Order Only: Private Message to Remus and Dora

[alt_sirius]

Four days later and I still have occasional spasms. Morgana, this not being able to be Padfoot is almost as bad as when Bella cursed me and I had to stay Padfoot.

Mostly it's just being stuck in this house all the time, with that wretched elf.

I've been thinking about what we can do to prevent him betraying us if something should happen to me. Obviously, the orders I've issued him never to contact anyone who hasn't been told the secret of the Fidelius is perfectly effective while I'm alive. The question is what he'll do once I'm no longer his master. Will he accept the will as it's written, will he decide that Bella or Narcissa are his new mistresses, will he defer to Draco or Hydra or will he go and hang himself with my father's bootlaces?

It's complicated, because my mother's will actually left the property to Narcissa but my father's magical protections meant she couldn't take possession of the house. I wrote a will as soon as we were able to open it up, of course. But will Kreacher honour it if I'm not in the picture?

I think there are a few possible solutions but none of them are guaranteed. Since I can't do much else with this ankle still healing, and with my tremors I better not handle sensitive potions measurement, we may as well discuss the options.

Comments

[alt_lupin]

Right. The problem is partly that house-elf magic is odd, and spells that would work on humans are not guaranteed with house-elves.

You could order him to swear an Unbreakable Vow not to ever betray us, but whether that would actually bind a house-elf, I don't know.

[alt_sirius]

I think making him swear an Unbreakable Vow would be tantamount to killing him.

I suppose we could simply kill him. Put a new head on the wall. (No, not really.)

[alt_lupin]

I mean -- the house is going to stay hidden, because it's under Fidelius. If there's a way to magically bind him to the house so he can't leave, that's another option.

Could we put Dora back on the Tapestry? I mean essentially we need to ensure that there's a family member we LIKE who's next in line.

[alt_sirius]

I've never tried. I don't know the first thing about the spells woven into that musty old thing.

I was thinking there might be a simpler solution. Although maybe it's not so simple. I'm not sure how we'd make it official, honestly. I could adopt Dora.

[alt_lupin]

True. She's an orphan, so there's no obvious obstruction like a set of living parents. Though she's also a full adult -- does that sort of family magic work when the 'child' is nearly as old as the 'parent'?

Dora, what do you think of this idea?

[alt_sirius]

There's another alternative. Or perhaps I should say an addition, if we can figure out how to arrange it.

[alt_lupin]

Are you thinking of an additional adoption or a marriage of convenience?

[alt_sirius]

Marriage of convenience? To whom?

No, I was thinking of an adoption. If he wants to do it.

[alt_lupin]

Harry?

[alt_sirius]

Yes.

[alt_lupin]

Oh, and for a marriage of convenience there's Doras Meadows. She'd keep you in line, I imagine.

[alt_sirius]

Dorcas Meadows? If we're going to bring a pureblood trophy wife into this equation, you could at least pick someone younger and more fit. Gwenog Jones, for example.

[alt_lupin]

The objective here is 'trustworthy,' not 'delightfully attractive woman to have on your arm at the Malfoy Christmas Party'!

[alt_sirius]

Why settle for one or the other?

This is why you never excelled at Divination, Moony, you don't think big.

[alt_lupin]

I'll leave recruiting Gwenog to the Order up to you.

[alt_nymphadora]

I suppose our arrangements are already queer enough, what's another twist? Actually, I think it's lovely.

What do you suppose is required? I mean, it's not as though we can send the parchmentwork and payment along to some office in the Ministry. And we certainly can't march in and present ourselves for reclassification of familial ties. 'Do you, Miss Tonks, consent to be bound in filial relation to the arch-traitor Black?'

Do you suppose I'd be reclassified pure if you became my father? After all, that would make two of my parents purebloods.

[alt_lupin]

I just realised this would also make Sirius Bea's grandfather. As if he doesn't spoil her enough already...

[alt_sirius]

That's just going to make my head spin.

And I don't spoil her any worse than you do. Just because I'm the fun one doesn't make me less of a disciplinarian.

[alt_lupin]

Well, just as a wedding has both a civil component, where you sign papers and all that, and a magical component, there are spells parents do when they adopt a child. We could possibly do the magic part without the signing-of-papers-at-the-Ministry part, since we don't especially want the Protectorate to consider you Sirius's daughter -- what matters is Kreacher.

[alt_sirius]

I think we'd have to obtain the proper parchment from the Ministry and then slip it in somehow without anyone noticing - if we went that route.

But there are magical binding spells - some of the same spells we used when James and Lily named me Harry's godfather - that create a filial bond. Similar to the traditional wedding spells but for a parent and child.

As for reclassificaton, nice try, but I don't think the Ministry would take well to your being adopted by a wanted traitor, and one who's meant to be dead, at that!

Somehow I don't think you want them noticing.

[alt_lupin]

Bill could probably slip it in somewhere, surely.

[alt_lupin]

Another thought I had just now -- Hydra's already legitimately on the tapestry. So's Draco. You could burn off Bellatrix and Narcissa (and Lucius and Rabastan) but leave Draco and Hydra. They're Order members and -- ironically -- people Kreacher would probably be pleased to follow orders from. Especially Hydra, remember how he fawned over her?

[alt_sirius]

He did but that was before he figured out she's one of us.

Besides, it might solve the problem of Kreacher but it wouldn't necessarily ensure that you all have someplace to live if I pop my clogs.

Then again, I'm not on the tapestry either and he accepts me as his master, however reluctantly. So it might not fix anything.

Might be cathartic to blast them off, anyway.

[alt_lupin]

True enough.

Maybe Albus would know. They do call them 'house elves,' maybe he's stuck with the house, and with the Fidelius in place we've nothing to worry about.

[alt_sirius]

I think he'd go to Narcissa if he could do. The family have shuffled elves before - but in this case, he's under a direct order not to leave.

As for the Fidelius, it protects the house but you yourself pointed out that he could leave and tell them all manner of things he's overheard.

Whatever we do, I'm certainly going to sit him down and remind him that in my absence for any reason, including death, he's to follow you and Dora as his lawful master and mistress.

[alt_lupin]

You could order him to tell you what would happen, but he might not even know.

[alt_sirius]

Mordred, Morgana and Merlin.

Alice just told me - and this is confidential from the rest of the Order for now - but ever since he came out of his coma, Frank's been unable to do any kind of magic.

He's been rendered a Squib


They hope it's only temporary, of course. But there's no way to know.

[alt_lupin]

That's not good.

[alt_sirius]

No, it's not.

And Allie ... she's worried about him. About how he'll respond.

She said he described it like missing a limb but I'm sure it must be more like being rendered deaf, dumb and blind all at a single stroke.

He's got to be terrified. I know I would be.

[alt_nymphadora]

Oh.

Oh, no.

[alt_sirius]

Yeah.

She wanted you to know since you work with him so much.

Actually it might be good if you wanted him to spar with you still. She said he's feeling dead sorry for himself and needs things to do.

[alt_nymphadora]

I-

I can't imagine what even to say to him. Only, we-

It's not something we could joke about.

I mean it IS something we joke about all the time when we're sparring. ('Lost your magic, there, old man?' 'A squib could block better than that!')

How horrible is that?

[alt_sirius]

I know.

When I was ten, there was a boy we knew, just about Reg's age. They decided he must have been a Squib. His parents Obliviated him and left him at a Muggle orphanage. We never heard what happened to him after that.

Not that we'd ever abandon Frank but - well, the idea of losing one's magic it's just ... unthinkable.

The main thing is not to treat him like an invalid just because he can't lift a wand at present. Normal as possible. And keeping him occupied.

I told Alice I'll come back out to Moddey and challenge him to a race or something. Also thought maybe he'd like to spend some time in Saltash since he can't do magic there even if he had the option. Might help him to get his mind off things.

Albus must have had a clue this might happen. He can't have just allowed Frank to try it without warning him this might be the consequence, surely.