April 4th, part 2
Sirius Black had a plan. Well, he had multiple plans. He was first going to kill the rat and leave him transformed into a human as a gift outside of Dumbledores office, but the cat convinced him otherwise. The cat wanted murder as well but he wanted Sirius free more. And since the cat was currently Sirius’s closest friend (a truly depressing statement), Sirius had to listen to him.
He had it all planned out: he would make Peter confess, then he would stroll up to his godson and buy him anything he wanted, muggle or wizard, he didn’t mind. Getting Peter to confess was horrifyingly easy. He just swiped some veritaserum from whoever was the new potions professor and that was that.
The rest…
He spotted Harry. He was James.
I’m sorry James.
My Fault.
Let’s switch secret keepers.
Don’t tell Remus.
James.
James.
James.
Jam-
No. He can not spiral right now. He has to get Peter to confess. He tried as hard as possible to avoid Harry. He moved his attention to somewhere else, anything else… there. The blonde boy at the Slytherin table had to be Lucius Malfoy’s son. Cissy’s son.
Cissy, do you miss Andy?
Hush Siri, don’t say her name.
Would you miss me if I became a disgrace like her?
You won’t Siri, so I needn’t not worry.
Cissy’s son. Cissy was like Reggie, she may not always agree with the nobility, but she sure as hell can play their game.
Reggie.
Reg.
Baby brother.
Brother.
James!
Stop. Deep breath.
Getting Peter to confess was easy. He knew it would be, the man never had a spine.
Slipping out was just as easy. He figured the students would cause a scene. The professors wouldn’t be thinking clearly, not after they knew the truth about Lil- not after the knew the truth.
He couldn’t see Remus. He was not ready for that. He certainly was not ready to face McGonagall either. He ran out of Hogwarts as a dog form then apparated once he got to Hogsmede. He had been to Malfoy Manor before. His father used to take him as part of his heir training. Sirius laughed, his mother visited him in Azkaban. She remade him heir for ‘honoring their family name’. She knelt real close to him and told him she knew he was innocent, but she would rather have all their money die with him than be given to Cissy and the Malfoy’s.
Two weeks later, the guards told him his mother died. He had never been happier.
He stood outside Malfoy Manor. He was heir after all-
Wait.
His parents were dead, he was not the heir. He was Lord Black.
Fuck him.
A house elf answered the door, he expected nothing less.
He told the elf to get her mistress. He didn’t care about Malfoy enough to see him too. The elf brought him to a sitting room. It was dark but modern, no doubt Cissy’s work. He stood in the middle of the room, he was about to sit down when
“Don’t. The stains would be impossible to remove.” Cissy was there, he would’ve smiled if he didn’t remember how horrid she is.
“I don’t suppose you have a shower then?” His voice was like sandpaper to his ears. He hated it. Hated his voice, hated his clothes, hated his skin, hated that he looked half dead, hated his life, hated his-
“Like we would give that out to vermin like you Black.” Oh good. Lucius was here. Poor man was such a drag. Not handsome or charming. Not smart or worldly. Just a blindingly pale blob.
“That’s Lord Black to you Lucius. I’m not sure if you get such high-profile information so far down in the sacred twenty-eight, but my title has been reinstated. Now are you going to repeat the mistakes of your ancestors and disgrace my family’s name or have you lot finally learned your lesson?” He made sure to keep eye contact. His voice was rough, but it worked for this. He spent a lot of time in Azkaban reliving his childhood memories. He spent day after day forcibly learning how his parents dealt with certain situations. He spent years following his father for ‘heir training’. He watched Reggie play the game perfectly. He watched Cissy play the game like second nature. He spent the last twelve years relearning it.
Malfoy backed off. Good. Maybe he’s not so stupid after all.
“Now, this is family business and no spouse is deemed fit to join until I declare so, so you may excuse yourself.” His voice was flat, his face was blank with slight disgust, just like his mother’s. People always said he looked like her anyways.
“You finally learned.” Cissy said. She sat down on a couch. “My Lord.” She bowed her head and gestured for him to sit on the couch opposite of her.
“I didn’t know where else to go.” Sirius said, honestly.
“Andromeda would have been my first guess.” There was no emotion in her voice. Sirius knew that the less emotion she showed, the more she was feeling.
“I needed someone more involved in the world. Your son goes to Hogwarts, I would’ve thought you would send him to Beauxbatons.” Sirius himself almost went to the French school. They lived in France for the first five years of his life and traveled there regularly until he went to school.
“Draco likes it there. He tries to hide it but I know he likes McGonagall and Flitwick, even Dumbledore.” Cissy sighs.
When Sirius was still part of the family, the two of them would sit together and pretend they weren’t Blacks. They would come up with random people to marry that weren’t purebloods, but still rich and agreeable with their different ideas. For the little time they had, it didn’t matter that Cissy hated muggleborns or that Sirius was a blood traitor. They were just two cousins, imagining if their lives were better.
“I can’t imagine your husband agrees with that.”
“Lucius doesn’t know. He listens to Dracos words, but his words only. He does not pay attention to his feelings or to his body language.” Cissy said. Cissy excelled at not saying a word but knowing everything about everyone around her. If she wasn’t such a blood supremacist, they would probably make a good team.
“Have you taught Draco your skills?” Does he know the game too?
“No. He is not patient enough for it. He is too headstrong and stubborn. Like someone else I know.” Her lips barely curved upwards and her tone never changed. An outsider would never know she was teasing him in a playful manner, but Sirius knew. He knew.
“Watch out for him, it could get him in a lot of trouble.”
Trouble follows you everywhere, pads.
Shut it prongs, you’re just as bad.
Prongs.
Prongs.
James.
James!
Suddenly Cissy was next to him, her hand on his shoulder.
“I’ll have the elf fix up your room and buy clothes for you. You will eat breakfast and lunch with me, then Lucius will join us for dinner. Please take as long as you want to shower.” She was not looking at him, she kept her gaze straight ahead. He smiled at her anyways.
Would you miss me if I became a disgrace like her?
“Did you miss me?” He can’t help it. He’s spent too much time alone.
“I miss all of you.”
Andy.
Bella.
Cissy.
Siri.
Reggie.
Inseparable until Hogwarts. Andy left. Bella couldn’t handle being without her. Bella turned her grief into anger for everyone below her. Until Voldemort. Siri left. Cissy hid herself away. Reggie was never meant to be left alone. Reggie was never meant to be the heir.
“So do I.”