"they said i could become anything"

"so what did you become?"

"a disappointment"

*

"SIRIUS ORION BLACK! DINNER! NOW!"

Sirius cringed at his mother's shrill call and contemplated disobeying her further but decided not to risk it. He stood and checked his appearance in the mirror, not desiring any ridicule for how he looked. His entire blood family would be downstairs to celebrate Christmas Eve dinner, and he didn't want to deal with criticism.

"Mum's going lose it if you don't come down."

"So she had to send a useless puppet to do her bidding?" Sirius asked his brother coldly, not even gracing him with a look. "How does it feel, Reg? Serving two masters now, are we?"

Regulus' dark eyes flashed. "Watch your mouth. You don't need to give them a reason to flip out tonight, not with everyone here."

"I hate them all, so I couldn't care less who is currently sitting in the dining room." Sirius held a bright red tie up against himself. "You like the red?"

"Everyone else is wearing green or black."

"Yeah, I like it, too," he said absentmindedly, completely disregarding his brother's opinion. "We can test just how much it takes to make Mum explode."

"Trust me, you're getting close."

"Give me ten galleons and I'll wear the Gryffindor scarf to dinner instead of the tie."

Regulus glared at him. "Do you want to get yourself killed?"

"We're all dying anyway. Might as well go out with a bang."

"You're so stupid sometimes," Regulus said. He didn't want to make his brother mad, not really. He just wanted to make it through one holiday without it ending in a screaming match. That was probably too much to ask for.

"Just go downstairs, will you!" Sirius snapped angrily, slamming his palms on the dresser, sending the contents to the ground. "I'll be right behind you."

"It's been a week. Still mad, are you?" Regulus asked. He leaned against the doorframe.

Sirius' head snapped up. "What, that you might have blown the only chance I have with her?"

"You did that yourself. Not me," he responded coldly.

As much as he hated to admit it, Sirius knew his brother was right. However, he wasn't about to say that. In a dead quiet voice quivering with anger, he said, "Get out, Reg."

Sensing a change in Sirius' attitude, Regulus left without another word. Sirius bent down to retrieve a picture frame that had fallen, one that displayed the Marauders laughing at a Quidditch game. He felt a lump form in his throat. Four days. Make it four more days and then they'll let you stay at James' house for the rest of the holiday.

Sirius smoothed his hair down a final time and walked downstairs, where he could already hear the chatter of his relatives in the kitchen. He slipped in as quietly as possible and took a seat next to Andromeda Black, the only cousin he actually liked. She was a Slytherin and a few years older than him, but she didn't share all of the same ideologies as her parents. Unlike Sirius, who was flamboyantly anti-tradition, she tended to hang on the outskirts of these gatherings and play safe. She blended in. He supposed it was because she grew up with Bellatrix and Narcissa for sisters. Both were positively intimidating next to the soft Andromeda.

"Have a nice holiday so far?" He muttered to his cousin, who shrugged.

"Okay, I suppose. Bella caught me reading a Muggle book that Ted recommended and made fun of me for it, but that wasn't too bad. It's nice to see you. I never do amymore." Ted Tonks, her Muggle boyfriend. Sirius was the only one in the family who knew about them. Andromeda kept her hands clasped in her lap, her eyes nervously flitting over to Sirius' mother, who happily chatted with their aunts. "We shouldn't get any attention tonight. Not with Cissy being engaged to Lucius and Reg joining the Dark Lord. They'll be the real stars."

"Lucius? But he's still at Hogwarts." Sirius picked up his glass of wine and took a sip, ignoring the comment about Regulus.

"He's eighteen. She's nineteen. I think the engagement is a formality, considering my parents have always talked about her marrying him and it was kind of expected. They won't get married until after the war, probably. That's my guess."

"Great," Sirius joked, "another Black family gathering I can't wait to attend."

"Cheer up, Sirius: it's Christmas Eve."

Sirius smiled briefly at her and glanced around the table as he served himself dinner. Regulus sat down at his left, not saying a word. Down at one end, Bellatrix, laughed too loudly at a dirty joke Rodolphous told, while his other cousins only smirked. Narcissa and Lucius held hands and stared at each other dreamily. His parents conversed with his aunts and uncles about the Ministry's newest law about anti-werewolf legislation. The conversation made him want to scream, and he dug his fingernails into his palms to refrain from snapping. Red crescents formed on his skin from how hard he pressed his nails into it.

"-letting half-breeds into the workforce is a hazard to everyone," his Uncle Cygnus snarled, stabbing his meat angrily.

"I'm working on a draft of the legislation now," his Aunt Lucretia explained proudly. "Make it near impossible for them to get jobs."

Sirius felt his temper begin to rise slowly yet steadily, like a boiling teapot. The steam was not far away. Andromeda put a hand on his arm, willing him to stay calm and knowing that her efforts were in vain.

"Good for you," Sirius' mother said, her tone congratulatory. "They deserve it. Monsters."

"They're not monsters," Sirius heard himself saying. He immediately wished he could shove the words back into his mouth. Now the entire table focused on him. Bellatrix grinned like a wild cat on the prowl.

Sirius's father glared at his eldest. "Stay out of matters you don't understand, son."

"Oh, I understand plenty," Sirius snapped back, his tone icy.

"Sirius," Regulus mumbled, his name a warning so soft that only he could hear it. "Stand down."

"I told you to keep quiet," Mr. Black retorted, his dark brown eyes filled with anger. Regulus shrunk back into his seat. Even though he was still mad, a fierce protectiveness swept over Sirius at his father's scathing remarks. "Both of you."

"No, no, Orion," Uncle Ignatius interrupted. He gestured lazily to Sirius and leaned back in his seat. "If the boy thinks he's smart enough to speak on the subject, we should let him. It might be very enlightening... or entertaining."

Cold fury rushed through his veins. He knew his uncle wanted to humiliate him, but he wasn't going to let that happen. "You call someone who goes through hell once a month due to something that's not their fault a monster? Werewolves didn't ask to be werewolves, and yet we treat them like scum on the street! They're people, too."

Mrs. Black laughed, her amusement a chilling trill. "You're so naive. They are called half-breeds for a reason. They are half-human. Everything that is not pure is lesser, whether it be creatures or blood. The soon you learn that, the better."

"It's truly amazing how much I disagree with you." Sirius took a sip of wine as whispers traveled up and down the table. Andromeda watched her cousin with a nervous expression, shocked at his nerve. She knew he didn't get along with his parents, but this was unlike anything he'd ever done. Going up against the entire family with the entire family present required something between bravery and stupidity. Regulus looked like he wanted to hide under an Invisibility Cloak forever.

"Did you know," Bellatrix started, her black eyes glittering with malice, "that dear Sirius spends his time at school running around with Mudbloods? His filthy Mudblood girlfriend attacked me! Eva Taylor, the Gryffindor Muggle who has no respect for our noble family name, attacked me without cause! And these are the people my cousin keeps company with!"

The aunts and uncles all started whispering, scandalized. For a moment, it looked like Regulus wanted to say something to defend Eva, but he shut his mouth. Sirius made a sudden move to stand, but Andromeda forced him back into his seat. "Don't be stupid!" She pleaded in a quiet tone.

"I can take care off myself, Dromeda," he snapped, shaking her off of him. His gray eyes found Bellatrix and his face knitted into a scowl. "I've seen the prejudice in our society on so many levels. The black eyes she gave you are nothing in comparison to what she has to deal with."

"Is that so?" Aunt Lucretia sneered. "And what is it exactly that you plan to pursue after graduating from Hogwarts?"

"Oh, I fancy becoming an Auror," Sirius said loftily, the trace of a grin on his handsome face. "Make a difference, you know? Being a dark wizard catcher might be fun. Then I can spend my entire life tracking down idiots like Reg."

The room immediately fell silent. Even Bellatrix quit laughing long enough to stare in shock.

Sirius sat in his seat, unsure of whether he should be proud or frightened, but thinking of the prejudice Remus and Eva faced convinced the boy that he had made the right decision.

"Sirius." He has never heard his mother's voice so quiet, or so dangerous. "Upstairs. Now."

"I'm seventeen. I'm an adult, if you haven't bloody noticed. You can't force me to go anywhere I don't want to go."

"Watch me," she hissed. "I will deal with you later."

Andromeda leaned over and hurriedly whispered, "Sirius, please just go, you're going to get in so much trouble."

"I already am," he muttered back before standing. "No one liked my joke? Shame. Did you know there's an entire hallway in Azkaban reserved for our family? Yep, it's labeled Black and everything. The dementors make bets on us, see. Who will wind up in prison first, Uncle Cygnus or Cousin Bella? Ten galleons for the winner! I suppose we'll be having reunions in there soon enough."

"Upstairs."

This time it was Sirius' father who spoke, and the single word was enough to compel him to move. He walked past his relatives with his head held high. As he passed his mother, she slapped him across the face, right where a bruise already occupied. Andromeda paled at this. Even though he stood tall and brave, she thought she saw a flicker of fear in her older cousin's dark grey eyes.

Right before Sirius left the room, he turned around. He knew he was going to get it later, but the triumph of the moment was motivation enough to say one more thing. "Happy Christmas. As Tiny Tim so wisely said, 'God bless everyone except the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black.'"