#39 Glum
(A/U) (Sirius/OFC)
Sirius had been sad when, despite his best protests, he had been sorted Slytherin. The worst bit was that it made his mother proud of him. The bit of freedom he wanted was gone forever. He was trapped into the same circle his family inhabited, with no routes of escape.
He barely noticed her at first. She was a year younger than him, and looked just as depressed as he had when he got sorted. He only knew her last name; Yaxley. She had an older brother that made Bellatrix look like a patron saint, but she was mostly quiet, only talking to a few people.
One day, however, curiosity got the best of him.
"Why so glum?" Sirius asked.
She looked up, face blank. "Sometimes I wish Mother would have let me go to Beauxbatons."
"Why?"
"I knew I was going to be a Slytherin. I'm too ambitious for any other house. But my ambitions are different from everyone else's here."
Sirius sat down next to her. "Mine too. Names Black, Sirius."
She gave him a slight smile. "Yaxley. Theia Yaxley."
Sirius gave her a lopsided grin. "Don't be glum, Yaxley."
"Theia. You can call me Theia."
"Why so glum Theia?" Sirius slid onto the bench opposite the petite blonde fifth year.
"Father wishes to arrange a contract between myself and a 'proper family.' He's been talking with Nott's father a lot lately. Plus Perses keeps talking about introducing me to his friend, Rastaban Lestrange. "
Sirius shuddered. Bella was married to Rodolphus, Rastaban's brother. Rodolphus and Bella were two peas in a pod. Rastaban was worse.
"What about an alliance with the Blacks?"
Theia brightened up, then frowned. "What about Maureen?"
Sirius shook his head. "Not going to work out. Besides, I would never be able to live with myself if I let one of my closest friends get stuck marrying a Nott or a Lestrange, when there are much better options available."
"Why so glum Siri?"
Sirius looked up at his wife, the radiant beauty he loved more and more each day.
"Father is dead. Mother expects us to return to the house. I suppose I will be made head of the family."
Theia sighed, sitting next to him and putting her head on his shoulder. She knew how much he disliked the politics and posturing involved with being a pureblood. It was why they were so good for each other."
"Cheer up, Siri. We'll get through this together."
Sirius looked at his wife and could not help but smile. They survived Slytherin together, they survived being related to Death Eaters, and they survived the fallout from her father's death together. They could survive this. There was no reason to be glum.