Chapter 6
Hydrus and the other children his age would begin their tutoring in two months time, and that meant it was time for their first introduction to Marvolo's eldest son. Little Tom had not joined his father in his visits before, but everyone was in agreement that it was best for him to become acquainted with everyone else before being tutored together.
Today, they were meeting in Black Castle. Hydrus was of course present, along with Corvus, Draco, Theodore Nott, Blaise Zabini, Daphne Greengrass, and Pansy Parkinson. At least one of each child's parents were present, and Regulus had sighed to himself upon the realisation that Bellatrix had brought Corvus alone. There was no Rodolphus to calm her today. The Dark Lord entered the room at last, holding the hand of a young boy who was almost his mirror image. It was no secret that the former Dark Lord had created his son with the same ritual Regulus used, only with the donation of some of the woman's DNA, but Regulus was finding himself hard-pressed to pick out features that did not come from Marvolo himself. He supposed, though, that it was much the same with Hydrus.
Marvolo crouched down, placing himself at a more equal height to his son and the other children, never letting go of his son's hand.
"Hello again, everyone. It's lovely to see you all," Marvolo said softly, speaking to the children, "I would like you all to meet my son, Heir Thomas Corvinus Gaunt. He'll be part of your tutoring group."
Young Tom straightened himself up, clearly trying to imitate his father's confidence, "Hello, please call me Tom."
Hydrus was the first to move, of course. His brave little boy.
"Hullo, Tom!" Hydrus said, with a respectful yet eager nod and a grin, "I'm Hydrus Black, the Peverell Heir! Do you have a toy broomstick?"
The question brought Tom to life, and his nodding matched Hydrus' in enthusiasm, "I do! I can't wait until I'm all grown up so I can ride a real one! They're so fast!"
The ice was well and truly broken after that. The others introduced themselves to Tom, each of them doing the best formal greetings four and five year olds could manage, and began to excitedly chatter about toys and magic and all sorts of other things the adults couldn't quite keep up with. Marvolo gave Regulus a relieved smile, and Regulus merely grinned.
He was no Seer himself, but he had an odd feeling that today would be the beginning of a very close friendship between Tom and Hydrus.
______
The day after Hydrus' fifth birthday, a relatively small celebration by Pureblood standards (meaning it consisted of all their relatives, Hydrus' friends and their parents, but no political allies), it was time for their first trip to the bank. According to Gringotts own rules, a young wizard that held the Heirship for a family their parents had no access to the Lordship of could grant access to vaults from age five onwards.
Seeing as Hydrus' lifelong obsession with dead things had recently branched out into accidentally draining the life force from small animals he found in the garden and presenting Regulus with the bodies, this visit was well overdue. The Peverell books that James had found in the Potter vault were written in the Tongue of the Dead, and thus unable to be read by anyone but Hydrus, but his son's translations of the covers had informed him that these were later editions of Necromantic learning. They needed to enter the Peverell vault as soon as possible to seek out the basics. Regulus could not possibly imagine what Necromancy for Beginners would look like, and he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know. Hydrus, surely a Ravenclaw at heart beneath all his Slytherin tendencies, was so enamoured with learning new things that he told his father everything he discovered, and so Regulus was sure he'd be having nightmares about the books his son was to read soon enough.
Upon reaching Gringotts, they were quickly escorted to the office of the Peverell Accounts Manager, Bloodfang.
"Master Black, Heir Peverell. Greetings. May your gold ever flow."
"Oh, I know this one!" Hydrus exclaimed excitedly, "May your enemies fall by your blade, Master Goblin!"
"Correct, Hydrus, well done," Regulus muttered, ruffling his son's hair with the hand that didn't clasp Hydrus', "This is Master Goblin Bloodfang, the Peverell Accounts Manager."
Bloodfang smoothed over his look of shock at Hydrus knowing a goblin greeting rather quickly, but Regulus had still caught it. The Goblin nodded at them as they took their seats, "May I enquire about the nature of your visit today?"
"Hydrus turned five yesterday, and I believe the sooner he grants his permission for me to access the Peverell vault, the better. His abilities are starting to... present, and I must gather the necessary tomes for him to learn from."
"Very well, Master Black. Heir Peverell will need to complete a full blood inheritance test to fully verify his identity, and then he may grant permission. I shall prepare."
Regulus turned to Hydrus, "Hydrus, remember what I told you about our visit today? Bloodfang is going to need you to complete an inheritance test, do you remember what that means?"
Hydrus nodded eagerly, "Yeah! I prick my finger with the needle, an' the blood drips onto the test an' it tells us all about me!"
"Correct, Hydrus. Well done. Can you prick your finger now for us? I'll heal it right away."
Hydrus immediately leaned forward on his magically raised chair and picked up the gold needle. An adorable look of concentration graced his face, and he pricked his index finger, counting the drops out loud. When he reached three, he pulled his finger away and beamed at his father. Regulus congratulated him, and healed the pinprick with a swift Episkey. They watched silently as Bloodfang chanted in the Goblin tongue, and red-tinged words began to take shape on the page.
"Wicked," Hydrus breathed in awe.
Bloodfang appeared to be getting more surprises today than he had in years, based on the look on his face when all the words settled onto the parchment. Looking up, he began to speak, "Here, Master Black. I believe your son is very well regarded by Lady Magic, indeed."
Regulus took the parchment as fast as was still considered polite, and began to read. Hydrus peered over his shoulder, and Regulus supposed he couldn't really stop him.
FULL BLOOD INHERITANCE TEST
Name: Hydrus Arcturus Black
Date of Birth: 8th May 1980
Father (Sire): Regulus Arcturus Black II
Bearer: Pandora Lovegood, née Malfoy
Partial Donor: Lord James Fleamont Potter
Godfather: Sirius Black
Godmother: Narcissa Malfoy, née Black
Bestowed Titles:
Heir to the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Peverell
Heir to the Noble House of Potter
Second in Line to the Heirship of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black, behind Alphard Orion Black
Magical Abilities:
Necromancer (Peverell Gift)
Blood Mage (Black Gift)
Parselmouth (Peverell Gift)
Parselmagic (Peverell Gift)
Metamorphmagus (Black Gift)
Natural Occlumens (Black Gift)
Natural Legilimens (Black Gift)
Vaults:
Peverell Vault (Limited Access until Majority)- Vault 989
Peverell Heir Vault- Vault 904
Peverell Trust Vault- Vault 873
Black Vault (Limited Access until Majority)- Vault 711
Hydrus Black Trust Vault- Vault 637
Potter Vault (Limited Access until Majority)- Vault 687
Potter Heir Vault- Vault 642
Salazar, have mercy, Regulus thought.
"A Blood Mage? Like you and Auntie Bella? That's so cool, papa!" Hydrus exclaimed.
Regulus smiled softly, despite the fact he was absolutely reeling, "That's right, my son. Just like Auntie Bella and I."
Regulus cast a wandless silencing charm around Hydrus, and passed him a fantasy book he had been reading recently to keep him entertained. Hydrus happily began to read, knowing that his father must have important questions to ask.
"Bloodfang, I must enquire about the Potter Heirship. I relinquished the title back to Lord Potter's son when Hydrus was but a few months old."
"It appears that magic itself judged Heir Peverell as the true Heir, Master Black. Until he either relinquishes the title himself when he turns eleven or is cast from the family by the current Lord, there is nothing we can do."
Regulus groaned, pushing a hand through his hair, "Alright. I’ll worry about that at a later date. I suppose we shall get back to business."
Regulus cancelled the silencing charm, and Hydrus closed his book and glanced up at him, "Is it time to let you into the Vault, papa?"
"Yes, Hydrus, it is. Do you remember the words?"
Hydrus frowned, "I think so..."
"Do you want to repeat after me instead?"
"Yes please, papa."
"Okay, repeat after me then. I, Hydrus Arcturus Black..."
"I, Hydrus Arcturus Black..."
"Hereby grant my father..."
"... Hereby grant my father, Regulus Arcturus Black II..."
Regulus smiled encouragingly, "... Access to the Peverell Vaults until I am of age."
"... Access to the Peverell Vaults until I am of age."
There was a soft glow around Regulus and Hydrus, magic accepting the words, and a ring materialised on the table.
"Ah! This, Master Black, is the Peverell proxy ring. Haven't seen it in centuries. Place it on the thumb of your non-dominant hand, it'll protect you from the vault protections and the family magic in any harmful capacity. When Heir Peverell reaches his age of majority, the ring will remain with you and continue to mark you as protected by House Peverell," Bloodfang explained.
Regulus nodded, placing the ring on his right thumb.
"Can we go to the Vault now?" Hydrus asked, excitedly.
"Yes, Heir Peverell. We shall," Bloodfang responded.
______
It was when they had returned home from their visit to Gringotts that Hydrus asked the inevitable question that Regulus had hoped to put off for a few more years.
"Papa?" Hydrus asked, frowning slightly over the ancient copy of 'Necromancy: An Introduction to the Forbidden Art' that he had been reading.
"Yes, Hydrus?" Regulus responded, putting down his own book.
"On the inher- inherit- the test in the bank it said I had a donor, an' it said Lord Potter. What does tha' mean?"
"Lord Potter and I used to be in a relationship when we were in Hogwarts, mon soleil. When Auntie Pandora agreed to carry you as a baby, Lord Potter was the second parent in the ritual. But Lady Magic chose me to be your father."
"So if he's my other father, why is he not here?" Hydrus mumbled, frowning deeper.
Regulus pulled his son closer to him, "Oh, mon soleil, I didn't let him. Lord Potter had a wife, and he didn't tell me about her. I found out before you were born, and swore to raise you alone. He wanted to be in your life, but it would have had to be in secret. When you're older, maybe before you go to Hogwarts, you can write to him, how does that sound?"
Hydrus smiled, leaning into Regulus' shoulder, "Okay, papa. I don't need him, I have you! An' all my aunties an' uncles, an' cousins!"
"I know, darling, and we all love you so much."
______
Flooing into Grimmauld Place after work and being met with silence was always jarring. After all, Regulus had lived here his whole life- his childhood had been filled with the sounds of spell work, his mother entertaining other high society witches, his father playing piano, Sirius causing some sort of havoc, the soft pops of Kreacher apparating around after Sirius to repair the damage. These days, the home was usually filled with the chaos that came with Hydrus and his cousins and friends, the laughter of the adults as they watched over their antics.
But now, it was silent. His parents had moved to France last year, Sirius, Rabastan, and Alphard had moved to Black Castle when Sirius took up the Lordship, and Hydrus spent weekdays at Malfoy Manor for his tutoring lessons whilst Regulus worked. The house was quiet apart from the sounds of Regulus freshening himself up and getting changed, and then it would be totally silent again when he flooed to Malfoy Manor.
He always flooed over himself to pick up Hydrus, even though he could use the floo on his own now. It was tradition, and allowed Regulus to see family every day, even briefly. Today, though, was Friday. Friday meant spending the evening with the core of the former Inner Circle and Marvolo, a way to unwind at the end of the week.
Regulus dusted his robes off with a flick of his wand as he exited the floo, and made his way into the drawing room. Hydrus was likely in Draco's room with the others, there was no need to go up and interrupt as dinner was in an hour.
It had been two weeks since their visit to the bank, two weeks since he told Hydrus about James, and Regulus could tell by the look on Sirius' face that he knew something. The grimace Rabastan sent him only confirmed it. Oh dear.
Regulus settled down on a sofa beside Evan and Barty nonetheless, exchanging pleasantries and engaging in normal conversation. He was just waiting for Sirius to find an opportunity to say what was bothering him. The Blacks were nothing if not dramatic, so of course this would be a public confrontation.
"... I was astounded!" Narcissa exclaimed, "The nerve old Lord Parkinson has, willing to throw away the Parkinson title to a side branch just because they have an Heiress instead of an Heir! The sooner Primrose takes up the Lordship, the better, little Pansy should not be hearing that kind of talk from her own grandfather."
"Speaking of Heirships," Sirius said, much too casually, as Rabastan groaned beside him, "Regulus, my dear brother, I was at Gringotts today for an audit of the family vaults and titles. Care to tell us why Hydrus is Heir Potter?"
You could have heard a pin drop in the room, right up until the moment Bellatrix dropped her glass of wine. Regulus decided not to look anywhere other than directly at Sirius, ignoring how Marvolo looking absolutely baffled in his peripherals. Admittedly, he’d still ingrain that expression into his memory because Marvolo never looked baffled, there was very little he didn’t already know. Complete, candid honesty was probably Regulus' best chance here.
"James Potter and I began a relationship in secret when I was in fourth year," he began, cautiously.
"Bloody knew it," Barty grumbled, "Evan, you owe me ten Galleons."
"I absolutely do not," Evan scoffed, "Seeing as I already knew about the relationship when it began."
"Anyway," Regulus continued, "I joined the Death Eaters in sixth year, as you all know, and James pledged himself to the Order the same month. We had an unspoken agreement not to mention a single thing about our respective sides- for all intents and purposes in our relationship, we acted like there was no war going on at all. In August 1980, James approached me begging for an Heir. I decided why the hell not, Pandora had already promised to be my surrogate one day. He didn't ask much about the ritual, only to check that he didn't need to be present, and so I did the ritual alone- meaning Lady Magic blessed me as the primary parent. I didn't know that James had married the Mudblood, Evans, as he never told me. I found out when I went to file Sirius and Rabastan's marriage records and the Ministry, and Lilah Abbot mentioned the scandal that it had caused in the department. So, when Hydrus was born, I told James that I'm raising him alone, that I knew about his marriage and how Evans was expecting."
"But why is Hydrus still the Heir?" Lucius pressed, leaning forward, "Surely, Potter would have renounced it?"
"I renounced Hydrus' claim myself when grandfather sent me to James to see if the Potter vault had any Peverell books in it," Regulus said, running a hand through his hair, "According to Bloodfang, the Peverell Accounts Manager in Gringotts, Lady Magic must have rejected the decision and decided that Hydrus is the better decision for Heir."
Sirius was still frowning, but seemed at least slightly cheered up by Hydrus being deemed better than James Potter's legitimate child, "What are your plans, then? The scandal this could cause in coming years could be disastrous."
"Disastrous for the reputation of Potter, not Hydrus and the House of Black," Lucius cut in, "Regulus was deceived, Hydrus grew up with one parent as a result."
"Does Hydrus know?" Bellatrix cut in, surprisingly softly, worry shining in her eyes.
Regulus sighed, "Yes. I had planned to keep it from him for a few more years, but I let him read his inheritance test at the bank and he asked when we got home. He took it very well, he knows it has to be kept secret. I told him when he gets older, before he goes to Hogwarts, I'll let him write to James. See where it goes from there. He doesn't seem remotely interested in being Heir Potter, or having James as a father."
"Maybe he'll change his mind," Marvolo mused, swirling his wine around the glass, "Being able to change the Potter seat to the Dark faction would be most fruitful."
"Enough of the scheming," Narcissa said, firmly, "Regulus, you would not be with someone for so many years if you believed they were capable of such deceit. What happened?"
"I have my suspicions," Regulus admitted.
Barty leaned across Evan and smacked his arm, "Fucking tell us them, then!"
"I would if you didn’t interrupt! The first glaring issue is that James had never been attracted to witches. He told me when we first started to get to know each other that he'd known all his life that he was gay, he'd tried being with witches before he asked me out and it did nothing for him. He stopped mentioning it when he was in his seventh year, but had never said anything about having his doubts. Secondly, up until the week he pledged to join the Order, James hated them. Didn't see the point in an armed vigilante group like that, especially such an extremist Light one."
"But aren't the Potters Light?" Rabastan questioned, confused.
"Politically, yes. They're Progressives, all for accepting Mudbloods with their Muggle traditions and all that. Magically, they're Grey. James himself fell into the Darker side of Grey, at least before he joined the Order, I'm not sure about now. The Potters are practicers of the Old Ways."
Marvolo made a noise of acknowledgment, "Yes, indeed. When we visited the Potters that Samhain night, Lord Potter had blood runes drawn onto his skin. Said I'd interrupted his ritual."
"The more you know, I guess," Sirius shrugged, though Regulus could see the calculating gleam in his eyes. He was Lord Black, he could use that. Regulus would let him.
"Back to my point," Regulus said, "James started acting weirdly at the beginning of that school year. He never wore his Heir ring during Quidditch practice or matches, meaning he was vulnerable. Sometime before Samhain, I noticed that he had stopped wearing it at all."
"So compulsions or potions," Marvolo said, thoughtfully, "I would be unsurprised that Dumbledore would stoop to such low levels, it almost seems like he was setting up the scene for that false prophecy."
"Exactly! It never made any bloody sense!" Regulus exclaimed, throwing his hands up. Narcissa gave him a warning glance as the wine in his glass threatened to spill, which he ignored, "But what the fuck can be done about it? Those compulsions are years old now, probably intertwined with his very soul."
"Not necessarily," Marvolo argued, "After all, he never believed in the prophecy. He has lied about my death to the world. You may not have stated it explicitly, but he still wished to be with you and raise Hydrus, yes?"
"Yes," Regulus admitted, begrudgingly.
"Honestly," Narcissa announced, "I meant it, enough of this scheming. Fridays are for relaxing, yes? You can all work out where to go from here at a later date."
Everyone nodded their agreement, and the conversation shifted to easier topics.
"Draco's accidental magic is showing a tendency for flames," Lucius said, grimacing, "I believe the Veela ancestry is particularly strong in him, he may have an inheritance."
"He made the peacocks breath flames the other day," Narcissa added, grinning widely, “And they singed Lucius’ favourite robes.”
"Thank Merlin," Sirius muttered, "Bloody annoying hell birds."
"We tested him with the hourglass at the weekend," Narcissa continued, failing to hide the amusement in her eyes at the snub of her husband's prized albino peacocks, "Draco certainly does have a proclivity for fire-based magics, along with Potions, Charms, Healing, and the Dark Arts."
"Our little Corvus' talents lie in the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Runes, Blood Magic, and Duelling!" Bellatrix announced, "Rod and I couldn't be prouder!"
"Have you not tested him before?" Barty asked, "We tested Felix when he was two."
"Black tradition," Sirius said, waving a dismissive hand, "We test children after the age of five. It's the age where they begin to experience an increase of accidental magic, so we bring them before the hourglass after that. Testing earlier may fail to show some traits that manifest with the increase of accidental magic."
"We're testing Felix again," Evan announced, sharing a look with Barty, who merely nodded.
"I brought Hydrus before the hourglass a few weeks ago myself," Regulus added, "It's basically as expected."
"Do share, cousin," Narcissa prompted.
"Necromancy, naturally. Blood Magic, Runic based magic, the Dark arts, Potions, Warding, Duelling, and Charms."
"Very similar to Tom, bar the Necromancy and Warding," Marvolo noted, approvingly, "Tom also has a proclivity for Arithmancy, and some forms of Divination- Haruspicy and Astragalomancy."
"What the hell are those?" Rabastan asked. He had never been one to pay attention to anything to do with divination.
"Haruspicy is the art of divining from entrails, whilst Astragalomancy uses marked dice, usually made from bone," Bellatrix explained patiently. Despite her violent inclination with magic, Bellatrix was the only Black in her generation to have any sort of gift with Divination, taking the form of paintings that she made when entering a trance. It was one of these paintings, of a young Regulus holding a baby, that made him agree when James approached him about creating an Heir.
"It is good to see Lady Magic’s gifts rearing its heads in this generation of the Dark. We are truly blessed. My sister Pandora's daughter, Luna, has been gifted with the Sight. She is a Seer, much like her mother and my grandmother," Lucius drawled, preening.
"Merlin, these kids are bloody terrifying, aren't they?" Barty huffed, "Thought our Felix was going to grow up to be scary, with all his explosive magic, but here we have a Seer, a Necromancer, and several Blood Mages."
No one could actually disagree with that.
______
After dinner, Regulus joined Marvolo in the doorway to the children's playroom in Malfoy Manor, watching their sons play. The other children were standing a safe distance away as Hydrus drained the toad Tom was holding of life, before pushing the life back into it. It was morbid, and probably not something the other adults would approve of, but Regulus was proud of his son and none of the children seemed remotely horrified, so he figured he just wouldn't mention it. Marvolo had a wistful smile on his face.
Casting a non-verbal silencing charm around them as Marvolo stepped slightly back from the door, Regulus turned to his former Lord.
"Are you alright, Marvolo?"
"Yes. I don't think I've ever been better. Tom and Mattheo have the childhood I longed for, is all."
"I understand the feeling, somewhat," Regulus said, smiling softly, "I had a good childhood, but I never connected with the children I spent my childhood with, other than Pandora. Her and Sirius were really my only friends until Hogwarts, where I met Barty, Evan, and Severus."
"Yes, my first friends were met in Hogwarts too. Tiberius Nott, Abraxas Malfoy, Reginald Lestrange, and your father, Orion Black. I am somewhat... disconnected from them, now. We meet up every couple of weeks, but they age, and I don't. I still look young."
"You have us, Marvolo. All of us."
Marvolo smiled, lighting up his eyes, "I know, and I am ever so thankful. To think, I had plans in my youth to break the laws of magic, to create multiple Horcruxes and become indestructible. Instead, I created a new ritual- breaking off the tiniest sliver of my soul instead of an entire half. My soul healed itself, I escaped madness, and now I have a family. Not just my sons, but all of you as well."
"I'm glad you saved yourself," Regulus whispered.
They stood there in silence for another few minutes, content just to watch over the children, until Marvolo broke the silence once more.
"I asked Lucius to introduce a new motion to the Wizengamot sometime soon- to have all Lords scanned for mind-altering magics before the beginning of each season. If Lord Potter was influenced, how do we know no one else was?"
Regulus gave the other man a soft smile, placing a hand on his shoulder, "Thank you."
Marvolo nodded, "It's the least I can do. You and Hydrus both deserve closure."