Chapter 2: The Ancient and Noble House of Black, etc.
"My father wasn't quite as young as Harry, but still young nonetheless, when he became Lord Byron Greengrass. Growing up, he had two younger brothers, Nathaniel and Duncan. Nathaniel always was a colossal screw up. He had a massive inferiority complex and was constantly jealous of his older brother. He made terrible choices and was clearly on the way to being a Death Eater. My grandfather, Octavian, saw it coming and made a difficult choice. He decided that any member of the Greengrass family who took the Dark Mark would be immediately expelled from the family. It was actually the basis for Arcturus Black's idea.
"Grandfather knew it would likely cost him his life, that kind of defiance against the Dark Lord wouldn't be allowed, and told my father to prepare to take on the family Lordship. Four days later Ocativan and Duncan Greengrass were both dead. There was an uneasy peace between my father and his brother for the next seventeen years. Father never passed any family decrees and never revoked any either, and the two of them just ignored each other and Nathaniel remained an unmarked supporter of the Dark Lord and unsuitable for marriage in the eyes of every female on the planet. When Voldemort was vanquished for good, however, Nathaniel got desperate and reckless. He and a few friends attacked my family's home. Father got my mother, younger sister, and I out of the home but not himself. Nathaniel poisoned him and sent him to Gringott's Bank to request a substantial amount of money. If he returned with it, he was promised the antidote. My father was no fool and he knew there would be no antidote, so he activated an old contract to protect his family.
"About four hundred and fifty years ago there was a beautiful Greengrass daughter named Aurora. She was sought after by many, including the younger two of a trio of brothers of the House of Potter, Marcus and Benedict. In the end, she chose the younger brother Marcus, her best friend. Benedict, being the older brother, felt like he was entitled to her and, in a fit of jealous rage, killed Aurora. The heartbroken Marcus killed his brother, then himself. The problem was, this left a dead Greengrass daughter and no one for them to demand satisfaction from. Marcus and Benedict's older brother, Dallin, negotiated a contract with the House of Greengrass as compensation. It said that, at any time, the House of Greengrass could demand a son of the House of Potter to wed a chosen Greengrass daughter provided there is an age difference of no more than seven years, and the Potter family would forfeit the dowry. My family always saw it as something of a safety net to protect us. And that's how my father used it.
"As long as we signed the contract before my father died he would be able to name me as his heir and pass on the title of Lord Greengrass to Harry. Harry was legally seen as nine different people at that point, one for each family he was the head of, and so I agreed to marry Harry Potter, Lord Black and that day I became Lady Daphne Felicity Potter Greengrass Black. It surprised a lot of people that I didn't become Lady Potter, but truthfully I loved the mystique that surrounded the House of Black and was looking forward to rebuilding and leading it. I also wanted Harry to be able to choose his own Lady Potter whenever he found someone who deserved the title.
"He essentially married me to save me, a theme you'll see repeated quite often. That also meant he became Head of House Greengrass and House Cosgrove, which was another resurrected house that previously fell under the Greengrass name.
"After a private conversation with my father, Harry left my mother, sister, and I alone to spend time with my father during his last few hours. He returned two hours later with a small trunk and a bleeding arm. After asking my mother, sister, and I to give them a moment, he opened the trunk and showed my father its contents. I asked several weeks later what was in the trunk and I learned it was the heads of my uncle Nathaniel, his best friend Bruno Rosier, and the maker of the poison Lewis Slughorn all of whom he found lounging around in the living room at Greengrass Manor. You may think it harsh or unfair and even in the wizarding world it would have typically been of questionable legality. However Rosier had taken the mark which meant Harry, with his newly awarded International Hit Wizard license, was legally allowed to use whatever force necessary against him. As long as he attacked Rosier first and the other two threw curses at Harry to aid Rosier, he was allowed to kill them all. And more importantly, my father died with peace of mind because of Harry. I can never thank him enough for that. Do not judge him as you would a murderer, judge him as you would a soldier.
"Harry and I immediately went to work on straightening out the House of Black. Andromeda Tonks and her grandson, Harry's godson, Teddy Lupin were welcomed back into the family. Alphard Black was welcomed back into the family and he took a job teaching upper level Astronomy at Hogwarts. Cedrella Weasley née Black and her children and grandchildren were welcomed back into the family. Narcissa Malfoy requested that she be allowed to divorce her husband, who would be spending the rest of his life in prison, and it was granted so she was welcomed back into the House of Black as well. Her son was allowed to keep the name Malfoy, but he had to name his mother as his regent in the Wizengamot for at least seven years. Draco is the only marked Death Eater to not be captured or killed to the best of our knowledge because he's the only one who didn't 'earn' his mark by killing an innocent. He would eventually marry my younger sister Astoria. The Malfoy fortune disappeared between the splurging of Voldemort and the fines from the Ministry, so Harry and I provided the start up money for Draco's and Astoria's businesses, Mortar & Pestle Apothecary, which has two locations now, and What's Your Stori?, a gem and jewelry shop. The Greengrass family has operated a mine for generations so we have all the contacts needed to bring in affordable gems and minerals.
"I took the Black seat in the Wizengamot, Andromeda took the Wickliffe seat, and Alphard took the Scrugham seat. My mother, Darlene, took the Greengrass seat and my cousin, Gemma Farley, sat in the Cosgrove seat. Narcissa and I have managed the collective estates and political affairs for decades now, that was essentially my job.
"I'm the mother of seven children, five of which are serving or will serve as a Head of House. Sirius Regulus Black is an Auror with the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Byron Octavian Greengrass prefers to be called Bo and does classified work for the Ministry. Duncan Colin Cosgrove is a solicitor and partner at Collinsworth, Creevey, Cosgrove, and Boot. The twins Atria Darlene and Talitha Dorea Black own a store in Diagon Alley where they sell robes and accessories. Remus Charlus Wickliffe is a wand crafter with a shop in Diagon Alley as well. My youngest, Frederick Arcturus Scrugham, is a parselmouth. He and his half-brother co-own a business that provides potions supplies and wand cores from magical animals called The Serpent & The Horse. He handles the serpent side of the operation working with the ashwinders, boomslangs, and runespoors, among others. And of course, you can't go through the House of Black without mentioning Teddy Lupin. We considered naming Teddy the Black heir from the start, but Andromeda didn't think it was a good idea. Instead we let him choose his own path, and as any self-respecting son of a Marauder would do, he started working for a joke shop. Teddy is now a partner at Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes where he manage the storefront and contributes new product ideas.
"And now let me tell you about my best friend…"