NOX° SIRIUS BLACK

Chapter Thirty-Five

      Krane Manor was alive with light, music, and people since the house was filled to the brim with other pureblood wizarding families who were each a part of the Sacred Twenty-Nine. The house-elves had spent the entire week leading up the Christmas party decorating and preparing enough food that would accommodate the many guests. Minnie even allowed Calypso to sneak into the kitchens and help out with whatever she could to keep the girl from getting too involved in her father's affairs. Calypso was dressed in her nicest navy blue dress robes as all of their guests awaited the arrival of the Black's since Walburga liked to make an entrance. 

       Despite the number of guests, the only people Calypso really liked were Cordelia Rosier, Aurelia Rowle, and Finnick Macmillian. It was interesting to see the trio's dynamic since Calypso never spent much time with them at Hogwarts. Aurelia and Cordelia had been best friends since their first year together while Finnick was close with Barnabas Greengrass and Antonin Dolohov. Calypso wasn't a big fan of Antonin and Barnabas avoided her ever since he started dating her sister, but Finnick was great fun, if not a little bit flirtatious. Aurelia had a very obvious crush on him, but Finnick never bat so much as an eyelash in her direction. He always claimed it was because he had too much respect for Aurelia to flirt with her, but Calypso liked to believe it was because Finnick didn't want to completely ruin any chance he had of getting with Cordelia by flirting with her best friend. Ophelia had been the first to mention it years ago, but Finnick and Cordelia always seemed like they were going to end up together. They seemed well suited for one another.

       "I can't believe you showed your face at one of these things, Cal. I don't think I've seen you at one of these functions since Narcissa and Lucius's wedding." Finnick said, holding a glass of red currant rum in his hands. Calypso shrugged.

        "I live with my mum, so I'm not really around that much anymore." Calypso said.

       "It's a shame your parents split up. Your mum used to throw you and Ophelia the best birthday parties." Finnick grinned. Calypso chuckled, thinking about all the times Finnick had tagged along with Barnabas to attend one of Calypso's birthday parties before they went to Hogwarts. 

            "We used to have a blast at those parties." Cordelia smiled fondly at the memories. "It's too bad everyone split apart now that we've gotten older. I miss the days when it was just our little group. I even miss seeing Andromeda at these things. She was always a laugh."

         Calypso sadly thought about Andromeda and the conversation she had witnessed between Narcissa, Andromeda, and Bellatrix on the night of Narcissa's wedding. She reminded herself to reach out to Andromeda when the party was over. 

         "Ah, but Bellatrix and Calypso used to be my favorite duo." Finnick grinned, nudging Calypso playfully. She snorted. "You two used to wreak havoc wherever you went. I'm surprised you turned out so differently, given how close you were."

         "People change, I guess." Calypso said nonchalantly.

         ''The Black's have arrived!'' Icarus announced to the group when the front doors opened and Regulus, Orion, and Walburga walked in.

          Calypso hurriedly excused herself from the conversation she was having with Cordelia and Finnick to greet Sirius. There he was, several feet behind his parents and trudging up the path with his hands stuffed into the pockets of his robes and a miserable look on his face.

         "What's the matter?" She asked when he got to her.

        "Nothing." Sirius said, sounding slightly irritated. Calypso narrowed her eyes at him.