Harry awoke at six the next morning and for the first time in weeks he woke up feeling refreshed. He had no nightmares the night before, and he was feeling positive for once after consciously sorting most of his Sirius memories into the "Happy Thoughts" bin. For the first time since he had been home, he got up on time, and went to take a shower. After he was clean, he then headed down the stairs and began preparing breakfast.
As he was finishing up, he heard what sounded like a hippo coming down the stairs, and recognized the sound of Dudley rushing towards food. "Hey!" he exclaimed in surprise when he saw who was cooking.
"Heya Dudikens!" Harry said cheerfully as he placed the plate on the table. Dudley immediately became suspicious at his positive and helpful attitude.
"What do you think you're doing Potter? You think you can poison me that easy?" He asked, not moving from the doorway.
"Dudley, if I wanted you dead I would have left you to the Dementors last year." Harry stated matter-of-factly, he paused for a moment and then continued with a grin. "Besides, there are a million other ways I could think of that would be less traceable by Muggles." He finished with a leer.
Dudley didn't know whether to be reassured by his cousin's words, or terrified. He settled for silence and sat down to eat his breakfast. "Shnk oo." He mumbled.
Luckily Harry had years of experience with Ron, and was fluent in Mouthfulease. "Dudley, did you just thank me?" He asked surprised.
Dudley swallowed before he answered. "Well, you're right about the demantoid thingies. You could have left me there, and uh… thanks for you know… not killing me and stuff every day since then too."
Harry turned around and stared at his cousin for a minute. That had to be the closest thing to kind words that any Dursley had ever uttered to him. On top of it Dudley had not bothered him once the whole time he had been home. "You know Dud, I doubt I will ever be able to like you after the way you treated me my whole life but your still family. You promise to leave me alone, and I promise to leave you alone, you realize it's only just over a year until I can use magic any time I want right?" He asked the rotund boy.
Dudley gulped and took a breath before replying. "Guess 'ats fair nuff. I don't know if I can apologize for all the stuff in grade school with a straight face anyway. But I think I can keep my friends away from you from now on. You just keep that… stick, pointed away from me right?" He asked nervously.
Harry figured that was as close to an apology as he would get from any of the family and he stuck out his hand which Dudley shook quickly, dropping it almost as fast just in case his parents saw him being nice to the freak.
"Right," Harry began. "Well you don't have to worry about that for the rest of the summer, I'm leaving in about an hour." As he finished his Uncle and Aunt entered the kitchen with suspicious looks on their faces.
"What's this boy? You say you're leaving us already, and besides this breakfast," He motioned to the table, "You haven't done a lick of work all summer."
"I figured we would do better staying out of each other's way Uncle Vernon. What with my friends threatening you and all. I decided I would stay out of your business and you could stay out of mine. And now I will be leaving, it's like I was never here." He finished. He felt decidedly Slytherin at that moment. His statement was true, from a certain point of view. His uncle did not need to know that he had spent the first two weeks brooding over his Godfathers death, and the past week studying the "M" word.
Vernon eyed him suspiciously once more, before turning and sitting at the table. "Right then," He gruffed out. "What time are you leaving then?"
Harry was a bit surprised, if he had known it was this easy he would have avoided his "family" at all costs much sooner. "In about," he looked at the clock on the stove, "Thirty minutes now. I should go finish up packing so I can get out of your way." At his uncles nod he quickly left the room and went upstairs to check his room one last time. Just in case he left something unpacked the day before. Finding nothing out of place he closed his trunk, grabbed Hedwig's Cage, and headed down the stairs. He sat down and waited for his salvation to arrive.
At precisely nine am there was a knock on the door. Harry opened up to find the last person he wanted to see on this day. "Ah good morning Harry, looks like you have everything in order."
"Yes Headmaster," Harry ground out. He was still not happy with the old man. Not noticing or not caring about Harry's mood the man continued on.
"Well Harry if you will take my sleeve. We have a few stops to make before we can go to Headquarters." He said. Harry sighed, but drew in a sharp breath when he noticed the old man's shriveled hand.
"Sir, what happened to your hand?" He exclaimed.
"Ah, that was the result of a spell backfiring I am afraid. It looks much worse than it actually is I assure you."
Harry nodded but another thought took him. "Why hasn't Madame Pomfrey healed it?"
"Ah young Harry, as you well know, sometimes it is simply not possible to heal wounds caused by dark magic." He said cryptically. Harry was not in the mood, and his question had been answered. So he decided to let the Headmaster worry about it.
"Fine sir, where are we going first?" He asked.
"We have some business to attend to at Gringotts, if you don't mind I shall shrink your belongings so you can transport them on your person." And before Harry could answer Dumbledore waved his wand and the trunk and cage were pocketable sizes.
Grinding his teeth, Harry asked as politely as possible. "Sir, what business do you need me for at Gringotts?"
Just as he asked Hedwig swooped in the door and landed on his shoulder with a Letter attached to her leg. Dumbledore noted the seal and gave the bird an appraising look.
"Harry might I ask how your owl knew to go to Gringotts and pick up a letter for you?"
Harry wondered the same thing, but had long ago chalked it up to Owl ESP. After all if Harry could understand her, then she should certainly be able to see the future right?
"I haven't figured it out yet myself sir. But she is a very smart girl." As he took the letter he got an affectionate nip on the ear for his comment.
Smiling he broke the seal and read the letter:
Dear Mr. Potter
We at Gringotts wish to express our most heartfelt sadness at the passing of your loved one. Alas there is some business pertaining to the death of one Sirius Black, which will need to be tended to. The will reading will be today at 10am, We had not yet heard back from your Magical Guardian as to whether you would be in attendance, and as the primary beneficiary we felt it prudent to contact you ourselves.
Our deepest apologies for not getting in contact with you in a timelier manner, we hope to see you today so that you may receive your inheritance. If you are unable to attend I am afraid your share of the Black Estate will be forfeited.
Sincerely,
Ragnok - Senior Manager of Gringotts Bank, London
Harry closed his eyes and took several deep breaths, he was thankful for his meditation training, as he was able to quickly slip into a light trance, just long enough to sort his emotions and think clearly. "Sir," he started. "Who is my magical guardian?"
"Dumbledore looked a bit surprised by the question, but glancing again at the letter he answered truthfully."As you have no eligible magical relatives, you were made a ward of Hogwarts, and thus the Headmaster." He stated.
"And how long have you known about Sirius' will reading?" He asked again, his tone was flat and emotionless.
"Only since I inquired whether you would be willing to leave today. By happy coincidence the times coincide, now we should hurry if you would like to make it there on time."
Harry nodded and took the proffered arm, he felt like he was being squeezed through a straw and could not breath, but before his mind could register the problem properly, they had arrived just outside of the Leaky Cauldron. As he took a deep breath Dumbledore looked down at him and smiled at his disconcerted face.
"Ah, I remember my first Apparition fondly. Granted, the sensation is much more unpleasant when you take someone with you, but even that you eventually learn to ignore. Now come along, we have a bit of a walk to get to the bank." And with that he walked into the bar.
Tom smiled at Harry when they walked into the Cauldron but said nothing; as if he knew Harry wouldn't like the attention. They continued quickly to the back where the Headmaster tapped the proper sequence on the bricks and opened the doorway to the alley.
When Harry had first been to visit Diagon Alley it was the most magical thing he had ever seen. There had been Wizards and Witches everywhere going about their business and everything had been colorful and full of life. This looked nothing like the place that Harry remembered. The news that Harry and Dumbledore had been telling the truth for the past year had quickly spread and people were terrified to leave their homes unless absolutely necessary. The alley looked deserted and the shop fronts all seemed to have a grayish cast to them. It may have been a trick of the light but Harry thought the whole placed looked depressed.
As they neared the end of the alley there stood Gringotts in all its glory. The only building that seemed indifferent to the goings on of the Wizarding world. Heading inside Harry nodded to the security goblins flanking the doorway; they gave him an odd look before resuming their vigil. Dumbledore walked past the tellers to an imposing looking goblin at a desk in front of large ornate doors covered in gold designs. "What do you want?" The goblin inquired without looking up.
"Mr. Potter and I are here for a will reading." The older man replied.
The goblin looked up quickly but barely glanced at the bearded man before his eyes settled on Harry. "Ah, Mr. Potter, it is a pleasure to meet you, and I am glad you were able to attend today's event. We were getting worried." At this point he flicked his eyes to the Supreme Mugwump and back to Harry with a fierce look that expressed his displeasure. This made Harry quite happy and he smiled at the goblin. "Thank you, I received notice this morning, and by a strange set of coincidences, my guardian happened to be coming to Gringotts this morning as well."
The goblin nodded then looked down at his book. "If you will follow me I will take you to conference room two, where the reading shall be held. The others are already awaiting your arrival." And he turned and opened the double doors. He led them down the hallway to an immaculately decorated door with a Roman numeral two inscribed in gold. "The reading should begin in ten minutes." The goblin said, and then turned around and headed back to his post. Harry looked down the hall as he left, then turned and opened the door.
Inside the room was a medium sized rectangular space with a long table down the middle. Seated at the table, unfortunately, were Narcissa and Draco Malfoy. They tried very hard not to look uncomfortable with the current company. On the other side sat he Weasleys minus Bill and Charlie and Percy, Remus Lupin, and Auror Tonks, along with a woman that appeared to be her, only fifteen years or so older, which he assumed to be her mother. And at the end closest to him Hermione sat next to Ginny and Ron. As he entered the room she turned and with speed he did not know she possessed, nearly tackled him with a hug. This was normal of course; Hermione hugs were the stuff of legend. What he was not prepared for was the second missile that hit him within a few seconds and latched on. Ginny and Hermione both exclaimed at the same time. "Harry!"
He smiled as he nervously slipped an arm around the two girls who starred in most of his messier dreams. It might not have been so bad except for the fact that there were three older brothers and a set of parents in the room, not to mention he knew for a fact that Ron fancied Hermione. All in all it would turn uncomfortable if they did not let him loose in a few seconds. Before he could black out for lack of air they released him.
Before he could comment a goblin he had not noticed sitting at the head of the table coughed politely to get everyone's attention. "Now that we are all here, perhaps we can get to business?" Harry recognized the goblin as Griphook from his first year. He supposed he had gotten promoted in the years since. "Of course Griphook, time is money after all." Harry said as he sat down at the foot of the table opposite the goblin.
Griphook looked shocked momentarily, but masked it quickly before continuing on. "Very well, we are gathered here today for the Will reading of one Sirius Black. As no charges were ever filed, and no trial or conviction ever recorded, Gringotts has determined this Will to be legitimate and chooses to execute it at this time according to the wishes of our client." And with that he turned to the corner where a Solicitors Pensieve sat. He touched a few of the ruins, and then twiddled his fingers at the torches in the room causing them to dim. Up from the Pensieve rose the image of his Godfather. It looked to have been recorded shortly after Christmas.
He began, "Good day everyone, I am sorry to say, that if you are seeing me now, that means I am not seeing you for some unfortunate reason. If something happened to me I hope that I went out fighting evil, though something tells me that if I died I probably got cocky in the middle of a fight. Lil's was always yelling at me about that." He seemed to drift into a memory for a moment before coming back to the task at hand.
"Sorry about that, I spend much of my time lately cooped up in my mother's house; Snape will be delighted to hear that I prefer him to Dementors but only barely. However I digress. I Sirius Orion Black, being of sound mind and sexy body… Shut up Moony, I know your whispering something to my dear cousin Nymphadora. Ha! I get to call you that without worrying about being hexed in my sleep! What?" He seemed to ask someone in the room. "Oh sorry, I am getting off topic again."
"I Sirius Orion Black being of sound mind and body, and being a free man despite what the Ministry says, do hereby record my last Will and Testament on this the first day of January 1996. These are my wishes should something happen to cause my untimely demise. First to my dear second cousin, once removed, Narcissa Malfoy, I offer you a divorce from the blonde ponce Malfoy as head of the Black Family. If you should choose to divorce him I am prepared to offer you a home on the coast and a monthly stipend to be held in trust. This will be more than enough to keep you in the manner to which you are accustomed. There are two other stipulations besides divorce. You must also show that you have not taken the Dark Mark, and you must sign a magical contract promising never to do so, nor to support Voldemort in any way.
"To Draco, though you are the spawn of the blonde ponce, you are a Black by birth and I will offer you the same deal as your mother, however the amount needed to purchase a home will be held in Trust until after you graduate Hogwarts. From what I hear it is my sincere wish that you have not, as of the time of this reading, taken the Mark. If you can prove that you are not marked as a Death Eater, and sign a contract stating you will not support Voldemort in any way, you will be accepted as Draco Black.
"Otherwise you will each receive the sum of 50 Galleons, and that only because it is the bare minimum required by Family Law for those cast out of the Black Family."
"WHAT!!" Draco shot to his feet in a rage. Griphook touched a rune on the side of the Pensieve which paused the playback of the memory. "You wish to dispute the Will Mr. Malfoy?" Griphook demanded.
"Of course I do you troll spawn! I should be Head of the House of Black as I am the closest male relative! You cannot do this!" He shouted.
"As a matter of fact Mr. Malfoy, Your mother was Mr. Black's second cousin, there is another male who is an entire generation closer and would thus inherit the title and trust of the Black Family. However," He paused for effect, "As Mr. Black named his successor and the new Head of the Black Family in his Will, that point is moot. According to Wizarding Law as well as Black Family Tradition, it is his right to do so as Head of House. Now, may we continue or shall I have you escorted from the room?" He finished with a smile that was all teeth and anything but friendly.
Draco looked about to protest, but his mother pulled him back down into his chair and nodded to the goblin to continue. Griphook nodded back and touched the rune once more.
Sirius' image flickered and then started again. "Since we are talking about those cast out of the family by my beloved mother, I hereby reinstate Andromeda Black-Tonks and her descendants into the family. As such they are entitled to the sum of 10,000 Galleons each, plus 10,000 Galleons to Theodore Tonks as dowry." There was a sharp intake from the two women who sat opposite of Narcissa at the table. Andromeda and Tonks were too shocked to speak.
"To Albus Dumbledore I leave 500,000 Galleons in trust to the Order of the Phoenix, with a goblin account manager to make certain the money is used as intended. Personally I still hold a grudge against you; I sat in Azkaban for 12 years when you could have made a few inquiries and learned I was innocent. At the very least I should have had a trial. You let me down Albus, and then you locked me into that god-forsaken house. If it were not for Harry visiting I would rather have lived as a dog and lived off of rats." Harry nodded silently as some of his questions were answered; he noted that Hermione had a thoughtful look as well.
"To Remus Lupin, otherwise known forthwith as Moony. I bequeath the sum of 100,000 Galleons." Lupin looked about to object, "And shut up Moony, there is nothing you can do about it the money has already been transferred to your Vault. Do me a favor and go buy yourself some new robes and get yourself a nice place to live with a nice strong room built in. I hear the Muggles have invented something called a Panic Room you might want to check into." He grinned almost as if he could see the shocked look on Moony's face.
"Nymphadora Nymphadora, oh my Nymphy Nymphadora. My favorite cousin, In addition to your earlier amount, I bequeath to you 100,000 Galleons, plus a dowry if you can manage to tie down a certain wolf you were making eyes at, here I will pause for laughter." And he did, there was nervous chuckling from everyone but the Malfoys, Tonks and Moony were both turning red. Sirius continued, "I do hope I made Nymphadora blush, do you have any idea how hard it is to make a Metamorphmagus blush?
"Andromeda Tonks, in addition to the aforementioned I hereby bequeath 100,000 Galleons and my sincere apologies for the years you have lived in shame. Pardon me a second, all this talking makes a guy thirsty, even if I am dead." He chuckled before reaching out of sight and getting a water glass, which he sipped and then placed back wherever it came from.
"To Arthur and Molly Weasley I bequeath 200,000 Galleons. You made Harry a part of your family and showed him Love when I could not. I will be forever in your debt. Molly you were right, though I will never admit it to your face. Harry is not James no matter how much I wish it were so sometimes. I have no practice being a parent and I hope Harry can forgive me for any bad choices I made, besides the one to run off after the Rat. However both of you must realize that Harry is no longer a Child either. He has lived through more than many people twice his age and lived to tell the tale. He is the most mature teenager I have ever known and I hope you can see him for the person he is, not the child you wish he could be." Molly was bawling in her husband's arms as he whispered in her ear, she would nod every now and then, glance over at Harry, and sniff. Harry hoped that was a good sign.
"Fred and George Weasley, you have carried on the Marauder tradition well and I would like to name you Honorary Members if Moony agrees." Moony quickly nodded, and the twin's smiles lit up the room. "So as honorary Marauders I give each of you 50,000 Galleons. I hope you will put them toward your business, Harry was right, with the Dork Lord running around we all need some laughter. You may now fall to your knees and worship me." He paused for dramatic effect and the twin's promptly fell to their knees and began bowing and scraping repeating "We're not worthy!" over and over in unison. Moony looked on in quiet amusement.
"Thank you that will do nicely. Incidentally if you are looking for a non-silent partner, I know a certain Marauder who could use a job." The twins nodded to Moony who was again speechless.
"Ronald Weasley, for being the best friend and brother to my Godson, I give you the sum of 10,000 Galleons. I know you have had trouble in the past getting around Harry's wealth. Please don't let something as trivial as a little gold get in the way of your friendship." Ron too was stunned speechless.
"Ginny Weasley, you became my friend in the little time you spent in my mother's house. I know you have been a good friend to Harry and I am giving you 10,000 Galleons as well. I know you will be there for him no matter what." Ginny just nodded as tears ran down her cheeks and hugged the girl beside her.
"Hermione Granger, after hearing all of Harry's stories it is clear to me that if not for your friendship Harry might be dead many times over. To you I give 10,000 Galleons, and as a bonus, all of the books in the Black Library at Grimmauld Place." Hermione looked about to faint at the thought of having her own Library. "Somebody catch her before she faints!" Sirius called out, Ginny had already caught her, though Hermione did not quite pass out.
Everyone was smiling at this point, even through the tears, even from death Sirius could make people laugh. "Finally to my Godson Harry James Potter, I give the remaining properties and monies, as well as the Title of Lord Black. You may not know it but you are also Lord Potter, something your guardian has failed to mention. As Head of Family, and last of the Potter line, you can have yourself declared an Adult as of your 16th Birthday. I hope I am there to see it, but if you are watching this, then I am certain I will not be. Harry, not only are you my Godson but James' mum was a Black, my Great aunt who had been disowned. Before you get too sick remember that we live a lot longer than Muggles so love has no age. By reinstating her to the family posthumously that makes you my closest male relative as well. You deserve this Pup, part of the money is held in trust for the family, but the rest is yours to do with as you please. I hope you use it to kick the hyphenated ones arse for me, also live a little. I love you and I am only sorry I cannot be there to see you grow into the man I know you will be. Give him hell Harry!
"Well I guess that is everything, Oh, if you can think of anyone else that deserves a bit of my money… well your money now, please do so and if need be tell them I made you do it. Take care of Nymphy and Moony for me, and find yourself a witch or two and make me proud." He winked and the memory fell back into the Pensieve.
Harry blinked as Griphook brought the lights back up in the room. He was a Lord? He could be emancipated in a week and never have to go back to Privet Drive again! Today was definitely looking up. Griphook cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "If you will all see me I have the necessary paperwork to fill out, Lord Black if you will first. You need to sign the orders to reinstate the Tonks' as well as…" he looked to Narcissa and Draco.
Narcissa looked about to speak but Draco exploded from his seat. "We will not be taking charity from you Potter! And my mother would never leave my father." He stormed out of the room. She looked at the door for a moment before asking, "Do you need my answer now or am I allowed to think about it?"
Griphook answered her. "The offer stands as long as Lord Black does not rescind it." He looked to Harry. Confused Harry wondered idly why he was being looked at before he remembered he was now Lord Black. "I shall not rescind the offer Mrs. Malfoy, but I would act quickly before Draco does something stupid. I'm certain we could have that home warded and placed under Fidelus if you are worried about your safety." He said, surprised at how well thought out his answer was. Narcissa nodded and then strolled sedately out of the room; she paused briefly as if to say something to Andromeda, but closed her mouth and left without another word.
Harry signed his part of the paperwork and stood back up, before being knocked into the wall by a blur of Auror trying to hug him. In typical Tonks fashion she tripped halfway to him and ended up wrapped around his waist barely escaping the floor. If not for the wall she would have taken him with her. "Sorry Harry, you have no idea how much this means to us. I have been a Tonks all my life but my mum has always been a little ashamed. You just made it like it never happened." She finished standing up and kissed him on the cheek. He blushed slightly but managed to stammer out, "It was all Sirius, all I did was sign the paper. But you're welcome if it makes you feel better." She nodded and walked carefully out of the room collecting her mother on the way out.
"Harry, I do hate to interrupt but we have another matter to attend to before we can retire to Headquarters." Harry looked up at the Headmaster and fought to keep the disdain off his face, he had barely said hi to his friends, he had just had a very emotionally draining experience, and now he was expected to follow along like a puppy? With a sigh he nodded and headed over to his friends.
"Hey guys, sorry I have to run, but apparently the Headmaster and I have somewhere else to be before we can head back to headquarters. I will see you there later though right?" Hermione looked pensive and about to say something, but Ron jumped in and cut her off. "Yeah mate that's fine, we'll see you there later, we have to go back to the Burrow and finish packing anyway."
Harry wondered why they were at the Burrow rather than headquarters, but figured he could pull it out of Hermione later if need be. With a nod he walked out of the room, forcing the Chief Warlock to follow him. 'Who's the puppy now?' he thought to himself and smirked. They left Gringotts and headed back down the road toward the exit and the Leaky Cauldron. Once again as they passed through Tom nodded politely but did not call attention to his passing. He would be sure to thank the barkeep next time he got the chance.
Outside Dumbledore offered his arm to Harry, who now knowing what to expect, grabbed hold and took a deep breath and nodded. They disappeared with a faint Pop!