The Future of House Black

By: Ryu Katanna

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Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter Seventeen

Hardwin blinked tiredly as he left his bedroom and made his way through the halls toward the study at the front of the manor between the family and guest wing. It had taken two hours to speak with, calm down, and get the new snakes settled into their own warded areas of his room. The three new snakes were older than Dipili and had been around humans and other snakes since they were young. They had all been caught in the wild before being brought to the UK; which Hardwin was pretty sure must go against at least a few muggle laws. Their vocabulary was better than Dipili's had been when he first brought him home, but dealing with three irritable snakes that hadn't had a heat source for the better part of two days wasn't easy.

He was determined now more than ever to write to Gringotts and put in a request for renovation services to get the downstairs sunroom set up as he had considered doing. There was no way he would be able to have them all in his room on a permanent basis or even until he was married and discussed the renovations with his spouse as he had planned. They had all been irritable at first though they had settled when he'd spoken to each of them one at a time. Much like Dipili, they had been enthused to meet a human 'intelligent' enough to speak their language. The cobra had been so enthusiastic in airing her complaints and demands that Hardwin had been afraid she'd never shut up and let him get her settled into her space near the doorway to the boudoir.

Hardwin honestly feared for his sanity and knew he may have many sleepless nights if they remained in his bedroom for too long.

Opening the door to the study, Hardwin waved his wand to illuminate the lights on the elaborate chandelier, waving a second time to light the fire in the fireplace. He took a moment to look around the room. He had spent most of his time in the massive library since moving into the manor. This was the first time he'd come into this room since moving into the manor, but he thought it would be more comfortable to work in the study than in the library. Andromeda, Narcissa, and Draco all had a standing invitation to visit the manor whenever they liked. While he didn't think that they would snoop through his paperwork he liked that the study would be more private than the library that anyone in their family could enter. It also wasn't secure enough to leave his paperwork there when he did start receiving guests into his home.

"Saros." He said as he looked around at the bookshelves that lined the room on all four walls; each one of them filled with books and scrolls.

The desk was placed on the far side of the room between the fireplace and the window on the next wall and facing the door. A settee faced the desk from the opposite side of the fireplace, and a chair sat in the other corner with a small table to the side of it. Above the fireplace was a single portrait. Like the others that he had seen in the portrait galleries, and in other rooms of the manor, the older man in the portrait looked to be sleeping.

"How can Saros help, Master Hardwin?" The elf asked after popping into the room.

"Please bring my dossier to me from the library. Also, If you could have Nanna bring Siddra to me. I will need to send her out tonight." He said knowing that Nanna was the one in charge of the aviary; it being one of the young elf's favorite responsibilities to take care of the animals.

"Right away, Master." Saros said before popping away, and Hardwin crossed the room to sit in the chair behind the desk and lay the files he'd shown to Kingsley either down on the dark cherry wood surface.

His eyes widened a bit in surprise as he looked at the surface of the desk for the first time. One of the elves must have placed the letter from Sirius there. He'd been meaning to read it but had been so busy studying the material Narcissa and Lucius had suggested during any of his free time that he'd almost forgotten about it. Yet, there was also what look to be something else laying on the desk underneath it.

Shifting Sirius's letter out of the way, Hardwin's eyebrows raised in surprise as he found another envelope. Using his wand, he checked it briefly for spells, finding preservation spells but nothing harmful. Hardwin read the unfamiliar handwriting on the front. Hardwin James Felis Potter-Black. Flipping the envelope over, Hardwin found it was sealed with royal purple wax and the Black Crest.

"Who sent this, Saros?" He asked when the elf reappeared with the dossier and placed it on the desk next to his arm.

"That letter not being sent, Master Black. It being left here by Master Arcturus before he was leaving. Tells Saros and Nanna to be leaving it where it is. Master be needing anything else from Saros?" Saros said and Hardwin's eyes widened before he nodded to the elf.

"Thank you. No, that'll be all." Hardwin replied, and the elf popped away.

Hardwin felt a bit puzzled as he stared at the envelope. Arcturus had written to him? Why would he do that? Well, he had to have known about him. That much he knew from SilverClaw. It had been Arcturus to name him as his heir and not Sirius.

"Come in." Hardwin said as a light knock drew him out of his thoughts.

"Nanna brings Siddra for Master Hardwin." Nanna said as he opened the door and entered with the white crow perched on his arm.

"Ah, thank you, Nanna."Harwin said as he set the envelope back on the desk and turned to accept the bird from his elf.

"Master Hardwin be looking tired. Can Nanna be getting him some tea?" The little elf asked, and Hardwin paused to look at the letters, books, files, and the dossier sitting on the desk.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea, Nanna." He replied as Nanna smiled when he accepted before popping out of the room.

A hot cup of tea appeared on a saucer less than a minute later as Hardwin turned back to his desk. He set aside the two envelopes and looked through the books until he found the one he'd found on Carpet Pythons. Searching the drawers he found ink, quills, and parchment. He wrote out a quick letter to Marcus before casting a drying spell and placing it on the book. Another few spells had the letter wrapped with the book before it was charmed weightless and shrunk to make it easier for Siddra to carry.

"Take this to Marcus Flint, girl." Hardwin said as he tied the package to her leg and waved his wand toward the window to open it and allow her to fly out.

Siddra cawed as he stroked her white feathers before flapping her wings and flying out of the window. Hardwin left the window open to let in the fresh night air and started looking through the other drawers in the desk. Any personal effects Arcturus may have had in the drawers looked to have been removed as he only found a stack of blank parchment, a few ink pots, quills, envelopes, melting wax, and a letter opener in one of the top drawers while the others were empty. One drawer, however, wouldn't open at all. Hardwin's brow creased in annoyance as he drew his wand and tried a few unlocking spells to no avail. He knew that the drawer must have been warded rather than charmed sealed.

If it had been charmed then he would have been able to deal with it easily enough, but Hardwin didn't know nearly enough about wards. He knew some basic warding from his time on the run during the war, but Hermione had always been the one to take over the more advanced wards. Researching wards and warding was yet another thing he would need to add to his growing list of subjects either for his tutors or for him to study on his own.

'It may be best to write to Narcissa and ask if she's found those tutors for me. I'll need to learn proper etiquette quickly. There's only so much I can do to imitate what I've seen. I enjoyed my lunch with Marcus, but it also stressed me out.' Hardwin thought as he remembered his lunch with the man earlier, and how he'd been stressed about his table manners.

He hadn't wanted to make a bad impression, and that had left him feeling tense during the meal. Hardwin had known he would need to learn etiquette on top of everything else, but he also hadn't expected to dine with anyone outside of the few members of his family until later. Marcus truly had caught him by surprise with his lunch invitation, and it was only Hardwin's intense interest in the man that had him accepting. He only hoped he hadn't messed up, but then again, Marcus had still expressed his interest in a contract between them afterward.

Hardwin still wasn't sure how he felt about that. Happy, but also conflicted? He was happy that he and Marcus were both interested in each other, but he was also conflicted. Had Marcus meant what he'd said? If he had, what if he changed his mind after seeing the marriage contract that his great-grandfather had drawn up for Hardwin before his death? The clauses in that contract were almost archaic in some respects, more so for a wife of House Black than a Consort, but still.

Hardwin tried to put those thoughts out of his mind as he looked back to the desk; his eyes catching sight of the two letters once again. He sighed with resignation and worry as he clasped his hands together in front of his mouth; his elbows resting on the surface of the desk. He knew he would need to read both letters. He'd been putting it off after finding Sirius's letter in the fear of what he'd written. Hardwin didn't know if Sirius had left any answers, but he had so many that needed answers.

Why had Sirius adopted him from within the womb? Who's idea had it been, and why? Had anyone outside of his parents and Arcturus known? Why had Sirius never said anything while he was alive? Why had Sirius never even told him, or called him by, his real name? Had Remus known? What if the letter held no answers? Would Hardwin be left to wonder about it for the rest of his life?

There was one way to get answers if the letter held none. The resurrection stone had returned to him after he had lost it in the Forbidden Forest as he walked to his death. He could use it to summon Sirius as well as Lily and James. The problem was that he didn't want to do that again. He had already summoned them from death to the living world once before.

He'd read the story of the three Peverell brothers, and had taken it for the warning it was. The second brother had been driven mad with longing for the girl he loved. She had been summoned back from death to the world of the living and had suffered because the dead do not belong here once they've passed on. Hardwin had already summoned his loved ones once. He did not wish to cause their spirits to suffer, and so even after the stone had returned to him, Hardwin had resisted any temptation to summon them. They all deserved to rest peacefully, and he knew they would be watching over him.

Picking up both envelopes, Hardwin hoped that they held some answers. Even if Sirius didn't; there was still some hope that the letter from Arcturus would. There was also the hope that Arcturus had left a portrait behind somewhere in the manor. Hardwin had honestly been feeling a bit lost as to what he could do. He knew he would need to improve the image those in the wizarding world had gained of House Black in recent years, but he also wanted to continue any traditions. The problem was that even if he spoke to Narcissa and Andromeda, there were certain things only passed down from one Lord of the House to the heir who would become the next Lord. Hence why Hardwin would need to speak to the portraits; once he'd found out how to awaken them anyway.

Hardwin took a deep breath as his fingers ran over his name written in familiar handwriting across the front of the envelope on top. He wondered what Sirius had written, and why Sirius had never sent it. If he'd meant to send it at all. Surely, Sirius had known how slim the chances were of Hardwin ever finding it in that desk. Then again, he might not have. For all the appearance that Sirius was alright, he knew that the man hadn't been doing as well as he appeared. Not when he was forced to remain in that house.

Taking another deep breath, Hardwin released it slowly as he flipped the envelope over and opened it with the vintage filigree brass letter opener he'd found in the drawer. He set the small blade aside with the letter from Arcturus before slowly sliding the parchment out of the envelope. The letter appeared only a few pages long, but what surprised Hardwin, was the ring that fell out of the envelope.

Tears misted his eyes as Hardwin picked the ring up from where it had fallen on the desk. He recognized this ring. Sirius had worn it when he'd met him in his third year; only then it had looked like a tattoo on his finger. Of course, at the time, Hardwin hadn't known what it was. He did now.

It was a Black family ring; recognizable from the crest on the ring, but it was not the heir ring as Hardwin would have expected before he'd discovered he was the heir and not Sirius. No, this was a ring worn by a scion of the House. He'd seen others wearing rings like it. Marcus wore one for House Flint, and even Narcissa still wore a feminine one for House Black. Each scion ring was made for the child upon their birth into the family and charmed to grow with them as they got older.

It made sense that no one would have been able to take it from Sirius when he was arrested as only the person themselves or the Lord of the family would be able to remove such a ring from the wearer's finger. It would also explain why the ring had looked like a tattoo the first time he had met Sirius. The magic would have activated to keep the ring from being taken; seeping into Sirius's skin when someone else tried to remove it.

Picking up the ring, Hardwin looked to the underside of the band. Just as he thought, there was the inscription. Sirius Orion Black. He fought the tears as he grasped the ring tightly in his hand.

'Sirius knew.' Hardwin thought as the tears spilled over to trail down his cheeks and he pushed back a sob.

He'd done his research after receiving the Lordship ring. He knew there was only one reason for Sirius to have taken this ring off. Scion rings were only removed when the child was disowned, disinherited, or for the ring to act in place of a body for burial rites. There were many ways to die in the magical world, and a few left no body behind for the burial. The rings held two purposes. To act as a mark of the House they were born or belong to, and so the family Lord would know if anything happened to them in which their body was not able to be recovered for burial.

If Sirius had been wearing the ring when he died then the magic within the scion ring would have been drawn to the magic within the Lordship ring. The fact that Sirius had taken off the ring, and left it to Hardwin in this way, meant that he had known the chances of him making it through the war had not been in his favor. Either that or he'd had some other purpose or message behind it that Hardwin couldn't fathom. He'd spent so little time with Sirius in the end that truthfully, though he'd loved the man, he'd barely known him.

Hardwin set the ring down on the desk gently before turning to the folded parchment. He was looking forward to seeing what Sirius had thought so important that he'd written so many drafts; as he'd seen in the man's desk where he'd found the letter. At the same time, he dreaded reading the letter. This would be the last thing he'd ever received from Sirius.

It left him feeling conflicted, but he started reading anyway.

Pup,

I must have started this letter a hundred times by now, but it's still difficult to find the right words. There are so many things that I should have told you, but if you're reading this then I never got the chance. I'm so sorry, pup. I was never able to be there for you as you grew up, to raise you as I should have, and our time together has been short. Just know that however it happened, as long as you make it through this war and have a happy life, I couldn't be more satisfied.

I don't know if it's just the effects from the years with the dementors, or if the madness known to run in the Black bloodline is taking hold, but I often find my mind slipping more and more. The whispers are growing more frequent, and the shadows in this old house seem darker every day. I'm forgetting things more often lately, but there are things you should know. Things you need to know. Important things that I haven't been able to tell you. It just never seems like we have the time alone to speak. I had hoped to tell you myself, but I can't seem to tell you in person.

Hardwin- Harry, the truth is that you are my godson, but you are also every bit my son as you are James and Lily's. You are the sole heir to the Black family name and fortune, such as it is. I know you're probably confused, but it all started just before your mum found out she was pregnant with you.

You see, my mother disowned me from the family after I ran away to your dad's. My grandfather, who was still Lord Black, never agreed to the disownment, but then I went and publicly denounced my family. He had no choice but to make my brother Regulus the heir of House Black. That was fine by me. Reggie was always the good son. The one our parents were proud of.

We were close as children, but that changed as we got older. I never stopped loving Reggie, but his views mirrored that of our parents. By the time I left home our relationship had become little better than strangers living in the same house. I couldn't recognize my brother in the person he became. At the time, I couldn't accept that my brother had started spouting the same blood-supremacist view of our parents. Now, I think I should have tried harder to get through to him. That is a regret I've carried with me.

Just before your mum became pregnant with you, Reggie disappeared. No one is sure about what happened to him, but the rest of the family learned of his death when his scion and heir rings appeared to my grandfather. I didn't even know that he had gone missing until I had gotten a howler from our mother. I wasn't welcome at his burial, but I waited until the family had left to pay my respects.

My grandfather, Arcturus, must have seen me as he came to me a month later. I hated most of my family, but my grandmother Melania was a bit better than the others when I was young. She still believed in the superiority of purebloods, but not with the same mania as the rest of the family. I believe this to be because of her family's influence as she had been a MacMillan, and House Macmillan has always been known to be a more open-minded family. It was only out of respect for her memory that I decided to listen to what my grandfather had to say.

Still, my grandfather had always been a very proud man. Your mother had just found out that she was pregnant with you when he came to me after Reggie died. I'll tell you pup, my grandfather was a broken man compared to the one I had known. He knew the Black line would end, as I was the only male of the line left with all of my cousins being women, and had come to plead for me to take back the heirship and inherit the responsibilities of our House.

I refused. I didn't want anything to do with my family and thought I would have been happy to see it all end. I was angry and hurt. We were fighting a war, and there were rumors that Reggie had been killed by Voldemort. Yet, despite those rumors, the rest of the family still supported that lunatic's cause.

As far as I was concerned; our House would be better off dead and gone.

It was your dad that talked some sense into me. James knew that while I hated my family that it would have killed something in me to allow the extinction of our history. The Blacks weren't always the way they are now. Your dad knew me better than I knew myself even then. He told me that one day I would regret just watching it all end. He was right.

I was so angry, and I hated my family for what they had done to me, to Reggie, and how they cared for nothing more than their views about blood purity. My parents most of all. At the same time, I knew that House Black wasn't irredeemable. My cousin Andy was an example of that. She chose to leave our family for a love; she knew they would never approve of a muggle-born.

As much as I would regret letting House Black die out; I couldn't bring myself to have anything to do with it. There was another problem in that I had cursed myself sterile while drunk and emotional when I was sixteen. It was a stupid decision, but I was determined to never sire a child at the time. It was something I would come to regret later, but I knew when my grandfather asked me that I wouldn't be able to continue the line even if I had wanted to then.

James was with me for support when I told my grandfather as much.

We were both surprised, however, when he made another suggestion. Your father's mother, Dorea, had been a Black before her marriage. Grandfather Arcturus suggested that Lily take the Sanguis Reuocare potion if she were to become pregnant with a boy. It's a potion that, using my blood, would make the Black blood you inherited from your father more prominent in you by making me a third parent. It's because of this potion that you are just as much a Black as you are a Potter.

Grandfather said that he would then name you as his heir. He vowed that we would be the ones to raise you with no interference from him, but that you would be able to continue the line as he so desperately wanted. In this way, you could change House Black yourself from what it had become. Your dad and I were a bit hesitant to agree, but we explained to Lily the situation, and about my grandfather's request.

Harry, your mother was an amazing woman. She heard your dad and me out, and promptly laughed in our faces after thinking about it for only a few minutes. James and I were baffled until she said that it could be a great thing; for you. She thought about you first from the moment she knew you existed.

Lily knew about the bias in our world, and she knew this war wouldn't change the way things are. Not while the ones making the laws and leading our world are those from old wizarding Houses who follow the traditions and mindset of previous generations. People may become more tolerant, but our world is slow to change even as the muggles continue to grow more advanced. I can't explain it in the same way she said it at the time.

Lily wanted you to have the best, and she knew that those born within old wizarding Houses were provided more opportunities. She didn't want you to struggle in life, but to have every opportunity we could give you. As a Potter, you would have had those opportunities as well, but James was only from a branch of the family. He was from a cousin branch and not the main line so he was provided a stipend, but not much else.

Lily convinced James and I to go through with the blood adoption. We discussed it and determined that we wouldn't tell anyone else that you were the heir. We would tell you when you were old enough to decide for yourself what you wanted to do as we didn't want to put any pressure on you. We wouldn't interfere with whatever you decided; if you wanted to become the Lord of House Black or not. If you wanted to follow tradition or try to change things. In the end, it would always be your choice we cared about.

Lily took the potion, and several months later you were born in Black Manor, which is our ancestral home. Something grandfather insisted on as was the tradition for every child of House Black. Grandfather Arcturus held true to his word. He held you for a while the day you were born before he formally named you his heir, and left for France to live in seclusion after giving an oath to never interfere in how you were raised. He wanted to stay away from the war, to hold the Lordship for as long as he could until you came of age, and we all agreed to keep your true name hidden to protect you.

I regret now that Lily, James, and I agreed for grandfather to give that oath. If he hadn't then he would have been able to take you in after James and Lily died. I know that we all would have preferred for him to have raised you rather than those horrid muggle relatives. We were young, and could never have known what would happen. I don't know why James's cousin didn't see to your welfare as he should have but you deserve to know why my grandfather, your great-grandfather, couldn't step in as Lord Black. I may not have liked him very much, but I remember the way he looked at you the day you were born. I know he would have been there for you if he could have.

Lead House Black into a brighter future by taking your birthright as Lord, or don't. Just know that we will be proud of you no matter what you choose to do. All we've ever wanted for you was to be happy and to have a good life. If you can do that then everything will be worth it.

You should know that Lily and James loved you more than anything else in the world. I don't know how I died, but I want you to know that I love you too, pup. More than anything. I'm so proud of you, and I hope you continue being the strong person I know you to be. We'll be watching over you; always.

Do what makes you happy, and know that you make me proud to have you as my son.

Love you pup,

Sirius Orion Black

Hardwin fought a losing battle with the tears that flooded his eyes as he read the letter a second and third time before slowly laying it down on the desk in front of him. He sighed heavily as he wiped at his eyes and cheeks in an attempt to rid them of the moisture. It didn't do much as more tears fell in wet trails to his chin; replacing the ones before. Resting his elbows on his desk, Hardwin folded his fingers together and buried his face against his palms as he released a shuddering breath.

He'd felt numb for a long time now. There had been a lot of losses in the war since Tom's revival four years ago. Remus, Tonks, and Fred were only a few of the more recent ones. Even still, he hadn't shed a tear for any of them Not even during the funerals. Losing Sirius though... That had left a scar on his heart that had left him numb to the losses that would follow. He had grieved and was still grieving those losses as each had been a blow, but he hadn't cried.

Not like this.

Hardwin took a deep breath as he tried to steady himself. He felt like a dam had been broken as the emotions he had been forced to push back over the last several years swamped him. He choked on a sob as he felt like his heart had been ripped apart again. The wounds to his heart still felt fresh, and it was like the feelings from the last few years had festered just under the surface.

Greif was the most prominent at that moment. Not just for the loss of Sirius, but for others like Remus and Tonks, and for the loss of the chance to know any of them better. His time with all of them had been so short, and now there wouldn't be any more chances to know them without the underlying tension of the war. He felt grief not for himself, but also for Teddy, who would never get to know them except for stories told to him by others. He knew how that felt all too well.

"He might understand what his parents died for, but that doesn't make it easier. I'll do what I can, but Andromeda and I can only do so much. There will always be something missing, and he'll feel it every time he sees another kid with their parents. Teddy will never know a childhood like I had, though. Your son will know he's loved. I swear it, Remus." Harry said quietly as he thought about what Remus had said to him when he'd used the resurrection stone and tried to regain control of his emotions.

Taking several slow, deep breaths, Hardwin managed to calm himself down after a few minutes. Wiping the tears away with the cuff of his robes, he dried his face before refolding the letter and gently slipping it back into the envelope. He moved to place it in the top-middle drawer of the desk before the envelope left by Arcturus caught the edge of his gaze. He slipped Sirius's letter into the drawer before picking it up and using the letter opener to break the wax seal.

Hardwin was admittedly curious as to what his great-grandfather had written. Hardwin knew now why Arcturus hadn't come for him. He'd made an oath not to interfere with his parents and how they wanted him to be raised. He couldn't hold any anger toward Arcturus when that oath had been part of the agreement with his parents to make Hardwin his heir. Even so, Hardwin's existence must have meant something to the man if he had wanted an heir to his line.

Pulling the parchment out of the envelope, Hardwin was surprised to find a single sheet of parchment with only one paragraph written there.

To my great-grandson and heir,

If you're reading this then my hopes for the future have borne fruit and you've accepted your birthright. No doubt you have questions. When you are ready for answers; awaken my portrait above the mantle. Just hold the Lordship ring over the crest and encant: Excita Memoriam Nigris. This will call upon the magic of our family, and awaken all of the portraits in the manor.

Arcturus Black

It was short, but it held the promise of answers. Hardwin had been looking for information to awaken the portraits in the library. The problem had been that the password to awaken the portraits varied from family to family when it came to the portraits of the Lords and Ladies of old Houses. Hardwin had almost resigned himself to the fact that he may need to look through the family records. Luckily, he wouldn't need to do that anymore.

Hardwin looked up at the portrait above the mantle. He had known when he'd entered the room that it was a portrait of one of the previous Lords of House Black. He just hadn't realized that it was Arcturus. He looked at the man who only appeared to be in his forties or early fifties, and knew that Arcturus had been ninety when he had died. That was still relatively young for a wizard, and Hardin was left to wonder why he had died in ninety-one.

He was tempted, sorely tempted, to awaken the portraits now to speak with him. There was so much he wanted to know, and even more, he knew he would need to learn about his family. At the same time, he knew it would be best if he waited until after breakfast. He knew that his eyes must still be puffy from crying and the tear tracks would be unwanted. He wanted to be at his best for the conversation he knew would come.

Hardwin cast a quick tempus to see that it was even later than he had expected. It was past the time he usually tried to get to sleep. Trying to stretch the kinks out of his shoulders, he left the letter on the desk and stood from his chair. A yawn caught him by surprise as he doused the fire in the fireplace before making his way toward the door with a final glance toward Arcturus's portrait.

'I hope the snakes are asleep. I'll need to come up with names for them soon, and write to Gringotts.' Hardwin thought as he made his way through the quiet halls to his room.

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This took me longer than I thought it would. I was trying to get it done so I could post it for yule. A little late, but at least you all will have it before New Year. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Hardwin has finally read the letter from Sirius, but there are still more questions he needs answers for. Hopefully, Arcturus can help with that.

Wishing you all belted Yuletide blessings, happy holidays, and a Happy New Year!

Ryu