Guess who's back? As always Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, only the Archard family and other OCs belong to me. The French words/phrases will be italicized, as well as the spells. Reviews are greatly appreciated!
Prologue
Third Person POV
In a vast library filled floor to ceiling with various sized and colored books sat an elegantly dressed woman behind a large and grandiose wooden desk. Before her were five ornately carved wooden chairs, each with a scrollwork letter in gold across the back - A, B, C, D, and E all in a row. This woman was Lady Carolynn Archard, Head of the Ancient and Royal House of Archard. A noble lady who had not even reached her thirties, still a young woman by magical standards, yet her eyes held the stress and weariness only seen in aging witches and wizards.
Carolynn had married young to a man twice her age; though not for the usual reasons of a young noble girl, such as arrangement, tradition, or love. Her marriage was due to the terror the Dark Wizard Grindelwald had ravaged on the entirety of the Magical world, the first Magical on Magical war they had even seen. The war had claimed the life of her father, Aramis Archard, when he aided Dumbledore and his allies against Grindelwald. With Aramis gone, Carolynn became Head of the House of Archard.
Carolynn's two older sisters, Adelynn and Braelynn, had long ago passed the heirship onto her, and while Aramis had trained Carolynn, she had not felt prepared to assume leadership of the family so soon. Especially when the mainline was in danger of becoming extinct. She had to marry quickly in order to secure the line with blood children; but that was only part of what she had to do. She'd ordered her sisters to ground, keeping them all far from both Grindelwald and Dumbledore so no other Archard blood was shed 'for the greater good'.
The man Carolynn married, she chose more for convenience than for any other reason. She may have never learned to love her husband, but she respected and appreciated him. It was hard to be married to a Head of House as a man. Most other of the Noble Houses were patriarchal, perhaps a few matriarchies, but even fewer whose inheritances were as egalitarian as the Archard family. Yet, he proved himself capable, assuming the duties of running the household, caring for the children, and supporting her as she worked in the Ministry.
She may not love him, but their beautiful children she did love, with the burning flames of Gubraithian Fire. Her five intelligent and at times rambunctious children: the twins, Ashton and Bellamy, and the triplets, Cadence, Denice, and Eleanora. Her five children, who were late for their lesson.
Carolynn released a sigh of exasperation as she flicked her wand in an intricate pattern. With the spell cast, she gently set her wand down and folded her hands in her lap as she waited. A few seconds later, a melody of whines, squawks, cheering, and yelping grew louder as five bodies were magically dragged into the room and dumped into a pile before an unamused Carolynn.
"To your seats, children. You were late, and I have not the time to waste."
The children, far too used to their constantly busy mother's demands, quickly righted themselves. The twin boys and triplet girls quickly took their seats, always sitting in order, from left to right - Ashton, Bellamy, Cadence, Denice, and Eleanora.
Carolynn stood from her chair and moved back to the large space behind her where a large tapestry was hung against the wall. Edged in gold, the tapestry depicted a stone background with a long intricately woven vine stretching from the left growing right. From the buds on the vines were cursive names of each Archard of the mainline since the first Magical Archard.
"Today's lesson will be on Genealogy, specifically our family's. Eleanora, what is genealogy?"
Eleanora sat up straighter in her chair, confident she knew the answer. "Genealogy is the study of family history and origins."
"Correct," Carolynn said, allowing a small smile to show on her face for her youngest, before she grew serious once more. "The pursuit of family history is a vital facet of study for Magicals, though one which is fueled by a manner of motivations. For some it is a sense of responsibility to preserve the past for future generations and a self-satisfaction in accurate storytelling. For others it is a way to establish identity, a source for their Magical, political, and social status. Whatever the reason may be, the result is the same."
Carolynn paused to allow all five of her young children to absorb what she said. Once she was satisfied the information had sunk in, she addressed her second-born, "Bellamy, who was our House Founder?"
Bellamy froze, before quickly looking to the far left of the large tapestry, his eyes desperately squinting to try and read the two names stitched at the stem of the vine. "Al-Algernon."
"Incorrect," Carolynn intoned. While not surprised he got the answer wrong, she was unimpressed with his clear floundering. She was a firm believer that if someone did not know the answer to something, it was better to say so then to guess. "Cadence, who is our Founder?"
"Mother Magic who graciously gifted magic to the world," she recited in a steady voice.
"Correct. Mother Magic planted the seed which grew through Algernon Archard and his wife Palmyre into the vine that is our Magical family line."
Denice suddenly interrupted. "Mother. If tracking the family history is so important, why does the tapestry only track the mainline?"
"The reason is simply because our family is too large to fit, even on an enchanted tapestry, though many do appear as such. Books such as Nature's Nobility: A French Wizarding Genealogy contain complete and thorough histories of each Magical line and its members. It was only the Noble Houses who fell into the fashion of displaying their Magical ancestry, either specifically made to call attention to notable family members, or to simply track their heritage through the mainline."
Carolynn turned her back to her children as she gazed up at the tapestry, hiding the turbulent emotions shining in her eyes. "Our family has deep roots in this nation. We always lived on this land, before it was France, before it was Frankia, even before it was Gaulia. While the No-Magics fought their wars over land and religion, the Magical community largely kept itself separate, even before the Statute of Secrecy came into effect. Still there were some who involved themselves with the No-Magics without fear."
Her father appeared in Carolynn's mind, but she immediately dismissed him, as she turned to face her children once again. "One such ancestor of ours was Jeanne Archard." Gazing over which child to call on next, she chose her eldest. "Ashton, who were her relatives?"
Ashton quickly scanned the tapestry until he found the correct name. "Jeanne was the twin sister of Karcsi, and the younger sister of Apollina, who succeeded her father, Gaylord, as Head of the Family."
"And do you know who she married?"
"I'm sorry, Mother, I do not know."
Again a small smile made its way to Carolynn's face before quickly vanishing. "Quite alright, he is not listed on the tapestry since Jeanne married out of the family." Carolynn gained an impish shine to her eyes, excited to reveal one of the many shocking family secrets. "She married into the House of Capets, specifically to Charles IV, King of France."
"What, really?!" exclaimed the triplets in wonder and excitement.
"Indeed. The Capets were the last Magical line to rule the kingdom of France, ending with Charles himself when he and Jeanne only had three daughters since the French Monarchy was a firm believer in the patriarchy."
"That's stupid," commented Bellamy. "Succession shouldn't be based on gender."
"You are allowed to hold that belief, my dear son, but it is one I advise to take caution in expressing," advised Carolynn. "Each House has its own traditions, whether they work or not is up to the family, not outsiders, as some take it quite personally, as a smudge on their House honor, to be told otherwise. It does not stop many from commenting, but that is how some wizard's duels are started."
"Well I still think it's utter nonsense," grumbled Bellamy, resisting the urge to slouch in his chair.
A fond smile broke out across Carolynn's face. "Anyways, back to the lesson. Since you are so opinionated, Bellamy, tell me, who is considered the greatest Alchemist to ever walk the earth?"
"Nicholas Flamel for his creation of the Philosopher's Stone, which has kept him alive for hundreds of years."
"Correct, but Nicholas is not the only one to have walked this earth for so long. Another is his wife, Perenelle, who was born an Archard; younger sister to Jeanne."
"So…" dragged out Denice, "We're related to the Flamel family?"
"Technically, yes, but the relation is so distant it hardly matters more than a good story. Though Perenelle has remained friendly to her sister's descendants. You will find, children, that most Magicals are related to each other somehow, but anything beyond first cousins is considered null and void when it pertains to alliances, arrangements, or inheritances."
"Do we have other relatives besides Aunt Adel and Aunt Brae?" asked Ashton, curiosity shining through his expressive face and eyes.
Carolynn glanced toward the ceiling as she spoke her thoughts aloud, "Your grandmother was a Dufort, but she was from a branch family and not the mainline, so we are not particularly close with them. Your father was a Clary, and remains quite close with his family. I expect you'll be meeting your cousins soon enough, though forewarning, they are all quite older than you five."
It was unclear if the the young Archards were satisfied with their mother's answer, but it was the sad truth, they were lacking in familial connections outside Carolynn's two sisters. Carolynn laid blame at the feet of Grindelwald and the terror he rained upon France. Many lost relatives to him, and many, like Carolynn, protected what little family they had left by distancing themselves.
Carolynn shook away those dark lines of thought. There was little use of falling down those rabbit holes, especially when she had a few other ancestors she wanted to touch on. Shifting her weight between her two feet, and clasping her hands together in front of her, Carolynn reclaimed the drifted focus of her children.
"Now, the next ancestor I'd-"
Knock. Knock.
All six occupants glanced towards the opened double doors of the library to see the rather tall but aging figure of Talbot Archard, Carolynn's husband and the children's father. Talbot stood in the doorway with an apologetic smile. "I apologize for interrupting you dear, but Junior Undersecretary Rochechouart has arrived through the floo. You are needed at the Ministry."
Carolynn sighed in exasperation. "I swear to Morgana, if that boy is here because he let another matagot eat an important document, then I will spell him to tap dance through the main hall of the Ministry."
"Deep breaths, dear. The young man is frantic enough without the Senior Undersecretary threatening him with mortifying embarrassment. I can finish the children's lesson for you, and will have Tweedy whip up some tulipes for when you return."
"Thank you, Talbot," Carolynn replied as she made her way out of the library, quickly striding through the doors without a backwards glance.
Talbot ambled his way over to the library desk before carefully easing himself down into the chair, grunting as some of his joints creaked. "Now then, where did your mother leave off?"
"Mother had just finished telling us about Jeanne Archard and her husband King Charles IV of France and was about to move on to another notable ancestor," Ashton dutifully answered.
Talbot made a humming noise as he settled further into the chair, arms crossed as he thought. He knew of a couple different ancestors which fit the theme Carolynn had devised for today's lesson; though Talbot only knew the full tale of one of them off the top of his head. "If she told you about Charles Capet IV, then she was bound to tell you of another great man who married into the Archard family."
"You, Father?" Cadence teasingly asked.
"No, not me," Talbot chuckled. "The only great thing I ever did in my life was help create you five."
The children, no matter how used to the warm words their father always said ever so casually, basked in them as if they were a rare occurrence.
"Many generations ago, during the sixth century, your ancestor Aalis of House Archard married a foreigner, but not just any foreigner - Merlin himself."
"Truly Father? The Merlin?" questioned Eleanora. "The greatest sorcerer of the Magical World!"
"Yes indeedy, though at the time he was just some scrap of a boy out traveling the world honing his magical skills. They quickly fell in love and ran off together to travel the world. It took Aalis's twin brother Benedeit, and her triplet brothers, Enguerrand, Francis, and Guiscard, dragging the two back for them to marry," he explained with an amused chuckle.
"Why would they drag their sister back against her will?" asked Denice.
"While marriage customs were less strict back in those days, a child outside of marriage was still heavily frowned upon. Aalis had already given birth to her first set of triplets, Aventin, Barbilia, and Claude, and her family refused to allow a once again pregnant Aalis to give birth again without being married to the father."
Talbot chuckled in amusement at his children's dumbfounded expressions - though to be fair, he looked quite similar when Adelynn told him the same story. Forget all the accumulated rare tomes hidden in the library vault, the fact that Merlin, a wizard revered for his skill, wisdom, and knowledge, was actually a scoundrel who technically stole away a daughter of a now Noble House would shake the foundation the Magical World had built itself on.
When Talbot married his close friend's daughter to help her secure her position as Head of the Archard Family, he had expected many things to come of it - her older sister taking an almost perverse pleasure in breaking the preconceived notions he held was not one of them. It had been humbling to find a girl half Talbot's age who knew more about Magical history than he did.
Yet, there hadn't been a single moment where Talbot regretted marrying Carolynn. As the fourth son of Lord Gaston Clary, very little was ever expected of Talbot. He had resigned himself to the life of a bachelor and being a doting uncle to his nieces and nephews. Then Aramis Archard was killed by Grindelwald's fanatical followers.
Losing his dear friend had hurt Talbot. Lacey Archard following her husband not long after, dying of a broken heart, only added to the pain. The haze which had descended on him was blown away when Aramis and Lacey's triplet daughters called him for a meeting in their home - a meeting to discuss Talbot marrying Carolynn, the youngest of the sisters.
Talbot had been against the girls' proposal, as he had practically been their uncle all their lives, but the triplets were not deterred and had a compelling case. Carolynn had been Aramis' trained and declared heir. She needed to marry in order to secure the family line since Adelynn was sadly incapable of having children as the result of a spell gone wrong, and Braelynn's...preferences, ensured she would never produce a child of the Archard bloodline.
So by his honor Talbot agreed, and with time found a balance with Carolynn which suited them just fine. They did not love each other, at least not in the way a husband and wife traditionally did, but what they had worked for them. Two arduous pregnancies later, the mainline of the Archard family was well supplied; five children who Talbot loved more than he ever thought possible.
Talbot had never thought he would have children of his own, so after both births, Talbot swore he would do anything to protect them. Every day his love grew for his sons and daughters, as they were the lights of his world, allowing him to find happiness in his situation beyond the previous contentment.
Carolynn, Talbot knew, loved their children just as fiercely; however, she also had the political mind of the two of them, and had high hopes for alliances that could be made in the future. He trusted her to carefully investigate every possible match, but he had little desire for any of his children to marry for anything less than love.
The House of Archard was no longer teetering on the edge of extinction, so they could afford to allow the children to chart the course of their futures. Still, these were concerns for far into the future, as Ashton and Bellamy weren't even of the age to attend Beauxbatons quite yet. Until then, Talbot would enjoy the time he had with his young children, to bask in their laughter, love, and budding mischievous behavior.
Special thanks to my Beta-Readers: TheSparkler and Anonymous!