Author's Note: Hello all, hope you had a good weekend. Here is Sirius' visit to the Mages Castle. Not quite what he expects. Thanks for reading and reviewing, MNF

Chapter 14:

Dumbledore

Sirius Black had been to the High Mages castle only one other time in his life when he was ten, and his father had brought his sons with him to meet with one of the Mages. At the time, his father was attempting to have himself elected Chief Warlock, but the post was filled by Albus Dumbledore, and no one was willing to remove him from his seat. Orion Black had wanted the High Mages to back him. The High Mages did not involve themselves in such matters. Yes, they would advise whoever was the Chief Warlock, but they would not help any specific individual in their election. The castle looked less imposing to Sirius thirty years later.

The High Mages had always lived in this general area in the western part of southern England, only miles from the Stonehenge and the first magical castle, Tintagel, for millennia. The Romans had attempted to move them, then subdue them, but the magic of the High Mages proved too powerful. The Kingdom of Dumnonii proved impossible to conquer, and the Romans never occupied the Mages' land. Eventually, the magical attacks by witches and wizards from within the Isles proved too much, and the city of Rome was under siege, and the Roman forces left. With the Romans gone, the wizarding world went about rebuilding the British lands.

If the Romans had succeeded in usurping the Dumnonii kingdom, the castle could have fallen, and the mystery concealed within its wall might have been known. The castle's secret was that it housed The Source, a semi-sentient mass of magical energy that lived in a pool. Only those who had the most potent personal magical cores could be in its presence for more than a moment.

The Source could alert the High Mages to changes in the magical essence in the United Kingdom, announce when Dark magic was used and how frequently, and when a new magical child was born. It was this last skill, nearly one-hundred and fifty years ago, which caused the High Mages of the time consternation. Over time it was noted that fewer and fewer powerfully magical children were being born to magical parents while the number of barely magical or non-magical children was growing. Oddly, more magical children were born to non-magical parents, although they usually had a magical relative in their family tree. The High Mages begged The Source for a way to increase the number of magical children being born, or they could see a future where magic was gone from the United Kingdom. The act of Heart-Bonding was created, and The Source was responsible for making the pairings and then scribing the names on the chests of the pair of lovers.

When assigning names on the seventeenth birthday to witches and wizards began, there was significant resistance. Those from older families wanted to reject their children marrying Muggleborns, and those in love with other people bristled against giving up their current partner. However, within a generation or two, it became the norm, and families accepted the practice. They immediately began seeing the increase in magically gifted children, which pleased everyone. By the time Sirius, Junie, and their friends were seventeen, it was something to be expected and welcomed. Not having a name was an aberration, and it did cause Sirius and Junie some discomfort. For Sirius, it was yet another embarrassment for his family; for Junie, it was a relief, as she'd grown up hearing her father's story.

To receive names at forty was so far from the norm, Sirius had to find out why. He was saddened by the knowledge that he could have had Junie with him all these years. Her gentle presence in his life had brought him calmness he hadn't expected, and he now relished.

The castle was built around a central keep that housed The Source. The outer castle had been torn down and rebuilt over the centuries, but the central section remained as it had always been – tall, square, windowless, and with a magical roof which let the magic flow freely through it but kept the weather out. The castle's current incarnation was built in the Jacobean era and strongly resembled the older parts of Hampton Court Palace. The red brickwork was often fanciful, but the faces of long-dead High Mages decorating the upper edge of the walls in their marble death masks was disquieting. He could pick out the single High Mage who had come from the Black family with ease. Oddly, the man had been disowned by the family due to his being mated with a Muggle. His great-great-uncle Phineas was a good man and brilliant wizard, and Sirius strove to be like him.

Before Sirius could knock, Dumbledore opened the door. Sirius embraced his professional predecessor and friend.

"It feels like a lifetime has passed since I've seen you," Sirius confessed.

"With as much as has happened in your life, it nearly is a lifetime," Dumbledore said warmly. "Tell me, how is Juniper?"

"Brilliant," Sirius answered with a wide grin. "She loves me, and she's moving into Grimmauld Place today."

"That might be the shortest tenure for a Muggle Studies teacher ever."

"Oh, no, she's just moving out of the castle; she's still going to teach." Dumbledore nodded and welcomed the younger man into the building. Sirius didn't like the confusing half-smile the former headmaster gave him. "Why were we mated so late in life?"

"Sirius, you're only forty. I would hardly call that old."

"True, but we lost over twenty years we could have been together, could have had children –"

"We can discuss this later, dear boy, now; you need to be thinking about your role as Chief Warlock. Are there any issues you wish to discuss with me before the others arrive?"

"Who would you say is the most important person to get on my side for the reorganization plans?" Sirius inquired.

"Well, I should think you already have him on your side," Dumbledore replied. "While he has no aspirations for power for himself, James Potter is one of the most powerful men in the Wizengamot. You already have the will of the DMLE with you, and Amelia will continue to drive that vote. Make sure that you give James time to explain his support. From there, woo those who remain from the original twenty-eight families. Where they go, so will the formerly powerful old bloodlines."

"Right, James, to the rescue, again," Sirius muttered under his breath.

"No, you don't need rescuing, Sirius. You are the Chief Warlock, but you do need supporters, and the Potter family has long held a place of power in the wizarding world. Having his support, which you already do, will make your job easier."

"Right," Sirius said in understanding. "He makes my life easier, always has."

"That is why he has long been your brother. Now, I only have a moment longer, so unless you have more questions?" Sirius shook his head no. "Then may I please hear about the young Mr and Mrs Potter. They were two of my favourite students."

"They're brilliant," Sirius gushed and went on to tell Dumbledore about how they helped him with his early enticing of Junie to his side.

"I would have sided with Mrs Potter on the jewellery issue," Dumbledore said. "Juniper had never impressed me as one who would be enticed by such extravagance. She is a much simpler woman."

"You know, I would have said the same a few weeks ago, but she wears the gifts I've given her all the time. She told me yesterday that she wants to look pretty for me."

"Yes," Dumbledore said slowly, "that can sometimes happen with a new Bond." Sirius was about to ask him about his voice hesitancy when the other four High Mages began to filter into the meeting room. Dumbledore directed him toward a large, round table. It was only when he took in the table and its decoration did he question its provenance.

"Dumbledore, is this the round table from Arthurian lore?"

"Well, he borrowed it from the Mages, so when his reign ended, we took the table back," Dumbledore answered plainly. "The line between lore and likelihood is often blurrier than we assume." Sirius suppressed the urge to laugh. He couldn't wait to tell Remus there really was a round table, and the Mages used it in their conference room. Remus was sceptical of the Arthur myth, going so far as to author a paper in History of Magic about why the stories couldn't possibly be true. He'd not scored well on the essay, as it wasn't about the Goblin Wars, Professor Binns' favourite subject.

The first to enter was Kathleen Wrythside, who had served the longest time on the High Mages council and acted as their leader. She immediately came to Sirius and hugged him, which surprised him. She was a willowy woman, dressed in regal purple and green robes and her long, grey hair trailing down her back.

"I could have picked you out of a room without any trouble," she said gently. She retained a bit of her Scottish burr, which made him smile. "You are the perfect likeness to your great-great-uncle, who welcomed me to the Mages when I was only seventy-five. Now, I am in my seventy-fifth year of serving this great body."

"Phineas was a remarkable man," Sirius said. "I was ten when he was murdered. My Uncle Alphard took me to his funeral. I didn't blame my Great-great aunt Lillian for taking her child and fleeing the country. His own brothers murdered him because he'd risen above them. A fine family tree I've come from."

"It is not where or from whom we come, but rather what we do that matters," she said gently. "You are much like your great-great-uncle, but you are also your own man, and you have already proven your worth in the many pieces of legislation to fruition."

"Thank you," Sirius said, and the lady moved on to her seat. He was next introduced to Brendan O'Riordan, the Irish wizard known throughout the Auror department as the most decorated man to ever serve. He kept much of Grindelwald's evil and followers out of the United Kingdom when he was at his height on the continent. He was also the man who begged Dumbledore to fight him in the end.

The man was quite barrel-shaped and stood close to a foot shorter than Sirius' six feet. He had a tuft of bright red hair on his head and brilliantly crystal blue eyes, which felt like they gazed through you rather than at you. Sirius didn't wonder that people probably underestimated him when duelling, which is why he excelled at it. They exchanged pleasantries, and then Dumbledore gently moved Sirius on to the only other woman High Mage, Imelda Shafiq. She stood nearly as tall as Sirius, which was surprising for a woman, and stared at him with an intensity that made Sirius want to shrink back.

"You are quite the wizard," she said with a crisp, upper-class London accent, which felt quite familiar. If Junie thought his clothes were immaculately tailored, she'd love Madame Shafiq's. The red and black robes she wore had to be designer made for her alone. Sirius was a man who appreciated the female form, especially when that female knew how to accentuate her positives, which this woman had.

"Thank you," he said, shaking her hand. "I appreciated your letter when we passed the Werewolf legislation."

"It was important work, and I know it was you who championed it. Few people know this, but I lost a son to lycanthropy many years ago. He was only three when he was bitten, and his body could not handle the changes. He died when he was eight. He would have been at Hogwarts when you were there," she explained, and Sirius could nearly feel her pain, even coming on forty years.

"Thank you again, but truthfully, I did it so one of my best friends could live a full life. There was no reason that we needed to shun people because of what happened on one night a month. People who willfully choose to infect others deserve the full punishment of the law. I'm sorry your son died."

"I always suspected your close friendship with Mister Lupin was at the heart of what you and Lord Potter did but know there are other families who were thankful for the measures. You do not need to answer, but do you know if it was the outlaw called Greyback who infected your friend?"

"Yes, it was, and Remus shares that information freely, so it caused no concern for me to do so. Hillard Grey's capture and trial in eighty-four was an important move forward for our country's acceptance of werewolves in the greater society."

"Yes, it was," she said. "Thank you again." Madame Shafiq moved away, gliding more than walking, and Sirius silently remembered the boy he'd never met, but who might have run with him and his mates had he come to Hogwarts.

While his thoughts were elsewhere, the final High Mage came to meet Sirius. Elias Greengrass was a distant relative of Sirius' who he remembered from childhood gatherings for holidays like Yule. Greengrass took Sirius' hand and nearly shook his arm off before Sirius engaged in the greeting. Pale blonde hair, which could have put him in his cousin Cissy's family, sat atop what could only be defined as a rectangular head. His eyes were small and dark, and his mouth a short, thin line. Sirius remembered his last family Christmas and how Elias had stood at the buffet and stuffed himself. The only other man who had a similar physical shape was the odd, elephantine man Lily's sister, Petunia, had married. He disliked the pair in equal measure for a cruelness that seemed to simmer just below the surface.

"Ah, the infamous black sheep of the Black family," Greengrass said to him, and Sirius refrained from sighing loudly at the remark.

"The Black family is quite different now than it once was," Sirius said. "I believe it is for the better."

"Erhmph," the older man sounded in disgust. "Was surprised when I learned in November that you were finally going to be matched. Too bad the woman is so old, would have been nice to have been mated with someone younger and more nubile." Now Sirius remembered what disgusted him about the man; he was flirting with Cissy at the Yule gathering.

"I would have been uncomfortable being Heart Bonded to someone significantly younger than me," Sirius rebuked him. "Juniper is a vibrant woman who I find highly attractive, and I am thrilled to be in love with her."

"Yes, well," Elias Greengrass mumbled and then waddled to the table. Why The Source chose him was beyond Sirius' grasp. Dumbledore exchanged a knowing look with him and then directed them to their seats.

Unbeknownst to Sirius, someone wasn't entirely the Chief Warlock until the High Mages approved and performed a blessing on you. Sirius sat through the thorough listing of his responsibilities before having the short ceremony take place. He felt a measurable uptick in his magic.

"Yes, your magic is a bit stronger," Madame Wrythside said. "That isn't quite correct. What you're feeling is your connection to The Source. While all magical beings in the United Kingdom have a relationship to the magical pool, we have removed some of the restrictions which The Source demands. If everyone went about manipulating all the magic they could potentially use, we'd have far more accidental magic."

"So, you're saying that the entire population is obliged in some way?" Sirius asked, uncertain of how he felt about this.

"While it may sound like this is the case," Madame Shafiq replied, "It is done for the protection of the people. Many could not handle more magic coursing through them. You will be able to, which is why The Source has granted this privilege to you."

"You'll want to warn your Heart-Bound lass too," Mister O'Riordan said. "She'll have one too."

"Junie will have more magic, but someone like Frank Longbottom, who is an Auror and actually duelling people frequently, doesn't get the uptick in their magical power. Junie is unlikely to ever use it; she barely does any magic as it is."

"While they are unable to speak of it, Aurors have their magical increased when they swear their oath," Madame Shafiq spoke again.

"Wait, if I hear you correctly, there is a segment of the population which is given extra magic, essentially, in secret. Is that what you're doing?" Sirius asked again, his voice reflecting the frustration he felt.

"Don't go getting your knickers in a twist," Greengrass bit back. "You're always raising a ruckus where one isn't needed."

"I disagree, Mister Greengrass. You, this body, shouldn't have the right to decide who can and who cannot use the full measure of their magic." Sirius had entered what Junie affectionately called his 'full debate mode.'"

"It isn't us," Sirius," Dumbledore said soothingly. "It is The Source. This arrangement has been in place since our ancient ancestors discovered magic. It does not play favourites."

"It feels wrong, Albus. Like there is immense power in the hands of a few people, and everyone else is left out of the loop."

"I can see how it could be interpreted as such when you look at it in black and white," the older man replied. He knew this was a weakness of Sirius'. He saw absolutes. "But life is always in shadings of grey. You know as well as I that some have more magic than others. Just think about how much magic your godson wields."

"Harry was born with that magic, and he was demonstrating it early. Something in the practice of increasing the access to power of some and not others feels inherently biased, but since it's The Source's doing, I won't comment on it further."

The meeting carried on for another hour, Sirius listening to more rules and regulations of what he could and could not do politically and magically. Most of it he considered common sense. There were places that he felt the practices needed to be brought into the twenty-first century, but he wouldn't try to reform everything at once.

"Do you have any questions for us?" Madame Wrythside asked.

"Yes, why were Junie and I matched so late in life? We've known each other forever, and we are exceptionally well suited to each other?" Sirius asked.

The mages looked at each other, and after some head nodding and unreadable facial ministrations, Brendan O'Riordan started speaking. "I'm the one who has the job of watching the Heart-Bond matches. You and Miss Meadows were slated to be matched when you were seventeen, but The Source chose to hold your match back because there was a fear you weren't ready to care for each other as you needed to. Your match is vitally important, Sirius, and The Source could not let it fail."

"What is so special about Junie and me?"

"It comes back to bloodlines," Greengrass said. "You're the last of the purest bloodline in the UK."

"What does that have to do with anything? Junie is half-blood if you can even call her father a wizard. He doesn't have much magic. He barely qualified for Hogwarts." Sirius asked. "I've never made my disdain for the whole Pureblood perfection ideal quiet either." Greengrass sighed loudly and shook his head.

"We are painfully aware of that," Greengrass said. "While we've done what we must to ensure that magical children are born, it doesn't mean that the wizarding world should completely abandon its past."

"We should if it's bigoted."

"Gentlemen," Madame Wrythside said. "Brendan, will you continue in your explanation."

"As I was saying, the pair of you weren't ready to be matched with each other. Also, the timing wasn't right, at least as far as the legend goes," he said.

"What legend?" Sirius asked. He hated Divination, prophecy, and legends. Sure, they could make excellent bedtime reading as a boy, but he'd been down to the Department of Mysteries, and most of those glowing orbs were never going to come true.

"Sirius, this legend dates back millennia," O'Riordan spoke again. "It tells us of a man who will defy his family yet will go on to lead to a renaissance of the house and then our country."

"There are lots of people who defy their parents; I just happened to excel at it."

"While that is true," Dumbledore said with a chuckle. "There is more to the legend."

"We are also told of a woman who will come from unknown beginnings and will ascend to become the man's wife. Through her, the heir of the truest magical lineage will be born," O'Riordan finished.

"What is the truest magical lineage?"

"The line that dates back to the first wizard to use magic from The Source," O'Riordan answered Sirius. "Diviciacus, the friend of the Romans."

"What? I've never heard of this person," Sirius said honestly.

"Diviciacus was a Druid from the Aedui. They lived in the Burgundy area of modern France, although Diviciacus was known to travel and spent time in this area of the Dumnonii homelands. He even travelled to Rome and sat with Julius Caesar. He discovered The Source, appointed the first High Mages, and told them what he'd learned from the Romans. It was these actions that prevented Rome from conquering this area," O'Riordan finished.

"You're saying Junie is a descendant of this person?" Sirius asked.

"Yes, the most direct bloodline," Greengrass added. "That's two thousand years of keeping the bloodline protected."

"Junie's mother is a Muggle."

"True, but members of the bloodline, magical or not, have been mated with each other over the millennia. The Source has ensured it," the portly wizard added. "Think about what your own family did to keep themselves pure."

"My family married their own cousins, which produced fine human beings like my cousin Bellatrix," Sirius added. She had been sent to Azkaban and eventually executed for using the Cruciatus Curse on a man who refused to sleep with her. Most of the Black family refused their Heart-Bonds, preferring to make their own financially advantageous matches. Sirius and Regulus were still in school when Bellatrix was arrested, and they vowed to marry outside the Black family – even if The Source put them with someone who carried a significant amount of Black blood. "I don't think the practice is something to be emulated."

"Particular care was given to ensure the mania we saw in Miss Black was not created," O'Riordan said. "When the time was right, The Source would know. We believe that the time is now."

"So, you're expecting me to believe the reason Junie, and I weren't put together when we were seventeen is because we needed to get together at this specific time? What is the purpose of that?" Sirius was agitated. He didn't believe in his life being predestined. If that was the case, then the abuse he suffered as a child and as a young teen was intentional. No one should suffer like he and Reg did, least of all a child.

The High Mages, each in their own turn and tone, attempted to explain to Sirius who he was to the wizarding world and why having Junie at his side made the difference.

"Wait, if you're going back to bloodlines over and over, this is about children. What is so special about the babies Junie and I aren't even sure we want to have?"

"They are the union of magic, latent as in Muggles and power-filled in wizards. It is told that your children will lead the reunion of all who live in Britain," Madame Shafiq answered him, becoming exasperated.

"For a thousand years, we've hidden from the Muggles. Our school is charmed to keep them away, our enclaves are hidden, we don't even discuss magic with family members born without magical skill. Are you telling me that in a generation, we are going to change our ways?"

"Yes," said Dumbledore. "We have been wrong in our actions, and the time has arrived for us to change. You will lead us through this change."

"This is madness. I can't imagine a world where magic is openly used. Actually, I can," Sirius said, his mind taking him to what it would mean if healers and potions were available to the broader public. People with serious diseases wouldn't kill Muggles as they did. This insight brought him around to what they were all trying to say without announcing it.

"This has to do with what happened to Junie's mum. About the funding the cancer hospital and my worry about Muggles who can't take a potion, undergo a brief spell, and have the disease removed from them."

"Yes, that was the first action which set you on your path. Why don't we retire to my quarters to dine and discuss," Dumbledore said, and Sirius nodded blankly, his mind reeling.