Chapter 22 - Unrest in England (3)

England, City of York - Greengrass Manor.

[The Rise of a New Dark Lord]

"I must admit, the journalist has the gift of creating impactful headlines," Aurelius Greengrass, patriarch of the Greengrass family, said in a sarcastic tone.

As he took a sip of tea, Helena added with a tone of veiled curiosity, "I am genuinely intrigued to see how she will handle Arcturus Black's imminent wrath."

Aurelius nodded. Arcturus Black was a vengeful man and showed no mercy to his enemies. If Rita Skeeter survived more than a week, the Greengrass patriarch would genuinely be surprised.

He looked at his wife and asked, "What do you think of the boy?"

With a subtle smile playing on her lips, Helena examined the image of the boy in the newspaper. "From his cold and indifferent expression, he is unquestionably a Black, from the tips of his hair to the depths of his soul,"Although it is impossible to deny that its appearance can deceive the unsuspecting."

"A true Black..." Aurelius murmured, recalling his days at Hogwarts. He remembered seeing the members of the Black family, all of whom, except Sirius, Andromeda, and Bellatrix, were so cold that it was difficult to approach them, although equally powerful.

"So, which of our daughters do you intend to betroth him to?" Seeing her husband's pensive expression, Helena, who had been married to the man for over twenty years, knew what her husband was thinking at that moment; it wasn't very difficult to guess.

"Am I that easy to read?" Aurelius raised one of his eyebrows, intrigued.

"My dear, you should practice more on hiding your emotions." Helena shrugged, responding without much concern for the unpleasant expression on her husband's face.

She continued speaking. "But I don't think it will be so easy to win the boy over. The other houses will fight tooth and nail to win the right to be the boy's wife."

Aurelius nodded, aware that this competition for the alliance of the Black heir would be more than a mere battle of wills, but a true war of interests and ambitions. For the young man possessed not only the legacies of the most powerful wizards on the planet but also the potential to become one of the most powerful wizards of his generation, a key player of enormous importance in the British and international wizarding society.

"If you want to win the boy over, you must be prepared to bleed, for Arcturus, that old fox, will not sell his grandson for anything less than a fortune, although I would do the same in his place." Helena laughed at her husband's expression and spoke, looking out at the mansion garden.

The Greengrass Patriarch remained silent, pondering how much he was willing to spend to secure this marriage.

-

In a cozy first-floor house, a girl around nineteen years old opened the door and shouted loudly, "Mom, I'm back from the mission!"

Seeing no response, the girl's hair changed color from purple to matte gray. She quickly ascended the stairs to the first floor, leading to a hallway with three doors, two bedrooms, and a bathroom. Opening the door to her parents' room, she sighed with relief upon seeing her mother lying comfortably in bed, reading a newspaper. However, her mother's face displayed a clear expression of nostalgia and a fleeting trace of guilt.

"Is something wrong, Mom?" the young woman asked as she sat down beside her mother on the bed.

The woman in bed looked surprised at her daughter's sudden arrival and said with a welcoming smile on her lips, "Nymphadora, I didn't realize you had arrived, sweetie."

"Mom, don't call me Nymphadora…" Tonks groaned in frustration, hearing her mother use her full name.

"Yes, yes, Tonks," Andromeda responded absentmindedly, returning her focus to the newspaper.

"What are you looking at that's so interesting you didn't notice I arrived?" Tonks asked, looking curiously at the newspaper. 

To her surprise, she saw three people: an elderly, very tall man, a beautiful woman equally tall, holding the shoulders of an adorable boy.

The three were obviously nobles by the clothes they wore and how they carried themselves. She had encountered her fair share of nobility at Hogwarts, and many times, those encounters hadn't ended pleasantly, so the young woman didn't have a favorable impression of any noble. 

Although, strangely, none had ever caused trouble for her, which was odd given how arrogant those annoying young masters were.

But the headline was even more intriguing than the people in the photo.

["The Rise of a New Dark Lord"].

The headline certainly captured her curiosity.

"Who are they, and why does the old man seem familiar to me? Have I met him before?" Tonks asked, looking at the three people in the moving photo. She focused on the elderly man; for some reason, she felt she knew him, but couldn't quite recall when she had met him. Perhaps she was too young at the time?

Andromeda opened her mouth to speak but then closed it again, hesitating to divulge who they were. She didn't want her daughter to get involved in this political world, but seeing her daughter's curiosity, she knew she couldn't remain silent.

"He's your great-great-uncle, Arcturus. Beside him is my sister, Narcissa, and as for the boy, he's the son of my cousin, Regulus," Andromeda answered after hesitating for a long moment.Tonks was simply petrified by the news; her mother had never spoken about her family of origin. Tonks only knew that her mother had been disowned for marrying her father, so she had never cared to ask about such a despicable family.

"So why are you showing such a sad expression then? They are horrible people; they kicked you out of the house," Tonks frowned, seeing the melancholic expression on her mother's face.

Andromeda stroked the photo and sighed. "You don't understand, Dora. I miss them, my sister, Arcturus, I even want to meet my new cousin; he looks adorable in the photo. I always wanted a younger brother."

"Why miss people who cruelly expelled you for marrying someone you loved?" Tonks really didn't understand her mother. Feeling missing for such people was incomprehensible to her.

"They aren't like that, Dora, they love me, just as I love them. Even from afar, they protected me, just as they protected you." Andromeda shook her head as she weakly leaned against the pillow.

"But they expelled you," Tonks said, eyes wide. Was it because of her mother's family that those irritating young masters never bothered her?

"It was the rules, Dora. I chose not to practice the family's Simplified Innate Technique, so by the family's rules, I was no longer a Black," Andromeda said, staring up at the ceiling. Sometimes she wondered if it was the right choice, but after meeting Ted and feeling the love he had for her, she still thanked herself for the decision she made decades ago.

Seeing the melancholy on Andromeda's face, Tonks didn't press further with questions, though she was shocked to learn that her mother was a member of the infamous Black family. But Tonks was determined to help her mother reconcile with her family; she could see how much Andromeda missed them.

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Author's Thoughts: I don't need to say who one of the female protagonists will be, to tell the truth, I think the identity of the second female protagonist is quite obvious, but don't ask me because I won't say anything!

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Next Chapter: Chapter 23 - Escaping from Azkaban (1), (Chapter 24 - Escaping from Azkaban (2), (Chapter 25 - Wizengamot (1), (Chapter 26 - Wizengamot (2), (Chapter 27 – Wizengamot (3), (Chapter 28 - Unexpected Arrival (1), (Chapter 29 - Unexpected Arrival (2), (Chapter 30 - Black Family Reunion (1), (Chapter 31 - Black Family Reunion (2), (Chapter 32 - Black House Masquerade Ball (1), Chapter 33 - Black House Masquerade Ball (2).

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