Remus sighed, and looked down at the letter from Maroculus sitting on the footstool in front of him, he stared again at the last sentence of the letter, and pushed down the panic before rising and heading to bed as well. Exhaustion from the lack of sleep over the last few days catching up with him finally.
The court date has been set for the 2nd of January 1982. I know it's soon, but we must get this sorted out. I'll keep you updated.
Maroculus Fawley.
9th December 1981
10am
Longbottom's Loke – Snowdonia, Wales
The past few days had passed quickly for Sirius and Remus; in a whirl of looking after Alphard, planning for the Black family meeting, and Remus working. Before they knew it, Wednesday, and the meeting, were upon them. Callidora had volunteered the Longbottom ancestral home where she and Harfang lived, now that Frank and Alice had the Manor – as was Frank's birth right as the heir – to be used for the meeting. Harfang hadn't been overly happy with that arrangement, but she had convinced him.
Sirius and Remus were the first to arrive, Alphard in Sirius' arms. They apparated straight onto the grounds in front of the large, and slightly imposing, front door. The wards had been modified to let everyone in for the meeting.
There was a light dusting of snow covering the grounds, though it was melting away into nothing even as they approached the door. The snow was a stark contrast to the overcast, grey day they had left in East Anglia only a few minutes before; snow was a rare, and usually January or February, occurrence in most of the southern parts of the UK after all. Wales, and especially Snowdonia, was an exception to the rule.
Remus lifted his hand to the large knocker on the door and picked it up, letting it swing back with a dull thud that the two canines could hear echoing through the large house. The door swung open almost immediately, and a well-dressed House Elf stood on the other side. It ushered them in, and reached for their cloaks. Both men handed them over, and then followed the elf down a large corridor lined with Longbottom portraits, and into a large meeting room at one end.
Callidora and Harfang were already seated at the table, but they rose to greet their guests when they arrived. "Good morning, boys." Callidora accepted the light kiss in greeting that Sirius bestowed upon her cheek, as was custom. She gestured to the seats opposite Harfang, "You're in the heir's seat, Sirius. Remus, you're beside him." Sirius narrowed his eyes at Callidora's obvious meddling, and resolved to have a talk with her about it later. Remus sat beside Sirius, as the former settled Alphard in his arms more comfortably. Remus didn't see any outward sign from Sirius to show whether he thought it was odd that Callidora had seated Remus in the position usually reserved for the spouse of the heir, but he wished that it was because he was actually the heir's spouse.
Callidora herself took the seat opposite Sirius, to the left of the chair at the head of the table; the seat usually reserved for either the host or the spouse of the Head of House. As the two were not one in the same for once, Callidora had the seat, and Melania would be seated further down the table; where the non-blood relations would be seated. Sirius found the ridiculous pureblood customs easier to settle into than he expected, and suspected that if he even tried to explain all the nuances to his werewolf friend the latter would just tune him out.
"How have you been, Mrs. Longbottom?" Remus asked kindly.
"Please call me Callidora, Mr. Lupin, and I must insist we dispense with the droll niceties. They are awfully boring, don't you find?" She smiled slyly at the two young men, ignoring Harfang rolling his eyes beside her.
"Then I must insist you call me Remus, Callidora." Remus said with a flattered smile, not used to pureblood families, unless they were the Potters, treating him like he was an equal.
"Do you know the exact numbers?" Sirius asked, shifting in his seat to reach out, and take the cup of juice, that a House Elf had just set in front of him for Alphard. The young boy was making grabby hands for it as Sirius brought it closer, smiling softly at his son and eternally grateful that Alphard was cooperating, and being quiet as asked.
"Not entirely." It was Harfang who responded, taking a delicate sip of the wizard's blend tea that had just been set down in front of him. "We know that most people Callie invited will be attending, but not all of the offspring will be coming."
"Is Neville coming? It would be nice for Alphard to be distracted by someone his own age so that he's not bored throughout the meeting."
Callidora nodded, "Alice is going to take him, and any other children that are brought along, into the sitting room down the hall to distract them. I'm sure she'd be happy to take your son too." Callidora's sharp grey eyes assessed the one-year-old in Sirius' arms, from his head of thick black waves, so like every other Black's, to his pale blue-green eyes, so unlike every other Black's. "Are his eyes inherited from his mother?" She asked, looking up at Sirius, their identical grey eyes locking for a moment.
He nodded, running his large hand gently through Alphard's thick hair. It was rare for any Black to possess the traits from the non-Black family members. Narcissa with her sheet of smooth, straight pale blonde hair, Cedrella, Callidora's younger sister, with her bouncy dark red curls, and Cassiopeia with her golden-brown eyes, were all exceptions to the rule that every Black had thick, black wavy or curly hair – wild in some cases, like Bellatrix, Andromeda and Dorea (who Sirius partly blamed for James' awful mess of hair) – and grey eyes somewhere on the spectrum from pale, to silver, to dark.
They didn't have any more chance to talk before others were entering the room in a steady stream. The Weasleys entered together, as did the rest of the Longbottoms, taking their seats when they found the small name plates that Callidora had laid out.
Remus watched silently as everyone entered, noting that he and Sirius were the youngest at their end of the table. Cassiopeia Black, an intimidating woman who looked strikingly like her younger sister Dorea, except for her eyes, took her seat beside Remus and sent him a coy smile that had him blushing and stuttering out a hello. Sirius cackled quietly beside his best friend, winking when Remus shot him a desperate look. He'd forgotten that all Blacks were as shameless as Sirius.
Cedrella and Septimus Weasley were seated next to Callidora and Harfang and Remus noticed that all down the table it was the Black family member, related by blood, who sat closer to the Head of House than their spouse, regardless of gender. Lucretia Prewett took her seat beside Cassiopeia, pulling her husband down beside her, and narrowing her eyes at Lucinda Crouch who sat opposite Ignatius, and was clearly checking the older man out.
Marniette Edgecombe sat next to her sister, a composed Narcissa Malfoy settling coolly on her other side. Remus observed the taciturn greetings between some, and the happier ones between others. Andromeda and Ted had just taken their places the other side of Ignatius, opposite Marniette and Narcissa, and Ted sent Sirius and Remus a thumb's up behind the other guests, whilst Andromeda glared daggers at her younger sister. The Longbottoms – Algernon, Enid and Frank – took seats beside Ted and Narcissa respectively, with Cedrella's sons next to Enid on Callidora's side of the table. Lysandra Black, née Yaxley, Callidora and Cedrella's mother took her seat beside her great-grandson Frank Longbottom gracefully, Harold Edgecombe, seated on her other side shifted in surprise at being seated beside his wife's grandmother.
Alice Longbottom had drifted in earlier, and taken a protesting Alphard from Sirius to join her, Nymphadora, and Marietta Edgecombe – Marniette's daughter – in the sitting room with Neville, Molly Weasley and the brood of Weasley children.
The final two to enter, Arcturus Black and his wife Melania, caused a stir as he strode down the table towards the seat delegated for him as Head of House, whilst Melania took her seat beside Arthur Weasley at the other end of the table.
Arcturus rested a hand lightly on his daughter, Lucretia's, shoulder as he passed her on the way down the table, and clapped Sirius, his heir, on the back as he settled into the plush seat at the head. He turned his unnervingly silver eyes on Callidora. "You called us here, cousin," He started in a deep voice that resonated around the room. "You must have a bloody good reason for calling every member of the Black family together." He paused, and let his eyes drift over those gathered for a moment, "Though I see that Pollux and Walburga aren't here, so I'll amend that to every Black who isn't completely insane."
Callidora didn't shrink under her cousin's gaze, regardless of whether he was the Head of House or not. She sat up straighter in her chair, cleared her throat delicately, and outlined the reason she had called the meeting, "As you will all now know from the Daily Prophet, Peter Pettigrew has been arrested for his role in the murders of the Potters." Almost every eye around the table turned to Sirius and Remus before snapping away. There had been many a surprised, and suspicious, look sent Sirius' direction when some of the Black family members had noticed him in the room. After his disappearance for the last month many people believed that he was either dead, or guilty and in hiding. As he was heir to the House of Black no one had dared to say anything, but Sirius, Remus, and Callidora had all taken note that Arthur Weasley was sending Sirius very wary and suspicious looks.
"Why are we meeting to talk about Pettigrew?" Narcissa snapped from further down the table, sneering at Andromeda when the latter retorted.
"Maybe if you didn't interrupt, Narcissa, then you would find out." Ted put a calming hand on his wife's arm, but she shook him off and pointedly turned her attention back towards Callidora.
"Indeed, thank you Andromeda. I was about to inform you all." Callidora lounged back in her chair, looking to all like she had all the time in the world. "This has shocked a lot of people because they thought that Sirius was the secret keeper for the Potters. This isn't true. Dumbledore is determined, however, that it is correct and that Pettigrew will be proved innocent. Pettigrew is a Death Eater, and when Sirius unknowingly suggested they switch secret keepers as no one would suspect him, Pettigrew used the opportunity to reveal the Potters home to You-Know-Who almost straight away. We've managed to ensure that the Minister will be the Chief of the Wizengamot for the trial, but Dumbledore will still try to prevent the trial from going ahead as much as he can." Callidora made eye contact with the Black family members seated around the table, ensuring that they understood the seriousness of the situation.
"What we propose," Harfang spoke up from beside his wife, leaning forward in his chair in direct contrast to Callidora who still looked relaxed. "Is that every family member here throws the weight of their family name behind ensuring that Pettigrew is pronounced guilty, and Sirius is cleared of all charges."
Callidora made eye contact with Arcturus, who looked intrigued at the proposal and furious that anyone would try to accuse his heir of murder, and consorting with the enemy. "Many of you hold seats in the Wizengamot, especially when we consider that some of you are Sacred Twenty-Eight," She made eye contact around the table with the multiple Black family members who were related to other Sacred Twenty-Eight families, they would be able to have even greater influence over the trial with so many pureblood families married into the Blacks.
"We also have Maroculus Fawley, the Auror, on our side." Sirius spoke up finally, "He's going to talk his Head of House into voting for Pettigrew's guilt. If every family that holds a Wizengamot seat, or could talk to their relatives about voting correctly," Here Sirius looked at his grandmother and Lysandra, whom both nodded curtly, "Then we may be able to prove my innocence, and prevent this family from losing its only heir." Remus resolutely didn't look at Sirius, as he knew his face may give away the lie that Sirius had just sprouted.
"What proof do we have that you're innocent?" Marniette spoke up from her seat, leaning forward to look further up the table at Sirius.
Ignatius, whom Sirius had always been rather close with, interrupted before Sirius could defend himself, "Well, Edgecombe, how about the fact that he was willing to show his face at this meeting? Or, how about, you just shut the hell up and listen, because I'm sure they were about to provide us with proof. The Black family are notorious for their calculating ways after all," Here Ignatius sent a wink at his wife who huffed and flicked his ear lightly, "and I'm sure the illustrious Mrs. Longbottom has a plan."
Callidora smirked at the grin Ignatius sent her way and nodded politely, "Indeed I do. Sirius has willingly provided his untampered memories of the night-"
"I'm sorry, aunt Callidora, but how do you know that they're untampered memories?" Arthur asked, leaning forward in his seat with a frown on his freckled face.
Cedrella, his mother, let out an aggrieved sigh and sent an apologetic look at her sister, "Honestly, Arthur." She muttered angrily.
Andromeda let her head thunk back against the top of her chair as she snapped, "Why don't you shut up and let them bloody finish." She lifted her head, and sent Arthur a scathing look.
He narrowed his eyes but sat back in his seat. Sirius thought he looked ridiculously petulant, "Why should we trust someone who betrayed his friends?" Arthur snapped sullenly, but still clear enough for everyone to hear.
"Be quiet, grandson. You are not a Black, and you insult our family every time you open your mouth." Lysandra Black's voice cut like a silencing spell through the brewing argument between Andromeda and Arthur. Remus was surprised – out of all the family members he was expecting to fight, it wasn't those two.
Callidora sighed and held up a hand to stop the retort clearly brewing in Arthur, "I know, nephew, because I'm not stupid, and I'm able to recognise tampered memories very easily. I will also show you the memories with Sirius' permission, and you will be able to see for yourself that they are untampered." Callidora paused, clearly waiting for another interruption. When there were finally no more disruptions from anyone round the table, Callidora drew her wand and with a complex piece of – slightly dark – magic she played Sirius' memories for the room to see.
"Now," Harfang said, once the memories had finished, sitting forward again and picking up his cold tea. "Who is willing to help?"
There was silence for a few seconds before Lucretia voiced her assent. Other voices around the table joined in, until it was only Arcturus who hadn't offered a word since the beginning. Callidora turned to the Black Head of House, and raised a silent eyebrow. He offered her nothing for a moment so she turned to Sirius and nodded her head imperceptibly. Sirius rose from the table, and fetched Alphard from the sitting room, carrying his son back to his seat at the table. He caused a stir as he walked back into the room with his son on his hip.
"Grandfather," Sirius started as he sat down, adjusting Alphard on his lap, "This is my son and heir, Alphard James Black."
Arcturus examined the child briefly before a slightly unnerving smile spread across his face, "I will help. If there are two heirs for the title, then the Black family is secure and I will not have the meddling headmaster of Hogwarts take that away from us." He stood from his seat. Not even past his 100th birthday yet, Arcturus Black was still in his prime; with thick Black hair, peppered with silver and white, and bright silver eyes. "We have a lot of power in Wizarding Britain, I think it's time we used some of it. I will coordinate over plans with Callidora. You are all dismissed."
Callidora and Harfang didn't make a noise of protest over Arcturus being the one to dismiss everyone in their house. As the Black family members streamed out of the room there was more chatter than when everyone had arrived, though Sirius noticed Narcissa looking lost as she stood from the table. His heart ached for the cousin he had once been close to. He made a split-second decision, and, after handing Alphard to Remus, he careened round the table, and came to a stop beside her before she could leave.