Chapter 4
Harry's cloak came in very useful to sneak up to the Janus Thickey ward. In the double cubicle shared by the Longbottoms, a few quick wards made sure nobody would be interested in what was going on, or be able to hear. Harry was fascinated by warding, and was busy catching up to speed to test into runes, dropping divination. He had already caught up with arithmancy, as he had no problems relating it to the maths he had learned at school. Having the soul splinter out made studying so much easier!
Meanwhile, he was holding a couple of chalices, into which Sirius had to drop some blood at a point in the ceremony to remove the family curse which called for it, his blood as head of the family able to override Bella's magic.
He wrote the runes in a circle on the floor, explaining them to Harry, that he was calling on family magic, and able to use star signs in addition to more normal runes because he was tied to the dog star, the constellation of Orion, and in opposition to Bellatrix.
"I want to change my name ritually to use star magic," said Harry. "I suck at astronomy, but now I can see better it won't give me migraines, and if it's meaningful for me, it's worth bothering with."
"Any idea what you'd like?" said Sirius.
"Kreacher was muttering that it was a shame I was not named 'Regulus' like his other favourite little master," said Harry.
"It's Alpha Leonis; and nobody can say you are not a Gryffindor's lion through and through," said Sirius. "Poor Reg was trying to be a lion in the snake's den. We'll change you ritually to Hamilcar Regulus Leo James Black Potter."
"My name is Hamilcar? Really? What were my parents thinking of?"
"Lily discovered that Salazar Slytherin was descended from Hamilcar Barca, father of the famous Hannibal, and rather than mark you out as a Slytherin by calling you 'Salazar', which is a Spanish name, by the way, she thought 'Hamilcar' was more subtle."1
"Right," said Harry.
Sirius started chanting, and as he chanted his body suffused with Black magic, and Harry could see why the name was Black, as Sirius became a figure of the fathomless depths of space. Suddenly, piercingly bright, the dog star appeared inside the space of his head, and marking his body the stars of Orion, and the rest of him faintly marked with stars. Betelgeuse as red as mars, Rigel blue white. Sirius took his ritual knife and slit his starry palm and Harry held each goblet in turn under it, as blood filled with points of starry light dripped out.
And then the stars faded, and Sirius flowed back into the starry void that had been his body.
"That was... awesome," said Harry. "Why did we not do this at home?"
"Preparing the rest of the draught was ok, but the ritual apology had to be performed in the presence of those harmed," said Sirius. He sank to his knees.
Harry offered the goblets to Alice, who drank without trouble, and Frank, who had to be helped.
Alice stiffened, and then she screamed a brief, agonised scream. And she blinked several times.
"James? Sirius? Have you killed those bastards?" she asked, in a rough, raw voice. "Where am I?" Frank!"
Frank screamed in turn, dropped out of bed and into a defensive position, feeling for the wand he did not have.
"Frank, you're safe," said Sirius.
"Sirius! James! What in the world?" said Frank.
"My cousin Bellatrix used a family spell on you," said Sirius. "I... I went after the traitor. I've spent time in Azkaban without a trial, and it... I only just found the counter-ritual. James is dead; this is Harry."
"Neville!" gasped Alice. "OH! I remember. I tried to give him the runes of what was done, on sweet wrappers. But... he never seemed aware..."
"Dumbledore steered him and Harry away from runes, to have more control of them both," said Sirius. "Right, first things first, let's kick out my ritual chalk circle, vanish all the extra blood, portkey back to Padfoot's place, and then floo-call Neville. You'll want your wand back, Frank; Augusta has been making Neville use it."
"What? That's ridiculous. Neville is more like Alice than like me, he should be using an earth-magic based wand," said Frank.
"She won't see it," said Sirius. "Harry will fill you in on how her precious brother tried to scare magic to manifest as well."
"There will be some changes in Longbottom Manor," said Frank, grimly. He grasped the portkey, as did Alice and Harry, and at a word from Sirius, they arrived in the Black ritual room.
"Clothes, with your crests, waiting over there, join me in the reception room when you are ready," said Sirius, leaving them to it.
...
The Longbottoms got a hasty update from Harry, Sirius, Remus, and Hermione, met Dan and Emma, and took several nutrient and pepper-up potions, before Frank took floo powder, and called,
"Longbottom Manor!"
The elf who answered made a noise which can only be rendered as 'Eep!' and sat back hard on her backside.
"Master Frank!" she cried. "Master Frank, oh, come home, come home!"
Frank was about to walk through.
"Padfoot's Place is located at 12, Grimmauld Place," said Sirius, quietly to him, and Alice. "Password, Mischief Managed. Bring Neville over, in a few days, and I'll give him the secret too."
"Padfoot," said Harry, as the Longbottoms departed, "I thought only the secret keeper could tell the secret."
"Not if the caster is a Black in possession of the wards; I can tell the secret too, but that's a family secret," said Sirius. "Having adopted Remus and Dan, I can speak of it to all of you, as Hermione is also a Black."
.
Harry described what had happened to Hermione, who was awestruck.
"I also need a Black name," she said.
"Hermione Denebola Jean Black Dagworth-Granger," said Sirius. "That's Beta Leonis."
"I don't mind dropping the 'Jean'," said Hermione. "My parents gave me a plainer name to use if I did not like 'Hermione' when I grew up. It fits well enough with the classical names many wizards and witches have, even if they chose it from Shakespeare."
"We'll do the renaming later," said Sirius.
"And I would like to be Emma Algieba," said Emma. "What, did you think I know nothing of astronomy just because I despise astrology and divination? If I'm a squib, I might be able to brew family potions if I have a family name."
"Makes sense," said Sirius. "You will, as adopted to the names, not given them by naming ceremony, have to pluck the star from my star-filled body, so make sure you know which is which. None of you want to be 'Chertan' or 'Coxa'."
"I'm choosing 'Wolf' without the addition '359' which suits a werewolf, since it is a variable star," said Remus, smiling gently.
"And that leaves me with 'Rasalas'," said Dan. "I looked them up. I believe accepting a star name makes Dagworth-Granger a vassal family to Black?"
"Yes, but a vassal to a rebuilt house of Black is still a lift in status to what was a minor house," said Sirius.
They fasted for twenty-four hours and went to the ritual chamber in clean white linen ritual shifts. Here, Sirius went through the ritual of adoption by renaming, and Harry first, followed by Hermione, then Emma, as those of the blood of Black, must approach the starry void which was Sirius, and reach into it for the star or constellation of their choice. Kreacher was permitted to watch, and tears flowed down his wrinkled face as Harry chose 'Regulus' and 'Leo.' Once Emma and Hermione were named, Dan and Remus must take a blood-based potion, and choose their stars.
They wound up in a heap, exhausted and hungry, and Kreacher hugged Harry fiercely.
He seemed younger for being exposed to such intense magic.
They were glad of him bustling off to get easy to digest and eat finger food, pumpkin juice, and butter beer.
.
Two days later, the Longbottoms brought Neville to visit, and he almost knocked Harry over in hugging him, and then, with only the briefest of hesitations, he hugged Sirius.
"Oh, Lord Black, I know that is bad etiquette, but I can never express in words what this means to me," he said.
"I do understand," said Sirius. "And you are my son's godbrother; and I hope for closer formal alliances with the Longbottoms in addition to the Potter-Longbottom alliance. I want to bring House Black and its subsidiary house, Dagworth-Granger into that alliance."
"You'll meet no argument with me," said Frank. "And we need to discuss what to do about the manipulations of Dumbledore, a man my idiot mother considers leaves deposits of gold smelling of roses when he shits."
"I hope you have used family magic to prevent her telling him too much?" asked Sirius, sharply.
"I have, and to stop her telling her brother so that he can tell him," said Frank. "I may be mentally three-and-twenty, still, but I'm not an idiot. I rely on you to help me through the political morass."
"I'll do my best," said Sirius. "Actually, Harry and I have a few plans which are almost pranks on the whiskered wanker and the 'Mot, so I hope you'll enjoy them."
Frank sniggered.
"I had too much of a stick up my arse at school to appreciate all you Marauders did, but with a son who needs a bit of protection, and a world which is radically different, I'm prepared to try politics carried on by other methods, including prank war."
.
.
Much plotting occurred. Dan and Emma agreed to give Hermione emancipation in the Wizarding World, so she could take her seat as the last Dagworth-Granger, as permission was granted by their overlord, Sirius. Without the sponsorship of House Black, Hermione could not, by the rules of her own house, have been House Head Dagworth-Granger.
The Wizengamot did not know what was going on, and Dumbledore, apprised by his spies that Frank and Alice had vanished, was going crazy trying to find them. He called Longbottom Manor. Neville spoke to the headmaster by floo.
"Neville, my boy! I am most disturbed to hear your sad news!" said Dumbledore.
Neville looked mournful.
"I know, and it's hard to be optimistic," he said. "Of course, I've done all I can, but really, when something so distressing happens, and when family is involved, it's never easy."
"I have asked around, as many people as I think can help," said Dumbledore.
Neville managed worshipful puppy-dog eyes.
"Oh, sir, how kind! But I don't think there is any need, I repotted the Mimbulus mimbletonia right away, and I have every expectation it will survive."
"What?" said Dumbledore.
"Why, sir, were you not commiserating about my grandmother's fit of senile temper in throwing my pot of Mimbulus mimbletonia out of the window?" said Neville. "There were boils all over the back yard from the pus, I am not sure it will ever be the same again."
"You idiot boy!" raged Dumbledore. "Get your grandmother!"
"I can't. She's confined to her rooms. Indisposed, you know," said Neville. Frank had set the wards to keep his mother to her own suite whilst he cooled down enough not to lose his temper with her.
"Prostrated with grief, I suppose, poor woman," said Dumbledore, sadly. "My poor boy! Has she failed to explain to you that your parents have disappeared from St. Mungo's?"
Neville achieved a look so bovine that it was almost possible to imagine him lowing.
"My parents haven't disappeared," he said.
"My poor boy! You haven't been told, it's plain," said Dumbledore. "I will try to find out where they are."
"But I know where they are," said Neville. "I was dissatisfied with their care at St. Mungo's so I moved them. I didn't bother to tell that stick-up-the-arse healer who always patronises me. They are responding nicely to treatment. Thank you for worrying, Headmaster, now, I have some homework to finish, good day!"
He closed the floo connection, which he knew would thrust Dumbledore backwards with a burst of soot.
He was well aware whose idea it was to use fidelius charms, rather than more lethal house wards.
Dumbledore was not hurt as badly as by the Black wards but his face and beard were covered in soot, as was the lovely new pea-green robe with dancing purple kelpies and pink unicorns on it.
1 Hamilcar Barca, King of Carthaginia, invaded Spain, which was held by one of his sons, Hasdrubel, whilst the other, Hannibal, crossed the Alps with elephants to invade Rome.