Chapter 2
‘Cheers, more ugly jewelry’ Sirius thought to himself as he sat to the side of the parlor opening up his birthday presents, taking careful notes to he could write some insincere thank you notes later on. Freshly 13, his parents had thrown an outrageously large birthday party for him to announce not only that he was one of the strongest pureblood heirs of their generation but also that he had presented as a bearer. This was indeed their way of announcing that they’d be selling his hand in marriage to the highest bidder rather than celebrating him in any way, shape or form.
The only people left in the parlor where the party was held with him were Reggie, sitting in the corner with a book, and his Auntie Lucretia, who had been invited to the party but pointedly told not to bring her husband. He figured the only reason she obliged was to be able to say Happy Birthday to Sirius; she’d always been quite kind to him.
“Your uncle Alphard had received a pair almost as hideous on his 16th birthday,” she said suddenly.
Sirius looked up just as she took another sip of the expensive elven wine his mother had been serving all afternoon.
“These are the ugliest cufflinks I’ve ever seen in my life; no way he was this ugly.”
She snorted softly. “they were probably uglier, but they helped him pay for the downpayment on that tiny box he calls a flat.”
“Downpayment?” Sirius asked. He paused to take notes on the cufflinks given to him by the main branch of the Rosier family. Their taste in jewelry was atrocious, but he was sure they had spent a fortune on them, probably only buying them to show off how many jewels they could gift someone for their 13th birthday.
“Well, how else would you own a home in this economy if you’ve been disowned?” she frowned.
“he had to buy his own home after he was thrown out for not marrying whoever was chosen for him. He always jokes he was able to stay on his feet because he ran with all his ugly jewelry.”
“And that’s how he bought a house?”
“Not a house. A flat in London. In the muggle area, it’s quite nice. It took some time before he found work to sustain his lifestyle without draining his savings. All this ugly jewelry meant he had some money for food, shelter, to further his education so on and so forth, and therefore time.”
Sirius paused; he had never thought about how his uncle survived after being thrown out of the family. He needed money and somewhere to live, and food. He had been 19 when his grandfather tired of his excuses about furthering his studies and said he couldn’t continue until he married. He left a few weeks later. Sirius probably wouldn’t marry whomever his mother chose for him either, and his mother was significantly more unstable than his grandfather. She was quick to resort to anger and violence to get her way, so he suddenly doubted he’d even have the few weeks his uncle got to put his affairs together.
He reflected on the heir lessons he had reluctantly started with his father and grandfather, and a plan began to take shape. He was resolute- he would not allow Walburga to sell him off in a marriage contract. No, he would not marry the person his mother chose for him, lest he end up with someone like Rodolphus. His mother’s choice was as unhinged as Bella's and as angry as Walburga's. If he ended up with someone like that, he’d have no choice but to end his own life. This was not the life he wanted, and he was determined to escape it.
A little plan formed in his mind thanks to this little conversation. One that he’d be thankful for later.
Sirius counted and recounted everything he had stored in shoe boxes and old purses. He had saved every bit of pocket money his parents had given him as much as possible. Wads of cash were handed to him when he’d go hang out with a crowd his parents approved of, hoping Sirius would show off and perhaps pick up the bill. Sirius always made sure to pay for his portion of dinner, even springing for paying for dessert or something for his “friends.” But he was much less social than he let on to his parents, considering how different he was compared to the peers his parents liked him to keep. He had also started carefully hiding away all the random galleons handed to him by drunk family members at stuffy birthday parties.
He took an extra amount out of his spending account each month while at school to squirrel away in a savings box hidden in a hidden compartment in his trunk. The restricted section had so much useful stuff in it. The moment he realized he would never be what his parents wanted him to be, he knew it was only a matter of time before his parents grew so weary of him that they finally cast him out. But he was not one to be defeated. He was determined to build a life for himself, away from the suffocating expectations of his family.
From the moment he could talk, his parents seemed to hate him. He had spent his entire childhood with a slight uneasy feeling in his chest, the feeling you have when you know someone is mad at you or disappointed in you. He’d felt that as long as he could remember. Being sent away to boarding school felt like a blessing; it was a vacation to be away from their cutting words and slaps. It was the worst when his mom took his father’s cane to the back of his legs. He had figured out he was only interested in boys pretty early on, and after admitting it to his friend Dorcas, she had carefully told him his parents would probably end up killing him for that. They wanted him to marry a distant cousin, a female, and more Noble Black babies, and they already hated him when his table manners slipped. Imagine what they’d do when they found out he wouldn’t marry who they wanted. So, when he was 13, he started thinking about putting away some pocket money whenever he could and hid it in the back of his drawers. At 14, he began taking extra spending money out of his joint accounts when he could. Now, at 16, he had enough for 6-8 months of rent + food in New York City before he’d need to find a job. That should be enough to come up with a plan to pursue either writing or art free of his parents if the worst happened. Then he could start selling all the ugly jewelry and watches his family had gifted him for tuition. He really should’ve felt sad making these plans, but instead Sirius felt excitement and a little hope. Maybe he’d find somewhere to belong, somewhere he could be loved too.
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Sirius runs away, takes care of himself in the muggle world for years and in his final year of university he meets professor Lupin
enter mega wealthy Professor Lupin who Sirius falls in love with at first sight
teacher student, sirius falls in love first...remus falls in love harder
sirius finally has someone to take care of him...hot dilf remus is what I'm picturing