Simply Magical

Stars

In the style of the Black children

There were five of them. They sat across from each other on the floor in their robes, snickering like two year olds. Regulus, who at least was four, gave a happy, gurgling laugh as Bellatrix bounced him up and down on her knee.

"So what's Hogwarts like?" Sirius asked; grinning as a chorus of groans rose from his three cousins.

"Really, Sirius," Narcissa moaned, "again?" Sirius nodded happily, holding out his arms for his brother. Bellatrix handed Regulus over, exchanging exasperated glances with her sisters.

"But Sirius," Andromeda tried, dreading having to describe the castle in the detail that Sirius demanded. "We tell you about Hogwarts every time we see each other, don't you want to talk about something else?"

Before Sirius could reply, Narcissa gave a small sound and attention shifted to the slim blonde. She stared out of the window, the normally smoggy air had cleared and the moon was full in the sky, contrasting with the deep blue sky and shimmering stars.

"I've never seen the stars before," Narcissa whispered in awe. She stood and glided across the room to stand beside the window. Slowly and silently, the other Black children joined her by the sash-shutter.

Not one of the children spoke a word as they stared up at the twinkling orbs, it was a moment of peace and beauty and magic. Their eyes filled with stars the interstellar magnificence casting a spell over the normally rowdy bunch.

"Pretty," Regulus said softly. "Shiny,"

"Pretty shiny," Sirius agreed, hugging the five-year-old close to his chest.

"We're up there," Bellatrix breathed. "All of us, we're up there; in the stars."

"Bella," Andromeda began before Sirius cut her off.

"Bella's right. We're a part of something," he said. "We're part of the stars, like we're part of the House of Black."

"The Ancient and Most Noble House of Black," they immediately said together. Usually they would have bowed their heads, but they were alone and not one of them would take their eyes away from the stars.

"I'm not," Narcissa said softly. "All of you are up there, but I'm stuck on the ground."

"Don't cry, Cissy," Andromeda soothed, stroking her younger sister's hair. "One day, I'll find a star and call it Narcissa."

"Not if I do it first," Bellatrix said.

"Or me," quipped Sirius, they all looked at Regulus, who was fighting to keep his eyes open. "He won't," Sirius said, "he's too young."

"He should promise anyway," Bellatrix said.

"If I ever find a star," Sirius squeaked in an impersonation of Regulus' voice, "I'll call it Narcissa."

"Narcissa," Regulus confirmed softly, eye-lids flickering.

A flashing white light began to make its way across the sky, it looked golden and as one, the legacies of the Black House each made a wish. As their eyes followed the path of the glow, clouds began to grow, once more concealing London's streets from the sky.

"I feel like I'm about to cry," Andromeda said after a moment of silence. There was a murmur of agreement and Regulus gave a sniff.

"I guess we should head back to our room," said Sirius quietly, wishing he didn't have to leave his cousins. Regulus' head thumped against his chest, as sleep began to claim the young boy.

"Stay," Bellatrix said. "I wished we would be together forever and I plan on making that wish come true."

"Bella," Narcissa gasped. "You can't say what you wished, or it won't come true!"

"That's just a silly rumour, Cissy," Bellatrix calmed her sister down. "Now sleep, all of you."

"Sing to us, Andy," pleaded Narcissa.

"Yes, sing," Sirius curled up around Regulus as Bellatrix pulled silken sheets from the three beds. "Sing that one about thunder and rain." Andromeda cleared her throat, pulling Narcissa closer to her, and tickling Sirius with her feet. Bellatrix finished distributing out the sheets, spreading them over the floor to cover her siblings and cousins, and slid in next to Narcissa, pulling Sirius towards her.

As their breathing softened, and the noises from downstairs faded, Andromeda began to sing:

"It's only me who wants to wrap around your dreams,
Have you any dreams you'd like to sell…"