Chapter 9
Chapter 9:
“Stella” a voice made its way into her consciousness.
She opened her eyes and tried to remember what had happened. It didn’t take long for her aching body to remind her.
The small voice had come from Regulus, who helped her sit up and handed her a glass of water.
She looked around the dark room for Sirius. He was sitting leaning against a wall.
Relive flooded her. He was awake, he was going to be ok.
She took the glass even though her arms felt to sour to hold it. The cool water seemed to heal her dry throat.
“thank you” she tried to sound normal but failed entirely. Her voice was way to scratchy and she sounded weak.
“Why don’t you just do what she says?” Regulus’s voice made Stella notice that he was crying. She hadn’t seen the tears in the darkness of the room. He must have heard it all.
“Es tut mir leid Regy, alles wird gut.” She tried to calm him. He just shook his head and left.
Sirius hadn’t talked to Stella since they arrived at Grimmauld place. Stella had blamed it on the curse and thought his voice was gone from the screaming.
As they attended dinner Sirius asked for the bread in a stable voice and Stella realized he must be mad at her.
She understood why Regulus was upset with them, but Sirius why was he mad?
She caught up with him on his way to their room.
“I am glad your voice is ok.” She said hoping she’d been wrong about his mood.
“Yeah whatever” Sirius said with a voice that confirmed her suspicion instantly.
“What is going on?” She asked carefully
“What’s going on is that you did the one thing I asked you not to do and you got hurt.”
“Sirius mother was doing it for to long I was scared.”
“She knows what she is doing. Do you think she would kill the heir to the noble house of black. She is brutal but calculated you know that.”
“I counted the seconds”
“You don’t know anything Stella you just made it all worse”
“Sirius you are not some superhuman, you are not immortal.”
“And you think you helped?”
“Well I made her stop pointing it at you, didn’t I?”
Sirius shook his head and walked away.
It was the day before the Christmas party and with none of the Black Siblings talking the atmosphere was even more tense than usual.
In the night all three of them where lying in bed dreading the next day.
In the morning Walburga walked in and threw Sirius dressing robes on his bed and then walked up to Stella.
This was the one aspect where Stella got more attention from her parents. Her looks.
She gave Stella a dress with a corset and tightened it with the swing of her wand. Stella couldn’t breathe.
“Smile” Walburga ordered.
She tried her best while holding her breath.
Walburga turned around and said “Be downstairs in ten minutes for hair and makeup”
As soon as she left the room Sirius quickly loosened Stella’s corset. She took a big breath in relief.
“Thank you”
“You’re welcome… can we please not fight anymore. I was mad because I don’t want my actions to have consequences on you. I know you where just trying to help.”
“Ja bitte, let’s just try not to upset mother today.”
“Yeah I think that would be for the best, you probably should get going then”
“I don’t even think I can fit threw the door with this ridiculous dress on.”
Sirius just laughed at that.
When Stella came down her mothers make up and hair was just being finished, by the two house elves she had hired just for this event.
Her mother barely looked any different than usual. Stella had never seen her with even just a loose strand of hair or a wrinkle in her dress. She always looked presentable.
The elves took Stella’s long black hair and put it up in an elegant style and aded a tiara.
Her makeup was simple but elegant the red lipstick was a strong contrast to her pale skin.
In the end she was handed a necklace and a pair of earrings.
As she looked in the mirror she barely recognized herself. She looked like a miniature version of her mother. She hated it.
The location for the Black family Christmas Party was at their aunt and uncle Cygnus and Durella’s mansion.
The thing about Black Family Parties is that they are the event of the year. Consisting of ball dances, expensive food and drinks and all the guests are from highly respected pureblood families.
And jet Walburga and Orion where still the most important guests. Because they had had a son who would inherit it all.
For exactly that reason there was a bunch of reporters waiting for them at the entrance.
“Mr. Black how happy are you with your son’s first month at Hogwarts?”
“Mrs. Black would you look into my camera.”
Their parents ignored them and kept walking.
They did not do this because they didn’t care about what the press had to say. They ignored them because that was the way to get all the attention.
Presenting like royalty was what made the Black family interesting, but the Mystery of what goes on behind closed doors was what kept them interesting.
As soon as they stepped foot into the mansion their coats where taken and drinks where handed to them.
Everyone was dressed in their best suits and dresses presenting family heirlooms in form of jewelry.
Only members of the sacred 28 the purest of the wizard families dared to engaged in polite conversation with their parents.
Then the big dance begun. It was an event that the newspapers featured as pictures on their cover every year, since it looked so elegant.
Their parents and their aunt and uncle where in the center of the dance.
Stella danced with Sirius the same dance they had performed since they where five.
Regulus who had usually danced with their cousin Narcissa was now dancing with a pureblood girl from another family, since her cousin was dancing with Lucius Malfoy a man her parents had set her up with.
Stella didn’t like the dress she was wearing but had to admit it looked elegant when she was twirling around. Dancing with Sirius wasn’t to bad either. He made it fun without drawing to much attention.The dance was great compared to what was to come.
The dance was followed by applause from the upper circle which was filled with journalist and people who cared enough about this event to pay a lot of money to watch it.
Then tables flew to the middle of the room and everyone sat at their assigned seat. Cygnus held a speech about purebloods and their importance for the integrity of this event.
Expensive food was served. Stella politely declined most of it and only took a few bites as she was told.
Women should not stuff their faces in front of others. They are supposed to care only about their appearance and finding a man to marry. At least according to her mother.
It wasn’t like she could have eaten much of it anyway with the corset pressing on her stomach.
Once the Alkohol was served the conversations and interviews begun. Neither had anything to do with Stella, since no one cared much to talk to her.
Her brother was the interesting one she was merely decoration.
After a while of sitting around bored, but trying to keep a pleasant look on her face something happened.
People where forming a circle around the Center of the room. Stella stood up to see what was going on. She got up just in time to see Lucius Malfoy get on on knee and pull out a Ring.
“Do you want to marry me?”
Stella realized Narcissa swiftly looking over at her older sister Belatrix who gave her a warning stare, before she looked back at Malfoy.
“Yes”
People applauded while Narcissa let him put on the ring. The Christmas trees in the corner turned golden and people rushed forward to congratulate them.
Stella knew she was expected to do the same.
“Congratulations on the engagement”
Malfoy nodded in a serious manner and Narcissa gave her a weak smile.
The party ended shortly after that and the Black family went to a different room to get there pictures taken.
When they finally got home Stella took of her shoes an dress immediately. The shoes had left her with blisters and her stomach was growling.
Sirius snuck up some food for her and they indulged while gossiping about the events of the night.