The Last Riddle

62. My mother

"Welcome to Grimauld Place. The headquarters for the Order." Tonks smiles widely back at Harry and I as she leads us down the hallway of an old London townhouse.

The wallpaper is aged and faded, although the area itself is relatively clean something about it still feels dirty. The house isn't inviting or warm, it reminds me slightly of the feeling I get when walking into the Dursley's home. Actually, this place is even worse than the Dursley's. There is a feeling inside my body that I am not welcome here.

"Fuck!" Tonks yells out as she falls heavily over a large umbrella stand in the hallway.

Suddenly a banshee like scream fills my ears, as a portrait from above us on the staircase begins to scream out insults.

Harry slaps his hands over his ears as he stares up at the portrait fearfully his eyes wide behind his glasses. Moody pushes past him and growls under his breath about "the bloody Black family" as he walks further into the house ignoring the portrait.

I stand watching the woman in the portrait screaming as she looks around at us all, her hair is wild and black and her mouth is frothing from anger. Leaning against the wall of the hallway I watch in mild fascination as Tonks attempts to close the curtains around the screaming woman.

"Oh shut up!" Sirius Black walks down the stairs case and flicks his wand at the portrait lazily, the curtains swing shut and the screams are soon silenced.

"Sirius!" Harry happily runs forward to meet his godfather at the bottom of the staircase. The two men throw arms around each other as they hug tightly, their embrace full of love and warmth.

Awkwardly I walk away from the two of them and instead head deeper into the house, through a doorway at the end I can see Moody talking to Molly Weasley and Tonks sitting at a kitchen table with them. Deciding to avoid the awkward conversations that will follow if I chose to join them I instead turn right into a large living room like area. Instead of sofas and a television however there is only one single arm chair pointed at a wall sized tapestry.

I fall down into the arm chair heavily as a single candle burns in the air above me, my eyes drag across the space. Faces, so many faces stare back at me.

I stand up as I spot a familiar name and face, walking towards it I run my fingers softly across the tapestry. The material is silky and expensive with the odd black burnt spot over someone's face, finally my fingers land on familiar blonde hair.

Draco Malfoy

A much younger looking blonde haired Draco looks back at me, his face sketched into the tapestry with scary likeness. His mother and fathers faces sit above his, Narcissa's hair however is black and wild and not blonde and straight as it was the last time I saw her.

"Ah I see you've found my family."

I turn to see Sirius standing in the doorway leaning casually against the wall, his face is devoid of all emotion as he looks at the tapestry before him.

"You're related to Draco?" I ask stepping away from the wall to awkwardly stand in the middle of the room.

"I suppose I am yes, my cousin Narcissa is his mother. All pure bloods in our world are most likely distantly related, it's a Black family specialty to keep it within the family." Sirius steps further into the room as the candle light illuminates his features.

"Blood purity" I mutter as I turn back to the tapestry.

"Exactly that, I'm sure you hear enough about it from your house at Hogwarts." Sirius' voice is full of loathing as he carries on "Slytherins have always had a thing for it."