After walking past the wards around Potter Cottage he apparated to several random places before arriving at the isolated cabin he currently called home. He took a quick shower and dressed in a nice, tailored suit before putting on a cloak made of the finest Acromantula silk over it. He didn't believe in the slightest that the suit would impress the man he was going to meet, but the cloak would.

This meeting could make or break some of his more important plans for the future, but he was gambling on the truth and the man's strong belief in family. As he was standing in front of the mirror that doubled as the entrance to his secret office he straightened his tie and made a half-hearted effort to make his hair behave. In an attempt to tame it he had magically grown it to shoulder length as the weight forced it to not stand up in all directions. It wasn't perfect but at least it made him look like he knew what a comb was, and more importantly, how to use it.

He carefully lifted the hood and placed it so his face was obscured, both by the hood itself but also by the magic the entire cloak was imbued with. Hades needed compliance and given what he looked like it was imperative that wasn't the first impression they got of him.

Satisfied with his cloak and dagger appearance, including an actual, hidden dagger strapped to his left arm in a magically protected sheath, he apparated straight out of the small house and to three random places before he arrived outside the gates of a large Manor that screamed of wealth and prestige. It was clearly old but well maintained. He could feel the magic emanating from both the wards surrounding it and the property itself. The magic was both welcoming and hostile at the same time.

Despite owning it in the future he had never set foot on the property and had instead allowed Hermione to simply raid it of its library and any other books stored there. Then he'd allowed it to get magically mothballed again. His second son had moved in with his family when he turned 30, but somehow all Potter gatherings had happened either at Potter Manor or one of their other estates. This was his first time seeing it and he vaguely wondered how it would measure up to his expectations.

Mentally ordering himself to focus, he walked up the path to the gate and simply waited for it to either open or for a house elf to escort him to his host. Magical homes didn't have doorbells or even door knockers, instead, they used some variety of a detection charm to know when someone wanted to gain entrance to their home. A few minutes passed and then a pop announced the arrival of a house elf on the other side of the gate.

The gate swung open silently and the little creature in front of him squeaked, "Master Black is ready to see you, sir. Please follow Toppy."

"Thank you, Toppy."

The walk up the long path to the Manor was silent and when they entered the opulent home he very deliberately didn't gawk. He'd expected a lot of green and silver along with any number of snake motifs, but everything looked tasteful. The two colors were present but it wasn't an obvious and forceful representation of an obviously Slytherin-oriented family. It was a pleasant surprise.

The little elf brought him to a large office where Lord Black was sitting in an elegant chair behind a large desk, and beside him was, as requested, Sirius Black. Hades smiled inside his hood. So far it was going according to plan.

"Greetings, Lord Black." He made a small, formal bow and the other man inclined his head in reciprocation. Hades then inclined his head politely in greeting to Sirius who returned the gesture. No words were spoken between them.

"Your letter requesting a meeting with myself and my grandson as soon as possible was very vague regarding your intentions. It also lacked a signature."

"It is imperative that my identity remain a secret from both the Dark Lord and the self-proclaimed Light Lord, as well as everyone else. However, in order for me to make my intentions clear, there are certain things I need to reveal, however in order to do so, I need a magically binding oath from both of you that you will never reveal what I say to anyone for any reason. Nor will you reveal my identity to anyone." He calmed his breathing as this was the first crucial point if they refused then this meeting was over.

"You're asking us to take a lot on faith. There is a war raging out there, and what you're asking could destroy the Black Family."

"I know, but it is not my intention to harm either one of you. I'll admit that the death of your son and daughter-in-law would not bother me as I despise zealots of any kind, but to my knowledge, you have not allowed yourself to be branded and your grandson does not share your ideology."

Arcturus Black tensed slightly as he gave Sirius a mild glare but otherwise didn't comment. Hades found it interesting that the Head of House Black didn't defend his son or daughter-in-law, even if he expected Sirius to not care. It said a lot about how far their House had truly fallen.

"So you support Dumbledore?" The question came from his godfather and while Lord Black didn't seem to like the interruption he said nothing to distract from the question.

"No. As I said, I despise zealots. I also despise people who pretend to be something they're not. If you want my reasoning them you need to swear the oath."

They continued back and forth for a while, but in the end, they both swore the oath after he made his own short oath as to not do them harm unless they did anything to him or any of his first.

"We've sworn the oath, now reveal yourself!" He didn't care much for the demand, but it was fair so he rose before lowering his hood and then removing the cloak entirely. Hades' attention was mostly on Arcturus but he didn't miss the shocked expression on Sirius' face nor the gasp when he saw his face. He calmly folded the garment and laid it over the back of the chair right next to his own before retaking his seat and getting comfortable. As he'd expected, his suit was not a welcome sight.

"My name is Hadrian Potter and I'm from the future."

Sirius immediately rose, agitated. "That's not possible! Time-Turners can only go back eight hours at the most, and the real Hadrian is only 15 months old not in his late teens."

"Sit down, Sirius! I didn't use a Time-Turner, and no, I won't tell you how I accomplished it. It's the kind of information that can never be released." Unsurprisingly, the wizard remained standing and just glared at the 'younger' man.

"Look, I'm trying to save the magical world here, including my parents and you. So sit down, and be quiet!"

It took more arguing and finally a direct order from Lord Black before he finally sat down again, clearly upset about the entire situation.

"What do you mean you're trying to save my grandson's life?"

"To make a long story short, in my timeline Voldemort personally killed my parents and Sirius was arrested and thrown in Azkaban for supposedly betraying them. Without a trial. One guess as to who was responsible for the latter."

Both of the Black's looked shocked, although the elder of the two only showed something for a brief moment before he went back to the vaguely disapproving expression he'd had before.

"Right and I got a trial and then?"

"You didn't. You spent the next 12 years in that hellhole before you managed to escape."

"But Dumbledore..."

Hades cut him off, "Dumbledore is the reason you ended up there and he's the reason you didn't get a trial. He's also the reason why your name was never cleared. Can you think of any reason why he would do that?"

Sirius just blinked at him in shock, clearly unable to believe that his leader would ever do something like that to him. A detached part of Hades' mind felt sorry for him, having your opinion of someone you thought to be a great person proven to be so wrong hurt. A lot. He'd been there, felt the painful shock, and nursed the anger for a long time.

And because he just couldn't help himself, he added. "It's all for the greater good, you know."

That got his godfather out of his shock and the man glared at him. "You think this is funny? That the future me spent over a decade with only Dementors for company?"

"Of course not," Hades replied calmly. "But it is the reason Dumbledore gave me when I confronted him with the facts I'd uncovered at the time."

Arcturus interrupted their discussion with a few questions of his own. "Why was Sirius thrown in Azkaban and why did no one in the Black family get him out of there?"

"It's like I said; It was for the 'greater good', or to be more specific it was what was needed at the time to move Dumbledore's plans along." He allowed that to sink in for a few moments before he went on. "As for why no one in the Black family tried to free him, I can only guess."

Lord Black nodded once for him to go on and he did. "My family is currently hiding under the Fidelius Charm and it's a common belief among those who know about it that Sirius is the Secret Keeper. He's not."

Lord Black looked sharply at his grandson, "I was the obvious choice since I'm James' best friend, so we decided I should be the decoy instead so no one would even suspect the real Secret Keeper." He looked at Hades, "The real Secret Keeper betrayed them, didn't they?"

Ignoring the pain in the man's voice he simply nodded. "I've spoken to my parents and I've arranged a new safe place for them to stay. The traitor will be dealt with."

"Which one?" The Lord of the Manor interjected dryly.

"Both, but I meant the Secret Keeper. They'll be exposed as the cowardly rat they are." The latter was said with direct eye contact with his godfather and the man definitely got the hint and nodded a little reluctantly.

"As for my guess why none of you even attempted to get him out of Azkaban; Dumbledore announced the day after his capture that Sirius was a Death Eater and had been a spy for a number of years. He also claimed that Sirius was Voldemort's right-hand wizard and that he was tired of hiding. Apparently, my family's murder was supposed to be his big coming out as Dark party."

Arcturus Black gave a snort at that, "Sirius would never harm that blasted Blood Traitor or his family. Anyone with common sense knows that."

"And yet, neither you, his parents, nor any other member of his family did anything to come to his aid."

The pain in Sirius' grey eyes was plain for all of them to see, but neither commented. "My guess is that his parents wrote him off as a lost cause years ago and saw this as an opportunity to regain favor with the Dark Faction. As for you," he looked at the Head of the Black Family, "I don't know what you were thinking. Allowing your grandson to rot in Azkaban effectively ended the Black family in the male line."

That part had never made any sense to him and by the time it even occurred to him Sirius had been dead for years, so he couldn't ask. With no portrait or even a ghost, he had nothing to go on. He and Hermione had plenty of theories and speculations, but no facts.

"If Sirius hadn't made me his Heir then the Black Estate would've gone to Draco Malfoy, something I'm certain both Orion and Walburga approved of given that family's alliances and loyalty to the Dark Tosser. It-"

Lord Black abruptly cut him off, "You made the Potter Scion your Heir?!" There was a dangerous look in the old man's grey eyes and a tone to his voice that demanded a prompt and proper explanation. One that better make absolute sense or there would be hell to pay.

Sirius swallowed and his eyes widened as if caught in the direct line of a Killing Curse before he sat up straight and his face closed off in the proper neutral expression expected of all Purebloods in the old Houses. Hades looked between the Black's, but his main attention was on his godfather. This was more than just allowing a Half-Blood to become the Heir of not one but two Ancient Houses. He was definitely missing something important, something that enraged and maybe even humiliated the wizard in question. And he, Hades, had somehow unintentionally put him in a position where he had to admit to whatever it was. Crap.

"I am allowed to name whomever I wish to be my Heir," Sirius replied in a mostly neutral tone, even if it was slightly clipped.

"Yes, grandson, you are, but why would you name someone else's child as your Heir? You're still young, and there are a few suitable matches for you still available. There are even some unsuitable ones that would be preferable to the Potter Heir." Hades chose not to be offended as he had gone into this meeting expecting a lot worse, but he began speaking before he could stop himself.

"If you're trying to hint that the Black Estate should stay in the Black Family, then I will remind you that my paternal grandmother was born a Black from the main branch, specifically she was your younger sister. Narcissa and her sisters are all daughters from a cadet branch, so as far as being closely related I have a better claim. A claim that is strengthened by your grandson accepting the honor of being my magically sworn godfather."

Of course, he knew what the actual issue was, but he was more than ready to argue his case if it came down to that.

"Quiet," the 'elder' of them said before turning back to his grandson. "Why did you choose an Heir from another House rather than wait to father your own?" This time it was an order from the Head of the Black Family to his Heir's Heir. Sirius had no choice but to answer or his family magic would retaliate, painfully.

Sirius's back was so straight it looked painful and while his body and most of his face showed nothing, his eyes were another story. They were an angry stormy grey he'd never seen before and the silence stretched uncomfortably. Yet, Hades chose to remain silent, both because this was a matter between the two other men but also because he'd been wondering about this question himself for decades.

Finally, after he got himself under complete control, Sirius relented and replied in an absolutely neutral voice, "I can't have children. Father and Mother used the Cruciatus Curse and other Dark Curses on me too many times. When they realized what they'd done, Mother blasted me off the Family Tree, and Father attempted to kill me with that Curse claiming I was too weak to be a proper Black. That is the real reason I ran away." He paused for a few seconds before he added, "Lord Potter and James knew about it and approved my request."

The time-traveler blinked several times in shock, of all the reasons they had theorized about in the future that had not been a contender or even on either of their minds. Yes, one of their main theories had been an inability to have children, or an unwillingness, but they'd assumed it was related to all the inbreeding the purebloods insisted on partaking in, not an extreme level of abuse. It made Sirius's Dumbledore-enforced stay at Grimmauld Place even worse.

The Dursley's had been horrible to him, but not even Dudley had done anything to his privates. If he was honest with himself, then his cousin had never even tried to kick him in that area. In order for the Cruciatus Curse to cause sterility, they'd had to either aim it directly at their son's privates or somewhere close on a regular basis over a longer period of time. Or it could be that they held him under for a long time every day for weeks. That thought alone was beyond horrifying.

While Hades' immediate reaction had been to compare Sirius' answer to his and Hermione's guesses in the future, Arcturus' first reaction had been to abruptly rise and quite clearly work through some kind of breathing exercise in order to remain calm. Once that was accomplished he began pacing the spacious office. Sirius did a very convincing imitation of a statute, he didn't even look like he was breathing.

Both of them followed the Head of House with their eyes as he went from one end of the room to the other before he smoothly turned and retraced his own steps before repeating the process all over again. Neither of them liked it when Arcturus' right hand was out of view, but thankfully he didn't reach for his wand at any point.

Belatedly, a string of laws came rushing back to him. There were no laws in Magical Britain specifically against abusing children. Mainly due to the consensus that it didn't happen and therefore made them better than the Mundanes. Child abuse was supposed to be rare and be restricted to verbal abuse only, but while Sirius had strongly hinted it had been physical, or rather that's how a young Hades had understood it, it now became clear they had been magically abusive.

Which made it strange that Sirius hadn't defended him more and demanded that he didn't have to go back to the Dursley's. But then again, Sirius was a pureblood, there was a good chance he didn't believe that physical abuse was as bad as magical abuse. Or maybe he had, but no one told Hadrian about it. Who knew, they had never really discussed it, and anytime they had come near the topic someone, usually Mrs. Weasley or one of her family members had interrupted and distracted them with something.

Suddenly, Lord Black turned abruptly half-way across the room and faced his grandson. "I will deal with my son and his despicable wife. You will not speak about this to anyone. Neither of you will utter a word."

Hades gave a curt nod, but Sirius gave a verbal, "Yes, Grandfather. As you wish."

The wizard retook his seat and said, "Please, continue with the prior topic of conversation."

"Right. Dumbledore and his many and varied manipulations of everyone around him." He could probably have spoken about the topic for weeks if not months if given the chance, but he needed to be much more precise and succinct tonight.

"Inbetween my parents getting killed and Sirius getting unlawfully thrown in Azkaban I was illegally placed on the doorstep of my maternal Aunt and her husband. Neither Dumbledore nor either of the other people who were present that night appeared to think that leaving me there was a bad idea. Dumbledore put a letter in amongst my blankets rather than take the time to speak to my relatives and then everyone left. Nevermind that this was at the beginning of November, I hadn't been to a Healer or a doctor, and I could've frozen to death. I was also able to walk."

"He left you with Petunia?" The incredulity made him raise his voice and in response received a warning look from his grandfather that he didn't even seem to notice. "She hates magic and he knows it!"

"Believe me, I know. I had the misfortune of staying there for the next decade and he forced me to go back there every summer until I came off age."

"He was given custody of you?"

"He got the Wizengamot to seal my parents Wills claiming they were a danger to the magical world, and then claimed custody of me. No one questioned it and no one seemed to care that I disappeared from the Magical World despite Dumbledore living at Hogwarts. The magic-raised are too gullible and too willing to believe whatever Dumbledore and the Ministry tell them and the mundane-raised doesn't know nearly enough to ask questions let alone the right ones. That travesty was just one of the many, many problems with the magical world."

"So you're in the past to fix it and you're here why? You must know the Black Family is aligned to the Dark, my grandson excluded."

"Being Darkly aligned, being evil, and following the Psychopathic Tosser are three very different things. I know for a fact that you have refused the Dark Mark which means you are not entirely in his camp, but let me tell you a story and then you can tell me if you are still one of his supporters."

Lord Black nodded and replied, "Very well, tell your story, but it won't change the superiority of the purebloods."

"Pureblood delusions of superiority is another kettle of hubris, but nevermind that for now."

Arcturus narrowed his eyes but remained silent. "I don't know how much of this you might know or might have possibly inferred over the years, but I am 100% certain Sirius doesn't have a clue."

Hades got more comfortable in his hard chair, and why were visitors chairs nearly always uncomfortable? It seemed to be almost universal.

"At some point in 1925, a then 17-year-old pureblood witch by the name of Merope Gaunt began giving the wealthy son of a local mundane aristocrat a love potion in order to get him to notice her. They eloped to London in early 1926. She became pregnant with his child and at some point later stopped giving her husband the love potion and he soon left her, returning to his wealthy and snobbish parents. The young, expectant mother was then left on her own as her husband had no interest in her or the child they were expecting.

"She gave birth to a son in a Mundane orphanage and lived only long enough to name him Tom after his father and Marvolo after her own father, and then she died. Tom Riddle Junior grew up in that poor orphanage and was visited by the then Deputy Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore around his 11th birthday. During the meeting, he accidentally revealed to Dumbledore that he was a Parselmouth.

"Arriving at Hogwarts he was sorted into Slytherin with everyone believing he was a Mundane-Born. Later on, he was selected as a Slytherin Prefect and he was selected as the Head Boy in his Seventh Year. His grades were excellent and he was well-liked and respected, but all of his seven years at Hogwarts was plagued by increasingly cruel accidents, none of which could be traced back to him, of course.

"At some point, he got an interest in anagrams and began experimenting with it as he had discovered that his father was, in fact, a Mundane rather than the wizard he'd believed him to be. In August 1943 he murdered his father and paternal grandparents for not being magical and for abandoning him and his mother. Not wanting to keep the name of a Mundane he was looking around for something else to call himself. The result he decided on was this one."

And at this Hadrian waved his wand and wrote TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE in capital flaming letters before giving his wand a second wave and they rearranged themselves to spell I AM LORD VOLDEMORT instead, causing Sirius to gasp in shock.

"He-Who-Must-Be-Named is a muggleborn?"

"No, he's the Half-Blood son of a near Latent and a Mundane." He smirked, "but if you went to the Ministry and looked up Tom Riddle you'd find him listed as a Muggleborn."

Sirius turned to his grandfather and asked incredulously, "Did you know about this?"

"I did not, and I must confess myself surprised." Keeping his own counsel he turned to Hades and added, "Can you prove any of this?"

"I can prove that Tom Riddle exists both in the Magical and the Mundane worlds, but I won't be able to prove he is Voldemort until he's dead. Unless he makes a confession himself, preferably in public."

His godfather frowned, "How would his death prove he is the Dark Lord?"

"Both the Ministry and Gringotts have magically enchanted documents keeping track of everyone's death. When, where, and how it happens. Those documents would prove that Tom Marvolo Riddle, better known as Voldemort, died at a specific time and place. With no one else to account for the random name, even the inbred incompetents at the Ministry have to admit to who he is. No matter how much they don't want to do it.

"Of course, access to these documents are highly restricted to the point almost no one knows about their existence, and most of them have no idea of where to even begin looking for them. Attempting to gain access to the copies at Gringotts is a whole other headache unless you have an exceptionally good reason for wanting to see them."

Ignoring the back and forth, Lord Black asked, "The Dark Lord has lied about his Blood Status, claiming he wishes to permanently remove all of the filth from our world, and all this time he has been one of the filth himself?" Hades nodded even if he didn't like the wording.

"Think about it, there isn't actually that many purebloods in Britain. Out of maybe 90,000 people, there are 30,000 purebloods at most and that's probably pushing it a lot. The greater bulk of our population is Half-Bloods due to Purebloods wisening up and marrying First-Gens, the half-blooded descendants of First-Gens, or even Mundanes. Of course, most First-Gens either marry other First-Gens or they go back to the Mundane World and marry a Mundane. Add in the ridiculous 'rule' about only having one child, especially if the first one is a boy, and each Pureblood generation is cut at least in half."

Arcturus had a contemplative look on his face. "To put in plainly, Lord Black, the Purebloods are dying out and you're all too arrogant to even see it. You're too focused on the supposed purity of your blood and how you believe it makes you better than everyone else. You can't see that British Purebloods are becoming increasingly weaker magically. Every generation has more problems performing basic spells and as a result, the Hogwarts curriculum is lowered.

"Back in my time I found the original coursework for Hogwarts and I assure you, the vast majority of Purebloods would not have made it past Third Year if you had even made it that far. You're so weak and your egos are so big, and I guarantee you it won't end well. Give it another few hundred years, without my timely intervention, and you'll be too small of a minority to keep your power and then the half-bloods will take over."

"Despite the Dark Lord-" Lord Black corrected himself, "Despite Riddle's unfortunate lineage, he is furthering the Pureblood Cause and he is cleansing the Magical World of the filth polluting it. Despite your supposed facts, we are superior to you and all those of lesser birth."

Hades gave him a look of pity he didn't try particularly hard to hide. "There's nothing supposed about it. In my past, your future, there was a mandatory nation-wide test of all the magical people in Britain. Before the test, everyone had to fill out a questionnaire which included stating their Blood Status, how far back their direct magical lineage went, and if anyone in their direct lineage had married a close family member. The test was taken using Anti-Cheating Quills, with witches and wizards overseeing the process, and an Oath had to be sworn before they began the written portion and another Oath had to be sworn after the magical test to ensure that it remained truthful and there was no cheating involved in any part of the process."

Only Sirius seem to realize where he was going with this and said, more resigned than anything else, "The Pureblood Faction had the lowest scores on the magical power test, didn't they?"

"Yes, and it wasn't a minor difference either. There was a clear drop between the First-Gens and their descendants, and Purebloods and those Half-Bloods who kept intermarrying with Purebloods and people of similar family history to their own. In all cases where a Pureblood had married a First-Gen or a Mundane, their child's magical ability went way up."

Arcturus Black was actively glaring at him now, "Prove it."

"As the Head of the Black family, you have access to the Magical Records of the entire family, correct? Including those who have been disowned within your lifetime?"

He nodded curtly, "They are rarely accessed by anyone, but yes, if I were so inclined I could espy them. Why do you ask?"

"If you were to take a look at those records you'd see that you and your generation are magically weaker than the generation before you, and your son and his generation are even weaker, and Sirius and his generation even more so. But what would be of even greater interest to you is the generation after that, specifically the magical power levels of Nymphadora Tonks and Draconis Malfoy, the children of Andromeda Tonks nee Black and Narcissa Malfoy nee Black."

"Surely young Draco is more powerful than that Half-Blood offspring of Andromeda's." Lord Black interjected dryly, clearly certain of the boy's place in the world.

"They're not even close, and there is no doubt what-so-ever that Draco is the weaker one." Hades ensured direct eye-contact with the other man, "Did you know that Nymphadora is a Metamorphmagus?"

Hades had the pleasure of watching the wizard in front of him losing his composure for a few moments before he abruptly sat up straight. "You're certain she's a Metamorphmagi? There is no doubt?"

"There's no doubt, Grandfather. I've seen her change several times, both partially and completely." Sirius cut in before Hades had a chance to respond.

"As have I, and in the future, she passed the ability on to her child proving that new blood is essential to keeping magic alive and bringing back old outbred abilities. And yes, you can thank Andromeda's First-Gen husband for that."

Sirius gave a smile. "I like Ted. He's a good bloke and keeps Andy down to Earth. He's also taught James and I some Muggle stuff so James could impress Lily with it later." The latter caused him to grin in memory of something or other Hades no doubt knew nothing about.

Arcturus didn't seem to have heard a word of the by-play and spoke softly to himself. "There's a Metamorph in the family again..." Coming back to the present, he turned his attention to his Grandson. "Why haven't you informed me of this?"

The Animagus blinked, "Why would I? We haven't spoken in years, the last time I had any contact with you was when I sent the obligatory N.E.W.T.'s results after graduation. You didn't even bother to send me a standardized reply, so why would I contact you to tell you that Dora is a Metamorph? Especially since you disowned Andy and declared that she and any descendants she might have were never to be discussed in your presence."

The green-eyed time traveler raised a black eyebrow and commented, "That's harsh."

Neither of the Black men paid him any mind, however. "You are aware the Metamorph ability used to be common in our ancestors, and as such you should've had the common sense to inform me when you became aware it has reappeared. I must speak with Andromeda regarding this."

"Be that as it may, we have a visitor and I'm sure he didn't come here to discuss Cousin Dora."

"I didn't," Hades cut in before they could really get into the brewing argument. "Let's get back to the point, namely that new blood is necessary for a healthy human being and for said human beings to have healthy magic."

If Lord Black was annoyed by having his line of questioning redirected he didn't show it. "The Potter family were Purebloods until your father decided to degenerate himself and the Potter family by marrying a Mudblood."

Hades narrowed his eyes, "Don't use that word. Not regarding my mother and not to describe anyone else either. It's insulting and highly unbecoming." When the Head of the House chose to only incline his head in vague acceptance, he continued. "As for my family being Purebloods, yes, I am aware of that. However, unlike most of the British Purebloods, they deliberately chose to seek brides in other countries every three or four generations in order to keep business with foreign people going strong. While their intent wasn't pure it did ensure the family received new blood every 60 to 80 years, which in turn made the family among the most magically powerful of the British Pureblood families since they didn't keep repeating the same family lines over and over again.

"It's just one of the many reasons why the Potter's are so well respected in the community, particularly since the families they married into were all well-known Pureblood families so no one could contest the purity of their blood."

"Until your father and his unwise choice of a bride." The comment was a snide one, but he chose to ignore it.

"My grandparents approved of the union and they even managed to convince my mother to have a proper magical ceremony, rather than what is so common nowadays given the Ministry's approach to rituals. So, yes, Lord Black, my parents' marriage is blessed by Lady Magic Herself, so who are you to argue the propriety of her ancestry if Lady Magic doesn't mind?"

For the second time, Hades had the pleasure of watching Lord Black lose his composure for a few moments and in his peripheral view, he saw Sirius grin wide and amused. Of course he'd known about it since he'd been James' best wizard, but apparently, it was something else he hadn't felt inclined to tell his grandfather even if James was a Black once removed. He really needed to ask his parents if he could watch the memory in a Pensive one day, as the accounts he'd read made the entire wedding sound absolutely amazing.

"Think about it, my parents are happy and in love, meanwhile your son is miserable and married to a hag. Their belief in Riddle got their youngest and favorite son killed, and your son ensured that the Black family is extinct in the male line. Despite everything that happened in the future the Potter Family was thriving when I went back in time, but to my knowledge, the only other Black descendants, other than me and mine was Nymphadora's descendants. There were no Pureblooded Black's. Sirius and the Black sisters were all dead. You were dead, your son and his wife were dead. Your brother was dead. Both of your sisters were dead. There was no one left of the so-called great Black family."

He was way off track with this entire meeting and if he had any intention of getting out of here anytime soon then he needed to get onto the topic he was here to actually discuss. But before he could re-direct the conversation Sirius grinned as he asked, "The Malfoy's were all dead, too?"

"Very dead," Hades assured him. "All three of them were sent through the Veil of Death for their actions during the Second Blood War. Given all the evidence against them, they were unable to buy their way out of their death sentence or even to downgrade it to Azkaban."

"The Second Blood War?"

"Yes, but never mind that. I'm going to ensure it doesn't happen again."

He rallied his thoughts and jumped into it. "What I need you for, Lord Black is a political alliance. There are laws I need to get approval for and quite a few other laws I need to have removed in order to make Magical Britain great again."

"All at the cost of the Pureblood Elite?" The other man asked in a voice so dry it could've competed with the sand in the Sahara Desert.

"At the cost of the bigotry, prejudice, blackmail, and various other unsavory 'deals' that are used to rule us.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to make Purebloods marry Half-Bloods, First Generation Magic Users, or even Mundanes, but something needs to be done to get new blood. And I fear it might already be too late."

"Why would it be too late, and too late for what, exactly?"

Hadrian looked at his godfather, it was obvious the man was trying to keep up, but Hadrian's clear disapproval of Dumbledore was probably stopping the man from trusting him. He would have a private conversation with Sirius some other day, away from his Head of House.

"Too late to convince the Purebloods in other countries to marry into any of the British families. They have standards, and unlike the ones in Britain, they're often taught about more than just magical subjects in school. This includes the dangers of inbreeding, not just because of physical deformities and genetic diseases, but also regarding the lower magical ability it causes due to magic needing to keep the body healthy. For proof of lowered magical ability just look into the Black Family Magical Records, and you'll get all the proof you need.

"Foreign magicals have standards and despite what magicals in Britain think, we are not at the top of the hierarchy. In fact, we haven't been anywhere near the top in centuries because of the Purebloods, your inbreeding, and your refusal to move with the times. But I'll get back to that some other time."

Sirius drew a hand over his face, "What are you going to do to achieve this? You know the Purebloods won't just roll over and take the word of a stranger than their traditions and practices are wrong and that it's causing them to die out."

"Of course not," Hadrian replied calmly, "I have plans and failsafes in place in order to fix Magical Britain. Some are already in play and some won't go into effect for a while, but I'll get there. With or without the help of the House of Black."

"Does any of these plans expose Riddle for the fraud he is?"

Hades smirked at Arcturus Black, "Naturally. He's the perfect example to prove my point."

The other man blinked in confusion. "He's the perfect example of what, exactly?"

"To prove that by adding new blood to an old family, the children of those unions become much more powerful than their parents. It doesn't matter if people support Riddle or if they oppose him, everyone agrees that he is very powerful. The same can be said for Albus Dumbledore and his brother, Aberforth."

"Aberforth Dumbledore is much weaker magically than his older brother."

"True, but he is still more powerful than the average Pureblood."

"What about both of your examples supposedly being evil? That is what you believe Dumbledore is, evil. Right?" His godfather looked unhappy about even asking those questions, but he was learning quickly.

Hadrian gave a shallow nod, "True. Well, mostly. I don't believe Albus Dumbledore is the same kind of evil as Riddle. He genuinely believes what he's doing is right and that he is the one who decides what is good and what isn't." He sighed, "The road to Hell and all that."

Lord Black stared at him and clearly ignoring most of what he'd just said, asked. "The road to Hell and all that?"

Hades raised an eyebrow. "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions. It's a proverb from the 1150s or sometime around that time period. A common interpretation of the saying is that wrongdoings or evil actions are often masked by good intentions.

"Another meaning of the phrase is that individuals may have the intention to do good actions but nevertheless fail to take action. This inaction may be due to procrastination, laziness or other subversive vices. As such, the saying is an admonishment that a good intention is meaningless unless followed through. Dumbledore is very much guilty of this. He makes promises and then easily break them when he's gotten what he wants.

"Moral certainty can be used to justify the harm done by failing policies and actions. Those with good intentions believe their practices are good for the group or in this case our society; it is self-evident to them. They justify collateral damage in the belief they do it for the greater good. The Nazi concentration camps were created to hold so-called "racially undesirable elements" of German society. The harm done is clearly seen, and acknowledged, but is written off as a 'price worth paying'. It's the same with Purebloods and their treatment of First-Gens."

It was clear to him that spending over a century with Hermione had caused him to get at least some of her need to answer questions and elaborate on them. He needed to get back on topic again.

"My point is that Dumbledore has been hailed as a great leader for so long that he has convinced himself that all the hype is true. He's convinced that he's the second coming of Merlin and that it gives him the right to rule, or at least to be the puppeteer behind the 'throne'. He no longer sees the individuals, just the larger picture he wants to see.

"Due to accidentally killing his sister when he was in his teens he's convinced that any killing is wrong, but there's some kind of twisted logic involved where it's somehow acceptable that his followers die at the wand of their enemies as long as it furthers Dumbledore's plans. Meanwhile, the perpetrators get chance after chance to 'redeem' themselves because he believes that it will somehow redeem him of his own crime.

"Instead of children learning rules and structure at Hogwarts they learn they can get away with just a detention and maybe a stern talking to, but even if it's an actual crime the DMLE won't be called in, they'll just get detention and there's nothing there to stop them from committing more crimes. Once they graduate it's bribery and blackmail or simply proclaiming their pureblood status and they'll get a slap on the wrist and then they just carry on."

Hades stopped and took a deep breath. "My apologies, this had frustrated me for a long time."

"Purebloods are superior to Half-Bloods and Muggleborns, Mister Potter. This is a fact, and as such we are above the law as long as we uphold the Pureblood Code of Conduct. Blood Traitors, of course, are not included." Both Hades and Sirius rolled their eyes at that comment.

"No one is above the law and taking the blind eye approach to who should or shouldn't follow the law is the reason why we're in the middle of a war right now. Think about it, Riddle isn't just killing First-Gens and Half-Bloods. He's also killing Purebloods, including his own followers. Your grandson, Regulus Black is a prime example." In his peripheral view, he saw Sirius tense at the mention of his little brother.

Turning to his godfather, he remarked, "He changed sides, you know. That's why he was killed."

Both of the other men in the room stared at him in open shock, Sirius' jaw even fell open slightly. "Come again?"

"He'd been having doubts for some time, but when Riddle asked him to borrow a House Elf the situation escalated to a point where he realized he could no longer follow that monster." He only had to wait for a few moments before the inevitable question came.

Lord Black found his voice first. "Why would a House Elf change his opinion? They're even further beneath us than Muggleborns."

Rather than answer the wizard, Hadrian looked straight at Sirius. "The Elf in question was Kreacher."

"I've never understood why he liked him so much, but the Elf was actually upset when Regulus died."

"It wasn't just your brother's death, but never mind that." As the true Purebloods they both were they dropped the subject since it was 'only' a House Elf they were talking about. "He changed his mind about Riddle, even if I'm not sure if he still believed that Pureblood crap or not."

"I am going to assume what he found wasn't Riddle's true identity, so what could he possibly have done to have made the boy change sides?"

"Let's just say that Riddle decided that he wanted to achieve immortality by any means necessary and that the consequences of his actions were deemed acceptable to him."

Sirius looked confused but his grandfather looked contemplative again before a thought hit him and judging by the conclusions he came to they were unacceptable to him as well. "He didn't. Tell me he didn't create one of Herpo the Foul's abominations."

Hades merely nodded, before he added, "He made more than one, and I know where all of them are. But I need your help to get one of them."

"That's what got Regulus killed, wasn't it?" Sirius asked as he'd caught up to where this was going, "He got his hands on one of the Horcruxes and it's at Grimmauld Place because he was unable to destroy it."

"Correct. I need it so I can destroy it along with the others, but I don't have access to your parents home, and I'd rather not break in."

Sirius gave an un-aristocratic snort. "Smart move."

"I'll get the abomination. What is it?"

He gave the Head of the Black Family a slightly suspicious look but gave the information nonetheless. "It's a silver locket with an ornate serpentine green 'S' on the front." Off the other man's narrowed eyes he added, "Yes, it belonged to Salazar Slytherin, and it was in the Gaunt Family until Merope sold it to be able to eat while she was pregnant."

"Do you know where it is or should I just order the Elf to fetch it?"

"It's in the room with the Black Family Tapestry in one of the showcases there, but just asking Kreacher might be easier and faster."

Arcturus Black nodded in acceptance, "Very well, you will return here in two days and we'll continue this discussion. I will have retrieved the locket by then." He rose and Sirius and Hades rose with him.

They finalized their plans and said their farewells, and then Hades was shown out of the manor and back to the gate by Toppy the House Elf.

As he apparated away from Black Manor he couldn't help but think that the meeting had both gone better and worse than he'd expected. The sudden willingness to help with the Horcrux was a little suspicious, but there wasn't really much he could do about it. He just hoped that Arcturus followed his advise and checked the Magical Records so he could see the magical decline of the Black Family himself.

There was still the issue of trying to get Lord Black to become a political ally, but there was only so much he could do if the other wizard wasn't willing to play along.