Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
Chapter 64: A Not-So-Welcome Guest
Time at the Potter Castle passed in relative quietness. The year ended, and nineteen seventy-five began anew.
It was January 2, and there were only two more days before they returned to Hogwarts.
James was spending some time relaxing at the library, reading a book while lying on a comfortable couch next to a fireplace. There was nothing else to do but to kill time until they returned to Hogwarts at this point.
Sirius was just a short distance away, doing the same.
Just then, they heard a 'pop' sound and looked over to see one of the Potter house-elves staring at them.
"Master James. This has just arrived for you at the owlery." She approached the couch and handed him an envelope.
"Make sure it's not a howler!" Sirius pointed at the paper in James' hands. "It would not be beneath my mother to send you one."
She had already sent a howler to Sirius the day before New Year's, and…James had to admit that the woman could compete with Molly Weasley when it came to yelling.
"It's not that. It's from Lord Pollux." James told him.
"My grandfather? Is it about that potion you sent him? Is he feeling better?" Sirius asked.
"He doesn't say. But of course he is feeling better. I made that potion." James responded.
"Ha!" Sirius chuckled. "I wish you had that attitude for Quidditch. We would have already won the House Cup…wait, what does he want then?"
"He wants me to visit tomorrow afternoon." James explained.
"Tomorrow? Your mother said that tomorrow we need to prepare all our things for the trip. We leave for Hogwarts very early."
"I'm sure it will be fine." James assured him.
"Don't you have to tell your father to accompany you?"
James looked around to make sure no one else was nearby. "About that…I'm going to need a favor from you."
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"Yes, I know. He is waiting for me. Let's move this along. I don't have a lot of time." James told Kreacher as he opened the door.
Fully knowing that his parents would not have approved of this sudden visit, he decided just not to tell them and Apparate here.
Sirius was covering his absence, and hopefully, he could do a decent job for an hour or two. But he could not delay more than that or his parents will definelty notice his absence.
As he went up the many sets of stairs that the Black Manor offered, he wondered about the reason behind Lord Pollux's sudden call.
He had no doubts that the cure had worked... this potion was his own creation and had seen many cured already. His confidence in its effectiveness was absolute.
But if Lord Pollux just wanted to thank him, doing it by letter would have been enough.
James stopped for a moment on the first floor when he heard someone calling his name.
Narcissa Black was staring at him with a mixture of interest and surprise. "What are you doing in my house?"
"It's not just your house now, is it?" James responded.
"What is this boy doing here?" A tall man with dark purple eyes and dark hair appeared from behind Narcissa.
'It looks time, the Patriarch hasn't warned anyone about my arrival and told them to stay out of the way.' James realized it too late.
"Are they already here?" An older woman with dark blonde hair and blue eyes came closer after hearing the voices of her family.
As soon as she saw James, her mood seemed to worsen. It was obvious that whoever she had been expecting, was not him. "Potter?"
'Druella Black…great.' James wanted to groan.
"Kreacher, why did you give him access to the house? You know we have some important guests today." Cygnus Black addressed the house-elf.
"I told you we replaced the other one too soon. We should put this one's head on the wall already." Druella smirked.
"If you want to put my house-elf's head on the wall…we are going to have a problem, Druella."
They all turned when they heard someone speak from the stairs that went to the second level.
"Father?! I thought you weren't feeling well today." Cygnus looked surprised to see his father up and walking already. He had spent the last few days in bed.
"Lord Pollux, there is no need to tire yourself. We can handle the family business while you rest." Druella's tone sounded sweet and caring, but there was something else underneath.
Pollux gave her a look of disgust. The woman was incapable of hiding her intentions even if she thought she did. "Mister Potter over there is my guest. I called him here."
"You called him?" Narcissa asked. It was very unusual for her grandfather to invite outsiders to the house, and this was already the second time he invited the Potters.
"What for?" Cygnus asked.
"Did it have to be today? We have The Da-…" Druella glared at James for a moment. "The important guests…"
"Yes, the ones you invited behind my back." Pollux told her.
Cygnus was getting worried. "But father…you did approve of this previously and...you had been very ill recently. We didn't want to bother you with minor things like these. We can take care of t—"
"I will take care of you later, Cygnus." Pollux snapped at his son. "But now, I need to speak with Potter in my studio. Kreacher, make sure no one bothers us."
"What do you need to speak with the Potter boy about? It cannot be more important t—"
"Are you questioning me now, Druella?!" Pollux raised the tone of his voice, just loud enough to shut everyone up. He looked down at her from the stairs with his cold eyes. "You have gotten bolder since the news of my sickness. But I am not yet dead! And until that day arrives, I am still the Patriarch of this house!"
The house reacted to his burst of emotion, and the entire structure trembled.
As the Patriarch, his connection to the manor ran much deeper than anyone else's. He had complete control of the structure and everything inside it as he was bound to it by ancient magic.
"F-father, please. Druella didn't mean to question you." Cygnus tried to de-escalate the situation.
Pollux ignored his son and looked at James instead. "This way." He gestured to him.
"Well then…it was lovely to meet you all." James nodded to the rest of the family and took off before they could say a word of complaint.
Not that they would have dared after Lord Pollux's outburst. He just reminded them why he was the Patriarch of the House of Black.
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