"Here we are." Artorius Nero announced to the group of magicals as they walked into his board room. It looked like a typical board room save for the table that had an eagle with it's wings spread open engraved in the center of it. They all took chairs with Narcissa Malfoy, who was clinging to her younger siblings as if her life depended on it, lead her siblings to some chairs and sat down. The others followed suit with her son Draco, and his wife, Astoria, sitting opposite them. Harry Potter-Black, his wives Daphne Black and Hermione Potter, took of three chairs for themselves with Harry's godson sitting close to them. Neville Longbottom-Lestrange and his wives, Hannah Longbottom nee Abbott and Susan Lestrange nee Bones sat close to them. Blaise Zabini and his wife, Tracey Zabini nee Davis and Luna Lovegood sat close to Malfoy and his wife or by Harry.
"I'm very happy that all of you accepted my offer." Artorius continued as he sat down. His cousin Bertram and his best friend Wilfred sat on his right and left. Their parents extended the table and added more chairs so they could sit down as well. "I was unsure if you would but I'm glad that you did."
"Why did you make the offer?" Blaise Zabini asked in a neutral tone. He was very curious and very confused when he got a letter and those feelings increased when he found out that his friend Daphne and her family got one as well along with Lovegood, Longbottom, and Malfoy. He didn't express those feelings out loud and he wasn't planning too.
Artorius regarded him for a moment before he answered the question.
"A good portion of the people sitting at this table are of blood relation to me." Artorius began slowly. "I've never been able to contact any of you before due to the fact that our magical communities...loath each other. That and none of you knew I existed or had a reason to come here."
"And since the social and political climate went down the tube, you offered us a chance to get away," Was the cool answer from Daphne Black. "And all it cost us was giving up our British citizenships."
"A small price to pay for a fresh start," Narcissa Malfoy cut into the conversation. Her voice was a little shaky but she pressed on as her sister, Octavia, rubbed her back while her brother, Cassius, gripped her hand. "A very small price in my honest opinion. We could be stuck in Britain, slowly dying like the rest of the community or we can here and do something new." She paused and looked at her siblings before looking back to Daphne. "I don't know about you my lady, but I'm happy to have at least some of my family back."
Daphne showed no outside emotion but she did wince internally as memories of Narcissa's broken form at Andromeda's funeral flashed through her mind. Narcissa was hysterical and she had to be stunned so Draco could take her home.
"And we're happy to have you back Cissy." Octavia murmured before kissing her sister's temple. An action that was mirriored by her brother.
"I'm sorry," Astoria Malfoy nee Greengrass began. "I don't mean to be rude but how is it that you two are her siblings?" She asked with a frown as she eyed her mother in law.
"It's a long story," Cassius Black admitted with a sigh. "But basically, my sister and I defied the wishes of our father and our dear old uncle Orion made people forget about us by using the family magic combined with the Fidelius charm." He took a breath and continued. "We came here by sneaking on to some muggle tanker ship that was headed here and we told our story to the American Ministry. They gave us asylum and later we renounced our citizenships which we did without a second thought but we kept our names. I got a job as a private detective while building capital here and I homeschooled Octavia because we couldn't afford to send her to Salem."
He paused and glanced at the newcomers expressions. They all looked horrified at what happened to the Black siblings though Astoria looked sheepish.
"Do not feel bad my niece," Cassius told her gently. "It was a fair question that you asked and we would have discussed it anyway." She nodded at him though she still felt bad. "Over the years I had become respected amongst the lords here in the states and I became a lord myself after I gained enough social standing." He turned to his wife Lucretia and smiled. "I also happened to meet a very kind woman who later became my wife." He grabbed her hand and placed a kiss on it. Nacissa gave Lucretia a quick once over, sizing up her sister in law and seeing if she was worthy for her brother. One look at her brother's face told her that she didn't need to worry about her. "We also had two children, one of whom is in this room." Cassius shot a grin towards Bertram who grinned back. "I paid tribute to you." He told Narcissa who stared at him. "His middle name, it's a tribute to you."
"You did?" Narcissa whispered and Cassius nodded.
"I did." He replied. "His full name is Bertram Narcissus Black. I think he may have mentioned it earlier but I'm not sure." He gave his son a questioning look.
"I used my name to give an oath to Lord Malfoy while you three were occupied," Bertram replied and Narcissa gave her son a look. "It's not his fault aunt Narcissa," Bertram added quickly, seeing her look. "I did it to prove that what I told him was true."
"What did you tell him?" His father asked.
"That we were family." Was the response.
"Well you should show them the family tree," His father murmured before turning to Narcissa who patted his knee. "Yes Cissy?"
"You said you had two children?" She asked quietly and Cassius smiled.
"Yes, I have a daughter as well." He said. "Her name is Artemis, Artemis Dorea Black."
Harry Potter stared at Cassius when he mentioned the name Dorea as that was his grandmother's name as well. He shrugged it off thinking that there were many names that were repeated in the Black family so it wasn't that much of a stretch.
"You named her after the moon goddess?" His sister asked. "And aunt Dorea as well?"
"She has her mother's grey eyes," Cassius told his sister. "And Aunt Dorea was very kind to us as children, I wanted to pay tribute to her as well. She's at home now, but she'll join us later."
Narcissa nodded with a smile on her face before turning to Octavia and raising a sculpted eyebrow.
"And you Octavia?" She asked.
"I have three children," Octavia said. "That's my oldest child, Artorius though I call him Arthur sometimes while Drew calls him Artie."
"Drew?"
"My daughter." Octavia smiled. "Drusilla Bellatrix Nero." She noticed that a few people tensed at the girls middle name so she pressed on before they could speak. "She's my youngest." She added. "She's at home with Artemis and my other son, Tiberius."
"All of them have very old names." Hermione Potter commented to her family. "Names from-"
"The Roman Empire." Artorius added to her comment, making her turn to him. The others turned to him as well. "A part from my name, my family has always named their sons after figures from the Roman Empire. My father's name is Claudius, my grandfather's name was Caesar. Even our surname is derived from a Roman Emperor."
"Do you have ties to Rome?" Hermione asked him, her curiosity rising.
"Yes we do." Claudius Nero rumbled with a smile. Hermione turned to him and studied his features. He had long brown hair and was broad shouldered. He had this intense presence about him but his eyes had a certain amount of warmth to them. "We can trace our history all the way back to the Empire."
"You can?" Hermione gasped and Claudius smiled even more before waving his hand. A large piece of parchment appeared out of thin air. At the top of it, the was a golden Eagle with it's wing spread out and it's head to the side. Names and words started to appear with the first name being Augustus, the first Emperor in Julio-Claudian dynasty. There were other names like Caligula, Germanicus, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa etc. which lead all the way to Claudius Nero and his family.
"Does that answer your question Lady Potter?" Claudius asked with a smile and she nodded at him.
"May we see the Black family tree?" Harry inquired, speaking up since he first entered the room. "Something tells me it's different than the one back at the ancestral home."
Claudius nodded to Bertram who waved his hand and another large piece of parchment appeared. This one had the Black family tree which began Hercules Black and his wife Julia Yaxley. The names that followed were people named after constellations Perseus or Auriga until it lead to Theodore Lupin, Draconis Malfoy, and Hadrian Potter.
"Who are they?" Draco asked, pointing at the names of Jacob William Black, Collin Damien Littlesea, Brady Jackson Fuller, Leah Susan Clearwater, Seth Harrison Clearwater, Jared Donald Cameron, Danielle Elizabeth Cameron, Derek Marshall Cameron, Laurence Christian Fox, and Thomas James Nakoa Matthews Canis-Draconis.
"They're our cousin's that live in Washington and Alaska respectively." Bertram replied evenly. While he didn't take an oath to not reveal their true nature, he wasn't going to bring up the fact that they were wolf shifters.
"Are they shape shifters?" The dreamy voice of Luna Lovegood drifted across the room, causing several people to jump because they forgot she was there. "A friend of mine said that America was filled with them, the largest concentration being in the first area you mentioned." She peered at the parchment again until her eyes landed on a name she was looking for. "Ah, Ephraim Black." She said sagely. "I've heard many stories about him. One of which was that he and his wolf pack made a treaty with a coven of vampires lead by Carlisle Cullen also known as Stregoni Benefici, the natural enemy of all evil vampires."
Bertram and his friend Wilfred gaped at the spacey woman. Artorius merely blinked at her. They couldn't believe she knew all of this information. Some people from the British group where going to write her off until they saw the expressions the three men were sporting.
"How could you possibly know that?" Bertram asked her with an incredulous expression.
"I have friends in high places." Luna said simply.
"So some of our American cousins are...animal shifters?" Harry asked the room at large. He didn't have a problem with magical creatures or people who weren't entirely human but he wanted to confirm what he just heard so there weren't any misunderstandings.
"Yes, they are." Bertram said after a moments hesitation. "We never took oaths to not disclose that information but I suppose it dosen't matter since one of you is very knowledgeable about them anyway." He shot a small smile to Luna who smiled back a little. "Yes, those individuals you see on the tree are descendants of Taha Aki, the last spirit chief and the first wolf shifter of La Push Washington."
"Wolf shifters?" Teddy Lupin asked. "Are they like...werewolves?" He was curious about half beings or magical creatures. When he when to school at Hogwarts, Care for magical creatures was his favorite subject and he had leanred a lot in that class.
"No." Bertram shook his head with a small smile. "They thought they were actual werewolves because their natural enemies are vampires but they have acquired knowledge that dispels that idea."
"So they turn into actual wolves or...?" Tracey Zabini trailed off with a raised brow. Her husband was curious as well so he matched her action.
"Well they look like actual wolves and even have the right fur color but their size..." Bertram trailed off.
"What about their size?" Draco asked.
"They're roughly the size of an average horse," Bertram replied and the British group, apart from Luna, stared at him, waiting for a punch line to be delivered. It never came.
"The size of an average horse," Astoria repeated slowly, a huge frown on her face. "Are you taking the Mickey out of us?" Her family was one of the few pureblood families that actually ventured out into the non-magical world so she knew some things like the slang that was used.
"Never heard of any one called Mickey apart from that one song I heard but if you feel that I am insulting you ma'am, I swear I am not." Bertram replied with a bit of humor but he was also being serious. His mother and both of his aunts sighed in exasperation as they were reminded that his father did the same thing from time to time. Said man grinned at his son for doing so and the rest of the family just rolled their eyes at Bertram.
"How do you know that they are the size of horses?" Teddy asked. "Have you seen them in their forms?"
"He knows because he is one." Luna commented before Bertram could speak. Everyone stared at her. Some with blank looks or with wide eyes.
"How the hell did you know that?!" Bertram demanded.
"Bertram!" His mother barked at him. "Mind your manners!" She snapped but her son wasn't listening.
"I heard you whinny through your coughing fit earlier," Luna said serenely and Bertram began to blush.
"I did not whinny." Bertram denied lamely while his cousin and best friend looked amused.
"Oh but you did just like your cousin and your friend growled at you for that joke you made earlier." Luna went on and all three men stared at her. "So the question is, are all of you animagi or something else?" She raised an eyebrow at them and the others turned to the men to see how they would answer.
"You're very astute Ms. Lovegood." Artorius said with a smile before standing up and turning into his black maned lion form which he called Nemeaus. He approached Luna slowly and she ran a hand through his mane when he was close enough to her. Bertram and Wilfred shared a glance before turning into their other forms they called Mustang and Mecha respectively.
Artorius trotted over to his pride and placed himself between them. It was a strange image seeing two predators and animal that could be considered their prey were sided by side and showing unity. After a few moments they changed back and took their seats.
"Natural?" Luna asked and they nodded.
"Natural." They said.
"Merlin." Teddy let out a breath. "Back home there weren't any natural animagi. On record at least. When did you three discover that you were animagi?"
"Teddy," Harry said in a warning tone. "That's a little personal don't you think?" Teddy ducked his head, trying to fight a blush that threatened to grow on his face which was a easy because of his Metamorphmagus abilities. He realized that it was a bit much to ask but he couldn't help himself.
"Oh can it Potter," Draco rolled his eyes, coming to the defense of his cousin. Had he harbored the propaganda that he spouted when he was younger, Draco would have mocked Teddy for being the son of a werewolf and a daughter of disowned pureblood. But as he grew older and saw the world for what it was, he let go of those feelings and embraced Teddy with open arms. "The boy asked a fair question and I'm sure our host would tell him the answer or simply choose not to."
Harry gave Draco a look who returned it without any hesitation. While they didn't hate each other anymore, and they spoke to each other in a somewhat civilized manner, there were still moments where they wanted to rip each other's throats out. The only reason they didn't was because their wives, Astoria and Daphne, were sisters and they laid down the law from the beginning. Be nice or be hexed into oblivion.
After what felt like an eternity, Harry inclined his head slightly and turned to his godson, "I'm sorry Teddy, I didn't mean to make you feel bad."
"It's ok Harry," Teddy murmured. When he was younger he used to call Harry uncle or Harry or sometimes Dad because for awhile Harry was like a father to him. When he was old enough, Harry told him that he could call him by name if he liked and Teddy took it to heart. "I couldn't help myself."
"Your a lot like me when I was your age," Hermione chuckled fondly as memories from her school days flashed through her mind. "Although I was worse than you I suppose."
"You had an amazing thirst for knowledge is all." Harry said firmly.
"But I was very abrasive though." She countered. "Everyone who went to school with us knows that love."
Draco flinched slightly as he remembered all the times he made fun of Hermione. Part of it was his pureblood delusion telling him Hermione was inferior because she wasn't of magical birth. Another part of it was because he was jealous that she was that smart. He had genuinely apologized to her after graduation and she accepted it.
"We found out we were animagi when we were children," Wilfred said as he noticed Malfoy's flinch and the growing tension. "We were at a party hosted by Alexander Parkinson. Yes you heard that correctly." He added when Draco stared at him with wide eyes. "There was a Parkinson branch here in the states."
"Was?" Neville Longbottom-Lestrange asked, speaking up since he first arrived to the building. He was remaining quiet because this meeting was technically between the houses of Black and Malfoy and their American cousins but that comment peaked his interest and he had to speak up. The only Parkinson he ever encountered was Pansy Parkinson and she was absolutely dreadful when they were children. As she grew older she at least acted civil around Neville, his family, and his friends.
"Yes, there was a Parkinson branch here." Wilfred said flatly. While he didn't wish death on anyone he wasn't mourning over Alexander Parkinson.
"What happened?" Susan Lestrange inquired.
"I ended it." Artorius said, his voice just as flat as Wilfred's. "I'll explain after Wilfred is finished with his story first."
The British group exchanged glances but nodded their heads in agreement.
"Anyway, we were at a party," Wilfred continued with his story. "There was...an altercation between myself and another child."
"Altercation?" Bertram interrupted, incredulity lacing his words and features. "The damn troll was just being a brat because you had something he didn't."
"Bertram!" His mother hissed at him. His father had a twinkle in his eyes and one thought in his mind, That's my boy.
"Oh come on mom," Bertram replied in a dismissive tone. "You know he looked like a troll, hell he still does and he was being a brat."
His mother glared at him but her lips twitched slightly.
"That's still not a nice thing to say." Was the terse response but Bertram shrugged.
"They're not nice people." Bertram shrugged again.
"As I was saying," Wilfred went on. "There was an altercation between myself and another child which lead to the discovery of our natural animagus abilities...and my other ability."
"Other ability?" Harry asked him and instead of replying, Wilfred decided to show him.
Normally Wilfred's gift was instant but he decided to slow it do so he wouldn't startle them. He started to encase the skin on his face first then his hands. The British group watched in awe as the muscles in his face were emphasized by a metallic alloy.
"Sweet Merlin." Several of them gasped and Wilfred smiled slightly.
"That's a better reaction than the first one I got." He told them as he changed his skin back. "The troll, as my friend likes to call him, fell to the ground in shock and his father yelled at me."
Wilfred's father tensed up and his wife patted his shoulder to calm him down though she was upset as well. That man had no right to yell at a child especially one that wasn't his.
"What happened after that?" Daphne warily asked. She noticed the reaction from Wilfred's father so she had a feeling that this story was going to get worse. That feeling was shared by the other people in the British group.
"I hit him." Bertram answered her before Wilfred could speak. Daphne raised an eyebrow at him so he continued. "I kicked him as hard as I could but I did it as a black colt though I didn't know it at the time." He paused for a moment before speaking again. "The moron backhanded me after that and I flew across the room."
Narcissa felt her brother go rigid and she looked at his face. She shuddered at the fire that was in his eyes at the moment. She felt angry about what happened to her nephew but she could only imagine what her brother must be feeling.
"Wilfred and I attacked him next," Artorius picked up the story after he noticed his aunt's shudder and the fire behind his uncles eyes. "We had changed as well though we didn't know that we did either."
"Our dads had to pry us off of him." Wilfred added.
"And my dad beat the idiot senseless." Bertram finished with a look in his dad's direction. He didn't like the look in his eyes but they had to finish the story.
There was a moment of tense silence that Artorius decided to break.
"The Parkinson branch that was based here in America was started over 250 years ago." He said to the room at large. "50 years after that, they started a group know as the Blue Lions. The group was filled with orphans who reached their Majority. They...were like a small army for the Parkinson Family." He paused for a moment and waved his hand. Pitchers of water and iced tea along with glasses appeared on the table. "My apologies for not offering any beverages earlier but I suppose we got lost in story telling. Please, help yourselves." He gestured to the drinks and everyone gladly accepted them. After everyone took a drink, Artorious continued.
"The group would carry out whatever Lord Parkinson wanted them too," He said. "They weren't a terrorist group but their methods were very heavy handed, more so in the recent years. Alexander Parkinson was the last Lord of the American branch of the Parkinson family. He had a daughter named Jenna who died giving birth to a child. He planned to use some of his best men to interrogate and destroy a coven of vampires and their shifter allies."
"This coven and their friends live in Washington." Luna added and after a moment Artorius inclined his head. "They're friends are the ones on that parchment." She nodded to the family tree and Artorius nodded after a moment.
"Yes they would have been attacked though I doubt they would have been in too much trouble." Artorius admitted. "However that's not the point, they should not have had that sort force against them in the first place. Our friend, Davis Chan, overheard about it from some Lion's who couldn't help but brag about it and gave us the information because he knew that we had family out there. What he didn't know was that both groups were one in the same.
"I confronted Parkinson about this at a meeting that I held here in this room with other wizarding families that live here in the states. He claimed that his daughter hadn't checked in with him and he wanted answers. I had no problem with him finding answers but I did have a problem with him sending his men after my family. I did not reveal this at the meeting mainly because I didn't want them to know and the families that live in Washington did not know of our existence. Plus as I've said before the methods that the Lions used were very heavy handed and had were not very subtle. Parkinson was willing to risk exposure to get his answers."
"Did you challenge him to a duel?" Blaise asked him. He had a feeling that Parkinson lost his life in a duel but he wasn't sure if it was at that moment or at another point in time.
"He challenged me," Artorius murmured. "But not at that time. He instead tried to rally support from the families that were here which was a big mistake because whenever there was a debate between families, it was usually split down the middle. Our allies, the Chan's and his allies, the Dragunov's, backed us up respectively. The only family that didn't offer any sort of support to either of us was the Mann family. It was hardly a surprise as they have always maintained neutrality when it came to such things though they have always been kind to the other families.
"Like I said I didn't have a problem with him finding answers and I even suggested that he arrange a meeting between the coven leader but he refused. I...I told him that if he went through with the plan there would be a harsh reaction. He waited for some time to pass before making his move but we kept tabs on his men."
"Bertram and I followed the group before confronting them," Wilfred added to the story. "Bertram hit one of them with a stunner and we tried to get them to leave."
"They refused and we fought them." Bertram said. "It got pretty nasty but we came out unscathed."
"If it got nasty, then how did you come out unscathed?" Teddy frowned at him.
"I meant that it got nasty for them," Bertram explained hesitantly. He was hesitant because his mother and Wilfred's mother was in the room. They knew that the boys fought and could fight their own battles but they didn't know all of the details and they wouldn't like the details in this story. "They fired some very…nasty spells at us."
"Such as?" His mother said coolly though there was an edge to her voice.
"I would like to know that as well." Flora White, Wilfred's mother added.
Both men hesitated and shifted in their seats.
"Boys," Both women said coldly. "Finish the story."
They shifted even more and despite the tension they continued with the story.
"Well," Wilfred began, licking his lips nervously. "They uh shot torture and killing curses at me."
"What!" His mother shrieked and his father glared at him. They had told their fathers about the fight but they never said anything like this! Cassius was also glaring at his son while his wife leapt out of her chair and stomped over to Bertram.
"Bertram Narcissus Black!" She screeched and her son flinched at the noise. "Why am I only hearing about this now? The fight happened last year!"
"Because I uh left some things out," Bertram joked weakly but he paled when his mother looked even angrier. "Look mom we were fine. Wilfred was able to block those curses because his skin is magic resistant and I blocked all the curses that were sent my way. I even threw them back."
"What did they fire at you?" His mother asked him, her voice barely about a whisper, her eyes hard like stone.
"Disemboweling hexes, blasting curses, stuff like that." Bertram sighed.
"How many men?"
"Fifteen."
His mother stared at him for a moment before pulling him into a hug. Wilfred's mother did the same.
"Don't get yourself into a situation like that again." She ordered him.
"I can't make that promise mom." Bertram told her. "When it comes to someone trying to hurt our family I won't just sit back and do nothing."
"But you won't have to fight anymore," His mother protested. "You have the pride-"
"Who are still training mom," Bertram interrupted her. "And even with all the training they have they'll never be as good as us."
His mother hugged him tighter. Wilfred patted his mom's back as she did the same to him.
"We're not little boys anymore mom," Wilfred told his mother. "Things like this will happen from time to time." His mother nodded against his chest though she didn't like that fact.
The British group kept quiet though they couldn't help but wonder how well these two fought if they could avoid things like what was mentioned against that many people and come out unharmed.
"We killed the majority of the group in the skirmish," Wilfred said to the room at large as he held his mother. "Only two survived. One who I incapacitated in the beginning, and the Lion Bertram stunned. We sent them back to their boss to tell him the news."
"I called a meeting with the other families," Artorius picked up the story. "And he showed up with a group of twelve men, two of which took one of my employee's hostage. She's fine now," He added when he heard gasps from the new group. "She doesn't work for me anymore but I made sure that she got the help that she wanted and needed. At the time no alarm had been raised because our security guards couldn't or else the girl would have been killed. At least that's what they were told.
"Wilfred found the girl in a supply closet with the two morons that took her. She wasn't hurt but she was very scared. Bertram stayed here in this room to greet the other families and to keep an eye on Parkinson. After I came in from checking in with Wilfred, I told the other families the situation, and demanded answers from Parkinson. He refused at first but he eventually old us that he knew his daughter was dead because he had a self updating family tree. Dring the conversation I came to the conclusion that he was really doing all of this to get his grandson."
"How did you figure that one out?" Harry asked him. The years of experience he had as an auror told him that him something was up with the Parkinson situation. Apart from what happened to his daughter at least. He didn't know what and he had considered that it might involve the child but he wanted to get more information.
Similar thoughts flashed through the minds of Draco, Blaise, and Hermione.
"Because of how his daughter acted." Artorius replied. "She never acted the way he wanted her too. He wanted her to produce an heir for him but she was always more focused on her work. They both wanted the Parkinson name to continue and thrive but they never reached an agreement on how that should be done. Alexander wanted to just have the name to continue because he only had one child and it wasn't a male heir.
"Jenna wanted to gain more power because she felt that it was a more important factor. She was a brilliant Technomancer and one hell of a fighter. She was a small woman but she could take on someone that was three times her size and come out on top."
"You sound like you admired her." Daphne commented.
"I respected her to a point." Artrious shrugged. "She was easily the best Technomancer here in the states and one of the top fighters. And while she did things that were questionable, she never pretended to be something that she wasn't. Her father on the other hand..." He trailed off before shaking his head and continuing his story. "When things weren't going his way, Parkinson challenged me to a duel. While we never said it out loud, it was a duel to the death as neither of us had the option to yield and we had no rules."
"So you could have used Unforgivable curses?" Hermione asked him and he frowned slightly.
"Yes and we don't call them that here," He replied. "I'll explain that another time but let me finish this story. So we had picked our seconds, he picked a man named Titus and I picked Bertram as it was his turn."
"Wilfred and I alternate being his second," Bertram murmured before anyone could ask. "Uncle Claude and Andy are the only other people Nemeaus would choose to be his second if we couldn't do it."
"Whose Andy?" Some people asked while others said, "Nemeaus?"
"Those questions will be answered shortly," Artorius told them as he gave his cousin a hard stare for making the story even longer. Bertram grinned impishly at him. "After we transfigured a platform for us to fight on, Lord Ma Kuan Mann over saw the duel as he and his family were a neutral party in the argument between Parkinson and I. The duel barely lasted five minutes and after I defeated Parkinson, I cast the Praedia Bellica spell, and gained control over his house."
The British group stared at him with wide eyes. That spell was used in many major battles or blood feuds between rival houses but it hadn't been used in centuries because it fell out of favor amongst the public. At least in the United Kingdom.
"Why did you do that?" Blaise asked him. "Is that spell used frequently here?"
"No it's not ," Artorius answered. "And I did it so no one would find out about Jenna's son. He's perfectly content with the family who adopted him and I was not going to allow anyone to disrupt that." He said firmly. He didn't want Henry to be attacked or molded into something that he wasn't. "All the assets and properties that were owned were either given to my dad, sold to the Ministry, auctioned off to other families or given to his grandson, Henry."
"How old is he?" Tracey asked him and he tensed slightly which she noticed.
"I'm not at liberty to say." Artorius told her. "I do this out of respect for the family that took him in. If they ever come here and if you really want to talk to them, I could arrange a meeting." He offered to her though it was also extended to the others.
Tracey shrugged though the idea did appeal to her, same with her husband.
"What happened to Titus?" Harry asked him. He had a feeling that the story was winding down so he wanted to hear how it ended.
"I killed him with the weapon that he had," Artorius sighed. "And when the duel was officially over, the other Lions tried to attack me."
"Key word being tried." Bertram added dryly. "Wilfred and I joined the fight and helped defeat them. We offered some of them the chance to walk away but they wanted to go down with ship." He turned to his cousin and best friend. "Did we leave anything out?"
"Apart from the fact that Nemeaus kept the weapon he got from Titus then no." Wilfred said. "Though for the life of me I can't understand why you did." He added to Artorius who shrugged and summoned his weapon. It was still the small staff with the clawed hand on one end but he added a brass ball on the other.
"I like it," Artorius murmured.
"I don't see the appeal," Bertram grunted. "Give me a sword or two any day." He summoned his original sword and the sword he won from Maximus.
"Swords and staves are all well and good but at the end of the day the best weapon you can have is already on your body," Wilfred said sagely as he held up his hands. "These can either save lives or take them," He continued. "Though in my case," His hands started to become metallic. "It's usually the latter."
"As nice as that is boys, I do believe that our guest wish to ask you questions." Claudius Nero told them and they turned to the other group who were waiting patiently for them to finish their conversation.
"Yes, well," Artorius muttered to himself before addressing the room at large. "I know who have questions but I actually have a few to ask all of you before we discuss things further." The British group once gain exchanged looks before nodding at him to continue. Artorius inhaled deeply before continuing. "How badly do all of you want to start over? If there was a way for all to change what's happened to each of you, would you take it?"
"Is this a hypothetical question?" Draco asked him.
"If you want it to be one then yes, let's go with that." Artorius knew that this next part would be tricky but he was going to press the point. Bertram and Wilfred knew this as well and they would have his back.
"Ok." Draco frowned in confusion which is what the others in his group did as well. "Let's say there was a way to do what you asked, how would it be done?"
"Tell me," Artorius began. "What do you know about time travel?"
My internet is acting up so I'm sorry for not getting this up sooner but here it is. I don't know when the next chapter will be up but as always I will try to post it as soon as possible.