Chapter 24
ALDER EVANS
Alder had forced Lily to come back to their home for three, and now he was the one regretting that decision. He had done nothing to earn his sister's scorn, yet Petunia cared little for reason as she chose to blame them all for her troubles.
A part of him sympathised with her, and yet she refused to see any semblance of reason.
He had spent the past two days trying to make her see some sense, and yet she was adamant about ruining her life, and so there was little he could do to stop her.
In the end, days passed, and soon enough it was time for him and Lily to go to the Longbottom manor, but he had one last errand to run before leaving for their home.
So, he took a bus from his home to Spinner's End, and the cramped town was still reeling from the shock of nearly a dozen murders that had taken place just some time ago, as he walked off the bus and began to walk down a rather thin and dark alley.
Spinner's End was one of the poorer areas of the city, with downtrodden houses piled upon one another like puzzles. The streets were wet, and the walls covered with soot and piss, as he strode to a small black door with a simple nameplate beside it.
KNOCK. KNOCK.
He hounded the lock, and soon enough, a familiar face came to the door.
"Who is it?" and it was Severus's voice, which came from the other side as Alder spoke up softly.
"It's me, Alder," and the door opened at once, and he found himself staring at the face of the still unknown Half Blood Prince. Severus's nose was truly crooked, though he did not have that usual scowl on his face, and he even gave him a little smile, or at least as much as one could expect out of him.
"Alder," and years ago, they had been like brothers, yet Hogwarts had a way of pulling people apart. He had been sorted into the House of the Snakes, and that came with certain obligations and complications.
"How have you been, Sev?" he asked, softly entering through the door, and the house looked far better on the inside than it did on the outside, with its wooden flooring and papered walls.
"Fine," he answered as he closed the door behind him.
"Who is it, Severus?" came the voice of his mother, and around half a decade ago, you would never have heard her voice like that.
"It's Alder," answered Severus as he led him through the familiar Halls, as Eileen Prince popped out her head from one of the rooms.
"Ah, Alder," she greeted him like he was her own child, as he gave her a small wave.
"Hi, Mrs Snape," and she gave him a hug.
"Look at how you have grown," and he was now taller than both her and Severus, as she looked at his face.
"I was just reading up the order," and years ago, Eileen Prince had been a witch filled with doubt and regrets. She had left her family for a Muggle, yet the man she had chosen had turned out to be a drunkard.
In the end, she had found herself trapped in a broken marriage with an abusive husband and a small child. Oblivious to the workings of the Muggle world, she had struggled for years as she accepted and took all the abuse because of guilt and regret, until she finally gathered the courage to take a stand.
"I could have taken it," added Severus, and of course.
"I was going to the Alley, anyway. It's no trouble," he said, and the woman smiled.
"I will go and bottle up the potions then," Severus added, as he walked past them both and headed to the pungent-smelling room in the corner that acted as the brewery for some of the more esoteric potions.
"Be careful," she called out, and the years had been unkind to her, but the years had done much to heal the damage done by her drunkard and cruel husband, who now rotted in prison.
She had brown hair and a thin, lean face. Five years ago, though, she had been but bones and skin.
"How's your mother?" she asked.
"Good, she was a bit worried about you with the recent incidents and all," and her lips thinned at once.
"That is kind of her," and while he had been the one to help her out with her employment, it had been his parents who had stepped forward to deal with her drunkard husband.
Their father had been very happy to call in a favor with a few of his friends from the police to get the man arrested, and they did not need him to go away for life or anything. They just needed him gone until Severus had graduated, and getting him thrown into jail for seven years, with the power of magic at your beck and call, was not so difficult.
"Yes, she did ask me to come and stay, but I did not want to impose," and he shrugged.
"How's school?" she asked as they walked into their lab, where Severus was bottling up vials upon vials of various Potions that she had brewed over the last few months.
"Ask him," he said, slapping Severus on the back as he began to help him.
"He was the one who mentioned that you got into some trouble with the Slytherins," and he eyed Severus, who shrugged.
"You know I don't lie to Mother," and he sighed.
"Traitor," he whispered as he shook his head.
"It was nothing. Just a little brawl that got out of hand," he answered, as they finished bottling up the potions. And Eileen Prince came from a long line of Potion Masters, and her family had long been one of the more prestigious suppliers of Diagon's Alley, until their numbers had dwindled.
Now the Princes simply relied on their accumulated wealth, and the Lord of the House was a sickly old man who was said to be on his last legs. Other alternatives had come, but there were many who still longed for the Prince family's secret potions, and such.
So, he had struck a little deal with Burke, and while they could not sell them openly lest the Prince family turn their attention towards them, they were able to sell them on the black market, allowing Mrs Snape to earn money for herself.
"I have added a few samples from something new that I brewed up," he nodded.
"I will show them to Burke," he answered as they closed the trunk and locked it up.
"Should I put on some tea?" and he shook his head.
"I am afraid I cannot stay. I have to catch the bus soon," and though dejected, she knew better than to argue.
"Well, next time them. And do bring Lily with you, it has been some time since I last saw your twin," and he nodded, even as she gave Severus a subtle, mischievous smile.
And while Severus still had somewhat of a crush on Lily, their own friendship and the lack of his antagonistic rivalry with the Marauders had made it so that he was not the bitter boy he could have been.
He liked Lily, but she was not the only light in her life. He had his mother as well to care for, along with a slew of friends and somewhat rivals as well.
Along with that, he had set his mind on building a career for himself so that he could protect his mother from their destructive father, and in that regard, he was more focused on his studies than relationships.
"I will give her the message," he said, waving his hand, and just as he was about to walk out, Snape called out.
"Wait," and he stopped.
"Have you heard from Sirius?" he asked, and Alder frowned.
"Heard about what?" he questioned.
"The gathering," he elaborated a bit nervously.
"It was supposed to be today. Regulus was quite nervous about it, but he is reluctant to write to me when he is back there," and for obvious reasons.
"So, I was thinking that Sirius might have written to you, maybe?" and he shook his head.
"Sirius and I aren't so close that he would tell me about such a thing. But we might meet up at the Longbottoms. I could ask him for you, if you want," he suggested, and Snape nodded.
"Yes," and as if remembering something, he added quickly.
"But don't mention me," and he chuckled.
"I won't," and with that, he walked away, not answering the whisper of thanks from behind, and when he reached back home, Lily was already waiting for him at the door, bags ready.
"Someone's in a hurry," he whispered.
"I called us a taxi," she added, and that was expensive, but he did not say anything.
"Let's go," and they were running out of time, so he simply put the bag in the taxi as Lily began to help him with the rest of the luggage, while their mother came to the door.
"Be safe, and keep an eye on your sister," she added, and Lily rolled her eyes.
"I am not a kid anymore," Lily complained as she gave her a hug, as their mother called out to the second floor.
"Petunia! Petunia..." and he shook his head.
"Let her be," he said, for he knew that she wouldn't come. She had hardly left her room for the three days they had been home.
"What will I do with her?" their mother lamented as he gave her a hug.
"Don't worry. I will try to talk to her in the Summer again," he added, as their mother waved him off.
"That is very mature of you," she said as he walked into the taxi, as Lily spoke in excitement.
"Let's go," she suggested.
"Where to?" asked the driver.
"To the Leaky Cauldron..."
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NARCISSA BLACK
The Great Hall of Black Manor was filled with baited silence as the family all gathered for their Grandfather's gathering. Despite his age, Arcturus Black cut a daunting figure, and one could almost sense the nervousness in the room as they all waited for him to speak.
Narcissa sat at the edge of the table, near the end. Her entire family sat to her side, and their father sat just beside their Grandmother, Melania. Her father sat to her left, and their mother sat after him, and then Bell, and then Andy, and so forth.
The chair opposite to her was empty, and Orion Black and his family occupied the three seats, to the right of their grandfather, whose eyes did not leave the master clock in front of them.
The Black Gathering was an actual ritual, and one that had not been repeated in over a hundred years. Even informally, their family had not come together like this in years, especially after Sirius's banishment.
"What exactly are we waiting for?" and it was their Aunt Walburga who cut in, who was a Black twice over now, and was a clear supporter of her sister's ambitions for the Black family to become staunch supporters of Lord Voldemort and his campaign.
"I am waiting for family," their grandfather snarled, without sparing her a glance.
"Though I doubt you would know much about that," he added, taunting her as the plump woman flushed in rage.
"What family?" and she was not the one to back out.
"She is right," and it was her father who spoke up.
"All of the Family is already here," he said, glancing down the table.
"At least all those who are worthy of the Black name," Aunt Walburga added.
"Huh, if I allowed only those worthy of my name to sit here, this table might just have been empty." Their grandfather did not back away and coughed deeply as their grandmother pushed forward a glass of water.
"Calm down, Arcturus," and she saw blood cake the cloth, as he took a sip of the water.
"Calm down," he asked, after taking a sip as he turned towards his eldest son, Orion. And Orion Black looked much like him, and though he was quite young, still being in his early forties, the man looked pale and thin, and looked nearly twenty years older than his age.
"I left the family in your care, and look what you have done to us. Look!" he said, slapping the table, as he looked at their father as well.
"And what exactly have we done?" asked her aunt, refusing to back down even as she saw Lord Orion place a calming hand on her shoulder and whisper.
"Walburga..." yet she was not the kind to back down.
"No. I must know this. What exactly have we done?" she asked a bit loudly.
"You have destroyed our name. Destroyed the Black name, you entitled fools!" he raged, and his eyes grew wide in rage as the Hall turned quiet.
"We have done nothing of the sort," her father chose to cut in.
"We have made alliances. New and better alliances that would see our family become one of the most prominent families in the new world that is being created..." and yet he could not finish his words, as they all heard the sound of the floo being used, taking them all by surprise.
"Master, we have some new guests," and Narcissa had not missed how the aged elf had used the word guests, and they could hear the sound of footsteps as they all turned towards the gates, and for a second, she felt as if she saw Regulus smile subtly as a person emerged through the doors.
Yet much to her surprise, it was not Sirius, or an estranged uncle. No. It was a woman. An older woman, but one who exuded grace and elegance that Walburga Black could only ever dream of.
Her eyes were grey, and her hair had hints of that color as well. She was thin, tall, with a sleek figure, and carried herself with charm and confidence as if nothing could hold her back.
"YOU...." and it was Aunt Walburga who cut in, angrily, and the surprise within the room was palpable. Narcissa had not seen her before, but one thing was certain.
This woman was a Black. And it was a second later that another figure came up behind her, fidgeting slightly and clad in a neat and pressed shirt and trousers.
"I do hope that we are not late," her cousin joked, as if he had not just come home after years.
"How dare you show up here?" Aunt Walburga screamed, and she thought for a second that she was speaking to Sirius, and yet only later did she realise that it was not Sirius she was speaking to.
"Indeed! You are not a Black. Not anymore," and it was her father who added, as she leaned towards Andy and asked.
"Who is she?" she asked, and her sister did not answer immediately.
"Leave and don't you...."
"SHUT UP!" and their grandfather's scream tore through the room, silencing everyone as Andy whispered to her.
"I think she is our Aunt," she replied, and despite the outrage, the woman seemed unbent and unaffected as she simply glanced at their grandfather.
"She has more right to be here than any of you," their grandfather came to defend her, and the woman raised a brow.
"How can you say that after what she did! She is a blood traitor! She married those damned Potters! And now she comes here, bringing that disgrace of a son with her! I will not..." and Aunt Walburga was not one to back down.
"Then leave," their grandfather warned.
"But I will not have you insult Dorea and my heir, you fool!" and then he turned towards his eldest son.
"Make her see some sense Orion, lest you wish for me to do that for you as well," and her uncle placed a hand on her shoulder, as he began to whisper in her ears, and with a wave of her grandfather's wand, the chairs to his right began to move as Orion Black's family was pushed one seat ahead as a chair conjured up just to his right.
"It has been years since I have seen you, Dorea," and the name made her still, for even Narcissa had heard the legend of Dorea Black, and as she realised just who this woman was, hope began to bubble inside her as she whisked Sirius to his seat, while she came and sat just right of her grandfather.
"Indeed, but I felt as if I was not welcome or needed in these Halls," and her father could not keep his mouth shut.
"And you are not," and what happened next was a surprise, and Narcissa felt her breath hitch, as the wall behind her father suddenly splintered, as the entire room turned silent.
BOOM!
"This is going to be fun," and the woman's expression had shifted, and there was a frown on her face, and her wand was aimed at her father's head, whose face had now turned ashen.
"How dar..."
"I have just about had enough of your insolence, nephew," and he was breathing hard.
"How dare you..." and before he could stand up and take reach for his wand, their grandfather moved.
"Don't be a fool!" and before he could aim it at her, the wand flew away and landed in their grandfather's hand, and despite his age, she was reminded that Arcturus Black was not a simple wizard.
He was a veteran from the war against Grindelwald, and if the stories she had heard were true, he was among the most feared people from the war.
"She attacked me! She attacked your son!"
"And you insulted her, you fool! You insulted my sister! I should have punished you like that half blood Master of yours right now, but I have a better sense than that to use that curse on my own blood," and the room turned cold at those words.
"Be careful how you speak of him, grandfather. Lord Voldemort is a man of limited patience," and it was her sister, Bella, who added with a chill to her tone.
"Lord Voldemort, is that what that half breed calls himself now?" he snarled, and Arcturus Black was not one to back away.
"Let us speak of him then and how you lot have enslaved this family to him...."
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