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Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 136: Lord Pollux Proposal
James opened the large double doors of the hall and peeked inside.
"There it is! James, come on in." His mother, Euphemia, called for him from the table on the other side of the room.
"What is…this?" James stared at the entrance with a look of surprise.
Of all of the things that he could have anticipated, this was not one of them.
On the large dining table, he found his father sitting at the head, with his mother at his side.
At his left was none other than Lord Pollux Black. The old man had a mischievous grin on his face as he glanced back at James.
Next to the Patriarch of the House of Black were his son, Cygnus Black, and his daughter-in-law, Druella Black.
Cygnus looked concerned, while Druella could barely hide her disgust for being here in the first place.
On the other side of the table were their three daughters: Narcissa, Bellatrix, and Andromeda.
"James. Don't just stand there. Come take a seat already." His father pointed at the empty seat between his mother and the three girls. The expression on his face showed how seriously he was taking this meeting. Right now, he was not acting as his father but as the Lord of the Potter House.
"Right." James went to take a seat while exchanging glances with Lord Pollux and Bella, as if he was trying to ask them what this was about without using words.
"So, we are all present now," Lord Pollux said.
"So we are," Fleamont added.
Pollux gave James a hand gesture before pointing at the girls. "Tell me, James…which one of my granddaughters would you like to marry?"
There was a moment of silence after that.
"Straight to the point as usual, Lord Pollux," Fleamont sighed.
"What?!" Narcissa almost jumped from her chair.
"Father?!" Cygnus stared at his old man with shock.
"This has to be a jest…please tell me that's now why you brought us all here." Druella's frown deepened even further.
"Couldn't this have waited until dessert?" Euphemia asked.
James looked back at the old Patriarch.
'I should have seen this one coming.' In his defense, he had been preoccupied with other matters.
The Black House could no longer ally itself with any of the dark houses, as most of these were already on the Dark Lord's side, and the ones who aren't…will be soon, or will be destroyed. This left him with limited options.
"What do you think, James?" Pollux asked.
"James, dear. You don't have to make a decision right now. We can discuss this further," Euphemia added.
"No, there is no time for that. A decision must be made as soon as possible." Pollux gave Fleamont a knowing look.
James did not miss this. 'Does Father already know about Voldemort?' That seemed to be the case. As the Head of an important Ministry Department, it wouldn't be so strange. Although he had the feeling that Lord Pollux was the one who told him about it.
'If things go this way…the Order of the Phoenix may be created several years before how it should have occurred,' James thought.
Now that his father had been brought into the loop, ally families like the Longbottoms or the Bones would soon follow.
And as the Supreme Mugwump, Dumbledore will have to be informed of this as well.
"James." His father called for him. "I know this is sudden, but it would be a good time to say something, son."
"Wait a moment." Druella interrupted. "My husband and I have not agreed with this yet. No offense, Lord Potter, but we should discuss what other options are available bef—"
"Shut up already." Lord Pollux huffed. "As the Patriarch, I already considered all the options. This time, I want what's best for the girls and not just for the House. And the Potters are the first on that list. James over there is an excellent young wizard with a brilliant future. Just his talent for potions alone would make him a renowned man one day. You think that's not good enough?"
"Well…" Cygnus Black looked nervously at his wife. He knew that the reason she didn't want the Potters had nothing to do with their heir's personal achievements, but because she still wished for an alliance with the dark families and Lord Voldemort.
But when he looked at his father, he did not dare to oppose him right now. And he had to admit that…James Potter also terrified him quite a bit.
"Grandfather, if you allow me a word." Andromeda raised her hand.
"Go ahead, speak." Pollux made a gesture with his hand before taking a glass of wine.
"I believe it's obvious who James should choose. Narcissa only has room for that blonde brat in her tiny head."
"Hey!" The girl complained. "Don't talk about Lucius like that!"
"And don't get me wrong. I think James is cute." Andromeda offered him a playful wink. "But I'm not into younger boys. Besides…" she glanced at her other sister. "I think Bella would curse me in my sleep if I took him from her."
"I may still curse you…" Bella muttered.
"I see…" Pollux moved his black eyes between Bella and James. "Yes, I think those two would make a good pairing. Of course, if James has no complaints with that decision."
James felt the eyes of everyone in the room landing on him. They were all waiting for him to say something.
He corrected his posture and cleared his throat.
"I have no objections." He had no choice but to agree to this.
An alliance with the House of Black was a step in the right direction. This is what he intended from the beginning. Although he could never have guessed that this road would end up with him being engaged to Bellatrix Black.
"Excellent!" Pollux exclaimed with a wide grin on his face. "What about you, girl? I promised someone to listen to your opinion as well. Are you satisfied with this? Now is the time to speak."
"Ehm, well…" Bella was trying to avoid looking at James right now. "N-no, grandfather…I have no objections either."
"You heard the kids, Fleamont." Pollux patted his father's back.
"Yes…ehem... I will prepare the contract. We can sign it when they are all present. Perhaps during the summer break?"
"Bah! Why wait that long? I'll have it ready by the end of the week. We can make it official before the kids go back to school," Pollux responded.
"Why the hurry? They are still so young…" Euphemia didn't like how much he was rushing things.
"No, Lord Pollux is correct. We best get this done as soon as possible." Fleamont gave his wife a look that promised to explain things later.
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