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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 232: Changing Fates
When he told Dumbledore that he had killed six Dark Lords, he failed to mention that four of those were from this very same nation.
After the defeat of Voldemort, there was a long period of peace, but it eventually ended when the friction between the two magical factions reached a boiling point, creating yet another Dark Lord.
At that point, he was no longer living in Britain, but he still felt responsible, so once more, he took care of that Dark Lord, but refused to do more, and just a couple of decades after that, it happened again.
Every time a war started, countless civilians had to suffer by having their neighborhoods destroyed and family members killed.
This time, he was not leaving, and he wanted to make sure that the issue rotting at the core of the magical society was solved, at least.
"Are you going to threaten half the Lords in the country?" Cygnus asked with incredulity.
"Are you going to kill them like how you did with Lord Rosier?" Druella asked with bitterness.
"Yes. Because when the guilty are not held accountable, the innocent are the ones to suffer," James responded.
"Doesn't he sound very alluring when he talks like that? Or is it just me?" Bella asked her sister in a whisper.
"Bella, not now!" Andromeda smacked her away.
"Lord Pollux." James turned his attention to the Patriarch. "I remember that you once told me about how you lamented the decision of the previous Patriarch when my grandmother was expelled from the family for marrying my grandfather. And how you wished you had been the one in charge, to make things different. I believe you are now presented with the opportunity to do so."
"Hmm…" Lord Pollux tensed up after hearing James' words. "That was… different. At least your grandfather was a pure-blood heir. She was expelled based solely on politics, because our two houses were not on good terms at the time."
"And isn't the view on muggle-borns a political matter as well?" Bella suddenly asked, earning a scornful glare from her mother.
"Not you too," her mother muttered.
"It's more than political. It's a matter of preserving our tradition and culture," Cygnus answered. "The motto of our house is 'Always Pure'… doesn't that tell you something?"
"It tells me that you care more for this tradition than you do for your own daughter," James said. "Unfortunately for you, and all other wizard families who think in the same manner, keeping your blood pure will soon no longer be sustainable, due to the simple lack of options. Unless you want to start marrying brothers and sisters, of course."
"You are saying that we should forgo tradition and embrace progress," Lord Pollux said.
James glanced at the old wizard. "I'm saying that soon enough… You won't have a choice. Your house will have to adapt or disappear."
"Mmm…" Lord Pollux leaned back in his chair and let out a loud sigh.
"Father… surely you don't believe what he is saying." Cygnus glanced between Pollux and James.
"He is just a boy, what does he know about tradition?!" Druella exclaimed. "What would we have if we gave that up?"
"You would have a family," James responded to her. "But perhaps that is not what you want."
"James…" There was a soft warning in Pollux's tone. "I need to think about this matter for a bit longer before making a final decision."
"Grandfather?" Andromeda lifted her face and spoke for the first time. She never thought that she was going to hear the Patriarch of the House of Black saying something like that.
"Father?" Cygnus and his wife looked extremely confused.
"I said I needed some time to think about this." Pollux's eyes went to Andromeda, who was shifting nervously in her chair. "And I will need to meet this boy."
"Grandfather?… I mean, yes!" Andromeda hurried to say. "I will send him a letter today."
"Very well… this meeting is over for now," Pollux said.
James could tell by their looks that Druella and Cygnus still had much that they wanted to say. "Why don't we go outside, and you can give me a tour of the new house?" he told the girls.
Andromeda's mood had completely changed, and the girl was feeling very excited now. "Sure, let's go!" She grabbed his hand and guided him outside the room.
"Hey! I think he was talking to me," Bella complained as she followed them.
They quickly found Regulus. The boy had stayed close to the door but hadn't dared to peek inside. He was surprised when he saw Andromeda smiling.
"W-what happened in there?"
"Well… grandfather said that he was going to think about it," Andromeda told him. "So, for the moment I'm still part of the family."
"That's great!" Regulus sounded excited and very relieved.
"You should go tell the news to your brother," James suggested. "Sirius may not show it, but I bet he was also concerned about this."
"So, where do you want to start?" Andromeda asked. "It's a big house."
"Go tell your boyfriend the good news. Bella can give me the tour." James could see that the girl could not wait to write him a letter.
"Thank you!" Andromeda gave him a warm hug. "I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't appeared…"
"You are a strong girl… you would have been fine without me." James knew this for a fact. But hopefully, this time, Tonks gets to grow up with a big family.
Andromeda gave him a sincere smile before turning around and walking away.
James then noted that Bella was strangely glaring at him.
"What is it?"
"Nothing, I was just remembering your speech from moments ago. When you were talking about exterminating all those ancient wizard families…"
"Mmm… I don't think I used those exact words, did I?" James tried to recall what he said.
Bella then moved quickly as lightning and jumped into his arms before she began kissing him passionately.
With his current skills, James could have easily avoided her, but he decided against it.
'Should I be worried that this becomes a habit for her?' he wondered.
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