Chapter Seventy-Two: Dartmouths and Blacks
Narcissa Malfoy – Present Day
April 12, 2001
Narcissa walked up to the door of the Dobwig Association and flung it open. A witch she did not recognize looked up at her from what appeared to be a reception desk.
"May I help you?" asked the witch.
Narcissa looked around but saw nothing helpful. The witch sat behind a desk that was near a window, bewitched to look like a peaceful park below. The other side of the office only contained of closed doors, likely leading to private offices within the Association.
"Who is the head of this department?" she asked the witch.
"Ginny Weasley," she responded.
"And you are...?"
"My name is Cho Chang, I am the administrator here. How may I help you?" she asked again.
"I have an urgent matter to discuss with Miss Weasley."
"Very well, allow me to make you an appointment."
"It must be immediately."
"Sorry, but I am afraid that is not possible. Even if she were here today, you would still need to complete an application which would then be reviewed."
"An application for what?" Narcissa snapped.
"I assume you have a grievance to file?" Cho responded. Narcissa nodded. "Well then, an application must first be completed. Here," she said, handing her some parchment. "Complete this and I will have someone respond as soon as they are able."
Narcissa looked down at the application now in her hand. It was lengthy but she knew what she had to do. "Very well, I will have this completed and delivered by tomorrow."
"Wonderful!" Cho exclaimed.
Narcissa left without another word and took the lift to another office, this time one she was familiar with.
"Enter," came the voice of Dolores Umbridge from inside the office that Narcissa just knocked on. She walked inside and sat across her, however, she noticed that Dolores' attention was focused on a piece of parchment that she was reading.
"What is that?" asked Narcissa.
Dolores looked up at her. "What do you want, Narcissa? We cannot meet in public like this."
"I've just come back from the Dobwig Association and was given an application to complete."
"So complete it. Potter and his friends love delaying whatever it is that they can but sooner or later will have to follow through."
Narcissa nodded. "It will be completed and submitted tomorrow."
"Good." Dolores continued to gaze at the letter in her hand. "Do you know the Dartmouth family?" she asked suddenly.
"It does not ring a bell," Narcissa answered truthfully.
"The Dartmouth family is a well-known pureblood family in the North," she started, not looking up from the letter in her hands. "Not a Sacred Twenty-Eight obviously, but very close to it. The current line however is almost gone," she continued. Narcissa listened intently. "Gregory and Ophelia Dartmouth had two daughters, Iris and Lotus. As Gregory was an only child, Iris and Lotus were the only two Dartmouth members who were able to continue on the family bloodline."
"But not the name," Narcissa finally spoke. "As they are both female, they will take on the name of their husbands."
Dolores finally looked up and smiled. "Precisely, which is why whoever they married must come from very noble blood. And so naturally, they secured a match from a family of the Sacred Twenty-Eight."
"Why is it that I have never heard of them before then?" she asked.
"Many reasons," Dolores responded. "For one, they lived in Macedonia and so you wouldn't have heard of them around this area."
"Why ask me then?"
Dolores studied Narcissa for a while before responding. "Iris, the eldest, was betrothed to your cousin, Sirius Black."
Narcissa was quiet. She vaguely recalled attending a Ritual Knot when she was younger but hadn't realized that it was Sirius'. "I assume that Irene is now free then, given my cousin's death."
"Iris, and yes, it would seem so."
"And Lotus?" Narcissa asked, continuing the conversation. She was sure Dolores would get to the point eventually.
"Dead," she said blatantly.
"I see. Well, Iris must hurry and re-marry if she wishes to keep the bloodline going."
"Which brings us to this letter," Dolores said. "Tell me, Narcissa, how were you able to complete Draco's Ritual Knot with the Greengrass girl?"
"My husband is dead," she stated.
"Nonsense, we both know he is not. Tell me, Narcissa."
"I am afraid I have nothing to tell."
Dolores rolled her eyes. "This charade must end; you know that we have an understanding, and I will not touch your son."
"It truly was not my doing," Narcissa answered honestly.
"Whose then?"
"I cannot say."
"Narcissa!"
But Narcissa held up her hand. "You have your secrets as I have mine, Dolores. Although I cannot tell you who, I can answer your questions."
Dolores nodded her understanding. "Was Lucius rescued the same way that Gellert Grindelwald was?"
"Yes."
"And am I correct to assume that it was done through the Abracadabra spell?"
It was Narcissa's turn to nod.
"So," Dolores pondered out loud. "While under the curse, you are as good as dead, meaning that Ritual Knots can take place without the head of the family being present."
"That is my understanding also."
"Iris and Sirius never did wed; he was captured on the night of his wedding and sent away to Azkaban. When Bellatrix killed him those few years back, it should have set Iris free of the knot."
"Naturally."
"But it did not." Dolores handed Narcissa the letter she had been reading and Narcissa silently read it to herself:
Dear Ms. Umbridge,
It is my understanding that you work alongside the Minister of Magic and it is therefore the reason why I address this to you. My name is Iris Dartmouth and I am the unfortunate witch that was betrothed to Sirius Black by way of a Ritual Knot. I am writing to you to advise that despite what has been reported, I am afraid that Sirius is not dead. I still have a fully intact Ritual Knot that could only indicate that he is alive and likely in hiding. I thought it prudent to provide this information to you and your Ministry.
Iris Dartmouth
Narcissa finished reading the letter and looked up at Dolores. "How?"
"All I could imagine is the Abracadabra spell," Dolores said.
"My sister would not have used that spell on him," Narcissa stated, knowing Bellatrix well. "She would have killed him."
"Clearly she had other motives that you were not aware of."
"No," she said sternly. "It is not possible. If I was able to proceed with Draco's Ritual Knot, then Iris' should have disappeared when Sirius had been put under the spell. You cannot trick magic; either you are considered dead under the spell or not, and clearly it worked for Draco, meaning that for the time being, Lucius is dead."
"Very well, but Sirius is alive, Narcissa."
"I suppose the Aurors should start hunting him."
"No; they are not to know of this."
"Why not?"
"Are you prepared to explain Lucius' disappearance?"
Narcissa frowned. "I can see what information I can muster, but I truly don't believe that he's under the spell."
"That is for me to figure out. I will await your owl then; be sure to be hasty."
Iris Dartmouth – Present Day
April 12, 2001
Iris paced around her small home for what seemed like hours. She hadn't seen her father since her sister's funeral and even then, it had only been briefly. She triple-checked that her mother's urn was hidden away as her father would likely kill her if he knew that she had gone through with her mother's wishes to be cremated. She took continuous breaths and waited to hear that wretched knock at the door.
Meow!
"Mr. Proudfoot!" she gasped, as she picked up her precious cat. "How did you get out? I told you that you need to stay hidden in my bedroom!" She carried Mr. Proudfoot to her room and closed the door. Her father hated cats and she was not interested in antagonizing him further. She peered at the box that was sitting on her kitchen table and groaned; how had she been so stupid? Thinking about it now, she knew it was foolish to have written to the Ministry of Magic but for a brief moment, she had only been thinking about Eric and the small possibility of being able to get him back.
"Such an idiot," she mumbled to herself. Eric had moved on and gotten married which she very well knew. Even if there was a chance for her to be free from her Ritual Knot, it would never lead her to a life with Eric. All her letter had done was bring her vicious father into her life again. She had received the shocking owl from him just last night and knew that the Ministry had to have told him about her letter. She tried to calm her nerves with a cup of hot tea but dropped it as she heard a knock at the door. She quickly grabbed her wand and cleaned up the mess then, with her stomach in knots, she opened her front door.
"Good evening, Father."
Gregory Dartmouth entered his daughter's house without a word. He took a moment to gaze around the room then finally turned and looked at her.
"This place is small."
"I don't need a large place given that it's just me."
His eyes made their way towards the box on her table. "Is this it?"
"Yes."
Gregory opened the box and examined her dreaded Ritual Knot. "So, Sirius Black is alive."
"It would appear so," she responded.
"Where is he?"
"I have not seen him since the day this Knot was created," she answered truthfully.
Gregory examined the Knot for a little longer then returned it to the box. "Keep this safe," he told her. "I'll return once I have Sirius with me and we will conduct the wedding immediately."
"Father, you can't expect me to –"
"To what?" he shouted. "To marry him? You damn bloody well will marry him!"
"After what they did to Lotus? Never!" Her father rounded on her quickly and she flinched.
"You are the last Dartmouth, Iris. I require an heir and time is running out! You are not getting any younger. I am not pleased with the suitor but the Ritual Knot will not allow us to deviate and so you will marry him and bear his children."
"You thought him dead this whole time, father, so why not find me another suitor then?"
"You think I haven't tried?" he bellowed. "After what the Black's did, nobody would touch you! Sirius is the only option, and you will marry him or I will kill you myself."
"Then kill me," she said, sounding more braver than she felt.
"You would like that wouldn't you?" he told her. "Very well, I will simply force the marriage onto you then. I do not need you Iris, I need your child."
"So you would force this man onto your only living daughter and have him do explicit things to me just to get an heir?"
"Yes," he said plainly.
Iris was fuming. She knew he hated her for this situation, even though it was beyond her control, yet to hear him say that hurt her nonetheless.
"The Ministry witch will stop you; he's a wanted murderer anyway," she responded, thankful for the first time in her life that Sirius Black was indeed a murderer.
"What Ministry witch?" he asked her.
"Umbridge, didn't she contact you?"
"I don't know who you are talking about."
"Dolores Umbridge," she said again, annoyed. "She is the one that I wrote to."
"You told someone about this?" the look on her father's face was one she had never seen before; it was fear.
"I-I thought that's how you found out..."
"I found out through a contact that I have in Macedonia. Iris, tell me what you've done!"
But Iris said nothing. There was nothing to say to her father that wouldn't end up with him striking her. After a very tense moment, her father spoke again.
"You tell nobody anything and you keep your family robes on hand, do you understand me?"
Iris nodded. The look on her father's face was one she had seen only once, and it was the night that he had killed her mother.
"As soon as Sirius is located, I will bring him here for the wedding." Without another word, he stormed out of her house and slammed the door shut behind him.
Nymphadora Tonks Lupin – Present Day
April 24, 2001
Tonks had arrived on level one in her plain black robes without anyone noticing her. She looked down at her growing belly and worried that it would give her away. Taking a deep breath, she pulled the robes around her to hide her pregnant belly and used her metamorphmagus ability to shift her face to look like none other than Harry Potter. After examining her reflection nearby and knowing it was the best that she could do, she lifted her hood over her head to cast a shadow over her harry-like face and threw on a pair of fake glasses.
"Now or never," she whispered to herself. Deciding that a whisper would be the best way to disguise her voice, she made her way over to the only storage room on the floor. She opened the door and saw standing before her a very annoyed Rita Skeeter.
"Potter?" Rita questioned.
"Who else?" Tonks whispered.
"Took you long enough!"
"Breaking into the Ministry isn't exactly easy! Where is Ron?"
"The window first!"
Tonks shook her head. "Ron!"
Rita sighed but laid a teacup at her feet. She then transfigured it back to Ron, then back again into a teacup and slipped it into her pocket. "The window," she said.
Tonks nodded. Looking to make sure the coast was clear, she led Rita towards the other side of the floor, inches away from the Minister of Magic's office. She stopped in front of an ordinary window with purple curtains.
"This is it?" Rita asked.
Tonks nodded again. She reached her hand out for the cup and excitedly, Rita dropped it in her hands. She turned to leave, but Rita called her back.
"What are you doing? Transfigure him and bring him back!" she nearly shouted.
"Keep it down!" Tonks whispered.
'We had a deal!"
"Yeah, the deal was that I would show you where it is, and I have; I never agreed to show you how to use it!"
Angry, Rita grabbed her wand. "I can summon Dolores here right now, Potter, and you will head straight to Azkaban!"
Tonks shrugged then ran around the corner as quickly as she could while shifting back into herself. Reaching the only office on the floor, Tonks quickly grabbed the handle and let herself slip inside the Minister of Magic's office.
"Tonks?" he questioned, looking up at her surprised.
"Sorry to barge in Kingsley, but I've received word that someone is going to try and break into the Department of Mysteries again," she said.
"What is your source?" he asked.
"Do you honestly want to know that?"
"No, I guess not," sighed Kingsley.
"For the record, it isn't Harry. This is an actual break-in."
Kingsley nodded his thanks. "I'll go and organize a lockdown, thank you."
Tonks followed him out of the office. She sighed a breath of relief as she realized that their plan had worked. Together, her and Ginny formulated the perfect way to get Ron back, while making sure that Rita couldn't figure anything out. They decided that extra security was needed on the archway, which is why tipping off Kingsley was incorporated in the plan. Now, the plan was to drop Ron off at Ginny's office at the Dobwig Association for safe keeping until they could bring him back.
Lotus Dartmouth – The Past
June 7, 1987
Lotus coward behind her mother as she listened to her father argue with Orion Black. She knew her father was angry that Sirius was in prison and Iris was therefore stuck with a never-ending Ritual Knot, but she also knew enough about the Black family to know that you should not cross them, and she was scared for her father's life.
"My daughter is trapped in that knot!" her father bellowed. "You swore that you would have him killed!"
"Believe me, Gregory, that is my intent. It is rather difficult however to have someone in Azkaban murdered."
"That is not my problem," he growled. "You are to free Iris from this, and you are to find her someone to wed!"
"We are not wedding planners, Gregory," Walburga Black chimed in. "We are just as angry as you are; both of our heirs are gone and as such, the Black line is extinguished. You at least have her," she said, nodding towards Lotus.
"She does not have a match. We have tried but nobody wants to match with her, knowing that her sister is bound to your disgrace of a son!"
"That sounds like your problem," retorted Walburga.
"Listen here you wench!"
"Easy now," said Orion sternly. "That is my wife that you are speaking to."
"I don't care! Your shameful family has brought this on to mine, and I will not stand here and let you shake off your responsibility of fixing this! Now, either kill Sirius Black or find Lotus a husband!"
"Or what?" asked Orion, bored.
"Or you will pay!" her father spat.
Walburga laughed. "Orion, I have lost both sons and the Black line is just about extinguished. Please give me some sort of joy, will you?"
"Gladly," said Orion.
Lotus watched in fear as Orion pointed his wand at her. "You will now know what it means to truly have your line extinguished, Gregory. Avada Kedvara!"
Author's Note: I really enjoyed this chapter! I'm curious to hear what you all think about Sirius' ritual knot - please share your thoughts in the reviews!
Not going to say much right now, but there is a good plot coming up. Enjoy and see you at the next chapter!