The Fearsome Name of Riddle

Flying Lesson

The curves of the quaffle were a bit big for small hands but Octavian Malfoy and Regulus Black tried their best as they tossed it to each other on the grass outside Malfoy Manor. An autumn sun sat high in the sky, a cool breeze reminding them that winter was on its way. Regulus's older brother had been begging his mother to let him use the practice broom she had bought him. Walburga had said it was too dangerous to use around Grimmauld Place and she wouldn't see her heir injured in a stupid accident because of his own recklessness, but Victoria had agreed to watch him while he took his first flight.

"I've got it. Can you see, Mother? I can do it." Sirius called down from his broom, hovering a few feet from the floor.

"Very good, Sirius." Walburga nodded, shading her eyes as she sat comfortably on a bench at the edge of the gardens. "Make sure you're listening."

"I am," Sirius grumbled as he gripped the handle of his broom a little tighter.

The Black matriarch's eyes lingered on Victoria. She had snapped her gaze back towards Sirius when he spoke, her face falling as she was reminded of the hole in her life.

"He's not dead, Victoria," Walburga called over to her, the brooms barely five feet off the ground. "Lucius will be back at Christmas."

"I know that." Victoria flew past Sirius, waving her wand out and levitating two metal hoops into the air between them. "It's just strange without him."

Walburga grew quiet, her gaze flickering to Sirius and then down to Regulus as he failed to catch the quaffle. Orion worked day and night, the thought of an empty house again felt chilling. Her children brought a warmth to the cold halls of Grimmauld Place; she couldn't imagine what it would be like to live without them again.

"Okay, little man," Victoria said, bringing her attention back to Sirius. "Come over here, through the hoops if you can."

"I can definitely do it." Sirius leaned forward, a determined smile on his face.

The broom flew forward sharply, jerking Sirius down onto the handle as he gripped it tightly. The Black heir ducked his head and cleared the first floating metal hoop with ease however in his victory, Sirius forgot to duck a second time and took a hit to the chest. He flipped from his broom and fell backwards. Before he hit though, a hand grasped his wrist and suspended him a couple inches from the grass.

He opened his eyes again. Victoria had caught him, cold fingers holding him firmly but gently enough not to hurt.

"How did you go so fast?" Sirius exclaimed, swinging a little before Victoria touched his feet onto the ground. "You were all the way over there!"

"Magic," Victoria smirked, setting down herself.

Sirius rolled his eyes then his shoulder to remove the ache, and ran over to where his broom had fallen. He knew that Mrs Malfoy used to play quidditch but he wasn't expecting a grown up to still be able to fly quite so quickly without a second thought. His mother had made such a fuss and Victoria was making it look easy.

His little hands wrapped around the sleek wooden handle. It was brand new, the best broom makers had to offer. Everything he owned was like that, even down to the puffskien fur socks inside his shoes.

"Did you put a charm on your broom?" Sirius asked, jogging back towards Victoria. "Can you charm mine? I can barely fly over Mother's head with this."

"Don't go zipping off, Sirius," Walburga said, her eyes wandering back to the excitable five year old. "You'll break your neck."

The older he got, the more he put her on edge. He wanted to experience everything, run everywhere, without a care for anything else around him. It was a courage Walburga admired, one she wished she'd clung on to into her adult life. She just didn't want him to sprint to his death or let himself get lost.