Serendipity (S. Black)

EIGHTEEN

"they said i could become anything"

"so what did you become?"

"a disappointment"

*

"SIRIUS ORION BLACK! DINNER! NOW!"

Sirius cringed at his mother's shrill call and contemplated disobeying her further but decided not to risk it. He stood and checked his appearance in the mirror, not desiring any ridicule for how he looked. His entire blood family would be downstairs to celebrate Christmas Eve dinner, and he didn't want to deal with criticism.

"Mum's going lose it if you don't come down."

"So she had to send a useless puppet to do her bidding?" Sirius asked his brother coldly, not even gracing him with a look. "How does it feel, Reg? Serving two masters now, are we?"

Regulus' dark eyes flashed. "Watch your mouth. You don't need to give them a reason to flip out tonight, not with everyone here."

"I hate them all, so I couldn't care less who is currently sitting in the dining room." Sirius held a bright red tie up against himself. "You like the red?"

"Everyone else is wearing green or black."

"Yeah, I like it, too," he said absentmindedly, completely disregarding his brother's opinion. "We can test just how much it takes to make Mum explode."

"Trust me, you're getting close."

"Give me ten galleons and I'll wear the Gryffindor scarf to dinner instead of the tie."

Regulus glared at him. "Do you want to get yourself killed?"

"We're all dying anyway. Might as well go out with a bang."

"You're so stupid sometimes," Regulus said. He didn't want to make his brother mad, not really. He just wanted to make it through one holiday without it ending in a screaming match. That was probably too much to ask for.

"Just go downstairs, will you!" Sirius snapped angrily, slamming his palms on the dresser, sending the contents to the ground. "I'll be right behind you."

"It's been a week. Still mad, are you?" Regulus asked. He leaned against the doorframe.

Sirius' head snapped up. "What, that you might have blown the only chance I have with her?"

"You did that yourself. Not me," he responded coldly.

As much as he hated to admit it, Sirius knew his brother was right. However, he wasn't about to say that. In a dead quiet voice quivering with anger, he said, "Get out, Reg."

Sensing a change in Sirius' attitude, Regulus left without another word. Sirius bent down to retrieve a picture frame that had fallen, one that displayed the Marauders laughing at a Quidditch game. He felt a lump form in his throat. Four days. Make it four more days and then they'll let you stay at James' house for the rest of the holiday.

Sirius smoothed his hair down a final time and walked downstairs, where he could already hear the chatter of his relatives in the kitchen. He slipped in as quietly as possible and took a seat next to Andromeda Black, the only cousin he actually liked. She was a Slytherin and a few years older than him, but she didn't share all of the same ideologies as her parents. Unlike Sirius, who was flamboyantly anti-tradition, she tended to hang on the outskirts of these gatherings and play safe. She blended in. He supposed it was because she grew up with Bellatrix and Narcissa for sisters. Both were positively intimidating next to the soft Andromeda.