First year ended quickly, and Sirius, Regulus, Severus, Lucretia, Cassiopeia, Marius, Ilaria, Capella, Lyanna, and Narcissa saw Andromeda graduate from Hogwarts. Narcissa was in tears of happiness for her sister. When Slughorn asked Andromeda what she planned to do now that she had graduated, she had a big smile on her face.
"I am going to train to become a healer for St. Mungo's," she announced. The entire Great Hall broke into applause. Madam Pomfrey looked pleased.
After the ceremony, Andromeda came up to them and gave them all a hug. When Arcturus and Melania were done talking with the other staff, they came over to them, and Melania gave Andromeda a hug.
"Where are my parents?" Andromeda asked, curious as to why she couldn't see them anywhere.
Arcturus' eyes flashed in anger. "They claimed they had other matters to attend to, and said they wouldn't be able to make it," he replied, clearly angry.
Sirius remembered this same thing happening last time, and any second now, Cygnus and Druella Black would show up. He knew what would happen, but he knew things would be different this time around.
At that moment, the pair in question walked in.
Andromeda smiled at them. "Mother, Father," she greeted them.
"Andromeda, now that you have graduated Hogwarts, we now want to tell you who you're going to marry," Cygnus said. Sirius saw that his grandfather was angry, and he knew why. They had not even congratulated Andromeda. All they did was jump right into marriage.
Druella showed Andromeda the marriage contract that had been written. Sirius saw the anger in Arcturus' face increase. The contract had never even been looked at by him, and he was the one who had to approve the contracts.
"No," Andromeda said, breaking the silence.
"Excuse me?" Druella asked.
"I said NO," Andromeda repeated angrily. "I am NOT marrying a pure-blood man who is a Death Eater!"
"But, Andromeda," Cygnus tried.
"Ted has already proposed to me," Andromeda interrupted. "I was going to tell you when we got home, b-"
"WHO proposed to you?" Cygnus asked angrily.
"Ted Tonks," Andromeda responded.
"Sounds like a Mudblood name," Druella stated.
"He's a Muggle-born, b-" Andromeda tried to explain.
"Our daughter is NOT marrying a Mudblood!" Cygnus roared.
Arcturus gave Sirius a questioning glance. Sirius nodded. Arcturus sighed, waiting for the moment to come, so he could stop it.
"Andromeda, please reconsider," Druella pleaded. "You need to marry a Pure-blood, or you're not a true Black. What's more important? A Mudblood, or your family?"
"I have the right to marry who I want," Andromeda responded angrily.
Cygnus and Druella shared a look, then Cygnus stated, "Andromeda Black, you are hereby disowned by the House of Black for betraying the family and their values." Andromeda looked horrified, but before anyone could react, Arcturus cleared his throat.
"I, Arcturus Black III, Lord of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, hereby overrule the decision to disown Andromeda Black from the House of Black," he declared. Cygnus and Druella glared at Arcturus, clearly displeased at being overruled. Cygnus was about to say something, but Arcturus continued. "The House of Black does not value blood purity. The House of Black values pure of magic, and that DOES NOT depend on blood status. Furthermore, you two did not even bring the marriage contract to me before you showed it to your daughter. In case you have forgotten, the Head of the family must approve each marriage contract. Otherwise, the contract is invalid."
"Lord Black, you must understand…" Druella tried.
"What I understand, Druella, is that you and Cygnus have overstepped," Arcturus cut in.
"But can you approve of this contract for us?" Cygnus asked, holding up the marriage contract.
"Your daughter is already engaged, so I see no reason to rip her of her wishes," Arcturus said, his tone clearly one of finality. "Now, my decision is final. Andromeda will not be disowned, and that marriage contract you and Druella wrote up is denied."
"Thank you," Andromeda said gratefully.
"Very well," Druella said, clearly still angry. "Andromeda, we don't want to see your face again. You will move out immediately. Hopefully the Mudblood will take you in, or you may be homeless." She and Cygnus gave Andromeda one last dirty look before leaving.
Andromeda looked horrified. Melania gave her another hug.
"You won't be homeless, I promise," she said soothingly.
"I will allow you and Ted to move to one of the Black properties that are not currently in use," Arcturus informed her.
Andromeda smiled. Everything would turn out alright in the end after all.
The rest of the Blacks smiled. The Head of their family had just shown that he will not tolerate people disowning someone just because they don't like their decisions.
The summer itself was boring, with Sirius doing his summer homework and Regulus reading some of the books in the Black Manor library. The only real interesting part of the summer came in July.
One morning, Arcturus announced at breakfast, "I will be starting to teach you both French, because I would like for us to take a vacation to France next summer," he explained.
"Really?" Regulus asked excitedly. Sirius was excited as well. He had never gotten to learn French the first time around, because his parents had refused to let him and Regulus go on family vacations, so they had never gotten to go to France.
"That will be great!" Sirius exclaimed.
That day, Sirius and Regulus started learning French. Arcturus turned out to be very patient with them when they would stutter or forget a word or phrase. By the end of the day, they were able to say, "Bonjour, comment ça va? Je vais bien!"
Each day, they would learn something new. Sometimes it would be words, and sometimes phrases. By the middle of August, Arcturus had taught them many words and phrases, and encouraged them to practice them, not just during lessons.
In the last week of August, Arcturus and Melania had to go back to the school early, due to being staff. They asked Sirius and Regulus if they wanted to go to Diagon Alley, then go back to the school with them, or if they would like to stay with Ignatius, Lucretia, and Severus for the last week of summer and go to Diagon Alley with them. After discussing it, they decided that they wanted to go to Diagon Alley with their grandparents, but they also wanted to spend time with Severus. So, Arcturus arranged for them to go to Diagon Alley, then he and Melania would go back to Hogwarts while Sirius and Regulus stayed at Prewett Hall for the week.
When Sirius, Regulus, and their grandparents arrived in the Leaky Cauldron, they were greeted by Ignatius, Lucretia, and Severus. Sirius and Regulus hugged Severus, who stiffened at first, but eventually relaxed.
"Marius and Capella will be here any moment now," Melania explained. As soon as she finished that sentence, the fire flared green and Marius and Capella stepped out. Capella widened her eyes at the sight of everyone that greeted her.
"Hello everyone," she greeted them. She then started distributing hugs to all of them. "I'm so excited to start my first year at HOGWARTS!"
"Do you have your list?" Arcturus asked.
"Oh, yes, Grandfather," Capella confirmed.
"You and Regulus will have the same things to buy, since you're both starting first year," Melania explained. Marius, Capella, Regulus, and Melania decided to team up, while Sirius, Severus, Arcturus, Ignatius, and Lucretia teamed up.
As Regulus and Capella were getting their robes, a girl walked into the shop and when she saw them, her eyes lightened up. She raced over to them, and quickly said, "Are you part of the Black family?"
"Er, yes," Regulus responded. "And you are?"
The girl ignored his question, instead asking, "What is it like being in a dark family?"
"Our family's not dark," Regulus responded.
"But everyone knows Orion and Walburga Black were evil," the girl commented. "My mother even wrote about it in the Daily Prophet."
Melania stepped in. "You must be Miss Skeeter, a first year, correct?" she asked.
The girl nodded excitedly. "And you must be Melania Black," she said excitedly. "You were a Hufflepuff in school, I heard. And, somehow, a Hufflepuff married a Slytherin! That's unheard of!"
Regulus already didn't like this girl. She was wrong to assume that Hufflepuffs and Slytherins didn't get along. He also didn't like how she was being so informal with his grandmother. His grandmother was Lady Black, so she deserved respect.
Melania narrowed her eyes. She had noticed the same things Regulus had. Even Capella, who was new to the Wizarding World, realized the clear disrespect.
"Miss Skeeter, have you learned the pure-blood traditions?" Melania asked.
"Yes, of course," Skeeter replied.
"Then why are you being so disrespectful?" Capella asked. "You do realize Melania Black is Lady Black, do you not?"
Skeeter opened and closed her mouth a few times before shrugging. "Sorry," she apologized. But instead of fixing her mistake, she kept asking questions. "What is it like to be a Black? Oh, I hope you don't mind, I'm helping my mother find something to write about tomorrow. I want to do what she does someday, and she told me I can find news for her. The Blacks like attention, so I'm sure you would love to be in the Daily Prophet!"
The Blacks looked uncomfortable. Marius was the first to do something. He took out a two-way mirror and whispered, "Arcturus Black."
Sirius and Severus were getting their textbooks. "The Standard Books of Spells, Grade Two," Severus read from his list.
"Right here!" Sirius announced, grabbing two of the books.
Lucretia was about to ask Severus what was next on the list when Arcturus walked towards them. He had been in a different section of the shop, looking at different books.
"Ignatius, Lucretia, I have to go to Madame Malkin's," he explained. "Someone is showing disrespect to our family." Lucretia was about to ask what he meant, but she thought better of it. She knew her father. He wouldn't tell her anything until after the situation was dealt with.
"Of course, Father," Lucretia replied. "We'll continue getting Sirius and Severus their supplies." Arcturus nodded before exiting the shop.
"As the Heir to the House of Black, I feel like I should be going too," Sirius said.
Lucretia put a comforting hand on Sirius' shoulder. "I believe that the Lord and Lady can handle it," she said gently. "If your grandfather wanted you to come with him, he would have said so. You need to get your school supplies." Sirius nodded. Aunt Lucretia was right.
"Come on," Ignatius said with a smile. "Let's go get you a broom." Sirius' face brightened.
"Really?" he asked. "You hear that, Severus? We'll get brooms!"
"I'm not a fan of flying," Severus explained. "Remember?"
"Oh, right," Sirius said.
Ignatius chuckled. "Severus has already told us he is not interested in flying. But we can go get you a broomstick, Sirius."
"But would Grandmother and Grandfather approve?" Sirius asked, looking at Lucretia.
Lucretia smiled. "Sirius, your grandmother was on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team and your grandfather was on the Slytherin Quidditch team when they were at Hogwarts. I'm sure they would approve."
"Come on, Sirius, you know James will have his broom this year," Severus reminded his friend. "You two can race each other." Sirius grinned.
"Alright," he agreed excitedly. "Let's go!"
Sirius bought the Nimbus 1001, which was now the newest broom out there. He was excited to show James that he had a slightly newer broom than he did.
Meanwhile, Rita stood in front of the Blacks, feeling a little afraid. Marius had just used a two-way mirror to contact Lord Black. Something told her she wouldn't be able to use this to give her mother a news story. Lady Black was giving her a stern look, telling her that she had crossed the lines with the Blacks.
The door to the shop opened, and in came Lord Black, followed by her mother, Lady Skeeter. Her mother gave her a disapproving look.
"I am so sorry for my daughter's disrespectful attitude," Lady Skeeter said to Lady Black. "I raised her better than this."
"Perhaps," Lady Black said. "But I think you need to give her clear instructions on what she can and cannot do when she is given a task, like looking for a story for you to write about in the Daily Prophet."
"Agreed," Lord Black said. He then turned his gaze onto Rita. "Being disrespectful to a family, pure-blood or not, is not going to get you a story, Miss Skeeter. You would do well to remember that. And, do your research. There have been plenty of Hufflepuff and Slytherin relationships. If I am not mistaken, part of journalism is to have the facts first."
"You are correct, Lord Black," Lady Skeeter agreed. "I will be having a very serious discussion with Rita later. Rita, what do you say to Lord and Lady Black?"
"I apologize, Lord and Lady Black," Rita said, not liking to sound so formal. She would have liked to just call them by their names.
"Apology accepted," they both said in unison.
"Come, Rita, let's go get your books," her mother said. She then turned back to the Blacks. "I promise, this will not be in the Daily Prophet." With that, she and Rita Skeeter left the robes shop.
"Let's go find the others," Arcturus said, leading them out of the shop. They found Sirius and Severus eating ice cream.
"How did it go?" Sirius asked immediately upon seeing his grandparents and the others.
"Oh, Sirius," Regulus said. "There's a girl who's starting her first year, and her mother works for the Daily Prophet." Sirius frowned. He looked at his grandfather, who nodded. Oh, great. Rita Skeeter.
"Well, this year should be interesting," Sirius said. "Oh yeah, and I got a Nimbus 1001."
Regulus gasped. "That's the newest broom!" he exclaimed. "I wish I was in second year like you!"
Melania smiled. "You'll be a Chaser someday!" she exclaimed.
"No, a Beater," Arcturus disagreed.
"Or a Seeker," Ignatius said.
They finished their shopping together, then Sirius and Regulus hugged their grandparents, knowing they wouldn't see them for a week.
"Au revoir," Sirius said.
"Au revoir," their grandparents said together.
"You know French?" Capella asked.
"Some," Regulus replied.
"Oh, I want to learn!" Capella exclaimed.
"We can teach you," Sirius said.
Capella smiled. "Alright," she said. "Well, see you on the train!" After saying goodbye to Capella and Marius, the two brothers followed Ignatius, Lucretia, and Severus to the fireplace, where they Flooed to Prewett Hall.
Author's note: Translations: Bonjour, comment ca va? Je vais bien! Hello, how are you? I am well!
Au revoir! Goodbye!
I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I will be updating 2 to 3 times a week for the time being, because I have to write chapters, so it takes time.