Harsh Truths
"I think it's all on my part, Lord Black, at least you need me for something else?" Griptock asked, looking into the aforementioned eyes.
"No, that's all. Thank you for your services, Griptock. Take what is owed to you, plus the ten percent from the main vault" Jason replied with a polite smile, to which the goblin nodded and proceeded to pick up the things to be able to retire. After all, now the reading of the testimony was over, he had nothing to do in the house and was burning with desire to return to Gringotts, since he was not in the mood to lose money. And for him, as for any other goblin, time is money.
"As always it was a pleasure to serve the Old and Noble House of the Blacks". The farewell was received by three educations inclinations of head on the part of the adults in the room
Jason watched the figure of his handler disappear by the door, knowing that he would use a Portkey to return to the bank's premises once he was outside the barriers, so the new Lord did not care much about leaving the gobbling alone in his house and instead he focused his attention on his relatives.
He sat on the edge of the desk and his silver gaze went to the other members of his family, studying them for a few moments with a stern expression, before smiling, a warm and pleasant smile.
"Draco, Nymphadora, why do not you go explore the mansion while your mothers and I discuss the affairs of the House? Think of this as a treasure hunt, because if you find something that you really like, you can keep it." He said with a mischievous tone, enjoying the reactions of his nephews, whose immediately got up with expressions full of enthusiasm and left the room almost running to do what their new family leader had told them, just waiting enough to see the nod of their respective mothers.
Once the children left the room his expression changed and he became tarnished with a certain darkness. His magic spread all over the place and his irises glowed golden in a display of power.
"Cissy, Dromeda, I'm surprised to see that you can be in the same room without killing each other" he commented with a light tone while giving them a smile that was more teeth than anything else.
"Oh, the miracles that a bit of Harmony brings with it. Don't you think, Antares?" The blonde haired witch replied cynically as she exchanged with her sister a mocking smile.
"But you already knew that, did not you?" Andromeda asked with a dangerous glow in his silver orbs as she turned to their new Lord.
"Of course" The only man in the room easily agreed while making a gesture to cover the room and showing them a malicious smile "Otherwise this meeting would have ended in tears and a blood bath"
The three laughed in response to such wise comment, their laughter contained a black humor very typical of their family. It was evident for the adult members of House Black that the magic in their veins wanted them to take things slowly and had forced a synchronicity in all of them, to avoid that the fights of the past got in the way of the new era that was opening at their feet.
Forgotten were the fights that had separated them, the pain and anger that came with being betrayed by the family that was supposed to be by your side no matter what happened...
The hatred and resentment had also vanished as soon as they entered the mansion and returned home, thus allowing a clean and new beginning to be possible. Something that would have been impossible without the intervention of magic as it was hard to forget all the bad things between them.
"I know that as a family we have a lot to discuss, but I want us to concentrate on this issue for the moment. I could not help noticing the absence of two people, one of whom would have received the title of Lord if he had been here, so, cousins of mine. What do you know about my mate and James' cub?" Jason voice contained a note of danger that would have made anyone tremble at the possessiveness he had when speaking about Sirius.
However, the sisters did not flinch, knowing that they were not in danger. Not really, because they counted on the protection of their blood and knew that Antares was not going to harm them now that they were part of his pack.
They had not been able to do anything to help Sirius as their complaints fell on the deaf ears of the world. And, of course, the fact that their third was a crazy killer did not help much to argue about Sirius' guilt as he was labelled as any other member of House Black, a dark wizard, a Death Eater.
Now, the matter with The-Boy-Who-Lived was a little more complicated. Both had wanted to adopt the boy in the days following the death of the Potters, but ended up blocked by the ´great´ Albus Dumbledore and never had the opportunity to see the child, let alone contact him. The years passed and the duty to their own families won; for the boy had disappeared from the magical world until the inner year and none of them had dared to contact him when he was at Hogwarts.
"Unfortunately, we do not have good news for you, My Lord, so it will be better for you to sit" Andromeda commented seriously. At what her cousin just an emitted feral growl that caused a shudder to run through her spine, she, unlike Narcissa, found that insane bestiality that had always existed in Antares extremely frightening.
True to be told, no one of them knew why Jason had decided to return to Bulgaria when it was evident that he had a pack in the Marauders, but they both were aware that it didn't matter, the other three boys had been as precious to Antares as Regulus had been…but Sirius had always been his cousin's number one priority and what they were about to tell him would probably be a very hard blow for Jason.
They regretted that they were going to be the ones who caused that pain, but their cousin needed to know. They shared a look and Narcissa started to tell Jason all what had happen in his absence.
When Cissy finished speaking Jason lost control.
Rage. Pain. Hate. Misery. Regret.
All those feelings swirled inside her, making her magic destroy the room, leaving her in ruins (However, I do not touch the place where her cousins were sitting) and her face transformed into a terrifying and disturbing mix between her human features and his wolf features, at the same time a thunderous howl tore the calm of the house.
Jason had always prided himself on having extraordinary control over his magic and his animal instincts, it was his Stark blood and the Black tradition of teaching his children Occlumency, no doubt about it. For even with his heart broken by the death of his little brother and the rejection of his mate, his control didn't stumble, but now...
Now, Sirius was trapped in the place that was much worse than hell itself. He had been there for the last eleven years of his life.
And Harry, the only cub that his previous pack produced, had been raised by Muggles. And from the description Narcissa had given him – about the things Draco had seen during his first year at Hogwarts– he had all the signs of being abused.
Abused!
James and Lily´s cub.
His cub.
He was going to destroy those damned Muggles. Tear them to pieces whit his claws and fangs. As well as the bastard who had put his beloved in that horrible place.
Anger was much better than guilt, so Jason thought of revenge rather than giving in to the torturous thoughts that said it was all his fault.
That if he had taken his herd with him to Bulgaria this would not have happened.
His pack would be alive.
His mate would not be locked in Azkaban.
His cub would have grown up in a home where love abounded instead of being abused.
OoOoOoO
It took Antares a few moments to regain his control and force his magic to relax and his features to return to normal. His breathing was agitated and his eyes were full of tears. His aura only conveyed a feeling: grief. So Narcissa got up and approached, hugging the boy and stroking her hair to comfort him a little.
She and Antares had been pretty close growing as children, for they had a similar personality and beliefs, but of course, they had separated paths after Sirius dragged Jason away from the family by moving with the Potters when they were sixteen.
They were in that position a couple of moments before Jason pulled away a bit with a moderately embarrassed expression, while laughing nervously.
"If you don't mention this to anyone, I'll make sure to give them the best gifts next Christmas," he muttered, trying to joke; still embarrassed by his actions, trying to pretend that nothing had happened.
"And I thought that being your cousins guaranteed us a good Christmas gift ... How sad to know that I've been deceived all my life," Narcissa sarcastically argued while shaking her head slightly. Which helped to relax the mood and the three proceeded to pretend that the embarrassing scene hadn't happen, much to Jason relief.
"Well, if you do not mind, My Lord, I think it's a good time to look for our puppies and have that dinner you promised us," Andromeda added as she got up from her seat.
"It sounds like a good idea," Agreed the new patriarch, smiling at the choice of words from the brunette knowing she had used that kind of speech to please him. Before they went to Hogwarts, Bellatrix always made fun of him for his weird form of expressing himself, but at the same time it was difficult to the sisters not end copping him when they passed the summer together, much to the despair of their parents.
It always had made him happy that his family talked in the way of the Starks. That actually was why he was very happy of being part of the Marauders and why he never felt offended by Remus, because it had been a relief to find another wolf.
OoOoOoO
Dinner was going smoothly. Something that helped Jason to feel better, it had been eleven years since he had last dined in the company of his pack and although there were missing members, it was a good start.
Now, he had planned to recover his mate and his cub, bring them home, ensure they heal and guarantee their happiness.
That was his priority right now. And if to achieve this it was necessary to put the magical world on his knees, he would do it with pleasure, because although he never had the desire to use his knowledge to harm others, he had never hesitate to use his vast knowledge in the Dark Arts to good use. And to make pieces those stupid people who hurt those he had claimed as his own, would be a good start.
However, and luckily for many, it was not in his nature to kill people without rhyme or reason. After all, he was a Slytherin and they were characterized by well-planned plans and the use of cunning to get what they want.
Therefore, he was going to take things slowly.
His new position as Lord Black gave him a good base to get what he wanted as even with everything that had happened the surname Black imposed respect and was loaded with influences.
A cruel and sadistic smile opened up on his lips. He raised his glass and proposed a toast that was chorused by the other four. The witches understood the importance of their words and what they meant, the little ones could not understand everything, but still they could feel the magic vibrating in their veins.
"Long live the Old and Noble House of the Blacks"
OoOoOoO
Once the children were in their beds (it was customary for the family to stay under the same roof until the funeral will take place, so they would spend four days in the mansion and the husbands of Cissy and Dromeda would join them at the event as a sign of respect for the House of their wives) the three adults stayed in a more intimate room.
They had drinks overflowing with the bestFirewhisky, they were discussing the steps to follow to guarantee The Reborn of their House.
It was something exceptional, a united front of all the members of the house. Something that would impose fear on the hearts of the people who had damaged them or who thought of doing it and would raise the hopes of their allies, because it was something that had not happened in at least eight decades.
"Your husband, Ted, is a lawyer, right?" Inquired the Lord, looking calculatingly at Andromeda, who confirmed his information, which brought out a smile in the dark-haired man.
"Excellent" Antares purred. "I need someone I can trust to carry out our legal movements; the processes we have to take to demand the release of my mate, as well as the proper papers for adoption"
"So, are you planning to adopt James's boy?"
"That's right, if I'm not mistaken, Sirius has custody, since it's his godfather and therefore I have the right to take Harry under my protection, but I do not want to risk that stupid Headmaster trying to keep him away from me. Adopting it means that nobody is going to be able to take it from me" His voice was husky and threatening, it contained the same possession as when he spoke of his mate which made the two witches smile, because that only meant that Jason was going to love and protect Harry as if he should be his son.
The boy was not going to suffer abuse again and would enjoy with the unconditional love of a father who would do everything possible for a happy future, as well as with the support of a real family. It would be good by both of them, for the poor child and for their Lord.
"I need your husband to get me the address of that Muggles as soon as possible," he added looking at his blonde accomplice, who simply nodded, preferring to ignore the tone of repulsion that his cousin used when referring to Lucius, knowing that Jason hated to death all Death Eaters because he considered them responsible for the death of Regulus, as well as those of James and Lily.
However, she knew that while her husband was useful, Antares would not eliminate him. And she planned for her partner to be useful in getting her new Lord to get the custody of Harry Potter; Lucius had contacts in the Ministry and now that The-Boy-Who-Lived was back in the Magic World someone should know where the boy resided. And if someone had that knowledge, her husband would be the one getting it.
"I'll send an owl to Lucius to start the search immediately," Narcissa said with a malicious twinkle in his eyes. With Jason at the helm of the family came a new era, a magnificent one for those who enjoyed his favor and this would soon be evident, so she was eager to see how things would change from now on.
After all, his cousin had always had the soul of a conqueror and she better than anyone knew this. Soon, the entire country would remember why you didn't want to mess with the members of the Ancient and Noble House of Black.
