July 31, 1961
Grimmauld Place has always been the home of the main branch of the family, and at present Arcturus (III) the head of House Black has only one son, who lives in the town house with his family. In The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black you are born Black, you are raised as a son or daughter of the House of Black and when you come of age you are tested to become the heir of the Black Family. Arcturus was named heir at the age of 17, like every other heir of House Black before him, taking his father's title as heir, the whole situation was quite devastating, but his grandfather Phineas was amused after all his eldest son Sirius had 24 years to extract the family magic from him. Arcturus had became the head of the family at 24, and since then he has had no heir, not his cousins, not his nephews and nieces, not his daughter Lucretia or his son Orion, and now Arcturus is once again in a waiting period between generations. Family members have begun to talk about the need to inherit the family magic, but only a true head of the family can talk about the suffering that would lead him to the end if he did not have an heir to extract the family magic. For the magic of the House of Black is like its name. To have the magic of the Black family, is to know it, is to understand it, is to comprehend it, is to use it only for the family or only in case of absolute necessity, and is to protect the world from it.
The entire Black Family is at this moment in the townhouse waiting and listening to Walburga Black scream and curse like a sailor. It started at sunrise and continued all day long until sunset and long after because the youngest member of the family seems to be quite stubborn in his desire to be the first thing to happen to the Black family at Lughnasadh this year. And the whole family has to wait for him, because it is tradition to present the newest addition to the whole family under the starlight on its first night. No Black has ever been born on a completely dark night, it is a symbol that those who know, asymbol that even if they are born Black they are known in the starlight. So everyone waits, drinking but not eating because it is tradition. And as usual at any family gathering, Arcturus is surrounded by potential heirs, to his right the next person to be tested to inherit, for the next few years Bellatrix now aged 10, and to his left the youngest member of the Black family, Sirius almost 2 years old sitting in his grandmother's arms, but soon he will lose that place to his new sibling. This arrangement remains constant at any formal gathering dictated by tradition, be it the 8 rites of the earth, or a new birth, or the night before marrying off a daughter of the house of Black because in blood she remains Black or welcoming a new spouse into the family with the first dinner after the wedding. In the center or at the end of the table, the head of the family always sits, on the left the youngest member, because the family continues, on the right the heir, because he will take the family magic, next to him or in his absence in his place, the next one who will be tested because the family magic always looks for the best head of the family. That's how everyone sits now, the clock has already struck 11, and even though everyone has to be present for sunrise at Castle Black to celebrate Lughnasadh and it is understood that they will stay there until after sunset, they are still here, from the elders to this new generation, which has 3 daughters and a son at the moment, and a new one on the way, all children under 10 years old waiting, for the next youngest and his introduction.
Arcturus looked at his family, disappointed almost all of them.
His cousin Pollux is here talking to his sister Cassiopeia, to this day Arcturus still doesn't understand why his sweet baby-cousin Polly married Irma The Crabbe, yes she had a child when they were 13, and even though she was born Crabbe she is considered pure-blood, so yes they had to get married, but how come no one discovered the pregnancy until it was too late and she is the Crabbe, sweet Polly was blind in Arcturus's eyes.
And at 13 they had Walburga, the bane of his existence. He wasn't going to tell anyone ever, not when Walburga was a baby and he and Melania had to take care of her because he is the head of the family, and Pollux and Irma were still at Hogwarts. Not when Walburga was 12 and hit little Lucretia with Curses that left her infertile "accidentally". Not when Walburga at 15 entered the service of a Half-Blood because "He is a parselmouth, like Slytherin himself!". Not when Walburga at 17 tried to destroy the materials needed for the inheritance test in secret because "If I'm not the heir then who else could be?!" Not when Walburga at 20 seduced 16-year-old Orion into making an Unbreakable Vow to marry her because "I will always be a Black!". Not when Walburga at 22 after asking to receive both the pre-wedding dinner and the post-wedding dinner in the family tradition she demanded to be given Grimmauld Place because "Orion is the only Son of the head of the family!". Not when Walburga at 23 she sent Orion to help Tom Riddle on a journey around the world to discover forgotten dark magic for nine years because "He is my lord". Walburga is the bane of Arcturus's existence. But she is a Black, in blood and in the tradition she follows, and she would rather die than not. Which is exactly what makes a Black. And what if she destroyed Lucretia and Orion, a Black must know what she wants and do anything to get it, Walburga is a Black. And Walburga gave him Sirius, his first grandson, the first son of the new generation of the Black Family, and now she gives them another child on the eve of Lughnasadh this one will be blessed Arcturus is sure of it.
Alphard sits with Orion trying to calm him down. If Walburga and Lucretia can't even stand to look at each other, Alphard and Orion are twins born in two wombs. Always together always helping each other. Orion is calm and collected the perfect heir but inside he cares, too much and for whom he shouldn't, if you ask Arcturus that's why the magic didn't choose him as heir, but Arcturus raised Orion well. Orion is now full of fear not for the child but for Walburga, he loves her too much. Alphard is the opposite charismatic and loud, but he doesn't care about anyone or anything, excluding Orion, he doesn't care that his sister is screaming her lungs out, he cares that Orion is stressed, and he cares about the children, because they are Orion's children. He has already promised that for the child who does not continue the main branch of the family he will leave everything he owns, and Alphard is rich, rich in the sense that he made himself rich, and not many people in this room can say that, he has Arcturus' respect for that.
Cygnus, Pollux's youngest child, sits between his wife Druella, and his first daughter Bellatrix, but he has his eyes glued to the latter to make sure he doesn't create any disaster, especially since she sits next to the head of the family, Arcturus can appreciate that. If Walburga and Alphard have quirks, Cygnus is perfect, maybe it's because his mother died at birth and the child didn't have anything to take from Irma The Crabbe. The perfect pure-blood, the perfect gentleman, even though he's the second son of a secondary branch of the family he's perfect. Arcturus was surprised when the family magic didn't choose him as heir, then he realized Cygnus was perfect, completely ordinary in his perfection, but the head of the Black House must be extraordinary. Cygnus wasn't too upset about not becoming heir, he married Druella Rosier, the perfect wife for a son of the Black House, and together they have three perfect daughters. Or that's what Cygnus would have wanted, especially what Cygnus would want other people to see, but Arcturus has seen this situation before. Bellatrix, Andromeda and Narcissa, Arcturus raised Walburga, Alphard was always glued to his son Orion, and Cygnus himself always followed everything the head of the family did, so he knows the signs. Bellatrix sits next to Arcturus with wide eyes, looking at everyone and a huge smile on her face as if the screams didn't exist, even though it's long past her bedtime. 8-year-old Andromeda sits next to her Melania with her eyes glued to Sirius, not caring about anything else, as usual, because even when Sirius Orion Black sleeps he smiles, and Andromeda is completely new when it comes to people who don't mask their emotions. 6-year-old Narcissa sleeps like a perfect princess on her father's lap. Yes Arcturus has seen a similar situation before.
Cassiopeia suddenly gets up and marches in front of the fireplace where Lycoris sleeps leaving Pollux. Even this scene is common for Arcturus, In his generation he was the oldest, so to him everyone else was babies especially his cousins, but now they have already lost Regulus, his little brother. All he has left is his little sister and his little cousins, there are no more countless aunts and uncles, they are the old generation now. Times change perfect Lycoris, followed by perfect Cygnus and then perfect Narcissa. Quirky Cassiopeia, quirky Walburga and quirky Bellatrix. Uninterested Pollux, and uninterested his son Alphard and uninterested his niece Andromeda. Sunny Dorea, how sunny and Lucretia is, how sunny Baby Sirius is. Arcturus looks at his first grandchild, maybe Sirius will cut off contact with the rest of the family and choose another, like Lucretia and the Prewett family, like Dorea and the Potter family, sunny people born Black chasing after the light and leaving the rest of them in the dark. So the new star, born on the eve of Lugh's own celebration, will it be like Regulus, like Orion, collected but too kind or like Lugh, like Phineas and like Arcturus after him portrayed as a warrior, as a king as a savior, will you bring Justice?
The howls and screams stop just in time for the clock to strike 12, but the screams of a newborn don't come. Orion runs up the stairs leaving any trace of calm behind, the rest of the family turn their gazes to Caturus, waiting as if for a verdict. Arcturus closes his eyes, and lets the Black family magic flow, in the room, deep sighs of those who know, many types of magic in the room, a lot of magic touched by the Black family magic, two foreign magics, after so long still foreign, Melania and Druella, four magics, in forming, Black, not at all, they like the family magic, the children wake up, by them, and go out, in the halls, up the stairs, through the floor and the next floor, Orion running, magic touched Black, a door, a room, four people, four types of magic, one in bed, more magic touched by the Black family magic, two more foreign magics, one holds the fourth magic, the family magic touches, just to observe, Black less than the ones below, just a newborn, forming, magic touches the family magic, then pulls, the family magic withdraws, took, no, check again, magic forming, Black forming, forming magic stretches again after the family magic, Arcturus withdraws magic back inside him. He opens his eyes. Everyone looks at him.
Melania leans towards him gently rocking Sirius who has woken up due to the magic.
"How's the baby?"
"Alive!" sighs of relief all around. "The babe has magic." Arcturus continues, he doesn't tell them it's active or that it's already moving.
Half an hour later Orion comes back with a bundle of black fabric with silver points and lines.
He bows his head then starts back up the stairs, Arcturus follows him, Melania with Sirius in her arms. Everyone then climbs the stairs until they reach the roof, Orion continues until he's in the middle of the roof the entire family creates a semicircle a few feet away. Arcturus steps forward until he's a foot away from Orion.
"I, Orion Arcturus Black, son of the Black Family, present my son to house and to the stars "
"What is his name?" Arcturus asks.
"Regulus for Lugh, Arcturus for my father, Black for the house."
"When is he born?"
"When yesterday became today, three ticks away, the thirty-one day, of the seventh month of this year,"
"I, Arcturus Sirius Black, head of The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, welcome Regulus Arcturus Black into my house, to live, to form, to challenge it's magic, so mote be" Arcturus replies, hugging his grandson in his arms, and leaving a kiss on his forehead, because Regulus Arcturus Black is for the house and for himself, Orion said at the presentation. If Sirius is for the stars and for his parents, Regulus will be for the house and for magic.