Bella’s engagement dinner
Sirius tugged on the collar of his dress robes, adjusting the heavy fabric. He could hear the sounds of his cousins arriving downstairs, signifying that he would be forced to leave his room soon to greet them.
While he enjoyed seeing Cissy and Andy, the same could not be said of the rest of their family. Even though he would never admit it to anyone but his brother, Sirius found his aunt Druella and Uncle Cygnus insufferable. Not to mention the reason this whole dinner was being held in the first place: Bella’s engagement to her equally deranged fiancé, Rudolphus.
“Sirius! Get down here!” His mother’s voice hissed from the bottom of the stairwell.
“Coming mother!” Sirius sighed, sparing one last glance in the mirror before making his way down the stairs.
Regulus was standing at the door already, dutifully ready to greet their guests. Sirius took his position by Regulus and behind his parents, straightening his posture. Honestly, it was all a bit ridiculous. He’d known these people since he was in diapers, and his mother still insisted they had to wear silk robes and shake hands every time they came over.
“Hello Wallaburga, Orion.” His Uncle Cygnus said, nodding his head slightly. His father reciprocated the reserved greeting, barely acknowledging him. Sirius didn’t understand how they were brothers, he couldn’t imagine growing that indifferent towards Regulus.
His Aunt Druella followed, tailed by Andy and Cissy. Lastly, Bella stood in the entrance of their home, fingers digging into Rudolphus Lestrange’s arm. His hair was slicked back, and his eyes were so dark they almost appeared black.
“Hello, Mr and Mrs. Black. It is an honor to meet you.”
His smile was so eerily reminiscent of Bella’s own, in the way that it didn’t quite reach his eyes. Maybe it was this, or the uneasy look in Cissy and Andy’s eyes that made Sirius’ skin crawl.
His mother ushered everyone to the formal dining room. Sirius hung back, as did Andy and Cissy.
“He’s awful!” Andy whispered, turning to Sirius.
Cissy nodded, glancing down the hall to make sure no one was listening.
“He’s horrible for Bella. I hear he was a terror at Hogwarts, torturing younger kids.”
Sirius personally thought that made him perfectly suited for Bella, but he knew to keep that particular thought to himself.
Andy scoffed at this. “Yeah, along with your boyfriend, Cissy.”
Cissy reddened, her pale skin turning beet red. “Oh leave it, Lucius is not my boyfriend! Besides, he only hexes mudbloods, whereas Lestrange curses anyone who gets in his way.”
“Don’t use that word! And cursing anyone, especially defenseless first years is wrong.”
It sounded like this was an old argument, with more to the story. However, before Narcissa could respond, Regulus came back down the hallway.
“Will you all hurry up? You’ve left me alone with those two.”
From then, the dinner dragged on exactly as Sirius expected it to. His parents and aunt and uncle discussed political happenings in the ministry, Bella and Rudolphus occasionally chiming in to agree. He spent the better part of the evening making eye contact with Regulus, rolling his eyes and trying to get him to smile. Bella recounting the tale of how her and Rudolphus had met was particularly disturbing, but expected nonetheless. However, there was one abnormality.
His father had been going on a spiel about half breeds being allowed into the Department of Mysteries, leaving Sirius to zone out. It was only when Andy scoffed at his use of the term “half-breed” that his head snapped up.
Regulus reacted in a similar way, eyes darting nervously between Andromeda, Orion, and Cygnus.
“Is there something you’d like to say, Andromeda?”
Sirius recognized his father’s tone, it was a dangerously cold one that he had been on the receiving end of many a time. Still, when he turned his gaze to Andromeda, she was unwaveringly staring Orion in the eye.
Druella laughed nervously, her hand reaching out to grip Andromeda’s arm. “No, no, there is nothing. We are sorry for her insolence, Orion.”
She emphasized the word insolence in a way that let Sirius know, much like the moment with Narcissa earlier, that this was not an isolated incident.
Orion smiled back. “Good.”
Sirius’ eyes never left Andromeda’s face, and when she finally turned towards him, there was a look in her eyes that he couldn’t quite place. She was almost sad.
He had to talk to her alone, he decided.
“Mother, shall I go fetch the gift we prepared for our guests?” Sirius turned to smile politely at his mother.
She looked at him with suspicion at his sudden helpfulness.
“Yes, Sirius. That would be prudent.”
Sirius nodded, glancing at Andy as he was getting up. She heard her excuse herself to go to the restroom behind him.
Once they were a safe distance away, near the bottom of the staircase, Sirius turned on her.
“What is going on with you?” He whispered.
She just sighed shaking her head. “Look Sirius, I know you are inclined to believe everything that our family tells you to.”
She paused thoughtfully, frowning.
“But there are things that they are wrong about, and you’ll come to understand that once you go to Hogwarts, like I did.”
“What things? You’re confusing me.” He was confused, but he had a feeling as to what she was referring to.
“Come on, Sirius. The terms half-blood, mudblood, you can’t think that’s alright. I’m friends with muggle-borns and they are truly just like us.”
His eyes grew wider, registering what Andy was saying. This was exactly the kind of talk that got Uncle Al disowned. He subconsciously glanced down the hall, his discomfort growing.
She took a deep breath, lowering her voice. “Look, all I’m asking is that when you go to school next week, keep an open mind. Don’t become like Bella or- or Cissy.”
Don’t become like Bella didn’t even need to be said, he’d already planned on that much himself. But Cissy was alright. Sure, he wasn’t as close to her as he was to Andy, but she was kind at times and protective of him.
“Or Cissy?”
“You heard, earlier. She’s friends with Lestrange and Malfoy’s lot, the kind that go around cursing people just because of their blood.”
“That’s horrible.” Sirius frowned. He couldn’t imagine his cousin being alright with all this.
The sounds of chairs scraping on the cold marble floors of the dining room interrupted his thoughts.
“You had best go and get that gift.” Andy patted him on his shoulder before turning and starting down the hallway, leaving him more lost than before.