DISCLAIMER: HARRY AND HIS FRIENDS AND ENEMIES DO NOT BELONG TO ME! THEY BELONG TO THE AMAZING J.K ROWLING! ONLY THE PLOT IS MINE!
A/N: This takes place at the start of the Christmas holidays, OotP. Does not follow HBP or DH timelines.
Harry Potter and the Black Legacy
Chapter 6—War Plans
"Where are we going, Sirius?" Andromeda asked curiously, looking around. She had never really come to this part of the house before. It was dark and gloomy, and very damp. She had always thought of it as a storage part that only House Elves visited. "I've never been here before." She said.
"Which is exactly the point." Sirius smiled into the darkness. "Lumos!"
"Wait, what? Why is that the point?" Andromeda asked, confused.
"You have never been to this part of the house because its designed so that you will not want to come here." Sirius said, stopping at a dead end.
"It's designed so that I would not want to come here? How…ah." Andromeda recognized the slight hum, which was a telltale (well, for those who recognised it) sign that there were wards around this place. "Repelling wards. Quaint."
"Well, the family does date back to Merlin's time." Sirius said. He pressed his hand to the seemingly normal wall, and with a whirl, a sharp instrument emerged as part of the wall slid open. Andromeda's jaw dropped.
"S-Since when did we have hi-tech installed?" She stuttered a bit when asking.
"I dunno. Father showed me this place when I turned eleven. It must go back pretty far. It's infused with magic, anyway, to enhance the equipment and machinery. Muggles aren't that advanced yet." Sirius pricked his finger on the tip casually and it retracted. The wall slid back into place.
"Sirius Black, age 37, male." A droning voice said. "Second person detected."
The instrument appeared again.
"Do the same thing." Sirius instructed, and Andromeda gave her blood to the device, which returned to the wall.
"Andromeda Black, age 43, female." The monotonous voice rang out in the small corridor. "Enter."
The walls slid open like elevator doors, and the two of them continued down the corridor.
"Why did it list me as a Black?" Andromeda asked.
"You're Black by birth. It goes by your paternal bloodline's family name as recognition." Sirius said.
"Okay…so how did it know that we were two people?" Andromeda inquired.
"The corridor has heat sensors." Sirius smiled crookedly. He opened the door at the end of the hallway and stepped in. Andromeda followed. She was promptly rendered speechless by what was in front of her.
"Welcome to the Black Stash."
Shelves after shelves of potion ingredients glittered or bubbled, just sitting there in stasis. Solid gold cauldrons of all the different sizes were stacked up at the side, with a few pewter, silver, and copper cauldrons scattered here and there. A large variety of weapons were hung on the wall. Warglaives, curved daggers, katanas, boomerangs, knives, axes, spears, maces, war hammers, lances, longbows, crossbows, javelins…and there were also plates of armour made out of dragonhide, chainmails, large metal shields, and even a few helmets. On the opposite wall wands hung from their holsters. Andromeda was amazed by the sheer number of wands there. The lengths ranged from seven inches to fourteen inches, and the woods' colours varied throughout the collection. She had no doubt that some of the cores were as rare as Basilisk scales or Chimaera venom, and much more.
In the damp, far side of the room, she could see a faint outline of a huge glass case. She walked toward it and gasped when she saw eggs, no doubt held by stasis charms as well, lying in black velvet. Crimson shells speckled with gold in a pile in the corner indicated the presence of dragon eggs, at least, Chinese Fireball eggs. Another sweep of her sharp eyes confirmed that there were other species here as well. Mere chicken eggs lay next to the dragon eggs, and Andromeda gathered that they must be prepared as Basilisk eggs. Many other creatures' eggs lay in the collection.
Another corner of the room contained things that you're likely to see in Borgin and Burke's, perhaps even rarer artefacts. Cursed necklaces hung in midair, skulls lined the tables, and everything on there looked dark and evil. Then, finally, there was a trunk which Sirius stood next to.
"Amazed?" Sirius asked, smirking.
"That's an understatement." Andromeda managed.
"So what are you doing here today, cousin?" Sirius asked, sitting down on the trunk. Andromeda conjured a chair for herself.
"You know what I came here for, Sirius." Andromeda said, sitting down.
"Indeed I do. What made you abandon the life you lived before?" Sirius asked.
"I had…er…a think about it." Andromeda said. "And I've decided that it wasn't worth it, running away. Don't you think so…sometimes?" She asked the only other member of the Black family who ran away when he was a teenager.
"Of course I do. Why else would I be doing this?" Sirius held his arms wide, gesturing at the room. "Normally I wouldn't give a shit about the family and its wellbeing, but now…I'll do whatever is necessary to help Harry and stay alive." Sirius said.
"Well said." Andromeda agreed. "I'm in." She said rather abruptly. She's already left Ted. If she wanted to do this,
"You're in? Just like that? I haven't even told you what I was going to do yet!" Sirius said, surprised.
"I have my reasons." Andromeda said shortly, thinking back to Ted and his affairs with other women.
"They must be very good reasons, then." Sirius murmured. "So…er…you might not be…well, you might not like this plan, Andie." He mumbled.
"Well I can't decide if you don't say it." Andromeda said a bit testily.
"I'm planning to break Bellatrix out of Azkaban along with Harry." Sirius said in a small voice. Andromeda sat there for a few moments.
"WHAT?" She exploded. "Do you have any idea of what you're doing? I forbid it, Sirius! She's insane! She's no longer the Bella we used to know! What can you…what can we gain from breaking her out? How do you know that she's not going to run back to Voldemort like the good little slave she is? I'm not coming back to the family just to be arrested and thrown into Azkaban! What were you thinking, Sirius?" Andromeda yelled, feeling the pent-up bitterness, longing, and frustration welling up. Sirius cringed.
"Andie, just hear me out!" Sirius yelled over her ranting.
"This'd better be good." She huffed.
"Remember when we were little, our parents used to tell us how family glory is the most important thing?" He asked.
"How could I forget?" Andromeda said.
"Er…" Sirius said. "Of course you can't." He mumbled. "I simply forgot that you never paid attention in any of the gatherings…"
"Sirius…" Andromeda had a warning tone in her voice. She was blushing, though, because what Sirius said was true. She never did pay attention to her parents' ramblings about blood purity and family honour.
"Okay okay!" Sirius said. "I mean…maybe we could convince Bella that Voldemort will lead the purebloods into destruction, and that if she kept following the madman, our family would be wiped out." Sirius said. "Think about it, Andie. The whole propaganda that Voldemort's using is to wipe out Muggles and Muggleborns and bring the pureblood back into the old days of glory. If we can somehow convince Bella that Voldemort is using her to his own advantage, then maybe she won't be so hell-bent on serving him. We also need to expose her to the truth that Voldemort is a half-blood." Sirius said.
"Voldemort's a half-blood?" Andromeda asked incredulously.
"Yes. He is." Sirius smiled at her astonishment. "What, shocked?"
"Quite." Andromeda said. "That is really good blackmail information. If you could use that to blackmail Bella to defect…" She said.
"Well aren't we all versed in the art of blackmailing?" Sirius asked.
"Don't start on the puns, Sirius." Andromeda said. Sirius grinned.
"Of course not, but as I said, I'm pretty confident that Bella didn't know about the fact. She wouldn't lower herself to licking the shoes of a half-blood." He said. "Moving on, I made a potion the other day…" He said, getting up. Andromeda followed him to the potions section, where Sirius took out a vial containing a liquid which had a hot-pink colour. Andromeda narrowed her eyes.
"Sirius, is that what I think it is?" She asked.
"If you think this is a love potion, then no." Sirius said.
"I'm not stupid." Andromeda snapped. "It's a de-aging potion. Sirius, that's illegal! If anyone finds out you'll be thrown back into Azkaban, this time for a crime that you did commit!"
"Who said the Ministry was going to find out, Andie?" Sirius asked, holding the bottle up. "I'm going to give this to Bella, Cissy, and myself. You could also take it if you want." He offered.
"Why would I do that?"
"I suspect that Ted Tonks didn't give you a good marriage, did he?" Sirius hit the nail right on the head. Andromeda stiffened, and Sirius smiled. "I'm giving you the chance to start over again, after the war is over, Andie. You know that this potion permanently reverts you back to a fifteen year-old, which is what I set for the potion to work toward. You could either choose to go to Hogwarts for another two years under a different guise and name, or you could refuse the potion and stay here to help the Order with the war. Personally I'm choosing the first option because I want recompensation for the twelve years I spent in Azkaban. You could choose the same, and find someone else to settle with once the war is over." He finished softly.
"I…" Andie felt conflicted. If she took the potion, she would be younger than her own daughter, but if she didn't, she would be giving up on a once in a life time chance.
"Do it, Andie." Sirius urged.
"Okay, I will." She exhaled sharply as Sirius put the potion back on the shelf.
"Good." Sirius seemed to be satisfied, and Andromeda studied her cousin. He had managed to sweet-talk her into making another huge decision that will change her life forever. This kid (he was still younger than her), was good. She had to give him that.
"Well, what's your plan after that?"
"Since I made Harry my heir, I'm planning to take the seat on the Wizengamot." Sirius said. Andromeda peered at her cousin.
"Are you feeling okay, Sirius?" She asked.
"Andie, I know what you're going to say, and the answer is still the same." Sirius said firmly. "I know what I'm getting myself into by taking up another role in the war. Right now I think the only reason the Ministry is so weak and gullible is because Lucius Malfoy has Fudge in his pocket. If he can bribe the incompetent excuse of a Minister, than so can we." He said. "After all, our family goes back further and has more political power than the Malfoys. We simply haven't been active for the last few decades." He said.
Andromeda gnawed on her lower lip. It was a bold, risky move, but if Sirius succeeded, it would give them the upper hand in the war. She knew that the Ministry is corrupt and it needs the right people to make it…well, less corrupt.
"Are you sure?" She asked. If Sirius were to do it, she couldn't exactly stop him, so she might as well give him her support.
"I'm positive." Sirius nodded. "I'm tired of being holed inside Grimmauld Place. I'm a prisoner in my own house." He grumbled. "I need to get a life." He said.
"Dissing ourselves, aren't we?" Andromeda laughed.
"It's sad, but true. Now if I were to take over the Black seat on the Wizengamot, activate the vaults, and attend the meetings, I would have much more political power. I'm afraid of the Ministry falling into Voldemort's hands, because I know for a fact that aside from Lucius Malfoy, Voldemort has got other Death Eaters planted inside the Ministry, all very well-hidden. I need to pluck them out one by one and eliminate the threat to the government." He said thoughtfully.
"So you need all the support you can get." Andromeda smiled. "That's why you're doing this, isn't it? Breaking Bellatrix out, recruiting me, possibly getting Narcissa's head out of her arse, and taking a more active role in Harry's upbringing…as a Lord of a family, you need members." She said.
"Correct. I hope you don't mind me reinstating you and your daughter into the family. You'll have to revert to using your maiden name since you're essentially divorced, but without the proper documents. Nymphadora's last name will be changed to Black because of your divorce, which I will finalize as your head of family. Your soon to be ex-husband will have no say in this because you, as a member of a pureblood family, will win if he decides to go to court." Sirius said smartly.
"You've got this all thought out." Andromeda accused, though she was smiling.
"I have to, don't I? It's a dangerous game to play, but if I get it right, I win everything." Sirius said.
"Indeed it is…but if you do this, you'll have a political war to fight with Voldemort's purebloods, and also another war to fight, involving more dueling and less politics." Andromeda warned him.
"Which is exactly why I have decided to call Bella and Cissy back, isn't it?" Sirius asked. "You know that Bella prefers dueling and spell-casting, so I'll send her off to Harry and his friends, who will all be dealing with the front-line fighting, while Cissy, you, and I will manoeuvre our way around the Wizengamot and sway the public and the Ministry to our side." He said.
"You Slytherin." Andie said, and she meant it as a compliment. "That's a very cunning plan. If we manage to get public support…"
"Then Harry will have an easier time fighting Voldemort. Not only that, if we can find trustworthy people within the Ministry, the Order's numbers will grow as well." He said.
"And the war will be over quicker." Andromeda finished. The two sat there for a while in silence, mulling over the plan.
"I think you should go ahead with it, Sirius. If anything happens, know that I'll be behind you every step along the road. It's a precarious road, but I believe if we do this together, we have a chance of winning this thing." Andromeda said determinedly, grasping her cousin's hand. Sirius gripped her hand tightly, his eyes expressing the gratitude that he'll never be able to form into words.
"I just hope this works." He said simply.
"It has to, or Harry might be fighting a war that he's destined to lose." Andromeda said grimly.
Remember at this point nobody knows what's going to happen in the future, so they don't know if Harry is going to win or lose, but they're giving him their support.
Anyway, hope you liked this. As a review pointed out, there has been too much recapping and thoughts in the previous chapters, so I thought I'd move onto the general ideas of the plan.
Click the button and review!