Chapter 9: Acquila

A few years had passed since Acquila Black's mother was killed and, under the belief she'd better off away from her father's family, Albus Dumbledore faked her death and placed her in a muggle orphanage. Dumbledore believed he could keep the charade until it was time for Acquila to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry but he was wrong. The truth came out sooner thanks to events that started to unfold in 1985.

It started with a typical weekend at the Dursley household. "Honestly, Sirius, don't you think you're rushing things?" Petunia asked her nephew's Godfather. "I clearly remember that it was later in life that my sister started showing magic."

"Petunia, if you think my brother is rushing things, you should have seen the pressure our parents used to place us under." Regulus commented.

Whatever the others would say was interrupted by the two official-looking letters. One was addressed to Sirius and the other was addressed to Regulus. Their somber expressions made it clear to Vernon and Petunia the letter contained bad news. "What happened?" Vernon asked.

In response, Regulus handed his letter to Vernon, who read it along with Petunia. Sirius and Regulus were notified of their mother's death. "My condolences." Petunia said.

"Thank you." Regulus sadly replied. His reply was quick because he was afraid his brother would tell them how the latter Black felt about Walburga Black.

As Walburga's sons, Sirius and Regulus showed up at her funeral albeit Regulus suspected his brother did it under the belief it'd upset her. "What are you doing here?" Lucius Malfoy asked upon seeing Sirius. "Weren't you disowned?"

"Mother might have disinherited me but I still am Lord Black's heir, Lucy." Sirius teasingly replied.

"And I won't tolerate any disrespect from upstarts like you Malfoys during my daughter-in-law's funeral so stop it or you will be disowned from the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black." Lord Arcturus Black threatened.

"Yes, Lord Black." Lucius replied with almost as much fear as he used to show while addressing Voldemort.

After the funeral, her sons went to Black Manor at Grimmauld Place. "Reggie, remind me how did you make me come back here." Sirius asked his brother.

"So you could repair your place in the tree." Regulus replied.

"DON'T YOU DARE!" They heard their mother's portrait angrily shout.

"There's nothing you can do to stop me, mother." Sirius proudly replied while he restored his picture and ignored Walburga's portrait's ranting. Then it came to the hardest part of it: restoring Athena's and Acquila's places in the tree. Sirius didn't like the idea of seeing their skulls but he understood, after almost four years, that it was time to come with terms with their deaths. To his surprise, however, his daughter instead showed a lively face and no date of death. "What did you do, mother?" Sirius angrily asked her portrait.

"What're you talking about, blood traitor?" Walburga's portrait asked.

"How come the family tree describes Acquila like she's still alive?" Sirius indignantly asked.

"IMPOSSIBLE!" Walburga's portrait shouted. "The only way the tree could do that would be with her being really alive!"

"She can't be alive!" Regulus said. "To question Peter Pettigrew's death is one thing since he didn't leave enough of his body to confirm it but there was a body to be buried in Acquila's case."

"Dumbledore!" Walburga's portrait screamed like she had a eureka moment. "He must have killed Peter Pettigrew to keep people from finding out he didn't die at that explosion and disguised his body as Acquila's."

"I don't care about half-brained theories, mother." Sirius replied. "I care about finding my daughter."

"Kreacher!" Walburga called for her favorite elf.

"Mistress called?" Kreacher answered.

"The blood traitor's daughter Acquila Black is alive, Kreacher." Walburga told the elf. "Locate her and evaluate the status of those guarding her. If your presence is detected wherever she is, bring her here."

"Yes, Mistress." Kreacher replied and disapparated away.

"Mother, why didn't you tell Kreacher to bring her no matter what?" Sirius asked.

"Because we don't know which spells is she under, you stupid blood traitor." Walburga answered. "We must find out her whole situation before doing anything. Isn't it something you were taught at Auror training for cases where you had to handle hostage situations?"

"Point taken." Sirius conceded.

"Now it's time to contact Lord Black and my parents." Walburga stated.

By the time Arcturus, Pollux and Irma Black arrived at Number 12, Grimmauld Place, they didn't have much time to react to the news of their great-granddaughter being alive before Kreacher returns to report her whereabouts. All of them were outraged at Kreacher's report. "A muggle orphanage?" Pollux asked. "Does Dumbledore want to turn her into a mudblood?"

"I expected him to at least have someone in the Order of the Phoenix raise her in secret." Sirius commented, too upset at what happened to Acquila to care about someone using the m-word.

"Are you certain it's really her, Kreacher?" Irma Black asked.

"She is wearing object with McKinnon symbol, Mistress Irma." Kreacher explained.

"Let's see the Minister and demand answers." Lord Arcturus Black said and the others agreed.

At the Ministry, everyone was scared upon seeing so many members of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black together and they soon got to see the Minister. "What can I do for the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black?" Minister Millicent Bagnold asked.

"You can take Acquila Black away from that filthy muggle orphanage and give her back to me!" Lord Arcturus Black demanded and was elbowed by Sirius. "To us."

"What're you talking about?" The Minister asked, feigning ignorance. "Acquila Black and her mother were murdered back in 1981."

"We checked the family tree after my mother's death and sent an elf looking for Acquila, Minister." Sirius replied. "Bring my daughter back from the muggle orphanage or we'll take measures ourselves."

"You certainly took your time checking that tree." Minister Bagnold maliciously commented.

"We want her back and we want her abductors punished." Lord Arcturus Black demanded.

"I've given all involved parties amnesty since they were protecting her from you Blacks." The Minister replied.

"Then bring her back immediately or we'll make sure you'll have a vote of no confidence for this, Bagnold." Lord Black said.

"Yes, Sir. Yes, Sir." Minister Bagnold fearfully said. "I'll call Moody."

"Does he know she's alive?" Regulus asked in surprise.

"There's no time to discuss that, Regulus." Lord Black told him.

"Yes, Sir." Regulus replied.

Later on, as the Blacks took Acquila to Gringotts for a blood test, Albus Dumbledore was informed of Acquila's return from the 'dead'. "I knew the deception wouldn't last forever but it ended sooner than I expected." Dumbledore sadly commented.

"When would you tell me Black's brat was still as alive as Potter's?" Snape asked. "I thought you trusted me."

"It was a need to know, Severus." Dumbledore explained. "I just regret it didn't last long enough to give her a chance to be free from the Black darkness."

"Honestly, Headmaster, the worst I expect from her is to be as much of a spoiled bully as her father used to be during his days as a Hogwarts student." Snape commented.

"Severus!" Professor McGonagall intervened. "You're not forgetting Sirius Black ordered the deaths of his own wife and daughter. Are you?"

"Is there any proof other than the word of somebody who had a financial motive to have them killed, refuses to express his reason to believe Sirius Black was behind the death of his wife, and lied by claiming the Black brat was killed with her?" Snape asked.

"Severus, you shouldn't be so upset over not being involved with the plan to keep Acquila safe from her father's family." Dumbledore scolded Snape. "You already proved yourself untrustworthy with that secret by falling for the tale Sirius Black's grandfather made up to get him off."

"Honestly, Albus, I can understand not trusting a witness who lies about such a serious matter." Professor Flitwick argued. "And I also agree with the reasons presented to doubt Black's guilt regarding the other crimes."

"Not that again, Filius." Dumbledore pleaded.

Filius ignored Dumbledore and talked to McGonagall. "Minerva, how do we know for a fact that whoever is behind Athena Black's death wanted her daughter dead as well? There must be a reason she wasn't killed after all.

Both McGonagall and Dumbledore were stumped by the question. "I admit I never thought about that, Filius." Dumbledore explained. "I just figured out that the only ones would be the Blacks wanting Athena dead so they could raise Acquila their Dark way but they would have taken the girl with them."

"Unless they didn't want to clue you to the fact they're behind her mother's death." Severus argued. "It's not like they'd expect you to fake the girl's death."

They were then informed of a visitor. Andromeda Tonks was furious. "Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, what's this I'm hearing about Acquila Black being alive?"

Dumbledore then explained his supposed need to keep Acquila safe from the Blacks. "Couldn't you have just left her with me or Moody?" She asked.

"Alastor has no time and I couldn't break the law anyway, Andromeda." Dumbledore explained.

"THE HELL YOU CAN'T!" Andromeda angrily retorted. "You could get away with abduction but you couldn't openly interfere with Acquila's placement?"

"Either way, Andromeda, you lost your reliability when you started to believe Black's innocence." Dumbledore argued.

"Has it never occurred to any of you that Sirius might be really innocent?" Andromeda asked in exasperation.

Most people motioned 'yes' but Dumbledore remained skeptical. "He returned to your darkest relations."

"Who can blame him after we closed our minds to the possibility of Sirius being innocent?" Andromeda asked. "It's a miracle he forgave me."

"Andromeda, I understand you genuinely renounced your family's Dark ways but your cousin was just pretending." Dumbledore said with his grandfatherly voice.

Meanwhile, the Malfoys also learned about Acquila Black still being alive. "Impossible!" Lucius exclaimed in horror. "That brat should be dead so Draco would have a chance of inheriting the Black Lordship."

"You still could try an arranged marriage between them, Lucius." Lucius' wife Narcissa suggested.

"No, Narcissa." Lucius replied. "Sirius would rather arrange for his daughter to marry Potter. If at least I had found her first, I could have killed her and nobody would ever know."

"My relatives and the Ministry would figure out it was you!" Narcissa exclaimed in horror.

"No, Narcissa." Lucius argued. "Mad-Eye would be blamed for it. Your relatives were already suggesting he was behind Athena Black's death even before learning the truth about Acquila."

Upon testing Acquila's blood and confirming her identity as the daughter of Sirius Black and his late wife, the goblins transferred the McKinnon vault from Alastor Moody's name to hers. "Good work, account manager." Lord Black declared. "How long will it take until the money Alastor Moody took from the account during the time she was officially dead?"

"As long as it takes, Lord Black." The goblin replied.

"Good."

End chapter.