Chapter 64: The Clash of the Old and the New
The holiday break came quickly. Sirius and Regulus went back to Black Manor, Capella went back home to Italy, and Severus went back home to Prewett Hall. James and Remus also went back to their homes, while Lily decided to stay at Hogwarts for the holiday break. She really didn't feel like dealing with Petunia during the holidays. The other girls, Mary and Alice, stayed at Hogwarts as well.
Sirius and Regulus continued to learn French, something they hadn't learned since the summer. One day, Sirius and Regulus had an entire conversation in French.
"Je me demande ce que Kreacher va préparer pour le déjeuner aujourd'hui," Regulus wondered.
"Je ne sais pas, mais quoi qu'il en soit, je suis súr que ce sera bien," Sirius replied.
Sirius and Regulus couldn't help but laugh. Talking in French was new to them, but they were enjoying it.
"J'espère qu'il fera beau en France quand nous irons cet été," Regulus said hopefully.
"Moi aussi!" Sirius agreed.
Meanwhile, Capella was telling her parents all about the term. Lyanna already knew most of it, because she saw her sister each Saturday morning.
"Capella," Ilaria gently interrupted her daughter. "Do you realize that you've been spending the past fifteen minutes complaining about this same girl?"
"Well, Dolores is nothing more than a pink toad-face," Capella responded.
"She may be, but you shouldn't have your entire conversation focused around complaining about one girl you don't like," Marius told her sternly.
"Sorry, I just cannot stand her," Capella muttered.
"And that's fine. You don't have to like her, but how would you feel if someone complained about you for fifteen minutes?" Ilaria asked.
"I wouldn't like it," Capella admitted. "But she'll never know I said anything!"
Marius and Ilaria shook their heads. Their daughter was certainly the fiery first year.
Severus, meanwhile, was at Prewett Hall, listening to Lucretia teach him some of the basics of French. Lucretia had gotten word from her father asking if she would teach Severus French. After all, they were going to France that upcoming summer.
Lucretia remembered the last time she went to France. It had been after her fifth year, back when she and her brother were so close. It was so much fun. She looked forward to going again.
Severus picked up French pretty easily. He was used to Spanish, because his mother had taught him Spanish at a young age. However, French and Spanish were very similar, so while there were certainly some differences, some of the words were very similar, like hombre and homme, or tú and tu.
Lucretia was impressed with how quickly Severus picked up French. She had a feeling he would be learning it faster than she did when she was his age.
The Black Family Yule Ball arrived. This year, there was no Orion, Walburga, or Bellatrix. Sirius was very relieved that he would not have to see them this time. He was excited that Marius, Ilaria, Capella, and Lyanna got to come to it.
Not everyone was happy that there were two Squibs at the Black Family Yule Ball. People like Pollux, Cygnus, and Druella did not approve.
"You must be getting old if you have just allowed filthy Squibs to come to a pure-blood family ball," Druella stated angrily.
"I have never, and never will hold prejudiced beliefs," Arcturus said calmly. "This family has been prejudiced for far too long. Marius and Ilaria are more than welcome here."
"But we are pure-bloods! Squibs are good-for-nothing!" Cygnus argued.
"I will not start an argument with any of you," Arcturus said sternly. "I am the patriarch of this family, so I am the one to decide who comes or not. We can talk later about the values of the Black family."
Cygnus, Druella, and Pollux looked like they wanted to argue further, but decided against it. They did not want to cross a line with the Head of the family, especially not during a family event like the Yule Ball. After what happened the year before, they really did not want to be the next ones to be kicked out of the gathering, or worse, disowned.
"I agree," Narcissa spoke up. "Pure-blood or not, they have every right to be here."
Druella spun around. "Narcissa!" she exclaimed with anger clear in her tone. "WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?"
"I said, pure-blood or not, they deserve to be here. They have every right to be here, Mother," Narcissa said coolly.
Druella glared at her daughter, but before she could say anything, Melania stepped in.
"Your daughter has the right idea," she said. "Now, let's enjoy the ball, and not worry about opinions or values."
Finally, Cygnus, Druella, and Pollux turned away, and walked over to some of the other family members to catch up on gossip.
While there were some people not happy to have Squibs there, there were also plenty of people who approved. Cassiopeia, Narcissa, Andromeda, and several other members either approved of Marius and Ilaria being there, or didn't question the patriarch about it. All in all, the Yule Ball was not nearly as dramatic as the year before, and Sirius had a fun time hanging out with family. It was the best Yule Ball he'd ever gone to. Capella and Lyanna found that they enjoyed themselves, and were looking forward to the next Yule Ball.
Author's note: Here are the French and Spanish translations.
French: "Je me demande ce que Kreacher va préparer pour le déjeuner aujourd'hui."
English: I wonder what Kreacher will be making for lunch today.
French: "Je ne sais pas, mais quoi qu'il en soit, je suis súr que ce sera bien."
English: I don't know, but whatever it is, I am sure it will be good.
French: "J'espère qu'il fera beau en France quand nous irons cet été."
English: I hope the weather will be nice in France when we go this summer.
French: "Moi aussi!"
English: Me too!
Spanish: Hombre.
English: Man.
French: Homme.
English: Man.
Spanish: Tú
English: You
French: Tu
English: You