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The Life and Misadventures of Liam Arcturus Black Vol. 1

Chapter 1: His Obituary

Sunday, January 26, 2075

OBITUARY

Black Dies at 98 at Home in London

By ANTHONY SKEETER

Special in THE NEW YORK TIMES, BARRON'S, THE FINANCIAL TIMES, THE DAILY MAIL, THE TIMES OF INDIA and THE MAGICAL TIMES

LONDON, Sunday, Jan. 26-Prince Liam Arcturus Black Le Fay Ravenclaw Delacour Greengrass has died.

That great figure which embodied man's will to resist tyranny passed into history last evening. He was 98 years old.

His old friend and physician, Lady Davis, gave the news to the world after informing King Charles and Prime Minister David Grant.

Lady Davis's announcement said:

"Shortly after 6 P.M., Prince Liam died at his home surrounded by his surviving family."

(Signed) Davis.

The announcement by Lady Davis was read to reporters near the Black home at 6:35 P.M. (1:35 P.M., New York time).

About thirty members of the press were standing in the rain at the entrance to 12 Grimmauld Place, the Black ancestral home, where Prince Liam had lived for so long. A reporter for the Press Association read Lady Davis's statement to them.

Lady Davis had come to the house that morning at 7:18. A few minutes earlier Prince Liam's son, Duke Black, had driven up. Also there at the end were his other children Lady Delacour, Lord Greengrass, Lady Le Fay, and Countess Ravenclaw and their spouses. Other survivors are his 16 grandchildren, 34 great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren, the last born just two days ago.

King Charles III sent the following message to the Black, Delacour, Greengrass, Le Fay, and Ravenclaw Families:

"The whole world is the poorer by the loss of this true Renaissance Man. While the survival of this country and the sister nations of the Commonwealth, in the face of the greatest danger that has ever threatened them, will be a perpetual memorial to his leadership, his vision, his philanthropic works, and his indomitable courage."

Prime Minister Grant immediately paid tribute to his illustrious predecessor in office.

"Prince Liam will be mourned all over the world by all who owe so much to him," Mr. Grant said. "He is now at peace after a life in which he created history, saved history, and which will be remembered as long as history is read."

The world had been watching and waiting since January 16, when it was announced that Prince Liam had suffered a stroke. The last authentic giant of world politics in the 21st century was going down.

Phenomenal Tenacity

For nine days the struggle went on. Medical experts said that only phenomenal tenacity and spirit of life could enable a man of 98 to hold off death so long in these circumstances.

But then those were the qualities that had made Liam Black a historical figure in his lifetime. His pluck in rallying Britain to victory in the Blood War against Tom Riddle's Death Eaters, the aftermath when magic was reintroduced to the overall world with the end of the International Act of Secrecy, and World War III saved not only this country but, in all likelihood, free nations everywhere.

Prince Liam will be given a State Funeral. The body will lie in State in Westminster Hall for several days. Then, after a long march from Westminster, the services will be held in St. Paul's Cathedral, whose huge dome has so long dominated London. He will be laid to rest next to his wives: the Lady Élodie Ravenclaw née Delacour, the Duchess Daphne Black née Greengrass, the Countess Fleur Le Fay née Delacour and his mother: the Countess Jeanne Marie Black née Corbeaux at the Black Family estate hidden somewhere in the UK.

Anniversary of Father's Death

Today was the anniversary of the death of Prince Liam's father, Heir Regulus Arcturus Black, a spy among Riddle's Death Eaters that gave his life discovering the secret of the pseudo-immortal Dark Lord. He died in 1979.

For virtually everyone in Great Britain, Prince Liam's death will be a wrenching personal loss and a symbolic break with a past whose glories seem already faded.

For the world, too, it is the end of an age.

Prince Liam will always be remembered as one who defied Riddle, Putin, Rasputin, Zheng, and blood purists everywhere. But he was more than a great war leader―a personality larger than life, an extraordinary man in language and character as well as war, finance, business, and politics.

War Was His Finest Hour

Prince Liam Arcturus Black Le Fay Ravenclaw Delacour Greengrass was one of the greatest men of his time. Great was his contribution to the strategy of victory in World War III. However, Prince Liam's paramount place in history is as the man chiefly responsible for providing the leadership and ensuring the cohesion of the five great wartime allies-Britain, France, Germany, the United States and Brazil. Additionally, he was the linchpin of the Grand Alliance of thirty-two nations that vanquished the Empire in 2046 after nearly six years of war.

In the magical realm from 1995 to May 1998, Prince Liam and his wives along with Duke Harry Potter and the remaining members of the Order of the Phoenix were essential to the destruction of hundreds of Death Eaters and snatchers. Prince Liam was personally responsible for the death of all twelve of Riddle's remaining Inner Circle members during the Battle of Hogwarts.

He avenged the Royal Family in 2017 from the Neo-Death Eaters for the massacre of 2016.

Prince Liam's duel with Rasputin in 2046 lasted for three hours before Rasputin's corpse collapsed to the rubble of the Kremlin.

Childhood and Schooling

Prince Liam was born on January 20, 1977, in France at the Château Corbeaux which was built by the Le Fay and Ravenclaw families in 1036 AD when they fled the great purge lead by Salvantin Salazar, grandson of the Hogwarts co-founder. Prince Liam was conceived as the Beltran child in 1976's celebration, which to magicals is an extraordinary sign of a child blessed by magic.

In those instances that his Father could sneak away from spying on Riddle, Prince Liam and Regulus were the best of mates. Regulus said on many occasions that Prince Liam was more mature than his Uncle Sirius Black. The loss of his father caused him much distress in 1979 to the point of accidental magic destroying a wing of the Château. His grandfather, Baron Arcturus Black adored the child and made him the Heir as Sirius Black refused to acknowledge his family obligations. As such, he spent summers with Baron Black until the Baron's death in spring 1994.

During the year, he and his next-door neighbor and best friend Fleur Delacour were privately tutored until it was time for Fleur to attend Beauxbatons at age 7. Prince Liam opted to go to Mahoutokoro: Academy of Mages in Japan for the rigorous challenge of both magical and non-magical educations. Working ahead of his peers, he completed all 17 ICW OWLS course with top marks in 1992.

In the summer of 1992, Châteaus Corbeaux and Delacour were attacked by remnants of Grindelwald's forces looking to extract the magical secrets of the two most prominent French magical families after the Flamels. Luckily, the Delacours were on vacation in Italy at the time. The Corbeaux family was at a great disadvantage before Baron Black and Prince Liam could arrive from England. That was the scene of the bloodiest magical battle in France since World War II. The following afternoon, only Baron Black and Prince Liam walked away from the estates. Prince Liam was able to rescue his mother from an experience that would have been worse than death, but she still passed away in his arms from her injuries. At that time he vowed vengeance on the murders and rapists of Magical Europe.

At his Grandfather insistence, he spent the next two years getting top NEWTS scores in Astronomy, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, History of Magic, Potions, Alchemy, Arithmancy, Divination, Muggle Studies, Mind Arts, Spell Crafting and Enchantments, Curse Breaking, and Dark Arts in preparation to transfer to Hogwarts for his final year of study just in time for the Triwizard Tournament. Meanwhile, he finished his undergraduate work at the London School of Economics and Political Science through a highly selective correspondence option. Associates at school in Japan swore that all he did for those last two years was eat, sleep, exercise, study, and write a biweekly letter to Fleur and his grandfather.

After finals at LSE and his NEWTS, he rushed back to Baron Black's side as he became ill to an unknown to wizards disease which took his life over the following three days. Baron Black purposely walked into the trap set by Malfoys. He knew with all his magic and soul the words of Tolkien were true that "End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path, one that we all must take. The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass, and then you see it white shores, and beyond, a far green country under a swift sunrise."

Upon entering Hogwarts, he entered the Ravenclaw house to fix their deficiencies and get the house back on track as not the house of know-it-alls and bookworms but a house of wisdom and understanding. In the one year at Hogwarts, he removed two curses on the Ravenclaw tower that caused bullying of those with outlier intelligence and a curse diminishing their drive for both what the Ancient Romans called Lux et Veritas and what Harvard Business School calls creative destruction. He also found the curse on the Defense Against the Dark Arts Class and as an heir of a founder had it canceled from the school wards. Later, he took the Hogwarts spot in the Triwizard Tournament and tied with Duke Potter for the win in June 1995.

His first two months of interactions with the Boy-Who-Lived left a bad taste in his mouth as Duke Potter appeared to be lazy, shy, uncaring of his familiar responsibility, weak, mediocre, excessively reliant on luck, too proud to respect tradition.

His loathing of Weasels (formerly known as Weasley) started with Potter's handlers, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasel. Additionally, Bill and Molly Weasels attempt to bewitch, rape, and bind Lady Élodi which resulted in her death during the Spring of 1995 lead to their surname change and Will's death in an Honor duel with Prince Liam.

At the opening ceremony of the tournament, he realized there was something wrong with Duke Potter like abuse, drugs or potions, magical blocks, and a handful of manipulators. Over the next year, while Potter was being shunned as a cheat by most of Hogwarts, Prince Liam undid the potions and magical blocks with the help of his family grimoires. Gringotts had been complicit in the thefts from Duke Potter. Prince Liam was furious; he transferred his Le Fay and Ravenclaw fortunes between the Gnomes in New York and the Dwarves in Switzerland. 75% of the liquid Black fortune was placed with Barclays and invested in the non-magical stock markets in London, New York, and Tokyo. He gave Gringotts six months to modernize to proper procedures and controls, heal Duke Potter of all his injuries, and recover and compensate Duke Potter for his losses since his parents went into hiding in 1980 or else Prince Liam and Duke Potter would call in all debts owed by the bank and inform the press of their dishonor, negligence, and fraud.

He finished his year at Hogwarts with highest possible NEWT marks in the remaining Charms, Care of Magical Creatures, Transfiguration, and Runes.

In August 1995, he started Graduate School at LSE and graduated two years later with First Class Honours.

Taking his seats in the Wizengamot and the House of Lords

Since age 5, Prince Back had attended summer sessions of the Wizengamot under a glamour to watch, learn, and critique with Baron Black that which he observed. Also, he would attend the House of Lords meetings under an invisibility cloak.

After Baron Black's will was read in June 1994, Prince Liam took the Black, Le Fay, and Ravenclaw seats and shifted his support to the Grey faction. During the 1994 Summer Wizengamot session, Lucius and Fudge tried to object to his taking of the Black seat. Prince Liam put Lord Malfoy in his place as only a minor Noble house that owed much of his prestige and wealth to marry above his station to a daughter of the Black Family. He quietly reminded Lucius of the consequences should it be discovered that his favorite Aunt was ever mistreated.

In the summer of 1995, Prince Liam was called on to be a judge in Duke Potter's sham of an underage use of magic trial in front of the whole Wizengamot without representation. Prince Liam had Lord Greengrass take a temporary proxy of his seat in exchange for a future favor so that he could serve as Duke Potter's Solicitor. In a masterful stroke he made a name for himself among the magical elders of the UK, let Minister Fudge and Undersecretary Umbridge save face got his Uncle Sirius a court date and acquitted Duke Potter of all charges including his prior infractions. Later he lamented, that he hadn't challenged Fudge and Umbridge to honor duels that day for the abuse Umbridge would later inflict upon the students of Hogwarts and how the cronyism that Fudge and Umbridge inflicted on the ministry for their last year in power almost doomed the world to Riddle's everlasting rule. He did get his wish to see Umbridge finished off by a third year muggleborn werewolf during the Battle of Hogwarts.

The Prince promised to end the Malfoy line if his Aunt Narcissa was mistreated in any way; he ended up doing just that in the summer of 1997. Draco perished in an Honor Duel on the floor of the Wizengamot after Prince Liam had discovered that Draco had struck Narcissa and had tried to rape her a few days prior. Although not suitable for the eyes of children, the rest of this paragraph demonstrates his ferocity when dealing with enemies of the Crown or his family. After challenging Draco to the duel but before the requisite bows, Draco started throwing out bombardas, stunners, and cutting curses at the Prince. Prince Liam dodged his spells and slowly approached Draco like a Nundu stalking his prey without even drawing his wand he broke Draco's non-dominant elbow with a wandless piercing hex, took his ears off with two wandless sectumsempras, bloodied his nose with a left jab, and then took a step back to see his work. Draco refused to forfeit. While dodging all of Draco's dark curses, Prince Liam snatched Draco's wand from his hand and then he cast a shallow cutting curse across Draco's neck (with Draco's wand). A slow trickle of blood leaked from the wound and the Prince tossed Draco's wand back at him. Enraged, Draco started throwing unforgivables which again Prince Liam dodged. Prince Liam tossed a casual wandless bone shattering curse at Draco's wand arm while Draco was midcasting an Avada Kedavra. After again snatching away Draco's wand, Prince Liam snapped Draco's wand in four pieces by hand and put them in Draco's shirt pocket. He then cast a variation of the veritas compulsion charm on Draco to name all of the death eaters he knew and reveal what was required to get a Dark Mark. After the crowd had recovered from the revulsive reply, the Prince started chanting in ancient Egyptian and with his wand wrote fiery runes in the air which summoned the Egyptian Goddess Maat to take The Ferret off to his eternal punishment.

For his first ten years in the House of Lords, Prince Liam was highly observant and amiable to all. He voted to protect individual rights unless they infringed on the rights of others. After the statute of secrecy collapsed, the Wizengamot was consolidated back into the House of Lords. He led the integration and excelled at protecting the Queen's interests.

Her Majesty's Mage

Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, had been reading in the family archive and discovered that her predecessor Queen Elizabeth I employed a royal wizard like unto King Arthur's Merlin. Moreover, she recognized her right to have such an advisor and protector coming from either the Black or Potter Families.

In the fall of 1995, Prime Minister John Major arranged for introductions, and Prince Liam accepted the role and swore the requisite oaths. He saved her life on many occasions, and the only reason he was not there to protect the Royal Family in 2016 was he was taking time in France to help Countess Fleur recover after she had almost been killed in an attack while the family was shopping in Milan. He was devastated in the wake of the loss of his friends Prince William and Harry. In the royal response to the Neo-Death Eaters, Prince Liam reminded them why that attack had been the worst mistake of their lives when the full fury of the head of the Black and Le Fay families came upon them.

In 2019, the Queen asked Prince Liam to train Duke Potter's oldest son, Lord James Potter to take over the reins so that Prince Liam would have more time with his children and his Godson, Crown Prince Charles.

Won Nobel Prizes and Other Notable Accolades

Quite apart from his fame as a world statesman and global strategist, he won distinction as a financier―the likeness not seen since JP Morgan or Warren Buffett―and fame as a professor, historian, and dueler both with a sword and a wand. His dissertation at the London School of Economics earned him a Nobel Prize in Economics due to the forecasting of the end of the tech bubble in 2000 as well as his recommendations to safeguard against the next bubble. In 2017, he and Duke Potter shared the Prize for Literature due to their biographies of the Hogwarts Founders. In 2056, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for with a special citation paid tribute to his negotiation of the ceasefire that stopped the escalation of what surely would have been World War IV.

In 1998, Queen Elizabeth II conferred upon him the highest order of chivalry and reinstated the Black Family Duchy that had been lost due to the International Act of Secrecy.

In 1999, President Jacques Chirac awarded Prince Liam and Countess Fleur the Légion d'Honneur for multiple battles with Death Eaters that were recruiting in France and trying to intimidate first generation magicals.

In 2016, after Neo-Death Eaters had killed all of the Royal family, except Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and in turn the recently conceived King Charles III. Under the impression that her bloodline had been ended, Queen Elizabeth II recognized Black's right to be the Crown Prince through his Le Fay Family ties (remember Morgana Le Fay was King Arthur's half-sister). King Charles III's birth was nothing short of miraculous and Black's service as the monarch of England was not necessary.

The Professor

Although invited many times to return and teach at Mahoutokoro, Prince Liam stayed in Europe to be close to his growing family and to maintain his services to the Queen. When an opening in the part-time Dueling Professorship opened up at Beauxbatons in 2021, he jumped at the chance to impart one of his passions to the upcoming generation. In 2030, Professor Flitwick retired, and he was the obvious choice for the head of the Ravenclaw House. He took on the roll with his daughter Ann as his assistant. He stayed there until his godson; the King asked him to lead the neo-Labour party in the new election after Rasputin's terrorist attack decimated much of the House of Commons in 2038.

Warned of Purim, Rasputin, and Zheng Rise

With his extensive holdings in Asia, he heard from managers that Russian companies were failing to uphold deals at an above average rate starting in 2010. After thorough quantitative analysis and scrying, the forecast was poor for the Rule of Law and proper profits for the foreseeable future. He divested of the last Russian operations just before Putin was sworn in on May 7, 2012. He had notified the Queen of his thoughts in 2010 and wrote an op-ed in the papers mentioned above advising of his concern for business an eventual expansionism. His prediction came true for Crimea in 2014 and the rest of Ukraine in summer 2017. Many in the Alliance turned a blind eye as the Bear didn't expand again until 2033.

Grigori Rasputin supposedly was killed by the Dark Lord Grindelwald in 1916, but a soul anchor was used, but he hid it so well that he wasn't revived until 2032 when Putin was spending Billions in ways to prolong his life. Prince Liam had spies that discovered Putin's goals a week after the restoration ritual was completed and he warned The U.K. and her allies of the new threat.

Zheng was always an interesting rise as he rode the popular wave of discontent of China's poor in their rebellion in 2028. Prince Liam always laughed at the irony that a communist country had a proletariat revolution. Although saddened China's magical history, knowledge, and practitioners destroyed in Mao's Cultural Revolution and World War II, The Prince was glad he didn't have to lead the fight against the magical force that had been available in the late 19th century on top of Rasputin's force. Here again, Black had cut his counterparty risk to China by 2026. He took flak from some of his investors and managers that decided to fight him in a proxy battle over perceived negligence to those companies' profitability. With the writing on the wall, he offered a 7% discount for them to buy out the highly profitable Chinese operations. Those poor souls that bought out the operations on leverage were bankrupt by 2029.

Zheng's revolution had decimated China's economy and 40% of the population until he won complete control in 2034 with help from Rasputin. Zheng bloody iron grip was highly concerning to Prince Liam even though Zheng's aggression seemed to be contained inside of China. The Bear and the Dragon joined forces to create a great expanding empire.

Tragedy

He lost his father at age 2, his maternal family and his mother at 15, his Great-Grandfather at 17 his first wife, and Lady Élodie and their unborn daughter at 18. Countess Fleur was seriously injured when he was 39, and they lost their infant daughter in the attack. At age 68, he lost his dearest Duchess Daphne in the London Bombing perpetrated by Rasputin's shock troopers. At 80, he lost his beloved Countess Fleur to Nundu Fever.

The great Author/Historian

He collaborated in an updated version of the Intelligent Investor with Warren Buffet and Jason Zweig in 2010. A further collaboration for an updated version of Security Analysis with Warren Buffett was published before Buffett's passing in 2021.

After becoming friends with Duke Potter, they co-authored a Biography on each of the founders. They also co-authored the authoritative books on the Slytherin, Gryffindor, and Ravenclaw families. The last collaboration was on Hogwarts. Hogwarts a History was a highly whitewashed history of the school.

In his 60's he wrote the best-selling history of World War III.

His last books on the inside story of his time as the PM and how the world avoided war in 2056 have been completed but due to National Security concerns will not be published until the 120th anniversary of his birth.

Author's Note: Thanks for reading. Updates will at least monthly. Feel free to comment.