Ascendancy - Book I of the 𝔅𝔩𝔞𝔠𝔨 𝔖𝔢𝔯𝔦𝔢𝔰

XIII. 24th December 1931 - the pendant

Ten minutes passed in the noise. The house elves went back and forth between the dining room and the kitchen. Marius would have liked to help them, but he didn't want to make it worse for himself either. Being a Squid was enough to make you hate yourself.

"I'm thinking of dyeing my hair black, he heard among all the voices.

It was Cassiopeia dropping more of her nonsense to sound interesting.

"What for?" laughed Lysandra.

"I'm the only blonde in this family."

Violetta, their mother, rolled her eyes. Of the siblings, Cassiopeia had been the only one to inherit her mother's light blonde hair. Dorea had light brown hair, but it was hardly noticeable.

"It suits you," Marius said.

The dark look he received could have killed an animal instantly.

"What's wrong with the Squid?

"Cassiopeia," her father scolded her.

He gave a beautiful smile. She reached for her wand on the table, but Cygnus slapped her hand. The girl turned red with shame and turned her head away, pretending to be interested in another conversation. Sirius chose this moment to hit his champagne glass with the spoon, to silence all the noise.

"The House of Black has held its own for several centuries now, and has not yet ceased to shine among wizards. The oldest and noblest pureblood family will soon welcome a new descendant, the first of a new generation. A new era is dawning. Grindelwald is slowly making his way into England, and we will be the first to show him that the English pureblood community is the most powerful of all. And above all, we will strive to maintain the respect that the latter owes to the Blacks and to our purer origin than any English family. New marriages will be celebrated (he glanced knowingly at Pollux and Lycoris), to continue the family tree that is taking up more and more space in this manor (some laughter greeted his words). May the House of Black prevail and become what no other family could ever aspire to be."

He raised his glass, to the health of all.

"Always Pure".

When he sat back down, the conversations resumed, except for one. Lycoris stared at her father as if he had just threatened her life. The look in her direction continued to haunt her.

"What did you mean?"

"What do you talk about?"

"For weddings. Why did you look at me?"

"You know why."

"No, I don't."

He crushed his hand on the table, which surprised everyone. This sudden gesture made her jump. She was touching a sensitive subject. Sensitive, but essential. She hoped he would not make her regret coming here. The silence fell like a funeral veil. Cassiopeia even went so far as to move slightly forward, enjoying the spectacle.

"You have to understand one thing, daughter. Life is not earned by travelling. You've enjoyed your youth, and that's fine, but it's time you faced reality."

"What reality?" she exclaimed, aware that she was the entertainment of the whole family. "The reality of getting married only to spend your life locked up, chained to someone I barely know? Why am I–"

"ENOUGH!"

The slightest breath could be heard. Regulus closed his eyes for a moment, expecting the worst, and Arcturus lowered his head. The discussion that was to follow was not going to be pleasant. But Lycoris didn't care. She was twenty-seven now, no longer dependent on her father's decisions.