Arcturus tightened the grip on his wand as soon his father entered the Family's Meeting Room within the Black Townhouse. He could tell that the presence of so many members of the family had surprised Sirius Black. Of those who were born with the last name of Black, the only ones absent were those who had duties to other families, with the children being kept safe at Cassiopeia's apartment by Melania, Lysandra, the wife of the elder Arcturus, and Irma, Pollux' wife. Even Dorea, who had travelled quite far from the frontlines to the Black Family's French Chateau to use their private portkey to return home, sat at the table. The presence of not only Pollux, who tended to spend most of his time on the family summer home on Fara Island, in the Hebridean Archipelago, but also his father, Cygnus, whose appearance was far more elderly than that of Lord Black due to the effects of the illness that claimed his wife's life, certainly caught him by surprise. "Cygnus? What brings you this far south? You should be resting." The old man, with short white hair that ringed the back of his bald head, cleared his throat. "I am here to hear what you have planned for the coming year, my dear brother. It is not every year when my granddaughter is to graduate, let alone that my grandson will soon be of age. Besides, Dorea here hasn't been home in quite some time. I would like to spend time with her before she returns to France." Sirius paused for a second but nodded his head as he took his seat at the head of the table. "Of course."
His eyes then searched the other faces, spotting his two other children. "Regulus, Lycoris, how is the Black Chateau fairing?" Lycoris sat back, her short dark hair left loose with bangs just barely allowing her eyes to glance through, as she crossed her arms. "The Chateau is fine, though the war has made the sale of our family's wine all but impossible. The Vichy Government is far more interested in lining its own pockets and keeping the Germans happy, than to actually serve its citizens or to sustain an economy. With the Spanish still consolidating their power from the end of the Civil War, we have been forced to stockpile much of our products. Though thankfully our family's portkeys still allow us to travel between France and Britain, so we thought it might be worth something to sell our wine here." Sirius hummed to himself. "Perhaps I might be able to do something about the situation with the Vichy government." Arcturus narrowed his eyes. "And how would you do that, father? The war isn't going to end anytime soon and the Wizengamot is likely to vote in favor of sending our Aurors to fight Grindelwald's forces in the coming weeks, if not months." Sirius dismissed the comment with his hand. "I have been in talks with several of the Dark Families with ties to the continent. I believe we have come to an adequate agreement whereby Grindelwald will stay out of Britain, though it will require us to keep our forces from being deployed. I am certain enough of the Neutrals can be swayed to back the motion in the upcoming sessions."
Arcturus spoke up. "And what will this cost us? What price has Rosier and his puppet master placed on their "kindness?"" Sirius turned to his son, clearly hearing the venom in his voice. "Nothing that will cost this family anything important. We are securing bethrotals for Cygnus and Walburga, as well as Lucretia. They will have spouses of proper pureblood lineage. In exchange, we will retain our position as the Speakers of the Dark, preventing Magical Britain from entering this war in the process." Cygnus growled under his breath. "What of Aquilla? Will you just forgive Grindelwald for the murder of her son? And what of her grandchild? Will you leave her to seek justice against that mad dog all on her own?" Sirius sighed. "I will not endanger this family any further over the matter of Aquilla's progeny. As for Lilith, she has made her choice by not seeking out our family for aid. She is no Black." Cassiopeia shook her head. "Whether she carries the name or not, the agreement with the von Schwarzwald family still stands. As a granddaughter of Aquilla, Lilith is to be regarded as a member of the Black family and given the protection that entails, unless her actions betray us. Her actions over the last year and a half have done nothing but improve our family's standing and secured the safety of our children. You would betray our contract and your great niece, for what?"
Sirius slammed his hand on the table. "I am securing this family's future! The blood purists have already secured a narrow majority of the Dark Faction's votes, despite Rosier's losses. We can bring the faction together under a single banner, securing our way of life against the threats from the muggles and their spawn! What is the life of one girl against the future of our house!?" Arcturus caught a glance and a nod from Cassiopeia, before turning to his father. "You are not just selling out one girl. You are staining the honor of House Black by breaking the ties of family that have held us together for over a thousand years. You are tying the hands of every single member of this family to a cause that has already led to the extinction of many noble and ancient families in Europe and within Great Britain, to the detriment of the very people oathbound. We will not abide by your will on this matter if it condemns us to servitude and extinction!" Sirius stood up, drawing his wand and aiming it at his son. "You would dare! I am the Lord of the House of Black. My will is law." Cassiopeia, Lycoris and Regulus stood up, drawing their wands as well, as the elder Cygnus looked to his brother Sirius, before checking with his younger brother. The elder Arcturus, known for keeping to his own council and staying out of the affairs of the House in his home in Ireland, nodded his head, before turning towards Sirius. "So be it. By the breaking of the oaths of family and honor, the Lord of the House of Black is clearly unfit to remain as the Head of the family. Dominus Cecidit!"
The phrase was uttered by everyone at the table, all except Arcturus as he stared at his father, the man's face turning red with fury. "You had a chance to prove yourself a better man. That chance has now passed. Dominus Cecidit !" As the Family Rings grew warm, signaling the acceptance of the demand, Sirius released a blood curdling scream in anger. " Crucio! " Arcturus stood up quickly but with no fear in his eyes, as an iron shield was conjured between him and his father, blocking the attack. The meeting table vanished as Lycoris and Regulus started casting shields and erecting barriers to protect the rest of the family, while Cassiopeia walked up to stand by Arcturus' side. "This is your one and only chance, Uncle. Surrender." Sirius spat in her direction. "I knew I should have cast you out of the family long ago, you filthy dyke. What loyalty could you have if you even betrayed your very flesh." Cassiopeia's eyes narrowed in anger as Sirius unleashed a curse her way, before Arcturus deflected it with a shield. She felt Arcturus shoulder graze her own. "I will stand by you till the day that I die, cousin." Cassiopeia smiled, hearing the same words she had once uttered as she was sworn in as Arcturus' Shadow. "To the end then, cousin. And beyond." The two Black cousins unleashed curses against Sirius, who found himself hard pressed to counter attack as he was pushed further back towards the wall.
The man managed to conjure a barricade, deflecting their attacks, before unleashing a pair of bright green curses. Arcturus didn't flinch as he sent a spell chain of stunners at his father, before the Killing Curses sent his way were blocked by a solid slab of stone. Both cousins heard the thud that followed, before Cassiopia dropped the Conjuration, the battle lasting but a few moments under their coordinated spellwork. As the two kept their wands trained on the apparently unconscious man, Dorea passed them by, uncorking a potion vial. Checking the man's pulse, she then fed the potion to Sirius. "He will be out until I administer the antidote." Cassiopeia raised an eyebrow at her sister. "And why exactly were you keeping a vial of Draught of Living Death on your person, Dorea?" The dark haired healer layed Sirius on his back and fiddled with his hands, before she stood up and turned towards them. "I have a suitor who is… determined and a bit overwhelming at times. While I trust him to be a proper gentleman, it never hurts to be ready should he overstep himself." Cassiopeia gave her sister a toothy grin. "Need me to scare him away?" Dorea shook her head as she approached Arcturus. "No, I am enjoying myself with this one and I find myself able to trust his judgement more as time goes on. If all goes well, I might present him to you all soon enough." She held up her open palms, presenting Arcturus with the Head of House Ring and the rest of his father's rings. "I believe these are yours now."
Arcturus took a deep breath as the rest of the family gathered around him as he holstered his wand. He turned to look at Cygnus and his namesake, seeing both of them give him a nod of support. He then looked at his own siblings, with Lycoris nodding his approval, while Regulus gave him a smile. "Don't look at me. I actually enjoy making wine and the warm winter weather with our sister in relative peace. You can take the boring political meetings, rainy British climate and the mountains of paperwork all for yourself." Everyone present chuckled as Arcrurus turned to look at Cassiopeia. "It's yours if you want it, Cassie. What you have suffered and achieved gives you as much right to it as I." The purple eyed witch looked startled for a second but shook her head. "I am honoured, cousin, but you and I both know that it is you who deserves it. Now take it before I stun you and stick it on your finger myself." Arcturus smiled at her and nodded, before taking the Head of House Ring, placing it on the same finger as his Heir Ring. The two melded together as the family rings on everyone still carrying the name of Black grew warm, signalling the acceptance of the new Head by the Family Magic. Arcturus turned to Pollux and his namesake. "Where should we keep him?" The elder Arcturus sighed, running his hand over his short white hair, before his grey eyes focused on the still body of his brother. "Lysandra and I will watch over him. All of our girls are of age and our house is rather empty. We can keep him there, safe, until the end." The young Head of House searched his uncle's eyes. "Are you certain?"
With the elder Arcturus nodding, he and Dorea left the room, levitating Sirius behind them, as Arcturus' siblings restored the meeting room, with Pollux helping his father to sit down. Arcturus came up to Cygnus, taking his uncle's fragile hand into his own as he knelt down to see him eye to eye. "I was thinking of contacting Marius. With your health the way it is…" Cygnus gave his nephew a soft smile. "It would be good… to see my son again." Pollux patted his father on the shoulder. "I have been keeping him apprised as much as I could through letters. He could be here by tomorrow, if I hurry to his address." Arcturus turned to Pollux and nodded. "Take your father to his room here, then. You two and the kids can stay here until the start of term on the 2nd, if not longer." Pollux smiled back at him. "Appreciated, cousin. Speaking about the children…" Arcturus sighed. "I swear that no member of the House of Black will have to worry about a betrothal contract. If Druella truly cares about Cygnus, I will support their courtship and union, but without any of Lord Rosier's demands. We will always put family first, before faith or politics." Cygnus squeezed Arcturus' hand. "Then I believe the House of Black is in the safest hands possible. Your mother would be very proud of you, as are all of us, our Lord Black." As the meeting room emptied out with his family in a pleasant mood, Arcturus watched as Dorea, Cygnus and Pollux hugged and kissed Cassiopeia, giving her their love.
He smiled to himself, happy that his cousin had the support and validation she always wanted, as his thoughts turned to the mess his father had left for him to clean up. The agreements that Sirius had negotiated would have to be reevaluated, and annulled when possible. If not, he would use the Black Family's power and wealth to change the stances of the other families to be as far away from that of the blood purist agenda as possible. That would still leave the matter of the upcoming Wizengamot votes that would see the deployment of the Aurors to the war. He would have to play it by ear and make the best decision that he could. He would also need to approach a few of the Neutral Houses. Sirius had changed much of the investments away from the more profitable enterprises, all based on who owned what. That wouldn't be the way forward. Arcturus would make sure that the family's wealth would be put to use, to the financial security of the future generations, based on sound judgment and not purely on sentiment. Then there was Lilith. The girl had apparently stayed away from the family out of fear that Sirius would try and use her. She could finally be with the family, as she should have been from the very beginning. Arcturus called Kreacher, the family elf, to his side, asking him for a quill, ink and several pieces of parchment, before being quite clear to him about not answering any of Sirius commands. There were a lot of letters to write to the affected parties after the change in Head of House for the Black Family. It was time to get started.