Black Business
DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you’ve seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$
A/N: Writers Block is a real pain. Maybe I’ll post two today for being such a procrastinator… Oh, and in case I forgot to do so before, if any of those four girls should one day have a boyfriend, that boyfriend has not been mentioned yet so any ideas that they’ll go with Harry or Neville is not in the plan and will not be…
CHAPTER FIFTY: BLACK BUSINESS
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 17 th 1993
There was a knock at her door at the Leaky Cauldron.
“That should be my sister Pira,” Cissy said to her elf.
“It be good to sees Miss Andi, again. Pira be having tea ready, Miss Cissy.”
Narcissa went to the door and opened it. There were five people at the door, only one of whom was her older sister Andi. One she recognized as Andi’s daughter the Auror whose name escaped her at the moment. One was another woman, well dress but in what looked like conservative Muggle fashion. This was not much of a shock as such attire was popular in the Wizarding World at this time of year. Robes were not particularly comfortable and this was an unseasonably warm day for October in London. There were two men, neither of whom she recognized, also dressed in a Muggle syle and a girl.
“Andi, it’s good to see you,” Narcissa said and gave her sister a brief hug. “I met your daughter, but a lot happened that day…”
“Dora or Tonks, Aunt Narcissa,” Dora said. “Only my mother calls me by that other name and only to annoy or embarrass.”
“I most certainly do not! It’s your name,” Andi retorted. “This is my Husband Ted,” she added indicating the tall man beside her.
“I regret not having met you before now,” Cissy said sincerely.
Ted Tonks shrugged. “I can understand. Times were what they were and we all chose our sides.”
“Some of us were not given choices,” Cissy almost growled, “they were imposed upon us by those society believed had such right. The curse of the arranged marriage is to be denied choice.”
“It is not the nature of the marriage, but the nature of the husband,” the girl said. “As I’ve come to understand it, societal custom respects the husband’s view of his household whatever that may be. Where the husband sees his wife as a partner rather than a subordinate or mere breeding stock, society has no choice but to accept their relationship as it is. They may not like it, but they must respect it.”
“And you are?” Cissy asked.
“Lady Hermione Potter, Countess of Finchley, Ma'am,” the girl replied. “I regret my Husband and sister wives were unavailable. These are my parents…”
“Robert,” the man said. “Pleasure to meet you, Ms…?”
Cissy sighed. “It is a pleasure and I admit I have not thought about address. I was Madam Narcissa Malfoy. Before that I was Miss Black. What I am now? I suppose I’m still Madam Malfoy but I’d rather be shot of that name and affiliation.”
“Rose Granger,” the woman said after a pause. “My husband and I are dentists, I guess what you would call a form of Healer. But while we are entitled to a suffix after our names, we have no title before our names other than the standard Mr. and in my case Ms. as I am a professional.”
“Pardon me for asking… um… Lady Hermione,” Cissy began, “but I understand you’re at Hogwarts? How…?”
“I am considered an adult as I am legally married,” Hermione said. “This is a Sunday and I have no classes or other school obligations to attend to. As this is considered family business, my Husband asked that I attend.”
“I see. I guess that makes sense. Please, come in and have a seat. I’ve had Pira make some modifications, but I’m afraid it’s not much. Pira, we have additional guests. Are the tea and refreshments sufficient?”
An elf appeared and Hermione was surprised. Given Harry’s description of Dobby, she expected the elf to be dressed in a discarded towel or pillow case. The elf maid wore a dress of sorts that appeared to be cobbled together from many scraps of cloth. It actually looked nice, if busy. Change to solid colors and the design would easily “pass” on the Estate.
“Oh my!” Andi said. “Pira? It’s been ages!”
“It being good to be seeing Miss Andi, too! And Miss Andi’s family.”
“Pira was one of the Elves we had growing up,” Andi explained to the Grangers. “And yes, Pira, your sister Nori is doing quite well.”
“Pira be happy for Nori, Miss Andi. Pira still be missing her.”
“Well, I’m sure the two of you will find time to get together soon, Pira.”
“Pira be likings that. Pira be servings, now.”
“You have me at a disadvantage,” Cissy said looking at the Grangers. “I regret to say that I’ve had very few dealings with the other side.” There was nothing in the way of condescension in her voice. It was as if she was saying she had never had an opportunity to see a particular show.
“Other side?” Rose Granger asked.
“Our world, mother,” Hermione said.
“We offered room at our place,” Andi said. “We live more Muggle than magical. She declined. There are those in our world who can’t adjust just as there are those in the Muggle who can’t. And it’s not always because of a closed mind or ingrained bigotry…”
“It’s the crowds and noise, to be honest,” Cissy said. “Everything moves far too fast if you ask me.”
“I can see how that might be a problem,” Robert said. “But there are slow, quiet and fairly empty places as well. London is London. Where we live is not so hectic or loud.”
“All I ever saw was London,” Cissy said. “Well that and the farms just beyond the Wards to the Manor. I never bothered going to the town. I know there is one somewhere nearby, but after London I couldn’t bring myself to go.”
“I’d say it’s almost easier for us to adapt to your world than the other way around,” Rose said.
“Oh?”
“True, we can’t do magic. But all we need to do to adapt is accept the reality of it. The truth is, on our side children know quite a lot about it. Their stories are filled with it and are far more accurate about it than your Muggle stories are about us.”
“You’re world knows?” Cissy asked in shock.
“Not in the way you think. In our world magic is make believe. You grow out of believing in it or believing it’s real, at least in the way of wands and spells and such. But as a young girl, I believed magic was real and the world really did have witches and wizards and fairies and dragons and all of that. In a way, learning that it was not real was a disappointment. A part of childhood dies when the world stops being magical. So to learn that it is indeed magical… well, there was a basis for accepting. So I suppose it is easier for us. Now your politics and social order are another thing altogether. We have parallels for the one and we like to think we’ve outgrown the other. We find certain of your notions backwards, archaic, quaint even barbaric.”
“Your wars are nothing to be proud of,” Cissy said somewhat defensively.
“No, they’re not,” Robert agreed. “Fortunately, we haven’t gone all out in one in a long time. The last time we did in a significant effor, however, fifty million or more died. Were we to do that again, it is doubtful anyone anywhere would survive. Probably the only thing that would are the cockroaches according to the joke. One of the potential combatants in that possible war fell apart a couple years ago so we like to think we’ve taken a step back from that abyss. But the weapons are still out there, so it’s only a small step really. We have gotten frightfully good at killing each other.”
A knock on the door interrupted any response and ended the discussion. Narcissa was surprised as aside from her sister she had expected no other guests and now there seemed to be another one, unless it was the inn staff on about something. She rose and walked to the door and opened it and saw who was on the other side. It took her a second, but then recognition set in. She knew who this was and what he was. She fell practically to her knees in the deepest curtsey imaginable.
“Lord Black,” she said, “you honour me.”
She heard a snort. “A beautiful woman on her knees before me,” Sirius said, “oh what vile rumours that could inspire. What would my wife say? Get up, Cousin. I don’t expect such behavior from family. Well, not unless I really don’t like you. Your husband would have to do that rot, not you.”
Cissy looked up in surprise.
“Of course, you did tease me a lot when we were kids,” Sirius said mischievously. “Then again, you are older than me and I probably was a little snot.”
He entered the room and looked around as the door was closed behind him. “I like what you’ve done with this place, Cousin.”
“Please! It’s Pira’s work. She’s become extremely good at redecorating. I’ve had her doing my rooms since I married that… It was either keep her busy that way or… well, I was not about to have her become a Malfoy elf. That man treated his elves abominably! So I kept Pira as busy as possible so that I could claim she was too busy to attend to any business other than my own. Of course, it meant my rooms were completely done over every day, but I think it was worth it. Besides, Pira’s figured a way to make the new room… I don’t know… help me with whatever mood I’m in at the time?”
Hermione smiled. She had worried that Dobby’s former treatment was indicative of this society. Narcissa’s statement suggested it was an exception and not the rule. True, witches and wizards tended not to notice or acknowledge an Elf’s labors which still bothered her. But the sort of mistreatment that Dobby suffered increasingly seemed to be the exception. She knew, however, that the status of the Potter Elves was also an exception. She would never tolerate anyone treating Petal like Dobby had been treated. She was pleased that Mrs. Malfoy felt the same way about Pira. It was a shame that Mrs. Malfoy could not have improved Dobby’s lot. But Hermione now understood that Dobby was a Malfoy elf which meant the Head of House decided how they should be treated and his wife could be allowed no input. Someone like Malfoy should never have been allowed an Elf!
“I… I didn’t expect you to be here, Lord Black,” Cissy said.
“I seem to recall you used to call me Siri,” Sirius said, “when you were being nice, of course.”
“It’s been a while,” Cissy said. “You were just a boy then and… well, now you’re my head of family.”
“I’m still your cousin and you’re still older than me. I have serious issues with your husband. From what Andi’s told me you were never truly his wife nor were you in league with him on anything. I believe that your role in that so called marriage was to beget a brat and look pretty at social functions, but aside from that you were of no use to him. Such a waste. You were too smart and cunning to be no more than an accessory. Unless you prove otherwise, you’re still a part of this family in good standing so I’d prefer you cut the ‘Lord Black’ business when we are in less formal settings such as this.”
“I'm… my apologies…”
“You couldn’t know,” Sirius said dismissively. “Your formality was appropriate and you couldn’t know that I don’t stand on such with those I consider family or friends. Had I been more traditional and you less deferential, things would be off to an uncomfortable start, don’t you think?”
Cissy nodded. “I’m surprised you are here milord… I mean Siri. I was only expecting my sister…”
“Andi and Dora spoke to me after your misadventures last week. It was, after all, family business and I do hope to take such business seriously, no pun intended. We had a meeting of the family this morning to discuss options in anticipation of this meeting.”
Actually, it was a few days earlier. Harry had made the morning another week in time compression at Sirius’s request so he could spend more time getting reacquainted with his wife and getting to know his daughter. It was also a chance for Anna to meet other relations as the Tonks had been there and unlike her first weekend, House Longbottom was tied into the Estates and had the week as well. The meeting had been held at Harry’s Manor and had included those members of the House of Black present but no others. For now that was Sirius and his wife and daughter, the Tonks and all of the extended House Potter as wives were not excluded and James and Harry were in the line of succession after Sirius’s daughter.
“DMLE has been keeping me abreast of the matter regarding your Husband,” Sirius continued.
“But why?” Cissy asked.
“As you know,” Dora said, “Lucius Malfoy pled guilty to two counts of murder and accepted life in prison. He did that to avoid the damage that would surely attend to publication of the full story. It would ruin House Malfoy and quite probably several other families as well. But while DMLE could’ve built a case against him for those two murders, the original investigations into them had led nowhere. When your husband was arrested, it was not for that or for what we later discovered. Your husband was arrested for attempted Line Theft and the attempted murder of the Head of an Ancient and Noble House.”
“What?” Cissy replied in shock. “But that's…”
“The death penalty has not been imposed in quite a while,” Ted Tonks said. “Contrary to popular belief, however, it’s still available. It requires a significant vote in the Wizengamot and there has not been such a vote in ages. DMLE hasn’t bothered to seek it. Then again, no one has tried such a blatant attempt at line theft in over a century and a half.”
“DMLE had enough to hang him for that figurative and probably literally,” Dora said. “He decided to plead guilty to unrelated charges to avoid the full consequences of a conviction, which would have destroyed House Malfoy and left his son without a knut to his name. It was in the course of investigating the attempt on Sirius’s life that we stumbled upon his illegal business activities. There’s arguably more of a taint on being the wife or son of a drug dealer than being the wife or son of an enemy. Not even You-Know-Who was so brazenly contemptuous of our traditions and customs!”
“Moreover, one is forced to question the upbringing of Lucius Malfoy,” Sirius said. “Then again, he is little more than a French immigrant. He tried to have me declared legally dead on two occasions, you know. Once when I was chucked into Azkaban and again when Lord Arcturus passed. Both times he asserted that his son was next in line… the only one in line to take over House Black. I take it he never consulted you in such matters?” The new Lord Black was getting angry.
“N-no. Not that I recall. We didn’t talk. He ordered. I kept my mouth shut. You’re right in that my son was not next in line. Unless Bella and I have been disowned, we’re ahead of him as Regents and I’m behind Bella even if she is in prison.”
“And the both of you are behind House Potter,” Sirius said, “or have you forgotten that Charlus Potter married your Grandaunt Dorea Black?”
“Siri,” Andi said, “she has given us no reason to believe she was even knowledgeable about this, much less that she was somehow involved.”
Sirius sighed. “You’re right. I’ve seen the Auror reports and they’re certain she knew about as much about her husband’s affairs as the public at large.”
“And it’s not that she’s forgotten about Dorea,” Andi added. “Our grandfather Pollux was convinced to his dying day that Dorea was disowned for marrying into that line. Our mother told us we were next after you and your brother. Your mother believed that to be the case as well, I’m sure.”
“Maybe, maybe not,” Sirius said. “She didn’t burn Dorea off the Black tapestry at her House. Then again, she did burn me off of it and yet here we are. The only one alive she seems to have gotten right was you, Andi, as you were disowned before she passed on. I sincerely doubt she was aware that Lord Arcturus never made that one permanent allowing me to reinstate you after his death. Dora, continue.”
Dora nodded. “The two murders were related to his drug business. One was a potential rival who, it seems, was going to turn him over to DMLE to take over the business. The other was an Auror who had begun to make the connections leading to him. That he was a major, if not the major drug distributer on both sides of the line is probably going to come out. DMLE has made a number of arrests since your husband was sent away and they’re all going to point fingers. As your husband copped a plea and will never see the light of day, they can point all they want and it won’t make things worse for him and certainly won’t make things worse for his son than they already are. The Line Theft and our other discovery the other day, however, will be kept quiet for now.”
“It’s the other matter that I… ,” Cissy began. Tears formed in her eyes and her lips trembled. “I didn’t know! I didn’t! How could I? Those poor girls. It’s my fault!”
“They are only Muggles,” Sirius said without emotion.
“And that matters why?” Cissy raised her voice.
“Our ancestor Phineus Nigelus slept with and impregnated scores and scores of girls at Hogwarts, most of whom were Muggle Borns. It was perfectly legal,” Sirius said again without emotion.
“They were naïve girls and he was a manipulative coot! It was legal only because they went to his bed of their own free will. It doesn’t mean it was right or even acceptable! It was evil! And this is even worse than that! Or are you going to tell me those girls agreed to what happened to them? What those girls are is not the issue! What happened to them is all that matters and I couldn’t help them!”
Sirius looked at Dora and nodded. “And that is the right answer, as it were,” he said.
Dora handed two photographs to Cissy. They appeared to be of the same girl. One looked like a slightly improved version of one of the girls Cissy saw at the Manor, now sitting up in what looked like a hospital bed. It was a magical photo as the girl moved in the picture although not much. The other was clearly a Muggle photo of a somewhat younger version of the girl, perhaps a year, maybe more. “Her name is Mary Pierce. One of the photos was taken the other day at St. Mungos. The other comes from the Thames Valley Police - that’s one of the Muggle Auror offices. Her family was found dead in their home in May of 1978. Muggles suspect carbon monoxide poisoning although it was consistent with the Killing Curse and such attacks were hardly unknown back then - for our part at least. She was not found. She has no other immediate family. She was determined to have gone missing at the age of thirteen, making her twenty-eight years old by the calendar. Biologically, however, she’s 5,063 days old or about thirteen years and ten months old. To her she’s been there around seven months. We believe she spent most of her time in that place in stasis, revived only when she was… needed.”
She handed Cissy two more pictures. These were of another girl. “Jenny Stanley,” she said. “Reported missing to the London Police in June of 1982, aged thirteen. To her, it’s been about five months and biologically she’ll turn fourteen in a week. She had a younger brother and a mum, but no other family. They died in a car crash not long after the report was filed. The Muggles do not suspect the two events are connected although it’s a fair bet that they are.”
Cissy was handed two more pictures. “Angela Hammer. She went missing from Manchester in August of ‘86 then aged fourteen. To her she’s been missing not quite four months. Biologically she’s not quite fourteen and a half. She lived with her gran, who died of an apparent heart attack not long afterwards. Again, no other known family. And finally,” she said handing over two more photographs, “Elizabeth Mabry. Disappeared September of 1991 then aged thirteen. She’s been missing about two months to her. Her family died about the same time in a house fire in Kent, one that went on to consume most of the surrounding area suggesting Fiendfyre. Less than a year separates these four girls biologically. Thirteen years separates youngest from oldest based on their true birthdates.”
“And they were… it’s what I think?” Cissy asked.
“Used sexually, raped, imperiused into acts of depravity, frequently with more than one male assailant, they were playthings if not willing ones,” Dora said confirming Cissy’s fears. “It appears they were kept for a while and then disposed of. We found a secret room with fourteen sets of human remains, all female, all young. The most recent appears to have died around the time that Miss Mabry arrived. The oldest died around 1918 based upon our examination of the remains and the clothes we found.”
“You mean this has been going on for over seventy years?”
“Well before you married him, yes. It was happening even before his father was born and that assumes it began with the oldest remains. It would seem whatever it was; it was a House Malfoy thing for lack of a better word.”
“Your husband was behind the most recent efforts to repeal the laws prohibiting Muggle hunting,” Ted said. “I guess now we know why.”
“So when they were done with the girl, they killed her and put her in that room?”
“The evidence suggests the girls were placed in that room alive and left there to die. They’d die of thirst in less than a week, probably not more than three days.”
“Miss Cissy needing to take this,” Pira said appearing seemingly from nowhere. “Miss Cissy not be needing toos be sick.”
Cissy took the vial that her held handed to her and drank from it. “Horrible,” she said.
“You’re husband or the potion,” Sirius quipped.
Cissy seemed to relax a little. “Both. What he did is so… so evil! And he learned it from his father?”
“So it seems,” Dora replied. “DMLE has no reason to believe there are others out there like this, but is not ruling that out. I saw more than one veteran Auror lose his or her lunch over this, not that I was any better. The scheme seems very complex, designed to avoid detection and even suspicion. The girls seem to have been selected at least in part because they had little or no extended family - no one to move a search forward after they disappeared and their immediate family died. They were taken from different parts of the country several years apart and while their immediate family died and their manner of deaths could be the result of magic, no two families died in a similar manner. There was little or nothing to link the crimes in such a way that the Muggles would see this as anything more than isolated occurrences and possibly runaways, and people do disappear in that world. Add to it the fact that no body turns up, and the Muggles are none the wiser. Neither, for that matter, were we. None of these incidents tripped any of our detectors so we never investigated either the disappearances or the cover-up. We can’t say for certain if that’s the case for all the bodies. It’s possible an earlier one raised questions. There are a couple of my classmates pouring through old case files to see if there’s a connection. The problem is we have no identities on the bodies. We have to find a case that fits, rather than use the name to see if there’s a case.”
“What’s going to happen to them?” Cissy asked indicating the girls in the photographs.
“That’s the problem, isn’t it?” Ted said. “Legally, they should be returned to their own world with their memories of ours erased. But that’s not practical here. First of all, they’ve been held captive for months in their own recollection of time and years in ours. We erase their memories and return them and how can they or anyone else explain where they’ve been for so long and why they’ve not aged much at all? Secondly, where would we send them? Their families are dead. Everyone who knew them is years older and would doubt they are who they are. Even if we obliviated them it would raise questions that would lead back to our world.”
“But the Muggles don’t know,” Cissy began.
“I wouldn’t bet my life on that,” Ted replied. “They’re two Muggles in this room and they certainly know, as do the parents and non-magical siblings of every Muggle Born in Britain. They might not be able to tell anyone about our world. They are all under a variation of the Fidelius Charm that prevents them from spilling the secret. But nothing is perfect. Some work for the press, others the Muggle Police and still others the Muggle Government. Questions would be asked. And the Muggles are not stupid. They can piece together things from a lack of information or clear holes in information. It might take time, but they would find the correct answers and we can’t imagine what the result of that might be. So, since those girls have nowhere to go in their world and we can’t risk it, a place must be found for them in our world.”
“Which brings us to this visit in a way,” Sirius said.
“Oh?” Cissy asked.
“I take it - well, I’m not really as good at reading people as that. Andi has told me that you truly had no idea what your husband’s been into.”
“I haven’t, not really.”
“You knew he was a Death Eater.”
“He never hid that. But there’s a difference between knowing and approving.”
“You didn’t approve?”
“Do I think that our traditions are important? Yes. Do I think we should respect them? Yes. I think to cast them aside simply because there are countries where they no longer do such things is to cast aside who we are as a people. The Muggles don’t cast aside their Queen just ‘cause kings and queens have gone out of style elsewhere in the world, do they?”
“No,” Robert said. “Mind you there’s some that think we should. They are a very small, if vocal minority. But the Queen is a shrewd one. She might not always be a step ahead of things, but she’s more on top of things than her government. The monarchy connects us to our past but is smart enough not to stand in the way of our future. I would agree with you that traditions can be important. But there are those that make us who we are and others that are plain silly if not detrimental. The trick is figuring out which is which and getting rid of the true rubbish.”
“You haven’t answered my question, Cissy,” Sirius said. “Did you approve of the Death Eaters.”
“They killed witches and wizards, didn’t they?” Cissy said. “How could I approve of that? They destroyed families. They said they were about tradition and protecting the old ways and then killed the old families who did not agree with them. I never approved of them! My husband was one before I married him. But that was not my choice either. I was not fortunate enough to have a boyfriend willing to take me off to get married once I turned sixteen such that I could get out of that betrothal. If I had such an offer… I would not be where I am today, would I? I would’ve taken any offer that avoided that contract. I learned later the word was out. The Death Eaters would have killed any potential suitor, even an heir to an Ancient and Noble House.”
“I take that as an emphatic ‘no’,” Sirius chuckled. “And a good thing too. It seems Lord Arcturus thought ill of them. In his Will he left it to me to disown Bellatrix for being one of them; or to take ‘whatever other action’ I deem necessary and appropriate. He would’ve done it, but with so many of House Black disowned for one reason or another he could not bring himself to do it. I’m told he still saw her as a little girl and not the monster she became. I only ever saw the monster. But I am mindful of familial magic as I’m sure Grandfather was. So long as she remains a Black, she cannot harm any other Black, not really. Oh, I suppose she could cause harm by accident, but not by design. The magic robs her of the ability to intentionally harm House Black or any under its protection.”
“She’s in Azkaban,” Cissy said. “She’s not going anywhere.”
“As was I, if you recall.”
“I don’t think she’s an animagus,” Andi said.
“That made it easy,” Sirius nodded, “once I got ‘round to it which was once I thought of actually leaving that place. But that prison is still far from escape proof. The truth is the only really hard bit is getting from that island to the mainland. It’s too far to swim especially given how cold the water is and the fact that you need to swim an extra five miles to reach a place where you won’t be dashed against the rocks. But if you can manage the crossing, escape is possible.”
“One or two manage it a year,” Dora agreed. “Until Sirius, however, they all drowned. It’s not that hard for us to recover a body,” she added for the Grangers.
“So, I would prefer to take action with the assumption that she can and will escape one day,” Sirius continued. “As Head of House, protecting House Black is my duty. Keeping her bound by family magic is in the interest of House Black. She’s a raving, homicidal maniac and would kill the lot of us given a chance otherwise. So, I’ll hold off disowning her. But one of my errands today will be to annul her marriage. After all, she and her husband are in material breach of the betrothal contract and have been for some time.”
“I thought annulments had something to do with something that happened before a marriage,” Mr. Granger said.
“In Muggle law and ours that is correct,” Mr. Tonks replied. “Most grounds for annulment are variations of fraud. Marriages are a contractual arrangement - a very particular one - but a contract nonetheless. No contract is valid if it is procured through fraud, thus no marriage is valid if procured through fraud. Now, if the defrauded party learns of the fraud and does nothing - if they acquiesce to the fraud, then it no longer matters. For example, Lady Hermione is part of a plural marriage. Her marriage is based upon a magical bond and is unassailable. But, some of the others are not magically bonded to her husband. If they were told or led to believe they were not entering into a plural marriage and they would not have married him had they known it was a plural marriage that would be grounds for an annulment.”
“That’s not our case,” Hermione said.
“No. It was merely by way of example,” Mr. Tonks replied. “It would be grounds in both worlds although in the Muggle, plural marriages are invalid period. But our world recognizes something other than fraud as grounds for invalidating the contract. Lord Black mentioned material breach. Where there is a betrothal contract, that contract may define the conditions for the marriage. In our law, those conditions can be breached after the marriage occurs and if breached can allow the other family or the non-breaching spouse to annul the marriage.”
“The standard Black family betrothals for our daughters contains such terms,” Sirius said. “The husband may not engage in activities that would bring the bride’s family into disrepute nor may he allow the bride to engage in such activities. While what that means is seldom defined, it is well established that being convicted of ‘notorious crimes’ or pleading guilty to ‘notorious crimes’ and being imprisoned for them falls within those conditions. Murder for profit is a notorious crime.”
“You were sent away for murder. That means your wife could have… ,” Rose began.
“Magical bond,” Sirius replied. “There can be no annulment when that’s the reason you’re married. Moreover, there was no betrothal agreement that stipulated that I had to keep my nose clean, as it were. She could’ve obtained a divorce which is more complicated and very public. I was, after all, not much of a husband sitting in my cell and our daughter had no father. But she knew what the bond meant. It meant she would never be happy with another. So to her there was no point in getting out of our marriage. That and Grandfather all but welcomed her and our daughter into the family.”
“Daughter?” Cissy asked.
“Yes. Your husband ordered my murder thinking your son was next in line. In addition to House Potter having a better claim, there is the fact that my daughter - who was born after I went away to a wife only Grandfather knew about - that my daughter’s claim as Regent trumps all others.”
“How could he have…?”
“Missed that? No one knew I was married aside from Grandfather and he only knew ‘cause he was paranoid about our House. He knew I went to France and suspected why. No one else did. I’m not sure it would matter. Most Brits assume one Ministry is much like another and here all marriage records are in the Ministry Archives in London. So assuming someone thought I went to France to marry, they’d go to Paris and find nothing… 'cause we didn’t get married there. We married in one of the provinces and the record of the marriage is kept in the provincial office. Although I doubt any would’ve looked 'cause most believed as you did that I had already been cut out of the line. Even if they got that far, they would have to know a lot about the Muggle world to learn of my daughter. She was born in a Muggle hospital and bears the name of her mother’s mother. To a pureblood, assuming they made the connection to my wife - which they probably would not - it would look as if she was born a bastard as she did not take the Black name. After all, no self respecting witch would fail to name her daughter after her husband, right? That was Grandfather’s idea. The word’s out that I’m married and it has been for a month and nothing has appeared in the press but speculation. If the gossip mongers can’t even figure out when, where and to whom I’m married after this long, could it be a surprise that no one’s figured out I have an heir Regent; especially when most are at least somewhat surprised that I was not disinherited as had been believed?”
“Devious,” Cissy nodded.
“The wife says I’m more like my Grandfather than my father which I take as a compliment.”
“He was… weak willed,” she said darkly.
“Probably a good thing fate managed to see to it he was passed over then. As you know, the worst thing that can happen to a House short of an absolute spendthrift is for its Head to lack the backbone to stand up for himself. But we’re off the point, aren’t we. You have a problem, yes? You are also concerned about those girls. And I have family business to attend to, namely annulling Bella’s marriage.”
“What does that do for House Black?” Robert asked. “Annulment, I mean. I thought all it meant was that the marriage never happened.”
“Indeed,” Sirius said almost rubbing his hands together. “Much easier way to ruin someone than just suing them or going through the very public process for divorce where they have a chance to fight back. This is simple, a paper drill really. I present the betrothal contract to the clerk at the Ministry, point out that both husband and wife are convicted murderers in prison, and they stamp it annulled. Any attenuating circumstances would have to have been raised at their trial or they can’t argue it since their conviction alone is grounds. Then I take the order of annulment over to Gringotts were the real fun begins. You see, House Black paid a hefty dowry to House LeStrange. House Black is entitled to a full refund plus interest of nine percent per annum from the date of… is it the marriage or breach?”
“He was a Death Eater before,” Mr. Tonks said. “Date of marriage.”
“House Black is also entitled to all property accrued since the date of marriage that cannot be considered the sole property of House Lestrange. That’s in the penalty clause in the betrothal contract. And if there’s not enough gold or saleable property in the vault to pay back the dowry and interest, House Black gains any legal business interests or real property of House Lestrange or at least enough to pay the balance. It will ruin that house and as that house was a major supporter of You-Know-Who, when he returns he’ll find himself in a financial bind from the off. By annulling the marriage, but not disowning dear Bella, I can prevent her from joining him or supporting him. That too will hurt as murdering psychopaths don’t exactly grow on trees and she was one of his worst. Were she to try and join him against my wishes, she would lose her magic or at least enough of it to render her useless to him.”
“But he’s dead! Everyone knows that,” Cissy said.
“You are the only one in this room who believes that, Cissy,” Andi said. “The rest of us believe otherwise.”
“What?”
“Not that it matters,” Sirius said. “She’s still a psycho and we need to control her to protect the Houses if nothing else.”
“You’re just going to welcome her back?” Cissy asked in surprise.
“Not hardly. Should she get loose, she’ll be broke won’t she? She won’t be able to live in her old home and I’m not about to grant her access to the Black properties so she’ll be on the streets as well. She was one of his most loyal and ruthless followers ‘cause Grandfather did not close that door and make himself a target for that lot. I have no such concerns seeing as they probably want me dead. I have killed a fair few of them. What’s a few more? So, she goes back to her leader, broke, homeless and magically forbidden to support him or do his bidding. If she does, she loses her magic and you can imagine how sympathetic he’ll be. If she doesn’t, he’ll be equally sympathetic. I’ll let him deal with her and that’ll be one less murdering psychopath to deal with later.”
Cissy paled. “That's…?”
“Pragmatic and very Slytherin, if I do say so myself. But enough about the dead witch walking…
“Now, as for the girls found in that hole, the Families do not believe the powers that be will act in their best interests or the best interests of our world. They are Muggles and the powers that be foolishly have little or no respect for them either individually or collectively and certainly do not fear them near enough. Andi has verified that for the next few weeks they will be treated at St. Mungos but after, obliviation and they’ll be left to fend for themselves, which they are ill equipped to do. The Families are going to place them under House Protection which, as you know, means St. Mungos and the Ministry can’t do anything without our leave. The plan is eventually to relocate them to an estate where they can recover and begin their lives anew.
“That leaves us with you, Cissa.”
“M-me?”
“What do you want, Cissy?”
“I… I want to help those girls but…”
“But they might not accept you or your help should they learn about your husband, right?”
Narcissa nodded fighting back tears. “I… that was not me… it was…”
Sirius raised his hand. “Andi mentioned this and we guessed the problem. It is why Lady Hermione is here. She has proven quite adept at various permutations of the Fidelius Charm and is here to cast a version that would hide that inconvenient truth from those girls until such time as they can accept the truth without condemning you for the man you were forced to marry.”
“She can do that?” Cissy asked in shock. “But she’s only a Third Year!”
“She can. It is best not to judge her by her year, I’ve found.”
“It’s rather simple, actually,” Hermione said. “I’d only be hiding the secret from four specific individuals who don’t know it or even suspect it yet. The spells are harder if you try to hide something from people who know of it but are not intended to be in on the secret. It would help, however, if you could honestly say that you’re Mistress Black rather than Madam Malfoy.”
“And your parents?”
“Her parents are a part of our world which is not the world you’re thinking of,” Sirius said. “You’ve left your former residence. I’m sure you do not wish to live here from here on out.”
Cissy shook her head.
“The Black properties you remember are on lock down and I’m not opening them up in the foreseeable future. Far too many were known and used by the wrong sort in the past. House Black resides somewhere else and it’s a place that cannot be found or accessed by enemies unless we who live there were to allow it which we are not about to do unless it’s to our ultimate advantage.”
“You mean to kill them?”
Sirius shrugged noncommittally. “It’s a safe place to live and we intend to keep it that way. The Grangers are here because should you prove acceptable they are the only ones who can bring you there.” This was not true, naturally. But this was a test of Narcissa’s desire for change. To accept, she would have to tolerate Muggles and a trip into the Muggle world. “So what is it you would ask of the Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Black?”
Cissy did not think she was ready for that question. She knew what she wanted, but she was not sure she was ready for the cost. But she also feared this was a onetime offer and to refuse to take the opportunity would doom her to the life she so desperately wanted to leave. There was also the added fact that the girls, victims of her Husband and House Malfoys depredations, were soon to be under the protection of House Black and her decision now would determine whether she could help them at all.
“I do not wish to be a Malfoy any more,” she said softly.
“You have grounds for divorce,” Sirius said. She wondered if he was teasing or tormenting her.
“Too long,” she mumbled, “too messy. Don’t want lawyers and… and…”
“And accusations,” Sirius said. “Yes. It does seem that such things lend themselves to the basest of accusations that in any other context might be deemed slanderous. But you are aware of the implications of the other course?”
Cissy nodded. “My son…”
“He could be disowned, cast out of House Black regardless of what you decide,” Sirius said. “That is customary where he was to benefit from an attempted Line Theft. It does not help him a whit that I have information about his claims that he’s made while at Hogwarts. From his first day there, he made it known at least within Slytherin that he was destined to be Head of House Black…”
Cissy paled. “I… I did not know…”
“And worse, that he hoped ill of me when I escaped. Moreover, with my exoneration he has been overheard by a reliable source suggesting his father will sort it all out for him. I am going to remove that threat to my House today, regardless of what you wish or decide. Just be thankful we have progressed somewhat as a society. A few centuries ago I would be within my rights to demand his head or to take it at my pleasure or leisure. All he will lose is an increasingly remote chance at an inheritance and not his miserable life. After all, I can’t allow a threat to my family to persist where it can be dealt with within the law, can I?”
“I was… ,” Cissy began. “After he turned six, I was… Well, Lucius made it clear that it was now time for him to be raised to become the heir although he never specified the heir to what. I assumed it was to House Malfoy although obviously Lucius had grander ideas. I was allowed little contact with my son. I saw him at dinner and at social gatherings but little else. Still…”
“He is your son,” Sirius nodded. “I can understand that now. But I have no connection to him such as you have and… Well, from my position as Head of House, your Husband - and I use the term loosely - is now in material breach of his family’s betrothal agreement with the Ancient and Noble House of Black. He managed to avoid it years back with his Imperius defense and quite possible a large, quiet donation to various parties. I know he was no more under the effects of that curse than I am a witch. But it was accepted and his being what he was could not be said to have besmirched our House as a result. But that has changed now. Grandfather may have been reticent to annul marriages. Having faced their wands in that War, I am inclined to be less lenient. Despite what many may think, I associated with Dumbledore only because he was willing to make a stand against them when no one else was. I never agreed with all he advocates. He would allow bygones to be bygones. I am not so forgiving. Your son was part of a plot against my House. His extent of complicity is of little moment seeing as he was aware of it and did nothing to stop it.”
“If I do what I have to do to be rid of the shame of that name, what will become of him?”
“Well, that is the question isn’t it? I need not disown him under the circumstances as annulment would have the same effect.”
“Why?” Robert asked. “I know, I know, this is what I get for missing ‘staff meetings.’ But how does annulment get rid of that problem?”
“Annulment declares that there never was a marriage,” Ted said. “While it’s obvious there was a child, the child was born out of wedlock. Since 1926 in Muggle England and Wales, a bastard can inherit from his natural parents unless he is excluded in their wills expressly or by implication which means that there’s nothing left to pass to him. Under our law, which before 1926 was the same as the Muggles, a bastard cannot inherit anything unless he is specifically named and included in his parents wills. Even then and in both worlds, noble titles cannot pass to an illegitimate heir.”
“What that means is he has no birthright,” Sirius said. “If Daddy Deadly dies and failed to name his son - by name - in his will, the son gets nothing. ‘I leave everything to my firstborn son’ excludes bastards. ‘My firstborn son Draco’ would include the boy regardless of his legitimacy. Naturally, all of this assumes there’s anything left to inherit in the first place. But as we discussed at that meeting you missed ‘this morning,’ he clearly believes he’s to get more than a little.
“So, and Annulment could cut him off from his Malfoy expectancy and House Black does not recognize bastards either. It’s a pity, given that Great-great granddad Phineus had a hundred and fifteen of them which would’ve made Lucius’s plot all but impossible if he had to eliminate all those lines as well. An Annulment means the boy has no claim to House Black whatsoever. As harsh as it might sound, there’s less social stigma attached to his change in status than there would be were I to disown him outright. We checked.”
“They’re the same to me,” Cissy began.
“I take it Lucius did not consult you about House matters such as the details of betrothals?”
“There’s a betrothal? Not that I’m surprised, but I was never told of such.”
“Your son is betrothed to Miss Pansy Parkinson,” Ted said. “Lord Black obtained copies of all relevant House papers during his eventful trip to Gringotts back in August and as Head of House Black that included outstanding betrothal agreements, Black family trusts and the like. That agreement is binding on House Parkinson. House Malfoy may rescind it in favor of a better match, although an annulment would make it binding on the boy as well as he would no longer be of House Malfoy. But the agreement is such that his change in status does not affect the betrothal, although it’s fair to say the father of the Bride may be a little put out to learn that the Bridegroom is not as valuable as he was led to believe. But he cannot back out as the diminution in value was not truly foreseeable at the time of the agreement. Stuff happens, you know? The agreement only allows Parkinson to back out if the boy was disowned outright, which is not the case here.”
“I didn’t know about that…” Cissy began.
“It seems your hubby had all sorts of secrets,” Sirius snorted, “although this time, it seems, the joke is on him. Parkinson was a fallback option. Lucy apparently tried to shop your boy around when he was a baby, trying to pass him off as the next Head of House Black to sweeten the pot, as it were. Pity. Grandfather was still alive and it appears he quietly quashed that nonsense. As a future Head of an Ancient and Noble House your boy was potentially valuable and would have commanded top offers. As the scion of House Malfoy, however… well, he wasn’t worth nearly as much, was he? But we can’t have a proper pureblood scion walking about unhitched, can we? It wouldn’t be decent.
“So, Lucy took a deal from Parkinson. Maybe it was the best he could get. I can’t say. But among the provisions is one where if he should lose his parents, as it were, he’s to live with them and more critically, he’s stuck marrying the girl. So an annulment won’t see the boy cast out on the streets or without any prospects.”
“He’d have nothing,” Cissy protested.
“Well, no fancy house, that’s true, not unless he could afford one on his own,” Mr. Tonks said. “But he would certainly not be left without a knut. We can’t say for certain, but I would not be surprised if his father established a Trust fund for the boy at some point. As you should know, such things are common practice amongst the families with means. Moreover, an annulment has no bearing on the trust as it now stands. House Malfoy can’t get it back. Depending upon how it’s structured, it might be able to avoid funding it further, assuming it is to be added to and is not fixed in that way. We do know that no claim has been made against the boy’s Black family trust and regardless of what action Lord Black may take, he can’t touch that either. It was the standard trust for children in good standing, as it were. Five thousand was added to principal the day after he was born and the day after each birthday until he turns twenty-one and the total accrued interest at nine percent per year. He may not access this supplemental trust at all until he turns seventeen or finishes Hogwarts, whichever is later, unless he has no other source of support. So he would first have to exhaust whatever money House Malfoy has set aside from his exclusive use. Afterwards and until he turns twenty-five, he can only draw from the annual interest payouts. At twenty five, he gains control over all of it.
“Right now, the balance stands at 134,000 Galleons or so. Last year, the Trust earned over eleven thousand. When he finishes school, the balance should be around 232,000 with an anticipated annual income of over nineteen thousand. That’s quite a healthy income stream for anyone. If he avoids dipping into it - a possibility given we don’t know the details about his other Trust, just that there is one - he stands to realize about 450,000 Galleons on that birthday that would generate an annual income of 37,000 or so. That’s not exactly a pauper’s living.”
“And before you ask,” Sirius continued, “I can’t touch the money that’s there. He hasn’t done anything that would allow me to do so. I can stop adding to it, but I’m not going to for now. It’s a pittance from House Black’s financial perspective but a fortune to one without a fortune. Perhaps he will grow up and learn from his father’s mistakes. I won’t punish him further for the idiot that sired him. But neither will I condone a threat to my House. The Ancient and Noble Houses that are left did not survive the centuries intact by playing Dumbledore’s games of forgiveness and redemption. Every one of them has been brutal in one way or another to its enemies and has not tolerated threats.”
“I understand,” Cissy said. “You’re being more than generous, I should think.”
“This action is not a final one, Cissy,” Andi said. “In the fullness of time it remains possible that your son may once again be a Black.”
“He’ll have to earn that,” Sirius said. “As it stands, there are five Ancient and Noble Houses that have no respect for the boy: Abbott, Black, Bones, Longbottom and Potter. He has to learn that the world does not care what he wants. He will get only what he can earn.”
Cissy nodded. She understood that her son was being offered far more than necessary. They said nothing about whether the boy had anything to do with the girls in the subbasement. Perhaps they did not know. If he had done anything to any one of them he was no son of hers as far as she was concerned.
“And my marriage? It will end today?”
“It should,” Sirius said. “A couple of days at the most if the Clerk’s Office is slow which is a possibility. My plan was to annul both marriages today and to place those four girls under House protections to keep the Ministry and St. Mungos from just tossing them to the wolves as it were. As for your fate? I need a few weeks to get some things sorted. You can remain here or move with your sister or whatever. Just be sure I and the Grangers can find you when your new place is ready. Lady Hermione will cast a charm that will allow you to meet with those girls if you wish without their learning that there’s any connection with their former circumstances. If you wish to see them today, Andi can take you.”
“Thank you, Siri,” Cissy said in a sad tone. She was free of a marriage she did not want and welcomed back into a family she had been proud of, but she did not know where this really left her.