15th June, 1888 — 12 Grimmauld Place
Sirius Black

The fog that clouded the wide window of the parlour was not magical in origin – despite what the muggles might insist about their revolutionary techniques of industry – but in its depths Elladora could see the potential ruin of them all. The papers were full of Irvingly and Wellingtonshire being engulfed: any fool could guess if it hadn’t stopped yet then it might not stop at all. They were hundreds of miles away and yet, each swirl of the London smog made Elladora tense.
 
A fog that could stop magic? Perhaps the muggles really were doing something revolutionary in their factories?
 
“Have you seen your mother this morning, my dear?” Elladora asked after greeting her nephew. It would be just like Ursula to get caught in this the moment it hit. “I want you all here safe today,” she added in a softer voice she usually reserved only for Sirius.

  

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fabulous set by Lady <3

Sirius was trying to set up his trains in the parlour, because then Phineas and Arcturus and Belvina couldn't fuck it all up. Also, no one had stopped him yet. He was lying on the carpeted floor carefully attaching the links of track. He was not at all concerned with the Bad Fog in Hogsmeade or the normal, pollution fog outside.

He clicked two pieces of track together. "No," he said, rolling onto his back so he could look up at her without craning his neck. Aunt Ella was using her nice voice, which she usually contained for special circumstances. He frowned at her, but didn't get off the floor. "Why do we have to stay here?"

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   Elladora Black

He was curious. That was good. Curiosity and sensible questions meant the Black blood in his veins was battling against whatever Ursula had contributed to his make-up. He did have a tendency to loll on the floor but Elladora didn’t have it in her to mind that too much: as long as the house elves kept the floor free of dust then it scarcely mattered. And if they did not then it was hardly Sirius’ fault!

“Because the fog in Hogsmeade had already proven itself remarkably mobile and logically it stands to reason it may spread again,” she explained patiently. If it did spread again she would move the whole family immediately – going without magic would be utterly intolerable and there was no saying yet if that was the extent of it. The fog might yet be lethal and all eyes would be on Irvingly for them to set the precedent.

She thought briefly, painfully, of Iola before she forced herself to stop.

“Of course it won’t have wagered on facing me if it does,” she added, with a smirk for her nephew.

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   Sirius Black

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fabulous set by Lady <3

"I thought Hogsmeade was far away," Sirius said. He sat up to shift to the left and place down another piece of track. This one was curved. Of course, if the fog did set in, then his enchanted train set would not work anyways - and that would be deeply annoying to him.

"The fog would definitely lose to you, Aunt Ella," Sirius said, glancing up at his aunt and grinning, "I don't know why the government hasn't pulled you in already."

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“Short-sightedness no doubt,” she quipped back with a smirk, peering into the entirely unremarkable fog for one final, long moment before turning her back on it in defiance. She refused to be cowed by the weather. Even if her plan the moment it began to look hairy was to gather the family and abscond to Paris to stay with her mother.

“You’re quite right though. Hogsmeade is a great many miles away but distance will hardly matter if it is as insidious as it appears.” She took a seat next to where he was positioned on the floor: she absolutely refused to sit on that. “You are not to worry though Sirius, absolutely no harm will come to you. I promise.”

  

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fabulous set by Lady <3

It had not occurred to Sirius to be worried, as he was not yet of an age where he realized serious harm could befall him. Still, he looked up from his train and grinned at his aunt. "I know," he said brightly, "You wouldn't let that happen."

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Lips twitching Elladora reached down to pluck Sirius’ train from the ground where it was waiting for its tracks to be complete. It was an impressive looking object that she knew Ursula had not skimped on but like the Hogwarts Express she recalled from her schooldays it was altogether too red.

“There are many things I would fight the air itself to prevent happening my dear,” she mused, tapping the train with her wand to turn it to a more pleasing emerald and silver combination. Hopefully it would rub off and save them the embarrassment of a Black in another house and though Elladora would allow that Ravenclaw was not unacceptable the other two might give Phineas a heart attack and force her to endure Ursula’s inevitable tantrum.

  

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fabulous set by Lady <3

Sirius was prepared to be upset when Aunt Ella tapped his train with her wand, but she surprised him. He sat up straight and grinned at her. "Slytherin colors?" he asked, although it was obvious. That was much better, seeing as he was about to be a Slytherin.

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Flaring her eyes at him playfully Elladora handed back the train. “What else?”

Truthfully it would be quite the blow if he was not, but she had faith in him. Of all Phineas and Ursula’s children he was the one she had the most hope in for the future. Certainly he was her undisputed favourite and she had very little compunction about that.

“I cannot recall the last member of our family that did not grace that dormitory.”

Even Iola had managed that much, even if it was the only remaining thing Ella expected they had in common.

  

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fabulous set by Lady <3

"I can't wait to be sorted there," Sirius enthused. He was tremendously excited about Slytherin, and there was no doubt whatsoever in his mind that he would be sorted there. (He was not so sure about some of his friends - Rex did not seem entirely Slytherin-y - but he was tremendously excited nonetheless.)

He set the now-properly-colored train on the tracks and grinned to himself as it magically began to drive itself along them.

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Sirius was, fortunately, one of the few members of her family Elladora had faith in so his destination come September was only a mild concern at the moment. She was quite sure he would do everything he could but there was no accounting for the occasional idiocy of the hat which had, she remembered with a tremble, actually dared to mention another house to her when it had been set on her head.

Smiling at him warmly Elladora watched the train trundle along, the small puffs of smoke drawing her attention back to the window and the perfectly normal smog outside. Sirius belonged in Slytherin and, by hook or by crook, she was going to see him get there in September.

  

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fabulous set by Lady <3