Chapter 38: Deals

(November 5, 1993) Friday

 (General POV)

 The first week of November went by in what seemed like the blink of an eye, though it probably only seemed that way to the students of Hogwarts because they were enjoying not having Umbridge there to ruin their lives.

"You remember Umbridge?" Godric asked no one as he flipped through the morning's issue of the Daily Prophet. "Yes…" Rowena answered for the group when no one else was willing to answer Godric. "She's dead." Godric answered simply.

Everyone stared blankly at him for all of five seconds before they went back to talking with each other about whatever they had been talking about before.

 "Tomorrows the first Quidditch match of the year. Are you two nervous?" Susan asked while looking back and forth between Godric and Harry, who would be playing in tomorrow's game with Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff.

"Are you kidding? We're going to demolish your house! Right, Harry?!" Godric said excitedly. He was rather looking forward to playing Quidditch, especially against people that weren't on his team. Wood always got mad at Godric for going over the top with their teammates, but now that they would be playing against another team, they were all fair game.

"We've been training pretty hard every week since the year started. I think we're going to do pretty good." Harry said modestly, though the smile on his face spoke volumes about how he really felt. "Boys…" Rowena said with a sigh. She, like Salazar, didn't see what all the fuss was about the stupid game that was Quidditch, and didn't know how they could be so excited about playing it.

 "On to a more interesting topic. With Hermione's recent win in the Coliseum, she is now in the top ten overall of Hogwarts students. That makes five of our team the leading contenders. Any chance either of you two are going to attempt to work your way up the list?" Salazar asked while looking pointedly between Helga and Neville.

He, Godric, Rowena, Harry, and Hermione had worked their way through the students in the higher years fairly quickly, to the point they were all on the top ten ranking board, however Helga had dueled only twice when she had been challenged, and Neville had only dueled the students in third and fourth-year.

Salazar and Godric weren't sure why Neville was taking his time, after all none of the students in fourth year had even come close to beating him. Honestly, with a bit more confidence, the boy might have even been able to claim sixth or seventh place on the rankings.

 "Shove it, Salazar. There is no reason why either of us have to work our way up that list. We're already ahead of most students, and I don't think we need to flaunt our status anymore than we already do. Besides, if we all actually do make the top ten rankings, do you think any of the other students will actually want to duel with us?" Helga said, bringing Salazar up short.

Godric on the other hand wasn't all that concerned as he replied, "We don't need to worry about students not challenging us at least until seventh year. It makes the losers in the higher years look bad if it shows they lost to a bunch of kids in years lower than theirs. I bet they'll train harder now so they can reclaim their pride." Pausing, Godric looked over to the Gryffindor table at a certain redhead.

"You hear that, Percy!? This isn't going to look good on your record if it shows you got your ass handed to you by a bunch of third-years!" Godric shouted at the oldest Weasley, whose face was turning the color of his hair.

It had been very fun to challenge and then humiliate Percy in the Coliseum, and it was almost therapeutic when, after losing to Godric, Salazar, and Rowena, Penelope Clearwater challenged the Weasley, and had actually beaten him. If it wasn't obvious before who wore the pants in their relationship, it was now.

 "I've warned you about that poisonous tongue of yours, Mister Gryffindor. That'll be ten points. Anymore and it'll be twenty!" McGonagall's voice echoed over the great hall from where she was sitting at the head table.

It was clear she was tired of warning Godric about using such crass language, so now she was getting right down to taking points away from him. Frowning, Godric looked at his head of house then back to Percy Weasley. It almost looked as though he was calculating if it was worth saying what he wanted to say next. In the end he thought better about it and decided to bite his tongue. For now.

 "Tell you what, Neville. If you make the top ten rankings list before Christmas, I'll buy you something really extravagant this year. Something you probably wouldn't be able to easily get. Incentive enough?" Godric said to his housemate, who still looked a little unsure of himself.

"I don't know, Godric. I-I'll think about it." Neville said, still unsure about challenging fifth or even sixth-year students. "Don't worry about it, Neville. Just take your time and don't rush into anything." Helga said comfortingly to Neville while giving his hand a gentle squeeze to relax him.

 As breakfast finished up and everyone headed to their next classes, Salazar asked Godric, "So how did the decrepit toad die?" He was referring to Delores Umbridge, but Godric knew exactly who he was talking about when he asked about the toad. Everyone knew that. "

Suicide." Godric answered simply. "It couldn't have happened to a nicer person." Salazar responded with a faint smile. 

 --------

 The next morning the school was buzzing with excitement about Quidditch. Gryffindor was favored to win, however most of the school was hoping for Hufflepuff, mostly because they wanted Godric specifically to lose. He was not well-liked by the other Quidditch teams.

"So you're not going to come watch the game?" Godric asked Salazar, who was trying to ignore him as he ate his oatmeal. "The day I come watch you play Quidditch is the day I impale you with a brick." Salazar stated, reiterating how much he did not like the game.

"Luna is going to be there." Godric said, hoping the little blonde girl would be enough to sway Salazar. Salazar didn't say anything right away, which Godric took as a good sign, however it was not meant to be. "No, I'm busy." Salazar said.

He didn't mind that Luna enjoyed Quidditch, and thankfully the little blonde didn't feel the need to have Salazar there with her to support whatever teams were currently playing. 'Everyone has to have at least one flaw. If Luna likes quidditch, then that's perfectly okay with me.' Salazar thought with a small chuckle.

 Knowing there was no convincing Salazar, Godric and the others finished their meals before they made their way out to the Quidditch pitch. Meanwhile, Salazar made his way towards the grand staircase and slowly climbed the stairs one at a time, ignoring the students passing him as he did so.

When he got to the fifth floor he made his way down the hall until he arrived at a large door that had no knob or keyhole, simply a bronze door knocker in the shape of an eagle. Knocking once with the knocker, Salazar waited for the inevitable riddle one would have to answer to get into the tower.

 [I have branches yet I have no leaves, no trunk and no fruit. What am I?] 

 A voice asked the riddle, one Salazar already knew from a previous discussion from Luna. He most likely could have figured it out without her help, but given how she had already told him the answer to the riddle, there was no point in pondering it over.

"A bank." He answered simply, and at once the door swung open. Entering the Ravenclaw common room, Salazar immediately cloaked himself with a disillusionment charm and a notice-me-not charm to make sure that if anyone was inside the tower they wouldn't freak out at seeing a Slytherin student trespassing into their domain.

Hiding himself had been unnecessary because it seemed everyone had gone out to watch the Quidditch match, which was idiotic in Salazar's opinion because the weather outside was horrible. Taking a glance out the window, Salazar saw a dark sky that was unleashing a torrent of rain on the world, and mixed with the November cold, it made him glad that he was inside today.

'Nutjobs, everyone of them. Except Luna.' He told himself with a half-smile before he turned away from the window to do what he had come here to do.

 Reaching into his pocket, he withdrew a number of small blue crystals and went around the room and placed them up high on the walls. He focused his attention solely on the common room because that was really the only place he could get to that would give him any information.

Because of Godric's philandering in their past lives, Rowena and Helga had made the girl's dormitories in every House inaccessible to boys, and that included him. What this also meant, was that the girls were the ones involved in stealing Luna's belongings.

'Probably the ones in her same year because they're the only ones that have to attend classes with her.' Salazar thought darkly. Sure, he knew it could have been some older students in third year and maybe fourth year as well, but he doubted the fifth, sixth, or seventh-years would be rude enough to steal the belongings from a second-year student. 'At least they better not have.' Salazar growled internally.

 Calming himself down a bit, Salazar focused back on the task at hand, though internally he was still thinking of the parties that could be responsible. He hadn't ruled out any of the boys, simply because they could have gotten the girls to take Luna's things, then they went about hiding them around the school. That was actually one of the more likely things that happened, which is why Salazar wasn't focusing solely on the girls.

 After setting all of the crystals around the room in all of the right places, Salazar pulled a much larger crystal from his pocket and placed it on the floor in the center of the room. Waving his wand and reciting a few words, the crystals on the walls began to glow and the large one on the floor began to float into the air.

It took about ten seconds for the crystals to go back to normal, however the large one continued floating, at least until he grabbed it and stored it in his pocket. "Thank you, Savrin." He said silently, thanking the entity for giving him this tool.

Savrin was nice like that. Sure, they had the threat of extinction looming over their heads, and they, especially Salazar, had to do research and a number of other menial tasks, but Savrin did give him tools and rewards when he desired them, almost as if in payment for what they were doing. Plus he did give them all massive sums of gold, free living, and he never asked questions into their personal lives.

Salazar was very thankful for that last part, as he wasn't sure the Headmaster would approve of what he was doing. Salazar didn't think Savrin would be mad about it, just that it was sort of wrong on a number of levels, which was probably why he didn't tell anyone else what he planned on doing today.

 Before he left Ravenclaw tower, Salazar transfigured a number of small objects into snakes, but made them look like statues of snakes, mostly so no one would think they were real. If he needed to attack someone here, it would help to already have the snakes at his disposal.

{Remain still and silent until called upon.} He hissed in Parseltongue at the newly created snakes, which all obeyed.

 Done with his planning, he left Ravenclaw tower without anyone else being the wiser. That was his thought for a whole minute after leaving the fifth floor when a ghostly visage appeared in front of him.

"Hello, Salazar!" Elysia cheerfully greeted him from all of an inch away from his face, making him reel backwards in surprise. "Damn it, Elysia! Haven't you ever heard of personal space?" Salazar asked in annoyance.

Quirking her head, the spirit replied, "You are literally inside of me right now. If anything, I should be saying that to you." Salazar had to stop and think about that for a few seconds before he said, "You know what? That's a good point. Well made. So, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?"

Salazar had completely forgotten that the spirit that roamed around the halls with an uncanny ability to know and do things that shouldn't be possible, was actually the castle itself. It was still new to him to be around a sentient structure, one that he still didn't fully comprehend.

 "I'm glad you asked. You see, I've been listening in on meetings between Savrin and the heads of each of the four houses, and I've been hearing some troubling things, mostly from the head of Slytherin house. Would you care to take a guess as to what I might be talking about?" Elysia asked as she floated in circles around him.

"How should I know? No one in my house actually interacts with the other houses, so they can't be getting into too much trouble." Salazar said, a little annoyed and slightly interested in what the spirit was talking about.

"And there it is. As you've just said, aside from yourself, your house doesn't interact with the other three houses. Most of them only interact with each other. They alienate the other houses and the other houses alienate them in turn. When new students come to the school, they're told to avoid the Slytherin House students and the Slytherin students are told to avoid the other three houses. It is affecting some of the first-years, and even some of the students in fifth and sixth year. They're miserable and are wondering what their lot in life will be. I want to change that. Or more accurately, I want YOU to change that." Elysia explained, and Salazar couldn't help frowning.

 He had never really given it much thought about his house being alienated from the rest of the school, nor what that would do to the students. "What do you want me to do about it?" He asked, not sure if he wanted to get involved in something like this. Afterall, if Savrin and Berrycloth were talking about it, then surely they were working on some way to deal with it themselves.

"I want you to fix it. I don't know how, but I want you to change it. You are strong, so people will listen to you, and you're smart too. Savrin's idea was to force the students together to hopefully become friends, but Berrycloth told him that wouldn't help anything. However the man himself has no idea how to resolve the problem either. It occurred to me that the best option might be to have the change come from one of the other students. Who better than a Slytherin student who is already known for interacting with all of the other houses, and holds an immense amount of power?" Elysia explained with a smile.

 "Let's say I attempt this, and I'm not saying I will, what's in it for me?" Salazar asked. Sure he was already leaning towards helping the spirit get her way, but it couldn't hurt to get something out of this.

"Well, I could keep it a secret what you just did in Ravenclaw tower. I could also pass along information to you. Information you otherwise couldn't get because you can't see what goes on in sweet little Luna's room. Why, I could even tell you who has been taking her belongings… I could also spy on some people for you. I'll even play a few pranks on Godric without him knowing who the perpetrator was." Elysia said, enticing him more with each thing she offered. Hell, he was willing to agree just to keep her from spilling what she did in Ravenclaw tower, the rest was just icing on the cake.

"I'll do it! It'll take me some time to think of how to do it, but I will do it!" He agreed quickly. "That was easy. I didn't even have to offer to lift up my dress." Elysia said with a smile. "Why would I care about seeing your knickers?" Salazar asked with a frown, completely caught off guard by the statement.

"Oh, I've seen a number of girls over the years bribe the boys by lifting their dresses." Elysia said coyly as she floated towards the wall. Just before she entered, she looked over her shoulder at Salazar before saying, "And for your information, I'm not wearing knickers." Then she was gone.

 Salazar stared at the portion of the wall the spirit disappeared into, with a thought that just wouldn't leave his mind. 'The castle is a pervert… Probably got it from Godric.'

 ----------

 Salazar was sitting at the Slytherin table when students began entering the great hall, most of them soaking wet and looking like they were on the verge of freezing. Thankfully the warming charms Savrin had placed around the school during their first year were working just fine, and the students would be warm again in no time at all. It would be sooner if any of them bothered to use their wands, but most of them were too stupid to use magic for that sort of thing.

Judging by the gloomy expressions of the Hufflepuff students, it was safe to say they had lost the match, by how much Salazar didn't know, but he suspected he was about to find out because he could see Luna and the others entering with the rest of the crowd.

Seeing as how he was sitting at the Slytherin table, most of the group didn't bother to come over to him, thinking he would probably come join them at their usual spot at the Hufflepuff table, but when he made no move to head over, Luna came over to him. She was nice like that.

She didn't bother waiting for an invitation and sat herself down right next to him, and without asking or letting her know what he was doing, he pulled his wand and cast a spell that dried her clothes and warmed her up instantly. "Thanks." She said with her ever present smile. "No problem." He responded as he stored his wand away. 

"Gryffindor won, 300-70. Godric was very rough with the other team, and gave one of them a concussion. They got him back though. About halfway through the game, the Hufflepuff seeker, Cedric Diggory grabbed the quaffle and hit Godric on the back of the head and knocked him off his broom. Godric would have been back in the game, but the Hufflepuff beaters hit him with a Bludger while he was still on the ground. Twice. He's in the hospital wing right now, and will probably have a headache for the next few days. The game was a lot more fun to watch after he was hauled off the field, and more even I would say. Harry still caught the Snitch before Cedric though." Luna explained the game without being prompted.

"Wow. That actually does sound like it would have been interesting. I can't believe they got Godric like that." Salazar said in genuine intrigue. He really would have liked to see Godric get hit in the head with a Bludger, and he would have liked even more to be the one to hit him.

"I think they planned it well in advance. They were too coordinated when they did it. Except for the second hit with the Bludger. I think they were all a bit surprised when he started to get up after he got hit by the first one, and one of them just went for it." Luna said, earning a small chuckle from Salazar.

 It was right about that time when a Slytherin boy who looked to be in fourth or fifth year approached them, standing right behind Luna before saying, "Are you lost?" The question annoyed Salazar to no end, but Luna just looked confused.

"No. I'm in the Great Hall of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Why? Do you not know where we are?" Luna asked in what seemed to be genuine curiosity. Salazar couldn't help the laugh that escaped his lips at her words, even going so far as to forget the annoyance he felt at being interrupted by the boy.

"You're sitting at the Slytherin table." The boy said through clenched teeth. "That's very observant of you. At least we know your eyes work." Luna said with a cheerful smile before she turned her attention back to Salazar, who was still smiling as he made shooing gestures at the boy to get lost. Thankfully the idiot didn't try to start something and went back to the other end of the table where he had been sitting previously.

'Made a deal with a perverted castle, Godric got what he deserved, and Luna showed an idiot how stupid he really was. All in all, not a bad day.' Salazar thought happily.

 ----------

 November passed by rather quickly after that first Quidditch match. Like many had suspected, Godric had found the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, more specifically the beater who knocked him out with the two Bludgers, but instead of getting payback which was his nature, Godric congratulated them on the good play. He was proud of them for getting him back for what he had been doing, but promised it would be different the next time they played.

The game at the end of the month, which was Hufflepuff versus Ravenclaw did not go in Hufflepuff's favor. Either they had used all of their planning for the game with Gryffindor or the Ravenclaw team was just very good because Ravenclaw had beaten Hufflepuff with a score of 200-0, putting them only a few points behind Gryffindor for the Quidditch Cup.

 The first Saturday in December, Professor Berrycloth gathered all of the students who had gotten permission from their parents to participate in the dueling tournament, deciding it was best to bring up a few things he had noticed now to give the students time to better prepare for what was to come.

"Alright students, I think it is about time we discuss the teams that will be allowed to participate in the dueling tournament. As I've already explained, we can only have seven students on a team, and we need one team from each of the three years that are allowed to participate. Given how there are multiple teams from each of the years, I've decided to pick the seven best of each year from the boards, and those will be your team members." Professor Berrycloth had to pause here at the sudden outburst from the students who didn't like the fact that they would be forced to work with students who weren't on their pre-organized teams.

"If you feel as though you cannot work with those on your team, you are free to drop out. However, dropping out will remove you from ever attending dueling again, and if you dropped an elective to join dueling, you will be forced to take up that elective again. Working with assigned partners is just as important as working with friends, and if you can't see that, you don't belong here. That goes for everyone who isn't participating in the tournament. Come the new year, there will be random assigned teams that will be dueling one another. If you can't accept this, then feel free to drop this course." The professor's explanation left the crowd to murmur, and it truly did look as though some of the students were debating on whether or not they were going to drop out of the program.

 Ignoring the students, Berrycloth showed the papers with the teams for each year. Unsurprisingly, Godric and the others were all on a team together, just as they had planned beforehand. They were the only original team who got to stick together.

Fourth year had two Slytherin girls, one boy from Gryffindor, one boy and one girl from Hufflepuff, and two boys from Ravenclaw.

 Sixth year had two boys and one girl from Gryffindor and two boys and two girls from Slytherin. It was obvious from how they were looking at one another that the team dueling matches would be the weakest part of the tournament for the fourth and sixth year teams, but Berrycloth hoped to get them to a stage where they could hopefully succeed in their matches. Worst case, the team from third year would win them at least one of the team divisions.

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 (December 15, 1993)

 (Arcturus Black POV)

 Things were going well for Arcturus. House Black was flourishing better than it had ever been before, money and power-wise at least. They were short on numbers, but that would be fixed in the coming years if he had his way.

There had been a time back in the day when there were dozens of Black family members who got together around the holidays to show the rest of the world that they were united and strong. Now, there were less than a handful of Blacks left in the world, and fewer still of those that actually carried the Black family name.

The Tonks weren't Blacks in name, but they were part of the family all the same, and Arcturus was glad he could still call them such. After the way Andromeda was disowned for marrying a muggle and cut from the family tree, Arcturus was thankful she had even been willing to come back to the family.

Nymphadora was more of a Black than most Blacks, and if the rest of the world's purebloods couldn't see that because of her father, that was on them. The fact that she was a metamorphmagus should have shown the snobs that adding new blood to the families was a good thing, as it wasn't just anyone who was born with the talent. She was also a strong Auror in her own right, and was proving herself to be quite capable. Arcturus was very proud to have her in the family.

 Draco was just as related to the Blacks as Nymphadora, but again, he was a Malfoy. The boy also seemed a bit of a recluse ever since his parents died, and didn't go out of his way to speak with people. He was nothing like the stories Arcturus had heard about him, but that was probably because he no longer had Lucius whispering poison in his ear.

Funny enough, with the way Draco was raised to look down on muggleborn, Arcturus was surprised that it was a muggleborn the boy confided most to. Elise was perhaps the only person Draco really went out of his way to speak to on his own, and was probably the only person he could be himself around.

'With her being pregnant, and his own mother having died so recently, the boy probably sees her as a mother figure he can latch onto.' Arcturus thought, trying to make sense of Draco's attachment to Elise.

 Harry wasn't a Black nor was he closely related to the Blacks, but he did have Black blood in him. With how close the boy was to the family, he would prove to be a strong ally in the future, especially if the boy turned out even half well as Arcturus expected.

He was smart, kind, and could cast spells better than most people five years older than him. That was actually due in large part to the training he underwent with his friends, but that too was something that spoke well in the boy's favor.

He chose good friends, ones who genuinely wanted him to prosper and looked out for his best interests. Not many had that, and Arcturus was proud that he managed to achieve something so great at such a young age.

'You would be proud of your grandson, Fleamont. He is all of you, and more.' Arcturus thought, sending a silent thanks to his friend who had already passed from this life.

 Thinking of grandsons, Arcturus' mind immediately went to Sirius. His grandson didn't hold too well with responsibility, but he was doing well enough. 'Probably Elise's doing.' Arcturus mused.

Ever since the woman had come into their lives, Sirius began to act more his age. Whether that was due to the fact that he was going to be a father soon, Arcturus didn't know, nor did he care. He was just glad Sirius was able to do any of this at all.

Had it not been for Savrin approaching him when he did, Arcturus was sure that he would've been dead by now and that Sirius would have followed along shortly thereafter, putting an end to House Black once and for all.

 *CRACK!*

 The sound of someone apparating into the room broke Arcturus out of his musings. Looking up, he saw Kreacher standing a few feet away with a few pieces of paper. "Kreacher has brought master the pamphlet for next week's election." The grizzled house elf said as he held out the papers.

"Ah, yes. Alastor should be in office by this time next week, and Fudge should be out of my hair and buried in some hole somewhere." Arcturus said as he began to flip through the papers showing the numbers thus far.

"The minister is dying?" Kreacher asked in confusion. "Yes, he just doesn't know it yet. Savrin isn't forgiving, and Fudge went against him. If I've guessed correctly, he'll be committing "suicide" just like Delores Umbridge in a few days. Probably right after the election so it doesn't look suspicious." Arcturus explained to the house elf.

It probably wasn't the best idea to tell the elf such things, but hopefully it would make sure he knew not to do anything to piss off Savrin. There also wasn't much risk of him reporting to anyone else, as he was bound to House Black, and most of the Blacks still breathing wouldn't go against Savrin. Arcturus would make sure of that.

 Skimming through the documents, Arcturus could see that Alastor would win by a landslide. 'After everything I did, he damn well better win.' Arcturus thought. Over the last few weeks he had funded a many number of things in Moody's name, advertised all of his past achievements, and had even gone so far as to get Savrin to "repair" the man, which was probably one of the main reasons the man in question was actually still participating in the whole election ordeal.

Moody had been furious to no end when Savrin and Arcturus approached him after putting his name down for Minister, but the fury lessened considerably when Savrin miraculously regrew his leg and eye and the missing pieces of the man's face.

"Can't have a weak minister." Savrin had said at the time.

When asked what they wanted out of him being Minister, Arcturus wasn't surprised when Savrin's only wish was to be left alone at Hogwarts. He didn't want a say on who did what and when, nor did he care about most of the laws, though he did suggest a few revisions to a few that were already there, however Arcturus could worry about that later.

None of the new laws affected any specific person or groups of people. Savrin only wanted to be able to teach certain magics and rituals that were apparently outlawed here in Britain. Given what he already knew about what the rituals would do, Arcturus was certain he could get the laws changed in their favor, even without Moody's help.

 Placing the papers down, Arcturus leaned back in his chair and looked down at the house elf. The golden locket hanging around Kreacher's neck was usually the first thing he noticed when he looked at the elf, and each time he was reminded of Regulus. He stared at the locket for a bit longer than was comfortable, and had to shake his head to get back to reality.

"Let me know if anything changes in the polls. And before I forget, I need you to deliver the red folder on my desk to Gringotts." Arcturus instructed Kreacher, who bobbed his head in understanding before he popped away.

 ------

 The days went by as usual until it was the Christmas holidays. Harry and Draco entered from the fireplace with Sirius, all of them heading straight into the parlor room where a great big tree was standing in the corner. It seemed so out of place without the decorations, but that would be coming soon enough.

"How was the train?" Arcturus asked as soon as they had all greeted each other and sat down in their respective seats. "It was alright." Draco answered dryly. "It was good." Harry answered, sounding a bit happier about the train ride from school. "Any assigned homework?" Arcturus asked.

"I already finished it." Harry said happily, obviously glad to not have to worry about school for the entirety of the holidays. "I've still got a few pages to read in Transfiguration and I need to work on practicing a few spells." Draco answered honestly.

"You can relax for the night, and tomorrow we'll go through the spell-work. It being so close to Christmas, we'll take a few days to relax before we get into anything big. For now, however, I believe Elise wanted to do something with everyone." Arcturus said before he turned his focus to the woman in question who was sitting on a sofa beside the tree.

 "Okay. Growing up in my family, we had a tradition that every year we would get together and decorate the Christmas tree. I hoped you all might be interested in joining me this year. Everyone gets a section of the tree and they can decorate it however they wish. It doesn't matter how it turns out in the end, so long as everyone pitches in." She explained what she wanted everyone to do.

Andromeda and Ted both shrugged, not seeing anything wrong with that. Nymphadora looked far more excited than someone her age should have looked, and Harry and Draco didn't seem to care one way or the other. Arcturus frowned, not seeing the big idea with putting objects on a tree, but it didn't matter all that much to him. A few flicks of his wand would solve all of his problems.

Elise apparently read his mind because she added, "And please, no wands. Let's just do it the normal way." Arcturus wanted to tell her that using their wands was the normal way for witches and wizards, but decided against it. She was due to give birth any day now, and he had already been warned by Andromeda to not make her life more difficult than it was.

 For the next few hours everyone put lights, white, red and green garland, and a wide array of ornaments on the tree. Nymphadora put glowing candy-canes all over the tree. Apparently when eaten they would make your tongue glow. Sirius put a few gingerbread cookies on the tree, however he ate most of them so there weren't many. Finally, Arcturus finished the tree off by putting a golden star on the top of it.

"Thank you." Elise said once they were all finished. Any argument Arcturus had about the tree died out at seeing her expression as she stared longingly at the tree, probably thinking about better times in the past.

 Everyone departed not long after the tree was finished. Andromeda promised to return the following morning to check up on Elise, before she, Ted, and Nymphadora Flooed back to their house. Harry and Draco went to their rooms, with Arcturus doing the same not long after.

Sirius had planned to wait for Elise to go back to bed, but she told him to go on without her and said she would be along soon. She was enjoying her first Christmas in more than ten years where she wasn't alone, and she was going to savor the moment for as long as she could.

 ---------

 (December 24, 1993)

 (Sirius Black POV)

 Sirius was sleeping soundly in his bed when suddenly he was violently awoken from his slumber by a powerful slap to the face. "OW! What was that for?!" He shouted in surprise as he looked at the perpetrator of the attack.

"I'm sorry, did that hurt? I'll make it up to you when I'm not pushing a baby out of my vagina!" Elise shouted in anger, which quickly turned to cries of pain as she was hit with a contraction. "Oh shit!" Sirius shouted as he threw the blankets off of him and quickly grabbed his Magic Mirror which was sitting on his bedside table.

Even as he began to call Andromeda he shouted, "Kreacher! Dobby! Get in here!" There was only a moment of pause before both elves appeared at the foot of the bed. "Elise is in labor! Go wake gramps and the boys!" Sirius ordered, and both the sleepy elves popped away.

"Hello?" Andromeda's sleepy voice could be heard through the Magic Mirror. "Andy! Elise is in labor! Get here quick! I'll call someone!" Sirius shouted into the mirror.

 He was unsure how it was possible given the fact that Arcturus was only a few rooms away from his own, but Andromeda came running into the room before anyone else, still dressed in her night dress.

"Kreacher! Pop us into the delivery room!" Andromeda called out, knowing full well the elf would hear her from wherever he was. Both she and Elise disappeared before Sirius knew what was happening, causing him to momentarily panic. He was running through the door when he ran right into Arcturus, who smacked right into him.

"Delivery room!" Sirius said quickly as he bolted past the old man who was quick on the uptake and followed after him. They had prepped a room for this very purpose weeks in advance, and now it would finally see some use. 

 By the time they got to the delivery room, Ted was standing there talking with a witch dressed in white nurse robes. "I know this was a serious matter, but abducting St. Mungo's staff members is not appropriate." The witch was saying to Ted.

"Hey, it wasn't me! My wife did it!" Ted tried to defend himself, but the woman wasn't hearing it. At that moment, the door to the delivery room opened and another witch poked her head out before asking, "Which of you is the father?"

Sirius immediately stepped forward. "Come with me. The rest of you stay out here." The witch instructed before leading Sirius into the room. Seven hours and four broken fingers later, Sirius walked out of the room with his newborn son in his arms.

 "Everyone, I would like you to meet the newest member of the Black family. Regulus James Black." He said as everyone came over to get a good look at the baby. The name had been decided weeks prior, though he had to compromise on the fact that if it had been a girl, Elise got to choose, and if he had chosen a stupid name then she could say no.

When he had told her the name he had chosen and why he had chosen it, she agreed with it. Arcturus was also thankful for it because it fell inline with the Black family tradition to name their children after the constellations.

Arcturus was sure happy to see the baby, and had gone back in the room with Sirius to see Elise. "Congratulations." He told the woman who looked more tired than anyone he had ever seen before.

 Elise took the baby from Sirius after Arcturus, Andromeda, and Ted all got to hold him. "Okay, it's time for everyone to leave. The mother needs to rest." A witch said as she ushered everyone towards the door.

The rest of the day everyone kind of lazed around because they were so tired from the night's events, but they were all back to normal the next morning on Christmas day. With the help of the Kreacher, Sirius was able to comfortably move Elise to the parlor room with the baby so she could be a part of the presents.

Sirius, like everyone else, was all smiles, though none looked happier than Arcturus. He had gotten his Christmas wish, and it had only taken a potion and nine months to accomplish.