Kapitel 82: Chapter - 83 : An Heir and a Spare

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"Well just so long as Orion doesn't consider marrying the girl, I suppose I'm prepared to put up with their friendship." Melania stood up and smoothed down her robes. "Now, I must get going - I have an appointment at Madame Malkins in half an hour and I don't want to be late. Do excuse me, husband, Sirius." She nodded at them both and then swept passed them out the door.

Sirius slumped back in his chair as soon as she was gone, drawing in a relieved breath as he did so.

Arcturus smirked at him. "You look as if you've had a rough time of it. I hope Melania wasn't too hard on you."

"It's been a long day," Sirius said.

"My sympathies. It may comfort you to hear that mine was not much better. There was a meeting of the Wizengamot earlier, and of course Fudge was being a complete fool - as usual," Arcturus said and offered Sirius a firewhisky. He gratefully accepted, and the two wizards nursed their drinks and relaxed in companionable silence for several long minutes.

Sirius eventually bestirred himself to talk. "Do you really not mind Orion being friendly with a muggleborn?" He found it very hard to believe, knowing his family as he did.

"I do not mind, I assure you," Arcturus said. "Orion has no doubt weighed his decision carefully - the boy seems surprisingly mature for his age - and Muggleborns are a part of our society, after all. I see no point in pretending otherwise."

Sirius stared at him. "That's not something I've ever heard you say before."

"I suppose I may have mellowed slightly in my old age." Arcturus sounded amused. "I shall leave the extremism to members of the younger generations."

"Such as Bellatrix?" Sirius took a sip from his glass and shot Arcturus a sideways glance.

"Yes, I suppose so," his grandfather said. "She was always a very firm believer in the Dark Lord and his pureblood ideologies."

"Which is ironic, since Voldemort himself was a half blood," Sirius said.

Arcturus frowned. "Is that another one of your tasteless jokes, Sirius?"

"No, it's the truth," Sirius said. "Voldemort's mother was a pureblood witch, but his father was only a muggle."

"What?" Arcturus looked deeply shocked. "You must be wrong - how could he have hidden such a thing?"

"He changed his name. He was born Tom Marvolo Riddle," Sirius said, remembering what Orion had told him. "And then of course he was powerful and a Parselmouth, something which most purebloods want to believe only they are capable of being."

Arcturus was silent for a long moment. "I cannot pretend that I do not hold similar beliefs. I have long mourned the introduction of muggle blood into ancient family lines - so many magical talents have been lost in such a way. Yet I admit there may be exceptions to the rules of inheritance. If you swear to me, Sirius, that you are speaking truthfully, then I will trust your word."

Sirius drew his wand and held it against his chest in a symbol of honesty. "I swear."

"Then I must believe you," Arcturus said and sighed heavily. "I suppose Dumbledore spoke to you of the Dark Lord's history. I wonder why the old man never made his knowledge public?"

"I don't know," Sirius said. "Perhaps he feared a backlash against half-bloods. Perhaps he thought it would only goad Voldemort to new heights of violence."

Arcturus shook his head. "Yet so much bloodshed could have been avoided. I know your brother Regulus would never have joined the Dark Lord's ranks if his true identity had been known."

"He never would have joined if he hadn't been pushed into it," Sirius said bitterly. "Mother, Bella, and his so-called friend Lucius Malfoy - they all wanted him to become a Death Eater. I tried to convince him not to, but Regulus never listened to me."

"I must say, it does seem that you were cleverer than all of them," Arcturus said. "Your side won."

"Much good it did me!" Sirius scoffed. "I lost everything - James, Lily, Harry... My freedom."

"You have your son," Arcturus reminded him.

Sirius sighed. "Yes, I have Orion. But what happens when the next Dark Lord rises - will I lose him, too?"

"You expect another Dark Lord to rise?" Arcturus looked startled. "What would make you think such a thing?"

"Dark Lords will continue to rise for as long as there are people willing to support them," Sirius said. "And honestly, don't you think many in our world would flock to a powerful wizard preaching Pureblood Supremacy?"

"I do, for the simple reason of there being so many problems in our society that need addressing," Arcturus said. "Something must be done to fix the decay caused by our own indifference."

"True," said Sirius. He just didn't think he and Arcturus agreed on what those problems were exactly. Sirius hesitated a moment, before deciding to take a chance. "I've heard rumours... rumours that Voldemort might still be alive."

"Rumours!" Arcturus said sharply. "For you to mention them, you must believe they contain some truth."

Sirius nodded. "Yes, you're right. Dumbledore's almost certain that Voldemort didn't die that night, that he was only weakened. He thinks Voldemort is still out there somewhere..."

"And while the old man is often a fool, he isn't often wrong," Arcturus finished for him.

"Exactly," Sirius said, hoping his grandfather was convinced. He couldn't explain where his knowledge actually came from, and in any case the truth was more unbelievable than the lie, not less.

"Hmmm." Arcturus appeared to consider everything he'd been told. "I hope you are wrong, but perhaps... Yes, perhaps I should keep an eye out and drop a few words in certain ears. If the Dark Lord's heritage becomes known he will encounter a much chillier welcome should he ever return."

"Thank you, Grandfather," Sirius said fervently.

"No need for thanks. I won't allow our family to be torn apart by divided loyalties again. At the end of the last war I thought the Black family had reached its end. Now that you are out of Azkaban and your son is proving himself to be a talented wizard, I won't risk losing either of you." Arcturus raised an eyebrow at Sirius. "Just as you won't risk losing me and your position as my heir. I now understand why you were so willing to set aside your previous defiance. You want to be in a position of power should the Dark Lord ever return, am I correct?"

"Uh, yes. Sorry." Sirius' gaze dropped to his lap before he looked up and met his grandfather's eyes. "It's not that I don't respect you or this family. It's just it would have taken me a bit longer to admit it without the extra incentive."

"Very well," Arcturus said. "We are agreed then. You will continue to behave respectably and do your best to uphold the family name, and I will aid you by speaking with my associates and encouraging your promotion through the ranks at the Ministry. A wonderful partnership, wouldn't you say?"

"I'll drink to that," Sirius said, raising his glass.

When Sirius headed home to Grimmauld Place that evening, he was filled with a sense of accomplishment. He had taken a step forwards in the fight against Voldemort, had successfully fended off his Grandmother's matchmaking plans, and now had an evening with Hestia to look forward to. Sirius smirked to himself; Orion would be so jealous.

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