Chapter Ten: The women of House Black

"Well?" Andromeda asked, slowly getting up from where she sat "Anything you want to share with the class?"

Hermione looked at Harry, nudging him forwards.

"Hey…Andy…Hermione, this is Andromeda Tonks. She is Sirius's cousin and…Narcissas' older sister. She's also the family lawyer and she and her husband work at the DMLE. She is Tonks mother." Harry nervously introduced his friend to his sort-of-aunt.

"Pleasure." Hermione mumbled.

Andromeda just raised an eyebrow.

"Please don't tell Sirius we were out." Harry begged. "We…it was really important."

"Important enough to set both your lives on the line?" Andy asked.

"Yes. We know what Voldemort is planning. We know what's going to happen." Harry said, more firmly this time.

"I assume my sister gave you that information. Let me guess, in exchange for something? A favour?" Andromeda asked harshly.

"Yes."

"And has it crossed your mind that it might be a trick?"

"More than once. And until I know for sure that it was the truth, I will do nothing about her." He promised.

Andy relaxed slightly. "Good. You can't trust her."

Then she sighed. "Well then, I suppose you want to tell the others about the impending attack on Azkaban."

Hermione narrowed her eyes. "How do you know that?"

"My daughter isn't the only one in our family with astonishing powers." Andromeda admitted.

"I'm a Legilimency, my dear. I can read minds. It's a natural gift."

"Which is why she's such a fantastic lawyer." Harry added.

"Isn't that cheating?" Hermione asked.

"it's a grey area and most people don't even know." Andy said with a wink.

"That is even worse." Hermione exclaimed but kept her voice low.

"We can discuss the moral implications of my gifts and the ethical dilemmas that might arise from them in my profession another time. Now, let's tell the others about your findings."

"How did you even know we were out?" Hermione asked.

"I ran into Ronald and his mind was a mess of hastily made up excuses in case I asked about the two of you. It didn't take much for me to gather what I needed to know. I was going to tell Sirius until he told me of Narcissas involvement. I thought it better to wait and see for myself."

Andromeda turned to talk towards the stairs leading down to the kitchen.

"I know my sister. She is not that selfless." She said over her shoulder. "Now, follow me."

.

It felt like walking towards your own execution.

The closer the got to the kitchen door and the more clearly, they could hear the voices from the other side, the more Harrys nervousness rose.

Hermione wasn't much better.

Breaking rules had always been a sore spot for her and while she had gotten more liberal over the years with that particular annoyance in their lives, this was different.

He squeezed her hand. "I'll tell them I made you come." He whispered.

"Don't be stupid, they wouldn't believe that in a million years." She breathed back.

Andromeda opened the door and strode inside, confident and purposefully.

Harry and Hermione followed awkwardly.

It got even more awkward when all conversation ceased at the sight of them.

The room was packed.

Great….

"Harry, Hermione, what are you doing up so late. What is the meaning of this Andy?" Sirius asked, getting up from where he sat.

Then he noticed that the two teenagers were still wearing their coats and how muddy their boots were and how Harry was still balling his invisibility cloak in his hands.

"God damn it." He said, bracing his hands on the table, taking a few deep breaths. "They snuck out, didn't they?" he asked Andy.

"Yes Sirius. I caught them trying to sneak back inside."

"While this obviously is something we should address and deal with, surely it can wait with the disciplinary measures and parenting until the morning. This is after all a very important meeting." Dumbledore tried to sooth the atmosphere.

"Oh please, I'm sure Potter is loving all the attention." Sneered a familiar voice from Dumbledores' side.

Snape glared at the two of them.

"Shut up Snivellus, this is not your concern." Sirius growled.

"While I agree that the children sneaking out is something to discuss I think you should hear why they did it." Andromeda cut between the two. Looking back at Harry she added: "Go on, tell them what you told me."

Harry took a deep breath.

"We know what Voldemort is planning" cue violent twitches at the mention of the Dark Lords name "We met someone who has information from his inner circle. And they told us."

A surprised and excited murmur went through the room.

"And what would that be?" Snape sneered.

"They are planning an attack on Azkaban prison to free many of the Deatheaters inside who are still loyal to him. Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange and his brother Rabastan, Antonin Dolohov, Torquil Travers just to name a few. And it'll happen most likely sometime in the next two weeks."

The table erupted into chaos and it took Dumbledore several attempts to get everyone to settle down again.

"That's not possible, they will never succeed!" someone argued.

"They have someone on the inside!" Hermione all but shouted.

"Even if they do, its impossible. Also, I have not heard of such plans!" Snape hissed.

"Well, they must not be privy to the on goings in the inner circle." Harry snapped, causing everyone to suddenly become very quiet.

"Harry, you know Severus is our spy among the rows of the Deatheaters. He has been for many years."

"Well, he might not be doing a very good job if he missed something as big as this." Moody pointed out; his artificial eyes trained on Harry.

"I would rather know how Potter has contact to someone in the Dark Lords inner circle. Who gave you that information?" Snape retorted.

Now all eyes were back on Harry. And without missing a beat he said: "Narcissa Malfoy."

Once more the table erupted into chaos.

Shouts of "Deatheater!" "Traitor!" "Murderer!" echoes through the room.

Harry hoped they were directed at Narcissa and not him.

"Save to say Headmaster that we will drop that information." Snape sneered.

"It's the truth." Harry shouted over the upset order members.

"You cannot know that!" someone shouted back.

"No, but if it is true, we might be able to prevent a mass outbreak and the strengthening of the Dark Lords follows, not to mention probably save thousands of lives in the process. These people are in there for a reason."

"Reasons we know better than you Potter, we were there, you were just a baby." Someone else cried angrily. "We lost friends and family members."

"In case you had forgotten, my parents are dead as well!" Harry snapped back. "You know what's on the line, I know what's on the line. You should be glad to have this information."

"What, want us to thank you Potter?" Snape growled.

Harry scoffed. "Please, what good would that do? I want to see action. I want to see you do something about it. Increase the guards at Azkaban, do a vetting of the people working there, increase the wards, whatever. You're the fabled Order of the Phoenix, the resistance! Show them you're not just a bunch of rag-tags meeting in a basement."

Maybe he should have taken it easy on the sarcasm. But Harry was getting fed up at this point.

Anger boiled in his gut, rushing up his chest and a feeling of pressure started to build up behind his eyes.

"You cannot talk to us like that." Someone growled after a moment of stunned silence.

"Do you know who we are?" another spluttered.

"A bunch of have-been's ignoring someone who wants to help but have their head stuck up too far up their own arses to listen?" Harry snapped back once more.

More stunned silence.

"I'm not seeing much action being taken. We're not exactly winning here people."

Into the silence, Remus stood up and said in his ever-calm way: "Harry…ignoring all the things you just said…Narcissa Malfoy cannot be trusted. You cannot…"

"She saved my life." Harry interrupted him.

"What?" Sirius asked.

"When?" Remus added.

"Remember when Barty Crouch Jr. posed as Mad Eye Moody and attack me at home after I was released from St. Mungo's? I didn't defeat him. I didn't even manage to cast one spell. I was weak and injured. I could barely walk ten paces without pausing for a break, much less take on and take down a crazy Deatheater. If it hadn't been for Narcissa arriving in the nick of time, I would be dead and you would probably all be dead as well and the Deatheaters and Voldemort would be ruling the world right now. She didn't have to do it. But she did. And you know why? Because she wants out. Narcissa, she wants out. She wants to leave Lucius and get out. And she wants her son to get out as well. She offered me information in exchange for convincing Sirius to take her back into the Black family so she has the guaranteed protection of her Head of House. I told her that there was no way I could do that. So, we came to the agreement that she would tell us and we would see what we could do for her. She is safe so far but I don't think she can stay where she is forever. And…I want to help her" Turning to Sirius he continued "I know that I can never understand what you and Andy went through because of her and the rest of your family. But…she saved my life. She didn't have to do that. I'd like to return the favour and…if we can change her mind…imagine who else we might reach? Fighting a war is one thing. Keeping peace, making sure something like this will never happen again…that is not something we do with spells. It's a change that has to occur in the way people think. I know that Narcissa could very well be lying. I'm not an idiot. That why I didn't bring her here like she wanted. I know who she married and who her sister is. But Narcissa is not your typical Deatheater"

"Yes, she is worse!" Harry ignored the interruption.

"I know she's out mostly for her own gain. But she is not a murder or a traitor or a monster like other members of her family. I'm not saying you should take her in with open arms and forgive and forget. But If there was a person, I think deserves a second chance, it would be her."

He let his eyes travel through the room.

"Do with that information whatever you want. I stand by what I said and what she told me. Maybe it's a trick, maybe it's a red herring, maybe it's the truth. Just know that if these monsters get out of Azkaban, the blood of their victims will be on your hands."

To underline his statement, he brought his fist down on the table.

Turning around he stormed back upstairs, dragging Hermione with him.

Leaving behind a stunned Order of the Phoenix and a scorch mark where his fist had hid the table.

.

.

Ron was visibly upset that he had given their expedition away but Harry assured him it wasn't his fault.

Ron seemed to also regret not having been able to witness Harry blowing up in front of the entire Order after Harry had brought him up to speed with everything that had been going on.

"Do you think she said the truth? I mean, its not that unlikely that the Deatheaters would want some of their most dangerous fighters back." He pointed out.

Harry nodded. "Exactly. It could of course be a trap as well to lure the Order out on false pretence. But if its not then something has to be done about it. We're risking a lot and I really don't think Narcissa was lying. She's changing."

Ron scoffed but didn't say anything.

"Is there something we can do?" he asked instead.

"By the time it's supposed to go down we'll be at Hogwarts. Far away and unable to leave." Harry muttered.

"And if we tell the wrong person in the Ministry the Deatheaters will know that we know and then we would lose our only advantage." Hermione added.

But then she took Harrys hand and continued: "But I think you managed to reach some of the people downstairs with what you said. I was looking at them and there were more people agreeing with you than opposing. I think you might have swayed some and maybe they can convince others and maybe they will take our waning seriously."

"That's a lot of maybes Hermione. I appreciate it, I really do but it won't do us any good when Deatheaters roam free."

Before the friends could think of any other options, they might have there was knock on the door.

"Come in." Hermione called out.

The door opened and Sirius stepped inside.

Seeing the three of them sitting in the floor together he managed a small smile.

"More plotting?" he asked and harry noticed how incredibly weary and tired he sounded.

Instead of waiting for an answer (that never came), Sirius plopped himself down on the ground as well, sitting opposite of Harry and leaned against side of the bedframe.

The three teenagers waited for him to say something.

"I thought we were on the same team?" Sirius asked. "Harry, you promised me, no more secrets."

"I know. And I'm sorry. I have felt rotten about it, believe me, but I wasn't sure how to approach the hole situation. Its not exactly a dinner conversation starter. And…I…" harry shook his head. "I know it's messed up and stupid but Sirius, I don't feel right on this team we're supposedly are on. Dumbledore is trying but I feel like he's still keeping secrets and all his cards close to his chest. I want to do something; we all do and nobody will let us. I get that you are concerned adults and parents but this is our future we're fighting for and we're sick of being left out of the decision making. I want to trust the Headmaster but he's making it very hard and I don't know abut you. You say you are not on good terms with him but you keep standing submissively by his side."

Harry expected Sirius to yell or argue but instead his godfather nodded.

"You're right. To be honest, everything you said downstairs was right. Don't get me wrong, I don't like that you've kept secrets again, that you snuck out again, that you are still going behind my back and all that shit. But I understand you Harry. I was you after all. When the war first began your dad, Remus, Lily and I were just like you guys. We wanted to change the world, take charge and finish this war. And I remember how we were held down just like you guys were. I get your frustration. I get you're need for action. So…despite all the advices from all the parenting books and whatever Molly keeps yelling at me…I'm gonna let you. I know there is no stopping you. And honestly, we shouldn't. Harry, I let you. You have me permission. I will be there for you and I will help you and do whatever you think needs to be done. Okay? You hear me? I'm on your side."

Instead of a response, harry flung himself at Sirius and hugged him.

"Thank you." He breathed.

"Certain conditions do apply though." Sirius muttered.

"Name it."

"You will tell me whenever you're off to do something. No matter how small of insignificant. You have the two-way-mirror, use it! And pick up when I call you! If I want to come along, I will come along. If I tell you to wait for me, you will wait. If I tell you stay put, you stay put. If I tell you to stay out of trouble, at least try to stay out of trouble."

Harry laughed and nodded.

"Okay, deal. Thank you, Sirius."

Sirius looked at Ron and Hermione.

"Keep him safe at Hogwarts. He's an idiot but at least with you he stands a chance."

They nodded solemnly and so serious that the laughter died in Harrys throat.

"Alright, now that that is out of the way…what's our first order of business?" Sirius asked.

"Narcissa and the impending prison break."

Sirius sighed. "I thought you might say that. What exactly did she say she wanted from you?"

"Well, her original plan was for Draco to inherit the title as Lord of House Black so they could use it and all the money that came with it to make a run for it, basically. But then you got back and I was put in the equation as new heir-apparent and that plan was foiled. That's when she first approached me and offered her services as a spy in return for protection under your House. She wanted me to talk you into it. But I didn't know how to. We met a handful of times, she helped me with the whole Barty Crouch Jr. mess and we've stayed in contact via a shared parchment. And then tonight she found out about the attack on Azkaban and originally planned to trade that information against save keeping. But Hermione made a good case against her and we instead left her with Grace."

Sirius stared at him.

"You…left my cousin, Narcissa Malfoy…in the care of a muggle-social-worker in a muggle-neighbourhood in east-London?"

"Yes."

Sirius barking dog-like laughter filled the room.

"Priceless." He admitted. "And so was her plan to become a Black again. Sneaky little Cissy." He shook his head.

Hermione raised a questioning hand.

"I don't understand the whole 'protection from you Head of House thing'." She said.

Harry nodded. "Yeah, me neither. But she was very adamant about it. What's the deal with that?"

"It's quite the deal" Ron said "And smart. That's where blood-purity really is a slight advantage. Urgh but imagine having Malfoy as Head of your House…I think I would leave immediately."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Harry asked.

"Honestly, I've never quite understood the whole deal with families and blood-purity. I mean, I know the basics and all that but…why does being the head of a family grand you such special powers. Like literally magical powers?" Hermione asked.

Sirius leaned back in his armchair.

"Well, that's a good question. And I wish the answer was simple but it's a bit complicated to be honest. I'll try to explain it but really, I only remember half of what I was taught. I never really cared since I never expected to end up as Head of House."

"But you were the oldest, doesn't that automatically make you the heir?" Harry asked confused.

"Not always. I mean, look at Daphne. She's heir to her house and only the third born. In most houses the rule of first-born holds but it's not really a set rule. But let me get to that one later on. Let's talk houses first. Okay, so there is a general consensus about the origin of magical people in England and that is that magical beings from different countries fled to here from Greece, France and Ireland and some from even further away. Once they settled down here, they started their own families and passed out the gift of magic to their children and their children's children and so on. That's where most Ancient and Noble Houses have their roots. Ancient or Noble Houses came into existence by different houses mingling or intermarrying or people leaving their families to start their own house.

In those times blood-magic ran deep and wild. It's not the same blood-magic that is frowned upon today. It's basically like this: Those powerful magicians, who started their families, with each child born into their family they passed on a bit of themselves, a bit of their power onto them. And that bit of power in their children didn't just give their children the ability to do magic but it gave the Head of their families, the one they got their powers from, power over them."

Harrys eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yes, the Head of House could literally control his descendants. Make they do or say things against their will. It was a power feared and revered. And when the Head of House died, the first one he passed his blood onto would inherit the power to do the same. But it had a devastating consequence. Not only did some people abuse this power and the consequent trust of their families that came with it, no, much worse: if the Head of House lost his magical abilities, his entire family would lose them!"

Sirius paused, letting his words sink in.

"How can you lose your magic? I thought its part of us?" Ron asked.

"Your magical core is part of you but think of it like a fire. The wood is your magical abilities and the fire is your use of magic. The more the fire burns, the more it will eat the wood. The more and powerful magic you use, the faster your core will deplete. And once it's all gone…it will never come back."

"That is…a scary thought…" Hermione whispered, gently twirling her wand in her hands.

"It doesn't happen often. In the old days people lost their powers usually through accidents or if they were bound by others. But that is not a problem anymore today. Anyway, to avoid something like that or being forcefully controlled by their Head of House, families began to expand, marrying into other magical families or even marrying non-magical people. Marrying other magical individuals guaranteed, that if one family lost their magic, the one who shared blood with another magical family, would still have magical powers. And if you shared blood from three or four families, you were safe. That way the bloodlines were thinned out and the connection to the Heads of Houses got weaker. It's a lot harder to control someone who only shares five-percent of your blood as opposed to your child who chares half of it. Everybody was safer."

He stopped again.

"But some didn't want to give up that power. That's where the pureblood-tradition comes in. You see, some families didn't want to give up the potential power to control others and be the most powerful member of their family and began to minimalize the amount of outsider-blood mingling with their family. In those families, the powers of the Head of House are still strong, stronger than in other families. My own, the Blacks, for example, are one such family. As Head of House Black I have certain powers over my family members. For example, if given a direct order as Head of House, a family member would not be able to refuse until I released them."

Hermione frowned.

"Then why didn't you control your cousin Bellatrix Lestrange to…I don't know kill Voldemort during the first war?"

Sirius grimaced. "I wish I could. This is where it gets even more complicated. The powers of Head of House come not without…loopholes I'd call them. Marriage is one of them. If you marry into another magical family and change your name, you become subject to their Head of House. Only when you renounce their name and come back to your original family, it falls back over you to your original Head of House. Or if you reject your family name in a blood-cleansing ritual. But that doesn't always work. I did that when I ran away from home. But then my brother died, my cousins were married and I was the eldest living heir when my parents died so the family magic re-entered my blood and I became Head of House."

Now Harry frowned. "But…we are related and I've never had problems defying your orders." He pointed out.

Sirius glared at him. "Yeah, thanks for the reminder."

"You know what I mean."

"Yes. And there's a reason for that. Well, two actually. For one, I've never given you an order as your Head of your House. There's a difference, believe me. Second: You are a Potter before you are a Black and the only Potter around, period. As such, you are protected from being controlled by anyone else, since you are heir-in-waiting for the Potter House. It has a more direct claim than your connection to the Black family."

"But if you make me your heir…" Harry asked confused.

"…it still won't overrule the Potter-claim. See it as a bonus. It'll one day allow you certain powers over two families. Well…only if my family-line continues. Which at this point is not bloody likely."

"So…for Narcissa it would mean that if she rejected the Malfoy name, she would become a Black again and as such would fall under your command and protection. Lucius Malfoy would be unable to touch her." Harry said slowly.

"Then why didn't she just do it?" Hermione asked.

"Because the Head of House has to accept you back into the family, otherwise its invalid and you have no name, no family, no protection, nada." Ron explained.

Sirius nodded. "Correct. I need to give her my blessing. Until then…" he shrugged.

"If Draco had become heir to House Black, he could easily have made her a Black again. But obviously that didn't work."

"Can you control Draco if he's part Black?" Hermione asked.

"No, he's a Malfoy first. Like with Harry, it has a stronger claim. Unless he renounces that name. Then he would become a Black. If I gave my permission."

"That's complicated." Harry muttered.

"If you take Narcissa in, you could control her, correct?" Hermione asked. "Maybe that's a good idea. If she's under Sirius's control she can't cause trouble if her intentions aren't honest after all."

She looked at Sirius expectantly.

"I think you take the control thing a tad too literal. In ancient times I might have been able to control my siblings and children in body and mind. Today I can force them to tell me the truth maybe or give them simple orders. But people have been known to be strong enough to overcome even those. Like I said, in other families these abilities might be more pronounced. I don't even know how strong my powers are. I've never used them before."

"So you can't control Narcissa or Draco or Bellatrix…Who can you control?"

"Kreacher." Sirius replied dryly to which she shot him a dirty look.

"I still think we should take her. Maybe you can make an unbreakable oath where you forbid her from harming anyone or place her under house arrest, I don't know. We can't leave her with Grace forever and I fear she might leave if we don't do anything." Harry muttered lowly.

Sirius sighed again.

"Probably. But I…I still don't know Harry."

"Talk with Andy about it. Maybe she can help you find a solution. She is a lawyer after all."

"I don't think it's a good idea to put Cissy and Andy in the same room." Sirius snorted.

"I think it's a great idea." Said a new voice from the door.

The all turned to see Andromeda leaning in the door.

"You should really keep the door closed and maybe put a privacy charm up." She noted as she stepped inside.

"But Harry is right. Take Narcissa back in. Not because she's family. But so we can cease control of her and Bellatrix's accounts."

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked.

"Both my sisters married affluent men but with each of them came a huge dowry form our parents and the House Black. Most of the money Lucius flaunters around is actually Narcissas. And when Bellatrix was imprisoned, she took over her vaults. That is a lot of money. If Narcissa rejects Lucius and his name he won't have access to it anymore and it will cut off their funds by a lot! No more bribes wherever he pleases, no more fancy equipment and lavish lifestyle…" she explained.

"That is actually brilliant." Hermione whispered.

"Then, like Harry suggested, we put he under house-arrest and limit her communication with the outside world until all this has blown over."

Sirius thought about it. "Alright…that might work. But we can't do it right away. Lucius will know it, the second she rejects his name. And if she was saying the truth about the attack on Azkaban, they might put two and two together, figure out she's a spy and attack at another time or do something else entirely. We wait until after the attack, if its real."

"What if its not?" Ron asked.

"Then she can go back to Lucius and figure out a new plan." Harry said.

"Two weeks living with muggles. She won't like that one bit."

"I'm more concerned for Grace, Gina and the others. They have to live with her." Harry pointed out.

"Its just two weeks. It'll be fine." Andromeda promised.