Chapter 64: Curious Meetings (1972)

29th February 1972, Black Manor

(Arcturus Black POV)

Arcturus Black was a man on a mission. It was a silly mission, all things considered but even the Patriarch of the Black Family has a little Gryffindor inside. He always had to act like a buffoon and deal with the other members of the Wizengamot, it felt nice to finally do something for himself. And with the rise of this new Dark Lord, the traditionalist party was getting very bold indeed. Dumbledore’s machinations were not helping the matters. In the last few decades, he banned almost any field of magic that he could. Arcturus was very grateful that his proposition of a centralization of all magical knowledge was denied. He still didn’t believe the old man tried to steal their family spells.

It was probably going to be a dead end, but it was a dream of his ever since he was a young boy and found a retelling of the Arthurian Legends from Leon Black, a knight of the round table. It was quite the surprise to discover the truth behind Merlin and Morgana. It was a surprise that there were two witches called Le Fey during that time. One was a known dark witch that wanted to conquer Camelot named Morgause, and another was a relatively unknown but definitely the more dangerous one of the two, named Morgan. Leon didn’t know what King Arthur or Morgause did to offend her but when the battle of Camlann was over, both armies that were fighting were destroyed. It wasn’t a battle but a massacre and there was only one winner and that was Morgan Le Fey. Ever since reading this, he had considered her to be the true Morgana, not the one people are more familiar about in the legends.

When he dug a little deeper, he discovered that the witch was first seen about a century before the battle of Camlann. Apparently, she was named this when she healed an injured girl and the villagers worshiped her. That was the beginning. It could have been an ancestor, but Arcturus was convinced that Morgan Le Fey was immortal. Tales of the black haired, green eyed, pale witch were scattered in History. From her role in stopping Goblin Rebellions, to healing an impossible injury, even a couple of other massacres, if one were to look carefully, there were traces of her everywhere she went.

Arcturus kept his suspicions to himself, of course. It was just a little hobby, trying to find the immortal witch in history. He took a couple of days off every once in a while, to visit places she went to once. It was a silly thing really, but he couldn’t help but hope to meet her one day, perhaps he could ask her about what it really was like back then, how Camelot was, did she ever meet the founders, he had so many questions…

His wife Melania was the first person he ever talked about his little hobby. She was interested, sure, but wasn’t even close to being as passionate about this as he was. He ended up telling his best friend and brother in law Charlus Potter. He had met the man when they were fighting in Grindelwald’s war and Arcturus was more than happy when Charlus officially became family and married his sister Dorea.

When Arcturus told Charlus about his discoveries, the man had first laughed at his face until he was shown the proof Arcturus collected from the day, he first read about Morgan Le Fey. And while the man hadn’t come to one of the outings with him, he still asked regularly for updates on any new discovery Arcturus made.

Most of the outings were a bust really but there were traces of ancient magic in some of them, he just added proximity wards when he found them in hope of someone actually tripping them. They were tripped twice so far, and it was just some muggle tourists. Today another ward was tripped in Yorkshire and with a crack, Arcturus apparated to the location. He remembered this place. For muggles it might have looked like a simple valley, with beautiful tall trees everywhere, grass sprouting everywhere and a small river going through it. But Arcturus knew better, the trees were too healthy, the grass was greener than normal, he felt warm even though it was in the middle of winter; the magic of this place making him feel safe and at piece. There were definitely signs of druidic magic, guessing by the state of the vegetation.

There was no one around him, not even a muggle. Arcturus sighed, it must have been an animal or something that tripped his wards. But he was dressed now and didn’t feel like going home right away. He remembered there being a wizarding tavern close by, and slowly walked towards it. For the first time in weeks, he forgot all about Abraxus Malfoy’s idiotic propositions, Dumbledore’s manipulations, and the new dark lord. It was only him and nature. It was the most peaceful he felt in a very long time.

After a while, he arrived at the tavern that was unsurprisingly empty. It was barely evening, and Arcturus had no idea why a tavern would be open at a time like this. He just shrugged and sat down in front of the bar. The only person that was there was the barmaid, a young pretty blond woman with ocean blue eyes. Had he not been happily married; he would have jumped at the chance to talking to her. Arcturus could only imagine how many hearts this woman had broken.

She smiled brightly at him, “So, what can I get you?”

“Firewhiskey, neat.” He answered.

“Coming right up.” She turned and grabbed a bottle and poured its content into a glass and served it to Arcturus. When he took a sip, it was surprisingly good for an establishment like this.

“I like it, what year was it made?” He asked.

“It’s an Ogden’s original, made in 1949.” She responded.

“Ah, a favorite of mine.”

“You know your whiskey…” she said.

“It’s something of a hobby. Ever since my father gave me sip of the 1864 Ogden’s, I fell in love with it.”

“Oh, the legendary Ogden dry out. Someone sabotaged the distillery, destroying that year’s collection. Only a dozen bottles were left. That must have cost him a fortune.”

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“Yes, it did. Although my wife never like it. More of a wine woman herself.” He smiled at her.

“Everyone has their own tastes, I suppose. I’m Jasmine by the way.” She spoke.

“Arcturus.” He answered back. It was nice to be treated like a normal person for a change, and not have people kissing his arse trying to curry a favor from the Lord Black.

“So, Arcturus, what are you doing in a tavern at a time like this?” She questioned.

“Nothing, really. Just trying to find someone.”

“Oh, is it a special someone?” She said wiggling her eyes.

“No, I’m married for Merlin’s sake. No, she’s more like someone I look up to. I’ve been trying to find her ever since I was a little boy.”

“Then why not send her a letter, not following her like some stalker?”

Arcturus blushed. He had actually tried sending her a letter once, but the owl didn’t find her.

“She’s unreachable by mail.” He answered

“Is that so? It seems like she’s someone that doesn’t want to be found. But don’t be discouraged, the Journey is more important than the destination” She spoke.

“Probably. I mostly use trying to find her as an excuse to travel for a bit. Take a time off from my family.”

“Why? Are they that hard to deal with?” She asked.

“Oh, they’re a nightmare. I have two sons; one is a sexist pig that hates his entire family and the other one gave control over everything to his mad wife. Damn insufferable harpy got even one of her sons to despise our entire family.”

“Really, tell me about him…”

Arcturus sighed, “Sirius is a very talented boy with a good head on his shoulders but his mother’s treatment of him pretty much alienated him completely. Tries to piss her off as much as possible, I have to admit it’s pretty funny. He even joined my brother in law in some sort of pranking group, calling themselves the Marauders. It’s not as funny when we’re sent letters from his teachers complaining about him. A little rebellion is expected at that age but he’s completely ignoring his education. I fear it may be too late, that he would leave the family when he’s older.”

Her answer was simple, “Then why don’t you do something about it?”

Arcturus sighed, “Don’t you think I tried? My son blocked every attempt to even talk to them. If I force the issue, it could end up being very problematic and our family is under enough scrutiny; we don’t need a scandal.”

She just shrugged and poured herself a glass of Firewhiskey. “What about your other grandchildren?”

“I have a granddaughter, Bellatrix, just graduated last year, top of her class. And absolutely insane. Her father even encouraged this behavior. Their mother is just a timid thing, would agree with her husband about anything. So far, I only have hope for Narcissa, Andromeda and Regulus.”

“Huh, I guess that’s why you’re here trying to get away, I would too.” She stated.

Arcturus couldn’t help but laugh at that.

“What about you, dear? How did you come to work here?”

“Me? I’m not that interesting. Pureblood father, Muggleborn mother, was a Hufflepuff at Hogwarts. Traveled the world, doing odd jobs left and right. A friend of my father’s owned this place and wanted to sell, so I worked my arse off and bought the place and here I am.” She just shrugged.

This surprised Arcturus, “Really? You own this place?”

“Did you really think I would be drinking the Firewhiskey if I wasn’t?”

“Good point.” He laughed.

“So, you said you traveled? Anywhere interesting?” he asked.

She immediately brightened up, “Yeah, loads. Went to Greece for a few months, then to Egypt and toured Asia for a bit. Spent the past couple of years in America though.”

“Really, you went to America? What did MACUSA say about it?”

“Who said they knew about it? I just confounded some muggles and went by boat.” She chuckled.

He burst out in laughter at that, “So much for their ultimate protection?”

“Yeah, they’ve been annoyingly oppressive ever since their spat with the Soviet Union. Bunch of idiots, starting wars over nothing.” She responded.

Arcturus kept laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation. MACUSA had forbidden non authorized entries into their land and a young girl, barely an adult, was able to bypass it like it was nothing.

The two of them kept talking for almost an hour, before it started to darken, and more people came inside the bar. The girl had a good sense of humor, a sharp wit and very sociable. How Arcturus wished that even a single one of his grandchildren was like her. With his heir getting into trouble with the Potter boy, all the time, he really wished he could pass on the mantle of lord Black soon before this family drive him mad. With a start Arcturus had noticed that he had so much fun that he almost forgot why he came to Yorkshire in the first place. His conversation with the girl was breath of fresh air.

After a while, he had to come home so he excused himself and returned to Black Manor.

Of course, the very next day, he visited Charlus and told him about the remarkable young woman he met the day before.

“You seem taken by her.” Charlus said.

“Nothing that far, my friend. I’m just impressed.” Arcturus responded.

“Is that what they call it these days?”

Arcturus’ answer was a glare which caused the man to burst into laughter.

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“Not really. It was a magical place though. Never felt this refreshed in years.” Arcturus answered.

Before Charlus could answer, an Eagle owl entered the room and dropped a package on Arcturus’ lap and flew away.

How was that possible? The mail wards he put on himself stops unauthorized owls to find him. In barely a second, their war instincts kicked in and both of them pointed their wards at the package.

Charlus had the same thought, “Did you take down your wards?”

“No,” he answered stupefied, “Did you take down the ones on the Manor?”

“No.” Charlus answered.

With a wave of his wand, Arcturus opened the package to reveal a box and a letter. After scanning both of them of curses, Arcturus opened the letter addressed to him.

For you and the Mrs. as a reward for almost finding me.

It’s always nice to meet a fan. Thanks for the drink. Good luck with your family

And stop putting wards everywhere, it’s weird.

Love, Morgan Le Fey

Arcturus paled and his hands shook. He didn’t believe his eyes. While he was reading the letter, Charlus picked up the box and opened it. “Arcturus, you need to take a look at this.”

In the box was an unopened bottle of 1864 Ogden’s Firewhiskey and a bottle of Château d'Yquem. A red wine made in France in 1811. It was one of the sought-out bottles in the entire magical world.

But Arcturus didn’t look at them for more than a second. His hands were still shaking with the letter in his hand. Charlus looked at him, worried.

“What is it, Arcturus?”

Arcturus just handed him the letter. The man paled and his eyes budged as well before bursting into uncontrollable laughter.

“It’s not funny.” Arcturus protested.

“Yes, it is. Are you sure that this is her?”

“Yes, I didn’t tell her who I was looking for. And her owl bypassed the wards. How is that possible?”

“You were served drinks by Morgan Le Fey” Charlus once again burst into laughter.

This time Arcturus joined him. “Melania is going to love the wine.” He mused.

Charlus responded, “Maybe she’s still there? Didn’t you say that she owned the tavern?”

With that realization, they both apparated to where the tavern was. Only to find nothing there. The only tavern that was close by was a couple of miles away and no one had any memory of another tavern being nearby. When they asked the owner of the tavern about the blond, blue eyes woman, he said that she left a note for them, ‘better luck next time, boys.’ Arcturus chuckled for a bit; it’s been a while since anyone got one over on him.