𝐀𝐂𝐓 𝐎𝐍𝐄 | 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐁𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐊

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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑

𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐎𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬

𝐚𝐭𝐥: 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐱𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜

It had been two weeks since our blonde visitors came, and Draco's and our playdate was last week. It was somewhat fun, much better than the playdates I had with Harry since we were older, and Draco wasn't drooling over toys, just Kreacher's cookies which were understandable.

The elves had made themselves at home and were now working like a well-oiled machine fixing up the new Black Mansion, and we were scheduled to move in there in a few days. My new pets and family members were sorted and were already loving their new life with their freedom.

Draco became quick friends with them; I was beginning to think he only came to see them and not his own cousin. Cousin...it was weird to think I had family here besides father, who was still locked away; I wasn't going to intervene, especially not this early. Call me petty, but he needed some time to reflect on his actions towards me and the house.

The Malfoys were lovely and kind to me; we were on our way to becoming a real family, something I didn't think would happen. Cissa was an overwhelming woman, always fussing over me, which I believe was just guilt for not being there when I was younger, but she was beautiful, inside and out. Lucius was clever and cunning, like a true Slytherin, and acted like an uncle-type figure; he didn't try to whelm me with family. He knew it was new to me and didn't try to replace Sirius or anything like that, something I appreciated. Draco was a lovely friend and an even lovelier salve; he had it in his mind that I was a damsel in distress and always trying to make me smile, which he did. He was a like a little brother, he wasn't as annoying as my younger sister was, but they were similar in their love for magic and quidditch.

I had gotten my jewelry purified and was proudly wearing them on my hand and neck; Lucius was surprised to see them and even more when I told him Tom Riddle was my soulmate. Cissa had fainted when she heard the news, and Lucius nearly fainted at hearing that he was alive and my theories on Dumbles setting him up and using an imperio on him.

It didn't make sense because why else wouldn't such an intelligent man not use his position as a Gaunt and a Slytherin to become a minister or on the court? Why didn't he get his lordship? It wouldn't be the easiest and best way to grab power, especially with the other houses as his backing. By extension, they could've ruled the political world and all of the wizardry world. All wands pointed to Dumbledore, who had been losing power at that time without a dark lord in power, so what else could he do but create one?

Thanatos had been a wild and unpredicted addition to the growing family at House of Black. He always tried to help me with paperwork and my magic studies. He was the perfect boyfriend, perfect something at the house. We hadn't talked much about being soulmates and my others being dead or in a state of death. Luckily we had the king of the underworld and the personification of death on our side, and boy, was he whipped. A cup of tea? He teleported to the best tea shop in Britain. A sudden craving for a croissant? Freshly baked from Paris with chocolate drizzle on top without asking.

He was amazing in powerless and magic, talent and personality. It was nice having him and the others around to drown out my loneliness. I don't know what I would do without him and the others. For a while, I thought it would be Kreacher and the portraits occasionally adding in their cents.

Christmas or Yules was coming around the corner, and so was my letter for Hogwarts. Everything was happening too fast, much too fast, so I decided to go out for the day alone.

One would question someone's mental health when they wanted to go to the toughest prison in all of the Wizarding world of Britain to clear their minds. I was coming to a bottleneck with my wordless magic, so who better to go to than the most powerful wizard of all time?

I'll give a hint, it isn't Dumbledore even with the same hair color, and he's got two different colored eyes? Yeah, Gellert Grindelwald is one of my idols in both worlds.

I apparated to Austria with the help of Thanatos to Nurmengard Castle with my (Harry's) invisible cloak snug around me. I looked up at the massive stone fortress at the edge of a mountain.

It was ironic and pathetic that Gellert built this for his prisoner and enemies and found himself trapped because of his precious lover. I shook my head with a giggle and trekked up to the dark and grim fortress, with my footsteps in the snow the only proof of me.

I was surprised to know that Gellert was alive; I had thought that Voldemort killed him, but since Dumbles was in charge, in a sense, he didn't kill his precious lover. But I could understand the man; from the movies, Gellert was hot.

I reached the massive old wooden double door, flicked my hand, cast an *Alohomora, and walked in, leaving the snow behind me. I walked through the quiet hallway where lit candles led my path. I made it to the highest floor, and at the end of the cobblestone, hallway sat a bored guard on a chair.

One guard? Seriously?

I withheld a scoff, walked up to him quietly, cast a *Stupefy on the guard, and watched as he fell asleep with a snore. I did another wordless and wandless Alohomora, and the door creaked open with a gentle push.

I surveyed the room with a critical eye; it was dark and dull, with a hard bed in the corner with a ragged, well-used thin blanket. The room was smaller than my bathroom, with a tiny, barred window.

Jesus Christ, this is sad.

"You've fallen," I stated, seeing him shriveled in the corner; time and prison did not do him any favors. "We'll have to change that," I mumbled, pulling out my elder wand and knocking him out with another spell; he didn't even resist or acknowledge me.

The greatest dark lord? Not anymore, but maybe again.

I used a wordless *wingardium leviosa, levitating his body into the hallway, and searched for the room. Opening it up, I was met with a rush of warm air; it was dark and smelt like an ocean. Candles bathed the room in an orange light showing a pool in the middle of the room. The knockoff of the Lazarus Pit.

The echoes of soothing water swirling echoed off the cobblestone walls. Looking around, I could hear and feel whispers coming from it, or maybe it was the cold wind howling outside. There was an angel statue with her arms up to the roof on the wall behind the pool; it looked majestic and gave the room a light appeal despite the stench of dark magic it gave off.

I levitated him in slowly and waited a few moments, then a blinding light appeared, lighting up the once-dark room. I sinisterly smiled at that, walked over to the pool's edge, and kneeled down, watching the dark green and ominous water swirl and bubble.

'Now,' Thanatos called in the back of my mind; he never leaves me alone, especially in former dark lords' castles. I levitated him out, and the knockoff spell had come undone, and I dropped him slowly onto the cold and hard floor. He hacked out water, and I observed the newfound changes; his thinning, and dry hair was now a luscious set of platinum blonde, and his eyes were bright; his form looked stronger and more prominent. He wasn't the old and skinny person I found in the room anymore; no, he was back to his former glory.

"Hello, Gellert," I said, my voice softly bouncing off the walls and overcoming the sound of water.

The younger and healthier Gellert looked around the room with squinted eyes trying to see me, and I remembered I had my hood still up; I pulled it down, letting him see me.

He gasped quietly as I scared him; I withheld a smirk. "Good to see you back as your former self," I told him truthfully; the other him was old and dying and reminded me of a particular rat-like man.

"You. who are you?" he demanded, getting up, dusting himself off, and looking at his new figure.

"Versailles Black," I stated calmly, watching him with a smile; he looked surprised at the name.

"Sirius' daughter?" he questioned quietly to himself, but I nodded nonetheless.

"Why did you heal me?" he demanded angrily but with suspicion, but they were well needed.

I circled him with my hands behind my straight back, just like Grandmama Walburga taught me and Cissa taught me. "Dumbledore, your lover. He's done something to upset me. Would you like to help me get your revenge?" I asked as I circled him like prey; even with him healed, I knew he was no match for me. He was fresh out of the pit, disoriented at best, and still weak, and he didn't have a wand.

"What did he do?" Gellert asked with interest as his eyes followed me.

"He put my father in prison unjustly, and he's ruined my soulmate's reputation and life," I informed him; I wasn't a vengeful person, but I was going to save the wizardly world from his clutches. "I also need your help with my magic," I told him another reason.

He nodded with a hmm, "Well, I'm indebted to you, so I have to agree, but we won't kill him; we'll leave him here to rot," he said with a stern voice as if he was in charge.I stopped before him with a smile, "Okay, Mr. Grindelwald."

He smiled and shook my hand, and magic slipped in and out of our clasped hands, signifying a magic pact. "You'll have to stay here and recuperate. I'll fix the place up and come visit you. We need to act like we are fine and still a prisoner. I'll be getting my letter in two years, so we can cause some mischief," I told him as I led him out of the darkroom into the lit hallways.

He hummed and said, "Playing the long game, of course. I'll need some time to plan and heal."I nodded, and we walked back to his cell room, and I enlarged it with a "" and added transfigured some stones into a desk and chair, a bath, and a bed.

"Much better," he murmured, watching me with a side eye; he looked at my wand with wide eyes, "Where did you get my wand??" he yelled angrily, taking a step forward.

"This is my wand; I am the Mistress of Death; you'll do best to remember that. I'll get you a new one later," I told him, dismissing the idea he would ever get this masterpiece back; I am the Mistress of Death, and I was not giving it up just yet.

He gaped at me, "The Deathly Hallows, it's real," he breathed in awe.I nodded and informed him, "Yes, I've collected them all."

"How?" he asked, looking at me with wide eyes, "Finder's keepers," is all I responded.

He nodded silently and looked at me with a new light, "How old are you?" he asked.

"Nine," I bluntly replied, enlarging the window as we talked.

"Nine?!" he asked incredulously.

I nodded again with a shrug of my shoulders, "I'll be back later with some better food," I told him, looking back at him; I needed to get back before Kreacher threw a fit at me for missing dinner again.

He reluctantly nodded, and I walked out, but not before hearing him say, "Thank you."

I imperioed the guard to not report anything suspicious about Gellert or of my presence, his cells, and his own upgrades.

I left the castle with one thought: Dumbles is going down. All I needed to was befriend him and gain his trust; hopefully, saving his life was more than enough to grant that and my position. We both needed each other; we had been alone for so long and needed each other's power to defeat him.

~ A Year Later ~

Yule and Easter had passed since my first visit to Nuremberg Castle, and I had made significant headway with my wordless and wandless magic. I was becoming a great and powerful witch. The Malfoys had visited for the holidays and for our traditional Sunday roast, not that they knew it was a muggle thing. Everything was going swell; I was waiting for my letter to Hogwarts so everything could begin.

My pets had grown, and I loved them; they were great to have around. We had moved into the mansion ages ago, and Thanatos had brought his Cerberus, so we had a lot going on there. The elves had moved everything to the new mansion in the outer skirts of Germany near the Black Forest; it was awarded to the tea, one of the safest places in the world.

The portraits and the library had been moved in, and it was much bigger and grander than the one in London. Walburga cried happy tears when I took her around for the first time; this is where she wanted to live, not in some muggle place.

Everything was great, the mansion, the pets, my family, and even Thanatos; we still hadn't defined our relationship, mainly due to my age and the fact of our other mates. But we loved each other, and we didn't need to show that sexually, not yet, at least. Thanatos was kind in waiting for me and the others; I didn't want to jump in without the others; I at least wanted to wait till they were alive and breathing.

Thus came our next task, bringing Tom and Reggie back to life. We were playing with fire, well anybody else would be, but I was Mistress of Death and had Thanatos as a mate; the petty rules of life and death didn't apply to us. Something I was grateful for.

"Are you heading off?" Theta (Thanatos) asked me as he sipped his tea, reading the newest news of Dumbles like an old person, which he was.

I zipped my shoes up and said, "Yes, I am. Are you sure you don't want to come?"

Theta shook his head and said, "Sorry, Mistress, but I've got to get back to the Underworld" he finished his tea and placed the news back down.

Thanatos had been traveling back and forth from the underworld to here; sometimes, he would be gone for a day or two, and other times for weeks. He still had a job, soulmate or not, and I helped him occasionally. We usually went down together, and he trained me with what to do and introduced me to some souls and his other family members, Life, Time, and the others.Theta had met Gellert before, but Gellert was in awe at his presence and was a little overwhelmed when he came, but he liked Gellert.

I walked over to him and hugged him lightly, he kissed the top of my head, and I said, "Okay, I'll see you when I see you then."                                                                           

"Farewell, my little Mistress," he whispered, submerged in the shadows back to the underworld."I'm not little," I mumbled aloud, more reassuring myself than anything. I was 20, for merlin'sMerlins sake! I'm using Merlin; I've been here way too long.

I shook my head with a sigh and apparated to my other home, Nurmengard Castle. The doors opened before I could do anything like usual, and I strutted dramatically through the hallways with my cape billowing behind me.

I arrived at Gellert's cell with the guard. No one to be seen, probably taking a nap somewhere. He thought it was safe, and nothing had happened for years...that he knew of.

"My beautiful daughter, come inside. Would you like some tea?" Gellert asked me with a smile as he saw me watching him work from the cell door.

We had gotten to know each other a lot more over the year, and me being the only person he had talked to besides Thanatos, he had clung to me, and I did too. He was the only father figure I had in my life, Lucius wasn't that type of person for me, but Gellert was. He was not the best person to see as a father figure, but I had come to love him and his quirky faults and thoughts of mass genocide. It was for the greater good, though (eye roll).

I walked in and took my coat off, not needing it due to the heat spell around the room. His cell, if you would even call it that anymore looked much better than the one I came into when I first met him. It looked much brighter and like a home than that of a dungeon cell.

"Any Earl Grey?" I asked the same question when tea was involved; he rolled his eyes and handed me a cup, "Of course, who do you take me for?" he asked dubiously as I sat down.

"A dark lord," I teased with a laugh taking a sip of the fresh tea; for a dark lord, he made fantastic tea; it was on par with Kreachers.

"So why did you ask for me?" I questioned, placing the teacup on the saucer in front of me.

He hesitated momentarily and replied, "I want to blood-adopt you...I know it hasn't been that long, but I have no heirs or relatives to take on my legacy, and I couldn't think of anyone greater than you. You're already like a daughter to me; we might as well make it official".

I was thankful I placed the teacup down, or I would've dropped it or spit my tea out. I could feel the tears coming after that declaration; he knew all about Sirius and his treatment of me. It was a big ask to blood adopt someone, but it was understandable for him; he had no one to pass his legacy or his last name onto. Which was a big deal in the wizarding world, especially with high leveled houses and dark lords (with their megalomaniac personalities).

I stood up and jumped into his arms for a hug. "Yes," I mumbled repeatedly happily, this was the first time I'd gotten a choice in anything like this, and I was happy about that. He hugged me tight against him and patted my back with a soft smile.

Look at us, one soft dark lord and a soft dark lord's adopted daughter planning to kill their previous lover and future headmaster. They are such an odd pair, but it works.

We walked side by side to the very same room we had met the first time with smiles on our faces. We weren't using the pool, but Gellert kept most of his supplies for rituals in the back; this is where he did his rituals and dark manner of spells.

After setting everything up, a ritual blade and a cloth strip drowned in his magic, and a book sat on the desk.

Gellert took my hands in his, and we closed our eyes, and he started, "Oh, Mother of Magic, bear over this ritual as a witness." He called into the air, and I added, "Thanatos, God of Death and King of the Underworld, bear over this ritual as a witness."

He brought the blade forth, sliced our hands, and we clasped them together. Gellert wrapped the magic-imbued cloth and wrapped it around our bloody hands and chanted, "Oh, magic. This is our intent, our bond; I make it so. Adopted now, I make it be. I declare this young soul as my legacy and heir for all to see and hear."

After he chanted, we opened our eyes and stared into the eyes of each other, dark grey to blue and brown, and we chanted in sync. "So mote it be."

Gellert then unwrapped the cloth, brought it to the empty bowl, placed it in, and set it on fire with a candle, and we held our bloody hands together, watching it burn. The bond then solidified as the cloth burned, releasing its energies and intent into the air and universe so our prays would be heard and acknowledged.

It soon took effect moments later when Gellert smirked at me and handed me a transfigured stone into an ornate mirror, and I gasped at my new reflection. Unlike the Potters' blood adoption, I got no physical qualities, only their signature bloodline attribute, magic sense. I could sense the magic being used on a person, glamours, and whatnot; I had a deeper connection to magic since I could see it physically and tell what magic core someone has, seeing their color.

But with Gellert's adoption, my right eye wasn't a dark stormy grey anymore. It was a bright blue, and it matched Gellert's eye. I had also gotten a white strip in my hair, which reminded me of Cissa.

"Perhaps it's got something to do with my age," I mumbled to him, fingering the platinum-white strip with interest. It looked beautiful, and so did my eyes.

"Perhaps or maybe because we had a deeper connection than you did with the Potters," he said, his Hungarian accent coming out strong, and he could be right. I was so young, and I rarely saw them, so I didn't have that much of a connection with them not, like Gellert and I.

"It looks good," he told me with a smile, touching the white strip.

"It does," I told him honestly; I looked good and different. I didn't just look like a Black anymore; I didn't look like her anymore. Could Father look me in the eye properly this time? I hope so.

_____

I kept him alive because why not? This whole chapter and the next is the start of canon divergence lol. Hopefully I didn't rush their relationship too much, I just want to make it to Hogwarts and Reggie. There'll be more daughter and father bonding moments. Idk what that ritual was but eh.

Thanatos = Theta, I'll be alternating through the nick name because it keeps autocorrecting to Thanos...

Spells

*Alohomora – a charm that unlocks objecst slike doors, windows or chests. Also known as the unlocking spell or the theifs friend.

*wingardium leviosa – a charm that makes objects or people fly or levitate. More strain depending on weight of object.

*Stupefy – the stunning jinx, produces a red light and renders target unconscious

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