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January fourteenth, nineteen-sixty

CYGNUS BLACK WAS a very stoic man, raised in a belief that a person's face was their tell— their very undoing, and for a family as infamous as the most ancient and noble Black's, you don't rise to the very top of society if your motives and secrets are written across your face.

This however did not stop the man from pacing the floor of his study, arms crossed, deep in thought, his eyebrows creased and worry lines deepened on that cold winter day as he awaited the news that could possibly change the course of his family's fortune thus far.

He was a father of three girls, three lovely pureblood girls, which most men would be satisfied with, though not if you were a Black, as when you were a Black there was nothing in wizarding Britain more important than an heir.

Cygnus himself of course was not the Head of house Black, that burden fell with the husband of his sister Walburga, who was their cousin to boot, though it would be a lie to suggest Cygnus didn't secretly hope to produce boys that would transfer the line of succession to his branch of the family.

Though three daughters and a newborn son blessed only months prior to his sister later, that would not be the case, and he could only hope that the child his wife was currently labouring would be his long awaited son, so at least in the end his line wouldn't face extinction.

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It seemed that luck was not in Cygnus' favour that night, as six hours later not one, but two daughters were born into the Noble and most Ancient House of Black.

Perenelle and Vaudeline, both rosy cheeked and plump, perfectly healthy— though not sons.

Though the two were twins, the girls could not be more different, one with hair black as night, and the other with hair as gold as the dawn, though Perenelle Black knew it was far more than the colour of their hair that set the two apart.

There was an unspoken rule among their family, though if it was ever broken it was quickly reinforced aloud; Black's are not emotional, we are a force to be reckoned with.

If a Black was emotional, they did so with a fiery, almost cutting edge. Outward emotion was reserved for offensive and defensive measures.

It worked for her father, and it most definitely was instilled in her eldest sister Bellatrix, though Perenelle— ever desperate to please her parents, never found herself able to follow their simple cardinal rule.

Perenelle couldn't help that she felt, she felt so deeply, the girls emotions spilling out of her at every whim whether it be positive or negative, much to the chagrin of her parents.

Her mother did always say she cried more than Vaudeline as an infant, though whether it was meant as an insult to her— as they put it, severe character flaw, it was an insult that flew over the young Perenelle's head, smile stretching wide as she giggled, apologizing for keeping the maid up so often so many years ago.

Perenelle adored her family, enamoured by the gowns her mother wore, the way her older sisters did their hair, and especially her cousin Sirius, only a few months older than her and Vaudeline.

The two were thick as thieves, as Andromeda had called them, running through the halls of their family's estates, begging Vaudeline to join them despite her pleas to leave her to her dolls, Sirius, despite being bound by blood and last name, was her very best friend.

Of course it's easy to love a family such as the Black's when you're a child, and merely seeing the world through rose coloured glasses, as Perenelle missed every wince that flashed across Andromeda's face when she laughed at how similar she found Sirius and Bellatrix, so passionate and outspoken, and she missed the flash of annoyance glaze over her father's statuesque face when her aunt Walburga joked that perhaps Bellatrix would be the closest thing to a headstrong son he would ever have.

She missed the nervous flutter in Narcissa's voice every time their parents brought up possible prospects, instead thinking of the grand weddings, and expensive dresses; she never saw any of the signs that something was off.

Until she did.

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July twenty first, nineteen-sixty eight

The ballroom of the Black Manor was bustling with people, and Perenelle couldn't help but be awestruck by the glittering fabrics surrounding her as couples danced in the centre, the wedding of Bellatrix Black to Rodolphus Lestrange well under way.

"Isn't it magical Vaud?" Perenelle sighed, her hands swishing her own dress robes back and forth as she simulated the adults in front of them.

"Mrs. Flint looks like a fairy! But, oh, Pera look over there, at Mrs. Bulstrode!" Vaudeline mused, hiding her mouth with her hand as she giggled, "Her robes are just hideous, I wonder what she did to anger her tailor!"

"—Are you two making fun of poor Mrs. Bulstrode's dress robes?"

The twins jumped at the interruption, though let out identical giggles when they saw it was only Andromeda crouched behind them,

"Of course not!"

"Well sort of"

"Vaudeline!" Perenelle sighed, waving her hands in defeat as her twin gave them up so easily, and Andromeda stifled a laugh.

"Sh" She whispered, her finger over her lips, "It will be our secret, I won't tell"

Their fifteen year old sister looked over her shoulder before leaning towards them,

"Though I will admit, she looks bloody horrendous— fuchsia, really? With that fabric?" And Andromeda disappeared back into the crowd of dancing elites.

After more laughs at Mrs. Bulstrode's expense, the two girls made their way back to their table, a long highly decorated strip at the front of the ballroom, nothing less for the family of the bride of course, and sat down in their identically decorated chairs.

"Do you think Gideon will ask me to dance?" Perenelle sighed, her chin resting on her hand as she leaned against the extravagant mahogany table.

"Gideon Prewett?" Vaudeline asked, a little too loud, and Perenelle frantically shushed her in response.

"Are you telling me you still fancy Gideon Prewett, I thought you were over that by Yule!"

"I was!" Perenelle defended, "But then I saw him at the Ministry ball on New Years Eve... oh Vaud how couldn't I fan—"

"—They're coming over here!"

"Who?"

"The twins!"

"The Prewett's?"

"What other twins do we know?"

Perenelle smoothed out her hair and and sat up straighter, and her sister was right, the Prewett twins were headed straight for them, with Sirius in tow mind you, and it took everything in Perenelle to fight the blush begging to appear across her pale cheeks.

"Perenelle you look terrifie—" Vaudeline began,

"—Twins that I am related to, you remember the twins I am not related to right?" Sirius said, reaching the girls first, Gideon and Fabian waving hello in their matching robes.

The prewetts were an occasionally often presence in their lives, seeing as though their uncle Ignacius had married Sirius' aunt Lucretia.

"Of course we do" Vaudeline said, kicking Perenelle under the table to unleash her from her stupor,

"O-oh!" She said, glaring at her sister before sheepishly turning back towards their guests,
"Hey Gideon, Fabian"

"Did your mum make you two match too?" Fabian grimaced, looking at him and his brother, then towards the girls and their matching dusty blue dress robes.

"Yes she did" Perenelle said, looking between her and Vaudeline, "I see it's not just our mum who does it"

"I hate to interrupt this enthralling discussion about dress robes, but can we please do something fun, I think I'm going mad in here" Sirius cut in, dramatically collapsing against the table, and Perenelle straightened up in her seat.

"We could go dance?" She suggested nervously, eyeing Gideon out of the corner of her eye.

"Oh come on! Dan—"

"—Why not" Fabian shrugged, cutting off Sirius who groaned and sunk to the floor.

Fabian eyed his brother, and Gideon sheepishly extended a hand out to Perenelle while Fabian did the same for Vaudeline, and while internally Perenelle was collapsing she graciously accepted the older boy's hand in hers.

The two sets of twins made their way to the ballroom's dance floor, Sirius grumbling after them, and Gideon spun Perenelle— her dress robes fanning out, before clasping their hands as the hired band transitioned into playing a French waltz.

She could see Vaudeline and Fabian doing the same to their left, and Sirius swaying to himself behind them, and she couldn't bring herself to look Gideon in the eyes as he led the dance.

"Does your mum make you take dance lessons as well?" He asked, breaking the silence— and Perenelle wasn't sure if it was a figment of her imagination, but she could swear that his eyes shone nervously just as hers did.

"Of course" She replied, her voice choking as though she had to force it out of her throat, "Though she insists Vaud and I focus more on the art of ballet" drawing out the last of her sentence in an impersonation of her mothers sophisticated French accent.

Gideon chuckled, and spun her as the others in the crowd did the same, their waltz resuming, "My mum isn't as old school, she made Fabian and I do at least some lessons last summer though, you know, so we didn't look like total numpties at the occasional ball"

Perenelle giggled at that, imagining the twin boys looking quite similarly to Sirius at that very moment, who had taken to prancing around the two sets of twins— dancing and swaying obnoxiously to the elegant string quartet.

"Are you excited for scho—" Perenelle began, only to be interrupted by an approaching Mrs. Bulstrode, hands clasped over her mouth as she drew the attention of the other courtiers,

"Oh look how precious! The twins are dancing!"

Perenelle instinctively unclasped her hands from Gideon's, and it seemed the red headed boy had faced a similar conclusion, as the two stepped back from each other— identical blushed cheeks mirroring their faces.

Vaudeline and Fabian hadn't been as startled, still dancing even as the pureblood ladies fawned over them, whispers of how adorable! and isn't this just a treat! leaving their mouths as they focused their attention on the children.

"Didn't I say dancing was a horrible idea" Sirius whined, suddenly appearing in front of the two, now dancing in a strange girating motion that clashed heavily with the slow classical music.

"You look ridiculous" Perenelle mused, an eyebrow raised at her cousin, and she could sense Gideon's presence beside her, his shoulders shaking in silent laughter out of the corner of her eye.

She didn't dare look at him of course, terrified that her cheeks would give her away, and thus scare the the older boy far from her, and Sirius only continued his strange dance, ignoring the strange looks from the purebloods around them.

"If I wanted to be bored and made fun of I would have stayed with my brother." Sirius huffed, and Perenelle rolled her eyes.

"What do you say you two, how about we do something actually fun? We could charm the cake to da—"

"—Oh no we won't!" Perenelle laughed, "My sister would kill you, and then I'd have to kill her for murdering my favourite cousin! Don't give me that burden!"

"It could be fun" Gideon shrugged, and Perenelle huffed in defeat, the stupidity of boys, and scampered off to find Narcissa as the two boys left the crowd scheming.

"There you are" Narcissa said as Perenelle approached her thirteen year old sister, dressed to the nines in light pink dress robes, her blonde curls delicately pulled away from her face, "Guinevere's mother just came up to us gushing over you and one of the Prewett twins" She continued, raising her eyebrow in suspicion, her best friend Guinevere Bulstrode doing the very same.

Perenelle didn't answer, far too embarrassed, instead hiding her face in the tulle of Narcissa's robes, and the older girls giggled before Narcissa sent Guinevere away.

"Come on Pera, let's go dance"

And Perenelle took her sisters hand, the two skipping back over to the dance floor, one thought clouding her mind as they went—

Mrs. Bulstrode really did look atrocious in fuchsia.

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authors note:

I hope you guys are as excited for this as I am! please remember to vote & comment it means the world to me <3