In April, Sirius, Regulus, Arcturus, Melania, Narcissa, and Andromeda sat in the headmaster's quarters one rainy Saturday morning. They spent many Saturday mornings sitting together as family, talking about various topics or playing games like chess or exploding snap. This morning was no different.
Narcissa, Andromeda, Sirius, and Regulus were playing a Muggle game Sirius had learned about from Lily called Uno. It was a new game that came out only a year ago. It was apparently very popular in the Muggle World, so they were trying it for themselves.
"Uno!" Narcissa declared.
"Oh, come on!" Regulus exclaimed. "I have six cards still! No fair!"
"I have eight left, thanks to SOMEONE," Sirius said, glaring at Andromeda who just shrugged.
"I believe the game's not over until someone has zero cards, not one," Arcturus cut into their conversation.
"Oh, right," Sirius said with a grin. "I'll get you for getting Uno, Cissa!"
"Oh yeah?" Narcissa asked. "I don't know about that!"
Sirius held up a card. "Draw two!" he exclaimed. Narcissa glared at him.
"I cannot stand you sometimes, Cousin," she muttered, drawing two cards.
Ten minutes later, Narcissa won the game. "Grandmother, Grandfather, why don't you join us?" Regulus asked, not expecting either of them to join them. They just didn't seem like the type of people to play games.
"No, thank you Regulus. I'm knitting," Melania told him.
Surprisingly, Arcturus decided to join them. He had nothing to do that required his immediate attention.
Ten minutes later, Sirius was glaring at Regulus for even suggesting Arcturus join them. His grandfather somehow always knew how to give him more cards, so instead of losing cards, he was gaining them.
"How are you doing that?" he finally blurted out.
"It's called doing things the Slytherin way," Arcturus explained. "Perhaps, if you stopped thinking like a Gryffindor, you would have a better chance at winning."
Sirius growled. "Fine," he muttered. He ended up losing the game again.
The next few rounds saw Arcturus, Narcissa, and Andromeda winning. Just as Sirius thought he might actually get a chance to win this time, an owl flew through the window and landed in front of Arcturus.
"Is that from Gringotts?" Andromeda asked.
Arcturus nodded. "Melania, get Lucretia," he ordered. Melania quickly floo-called Lucretia, who came immediately.
"Father, what's going… oh," she said, understanding immediately. "What all did they send?"
"They sent a few things, and while I can feel the black magic coming from the cup, I do not know about the other two items," he explained. Lucretia nodded and turned into her phoenix form. A moment later, she turned back to her human form.
"The cup is the only thing with black magic," she announced. "The other items are dark, but not nearly as dangerous."
"The other items are from Pollux's vault," Arcturus said. "But sure enough, this cup is from Bellatrix's vault."
Narcissa and Andromeda gasped in horror. "Our sister has one of THOSE things?" Andromeda asked angrily.
"How could she?!" Narcissa exclaimed.
"Yes, she has one of Voldemort's Horcruxes," Arcturus confirmed. "But now that we have it, we can destroy it. But first, there's something that I have to do that I wish I would never have to do again."
Narcissa and Andromeda looked at each other, then back to Arcturus.
"Are you going to go visit her?" Narcissa asked. "If so, can we come too? We have some words to say after what she just did!"
"Yes, you may come," Arcturus agreed. "Sirius, you can come as well, seeing as you are the Heir. Melania and Regulus, we'll be back."
While Regulus didn't fully understand what a Horcrux was, he had a pretty good idea, and what he did know was that it was bad.
Sirius, Arcturus, Narcissa, and Andromeda flooed to Black Cottage, where Bellatrix lived.
Bellatrix met them at the door. "Oh, come in!" she exclaimed. She led them into the sitting room where they sat to talk.
"Bellatrix, do you recognize this?" Arcturus asked, opening the box the cup was contained in. Bellatrix paled. He knew.
"Yes," she whispered.
"You do know what is coming, do you not?" Arcturus asked.
"Yes, I understand," Bellatrix replied, knowing now was the worst time to argue with him.
"Before we do that, may we?" Narcissa asked, motioning to herself and Andromeda. Arcturus nodded at them. Narcissa stood with her hands on her hips. "BELLATRIX DRUELLA BLACK!" she shrieked. "How COULD you have one of THOSE THINGS in your vault?! I thought I knew you better than this! I didn't think my own SISTER would hold onto one of Voldemort's HORCRUXES!"
"How could you BETRAY our family?!" Andromeda added. "I remember the Bella who used to like playing dress-up when we were younger, and the Bella who used to CARE about her family! But this Bella we're seeing now is not the one we grew up with! I hope you learn something from this, because I don't want to see you again unless you change your ways!"
Bellatrix looked angry, but Arcturus thought he saw a tiny bit of sadness in her eyes.
Arcturus then did the official disowning process. He gave Bellatrix twelve hours to pack her belongings like he had allowed Walburga.
"I hope that someday, you will come around," Arcturus said, standing. "Think about what your sisters told you. Good day." He and Sirius left, leaving Narcissa and Andromeda with Bellatrix.
"Bellatrix, we hope you will find it in your heart to turn against Voldemort someday and come back to us," Andromeda said quietly, tears running down her face. "But until then, goodbye." She and Narcissa left, leaving a furious Bellatrix behind.
Narcissa and Andromeda were very emotional when they returned to the headmaster's quarters. Melania pulled them into hugs.
"Maybe she'll come around someday," Melania said softly.
"But it's too late now!" Narcissa cried.
"If she truly does come around and she can prove that she is no longer following Voldemort, AND, if she proves to be a TRUE Black, then I can always bring her back into the family," Arcturus explained. "Perhaps being disowned will teach her a lesson or two. All we can do is hope that she'll come around someday, whether that's next year, or ten years from now."
"Do you really think she will?" Andromeda asked, still sniffling.
"It's a possibility. I'm not saying I think she will, but I am hoping," Arcturus explained.
Sirius snorted. Arcturus glared at him. Finally, Narcissa and Andromeda were calm enough to go back to the Slytherin Common Room.
"Sirius, I need to have a word with you," Arcturus said, motioning for Sirius to come into his office while Regulus and Melania played exploding snap. Sirius nodded and followed his grandfather into the headmaster's office.