the secret of Erised {s.b.}

chapter 15: burn

"No time for goodbyes, let's go,"

Walburga Black grabbed both of her children's arms and apparated from Platform 9 ¾ to their living room at 12 Grimmauld Place.

"Leave your trunks here for Kreacher to take upstairs," she ordered her children, "Now go upstairs and change into something more appropriate, we are having company in a few hours."

"But it's not Christmas until tomorrow," Sirius said, "Why are we having guests ?"

His mother glared at him with cold eyes.

"Do as I say," she said.

The sixteen-year-old didn't want to start fighting with his mother, so he followed Regulus up the stairs. They hadn't spoken since the incident with Snape. They reached the corridor where their rooms were but before Sirius could call out Regulus' name, he had already shut the door to his room behind him.

Sirius sighed in defeat and went to his room. He closed the door behind him and sat on his bed. It was almost impossible to see the wallpaper due to the amount of pictures he had put up. His parents had tried to remove them multiple times, but Sirius had enchanted them with a Permanent Sticking Charm so that they could not remove them. The content of the pictures varied from his friends, muggle motorcycles, and his newest addition, girls in bikinis. A few Gryffindor banner hung loosely around the room. He placed a new one every year to symbolise the end of a school year.

There was a black suit hanging on his closet door. He rolled his eyes at the formalwear his parents would make him wear around the house. He knew they only forced them to do so for looks. Sirius began to take his clothes off when his bedroom door swung open revealing Kreacher with his trunk levitating behind him.

"Fuck ! Do you ever knock ?"

"Not when the Mistress doesn't require it," the house elf said smirking, "She says that she expects you downstairs in a few minutes, and wants to see you wearing that suit."

"Well, I was trying to change into it until someone opened the door," Sirius said, "Get the hell out of my room."

Kreacher bowed slightly and walked out of the room, shutting the door with a snap of his fingers.

Sirius groaned and ran his hands through his hair. He finished getting dressed and looked at himself in the mirror. It felt weird to look into a mirror and not have someone be on the other side.

"What do you think, Mer ?" he asked the mirror with a slight smile.

The smile faded as he really took his reflection in. He looked just like his snobby pureblood adoring family wanted and he hated it. He took the black tie off and unbuttoned the first three buttons. He messed up his hair instead of wearing it pushed back as he was always told to do. He looked back at the mirror and smirked at himself.

"Showtime,"

Sirius opened the door and the sound of his cousin Bellatrix's hysterical laugh reached his ears.

Merlin, he thought, This is the top floor.

He walked downstairs and entered the living room where his parents and brother were already sitting down with his cousins, Bellatrix and Narcissa. Sitting beside Bellatrix was her husband, Rodolphus, and next to her sister sat Lucius Malfoy, Narcissa's boyfriend. They were all dressed in black, the men wore fancy black robes and the women long, black dresses. The only difference between Bellatrix's dress and Narcissa's was the sleeves. Narcissa's dress has off shoulder short sleeves while Bellatrix wore a long sleeve dress.