The young Heiress marveled in awe at how big the family tree was. Celeste technically was standing in front of her family for the first time.
"You're not on here!" said Harry, scanning the bottom of the tree. above Sirius' name was supposed to be a mini picture of him but looked to be burnt off.
"I used to be there," said Sirius, pointing at the charred hole. "My sweet old mother blasted me off after I ran away from home ─ Kreacher's quite fond of muttering the story under his breath."
"I don't think I want to be on this tree now," grumbled Celeste realizing how awful it was now. The look of awe was replaced by disgust at her grandmother's actions.
"You ran away from home?"
"When I was sixteen," said Sirius. "I had enough."
"Where did you go?" asked Harry, staring at him.
"Your dad's place." said Sirius. "Your grandparents were really good about it they sort of adopted me as their second son. I was there for the school holidays and summer until I was seventeen and got my own place. My Uncle Alphard left me a decent bit of gold ─ he's actually wiped off here too...probably cause he helped me. Anyway, after that, I looked after myself. I was always welcomed at Pa and Ma's place for Sunday lunch."
"But...why did you leave...?" Celeste asked. 'Why did you leave but my father stayed?'
"Leave?" Sirius smiled bitterly and ran through his long hair, "Because I hated the whole lot of them: My parents, with their pureblood mania, convinced that to be a Black made you practically royal...I love my brother...but I wish he would've just left instead. Maybe he would still be here. But he loved Cissy and Rey too much to leave them behind. He joined the Death Eaters,"
Sirius jabbed a finger at the bottom of the tree, "REGULUS BLACK"
"Why doesn't it say that he's...?" Celeste asked time wondering why she couldn't see his death date.
"In some cases, it would show that they are just 'lost' or 'missing' but never dead. I would've gotten my hopes up kiddo... believe me when I said your mother tried to search for him but then she ─"
"Died." Celeste finished.
"W─Were your parent's Death Eaters as well?"
"No, no, but believe me they thought Voldemort had the right idea, they were all for purification of the Wizarding race, getting rid of muggleborns, and having purebloods in charge. They weren't alone either, there were quite a few people before Voldemort showed his true colors, who thought he had the right idea about things...they got cold feet when they saw what was prepared to do to get that power. Though, I bet my parents thought Regulus was a right little hero for joining up at first."
"So if why is he considered dead but on here it's blank?" Harry asked tentatively.
"A lot of the Wizarding world is convinced that Regulus ran away and committed suicide or something a few days after the Wedding. In the end, Amelia Bones and Moody wrote him off as missing/dead and the case closed when Reyna died."
"I believe that he was caught by Voldemort or some of his followers." sighed Sirius. "But like I said, nobody knows what happened to him."
"lunch!" said Mrs. Weasley.
The three were still watching over at the tapestry as Sirius recalled some of his family members.
"....I see Tonks isn't on here...maybe that's why Kreacher takes orders from her ─ but I see he seems to you. Can't say I'm surprised Regulus always seemed to get along with em'."
"Her mother Andromeda was my favorite cousin...who's also burnt off." Sirius pointed between the two names.
"She's happily married to Ted Tonks...he's got great music taste." Sirius quipped with a small smile. He always did like him, he was good for Andy.
There was one name that made Celeste's stomach do a flip.
"Lestrange...." Harry said out loud. He remembered the third year when they were mentioned.
"They're in Azkaban," said Sirius shortly.
"Bellatrix and her husband came with Barty Crouch Jr." said in the same brusque voice. "Rodolphus' brother Rabastan is with them too."
And that's when Harry remembered that he also saw her in Dumbledore's Pensieve.
They're the reason that Neville is practically an orphan. Celeste thought feeling terrible. She wondered how the Longbottom could be friends with her when her relatives ruined his life.
"You never said that she was your ─"
"Does it matter if she's my cousin?" snapped Sirius. "Or that she's related to the both of us. They're not my family and certainly Bellatrix Lestrange is not my family nor Celeste's. I haven't seen her since I was your age."
"He didn't mean it like that. Harold here has no filter." Celeste nudged him making him roll his eyes.
"I'm sorry ─ as she said, I didn't man it like that ─ I was just surprised," Harry said, feeling guilty.
"It doesn't matter." Sirius waved his hand dismissively, knowing that Harry meant well. "I just never thought I'd be stuck in this house again."
"But once this is all over. I'm leaving this place. Maybe getting a house near Andy's. I always did love the beach." Sirius added with a small smile.
"When this is all over. We can be a family again. All four of us: Remus, Celeste, me and you." Sirius vowed.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
![² Carpe Diem ✸ Harry Potter [ discontinued ] ✓](https://img.wattpad.com/cover/247706057-64-k920670.jpg)