It was the very beginning of July. Azalea and Neville would be turning nine soon enough, and Augusta, Cassiopeia and Arcturus had all agreed to take the two children on a week-long holiday to Spain, where Azalea and Neville would spend their ninth birthdays. Everyone was excited, and Azalea would be going clothing shopping for warmer clothing, as the location they would be holidaying at was a tropical island. They were going to be headed to Illas Cies Ria De Vigo Galicia, Spain. Azalea, as the heiress to the Noble and Cunning house of Rosier, could access the Rosier Cottage, even if the property was more of a mansion rather than a small abode.
Azalea, of course, had never been on a tropical vacation let alone a real vacation of any type before. The Dursley's had never bothered to take her, why would they though. She was a freak in their eyes. Rather, her new family who loved and cherished her magic, were taking her on what would be many firsts. Either way, Azalea would need a new, smallish wardrobe of appropriate clothing and dresses fit for the warmer weather of Spain in the summer.
That's where they were now, in Diagon alley. They had flooed there early in the morning to beat the heat and the crowds of people. Everything was ready to order, she just needed her newest measurements to make sure that everything fit perfectly, as was expected of an heiress of multiple ancient and prestigious houses.
"Come along Azalea, we mustn't be late. Mr. Tattings will wait for no one." Cassiopeia commanded the soon-to-be nine years old girl.
They would be going away for a week, and while Neville and Theo had appropriate wear, the girl did not. Some of her summer clothing, the ones Cassiopeia had thought ahead to have expanding charms put on, still fit. Others, like her play clothing, did not grow with the now healthily growing child.
They would be getting her a couple of new dresses, some sandals, among other clothing and accessories. Cassiopeia had picked out a larger size of the same swimsuit she had last year, the light mint green two-piece with the asymmetrical ruffle on the front, since she outgrew it by quite a bit. She picked out a special dress for her birthday dinner, since she planned for them to go out to eat at a restaurant on the mainland of Spain. It was a simple sleeveless black dress with a silken sash around the waist, held in place with a white clasp buckle. It was to be a present for her upcoming birthday, something nice to wear to the expensive muggle restaurant that they would be going to. That was something Cassiopeia would surprise the two children with. She had coordinated with Augusta for Neville to get a corresponding black five-piece suit. It was a black tie sort of restaurant, and they wanted to blend in and look the part. It would not do to stand out in the muggle world. Azalea already stood out in the magical world as the girl who lived and to be seen with two Blacks and the main branch of the Longbottoms would draw even more attention to the girl who tried to blend in.
Earlier, the month before in June, Azalea had her yearly check up, her personal healer, Healer McClain had praised the girl and her caretakers on how much height and weight she was steadily gaining. The child was becoming healthier by the fortnight.
"Congratulations little Azalea Potter, you have grown nearly five inches and gained a stone and a half. I say if you keep this up, you may just actually reach your intended target height for the next milestone. You may back down on your potions regiment to two level two growth potions once a week, with salves at level one for as needed aches and pains associated with growing. Stick with this, and you will continue to improve, I have no doubt." Healer McClain continued to praise the girl for her growing progress.
"Thank you Healer McClain. Is there anything else we will need to know?" Cassiopeia asked politely. Inside, she was beaming with pride and joy for her niece. She had made leaps and bounds in the years since she had rescued the slight girl and Cassiopeia liked to think that she played a decent sized part in the progress of her health.
"No, I believe you are all set. Here's the order list, I know you prefer to supply from your own potions stocks."
And so Cassiopeia and Arcturus spent the next few weeks brewing and packing and tying up loose ends. Arcturus notified the three children's tutors of their week or so of absences and there were no real hard feelings. Everyone likes a good vacation now and then and the children have been working hard enough to earn a break.
It was two weeks before they were set to leave, and Azalea was bouncing around outside on the manor grounds with Neville. They were sitting underneath the tree by the lake, watching the wind blow the waves across the bank of the water. Theo was with his father, a rare thing to happen. Thorros was spending rare time with his son, much to his son's chagrin. Theo would definitely rather spend his time with his two new friends. They along with Arcturus, Cassiopeia, and Augusta were quickly becoming his adopted family. He was originally ordered to spy on Azalea, seeing as she was the girl-who-lived, but he quickly disregarded those orders, not that Thorros would ever find out. Theo would tell him just enough to be happy, never enough to betray someone who was quickly becoming his little sister. He was rather fond of her after all.
It would be a few days before he came back over to the Black Manor. But when Theo came over he seemed rather shaken up, and you could see the faint line of a bruise on his cheek. It made Cassiopeia's blood boil. How dare anyone lay a hand on a child let alone a magical one. She gently took the boy aside and offered him a room in the Manor. There were rooms made up for Neville, whenever he slept over. It would not be a far stretch to do so for the other boy.
"Theo, has he… Did he do this?" She asked the boy gently as if he would react like a wounded animal. She feared the very worst.
Theo shrugged off the question as if nothing had happened to him at all. His reply was carefree, a little too carefree.
"I deserved it. I talked back." He defended his father.
"Theo no. No child deserves to be hit across the face. Has he hit you before like this?" Cassiopeia held nothing but concern in her tone, masking the rage she felt quite well. Theo did not answer her this time. There was nothing he could say to that.
"It only happens once in a while, when father has had a bit too much to drink. Nothing often enough to worry about..." He trailed off.
"Theo, he left a bruise. That is something to worry about. If he can do this, what else could he do to you? What else has he done to you, sweet child." Again, Theo did not answer Cassiopeia. He found the ground rather interesting.
"As your aunt, I have family ties to you. I, Cassiopeia Black, offer you shelter and solace of peace and mind at Black Manor. You may stay at the manor. No, you will stay at the manor with us upon further notice. If he has any contest, I will deal with him myself. No one, ever, will lay a hand on you again, dearest Theodore." Cassiopeia said firmly to the child.
He seemed to think about it for half a second, and nodded in agreement.
"Where will I be staying?" He asked, budding hope in his tone of voice.
"There are rooms made up in Azalea's wing of the manor. You may choose from one of them. I can have the house elves decorate it in any manner of fashion you might like. As for your things, I can go with you to pack them up, or if you may like, a house elf may go for us. There is no need to fret about things we can fix.
"I think I'd like to use the house elves… I am rather not fond of my father and I do not want to see him right now." Theo said after some deliberation. It was not an easy decision to make. While he did enjoy being at his manor, he did not enjoy being near his father, and he was always alone at the end of the day, with father either being out, or holed up in his office or library with a glass of strong fire whiskey.
"Certainly. I can have a team of elves at the ready within a minute's notice. You make a list of everything you might need or want, and they will grab everything that you want here. Of course, we are not going to keep you hostage, you may return home at any time, but I feel that you will be much happier and safer here child. You are welcome to stay at the manor for as long as you wish. We will never send you away."
"Thank you, Lady Cassiopeia. It is much appreciated. I accept your offer of shelter from my father at this time."
"Please, just call me Auntie Cia. You're family after all. Azalea will be relieved, I know the child sensed something was wrong, she's very sensitive."
"Thank you… Auntie Cia. I will let Azalea know I will be staying with her for the time being, until further notice really. I have no intentions of going back, and I know Thorros will not notice me being gone for at least a fortnight if not longer. Father never paid much attention to me after mother passed on." Theo stated.
"Ahh yes, Hilda was a rather lovely woman. I just know she loved you very much, Theo. It was a shame what happened to her."
"Father doesn't like to talk about it, or her in general. I'm not even sure he actually loved her." He said quite solemnly.
"While I cannot comment on the nature of your parents' relationship, I can say that she truly did love you very much. I should have some photos somewhere, of you and your mother from when you were a baby, before she passed on. Would you like a copy of them?"
"Yes please. Father said she passed on when I was two, but I have no memories of her. He doesn't like to talk about her and gets ...upset... shall we say, whenever I brought her up when I was younger."
"Consider it done. Now, what colors do you want your rooms to be? As you know, Azalea's room is powder blue with cherry wood furniture. Do you have a preference as to wood type and room color? And what kind of bedding do you prefer? Cotton poly blend, feather down, or a mixture of the two?" Cassiopeia asked the young boy.
"I wouldn't mind ebony, and may my room colors be navy blue and light grey please?"
"That is absolutely fine. I'll have the elves set your room up right away, so we can go get your things. Like I said before, just make a list of things you want brought here, and I'll see to Zilly getting everything done."
"Thank you so very much ma'am- I mean, thank you Auntie Cia." Theo said politely.
Theo made the list. It was very short, just a few books he loved and some mementos from his travels with Azalea and Neville, and of course his clothes. He had a well tailored wardrobe, as any heir to a pureblood family would be expected to have. Theo was not vain, per se, but he did care about how he looked, thank you very much. Although, he would need a new wardrobe soon enough. He was growing inches by the minute and expanding charms only worked so many times.
It never occurred to Azalea, as to how they would be traveling to the cottage. She asked her Auntie Cia one morning over breakfast, and got an answer that she was not expecting.
"You will be claiming your heiress ring, for the Rosier name. We will be heading to Gringotts bank today to claim your ring. In fact, there are a few rings for you to claim. We should have done this a while ago, but we are rectifying that today."
"Okay when are we going?" She asked curiously.
"How about after breakfast? Would that work for you?" Cassiopeia offered.
"Yes auntie. I washed up before I came down. I got a bit disheveled after doing my morning stretches. I can go get dressed as soon as I'm done eating if you would like?" Azalea agreed. She was rather excited.
"Yes, that would work great, but don't rush. We have plenty of time today."
Once they got to Gringotts, Cassiopeia strode up to the counter once they waited out their turn.
"My charge requests to talk to Farraff. We do not have an appointment, but I believe that this-" and she slid over quite a significant stack of gold, "may help grease the wheels and get things going." Cassiopeia said, quite firmly.
The goblin behind the counter glanced at the golden coins, and nodded his head. He snapped his fingers and without a word, another goblin appeared.
"Follow me." And he led the two wizards through the winding hallways of Gringotts to an office deep into the tunnels of the building into the hearth of the bank itself. He led them to another nondescript office where they were instructed to go in and take a seat at the waiting chairs. This office was very much reminiscent of the first time she went to Gringotts bank with her auntie. The only difference was the gold lettering on the door that read 'Office of Will Reading and Inheritance'. She just wondered if it was going to be the same type of meeting this time. The goblin that led them there took a seat behind the desk, and sat down in the plush leather desk chair. The placard on the desk read 'Farraff' in dark red lettering which stood out against the shiny golden metal it rested on.
"Good morning Lady Black, Heiress Potter. What may I ask about the matter of this visit?"
Farraf was a tall, almost human-like goblin, with long-drawn-out features and spindly fingers. His voice was soothing though. Azalea decided she liked it well enough. She was not frightened by him, not like the last time she met a goblin. Although, she guessed, those were extenuating circumstances. She had just started to adjust to her new life and everything was very new and scary still. She had matured in the last couple of years, and it was showing in a moment like this right now.
"I am requesting for my charge, Heiress Potter, to collect her heir rings, specifically to the Potter and Rosier lines. She was supposed to do so when she did her inheritance test, but other things came up and now is the time for us to do so."
"I see. Well, I agree. I had a feeling that would be what this meeting would be called today. I am glad I came prepared." Farraf replied, with a hint of a smile on his face. You could tell if you knew where to look, Azalea thought.
He reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a thick and heavy looking red velvet bag with a black silk ribbon tie. Inside the bag were exquisitely carved boxes, and he removed two of them.
One ring box was a deep jade green color, with red and silver iridescent accents. The other was blood-red and gilded golden colored. He gingerly resized the jade green magical wooden box, and placed it on the desk.
"In this box is the Rosier heir ring, or in this case, heiress. It is a portkey to any of the Rosier family homes, and this particular heir ring protects against most of the weaker level hexes, jinxes and curses. Once you put it on, I recommend never taking it off until it is time for you to pass it along to the next heir or heiress." Farraf instructed the little girl before him.
"It's a portkey? How does that work? I read about them in my book on wizarding travel methods, and it seemed very interesting at the time, but it said that all portkeys were traced and created or registered by the Ministry of Magic. Won't they know I have this ring?" Azalea asked mildly concerned. She was ever the one to think about every loophole possible.
"Ahh yes, typically it would, but this is a goblin made ring. It's intertwined with both Old magic and Goblin magics. It is impervious to what the new magics try to regulate. Loopholes that the old pureblood families made sure were there just for in this particular case.
"Ahh, I see. So it can ignore any wards that I am in, and take me to the Rosier homes? Which home? How does that work?"
"Ahh, you simply think of the address or what the name of the place is. For example, if you had a ring that portkeyed you to Black Manor, you would simply think of the floo address, and it would whisk you away safe and sound. No splinching risk like aperating, although landing with a portkey can take some getting used to. It's not quite like flooing. You touch the item, or in this special case, wear it. Usually there is a timer, or a specific set time for the portkey to activate to take you to wherever it is designed to go." Farraf explained further.
This girl asked many interesting questions that he didn't think a child would think to ask someone, let alone a goblin. Most if not all children were afraid of goblins, although he could sense no fear from her. Either she wasn't scared of his appearance or she hid it very well. Too well for someone her age.
He reached to hand her the jade green box. She finally got a better look at it. There was a coat of arms that must have been the Rosier coat of arms. The box was covered in beautiful swirls and intricately carved out little birds of some sort. She felt drawn to hold the box, as if it was meant for her. It was, after all. Azalea Dorea Potter-Black was the rightful heiress to the Rosier family bloodline. She inherited all that there was, good and bad. All of the vaults, the cottages, the manors and townhouses. All of the books and jewelry and trinkets and historical objects in all the homes and vaults, light and dark. It all belonged to her. She reached out and opened up the box, and her breath was caught. Whatever she was expecting, it was not this beautiful ring.
It was a fourteen-carat white gold ring that looked as if someone had taken a vine off a tree and wrapped it into a ring. It was littered with small emeralds and rubies, with a rather large beautiful looking ruby set dead center. It was stunningly made.
She absolutely loved it. It was perfectly sized too; as soon as she put it on her left index finger, it shrunk to fit her snugly, but not too tight as to cut off circulation. It was magical after all. Oh, she loved it so very much!
She was so distracted by it, that she nearly forgot about the other box sitting on the desk before her. This box was smaller, and different. It was heavy looking, and red and gold, the known colors of the Potter family. She sensed magic thrumming within. She reached out without hesitation this time and grabbed the box confidently. Azalea opened the red wood box and slipped the ring on her finger and felt the heavy thrum of power that washed over her before looking closer at the pretty shining ring on her right hand. Azalea gazed in wonder at the stunning ring on her finger. It was a beautiful ring, definitely vintage. On her right hand was a platinum ring with a six millimeter square cushion cut ruby. It was encrusted and surrounded with small round diamonds that outlined the rather large ruby. Inside of the ruby itself, was the potter crest shining though. She felt a rush of magic when she slipped it on as it shrunk to size without damaging the stones or the integrity of the ring at all.
"This ring. It's powerful, more so than the first one." She said after a moment of silence.
"My, oh my. You are perceptive. Yes, the Ancient and Noble house of Potter is much older, and so the heir or heiress ring in your case, has much more protections on it. The Potter ring itself warns you of deceptions and betrayals. The ring will warm up quite quickly if you have a poisoned food, drink, or potion in hand, so I suggest wearing it on your dominate hand at all times. It also acts as a magical reserve booster; it acts as a sort of focus stone. It amplifies protective spells and incantations, as well as offensive spells. Another thing to keep in mind, especially when you are older and at the age of practicing magic. A normal stinging jinx will hurt a bit more that as if someone else had cast it. It allows you to pass through every ward of the Potter family estates without issue, and acts as a ward key to control the wards of the estates as well."
"Hmm, interesting. I like the feeling, it's quite a head rush." She let out a small giggle at the feeling of the powerful magic thrumming through her.
"Ahh yes, that is a side effect of claiming rings. It opened up channels of magic in you that were beforehand locked, old magic and all."
"Old magic? That's the second time today you have mentioned it. Could you possibly tell me more please?"
"Absolutely. Again, very perceptive you are. Old magic, or Old Magike with a 'k', as it might be spelled in older texts, is what the ancient pureblood families practiced. It was a purer version of magic when the blood was not so diluted. Of course, diluting the blood helps keep the line alive, something some families didn't keep in mind. There are books on it in some of your vaults, and I can recommend names of texts and some good authors on the subject if you would like, but I recommend waiting until you're at least a bit older. Some of the old English and Latin will need translating and the subjects might become a bit darker in both magical style and magical type."
"Yes please, I would like that. I am eager to learn every magical bit I can. I find it absolutely fascinating." She was fascinated by the new subject.
"Azalea Potter-Black, you might become a Ravenclaw yet. You are very studious and very intelligent for your age. I predict you will go far in life, child."
Azalea nodded, and bowed to the goblin. "Thank you Farraff. You are very kind in your words and I will not take them lightly. I look forward to my years at Hogwarts and I accept any house that the sorting hat might place me in with grace and honor."
"Now that you have claimed the Potter family ring, the reading of the will can commence. When would be the best for you, Heiress Azalea Potter-Black, Lady Black, when would be the best time for you?"
"In a fortnight and a half, please. That would give everyone time to collect together to read the will together."
"That can be done. I will send out the required-by-law invitations, and the reading will commence within a fortnight of the last persons' reception of the invitation."
"Thank you Farraff, it is appreciated." She bowed again.
With that, they followed the goblin back through the halls of Gringotts bank to the outside world of Diagon Alley. As Azalea was exiting the building, trailing after Cassiopeia, Azalea happened to bump into someone, clumsy as she was, knocking her down to the ground.
"Oh, I am so sorry, please excuse me." Azalea apologized to the stranger, as she helped her up off the dirty cobbled ground.
The stranger in question had amber yellow eyes, and was tall and willowy, and felt muscular. She was tan, with fiery red hair that's shoulder-length and braided back.
"No, no it's my fault. I just can't see that far close to the ground. Azalea pouted at that. She wasn't that short.
"I'm not that little, thank you very much. I'm about to be nine years old!"
Internally, the stranger was freaking out, to put it into layman's terms. This child, this short child, was going to be nine. How could someone so small be that old. She looked like a six-year-old at most. And then she froze completely. That scent. That smell. It was pack smell. This child was her family and she didn't recognize them. Who was she?
Injured pup. This pup is injured, her inner wolf rumbled to her.
Aquilla would have to investigate further. With that, she stiffly walked away, into the bank. After all, she had business to attend to. Someone had claimed the Potter ring, and she wanted to know who.
Azalea shook her head at the weird stranger, someone would probably never see again, and continued out the door to find Cassiopeia waiting patiently for her.
"What happened? Get lost or something?" She asked, amused. Azalea was always getting separated it seems.
"No, I bumped into someone by accident. They were strange."
"Strange?"
"They made fun of me for being short, and then got really stiff and walked away without saying a word."
"Hmm, that is weird. Let's head home, we have a lot of packing to do. After all, we are about to leave for vacation, and you are yet to be packed. Do not think I have not noticed the little one."
"Auntie Cia, I don't know what to pack, you won't even tell me where we're going yet!" Azalea pouted.
"Well now that you have your heiress ring for the Rosier line, I can ask you. The Rosier family has a cottage in Spain, on the Cies Islands, to be specific. Would you allow us to go visit the cottage? It would be a good lesson on controlling estates. I can teach you how to command the house elves you have under your wing to clean and maintain it, so we can make it liveable again."
"Absolutely, I would love that Auntie Cia. Wait, Spain right? Does that mean that there's a beach? I've never seen a beach before..." She trailed off wistfully.
"Yes child, there are plenty of beaches. I can't believe those blasted muggles never took you on a beach holiday. Then again, I honestly can't believe that they treated you so horribly to begin with." Cassiopeia said quietly.
With that they headed home to pack up the new clothing Azalea had gotten as well as some of her clothing she already had. Books and journals, parchment with quills and ink were packed as well, although Azalea didn't think she would have time to read much, with the way Cassiopeia was talking about.
The next day she gave her a lesson on how to summon elves and command them. Theo joined in, as was the usual now that he moved into the manor.
"Now, I contacted Gringotts and got the itinerary for your Rosier family estates, and got the names of the head house elf and the main cleaning staff house elf you'll be commanding the most. Say clearly and firmly, 'Rosey, I summon thee. Rafty, I summon thee.' They will hear you, from wherever they are and are obligated to answer to the summons."
"Okay, I can do this. Um… Rosey, I summon thee. Rafty, I summon thee." Azalea said clearly, looking towards Theo and Cassiopeia for confirmation.
Theo already knew this information, he was there for support, as a good older brother always should be. They were outside in the gardens, sipping tea that an elf had just delivered.
A set of pops later, two decrepit elves that were covered in literal cobwebs appeared. The uniform they were wearing was tattered and faded, but you could make out the Rosier family coat of arms. This would not do. Azalea felt awful for the elves. Without orders to take care of themselves, they were failing to thrive.
"Hello, my name is Azalea Potter. I am the heiress to the Rosier line, and you are my elves. I command you to take care of yourselves first and foremost. I want the Rosier Cottage in Spain cleaned and prepped, for myself and five other guests to spend up to half a fortnight in at the very least. I also want you to access vault eight Hundred twelve, the Rosier heiress vault, and take some money out, to buy fabric and make yourselves presentable uniforms. I will have my elves in only the best, not something tattered." Azalea commanded firmly. She had to take control and let them know who their new master was, after all.
"Yes Master. When should we be having the Cottage ready by? I will gather my cleaning elves to start right away." Rafty stammered out. It had been a long time since he had anyone to be commanded by. He felt younger already. Elves only aged when they didn't have someone to take care of, and it had been almost a decade since they were properly fed magic from the wizarding family.
Azalea nodded to the elf, and turned to the other one.
"You must be Rosey. Correct?" Azalea asked politely.
"Yes Master. What can Rosey be doing for you?"
"Like I said, I want all of my elves to wear proper uniforms. It can bestow the Rosier family crest, but I want the entirety of my staff wearing proper uniforms." Azalea commanded again.
"It will be done right away."
"That is all for now. Go, do my bidding for me."
With that the elves popped away, eager to have someone so firm and powerful to command them again. Ever since Evan had been jailed, they were left to rot along with the properties with no one to care for and no one to care for them.
Six days later, Rosey and Rafty returned in front of Azalea as she was eating lunch with Theo and Arcturus. Cassiopeia was out doing some last minute shopping of her own and did not feel like dragging the two children with her this particular time. It was probably because she was shopping for Azalea and Neville's ninth birthday gifts.
"Hello, Master Azalea, your request for the uniforms, as well as your request for the Cottage to be prepped are done."
"Everything is done, this quickly?"
"Yes ma'am. Elves are quick."
"Okay then thank you. Expect us within the week."
This time, the elves were wearing an obvious change in clothing. The fabric was not tattered and stained, nor was the crest faded. It was made of a nice cream-colored linen, and the crest itself was vivid red and green and gilded. It looked to be made of high quality materials, just as she had commanded. Excellent.
Once Cassiopeia had returned, with brown wrapped parcels in hand, Azalea and Theo told her the good news about the Cottage.
"That's wonderful. We will leave in four days, so be packed. I will help you two if you would like, although Azalea should already be mostly packed except for a few books. Have you decided on if you will bring Arawn with you or will you leave him back here at the manor?" Cassiopeia asked curiously, and she passed off the miniature parcels to Arcturus while the kids were not looking. It would do no good for them to snoop.
"I'm bringing him of course. Arawn, say hello." Azalea hissed out, startling two of the three wizards. Theo was used to it, as he had seen her have full-blown conversations with the reptile many times now. Cassiopeia, and Arcturus, were not so used to it.
"Hello, young masster. It is rather comfortable here although the floor iss chilly. I would much rather be up on your arm pleasse." The snake, a bit larger than when Azalea first got him, hissed out. He was rather polite, especially for a talking animal. He did adore his owner though, so that definitely helped. Azalea reached down and scooped him up, draping the reptile gently over her shoulders. He hissed out in contentment before settling down, like a living shawl on her.
On the morning that they were to leave for vacation, Azalea had everyone crowded around her, all touching somewhere on her arm.
"Remember, just think, 'Rosier Cottage, Illas Cies Ria De Vigo Galicia, Spain' clearly, and it will whisk you, and consequently us, away to the Rosier Cottage. And she did just that. It worked like a charm, er, portkey.
They were officially on the island, right outside of the manor, but inside the wards at the front door.
"Welcome to Rosier Cottage everyone. Although this looks more like a mansion than a cottage I think." Azalea said in wonder.
Meanwhile, in the grim, cold prison of Azkaban a copper headed man shot straight up from his longing position and cocked his head to the side. A look of confusion spread across his face as his family's wards on the manor in Spain alerted him to the fact that it had been open. Which should be impossible only an heir or the head of house can reopen a shutdown residence. At that thought his emerald eyes widened. "An heir?" He whispered to himself. He thought he was the last one left, unless his sister had survived the kidnapping. That was the only way there could be someone out there with the blood of the main line. He couldn't remember any purebloods that would fit the description of a Rosier that graduated eight years after him. The only woman who graduated that year with the trademark copper hair was a mudblood who had married into the Potter line, tainting it.
He leaned back against the wall in thought. There was no way, right? There had to be a way to rule it out. If it was the mudblood then he had crossed wands with his little sister and aimed to kill her. That thought alone made him sick. Then a name popped up in his mind causing a smirk to crawl up his face. His cell was diagonal to Black's. Now how to get his attention without notice.
He looked around for anything he could use to catch Black's attention. Finding nothing he settled for a whistle. He walked over to the bars of his cell and whistled softly enough that it wouldn't wake up the neighbors and hoped that Black was still awake. Luckily for him, he was. A ruffled Sirius Black appeared silently at the bars of his cell with his eyes locked unblinkingly on Evens face, his eyes eerily looking like that of a trapped animal.
"Hey Black I got a question?" Even called out softly.
"What do you want Rosier?" Sirius growled out roughly.
"That red head that Potter married, what was her name?" He asked, his gazes searching.
"Lily?" Was the confused response.
"No, what was her legal name?" He asked again, his eyes locked onto Sirius.
For a second Sirius' eyes grew unfocused. In his dementor addled brain he thought he was looking into Lily's eyes. "Lillian Rhona Rosier." He blurted out before his mind caught up to his mouth and paled. He couldn't believe he just revealed Lily's secret, but then she was dead, so it won't hurt, right? At that thought confusion entered into his eyes. He felt like he was forgetting something. He closed his eyes and entered his focused his mind letting his memories flow through his mind.
Evan watched the Black pale. He couldn't believe it. His sister had lived. She had grown up as a mudblood, but she had been alive under his nose and had been under his wand. But both the potters were dead; he knew that much from Black's nightly ramblings. "Their child." His voice came out as a soft whisper, but it was loud enough.
Sirius' eyes snapped open with a deranged dark possessive light in them. His face twisted into a savage scowl. "Don't you go near her. If you ever get out you better stay away from my goddaughter. I will not let you hand her over to your lord!" He growled out animalistically. "I will gut you and bathe in your blood before you touch one hair on her head. She is claimed." He gritted out between clenched teeth.
"She is apparently the heiress to house Rosier." Even said fiercely not wanting to give up his own house's claim on his newly found niece.
"She is blood adopted by me. She is heiress Black!" Sirius argued.
"She is my niece!" Even said stubbornly.
"She is mine! I became her magical guardian the moment that James and Lily died. They entrusted her to me! I can feel the Godfather bond being appeased. She is in the halls of the Black family now. No one will be powerful enough to take her now, not the ministry, not Dumbledore, and certainly not you." Sirius said as he sunk back into the shadows of his cell leaving Even alone to his thoughts. In his addled mind, he didn't connect the dots that he wasn't her magical guardian. Not since his incarceration. No, someone else was and that didn't explain why Azalea was within the halls of one of the Black estates.
Evan made his way back to the cot. This was both troubling and a relief. His house will still live on if he dies here, but he had a niece. A niece who he could be out there with, teaching her their family magics or teaching her to swim. He had lost out on being in her life the moment he landed in this hellhole. He hadn't even known she existed till tonight. Evan hadn't even dared to hope that his sister was alive but to find out his sister had died with her husband and leaving his little niece who couldn't even be more than eight or nine now alone.
He at least had the cold comfort of the fact that she was safe in the ancient halls of the Rosier manor in Spain for the night. As long as she stayed there he would feel her existence. When she left he would have no clue on her continued welfare.
Azalea felt a tingle in the back of her mind but for now she ignored it. She was on her first true holiday, and she was going to enjoy it. She had no homework due that week, it was all relaxation for her birthday with her two best friends and her growing family. Azalea knew things would be stressful when she got back, what with the reading of her late parents' will, but she knew with these five people by her side, she could get through anything.