Chapter 08 - The Young Heir of House Black
In the Black Mansion, breakfast was served at 7:00, lunch at 11:00, afternoon tea at 15:00, and dinner was served at 18:30. Never late or early.
Punctuality was something the old patriarch of the Black House highly valued, so Asterion always made an effort to be punctual to avoid a long discourse on the importance of punctuality from Arcturus.
Asterion descended the stairs for breakfast to find Arcturus comfortably reading a newspaper while sipping a cup of hot coffee.
Taking a sip of coffee as he turned the newspaper page, Arcturus greeted his great-grandson. "Good morning, Asterion."
"Good morning, Grandfather," Asterion replied as he spread strawberry jam on his toast. He was seated on the right side of the table, near the central chair where only the patriarch could sit.
Noticing Arcturus' interest in the newspaper, Asterion asked curiously, "Any interesting news?"
"Just Grindelwald doing his usual with his acolytes in Europe, preaching his beliefs and recruiting more followers for his cause," said Arcturus, his voice indifferent and cold, showing no change when mentioning the Dark Lord.
"Dumbledore and Grindelwald have never faced each other?" Asterion asked curiously. He was genuinely curious about the fate of the two lovers in this alternate reality.
After a moment of silence, Arcturus replied, "Not that I know of, but I presume there hasn't been a battle between the two. A fight between wizards of their caliber would easily destroy a city, and concealing the destruction of an entire city is not an easy feat."
Asterion nodded in agreement with his words. Baskerville was only a semi-special-grade cursed spirit, but the dog was capable of easily destroying a large expanse of land. The destructive power of a special-grade would be even more devastating, like walking atomic bombs.
Arcturus continued speaking while reading his newspaper, "Although there was no direct confrontation between the two men, the main forces on both sides clashed in Berlin and Paris. The two cities were nearly destroyed during the war. To this day, the magical ministries of both countries harbor a deep hatred for Grindelwald and Dumbledore."
"So, the two main protagonists of the war didn't face each other directly. That's interesting. Could it be that they didn't want to or couldn't fight each other?" Asterion's lips curved into a mysterious smile, pondering the eternal vow between the two, which likely had not been broken so far.
Looking at his great-grandson with suspicion, Arcturus asked with a slightly surprised tone, "Are you suggesting that Grindelwald and Dumbledore have an eternal vow preventing them from fighting each other?"
"Maybe?" Asterion just shrugged and calmly continued eating his breakfast.
Arcturus snorted coldly at the innocent appearance of the cheeky boy. If he didn't know any better, he might have thought his great-grandson was a Seer. The boy did say strange things from time to time.
When Asterion finished eating, he was about to retire to his room when he was stopped by Arcturus' voice, "Your etiquette, politics, and fencing teacher will arrive today at 3:00 PM. Be presentable and ready to join us for afternoon tea."
"Someone you know?" Asterion asked curiously.
"Yes, my great-niece and your cousin, Narcissa Malfoy, born Black," the old man replied, closing the newspaper and placing it on the table. The house-elves of the Black House, along with Kreacher, swiftly cleared the table with a simple wave of their wands.
"Her husband didn't want their son to inherit the Black throne?" Asterion said, recalling the old patriarch's angry words he had heard once.
"Humph! Even if I were to die, that man's son would never inherit this mansion. A descendant who has not practiced the simplified inherent technique will never become the patriarch of the noble House Black!" Arcturus' eyes clearly expressed the disdain he felt for Narcissa's husband, Lucius Malfoy.
"So why did you allow his wife to come and teach me?" Asterion, aware of Arcturus' contempt for Lucius, couldn't understand how the old patriarch would allow the wife of someone he disliked to instruct him.
"Boy, family is family. Your cousin, Narcissa, is a true Black. We protect each other, regardless of anything." Arcturus looked sternly at his great-grandson, who listened with the same seriousness, and continued with the explanation. "Even with what Bellatrix did, your other cousin, I placed her in a special cell in Azkaban. That's what a family should do. We are kin above all else, always united against the world."
"So why was Andromeda expelled from the family?" Asterion asked, expressing one of his doubts after hearing his great-grandfather's words. If his family valued family affection so much, it seemed irrational to expel Andromeda Black.
"She..." Upon hearing the name of his other great-niece, Arcturus showed a complicated expression before responding: "She was not expelled for marrying that trash she calls a husband. She was expelled for choosing not to practice the simplified inherent technique of the family. She chose not to be a Black, so she didn't need to bear the burden of the family."
Asterion understood. Whether Narcissa or Bellatrix, both practiced the simplified inherent technique of the Black House - the [Manipulation of Cursed Spirits]. Each member had the choice to practice or not practice this technique; if they chose to practice, they would be considered a true Black and enjoyed all the power and prestige of the family, but if they chose not to practice, they would not be recognized as such by the family and would be expelled.
"Don't worry, Grandfather, I'll be properly ready to welcome my dear cousin," Asterion said, showing a rare smile on his lips.
Arcturus was surprised by the boy's smile and simply closed his eyes with an equally rare smile. Although the boy was sarcastic, somewhat careless, and had terrible habits, he was learning that family was the most important thing in this cold world, where only family affection could give a bit of warmth.
Translate by IA.
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Author's thought: I thought Narcissa would appear in this chapter, but when I realized it, I ended the chapter like this. But don't worry, she'll appear in the next one. By the way, I created an auxiliary chapter with images of some characters; if you're interested, take a look and comment on something.
Special note: I might be without internet for two days, so don't worry if I don't respond or post any chapters.
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