Chapter 347: Defense of Lineage

On Sunday morning, Harry and Sirius arrived at Gilneas and, together with Tonks and Lupin, searched the TARDIS thoroughly, finding nothing but decades of accumulated trash left by past Doctors—no trace of any "weapon."

At mealtime, they ate something together, after which Tonks promised, "I'll keep an eye out for the weapon," while Harry and Sirius tidied their appearances and prepared to head to Malfoy Manor for the Death Eater meeting.

"Welcome, Holf," Lucius said, his tone laced with false warmth. "You've been absent for a while—what have you been up to?"

"I'm looking for a weapon," Harry replied without hesitation, hoping to probe whether the Death Eaters knew anything. "Even Tom once said he'd want to obtain it if the chance arose. I believe having this weapon would give me greater confidence when infiltrating the Order to steal the ring."

"Oh, I seem to recall something—probably a wand," Lucius said at once, and Harry knew he had no real idea.

"No, not a wand… never mind," Harry cut the topic short. "Regulus told me there's something important to discuss today?"

"Correct. Let's wait for Severus," Sirius chimed in.

Bellatrix's face darkened instantly.

"Something important?" William sat at the long table, his expression curious.

Snape did not keep them waiting long; soon, he pushed the door open and entered.

Once everyone was seated, Lucius still put on a show with a few formal remarks before handing the floor to Snape.

"Very well," Snape began slowly, "let me tell you what Sirius's secret mission was, why Regulus disappeared for fourteen years, and why, after the old fool's death, I continued pretending to be a loyal ally. It all began on that night fifteen years ago—the prophecy that revealed the Dark Lord's fate. He was not afraid, but he left a contingency…"

Snape began telling the ghost story, while Sirius occasionally chimed in as "Regulus." Harry struggled to play along, feigning deep thought, while Lucius seemed to have forgotten how to blink. Only William frowned, jotting down notes intermittently, clearly skeptical.

"I'm not saying I doubt it—or anything like that—I'm just curious," William said after Snape finished. "Would you mind answering a few questions?"

"First, what puzzles me is this: the Dark Lord was so devoted to magical research—could he really have had a bastard child?" William said. "Madam Bellatrix must have doubted it too, because in your relationship with him, it was clear he… wasn't particularly interested in women, correct?"

"Yes," Bellatrix's eyes suddenly lit up. "I can't imagine the Dark Lord fathering a child outside. He barely cared for women at all."

"Well, it's not impossible," Holf, played by Harry, spoke up. "Maybe he just didn't care for you. You might not believe this, but Tom once had a childhood sweetheart."

All eyes turned to Harry.

"At the orphanage, a little girl adored him, and Tom gladly returned her affection. But after he awakened his magic, they drifted apart… perhaps then, Tom realized that as a naturally superior wizard, he should pursue higher goals." Harry delivered the pre-prepared lie casually. "Later, a pair of Eastern couples adopted her, and I never heard from her again."

"That's a stretch," Bellatrix forced out. "It doesn't have to be her."

"Severus, did you ever read the woman's name from Wormtail's memories?" Sirius asked. "Did the Dark Lord ever mention her?"

"That's meaningless—the Dark Lord wouldn't have told Wormtail the truth," Snape replied, feigning indifference as he shook his head.

"But at that moment, Wormtail was a dying man—wouldn't the Dark Lord have told him the truth?" Sirius turned back to Harry. "Holf, what was the girl's name?"

"Cassandra," Harry said, uttering the name he'd long carried for others' sins—now she would bear an unprecedented, colossal burden.

"Really?" Snape's expression shifted naturally from surprise to disbelief, then slowly to dawning realization. "No wonder… no wonder…"

"But she's a filthy Mudblood!" Bellatrix roared.

"No, let's analyze rationally—Cassandra probably wasn't a Muggle," William raised a hand. "If she were, the Dark Lord would have killed her himself."

"Then if she wasn't a Muggle, why didn't the Dark Lord openly reveal her existence to us?" Bellatrix glared at him.

"It's a form of protection," William began to imagine. "He knew your feelings for him. If Cassandra lacked strong magical power or came from an ordinary family, he wouldn't dare let her appear before you—he feared you'd kill her out of jealousy."

Bellatrix's face turned ashen; her lips trembled, speechless.

"It could also be interpreted as a political move," Sirius waved a hand. "The Dark Lord chose you largely to secure the support of the three great families."

"Another point: if the Dark Lord and Cassandra's child happens to be the current Harry," William continued, "everyone knows Harry is exceptionally powerful. That strength and talent could be inherited from the Dark Lord himself—but only if his mother's bloodline didn't weaken it."

"If you believe magical power and talent are passed through bloodline, then I must conclude Cassandra was a wizard too—possibly even a descendant of some legendary wizard," William said.

"You used the phrase 'you believe'—does that mean it might not be true?" Bellatrix was starting to panic; she'd nearly forgotten the core tenet of pure-blood supremacy: that Muggle blood diluted magical ability.

"Hard to say. I believe it too," William shrugged. "I just lack sufficient evidence to convince others."

Just as everyone assumed William had accepted the story, he shifted gears: "But that's only about Cassandra. In truth, despite its internal logic and circumstantial support, we have no direct proof. The only witness, Wormtail, is insane. And if we were to conduct a paternity test, the Dark Lord is already dead."

"What's a paternity test?" Lucius asked curiously.

"Through genetics… through Muggle technology," William explained. "We only need two strands of hair to determine if two people share blood. Originally, it was used to reunite lost children with parents. Later, because many women had relations with multiple men, they used it to identify the child's true father."

"Blood relation? Siblings share blood too," Bellatrix suddenly said. "Dolphine is still alive—isn't she his child too?"

"Theoretically, yes," William looked at Snape. "Ten thousand explanations are worth less than one solid piece of evidence. Let's just run the test."

"Why trust Muggle methods?" Snape said calmly. "Harry triggers the Dark Mark—that's proof enough."

"No, no—there's another inconsistency in the story," William fixed his gaze on Sirius. "Where did Sirius end up?"

"I locked him at home—for nearly a year," Sirius explained. "He's my brother—I never wanted to kill him… After the Dark Lord vanished, I stopped worrying he'd cause trouble."

"I left him the Black family manor. Maybe he's been hanging out with the Order again? But Kreacher told me last time he was drunk at home." Sirius shrugged indifferently. "I don't care anymore. Let him do whatever he wants."

"You ignored him," William raised a finger. "And you've all ignored one thing: Wormtail. James Potter, Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black—they were always together. Close friends. Best friends, even, the kind who'd die for each other. What if he never betrayed them at all? What if he chose to die alongside James to fulfill Dumbledore's plan?"

"Harry could be the Dark Lord's contingency," William leaned forward, offering a new, even more bizarre theory—more ghostly than the ghost story. "But why couldn't Saruman be Dumbledore's contingency? Suppose both of them, upon hearing the prophecy, had already accepted their sacrifice. Then, Severus—what if what you read from Wormtail's mind wasn't the Dark Lord's plan at all?"

"I have full confidence in my Legilimency," Snape said, meeting his gaze.

"Fine, assume it's true. But who can say Wormtail definitely swapped the babies that night? What if he secretly discarded Saruman and took the real Harry instead? How would we know?" William tapped his knuckles on the table. "You all point to the Dark Mark's reaction—but to me, the Dark Mark isn't so advanced it can't be faked. With Dumbledore's skill, if he wanted to, he could have cracked it."

"I propose Muggle methods precisely because they're the only way we can outwit Dumbledore—the one thing he never anticipated and cannot understand—or fake: Muggle DNA technology." William spoke firmly. "If Dumbledore deliberately planted this contingency, he prepared for every angle—except Muggle DNA tech. That's beyond his comprehension."

"In the end, you still refuse to accept or face this outcome," Snape shook his head gently. "First you doubted I was lying to you; now you suspect Dumbledore lied to me. If Muggle testing proves nothing, will you next suspect the Ministry and Number Ten Downing Street are conspiring to deceive everyone?"

"No, let him do it," Holf, played by Harry, suddenly spoke. "Let him test it. Let us find peace—and let him be done with it."