The Black Heir

One

One

July 31, 1991

The Tonks House

England, London

Today was his birthday. His eleventh birthday, the day he would receive that very special letter that would forever change your life. Hadrian couldn't have been any more excited. He had been waiting for this day his whole life.

"Stay still for a minute, sport, or you'll go running out the door with no letter in the sight." His father chided him, though he was still smiling when he told him so. Hadrian forced himself back on his seat around the dinner table as the house-elves prepared their breakfast, lifting his head with a bright, wide grin when his mother came stumbling downstairs.

His mother's long, red hair was a long, disheveled mess as she stalked towards the kitchen table, sitting beside him on the tall, wooden chair, "Why did nobody wake me?" She inquired them, throwing a mouthful of a toast into her mouth. "You know I have an early trial this morning." She cast an accusing eye at his father then, to which his father merely grinned somewhat innocently, and replied, "The trial had been rescheduled. You've been sleeping when they flooed to notify. So, you still have a few hours of the time before you go."

His mother waved her hand dramatically in the response, almost looking like she was ready to jump in the joy. "Thank, Merlin! I didn't wish to deal with Dolohov and his nasty, snake-like attorney any earlier than I absolutely have to. Do you know he smells like he has just been inside a swamp? Someone really should tell him he should shower." And seeming to only notice he was sitting there beside her, his mother turned dramatically and immediately began to slowly kiss him all over the face. "And how are you, my little munchkin? Have you slept well? You didn't bug your sisters too much, eh?" Sisters? Since when did he have sisters? "I am telling you, honey, Faith and Hope are as bad as those Weasley twins sometimes." His mother rolled her eyes affectionately, as she waved her hand to pour a coffee into her cup. "Speaking of trials, Reggie, when's yours?"

His father flinched as if even the mention of the trial was something both horrifying and just nightmare-like. "Tomorrow." He replied. "Bellatrix. They finally caught her, but not before she murdered four of Potter's squad. And I cannot even begin to say how I'm not looking forward to that one. I mean, why did they have to assign me as her lawyer? And I couldn't refuse either, after my stunt with her husband last month. They didn't like the fact I refused to defend him. Now, I'm stuck with someone far worse. And knowing Bella, she would just insult me along the way."

His father sighed deeply, and seeming to realize they were talking work on the dinner table, cleared his throat and turned to him, "Are you finished with your breakfast? Well, why don't you run along then? Get dressed. We do have a birthday party to prepare."

Just when Harry was about to leave, he could hear somebody screaming in his ear. "Harry, you little tosser, wake up!" Startled, Harry awoke with a start, glaring deeply at his cousin's dark eyes. She was sitting on the ground by his side, quite an innocent smile playing on her face, considering what a great crime she had just committed by waking him up. He was having a very nice dream, and just like always, she went and ruined it. Nymhadora rolled her eyes when she saw the expression on his face, "Dramatic much? I wouldn't have woken you up either, Black, if Mom didn't tell me to. So, quit pouting and get up, or else Mom would come here to drag both of our arses. And we don't want that now, do we?"

Certainly not.

Harry dragged himself off the bed by the force, throwing his pajamas out of his head and swapping it with a newly bought, dark robe that he found he didn't like much – he much preferred the muggle clothes, thank you very much. Nymphadora casually hung around, touching the books that lay comfortably on the bookshelf and the Qudditch trophies that he had stolen from his father's room the one time he had visited the old house in London. "What did you dream about that you've been so upset to wake up from, anyway?"