Chapter 246
"Why?" asked Remus confused.
"Because it means he considered her family bar the oath." Sirius said
agitatedly.
"And that's bad because…"
"Not bad so much as…unbelievable!" Sirius whirled away to pace the room. "All
my life, my grandfather told me that he would never accept a mugglebornintothe House of Black! Andy was disowned by him because of Ted, for Merlin'ssake!"
"You have to admit, Padfoot, that he hinted as much about his opinion of Lilyin his letter." Remus tried to soothe him and failed.
"Why?" The word burst from Sirius without thought. "Why didn't he ever tell mehe'd changed his mind when he was alive and I wasn't locked up? He couldhave told me!"
"And would you have listened back then?" asked Remus pointedly. Sirius opened his mouth to argue and shut it again as he shook his head. "Hewas right, you know. If he'd stayed until I was awake, I wouldn't have wantedhim." Remus nodded slowly. "Why don't we look at another memory?" Sirius acquiesced because it was better than having to deal with his
relationship with his grandfather. The third memory dumped theminto thesame study but sitting across the desk from Arcturus was Charlus.
"I brought a photo." Charlus said proudly, handing over a wizarding photothat
showed Lily propped up in bed with baby Harry in her arms, James sat besideher, and both of their attentions captivated by their sleeping child.
"What have they named him?" asked Arcturus, his eyes never leaving the small
features of the babe in the picture.
"Harry James Potter." Charlus said with a smile.
"She really insisted on going through with that muggle name?" Arcturus
complained as he made to pass the photo back.
"You can keep the photo," Charlus said, taking a sip of his tea, "and Harry isafamily name – it's the name of Lily's favourite grandfather so it is in keepingwith our tradition of naming sons after favoured forefathers. It's better thanPronglet which James insists on calling him." He set his cup down. "Siriuswill
be named godfather."
"He'll make a good godfather." Arcturus said proudly. "He all but raised
Regulus until he went to school." Yes, thought Sirius darkly, and then his mother had gotten her claws intohisyounger brother and things had never been the same between them. Charlus sighed. "I wish you would reconcile with him, Arcturus."
"I agreed that he would stay in your care years ago, Charlus. I amcontent." Arcturus said firmly. "His recovery goes well?"
"He's not back at work and he's still walking with a cane but yes, he's doingwell." Charlus informed him. "He was questioned closely about the deathsof
the ten Death Eaters found at the place where they think he was held by
Crouch and Bagnold. Albus was unsurprisingly disapproving about the lossof
life." Arcturus snorted. "I fail to understand how he thinks the Light will win if he'snot prepared to fight back."
"You know Albus." Charlus said almost absently.
"You're worried about something." Arcturus said, straightening his robes. Charlus sighed heavily. "James and Lily aren't telling me something, but I thinkthey've joined Albus's not-so-secret Order although they haven't explicitly saidso to me."
"You think Albus is meddling in their decisions?" asked Arcturus bluntly. Charlus raised both his eyebrows in a silent 'seriously?' query. "When isn't
Albus meddling, Arcturus?" He shifted suddenly and gestured at the photo. "Let's forget about Albus's machinations. My grandson is much more
interesting. You can't tell from the photo but he has Lily's eyes…" The memory faded. Sirius dumped the next memory into the pensieve and took a deep breathbefore he and Remus tackled it. Both Remus and Sirius tensed as they
realised they were in the front parlour of Potter House during the Yule holidayof nineteen-eighty. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 247
Lily sat on one overstuffed armchair; Harry was asleep in his bassinet besideher. Arcturus sat across from her. Green and red tinsel decorated the mantel;
a tree laden with glittering and sparkly ornaments took up a whole corner, andthere were already presents wrapped in shiny red and gold paper under it.
"Thank you for allowing me to visit, Lily," Arcturus said, "and to offer my
condolences for Charlus's death in person. We didn't get a chance to talk at
the funeral."
"James needed me." Lily said simply. Her hand crept to Harry and she
smoothed his blanket.
"How is James?" asked Arcturus politely. Lily sighed. "He's taken Charlus's death very hard but he's distracting himself
with Yule; he wants Harry to have a good first Christmas even if Harry's tooyoung to remember any of it." She grimaced as she reached for the mugof
cocoa next to her on the coffee table. "He's also resigned as a Hit Wizardsince the estates will take up all of his time. He and Sirius went off to
Gringotts this morning to sort everything out."
"And how is Sirius?"
"About the same as James truthfully." Lily said bluntly, sipping her drink
before placing it back on the table. "Sirius considered Charlus the father hewould have chosen for himself and Charlus…Charlus was happy to play that
role for him."
Arcturus nodded. "And you?" Lily's eyes shone with tears. "I miss him." He offered her a clean handkerchief and Lily took it dabbing at her eyes soher
mascara wouldn't run.
"Lily…" Arcturus began gently, "I'm not sure if you were aware but Charlus andI
met regularly after the events where Sirius was rescued fromthe Death
Eaters." Lily nodded and gave a watery smile. "Who do you think made sure he hadthephotos?"
"Thank you for those," Arcturus said softly, "I had the one of Sirius and Harryframed."
"Harry loves him already," Lily's smile lit up her face, "did you knowSirius wasthe only one home when I went into labour? He ended up being the one inthelabour room with me." Arcturus shuddered delicately. "It was the practice when I was a young mantobe far from the actual birth as it was possible to get."
"I couldn't have done it without Sirius supporting me through it." Lily saidsimply. Sirius felt his own eyes prickle again with tears. Remus placed a hand onhisshoulder to comfort him.
"Lily, Charlus was worried that the obliviation had failed with Albus; that hewas taking an unusual interest in Harry…what are your thoughts?" Arcturusgot to the point of his visit.
"He visits Harry once a week but I know from Alice he does the same withNeville." She gestured with the handkerchief. "We joke that he's picked thepair
of them as substitute grandchildren as he's not likely to have his own." Arcturus nodded slowly. "Well, if you're comfortable with his interest…" Lily shrugged and a small frown flitted across her face for a moment. "Inhindsight, I'm not sure we had to obliviate him. James and I…we've spent agreat deal of time with him recently. He's a good man, Arcturus."
"Even good men have their own agendas, Lily." Arcturus advised her andheldup a hand when she made to disagree. "I will say no more except this: theHouse of Black will always recognise the House of Potter as extended family. If you ever have need of help, I hope you'll consider coming to me."
Lily smiled. "Thank you, Arcturus." Sirius exited the memory and found Remus looking as disconcerted as hefelt. Sirius silently handled replacing the last memory with a new one. They were back in Arcturus's study only it was Lily in a dark cloak sat oppositeArcturus. She looked pale and Arcturus poured her a glass of Firewhiskey, pushing it across his desk. Sirius realised with a start that a framed photoof ayoung Sirius holding a baby Harry took pride of place on his desk. Lily drank down the liquor and pointed at the photo. "I'm surprised you haveit
displayed so openly."
"To anyone who isn't me, you or your husband, the photo appears to be that of
my late wife." Arcturus corrected her, surprisingly gently.
"Oh." Lily looked lost. Sirius's heart clenched with fear for her; why did she look so upset? Andwhyhad she gone to his grandfather rather than James?
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"Did you know my parents died two weeks ago?" Lily asked, her eyes on the
empty glass she held.
"I had heard a rumour to that effect." Arcturus replied. "My condolences onyour loss."
"It was a house-fire. It's been ruled accidental in the muggle world but a spyinformed Albus that it was Death Eaters." Lily stated bluntly, slamming theglass down on the desk and wrapping her cloak more tightly around herself. "Bastards!"
"What do you need from me?" asked Arcturus.
"I need a way to protect my sister and her family." Lily said, finally raisingher
head, her green eyes ablaze with anger and determination. "Albus says thereis nothing that can be done because they're muggles but I want to place
wards around her home and I know the Black wards are considered the best." Arturus looked at her for a long moment. He got up and retrieved a book froma shelf on the far side of the room. He handed it to her. "The blood wards
described within will keep your sister safe but they are considered borderlineillegal these days. The House of Black is fortunate that most of ours werelaindown before the Ministry started to object to blood magic. You shouldn't bediscovered in placing them since the Ministry only monitors wand magic inmuggle areas." Lily clutched the book to her. "Thank you." She sighed heavily, obviously
hesitating over saying something else; indecision written across her delicate
features. Finally she heaved a sigh. "Arcturus, do you believe in prophecies?"
"To some extent," Arcturus allowed, "I have a friend who is a Seer and sheisusually very accurate about her dreaming. Other than that…" he did a
half-shrug in a dismissive gesture.
"There is a prophecy that might concern my son." Lily said quietly. "Albus sawfit to tell James and I about it the night he informed me of the truth
concerning my parents' deaths. He believes that our families are being
eliminated to get to us, that we should go into hiding."
"I would be happy to offer my home to you, Lily." Arcturus said. Lily smiled and it alleviated the pained look she wore. "Thank you, Arcturus, but nothing's decided and if you took us in, it would mean declaring your sideonce and for all; you would find yourself a target for the creepy bastard."
"I can handle Albus." Arcturus said dryly. Lily laughed at that before she sobered again. "I'm so scared for Harry. Weprobably will go into hiding but…I just don't think it's going to be enough. Call it
maternal instinct but I can't help feel that I need to do more to protect my
son." For the second time, Arcturus rose and raided a bookshelf, pulling downthreeold books which were handed to Lily.
"My wife followed the Old Religion and these contain witches' magic; spellsthat can only be cast by a mother or a woman." Arcturus said. "Perhaps youwill find what you need in them." Lily's face brightened. "Thank you." She sighed and got to her feet. "I shouldget back before Harry turns Sirius's hair pink again." The memory ended. Sirius and Remus were cast out of the pensieve again.
"Your grandfather gave Lily the spell that saved Harry!" Remus said sinkingdown into one of the nearby visitor chairs. Sirius sank into a chair beside him. "I can't believe she came here! What wasshe thinking?"
"They clearly had a very civil relationship, Sirius." Remus said absently. "Doyou think James knew?" Sirius shook his head. "He would have told me if he had, and he certainly
would have told Lily to have stayed away from my grandfather. So it's just aswell he didn't know, isn't it?" He said. "The books my grandfather gave her
helped her keep Harry safe." There was a note of wonder mixed in with atouch of bitterness in his words.
Remus ran a hand over his face. "Are there any more memories?"
"One."
"Do you want to stop and join the others for some lunch or continue?" askedRemus.
"Continue." Sirius muttered. The last memory was the most shocking. It was clear that at the time of thememory Arcturus was bed-ridden; he was propped up in a large four poster
shakily drinking tea as a house elf showed his visitor into the room. Ollivander, the wand maker, greeted Arcturus happily and took the seat
Arcturus pointed toward. He agreed to refreshment and another elf arrivedwith a freshly brewed pot of tea.
"Thank you for coming, Master Ollivander."
"You have been secluded for many years and your letter asked for my
knowledge, Lord Black." Ollivander smiled at Arcturus, his silver eyes glittering. "I admit to some curiosity."
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"What do you know of the Tale of Three Brothers?" Arcturus asked. Ollivander's bushy white eyebrows lifted half-way up his forehead. "The child'stale?" His expression became slightly mischievous. "I take it you wish toquizme about the Elder wand?" He settled back in his chair. "And if I tell you what I
know?"
"You will receive the copy of Alrac's Wand making Lore frommy family
library." Arcturus offered smoothly.
"And if I were to tell you that it will not aid you in recovering your health?" Ollivander posed the question quite seriously.
"My research is to benefit the last of the Peverells not myself." Arcturus
replied.
"The Potter boy?" Ollivander's eyes gleamed with curiosity. "Interesting. But
then it would explain the photo by your bedside." Sirius glanced to where Ollivander's gaze had darted and found the photoof
himself with baby Harry on his grandfather's bedside table. Arcturus chose to stare the wand maker down rather than answer.
Ollivander's lips twitched. "I accept your terms." Arcturus inclined his head.
"The Elder Wand is also known as the Deathstick. It is said to have beencrafted by Antioch Peverell." Ollivander began, enthusiastically. "It is purportedto be a wand wrapped in a wand wrapped in a wand. The root of the Elder treewas the inner core soaked in Peverell's blood and covered with runes of power. The bark of the Elder tree was wrapped around the core, covered with morerunes that conveyed accuracy and balance. Finally, this was placed withinthehollowed out core of an Elder branch and fashioned into a wand. Only onemark was made on the outer wood; the invention mark of the Peverells."
"There was no other magical core?" inquired Arcturus.
"It is all supposition as nobody knows for certain. Because of the tale that hasDeath gifting the wand there are those that believe the rumour that the inner
core was a thestral hair but I consider that a story." Ollivander's thin handwaved in the air. "If it is made entirely of wood, it would make the wand veryunique. The other main difference is that normal wands choose the wizardor
witch who has the best affinity with the magical element at its core, but their
allegiance can be borrowed or stolen if they are a near match to someoneelse, or if there is a close relationship between the two users. It's why familiesthat struggle financially will often reuse their ancestors' wands, for instance. But the Elder wand's true allegiance is said to be only with the line of Peverell."
"But in the tale, the wand transfers its allegiance to someone more powerful
once Antioch used it to kill someone and boasted of it?" quizzed Arcturusthoughtfully.
"Pish and tosh nonsense." Ollivander dismissed with another wave. "Antiochwas killed in his sleep and the wand taken; it isn't sentient. It couldn't haveknown the danger, woken Antioch up and killed the thief all by itself. It is apowerful wand, a most unusual and unique wand, but it is only a wand."
"Do you know where it is?" Arcturus asked.
"The last rumour that was told to me that I believed had any kind of veracitywas that Gregorovitch had it." Ollivander smiled. "He's always been fascinatedby the topic. He's tried on four separate occasions to replicate a non-corewand and hasn't been able to achieve any success." Arcturus smiled at Ollivander. "And where do you suspect it actually is now?" Ollivander smiled back, recognising that Arcturus had seen his evasion andhadn't fallen for it. "If you want to find a powerful wand, you need to findapowerful wizard. And if you want to find this powerful wand, it is wise tolookat the last time two powerful wizards came to blows. The history of the wandis drenched in bloodshed." His gaze sharpened on Ollivander suddenly. "Dumbledore? He won the wandfrom Grindelwald?" Sirius's mouth dropped open. Albus? Albus had the Elder wand? Well, that
explained his position on searching it out when the Resurrection Stone had
been found. Ollivander spread his hands out in a 'I don't know' gesture. "My theory only
although I believe it is the reason Albus never personally challenged
You-Know-Who in a one-to-one battle."
"He didn't want to take the risk of losing its allegiance to the Dark Lord." Arcturus said.
"Exactly." Ollivander replied. He blinked, his silver eyes shifting to see
something in his own mind. "I suspect the wand will make its way to the
Peverell child in good time."
"What about the other Hallows?" Arcturus asked. "Do you know where they
are?"
"The other what?" Ollivander asked, seemingly surprised at the question.
"The other Hallows – the cloak and the stone." Arcturus expanded.
"Ah," Ollivander gave another smile, "I'm afraid I can't help you there. They'renot wands and I have no interest in them."
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"You're not interested in the notion that if all three are reunited, the holder
becomes the Master of Death?" Arcturus countered. Ollivander burst out laughing. "Dear me, Arcturus, the tale is fictional! Deathdid not gift the artefacts to the Peverells! They created them. Bringing themtogether creates a powerful arsenal but one to master Death itself? I rather
doubt that." Arcturus huffed but he gestured weakly. "What does the wand lore say about
the Elder wand and the Peverell family magic, or family magic in general?"
"Ah, now that is a much more interesting question." Ollivander paused totakea sip of his tea, set it aside again and sat back. "The most credible account
that I've come across of the origins of family magic tells of the wizardingworld on the brink of collapse as Camelot fell, beset by power-hungry wizardsand witches who wished to fill the vacuum and by muggles that feared them. Thus, Merlin invited thirty families with the most powerful wizards and
witches among them, and cast a spell of protection; a spell that bound andsacrificed their most powerful member who, instead of dying, transformedinto the guardian spirit totems that embody family magic. Merlin was thenable to direct all these spirit totems in concert to hide magical folk fromthemuggle world and eradicate the evil from within the wizarding. Once done, Merlin disappeared – it is said that he died in the effort – and the thirty
families formed the Wizarding Council and began the wizarding society that
would evolve into our world today." He paused. "Soon, they each realised that the most powerful wizard in eachgeneration of their family was bound to the sacrifice, able to call upon the
family magic with the price being they added their own magic on dying; familymagic became insular, each seeking to protect their own pool. And over timethe thirty families drifted in politics and values. Yet, the pool of magic
available to help protect the wizarding world remains and theoretically themost powerful overall in each generation should be able to call upon not onlytheir family's magic but that of the others."
"What of those families that have died out such as Hufflepuff?" asked
Arcturus.
"The magic is still there in the ether to be called upon." Ollivander statedandshrugged. "One presumes the most powerful within the families would beableto call it."
"But no-one knows for certain if this is true?" Arcturus checked, bemused.
"There are many origin stories." Ollivander said. "Who knows which is thetruth?My preference is this one."
"And what of the Elder wand and family magic?" Arcturus pressed on.
"The account of the Elder wand that I believe is a very old one that was madeby a French wand maker called Lumiere who claimed to have spoken toIgnotus about Antioch's invention personally. It is from this account that thedescription of the non-magical core originates." Ollivander took a breath. "I
admit that I only took a passing interest in the rest but I believe it talks of aDark Wizard called Severn…"
Arcturus made a noise. "Like the river?"
"Like the river," Ollivander agreed, "and the Peverells created their…artefactstofight this wizard, calling upon their family magic to assist. Lumiere theorisedthat the reason why nobody else could replicate the Elder wand was becauseits magic was gifted to it by family magic." His lips twitched. "Did you knowthe Peverell totem was purported to be a Thestral? The totemchanged whenthey took the name of Potter and became a Griffin."
"I see." Arcturus leaned back. "So the defeat of the river in the tale is actuallythe defeat of the Dark wizard using magical artefacts that are created fromtheir family magic where the totem is symbolic of Death. And thus the taleemerges of the three brothers defeating a river and receiving gifts fromDeath. Did the account say how the artefacts were used to defeat the Dark wizard?"
"It may have done," Ollivander gave an unconcerned shrug, "I wasn't really
interested in that part." Arcturus nodded. "Thank you, and – I'm sorry." He whipped out his wand. "Oblivate! You came to examine my wand and have found it to be in excellent
condition. In future should anyone ask about the Elder wand, you will say onlywhat the Tale of Three Brothers imparts and the rumour that the wand waswith Gregorovitch. You will say you do not know anything else about the other
Hallows as they have nothing to do with wands." Ollivander blinked at him.
He dropped his wand. "As I was saying, thank you for coming out, Master
Ollivander, but I fear I need to rest now." He motioned an elf popped in readyto escort the wand maker out.
"Of course, Lord Black, I will take my leave." Ollivander was soon gone fromthe room. Arcturus picked up the photo and gently smiled at Sirius's happy face as it
beamed down on a giggling baby Harry. "I don't have long and I have doneall I
can. The rest is up to you, my boys." Sirius stumbled as he exited the pensieve and he groped for a chair. He sat
down heavily.
"Well, I can go to Ollivander and ask him about his source for the family magicstory." Remus babbled. "And I can get Bertie onto the Lumiere story, I'msure. Maybe the DOM already has a copy of it. Actually it could be in that stack of
paper about the family magic in your grandfather's desk and…"
"Albus has the Elder wand." Sirius interrupted sharply. "He has a Potter familyheirloom in his possession and obviously he doesn't intend to give it back!"