Sirius stood at the platform and watched as the crowd slowly thinned. He'd waved to his friends, one by one, as they spotted their families and ran off to greet them. For the first time, he glimpsed James' parents - James seemed to have inherited his father's unruly hair and excitable air. Remus was next, running to the open arms of his mother then blushing and hurrying back for his forgotten trunk. Before they left the platform, he'd turned to offer Sirius a smile. Finally, Peter left his side and called out to who must have been a brother of his. Behind the equally blond sibling appeared his delighted parents. His father actually picked him up, jokingly, trunk under one arm, son under the other until Peter managed to wriggle himself free.
Then there he was, alone on the platform, dwarfed by his large, heavy trunk and wondering if it was too late to get back on the train.
As the thought occurred to him, a hiss of steam warned him of the train's journey back to Scotland and he was left with no choice. He took the handle of his trunk and began to drag it to the exit. He hadn't gotten far before he was intercepted.
"Hey, Little Imp!"
He whipped around to see his cousin approaching him with her own belongings. She towered over him, but smiled down benignly.
"Andromeda?" he was bemused why she was hanging about so late.
"Oh please, we're not there yet! Don't tell me Gryffendor hasn't loosened you up, Little Imp."
Sirius scowled and her smile only widened. "I'm not little."
"Hmm? You're looking quite little from where I'm standing." She gave him a cheeky look and flicked her wand at his trunk, easily blessing it with a small set of wheels.
"Nice! Thanks!"
Andromeda started off with her own trunk and Sirius' face fell at her abrupt departure, but she turned back to him and rolled her eyes. "Hurry up!"
Sirius fumbled his trunk handle and hurried to catch up.
"Er… where are we going?"
Andromeda leaned against the wall and Sirius copied her.
"Oh for goodness' sake- didn't your parents write to you? What am I saying, of course they didn't. I'm going to take you home, idiot."
Sirius beamed for the first time since the Christmas holiday list had been announced at Hogwarts. As much as he had a hollow dread residing inside his chest at the thought of going home, Andromeda had always been a shining light of his pre-Hogwarts existence and a much-needed glimpse into the world outside.
They walked out of King's Cross Station into the damp, tobacco laced air of the muggle street outside. Sirius hoped that Andromeda might take him down a back alley and apparate him home - he knew she had passed her exam over the summer and he was itching for a rare chance to experience it.
But instead, his cousin led him to the glowing subway steps that led into the Underground station.
Even better, he thought. This was why he loved Andromeda.
Without magic to help them along, they were forced to thunk their trunks down the stairs, earning themselves tired glances from the damp commuters around them. They queued by the ticket machines so Andromeda could buy them passes and made their way through the barriers.
"Are you coming to visit?" Asked Sirius, thankful for the escalator so that he didn't have to bump his case down what he assumed would be hundreds of stairs. His eyes flicked across the West End show adverts that accompanied them on the ride down into London's depths.
"Well, I wasn't planning to, but I suppose I could pop in with you - might as well see Regulus and wish him a happy late-birthday."
Sirius shelved thoughts of his brother for the time being. He was excited to be on the Underground with his big cousin and didn't need his guilt ruining it. When they reached the bottom of the escalator, Andromeda began to feign idiocy for Sirius' amusement.
"I simply can't read, and it's all so confusing - how will I ever find the right platform?" she complained dramatically. "I suppose I'll have to ask this tiny little imp for directions." Sirius shoved her at the slight, but excitedly turned to the map on the wall and traced his finger on it.
"The black one," he told her, knowingly. She rolled her eyes.
"It shouldn't be hard for you to remember." He ignored the comment.
"Platform… Eight!" He declared, pointing down the busy corridor.
"Whatever you say, Little Imp. I hope you're right."
"Of course I'm right! I can read a map!" he said indignantly, setting off to the platform. He pushed his way to the front of the gaggle of muggles, earning himself some muttered complaints. Andromeda pulled him back by the hood of his winter robes.
"Don't lean over the tracks, Idiot."
"I just want to look." She rolled her eyes again. "Okay well, good luck with that when the train takes your face off." She warned. As if on cue, a war-like rumble grew from the void of a tunnel and seconds later, the train screeched into the platform. Andromeda kept a fist full of her young companion's hood to stop him from trying to board against the wave of commuters disembarking.
She actually hated the Underground. It was loud, dirty and lit with headache inducing artificial lighting, but she knew her little cousin was always excited for the opportunity to try something that his parents disapproved of, so she opted for the city metro.
It was one stop and, realistically, a short walk.
Thankfully, there were lifts at Angel station. Sirius snatched his ticket from his cousin (and earned himself a stern glance), excitedly shoving it into the barrier and watching in delight as it was sucked in, then spit out again.
They stepped into the December chill and Andromeda breathed a sigh of relief. Sirius followed her down the road, trunk clacking loudly on the uneven paving slabs behind him. The four-storey brown houses loomed over him and he felt his good mood fizzle out like a damp firework. He tried not to look into the street level windows, but it was almost impossible to avert his gaze from the glimpses of family life inside. Cats at the windows, Christmas trees up, children eating lunch on the sofa. From front doors raised from street level by sets of wet stairs, women called down for acquaintances to come in, or for wilful and spoilt children to get out.
He thought of Remus running to hug his mother.
He was so jealous he felt sick.
Andromeda must have read his mind. She slowed down so they were side-by-side again and reached out to give him a brief one armed hug.
His eyes weren't wet.
Just as the drizzle started, they arrived. Just like each dwelling on the streets before this, the house towered over them, the windows scrutinising the pair as they dragged their luggage up the steps. Andromeda knocked boldly and Sirius tucked himself slightly behind her.
The door swung open to reveal a dark entryway and no one behind it. Unphased, Andromeda let the way inside, leaving her trunk in the tiled entrance and motioning for Sirius to do the same.
The dusty air was familiar, but somewhat claustrophobic to Sirius. His eyes adjusted to the windowless corridor and he saw a faint glow of light from under one of the far doors. Someone was in the library - likely his father, or Regulus.
"Upstairs."
A disembodied, commanding voice that Sirius knew too well rang out, magically projected into the dim hallway. He shivered. Andromeda turned to him and carefully smoothed down his hair from where it had frizzed a little in the damp London air.
"Come on, then." She whispered, offering him a soft smile.
They climbed the stairs, the eyes of the portraits following them. Sirius was much more conscious of their gaze than he had been of the inhabitants of the Hogwarts paintings. On the first floor landing, a door clicked open and cast a watery yellow light onto the ground. Andromeda took the invitation and led her little cousin in.
As always, the curtains were drawn. A couple of sooty gas lamps affixed to the dark wallpaper offered enough light to see Walburga Black.
She was a frightening figure even without her turbulent personality. She stood nearly six foot tall, and cast in shadow, her severe face looked somewhat threatening. Sirius had never seen her long dark hair loose.
"Andromeda," she acknowledged, curtly. Her reservations were plain in her tone. Her dark eyes found Sirius, standing in his cousin's shadow as though it could shield him from his mother's gaze.
"My son," she stepped forward. "Get out from the shadow of the girl and stand properly like a man."
Sirius obeyed and side-stepped out into the dim light. His mother's scrutiny was something he was very familiar with, but he'd let himself relax in the past few months and now it felt more intense and judgemental than ever.
"Haven't you any manners?" She asked cooly.
Sirius resisted glancing at his cousin for support and grit his teeth - careful not to let his expression change. Obediently, he stepped up to his mother and stiffly hugged her. There was as much affection in the exchange as if he'd hugged a chair. She smelled like the house - dark and stale, untouched by sunlight.
"Thank you for bringing him home," Walburga inclined her head at Andromeda. "You're dismissed."
Andromeda briefly locked eyes with little Sirius, dwarfed by his mother, head turned away from her body so that he could silently wish his cousin goodbye through a curtain of dark hair.
The door clicked shut.
Sirius felt the body he held bend, and he dropped his arms. Walburga leaned in, her face only inches from his ear.
She sniffed.
"You smell like a filthy little muggle."
Sirius pressed his lips tight together and said nothing. He met her eyes, a little defiantly.
"And you look like an unkempt little Gryffendor."
Sirius held her gaze resolutely. You don't frighten me.
Walburga took his wrist in her vice grip. Her hand was cold and dry.
"Come." She instructed, as though he had a choice, and led him down the stairs, still gripping his arm.
"Kreacher!" She called into thin air. The house-elf appeared with a dramatic crack and bowed low before them.
"I'd be grateful if you could take Young Sirius' belongings to his room."
"At once, Mistress." He croaked, side-eyeing Sirius as he rose from his bow. Sirius scowled at him openly.
Walburga pulled him along to the office and his father's dour voice drifted from inside.
"Come in, Walburga, my son." The door seemed to open of its own accord.
The perfect counter to his wife, Orion was a morose man with a slow, dull air. It wasn't so incredible that they had managed to find each other, given that they were second cousins. Sirius often wondered if he would turn mad as an adult, the way many men of the Sacred Twenty-Eight families seemed to.
"It is good to see you again, son." Orion's face didn't reflect his words. "We had expected some written correspondence, particularly for your brother's birthday. I hope that you haven't grown selfish while you were away." Orion leaned forward and attempted an encouraging smile that was more a leer than anything. Sirius tried not to lean back. "Remember that you are, first and foremost, a Black. Family is everything."
Sirius balled his fists as the memory of Remus running into his mother's open arms flashed across his mind one more time.
"Yes, never mind what that hat has to say," Walburga assured him. "Naturally, we were disappointed at first, but your father kindly reminded me, a Black is a Black. Something as trivial as a school sorting cannot undo your blood-right. You are the heir to this household and name. While it sickens me to think of you mixing with those filthy, badly bred delinquents, there are undoubtedly children of our once esteemed pure-blood kin who may benefit from your influence."
Orion nodded. "Yes, this is, perhaps, the burden that only a strong child can bear. We will choose to see this as an opportunity, rather than a misfortune." His eyes hardened and briefly the threat that was mostly unseen floated to the surface. "You'll be sure to honour that, Son."
Sirius felt he might've turned to stone - he hadn't so much as twitched under his parents' scrutiny. This was, perhaps, less combative than he'd predicted, but it was obvious one wrong move would change that. Best to do as little as possible.
The air was uncomfortable, and his parents let it linger between them for a solid minute before dismissing Sirius. He only relaxed once the door was safely between them.
His hand still on the door knob, he glanced to his right to see a small boy watching him from the gloom.
It's one disappointed look after the other, he thought miserably. Regulus stepped forward and Sirius could see him more clearly. Just as he remembered, the curious, wide grey eyes, the neat, dark hair, the little, hesitant hands. And, most comfortingly, that earnest admiration for Big Brother.
Maybe one thing is salvageable.
"Hey Reg-"
As if his voice had broken the spell, Regulus sprung to life and wrapped his bony arms around Sirius. Against his chest, Sirius heard the little complaint; "I missed you!" before he was released. Regulus glanced nervously at the door their parents were behind, but luckily it seemed they were uninterested.
Sirius put a hand on his brother's head and smiled down at him.
"I missed you too, Reg. Happy late birthday. I'm sorry."
Regulus abruptly punched Sirius straight in the stomach then grinned at his doubled-over brother. "Don't worry about it!" He assured. "We're even now."
Right.
Once he'd recovered, Regulus was already at the top of the stairs.
"Come on," He hissed down at Sirius. "You owe me so many stories."
How could he refuse?
Hi to all these random Swedish readers! That was unexpected!
They're all getting their own Christmas chapters - looking forward to seeing you next time for Remus and Lily :)
~BS