Chapter 2
Arcturus Black was to be the last Lord of a fallen House. He had never realized in his youth that he had been so ill-fated. He had lived a good life; married a woman he actually loved, had children and grandchildren, and he had passed on his duties to his son when he thought he had been ready. And then he had lost everything. All that was left of the future of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black was either imprisoned, ensorcelled, dead, or a Malfoy. Arcturus was once again the lord and he would most likely be the last.
He knew that the Malfoy’s would never give up their pride and choose the name Black over their own, even if Black held much more weight. There was a chance that the young Draco could pass the title on to a future child, though the chance of any Malfoy siring more than one child was unlikely due the blood curse.
He had another great niece, though he knew her family would never let him have access to her. He had tried to reach out through several channels over the years and was always rebutted or ignored.
Arcturus must have offended the fates at some point in this life or a previous one. He would die as the last Black Lord and he knew there was nothing he could do at this point.
Arcturus had been living alone in Black Manor since the death of his dear Melania, nearly a decade before. He occasionally got visits from his daughter, Lucretia; his cousins, Cassiopeia and Pollux; and Pollux’s family. The sad truth was that there weren’t many members of the House of Black left, their numbers dropping by the dozens in only a couple decades. Four or five more deaths and the house of Black would be all but gone.
He was 88 years old, which while old for a muggle, it wasn’t all that old for a wizard at all. He knew plenty of wizards older than him; by the gods, Dippet had to be past 350 by now. Wizards and witches were meant to live long lives naturally, though it seemed less the case in recent years. Arcturus, himself, knew that he didn’t have too much longer. He had seen healers and had all kinds of scans and tests and none of them had shown anything. He knew though, knew something wasn’t right. His magic was weaker, he was weaker, and it was only growing worse as the days went by.
He went about his day as usual. Breakfast in the dining room, reading in the study, tea in the garden; all while his krup, Keir, followed after him. He was enjoying a late lunch in the orangery when a Gringotts owl flew in through a high window, dropping a red enveloped letter directly on top of his sandwich. Arcturus knew it wasn’t often that Gringotts employed use of red envelopes and he was quick to snatch the thing up and get to the contents.
Though Arcturus spent most of his days at home he was always dressed and presentable, as was proper. It only took him a moment to adorn an outer robe and he was stepping through the floo into one of Gringotts lesser used floo-rooms. There was a goblin guard standing near the rooms exit, bedecked in the custom goblin armor. Arcturus approached the guard and nodded his head.
“I am Arcturus Black, I have received an emergency summons from a Mr. Bogrod.” He held up the red envelope for reference.
“Of course, Lord Black. Follow me.”
The goblin guard led him out of the receiving room and through a labyrinth of hallways until they reached the doorway that must have been Bogrod’s office. The guard knocked a small pattern and then opened the door for Arcturus to step through. When he did he noticed that one of the chairs in front of the desk was already occupied by a small figure with riotous raven hair.
The little girl turned when she heard the door open and Arcturus’ breath caught in his throat. He had been a young teen when his cousin Dorea had been born and he remembered vividly what she had looked like as a child. That face was staring at him now. She looked exactly like a young Dorea. Arcturus would have thought that he had finally succumbed to the madness if it weren’t for the eyes, the eyes that told him this girl wasn’t his cousin, merely someone who looked a lot like her. Dorea had had the Black’s silvery gray eyes, and while Arcturus could see the Black silver in this girls eyes as well, it was almost as if the silver had been tarnished with an eerie shade of green.
“Caelum?”
It was the only person she could be, though she looked much too small. He was certain Dorea had been larger at her age. The girl had to be nearing ten and was the size of a particularly thin seven year old. Lucretia had certainly been a much larger child, as well as all of the other Black daughters he could think of.
He noticed that the girls surprised look had morphed into one of confusion at his address. She turned her furrowed look to the guard beside him, who Arcturus saw do a little shrug, and then to the goblin behind the desk, presumably Bogrod. The goblin glanced down at the stack of papers sat in front of him.
”Your full name, as seen by magic, is Caelum Lilwen Potter-Black.”
The girl seemed just as shocked by her full name as Arcturus. Potter-Black, he said?
”Black? Is that because of the Black family magic?”
“What about the Black family magic?” Arcturus asked from the doorway, genuinely curious. It seemed to startle the girl, who had momentarily forgotten his presence.
”Welcome, Lord Black.” Bogrod spoke, rising to a standing position and ignoring his question for the moment.
The girl’s, Caelum, eyes grew wide as she stared at him, presumably not realizing who he had been before. The goblins must not have told her what they had planned, he was curious himself. Where were the Potters and why was the girl here all alone? Why was she so dirty? He hadn’t noticed that before but now that he was looking, she needed a good bath.
He nodded respectfully to the goblin banker and took a seat in the proffered chair, beside the small girl who seemed to be lost in thought. Arcturus had a thousand questions on the tip of his tongue and it took all of his training in propriety not to start blurting them out. He waited for Bogrod to gather himself and begin.
“Miss Caelum Potter-Black,” the girl seemed to jitter at the sound of her name and Arcturus wondered what she had thought it was.
“Apparated into Gringotts nearly an hour ago.” Arcturus balked at the thought of a wandless child apparating.
”Into the floo-room assigned to the Black family.” The goblin guard spoke up from behind them.
”Into the floo-room assigned to the Black family.” The banker echoed, slightly exasperated. Though, Arcturus could recognize the significance of such a thing even being possible.
“The apparition was, of course, accidental magic but as Miss Potter-Black had already met Grinwick,” the banker motioned towards the guard, “they decided to check to see if she had an account, as she did not know. She hadn’t known about the bank or about the existence of the magical world at all, as she has been living with muggles for the past 8 years.”
The goblin gave Arcturus a pointed look but he was sure he had heard something wrong. He had to have. Muggles?
”Excuse me?” Arcturus asked, voice void of emotion.
“According to Miss Potter-Black, she has been under the guardianship of the muggle relatives of the late Ms. Potter nee Evans and she had never heard of Lord Henry Potter before today.
“Grinwick immediately brought the young miss to my office where we decided to perform a scan of her magical bonds, as the least invasive method that would still show family ties.”
Arcturus nodded along, he knew of the version of Chorda Cognatus that the goblins performed. He gazed down at the little girl beside him in wonder as he waited for the goblin to continue. He could guess where this was going but didn’t dare to hope.
“Her results…” Bogrod seemed to examine the girl, Caelum, with his eyes before he handed the paper over to Arcturus, who took it greedily. He scanned the document over and focused in on the pertinent and interesting parts.
Caelum Lilwen Potter-Black, as Bogrod had said. She was born on July 31, 1980, born under an Aries moon.
A Patrinus-Filia Vinculum, godfather-daughter bond, to Sirius Orion Black. Arcturus had heard that the boy had become a godfather but he hadn’t fully believed it. Not at the time, and especially not after. For the bond to show up on a scan like this one, they must have done a bonding ritual, which Arcturus hadn’t been expecting. His grandson and Dorea’s boy had been strongly and vocally against many of their own traditions. He had assumed they had gone the muggle route, the mother being a young muggleborn herself. So Arcturus was surprised to find now that the bond had been real. He wondered what that meant for the both of them now, it was a miracle that it hadn’t yet fractured.
Arcturus decided that it wasn’t the correct moment to ruminate on the fact that the little girls only bond was to a man she had barely met, who was locked away to never be seen again. He moved on to the bottom of the sheet where there was a sort of graph, a graph that showed how Caelum’s magic had interacted with the orb that the goblin’s use during Chorda Cognatus. There were two distinctive lines of magic that he could make out. One was instantly familiar to the lord. The other, Potter magic, was steady and subdued. An odd way for Potter magic to behave.
Arcturus had a sense towards magic and he had been around both the girl’s father and grandfather frequently enough to know that their Potter magic tended to be… hyperactive. The girls barely spiked though, more of a rhythmic thump, not unlike a heartbeat. If she had only possessed the Potter magic and this was its capacity, she might not be a squib, but she definitely wouldn’t be the most powerful witch in her class by far.
However, Arcturus let his eyes roam over the other line of magic that danced across the parchment. Black magic was chaos, always. The girls own magic was both chaotic and consistent, spiking frequently and wildly. It was strong, too. He wondered if she had any of the family gifts, though she may still be too young to come into some of them.
Arcturus was thrilled, though also worried as he remembered Bogrod saying that she had been raised by muggles. He didn’t trust muggles, not with magical children. Too many times had muggles posed as a hazard to their health. Maybe the muggles wouldn’t always turn on their own child but these people weren’t Caelum’s parents. He didn’t trust a muggleborn’s sister to care for a young Black witch as far as he could throw her, and these days, it wouldn’t be very far.
Arcturus had thought that the girl was with Henry Potter. He was certain that he had been told so and was infuriated to find out otherwise. There were many questions that he expected an answer for, though now was not the time for such matters. Their loss would be his salvation.
Arcturus looked at the small girl beside him, she was glancing between him, the parchment, and Bogrod in curiosity and weariness. There was an intelligence in her eyes and Arcturus approved. They made eye contact and Arcturus smiled down at the mirror image of one of his favorite family members. She smiled back, small and tentative.
”Hello, Caelum.”
”Hello, Lord Black.”
”Your grandmother was my favorite cousin and your godfather is my grandson. That means we are family, yes?”
The young girl stared at him with wide eyes, nodding her head slowly.
“How would you like to come and live at Black Manor?”
***
When Kaley, or Caelum, as was apparently her name, had woken up that morning she had not expected her day to take so many unexpected twists and turns. Everything had felt like a fairy tale once she arrived with the goblins. She had fallen into a world of magic and she had half convinced herself that it was all a dream, especially when Mr. Bogrod had told her that she didn’t have to go back to her aunt and uncle's house if she didn’t want to.
He had seemed pleased when she told him that she didn’t. The goblin had pulled out a piece of paper and a giant feather and immediately started writing a letter to someone that Kaley didn’t know before sending it off with Griphook. The other goblin disappeared back out the door only to return a few moments later sans letter and instead carrying a silver tray that was laden with a small tea service for one. Kaley had been self conscious about being the only one to be served, but politely accepted the dainty cup when Bogrod offered it to her. She ate a couple of the pastries, under the watchful gaze of the goblin in front of her and enjoyed them quite a bit. It had become a habit for her to just ignore her hunger, and so she hadn’t really noticed how hungry she actually was until she ate. Much hungrier than she was expecting, as she’d actually been able to get a bit for breakfast. This was turning into a particularly well fed day for Kaley.
She hadn’t noticed when Griphook or Grinwick left the office, so consumed in enjoying her snack. She had just finished up, the tray seeming to vanish from existence when Bogrod set it on a small table off to one side. She had been so mesmerized by the casual show of magic that she was slightly startled when Grinwick returned to the office with a human man accompanying him.
She had seen other humans on the way to the office but they had been far away and dressed funny, so there had still been some sort of surrealness to them. This man infront of her was very real. He was still dressed different from how normal people dressed, but not as funny as some of the people she had seen earlier. He looked more like an actor out of one of her Aunt Petunia’s period dramas.
He also looked kinda like her, a little. More than her aunt, uncle, and cousin at least, and more than anyone else she knew around Little Whinging. He looked a little old, like a grandfather, but not super old. His hair was thick, like hers, and was still partially black. His clothes looked like something off the BBC, something that some rich old lord would have worn a hundred or two years ago.
His eyes… they were silver, and currently staring at her like he knew her, like he recognized her. She wasn’t used to being under an adult’s scrutiny in such a way; his eyes were kind, not violent or patronizing, though his face didn’t show much expression at all. Maybe that was something people did in this world, like Grinwick and Bogrod had earlier.
The man called her Caelum. Did he know her? Was her name Caelum? Did he have her confused with someone else? She glanced at Grinwick who shrugged. He didn’t know either so she turned to Bogrod who looked over his papers.
Her name was Caelum Lilwen Potter-Black. Kaley sounded kind of like Caelum so it must have been a nickname. She wondered if the Dursleys knew, they had always mocked her name as ordinary. Had they known it wasn’t even her name? She doubted they’d like Caelum much better. Though, she liked the name herself. There wasn’t the negative connotations that she associated with the name Kaley.
She’d never heard the name Lilwen before either, but it was pretty. She hadn’t even realized she had a middle name since they’d always left it blank for school documents in the past.
She also didn’t know that she had two last names. She hadn’t heard Black before today, before the scan with the magic ball. She wondered if it was because of the Black family magic that showed up on her scan, so she asked. She had also, unfortunately, forgotten about the man standing by the door and startled when he spoke again.
He was Lord Black. Which must mean that they were related because her grandmother was a Black. He was also a Lord, like from the shows. That was intimidating. She knew that she would have to be especially polite if this man was a Lord, but Caelum knew how to be polite. It was expected of her from the Dursleys, to be anything else would be unacceptable.
It was curious the way the man reacted to the parchment, to her having Black family magic. His family magic. She had never had anyone look at her like this man did. Like he was proud of her, like she was wanted. She had seen the look in the eyes of her aunt and uncle when they looked at Dudley, but never directed to her.
And he did want her. She didn’t have to think very hard about the decision. The Dursleys were horrible to her and had told her every day since she could remember that she was unwanted and unloved. The chance for anything else was worth it. Her two new goblin acquaintances seemed to think it was a good idea as well, if their small nods gave anything away. Even if things went wrong later on she could always try to escape. She could try to do the appearing thing that she had done earlier to get back here.
The man, Lord Black, seemed pleased with her agreeing to move into Black Manor. She was nervous, but also beyond excited. It was like an adventure. Like a fairy tale story. She was being rescued, something she’d always dreamed of, even if it was a strange way to go about it. Caelum could live in this new world and be a witch, she knew it would be a million times better than living in Surrey was.
After that matter was settled they still needed to address the original reason that Caelum had been brought to Bogrod in the first place. Checking the vaults that she had access to. It seemed embarrassing now that Lord Black was with them. The one vault that she did have was a Black scion vault. The Lord asked if she didn’t have access to a Potter scion vault or the vault of her parents, and seemed angered by Bogrod’s negative response.
Griphook was once again summoned to escort both Caelum and Lord Black to the Black Scion vault. She had tried to refuse, denying the need for it. She didn’t want Lord Black to think that she wanted his money.
He had been insistent though, they would need to buy her some clothes and things for now until they could retrieve her things from the Dursleys. When she insisted that there was nothing she wanted from Surrey everyone looked slightly concerned at her, though thankfully, no one mentioned it.
Caelum said goodbye to Bogrod and Grinwick, sad that she wouldn’t see them for a while. She’d make sure to come back and see them sometime, the fact that they worked at a bank would probably make that pretty easy too.
She followed Griphook out of the office, followed by Lord Black. They were led out of the labyrinth of matching offices and into an area where rows of mine carts sat on top of tracks that seemed to plummet into a void.
Caelum was nervous as she entered the cart, though calmed slightly when Lord Black entered behind her. He didn’t strike her as the kind of man who would willingly climb into his death. She braced herself as the cart took off.
And then laughed the whole trip down. Caelum had never been on a roller coaster before but imagined it to be very similar. It was exhilarating, the wind blowing her hair back and making her cheeks jiggling ever so slightly as she giggled uncontrollably. She was so engrossed in the ride that she didn't notice the fond expression on the faces of both wizard and goblin.
The ride was over too fast and Caelum took a few seconds to collect herself before following Griphook towards the large door in front of them. He procured a small, intricate, key from his pocket and proceeded to unlock the door, which seemed to melt away at the action. Griphook handed the key to Lord Black, who placed it into his own pocket.
Caelum was hesitant to enter the vault. Griphook had stepped off to one side, seemingly not planning on entering. She glanced back toward Lord Black, who nudged her forwards gently. Caelum took a deep breath and began to march her way into the, quite large, room. She felt a strange tingle go through her as she entered and almost froze at the sight in front of her. The room was full. There were shelves and tables lining the walls, each stacked with piles of gold and trinkets. Caelum had never even fathomed this amount of money before. She was at a loss.
Caelum was drawn out of her gaping by the sound of a thump behind her. Her instincts had her whipping around in an instant, prepared for anything. Well, not anything, as the sight that met her had Caelum gaping anew. Lord Black was sprawled across the floor of the vaults entrance, barely making it inside before losing consciousness. Caelum's eyes met Griphooks and his expression wasn’t much different than the little witch’s. The two gaped at each other for s brief moment before springing to action. Griphook began shouting in the garbled language to, presumably, someone close enough to hear and send for help.
Caelum ran over to Lord Black. She had known the man for less than an hour and she wasn’t ready for him to die yet. They were supposed to go to Black Manor. Why was this happening?
She was a little apprehensive about touch in general, but especially with someone who just seemed to collapse on the floor for no reason at all. Was he dying? He was so still. She reached out tentatively to touch the part of him that was closest to her, his hand. As soon as their skin made contact Caelum felt as if a giant jolt of static electricity had shocked her. She almost pulled away out of instinct but for some reason she didn’t. A split second later she felt another small jolt and then another. It didn't hurt her, but it was odd, it was like he had a pulse of electricity living on top of his skin. Caelum wondered if it was his magic.
She was drawn from her thoughts by the arrival of several goblins dressed in similar ways to Grinwick’s knight-like outfit. They were speaking to Griphook in their language and Caelum glanced back down at the sleeping Lord in front of her. His brow was slightly wrinkled and his magic continued its chaotic dance across his skin. She glanced up again as the group of goblins approached them led by Griphook.
”Is it normal for magic to be on top of someone's skin?” She asked, mainly aimed towards Griphook.
He paused slightly.
”Can you see it?”
“No,” she shook her head. “I can feel it. It’s very… bouncy.”
A couple of the knight-like goblins glanced at each other behind Griphook.
”No, it’s not normal. There are a couple of things that it could be. There are certain protections on ancient and noble vaults such as those belonging to the House of Black. Lord Black stepping through the doorway set off those protections so there must have already been something wrong with him.”
”Is he going to die?” Caelum asked in a small voice.
She had just found the chance of a new family and wasn’t ready to go back to being an unwanted orphan once again. She didn’t want the stoic but kind old man to die. She felt like crying.
“He shouldn’t, no.”
Griphook gestured for the other goblins to go about their business. They stepped into the vault behind Caelum, who rose, stepping over to stand beside Griphook. She watched two of the goblins upfold a small piece of fabric until it turned into a stretcher. They placed it on the ground and then the group carefully shifted Lord Black onto it before lifting it once again.
Caelum followed the goblins out of the vault, the door sliding back into existence at their departure. Instead of the small cart that they had ridden down, now a much larger enclosed cart sat on the tracks in front of them. It reminded Caelum of a small, rounded, train carriage on both the outside and inside. Lord Black’s cot was secured off to one side and all of the goblins took a seat. Caelum followed along, climbing into one of the empty bench seats, running more on autopilot than anything at this point.
This cart took off at a much slower and smoother pace than the last one, the ride feeling much different. Caelum glanced over at Lord Black. She had just met the man but in that short time she had noticed that he was a powerful and dignified man, it felt wrong to see him in such a state. She noticed that the goblins all seemed to be averting their eyes from the man, maybe as a sign of respect.
Caelum was confused and exhausted. Nothing had made much sense all day, but one plot twist after another was becoming a little too much for the girl. As she started to drift off to sleep she thought that maybe she really had fallen into a fairy tale, as one bad thing after another usually happened to the little girls in those stories, even after they thought they were saved. While Caelum had many fears, her greatest at the moment was that when she woke she would be back in Little Whinging, back in her cupboard.