A/N: Wooo after two storms had knocked the electricity in my area out for two days combined, it's good to finally have this ready to bring out!
So we get to see Proteus and his wife Rosaline again, and we're introduced to Ophelia's mum and sister (Theo's grandmother and aunt on his mums side).
Updated Faceclaim(s) for Andromeda Tonks: Kiera Knightley or Phoebe Tonkin
In case you forgot, Faceclaim for Ted Tonks is: James McAvoy
Updated Faceclaim for Ophelia Fortesque: Lily James (when she was in Pride & Prejudice & Zombies) (yeah Ophelia's a MILF what about it)
In case you forgot, Proteus Nott's Faceclaim is: John Hopkins
Faceclaim for Rosaline Nott: Laura Carmichael
Faceclaim for Eleanor Fortesque: Phyllida Law
Faceclaim for Althea Fortesque: Chloe Pirrie
Faceclaim for Robin Greengrass: Ben Mendelhson (When he played Orson Krennic in Star Wars: Rogue One).
Faceclaim for Octavia Abbott: Naomi Watts
Faceclaim for Manuel Zabini: Paterson Joseph
Faceclaim for Pramila Patil: Ayesha Dharker
Faceclaim for Graeme Macmillan: Gerard Butler
When Amelia woke up on the morning of the 30th, she groaned slightly when some sunlight that had poked through a small gap in her curtains made her wince and shut her eyes again for a short moment. But then her mood improved almost instantly when she remembered - it was Theo's birthday today!
She rolled over to check the time on her alarm clock - 9:01am. That was still early in her books, but she knew that everyone was probably downstairs at breakfast already. Normally, she dreaded getting out of bed, and certainly resembled a sloth most days, but today was different. She wanted to be there when Theo opened his presents.
She got dressed in a relatively light t-shirt and jeans - which were slightly different to her normal preference to plain skinny fit, in that they had a slight flare to them. She honestly had no clue where she had got them from - her only guessable option was when her and Harry were still at the Dursleys, but Aunt Petunia never let her have anything, so it was highly unlikely she would have willingly given her a pair of her old jeans. It was either that, or maybe she had been slightly rebellious and found them in a cupboard or something and she just didn't remember doing it…
Happy with her outfit choice, she all but skipped down the stairs and into the kitchen - where surprisingly Theo wasn't there yet.
"I'm amazed you're up before him, Dorea," she quipped.
"To think I woke up in a hurry, thinking I'd missed the opening of the presents." Dorea huffed jokingly.
Ophelia had the day off work today; just as well, else she had sworn to raise hell with her managers if they dared to put her on a shift when her son was 16 today. She was stood by Sirius and Regulus, and was saying something along the lines of how she couldn't believe how fast time had gone. Amelia knew that she was bound to get a bit teary-eyed today; and nobody in Black Manor would grudge her for doing so.
Amelia's heart beat a little faster when Theo did come down, and burst into a grin when the kitchen door creaked open. He looked a bit groggy, and though he was dressed tidily, his hair had that slight tousled look that she loved so much. She added her voice to the chorus of "Happy Birthday, Theo!"'s that now filled the kitchen. Theo grinned back at them all, and insisted they didn't have to do all this for him. She smiled when he went round and individually hugged them all - starting with Blaise (though Barnaby all but jumped into their hug), then Harry, which she loved (they look like brother in-laws already, she couldn't help but think), then Dorea, and then the adults. Sirius embraced him like a father would - which was good, as she remembered back to when Sirius had first found out about the two of them dating. Regulus embraced him too and patted his back, and caused everyone to laugh when he said "it's all downhill from here, mate". Everyone loved the sight of Theo and his mum hugging - Ophelia was almost squealing in joy as she hugged her son, who was slightly taller than her now.
When they eventually separated, Theo's eyes immediately searched and locked on to hers, and she grinned lovingly at him. She felt herself warm with love when she was pulled into a hug, Theo tilting his head slightly and kissing her cheek as they did.
"Happy birthday, boyo," she said to him.
He hummed, which she felt against her. "Thank you, darling." her heart warmed at the term of endearment, "Here's to many more with you by my side."
It was fair to say that this was Theo's day, and he could literally have whatever he wanted for breakfast. He asked for chocolate chip pancakes for a change - and immediately Ophelia had got a bowl and ingredients out. When all the measuring had been done (in the matter of minutes), Ophelia had then got everything into a large mixing bowl, and had cast a spell which made the wooden spoon start stirring by itself. She was sure she had seen Mrs Weasley use that kind of household spell once - either at The Burrow or Grimmauld Place, she couldn't quite remember. Maybe both.
A pan was soon on the stove being heated up, and then there was only a matter of waiting for a few minutes as the batter was poured out and individual blobs started cooking away. The kitchen smelled delightful as the minutes went by. When they were done, Theo, being a sweetheart, let everyone also have a few pancakes each if they wanted to, as there was plenty leftover. Everyone was happy to oblige, as they looked too good to pass up. Regulus had fished some maple syrup out of the pantry to go with them as well.
After breakfast, Theo was practically bouncing like a kid on Christmas Day, as he was all too eager to open his presents. Sirius led them through to the reception room, and Amelia was surprised herself at the effort Sirius had put in, as there was a large banner taking up one wall, which read ``HAPPY 16TH THEO!", accompanied by some multicoloured bunting.
"You lot didn't have to do all of this for me!" Theo, ever selfless, said, though he did look honoured.
"Nonsense, Theo," Sirius brushed him off, "it's your special day, and you deserve it."
Theo all but ripped every wrapping paper and bag open as he sat on the floor and got started on his presents. From Blaise, he got two tickets to the British & Irish Quidditch League Final on the 3rd of August, which was to be played by either the Montrose Magpies v Caerphilly Catapults, or the Chudley Cannons v Puddlemere United, depending which teams had the most points in the run-up. "Gosh, these must've cost you an arm and a leg to get, Blaise! They sold out within twenty minutes of going on sale!" Theo said.
Blaise just shrugged. "My dad won two tickets at work, but he doesn't really watch Quidditch, so he sent them to me at school, and now I'm giving them to you. You and Amelia can make a day out of it." he winked at them at the end. That sounds lovely, actually, she thought.
She couldn't mask her delight when Theo got to opening his presents from his mother and Sirius - for it was all the Quidditch gear he needed for trying out to be a Chaser in sixth year. He practically swamped his mum up into a hug, and did the same to Sirius, which she thought was really sweet and heart-warming. Everyone was surprised that Sirius had also gotten him a Firebolt, as an 'afterthought'. Even Ophelia had said that he didn't need to be spending that much, but Sirius, as always, brushed her off, saying it didn't even make a dent in the Black family vault's balance.
Harry and Dorea had combined their presents into one bag - and even though Amelia knew what they got him, she grinned when he opened it; for it was all-exclusive products from Weasley Wizarding Wheezes - Fred and George's joke shop, which was officially opening later in the summer, but they all of course had early access to the products. Sirius had all but begged to see what the boys had sent (being an avid ex-prankster himself), and Amelia swore her godfather looked ten years younger when he learned what each product did. She was sure she heard something along the lines of "...James would be all over these."
They all got a bit of a surprise when they heard the Floo in the living room blare to life, but Amelia noticed Ophelia, Sirius and Regulus looking expectant, so she knew they had something planned - somebody coming to visit.
She was proved right when Proteus Nott appeared in the doorway just moments later, a woman on his arm. That must be his wife, she thought, remembering that Sirius had mentioned a wife, the muggleborn woman that caused Bethesda and Rohan to disown Proteus. Proteus announced himself with a sing-songy "Happy birthday, Theodore!", his wife doing the same.
"Uncle!" Theo got to his feet immediately and jogged over. He had nothing but pure glee on his face.
"Good to see you again, Nephew," Proteus shook Theo's hand, and even pulled him into a one-armed hug, "I understand you're yet to be acquainted with my wife. This is Rosaline."
The woman Rosaline was all smiles, and she felt her heart skip a beat when Theo went a bit aristocratic for a bit, as he shook Rosaline's hand, inclined his head, and said, "My lady," before pausing and continuing, "or should I say 'aunt'. It's a pleasure to finally meet you." Gosh, I wish he would say 'My lady' to me, Amelia thought.
Introductions between aunt and nephew done, Proteus produced a gift bag, and Theo eagerly took it into his own hands and scrambled to open it. He revealed that it was Nott family robes - they looked brand new. "Wow, did you have these made for me?" Theo asked, looking at his uncle in wonder.
"Indeed. It's traditional to give members of Ancient or Noble houses their family robes and other attire when they turn 16, even if they don't choose to become aristocrats." Proteus explained. Does that mean me and Harry will be getting Potter attire on our 16th? Amelia thought, and then remembered it also applied to Dorea, Blaise, Barnaby, and all the Weasley's too. Theo then pulled a black velvet box out of the bottom of the bag, and opened it to reveal the Nott family ring, - immaculate sterling silver, with the Nott family crest contained in the centre, and overall it looked a perfect size ring, neither too large nor too small. Theo put it on almost immediately, and Amelia thought it made his fingers look more sleek and added to his overall attractiveness. There was even another item of jewellery to come - another piece of sterling silver, but this time a well-fitting silver band, to be worn around the wrist, that had not only the Nott crest, but the words engraved all around it. She supposed it was basically a bracelet
Theo then opened his presents from all their other friends. From Dean, he strangely got a West Ham United top, which he had a chuckle at. "I had him explain muggle football to me one day, and ever since he's been trying to convince me to be a West Ham fan," he explained. Amelia almost laughed at the expressions of Blaise, Barnaby, Regulus and Sirius - who were evidently clueless about muggle sports. Anthony and Daphne had given him a brand new Wizards Chess set, whilst all the Hufflepuff fifth years had collaborated to give him a whole bag's worth of muggle confectionery, which caused them all to perk up. Even though Amelia and Harry didn't have much privilege of getting to eat sweets at the Dursleys, she had definitely sneaked opportunities to try chocolate in her life, so she knew that Dairy Milk, Twirls, KitKat and Maltesers were definitely good. It was also handy to know that he'd likely let her dive into them anytime..
The rest of the presents from all their friends eventually finished at ten, and as Sirius started summoning all the ripped wrapping paper and gift bags to tidy them away, the Floo in the living room made another noise. Who's coming through now? Remus? She wondered.
A few moments later, it was revealed to be two people that Amelia had never seen before - an older lady, and a younger one, perhaps a mother-daughter duo. But upon closer inspection, she made a connection; the younger of the two looked similar to Ophelia.
Ophelia practically squealed with excitement and jogged over to welcome them. After hugging the two women, she introduced them. "This is my mother Eleanor, and my sister Althea."
There were a few minutes of introductions for everyone except Ophelia and Theo. Eleanor, Theo's grandmother, was a very kind woman that just seemed to be filled with compliments. Althea was very much like her sister; kind, bubbly and always smiling. When that was done, Theo was all too glad to spend time catching up with his grandmother and aunt; who he hadn't actually seen since the previous summer - back when he and Ophelia were still living under the same roof as Rohan. To at last round up all of the birthday gifts he'd received, Theo opened his present from them; which turned out to be another ring, this time for House Fortesque. "I can put it on the ring finger on my other hand, so it's like I'm representing both," he pointed out.
"That's got me thinking - are you able to represent both?" Blaise asked aloud.
"Officially, Theo is a part of both houses by blood. Though he can legally become Lord Nott as it is his surname, he is in line to the Fortesque seat too, courtesy of Ophelia." Proteus explained almost expertly, gesturing to his sister in-law (or ex sister-in-law? Amelia didn't know) at the end.
After that, there were no more presents to be opened, which meant a good opportunity. "Come on then, mate," Harry nudged Theo, "let's go and test that new Firebolt of yours!"
Amelia, along with Dorea, Blaise and Barnaby, grinned, and they all sprung to their feet and all but raced out of the door. The adults chuckled at them on their way out, though Amelia was sure they'd be out watching them soon enough.
What Harry had called 'testing' Theo's new Firebolt lasted a good hour or two. Ophelia had remained with the rest of the adults inside - and had gotten to properly know Proteus and his wife. She thought that Proteus was a completely different cut of cloth to his brother; though that wasn't very hard to accomplish. In certain lights he looked like Rohan… if Rohan wasn't an alcoholic abuse shit.
She was delighted that Proteus and Rosaline were getting on so well with Ophelia's own mother and sister. So much so that she really wished they could have met on her wedding day all those years ago (or even before that), instead of meeting for the first time today. She loved it even more that her son was able to spend time with his decent family members, in genuine happiness.
She had prepared Theo's birthday cake last night, so it was ready to be wheeled out whenever the kids came back inside. After they had some tea, Ophelia excused herself from the kitchen for a moment. She didn't have any qualms about Theo flying on a broom a hundred feet in the air; she knew he was good, despite not getting much chance to fly, but she wanted to see him enjoying himself. She thought back to his birthday this day last year… he'd not even gotten decent presents from his own father (who had been disgustingly hungover throughout the whole day), and even rich old Bethesda hadn't even cared - she'd gotten her own grandson a hand-me-down. For a woman that had loads of influence and money, that had been disgraceful, and she'd said as much to the old hag.
She reached the back door, and just stood in the doorway. From here, she had a great view of the kids. They'd just finished racing each other, and instead looked to now be organising some sort of Quidditch game. She just knew Theo would be begging to be a Chaser.
She was interrupted by Proteus. "All of Theo's 16 years must've flown by for you."
She'd been half-expecting him to speak to her in private, so she didn't jump. "Certainly. I'm sure every mother still remembers the moment their kid was born, no matter how old they are. I sure do."
Proteus chuckled. They were comfortably silent for a few moments. "It's strange. He does look like Rohan did when he was young, but he largely resembles you, Ophelia."
"Really?" She wondered.
Proteus nodded. "He does look like your mother, and by extension you and your sister. Probably to my mothers dismay."
Ophelia laughed at that, knowing it was safe to, as Proteus had long been disowned by Bethesda. "Your mum used to say he was a little bit too much 'like me' for her liking."
Proteus seemed to cringe. "Gosh, as well as enduring my brother, I'm so sorry you had to have her in your life too. Wouldn't wish it on anyone."
"It's fine, really. I learned to ignore her snide comments, knowing that I'm a far better person than she or her son could ever hope to be." She said, as she kept her eyes on Theo, who now was doing some sort of drifting technique around one of the goal hoops and shooting it in, her heart warming as his whoops and cheers could be heard.
They were in silence again. She had a feeling Proteus was probably mirroring her and watching his nephew. Then he said, "You're a wonderful mother to him."
She turned and looked at him. "You think so?"
"I know what my brother did to you. But I also know it takes a motherly love to endure all of that and yet still raise a respectful, loving son. He could so easily have taken after his father. But you instilled in him the right values. It's true, I've only met Theo a few times, but I can tell he is definitely your son." Proteus explained.
Something about that almost brought tears to her eyes. She looked at her son. My boy. She felt so recognised and accomplished when her brother-in-law said that last sentence.
"Thank you," she said, keeping herself steady, "I just wish he also had you and Rosaline all the way throughout his life."
Proteus smiled, a bit sadly. "So do I. If only I knew how badly Rohan had descended…"
Nothing else was said after that, but they both understood.
They went back to the kitchen together. Just so, as ten minutes later, the kids came thundering back inside, in high spirits. She watched as Theo came in, walking side by side with Amelia, and he had an arm slung around one of her shoulders. When he looked up and smiled at everyone, she did see what Proteus meant; he was her son in every way, from his looks to his nature, and she was so glad for it.
The rest of that early afternoon was dedicated to a hearty lunch, which they all had together. After that, the kids kind of went off on their own tangent - they went up to the library on the top floor to use Theo's new Wizard Chess set. That gave Ophelia a window of time to at least prep the dinner, which Theo requested to be a pasta bake. Her mum and sister insisted they could help, but Opehlia kept urging her to sit down and leave it all to her. They eventually did, getting back into easy conversation with the other adults.
Dinner was largely a success, and then it was time to bring out the best dessert of all; birthday cake. They all heartily took pride in singing Happy Birthday to Theo, and they all chuckled when he turned bright red. Ophelia had never felt more relaxed as she sat surrounded by family and friends alike, digging in to the delicious chocolate cake she herself made, and chatting merrily. She never felt more content as she watched Theo let himself indulge, with his girlfriend by his side and kissing his cheek every so often. She truly couldn't ask for anything better.
At eight o'clock on Monday morning, Sirius found himself already down in the kitchen. Ophelia was also in the kitchen with him; the two of them were back at work today, and in Sirius's case it was his first day on the new job.
"It's weird how I didn't feel overly nervous in the slightest when it was my first day as the Astronomy teacher, but now it's my first day as a Lord I feel a bit different." He said as he fetched some stuff out of the pantry.
"I imagine it's because you were working with kids before, but now you'll be working with other adults," Ophelia guessed as she poured a coffee, which made the kitchen smell lovely. "And some of those adults are, shall we say, cunts."
He grinned, knowing she was referring to the pure-blood ponces that were a part of the Wizengamot, as well as the Sacred 28; namely people like Lucius Malfoy and Bethesda Nott. "Definitely. Might need a dram to get through debates."
"More like a whole bottle." She quipped, causing them both to laugh.
Once they had their breakfast and drinks ready, they both moved to the kitchen table and began eating. They talked some more. "Seriously though, it's good work that you're doing, but I don't know how anyone has the patience to do that kind of thing."
He chuckled. "I see what you mean. When it comes to voting, I honestly don't know what I'd do if a bill or a motion that I've worked so hard to bring to fruition gets turned down. Things like that would crush me."
Ophelia nodded. "But we do need people like you, on the right side, to push for change." He hummed agreement.
At half past eight, they were surprised when the kitchen door opened and revealed Blaise. "This is early for you," Sirius commented.
"Figured I wasn't going to fall back asleep, so I just decided to get up." Blaise shrugged as he wandered through to the pantry to get his usual breakfast foodstuff - granola. He came through to join them once he was ready.
"Good luck for the first day on the job, Sirius." the lad said when he sat down.
He smiled. "Cheers, Blaise. I have a feeling I'll need it."
They talked some more, and just before Opehlia got up to leave (normally she Floo'd through to the hospital five minutes before her shift starts - 9am, but today there was a department meeting at 8.45, so she went to leave at 8.40), Barnaby came into the kitchen. When Barnaby was in the pantry, Blaise turned to speak to him.
"Sirius, I know this might sound a bit much, but I know my dad works on the Wizengamot, so you'll likely be meeting him. I was just wondering… if you could tell him that I wish to get back in more frequent contact with him." The boy said.
Sirius immediately answered. "Of course I will, Blaise, it's not a bother at all. I'm sure Manuel will soon be an acquaintance of mine anyway. I'm not sure if I can tell him about Black Manor yet, but I can certainly set up a private Floo connection for the two of you to talk and exchange letters through."
Blaise nodded, understanding. "Thank you."
At eight fifty, the rest of Black Manor seemed to rise, as Harry, Amelia, Dorea, Regulus and Theo all came down. "Couldn't not see you off on your first day at the Ministry." Dorea said. He grinned at the fact she didn't look overly thrilled to be waking up a bit earlier than normal.
At eight fifty-five, he definitely had to start thinking about heading through the Floo, as he was getting sworn in at ten past nine, and he had to put his robes on. The kids, as well as the elves and Regulus followed him through to the living room and saw him off. He waved at them all before vanishing away in a billowing of Floo powder.
When he opened his eyes, he was indeed in the main atrium of the Ministry, which was very busy with people bustling around. He stepped out and relatively quickly made his way across the atrium towards the lifts. He grimaced silently when he saw a queue of people lined up, waiting for a lift. Thankfully, he was able to get into the second one that became available, and soon found himself on the floor that hosted the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
When he stepped out, he remembered to clock in, and once he did that he started making his way towards the corridor of offices dedicated to the Lords and Ladies of the Sacred 28, as well as the Noble houses. Since they were set out in alphabetical order of House, he found the Black family office very quickly. He held his hand on the doorknob, which made an approving noise, and then it was open.
He had stopped by the office briefly after his meeting with Amelia Bones and Tiberius Ogden to collect his welcome pack, but he hadn't really had a chance to inspect it. The desk certainly looked to have ample space, and there were a few filing cabinets and drawers that were lockable. He was surprised to see that there was even a small on-suite washroom, equipped with a toilet, sink and a mirror.
A package was sitting wrapped on his desk, and he knew what it was - his robes. "Gosh, I hope they're not too ugly." He said under his breath. He opened the packaging, and held his breath when he unfolded the robes. He was pleasantly surprised - they were thankfully not as ugly as they were in the days his father wore them - they were mostly black, with the crest and motto of House Black sewn on the left side neatly. The hem and cuffs were surprisingly embroidered in a yellowy-gold, which he thought looked really nice with the black. Since the robes were designed to mimic a coat, he just put it on over the clothes he was wearing. They fit him very well, and were almost ankle-length.
He had just fastened the last button when he heard a knock at his office door. He quickly moved to open them, and discovered Minister Bones was on the other side.
"Minister! Good morning." He said in welcome, smiling.
"I caught a glimpse of you when you came in, so I thought to pop by." she said, then paused. "Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Are you feeling nervous?"
"Not really. I've memorised the parliamentary vow practically by heart, so I'm not too worried." He answered honestly. He was used to public speaking in a way - well, if you could call teaching classes that ranged anywhere in size from 10 to 50 students public speaking.
She nodded. "I thought I'd show you to the courtroom. The maps of the seating arrangements don't say, but we hold all sessions in Courtroom One - as it's the largest."
They started walking towards the courtrooms. Sirius started up a conversation. "You said the other day that there were two other people being sworn in on the same day as me; who are they?"
She lowered her voice slightly. "Frank Montgomery - the Montgomery's are a Noble house, and Arthur Selwyn."
"The Selwyn's are a part of the Sacred 28, right?" He said, and then very quickly continued when he realised something. "Wait… the same Selwyn's that Francis Selwyn hails from? The boy that attacked my godson and his friends?"
Amelia Bones nodded. "Unfortunately. The House patriarch died recently. The Selwyn's are divided, one half are actually decent folk that are not dark magic users, but the other half are obviously consumed by dark magic. Unfortunately, this Arthur Selwyn is the next in line, and he's the uncle of that Francis, meaning that the rotten side has lucked out on the seat."
Sirius hummed in annoyance. "Already know who he's likely to fall in with."
They reached the courtroom, and when Minister Bones opened the door, Sirius was a bit taken aback. The room was massive. There were rows of seating and benches that almost seemed to go right up to the rafters. The higher level seating was dedicated to the Lords and Ladies, whilst the lower level seemed to be reserved for the more ordinary members of the Wizengamot.
Minister Bones had to leave him, as she was to make her way down to the lower levels - as she was the Minister for Magic, but Sirius was able to locate his House Black seat very quickly. It was located just three rows below the highest level of seating.
Every family seat had its own dedicated space. The table in front of him had ample space for any paperwork, and he had a stand available to him if he was to speak with notes in front of him. Not very many people had arrived yet; the day's session did not start until half past nine, so once he set his stuff up he meandered down the stairs and went across the hall, where he knew there was a little tearoom the Wizengamot used when there were breaks in their sessions.
A lot of people seemed to be occupying this room. He knew he'd be meeting his cousin Andromeda and her husband Ted at some point today, as promised, and he would probably encounter Proteus Nott at some point too. He tried to find them in the sea of faces and uniforms, but had no luck. He instead poured himself a cup of tea and sweetened it with two sugars.
Just as he was about to deposit his teabag in the bin, did someone approach him. "Sirius Black?"
He turned, and there was a man looking at him. He looked to be early or mid-forties, with short brown hair littered with parts of grey, and fair skin. Sirius cast an eye over the robes - he was a Lord, and a Greengrass at that.
"You're Robin Greengrass?" He guessed.
"Indeed I am. I must say, I'm delighted that you'll be joining us in both the Sacred 28 and the Wizengamot in general." Robin replied. "My daughters speak very highly of you, your daughter and your godchildren."
He smiled. "I had the pleasure of teaching both Daphne and Astoria, and they are both a credit to you and your wife."
Robin looked proud as punch. "Thank you, they truly are my little darlings." the man paused, "I have a feeling you'll be wanting to talk about work business."
"My cousin Andromeda did mention you," he replied, "you're among the faction of aristocracy that believes in a more fairer wizarding Britain, not a bigoted one."
"That is the vision, yes," Robin Greengrass nodded and kept pace with him as they walked the room, "it is a work in progress. But I am sure Andromeda will soon inform you."
"Speaking of my cousin, is she here?" Sirius asked.
"Ted's here, but Andromeda is in a briefing, so she'll be through shortly. Shall we go see him and we'll get you introduced to our other allies?" Robin replied, and Sirius eagerly nodded at his question.
They caught sight of Ted on the other side of the room. Sirius grinned at him, and pulled him into a handshake that turned into a brief hug. Then there were some introductions to be made. Standing to Ted's right was Octavia Abbott; the Lady of House Abbott, and the mother of Hannah, who was a very close friend of his daughter and godchildren. Octavia looked very similar to Hannah - blonde hair, though Octavia's was shorter and had more of a wave. Sirius noticed the Abbott House motto for the first time (as, like his house motto, it was sewn on the robes beneath the sigil), which was simply "Aequilitas. Libertas. Pax", and from his near-fluency in Latin (courtesy of being raised a pure-blood), he was able to know that it simply meant "Equality. Freedom. Peace.". He also was introduced to Graeme MacMillan, the uncle of Ernie - another good friend of his charges. "My nephew enjoyed your classes very much, Mr Black," Graeme said as he shook Sirius's hand (he also noted the man had a slightly posher accent), "I know you will make a difference here."
Andromeda did come and find them eventually. After he hugged her, she told them of what was on the agenda in the Wizengamot today. "Once Sirius and those two other people get sworn in, it's not that busy a day. The Creature Rights committee is going to present a report to the chamber about Goblin Rights at nine forty-five, and that's expected to take up to eleven, then there's the debate following it. After lunch, there's one presentation being made by the International Relations committee regarding what they call 'harrowing' evidence that wizards in Eastern Europe are being manipulated to send their of-age children to join You-Know-Who."
That last one did sound interesting; in a way that if it was true, it did have massive implications. He imagined they were all going to stick around and hear that report findings. He also wondered how the bigots were going to defend it.
They kept talking among themselves whilst they waited. Sirius perked up when two other people joined them - two people of colour; a woman that looked South Asian, and a tall black man. Sirius was soon introduced to them. "Ah, Sirius, let me introduce you to two of our other colleagues, Pramila Patil and Manuel Zabini." Ted explained.
Pramila introduced herself, and Sirius knew straight away that she was the mother of Parvati and Padma. "My daughters spoke very highly of you, Mr Black. I was delighted when I heard you were joining us."
Manuel was also a cool customer. "My son - he is good friends with your daughter and godchildren. Do you know how he is?"
Just as Sirius was about to consider if he should say that Blaise was staying at his house, a bell noise rang out, and like clockwork the uniformed members of the Wizengamot started leaving the room. He checked his watch - 9:25am. The day's session was to start in five minutes.
As everyone was leaving the room, he continued his talk with Manuel. "Your son is fine, and is doing very well. I can't tell you specifics here, but can we talk privately at lunch?"
Manuel seemed happy with that. "That's fine with me, Mr Black."
"Oh, please, call me Sirius." He corrected politely, "I'm sure we'll be getting to know each other anyway." Manuel smiled at that.
Andromeda and Ted both left to sit on the lower levels of the seating, whilst Sirius continued with the others and ascended up the stairs to the higher level of seats dedicated to the Ancient and Noble families. He found his seat very easily, and got comfortable.
He eyed the seats on either side of him - to his right was the Bulstrode seat, which at the moment looked unoccupied, and to his left was the Burke seat. He honestly couldn't think of anyone he knew of from that house, and wondered if it was extinct or if it was just the seat was vacant. Beside the Burke seat was the Bones, and as he was looking down the row, he noticed that somebody had now arrived at that seat and had sat down in it. He wondered if it was one of the Minister's siblings.
By half past nine, the room was packed. It surprisingly was not too noisy, but the room still went silent the second the Minister stood up from her seat. He knew the protocol; everyone was to also stand whenever she stood. He did so, as did everyone in the room.
"I declare today's Wizengamot session as now underway," Amelia Bones announced, "today's agenda should now be in front of you. As of today, we have three new Lords taking up their family seats in the Wizengamot. We will start today's session by getting them to do their parliamentary vow. We will start with Arthur Selwyn."
Sirius heard the noise of a chair slightly scraping near him, and quickly scanning, he pinpointed this Selwyn - almost on the lowest level there was of the family seats. There were a few moments of silence as Selwyn prepared himself, and the Minister seemed to nod. As soon as she did that, Arthur Selwyn stood up from his seat and spoke. "I, Arthur Ignatius Selwyn, do swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to my House and its values, for the integrity of this Ministry of Magic and all that it serves."
With his vow done, the room started clapping, and Sirius eyed the people sitting nearest Selwyn giving him congratulations and patting his back. There was about half a minute before the Minister spoke again, this time calling for Frank Montgomery to take his vow. Frank repeated the vow, and soon enough everyone was clapping again. Sirius's heart gave a little lurch when he realised it was about to be his turn.
Minister Bones turned in her seat (from his view, she had her back to him), and caught his eyes and nodded. He nodded back in understanding, and he stood up, which caused people to be silent.
Taking a deep breath, he felt himself ease, and he started saying his vow. "I, Sirius Orion Black, do swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to my House and its values, for the integrity of this Ministry of Magic and all that it serves."
As he finished, he swore the room was in louder applause, but he supposed that was largely due to his acquaintances giving him proper support. Robin Greengras, a good five or six rows below, grinned at him, and he grinned back.
Gosh, he thought, now I'm officially a Lord.
He knew there was lots of work to be done - trying to pass legislation, gaining support, and whatnot, but Sirius felt a strange confidence come over him. Even though people like Malfoy Snr had been arrested days ago (he thought with mirth as he eyed the empty Malfoy seat), he knew that the Lords and Ladies that were basically Death Eater supporters would be relentless, using every money and favour they could conjure to sway votes and decisions.
It was a long road ahead, but Sirius had good people on his side, and they mostly had things in common; children of their own, or younger relatives, who would be among the first in line to experience the pure terror of the Death Eaters (though most of them already had).
He thought of his own daughter and godchildren and wards, back at Black Manor.
I will make sure their future is free of fear, he thought, decisively and determined.