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Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 212: Safe
Lord Pollux stared at James, who had already returned his robes to normal so as to avoid further questions.
"I wasn't sure how long it would take you to get here. Honestly, I didn't expect you to come this quickly," the old man said.
"You got lucky that I pieced it together at all," said James.
After all, Bella had no clue about the imminent attack, and she was just concerned about the disappearance of her sister. James had to make an educated guess about the true intentions behind Narcissa's disappearance.
He wasn't sure if Lord Pollux already understood how those people managed to break into the house, and what it meant for his missing granddaughter.
"Grandfather!" Just then, Bella, Andromeda, and his father walked up the stairs and spotted them.
The two girls went to greet their family while Fleamont Potter exclaimed about the bodies of the Death Eaters.
"More dead?…" He recognized the one without the mask.
"Merlin! Is that Edwin Lestrange?!" Fleamont exclaimed. "James! That was an important Lord. How could you kill him like that?"
"Actually, that one was on me," Pollux responded as he hugged his two granddaughters.
The other members of the House of Black came out of the room once they realized that it was safe to do so.
"Father… are all of the intruders… ehm…" Cygnus looked around at the corpses with disgust on his face.
"I don't know…" Pollux gave James a glance.
"At least two of the six Death Eaters should be alive," James responded.
"Death Eaters?… is that what these men call themselves?" Cygnus looked confused, and he was not the only one.
The term Death Eater was yet to become a common name for them, as they were just getting started.
James had to improvise. "I just call them that… because of the masks, but that's not important right now." He pointed at the stairs. "One is at the library and the other one… is just downstairs. It's Lucius Malfoy, by the way. You will definitely want to hear what that boy has to say."
"What?! Malfoy attacked us?" Andromeda looked shocked. She had not paid any attention to the identity of the blonde man before rushing up the stairs.
"Narcissa!" Bella reacted to James' words and turned to speak with the house Patriarch. Informing him of her suspicions and the letter she left behind, which would directly implicate Lucius.
"James?" Sirius found him quickly and came running. "James! What are yo—ugggh… is that guy dead?" He stared at Lord Lestrange.
"Lord Pollux, we shouldn't delay calling the Aurors," Fleamont Potter said. "The more we wait, t—"
"The Aurors?!" Pollux spat. "What have those useless bureaucrats done for me? This is my house, and I will deal with this issue how I see fit. The Aurors can be called after I am done with the remaining intruders."
"That's not how our laws work…" Fleamont clearly disagreed with the antiquated mentality of Lord Black.
"First things first. I will speak with the ones who are still alive. One of my granddaughters is still missing," Pollux said.
"Hold on… where is our father?" Regulus was the first one to question the whereabouts of Orion Black when even his wife Walburga didn't seem too preoccupied.
Fleamont and Bella glanced at James. Neither of them had seen Orion Black in person, but James had mentioned that the man had been killed after examining the memories of the attackers.
"I believe he is in the kitchen," James responded.
"Alive?" Sirius asked.
When James didn't answer the question immediately, the expression on Sirius and Regulus changed to one of realization.
"Oh no… father." Tears formed in Regulus's eyes.
"No, they wouldn't have done that." Walburga got furious. "They assured me that they would not…" She shut her mouth immediately after saying that.
All eyes in the room turned to her. "What did you say?" the Patriarch demanded.
"You knew about the attack?" Bella questioned her aunt.
"O-Of course not!" Walburga turned paler. "I was just speaking without thinking."
It was obvious by the faces of the other members of the house that no one really believed in her innocence.
"I can't believe this." Cygnus stared at the woman with disdain. "We all knew you weren't happy with father's actions as of late, but for you to betray your own family…"
Bella looked the most furious. "If something happened to my sister because of you…"
"That's enough." Pollux decided to intervene and put things in order. "One issue at a time. We will deal with this later." He pointed at his son.
"Cygnus, take her wand away and keep an eye on her."
"Yes, father."
Walburga wanted to complain about unfair treatment, but quickly realized that everyone present was against her.
"Potters." Lord Pollux approached the father and son duo. "I cannot express how much debt we have with your family already."
Fleamont shook his head and sighed. "It's not really me who you should thank… my son did all the work himself."
"Yes." Pollux did not find it hard to believe after what he had seen. "I knew I had a good eye for people. Since the first time I saw young James… I could tell there was something special there."
"Lord Pollux," James addressed the man. "This house is no longer safe. In fact, until you have the chance to reinforce the wards and disable the Floo network, I would not put a lot of trust in any of the properties registered under your name."
"Oh… that is true." Fleamont realized that if these Death Eaters were all members of important wizard families, they could gain access to restricted files in the Ministry, and use the same method to break into those houses as well.
Pollux seemed to consider it for a moment. "I would first have a word with these men. You said one of them was Abraxas Malfoy's son?"
"Indeed." James nodded. "I believe he is also the reason for your youngest granddaughter's disappearance."
Pollux's eyes became cold. "I will make sure to be thorough during my questioning."
"That being said…" the Patriarch continued. "I think it would be best if you and your father left the house now. You have already gotten too involved."
Fleamont and James exchanged a look. They both understood what Lord Pollux meant by this.
He was planning on taking full responsibility for the four dead men.
It was likely that all of them were part of pure-blood houses and, as such, had strong connections with the Minister of Magic, who would no doubt try to make things difficult for them.
This is also why Lord Pollux was not in a hurry to call the Aurors. He first wanted Fleamont and James to be far away from here.
"Pollux," Fleamont spoke in a serious tone. "Once you are done with all of this mess, remember that you and your family are welcome to stay at our manor. Until you can secure a place for them."
"Thank you, Fleamont. I will repay you for this," Pollux said.
"There is no need for that…" He glanced at his son. "The Potters and the Blacks may one day become officially a family." He said it this way because, despite his mother being a member of the House of Black, she was removed from the family when she married his father, thus making their union unofficial in the eyes of this house.
James and Bella would be the first official marriage between those two houses.
The two Potters decided to leave after giving a quick goodbye to the others present.
It wouldn't be until the next day, when James found out about the fate of Narcissa Black, that he received a letter from Pollux himself.
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