/Lioness\ Sirius Black

[twenty-two]

• present •

Children played outside in the snow, throwing snowballs at each other as the weather grew colder. Inside the Black residence, the Weasley family, including Hermione and Astara, sat at the long table as Mrs. Weasley started to pass out the Christmas presents to everyone.

Astara opened hers and smiled when she saw her gift. It was a open sweater with rows of different colors and patterns, where a breast pocket would be was her initial sown with sliver yarn. She looked up and smiled at the older redhead, thanking her for the present as she took off her other sweater to put it on.

Mrs Weasley handed Harry his present as he walked in and gave him a hug, wishing him a Merry Christmas. He opened it and saw that he had gotten a pair of gloves. Astara followed his eyes to the door way and saw Sirius looking at her. She smiled at her friend and he returned it.

"A toast! A Christmas toast!" Everyone raised their glasses up as a beat up Mr. Weasley continued the toast, "To Mr. Potter, without whom, I would not be here. Harry."

"Harry!" They said as the clinked glasses before taking a drink. Sirius raised his glass of wine as well. He winked at the two of them before walking away.

***

Astara walked around the house, looking for nothing and thinking there would be something different even though there wouldn't be. After living in this house in and out for the last few months, she had been in every room and seen everything.

But she walked down the stairs and saw a crack in a door that she had never been through. The walls were a dark cyan color with white tree branches stretching across the room with peoples faces and names on them.

The tips of her fingers ran along the wall as she traced the names. Bellatrix, Andromeda, and finally, Sirius Black. This was the Black family tree. But Sirius picture was burned off, leaving the blackened wood on the wall.

"My mother did that when I ran away." Astara whipped her head around to see Sirius standing in the door way.

"Really? She sounds rubbish." She said with a small chuckle, making him as well.

He walked into the room and stood next to her as she ran her fingers over his burned picture. "She was. She and I never agreed on anything. I didn't like her or most of my family for that matter and she didn't like me. I was always the black sheep of the family." They both chuckled at his joke before he continued, "I was always rebellious, growing my hair, getting tattoos and piercing was all to kind of get back at her."

"I'm sorry, Siri." Astara said sadly placed a hand on his arm, rubbing up and down slowly to comfort him. They looked at each other for a second before creaking on the stairs drew their attention. Harry walked down the stairs with Hermione and Ron in-front of him and continued down the hall while he parted off to his godparents.

When the man heard Kreacher, the Blacks house elf, jabbering on to Harry about his different views on muggleborns and houses, he yelled at him, "Kreacher! That's enough of your bile! Away with you!"

"Of course, Master. Kreacher lives to serve the noble house of Black." The house elf said almost condescendingly before grumbling as he walked away.

"Sorry about that. He never was very pleasant, even when I was a boy. Not to me anyway." Sirius said in a much softer voice.