Chapter Eight
Black Tidings
December 1968
The Black Manor did not have it's own nursery. In the place of the single, cosy room that the children of most other bloodlines were raised in, was a whole wing, dedicated to the upbringing of the young occupants of the house. Any children were, of course, raised by a governess, and the house-elves were expected to perform any additional duties. The Children's Wing in Black Manor had been built alongside the main estate in the late 16th century, and still retained the grandeur of the era. Passing through the entire wing was a long corridor, containing different pieces of artwork that several generations of the Black family had amassed during their travels. The floors were all made of marble, which slowly evolved in colour, in co-ordination with the sky outside. Large double-doors in this corridor lead off to fourteen adjoining bedrooms; in recent years, the sisters only officially occupied three, but it had not been uncommon for their ancestors to live alongside dozens of siblings and cousins. The three girls, however, had not enjoyed the excited bustle and action that had filled the echoing wing in previous decades. With only each other for company, the Children's Wing was quiet, uncomfortable and worst of all, unbearably lonely. During their childhood, they usually elected to spend their days in the play room room at the very end of the corridor, as they had never been allowed to enter each others private rooms. This was the main reason that Andromeda did not question the frequent arrival of Narcissa in her dorm at Hogwarts – the youngest girl more than anyone felt the strain of being constantly alone.
After the dismissal of their final governess once Narcissa started her first year at Hogwarts, the girls had found themselves in a strange void between childhood and adulthood. As they were all still schoolgirls, they were expected to remain in the Children's Wing, despite the amount of available rooms in the main household. Neither Andromeda or Narcissa particularly bemoaned the fact that they had been barred from the main building. Their parents were always kind to them, but their contact hours were severely limited, which essentially made them little more than formally pleasant strangers. In truth, when they as children were lead by the governess to the parlour each evening to bid their parents goodnight, they never knew what to say to them in the ten minutes they were abandoned in there. The process was forced and awkward, and frankly both girls were relieved to discover that they would continue spending minimal hours in the main living quarters.
For Bellatrix, this was a different matter entirely. At the age of sixteen, she felt herself more than capable of socialising with her parents and their constant stream of guests. However, despite many strained conversations with her father, which mainly took place via letters transported by the house-keeper, she had been unsuccessful in elevating herself to the main household. Instead, she had to continue living in solidarity amongst the childish remnants of her youth.
She scowled at the rocking horse that sat in front of the window in the play room. Narcissa was doodling on an old piece of parchment, and Andromeda was curled in an armchair, reading an old collection of fairy tales. For once, Bellatrix found herself wishing that the holiday could go on exactly as it was at present. She could take the boredom. What she wasn't sure she could take was what was about to happen next. Because this moment of tranquility wasn't tranquility at all. It was the calm before the storm. Any moment now, the boys were going to join them.
Sirius and Regulus Black did not seem to possess any concept of civil formality. Both were still too young to attend school, and Bellatrix sometimes wondered whether they were just left free to roam Grimmauld Place like rodents. The moment they came rolling through the play room door, any optimism concerning an improvement in their behaviour disappeared in a puff of smoke. They both shrieked and sped in, two small balls of tangled black hair and flailing arms. Regulus, successful in momentarily pushing his older brother out the way, dashed to the rocking horse and practically threw himself onto it, sending it swinging in dangerously wild motions. Sirius yelled angrily at him, threatening to murder Spartacus, his pet rat, in retaliation, but eventually gave up and flopped down to sit on top of both Andromeda and her book.
"Hello Andromeda!"
"Hello, Sirius."
"We've come to stay for Christmas! Can I sleep in your room?"
"..."
"Please, Andromeda, please, I don't want to be by myself or share with Regulus – he's so annoying. Please? Andy? Ha, did you know your name could be Andy? Andy Andy Andy!"
"Okay, firstly, you need to get off me." Andromeda said, pushing herself up so Sirius was forced to roll off her lap. "Secondly, you're not allowed to stay in my room, it's the rules."
"But-"
"I don't get a say in it. You'd have to talk to my mother or father, or maybe Aunt Walburga or Uncle Orion."
Sirius pouted.
"That's not fair! They scare me. I don't want to talk to them!"
Andromeda ruffled his hair.
"How can you be scared of your own parents?"
"Have you met my mother? She's so angry, all the time. She's like..." He stopped, thinking up an appropriate comparison. Regulus came flying off the rocking horse and landed with a loud thump on the thick carpet in front of them. He rolled until he became upright once more, and looked at them.
"Like a DRAGON!" He volunteered, and Sirius nodded in agreement.
Andromeda looked around, only to realise that during the conversation, both her sisters had taken the opportunity to leave the play room and return to the sanctuary of their own rooms. Mentally cursing them, she turned back to the boys, who were now crawling over all the furniture.
"You shouldn't say bad things about Auntie Walburga. Especially not when we have the Christmas Eve Banquet tonight."
Her two cousins cried out dramatically, clutching at their faces. Although she knew they were mainly play-acting for her benefit, it made her laugh. She realised, with a start, that she couldn't actually remember the last time she had laughed. So far, the holidays had been overly bleak, but in all honesty, she hadn't felt particularly good since a while before then. She told herself that it was just a case of the winter blues, and purposefully ignored the voice in her mind telling her that wasn't quite true.
"WE HATE CHRISTMAS EVE BANQUET WITH THE ADULTS!"
"WE HATE ALL BANQUETS WITH THE ADULTS"
"WE HATE ALL ADULTS!"
"WE HATE ALL BANQUETS!"
Andromeda smiled, a thought popping into her head.
"You certainly won't hate all banquets. Just you wait until you come to Hogwarts. They're the best things ever." Sirius leapt back onto the sofa, sitting on his feet.
"Andromeda! Did you know, I'm almost old enough to go! I'm going to come to Hogwarts with you and we're going to be best friends at banquets!"
Regulus felt the need to cut in.
"And I'm coming the year after he does. And then you'll be my best friend at banquets!"
Sirius scowled.
"Yes, but I'm going to get there first. And I'm going to get a wand from the big shop on Diagon Alley, and a school cloak, and a hat, and five owls in different colours."
"That's not true!"
"And I'm going to be the best in transfiguration. And potions. And charms. And... all the other things. And I'm going to be Slytherin Quidditch Captain!'"
At this, Andromeda could have sworn that she saw Regulus's face change colour into a hue of dark red. Oh no.
"You're so stupid, Sirius. I'm going to be Slytherin Quidditch Captain!"
"Ha, really, Reggie? You can't even catch a quaffle, how are you going to be captain?"
Both boys were flaring up in rage, and edging closer to each other. Andromeda hadn't a clue what to do. She had no experience at all with looking after children. Her curses now extended to her parents for relying on her to serve as their nanny.
"That only happened one time! AND YOU PROMISED YOU WOULDN'T TELL ANYONE ABOUT THAT!" Regulus roared, and suddenly he was on top of Sirius, pounding his tiny fists down into his brother's face. In an instant, the two boys were rolling away across the nursery, slamming their way through various toys, books, and doll-houses. Andromeda froze, completely helpless.
Thankfully, she was saved by the entrance of Bellatrix, who had heard the commotion from her room. Out in the corridor, Narcissa stood nervously behind her.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!" Bellatrix shrieked, and the boys stopped in their tracks. With Regulus still trapped in a headlock under Sirius's arm, they turned their heads round to see her.
"HOW DARE YOU COME INTO THIS HOUSE AND ACT LIKE ANIMALS IN FRONT OF US!" Bellatrix screamed, pointing her wand menacingly at them. The two cousins were paralysed in fear and seemed unable to speak. Andromeda wondered whether Bellatrix was acting a little too harshly. They looked genuinely frightened.
Bellatrix, upon observing their fear, seemed to take pleasure in it. Her voice changed, mutating back into the sickly-sweet tone that she had used on poor Wookey on the Hogwarts Express. She slowly advanced towards them, as they shrank away.
"I think you've learnt your lesson here. Let me just remind you, we have evil spirits in this house, and if you get too loud and disrupt them, they'll wake up, come down to your room, and pull out your tongue when you're asleep. That way, you'll never be able to disturb them again."
The boys looked at her in wide-eyed horror. Narcissa decided to join the fun.
"It's true!" She chipped in from behind Bellatrix. "Your Uncle Cygnus and our Aunt Walburga had a second brother besides Alphard, but he was got at by spirits, and when they took out his tongue, he bled so much that he died. Nobody is allowed to talk about it because it makes them really upset, so they'll be really angry if it's ever mentioned in front of them.
Terrified, Sirius instantly looked over to Andromeda for confirmation. Feeling rather guilty, she managed a quick nod of her head.
"And the spirits especially don't like boys." Bellatrix added. "If you two want to stay safe, it means you'll have to only speak in whispers, like this", leaning in and lowering her volume as she spoke. Neither boy uttered a word.
The five cousins stood in ominous silence for a moment. It was interrupted by the tinkling of a bell attached to a string near the door. Sirius and Regulus glanced at it, confused.
"That's our summonings for dinner" Narcissa said, sweeping her hair back over her shoulders. "Are you both ready?"
"... Yes" They replied in soft unison, so quietly that none of the girls were actually convinced that the words had even escaped their lips.
"Then what are we waiting for?" She retaliated and stalked off down the corridor. The rest followed her, the only sound being their footsteps on the hard marble floor.
Christmas morning began, as always, with Narcissa frantically banging on the doors of her sisters, forcing them to wake up long before the sun had risen. This year, she was accompanied by Sirius and Regulus, who appeared to be on such an adrenaline high, one could wonder whether they had slept at all.
Sleepily tugging on a soft red dressing gown and velvet slippers, Andromeda stumbled out of her room and followed her excited bunch of relatives down into the nursery. Narcissa, like her, had elected to put on an oversized dressing gown, whilst the two boys frolicked amongst the large pile of presents in matching white-and-green pyjamas. Andromeda noticed, with a pang of guilt, that nobody had remembered to put up a christmas tree. It was usually the job of the governess, and since her dismissal, her parents had thought to order the house-elves to do it instead. Today they had no such luck, which made the room feel rather unfestive.
Bellatrix appeared beside her, neatly dressed in a black tunic dress with a white collar. She had also taken the time to fix up her hair into an updo, meaning that for once her face wasn't covered by strands of loose curls. It looked pretty. Andromeda wondered if Bellatrix realised that she'd almost exactly imitated the September '68 cover of Witch Weekly.
"Can we open them now? Please!" begged Sirius, rifling through the pile of gifts, checking the tags for his name.
"Sure, it is Christmas!" Narcissa replied, and the group all threw themselves into sorting out the gifts between them. Amongst a range of smaller gifts from their parents, Bellatrix received a designer lace-trimmed witches hat, Andromeda a telescope embedded with emeralds, and Narcissa a limited edition box of Sleekeazy's Hair Potion and other products.
Both Sirius and Regulus had been gifted matching sets of quidditch uniforms. They instantly put on their 'crash resistant' helmets and started launching themselves head-first at various pieces of wall and furniture, screaming as they did so, all fears of tongue-stealing spirits totally forgotten.
Just then, Narcissa's owl, Medusa, appeared at a window and started pecking until she let her in. Medusa flapped around the room for a moment, then deposited a black envelope on Narcissa's lap. On it, her name was written in metallic gold ink, which unfortunately was so smudged that she could barely read it.
"Who's that from?" Bellatrix asked, as Narcissa turned it over in her hands.
"I don't know. I've already opened the presents from Alice and the other girls, and I don't know why it would be from a relative if they didn't also send something to both of you."
"Open it and find out" Bellatrix ordered.
Narcissa reached for her envelope opener whilst Medusa settled on a perch near the door, preparing herself for a nap. With a sharp tear, the envelope was open, and Narcissa took out the letter inside. She read it, her face contorting with scorn and disgust.
"It's from Travers." She said, drawing out his name as if it were contaminated with leeches.
"What does it say?" Andromeda asked.
"What do you think it says?" Narcissa flared up. "Dear Narcissa. It's Travers, that boy who stalks you from Hogwarts. My new year's resolution is to wash every day so I don't physically repulse every living human and creature within 50 yards of me. I'm also just going to die in a hole, and rise again as a different person, considering how worthless and pitiful I am. Maybe instead of buying you a present, I'm going to get myself a toothbrush. Merry Christmas!"
"I can't believe -"
"I know. I know. It's just wishful thinking on my behalf." Narcissa grumbled, taking out her wand. 'Incendio!" The letter went up in flames, and she tossed it into the fireplace.
"You really need to ditch him, Narcissa" Andromeda attempted. "All he's doing is making you angry."
"It's not that easy." Narcissa sulked. "Once you've accepted that 'relationship' tag, it's like being tied down to a hippocrampus egg. You wouldn't understand. There's no escape. I'm doomed. Forever."
"Stop being so dramatic" Bellatrix snapped, but Narcissa was already in an unshakable sulk, and was determined to carry it through the rest of the day.
The children received their invite to Christmas dinner with the adults in the main house, so at 4pm sharp, they arrived in the main banqueting hall. Whilst no effort had been made to decorate the nursery this year, the hall was decked out with holly and ivy, bells and baubles, and anything else that the house-elf team could dream up. Cygnus and Druella Black stood, in their finest formal wizarding dress, by the great stone fireplace. Aunt Walburga and Uncle Orion stood next to them, and without needing to ask, the five children lined up silently next to them, without any form of greeting. About thirty seconds passed, and then a loud boom emitted from the hearth, followed by the appearance of a tall, lanky figure. Coughing, the man bent down to climb out of the fireplace, and shook hands with Cynus.
"Alphard. Glad you could make it" He greeted him warmly.
"Always a pleasure. Your home looks beautiful, as always, Druella." Alphard replied, turning his attention to his sister, and kissing her hand. In a strange tradition of formality, Alphard made his way down the family line, greeting each member as he did so. The girls greeted him in order of age, Bellatrix first, followed by Andromeda and Narcissa. Upon reaching the boys, the civil greetings came to a sudden end, as Sirius squealed and threw his arms around Alphard's neck.
"Uncle Alphard! Uncle Alphard I didn't know you were coming! Does this mean you brought more presents!" He blabbered, grinning from ear to ear. Walburga looked absolutely dismayed at this breach in behaviour, but Alphard chucked and ruffled Sirius's hair.
"You'll have to wait and find out. We have a dinner to look forward to first!" He said in a warm, deep voice. He grabbed Sirius's waist and hoisted him off the floor with his right arm, doing the same to Regulus with his left. The boys both roared with laughter, kicking their feet in the air.
The girls were far less close with Uncle Alphard than their cousins, which was partly to do with their being at Hogwarts now, but also, they suspected, because the brothers were strikingly similar in appearance to him. If Sirius were to grow out his dark hair a little, he would almost be a miniature clone.
"Boys!" Walburga snapped from down the line. It was unclear whether she alluded only to her children, or to her brother as well. "Do be sensible! The Malfoys will be arriving any second, and I won't have you give off a bad impression".
"Sorry" Alphard said, sounding guilty but stealing a grin towards his young nephews. "We promise we won't do it again."
He took his place between Walburga and Bellatrix, and they resumed their silent focus on the fireplace. In usual circumstances, formal guests would be expected to apparate outside the entrance of the Black estate, but the Malfoys were long time family friends, and as such, they tended to arrive with the floopowder network.
After several more minutes, and just as Orion was beginning to reach for his pocket watch, the rumble of the fireplace alerted the family to the Malfoy's arrival. Abraxas Malfoy arrived first, followed by his wife, and then Lucius. They too travelled along the line, greeting each Black family member as they went.
"I'm so sorry we're late, there was a little trouble with some unexpected guests" Abraxus explained, removing his travelling cloak and passing it to a house-elf as he spoke.
"Not at all!" Druella cut in. "We hadn't even noticed! I do hope there wasn't any problem, we could happily have had a couple more at our table -"
"-No! … no" Abraxus interrupted. "I mean, only to say that it was, how should I say – business related. A little unexpected, but we managed to shake them off soon enough."
Next to Andromeda, Bellatrix tensed.
"But we're here now, and my, how splendid this all looks!" Abraxus said as he finished shaking Regulus's hand. At this point, Lucius reached the girls. He kissed Bellatrix's hand, and sullenly Andromeda held out her own. He took it, saying nothing, kissed it, and moved on to Narcissa, who looked just as disinterested.
At the Christmas banquet, the children were placed at one end of the table, with the adults at the other. A tremendous amount of serving plates, plate-warmers and ice carvings separated the two groups. Much to her chagrin, Bellatrix found herself placed at the very end of the 'child's' side, meaning that she had no ability to converse with her relatives or, more importantly, the Malfoys. Andromeda had been placed opposite Lucius, she assumed because of their small age difference. It was odd. Perhaps as a result of the other girls fawning over him at school, she possessed very little care for him, and consequently made very little attempt at conversation. Likewise, he made only a small effort to talk, but did spend a lot of time looking at her as they ate – the voices of Sirius and Regulus easily dominating all conversation.
After dinner, it was customary for the women to retire upstairs to one of the hosting rooms, whilst the men started on the heavier liquor. As her mother, her aunt, and Mrs. Malfoy rose from the table; the men rising up in polite unison, Bellatrix suddenly stood up too. The ugly scrape of her chair against the floor attracted their attention, and Druella looked at her daughter curiously. Quickly, Bellatrix left her place and strode down the room towards them.
"Bellatrix, darling, whatever is the matter?"
"Mother, I think it's time that I joined the women upstairs"
Druella laughed, her heavy necklace sparkling under the candlelight.
"Darling, you're hardly old enough to be joining the adult conversations. Go back and entertain your cousins"
Bellatrix cast a frantic glance towards Mrs. Malfoy, who did not meet her gaze.
"Mother, I'm sixteen. I think I'm quite old enough. When you were my age, you already had -"
"- Bellatrix!" Druella snapped, her voice turning cold. "That's quite enough. Go back and sit with your sisters until you are dismissed."
Bellatrix looked at her father, her eyes burning into his – a clear appeal to him. He considered the situation. He looked to his seething wife, then back to his enraged daughter. The rest of the table sat by in uncertain silence. Eventually, he relented.
"I can see that you certainly deem yourself ready to join the adults, Bellatrix. However, at this time, it would feel a little short notice."
Bellatrix curled her lip in anger, realising that he wasn't going override her mother's word.
"However, as a young woman, it is perhaps a little unfair to keep you with the rest of the children. As such, if you should wish to relieve yourself of their company, you have my permission to do so."
It wasn't anything near what Bellatrix had been hoping for, and although her father had given her some freedom from her siblings, she was still vastly displeased. She smiled a cold, dangerous smile.
"Thank you, father. Thank you everyone, for this wonderful dinner. Now, if you'll excuse me."
With that, she turned round and stormed out of the room. Narcissa caught Andromeda's eye.
"Oh, she is so getting the cane tonight." she murmured into her ear. Lucius was looking at them curiously, probably trying to work out what had just been said. Neither girl acknowledged him.
After the women had left, and the food had been whisked away, Cygnus drew up a few armchairs with a lazy flick of his wand. He, Orion, Alphard and Abraxas all took a seat, and the children obediently sat at their feet, apart from the case of Alphard, where Sirius and Regulus sat on his feet.
As the conversation started up, Andromeda noticed that Narcissa was still wearing the same sulky expression from the previous day. It appeared that the appearance of Travers's Christmas card had somehow managed to ruin her entire season. In a way, she didn't entirely blame her. Boys ruined everything. Travers was a pimple-faced freak with a decreasing sense of boundaries. Lucius stared too much, as, she realised, he was doing at present. And... and boys in general were awful and made everything difficult.
The men had been talking mostly amongst themselves, but now Alphard turned his attention to the younger members of the room.
"So, what are you young trouble-makers up to for the rest of the holidays?"
"We're going to see a quidditch match next week!" Sirius exclaimed.
"Yeah, a cup match!" His brother added. "We're going to a really big stadium, with like, twenty hundred thousand and a million people."
"How exciting!" Alphard said. "And you, Lucius?"
Lucius glanced at his father.
"Father and I are touring" he answered. He paused, leaving Abraxas to fill in for him.
"Yes, I'm taking Lucius across the country over the next two weeks or so" he explained to Alphard. "It's about time that he was introduced to some of my contacts." Alphard nodded in understanding.
"And you two ladies?" He asked, turning to the two remaining sisters.
Narcissa was still in a vile mood, so Andromeda took her cue to speak.
"Um, actually, I was hoping that maybe I could go back to Hogwarts for the New Year." The words came out of her mouth before she'd even thought them and she was just as surprised as everyone else in the room once she'd spoken. Why did she say that? To be fair, she reasoned, it wasn't at all a bad decision. The holidays were long and arduous, and the sooner she could cut them short, the better. Narcissa was grumpy and Bellatrix had made it quite clear that she no longer wanted to be associated with her, so why not?
Her father shrugged.
"I don't see that being a problem. We have no more social events this season where your presence would be expected. Let your mother and I know when you are set to leave." He then directed his attention to Abraxas to discuss some old mutual friends.
Orion, who Andromeda was positioned closest to, leant over in his armchair to speak to her.
"You know, Andromeda, if life at home ever gets a bit too hectic for you, you are always welcome to stay a while with us in Grimmauld Place. That said, I doubt it would be too relaxing with the boys around. They'd love you being there, though"
"Thank you, Uncle Orion, but there's nothing wrong at home, I just.. miss Hogwarts, that's all"
"Ah, missing your friends are we? Well in any case, my offer always stands. Just send me an owl if you'd ever like to stay"
"Thank you, that's very kind"
"Any time, Andromeda. Any time."
On Boxing Day night, as Narcissa wrote a long letter to Ophelia, detailing every horrid way in which that horrid boy had ruined her horrid christmas, Andromeda started repacking her trunk to go back to school. She had resolved to leave the next morning, and had already said her goodbyes to most of the family. That is, except for Bellatrix, who had been missing since she had flounced off during yesterday's dinner. However, as Bellatrix had now completed her set of family appearances, her parents appeared unbothered, perhaps even unaware of her absence. If her older sister didn't appear for breakfast tomorrow, Andromeda decided, she would just have leave without saying goodbye, and send her a note through Odysseus once she'd arrived back at Hogwarts. Checking her room for any forgotten items, she thought that she wouldn't miss Black Manor too much. Like they said, home is where the heart is, and her own heart was set firmly in the beautiful dark castle shrouded in the Scottish mist.
A/N: Sorry, this chapter took slightly longer than expected, and is slightly longer than expected! What can I say, I was having too much fun writing Sirius and Regulus. Anyway, please let me know what you think, and follow if you're enjoying the story. I get super excited (as in, Black brothers excited) whenever I hear from any of you, so even if there's something very small you'd like to comment on, be rest assured that you're making one ff-writing stranger on the internet very happy in doing so:)