The Ball (III)

"You want me to teach you Blood Magic that belonged to your Family… Is that right?" Destiny asked incredulously. The Pureblood Families protected their Family Magic like their life depended on it… Just taking the Gaunts for example… Their whole line was destroyed, but they never gave away their Family Magicks…

Nobody could have used Gaunt Family Grimoire since it was written in Parseltongue, but the rest of the books were written in Latin or Medieval English. So, if they wanted they could have sold the books for a hefty sum, but they chose to be destroyed instead of parting with their Family Magicks. Well, not that they could have survived either way…

They have lost all sanity from everything Destiny had seen and heard… Destiny decided to slam the brakes on her train of thoughts. If the Gaunts could go to such lengths to protect their Family Magicks, then she wondered how Imogen could make such a request, After all, if Destiny wanted to teach Imogen, then she needed to learn those Spells herself before she could help Imogen…

Imogen licked her lips as she started to think about how to explain… She could understand why Destiny didn't seem to believe her. After a few moments of complete silence, Imogen placed her glass on the table, and then she turned toward Destiny with a serious look on her face.

"The Spells I am talking about didn't belonged to my Family, it still belongs to my Family, but the thing is, nobody in my Family could perform those Spells and I am not going to try to learn on my own since I have read the disclaimers… Blood Magic can be even more dangerous than Necromancy if you don't know what you are doing…" Imogen frowned as she spoke.

"Listen, Necromancy is in our blood, so I didn't have any problems with it. It came naturally to me, but Blood Magic?" Imogen scowled and released a snort. It was pretty clear that she was frustrated. "I don't even know where to start. One simple mistake and I am a goner…" Imogen trailed off with a dark look on her face.

Imogen noticed that Destiny, Cassiopeia, and Ambika were still paying rapt attention to her. So, after a few moments, Imogen released a huge sigh and her shoulders slumped down. "Since you told me that you are already good at Blood Magic, I decided to ask you to teach me and since my Family has already sworn loyalty to you, I don't mind sharing a part of our Family Magick with you…" Imogen said with a complicated smile on her face.

"I see… So, what do you think? Your parents and brothers will agree with your offer?" Destiny asked curiously and she leaned on the table. Honestly, she was very excited at the prospect of getting her hands on the Family Magicks of another Family but decided not to show it. She would be devastated if she lost such an opportunity just because she was looking gleeful.

"…They are not going to be happy, but they would agree even if reluctantly. They know how important it is for me to learn those Spells if I want to make progress. Additionally, as you already know, my Family was in a bad spot… You helped me and my father get a respectable job" Imogen said after a few moments of silence with a disheartened look on her face.

"Hmm… Okay. I will teach you if the rest of your Family agrees with you. Not only you are the only Necromancer in my ranks, but I also want to see how you progress" Destiny smiled brightly as she agreed to teach Imogen. The red-haired woman beamed brightly at Destiny, but she knew that the discussion wasn't over.

She was going to need to have a long chat with the rest of her Family members. "Hah… So, what now?" Ambika asked as she glanced toward Destiny.

"How about a dance?" Destiny asked with a grin as she offered her hand to Ambika. Even though Ambika wanted to readily accept the offered limb, she seemed to think a bit before nodding her head. Ambika didn't want to look too happy, as Cassiopeia would use it to tease her later. The two of them might have started to get along, but there was still a silent war going on between them.

Destiny and Ambika stood up at the same time, hand in hand. Destiny snapped her fingers to cancel the Privacy Wards she had erected before making her way toward the dance floor. Once again, several eyes were on them, but unlike Imogen, Ambika didn't care about what the others thought about her. She had come a long way since she had met Destiny for the first time in the woods…

"So, what do you think about Imogen's offer?" Destiny asked as she wrapped her arm around Ambika's waist.

"I am surprised that you didn't jump to accept the offer instead of asking questions" Ambika said sweetly, making Destiny give the white-haired woman a stink eye.

"Hey! I am not that bad!" Destiny protested with a mock offended look on her face.

Ambika simply smiled and inclined her head with a questioning look on her face. "Even you don't believe that!" Ambika pointed out with a smug grin on her face.

"True…" Destiny inclined her head with a grin. " Even though I wanted to jump at the offer, I still needed to know all the ins and outs…" Destiny explained as she continued to move around with Ambika on the dance floor. "You need to be careful if a Pureblood Wizard or Witch decides to share their Family Magick with you, after all, you don't know what they are going to ask in return" Destiny added with a smirk.

"Then why did you accept the offer" Ambika asked curiously.

"Because they need me… Imogen made it clear that she needs to learn Blood Magic if she wants to make progress. If she does not make any progress then she loses my favour and it could turn out disastrous for her Family. They are desperate…" Destiny explained as she glanced toward Imogen from the corner of her eyes. Right now, Imogen was chatting with Cassiopeia…

"She also mentioned that the Spells are quite dangerous. She wants to use me to learn those Spells and I am not against that since I am extremely good at Blood Magic… It comes to me as easy as breathing" Destiny smiled.

"You said 'They'. Do you think her Family already discussed about the offer?" Ambika asked with a frown.

"Oh… I am sure that they have discussed it in detail" Destiny agreed with a smirk as she continued to dance… "Otherwise, she wouldn't have offered me anything. Remember, there are no Matriarchal Families in Britain, all Families are Patriarchal. Do you really think that Claiborne would accept such a change?" Destiny asked in an amused tone.

"No, he will not" Ambika nodded her head in affirmation.

"So, even though Imogen is the oldest sibling, Fredrick is going to be Lord Bone… At most, Imogen could be called a Regent, but they haven't started using the term because they are still waiting to see if Clifford kicks Claiborne and Dorothy out of the Family or not" Destiny explained with a shrug. "Claiborne is simply waiting to see what happens. If he gets kicked out then he will be adopted into the Bone Family and he will be eligible for the mantle of Lord Bone because he is going to be the oldest male in the Family" Destiny added blandly.

"And if he isn't kicked out of the Family, then he will simply assign Imogen as the Regent for the time being, but I don't think he would need it… After all, Fredrick will soon reach his majority, and making her Regent would be completely useless since they hold any position of power… I mean they don't have seats in Wizengamot" Ambika added with a thoughtful look on her face.

"Yeah…" Destiny trailed off with a hum. "And Imogen could always represent their Family during any unofficial gatherings" Destiny grinned.

"So, someone in Imogen's position could never have offered you something like their Family Magicks in return for anything…" Imogen nodded her head in understanding. Now she finally understood what was going on and internally she was also awed by the fact that Destiny had realized so many things from the conversation she had with Imogen.

"But you are glad to get your hands on their Family Magicks, aren't you?" Ambika asked while looking at Destiny accusingly.

"Guilty as charged!!" Destiny quipped with a smirk. "Don't worry though… By the time I am done in Britain, I will have all of their Family Magicks in my hands" Destiny declared with a grin while her eyes were filled with greed.

Ambika couldn't help but shake her head. "You know, if any of the Purebloods heard you then you will be demanding to give you the Kiss" Ambika said with a tired look on her face.

"Oh… I already know that. That is why I have already cast a Privacy Ward around us" Destiny revealed with a grin and Ambika's eyes grew wide in surprise. "What? Did you really think that I am going to talk about Blood Magic out here, in the open where anyone can hear me? I am not that stupid Ambika" Destiny chastised Ambika when she noticed the surprised look on Ambika's face. She couldn't believe that Ambika thought that she would make a foolish mistake…

"Yeah… yeah… I know. Sometimes, I kind of forget that you don't need a Wand to cast simple Magic" Ambika sighed. "So, have you planned anything for the meeting?" Ambika asked and Destiny simply shook her head.

"There is nothing to plan… I simply need to reveal my plan and most of the Pureblood Lords would never give up such an opportunity, especially when the House of Black has joined our cause. There will be some who are going to question me… mock me… try to question my worth and I would simply need to teach them a lesson and all of them are going to fall in line" Destiny explained and Ambika simply hummed.

"What about the Firstbloods or the First Generations? I mean almost all the Purebloods in Britain are Pureblood supremacists. You know, they are never going to accept us as equals" Ambika said with a frown.

"Oh, they will. Don't worry… Either they will learn or they will perish…" Destiny's eyes flashed brightly. "I will try to change their Families by trying to change the opinion of the younger generation, but if that doesn't work… They could always have an unfortunate accident" Destiny smirked.

"I hope that works… Well, we can always hope. After all, you changed the House of Black and the Blacks were well known for the bigotry even throughout the continent" Ambika giggled in amusement.

"You are correct!" Destiny agreed with a grin. After that, the two of them simply continued to dance without saying anything else. The two of them simply wanted to enjoy each other's company for the time being…

<Line Break>

"Lord Black, forgive me, but who is that woman?" Lord Perrot asked curiously while staring at the crimson-haired and crimson-eyed Witch. He was quite surprised when he saw how the Witch was dressed… No matter how he tried, he wasn't able to hide the disdain on his face when she first arrived at the Ball, but when Lord Black greeted her with a bow, Lord Gage decided that he needed to collect more information.

"Yes, I can't believe how openly she is frolicking with Witches" Brutus Malfoy II sneered in disdain. The other Lords frowned at the tone Brutus Malfoy used. He might be Lord Malfoy, but Lord Black's status is a lot superior to his… How dare he insult one of Lord Black's honoured guests?

Sirius turned toward Brutus Malfoy and gave him a bland look… He was already expecting a comment like that from Brutus Malfoy. "You don't need to worry about her Lord Malfoy and all of you will know who she is by the time the celebration comes to an end" Sirius answered cryptically.

"But Lord Black, aren't you worried about the reputation of your house?" Once again Brutus Malfoy sneered. He could no longer hold back his anger, after all, the crimson-haired woman was now dancing with the infamous Cassiopeia Black. Cassiopeia Black, otherwise known as the Cursed Bride was quite a famous Witch in the Pureblood Circles. True, she did have a black mark on her name, no puns intended, but Brutus Malfoy didn't believe in all of that.

The Malfoy Lord knew very well that the status of his Family was much lower than the Blacks. The two Families were part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, but the House of Black was one of the Most Ancient and Noble houses… 

The House of Black also had more votes than the House of Malfoy in the Wizengamot and that was something that made Brutus Malfoy feel inadequate. The best way to reach their status would be to wait until the House of the Malfoy was also declared as one of the Most Ancient and Noble Houses. Right now, the House of Malfoy was only known as one of the Ancient and Noble Houses and he needed to wait for five centuries to receive the status of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Malfoy. Brutus Malfoy refused to wait that long…

There was another option though… He could use the Blacks to raise their Status. He could use any of the surviving three Most Ancient and Noble Houses, but he could only depend on the House of the Black. The other two remaining Most Ancient and Nobles Houses are the House of Longbottom and the House of Ollivanders. Neither of those two Families has any Witches in his son's generation… So there was no way that he could use either of those Families to gain power.

True, his son Abraxus Malfoy was two years younger than Cassiopeia Black, but he could live with it. After all, due to the black mark on Cassiopeia Black's name, once again no puns intended, Brutus Malfoy wouldn't need to pay a king's ransom as the bride price and also had some idea how to protect his son from the woman. Brutus Malfoy didn't believe for a single moment that her previous Betrotheds died naturally. He was sure that Cassiopeia Black was the one who killed them, but there was no proof, so even if her Betrotheds were from a respected Family, they couldn't do anything except for cursing Cassiopeia Black's name.

"Did I not tell you to stop worrying about her, Lord Malfoy?" Sirius asked in a dangerous tone as he coldly stared at Brutus Malfoy.

The other man realized that he had probably crossed over the line and decided to back down… for now. After all, going off against Lord Black in the open would not bode well for his Family, especially with all the Pureblood Lords around him, but internally he was seething in rage. Politics was something really delicate and if the other Pureblood Families stopped doing business with them, then the House of Malfoy would be ruined. 

"Forgive me, Lord Black. I was simply thinking about the honour of your House" Brutus quickly backtracked with an apologetic look on his face. With his words, he basically twisted the situation in such a way that Sirius couldn't hold it against him.

Sirius already knew that Malfoy was a slimy bastard and he already knew what he was doing. Sirius would have sneered openly at the naive man, but that would ruin his image. As a Pureblood Lord of one of the most respected and feared Families in Magical Britain, it would be unbecoming of him if he wore his expressions on his sleeve… So Sirius simply smiled at Lord Malfoy, since the slimy bastard has backtracked, there was not much Sirius could do right now. Though Sirius wasn't worried, Malfoy was going to learn his lesson during the meeting, That is when he would learn not to offend his betters…

"Of course, Lord Malfoy. I understand where you are coming from, but your worries are completely unnecessary. I am completely fine if my niece wants to have a relationship with a Witch" Sirius explained with a polite smile on his face. "It might be shameful to admit, but all of us had someone in our Families who preferred the company of same-sex, rather than the opposite sex" Sirius added as he looked around.

A lot of Lords looked uncomfortable, but none of them denied the accusation including Lord Malfoy, but the man was seething on the inside. "I simply decided not to hide her leanings since she wants to marry a Witch" Sirius explained with a cool look on his face. He wanted to make the others feel that even though he wasn't happy with the idea, he still accepted it or his niece's happiness.

"Indeed… Do you think the other Lords will approve?" Lord Parkinson asked curiously and Sirius simply huffed.

"They are of no concern… While I respect them and their Family traditions, my Family comes first. So if my niece is happy being married to a Witch, then who am I to complain? Lord Parkinson, Pride, Tradition, and Culture are important, but sometimes, the world needs some changes or we stagnate… After all, we have seen what happened with the Gaunts and they aren't the only ones who were wiped out because they did not… or could not accept the change" Sirius explained and now almost everyone around him hummed in agreement as they nodded their heads.

"I hate to admit, but I agree with you, Lord Black. We do need some changes from time to time…" Lord Parkinson raised his glass toward Sirius. "To future, to change!" Lord Parkinson cheered and the others joined in too…

Sirius knew very well what Lord Parkinson was doing… He only played the devil's advocate so that Sirius could explain why agreed with such things. Sirius gave the man a grateful look, Lord Parkinson was two years younger than him and the House of Parkinson is dependent on the House of Black due to their businesses. So, it was obvious that Lord Parkinson would try to help him out in a bind. Even though Sirius could have gone into the details, he details to take the Family happiness angle… Nobody would be able to complain much because everybody knows that Family comes first…

From the corner of his eyes. Sirius glanced at Brutus Malfoy II. The man wasn't happy, he tried to hide it well, but Brutus wasn't that good at hiding his true feelings or intentions. He might be smiling right now, but Sirius knew that the man was seething in rage on the inside. Sirius could guess that the man wanted to set a betrothal contract between Cassiopeia and Abraxus as he was only two years younger than her and it was acceptable, but now that Sirius has announced that Cassiopeia was planning to marry a Witch, all of his plans were probably dashed.

Sirius only revealed the fact that Cassiopeia was into Witches since he had already agreed to sign a Betrothal Contract for her with Destiny. They were yet to draw an actual Contract, but everything else was already decided and since Sirius had decided to sign an actual Contract, it was bound to come out in the open someday… He had already discussed it with Destiny and Destiny didn't mind since was never ashamed of her preferences. If she would have been weak, then it would have been a completely different matter, but since she was strong, nobody was going to dare to oppose her.

For now, Sirius successfully evaded all the questions related to Destiny's identity and that was a good thing. Right now, there was no way he could have stopped anyone from leaving, and it would have been a right mess. Sirius couldn't help but internally sigh in relief… He knew that he was playing a dangerous game, but the prizes were definitely worth it… 

"Lord Black, I cannot find my son" All of a sudden Sirius was brought out of his musings. Sirius could already guess who it was.

"Is that so? Maybe he left?" Sirius suggested as he turned toward Lord Rosier and Lady Rosier standing right behind her husband. She had a worried look on her face.

"No, he said that he was going to visit the washroom, but he never returned" Lord Rosier explained hurriedly. Even though he wanted to accuse Lord Black, he simply couldn't. After all, he did not have any proof. His precious son was missing and he couldn't blame anyone… It was Lord Black's responsibility to keep his son safe and now he couldn't find him. Now, what the hell he was going to do? 

Sirius frowned in surprise… He knew he had to look surprised or Lord Rosier was going to accuse him. Lord Rosier wouldn't gain anything by accusing Sirius since the man did not have any proof, but Sirius did not want to be accused in the first place. After all, they had a lot of businesses with the House of Rosier and it wouldn't be the end of the world since they had dealings with almost all the Pureblood Families, but it would be a waste to lose those deals nonetheless. 

"Yes, I did feel someone Disapparate from near the washrooms, but I cannot say for sure if it was young Marcus or not" Sirius said with a frown. "Let me ask one of my house elves" Sirius said and called one of his house elves. Lord and Lady Rosier could help but frown when Sirius mentioned house elves. House elves were simply pathetic inferior creatures according to the Rosiers. Sirius couldn't help but smirk internally. Most of the Families never understood how great House Elves are… Well, bad for them.

"What can Tas be doing for Lord Black?" The house elf respectfully bowed his head before asking what Lord Black wanted from him. Tas was a Black Family house elf and Sirius had already instructed Tas what to ask and what to say.

"Have you seen Heir Rosier?" Sirius asked Tas.

"Heir Rosier left, milord" Tas answered respectfully. 

"Left? Left?! Tell me everything, elf!" Lord Rosier snarled, getting everyone's attention, but did not care. Lord Rosier glared at the house-elf, who whimpered in fear and Lord Rosier would have used his Wand, but the house-elf belonged to the House of Black, and Honor Duels have been issued for lesser things in the past. Lord Rosier was enraged because there was no reason for his son to leave the Ball, after all, he had found an interesting bird, which meant that the house-elf was probably lying, but at the same time, there was no reason for the house-elf to lie… Unless, Lord Black had told it to lie, but that would be simply preposterous. Why would Lord Black tell his house-elf to lie?

"Heir Rosier was in the loo when he summoned Tas to bring a Hangover Potion. So, Tas brought him the Hangover Potion. After drinking the Hangover Potion, Heir Rosier started to mumble something, but Tas couldn't understand!" Tas answered, looking extremely worried and he started to pull on his ears. Sirius had to give it to Tas, the little bugger was acting perfectly. "When Tas asked, Heir Rosier screamed at Tas to leave, so Tas left, but Tas thought that something bes wrong with Heir Rosier, so Tas decided to keep an eye" Tas whispered in a fearful tone.

Lord Rosier was bubbling in rage. How dare this filthy creature not follow his son's order, but now was not the time, he needed to get the answers and Lady Rosier was also thinking along the same line. "After the next minutes, Lord Rosier continued mumbling, before he finally stood up and Disapparated. Please forgive Tas, he couldn't tell you anymore, Tas is being a bad elf!!" Tas whimpered and continued to pull on his ears. Lord and Lady Rosier couldn't make any heads or tails of the situation… After all, their son looked somber when they saw him the last time, but then all of a sudden his son was asking for a Hangover Potion…

"I see…" Lord Rosier nodded his head in understanding. Even though he thought something was fishy, there was nothing wrong with the elf's explanation. Marcus Rosier was loved by his parents, they loved him so much that they have never spared any expenses when it came to him…. 

In other words, they have spoiled their son, they got their son anything he ever wanted and that was saying something. Vinda Rosier was better than Marcus Rosier in every aspect, but she was a Witch, so she never received the love from her parents she deserved. That is why Vinda Rosier decided to leave the country and make her own life… Almost nobody knew about this little secret about their Family, but everyone knew that Marcus Rosier was a spoiled brat…

"Tas, you are a good elf. You don't need to harm yourself, it wasn't your fault. You did everything you could have done" Sirius decided to placate the house-elf. Internally he decided to do something nice for Tas after the Ball was finally over. Even though Sirius was trying to placate Tas, he was also subtly insulting Marcus Rosier. After all, Sirius said that Tas didn't do anything wrong, in other words, it meant that everything was Marcus Rosier's fault. Lord and Lady Rosier bubbled in rage, but there was not much they could do. Both of them internally vowed that one day they were going to return the insult to Lord Black for insulting their son in such a manner.

The Purebloods also started to giggle or snicker subtly after hearing Sirius' words. Almost all of them were politicians and all of them could guess what Sirius was trying to say and they couldn't help but agree with Lord Black. Marcus Rosier's reputation was quite famous within the Pureblood circles, so almost all of them knew that Marcus Rosier was a spoiled brat. So, it was obvious that even a House-Elf was more responsible than Marcus Rosier. It was a huge insult… Lord and Lady Rosier venomously glared at everyone at the Ball, but that didn't shut up anyone… The House of Rosier might be a part of Sacred Twenty-Eight, just like almost all the Families attending the Ball, so there wasn't much the Rosiers could do…

"Where do you think your son could have gone?" Sirius asked worriedly as he dismissed Tas though internally he was smirking. The wasn't planning to insult the Rosiers, but they shouldn't have scared his house-elf. 

"We don't think we would able to enjoy ourselves any longer… Now that our son has left" Lady Rosier said with a smile, but even a child could tell that the smile was fake. Sirius couldn't help but nod in understanding. He was acting like he was completely oblivious to her fake smile.

"I see… Are you sure? Do you think that we should inform the Aurors?" Sirius asked worriedly and Lord Rosier immediately shook his head in denial. It would be humiliating to inform the Aurors. After all, their son was no longer a Hogwarts student. Everyone will think if his adult son couldn't even handle himself then how the hell was he supposed to handle the House of Rosier… Lord and Lady Rosier were sure that all of this was a scheme created by Lord Black to humiliate their Family. After all, their son was the best. 

There was no way that their darling son would humiliate their House in such a manner. There was obviously some sort of foul play involved, but once against they did not have any proof and if they did accuse Lord Black in his own house, then there was no way anyone was going to support them. They could never understand why everyone said such horrid things about their darling son… According to Lady Rosier, everyone was jealous of their sweet boy. Lord Rosier agreed with his wife in that regard. 

"Lord Black, thank you for inviting us. We will be excusing ourselves, you don't need to see us out" Lord Rosier said stiffly as he gave Lord Black a small nod. He did not wait for Lord Black's reply, instead, he turned on his heel along with his wife and started to walk toward the Floo without giving anyone another look…

<Line Break>

"Ohh… Pity, I feel quite bad for them" Destiny muttered with a sympathetic look on her face as she stared at Lord and Lady Rosier's retreating backs. Cassiopeia who was standing right beside Destiny with Destiny's arm wrapped around her waist didn't believe Destiny's words for even a moment. Destiny had already told her that someone was impersonating Marcus Rosier, so there was a good chance that Destiny had done something to get rid of him. 

Destiny had never left her sight, but she knew that Destiny had a Time Turner in her possession, so she could have easily done whatever she wanted without anybody knowing anything… "You know, I am not buying that. So, what did you do?" Cassiopeia asked Destiny in an impatient tone.

"You wound me…" Destiny muttered as she placed her hand over her chest with a hurt look on her face, but Cassiopeia wasn't impressed. She simply continued to stare at Destiny with a blank look on her face. After a few seconds when Destiny finally realized that Cassiopeia wasn't going to react, she simply huffed and stopped acting. "Fine, ruin all the fun, but the truth is, I haven't done anything to him…" Destiny trailed off and Cassiopeia simply raised her brows in confusion. "Yet" All of a sudden, Destiny added with glee and Cassiopeia finally realized what Destiny was trying to say…

"I see… Well, good riddance. Whoever he was, he shouldn't have dared to sully the ground of the Ancestral Home of the Blacks" Cassiopeia huffed haughtily.

Cassiopeia knew that Destiny was a cruel Witch, she had witnessed a few of the atrocities Destiny had committed without a hint of uneasiness, guilt, or regret in her eyes. In fact, she looked almost gleeful or completely indifferent while committing the atrocities. Nobody would be able to guess what Destiny is capable of, after all, she hid her true nature pretty well, but Cassiopeia wasn't like the others. So Cassiopeia knew that whoever this spy was, he was going to experience hell…

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