Chapter Text
December 24th, 1974
Sirius just wanted this blasted family Christmas dinner to be over. He didn't understand why his mother forced him to attend all these events at home when all she did was complain about his presence whenever he was there.
So why the hell couldn't he just stay at Hogwarts? It wasn't as if she missed him.
His father never had an opinion to offer on the matter; his parents had a silent agreement between them. She wouldn't interfere in his business and personal life, and in return, he wouldn't interfere in how she managed the house and raised their children.
Truly the couple of the year—an arranged marriage between cousins to maintain blood purity. How romantic. But they were civilised enough, only speaking to each other when necessary and being strictly professional. However, of course, this wasn't what they conveyed to the media. The Blacks were the closest thing to wizarding royalty, and if there was one thing they cared about besides blood purity, it was public opinion.
And well, the story of a loveless, arranged marriage was hardly attractive to the public, so they always staged a passionate couple with a united and happy family—in other words, everything they were not.
Sirius looked at his Uncle Cygnus, who had his arm around Aunt Druella's shoulders with their fingers intertwined while she smiled widely at him. Well, they definitely convinced the public of their fantastic love story much better than his parents, because it wasn't entirely a lie. They had been courting since Hogwarts—something much more acceptable and lovely than an incestuous relationship. At the time they got involved, it was a bloke in his seventh year and a girl in her third, which was quite odd, but of course, they kept that part out of the headlines.
His aunt was a detestable woman, to say the least; she always had something unpleasant and inappropriate to say. You could almost see the venom dripping from her mouth—a real snake. His mother, at least, was direct, whereas Druella spent all day making passive-aggressive comments directed at her daughters. Unless, of course, Uncle Cygnus was in the room; then his cousins could be tearing the house down, and she wouldn't even blink at them. She could only focus on trying everything to please her husband and following him around like a puppy.
She obviously loved him. Now, as for whether he loved her back? Sirius wasn't so sure, especially with the rumours of infidelity. Narcissa once commented that she thought he loved the idea of what she was. He loved having a beautiful, loving, and compassionate wife always waiting for him. It was probably true.
Sirius started drumming his fingers on the table impatiently, which earned him a disapproving look from Narcissa. It was her silent sermon that said: Stop drumming, it's inappropriate. So, he crossed his hands in front of his body, rolling his eyes in response to her. Which wasn't a good idea, because immediately afterwards he felt her kick him under the table.
Ugh, Sirius winced in pain. For a skinny girl, she kicked bloody hard. Now he received an angry look from her: Don't roll your eyes, for Christ's sake, you have absolutely no table manners, for Merlin's sake.
His cousin Narcissa was a few years older than him and extremely overprotective of those she loved, and luckily or unluckily, he was one of those people. She was always there telling him what to do and wanting to control every inch of his life. She acted like she was his bloody mother, and obviously, this led to a lot of fights and arguments between them.
But Sirius was, in a way, grateful for her care. If he was still alive in this house, it was thanks to her (he would never admit that out loud, of course). Cissy was probably the only person in this house who cared about him, and it was nice to know that someone was looking out for him, that someone would burn the whole world down for him. They had their differences, which weren't few, but despite everything, he loved her to bits, and she loved him too, and in the end, that's what matters, right?
Following the family's ridiculous rules of etiquette, dinner only began when the head of the house started eating, and only ended when he finished eating. Since they were at Luppiter Palace, they had to wait for both heads of the house to finish eating before they could finally leave. His Uncle Cygnus had already finished, but his father still had two forkfuls left, which seemed to take an eternity to finish, as Orion was more interested in the conversation with his brother-in-law than in finishing his bloody food.
At least Sirius wasn't the only one who hated these dinners and was desperate for it to end. Bellatrix was staring at his father so fixedly with angry eyes that any minute now she was going to burn a hole in his forehead, or set him on fire if he didn't finish eating in the next few minutes. Sirius would definitely be very grateful if she made that happen.
Ah, Bella, how he loved to annoy her. Getting a rise out of her was one of his favourite hobbies. Whenever Sirius was bored in the summer, all he needed was to provoke her a bit, and she'd go mental. Bellatrix was a barrel of gunpowder, and with a spark—boom—in five seconds she'd be yelling, chasing him around the house, and firing spells at him. Narcissa always made her disapproval clear about their behaviour—Sirius's for tormenting his eldest cousin, and Bella's for letting herself be carried away by the younger boy's antics. She would say that sooner or later they would end up killing each other. Ha, he could barely wait—it would be fun.
Narcissa was only holding back on giving more boring sermons about proper etiquette because she was talking quietly with Regulus, Sirius's younger brother. They used to be very close as children, the inseparable pair of boys, but fortunately, Sirius grew up and let go of all the rubbish his family spoke, while Regulus became a petty idiot, a pure-blood arsehole.
Someone was missing from this dinner: his cousin Andromeda. Her name was almost a taboo in that house; it was the family's newest invisible motto: "We don't talk about Andromeda." She had been disowned two years ago for running away and marrying a Muggle-born. Ever since Andy left that house, Sirius had become her number one fan. He remembered the first time he heard Muggle music was with her in her room, with a record she had smuggled in her suitcase. She was She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named; it was as if she had never existed. Not even her own sisters dared to make any comment or reference to her. Andromeda definitely caused a stir in the family, to say the least, and that's why Sirius adored her.
The sound of a chair scraping interrupted Sirius's thoughts. It was his father, who had finally finished eating and was getting up. He gave a quick announcement that dinner was over and that everyone could now withdraw to their quarters. Thank Merlin, Sirius thought.
Everyone left the room towards their designated bedrooms without saying a word to each other. Ah, truly the Christmas spirit in the Black family was contagious—so much happiness, love, kindness, and family togetherness. Sarcasm, obviously. He almost laughed at the thought—more opposite of reality was impossible.
This was the Noble House of Black. Well, at least from Sirius Black's point of view.