While Sirius remembered some very wild parties and awkward mornings, this was the first time he found himself strapped to a chair. For a second he thought he was naked, seeing as his clothes were neatly stacked up on the table in front of him, a transparent case keeping his wand out of reach. He looked down at his body and noticed he was wearing some transfigured clothes, and funny enough, his hands were both trapped in some wood contraptions attached to the chair. His first thought was that Moody would be over the moon over how thoroughly paranoid his captor was, right after he lectures him about getting through in the first place. He was taking stock of his surroundings, a magical workshop and potions lab apparently, when his beautiful captor entered the room, closing the door behind her.
Sirius, still slipping into old habits, went first. "Usually I spend a bit of time with the ladies, dinner and wine before stuff gets kinky. Personally, I don't mind getting to it early, but some prepwork is my usual cup of te-eeeee!" Sirius ended up needing a minute to recover his bearings, as a stinging hex to his privates had certainly stopped any more snarky remarks from his part. He just knew he was going to be sore for days, ointment be damned. The woman then came up to him and lifted his chin with her wand, the tip warm and clearing waiting to let loose another spell. "Now, I usually don't mind some verbal jousting myself, but time is not a factor I am about to rely on so let's get down to business. The runic circle at your feet is a variant of a truth compulsion. It will break through anything, save a Fidelus, to dig the truth out of you, so if you currently have an unbreakable vow and any oaths on your magic, I would mention what you can safely say about them now before I get digging."
Sirius racked his brain, trying to think of anything that would count as such. "No unbreakable vows and what oaths I swore to the Order of the Phoenix and the Aurors are now released, minus the Godfather Oath I swore. The only secrets I am keeping are under family magicks." The woman gave him a very predatory smile at his answer, "Well, it's a good thing you're the Head of House, aren't you, Sirius Black, since such secrets can only be freely spoken by you." Sirius was starting to sweat as the ramifications of what she just said filled his mind until she asked her next question. "To whom did you swear your Godfather oath?" Sirius wanted to refuse to answer but the words slipped out of his mouth on their own, "Halley Lily Potter."
The woman seemed stunned by his answer. "What were you doing in this part of non-magical London and why?" Sirius tried to fight it again but finally decided to just let it out. "I am looking for my goddaughter. I was told by her birth parents that she was given over to muggles to raise. I named her my Heiress and sought to take her back and bring her home." The heat from her wand went up a bit and Sirius began to think there would be burn marks on his skin, that is if he didn't end up dead. Her next words were clipped, filled with barely contained rage, "Did you intend to return her to her biological parents?" Sirius didn't fight his violent response, "No!"
"What were your intentions in retrieving your goddaughter?" Her voice was guarded now. Sirius sighed, "Take her in as my family, maybe blood adopt her if she was willing. Raise her as she should have been raised, by family among magic, loved and cherished instead of cast out and set aside." The woman got quiet, her wand no longer burning a hole in his neck. He looked at her and she seemed ...conflicted. "If your goddaughter magically changed her name, would your oath still stand?" That question certainly threw him for a loop, though the answer was clear enough, "the oath was taken mid ritual, the oath is tied to her magic, not even a blood adoption would break it." His captor, dare he say it, seemed...happy about his answer. "If your goddaughter is happy and being raised by a wixen, taught magic, customs and etiquette befitting her state as your Heiress, what would you do?"
Sirius really had to think about her question, since it wasn't something he had considered. "I would ask to be a part of her life, to be able to teach her the family magicks and to be given a chance to be a part of her family, something denied to us both for almost 9 years." His words seemed to weigh heavy in the air, as neither of them spoke. The woman sighed, summoned a small table and chair from the other end of the room and placed them both in the still active runic circle. She positioned everything so that the table was now in the centre. Then, much to Sirius' surprise, she unlocked the boxes trapping his hands, though his arms were still bound to the chair. As she sat down, her eyes met his, and for some stupid reason, he found them beautiful again.
"My name is Sabrina Selene Prasinos, mother of one Rhea Sabrina Prasinos, your goddaughter and Heiress. The runic circles magic is still active and will remain as such until we both leave it. We will remain here as long as it takes to hammer down what happens next. I will make this clear, anyone trying to separate my daughter and I will meet a bloody and violent end. We clear, Lord Black?" Sirius swallowed at the vehemence behind her words. "Crystal." The moment his words leave his mouth, the tension seems to leave her body. "Were you aware that someone tried to strip Rhea of her magic, someone who then proceeded to place a blood tracker and health monitors on her?" Sirius looks at her and pales, "Wait, that can't be right. James-," The growl that escaped her throat made his hackles rise. "Uhm, they said that Voldemort took her magic and then tried to do it to Henry, and then everything went to shit."
"I can tell you that the traces of magic I found show that the same person who tried to strip her magic was the same one who cast the other spells. The only magical trace that was different was what was left in her cursed scar, which I would bet matched that of Voldemort." Sirius was mulling everything over, when her words fully sunk in, "Wait, she had a cursed scar too? I thought it was only Henry." Her blue eyes looked into his gray and she shook her head. "Don't know if it's the exact same kind of scar for him, but whatever magic led her to me also cleansed her from foreign magic, so her cursed scar is now healed and closed."
Sirius sighed in relief, happy that she wouldn't be carrying a permanently open wound from her snake face… "What do you mean that magic led her to you?" Sirius barely had a second warning before her wand pointed at his face and a soft legilimens was spoken before his mind was inundated with everything Halley went through up till she met Sabrina. Why it cut off there lingered in his mind for a split second, but first, he needed to down a shot of firewhiskey. Or maybe twenty.
Their conversation went on for a few hours, from brainstorming ideas about who was responsible for what happened to Halley, how they would go about protecting her and how often they were going to meet so that Rhea would spend some time with him. A knock on the door made Sirius and Sabrina stop. Sirius' heart leaped to his throat as the door opened and a shy, innocent looking little girl peered in. Her hair wasn't the ink black he remembered, as now it sported some bronze highlights. Her skin was pale but not in the unhealthy variety some purebloods had, as it clearly saw some sun. She was thin, but not the emaciated thin he saw in the memories. "Should I be fetching a body bag or you keeping this one?"
Ok, maybe not so innocent. The smirk on her face made him smile, knowing that there just might be a Marauder in her yet. Sabrina smiled and padded him on the back, "Can't say about a keeper, but he will be sticking around." Sirius frowned when Sabrina's words didn't seem to have the desired effect. Even Sabrina noticed and she quickly explained, "This is Sirius Orion Black, your godfather. He had no part to play in what happened to you and wants to help. I already showed him everything that happened and he is willing to stay and help us out." That seemed to make Rhea smile, chasing away any lingering doubts she had. Her eyes looked down but he wasn't sure if she was looking at the rest of him or at something else. Of course, her next words made him choke on his own spit. "So, how long before you start planning to have him in your room with the silencing charms up?"
"In a month or two." It took Sirius a few seconds to realize that yes, both of them were still inside the runic circle, that Sabrina had actually found him attractive enough to have considered bedding and was possibly planning it and that his goddaughter was observant enough to take advantage of the situation both of them were in. Rhea's giggling voice seemed to echo across the house as she ran away, and Sirius slowly turned to look at a decided red faced Sabrina. Wishing to defuse the tension, and take advantage of the circle before they both left it, Sirius asked the question that had been on his mind since the impromptu memory dump. "So, care to tell me why you stopped the memory when you found her in the snow?" Sabrina's face went from embarrassed to playful, "Because, everything before that day was what you needed to know Halley. Now, you have to get to know Rhea the old fashioned way."
Sirius couldn't help but smile at that answer, as both stepped out of the circle. His last words to Sabrina were both truthful and straight from the heart. "Thank you. I can't wait to get to know her better."
Sirius would be the first to guiltily admit he expected to see some trace of James and Lily in the little girl. Sure she had James' hair, but her's wasn't as bad as the eternal mess that the Potters were famous for, and he would admit that the bronze highlights really looked good on her and could only imagine how many hearts she would break once she hit puberty. He had already asked Andromeda to have a selection of Black family curses ready to teach Rhea as soon as she rejoined the wider magic community. Though, to be honest, he knew his little pup was far from defenceless.
As soon as September was about to start, the shop got surprisingly busy. Sabrina explained that the local wixen who had children at Hogwarts or who were homeschooled would come by her place and buy the potions ingredients and supplies they would need. Hers tended to be of higher quality and lower price, not to mention she wasn't as dreadful as the guy running the Apothecary in Diagon Alley. Sirius agreed. The guy gave him the creeps too and Sabrina was easy on the eyes. As much as he tried not to think of Hal-Rhea's mother that way. So unlike all of August, the shop's wares needed to be constantly restocked. He had been about to offer them Kreacher's services in helping out, only for said words to suddenly get stuck in his throat, as he watched 10 year old Rhea using wandless magic to restock all the shelves. Wandless and silent magic!
Sabrina smiled at his stupefied expression and explained, "She has several affinities to magic where a wand is a bit of a disadvantage, so I tried teaching her how to do magic wandlessly. She took it like a fish to water and can now do a few spells silently too. I tried to keep up with her but the best I can do is basic summoning and a soft lumos charm." Sirius shook his head as he looked on as the shelves were already sorted and restocked, just as a new family of wixen stepped in. He stood back at the door that led upstairs to the actual living quarters of the building as he watched Sabrina sort out the supplies for the couple, while Rhea chatted with the couple's little girl, who looked very much of Hogwarts age, apparently giving her some tips in potion making. When the woman, who seemed to be in her fifties looked over at him and frowned, he got worried.
The woman turned to Sabrina and gave her a questioning look, "You sure this man is worth keeping around? We don't want to see you or Rhea getting hurt." Sabrina looked at him, the devilish grin that graced her face forced a decidedly dog whine out of his throat. "Oh, I am sure he won't be too much trouble. He absolutely adores Rhea and would never let anything happen to her. As for me, I am sure I can get a decent leash to wrap around his neck, good enough to keep him away from the proper ladies in the area. At worst, I could always use him as potion ingredients." The cackle the old witch let out made Sirius relax, despite reminding him of Bella. As soon as the family was set to leave the witch walked over to him, a stern look on her face. "Sabrina has been good to us here, away from the troubles in the Ministry and the Wizengamot. You treat her and little Rhea good, you hear?"
Sirius smiled and gave her a soft bow, "I would never dream of treating them as anything but the proper and lovely ladies that they are. Besides, Sabrina's stinging hexes have a decidedly cruel aim." The witch smiled at him. "As they should," were her parting words as she and her family left the store. Watching as all the witches and wizards visited the store prior to September 1st made him feel as close to normal as he could remember, even as he began to make plans to protect this peaceful life before next July came around.
Samhain came around and Sirius found himself a bit conflicted. He remembered all the same Samhain celebrations back at Grimmauld Place and he wasn't very fond of them. He remembered celebrating Halloween at Hogwarts with James, Remus and…, well he remembered all the pranks they made and how disgustingly full of sweets they would get. He remembered the night that every other witch or wizard would celebrate the disappearance of Voldermort and the supposed end of the war. He knew of two witches that would not be celebrating with cheers. The early morning appearance of an osprey messenger Patronus made sure of that. "Tonight isn't a good night for Rhea. I need you here and you will be staying over. Whether you sleep as a dog on the floor or not is up to you."
When he arrived at the living room on the second floor, he found his goddaughter on the sofa, a throw blanket wrapped around her lower body and a stuffed black dog hugged to her side as she read a large book on her lap. She looked up and gave him a smile, though he could see it failing to reach her eyes. Sirius smiled as he sat down on the sofa beside her. "Hey, sweetheart. What book are you reading today?"
Rhea kept her eyes on the book, "Goblins: Traditions and Etiquette." Mom said that I should get started on getting to know goblins, especially since we will be going to Gringotts next year. This seemed to be the least biased book I could find." Sirius looked at the book and nodded. "Probably. I have read a few others since Blacks are also expected to have cordial relations with the goblins and this is the best one I found."
His goddaughter turned the page. "I looked at the owl mail order catalogue and couldn't find a book on learning their language. Anything in the Black library on it?" Sirius thought for a moment and shook his head, "Not that I remember. Why?" Rhea looked at him as if the answer was obvious, "We are going to need them to do a lot for us, keeping me and mom safe for starters. Not to mention they run your Family's finances. I want to show them proper respect and speaking to them in their own tongue, following their own traditions, seems like the right thing to do."
Sirius conceded the point. "I will look around and see what I can find." Rhea smiled at him and said "Thanks!", before getting back to reading. Sirius looked at the stuffed dog on her arm and gently touched it. "Does it have a name?" Rhea looked at the dog and touched its head lovingly. He could see how much she loved the toy. "This is Padfoot." Sirius stilled and tried to wrap his brain around that. He knew Sabrina was aware he was an Animagus that resembled a Grim and that he called it Padfoot, but Rhea's behaviour makes it clear that the toy has been around a bit more than 3 months. So how... "Nice name. I think I remember it from somewhere."
The girl flipped the page again and he was always amazed at how she could divide her attention so well. Probably why Sabrina called him over, since she probably couldn't get her to not think about the night while she made the ritual preparations and everything. "Padfoot is a Grim. Most people are scared of them, but I think they're cool. I remembered the name from … somewhere and it felt right when Mom got him for me. Later I read how people see them in a book. It felt … wrong." Sirius smiled, hoping that maybe she remembered his animagus name from when she was a toddler. She was always asking for rides on him as a dog and he could never say no. "Then I saw one in the graveyard. He was so sweet. His tail was wagging happily and he kept licking my cheek."
Sirius was sure his heart stopped for a second as he tried to … well, nothing really comes to his mind when his 10 year old goddaughter admits to having not only seen but touched an omen of death. "When and where was this?" Rhea looked up and was a bit in thought when she answered, "Almost a year ago, just before Yule, at Kensal Green Cemetery. One of mom's friends died and was buried there. I saw the Grim while the funeral was going on, but no one else did. Mom didn't see it either, but she wasn't mad at me. Said that Grim's are very picky about who they interact with." She went back to her book as Sirius was left in thought. While he wasn't exactly happy that Rhea met a Grim, she clearly wasn't marked for death, so there didn't seem to be much for him to worry about. "Did your Mom tell you I was an Animagus?"
Sabrina was trying to concentrate on the runic circle for their Samhain ritual. Most who follow the Olde Ways hardly ever set one up, usually just an altar with offerings and photos of the departed, some carved turnips for traditional protection and a few kept more modern protection runic stones in their pockets. Most people of course didn't have a budding Necromancer in their home, and they certainly didn't have to worry about an excess of Death Magic in the ritual making it a more… involved experience. The first time they both went through the Samhain ritual, it was an unmitigated disaster. The entire neighborhood felt heavy with Death Magic for a few days, until a cleansing ritual she had Rhea lead successfully defused the magic. While she didn't see any Ministry personnel in the area, she did see a single Unspeakable walking disillusioned through the neighbouring streets. Thank the Goddess for Mage Sight.
The runic circle in front of her was one of the most complicated she had ever made. Instead of the typical pentagram or heptagram, this one was a heavy 12 pointed dodecagram. While Abrahamics would associate it with either the tribes of Israel or the Apostles, older mages had a different story. The Greeks tied it with the Ancient Gods, who held Authority over all the great powers, death included. Sabrina hoped that it, with ritual materials tied into each realm of Authority, would be enough to keep Rhea's Death Magic anchored into the ritual. Finishing up with the Altar and the plates, Sabrina was already on her way upstairs when a definite childish squeal reached her ears.
There, on the living room floor, was Rhea playing with Sirius in his Animagus form. Sabrina had been marginally worried when Rhea decided to pet the invisible Grim at the graveyard, but the magical creature clearly meant no ill will. When she took Rhea to an area she knew had Thestrals and the girl could not only see them but actually interact with the then very happy winged horses, Sabrina knew that Rhea's affinity towards Death Magic was why the Grim wasn't a threat. She really doubted any of Death's creatures on Earth would ever even consider harming one of their own. So she made the very educated guess that Sirius and his Grim like Animagus form would be just the thing to keep her girl happy and distracted. Samhain and Yule would always be powerful days for the nascent Necromancer, but the tragedies surrounding Rhea on Samhain would always be a concern.
Sirius stared at the ceiling above him, his head replaying the events surrounding the Samhain ritual over and over in his mind. He had never been in a ritual like that. Ever. Rituals in Samhain were meant to allow a person to feel the thoughts and feelings of their dearly departed loved ones. It was always supposed to be vague but reassuring. So when he suddenly found himself standing inside his Grandfather's office in Black Castle, he knew something else was at play. "Sirius."
There, sitting in the armchair next to the fire was Arcturus Black, looking no older than the last time Sirius was in this same office, when he was but 12 years old. He certainly felt like he was twelve again. "I must admit, this wasn't what I had in mind for tonight." A smirk on his grandfather's eternally stoic face certainly added to that feeling. "No, I don't suppose it was. But the Veil isn't known to waste anyone's time, so why not take advantage of the moment? So, Lord Black, is there something an old soul like mine can help you with?" Sirius was about to take him up on that when he remembered the stories about how not to behave on Samhain among the dead.
"Arcturus Black, I can't thank you enough for the honour you have bestowed upon a wayward son of the House of Black. I can only ask that you grant me your blessing going forward so that I may do my best for our Family and our Blood." Sirius felt a great weight lift of his back as his Grandfather smiled at him, a genuine smile! He was left with the sudden desire to cry as the old man pulled him into his arms and hugged him. "My grandson, there was never a moment I doubted your place in our family. No matter what world, or what time, you would always strive for the best for our family, even if many of us were blinded by a madman's words. You have my blessing now and always as you lead the House of Black. I do, however, have two things to ask of you, though one I can already guess the answer."
Sirius pulled back and nodded at Arcturus, who looked at him fondly. "The first is one you already are doing. Take great care of Dorea's granddaughter. Her place in the world will invite allies and enemies easily and her gifts will only confuse and scare the unprepared. Pave the way for her, restore the Olde Ways among the fools of the Wizengamot so that her gift to you on this night finds its way into the hearts of all who believe and those who have yet to learn about Magics hidden truths." Sirius swallowed, now understanding more about Rhea's magic. Even her story of the Grim seems to make all the senses in the world. "For my goddaughter, my heir and if Magic, and her mother willing, my daughter, I will."
Arcturus nodded, "The second and last thing I ask of you, my heir, is that you do what you can for Bellatrix. Forces beyond her control have stripped her of not only the freedom of her body but also of her mind and heart. Believe that the cousin that you loved as a sister still lingers beneath the puppet strings. There will be a chance for the House of Black to reclaim its last wayward child and your Heir holds Bellatrix's fate in her hands. Believe in them both, Sirius Orion Black III." Sirius burns his grandfather's words in his heart, hoping to one day see his cousin restored to the bright witch she once was. "I will."
The walls of the room then began to fade to black, a grey mist rising from the ground. Before Arcturus vanished, Sirius had to ask one last thing. "Grandfather. Do I have your blessing to Court Sabrina Selene Prasinos, in hopes that she honours our family as my Lady Black?" By that time the room had dissolved into a black void but his heart jumped as he saw his Grandmother Melania appear from the void, her arm linked with his Grandfather's just like he remembered seeing when they were alive together. His Grandfather turns to his wife who smiles and nods at him. Arcturus turns back one last time, a smile on his face. "You have our blessing."
Sirius feels a soft hand touch his chest. He knows he is in Sabrina's bed, which she expanded so that both he and Rhea could rest together. Death Magic, which he now knew his daughter had in spades, tended to leave a person cold, hence the shared sleeping arrangement. He feels a soft charm descend on his goddaughter's sleeping figure. He turns to look at Sabrina's wide open eyes, the glow of magic still illuminating them in the dead of night. "Feeling better?" Sirius nods.
After a few silent minutes, "I saw my grandfather, the previous Lord Black. I asked for his blessing, which he gave and he asked me to do some things for the sake of our House. I agreed." Sabrina hums, the sound a delight to his ears. "I may have also asked him for his blessing with a courtship. He and my grandmother gave it." He feels Sabrina tense at that. "Sirius, I am sterile. You know this. I won't be able to continue your family line." Sirius kept his eyes staring at Sabrina, a silver glow also lingering. "I know that. But we discussed Blood Adopting Rhea. Together. She is already your daughter and I would be honored if she saw me as her father. But I certainly wouldn't want to do that if the single most beautiful woman in my life wasn't willing to share. So, Sabrina Selene Prasinos, would you do me the great honour of allowing me to Court you?"
The room is silent as Sabrina stares at him, looking for anything out of place. She eventually sighs. "Fine! But you better make sure your family's place at Grimmauld is restored to its full strength. I am not bringing Rhea into a house where she could one day be vulnerable, and I am not just talking about Voldemort and his terrorists. You know who is going to come after her. After tonight, you know what she is and that anyone who tries to kill her will be receiving the full weight of my fury. You better do your part, Sirius." Sirius pulls Sabrina's hand up from his chest and up to his lips. The sight of her blushing face will keep him warm as he begins to plan a long courtship. "I promise, you and Rhea will have me at my best. The House of Black will protect its own. No matter what."
There were a lot of reasons for Sirius to be thankful for his first Yule out of Azkaban. He could have never asked for a better mother for his goddaughter than Sabrina. Over the months since she captured him, Sirius had become exceedingly fond of her, especially now that they began a proper courtship. He loved making jokes about how they met, which seemed to delight Rhea to no end, though Sabrina's promises of retribution made him feel...conflicted, especially when she talked about how creative she can be with restraints. Sabrina, aside from just delighting him with her company (and featuring prominently in his more pleasant dreams) really showed her stripes as a healer and a potions mistress. His Dementor induced night terrors had gone from a nightly occurrence to now once every two weeks or so. Part of spending time with his two favourite girls was exercising with them, though it did wound his pride when Rhea was able to do a few more laps around the park, after he was already laid out on the floor, Sabrina passing by just as effortlessly. Though he did enjoy the sight of the latter in her jogging clothes, at least when it was warmer.
Sirius would often be found watching as the two ladies went about their day, from Rhea helping Sabrina with some really advanced potions, including a steady supply of their version of wolfsbane potion for a werewolf that had family nearby. Sabrina had apparently been the protege of one of her Great-Aunts, one Chantal Prasinos. The fact that Sirius had known her name surprised Sabrina, as she wasn't sure how much of her works actually survived since her own copies of many of her Great-Aunt's journals were lost in a fire. The look on her face at the mention of the fire made it clear that she had lost something more than just books, but he kept that to himself. He also forgot to mention to her that he owned several copies of said journals, many of them now sitting comfortably as presents under the Yule Tree on the second floor.
Rhea continued to just be a delight all around. She was studious, but not as obsessed as Lily had been, reading everything from death and funeral rituals from across the world, the responsibilities and decorum expected of an Heiress and even several scientific books, some surprisingly on medicine. He would never, ever admit to being a bit creeped out by her interest in death (yes, she had Death Magic but still), but it was clearly out of a respectful approach. She had actually gone back to Kensal Green Cemetery on November the 2nd, and proceeded to spend hours playing with the Grim. Of course, Sirius couldn't see the Grim, but he knew it was there. His goddaughter was knocked down by what he assumed was a very playful hound. Sabrina had told him it was best to let her have her fun. The fact the graveyard felt lighter by the time they left made Sirius agree that she had a point. Rhea's joyous face certainly seemed to lighten the mood, wherever she went.
Not surprisingly, Rhea's studious nature meant she was getting surprisingly good with other languages. She had a near perfect grasp of English, only stumbling with regional variants and words, was able to hold a conversation in French and Greek, and could interpret Latin well enough. She had been a little put out on not having found any books on Goblin speak (she refused to call it by the name wizards had for it since it was clearly meant as an insult) but it only drove her to study their customs more closely, so as to be as respectful as possible. Sirius, of course, decided that the book he obtained from very deep in the Black Library would be the perfect Yule present for his little bibliophile. Though he was sure he was going to get an earful for keeping it quiet for so long.
Sabrina couldn't help but smile as Sirius and Rhea gathered around the Yule Tree, picking up the presents and passing them around. The last few months since Samhain had been wonderful. Rhea adored Sirius and Sabrina could see why. He was playful, but never excessive or cruel. He always made sure that both Rhea and Sabrina were satisfied with whatever little plan he made before committing to it. His idea of taking Rhea to a town fair in rural Britain had been perfect, since they didn't have to worry about ID checks or overusing the confundus charm. Rhea had a great time on the machines, and both had spent extra time terrorizing the locals on the bumper cars. The smile on her daughter's face remained there all night, even while she slept, her arms wrapped around Padfoot. She had been very clear that she wasn't getting another stuffed toy, and Sabrina conceded not to buy one this year. Besides, she was likely going to get a living pet in a year. Sabrina just hoped it wasn't a Grim or a Thestral. Nothing short of Black Castle would be suitable for them.
She also had to give it to Sirius. For someone who spent most of his life in either Azkaban or fighting his family, the man had gone to all the stops to be as formal as possible. He always curtsied kissing her hand, always was the one to open the door for her and Rhea. He even pulled the chair out for her at their own dining room. Rhea was absolutely giddy with all of it, always asking him when he would spend the night over. His blushes were well worth the teasing.
"Mom! Can we start?" Sabrina stepped out of her thoughts, and looked at the clock. It read 9 am. "Sure, youngest first." Rhea reached out and pulled out a present the size of a jewelry box. She found a necklace with three charms on it; a shaggy dog, an osprey and a waxing moon. Rhea loved her grandmother's bracelet and had associated herself with the waxing moon, Sabrina being the full moon and Selene, may she rest in peace, the waning moon. "It's perfect." Sabrina then opened a similarly sized box and swallowed a curse that she really didn't want Rhea to overhear from her. A platinum chain and locket rested on black felt. The locket showed a large round sapphire moon in the center with a waxing moon and a waning moon, both in cream colored gold wrapping around the edges towards the back. When open, the cover would split, replicating the symbol of the triple goddess, with space for a single photo inside. It was perfect and Sabrina wanted to smack Sirius for the obviously expensive gift. A soft "Thank you" was all she said, carefully putting the locket away.
Sirius' gift was from both of them. He looked surprised at the two gold embroidered black fountain pens, the case sporting the House of Black's coat of arms. "I remembered L- a friend showing me one of these, though obviously it didn't look as good as these." Sabrina smirked, "While not as prevalent now as a few years ago, pens like these are seen as a sign of status. As Lord Black, it seemed appropriate. I bought them, but Rhea went through the trouble of enchanting them." Sirius then turned at his goddaughter, who blushed. "They won't run out of ink, and you can easily change the ink color without issue. They are also charmed to not wear down and break. At least for a few years, I think." Sirius then proceeded to scoop up Rhea into a hug, who squealed at getting caught. Sirius beamed.
The rest of the presents went as expected. Sirius smiled as Rhea sputtered when she found his book that taught Goblin Speech (the closest and least demeaning English name for the Goblin's natural language). He himself laughed at receiving a book on Modern and Equitable Laws for Magicals from around the world, something Sabrina felt would be best after Sirius told her about what his grandfather wanted him to do. She did get a near second heart attack when she found two of her Auntie Chantal's potions journals, copies that she had lost. She proceeded to hug Sirius, propriety be damned, as happy tears fell from her eyes.
After cleaning up and lighting the Yule log in the chimney, she found herself unable to move from the doorway, with Sirius right next to her. "What did you do?" Sirius looked at her, some indignation in his face, "While normally blame should fall on me for any pranks, this isn't one of mine." A giggle coming from the stairs leading to the third floor captured both their attention. There was Rhea, her face sporting a very mischievous smile as she pointed above their heads, before rushing up the stairs to her room.
Right above their heads was a decidedly well hidden, at least from inside the family room, mistletoe. Sabrina looked at Sirius, her face getting flushed. Sirius gave her one of his roguish smiles before sighing, "Look, I am sure this isn't what you had planned, but I supposed I could just kiss you on th-" was as far as Sabrina let him say, her hand wrapped tightly around his tie as she brought her lips against his, her other hand losing itself in his long curly hair. Despite some hesitation, Sirius did spend the night, and Sabrina made sure to apply the silencing charms on the room and door. She also needed to thank her daughter come morning.