"You are right, Lord Black," I confirmed after I snapped out of my musings. I then greeted Amelia and sat down next to her, opposite of Lord Black.
The oldest looking man I had ever seen. By a lot.
"Extending ones lifespan past its natural limits comes with many drawbacks," Arcturus Black commented when he saw me pondering but not talking about his appearance.
I simply didn't want to be rude, but the man's skin looked like it was glued to his empty skeleton in a kindergarten arts and crafts project. The skintone was both pale white and grey like century old paper, and his grey eyes looked like they were more cloudy than the average British skies.
"Forgive my prying, but aren't you roughly the same age as Headmaster Dumbledore?"
"Indeed I am. But while he portrays himself as the vanquisher of Grindelwald and Bringer of Light, the old fart fought the Dark Lord twice in what I presume to be a staged fight akin to a coinflip after stepping out of Hogwarts a total of two times during the war. I, on the other hand, lost my father, a sister, and one of my nephews to Grindelwald's forces and wiped out swathes of his acolytes in retaliation. Naturally, they weren't all inept sheep, and they took their pound of flesh when I decimated them."
Okay, so Arcturus Black was a bad ass.
But wait, I wasn't entirely knowledgeable about the Black family tree - though, wasn't Arcturus' father Phineas Nigellus Black, the blood bigot headmaster before Armando Dippet, who in turn was headmaster before Dumbledore? Grindelwald killed a previous headmaster of Hogwarts? Why was this the first time I heard about it? Was this something that happened in canon or something that was different in this life?
"Thank you for your service," I said as my thoughts ran amok, and wanted to take it back immediately. What a weird saying I picked up from muggles...
"Hahaha! No need to thank me, boy. I took great pleasure in my revenge and would not have left the British Isles without it. Hell, I might have joined Gellert if his war had arrived on our island before he killed my father."
Okay, so the Black madness was apparently a thing, or my newest hero was getting loony with age. Though, it made sense that the Black family of old would have easily alligned themselves to Grindelwald's cause of 'magical beings are above muggles'.
"I see... why have you asked me here, Lord Black?"
"Hmph, didn't you write me a letter, brat? I'm afraid Cassiopeia didn't get hers. Bad service down in the underworld," Arcturus barked out, and I cringed and looked to my right to Amelia.
She looked at Lord Black still, so this matter didn't yet astonish her or already knew about it from Arcturus' mouth.
"And how may I help?"
"Over a decade ago, I fathered another Black scion in France with tremendous amounts of money paid to a widow to raise her other brat who is a halfsibling to my new child because I would have otherwise been too ashamed to force my old bones on a blooming flower," Arcturus explained bluntly and I had more questions in my mind compared to before.
"Young Carina thankfully turned out smart enough, but sadly, she is just that. A she. Even with my will in place, Lucius could force his spawn to become the heir recognised in Britain after my death. He could kill Carina, forcefully marry her to the dimwit Narcissa birthed or do what he did to this Pettigrew fella, cast 'reasonable' doubt on my lucidity and claim Carina is not of House Black because of her birth in France."
The questions in my mind didn't lessen the longer Arcturus talked.
"In any case, Carina's chances to inherit her rightful place in the family is in question, especially since she attends Beauxbaton, not Hogwarts, just like my sister Cassiopeia. Now, I extended my life because I needed to teach Carina the proper way to be a Black and I would have been fine if my bloodline continued through her, but then you came along with your stupid letter."
I tilted my head in confusion and wondered what changed for him since he had another backup in place I didn't know about. One that was guaranteed not part of the original story. Did he really care that someone knew he got got by Lucius Malfoy and couldn't live, or rather die, knowing someone knew all of his family's wealth would go to one of those who plotted their downfall?
"I hope you're not planning to marry her off to me or anything. I'm sure she's a lovely girl, but I have no plans to enter an arranged marriage," I countered with an unsure smile.
"I thought you were cleverer than that," Lord Black dryly drawled after regarding me with his grey eyes for a moment.
"So you care that I know?"
A small smirk found its way on Arcturus' face. "So you are indeed."
"Are you going to let me into the conversation, or may I leave?" Amelia asked and butted her head into the conversation.
"No, your presence is vital. I kept up with recent events on British soil, of course, and you strike me as someone who detests injustice," the old man explained and turned to Amelia. "If receiving a proper sum of cash is considered a bribe to you, I can only offer you a magically binding alliance agreement as my status of the previous head of House Black. My foolish son Orion didn't write a will, so his wife became the regent in the absence of a willing and capable heir and left me with little power over my house. And it's not like we can ask that Sirius brat to write an alliance contract, now can we?"
'Wow, someone as powerful as him can't force back control over his family from a woman who was merely regent and a little mad? Or did he simply not care enough until it was too late?'
"I have no need for your coin, and I'd rather not suffer an alliance with House Malfoy," Amelia refused with a deadpan look.
"Now, now. I cannot make this a contract of vassalage, but the alliance can be stringent enough to feature only scenarios you deem acceptable," Arcturus argued, and Amelia seemed to ponder it over.
Eventually, she agreed to at least listen to Arcturus' request. Apparently as Lady of House Bones, which I learned was just as old as the Black family, she had a certain obligation to listen to such alliance talks.
"I did not have much contact with the boy since he grew up with the Potters. I didn't bemoan his fate when he was put into Azkaban after the war. But with matters as they stand, I no longer want to leave his continued incarceration up to chance. I wish to back Sirius fully in his upcoming trial, but my word lost its weight. I will likely not survive until then anyway. My days are numbered. That's where the two of you come into play."
I pointed to my face with an incredulous look, and it seemed Amelia was just as surprised.
"Brat, you found out the dark bastard's real identity one year into Hogwarts. If you can do that, you can find me something that will bring Sirius' trial in his favor," Arcturus barked with a disdainful expression.
"He what?" Amelia asked in confusion.
"Heh, didn't know his real name was Tom Riddle Junior? Either someone's actively stopping you from finding out or the ministry is much worse than half a century ago," Arcturus argued and left it at that before turning to me once more.
"So? What do you have for me?"
I racked my brain and tentively spoke out loud some pieces of knowledge I shouldn't likely know.
"Peter Pettigrew had Voldemort's wand, meaning he was at the Potter's home before Sirius was."
Lord Black shook his head, "Too circumstancial. He could have found it anywhere. Wrestled it from Sirius' hand that night or some other gryphon shite."
"Sirius doesn't have the dark lord's slave seal, but Pettigrew does."
"Riddle is supposedly dead, so nobody could argue that the dark lord did that to protect his most trusted lieutenant from scrutiny as a high level spy while teaching Sirius how to mark others. They could argue Sirius branded Pettigrew on that fateful night as a misdirect," Arcturus countered, and Amelia's head started hurting from the amount of information I knew that I rightly shouldn't know.
"Pettigrew didn't reveal himself and instead slept with children like a pedophile despite Sirius being behind bars and Voldemort being presumed dead."
"He was mad. They already established that," Lord Black countered and started getting impatient.
"Uh, the Fidelius Charm. Someone powerful must have cast it. It could have been James or Lily Potter, who did it, but what if it wasn't? James' parents were already dead when the Potters went into hiding, so it wasn't Fleamont or his wife. Instead, they were famously close to Dumbledore and the other Order of the Phoenix members. It stands to reason that Dumbledore cast it for them. He is a meddlesome asshole, after all. The charm is rather complex, is it not?"
Lord Black started rapping his fingers on the table intermittently and thought it through.
"That bloke is really ruthless, isn't he? Of course, he'd cast it. But if he didn't come forward, that means Sirius was the secret keeper, or there's something we don't know happening behind the scenes. I wasn't too involved in Sirius' upbringing, but I think he might have been clever enough to learn the charm if given enough time. I'll have to ask the boy later..." Lord Black mused after he pondered on the question a little.
"Dumbledore wanted to keep Sirius' godson Harry Potter out of the wizarding world," I exposed when I noticed Lord Black wasn't entirely satisfied, and Amelia started looking horrified.
"He did? I could see him doing that," Arcturus thought out loud while ignoring the look Amelia gave me. Working against a magical will was tedious, but apparently doable if only an infant survived as its main beneficiary. But I learned that being a godparent in the magical world was a pretty significant thing with ironclad responsibilities and consequences.
"Yeah, I'm starting to suspect the headmaster did the same with me by allowing my mother to die and putting me in a muggle orphanage. In all fairness, I could also have been delivered to their doorstep by literally anyone else, but the fact nobody knew how she truly died while I survived means that someone not on the Death Eater's side must have been with her in her final moments and possibly during my birth. And she was a pretty high-level spy who did not die in the arms of her best friend from school years despite her being the person she trusted most. My mom would not have handed me and a letter to a random muggle unless she came to learn that everybody else she knew was a dark wizard or witch. She was no blood supremacist, but she still didn't like muggles."
Arcturus Black first looked at me, then looked at the appalled looking Amelia Bones for a while before nodding.
"You're seeking revenge then?"
"Of course. You do understand latin, right?"
Lord Black started cackling, "I underestimated you, and I came with a pretty high opinion of you in my mind. Retaliation and vengeance, huh? Hehehe."
We both smiled at each other while Amelia still tried to wrap her head around the logic I applied to explain my dislike for Dumbledore.
"Good, good. The caster of the Fidelius Charm is a good start. The Potter will is a nice second addendum. I will have a line of questioning prepared that the Chief Warlock will be forced to answer or implicate himself. Anything else, Talion?"
'Oooh, he called me by my name for the first time.'
"Make Sirius offer up any other 'willing death eater' as his death bed confession if the dark faction doesn't let up. Have him name every miscreant that got off with the Imperius Defense."
"Mutually assured destruction or a win-win. I see you listened well in your muggle school's history and politics lessons," Arcturus praised, and I was a little surprised. M.A.D. was a concept from the Cold War and a magical as old as Lord Black shouldn't technically know about it, unless he read muggle news papers, of course.
"They could, of course, always claim he'd gone mad after his extended stay at Azkaban, so produce a diary of his and modify it discreetly if you have to. You could just threaten to release his diaries and only bring an unaltered one to bluff your way through. Of course, they should know Sirius wasn't actually a Death Eater, and Pettigrew was the betrayer of the Potters... but you're still a Black. A Black with nothing to lose if your 'last legitimate heir' was killed unjustly. They need to fear the lengths you would go to."
A pleased smile grew on Lord Black's face, and he asked, "Are you sure you're against arranged marriages, brat?"
After several more quips and praises, Lord Black excused himself because of his advanced age and left Amelia and Talion alone.
"You suspect Dumbledore to have been there when your mother died?"
I sighed and stood up to sit opposite Amelia. With another deep breath, I nodded and answered, "I do. His goal is still in question, but I suspect him behind many things that happened to me."
"Why him? What things?"
"Well, my mom's a spy, right? But there were only four people to know about that before her demise, according to you. You, Dumbledore, Frank Longbottom, and Alistor McGonagall. Since the latter two are dead and you don't seem to be the type to be meddling in our school life, where Dumbledore has full access, it has to be him if it's anyone."
"And why does it have to be anyone and not your mother herself who dropped you off?"
"Because someone put up wards in the orphanage. Wards that kept me at that place. And my bellybutton was already healed," I answered and finally revealed something I didn't know from canon and explained through reasonable meta knowledge I could glean through other circumstances.
"Your mother might have wanted to have you grow up away from the magical world in case the Death Eaters won and succumbed to her wounds a week after your delivery," Amelia countered with a frown.
"Oh really? Ignorant of anything magical? Beholden to muggles at best or weak and feeble at worst? If Voldemort was still in power and I grew up with muggles for 14 years, I would be dead the moment I get to Hogwarts at the latest because of who my mother was. Maybe I'd be dead before even seeing Diagon Alley. No, Selena Macnair would smuggle me out of the country, not drop me in London if she had the power and time. And even if my mom knew Voldemort wouldn't be in power a dozen years later, she would not have wanted me to stay at a run-down orphanage instead of any loving home, magical or otherwise. She apparently left behind no enforceable will, so did she want me to end up with her father? She couldn't have known he would die the year before I attend Hogwarts. Yeah, fat chance that happened before she died at the footsteps of the orphanage," I passionately argued with a derisive scoff at the end.
Giving Amelia a last look, I stood up and walked away before she could ask something I could finally not answer. I knew I likely revealed myself to know about things that would forever make her question me and my motivations in life. But with Lord Black almost dying and me getting the chance to be on Sirius' good side, I would be stupid to remain silent at that table. I was already out of line sending the old Black that letter.
So I was all-in on that front anyway.
-----
Two weeks before the final exams, I read the Daily Prophet with furrowed brows. An event was happening that had completely slipped my mind.
The Quidditch World Cup was currently in its last stages of planning. The group phase would start a day after the last day of the exams to give some lucky students the chance to attend the inaugural match.
It was 1995, which in the original story was a year after the World Cup happened. But going by school years, it was still two years too early. The attack of the death eaters at the finals should have happened mere days before Harry's fourth school year. But now it would be just before we started our second year.
That was if the attack would still happen regardless.
'No mention of the Triwizard Tournament... so will Krum participate for Bulgaria? Will Fleur be there? Will Harry be fated to meet them and then forget them because that can of worms, namely the Triwizard Tournament, would be opened in Harry's fourth year despite the World Cup being 'early'?' I idly pondered with narrowed eyes as I read the article that buried much more important news about Sirius' impending trial.
I would love to be there at the venue when the Quidditch finals happened, I immediately decided as I rolled my eyes at the five-liner talking about Sirius getting transfered from out of Azkaban and into a Ministry holding cell.
It wasn't that I was eager to kill again, but me knowing that there was a high chance for an attack meant that I had high chances to kill some of the scum that sided with those who were the reason I grew up as an orphan. Literal war criminals by muggle standards.
Who knew? Maybe Lucius will be among the attackers, and I could get lucky.
I'd definitely love to end this particular threat before I finally manage to figure out how to bypass wards on ancient family homes.
I'll have to work out how to kill in a 'many versus many'-fight to deal with as many Death Eaters as possible. Thankfully, I had a very good idea already because of my innate gift.
My eyesight allowed me to see past walls and make out targets in total darkness. It was only fair to assume it would allow me to see through heavy smoke.
I will just have to figure out how to make smoke of my own creation stick in any given area and be impervious to a simple gust of wind.
My reflexes and choice of weapon would surely allow me to reap the lives of the drunken horde set to kill and torture for sport at the actual sporting event under the cover of a black, all-encompassing fog.
Okay.
Maybe I was eager to kill some people.
Maybe that was worrying.