1916 *Rewritten*
Phineas Nigellus Black was not quite sure what to think about the dark-haired girl that would apparently become the head of his house one day. She was a tiny thing with wild black curls and shining green eyes. He would admit that she was pretty and would probably become a gorgeous woman one day. Though her age worried him somewhat, while she was older than she looked, sixteen was still quite young to become the lady of the house. Had something happened in her time, to push her into such responsibility and power at a young age? He was sure his family would still prosper in the future, maybe she had simply lost her parents young and had to take over early. But then why was everything signed by her and not by an older member of the family acting as a proxy? His thoughts ran through his head as he watched her and the child in her arms sleep in the carriage they were riding. Young Harriet had insisted that the boy would stay with her, so apparating to his family's manor was out of the question. He would have to be patient until they arrived at the manor. Then he would make sure to get all his questions answered.
I open my eyes as the sunset blossomed upon the clouds outside the old carriage. Well, old for me, but knowing the Blacks it probably was quite modern for current times.
After leaving Director Ragnar's office and the bank behind, Lord Black ushered us into a carriage, pulled by thestrals, saying it would be a pretty long way. As we travelled quietly, little Tom was fast to fall asleep in my arms with Phineas watching us. I hadn't even realised that I, too, had fallen asleep. Slowly I start to move my muscles and joints before rubbing my eyes with a yawn and adjusting the baby.
“We’ll arrive in a few minutes. Would you like to rest first or shall we have that talk immediately upon arrival?” Lord Black's voice startled me slightly. I recognised that he wasn't so much asking me as he was reminding me of our coming talk.
“I believe you to have quite a few questions, Lord Black. In fact, so do I. So let us get that talk out of our way first, shall we? I’ll just need to put little Tom down for proper nap.” I put a smile on my face.
“As you wish.”
It didn't take long for us to arrive at the Manor afterwards, where the older man helped us out of the carriage and led us to the front door. From then everything went in a blur. A Houseelf took care of preparing a bedroom for me and Tom, while Lord Black directed me to his study after ordering us some tea. Soon another house elf appeared to take care of the baby. The study was held in neutral colours and sturdy woods. Both of us took a seat, Phineas, behind his desk and me on a comfy sofa. We sat in silence enjoying the warm tea after our travel.
I try to calm down, I knew this talk was coming, that it was inevitable and that it may as well decide my future from now on.
“So, let me just summarize the facts I got from the Goblins, yes?”
“Of course.”
“You, after your father's death, came into having a device, that would allow you to travel through time, and decided that you would travel back into 1916. Correct?”
“Actually I was supposed to travel to 1926, as I did. Then some things happened, I met Merope Gaunt, Tommy's mother, and an accident brought Tom and me back to 1916.”
“The boy with you, is a Gaunt, yes?”
“Of course, that's what you got from that” I mumbled before answering. “Yes. Merope married a muggle aristocrat named Thomas Riddle, after using love potions on him. My guess is she wanted to leave her family in which she’d have to marry her brother and forced herself to fall in love with the next best attractive guy.” I took another sip of my tea after sighing.
“Now, the Gaunts are the direct descendant of Salazar Slytherin, I’d say they were trying to keep their line as pure as possible so that-”
I interrupted before he could end his sentence. “I'm sure it isn't as known yet, and even in my time Wizards often did not want to see it, but inbreeding, that is, marrying within one's own family, leads to sicknesses, disabilities etc. Merope had next to no magic because her family had been procreating between siblings for generations.” Another sip from the tea and a deep breath made me pause. “Personally I believe that sometimes pureness does not stand above all else. I’d rather the family continue in health and with strong magic.”
“Hmm…That does lead me to my questions about our family. Do the Blacks continue to prosper in the future? I’d assume we would, but the way you speak of inbreeding it sounds like personal experience. Does it have to do with your decision to travel to the past when you had the opportunity?” the man asked unsure. He worried for his family's future, which I could understand.
“Not directly. But yes, the Blacks have been inbreeding for a few generations in my time. It led to what was called the Black Curse. My…Father, Sirius Black III, was no exception. His generation, which consisted of him, his younger brother Regulus and his three cousins, Andromeda, Bellatrix and Narcissa, were all in some way either affected by the inbreeding.” I started explaining.
“Only two boys in a whole generation? Your father was the heir, wasn't he? What happened, to make you head of the house at such a young age?”
I take a breath and blow it out slowly. I knew that question would come sooner or later, but he truly was very blunt about it.
“As I already said, the generation consisted of three women, my g-Fathers cousins, who all married out of the family. Andromeda ran away to marry a Mugleborn she fell in love with. Bellatrix, by far the most affected by the so-called Black Curse, was married into the LeStrange family, which did not help her insanity, but made it worse. She and her Husband ended up being prisoners of Azkaban. Narcissa married into the Malfoy Family and had a son, the heir to the Malfoy Estate. Now, Sirius Black was the heir, yes, but he did not care much for his family, as his mother was as insane as Bellatrix, and cursed her sons with a Cruciatus if she felt like it, he left to live with the Potter Family when he was about my age. It would be too long a story to explain everything but he was hit by a curse which caused him to…die. His grandfather never disowned him, as much as his mother had insisted on it, so the Black Estate fell into my hands.”
Phineas felt like he had to interrupt again and asked me: “What about the younger brother? Regulus, was it?”
“yes, I was getting there. It is a rather long story that has much to do with why I decided to come to this time. It starts long before I was born.”
It takes a while to explain everything and in the end, Phineas Black seems disappointed in his family and their fates. When I am finishing the story it is dark outside.
“And the child you have with you, he is that Lord Voldemort then?” Phineas asks.
“Not yet. And hopefully not ever.”