AN: I've decide to make at least two chapters as a highlight reel so to speak. This is mostly so we get to see Nymmie grow and get incite into how Harry and Andromeda progress their relationship (and we might get to see more bad things happen to Ted)
AN2: I received a review by BBryant giving me a tip on sentence structure specifically dialogue which I'll be the first to admit is my weakest area in writing. I have a suspicion that some of the problems has to do with the fact that I am writing this on a smartphone and a mile long paragraph on my phone comes out to single line on a laptop, and sometimes two or more paragraphs get squashed together kind of a 'lost in translation' thing going on there.
(and i am typing this whole story with my thumbs if that isn't commitment I don't know what is). I am making use of said reviewers advice so instead of just making paragraph indentions I'll drop a line to separate paragraphs hopefully it will come out more easy to read like so.
While on the subject of reviews I would like to thank everyone who has posted a review. this is my first fic and now I can see why other authors are so insistent about getting them. It's nice to get feed back. thank you for reading
DISCLAIMER: See Chapter 2.
Number 12 Gimmauld Place, London 4/1/1971,17:00
Arcturus Black was sat behind his in Study, a glass of Ogden's sat of to his right he had already had to refill it twice, so unsettling was the reports he was looking over.
He had a contact in the D.o.M who was able to pass along reports of three incidents that were very Concerning.
The first was the arrival of an unknown man on the 19th of June last year. The Unspeakable who filed the report mentioned it was strongly suspected that Unknown man was from another time line. The most interesting and worrying part of the report was that The man was found wearing Gray robes with his hood hiding his face, The same color and style of the Gray robes the unspeakable themselves wore, came in with his core drained to less than one percent and over the hour he was in their custody his core strength restored to full strength. There was a side note stating that the man's core was much larger than a normal wizards and he was to be interogated by a larger group due his apparent magical strength
Then the Report stated rather alarmingly that once the group entered the room with the suspect they never came out. After a considerable time elapsed they sent someone into the room to check on the status of the interrogation, what they found was fourteen unconscious bodies suffering varying degrees of blunt force trauma and none could remember anything since breakfast that morning. The suspect seemed to have disappeared into thin air, a mind healer attempted to restore their memories but could only salvage an image of the cloaked man saying the name "Reaper."
The mind healer determined that their memories were permanently removed and speculated that the one they had recovered was intentionally planted there. The Unspeakable seemed to think it best to leave the man be after that. He now had a file under the Name "Reaper" the file was stamped with the acronym R.E.D-W. Which stood for "Recognized as Extremely Dangerous Wizard"
As if the first report wasn't unsettling enough the second one sent a chill down his spine. The report was pertaining to an incident taking place just before Christmas of last year describing the brutal slaughter of thirteen werewolves taking place in a German Forest. When they got clearance to look over the crime scene they we're startled by two things.
First, only one foreign magical presence was detected. This one man killed all thirteen Lycans !While a werewolves magical strength isn't anymore powerful than a normal wizards. Their physical strength and reflexes far surpass most humans. They also could move much faster, meaning they can cast spells and dodge spells more efficiently than your average wizard. One man that could take down that many Lycans was not someone you wanted to piss off.
Secondly, they easily matched the foreign Magical signature found at the scene to the man that had escaped them back in June.
The term slaughter was an apt description of the event. Five of the Lycans were cut in half at the upper torso, three more were hit with multiple piercing hexes, one was slain with a killing curse, one was killed from trauma caused by an exploding curse, another had his throat cut open by a dark cutting spell no one recognized,'Greyback was struck with a piercer to the heart and decapitated (his head was not found at the scene, and the last werewolf was decapitated.
In a single night this "Reaper" removed a pack of Werewolves that had been plaguing western Europe since just after Grindlewald fell in 1945.
The final report was relatively tame in comparison occurring just a few weeks ago. a small village South of Veliko-Tarnovo Bulgaria, had a small string of rapes on Muggle women, the rapes were determines to have been committed by two wizards by the Bulgarian Aurors. The night following the attack two men were found dead, stabbed by a poisoned dagger. The first man a Russian named Igor Karkoroff was found dead outside a family cottage having just cast "Alohomora" on the door. He was stabbed in the abdomen and left in the street.
The other man Antonin Dolohov also Russian was stabbed in his left flank just under his ribcage(also with a poisoned dagger), while in the act of raping a seventeen year old muggle girl. Her memory was the only evidence of the Reaper's involvement, because Dolohov asked him who he was with his dying breath. "Reaper"was the only word the man dressed in hooded robes spoke before leaving the area.
This man was a Danger to his family the Blacks had used Grey back for years too terrify their enemies into submission. So far Reaper had been going after people who were attacking the weak, a sort of vigilante. What worried Arcturus was if Reaper could be brought to bear for gold, and his enemies hired the man that would end them. While Arcturus was a powerful wizard In his youth he was now seventy-four years old about middle age for a wizard but he knew he was starting to slow down, No one in his family would be a match for this man. There was a rumor going around that the two incidents were done on contract if that was true then any number of people could put a price on the Blacks.
"And I thought the man currently taking care of my grandaughter was our biggest problem" he muttered outloud. Maybe it would be prudent to welcome her back into the family. The young man seems to care for Andromeda a great deal, he had gotten regular reports from his contact at St. Mungos. Mr. Evans had been escorting Andromeda to all her Healers visits and was in the room for the birth of his great-granddaughter. He had even sent his daughter-in-law to get a measure of the man. He found out his name was Harry Evans a half-blood and according to Druella very protective of his granddaughter.
'He is quite powerful, he could help us against the threat this Reaper might present. I could arrange a marriage between the two but make it so he takes her last name that way as a member of the Black family he would feel obligated to help defend it' Arcturus mused.
So much is the stress of being Lord Black, I had better start training my replacement before Orion's wife drives the poor boy Insane.
Nodding to himself he called for his elf to summon young Sirius, It was time to leave Grimmauld Place for their other property in Wales. Melania would be thrilled she hated this place since that screeching shrew married his oldest son and took up residence.
He would have Sirius stay with him and his wife there until the boy started Hogwarts maybe that was enough time to undo all the damage Walburga had done to his heir.
/C.o.t.R\
Evans Farm, Durham County, England, May 23, 1971, 14:00
Harry was sitting in his office trying to get the details right on his new venture he was going over the figures on his ledger this venture would hopeful make him more would also put the land to use, since he knew nothing about farming his best bet was to hire someone to do it for him.
Harry had fenced off three acres directly around his home and during the night he had levitated the largest of the two Outbuildings all the way to the other end of his property.
Which when he looked over the property on the surveyors map he had received with the Property Deed, he seen that his land looked like a long rectangle with his house on the end furthest away from the road.
The out building looked like it was once used as a barrack of sorts for farm hands. It had a modest common area, a small kitchen, a bathroom, and a room that had four sets of bunk beds.
Earlier that afternoon he had found a site he liked. There he had then done some transfiguring to first form the dirt into a perfectly flat and level slab , the exact dimensions of the building.
Satisfied with that he preceded to transfigure it into solid granite. For the final touch he etched runes in specific places on the granite (the eight points on a compass and direct center) and enchanted the transfigured stone to stay that way permanently.
Setting the house down was easy enough and his permanent sticking charm would hold the house down through a tornado.
The time consuming and tedious part was enchanting the faucets and shower heads to summon hot and cold water from thin air (getting the hot waters tempature right was a bitch).
Then he went on to enchant the toilet tank to refill to a certain level after every flush, And finally after the vanishing enchantments on the elbows of all the drains and the outline on the toilet, the living quarters for the farmers he was hoping to employ to put the other twenty-seven acres of his farm to good use was done.
He had just finished making a deal With the farmer who would be taking care of his new venture.
Turns out finding a willing farmer was simple, by putting an ad in the local paper he got an almost Immediate response from one of his neighbors, Jim Conolly who had a large cattle farm adjacent to his.
He wanted to put the area to use growing Barley and oats and other cereal crops.
"My son can run it, he just finished school and it would teach him how to run a farm on his own" Jim had told him candidly.
. After haggling on the details and finally coming to an agreement. Harry would get twenty-five percent of the prophets and Jims son Mark could stay in the house Harry had set aside for this very reason. They shook hands and that was that.
His thoughts were interrupted by Andromeda walking in without knocking, she looked at him very seriously.
"We have a problem" she said without preamble and continued speaking "well one big problem and a complication" she amended. "
What is the big problem" Harry sighed having a feeling his fickle luck was coming for his ass jaws a' snapping.
"I received a letter from my Grandfather Lord Arcturus Black" Andy said as if that was all that needed to be said.
"Andy what did he say in his letter?" Harry asked in an exasperated voice.
She huffed "He wishes us to have dinner with him this eve, at his cottage in Wales" she sighed out "He also told me I have been brought back into the family, and sent me my trust fund key" she said almost as an afterthought.
Nodding Harry replied "we should probably go, if anything It'll be good to get Nymmie out of the house, and family is important."
"I was afraid you would say that, he is expecting us no later than seven so be prepared my Grandfather can be intense" she Warned him.
"Understood, what was the complication? he asked her.
"well I just got back from St. Mungos for Nymphadora's Dragon Pox potion and her checkup, Healer Rivers insisted he run some scans on me to check how I'm coping with the decrease in hormones and such. His scans showed that I'm pregnant." she finished explaining watching for his reaction.
Harry's mind went blank, he was going to be a father that was just terrifying yet he could keep the grin off of his face. Deep down a family was something he always wanted.
"I thought you were on the potion" he asked trying to give himself time to think this through
. "I was your magic was stronger than the potion I guess" she said looking worried now. "Huh" he said before standing and scooping her out of her chair bridal style and kissing her deeply.
"thats good news, terrifying but good news, when are you due?" he asked excitement clearly evident in his voice.
"November fifth, but that raises another problem. We have to get married or grandfather will chuck me right back out of the family'
Harry nearly dropped her at this proclamation but made the concious decision to set her back in the chair he had picked her up from. 'Married that seemed so sudden, though they had been living together and laying as husband and wife do for going on a year now, the idea was still a scary one but not something he was adverse to.
Most people married for love not jumping into it out of some obligation 'well unless your one of those purebloods who arrange marriages' then it hit him Andromeda came from a family that did exactly that.
Did he love her though? Thinking on it he realized that he had loved her for a while now. She meant the world to him and with that epiphany his decision was made much easier. He came out of his thoughts and back into the present and gave her his answer.
Andromeda watched as Harry set her down and just stood there staring blankly out the window. She was slowly getting more annoyed the longer he stared of into space. She was just about to demand he say something when he seemed to come back to reality saying just one word "Okay. She stared at him for a moment blankly and then smiled and said "Okay"
/C.o.t.R\
Black Cottage, Wales, 5/23/1971, 19:00
Harry stepped out of the floo with Nymmie in his arm, she had changed her eye color to match his own and she was babbling excitedly apparently she thought the floo was fun. Harry stepped to the side and watched as Andromeda followed almost immediately behind him. They both used their wands to vanish soot from their and Nymmie's robes
Harry noticed a kid come into the room, there was no doubt in his mind that this was a much younger version of his godfather. He still had baby fat around his cheeks but Harry could easily recognize the man this child would grow into.
Harry's analysis was brought to halt as Sirius spoke nervously "welcome cousin, welcome Mr. Evans please allow me to lead you to the dinning room, Lord Black is expecting you."
Harry gave Sirius an encouraging smile and replied "Lead the way Heir Black."
Andy had been giving him a crash course in purebloods formal speak all afternoon.
Andy smiled at Sirius then pulled him into a quick hug.
"I've missed you Sirius" she said as the boy in question blushed.
Harry just snickered and they followed Sirius into the formal dining room.
Sat and the end of the table was an older couple who looked to be in their mid fifties.
the man had salt and pepper hair with sharp gray eyes, and the same cheek bones as he remembered grown up Sirius having. Actually when he though about it they looked very woman seated beside him was blonde with ringlet like curls, very similar Andromeda's hair, she had soft features and clear blue eyes she smiled at them being the first to see them enter. Arcturus noticed them seconds later and stood to greet them.
"Welcome Andromeda, I am very pleased to see you again" he said to her with far more warmth then Harry expected. Then turning to Harry who was still holding Nymmie her head resting on his left shoulder sleeping, if the drool soaking his dress robes was any indication.
"Welcome Mr. Evans, I have been wanting to meet you for quite a while. You left quiet an impression on Cygnus." Arcturus smirked extending his hand which Harry shook firmly and met Lord Blacks gaze "I am most great full your hospitality Lord Black" Harry said confidently.
"And who is this little lady?" asked the woman, "by the way I am Melania and I to am very happy you three came for dinner" The Lady Black offering Harry her hand.
Harry gently took her hand bowing slightly an placing a kiss on her knuckles. Harry then replied "Thank you Lady black, I now see where Andromeda gets her looks. To answer your earlier question this is "Nymmie"
Andromeda cut over Harry "Her name is Nymphadora's Druella Black Grandmother, Harry insists on shortening it" she said giving Harry an annoyed look.
Arcturus chuckled at their by play and announced that dinner was to begin. Over dinner the conversation was light and Nymmie was still clinging to Harry, much to Andromeda's annoyance. She had tried to take her only to have her daughter started crying until she was back in her spot on Harry's left shoulder. 'Traitor' she thought to herself and scowled at Harry when he smirked smugly back at her.
"Arcturus cleared his throat after the desert course and Andromeda reclaimed her daughter because apparently she wanted her mother when she was hungry. She had adjourned to the sitting room to feed her ungrateful offspring.
Arcturus took the opportunity to get down to business
"I must admit that I had another motive for requesting you over for dinner, you see when restoring Andromeda's place on The Family tapestry I noticed that Andromeda has two silver lines indicating progeny, the first was a Nymphadora's Druella Black 12/25/1970. The second has no surname only the word Evans and no date." Lord Black said Narrowing his eyes. Harry nodded and then spoke as calmly as he could.
"Yes we discovered she was with child earlier today, we've decided to wed before the arrival of the baby for as, Andy put it, Propriety sake" Harry responded.
"Good that will make the contract negotiations simpler, now we can work out the terms" Harry cut Arcturus off as politely as possible.
"I think it would be best if Andromeda had a say in this Lord Black" Harry stated.
Melania who had been quiet until now nodded her agreement " he's right dear, you remember what happened when Cygnus tried to force the Yaxley contract on her she went off and married that womanizing Tonks boy." She said in a no nonsense voice. Melania had her own contacts at St. Mungos and she heard from Paula Stout how her daughter ran a fowl of Andromeda. If she ever seen that Tonks boy she would castrate the bastard.
/C.o.t.R\
Goblins Breath Pub, Knockturn Alley, London, Sametime
Ted Tonks was sitting at the bar drinking rot gut ale, his sour luck had not improved since last June when he was caught fucking Miriam Strout by his ex wife. After losing his job at the hospital he had been looking for work, he finally found employment at an underground dueling circuit in Knockturn Alley as a healer/bathroom attendant. It didn't pay much but it got him a room over the" Goblins Breath." He was just having a second pint when he felt a familiar chill run down his spine, he quickly paid his tab and left, he had learned to recognize the signs of in imminent danger.
/C.o.t.R\
Black Cottage, Wales, Back to the discussion
Andromeda came back in holding her sleeping daughter. "good your back we have some things to sort out, most importantly we have a contract to draw up and a wedding to plan." Arcturus declared as soon as she had taken her seat Sighing to herself, she could tell this would be a long night. She should have been a seer they all four went back and fourth with terms until It was decided.
1. Harry's last named would change upon their wedding.
2. They would receive a summer home in Nice, and 50,000 galleons.
3. Harry would join arms with the Black if ever their family was threatened.
4. All of their heirs would receive training in ediqute training from Melania and would be raised to respect tradition
5. there was to be an ironclad infidelity clause set on both parties.
and on and on it went by the time everyone came to agreement and they signed the contract with a blood quill, she was practically dragging Harry through the floo. as politely as possible of course.
/C.o.t.R\
Diagonal Alley, London, 6/19/1971, 1971, 15:22
Walking through Diagon Alley was something that usually brought him a sense of childlike nostalgia, on the other hand walking through Daiagon Alley with Andromeda Black dead set on getting him fitted for dress robes for their wedding filled Harry with a sense of dread. The closer they got to 'Twillfit and Tatting's' the more more he looked desperately for any form of escape.
Andromeda rolled her eyes at the pained expression on Harry's face "Quit pouting Harry this won't take long, and then you can have some Ice Cream" Andromeda said as if speaking to a small child.
Harry just scowled at her mocking him and replied, "I'm not worried about the fitting, I'm dreading the endless debates your going to have with the shop girl over the material which color will compliment the theme of the wedding as well endless debates about which of robes look best in sunlight, but also if it's cloudy will the texture distort the audiences perception of the color of the robe or what if..."
"Enough" she snapped "I get your point and I promise to keep the nitpicking to a minimum, happy?" She asked in a tone of irritation.
"Depends, do I still get that Ice Cream?" Harry asked smirking at her. smugly.
"Grrr your incorrigible, but we're here so let's get this over with. she said
Harry's smirk disappeared and he adopted an expression that wouldn't look out of place on a man that was walking up the steps to the Gallows.
Four hours later an extremely tired Harry exited shop, that had been just as awful as he expected it would be. Everything Harry had feared had come to pass and more. 'Andromeda was a dirty Liar" Harry thought to himself not seeing the victorious smirk on her face.
Harry had annoyed her so much on the way to the shop, she made sure she was extra picky making him try on over a dozen different styles and colors only to pick the first one he tried on. Unbenowst to harry she had already picked the robes he would wear they were just here to get it fitted. Andromeda Black was an evil woman when she put her mind to it.
Evans Farm, Durham County, England, 9/21/1971 13:45
"Harry come in here you have to see this" Andromeda called from the sitting room.
Harry got out of his chair and left his office, following the sound of his wife's voice to the sitting room. She was on the floor with Nymmie who was currently sat on her butt. He watched as Nymmie leaned forward in the crawling positon using Andy's Arm for support she slowly dose to her feet. She smiled and then took a step and plopped down on her bum again giggling.
Harry beamed at witnessing her first steps he couldn't believe how fast she was growing.
/C.o.t.R\
Headmasters Office, Hogwarts School, Scottland, 9/21, 20:17
Albus Dumbledore was concerned, He was reading the same reports Arcturus had read back in April. He was really shocked to hear about this Reaper fellow, who was responsible for the death of fifteen people in the last year. Criminals they maybe but they still deserved a chance to redeem themselves. He would have to keep an eye our for this man who had been quiet since March, with the savage way he killed all these men he could become the next Dark Lord. The thing that Irked him the most was the I.C.W, HIS I.C.W! Was in debates about awarding this murderer the 'Order of Merlin First Class' the very thought of sent a vein in his temple throbbing. Perhaps I had better gather some like minded individuals and have them ready incase this man does start gathering followers.
He wished he knew the identity of the man his first guess would have been Tom Riddle. He had heard rumors of a group of Purebloods gathering around a Powerful wizard this could very well be Tom's handy work. The only thing that flummoxed him was that the Unspeakable suspect Reaper was from another timeline. Mind made up he set to writing some letters, poor Fawks was going to get a work out.
/C.o.t.R\
Riddle House, Little Hangleton, England, 10/31/1971, 00:01
Pain ripped Through Tom Marvolo Riddle. This was his fifth time doing this Particular ritual and he always performed it on Halloween the day the veil was thinnest so he wouldn't have to worry about his soul piece passing on between the severing and him setting it into its vessel. His container this time was a Goblet bearing Hufflepuffs crest. The time to move on the Wizarding world was fast approaching.
He had been gathering followers for years now and quite a few prominent Purebloods bowed at his feet, his most promising aquisition was a Pureblood Daughter of the House of Black, and was more talented with a wand than anyone he every met (except himself of course).
He did have a few setbacks recently. He had planned on approaching Fenrir Greyback and his pack and bartering their services when he started coming out in the open, but that plan was scrapped as was the plan for Antonin Dolohov, Both men fell victim to the same assassin and if Rookwood was to be believed the assassin going by the name 'Reaper.' Rookwood told him Reaper was a powerhouse strong enough to rival Albus Dumbledore. That thought worried him greatly the man seemed to have a proclivity for killing the type of men he was trying to bring into his fold.
Perhaps it would be best to bide his time a bit longer and try and learn more about this Reaper. After all the way he killed the Balkan Butchers proved that an assassin's blade could fall the mighty just as easily as it did the weak.
/C.o.t.R\
St. Mungo, London, 11/12
/1971, 07:30
Andromeda Black was tired she had just given birth to her second child in less than a year she watched her husband holding little Ignotus the both of them sound asleep .She realized how lucky she was. Harry may be a royal ass sometimes but he treated her well, took the time to do stuff that made her smile and loved Nymphadora like she was his own.
He had told her about his past/future life before they had got married, and at first she thought he was lying do her and was getting really angry when he wouldn't give up the joke. Until he had brought a pensieve out of his study and showed her memories from his life in the future and explain everything to her. He told her everything he had been through in the future and what he was going to stop from happening at all. She was actually amused to learn he has been Lord Black in his time.
She had asked why he even told her about all this, He said he couldn't marry her keeping a secret this big from her. She had been quite happy with him for that, Yes she was happy in the life they were building together. Her Time travelling husband took care of her and in the end that's all that really mattered. With a smile she too drifted off to sleep with a soft smile on her lips