vinculum
Orion and Walburga Black die of dragonpox in the new year, almost right after Yule.
Blair laughs at the irony that the once-proud scions of an Ancient and Noble Wizarding House are felled quickly by a common disease.
Sirius takes over the lordship a month later, after an appropriate period of mourning.
-
Sirius takes his oath before the whole Wizengamot, with Regulus and Blair as his witnesses. He is imposing in his traditional robes with the Black family crest, towering over almost everyone else at six feet. His long black hair is tied back, lending a more serious cast to his angular features. His mouth sets into a grim, determined line. In sum, he looks every inch the venerable lord.
Sirius vows before all and sundry to take on the mantle of Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black, to uphold its values, to protect all its members, and to maintain an allegiance to the magic that flows through their veins.
After he solemnly intones, “So mote it be,” Blair feels a shiver run through her. The three of them are enveloped in a burst of light, just as when Blair and Regulus take the mark, but this time, it is a comfortable one. Sirius power runs through them briefly. It is fierce, just as ardent as Sirius’s own devotion to his family.
She knows that wherever they are, Druella, Cygnus, Bella, Cissa, Meda, and maybe even her unborn child feel this, too, albeit to a lesser extent.
The magic stills.
Sirius bows regally to the rest of the Wizengamot, with Regulus and Blair following suit.
-
Later, in the privacy of the Black Manor, Sirius thanks the both of them. He describes to them that the family magic felt so right when he took on the mantle, that even if he has never felt incomplete before, it is only now, strangely, that he feels whole.
Lastly, Sirius thanks her for making him stay, and Blair shudders to think of a future where Sirius leaves, where Regulus has to struggle alone as heir, where she is sold off to marry the highest bidder. She is thankful that this future this never comes to pass.
This time, Sirius makes another vow - one to her and Reg, that he will do what it takes to protect them at all costs.
-
Upon finding out that the Dark Lord cast a Cruciatus at Blair, Sirius is incensed, and wants to immediately strike.
Blair and Regulus quell the Gryffindor tendencies of their brother and new head of house.
Instead, they concoct a plan for Sirius to pay his respects to Lord Voldemort, so that Blair is back in his good graces.
Before the designated day, their normally fearless brother is tense. Out of the three of them, he is still the least adept at Occlumency, guileless Gryffindor that he is. Blair reassures him that if worst comes to worst, he can draw on her and Reg’s magic. He is the Black Lord, after all, and he has the power and right to do so.
When they finally enter the Malfoy Manor, Lord Voldemort greets them with a cold laugh. “Ah, finally,” he exclaims. “I have the pleasure of meeting the elusive new Black Lord.”
Sirius bows very low, so that no one sees the tension in his jaw. “My lord.”
Lord Voldemort looks at him shrewdly. “What brings you here, Lord Black?”
“I have come to pay my respects to you, my lord, and to assure you of the loyalty of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black.”
“How about you, Lord Black? To whom are you loyal?”
“I am loyal to the House of Black and all the values it upholds,” Sirius replies flatly.
“The values the House of Black upholds are in line with yours, my lord,” Regulus interjects from the side. Blair wonders if this is how it felt for Orion and Walburga when they were the ones watching the twins.
“Silence,” Voldemort says venomously. “I did not ask for your input, Regulus.” He turns back to Sirius. “Tell me Sirius, if it comes between myself and your mudblood and blood traitor friends, whom will you choose?”
Blair knows Sirius’s patience is stretched thin. He is deeply loyal, her brother, and he views his closest friends as family almost as much as he does the twins. She feels him silently drawing on her and Reg’s magic.
Sirius takes a deep breath. “I swear, my lord, I will protect all that we have built.”
Blair notes that his answer is an obfuscation, but ultimately, Lord Voldemort is satisfied.
“Very well then,” the Dark Lord replies. “Make sure to dispatch your family’s tithes.”
He turns to Regulus and Blair and sends them a glacial smile. “The House of Black has brought me nothing but joy.”
The siblings collapse in relief when they arrive home. Blair is one of the Dark Lord’s favored ones once more.
-
That night, the siblings get drunk on wine they find in the Manor’s cellars. While sprawled on the floor of the ballroom, Sirius regales them with stories of the Marauders’ escapades during the full moon, Regulus tells them of his assignations with deceptively proper Slytherin girls, and Blair reveals her affair with Charles Zabini.
They burn Walburga and Orion’s more offensive correspondence in the ballroom’s sizable fireplace, and cry over their parents just a little.
They end up asleep on conjured blankets on the balcony, illuminated by the stars that they are named after.