House of Black
The room was cold and death like. Though the people in it were alive and well, that could do nothing to stop the coldness that slowly swept through the room. At least that was how Casper felt. The ballroom was decorated in a variety of dark blues and the deepest of purples. Witches and wizards of many different names conversed with one another, each of them dressed in their finest designs and silks, their hands and necks littered in jewels, most of which displayed their family sigil. Prewett, Lestrange, Rosier, Kane, Goyle, and many others. They were purebloods. Each and every one of them. The annual Black Christmas Eve Ball was in full tilt, and the guests sauntered about the grand and imposing room, many of them clutching glasses of champaign and firewhiskey in their hands.
Glancing around the chandelier lit room, Casper made his way to the nearest cocktail table where two of his cousins stood amongst a small group of guests.
“Lestrange”, Casper husked to the darker-haired of the two. “Do me a favor mate. Go check and see where Cillian and Apollo ran off to”. Like the many other men in the room, his cousin was dressed in a finely tailored suit. He had the signature sharp features of a Lestrange, though he wore the look well. His cousin blew out a cloud of smoke from his mouth before speaking. “Don’t worry, Black, they’ve likely holed themselves up in the loo with a few bottles of Felix Felicis. Might’ve even taken a few other lads with them. It’s what we used to do”. His cousin looked from Casper to his brother, Stefan, a young man with lighter brown hair and a handsome face, who smirked in agreement.
“Yes, Rabastan, that is why I would like you and Stefan to go see where Cillian and Apollo ran off to”, Casper repeated, more sternly.
With one last huff, Rabastan dabbed his cigarette out in the ashtray and buttoned his jacket. “Right, come on, Stef, let's go find ‘em”, he sighed to his brother. Stefan downed the remainder of his champaign, and placed the empty glass on a passing tray while simultaneously grabbing a new one. He raised his glass towards Casper in a mock toast before falling into stride beside his brother in the direction of the washrooms.
The two Lestrange brothers, Rabastan and Stefan, were an interesting pair. Stefan was the older of the two, and the more responsible. That didn’t mean he didn’t have his own flare to him. He could charm his way through almost anything and was incredibly sharp witted. This was likely the reason he had ended up in Ravenclaw House at Hogwarts. His brother, Rabastan, who many called Ashton, was two years his junior and more of the wild card, though he remained refined in the way the Lestranges did. He belonged in Slytherin and no one had been surprised when the Sorting Hat had given him that very house all those years ago.
Once the Lestrange brothers had departed, Casper took the last sip of his cocktail and left it on the table, knowing that a round of house-elfs would come through to collect the empty glasses and filled ashtrays. After lighting a cigarette, he made his way through the crowds of purebloods in search of his wife, Allegra, and spotted her standing at the head of a circle of people. She had mid-length dark brown hair that sat just below her shoulders and olive toned skin. She wore a floor length gown of green and silver with a matching shawl draped over her elbows. As Casper walked towards her, he could see her speaking enthusiastically to the guests, confidently leading the conversation. Though Orion and Walburga were head of the Black family and the official party hosts listed on the invitation, it still fell to each of the adult family members to entertain those in attendance.
“Perhaps this time around we should listen to what they have to say” Allegra said with a small smile. “If squibs feel so strongly about their rights as magicless children of the wizarding world, they must have something interesting to say,” she finished. The crowd around her laughed in amusement at her charming wit.
“Oh, Allegra, you always were the joker”, snorted Milicent Nott, a blonde woman with delicate features. She gave a tinkly little laugh. “But honestly dear, why such scum think they’ve the right to incite such trouble and violence is beyond me. They’ve no magic at all, but I’ve heard they’re practically barbaric. I’m not a prejudice woman, but Baxton was on his way into the ministry just the other day when a group of them came up and began harassing him. I don’t want Thomas anywhere near it...”
“I don’t much mind it”, Baxton Nott interjected. “At least they’re making it obvious, so we know exactly who to stay the fuck away from”. This drew several laughs from the circle.
“Honestly”, agreed Barin Yaxley, a rather tall and thin man with graying hair. He held a cigar in one hand and a glass of firewhisky in the other. “Over the years, many of them have applied for jobs at the Ministry and every time you have to send one away, they have an absolute fit. Some even go as far as calling it in to the Prophet, and then we end up in the midst of some bollocks scandal. Complete nutters! It isn't our fault they’re not fit for the job”, he laughed, as if it was the most ludicrous thing he’d ever had to explain.
Allegra spotted Casper lingering just behind the crowd with a frown gracing his features. “Darling, there you are. I was beginning to think you’d wandered off someplace”, she said, extending her arm in invitation. Casper smiled at his wife and went to stand beside her.
“Evening everyone. Nott, Crabbe, Yaxley,” he nodded his head in greeting.
“Casper, my good man. What do you say of all this squib riot nonsense”, Yaxley asked through the smoke from his cigar. From the way he addressed Casper to the rosy tint of his cheeks, Casper could tell he had more than a few glasses of alcohol in him. Casper wasn’t a man people outside the family often addressed so casually. He had a strong confidence that tended to intimate many people.
Casper smiled at the man politely. “Well, Yaxley, I'm under strict order not to discuss such topics at parties. Surely you wouldn’t want to get me in trouble with the Mrs.”
“Oh, nonsense. Tell us what you think, man”, Yaxley laughed, sloshing a good portion of his drink down his front. Casper looked at him with the same polite smile, however Casper knew it now carried just a hint of annoyance. The few seconds of silence must’ve been enough to make Yaxley uncomfortable, even in his drunk state, because he gave a slightly nervous laugh, looking around the group. From the corner of his eye, Casper could see his wife Allegra eyeing him as if warning him not to start a row. But Casper had already wiped the irritation from his face. “I really shouldn’t, but please, carry on. Don’t let me interrupt you”. The atmosphere of the circle relaxed slightly. “If you’ll excuse me, ladies and gentleman, I need to steal my wife from you momentarily”. Smiles were exchanged and as Casper and Allegra stepped away from the circle, he heard someone change the subject of the conversation to one of the new teachers at Hogwarts.
Allegra looked slightly amused. “What’s the matter Casper? I spotted you sending Stefan and Ashton off somewhere. What for”, she asked as she peered up at him.
“Not a problem, love, just checking on things,” he responded in a dull manner while scratching at the top of one of his eyebrows. The movement caused little specks of ash from the cigarette that he still held in his hand to fall to the ground. Casper’s annoyance wasn’t something new to her, or anyone in the family for that matter. Casper wasn’t one to go out of his way to create problems for himself to fix. In fact, he personally would rather have spent the night in his study going over his work instead of helping to host the guests of his elder brother’s Christmas Eve ball. His study gave him the solidarity to think in peace, surrounded by his books which were written by a variety of different scholars. Many of them from the wizarding world and even a few from muggles.
“Well, not to worry, darling. I’m sure the party will be over soon”, she said as she smiled and waved courteously to a small group several paces away.
“Mmm, ‘soon’ couldn’t come soon enough”, said a female voice. Casper and Allegra turned to see Cassiopeia Black, Casper’s younger sister. The top of her blonde hair was intricately pinned behind her head and she wore a finely detailed black dress that contrasted sharply with her fair skin. She wore an annoyed expression, which was normal for any situation she found to be mildly inconvenient. Beside her, stood her husband, Keacilius Chang. He had jet black hair and a slightly olive skin tone, and he wore a suit that complimented his wife’s dress well. He seemed to be in a slightly better mood than Cassiopeia, but then again, he usually was. Cassiopeia could usually be found with an irritated scowl gracing her beautiful features, often spouting her dissatisfaction with non-purebloods. Keacilius’s views didn’t stray too far from his wife’s, though he often displayed a deep fascination with them that Cassiopeia did not. He’d often ponder their origins with family member’s whom would listen, his eye’s holding a glint of excitement at the mystery of what he claimed to be, “one of the more fascinating things out there”.
The two weren’t alone. To their left stood two men, Aries Black and Romulus Zabini. Aries was Casper’s younger brother and the youngest of their siblings. He was of medium height and had brown hair that he wore in a slightly longer, messier style than the other men in the family. Romulus, his husband, was a little taller, with dark skin that greatly complemented the green in his suit. He had dark brown hair that was cropped very short, which only brought further attention to his sharply defined his cheekbones. Aries Black, out of all of Casper’s siblings, was by far the most social and outgoing. However, he also had a knack for pointing out the things that made most people uncomfortable. He differed in many ways from his husband, Romulus. The French wizard was well mannered and carried himself with pride and sophistication. He was the quite type, usually preferring to keep to himself and the people he knew personally.
Aries took a sip from his glass and said, “ah, I couldn’t agree with you more Cassi. Orion always knew how to throw a bore”. He looked at his glass of champagne in thought. “Merlin, even the alcohol has lost all its fun”, he finished, with a whine that made small smiles appear on Romulus and Allegra's faces.
Casper couldn’t help but agree with his younger brother, though he wouldn’t tell Aries that. There wasn’t a need to make Aries’ ego any larger than it already was. “Aries watch your tone; this is not a family event”, Casper reproached, calmly.
“Oh, like they aren't thinking the same thing”, Cassiopeia countered. “I've attended funerals more enjoyable than this,” she said with a disdainful look about the ballroom.
Casper took a quick drag of his cigarette. “And that's where he gets his ill manners from”, he said, pointing at Cassiopeia with the hand that held his cigarette. His sister gave a sarcastic smile in response.
With a slight grin, Keacilius lowered his head to Cassiopeia's ear and mumbled something only she could hear. Whatever he said made Cassiopeia's eyes give a slight role before she lit a cigarette for herself.
A tray of glasses came by the group and Romulus swept one up for himself with a small “thank you”. Casper watched him take small sip before saying, “Well Casper, you do have to agree with your sister in some sense. Just earlier I spotted Ruby Parkinson downing her fifth drink of the night. It seems several guests are taking to alcohol to get through the night”, he joked lightheartedly, a slightly apologetic smile touching his face.
Cassiopeia blew a cloud of smoke. “Would you look at that. Even the pristine agrees with me, brother”. Casper refrained himself from rolling his eyes at their antics. Instead, he took a rather long sip from his drink.
Next to Casper, Allegra slipped her arm through his and said, “Now people, try and be on your best behavior, your sister-in-law is walking over”, she said with an amused smile.
Casper spared a glance behind him, and as his wife had said, Walburga Black was making her way over to their little group. Her brown hair was held in neat curls that fell just above her shoulders. She wore a long black dress with a deep neckline, showcasing the diamond necklace that rested at her neck. Her face was set in its usual feigned smile.
“Cassiopeia dear, I see even at such fine gatherings you still engage in such unlady like habits”, she chided, with a pointed stare at the cigarette between Cassiopeia’s fingers. Casper watched Cassiopeia, and saw her face begin to show a hint of indignation.
“Walburga,” Casper greeted. “What a party you and my brother have thrown this evening”, he said in a false politeness.
She looked to Casper and gave him a glib smile. “Well, I’m glad that at least some of you are enjoying it. Though I can’t say the same for your son and nephew”, she said with a pointed grin. She added the just right amount of faux concern to the set of her eyebrows. “Let’s hope that bottle of theirs comes back relatively full.”
From the corner of his eye, Casper saw the vexation show on Cassiopeia’s face. Casper could guess that her irritation stemmed not only from Walburga’s comments, but from her lack of knowledge about her own son misbehaving under her nose. Keacilius rested a hand on his wife’s lower back and looked at Walburga kindly. “I believe that the boys are at that age, Walburga. They get into their mischief, but they’ll deal with the consequences”, he said.
Taking a sip from her glass, Cassiopeia said, “Yes, Walburga dear”, she said in a slight imitation of Walburga’s own tone. “I’m just happy Apollo’s here celebrating with us tonight”, she looked at her sister-in-law with a small glint in her eye.
For a small moment Walburga’s smirk faltered. It was the unspoken fact that even Aries didn’t often bring up. The elder of Orion and Walburga’s two children, Sirius, had renounced most of his ties to the Black family and their ideology. Walburga recovered quickly, however, straightening her posture and rearranging her perfect mask of insincerity. “Hmm”, she hummed delicately. “My dear cousins, it was lovely as always seeing you. But I’m afraid the rest of the guests need attending to”. She plucked up a glass for herself. “Aries. Romulus. A pleasure, as always”, And with that, Walburga departed into a sea of party-goers.
“Well”, Aries said as he placed a hand on Romulus’s shoulder. “Wasn’t she as lovely as ever”.
♠
The party carried on through the evening, and as it came to an end, Casper watched as guests slowly filed out from the ballroom and left the manor.
Stefan and Rabastan had long since returned, accompanied by Cillian and Apollo, Stefan leading both teenagers over to Casper with a hand on the back of each boy’s neck. Casper, Allegra, Cassiopeia and Keacilius still stood together, along with their children and Stefan. Aries and Romulus had already made their departure, and Rabastan had gone to join the small group of Veela women still present.
As the final guests said their farewells, Casper saw his wife take Cillian’s arm. “Thank you, Stefan. Come over next week and I’ll make your favorite”, she said with a grin.
Stefan nudged Apollo in an irritated Cassiopiea’s direction. “I will gladly take you up on that offer, Allegra”, he said, smirking.
Casper gave Stefan a nod as they turned to make their leave. He knew Stefan would likely get a favor in for himself soon enough.
“Well, if you don't mind, I have to find a drink, and get my drunk brother home”, Stefan said with wink.
“Please do, Stefan, he loves trying to embarrass us”, Cassiopeia sneered. Stefan, already making his way in the direction of Rabastan, turned back to face Cassiopeia. Walking backwards, he said to her, “don’t be hypocritical, Cassi, it never did suit you”. He chuckled to himself and turned to face forwards. Casper cleared his throat to catch the attention of the others. “Right then, I think it’s time we were headed home”, he said.
“Love, I'll fetch Anastasia and meet you there”, Allegra said to him. After a mumbled agreement, Casper turned to Cassiopeia. “See you at the platform, sister”, he said, planting a kiss on her cheek. He shook hands with Keacilius and Apollo, and kissed his wife on the forehead before leaving with Cillian.
The two of them walked through the front doors and down the front courtyard. Among the hedges and vines were statues of various wizards and witches of the Black family, as well as several intricately detailed fountains. They reached the beginning of the drive in silence, and began making their way down the road. Casper clasped a hand over his son’s shoulder.
“The way you were behaving tonight was unacceptable, do you understand, Cillian”, he asked in a measured voice.
“It was a bit of fun, dad. We had to find some way to entertain ourselves during this bloody dull party”, he said with a thinly veiled annoyance. They’d reached the corner of the road, and Casper moved his hand from Cillian’s shoulder to place it firmly around the boy’s upper arm, stopping him in his tracks.
“It was unacceptable. Do you understand me? You are a member of this family, and we have a reputation to uphold. Do I make myself clear”, he asked him. He looked straight into his son’s eyes, and he could tell that Cillian knew it wasn’t the time for another joke. Cillian gave an exasperated shake of his head. “Yes, sir. I understand”.
Casper looked at him for a moment longer. He loosened his grip on Cillian’s arm, but didn’t let go. “Right, good lad. Time to go home. I hope you’ve already packed. Let's try to keep this behavior from following you to Hogwarts”. And with that, they disapparated.