Rise of House Black

Some bloodlines were gifted by Lady Magic to have what are known as bloodline magics, one of the more commonly known bloodlines that has a gift was that of founder Salazar Slytherin with the gift of Parseltongue. Though many have claimed that it was this ability to talk to serpents that eventually caused them to turn to the dark arts there is no evidence of this being true. The darker connotation that this gift has comes from the more recent history and the most recent Dark Lord rising and his use of this language stating that the gift picked him. These claims have muddled the waters when talking about bloodline magics as the Ancient and Noble House of Black closely guards their own gift of metamorphmagus ability or the ability to shift one's physical form. It is unknown if any of the current children can exhibit such gifts as the children of House Black tend to be carefully guarded until they reach Hogwarts when they are then protected by their student status. It is unknown how many bloodlines have passive magic within their bloodlines but these are just two examples here on British soil.

----Excerpt from Wise Wizarding Lines by Edwin Roc---

It had been several weeks since his heirs had met with the Potter family and it felt like something had shifted in his household. He saw tension running through his eldest but did not know the cause of it. Once they had settled in with their new guardian, he could see how Sirius was always hovering around, not letting the younger two have any time alone together. He didn’t think anything of it as he was assured by Lucretia that everything would work out. He would let the three boys work out what was going on by themselves as long as it did not become a fight that would leave anyone hurt physically or emotionally.

So the week went on and Sirius kept his younger brother Regulus away from Hadrian and always within view. He went as far as to have Regulus join him in his room at bedtime after all the adults went to bed. He would not leave his brother open to any attacks from the serpent even if it had told Hadrian that it wouldn’t attack anyone in House Black, he didn’t trust it, not around his little brother. He remembered being told that Demoncrown Runescales were dangerous regardless of anyone being able to claim they tamed them.

So knowing that and how his father seemed to be indulging Hadrian in keeping such a dangerous serpent he would keep Regulus from spending time alone with Hadrian. Sirius felt the tension of being the older brother finally starting to settle in now that there was a dangerous wild animal in the house. He knew his father had gotten a big tank that had warming rocks for the serpent but there was no way to secure it into the tank. He knew that Hadrian let it roam freely about the place and he didn’t like it or know where the serpent was most of the time.

The tension between Hadrian and Sirius reached a breaking point about two weeks after everyone had been resettled into their routines when Sirius had been late to wake up due to the sheer exhaustion that he was running into with the serpent being able to roam.

“No You can’t be alone with Reggie!” Sirius said as he ran into the room where Regulus and Hadrian was and he was trying to teach Regulus how to greet the serpent. He saw the serpent so close to his brother that his accidental magic put a bubble around the serpent and sent it away from Regulus to the corner.

Hadrian looked up at Sirius, shocked that he would possibly hurt his serpent friend. He stood up and went to check on the serpent while Sirius was looking over Regulus.

“Are you okay? You didn’t get hurt did you?” Sirius said as he looked over all the exposed skin of Regulus.

“I’m fine Siri, but why did you use magic against Vasuki?” Regulus asked concerned as he looked back to Hadrian who was knelt beside the serpent and talking in rapid fire now.

Orion had been walking by when he heard his young son ask Sirius why he used his magic against the serpent. He paused out of sight to see what he said.

“I was trying to protect you Reggie, He was too close and could have hurt you,” Sirius said as if that made it all right.

“Vasuki wouldn’t hurt anyone without permission unless they are already hurting me!” Hadrian said in English as he sounded like he had tears in his eyes.

“Vasuki would never lie to me! He wouldn't! He just wants to keep me and those I care about safe!” Hadrian cried out as the flames in the room began to flicker with the emotional outburst of Hadrian.

“Sirius Orion Black!” Orion called out sharply. He would have to deal with this now before it became a rift that could not be mended.

Sirius tensed as he looked up at his father standing behind him. “Yes Father?” he said his voice was a bit smaller than he intended it to be but he could see his father was upset.

“You will go to my office after you apologize to Hadrian,” He said, still using his firm voice.

Sirius looked over at Hadrian as he had tears in his eyes and tear tracks down his face. He saw how upset his youngest brother was about the stupid serpent being accidentally tossed across the room away from their brother. He didn’t like seeing tears in his brother’s eyes and so he looked to Hadrian and apologized.

“I am sorry that I acted in a manner unbefitting an Heir of House Black, I will endeavor to do better in the future,” He said with a minimal amount of sullenness in his voice. He still didn’t want to think that the Serpent would be safe around either of his brothers but he couldn’t seem to understand why both of them liked being around the serpent at all.

After he said the normal apology they had been taught he carefully made his way to his father’s study. As he left he heard his father start to talk to Hadrian.

“I will find out what happened, Do apologize to Vasuki and let him know that this is an incident we are going to do our best to avoid in the future,” Orion said

Hadrian hissed to the serpent the apology and then said, “He said he won’t hold it against Sirius because he knows he is a protective nest mate. He says it is good that I have nest mates so protective of outsiders it shows good instincts in the nest,” he smiled softly.

“Can you tell Sirius that Vasuki says he’s a good brother and he approves even if he got stunned a bit by the wall? He knows he can hunt longer to feed himself off the doxies and such because he’s a good protector. He wants to become strong enough to be able to protect him in return one day,” Hadrian said as he yawned from the emotional outburst.

“I will, but he will have a punishment and I think I know what to have him do if Vasuki is willing, he will have to care for him with supervision for a month, let them hopefully bond a little,” Orion said and saw Hadrian nod.

“Go rest, take Regulus with you, you two can take a small nap this afternoon. I will be talking with Sirius for a little while before he will be allowed to leave my office,” Orion said as he stood up.

He watched as Hadrian nodded and picked up Vasuki carefully and let the serpent move to where he was secure, then went to grab Regulus by the hand. He watched them go upstairs then turned to his office. He wasn’t ready for jealousy issues but he hoped it would be as simple as that when he talked with Sirius, from what he could tell from the words Sirius said, it was not jealousy but fear that caused the magical outburst from Sirius.

Walking to his office, Orion was not sure exactly how to handle this situation as he remembered what Vasuki had wanted passed along. Sirius was a protective nestmate and made it easier for him to go hunting because of it. With a sigh Orion opened his office and saw Sirius sitting in one of the chairs off to the side looking down at his own hands.

Entering the office Orion closed the door firmly but didn’t do so angrily. “Sirius, I am disappointed in you for attacking Vasuki,” Orion started as he crossed to his chair.

As Orion looked at Sirius he didn’t know what to think of what was going on with his Heir.

“Tell me why did you react like that Sirius?” He watched to see what the boy had to say and how he said it.

Sirius looked up at his father then said “I just wanted to protect Regulus from the Serpent. Demoncrowns are dangerous, how can we be sure it won’t just attack any of us?” he asked as he looked at his father.

“Sirius, you know that when a familiar makes a promise to their wizard or witch that Lady Magic makes their word their bond. Vasuki said he wouldn’t hurt anyone Hadrian calls family so he won’t hurt any of us,” Orion explained.

“T..The serpent is Hadrian’s Familiar?” Sirius said shocked eyes going wide as he thought about what they had been learning from Aunt Lucretia. Familiars were an extension of the wizard or witch that bonded with them. It was in some countries illegal to harm a familiar or even separate them unless it was of dire need. He found himself trembling as he thought about what could have happened when he threw Vasuki into the wall, the serpent could have been killed.

“Yes Vasuki is Hadrian’s Familiar and the only reason they have not done much is they are getting to know each other as well as Hadrian’s age. He is still young and his familiar is still growing,” Orion paused to let Sirius think and saw his son pale more.

“I…is Vasuki still forming a stronger bond then?” Sirius asked, shaking slightly as he thought about what losing a young familiar would have possibly done to Hadrian.

“Yes he is, he told Hadrian to have me tell you he is glad you are a protective nest mate, because he knows that you will protect Hadrian while he’s hunting down Doxies and such. He admires your strength,” Orion said, giving it just enough punch to make Sirius think about his actions.

As Sirius sat there tears filled his eyes as he said “I will apologize to Vasuki and Hadrian again,” while trying to keep his tears from falling.

“I am glad to hear that but I still have to punish you and make sure this won’t happen again,” Orion stated as he watched Sirius nod, understanding it was only right.

“You will be taking care of Vasuki’s cage, not that we expect him to be in there all the time but when he is, it will need to be maintained and it is a lot for a young boy to do on his own even if he can talk to the serpents which makes it easier to work with. So you will be helping him out for a month.” Orion explained and watched Sirius as he went wide eyed and nodded in the affirmative.

“Now I do want you to write some lines this afternoon while you think about what happened, your aunt will be using this as extra quill practice so it will be judged on neatness and subjected to being rewritten if not clean. So the lines you will write out will be as follows: I will not act before I think , you will write this for 100 lines. Then you will write, I will not let my actions hurt others needlessly, again for 100 lines, now off you go Sirius,” Orion said as he saw the boy nod then go off to get his parchment and quills.

Once Sirius was off to do his written punishment, Orion sent a note off for Healer Talpin explaining that Hadrian would need a check up with the near accidental magic outburst. He asked if she could come by this afternoon if possible.
Orion got an answer and it said that Healer Talpin would be by after lunch. So Orion got up and walked out to check on Hadrian who was carefully tending to Vasuki who was laying on his heated rock in Hadrian’s room. He knocked when he saw Hadrian talking which startled the young boy.

“Hello Hadrian, can we talk for a moment?” Orion asked as he moved to step in as he saw Hadrian nod. He watched as Hadrian hissed something to Vasuki then stood up and crossed the room to meet Orion.

“I contacted Healer Talpin, she’s going to come by after lunch to give you a check up after everything that happened okay?” Orion said as he watched Hadrian shift nervously from foot to foot. He didn’t like how non-verbal Hadrian had become after the outburst before he scolded Sirius.

If he had not had his full attention on Hadrian, he wouldn’t have heard the whisper of an okay. Orion knelt down to Hadrian’s eye level as he took a moment then said.

“Don’t be afraid, okay, I am sorry If I startled you earlier by raising my voice to Sirius, but it was a moment that he had to know was unacceptable,” Orion paused as he watched Hadrian.

“ I didn't mean to worry or startle you with my loud tone and I hope you know that I don’t use this tone often with you three because you don’t need it often. You three are normally so well behaved I don’t have to raise my voice to get my point across, but I will never use physical harm or magic against any of you,” Orion stated, knowing the house that Hadrian had come from a raised voice was precursor to physical harm.

“ I talked with Sirius in my office so we could have a talk about what was going on with him. He will have to help you take care of Vasuki for a month and is currently doing lines,” he said knowing that Hadrian needed to know the outcome of what was said in the office. “Now you can go talk with him for now and I will have a monitoring charm placed on Vasuki so that if anything changes about him we will know immediately okay,” he said, noticing the panic in Hadrian’s eyes as he thought about leaving his familiar.

Hadrian nodded as he watched Orion pull out his wand. A quick flick of his wand had a charm settle on the familiar; it would only remain active when no one was around. “It will monitor him while he’s hurt. Once he is fully recovered the magic will fade, this charm will alert myself and Kreature if he is in need of assistance okay,” Orion explained. It was a modified nursery charm that was normally placed on toddlers that were just transitioning to their bigger beds in case they fell or needed help getting up.

Hadrian nodded as he looked at Orion then said “Thank you, I’ll go keep Sirius company,” then left his room a little tension easing from his shoulders as he knew Vasuki was going to be okay and watched after while he left.

Orion watched the young boy leave and ran a hand over his face and soothed back his hair. It was still only mid morning and he felt tired. He looked at Vasuki who was coiled up resting. He was glad the little familiar was going to be okay, he just hoped that Sirius learned his lesson about striking out with magic against someone or a creature without thinking it through. He went a few doors down and looked in on Regulus and saw him working on his lesson books.

Knocking once more on the door frame Orion announced himself to his son then entered the room. “Good morning Regulus, how are you doing today?” he asked as he saw Regulus look up from his studies.

“I am good father, is Vasuki going to be okay?” He asked curiously.

Orion nodded as he then sat on the edge of his son’s bed. “Were you ever scared of Vasuki?” He asked and watched Regulus shake his head no.

“Drian said Vasuki would never bite me unless I turned evil and attacked them, we are family, he is Vasuki Black,” Regulus said which caused Orion to feel wide eyed at the thoughts his son had about the familiar.

A smile crossed Orion’s face as he nodded. “Yes he is, your brother is learning that now. He is writing a few lines to let it sink into his memory but after that he’s helping take care of our new family member, try to support him as much as you can and if he needs to vent about anything listen to him and try to explain to him how you see it, help him see Vasuki is family now,” he said and saw Regulus nod and sit a little straighter.

“Hadrian will have a check up after lunch so you and Sirius can go to the study and work on your books okay,” Orion said as he watched his second son nod once more eager to take on his task of helping his older brother.

Orion smiled at his son as he stood up. “I will let you get back to your studying,” he said as he turned and left his son’s room. Each child was so different but he couldn’t be more proud of each of them even after this stumbling of youth.

Lunch came around and the children ate quietly in the kitchen. Orion watched each boy as they tried to talk to one another. When they finished Orion saw Hadrian move to go towards the sunroom. He knew that was where they did the last meeting with Healer Talpin. He saw the other two enter the study to work on writing and other books they had to work in. He took a moment to think about what was going on and how this could be a major setback for Hadrian.

He walked a little behind Hadrian as he wondered how he would manage each of the boys as the years went on if Hadrian had any other gifts come out due to his bloodlines. He would have to check to see if there were any gifts listed now on his lineage test. He didn’t need anything else to blindside him and if they were not listed maybe the goblins could offer an insight to bloodline abilities if they had a test for them.
Once Orion watched Hadrian settle in, he went to the floo to wait for Healer Talpin. He didn’t have to wait long as she floo’d in right on time. As she stepped out, she was still in her seafoam green robes trimmed in mauve and cream. She looked up to Lord Black and nodded.

“Is he showing any signs from before?” Healer Talpin asked to get a feel for what was going on with the young boy today.

“He’s back to slightly nonverbal, He did hear me raise my voice not at him but in general while I was scolding my oldest. He was a little better after I explained what happened but he’s still not as talkative as he was before this setback,” Orion explained.

Healer Talpin nodded then said “Lead me to him then Lord Black, I want to check on him quickly then talk with him, If he’s not talkative still with you in the room I will have to ask you to leave you understand that right?” She said in her no nonsense way.

“Of course I’d rather he talk and get the help he needs then let my ego stand in the way of his health,” Orion said as he watched her nod once more as he led the way to the sunroom again.

Orion knocked on the door frame as they arrived at the room. He saw Hadrian jump a bit as he waved slightly. Orion turned to the Healer and motioned for her to continue. “I’ll be around the corner if you need me, okay Hadrian, you can also call Kreature if you feel safer with him here as well,” Orion said and saw Hadrian nod then left the healer with the small boy.

Healer Talpin saw that Lord Black could tell that Hadrian was not yet comfortable around him so soon after the incident. She was glad he could see that and took the steps to make the child feel comfortable first.

“How are you feeling today, Hadrian? I heard you had a bit of a shocking day today, can you tell me what happened?” Healer Talpin asked.

Hadrian looked at her and took a deep breath. “I’m a little tired but Sirius came into the room when I was showing Reggie how to hold Vasuki. He reacted with his magic and threw Vasuki into the wall. I went to him to see how he was. I was upset when I turned back and then Lord Black, he talked loudly at Sirius. I remember being very upset but not wanting to hurt anyone, just scared for Vasuki who couldn't defend himself then." Hadrian rambled as he looked at his hands.

"Oh my goodness that's a lot going on but who is Vasuki?" Healer Talpin asked worried about another child needing help.

"My familiar, he's a beautiful serpent, he's this big." Hadrian said, holding his hands maybe 14 inches apart.

Healer Talpin felt her eyes widen a bit at the thought of a child finding their familiar early. It only happened due to magical gifts or larger cores. She took a breath and slowly let it out.

"I see, can you tell me how the two of you bonded?" She asked as she watched Hadrian's eyes light up with joy.

"Vasuki came home with us after meeting at House Potter, I saved him from hurting Heir Potter and went back to the manor." Started Hadrian who was excited to share his story with Vasuki.

“When we went home Vasuki let me spend time looking for a name for him. I looked through a few books in the black library that Kreature found that were safe for me to handle. After I found his name and explained what it was from, it was accepted when a pretty white glow surrounded both of us and it felt like I was getting a warm hug and I could feel Vasuki’s magic coil around me to protect my magic. “ He said, explaining what he had experienced.

Healer Talpin was surprised as she realized what happened. A four year old magical child found his first familiar. She knew it was only his first as it was not a gold which would mean the only familiar or last familiar. It wasn’t even silver, meaning the second or another familiar but not the last. The last person on record to have more than one was Merlin and Morgana. Merlin had three, his silverwing falcon, the British Rubyback Dragon, and a Moonlace unicorn. Morgana had three as well, one being the Fae Thornwing dragonette, the Inkwinged Raven and the Thestrals.

“That’s exciting, was Vasuki happy to be your familiar?” Healer Talpin asked as she made a mental note that if there was any extra magic around his core he did have his familiar bond already established.

“Yeah he was glad to be bound to me and said he was honored to be my first familiar, Said it would give him time to grow and learn how to be a familiar as well while i am growing up as well,” Hadrian said excitedly.

“That’s good, now, let me do a quick check on you after the magical upset you had earlier when Vasuki was stunned by the wall,” Healer Talpin said and watched as Hadrian nodded and moved to the edge of his seat where he would be able to stand if she needed him to. With a practiced ease Healer Talpin waved her wand over Hadrian and got the print out of his health.

She grabbed the parchment and smiled as she looked over and saw that his core was stable and healthy. She saw that there was the familiar magic around the core helping keep it stable and growing. She smiled as she nodded and looked over the other things that had been of concern such as his malnutrition and was glad to see it was a few more weeks from being corrected.

“Well It looks like you are still doing very well, Hadrian, a few more weeks of potions and you will be back to being completely healthy for a boy your age,” She said, smiling at him. She saw him cheer and wiggle in his seat.

“Now I have one more question for you, how are you feeling about Lord Black and Sirius?” She asked as she looked at him.

“I still trust them, just needed space from Lord Black since he raised his voice at Sirius this morning, I know that Sirius is sorry for almost hurting Vasuki, He promised me to be more careful and will learn how to handle serpents so that he can help me if Vasuki needs help,” He said looking up at Healer Talpin. “I should be fine tomorrow and if not I can talk with them about it,” he said as he nodded.

“That’s good to hear so if you want to go while I talk with Lord Black that’s fine I’m all done with our visit today,” Healer Talpin said with a bright smile on her face. She saw the young boy brighten up and bounce out of the room after calling Kreature to get Lord Black for the healer.

Healer Talpin didn’t have to wait long for Lord Black to arrive as he walked in he saw Hadrian was already out of the room. She watched as Lord Black walked in and took his seat.

"Good news everything on his health scan is fine, his core is stable and healthy if a bit larger than average for his age group, but that is to be expected with what brought him here. He only needs about three more weeks of potions right now to reverse the damage from his previous guardians, " Healer Talpin said as she handed the report to him.

Orion looked it over and smiled as he was glad their hard work was paying off. He just wanted the young man to feel safe and loved and be healthy.

"Now the next thing I have to say is not bad news but interesting news to say the least, it seems that Vasuki is not his only familiar, just the first he's met. The flash of magic that he said glowed around Vasuki when the bond was made was white, that indicates first of multiple familiars, if the next one is gold then that's his final familiar, if it's silver it's his next familiar, until he reaches gold he will have another familiar out in the world. They may find him at different points in his life right now Lady Magic decided he needed Vasuki," Healer Talpin said.

Orion was shocked, multiple familiars was more a children's bedtime story. What many families told their children about Merlin and Morgana to make them want to study. He didn't know how many Hadrian would have either, which was going to be interesting to watch his magical growth.

"That's good to know and watch for," Orion said as he tried to keep his tone neutral.

"Yes, but I suspect most of his familiars are probably not going to be found until he returns to his own time, it is just something to watch as he interacts with magical creatures while here," Healer Talpin stated as she stood up.

"Thank you for your check up on Hadrian, Healer Talpin," Orion said as he stood as well.

"Not a problem Lord Black, he is a special case and I've informed Saint Mungo's that his case takes precedence unless we have an emergency going on there," Healer Talpin stated as she began to walk to the floo room.

"Thank you for your honesty, if we need you I will be sure to send an owl," Orion replied as he escorted the healer out and watched her floo back to her work.

Overall the news was good, Sirius had not harmed either the familiar nor Hadrian with the accidental magic use. He would not lessen the punishment but at least he wouldn't have to have a second talk with his heir about consequences.

For a fight between his heirs this had been a good learning experience without lasting damages. Damages that could have destroyed the bond between Hadrian and the House of Black. He quietly thanked Lady Magic and knew he would have to prepare the boys for the introduction to society for Yule.