Wednesday, 31st October, 1990
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry
The newspapers were late, very late, but when they arrived during lunch break, the headline set the entire castle alight.
At midnight, the Annual Wizengamot Session had been held, and something had passed the Magical Legislature that no one had expected.
The Sacred Twenty-Eight, previously only the result of a certain Nott's research, were no more. There was now a list of official Sacred Thirty-Three Houses, Pure-blood, Noble, and Ancient, with a history of over a thousand years, whose blood was deemed Pure and Noble by Magic itself, without a Muggle-born's blood tainting, at least, in one of their lines that could continue their legacy.
Some families were no longer part of the new official list that had been passed with the help of Gringotts, who confirmed the tainting of these families from their records and extinction, swearing by magic.
It was Altaira Black who had managed to convince Gringotts to become involved in this matter. They had taken help from the Wizarding Banks run by Goblins around the world as well, and the entire British Magical Realms was still reeling from the revelations.
The new list was as follows:
Abbott (Heir: Hadrian Abbott)
Aesalon (Heir: Not Named Yet.)
Avery (Heir: Everett Avery)
Black (Heir: Altair Black)
Bones (Heiress: Susan Bones)
Bulstrode (Heir: Adam Bulstrode)
Crabbe (Heir: Vincent Crabbe)
Diggory (Heir: Cedric Diggory)
Dumbledore (Heiress: Gemma Fawley)
Fawley (Heir: Sebastian Fawley)
Flint (Heir: Magnus Flint)
Goyle (Heir: Gregory Goyle)
Greengrass (Heiress: Daphne Greengrass)
Lestrange (Heir: Not Named Yet)
Longbottom (Heir: Neville Longbottom)
MacDougal (Heir: Quentin MacDougal)
Macmillan (Heir: Ernest Macmillan)
Malfoy (Heir: Draco Malfoy)
Marrowell (Heir: Laurence Marrowell)
Nott (Heir: Theodore Nott)
Parkinson (Heir: Perseus Parkinson)
Potter (Heiress: Luna Lovegood)
Prewett (Heir: Charles Weasley)
Ravenclaw (Heir: Name hidden at the Guardian's request)
Rosier (Heir: Damien Rosier)
Scamander (Heir: Alexius Scamander)
Selwyn (Heir: Dominic Selwyn)
Shafiq (Heir: Elias Shafiq)
Sinistra (Heir: Lucius Sinistra)
Slughorn (Heir: Marinus Slughorn)
Slytherin (Heir: Name hidden at the Guardian's request)
Weasley (Heir: William Weasley)
Yaxley (Heir: Elphias Rosier)
There was a bold note at the end that reiterated that only families older than a thousand years, Noble, and Pure had been accepted into the Sacred Thirty-Three.
Families like Burke, Carrow, Crouch, Gaunt, Montague, Ollivander, Prince, Rowle, Shacklebolt, and Travers, who were originally in the Sacred Twenty-Eight, were no longer on the list.
It was clearly stated that Gaunt and Prince were extinct. The rest were either no longer Pure, as they had Muggle-born blood in the only line that remained, or were not older than a thousand years as they were offshoots of some of the families mentioned on the list. However, their names were not called out.
What was even more shocking was the name of Luna Lovegood as the Heir of the Potter Family. Her mother was the daughter of Charlus Potter and Dorea Black, so she had a direct descent. The young girl had taken an Inheritance Test at Gringotts, and the goblins swore that Magic deemed her the rightful Heir of the Potter Family, not Harry Potter, the Half-blood, whose claim was weaker.
The Wizengamot held a vote, and despite the efforts of many, including Dumbledore, Luna was declared the Heiress of the Potter Family by securing sixty per cent of the votes. The votes were held three times with different people pleading the case, but the result remained the same.
In the case of Gemma Fawley as the Heiress of the Dumbledore Family, the opposition was very weak. Even Dumbledore supported her claim when the goblins brought it up. And it was only because he supported Gemma's claim that the Dumbledore Family was accepted in the Sacred Thirty-Three. It was the same for the Potter Family, who would not have been included in the Sacred Thirty-Three if Harry Potter had been made the Heir over Luna Lovegood.
No one was really surprised at the inclusion of the Aesalon, Bones, Diggory, MacDougal, Marrowell, Scamander, and Sinistra families. They were ancient and Pure, even though a few of them had migrated to Britain and originated elsewhere. However, each of them had over thirteen generations attending Hogwarts and primarily living in Britain.
The real shocker, and something that made the entire Great Hall and even the world outside go very quiet, were the names of the Ravenclaw and Slytherin families; especially the Slytherin Family.
It was clearly mentioned that the two Heirs' Guardians had requested to keep their names hidden, which meant that both were younger than seventeen years.
Everyone was curious about their identities, very curious, but they continued reading the news.
Right at the bottom of the first page was also the list of Neo Pure-blood Houses that were once established by Muggle-borns, but over the centuries had only married magical people with both sets of magical great-grandparents or within their families. They were, in all rights, to be considered and addressed as Pure-bloods as long as they would honour their blood. Even Magic considered them Pure-blood, just not Sacred and Noble.
These Neo Pure-bloods included the Belmont, Blackwood, Bletchley, Brown, Clearwater, Davies, Davis, Dunn, Fairbrain, Frey, Gleam, Green, Higgs, Howell, Lyme, Madley, McLaird, McLaggen, Murk, Pucey, Reyes, Rookwood, Sallow, Sharp, Snyde, Smith, Vole, and Wood families.
The next headline was the ban on Magicals marrying Muggles. There was no imprisonment, but any children of such unions were barred from carrying their Magical Family's surname and were to be considered as the true Half-bloods. Such people who already existed were not required to change their names. Even the magical person who married a Muggle was to be expelled from the family and deprived of all their inheritance rights. The Heads of the Family were also within their rights to take away their Family name. In case the person who committed this dishonourable act was the last known member of their family or the Head of the House, they would automatically lose their Family Name as Magic considered their Family extinct anyway.
To everyone's surprise, marrying Muggle-borns was not banned or even discouraged; however, the Wizengamot only urged that people of Pure-blood lines who married Muggle-borns should avoid giving their children the family names. They were encouraged to create new Vassal Houses, but their children could keep the family name if they had the permission of the Head of the House. This was because, in the eyes of Magic, the children of such unions were not Half-bloods, and not Pure-bloods either.
They could be said to be Quasi-Pure-blood if one of their parents was a Pure-blood Magical. However, the Magic was very clear that they had no right to lead the family if they had a Pure-blood relative alive whose blood was more Noble than theirs. And if the line were to continue through them, it could not be considered the same family as before. If they were Sacred, Noble, Ancient, and Pure-blood Family, they would just become an Ancient Pure-blood Family, losing their place in the Sacred Thirty-Three. If they were an Ancient Pureblood Family, not Noble and Sacred, then they would be considered just a Pureblood Family. If something like this happened to Neo Purebloods, they would lose their status as Pureblood Family.
The case of Harry Potter and Luna Lovegood was a good example of this scenario.
Nowhere in the entire new set of legislation were Muggle-borns targeted. In fact, giving old families that were once established by Muggle-borns the Pure-blood status gave those with ambitions and honour a great deal of hope that their efforts would not be in vain.
Of course, the families who were excluded from the Sacred Thirty-Three and were included in the previous Sacred Twenty-Eight were not happy, but they could not really complain either.
Those in the new list were more Noble and Ancient than they, and there was evidence of their heritage which could not be argued.
Some wisely kept their mouths shut as they had some skeletons to hide in their ancestry and they worried they would come to light if they stood up in opposition to this new list.
After Altair put the paper down, he calmly continued with his meal, and half an hour before their Potions class, he led the Slytherin and Hufflepuff First-Years to the dungeons.
At half past four, when the class ended, the Slytherins retired to the dormitory, and the young Black addressed his housemates who were present in the common room.
He first congratulated the students whose families had been officially given the Pure-blood status, and to their immense glee, he promised to buy them all the upcoming Nimbus 2001 next year.
Altair also made it clear to them that they must not talk about this matter openly at school, as it might create some issues, and they all promised him that they would stay mindful of their actions and words.
After taking a quick bath and an hour and a half long nap, he joined the Slytherin Duelling Contestants of this year in the Training Chamber.
There, he observed their practice, watched Damien and Gemma guiding the squads, and also offered some suggestions, which proved truly helpful.
At the end, everyone watched him cross wands with Gemma, and their duel was truly a sight to behold.
Both of them were quick, very quick, sharp, and intuitive. It was almost as if they subconsciously knew which spells to use to counter and to gain the upper hand, and their defence was almost perfect.
Unbeknownst to them, even to Aurelia and Cho, the private training sessions between Altair and Gemma were far more intense and cruel. They were not even half as serious during their spar which their House witnessed.
The Quadrivium Cup of the Duelling Tournament was going to start this weekend, and the four teams of Slytherin were looking very strong. They were certainly more confident this time compared to the last three years.
Altair, Gemma, and Damien stayed behind even as everyone else left to get ready for dinner.
They sat down, discussed some things, and formulated training plans for the Slytherin squads. They also discussed strategies against their opponents in the tournament.
Since it was the night of Samhain, the Halloween Feast was going to start a little later.
By eight o'clock, they were all in the Great Hall with the rest of their housemates, and the livelier-than-usual atmosphere made everyone smile.
There was a lot of gossip on the Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw tables, but the Slytherins were quieter than the three as usual.
The feast was long, hearty, and the choir at the end of the night was performed by the best of Hogwarts, which everyone enjoyed and even took part in as the entire Hall sang along.
When the Slytherins finally returned to the dormitory, they found the common room filled with candles and confectioneries.
There was a beautiful tiered cake at the centre, and some words were written on it.
"Happy birthday, my dearest Aurelia!"
Next to it were letters from her parents, brother, grandfather, and also from her aunt Altaira.
Everyone sang along with the magical cake and cheered at the beautiful fireworks in the common room.
Aurelia, graceful as ever, thanked all who had joined the celebration, and under the applause of the House cut her cake.
She fed a piece to Altair first, and then to Cho, before welcoming all the students to help themselves and take whatever they wanted.
There were no presents, but she was not surprised. She had asked her parents to give her birthday presents when she returned home during the winter holidays.
However, this did not stop her from pressing Altair for a gift when they returned to their suite.
"You had better prepare a gift for me that you have never given to anyone before," she coldly told him, and it was not a request.
Altair, having already decided what he wanted to give her, leaned in and planted a kiss on her forehead, which made her blush.
"Thank you, but I hope this was not my birthday present."
"I have your birthday present. Don't worry. Go, freshen up and join me in bed."
His words caused her to burn with curiosity, and she grabbed Cho's hand as she led her to the bath.
Half an hour later, the two girls in their pyjamas joined Altair in bed, and Aurelia gave him a strange look when he handed her a vial that contained a sparkling but colourless viscous potion.
"Drink it if you are brave enough. The benefits are miraculous and stay with you for the rest of your life, but they will come with a great deal of pain that you will have to bear for hours. This potion is not for those with weak wills."
His words caused both of them to tense up, but they did not take their eyes off the vial.
"Which potion is this?"
"Love Potion."
The two rolled their eyes at his answer, knowing well that he was joking, and then Aurelia accepted it from his hands.
"You do not have one for Cho?"
"What? No..." the girl panicked at her best friend's words. She really did not want to go through the pain that Altair warned about.
"Why? You want to let me suffer alone?" The little Miss Malfoy smiled at her dearest friend, who nervously looked at Altair for help.
"If you want her to have one tonight as well, it can be arranged."
With those words, Cho lost all hope.
Aurelia nodded her head, and Altair rose and retrieved another vial from the cabinet.
They both became even more nervous when he conjured two rubber sticks for them to bite on as they went through the pain.
However, one thing they knew for certain was that Altair would never harm them. They had already made the decision.
The two looked at each other as they pulled out the stoppers, and without waiting a breath, they drank the contents of the vials in one go.
Altair quickly grabbed the containers from their hands and put the rubber sticks between their teeth, and they were grateful he did, because the pain that assaulted them made them regret they were ever born.
The young Black winced as he watched them suffer, but it was necessary.
From the corner of the room, the ethereal little Moon Fox jumped on the bed, and as her master hugged his two ladies, it just lay down at their feet and closed its eyes.
Its mere presence was enough to soothe some of their pain, and seeing them relax a little, Altair gratefully looked at his familiar, whom he had received as a gift from Magister Newton Scamander. A gift he would cherish forever.
Aurelia and Cho experienced the terrible pain for most of the night, and it was only around dawn that their bodies relaxed and they fell into a deep sleep.
They missed the morning Charms class, as well as the Defence Against the Dark Arts class, but after Altair informed the two Professors that they were not feeling well, neither raised a question and only wished them better health.
Their prayers paid off, as both the girls joined their classmates at lunch, looking more radiant than ever, and for some reason, it felt as though they had also grown taller. It was especially the case with Cho, who had gained nearly two inches in height overnight.
Still, no one raised any questions even if they noticed, and Professor Sprout's lesson was fun as always.
When they were finally free, Aurelia and Cho did not forget to say thanks to Altair for the precious gift he gave them last night.
They pinned him to the bed and showered kisses on his face, making him laugh, and even their familiars joined in on the fun, leaving the Black Heir totally at their mercy.