Rise Of House Falken (Harry Potter Fan Fiction) - Chapter 47

A few weeks before the start of Christmas holidays, a barn Owl dropped a regal looking letter in front of me during breakfast. I was confused since I was not expecting any official letter. After confirming that the letter was addressed to me, I put it in my pocket for later private reading.

Later that day I opened the letter in my room and started reading,

Dear Mr. Falken,

I am Arcturus Black, Lord of Most Ancient and Noble House of Black. I would like extend an invitation for you to visit the Black Castle to discuss something very important. The topic cannot be discussed through letters due to security reasons.

If it is convenient, I would like to meet you as soon as possible. I have no ill will towards you and the discussion would benefit you a lot.

The letter would act like a portkey to Black Castle. The activation key is “Black Castle”.

I would be glad if you decide to meet me before the end of this year.

Arcturus Black

Lord of Most Ancient and Noble House of Black

The letter was intriguing. I can’t think of any reason for Lord Black to contact me but since he said it would benefit me, I have a guess and if my guess is right, I must visit him. From what I know from my previous life he died in the year 1991 that means this year. So he has only a few more days left to live. I decided to meet him during this Hogsmeade weekend because I did not know how much time Lord Black has left to live. I did not think the visit would endanger me since I now had enough strength and knowledge to escape from any trap.

On the Hogsmeade weekend, I went to a secluded area near the forbidden forest and activated the portkey. I had a tracking charm on me which would allow Sherry to know my position even from heavily warded Black Castle. It made it possible for Sherry to come to my aid if necessary.

It was my first portkey travel and I did not like it one bit. It was more uncomfortable than apparating. Thankfully I kept my balance due to my reflexes and did not collapse on the floor.

The portkey dropped me in front of a huge door which belonged to a huge magnificent castle. I looked around and found out that the castle was situated in the middle of a dense forest. There was no sight of any human or animal around the castle. Just as I was about to knock on the door, I heard a pop and a house elf appeared before me.

House elf “I am Elgar, the Head Black Family elf. May I know the purpose of your visit.”

The house elf was far different from other house elves. His attire was formal and the way he stood and spoke was similar to butlers of old and rich families. It gave Arcturus Black a good impression in my mind. He was not like typical pureblood bigoted Lords.

I replied “I am Charles Falken, Heir of Most Ancient and Noble House of Falken. I received a letter from Lord Black a few days back requesting me to meet him. Can you inform Lord Black that I am here?”

Elgar “Master Black is waiting for you. Please follow me. I will lead you to him.”

I followed Elgar through the castle to Lord Black’s meeting room while enjoying the beautiful indoors of the castle. It was beautiful and I was hoping the Falken Manor was just as glamorous and magnificent. The meeting room was on the ground floor which made me disappointed as I wanted to see more of the castle. The castle was in good condition despite only Lord Black living here.

When we entered the study, I was welcomed by Lord Black who looked very pale but still had the aura of a wise and strong wizard.

Lord Black “Welcome Heir Falken to the Black castle. I was not expecting to meet you so soon. I thought you will come to me during your holidays but I am glad that you came this quickly.”

I said “I saw the urgency conveyed in the letter and also knew that you were ill. So I came as soon as possible, Lord Black. It is the Hogsmeade weekend at Hogwarts and no one would notice my absence. The only thing I have to do is to go back before curfew to avoid trouble. And please call me Charles.”

Arcturus Black “You were right in coming quickly, Charles as I feel that I do not have much time left to live.”

I asked “I am sorry to hear that. Is it possible for me to know what is wrong with your health?”

Arcturus Black “My healer diagnosed that I had caught a rare disease and there was no cure currently available for it. He told me that I only have a few more weeks left to live. Don’t feel sad for me as I am happy I was able to live till this old age.”

I nodded solemnly and asked “Why did you want to meet me urgently? I can’t think of any reason for this meeting as I don’t think I have any connection with the Black family.”

Black “It seems you are not well informed about your family. I understand the reason for it. To know more about your family you would need access to the Falken Manor. Anyways you do have a connection to the Black family through your great-great-great grandmother Elladora Cassiopeia Falken nee Black. She was the daughter of Cygnus Black (I) and the sister of Phineas Nigellus Black, the Hogwarts Headmaster. I am sure that you can confirm it through the Falken Family tree later.”

The news was not unexpected. Since the Falken family was trying to avoid inbreeding to remove the defects in their genes, they must have married members of many other pureblood families. So it is quite possible that I am related to many old pureblood families in Britain although distantly. I also may have connection with other old families through my mother’s side since her grandparents from both sides were muggle borns. Due to them being muggleborns and since coming into magic through ley lines was rare, I think one or all of them might have had squibs among their parents.

The only problem was due to the distant relation, there was no way to check. Even the Gringotts heritage test traced family lines only five generations back and to check further than that was not possible. There was no advantage in having the knowledge too since the knowledge was important only for the hereditary seats in Wizengamot and nothing else. There were no inheritance left to gain, from the knowledge. Also the family traits would have vanished long back and their magic core would be similar to that of muggleborns.