You Can't Make Me Love You | SIRIUS BLACK

CHAPTER THIRTY

I hustled around the kitchen, trying to focus on several things at once. I was in charge of all the cooking and decorating for tonight. Wanna know why? My dad had to take Cygnus out to buy some dress clothes and my mother was working. I was the default choice.

The bacon was sizzling and the rolls smelled like they were burning. The pasta on the stove was in dire need of being stirred. But I was right in the middle of chopping lettuce for the gourmet salad I had been instructed to make.

I flicked my wand over my shoulder, nicking my finger with the knife in the process. The rolls flew out of the oven and hovered next to my head. I quickly wiped the blood off of my finger and grabbed the tray of rolls. Unfortunately, this only resulted in minor burns across my hands. I released the tray and used my wand to set it down on the counter.

Luckily, the rolls weren't too burnt. I spun around and made the pasta start stirring itself. While the pasta began to stir itself, I flipped the bacon over. When I turned back around to continue cutting up lettuce, I found Nox on the kitchen counter, sniffing the rolls curiously.

"Nox," I complained, wiping my greasy hands on my bare thighs.

I gently picked her up and set her on the floor.

"We've talked about this, baby. We don't jump on the counters, do we?" I said, picking the knife up again.

Cinder squawked in agreement from the window. I jumped in surprise and accidentally cut my finger open again. Groaning, I washed it off and kept cutting.

Just as I finished cutting the lettuce up, Cinder decided to fly in and perch on my shoulder. I stumbled a bit. Nox rubbed against my legs. I sighed.

"I love you too, mates. But I've got a lot of bloody work to do!" I exclaimed. Nox meowed innocently.

I carefully took Cinder off of my shoulder and set him gently on the top of the refrigerator, one of his favorite places to perch.

The bacon smelled so good, but I bit my lip to refrain from eating it. I got the butter out of the refrigerator and set it next to the rolls. When I closed the refrigerator door, I spotted the pictures held there by magic.

The picture closest to my face was one of Cygnus and I. He was sitting on my back and we were both laughing. We had taken that picture when I was twelve and he was seven.

Another picture on there was of James and I. He was squeezing me from behind, the wind ruffling our hair. Not that his wasn't messy enough already.

The picture to the left of that was of Jacob, Erica, Isabelle, Cygnus, Astrid, and I. Jacob had one arm around Astrid and one arm holding me in a choke hold. Erica was holding Isabelle and the collar of Cygnus's jacket.

Before I lost any more time, I walked away and kept making dinner. When I finished making the food, I started decorating. We had picked out some cheap decorations.

Finally, my family came home and we ate the food that I had prepared all *cough* on my *cough cough* own *cough*. Cygnus was bouncing off the walls. He was never allowed to stay up this late unless it was New Years.
At 11:57, I grabbed my noise makers and passed some to Cygnus. The entire family crowded around the telly and waited in anticipation.

We counted down loudly and when the clock chimed, I blew into my noisemaker like I was performing CPR on someone. I hugged Cygnus tightly. Over his shoulder, I saw our parents share a sweet kiss.

Twenty minutes later, I was tucking Cygnus into bed.

"I don't want you to go back to Hogwarts, Cas," he whispered sleepily.

"I know, Squirt. But you'll be there next year with me. And you're gonna love it there, I promise. I'll take care of you," I replied, kissing his forehead gently.

As I was leaving, I heard his half asleep voice mutter, "I know."

Sirius POV

Downstairs, my perfect brother was talking animatedly to my family. After the Christmas party, my family was completely ignoring me. Which, I must admit, is better than being target practice for one of my cousins.

Andromeda had snuck up here a few minutes ago. She told me that she was thinking about telling everyone about her marriage. I told her to go for it and to signal me when she did.

While I was waiting for her signal, I stared at one of the pictures on my wall. It was of James and I. We were laughing about something. I'm pretty sure Smith took this picture. She probably did considering we weren't expecting it.

Suddenly, there was a knock on my door. I sighed and opened it. Bellatrix was standing there, hatred on her face.
"Come on, Siri. My sister has an announcement she wants the whole family to hear. Unfortunately, that includes you," sneered Bellatrix.

I followed her downstairs. I was half scared for Andromeda and half excited. When we got to the dining room, I leaned against the doorframe next to my Uncle Alphard. Andromeda was fiddling with her hands nervously. I sent an encouraging smile in her direction when she glanced at me. She took a deep breath.

"I'm engaged."

Whispers filled the room.

"That's wonderful!"

"To whom?"

"Shut up and let her bloody speak!" I yelled, silencing the room. Although this did earn me a few dirty looks.

"I'm engaged to Ted Tonks," she said quietly.
The room was so silent you could have heard a pin drop. Then, Andromeda's mother stepped forward, angrily pointing a finger at her.

"You little devil. Tonks is not pureblood. He's a mudblood! How dare you even step foot in this house!"

Andromeda's face was white, but she held her head up.

"I've been dating him for several years," she continued bravely.

"Out of this house!" Her mother screeched, her face an ugly maroon color.

Andromeda nodded and turned to leave. As she was walking out, Bellatrix tripped her and hissed, "Don't bother coming back."

Once the door was shut, I looked up.

"Well, is that all you wanted me for? Because I don't think you really want me down here," I said.

"Go," said my mother, turning away.

I went up the staircase, but instead of going to my room, I slipped out one of the windows.
"Andromeda! It's me, Sirius," I whispered, glancing through the dark.

A hand grabbed my shoulder and I spun around. Andromeda was standing behind me, tears silently streaming from her eyes. I wrapped her in a hug and let her cry.

We stood there for a while. I knew she wasn't okay, and my family wouldn't miss me in the least bit.

The clock chimed, signaling that it was midnight. We could hear everyone cheering inside.

"A new year, a new life," whispered Andromeda.

A/N: I know that it's just a filler chapter. But I had to post it in honor of something huge- it's the one year anniversary of this book! So thanks for sticking with me for that long. Also, I'm out of school for the summer, so updates should be more frequent. Thanks!