1134 Somber Conversation

Late in the evening, the ghostly body of Sir Knight Prince carefully picked up the head of Sir Knight Prince, before striding through the hallways towards his descendant's study. It is far easier to walk through walls, but Dawn did tend to narrow her eyes at him in an accusatory fashion for leaving ectoplasmic goo every time he crossed through several solid walls. Of course, the more solid walls he passed through the worse the ectoplasmic goo became until it was a horrible thick, gooey trail.

Sir Knight Prince's reflexively winces in recollection at the passive-aggressive manner, Dawn would follow. It would be for days on end until he kicked the terrible habit again. It was enough to give a ghost, a ghastly nightmare!

And well, it is frankly unnerving to have a house elf popping up out of nowhere and following one's ghostly self. When was a ghost to have a little bit of peace and quiet! More the fools, they who said that the afterlife is not tiring!

The door to the study is sufficiently ajar that Sir Knight Prince need not pass through the solid oak door to enter the study. The hidden laboratory is shut and has remained shut since the death of Sirsa. Reginald Prince passion for the art of potion-making had waned.

Seeing that the dark feathered quill of Reginald has not yet ceased to write, Sir Knight Prince gazes at the study in thought. With each passing generation, the study changed to match the personality of the Head of the Prince. It had been so very cold and dark in Rancor Prince's time.

The Prince household had been so very cold not only to the heirs, (Reginald and Georgine), but to all the integrant(s) of Prince Manor. The house elves had all been slain except for Dawn. Sir Knight Prince had defied Rancor's wrath and hidden the house elf child until Rancor recovered his wits. In the end, Dawn was not slain as there would be not a single house elf left to serve and maintain the Manor.

It was Sir Knight Prince who taught and protected Dawn. It had been the only dying request of house elves. And though he had been irked by the rogue house elf sneaking into the manor to court Dawn, he had requested lenience on their behalf. It is only because of his intervention that the union was permitted by Reginald.

Sir Knight Prince fondly recalls how little Laldey calls him, "Geepa," and Rodrigo calls him, "Uncle." He had never had any children of his own, but the idea that the children saw him in a familial manner filled him with an almost long-forgotten warmth.

The sound of writing finally stopped, and Reginald set down his quill allowing the ink to dry. He raises one hand to rub his tired, wrinkled brow. He lowers his hand and leans back in his seat. "I am rather busy preparing to pull all the strings to host an emergency International Confederation of Wizards. I can tell you an emergency session has not been held since Grindelwald."

"I am well aware of that," Sir Knight Prince frankly acknowledged.

"You wish to confirm the results, do you not?"

"Yes," Sir Knight Prince calmly responded. "It is my sworn duty."

"And will you put them down like a rabid dog, should they falter?" Reginald icily asked.

"I failed to uphold my duty once," Sir Knight Prince admitted to the vast chagrin of Reginald. "I did not act against Rancor until it was nearly too late. I shall not make the same mistake twice."

Reginald's lips pressed into a thin line. "If you must know, Severus possesses only a drop of necromancy."

"And yet, your expression seems troubled," Sir Knight Prince retorted.

A cold guffaw erupts from Reginald. "As I mentioned before Severus's ability to transform into another borderlines on the level an metamorphmagus. The transfiguration is breakable as is any physical transfiguration, but it surpasses the norm."

Sir Knight Prince does not interrupt waiting for Reginald to continue. "I saw Gellert's uncanny ability in the flesh. Severus's ability is identical."

"Gellert Grindelwald may be talented in physical transfiguration," Sir Knight Prince acknowledged, "but I need not remind you that the children also carry the blood of Morgana La Fey, a powerful and exceptionally talented sorceress at transfiguration. I need not remind you that Morgana's only child, her son Mordred was no weakling either, a powerful necromancer in his own right."

(Mordred the son of Morgana La Fey is infamous for causing the death of the legendary King Arthur. King Arthur is Mordred's uncle and father all in the same breath. Mordred is the product of a forbidden relationship between brother and sister, in other words, incest.)

"The blood of Grindelwald is undeniably present," Sir Knight Prince admitted, "but it cannot overshadow the powerful bloodlines held within the children. Rowan and Severus carry the blood of three of the Hogwarts founders! There is great power held in Morgana La Fey's bloodline including the power of her son Mordred which can be discounted. And need I remind you of our own ancestor who was Morgana's sworn enemy, our ancestor Merlin Ambrosius, and the clan members of the Prince bloodline?!"

"I return the favor and remind you that you were the one who brought your concerns to me," Reginald snapped in frustration. "It was not I!"

"As a necessary precaution," Sir Knight Prince vehemently reminded. "Rowan and Severus will never willingly elect to become a necromancer, but the existence of their gift cannot be ignored. We do not know what the future will bring. And loss and sorrow have been the undoing of many in possession of such a rare gift."

"Do you believe their gift will continue to grow?" Reginald finally voiced his fear.

Sir Knight Prince is silent for a moment as if uncertain how to respond. "Rowan's gift is far from weak, but it is not strong either. However, I cannot discount the possibility that Rowan's ability will continue to grow in strength."

Sir Knight Prince paused to gaze solemnly at Reginald. "The most talented necromancers have not always been born with the gift for Necromancy, but rather have a talent for learning it. I need not remind you of how talented Mordred Lafey was or that of your own father, Rancor. You cannot exclude that fact, Reginald. The latent talent for Necromancy also exists within the children. Though Severus and Rowan possess a stronger gift than that of Rancor, they hold no desire to learn Necromancy. Unlike Rancor who despite his weak initial gift greedily flourished in the learning of the vile arts and became a powerful necromancer by his own merits."

Reginald recoiled as if brutally slapped. The subject of his father, Rancor, is a very sensitive subject for Reginald. If Reginald could have had it his way, he would have killed his father with his own two hands. However, Reginald had failed rather, and it was the brutal attempt of their father attempting to kill his own children that caused Rancor to perish from the recoil of his magic.

The nostrils of Reginald flare, before a grim expression appears on his face. "In that case, I will permit the continued surveillance of Rowan and Severus within reason." He paused to sternly warn the guardian of Prince Manor. "The surveillance will continue only for the duration of the summer. Your entry and presence at Hogwarts and the surrounding land is prohibited."

"I will not oppose the order," Sir Knight Prince bowed in acceptance of the order.

Not wanting to continue the subject, Reginald glances at the letter to ensure the ink has dried. Certain the ink is dry; he folds the letter and prepares to seal the envelope with wax and stamp it shut with the family crest.

"And will you be visiting the Evans family?" Sir Knight Prince asked after Reginald set the sealed letter down.

"I will," Reginald firmly replied. "The topic of Rowan's betrothal was easily resolved, if not unexpectedly by Fleamont Potter. However, I trust the interests of those seeking to betroth their daughters to Severus. I would rather Severus marry a lower station than see him wed to an unsuitable partner."

"They are muggles," Sir Knight Prince pointedly reminded. "Will they even understand the gravity of the situation?"

Reginald arched his brow at Sir Knight Prince. "Considering that your fated true love was a muggleborn, Sir Knight Prince, I find myself quite astonished at the biased remark."

A flash of anger and sorrow passes over Sir Knight Prince's face before vanishing. "I only inquire as the times have changed," his ghostly body turned away. "I shall see myself out since I have obviously outstayed my welcome."

Upset, the ghostly body of Sir Knight Prince passed through the wall leaving a thin trail of ectoplasm behind. Dawn would later chide the ghost for doing so. However, at the moment, Sir Knight Prince could not bring himself to care.