The house at number twelve, Grimmauld Place had turned into something of a hospital. Andromeda was a Healer by profession, and when she arrived back with the other witches from the attack on Riddle House, she immediately took charge of the wounded. Abraxas's broken bones were easy enough to mend, but Dora had fallen from her broomstick and needed to be sent to St Mungo's. Everyone else had escaped with cuts and bruises – the sorts of things one could heal with a flick of a wand. Everyone, that is, except for Aries.
Aries's fit had ceased as soon as Quirrell had been killed, but he stubbornly refused to regain consciousness. That made Sirius worry a great deal, but Andromeda told him that Aries was sleeping, and no doubt needed the rest. She was mostly concerned by the unusual scar on his forehead. It didn't respond to any of her treatments, and something about it seemed vaguely familiar. Eventually she recognized it, from a newspaper account she had read long before. "Sirius," she said sternly on the second day after the battle, "I think there's something you need to tell us." "Whatever do you mean, Andromeda?" Sirius replied innocently.
The persistent witch was not fooled by her cousin's playacting. She knew him far too well. "You know why Aries has this scar, don't you?" she pressed. Sirius sighed and nodded. "I might as well tell you all together," he said. He gathered the family into the dining room downstairs. Dora was still absent, but everyone else was there, and basically healthy, though Abraxas was using a cane. Remus sat next to Sirius to provide moral support. They all made the Unbreakable Vow, and Sirius began to speak. "By now, several of you have noticed that Aries received a strange scar on his forehead during his most recent encounter with Tom Riddle," he said. There were several nods. Sirius took a deep breath. "What most of you don't know, however, is that this scar is not new. Aries actually received it during his first encounter with Riddle, some eleven years ago."
Andromeda nodded smugly, but Irma looked confused. "Eleven years ago?" she asked. "But Aries was in France then. Why would the Dark Lord bother him there?" Sirius shook his head. "Aries was not born with the name 'Aries Sirius Black'," he explained. "He was originally called 'Harry James Potter'." There were gasps around the table from those who had not known the truth. Narcissa frowned. "The Boy-Who-Lived? But he died from dragon pox several years ago."
"Just after Aries came to live with us," Abraxas said, his brow furrowed darkly. "I doubt that was a coincidence." "It wasn't," Remus said. "Dumbledore made the announcement after he discovered that Harry had been kidnapped from his Muggle relatives' home." "Muggle relatives?" Druella repeated, arching an eyebrow.
"Perhaps I should explain this part," Clytemnestra interrupted. "After the death of James and Lily Potter, Harry was supposed to be raised by Sirius. However, as you all know, Sirius was falsely accused of betraying them and sent off to Azkaban. Dumbledore placed Harry with Lily's Muggle sister and her family." "Muggle sister?" Abraxas repeated, his lips dry. "Surely you meant to say 'Squib'." "Lily was a Muggleborn witch," Sirius explained quickly. Abraxas nodded, but his expression darkened further. "They treated the boy terribly," Clytemnestra continued. "They called him a freak because he was a wizard and kept him locked in a cupboard under the stairs." "That's horrible!" Melania exclaimed. Cassiopeia sneered. "What else can one expect from filthy Muggles?"
"Marius and I discovered the boy quite by accident," Clytemnestra said. "By a happy twist of fate, we were invited to dinner with the Muggles. Vernon Dursley was a business contact of Marius's. We found out about the boy and took him with us. We knew that Dumbledore would be looking for him and would try to send him back, so Marius commissioned a brewer to prepare a batch of the Sanguinis Impostor potion in order to disguise Harry. Sirius was in Azkaban, and Regina had just died, so we decided to say that he was their son." "A bit presumptuous, don't you think, to give someone a child without their permission?" Abraxas asked coldly.
A loud sigh came from the portrait over the fireplace. Regina Malfoy lay reclined on a low couch, eating a bunch of grapes. "I did give my permission, Dad," she said. "Uncle Marius and Aunt Clytemnestra asked for it before giving Aries the potion." "You've no right to give permission," Abraxas objected. "You're only a portrait. Regina is dead." "Yes, I am," Regina agreed. "But I should have given permission, were I alive to do so, and you know it."
Abraxas grumbled at that, but said nothing further. "We obtained permission from the portraits of James, Lily and Regina," Clytemnestra went on. "We should have obtained permission from Sirius too, but..." Her voice trailed off. "That was quite impossible given my whereabouts at the time," Sirius finished. She nodded. "James's portrait assured us that you wouldn't mind, since you were the boy's godfather anyway." "And he was right," Sirius said proudly. "I am honored beyond measure that Harry thinks of me as his dad."
"The rest of the story you know," Clytemnestra said. "Cassiopeia found out at some point, and Sirius learned the truth after he was freed from prison. He agreed to keep the secret." "To be fair," Cassiopeia inserted, "he didn't much like the idea at first. He wanted to take Aries away to live somewhere else, but I managed to persuade him." Sirius snorted. "You threatened to expose Harry and send me back to Azkaban if I didn't play along."
Cassiopeia smirked at her great-nephew. "It worked," she said casually. "I can't believe this," Narcissa said, turning pink. "I trusted you, Sirius! And poor Draco, he's thought all this time that Aries was his cousin." "Actually, Mum," Draco interrupted. "I already knew. Aries told me." "And you didn't see fit to inform me?" Abraxas shouted. He stood up quickly and knocked over his chair. "I've heard enough, Black. I hope you and your half-blood brat have had a good time making fools out of the rest of us. Congratulations. You've destroyed my family in the process." He turned around and barged out of the room.
Narcissa stood up too, her eyes moist. She made some hasty excuses and ran upstairs. Draco gave Sirius an apologetic look before running after her. "I'd better follow Abraxas and calm him down," Clytemnestra said, and rose to leave. "I doubt your brother will be very pleased to see you," Cassiopeia observed. The Squib smirked. "No, I imagine not." She walked out of the dining room.
After she had left, Sirius turned his attention to the rest of the family. "Does anyone else want to yell at me?" he asked evenly. "I think you've done a very good thing," Andromeda said. "Thank you," Sirius replied. "I must confess I'm a bit startled," Melania said. "But you're the head of the family, and Aries is such a sweet boy. I suppose it doesn't matter, so long as you're happy with the situation." "I always knew there was something off about the boy," Druella said haughtily. "A half-blood, really. How dare he presume to defile the House of Black?"
The witch yelped as a Stinging Hex hit her. Surprisingly, Irma was the one holding the wand. "If he's Harry Potter, he's got more Black blood running through his veins than either of us has, Druella," she pointed out. "And he made Poll's last years very happy. I doubt my late husband would have been pleased to hear the news, but I can hardly blame the boy for that." She looked over at her grandson. "Or you, Sirius. It was the Squibs' fault, and...well...under the circumstances, who can blame them? Imagine, Cygnus Black's great-grandson forced to live with Muggles! Pollux would never have stood for that."
"In any event, I don't believe Aries is actually a half-blood," Cassiopeia said. "I have come to the conclusion that Lily Evans was actually a pureblood witch who was kidnapped at birth. How else would little Aries be a Parselmouth?" Druella turned pale. "I hadn't considered that. So you mean...?" "That's right," Cassiopeia replied smugly. "Lily Evans was Slytherin's Dark Heiress." Remus and Sirius exchanged amused glances, but no one else noticed.
Cassiopeia continued. "Riddle knew this, of course, and that's why he tried to kill Harry Potter." She cackled. "But the half-blood bastard was no match for the boy's Dark power." She glared at Druella. "Just think, my dear. He managed to dismantle Riddle's wards without leaving Grimmauld Place. He invented a new and improved version of the Cruciatus Curse. What might he do to you if you get on his bad side?" Druella giggled nervously. "I've always been fond of Aries,' she said saccharinely. "He's such a dear boy. He must take after the Mud-, er, Lily. I was always fond of her."
Andromeda snorted. "And just when did you meet her, Mother?" "Oh, it wasn't a matter of meeting, Andromeda dear," Druella said with sickening sweetness. Sirius was reminded strongly of Bella. :I think I saw her from a distance once or twice. But she was such a lovely witch – really just to see her was to love her." Sirius rolled his eyes and pushed away from the table. "I think I'll go check on Narcissa."