The Noble House Of Black

CHAPTER TWELVE: Keep Your Friends Close and Your Enemies Closer

The Black Heirs made their way out of their carriages and onto the cobblestone road overlooking Hogsmead Village, though it seemed more vacant than normal. The whole village had, after all, been rented for their party. Soon it would be a throng of young purebloods from all the best houses, along with their chaperones, attendants and even their parents. The full contingent of the Sacred Twenty-Eight would making an appearance and the Heirs would be on full display. Descending into the village, Sirius's mind began to wander.

"Sirius, Caelum" a familiar voice hissed "if anyone asks why you were sorted into Gryffindor, say nothing. I will speak on your behalf."." His mother had made the statement as if the word Gryffindor were poison.

Sirius, having replayed this moment in his head and considering the consequences of various answers he could give to the question, found he was now dancing with a Pureblood daughter swaying inadvertently to the beat of the music. Had he been on autopilot this whole time? When the song ended, Sirius was whisked away from one girl to the next and finally his cousin Narcissa only to be met by more Pureblood Supremacists wishing to speak to the young Black Heir.

The head of the Abbot House was an older man with pasty white skin, but what annoyed Sirius the most about the him was that he seemed to fancy his mother.

"Now I must ask" the question finally arose "You and your sister Caelum were the first Blacks to ever be sorted into a house other than Slytherin, let alone into Gryffindor" he added almost under his breath "Why?"

Sirius was about to evade the question to the best of his ability when he felt his mother's hand rest coldly on his shoulder. "There is a muggle adage I am actually rather fond of, Augustus." She said, half laughing at the prospect of loving anything muggle. "Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer." Walburga had a way of speaking in a casual, offhand manner that left those around her feeling not only they they were in the dark, but that they were too stupid to even realize it, and that she had just cast lumos and turned on the lights.

Augustus Abbot, feeling embarrassed and exposed, suddenly realized the victory he had hoped to score only moments before was not to be. Of course the whole catastrophe had been her plan all along. She was brilliant as well as beautiful. Putting on a sly, unctuous grin, the head of the Abbot family bowed his head to Walburga, "I knew there must be some sort of plan behind this scandal. You're always one step ahead, you are, Lady Black."

Caelum, who had walked up to check on Sirius and overheard the conversation, realized that at times she forgot just how clever her Mother was. She made a mental note not to do so again. The way her mother controlled the situation was ingenious. With one simple lie offered to one boring but important man, a man who also like to lord over others that he had inside knowledge, Walburga would have everyone fully believing it was her intention to have her Heirs sorted into Gryffindor by the end of the night. Now the party made sense, with everyone from the Sacred Twenty-Eight invited, and expected, to come and celebrate the Black Heirs. They all had to be there for this to work, for the lie to become the truth, and the cause for celebration would ultimately be attributed to her mother's victory in infiltrating the other side.

Caelum remained well aware that she would be punished severely as soon as she was within the wall's of Number Twelve Grimmauld again, however there was no point in dwelling on what form that would take. All she needed to do at the moment was finish this party successfully and return to Hogwarts. She truly believed she could complete such a small task with ease, she just needed to finish dancing.

A/N:

What do you think will happen as soon as Caelum and Sirius go back home?

-Maia🖤