January 4th, 1986

3rd POV

Potter Manor

It had been a couple of hours since Lily's death and Potter manor was full of activity. Once word was out that there was a blood feud going on between the Malfoys and Potters people began choosing sides. Many pureblood families had infighting some loyal to the Potters while the rest being pureblood supremacists.

The dining room of Potter Manor which was typically used for dinner parties was holding the first war meeting the Potters would have until they could find a better room. Seated to the left of James was Sirius. While, not the head of a House he was able to convince Arcturus Black, the Head of House Black and grandfather to Sirius, to come to the meeting. Many people wearily looked at the elderly man who was known for being as cunning as Fleamont Potter in politics and as skilled as Charlus Potter with the wand. Possessing such a deadly combo he has easily destroyed many businesses in order to expand his own. To James right was Cyrus Greengrass who upon hearing about the attack and the death of Lily immediately apparated his family to Potter manor knowing that James would need as much help as possible. Lysandra was currently putting Ivy down to bed while Dahlia, Harry, and Daphne all played with each other in the backyard which was heavily guarded and warded.

As James looked around, he noticed some other people, many of them being friends, as well in the room. Arthur Weasley, Head of House Weasley, was seated looking down with tears welling in his eyes. Reports had come that his second son, Charlie Weasley, had been killed when he tried running away in fear during the attack. Next to him was Amelia Bones who had quickly apparated over after giving her report of the attack to the Aurors. She wasn't the head of her house due to her brother and sister-in-law surviving their attack, but she was seen as the new representative of the non-Wizards in the magic community. Gerald Abbott, the Head of House Abbott, was in attendance with his wife Sharon Abbott who was beginning to take on duties as Head of the House as Gerald's health declined. Augusta Longbottom had resumed duties as the Head of House Longbottom after her son and daughter-in-law had been killed in the attack just a few hours back. Her grandson, Neville, had cried himself to sleep and was currently in one of the rooms resting. Pippa Macmillan who's family had been luckily untouched by the attack was also in attendance being a Gryffindor a few years ahead of Lily, James, and all their friends. Many other people were in attendance and James was grateful.

Once his timer went off signaling that two hours had gone by since the attack, he began the meeting.

"As you all know by now, there was an attack at Remus's funeral earlier today. We lost many loved ones including my wife Lily. Let us have a moment of silence for all of those who have fallen today…" he paused for a moment before he started again. "It should be common knowledge by now that I have declared a blood feud against all of House Malfoy. Any members that associate with Lucius Malfoy must die. I know many of you have lost family members as well because of the Malfoy's and their followers and likely want vengeance as well. I'm here to offer you that. I'm asking all of you to join me physically or monetarily in ensuring the destruction of House Malfoy."

Everyone remained silent for a second before Sirius stood up.

"I can't guarantee my family's support, but you have mine. I'll do whatever it takes to avenge Moony and Lily. You're stuck with me James," he spoke before he sat back down. As he stood up Cyrus Greengrass stood up to voice his support.

"By the marriage contract between Harry and Daphne, I am obligated to help you. However, even if I wasn't in the past couple of years you and your friends have become family. Adding the fact that Harry or you dying won't be good for the marriage contract… you can expect House Greengrass to help you physically and monetarily, James. I'll nullify all marriage alliances and deals with House Malfoy and their allies. Any person who refuses to return back to House Greengrass after the nullification of their family will be disowned and outcasts of my family," with that Cyrus sat down.

Slowly everyone else voiced that they would support the cause by fighting, funding, or both. Soon all that was left was Arcturus Black. If they were able to gain the support of House Black they would have the three richest families in the United Kingdom on their side, three of the top ten richest houses in Europe, and three of the top richest houses in the world supporting their cause. However, if Arcturus Black were to join the other side… many of the other Houses supporting the Potters would become considerably weaker since they had many businesses with the Blacks.

An alliance between the Houses of Greengrass, Potter, and Black would be extremely ideal because while extremely rich their businesses rarely overlap each other. The Blacks who originate from one of the Celtic tribes of England, owned or had shares in nearly all of the businesses in Magical Britain while dominating the dark artifacts market. The Greengrasses who traced their ancestry from France and Italy, owned majority of the businesses in Europe while dominating the wine market owning nearly every wine that was sold in magical and muggle Europe. Lastly the Potters who originated from Russia and were related to the Russian monarchs owned businesses in Africa, Asia, South America, and North America. They had tried entering the European market but the domination of the Greengrass and Black businesses made it nearly impossible. The Potters dominated in the potions and charms market causing them to be insanely rich and powerful.

Finally, Arcturus Black spoke up and said, "I wish for the room to be empty with only James Potter and Cyrus Greengrass. My allegiance cannot be free," he said firmly. Everyone looked at each other and filed out of the room. They all grabbed their children, if they were at the Manor, and apparated away leaving the House with the Blacks, Potters, and Greengrasses. Sirius Black was the only one remaining in the room before Arcturus turned to look at him. Sirius sighed and left the room clearly showing that he was not happy that he was being told to leave.

Before either James or Cyrus could say anything, Arcturus took out his wand and casted a patronus. He muttered something to it before sending it away and asked that they sit for a couple minutes before they could discuss an alliance. A few minutes later James was alerted that his floo had been activated and allowed the person in. A few minutes after that Andromeda Tonks entered the room warily with her wand out.

She looked at Arcturus before saying, "you called?"

He looked at her for a moment with his calculating eyes before he responded, "I wish to officially reinstate you into House Black. The times are about to get rough and having a family to back you will be in your best interest. Including the interests of your husband and daughter."

She looked at him warily, "I thought Aunt Walburga had me officially casted out when she burned my face off the family wall."

Arcturus chuckled before speaking, "no… she didn't have the power to banish you from the House. My son and then-heir Orion was alive but even he didn't have the power to do so as he wasn't the Head yet. Alas, he is dead, and you are still a member of our great House. All you would have to do is agree to my terms."

"And those are?" Andromeda asked with her eyes narrowing a little.

"There are only three. First, that you and your family move to one of the Black estates to ensure your safety. Second, that you and your family change their last name to Black showing that we are behind you. Lastly, with the permission of Lord Potter and Lord Greengrass… a betrothal between Nymphadora and Harry. The only way for House Black to be involved is if we get something out of it, and if James agrees to my conditions their child will become the Head of House Black when they come of age."

As he finished speaking, James and Cyrus both stood up and began yelling frustratedly at Arcturus.

"My daughter will not be put aside for another alliance," Cyrus exclaimed loudly.

"Not to mention that the marriage contract became ironclad with the death of my father," James added heatedly. After about fifteen minutes the two calmed down and sat down. Arcturus finally spoke up.

"May I speak again," he looked at the two how nodded silently. "Firstly, Harry must undertake a blood ritual in which part of his blood will be infused with mine, making him a Black and eligible to be my Heir. He will then become my Heir and upon my death by both the Lord of House Potter and Black. Secondly, his marriage with Daphne can still occur as a Lord or Lady of a House can marry people so that they can also be the head of that House. Daphne will still be the Lady of House Potter and Greengrass, if another heir isn't appointed, and Nymphadora will be Lady Black. Thirdly, you two aren't looking at this in the long term. As the Heads of our Houses it is not only our duty to ensure that the current members survive, but to make sure that our House is in better condition than we inherited it in. If this blood feud were against just Lucius Malfoy and his immediate family, there wouldn't be as much of a problem. However, now we have to hunt down every Malfoy which can take generations… what better way to hunt them down then having the three richest families combine. Lastly, they are only required to have one child and that is when Nymphadora is 23 and Harry will be 18. Actually, think about it," he said firmly and let the two ponder his words.

After a few moments Cyrus spoke up, "I don't like this…," James begun to nod along, but then Cyrus continued, "but I see what you mean and I agree that this should be done."

"But why Harry… I have two other daughters," James exclaimed.

"Am I correct in assuming that you won't remarry James?" Arcturus asked. James nodded a little shocked to be asked such a question, especially with the death of his wife only a few hours ago. Arcturus continued, "as there are no males for me to use in a betrothal and Nymphadora is the only female of her generation and Harry is your only son this course of action makes the most sense."

Cyrus spent the next twenty minutes trying to convince James to take the deal, and after a while James looked at Andromeda who had been silently standing in a corner throughout the whole conversation.

"Will you agree to this if I do?" he asked her. Before responding she looked at Arcturus and asked him a question.

"It's either I join the family and my daughter be married to whomever you choose, or I don't and I'm officially cast out of the family and my family lives in constant danger. Correct?"

"Yes, and if you join and James refuses… my first stop is to make the same agreement with the Malfoys. I will only join the side that best benefits me."

Andromeda turned towards James, "I really don't want my daughter marrying into the Malfoys and I need my family to be safe… so yes I agree to the conditions."

James looked down for a moment and then looked up to everyone and spoke, "Then I agree. Harry Potter of House Potter will be married to Nymphadora Black of House Black."

As soon as he said those words Sirius barged into the room with a frantic but somewhat victorious look on his face. They all looked at him as he caught his breath before he exclaimed, "The Aurors caught Nicolas Malfoy who admitted to killing Lily! He wants a trial by duel and he's requesting to fight you James." As soon as he uttered those words James walked towards the floo and flood to the Ministry of Magic.

Malfoy Manor – at the same time

It had been a few hours after the Lucius had returned from the battle which was now becoming to be known "The Yorkshire Massacre". With him was his sister-in-law, Bellatrix Lestrange, who was holding a five-year-old girl in her lap.

"Why'd you bring the Parkinson girl?" he sneered when he saw the young child.

"I couldn't leave her at Lestrange Manor by herself. Plus, she is the only child I will be able to have because of what happened to me at the Longbottom Manor," she replied looking a bit sad before regaining her composure. It was no secret that when she had gone to Longbottom Manor to kill the Longbottom's she had lost and been captured for a week. The only reason she was rescued was because of all the secrets she held. Later they would find out that she was poisoned during her captivity causing her to be barren.

"Why can't you leave her with Draco and Narcissa? She may as well become accustomed to her betrothed," he replied.

"I'm going to raise her to be like me so that she can't be beat into submission like you did to my sister," she said hotly. It wasn't hidden that Narcissa Malfoy had entered the Malfoy family lively and full of spirit. That quickly changed within a few months to where she was reserved and seemingly hollow. Whenever she was with her children, she was full of love, but only if Lucius or any other male Malfoy wasn't in the room. There were rumors that if someone marries into the Malfoy family they were treated as slaves for the first couple of months having to obey every command someone of the opposite gender ordered them to do. While the rumors were never proven based off of the stories men married into the family tell, it only made sense to how Narcissa's demeanor had changed in the span of a few months.

"Your sister… was to lively for this house," Lucius said.

"Exactly my point. My daughter will not be treated like that," Bellatrix replied matter of factly.

"She isn't your daughter. She is your ward. If I knew how possessive you would have been, I would have given her to the Yaxleys or Carrows," he sneered.

"She may not be my daughter, but since the Parkinson's are gone she is my daughter. No one will change that," she said firmly. On the same day of Lord Voldemort's loss he had given the Parkinson's a secret mission that no one knew the contents of. Shortly after his demise, their bodies showed up mangled up and mushed into one, the secret of their mission dying with them. Lucius, taking advantage of the situation, arranged a marriage between Draco and the Heiress of House Parkinson quickly gaining their funds. Bellatrix who had recently found out about her barrenness requested to raise the child and while Lucius held off for a bit, after the requests of her husband he relented and allowed them to raise the child.

Severus Snape, Lucius's right hand and Potions Master at Hogwarts, spoke up.

"Lord Malfoy reports are coming in that the Potters have declared a blood feud on your house. The plan is coming together… soon enough we will be able to avenge the Dark Lord and James Potter will die for turning Lily against me."

Everyone murmured in agreement knowing that if anyone spoke ill of Lily in front of Severus, they'd suffer the same punishment that Lionel Nott, brother of Lord Niles Nott, had. Severus had severed his limbs one at a time, placed him under the torturing curse for an hour before finally killing him putting him out of his misery.

"Does anyone have anything else to report?" Lucius asked. Everyone looked at each other not having known other missions were occurring before Igor Karkaroff spoke up.

"I have established my rule in Bulgaria as Supreme Leader. All other opposition has been killed and many of the people respect me for my previous policies. My House will rule there until we are extinct. I am currently working on legislation that will destroy any business associated with the Potters and their allies."

"Good. Igor, I propose a marriage alliance between us. If I recall correctly your son, your Heir, is seven years old… I propose he marries my daughter Cassiopeia. She's four years old but once she turns eleven, she will live in Bulgaria attending the Durmstrang Institute, only visiting us during the summer holidays. What say you?" Lucius asked him knowing that marrying into this family will give him access to funds from overseas.

"I agree with this proposition. With this all of my enemies in the country will fear fighting and both of our houses could profit from this relationship," Igor responded a little shocked that Lucius had suggested such a marriage.

"Excellent! I suggest that we begin planning the next phase of our plan on wiping out the Potters and their allies."

As they all sat quietly beginning to plan the next part of their phase the doors opened. Corbin Malfoy, brother of Lucius Malfoy, walked in dragging a woman who was holding a girl of five years. The woman was dirty with her hair covering her face and she weakly tried to resist the man dragging her across the room.

"Look who I found," Corbin said throwing the girl. She bowed her head cradling the child in her arms refusing to look up. Corbin grabbed her hair and yanked it back revealing her face and she yelped in pain. It was their youngest sibling and only sister, Nova Malfoy. She had disappeared a few months before the fall of Voldemort angering Lucius greatly who had been in the middle of negotiating a marriage alliance for her. He was actually kind to her a long time ago, but when she disappeared, he filled that love for her with hatred and vowed to make her life living hell if she ever appeared before him again, and here she was… with a child in her arms.

Lucius knelt down and grabbed her face making her look at him before asking coldly, "Who is the father of this child?"

She whimpered in pain but refused to answer, tears falling down her dirty face freely.

"Sister, I don't wish to hurt you, but if you refuse to answer me… I will make an example out of you," he said looking at her. She closed her eyes and began to shake in fear. While Lucius had treated her well, the rest of the Malfoy's hadn't and seeing her only ally in the family look at her in hatred made her realize how much trouble she was deeply in.

Lucius stood up and dragged her to an empty chair, and before putting her on it he put a spell on it that made it extremely uncomfortable and hot to sit on before putting her on it and tying her onto it. He tore the child from her arms and gave it to Bellatrix who was then ordered to get information out of the child. He then motioned for Severus to begin his questioning methods which usually resulted in quicker answers than Bellatrix's methods had during the peak of the War under Voldemort's command. Severus quickly ordered one of the Death Eaters to get Veritaserum and while the Death Eater went to get the potion, Severus casted the torturing curse on her. This method tended to exhaust the prisoner into giving their answers right away rather than trying to fight the answers. She screamed and withered under the curse but couldn't truly move due to being tied to the uncomfortable chair. Once the Death Eater arrived with the potion, Severus quickly forced her to drink it before nodding at Lucius indicating that he would then be able to ask questions.

Lucius started easy, "What is your name?"

"Nova Elena Malfoy."

"When were you born?"

"February 19th, 1965."

"What did mother call you when you were a child?"

"She used to call me 'sweetie."

Needing no more proof that she was under the effects of the potion he began to ask the questions he wanted the answer to.

"Who was that child with you?"

"My daughter, Estelle Riddle Malfoy."

"How old is she?"

"She's five years…"

"Is that why you left? Because you were 16 and pregnant?" Lucius asked slowly becoming furious.

She began to cry, "Yes… but also because the father told me to."

"And who is the father?"

"Lord Voldemort."

Everyone in the room was silent. They were unaware that the Dark Lord had been with someone, or even had a child.

"Did he love you?" Lucius asked tentatively trying to make plans with either answer.

"No," she responded, and Lucius immediately began his plan. He first called Bellatrix to bring back the child. Once she was brought back, he picked up Estelle switching his persona in a complete 180. He announced to everyone loudly.

"This is my niece, Estelle Riddle Malfoy. As a member of House Malfoy, she is under my jurisdiction and her fate is mine control, just as her mothers. Nova Malfoy will be married to my second hand Severus Snape. Estelle will be raised by them, Narcissa, and myself. She is also now betrothed to my son Draco Malfoy and will marry him when he weds Pansy Parkinson of House Parkinson," he said firmly looking at anyone. "Any objections?"

Despite the fact that it looked like multiple people wanted to protest the events that had just transpired, they knew that they would lose. With that, in just a few words, Lucius Malfoy had secured his spot and Draco's spot as leaders of the Dark faction and blood supremacist. "The Potters may have money, but I have the soldiers and the international support", Lucius Malfoy thought proudly.

Though Lucius and James were confident that the war wouldn't last very long with their respective side winning, everyone else knew otherwise. The wizarding community was in for a long and bloody war.