Rise of House Black

Parties are the social circle’s lifeblood, knowing when to host a party for the masses versus a family affair is a good skill to start your young heir or heiress out with and sometimes depending on the age of your children others who are looking to marry into a noble house. Knowing how to handle one’s social calendar is a skill that many nobles acquire at a young age and refine as they get older. It is never too soon to start your heir or heiress on learning this skill.

----Excerpt from Witches,Wizards and Whatnot by Melda White---

Hadrian had a busy month as tomorrow July started. He knew he had his yearly update checkup in the first few days. After that he was excited to visit Castle Black to get his own heirloom and finally they were going to have the party to celebrate his and Regulus’ birthday. It was going to be a busy month but he was living for it. He was happy to see that he was going to be busy and kept occupied for most of the month. It was never fun to see a nearly empty calendar when you were used to being so active.

So Hadrian set about seeing when his healer could come over for the check up. He owl’d her to see which day was best for her. He might only be 7 years old but he wanted to learn how to handle his own schedule as efficiently as possible. Hadrian could tell it would be better in the long run knowing how to schedule his time.

A few days later since it was the summer for Hogwarts he had time to spend with his cousins. so Hadrian was being very careful how his time was scheduled. He knew he had tea with the girls soon and didn't want to move it for anything. So while he knew his check up was the next day he wondered when he would be going back to Castle Black to take a walk through the Vault. He knew that Lord Black was trying to make sure that his father would not be able to get to them. It made Hadrian wonder if he should put off getting his heirloom. So it took time for Hadrian to settle down enough to work on his schedule.

It seemed that he would have tea with the Daughters of House Black here at Grimmauld Place today around 3pm as they had other activities that they had to attend to. He knew that Regulus had lessons with his private tutor for learning how to fight with a staff and Sirius was going to be visiting Heir Potter at the same time so he would get the time to talk with the three sisters alone. He enjoyed being able to talk with the older young ladies of house Black and he would ask Bella if she was doing better now about her feelings towards Sirius. He didn’t like that she had been so venomous towards him and left him crying when Sirius had been looking forward to her return from school so they could celebrate.

While Hadrian could tell something had been off about Bella, it seemed that there was still a bit of a rift between Bella and Sirius for now and he hoped to figure out how to mend it between them if he could. He knew Sirius could be stubborn but he hoped with a little talking and brotherly needling he could get him to call a truce at least and it would even out to a better relationship between the two cousins. He just wanted them to be closer than they were now since he had a feeling they were going to need it.

Shaking his head Hadrian began to write out his day, Getting to the time he normally blocked out for Lessons he knew they had the day off as Aunt Lucretia had something to do today he wrote in only a bit of studying due to his Exam going to be done in roughly the same time. He had a feeling that Aunt Lucretia was giving them the day off so he would not fall behind. He didn’t mind and while Sirius used it as a day to go hang out with Heir Potter and Regulus worked on some techniques he was struggling with He would take the time to work on some of the lessons he knew he was weak on, mainly his rune recognition. He wanted to get better at the runes he recognized even if he would not be able to study them formally until third year in Hogwarts.

He noted down his tea with his cousins and smiled as he thought about what that would be like and made sure to block out extra time in case they stayed later than normal since it was the summer. He wrote in time for his Occlumency meditation a few times throughout the day so that he could begin to work on organizing his thoughts better.

As he finished his schedule for the day and was waiting for it to dry he noticed the time and stood up. He had breakfast to get to now and to hand his schedule to his father. He knew the other two were just going to block everything for their personal pursuits but this also allowed Orion to see when he could call the boys to him and not interrupt tutors or studying, especially meditation blocks. Hadrian was glad they had started this at the beginning of the year. He had a few free periods that would allow for just down time or busy work to be filled in. He always tried to keep that through the day so that he could have time to spend or be called to have a meeting.

He took up the schedule after a moment. He knew that once he had access to a wand this would have a quick little spell to cut out the wait time. So carefully Hadrian took his parchment and made his way to the breakfast table. He saw Orion sitting there already and greeted him first.

"Good morning father, I have my schedule for the start of the week," he stated while handing over his schedule. He had gone through Wednesday which was the last day he had made solid plans for this far into the week.

"Good I see you have a busy start to the week and left the rest of the week open,” Orion said as he looked over the parchment. “I will have to see what your brothers are up to this week and we can see when the best time to visit Castle Black, I also think we should have a meeting now that you are 7 years old to talk about something I need to share with you,. Maybe after you’re tea with the girls?” Orion said as he noted the free time between tea and dinner.

“That would be manageable,” Hadrian said as he took his seat as he noticed his brothers coming to the table.

“Good morning Father,” Regulus and Sirius said as they handed in their schedules to Orion. He took the time to see where the openings were for each boy and shuffled to Hadrian's again and summoned a quill.

"I will be taking Hadrian to Castle Black this Friday and after that we have an appointment that will keep us out until dinner maybe later, so your Aunt Lucretia will be staying with you boys, heir Potter will be allowed to visit while I am out but best behaviors Sirius, " Orion warned as he watched the boys nod.

"Good I will let you know if there are any meetings for either of you," Orion stated to his sons then nodded for them to eat.

Hadrian was curious as he began to eat what else was going to happen on Friday after the trip to the vault at Castle Black.

Hadrian ate at a hurried pace knowing he wanted to be waiting for Healer Talpin so as to get the check up out of the way for his studies and free time before the daughters of House Black arrived.

Orion watched as Hadrian started to eat slightly more rushed. He took a deep breath and shook his head knowing what was going on and that Hadrian would be trying to make his way to the Floo Room. As he watched all his sons he felt a sense of pride that they all seemed to be taking care of things themselves easily and with the understanding that if they needed help he was there for them.

“I hope you have a good check up Hadrian,” Orion said as he saw the boy finish his plate.

“Thanks Father, I will have her talk to you before she leaves today,” Hadrian said as he left the room and went to wait for the healer. It was not long after Hadrian settled in that the floo alerted him to someone wishing to gain entry. He smiled as he moved to stand and opened the floo. He watched as Healer Talpin stepped out and smiled back at him.

“Hello there Hadrian, ready for your check up?” she asked as she moved to the side as they always used the sun room off the floo room.

“Of course, I can’t wait to hear how I am doing,” Hadrian said as he ran a hand down his outfit. He had opted to wear a nice dark blue button up shirt and a pair of black pants that would be easy to move in. He was dressed casually but as one would believe an heir to an ancient and noble house would on a day off and away from the eyes of the public.

“Well let’s get settled and get your check up out of the way and then we can talk for a bit,” Healer Talpin said nodding as Hadrian sat down on the same couch as he had the first time he had meet the Healer.

It was quick to run the routine diagnostic charms which told the Healer that he was in good physical health, that he was perfectly healthy and had all his boosters thus far. So it was then that Healer Talpin started to use other charms to get the information she was looking for as she talked with Hadrian.

“Hadrian anything new happen in the last year?” she asked as she moved her wand in a few patterns that Hadrian had become use to as the feel of the magic settled on him like a gentle blanket.

“I only remember that Bella acted strange around Yuel last year but has seemed to be better for the most part since then, It was like her personality changed completely in two months,” he said pausing as he felt the magic release.

“Oh Dear, really now?” the Healer said as she worried that someone was using spells on a minor that were best left forgotten.

“Yeah but I kept writing her during the school year and she seems to be back to normal, maybe she was just having a bad day?” Hadrian mused as he sat there waiting to feel the next spell settle and check.

Healer Talpin nodded as she made her movements to check his magical core. She had taken a power reading now she was checking to see how healthy it was and as the magic settled it pulsed green around Hadrian.

“How has Vasuki been helping you since you found him?” she asked knowing that having a familiar this young would only grow his magic more rapidly. So knowing if there was anything new or strange going on would be a first sign that time with the familiar needed to be regulated.

“I have been able to sleep much better knowing he is there for me, My magic isn’t jumping beneath my skin now looking for a way out,” Hadrian said not realizing he was saying that Vasuki was keeping his magic calm and possibly even siphoning off the excess to keep him safe.

“Since the incident where I might have asked him to get between Bella and the boy she brought home that yule, I have been learning more about his species and trying to keep him busy so that he doesn’t get bored. I try to keep him included in the conversations I have every day translating between Sirius, Regulus, Vasuki and myself. It leads to the best conversations I think and some of the more thoughtful conversations we all have after lessons.” Hadrian said smiling at the Healer.

“Well that’s good to hear then, I hope that whatever traditions that House Black uses will continue to help you moving forward.” Healer Talpin said as she smiled.

“Well the good news is that I get to say you are perfectly healthy, I will still talk to Lord Black before I leave but you are good to continue your daily activities,” she said as she put her wand away and smiled at the happy seven year old that was jumping up and asking her to follow him.

Healer Talpin smiled as she followed the path to Lord Black’s study as the young boy knocked and announced her to the Lord before being dismissed to go about readying for his next appointment.

The Healer walked in and nodded to Lord Black as they were once again alone to talk about Hadrian’s health.

“How is he doing?” Orion asked as he motioned for her to sit.

Carefully taking the offered seat Healer Talpin took a moment to produce all the scrolls from the readings.

“He is in good physical health as this reading stated, and his mental health is proper for a young boy of his age and status, no mental instability or trauma. His magical health is the place I find we get a little more information, His core is still larger than average, but with the addition of the familiar it is both a good and bad thing, it is good in the way that it has stabilized his magic but bad in the way that he will no longer have bouts of accidental magic unless truly upset or distraught,” The healer explained as she took a deep breath.

“So we need to monitor the time he spends with Vasuki?” Orion asked as he was concerned about that.

“I would say limit the time between them, physical touch should be limited at least until he receives his letter then he can have unrestricted contact, It will give his magic a chance to alert Hogwarts that he is a magically ready child, We won’t know until he turns 11 if his name is down in the book of admittance.” the healer said as she looked at Lord Black.

“I see, thank you for your concern, I will talk with Hadrian about it later this evening so that he can explain it to his familiar, he is a protective serpent though so it might take time,” he mused as he shook his head and stood up.

“Thank you for coming to check on Hadrian,” Orion said as he then offered the Healer a hand to stand.

“I am just very grateful that you trust me with his health Lord Black, He is going to be a very special boy in the future I can tell,” the Healer said as she took the hand and stood. “I should be going back to the hospital now, I will see you if anything should arise or in a year which ever comes first,”Healer Talpin stated as she began to walk back to the Floo room with Lord Black’s escort.

While the adults had been talking Hadrian had been getting ready for the Daughters of House Black to arrive. He had changed into a new shirt that was still the sapphire color. He just did not want to have a wrinkled shirt for the afternoon tea. He was nervous as he thought about his cousins and how they would fuss over him turning 7 years old. He didn’t really understand why he had to be fussed over but he knew it would be a trip to Castle Black soon enough. He wondered what he would find as his heirloom that would be his from now on to care for and appreciate.

As he was lost in thought he heard Kreature come to warn him that he had about a half hour before the Daughters would arrive. He nodded and went to the Floo Room for the second time today and waited for his cousins to arrive. He could not wait to catch up with them and see how they were doing at Hogwarts.

Hadrian was excited to see them. So when the floo fire flared up and the three Daughters of House Black walked out Hadrian smiled and bowed to them.

“Welcome to Grimmauld Place, Daughters of House Black,” Hadrian said as a proper young heir. He watched as Bellatrix smiled and rolled her eyes, Narcissa nodded in acceptance and Andromeda smiled at Hadrian.

“We are welcomed Heir Hadrian Black, Thank you for inviting us for Tea today,” Said Bellatrix as she moved closer to Hadrian.

“We shall go to the sunroom, where Kreature has set up the tea service,” Hadrian said, offering his arm to Bellatrix who nodded and took the offered arm and led the way to the sun room.

Now that the formalities were over with and they were all seated around the tea service Hadriand smiled at the girls.

“Thank you for the practice, I haven’t enough acquaintances to invite over and have Tea. It would be very much more stilted then what we just went through,” he said with a small downturn of his lips.

“Anything for you little cousin,” said Andromeda.

“We don’t mind being helpful in your learning, we use to all have tea together and have similar interactions until we really got a handle on the social calendar,” Narcissa said.

“And It’s only right that a member of House Black see’s the imperfections and only perfection is shown to the social circles,” Bellatrix added as she watched Hadrian.

“I see, Thank you for your wisdom, Shall I pour the tea?” Hadrian asked knowing that as host it was his duty.

“That would be most delightful, let us see what tea you picked then cousin,” Bellatrix said smiling at him.

Hadrian smiled as he picked up the tea pot and poured out a peppermint tea for Bellatrix, he paused and tapped the lid with a finger and then went to pour Andromeda a light herbal tea. He tapped the lid once more and poured Narcissa a Rose and Jasmine tea.

“I will say that you do know your guests quiet well Heir Black,” Bellatrix said as she noticed how he made sure that each daughter got her favorite.

“Well done Hadrian,” Narcissa said smiling at him as she sipped the tea she had received.

“Quite delightful,” Andromeda said as she sipped her tea.

“Where did you find such a wonderful tea set?” Bellatrix asked.

“It was one that I found that could hold up to 10 different teas within it, I just had to set how many I needed and tap it to cycle through, I thought it would be a good investment as I wish to keep having tea with all of you and don’t want you to miss out on your favorite teas,” Hadrian said cleverly. He could host quite well when time came it seemed and the Daughters of House Black were happy to see one of their cousins interested in the time it took to be a good tea host.

Hadrian smiled as he saw them enjoying the tea and snacks.

“So How was your school year this time?” He asked and the girls began to respond.

“New students were so little and cute,” came from Narcissa

“Classes are getting harder, I hope that I passed enough O.W.Ls to get into the classes I wanted next year,” Andromeda said as she took a deep breath.

“I am hoping for Head Girl Next year,” Bella said as she took a sip of tea and a bit of a tea cake.

The hour went on with little words saying about time at Hogwarts and their hopes for the future.

“I do Miss the time we had together before you all went to school, Holidays are just not nearly enough time to catch up, and Summers are so busy with social calendars and homework for the students.” Hadrian said lamenting a bit.

“Maybe we can spend a bit of time over here from time to time, Just keep us apprised of free time for you and we will work around it so we can really reconnect,” Narcissa said as her sisters nodded in agreement.

“This was a pleasant afternoon and helping you with your social skills would be a better use of our time after our school work,” Bellatrix said as she smiled at Hadrian.

“I do agree, Maybe we can give Aunt Lucretia a break and help with their studies possibly? I know that Narcissa is the best at dancing and etiquette, Andromeda is pretty good at laws and the houses, and I am good conversations and reading about various subjects related to travel and Language.” Bella said.

“That would be nice to spend time with you three, I just don’t know how Sirius would accept this but I would take the lessons you have to offer, Maybe let Sirius go study with Heir Potter during that time?” he offered an alternative due to the rift between Bellatrix and Sirius.

“That does seem like a good idea, let him grow his friendship with Heir potter and you and Regulus get a chance to learn something new that he probably already knows,” Andromeda says as she sees how Narcissa smiled and could see the youngest already planning what she would share with the two younger heirs of House Black.

“But It does seem that our time is almost over for tea today, and father did want us home for dinner,” Bellatrix said, disappointment clear in her voice.

“Well then let me escort each of you back to the Floo room,” Hadrian said as he carefully stood and offered an arm to Bella first as she was the oldest daughter right now.

“That would be acceptable,” Bellatrix said as she stood and took Hadrian’s arm.

Hadrian walked each one to the Floo room then walked over and took a pinch of the two way powder. He then carefully had the daughters stand back as he called out. “Black Star Gaze,” he said, calling out the home calling of the Daughters home. He bowed and motioned for them to take their leave.

“Thank you for joining me today,” he said as he saw the girls nod at him.

“It was our pleasure, we will have to schedule our next meeting soon,” Narcissa said as she stepped forward. Hadrian shook his head and held his hand out to Bella.

“I wish you a safe travel,” He said as he helped her to the Floo and she walked through it to the other side to wait for her sisters. He then helped Andromeda who kissed his cheek.

“Tea was lovely, Keep striving for perfection with everything you do,” Andromeda said as she stepped into the Floo and appeared on the other side.

“It was a lovely afternoon, please keep studying, I can only see greatness for you in the future” Narcissa said as she also kissed his cheek then stepped through and closed the floo.

Hadrian smiled then went to find his father to see what he had to say to him.