Thursday, March 2nd ~ Early Afternoon
The Malfoy Manor was enormous. Sirius wandered around for nearly an hour, and yet he had only covered a fraction of its halls. The more he explored, the more uncomfortable and lost he felt. The Manor was certainly filled with all sorts of expensive objects, but it was still empty. Empty and dark. Sirius didn't like it at all, and he knew that there was a reason for that. He would have returned to his room if it weren't for the fact that he couldn't bear to be confined to its walls any longer.
Despite the aura of the Manor, Sirius managed to sleep through the night. His dreams were more pleasant than they had been in a long, which he figured was due to the treatment he received the night before. The dreams still managed to grate his nerves, however. As he traveled through the Manor, he couldn't shake the feeling that he needed to look for someone, that he wasn't making the right decision by remaining with Narcissa.
Coming upon a long hallway, Sirius stopped walking. Portraits -- rather ugly portraits, Sirius thought -- lined the walls. He examined the nearest one closely.
Did I live in a place like this, with pictures of clowns all over the walls? He shivered at the thought and decided that if he did, he'd be better off without the accompanying memories.
"Filth," the man in the portrait suddenly uttered, glaring at Sirius. "How dare you enter the Malfoy manner!"
Sirius was surprised he didn't find it strange that a portrait was speaking to him. I'm absolutely mad.
"Why are you so worked up?" he asked with a grin, amused. "I'm family, aren't I?"
"Family! Do you honestly think we would consider such scum family?" The man in the portrait laughed. "Obviously, this is proof that the clean-up should have been left to the Malfoy family," he said haughtily, his attention shifting to another portrait.
"Why are you talking about?" Sirius' smile faded.