Well... It was supposed to be a happy chapter. I swear. Things just didn't go that way, and the "about Narcissa" part ended up taking half of the chapter, when it was supposed to be one point amongst seven.
As for Adhara... she's not really important. Well, she is, but it was in the past. Let's say it's a hint for those who read "The journey back home". I hadn't planned to have her appear so soon, but well, she was the best way to end the conversation. Now that I've been totally cryptic, you can read this chapter!
Chapter 21: Mere feelings
Sirius side-along apparated Harry to Black Manor, while Andromeda took care of her husband, and Remus of Dora. They appeared not far away from each other, roughly thirty feet from the great wall surrounding the estate. Apparating too close could make the wards react quite... violently, after all.
Before leaving the Ministry, Sirius had taken back his wand, and called for Sterhn to prepare dinner for six people. To say the house-elf had been overjoyed at learning that his lord and master wouldn't got back to that dreadful Azkaban wouldn't be accurate, for Sterhn didn't do "overjoyed", but he certainly had been adamant that the food would be fitting for the occasion.
Certainly, it wasn't ready yet, for even if Sterhn was a house-elf, he couldn't do miracles for all that. The food had at the very least to be cooked, even if magically so. And anyway, it was way too early to consider dining already. Sterhn would have all the time he needed to prepare this fitting-and-absolutely-regal-dinner-for-the-Master.
As they went to the gates, Harry looked dubiously at the long and high wall before them.
"This seems ominous."
Sirius smirked a bit, wondering what he would think of the Manor itself. Behind them, Tonks' voice pipped up.
"Harry, this is Black Manor. This is a pureblood sanctuary, the main house of a family known for its dark witches and wizards, and the domain of the duke of Black. Of course it's supposed to feel ominous, dark, and dreadful."
The metamorphmagus walked around Sirius to look at the teenager, a large grin on her face. She had to keep walking backwards to do that, and, knowing their daughter, Ted and Andromeda were waiting for the moment she'd trip over a pebble.
"You've seen Sirius at Grimmauld Place, haven't you? He was dark, ominous, and dreadful to look at. In Black Manor, and as Lord Black, he will be just that, but tenfold. He has to play the part, after all!"
"Ah ah, Nymphadora. Very funny. Now, weren't you supposed to trip over your own foot or something?"
The young woman tried to protest the use of her full name, but as she did that, she indeed tripped on her own foot and fell down. Remus, who had caught up with them, prevented her from falling on the road just in time. The two looked at each other without moving for a long moment, Remus apparently disturbed, Tonks nearly eager. She looked disappointed, though, when he looked away.
Harry wondered what it was about.
Sirius answered that question for him, grumbling.
"Well, my cousin is back to being a clutz, and flirts with my best friend. All is right with the world."
Of course, now that he had realized what was going on between the two, Sirius was feeling sorry for both of them. There wasn't only the age difference, but also the fact that Remus was a werewolf. While he himself didn't think it to be a problem, he knew Remus wasn't feeling the same way.
Still, Sirius would have liked it better if Nymphadora had refrained from flirting with his best friend during his trial. That had been quite disturbing, really.
Harry looked at the metamorphmagus and his former teacher while his godfather opened the gates to the estate. Was Tonks really serious about that? She looked like she was, if anything.
The idea of Remus and the witch being together suddenly came to life in his mind, and he felt a bit strange. The teenager had never imagined Remus being with anyone. He knew him only a little, considering the werewolf was one of his father's best friends, but already Remus had gotten the place of the bachelor uncle in his life. And Tonks... Well, she was Tonks. Harry wasn't even sure he had really seen her as female all this time. She was... Tonks.
Remus and Tonks? It was odd.
He'd need a bit of time to wrap his mind around the idea, it seemed.
Ted whistled, as he took in the sheer size of the Black domain. Next to him, Andromeda looked around, feeling kind of wistful.
"It's been so long since I last came here..."
Sirius nodded.
"That's what I thought too, when I came back to properly claim the Lordship. I must warn you, though, I unleashed the portraits from the basement. My mother must be happily complaining about me somewhere in a painting, and the same guess is surely valid about your parents, Andromeda."
The witch nodded grimly at the news. She had expected as much, though that didn't make her want to speak to her parents – even if they were only portraits and not the actual people – for all that. Those damn blood purists idiots! If they said only one single thing about Ted that she didn't like, some of the paintings in the manor would need to be restored afterwards...
They finally arrived at the Manor, that Harry eyed dubiously, as if waiting for it to be a joke. This was way too large, way to grand, way too freakingly amazing. It had to be a joke. Especially after the sorry state of 12, Grimmauld Place.
But no, it was no joke.
Sirius warned him about not going anywhere near the basement – even if, obviously, the teenager didn't know about the secret basement – as that was the place where most of the dangerous things were kept. The young lord reiterated the warning about cursed items he had given the aurors, but this time he wasn't as flippant about it. He cared about these people, and didn't want them to lose a leg because of his family's madness. The aurors, well...
Sirius wasn't particularly worried about Remus, who was cautious enough as it was, as long as the traps didn't involve a book of any kind. He wasn't worried at all about Andromeda, who had been raised a Black, and had come to Black Manor enough times for her to know about its traps. He didn't know Ted very well, but the man seemed to be calm, and not likely to run blindly into a pureblood house without thinking of the consequences.
No, Sirius was worried about two people only: Tonks, who was more than likely to literally bump into something dangerous, and Harry, who had proved enough times already that he was exactly like his father on at least one point – curious as hell.
Ah, now that he thought about it, he would have to speak to his godson about how curiosity killed the cat. Sirius wasn't against curiosity in itself, of course. Just, he was against curiosity in times of war, when in a place filled with cursed objects, and when displayed by someone who was the number one target on a psycho's hit list.
If Harry wanted to snoop around safely, he'd have to be a bit more prudent than he had been these last years. Intelligent curiosity, that was how Sirius saw it.
But he wouldn't speak of this today. Today was the first day in years he was truly free once again, and he was able to spend it with his family... families. Whatever. He wasn't going to waste even more time than necessary on serious topics.
Speaking of which...
Harry ran off with Tonks, to "explore a bit", they said. In other words, they hadn't listened to one word he'd just said about Black Manor still not being a safe place to roam around. Remus sighed, and, Ted accompanying him, made to follow them, under the grateful gaze of the Black cousins. With the two adults to watch over the walking natural disaster and the way-too-curious-for-his-own-good teenager, maybe they would manage to avoid injuries.
Maybe.
Andromeda and Sirius kept listening for all sorts of screams as they made their way inside.
Sterhn greeted them as eagerly as the house-elf could – which wasn't much, but still. He was very content to see his Master released of all legal charges, and seemed more than satisfied with the return of Mistress Andromeda to the Manor and into the family. She had always been gentler than her older sister, and more interested in his well-being than her younger sister.
Not that Narcissa had been particularly mean or uncaring. Just... she had never truly realized that house-elves were also living, conscious beings. Now, with so many years away from any decent person, she had become cold, and almost truly uncaring.
Almost.
Narcissa was the topic of the conversation the two cousins were about to have – and truly, needed to have.
So they moved to the sitting room where Sirius and Remus had spoken about Eleanor Rowle not so long ago, and the Black lord asked Sterhn to tell Bella to join them when she'd arrive from the Ministry, where he had cowardly abandoned her ghost to the journalists. He was quite certain she wouldn't be happy with him, after that, but well. He had needed a diversion to make his own escape.
They spoke a little about this and that while waiting for her. Andromeda was still a bit tense with the prospect of talking to her sister again, and Sirius did his best to soothe her into a better disposition. The process included, amongst other things, the story-telling of the ghost creeping up on him several times since she had started haunting him.
"No, but seriously, Andie, can you imagine that? One morning out of two, when I wake up, she's there staring at my face! I hope she grows tired of it soon, because it is positively unnerving."
The witch snorted, remembering her own childhood with Bellatrix.
"Right, she used to do that a lot, when she was ten. She played the trick especially on Narcissa, for our younger sister never got used to it, and she would always scream and tumble out of her bed. After two months of being waken up that way, Mother made sure she wouldn't do it again."
"Truly? What did she do?"
Andromeda sadly had to destroy her cousin's hopes.
"'Never knew, but I can assure you it was effective."
Soon they were both speculating about the possibility that, instead of returning Bella's sanity, her death had in fact rewinded her mind to that of a ten-years-old. The idea was entertaining enough, and they could have gone on the topic for quite a time if left to their own devices – they hadn't had many opportunities to speak so lightly of their cousin and sister for a long time.
Fortunately, Bellatrix's ghost had recently learned how to travel long distances in a short time, since she couldn't apparate anymore. She didn't like doing it, for she always had the feeling she was melting into the world as she did so, and considering she was a ghost, it was more than a probable risk. But she wasn't going to stay any longer than necessary with the hyenas that were the journalists. It was bad enough that she had had to come before the whole courtroom earlier this day. There were so many things she wasn't proud of...
The ghost stormed into the sitting room, making the air suddenly colder.
Sirius and Andromeda raised an eyebrow at her temper.
"Truly, Bellatrix, you should know us Blacks are respectable people. We don't storm into a room, and we even less do that by passing through the door."
Sirius' face was perfectly serious as he teased his personal ghost.
Bella growled.
"Not only did I have to deal with being the ghost of a most infamous woman right in the middle of the Ministry of Magic, Sirius, but as soon as you left I also had to fend off journalists, both about me being partially back from the dead and about you playing with everyone during that dratted trial."
"Yes, I guessed as much. Actually, it was the exact reason why I left you behind. As bait. I had made my grand escape from the worst wizarding prison, I had to make a discreet one out of the claws of the journalists."
The ghost glared at him, deeming it more cautious not to start a battle of wits right now. Andromeda was still more than uncomfortable with her presence, after all.
Sirius grew more grave as he saw her sober up.
"As for Narcissa..."
The two sisters shared a look of understanding. Andromeda was the first one to speak.
"I tried to talk to her before the judgment started, but she cut me off almost immediately. She's good at hiding her emotions, but unless she has a clear goal to achieve, she was never the best of us at this game. I was sitting next to her during your trial, as I'm sure you noticed, and I don't know what it is, but there is something disturbing her deeply. She was tense as hell, and every time no one looked at her, she glanced worriedly at the Death Eaters in the room."
Bella nodded, having noticed the same thing from above the chandelier. She knew exactly who were the Death Eaters in the courtroom, unless new recruits had joined since her death, of course. She wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. Still, she knew the ones who mattered, who had been the Da... Voldemort's followers for long, and so, who were reasonably trusted by him.
"I told you I suspected it had to do with Lucius' failure at the Department of Mysteries. I might have... ambushed Narcissa on the way out, before the journalists got to me, that is. Of course, she didn't say it outright, for she feared being watched, in case she went over to your side now that you're free again. But..."
Bellatrix hesitated a bit.
"Sirius, I think they're not only threatening her or Draco. From what she told me, I think the... Voldemort wants Draco to do something for him, possibly something very difficult, and if the boy fails..."
The ghost looked away, aware that if she had still been alive – and so, still isane, and still stupidly in love with the Dark... Voldemort – she might have told her sister that it was a honor, and that herself, she would have done it proudly if she had had a son to offer.
There was no telling Narcissa hadn't been honest with her. She hadn't only been afraid of the Death Eaters possibly spying on her. She had been afraid of her sister, too. Even if Sirius had told everyone he had her under control, even if they had made a show of proving it at the same time as her newfound sensibility.
Narcissa trusted no one, currently.
Andromeda sighed, and looked back at her cousin.
"I know you don't like Draco, Sirius, and believe me, I don't like what I have seen or heard about him either. But he's more of a fool than a bastard. And he's a child. With the way Lucius and Narcissa must have educated him and spoiled him at the same time, it was a given he'd turn out more or less the way he did. We can't have him pay the price of his parents' beliefs."
Sirius wasn't looking at his cousins anymore, and turned towards a window, the blue sky out there.
"That's right, we can't. I especially can't. He's a Malfoy, but he is the son of a Black. And I'm Lord Black..."
There was a silence before he spoke again, still not looking at either Andromeda or Bellatrix.
"Narcissa wasn't like that, before."
Sirius turned to look towards the sisters, but he was more looking through them than at them. Maybe he was searching for what was "Black" in them, that thing which made them part of this family, not only by blood, but also because in the end, they were Blacks. They were all different, and at the same time, they were not. They were Blacks.
Maybe he was looking for that little part of their souls that not only the two of them shared, but he did too.
That little part of him which still tied him to all the Blacks, good or bad, who had been in history. That little part of him which was as flawed as all the others', because they were Blacks, and there surely was a reason why they could make use of dark magic so easily, wasn't there? That part which made them different from the average wizards and witches, be them purebloods, halfbloods or muggleborns.
Or maybe it was only family love. Nothing more. Just that.
"Narcissa wasn't like that. She has always believed what your parents told her, but she wasn't cold and mean. She still isn't, when it comes to us, to family. But to all the others... She became just like Lucius."
Lucius Malfoy, who, just like them, had been brought up to be the perfect little pureblood. On that point at least, Sirius couldn't find anything to fault the wizard with. He and Andromeda had walked out of the preaching... Lucius hadn't. Just like Bellatrix. Just like Narcissa. Just like Regulus. The man's own personality had done the rest.
Sure, Lucius was a bastard.
But wasn't Sirius one too?
If Sirius hadn't walked out of the brainwashing, maybe he'd be just like Lucius. A brainwashed fool of a blood purist. Worse, even, for Sirius was stronger and smarter than the previous Malfoy lord, though the wizard wasn't anything to laugh at either. A brainwashed Sirius would have been dangerous. It could have happened, a brainwashed Sirius.
It hadn't.
Lucius had been the brainwashed one. Like Narcissa. Like Bellatrix. Like so many purebloods, and even some halfbloods.
Like Regulus.
Now, if Bella and Lucius had done too many things in their brainwashed state to simply be forgiven, – even considering they could be changed – not all the brainwashed fools were past redemption. Children, especially, weren't.
Draco Malfoy was a child.
And while Lucius had turned out to be a bastard, his son was, for now, only a brat who didn't know any better. A brat, who had never been taught any better.
Why? Because his parents were brainwashed fools too. Brainwashed fools, who had become dangerous as they had been left alone to dwell on the beliefs they had been brainwashed with.
Andromeda and Bellatrix shared a concerned look as they waited for Sirius to snap out of the thoughtful state he was in, eyes fixed on the sky, but not looking at anything, and a bitter smile on his lips. They weren't sure about what was going on in their cousin's head, but they knew him well enough to say it wasn't something good.
Sirius had made a habit of ignoring everything he couldn't possibly deal with, because it simply couldn't be done. He had made a habit of being rational about almost everything, and so not having regrets which shouldn't be, and which, still, usually were. Why hadn't he saved this one, why had he chosen to help that one over another? It didn't matter. He did what he could, he did the best he could, and when it came to it, he chose to remember that he had succeeded in saving one life out of two, instead of having failed to save the second life.
Sirius had made an habit of forgetting he was human, when it came to regrets, and to anything that couldn't have been done.
But while he was rational enough not to be hurt because he couldn't mend everything alone, he was also too rational from time to time. Every time there was something he could have done, but hadn't – because it would have hurt him, and he was fed up with being hurt – Sirius would regret it later on. After all, he could forget he was a human being when it came to trying and failing, so why couldn't he forget he was a human being when it came to not trying at all?
These things that hindered him, they were not circumstances. They were mere feelings. Unlike circumstances, feelings could be overlooked.
So why hadn't he overlooked them?
Why hadn't he been rational enough to put aside his own feelings, and just do what had to be done?
Andromeda and Bellatrix knew their cousin too well, at least on that point. If he looked like that, he was certainly thinking that he should have stayed behind, and looked after Narcissa in some way, making sure she'd never turn out as she had. From that, he was surely thinking that he should have stayed with Regulus, and not left before he had pulled his younger brother out of the blood-purist mud too. Why hadn't he been able to forget his pain, so that others wouldn't have to know it too?
He did it often enough, after all.
It even was what he was doing with the Order! He was putting aside the pain and the fury, to save those same people who had dared to forget him in Azkaban and never questioned their decision.
Andromeda was the one to talk and get him out of these somber thoughts.
"Sirius, you can't be everywhere every time, you know that?"
The wizard shrugged.
"Of course. If that's what you're getting at, I'm not blaming myself for failing to save the whole world. Especially because bastards and psychopaths are part of the world, so saving it all would be saving them too. Trying to get everyone, without exception, out of the mud is Dumbledore's job, not mine."
Andromeda refrained the urge to roll her eyes which was trying to take over. Sirius was doing this on purpose, no doubt.
"As if you didn't know that's not what I'm talking about. Be it Dumbledore's job or not, you recognize you can't do that. Now, what I'm getting at, is why you can't recognize the same things for a single person. No one expects you to forget yourself for the sake of your task; you shouldn't expect it either. You are allowed to be done with it, when it's too much. I left Narcissa behind, and you left Regulus behind. But do you blame me for thinking it was enough? You don't. Instead, you blame yourself for not helping, not only your brother, but my sister too. You refuse to see we are guilty of the same offense, if it can be called an offense. You'd rather take it all upon yourself, with the excuse that you are able to rationalize everything, and so should be able to act accordingly."
Sirius didn't say anything, only listening. But he wasn't looking at the window or at the sky behind it anymore. He was looking at Andromeda, and his face was unreadable.
"You forgive me for being a human being, and having feelings. And you wouldn't forgive yourself for the same reasons?"
Sirius' answer to that was quiet, almost inaudible.
"Who said I am a human being?"
This time, it was Bellatrix who spoke, her voice ghostly, but soft enough. Careful. Cautious, even.
As if she knew her words could break her cousin, somehow.
Maybe she knew they would.
"Sirius... If it's about Adhara..."
The wizard's eyes flashed at the name, and the sisters knew they wouldn't get anything else from him. It was always the case, when it came to Adhara. Talking about her made him snap, at best. And still, they needed to speak about Adhara Black. Even if Sirius didn't want to.
But not this time.
This time, there was nothing they could say which he would listen to. So Bella and Andromeda just kept silent, exchanging a meaningful glance that Sirius certainly wouldn't miss to notice.
The young Black lord stood up, making for the door.
"I will speak with Narcissa. Maybe she wants help, but doesn't dare to ask. But I won't help her, if she doesn't ask me too. I can't lose time with someone who's not sure on which bank they stand."
The wizard left the room on these words, while the witch and the ghost stayed behind, sighing in exasperation. If Sirius kept on refusing to talk about Adhara, Andromeda wouldn't even get the time to be angry at her older sister...
Sirius met Tonks and her father, searching for their mother and wife, on his way out. Then, he spent the rest of the afternoon with Harry and Remus, showing them some of the interesting places on the grounds, near the manor.
The small waterfall behind the empty stables immediately gained Harry's approval, while the werewolf rolled his eyes when, somehow, the teenager ended up in the water – the fact that Sirius had been standing right behind him certainly had nothing to do with the fall. Absolutely nothing. It wasn't as if Sirius had taken the habit to push people into pools any time he could when they'd been young. How many times had Peter and James been drenched as they had gone back to the Potters' during the holidays? Luckily, Sirius had avoided doing that to the werewolf right before or after the full moon, knowing very well that he could have easily fallen ill, weakened as he was. It didn't mean, of course, that it prevented Sirius from doing it when Remus had been in relatively good health.
Once the teenager was out of the water pool, and after Remus had obliged him with a drying spell, they walked around a bit more. Sirius showed them a clearing and an old foutain that seemed right out of a fairy tale. Remus joked about fairies living around, but Sirius only gave him a smirk as an answer. The werewolf should have known there were fairies living in the Blacks' woods. It wasn't as if there weren't grims, hellhounds and a cerberus there already. Next thing he knew, he would hear the Blacks had been breeding phoenixes in their backyard for twelve generations.
Alright. Maybe not phoenixes.
But surely they had others incredible animals and creatures on their lands.
The three of them were watching the cave in which they knew the group of canine creatures to dwell from afar when Sterhn popped into existence next to them, announcing that the supper would soon be ready, and the Master and his guests should head back to the manor if he didn't want the dishes to be cooled down by the time they arrived.
On their way back, Sirius made sure to tell his godson once again that when he'd be explorating the estate, he'd better be cautious around the animals. They weren't exactly wild, but it didn't mean they were pets either. Harry said something along the line of not being stupid, and Remus and Sirius exchanged a glance.
"It's not so much about you being stupid. It's more about you being a danger magnet."
The teenager flushed, but good-naturedly, at the comment. He couldn't deny trouble usually ended up happening to him. When he wasn't deliberately looking for it, that was.
When they got to the manor, Sterhn was waiting for them on the stairs. Dinner was ready, and served in the dining room. Mistress Andromeda and her husband, as well as their daughter Miss Nymphadora were waiting for the Master, the Master's great friend, and Mistress Dorea's relative.
Sirius groaned, finally realizing he would have been better off ordering the house-elf to serve dinner in the smaller, more private dining room. Black Manor's official dining room was almost half as large as the Great Hall, and not far from a third of the Hall's length. The Blacks had been a very large family, once upon a time.
Or once upon several times, to be accurate. Sirius' childhood had been one of those times.
And after that... Everyone had died, and those who hadn't had been cast out.
He hoped Harry wouldn't find the dining room too... let's say gloomy. It wasn't because Sirius liked the color black that everybody felt the same. And there was a lot of black in Black Manor.
Apparently, the teenager was too awed to find the manor creepy.
Or maybe it was simply that after Grimmauld Place and its terrible state, even Black Manor would be welcoming to anyone.
As the three walked into the dining room, Sirius spotted his cousin looking at the family tree on the furthest wall. He winced a bit, excusing himself from Harry's company, and joined Andromeda.
She was staring at the name of her other cousin, finding it hard to miss the fact that there wasn't a date of death anymore.
"It started after I updated the tree."
The witch gave him a sidelong glance, unable to look away from Regulus' name for too long.
"Do you think your grandfather messed with the tree after his disappearance?"
"Maybe, to keep him safe. But don't get your hopes up. I've been to the basement, and Regulus' portrait is already there, only, not awake yet. He hasn't been for almost seventeen years."
Their conversation was no more than a whisper, not only because they didn't want to be overheard, but also because they didn't dare to speak too loudly, and end up hoping for a hopeless dream to become reality because of words.
Andromeda frowned.
"That can only mean two things: your brother is somewhere between life and death, comatose, maybe, or he doesn't think of himself as 'Regulus Black' anymore."
Sirius didn't really wince, keeping his face under control, but not his eyes.
"Don't give me hope, Andie. Don't give me hope."
Then, Harry called them over. The two Blacks ripped themselves off the family tree, and joined their friends and family on the other side of the room. A room that was, as it was, occupied by a very long and dark table, so long the six of them covered only a tenth of it length. Approximately.
They ate well, Sterhn's cooking being way better that Kreacher's, who certainly had never made any efforts to please anyone's tastes amongst Sirius' guests. Harry wasn't quite sure the thing there was for main course was actually possible to enunciate, it being obviously french, but Sirius only smirked at his challenge, and said a whole sentence in French. Remus cocked an eyebrow at his friend's perfect education and its ostentatious display, as Harry glared at his godfather in mock hurt. Tonks was too busy not putting any food somewhere else than in her mouth, while speaking with her mother at the same, which didn't end very well, to the older witch's dismay. Ted purposely looked elsewhere when he guessed he was about to get his customary it's-definitely-from-you-she-got-that look.
Sirius wasn't quite sure he'd be able to repeat the conversations they had during this dinner. He was too happy to be free again, and to have at least one less thing to worry about.
There was one part of the conversation, though, that he wouldn't forget.
"You have to admit, Sirius, that you handled that trial like a true lawyer."
The young lord snorted, half-serious, half-joking, at his cousin.
"I believe I did that better than any lawyer would have."
Remus rolled his eyes, knowing pretty well it was no use trying to deflate the man's ego. First of all, because his friend was right. Second thing, because Sirius was making a point of appearing self-important from time to time. For the fun, you know. The point being, he was aware of how it sounded, and never did it out of line.
Alright, out of certain lines. Grave, serious lines. School lines, on the other hand...
Andromeda gave her cousin a lopsided smile. Sirius instantly grew wary.
"You certainly played them all."
"Please, don't mention manipulating anyone for the next month. I had to do enough of that today."
Remus interrupted, while keeping an eye on Tonks, who was oddly staring at him from the other side of the table.
"You looked more like you were enjoying yourself than being in pain, Sirius."
"Of course I did. I couldn't have found a better way than to rub it in their faces. But three hours of doing so? It gets old soon enough, and I eventually got fed up with them not believing me. The worst being that some could actually see the truth in my words, but were still trying to find a way to blame me. After all, it was so much easier than to admit they had thrown an innocent man into Azkaban..."
Tonks snaped out of her Moony-induced trance, and looked at her cousin.
"No, but really, you were totally awesome, Sirius! It was as if you had an answer for each one of their points, and sharp words to accompany them."
"It's more like they were following one of the many frames I had envisaged."
"You're sure you were not supposed to be in Slytherin? You sure are cunning, and even vicious."
Andromeda shot her daughter a dirty look, but inwardly she was gloating. Nymphadora was taking the conversation exactly where she wanted it to go, and that without having even been told what to do. This time, Sirius wouldn't get away with a half-truth!
"Are you implying that I'm vicious, young girl?"
Tonks gulped, missing the look on Sirius' face.
"Of course not, mum. It's not as if I'm scarred of you either, by the way. There's nothing to fear about you. You're a perfectly loveable mum, if I say so. Of course, if someone were to anger you, I'm sure they'd better be scared. But I did nothing to anger you, right, my sweet and delicate mum?"
Andromeda smirked a bit, knowing her daughter was only half-acting in her rambling. Ted smiled fondly at his wife and daughter, sharing a knowing look with Remus at the same time.
"That's better, Nymphadora. Now, what were you asking Sirius, again? Ah, right, about his Sorting."
The witch turned to her cousin, her smile more soothing than ever. The man stiffened. He wasn't completely oblivious to Andromeda's motive in this conversation.
"Come on, Sirius, tell her what you always told us about how it went. She'd be delighted to hear the Sorting Hat considered, even briefly, to put you in Hufflepuff."
The wizard's upper lip twitched, but he couldn't bring himself to say the words. Damn Andromeda for not having forgotten about the sinemendatium!
"Unless you can't, of course. Now, that would mean you have been lying to me for twenty five years, you scamp. I want to hear the truth. Now."
The inquiring looks he received from not only his cousin n°1, but his godson, best friend, cousin n°2 and cousin n°1's husband too, led Sirius to sigh dramatically.
"Alright, alright! I give up."
But even as he said that, he looked elsewhere. Soon, they all understood he wasn't planning to tell them, if he could not to. Harry rolled his eyes, and decided it was time to step in.
"I'm interested too. With your show from this morning, I hardly believe you were only a candidate for Gryffindor... though I have to admit you said things I wouldn't have even dared to think about in your situation. If that's not bravery..."
Sirius glared at his godson. That was a sly attack!
"You want the truth. Well, Remus could tell you it took roughly one minute for the Hat to Sort me, but I think that's not what you want to know about... Erm, I, well, sort of, threatened the, ah, Sorting Hat, so that he'd, hum, sort me. In Gryffindor, that is."
Tonks looked at her cousin as if she had never seen him before, and her father was refraining a chuckle from escaping his lips right now.
Andromeda was all but bemused at Sirius' statement.
"I'm not even sure someone else than you ever threatened the Sorting Hat to get their way. Asked, yes, begged, surely, demanded, I suppose, but threatened?! I take it it loved your guts and decided that yes, you'd be a Gryffindor, if only because of that?"
Sirius cleared his throat, and pointed out that the dessert was here. But while Harry and Tonks turned eagerly to look, the three others didn't bulge. Remus merely raised an eyebrow.
"So I guess you weren't supposed to be a Gryffindor, at first?"
Sirius shrugged, ill-at-ease as he hadn't ever told any of his friends about this. Which meant, that he had told no one at all.
"Well, it might be that the Sorting Hat was having a great battle with itself to choose between Gryffindor and Slytherin. I merely helped it settle on a choice, with an appropriate incentive. And I'm quite sure my speaking up made it clear that I was fifty percents a lion, when only forty-nine percents a snake."
"Oh. And what was the last percent?"
Sirius glanced at his youngest cousin. The part of the answer he had kept hidden all these years was done, and this other part wasn't something he minded. After all, being loyal to a fault was one of his biggest flaws. He was quite sure Andromeda was only asking to please her daughter and her husband.
"Hufflepuff, of course. I didn't care enough for knowledge to end up in Ravenclaw."
After that, the conversation went on to new subjects. Sirius was hiding it, but Remus knew him too well to be fooled. Admitting to being more than fitting for his family House wasn't easy. He had spent so much time distancing himself from most of his family...
Remus sighed.
It had never been about others knowing, but about Sirius admitting it.
Eventually the dinner ended. They all used the fireplace to go home, and lastly Sirius had to send Harry back to Privet Drive.
Harry and Sirius walked out of the property, and Sirius apparated them in Little Whinging, in the public park near the Dursleys'. When they arrived at the house, Hary tried to sneak in without being seen, but Vernon Dursley opened the door violently, having seen them through the window. Before the huge man got the time to even glare at Harry, Sirius caught his eyes. The two adults looked at each other, and eventually the muggle looked away, sweating a bit. There was something uncanny about the wizard's silver eyes, it made him shudder in fear.
Sirius promised his godson he would come and pick him up next monday.
The next days went off before he could notice.
Between all the paperwork, and Bella's testimony with Scrimgeour and two aurors, Sirius barely had the time to look at the newspapers. He wasn't surprised to read that some purebloods had suddenly been impossible to locate, after his trial. Lord Goyle was one of them, obviously. Even if it wasn't surprising, he was a bit disgruntled to notice that all of the Death Eaters his ghostly cousin had denounced had fled before she had even done it.
The articles about him were entertaining to read. Some were hateful, others hilarious, and Sirius certainly couldn't deny he had, partially at least, talked himself out of jail by arguing about torture.
On sunday, one Eleanor Rowle came by Black Manor to pay him a visit. It was very pleasant to get to know her once again, and a bit better than that, even, though the young lord wasn't sure why exactly. It didn't feel quite like friendship.
If only Bella hadn't been snickering above or behind them for more than half of the visit...
Upon noticing that I had messed up with the timeline ( Harry being at the Dursleys' and then back at Hogwarts ), I proofread all the chapters from the beginning to get rid of that problem. I took the opportunity to magick away all the typos and other errors I found, even if it's certainly not all of them.
And, I thought it'd be great to have a mean to warn you when such a thing happened. So I ended up creating a twitter account, where I'll post this kind of notices, as well as a few hints about what I'm currently writing, and the news for each new chapter. All that about all my stories. Tell me what you think, please? It could be useful, especially for all those who don't have an account on the site, I think.
https:_/_twitter._com/EKernor (not used anymore, sorry)
Well, if anything, I tried.