The Rise of Cassius Black #1
Arcturus hurriedly made his way to the nearest fireplace, the clock having struck midday on November 1st. With a resolute call of “Grimmauld #12!” he found himself in the floo room. The moment he sat a foot inside, Kreacher appeared, bowing respectfully. “Master Arcturus be here. Master Orion and Mistress Walburga be in the dining room. They be having lunch, Master Arcturus. “Very well.” Arcturus acknowledged. He proceeded into the dining room, unsurprised to find a plate set for him by one of the house elves.
"Father, greetings," Orion exclaimed, rising from his seat. Walburga, too, stood up, offering a slight bow. “Good afternoon, Uncle Arcturus.” “We deeply appreciate your arrival, we are very aware how limited the time was.” ignoring Orion's remarks, Arcturus took his seat and sipped the wine poured for him. “Hm, an heir apparent, you say? I ought to see him for myself.” “We shall take you to Cassius after our lunch.” We have a busy day coming, however, I have yet to have lunch. “We must not linger too long over the meal.”
Orion took upon himself to disclose everything he knows about the situation to Arcturus in detail. Starting from Sirius’s unexpected arrival and continuing through the other events. Upon learning Orion and Walburga had planned to keep him in the dark Arcturus had become very displeased. Also, the mere possibility of, no matter if it was disregarded now, a halfblood ascending to the position of Black family heir frustrated him even more. Just the thought of someone tainting their historically pure bloodline made Arcturus nauseous. It didn’t matter now though because it had led his family to discover their true heir, son of a proper Black who had given their family the deserved respect and appreciation. Thus, Arcturus decided to drop this matter, for now.
The moment Arcturus finished his wine, he stood up and demanded to see Cassius. “Father, the dessert hasn’t even been served yet. We were also going to discuss our agenda of today.” “Enough, Orion. We shall revisit this topic while I see Cassius.” Both Orion and Walburga stood up and led Arcturus to Cassius’s room.
“In the name of Merlin, Sirius, what are you doing, standing here!?” Arcturus yelled. “I was just-” Walburga immediately started talking about Sirius’ decision to stay next to the door and how it was a stupid decision. “Stop it, Walburga!” “My apologies, Uncle Arcturus.” Walburga said, staring daggers at Sirius.
“Father, Sirius had dared to fill Cassius’s mind with the filthy views of the so-called light side. Who knows what he would have done in the future if we did not restrict his interactions with Cassius. We can’t take the chance of him tainting Cassius with his beliefs and turning him into a blood traitor like himself.” This angered Arcturus, However it wasn’t possible to see it unless you looked carefully into his eyes. Arcturus was amazing at controlling his body language and facial expressions, except you could always know what he really felt in his eyes. “We shall talk about this, Sirius.” Arcturus spat. “Enough waiting, open the door at once. Every second is crucial, we must use it efficiently. Sirius, you shall stay here.” “What! Grandfather! You can’t!” “Sirius! Do not push your luck any more!” No response was given so Arcturus called Kreatcher to open the door.
Cassius was peacefully sleeping when the trio entered the room. Slowly, Arcturus picked up Cassius. After taking a look at him, he deemed that this boy was a child worthy of being the Black heir.
Arcturus had always been good at sensing the energy and magic that a witch or a wizard had thus no one doubted him, not even Sirius had doubted him while he was living with his family.
Orion sighed loudly, releasing the breath that he had been holding. For some reason, Orion, who was extremely cold, had somehow gotten attached to this mere baby, it has not even been a week. To be honest, who wouldn’t. It was as if Cassius had a charm that made people drawn into. Such a trait to have. That’s probably the reason Arcturus deemed Cassius as the perfect heir of the house of Black by only taking a look at him, without even knowing the extent of Cassius’ abilities. Everyone was pleased with this situation. Thus the heir of the Most Ancient and the Noble House of Black is deemed.
“We shall get the age - reversal potion immediately! Kreacher! Bring me the age reversal potion!” Arcturus continued, “Walburga, you have a mastery in healing, do you not?” “Yes, uncle Arcturus, I do.” “Then you shall conduct the reversal, we don’t want our heir to be harmed because of a potion mishap.” “Of course, uncle Arcturus.”
——————
After a minute, Kreacher was back with the potion. Everyone in the house, including Sirius, quickly went to the ritual room.
The room was mostly empty with some candles lighting up the dark room. On the side of the room, you could see a desk which had a dagger and a small cauldron. That is where the group headed to.
Arcturus Black, who had the potion, poured the purple potion into the cauldron. Then pricked Cassius’ hand and let 8 drops of Cassius’ blood fall into the purple potion. Immediately, the potion turned a dark red colour.
“The potion seems sufficient, uncle.” “Great. We shall transfer the potion into his blood system. Walburga, you shall do it.” “With pleasure.”
—————
“What a beautiful heir…”
“Perfect fit for a Black…”
“He will be the perfect heir…”
“I'm sorry that you have to live with this dark - evil legacy behind you Harry…”
”Shut it Sirius!”
Cassius Regulus Black, the heir of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black. The miracle, the saviour of the Blacks. He is destined to be great, powerful and influential. Even as a baby, you could feel the magical power Cassius has.
Cassius Black, he actually looks extremely beautiful even as a 6 months old baby. Is it possible that he inherited some Veela traits from the Malfoys? His pale complexion looks quite healthy, grey eyes and a button nose which must be from the Malfoy lineage as the Black’s commonly have an aristocratic straight nose. Cassius’s hair is straight and a flawless shade of blonde, though a touch more golden than the famously known Malfoy heir. Obviously, he's still an infant, but Cassius Regulus Black is sure to become an exceptionally handsome pureblood heir.
—————
“We must get him proper attire.”
“An inheritance test is essential as well.”
“Does he even have a birth certificate?”
”Are we certain that the Malfoy’s should be informed so soon?”
”We shall go to Diagon Alley today. However, I must write to Abraxas regarding Cassius and possibly arrange a meeting” Arcturus eventually said. “I shall get Melanie as well.”
—————
The clock had struck 16:00 by the time the Blacks managed to send a letter to Abraxas Malfoy and Arcturus went back. “Volpey!” “Yes master Arcturus, Volpey be helping.” “Bring me to Melania, we shall go out.”
Melanie was in the family room, reading a book. “Melanie, dear.” Melanie perked up. “Arcturus? Your departure was quite unexpected. Has something happen?” Arcturus came near Elaine and responded with a “Yes, fortunately not a bad one, it seems a miracle has occurred. That’s why I have come to fetch you, we shall proceed to Diagon Alley.” Melanie put her book down. “Will you enlighten me on the situation before we depart?” ”We have very limited time, it is very important that we get done as much as possible today.” Melanie was confused however decided to go with it. “Alright, you shall explain it to me there.” Thus, both of them depart.
—————
“Merlin, is that a baby?”
“Indeed, dear. Orion and Walburga had found out that Regulus left us an heir before his death, with Callidora Malfoy, his betrothed as you may remember. Thus, he is not exactly an illegimate child. This saves us from many criticisms which could damage our family’s reputation to an extent.” After Arcturus’ small speech Orion took over and told Melanie that they planned to register Cassius and buy him some essentials, today. If Abraxas was available, they would also meet him at the ministry at 7 pm to register Cassius as a citizen. Thank Merlin that a connected fireplace between the Malfoy estates and the Black estates were formed after Narcissa married into the Malfoys. The letter wouldn’t have reached Abraxas Malfoy until it was late, if they didn’t have this fireplace connection.
”What are we waiting for, we shall go immediately.” Melanie said as she picked up Cassius and strode for the greeting room which entertained the fireplace. Everyone else followed her lead.
“Sirius, you shall stay here and not go out! We don’t know how people will react to you since you were the supposed ‘secret keeper’!” Walburga yelled as she rushed to the fireplace. Sirius agreed out of necessity. He could be considered a wanted criminal and a death eater for Merlin’s sake. Sirius, with a frown on his face, watched as the group disappeared.
“Diagon Alley!”
The group arrived at the floo room that led to Diagon Alley. With Cassius, this trip could prove to be difficult. They obviously weren't too prone to getting clothing from Diagon Alley, even though Twifitt and Tattings was an adequate and up to standards clothing shop. The Blacks always liked to tailor their clothing aside from a few very famous designer clothing from high end shops. However, the tailoring could take a couple of days and it would not be proper to dress Cassius in Regulus’s old clothes.
They were going to Twilfitt and Tattings first. They got looks, obviously, however none of the Blacks batted an eye. Only Melania and Walburga entered the store, Orion and Arcturus were not too fond of clothes shopping themselves. Thus they entered a fancy cafe that was nearby.
One of the assistants immediately gave attention to the two women. “Good afternoon, Lady Black and Mrs Black” she bowed a bit, not proper but will have to do, Walburga thought. “What can I help you with?” Walburga started, “My grandson requires clothing appropriate to wear for a week.” The young witch’s eyes widened. “O-of course, here is our design book for babies. When you have chosen, call for me so we can discuss what alterations you would want on the clothes.” “Mhm” “Umm, would you like anything to drink?” “I will have a cup of tea. Walburga?” “I'll have water.” “Of course.” The witch practically ran back.”
“What a weird girl, probably a mudblood.” Walburga muttered to herself as she sat down and opened the book. Melania, who had Cassius sleeping on her arms, also sat down to look at the designs.
“Cassius will require 7 sets of day clothing and 7 night clothes, at least.” “I am sure we would be able to get Cassius proper clothing in a week, Walburga. No one would dare to take too long, especially our tailor. You remember the Yule ball of 1975?” “How could I even forget Aunt Melania. Cassiopeia decided to change her gown 5 days prior to the ball, it was a mess.” “It worked out though. Everything does for us Blacks.” “Of course it does.”
A young wizard came near the Blacks this time. “We have to measure the young Black, Lady Black and Mrs Black. If one of you could come with Cassius it would be much appreciated.” How amateurish, they will make one of us help with the measurements? “Definitely the last time we will come here.” Melania muttered (silently so that no one would hear, since it isn’t proper to talk to yourself) while she stood up.
Finally, after the torturous two hours, the two women headed to where Orion and Arcturus had been seated.
“It was a disaster.”
”I refuse ever set a foot in there again.”
”Narcissa had been right about it.” Walburga grimaced.
”Haha, she always comes to the Manor to get clothes.”
”I don’t know how Malfoys endure this all the time.”
Arcturus paid for everything and the group headed to the restaurant they had asked Abraxas to meet them.
“Uncle, we shall send Kreacher to get Cassius’s clothes.” Walburga started. “We must also get some toys and possibly books. Kreacher should do it” Arcturus spoke after a second. “Obviously we are not going back to Twilfitt and Tattings, Kreacher will do that. We have toys and books that are in acceptable condition, we shall not get Cassius bad quality items which are not well suited for him. The toys that are sold here might be mixed with muggle ones” Walburga shuddered.
—————
“Dear, Abraxas.” “Yes?” “I was in the family room when a letter came from the Blacks, addressed to you, through the connected fireplace.” Now this had perked Abraxas’s attention. “Let’s go back to the family room and read it then. Does it explicitly state that only I should read it?” No, Abraxas, it doesn’t.”
Dear Abraxas,
Just today, we unveiled something incredibly important. Sirius, my disowned grandson, claimed that he found a baby. Astonishingly, this child is the offspring of Regulus and Cassidora Malfoy. Our verification confirms the child's parentage, he was hidden under a powerful glamour and an age alteration potion. Regulus had foresighted this and wrote a letter to explain his motives which was timed to be sent when someone finds out his child’s identity to explain his reasoning.
While Sirius refuses to disclose how he came across the baby. We suspect that he got a hold of one of these timed letters. Regulus might have written one to Sirius, they were close before Sirius started Hogwarts.
Our grandson is named Cassius Regulus Black. In his letter, Regulus explained that they have chosen to name their son Cassius because not only it holds astrological significance, but it could also be seen as a mix of Callidora and Lucius. It was mentioned in my grandson’s letter that the siblings had a special bond.
We are heading to Diagon Alley to gather Cassius some necessities for the time being. We will also proceed to Gringotts and if time allows, to the Ministry. The purpose of this letter is to extend an invitation for you and your wife Serena to come to Gringotts and the Ministry. I am aware that it would have been better to inform you of the news face to face however we want to get the legalities done today. Cassius, unfortunately, does not even have a birth certificate yet.
We shall meet at XXXX at 18:45 to discuss and proceed with the plans that we have for today.
Respectively,
Arcturus Black
Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black
Well, that was a shock. “Oh my merlin…”
“My sweet daughter… She had a son…” Serena Malfoy, also known as Lady Malfoy, gasped. “I’m sure she had a beautiful son.”
“Definitely, Serena, definitely. No child of Callidora could be anything less than beautiful.”
“We should get ready.” Serena muttered a tempus, “we only have one and a half hours.”
—————
Considering the fact that they might be visiting the ministry, both Serena and Abraxas Malfoy decided to opt for a more formal robe than they would have worn to go to Diagon Alley. Abraxas wore a royal blue robe with silver linings which had a small Malfoy crest on the left sleeve of his robe. Serena also wore a royal blue robe however hers was more like a dress than a robe.
Immediately, they got started on their hair styles. The Malfoy family always believed that your hair had a great importance and always taught the younger generation how to take care of their hair and style it.
Abraxas finished styling his hair quicker so he went to the other side of the family wing to inform Lucius and Narcissa of their departure.
By the time the Malfoy’s got ready, there was only 15 minutes to spare. Thus, they decided to depart.
—————
A young wizard accompanied the Malfoys to the booth Blacks were in and slipped out immediately after.
”Arcturus.”
”Abraxas, it is fortunate that you two were able to make it.”
”Indeed it is, with the short notice.”
”I have been made aware of it today as well, Abraxas. We have tried to reach and inform you as quickly as possible.”
”Your act is most appreciated then.” Arcturus smiled slightly, in a socially appropriate way of course.
”We have a lot to do this evening, please sit so we can discuss everything.”
When Abraxas and Serena sat down, Melania takes Cassius out of his place next to the table and shows him to the Malfoys.
“Oh…” Serena gasps. “He’s so beautiful. He looks so much like Callidora.” Abraxas immediately agrees. “He definitely has Callidora’s beauty.”
Walburga speaks up now. “Cassius has Regulus’s bright grey eyes.” “I am sure he will grow to be as handsome as Regulus was.” Orion adds.
“Now now, we have lots of things we have to attend to. “Let's start with the questions you have, shall we?”
“Thank you. First of all, I would like to discuss how we should proceed. We will need to have an introduction ball and probably an article to explain everything. We also need to know how involved we would be in his upbringing.” Abraxas starts.
“Obviously we must have an introduction ball with every respected pureblood invited. Additionally, an interview should be in order. We should also let Cassius adapt to the spotlight as quickly as possible therefore a photo for an interview should be a good start. Lastly, I cannot deny your involvement in his upbringing if you want to be involved, his mother is your daughter in the end. However, as any other pureblood, he shall live with us since his father is a Black. We can speak about these later though. I believe it would be more beneficial to discuss the things we will be doing today first.”
”We would of course want to have an active role in his upbringing and like you said we will speak about it at a later date.” Serena replies.
”You have mentioned in your letter that we should go to Gringotts and the ministry. Let's start with Gringotts to get an inheritance test done and set up a trust fund for him. Then we can carry on with the ministry and his birth certificate. If that is acceptable with you, of course.” Abraxas continues.
”We have thought of the same thing. Plus, if Gringotts confirms everything, the ministry wont be able to deny or twist anything.” Orion adds, taking a piece out of his steak that had just arrived.
The Blacks and the Malfoys had a 5 - course dinner which included lots of planning about their future, more specifically about the future of little heir Cassius Black. Once everyone finished their dinner, Arcturus put the napkin on his lap on to the table, signaling everyone that they should proceed with their plans and spoke: “Well… we shall be off to Gringotts then.”
—————
“May your gold ever flow”
“And may your enemies crumble at you feet, Lord Black. What business did you have today?” The goblin said, eyeing Cassius who was sleeping currently.
“We would like to speak with my account manager and sort some family business.”
The goblin scoffed and said “Sure. I will call the Black family and Malfoy family account manager then.”
“Thank you.”
A few minutes later a goblin who is in charge of carts took the group to the meeting are where both Malfoy and Black family account managers were waiting.
“May your gold ever flow.” Both heads said to their account managers. Arcturus took the lead once more.
“I believe that getting straight into business would be more efficient for both parties.
The goblins nodded, obviously not a fan of waste of time. “Time is money, Lord Black.” Arcturus nodded politely.
“We have recently found out that my son, Regulus had a son however his son had not been registered by the ministry nor to Gringotts. Therefore, we desire to register him to the family business and funds then open a trust fund for him as well.”
“I believe that once you mentioned that if we register a family member at a Gringotts and the magic accepts them no one, including the ministry, would be able to have a say in that member’s placement or identity when they are being registered to ministry records.”
“For a fee.”
“Of course, for a fee. We are willing to pay that.”
“Great. I assume that this baby is Regulus Black’s son?”
“You would be correct.”
“Lets start with an inheritance test, then family magic acceptance test, and lastly set up a couple funds for him including the trust fund before we talk his future.”
Now, the Malfoy family manager spoke, “I’ll need a name?”
“Cassius Regulus Black.”
—————
The group first dropped some of Cassius’s blood onto the parchment given. The results were shocking, to say the least. The Black’s had to explain why Cassius was the current heir to the Potter line and thus Peverell line. There had to be small alterations made in order to gain the favour of the company they had. It wouldn’t be wise to say that Sirius had begged them to accept him or that they tried to take the ‘saviour of light’
There was also the starting Hogwarts as a 10 year old issue. This angered Malfoys obviously because the Potters had taken great measures to hide Cassius. This issue also led to the Goblins suggesting a healer to look over Cassius to see if there had been any damage.
Wanting to see the damage results as soon as possible, Abraxas requested a healer Goblin and paid for it in advance.
This altered the order because the family magic acceptance test couldn’t be done without Cassius present so the group started setting up funds: Two trust funds for both families, one heir fund for everything that an heir would need such as the heir jewellery or extra money, one allowance fund which would be open to use when Cassius becomes 10. Both the Malfoys and Blacks would be able to add money into the allowance fund but would not be able to take any money out of it without Cassius’s consent.
The Blacks don't contribute to Malfoy heir at all - aside from occasional allowance money that is not much by their standards - however the elder Malfoys view this as a miracle that their daughter had a son thus contributed almost as much as Draco. It is also very possible that the charm Cassius seemed to have might have contributed in their choices.
By this time Cassius was back with Walburga and a healer goblin who explained that Cassius had nothing wrong with him aside from some damage to his stomach. The Potters most likely used muggle ways to cook. The inbreeding of purebloods came with some issued, thankfully having an ‘allergy’ to muggle appliances such as electric was one of the few that was considered as a “blessing from magic” according to some pureblodded wizards and witches.
Of course, everyone in the group was relieved that there was no serious damage and slightly delighted that Cassius could not stand “electric and such muggle things” as a wizard would say.
There is a reason that electric doesn't work in highly magical places. It gets into the way of it and causes some violent magical outbursts in some people. The violent accidental magic in muggleborn children is also due to electric and the substances muggles use because they affect muggles and magical people differently. For example, the type of sugar that muggles use in their sweets hurt magical people, some more than other depending on their intolerance. Purebloods are more prone to being intolerant due to the inbreeding and little interaction with muggles. That is also why there are less cases of cavities. Or why the magical world sweets taste different slightly even if they claim to be the same when they are made with muggle sugar.
Anyway, the tests and discussions continued until a tempus indicated that it had already past 9 PM and was nearing 10 PM. Making it too late to visit the ministry.
—————
“It is too late for us to make our way to the Ministry tonight. This has proven to be more time consuming than I anticipated. I believe that it would be better for both parties to get a good night of sleep and deal with the ministry in the morning.”
Serena Malfoy seemed to agree even if Abraxas looked like he would prefer everything being done today. “I agree, Arcturus. Abraxas and I shall be at Black Manor at 10 o’clock in the morning so we can go to the ministry and discuss future plans afterwards, right Abraxas?”
“Yes dear.”
Orion responded this time before Arcturus could: “10 AM is a great time to meet up and head to Ministry, not too for workers to be still half asleep and not too late so we would get stuck with the daily business and noisy visitors. We shall be awaiting you at Black Manor. Tomorrow”