Crows for Gardens
The portkey transported them directly inside Caershire's wards, just a few feet away from the statue that would be in the middle of the village. An impressive representation of the village's founders stood imposing and graceful.
The stunning sight of a murder of crows, not ordinary ones but made of a glistening white crystal, elegantly flying over a large marble pedestal. The birds were circling each other in an endless dance, each move of theirs appearing to be a carefully choreographed performance. As you look closer, you notice that each of the birds' chests had a carving of the Peverell coat of arms, which was coloured in black. The crows, representing the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, had the Deathly Hallows of the Peverells on their chest, which was a signal of an unbreakable alliance. The two most powerful families in Britain were joining hands together to form an unshakable bond.
All around the village's heart, men, goblins, and werewolves worked to bring Caershire alive. Wixen and werewolves erected the walls of future homes, stores and other buildings, while goblins gave the village's wards the necessary final touches. The foundations of a new order, more egalitarian and inclusive than the one offered by the Ministry, were starting here in this very land. The project of two wizards with the possibility of changing the entire country.
Hedwyn was particularly proud when he saw wixen working alongside werewolves with no fear or disgust in their eyes. People were not even living next to each other yet and there was already a change in demeanour. Here, in a place separate from most of Wizarding Britain, different types of people felt comfortable enough to let go of old prejudices and embrace the unfamiliar. He would not be naïve, however, in believing that no discrimination was going to take place here. Hundreds of years of hate against magical creatures would not go away easily, but this was a step in the right direction. A change that Britain needed desperately.
The beginnings of a new country were going to start in this village and no one, not even the Ministry or Voldemort, could stop it from happening. “You cannot stop progress,” said Regulus a few days ago when Hedwyn forbade Aurors from entering the village's wards. After that event, both Hedwyn and Regulus agreed that an independent form of policing was necessary. A force that was incorruptible by the Ministry and their lackeys. The type of law enforcement agents, however, did not sit well with Regulus.
“What do you mean you want to use Inferi?!” Was the first question of a long and arduous day of arguments between the two men. It took an hour for Hedwyn to explain the meticulous ways he would change the Inferi into more of golems than to keep the creatures as corpses. Even after much explanation, Regulus was not confident about this idea, but after Harry told his fiancé that Death would oversee the process, the Black Heir stopped arguing against the plan.
“Why does Death's help have a more significant weight in your will to let this happen than your future husband's wishes?” Said Hedwyn, annoyed at the lack of faith from his fiancé.
Both men argued more and more for hours. The two only stopped when Ædda appeared and told her masters that dinner was read. Regulus winced when he realised none of them had lunch, since they stayed in Hedwyn's office, arguing all day about Inferi and golems. Let's hope Kreacher never hears a word about this, he gulped and looked left and right to make sure his elf was not there.
Now, one of the Inferi-golems was walking around the village — to make sure nothing bad happened. Regulus still shivered when he saw the thing walking around; and even Hedwyn looked at it with distrust. Thankfully, no one else was aware of the nature of the creature, since Regulus told Harry to incase the thing in white-coloured marble, enchanted to be flexible enough for the creature to chase potent criminals. It was almost funny to see something that otherwise would terrify people walking around the village like a big marble figure.
Walking past a four-storey building that would become the Caer School of Witchcraft and Wizardry — made to resemble the architecture of Hogwarts but with small French-inspired touches here and there —, the couple went towards Hallows' Square, a park close to the school where parents and children could have some time to relax together. The place was filled with beautiful greenery, benches made of oak tree wood, and statues of important Blacks and Peverells from history.
Hedwyn and Regulus sat on a bench close to the statue of Lyra Black, a witch known for her invention of the Anti-Apparition Charm, and intertwined their fingers. Resting his head on Regulus' shoulder, Hedwyn let out a sigh and relaxed. The beauty of the place made the couple relax more against one another, with both of them only admiring the nature around them. They stayed like this for a while, comfortable and calm beside each other.
It had been just a few days after the ritual and the couple were still digesting everything that happened, as well as what they did. The news of Dolohov's body being found close to Knockturn Alley left many people in shock from the sudden death. Not that it was Dolohov's body, of course. After the ritual, the Death Eater had been unrecognisable, resembling more an Inferi than a normal wizard. It was thanks to Death that they had made a golem with Antonin's blood and bones in order to recreate a more believable and not-so-suspicious murder. Any wixen with a good eye that looked at what was left of Dolohov would know that the man had been used in a ritual.
Hedwyn had sent the spy bird to Knockturn to hear what people were saying about the man's death, and, fortunately, no one said a thing about rituals or realised it was not actually Dolohov. Most people were saying it was some sort of revenge against the Death Eater since Antonin was known in the darkest alleys of Knockturn for being a fan of torturing his victims. Thanks to that part of the man's history, a lot of people believed it was some family member of one of Dolohov's victims that ended the Death Eater's life.
The Ministry itself was not very concerned with Dolohov's death, especially after the Dark Mark was found on the man's left arm. Harry had looked smug for hours after recreating the Mark to such a perfect degree, which only made Regulus roll his eyes at his fiancé's behaviour.
The matter of the Dolohov family was a different one, however. New and, thankfully, not Death Eater, Lord Mikhail Dmitry Dolohov did not even comment on his brother's death. The new lord and his pregnant husband, Edmund Thomas Dolohov (né Fawley) decided their presence at Antonin's funeral was unnecessary and stayed in Dolohov Manor with the rest of the family. No member of the Dolohov family went to the funeral, which was most definitely a conscious decision from the family to distance themselves from Antonin completely.
The Death Eaters, on the other hand, were visually unwell with Antonin Dolohov's death. The few Hedwyn had sent the bird to spy on were whispering in their own homes. Talks of assassination and conspiracies about who had killed Antonin were all they talked about since their colleague's death. Some even questioned the Dark Lord's lack of urgency after one of his vassals was murdered. Apparently, Lord Voldemort did not give a single thought to Dolohov's death or who might've killed him.
After listening to Raphaël Rosier, Theodore Nott and Ansel Gamp discuss the need for protection in case someone came after them, Hedwyn and Regulus couldn't help but start a new plan to, maybe, bring some of the Death Eaters with lordships to their side. In the beginning, Harry had argued that they would never betray their lord for no reason, but Regulus pointed out that none of the most prominent Death Eaters were there because they believed blindly in the Dark Lord's agenda. In reality, all these men wanted was power. Power to their families, power to control more of the Wizengamot and, in turn, Wizarding Britain as a whole. “They think of themselves as the most important people in the country,” argued Regulus. “They will do anything in their power to ensure they continue in what they see as the ‘right side’.”
One could not argue against the selfishness of wealthy people, thought Hedwyn. And after some more talking, the men agreed to try bringing some lords to their side, after they had the Voldemort situation under control. “We will not be ordered around by mere Death Eaters,” Hedwyn had said, making Regulus smirk. “Not at all, dear,” the smirk on Regulus' face became a devilish smile as he spoke. “We will make sure they know their place.” Hedwyn asked how they'd do that, which Regulus only told his boyfriend to read more books on Parseltongue while he read more about Soul Magic.
“Do you think is time to act against the old goat as well?” Hedwyn asked while the two walked through the park after getting up from the bench.
Regulus thinks for a while but eventually nods. “It's probably better to do it now than to wait more. At least now we have some leverage, but who knows how things will be in the future.”
“Yeah, you're right. I'll call for a meeting of the Board of Governors. Do you think you can speak to your grandmother about it? Good. I'll send letters to Lord Greengrass and Lady Smith. I won't even waste time with Lord Longbottom and Lady Crouch.”
Regulus huffed at the mention of Lord Longbottom. Unfortunately, the man has been under Dumbledore's thumb for years. Although he remained more independent in the Wizengamot, going so far as voting to kick Dumbledore out of Hogwarts was something the man would just not do. “What about Madam Marchbanks? She sounded very independent from the Light Faction in the few times I saw her.”
While Regulus' thinking is not wrong, Hedwyn shook his head either way. “Griselda is fairly independent of the Light, and most importantly Dumbledore. But, in the few talks I had with her about Dumbledore's times as headmaster, she said again and again that dismissing a headmaster of Hogwarts was not something the country was in need of right now. She thinks we should strive for stability. I can see where sees coming from, I wouldn't say I do not, but we don't need stability right now. It would only hinder our efforts to take more control of Hogwarts if we allowed Dumbledore to stay and just made small reforms here and there.”
When he realised Regulus hadn't replied to him, Hedwyn looked at his fiancé just to see him with a smirk on his face. “What?” he asked his partner. “I just love to see you plotting like this,” replied Regulus. Hedwyn only shook his head and laughed.
After they left their seat and started to walk in silence while looking at statues of their ancestors, it was time to go back home. They had many things to do, and more plans to perfect. Not all of the plans had to do with power, though, the men's wedding preparations were coming together quite nicely. Lady Black basically forbids the two from hiring anyone for the preparation. “I will owl some of my contacts and take care of it, boys,” Melania had told them after they tried to deny the help. “It is a tradition in the Black family for the matriarch to help with the weddings,” said Lady Black, shutting both men right away.
After questioning Regulus about this family tradition, Hedwyn was told about all the weddings Lady Black had organised. “Bella's was a beautiful one,” he told Harry. “And Narcissa's! I've never seen so many white flowers in one place. We are in good hands, darling,” was all Regulus had to say to convince him. If Lady Black could make a wedding beautiful enough that no Malfoy had a hand in it, it would be good enough for him. The only thing Harry and Regulus asked Melania was for the wedding to be at Gwynt Keep, to honour Hedwyn's ancestors. Lady Black was sceptical of the decision but agreed after Hedwyn lent her a book about Peverell traditions — which talked extensively about weddings at Gwynt.
What the book didn't say, however, is the deity that would bless their marriage. The Most Ancient and Most Prestigious House of Peverell had embedded their ancestral home with Death's magic over the centuries. And after so long without it, Gwynt Keep would bless another generation of Peverells. Death's blessing would signify Hedwyn and Regulus's desire to befriend the deity like so many of Hedwyn's ancestors and their partners had done.
‘A friendship that will last beyond this plane of existence,’ said Death after Hedwyn asked him what kind of friendship it was. Weirdly, the deity's words had calmed Harry's heart. The news that he would always have Death as a friend was something he never knew he needed to know