Author's note: If you want to understand more of Sirius and Arcturus' relationship in the original timeline, please read The Clash of the Heir and the Patriarch. Parts I and II are canon compliant, and those are the parts that this chapter is referring to. Part III is not cannon compliant. You can find this story on our profile page. Also, several Black family members are mentioned in this chapter, so if you get confused, please refer to the Black Family Tree. Enjoy!
Chapter 90: One Enemy Ends While Another May StirAt Grimmauld Place, Sirius was explaining his past with those who had heard what Melania had said to him about pretending to be a child.
"Severus," Sirius started, looking in Severus' direction. "Would you believe me if I said there was a universe where you and I were enemies?"
Severus blinked. "What?" he asked, confused.
Regulus rolled his eyes. "This is how you're going to start explaining it?" he asked, not impressed.
Sirius shrugged. "Do you have a better way to say it?" he asked.
Regulus grinned. He turned to the others. "Sirius is not from this timeline," he announced abruptly.
Everyone stared at Regulus, then turned to Sirius with questioning looks. Sirius sighed, and glared at Regulus.
"Not helpful," Sirius stated. He turned back to the others. "Anyway, yes, I am not from this time. I was sent through the veil in 1996, thanks to Bellatrix."
"Wait, what?! Bellatrix?!" Narcissa exclaimed, horrified.
"She... seriously?!" Andromeda asked, shocked.
"Yes," Sirius confirmed. "She was still a Death Eater, like she is now, though in this timeline, she's starting to question her loyalty, I think, whereas in the original timeline, she was one of the worst Death Eaters, and literally LOVED Snake-face. Anyway, I was at the Ministry because my godson was in danger." Sirius turned to James. "My godson was Harry Potter," he informed him. James beamed. Sirius, however, waved a hand to halt any questions. "Let me finish," he said.
"Alright," James agreed. Sirius went on to explain how he had met with Regulus, and how he had been told that he could go back in time to fix things.
"And here I am!" he finished.
Everyone was quiet for a moment. Finally, Marius broke the silence. "Please explain more about this original timeline of yours," he requested.
Sirius launched into explaining his life in the original timeline.
"I married LUCIUS?!" Narcissa asked, horrified.
"Well, you were going to in this timeline too, but you heard me talk about our family's real values on the train, and that seemed to have changed something," Sirius explained. "If I hadn't said what I had, you would probably still believe the blood purity nonsense."
"True," Narcissa said with a sigh.
"Grandfather never stopped my parents from disowning me?" Andromeda asked, shocked.
"In that timeline, he didn't really get involved, because he believed that people would eventually learn their lessons and correct their mistakes," Sirius explained. "I talked to him about it when he and Regulus talked to me through a... dream, I guess you can call it. They were telling me last-minute things before that universe completely disappeared from existence. He regretted not being more involved, and was glad that things were turning out very differently this time around. I think that part of the reason why Grandfather's very active in our family this time around is because I told him of the future, and he knows that staying quiet is not the best path to take. That's why he stopped your disownment, Andromeda."
"And you keep mentioning Dumbledore when talking about your days at Hogwarts," Narcissa observed. "Please don't tell me he was Headmaster all throughout your years there!"
"He was," Sirius admitted. "And he had many of us in his pocket. He had you spying for him, Severus."
"Spying for him?" Severus asked, not liking this at all.
"Yes. You were a Death Eater, but you quickly realized that you were in the wrong group, so you went to Dumbledore asking for his assistance. Instead of finding a way to get you out of there safely, he instead decided to use you for information. You had to continue following Snake-face while reporting to Dumbledore," Sirius explained.
"Why wasn't Grandfather Headmaster?" Capella asked curiously.
"Because in that timeline, Grandfather and I barely spoke," Sirius explained. "Part of it was my fault. When I ran away from home, like I explained to you guys when talking about my childhood, Grandfather came to see me, and I pretty much shut him out of my life. Now that I look back, he was trying to reach out to me with a helping hand, but I was so convinced that all Blacks were bad, that I didn't see that there was a Black actually trying to help me."
"Yet, he's your favorite person now," Lyanna commented with a smile.
"Yes, but that's because I made a promise before I came back in time that I would give the Black Family a chance," Sirius revealed, shooting a quick glance at Regulus. "Grandfather was the first person I told about my time-traveling journey, and for the longest time, he was the only one who knew. That is why Dumbledore remained Headmaster in the original timeline, but not in this one, because I told Grandfather things that he could use to investigate Dumbledore, and eventually get him removed from Hogwarts. Of course, Dumbledore's biases were what ultimately got him removed."
"Wow," Capella said quietly. "I'm so glad I never had to meet Dumbledore."
"Yeah," Sirius agreed. "Anyway, even I was loyal to Dumbledore in the original timeline. Though it should have been a red flag when he tried to keep me in Azkaban."
"Wait, YOU WENT TO Azkaban?!" Narcissa shrieked. Nymphadora started to wail. "Sorry," she said, quieter now, but still outraged. Andromeda started comforting Dora as Sirius continued. He explained about how he was blamed for betraying the Potters to Voldemort, and how Peter Pettigrew had made it look like Sirius had murdered a dozen Muggles, and how he was in Azkaban for years.
"Dumbledore could have gotten you out of there and could have gotten you a trial within a day!" Narcissa exclaimed, but not as loudly as she had been earlier.
"That's what Grandfather told me," Sirius replied. "And, Grandfather from the original timeline said that Dumbledore had forced the Blacks into the dark faction when Regulus became a Death Eater, and so Grandfather didn't have the political power he has in this timeline. He fought to get me a trial, but Dumbledore stopped him at every turn, making sure that the Wizengamot voted against giving me a trial. That had been the last straw for Grandfather. He had nothing left to live for. He tried, and failed, to get me out of Azkaban."
"That stupid Dumbledore!" James exclaimed. "He bloody WANTED you to remain in Azkaban!"
"Exactly," Sirius said with a nod. "Grandmother, Grandfather, Aunt Lucretia and I had a conversation about it after I learned about it."
"I wonder what Dumbledore is doing now that he has no power left at Hogwarts or the Wizengamot," Regulus spoke up.
"Wait," Andromeda interjected. "I thought you said Grandfather was the only one who knew for the longest time. When did Grandmother and Aunt Lucretia learn about it?"
Sirius hesitated before revealing something. "When we discovered that Snake-face had Horcruxes," he admitted. Narcissa and Andromeda looked sick to their stomachs, Marius, Ilaria, Capella, Lyanna, and Severus looked confused, and James looked about ready to murder someone.
"Wait, was that what Aunt Walburga had, was a Horcrux?" Narcissa asked.
"Yes," Sirius confirmed. "Slytherin's locket. Snake-face had given it to her for safe-keeping. Another Horcrux was Tom Riddle's diary."
"You mean, that thing with black magic was a HORCRUX?!" James asked, outraged. Sirius nodded. "Bloody hell!"
"Don't worry," Sirius said quickly. "All of his Horcruxes have been destroyed. We couldn't have done it without Aunt Lucretia's help. I mean, sure, any of us can detect black magic, but she can detect it much easier because of her phoenix form."
"Why is Snake-face still around, then?" Andromeda asked.
"Because he hasn't come out long enough for someone to kill him," Sirius said. "We're going to take him down as soon as we get the chance."
"Do you think he's at Black Castle with the rest of the Death Eaters?" Lyanna asked, not quite understanding what Horcruxes were, but could piece together bits and pieces.
"Who knows," Sirius said with a shrug. "Now you know why I wanted to fight. I'm technically an adult."
"You are, but Grandmother is right," Severus said. "You have to pretend to be a child, because not EVERYONE knows that you're an adult. It would have been wrong if they had allowed you to fight, and none of us could."
"I know, but I don't have to like it," Sirius muttered. "Anyway, don't tell anyone what I told you all tonight, yeah?"
"My lips are sealed," Ilaria said. The others nodded in agreement. Sirius went on to explain more about his past while they waited for word from the other family members.
Meanwhile, at Black Castle, the battle was in full swing. There were at least seventy-five Death Eaters, if not more. The majority of the family were fighting against the Death Eaters, but some, like Pollux, Irma, Cygnus, and Druella were torn between loyalty to their family and their belief in the Dark Lord and his values.
Cassiopeia was battling with Lord Crabbe and Lord Goyle, both members of the dark faction, and, in Cassiopeia's opinion, extremely stupid and brainless. It wasn't hard to take them out with a few well-placed stunning spells. Not everyone had it that easy, however.
Dorea was battling Lucius Malfoy, who had, apparently, gotten a new wand after being expelled from Hogwarts. It had to be from somewhere else, because Ollivander never sold wands to those who were expelled from Hogwarts. Malfoy sent several dark curses in Dorea's direction, which Dorea blocked with ease. However, neither of them showed any sign of surrendering, so eventually, they started to get tired.
Malfoy sent a dark cutting curse at Dorea's shoulder, and, due to Dorea getting tired, didn't dodge or put up a shield in time. It slashed her shoulder, causing her to get distracted, which was enough for Malfoy to knock her out with a stunning spell.
"NOT MY SISTER, YOU PIECE OF DIRT!" Cassiopeia shrieked, sending spells at Malfoy quickly. Since Malfoy was weak from dueling Dorea, he didn't dodge that many spells before he was knocked out.
Callidora rushed over to Dorea, immediately reviving her cousin and getting her to the fireplace so she could Floo to Grimmauld Place to have Andromeda heal her. Callidora and Cassiopeia distracted several Death Eaters so Dorea could Floo away without being noticed.
Pollux and Irma decided to attack both sides, so that they could make the excuse that they accidentally attacked members of their own family. Cygnus and Druella soon got on board, and did the same. However, they were caught soon enough.
"Pick a side!" Arcturus barked, noticing them. He was battling Lord Lestrange. "You can't have it both ways! What's more important? Your family or a half-blood pretending to be a pure-blood?"
Lestrange, thinking that Arcturus was distracted, sent a boiling curse his way. However, Arcturus wasn't easily distracted, and deflected the curse easily. He had learned to duel from a young age, and had been in dueling clubs and championships at Hogwarts and afterwards.
Pollux and Irma, knowing better than to get on Arcturus' bad side, started fighting against the Death Eaters one hundred percent of the time. Cygnus and Druella, however, were angered by Arcturus' comment about the Dark Lord, so started fighting with the Death Eaters.
Outside of the castle, Walburga was battling Cedrella. The duel was even, seeing as Walburga had once been a Black, and so she was as powerful as the rest of them.
"It is a good thing you're no longer one of us!" Cedrella said, deflecting a bone-breaking curse. "You are an insane, evil, horrible, horrible... woman!"
"Tell me where Orion is!" Walburga snapped. "If you do, I MIGHT consider letting you go!"
"How would I know where Orion is?" Cedrella asked coolly.
"He ran away from me, and I haven't been able to find him since," Walburga explained. "But when I do, I will make him regret it!"
"You know what? You're not just a horrible woman, you're a horrible BITCH!" Cedrella exclaimed angrily. "For your information, I do not know where Orion is, and even if I did, I wouldn't tell you!" This made Walburga angry, and she once again started sending spells flying.
Cygnus came outside when he saw his sister dueling Cedrella. "Walburga!" he called out. "I'm here!"
"Cygnus!" Walburga exclaimed. "Good. You can help me take this woman down! She's been insulting me!"
Cygnus stood by Walburga's side, sending spells towards Cedrella. That was when Lucretia joined them. She stood with Cedrella, helping her duel Walburga and Cygnus.
"Wait until Father hears that you've been turning against your own family!" Lucretia told Cygnus as she dodged an incoming exploding curse.
"Do you think I care what our patriarch thinks?" Cygnus sneered.
"You will care when he disowns you!" Lucretia shot back. "Family always comes first!"
"But Walburga is my sister!" Cygnus spat.
"You mean your DISOWNED sister?" Cedrella argued. "She's technically not your sister anymore, because she's been burnt off the family tree as if she never existed!"
This only angered Cygnus and Walburga further. They both resorted to Unforgivable curses. Cedrella had to dodge the killing curse from Walburga while Lucretia was hit with the Cruciatus Curse by Cygnus. Lucretia was not used to being under this curse. Her parents had shielded her from these kinds of curses as a child. She let out a scream, unable to keep her tears at bay.
"Father! Let her go!" a familiar voice yelled. Cygnus turned around to find his favorite daughter running towards them.
"Bellatrix?" he asked.
"You heard me!" Bellatrix said. "Leave Aunt Lucretia alone! She did nothing to you!"
"Do you even know what you're saying, Bella?" Cygnus asked, shocked. "It's her fault that you were disowned!"
"No, that was MY fault!" Bellatrix said. "Even when I was disowned, I never blamed her, I blamed Grandfather. However, I have come to realize that it was my own fault for having an object with black magic!"
Walburga, Cygnus, Lucretia, and Cedrella were all shocked, for different reasons.
"The Dark Lord will hear about your betrayal, Bellatrix!" Walburga exclaimed angrily, sending a Cruciatus Curse at her niece. Bellatrix deflected the curse with ease. She sent a few dark curses at Walburga and Cygnus, effectively injuring them. She knew that they were curses that wouldn't last long, but it was long enough to get Lucretia help.
"Aunt Lucretia," she said, walking over to her aunt. "Are you alright?"
Lucretia, not trusting Bellatrix, yet respectful of the fact that she saved her, nodded. "Yes Bellatrix, I am alright," she said, getting up from off the ground. "But what has gotten into you, Bellatrix? You've been slowly changing over the past couple years."
"I've come to realize that I've been following the wrong person, and I remember my sisters giving me a lecture when I was disowned, and... they were right," Bellatrix said with a sigh. "It's been hard, trying to find my footing, but today, I finally blew my cover, knowing that my former family was in danger."
Lucretia wasn't quite sure if she could believe Bellatrix, but before she could say anything, someone familiar appeared outside the gates.
"Well, well, well," the icy voice of Voldemort said, looking around. "What do we have here? Bellatrix, what is going on here?"
Lucretia responded for her. "Happy birthday, Tom," she said with a smile.
"DO NOT CALL ME THAT FOUL NAME, LUCRETIA!" Voldemort roared with anger.
"Oh, but that's your name," Lucretia responded. "I remember going to school with you, and you trying to recruit my brother. In case you didn't know, he really, really hated you. Like, to the point where he wrote to Mother and Father telling them about how awful you were."
"But he believes in pure-blood ideals," Voldemort hissed.
"Yes, you're right, he does, but that doesn't mean he liked you," Lucretia informed him.
Bellatrix stepped forward. "I hope you like your birthday present," she said coldly. "You want to know what it is? Well, here it is!" She sent a spell flying at Voldemort.
"WHAT?!" Voldemort roared. "You BETRAYED me?! You were a perfectly good follower, then slowly, you've changed. I KNEW it! You DEFIED me! Crucio!" Bellatrix dodged the spell, but just barely. But he tried again, and this time, it hit its mark.
That was when Walburga and Cygnus came around. The dueling got ugly from there, with Lucretia, Cedrella, and Bellatrix trying to fight Walburga, Cygnus, and Voldemort. Lucretia received a gash to the head, Cedrella had a broken leg, and Bellatrix was being tortured more than she ever had before.
"Enough!" a voice boomed. Arcturus and Melania had arrived outside. The curses ceased for a moment.
Bellatrix stood shakily. "Get Aunt Lucretia urgent help!" she exclaimed. "Her head!" Melania ran over to Lucretia, and immediately rushed her into the castle to get her to Grimmauld Place. She came back and retrieved Cedrella to take her as well.
"By the way, Tom, I do hope you are having a great birthday," Arcturus said sarcastically. "Probably the last birthday you'll ever have."
"My last birthday, you say?" Voldemort asked. "Ah, but I cannot die, you see."
"Oh, yes you can," Arcturus said.
"Arcturus, you must be mistaken," Voldemort said coldly.
"I did not give you permission to call me by my first name," Arcturus snapped. "That is just proof right there that you are not a pure-blood. Pure-bloods know how to address another pure-blood. But no, I am not mistaken. Your Horcruxes are gone. They are destroyed. There is nothing that will save you now, Tom." He kept calling him Tom on purpose, knowing he hated that name.
Voldemort finally snapped. He started sending spells at Arcturus. If that was not bad enough, Cygnus and Walburga did the same. However, they all underestimated his power. Very few knew of Arcturus' ability to use elemental magic, and even fewer knew of his days as a dueling champion.
Melania came back at that moment, followed by Druella, and stood by her husband's side while the other became her opponent. She was powerful herself, so she took on Walburga. With some effort, she was able to take Walburga down. She then helped Arcturus duel Cygnus, Druella, and Voldemort.
With their combined magic, plus Arcturus' ability to do elemental magic, they were finally getting somewhere. Bellatrix turned into her Spanish Fly animagus form and flew around Cygnus, distracting him. That was all that they needed. Melania knocked him out with a stunning spell.
Bellatrix turned back into her human form, and joined the fight, despite all the torture she had been through not that long ago. Arcturus used a strong gust of wind to knock Voldemort to the ground. He had to use other elements to keep Voldemort from getting up again. Earth sprung up in vines to bind him. They were thick, corded ones with barbs on them. That was when Bellatrix raised her wand. "Avada Kedavra!" she yelled. The killing curse sped towards Voldemort. He tried to escape the bindings Arcturus had him in, but failed. The killing curse hit its mark, ending the life of the dark lord who had made their lives miserable.
There was stunned silence for a moment before Melania whispered, "It's over."
The Death Eaters that remained started escaping, realizing that their master was dead and that if they didn't leave, they'd be caught and taken to Azkaban. Alphard caught a few of the escaping Death Eaters. Arcturus, Melania, Bellatrix, Callidora, Cassiopeia, and Charis caught many others. There were only six that escaped, two of them being Lucius Malfoy and Abraxas Malfoy.
Arcturus sent a message to the Auror department, saying that they had dozens of Death Eaters. At least one of the Aurors that arrived was Alastor Moody, and when he saw Bellatrix, he went straight for her.
"Stop!" Arcturus ordered. "Do not arrest her!"
Bellatrix gasped. "But Lord Black, I have hurt so many people," she said. "I should be taken."
"You might have hurt people, but you turned around and made the right decision, and that should mean something," Arcturus stated. "Auror Moody, I will ask for an emergency trial for Bellatrix, if you promise not to arrest her." He knew that with his influence, he could get Bellatrix in the Wizengamot chamber by the next morning. He also knew that they would let her go, especially once they found out that she had been the one to end Voldemort. Sure, she had used an Unforgivable curse to do it, but he knew that they would overlook it when they knew what she had done.
"Fine, but if she doesn't have a trial by tomorrow afternoon, she's going to be under arrest," Moody said gruffly.
"Deal," Arcturus said. He then explained to Moody how Voldemort was now no more.
Bellatrix wanted to tell Moody that it had not been all her, that Arcturus had used elemental magic, but she knew that Arcturus wouldn't want that information to be public, so she kept her mouth shut.
The Death Eaters that had been captured were all rounded up and taken into custody. They even got Walburga, Cygnus, and Druella. Once the Aurors had left, Bellatrix turned to Arcturus.
"Why did you defend me?" she asked. "After everything I've done, I would have thought you'd never forgive me."
"I do not forgive you," Arcturus said sternly. "However, I cannot deny that you have shown true loyalty, not to Voldemort, but rather, to family. You even went against Walburga and your own father. So no, I do not forgive you for what you've done in the past, and if I do ever forgive you for that, it won't be for a while. However, actions speak louder than words, and since you helped us defeat Voldemort once and for all, I will help you get a speedy trial, and hopefully, you will not be thrown into Azkaban. Do not make me regret this decision."
"Thank you," Bellatrix whispered. "You will not regret this. But, you know that I couldn't have defeated him without you. I mean, without elemental magic, it would have been harder."
Arcturus waved a hand dismissively. "The public will not know that," he said. "I do not like the attention. I get enough of it how it is, being the Headmaster of a magical school, and being the patriarch to one of the oldest pure-blood families."
"Now that Voldemort is gone, well, we may have peace for a while, but you do know that eventually, we'll get a new enemy, right?" Melania asked. Arcturus nodded.
"My guess will be Lucius Malfoy, or perhaps another Death Eater who had been loyal to Voldemort," he replied. "Now, let's go to Grimmauld Place and see how the children are doing, and how the adults who were injured are doing." He then turned to Bellatrix. "Bellatrix, I will be in touch," he said. "Be prepared for a trial tomorrow, because if I have it my way, that's what will happen." Bellatrix nodded, and Disapparated. Arcturus, Melania, Alphard, and Cassiopeia headed inside to Floo to Grimmauld Place. Arcturus also made a mental note to disown Cygnus and Druella for betraying the family.
Author's note: Let's just be honest, there will be another dark lord that will rise. I would like to hear your thoughts! Who should it be? Please review with any suggestions!