Chapter 37
DAPHNE GREENGRASS
It was rare for Daphne Greengrass to be pissed, and elated at the same time. But that rare time was today as she found herself traversing a mansion she had only ever heard rumors about.
The Black Family manse was a place of mystery and intrigue. They rarely held any galas or guests, which meant that very few people were ever granted the privilege of visiting the vaunted Number 12 Grimmauld Place.
Yet now she sat in these very Halls, elated at the opportunity to explore these ancient Halls, while being extremely pissed at the said owner of these Halls.
"You are Lord Black," she reiterated in equal parts surprise and rage, as they sat in the Lord's solar, and the place was a mess and in need of extreme cleaning, but suitable enough for her to tear into the boy in front of her.
"Yes," he finally accepted the truth, as she leaned back in her chair, letting her mind process the words. And when she was done, her eyes narrowed as she strongly pushed down the urge to throw a dozen hexes at the prick in front of her.
"Do you have any idea how worried I have been for you!" she lashed out, and he did seem a bit apologetic over this, as he lowered his gaze.
"I have been worrying about you all this time, and here you are, the new Lord of the Black family," and she shook her head in disbelief.
"I am sorry," he apologised, and it seemed somewhat genuine.
"There was too much going on, and I did not know if I should even reveal this yet or not. But in the end, I decided to reveal it to family and friends," and she could understand some reason for his hesitance.
"How did this happen?" because the common speculation was that Sirius Black was the heir to the family, yet those in the Pureblood circles also knew that the said man had been kicked out of the family, hence removing him from the line of succession.
After him, there was no paternal line, and unless the late Lord Arcturus Black made a choice, the Black family was set to vanish just like a dozen others. And Arcturus Black was said to be a bitter man who hated everyone.
It was well known that Lucius Malfoy had sought to meet the man a hundred times, yet had always been rebuffed as the older man saw through his intentions. In the end, he had died alone in this very home, and had been buried in secret, leaving behind no apparent heir to take up the mantle of Lordship.
"Arcturus Black put in a condition in his will, one that made it so that I could inherit the position if I gave up on my second name," and that made sense, yet there was something there that she picked up on rather quickly.
"You met the man," and he nodded.
"Just before the Summer, he died. I was able to meet him," and that would be around the time they were in their first year, and now she wondered just what he had said to the man to convince him to name him as his heir.
And most importantly, it shook her as she realised that he had been expecting to be kicked out of the Malfoy family ever since he was that young.
"You always knew you would be kicked out," and he simply sighed.
"I knew of our differences in ideology," and she wondered again if any other eleven-year-old even knew what that word meant.
"Knew that they would only continue to grow, and so I wrote to Arcturus Black and managed to convince him to a face-to-face meeting," and there were a thousand things wrong with what he was saying, yet she focused on the biggest one.
"How the hell did you manage to convince Arcturus Black to name you as his heir?" because, Arcturus Black's ideologies were little different than his own father's so what he had said to the man to convince him to name him his heir.
The Black family, much like the rest of the Sacred twenty-eight had married into other families extensively, this meant that quite a few families had a claim on the Lordship, yet none would be able to use it unless the late Lord included them in his will.
Lucius Malfoy was not the only one who had tried to cajole the late Lord Arcturus Black into becoming the heir to the family. Others, including her own family, had tried so as well.
"Well, I have always had a glib tongue," he winked at her, and it was clear that he had no intention of answering her question, so she did not budge as she simply looked around the solar, and saw the dozen portraits all around the wall.
"Most of them are empty," she whispered, and he nodded.
"Yes, as the lord, I can make it so that they cannot enter certain portraits for some time, like right now, where I am in need of some peace and quiet," and that was an interesting piece of information, and it made her wonder if her own family ring granted the lord of the family similar powers.
"Who else knows?" she asked.
"Everyone in this House, excluding Potter," and that had been a surprise. She had not expected to meet Harry Potter during this summer, yet here she was under the same roof as the Boy-Who-Lived.
"Does Granger know?" she asked, and Tracey had not been able to come because she was out of the country and would only return a week before the Quidditch Finals.
"Yes," and that was to be expected, as she nodded.
"It's a shame, though," she suddenly began, her tone grave and serious as she looked him in the eye.
"What?" he asked, frowning.
"Now, you will never know what it means to be poor," and he seemed taken aback by her words, before he began to chuckle.
"Yeah, you have just gone from being the second son of the Malfoy to the sole owner of the entire Black fortune," and she rolled her eyes at the unfairness of it all.
"What I would not give to have your fortune," and he shrugged.
"Still, you have caused me a lot of trouble with all your lying and secrets. What do you intend to do to make up for it?" she asked, narrowing her gaze.
"Ahh, yes, and here comes the self-serving Slytherin," and at that, he reached into a drawer of sorts and put down a key on the table.
"This is for you," he said, and she picked it up and began to examine it.
"What is this?" she asked.
"This is the key to the Black Library," and her heart stilled as soon as she heard those words, as her head snapped towards his face.
"I know about the history of Astoria's curse, and if there is any library in Britain that might have something that could help her, it is the Black library," and that was true, it was why when she had first learned of her sister's curse she had written to Arcturus Black himself, begging the man to let her see the Black library for they were rumored to be only family to have ever broken a Maledictus Curse.
It was a desperate and thoughtless plea, especially as she would later learn that for families such as hers and the Blacks, their libraries were a status symbol. It held their secrets, and it was almost unspoken for a Noble and Ancient house to give another family access to their collection.
"That key gives you full access to the library anytime and anywhere," and with that he clicked his fingers and a House elf appeared in the room.
"Master summoned Winky," and it was a female elf, wearing a rather fine rag.
"Yes, Winky, this is Master's friend. She has been given the key to the library. You are to bring her any book she desires anytime she wants," and the House-elf turned towards her, and examined her with those round golden eyes.
"Is this the future, Mistress?" and Cassius spluttered at those words, as he shook his head, while she chuckled.
"No. She is a good friend," he corrected her as he clicked her fingers again.
"Now, go and finish cleaning up the extra rooms," and again the elf vanished with a pop, leaving her alone with Cassius.
"Mistress of the Black family," she whispered, raising a brow.
"I wouldn't really mind it, you know," she began suggestively, as he seemed a bit taken aback.
"Do you really want to spend your life with someone like me?" and the truth was that she wouldn't mind it one bit.
"On second thought, I don't think I can spend my life with a Blood traitor like you," and he laughed at his taunts as he slipped out of his chair.
"How did you even get the elf?" she asked, for it was not easy to get a house-elf.
"She is Winky, and she previously worked for Barty Crouch," and that explained much.
"Let's go. We have been holed up in here for quite some time. Let's hope Sirius has not burnt down the rest of the House in the meantime," and what little time she had spent together with the man had told her that Sirius Black was a man-child who could not be trusted with anything.
But as Cassius walked past her, she walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him as she gave him the warmest hug, hiding her teary-eyed face in the crook of his neck, as she whispered.
"Thank you," and he gently wrapped his own arm around her as he whispered.
"What do I always say, Daphne?" he began lightly.
"You never have to say that to me. Ever...."
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HARRY POTTER
His new home was a strange and old place. The House was rather large, with several stores and other rooms that made it the perfect choice for a large family.
And though Harry had no large family, the same could not be said for Sirius. He did not know much about him, much to his fault. But he was surprised to learn that Sirius had once had a brother, and three cousins.
Though all of them were gone in one way or another, except for Andromeda Tonks, nee Black. The woman reminded him of Draco's mother, for obvious reasons, and only the color of her hair stopped him from flinching anytime he saw her.
She was a med-witch, working at St.Mungos', and her husband was a barrister, the very person who had helped free Sirius. Their daughter was older than him, and a joy to be around as she entertained them all with her Metamorphagi powers.
It was Summer vacation, but Hermione could barely stop herself as she latched onto the two women and began to interrogate them about their careers and education. If the two of them minded her intrusive nature at all, they did not show it as Harry found himself questioning whether this was how Ron felt—whether this was how having a family felt.
And while the Dursley House had always been quiet and orderly, the Black Family home was a right mess filled with chaos, often instigated by Sirius and Tonks.
One day, he had forgotten all of his sadness from the previous month, and was looking forward to the time ahead as they all settled down for dinner.
Cassius was here as well, along with a friend of hers from School, Daphne. Though she was to leave after dinner, Sirius suddenly jumped out of his chair.
"I believe I have an announcement to make," he said loudly, making everyone stop as he looked around the table.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I, Sirius Black, have secured for all of us and your dear friends, the Weasley's," he added, pointing at him, making him flinch.
"Top Box tickets for the Quidditch World Cup Final in two weeks!" and Harry could hardly believe his ears, and just as the words registered, he sprang to his feet.
"You are lying," he gasped, as Sirius gave him a wink.
"No, I am not," he said, then turning towards Hermione, who was sitting between Daphne and Cassius.
"Your parents are invited as well," and Hermione seemed taken aback by those words.
"Are Muggles even allowed?" Sirius shrugged.
"Don't know, don't care. But Tonks here worked his magic and got us special permission so that you can bring them with us," and the lawyer in question.
"Well, since your parents already know about the Magical World, the rules can be manipulated a bit, given these circumstances," and if anyone should know anything about law, it would be a lawyer.
"Harry!" and his snapped towards Sirius who had just called for him.
"Write to your friend Ron, I will go and visit Arthur and Molly tomorrow so that we can make a plan," and he nodded excitedly, as the prospect of spending his Summers with Ron and Quidditch lit up his excitement.
"How the hell did you even get those tickets," the Auror trainee cut in, as Sirius smirked.
"Did you waste all your money on them?" cut in Sirius's cousin, and it still surprised him seeing Sirius whittle down under that sharp gaze.
"Nothing like that. The thing is that I did not even have to pay for these tickets," he answered proudly, as Andromeda Tonks seemed a bit taken aback.
"Don't tell me," Harry cut in, seeing through that smirk.
"You spoofed Fudge!" Sirius's niece cut in, her hair turning a funky pink at the insinuation as Sirius shrugged.
"Yeah, and the man even fell for it. He thought he could but the Black Vote with a few tickets...." and he broke out into a laugh, as Harry began to wonder what a Black Vote was.
Sirius then turned towards the blonde sitting at the table.
"Daphne, right?" he questioned, as the girl looked up from her meal.
"Yes," and he nodded.
"You and your sister are free to join us along with that friend of yours," he offered.
Daphne was a quiet girl, and for some reason she intimidated him quite a lot, even without speaking a single world.
"Well, we do have our own tickets, but I don't think they are the Top Box," and he wondered just how expensive such tickets were that a family such as hers could not buy them.
"I will have to talk to my father, but I will be happy to take you up on that offer," and her words seemed so formal and out of place, making him wonder if there was a problem with how he talked.
"Good. I can write to him if you wan..." but she shook her head.
"That will not be necessary," she added, as Sirius nodded.
"Okay, then let's get this house a bit more full of life...."
.
.
.
"Is everything ready?" Lucius Malfoy asked.
"Yes, soon enough the world will once more remember what it means to go against the Dark Lord..."
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