The old man tried out her name. "Lilith von Schwarzwald, was it?" Euphemia looked at Henry. "Yeah. An Austrian redhead with a strong sense of duty, not to mention the diplomatic tack of an Auror. She has been part of the recent spat of trouble at Hogwarts, but never as the instigator." Henry hummed to himself. "That matches with what I have heard about the family. They usually kept to themselves until circumstances drew them out, inflicting unholy vengeance upon any that stood in their way, before retreating into the shadows once their duty was concluded." Euphemia smiled. "Sound like the type of Dark Witch you could see yourself working with?" Henry sighed. "Perhaps. Sadly, there are very few like her in the Wizengamot. Marcus Rosier's removal as Speaker for the Dark has improved matters, but Sirius Black is not that different from his peers. Unless something changes, there is little hope that the next few sessions won't get quite heated as we try to pass the vote for the declaration of war and deployment of our forces." As Euphemia poured Henry another cup of tea, a soft pop announced the arrival of the head house elf. Petersby walked up to lord Potter, presenting a letter to him in his hands. "This just arrived by Owl, Master Henry." Henry nodded as he picked up the letter, knowing it was safe if Petersby brought it to him. "Thank you Petersby. Could you go check on my son? Fleamont should take a break soon."
Petersby bowed his head. "As you will. I shall go check on the young master right away." Euphemia bowed her head at Petersby as the elf popped away, with Henry frowning as he looked at the seal on the letter. Euphemia noticed his confusion. "What is it?" Henry shook his head. "I don't recognize the seal." Standing up, Henry stepped behind his desk, pulling out a parchment that he quickly unrolled. The parchment contained many copies of seals used by the old families and was a way of keeping track of who was sending him missives and for what purpose. Looking them over, he was surprised to see it among the earliest seals registered. "Seal of the Alliance for the Preservation of Albion." Euphemia blinked at him in confusion as he opened the letter. "Never heard of that." Henry returned to the sofa, reading over the letter as he sat down. His brow furrowed as he continued to read. "Well, this is interesting. If the sender is being truthful, he has essentially given me a list of names of Magical Families I can summon and bind using the old alliance oaths that held up until the War of the Roses." Euphemia came to sit by his side, reading the list over. "Pendragon, Serpens, Gryffindor, Peverell. Many of these families are extinct. Wait, Stinchcombe? Is that…" Henry nodded. "Our ancestor's family. The Potters inherited their oath and alliances in the 12th century, just like with the Peverells. Families like the Blacks, Bones, Prewetts, Moon and Ross, however, are still quite alive, meaning that the oaths might still be active. If I can use this to push for the Blacks to support the Auror deployment against Britain's enemies, we could see a shift in the Wizengamot again."
Euphemia took a few of the parchments, reading over the conditions for the Alliance, as Henry looked over the last parchment, reading it outloud. "I have given you the means to strengthen the opposition against Grindelwald's forces. I urge you to use it when absolutely necessary and no sooner. The threat to our people will only worsen as time passes, but conflicts from within may never truly heal. Only together, as our families stood in the time of the Wizard's Council, can we weather this storm and see Albion come out of it for the better. Failure to do so will likely see our Society consumed by threats, both from beyond our shores, and from within our borders. Honour the Oath of Allegiance. Signed, a Remnant of the Past." Euphemia frowned. "Remnant? What do you think it means?" Henry looked at the list of houses. "Potentially someone from one of the extinct houses, wishing to help but not strong enough to do much on their own. I need to head to the Family Archives and read these documents. If they match the ones in the letter, then I could push for a stronger commitment from the Wizengamot. We could see Grindelwald's advance and violence halted faster than we predicted. Hell, we might even see the end of this war sooner than we could ever have hoped."
-✦-
"I thought I would find you here." Arcturus didn't turn around at the sound of Cassiopeia's voice, his eyes focused on the black marble slab in front of him, his hands gently brushing away the snow that had fallen on top of it. "Well?" Cassiopeia, standing behind Arcturus, waved her wand out, casting wards that exposed the entire section they happened to be in within the Black Cemetery. She was right to be careful, as the Cemetery was adjacent to Castle Black, sitting within its grounds. Finding no traces of spells, enchantments or magical creatures, Cassiopeia finally spoke up. "Alphard's information was accurate. While initially, we thought that our Lord would never agree to it, it seems that he and Lord Rosier have been negotiating quietly behind everyone's backs. They are in the process of writing up a betrothal contract for Druella Rosier and Cygnus. Except the contract would hold a lot more than stipulations for a dowry. Guarantees of the Black and Rosier Families adhering to the Blood Supremacist Movement, including the expectations for funding and active support in the Wizengamot. Backtracking on the plans to send British Aurors to aid the ICW in the war against Grindelwald. Hell, there are even provisions on finding other viable betrothal pairings with the rest of the families supporting the movement. Sirius' plan might get us to be the head of the movement, but our hands would be so tied, we might as well not say in our very lives."
Arcturus took a deep breath and sighed as he started uncovering the letters etched into the stone. "Did you reach out to the others about this?" Cassiopeia nodded. "Lycoris, Regulus, Pollux, Dorea and your namesake have all been informed. Pollux wants to tell Cygnus Senior about this mess that Sirius has been cooking up but he is worried about his father. The old man won't hold out much longer. Though he is sure that if word reaches him about what Sirius has planned for his favorite grandson, the old man will give us his full support. We have what it takes, Arcturus. We have the support of the family behind us and the evidence to crucify the old man. All you have to do is say the word." Arcturus, having finished cleaning the top of the black slab, stood back up, his eyes fixed on the name before him. "This will be the first time, Cassiopeia. In a thousand years of our family's history, no Head of House has ever been removed forcefully. Not like this." Cassiopeia snorted. "In those thousand years, we never had to deal with a greedy bastard like Sirius. Phineas came close, but that old dog knew to toe the line carefully. Sirius has all but forgotten that the first and only priority of the Blacks is to Family. We don't have a choice, Arcturus. If we don't interfere now, we will never have another chance and we might lose the family in all but name."
Removing his gloves, Arcturus ran his hand over his face, sweeping it back over his hair. He stared at the name before him. Hesper Black née Gamp, his mother. Her death had shaken the entire family to its core, though she had lived long enough to teach his beloved Melania the lessons on how a Lady to the House of Black should behave. She had been a devoted wife and mother that exemplified the position of Lady of the House, being stern and comading when needed, but ultimately being warm and caring for all the children of the family. In her eyes, the children of the House of Black, not the Vaults filled with gold and gems, were the real treasure of the Family, that which should never be given away blindly. Now, years after her death, her very husband was doing the very thing she hated above all others. He was preparing to sell all of the Black children, even those not even born yet, to a cause that did more harm than good, a cause that had seen to the extinction of those that stood with it as well as those that stood against it. All so that Sirius Black could hold onto to power for the next decade or so. Arcturus clenched his fist, the cold air of a December sunrise not bothering him in the least. Kissing his naked palm, Arcturus pressed his hand against his mother's tombstone.
"I ask for your forgiveness, mother, for what I am about to do to father. But above all, I ask you to grant me the strength to see this through, so that the children that you loved, the family that you embraced wholeheartedly, can be saved from your husband's madness. Please, watch over us in the darkest hour of our family's history, so that we may see the sun rising over the horizon." Cassiopeia whipped her wand around, conjuring a wreath of black and white roses atop the grave, before kneeling in front of it. "I will fulfill my promise to you, Auntie Hesper. I will see your son and grandson live, to be the best Blacks that anyone could expect. I won't let you down." Standing back up, Arcturus replaced his glove over his hand, and stood by Cassiopeia's side. "Your apartment near Grimmauld Place. Make sure it's ready to receive guests when the meeting is set to occur. Melania and Irma are to take the kids there for safety. I don't want them in the Townhouse for this." Cassiopeia nodded. "Agreed. Should I send a letter to Aquilla's granddaughter?" Arcturus shook his head. "No. She has done her part for our family, warning us of what's to come and looking after the kids. She will know soon enough that we held fast to our ideals." Cassioepia turned to Arcturus. "Toujour Pur." The Heir to the House of Black looked across the graveyard, staring at the Castle that stood just beyond, his voice filled with a power he had never had to use before. "Toujour Pur."
-✦-
Albus Dumbledore stood over his desk, looking at a scrying display of two students as they wandered through the corridors of Hogwarts, until the image faded, the scrying bowl he was using no longer projecting anything on the surface of the water. The man sighed, before pulling out a map that he and the Headmaster had of Hogwarts, verifying the location that he had last seen them at, before leaving his office. Ever since the two were given the positions of Prefects by Slughorn, they had been scouring the castle's corridors. As much as Dumbledore had warned Tom to avoid the Schwarzwald girl, it seemed that he did the opposite, enlisting her to his side as the boy continued his search for Slytherin's legacy. Albus wondered if perhaps Tom had even revealed to the girl that he was a Parselmouth. It was highly likely. Unlike the rest of the students of Slytherin, Lilith von Schwarzwald would surely be returning to Continental Europe by the time the war came to an end, meaning that whatever agreement the two of them came to would be limited. It would certainly benefit Tom greatly, as he gained a partner with whom he could explore the Castle freely, her own knowledge of obscure magics allowing them to block out scrying or detection from the wards, preventing anyone from viewing their activities in secret. Truly a master stroke by the young man.
Of course, Albus was certain that the Dark Witch would be reaping her rewards as soon as Tom uncovered Salazar's legacy. His position within Hogwarts would be raised above all others as the Heir to the House of Slytherin, with the heirs and heiresses of the major Dark Families flocking to his side, where the Schwarzwald girl would herself be. Dumbledore had been observing the girl for the last year and a half and he hated what he saw. She was charismatic, amicable and approachable, gaining the favor of student and teacher alike. This veneer of cordiality, of course, only served to hide the truth that had been displayed during the girl's duel with the Heir Rosier. The girl was not just a Dark Witch by affiliation, but by acts. Her command of the Cruciatus Curse, not to mention the use of so many dark and unknown spells was a clear indication that the family should have all died that day in Austria. While Dumbledore hated how Grindelwald had twisted and warped their shared ideals with regard to the Greater Good of all Wizarding Kind, he couldn't deny that his dearest friend had done well, eliminating many of the old, influential magical families of Europe. Regardless of how the war ended, the old Noble Families will have lost their positions of power and authority, allowing for the younger and more numerous muggle born wizards and witches to prosper. Albus just had to make sure that the mistakes of the past weren't repeated again with this next generation.
The Schwarzwald girl was a clear indication that even with the removal of the old families, the old traditions could still resurface. The girl's popularity with the muggleborn witches of Ravenclaw House, students who were all so very eager to learn about anything related to magic, was certainly something that she had concocted as a counter against Grindelwald's purges. If Gellert were to lose the war and the Schwarzwald child survived, she could become a beacon of the magical communities, drawing in old and new generations alike, all for her to spread the ideals of the Dark as far afield as possible. Dumbledore hated that Gellert had failed to see the truth. The Dark Arts were an aberration of the natural world, a plague that had festered and propagated under the Ancient Families, who protected them to retain their positions of power over others. Ever since Ariana's death, Albus had dedicated himself to the eradication of all traces of the Dark Arts from Wizarding Britain. Unfortunately, his efforts had only been marginally successful. He had managed to convince a few of the Light Families to support his cause, introducing bills that would bar the use of curses and rituals. The effort had been stymied by the Dark and Neutral Factions, both of whom were too set in their ways to be easily swayed. He had pushed for the Light to capitalize on the chaos that followed Rosier's decline, but Henry Potter kept the faction from doing anything extensive.
So, rather than helping galvanize the Light against the Dark, Dumbledore had been forced to settle with growing his support base and with containing Riddle's search. As he approached the corridor where the two teens vanished from his scrying bowl, a voice stopped him in his tracks. "Using a hidden passageway so early in the evening. Do you have something to hide, Albus?" Cursing in his head, Albus turned and looked at Theseus Ross, as the older wizard stepped into the hidden passageway from the opposite side. "Not at all, Theseus. Just checking in on two students who are out and about the Castle." Theseus raised an eyebrow as he crossed his arms over his chest. "It's not curfew yet, Albus. You can let the kids have their fun. It's the Yuletide, after all. Or is there another reason you are checking on these two students specifically." Albus allowed some of his irritation to leak through. "As the Deputy Headmaster, it's my job to check on the wellbeing of my students and to make certain that they follow school regulations." Theseus chuckled. "I see. Is that why you have been using my granddaughter to spy on them? Inter House Perfect Pairs for patrols isn't a new thing, but you have certainly been pushing it heavily this year. What is it about these two students that scares you so much, Albus?"
Dumbledore glared at Theseus. "I see that the young lady Schwarzwald has been very talkative with you. But I can assure you that I have my reasons to suspect them of being up to some mischief." Theseus nodded softly, though it was clear he was mocking Dumbledore. "Teenagers out to do some mischief. Yes, that would be quite distressing." He then narrowed his eyes at Albus. "Then again, you also enjoy some mischief of your own. First you ask Newt to travel to New York, just see if he could stir up your old friend to reveal himself. Then you send him to Paris, after the bastard escaped his imprisonment. Word is that Newt and his cohorts were up in the Himalayas, trying to interrupt one of Gellert Grindelwald's secret projects, some years back, before you went up and vanished from the Castle for weeks on end during term, without so much as an explanation as to why. If there is anyone up to some mischief, it is you." Albus waved the comment away. "I was simply doing what was necessary, for everyone's sake. Gellert must be stopped." Theseus smiled. "That we can both agree on but you, Albus Dumbledore, are nothing more than a Professor and a Deputy Headmaster. You are no Auror and no soldier, and neither is Newt. Grindelwald is everyone else's problem." Albus shook his head. "He is mine as well, and I know him best. I know how his mind works. The world needs me to deal with him."
Theseus sighed. "And there you are. Same old Albus Dumbledore, the quintessential Gryffindor. For the last few years I had thought that you were a Slytherin, what with all the schemes and plotting from your office desk. But no, you are still a Gryffindor at heart. Noble, courageous." Walking up to Dumbledore, Theseus looked him right in the eye. "Not to mention prideful and self-righteous. It always has to be you who solves everyone's problems. Only you know better. You can keep living your little delusions for all I care, Albus, but you will leave my granddaughter out of it." Albus stared back at Theseus, refusing to back down. "The girl is merely fulfilling her duty as a Prefect." Theseus bared his teeth. "And Lilith von Schwarzwald is doing the same, as a friend and as a Head of House. But because her duty isn't the type you can agree with, you are just going to rationalize that you are doing the right thing. So I am going to spell it out loud and clear for you, Albus. If something happens to Minerva or to Lilith and I find out you have anything to do with it, I am going to be coming for you." Seeing that Theseus was unlikely to let him intervene against the two Slytherins, Albus sighed and walked away in the direction of his office. "You are making a big mistake, Theseus."
With Albus a few steps away, Theseus decided not to let him have the last word. "I have made big mistakes in the past, Albus. They cost me my eye, my daughter and a valued friend. Trust me, the one making a mistake here is you. If you keep playing your games, I will show you that we Hunters are more than capable of using our skills against witches and wizards. I have taken down beasts that were deadlier and far more cunning that you can possibly imagine. Do… not… test… me…, Albus. I may be out of practice, but I am still a Ross." The Deputy Headmaster stared at Theseus, before rounding a corner, feeling the traces of Theseus' wild magic dissipating from around him. He had of course sent Minerva to spy on Tom, to keep him and Lilith von Schwarzwald from exploring the castle to their leisure. He had also assumed that Theseus would eventually become a problem. The man was a Gryffindor, sure, but he had never been one to fear the Dark. Young Miss McGonagall had been fortunate to have not been raised by the Ross family. Yes, perhaps this war could serve its purpose here too. If the old family heads died, their legacy could be lost and new traditions could replace them. It would certainly save him from having to deal with stubborn old men like Theseus and Henry Potter. Unfortunately that would require the war to reach Britain. Perhaps, for the good of the country and Wizarding Kind, that could be arranged.