good things fall apart • sirius black

Patriarchs

    "Through Legilimency and howlers?"

    "Well, we were shit at the mind reading thing so that settles that debate."

    "Perhaps I'll have to host my first ball during the summer." Sirius continued with the joking, "Or cut my hair so I don't look so unruly."

    "Not the hair!" Ellie wailed, bringing a dramatic hand to her forehead, "Not the gorgeous locks of Padfoot Potter. However will he turn the heads of the whole of Hogwarts otherwise? The girls will sob for months."

    "Until they hear of my fortune."

    "Unfortunately so. I'm afraid you're an ornament to society now, puppy."

    "You know, I think that if we ever got married, we could potentially be the richest wizarding family out there. Isn't that quite a scary thought, you're not even of age yet." Sirius mumbled thoughtfully, "Your inheritance is worth, what? Centuries of old pureblood money. Four hundred million galleons?"

    "It's a lot more than that." Ellie replied reluctantly. Talking about money this way had always felt wrong, especially when she knew of so many people who deserved so much more than she'd been born to.

    "Five hundred million galleons?" Sirius asked, and Ellie shook her head, "Six hundred?" She shook her head again.

    "It's closer to seven hundred 'cause mum had her own money from the Dubois name."

    "Seven hundred million galleons? That's absolutely insane."

    "Now you know why the pressure's on for Persephone Eloise. That money isn't tied to the Gryffins, but the Gryffindors, and as soon as it's mine, that's the role I take on. Youngest Descendent of Godric Gryffindor. Not just Ellie Gryffin."

    "Bloody hell, you'd be a billionaire in the Muggle world..." Sirius couldn't quite believe it, and now he truly understood why Ellie had always been so reluctant about moving into her future. If she married, all her family's money, all that money, would be put at risk in the event of a divorce, and people expected a lot from you when you were that wealthy. He'd never been able to comprehend what the Daily Prophet's obsession with the Gryffins was, besides perhaps because of Godric Gryffindor, but now it was all made clear. Pureblood families like the Blacks and the Lestranges and the Malfoys could only dream of being as wealthy as the Gryffins, and in their world, money was everything, "And I mean, I'm worth about one hundred million galleons now, which is a hell of a lot more than I would've got if I had to split with Regulus. So together that makes-"

    "About eight hundred million galleons. Between just the two of us..."

    "Your dad wouldn't want an heir?"

    "I've never wanted children." There was a vagueness in Ellie's tone which Sirius picked up on straight away. She'd not actually answered his question.

    "He'd expect an heir, wouldn't he?" Sirius asked knowingly.

Ellie sighed.

    "He's not pushy like that, you know he's not. But, yeah, he would." Sirius didn't like the way she couldn't look at him as she spoke, "It'd just have to be one, Gryffins have always been only children, and preferably pureblood too..."

    "It's important you do what you want."

    "In our world, that's not an option."

    "Yes, it is. I left Grimmauld Place, Prongs is very likely to marry Evans and mum and dad haven't ever batted an eyelid about her being Muggle-born." Sirius frowned, "Don't dig yourself into a hole by thinking there's only one path for your future."