Chapter 63: Rescue

YOU-KNOW-WHO DEAD!BRITAIN THANKS LADY POTTER!

Early in the morning, Minister for Magic, Millicent Bagnold, announced the death of He-who-must-not-be-named the previous night. The Dark Lord had found Lord and Lady Potter’s location and attacked by himself the small cottage they lived in, in the village of Godric’s Hollow. From the Minister’s testimony, Lord Corvus Potter had fought bravely but in vain and was tortured for nearly two hours before Lady Potter had come onto the scene and took You-know-who off guard, blowing his head up with a powerful exploding hex, putting an end to years of his reign of terror. The result of the short fight led to the explosion and destruction of the Potter’s home in a blazing inferno.

As of now, Aurors and hit-wizards are all about, arresting, capturing (or in some cases resisting arrest: killing) any followers of the Dark Lord, to be judged by a jury of our peers. Among them, prestigious names from respectable families have escaped the lips of some ministry officials. Rookwood, Yaxley, Dolohov, to name a few. A shock if it is one to learn that many noble families (all belonging to the dark faction of the Wizengamot), the image of wizarding Britain to the rest of the world, were in fact working in concert to oppress the wizarding population.

The pureblood ideology that You-know-who and his followers advocated with violence seems to fall flat when Lady Potter is a muggle-born herself. Although one could argue that Lady Potter is a descendant of a squib line of the prestigious Godric Gryffindor. You read that right. Not only is Lily Jean Potter, the Lady of House Potter but also the Lady of House Gryffindor!

It seems that after five hundred years House Gryffindor reemerged in a time of need when You-know-who (the self-proclaimed heir of Salazar Slytherin because of his parselmouth ability) was terrorizing the country and defeated him as if it was fate, just like Godric Gryffindor defeated Salazar Slytherin, prompting the later to leave Hogwarts.

We thank once again Lady Potter-Gryffindor for putting an end to years of terror and bloodshed and saving us all. We expect (and demand) her to receive the order of Merlin First Class for her feat.

More about Lady Potter-Gryffindor (page 3)More about Lord Potter (page 6)More about Godric’s Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin’s enmities (page 8)

“Order of Merlin First Class, huh?” the daily prophet in hand, Rick put it on the bed.

“Oh, shut up!” Lily threw a pillow at her husband’s amused and smug face.

“No. I’m way too proud of my wife for that. Not only did she save my life, she saved the whole Wizarding Britain.” Rick radiated amusement. Both in his tone and facial expression.

Lily’s face was anything but amused however. If anything it was worry that covered it. “If what Dumbledore says is true, just for now.”

“For now, yes. If Moldy-shorts ever comes back we’d be ready to kill him once and for all.”Tipsy popped into their bedroom to tell them lunch was ready although for them it would be breakfast. They had slept like logs when Lily had brought Rick to their bed and fell asleep at his side. They had to contact Bella urgently for her information, hid her until further notice, then a long talk with Minister Bagnold then another long talk with Dumbledore who wasn’t very happy with Lily and Rick going behind his back regarding certain things. The married couple had been quite clear. Albus didn’t have the monopoly of having secrets close to his chest. What they did worked and was more effective than anything he did during the war.

In a way, had Dumbledore been a bit more trustworthy he would have been included in many plans but had failed in that regard. They didn’t blame him for his vision or ideals he wanted to uphold but his inflexibility regarding them was what pushed Rick and Lily to do things their way. He had made no real progress against Voldemort and had been losing ground and people more and more and they had had enough. Albus was a great leader in times of peace but not during times of conflict. They didn’t part on bad terms but the relationship had been soured a little bit. That wasn’t even counting on the prophecy.

Dumbledore didn’t understand how Lily could have defeated Voldemort. Rick suggested that the prophecy was way too nebulous to be interpreted correctly and to simply ignore it. What would happen, would happen and there was nothing they could do about it. Trying to purposefully alter it may also have dire consequences.

As far as he was concerned Lily and him were Rose’s power that Voldemort didn’t know and that was more than enough for them. He also argued that just because Rose was suspected to have the power to defeat Voldemort, didn’t mean that she was fated to fight him. Just be the one who lands the killing blow and that wasn’t even sure.

Albus could do nothing but admit that it was a possibility among many others and left it at that although he still advised them to prepare Rose just in case, to which they both agreed.

When they got to the dining room they saw Dorea and Marlene waiting for them to eat. On each side of them was Rose and Susan being fed by Tipsy. Something that surprised them was the insane amount of Owls they could see outside the windows of the room. After his fight with Voldemort in January, Rick had put a redirecting spell on himself because of the many, many letters people were sending him.

“I guess you need a mail redirecting spell on you too,” he said to his wife.

“I should redirect them to Gringotts and pay a goblin to check them for nasty ones.”

“Good idea.”

Not all people were thankful for Rick and Lily’s deeds. Some sent them cursed letters. That was stupid but then again, wizards and witches were not known to have smart nor common sense. They intended to find out the people who sent them those kinds of letters and have them be dealt with by the DMLE. That is, once the department was done dealing with the Death Eaters which could take some time.

“So what now?” asked Dorea.

“Now? I admit I haven’t thought of ‘now’ in months.”

“I’m returning to the Magpies, mom. Otherwise when I’m not playing I intend to raise Rose, Susan and help Marlene with her little one.”

“I’m sorry: what?” asked the named witch.

“What? Did you think I would let you be a single mother raising her child alone? Nuh-huh.”

Lily chimed in. “He’s right, Mar. You’re not going anywhere.”

“What am I?! A prisoner?”

““Yes.””

Dorea snorted at the married couple’s funny answer despite the fact there was absolutely no humour in it.

“Marlene… We don’t want you to be alone dealing with… everything.”

“Rick said it right, Mar. We told you we’d be with you no matter what and we will do that. It’s not forever, we don’t want you to feel restricted in any way.”

“I feel quite restricted right now.” The blonde witch was frowning.

“We just… Want to be sure you’re alright and have everything you need. Can you blame us for making sure of it?”

“...”

The blonde witch wanted to say yes. Out of spite. She knew, however, that they were doing that out of care and love and that her emotions were jaded by Sirius’ betrayal and the loss of her family. That has been too much at the same time. Letting a sigh she nodded her agreement. She had the presence of mind to realize that being three months pregnant, she would soon have difficulties doing things on her own.

“I’m reserving the right to use your husband as compensation if I’m ever horny!”

“Oh, go ahead. Now that we’re having sex again, I’m pretty sure he’s trying to put another little one in me and I’m not ready yet for that.”

Ric frowned and turned to his wife. “Why do you say that as if I’m some kind of uncivilized caveman?”

“Because you are! Mister-I-have-a-breeding-fetish!” Lily’s accusation made Marlene and Dorea snort. The latter wouldn’t mind lots of grandchildren.

“I don’t have a fetish!”

“Uh-huh.” was the redhead’s unconvinced answer.

Rick changed his angle of attack. “I wasn’t the one who loved having breasts and an ass two sizes bigger.”

“You absolutely loved it! And I could do that permanently with magic! I don’t need to be pregnant!”

“Fine. No more sex!” he declared unhappily and rose from the table, not finishing his food. As he walked away, Lily quickly called out to him in panic.

“Wait! No! That wasn’t what-”

“Don’t care!”

The lady of house Potter followed her husband in obvious desperation leaving behind two hilared women.

“They really are too much.” remarked Marlene in an amused tone.

“They are. Although Lily does have a point.”

“Hm?”

With the smuggest and most satisfied smile on her face, Dorea explained herself. “She’s pregnant again.”

Marlene’s eyes nearly popped out of their orbits. “SHE IS?!”

“Yes. I found out when I did a check-up on her this morning while they were asleep.”

“Oh, this is so precious!” The blonde witch began to laugh again. A sudden thought crossing her mind immediately made her stop. “Wait, that means our children will be in the same year! YESS!”

“We’re not telling her.”

“Of course not! Where would be the fun in that?”

Both women chuckled and couldn’t wait for Lily to explode on Rick. The couple spent the day lazing around because they knew that starting tomorrow they would have to be present for the many many trials and would be too busy to do anything else.

When they met Amelia at the ministry before taking their seats in the Wizengamot, she told them that not all went according to plan. Some Death Eaters were claiming to have been imperiused. Rick knew then, that gold would change hands and that the possibility of those people getting away was on the table. Two wouldn’t, however. Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange had resisted their arrest violently and were put down by the aurors. Rick was sure that Bellatrix - who had surrendered on the spot - had either confounded or imperiused them. He wouldn’t be surprised one bit. She loathed both men and didn’t agree with Rick’s plan to get her acquitted.

She took things in her own hand because she needed her husband and brother-in-law dealt with permanently. Rick wanted to have a few words with her but honestly didn’t care one bit about the Lestrange and believed they just got it easy in the end.

Crouch, seeing Bellatrix as one of Voldemort’s most faithful from some Death Eaters’ interrogation, had arranged for her to be first in the accused chair though if the man would have been allowed, would have renamed it the ‘guilty’ chair. He did that without Bagnold’s knowledge and that will cost him. Dearly. Especially when his son had purposefully not been arrested yet.

Then again, the man shouldn’t have been so unrelenting about everything, especially when Bagnold told him the story she, Dumbledore, Rick and Lily had come up with about her setting a secret group only answering to her to catch Death Eaters, since the DMLE had a leak. Putting Bellatrix on the stand despite Bagnold telling him the witch was working for her, was in his mind a way to assert himself politically and prove he had what it takes to be the Minister for magic and replace Bagnold.Rick and Lily had to make their way with difficulty to courtroom n°1. Everyone thanked them - especially Lily - for offing Voldemort. From Ministry officials, to bystanders and reporters they had to walk through a crowd. Rick had had enough and used his wand to make a very loud *bang* sound, making everyone cower in fright.

“We understand you’re thankful. We also understand you have plenty of questions but your behavior is not only disgraceful it also forbids us to be present at the trials. Do you want Death Eaters scum to get away because we couldn’t be present to vote? All because you let your joy and curiosity take over your senses? I hope not. Now please, let us through.”

“We will release a statement soon. Please be patient.”

Lily’s smile and the gracefulness with which she spoke made everyone a bit ashamed of their behavior. The crowd split in half and the Potters were finally able to walk unobstructed to reach the courtroom just in time before the doors closed for good.

They were the last to arrive and everyone was already seated. When they made their way to the neutral seats, everyone wondered what was happening.

“Lady Potter. You can not be seated here. It’s reserved for Lord and Ladies voting. Please go up the stands.”

“I’m well aware of who those seats are for, Director Crouch. I have every right to take one as my husband’s proxy.” she said and sat down, her seat’s blank state changing to display the coat of arms of House Potter.

“But your husband is right next to you!”

Many in the courtroom were confused but the smartest and most experienced in politics knew something was more than off. Their suspicions got confirmed when Rick sat next to Lily and his seat displayed the coat of arms of House Black. To say they were shocked was an understatement. For a moment Rick pondered if he should just stay quiet but decided against it.

“Why is everyone surprised at me being Lord Black? It’s been more than two years already.”

Of course there was no way for anyone to know that. It was a well kept secret. The only leaks would have been Walburga and Cygnus but they were confined in their home with no way to communicate with the outside. Druella, Cygnus’ wife could have but when Rick told her she could live away from her husband and keep enjoying the privilege of the name Black if she kept her mouth shut, she readily agreed. Even more so when some facts about Lucius Malfoy were brought to light and that she had a metamorphmagus granddaughter. The woman had been a blood purist through and through but not virulent about it. When Rick showed her (and Bella) his research on blood purity, squibs, half-blood and muggle-born with proof on hand, she kept her mouth shut even more.

When he had mother and daughter side by side and heard them talk, he knew that to them power came first and blood purity second. They had no problem discarding the ideology (albeit not completely and with cause) when Rick pointed out that the need of clear blood to bring out the ancient family magics which had disappeared because of too much inbreeding. By carefully selecting wizards and witches to marry into the house of Black, the house would gain in magical power while the other houses would deteriorate with having more and more squibs.

‘Toujours pur’ was House Black’s motto. While many thought of blood, Rick argued that it was magic. After all, House Black had not one but two (and perhaps three if his magic sensing counted) family magic and until recently had lost one of them and the other had only manifested in Bella in a powerful measure. He argued that Ted, being a muggle-born - a squib descendant - had his magic unaffected by other family magic and as such, while it was very weak and poor (he was lying to them at this point to make them swallow the pill more easily), it allowed the ancient and better blood to manifest itself again. Hence why Nymphadora was a metamorphmagus.

He also pointed out his magic sensing which was very developed when his mother’s was rather weak. All because Potter and Black had no direct or indirect relation over the centuries. After that, Druella never said anything about Rick’s status as her Lord of House.

“Two years?!” a Lord Rick didn’t know exclaimed in the assembly.

“That is correct. Now, can we begin? We don’t have all day.”

Crouch was out of the loop and didn’t know what to make of this revelation. In his mind it could jeopardize Bellatrix’ trial since she was born a Black and Rick could support her defense. By being Lord of two Ancient and Noble Houses, Rick held ten votes by himself which was ridiculous and never seen before. Adding to that, he had support from the light regarding certain matters and the neutral or dark from others now. If he could rally enough families to his side his own plan would fail.

“Bring in the accused!” the director of the DMLE yelled out.

Two aurors, one of them being Amelia, brought in chains who Rick knew to be Bellatrix despite the bag on her head hiding her face. When she was put in the accused chair, the bag was removed and Bagnold acted on the spot.

“Director Crouch! What is the meaning of this? I specifically told you that she had been working as a spy and should not have a trial!”

“Be as it may, Minister, I only have your word. And spy or not, Bellatrix Lestrange had committed atrocities in the name of You-know-who. She’s accountable.”

“Bellatrix Black!” Rick interjected, raising up from his seat. “She has been reinstated in the family at the death of her husband. I request her release!”

“Request denied, Lord Black. Sit down so we can proceed.”

“You’re going to regret this, Crouch.”

“Is that a threat?” Crouch frowned threateningly but inside was jubilating. In his opinion Rick was making a fool of himself.

“It’s a promise. Nobody goes after the Ancient and Noble House of Black without paying the appropriate price. You better hope the price for accusing a daughter of my house is something your family can afford.”

“Duly noted. Now, let’s-”

“I also request a motion as Bellatrix’s head of house. The use of veritaserum, providing of course someone of impartiality asks appointed questions pertaining to her alleged crime activities.”

Before Crouch could say anything, the motion was seconded by enough votes for it to pass. Lily had been for of course but so were the Longbottom who, while not being part of the plan and knowing nothing about it offered their support. A few other houses, allied with the Potter, had followed suit.

The neutrals did too and the few dark Families with instinct of preservation offered theirs too. Rick's outburst and ‘promise’ made them realize that he wasn’t just Lord Black in name but also the successor of Arcturus. They knew the old man to be a ruthless cut throat and any threat he gave was followed through.

Just in case Rick was made of the same cloth, it was better for them to temporarily ally themselves with him and that wasn’t even counting the fact he nearly killed Voldemort, was married to the one who actually did it and was lord of two Ancient and Noble houses. He had power in spades.

“Very well. As per the law, it is the right of a Lord of house to request veritaserum for a member of their House. That someone brings some for the accused. For the interrogator, as the director of the DMLE I-”

“No, not you. It’s obvious you’re not partial in this instance, Director.” Frank commented out of the blue before Rick could. “You ignored Minister Bagnold's statement of Bellatrix Black having worked for the ministry undercover. You’re trying to condemn an alleged spy whose work may have helped us greatly to get where we are today. I’d say let Auror Bones do it.

She’s part of the DMLE, her record has been nothing but exemplary ever since she got her badge, she’s bringing more Death Eaters in than anyone and has absolutely no stakes in Bellatrix Black’s freedom or imprisonment.”

““Seconded.”” Lily and Rick spoked up.

Bagnold called for a vote and the motion passed. Veritaserum was administered to Bellatrix by an unspeakable who checked if it worked and cleared her up, inviting Amelia to ask her questions. The redhead was ready and despite the very short time she had in the past thirty minutes, learned the questions she needed to ask by heart.

“Bellatrix Black, are you a Death Eater?”

“Yes.”

Loud voices erupted in the courtroom.

“See! She’s guilty!”

“Enough Crouch! The interrogation is not over!” Bagnold chastised him. “Bones continue.”

Amelia nodded and asked another question. “Do you serve the Dark Lord?”

“No.”

“That’s impossible! She’s a Death Eater!”

Albus intervened then. “Bartemius, any more interruption to the proceedings and I will have you fined severely for obstruction. Please, remember the protocol.”

Closing his mouth, Crouch’s jaw was tightly shut. He wasn’t pleased by what was happening and being reprimanded.

Amelia continued her interrogation. “You’re a Death Eater but do not serve the Dark Lord. That's contradictory. Did you turn your cloak as Minister Bagnold stated?”

“Yes.”

“When?”

“August of 78.”

“What made you defect the Dark Lord’s ranks?”

“He was a liar.”

“How so?”

“He preached for the betterment of the wizarding world and advocated blood purity but in truth he didn’t care about our blood, culture and traditions. I came to believe he was not even pureblood himself.”

“Not a pureblood?”

“No, he never revealed his name to anyone and just proclaimed himself heir of the Slytherin. He should have been Lord Slytherin. The fact that he wasn’t meant he was unsuited for the Lordship so probably not pureblood. Had he been pureblood he would have bore his house name with pride instead of concealing it.”

That made people think for a moment. The one with brains. The members of the dark factions stayed quiet but were quite fuming inside from Bella daring to say their Lord wasn’t a pureblood. The most fanatical at least. Some began to have doubts.

“How did you become a spy?”

“Lord Black knew I was among the Dark Lord’s followers. He offered me an out which I took.”

“What was… your mission as a spy?”

“Unmask every member of the Dark Lord’s inner circle.”

“Unmask? You didn’t know who they were?”

“Besides my wretched late husband and his brother, I only had suspicions. The Dark Lord made sure we were ignorant of each other's identities. At least a first. With time the most prominent members recognized each other while others were kept secret by the Dark Lord. I knew they existed and saw them a few times but I rarely had the occasion to unmask them.”

“I see. Did you kill anyone during your time as a Death Eater?”

“No.”

Crouch couldn’t contain himself anymore then. “LIES! There are plenty of eye witnesses who can testify of seeing Black-”

“And how did they know it was her? Death Eaters wore masks!” Rick interjected Crouch’s rant. “And remember, she’s under veritaserum, or are you implying this unspeakable is corrupt and falsified the potion?”

The intervention shut Crouch up. The unspeakable had turned their head in the DMLE Director’s direction. While a charm hid their face in darkness, everyone felt the tension in the room at the criticism of their allegiance and most of all competency.In truth it was a master stroke by Rick on this one. Bella not taking lives? That was preposterous. She already had quite the small body count when Rick recruited her. The reason why Bellatrix could lie was simple: she didn’t. It was a nifty trick he had discovered while experimenting with veritaserum.

Everyone knew that the potion made people tell their truth. For example, if someone truly believed the sky was purple then it was their truth and would say yes if asked if it was purple when everyone knows it’s blue. That was why testimonies under veritaserum were taken with a grain of salt and the questions asked, meticulously thought about. It wasn’t a miracle solution to criminal cases but it helped so it was still legal.

Rick used this particularity as his advantage. Killing and murder were in itself two similar things however, in the eyes of the law, it was vastly different. Killing was legal and murder illegal. Killing could be done in self-defense to protect your own life or someone else'. Murder was gratuitous and had no justification.

Bellatrix being the very aggressive and sadistic witch that she was, certainly never killed anyone in her life. Murder on the other hand was a given (she had confessed as such). By making Amelia use the word ‘kill’ she was giving the golden opportunity to Bellatrix to exonerate herself in front of the whole Wizengamot and take down Crouch a peg or two. The redhead didn’t like it one bit. She knew of Bella’s crimes after Rick had told her and she wanted nothing more than to send her to Azkaban.

However she admitted that her information could bring down many influential and corrupt people. Fish way bigger than Bellatrix herself who was under unbreakable vow to never torture or murder anyone again outside of the duelling circuit. She also admitted that for the past two years Bellatrix had put her life at risk with her spying. Knowing the law and justice were not perfect and that sometimes you needed to make deals with criminals (no matter how much she despised it), Amelia agreed to the plan and went along with it.

“Did your spying pay off?”

“Yes.”

“Can you tell us the names and if possible, the crimes they committed?”

“Yes. The Shafiqs and the Prewetts twins were killed by Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange. Augustus Rookwood, Corban Yaxley and Antonin Dolohov led the raid against the Bones.”

Amelia stilled for a moment when she heard that. Fury filled her body and made her blood boil but she quickly used occlumency to calm herself down. She had been investigating for months and had absolutely no leads as to who murdered her family. Now she knew and she would make sure, with everything in her power, that those men paid for what they did.

“Severus Snape was-”

“I vouch for Severus Snape. He had been my spy inside Voldemort’s inner circle for a year. The information he shared at the risk of his life had been of the utmost importance. He’s now no more Death Eater than I am.”

Up in the neutral area, Lily had gripped Rick’s hand as hard as she could when she heard the name of her former best friend. It was clear for the couple that Snape was the one who heard the prophecy, delivered it to Voldemort then defected to Dumbledore. The look the Headmaster gave them was easy to understand. ‘We’ll talk about it later’.

“Who else?” asked Amelia, ignoring Dumbledore's interjection.

“Travers led the raid on the McKinnon. Igor Karkaroff, The Carrows twins, Thorfin Rowle, Walden Macnair, Crabb, Goyle, Avery Junior, Evan Rosier, Jugson, Gibbon, Bartemious Crouch Junior, Lu-”

The outrage at the revelation of Crouch’s own son being a Death Eater drowned out the other names Bellatrix was giving. Crouch himself was more than dumbfounded, he was frozen in place in disbelief. A commotion was heard to the side of the room and a man was sent flying across it, landing at the feet of the presiding body ( Dumbledore, Bagnold and Crouch). That silenced everyone.

“You thought you could get away, Death Eater scum!?”

The loud familiar voice of Moody and the sound of his wooden leg hitting the ground cut through the silence. He was walking down the stairs of the venue, wand raised and pointed at the down man who turned out to be Barty Crouch Junior. A flick of Moody’s wrist and Junior was disarmed of his wand, another and he was tied up and gagged by ropes, a third revealed the dark mark on his left forearm.

“Put him in a cell.” Bagnold ordered and two Aurors who were guarding the door, took Barty away. “I think Miss Bellatrix Black had amply proved her true allegiance and it’s not to the Dark Lord’s. Dumbledore?”

“Raise your wand if you believe Miss Bellatrix Black to be guilty.”A dozen wands rose from the light but also dark side. Rick believed that on the light side there were either people from the families of Bella’s victims or too extremist to let her go despite her spying. On the dark side, he thought that it was probably out of spite for betraying Voldemort and other Death Eaters. From the look of things Bella would be acquitted, however one wand raised didn’t necessarily equal one vote. It was possible that the addition of all the votes would be enough to incarcerate her despite less wand raised but Rick doubted that would happen.

“Raise your wand if you believe Miss Bellatrix Black to not be guilty.”

Most wands which had not been raised earlier were this time with a few exceptions.

“54 votes against 133. 9 absentions. Miss Bellatrix Black is acquitted!”

Dumbledore hit the gavel in his hand three times and Bellatrix was legally free. No one ever noticed in the commotion that Bellatrix had given more names until she had none anymore. Among them was the name of Lucius Malfoy. Rick thanked his lucky star for that because he didn’t want to deal with an unhappy Narcissa although he had made no promise to her regarding Lucius beyond doing his best.

Bagnold called for a recess to allow Crouch to gather himself. Rick and Lily took Bella with them. Rick talked quickly with Frank, Kingsley and Dumbledore and exceptionally gave him documents to name Podmore and Doge as proxies for the houses of Potter and Black for the day. He cursed the Wizengamot for never amending the law about votes and proxies which stated that a Lord could only vote for one house at a time and needed a proxy for any other houses he was the lord of. Rick put that on the wizard and witches' lack of common sense and would tackle that idiocy at another time in a Wizengamot session.

Pushing through the crowd they took the floo to Potter Manor where almost the whole Black family was waiting. Bella barely was out of the fireplace that her mother was upon her, hugging her like a bear.

“I’m free, mother, no need to crush my ribs.”

“You stupid girl!” shouted Arcturus, hitting her leg with his cane. “I hope you realize the length Corvus had to go to make sure you were free.”

“Maybe if you had been less hands off with your grandchildren’s-”

“DON’T YOU START! YOU OLD HAG!” The former Lord Black shouted at his elder sister and a sibling fight began.

“You look like mommy.”

Bella looked down to see her niece for the very first time. Her first reaction had been contempt because of her ‘dirty’ blood. After nearly three decades of being raised in blood purity, some things were hard to change. But Nymphadora’s hair changed from blond to Bella’s black (even her curls were imitated) and the eldest of the Black sisters felt pride at the sight of her family magic being alive once again. She smirked at the seven years old.

“I’m prettier.”

“Like hell you are!” Andromeda interjected, making her way to Bella with a fighting stance and a glare. “I’m prettier.”

“There is no need to fight, sisters.”

“Narcissa is right. Let’s celeb-” Rick began but deflated when the youngest of the three kept talking and added fuel to the fire.

“I’m the prettiest one.”

““AS IF!!””

The black sisters began a sibling fight right in the middle of the living room, and Rick wondered if he really should have accepted becoming Lord Black.