Conversations with Portrait Orion Black

Luna handed it over to her father who waved his wand over it for a few minutes. John looked on, the same intense expression he'd worn in the playroom back on his face. Eventually, her father declared it clean, and handed it to her, a look of extreme reluctance on his face.

She carefully peeled the paper away to expose the cover. She stared. She snorted. She looked at Luna, picking up her spoon for another helping of pudding, all dreamy face and innocent smiles. She looked back down at the book, then at John Potter, then back down at the book. She closed her eyes. She tried to hold it back, but she couldn't. Her shoulders started to shake.

Her father looked on, concern radiating on his face. "Alex?"

She threw the book on the table, and howled in laughter. Tears leaked from her eyes. Why was she even worried? She still wasn't sure about this courting business, but that didn't change the fact that Lord Slytherin was awesome.

The assembled group stared at the book, eyes radiating shock, concern, puzzlement, and incredulity.

John looked ready to kill.

The title read — 'The Light Side of the Dark Arts - Volumes II and III'.

....

"How did Slytherin do that?"

Alex marched beside Luna towards the black library. They'd left John and Susan back in the playroom, excusing themselves with a comment about kerfuffling scribblebugs or some such weirdness.

Luna hummed. "Is it really a good idea for me to be in the Black Library? Won't your father get angry?"

Alex scoffed. "Him? He wouldn't notice a threat to the Black legacy if it challenged him to a duel. It'll be fine." She furrowed her eyebrows. "Just don't touch any of the books on the third rows or above. And you didn't answer my question."

"The sundial beetles told him."

She stared at the blonde, eyes narrowed. They arrived at the library door. "You could just say, 'I can't reveal my lord's secrets,' you know."

"I can't reveal my lord's secrets."

"Better. C'mon, I want to show you something."

She opened the door, and the two began the winding path through the stacked and dusty shelves.

Luna walked with complete ease, and she couldn't help notice the girl didn't seem at all awed by her surrounding. "Is the Lovegood Library like this?"

"Mmm? Oh. Our library isn't quite as big as yours. It's actually only about the size of the playroom."

"Oh."

"But it has a spiral staircase around the side, and I'm not sure how many floors it has."

"What?"

"Me and Daddy went on an expedition to see how high it went, but by the time we'd climbed for four days we decided to turn around."

She gawked at her reacquainted friend. "And all of that was books?"

"Oh, many of the books were copies of books from lower down. That's another reason we decided to turn around. We hadn't come across a new book for a whole day."

She imagined climbing for days in an ever-repeating library. "That sounds like it would have got frustrating."

"It was fun. We both wore hats. And we had packed lunches."

"… And, how many floors did you go up?"

"Fifty."

"Fifty! You climbed for four days, and you only got fifty floors up?"

"We did spend most of the time reading. It is a library."

"…"

They rounded the corner of a long aisle.

"Where is this library?"

"In the basement."

"In the…" Alexandra threw up her hands. "Forget it. I give up."

Luna continued to hum, and they arrived at the alcove. She stepped into the space, and pulled Luna in behind her.

"Grandfather."

The sleeping portrait of Orion Black gave a snuffling sort of sound and slowly opened his eyes. "Alexandra." He sounded surprised. "I hadn't expected to see you again so soon." He eyed Luna, and raised an eyebrow. "And this is?"

"Grandfather, this is Luna, the future Lady Lovegood, and consort of Lord Slytherin."

Luna gave an elegant curtsey. "Portrait Orion Black."

"Lovegood, eh? I remember the Lovegoods of my time. Minds so sharp they went past eccentric, and into full on insane. Just about the only noble family I could have a discussion about blood purity with where we disagreed but could still be polite about it." He frowned. "My condolences for your grandparents. It was a real shame when that bastard went full megalomaniac. One of the biggest regrets of my life, supporting him."

Luna's voice quieted. "Thank you, Portrait Black. I never knew them."

"No, I don't suppose you'd have got the chance… and they never had paintings made?"

Luna shook her head.

Orion Black sighed. "Ah, well, enough about sad matters… Congratulations on your future consortship with Lord Slytherin."

Luna brightened. "Thank you, Portrait Black."

"You must be quite nervous about it. Being contracted to someone so important and yet of whom so little is known."

"Not really."

"Oh?"

"I have full confidence in my lord."

"Mmmm…" Orion Black stroked his beard. "Is he a pureblood, your lord?"

"Both of his parents are magical."

Orion Black nodded, slowly.

Alex watched the exchange, fascinated. Grandfather was a lot better at this then she was, that much was obvious. So, Lord Slytherin was a half blood with two magical parents. That would mean that any of his children would qualify as pureblood according to the law. She could almost see the wheels turning in her grandfather's head.

"And what are your lord's intentions towards my granddaughter?"

Her ears and face burned. She sat down and buried her head in her hands. She'd wanted to ask Luna that question herself, but not just yet, and not like that.

Luna tilted her head slightly. "Portrait Black?"

....

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