Chapter 12
Regulus stayed behind the strongest shield that the combined effort of himself, Severus, Lucius, Sirius, Rabastan, Thaddeus, Bellatrix, Rodolphus, Evan, and Barty could muster. And yet, it still did not offer them much comfort as they watched Marvolo conjure all manner of things just to brutally destroy them. Marvolo was a friend now, not their Lord, and Regulus and the others often forgot that the man was one of the most powerful wizards to walk the earth.
He had been at this for over half an hour thus far, ever since he had read the Daily Prophet article. Regulus couldn't blame him. Marvolo had ended a bloody war, choosing peace for magical Britain as the twisting of tales was escalating tensions, and now people were speculating that the Dark Lord had returned and murdered an entire family, including two children. Honestly, maybe Marvolo was under-reacting.
With a final burst of explosive magic directed at a flawlessly transfigured stone bust that looked an awful lot like Dumbledore, Marvolo stopped and began to return the meeting room of Slytherin Castle back to its normal state. Wandlessly, of course. Slowly, Regulus and the others lowered the shield.
"My apologies," Marvolo said, distantly, "It appears my temper got the better of me."
"Don't bloody blame ya," Barty replied, "I'm livid on your behalf."
"I anticipate scrutiny on the Dark faction in the Wizengamot meeting tomorrow," Lucius mumbled, "Especially on you, Marvolo."
"Well, I'll be damned, Lucius," Evan said, sarcastically, "Do you really?"
“Are you sure that Pandora is the Seer out of the two of you?” Barty added, “I mean, with predictions like that…”
Marvolo made a frustrated noise, placing his head in his hands, and all the curtains in the room went up in acid green flames.
______
You wouldn't have guessed that Marvolo was fucking livid looking at him, Regulus thought to himself. He strode into the Wizengamot chamber confidently, as if this was any other session. As if they were going to be voting on some pointless, poorly thought out bill, and being interrogated about his potential connections to a Dark Lord was simply not a possibility on the agenda.
"And so this begins the January session of the Wizengamot, the first meeting of 1989," Lucius announced once everyone was seated, "Does anyone have any issues to address before we begin with the pre-stated order of business?"
Dumbledore, the wrinkly old bastard, stood up. Of course.
"Chief Warlock Malfoy, Minister Bagnold, if I may have the floor for a moment?"
"Granted, Lord Dumbledore," Lucius replied, neutrally. Regulus knew him well enough to see beneath his perfect diplomatic mask and recognise the hatred in his eyes.
"Esteemed Lords and Ladies," Dumbledore began, once he had reached the podium, "We gather here today missing one of our own, Lord Tremblay. Not even a decade ago, we were in the midst of a war led by a descendant of Salazar Slytherin. The methods used in the brutal murder of the Tremblay family bares a striking resemblance to the tactics of Lord Voldemort and his followers. Therefore, I feel that I must ask Lord Gaunt-Slytherin some questions."
Marvolo rose gracefully from his seat beside Regulus, looking suitably baffled. Regulus could see his hands clenched behind his back, knuckles white, as he feigned ignorance and asked, "Why, Lord Dumbledore? I fear I do not understand the relevance."
"I simply wish to enquire, Lord Gaunt-Slytherin, if you are aware of any further details regarding the attack? It is an unusual coincidence that Lord Voldemort reportedly died in 1981, only for a previously unknown member of the Slytherin line to join the Wizengamot a few years later. Even more unusual that a family is wiped out so brutally with tactics that had not been seen since the aforementioned war."
Marvolo looked positively aghast, "Forgive me, Lord Dumbledore, but it almost appears that you are accusing me of being the Dark Lord. You may request my records from Durmstrang and the Polish Ministry if you wish, and you will surely find that I am no terrorist. I moved to Britain from Poland in 1983, and not a moment before. This accusation is not only false, but wildly offensive. I, like anyone else in this chamber, am horrified at the despicable deaths of Lord Tremblay and his family and I sincerely hope that Lady Magic grants them peace on the other side."
"Lord Dumbledore," Minister Bagnold hissed, "Such senseless accusations made against a Lord above your station! Absolutely despicable conduct in the chamber! You should be ashamed!"
"I second this, Minister," Lucius said, "Lord Dumbledore, please return to your seat. You shall not interrupt proceedings to throw around baseless accusations against a fellow Lord. If you are so convinced of this notion, then go to the DMLE with concrete proof. My sincerest apologies, esteemed Lords and Ladies, for Lord Dumbledore's callous accusations in the wake of such a tragedy. May Lady Magic bless the souls of the departed.”
Regulus could tell that Dumbledore was absolutely seething in his seat. James looked very, very stressed, and Regulus decided that he would definitely need to have a word with him.
When the session had finally ended, Regulus did a respectful amount of mingling until he noticed James heading out of the chamber and excused himself. Slipping into step beside him, Regulus cast the strongest privacy spells he knew, keeping his wand discreetly up his sleeve.
"It was not Marvolo," he said, "He's horrified. Himself and Lord Tremblay had been working together on Bill proposals for the protection of Magical children."
James sighed, "I figured it wasn’t. The Dark Lord theory does not have any real merit within the DMLE, it's just media fear-mongering."
"We're going to look into it ourselves, ask around the places that Aurors can't. If we find anything, I'll send a discreet letter."
"Tell Lord Gaunt-Slytherin to look into his former followers. That's the current working theory we have. A small group of people who were not happy that the war ended."
Regulus nodded, stopping beside the atrium fireplaces that he would use to floo home, "I'll pass that on. Hopefully, we can compile a few names."
James sighed, "I bloody well hope so. The department's a fucking mess over it. Auror Moody wants to bring back the State of War Act that allows Aurors to use the Unforgivables, and if he mentions it once more I fear Madam Bones is going to use them on him instead."
"Is he really?"
James nodded, scowling, "It's troubling, with Moody being as close to Dumbledore as he is. We have no leads to work off, so I cannot fathom why he thinks sanctioning the use of the Dark Arts in the Auror ranks will help anything."
Regulus' face darkened, "No, think harder. I think I have a good idea."
James frowned, before his eyes went wide in realisation, "Fuck. The 'Cast First, Ask Later' clause is part of the Act. I'm going to need to tell Madam Bones."
"I really, really do not envy you," Regulus replied, grimacing, "I'll send a brown barn owl with correspondence when we have leads, but I cannot promise these suspects will be apprehended in a very good state if we find them first."
James nodded, not disapprovingly, "Strengthen your wards, and stay safe."
"I'm a Black," Regulus stressed, "We can handle ourselves."
James rolled his eyes, "That's what I'm afraid of."
______
James sighed, looking down at the address written on the scrap of muggle paper he held in his hand. He had dug through Lily's things just to find it. A tiny scrap of paper from a lined notebook that contained her sister's last known address.
James really didn't know what had possessed him, but he had a truly awful feeling following the murder of the Tremblays. Surely, if this was another supremacist thing as he expected, the relatives of Muggleborns would be high up on the list?
He sighed again as he walked up the narrow pathway leading to the front door of number 4 Privet Drive, and knocked gently on the door.
It was opened within moments, and James was met with the wide, disbelieving eyes of a woman he hadn't seen since the day he got married. Petunia Dursley née Evans looked so much like her sister, the main difference being her sandy blonde hair, as opposed to her sister's vivid red.
"James Potter?" she said, cautiously.
"Petunia, my apologies for the shock. May I step inside?"
She nodded, slowly, opening the door.
"Where's Lily?" Petunia asked, after she had led James into the living room and prepared some tea. James was secretly hoping for something stronger.
"Ah, well, that's part of the reason I came here. Lily is in Azkaban, that's a wizarding pri-"
Petunia almost dropped her cup, "Lily's in Azkaban? What? Why?"
"I discovered she was feeding me love potions without my knowledge, there's a very potent one called Amortentia that-"
"Entirely removes the victim's free wall. Yes, I'm aware. I can't say I'm surprised, really. I know what sort of person my sister is."
"My apologies, Petunia. I didn't expect you to have heard of it."
She scoffed, "If this conversation came a few years ago, I wouldn't have. My son, Dudley, he's magical, you see. Started showing signs when he was a toddler. Vernon and I got divorced very soon after and I was awarded sole custody of Dudley. I wasn't sure what to do, Lily was my only link to your world and I didn't know how to contact her. But I had her school books from Hogwarts, and I read every single one of them. Started going to Diagon Alley and looking at all the introductory books. I found out that I'm a Squib, so I started brewing some potions and learning about Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. I'm not clueless any more, I can't be when I have Dudley to worry about. He'll be starting Hogwarts in 1991."
James' eyebrows almost hit his hairline, "Merlin, I'm sorry Petunia, I really had no idea. He'll be the same year as Lily and I's son, Henry, and my other son, Hydrus."
"I didn't even know Lily and you had children..."
"Henry is Lily and I's only child together, but my other son, Hydrus, is two months older. I had him via a ritual with my ex-boyfriend. Complications with Amortentia and compulsion spells, you see- when I was compelled to feel the urge to have a child, the urge wasn't just directed at Lily..."
"Ah, I see, I see. I can't imagine Lily was too happy with the boyfriend thing, no?"
"She never knew. I understand it's the... common belief in the Muggle world, but it's not in the magical one."
"Lily was an outlier in our family with how much she was against it. Our parents cared very little about what people did in their own time, and I went to university in London when I studied to become a nurse. Some of my closest friends from that time are homosexuals, and it doesn't make me think of them any less. It is a blessing, if two people of the same sex can have children together in the magical world."
James smiled at that, "I'm very glad you think of it that way," his smile dropped, replaced with a serious expression, "I came here to warn you, however. Perhaps you heard about the murder of the Tremblay family?"
Petunia nodded, grimly, "I did. I purchased a Prophet subscription two weeks ago.”
"Well, I'm the Head Auror, and I am of the belief that the murders are part of a sinister, grander picture. I believe this is someone trying to continue the war of years past. I wanted to make you aware, since you're the sister of a Muggleborn, but learning that you're a Squib with a Muggleborn son makes me even more glad that I came here today."
"Fuck, I didn't even think of that..."
"Petunia, I would like to formally extend an offer to yourself and Dudley to become wards of the Noble House of Potter. It should afford you more protection. I would like to meet with you more regularly, and introduce Dudley to Henry. I'm an only child, and I have no contact with my other son at the moment. I wish for Henry to have a broader family than just myself."
Straightening her back, Petunia nodded, "I thank you for your offer, and I choose to accept it. I have an owl, we can discuss the details of your offer and arrange meetings that way if you give me your address. As much as I would like to iron out everything now, Dudley will be home from school soon, and I need to drop him over to his friend's house for the night before I start my shift at the hospital."
James summoned over the notebook and pen he had spotted when he entered the room, and scribbled down his address for the owl to find, "Here. That sounds perfect, Petunia. I'll write to you tomorrow evening."
When he left the house shortly after, he felt lighter. Henry had a cousin, and James would keep him and his mother safe from harm.
Petunia Evans was nothing like what Lily had always told him.
______
Hydrus was a firm believer that those Muggle films Uncle Sirius had shown him involving spies were a great source of inspiration. After all, it was not so hard to implement that stealth when you really tried. He was pretty sure he had mastered it, along with Tom, Corvus, Draco, and Theo.
It's not like any of them wanted to spy on their family, but everyone kept saying that they were just too young to know everything. Rubbish, in Hydrus' opinion. He had been given a warning from Death of what was to come, and they all had seen the Daily Prophet. They knew what happened to the Tremblays. They knew bad things were coming. They needed to know more.
Hydrus' Invisibility Cloak was truly incredible. No one, not even Uncle Marvolo, could tell where it was and who was under it. It made it so easy to simply sneak into the viewing gallery above the ballroom in Slytherin Castle to watch their parents meet below them, thankful that this meeting was not being held in the usual meeting room.
"I hope to Merlin that one of you has some form of better news," Uncle Marvolo sighed, tapping his fingers on the table.
"I have news," Papa said, "But I don't think it's good news."
Uncle Marvolo hissed, wordlessly, and gestured for Papa to continue before massaging his temples.
"I spoke with James after the Wizengamot yesterday. He informed me that he recommends we look into the Old Crowd, it's very likely that those who did not want the war to end would be involved in what happened to the Tremblays. He also mentioned that there are some Aurors seeking to bring back the State of War Act..."
Uncle Marvolo practically slammed his head down on the table, groaning.
"What's the State of War Act?" Draco whispered, despite the heavily layered silencing charms that surrounded the balcony.
"It lets Aurors use the Unforgivables and other Dark spells if they suspect someone is a Dark wizard involved in the opposing side. Means they can torture and kill us, and get away with it if they say that they suspect we were doing something bad," Tom murmured, frowning.
"Auror Moody tortured Uncle Barty under that Act in the war," Hydrus added, "Would've killed him if Uncle Evan didn't curse him first, that's why Moody has one eye and one leg."
"How the hell do you know that?" Corvus mumbled.
"They tell Felix a lot, and then he told me."
"Any wonder Felix is bloody deranged if that’s the sort of bedtime stories he’s getting..." Theo said, barely audibly.
Beneath them, Uncle Marvolo had finally lifted his head off the table, sighing, "Anyone else have any spectacular news?"
"I suspect that MacNair is... involved in whatever this is," Uncle Barty scowled, "You should've let me kill him back in '80. Would've saved us the bother now."
"We are upstanding citizens now, my love," Uncle Evan said, smoothly, "No murder for us."
"And you believe this why, Barty?" Uncle Marvolo asked.
"Saw him heading into the White Wyvern in Knockturn last night, looking shifty as anything. Naturally, I followed him in disillusioned. He was holding court, very openly, with a few younger men telling them that impurity needs to be purged from Magic and that he could help them find greatness."
"MacNair's no leader," Auntie Bella snarled, "He doesn't have the spine."
"A leader, no. Of course not," Uncle Sirius replied, "A deranged, bloodthirsty man who would bow down to anyone who may grant him permission to kill? Absolutely. No offence, Marvolo. I know you only sought the death of those who deserved it, but it was never enough for MacNair."
"If he's openly recruiting for someone, then he is clearly in a higher up position than I ever dared to grant him," Uncle Marvo scowled, "Maybe you are correct, Barty, I should have let you kill him."
"Which time?" Uncle Severus drawled, "The man fucked up more raids than I can count because of his sheer inability to stop at just taking out the target."
"The raid on the Muggle Stone family in February 1980," Uncle Barty clarified, "He killed ten Muggles from the surrounding houses after the targets had been exterminated. The targets had murdered their son, Dennis Stone, after he returned from his first year at Hogwarts and covered it up because they believed magic was the Devil's gift. All the others were innocent. I dragged MacNair back to Marvolo's feet on the brink of death after I had managed to stop him from going any further."
"He spent a week in the dungeons until I had calmed down, and every time someone annoyed me I went down and fired curses at him," Marvolo muttered, his eyes flashing red in anger, "I shouldn't have allowed him the mercy of living after that."
"Then we should kill him at the soonest chance we get," Auntie Bella said, grinning.
Pulling himself together and straightening up, Uncle Marvolo shook his head, "No. It will bring the ire of whoever he works for down upon our families. No, we shall be going back to the pair system of the war if we are to do anything. Rodolphus and Severus, Regulus and Evan- I would appreciate if you are able to try to discover why the Tremblays were massacred. Sirius and Bella, Barty and Rabastan- whenever you can find the time, could you keep an ear out in Knockturn for MacNair and any other whispers you feel are relevant? Lucius and Thaddeus- you have many ears in the Ministry, can you listen out for suspicions? I shall be joining you in that task, but I do not have the same connections and favour that you both do."
Auntie Bella looked ecstatic, "It's just like the old days!"
"That is not a good thing, you madwoman," Uncle Sirius chastised, though he also looked rather delighted at the prospect of sneaking around knockturn once more.
"I have some suspicions on the Tremblays already," Uncle Rabastan mused, "Lord Tremblay was a private investigator in his free time, I would guess that he stumbled across something he shouldn't have. I just don't know how we'll find out what..."
Hydrus' papa scoffed, "He had his office in Muggle London, I know where. Evan and I shall head there soon, before someone else discovers it. I should be able to get past the wards easily."
"Yes, yes, you're so humble, dear brother," Uncle Sirius cooed, "The family talents shine through in you so strongly."
"The apple of Auntie Walburga's eye," Auntie Bella added, smirking.
"Fuck off," Papa shot back, rolling his eyes.
"We shall meet again to discuss this matter in the coming weeks," Uncle Marvolo cut in, "It should be plenty of time to reach a starting point."
"Once we have something concrete," Papa began, nodding slightly, "I shall be sending an anonymous owl to James. We cannot risk our livelihood with vigilante justice unless we have no other option."
"As I would hope," Uncle Marvolo replied, with a very pointed glare at Uncle Barty, "We only act in self-defence, and not in any way that would send any of us to Azkaban."
"Bold of you to assume I'd get caught," Uncle Barty huffed.
"Oh, please," Uncle Evan drawled, "If it wasn't for Reg and I, you'd have been rotting in Azkaban before you even finished your OWLs."
As the adults began to stand, Hydrus motioned for the others to begin to slowly stand, safely beneath the Cloak.
They stayed under it until they reached Tom's room, the door firmly closed behind them.
"That was a lot," Theo breathed, "Your Uncle Barty and Auntie Bella are mental."
Draco waved a dismissive hand, "Auntie Bella was inflicted with the Black family madness, though it is managed now. Uncle Barty though..."
"He's just like that," Hydrus shrugged.
Hydrus turned his attention to Tom, who looked deep in thought. Corvus had noticed too.
"What's on your mind, Tom?" his cousin asked.
"I'm rather worried, I suppose. I mean, our parents are really putting themselves at risk trying to do the Ministry's job for them."
"The Ministry are useless," Hydrus pointed out, helpfully, "And the Aurors are far too obvious. Everyone knows who's in the force. There's no way any of them could ask around Knockturn."
"Polyjuice?" Draco suggested.
Theo outright scoffed, "You'd be able to spot an Auror in Knockturn a mile off, even if they were Polyjuiced as Borgin himself. They're all so cocky, and they'd be on far higher alert than anyone else."
"Too spell-happy, too," Tom added, "They tried a Polyjuice operation in the war to gather intel. A young girl startled the Auror, and got hit with an Expulso. She lived, but apparently she's been in the spell-damage ward of St Mungo's ever since."
Draco looked appalled, "What happened to the Auror? Surely, they were punished, right?"
Hydrus looked at Draco as if he were insane, "Nah. State of War Act, remember? It was Moody, no surprise. He's still in the force, Merlin knows why. Lord Potter told my papa that Madam Bones is on the verge of outright killing him herself, never mind kicking him off the force."
Theo opened his mouth to add something, but closed it when he heard footsteps walking up the hall to Tom's room. The boys all settled, continuing the game of Exploding Snap they had absentmindedly set out as a cover.
"Hi, boys," Uncle Sirius said, poking his head around the door, "Just letting you know that Marvolo has invited all of us to stay for dinner. No need to rush to pack up."
"Wicked," Corvus grinned, "Thanks, Uncle Siri!"
Once they were alone again, they didn't continue the previous conversation. They continued their game, until Tom broke the silence.
"I've been thinking. In school, my dad started the Knights of Walpurgis, right? And then your parents joined the Death Eaters fairly young. We should have our own version of that."
"That's actually a good idea," Corvus murmured, intrigued.
"I don't want to be some supreme leader far above you all, mind," Tom hastily added, "But I want us to have some sort of club."
"We need a name!" Draco exclaimed, "Oh, I'll really need to think... maybe something Latin?"
Hydrus hummed, "Latin... hmm, how about Ordo Serpentium? Order of the Serpents. Carries on tradition, 'cos Uncle Marvolo started the last two and he's a Parselmouth, and so is Tom."
"And you," Theo pointed out, "Mattheo too."
"Ordo Serpentium," Tom said, testing the phrase, before breaking out into a grin, "I like it."