𝐓𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝┊𝐇𝐏

ᴄʜᴘ.5 ┊ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ɪꜱ ɴᴏ ᴅʀᴀᴍᴀ ʟɪᴋᴇ ʙʟᴀᴄᴋ ꜰᴀᴍɪʟʏ ᴅʀᴀᴍᴀ

Her hand tucked a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear, barely resisting the urge to sigh out loud. Melania's eyes drifted to her husband, who was beside her, the man still holding her hand tightly as he had since this evening.

The day had already been so tiring after listening to all the tragedies that would befall her family.

All Melania wanted to do was go to bed with her husband and have a good night's sleep.

But alas, she couldn't do that. Some things were better to be discussed today itself and as the matriarch of the house, it was her duty to do that.

"Arcturus," she said quietly as she tugged on his rough hand, which was holding hers. "Stop them please. We have other matters to discuss."

The wizard sighed tiredly and nodded. Melania looked at Arcturus, her blue eyes narrowing slightly at the sight of her husband. He had already removed his black velvet robe and also undone the first two buttons of his black silk shirt; never had she seen her husband this distressed, not even when she and Orion had refused to speak to the man two weeks straight after his announcement of Orion and Walburga's wedding.

His hand hesitantly left hers. Arcturus didn't want to, still shaken by the news he had heard earlier today, but he knew his wife was right. There were things to be discussed, and it was better to do so now. He thought tiredly, might as well get this over with.

"Perhaps you four can talk about this matter afterwards." Lord Black said, "We have more pressing matters to discuss."

"Mainly Regulus's fate"

Hush fell over as all of the family members looked at the patriarch, but his eyes were fixed on his son, who had straightened subconsciously; his mercury gray eyes, which he inherited from him, turned stoic, and Arcturus Black knew that moment that Orion was going to be a pain in his arse at this meeting.

And what was more damning was that Arcturus knew that he himself would fold into Orion's demands if he made any, and how could Arcturus refuse?

The boy was always so calm and so obedient and never asked for anything that it always made Arcturus give him anything if he asked for something, an extremely rare occurrence. Sometimes the man hoped that Orion had a bit more spine, a bit more rebelliousness, so that it would be easier to refuse him.

It was also a reason he favored Sirius, his eldest grandson.

The boy was everything he hoped Orion would grow into, except for the arrogance and impulsiveness, which no doubt came from Walburga.

Those two traits of Sirius always got on his nerves, but the fire the boy had; Arcturus had hoped that his son would possess the same fire.

"What is there to discuss about Arcturus? We ought to blast the coward out of the family and that wife of his-" Pollux Black started.

"Reggie is not a coward," Sirius said, with evident rage in his voice. His mercury-gray eyes narrowed at his maternal grandfather.

"If anything, after what we witnessed today, it is safe to say he's the bravest out of all of us."

"We are not going to blast my son out of the family," Orion hissed.

"And why shouldn't we?" Pollux said as he stood up, his hand gripping his cane tightly, "The boy has disgraced our house-"

"Oh boy, here we go again," the antiquarian said while rolling his eyes at his father, who was ranting about blood purity once again and how Regulus even had the audacity to disgrace them.