The One That Got Away| Sirius Black

010| Christmas Eve

December 24, 1974

"Godric, I forgot how much I hated these," Isabella fusses as she tugs at the collar of her dress. Her mother insisted the entire family coordinate outfits. Isabella was wearing a white, button-down, collared shirt with a black flowing dress. She felt like a gothic school girl.

"Well, if anything goes wrong, at least you'll already be in your funeral clothes," Elliot offers teasingly. He was wearing the same white shirt with a black tie and black dress pants. "At least you're not dressed like the help."

"Oh please, Lucy wouldn't be caught dead in that," Isabella chuckles, giving up on making her outfit comfortable and plopping on her bed in defeat. Elliot chuckles at this and lounges next to his older sister.

"I can think of one thing that'll make this day more bearable," Elliot says after a moment of silence.

Isabella props her head on her elbow so she can look at Elliot. "What?" she prompts.

"I got you the best birthday present ever," Elliot smirks, staring at the ceiling.

"What is it?" Isabella tries tricking him into telling her.

"You'll have to wait until you open presents," he shrugs, closing his eyes with a dopey smile.

"You're such a dork," she sighs, laying back down and closing her eyes.

The sibling pair only relax for a few moments before the door is swung open by Lance. He was dressed identically to Elliot, but his clothes fit less awkwardly. He looked professional. His face was stoic as he told them it was time to go. Isabella could tell something was bothering Lance. Her brother kept rubbing the back of his neck and running his hand over his buzzed hair.

"You okay, Lance?" Isabella asks, propping herself up on her elbows to see him better. Elliot sat up at that point, too, feeling equal concern for his older brother.

"I'm fine," Lance chuckles in an off tone. "I just don't want to be late; it makes us look bad, you know?"

With that, he leaves the room. Isabella knew that he was lying, but she got up as well. She ran her hands over her dress, straightening it one last time before turning to Elliot with a smile. "Ready?"

When Isabella and Elliot met their family in the living room, Isabella was surprised to see her brother and parents standing with a birthday cake. They beamed at the girl, and Elliot nudged her playfully as they began singing "Happy Birthday." Isabella was surprised to see her parents making such a fuss over her birthday. Birthdays were usually calm at the Wright residence, but with today being the Malfoys' Christmas party, Isabella didn't expect her family to acknowledge her birthday.

"Make a wish," Elliot encourages as they finish the song.

Isabella closed her eyes and blew on the candles as she thought of what to wish for. She wanted to be selfish and hoped she didn't have to marry Regulus. But at the last minute, she changed her mind and made a wish for someone else. She made the wish for someone who was hurting right now but was too stubborn to admit it.

After that, Isabella opened her presents. Elliot and Lance had put their money together and bought her most of the books on her reading list. That alone was the best gift she could've asked for. Her parents got her a single present in a small box. She was shocked to see it was a pearl necklace.

"It was your grandmother's," her mother says with a sad smile. Her father cleared his throat and excused himself at that time. He always got uncomfortable when Diana brought up her late mother. She was a werewolf who died in her mid-thirties because dark wizards murdered her. Otis hated werewolves; he was supportive of the restrictive legislation for them. Otis was even weary of his son being a metamorphagus, and he believed that the metamorphagus gene came from their grandmother's lycanthropy.