As the small crowd of visitors waited, invisible to the non-magical eye, on the regal stone steps of Grimmauld Place, a battle of sorts was ensuing inside.
"Sirius Black! Get yourself downstairs this instant and answer the damn door, you worthless idiot!" The screams echoed throughout the large mansion from the cavernous downstairs kitchen, where a tall, raven-haired, and darkly attractive Walburga Black was supervising Kreacher the house elf as he conjured party hors devours to her precise liking, which usually involved several kicks and cruel reprimands on Mrs. Black's part.
"No need to remind me how proud you are I've been accepted to Hogwarts, Mum," came Sirius's voice coolly from much nearer than Mrs. Black expected. The tall, slender, handsome, high-cheek boned boy of age eleven appeared suddenly, wearing expensive black dress robes, and leaned against the stone wall of the kitchen entryway, crossing his arms and looking rather relaxed in the face of danger.
"There you are!" she shrieked malovently, ignoring his sarcastic remark. "There are guests awaiting a greeting. Now, Sirius." Her voice was cold and unaffectionate, as it always was when regarding her oldest son.
Sirius shook his slightly long, silky black hair haughtily, still keeping his tone of voice even and calm. "I'd rather not greet them, Mother, seeing as they're a lot of stuck-up gits."
Mrs. Black was positively screaming at this point. "WHAT WOULD YOU RATHER ASSOCIATE WITH? MUDBLOODS AND HALF-BREEDS? THESE ARE OUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS -"
Sirius interrupted her with a short, bark-like laugh. "Friends? Not mine. I'm not sure if you've noticed over the course of eleven years, but Bellatrix and Rodulphus and the gang rather enjoy hexing me and threatening to flay me limb from limb. Not so chummy with them. Even yours and Dad's friends would like to shoot a good Crucio my way now and then, trust me, I'm pretty sure that a couple have tried." He smirked darkly.
"ITS YOUR PARTY, SIRIUS!"
"Then why couldn't I write the guest list?"
"BECAUSE, YOU MORONIC CHILD, YOU'D BE INVITING THE FILTHY MUGGLES NEXT DOOR IF I LEFT IT IN YOUR HANDS!"
"Better than a bunch of dark wizards!"
Sirius may have well as written his own death sentence. Stone gray eyes flashing ominously, Mrs. Black's voice transformed into a deadly whisper that was barely audible above Kreacher clanging around across the room and the continuing door knocks upstairs. Somehow, it was worse than her screaming. "Go answer the door, Sirius. I shall deal with your punishment after the party."
Finally, her son obeyed, trudging from the room with his grudgingly inherited Black pride still intact and head held high. Bloody socializing party, Sirius thought miserably. He didn't like these ancient pure-blood family fanatics or their unpleasant kids, so why did he have to mingle with them all at a gathering thrown because he was entering Hogwarts Academy? So we can all be best friends when I get sorted into Slytherin, he answered his own thoughts with the grim truth.
"Oi!" Sirius exclaimed suddenly, nearly tripping over his younger brother, Regulus, eight. The smaller, somewhat less regally handsome version of himself had been waiting in the shadows of the gloomy basement hall, listening to the whole fight. "Hey," whispered Regulus quietly. "I'll help you deal with Bella and her friends. She likes me."
"Cause you suck up to her, just like you do with Mum," retorted the elder brother. Still, Regulus saw the gratitude in his brother's grey eyes and smiled as Sirius punched his shoulder. The two siblings had their differences, the main one being that Regulus was much more easily influenced by the family, innocently and unknowingly buying into their Muggle-hunting, prejudice practices. However, Sirius was still rather affectionate and protective of his younger brother. He'll grow a backbone and stand up to them someday, Sirius often thought in attempt to reassure himself his brother wouldn't turn out a dark wizard like the impending "friends and family" at the door.
Regulus accompanied Sirius as they walked up the stone stairs and into the entrance hall, where the door shook from the heavy knocker thumping against it still. Skirting a troll leg umbrella stand and a brass coat rack, Sirius took a deep breath and flung open the door. At this point, nearly thirty guests, almost all recognizable from various gatherings over the years, had assembled on the stairs.
"About time you welcome your own callers, young man," coldly remarked a very thin but intimidating man Sirius recognized as Delric Avery, his father's business partner.
"Dear cousin is a bit on the rude side, Mr. Avery," came a high, mocking voice. Sirius had to stifle a groan as he spotted his cousins Bellatrix and Narcissa Black, ages seventeen and twelve, standing near the front of the crowd, their eyes narrowed and identical smirks on their fairly pretty, but not at all friendly faces. Their fifteen-year-old sister, Andromeda, stood behind them, and she in contrast flashed a warm smile at her currently scowling and overwhelmed cousin. Sirius's eyes brightened to see his favorite relative.
"Hey Andi," he grinned, ignoring all the other grumbling guests.
"Better invite them in," she said warningly, raising her eyebrows. "Before hexes start flying around out here."
"Yeah.." mumbled Sirius, knowing it was the truth, providing the hexes were aimed at him. The pure-blooded wizards of Britain were proper and well-mannered to each others' children, but all seemed to look the other way if someone thought that the openly rebellious Sirius needed a good Bat-Bogey.
With Regulus cowering behind him, Sirius stepped out of the way and gestured as politely as he could for everyone to enter. The throngs of people all stepped inside, most throwing their cloaks and hats over Sirius as if he was a human coat rack. Through the layers of cloaks tossed assortedly on him, Sirius recognized several family members and acquaintances. Of course, Andi, Bella, and Cissy along with their parents, Sirius's father's brother Polaris and his attractive, fair-haired wife Rachela appeared through the doorway. The Notts, Averys, Lestranges, and Malfoys also entered, all of whom had children around Sirius's age. Sirius also saw a few guests he wasn't sure he knew by name, though admittedly they looked familiar. Sirius was sure he had seen the last family to enter before, but he couldn't recall who they were. The mustached father and petite mother tossed their expensive-looking cloaks atop Sirius like many of their predecessor, but their pretty young daughter hung hers on the brass coat rack, like only Andi and sympathetic old Uncle Alphard had done.
As Orion Black, Sirius's regal, tall and undeniably handsome father descended the grand staircase and shook hands with the guests, Regulus and Sirius set themselves to hanging up all the heavy cloaks and pointed hats.
"Careful with that!" came a deep voice from further down the hall as the brothers tossed an overly luxurious emerald green garment onto the rack. Sirius rolled his eyes defiantly.
"I should step on the gaudy thing. Its obvious Avery's just trying to impress my dad with money - I overheard that his family lost some gallons in bad investments anyways," smirked Sirius.
Regulus laughed, although he really understood little about investments, as they hung up the last hat. "I hate these parties."
"Me too," Sirius replied. "They're worse when in my honor, I can tell already. Cover for me if dear Mum asks where I'm at?"
Regulus nodded, and Sirius scurried up the stairs, past a suit of armor that clanked threateningly on the third floor landing, and finally into his room. Panting, he closed the wooden door behind him. He had escaped the cruel relatives and arrogant acquaintances, for a while at least.
Sirius sat down on the gleaming dark wood floor of his spacious room, shook his hair out of his eyes, and pulled his brand new wand out of his dress robe pocket. Thirteen inches, yew and dragon heartstring. Sliding his long fingers over the smooth, unscathed wood, Sirius let the idea sink in that in less than twenty-four hours, he would be on board the Hogwarts Express. A nervous jolt ran through him when he realized after that, he'd actually be at Hogwarts, the school of his dreams, being sorted in the ceremony of his nightmares. Sirius knew the sorting involved a hat with a mind of its own. He wondered vaguely if hats payed attention to surnames, because if so, he'd be chucked into Salazar's Slytherin's noble house before he could say pure-blood. He was sure his surname would come up. The sorting wasn't even Sirius's biggest worry, however. Thoughts of failing classes, being tortured by Bellatrix, and having no friends that he could actually tolerate danced across his mind as he absentmindedly twirled the wand. The handsome boy sat pensively for nearly half an hour, listening to the sounds of the party downstairs drifting through the floorboards, before he finally heard rapidly approaching footsteps on the landing. Cringing at the impending lecture he was probably about to get, Sirius stuffed his new wand out of sight and hurried around his room, trying to make it look like he'd been cleaning or something worthwhile. Mum would yell even if I'd scrubbed the whole house and degnomed every yard between here and Surrey, Sirius thought grimly, knowing his efforts to look like a good son were futile. He had skived out on his own congratulations party.
However, the knock that came at the door was not his mother's. It was gentle and timid. "Um, Sirius?" came a cheerful female voice from the door. Wondering vaguely who was outside his room, Sirius opened the door. To his surprise, he found the pretty girl from downstairs that he didn't recognize facing him, wearing her hair volumous and wavy and luxurious yellow dress robes. She giggled awkwardly. "Your mum is er.. frantically looking for you and my dad made me came find you. Kinda weird since I've only been here twice and never met you but.. my dad loves bossing me around" her voice trailed off as she raised her eyebrows and shrugged.
Sirius laughed his trademark bark-like laugh. "Frantically, huh? I bet she's just terrified I've been hurt - lose her favorite son and heir to the family? Horrifying." The biting sarcasm was evident in his voice.
"She's probably worried why you'd miss your own party. Who in their right mind would?"
Sirius smirked. "Right. Well if thats all - goodbye," he said shortly, slamming the door. Sirius saw no reason to be nice to the girl, even if she was quite pretty with her oval face, round brown eyes, tan skin, and long chocolate brunette hair shimmering with thin sunny gold highlights around her face. She was probably another pure-blood maniac like his cousins, trying to impress the adults by fetching him. Yeah, that was definitely her motive.
"Hey!" came her voice again, indignantly. "Don't even offer me a place to hide from your dumb cousins? Gee, I see why everyone downstairs apparently loves you!"
Or not. Sirius re-opened the door, this time with a friendlier expression. "Ah, yes. They all adore me." She grinned at their similar sarcastic senses of humor, which he'd clearly missed before.
"What did my cousins do to you, though?" Sirius asked, his face showing genuine annoyance at his family and concern for his new acquaintance.
"Oh, nothing big. Just a levitating charm. Over the second floor balcony."
"Why the hell -" began Sirius heatedly, but the girl interrupted him.
She bit her lip guiltily and blushed slightly. "Well," she began sheepishly. "It was kind of my fault, I guess. They asked what house I wanted at the sorting tomorrow, and I said Gryffindor. Kinda slipped my mind that I was supposed to be acting like one of you." Her already large eyes widened at what she just said. "Um, not one of you," she stammered apologetically. "Its just my family isn't really into the whole pure-blood supremacy thing, you know, but we still get invited to these parties because we are a really ancient family. Mum likes them for social reasons, I guess, and I'm always told to try and fit in and agree with whatever. But we aren't really an all Slytherin family or anything. No offense. Ugh! I'm so sorry! I always say everything wrong," she finished, looking indeed like she felt very bad about everything she'd just said.
Sirius completely ignored the numerous times that she had accidentally insulted his family. "Yeah, Gryffindor sounds cool. I wish I could be in it," he agreed. "Hey, what's your name though?"
"I'm Audrina Peverell," she introduced herself quickly before cocking her eyebrow with curious charm. "But wait, what? Gryffindor sounds cool? I've heard you, um, think a little differently than your family, but there's a huge difference in 'sounds cool' and 'sounds like anyone who likes it deserves a dangling from the balcony', you know!"
"Okay, I think a lot differently than my family then."
"Are you sure you're a Black?" Audrina teased.
"I've got the good looks," grinned Sirius with a hint of good-natured arrogance.
Just then, however, the two laughing first years were silenced at the sound of angry, stomping footsteps approaching the landing where they stood conversing in Sirius's doorway.
Audrina's eyes widened in shock, which Sirius had already noticed was one of her trademark mannerisms. "Uh oh.." she mumbled nervously.
"Mum!" said Sirius in a whispered panic. Thinking quickly, he gestured Audrina to follow him, and they darted down the dark torch-lighted hallway, their light footsteps masked by Mrs. Black's shrieks of "Sirius Black! Downstairs! NOW!"
Eventually, Sirius and Audrina reached a door leading with the turn of a serpent head knob into spacious sitting room that was furnished with gothic furniture, dungeon-like stone walls, and various dark wizarding objects. Audrina looked incredibly nervous, but tried to mask her fear of the scary artifacts with polite, albeit wide-eyed, interest.
"Its creepy, I know," said Sirius, noticing her expression. "But no one ever comes in here, so I think we're safe from the wrath of Mum."
Audrina laughed timidly, and in an attempt to make up for her stammers about Slytherin and pure-blood mania minutes before, offered, "Your mom seems nice and very er - opinionated! She keeps a lovely home.." Audrina gestured around helplessly at the far from lovely decor. Sirius predicted that poor Audrina put her foot in her mouth quite a bit, but he was less than offended - in fact, he was impressed at her attempts to make him feel better.
"Don't worry," he consoled. "The only way you could offend me about my family is if you said I acted like them." At Audrina's still guilt-ridden expression, he added, "I hate them, and everyone thinks since I'm the heir I'm going to grow up and be just like my dad. Rich, powerful, and looking down on everyone from half-giants to half-Muggle borns. Well, actually, I think Mum has her suspicions about my true colors, but she clearly believes she can beat and threaten any compassion out of me. You can tell she likes Regulus a lot better though."
"Wow. That's awful. Is Regulus your brother?"
"Yeah, he's only eight. Little git sometimes, but I don't think he's got it in him to be a dark wizard. At least I hope not - this wretched crowd could turn anyone into a death eater though." Sirius gestured to the floor, indicating the party-goers still downstairs, who were probably wondering where the rebellious guest of honor was. Either that or plotting that Voldemort guy's rise to power, thought Sirius.
Audrina looked at Sirius sadly, as though seeing him in a new light. She slowly took a seat in a particularly odd nearby chair that looked to be decorated with human bones around the back border. Sirius followed her lead and sat down on a dusty red velvet loveseat adjacent the chair.
"So, um, you want to be in Gryffindor?" she finally said in an attempt at light conversation amid such a dark topic.
"Well, yeah, but I've got no hope for that. All the Blacks have been in Slytherin for centuries. Well, there have been a few exceptions over the years. My cousin Andromeda is a seventh year Ravenclaw. But that's just because she's extremely smart."
"Well, maybe you're extremely brave enough to get into Gryffindor!" offered Audrina optimistically. "If your cousin made it, you have hope."
Sirius shook his head sadly. "Not really. I mean I'm the heir to the Black family. If that doesn't scream Slytherin, I don't know what does. It's stupid, how wizarding blood is so important to people, but I'm sure that sorting hat has my place set in Slytherin already, especially since it sorted my dad. And my grandfather. Oh and his father - you know Phineas Nigellus - the headmaster?"
"I've heard of him. But maybe the hat takes your personality into account, not your family history. I mean, there are a lot of Gryffindors in my family, but its not unusual to have a Peverell in one of the other three houses, I guess."
"Bellatrix says they learned about it in History of Magic, and magical background is really important at the sorting. Why else would there literally be no Muggle-borns in Slytherin?"
Audrina shrugged sadly. "Good point. Not that I like to agree with that cow Bellatrix." Her eyes grew rounder again. "No offense though."
Sirius laughed. "Once again, none taken. Bella is the worst. I still can't believe she did that to you."
"Yeah, well. I guess I kind of asked for it," Audrina admitted good-naturedly.
Sirius shook his head, his raven hair falling elegantly in his eyes. "No, you didn't," he said with vehemence. "She makes me sick." Sirius's high cheekbones and handsome features were somehow more pronounced when he was angry.
"I can see how she'd have that effect on people," giggled Audrina.
Sirius's grey eyes suddenly lit up. "Hey, Audrina!" he said excitedly. "What do you say to some revenge?"
Her brown eyes sparkled with mischief as well. "Like a prank?" she asked. "I love pranks!"
"We're clearly going to be friends," grinned Sirius.
A few minutes of plotting in the creepy sitting room later, the two charming first years had crafted a clever plan of rather large magnitude.
"And that is definitely a place Bellatrix would hate to go?" asked Audrina one final time as the two snuck quietly from their refuge.
Sirius laughed. "Oh, she'll love it there," came his sarcastic confirmation.
After a stop on the regal second floor library, where Audrina, a quick learner with previous spell-casting experience at home, looked up a quick, basic spell she would be needing in an old textbook with torn, yellowing pages, Sirius and Audrina dashed down the stairs to put their mischief planning into amusing action.
Audrina walked off through the dining room, splitting up from her partner in crime, while Sirius instead strode into the beautiful formal parlor through the entrance hallway. The room fell progressively silent as more and more guests noticed his entrance, but Sirius had no time to regard a few socialites' reactions to his appearance. More pressing matters, like a serious prank, were to be dealt with. He spotted Bellatrix Black, a tall brunette with heavily-lidded dark eyes, smirking at him from across the room.
"Oi! Bella!" he called into the rather silent room without a hint of self-consciousness at his loudness. "Come here, I gotta show you this."
Bellatrix rolled her eyes at her younger cousin, but they walked towards each other nevertheless, eventually meeting by the great stone fireplace. As the conversation in the parlor picked up again, Sirius leaned casually against the mantle adorning the fireplace, digging his hand into his dress robe pocket and producing the first thing he grabbed, which turned out to be a chocolate frog collector's card he had been meaning to give to Regulus.
"This," said Sirius rather lamely, holding the card proudly as if he were showcasing a rare treasure. "Is Elric the Evil!"
Bellatrix blinked, pausing for a moment in well-disguised confusion that was almost mistakable for annoyance. "You caused a scene like you were about to show me the Quidditch Cup Trophy to show off a stupid trading card?" she asked almost too coolly.
Sirius never got a change to discover what that cool tone of voice would ultimately result in, however, because at that precise instant and right on cue, Audrina peered out from behind a billowing tapestry nearby. Pointing her brand new wand at the oblivious Bella, she muttered its very first hex, shooting a tripping jinx at the tall teen before pulling back behind her secluding drapery. Sirius reacted instantly, doing his part in the prank. As Bella stumbled, he innocently tipped a small vase of green floo powder that sat upon the mantle aside a shrunken head and a few strange trinkets. The light powder dusted a completely dumbfounded Bellatrix and the fireplace as she tumbled right into it. "Muggle shopping center?" said Sirius clearly, carefully phrasing his command as a question so that eavesdroppers would not be suspicious.
With that quick sequence of events, Sirius's much loathed cousin disappeared right into the fireplace, much more ungracefully than if she had been traveling willingly by floo, but vanishing all the same. With every eye in the room turned toward the fireplace, where Sirius was putting on a Golden Orb-worthy acting performance of fear and bewilderment at Bella's odd disappearance, Audrina ducked from behind her tapestry and dashed to his side, wand stowed away.
"What happened?" she asked, along with a multitude of other witnesses.
"I don't know!" replied Sirius, fighting hard against a burning desire to laugh. "I was talking with Bellatrix about Muggles and stuff when the tripped and the floo powder spilled and I think she sent herself somewhere but I don't understand how - "
Sirius dearly hoped his display of frantic confusion and rambling was convincing enough to throw the manic guests off suspecting him and Audrina. It appeared effective, as most people were simply crowded around the fireplace, calling for Bellatrix. As Narcissa Black ran for her parents, Sirius and Audrina wove amid the chaos and dashed up the flights of stairs to Sirius's room, where Audrina doubled over in giggles and Sirius finally surrendered his battle of fighting laughter.
"Her - face -" he managed before collapsing to the floor.
"I wish I could have had your front row seat to see that whole show," giggled a beaming Audrina. "To think she's off in some Muggle mall, surrounded by people she loathes and stranded from flooing or apparating back here! Nice acting, by the way. I think we got away with it, too, you were pretty convincing and -"
Audrina spoke too soon. Her amused compliments were interrupted by a loud crash from downstairs. Moments later, Bellatrix's high pitched shriek sent a jolt of panic through the two first years.
"SIRIUS! COME HERE!"
Their eyes met, with equally helpless expressions playing across their faces.
"Or not," added Audrina.
"Not," agreed Sirius, his voice cracking in fear. The walk down three flights of stairs was a long one. Sirius and Audrina's feet felt like lead. Sirius bit his lip nervously, while a very round eyed Audrina twirled a strand of her hair. Their stomachs churning like they'd just traveled trans-Atlantic via portkey, the mischievous duo eventually reached the entry of the parlor, feeling very much like two guilty criminals awaiting their sentence that would surely involve Azkaban.
Still clutching a desperate hope at pleading innocent obliviousness, Sirius greeted Bellatrix, who headed a stone-silent, glaring crowd, with a sheepish, "Bella. You're okay."
The staring group was unconvinced.
Bellatrix looked, although undoubtedly furious, to be thriving in the moment. She could punish her bothersome, meddling cousin any way she wanted, and no one would object considering what he'd just done.
At the last second, however, Bella's glory was snatched unexpectedly away from her by someone else who was actually angrier and more eager to throttle Sirius Black. Normally, seeing Bella look so put out would have thrilled Sirius, but not when the thief of her shining moment happened to be none other than... Mum.
The explosion was ear-shattering. "SIRIUS BLACK! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING? SENDING BELLATRIX OFF TO SOME DAMN FILTHY MUGGLE HABITAT WITH NO MEANS OF RETURNING HERE! COULD HAVE BROKEN THE STATURE OF SECRECY! LUCKY SHE HAD SOME FLOO POWDER ON HER, OR I'D KILL YOU EVEN MORE PAINFULLY! YOU ARE A F#$*ING EMBARRASSMENT TO THIS FAMILY, YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF SCUM, HUMILIATING YOUR FATHER AND I IN WAYS NOT EVEN YOU BEING A SQUIB COULD HAVE ACHIEVED! IMMATURE, IDIOTIC, BRAT!"
Sirius squeezed his eyes shut very tightly, swaying on the spot a little as he tried desperately to block her incredibly furious yells from entering his field of hearing. Still, somehow, the message reached him. He wondered vaguely if she didn't consider her half-mental outburst an embarrassment in any way.
Mrs. Black was now rounding on a trembling Audrina, whose eyes were so huge she looked like a particularity human house-elf. "AND YOU! YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER THAN TO JOIN UP IN TROUBLE MAKING WITH FILTH LIKE MY SON, MISS PEVERELL. BELLATRIX SAW YOU BEHIND THE TAPESTRY, FOOLISH LITTLE TART - "
Mr. Peverell, a dark-haired, tall, slender man with a thick mustache rushed to his daughters side, clasping his hands on her shaking shoulders. "Walburga, that is quite enough! I will handle my own daughter's discipline, as I clearly see your methods are rather cruel."
Mrs. Black's face was contorted with rage. She looked quite deranged, nearly inhuman, as the nearly forty pure-blood wizards stared in mixed interest and shock. "THIS PARTY IS OVER!" she shrieked.
The guests did not need telling twice. There was a symphony of random pops as people clutched their children and apparated from Grimmauld Place, many not even bothering to summon their cloaks from the brass coat rack in the hall. Avery, of course, insured he did.
The Peverells were of the last to leave. "Goodbye, Walburga," said Audrina's father curtly. Audrina mouthed, "I'm so sorry," and offered a sad little wave as her father snatched her arm, along with her mother's hand, and the trio vanished in thin air.
Seconds later, with only Bellatrix, Narcissa, and their parents (Andromeda had apparated away with the group) left in the room, along with the actual occupants of Grimmauld Place of course, Mrs. Black turned back to a very fearful but proudly smirking Sirius again. She looked angrier than he'd ever seen her, which was quite an achievement on her part, but Sirius's haughty pride wouldn't let him cower or run. He could take her wrath like a man if it killed him, which unfortunately was looking to be a true possibility. He braced himself, closing his eyes tightly after he briefly glanced at a scared-looking Regulus.
Sirius Black arrived at King's Cross the following morning for his first day of school with several large bruises, a few deep, bleeding gashes, and a very painful-looking black eye.
A little dark right now, I know. It gets better. :] You liiiiike? You hateee? Tell the review box, kids!