Chapter 2: Plans of situational disclosure
Arcturus Black had his eyes fixed on his grandson – the second Heir in line, too, the first Gryffindor in the family in ten centuries, one of the twinless twins, Sirius Orion Black.
The young man looked more like a Black than most of the family, despite everything. He'd gotten the general looks – there was a very old mural, down in the Chambers at Black Manor, one rumored to be older than the Manor, old enough to have belonged to the first Ancestors, and it showed a man who looked so much like Sirius it was eery; the eyes were not quite the right shade, the facial structure was just a bit off, and the look on his face was pure evil, but you wouldn't know the difference unless you looked at it closely – the ink-black hair, the silver eyes, and the pale complexion. Sirius was so Black, Arcturus wasn't certain the family had ever given birth to another like him, one who had all of it, without exception.
Even his temper – and he could see it, right now, in his grandson's eyes, lurking in distrust and tension as they crossed gazes – while apparently Gryffindor, was in truth just as much Slytherin – or rather, the part of Slytherin that the Black family actually cared about. Cunning, manipulative, and ready to do whatever was needed to get where they wanted.
Sirius lacked ambition, severely, but that honestly wasn't the most prominent part of the Black identity.
Which meant Arcturus would have to navigate... cautiously, to get what he wanted, too.
A glance around, and he caught sight of the see-through walls, of the numerous children waiting for something to happen. All in all, what Sirius wanted wasn't entirely different from what the Black Lord wanted. They would reach a compromise – and Arcturus could offer what Sirius lacked here.
So he spoke up, again. His eyes moved onto the Potter Heir.
"From what I understand, Fleamont and Euphemia aren't quite up to dealing with twenty or so teenagers. They've been hit with a bad case of dragon pox, right? They will need to rest, if you want them to get better, Mr. Potter."
James Potter tensed at the statement, but they both knew it to be the truth. Fleamont and Euphemia Potter were almost as old as Arcturus himself – he was quite certain James Potter's mother had started Hogwarts the year he'd himself finished his education – and Dragon Pox could be deadly at that age. Nothing was certain yet – neither their death, nor their survival. Potter would need to admit it: bringing Sirius' children to his parents was far from a great idea.
Both for the Potters, and for the children.
Of course, Arcturus' grandson himself rescued his best friend from having to answer that.
"What do you propose, then? For Dear Mother to take care of them?"
You could hear the derision in his voice, and Arcturus had to admit it seemed like a terrible idea. Walburga had started showing some signs of instability a few years back – not that she was becoming worse, but the Blacks always had been a bit crazier on the average, and they also knew how to hide it well – and those were Sirius' children. No matter their own personalities, it wouldn't end well.
"Black Manor is large enough for all of them."
And before Sirius' incredulous look could turn into words, Arcturus extended his offer.
"Of course, you'd be living with us. They may all be Blacks, but they are also yours."
A moment of silence, with Sirius' eyebrows going up high on his forehead.
"I was next to the Family Tree Wall when... many names appeared under yours."
Sirius blinked, taking in his grandfather – he wasn't wearing the kind of clothes he did when he expected to go out, more like he'd rushed here the moment he'd understood something uncanny had happened, even if first glance didn't tell anyone that.
"You're offering to house me, and the numerous children I've apparently gotten out of wedlock?"
Arcturus made a face, and Sirius heard a small voice just behind him – of course, Dana and Fania. He hadn't quite forgotten about the girls – how could he, in this situation? – but he hadn't realized they were listening in, right there.
"Mamma did marry you."
Good to know. Except, as far as this time period was concerned, Sirius was single.
His grandfather waved all that away, though, with the elegance and scorn befitting of a Black.
"I doubt anyone would dare discuss their legitimity, Sirius. Not when almost all of them are much too old to be children born in normal circumstances. It seems obvious magic was involved, somehow, and the looks some of them sport deny any kind of lie as to their identity. With a simple glance, I can tell you have three younger doppelgangers, and at least a dozen others who look enough like you to be nothing but close family."
Sirius took a deep breath, and forced himself not to disagree with Arcturus on principle.
"Should they remain here. They were... conjured... by magic from various possibilities in time, and we have no idea if..."
At that, Fania started crying.
Sirius started, and looked at his two daughters – amongst many, oh dear – only to find that his youngest – where he wasn't entirely sure of the age of any of them, there was no denying that Fania was much younger than any of the other children – apparently didn't like talks of herself potentially vanishing back into nothingness. No matter what Dana did, the baby wouldn't stop crying.
Sirius and Dana shared a helpless look, and he went to retrieve Fania, again, but was thwarted in that attempt.
"What are you..."
Arcturus gave him a look, as he handled his great-granddaughter with care, and barely any hesitation. Sirius recoiled, just a bit surprised – he supposed, at some point, his grandfather may have held Lucretia, and later, his dad, like that, but that was a long time ago, and even then, it probably didn't happen often.
The Black family wasn't quite heartless when it came to their children, but they could hardly be called openly affectionate. Sirius had very few memories of his parents actually holding him – even less so than Regulus, but that was another problem.
"For all that you've suddenly become quite a prolific father, Sirius, I am the one who has actually taken care of my own two infant children, as well as my grandchildren at the same age. I think I should know how to hold a baby and make them stop fussing better than you."
Sirius squinted at the old wizard – seventy-eight, his once-dark hair now much more white than black or even grey, and a well-earned reputation for always getting what he wanted. His grandson wouldn't quite say he distrusted his elder, but trusting him with his daughter wasn't quite on the agenda today either.
"I don't quite see you holding either Regulus or I in your arms."
"In any case, I did. Now, on the matter of your... various... progeny. Would you rather have them where you can keep an eye on them, even if that means living with your grandfather, or do we have to drag this to the Magical Law Department? I'm sure one of Crouch's lackeys would be delighted to have them placed in other homes while I prove that, as the Lord of the House of Black, I am responsible for the well-being of any legitimate Black."
Sirius took a look around – Smith and Moody, who looked reservedly cautious and properly paranoid respectively; James, who was wincing, and yet standing right between Arcturus and the door, just in case Sirius decided he'd rather play it caveman-like; and Dana, who looked about to run and get back next to her younger sister, completely ignoring her great-grandfather.
And, just next doors, the children he could see through the magical walls.
Sirius kept a wince to himself. With how things were going – who could they trust, who was a prospective Death Eater, who hid behind a mask – there was no way he'd let the kids be placed "in the right kind of families".
So he took a deep breath, a step forward, and his youngest daughter back in his arms – because Arcturus, grandfather or not, Head of the family of not, wasn't going to negotiate the children while holding one in his arms, away from Sirius and Dana.
There was a moment of eye-contact, a silent confrontation, untold suspicions running cold between them, and then.
"Great-grandfather, please."
A blink from said man, who looked past Sirius and directly at Dana for the first time.
"Fath... He will agree, for us. But you have to say what you want out loud. Our father can and will play the game if he has to, but he rarely likes it, and right now... Right now you want his trust."
Arcturus didn't say a thing for a long time, his eyes taking in the girl before him. She didn't look much like Sirius, and he had doubts about her mother coming from any of the respectable families of the United Kingdom. Her features were unlike anyone he knew of... But she'd also spoken of her "mamma" instead of her "mum", so for all he knew, she was a foreigner.
What seemed obvious, on the other hand, was that she knew him.
Sirius' daughter – that one, at least – had met Arcturus Black. Sirius had mentionned "possibilities in time". He had to either assume time travel, or something quite close.
If, in the future, Arcturus knew his grandson's daughter, that meant several things. First of all, if they were in relation, she was most likely pureblooded – perhaps old blood, if the other family was respectable enough. Next, either Sirius was out of the picture – unlikely, considering the girl's words – or his grandson had rekindled some of his relationships with the family – which would be for the best, because Arcturus would rather keep Sirius in the line of inheritance, considering Regulus' nightime activities, the dangers inherent to it, and the fact that the House of Black positively hated taking orders from anyone. Finally, whenever she came from, Arcturus lived long enough for her to know him sufficiently, and to know how he operated.
Speaking of which.
Knowing Sirius' total disregard for blood purity, for all Arcturus knew, there were half-bloods amongst the children.
The old wizard had to refrain from shivering visibly at the thought, his eyes narrowing slightly as he took in the sights on the other sides of the see-through walls. If those boys were truly Arella Selwyn's, he thought as he took in two boys with darker skin than the rest, then they were old blood – everyone knew Lord Selwyn had had a rather scandalous affair with a nigerian witch, and nigerian wizarding families didn't care much for blood purity, because what mattered to them was how far up you could find magic in their family tree, regardless of the other ancestors. The other duo with darker skin could, perhaps, be from the Patil family – pureblood, then, even if they weren't quite an old british family – but Arcturus didn't think they had any single daughter around Sirius' age, which made that a bit more dubious.
The others, well.
Those who looked too much like Sirius – so, so Black – gave hardly a hint as to the rest of their family, and for the others he couldn't say he saw any kind of carbon copies of any witches Arcturus knew, but generally that was not how children worked. A blond boy reminded him quite of the young Rowle daughter – she'd start third year in september. That was about it.
Well. The great thing about magically-appearing children was that people tended not to question their blood status. As long as Sirius didn't make a fuss about finding their mothers, the House of Black should manage to keep any unpleasantness under wraps.
Everyone else would be much too busy gawking at their sudden appearance.
Still. That all bore investigation.
Arcturus scoffed, and looked back at the culprit – whether or not he had actually fathered all these children as of now, they were his, and therefore Sirius was to be held responsible.
"Honesty. A much disquieting manner to handle anything, I must say. But yes, I suppose I could indulge you, young man. What I want in all that is for no one I disapprove of to get a hand on children of our blood. If, indeed, they all remain here, I'd rather we took care of them right away, because then there will be september and Hogwarts, and there is no way I'm letting your scions go there, in mixed company, without even knowing what to expect from them first."
Sirius snorted at the mention of "mixed company" – for once, he had the feeling his grandfather meant it as much about the "lesser-blooded" as about the Blacks' usual acquaintances. Indeed, should the children prove to be Sirius' dign successors, a lot of the social circle of the Black might see it with a critical eye.
Still. His grandfather was right on one point. Like it or not, they were all part of the House of Black – for some of them, he suspected, in a similar fashion as Nymphadora was, even if no one liked to acknowledge it on that side of the family. With their looks, and their peculiar story, none of them would be able to escape the Black name, and that meant they would need to learn and live with it.
That, and indeed, putting eighteen children in a house with two weakened people who'd just had dragon pox – and maybe weren't quite recovered yet – was probably not a good idea.
He grudgingly admitted that – even if only to himself – his grandfather's offer was the most sensible he'd had so far.
Sirius just didn't like the implications.
Looking the older wizard in the eyes, his grandson held out a hand – not a proper magical vow, but enough to convey both his intent and his displeasure with the situation – which was taken and shaken after a moment of squinting contemplation.
Arcturus, obviously, was evaluating the situation – and more importantly, Sirius' thoughts on the matter – just as carefully as his gandson did – especially where his grandfather's thoughts were concerned.
So, Sirius' fingers clamped down on his grandfather, and he added:
"One condition, then."
He felt Arcturus' hand tense, even if the older man's face didn't change a bit.
"Go on."
"No one gets to exige knowledge about their mothers from the children. You do not ask, and if they tell you nonetheless, you keep your thoughts to yourself even if you don't like it."
Lord Black – Head of the family, the wizard who had the last say on any matter of blood, the one who'd let Sirius' uncle blast his daughter from the family tree because he didn't approve of her romantic choices, the one who allowed all the others to pretend Nymphadora did not share their blood – didn't react right away.
Then, to Sirius' – surprise wasn't quite the word – disappointment – careful, Sirius, your destructive tendencies are showing – a dangerous smirk took over his lips, and a sneer preceded his agreement.
"Done. If I do not ask, I do not have to lie to the rest of the family, boy. And none of them would ever dare imagine I did not ask."
And once they'd all be used to the kids – something that would happen, one way or another, even if Sirius would rather curse Bellatrix's entire face off than let her anywhere near the children – the Black family wouldn't find the idea of even asking polite enough to say it out loud.
The two members of the same family – divided, at different extremes of a spectrum, and yet – finally let go of each other's hand, their deal sealed. Sirius took half a moment to observe his grandfather's facial expression afterwards, and, finding nothing alarmingly suspicious, turned back to the problem at hand.
Namely, the children.
Without even looking at Smith and Moody – with barely a glance at James, though his best friend's presence was possibly the only source of comfort he had right now – Sirius fixed his attention on Room 10.
"Alright. I suppose there is nothing keeping me from taking them home, now that... Now that I have a place to take them home to?"
To his surprise – he'd half-forgotten she was there at all – the Unspeakable was the one to answer.
"I need a Statement of Existence from each of them, in case they do remain in our reality and we have to justify their identity one day, but yes. Though I think it'd be wiser to make sure they truly understand the situation before you take them outside."
True. Nothing quite like being thrown into another reality for things to go awry. Sirius took a deep breath, and contemplated his options.
Moody was not one. To begin with, the Auror probably had better things to do. On top of that, he had a temper. To finish with, Sirius wouldn't want Alastor Moody to explain to him that he'd lost everything he'd ever known, that his father was nineteen again, that his mother knew nothing of him, and that the entire world was back in he-had-no-idea-how-many-years-ago-it-was-for-the-children.
So he turned to the Unspeakable.
"You have the forms for the Statements of Existence?"
The witch nodded, and conjured a stack of paper from wherever she usually kept those things.
"Okay. Well. Moody, I'm sure you're dying to go back to hounding Death Eaters, but Smith, if you could stay and help for... explaining all that to the children? I'd be grateful".
Sirius made sure to make it sound like a honest request, and not some sort of order. He was a trainee, and even the Head of the Auror Office did not order Alastor Moody around.
The wizard stared at him for a moment – possibly calculating how sincere Sirius likely was, and if there was any sort of manipulation going on here – but finally grunted something about Sirius not forgetting to hand in his report about the incident tomorrow, then left. Sirius sighed, vaguely less tense all of a sudden – he'd never met a Hufflepuff alumnus that scary before, but Merlin, Moody counterbalanced the claims about the House's approachability all on his own.
Smith hummed in amusement as she watched the older Auror leave, and then agreed to Sirius' request.
So, that meant...
"James?"
"Of course."
A glance at the Unspeakable, and Sirius knew she was in, whether or not he approved. He guessed that went without saying – that kind of situation didn't happen often, and it had to be a golden opportunity to gain knowledge for an Unspeakable.
Which left Arcturus. Sirius wasn't sure he wanted his grandfather explaining anything to one of the kids, not before Sirius could talk to them himself.
Moreover, he wasn't certain Arcturus would want to do it either.
Well. He'd know if the older Black said nothing.
"I'm handling Room 10, there's something about the girl I'd rather confirm on my own. James, if you could take Room 13, I think the boy needs to be handled... carefully. Smith, I'd suggest Room 11? We'll see for the others when we're done with those, and..."
"I can do it too."
Sirius blinked, and looked at Dana, who'd taken her baby sister back in her arms, and looked carefully determined to get what she wanted.
"You're sure you want to do this?"
The teenager nodded.
"I just have to explain what... what happened, and where we are, right? Then there's a form to fill out, one for each of us? I can... fill out mine and Fania's, and then go and see..."
Her eyes went up to the numbers above the doors of each interrogation room, before taking in each of the rooms with her unknown siblings in them. As she pinched her lips – probably unsure of where to start, lost and uncertain of her future and place in this present even if she didn't want to show it – Sirius offered up a room number for her instead.
"Take Room 2. I think the black-haired girl is the oldest of you all, so she'll probably keep a cooler head than the other kids. She'll be able to help you, if her siblings don't take it well."
Having a plan of action seemed to ground Dana well enough. She nodded, and Sirius hopped the children would all take all this... as well as she did. Even if she was probably due a freak-out at some point anyway.
They all were likely to. Him included, though he guessed he'd already had a small one when he'd woken up, and he'd been told about... that.
At that point, Sirius' grandfather reminded them all of his presence with a pointed throat-clearing.
"As you haven't seen fit to include me in your plans of situational disclosure, dear grandson, I'll be waiting here with your baby. Please do tell your children I'm outside, waiting for your brood once they've finished with the Statements."
And the old wizard gave Dana a look, which the girl immediately interpreted as an order to hand over her sister. After a moment of hesitation – which Sirius noted, though he also noticed she didn't refuse – the girl let her great-grandfather have Fania, and sat at a table to fill out her own forms.
James, Smith and Sirius, themselves, went for the doors of Room 10, 11 and 13.
So, the boy in Room 13 is Altair from "Hunters and Hunted", and the triplets are from "Black Roses" (that story I wrote the first chapter of, and that's all, yes, that one).
Also, I'm saying this again, I'm using a lot of Headcanons you can find in my other HP fics, so don't be surprised if there are mentions of things you recognize from there but not from canon.