Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling, I am just playing in her world
Catch a Falling Star
Madam Longbottom was enjoying an early coffee break with Belinda Edgecombe. She didn't really like the woman, She'd been a Hufflepuff, enough said. Belinda though had a niece that worked in the floo office of the ministry, whom was a source of current information and the occasional scandal. She had obviously decided that something was important enough to contact her aunt at the beginning of her shift. Obviously Belinda had agreed because she had begged to come over to Longbottom Manor for an early cup of coffee. She had been hyping the information, hopefully she would actually say what it was and Augusta could decide if it was worth knowing or a fuss about hot air.
"Augusta it is amazing! Not happened in centuries. The Black wards have gone on lockdown." Belinda exclaimed.
Augusta nearly choked on her last sip of coffee. She was positive that Belinda had timed it that way. She was a spiteful witch. Probably still hung on what happened sixth year with Marcus, Belinda should thank her for that, obviously not good material. Or at least have forgotten it by now. She had. This was huge news especially with the war starting up again. However, Belinda had started prattling again and Augusta's thoughts were derailed.
"The Lockdown wards are not the only thing though. You'll never guess. Narcissa Malfoy nee Black came to the ministry, strode into an ongoing wizengamot session that was discussing the very lockdown, and began demanding to know which upstart was trying to claim the ancestral home of Black from her.
"She was all poised to prove how her claim was superior to Potter's who she thought was under the lockdown wards and stolen her property. The fuss resulted in arguing. People openly accused her of being in you-know-who's service. Of her son, Draco, being the murderer of Dumbledore.
"Then it came out that Potter wasn't the one that the lockdown wards had gone up over. It seems that Sirius Black had a bastard. It shouldn't be so surprising. More surprising is that he only has one."
"How did they determine that?" Augusta queried.
"Narcissa confirmed it while losing a chunk of her magic. They say she is just above a squib now. She can't cast more than six to seven simple charms a day or risks magical exhaustion. She was so shocked and it was really painful. Can you not imagine it, barging in on the deliberations and bold as brass she demanded on magic that as she was a Black on birth, had not been convicted of any crime, had not been evicted from the family, and aside her two older sisters was the closest to Prima Black and deserving of heirship of Black.
"Magic disagreed and she was punished. The only two possibilities thought of her claim failing are known to be dead, Regulus and Sirius Black. Regulus was an upright young lad that was killed in the first war and would never had been the cause for a bastard to be born. Sirius however, was a complete scoundrel, and thus his child even if a bastard would be the source of a closer claim for Prima Black. It couldn't be Potter that caused the lockdown wards as his closest tie to the family is through his grandmother Dorea Potter nee Black and Narcissa would not have lost her challenge.
"To think the bastard get of one of You-Know-Who's top lieutenants would be the next best attack after Potter's that gave us a reprieve from the horrors for a few years. Could you imagine if he and his death eaters had access to Black Manor under lockdown wards? Now we don't know if it might not have been a good thing for the only wizard to escape from Azkaban, to escape. The bastard might not have been conceived if he hadn't escaped."
"Is it thought that Narcissa was there on you-know-who's orders to try to gain control of lockdown wards?" Augusta asked.
"That and get hold of Potter. You-know-who obviously thought that he was hiding there. Also the Blacks' were well off so there would be the fortune to try to get control of as well." Belinda replied. "We are just lucky that Sirius was killed a year ago when all those death eaters were caught at the ministry. Your grandson was there, wasn't here with Potter?
Belinda carried on not waiting for an answer. "Just think if Sirius was still alive then you-know-who would have access to the Black fortune and the lockdown wards. Though they might not have gone lockdown…
"Sirius Black was on our and Harry Potter's side." Neville said having heard enough attacks on his best friend's godfather. "He was never given a trial and wasn't the traitor, Harry told me."
"Oh posh boy, this happened when you both were babies. We had all the evidence. Everyone knew he was the Potter's secret keeper and he was perfectly healthy murdering that poor Pettigrew boy. He must have willingly given the secret to you-know-who and of course we weren't giving a Black a trial. He would have got off." Belinda informed Neville.
Madam Longbottom continued explaining. "Neville, there has not been a single black convicted for a crime ever. When we tried Lestrange for what she did to my son, your parents and she was gloating and letting everyone know she did it. The only argument the defense and prosecution fought over was allowing 'nee Black' in the formal charge against the accused. Thankfully we won. We were not risking seeing if that would be enough to get her an acquittal.
"Weird things occurred in every trial against a Black. The evidence vanished; a witness went missing or changed their testimony. Procedural mistakes would cause key points to be overturned. So there is no conspiracy. We deliberately didn't give him a trial because he would have got off. Even then he managed to escape, the only person to ever escape from Azkaban."
"Your grandmother is right, Neville. Anyway I really need to get going. Thank you for the coffee Augusta."
After Belinda had left Madam Longbottom turned back to Neville. "You still think Sirius is on Potter's side even after all we said?"
"I know grandmother; I was there at the ministry with Sirius fighting on our side. I saw Bellatrix curse him into the veil of death in the death chamber. I've been told by Harry that Pettigrew was both the secret keeper and the traitor. He framed Sirius with the explosion that killed twelve muggles and is still alive. He did the ritual that brought you-know-who back using Harry's blood." Neville said. "During the fight I clearly saw Sirius defending Harry."
Heather and Hermione returned from Diagon alley via house elf travel with the books on wards, Bill Weasley had recommended to them yesterday, to get. A few defense books, some potion ingredients, pet supplies for both Crookshanks and Hedwig, a container of hairs plucked from a female half-kneazle in the magical menagerie store, a few groceries and for reasons Hermione refused to elaborate and just blushed furiously, one alarm clock. The groceries and clockwork alarm clock had actually been bought from muggle London at the start of their errand.
Whilst shopping Hermione had shared with Heather a couple of the things Moody had discussed the other day while she was learning how to check and maintain the Black wards. The first explained the whole reason for fearing saying Voldemort's name and the use of you-know-who. When she told Heather they both cursed Dumbledore's stupidity in encouraging Voldemort's name to be used. It would be nice if their other friend who grew up the in the magical world had thought to mention the ability of the taboo spell too. Needless to say they now had to unlearn saying a name that had become habit.
The second thing discussed was that Moody agreed completely with Hermione's ideas of muddying the name. He apparently had several names he was using for Heather. He had believed that though having people think of a name to use that no one else knew. Multiple was even better than just one name. Heather thankful for what he volunteered to do for her hoped his extra effort was beneficial and worth it.
Heather organized their goods into two areas. One had their groceries and the other was all their other purchases. While Hermione took their purchases upstairs Heather headed to the kitchen with the groceries to get started on lunch and prep work for dinner. During this morning's family meeting they had determined they would notify their grandparents that the two of them didn't need to drive. Stating they had a surprise treat to get them to the Granger family that just needed them packed and ready to leave. They of course would surprise them in the morning that their grandparents had intended to leave, and inform them of magic and 'pop' them on house elf airlines to Grimmauld Place.
They intended to leave the ministry alone and hope it did likewise and planned to go into the war effort discussion after dinner as Luna would be arriving this evening. This was why most of Heather's attention was on making that meal, lunch was just a light affair too. She was pouring milk into the saucepan on a low flame that contained sugar, cocoa and cornstarch in it while using her wand in the other hand to cause the mixture to stir together, when mum arrived and looked over her shoulder.
"That seems a lot of sugar for a light lunch?"
"It is for dinner." Heather replied.
"Normally we eat lunch before dinner. What is it anyway? I though you said you were cooking herb crusted halibut for dinner? I don't think I want that sugary chocolate gravy on it."
"I am preparing this first as it needs to set and cool in the fridge, where it will go when I have finished cooking and added a couple more ingredients to it. I will have plenty of time to get our light lunch thrown together afterward. When this is finished it will not be going on the main course, it will be dessert, chocolate pudding to be exact."
"Oh ho Heather, care to explain your choice of desserts for tonight's dinner?" Hermione asked arriving in the kitchen.
"I felt it would go well after the savory fish." Heather flippantly replied while using her wand to turn on the burner beneath the smaller sauce pan that had pats of butter in it and adjusted the flame to allow the butter to quickly melt but not burn. She then resumed using her wand to stir the contents of the main saucepan.
"So it has nothing to do with Luna's favorite food being pudding? Also there seems to be rather a lot for the five of us." Hermione sweetly asked while Heather blushed, and their mum smiled.
"It takes as much effort to make sixteen servings as four. It will keep in the fridge for another day," then mumbled, "if not eaten." To quickly cover the aside she attacked politely, "Hermione can you add eight teaspoons of vanilla extract onto the melting butter please, you may as well be useful if you're in my kitchen."
"Play nice girls. I am sure Luna would love to hear you made her chocolate pudding, together." Mum said, while noting that Hermione did measure the extract into the nearly melted butter.
Happy with the consistency of the main saucepan, Heather glanced over to the other and wafted her wand at it so it mixed too and the last of the butter melted. She then lifted the smaller pan while using her wand to turn off its now unneeded flame and poured it into the thickening chocolate mixture in the larger pan still being heated, allowing the flavored liquid butter, to fold in.
She left it self-stirring under minimal heat and rinsed out the smaller sauce pan and left it to soak in the sink. Having rinsed her hands she laid out sixteen bowls on the counter beside the oven and when she was happy with the mixture, turned off this burner too.
"That's it?" Hermione asked.
"Yes simple pudding is really easy to make. You can add complexity though so it can become significantly harder in gradual increments. So it is a good way to learn how to cook from simple through difficult skill level, while providing a great reward for passing the latest test. Do you want to share it between the bowls?"
With Hermione occupied she removed the lettuce she had washed earlier form the fridge and started making the salad for the four of them for lunch.
"So what is that then?" Mum asked looking at the third untouched pan with water covering its contents on one of the rear unlit burners. "You do know that it isn't cooking?"
"Yes it is soaking. I'll change the water and start cooking the lentils after we finish lunch." Heather stated while her wand was conducting a chopping symphony over five cutting boards. On one she was shredding lettuce, the next julienned carrots. The third board had a knife slicing tomatoes, fourth chopped walnuts, and the fifth cut mushrooms. Beside the boards three different cheeses were rubbing up against three grates above a bowl.
Her mum just looked at the spectacle. "It feels like you're cheating. When you said cooking calms you I imagined all the work and thought how could you find that calming? But this, I think it should be called something else."
"This is my first time doing it with magic. I find both ways calming. With our stove I have to use magic as there are no controls or igniters for the hobs. I guess you could use a match but you need magic to turn the gas on and the spell turns it on and lights it at the same time. I will say that I will probably always use magic to wash-up afterward. I have no interest in doing that the normal way." Heather waved her wand again with incantation and the prepped salad ingredients were tossed together into the serving bowl.
"So the lentils, are they the only vegetable?"
No tonight's dinner,for vegetables, we will have lightly steamed asparagus, fresh uncooked julienned tri-colour bell-peppers, and these lentils will be added to wild rice and sultanas in a two to five to one ratio. The vegetables will be served beside the herb crusted halibut. That is quickly pan-seared halibut with a light herb breading sprinkled on the top then browned under the broiler to make the herb crust. It will come with a paprika and cracked white peppercorn white sauce. I plan to not put sugar in the white sauce as we have adequate in the chocolate pudding unless you all have a sweet tooth. White sauce can be made either way but with a little sugar is more prevalent. Without the spices and crushed cloves of shallots it would be too bland to skip the sugar. Of course because of the paprika it will be orange but the base is a simple white sauce."
Heather turned to look at Hermione and her mum staring at her. "You said you had no food allergies or real dislikes, is there something I should change? Other than the lentils I haven't started on anything for dinner. Well I have washed the asparagus and bell peppers but they can stay in the fridge washed to be used another day. Have I made a mistake?" Heather babbled in concern.
"No Heather, the menu for dinner sounds divine. How often did you want to cook?" Her mum asked.
"She can't cook to often mum, we'll get fat." Hermione interjected. "I thought you said something was devilled for dinner tonight is that another name for the meal."
"No, that is the simple appetizer, cracked black peppercorn devilled crabmeat is on alternate square wafers. A herbed cream and ricotta cheese blend is spread on the others to make a checkerboard plate with a light drizzled spicy orange duck sauce on them."
"Heather I think we need to discuss the meaning of the word simple." Her mum declared. "How do you plan to get this already for dinner?"
Heather stuck her tongue out and grinned, "Magic!"
"Is lunch ready?" Dad asked entering Grimmauld Place kitchen.
Madam Longbottom was sitting in Minerva McGonagall's living room enjoying a second cup of coffee. She had passed pleasant small talk with Minerva while thinking through her puzzle. First the lockdown wards and discovery of a bastard child from Sirius. Next that Sirius was innocent and lastly the unknown witch Heather that was known by Hermione had formal training but no magical school attended. If Minerva knew Sirius was innocent things would make sense.
"We are going to have another war now because Pettigrew caused you-know-who to return." Madam Augusta pulled the conversation from trivial things.
"Yes and Fudge wasted a whole year failing to listen to Dumbledore that he was back. Pettigrew followed Potter around during their school years like a little puppy. He was the most cunning though, had all of us fooled. To think we thought Sirius was the traitor causing James and Lily to be killed. Yet all along it had been Pettigrew." Minerva reminisced.
Augusta had to stop herself from crowing. It all made perfect sense, the puzzle was as she had guessed. Minerva had known and arranged teaching the illegitimate daughter of Sirius as he was a fugitive. She debated again trying to get everything she need but decided to get it in two pieces. The first was a legitimate request and it wasn't worth the gamble to ask for it all together and get nothing. Of course this way she gambled that she might end up with partial results where she could have got everything if she was less conservative.
"It must be difficult for a witch to grow up without their complete family. No monogrammed 'Witches Helping Guide' from a close relative that you can lean on in your teenage years." Augusta waxed poignantly.
Minerva confused, tried to work out what Augusta was talking about.
"The loss of Sirius must have been devastating. If I knew her middle initial I would be honored to provide the book. I am sure no one has given one to Heather Black."
Minerva was swept into the emotion. Augusta must have been informed about Harry; she automatically thought it would be a good idea as he would need to be a teenage witch for this next year when such a book was beneficial and she didn't have one. Without thinking she had offered the initial 'J' as she thought of Harry's actual name then suddenly remembered Moody mentioning last night something about ensuring Heather's name was not known or discussed. "Augusta I think you should leave now." She leveled a fierce glare toward Madam Longbottom. Letting her know she wouldn't be getting the actual name.
After eating lunch during which the family ribbed Heather a little on the proposed dinner menu, Heather got started on the appetizer. She found Kreacher had washed up all the prep tools that she had left soaking in the sink and was very happy with him. As she added the orange peel and zest into the mixture of old-fashioned-thick-cut marmalade from the Granger's pantry and the apricot preserves she'd purchased, she thought of the upcoming dinner and Luna.
In a bit less than a couple of hours Hermione, mum and herself would take the house elf express to the rookery and would return with Luna and her things. However, while she was getting the last prep done the two of them were going to run about London, Kreacher returning for fill ups of Heather's magic as needed. Dad thankfully just wanted to stay home and read or they would have had to get the house elf to double pop to get the three of them out without Heather. The potential glaring bottle neck had them at lunch discussing if they could also get Dobby into Grimmauld Place. Heather was pleasantly surprised with Hermione's new take on house elves considering her prior stance. She didn't point it out just quietly kept it to herself how glad she was that it wasn't an issue, and hoped it would remain that way.
She also was getting nervous the closer it came time for Luna to arrive. Heather was glad she had the plans for dinner to keep her occupied. She would have been far more nervous otherwise. She added cayenne, chili powder, white rice vinegar and soy sauce. Used magic to mince a couple of cloves of garlicand after grating some ginger from the root, finished up the spicy orange duck sauce and placed that into the fridge.
Humming happily and relaxing into the remainder of things to prep, and looking forward to Luna's and her families' enjoyment of the meal, it made her feel needed, a member of the family, it gave her acceptance. She was no longer alone. Aside lunch which was too simple, thus didn't really count, this was the first meal she was cooking for family. Imagining Hermione and Luna thanking her, after eating the meal she made nearly from scratch made her feel good. She had cheated on the preserves and marmalade, but it was not like she had a couple of days to cook those first. Thinking of the looks on their faces and she was blushing, memories of last night with Hermione, and two days ago in the waiting room of Kings Cross station.
No, it was just feelings of strong friendship. Hermione had become her best friend, and Luna could too. The comments that her mum and Hermione had made were just muddying the water and made her think things she otherwise wouldn't. Using her wand she beat the plain cream, and ricotta cheeses together, venting her frustration, then folded in the chosen herbs when it had been beaten spreadable.
"We're leaving we will be back shortly," her mum stated, giving her a quick hug. "Don't work too hard. You can ask your dad for help he is just reading a book in the drawing room."
"Thanks I am having fun, only two more things to do and then I have two hours of almost nothing to do in the kitchen.I was thinking I'll take shower and change." She then used her wand over two containers, of black and white peppercorns, crushing the first coarsely and grinding the second slightly finer.
"That is so cheating!" Mum said.
Heather stuck her tongue out at her, while adding crabmeat to the coarsely crushed black peppercorn container using wand instead of spoon. "It does save time."
Less than half an hour later and everything was prepped for all three courses of dinner and she was enjoying a hot shower. She had not reset the glamour so she could get her fur completely cleaned. She figured it must have been because the half-kneazle was Crookshanks but she didn't have the lower set of teats around her navel that a cat would his hair had provided fur, ears, tail and was preventing her from turning back. Everything else Heather, came from Hermione. Getting out and cleaning all the clumps of hair that were all over the cubicle, she then used a hair dryer and soft brush to get all the water out of her fur.
Allowing her current desires to rule, and knowing the house empty aside Kreacher and her dad reading two floors below, she left the towels hung up and strutted across the landing to Hermione's room, bare except for a pair of knickers and her fur. Within Hermione's wardrobe was the low backed dress she had worn momentarily on the Hogwarts Express trip home. Well she could always apologize if her sister didn't want her wearing it.
Augusta looked at the contract form. She lost her son in the first war, but if she acted fast could protect her grandson behind lockdown wards during the second. Well time to see if her guess work was right. Using the blood quill she wrote in the full name she believed the witch to be. Would her guess for middle name be correct? There had been only one choice for a star or constellation starting with 'J', the name for a star within the Scorpius constellation. Likely meaning if that is her middle name that she was born during that zodiac sign. If it was right she would purchase the book, monogrammed 'H. J. B.' along with a chain necklace with a topaz stone, to give as gifts with the contract. Should Heather accept the gifts she would also be accepting the contract and her grandson would be safe.
The contract didn't burn up. The name written in Augusta's blood briefly flared and turned silver. Magic accepted that she had the name right. It was as she guessed, 'Heather Jabbah Black'.