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A few days, before leaving for Hogwarts, my grandfather summoned me to his office. When I arrived, I noticed my mother's House Elf, Kreacher, standing in the corner. "Krios, I regret to inform you that your mother and Aunt Druella are now officially dead as well as legally. They were trying to brew a rather dangerous potion to escape, and it exploded, killing them both. The House Elves managed to prevent the destruction of the house, and are busy putting it back together," Arcturus informed me in a tone that suggested he was not at all upset about their deaths. In fairness, I couldn't get myself to feel bad about it either. They had been dead to me for quite some time now.
"Could I have Kreacher as my House Elf, Lord Black? He was extremely loyal to my mother, and I could find a use for him," I asked him innocently, pretending to desire him as something to remember the good in my mother by. Which was complete rubbish, there was nothing good about that woman and I was not at all sad that she was dead.
"I suppose. I was going to behead him for failing in his task, but if you want him, take him," Arcturus said with a wave of his hand. He did look rather disappointed at what he believed was my sentimental request, though. I took this as his dismissal, and I left his office with Kreacher following behind me. Once I reached my room, I called for my other personal House Elf, Gremlin.
"Gremlin, get Kreacher up to speed on my plans. Between the two of you, you should be able to finish getting the ritual and potion ready by the end of next week. Inform him of my contingency plans as well. And move the ritual location to the Grimmauld Place dungeons. With my mother and aunt gone, it's even more secure than Uncle Cygnus's old place. Kreacher, I know that you will serve me to the best of your ability. I will make sure you are treated well. Listen to Gremlin's instructions until I summon you, as they came from me," I ordered my two loyal House Elves.
"Yes, Master Krios," the two House Elves said in unison, before disappearing with a pop. I had thought of asking for Gremlin's help a few days ago, as he could do everything but perform the ritual for me. Only a wizard could do that. I should be able to perform it over the winter holidays when I came home. I had a good plan as to how I would convince everyone that it was a complete coincidence that I was bigger, stronger, and faster than before.
Upon boarding the Hogwarts Express, I immediately claimed the empty compartment that I had sat in last year. It wasn't long before I was joined by my fellow Slytherin yearmates and friends Eric Potter, Cyrus Greengrass. Adrianne Shafiq, Hadrian Pucey, Ramona Turpin, and Samantha Smith. It wasn't long before the topic of conversation turned towards Voldemort's latest exploits.
"The Daily Prophet said that a Muggle family in Birmingham was slaughtered last night by the Death Eaters. The Dark Mark was over the house and everything," Samantha said sadly. She was one of those people that wouldn't hurt anyone unless she had no other choice. One of the kindest people in Hogwarts, and definitely the kindest person in Slytherin. I strongly suspected that she would have ended up in Hufflepuff if it weren't for the fact that she was extremely cunning and had a very ambitious plan to start her own fashion line that would "bring the Wizarding World into the 20th century." Adrianne and I both suspect she is possibly a Muggle-Born, seeing as how she was seemingly in complete awe of the fact she was a witch. Her mother was a Muggle, and Samantha was cunning enough to realize the benefits of claiming relations to the extensive House of Smith through her deceased father, especially after being Sorted into Slytherin. There was so many Smiths in the Wizarding World that no one saw the point in contesting her lineage. They and the Weasleys breed like gnomes.
"My father said that the Minister isn't taking the new Dark Lord seriously. Apparently someone managed to convince her to veto the motion to give the DLME and the Aurors the authority to use what ever means necessary to take him and his Death Eaters down," Cyrus said.
"Yeah, my dad was pretty irate when he was told that, and so was his boss," Eric said. Charlus Potter was the Head of the Auror Office, a position he has held for seventeen years. His boss, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Harold Minchum, had held his position for eighteen years. They were close friends and had similar philosophies on terrorists like Voldemort. To never negotiate and to take them down hard and fast. But Dumbledore had gotten laws passed shortly after his defeat of Grindelwald that crippled their ability to fight someone like Voldemort. My grandfather had managed to stop most of them, but the DLME still needed special permission from both the Minister and the Head of the DLME to intentionally aim to kill criminals. And trying to stop someone that's trying to kill you while trying not to kill them is a bit of a handicap in a fight, especially when they enjoy killing as much as Voldemort and his minions do.
"Minister Jenkins has always been a bit of a pacifist, if you ask me. She's the type that prefers diplomacy and compromises over a fight. Grandfather says that it's probably why her and Dumbledore get along so well," I said with a slight grimace.
"Yeah, father has always wondered why people still think Dumbledore is omnipotent when he's actually become impotent in his old age," Hadrian said.
It was the misfortune of Cyrus to be swallowing a Cockroach Cluster when Hadrian made his comment, causing him to begin choking. Hadrian had always had a problem with mixing words up. But this was definitely the first time that he had slipped this badly. Fortunately, Adrianne recovered quickly enough to clear his throat with a spell. Eric and I were still laughing hysterically, while the girls' faces were beet red. Hadrian merely looked confused, as he had no idea what he had just said.
"I think you mean incompetent, Hadrian," Samantha said kindly.
"Well, he's probably right either way. At his age, he probably has some performance issues. Maybe we should ask- Ouch!" Eric's commentary had been interrupted by a Stinging Hex from a rather irritated looking Adrianne, who then glared at me and Cyrus, as we were still laughing hysterically. Fortunately for us, we had arrived at Hogwarts, so any planned hexing was hopefully canceled.
The Sorting was largely uneventful, although there were a few names I took note of. Frank Longbottom was Sorted into Gryffindor, as expected. Benjy Fenwick was sorted into Hufflepuff. The twins Amycus and Alecto Carrow were sorted into Slytherin. And two new fifth year students had transferred from Durmstrang to Hogwarts. Igor Karakoff and Boris Poliakoff had both been Sorted into Slytherin, where they joined Rabastan Lestrange at the Slytherin table. Rabastan had returned to Hogwarts, and was sitting with his friends and yearmates Evan Rosier and Horatio Wilkes, along with his new friends from Durmstrang. Apparently, his father had deemed it safe for him to return now that both his brother Rodolphus and Bellatrix had finished their schooling. Which was correct, although he would do well to avoid Andromeda and Narcissa as best he could.
As we arrived at the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, we were all interested in what the new teacher was going to be like. Professor Travis Kipling was a ICW Hit Wizard in his forties that had graduated from Hogwarts in 1945 with, among others, Tom Riddle. They had apparently been bitter enemies in their school years, which made the fact that he was still alive rather impressive, considering the nature of Riddle even as a student. Between that and the fact that he was second in his year in every subject behind Tom Riddle made me believe that there was more to this Gryffindor than there appeared. Riddle was not the type to let his rivals live if he could help it. Especially one that hunted down Dark Wizards internationally for a living.
I had just taken my seat in the desk between Eric and Cyrus when Professor Kipling entered the room. There were gasps as he walked in, and rightfully so. The entire left side of his face was covered in burns, with dead skin and raw flesh exposed. He had a magical eye replacement like Mad-Eye Moody had in the films, and it was looking around the classroom warily. I had no doubt that there were several other scars covering his body. He must have used glamours to cover them at the feast. If I hadn't been expecting it thanks to some upper-year Slytherins, I would have been a lot more horrified. Although their descriptions didn't do the damage justice. A Gryffindor girl actually vomited on the other side of the classroom. Professor Kipling put his glamour back up, making him look rather normal. The only striking feature was the electric green eyes that stared back at the class, one of which moved unnaturally.
"And that is what happens when you come face to face with a powerful witch or wizard wielding the Dark Arts. I have faced some of the worst the Dark Arts has to offer. I've faced a witch trying to overthrow the government in Jamaica with an army of zombies raised by dark magic. I've faced some followers of Grindelwald trying to resurrect his ideals behind one of his former lieutenants in Bulgaria. And I have faced Voldemort and his Death Eaters. The world is a dangerous place, and my job is to help prepare you for it, and I only have a year to do it, and probably less than that," Professor Kipling said gruffly.
"You aren't staying?" Gideon Prewett asked in suprise.
"You're Prewett, right? Not gonna bother asking which one, if you're anything like your father and uncle, I'm not going get a straight answer. I spent most of my time as prefect trying to keep an eye on those two rascals. Yeah, I am here as favor to Dumbledore. My house in Britain was destroyed years ago by Dark Wizards, so in exchange for a room I'll be teaching when I'm not out working for the ICW. My intern is more than capable of teaching you while I'm gone," Professor Kipling said, pointing to his office where the intern was undoubtedly writing up reports for the ICW.
"Did the Dark Lord give you those burns?" Warrington asked, abandoning any sort of subtlety in the process. I looked at the teacher to see how he reacted. The look of raw anger that the Professor shot at Warrington caused him to recoil in fear. I barely managed to refrain from wincing.
"No, he didn't. The last time I fought him was in 1945, when we were students here, much like you are. He's always been an evil git, scrapping for every bit of power he could grab. And he has never cared about anything but power, not even the bodies that he left behind in the process," Professor Kipling ground out angrily. It was clear that the man absolutely loathed Voldemort. Every student in the classroom decided right then that it was in their best interest to never ask Professor Kipling what happened in that duel or about Voldemort as a student. There was clearly bad blood between them.
"Now, if you will open your textbooks to the first chapter, I will teach you how to repel a yeti without getting eaten. Personally, I've always found that setting them on fire works best," Professor said, grinning savagely, sending a slight shiver down my spine. We all opened our textbooks as he began to lecture on the nature of yetis, and how our best bet to avoid them was to stay out of Tibet. I left the classroom with the feeling that he didn't like Slytherin House very much, and that he was watching me rather closely. I noticed he had glared at me when he thought I wasn't looking.
Quidditch tryouts were on Saturday, and Eric and I intended to make the team. He was trying out for Chaser, and I was trying out for Seeker. The Captain and Keeper was sixth year Steve Laughalot. Both Beater positions had been filled last year by Crabbe and Goyle, so no one would be trying out for Beater. They were both good Beaters, despite their tendency to play dirty, and no one wanted to upset the two massive fourth years by insisting on trying out. Someone would probably tell them that they should feel offended by it, and that would not end well for anyone involved.
The Seeker and one of the three Chasers had graduated last year. One of the returning Chasers was a seventh year, Derron Flint. His older brother had been the Chaser that had graduated last year. The other returning Chaser was none other than Lucius's older sister, sixth year Lucretia Malfoy. Hearing she exsisted and then meeting her as a child had been a bit of a shock, considering I didn't think she would be a halfway decent person, which she was. Apparently her father had very little to do with her upbringing, preferring to spend time grooming Lucius as the Heir of the Ancient House of Malfoy.
So, Lucretia had been brought up mainly by her mother, Penelope Malfoy née Fawley. The few times that I had spoken to the Lady Malfoy, she had reminded me of Professor McGonagall. Strict, but fair. She wouldn't take any bullshit from anyone, and I got the impression that she didn't completely disagree with my Grandfather's view on blood purity. An opportunity to make more money and that we purebloods should control them and their ideas with our wealth and political influence in the Wizengamot to keep them from changing the Wizarding World too much. I know Lucretia agrees with me, despite her father Abraxas backing the Dark Lord. He was not a Marked, according to our sources, but was an old school friend of Tom Riddle. Plus, there was a political advantage for him to remain unmarked. The legally binding marriage contract between Lucius and Narcissa was proof of that.
"Alright, if you're trying out for Chaser, please stand over here," Laughalot yelled, getting the attention of the fifteen or so students that were trying out. All but two students moved over to try out for Chaser, with myself and Lucius Malfoy being the lone exceptions. We gave each other a curt nod upon seeing this. Had we been facing anyone else, the spot would have been ours automatically, thanks to the inner workings of Slytherin politics. And having seen Lucius fly, he would have definitely been a good enough Seeker for Laughalot to be able to defend his decision. But both of our families were extremely well-connected, making this one of the few skill-based tryouts in Slytherin House history.
Eric Potter quickly claimed the third Chaser spot, something that didn't suprise me in the slightest. Not only was his father the Head of the Auror Office, he was actually a pretty good flier and had the skills. I've watched him fly several times at home, and he's only gotten better since. He scored the most goals on Laughalot as well, making Laughalot's decision an even easier one. Now, it was my turn to do something that I have always wanted to do: Show up and beat Lucius Malfoy.
Lucretia Malfoy POV
I had been dreading this moment since the beginning of summer, when my obnoxious little brother had declared that he would be the Slytherin Seeker this year now that Samuel Higgs had graduated. He had always complained about the fact that Steve had chosen to keep his less talented friend and teammate Higgs on the team when he believed that he could do better and help them do something Slytherin House hadn't done in seven years: win the Quidditch Cup. He was always rather delusional, if you ask me. Personally, I blame Abraxas. Being told no more often would do Lucius a world of good.
I had resigned myself to the idea of having Lucius on the team. He and his bookends Crabbe and Goyle would make sure no one else would even tryout for Seeker. No one in the upper years had the interest or the bollocks to go against Lucius Malfoy. Thankfully, they hadn't bothered in trying to intimidate Krios Black. Considering the twelve year old Heir to the House of Black had literally stared death in the face rescuing a Prince and Princess of all people, I highly doubt it would have worked if they had tried.
What Krios had done was something out of a children's storybook, almost too fantastic to believe. While I doubted that he had actually created the Portkey himself, there was no doubt that he was going to be a powerful wizard and was already a real hero. And he was turning into a rather handsome young man. She knew for a fact that at least one of her roommates was planning to jump down his pants once he turned thirteen. However, she had stupidly said it in front of Andromeda Black, which led to a hexing that landed her in the hospital wing for three days. Bellatrix may have been the most hot-tempered and magically powerful of the three sisters, but Narcissa and Andromeda were both talented and extremely overprotective of Krios Black, as Bellatrix had been last year. And they got away with it more often, too.
Lucius was up first. My heart sank as he caught the snitch in less than nine minutes. I knew he was good, but I had sincerely hoped he would choke under the pressure of having to compete against Krios Black. The only way that Lucius wouldn't be selected now was if Krios caught it quicker than he did.
Lucius POV
I was feeling pretty confident that I had won the Seeker position when Krios Black mounted his broom. A few minutes later however, I was much less confident as Krios caught the snitch and began to descend to his ground of the pitch to applause. I didn't think that he had done it quicker than I had, but I knew it was close. I saw the Captain, Steve Laughalot, stare at his watch in shock for a moment before shaking his head and walk over towards where Krios and I stood.
"Well, gentlemen, you have achieved something that has only happened twice in the history of Hogwarts Quidditch tryouts, and never before in the history of Slytherin Quidditch. There has been a tie, as you both caught the Snich in eight minutes and twenty-four seconds. So, it looks like the two of you will have to face off in a tiebreaker. Both of you will try to catch the Snitch once I release it. The one who catches it, will be the Seeker. The loser will definitely be on the reserve team, though," Laughalot said with a grin.
There was a moment of shocked silence at this announcement. It was Flint that broke it. "How in the name of Morgana's wooden dildo did you know how many times there has been a tie at tryouts for the Seekers at Hogwarts," Flint asked in disbelief and in his usual crude manner. Sometimes I wonder if he has troll blood considering how terrible his manners are. His older brother wasn't much better, unfortunately. Although, considering their parents, it really wasn't much of a suprise. My mother did mention once that Merula Flint, Druella Black, and Walburga Black were friends for a reason, and it had a lot to do with their "charming personalities." Even Crabbe and Goyle had caught the sarcasm when she said that.
Before Steve could respond, Krios spoke. "What's a dildo?" he asked, sounding like an innocent child asking for sweets. I wasn't sure if Krios was serious or not, but I couldn't help but groan at the idea that Flint's language had potentially destroyed the innocence of another kid. Crabbe and Goyle chuckled like the buffoons they were, and my sister and Steve were glaring at a slightly pale Flint. Making matters worse was that Eric Potter looked like he didn't know what a dildo was either. "Damn it Flint, look what you've done," I thought to myself.
Fortunately, Laughalot recovered quickly. "We'll have someone explain it to you once the tryout is over. Better get ready, cause I'm going to release the Snitch," he said with a nervous grin. Which he did just as we hurried and mounted our brooms, the bastard.
It was several minutes before we spotted the Snitch. The little bugger was climbing high up into the sky. The wind started blowing rather hard as we chased after it. We both accelerated, neck and neck with each other about fifty or sixty feet above the ground. But Krios was pulling ahead, and I knew he would win if I didn't do something. I desperately jerked my broom hard to the right, intending to knock him off course. If he happened to get knocked off his broom, I could just say it was an accident. No one could tell what really happened. We are too far up for them to see us clearly. The only thing outcome that was unacceptable was Krios Black catching the Snitch.
However, I was too late. Krios had caught the Snitch. And not only that, he had decelerated his ascension afterwards, and because of that I completely missed him with my body slam. I attempted to pull my wand to curse him with a powerful Severing Charm from our family grimiore in my anger, but my momentum carried me off my broom and my spell missed completely. I then plummeted to my likely death, screaming in terror.
Krios POV
I had caught the Snitch! Victory was mine! As I decelerated my ascent, I turned to gloat over my victory to Lucius. Only to discover that he was currently falling towards his death. While I had no problem with Lucius dying, it would look bad if I didn't at least try and save him. And no since the strong winds had taken the Snitch off course, we were far enough away from the pitch that would ensure that no one else would reach him in time. So, I went into a rapid dive, and pulled my wand out of my holster. "Arresto Momentum!" I said, managing to slow Lucius's rapid descent, which allowed me to catch him.
Unfortunately, the spell doesn't negate the power of gravity. I felt both of my shoulders pop out of place and the tearing of muscles in my upper body as we hovered a few feet above the ground. I screamed in pain, before collapsing to the ground and passing out from the pain.
Lucretia POV
I had never been more angry than Lucius than I was right now. Thanks to a pair of magical binoculars that Steve had bought over the summer, both Steve and I had seen exactly what Lucius had tried to do. He could have killed Krios, and looked like he tried to with the spell he cast. He was extremely lucky that he missed and that Krios hadn't noticed and had been able to save him. The fact that he had nearly ripped both of arms off in doing so made the act even more impressive. Lucius would have died if he hadn't. Although he might wish he had if Arcturus found out. I immediately called our house elf and told her to inform their father of Lucius's actions and how Lucius now owed Krios Black a life debt. He was not going to be happy with Lucius.
As pissed as I was at my brother, I am extremely grateful that he was alive. I may not get along with him most of the time, but he is family. I would have to thank Krios when Madam Pomfrey put him back together. Arcturus Black would probably want to take him home for a day or two as well. I hoped I could get Steve alone and buy his silence before he arrived. If he told Arcturus, things would get ugly for the House of Malfoy. Even Dumbledore was wary of Arcturus Black. I sighed, and followed my shocked and uninjured brother to the Hospital Wing where Madam Hooch, the flying instructor, and Steve had taken him.
Krios POV
When I came to and gathered my wits, I quickly realized two things. One, I was in the Hospital Wing. And two, that my muscles were quite a bit bigger than they were before, and that I was pretty sure my feet didn't stretch that far on the bed last I had checked. I grinned internally. "Kreacher and Gremlin followed my contingency plan then. The ritual and the potion worked perfectly. Now I can just say I remember waking up briefly and casting something before passing out again. A side effect from combining Black family magic with healing potions will be their natural conclusion," I thought gleefully to myself. I then frowned. How did those elves pull off the ritual? It wouldn't work without a wizard. And no adult wizard would dare allow me to undergo a Dark ritual like this. And only a Black could use one of the spells needed for the ritual.
It took a few moments before the answer dawned on me. "Those brilliant elves. They probably got Regulus to do it by telling him that it would he heal me. Regulus and Kreacher have always been rather close. And the instructions were rather clear. And Regulus must've used my wand to pull it off. It'll be easy to convince him to keep quiet. Merlin, I am going to have to get all three of them something nice for Christmas," I thought to myself in amazement. It was then that Madam Pomfrey made her appearance, followed by my grandfather and, to my slight suprise, Abraxas Malfoy.
Madam Pomfrey cast some diagnostic charms on me, before asking me if I had any idea how I had gotten like this. I admitted remembering grabbing my wand and casting something in the middle of the night after the pain potions wore off. I told her that I had no idea what the spell was, and that I was pretty out of it. Madam Pomfrey turned to my grandfather.
"Any ideas on what spell he used?" Madam Pomfrey asked him.
"It has been a while since I have looked through the family grimiore. Dorea is going to have a fit, though. She has been complaining for ages about me allowing you access to the family grimiores when you turned eleven. I am not looking forward to explaining this to her," my grandfather said with a grimace.
Madam Pomfrey clearly agreed with Dorea judging by the disapproving look on her face, and likely had no sympathy for his plight. Although she did admit that there seemed to be no adverse side effects, and that he was cleared to leave in an hour. She then left the three of us to what she clearly recognized as pureblood politics. She always had a knack of knowing when she was needed or not. As she left, Lucretia and Lucius Malfoy entered the hospital wing. Lucius looked as if he wished the ground would swallow him whole when he saw his father. All of us could tell that he was in deep shit, especially if you considered the angry glares that both Lord Black and Lord Malfoy were giving him when he walked in. Although I had no idea why that was the case. "What in the hell did I miss, and why does Lucius look like he's going to piss himself?" I thought to myself.
"I am glad to see you have recovered. I would like to apologize for the actions of my heir and acknowledge the outstanding life debt the House of Malfoy now owes you for ensuring its' continuation," Abraxas said smoothly, shooting a heated glare at Lucius. While I was still confused on that point, there was no way I was going to pass up on having the Malfoys in my debt.
"I acknowledge the debt, Lord Malfoy. Although, I am not sure why you are apologizing for Lucius right now. He fell of his broom, it's not like he tried to kill me or anything," I said with a slight grin. It was then I saw Lucius's face pale even more, and Abraxas grimace slightly. The grin slid off my face, and gave way to a surge of anger and disbelief. "It appears that I have underestimated Lucius's capabilities," I thought angrily to myself. Well, that wasn't going to happen again.
"I did tell you that there was no way my heir was foolish enough to save the life of someone who tried to knock him off his broom sixty feet in the air and curse him in attempt to cut him open. He is a true Slytherin and a Black, not some numpty Gryffindor," Arcturus said, shooting me a look that told me to continue that trend. And that as furious as I was, I had to think about how to respond before acting rashly. As I took a deep breath and used my Occlumency to gather my emotions, we were joined by two others, both of whom I had expected to have been here earlier.
"Gryffindors are many things, Lord Black, but I do not think numpty is one of them,"Albus Dumbledore said lightly as he strode into the Hospital Wing, followed a moment later by my father. And boy, was he angry. I knew he had been stewing over what he perceived to be the injustices in his life, muttering to himself in the darkened corners of Black Manor. He had been enraged when he had found out that Walburga had used the Cruciatus Curse to punish us, and equally so when he had been forced to abandon her. He had not been pleased to be back under his father's thumb, especially now that he had declared neutrality in the coming struggle.
He was even more enraged that Arcturus seemed to put less of an emphasis on the purity of blood. He thought that Mugglborns were better off exterminated, not controlled though education and the laws of the Ministry and Wizengamot. While he agreed that political power and wealth were important, he did not think that blood purity should take a back seat. He believed that Muggleborns had no place in our society, especially in the Ministry associating with their betters. He had been furious that Arcturus had been allowing them to have a chance to have role in society, albeit one where they would always know that the rich purebloods were in charge and always would be.
He had been berated for not protecting Arcturus after drawing his wand in defense of his father when Cygnus had been revealed as a Death Eater and drew his wand to attack them. If Orion had actually cast a spell to protect him, the House Elf that had taken a curse for Arcturus would still be alive. He had stewed for months after that event. And it appeared that all that had finally gotten to him, and he finally had found a target for his anger that wouldn't end with Arcturus killing him. Lucius Malfoy.
Fortunately, I had spotted him pulling his wand, something not even Dumbledore had noticed. "Father, I understand that you are angry, but cursing Lucius right now will destroy an opportunity for the House of Black. The House of Malfoy owes me a life debt, and it will be difficult for me to make an example of him if he is in pieces," I told him calmly. As I spoke, both Abraxas and Dumbledore pulled their wands quicker than I thought possible and pointed them at Orion Black. His arm wavered, and his wand was returned to his holster.
"Fine. I suppose that you deserve to be the one that decides that. Make the bastard suffer," Orion snarled. He didn't even wait for a response before turning around and stomping out of the Hospital Wing. "Well, that's one problem taken care of. Now to make sure our esteemed Headmaster doesn't interfere with business that doesn't concern him," I thought to myself.
"Well, looks like my father's anger has finally bubbled over. You probably should follow him, Headmaster. I fear for any student that should cross his path right now," I told Dumbledore, making sure to lace my voice with concern.
Dumbledore paled slightly at the thought, before fixing me with a look. It was obvious that he knew exactly what I was doing, and was playing on the fact that neglecting my warning in front of two school governors would be a huge hit to his reputation and influence by the time they were through with him. And judging by the impressed looks Abraxas and my grandfather were giving me, they knew it too. There was pride in my grandfather's face, something was extremely rare and that always gave me a warm, happy feeling inside.
"I trust that there will be no further attempts at violence?" Dumbledore asked coolly, in a tone that suggested that he would be extremely unhappy if there was and that there would be consequences. He was assured by both Lord Black and Lord Malfoy promising that there would not be. He then turned and quickly set off after Orion with rather impressive speed for a man his age.
"We should probably make this conversation a little more private. I wouldn't put it past the old meddlesome goat to have some sort of eavesdropping charm in here or something," I told my grandfather and Lord Malfoy. My comment caused something to happen that I didn't think was possible. My grandfather breaking out into uncontrollable laughter. It was honestly terrifying, as I had never seen my grandfather laugh like that before. And judging by the shocked and unnerved faces of the three Malfoys, they felt the same way.
"Ah, the wisdom of youth. It is clear that you have taught your heir well, Lord Black. The House of Black will be in good hands if he continues to use his cleverness to benefit his House," Abraxas said, recovering smoothly with a patronizing smile, while simultaneously pulling his wand and casting silencing and anti-eavesdropping charms on the area.
"Indeed. I would expect nothing less from the Heir of my House. And I know you expect the same of yours, so I believe we should determine the consequences for him forgetting his place and his role as your Heir. I am extremely grateful to Mr. Laughalot for informing me. I believe that this act leaves me no choice but to recommend to my heir to challenge yours to a traditional honor duel, and take your daughter as his legally-bound concubine after killing him to settle the life debt," Arcturus said, no longer laughing or smiling. Instead, he was glaring angrily at Lucius. All three Malfoy's paled, something that I didn't think was possible with their skin tone.
I had to admit, I was extremely tempted. It was well within my rights as Heir Black to demand such a thing. Traditional honor duels were only allowed for attempts on the life of the Heir or Lord of the old and rich pureblood lines for a reason. In the case of House Malfoy, they only had one male heir. If I killed him in an honor duel, and took Lucretia as my concubine, everything the Malfoys owned would become mine as the new Heir of the House of Malfoy once Arcturus died. That's why they had been outlawed in the 17th century, and not very many people knew that the exception still exsisted. The Ministry had done a very good job of burying it. The Houses of Black and Malfoy were two of the very few Houses that made a point to record and remember it. And with a witness to prove Lucius's guilt, no one in the Ministry or Wizengamot could stop us from demanding one. Especially once they found the record of the law in the bowels of the Ministry that told them the exception exsisted.
It would solve the problem of the stupid contract that stuck Narcissa with Lucius. While Arcturus could and likely would just cancel the contract under the circumstances, it would be nice to make sure Lucius would never be able to marry her and breed another blond prat into the world with anyone. And Lucius was the type that would try to find a way to eliminate me so that he was no longer in my debt. He had a superiority complex that wouldn't allow him to be indebted to a second year, Heir of Black or not. While I somewhat doubted that he was intentionally trying to kill me, his temper tantrum upon losing was a direct attempt on my life. And eliminating Lucius and destroying the House of Malfoy would be more beneficial for me in the long run. Depriving Voldemort a supporter and the Malfoy fortune appealed to me as well.
"I think that would be a wise course of action. The House of Black cannot have our enemies think they can attack us and not suffer the consequences. An example must be made," I said with a serious expression. Even if I had disagreed with the idea, that had been an order by Lord Black disguised as a recommendation. Being his heir and a "seer" that was helping make the House of Black more wealthier and powerful than it has ever been would not stop Arcturus from showing his displeasure if I defied him.
"I agree. I already have contacted Charlus Potter. The Aurors should have concluded their interview with Mr. Laughalot by now. I suspect that they will be here to arrest Heir Malfoy momentarily. I will make sure to inform him of your desire to call an honor duel. I suspect that the Wizengamot won't want to delay this matter for long, so I would be ready to go in no more than two weeks. I expect that you will not let me down," Arcturus said, fixing me with a look that had an "or else" attached to it.
I merely nodded my agreement, as the Aurors had chosen that moment to arrest Lucius and confiscate his wand. They led him away with his father and sister following behind them. My grandfather followed them, likely trying to make sure that Abraxas didn't try to bribe the Aurors to allow Lucius to escape. I suspected that both Lucius and Lucretia would not be returning to Hogwarts until after the trial was over. I had no doubt that the entire school knew what had happened by now. The next couple of weeks were going to be interesting. Looks like I was going to have to deal with even more attention than I thought I would. My magical growth spurt wasn't going to be the only thing I had to answer questions about now. I sincerely hoped that my grandfather wouldn't leave me here when I could be training at home instead.
Fortunately, that was indeed my grandfather's intentions. I soon found myself wishing by the next day that wasn't the case. For my grandfather and father put me through grueling training sessions. While learning some extremely useful spells that I wouldn't have been able to perfect on my own until they were taught at Hogwarts, my grandfather and the tutors he paid to train me were strict taskmasters. But it would be worth it. My grandfather taught me some handy Black family spells, including a variation of the Disarming Charm that would shatter the target's shoulder and elbow while taking their wand from them. I am planning on using that one if I get the chance.
With the help of the old Spanish Auror that was a childhood friend of my grandfather's that was brought in to train me, I ended up perfected the Stunning Spell and the Reductor Curse, among other hexes and jinxes that could be used effectively in a duel over the next two weeks. I now knew how to perform spells that I knew even some of the sixth and seventh years struggled with, despite the fact that they were taught at Hogwarts by fifth year. The old man knew his stuff, and I learned a ton from him and heard a ton of interesting stories. Most of them were stories from the one month every summer that they spent at the Black Cottage in Seville, Spain as neighbors and friends in their childhood. It was hard for me to imagine my grandfather as the carefree child the old Spaniard described.
My training helped that I only needed help with the theory and wand movement portions, as I was fairly quick to pick it up and applying it practically. My knowledge of what the spells did helped me, as intent and power was a large portion of what made a spell effective. And I fortunately had plenty of both power and will to make the spell do what I wanted it to do. I am starting to wonder if my stubbornness and strong willpower from my past life was combined with the same traits that the Blacks were notorious for. The idea would explain a lot about myself, as I noticed that my magical and physical stamina was even stronger than what the ritual had said it would give me. I was recovering far more quickly from my training than I thought I would.
Whatever the case, this ritual was going to be a huge help in the upcoming duel. My processing and reaction speed was far quicker as well as my stamina, physical strength, and my spell casting speed. I had never felt so energized and strong. It was a truly incredible feeling, and I made sure to give Kreacher and Gremlin a day off while I was training. They seemed to appreciate the gesture, judging by the tears and grateful groveling.
My other tutor was Charlus Potter, who was able to make a little time out of his job to help. The Ministry was being kept unaware of this, as they would not be pleased with the Head of the Auror Department interfering in an upcoming honor duel between the heirs of two influential families. He stared teaching me the art of deflecting unfriendly spells with both Shield Charms and countercurses. While I wasn't sure I was that good at either by the end of the two weeks, I was fairly confident I was good enough to handle whatever Lucius could throw at me.
The day before the trial, Sirius and Regulus burst into my room. They had been staying with Aunt Dorea, as my grandfather and father wanted me to focus on my training and felt they would be a distraction. But Aunt Dorea had convinced them after a long argument that they should be allowed to see me before the trial. Apparently, my grandfather believed that there was no way I would lose, so there was no point in allowing them to visit me and wish me luck. While I appreciated my grandfather's confidence and agreed that I wouldn't lose, I knew that Sirius and Regulus would never forgive them if I died and they hadn't been allowed to see me. I suspected that Sirius wouldn't be the only one that ended up in Gryffindor if that happened.
I found myself sandwiched between my two brothers. They both had tears in their eyes. "Hey, it's going to be alright. I am going to be fine," I told them, patting them both on the back.
"You better. And make sure to teach the Malfoys a lesson they'll never forget. Make them pay for what they did to you. I'll never forget seeing you hurt like that," Sirius said viciously. Regulus nodded beside him, and I realized that both my brothers had assisted Kreacher and Gremlin with the ritual. A feeling of pride swelled up in me. Knowing that my brothers had my back was a good feeling. They both assured me that they hadn't told anyone about the ritual, and swore that they never would. And I found myself believing them, and didn't even consider making them swear an Unbreakable Vow. I knew that I could trust them.
It was nice knowing that Sirius didn't hate everyone in his family this time around. Although I was pretty sure he hated Bellatrix and our father still. And he barely respected and listened to our grandfather, so I was pretty sure he didn't like him much either. He spent a lot of time grounded to his room for that reason. He barely tolerated Narcissa as well. He and Andromeda got along well enough, though. And without my late and unlamented mother's influence, Sirius and Regulus were extremely close. They were almost inseparable, something I sincerely hoped didn't change if Sirius was Sorted into Gryffindor. I knew for a fact Regulus would be following me into Slytherin, there was no way he would end up anywhere else.
As I made my way down to breakfast, I was stunned by the headlines of the Daily Prophet. Abraxas Malfoy had been killed. Apparently, he and two hired mercenaries had attacked Uncle Charlus and Aunt Dorea's house dressed like Death Eaters. I was now extremely grateful to my Aunt for convincing my grandfather to allow my brothers to return home, as they had been the targets of the attack. Apparently one of the mercs had been captured alive, and had confessed to being hired by Abraxas to kill Dorea Potter and capture my brothers as hostages. Abraxas had figured that he could get my grandfather and the Ministry to release Lucius from the Ministry's secure holding cells and call off the honor duel in exchange for my brother's lives. Apparently, he wasn't very confident in Lucius's dueling abilities.
Charlus Potter had been in the office dealing with another Death Eater attack on a family of Muggles in Cornwall. Something that Abraxas had been well aware of being a Death Eater, and had figured that he wouldn't have much trouble disposing of a middle-aged housewife and part-time Healer and kidnapping a couple of kids. He had badly miscalculated. Not only were my brothers safe behind the wards of Black Manor, Aunt Dorea was an extremely formidable witch and had taken all three of them down before they made through her bedroom door. She was a Black before she was a Potter, and often dueled and trained with her husband to keep her skills sharp. Charlus would never admit it, but she usually won.
I couldn't help but laugh. Daily Prophet reporter Rita Skeeter had made sure to report in her article that Abraxas Malfoy had been killed by a woman that was getting ready to go to bed for the night in her frilly white nightgown, when he and his hired thugs had broken in. She had killed one merc with a Piercing Curse to the head, before stunning the other. Then she stunned Abraxas as he attempted to flee, causing him to fall down the stairs and break his neck. It was a rather pathetic way to go, especially for someone as rich and arrogant as Abraxas had been. There was a picture of my aunt in her nightgown and everything.
And to top it off, Rita had written a corresponding article on the upcoming honor duel. A surprisingly accurate account of what had happened at Hogwarts was told, detailing how I had saved Lucius's life despite the two attempts he had made on my life. She did mention that I had been unaware of that, though, thanks to high winds and being focused on catching the Snitch. She proceeded to explain the exception that exsisted on the ban of honor duels, making sure that it was clear that it was well within my rights to demand one. She also pointed out that Lucius could have refused and just faced a trial instead of banking on an honor duel to secure his release. She seemed to be going out of her way to make sure that I looked like the good guy in all this. Probably because the Blacks owned forty-five percent of the Prophet. Lord Fleamont Potter owned twenty percent, as did the Malfoys. The Ministry owned the remaining fifteen percent.
She then wrote that if I were to win the duel, I would immediately inherit the entire Malfoy fortune and all their assets with the deaths of both Abraxas and Lucius, since Lucretia was unable to inherit due to some old Malfoy tradition that didn't allow women to inherit. They were one of the very few families that didn't allow a female heir to inherit the family fortune no matter if her husband was willing to take her maiden name or not, which Rita called "a short-sighted and idiotic tradition that may end the Malfoy line with the help of a middle-aged housewife and a second-year Hogwarts student. Impressive though they may be, it would be undoubtedly the most pathetic way a pureblood line has been ended in our history."
This comment caused me to burst into uncontrollable laughter, which caught the attention of my grandfather, who had just come down for breakfast from his office, where he had been working on something. My father had heard me as well, as he entered with a puzzled expression on his face. As soon as they saw that I was reading the paper, knowing smiles appeared on their faces. They had been informed of the attack already, of course. Dorea had made sure to inform him, and to tell him "I told you so." Arcturus had not enjoyed that, as it had been the second time in the last two weeks she had been able to tell him that.
"Don't get arrogant, Krios. You still have to win the duel. The Minister and Dumbledore have been rather squeamish about the idea of two Hogwarts students dueling to the death, you know. The law had been intended for heirs that were already legal adults, though it doesn't outlaw it if they aren't. They had decided that the duel should be between Abraxas and myself, and that Lucius's sentence should be decided by the Wizengamot. I was going to tell you today, but it doesn't matter now. The Ministry has no choice but to allow the two of you to duel. I don't believe that I have to remind you of how much our House will benefit from this," Arcturus said sternly.
"I know. The Malfoy wealth and assets would make us by far the richest family in Wizarding Britain. The chance to combine two of the five wealthiest houses in the country is the opportunity of a lifetime. I won't let you or the House of Black down," I swore to him. Something I sincerely hoped would be the case. I just hoped that he would approve of my plan for the Malfoys and their fortune...