40

Chapter 40

Harry and Elaina had said goodnight after their late-night kiss.   The young man could hardly believe the girl had handled the bombshell as well as she had.  It felt wrong saying that Charlus and Dorea weren't his parents last night, but he tried to express how he felt about the two the best he could.  They had been his rock in this world, and he cared for both of them immensely in the months they had come to know each other.  They were the family he could've always had, and he was immensely grateful to have them in his life.

He stirred most of the night in his room pondering the impact of revealing his secrets to Elaina last night.  He couldn't quite justify his nerves over the matter.  Charlus and Dorea obviously trusted her.  It had been his mother who advised him to confide in her.  The guilt or worry he was feeling now was the fact that James and Lily did not yet know who he was.  A day would come however when the truth would come out.  On that day he could only hope James would forgive him.

Harry was up at daybreak on Christmas despite a late restless evening.  He was looking forward to exchanging gifts with his parents and breaking the ice with his cousin on the Quidditch pitch that evening.  Spending time with his grandparents, along with Lord Black and his wife was just an icing on top of it all.

Sitting in the kitchen alone Harry sipped hot tea in the kitchen as he watched Mipsy swirl around the room in a whirlwind in an attempt to prepare breakfast.  He smiled at the mutterings of the elf, "Everything must be perfect for the master's first Christmas with the family.  So much to do, so much to do!"

Harry had offered the elf a little help when he first came into the kitchen and he nearly got smacked with a spatula as Mipsy begged him to sit down and let her service him.

An owl pecking at the kitchen window pulled his attention away from the loyal little house elf and with a wave of his hand, the window opened allowing the owl to enter.  The owl was one Harry had seen at the Slytherin table often and he recognized it as Noctua, Andromeda's owl.

The owl was carrying a small envelope that likely contained a letter from his friend, and he took the letter gently requesting for Mipsy to toss the bird a small treat for the delivery.  Opening the letter he read it carefully,

Dear Elaina and Harry,

Happy Christmas to you both.  I hope you have been enjoying each other's company over the break and judging by the lack of correspondence I have received from you two I am guessing that is the case.  I am writing to you because I wanted you both to know that I will be accompanying my grandparents tonight to Potter Manor to spend Christmas Evening with the two of you.  Looking forward to seeing you both tonight, and hope you have a fun gift for me!

With love,

Andromeda Black

Harry grinned at the letter knowing Elaina would be thrilled to know their friend would be joining them that evening to make the moment even more special.  The thought of writing to their friends prompted the decision to write to Pandora and Xeno to wish them a happy holiday and try to schedule some time for them to all spend together before they returned to school.  With Xeno having such a small family he was certain that the two were having a quiet season together, and Harry wished he had thought to invite them for boxing day or maybe even Christmas dinner had he thought of it sooner.

Resolving himself to write the letter later that afternoon Harry turned his head to the sound of footsteps coming down the hall and saw his mother looking bright-eyed and fully awake without her morning cup of coffee.  Chuckling he said, "Good morning, mum.  You look thrilled."

"I came down early hoping you would tell me how your evening with our lovely guest went." The woman said cheerily as she summoned the cup that Mipsy had ready for her mistress.

Sighing Harry slumped a bit, "We learned a lot about each other last night.  She knows that there is a prophecy and that I grew up with my muggle relatives.  I didn't tell her about exactly everything, but she understands a lot more now."

Dorea nodded in thought looking pleased by this as she took a seat across from him, "I am supposing she shared something new with you as well."

"I learned the relationship with her dad is about as bad as I imagined." Harry said with a frown, and Dorea merely hummed, "You knew?"

The question didn't phase the woman as she sighed, "We attempted to contact the man.  After Godric's Hollow.  A mistake we won't make again.  Charlus obliviated him of the memory when he became hostile.  I hope you made it clear to her that she has a home here at Potter Manor for as long as she needs it."

Harry nodded in confirmation and the woman sighed, "I feel your turmoil, Harry.  What is it?"

"Did I do the right thing?" He asked quietly, "Telling Elaina before I told James or Lily?"

Dorea reached out and placed a comforting hand on his own, "I don't know if this can be chalked up to something as simple as right or wrong.  You are in what could be an unprecedented situation.  Elaina has proven herself capable, and trustworthy through our time together.  From what you told Charlus and I, James is showing glimpses of the man you knew him to be, but he isn't ready for that big step yet.  When that day comes, you will tell him the truth with confidence."

Her advice eased his heart and he offered the woman a nod, "You're right.  Thanks mum."

She patted his hand gently and leaned back as they both sipped at their drinks.  Dorea then posed the next question, "So is there anything else I should know about you and Elaina?"

He did his best not to sputter as he fought the rising heat to his cheeks, "Nothing."

The tone of his voice betrayed him though and the woman merely smirked, "I am happy for you, Harry."

"I'm happy for him too." Another female voice said entering the room.

If Harry wasn't red before he definitely was now as the smirking Elaina entered the room.  The girl was in a similar outfit to what she liked to duel in and seemed prepared for morning training if they decided to have it.

Dorea chuckled heartily as the young woman wished them both a Happy Christmas as she took the seat next to Harry, "Where is Mr. Potter?"

Smirking, the woman said, "Oh he was checking on a guest we are expecting for our morning training."

"So we are training today?" Elaina said with a gleam of excitement in her eyes.

Harry and his mother chuckled at her enthusiasm as Dorea said, "Quite the sadist isn't she?"

"I would think she is tired of getting throttled by the three of us." Harry said cheekily.

Offering the best glare she could manage at the two she just huffed, "You would think my appreciation for learning all I can with training with your family would be appreciated more.  Besides, we almost beat Charlus in our two-on-ones."

It was true Harry admitted to himself.  The two of them had faced off against Charlus together, and had thrown up quite the fight.  It was at that moment Harry realized his father was still holding back a little.  The way he handled the two of them dueling him was inspiring.  He turned their magic against them on more than one occasion and a part of him wondered when he was on his back looking up at the sky if Voldemort could truly defeat the man in single combat.

"You two are quite the team.  I think Harry and I could do better together, but there is a part of me that fears hurting the man I love with my family magic." Dorea said, pursing her lips together, "In a real field of battle I think my son and I would be quite the sight to behold."

"Undoubtedly." Elaina said cheerfully.

Dorea and Harry exchanged smiles and she clapped her hands, "Well I think you two are going to want to wait on breakfast.  Trust me, what happens next may make you lose your appetite.  Come along."

Elaina and Harry exchanged nervous looks as they rose from the table and Dorea called out over her shoulder, "Keep the food warm for us Mipsy, I don't think we will be too long."

"Yes Mistress!" The house elf called back.

They were on the grounds in moments and Elaina whispered over to Harry, "Any idea what's going on?"

Before Harry could respond his mouth immediately dried at the sight of Charlus laughing with another older gentleman that the younger teen recognized in an instant.  The dark hair and mustache were a dead giveaway as the group approached the man.

When they approached Harry greeted the man, "Godfather, Happy Christmas."

The man smirked at Harry, "Happy Christmas to you, my boy.  To you as well Ms. Essex, sister."

Dorea came forward and embraced the man who returned the gesture with both arms, "It's good to be in your company on Christmas Day once again."

When the two separated Dorea offered her brother a large smile as the man then turned to face Elaina and Harry with a pointed stare, "Charlus tells me you almost unseated him in a two-on one-duel.  That would have taken incredible teamwork, something I need to experience for myself.  You should both know I will hold little back in what comes next, and I expect you both to do the same for me."

Harry nodded grimly in understanding, while Elaina looked like she was being gifted something horrible yet great at the same time.  The man vanished in a puff of black smoke that materialized from the ground below him darkening the grass where his feet stood.  No sooner had he done that Charlus and Dorea both apparated away while Harry flicked his wand into his hand and stepped in front of Elaina deflecting a purple hex that came sailing towards her head from seemingly nowhere.

The girl yelped in surprise as she quickly summoned her wand searching for a target.  Harry had witnessed much of the Black family magic, but it immediately became clear Arcturus was here to win.  A barrage of spells came from behind him forcing Elaina to shield and roll out of the way of a curse that she didn't recognize.  Harry for his part did recognize the organ failure curse and swatted it right back at the man who stopped the spell instantly and hit it with another spell in mid-air causing it to explode sending the younger man sprawling backward.  Harry had never seen that tactic displayed before, and before he could defend himself Elaina was in front of him shielding him while also conjuring three daggers and hurling them at the older man.

Arcturus for his part transfigured the weapons in mid-air to bats before sending them towards the duo.  Before the bats could get to them however the creatures turned into a massive flaming creature with wings.  The creature resembled something demonic, and Harry was back on his feet freezing the beast while Elaina blasted the frozen creatures into ice shards that the younger Potter directed towards the Black Lord.

Arcturus grunted as he turned the ice shards into sand and swirled it around his body before creating a solid clay wall to absorb the spells that Elaina and Harry had sent his way.  By the time the clay wall exploded the man was gone.

Harry eyed the area around them when he felt the blast of power before he saw it.  Linking his arm through Elaina's he apparated the pair away, and was still forced to summon a head-to-toe shield to protect them from the impact of a tidal wave of power that was packed behind a blasting curse.  There was little doubt that had they been in a room or possibly even a small house Arcturus would've just leveled it.  Harry had always respected the man, but his power levels were something to behold.

Harry was forced to hold his shield as the spell seemed to continuously pin him down.  Barking to Elaina he called out, "MOVE!"

The girl followed his orders in an instant and she cried out, "Reducto!"

The spells that were coming towards Harry suddenly stopped and he looked up to see Arcturus picking himself up off the ground.  With speed, Harry attempted to pin the man down by transfiguring the trees behind him to life.  The trees took the forms of warriors holding swords of bark and attempted to cleave the man in half as they closed the distance with no haste. Elaina had not been idle at that time as she attempted to pin the man down to prevent him from escaping.  The man was clearly surprised by the series of events and barely escaped the guardians Harry brought to life.

Elaina and Harry were now decently separated as they scanned the field before a soft voice seemed to enter their minds, "That was a clean hit, and you almost had me, but we are only just getting started."

A blast of purple shot across the sky like a lightning bolt and a dome seemed to materialize the length of a football field, and Harry looked around in horror not understanding the type of magic he was witnessing.  When he attempted to apparate closer to Elaina he realized part of the magic was an anti-apparation ward, and he flinched when a purple bolt of lightning charred the middle of the field, and his ears rang with pain from the sound.

Trying to link up with Elaina he saw the girl battling Arcturus for her life as she attempted to find a way to fight back.  Harry was about to attempt to crack the man in the side again, but a creature launched itself at him from the outskirts of the dome, and he was forced to cut it in half with a cutting curse.  Black ooze came from the creature when it thumped onto the ground and Harry shook his head.

Taking aim at the Black Lord Harry prepared to take him out of the fight, when claws ripped into his back.  He yelled out in pain, but before he knew it a red light struck him in the side, and the lights went out.

When he was revived he was on his back looking up at the sky.  His ears still felt like they were ringing, but his back was no longer in pain.  Sitting up he saw Dorea berating her brother, while Charlus was chuckling in amusement.  Glancing to his left Elaina was sitting up with her knees pulled to her chest and her eyes wide.  Harry shook his head as he made eye contact with his dad.  The man quickly stepped over to him and helped his son to his feet, "That was some damn fine dueling and teamwork.  Had Elaina used something a little more debilitating you both would've won.  Hence why your mother is so angry."

The amusement in the man's voice couldn't be missed, and Harry shook off the chill he felt as he stepped over to Elaina offering her a hand.  When the two made eye contact she took the hand and said quietly, "I've never seen or felt magic like that before.  That world he created was cold.  It felt voidless there.  What kind of magic was that?"

Arcturus who was stepping away from his sister's tirade said loudly, "Illusion magic.  It was merely an anti-apparation ward combined with some of my family magic.  Harry was caught by a transfiguration trap that I had set early on in the duel.  He had no chance of blocking it while his focus was assisting you."

"You are one terrifying wizard, Lord Black." Elaina said with a bow of her head.

The man smirked, "You are inexperienced, but a damn talented witch indeed.  Experience would have told you when fighting a wizard of my caliber you fight to kill, or in our case here for training purposes, incapacitate at minimum.  You may be the most talented muggleborn I have met in my life, but the type of enemies you will be facing in the coming conflicts will hold nothing back and you should not either.  Do you understand?"

"I do." She nodded in confirmation.

Turning to face his godson Arcturus grinned, "You my boy, piss excellence.  I quickly discovered your weakness in trying to protect your friend instead of trusting her to handle herself in the face of my magic.  Separating the two of you and causing temporary panic is the only reason I beat you.  Something experience will teach you both."

Nodding in understanding Harry said, "It's not that I didn't trust Elaina to handle herself.  I just knew in the face of the true magic of House Black she may panic or not understand what she is seeing.  I have experienced enough of what you can do to not dilute myself into that line of thinking."

Grunting the man retorted, "You two would've been damn fine additions to our team on the Western Front.  Our day to battle together will come, and I can only imagine the fear we will strike into the enemy."

The man looked gleeful at his words, while Dorea muttered, "You should be more worried about the fear I am going to strike into you if you curse my son like that again, Arcturus Black."

Charlus chuckled at the woman's mutterings while Arcturus just laughed, "I better get home and prepare for lunch with the rest of the clan.  Potter's, I will see you all at dinner tonight."

With those words the man disappeared in a twist causing Harry to shake his head, "The man is a riptide."

"You can imagine why the unit respected him so much, and why the enemy was so cautious to face him." Charlus said with a fond smile on his face, "I would just blast a man to pieces, or destroy battlefields with my ability to conjure and transfigure.  Arcturus would drive people insane on the battlefield, and walk past them as they clawed their own eyes out."

"Sounds like a pleasant bloke." Elaina said quietly.

"One of the best." Charlus assured, "I would trust Arcturus with anything."

Dorea scoffed, "Trust him to hurt our son.  Come on children.  It is Christmas, we should have been stuffing our faces not trying to kill each other."

"If it's all the same Mrs. Potter, that is an experience I may not care to have again, but it was awesome." Elaina said with a look of awe in her tone, and a grin on her lips.

Dorea threw her hands into the air causing Charlus, Harry, and Elaina to laugh as they followed the woman back into the kitchen for lunch.

.o.

Outside of the horrifying experience of dueling with Arcturus Black, Harry had been having an extraordinary Christmas.  He knew he didn't have tons of good ones to compare it to, but nonetheless, it was everything he could've asked for.  The family had exchanged gifts in the afternoon, and the most exciting aspect of it was a new broom from his parents.  His first instinct beyond the excitement of it was to become frustrated with his cousin, but when his father had told him that Fleamont had noticed that Harry was on James' old broom it had been decided that it would be an easy Christmas gift.  It had been previously decided that the family was not going to make a big deal out of gifts this year, so Harry had given them both small trinkets with the Black and Potter crest on it, and they were thrilled with the thought behind it.  For Elaina, Harry had gifted a book on wards written by a Potter as well as a nice dueling holster for her wand.  His parents had even purchased her a very nice set of dueling robes, something that had nearly brought tears to the girl's eyes.

The girl had been embarrassed by her gift to the family in the face of hers, but they were all suitably blown away by the discovery that the girl was an artist.  She had drawn a beautiful portrait of the family dueling on the grounds of Potter Manor.  The details were immense, down to the intricacies of each of their wands.  They all had smiles on their faces, and Harry along with his family were immensely grateful.  She had also gifted each of them necklaces with the Potter coat of arms, something Harry had immediately asked her to put on him.  The necklace was not the finest of jewelry, but the sentiment behind it to Harry was already priceless.

His parents had told her that they had one more gift for her, but it would have to wait till the end of the holidays.  The pair were both curious as to the nature of the gift, but didn't linger on it as they had been encouraged to go outside and enjoy a flight on Harry's new Cleansweep.

When the two made it onto the grounds Elaina appeared nervous.  She was wearing a jumper and long-fitting pants that appeared to keep her warm in the light snow that covered Potter Manor.  Harry had offered the girl his previous broom that he had borrowed from James and the look on her face said it all, "Not a flier?"

"We just didn't get enough time on them for me to be very comfortable on one." She said, biting her lip as she summoned the older Cleansweep into her hand.

"If all you had to practice on were the ones in the cupboard at the school then I'd say you were at quite the disadvantage.  Broom production has come a long way in recent years.  These are a lot easier to control than what the school had on hand." Harry said, trying to assure the girl.

His words weren't a lie.  Broom specs seemed to have become exponentially safer, faster, and easier to maneuver over the years.  The broom Harry had flown in tryouts, vs the one James gifted him, to the one he received for Christmas, to the Nimbus he received in his first year was  ridiculously different.  He had confidence that if the girl didn't try anything crazy she would be just fine.

Seeming to be nervous Harry offered, "Do you want me to ride with you for a few minutes?  Give you a chance to get comfortable?"

The girls looked over at him and gave him an embarrassed look, "You don't have to do that.  I don't need to babied."

"I just want you to be comfortable." Harry defended with his hands up, "We will have a lot more fun flying if you feel safe doing it."

The girl was certainly turning red now, and Harry couldn't help but feel slightly triumphant that he was pulling one over on the girl for once.  With a sigh, she nodded and he placed his new broom safely on the ground as she walked over, "Okay you mount the broom, and I will ride in back.  You guide us around, and I will offer you help if you need it.  I am just a crutch if I am needed."

Taking a deep breath the girl mounted the broom as he suggested and he carefully placed himself behind wrapping his arms around her midsection.  From the back of her neck, he could feel the heat radiating off her now, and a smug sense of satisfaction overcame him when he said, "Whenever you're ready."

The girl nodded in a hurry and kicked them off the ground allowing them to levitate slightly.  Without instruction she slowly began to lean forward, willing the broom to move.  Gently he offered advice as he noticed her white knuckles, "Don't grip the broom so hard, Elaina.  Just relax.  I won't let anything happen to us in the air."

Nodding she took another visible breath before lightening her grip.  The two flew around for a few minutes, and Harry urged her to go faster, and take faster turns until he thought she was feeling pretty comfortable.  When the two landed the girl was smiling a lot wider now, "I can see why you love to fly so much, you're right, this broom is a lot better."

"Well let's get up there and enjoy it now." He said cheekily as he summoned his broom to his hand as he dismounted hers.

When the rest of the family had arrived Harry and Elaina were still in the air flying around each other.  The girl had become increasingly confident as time passed, while Charlus and Dorea had been watching the two from below.  James and Sirius had joined the two in the sky as soon as they arrived and a casual passing of a quaffle broke out among the group.  They were even joined by Andi when the Blacks had arrived and the adults decided to retire to the family dining room.

Andi had even been the first to crack a joke at the two, "So has Potter Manor become smaller as you've had to dodge your parents for your snogging sessions."

Elaina had blushed at her friend's words while Harry just shrugged, "We find ways around it.  Potter Maor is a big place after all."

Sirius and James' jaws both dropped while Andi blinked several times in surprise at his words and Elaina hid her laugh behind her hand as the quaffle hit Sirius in the chest while he was staring dumbly at Harry.  This had started a rough game of the group trying to hit the other with the quaffle which led to Elaina drawing her wand and threatening to jinx Sirius for his tomfoolery.  In other words, it was the best Christmas ever.

When the group was done flying the girls had claimed they were going to get cleaned up before dinner, but the look on Andi's face told Harry she was looking for gossip.  Chuckling Harry watched as James and Sirius both attempted to fix their respective hair and cast freshening charms on themselves as Harry made his way towards his room to change for dinner.

Arriving at his room he heard giggling that could've only belonged to Andi and he shook his head making entrance to the room.  He set about to change clothes and when he decided he was ready for dinner he made to exit his room when he heard a firm knock on his door.  Calling out for his surprise guest to enter the door opened to reveal Arcturus Black.  The man entered and shut the door behind him, and Harry looked at the man warily, "Lord Black?"

"Just Arcturus, son." The man said resolutely, "May I sit?"

The man gestured towards a chair that was connected to the desk in Harry's room and Harry nodded as the man gruffed, "My body isn't what it used to be.  After dueling with you and the lass earlier I have been hobbling around all day."

The man dropped into his seat and an awkward moment passed between the two before Arcturus cleared his throat, "Well I am sure you are wondering why I am here, so I won't leave you in suspense.  The Blacks failed you in your time, I failed you.  It is something I have spent an enormous amount of time thinking about, and I don't like it.  My idiot Grandson made a lot of mistakes in your time, and while it's no excuse, he was young, and with me in his corner it never would have slid.  You have my apologies for what happened to you."

"There is nothing to forgive, Lord Black."

The man shook his head, "I am your godfather in this world, Harry.  Please, Arcturus, Uncle Arcturus, I am anything to you, except Lord Black.  After learning your fate I hardly feel I deserve the title.  Something I have a very hard time admitting, you may understand."

With a man of Arcturus Black's pride Harry could understand, so he nodded to indicate this making the man grunt with approval, "This is something I want to resolve.  I will do this by giving you every means I possibly can to help you defeat this bastard."

When he said this he reached into his coat pocket and placed a large black book on his desk and patted his hand on it, "You saw what my family's magic is capable of today.  Learn it, wield it, master it, and conquer your enemies as generations of Black before you have done.  Charlus and I were likely the first lords to ever share their family magic with each other, and perhaps we will be the last, but I would not sleep well at night if I did not know with certainty that I had given you every weapon I could.  I told you the night we met that I would be happy to ride your curtails to victory, and I meant it.  I intend to see the downfall of the man who divided my family to the point it crumbled in your time.  I've seen what you are capable of, and I think you will do it.  You will do it won't you?"

The man raised a single eyebrow with the question and Harry didn't even flinch, "Or die trying."

Thudding his hand on the book again Arcturus muttered, "Good."

Standing to his feet once again he put his hand towards the door, "You may not be Charlus' and my sister's son, but you have their fire.  I have seen it from the moment I laid eyes on you.  Had they told me you were their son I'd have believed them.  You're going to win this war.  I am as certain of that as I was certain of your father's victory as I followed him across Europe."

Feeling powerful at the man's words Harry nodded firmly, "I will."

Arcturus grinned as he held an arm out for him that he put around Harry's shoulders when he approached, "That's the spirit, now come on, let's go see if we can't give my sister a heart attack at dinner tonight."

The two laughed as Harry followed the man towards the doors.  The dinner that night with Harry's family was something to behold as Mipsy had outdone herself.  Tales of past Christmases from each side of the family were heard and the table was all smiles throughout the evening.

Harry looked over to his family and repeated the words of Arcturus Black in his head many times throughout the night.  You're going to win this war.  The words meant more than Harry could have explained, but when he looked at each person around the table that night he knew he would do it for them.