Author's Note: I'm sorry for being unable to post this chapter yesterday, and actually finishing this story by Christmas! Real life interfered :). Anyway, I hope you like this, and thank you for reading this little Christmas gift to myself (I love the Black kiddies!). Please review! :D
December 25
There hadn't been a plan on how to start Christmas morning, but each of the Black cousins found themselves conjugated in Sirius' room, at the ungodly hour of seven.
A chorus of "Happy Christmas!" was heard when they started trickling into the room, with even Bellatrix giving an impromptu hug to Regulus and Narcissa.
They weren't allowed to come downstairs until their parents said, so it was a long wait of fidgeting, speculating, and a rather rough pillow fight.
Bellatrix was particularly rough during the pillow fight, slamming a pillow against Sirius until it exploded into feathers.
"Merlin, Bella, keep this up and you'll get a lump of coal for Christmas," Sirius taunted, dancing around her with a pillow raised high.
She frowned. "Coal?"
Andromeda laughed. "It's a Muggle thing. Naughty children get coal, good children get presents."
Bellatrix smirked. "Sorry, I'm not up-to-date on Muggle traditions." Her eyes narrowed dangerously, clearly wondering why they were.
Sirius decided to distract her by whacking her with a pillow repeatedly. Bellatrix gasped and grabbed another pillow and soon there was a flurry of feathers in the air.
Unfortunately, it was at that moment when Walburga Black opened the door. She looked at the feathers and made a horrible face. "You're behaving like filthy Mudbloods," she snapped, summoning a house-elf to clean the mess. "Get dressed and come downstairs for breakfast."
A little while later, Bellatrix, Andromeda, and Narcissa were in elaborate dresses and Sirius and Regulus were in overly starched suits. They miserably (with the exception of Narcissa, who preened and pranced in her dress) walked over to the breakfast table. The next hour was spent sipping tea, taking tiny bites of unrecognizable delicacies, and kicking each other silently under the table. At one point, Sirius almost knocked over his cup of tea, but an imperceptible movement from Bellatrix quickly settled the cup and earned a look of deep gratitude from Sirius.
Finally, finally, after what seemed like a thousand years, the children were allowed to calmly stroll over to the towering Christmas tree. Presents were neatly wrapped in silver paper and green bows, and were stacked incredibly high.
All of the children's eyes lit up at the sight, and a flick of Walburga's and Druella's wand sent the presents floating over to each child.
Bellatrix got her broom, shiny and fast. Andromeda received a gleaming spell book and a pointed look from Cygnus, telling her that she ought to practice before she leaves for Hogwarts, in order to not disgrace the family name. Sirius tore open a portrait of Salazar Slytherin and glared at his mother, who gave him an icy smirk in return. Regulus opened a Wizard chess set, much to Sirius' envy. Narcissa gingerly unwrapped a new set of dress robes, and allowed herself a small squeal of joy.
After the adults had tired of the children, they took their presents of mulled wine and goblin-made silver and retired to the dining room, leaving behind a much more relaxed environment.
The children grinned at each other and pulled out their own presents, shoddily wrapped, to give to one another. These presents were far more fun and much more personal. Sirius' good temper was restored as he opened games of Exploding Snap and boxes of Chocolate Frogs. Bellatrix actually hugged Sirius when she opened her present of a book of advanced spells and a scrawled note (I have a book of this myself. Next Christmas, be ready.).
Soon, wrapping paper was scattered around them and candy wrappers were strewn across the floor. The cousins lay by the fire, aimlessly playing with their new presents, sprawled against each other. The next morning, Bellatrix, Andromeda, and Narcissa would be leaving, back to their home and away from the childish magic of Christmas, but for now, they were all together, and each of them relished in that fact- something they would never admit out loud.
Narcissa was the one to break the comfortable silence. "Will it be like this forever?"
There was a brief pause. "What?" Bellatrix asked, rather snappishly.
"Christmases," Narcissa clarified. "Will they always be like this?"
Andromeda bit her lip, mentally comparing their relationship with the cool, impersonal relationship of her parents and aunt and uncle. "I hope so, Cissy."
"It will be," Sirius said lazily. "Ten years from now, we'll still be here and making our parents' lives miserable."
"Speak for yourself," Bellatrix said, somewhat fondly. "But yes, Cissy, I don't imagine that things will change so much that we won't spend Christmas together."
"I love Christmas," Regulus piped up. "And it wouldn't be the same without you lot."
Andromeda smiled at him. "I agree. So. We agree? Every Christmas stays like this?"
There was a chorus of assertions and a few spontaneous hugs. It was Christmas, and while it may not have been as warm and loving as those Christmases one sees on television, it still had the particular Black family charm. And that charm was enough to satisfy Bellatrix, Andromeda, Narcissa, Regulus, and even Sirius, at least for today. Black Christmases were wonderful, majestic, and simply amazing. All the Blacks secretly hoped for a thousand more just like this one, and they were sure that they would get their wish, because after all, since when do Blacks not get what they want?