Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 231: Against The Tradition
"Mister Potter…"
James saw the main door opening and the familiar house elf 'welcoming' him in his usual muttered tone.
"Hello, Kreacher." The house elf did seem slightly more polite than usual, though.
He moved aside. "The Lady is waiting for you at th—" He was interrupted by the sounds of screaming coming from the floor above them.
"I think I can find them. Thanks," said James as he ventured inside the newly built home for the family.
While trying to tune out the yells and shouts, James took the chance to observe his surroundings and was pleasantly surprised by the construction.
Not by the quality of the materials, as this was a given, considering who paid for it. But more so, he was taken by how light and vibrant the atmosphere felt overall.
Compared to the previous dark and gloomy Black Manor he had known for a long time, this was quite the improvement, and it reminded him more of his own house.
"James?"
He spotted Regulus as soon as he climbed the stairs.
"Did Sirius tell you to come?" the boy asked. "Because it may not be the best time…"
"Actually, Bella was the one to send me a message. And I can already tell by the screams," James responded.
"I don't like it," Regulus said with clear concern on his face. "I think they want to kick Andy from the family…"
James felt sorry for the poor boy. He had just lost his parents, and now his aunt and uncle could potentially remove Andromeda, the cousin who had always been nice to him, from the house.
He placed a hand on Regulus's shoulder. "I'll see if I can convince them, okay?"
"Okay…" The boy nodded but didn't seem too confident yet.
"What about your brother? Don't tell me he got involved in this mess as well."
"No, Sirius… I think he is outside, flying on his broom. He doesn't seem to care." Regulus frowned.
"I doubt that," said James. "He is probably concerned as well, but knows better than getting in the middle of this, as it would just make things worse for Andromeda." He glanced at the hallway before him. "Anyways… I'd better get going."
Leaving Regulus behind, he followed the sounds and found the right door in no time. He twisted the handle and walked into a large dining hall.
The family was all sitting at a round table.
Druella, Cygnus, and Pollux were on one side while Bella and Andromeda were on the other, making their opinions on the matter very clear at first glance.
They stopped their argument the moment he opened the door and stared at him.
"What is he doing here?" Druella wasted no time showing her displeasure at his presence.
"Yes, this is a family meeting. Who called him?" Cygnus' eyes went from his father to his daughters.
"James?" Pollux stared at him with clear confusion. "We have a bit of a family issue in our hands…"
"I am aware of the situation." James was undeterred by their discomfort and walked to the table. "I thought I could come here and prevent you from making a grave mistake."
He sat down next to Andromeda. The girl's eyes were red from crying, and Bella was at her side, trying to comfort her.
"A mistake?!" Druella exclaimed. "If you really know the situation, then you should understand our position."
"That's right, Mister Potter…" Cygnus at least tried to sound polite. "This is not how we do things in our family."
James ignored their comments and turned to Andromeda, whispering to her, "Sorry, I promised you that I would speak with your grandfather before this happened, but…"
Andromeda shook her head. "It's okay… I did this…"
"Mmm?" James looked a bit confused as to what she was referring to.
"She told them," Bella added.
"I didn't want to keep lying to them… I knew they weren't going to like it, but…"
"I see, I understand," James said as he shifted his look to the parents and then to the Patriarch. "So, what are you planning on doing? Reducing the size of your house a bit more? That seems wise."
Pollux frowned. "James… the girl said that she wanted to marry this boy. I have been a very permissive Patriarch, and would have been open to letting her choose her future husband, but a mudblood?! There is a limit to everything!"
"Don't call him mudblood! His name is Ted Tonks!" Andromeda shouted.
"Be silent, Andromeda!" her father, Cygnus, said. "And no daughter of mine will be marrying a filthy mudblood."
Druella sighed. "I knew we should have made another marriage contract for her. Perhaps we can still convince Lord Nott to take her. He is a widower."
"Druella! The man is sixty-two!" Cygnus exclaimed.
"I'm not marrying any old man!" Andromeda cried. "I'm marrying Ted, whether you like it or not!"
"Andy…" Bella looked at her sister with concern. Seeing the current situation, the only way she could do that was to leave her house and name behind.
"Unbelievable… You would rather have your daughter married to an old guy and be miserable just because of his last name. Are you hearing yourselves?" said James.
"James, I understand how you feel. But the House of Black has always done things this way," Pollux said. "Tradition cannot be broken merely to please one person...otherwise, everything will be lost."
"I'm afraid that, whether you like it or not, these old traditions are going to die out. Because after this war is over, there won't be enough pureblood families to continue it," James commented.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Druella asked.
"It means that after I'm done with this Dark Lord, I intend to get rid of this disease that has been plaguing the country. Every single wizard family that has sided with Voldemort will have to go as well, to prevent the future rising of yet another Dark Lord." He had seen firsthand where this road ended, and this time, he wanted to make things different.
James' voice sounded cold and threatening. "This cycle of hatred and discrimination has to end before it destroys everything that we care about. So I'm afraid that Lord Nott will not be available for marriage very soon."
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