"Don't worry Arcturus" Dorea consoled him "I haven't even started
with Potter yet. Don't think you're off the hook" She finished looking
sternly at the now horrified man.
It was Arcturus' turn to be amused by his friends' expression. "Baron
Charlus Potter" he mocked. "Will fight any man with a wand, scared
of my sister" he finished looking gleeful.
"I don't know why you're laughing Arcturus Black" Melania said
glaring at the man. "Do you really think you're off the hook for putting
me through what you have the last three days?" she asked in a
scolding fashion. "Thinking about fighting that brute with your off
hand" she added shaking her head and linking arms with Dorea.
"You really are a reckless prat" she finished leading Dorea away
from the two, now very cowed men.
The two men shared a knowing look before Arcturus broke the
silence.
"Do you really think you can handle my sister?" he asked only halfjokingly.
"Do you really think you can handle your fiancé?" Charlus retorted.
Both men shrugged.
"We can still hear you" a feminine voiced carried to them from
somewhere ahead.
They both cringed and hurried to catch up to the departing women.
They were pulled from the memory and Harry once again felt proud
of his Grandfather and what he had done.
"Do you have other memories of them" he asked keen to see more.
The older man looked at the teen for some time before answering.
"I have hundreds of memories of them but it is mostly day to day
stuff. We can look at more later" he said, placating the boy who
looked disappointed. "I simply wanted you to understand where you
come from and the kind of man your grandfather was".
"What happened to them?" Harry asked tentatively. "How did they
die?".
Arcturus looked sad and stayed silent for several minutes before
answering. "Dorea was a healer as you know. Just before you were
born there was a wizard flu pandemic and she caught the illness
badly" he sighed. "She recovered from it fairly well but she was
severely weakened by it. She stayed alive long enough to see you
born and lived to hold you as she wanted to. She died a few months
after you were born" he said sadly, suddenly looking very old.
He paused to compose himself.
"Charlus lived for Dorea and when she passed he was never the
same. He stopped taking care of himself and deteriorated. This was
when Riddle was becoming a real problem. Everyone knew of
Charlus and his prowess with a wand and Riddle knew he would
never convince him to work with him so he tried to take him out" he
said looking angry.
Harry looked nothing short of murderous. He felt his magic
responding to his anger and he wanted nothing more than to curse
Riddle into oblivion.
Arcturus saw the look and was again reminded of his friend.
"He tried to attack Charlus but Charlus, even though he wasn't the
same man he had been, fended him off but not before being hit with
a slow acting curse that stopped the blood circulating properly" he
said shaking his head. "Charlus knew about the curse but he didn't
see any reason to get it healed. I'm sure he was content to pass on
and be with Dorea again. Though I know if he knew what would
happen to your father and mother he would have done everything he
could to stop Riddle" he said looking sad again.
"Why couldn't my Dad fight like him?" Harry asked quietly. "I've
heard their last moments and my Dad didn't last 2 minutes against
Riddle" he concluded with a lump in his throat.
Arcturus looked at the boy with something akin to horror but quickly
composed himself before answering.
"They were different men born in different eras. Charlus was born
into a war and James was born in a time of peace. I think Charlus
wanted his son to have a normal childhood and not be raised the
way he was. Had he known what was coming it would have been
different. Riddle was just a whisper in the distance until James was
in his fifth year and even then none of us expected him to become
the problem he did" he explained. "James was much more like
Dorea than he was Charlus. He was not raised to be a fighter and
Dorea doted on him and was his biggest influence. Don't get me
wrong your father was a gifted wizard by what I saw and heard but
he and that idiot Grandson of mine spent their time joking around. If
they put half the effort into the type of training I and Charlus had
instead of their games then I have no doubt they would have both
been extremely formidable in battle. Whatever you do don't hold
what happened to your parents against them there was little to do to
prevent it. Once Riddle has an idea it's near impossible to stop him
he is persistent. Use it Potter, use what happened to your family to
push you to succeed" he finished.
"What can I do?" Harry asked lamely.
"You fight. You fight for all you're worth and with everything you have.
Fight for the memory of your family and fight for your life and your
future. Fight the way your Grandfather did. I believe everyone should
be their own man but if you aspire to be anyone or want someone to
look up to then look no further than your grandfather, you couldn't
find a better role model. He was the best man I knew and ever will
know. I see him in you Potter. You're like him more than you know.
Honour him, your grandmother and your parents the way they
deserve. Do not die for nothing but if you have to die you die facing
your foes on your feet, looking them in the eyes, never on your
knees. Riddle saw your Grandfather in you that night and he knows
what you can be capable of if you want to be" he finished sternly.
"But how can I be like him, how can I learn that kind of magic" he
asked pleadingly.
"By training" Arcturus replied simply.
He opened the draw on the bedside table and pulling out a
weathered thick, leather bound book and handed it to Harry.
"This is one of only two copies of this book. It contains both the
Black and Potter magic. Charlus and I created them many years ago
and added to them throughout the years. Whatever is written in one
will appear in the other and they are charmed so that only we, or a
combination of both Potter and Black blood can open them" he said
proudly. "Read it, learn it and practice it, it's all the magic you will
ever need to win a fight" he concluded confidently.
Harry looked at the book in complete awe.
"Thank you" he whispered gratefully.
"You're welcome" Arcturus replied, pleased to see the boy
appreciated the book so much. "Now, its time we got some sleep we
are going to be very busy from now on" he said making his way to
the door.
"Was there anything my Grandfather wasn't good at" Harry asked
unexpectedly.
Arcturus smirked at the question. "Potions" he replied. "He could do
mind-blowing things with a wand but put him in front of a cauldron it
was likely to explode or melt" he said shaking his head. "Dorea
never let him forget his ineptitude with potions" he said amused as
he left the room.
Harry looked at the book Arcturus had given him in amazement and
anticipation. He gently stroked the front cover with his finger tip only
to snatch it away after a sharp pain caught him by surprise. He
sucked his bleeding finger as the book glowed gold before opening
on his lap. He was too awake to sleep. He needed time to absorb
and digest everything he had heard and seen of his family so settled
down and began to read