fawley one day, Benetnasch." Slughorn smiled broadly, revealing the creases in his eyes. What was this? Countess? Really? An aristocrat? And Fawley? Now, that would be a very familiar name, one of the "Scared Twenty-Eight" to be exact.

Sirius would admit that that name was not lost on his mother, despite the fact that the house of Fawley had been relatively quiet after the incident where Hector Fawley had to step down from his position as Minister of Magic. His mother would always say that the only true "Scared Twenty-Eight"s were the ones with ancient and Greek names. Hector was a Trojan hero, still, he was killed by Achilles during the Trojan War. So Benetnasch was related to the Fawleys? And Fawleys owned a title? Sirius found himself loaded with questions. Luckily, Slughorn seemed to find it fit to release them then.【2】

"Ah, I have taken up too much of your time. Off you go, both of you!" He then gave a dismissive wave.

"Thank you." Both of them were sincere in this, and they took their leave.

As soon as the door closed behind them, Sirius turned to her and said, "Sorry. I didn't mean to be an offender to you when I objected to being potion partners."

"None taken, and of course you wouldn't want your mother's claws still in you while you're at Hogwarts."

Sirius was not one to throw away an opening: "You can relate?"
"Yes and no."

It took a moment for her to answer with studied understatement. But she looked at him with unmistakable curiosity and said, "Your family is one of the weirder ones, isn't it?"

"Really, weird? That was the best you could come up with?" Sirius spoke with distaste.

"Well, I also didn't mean for it to be an offense," she explained.

"I assumed that Black is "black," in the same way that Lestrange is "le-strange" and Malfoy is "mal foi". You have a history," she said, and she didn't falter even though she was dancing for delicacies.【3】

"Yes, we are infamous." Sirius said this while thinking of how his family would chop off old house elves' heads, push for movements to marginalize and exploit non-purebloods, and persist on intermarrying.

He realised he must have said what he thought out loud since Benetnasch answered, "They say it's for the purity of the bloodline."

Sirius might have felt awkward sharing such intimate information inadvertently, but after hearing her response, he realised she'd, at least, face more pressure in the marriage department because she was a girl. He wondered if she had been subjected to a betrothal yet.

It was another nasty habit that families like theirs had preserved; they'd have no problem submitting young girls and boys for their breeding. It was truly horrid. They were brainwashed, so none of them really understood the severity; they married young and fathered or mothered way too early, so they never actually grew to understand the weight of the things they had given up. Sirius's uncle became a father to his eldest cousin, Bellatrix, at just the tender age of thirteen. When he had his youngest daughter, Narcissa, he was just of wizarding age, seventeen. The clock may also be ticking for Sirius. 【4】

"It's not as if the War of the Roses would start again." She kept on saying, her voice now indignant.

Sirius looked at her questioningly, waiting for her to elaborate. Sirius counted his luck because she'd made reference to something that occurred before the Statue of Secrecy, which he could make sense of. Wizarding history had been drilled in him, but he was not accustomed to muggle ones. He may have been smuggling in muggle magazines since he was seven, but thick textbooks on history? That asked too much of him.

He was aware that the War of the Roses began as a result of conflicting rights to succession, which seemed acutely close to Benetnasch since he just found out she'd inherit a title. In history, the war ended with both heirs joining houses through marriage.

Sirius thought he knew the reason why Benetnasch was holding back a response; she was really taking quite a while. He understood her reluctance, so he decided not to push it. He supposed he could inquire about something else that had been on his mind.

"So were all your family members Slytherin, too?"

"No, of course, not all of them. However, I do know a lot of people were in Slytherin. But I guess it had become a rather unpopular house in recent years." She seemed thoughtful.

"Oh, I'd been meaning to ask you." She perked up suddenly. "Given that you've received a package of information on myself, it'd only be fair if you'd indulge me on some of my questions as well." She was trying that banter voice again, but Sirius noticed her eyes on him were clear and steady.

"Fair, shoot." Sirius was surprised.

"Why did you call Severus Snape Snivellus?"

Once again, Sirius was totally caught off guard by this girl; that was an unexpected question. He'd never seen her interact with Snivellus. His eyes narrowed.
"I thought it would be obvious, Severus, Snivellus." His tone was dead cold.

"You'd belittle him for the name he was born with?"

"I'd belittle him for first insulting my friend."

Sirius didn't like justifying himself to anyone, but he found himself doing it again and again. Snape had gotten the name set for him the minute he let out "brawny than brainy" and Sirius had made sure of it.

He saw his words take effect and clarification flood Benetnasch's face, though she didn't seem that surprised.

"Well, you have the right to dislike," she said, delicately raising her eyebrows.

"But it was still foul to hurl nicknames like that."

"I hate to point it out to you, but I don't need your going all judgmental on me."

"Excuse me, I was raised to be righteous." Her voice had now risen. This was Sirius's first time witnessing any sort of outburst coming from her; she'd been so collected before.

She was clearly irritated, an indignant expression painted on her face, and Sirius laughed out loud.

"Of course you are," he smirked, "I can hear you roar."


Notes:

【1】Why would I assume that Sirius knew of the Pleiades in Greek mythology? Well, his cousin Andromeda named her daughter Nymphadora, so I figured he would know these kinds of things as well.

【2】Hector Fawley is a real character in Rolling's magical universe; he was on the list of ministers of magic that she released on Pottermore. In this story, he would be our heroine's great uncle.

And Walburga's belief that only families naming their members ancient and Greek names were the true "scared twenty-eights" was inspired by Blair in "Gossip Girl," where she said that the only true Ivy League schools were Harvard, Yale, and Columbia. The Blacks are an example; even Alecto Carrow was named after one of the Nemeses.

【3】The families that were obviously on the darker side almost always had hints in their family names.

【4】Bellatrix's father was truly 13 when she was born, and by the time Narcissa was born, he was only 17. This could be confirmed in the Black family tree, where it is mentioned that Bellatrix was born in 1951, Narcissa in 1955, and their father in 1938. Some say this is just Rolling being bad at math, but since she never changed this setting, I am going to go with it.

PS: I liked reading about the Hundred Years' War and the War of the Roses when I was little, and while I'm not sure I still remember those facts correctly, the fascination still stood.