Chapter One: A Family of Stars
Australe Leo Black ~ Tuesday, August 31st, 1971 ~ 12 Grimmauld Place, London, England
I sat in my lavish room that was decked out in dark green and sliver textured wallpaper. Tarnished gold sconces hung from parallel walls, masking the room in a golden glow. In one corner, an elegant canopy bed, blanketed in an emerald green comforter and silk sheaths meant for curtaining the sleeper from stray light. In the other corner, I sat in a leather tufted armchair, looking at my wand and trunk. A thought had just crossed my mind as a knock came upon my door.
I got up swiftly from my comfy seat and crossed the room in a matter of seconds. I twisted the knob and my twin brother came toppling in.
"Ow." Sirius' voice came through muffled as he face planted onto my plushly carpeted floor. I let out a laugh as he sat up and rubbed his face.
"What were you doing?" He asked as he picked himself off the floor and walked over to my bed before plopping down and making himself at home. He leaned back and fell right down onto my pillows.
"Just thinking." I told him as I copied his actions. I found myself staring up at the star system painted across my ceiling. Mother and Father had charmed it to twinkle and move as the real stars did. Our whole family was named after stars or constellations. I was named Australe Leo and my twin brother, Sirius Orion. We had a younger brother also, and he was named Regulus Arcturus. We were the Blacks. Most Noble and Ancient House, our family came from a long line of pure blooded witches and wizards who, when we turned eleven, went to a prestigious school for magic, Hogwarts.
Hogwarts was a school where young witches and wizards were taught to control their magic. There were four different houses, where each first year got sorted into. Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. My family had been in the Slytherin house for centuries.
"What are you thinking about?" Sirius asked me, nudging my side with his elbow. I turned to look at him and I saw his stormy grey eyes, lit up with curiosity. My brother and I were like two peas in a pod, we never did anything without one another and somehow we always knew what each other was thinking and feeling.
"I was just thinking about what's going to happen tomorrow. I know we are expected to be put in Slytherin but what if we aren't? What if the hat chooses Ravenclaw, or Hufflepuff or Gryffindor? Our family will disown us! But I can't help but think that I'm not the same as all of them. Regulus, Bellatrix, Narcissa. I don't feel as if I fit in. It doesn't feel right." I confessed to him and he nodded.
"Trust me Ausie, I'm on the same page. I can't see myself becoming a Slytherin either. Mother and Father have never likes us as much as Regulus. They have always favored him and I wouldn't be surprised if things got just a little worse if we get sorted into a different house. But you know what we can do?" Sirius said to me.
"What?" I asked, doubtful about the answer I was going to recieve.
"We can hope that the Sorting Hat will consider our feelings and put us into the right house for us. And, at Hogwarts, Mother and Father aren't there to watch over our every move. We can make our own decisions, and even pull some pranks!" He exclaimed excitedly. I didn't know my younger twin could be so wise.
"Well, I can't imagine anything else at the moment. You better get packing my little brother. Our parents won't be any more happy with us than they already are, if you aren't ready tomorrow." I told him while imagining what our beloved mother would do. hopefully not the Cruciatus Curse.
"First of all, I'm not you're 'little brother', I was born like a second after you and second of all, I don't really care what she thinks. All she cares about is keeping our bloodline pure and making sure 'The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black' stays on top of the social stature. Besides, I've been packed for at least a week already." He scoffed. I totally agreed with him. My mother was always making sure our family stayed elite.
Switching the subject, I asked him if he was ready for tonight. I laughed as he groaned and walked out of my bedroom, muttering about not wanting to go tonight. My family was holding a party tonight in celebration for my cousins, Sirius and I making it into Hogwarts. My cousins, Bellatrix, Narcissa and Andromeda were also leaving for Hogwarts this year. It would be a full house when we arrived at the boarding school.
This party was a big fancy get together that we all had to wear pretty dresses or suits to and the worst part was that we had to talk to all of our old, crusty, relatives. In thinking about the party, I glanced at the old wooden grandfather clock in my room and almost tumbled out of my bed when I saw the time. I only had an hour till the party and I really needed to get dressed now. I had this weird thing about the time, if i wasn't ready for something at least ten minutes early, in my mind, I was late.
Looking through my closet, I pulled out a short, black, tulle dress and some black flats. I really wanted to wear my black, shiny heels that my aunt gifted to me, but they were two sizes too big and I was only eleven. Heels weren't very necessary or practical. I pulled on the dress and slipped on the plain flats. I decided that I wanted to curl my long, silky hair, so I called for our house elf.
"What is it that Miss wished for?" Kreacher, the elf, asked me as he apparated into my bedroom.
"Do you mind snapping your fingers and working some magic?" I asked him with a sweet smile. I had always loved Kreacher. He might have shared my Mother and Father's view on life but he did have a soft spot when it came to me, even if he didn't enjoy my brother's company as much.
"Anything you wish, Miss." He told me and I explained what I wanted. He snapped his fingers and my hair twisted itself into elegant twirls. I thanked him and he vanished with another snap of his fingers. I toyed with my hair and appearance in my mirror and decided to let some of my hair flow down around my shoulders before sticking half of it up with a ordinate clip. I checked my outfit once more in the mirror and look at the clock. The time had passed already. I flung open the door and rushed down the stairs.
The party was already at full swing when I reached the parlor. I quickly spotted Sirius, in a lovely tuxedo, and Andromeda, in a lavish silk number. They were talking in a corner slightly away from all of the other celebrations. I walked over quickly hoping that I wouldn't be spotted by anyone unwanted. But, luck was not on my side. My cousin, Bellatrix, grabbed onto my arm, like a snake at it's victim and pulled me toward where her and Narcissa were located. She tightened her grip on me as we walked closer to my other, dear, cousin.
"I just absolutely adore the way you did your hair Australe!" Narcissa exclaimed as she ogled over my hair. She was more care free that Bellatrix, though I still couldn't stand her. I just smiled and nodded. The one sensible thing my parents had taught me was that if I had nothing nice to say, I shouldn't say anything at all. After a brief second, Bellatrix got right down to business.
"Aren't you just so excited to be going to Hogwarts?! I mean, Slytherin is going to be the best! You are going to be in Slytherin right? I mean it is the best place to be. Imagine being in Hufflepuff or Gryffindor! I would be utterly disgusted and demand to be switched out! Aren't I right, Australe?" She asked me as she rambled on with a pitching shriek of a laugh every so often. The best I could do was nod. I didn't want my future to be dictated by my family. But if I thought that Slytherin wasn't the right choice for me, I sure wasn't able to express it. Right now, I was thinking Slytherin was actually the worst place to be sorted into, for me anyways. But I knew that if I was not sorted into Slytherin, they would never accept me as one from this family ever again. But I think I would be okay with that for some reason. I never really liked any of my family and they never really liked me.
I finally got away from the two girls and made my way over to Andromeda and Sirius. We only got enough time to really say hello though, because Kreacher came shortly after and told us that our dinner was ready. I absolutely loved Kreacher. And it was quite funny because he loathed my twin. I would always talk to him and we would play games when I was a child. I would miss him while I was at school.
"I wanted to take this moment to congratulate all of our young ones on making it to Hogwarts. May we ever have many little Slytherins in just a few short hours. Toujours Pur!" My father raised his glass and then drank from it. Sirius and I shared a glance but too drank from our cups. The rest of my rather large family followed suit.
"Toujours Pur!"
After dinner, we talked some more. I had to speak to all of my relatives, even to my aunt Charis, who was so old you had to yell at her if you wanted her to hear anything. What a waste of time in my eyes. If you can't understand what I was saying and just start talking over me, what good is it to have a conversation in the first place.
People slowly started to trickle away around midnight, which was far to late for me. This party had started five hours prior and being in the same room as so many Blacks and prejudice folk gave me a headache. When at last our, quite drunk on elf made wine, great uncle and aunt closed the door, quite loudly mind you, I crept up the stairs to get ready for bed. I got quickly into my pajamas and under my covers after brushing my teeth and hair. Then the idea of leaving my home really set in place. I might have not missed my parents and their antics as much, but I would miss Regulus, my brother and Kreacher. My brother got everything he ever wanted, not that he would ever understand that or be on the receiving end of punishment. But I would still miss him, I loved him still. Kreacher on the other hand, probably understood how I felt, being a house elf with no rights or freedoms. he still was civil and kind though. Thinking of our house elf, I softly called for him. He came with a noisy crack.
"I am going to miss you very much while I'm away at Hogwarts." I told him.
"I will miss you too Miss. Australe. Now to bed. You have a very big day tomorrow. Sleep tight." He told me in his small raspy voice. I leaned down and kissed his forehead before I fell into a deep slumber, dreaming about what my life would be like from tomorrow on.