A/N: This chapter is somewhat shorter. I promise to give some longer chapters as recompensation.
Ch7 - Power
They all woke up late the morning after Christmas. The girls put on some warm clothing and headed out.
"May I try your damping wand?" Lillian asked.
"Sure. It's not as tuned to the witch or wizard as normal wands," said Dianna.
Lillian took the damping wand and pointed it to a small twig. "Wingardium Leviosa" she said clearly, adding the appropriate wand movements. The twig rose form the frozen ground and shot up quickly, stopping a few feet higher than their heads.
"You see," she complained, "even using this wand I have difficulties controlling the magic."
"Can you show me what happens when you use your real wand?"
Lillian let the twig fall back. She then pointed her own wand at the twig and repeated the charm. The twig shot up so quickly that they couldn't even follow it with their eyes. Lillian sighed and put her wand back in her pocket. A minute later they noted the twig falling back.
"Wow!" exclaimed Dianna. "Can you just levitate it with no wands and no spells?" she added some seconds later.
"That's no problem at all," replied Lilly, making the twig float about waist level, following an intricate path. "You see? Now I'm in perfect control."
Dianna was silent for a moment. "You are more powerful than I have ever expected," she finally said, "and once you learn to control your powers with the wand you will be quite formidable." She thought some more and then brightened. "We could train together to get in control. We must first find a dumping wand for you, though." She frowned a little. "I don't think we can do it before we have to go back to school. I can ask my French family, though. They would know where to buy it."
"There's no need to bother them," responded Lilly. She put the damping wand on the ground and covered it with both her hands. A few seconds later she removed her hands only to reveal two seemingly identical wands.
"Wow! I can't believe you can do such things," said Dianna admiringly. "I didn't even think it was possible. Can you tell now which my original wand is and which is the duplicate?"
"That's easy. I made the duplicate a bit shorter and slightly darker," replied Lilly, handing Dianna her wand. "Let's try it…"
She pointed her wand at the same twig and tried the floating charm again. The twig shot up quickly and stayed about a foot in front of the wand. She moved the wand and the twig moved accordingly. "That's just perfect!" she sighed in relief.
"It looks like you enhanced the dampening effect," noted Dianna.
"Yes – about twice as much. Now it works perfectly for me, so I won't fail Charms and Transfiguration until I manage to work with my 'real' wand. Can you show me how you control yours?"
Dianna took out her normal wand. Lilly was surprised it looked very similar to her own, just a bit shorter. Dianna performed the charm and the twig shot up, stopping only about the level of the highest point of the roof. "It used to be worse, but I somehow managed to put as little of my magic as possible in the spell," she explained.
"Can you do it with no wand?"
Dianna tried. The twig lifted reluctantly, but then floated up to waist level and stayed there until released. "I can't really make it move or do anything else, for that matter. Even if I try to talk I lose control."
"That only means you don't have enough concentration. I'm sure we can work on it. You're just as powerful as I am, but you haven't practiced as much. Can you do other stuff? Maybe change your hair color, like Teddy and Rose."
Dianna seemed somewhat unsure, yet she tried concentrating and her hair changed from bright blond to darker blond, almost brown.
"Not bad," commented Lillian, changing her hair to match her friend's. "If you can do that you can certainly do other such stuff as well. We shall practice."
Dianna's expression changed. "Where can we practice? We can't at Hogwarts and we are not allowed anyplace else. I'm even surprised that we have not yet received owls for breaking under-age magic laws."
"That's not a problem. Our lands are well warded. The ministry can't detect anything happening here unless specifically allowed by Dad."
"Have you given any thought to your position as the head of the Black house?" Narcissa asked after dinner.
"Not much," admitted Harry. "I have a seat in the Wizengamot on behalf of the Black house and then there's the Black estate to manage. Is there anything else?"
"There is. It's your responsibility to produce an heir for the Black house."
Harry shrugged. "I already have James and Hermione is expecting another boy, so…"
"These are Potter, not Black. You need another woman to produce the Black heir for you."
Hermione lifted her head and seemed suddenly more alert.
"And what if I don't want another woman?" asked Harry.
"It's really your choice. You may marry someone and make her Lady Black, to produce Black heirs. You may just take a concubine or use some random female to make a Black heir for you, or you may do nothing and let the Black house die when you die."
"I don't think Sirius would have been happy if I let the old and noble house of Black cease to exist," murmured Harry.
It was Hermione's turn to speak. "So, basically it's either another woman for producing a Black heir or the demise of the Black house. Am I correct?"
Narcissa nodded her approval.
"Then, despite my possessive feelings, you really should think of making someone Lady Black and having a son with her," Hermione told Harry.
He didn't look happy. "I know some men would have been glad to have their wives' approval to sleep with other women, but I'm perfectly content with my wife. I can't even think of any other woman, much less start looking for one."
Narcissa seemed thoughtful for a moment. "I may be able to help, if you would like. I'm a Black by blood and I'm still young enough to bear children. I also know some spells intended for assuring fertilization and for setting the gender. I had to use them to have Draco. It would feel just right for me to assure the continuation of the Black line…"
Dianna could hardly hold her surprise at these words. Even Lillian seemed more than just interested, yet she kept silent. They both wanted to hear the adults' conversation, without attracting attention to their presence.
Hermione seemed bemused, but said nothing. Harry's face showed surprise and even a little shock. It took him some time to react. "I… Well… I must think about your idea. I… I will let you know before the end of the holiday."
They all stayed silent, staring at the TV without really seeing it. Nobody noticed when the girls snuck out of the room and went to Dianna's bedroom.
"What do you think will happen?" asked Dianna.
"Dad is quite reluctant. He still sees your mother as an older woman – she is about the same age as his parents would have been had they survived. She is also Draco's mother, and Draco had been his arch-enemy throughout school. Yet Mom seems to like the idea. I think she finds some kind of poetic justice in it and she will make Dad accept it. Your Mom is still very attractive, I think. Once Dad agrees, I believe he may enjoy being close with your Mom. If he makes her Lady Black, as I'm quite sure he will, then he will become your stepfather. I'm sure he will care for you just as he cares for Teddy."
Lilly thought for a moment. "Well, Teddy is also your family, really. His granny and your mother are sisters."
Dianna looked surprised. "Are you sure? Mom is not that old!" She then thought for awhile. "Well, she is about the same age as your grandparents… and she is the youngest sister…" She sighed. "It's so confusing!"
Lillian hugged her. "We are going to be family! Isn't that exciting?"
"Yes, it is, but I think I've had enough excitement for one day. I think we should both go to sleep." She yawned widely. "Will you wake me up in the morning?"
"Sure!"
"Then – Goodnight…"
"Goodnight, Dianna. Sleep well and have wonderful dreams!"
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