Arcturus Black

November 10, 1981

Black Estate, Wiltshire

Arcturus Black considered this the worst week in the history of the Black Family and considering the dubious reputation of the house he headed that was saying quite a lot. While the death of the Potter family was tragic, they were quite distant on the tree. Learning that it was his grandson that was their betrayer had been much more of a blow, especially with Sirius Black now incarcerated indefinitely in Azkaban.

His son, Orion, had always been a disappointment to Arcturus, clinging to pureblood principles and blinded in his devotion to some upstart. His son lacked all the grace and cunning of a true Slytherin and completely failed to see the larger place he held in the world. When Orion was younger, he could not fault him for his pride in the Black name and position, a pride that Arcturus himself shared, but this pride had become twisted as he grew. Arcturus would like to place the blame on that devil woman Walburga. Cousin or not, she and her brother were nearly fanatical in their views and the older girl had completely enthralled his boy during their time together at Hogwarts. Unfortunately, he knew that he must have failed his son as a father somehow for the boy to be so vulnerable to her manipulations. Arcturus should have protested more when his son approached him for his consent to marry his cousin, but Orion seemed so in love and Walburga did not seem nearly as insane then as she was now. He had seen his grandson, Sirius, as his redemption. Sirius had categorically rejected his parents' twisted opinions and stood as his own man. Arcturus could have hoped for him to do so in the halls of Slytherin, but he could accept the break that Gryffindor house afforded him. Even when Sirius ran away from home and Orion and Walburga were both vehement in their desire to see him disowned, Arcturus did not oblige. He used his position as head of the Black family to secure Sirius in the home of the Potters and even ensured that he received the bequest of his maternal uncle. He saw Sirius as the perfect foil against the fanaticism so much of the family had fallen into. This was how a Black played the game, both sides against the other, with a Black always coming out on top, a principle that his family and seemingly all of Slytherin House had forgotten in these long years of war.

However, Sirius turned out to be an even greater disappointment than his father. Arcturus could easily accept him fighting against Voldemort, he viewed that wizard with equal suspicion. Although he saw the trust Sirius placed in Dumbledore as nearly as bad as the slavish devotion afforded the so-called Dark Lord, he did not begrudge Sirius for joining with Dumbledore. At least he didn't remembered Dumbledore as a swotty friend of his son's from Hogwarts. The ingratiating manners of that urchin irked him then and he did not see improvements under his new ridiculous name of "Voldemort". How the same people that derided him as an upstart muggle orphan as children would willingly bow down to him as adults, all the while professing the superiority of their pureblood cause, confounded him. The masses not knowing his identity he could understand as care had been taken over the twenty years since his return to Britain to hide his very humble origins, but the ancient houses were nothing without their history and the 1940s when the orphan Tom Riddle had been at school, unhidden and sponging of the generosity of his better connected housemates were not that long ago. Surely, the Black home was not the only one that hosted their children's friends during their school days. Maybe their hypocrisy was more palatable than remembering how they underestimated the young Riddle lad. Sirius secretly being in league with him turned Arcturus' stomach, particularly since his plot had led directly to the death of the boy that had taken him in as a brother. A Black did not turn his back on family; after all Æfre Blæc. He should fault Walburga's French bastardization of the family motto as part of his grandson's failure in upbringing. 'Toujours pur' while technically a correct translation of Æfre Blæc, Always pure, lacked the true subtlety the original Saxon motto extolled and completely removed the clever play on the family name. Æfre meaning always or forever, and Blæc for Black, or meaning both dark and bright, black and white. The Black family was summed in more than a trite French phrase but were both sides at once and always for the family. Subtlety was truly becoming lost within his own family. Arcturus' ancient prejudice felt satisfied in blaming at least in part some Norman infestation for the corruption of his grandson. The boy's cursed mother supported her brother marrying a Rosier after all, and his children married a Malfoy and a Lestrange. Norman peasants all of them and only in this country since the time of William I. It was disgraceful, but Arcturus never did hold the reins of the family tightly and let his cousin Pollux control his own branch, only interfering when it impacted his own.

Lestrange, there was another failing that could fall at the feet of the family Black. Less than a week after her cousin's disgrace, Bellatrix went and compounded the ruin. Attacking after her lord had already been defeated and for no reasonable purpose. Her fanatic devotion leading to her own downfall. Where was this once proud family to go from here? Arcturus had just hit eighty, but Blacks were never terribly long lived. His son was dead and his grandsons as good as. Cousin Pollux was still around, but he would never entrust the family to one of his descendants, especially with how weak his stock had proven themselves. Besides there were only girls left in his line and they had all married away foolishly. While they all remained family, he would not trust one of their spawn to lead the family in any sort of dignity. His daughter, Lucretia, was still here, but she had no children of her own, and even if she did, they more rightly would serve under the proud house of Prewett. That was the problem, the Black family had no shortage of relatives, but they were all married into other prominent families. These families would have their own traditions, and would naturally be the first loyalty of any members. What worthy family would give up one of its own for a distant relative? He knew that some would easily trade a son for the promise of the Black wealth and prestige, but he would certainly not elevate one of such breeding that valued money over family loyalty. Æfre Blæc, after all.

The very motto that strengthened the family seemed doomed to end it. He was inclined to just give it up as lost, withdrawing from the world until he died. Let the Black fortune that he had spent his life building die in Gringotts, with the only slightest chance that Sirius Black would outlive him in his harsh Azkaban internment. With no heir named and no direct descendent left, the Goblins would not willingly turn over the Black vaults or at least not without a substantial fee. Let the last of the disgraced family destroy itself fighting over the dredges.

In most circumstances, Arcturus would have left it there. Let it rot in place. But at the very moment that he was deciding to let the Black name and fortune die with him, one of the house elves delivered his afternoon tea and paper. Arcturus hesitated to unroll his Daily Prophet. It had brought nothing but terrible news each day this week, the death of the Potters, the betrayal of Sirius, and the insanity of Bellatrix. Finally unrolling the paper, he saw one more indignity to the name of Black. There emblazoned across the front page of the paper was a picture of Lucius Malfoy shaking hands with the minister and a headline proclaiming his freedom due to being under the Imperius curse. The photo moved through the motions and Arcturus watched as Lucius gave a smug smirk again and again. His transparent manipulations to save his own skin fairly stamped his own guilt across his face, or his forearm as it were. The accompanying article did little to alleviate this impression as it commended Lucius for his continuing support of the current ministry and lamented his being imprisoned under a dreadful curse so long. Arcturus wondered how many Galleons constituted 'continuing support'. The Article further went on to hope for a bright future for Malfoy and even his son continuing the tradition and fully show the luster of the Malfoy and Black name. This was the final indignity. How dare Narcissa's worthless husband use the Black name and likely promises of the Black fortune to help wriggle himself from his well-deserved noose? He would rather leave his fortune in the hands of a house elf than see it muddied by such a man. Arcturus did not mind a well thought out plot or a cunning scheme and there was certainly enough items of dubious origin in the Black family, but under the care of one such as Lucius Malfoy the work of generations of Blacks would be drained in a few decades recklessly spent to feed the ego and ambitions of such a waste of a man. What had Pollux been thinking when he consented to such a match for his youngest granddaughter? Lucius showed no ability for himself, no cunning, just a cringing transitioned from kissing the robe of a pretender one day to happily serving as a politician's money bag the next. He was little more than a common brute.

There was an unfortunate truth however. Lucius' son did have a solid, if distant, claim on the Black inheritance. Draco, and wasn't that a pretentious name for a Malfoy to bear, was a first cousin, although 3 times removed. If his cousin Pollux outlived Arcturus, as seemed likely as he was more than a decade younger, his claim would be even stronger as Pollux could claim himself as the Black heir being a first cousin and name his only great-grandson as his heir. The goblins may protest as not being named by Arcturus as an heir or in the direct line, but with ministry support that Lucius had conveniently tied to his pocket book, Pollux would eventually prevail. Pollux was the direct ancestor of Sirius, Bellatrix and Narcissa and each had contributed to the failing of the family with their own daily spotlight. Arcturus was more determined than ever to prevent anyone from that branch for gaining his legacy.

To that end, Arcturus left his tea untouched and retired to his study and to the family book it contained. This book, or tome rather, laid out an extensive family tree, with not only family connections delineated, but short biographies and information for each name mentioned. The direct Black line extended back to the time of Merlin himself, with each branch carefully updated by the senior house elf of the family as needed. Arcturus required an heir with a claim at least as solid as the Malfoy spawn and hopefully one he himself could help mold in the last remaining years of his life. The Black family had long been a patriarchal one so he would need a male of Black descent for a strong claim. Of his own first cousins the Burkes did not have the necessary political capital to win in a fight against Malfoy. Trailing through the various lines from his cousins, the Crouch family stood out as brilliant and connected, but the last Crouch was imprisoned as a death eater in the same disgrace as Bellatrix. The Longbottom heir was a possibility, the elder had been incapacitated in the attack that disgraced Bellatrix and the Crouch boy. The younger was a first cousin thrice removed like the Malfoy brat, but he was now fully in the care of his grandmother Augusta and a greater harridan Arcturus had never met. One of the numerous Weasleys may be a possibility, but the enmity between the Weasley and Malfoy families would likely complicate any future inheritance claims. Leafing through the pages, Arcturus hit on the perfect solution. He had nearly forgotten his little cousin Dorea. She was born after he was already grown and out of the house so he had never interacted with her much. She had only one son, who had likewise had only one son, but it was the identity of that son that Arcturus knew would guarantee the success of his venture.

Dorea Black's only surviving grandchild was none other than Harry Potter, the same infant being universally hailed as a hero and responsible for ending the war with 'Voldemort'. That would make the Potter boy a first cousin only twice removed, a claim at least equal to the Malfoy spawn. Only Pollux as the only other living male Black had a stronger bloodline claim. Looking through the paperwork, Arcturus nearly cackled in glee. Harry Potter was also the godson and named heir of that wretch of a grandson, Sirius. This only strengthened the claim for the Potter child as he could be claimed under a direct line as the sole claimed heir of the heir apparent, practically equal in terms as a great-grandchild by birth. In fact, the murder of the Potters only strengthened the boy's claim for as an orphan he was under the protection of his godfather and thereby his godfather's family, regardless if it was that godfather that led to the murders. If Pollux happened to die before Sirius or Arcturus himself, the Potter boy would be the undisputed heir. Even if Pollux outlived them both, he would certainly have a strong argument for his own claim. Arcturus could also count on his daughter, Lucretia, to support the boy according to his wishes. Toss in his rapidly growing reputation as the Boy Who Lived and the Potter's own considerable influence and wealth and it was guaranteed to go his way. Arcturus traced the young boy's history through the book. His father's side was mostly deceased with the exception of one great-great aunt Marchbanks. Arcturus recalled her from his own OWL and NEWT exams and could only wonder at the age of the venerable Madame Marchbanks. Details on his mother's side were sparse as expected of one with no prior connection to the magical world, her genealogy only included her parents' names and that of a sister, although her own biography was more extensive and glowing in accomplishments for such a short life. This left an open question as to where the boy was now.

Pulling out a self-addressing envelope, as commonly used for owl post, Arcturus carefully addressed it to Harry Potter. The envelope however did not automatically fill in the boy's place of residence. Well, he could at least be grateful that some basic protections were in place. Likely an unplottable spell, with the location divulged only with the given key or an approved owl for delivery. Calling for Mippy, the most senior elf on the estate, he ordered her to bring any recent paper that referred to the Potter boy. Rapidly scanning the papers, Arcturus reread the multitude of articles that included mention of the new boy hero. The Sunday edition of the Prophet had extensive coverage of the Death Eater trials and the Potter and Longbottom tragedies. Reviewing the various articles in quick succession, Arcturus was able to pick out a pattern. It seemed that Dumbledore wanted the Potter boy to be held as a hero and was working to create a legend. Even the title, The-Boy-Who-Lived, reeked of Dumbledore's influence in all its unsubtle and ham-fisted glory. Finally, he found what he was looking for. An article towards the middle of the paper included a quote from Albus Dumbledore that Harry Potter had been placed with his closest living relatives. Arcturus knew that to be his own family on his paternal side, so that left his mother's family. As strange as it would be to place a magical child away from the magical world that was just the sort of oddness Arcturus had come to expect from Dumbledore. This would never do. Leaving a child of such importance to live completely removed from the magical world was just asking for trouble. The boy would likely grow completely dependent on the Dumbledore coot for everything. A disaster for the young boy and moreover a great hindrance to Arcturus' own plans. He would remedy the situation forthwith. Harry Potter was a Black and Blacks belonged with family, proper family. Æfre Blæc, after all.

Reviewing the entry for Lily Potter in the Black tome, he acquired her maiden name and that she had an older sister, Petunia. He would need to set a house elf to further complete the Evans line as Harry would naturally want it in the future. Addressing a new envelope with the name Petunia Evans saw the address 4 Privet Drive appear, along with the addition of Petunia's married name of Dursley. Arcturus smirked to himself. Dumbledore thought he was so clever, but he often failed to consider simple alternatives to his own methods. Once again, calling for his elf, Arcturus ordered a room prepared for the new addition and asked that his daughter be asked to join him. Lucretia had moved into the dowager house of the estate on the death of her husband and he would need to advise her of his plans and ask her to witness his new will. He would send an elf to retrieve the boy this evening. Whatever Dumbledore had on the muggle woman would not be enough to deter his loyal elves. Likely, Dumbledore would be too distracted by his own political manipulation in the wake of the ending war to be paying close attention to the young Potter. He chuckled to himself over how long it would take for Dumbledore to discover the move and what the barmy old coot would try to return the Potter boy to his own influence. Let him try. Arcturus was no wet behind the ears Hogwarts graduate to be cowed by Dumbledore's vaunted reputation. Dumbledore seemed to be setting up the boy as a hero of light under his own guidance even at this stage. Well, Arcturus would raise him to be a hero worthy of the name.