Again, the room looked exactly as Harry remembered it but it was certainly much better kept than when Sirius had lived here.
The moment the duo were in the kitchen Dorea was approached by a man around her own age who Harry immediately identified as Lord Black.
The man had a very strong presence about him and gave the teen the impression that he should not be crossed. He carried himself proudly and stood about the same height as Harry himself and the most noticeable feature about him was his steely grey eyes which were calculative and very sharp.
"Dorea" he greeted her with a warm smile and a hug. "I'm glad you could make it" he said sincerely.
Dorea returned the hug and looked at her brother speculatively.
"I had very little choice if I remember correctly" she returned gently with a soft chuckle.
Lord Black just rose an eyebrow at her and shook his head amusedly.
"No James or Charlus?" he inquired.
"Sirius is still with us and James insisted on staying with him" Dorea sighed. "And as you know they are rather mischievous so Charlus is keeping an eye on them both" she explained. "The little bastard isn't welcome here anyway" a scathing voice cut in.
Harry recognised the woman he had only ever seen in portrait form; Walburga Black.
Even alive she was not any less impolite evidently.
"Shut up Walburga" Lord Black hissed angrily. "He would be a guest in this house just as you are, remember you only live here because I allow it" he reminded her.
Walburga scowled at him.
"There will never be room for him at a table where I am sat" she mumbled stubbornly. "I cast the bastard out already" she added smugly.
"And as I have told you time and time again, you do not have the authority to do so, the boy will be the head of this family and there is nothing you can do to change that" Lord Black replied coldly. "Then I hope he gets himself killed" the woman stated with a fake smile. "It will be a sad day for this family if he is ever in charge" she declared disgustedly.
"I would remind you that you are merely married in to the family, you shared none of our blood, you have been blessed to receive our name, now I will only tell you once more to shut up" Lord Black growled furiously.
Walburga opened her mouth to speak once more when a man sat next to her placed a hand on her forearm and she thought better of it.
"Hello Harry" Lord Black greeted the teen after shooting the unpleasant woman a final glare.
"Lord Black" Harry responded formally, offering the man a bow. "Thank you for inviting me today, it is an honour" he intoned with practiced ease. "Nonsense boy, and you can just call me Uncle, it is those beneath us that will address me correctly" he explained with a firm nod.
"So this is your other son?" Walburga broke in, addressing Dorea with a distasteful look on her face.
"It is" Dorea confirmed. "This is Walburga, Sirius's mother and wife of my nephew Orion" she introduced to Harry with forced enthusiasm.
Walburga sneered and turned her head away, clearly not interested in greeting the teen.
"I've heard all about you" she grumbled, not even acknowledging Harry.
Harry chuckled.
"I imagine you have" he replied with a shrug. "But you shouldn't listen to other peoples opinions on me and I won't judge you from what I've heard" he concluded with fake kindness.
"Harry" Dorea whispered warningly.
Arcturus snickered but schooled hos features quickly.
Orion stood and offered Harry his hand which the teen took and gave a shake.
"I apologise for my wife's behavior, social etiquette is not her strong point" he sighed.
"Apology accepted Mr. Black" Harry replied cordially.
He got the impression that Orion was very much used to having to apologise for the woman and had no reason to add to his already clearly stressful life.
"This is my son Regulus" Orion continued, gesturing to the boy Harry recognised from the quiditch match. Regulus stood and offered Harry a slightly shaking hand, obviously more than a little nervous by the other teen's presence.
"Hello" he said quietly.
"It's nice to meet you Regulus" Harry returned.
Regulus nodded stiffly before taking a seat.
"This is Melania, the lady Black" Dorea cut in. "Wife of my brother" she finished with fondness in her voice.
The lady was petite with very delicate features and was beautiful. Her smile was welcoming as she bowed her head in greeting.
"It is my pleasure lady Black" Harry intoned, taking the woman's hand and giving it a gentle kiss.
"My you are a handsome one aren't you" Melania observed. "And a gentleman too". "And this" Dorea added. "Is my younger sister Cassiopeia" she explained, indicating the final person sat at the table.
The woman stood and took Harry's hand gently before pulling him into a hug.
"It's just Cassie" she said with a warm smile. "It's nice to meet you Harry".
"You too" Harry replied with a smile.
"Is Pollux not coming?" Dorea asked Arcturus.
"He should be, but the boy is always late" the man answered irritably. "Come Harry, take a seat here" he offered, pulling the seat out on his right from the head of the table.
Harry took the seat and was joined by Dorea who gave her brother another calculating stare before she sat next to the teen.
Before Arcturus could speak again, Walburga beat him to it much too the mans obvious annoyance. "Why have we only just become aware of the boy?" She questioned Dorea demandingly, taking a sip of her tea and waiting for an answer when she was done.
"Family secret" Dorea answered sweetly.
"Are we not your family?" Walburga returned.
"Potter family secret" Dorea answered.
"For Merlin sake Walburga I have already explained this to you" Arcturus broke in irritably.
"I do not like being kept in the dark" the woman grumbled.
"Well none of the family knew about him besides myself" Arcturus said firmly. "And it is not your business to question family things".
Walburga huffed indignantly but spoke no more. She simply stared at Harry through narrowed eyes. It was then that the kitchen door opened, admitting a lithely built man who looked very much like Arcturus though younger and sporting a pointed goatee beard.
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