Éthérée

CHAPTER 38

26th July.

The heavy ballgowns, the hauntingly dark waltz music, and the polished black shoes fit in perfectly with the atmosphere. The Scared 28 was a prestigious group, that much was clear. But it was prestigious for all the wrong reasons. The synchrony of the pairs and the same emotionless look on most of their faces made Sirius' skin crawl. It's as if they were robots, all designed to walk properly, dance in the same manner, speak in a certain way, drink with grace. He took a swig of whatever liquid was present in the crystal glasses and flinched a little at the taste. Firewhiskey, of course, he thought as he recalled the taste of the bitter beverage he had accidentally had back in his third year at a Quidditch party. Something about the faint synchronized tapping of the heels of the soles of the shoes of the countless people on the floor against the shining black marble with the dark music made Sirius want to throw up.

He diverted his gaze towards his younger brother. More specifically, the people that surrounded him. Evan Rosier, Theodore Nott, and Alea Greengrass stood around the obviously uncomfortable Regulus talking to him about something Sirius couldn't hear.

After Regulus' sorting the two hadn't been on the best of terms. But when he saw the pleading look in his brother's eyes, he was obliged to go help him out. So with a roll of his neck, long confident strides, and a cigarette in his hand, Sirius Black willingly walked towards the four, something he never imagined doing.

He cleared his throat politely, not wanting to make a huge scene that early into his holidays. Theodore was the first to look at him. A smug and obviously sarcastic grin made way on his face.

"Ah, yes. The older Black. A pleasure to have you with us, Sirius. What can we do for you?" he asked keeping up the little facade he had. Sirius smiled a tight smile and put a hand on Regulus' shoulder.

"I'm just here to get Regulus away from you filthy bastards," he said, maintaining the smile he had. Nott's grin dropped immediately, and his fists clenched in anger and shame.

"Well then Regulus, c'mon," Sirius said turning to face his brother. Regulus nodded in answer, his eyes looking down, and the two made their way away from the group, out of the ballroom.

With a long inhale of the fresh and slightly cooler air, Sirius let his features rest.

"Thanks. They were killing me," Regulus said looking at him. He nodded in answer, not a trace of a smile on his features.

Sirius gracefully fished out a cigarette and a pitch-black lighter with the Beatles logo imprinted onto it. Lighting it, he inhaled deeply, the smoke filling his senses. He exhaled.

"What were they talking about?" he asked after a few moments of silence.

"The dark arts. Trying to brainwash me further," Regulus replied, sitting on the edge of the many stone fountains. Everything at the Rosiers' was pitch black. That's how it was in almost every house of the people inside the ballroom. The walls, the floor, even the stone, black. Sirius hated how it felt. A feeling of impending doom loomed over the manor as if something bad was just going to happen, and considering the people who lived inside it, something probably did. He had learnt to hate the colour and hated how it was a part of his name. He hated it because when he saw it, all he would ever think of was the countless days and nights he had spent bleeding out on top of the black floors of Grimmauld place, only being able to murmur for help.

"They don't know that you're already brainwashed to the fullest, do they?" Sirius remarked snarkily. Regulus rolled his eyes at the comment, pulling off his jacket in the hot summer air.

"Sirius, why can't you, for one second, use your fucking mind-" Regulus started but stopped when he saw Narcissa coming towards the pair. He couldn't care less about what everyone at the ball thought of him, but Cissa was the only one who treated him with humanity. She was his only real sister. Regulus straightened his posture, looking away from Sirius towards her approaching figure.

"Regulus, Sirius," she nodded at them. "They want you two inside. Alea and you have to waltz," Narcissa said, looking at Sirius. He groaned in response, and Cissa cracked a sympathetic smile.

"I'll be inside in five minutes. Surely she can wait for some time," he replied bitterly and Narcissa nodded making her way back inside with Regulus on her side. She wrapped an arm around the tired boy, and he leaned his head on her shoulder.

Sirius fished out the two-way mirror from his robe's pocket. Casting a wary look around himself, he muttered Audrey's name into it.

"Audrey,"

"Vixen?"

"Aud, where are you?" he called out for the third time.

"I'm here, I'm here. Sorry, I was changing," Audrey said, coming in to view, her hair all dishevelled, and a loose black t-shirt hanging around her frame. "Are you at the ball?" she asked with furrowed brows, noticing his fancy robes.

"Yup. Rosier Manor, or as I like to call it, one of the deepest pits of hell," he said miserably. Audrey smiled sadly.

"How are they treating you there?" she asked.

"Well, it's just the 26th right now. I have almost half of the holidays left. It's not been so bad," Sirius said with a shrug. He was very obviously lying. The cruciatus curse had been bad. His parents tortured him only for defending his friends when they had called Lily a mudblood, the Potters blood traitors, and Remus a half-blood. It made his blood boil, and they made sure it did with a flick of their wands simultaneously.

Audrey knew he was lying. She could see it in his eyes.

"Alright then. Just, keep yourself out of trouble for a while, yeah? Practice a little bit of self-preservation," she said looking at him with kind eyes and a soft tone.

"You know I won't," he replied with a cheeky wink. She laughed and rolled her watery eyes, and he smiled at the sound.

"SIRIUS!" the loud call of Orion Black boomed through the atmosphere. Sirius' gaze snapped towards the source of the sound. It was the first time Audrey had ever seen pure fear settle over him.

"I have to go. Talk to you later foxy lady," he said hurriedly and without waiting for a response, he vanished from the mirror. Audrey put hers down as well, and lying back onto her bed, she looked out her window. A star with a golden-ish tint shone brighter than any other, right outside her window.

"Good night Sirius," she whispered looking at it, and sleep took her.

***

Holiday filler, just a bit of a look into Sirius' side of the holidays.

Please vote and comment. It's always great to see interaction. The algorithm's working for me again, and people are adding Etheree to their libraries amost every day. So, I'm really grateful for everyone who has shown interest, the readers, and most prominently the people who vote and comment! All of you really make my day!

Please drink some water, and have something to eat. You look perfect my children.

yours truly,

kaash.