[Comprehensive HP colleagues] That year

Just three months after the New Year's party, Grimmauld Place received a letter that changed Sirius' life.

Early this morning, Orion checked his son's homework and returned to the bedroom, where he saw his wife Walburga sitting at the dresser and opening letters.He stepped forward, glanced at the parchment that had just been unfolded, and saw that the inscription below was Elena Black (1).

"Why did she write?" Orion asked in surprise.

Walburga raised his head, and said suspiciously: "I haven't read the contents of the letter yet. Speaking of who this woman is, why do I never remember that there is such a person in the Black family?"

"It's normal for you not to remember her. If she hadn't defended her husband Ethan Black some time ago, I wouldn't have known her." Orion said slowly.

"Ethan? I have some impressions of this man. He should be a descendant of our great-great-grandfather's younger brother Arcturus. He has settled in Germany for a long time, and now he only has some business contacts with us. I have three months I've seen his signature on the contract renewal in Germany before. What happened to him, what redress?"

"Two months ago, he was mistakenly killed in Germany as a remnant of Grindelwald. His wife Elena spent a lot of effort to rehabilitate her husband. Although this matter is widely discussed in Germany, it is rarely known in the UK. , you were busy with another business at the time, no wonder you didn't know. If you say I really don't know what the Germans are thinking, Grindelwald has been out of power for almost 20 years, and this kind of thing will happen again." Orion As he spoke, he took the parchment from Walburga and began to read the contents of the letter carefully.

"She said that she was not in a good mental condition and wanted us to take care of her daughter Xia Kelin temporarily." Orion said with some surprise after reading the letter.

"Take care of her daughter?!" Walburga screamed, "Is there no one in Germany? They want us to take care of her daughter. Although they are relatives of the Black family, the relationship is so far away Far away. Sirius and Regulus are enough troubles, I don't want to take care of another kid."

Orion frowned, read the letter again, thought it over for a while, and said, "Although the cooperative business with Germany does not account for that large proportion, it is still a rare and stable income, so don't offend it easily. Well. I think if there is no other way, Elena will not necessarily give her daughter to our family. The Blake family in Germany has also suffered from depression in recent years. This Xia Kelin should be the last Blake in Germany. The advantages of taking her over should outweigh the disadvantages. If you are really worried about that little girl Xia Kelin, you might as well go to Germany and meet their mother and daughter in person."

Orion did not ask Walburga how he talked with Elena, but when Walburga came back, he told him that Xia Kelin would move in two months later, and Elena promised to spend 500 galleons a year for her daughter until her mental condition improves or Xia Kelin becomes an adult.At the same time, Walburga also made a decision: to ask Sirius to start learning etiquette now.

Orion was genuinely surprised.Sirius is only 3 and a half years old now, shouldn't he start etiquette training so early?Which kid in the Black family didn't get to know those when they were six or seven years old?

But Walburga was determined. She said: "The performance of Sirius in front of Signus last time really shamed me. I used to comfort myself because Sirius was still young, but this The first time I went to Germany, it was really an eye-opener. Xia Kelin is half a year younger than Sirius, but the etiquette has already been done strictly. Xia Kelin can do it, why can’t Sirius? My son of Walburga must not lose to others. "

And just like that, Sirius' relaxed childhood was gone forever.

It was a portrait that taught Sirius etiquette, and the owner of the portrait was Shaklin's ancestor, the younger brother of the great-great-grandfather of Sirius' parents, Arcturus.

Arcturus was a very experienced etiquette teacher. He had taught not only twenty but also twelve descendants of Black, and the first thing he taught Sirius was "how to eat".

"How to eat?" Sirius opened his eyes wide, as if he didn't understand why he had to learn to eat, since he could eat by himself when he was two years old.

"That's different," said Arcturus. "You used to know how to eat, but you didn't pay attention to how to eat elegantly. In fact, dining etiquette is very particular. For example, where the host sits, the hostess sits." Where to be, what kind of gifts to bring according to the other party’s money and status, how to use the knife and fork correctly, how to cut meat, how to dip the seasoning, how to clink glasses, when you can talk to people, how to eat How to express to the host, how to thank the host for his hospitality..."

"There are so many particulars?!" Little Sirius puffed up his cheeks in amazement.

"Of course, but now I want to tell you one of the most important things, that is, no matter what you eat, you must never grab it with your hands. I know, the wizarding world does not know when it was introduced from Muggles. I even put this kind of food on the Hogwarts dining table. I taught a child who can only grab chicken legs with his hands, but this is very, very inelegant behavior .Or don’t eat them. If you want to eat them, you must learn how to use a knife and fork to dispose of them gracefully.”

So that afternoon, Sirius spent two hours learning to eat chicken legs with a knife and fork.This really suffocated Sirius. The chicken drumsticks that could be done in a minute were so cold that they were taught by Arcturus, and they couldn't finish eating. In addition, the three-year-old child's hand muscles control His strength was not strong enough, and after two hours, Sirius suffered a tragedy—his hands cramped.

So, this first etiquette lesson did not leave a good impression on Sirius.Poor Arcturus, whose experience is applicable to children over five years old, did not take into account that the new student was only three and a half years old.

Sirius was very resistant to learning etiquette, but Walburga was quite concerned about his son's etiquette training. Today——

"Mom went to Malfoy's house yesterday, and when she came back, she praised Lucius of the Malfoy's house for his perfect manners. She said she hoped that my study progress would be accelerated." Sirius muttered unhappily, conveying his mother's wishes.

Arcturus sighed silently in his heart that Walburga was too competitive, but he said something else: "The Malfoy family is actually nothing compared to it. Their family, even the Black family's toes are comparable to it." not on."

"Huh? It sounds like you don't think much of the Malfoy family? But my parents say that the Malfoy family is now the richest of the Slytherin families, and many people call them platinum nobles."

"Really, Walburga and Orion have learned to follow others' advice." Arcturus said bitterly, "No matter how poor the Black family is in terms of wealth, at least they have always kept the honor of pure blood, Unlike the Malfoy family, who have degenerated into using Muggle nobles to amass wealth. If it weren't for the Secrecy Act promulgated at the end of the 17th century, they must still be unwilling to withdraw from that "pleasant" social circle. Even after the Secrecy Act was passed, they would immediately Cut off ties with Muggles, and changed their attitude drastically, so what if they started to support the bill? This will not change the fact that they once intermarried with Muggles. Platinum nobles? Are they ashamed to be called that?! They are afraid of them Don’t others know about the embarrassment of being canonized as a noble by the Muggle monarch hundreds of years ago?!”

Sirius opened his mouth in surprise.The education he has received since he was a child, and his parents' advice, are pure blood glory above all else, and the Malfoy family is an excellent representative in the Slytherin circle who insist on this glory. So the Malfoy family also has such a dark history? !

Under the influence of Arcturus, Sirius has never had a good impression of the Malfoy family.

*****************

Accompanied by the teaching of the portrait teacher, Sirius grew up day by day, and in a blink of an eye, he was five years old.

One morning in February, Sirius was playing gobstones with his younger brother Regulus in his bedroom. Sirius was sprayed with stinky juice in the face when he didn't check for a while. This was the first time he played this game. After receiving such treatment, Regulus laughed out loud at his embarrassing appearance, and then Sirius, who refused to suffer, wanted to wipe the stinky juice on his younger brother's face, so the two brothers sat in the bedroom. A chase ensues.After all, Sirius was one year older than Regulus, and quickly caught up with his younger brother. However, just as he stretched out his magic palm, there was a knock on the door of the room suddenly.

The two brothers quickly stopped fighting, and Regulus was taken aback by the knock on the door, showing a panicked expression——Merlin, if his parents found out that he and Sirius were like this, wouldn't they have to be punished again?Although generally speaking, the elder brother would cover himself and admit that it was his fault, but seeing his elder brother being punished, how could Regulus feel better?

Sirius also had a serious expression on his face. He tidied up his crumpled clothes, opened the door carefully, and then breathed a sigh of relief.Because standing outside the door was not his parents, but Shakeline Black, his distant cousin who had lived in his house two years ago.

"Xia Kelin, it's you. What's the matter?" Sirius looked at Xia Kelin who was going to the Three Treasure Hall without incident and asked politely.The last time she came to him, it was to ask him to borrow a book called "Born Noble, A Wizarding Genealogy".That book was a birthday present from Walburga to Sirius when he was four years old, but Sirius had never been interested in such books. After the book was handed over to Sirius, it was put on the shelf. A year later, the book There was even a thin layer of dust on it, until Xia Kelin borrowed it three months ago.

"Siris, I'm sorry to bother you. You must have finished reading this book after you have held it for so long, right? Can you read this paragraph for me? I can't understand it. I hope you can explain it to me... "The little lady took out a big thick book from behind, and Sirius took a closer look, it was "Born Noble, A Family Tree of Wizards".

The corner of Sirius' mouth twitched. He couldn't figure out why Xia Kelin was interested in such boring books at such a young age.But he still put on the appearance of a good brother, took the heavy book, and glanced at the paragraph where Xia Kelin had doubts.

But when he saw this, he was dumbfounded.He hadn't opened the book in his hands, and there happened to be several words in this paragraph that he didn't know.Xia Kelin usually had a clear and cold look, but at this moment, there was an expression on her face that Sirius defined as "contempt".

Sirius felt ashamed in front of a lady who was younger than himself, and was temporarily stimulated, so he decided to maintain the majesty of his son of the Black family. In the next few days, he would spend all his free time except eating, sleeping, and studying etiquette. They were all dedicated to "Born Noble, A Family Tree of Wizards", which caused Regulus to repeatedly call his brother a demon.However, when Walburga discovered Sirius's "be brave after knowing his shame" and praised him rarely, Regulus' attitude towards Sirius immediately turned to reverence.

The section where Shaklin asked Sirius was a story about a Blake who lived in the 17th century. There were more than 40 pages, and it took Sirius 5 days to finish reading.With the help of Arcturus, he finally fully understood the story, and then went to Xia Kelin with full confidence to explain to Xia Kelin what she didn't understand.

After listening to Sirius' explanation, Xia Kelin smiled sweetly at him.Sirius was stunned when he saw Xia Kelin's smiling face. This was the first time he saw her smiling at him!

Afterwards, Shaklin came to ask Sirius about the problems in the book every now and then, and thus gradually became acquainted with the Black brothers.And Sirius, because of Xia Kelin's question, actually read the entire book word for word before he was six years old, which made Walburga quite satisfied.

"You see," said Walburga cheerfully, "when I gave Sirius that book, you said Sirius was too young to read it. But look now. He can read almost the whole book." I have memorized the content of the book. No, such a good seedling should be cultivated well. For his birthday this year, I have to choose another book for him. How about "Pure Blood Guide"?"

So, Sirius' wish to get his own broomstick for his birthday this year sadly came to nothing.

However, what Walburga didn't know was that after reading "Born Noble, A Family Tree of Wizards", Sirius had a doubt in his heart: even though the historical figures in the book did do great things, they are all A character from hundreds of years ago, could it be said that just because someone had a great ancestor, this person himself was born to be great?

Sirius never raised this question to anyone, because he clearly knew that such questions would be judged as "crazy thinking" by the elders.He no longer knows how many times he has been reprimanded by his parents for his "crazy thinking".

Even Sirius himself did not expect that these doubts were suppressed in his heart, but inadvertently sowed, germinated, and finally grew into a towering tree.It was too late when his great mother found out.

==========================================

(1) The setting of Xia Kelin's parents is adapted from Chapter 1 "The Black Family" of "Black Honor"

(2) The plot of Sirius studying under the urging of his cousin is adapted from Chapter 3 "The Fifth Portal of Black's Old House" in "Black Honor"