The Raven and the Snake

Extra: Regulus (ten years later)

Regulus Black watched his mother and their house elves fuss over his and his sisters' clothing. Lillith was looking impatient, her little arms crossed and a scowl painted on her fair features whereas, Delphini, good-natured as always was quietly playing with the frills on the hem of her dress.

His mother had planned the outfits for today months ahead of time, but now in the final hours before their departure, she was having second thoughts. They all looked completely fine, really. It was just nerves.

Ariadne herself was dressed rather beautifully in a long, emerald green dress. Her curly black hair was braided intricately, her makeup flawless, looking more put-together than usual. Though she was always beautiful, this was perhaps the most attention to detail she'd ever gone through for something other than family portrait days which she did every other year.

"You remember to be on your best behavior, yes? No running off into the forest, trying to swim in the lake, or nicking things from the castle." She said it like she was addressing all three of her children, but Regulus knew she was really only saying it to Lillith.

Lillith rolled her pale green eyes for about the millionth time that morning and fiddled with a loose lock of her flaming red hair. "Yes, mum."

Nervously, Ariadne smoothed Regulus's hair and knelt to straighten his already perfectly straight collar. She touched his cheek affectionately. "This is the largest gathering we'll have ever attended. There'll be a lot of people that don't know about you and will be curious. The press might try to ask you questions, but you can just ignore them."

She'd already gone over this with them more than a dozen times. Ariadne herself was so beautiful, people took notice of her wherever they went. She was used to the prying eyes of people both from the wizarding and muggle world, the leers of uncouth men, the much too pointed questions, and curiosity about her children. She had already explained what people to look out for, who to ignore, and what sorts of questions might be asked.

The three children, she seemed to think, might not be entirely welcome at her alma mater. There may be many who didn't look upon her too kindly either, but while that didn't bother her, she didn't want the children to walk away with a bad impression of the school.

"Will he be there?" Regulus asked, jerking his head pointedly at the latest family portrait that was proudly mounted over the mantle, referring to Ariadne's husband and pinching his face to make it clear he didn't approve.

Ariadne's already tense smile tightened slightly. As a general rule, Regulus tried not to upset his mother, Lillith did that enough, but on the subject of Ariadne's husband, he couldn't help but show his displeasure.

"I don't think so, pet," she said in a sympathetic tone, though he'd made it clear that he'd preferred that the man not show his face.

Indeed, while the event had been on the calendar since the start of the year, Ariadne with every intention of going, her husband hadn't committed. While she had spent the entire morning preparing, he hadn't once graced them with his presence.

Despite always trying to present him in the best light, Regulus still couldn't fathom why his mother had chosen that man. From the corner of his eye, he could see his sisters looking at him. Delphini with an almost pitying look, she was unwilling to offer her honest opinion so he didn't know how she felt about the man either, but she didn't like Regulus upsetting their mother. This was one of the few times Lillith actually did agree with her brother, but all she gave was a little huff as she knew it was a losing battle.

"Ma'am," Winky, the house elf called to them. "The portkey is ready, we should be going now."

For a moment, Ariadne looked nearly as green as her dress, but she quickly straightened, pulling on her travelling cloak. They had to take three separate portkeys just to reach the town of Hogsmeade and then, all a little shaky on their feet, their stomachs churning, they followed the crowds up toward the castle.