Arcturus was in bed, reading some old letters his wife had written to him during his missions in Europe. Seeing the elegant handwriting on the yellowed paper, a smile appeared on the old patriarch of the House of Black.
Suddenly, the doors were abruptly opened – Arcturus didn't even need to lift his head to know that his great-niece, Bellatrix, had entered his room; she was the only person without etiquette in the mansion. But the patriarch soon raised his head, hearing more footsteps entering his room.
His gaze fell on Bellatrix, Narcissa, and finally – Andromeda. He ignored everyone else, a gentle smile appearing on his face as he looked at Andromeda.
"Look at you, child." Arcturus said, looking at his great-niece, Andromeda. He glanced at Asterion, who was smiling at him, and understood his great-grandson's plan.
Seeing the state of her powerful great-uncle, Andromeda's eyes filled with tears. From what she remembered, her great-uncle had always been tall and broad-shouldered; now, seeing his frail and thin state shook the image of him in her mind.
In her impression, even if the sky were to fall, the man would be there to hold it up, but seeing his current state, she realized he was just like any other person, and at this moment, just a gentle grandfather.
"You are married and already a mother, how can you cry like this. If Druella saw her daughter like this, she would scold you." Seeing his great-niece crying upon seeing him, Arcturus spoke in a tone of reproach, but much gentler.
"She would probably be furious." Bellatrix said, the image of her mother getting furious making her lips curve into a very happy smile.
Andromeda wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and rolled her eyes at her older sister's words.
Meanwhile, Narcissa sat in the chair beside the bed, holding Arcturus's skeletal hand.
"That must be my great-granddaughter." Arcturus's gaze fell on Nymphadora, who was embarrassed by the gentle and warm look of the man lying in bed. Her purple hair changed color, turning crimson red.
Seeing this, the smile on Arcturus's face grew even more.
"You have a wonderful gift, work hard and you will become an excellent witch, child." He spoke in a gentle tone, happy that at the end of his life, he could be surrounded by his family again. As for the rules, they would follow them again in hell, like all the members of his House.
Nymphadora nodded seriously and watched her mother happily conversing with the old man and her sisters with a happy look. It was the first time she had seen her mother smile like that.
This made Tonks very happy; if she had known, she would have talked to Asterion much earlier.
Asterion, who had been silent for fear of interrupting the reunion, suddenly looked towards the entrance of the mansion, a smile appearing on his lips as he sensed the familiar aura of his uncle, who soon arrived in the room.
"You're still alive, you arrogant old man." Sirius entered the room reeking strongly of alcohol.
The smile on Arcturus's face vanished upon seeing his grandson. "Humph, I won't die before you, you insolent brat."
"Are you cursing me to die young, old man?" Sirius gritted his teeth at his grandfather's words.
"With the amount of alcohol you consume, I'm surprised your liver hasn't withered away yet." Arcturus scoffed, mocking his irresponsible grandson.
Seeing the two about to argue at any moment, Andromeda let out a pleasant laugh. Although it seemed like a heated exchange, she could see that both cared deeply for each other. This was just their way of communicating.
Hearing the laugh, Sirius's gaze fell on his cousin whom he hadn't seen in a long time.
"Andy!" He greeted her with a smile and hugged her warmly, giving her a gentle kiss on the cheek.
"Look at your state, you're not taking care of yourself again, Sirius." Andromeda held Sirius's face and spoke in a gentle yet very stern tone.
Sirius just showed an embarrassed smile while scratching the back of his head.
Watching the interaction between Sirius and Andromeda, Bellatrix's lips curved into a malicious smile.
"This reminds me of when I caught Sirius and Andromeda kissing when we were kids. Our mother was completely furious, saying that Sirius had contaminated Andromeda." She spoke in a deliberately loud tone, making sure everyone heard her words clearly.
Andromeda's pale cheeks flushed with her embarrassing past being revealed, especially with her husband and daughter present in the room.
Sirius just pretended to cough, feeling the particularly cold gaze of his cousin's husband.
Tonks's eyes widened at her mother's dark past; she hadn't expected her elegant and noble mother to have done something like that as a child. It seemed impossible given how well she knew her mother.
Arcturus, seeing the scene, just laughed and felt fortunate to witness this before he died; now he felt he could die without regrets.
Asterion sat on the armrest of the chair where Narcissa was and smiled, watching everything, especially the smile on Arcturus's face. He knew he had made the right choice seeing him smile like that.
Suddenly, Arcturus's voice called everyone's attention in the room.
"I have to apologize to you both, Bellatrix and Narcissa."
Narcissa and Bellatrix looked confused at the old patriarch.
"I thought the grandsons of my former teammates, Abraax II Malfoy and Fulcran IV Lestrange, were respectable men like their grandfathers, but over time, it proved otherwise. You had unhappy marriages because of me. I understand if you never forgive me for that." Arcturus spoke each word with difficulty, his face full of regret, especially seeing Andromeda's happy relationship with Ted.
(Note: Abraax II Malfoy and Fulcran IV are OC characters.)
"You don't need to worry about that, old man." Bellatrix spoke casually. "Though Rodolphus was uninteresting, it was fun torturing him mentally for years."
When she said this, Tonks and Ted looked horrified at her, but Sirius, Narcissa, Asterion, and Andromeda didn't show much reaction; they knew Bellatrix too well to be surprised by her words.
"Though my marriage was truly unhappy as you said, I still have beautiful children, so at least I have something to be happy about. Besides, you couldn't have known what Lucius was like." Narcissa held Arcturus's hand more firmly and spoke in a calm but gentle tone.
Arcturus looked at his two great-nieces who didn't blame him for his mistakes and let out a tired, regretful sigh. "Still, I feel awful for making life difficult for you both."
"It's all right, we still have time to enjoy life. Unlike you, old man." Bellatrix spoke proudly, her gaze discreetly focusing on Asterion.
Narcissa beside her nodded silently, confirming her older sister's words.
Arcturus let out another sigh, but a smile appeared on his lips. Although he didn't know if they were speaking the truth, it relieved one of his regrets.
"Dinner has been prepared and is waiting for us." Asterion spoke to everyone, including Ted and Nymphadora, skillfully changing the slightly tense atmosphere in the room.
Arcturus, who couldn't get out of bed, gathered his strength, got down from the bed, and walked as if he had never been ill, although Andromeda and Narcissa were by his side for any emergency.
As everyone walked to the dining room, Asterion approached Narcissa and whispered to her, "Draco and Dorea just arrived."
Narcissa nodded and went to fetch her children for dinner.
Sitting around the table, Arcturus looked at his entire family and smiled sincerely; it was truly good to see the Black mansion full of life again after so long.
He ate and drank like never before, and although the environment was quiet because everyone was eating, the atmosphere was truly cozy.
---
Author's thoughts: I know these two chapters are not very interesting, but I had to write them for character development. Tomorrow will be about Rose Potter's past, something many of you have been asking for.
Thank you for reading and have a good Sunday with your families.
Support me to write more and read chapters ahead of all regular readers!
P-atreon.com/HPSCB
(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)
Next Chapter Second Volume: Chapter 104 - Rose's Past (1), Chapter 105 - Arrival of Country Representatives (1), Chapter 106 - Arrival of Country Representatives (2), Chapter 107 - Arrival of Country Representatives (3), Chapter 108 – Party (1), Chapter 109 – Party (2), Chapter 110 - Back To Hogwarts (1), Chapter 111 - Back To Hogwarts (2), Chapter 112 – New Students (1), Chapter 113 – New Students (2), Chapter 114 – Ophelia (1), Chapter 115 – Ophelia (2), Chapter 116 – Doubts (1), Chapter 117 – Humbug (1), Chapter 118 - Ophelia's Mother (1), Chapter 119 - I Decided to Seduce Daphne (1), Chapter 120 - Arrival of the Twelve Schools of Witchcraft and Wizardry (1), Chapter 121 - Arrival of the Twelve Schools of Witchcraft and Wizardry (2), Chapter 122 - Arrival of the Twelve Schools of Witchcraft and Wizardry (3), Chapter 123 - Arrival of the Twelve Schools of Witchcraft and Wizardry (4).