Ravens and Asphodels | Harry Potter Marauders Era (Regulus Black x OFC)

Pack Mates

The summer of 1976 flew by after that first dinner with the Blacks.

Both the July and August Wizengamot sessions passed relatively uneventfully. The only thing interesting to Diana that occurred during these two sessions was that the chamber had begun discussion of the orphanage for magical children. By the August session, it had become clear that the orphanage was becoming Diana's pet project. She felt confident after the August session that when the discussions wrapped, it would be approved, and the only thing left would be to figure out the funding for it. Diana went with her uncle to Gringotts one day in August and instructed the goblins to start putting aside a fraction of the income brought into the Prince vault by their various investments into a donation vault she would be able to offer to the orphanage when its construction began.

Diana and the Abbotts attended several more dinners with the Potters, Longbottoms, and Blacks, eventually getting to see the Longbottom Estate, which was homier than the Black Manor but still more formal imposing than the Potter Manor. While at the Longbottom Estate, Diana ended up having a lovely conversation about kneazles with one of the previous Lord Longbottoms. She considered getting herself a kneazle after that conversation. Still, She decided against it when she learned Hogwarts only allowed each student to bring one pet, and it was more practical to bring Ophelia so she could correspond quickly with her family.

On the second Sunday of July, Diana and Paul attended the Quidditch pick-up game at the Potters', with Sirius, Frank, and Frank's girlfriend, Alice. When Diana and Paul arrived, Diana was immediately embraced in a bear hug by the ever tactile Sirius, who James eventually pried off so he could get to Diana himself because he had decided that she was going to be on his team that day. Diana learned that James had a one-track mind when he decided to do something, especially if it was related to Quidditch.

Diana noticed more than James's obsession with Quidditch that day. She observed that Sirius referred to Euphemia and Fleamont as Mom and Dad, and was limping when she first saw him, but before she could ask him if he was alright, she was being dragged off by James, and then the match started. By the time the game finished, Sirius had got off his broom and wasn't limping anymore, so Diana decided not to ask about the limp but to keep a closer eye on the Black heir.

Diana ended up being able to keep a much closer eye on Sirius than she had initially thought she would be able to. That one pickup game at the Potters' turned into a bi-weekly event always attended by Diana, Paul, Sirius, and Frank, with either Alice or Barbara tagging along, depending on their availability that week.

Diana also got to see Sirius when he and Regulus came to Prince Manor every week for their own Quidditch games, as the original invite extended to Sirius and Regulus at her first Black dinner also became a recurring event. Diana learned that both Blacks were determined and were not to be messed with when they set their mind to something, Sirius more so than Regulus. During their games, Sirius would end up just plowing through whoever was in his way. The first time Diana got in Sirius's way was their third or fourth weekly match, and he struck her so hard she fell from her broom. Luckily, she didn't fall far, and she only got a bruise from it. After checking to make sure Diana was alright, Sirius had laughed so hard he almost forgot to apologize and probably would have overlooked it if Regulus hadn't hit his brother upside the head. Diana was happy to see the brothers getting along, especially after hearing from Paul and Barbara how the two had been feuding for several years. Sometimes after their matches, Diana would take the two brothers to the library, where Regulus would more often than not find some Herbology or Ancient Runes text and not look up until it was time for them to leave. Sirius and Diana didn't mind this as both had gotten used to Regulus's social interaction limit, so they spent the time debating everything from the current proposals on the docket for the next Wizengamot session to the best broom polishes.