Are you Sirius?

Prologue

Walburga and Orion Black sat in the manor uncomfortably, they were used to luxury of course, but the man standing opposite them made it impossible to relax.

In fact, if it weren’t for his wife’s encouragements and pleas, Orion would not be there at all, he would much rather be sitting at home pretending to create a stable relationship with his chaotic son than be sitting here with quiet offspring, opposite this… Terror.

In contrast, Walburga was hanging off the edge of her seat, eager to see the verdict of the silent figure before them.

The baby, Sirius Orion Black iii, was on the table, in a black carry crib made of… well, they weren’t quite sure, for once he was quiet and Walburga could hear herself think, but the man made it almost impossible for her.

The person that stood before them was tall, dark and handsome, and Walburga glanced sideways to Orion, wishing he were the same.

The man had chiselled features and neat black hair, and he would have looked like a beautiful young wizard if it weren’t for his eyes.

His eyes made Orion inwardly shudder, they seemed to stare right into his soul and, though clearly icy blue, he could have sworn that, just below the surface, fire spat and shook, waiting to blow.

They were the eyes of the devil, and Walburga loved it.

A woman appeared at the door, hovering on the threshold as if waiting for permission to enter, she must have had some signal from the man because she stepped forward, clearer in the gloomy light from the chandelier.

It was then that Orion realised that she was holding another baby, and as she approached, she conjured another cot and carefully placed the child into the depths of the crib.

She sat silently next to the man.

Walburga glared at her, disgusted that such a plain looking girl could sit with the likes of the Dark Lord.

The man opened his mouth to break the silence, and Orion didn’t know whether to be relieved or worried.

A few minutes later he sat, silent.

An arranged marriage, to such a rich and pure family?

Voldemort had concocted a perfect arrangement for the children.

They would be magically bound, he said, engaged until their seventeenth birthday, (there he pointed out the shared date of birth, which only increased the bond) whereupon they would marry each other and engage in intercourse to finish the deal and get the girl pregnant with an heir.

“Excuse me, my lord, but may I meet my soon to be daughter in law?”

The woman handed Orion the baby at a nod from the man.

He pulled back the folds to see a delicate little girl, eyes closed, lips parted… Glowing.

“Is she alright, My Lord, she seems to be glowing.”

“Oh, yes, Ariadne is a Rune Wraith.”

The Blacks were in shock.

Symbols made themselves clear all over her tiny form, and she opened her eyes, to reveal an icy blue, the same as her father.

They stood in the garden, around an ancient stone table, the children lay side by side.

A roll of parchment appeared, hovering, and Voldemort retrieved an enormous pin from his pocket, it was decorated with the Slytherin emblem, and had a nasty looking black point at the end.

The children started to hover next to the parchment, and each finger was speared with the pin, the droplets of blood fell onto the paper and were soaked in.

“I, Lord Voldemort, originally Tom Marvolo Riddle, husband of Emmeline Astoria Riddle nee Greengrass hereby announce that our daughter, Ariadne Merope Riddle, Rune Wraith and youngest remaining heir of Slytherin will marry Sirius Orion Black iii and in doing so will  produce heirs of three noble bloods…” He went on to explain the different parts of the arrangement as the words appeared on the parchment in red writing that looked suspiciously like blood.

Orion gulped as the man finished and started to recite his lines.

Then the two babies’ bleeding fingers were pressed against the parchment and two signatures were formed.

And the deed was done.