The House of Black - family tree musings

[kkersey_austin]

No: HPFGUIDX 148659

It might be helpful to have this in front of you while reading my post:
http://www.hp-lexicon.org/wizards/blackfamilytree.html

I love that Orion named his son Sirius. 

I didn't expect to find anything all that surprising in the recently
revealed details of  Black Family Tree, but this struck me:

The names that appear on the Black Family Tree fall into three categories:
*** Category 1: Descendants of Phineas Nigel born with the surname
Black. (Birth and death dates are also listed for these persons.)
*** Category 2: Spouses of persons in Category 1.
*** Category 3: Draco Malfoy.

Why is Draco the exception to the rule? Why does he get a full name
and birthdate listed, rather than the "1s" we'd expect if the pattern
used elsewhere on the family tree were followed in his case? Hmmm....
Perhaps because *he* is the true heir to the House of Black? How do
names get on that Tapestry, anyway, and what is the significance?

Ok, I know, BUT - the scene in HBP where Dumbledore tests whether or
not Sirius's will was valid by seeing if Harry can control Kreacher
has always bothered me a little bit: if Kreacher had already been
ordered - by someone with the legitimate authority to do so - to obey
Harry as if he really were the heir, wouldn't the results would have
been the same? 

********

We know that the tapestry is ancient -  going back seven centuries if
we take Kreacher's word for it. I think we can assume it is some sort
of Magical Object - if nothing else, it is able to make room for each
new generation. New names might be added via some sort of auto-update
feature, or it might need to be maintained by members of the family; I
lean toward the auto-update theory (thinking of the Weasley clock),
but I don't think in the end it matters either way. Clearly there is a
method for removing names, one that Sirius's mother made use of -
blasting them off the tapestry. She also, according to Kreacher,
"swore he [Sirius] was no son of hers" so I don't think it is too much
of a stretch to assume  that being blasted off the Tapestry would mean
one is no longer considered a member of the House of Black. 

In fact, Sirius proposes this himself, when hypothesising that
Kreacher refuses to obey Tonks because her *mother*, Andromeda, was
blasted off the tree. I think he is half right there: even if
Andromeda's name were still there, Tonks would be only a '1d', and I
doubt that Kreacher would feel compelled to obey her. Still, Sirius
makes the connection between being listed on the Tapestry and being
able to control Kreacher, although he doesn't explain why his own name
having been blasted off is not a problem.

If a person's name being blasted off the tapestry truly means that
person is disinherited, no longer a member of the House of Black, it
might be the case that sirius never legitimately owned the estate.

Let's assume that premise that being removed from the Tapestry means
that one has truly ne disowned, and then look at the timeline:

1952  Sirius's grandfather Arcturus inherits the Black estate from his
father.
1976  Sirius runs away from home and his mother blasts his name off
the tapestry.
1979  Two events: Sirius's father and brother both die. The question
of inheritance does not come up, however, since Arcturus is still alive.
1985 Mrs. Black, Sirius's mother, dies.
1991 Arcturus finally dies. *Now* the question of inheritance does
come up:  At this point the only living, non-disinherited male Black
is Cygnus, father of the Bellatrix, Andromeda, and Narcissa. Other
candidates would be Arcturus's daughter Lucretia Black Prewitt,a
cousin Cassiopeia, or another cousin Callidora Black  Longbottom, *if*
females are allowed to inherit. 
1992 Cygnus, Lucretia, and Cassiopeia all die. A tough year for the
Black family! Now the only surviving Blacks (aside from the
disinherited Andromeda and Sirus) are Bellatrix, Narcissa, and the
elderly Callidora. 

Dumbledore speculated that when inheritance couldn't pass through the
direct male line that tradition dictated, it might go to the oldest
living relative - he mentioned Bellatrix, but I wonder if Callidora
Black Longbottom wouldn't be a candidate in that case too, either upon
the death of Arcturus or upon the death of any of his other possible
successors. And her heir would be - ??? She does have a couple of
children, and could possibly be Neville's great-grandmother. Or it
might be the case that marrying out of the family disqualifys a woman
from inheriting, in which case there really are no more Blacks left to
inherit.

Dumbledore feared that there may be a condition that the heir must be
a Black - but what if another condition is that the heir must be male?
If so, the house passes fairly straightforwardly from Arcturus to
Cygnus, and upon Cygnus's death, to his only male descendant - Draco
Malfoy. And that just might be the reason that Draco's name appears.

Another possibility allowing for female inheritance is that Cygnus
hung on a bit longer than Lucretia and Cassiopeia, and inherited from
one of them. His eldest child Bellatrix would be next in line, but
being incarcerated in Azkaban at the time, might not be able to claim
her inheritance just then. Being childless herself, Draco would be
next line so his name being on the tapestry still makes sense.

Ok, I'm going to try to summarize my assumptions here:
1. The Tapestry is the authoritive document for showing who is a
member of the House of Black
2. Only persons listed on the Tapestry with names and dates can
inherit (i.e not spouses)
3. The House Elf has to obey members of the House of Black, as
detemined by the Tapestry. I'm further assuming that listed spouses
have control too; '1s 1d' children not so much, if at all.
4. Names can be removed by disowning a member of the family. Sirius
claims it is his mother who blasted his name off, but never indicates
who actually removed the other names. 
5. Inheritance may be restricted to males, and if there are no male
Blacks left, the male decendant of the last owner might just be the
one to get the prize. 

Draco's name is listed on the Tapestry, by the way, while Sirius is
still alive. Even if Sirius did really own the Black estate, upon his
death it may be that Draco was the only male eleigible to inherit...

*****

So, one last thought - seems like a lot of Blacks form various
generations kicked the bucket 1990-1992. Wonder if there's a story
there? Maybe just a round of Dragonpox.


Elisabet the insomniac

p.s. Sorry if any of this is hard to read - I had a much more coherent
post, with quotes and citations and everything, that got eaten by
Yahoomort yesterday. I'm sure it was Brilliant and I've forgotten all
the best parts.  :-(   Now I'm composing in notepad and saving it.
Live and learn.