Chapter 3: Plans

105 Eaton Square, Belgravia, London, United Kingdom

December 27, 1979

Arcturus despised that the holiday season had kept him from the business of assuring Leonis' swift incorporation into the Black family. Cassiopeia had brought the boy to him on the twenty-third of December and unfortunately Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day were hallowed days of the winter season and so he had been forced to accept that it would be the day after Boxing Day that he could put his plans into action.

He had ordered his personal House-Elf, Dred, to his home in Belgravia to inspect it and make it ready for his brief habitation. He would remain at Belgravia for the duration of the year. He wished to introduce Leonis as the new Black Heir by the New Year. He had few days in which to achieve his goals. Thankfully Melania would not be joining him for a few days so he would be able to see to his machinations unimpeded by her well-meaning interference.

"My Lord Black, your guest has arrived." Dred informed him with all deference.

"Thank you Dred." He said as he eyed the aging House-Elf. He did not know how old the wrinkled old House-Elf was, nor did he have any understanding of House-Elves beyond their desire to serve their bound masters. Dred had belonged to his father, though had not served as Sirius Black II's Personal House-Elf. From what Arcturus understood, Dred had been old even when his father had been born.

He arose from his desk and strode from his office and down the long hall, his footsteps making a soft thud against the rich Turkish runner carpet that Melania had purchased on one of their trips to Istanbul. He heard the click of the door behind him and just barely felt the magic used by Dred to keep other House-Elves locked out of his office. He allowed a smirk to curve his lips. Dred was amazingly well suited for him. The little Elf had always been very adept at correctly anticipating his needs.

He entered the lounge, a large lovely room with white walls, black and white marble inlay, gleaming hardwood floor, and large windows. The room was decorated with comfortable burgundy sofas and matching black and white marble coffee table and side tables. He smiled with pleasure to see his guest, the Lady Olivia Greengrass.

Lady Olivia Greengrass was the oldest child of Lord Demetrius Greengrass. She had the honorary title of Lady due to his Lordship being a widower. Arcturus had heard that she was a beauty but he was pleased to see that the rumor was true. The girl had certainly dressed to impress for their meeting. Her curvy figure was encased in a dress of dark green silk-brocade. Dragonhide boots polished to a shine adorned her feet and calves and by the pale pearl color of the hide he guessed that they were the hide of an Antipodean Opaleye Dragon. An emerald and diamond bracelet adorned her wrist but she did not wear any other jewelry. Her golden-blond hair was pulled up into a simple style that left the curls to fall in a haphazard yet elegant effect.

"Thank you for meeting with me Lady Olivia." Arcturus began the pleasantries. He was pleased when she arose from her perch on the sofa and then executed a perfect curtsy.

"Thank you for your kind invitation Lord Black." Her voice was pleasant, melodious.

Once again Arcturus was pleased with her. "Please be seated Lady Olivia, I am afraid that what I must discuss with you will take some time and it shall need all of your discretion." What he had not told her was that he had already ensured she would never be able to reveal to another soul what they were to speak in this room. The timed spell ensuring her silence on the matter had settled over her the moment he had entered the room.

Olivia raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued by what the Lord of the House of Black could want with her. She sat upon the sofa and politely indicated to Lord Black to begin.

"On December the twenty-second a child was delivered unto the keeping of my kinswoman Cassiopeia Black." He revealed to Olivia. "The father of the child is your former paramour Sirius Black." He watched as Olivia flinched.

"I suppose it should not surprise me that you know about my dalliances with Sirius." Olivia said with a small note of distress tinging her voice.

Arcturus inclined his head in the affirmative but did not dwell on the fact that she had been Sirius' lover, however briefly. "I am well aware of your current troubles Lady Olivia. I know that your father has been hostile to the idea of you marrying ever since your mother died when you were fourteen. I am also aware that this psychosis of your father's has delighted your brother Nicholas because he would prefer to not pay out the full dowry that your doting father had allotted for when you wed."

Olivia nodded her head curtly and bitterness flashed in her pale green eyes. "Yes, Lord Black. You seem to have your facts straight."

"Then perhaps you would be amenable to my proposal. I want you to blood adopt Leonis Black in secret and claim that it was you whom gave birth to the boy." He said and purposely ignored her surprised look that was swiftly shifting toward outrage. "In return I will ensure you become betrothed to one of the richest Pure-blood's in the United Kingdom."

Olivia opened her mouth to no doubt refuse but then she swiftly seemed to think better of it. She frowned in thought. "You want me to be the mother of this child, this Leonis Black?" At his nod she frowned. "Why me?"

"To be honest Lady Olivia you are just the sort of young woman that I would have wanted to see Sirius betrothed to had he chosen a less rebellious path in life." He told her matter of fact. "If I had a more amenable grandson then you would have become my Grand-daughter by marriage and the mother of my great-grandchildren. I now have the great-grandson but his mother is distasteful." He said and smirked at just how true his statement really was. He saw the light of understanding in Olivia's eyes and knew instantly that she was assuming that Leonis' mother was distasteful due to blood heritage. He let her think what she wished.

Olivia watched him carefully. "What would my rights be in regards to Leonis?" She asked him.

He was surprised by her question and he watched her smile delicately at having caught him so unawares. He chuckled. "Forgive me, my dear. I am used to dealing with the more ruthless and heartless Slytherins. I have quite forgotten what is like to speak to a Slytherin who is not heartless."

"Spending too much time with your family then Lord Black?" She asked him teasingly and then she shook her head. "Forgive me, my lord, that was very wrong of me to say."

"Indeed it was, but considering I sense that your relationship with Sirius did not end well, I will let your words slide." He promised her. "As for your rights in regards to Leonis you will have little." He began carefully. "Our story shall be that you fell under Sirius' sway and charm and became his lover but were then cast aside. You will be the poor victim, the woman who naively believed that Sirius was all of the good and light virtuous things he pretends to be."

Olivia laughed outright at that. "I see. So we shall blend fact with our fiction." She said in a tone that showed she agreed with Arcturus. "It is as you have said. I did believe that I meant more to Sirius than that, but he did not promise me more than he gave me. He was honest with me."

"That hardly suits our purposes." Arcturus commented.

"Perhaps not, but as his grandfather, even estranged as you are, I thought you might like to know that your grandson did not lie to me." She smiled then. "Though for the sake of little Leonis, I really do not have any qualms about pretending that I misunderstood Sirius' intentions."

Arcturus smirked. "That will do nicely." He agreed and he refused to address the part of himself that was pleased that Sirius was honorable. "Very well, we shall do it your way. We will not play up Sirius as a villain per say but rather that you misunderstood your romantic arrangement and then when you found yourself pregnant, rather than go to the man whom had spurned your affection you chose to give the child to its rightful family."

Olivia nodded graciously. "It is exactly what I would have chosen to do if I had found myself pregnant by Sirius." She admitted to Arcturus. "So my rights to Leonis shall be limited due to my having given him to Cassiopeia Black?"

Arcturus nodded. "Yes. I shall be adopting him as the Heir to the House of Black." He told her.

Olivia nodded and looked to her lap. "Forgive me for not offering my condolences before on the death of Regulus." She said carefully. "I had heard the rumors of course, but I was not positive that it was the truth."

Arcturus remembered to look grim as he nodded his head. "I am afraid it is true. I thank you for your condolences. His mother is quite distraught, as you can imagine. She has lost her husband and her remaining son within a few months of each other." He reminded her of the death of his own son, Orion Black, whom had died just months before assisting Auror's in Diagon Alley. His boy had been killed by Death Eaters. Death Eaters! He had to distance himself from the thought of Death Eaters and focus on his current task.

"Then, then that means that Leonis Black is," She paused suddenly feeling the full impact of her thoughts. "You are asking me to be the mother of the future Lord Black."

Arcturus smirked as he watched her shocked countenance. "Yes my dear Lady Olivia, I am. And in return I am willing to let you have visitation with the boy provided your husband will permit it."

"You have hand-picked my son, Lord Black." Olivia began in a voice tinged with amazement. "Have you also hand-picked my husband?"

Arcturus chuckled. "Would Malcolm Macmillan do?" He asked referring to his great-nephew. Malcolm was the son of Melania's nephew and he was currently the only living Macmillan. Dragonpox had robbed him of his father and his grandfather. Malcolm was in need of a wife and an heir but he was picky. Arcturus was aware that Malcolm had twice attempted to press his suit for Olivia's hand and each time he was turned aside by Demetrius.

"Malcolm?" She said the man's name softly. "I had thought he had given up on me." She admitted.

"No. He is stubborn. Scotsmen usually are." He winced as he remembered his own suit of Melania Macmillan. Her father had told him no three times.

"I would be a fool to say no." Olivia admitted. "If I say no then my chances of marriage are all over. Yet if I say yes then you are granting me the chance to be the mother of the future Lord Black, the wife of Lord Macmillan and the mother of the future Macmillan heirs." She smiled at him. "You are very generous My Lord."

"I hope you continue to believe that lie, Lady Olivia." He said earning a giggle from the woman that he would from this day forward think of as his grand-daughter by marriage.

"You need my blood for the adoption." Olivia said once more all seriousness. "I will send it to you once I have a copy of the wedding contract in my hands."

Arcturus chose to agree with Olivia. It would be wrong to push her for the blood now, especially if he could not uphold his end of the bargain. Still, it would be a pity if he had to choose some other damsel. Olivia Greengrass was a beauty and in the right position to need his assistance. "Very well. I hope to hear from you soon Lady Olivia." He said rising to stand.

Olivia arose as well and smiled at Arcturus. "It will be my pleasure to see you again Lord Black, I am sure."

Arcturus called for Dred and then ordered the House-Elf to see the Lady Olivia out. He watched her leave and smirked before crossing to the fireplace and throwing floo powder within. "Tyrcrave Manor." He called out and waited with little true patience as the connection settled. He then stepped through the flames and felt the squeezing sensation of floo-travel.

As he walked out of the flames he could see the receiving room of Tyrcrave Manor. It was a smaller room than the receiving room at his own Chateau Noir, and it was sparsely decorated, but there were large windows adding natural light to the room and rich tapestries hung from the walls depicting the deeds of the past Macmillan's.

He walked to one of the windows and glanced out onto the grounds. A light sprinkling of snow lay on the grounds and the loch in the distance looked icy to his sharp gaze.

"My Lord Black, Whimsy is happy to greet you." The voice of a House-Elf began. "Would Lord Black please follow me to Master Malcolm?"

"You still call him Master Malcolm instead of Lord Macmillan?" Arcturus asked the House-Elf even as he began to follow the creature from the receiving room. All the while his eyes took in the décor around him. The walls in the hall were decorated with a cream and pale gold patterned wallpaper. The wooden accents throughout the hall were a brightly polished cherry wood. The stairs that led up to the personal rooms of the residence were also made out of cherry wood. Cherry wood was very valued by witches and wizards and it was clear that the past Macmillan's had used it throughout the house. He tried to imagine Olivia living in this house and he found a smile curving his lips. He thought his new grand-daughter would enjoy being mistress of this beautiful home.

"Master insists." Whimsy informed him. "Master knows best so Whimsy obeys."

"Very good of you Whimsy." He reassured the House-Elf who seemed to preen with pleasure at being praised.

He was led into the library where he found the form of his great-nephew, Malcolm Macmillan, pouring over architectural plans. He smiled at that. Though Malcolm had inherited a great deal of his money, he had followed his father and grandfather's profession and had become an architect. His architectural firm dealt with the building of both magical and muggle homes and commercial centers.

"Magical or Muggle?" Arcturus asked in order to both gain his attention and to appease his own curiosity.

The dark blond head raised swiftly then. "Magical." He muttered after a moment of assessing Arcturus. Then he sighed. "You were not sent here because I refused to spend Boxing Day at Noir, were you?" He asked with only the faintest hint of his native accent. Malcolm had been brought up in the Macmillan townhouse in Glasgow and for many years he possessed the Glaswegian accent and spoke the Glaswegian dialect. Extensive practice and tutoring had helped him to cease using the accent as often but it still lingered, and probably always would.

"No, though you know that Melania is worried about you." Arcturus said pointedly. He had not enjoyed Melania fretting over Malcolm, not the least of which because Malcolm was a grown man who could take care of himself. Yet he had wisely kept his mouth shut about that. Malcolm was all that was left of Melania's birth family. She would likely always worry about Malcolm. The swift deaths of her brother and nephew had devastated his Melania and had made her clingy to Malcolm as a result.

Malcolm ran a hand over his face in a tired sort of way and then he looked again to Arcturus. "Aye, I'll call upon her in a few days. Will you be at Noir for New Years?"

"No. We shall be in London." He told Malcolm and at the young man's sharp look he smiled. He had always liked Malcolm. The boy was perceptive.

"Regulus." Malcolm whispered. He swore softly under his breath in Gaelic then. When he composed himself he looked again to Arcturus. "So it is true then, the rumors?"

"Yes." Arcturus allowed himself a moment of grief. He would never see Regulus again, not as the young man he was. With the blood adoption they were changing the boy and hopefully his fate with it. That this was giving Regulus a better chance and his House a better chance at survival was a thought that he clung to with all of his strength ever since he had thought up this plan.

"I am sorry Uncle." Malcolm said gently. "Regulus was a fine young man." He said to Arcturus. "He was always fair in his dealings with me and I never heard a vile word about him lest it was muttered by Sirius or his friends."

Arcturus flinched slightly at hearing the name of his grandson and any reference to Sirius' friends. "Let us speak no more about this." He said. "We have chosen the thirtieth for Regulus' internment. Tomorrow the paper will run his obituary." He informed Malcolm. "I hope that you will be able to attend for Melania's sake."

"Of course." Malcolm assured him and frowned in thought.

Arcturus did not need to be a mind reader to know that Malcolm was piecing together that Regulus' death would just make Melania more difficult to deal with in regards to his own freedoms. He smiled encouragingly at him. "I did not come to only discuss Melania and Regulus." He admitted regaining Malcolm's full attention.

The Scotsman eyed him a moment and then his lips curved into a smile. "Alright then, what dastardly scheme do you have afoot and how is it that you think I may be of use?"

Arcturus chuckled for a moment before turning completely serious. "You could marry Lady Olivia Greengrass."

Malcolm stared at him for a few moments before he carefully said. "My suit was refused twice."

"Your great-grandfather refused me three times." Arcturus waved that away with ease. "Malcolm, there are circumstances that have transpired that would finally make Demetrius amenable to your suit provided you were willing to wed Olivia tastefully yet swiftly."

"Go on, you have my attention." Malcolm encouraged.

"Sirius seduced Olivia." He informed Malcolm and he saw the man's hands clench into fists. "Lady Olivia misinterpreted what was between Sirius and herself." He added.

"She is not the first woman to be lured in by Sirius and it is not like I was there as an alternative." Malcolm said bitterly. Jealousy burned in the man's eyes. "Yet why would her loss of virtue bring you to my door?"

"Shortly after Sirius broke it off with her, Lady Olivia found herself with child." Arcturus proceeded to explain. "She has given birth to the child, a boy. She gave the child to the House of Black. Since she has given me hope back for my house I feel honor bound to try to assist her. I am speaking to you of this because I knew that you wanted her as your wife. Though it is lamentable, the loss of her virtue was the only way she would ever get Demetrius to consent to let her wed anyone."

"Aye, I wanted her." Malcolm said and then he began to pace. "I still want her." He admitted after a moment and then he growled. "I also want to bash in Sirius' face because he touched her."

Arcturus could understand the feeling. He would have torn any man who touched Melania to shreds, even if they had touched her before she was truly his. He would have enjoyed hunting them down and decimating them. Fortunately for him, Melania had been untouched when they wed. Malcolm would be a possessive husband for some time, of that Arcturus was sure. He hoped Olivia learned how to handle it.

"I have no power to stop you from harming Sirius, I only ask that you do not do him permanent harm." He said. At Malcolm's shocked look he smirked. "I promised Melania that I would not harm Sirius, I never said that I would stop others from doing so. Though she would be quite displeased with you if she learned you had harmed Sirius."

"He always was her favorite grandchild." Malcolm said with a sigh. "Pity that Sirius did not take into account that he would be dismissing her and her love for him when he chose to cleave himself from the family."

Arcturus agreed with him. "Will you press your suit again in regards to Lady Olivia?"

"I shall." Malcolm immediately replied. "She clearly needs a firm hand and needs to be protected."

Arcturus smirked. "Yes, there are too many men out there that would love to take advantage of a beauty such as she. That Lord Greengrass has refused offers for her has only encouraged the rakes to believe they can seduce her without suffering for it. It has placed her in a vulnerable position rather than protected her."

"That Olivia is of a lively spirit does not help her." Malcolm added. "She naturally attracts attention."

Arcturus chuckled. "Yes, no shrinking violet is that Lady." He agreed remembering the woman who had dared to tease him about his own family being heartless just an hour before. "I think you will be the right man to guide and protect her." He informed Malcolm. "And seeing you settled into marriage and focused on your family and your work will settle Melania's nerves."

"Ah and now we see what you get out of this." Malcolm teased him. Then he sobered slightly. "What about the boy?"

"Leonis is his name." Arcturus told him. "Leonis Regulus Black." He said simply. "We honored Sirius with the first name, a little poke at the fact that Sirius is a Gryffindor but he is no longer a member of this family for all that he still bears the Black surname. As such he did not deserve the honor of his name being borne by his son."

"I see." Malcolm said and he did seem to see all too clearly. What's more was that he seemed to approve of Arcturus' action. "Regulus to honor the uncle who died near his birthdate."

"Yes." Arcturus said. "We thought it would perhaps help to ease Walburga a little." He told the lie easily.

"Of course." Malcolm said in a placating tone that did little to hide his thoughts. Malcolm was one of those whom had always thought Walburga was heartless.

"I shall let you get back to your work, though I would advise you to speak to your solicitor about marrying Lady Olivia as soon as possible, for her reputations sake."

"Of course Uncle." Malcolm agreed. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention."

Arcturus smiled at him before he turned and left the room. He paused only a moment to listen to Malcolm calling for Whimsy and ordering the House-Elf to go at once to his solicitor to fetch the man to him. It was with a smug smile still curving his lips that Arcturus Black III left Tyrcrave Manor.