DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$
A/N: Much to my surprise, this chapter was a little harder than I thought…
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT: YOU SAY YOU WANT A REVOLUTION…
TUESDAY, APRIL 24th, 1990 – BLACK MANOR, U.K.
Lord Black looked up from his newspaper as a tall, balding red-haired man with glasses entered the Parlor. The meeting was expected, although earlier in the day than he had hoped. Sirius was still at work and Lord Black had hoped his grandson would be present. Young Harry was. The lad was seated in a nearby chair reading a journal. As always, Hermione and Clarice were nearby also reading.
"How are your children, Arthur?" Lord Black asked.
Given the nature of this meeting, Arthur Weasley wondered if this was a slight, but decided against it. Sirius Black might have a reputation of being a prankster, a mean spirited one at that, but Lord Black was at worst an enigma. Arthur's few meetings with this fellow Head of an Ancient and Noble House had not given him any reason to suspect the elderly gentleman, even if he had been in Slytherin House while in school.
"Fine, My Lord Black," Arthur replied.
"Please call me Archie or something. Only people I either don't know or despise are to call me by that title."
"Archie?"
"Hate my given name. Arcturus. Sweet Merlin I will never understand my grandfather's insistence that we name our sons after stars and such. He couldn't point out Ursa Major if those were the only stars in the sky and goodness knows there's not one fortune teller in the family. I doubt if the old bastard knew what sign he was born under or cared for that matter. Anyway…"
"Ah yes," Arthur said. "Four of our five youngest are in that Club of theirs," he said indicating Harry, Hermione and Clarice.
Ginny was the youngest and the first daughter born in the main Weasley line in at least eight generations or more. Arthur described her as smart and as having a bit of a smart mouth when irritated. The girl had swiped her mother's wand about a year ago and "invented" a hex she used on one of her older brothers that still had the boys walking on eggshells if she was in a mood. She also had inherited "The Weasley Gift" for Quidditch and was a starting Chaser on the Hogwarts Junior WISE League team along with Clarice. Right now, at least, given a chance to thrash boys on the Quidditch Pitch and think about dating boys off the pitch, Ginny would choose thrashing, and Arthur hoped that would be her choice for years to come, he added with a laugh.
Ron was the youngest of six boys and not a member of the Club, not yet at any rate. About two years ago Molly had decided that the boy had to learn to read and study. All of the other children were already reading at that age, at the time Ron was seven. Molly soon learned that not only did Ron not know how to read, it seemed he could not learn, at least not the same way the others had. Ron had been a bit sullen as compared with the others, prone to fits of anger and jealousy. Molly knew this was because he knew he could not compete with this siblings and it bothered him immensely. Ron was not stupid, that much was certain. The boy could quote Quidditch statistics better than the best sports writers even at that age, was the only Weasley who enjoyed numbers at all and was a natural, if not a prodigy at chess. He was clearly intelligent.
Through their growing friendship with the Grangers, the Weasleys were introduced to a child psychologist. She was a Muggle whose husband was a wizard. From her, they learned Ron had a specific kind of learning disorder, one that due to his intelligence could be worked around. Some truly brilliant Muggles had the same problem, although in their time it went undetected. Winston Churchill, one of the truly great Prime Ministers of Muggle Britain and a brilliant writer and speaker had it. Ron had begun working with the Muggle woman about a year ago and was making real progress in Molly's opinion. His attitude was much improved and, to Molly's surprise so were his manners. (Apparently, the Muggle woman was teaching him that as well.) Depending upon Molly's opinion of that foreign school, which she reserved until three of her older sons returned later this summer, Ron would most likely be allowed to join the Club in August.
If Ginny had shown a talent for Spell Crafting at an early age, she paled in comparison with the twins, Fred and George. Those two were First Years at Hogwarts and along with their older brother Percy who was a Third Year, had become the terrors of the school. No teacher or student was safe from a Weasley prank. Percy was the planner, the younger two were the inventors and already their pranks this year were legendary. It drove their mother to distraction, but as all three were doing extremely well in school, she really could do little more than send Howlers – about once or twice a week it seemed. Arthur thought it was brilliant, provided they adhered to his one and only rule: no pranks that would interfere with another student's study.
Arthur was a little concerned about what things might be like when those three returned from Japan. He told Lord Black that Molly was even more concerned. If half of what they had heard and seen from those who had spent even a summer there was any indication, the Weasley Pranks would exceed their already legendary level. True, Percy had said he would "retire from the field" next year, but Arthur could tell that Percy would not retire completely. The good news was that the Weasleys would not be the only kids with a summer in Japan under their belts next fall so, hopefully, the pranking would be offset by a large contigent of students who could counter it.
Charlie was in his sixth year. He was in his second as Captain of his House's Quidditch Team, had led Gryffindor to the House Cup last year – it's first Championship since James Potter was team Captain over ten years ago – and had led them to the Cup again. True, Slytherin still had to play Hufflepuff, but Gryffindor was undefeated and every other team had at least one loss as it stood. Next year would be different. Charlie was losing two Chasers and both of his Beaters. Best he could hope for was not to finish last. Charlie had taken an interest in magical creatures in general and dragons in particular, enough so that he had already turned down offers from three professional Quidditch teams.
"Finally, our oldest Bill finished Hogwarts last spring. Head Boy, you know. Now works as a Curse Breaker Apprentice for Gringotts…"
"A Head Boy who's not at the Ministry? Surely there's a law against that."
Arthur laughed. "Molly believes there should be. Were it up to her the lot of them would follow me into the Ministry. I wouldn't wish that fate upon the children of my worst enemy. Well, maybe that lot, but not my children."
"A senior department head discouraging interest in the Ministry?" Lord Black said in mock surprise.
"I wouldn't be the only one these days," Arthur sighed. "I took that job because it had a steady paycheck. It was not what I wanted to do with my life, but I was young, married and Molly was expecting and I needed an income." Arthur shrugged. "Least I don't take myself seriously like a lot of the social climbers there. Most original idea any of them will ever have is to put mayonnaise on their fish and chips instead of vinegar. I swear that if you take that place seriously it will consume your soul just as surely as a rogue dementor."
"And yet you've worked there for twenty years?" Lord Black asked.
"Twenty-one actually. Molly was expecting our first-born Bill when I started."
"In Muggle Affairs," Lord Black continued. "As I recall, not a popular office. Mostly staffed by Muggle Borns, except in key positions."
Arthur nodded. "It's one of only two offices where a Muggle Born can expect to be more than a file clark. The other is the Muggle Worthy Excuse Committee under the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."
"Actually," Lord Black said, "the Department of Mysteries has a fair few Muggle Born Unspeakables, I'm told. Then again, as the identity of any person in that Department is secret… Forgive my asking, but why Muggle Affairs and later Misuse of Muggle Artifacts? Unless something's changed there was little real chance for advancement."
"If I was going to be a Ministry sop, I wanted to do something interesting, something outside of my previous experience. I wanted to learn something new."
Lord Black nodded. "Unlike the average Ministry sop who is either in it for the bribe money, the power or both. And your opinion of Muggle Affairs?"
"It was not what I expected but it was a 'safe' job. It was just necessary enough that they could not allow a position to be vacant and undesirable enough that most everyone did not want the position. I could do what I felt was necessary and not worry about getting sacked because there really was no one available and willing to replace me. My only limitations were budgetary."
Lord Black nodded. "Pity my governmental experience has never afforded any such sense of freedom or purpose. I know your House lost its seat on the Wizengamot some three centuries ago, Arthur, but perhaps in your case that was for the best. In the past few months we have fallen further than ever. Nothing is getting done. Before, there were three possible coalitions that would take some action, review revise or introduce some law. Now, you cannot find a coalition that can agree that the sun has been known to rise on occasion."
Arthur nodded. "Oddly, your institutional paralysis has been a boon to my side of the building."
"How so?" Lord Black asked. He knew the probably answer.
"Were the Wizengamot able to get a bare majority of its members to agree on anything, the recent expansion of Child Welfare probably would not have occurred. We would probably have been barred from revealing any information regarding the 'Children of the Chambers' as the Press has dubbed the victims of that vile policy. What we are doing violates no existing law, for the information we do release was available to anyone who might have asked before the events of last fall. If anything, we've imposed restraints on the information lest if be used for ill by the unscrupulous."
"And what about what we are to do today?" Lord Black asked. He knew the answer, but wanted the Heir Apparent of the Ancient and Noble House of Weasley to articulate it.
"Again, legal," Arthur said. "You know as well as I do there are certain exceptions for the Heads of the Ancient and Noble Houses."
"Some pigs being more equal than others," Lord Black nodded.
"What's that?"
"It's from a Muggle book."
Arthur nodded.
"From here on, we're under the Oath," Lord Black said firmly.
Arthur again nodded, although it did not make total sense to him. The Oath was the one that bound the Ancient and Noble Houses to the ruling Monarch of Britain. What this had to do with the rest of Britain escaped Arthur, but it was always possible there was a connection and if there was, their loyalty to the Queen trumped whatever other oaths they may have made over time.
Arthur then looked at the three children who were with them. He had expected Lord Black to dismiss them, but that had not happened.
"Harry is the Heir Apparent and de facto Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter," Lord Black explained. "He shall assume full responsibility, including that of fealty to Her Majesty upon his eleventh birthday. Clarice is his sister. The affairs of House Potter are her business. Hermione is part of their family and is one of the 'victims' of the 'Chamber,' although she is both aware of this fact and of her full heritage."
"How is that so?" Arthur asked.
"My parents and adoptive parents knew each other," Hermione said. "My true Great-grandmother has been a part of my life since I was born and adopted. When I learned of magic about two years ago they told me."
"And here I thought it was your keen intellect and exceptional research skills," Lord Black teased.
"Honestly!," Hermione huffed.
"Anyway, Arthur, do you have the documents?" Lord Black asked.
"Copies," Arthur nodded. "Although I do not understand why…?"
"Indeed," Lord Black replied. Lord Black revealed he was wearing a ring. He let the others look at it. It was gold and without any adornment. Where a stone might have been seated, there was a symbol etched deep into the flat surface. It was a crude and very ancient looking crown below which were what looked like two crossed swords, although on closer inspection they were clearly wands.
"This ring is the rightful possession of the true Head of an Ancient and Noble House. It can only be passed to them or ever worn by them. Should the line of succession be broken, the ring shall vanish forever. That is the only magical thing about them. These rings were crafted in the late thirteenth century and presented to the magical Clan Heads who had sworn fealty to Richard the First both as a sign of their connection and a reminder of where their true loyalties must lay. Harry? You too have such a ring waiting for you in your family's main vault and can claim it upon your eleventh birthday. By claiming it, however, and whether you know it or not at that time, you bind yourself to Her Majesty, her government and people as surely as if you took a magical oath."
Arthur paled a little.
"All oaths to any magical person that conflict with your loyalty and duty to the Crown are and will be null and void. However, should you as Head of an Ancient and Noble House and of your own volition take action in contravention of the Oath of your ancestors, you know the penalty."
Harry nodded.
"And what's that?" Arthur asked.
"All magic is extinguished from your line – forever."
Arthur gasped.
"Were I to violate the oath," Lord Black continued, "the magic in the House of Black would be gone. Not just my magic and that of my descendants, but also that of all the descendants of my father's brothers and sisters – with two exceptions."
"Who?" Arthur asked.
"You and Harry," Lord Black replied. "You two are both descended from nieces of my father, but as you are both the Heir Apparent of an Ancient and Noble House in your own rights, my betrayal would not taint your House or lineage."
"So if let's say the Muggle Queen asked me to – oh I don't know – lead a coups against the Ministry, I'd have to do that?" Arthur asked.
"No. Not that kind of loyalty oath," Lord Black replied. "In fact, you cannot be compelled by Her Majesty to do anything. What if means is you cannot take any action that threatens Her Majesty, her government or her non-magical subjects. In our times, that meant being a Death Eater. Any Head of an Ancient and Noble House who became one, or who was one when he became the Head, condemned his family magic to oblivion."
"That happened?" several voices asked.
"I can't say with absolute certainty, but I believe it did which is why we are here."
"And what about your own family?" Arthur asked. "Your grandfather taught generations his Pureblood Supremacist ideas and your father was at least the bigot he was. The Death Eaters quoted your grandfather's writings on blood supremacy!"
"I make no apologies for my Grandfather or a fair few of his myopic, like minded descendants, but to paint the lot of us with the same brush? Or do you forget, Arthur, that your grandfather was my Uncle, Arcturus Black?"
"Sorry," Arthur said.
"And Uncle Phineas…"
"Okay, I'll grant you that. But Phineas Black the Younger was a bit off."
"I'll concede that once he attained his seat on the Wizengamot he was less than – er – compromising. But, he was quite sane. He was also very Slytherin, which was why he attained that seat in the first place."
"Really?"
"Uncle Phineas never believed that Pureblood stuff his father was on about and personally believed his father was dangerous. He quietly opposed the man practically from the day he first set foot in Hogwarts at age eleven in 1891. However, he led Grandfather to believe he was the most ardent of supporters, just too shy to be public about it. Not long after Uncle Phineas finished Hogwarts, a seat on the Wizengamot opened up as the holder of that seat died without any heir. Grandfather used all of his influence to see to it that the seat was filled with a person who would advance his Pureblood agenda, rather than let it fall to a moderate or – Merlin forbid – a progressive voice promoting equality and such. Grandfather also wanted someone young so that the voice of Pureblood Supremacy would be heard for decades to come. Phineas fit the bill.
"My father would one day inherit the Black seat, so for the Blacks to hold two seats, both held by good little Pureblood Supremacists – and my father was a true believer – Grandfather saw to it that happened. In 1901, young Phineas Black took his seat on the Wizengamot and immediately began attacking his father and his father's beliefs. For the next seventy years, anyone who advanced a Pureblood agenda would be attacked – verbally – on the floor of the Wizengamot by Phineas Black. Phineas was the self-proclaimed leader of the Progressives from his first day in Chambers. Although truth be told, he was so far to the left of the Progressives that he made them look like Traditionalists."
"Progressives?" Hermione asked, "Traditionalists? Are those like the Labor and Conservative parties?"
"Factions, more like," Lord Black said. "And there are factions within the factions within the factions, so those are more general descriptions. The Traditionalists are most all Pureblooded and generally believe that things should remain the same as they have always been. At the far side of that group are the Pureblood Supremacists who believe that the way things have always been or should always have been is with a Pureblood ruling elite and the rest of the wizarding world a working class beholding to the Elites. The Progressives want change and generally want greater rights for all witches and wizards – although they do not agree on what that means. In the middle, for the lack of a better description, are the Moderates. They vote with their bank vaults. They are to a member business people and will not support a law that cuts into their profits. Basically, they are the true law makers as they will oppose any bill that either threatens their work force, deprives them of skilled labor, or increases the cost of wages and production. As most of their labor force and consumers are not Purebloods (only about fifteen percent of the total population are) they generally oppose the Traditionalists. Although whenever better wages and working conditions are discussed, they oppose the Progressives."
"And how was your Uncle so far more progressive than the Progressives?" Hermione asked.
"The list is endless," Lord Black chuckled. "But, for brevity sake … every year until his death he introduced a bill to disband the Wizengamot, strip Purebloods of any superior rights they might have under the law, and ban them from more than their proportional share of any jobs in the Ministry or votes in any governing body. When one considers that over half of all members of the Wizengamot and Ministry officials are purebloods and they make up less than fifteen percent of the population, well you can guess what became of those bills."
"Not that they could replace themselves," Arthur said, "the Wizengamot that is."
"What do you mean?" Harry asked.
"Our right to self-rule was granted by King Richard the First," Hermione said, "remember? I guess only the Queen could disband or change the Wizengamot."
"Not exactly," Lord Black said. "Our right of self rule was granted to the heads of Clans, now known as the Ancient and Noble Houses. They formed the Magical Council at that time. The Council created the Wizengamot and set up all the rules governing it, including rules for how to replace vacancies and such. Now the Magical Council has not exercised any governing authority in centuries, but under the treaty it is the ruling body of our world. The Wizengamot serves as its day-to-day proxy and the Ministry is strictly a creation of the Wizengamot which actually runs the government. Legally, the Ministry of Magic has no real authority as it was never authorized by either the Crown or the Magical Council. The Wizengamot's authority to govern can be repealed at any time by the Magical Council."
"Why hasn't something like that happened?" Clarice asked. "I mean with the last War and such and our government doing nothing…"
"It requires the unanimous approval of all Heads of the Ancient and Noble Houses," Lord Black said. "To be honest, I can't say I know for sure who all of those are or even how many. I have reason to believe some lines have forgotten their past and others are not what they think they are. In large measure, that's what this little meeting is about. Arthur?"
"Dumbledore's going to name names," Arthur said.
"Excuse me?" Harry asked in confusion. The other two children also did not understand.
"He's going to reveal the names of every Hogwarts student who had a child in the school's Time Chamber," Arthur said.
"Why?" Hermione asked. "I mean, I thought that situation had calmed down."
"Apparently not to Dumbledore's liking," Arthur said. "He spoke with Molly and me about it. He wants the Wizengamot to do something about that problem and they have repeatedly refused to even consider it. He thinks that by showing the true scope of the problem, the Wizengamot will put a stop to the secret children, as he calls them, and maybe even address the fundamental problems of underage pregnancy itself. He considers the fact that his school is little more than a baby factory in the eyes of the magical world an insult."
"He's the bloody Headmaster," Harry growled. "Surely he knew that all along!"
Arthur shrugged. "The fact that he is taking such action suggests he is not as all knowing and wise as he has led many to believe. Until a couple of years ago, I admit that Molly and I were big supporters of his. Then there was that abuse scandal and the situation with Sirius Black and now this. I have no idea what he is really on about, but I am glad as is Molly that five of our children will not be under his control for their educations. If we thought we could get away with it without raising suspicions, we'd pull three of them out this instant and never send Ron or Ginny to that place. But Charlie cannot be pulled and it would look odd, so…"
"I still don't understand why any of this matters," Hermione said. "He's not identifying the children, is he?"
"He can't," Arthur said. "He's using the school records which only identify the parents and basic information about the child. Those records do not include the child's name or ultimate fate."
"Fate?"
"For example," Lord Black said, "the school records would indicate that your parents had a daughter while at Hogwarts, but not the name of that daughter nor where or with whom she was placed."
"Oh."
"Why does any of this matter?" Harry asked.
"Remember," Lord Black said, "when the treaty was signed with King Richard I, there were three hundred Ancient and Noble Houses. By 1420, there were less than one hundred left. By 1817, when the Time Chambers came into use, there were only twenty left."
"What happened to them?" Clarice asked.
"The rules regarding the inheritance of Ancient and Noble House status are very different than other forms of inheritance in our world. It is based upon the old English or more likely Norman practice of prima genitor. Under that practice, the title can only pass from father to oldest surviving son or the oldest surviving grandson of the oldest son and so forth. If there is no living male descendant from a strictly male line, the Ancient and Noble House is said to die off, even if there are males and females in the line. For example, if I only had daughters, even if they had sons the line would end with me.
"Because of the violence in the twelfth though fifteenth centuries that was threatening to extinguish all such lines, the surviving Ancient and Noble Houses passed a Charter that only applied to them which allowed a line threatened with termination to extend the line. The Head of House could designate any male descended from his Grandfather as a successor, provided in so doing the designation was in writing and either identified by name every potential claimant to the title or stated under oath that there were no claimants. This slowed but did not stop the decline. As I said, by 1817, there were only twenty lines left.
"By 1970, when Voldemort began his rise, there were only sixteen left, four having ended in the interim: the Houses Dempsey, Gaunt, Mayberry and Selvin had all died our by then."
"But you once said there are only twelve Houses today," Clarice interrupted.
"Indeed, and therein lies the conundrum. You see, between 1970 and 1976, four of the remaining lines lost their magic."
"So they betrayed the Queen?" Harry asked. "They became Death Eaters?"
Lord Black shrugged. "At the time, the supposed Heads of those Houses did not, nor did any of their sons. Aside from the obvious fact that scores of witches and wizards were suddenly and permanently rendered Squibs, there was no reason to believe a violation of the Oath. Everyone thought that it was some dark curse placed upon them by Voldemort as all four Houses were very active against Voldemort and his Death Eaters.
"But, at that time, none of us knew about the Time Chambers. It is more probable that at some time in the past after 1816 a son was born to all four lines in those Chambers and went unknown into the world and eventually into the magical population. That son was the true Heir to his unknown father's legacy and if that son or a later son became a Death Eater…"
"It is also possible that one of the lines that ended or will end may not have," Arthur added. "Lord Black asked me to look into it and I now have the results. I only looked at the known Head of each of the twenty Ancient and Noble Houses who were alive in 1817 and their descendants, both legitimate and illegitimate. Specifically, I was looking for sons born in the Chamber to the Head of House or an Heir Apparent."
"Not the daughters?" Hermione asked.
"I have those, but they are not important to this discussion as they cannot be the Head of House."
"And?" Lord Black began. "Shall we begin?"
Arthur nodded. "Now, the first thing you should know is that what was reported earlier about the Chambers and Hogwarts is correct. The problem of teen pregnancy in our world rests primarily at Hogwarts. In an average year, each of the other five schools has two pregnancies. Hogwarts has at least fifty. Even then, while three of the Houses have an average of three pregnancies each year, Slytherin has the rest. It has been that way since the start. So, basically, Slytherin House is the largest producer of children and accounts for almost a quarter of all the Muggle Borns born each year."
"So, shall we begin?" Lord Black asked.
Arthur nodded.
"The House of Abbott?" Lord Black asked.
"Clean," Arthur said. "A couple of illegitimate daughters a few generations back, no sons."
"Bones?"
"As you know, when Edgar Bones died in 1981, it was thought that was the end," Arthur said. "Neither his sister Amelia nor his daughter Susan can continue the Ancient and Noble House."
Lord Black nodded. "I sense a 'but.' Am I right?"
Arthur nodded. "Four generations before Edgar Bones, the then Heir Apparent had a son while at Hogwarts. That boy was adopted out to a Muggle family by the name of Wood. Each generation since has had a son. So…"
"So the Bones line does continue through this Wood family," Harry finished.
"Exactly," Arthur said. "Timothy Wood would be the current Head of House. His grandson Oliver is the Heir Apparent. Oliver's father was killed during the War. Oliver is currently my son Percy's roommate at Hogwarts."
"Also part of the October expansion to the Club," Hermione noted.
"We'll skip the Blacks for the moment," Lord Black said. "My grandfather made a mess of that one. Dempsey?"
"Line survives through an illegitimate son born in 1823. Current Head of House is Victor Sample. Heir Apparent is a seventh year at St. Albans."
"Diggory?" Lord Black asked.
"Clean line," Arthur replied.
"Fawcett?"
"Clean."
"Gaunt?"
"Well and truly dead. That family never attended schools and appears to have married brother to sister - or at least bred them - for several generations. The last of the line, one Morphin Gaunt, apparently never got in his sister's knickers and died without an heir."
"The sister wouldn't be Marope Gaunt, would she?" Hermione asked.
Arthur nodded. "Why?"
"She gave birth to a boy named Tom Riddle," Harry said. "The father was a Muggle. You know that boy by his nom de guerre: Voldemort."
"Bloody hell," both Lord Black and Arthur said.
"He was a Half Blood?" Arthur added.
Harry nodded. "We checked his ancestry records last year."
"Why?" Lord Black asked.
"Is he really the heir of Slytherin?" Arthur added.
"Cause we were bored," Harry replied, "and he is the legal heir of Slytherin, but not the magical heir."
"You know who the magical heir is, I take it?" Arthur asked.
"We do. And we'll leave it at that for now."
"You're no fun," Lord Black said with a shrug as he decided to drop that matter. "Longbottom?"
"Technically, Frank is the true Head of House. Neville the Heir Apparent," Arthur said. "Line's clean."
Lord Black nodded. "Lovegood?"
"Clean line. The Heir Apparent is due…?"
"Anytime now," Clarice said. "Along with his twin sister."
"Mayberry?" Lord Black asked.
"There was an illegitimate Heir. Current Head of that line would be Tristen Haskell. His son Nigel is Heir Apparent and his Grandson Collin is five years old."
"So that's two supposedly dead lines that are not?" Lord Black asked.
Arthur nodded. "The Selvin line is gone."
"Mercer?"
"Clean."
"Potter?"
"Clean. Harry here is truly the Heir Apparent."
"Prewett? My son-in-law is supposed to be the Head, but has no children."
"There is an Heir. Few generations back a boy was born to the then Heir Apparent at Hogwarts. Adopted name was Reardon. His Great-grandson and then Heir Apparent married a muggle girl from the West Indies. The Heir Apparent then disappeared. Hall of Records shows that Albert Reardon died in 1979, although there is no record of a burial. Probably killed by Death Eaters. Anyway, his wife was pregnant at the time and had a son born in January 1980. She remarried and the step-father adopted the boy. He would be ten right now. He's magical, although living in the Muggle world - London to be exact."
"This boy have a name?" Lord Black asked.
"His adopted name is Dean Thomas," Arthur replied.
"We may want to look in on him before he learns of magic," Lord Black said. "Lad probably would not find any of this out otherwise."
"Why not?" Hermione asked.
"If he asked the goblins at Gringotts, they might tell him," Lord Black said. "But Muggle raised witches and wizards never have asked before. The goblins would never volunteer any information about his possible inheritances."
"Why not?"
"'Cause the Goblins technically can keep any unclaimed inheritances," Arthur said. "My son Bill says they only do so when it is clear there can be no claimants, but they don't like to encourage claims at all."
"You know this magical world you all have here is pretty messed up," Hermione said in disgust.
Lord Black nodded. "For now," he said. "One day, maybe, it can be changed for the better. That is one of the reasons we're here today. We need to get a handle on the Ancient and Noble Houses at the very least."
"Because if they all agree they can change everything," Harry said. "They can do away with the current government and all that, right?"
"Revolution," Clarice asked.
"Yes maybe," Lord Black chuckled. "But not today or anytime real soon."
"Why not?" Hermione asked. "We all know this current system is … well … silly."
"Indeed," Lord Black agreed. "But while the Ancient and Noble Houses have that legal authority, it's not like they can actually do that today. I doubt very seriously that the vast majority of Wizengamot members and Ministry officials would just step aside if we told them to. No, we have the legal authority to do it but lack the means to make those who disagree with change to accept it or step aside. One day, though. This current crisis is already undermining the public trust. A few more and a few more years of these kind of revelations and I would hate to be a Ministry official. They'd probably be stoned in Diagon Alley. When that day comes, when the people demand change and are faced with those in power who refuse, then it may be the time to act. Until then, we wait patiently and to the extent possible push things in that general direction. Of course, this assumes that the Heads of Houses agree that change is necessary. That has not happened before. Still, for an old revolutionary like me (even if all I did was talk in private) there is always hope for a better future.
"Right then, Trotter?"
"Clean," Arthur replied.
"And your line?"
"C-clean," Arthur said choking up a little.
"Mr. Weasley?" Clarice asked.
"It seems Molly and I … we had a daughter while at Hogwarts. We never knew about her or can't remember her. She was born in 1966 near the end of our Sixth Year. Her name was Mary."
"Was?" Clarice asked catching onto something in his voice.
"She was killed in the Diagon Alley Massacre in August of 1977. Her parents were killed too. She was only eleven and it was probably her first trip into our world and she was killed by those bastards!"
"Does Molly know?" Lord Black asked.
Arthur nodded. "She's never going to forgive Dumbledore for that. She blames him for our lost little girl. She believes - and she may be right - that had the girl stayed with us, she would still be alive today. Her brothers died doing Dumbledore's bidding. They were adults. But to lose a child? Our youngest five are going to get their education in Japan. She still wants them at Hogwarts, but she is going to 'set them loose' once they finish their first Summers."
"Set them loose?"
"Basically, she will expect them to - um - keep the pranks to a minimum in Japan and learn as much as they can. When they return to Hogwarts, however, her only rule is they cannot cause grievous bodily harm or death. Other than that, she hopes the younger ones will make the older ones' pranks look both tame and infrequent. Give the old manipulative Bastard fits is what she wants."
"I'm sorry," Lord Black said.
Arthur shrugged.
"Change of topic," Lord Black continued, "my family?"
Arthur actually chuckled. "Your family is a mess. Your Great-Grandfather had three children in the Chamber by three different girls, none of who he married. This included a son born in 1835 when your father was only fifteen. That boy grew up Muggle and joined the British Army. He was killed in the Crimea in 1856.
"Your grandfather had four children in the Chamber, none from his eventual wife, including a son. That lad also joined the British Army and was killed at the Battle of Isandlwana in 1879. He also had at least twenty-three children later on when he was a Professor."
"Including the last one? The one everyone knew about?" Lord Black asked.
"Twenty-four then."
"The one everyone knew about?" Harry asked.
"My grandfather got his last Head Girl pregnant. She was a Muggle Born and her father gunned my Grandfather down in Diagon Alley in 1925."
"Oh."
Arthur continued. "Your father had two sons in the Chamber, along with two daughters. Both sons volunteered for the Army in 1914. One was killed at Ypres in 1915 and the other at the Somme in 1916. None of those lads had any children."
"So I am the Head?" Lord Black asked rhetorically. "What about my son and grandsons? What about me?"
"You're clean. No Chamber babies. Your son had a couple of daughters while at Hogwarts. But the real problem was later."
"Oh? Sirius?"
"Despite his reputation, Sirius did not have any children while at school," Arthur said. "No, it seems your son did have a son before Sirius."
"If not at Hogwarts, then where?"
"He apparently had more than a few affairs, although only one produced a problem."
"Okay, spill."
"He had an affair with Selma Malfoy," Arthur began.
"The wife of Abraxas Malfoy?" Lord Black asked.
Arthur nodded.
"Don't even tell me that Lucius is my illegitimate grandson!"
Arthur nodded. "And, unless you disown him properly and before you pass on, the next Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Black."
"Which would end the Black line then and there," Lord Black said.
"Why?" Harry asked.
"Lucius Malfoy is a Death Eater," Lord Black began.
"Worse than that," Arthur added. "He was one of Voldemort's top lieutenants when that war ended. Right nasty piece of work, that one. He managed to avoid Azkaban until about a year and a half ago when Minister Bagnold reopened all the old cases. He still got off easy. He's due to be released next year."
"If he becomes Lord Black, the line loses its magic," Lord Black said. "Guess I'll have to disown the bastard," he added with a shrug.
"If the Malfoy family finds out, they'll stick it to him as well," Arthur noted. "An illegitimate child as head of house?"
"He'll be lucky if all that happens to him is he has to get a real job to feed his smug face," Lord Black said with a feral grin. "I'll have to designate my successor, you know."
Arthur nodded.
Lord Black shrugged. "Was thinking of doing that anyway to cut the Malfoys out of any claims against the family. Just a little sooner than planned is all."
"Once you take care of that," Arthur said, "then we can say the lines are secure."
Lord Black nodded in agreement.
At that moment, a silvery rabbit entered the room. Harry, Hermione and Clarice recognized it at once. "It's time," a girl's voice sounded from the patronus. "We're off to St. Mungo's." With that, the rabbit vanished.
"What's that?" Lord Black asked.
"It seems," Clarice replied, "that the next Heir Apparent to the House of Lovegood is about to make his entrance. I'm off to St. Mungo's," she added standing to leave.
TUESDAY, APRIL 24th, 1990 – ST. MUNGO'S, LONDON, U.K.
A small crowd was soon gathering in the Waiting Room in the maternity section of the venerable, magical Hospital. Luna Lovegood and her father were soon joined in their waiting by Harry and Hermione as Clarice was off attending to Jasmine whom they assumed was about to have her twins. They were soon joined by Lord Black and Arthur Weasley.
Molly Weasley soon arrived with her two youngest in tow and a basket filled with snacks. She took one look at the other children present and began fussing about their need to eat. The two youngest Weasley children rolled their eyes at their mothers obsession with weight.
"I swear," Ginny said to the others, "we'd have to be wider than we are tall before she thought we were overfed!"
"No worries," the red haired boy with her said, "just let me eat it all and say you had your fill!"
"That boy's got a bottomless stomach," Ginny said.
Harry looked over and saw the boy he had not seen in almost two years. The last time, the boy had been annoying - and being teased mercilessly by his siblings. Now, while Ron Weasley was stuffing his face, he was also buried in a book.
"What's he reading," Harry asked Ginny.
"Who knows," she shrugged. "Once he learned how, he never stops except to fly his broom or play chess. He's got books on chess and Qudditch and castles for some reason…"
"'Cause they're cool," Ron said.
Ginny shrugged and walked off in search of her father.
"So," a new voice said, "here's the crowd!"
Harry saw that Sirius and Sophie had joined them.
"Few month's it'll be your turn," Lord Black quipped.
Sirius nodded and Sophie smiled.
"August," Sophie said. "And it better be 'cause I want the lot of you there."
"Know what it is?" Xeno Lovegood asked trying to get his mind off his wife in the delivery room.
"A girl," Sophie said.
"Congratulations," Xeno replied. "I happen to like girls. Well, Luna and Jasmine and the girl to be named in a moment…" he added with a laugh.
"You haven't picked a name?"
"We can't decide. Jasmine left it to me. She says she'll probably be too tired to deal with it when all is said and done."
The Grangers arrived soon after.
"My dear Xeno," Rose said, "what are you doing here?"
"Excuse me?"
"Rose," Sophie said, "this is the magical world. We're a little behind the Muggles in some things.""What are you talking about?" Xeno asked.
"In the Muggle hospitals, the father is usually in the delivery room with the mother when the child is born," Sophie said.
"Taking embarrassing photos for later use," Robert Granger said. "Had we not adopted our daughter, I would have loads of pictures of her first few moments."
"Daddy!" Hermione exclaimed turning red. "Honestly!"
"You have pictures of her first several baths and several nappie changes," Rose said.
"Mum!" Hermione said in horror turning redder, if that was possible.
"Guess it's a good thing we came along a lot later," Harry said.
"What is this? National Embarrass Hermione Day?" Hermione moaned. "And for your information, Harry, we still have that photo of you coming out of the shower!"
"I thought you two said there was no film in the camera!" Harry shot back.
"Maybe," Hermione said with a smirk.
"Hey guys," a new voice called. Neville and his Gran had arrived. "Just been to see the folks," he said. "They offer their congratulations, by the way," he added to Luna and Xeno.
"Thanks," the two Lovegoods replied.
Then Xeno gasped. This caught the others' attention and they all followed his gaze. Clarice and another Healer were coming towards them with a bundle in each of their arms.
"Mr. Lovegood?" Clarice asked.
He nodded.
"Your wife is doing fine. She's resting now. Would you like to meet the new ones?"
"She's okay?" Xeno Lovegood asked.
"She's perfect, as are these two."
"Wow. Er … who's who?"
"This is your new daughter," Clarice said handing the bundle to Mr. Lovegood. "She was first out and is a bit bigger than your son. Healer Tonks has him."
"Luna?" Xeno asked, "would you like to hold your brother?"
Luna nodded and was told how to hold the boy as she was handed the small bundle.
"He's so tiny," she said.
"They tend to be," Clarice replied. "Now, we need to complete the paperwork. Jasmine asked me to ask you for their names, Mr. Lovegood."
Xeno nodded. "We talked about it, but could not really decide. Now that I see them, I know. One of our ideas was to name them after those who made their lives possible by saving my wife and daughter. My son will be Harry Theodore Neville and my new daughter will be Hermione Sophia Clarice after the people who rescued my wife and took care of her following her accident."
"I'm honored, Mr. Lovegood," Clarice said after a long silence.
The others agreed.
"Harry?" Xeno asked.
"Y-yes Sir?" Harry replied.
"Jasmine and I would like it very much if you agreed to be the Godfather for our daughter. I know you're a bit young, but…"
"It's a great Honor, Harry," Lord Black said.
"I'd like that," Harry finally said.
"We'd like Neville to be our son's Godfather," Xeno continued, "with Clarice as our daughter's Godmother and Hermione as our Son's."
"We'd be honored," Hermione said looking at her parents who were beaming at their children.
"Does this mean they have to change nappies," Robert Granger quipped.
"Up to them," Sirius said. "I can say without a doubt that I never considered nappie changing as part of my job description as Harry's Godfather…"
"But it will be for this little one," Sophie said.
The expression on the face of Sirius Black at his wife's comment caused the rest to laugh at his obvious discomfort.