Chapter Text
Harry was confused at how small the meeting that Rhea had called was. He had been expecting a full family meeting but it was just Sirius, Harry, Rhea and Narcissa. Rhea had said that she had a big announcement to make and so he had expected more people like the rest of their cousins.
It wasn’t until she had announced, “I have been asked for my hand in marriage.” that he realized why the gathering was so small and why he had been invited to attend.
“I thought you said you didn’t want to get married too soon.” Narcissa asked.
Rhea shrugged. “I said I wasn’t looking specifically to marry early but Amadeus was transferred back to Britain and proposed.”
“Amadeus Warrington?” Narcissa raised her eyebrow daintily with a knowing look in her eyes.
Rhea blushed. “Yes.”
“And who is Amadeus Warrington?” Sirius asked. “I know the Warringtons, of course, but I don’t know the newest generation. Caledon Warrington was one of Father’s best friends but he had six kids and half of them already had kids when I went away.”
The Warrington's were the Weasley's of non-blood traitor society. They usually had at least five kids in every generation. It was incredibly rare for a pureblood family to have that many children and it was one of the reasons the Warringtons were so high in society despite not having any titles.
“Amadeus is the half-blood son of Nicodemus Warrington. Amadeus was also born out of wedlock.” Narcissa explained.
“Nico’s son, hm?” Sirius said. “We went to school with him. We didn’t interact much, he was a Ravenclaw and older than us but he was a nice bloke. His parents on the other hand...”
The Warringtons were old friends of his parents and aunts and uncles. They had all been in Slytherin together and if Sirius guessed correctly, were some of the first Death Eaters of Voldemort’s (though intel suggested they had never made his Inner Circle). They held the same pure blood bigoted views as his parents but Nico and at least one of his brothers had leaned more liberal.
They, like Sirius and Andi, were the black sheep of the Warringtons. Nico’s three older sisters had married the pure blood scions as was expected of them. They had always been polite to muggleborns but Sirius was sure they held the same views as their parents. Nico's older brother Evander, on the other hand, (the Warrington’s pride and joy and the boy Sirius’ mother had always compared him to) had been a vehement pureblood supremacist and bold enough to spout those ideals loudly and often.
“I don’t imagine his father was too happy about him acknowledging a bastard child, especially a half-blood.”
“He wasn’t.” Narcissa said dryly. “Cal was decidedly displeased and threatened to disown him until Nico pointed out that out of his six children, he was the only one who could carry on the family name. Cal didn’t have much of a choice.”
“Why was he the only one able to carry on the name?” Harry asked.
“The Warrington family is patriarchal and while at one point he did have two brothers who could’ve carried on the family name if Nico was disowned, his younger brother died in 1976 and his older one was arrested as a Death Eater in 1979 and resides in Azkaban to this day.” Narcissa said.
Sirius grinned and nudged Harry. “James and I made the arrest.”
It had been their first assignment straight out of the auror academy. Normally the academy was a three year long program but with the war on they had rushed through training the candidates, condensing the courses down to a year. Their first mission had been a trial by fire but Sirius had been glad to have finally caught the man who had joyfully cursed young muggleborns in the halls of Hogwarts during their first year. He had been powerless to stop him as an eleven year old but as an adult auror he had been able to put an end to it.
“That might be awkward later.” Rhea muttered.
Sirius shrugged. “He was caught red handed during a raid.” He smirked. “Besides, Cal already hates me. His loathing for me started when I was eight and pulled a prank that made him bald for two years.”
“What happened to Nico’s younger brother? Was he a causality of the war?” Harry asked.
“Not exactly.” Narcissa said softly. “He died as a child.”
“Oh.” Harry said. “Then in an accident or something?”
“No.” Sirius said stiffly, his shoulders tensing. “It wasn’t an accident.”
Harry looked confused and like he wanted to question further but Sirius shook his head at him. It wasn’t something that was publicly acknowledged. He would probably explain it to Harry when he was a bit older but he wasn’t sure he wanted him to know just how cruel the old families could be.
Nico’s little brother Romulus had been in their year at Hogwarts. Like his brother he had been in Ravenclaw and had also been a part of Lily and Remus’ study group circle of friends. But he’d not been a typical causality in the war.
He’d been attacked and turned into a werewolf in fourth year by Greyback during the Christmas Hogsmeade trip on the orders of Voldemort. It was assumed the bite was a punishment for a mission failure by his father. The Marauders had all stayed at Hogwarts that Christmas with him and had done their best to help him adjust to his new life.
Remus and Romulus had become close friends during those months at school after the incident and the Marauders had been happy that he had had someone to go through his struggles with him while they finished becoming animagi. Unfortunately for Romulus, the older generation of Warringtons believed that it was mercy to ‘put a werewolf down’ and had killed him ‘for his own good’ the summer before their fifth year. No one had been able to intervene or prevent the tragedy under the old laws, which gave no protections for creatures.
From what he’d learned from Remus, Nico had become a werewolf rights soliciter and a vocal defender of them and other magical beings in the years since his brother had been murdered by his own parents. He had even managed to make enough friends in the Wizengamot to get legislation passed that made what happened to his little brother illegal.
“So,” Sirius said, changing the subject back. He didn’t like to think about the death of their friend. He knew that that could have easily had been his best friend, dead for something outside of his control. Had Lyall Lupin been so inclined, he could’ve killed his five year old son as an act of mercy. “Let me take a wild guess who Amadeus’ mother is, Jane MacDougal? They had a thing at Hogwarts, as I remember. Hardly ever seen apart.”
“Amadeus is an accidental result of their graduation celebration, if my maths is correct.” Narcissa said. “They eventually were allowed to marry when Jane became pregnant again and Nico’s parents realized that he would never marry anyone they deemed appropriate.”
“I think there’s a Warrington at Hogwarts.” Harry said. “He’s a few years above me.”
“Cassius.” Rhea said. “Amadeus’ younger brother who was born barely in wedlock. He has a younger set of triplet siblings too: Alexis, Lilias, and Erasmus. They start Hogwarts next year.”
“Lilias?” Sirius choked.
Narcissa got a sad look on her face. “Yes. I believe she was named after Lily. She knew Jane, remember?”
“Yeah.” Sirius sighed and turned to Harry, who looked confused. “Jane was the sixth year prefect for Gryffindor when we started school and she took Lily under her wing as a fellow muggleborn at the height of the War.”
“Lilias means Lily?” Harry asked.
Sirius nodded. “In Gaelic.”
“Erasmus is named after your husband as well.” Rhea said. “His middle name is James and he goes by EJ.”
“I’m surprised the Warringtons managed to produce a set of triplets, they haven’t had a set in about two hundred years.” Sirius said, his heart aching. He supposed he would run into a lot of children named after James and Lily. Probably quite a few named after Harry too, which would be less painful and more entertaining for the look on his son’s face when he figured it out.
“Some things are passed down through families.” Narcissa explained to Harry. “The Warringtons had been known to have a set of triplets once a generation for almost a thousand years but it had died out by the late 1700s.”
“Like the Black Metaphormagus trait?” Harry asked.
“Yes.” Narcissa answered Harry’s question. “That died out in the mid-1800s.” Narcissa turned to Sirius curiously. “And it popped back up when Andromeda married a muggleborn too.”
“The Potter’s messy hair is usually passed down too.” Sirius said, ruffling his son’s hair with a smile and looked at Narcissa. “Told you too much intermixing was a bad thing. What’s something the Warringtons and Blacks have in common? They’ve only married other British purebloods.”
“There’s one problem with arranging a marriage with Amadeus.” Rhea said.
“Oh? You don’t have to marry if you don’t want to, Rhea.” Sirius said.
“No. I do love him and had dreamed of marrying him one day.”
“Have you dated long?” Harry asked.
“We dated for about two years at Hogwarts but we went our separate ways after graduation when I started my Healing apprenticeship and he went off to Greece for his Curse-Breaker apprenticeship.”
Harry nodded. He was glad that his cousin had at least had time with the man she was going to marry. He had been reading lately about the arranged marriages on the Black side (the Potters rarely did arrangements and the last one had been in the sixteen-hundreds), quite a few of which did not end happily ever after. One of the few he knew had was the marriage between his Great-Grandfather Arcturus and Great-Grandmother Melania.
“Besides, it would be in my best interests to marry and produce an heir to the Lestrange title sooner rather than later, if only to get the old farts off my back. If I have to deal with one more attempt from a batty old lady to set me up with her grandson while I’m walking down Diagon Alley, I won’t be liable for what I do.”
Narcissa glared scoldingly at Rhea for her bluntness.
Rhea rolled her eyes. “Come on, Auntie. It’s not like I said it in public.”
“You’ve been spending too much time with Nymphadora.” Narcissa shook her head with a small upward tilt of her lips.
“Wait till you discover Nym has been dragging me out to muggle rock concerts.” Rhea grinned cheekily.
Narcissa rolled her eyes daintily. “At least the wizarding press won’t catch you there.”
“So what’s the problem?” Harry asked.
“He’s a descendant of the Crouches.”
“It could cause a slight scandal in society,” Narcissa explained, “considering that a Crouch illegally imprisoned the Lord Black, though he was only the Heir at the time. Not to mention Crouch Junior, who tortured Rhea’s Vassal Lord’s parents.”
Sirius rolled his eyes. “And it was a scandal when James married Lily. Wizarding society always blows things out of proportion. They like the gossip and drama.”
Harry choked back a laugh. If there was one thing he had learned since reentering the Wizarding World, it was that Wizards were dramatic about everything. Maybe if he introduced soap operas to them, they’d focus their attention on the characters and not actual people. Though it didn’t seem to help celebrities in the muggle world, so maybe not.
“It doesn’t bother me if it doesn’t bother you.” Sirius said. “Besides, I believe it’s pretty far back for us. Charis Black Crouch is his great-grandmother.”
“Charis is the older sister of Ron’s grandmum, right?”
Sirius nodded. “And Neville’s great-grandmother Callidora. Charis is the oldest and Cedrella is the youngest.”
Harry nodded. He knew that from talking with Neville. He had explained that the Longbottoms didn’t attend the family gathering because they, like the Blacks, were a Noble and Most Ancient House. The Blacks neither provided protection or exerted primacy over them and so the invitation was optional. Neville’s grandmother declined for him as House Regent but he had told Harry that he would’ve liked to attend and get to know his cousins more.
“Anyway, he’s as far apart from the Crouches as we are.” Sirius said. “He’s what, the third cousin of Senior? Senior was my fifth cousin, I believe.”
Rhea bit her lip. “He’s also related to Augustus Rookwood.”
“Who?” Harry asked.
“A particularly dangerous Death Eater.” Sirius said. “He was one of Voldie’s spies inside the Ministry. We had a lot of officials killed in the seventies because of him, he leaked their security details and safe locations to his master.”
“People will talk.” Rhea lamented quietly.
“Rhea.” Sirius sat down next to her. “I know that you’re worried about the perception of the family and how it’ll play out in the papers. But you know as well as I do that all the pure blood families are interrelated. I’m much closer in relation to many more Death Eaters than your would be fiancé.”
Rhea looked down at her lap where she was twisting the ring on her finger.
“This is about the harassment you get as the Lestrange’s daughter.” Narcissa realized. “Your worried that you’ll receive more for your choice of husband.”
“You know there’s a reason Tonks doesn’t show her natural form in public anymore.” Rhea said softly.
“Rhea.” Sirius said. “Look at me.”
Rhea looked up at him with tears in her eyes and sniffed.
“This is what I’m here for as Lord Black. You needed to tell me that you and Tonks were getting harassed because of your relations. I’ll release a statement to the papers tomorrow. Anyone who harasses a member of this family will deal with me.”
“Nym got bullied at Hogwarts for looking like Mother even though she really doesn’t.”
“She actually resembles her own mother but Andi and Bella are practically twins in looks.” Narcissa said, running a soothing hand over her niece’s hair.
Sirius sighed. He would’ve been one of those bullies as a child, blaming an innocent for something a relative did. He had been one of them even though he himself had been jeered and sneered at for having relatives that were part of Voldemort’s gang. His younger self had been so stupid. Thank Merlin for Lily and James who had straightened his head out.
“If anyone bothers you again, and I’ll tell this to Nym too, please come immediately to me. It’s my job to protect you.” Sirius said.
Rhea nodded.
Silence pierced the room for a minute before he realized that they were waiting on an answer to the question whether he would allow the marriage. Sirius suppressed a shudder as he realized he had to utter the words of his approval at her engagement.
He hated parts of the job that being Lord Black entailed. He could hold the happiness over the heads of any member of his family (provided they weren’t officially disowned) with a single word, yes or no.
This was bringing back memories of his own marriage and he supposed he should prepare himself for the onslaught of bittersweet memories that would be trigged by a wedding.
He had been surprised to receive the blessing of his grandfather on the day of his own marriage to James and Lily. He had gotten a small letter accompanied by a lovely wedding gift from the Lord Black which had said he had approved of the marriage despite - and this had irked all three of them - Lily being a muggleborn.
He suspected that Fleamont had informed Arcturus of the impending vows out of a mutual respect for each other. He had been deliberately avoiding his grandfather since running away from his parents and had had no plans to inform him about his engagement. The small note had inspired him to at least let his grandfather know that Sirius had a legitimate heir with the birth of Harry.
He shook his head from the thoughts. “So you want to marry a half-blood bastard... I approve.” Sirius grinned at Rhea. “Yes, you may marry him. I assume that you’ve already discussed this with your Vassal Lord?”
“Yes.” Rhea nodded. “Lady Longbottom reluctantly approved. She likes his father despite the rest of his family. She’s also happy I’ve decided to marry ‘finally.’”
“Is Amadeus still a bastard?” Harry asked. “His parents are married now.”
“He was illegitimate when he was born and he will unfortunately always carry that stigma.” Narcissa said.
Rhea shrugged. “Most of our generation doesn’t care. It’s mostly the old bats that do.”
Sirius snorted. “It would be a much bigger deal if he was a child of one of the major houses with a title on the line, but he’s only the spawn of a minor house so no one really cares. His birth was only a mild scandal.”
“In more polite words,” Narcissa said with a glare towards her cousin for his bluntness. “It is only the utmost traditionalists who care that Amadeus is illegitimate.”
“Now, on to House Lestrange business. Is he willing to take your last name?”
Rhea nodded. “We’ve already discussed it with his father who went through the laws and customs of his House as the Heir. Amadeus wouldn’t be eligible to become the Head of House Warrington anyway because he is technically illegitimate. Cassius has always been the Heir and Erasmus the spare.”
“Well then.” Sirius clasped his hands together. “Congratulations on your engagement.”
Rhea gave a shy smile. “Thank you, my Lord Black.”
Narcissa smiled. “Now, we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Sirius groaned. Society weddings.