Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sitting there listening to the twins Harry realized he was done. The Department of Mysteries had been one bad decision after another. Sirius’ death, which Harry realized later he could have prevented if he had just bloody remembered the mirror Sirius had given him, was the worst of all. The entire event had left him drained, physically, mentally, and emotionally. Learning from Fred and George that, other than Snape acting as a spy and Remus trying to negotiate with the British werewolf population, none of the order was actually doing anything to combat Voldemort or his Death Eaters was just the icing on the fucking cake.

Harry glanced around the room, letting the twin’s chatter fade into the background. They were in the parlor at Grimmauld Place, the adult members of The Order having commandeered the dining room for the impromptu meeting. His eyes roved over the faces of all the DA members who had followed him to the ministry, landing on Ron and Hermione by the fireplace. Hermione was curled up in a chair, cheek resting on her fist, elbow propped on the arm of the chair as she fought not to fall asleep. Ron sat on the floor beside her, his back propped against the side of the chair, one leg stretched out in front of him, the other pulled towards him, his arm thrown over his knee. He too was fighting sleep, head dropping towards his chest only to be jerked back up every few seconds.

Watching them, and Neville and Luna and everybody else, Harry felt the anger rising in his chest. It was an old feeling, one he had long since learned to ignore. It was the annoyance of being treated like an idiot, the irritation when his opinion was ignored, the disgust at having to be the one to fix everything when there were other people, older and more experienced, who could have done it themselves. He’d felt it many times before. He’d felt when McGonagall had ignored him in first year. When he’d had to fight the basilisk himself in second year because Lockhart had been useless. It had burned through him in third year, when he found out the truth about Peter Pettigrew and the lack of a trial for Sirius.  He’d felt it more than once last year, when his name had come from the Goblet, when Ron had chosen to ignore him, when Cedric had died and Voldemort had come back and they had all refused to believe him.

Never had the anger burned more strongly in him than it did in that moment, as the words of the prophecy that had decided his fate played through his mind on an endless loop.

He was tired of not being in control of his own life. Tired of trusting those older and wiser than him to do their part only to be sorely disappointed when the brunt of the work inevitably fell to him, Ron, and Hermione. Unbidden, the words of the sorting hat from first year flittered through his mind:

‘You would do well in Slytherin.’

Harry rarely thought about the hat’s words. He didn’t think of himself as particularly cunning or ambitious, though Hermione had pointed out on more than one occasion that he could be fairly devious if he put his mind to it. Maybe it was time to change that. The current system clearly wasn’t working anymore. Dumbledore’s Army had been a brilliant idea on Hermione’s part, but if they were going to win the war, they would have to take it a step further. The Order of the Phoenix might have been able to handle things during the first war, but they certainly weren’t capable of doing the same this time around. No, Harry decided, if they wanted to win this war, they were going to have to do it themselves. Maybe it was time for a new Order to face off against Voldemort and his cronies. 

He would talk to Hermione and Ron about it tomorrow, when they were all more awake.

The next day, after classes, Harry asked his two best friends if he could talk to them privately, in the Room of Requirement, instead of calling a DA meeting. When they entered the room, it was smaller than they were used to, comfortably furnished, and looking a lot like the study at Grimmauld Place. Ron and Hermione chose to sit on the couch, while Harry chose a chair facing the two of them.

“What’s up mate?” Ron was the first to break the silence, poorly hidden concern lacing his voice.

“I had an idea I wanted to run by you two.” Harry answered. If the two were surprised by the seriousness in his expression and voice, they didn’t show it.

“What is it? Does it have to do with the DA?” Hermione asked, leaning forward slightly in her seat.

“Kind of.” Harry shrugged. He quickly explained his revelation from the night before. Both Ron and Hermione were angry to learn that the Order wasn’t doing more for the war effort, and they agreed with Harry that something had to be done.

“But what are we going to do, exactly? The three of us can’t fight a war by ourselves, and it’s not like we have any experience in the matter.” Hermione felt the need to point out, playing Devil’s Advocate for Harry’s idea. Harry slumped back in his seat with a sigh.

“I was hoping you would have some ideas. I know things need to change, I just don’t know how to make it happen.”

“Why don’t we?” Harry and Hermione both turned to Ron, giving him odd looks.

“Why don’t we what?” Harry asked in confusion.

“Fight the war ourselves.” At the looks of incredulousness from the other two Ron held up his hands in defense. “I don’t mean just the three of us. But, all right, look at it this way. War is basically a real-life version of chess, isn’t it? Two sides facing off against each other, using strategy and tactics to out maneuver each other with the ultimate goal of bringing down the other side’s leader in order to win, right?”

Hermione sighed. “That is a very over-simplified definition, but yes, that is the basic concept of war.”

Ron shrugged. “I know, but it works. And what is the most important thing to have when fighting a war?”

“A figurehead.”

“A cause.” Came the simultaneous answers. Ron shook his head, sighing in fake exasperation.

“No. An army. You can’t fight a war without soldiers.”

“Oh.” Hermione’s expression morphed into one of confusion as Harry’s eyes widened, catching on to where Ron was going.

“You want to use the DA to fight the war against Voldemort.” Harry stated, voice flat. Ron knew how much he hated putting others in danger, and here he was, suggesting they send a bunch of teenagers to fight a war. (Harry conveniently forgot that he, himself, was a teenager, and that he had been fighting said war for quite some time.)

Hermione’s expression cleared as the source of her confusion was exposed, only to be replaced with one of outrage a moment later. “Ronald! I can’t believe you would suggest putting the members of the DA in danger like that!”

“The DA was your idea in the first place! Besides, you said it yourself, we need to be able to fight, to defend ourselves. That’s how this whole thing started!” Ron defended himself, though he wasn’t truly upset.

Hermione sighed in defeat. “I know. I just… I didn’t think it would really come to this.”

“I’m not putting them at risk.” Harry said, voice still flat. “It’s bad enough we risk ourselves on a regular basis. I can’t ask the others to do the same. “

“Do we really have a choice?” Ron asked quietly, staring Harry in the eye. “Look, I’m not saying we should send them out to fight without a plan of some kind, and I fully plan on fighting myself, but we have to face facts. Wars are fought with armies and we have one at our disposal.” He held up a hand to stay Harry’s protest. “They still need training. We all do. None of us are ready for full-on combat just yet. And we probably need to be organized, with a better chain of command or something, I don’t know. I’m just saying, we shouldn’t ignore the potential the DA holds.”

“I hate to say it Harry, but Ron’s right.” Hermione fiddled with the hem of her school robes as she turned to the green-eyed teen. “We aren’t ready for a full-on war, not yet. We still don’t even know how you’re supposed to kill Vol-Voldemort.” Hermione winced, she still wasn’t as comfortable saying his name as Harry was. “But the idea has potential. We just need more information. We don’t know enough about him or the Death Eaters to know how to fight them effectively. And we could all do with some more combat training. I’m not saying it’s perfect, or that we’ve got it all figured out, but maybe it’s something to consider.”

Harry sighed, running a hand through his hair. Both Ron and Hermione had a point, and he knew it, it was why he had come to them for advice and ideas in the first place. That didn’t mean he had to like it. Still…

“When did you get so smart?” Harry asked Ron teasingly. “I didn’t think you could use your brain for anything but chess and girls.” Ron blushed lightly and fidgeted in his seat.

 “Shut up.” He growled, reaching over to playfully punch Harry on the shoulder. “Just because I don’t enjoy schoolwork like Hermione doesn’t mean I can’t be smart occasionally.” Then the redhead side, the mood turning somber once more. “Besides, everything that happened last year, combined with the fight at the ministry, pointed out some stuff about me I’m not all that proud of.  I figured it was time I stopped treating all this like some kind of grand adventure and started taking it seriously, you know?” He shrugged as if to say it didn’t matter. Hermione put her hand on his arm, smiling to show she was proud of him for having matured, at least a little bit.

Harry tried not to flinch at the mention of the ministry. He was glad Ron was taking the war more seriously now, but he didn’t think he’d be over the events of the other night for a long while.

“All right, I’ll think about it. I hate admitting it, but you do have a point. The next DA meeting isn’t until Thursday, right?” At Hermione’s affirmative nod Harry stood up, stretching a bit. “That should be enough time to come up with at least the basics of a plan. We can present it to the other DA members and see what they think.”

Hermione gathered her bag as she and Ron stood too. “I’ll start with a list of everything we would need to pull of something like this, the library should have some books on military tactics and strategy, even if it is just in reference to past wars. I should also make a list of everything we already know about You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters. It won’t be much, but it’ll be better than nothing.”

The trio left the Room of Requirement and headed back to the dorms. Harry walked a few steps behind his friends, lost in thought. The most pressing matter on his mind was gaining more information on the Death Eaters and their movements. They wouldn’t be able to train if they didn’t have some idea of what they were going up against.

Just as they reached the stairs, a flash of blonde caught his eye. He turned in time to see Malfoy rounding the corner. Harry narrowed his eyes as the beginnings of an idea flashed through his mind.

What better way to learn about Death Eaters than to recruit the son of one of Voldemort’s most prominent followers?

Chapter Text

The DA meeting had come and gone and Harry was still no closer to figuring out how to get Malfoy on his side than he had been when the idea had crossed his mind. He had mentioned the idea to Ron and Hermione that same night, as well as the DA as a whole at the meeting, and everyone had agreed it would benefit the war effort to have some of the Slytherins on their side. That didn’t mean everybody had been happy about it. The idea of forming a teenage army to finish what the adults had started and take down Voldemort and his followers for the last time had been met with, in Harry’s opinion at least, a little too much enthusiasm. There had been some hesitation as to how they would go about doing that, exactly, but ideas had been tossed around and generally everyone had been on board. The response had been a bit more mixed when Harry brought up his idea to recruit the Slytherins. Mostly from the Gryffindor students. While it was generally understood that the Slytherins, and any information they could provide, would benefit the war effort, the almost instinctive prejudice against the snakes was still going strong.

Surprisingly, or perhaps not so surprisingly if you knew him well enough, Neville had been the most vocal supporter of integrating Slytherins into the DA.

“You don’t get to pick your family.” Neville had said, when everyone had turned to look at him in shock for agreeing to recruit Slytherin students. “I’m not saying there aren’t some truly bad people in Slytherin, there are, but the same could be said of any of the houses, just look at Peter Pettigrew, he was a Gryffindor!” This had made some of the others wince or shift uncomfortably in their seats. “Most of the Slytherins didn’t really get a choice though. Like Malfoy, a lot of them were born into Death Eater families. I’ve met a few of the more… outspoken ones before, at parties and political events my Gran has dragged me too. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if some of them would willing kill their own child, rather than allow said child to renounce the family beliefs. In all honesty, most of them are probably only following in their parent’s footsteps or siding with the Death Eaters because it’s the only way they know how to survive.” Neville shrugged, glancing around the room. “I’m pretty sure, up until now, if a Slytherin came up to anyone in this room and said they needed help deflecting to our side because they didn’t want to follow Voldemort,” Most of the room flinched at the name, “they would have gotten hexed into the Hospital Wing. It’s not a secret the Slytherins aren’t all that trusted or well-liked by the other houses.”

Luna spoke up then, saying in her usual dream-like manner, “I wonder what that must be like for the first-years. Arriving excitedly to Hogwarts only to learn on their first night here that the rest of the school already hates them simply because of the dorm they're sleeping in.”

This statement had caused quite a bit of guilt, particularly among the Gryffindor’s and Hufflepuff’s, though no one seemed willing to acknowledge it.

The meeting had ended not long after that. It had only been a couple of days, but already the DA members were treating the first- and second-year Slytherin students better than they had. It wasn’t anywhere near fixed, no it would be quite some time before the attitude towards Slytherin would change, but it was a start.

Though that still didn’t help him with Malfoy.

Harry was sitting between Ron and Hermione, chatting amicably with Neville about their most recent Herbology lesson, when a small grey owl flew down and landed in front of him. It carried a letter bearing the Gringotts seal.

“What’cha got Harry?” Ron asked, stuffing another biscuit in his mouth as Hermione rolled hers eyes at him. “Honestly Ron, would it kill you to at least chew your food every once in a while?”

Ignoring them. Harry opened the letter with no small amount of trepidation.

Harry James Potter

Lord of the Noble and Most Ancient House Potter

Heir of the Noble and Most Ancient House Black

Your presence has been requested at Gringotts Wizarding Bank, Diagon Ally, London for Sunday at 11am. This request has been made in accordance with the Reading of the Will of one,

Lord Sirius Orion Black, of the Noble and Most Ancient House Black.

In accordance with the will of Lord Black, you may attend the Reading alone, or with one guest.

If you wish to attend, this letter will act as an automatic portkey. It will activate fifteen minutes to eleven. You, and a guest should you choose to bring one, must be holding the letter at that time, as the letter will act as your invitation once you have reached Gringotts. A goblin will be awaiting your arrival in the lobby to escort you to the room where the Will shall be read.

I offer my condolences in your time of grief.

Rigeurd, Head Goblin of Gringotts Wizarding Bank, London Branch

After reading the letter through one time himself, Harry read it aloud, confusion clear in his voice. “What do they mean by Lord Potter? Heir to the House of Black?”

It was Neville who answered. “The Potters and Blacks were both pureblood families. All the heads of a Pureblood family are referred to as Lord or Lady when they inherit the position as head of the family. The reason the letter refers to them as Noble and Most Ancient houses is because both families belong to the Court of Merlin.” Neville smiled slightly at the look of utter confusion on Harry’s face.

“What’s the Court of Merlin?” Hermione asked, leaning forward slightly, as if to better hear Neville’s explanation.

Neville shrugged. “It doesn’t actually mean a whole lot these days. The Court of Merlin refers to the Twenty-Seven pureblood wizarding families who received or inherited Royal titles and served in the Royal Court of England before the Statute of Secrecy was put in place. It’s like a ranking system. In the wizarding world, squibs are at the bottom of the ladder. Muggle-borne are above squibs, Half-bloods are above Muggle-borne, Purebloods are above Half-bloods. Then the Pureblood class is divided into Lesser and Greater Purebloods. The Greater Purebloods are the families that make up the Court of Merlin and the Lesser Purebloods are all the other pureblood families that didn’t make it into the Court.”

“That’s ridiculous!” Hermione exclaimed. “Why, that’s practically medieval!”

Neville shrugged again, spreading his hands in a ‘what can you do’ gesture. “It is what it is. I’m not saying it’s ok, it’s not, but it’s not something that can be fixed in a year or two. Anyway, the Court doesn’t actually have all that much power these days. They used to have a lot more influence in politics and social trends. These days, influence depends more on money and connections than titles.”

“How do you know so much about it?” Harry asked.

“Because the Longbottoms are one of the Twenty-Seven.” Ron answered before Neville could. Neville sent him an apologetic glance, but Ron just shrugged as if to say it wasn’t a big deal. “Mom’s family, the Prewetts, were part of it too. They aren’t anymore, Mom’s the last of her family, and she can’t inherit the title of Lady Prewett because she married Dad. The Weasely’s are a Lesser family so Mom forfeited her right to Inherit by marrying beneath her station. Neville probably knows all about this stuff because he’s the Heir to his family.”

Neville nodded in agreement. “Gran started training me to take over the Lordship the summer after first-year. I normally have lessons during the summer. It’s a lot of politics and social etiquette, managing money and businesses, as well as memorizing a bunch of obscure laws. The only real advantage the Court gives you these days is an automatic seat on the Wizengamot and on the Hogwarts’ Board of Governors, so I have to memorize a ton of policies, protocols, and laws.” He gestured to the letter that was still in Harry’s hand with his fork. “You’re the last living Potter, so you automatically inherit the Lordship. You can use the title now, but you probably won’t have to take up any of the responsibilities involved until you come of age. Sirius was your godfather, wasn’t he?” When Harry nodded, Neville continued, “He didn’t have any kids of his own, so he probably named you his Heir to prevent the family titles, lands, and fortunes going to one of his cousins.”

“Cousins? You mean Andromeda?” Hermione asked.

“Why wouldn’t Sirius want Andromeda or Tonks to Inherit? He seemed to like them both well enough.” Harry pointed out.

Neville shook his head. “No, she wouldn’t have been able too. Andromeda Black was disowned for marrying a muggle. She’s not eligible to receive an inheritance, though the Head of the family does have the power to reinstate her into House Black. Sirius probably didn’t want one of her sisters to inherit.”

“Sisters?!” The exclamation came from all three of them. Neville had figured Harry and Hermione might not know, but he gave Ron an odd look.

“I figured Ron would know about it at least. You don’t really pay attention to the other pureblood families, do you?”

Ron shrugged, looking a bit sheepish. “Not really.”

Neville shook his head in bemusement, but turned to face Harry and Hermione again. “Andromeda was one of three girls. Bellatrix Lestrange and Narcissa Malfoy are her sisters. They were born Bellatrix and Narcissa Black.”

Hermione gasped in surprise but all Harry could do was freeze. Andromeda had been Sirius’ cousin. That would mean both Bellatrix and Narcissa were his cousins too. Which would mean Sirius was directly related to Draco. As that realization crossed his mind Harry wondered if there was a way he could that knowledge to get Draco to work with them.

“Neville.” Harry asked, breaking his silence and startling Hermione, who had begun to pester Neville for more information on pureblood families and traditions. “The letter said I could bring a guest. Would you go with me? I’ll probably need someone there who can explain things to me.” Harry briefly thought of his parents and what his life would have been like with them, how he probably would have already known all of this.

Neville smiled somewhat sadly, guessing where Harry’s thoughts had gone. “I’d be honored.”

With that decided, the four of them returned to finishing their breakfast. As Ron, Hermione, and Neville chatted amicably about various topics (predominantly Quidditch and Herbology), Harry ate in silence, his thoughts still stuck on the letter and the implications of his new connection to Draco.

The next morning Harry dressed in his best-fitting shirt and trousers, pulling on his dress robes from the Yule Ball over top of them. The bottle-green robes went surprisingly well with his grey trousers and white button-up. Rather than wear a tie, he simply left the top two buttons of his shirt undone.

Harry went down to the common room to meet Neville, who had gotten up before him. The other boy being something of an early bird. When he made it down the stairs Harry spotted Neville immediately, as he was the only other person in the common room. Like Harry, Neville had chosen to dress nicely for the occasion, slate-grey robes over black trousers and a royal purple button-up.

Harry walked up to his friend, calling out a greeting. “Hey Neville.”

Neville glanced up from the worn gold pocket watch he had been fiddling with, sliding it into his pocket as he smiled at the other boy. “Hey Harry. Are you ready for this?” Neville asked, his voiced slightly concerned.

Harry sighed. “Ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.”

He pulled the letter from Gringotts out of his pocket, reading over it once more. Neville, sensing Harry was falling into another bout of melancholy, reached out and laid his hand on Harry’s shoulder. When Harry looked up, Neville gave him an understanding smile. “It’ll be all right Harry. I know it’s tough, and I know you don’t really want to hear it right now, but it will get better.”

Harry smiled back, giving a short, somewhat self-deprecating laugh. “Thanks Nev.” A glint of light off metal caught Harry’s eye as Neville moved his hand from Harry’s shoulder. Harry turned to look, catching sight of a ring on Neville’s right hand. “What’s that?”

Neville’s brow furrowed in confusion for a moment before he realized what it was Harry was looking at. “Oh. That’s my Heir’s ring.” He moved his hand so Harry could see the ring on his right ring finger more clearly. “It’s the signet ring for the Heir of House Longbottom. When I take up the Lordship at seventeen I’ll receive a different ring signifying my ascension to the title, and this ring will go back into the Heir Vault at Gringotts for when I have a child.”

“Signet ring?”

“It identifies me as the Heir. Rings like this are charmed to reject anyone who isn’t the Heir or Head of the family. They normally have charms and curses on them to ensure only the intended recipients can wear them. It even detects polyjuice potion. Places like Gringotts often use signet rings as proof of identification. You would need one to access the Potter family vaults.”

Harry shook his head. “Hagrid took me to Gringotts before first-year and I only needed a key.”

Neville sighed. “No one’s explained any of this, huh? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, I know you live with muggle relatives when you aren’t here, though I figured Dumbledore or McGonagall would have taken the time to tell you some of this.”

“What do you mean?”

“The vault Hagrid took you too, what did he say about it?”

Harry took a moment to recall what Hagrid had said that day. “He said my parents had left it to me, and that it was meant to last me through my time at Hogwarts.”

“Then it was a school fund vault. A lot of pureblood parents set up vaults like that, with a predetermined amount of money in it for their kids to use while at school. It’s meant to pay for school supplies and to give the child a sense of independence because they can buy things without having to seek permission first. Vaults like that are normally separate from the rest of the family vaults, so they don’t need an identification like a signet ring. Which is a good thing, as most Heirs don’t inherit the official position until they turn seventeen, unless they’re an only child or, like us, in a position to inherit the Lordship by the time we come of age.”

“Oh.” Harry said, blinking somewhat dumbly at his friend. Neville just gave him an encouraging smile.

“Since the letter addressed you as Lord Potter and Heir Black, you’ll probably receive the Potter Lordship ring and the Black Heir ring at the Will reading.”

Harry took a deep breath. “And here I thought my life couldn’t get any stranger.”

“That’s why you’ve got friends Harry.”

“Thanks Neville.” Harry smiled gratefully. He glanced quickly at the clock on the mantle above the fireplace. “it’s just about time for the portkey to activate.” He turned back to Neville and held the letter out between them. “Guess we should hold on.”

Neville nodded, grabbing hold of the letter. A few seconds later, the paper grew warm in their hands and Harry felt the familiar tug at his navel. They were sucked into the vortex of the portkey and a few short moments later both boys landed within the lobby of Gringotts. They both wobbled a bit, though thankfully neither one managed to fall.

Before either one of them had time to react they were approached by an older looking goblin who introduced himself as Diurok. “Lord Potter and his guest?”

“Yes sir.” Harry responded automatically. The goblin’s eyes widened in surprise at being called ‘sir’ by a wizard, and a Lord at that, but he made no comment. Harry and Neville were lead out of the lobby, through a long hallway, and down a flight of stairs to a conference room, or what Harry assumed was a conference room.

The room had dark-brown wood paneling on the walls, matching the heavy dark-brown furniture, and a cherry-red carpet. The room was windowless, lit only by a black wrought-iron crystal chandelier hanging from the sealing. The room had three antique, Victorian-era sofas with wrought-iron frames and dark-red cushions in a semi-circle around a low table. There was a coat rack by the door, also wrought-iron, and several paintings of landscapes on the walls, but the room was otherwise empty.

Diurok gestured to the sofas and suggested they be seated.  “You are the first to arrive.” He stated. “The other inheritors of the Will should be arriving shortly.”

“Thank you, Diurok.” Harry said, dipping his head to the goblin. He figured it was better to be polite than risk offending the goblins. Having already turned around to sit down, Harry missed the gob smacked look on the goblin’s face, as well as Neville’s fondly exasperated head shake. One wasn’t normally so polite to a goblin, particularly if one was a Lord, but it was just like Harry not to realize he had broken social etiquette. Not that Neville thought he was wrong to have done so, he believed in treating all sentient beings as equals, it was just something that wasn’t normally done.

Still, taking the cue from his friend, Neville also inclined his head to Diurok and murmured his thanks as he went to take a seat beside Harry, leaving the poor goblin with his jaw nearly on the floor. It took several moments for Diurok to collect himself enough to leave, so that he might escort the others who would be arriving for the meeting.

A few short moments later, moments spent in contemplating silence, the door opened once more, and Andromeda walked through with her daughter right behind her.

“Wotcher Harry.” Tonks immediately greeted him, smiling. Both harry and Neville stood to greet the new arrivals. As they were speaking the door opened again, this time allowing entrance to Narcissa Malfoy and her son Draco.

Draco sneered when he caught sight of Harry, but Narcissa regarded him with calculated disinterest. Harry could discern nothing from her expression, not even as she exchanged a brief, and somewhat stunted, greeting with her sister.

Shortly after the arrival of Narcissa and Draco, an elderly goblin entered the room with a somewhat younger goblin trailing behind him. They took a stance on the other side of the room, facing the three antique sofas. At the goblins arrival, the witches and wizards present all took a seat, the room falling into a tense silence.

The elderly goblin took a moment to survey the room before clearing his throat and beginning to speak. “Good day. I am Rigeurd, Head of Gringotts and the one who has called you here as per the wishes of the late Lord Black. If there is anyone present who does not wish to hear the Reading of the Will, or who wishes to forfeit their inheritance at this time, please speak now.”

The room remained silent.

“Very well. I shall begin by reading the Will as written by the Late Lord Black. I shall then explain the details of the inheritances stated in the Will in greater depth. I ask that all inquiries be held until such time as I have finished expanding upon the greater details of the Will.”

Rigeurd turned to the goblin next to him, who handed him an envelope. Rigeurd opened the envelope and removed the paper from within. Clearing his throat once more, he began to speak, reading straight from the page.

“Last Will and Testament,

I, Lord Sirius Orion Black of the Noble and most Ancient House Black, hereby declare this to be my Last Will and Testament.  This parchment has been charmed so that should I not be of sound body and mind, nothing I write beyond this paragraph shall appear. I ask the goblin reading this Will perform the necessary examination to prove this document has not been tampered with.”

As Rigeurd finished the sentence, the goblin beside him quickly performed a series of spells. Once all the spells had been cast, he nodded to Rigeurd, who resumed his Reading of the Will.

“If you are reading this, then this document has indeed not been altered, and I have been proven to be of sound body and mind. Therefore, any and all information contained within is accurate and the inheritances distributed exactly as I have intended.

To Andromeda Black-Tonks I leave the vault which should have been her dowry by birthright, which has already been designated in Gringotts’ records, and the blue-and-gold antique china tea set, once belonging to our Grandmother, which she favored as a child.

To Nymphadora Tonks I leave the Lesser Vault containing an amount of Two Million Galleons, a small bronze chest of antique jewelry, a pink-and-green full china set, and a pair of Topaz-encrusted silver daggers to be designated as her dowry. I also leave to her a Lesser Vault containing an amount of Five Hundred Thousand Galleons to be accessed by Nymphadora Tonks without restriction.”

At this point, Andromeda was openly crying, handkerchief pressed to her mouth in an attempt to muffle her sobs, and Tonks sat in pale-faced shock, tightly gripping her mother’s free hand.

“To My Cousin Narcissa Malfoy nee Black, I leave a Lesser Vault of Four Million Galleons, a medium-sized bronze chest of family jewelry, and an Emerald-encrusted claidheamh beag. Under no circumstance is Narcissa Malfoy nee Black’s husband, Lord Lucius Abraxas Malfoy to obtain access to this Vault, even should Narcissa Malfoy nee Black give permission for her husband to be granted access.

To Draco Lucius Malfoy, I grant a Lesser Vault containing an amount of Two Million Galleons, an Emerald-encrusted Rapier and accompanying Main-gauche, an antique Borosilicate Glass potions set, and a store of both rare and common potions ingredients with an independent worth of One Million Galleons. The potions set, potions ingredients, and Rapier-dagger set may be accessed as soon as all officials matters of inheritance and legal importance are concluded, but the money is to be accessible only once Draco Lucius Malfoy has come of age. As with his mother’s Vault, no access to the Vault of Draco Lucius Malfoy is to be granted to his father, Lord Lucius Abraxas Malfoy, even should Draco Lucius Malfoy give permission for access to be granted.”

The only reaction Narcissa showed to the inheritance her late cousin left her was a subtle tightening off her fingers where they rested in her lap. Draco, on the other hand, was openly smirking.

“To Remus Lupin, I leave a Lesser Vault worth an amount of One Million Galleons, the Cottage in County Durham, a previously agreed upon list of books from various libraries belonging to the Black Family, which has been entrusted to Rigeurd along with this Will, and a pair of gold Bonding Rings with the inscription Cordis Leonis lupi morsus, for the wedding we never got to have. An account of Remus Lupin’s inheritance is to be delivered by Lord Harry James Potter, along with a personal letter from myself to Lupin, as soon as possible.

To Lord Harry James Potter,

I name you my Heir and the Rightful Successor to the Title of Lord Black of the Noble and Most Ancient House Black. At the conclusion of the Reading of this Will, you will henceforth be legally named Lord Harry James Potter-Black, and are to receive the Black Family Heirship signet ring. Though you shall not inherit the full lordship of House Black until you come of age I, Lord Sirius Orion Black, as the Godfather of Lord Harry James Potter and ward of the Late Henry Percival Potter, do declare that you are to receive the Potter Lordship signet ring and assume the full responsibilities of said Lordship. In order to do so, you must be legally emancipated. Documentation has already been prepared and left with Rigeurd, Head Goblin of Gringotts, London Branch, to be completed after the Reading of this Will. The emancipation must occur for Lord Harry James Potter to receive his inheritance and his claim to the Black Lordship.

In claiming the Black Lordship, Lord Harry James Potter will inherit a total of Thirty-Seven Vaults amounting to Five Billion Galleons, several million galleons worth of jewelry, a pair of Silver Bonding Rings embedded with Sapphires and Emeralds traditionally used by the Head of the Family, and any other items residing in the Black Family Vaults. The inheritance also includes several properties such as, Grimmauld Place, Black Manor, Castle Blackthorne, and any properties with deeds bearing the Black Family name or which were purchased in the Black Family Name, as well as any and all objects and artifacts residing within.

Should Lord Harry James Potter renounce his claim as Heir to House Black, the Heirship shall pass to Nymphadora Tonks, in which case the Emancipation Clause will become null and void.”

At this, Rigeurd stopped reading once more to regard Harry. “Do you intend to accept the claim to the Heirship?” He asked.

Harry nodded, but Neville shook his head and leaned over to whisper, “You’ve got to verbally respond. Say that you do intend to claim the Heirship.”

“Oh.” Harry, who had spent the last several minutes in utter shock, swallowed nervously and took a deep breath. “I do intend to claim the Heirship.” He stated, only barely able to keep his voice from cracking.

Rigeurd nodded his acceptance of Harry’s statement. “Then you and your guest must remain once the Reading has concluded.” He waited for Harry to nod in understanding before continuing on to the last of the Will.

“In addition, a second clause is to be put on the Vaults of Narcissa Malfoy nee Black and Draco Lucius Malfoy. In order to access their vaults once all matters of legal recourse have been concluded either Narcissa Malfoy nee Black or her son Draco Lucius Malfoy must swear fealty to Lord Harry James Potter-Black. Though both may swear fealty if they so desire, only ONE is required to do so for both to receive the inheritance stated above. Should the Heirship be relegated to Nymphadora Tonks, then fealty should be sworn to her instead.

The swearing of Fealty must include an Unbreakable Vow that the one swearing will not, in any way, aid or serve Lord Voldemort, nor will they impede the efforts of Lord Harry James Potter-Black and/or his comrades in their efforts to defeat Lord Voldemort. This includes passing on information to any and all Death Eaters, including Lord Lucius Abraxas Malfoy.

Upon the swear of said Unbreakable Vow, Lord Harry James Potter will be required to provide Sanctuary for the one who has sworn Fealty to him. This includes protection from Lord Voldemort, Lord Lucius Abraxas Malfoy, any and all True Death Eaters, as well as protection from those on the side of the Light who will not believe and/or accept one or both previously stated individuals changing allegiance.

Should either Narcissa Malfoy nee Black or Draco Lucius Malfoy, or both, choose to denounce their inheritance in favor of remaining loyal to Lord Voldemort, both are to be bitten by the werewolf Fenrir Greyback and stripped of their wands.

It is signed by the Late Lord Black and bears the Official Seal of House Black.”

At this Draco, who had been getting progressively paler and paler as Rigeurd had spoken, jumped up from his seat, shouting, “That cannot possibly be legal! The Ministry would never allow such a thing!”

Rigeurd simply raised an eyebrow at the interruption, as Narcissa forcefully yanked her son back onto the sofa. “Unfortunately, My Dragon, it is legal. In order to avoid conflict of interest all Last will and Testaments of Lords and Ladies of Houses belonging to the Court of Merlin are handled exclusively by the Goblins. It is illegal for the ministry to interfere, and the goblins are required to obey such Wills to the letter. That is why one must be so careful when writing one’s Will. Lack of clarification can cause complications. If the Will states that we are to be turned for choosing not to claim our inheritance and have one of us swear fealty to Lord Potter-Black, and the Will has been proven legitimate, then the goblins are perfectly within their rights to carry out such actions.” Throughout her explanation, Narcissa’s voice remained perfectly even and controlled. The only sign of her distress was the white-knuckled grip she had on her son’s cloak.

Draco collapsed in his seat, looking utterly distraught. Harry, shocked, horrified, and disgusted that his godfather could have suggested such a thing, turned to Neville, as if the other Gryffindor could tell him that Lady Malfoy was wrong. Neville could only shake his head, the shock and disgust on his face showing his own dislike for such an underhanded method.  Harry clenched his fist as he struggled to come to terms with what he had just heard. He could understand Sirius wanting to save his cousin and his cousin’s son from Voldemort, especially after losing his brother to the Death Eater lifestyle, but to threaten them with Fenrir Greyback was unnecessarily cruel! Though Harry suspected Draco and Narcissa’s fear lay with werewolves in general and the taint on their blood, Harry was far more upset with his godfather’s choice of Greyback and his decision to use fear to get them to change sides in the first place.

“Surely something can be done to circumvent the punishment without having them swear fealty to me?” The disgust at the idea was clear in Harry’s voice.

“What, don’t enjoy the idea of me as your slave Potter?” Draco sneered, though his voice lacked its usual bite.

Harry gritted his teeth and took a calming breath. “First of all, according to the Will, the Vow would only guarantee you would be unable to serve Voldemort or sabotage me, while I would be required to protect you. That would hardly make you a slave Draco.” Harry pointedly used the blonde’s first name. “Second, I’m not at all comfortable with Sirius’ decision to try and control your life, or your mother’s, particularly through fear. I might not like your choice to serve a madman like Voldemort, but I respect that it is your choice to make, however much I might not understand it.” Harry’s mind flashed back to the previous school year and the brief moments he had been under Barty Crouch Jr.-disguised-as-Mad-Eye-Moody’s Imperius Curse, and to the Prophecy he had learned of only a couple of weeks ago, “No one deserves to be stripped of their free will, of their ability to choose their own path in life.”

While Draco stared at Harry in undisguised shock, Narcissa regarded the boy with calculating eyes. “A wise and considerate stance for one so young Lord Potter.” She commented, voice flat.

Harry chuckled self-deprecatingly. “Let’s just say I know a bit about having your future decided for you with no way out.”

Rigeurd chose that moment to clear his throat, reminding everyone that he and the other goblin were still present. “I am afraid there is no way around the clause Lord Potter-Black. The Will is very clear on the matter.” He gestured towards Andromeda and Nymphadora. Harry winced, realizing he had forgotten they were even in the room. “If the two of you will follow Diurok to the lobby complete the legalities necessary for you to receive your inheritance. The rest of you must remain here, so that the conditions of the Will may be met.”

Andromeda and Tonks were escorted from the room (though Tonks managed to lay an encouraging hand on Harry’s shoulder) by the goblin who had led them all down to the room earlier. Once the door was shut, Rigeurd’s companion, whom Harry realized had never been introduced, handed Rigeurd a parchment.

“Lord Potter-Black, if you would sign this document in the places I indicate we can finish the process of having you emancipated.” Rigeurd removed a quill from his pocket and his assistant handed him a bottle of ink. (Harry wasn’t quite sure where the goblin was keeping any of the stuff he had given Rigeurd, as he hadn’t appeared to be carrying anything but the Will.)

Harry hesitated for a moment before approaching the table and accepting the quill. The process was fairly easy, the document had been mostly completed, and someone had marked all the places he was supposed to sign, so it only took a moment. As soon as he signed his name for the last time the paper disappeared. His surprise must have shown on his face, because Rigeurd explained that the paper had been automatically filed at the ministry.

Harry groaned. “It’ll be all over the news by tomorrow.” He really hated having everything he did reported on, especially by people like Skeeter.

“At least you won’t have to stay with your muggle relatives over the summer anymore. You’re a legal adult now, you can live wherever you want.” Neville pointed out, trying to be encouraging.

“Oh, come on, I will admit I think all muggles are awful, but it couldn’t have been that bad.” Draco sighed dramatically, as if Neville was being ridiculous.

“You have no idea.” Harry muttered under his breath. Turning to Draco and his mother he asked, a bit uneasily, “Do you want some time to discuss the…clause?”

Draco began to speak but Narcissa beat him to it. “Yes, Lord Potter-Black, I would like to discuss the matter with my son, thank you.”

Harry shrugged, still uncomfortable with the situation. Sure, he had wanted to get Malfoy’s help, but he hadn’t wanted to do it like this! “Uh, you’re welcome. And you don’t have to call me Lord Potter-Black,” He cringed at the use of his title, “really, just Harry is fine, or Mr. Potter if you aren’t comfortable using my first name.”

Harry wasn’t looking at her, so he missed Narcissa’s expression softening just a bit. “Very well…Harry. Please excuse Draco and I for a moment.”

As she walked back to Draco, harry turned to Neville. “So, what is an Unbreakable Vow anyway?”

“It’s a Vow sworn between two people, using the magic of a third, the Bonder, to, well, bind them. If the person accepting the terms of the Vow, in this case one of the Malfoy’s, breaks the terms once the Vow has been completed, then they will die.”

Harry felt as if his stomach had turned into stone at Neville’s explanation. “That’s insane.”

Neville nodded. “That’s why it’s only used on rare occasion, usually in extreme circumstances. The whole death aspect made it pretty unpopular. Still, at least you’ll know that whichever one swears the Vow won’t be able to turn on you later.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Harry murmured, feeling slightly sick. Sure he had wanted to recruit Malfoy, but he hadn’t wanted it to happen like this!

Rather than leave the room as Harry figured they would, Narcissa simply dragged her son into a corner. “I will swear the Unbreakable Vow.” She stated, holding up her hand to stop her son’s protests. “Do not argue with me on this, My Dragon. It is my choice and I have made my decision.”

“Then - Then I’ll be your go-between! The clause says you can’t relay information to Father or to a Death Eater, but I haven’t taken the Mark, so you can tell me and I can pass it on to Father.” Draco whispered fervently, just soft enough that Harry and Neville, on the other side of the room, could not make out the words.

Narcissa sighed, brushing a hand through her son’s hair and smiling sadly at him. “Oh, My Dragon, I never wished this life for you. No matter how much your Father has tried to deny it, I know you were not meant for the life of a Death Eater. Cunning and Ambitious you might be, but never cruel. Not in the true sense of the word.” She placed a kiss on his forehead and whispered, “No my son, you shall not play the role of messenger. I will not have you end up like your Father.”

She stepped back and crossed the room to stand in front of Harry before Draco had time to protest. “Lo- Harry?”

“Yes Mrs. Malfoy?” Harry asked, turning away from Neville, who had been trying to convince him the Vow wouldn’t be as terrible as it seemed.

She smiled slightly at the uncertain tone in his voice. Standing before her was Lord Potter-Black, the Boy-Who-Lived, arguably one of the most powerful wizards of their time, and yet, as she looked at him, all she could see was a boy like her Dragon, forced by others into a role he did not want, but which he accepted. Rising to shoulder a burden no one so young should ever have to bear.

“I have decided that I shall be the one to swear the Unbreakable Vow in fealty to you. However, I do have a favor to ask of you.”

“Of course, If it’s within my power to then I will grant it.”

“I ask you to grant my son the same protection the Vow will require you to give to me. I doubt you will believe me, but life as a Death Eater was never the future I wanted for my son. If I am to betray my husband and his cause, then I shall do everything I possibly can to protect my child.”

Harry’s eyes widened in surprise, though realization quickly replaced it. “You were never a supporter of Voldemort, were you?” Neville sharply sucked in a breath and Draco furrowed his brow in confusion at Harry’s inquiry, only to drop his jaw at his mother’s reply.

“No, I never truly supported the Dark Lord or his cause, but my husband did, and I supported him, as a wife should. Unfortunately, by the time I realized Lucius’ allegiances placed my son in danger, I was unable to escape the hole I had dug for myself.” She laughed derisively. “I may not appreciate my late cousin’s particular choice of ultimatum, but I can appreciate the opportunity he has given me to provide a better future for Draco.”

Harry studied her for a moment. Though his mind told him that Narcissa Malfoy had been a Slytherin and the wife of a high-ranking Death Eater, and was more than likely a very accomplished liar, his instincts told him she had spoken only the truth, and Harry trusted his instincts, they had saved his life more than once.

‘They also got Sirius killed' A voice in his head whispered. Harry disregarded it and smiled at Narcissa. “I can do that. It might be a bit of a problem while we’re at school, we aren’t in all of the same classes, not to mention the dorms, but I’ll do what I can to look out for Ma-Draco.” Harry stuttered over the blonde boy’s name, wincing lightly, and hoping Narcissa didn’t take offense.

“Thank you.” Was all she said, turning to Rigeurd and his assistant. “Shall we commence with the Vow?”

Harry and Narcissa knelt in the center of the room, facing one another, right arms out in front of them, clasping on to one another. As goblins are unable to perform the magic necessary for an Unbreakable Vow (the magic required is specific to witches and wizards) Neville, who had learned the incantation during Heirship lessons with his grandmother, performed the spell.

Ribbons of fire flowed form Neville’s wand to wrap around their arms, binding them.

Harry hesitated only for a second before speaking the first Vow. “Do you Vow to denounce any and all allegiance to Lord Voldemort and his True Death Eaters?”

“I do.” A new ribbon of fire joined the ones on their arms.

“Do you Vow not to aide Voldemort and/or his True Death Eaters in any of their endeavors?”

“I do.” Another ribbon of fire.

This continued on for several minutes as they ran through all the terms Sirius had stated in his Will, ensuring that Narcissa would not be able to help her husband, Voldemort, or any of his loyal Death Eaters, as well as ensuring she couldn’t sabotage Harry or any of his plans, though he made no mention of the Order of the Phoenix, without dying.

With the conclusion of the Vow, having been witnessed by the goblins, Draco and Narcissa were asked to wait just outside the room. Once they had stepped out, Rigeurd handed Harry a letter, Remus’ name the only thing written on the envelope. He then produced two ring boxes. The first held the Heir Signet Ring for House Black, a silver band with the Black Family Crest etched into it in blue. Somehow, the skull and the crows looked more sinister than ever, embedded in metal. The second box held the Potter Lordship Ring, a wide gold band with the Potter Family Crest etched into it in black. Three five-pointed flowers on a triangular shield with a knight’s helmet at the top.

After receiving the rings, Harry was given a sealed parchment, which Rigeurd told him held an account of all the Vaults and Properties owned by the Potter Lordship. He was being given the account to peruse at his leisure. The last two items he was given signified the Potter seat on the Wizengamot and the Potter seat on the Hogwarts Board of Governors, two shield-shaped pendants, one bronze with the circular Wizengamot seal etched into it, the other silver with the Hogwarts Crest etched in black, the word ‘Board’ above the crest, and the words ‘of Governors’ below it.

“The pendants mean you’re an active member of both committees and can attend meetings. Right now, you only have the Potter Family seats because Sirius made it so you can’t official be Lord Black until you turn seventeen, but once you do, you’ll have the Black Family seats as well.” Neville explained as Harry examined the pendants. “Being an active member means you can attend any meetings they have, and you have a say in any decisions they make. You don’t have to attend, of course, and you can appoint someone to act as proxy, casting votes for you, but it means you have a say in how the school is run and what happens at a trial.”

Slipping the rings onto his right ring finger as Neville had shown him, Black ring first than Potter, and slipping the pendants over his head, tucking them into his shirt, Harry decided to ask Hermione to research the Wizengamot and the Board of Governors, before he made any decisions concerning his participation.  

Saying goodbye to the goblins, Harry and Neville exited the room to find Draco and Narcissa still waiting for them. It was Neville who suggested the two return to Malfoy Manor to gather their belongings, as well as suggesting he and Harry use the floo in the Leaky Cauldron to head to Grimmauld Place and make sure the Order wasn’t using it, so Narcissa would have somewhere to go, now that she couldn’t support her husband’s ideology.  Upon leaving the bank, the group split up, agreeing to meet at the Leaky Cauldron in two hours’ time.

Chapter Text

Harry and Neville arrived at Grimmauld Place to find it clear of everyone but Kreacher. Harry instructed the house-elf to prepare the largest guest room for Narcissa’s arrival as he used the enchanted mirror to contact Ron and Hermione. He gave the two a brief summary of the Will Reading, asking the two to cover for him a bit longer in case Dumbledore came looking for him. He didn’t want the headmaster to know what had happened just yet. Both Hermione and Ron were equally horrified by the werewolf clause in Sirius’ will, though they took his new arrangement with the Malfoy’s in stride. Ron did grumble a bit about having to play nice with the ferret, but he’d been saying variations of the same complaint since Harry had announced his intention to get some of the Slytherin’s on their side, so no one paid his grumbling any mind. Harry also gave Hermione what little information he had about his seats on the Wizengamot and the Board of Governors, asking her to research both positions and what responsibilities and privileges they provided him. Hermione agreed readily enough, as she was headed to the library that afternoon anyway. She did ask Harry to search the Black family library for any Dark books containing information about binding souls to objects.

The request was met with raised eyebrows from Harry and a startled noise from Neville, who nearly spilled his tea. Hermione huffed at them, rolling her eyes. “Ginny made an off-hand comment this morning that made me think of Riddle’s diary from second year. Dumbledore basically admitted to you that the diary contained a piece of Vol-Voldemort’s soul, right?”

Harry nodded and Hermione continued. “Well, we don’t know much about him, or his initial rise to power, but if he split his soul once it’s entirely possible he’s done it again at some point. I don’t know if it will lead anywhere, but it’s worth a shot. Unfortunately, all magic involving soul manipulation is considered Dark, and has long since been removed from the Hogwarts library. Considering the family penchant for Dark Arts, I figured the Black library would be a decent place to start.”

Harry shook his head. “I’ll look, but I can’t guarantee anything. Grimmauld Place isn’t the only house the Black’s owned, and it’s definitely not the only one with a library. I’m not saying it’s impossible that they would have a book like that, but it might be harder to find than you think. Worst comes to worst, I’ll have Dobby look for it.”

Hermione huffed at the mention of the free house-elf but refrained from commenting. Dobby was one of the subjects on which Harry and Hermione intensely disagreed. Several arguments and an intervention from Ron had convinced them it was better to agree to disagree and now they simply ignored the topic altogether. Ron stepped in at this point, wishing Harry and Neville luck with Draco and Narcissa, while simultaneously reminding Hermione that if they wanted to stick to her schedule they needed to leave for the library right now.

Harry had only just placed the mirror back in his pocket when Kreacher returned to inform him that the room was ready. Harry acknowledged his statement and ordered Kreacher to begin making lunch. It had been several hours since he and Neville had had breakfast, and he was certain the Malfoy’s would like something to eat once they arrived as well.

While they waited, Harry penned a quick letter to Professor McGonagall, informing her of the basics of what had occurred, leaving out the Malfoy’s all together save for a brief mention of Draco’s appearance at the reading and permission for him to return to Hogwarts with he and Neville via floo from Grimmauld Place. He knew she would have concerns about Draco’s presence at the Order’s headquarters, but he also knew she wouldn’t press the issue. She never did. The house was legally his to do with as he pleased and, while she might raise her eyebrows at him, she would never openly question him. She might go to Dumbledore with her concerns, but Harry was fairly certain he could handle the Headmaster.

Sending the letter off with one of the many owls kept at the house, Harry returned to the library to find Neville had moved from his seat at the small table to one of the chairs spread haphazardly throughout the room, a large and rather dusty book open in his lap.

“What’ve you got there Nev?”

Neville jumped, nearly losing the book. He had obviously not heard Harry enter the room. “Merlin Harry!”

Harry just shrugged. “Sorry.”

Neville sighed, chuckling to himself. “It’s alright. I was just reading about some of the deadlier plants in Britain. The library here has Herbology books you wouldn’t normally see until you were an apprentice. It’s fascinating, really.”

Harry nodded to show he was listening, trailing a hand over the spines of a few books as he surveyed the room. He silently promised himself he would go through the collection another time to see if anything in it could help them. Maybe he would bring Hermione along, and probably Luna too.

The grandfather clock in the hall chimed, dragging Harry out of his thoughts and reminding him it was about time to meet up with the Malfoys. Shaking his head, Harry cleared his throat and gestures to the library’s fireplace. “I’m going to go pick up Draco and his mum.”

Neville nodded, putting the book away. “Want me to come with?”

Harry shook his head. “No, we shouldn’t be long. Just, make sure Kreacher hasn’t destroyed the dining room to spite me or something.”

“Sure.” Neville laughed. “Don’t get into it with Draco and cause a scene or anything.”

Harry snorted, throwing the floo powder into the fireplace and calling out for the Leaky Cauldron, rather than dignifying Neville’s statement with a response. It only took a moment after stumbling out of the floo (Harry managed not to fall this time but it was a near thing) to find Draco and his mum. The two were seated in a corner, doing their best to remain unnoticed by the other patrons. Harry walked towards them slowly, making sure to catch Narcissa’s eye as he approached so he wouldn’t startle them. She took notice of him, straightening in her seat, lightly tapping Draco’s hand to let him know that Harry had arrived.

It was only as Harry reached the table that he noticed something was off. It took him a moment to realize he could sense a glamour over Narcissa’s right eye.  His own glamour, the one he used to hide the scars from that night in the graveyard, itched in sympathy and he had to violently squash the urge to demand to know what had happened. Instead, he plastered on a smile, offering his hand to help Narcissa out of her seat, ignoring Draco’s scowl. “I hope you didn’t have too much trouble getting everything in order. I’m sorry this is all such short notice.”

Draco scoffed, which Harry just barely resisted rolling his eyes at, but Narcissa simply smiled politely, taking Harry’s hand as she rose out of her seat. “Not at all Lord Potter. Besides, it’s not as if you knew of any of this beforehand either. If anything, I should be apologizing to you for putting you out.”

Harry linked his arm with Narcissa’s, smiling awkwardly as he shook his head. “Not at all. It’s really no trouble. And call me Harry, please. I’m still not comfortable with all of this Lord nonsense.”

As Harry tossed some floo powder into the fireplace, nodding to Tom behind the bar who nodded back before pretending he hadn’t seen anything, Draco sneered. “Saint Potter, isn’t it? No one believes your little humility act you…”

His statement was cut off by Narcissa grabbing hold of his ear and twisting. “That will be enough from you.”

Harry called out the address, avoiding eye contact with the Malfoys, the interaction between mother and son making him more than a little uncomfortable. He gestured for Narcissa to step through the floo first, and she did so gracefully, her son a half-step behind her. Harry followed them both, landing somewhat gracefully back in the library of Grimmauld Place. Narcissa had frozen in the center of the room, slowly taking in her surroundings. Draco had put a hand on his mother’s arm, asking if she was alright.

“This is the first time I have stepped foot in my Aunt’s house since I married Lucius. I never thought I would see it again.”

Harry shrugged, nervously running a hand through his hair. “It’s kind of a mess. I mean, we’ve cleaned it the best we can but it still needs some work.”

“We?” She turned to look at Harry, eyebrow raised in question.

“Yeah, um, the Order uses the house as its headquarters. You don’t need to worry though,” Harry rushed to reassure both her and Draco, “the only other person here right now is Neville. Well, and Kreacher the house-elf. Professor McGonagall knows you’re here as part of Sirius’ will but she doesn’t know the details and she can let everyone else know not to bother you.”

“Like that’s really going to make a difference Potter!” Draco spat, rounding on Harry. “You’ve brought my mother into the lion’s den! No one in your precious order is going to ignore the fact that the wife of a high-ranking Death Eater is living in their headquarters! You’ve as good as sentenced her to death!”

As Draco was ranting, Neville had entered the room. Taking quick stock in the situation and deciding it would be a good idea for Harry and Draco to…talk, he quietly approached Lady Malfoy, gesturing for her to follow him, whispering that he would show her to her room and that Kreacher had prepared a late lunch for all of them. The two quietly left the room without Harry or Draco realizing it.

Harry took a deep breath to calm his temper, counting to ten in his head. Gong off on Malfoy was not going to help the situation. “One, it’s not my Order, it’s Dumbledore’s. Two, the will ignore her presence because I’ll tell them too. The house is mine now and if the Order wants to keep using it then they bloody well will do what I say or they can find another headquarter.” Draco opened his mouth to respond, no doubt with some witty and cutting barb, but Harry pressed on before he could speak. “Thirdly, the arrangement is only temporary. Nothing has been decided as of yet, but I plan on taking the next Hogsmeade weekend to visit the other properties my godfather left me. Depending on the conditions they are in, I plan to have your mother move into one of them, preferably one of the properties in the country, or outside of Britain, where it will be safer for her. It will take time to set up the arrangements though, so until all of that can be done, she will stay here.”

Draco was stunned into silence by Harry’s response, only able to stare wide-eyed at his arch-nemesis. Harry sighed, running his fingers through his hair in frustration. “Look Ma-Draco. I know we don’t get along. Opposite houses, opposite sides of the war, and we haven’t really got anything in common. But right now, none of that really matters. I don’t care what you think of me,” That was a lie and Harry knew it. For reasons he couldn’t explain, reasons he didn’t want to explain, Draco’s opinion of him had always mattered more than it should have. “but the Vow has made your mother my responsibility, and my promise to her has made you my responsibility too. Call it Gryffindor sentimentality, but I’m not one for going back on my word. Circumstances have forced us onto the same side, whether we like it or not, and now we just have to do what we can with what we have.”

He would never admit to Draco that he had wanted the blonde on his side.

“If you recall, Potter, I never swore any vow. What makes you think I won’t take every bit of information you’ve given me straight to my father?”

Harry snorted. “Well, for one, if that was your plan you wouldn’t have just told me about it. That, and, if you did, you wouldn’t see your mother again. Not until the war is over at least.”

Face contorting in anger, Draco stepped towards Harry, grabbing his robes. “Potter I swear to Merlin if you hurt my mother…”

Harry grabbed Draco’s wrist, pulling the blonde’s hand free of his robes and shoving him backwards, pinning him against the bookshelf. “Shut up and think for once Draco! If you passed on information to your father you would be a Death Eater. If you used any information you learned through your mother, even indirectly, the Vow would interpret that to mean she was helping you and would kill her. I’d have to keep you away from her to keep her alive! Otherwise she would pay for your actions.”

The two were standing uncomfortably close by this point, barely a few centimeters between them. Draco averted his eyes, unwilling to stare Harry in the face. The movement seemed to jar Harry, calling attention to their position, and causing him to take a couple of steps back, releasing Draco’s wrist. An awkward silence filled the room for a few moments, neither boy quite sure where to go from there, but it was thankfully broken by Kreacher’s appearance.

“Kreacher is to be telling the filthy half-blood that the blood traitor and Lady Black be waiting to be having lunch.” Kreacher announced, trailing off into barely concealed mumblings of displeasure.

Harry rolled his eyes and dismissed the house-elf with a wave of his hand. “We’ll be right there. You can begin serving Neville and Lady Malfoy.”

Kreacher disappeared with a disgruntled pop and Harry turned back to Draco. “I’ve told Professor McGonagall that you will be flooing back to Hogwarts with me and Neville. We’ll come through her office, so you won’t have to deal with the dorms. Ron and Hermione know about the clause in the will and that your mother swore the Unbreakable Vow, but they don’t know what the exact terms of the Vow are. I don’t plan to tell anyone else about it who doesn’t already know. You’re free to tell whoever you like, of course, but something tells me this isn’t something you want to go public.” Draco nodded, just barely, but it was enough of an acknowledgement for Harry. “We can discuss what exactly this will mean in terms of our interactions at school later. For now, we should head to the dining room. I get the feeling your mother isn’t the type of person who should be kept waiting.”

Harry left the library without looking back, knowing Draco had no real choice but to follow. A part of him felt guilty. He could only imagine what the day’s events must have been like for the Slytherin, and he was self-aware enough to know he probably wouldn’t have reacted all that differently had he been in Draco’s shoes. If anything, he would have been worse. It didn’t help that a part of him was glad for the turn of events. Having Draco on his side, however reluctantly, would only increase the DA’s chances of gaining Slytherin cooperation. Of course, Draco would have to be told of his plans, and there was no guarantee he would agree to recruit others, but maybe Narcissa could persuade him. She wasn’t a true follower of Voldemort, had openly admitted to not holding to his ideals. Maybe, if he brought the idea to her, she could convince Draco that it would be to his benefit to aid the DA.

Walking into the dining room Harry nodded at Neville and Narcissa, choosing to sit across from the other Gryffindor so that Draco could sit across from his mother. Neville gave him a questioning look, silently asking about the conversation in the library, and Harry shook his head, signaling that he would explain what had happened later.

Lunch was a quiet affair, filled with small talk. Narcissa politely inquired about all of their classes, offering Neville a few tips to help him in potions and commending Harry for standing up to Umbridge, who she freely admitted to despising. When the topic of Draco’s place on the inquisitorial squad came up, she gave him such a look of maternal disappointment that for a moment Harry thought the blonde would sink through his chair.

“Dolores Umbridge is a petty, small-minded, rat of a woman. I am ashamed to admit she was a Slytherin. Like most of the political fools in the ministry these days, she refuses to accept that there is a conflict happening at all. Self-preservation is one thing. Wishing to secure one’s position in times of change is understandable. Lording one’s authority over a bunch of children in order to secure and validate one’s own power is nothing short of cowardly. It’s the kind of behavior I would expect from a muggle, not a so-called Pureblood, and certainly not a Slytherin.” She never came right out and said it, but the reprimand was clear. She did not approve of Draco’s involvement in Umbridge’s regime. As a pureblood and a Slytherin, such crass behavior should be beneath him.

 Harry got the feeling Draco would be quitting the inquisitorial squad as soon as physically possibly. Further proof that Draco Malfoy was undoubtedly his mother’s son, and that the best way to get him to do something would be through her.

Lunch finished without further incident and the Malfoy’s retreated upstairs to unpack Narcissa’s belongings and store Draco’s. They had only just left when the owl Harry had sent out earlier returned. Professor McGonagall had agreed to open the floo in her office so the three boys could return to the school. She didn’t question Draco’s inclusion in the request, but Harry was certain she would inquire about it when he saw her in person.

Returning to the library, Harry filled Neville in on the basics of his conversation with Draco, and his idea of getting Narcissa to convince Draco to work with them. In turn, Neville filled Harry in on his conversation with Narcissa while Harry and Draco had been in the library.

“Honestly, she’s a lot nicer than I expected. I get the feeling she still thins Purebloods are better than other witches and wizards, but she doesn’t necessarily want to see all the Half-bloods and Muggleborns wiped out.” Neville shook his head, staring over Harry’s shoulder with a far-off look in his eyes. “She apologized for what happened to my parents.” He shook his head, focusing back on Harry. “Apparently, she isn’t very fond of her sister. She felt the need to apologize on Bellatrix’s behalf. I feel like everything I’ve ever known is a lie.”

Harry couldn’t help but chuckle at the incredulity in Neville’s voice.

A moment later Narcissa and Draco returned to the library. Harry almost asked how they could possibly be done already, but stopped in time to not make a fool out of himself. Magic, right.

“Professor McGonagall sent a reply. Her floo is open, so we should probably head back. We’ve been gone all day, and I’ve still got homework to do.” Even as he said it, the strangeness of the statement hit him. He was a newly emancipated adult, a Lord, the wealthy owner of multiple properties and a position in the government. He was also a fifteen-year-old student. Really, could his life get any weirder?

Draco said goodbye to his mother as Neville readied the floo, and a moment later they were back at Hogwarts. The three of them arrived in McGonagall’s office. She was waiting for them, seated at her desk grading papers. She looked up briefly at their arrival before returning to her marking. “I trust any and all legal matters have been appropriately handled?”

“Yes Professor.” Harry answered.

“Then I suggest you enjoy what is left of your weekend gentlemen. I will see you in class tomorrow.”

“Have a nice evening Professor.” Harry and Neville called in unison as they left McGonagall’s office, Draco trailing behind them in confusion.

“Why didn’t she question us?” He asked as they stepped into the hallway. The two Gryffindors shrugged.

“McGonagall isn’t the type to pry into student affairs. We were gone on a personal matter so she doesn’t view it as any of her business.” Neville explained.

“Why? How would Snape handle something like this?” Harry asked, genuinely curious.

“He wouldn’t have asked for personal details, but he still would have wanted to know exactly why we were gone and where we had been. Even more so if a Slytherin returned with a student from another House.”

“Huh.” Harry shrugged again. “McGonagall’s not really that involved, I guess. She makes it clear that her office is open if we need her, but she’s almost never in the dorms, and she doesn’t really pay all that much attention to what we get up to outside of classes and quidditch, at least, as long as we aren’t actively breaking the rules.”

Draco shook his head, utterly bewildered. “I can’t imagine having a Head of House who isn’t actively invested in their students.” He walked away muttering about ‘bloody Gryffindors’.

“To each their own, I guess. I’m heading to the library, gonna meet up with Ron and Hermione.” Harry told Neville. The other boy nodded and gesture in the direction of the tower.

“I’m headed to the dorms. I’ll see you at dinner?”

“Yeah.”

They parted ways and Harry made his way to the library as quickly as possible. He found Ron and Hermione seated at a table in a corner, far away from any other students. They were sitting side-by-side, the table in front of them covered with books. Hermione was diligently taking notes, flipping through tree different books at the same time, cross-referencing her material. Ron was leaning back in his chair, chewing on a sugar quill as he skimmed through one book, the slightly glazed look in his eyes suggesting he was nearing the end of his rope. Strategist he might be, but research had never been Ron’s area of expertise, and likely never would be. That honor fell to Hermione, for which both Harry and Ron were eternally grateful.

Harry rapped his knuckles against the edge of a bookcase as he approached the table to get their attention, the last thing he wanted to do was startle Hermione. Ron got up to greet Harry, throwing an arm around his friend’s shoulders. “How’d it go with Malfoy mate?”

“All right.” Harry shrugged, unwilling to broach the subject in the public space of the library, no matter how isolated they were. “Tell you about it later.” Ron nodded in understanding, dropping the subject for the time being.

Hermione acknowledged him with a smile before immediately launching into an explanation of everything they had managed to discover in the few hours that Harry had been away.

“So, I looked into your legal rights as a member of the Wizengamot and the Board first, as they seemed to be the more pressing issue.” Harry and Ron exchanged a look as they sat down, Ron returning to his seat by Hermione and Harry sitting across from her. Hermione pulled a parchment out of the growing pile on the table and passed it to Harry. “As a member of the Wizengamot and an emancipated adult you have access to the Potter Seat. Each Seat is allotted a certain number of votes. The number of votes per Seat varies based on several factors. Some Seats belong to wizarding families, while others belong to individuals. As far as individual Seats go, Purebloods have more votes than Half-bloods or Muggleborns. When it comes to family Seats, older families have more votes than younger families, and families that belong to the Court of Merlin have more votes than families that don’t. The Potter family is one of the oldest wizarding families in Britain and belongs to the Court of Merlin. As the Lord of the family and the Seat holder, you have one of the higher number of votes in the Wizengamot, your one vote counting as One Hundred and Twenty-Nine votes, if my calculations are correct. Of course, once you official inherit the Black Lordship, that number will practically double.”

“You’re kidding.” Harry could only stare at Hermione in shock.

“Nope. It’s not a majority of course, the Wizengamot is designed so no one Seat holds enough votes that the rest of the Seats would be unable to overrule them, but it is a large enough number that you could sway most of the rulings in your favor. Particularly because the individual Seats and Seats belonging to lesser families tend to form alliances with Seats like the Potters or Blacks. They would back your votes with their own, tilting the balance even more in your favor, in return for advocating certain issues that are significant to them.”

“Blimey.” Ron shook his head in disbelief, mind already racing with the ramifications of what they had just learned. He’d known from Hermione’s reaction when she had uncovered the information that it would be a big deal, but her sure hadn’t expected that!

“Now that’s not to say you would already have those alliances. Some people who were allied with your grandfather, Henry Potter, the last one to hold the seat, might continue to ally with you out of respect for your family, but you’re still going to have to do a lot of networking if you want a significant number of them on your side, which you should.” Hermione pointed out, sifting through the books on the table.

It took Harry a moment to speak, and when he did, all he could get out was, “My…grandfather?”

Hermione handed him the book he had been looking for, open to a portrait of a middle-aged man, about Arthur Weasely’s age. The man wore a pair of metal, wire-rimmed spectacles, closer to the ones Dumbledore used than the glasses Harry had seen his father wear in the few photographs he had of his parents. Black hair peppered with gray, cut short and still managing to look unkempt, warm brown eyes and a smile with an edge of mischief to it that had Harry wondering if James Potter had gotten his sense of humor from his father. The portrait nodded at him, unable to do much more, as it only showed him from the neck up.

“Lord Henry Harold Potter, Twenty-Fifth head of the Potter family. He and his wife were killed by Death Eaters in January of the year your parents graduated from Hogwarts. I can’t say for certain, you would have to ask Remus, but I think you were named after him.”

Hermione placed a hand on his arm to comfort him. Harry looked up at her and gave her a small smile, letting her know he appreciated the gesture. “Who was his wife?” He asked. The book was a record of former Wizengamot members, so it only held his grandfather’s portrait and a small article about his time as a member.

“Estrella Ciara Potter nee Longbottom.”

Harry’s head shot up. “Longbottom?” He and Ron asked in unison.

Hermione nodded. “Yes. I traced the family tree a bit, it’s fascinating really. Actually Harry, you’re technically related to the Weasely’s and the Black’s as well.” She dug around for another parchment, this one containing a family tree.  

“Mr. Weasely’s mother Cedrella was born a Black, and was disowned for marrying Ron’s grandfather Septimus. Cedrella had two sisters, Callidora and Charis. Callidora married Harfang Longbottom and they had two children, a son, and a daughter. Their son, Eadbert Longbottom, married Augusta Fawley, and the two had a son, Frank who is Neville’s father. Their daughter Estrella, married Henry Potter and had a son as well, James. This means that your dad and Neville’s dad were cousins, and they were second cousins to Arthur Weasely. This makes you and Neville second cousins, and makes Ron your third cousin, along with all his siblings. It also makes you distantly related to Sirius and to Draco, as your great-grandmother was born a Black.”

Ron and Harry turned to look at each other, and after a moment Ron grinned and slapped Harry on the back. “See, I told you that you were practically family, this just proves it!”

Harry could only grin in response, to overwhelmed to speak. Losing Sirius had been like losing the last tie to his parents and his father’s family. Sure, he still had Remus, but they had never been as close as he had been to his godfather. Learning that he was related to the Weasely’s, even distantly, and to Neville, that he had blood relatives out there who weren’t the Dursley’s, was amazing.

Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron, but she was smiling. She knew how important family was to Harry and was happy that she could help him find what was left of his. After moment, however, she interrupted the two boys, or rather, she interrupted Ron, who had started to talk about his family’s potential reaction to the news.

“We still have more information to go over, you know. The sooner we tell Harry what all we discovered, the sooner the two of you can finish your homework,” both Harry and Ron had the grace to look sheepish in the face of Hermione’s glare, “and the sooner we can get to dinner.”

“Right, sorry ‘mione.” Harry apologized, straightening in his seat. “What else did you find?”

“Well, continuing with the Wizengamot, even though you are emancipated and officially recognized as a Lord, you can’t personally take your Seat because you are still a student. You can attend sessions that occur over holidays or summer break, and emergency sessions, but for any of the regularly schedule meetings that occur during the school year you need to appoint a representative. Essentially, the representative is required to inform you of the subject of the meeting a week in advance and they vote the way you tell them too. They are your voice in your absence and can’t make any decisions on behalf of the Potter Seat without your approval.

Now, we have no idea how any of the adults are going to react when your emancipation is revealed, so I’ve compiled a list of current Wizengamot members for you to choose from, all of whom align with your political opinions. By law, you must announce a representative by the next Wizengamot meeting. Currently, the next meeting is in two weeks, but I wouldn’t put it past them to call an emergency meeting and for either Dumbledore or Fudge to try and appoint someone for you. Both would assume you would be ignorant of everything and would probably try to take advantage.” She handed Harry another parchment containing four names, with a list of the person’s political affiliations and previous voting habits beneath each name. Harry tucked it into the book with his grandfather’s portrait, promising to look it over tonight after he finished his homework and had dinner.

Hermione pulled a large book, the biggest so far, from the bottom of a pike, causing the ones on top of it to fall. Ron barely managed to catch them before they hit the floor, overexaggerating their weight and making Hermione laugh, even as she thanked him. She dropped the book on the table with a muffled thump and opened it to somewhere roughly in the middle.

“The Board of Governors is a bit different. The Board is made entirely of the heads of the families belonging to the Court of Merlin. They have a voting system as well, but it’s a bit different. It’s divided into a sort of hierarchy. Ten of the members only have one vote each. These are half of the ‘Lesser’ Families that Neville mentioned yesterday, the ones with the least political or economic influence. The other half of the ‘Lesser’ Families, the ones who have managed to work their way up the ladder in terms of wealth or influence, have two votes each. The last seven are the ‘Greater’ Families and they each have three votes. The Potters are considered one of the Seven Greater Families, along with the Blacks, Malfoys, Longbottoms, Abbott, Parkinson, and Greengrass.

Again, alliances are important. Eventually, you will have both the Potter and Black votes, which will give you a major edge. Until then, you need to get as many on your side as possible. Currently three of the Seven are known Death Eater families, one is inactive, and the other three counting yourself are known light supporters. It’s a pretty even split, so tie breakers and the voting trend depends on the twenty lesser families. Right now, most of them are either Death Eaters, or neutrals. Most Pureblood families are either supporters or neutrals. If you can get the neutrals on your side it will give you an edge over the known Death Eaters.”

“What does that mean for the school though?” Harry asked, furrowing his brow as he tried to follow Hermione’s speech. “I mean, what does the Board actually do?”

“Well, you have a say in what subjects are taught. You also, and this is my favorite part,” She pointed to a specific paragraph on the page, “you can petition for a vote to have a teacher fired or hired.”

“Wait, what?”

She nodded enthusiastically. “Technically, the Headmaster or Headmistress has full control over the staff. They decide who to hire and who to fire. Fudge was able to get Umbridge in place because he went to the Board. He cited all of the incidents with Voldemort” Hermione was so into her explanation that she didn’t notice she hadn’t stumbled over the name, but Harry did and it made him smile, “as proof that Dumbledore was incompetent in terms of selecting D.A.D.A Professors. He convinced the Board members that their children would be better off with Umbridge on staff. As a member, if you can prove that a teacher abused or endangered the students, you can call for an emergency meeting of the Board. They would hold a trial, essentially, with the evidence against her being presented and Umbridge being given the chance to defend herself. The best part is, the ministry cannot interfere. The Board was set up as a separate entity outside of the Ministry’s authority, so Fudge has no power.”

“But most of the members are Slytherin families, right?” Ron asked. “Why would they get rid of her for bullying some of the students?”

“Because, unlike Professor Snape who openly favors Slytherins, Umbridge doesn’t discriminate. She abuses the students equally, no matter what house they’re in. If their views don’t align with that of the Ministry, and they are open about it, then they are a target. I guarantee most of those Slytherin and Death Eater parents wouldn’t be too happy to learn their children are getting the same treatment as the rest of us.”

Harry was quiet for a moment, working through everything he had just learned. It was a lot of information and he wasn’t sure how to handle it. Eventually, he shook his head and tried to focus again. “How would I call an emergency meeting like that?”

“You can’t just yet. After your emancipation has been announced you will have to attend one of the regularly scheduled monthly Board meetings. The last meeting was on Wednesday, so the next one won’t be for another four weeks. The Headmaster is required to inform you of the time, date, and location of the meeting and you will be excused from any classes if the meeting takes place during school hours. After that first meeting, you can request a meeting to present your case for why the Board should review Umbridge’s position. A motion will be made, and if they decide you have a compelling enough case, then the emergency meeting will be called. I don’t know all of the details of how it works, most of the Board’s procedures aren’t public knowledge.”

“Great, more time in class with the pink hippogriff. Ow!”

Hermione smacked Ron on the head with a rolled-up parchment. “Ronald!”

“What? It’s true.”

“It’s an insult to hippogriffs. Personally, I think troll would be a better description.”

Ron nearly choked on air, not having expected that response from Hermione. Harry, however, knew better and just laughed. “Besides Ron, this way we have more time to get proof against her so she can’t lie her way out of it during the trial.” He pointed out.

“Oh yeah.”

“Have you found anything more about Voldemort?” Harry asked, turning the conversation serious once more.

Hermione shook her head. “Just his school records. I went off the name from the Diary, Tom Riddle was a student from 1938-1945. Dumbledore was the Transfiguration Professor back then, under Headmaster Dippet. He was a Slytherin and there’s no family listed for him, so he was probably an orphan. I couldn’t find the surname Riddle on any wizarding family registries, but not all of the wizarding families in the UK are listed here in the Hogwarts library, so it’s possible I just haven’t found it yet.”

“Or maybe he’s a Half-blood or a Muggleborn.” Ron sarcastically suggested. Both Harry and Hermione snorted.

“Maybe. I won’t rule it out but it would be unlikely. Other than the record that he attended Hogwarts, I haven’t found anything else about him.”

Just then, a clock chimed from somewhere in the library, signaling there was only an hour before dinner. The trio stood up, gathering up the books Hermione wanted to take back to the dorm with her. Only after they had left the library and were almost back at the tower did Harry speak again. He broke into a lull in the conversation between Ron and Hermione over Ron’s tendencies to procrastinate.

“The next Hogsmeade weekend I plan on visiting the properties Sirius left me. If you still want to look for those books you talked about earlier, you guys should come with me. Luna too, probably. She’s really good at finding obscure bits of knowledge.”

“Sure mate.” Ron agreed readily. Hermione’s eye twitched slightly at the mention of Luna, she liked the Ravenclaw but had a hard time handling Luna’s unique personality, but she also agreed.

“Would anyone else be going with us?” She asked.

“Probably Neville. And Malfoy. Tell you more about why later.” The two nodded, Ron giving the password to the Fat Lady and the three of them stepped inside. Hermione headed up to her dorm to put away her books and the boys headed up to theirs. Ron grabbed his homework and headed back down to the common rooms, while Harry changed out of his nice clothes back into his school uniform and robes. That done, he also grabbed what was left of his homework and headed to the common room.

A study group of sorts had formed in front of the fireplace. Hermione was helping Ron, Seamus, and Dean with their homework. Neville and Ginny were sitting with the group, Neville working on homework and Ginny reading a quidditch magazine. Harry joined the group, finishing his potions essay, and reading the chapter for his next charms class. Eventually the group broke for dinner, all of them heading down to the Great Hall.

As they headed to the Gryffindor table, Harry caught sight of Draco sitting at the Slytherin table. He was sitting separated from the other Slytherins, though Harry was pretty sure it was by choice, as Draco’s friends seemed to be concerned for him. Well, as concerned as any Slytherin was willing to appear in public. As he was staring, Draco looked up, catching his eye. Sneering, the blonde immediately turned away. Harry sighed, unwilling to put in the energy to be upset by Draco’s behavior. Starting tomorrow they’d be spending a lot more time together and Harry had the feeling he’d need all the energy and patience he could get to deal with Draco’s dramatics.

Dinner was relaxing compared to the busy day. The topics of conversation remained firmly in the range of fun and inane. It gave Harry a chance to relax and unwind a bit. The trend continued when they headed back to the dorms. He stayed in the common room, watching Neville and Ron battle it out over chess, the two fairly matched. Hermione and Ginny chatted about everything from classes to boys as Ginny painted Hermione’s nails with a new color she’d gotten, a shimmering maroon. Harry had chuckled when Ginny first showed it to Hermione, because she had suggested the color with a pointed look at her brother and a wink at Hermione, flustering the bookworm. After everything that had happened with Krum the year before, the only one who didn’t realize Hermione had a thing for Ron, was Ron.

Without realizing it Harry began to drift off on the couch in front of the fire. He was jostled awake a little while later by Ron, suggesting they head to bed. Harry started, remembering he was supposed to have filled them in on everything with Draco and Narcissa, but Ron assured him he could tell them tomorrow, and that Neville had filled them in on the basics.

Leaning on the redhead, Harry made his way up to his room, collapsing in bed, only just remembering to remove his glasses. Within moments he had drifted off again. For the first time since Sirius’ death Harry slept peacefully through the night.

Chapter Text

The news of his emancipation and inheritance broke the next morning. Harry and Ron both woke up later than usual, forcing them to rush down to the great hall for breakfast. By the time they got down there, the morning post had already arrived, including the newspapers. The noise level in the great hall had been so loud they could hear it from down the hall, but the cacophony silenced almost immediately once Harry stepped through the doors. He nearly faltered in his steps as what felt like everyone in the school turned to look at him, but Ron casually throwing an arm over his shoulder kept him steady.

“Hope we didn’t miss out on any of the good food, I’m starving mate!”

Ron walked to their usual spot at the Gryffindor like nothing was amiss, and his nonchalant attitude was enough to calm Harry’s own rising anxiety. Whispers broke out again as they sat, Ron wasting no time in filling his plate, earning an eye roll from Hermione, even as she passed him a platter of sausages. To Harry, she passed a copy of the morning paper.

“I saved you a copy. I thought you might like to see the article for yourself.”

Harry nodded in thanks, taking the paper, unable to speak past the nervous lump in his throat. His picture was on the front page again, one of the cleaner ones from the other recent article, given no one had been around to photograph the will reading.

Boy-Who-Lived accepts Potter Lordship, New Black Heir announced!

The article itself wasn’t anything special, they had only been able to access the bare minimum legal documentation from the ministry, so it talked about his emancipation, his new titles, and speculated on what he was going to do next. Harry skimmed the article, breathing a sigh of relief when he reaffirmed nothing about the Malfoys had made it in. Then he glanced up at the head table, trying to gauge the reactions of Dumbledore and Snape.

Dumbledore met Harry’s eyes, giving him his usual reassuring smile, but something about the jovial twinkle in his blue eyes seemed off, forced in a way. Harry quickly looked away from the headmaster, knowing Dumbledore was too well-practiced to give anything away in public if the paper had upset him. Snape, too, was already looking his way, though his gaze was darker, and he sneered at Harry as soon as their eyes met.

“Doesn’t look like he wants to kill you anymore than usual, so that’s probably a good sign.” Ron nudged Harry, pulling his gaze away from the head table.

“Ronald! I know your mother taught you not to talk with your mouth full!” Hermione admonished, throwing her napkin at him in disgust, even as she turned to Harry. “Snape didn’t react much when the paper arrived, but I was watching the head table for you, and Dumbledore looked annoyed.” She whispered across the table. “He changed his expression fairly quickly; I wouldn’t have seen it if I wasn’t already looking for any reaction out of the ordinary.”

“Thanks ‘Mione.”

“Of course. Now, did either of you manage to finish your Charms essay last night, or should I plan in some time at the library before class this afternoon?”

Harry wasn’t surprised when Professor McGonagall stopped him as they were living Transfiguration to let him know the headmaster had requested a meeting with him in his office before he went to lunch. The walk to Dumbledore’s office was quiet, giving him the time he needed to organize his thoughts. Dumbledore always seemed to be able to read him, and that was the last thing Harry wanted right now.

“Come in my boy, have a seat!” The headmaster welcomed him into the office with a kind smile and a reassuring hand on his shoulder. None of it felt real. Harry wondered if it ever had been. “How are you, Harry?”

“Fine, Sir.” Harry made sure to keep his tone subdued.

“I know yesterday must have been difficult for you. Personally, I have always found the reading of Wills and such so soon after the lose of a loved one to be – rather callus.” Dumbledore’s words seemed kind, concerned about his emotional wellbeing, but Harry could hear the underlying curiosity in the statement.

“It was fine,” He shrugged “Neville helped me understand most of the traditional stuff.”

“Ah yes, young Mr. Longbottom is well versed in traditional matters. He must be a good friend indeed, for you to have invited him along.”

“He knows what it’s like to lose family.”

The office was silent for a moment, Harry feeling as though Dumbledore was trying to peer into his soul, before the headmaster nodded in acknowledgement. “Indeed, my boy. I am glad you have chosen to lean on your friends, though I hope you will not forget that I am here for you as well.”

“Thanks Sir, but I know you’re busy, I don’t want to take up too much of your time.”

“Nonsense! I will always have time for you, Harry. If you have any questions, any at all, please do not hesitate to come to me. My office will always be open to you.”

“Sure, Ill keep it in mind.” Harry shuffled uncomfortably, adjusting his school bag. “Can I go to lunch, or did you need something else?”

Dumbledore studied him for a moment more, before waving him off with a smile. “Go on, I won’t keep you any longer.”

Harry left the office without further comment. Dumbledore hadn’t acted or spoke any differently with him, but Harry could no longer view the headmaster in the same light. All his kind treatment felt patronizing, rather than comforting like it used to. Keeping Dumbledore from getting suspicious was going to be even harder than he expected.

Severus had just sat down for lunch in his office when there was a knock on the door. “Enter.”

Draco slipped into the room and Severus’s irritation immediately turned to concern. His godson had been acting odd since he had returned to the dorms yesterday, and given the uproar this morning, he could reasonably assume that something had happened at the will reading. “Since you are in my office, rather than at lunch in the great hall, can I assume you have something to speak with me about?” He gestured for Draco to sit, pouring a second cup of tea from the kettle he kept warm with a stasis spell by his desk.

Draco took the cup and slid a letter across the desk without a word. The envelope bore no address, only Narcissa’s personal seal, in the specific shade of yellow that resembled the flower for which she had been named. A seal that, to his knowledge, she had not used since her marriage to Lucius. A glance at Draco, who was staring into his cup as if it held the secrets of the universe, and Severus opened the letter, preparing himself for the worst sort of news from one of the very few people he truly considered a friend.

Severus,

As we spoke only days ago, and you seemed to be in good health, I will not say that I hope this letter finds you well. Please, dear friend, allow me this once to skip past the monotonies of pleasantries and sentimentality. By now you have heard of Lord Potter’s emancipation and his new title as Heir black. What you will not have seen in the Daily Prophet is my own standing now that my cousin is gone. Circumstances revealed themselves at the Reading, the details of which I cannot share with you in this letter and have led to my separation from Lucius.

I have sworn an Unbreakable Vow, Severus.

I will not reveal the terms, only that I am bound to the new Lord Potter, who has been quite gracious given the circumstances which have blindsided us all. As a result of the Vow, I can no longer support my husband in his recent endeavors, nor would I have wished to even had the Vow not been involved. I cannot support his choices, when they have directly endangered my son.

Draco is unbound and may still decide where his loyalties lay. You can see as clearly as I am that we are headed towards another War, Severus, and were it up to me, Draco would have no part in it. That is no longer up to me. The mother in me hopes my son cares for me enough to remain neutral at best, so I need not be separated from him. The Slytherin in me refuses to rely on hope to see me through. I fear what I am going to ask will seem a betrayal of our friendship, and I am truly sorry for placing you in such a position.

I ask that you, as his godfather, guide Draco away from the path his father has set for him. I know this will make things difficult for you, that your position is already tenuous at best. Draco himself may be your biggest obstacle, and for that I can only apologize. I know I have not been the best mother, that I have made mistakes in the choices I made, or perhaps more in the ones I didn’t. I never should have allowed Lucius to involve Draco as much as he already has. I have done everything in my power to shelter my son from the harsh realities of our past, and in doing so may have done him more harm than good.

Draco reminds me so much of Regulus, I know you have seen it. He’s so proud of his family, so eager to please, and still so kind beneath the bluster and bravado. I will not see my son fall victim to Regulus’ fate, and I do not believe you so cruel a man as to allow that to come to pass.

Your Dearest Friend,

Narcissa Hyacinth Black

Severus sat unblinking, staring at the page in his hand, unseeing, for several long moments. A thousand thoughts raced through his mind, as a cold swept through him, sinking into his bones.  To do as Narcissa asked would weaken his position with the Dark Lord, but worse, if Dumbledore learned Potter had any sort of connection to her-

“Uncle Severus?”

Draco’s voice, subdued in a way he had not heard since the boy had been a toddler afraid of everyone but his mother, jolted him from his thoughts.

“Forgive me Draco, your mother’s letter was-unexpected.” He cleared his throat and tucked the letter into one of the warded drawers of his desk. “She explained the basics of her situation. I understand this must be troubling for you. Should you have any questions, or simply need someone to speak with, know that my door is always open to you.” It was kinder than he usually allowed himself to be on school grounds, even with Draco, but he believed it was warranted now.

“Thank you, Uncle. I’m- not sure how I feel about Mother’s circumstances.” Draco shifted in his seat, avoiding eye contact with his godfather. “Father was-angry with Mother when he found us leaving the manor.”

Severus could guess at Lucius’ reaction. He had always been a controlling man; he would not have taken his wife Separating from him well. She had always done her best to shield Draco from his father’s temper, but given his current behavior, the boy had probably witnessed Lucius’ reaction to the news. “Yes, knowing your father, he would not have been-pleased with the situation.”

A moment of silence passed between them, interrupted by the chiming of the grandfather clock situated by the fireplace in his office. “It would seem that lunch is about over. You should return to your classes.” Draco stood and began heading towards the door. Before he could leave, Severus stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. “Focus on your classes for now. I will do what I can for your mother, and you needn’t worry about Lucius so long as you are on school grounds. You do not have to make a decision tonight, Draco.”

“Yes Uncle.” His voice was still quieter than normal, but it was steadier than it had been.

It was only once his godson was gone that Severus allowed himself to feel the frustration he had been swallowing. He paced the length of his office as he worked out a plan. He would have to speak to Potter, as much as the idea appalled him. He would need the boy to pass on a letter to Narcissa and ensure the brat hadn’t already revealed her or the Vow to Dumbledore. It would be safer if he did not know where Narcissa was residing, so he would have to rely on Potter to play messenger, at least for the moment. He would have to deal with Lucius’ temper and try to frame the situation in a way that would appease both Dumbledore and the Dark Lord.

He sat at his desk once more, already planning out the reply he would draft, when a subtle flash caught his eye. He turned to the framed portrait he kept on his desk, the only one in his office, charmed to be invisible to any but him. He studied the portrait for a moment, reaching for the ring kept close to his heart and allowing the scene to calm him, before he began writing. Narcissa had been right, he was not a cruel enough man to allow his godson to suffer the same fate his beloved had fallen too.

Portrait:

Underneath one of the trees on Hogwarts grounds, leaves and grass green and thick with the freshness of late spring, a young 17-year-old Severus sat, robes spread like a blanket beneath him, tie loosened, book in one hand, as his other ran fingers through the thick dark hair of the boy laying his head in Severus’ lap. 16-year-old Regulus Black was half asleep, lazily tracing shapes in the air with his wand. Barely visible, both boys wear silver promise rings, glinting softly in the sunlight.