December 19th, 1970
Author POV
When Prince Sergei and Princess Natalia had walked into the dining room for breakfast, they were unsurprised to see Krios opening his mail. That was a rather common sight, as Krios was constantly getting betrothal offers from rich pure bloods, as well as dealing with the business of the former House of Malfoy. He had begun petitioning the Wizengamot to change the name of the House of Malfoy to something different, and had been in communication with them as well as the different business dealings Abraxas had been involved in before his death.
But it was rather uncommon to see Krios staring at one of his letters with a look of absolute rage on his face. Annoyance and disdain was the usual expression when he opened up his mail. Krios had mentioned more than once that he believed that the majority of the population of Wizarding Britain were a bunch of idiots who didn't deserve the gift of magic. Having met a few of the wizards from the British Ministry of Magic, Sergei and Natalia were inclined to agree with him.
"Alright, what did the idiots of Britain do this time? Someone pass a law against black magic or something?" Sergei asked in a joking tone. Natalia punched him in the arm for that, grimacing at her brother's terrible pun.
"Don't give the idiots any ideas. Reinhardt Lestrange has managed to convince the idiotic paper pushers in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement that Ministry law requires Narcissa to marry Rodolphus in Andromeda's place since she disappeared," Krios replied with a snarl.
Natalia gasped and Sergei let out a curse that was definitely not princely. Neither of them had met Reinhardt Lestrange, but they had heard of him and his reputation for being obsessed with the Dark Arts and marrying into the Black family. And his son Rodolphus was rumored to be worse than his father. Both were suspected of being Death Eaters as well.
"What are you going to do?" Natalia asked. She knew that Krios would not give up Narcissa to the Lestranges without a fight.
"You could Transfigure Reinhardt into a toilet! And then put him in the Ministry in place of one of the regular toilets. Then everyone in the Ministry would piss on him!" Sergei suggested in a proud tone that sounded like he had just defeated a dragon in combat.
Krios merely sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Sergei meant well, but unfortunately he had never been the brightest boy. He was a bit like Cornelius Fudge from the books, before he had gotten paranoid of Dumbledore and refused to believe Voldemort had returned. Well- meaning but completely thick and prone to making terrible decisions. Seriously, dementors at Hogwarts?! Completely asinine and something Sergei would come up with. Fortunately, Sergei would be easy to control. Krios was certain that he could keep Sergei on the right path when his future brother-in-law became King.
"Reinhardt is far too good of a wizard for me to catch him off guard like that, not to mention a Transfiguration like that is beyond my current skill set," Krios informed Sergei with a sigh. Also Krios did file that idea for future reference. That might be a fitting punishment for someone down the road.
"You could always set Bellatrix on him," Natalia said with a grin. Bellatrix was extremely fierce and somewhat sadistic when angered. She had once hexed an old man who tried to get handsy with her when she was sixteen with an impotence curse. The man had died of a heart attack due to the embarrassment it had caused him.
Bellatrix had no regrets either, privately claiming that "the perverted old geezer should have died years ago." Bellatrix had not lost her sadistic streak at all, but was doing a much better job at controlling it then she had in the books when she was one of Voldemort's most feared Death Eaters. Granted, she still shared several of Voldemort's views regarding blood. But she wasn't going out torturing and killing people anymore, which was a plus. Krios was painfully aware his standards for his cousin were very low, but it was better than the alternative.
"Natalia, you are brilliant!" Krios said, kissing his fiancé on the cheek and racing off. She had given him a great idea, after all. Meanwhile, Natalia had been left speechless and blushing. But only for a few seconds. Sergei couldn't help but make an inappropriate comment about her being wet. He was hexed, of course. Fortunately, one of the nearby guards arrived in time to prevent too much damage from being done on the Prince by his sister.
"HE DID WHAT?!" The outraged shriek of Bellatrix Dolohov rang through the castle. House Elves and guards scattered like the wind when they heard the sound. Except for the two unfortunate souls that had been chosen to guard the doors. They had no choice but to stay at their posts. Although one of them had pissed himself.
Bellatrix terrified everyone before she was pregnant, but it was only after she had become pregnant that her violent tendencies revealed themselves to the staff. She had hexed more than one guard who had been assigned to check on her. Guarding her door had become the Captain of the Guard's most effective way of enforcing good behavior, as no one wanted the assignment. If you screwed up or pissed the Captain off, there was a good chance you ended up guarding the Lady Dolohov.
"Darling, I do not believe that Krios would be telling us this if he did not have a plan," Victor said with a knowing glance at Krios. Victor put up a silencing charm on the room as he said this. No need for anyone to hear what was about to be said.
Krios nodded at this. He found himself grateful once more for the existence of Victor Dolohov. It took a special person to marry Bellatrix and not spend the majority of his days receiving medical treatment. The man had a gift with people, and was very skilled at using it to benefit himself and the crown. Victor was proving to be a very valuable ally, and was the only reason Krios felt comfortable leaving the crown with Sergei.
"I do have a plan," Krios said with a smirk as he passed a document to Victor. Victor took one look and started chuckling.
"You are good, Krios. This is absolutely brilliant," Victor said with a vindictive grin as he read the document. He knew exactly what the plan was as soon as he read the title of the document. The wording of legal documents were so important, after all.
"Start explaining, or I start hexing," Bellatrix said, pointing her wand at them threateningly.
"The document Krios has just handed me is a legal adoption form. It states that we will be adopting your sister and accepting all legal responsibility of her until she marries," Victor said hurriedly. He had no interest in attracting his wife's anger.
"She would legally be named Narcissa Dolohov. She would no longer be a Black. And since the marriage contract in question only applies to a daughter of the House of Black..." Krios said with a slightly evil grin on his face.
Bellatrix stared at him blankly for a moment before she started cackling. Her laugh in the movies was actually a fairly accurate, much to Krios's chagrin. Her laugh still gave him the shivers from time to time, though he was able to hide it.
"Oh, how I look forward to seeing how high you will rise in the years to come, Krios," a smiling Bellatrix said with a tone that was simultaneously affectionate and terrifying. "Where do we sign?"
"Are you sure you want to take this responsibility, dear?" Victor asked in a concerned tone. Teenage girls were reportedly difficult to handle, especially if one considered that the girl in question was his wife's sister. It was hard enough dealing with one Black sister daily. He wasn't sure he could handle two.
"Anything to keep Narcissa away from Rodolphus. You have no idea what he is capable of. Do not underestimate him like Eleanor Williamson did," Bellatrix said angrily.
"Wait, that was him? I thought that they arrested that Ravenclaw for that? Duckfield, I think it was?" Krios asked in surprise. He had heard about that particular incident that had happened before he went to Hogwarts. The poor girl had been found naked in a broom cupboard and had clearly been under the effects of the Cruciatus Curse. She had died two weeks later, as her family had been unable to afford the long-term care that would be required to keep her alive.
"No. Eleanor turned down a Hogsmeade date with him in public. Even called him a "pathetic loser destined for Azkaban". Duckfield was framed. Rudolphus stole his wand and used it to perform the deed. And then he and his friends took their turns with her. I overheard him and his friends talking about it the next day," Bellatrix said with a dark look on her face.
Both Victor and Krios were furious. The fact that Rodolphus and his cronies had committed such an atrocious act and had gotten away with it did not sit well with them. Krios vowed that Rodolphus would not remain amongst the living for much longer.
"Where do I sign?" Victor asked.
December 20th, 1970
outskirts of Cornwall
Garfield Bullock knew that he had screwed up. He and Steapa Moody had not been cautious enough while meeting up. And now they were paying for it as they dueled two Death Eaters and Voldemort himself. Both men knew that they would not be leaving this place alive. And Bullock really wanted Voldemort to know that they had discovered his secret and destroyed three of his Horocruxes.
But he knew that would be ill-advised. It might cause the evil bastard to make more. Hell, the bastard might already have made more! Garfield was grateful that Krios would carry on their work. Bullock couldn't believe that he was trusting a Black, but there he was.
Not seconds after that thought passed through his mind, a green light struck him in the chest. And darkness overtook him. Steapa would join him moments later.
January 1st, 1971
Russia
Krios slipped and fell to the ground as the ground beneath him suddenly turned to ice. Krios growled as he got up, knowing that his teacher had once again had gotten the better of him.
"Remember to pay attention to your surroundings. A skilled opponent will not hesitate to use them to their advantage," his teacher said.
Krios had learned a lot about magic since his arrival in Russia. His knowledge of magical theory and spell casting was now far beyond any third-year Hogwarts student. He could easily defeat the majority of the Hogwarts student body in a standard duel. His magical knowledge was strengthened by his access to rare tomes and spells from the ancient libraries of the Black and Romanov families. Plus his ability to strategize in a way that most magic users could not in the heat of battle was a definitive advantage against most witches and wizards.
But fights were rarely fair, and the enemies he would face were unlikely to fight fairly. The villains that routinely fought the Justice League certainly wouldn't, and neither would Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Especially if he decided to stay in England and fight against Voldemort. If he did, it would be on his own terms. He refused to be a chess piece for Dumbledore or Voldemort. He was still considering leaving the country and letting events unfold as they had before, with the exception of the fate of his brothers of course. In his mind, he had already done more than enough by destroying three Horocruxes.
Speaking of chess pieces, Lestrange's attempts to secure Narcissa as his bride had backfired badly. Harold Minchum, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, had resigned due to the public outrage. The Ministry had no legal precedent to involve themselves in House business, and it cost Minchum his job. The public had been furious, and Charlus Potter had succeeded Minchum as Head of Department. Minchum would never become Minister now, and had been transferred to the Improper Use of Magic Office as the Deputy Head of Department.
This had been a major boon for Krios and a massive setback for Voldemort. Charlus had immediately fired the bribed officials who had been responsible for the scandal. He had empowered the Aurors to use lethal force against Voldemort and his followers, using the recent deaths of Steapa Moody, Bullock, and DADA Professor Kipling to get enough public support for the emergency measure to pass. Kipling's brutal death at the hands of Voldemort a few days prior had been the breaking point for many.
Voldemort had been going after several prominent enemies lately. Moody, Bullock, and Kipling had all known who he had been before he was known as Voldemort. At this point, only Dumbledore, Slughorn, Arcturus Black, and Krios himself knew Voldemort had once been known as Tom Riddle who weren't on his side already. Krios suspected Riddle's old school friends who had since become Death Eaters knew who he was and didn't care. Power was all that really mattered in the end, and Voldemort had it in spades.
Charlus was extremely popular at the moment, and was likely to be elected as Minister of Magic in the summer. Jenkins was not long for the post, and there was already massive pressure on her to resign. Krios feared that Voldemort would never let Charlus live long enough to become Minister of Magic. Charlus was an enemy that did not fear Voldemort like almost everyone in Wizarding Britain did, and was a veteran of the last war against Grindelwald. And that was something Voldemort would not tolerate for long.
Krios had already sent a letter to Charlus begging him to relocate to Black Manor with Aunt Dorea and Eric. He could not stand the idea of losing them, as they had a massive target on their heads. Charlus and Dorea had always been kind to him, and Eric was his best friend. The fact that they were not living at the time of James and Lily's deaths had long concerned him.
In the meantime, there was little he could do except beg them to be safe and continue to become stronger. Krios flew back into his duel against his teacher with vigor, spells flying as the two battled.
April 7th, 1971
Order ofthe PhoenixHQ
Dumbledore sighed as the las member of the Order left the room. Charlus Potter had officially been elected Minister of Magic. While it was good for the Wizarding World in the midst of a war, Dumbledore was concerned by the growing power of the Black family. The fact that a traditionally Dark family had a Minister who had married a Black and a extremely powerful Heir that would only grow stronger did not sit well with him.
The Blacks could not be the ones to lead the Wizarding World into the future. The fact that Charlus was an enemy of Voldemort was a good thing, but he was not a member of Light. Dumbledore remembered well Charlus's willingness to be harsh and violent during the previous war. If Voldemort fell while Charlus was Minister, Dumbledore feared for the fate of the Wizarding World.
Charlus had not made much progress recently against Voldemort and his forces lately, though. Voldemort had been quiet over the last month or so, with only the occasional attack against the families of Muggle borns to remind the public that they were still out there. They had to be planning something. And Dumbledore knew that it would likely be something that would strike fear into the hearts of all who would oppose him. And Dumbledore intended to be there to stop him when Voldemort made his move.
AN: And scene! This concludes Chapter 12. Chapter 13 will pick up shortly before Krios starts his third year and the Marauders began at Hogwarts. There will be one more scene in Russia before they do, though. Know this chapter was shorter than my usual fare, butit is what it is. Hope this chapter was able to answer a lot of questions as well as create some more. Dumbledore does not trust the Blacks, and he will be both ally and foe for Krios.
Also, I have removed the fact that Krios is an SI. He has waymore self-preservation than I do, and I find myself seeing him more and more as a character I created and not me. I am more of the type that you would see joining the Marauders tbh.