Chapter 74: In Memoriam
Blackmoor, Essex, England, UK.
June 8, 1991
It was at dawn that the Black family found themselves standing outside of the great Mausoleum. The gothic façade held carvings of raven's in flight and the doorway into the bowls of the crypt was guarded by two fierce-looking Grims. They were so perfectly carved that they had frightened Sirius when he was a child. He had thought them real. Bellatrix had once teased him that they really were real and that they would animate and attack if anyone who wasn't of their blood tried to enter the tomb of their ancestors.
Sirius couldn't resist the urge to gently run his fingers across the top of the heads of the statues before he entered the crypt along with Cygnus Black. As the only grown men left in the House of Black the duty of interring their beloved kin fell to them. Sirius was grateful that he didn't have to handle this duty alone. Remus had offered to come with him, had reminded Sirius that he was his Vassal and that as such he could assist him. He was grateful for Remus, he really was, but he had declined. The fact was that Remus was his vassal and not the vassal of the Black family. Because of that, Remus could not help him with this. Remus had seen them to the doorway of the crypt, but he could go no further.
The stairs led deep under the earth and Sirius couldn't help comparing it to the bowels of the underworld. He wondered if the Black who had come up with the crypt and mausoleum had been inspired by such tales of heroes desperately traveling to the underworld so that they could be reunited with their loved ones.
"It makes me think of Orpheus and Eurydice," Cygnus murmured from behind him, behind the floating bodies of their fallen kin.
Sirius shivered at that. "He failed to get his lady love in the end," he murmured remembering the ancient Greek myth.
"Only because he foolishly turned to look back too soon," Cygnus reminded him.
Sirius nodded and let their talk of ancient myths drop. They silently made their way to the four sarcophagi that had been promptly prepared for Lord Black, Lady Black, Mr. Pollux Black, and Ms. Cassiopeia Black. Sirius trailed a hand over the side of the sarcophagus of Lord Black even as Cygnus lowered the bodies of each of the Black's into their final resting places.
Despite the speed with which the craftsmen had been forced to work, each sarcophagus were fine works of art. The lid of the sarcophagi for Lord Black held an effigy of Arcturus and Sirius was startled by how like his grandsire it truly was, how perfectly they had captured the image of Lord Black. Each sarcophagus in the Black tomb carried an effigy of the person whose bones the sarcophagus held.
Sirius raised his wand and slowly flicked it, his magic enchanting the lids and forcing them to close over the sarcophagi and seal the remains of his loved ones forevermore. He turned to leave the crypt, hating being underground, wanting to feel the rising sun on his face and longing to see his children safe and sound, but he paused because Cygnus had taken a moment to stare upon the effigy of Sirius's father's sarcophagus. There was such longing in the man's eyes and Sirius felt sorrow for him. Cygnus must miss him; heaven knew that Sirius still missed James every single day.
He then let his sight fall upon the effigy of his brother and he gravitated toward it. He stared down at the image of his brother and he tried to push back sorrow. He let love fill him up. He remembered when they were little, remembered when they were happiest and how Regulus sought him out and he thought he'd protect his little brother forever.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I failed you, but I never stopped loving you," he said. "I really didn't, Reggie. And I never will!" it was a vow. He'd no sooner stop loving Regulus than he could stop missing James, then he could stop loving his children. He'd rather rip his own heart out of his chest than stop loving his children.
He felt his uncle's hand upon his shoulder, and it gave him a gentle squeeze. "Come, the others are waiting for us," he reminded Sirius.
He nodded and then they left the crypt, climbing the stairs and it was a relief when Sirius rose into the morning air and he heard the door to the mausoleum close behind him. He smiled when he caught sight of his children and he moved to stand before Leonis, and he formally bowed his head to him. "Lord Black, your kin have now been interred in their final resting place."
Leonis swallowed hard but he nodded and once more Sirius hated how he couldn't just take his son into his arms and let him cry. His son, Lord Black. For a moment, a singular moment, Sirius wished that he were Lord Black. He wished that he had tried to convince Arcturus to reinstate him because he was an adult and he was old enough to handle these burdens. Leonis shouldn't have to do this yet, not yet.
He was startled from his thoughts when Leonis began to speak. "I have many good memories of Arcturus Black," his oldest child said into the silence of the morning air and Sirius noted that all of those gathered were silent, listening carefully to his son's words. "The greatest memory that I have of him though, is from my sixth birthday. He asked me to name what I wanted, anything at all and he would do all in his power to make it happen, to make it mine."
Sirius listened in curiosity. He had still been in Azkaban Prison when Leonis had turned six. His grandsire, Pollux, had hinted to Sirius that it was at Leonis' request that they had sought his freedom from Azkaban Prison, but he had never heard the tale of how Leonis had petitioned Lord Black.
"I told him that I wanted my father. I wanted to see him, to get to know him. I wanted it more than I wanted anything in the world," Leonis told them and there were some small smiles and nods from those who had been at that birthday party and had remembered the plea of the then Heir Black.
Sirius felt Remus place a comforting hand on his shoulder and he was grateful for his presence, for this anchor. Just hearing about how Leonis had asked for Sirius, how he had wanted to know his father, it filled him with a need to break protocol and grab up his son and hold him. He remembered the first time he had learned that he had a son. He had been standing in a hospital corridor in Saint Mungo's. He had brought Olivia Macmillan and Evelyn Greengrass to the hospital after finding them hurt and traumatized in a restaurant in Diagon Alley while Death Eaters rampaged through the shopping district terrorizing the good citizens. Nicholas Greengrass had thanked him for assisting his wife and then had warned him away from his sister. The man had told him about Leonis then and to this day Sirius didn't know if that was the Lord Greengrass's way of thanking him or not. He remembered the desperation he felt when he was denied the right to see his infant son, how Lord Black had turned him away and warned him to stay away from his child. He had used his animagus form to enter the property of his Great-Aunt Cassiopeia's home. He had stayed for weeks in his animagus form just so he could bide his time, hoping for a glimpse of his child. Finally, the day came when Cassiopeia held a picnic with some family and friends out in the garden. Sirius had finally met his son, breathed in his scent, and mourned that he had to remain in his animagus form or else he'd never get to be near his son again.
In Azkaban Prison, he had safeguarded his few memories of his infant son. He had been desperate to keep those memories safe from the Dementors. He had lost memories of James, but he had kept the memories of his Leonis.
"I am grateful to Lord Arcturus Black for giving me back my father. I will remember him and all of the good he did for this family," Leonis ended with a soft sob. Sirius broke then and pulled his son into his arms. The boy shuddered against him for a moment as he fought to get his emotions under control. Sirius just held him and rubbed his back gently, conveying without words all of the love he felt for Leonis.
"We shall remember," the crowd murmured, and Sirius murmured with them.
"I shall remember when Arcturus Black told me that he would always see me as his granddaughter," Olivia Macmillan said to the crowd. "It made my heart swell with such love for the man."
"We shall remember," the crowd said again.
"When my parents attempted to disown me for being a Squib, they cast me out of their house. My older brother, Pollux, had feared this outcome and he'd ordered one of his house elves to watch over me. When I was thrown out, the elf reported it to Pollux, and he came to me and took me to our cousin Arcturus. I shall never forget how my brother and Arcturus plotted and planned to get Lord Sirius Black to keep me within the family. They planned for alternatives if he did not agree, refusing to let me be without family. I shall remember Arcturus Black's devotion to his family before all else and I shall remember my brother's love."
"We shall remember," the crowd of mourners repeated.
"I shall remember the way Grandpa Pollux smelled," Estelle Burke, the grandchild of Pollux's mistress proclaimed from her position beside Hermione. "He smelled like that rich cologne he liked and that Irish pipe tobacco," she said on a soft sob that had Hermione putting an arm around her and pulling her close to comfort her. Eleanor, who stood on Estelle's other side rubbed the girl's back.
"We shall remember," the crowd of mourners said again and this time there were a few shuddery breaths within the group as some fought against tears.
"I'll remember the way Pollux Black made Hermione and I feel like we were his real great-granddaughters, and not just Heiresses of his house," Eleanor said. "His acceptance meant the world to me."
"We shall remember," the group said again, and this time Sirius noted that Andromeda and Narcissa were dabbing at their eyes with silk handkerchiefs.
"I remember when Lord Black sat down with my parents and explained how I am an Heiress of the House of Black and what that means for my life," Hermione said. "He was very calm and patient with my parents' questions and he made me feel like he was truly happy that I was apart of his family. I'll always remember his smile that day and I'll always remember that he had a choice. As head of this family, he could have chosen to never acknowledge me. He could have chosen to never include me in this family. Instead, he gave me a family. I will always remember that he made that choice and I will never cease to be grateful for it," Hermione ended with a hitch to her voice and tears spilled down her cheeks.
"We shall remember," Sirius voiced with the others as he watched Andromeda put an arm around Hermione to give her a half hug even as she was dabbing at her eyes with her handkerchief.
"I remember when I eloped," Andromeda's voice was strong despite her tears. "I went to Lord Black and presented my husband to him. I told myself that if I was to be truly disowned then I wouldn't let it happen because I was a coward. I would face it head-on and know where I stood from that point forward, but I was scared. I was so afraid that he really would disown me and that I would never see my family again."
"I never should have put you in that position," Cygnus spoke up then as he stared at his middle-born child. His voice rang of sincerity and remorse.
Andromeda gave him a teary smile. "I forgive you, Papa," she told him sincerely and Sirius watched Cygnus reaction to that. It seemed that a weight had been lifted from the man's shoulders as hope seemed to fill his eyes.
"Lord Black, he didn't disown me. He formally acknowledged Ted as my husband and thus part of the House of Black and then he honored me as a married Heiress of House Black, albeit one who had broken rules of protocol by eloping," Andromeda said with a smile. "As Hermione said, Lord Black had a choice to make. He could have chosen to remove me from the family, but he didn't. He embraced Ted and kept me in the family, and I will always remember that he did that."
"We shall remember," the voices proclaimed and there was both sadness and happiness mingled in the voices as they did remember.
"I shall remember every piece of advice that Cassiopeia Black ever gave to me," Narcissa said softly. "I'll remember her cool competence and seek to emulate it myself. Above all, I shall always remember how she acted as a mother for me and my sisters when our own mother couldn't be bothered to deal with us."
"We shall remember," they said. Sirius hugged Leonis tight to him even though at that moment he wished to hug Narcissa who had begun to cry openly over Cassiopeia's demise. He noted that Theodore, Blaise, Dane, and Draco had crowded around her and were doing their best to offer her some comfort. It made his lips twist into a smile to see how much her boys loved her.
"I'll never forget the smell of Aunt Cassie's perfume," Leonis murmured. "It smelled like home," the boy revealed to the crowd.
"We shall remember," Sirius said with the crowd and cradled the back of Leonis' neck and pulled him closer as his son started to cry again over the death of Cassiopeia Black.
"I shall always remember that Cassiopeia Black gave my son a home. She raised my firstborn child and I am proud of him. I am proud of the person he is now, and I know that is owed to Cassiopeia Black because she gave him a home and made him feel safe and loved there. She taught him and encouraged him to grow. I will always be grateful to her for that," Sirius said but his eyes were only on his firstborn and Leonis was looking up at him with awestruck gray eyes that looked silver with his tears.
"We shall remember," the crowd murmured.
"I'll always remember the first day I met Grandma Melania," Orion spoke up from the other side of Leonis. "She was making cookies. Her hair was up in this pretty style and she had on these beautiful and expensive-looking pieces of jewelry. She looked far too beautiful and far too elegant to be in a kitchen getting dirty. But she looked delighted like she was really enjoying making cookies. She let Leo and I help her make cookies and I thought she was the most wonderful thing in the world," Orion admitted sadly.
"We shall remember," the crowd agreed.
"I shall remember how Melania Black took care of me after the death of my parents," Malcolm Macmillan spoke up. "She was the only family I had left, and she could have left me all alone, but she chose to take me in and take care of me until I was old enough to take care of myself."
"We shall remember."
"I remember the day a few months ago when Aunt Melania gave me my first wand holster," Ernest Macmillan spoke up from his position between his mother and father. "She said it had belonged to her father and had been gifted to her by her brother. It was specially made and bound to the blood of the Macmillan's. She said that our family almost died out and she just wanted me to be protected. The holster would ensure that no one could take my wand, no one who didn't have Macmillan blood could take it from me," the boy said shakily, trying not to cry. "I'll never forget how much she loved her family, all of her family with her whole being."
"We shall remember," the crowd said.
"I shall remember Cassiopeia's friendship," Callidora Longbottom spoke up. "She was both my cousin and my best friend. I feel that the world is a little darker without her."
"We shall remember."
"I shall remember that it was Cassiopeia that brought Leonis to play with me the first time I ever met him," Neville said softly. "I shall remember that because of her kind gesture, I made a great friend that day."
Sirius watched as Leonis and Neville smiled at each other even as the crowd of mourners spoke the lines "We shall remember."
"I shall remember that it was Melania who loaned me her pearl earrings and a pearl necklace to wear to my Wedding Reception," Cedrella Weasley revealed to the crowd. "She took the necklace and earrings from her own ears and her own neck when she realized that I had everything except for something borrowed because I didn't dare ask to borrow anything from anyone," Cedrella giggled then. "I'll never forget how she admonished me so good-naturedly for my foolish belief that I would burden someone by asking for help. She was always so kind, always so willing to give her help to others. She always gave her time to charities. She was just a kind soul and I'll never forget that never forget her."
"We shall remember," the crowd said with some giggles intermixed as they no doubt remembered times that Melania Black had gently admonished them for foolishness.
"I'll never forget the way that Arcturus Black loved Melania Black," Remus spoke from beside Sirius. It reminded Sirius that Remus had spent a great deal of time with his Grandparents over the last few years. Arcturus and Melania primarily lived in France, as did Remus. After Remus was made his Vassal and officially given Fosterage of Orion, Remus must have dealt with Melania and Arcturus popping in on him when least expected. He would have to ask his best friend about this at some point.
"He could be a stern and frightening man, yet when he looked to Melania, his eyes would soften and there was nothing but love and tenderness in the man's eyes," Remus informed them all and many nodded because they had all seen it, those glimpses of the great love that Arcturus had felt for Melania.
"We shall remember," the crowd said and there was a warmth to the voices as they remembered the love that Lord Black had held for his Lady.
"I shall remember how proud Uncle Pollux was that I was a Wizard," Dudley spoke into the crowd. "I remember how he told me that he would have loved me no matter what, but that he was so proud that I was a Wizard because now he could teach me things. I'll never forget his pride and his excitement, and I'll never forget the things he taught me about being a good Wizard."
"We shall remember," the crowd agreed.
"I'll never forget the first time that Lord Black sat me down and told me about how my parents died," Harry revealed to the crowd in a rare display of vulnerability. The boy rarely spoke so openly about his parents, though Sirius knew that Harry talked about them with Marius and Petunia and he had recently begun to ask Sirius more questions about them as well. "He told me that they died protecting me. That they loved me more than anything in the world and that it was okay for me to feel angry and sad that they were murdered and taken away from me by a deranged Wizard. He told me it was alright to feel cheated because I had been. He also told me that I couldn't let myself wallow in those feelings though. That I had to work through them and not let them guide me. At the time I was angry at him for that, but I soon learned that he was right. I would have become mean and bitter if I hadn't taken his words to heart. I will always remember this, and the other things Lord Black taught me."
"We shall remember," the crowd voiced once more.
"I shall always remember how Lord Black accompanied Grandma Cedrella to Hogwarts when I passed out during my sorting," Percy said with a blush. Sirius marveled for a moment at the blush. It had been his many years of experience that redheads usually looked horrible when they blushed, but Percy didn't. The light dusting of pink in his cheeks looked nothing like the deep red flush that Sirius had seen in Percy's siblings.
The twins, Fred and George, stood on either side of Percy this morning. The Weasley children had all arrived to join Cedrella, Percy, and Ginny, the previous morning. They had been released a few weeks early from Hogwarts due to the family tragedy. It had felt a little bit like Blackmoor was being invaded by red-headed hellions. Sirius noticed almost immediately that the twins had a strong magical connection. Twin magic was still very much guessed at. What had intrigued Sirius then and now as he watched the twins beside Percy, was how their magic interacted with Percy's. The twin sons of Arthur and Molly Weasley seemed to instinctively form a sort of magical shield over Percy whenever they interacted with him. It was truly fascinating, and Remus had commented on it yesterday in that tone of voice that told Sirius that Remus wished to study the twins and Percy.
"Lord Black stood firm against Professor Dumbledore when the man tried to insist that I once more sit before everyone in the Great Hall and be sorted," Percy continued. "He remained firm that because of my being an overwhelmed magical sensitive that I should not be sorted until I had more control and that when that time came it would be a private sorting and a simple announcement of what House I had sorted into," Percy said with a smile. "Professor Dumbledore didn't like it, but he gave in. I'll never forget the care he gave me after that."
"We shall remember," the crowd said.
"I'll never forget the soothing cadence of Grandpa Pollux's voice when he would read to me and when he was teaching me," Draco told the crowd.
"We shall remember," the crowd agreed.
"I'll always remember how Grandpa Pollux treated me as though I were Aunt Narcissa's child," Theo Nott told the crowd.
"He treated me the same," Blaise Zabini proclaimed with a small smile.
"Me too," Dane Spungen agreed. "He never treated Theo, Blaise, and I as though we were not his Great-Grandchildren."
"He gave us the same love and care that he gave to Draco," Theo said with a smile.
"We shall remember."
"I shall always remember what Pollux said to me when I gave birth to our first child," Irma Black nee Crabbe spoke up. "It was a girl and I was so worried that he would be unhappy, that he would have preferred a boy," she revealed to the gathered mourners. "Yet, he kissed my forehead and cradled our little girl close and told me that she was beautiful and that he was so very proud."
"We shall remember," the crowd said.
"I shall always remember that my father believed in change," Cygnus revealed to the crowd. "He always believed that people were ever-evolving for good and for ill and that it was a natural part of life that should not be feared."
"We shall remember," the crowd agreed with smiles as they remembered this aspect of Pollux Black.
Everything remained still and silent for some time with the exception of soft sobs as some of the mourners continued to cry. Slowly, Sirius turned Leonis away from the crypt and back toward the house. He kept his arm around his firstborn as he led him to the safety of their home.
Blackmoor was slowly becoming a home again for the House of Black and Sirius was now resolved to once more use it as the Great Seat of the House of Black. It was the one place that the young Lord would be safe until he reached his majority. There was a great deal that he needed to do still. He needed do speak with Remus about where he and Ascella wished to send Orion for school. He was sure the boy would receive an invitation to attend Beauxbaton's, but Sirius kind of hoped that the boy would rather attend Hogwarts along with his various cousins and with his siblings. Alicia had been adamant that she wanted Hannah to attend Hogwarts and Sirius had already given in there. Until Sirius saw any true signs that the children of his house would be unsafe at Hogwarts, they could attend there if that was what pleased them and their guardians. He needed to speak with each of the children's guardians and make sure that he knew what was going on with each of the children.
There was also the impending trial of the Crabbe's. As Regent Black, Sirius would be in attendance. He and Cygnus had already agreed on the wergild that they would demand of the Crabbe family for the slaughter of four members of their own family. Sirius was looking forward to his moment in the courts where he could announce just what the Crabbe family would have to give to the House of Black for their transgressions.
There was much to do, Sirius thought as he then looked to his son and smiled. There was time for that later though. For now, he'd enjoy this time with his family. He would mourn with them and he would remember.
Cygnus watched his mother carefully as they entered her London townhouse. It was his childhood home, but it bore little resemblance to the place he had grown up in. Irma had redecorated the place after his father had given up any pretense of being able to stand being with her any longer and he had gone to live with Meliora Burke nee Loveday, his true love, his soulmate.
While soulmates were rare in their society, they were not unknown. There were traditions and protocols surrounding soulmates. In the case of Pollux Black, he found his soulmate after he was already married and with children. His soulmate was a widow with a single child. According to the traditions of their society, Irma should have accepted Meliora and they would have entered a Triad Union. However, Irma had been angry and refused to accept Meliora. The end result was that instead of gaining Meliora and her son as another family member, she had lost Pollux completely. Her bitterness had only festered over the years.
He watched his mother begin to relax now that she was safe in her own home. He paid special notice to how she dropped the pretense of mourning for his father, and he wondered again if she had in sighted her brother and nephew to commit murder?
She laughed then as she turned to look at him. "I loved that bit you said about your father's belief in change," she remarked.
"It was all true," Cygnus rejoined as he went to the sidebar and poured himself a small bit of brandy. It was the brand that his father had liked, and his mother had always detested it. He watched her wrinkle her nose in disgust as she watched him take his first sip.
"Of all the habits you got from your father, that is the worst," Irma proclaimed.
"Probably," he agreed.
"It is a pity that you were not named Regent," Irma said then. "This family is certainly going downhill. First Arcturus acknowledging that bastard child as the Heir and then adding Mudbloods into the family."
"Mongrels," Cygnus sneered thinking of his mother and those like her. Acknowledging that he was once like her. Change. His father had believed in change and now Cygnus did too. He wasn't sure when he embraced this change for the better, but he had, and he was all the better for it.
"Yes," Irma agreed with a sneer. "It is a shame that Eleanor didn't die with her family."
Cygnus smirked at his mother then. "You shouldn't feel so bad about that failure, mother," he said to Irma. "Your plan was brilliant. You couldn't have known that she had a bound elf who would help to save her," he said going with the instinctual belief that had formed in his mind while he watched over Eleanor in the hospital. Someone who had been familiar with Black family magic and their spellcraft had listened in on Andromeda's conversation with Corinne Branstone and then they had offered their assistance to the woman. No other woman in their family born or married in would have had an agenda against a Muggleborn Witch except for his blood purist mother.
She quirked her lips into a small smile. "My oh so clever son," she praised as she looked at him with pride. It made him feel sick to think that he used to adore that look from his mother. He used to eat up that praise from her lips. "I had a feeling that you knew what I had done," she said. "And of course, you knew that I was right to do it."
He said nothing to that. He just gave himself a small moment to let himself understand that he had been right. His mother had given Corinne Branstone that poison and had fed into the woman's delusions. His mother was responsible for the deaths of the Branstone's and she was responsible for nearly killing Eleanor, an Heiress of his House. His granddaughter in spirit and a Black by blood. It was unforgivable!
He felt vengeance sing in his blood and he felt powerful in a way that he hadn't since before he had killed his beloved soulmate, his Orion. He knew what he had to do now. House Black couldn't afford the scandal that one of their own had turned on their house. There was suspicion of that now because it had been the Crabbe's that had killed Pollux. If he turned Irma over to the Auror's for the deaths of the Branstone's then all of society would know that she had turned on House Black and their enemies would understand that they were vulnerable. He couldn't allow that.
Yet he could not allow her to go unpunished either.
He finished off the glass of brandy and then he set it down with a careful click upon the sidebar. He then turned back to his mother and smirked again. "I remember something that my father told me once. It was many years ago," Cygnus said conversationally as he moved to stand close to the chair that his mother was seated in.
"Oh, and what was that?" Irma asked with amusement. The glint in her eye told him she was ready to degrade whatever sage wisdom had been passed along by Pollux Black.
"He said that there was a war waging inside of me. That one day I would have to choose," he revealed.
"Choose what?" She asked mildly intrigued.
"Whether I was your son or his," Cygnus said as he stared down at the woman that he had once adored.
She looked proud then. "You are my son," she said with pride as she looked up at him.
Cygnus slowly shook his head. "I was your son," he said purposely using the past tense. "I made my choice years ago, even if I didn't know it then. I chose to be his son, to value what he valued."
She shook her head then, an angry look coming over her face, but before she could speak, Cygnus swiftly drew his wand and cast a silent accio on his mother's wand. He smiled in triumph as she screeched in outraged shock as he caught her wand.
"Cygnus! What do you think you are doing?" she yelled at him. Cygnus chose to ignore her.
"Danies!" he called out the name of the chief of Pollux's House-Elves, the highest in rank of the House Elves bound to Pollux Black now that his personal elf was deceased.
"Master Cygnus called me," Danies said solemnly. Grief clung to the elf, unhappiness radiated from the little being.
"Do I hold your bond and the bond of all of the House Elves that were bound to Pollux Black?" he asked of the elf.
"Yes, Master Cygnus," Danies said, perking up a little.
Cygnus nodded at that. "Good. You and the other elves will close down this house to all outsiders," he commanded. "None but I shall ever enter this house again so long as Irma Black nee Crabbe lives."
Danies smiled at that. "Yes, Master Cygnus, it shall be done."
"Cygnus!" Irma growled out his name, forcing him to turn to pay attention to her. "Just what are you doing?" she demanded.
"I am imprisoning you," Cygnus revealed to her. "Society shall be told that you deeply grieve for the loss of your husband and are deeply ashamed that your brother and nephew murdered him along with his kinsmen."
She gasped at that and glared at him. "You cannot do this," she hissed.
"I contemplated telling the Auror's but then the children would never be safe if I did that. The enemies of house Black would sniff out weakness and use it to harm them," Cygnus told her his reasoning. "So instead of a nice cell in Azkaban, you will remain here, never to leave this house again. You will never set foot outside again. You will never converse with another visitor. Your floo connection will be cut off and until it is the Elves will be sure that you cannot use it. You shall remain here in a gilded cage until the day you die," Cygnus said the last in a dark tone of voice that left his mother visibly shaking before him. "And I look forward to that day."
"Danies, use as many elves as you feel are necessary to close up the house and keep her imprisoned here," Cygnus said then to the House Elf. "She can have contact with no one."
"As Master Cygnus wishes," the House Elf declared with great relish and then other elves popped in the room and Danies began to give them orders.
"Let it be known that any House Elf that defies my wishes to keep Irma Black nee Crabbe locked in this house without visitors and unable to correspond in any way with anyone but myself, shall meet a truly horrible end. I am a man who murdered his own soulmate, I will not hesitate to torture you."
This statement brought shivers of terror to the little beings and all of their heads nodded. "Good," he said and then he looked once more at his mother. She was staring at him with eyes filled with terror.
"I shall always remember what a monster you are," he told her. "And I shall remember that for a time, I was a worse monster than you," Cygnus proclaimed. Then he turned away and strode to the door, ready and eager to return to Blackmoor.
"Cygnus you can't do this!" his mother cried out in desperation and rage.
He ignored her as he continued on his way. "CYGNUS!" he shut the door on his mother's angry voice. 'I shall never see her alive again,' he promised himself as he moved down the steps away from his childhood home.
Maybe today he would have the courage to finally speak to the portrait of his beloved Orion. If not, well then perhaps he could speak to the portrait of his father and tell him of how he had punished Irma for her crimes against their family. Either way, he was eager to return to Blackmoor.
