DISCLAIMER: It's all Jo's and not mine...
The fire in the fireplace crackled, sending up sparks of red and gold into the old chimney. Disgruntled, a teenage girl pointed her wand at the fire and the flames immediately turned to a silvery color. Some brat at the Ministry might send an owl lecturing about underage magic, but at that moment, she just didn’t care.
Although it was a sunny, yet chilly, day outside, the living room of the Black mansion was dark and stuffy, dimly lit by the silver fireplace. No one dared to open the windows. They hadn’t been opened for hundreds of years, and there was no point in opening them now. The last thing anyone wanted was curious wizards poking around, trying to get a good look inside the Black mansion.
The young girl slouched even more into her chair and tried to engage herself into the latest copy of Witch Weekly, but it wasn’t working. Everything that her eyes skimmed over seemed to be just combinations of nonsense, and none of the pictures grabbed her attention. Chucking the magazine into the fireplace, the girl gave a heavy sigh.
Bellatrix Black, or Bella as she was often called, ran her fingers through her thick, black hair, tucking some strands behind her ear. She leaned far back into her chair, pushing it against the wall, and placed her head against the barrier. The conversation in the other room was pretty muffled, but with a simple charm (nobody cared about the Ministry in the Black household), everything was quite crystal clear.
“You need to talk sense into the school, then, if you can’t talk sense into him!” Bella heard her mother sigh exasperatedly.
“You think it’s easier to change the old fools running Hogwarts, than to change the mind of an 11-year-old child?” Bellatrix’s aunt retorted.
“Walburga, let the whole family show Sirius why his decision is foolish. You can’t just rely on yourself and Orion! He can stand up to you and Orion, since you two are his parents. But can he talk back to his whole family? No. No 11-year-old would do that.”
Bellatrix heard another sigh, and then pushed against the wall. The chair wobbled back and forth, and she burrowed even deeper into the cushions. There was no point in listening any further, since obviously, the whole conversation was about her wonderful, attention-stealing cousin, Sirius.
Didn’t anybody care about her and her achievements? Why was everyone more interested in some boy who had gotten into a different house? So what if that house had to be Gryffindor? Why would anyone waste time thinking about him when they could be thinking of her?
Out of all her achievements in the past few months, not one of them had been brought up in any conversation. And Bella knew that no one had been talking about her, since she had tracked every single word spoken.
Nobody talked about how she had passed every single paper and exam, with nothing less than an Acceptable. Not one person mentioned that she had helped her sister pass a test that everybody thought Andromeda couldn’t pass. And although almost everyone in the family was affected, no one spoke about how she managed to get fifteen Slytherins out of trouble, single-handedly.
Not even one word was mentioned about her in the past two days she had been home.
Well, maybe one or two.
When she and Andromeda had gotten off the Hogwarts Express, the first thing her mother and father asked was where was Sirius and how hurtful it must’ve been for his parents to have such a disgrace. Bella had rolled her eyes while her everyone else talked about why it should not have happened and how the Black family must fix the problem.
The only acknowledgement she ever got was when her father asked, “Well, Bella, did you go up to Sirius and tell him to switch houses?”
And being the honest witch she was, Bella answered, “Of course. But, that slimy traitor told me that we were in Hogwarts, and anything I said didn’t matter.”
Presuming she would receive sympathy, Bella gave a tiny pout on her lips and looked up to her parents. However, she got the exact opposite.
“I expected better of you, Bellatrix,” her mother stated coldly as she turned on her heel. And that was the only talk of Bellatrix Black for the past two days of Christmas break.
But that shouldn’t have been. Bella was made to be the center of attention. With thick black hair that was darker than her surname and naturally dramatic eyelashes, obviously all eyes should be turned on her. Add in the numerous achievements and the whole wizarding world would have her as their new celebrity.
Yet her family still believed that some immature, 11-year-old boy, whose greatest achievement was learning how to walk and talk, was more important than her.
She had to teach the brat a lesson. A very important lesson.
Bella only knew that Sirius didn’t care about anything. Unfortunately, there wasn’t one thing she had control over that he liked. He was one odd child.
Dismayed, she glanced around the room, her eyes lingering for a couple seconds on the fire. As she scanned the walls, she found her answer: the tapestry.
Aunt Walburga loved to blast people off the tapestry. Unfortunately, there weren’t a lot of Blacks to blast off, but giving her one chance would make her happy, right? Sirius probably cared about having a roof over his head and having a family, so he would surely switch houses in order to keep his life. School houses were a small issue compared to keeping a family status.
We need to make this a long term plan, Bella! A long term one so he stays to his promise! Bellatrix thought to herself. There needed to be some way that Sirius could slowly change his views. She needed to give him time.
Aha! She could give him until seventh year. Some might say that’s too long to give him, but she would say as long as he graduates a Slytherin, he is “officially” a Slytherin, and no one needs to bother talking about him.
And if he didn’t?
Well, Aunt Walburga could have fun with the tapestry. His loss, anyway.
Bella quickly leaned against the wall, trying to hear what was left of the conversation. It seemed to be almost over, and so she got up and walked out of the room. Entering the adjacent study, she noticed her mother and aunt were sitting down drinking tea.
“Aunt Walburga,” Bella spoke in a false sugary tone, “I’ve heard about the Sirius problem, and I’ve got a plan…”
Here’s an early Christmas present for you, Sirius.