Shades of Silver and Black

SIRIUS BLACK LEVELLED A GREY GAZE around the entirety of the ballroom with boredom. The strong walls of the Yaxley Manor were constructed with grey stones, mosaics of humble rocks and palleted with velvet curtains of shades of silver and black that covered the tall, glass windows from the prying eyes of outsiders.

In the grand entranceway, to greet the visitors; was the most monumental of chandeliers, the girth of a giant evergreen alight with flame. It invited the eye upward by virtue of its sparkle as it caught the light, acting as a miniature sun, and even Sirius had felt mesmerised by the chandelier whose origin from a time of opulence and emotional indifference, now shone its beauty for all in the ballroom, beckoning them to dance to the Siren-like sonnets that serenaded the background.

The old, oak wood floors that he had planted his dragon-hide boots on was a rainbow of browns, being shaped by generations of the soles of the Yaxley family along with the amalgamation of guests that they invited to their home.

There were tables as golden as daylight pushed against the walls. Food floated on pure silver platters as good as any in Olympus, the symphonies of their tangling scents spoke like a gentle message to Sirius' soul. It reminded him that he was hungry, prompting him to reach for another finger food. The one he grabbed was delicately decorated on a spoon, stacked with a sponge of sorts, a dollop of cream and a sprinkle of green. Sirius was unaware of what it was called but it tasted like little drops of heaven.

"Is that your forth spoon or fifth?" James inquired amusedly, standing beside him with his back against the stone wall, nearly as bored as him.

"Sixth, actually," Sirius corrected unapologetically with a grin.

Like Sirius, James had been dragged to attend the Yaxley ball by his mother, Dorea, after much pleading and whining. The Blacks had been obliged to make an appearance, with the two families running in the same social circles and being dark-aligned. There was also the fact that Lord Henrik Yaxley was Regulus' godfather while his son and heir, Dennis, was close friends with Sirius' older sister, Lyra.

Meanwhile, although the House of Potter was strictly neutral, the current Lady Yaxley had a strong friendship with James' mum ever since their Hogwarts days and so, both James and Lord Potter had been forced to be present at the event with Lord Potter apparently needing more compelling than James, if Lady Potter's muttering of how she was felt like she was raising two children was anything to go by. Sirius loved the Potters.

He was delighted to have James' company until the two of them had been given stern warnings by both their mothers to not pull any pranks or flare anyone's temper. Now, Sirius was more than alright with disobeying his mother, his sister would bail him out should he cause himself any real trouble, but Dorea Potter was scarier than a dragon, and that was putting it mildly. So, Sirius refrained from doing anything that would be termed as 'unruly'.

None of his cousins or siblings had bothered to stick around to entertain him either, each heading off their separate way. Bellatrix had all but disappeared --Sirius had to get her to teach him how she did that-- while Andromeda rushed over to the bathroom instantly --probably trying to jump out of the window, he knew she hated these galas almost as much as he did-- and Narcissa had been enclosed by her giggling gaggle of friends before he could even call out her name.

Regulus had vowed to stick beside him but then, Amal Shafiq had flashed a smile in his direction and waved him over towards herself and Bartemius Crouch Jr. and every promise he had made disappeared into the wind. He was now laughing with them and Sirius fought a smile at that sight.

At least somebody was having fun, he thought in his mind before adding, Well, two somebodies considering Lyra was always in her element during events.

His eyes searched for the royal blue, sweetheart neckline dress paired with a pair of diamond heels and the finest pearls that money could buy-attire that he had seen her earlier in, landing on her figure immediately.

She was smiling, from what he could see, at something that Lucius Malfoy --fondly dubbed as the blond peacock between himself, Regulus and James-- was saying. Her friends circled her and Sirius could only recognise a few of them, the ones that frequently visited their house like Theodore Nott, Cassandra Greengrass, Patrick Parkinson, Penelope Rowle, Valarie Bulstrode, Dennis Yaxley along with Henry and Johnathan Flint.

Suddenly, he watched as she tossed her head back with laugher, dimples prominent on her lovely face as rebel strands of hair from her neat bun danced on her forehead. Sirius watched as Lucius Malfoy secretly glanced at her from the corner of his eyes, softly smiling at the sight of her laughing; and suppressed a shudder.

Sirius shifted his gaze, noting that his cousins, Gideon and Fabian had an arm swung around the shoulders of their older sister, Molly, and her boyfriend, Arthur Weasley respectively and by the identical flushes on the couple's faces, the twins were teasing them again.

He wondered if he would react that way if some person were fortunate enough to find a partner in Lyra but then, he exiled that thought from his mind quickly. Sirius would rather not see his dear sister acquaint her face with another in a feverish manner, thank you very much.

Sirius observed a few others out of pure boredom while James stuffed his face with treacle tarts, an obsession of his. One thing in common with the majority of the people that occupied the ballroom wasn't their obsession with blood purity. Rather, it was the fake niceties that they exchanged, wonderful words with venomous voices.

Sirius personally loathed these sort of parties because they all but served as a platform for blood purists --unfortunately, some of which belonged to his own family-- to converse meaninglessly with others who were like-minded, to form marriage and political alliances, to brag about their innate superiority, to show off their privilege and wealth. It was also so fake.

Sirius hated fake.

Ironically, he could fake it well. It was a role that he had been trained to encapsulate since he inhaled his first breath. He could play the part he had been born to play, of the dutiful heir to continue a legacy built on spilt blood. He could pretend that he cared about their stupid ideologies, that he believed in the tourjous pur motto that his family paraded around with pride. He could, if he wanted to, pretend that all of their bigotry didn't disgust him, didn't want to make him hit them all --other than his family, of course, but that was up selective and up for debate-- on fatal points of their body with a sharp knife.

His mother, ever doubting, shot him discreet warning glances every few minutes while chatting with her best friend, Lady Rosalind Travers, as if cautioning him to not disobey her orders and play pranks.

Sirius rolled his eyes but he didn't blame her for her doubts. If given the opportunity, Sirius would have rallied James, pulled Regulus along, enlisted the assistance of his Uncle Alphard and his twin cousins and pranked the whole room. He was sure he would have even weaselled out of repercussions with Lyra's help. His sister had a way with words that was nothing short of magic.

Sirius fondly recollected he had pulled his very first prank mixing a potion that Aunt Dorea had supplied to him into his Grandfather Pollux's evening tea, turning his skin a bright blue. His mother and grandfather had been immensely cross with him, on the peak of scolding him when Lyra had entered the room, taken one look at their grandfather's skin and proceeded to praise and congratulate him for pulling such a strategic plan with a powerful potion that he had assisted Aunt Dorea with brewing and also executing it all perfectly at such a young age. Long story short, Sirius had received a figurative tap on the wrist and was chastised to try and not get caught when he pulled a prank next time by his mother after that incident.

Since then, Sirius had evolved to wreak havoc in the presence of Lyra, confident that she would bail him out of trouble and when she did, it would be in a manner that would result in him being praised for being creative, powerful and performing the prank cunningly and with brilliance.

Although, an irking in the back of his mind informed him that his Grandfather and father, Orion, were aware of this habit of his, but whenever Sirius looked at them, all he would get in response was identical smiles that had been dipped in amusement. Grandmother Melania, however, was damn right proud of him and always made sure that he knew it.

He contemplated on his chances of pulling a prank that minute when the boredom became suffocating. Sadly, his Aunt Dorea's arched brow came to his mind and Sirius --nor Lyra or anyone with the capacity to use common sense, really-- would dare risk her wrath. So, he once again reluctantly refrained himself.

Instead, he lowered himself into indulging in one of Narcissa's most fond hobbies-- the art of eavesdropping in the conversations of others with the intention of collecting gossip.

Most of it was the normal exchange of pureblood bigotry but then, when Sirius heard his sister's name spill from the lips of Lord Malfoy, he made sure to strain his ears to accidentally overhear that discussion, nudging James to pay attention as well.

"--It was quite an obvious choice, Belladonna and I are extremely proud, of course," Lord Abraxas Malfoy drawled in a bored tone. "The current batch of Slytherins are wonderful, but had Master Slughorn chosen someone else, I honestly doubt if they would have been able to fill the Prefect position as good as Lucius. In fact, I guarantee that my son will be awarded the Head Boy post in a few years!"

"Indeed," Orion, Sirius' father, agreed while mirroring the snobbish voice of Lord Malfoy, clasping the stem of his wine glass. "Lucius was second in academics this year, wasn't he?"

Lord Malfoy's chest puffed with pride. "Yes."

"And he's been in second place ever since the first year, hasn't he?"

"Yes," Lord Malfoy confirmed, his smile slipping from his face when Orion smirked. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"I don't mean any disrespect, Abraxas. My daughter, Lyra, has always held the first position so I was merely curious regarding the identity of the poor chap who has repeatedly fallen behind her in academics," Orion explained smoothly, which only caused Lord Malfoy's demeanour to stiffen. "Although, one can't blame your son for not achieving higher marks than her. After all, the House of Black has always been and will continue to be the best, so expecting poor Lucius to do better than Lyra is a futile pursuit."

A smirk descended on Sirius's face, feeling a pride bubble in his chest that his father had finally put those peacocks in their place.

However, his smile slipped when Sirius noticed that rather than being offended by Orion's remarks, Lord Malfoy's silver eyes glittered with an emotion that he couldn't quite place.

"Indeed, Lyra is excellent in academics and in a broader perspective, everything that she does. Lucius informed me earlier that she has also been named Slytherin Prefect, I believe congratulations are in order. I am glad that although that mudblood-loving fool has committed multiple mistakes, his exquisite selection of prefects was not one of them," Lord Malfoy finished haughtily in an obvious diss to Albus Dumbledore. "I'm ecstatic that Lyra and Lucius were both chosen to lead this year. They compliment each other wonderfully so I have no doubt that Slytherin will continue to thrive, as it always has, under their combined leadership."

Sirius' eyes widened as he realised what Lord Malfoy was hinting at, exchanging a horrified glance with James.

The intentions were as clear as day and sounded nauseating to Sirius, especially considering it involved his older sister. Lord Malfoy first bragged about his son and his achievements to initiate familiarity. Then, when Orion had retorted with a barely-concealed insult, rather than being offended that Lucius' flaws were being called out, Lord Malfoy expressed his acknowledgement towards Lyra and even praised her. The cherry on top of the disaster ice-cream was when Lord Malfoy drew an invisible string to connect Lyra and Lucius together, furthering how he felt they would be good together.

Sirius did not know many things but he was sure in the fact that he did not, under any circumstances, want a peacock for a brother-in-law.

Obviously, Orion had caught on to Lord Malfoy's hint as well, which was as subtle as a bombarda, responding, "Indeed, Abraxas. I have no doubts that Slytherin will continue to flourish with my daughter and your son at the apex. However, I do hope that our children's Prefect duties will not lead them astray from their studies. After all, I'm unsure about Lucius, but Lyra has wished to be a Healer for so long."

"She's very ambitious," Lord Malfoy approvingly noted.

"Of course she is," Orion stated as if there had never been a black mark that said otherwise, before resuming his speech, "You know as well as I how tasking it is to qualify for the healer position. One needs perfect O's in their exams and high recommendations, so I would rather Lyra concentrate on her academics and stay on top, as she always has, rather than indulge in trivial things like joint-patrols. This is their O.W.L year, after all, it's immensely important. I adore her and am confident that my dear daughter will bring great glory to the House of Black and I hope that your son does the same with the House of Malfoy."

Lord Malfoy awarded him with a curt nod before shifting the topic of conversation to idle politics of the Wizengamot.

Sirius grinned at his father's response.

By repeatedly reinstating that Lyra needed to continue to concentrate on her academics to achieve her ambitious dreams, it was a casual way to project that she might not have time or opportunity for anything else, like dating. By then bringing up how the joint-patrols --something that the two Slytherin prefects, Lyra and Lucius, had to do-- were simple and easily dismissing it paired with how Orion all-but initially commented how he didn't like that the two of them would be paired together, his placid words held treacherous depths and made sure that Lord Malfoy understood everything that he was trying to convey.

Furthermore, since Orion had neither confirmed nor out-right denied Lord Malfoy's subtly asking for a marriage alliance, his words could be interpreted as everything and nothing at the same time. Not to mention, most pureblood Lords considered their children --more specifically, their daughters-- as a little more than political pawns to increase their power.

Orion expressing his admiration, showering compliments at Lyra and stated how much he treasured her at the end served as a glaring neon to those who listened that should Lyra get married in the future, it would be because she wanted to.

If she didn't want to get married also, that was alright. Many daughters of the House of Black were unwed but triumphant in their fields like the great Runes Mistress Cassiopeia, Lyra's middle-name sake; Charms Mistress Araminta, Unspeakable Lycoris, and multiple others. In that way, the House of Black strayed from the traditional path that demanded those with a womb to produce children immediately, an aspect that they were proud of, as they should be.

Damn Sirius loved his father.

Bored with their current discussion, Sirius darted his attention around the room, once again landing on the centre of the previous conversation, Lyra herself. He caught her eyes.

Lyra piqued a perfectly pointed, dark brow at him.

Sirius used his thumb to slice across his neck before throwing his head back, mimicking a dead man. Beside him, James pretended to be asleep. At least, Sirius hoped that James was pretending. Lady Potter would be cross with him should he have actually entered the realm of Morpheus.

Lyra's eyes twinkled as brightly as her namesake, lips curling upwards to form a smile.

Sirius watched as his sister excused herself from her group of friends before she elegantly strolled towards them, making a stop on the way to whisper something into Walburga's ears, who frowned but nodded her head.

Then, Lyra stepped to stand beside Sirius, leaning against the wall much like he and James were.

"Come to finally take our lives and put us out of our misery?" James inquired lazily.

Lyra's smile grew. "On the contrary, your misery is just getting started. I plan to conduct unspeakable methods of tortures, worse than the unforgivable curses. For starters, I intend to force-feed you all treacle tarts and chocolates until you are obese. Judgement?"

"I suppose we could participate in this heinous sin," Was Sirius' reply, a ring of mirth in his tone.

"Excellent. Shall we retreat to the Manor?" She questioned them.

"Yes, please. Thank Merlin," James muttered, pushing himself off the wall. "I'll go get Reggie."

"He won't be pleased considering you'll be interrupting him from making ga-ga eyes at Amal," Sirius commented.

A grin lit up James' features. "Oh, I'm counting on that." He waved them to wait, rushing towards where Regulus stood beside Bartemius, hanging onto whatever Amal was telling them like they were being spoken from Lady Hecate herself.

Lyra fondly rolled her eyes. "Don't tease Regulus about Amal," she instructed Sirius, who blinked at her innocently. "Honestly. He doesn't like that and you know it. I like Amal, she's nice, and both of them don't think of each other as anything but best friends. Not yet, anyway. So until they do, you, dear brother, shouldn't comment on that."

Sirius huffed haughty, folding his arms. "Fine."

When James returned with Regulus, Lyra threw Sirius a warning glance from the corner of her eyes, reminding him not to tease their brother who rolled his eyes in response.

"Do we have to leave?" Regulus asked them as he arrived.

"We are," Sirius emphasised, gesticulating with a hand towards himself, James and Lyra, before adding, "You can always stay with Amal if you want."

"Compared to your presence, I'd choose hers any day," Regulus replied hotly with the kind of tone one could only have while addressing a sibling.

Sirius swivelled, facing Lyra. "How can you expect me not to tease him when he says something like that?"

"By threatening to, and later, actually applying a charm to seal your lips together the next time you do so," Lyra answered simply before looking at Regulus. "It's your choice. These two--" she motioned towards James and Sirius "--are bored and I fear they might start pranking people next, so I'm taking them home. It's your wish if you'd like to join us."

Regulus was contemplating the question when James chimed, "Mum bought treacle tarts and macaroons last night. The fire-place is lit. It might be our last bonding adventure before Sirius and I leave for Hogwarts."

"Lyra had also promised to teach us how to blackmail a ghost, remember?" Sirius added. "If you don't come with us, you might be missing out."

"Let's go then," Regulus said.

While Lyra put a hand on her heart, looking between them proudly before quipping, "Maybe there's hope for the two of you to be in Slytherin, after all."

"Not a chance," James instantly proclaimed in good-humour.

Lyra dramatically sighed before the party of four walked towards the fire-place and floo'd themselves to the Potter Manor, spending the rest of the night playing gobstones, talking in funny accents and listening as Lyra provided a detailed character sketch on all the Hogwarts professors and finally, taught them the necessary procedure one would have to complete in order to blackmail a ghost.

It was quite simple, really, consisting of being a Slytherin, becoming acquaintances with the Bloody Baron and threatening Peeves the poltergeist with dire consequences should he ever prank them.

Sirius and James couldn't wait to start their journey at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry while Regulus mournfully lamented that he would have to wait another year to begin his.