Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter
July 11th, 1969
My life was rather a strange one, even for a eleven-year old pure-blood wizard. I was the Heir Apparent of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Black, an extremely ancient and wealthy pure-blood Wizarding line. My father, Orion Black, was completely under my mother's thumb. And my mother, Walburga Black was completely insane and belonged in Azkaban for, among other things, using an Unforgivable Curse as a parenting tool. And I have memories of another life, from a world where my current life was my favorite book series. Super insane
I could remember my life as Cade Jacobson, a 27 year old private investigator who had been killed because he had heard too much about a cartel deal while following an unfaithful husband. Turns out he was dealing drugs, not cheating on his wife. While I missed my family and friends, I knew that I had to embrace this second chance. I had a few ideas on what exactly what I wanted to do with it, but I wasn't entirely sure on how to proceed.
I knew exactly what kind of crazy I had gotten into beforehand, of course. I intended to change this world for the better, mostly for me and my loved ones. And I intended to cause as many problems as I could for the rising Dark Lord Moldyshorts. That guy is a asshole and needs to be put down like the psycho he is. And I would start by using my position as Heir Black to gather knowledge and power to influence the current Head of the House of Black.
My grandfather, Arcturus Black, the Head of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Black, is actually pretty awesome though. He had put a stop to my mother's rule of the house when I had told him about the liberal use of the Cruciatus Curse four years ago. She has been imprisoned in the Black Townhouse at 12 Grimmuald Place in London with her crazy house elf Kreacher, and hadn't been seen by anyone since. Last I heard, the house was in bad shape.
My father, myself, and my little brothers Sirius and Regulus had moved out of the townhouse and into the majestic Black Manor in the countryside with Grandfather. We are the only ones who know my mother is alive, as we have claimed she had died of illness to protect the image of the House of Black. Had a funeral and everything. Although Sirius and Regulus's memories had to be modified, as they are too young to understand our reasoning. And Kreacher has been forbidden to tell anyone or help her escape. Walburga had her wand snapped as well.
My nine year-old brother Sirius seems to desire to rebel against everything our house has historically stood for. It is freaking hilarious to watch him drive father and grandfather nuts with his chaotic nature. He doesn't take anything seriously, despite his name being Sirius. (Merlin, he really needs to stop using that pun) Despite the fact that he drives me crazy at times, we are very close and would do anything for each other.
My eight year-old brother Regulus is a curious boy who already understands the importance of the House of Black in our society and is keen to learn. I just gotta make sure he doesn't join Moldyshirts. After tonight, that shouldn't be a problem though. Grandfather is constantly being asked "questions" (a.k.a suggestions) by my brother and I that make him think. Regulus thought of a couple of things that I hadn't on his own, surprisingly. I have heard him say that the future of the House of Black is in good hands with the three of us.
It was the result of one of those "questions" that I posed that caused Grandfather to make a move to ensure the education of Hogwarts would be better served in the future. I had asked him why we just don't learn about actual Wizarding History in History of Magic classes. Wouldn't it help our world if we knew all of the dangers that existed and knew how to prevent them?
Not to mention that it would prevent Muggle-Borns from trying to betray or change our world once they knew that they should fear the power and knowledge Ancient Wizarding families had access to in their libraries. The Black libraries had long been guarded by wards created by the ancestors of the Black family and improved over the centuries, as well as their many homes across the world. Dumbledore and Grindelwald working together to try to find and break into a Black home would not only fail, but they would both die an extremely painful death.
Naturally, Grandfather had thought it was a brilliant idea. Although that might of had more to do with the fact that I had told him that I had visions of the future. Telling him I was a reincarnated Muggle seemed like a bad idea, so I went with that. I had told him about the rise of a powerful Dark Lord that would wipe out the House of Black if he wasn't stopped, telling him that the House of Black would die out in the male line if he wasn't stopped. I would have won an Academy Award for the acting job while making that prophecy. He had not only believed my story, but had taken some subtle steps to help stop him.
Headmaster Armando Dippet had hired my Uncle Alphard as the new Professor of Wizarding Traditions before he retired, a new class that would be mandatory for all students for their first year at Hogwarts. He would also be teaching Ancient Runes, one of the electives available to third years at Hogwarts. It was rumored that the new Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, who was also the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, had argued against the hire. But with the backing of the Board of Governors, Dippet, and the Ministry, he failed to stop the hire, even with all his power.
Apparently, it was mainly because Dumbledore was concerned about the growing power of the House of Black and the idea of actual Wizarding history and traditions being taught by a Black. Grandfather had smiled smugly when he heard that for some reason. Neither of us trusted Dumbledore. My Uncle Alphard was a former Cursebreaker and magical archeologist that traveled all over the world. He was very knowledgeable about the Wizarding World in several different countries, as well as a Runes Master. It would be fascinating to learn from him in September.
My lessons with Grandfather about the responsibilities of the Head of the House of Black had just ended when our head house elf, Tippy shuffled into my Grandfather's study.
"Master Arcturus, your cousins Pollux and Cassiopeia has arrived for the Black family gathering, sir," he said in a squeaky, but cultured tone. Grandfather had long believed that his large number of family house elves being cultured and well-mannered reflected well on their family. If one was rich enough to have as many servants as they did, they should take care of them. They were the ones that answered the door after all.
"Thank you, Tippy," my grandfather said with a sigh. He and his two cousins had fallen out almost thirty years ago after Granfather had decided to remain neutral instead of aligning the House of Black with the Dark Lord at the time, Gellert Grindelwald. The marriage of Orion and Walburga had been their peace treaty, ironically. And now, they had come to the annual Black family dinner to discuss the growing rumors of a powerful Dark Lord that was amassing an army in the shadows.
Grandfather had no interest following a foreign wizard who had no interest in bettering Wizarding Britain and would cause their destruction by trying to conquer the world. He would lose, just as Wizarding Rome and Wizarding Greece had joining Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great and their Muggle Armies.
Grandfather's policy of staying neutral had enriched and empowered the House of Black in the years since the last war. The Blacks had formed powerful political alliances with not only the neutral and dark families in the Wizengamot, but the more traditional light families as well. He and his allies were the key to passing any law in the Wizengamot.
Many reforms that Dumbledore had tried to push through the last few years to stop the use of darker magics, including banning Aurors from using lethal force, had been stopped because of Arcturus and his allies. He had allowed a few of Dumbledore's laws to pass, mainly the ones that would protect and help Muggle-Borns in their society. A major one that allowed Muggle-Borns to be sponsored and protected by Ancient Wizarding families as vassals of their House had been his idea.
Grandfather thought it was foolish to alienate new magicals when you could make them indebted to you instead. While he preferred not to associate with Muggles and keep his line pure, the possibility of new ideas and magics under his control were too good to pass up. His logical arguments about the money and new ideas that could come from them had swayed several neutral pureblood families to his side. Dumbledore had agreed when he had gotten over his suprise and got a clause added for something that Grandfather wouldn't explain to me. Apparently, it was a good thing.
Therefore, he was not probably not looking forward to hearing his cousins talk about how he was a Mudblood lover now and how the new Dark Lord would put the Mudbloods in their place. His recent speech at the Wizengamot certainly wouldn't help him in this conversation. He had yet to discuss his most recent law with the family outside of me and my father.
Pollux's son, Cygnus, and his wife Druella were of the same mindset, as was their eldest daughter Bellatrix, whom Aunt Cassie had been giving private lessons over the last couple of summers in the secret family magics that are only learned by deserving daughters of the House of Black get when they turn sixteen, which she had in October. Andromeda, who was fourteen, was rather quiet on the subject, while twelve year old Narcissa parroted the beliefs of her parents.
Unfortunately, Father doesn't agree, but knows better than to argue with his father. Not being married to Mother has done wonders for his personality. Uncle Alphard agrees with Grandfather though, as does Aunt Dorea and her husband, Uncle Charlus Potter. They would be coming with their son, Eric, who would be starting Hogwarts with me and was arguably my favorite cousin. Alphard wouldn't be coming though, as he was out of the country.
Aunt Lucretia wouldn't be coming either, as her husband Ignatius Prewett apparently made the mistake of setting off a couple of dungbombs under Aunt Cassie's chair fifteen years ago. I thought it was funny when I heard the story, but Aunt Cassie cursed him. I wonder if that is why they haven't had any children. Aunt Cassie has long suffered from the Black Madness. She was Grindelwald's Bellatrix during the end of the last war. She had been able to bribe her way out of being sent to Azkaban though. Aunt Lucretia hasn't spoken to anyone in our family since, sadly.
"Don't forget that you are my Heir. When I am gone, you will be the one having to deal with all this," Arcturus reminded me. He had caught me grinning at his sigh, which was now a scowl.
"I sincerely hope that won't be for quite some time," I replied, causing my grandfather to chuckle. We then descended downstairs to the massive dining room of Black Manor.
It was fortunately only after we had almost finished the feast that the house elves had prepared that dinner got interesting. "You have made the Dark Lord rather angry, Arcturus. Rumor has it that he wants your head almost as much as Dumbledore's for the about face the House of Black has shown over the last few years since my daughter's death and my grandson being named heir," he said calmly, almost as if he was commenting on the weather.
"Well, it's a good thing that wartime wards haven't been taken down since the last war. And if the legends are true, this castle survived an assault by the armies of Dark Witch Morgana herself when the Head of House refused to share Black family magic with her. I dare say that they will hold up against this Voldemort, especially with my improvements," my grandfather said with a smirk.
"You dare say his name?! He's the Heir of Slytherin and a powerful wizard that will put the Mudbloods in the place and eliminate the Muggles!" Cygnus said, growing angry.
"The House of Black is far more powerful than the House of Slytherin these days, nephew. The American line has died out, and the other known survivor is locked up in Azkaban. The Gaunts have long squandered any fortune that Slytherin has left. The son of Merope Gaunt and whoever she managed to seduce may be powerful, but I have yet to see anything resembling the power his ancestors had," Arcturus said.
"And the Statute of Secrecy exists for a reason, or have you forgotten that they drove us into hiding centuries ago? And from what I saw in London during the war, they are much more powerful now. I was there when the Muggles rained down fire and death over the city. And there are far more of them than us. Eliminating the Muggles is the quest of the fool and a madman, as I was telling the Wizengamot last month. I would be careful on who you give your allegiance to. Although it appears that you have already made your choice, haven't you Cygnus?" Arcturus Black asked his furious nephew, who was being physically restrained by the magics of our nearby House Elves.
The Head of the House of Black then used his wand to pull back the sleeve of Cygnus's right arm revealing a black mark that depicted a skull that had a snake in it's mouth. Cygnus paled as the majority of my family looked at him with the same mixture of revulsion and shock that I was sure was on my face.
It was then that father stood. "I think it would be wise for us to send the children to the sitting room. Preferably, the one on the other side of the manor," he said calmly.
"That would be wise indeed, my son. All of those underage will go there now while we discuss what to do when a member of the House of Black allows himself to be branded like livestock," Arcturus said, giving me a look to lead my brothers and cousins from the room. I nodded and did my duty as Heir and led my them to the small sitting room on the other side of Black Manor.
As the seven of us made our across the manor, I noticed that Bellatrix looked angry. It was the kind of look that made me extremely nervous, knowing exactly what she was capable of. She may not be as crazy as she was after Voldemort and Rodolphus Lestrange got their hands on her, but she was still an extremely powerful witch with a quick temper.
"Sirius, do me a favor and take Reggie and Eric back to your room and keep an eye on them. Don't look now, but Bellatrix looks really pissed right now. It's times like this I wish you were the heir," I whispered to my brother.
Sirius paled. He was fortunately smart enough not to chance a look at our cousin. He knew better after the last time he gave her a funny look to tease her when she was walking out of the bathroom two years ago. It took almost two days for the boils to heal, even with magic. I have made it a point to keep track of her periods ever since for my own personal safety. He nodded, gave me a slight look of pity, and led Regulus and Eric towards the staircase with the promise of getting them some dessert when they got to his room.
Just before I reached the dining room, I silently summoned a house elf to discreetly take the three Black sister's wands and any weapons they might have. I hadn't forgotten Dobby, after all. I didn't think Andromeda and Narcissa would attack me, but I didn't want to take any chances, especially since Bella might take them from them and use them.
This turned out to be a wise move, for as soon as we reached the dining room, Bella exploded. "I can't believe Lord Black would believe such sick lies! The Dark Lord is a powerful wizard! I met him last month, and he cannot be anything but!" Bella said angrily.
"That may be true, Bella. But Arcturus is the Lord of the House of Black, not this Lord Voldemort. And he has ordered the House of Black to stay away from his crusade. And no member of the House of Black should ever stoop so low as to be branded like livestock," I responded calmly.
A fuming Bella reached for her wand. "Where's my wand? And my knife?! Give them back, you filthy little beast," Bellatrix demanded.
"I had a house elf confiscate them before we walked in the room, because you looked like my mother before she started punishing me with the Cruciatus Curse. Now all of you will sit down and listen!" I ordered, pushing my magical aura as I did. I was extremely fortunate that the inbreeding had not affected my magical power in the slightest, only my mental state. Fortunately, I had experience with being slightly insane from my last life, so that wasn't a problem. Although how me and my brothers weren't deformed Squibs was surprising.
But it was still surprising that all three of my cousins shrank back in fear and sat down when I did so. Narcissa I had expected, but the older girls I had not. I knew I was powerful, and a natural Occlumens thanks to training with Grandfather, but this was extremely unexpected. Maybe all of my dreams and plans for my life as Krios Black was possible after all.
"Now listen carefully. Uncle Cygnus has deliberately gone against a direct order from his Head of House. He and Aunt Druella will be cast out of the family and their marriage will be dissolved for taking the Dark Lord's mark. There is nothing any of us can do about that. The only thing you can control is whether or not you will join them as nameless," I said firmly. I was a bit harsh, but I wanted to keep my cousins safe. I still felt bad when all three girls burst into tears.
Comforting crying women was something that I had little experience in, both in my past and current lives. But I knew that sitting between Cissy and Andy and putting an arm around them in comfort was a good start. They were my family. Granted, they may be snobby bitches at times, but they were still my family. And it was my job to protect them.
"What's going to happen to us? Will Lord Black kick us out too?" Narcissa asked, fear evident in her eyes. Bella and Andy paled at this. For a pureblood witch, being nameless was a fate worse then death. And being underage and beautiful young women, a man like Cygnus Black would likely sell his daughters to an old pureblood lord to be sex slaves to get back on his feet financially. And that is something I would not allow, no matter what grandfather said.
"I swear to you that you will be safe. Grandfather will not disown you. He may ask you to swear loyalty to the House of Black, though. But I promise you that if you do that, I will protect you from any punishments coming from your parents actions," I said seriously. My position as Heir gave me a lot of power politically and gave me influence with my grandfather, so they knew I meant what I said and had the power to back it up.
All three girls smiled gratefully at me in response. Narcissa leaned up against my shoulder. "Merlin, even with her makeup running she's beautiful. No, no bad Krios. You're eleven and incest is bad. Damn, puberty is gonna be a bitch. Can't believe I have to do that shit again," I thought to myself.
"What do you think your grandfather is going to do to our father?" Andromeda asked fearfully, breaking the silence.
I hesitated. Thanks to my meddling, Arcturus Black hated Voldemort and his Death Eaters and now believed he must do whatever it to keep his family out of his clutches. And unfortunately, I doubted Cygnus Black would be leaving Black Manor tonight alive. There was no way he would take being disowned and divorced well, and he would probably try to kill Grandfather. But he would fail, and House Black would emerge united against Voldemort. Grandfather was intending to demand magical oaths to make sure of that. I am sincerely hoping that Uncle Cygnus was the only casualty. But I didn't know how to tell them that.
My silence told them all they needed to know, however. Now all three girls were sobbing and clinging to me. I did my best to comfort them silently, knowing that trying to tell them it would be alright was a lie.
Sometime later, Tippy appeared. "Master Arcturus has summoned you and the Mistresses Black to his study, Master Krios," Tippy said.
"Thank you, Tippy," I said, and began to lead my teary-eyed cousins to my Grandfather's study. When we arrived, I was quickly noticed that my grandfather, father, and Aunt Dorea, who was rather pale, were present.
A cover story was quickly explained to them, before they were hustled out of the study and told to retire for the night. Cygnus, Druella, Cassiopeia, and Pollux Black has tried to kill Lord Arcturus Black in response to the law he had passed. They had failed thanks to the sacrifice of one of our House Elves and quick spellwork. He, along with Charlus and Dorea Potter, had returned fire, killing Cygnus. Pollux and Cassieopia had fled when they realized they were outnumbered. Charlus had been hurt badly, but he would live. Druella was alive, but had been captured and been imprisoned at 12 Grimmauld Place with my Mother and had her wand snapped. Officially, she had been killed along with Cygnus and would never be seen again.
Fortunately, archaic rules predating the Wizengamot allowed Arcturus to declare it a family matter of the House of Black, effectively shutting down any investigation down. It pissed the Aurors and the Department of Magical Law Enforcement off, but there was nothing they could do about it. The Head of the Most Ancient House of Rosier was also furious over his daughter's death, but realized that she had sealed her fate by attempting to kill Arcturus Black. That didn't stop him from planning revenge when the Dark Lord was ready to reveal himself publicly to the Wizarding World.
Unfortunately, this same law allowed Cassieopia and Pollux to avoid being arrested. They had still left the country, however. Arcturus Black had a lot of contacts in shady organizations, and they likely feared that he would come for them. They were probably going to join Voldemort in France. Pollux had a personal chateau there, so it was likely that they were hiding out there.
According to one of Grandfather's contacts, the Dark Lord had a birth certificate naming his father as the last of an ancient French family, Rochambeau. The bastard was making sure that his Muggle roots were kept a secret. He was actually related to the Rochambeau's though Marvolo Gaunt's sister, making him the closest living relative either way. The heavily warded Manor somewhere in France was likely a nice bonus. The worst part was that everyone, with the exception of myself and Albus Dumbledore, would always believe that the Dark Lord was a pureblood. It threw a couple of my plans to thwart him out the window.
Charlus and Dorea quickly agreed to go along with the cover story once they learned that they were Death Eaters. Charlus was a veteran of the war against Grindelwald and WWII and had fought Grindelwald personally. He had barely survived both wars. He had several scars, a replacement metal arm hidden under his robes and he still walked with a limp. He was there when Dumbledore defeated Grindelwald in a duel in 1945. He never wanted to see another Dark Wizard with that kind of power again. He had even sent Grandfather a bottle of 1945 Ogden's Firewhiskey a few days later.
I later learned Grandfather would be taking custody over the girls until they came of age. This allowed Grandfather to cancel a marriage contract between Rudolphus Lestrange and Bellatrix, at my suggestion. Not that he needed it. The clauses in the contract basically made her a slave. If I had felt bad about inadvertently causing the death and imprisonment of Cygnus and Druella Black before, I certainly didn't now.
Rodolphus could tell her to kill, screw, or torture whoever he wanted her to and she wouldn't be able to do otherwise. And she would enjoy it, too. It made me sick that a parent would do that. The Head of the House of Lestrange and Uncle Cygnus had agreed in the contract that she would bear heirs of both House Lestrange and House Slytherin. I have never enjoyed watching a piece of paper burn like I did when Grandfather tossed it in the fire after I had showed it to him. I'm glad I had suspected it exsisted, as it was rather well hidden. Gotta love House Elves. Such a wonderful source of information.
The Lestranges had been pissed, but legally there was nothing they could do. And one look at my grandfather's irate face that was likely trying to kill the man with his glare when he saw Reinhardt Lestrange approaching him at the Ministry was enough to make the man walk quickly the other way. Considering that it took a lot to anger Arcturus Black like that, walking away had probably saved him from being called into an honor duel. Reinhardt had apparently hoped that Arcturus hadn't found the contract and was trying to propose a new one, the ambitious ass.
The look of justified rage on the face of Bellatrix when Grandfather told her of the contact sent me running out of the room in fear. I am somewhat looking forward to seeing how miserable the upcoming year at Hogwarts will be for one Rodolphus Lestrange. She spent the next few hours in her room with her sisters. I wonder if he will manage to survive the wrath of the Black sisters. I somehow doubt it. I'd feel sorry for him, but he deserves it.
It wasn't much longer before I found myself in Diagon Alley. The shopping for supplies and books had all been done beforehand via Owl Order. Having House Elves was awesome. All I needed was to be fitted for robes and a wand. And that is how I found myself leaving the shop of Garrick Ollivander and holding my brand new wand, made of Elder wood with a dragon heartstring core after almost an hour in his shop. Ollivander had been impressed that it chose me. Apparently that wand had been extremely hard to make and was his attempt at duplicating the Elder Wand. Grandfather was pleased. My brain is almost shut down in disbelief and glee.
That same feeling was present when I arrived at Platform 9 and 3/4 with my father, brothers, and cousins on September 1st. And it grew stronger as I found myself on the train in a compartment with Eric Potter and Cyrus Greengrass. While I was long aware that this was going to happen at some point, it was still surreal. The arrival at the castle was even more so. Hearing the massive Hagrid call for the first years and seeing the castle from the boats for the first time was even more magical in person than it was reading about it or watching the movie for the first time in my previous life.
It felt like no time had passed before I heard Professor McGonagall my name for the Sorting. I decided to try a trick using Occlumency that I had learned from the Black Library. I quickly cleared my mind of all memories and thoughts and locked them away in my mind. With the exception of one. My special list that no one knew about. Since the Sorting Hat couldn't reveal it's secrets, I knew that it would stay safe. My Grandfather had gotten, or rather demanded, a magical oath from the Headmaster of the time when he was Sorted to prove it. He had always been rather paranoid. The Five Life Goals of Krios Black looked something like this:
1: Keep my loved ones safe from the Dark Lord and any other threats.
2: Stop the Dark Lord from gaining power. Do what needs to be done, but protect the innocent.
3: Gain control of the Ministry and shape it to work for the Wizarding World instead of for itself
4: Get Dumbledore on my side. If he's truly working for the Greater Good of the Wizarding World and not the Greater Good of Albus Dumbledore, that won't be hard. If he is an enemy and hasn't changed since his sister's death, eliminate him.
5. Do all this and live happily in Black Manor with my family while being served by my House Elves and enjoying my wife and concubines. Apparently, harems are legal for Lords of Ancient and Noble Houses, but uncommon. My grandfather has a couple of concubines that I am not supposed to know about.
It was then I felt the hat start to twitch slightly, before it burst out into laughter. The hall stared as they heard it. "Gryffindor and Slytherin would have fought another war just to have you in their house. Since the last one nearly destroyed the castle and the Forbidden Forest, I'm rather glad that they're no longer among the living. I believe they would have died from magical exhaustion before a winner was declared. The only reason it ended was because Salazar Slytherin chose to leave the castle before they destroyed it." the Sorting Hat said in my head.
"Thanks. Sounds like a battle one would read about between two gods like Thor and Loki. That must have been incredible to witness. I agree with Salazar though. It's better to walk away from a fight where the only thing to be gained is personal pride and untold destruction," I said, pleased to learn some interesting facts about the Founders," I thought back.
"It was. And the comparison is more true than you know, considering Godric and Salazar were blessed by Thor and Loki. And Rowena and Helga were blessed by Odin and Frigga. It's a good thing they think it's funny that you mortals think that four witches and wizards could build a sentient castle by themselves. It's a bad idea to offend an Asgardian. I would know, they made me after all. Anyway, I think that you will achieve greatness in SLYTHERIN!" the Sorting Hat finished by announcing my Sorting.
"What have I gotten myself into?" I thought as I took my place at the Slytherin table.