Early in the morning, the Great Hall at Hogwarts was packed with students preparing for their classes. They ate their respective breakfasts amidst a hum of quiet chatter, until the morning post arrived. A Howler delivered to the Gryffindor table shattered the peaceful morning.
The venomous Howler came from a Black of Gryffindor.
The vicious insults rang out relentlessly, yet Sirius acted as though he heard nothing, continuing to eat with his usual defiant indifference. After a few seconds of stunned silence in the Great Hall, a burst of snickering erupted from the Slytherin table.
The Great Hall plunged back into a noisy chatter of murmurs. Drawn by the laughter, Sirius cast a sideways glance toward the Slytherin table and caught sight of a curious scene.
That pretty little snake was staring at the piece of parchment in her hand with an ice-cold expression. Though puzzled, Sirius knew it was none of her business. The moment he looked away, her name cut through the layers of the crowd and reached his ears.
"Gloria? Hey, where are you going?"
Sirius raised his eyes to see that the little snake had already stood up, clutching the torn shreds of parchment as she walked straight out of the Great Hall. Before leaving, she turned her head and fixed her gaze on a Slytherin girl by the door. That look was so bone-chillingly cold that it truly resembled a cold-blooded serpent.
The girl froze under that gaze, hesitated for a moment, and then stood up to follow her out.
Sirius raised an eyebrow, a flicker of intrigue flashing in his eyes. Before he could even process it, his body moved on its own. Ignoring James's confused shouts from behind, he strode straight out of the Great Hall. He didn't know where he was going, nor did he understand what he was doing.
He just thought of it, so he did it.
After wandering around without finding the person he was looking for, Sirius clicked his tongue and turned to leave, only to hear a commotion down by the Black Lake. Pausing, Sirius changed direction and headed toward the sound.
As he drew near, he heard a female voice dripping with haughtiness.
"My uncle's letter said so as well: don't do things he doesn't permit. I merely dealt with that cat as requested. Just a cat, and an odd-eyed one at that—a freak, just like you."
Ah, someone from the Sisyphus family—the younger daughter of the current Head of House's younger brother.
Sirius frowned, disgust flashing across his face. Shifting his gaze to the little snake, he leaned against a tree trunk, immensely curious about how she would handle this.
A moment later, an icy voice reached Sirius's ears.
"At Hogwarts, does he still get to control me?"
Gloria looked at the girl before her, her eyes full of mockery.
"Of course. Every single move you make, he will know."
The girl blurted out.
Hearing this, the mockery in Gloria's eyes deepened. With an ambiguous smile playing at the corner of her lips, she delivered a definitive statement.
"So, you're his spy."
"I... of course not."
Seeing the other girl's guilty eyes darting nervously about, Gloria leaned back against the tree behind her, folded her arms, and simply watched her.
"You'd better not be, Carissa, or it would be a shame for such pretty eyes."
"What? Gloria! How dare you!"
Realizing what the other girl meant, Carissa widened her eyes and stared at Gloria in shock. Yet she felt no fear, because she was gambling that Gloria wouldn't dare. Yes, she wouldn't dare.
In truth, Gloria's father, Stuart, hadn't issued any such orders. He merely ranted about her at the Sisyphus Manor from time to time, complaining that Gloria wouldn't focus on her studies and insisted on keeping that beast of hers.
Carissa had grown up hearing her father and older brother talk about the Head of House's only daughter—how she had white hair, how she was a freak, and how they frequently marveled at her magical talent. Even the slight jealousy in her brother's tone had made Carissa dislike her. She had always wanted to meet her and put her in her place; she couldn't bear the thought of her brother being overshadowed by anyone. Yet her brother always stopped her, and the trace of protectiveness in his voice whenever he spoke of this person was something Carissa could never understand. Whether it was her imagination or not, Carissa always felt that her brother held some complicated emotions when mentioning her. Carissa couldn't quite read it, but it didn't stop her desire to go and make trouble for her.
She had been sheltered growing up. Now, having reached the age of eleven and entering Hogwarts, this was her first time seeing Gloria in person. When she saw her precious cat on the way back to the common room last night, she naturally refused to let the opportunity slip.
Gloria looked at Carissa and suddenly smiled—a smile that sent a chill down Carissa's spine.
"He needs me, and perhaps he needs your brother, too. But a little niece with mediocre talent and mediocre intelligence is utterly disposable to him. Regardless of anything else, he is the Head of House, and I am his only daughter and the future successor-apparent of the Sisyphus family. What makes you think there is anything I wouldn't dare to do?"
The vicious and mocking words pierced into Carissa's ears.
Panic began to set in. Her brother was a year ahead of her, so she had no time to find him, and for some reason, her intuition told her that her brother wouldn't do a thing to protect her against Gloria. Terrified that Gloria might actually follow through, Carissa took a step back and bluffed.
"You... aren't you afraid I'll tell your mother?"
Right—her mother, Chessie. A gentle woman, though not in the best of health. Gloria cared deeply for her mother. Carissa thought that bringing up her mother would surely make Gloria rein it in.
Instead, she saw Gloria's smile grow even more sarcastic.
"You are welcome to try. See if your owl even has the life left to fly to her."
Pausing, Gloria added nonchalantly, "Even if you don't send a letter, your owl won't survive anyway. You injured my cat, so pay with your owl. An eye for an eye, wouldn't you say? Or perhaps... would you prefer an extra scar on your body? Right on your shoulder, how does that sound? Exactly where my cat's is. I recently learned a new curse, and it's just begging to be tested."
Carissa's eyes widened in disbelief that the person before her could speak such terrifying words with a cheerful smile. She lost control and screamed, "Are you out of your mind? This is Hogwarts!"
"I imagine Hogwarts has a few hidden passageways unknown to most."
Carissa was truly terrified now. She finally understood why her brother always scolded her and forbade her from getting close to Gloria, and she understood why her brother was so wary of her. Because this person was, through and through, a lunatic!
Though Gloria hadn't actually done anything physical yet, Carissa knew she genuinely dared to do it.
With a pale face, Carissa turned and fled in a panic the moment Gloria took a step toward her, as if some monstrous beast were about to devour her from behind.
Watching her scurry away in panic, Gloria withdrew her foot and scoffed mockingly, "A cowardly fool."
Sirius had watched this magnificent drama and was left wanting more; he was practically tempted to start clapping. But he refrained—after all, when did a Gryffindor ever applaud a Slytherin? Even if this particular person had a somewhat unusual personality that suited his tastes.
Still, he tried to hold back, but ultimately failed to keep his mouth shut. Sauntering over, he asked with deliberate casualness, "Looks like you aren't very well-liked in your family."
"..."
Gloria showed not a shred of surprise, nor did Sirius expect her to. One of them had known of Sirius's existence long ago, and the other hadn't bothered to hide.
Gloria tilted her head to look at Sirius Black, clad in his Gryffindor robes—the eldest of the Black family—and the corners of her mouth twitched upward.
"Mr. Black watched the show for so long, and that's the only conclusion he came to?"
Sirius simply looked back at her, probing with ambiguous intent.
"I heard the Miss Sisyphus was brilliant and obedient. It seems rumors can't be trusted."
Gloria, obedient? That had to be the biggest joke Sirius had ever heard—well, starting from right now, anyway.
"Rumors? As long as it's enough to make them believe it, does the truth matter?"
Gloria flattened the crumpled paper ball in her palm, rolled it back into a sphere, and tossed it into the air, catching it as she spoke.
"Hmph, you live such an exhausting life," Sirius mocked, though whether he was mocking her or himself—the misfit of his own family—was anyone's guess.
"That's none of your concern, rebellious Mr. Black."
"May you get what you wish for, Gryffindor first-year."
Sirius froze, looking at her with complicated feelings. To actually receive well-wishes from a Slytherin—should he be happy, or should he mock the other for losing her mind?
Though, truth be told, he was rather pleased.
...
"And you? Did you get what you wish for?"
Before he could filter his thoughts, the question slipped past his lips. Sirius almost bit his tongue. Now *he* was the one who must have lost his mind, yet he had to admit: it was rare to encounter a pure-blood who met his approval and was just as rebellious as he was. He genuinely hoped she would end up in Gryffindor, even if the reality turned out otherwise.
After all, she clearly despised her family, yet her temperament was anything but Gryffindor.
Gloria stared at him for a moment. "Of course."
Even knowing the outcome, Sirius couldn't help pressing further. "Really? You clearly also..." *Despise it just as much.*
Sirius didn't finish his sentence, finally snapping back to his senses and cursing himself inwardly.
*Damn it, what am I doing? I'm just sticking my nose where it doesn't belong.*
Gloria had no way of knowing about Sirius's internal turmoil. She tossed the paper ball into the air, drew her wand from who-knows-where, and cast a spell at it.
"Incendio."
Watching the paper ball disintegrate into ashes and vanish into the air amidst the flames, Gloria put away her wand and flashed Sirius a crafty smile.
"Even though I share your disgust for pure-blood supremacist theories, I was bound to be a Slytherin."
Without waiting for his reaction, Gloria turned and walked away, though her final sentence drifted back and landed with absolute clarity in Sirius's ears:
"Without ambition, one has no way to do whatever they please within their family."