CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: IN THE NAME OF A LORD

Personal Office Space of Thomas Gaunt

Gaunt House, Cornwall

4 July 1994

"What do you think?" Thomas asked, gesturing languidly to the front page of the Daily Prophet.

"Regarding?"

"Sirius Black's wedding, of course."

Lucius sipped his tea. "Naturally. My apologies. I was momentarily distracted." He sipped his tea again, taking time to collect his thoughts. "To be perfectly frank, it was either terribly unfortunate or a blessing in disguise."

Thomas raised an eyebrow.

"If he had married Maura Zabini, and she quickly offed him, it would have been a coup for our side. On the other hand, if she had a child with him, the situation quickly could have turned problematic - the Black seat, after all, will pass to Draco should Sirius fail to produce an heir."

Thomas looked pensive. "What do you think his motive was?"

Lucius shrugged elegantly. "It could have been anything. If I had to guess, it would be fear of commitment. He had a couple of long-term flings in Hogwarts, and was serious about one or two of them, but he wasn't exactly committed. Even before Azkaban, he wasn't the sort to be tied down by anyone, and his time incarcerated likely accentuated that trait. I honestly was quite shocked when the engagement was announced. Maura must be quite convincing."

"Indeed. I initially thought you might be responsible."

"You flatter me. Perhaps if I were a more...wholesome sort of wizard, I would have had plans in place to protect Sirius from himself. As it stands, however, I am not."

Thomas smirked.

"It's a pity Peter was not successful."

"Mm. It was highly unlikely that he would do anything remotely productive, but

occasionally desperate wizards produce satisfactory results."

"What did you say to him?" Lucius asked curiously.

Thomas smiled, and a hint of unease made its way onto Lucius' face. "The potion required to fully resuscitate our Lord requires a certain donation of body parts. Peter was informed that should he not be successful, he would be the one providing those parts."

"I see. And if Peter had been successful?"

"One of the brethren would have volunteered."

They sat in silence for several moments.

"The potion must nearly be ready," Lucius commented.

"The ceremony will take place Friday."

"You must be excited."

"It will certainly be a unique experience."

Silence overtook them once again.

"Something must be done about Sirius Black," Lucius said quietly. "His current political

stance is not beneficial to us, and his unfettered access to Harry Potter is worrisome, perhaps more so than the influence of Albus Dumbledore on the boy."

"I quite agree."

"Narcissa briefed me on the Black inheritance laws. Sirius cannot name an heir other than one of his biological children, of which he has none, meaning Draco will inherit unless Sirius manages to procreate. Sirius can only will away a small fraction of the Black fortune, and most of the heirlooms cannot be given to someone outside the family. Draco will inherit the Black ancestral home, but Sirius can will away the London townhouse, 12 Grimmauld Place. It's a nasty place - Walburga and her husband were rather insane - but it still has value both in terms of its contents and its location."

Thomas looked pensive. "The Black ancestral home… that would be Black Abbey?"

Lucius suppressed a shudder. "Yes."

"The resources there must be invaluable."

Lucius swallowed. He'd been to Black Abbey once, as a small child, and it'd been a

place of nightmares. "Indeed," he managed, struggling to ignore memories of twisted house elves, curtains with small, skeletal hands, and the feeling that the walls themselves had eyes.

Thomas nodded. "Now, for the matter of Sirius Black...I take it you wish for him to suffer from an unfortunate accident."

"Naturally."

"...I was thinking more of an accident of the unnatural kind."

"My apologies. That is what I meant."

"Good." Thomas leaned in closer. "Now, here's what I was thinking…"

3 July Evening Prophet, found on the desk of Thomas Gaunt

PETTIGREW APPREHENDED IN DIAGON ALLEY AFTER ATTEMPTED MURDER

by Autumn Westinburgh

Peter Pettigrew, wanted for the tredecuple muggle-killings and the betrayal of James and Lily Potter, has been taken into Auror custody after an attempted murder attempt on Lord Sirius Black. Lord Black (Gryffindor, Class of 1971) was out shopping with his godson, Harry Potter (Slytherin, Class of 1998), and the Boy-Who-Lived's close school friends, Ronald Weasley (Slytherin, Class of 1998) and Hermione Granger (Slytherin, Class of 1998).

The group was in the middle of their excursion when Pettigrew appeared, and attempted to cast the Killing Curse on Lord Black. Fortunately, due to Granger's quick reactions, Pettigrew was stunned mid-cast, and no physical damage was done to Lord Black.

Aurors arrived on the scene, and took Pettigrew into custody.

When presented with the 500 Galleon reward for apprehending Pettigrew, Granger tried to refuse, insisting that "anyone would have acted the same way. I just happened to have the fastest reflexes." Granger ultimately accepted the reward with great modesty.

"I am incredibly grateful to Hermione [Granger]," Lord Black told the Daily Prophet. "If it weren't for her quick reflexes, I likely would not be alive."

PETTIGREW is continued on page 3.

4 July Daily Prophet, found on the desk of Thomas Gaunt

PETTIGREW ESCAPES MINISTRY CUSTODY AND IS STILL AT LARGE

by Felix Flutterby

In a case of gross incompetence or an inside job, Peter Pettigrew has escaped Ministry custody. Pettigrew (34) was previously charged with thirteen counts of muggle-killing and also was responsible for the betrayal of James and Lily Potter to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Pettigrew recently was apprehended in Diagon Alley after an attempted murder on Lord Sirius Black. He was taken into Auror custody, but managed to escape sometime during the night.

Rufus Scrimgeour, Head of the Auror Office, was unavailable for comment.

Alastor Moody, a retired Auror, had this to tell the Daily Prophet "Pettigrew clearly had a man on the inside. Either that, or standards have severely dropped in my absence. Now get out of my house!"

While Moody's statement may have to be taken with a grain of salt, Pettigrew's escape raises serious questions about the competency of our Aurors and how dangerous Pettigrew is.

If you see Pettigrew (pictured left), Floo the Auror office immediately.

Dungeons

Gaunt House, Cornwall

5 July, 1994

"What do you think of that, Peter? You're front page news."

The man in the cell whimpered, but said nothing.

"I'm not pleased. You had one job, and that was to kill Sirius Black. Not only did you fail to do that, but Lucius had to burn a favor in the Auror office to break you out."

Peter shuddered.

"You're a pathetic excuse for a wizard. Consider yourself grateful that Friday will provide a relatively dignified end to your existence." Thomas turned on his heel and left. Quietly, in the dark, Peter began to sob.

Ritual Chamber

Gaunt House, Cornwall

10 July, 1994

Thomas eyed the cauldron skeptically. "Are you certain it's done?"

Severus nodded, lips moving silently as he counted stirs.

"What are you doing now, then?"

There was a pause while Severus finished stirring. "Rendering it non-toxic so our Lord does not die immediately upon ingesting it. The purpose, as I understood it, was to reinstate him to his former glory, not do off with his current form."

"When will you require Pettigrew?"

"Soon."

Severus returned his attention to the potion, and Thomas resisted the urge to hex the man for impertinence. There was something about the man that Thomas didn't like. He couldn't quite pin it down - he wasn't sure if he could trust Severus, as the man was incredibly difficult to read and had spent the interim years living in Dumbledore's pocket.

His counterpart had other opinions on Severus, of course, which is why the man had been included in the project. That, and the need for Severus's potion skills. There were other alternatives to the nameless potion Severus brewed, but those were less perfect, or required less desirable components. The nameless potion not only required Potions expertise, but also a deep knowledge of the Dark Arts. Severus was well-versed in both fields, the fact that he had such a high level of expertise in his second field was profoundly disturbing and spoke volumes for his capabilities as a wizard.

"Bring Pettigrew in," Snape suddenly intoned, "as well as our Lord, and any witnesses you wish to have attend. This part is delicate, and highly time-sensitive. Even the slightest variation can render the potion useless or deadly."

Thomas quickly opened the door. The ceremony wouldn't be large - in fact, only he, Severus, and Lucius would be in attendance. The Dark Lord would need time to recover afterwards, and if anything went wrong, they would not want to have any extra witnesses.

The Dark Lord's homunculus floated through the door, levitated by Lucius. Pettigrew stumbled behind him, bound, gagged, and under the Imperius. Thomas winced internally. Despite his obvious magical strength, the Dark Lord looked so weak. It was despicable, and thankfully would no longer be the case come midnight.

"Pettigrew can go in the upper part of the infinity circle," Severus said. "You will need to lift the Imperius. The ritual requires a willing template."

With a flick of his wand, Lucius lifted the curse. Peter's eyes bulged horrifically. "Into the upper circle, Pettigrew."

Peter didn't move.

The homunculus hissed, and Peter all but ran into the circle, looking as if he was about to wet himself.

"My Lord, if you could enter the lower portion of the infinity circle…"

Lucius floated the homunculus in, and the engraved lines flared scarlet.

"Now for the potion…"

Severus levitated a heavy lead flagon of potion into the homunculus' grasp, and it drank greedily. Once it finished, Severus quickly removed the flagon from the circle, and began to chant softly in Latin. The lines of the infinity circle burned red, and smoke rose, obscuring Pettigrew and the Dark Lord. The temperature seemed to drop several degrees as the smoke spiraled into grotesque shapes.

Thomas watched, fascinated.

Severus' chanting grew louder, until a light shone from within and everything fell silent. Slowly, the smoke began to clear. In the upper portion of the infinity circle lay a pile of bones underneath Pettigrew's tattered robe. In the lower portion of the infinity circle lay a figure swathed in black. It sat up, staring at its long, spider-like fingers. With a great deal of effort, it stood, red eyes gleaming.

Lord Voldemort smiled.

A/N: That concludes Black Bishop! The first chapter of the next volume, The Chessmaster: White Rook, is posted!

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