Krios Black POV
November 14th, 1970
I woke up around six the next morning. The first thing I did was make sure Andromeda was returned to her dorm by Mipsy before I took a shower and got ready. After I got ready, I relaxed for a couple hours. The older students were all heading to Hogsmeade for the day, so the castle was quiet, giving me some much-needed time to myself. I spent a moment writing a letter to Bullock, who was currently working on retrieving the ring from the Gaunt shack. He would hopefully get the letter before he left England for a bit for Central Europe somewhere.
He would be going into hiding after the goblins destroyed the Horocrux and deposited the Resurrection Stone in my personal vault. Not that they would know what it was. I doubted the goblins had read The Tale of the Three Brothers and I doubted Garfield would be able to inspect the ring after the soul piece was destroyed. The goblins already knew that I wanted the artifacts put in my vault anyway.
Garfield and Steapa had decided that they would disappear for a bit in order to formulate a plan to destroy Voldemort. They were under the impression that Voldemort was now mortal after the destruction of three of his Horocruxes. While I knew that they would not succeed in killing Voldemort permanently, there was a chance that they could destroy his body. So I decided against informing them of the existence of the cup and the locket. I had no idea where they were anyway. They had assured me that they had taken measures to avoid being captured if they failed, so Voldemort would never realize that they knew his secret or my involvement in it. I was fairly certain that no matter what happened there, no harm would come to me and my family because of it.
I made my way to the Headmaster's office at around ten in the morning. He knew I was coming to discuss the details of my departure, so the gargoyle leapt aside when it saw me. Easier access to the Headmaster was one of the perks of being labeled as a hero. I really couldn't understand why Harry didn't take advantage of this and asked the Headmaster for private lessons in the books early on. Kid really should have embraced being famous and used it when necessary.
"Krios, I assume that you have gotten all your homework from your professors and chosen your electives for next year," the Headmaster asked as I entered, his eyes twinkling. I seriously had to figure out how he made his eyes twinkle like that. But now wasn't the time to ask.
"Yes, I did. I suspect Professor McGonagall would track me down all the way to Russia if I left without her coursework. And I decided to take Care of Magical Creatures, Arithmancy, and Ancient Runes as my electives," I responded.
"I suspect you might be right. Minerva has always desired to bring out the best in her students, especially someone she sees has a talent for her subject. And excellent choices, although may I ask your reasons for your choices? You are only required to take two electives, after all," Dumbledore asked me curiously. To be fair, it was rather unusual for someone who had no need to ever have a job to take more than two electives. Wealthy pureblood scions were notoriously lazy.
"Well, Arithmancy is a must considering how much paperwork and bookkeeping I will have to deal with when I come of age. Trusting anyone to handle your wealth and not cheat you is beyond foolish, no matter how loyal they are. My grandfather double-checks all of our finances with our account manager at Gringotts and our business manager at the end of every year," I told him.
"My grandfather has told me that was one of the reasons Pecheus Weasley lost most of his fortune to the Malfoys. He failed to read over a business contract and lost almost everything to the Malfoys, including their ancestral manor. That's why Septimus Weasley ended up as Head of House Weasley. Septimus's older brothers were smart to go into farming and shopkeeping instead of dealing with their father's mess," I added.
"Yes, although Septimus's absence at the will reading likely had a lot to do with that. He was working at the time," Albus said with a slight frown. That wasn't too surprising, considering the Weasleys were some of his most vocal supporters. And considering their numbers, that was very useful to someone trying to stop a Dark Wizard like Voldemort. They bred like garden gnomes, and Gryffindor had at least a half dozen Weasleys in it right know, with the rest scattered amongst the smaller and less prestigious Wizarding schools in Britain.
"Yeah, not that it stopped the Malfoys from collecting and leaving Septimus and his new wife significantly poorer," I said with a grimace. His new wife was actually Cedrella Black, though she was disowned and blasted off the Black family tree for marrying a blood-traitor. The Weasleys were looked down upon by the majority of the pureblood families for their pro-Muggle views and their lack of wealth, so no one protested when Pecheus lost everything. And Septimus's gambling problems had only made things worse.
All Septimus could do about his financial problems in the end was challenge Abraxas Malfoy to an honor duel, which he did about two or three years ago after growing desperate for money to support his wife and three sons with. He had insulted Abraxas's pride enough to get him to accept. However, Septimus had turned up dead a week before the duel was scheduled to happen. Everyone knew Abraxas had been behind it, but no one could prove it and no one cared enough to look into it more than they had to. I suspect Abraxas paid off the right people. Cedrella had died not long afterwards from what was believed to be a broken heart.
Arthur Weasley had then taken over as Head of House at the age of seventeen, and immediately joined the Ministry in the Office of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts after graduating from Hogwarts and eloping with Molly Prewett against her family's wishes. The fact that Arthur Weasley had managed to get the daughter of a respected pureblood family when he was poor as dirt had come as a shock to everyone. She had a lot better options available despite her reputation as being loud and opinionated, which was a common trait amongst the Prewett women.
Fortunately, the Prewetts loved their daughter despite making what they believed to be a terrible decision and had given them enough money to help them survive and keep the cottage that had been the only thing that the Malfoy's hadn't taken from Septimus Weasley when he became the Head of House. Undoubtedly Abraxas Malfoy and his father thought a dilapidated cottage on a bit of farmland outside the village of Ottery St. Catchpole was beneath them. Arthur's younger brothers were staying with their older brother until they graduated Hogwarts. They were both in Gryffindor, unsurprisingly.
"Indeed. One can only hope that the new Lord Malfoy will be willing to right the wrongs that were done to the Weasley family over the years," Dumbledore said, eyeing me speculatively. I couldn't help but mentally applaud the old man. He knew how to keep his people loyal. No doubt Arthur had asked Dumbledore to approach me. I was aware that Arthur's brothers had been trying all year to talk to me, but they had been kept away by the older Slytherins who had no intention of letting them anywhere near me. And since I had too much going on at the time to see them while dealing with Quidditch, school, and sorting through the affairs of the House of Malfoy, I didn't stop my overprotective housemates.
I was also really surprised that they thought that they had a chance to get as much as a Sickle from me. While I wasn't a typical member of the House of Black, I was a member of a traditionally Dark family. One that definitely did not have the reputation of doing anything out of the kindness of their heart. To do so would be considered weakness in the House of Black, and the weak didn't last long in my family. You had a better chance at finding a Crumble-Horned Strumpet or whatever the hell Xeno Lovegood called them than getting a Black to give a Weasley anything for free. You could argue that even my disowned cousin Cedrella Black had come with a cost, considering the misfortune that followed the House of Weasley afterwards.
"Somehow I doubt that would go over very well with my family and allies. The Weasleys aren't well liked by pretty much everyone there. My grandfather, for one, would definitely not appreciate me returning the Weasleys any of their family heirlooms, especially without getting something in return. He is still rather sore about Cedrella marrying Septimus, you know," I replied, smirking slightly in amusement at the memory of one of my grandfather rants about "that upstart Septimus Weasley."
I know for a fact that he considered the man's death a good enough reason to partake from one of the few bottles of wine from the sixteenth century still in our cellar, courtesy of one of my ancestors who had killed a Squib bastard from the Black family tree named Edward Teach, more popularly known as Blackbeard. My ancestor had taken a few crates of wine and a vast amount of treasure from Blackbeard's hoard after killing him, much of which was still in our vaults. Not that the Black family had ever admitted that was what happened.
"That is understandable, though doing what is right and what is easy do not go hand in hand more often than not. Though I believe we have gotten away from the main topic of our conversation," Dumbledore said, realizing that now was not the time to press me on the subject of the Weasleys. But I saw on opportunity to possibly use the Weasley's situation to my advantage.
"There is something you could do to convince me to let the Weasleys return to their manor discreetly despite the risks involved," I said slowly, knowing that I needed to tread carefully. Dumbledore was not feared by Voldemort for nothing.
"Their manor was destroyed by Abraxas Malfoy three years ago. It is on record at the Ministry," Dumbledore asked, looking at Krios with a contemplating gaze. He was now beginning to suspect that Abraxas had not been entirely truthful when he had filed the destruction of the manor. Abraxas had used the manor's destruction to goad Septimus into challenging him into the duel that he never got the chance to fight.
"He lied. The manor still stands. It's in bad shape on the inside, and Abraxas cleaned the place of anything valuable, but the wards are even stronger than they were before. It's completely Unplottable now, and it looks like Malfoy went all out warding the place. It would make a good secret base. Perhaps your bird watching club could make use of it," I said with a smirk.
Dumbledore narrowed his eyes. He was not surprised at Krios's knowledge of the Order of the Phoenix. He had plenty of connections that would allow him to have learned of it. But the fact that he was offering an Unplottable base for the Order to use was definitely suspicious. There was no way that Krios Black would offer something that valuable without getting something in return. Something that would no doubt cost Dumbledore. But Dumbledore wasn't new to the game of negotiations. This exchange would definitely be informative for the Headmaster.
"I would imagine that such an offer would not come freely. What exactly do you want me to do in return," Dumbledore asked, looking very much like the man who defeated Grindelwald in a duel instead of the kindly Headmaster persona that he had developed.
I gulped slightly. The man looked intimidating when he was playing politics. "I need you to make sure my cousin doesn't marry Rodolphus Lestrange. The man is awful, and you and I both know who he and his father serve. I need to get her out of the country, but I can't do it myself. I do not have anyone I can trust to take care of something like this discreetly without my grandfather or the Lestranges finding out," I said.
Dumbledore's eyes widened a bit at my words. He was clearly expecting me to ask for a political favor like my grandfather undoubtedly would have in a similar situation. I had recently realized that Arcturus more often than not viewed his family as political chess pieces for him to use at his disposal. I had once been naive enough to believe otherwise. The contract with the Lestranges had opened my eyes to the truth, however. Arcturus Black only cared about remaining wealthy and powerful. I was only favored because I had made myself extremely useful in helping him achieve that.
The only reason I hadn't let her leave with Ted Tonks was because it would have been impossible for them to keep a low profile. No one cared if a Muggle-born witch or wizard left Britain. It happened all the time. But they tended to notice if said Muggle-born left with an wealthy pureblood, especially a pureblood witch of marriageable age. And someone as recognizable in the Wizarding World as Andromeda Black had no chance of discreetly sneaking out of the country.
I knew for a fact that Andromeda did not know enough to discreetly blend into the Muggle world without help, and there was no way the Ministry would let her leave the country with Ted. And the amount that could be made in reward money for preventing them from leaving or returning them to their family was enough to make even the Weasleys consider ratting them out. I had told her as much in the note I had given her telling her why I did what I did and that I had a plan, which I had explained in detail.
"That is something I would be willing to do. I must admit to being surprised at your request, however," Dumbledore admitted. He had in fact been completely caught off guard by the request that he had actually shown his surprise, which was an unusual event for the Headmaster. It didn't happen often, especially when it came to his students. Tom Riddle was typically the lone exception to that rule. This automatically made him suspicious, as it seemed unlikely that Krios would be willing to trade an Unplottable home for his cousin's freedom.
"Yeah, you probably expected me to ask for access to your personal library or something. And while that is tempting, I prefer to secure my cousin's safety first. There's a war brewing, Headmaster. The Minister might deny it, but it is coming as surely as a last-place finish for the Chudley Cannons in the league standings this year. I already helped Bellatrix secure a marriage and home outside the country, and I intend to do the same for Narcissa when the time comes. But I can't make or buy an untraceable International Portkey to my flat in Gotham City in order to protect Andromeda. Not without your help," I told him firmly.
There was a moment of silence as Dumbledore mulled over my response. "You do know that the American Ministry tends to frown upon unlawful entry into their country. They may be much more relaxed about the Statute then in times past, but they do like to keep tabs on witches and wizards entering the country," Dumbledore said thoughtfully.
"I'm aware. But what they don't know won't hurt them. Especially since Andromeda will be living in a place that is already registered as a magical-owned property," I replied. Which was entirely true. Ted Tonks had made sure to register with the MACUSA when he arrived, so any magic registered at his property would be believed to be his. Not that Dumbledore would be made aware of that. As far as he knew, the property was one of mine that my grandfather had no idea existed, like the apartment in Gotham City was.
"Very well. I assume you wish for me to arrange this after you have arrived in Moscow?" Dumbledore asked.
"Yes, in three days. Lord Black will still be in Russia with me. I trust that you will be able to get my cousin the Portkey discreetly?" I asked.
"I believe that can be arranged. And the key and location for the Weasley Manor?" Dumbledore asked in a way that suggested that he would not be willing to accept the deal unless I gave it to him before I left. Which was understandable. I was much more of a risk to cheat the deal than Dumbledore was. Being a member of the Black family often carried a bit of a stigma with it.
I pulled out an envelope from my pocket. "Inside the envelope. We have a deal?" I asked.
"Yes, we do," the Headmaster replied. I handed him the envelope containing the key and the location of the manor, which would allow him to see past all the concealment charms on it.
"Pleasure doing business with you, Professor Dumbledore. I appreciate your discretion in this matter," I said, and started making my way towards the fireplace in order to use the Floo.
"Krios," Dumbledore called, stopping me in my tracks.
"Yes, Professor?" I asked, turning to face the powerful wizard.
"What do you intend to do when the fighting starts?" Dumbledore asked. He wasn't completely able to hide the curiosity in his voice when he asked me that. It was an important question, though, and one that I didn't know that I knew the answer to. If it were up to me, I would get me and my brothers out of the country after Hogwarts and ride out the war, either abroad or in Black Manor like my grandfather was planning on doing. I had very little heroic inclinations, despite my actions in Russia.
But while I was certain that I could convince Regulus to stay out of the fight, I had no such certainty where Sirius was concerned. Despite the best efforts of both Arcturus and myself, Sirius had no interest on acting like a Black. In fact, it was obvious he pretty much hated everything our family stood for. I personally saw nothing wrong with being rich, powerful, cunning, and ambitious, but Sirius wasn't interested in that lifestyle. He got along well enough with me, Andromeda, and Regulus due to the fact that we didn't completely buy into the pureblood dogma that our family had been entrenched in for centuries. But he barely tolerated Narcissa, and he hated the rest of our family.
I had no doubt that Sirius was well on his way to being Sorted into Gryffindor and becoming best friends with James Potter. History was well on its way to repeating itself where my brother was concerned. And I wasn't sure how I was going to protect him from his fate while he was in Gryffindor and I was in Slytherin. He and Andromeda were not making this easy for me at all, unlike the rest of my family. Although at least Andromeda had a happy future ahead of her away from the war.
I was already making arrangements to introduce Narcissa to a rich pureblood from Spain that was a couple of years older than her. According to my research, he was the perfect match for Narcissa and I believed they would get along and have a happy marriage when the time came for that. A tentative betrothal had already been written up for her in order to keep her away from the Lestranges when Andromeda ran off. It wasn't an ironclad betrothal, as it required them to spend some time together before anything was finalized. But it was more than enough to keep the Lestranges off my back about Narcissa.
Speaking of the Lestrange's attempts to marry my cousins, Bellatrix has been surprisingly happy with her marriage to the Dolohov heir, and was far out of Voldemort's reach in Russia. And Regulus would never join the Death Eaters either, thus escaping the terrible fate that had awaited him in that dark cave at the hands of Inferi. I had no doubt he would follow my lead in the years to come, as he idolized me. It had been my influence that had made him question some of my family's beliefs and had caused him and Sirius to become closer as a result.
I did this not to control or use them, but to save them. They are my family, and I love them. So it was hard for me to say exactly what I would do if Sirius decided to stay and fight. The rest of my family would be safe. Would I be willing to raise my wand and fight Death Eaters to protect my brother, despite the dangers involved? Perhaps, but until I knew for sure what Sirius was going to do, I would be unable to answer Dumbledore's question with an affirmative answer.
"I don't know, Professor. I guess I won't know until the time comes," I responded honestly. I then picked up a handful of Floo Powder.
"Black Manor!" I said loudly and clearly, and disappeared in a flash of green flames.
No one POV
Albus Dumbledore sighed as he watched Krios Black leave through his fireplace. The young heir of the House of Black was a complete enigma to him. He had assumed that Krios would follow in his grandfather's footsteps, especially after his actions against House Malfoy. But then he would do something like risk his life to rescue the Russian heirs or exchange a valuable piece of property for his cousin's happiness. Arcturus would never even consider doing either of those things.
Arcturus Black and Abraxas Malfoy and their fathers before them had long been his biggest obstacles in the Wizengamot. Without their leadership of the dark and traditionalist families, Albus Dumbledore would have long since been able to use his influence to bring the Wizarding World out of the Middle Ages in order to prepare for the day when the Statute of Secrecy was broken beyond repair. The Muggles would undoubtedly discover them in the next century or two, and Albus was concerned how the Wizarding World would adapt when they did. They needed to be united and following a leader steeped in the Light Side in order to survive the change, and Albus knew he was running out of time to make arrangements for that to happen.
Even with Abraxas dead and Arcturus stepping back from his duties in the Wizengamot, Albus had been unable to do anything to further his plans due to the rise of Lord Voldemort. Albus knew that he had failed to stop Tom Riddle when he had the chance. Aberforth had been right when he had told him that it would have been easy to use his fame to have Tom thrown into Azkaban for opening the Chamber of Secrets in his fifth year. But he hadn't, and now Tom was amassing followers and power in an attempt to conquer Wizarding Britain.
Albus took solace in the fact that Arcturus Black had no desire for the death and destruction that Voldemort would bring. Arcturus's father had, and the House of Black had been among Grindelwald's most dangerous followers. But Sirius Black II had been badly wounded in battle in 1944, and was forced to make his son Arcturus the Head of House before slipping into a magical coma for a few months, as he was not expected to survive his wounds. This was a move that Albus suspected that Sirius regretted until the day he died.
Arcturus had immediately withdrawn the support of the House of Black and their forces, which were around 1,000 men and a few hundred dangerous creatures such as Red Caps and Trolls at the time. Albus had no idea if the Blacks still had a standing army of creatures and loyal foot soldiers like they had then, and he really hoped that he never had to find out. While a few members of the House of Black had ignored Arcturus's orders, the loss of their forces was one of the events that turned the tide against Grindelwald before he had been defeated in 1945. And his withdrawal had given Arcturus the opportunity to gain even more political power and wealth in the aftermath of the war.
However, Albus suspected that Arcturus would hand over the title of Lord of the House of Black to Krios as soon as he felt that the boy was ready. Arcturus had a very keen mind for politics, and he had always enjoyed dealing with the politics in the Ministry and the Wizengamot. He was one of the best Albus had ever seen at political maneuvering and making deals. But the man was slowing down, and appeared to be getting tired of dealing with the bureaucrats. Albus himself hated dealing with politics, despite his own skill at it. He only got involved because he believed it was necessary. And because Albus had a controlling streak, not that he would ever admit it.
After years of hearing about how amazing he was and how he knew best, Albus Dumbledore had begun to believe it. He still resisted becoming Minister, but that was mainly because he did not wish to leave Hogwarts. It had been his home for many years, and he had no wish to leave. And Albus had no desire to lead a wartime Ministry. He was concerned that his friend Eugenia Jenkins would be ousted soon, though. Eugenia was an excellent peacetime minister, but she had no stomach for war. And Albus was concerned by her potential replacements.
Thaddeus Nott was the candidate that was being promoted by the families that either sympathized with Voldemort and his cause or were actively supporting him. Fortunately, Thaddeus was unlikely to be elected. Albus was relieved that the man who had been close with Tom Riddle in their time at Hogwarts was unlikely to be elected at Voldemort's puppet minister. Albus had done a lot in order to assure that.
Harold Minchum was a hardliner who was heavily backed by the Chief Hitwizard Barty Crouch, Charlus Potter, Lord Greengrass, and Lord Black, among others. The current Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement believed that they should respond to the deadly force being used by Voldemort and his Death Eaters with deadly force, and felt that a more proactive response was needed to defeat Voldemort. The man's beliefs had only been strengthened by the attack on the house of his close friend and the Head Auror, Charlus Potter. Harold had become even more outspoken since then, and was constantly arguing with Minister Jenkins over her policies.
Albus knew that Minchum was likely to be elected Minister. His friend Elphias Doge was unlikely to be able to defeat Harold whenever the election was held. But Harold's methods concerned Albus for a number of reasons. There was a good reason why Albus wanted the Death Eaters alive and in Azkaban, and it had a bit less to do with his morals and belief that the Death Eaters could be redeemed than he let on to the rest of the Wizarding World. Granted, that was a major factor, but it wasn't the only reason.
It was also for political reasons that Albus desired to see the Death Eaters in Azkaban rather than dead. The pureblood houses that made up the more prominent followers of Voldemort had a large number of seats in the Wizengamot. If their lines died out in Azkaban, the seats became defunct on account of being convicted criminals and the money left behind was collected by the Ministry after their death if no heir was named in their will, which was not uncommon. But if their lines were to die out in the war without a conviction, their seats and wealth would be inherited by their closest living relative. For the majority of them, that relative was Krios Black, as he was related through both the Malfoy and Black lines to a good portion of Wizarding Britain.
This made it even more important in Albus's mind to get the Black heir on his side. If Krios Black continued to hold fast to the pureblood dogma that his family had followed for generations and opposed him in the Wizengamot, Albus feared that he may never bring the Wizarding World to the light side. So as Albus sat at his desk, he began to scheme how he could best convince the future Lord Black that he could trust him, starting with helping his cousin escape her upcoming marriage.
Krios POV
I arrived at the McKinnon's home in the outskirts of Glastonbury. It was a nice country home that had a comfortable and welcoming look to it. But I had a feeling I was far from welcome, especially after what my grandfather had told me. Apparently I didn't actually owe the McKinnons a life debt. Aurors had signed a magical contract forgoing accepting any life debts in the line of duty, as it was their job to serve and protect. I had inadvertently insulted Lord McKinnon by assuming I had. Some sort of breach of the pureblood code of conduct. In my defense, Sirius had set off a dung bomb during that particular lesson, making it rather hard to pay attention.
The service was sad but well done. Martha's mother was sobbing through most of it. I wanted to talk to Lord McKinnon and apologize, but my grandfather forbid it and forced me to return home with before I could. "Blacks do not concern themselves with the opinions of the sheep. It is unacceptable for you to apologize to those beneath you," he told me. While I disagreed somewhat with his viewpoint, I knew better than to argue or disobey him on this.
Arabor Moody's funeral was a few hours later, at the house where he had been born and had been in the Moody family for centuries. There were a lot more people there, including some that I recognized as important dignitaries that had come from around Europe. The man had been a warrior for much of his life and had saved many people both during the war and afterwards. The man was a true hero, and it was appropriate that he was honored as such in death.
Alastor had built a pyre by the lake that sat nearby on their property. Despite the fact that his body couldn't be recovered due to the Fiendfyre, Arabor was getting a funeral pyre like the warriors of old, as the Moodys had long been devoted followers of the Roman pantheon and had long admired the centurions of old. In fact, it was rumored that the men in the Moody family were trained like Roman centurions from a young age, which helped them when they often become renowned as fearsome Aurors and Hitwizards upon reaching adulthood.
Alastor was the lone Moody in attendance, as Steapa and his family were absent, something that undoubtedly contributed to the scowl on Alastor's face. I couldn't help but be surprised at Steapa's decision to run and hide in the face of discovering just how evil Voldemort really was. Moodys were not known for running from Dark Lords. While I considered it self-preservation, Alastor and the majority of the Auror Corps considered it cowardice. But I guess that was because most of the Aurors were Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors.
The funeral had been short and to the point, which was unsurprising to anyone who had ever met the man. No doubt he had requested that his funeral not be drawn out. Unlike the McKinnon funeral, Arcturus made sure that we made our way through the crowd to give our condolences to Alastor before we left.
"Alastor. Our condolences for your loss," Arcturus said, shaking the hand of the formidable Auror.
"Thank you, Lord Black," Alastor replied, though it was obvious that it was taking a lot of self control for Alastor to play nice. He considered Arcturus to be a Dark Wizard, much as many of those in Dumbledore's camp did. He appeared to be attempting to withhold judgment on me, as he gave me a calculating look as I extended him my condolences.
"Any chance you lot know where my brother and his family got off to? He left next to no information about where he was going or why. Even Charlus has no idea where he is," Alastor questioned, studying us for any sort of reaction that would allow him to tell if we were being truthful or not.
"I am afraid that I have no idea. I hope you find him soon," Arcturus said, shaking his hand and turning to leave. I was the only one who noticed that Arcturus had slipped a piece of paper into the hand of Alastor Moody, which contained the address of the cottage where they were staying. They were well protected under the Fidelius Charm, which now covered Black Manor as well. My grandfather was also the Secret Keeper there. People knew that there was a Black Manor, but they had no idea where it was. I personally thought that it was overall considering the wards and protections we already had, but I decided not to question it.
My grandfather brought me back to Black Manor moments later via Side-Along Apparation. He then turned to me. "We leave for the Ministry in fifteen minutes. Our Portkey will leave shortly afterwards. I will be staying with you for three days before departing. I will then see you over Yule with your brothers, and I will be back to retrieve you on the thirteenth of June for Andromeda's wedding. I expect that you will be on your best behavior and carry yourself as a Heir of the House of Black should until then," Arcturus informed me with little emotion in his voice. Despite that, I knew his words were orders.
"Yes, sir" I said, playing the dutiful heir despite the fact that it often grated on me. But I knew that I was starting a whole new chapter of my life, and that said chapter would bring the House of Black to unparalleled heights. So I understood the need to take things seriously.
Speaking of serious matters, my brothers wasted no time in racing to my room moments after I walked inside of it. Sirius took it upon himself to start pounding on the door loudly in order to get my attention. I let them both in, knowing that I wouldn't see them much until the summer.
"Do you have to go to Russia?" Sirius asked in a whining voice. He did not understand why I was so excited for the trip, especially since he couldn't wait to go to Hogwarts. Which was the exact place I had just left in order to go to Russia.
"Because it's important for me to get to know my future bride and her country. You'll understand someday, Sirius," I told my brother patiently.
"I don't think I want to understand," Sirius said with a grumble.
"Do you like the princess, Krios?" Regulus asked curiously.
"She's a nice girl and I am sure we will be happy together. This trip will definitely help with that. I wish I could talk longer, but I have to go. I will see you both at Yule. Please don't drive the house elves insane while we're gone," I said, looking directly at Sirius as I did. One of our poor house elves still hadn't recovered from being the elf in charge of Sirius last time we were gone. The elf that had been given the duty this time had burst into tears when the order had been given. Sirius was far too much of a hellion for them to handle.
"For the last time, I didn't mean to turn Curtsy blue and get her stuck in a vat of chocolate pudding," Sirius said with a pout.
"Yes, but it would have been funny to you if it had happened to Regulus like you no doubt intended. Please look after each other. It's your duty as brothers, alright?" I told Sirius. I have long been trying to drill into his head the importance of the brotherhood that we shared. He seemed to be starting to get it.
"Alright," both my brothers said. And with that, I hugged them both before walking downstairs to take the Floo to the Ministry and make my way to Russia from there.
No one POV
Dumbledore looked pensively at the sitting room of the Weasley Manor. With him were Alastor Moody, Professor Kipling, and Arthur Weasley. The inside of the manor was indeed a mess, but it was apparent that the place had no been cursed or anything like that by Abraxas before he died. Although Dumbledore could have done without the half dozen bodies in the master bedroom. Apparently Abraxas had been keeping Muggle girls captive there who had been left to die of starvation. They had been dead for months now, weeks before Krios had inherited it. Even Dumbledore couldn't get himself to feel sorry that Abraxas was dead at the moment.
"Found a half dozen listening charms left by our benefactor. He definitely wants to know what is going on in the Order. Typical Black," Kipling said in disgust. Granted, Krios was a lot better than pretty much every Black he had met outside of Alphard and perhaps the cousin who was running away from her insane family. Not that he would ever admit that, though.
"I would have been highly disappointed if he hadn't. The boy is exactly what Salazar Slytherin was looking for when he created Slytherin House, and he's got the balls to be a Gryffindor if he wanted to," Alastor said with a scoff.
"Do you think that he will join You-Know-Who?" Arthur asked nervously. He did not trust Slytherins on principle, and it was clear in his mind that Krios was someone who would only do something if it benefited him. Although he was grudgingly grateful to him for returning his ancestral manor, even though they would have to share it with the Order. Arthur had no problem helping Dumbledore, the wizard who would undoubtedly be the one to stop You-Know-Who.
"Ha! Not a chance. He far too much like his grandfather to roll over and follow a Dark Lord. Dark wizards they may be, but they are no Death Eaters," Moody said with a bark of laughter.
Little did they know that one of the portraits that had been in the Weasley family for centuries was listening carefully. Said portrait was of one of the matriarchs of the Weasley family that had lived over four hundred years ago had been a Black before she had been married, a fact that had been lost to the Weasley family over the centuries. And despite her marriage to her husband that she loved dearly, she had always been loyal to the Black family. So she had no problem spying on the Order for young Krios Black.