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Chapter Text

Sirius knew that most people thought he was too reckless as well as a fool, but like most Pureblooded Wizards from old families, Sirius had his mask. He had also quite a skill in determining what others kept behind their own mask. Whether it is those of the Malfoy family who had in public put on a stoic act, Sirius had found that more often than not the Malfoys would actually be quite kind and loving once you got past their mask. It always made him think of a line he once read from a Muggle playwright called Shakespeare that went: "All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts."

This quote, he thought, was a perfect line for almost all Pureblooded magic users even his own family was not immune to hiding behind a mask.  Unlike the stoic Malfoy family, the Blacks are said to be quite mad and even a little insane. But in truth, it was just the Black family mask though some like his cousin Bella had let the mask take over her own being going truly mad. Sirius's own mask made him seem more reckless than others of his family, but in truth, he was quite intelligent as well as a good son. It had all been his own mother, Walburga Black who had seen another war coming after the defeat of Gellert Grindelwald and had set her two sons down before Sirius had gone to Hogwarts to explain how the houses were chosen at the school.

"Now almost every single member of the House of Black had been in Slytherin House which is all well and good, but I think it might be good for one or both of you to try to get into another one of the houses. Do not worry we will think no less of you no matter which house you join but I have a feeling that more evil is coming to our world and it might be good for our family to gain some allies with families who have Light or Gray Cores," Walburga said before she hugged both her precious boys.

She had been so glad when Sirius had written to her after the sorting to inform her that not only had he been sorted into Gryffindor House, but he had made some friends with the boys James Potter and Remus Lupin. While Walburga had been happy that he had made friends with the heir of a family from the light as well as the half-blood boy, she also had to act the part so she had sent a Howler at him threatening to disown him unless he started to act like a real Black. This last act had worked a little too well according to a return letter from her eldest son sent after everyone had gone to sleep saying his new friends had got further into his camp. It was not until the Yule where he had returned home and invited his new friends that they actually learned the truth.

Walburga had to greet the two friends with a smile and a bow as she let them into her house almost laughing at the looks on their faces for Sirius had informed her that they had agreed to come with him due to them under the belief that he was about to be mistreated. "Now boys I can assume you are aware that many Purebloods act differently in private than they do in public?" she had asked and saw James at least nod as a look of understanding came to his face. "The Black family was always said to be a little mad but that is just our mask as we find that others tend to underestimate us when they think we are just a step shy of insanity letting us observe them with a keen eye. Now that you know this, thanks to my heir vouching for you, I ask that you keep this secret and," she said leaning in and finishing in a quiet tone "just watch out for Sirius as no one in our family had quite the control over their mask than him."

James and Remus had kept his secret sometimes finding it hard such as when his mother would send a yearly Howler at him they would have to take a drink so others would not see their grins. When James and Sirius discovered that Remus was a werewolf it was Walburga who had to help them find a way to help their friend by teaching them how to change into Animagus the pair had then taught a fellow student that had tagged after them though had not been told of Sirius's true nature. It was also under her tutelage that they had been able to create the Marauders' Map.

Sirius had been proud of his younger brother in school as Regulus had been sorted into Slytherin thus giving Walburga more reason to send Howlers to Sirius and keep up their charade. Unlike his older brother, Walburga was given the task of basically spying on the rising evil forced gathering behind some fool who had taken the name Voldemort making the brothers act like they hated each other at school thus leading Regulus a better reputation for those of the man's followers who were trying to recruit dark Pureblood kids still in school.

It had hit both Walburga and Sirius when shortly after graduating, Regulus told them that he had been chosen to accompany Voldemort on a mission alone. Regulus had been joined by the family House Elf Kreacher who had shown up a couple of days later with the sad news that Regulus had been killed. Both Sirius and his mother were heartbroken at the news and for the first time in her life in regards to her eldest son Walburga had lost control of her mask blaming him for Regulus's death, kicking him out of the house, and blasting his name off the family tapestry. However, she did after a year apologize for her actions and confirmed that she had not disowned him from the family.

Though according to his mother, Sirius had better control of his mask than anyone else in the Black family had in the last century there were times to his embarrassment that he had lost control at keeping himself from his mask two of which were two of the worst moments in his life. The first time he found he lost control of keeping his mask separate from himself was in the case of a fellow student, Severus Snape. The moment he had laid his eyes on the other boy, he had been taken with him but like a kid in grade school, the only way he had found to share his attraction to the other male was basically bullying him. Sirius had only been able to tell his two best friends, sometimes in tears, as he thought about how he treated the other boy.

It did not help that Severus was friends with Lily Evens whom James also had a crush on leading to some bad encounters as for the longest time both boys had the same method of showing interest in the pair. To Sirius's annoyance, James was able to grow out of pranking and picking on Lily to get her attention and managed to get a date yet Sirius was always so flustered around Snape, that he could not take off his mask as the other way around. This leads to his first worst moment in his life as he had Severus almost get attacked by Remus in his werewolf form. As soon as he had sent Severus after Remus he was able to get rid of his mask and ask James for his help, at the very last moment James had been able to save the other boy from being either killed or bitten. When James had told him Sirius had collapsed into a ball and cried himself to sleep at what his inability to shed his mask around his crush had nearly led to. For the rest of their time in school, Sirius did his best to avoid the other boy in hopes of not causing any more problems for Severus though it broke his heart leading to more nights of crying himself to sleep.

After school, he joined James in becoming an Auror and it had been his ability to see past others' masks that had led to his quick advancement. At one point he was considered on the fast track to becoming the Head Auror as his record was almost on par with Alastor Moody, though James joked that he was better than Moody for although he had just as tough assignments as the other Auror, Sirius was not as scared. Of his group of friends, only James was with him in becoming an Auror as Lily had found herself working as an Unspeakable and Remus was going for his Masters in both Defense Against the Dark Arts as well as History in the hopes of becoming a teacher. Sirius had never really trusted Peter Pettigrew and was glad the man did not have the grades to become an Auror rather he became a normal member of the Magical Law Enforcement.

Though he had not been in the same room as much as possible with Severus, he had learned his crush was on his way from being the youngest person to gain a Masters in Potions. It was during his time as an Auror that his second-worst moment happened as he once more became lost behind his mask. It all happened after Samhain when Voldemort had visited James and Lily leading to their deaths. Arriving at the blasted house, he saw someone leave and was about to curse them only for the person to pass in front of a light and Sirius to recognize Severus Snape's profile. Sirius hunkered down letting Severus leave before entering the house and stopping in place as he found James's dead body lying at the foot of the stairs.

Locking his mask in place to not cry at his friend's body, Sirius made his way upstairs to where his Godson's room. Entering it he experienced another break to his heart as he saw Lily's dead body but Harry was still alive crying in his crib. Seeing him Harry made grabby hands and called out "Pafo." Sirius locked his mask harder in place as he scooped up his precious Godson and exited the house only to almost run bodily into Hagrid. The tall man had convinced Sirius that it would be best for Dumbledore to take care of Harry. Sirius was so far behind his mask he not only agreed but gave the man use of his flying motorcycle to take Harry away as his grief for both James, Lily but also Regulus who had died from the forces of Voldemort made him act as reckless as he was often called as he went after Peter.

After meeting Peter and the man blowing himself up Sirius found he could finally remove his mask, but by then it was too late as the Aurors arrived and led him away. Only afterward did Sirius discover the biggest mistake of his life so far in trusting Albus Dumbledore. It seems that the old man was the one person whose mask Sirius had not been able to see around and had trusted he was the kindly old man he seemed to be. This was clearly shown as rather than be given a trial he had been sent right to Azkaban to max security nonetheless. As he waited for the trial, he realized Albus was not one to be trusted as the old man had known he was not the Potter's Secret Keeper and had been the one to tell them all about the Prophecy about the one to stop the Dark Lord.

He had a feeling that the old fool did not care about the Potters or himself and was more concerned about Harry which was worrying. Thus it was that Sirius was able to remain sane in that place thinking about his Godson but also thinking about every interaction he had had with Dumbledore. After too many years to count he had found a new lease on life and a reason to be after asking for a chance to read a newspaper being carried by a visitor. As he sat in his cell he shook his head at the picture on the front page where he saw a family on a trip.

He found his gift of seeing past people's masks still worked as he saw the mother of the group looked all smiles and happiness but he could tell she was more concerned about making sure only the youngest children were in the front as in the picture she actually elbowed a pair of twins to the background. The twins, as well as the other children of the family, looked happy and kind and Sirius was glad to see they were not wearing masks, unlike their mother and younger siblings who seemed to have the same overly friendly mask as their mother. As he saw the youngest boy's face he suddenly noticed the rat on the boy's shoulder and recognized Peter. Reading the article he felt his heart drop as he found out that the youngest boy, Ronald Weasley, was a friend of Harry. Sirius almost lost himself behind his mask again but being in Azkaban had made his ability to control his own mask absolute.

With a new sense of purpose, he had broken out of the Magical Prison and headed to his home Grimmauld Place. To his great relief, he found his mother still alive and was able to convince her of his innocence. She had nursed him back to health with the help of Kreacher as he told her all he had realized about Albus Dumbledore she had listened to him with a knowing look and talked him into going to see Harry before he went after Peter even going as far to give him an old family wand. On her suggestion, he had made his way to where his magic led him to find to his horror his Godson living with abusive Muggles if what he could determine in his Grim form, but what was worse was that he recognized Arabella Figg, one of Dumbledore's people watching over the place as well. He allowed Harry to get sight of him as the boy summoned the Knight Bus before making the long journey to Hogwarts and fulfilling his duty as Harry's Godfather.

When he got to Hogwarts he had been lucky enough to befriend a half-Kneazle, by the name of  Crookshanks, who had helped him as much as she could to get his hands on Peter. As he waited for the rat Sirius watched his Godson and found the boy too small and thin to his liking he made a note to himself that once he caught the rat he was going to take the boy to a healer who could be trusted as it seemed the one at Hogwarts was one of Dumbledore's people. It was during the wait he had also laid eyes on Severus finding his crush had not lessened as a tug pulled at his heart.

Sirius next laid eyes on his old friend Remus and was glad to see he had gotten his wish as he was a teacher and from what he overheard was the best one in years. Sirius had also been happy to lay eyes on his Godson and his friends. He saw the boy Ronald who just as he saw in the picture had a mask of being a friendly person but he saw that the redhead was more prone to anger and jealousy, while the Witch with them had the look of pure sincerity with her how she acted. Watching Harry play Quidditch had been exciting for Sirius to see how well he stacked up against James's skill. By his estimates, Harry was a tad better than James had been though the match had been ruined when the Dementors came and to his horror Harry had fallen from his broom, almost making Sirius shift back and use the wand to slow him down but just in time Harry began to slow seemingly on his own After Harry was safe, Sirius's eyes followed his Godson's broom and saw it fly right into the Whomping Willow and was utterly destroyed. That night Sirius had decided to send Crookshanks to the Hogsmeade Post Office to order his Godson a new broom as a way to make up some lost time.

He finally got into the castle on the night of Samhain, using the night's festivities to try to sneak into Gryffindor Tower. When reaching the Fat Lady's Portrait he gave the alumni password but the Fat Lady refused to open up. He wanted to keep his cool but knew he had to act the part of the half-mad man he pulled out his family wand and slashed at the portrait before using several secret passages to get out of the school and headed to the Whomping Willow to a place he had set up in the Shrieking Shack, The rest of the Hogwarts school year passed in a haze for Sirius the only highlights was seeing Harry flying on the broom he had gotten his Godson making the skill level between him and James more noticeable. As the school year drew to a close, Sirius decided it was time to get the rat and finding him being carried out of Hagrid's hut by Ronald, Sirius rushed towards the red-headed boy and clasping the boy's arm in his jaws pulled him to the Shrieking Shack. After a tense situation with Remus, Severus arrives which makes Sirius act recklessly, almost leading to his crush killing him. Harry and his friends ended up stunning Severus making Sirius's heart stop as he saw the man blasted into the wall but it got worse when later that night Pettigrew got away and forced Sirius to flee.

After fleeing, Sirius once more returned to find that his mother was deathly ill. He spent the summer caring for her giving him any time to check on Harry's home life with the Muggles. The only times he had gotten out of the house had been to buy Harry his birthday gift as well as an owl for Ronald to replace the pet Peter had been pretending to be. Shortly before Harry's fourth year was to begin Walburga had finally passed away leaving him Lord Black which happened on the same day he received an owl from Harry telling him about a dream his Godson had had the night of his birthday involving Voldemort.

As time was of the essence Sirius used the family wand he had been able to cast a spell to create a Magical Portrait of her and hung it in the front hall and put up silk curtains on either side of her in traditional black before he sent a response to Harry as he had no time before heading out after Peter the year before Sirius conversed with Walburga's Portrait to learn all that had happened during his imprisonment. Some of the news she shared had horrified him such as the events that she had heard happen at Hogwarts during the years Harry had been at school that she had learned from Sirius's cousin Narcissa and her son Draco. This information was just more added to the pile against Dumbledore in his mind.

More of which was to be laid on as shortly after Samhain he was delivered a second letter from Harry with the news of not only the return of the Triwizard's Tournament but also that by the fact that Harry had somehow been chosen as a fourth Champion. This was enough to get Sirius out of Grimmauld Place and return to Hogwarts. Not that he could do much when he got there besides watch, to his horror, Harry competed in a task meant for kids at least three years his senior task that even would be a challenge to a rookie Auror that the four were somehow able to get past. But at the Final Task, it was horrors upon horrors as Harry was abducted out of the grounds of Hogwarts, something the Wards should have prevented from happening which meant it had been allowed by Dumbledore as no one else could control the wards apart from the Headmaster of the castle.

When Harry came back Professor McGonagall escorted his Grim form up to the Headmaster's office where he was shortly joined by the fool as well as his Godson. Harry told them what had happened after he had been snatched from the grounds and the return of Voldemort to Sirius's shock he saw a smile at that bit of information fly across Dumbledore's face. Once more Sirius was asked to leave with orders to help gather up the members of Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix.

Having a sinking feeling that Dumbledore would want Grimmauld Place as the headquarters before he went to recruit, something that Dumbledore should know as extremely hard if not impossible as most Muggles and Wizards saw him as an escaped criminal, Sirius went back home. He told his mother's portrait what had happened and they had worked out a plan, along with Kreacher where both Kreacher and Walburga would act hostile to anyone that entered the home unless Sirius was alone and had brought them to her like he had done with his old school friends those many years ago. Having taken care of that he went to collect Remus who he decided would be the one to talk to people into rejoining the Order.

It seemed as though his guess had been right for a week after Hogwarts ended Dumbledore asked him for permission to use Grimmauld Place to host their meetings. Thinking at some point Harry would be brought to his home, he agreed and to his utter annoyance not only did the Order come for meetings but some newer members, such as the Weasley family actually moved right into the building without even asking his permission. It was the first time he met any of them apart from Ronald and he found his earlier measure of them correct Molly had a Pureblood mask that made it look like she was a nice caring Witch, but Sirius saw the anger she had toward some of her children while at the same time the favoritism she had to her two youngest. Ronald and Ginny were brats who seemed to get annoyed whenever they did not get their own way and threw a fit when they saw how dirty the rooms that Molly had decided they were to sleep in were.

The twins of the family, he did not actually mind and allowed them to come to the top floor an area of the house he kept warded against everyone as it held his personal rooms not to mention his mother's old room. Sirius instantly liked the twins who loved pranks something he could get behind and told them stories of the pranks he had done in his years letting slip his nickname of Padfoot, as Harry had told him that the twins had found the Marauder's Map. The twins' mouths fell open and they began to bow to him making him laugh. He met the twins' older brothers Bill and Charlie as well and both of them seemed decent sorts though not that into pranks. When he first meets Arthur he first believes the man is a good hard-working but down-beaten man, but then he pierces the man's mask and finds the man to be just like his wife though to a lesser degree as he does not show favoritism to Ron and Ginny but he did not seem to respect the twins or their older brothers as much as they deserved.

A week or so later Harry's other friend showed up and he got to really know her. Sirius found he had been correct once again as he saw that Hermione was a kind Witch, a little naive for how smart she was, and unfortunately, a little bit bullied by Ronald. One day when the school-age kids were cleaning the house getting rid of some old heirlooms just cause in Molly's opinion they were Dark and thus "evil" Sirius invited Hermione up to the top floor after the next meal. As she went back to cleaning Sirius headed to his room and summoned Kreacher giving the House Elf to save as many heirlooms as he could and put them in Walburga's bedroom a task the House Elf was glad to do. When Hermione arrived Sirius invited her into his private office where he asked her about Harry the rest of the night she told him stories of his Godson and all the adventures he had at school but always seemed to gloss over his time at home. "The Muggles he lives with mistreating him don't they?" he asked at last.

"I am sorry to say they do. From what Harry has told us, not that Ron believes him much thinking he is just trying to get some "more attention," his relatives treat him worse than Wizards and Witches treat House Elves," she said sending him a glare for how he had to treat Kreacher in front of everyone else. "Before he got his first letter from Hogwarts, he told me they made him sleep in the closet under the stairs and after that gave him the smallest bedroom. During the summer after his First-Year at Hogwarts an Elf used magic in the place and made the Ministry send him a note about not using magic outside of school they put locks on the bedroom door and bars on the window," she said as Black felt anger get the better of him as he blasted apart a nearby table only to calm down and repair it in the next second making Hermione marvel at his spell work. "Before his third year, he ended up running away as his uncle's sister came to visit and he got so mad he inflated her leading him to go to spend the rest of the summer at the Leaky Cauldron and you know what happened last year with the diet," she finishes with such anger he was sure she wished she could blast something apart as well.

"From what Harry had told me, you were one of the few people who believed he had not entered the tournament and actually helped him through it which in my eyes earns me a slight debt to you so knowing you like books I will allow you access to the Black family personal library, but be warned that some books contain dark magic this does not make it evil," he said holding up a hand to stop any protest "but it Molly or Dumbledore see them they might want to destroy them.  Which is something I can not allow for they are part of my family's legacy." Sirius then showed her the library and saw her mouth drop open as she rushed in to grab a book and began to read it. From that point forward Hermione not only visited the top floor each night to read from the books but she would also do her best to save other Black family heirlooms from Molly's purges.

When the twins first found their way to the top floor he also showed them the library though they read some books the pair still would rather talk about his time at Hogwarts and the pranks he had done, though they had also confirmed the stories about Harry's "home" life as they had been the one to rescue Harry after his first year and report the bars and locks on the door as well as a small sign in the closet under the stairs calling it "Harry's Room" in crude childish writing. Sirius thought he believed them and asked to see their memories of it which led him to cry as hard as he had done after sending Severus after Remus during their school years. Sirius decided when he next got the chance to be alone with his Godson he would get the boy somehow to Gringotts to get his heir and Lordship titles for protection. Also from some of the research, he had done during the Triwizard's Tournament that had happened in the past he had learned that due to Harry not only finishing it but being the winner of the event he had become an adult in the Wizarding World.

Severus would also show up randomly making Sirius' breath hitch at every random visit but due to his actions during their youth, Severus hated him with a passion and forced him to hide behind his reckless fool mask more than normal during each visit. When Harry did arrive it seemed that Molly and Arthur were doing their best to make sure Harry was never alone with him, he suspected on Dumbledore's orders, and neither was Harry left alone by Ron, or Ginny, Hermione was there as well but from their talks, Sirius knew he could actually trust.  He had shared with both her and the twins that the way he acted was his family's version of their Pureblood's mask and introduced them to the real Kreacher. They had all been touched by the honor unfortunately they also had not gotten to get Harry alone without either Ron, Ginny, or one of the Weasley parents being with him. Shortly after Harry's trial had happened dropping all the charges against him, Sirius found out that Molly had convinced Harry to give her the key to his trust vault so that she could get his school supplies, feeling some trepidation at that as he did not trust Molly, Sirius decided when he took Harry to Gringotts he would need Harry to do a full Inheritance Test to check out the status of his vaults not putting it past Molly to somehow steal from him.

After Harry and the others went back to school and with no actual progress during any meeting of the Order Sirius was basically locked into a cell as if he was back in Azkaban, but this time he had to keep his mask up full-time when he was out of his own room. When Harry and the Weasley kids appeared in his house shortly before the Yule holiday he learned that Voldemort was going further into Harry's mind and could manipulate his Godson's thoughts, especially as Harry told him of a thought he had of wanting to strike at Dumbledore before he was sent to Grimmauld Place. Severus showed up under Dumbledore's orders to inform Harry that he would be learning Occlumency from him. Sirius wanted to hug the man but kept himself in check trying to find out why Dumbledore himself was not teaching Harry. Severus's response almost leads the pair to a duel but Harry stops it long enough for others to arrive at the distraction leading Sirius to pull back himself away from his mask.

As Harry went back to school for the second term Grimmauld Place was soon empty an occurrence that he took full advantage of as he feared that Voldemort would somehow use him to get at Harry so he began to make up his will. As they were alone Walburga's Portrait was able to return to her normal self as he had her help him put a will in place that would give Harry everything which required a fair amount of charms as Grimmauld Place was one of the family homes that thanks to his father, Orion, was made to only be in the Black family's hands.

They were finally able to work around this by summoning the Black family account manager from Gringotts and making Harry his heir. As the Goblin made to leave Sirius decided to add some stipulations to his Will that would only allow the document to be read once it had been touched by Harry's personal magic, as he had a feeling Dumbledore would want the Will to be read to make sure the Order keep hold of Grimmauld Place so they would need Harry to open it thus getting Harry to Gringotts. Sirius's next stipulation on the will was before Harry could open it the Goblins would give him a full Inheritance test alone and pass on any Heir and Lord rings Harry had, and just in case make his Godson go through cleansing in case there were spells or potions in his system with a Time-Turner clause that would make it seem that Harry had only taken the test all of which would be paid for from Sirius's own accounts.

It seemed as though once again Sirius had been right for as Harry's Fifth-Year came to a close Voldemort had tricked Harry, sending his Godson and five of his friends deep into the Department of Mysteries leading to a meeting with a group of Death Eaters. Sirius and others rushed to the rescue but in the end, Sirius found himself flying into the Veil making him have his fourth greatest regret as being unable to personally take his Godson to Gringotts and get him away from both Dumbledore and the Muggles he lived with, but at least his Will would help put Harry on the right path.

Chapter Text

Albus was starting to get angry his plan had been going so well as Sirius Black had died making sure that once more Harry only had him to turn to as an adult figure to guide his life. As Dumbledore had talked Black into using his family home, which was full of protection as well as a library filled with books he had been dying to get his hands on, as the Order's headquarters the only problem with the man's death was that Grimmauld Place as one of the main family homes was usually passed on to members of the direct Black family line. Knowing Sirius was at least particularly intelligent he could have found a way to give the house to his beloved Godson, Harry but to find that out they had to take a look at Sirius's Will.

To his great annoyance, Albus had found that Sirius had put some added protection on the Will so that only when it read Harry's magic would the thing open, this was only a side concern as he was sure Sirius had given everything to the boy but Albus had always made sure that Harry spent as little time as possible with the Goblins so that he would not learn about anything about his own history or know what Dumbledore and others were doing to his vaults. With a defeated sigh, he knew he would have to get the boy so he straightened his robes and making sure his "grandfather" mask was in place he Apparated to his weapon's home. He smiled at the small shabby building glad that he had gotten rid of warding classes at Hogwarts all those years ago so Harry would never be able to see that the "blood wards" the boy had been told were the reason he was sent to live at the house did not exist.

It had been just two weeks since Harry had gotten back from Hogwarts and for once his Muggle relatives were not treating him that badly. That did not mean he was okay for since he had gotten back Harry had just been laying in his bed in complete apathy for life in general only moving to go the bathroom or taking the smallest amount of food he needed to get by. As he just lay there, eyes opened, and staring at the ceiling he heard a knock on the front door. After a few minutes, his Uncle called up the stairs, "BOY GET YOUR STUFF AND GET DOWN HERE ONE OF YOUR LOT IS HERE TO TAKE YOU AWAY." Harry did not even care if the person who came here was a Death Eater coming to kill him for that would just mean he would see Sirius earlier. With a sigh, as he decided to just get over with this, he grabbed his trunk and left the room, not even needing to gather anything for he had not even opened it since he had got here. With slow steps, Harry walked down the stairs only to find Dumbledore smiling at him at the bottom of the stairs looking strange in the Dursley family home dressed in a deep midnight blue robe with white sparkles making it look like a picture of the night sky.

"Ah, Harry, my boy," Dumbledore said with the twinkle in his eye that had always made Harry feel safe "I have come to collect you for it seems that Sirius had used old protection on his Will making it that will only open when it feels your magic. We need to see that Will to make sure that we can still use the headquarters," he said as if afraid to share the information with Harry's Aunt and Uncle who were giving him nasty looks due to utter Wizardness about him. With a smile he pulled out his wand, making the Dursley flinch, as he waved it making Harry's trunk disappear. "Ah there it will be waiting for you at the Weasley after the reading of the Will," the headmaster said as he walked Harry out of the house and the "wards" before he grabbed Harry by the shoulder and Apparated to a side street of Diagon Alley and walked with Harry up to Gringotts.

Albus as if he could not be bothered walked, well strutted, into the Goblin run bank ignoring the Door Goblins, while Harry who never really lost his reverence to the creatures gave them a slight bow and saw them give him a smile in return. "Ah Ragnok we are here for the reading of Sirius Black's Will," Dumbledore said approaching an important-looking Goblin. Ragnok looked down his bent nose at the pair of Wizards glaring at the old fool who showed no respect to him while giving the young Wizard an approving look as the boy bowed to him.

"Ah, right this way," Ragnok said as he hopped off his chair and led the pair into an open door and down the hall to a small room. Once the three of them were in the closed room Ragnok pulled out all the documents from Sirius Black's final wishes as well as the man's Will. "Now Lord Black had some stipulations when it came to the opening of Sirius's Will besides it only being opened by Harry Potter's magic signature," the head Goblin informed the pair making Dumbledore scowl at him. "It seems that Sirius had some doubts about Harry being given his Inheritance which should have happened during his first visit to our bank since he was basically new to our world," Ragnok said as he glared at Dumbledore who as Harry's Magical Guardian should have seen to this.

With a huff Ragnok stood up and motioned for Harry to follow him before telling the fool as he stood up to follow them, "Lord Black made sure in no uncertain terms that this test was to be taken alone apart from a member of the Goblin Nation." Ragnok then leads Harry out of the room Warding the door with Goblin magic so that Dumbledore cannot follow them leading the boy down another short hall and into a room with a small table that held an envelope as well as a small silver knife, a golden goblet, a roll of parchment and a peacock feather quill. "Now all you have to do is to prick your finger with the silver blade and since Lord Black has paid for a full test let nine drops of blood fall into the goblet. Your blood will interact with the potion in the goblet causing the quill to write out the results," Ragnok said knowing the young Wizard would not know what was to happen. Harry picked up the knife, pricked the pointer finger of his left hand, and let the necessary amount of blood fall into the goblet amazed that when he was done the cut healed itself. As the quill began to write Ragnok told him to read the letter and by the handwriting saw it was from Sirius.

P up,

If you are reading this, I am dead, I am sorry I could not do this with you, Harry. There are some things you need to know, first off I know a lot of people tell you I am reckless and would have been a terrible guardian of you even before I was sent to Azkaban, but the truth is that recklessness is part of the Black family mask so that others would not take us seriously.  Both your father and mother knew this which is why I was allowed to be your Godfather. Secondly, I am worried for you Harry, after all the time I had spent in Azkaban I had begun to mistrust Albus for allowing me to be sent there with a trial. After I got out I found more to distrust about him as when I first saw you near your relative's home. I found out that despite all he had told others there was not a single Ward of protection around that place.

I also mistrust some of those Weasley family that you seem so fond of, I do not make this statement lightly for you seen due to the Black family mask we have always been able to see past others' own mask, and while Molly, Arthur, and the two youngest seem all smiles and helpfulness there is darkness to them sort of the opposite of the Malfoy family mask which is cold in public yet in private they are rather open and loving of those they care about. Third, in case it was not mentioned an Inheritance Test is meant to be given to anyone either entering or reentering the Wizarding world for the first time before they headed off to school; I had been planning to take you to the test at the end of this year.   Kidnapping you if I had to from those Muggles that you live with. I have also learned some startling news you might have been told that Albus was your Magical Guardian but after some research on the Triwizard Tournament, you had informed me that you had been entered into it.  I found that there was a time limit that he could have released you from having to compete, but even more fascinating that just because you were able to finish the tournament you were recognized as an adult in the Wizarding World which means that you no longer need to be sent back to those Muggles. I would suggest that you take up residence in one of the properties that belong to your family.

Now onto a more direct note on something that might be revealed by your test results about Marriage contracts, I know that they are looked down on in certain parts of the Muggle World but in the Magical World, these come about when parents set up play dates between kids of similar ages and see how their magic act towards each other. When the parents find the person whose Magic complements their offspring a contract is signed for the kids to get married when they are older. I am not sure if Lily and James did this as you would have been in hiding at the time most would have their playdates.

Love,

Sirius Black

P.S. If your test revealed any potions or unwelcome magic in your system I also paid for a full cleansing as well as the use of a Goblin Time-Turner to make sure Albus or whoever is with you will not get suspicious of you being gone so long.

P.P.S. If you need any help at all you can turn to my mother's portrait her anger at the people was an act, but if you wish for a live person I would suggest my cousin Narcissa Malfoy nee Black. Before you get angry members of the Black family to have a non-aggression treaty under certain circumstances. As I don't think she would accept an owl from you even under the treaty all you have to do once you accept the Black Lordship ring, which I passed down to you as my Heir, is to rub the ring and call for her she will fill a tug to her magic to come to talk to you at least once.

Harry then puts down the letter to see Ragnok looking at him, "Ah you are finished with Lord Black's letter, would you like to see your results?" Harry could only nod as the Goblin passed over the parchment.

Name:

Harry James Potter (born July 31, 1980)

Parents:

• James Douglas Potter I (born March 27, 1960, died October 31, 1981) Father
• Lily Jasmine Potter nee Evans nee Pendragon (Born January 30, 1960, died October 31, 1981) Mother

Godparents:

• Sirius Black III (Born November 3, 1959, died June 18, 1996) also blood-adopted father
• Alice Longbottom ( Born February 16, 1960, alive but compromised)
• Severus Snape (Born January 9, 1960)

Living Relatives:

• Godric Gryffindor (born January 9, 933) Ancestor of Father
• Argus Filch (born December 31, 1952) Third Cousin by Mother
• Petunia Dursley nee Evans (Born January 25, 1960) Aunt by Mother's adoption
• Vernon Dursley (Born April 13, 1954) Uncle by Mother's adoption
• Dudley Dursley (born June 23, 1980) Cousin by Mother's adoption
• Narcissa Malfoy nee Black (born May 5, 1955) Second Cousin by blood adoption
• Lucius Malfoy (born September 9, 1953) Second Cousin by blood adoption
• Draco Malfoy (born June 5, 1980) Third Cousin by blood adoption
• Andromeda Tonks nee Black (born October 31, 1953) Second Cousin by blood adoption
• Ted Tonks (born February 29, 1952) Second Cousin by blood adoption
• Nymphadora Tonks (born September 1, 1972) Third Cousin by blood adoption
• Bellatrix Lestrange nee Black (born January 31, 1951) Second Cousin by blood adoption
• Rodolphus Lestrange (born August 2, 1964) Second Cousin by blood adoption

Titles:

From Father

• Lord Potter
• Lord Gryffindor
• Lord Peverell (twice over by right of conquest)
• Lord Wyllt

From Mother

• Lord Pendragon
• Lord Ravenclaw

By Blood adoption

• Lord Black

By Conquest

• Lord Slytherin
• Lord Gaunt

Vaults (rounded to nearest Galleon):

• Potter Trust Vault ( 100,000 Galleons filled yearly)
• Potter Main Vault (5,861,178 Galleons)
• Gryffindor Trust Vault (100,000 Galleons filled yearly)
• Gryffindor Main Vault (71,683,435 Galleons)
• Peverell Trust Vault (100,000 Galleons filled yearly)
• Peverell Main Vault (683,766,843 Galleons)
• Wyllt Trust Vault (200,000 Galleons filled yearly)
• Wyllt Main Vault (9,163,744,887, Galleons)
• Pendragon Trust Vault (100,000 filled yearly)
• Pendragon Main Vault (6,158,367,592, Galleons)
• Ravenclaw Trust Vault (100,000 filled yearly)
• Ravenclaw Main Vault (15,003,567,786 Galleons)
• Black Trust Vault (100,00 filled yearly)
• Black Main Vault (8,621,071,345,578 Galleons)
• Slytherin Main Vault (86,701,553, Galleons)
• Gaunt Main Vault (500,052 Galleons)

Properties:

• Potter Castle
• Potter Cabin
• Shell Cottage (taken Illegally by the Weasley family)
• Godric Hallow
• Gryffindor Castle
• Peverell Castle
• Ravenclaw Castle
• Ravenclaw Library
• Grimmauld Place (occupied)
• Black Castle
• Slytherin Castle (occupied)
• Slytherin Retreat
• Snakes Landing
• Gaunt cabin
• 3/4 Hogwarts Castle

Artifacts:

• Sword of Gryffindor (loaned from Goblins at the cost of 50,000 Galleons yearly) (Possessed by Albus Dumbledore)
• Sorting Hat (given to Hogwarts School)
• Ravenclaw Diadem (at Hogwarts School)
• Slytherin Locket (in Grimmauld Place)
• The Elder Wand (illegally claimed by Albus Dumbledore)
• The Cloak of Invisibility
• The Resurrection Stone (illegally claimed by Albus Dumbledore)
• Numerous books and artwork

Patents:

• Sleekeazy Hair Potions (200,000 Galleons yearly profit) (Potter)
• Inheritance test goblets (50,000 Galleons yearly profit) (Gryffindor)
• Pensive (100,000,00 Galleons yearly profit) (Wyllt)
• Time-Turner (25,000 Galleons yearly profit) (Ravenclaw)

Spell/Potion Damage:

• Horcrux latched onto soul: Tom Marvolo Riddle  
• Loyalty Potion: Keyed to Albus Dumbledore, Molly Weasley, Arthur Weasley, Ronald Weasley, Ginevra Weasley, Order of the Phoenix
• Hatred Potions: Keyed to Slytherin House, Malfoy family, Severus Snape, Blaise Zabin
• Love Potions: Keyed to Ginny Weasley
• Core 53% blocked
• All-Speak: 95% blocked, Parseltongue broken
• Intelligence 70% blocked
• Animagus 100% blocked
• Eidetic memory 99% blocked

Marriage Contract:

• to Blaise Zabini (est: June 3, 1981 by James Potter, Lily Potter, Adriana Zabini and Fredrick Zabini)
• to Ginevra Weasley (est: July 31, 1990, by Albus Dumbledore, Petunia Dursley, Molly Weasley, and Arthur Weasley)

Harry utterly skipped the physical damage part of the test results at the end of the parchment and set it down in utter shock at finding out so much about him and looked at Ragnok. "Well Lord Potter-Gryffindor-Preverell-Wyllt-Pendragon-Ravenclaw-Black-Slytherin-Gaunt before we get to your Lordship Rings or even your cleansing I noticed that there is a note in your file about strange activities in some of your Vaults that we have been trying to discuss with you for five years now," Ragnok said as he pulled out another parchment. "We have noticed these charges to your Vaults and wanted to make sure they were approved, the money you had been using to buy supplies for your schooling has already been dismissed though there was a slight increase used last year that I would also go over." Harry took the parchment and read it through

Payments: From Potter Main Vault

1. to Albus Dumbledore (100,000 Galleons a year since November 1981)
2. to Vernon and Petunia Dursley (10,000 Muggle pounds a year since November 1981)
3. to Molly and Arthur Weasley ( 50,000 Galleons a year since December 1990)
4. to Ronald Weasley (1,000 Galleons a year since June 1991)
5. to Ginerva Weasley (1,000 Galleons a year since June 1991)
6. to the Order of the Phoenix (25,000 Galleons a year since May 1995)

"I did not approve any of these payments," Harry said as calmly as he could while he crushed the parchment into a ball and with accidental magic made it burst into flames. "Is there a way to get my money back?" he asked

"I thought you would never ask," Ragnok said with a wicked grin "We could give them notice and ask for them to return funds but I have a feeling that is rather unlikely as they transferred them to their own accounts with the bank we could just take them back, except for the Dursley family," the Goblin said.

"Is it possible to exchange the money for something else such as Leprechaun gold?" Harry asked returning a similar grin to the Goblin making him laugh.

"I like the way you think, but no it can not be done," Ragnok said "Any other questions young Lord?"

"Um, sure how is it I have two marriage contracts? Also, the name Wyllt sounds familiar but I can not place it.  How does my mother have family lines I thought she was just a Muggleborn.  Also, how is Godric Gryffindor still alive?" Harry asked.

Seeing Harry had no other questions Ragnok answered him as best as he could. "Well I think one of those contracts was filed illegally you can most likely guess which one," he said with a small laugh "As for Wyllt that is the surname of the Wizard known as Merlin. According to our records, Lily Potter nee Evens was in fact born Lillian Pendragon, who married members of the Ravenclaw family, before her Squib parents died and the Evan's family adopted her." Harry's mouth fell open in shock at the news of his mother's real family line. "As for how Godric Gryffindor is still alive, he could be in his Aimagus form which if long-lived could allow him to still be alive but unable to revert to normal human form.  Now if there are no other questions I think it is time for you to take your Lordship Rings." Ragnok said as with a flick of his hand a long wooden box appeared between them and as he opened it Harry saw nine rings. "All you have to do is put them on and if they accept you they will merge into a single ring then we can move onto your cleansing," Ragnok said before passing over the Potter family ring.

Chapter Text

Harry felt lighter than he had ever had in his life as he followed Ragnok from the Goblin's Cleansing Chamber. In the end, it was a good thing his Godfather had added the Time-Turner Clause after the cleansing for it had taken nearly four hours to get all the potions, blocks, and the Horcrux out of his system. As they walked back to where they had left the Headmaster, Ragnok took a slight detour to his main office, summoned two more folders of documents, and turned back to Harry giving him a sly smile. Now that the blocks on his intelligence had been removed, Harry had thought of another question about the test results. "Master Ragnok I had another question about the results," Harry said and saw the Goblin nod for him to continue. "By some of the properties, there was a note of Occupied why was that needed to be shown?"

"Well, when the test lists that a property is occupied it means that there are people who are inhabiting the property who do not have your permission. Can you think who would be using those properties?" Ragnok responded giving the new Lord a look. Harry suddenly realized who was occupying the two properties for Grimmauld Place it had to be the Order as for Slytherin Castle it could only be the Death Eaters.

"Is there a way to make them leave?" Harry asked not sure if he wanted the Order in Sirius's home after all he had learned.

"As all thing that one does as the Lord of a Hous,e all you have to do is focus your magic into the appropriate Lordship ring letting it read your will as you state it out loud if it is in the power of the House's Lordship to do it will be done by your will. And speaking of your Lordship Rings young Lord, though it is hardly my place to say, it might be better for you to make it invisible to all but yourself this being one of the few things the rings can do non-verbally.' Ragnok suggested.   Considering all he had found out, Harry thought it was an excellent suggestion so he focused his mind and magic on the fused form of his nine Lordship Rings and thought of it as invisible to all but him. He seemed to accomplish it by the approving nod Ragnok said as he opened the door to reveal a fuming Dumbledore who from his point of view had been trapped in the room for a full hour.

"Ah, Harry, my boy, that took a while, I hope you are alright it is finally time to open your Godfather's Will," Dumbledore said with the normal twinkle in his eye as Harry wondered why he had ever trusted the fool. Ragnok once more took out Sirius's Will and gestured for Harry to send out his magic at it. As soon as the Will read Harry's magic on it rather than opening a slip of parchment slipped out of the seal; Ragnok reached forward and read the parchment quickly before he cast some Goblin magic to send out Gringott Portkeys to all the people on the parchment that Sirius had left something in his Will. Dumbledore fumed some more at even more waiting as Ragnok began to pick his teeth knowing it would infuriate the old man while Harry just sat head down kicking his feet as if he was still Albus's subservient tool. A short time later people began to walk into the office escorted by other Goblins. The others listening to the Will were not that much of a surprise as in came Remus, Hermione, Fred, and George but then it got strange. In walked Severus who had a look of confusion on his face at being there. "Ah so we are all here can we get to the Will already?" Dumbledore said in a tone of annoyance that shocked most of the new arrivals.

"We are still missing one or two more people listed in the Will, and I am sure you are aware a Will can only be heard/read when all people who have been left something in it arrive," Ragnok said glaring at the old man but Harry caught the Goblin's eyes flick to him for just a moment and raise an eyebrow. "Unless I am much mistaken this should be them now," Ragnok said to almost everyone's shock in walked Narcissa Malfoy followed by Draco. It was hard to say who was more shocked Albus or Draco whose mask fell at the sight of Harry, Hermione, and the Twins. Harry himself was not as shocked as everyone else as after Sirius's letter he could have seen his Godfather arranging this for him to meet Narcissa. "Ah now that we are all here, I believe we can begin," the Goblin leader said as he tapped Sirius's will making Harry's Godfather's voice issue forth.

"I, Sirius Black III being of sound mind and body leave this my Last Will and Testament in the case of my death. In this will I aim to correct some of the mistakes I have made in my life starting with one of my biggest regrets. Severus Snape, I am the coward that you always said I was, but not in the way you would think. The truth is that ever since I had laid eyes on you on that first train ride to Hogwarts, I have had a crush on you. You most likely not believe this due to how I treated you at school and afterward but whenever I was near you I would slip deep under the Black Family Pureblood mask.

I could never apologize enough for what I did to you, and to prove that I am not having one last joke at your expense the first thing I leave to you is three flasks of my memory for use in a Pensive. This might not seem like much but they have been specially treated using old magic from one of James's ancestors along the Wyllt line that allows not only for you to see my memories but also feel the emotions I was experiencing while the memory was going on. Besides that, I offer you any book in the Black family library of your choice apart from those I am giving to others specifically.

To Remus Lupin my last remaining friend from my time at Hogwarts I leave the Black Family Cabin, I have removed the enchantments that were in place so that only members of the Black Family could live there I have moved some books to the Cabin already that I think you might find of interest. I also leave you a total of 100,000,000 Galleons do not allow your pride to get in the way of accepting it my old friend it is far less than you deserve.

Young Heirs Fred and George Weasley -Prewett for following the Marauder Legacy as well as protecting my Godson not to mention your sense of humor that I have seen I leave you 50,000 Galleons a piece for the plans of your own Joke shop as well as a gift I know you will use well to keep track of things where you are needed. After I was forced to be on the run I met with Remus and together we created an improved version of a certain joke resource I leave you my copy.  Get it from Remus, and my old friend, teach them how to use it. As for Young Miss Granger, I have seen both your love of knowledge as well as how much you care for my Godson so I give you any books from the Black Family Library that Severus has not claimed though if you choose some they will vanish until you are of age so no cheating," Sirius said as a laugh was heard from the Will.

My Dear Cousin Cissa, and unless I am much mistaken also to your son my Second Cousin Draco, I leave to you the Black Family Summer Home as both a gift to my favorite Cousin as well as a tribute to one of our old friends which I shall not mention here but I have a feeling you will be hearing from her soon enough. As with most properties that belong to the Black family they can only be accessed by members of said family. Now before you worry your sweet little head, I Lord Black Head of the Most Nobel House of Black do by Black Family magic to come about as this Will is read that one Bellatrix Lestrange nee Black is cast out of the Black family as well as her younger sister Andromeda Tonks nee Black is brought back into the Black family's line. For Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, I leave you nothing but this piece of advice LEAVE MY GODSON ALONE let him just be a kid not some weapon in your bloody war.

Now Harry Potter my Godson, I leave everything else, all the other Black properties as well as make you my heir I am sorry I could not be there to see you grow up or grow older and fall in true love. I shall leave you now as I sit in my sitting room of the Black Family home of #12 Grimmauld Place."

Harry almost laughed at Dumbledore's expression of pure fury as Sirius ended up giving away the location of the Order's headquarters with Narcissa and Draco in the room. Harry turned away to see how everyone else responded to the Will. To his surprise, Professor Snape looked utterly shocked at the reveal of Sirius's feelings for him while Remus and Narcissa Malfoy both had tears running down their faces, Draco looked confused, while Fred, George, and Hermione all looked touched that they had been given something from Sirius just for their support of Harry as they read between the line. Suddenly Harry realized something that did not make sense so before Albus could throw a fit he turned to Ragnok. "Master Goblin if all people mentioned in a will have to be present when a Will is read, does that mean my parents did not leave me anything or were the Wills never read?" Harry asked.

"You are correct Mr. Potter both Lily and James Potter's Wills were never read," Ragnok said as he took out the two documents he had collected at his office and tapped one of them. Once more a piece of parchment came out and was read the names on it. "Ah as luck would have it all but Ms. Granger, Heirs Fred, and George are listed in the will," he said and motioned for the three to leave for the will reading.

I, James Potter-Gryffindor-Peverell-Wyllt, being of sound mind and body give this my Last Will and Testament let all others before now be rendered null and void. To my dearest Lily, the love of my life I leave all that I have in hopes that you may be well taken care of raising our son," James's voice was heard making tears begin to fall almost instantly from Harry's eyes. Without looking he reached out and grabbed a hand on either side of him for support unknowingly getting support from both Severus and Draco. "If by chance Lily dies as well Harry is to go to one of his Godparents: Sirius Black III, Alice Longbottom, or Severus Snape. I know you will be shocked to learn this but I am sorry for all the bullying I did to you in school Severus, I should tell you that when we started dating Lily told me stories of you from both your childhoods making me regret all that I had ever done to you. Also while I may not show it I am quite jealous of your skill with potions so, besides a chance of having you raise Harry, I leave to you some of my father's Potion books that he used to create his Sleekeazy Hair Potion.

For my old friend Remus Lupin, I must apologize for not offering you to be Harry's Godfather both Lily and I have no problem with your furry little issue others might not agree so just to reduce any headache that would cause both you and Harry, we were forced to not select you so in compensation I can only offer you the use of my Grandparents Home, Potter Hall. Alice Longbottom, I know it will be difficult for you and Frank to raise two boys with your job as Aurors so I leave to you some of the Potter Family House Elves to help raise my son. Narcissa Malfoy nee Black I was never really a fan of yours but you were my darling Lily's best friend I return to you the Broach that you gave to Lily when you told her about Wizarding courting may it create a connection between Harry and your son Draco, I also leave you my personal House Elf, Dobby.

My brother in all but blood who I trust more than everyone else, Sirius Black besides leaving my own Son to you I would leave you with a book written by Merlin himself about the Pureblood Mask. Also as I fear you ever gaining the courage to do so I will let everyone know your secret. Severus for as long as I have known him Sirius Black has had the greatest crush on you. It nearly broke him when he sent you after Remus in his wolf form. As for Peter Pettigrew, it was he, not Sirius who was our Secret Keeper if I am dead due to him telling Voldemort it is his fault. To Albus-Too-Many-Bloody-Names-Dumbledore LEAVE MY SON AND HEIR ALONE. I don't give a damn about your Prophecy on the defeat of Voldemort he is a child, not a weapon for you to use. Harry, my sweet little Son I am sorry to have left you too soon never having a chance to see you grow up or see you with the person that magic has matched you with. I just know that you will have a happy life filled with joy, You are my Heir to be given all that I own in case both your mother and I die with full control when you become a full adult. The only exceptions are the old family Cloak of Invisibility and the Marauder's map which are to be given to you when you enter into Hogwarts to make sure you have a good time at school."

With that James's voice ended and Harry suddenly realized whose hands he was holding and pulled them back with a blush as he wiped the tears from his eyes. "Now for Lily's," Ragnok said in a soft voice seeing everyone but Albus with tears running down their faces as he reached forward and touched the final Will.

"I, Lily Potter nee Pendragon, for I utterly refuse to use the Evans family name.  For while my adopted parents were fantastic, Petunia was a terror so let me say right off the bat no matter what happens Harry is not to go to live with her at all I would rather he be raised by bloody cave trolls than Petunia and her family and he might have an actual chance for a better life that way. To James, I know you will do your best with Harry but do not let your pride prevent you from asking for help from Remus, Alice, Severus, Sirius, or Narcissa. If both James and myself have passed due to the manipulations of Dumbledore and the madness of Voldemor,t I wish my pride and joy were taken care of. Sirius though I am saddened by your inability to admit to Severus your true feelings I know you would love Harry so I name you first Godfather. Alice, you have been an excellent partner at work it makes me a little sad we had never hung out at Hogwarts I just know our Sons will be great friends. Remus, I hope that you find the courage to accept yourself and look for the love I know you deserve in that hope I leave you with an artifact from the Pendragon family that will point you towards what Muggles would call your soulmate as well as 1,000,000 Galleons with the stipulation that you buy yourself some new clothes.

Narcissa Malfoy nee Black you are one of my best friends do not let the fact that I did not choose you for Harry's Godmother upset you I know the problem your family is already in thanks to Lucius' father forcing him to take the Dark Lord's Mark with a threat of violence against you and young Draco and do not wish to add more to it. Rather I leave to you my most prized physical possession my own wand, let it help you remember me and all the good times we had shared. Severus my oldest friend let it be known that I had long ago forgiven you for what you said in anger that day in our youth, and just cause I don't trust James sharing it with you if we are both dead we had talked about it and decided that we wish for you to be Harry's second Godfather in case something happens due to Sirius and Alice's dangerous jobs.

I also leave to you a collection of Potion books from both the Pendragon and Ravenclaw lines to help you in your Potions Mastery as you train to become a teacher. I just know you will be great at it and will be patient with all your students. Dumbledore the only way I want you to deal with my Son is in school matters and not try to recruit him to your war no matter what the so-called "Prophecy" states before he is of proper age. Harry, my sweet little boy you represent my joy and my sadness as I think of you growing up without me. You are the heirs of both Pendragon and Ravenclaw lines for you to take Lordship of when you come of age. Unlike your father, I have no great family heirlooms to pass on before you come of age my son, but I want you to know that no matter what happens in your life your father and I will always be proud of you even if you end up in Slytherin House.  Though I know your father might have raised some little fuss if you do."

At the end of Lily's Will, Harry could not see with the tears falling from his eyes and he had found himself pulled against someone's side and having his back stroked.  When Harry was able to see again he found to his shock that the person comforting him was Narcissa Malfoy.  "Oh Harry," she said softly running her fingers through her hair with one hand as the other took off the broach she had been wearing.  "I want you to have this, my dear, it was the broach I gave to your mother when she and your father started courting each other which your father gave back to me.  For the longest time after this broach returned to my vault on that horrible night I was so angry I fear it might have been unkind to you the son of one of my best friends please accept my apology," she said and to Draco's shock, she got out of her chair and bowed to Harry.

"That is alright, Mrs. Malfoy," Harry said standing up and making so much a fuss at being bowed to that Narcissa stood up with a smile on her face.

"I also think I should offer you an apology Potter... I mean Harry, I never knew I was one of your Godparents to think of the blot on Lily's memory I have done by how I treated you," Severus said

"It is alright sir I was not always the model student," Harry said.

Chapter Text

Draco was not having a good summer with his Father getting sent to Azkaban after the Battle at the Department of Mysteries. As if that was not bad enough shortly after the summer began his Aunt Bella along with a group of Death Eaters had basically invaded Malfoy Manor. Without Lucius there, his mother was the one that was in charge but it seemed that the Death Eaters despite all the talk about Pureblood power seemed to have no problem taking over the manor for themselves. Aunt Bella seemed to have gone even crazier after her time in Azkaban for it was hard to guess what would set her off at any given moment with both Narcissa and Draco had been hit with the Cruciatus Curse at least once a day since they had shown up.

Draco had tried to spend as much time as he could in his room under the pretense of doing his summer homework. This worked for a point but Bellatrix would still force her way past any Wards he had up and tell him glowing stories of the Dark Lord and his plans for all Muggleborns and the rest of the Wizarding world. Draco was not sure that he would live out the summer and if he did, he would most likely be forced to take the Dark Mark like his father before him. One night Narcissa had talked to Bella about getting Lucius back from Azkaban but all she got was Bella's insane laugh who had no desire to get the Lord of the Manor back which could lead to a loss of her power in the place.

The pair had nowhere else to go since all the Black properties that Narcissa could have taken were under the control of Sirius Black and with him dead they would mostly be in the hands of Dumbledore's Order. Knowing that those Weasley fools were very large in the Order and due to how poor the family was, they both agreed that there was a chance that the Weasleys would have claimed one of the properties for themselves. Mother and son were at their wit's end and were just about to give in to the invaders of their home when with a flash a letter from Gringotts appeared thankfully it was just for the two of them.

Lady Narcissa Malfoy nee Black,  & Heir Draco Abraxus Malfoy

As you know your cousin Lord Sirius Black has recently died, his Will reading is taking place soon and you have been listed in his Will. This letter will act as a Portkey to the bank just grab hold of the letter and say "Testament" It will transport you to our receiving room at the British branch of the Bank. The Will can not be read until you arrive.

May the blood of your enemies flow at your feet,
Chief of British Gringotts Ragnok

"Well, at least it will get out of the house for a while my Dragon," Narcissa said as she took hold of Draco's arm still holding the letter, and said "Testament." With a tug behind their navels, the pair escaped from their home just in time for Bellatrix had come looking to let out some steam. When the mother and son arrived at the Wizarding bank they were led to a small receiving room for the Will reading.

As their guide opened the door to their surprise they found it almost full to bursting with Harry and Dumbledore, who they had guessed would be there but knew they were safe due to the enforced treaty in the bank, but there was also the Muggle Hermione, the Weasley Twins, Professor Lupin but at least they were not fully alone for Severus Snape was also present. The room was so full they took some of the remaining seats leading to Draco sitting right next to Harry, Draco expected Harry to glare at him or send some cutting remark but Harry just gave him a polite nod before turning back to the Goblin. Draco could not understand why they had been summoned as he did not think his second cousin would leave them anything in a current Will which was the only thing it could be with the twins and Hermione there.

Draco barely paid attention to the Will until he heard his mother's name both Malfoys let out a sound of surprise at what they were left and he even noticed his mother begin to cry from the home to get away from Aunt Bella. Both Malfoy's mouths fell open when Sirius Black expelled Bellatrix from the family as well as welcoming back his other aunt Andromeda Tonks and her family. Draco had thought he had seen it all he had almost lost it himself when Sirius screamed at Dumbledore to leave Harry alone and then gave his location making his Mother slap her head having due to the spell forgotten about the location of the Black Family Ancestral Home.

Dumbledore had looked mad at Sirius's message to him but when he listed the Black home, the man looked like he wanted to kill someone scaring Draco a little, and he had been living with Bella for two weeks. As the group sat thinking about what Sirius had given them, Harry asked a question about his parent's Wills leading to Ragnok pulling out the Potter's Wills which shocked everyone, except for Harry, as Wills, was supposed to be read no later than four months after a Witch or Wizard's death.

As soon as James's Will began Draco found Harry had grabbed his hand, the blonde boy turned to tell the other boy to let go but saw the tears streaming down his face and Draco guessed he hearing his father's voice most likely the for the first time since he was one year old. When James informed the room that Snape was one of Harry's Godparents Draco's mouth fell open which was a smaller reaction than Severus's mouth fell open in shock and tears began to fall from his eyes like twin waterfalls. Though they were told to listen to their Wills, Draco was still shocked when James informed them about his mother's broach as well as Dobby. Draco almost laughed when James also told off the headmaster in his Will.

When Lily's Will was read, Draco was shocked as he spotted his Mother completely lose her normal Pureblood mask as she heard the voice of her old school friend. Draco had heard tales growing up of his mother's friend but he could never figure out why she had never told him the friend's name. When Lily explained why she had not chosen Narcissa to be Harry's godmother, Draco could not help but look at his school rival to see his reaction to the news that one of his Godparents could have been a Malfoy. When Lily got to leaving his mother her own wand the wand appeared before her and with a look of utter sorrow Narcissa carefully took the wand and hugged it to her chest before she put it in an inside pocket of her robes.

When the Lily's Will ended, Draco lost control of his own mask as he saw his mother get out of her chair and move over to Harry who was crying so much he most likely would be unable to see a thing. The others in the room, minus Dumbledore who was fuming as he tried to think of a solution to all this, watched in shocked silence as Narcissa calmed Harry down before bowing in apology to him shortly followed by another apology from Severus. As the others watched the events Draco caught sight of Dumbledore who it seemed had come up with a plan that the Malfoy Heir did not think would be good. With everyone distracted Draco surreptitiously reached over and gave a tug to a robe sleeve on the side away from Dumbledore. Looking up he caught his former Professors' eye and nodded to Dumbledore. Lupin must have seen trouble brewing as well as with an almost theatrical movement walked over to Harry, took his hand, and began to head out giving a slight nod to the Headmaster making the others look over at him. Seeing the danger that could be coming, the group basically formed up around Harry and marched out of the room right into Hermione and the Weasley twins who instantly walked through the group with Granger on Harry's left, Fred on his right and George right behind him headed out of the bank before Dumbledore could reach them.

As they left the bank, Narcissa took the lead and began to walk down one of the side streets heading towards a small hole-in-the-wall restaurant ducking in before Dumbledore could spot them. Once inside his mother asked for a table for the eight of them and was shown to a large booth in the corner with Severus casting some Wards so they would not be disturbed or hopefully seen by the Headmaster. Harry found himself situated between Hermione and Narcissa smiling a little as Narcissa began to fuss over him to make sure he was okay after hearing the three Wills.

Hermione turned to Lupin to ask what they had missed and why they basically fled from Dumbledore. Rather than Lupin it was Snape who answered her," Ms. Granger I am not sure if you know anything about Wills in the Magical World but unless a powerful spell is used to stop it they are to be read in a certain time frame.  The fact that Potter and Lily's were not is slightly disturbing and it is not hard to see who put the spell on them for in both Wills there was a message for Dumbledore to stay out of Harry's life."

Hermione's mouth fell open at the news for she had long since lost most of her respect for Dumbledore when he did nothing to stop Harry from having to go live with his relatives during the summer. As if he sensed where her thoughts were Snape continued, "It was also specifically mentioned in Lily's Will that Harry was not to go to live with his Muggle relatives at all even going so far as to joke that he would be safer being brought up by cave trolls. He should have gone to one of his Godparents instead if not Sirius or Alice Longbottom their third choice," he said a slight blush to his cheeks "Me." Hermione and the twins' mouths fell open at the news that Snape had been chosen by Harry's parents as a third Godparent but before they could ask anything the waiter arrived to take their orders.

When the waiter left them, Harry himself finally spoke up in a small voice that still managed to catch everyone's attention, "That is not all he did." Harry then reached into his pocket and pulled out both Sirius's letter to him and also his test results and the notice from his Vaults he handed them over to Narcissa since she was closer. As Narcissa read he cousin's letter she could only chuckle at him as she was one of the few who had the pleasure of knowing about Sirius' gift for seeing through others Pureblood mask. But as she looked over Harry's test results, especially the sections dealing with both the magical and physical abuse the boy had gone through in his short life she was as angry as she had ever been about what had happened to her best friend's son. 

When she got to the page dealing with the money stolen from his vaults for the first time since she had taken her first wand Narcissa Malfoy nee Black let loose some accidental magic that shattered every single piece of glassware in a block radius. Lupin and Snape shared a look before taking out their wands and repairing the damage as Narcissa passed the papers to Severus who was Harry's last remaining Godparent. Once Severus started reading them Narcissa turned to Harry, gave him a tight hug, and vowed that just because Lily and James had not made her his Godmother, she was going to act like one to him from now on.

If Narcissa thought she could not get any madder at what was done to her newly chosen Godson, she was mistaken it seems that as she read she had missed out on one line for she was shocked when Severus said, "How dare they tried to force a Marriage Contract on Harry against one set up by his own magic."

"What?" was called by everyone, except for Harry, at the news.

"It seems as if not only did Dumbledore have some plan on turning Harry into his tool or maybe a weapon to point at the Dark Lord possibly in hopes they would finish each other off leaving him to pick up the pieces, but he is also going for Line Theft as well.  It seems he, Tuna Fish, along with Molly and Arthur made a contract between Harry and young miss Ginerva Weasley," he explained causing both Fred and George to almost choke in shock. As Hermione and Remus patted their backs to help the twins, Snape turned to Harry. "I know you can hardly trust me, let alone forgive me for all that I have done to you during your time at Hogwarts, but I think it might be a good idea to get the Order out of Grimmauld Place this might take a while with you only be the heir of the Black family but I am sure if Narcissa and Andromeda agreement it will suffice."

"That actually won't be necessary," Harry said as he put his hands on the table in plain view of everyone "Sirius found out that thanks to finishing the Triwizard Tournament, I am legally an adult and after the test, I got my Lordship rings." Harry smiled as he made his ring appear making the others gasp at it for the fusion of his nine Lordships rings sat there on his left middle finger. With a second thought, the fusion ring became the Black Family ring which he began to slowly stroke pushing his magic into it. "As Lord Black, I expel all who are occupying any of the Black properties with the exception of Severus Snape, Remus Lupin, Hermione Granger, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Narcissa Malfoy nee Black, Draco Malfoy, William Weasley, Fleur Delacour, and Charlie Weasley."

Draco was surprised Harry had let him have access to any of the Black properties for that would go a long way from getting him and his mother free of the Death Eaters while Fred and George were glad not only that they were accepted despite all their family had done to Harry, having finally been able to glance at the paperwork after Severus mentioned the fake Marriage Contract, but that Bill and Charlie were accepted as well. "Now all that is left is for me to somehow get my stuff from the Burrow without your parents getting suspicious," Harry said turning to the twins.

"Well, that is not as hard as you would think," Fred said as from an inside pocket he pulled out Harry's shrunken trunk. "Don't worry we made sure nothing was taken though Ron was once again eyeing your Cloak, we stopped him before setting up a fake trunk filled with jinxes just in case."

"I would hug you both, if I could reach you," Harry said with a laugh as he took his shrunken trunk from the twins.

"Flirt," George teased giving him a wink and making Harry roll his eyes.

"Now that you mentioned it Draco and I also need a way to get our possessions out of Malfoy Manor for my former sister Bella and a group of Death Eaters have taken it over and I don't think I can rely on any of our House Elvers to get the stuff without getting caught," Narcissa said.

"Would a former Malfoy Elf be able to do it?" Harry asked grinning up at Narcissa.

"They might since they would not be under the control of any family magic," she responded wondering what he had in mind. With a smile, Harry spoke a single word.

Chapter Text

With a smirk, Harry up at Narcissa the new Lord Black said just one word, "Dobby." Both Malfoys lifted an eyebrow as with a small "pop" Dobby appeared dressed as usual in his mismatched clothes with a Muggle child's tee-shirt with a design of some cartoon character, a pair of Hawaiian Bermuda shorts, and one black sock the other tan. "What can Dobby be doing for, Master Harry?" Dobby said with a slight bow

"Dobby could you go back to Malfoy Manor and get the clothing and possessions of both Narcissa and Draco?" Harry asked the House Elf who had come out of his bow and finally laid eyes on both Malfoys.

"You want me to return to former Master's but they are right here," Dobby asked confused.

"The Manor has been basically taken over by my sister, sorry former sister, Bella, and a group of Death Eaters and we can not return," Narcissa explained to the Elf.

"Former Mistress Malfoy really need Dobby's help?" Dobby asked in a slightly pleased voice, for unlike Lucius the Witch had never joined the Death Eaters and had let them work in peace. "I'll do it where shall I take the items once I have them?"

"Well, we have been given the Black family summer home," Narcissa started to say before Harry piped up beside her.

"If you like, you could always join me at Grimmauld Place. It might be nice to have some company for a while," Harry said with a slight blush at his request thinking that it was a little out of line.

"That is a lovely offer Harry it has been ages since I saw the old place we will accept your hospitality,' Narcissa said before turning back to the former Malfoy House Elf "Dobby if you could take the items once you collect them to the lower drawing-room at Grimmauld Place." Dobby smiled as he bows and left with a small "pop." Knowing that it might take Dobby a small amount of time to finish his task, the group resumes their meal sticking to polite conversation such as the weather as they finished their meal. It was actually quite a shock to see Draco being at least halfway nice to both Hermione and the twins, but it was even stranger to see Severus and Lupin chatting without any barbs. When the check finally came Harry offered to pay for it but was shouted down by Narccisa who said it was her treat for his offer to let them stay at Grimmauld Place. Harry only agreed with the condition that she teach him how to do a money transfer order rather than pay with actual coins leaving her to smile and pull him in close to her side as she filled out the bill step by step.

As the group left the restaurant there was a loud shout of "HARRY, HERMIONE." Turning the group saw a smiling Ron approach them. The smile slid off his face as he laid eyes on both Malfoys and a look of pure disgust came to his face. "What are you both doing with these slimy snakes?" Ron asked balling his hands into fists as if he was going to punch something.

"Better a slimy snake, than a traitorous Weasel," Harry shot back with a look of apology at both Fred and George who just shrugged. "Or did you think I would find out about you stealing from me or the potions I had been under to make me loyal to you hm?" Harry asked in a quiet voice with undertones of a Dragon's fury. Ron was left to sputter in denial but Harry just squared his shoulders and walked past him holding onto Hermione's arm. Draco and the twins were not so kind to the youngest male Weasley as Draco walked past he made sure to bump the redhead with his shoulder with enough force to make Ron stumble.  The twins being of age took out their wands and sent some minor hexes and spells at him. As the group made their way to an Apparition point the twins said their goodbye before heading back to the Joke Shop they had started discussing if they should change the name as neither of them wanted to be associated with the Weasley name anymore after what they had learned.

The group Apparated to the small park in front of #12 Grimmauld Place and walked in letting the Wards of the place register them so that afterward they could just Apparate into the building itself. "Man this place is a dump," Draco said as they walked in to see the shabby and dusty decor of the place holding his head up with a sniff of disapproval.

"Draco" Narcissa snapped at him quietly though she thought he had a point. "What happened to this place?" she asked.

"What do you mean Narcissa?" Lupin asked back.

"When I would visit this place in my youth, it was dark but still had a feeling of good magic that would recharge the Black family after having to keep their mask on all the time, but that feeling of friendly magic is gone," she said as she began to walk down the hall only to stop before the portrait of her aunt. "Aunt Walburga," she said tears in her eyes and hand over her heart making all but Draco wince in fear that she had caused the painted woman to awaken.

"Ah little Cissy, though not so little anymore are you," Walburga said letting out a snicker as the people behind her let out a surprised gasp. "I take it by your being here that my dear Son has passed away," the painted former Grand Lady Black said wiping a tear from her eyes.

"Yes Aunt Walburga, what happened to this place?" Narcissa asked.

"Ah, some of mine and Siri's best work if I may say so," Walburga said. "When we learned that Dumbles wanted to host his Order of the Nitwits here, we decided to make the place as unwelcoming as we could giving the house its own version of the Black family Mask as it were. I must apologize to some of you for what I have called you while you have been here decided to keep up the appearance that I hated my Son so that Dumbles would not think that Siri being here would be a nice time," she said and bowed to Harry's group.

"How do we undo your magic Aunty?" Narcissa asked being the only one still able to speak.

"Kreacher," Walburga called making the Black Family head House Elf appear.

"Yes Mistress," Kreacher said in a surprisingly soft voice.

"It is time, my dear please, return the place to its former glory," Walburga ordered as the Elf smiled at her and snapped two of his gnarled fingers. The change was almost instant as a wave of magic spread through the Black Family Home, making all the dirt and grime disappear and the wallpaper look brand new. Light fixtures came into being bathing the hall in soft warm light as the house's magic washed over everyone giving them a feeling as if the home was hugging them. Kreacher was also changed gone was the bent-over and gnarled form while in its place came a creature that resembled the Muggle idea of an Elf with a lean body and pristine features "Oh now isn't that a little better," Walburga asked "I believe it is time to properly introduce myself, I am Walburga Black, mother of Sirius and Regulus Black welcome to my home." The group began to walk further in to see the other changes that had happened to the place. "Ah, Mr. Lupin, it has been a while how have you been my dear?" Walburga asked as the man passed her portrait.

"Lady Black?" asked confused.

"Do you not recall meeting me during your time at Hogwarts?  You and James were so afraid of how I treated my boy so you both had come here after your first year. You both had tried to protect my little Siri from me when I greeted you at the door before we brought you into the secret," Walburga said with a hint of concern in her voice. "Kreacher please cast a diagnostic spell on Mr. Lupin here, I think he may be under some enchantments," Walaburga ordered. Kreacher waved a hand at the confused werewolf as a bright yellow aura surrounded him.

"He has some memory charms placed on him from a couple of years ago,  as well as a spell on his Creature from before he had even gone to Hogwarts Mistress.  Shall Keracher get rid of them?" the Elf asked causing Remus to let out a start before he agreed. With another flick of his wrist, a green aura surrounded Lupin's head as his eyes shot open.

"Lady Black, what have I done?  Oh Siri, I am so sorry," Lupin said as the aura vanished and he sunk to his knees and placed his face in his hands thankful that the only ones to witness this little meltdown were the portrait and Kreacher. "I need to apologize right away," Lupin said as he got up and went looking for the boy his wolf saw as his Cub. He found the new Lord Black in the library watching as both Severus and Hermione looking through the stacks for any book they wanted to have thanks to what Sirius had left them.

"Cub," Lupin said walking forward and bowed low to the young Wizard making Harry raise an eyebrow at him. "I must say how sorry I am for it seems that someone had done something to my memories. I can recall finding you at that Muggle house and going to Dumbledore to get you away from them only for him to cast a spell and make me forget all about it as well as some other memories. I never should have gone to get his permission, I could have had you out of there when you were three," Lupin said nearly in tears as he gripped Harry's hand.

"As we already talked about at lunch, it was all Dumble's fault, not ours.  So there is nothing to forgive, Mooney,' Harry said getting out of the black wingback chair and giving the man a tight hug. "

Thank you cub I shall make it up to you," Lupin said hugging him back and taking off a deep whiff of his Cub's scent

"As long as you can do it and stay alive, I do not want anyone else to die for me or as a way to protect me after all we have both Dumbles and Voldy to deal with," Harry said Lupin's chest.

"Well isn't this oh so sweet, better watch out Potter it seems the Wolf sees you as his Cub or in other words his own child," Severus said coming back to his pile with another arm full of books causing Lupin to growl at the other man. "Oh I am so scared if you attack me who will you have to make your potions," Snape said with his normal droll but with a slight lift to one side of his mouth in a ghost of a smile. Harry could not take this anymore as he pulled out of the hug and went to find Hermione in the stacks leaving the two adults who were in his mind acting like little kids. Going in the direction of where he had last seen Hermione,

Harry was surprised the first person he ran into was not his bushy-haired best friend, but Draco Malfoy. "Potter," Draco said putting the book he had been looking back at as he noticed the new Lord Black bowing slightly.

"Ah Draco you do not need to bow to me," Harry said blushing and rushing forward to the blonde boy.

"Just because you did not learn proper Pureblood manners does not mean I can ignore them," Draco said with a small smile at the other boy's look of confusion. "Now is there something you need or just exploring your new property?" Draco asked finally straightening out of his bow.

"Well I had been looking for Hermione, but I had wanted to talk to you about something, Do you have a moment to talk for a bit?" Harry asked.

"Yes, Lord Black but not here for if I am much mistaken you want this to be a private conference do you know of an office or study around here?" Draco asked back and after Harry nodded motioned with a wave of his hand for Harry to lead the way. Once both boys were in Sirius's former private office a couple of rooms down from the Black Family Library. Before they began to have their talk Draco explained how Harry could use the Lordship rings to make sure that the room was Warded and that no one would be able to interrupt their talk. "Oh, would you just calm down Potter, I could not hurt you here in your own home both as a guest and you being Lord back if I tried to attack you either magically or physically the Wards would throw me out of the place. Now, what did you want to talk to me about?" Draco asked.

"Well, before his Will was read, Sirius made sure I went through an Inheritance Test and besides finding out that some of the people I trusted had me under potions and spells it turns out that I have a legal Marriage Contract," Harry said clarify the nature of the contract since the one with Ginny had been mentioned ruing lunch.

"Oh, Merlin please do not tell me it is with me," Draco said horrified that Lady Magic would make that choice for his future mate.

"Um no, and thanks for that reaction to the idea of us being bonded by magic," Harry said a small smile playing on his lips. "No the reason I wanted to speak to you about it is that it is one of your housemates in our year and wanted to get to know something about them."

"Who is it?" Draco asked moving forward to perch at the edge of his seat.

"Blaise Zabini, but how did it come about, I mean well how does a Marriage Contract work?  Siri mentioned it had to do with how one's magic interacts with another as a kid but it did not really go into great detail. I don't think Hermione would know much about it.  And if I ask the twins I don't think I would hear the end of their teasing," Harry said trying to look casual.

"Okay putting aside that your magical chosen Mate is my best friend for the moment. A Marriage Contract is usually put in place in the older magical families before their kids are three years of age. Before that time, the parents schedule as many play dates with other magical kids around the same age to find out the ones that best sync in magic. Both parents then usually sign a contract for their kids.  This does not mean that a person could not find love elsewhere but just that Lady Magic sees that the kids would be perfect for each other," Draco explained.

"So I do not have to marry Blaise if I don't want to?" Harry asked a hint of hope in his voice.

"You do not have to but contracts are usually made when a, oh how do the Muggles put it... oh yes, the other Witch or Wizard is your Soul Mate," Draco said and let out a laugh as Harry's mouth fell open in shock.

"Soul Mate?"

"Yes Potter, your Soul Mate," Draco said trying not to laugh in his school rival's face at the reaction.

"Speaking of Contracts, what do I do about the illegal one with Ginny?  Like how do I get rid of it?" Harry asked feeling glad to get rid of it for after the Goblin cleansing had removed the love potions from his system he realized that he preferred males.

"Um.... that one I don't know, you might want to ask Uncle Sev, Professor Lupin, or my mother,' Draco said rubbing the back of his neck hating to admit he did not know the answer.

"Okay I will see to that later, so can you tell me about him?  Blaise, I mean," Harry said with a slight blush.

"Is there something, in particular, you would want to know like what his favorite subject is? His hobbies perchance or maybe his food preferences?" Draco said with a teasing smile.

"Oh shut up, I just want to know about my so-called Soul Mate okay," Harry said glaring at the blonde.

"Fine Blaise Zabini, the Heir of House Zabini, is the son of Adriana who is famous, some say infamous, in the Wizarding World for having multiple husbands each who left her a lot of money and then died. Blaise was never a fan of Quidditch but for some reason every time the Gryffindor team played he would come to watch. His favorite and best subject is Charms; he does not really have a favorite food that I know of," Draco said letting out a small laugh as he saw Harry hang on his every word.

"Do you know what he wishes to do when he leaves school?" Harry asked hoping they would have similar career leanings.

Draco sat back for a moment in thought as he tried to recall what Blaise had told him after his career meeting last year with his uncle. "If I recall correctly, he wishes to become a curse breaker just so he can travel the world," Draco said. "Why what did you want to do after Hogwarts Pot... Harry?" Draco asked finally calling the other boy by his first name.

"Well, when I had my meeting with Professor McGonagall and Umbitch, I said I wanted to be an Auror but truth be told I am sick of fighting and would rather either just do research into the Magical World having never really been given much info before I started Hogwarts. Maybe write a book so that Muggleborns would not also run into the same mistakes I made." Harry said thinking about snubbing Draco's hand at the start of his First-Year which Sirius had explained had been the same as telling someone to fuck off and insulting the person's family in the Muggle World during a first meeting.

"Well, that seems like a noble thing to do, I would also point out that a curse breaker usually works with a team that has a researcher staff to check to find out about possible curses as well as catalog any artifacts the team may find," Draco said making Harry smile.

"Oh and speaking of mistakes.  I have made several due to my lack of knowledge, so I wish to apologize for snubbing your hand in our first year.  Would it be alright if we start all over?" Harry asked holding out his hand to the blonde.

"Hello, it is nice to meet you, I am Draco Lucius Malfoy, son of Lady Naricssa Samantha Malfoy nee Black and Lord Lucius Gemini Malfoy, Heir of the Most Nobel House of Malfoy," Draco said taking Harry's hand and giving it a single shake.

"Nice to be finally properly introduced, I am Harry James Potter son of Lady Lily Jasmine Potter nee Evans nee Pendragon and Lord James Douglas Potter, Lord of the Most Nobel houses of Potter-Gryffindor-Preverell-Wyllt-Pendragon-Ravenclaw-Black-Slytherin-Gaunt," Harry said letting out a soft giggle as Draco's mouth fell open who had not heard all the Houses Harry was now Lord of.

"Um I think you are going to have to talk to my mother as quickly as possible," Draco said his face becoming paler than usual.

"Why?" Harry asked in confusion.

"Well, for one to find out how to break off the illegal contract as soon as possible for we do not want either the Weasley or Dumbledore to have the power or money that comes from those lines, also as you pointed out you do not know much about Pureblood culture and Protocol she might have to start teaching you today so that when we get back to Hogwarts you do nothing to disgrace some of those Houses or cause some blood feuds once it becomes know that you are no longer just an Heir but a full Lord to some of the most famous Houses in the entire Wizarding Britain if not the world," Draco said and getting up and going to a small cabinet in the corner of the room began to pull out some Firewhiskey and took a small shot of it.

"Is there a way to summon her here while leaving the spells around the room in place?" Harry asked.

"Rub the Black Lordship ring and give thoughts of calling her to appear while giving her permission to get past the Wards," Draco said returning to his seat glass in hand. Harry did as he was instructed and a few minutes later there was a knock on the door as Narcissa entered.

"You wished to see me, Harry? Draco is that a drink I see?" she asked seeing the glass of Firewhiskey in her son's hand.

"Trust me you going to need one as well," Draco said taking a slow sip, and motioning to Harry.

"Well, first of all, how does one go about getting rid of an illegal Marriage Contract also according to Draco I am going to need some instruction on Pureblood Culture and Protocols," Harry said with a shrug.

"A we found out at lunch Harry has an illegal contract with Ginny, but a if that is bad enough normally  Harry has just informed me that he is in fact the Lord of Potter-Gryffindor-Preverell-Wyllt-Pendragon-Ravenclaw-Black-Slytherin-Gaunt Houses," Draco said taking another sip of his drink.

"You are correct Dragon I think a drink is needed," she said as with a flick of her wand caused a glass to prepare herself as she conjured a chair to sit in. "I take it that you have a Marriage Contract approved by Lady Magic then?" Narcissa asked wishing she had read more than just the spells Harry and been under as well as the injuries he had suffered over the years.

"Yes to Heir Blaise Zabini," Harry said.

"Okay to get rid of either a fake or illegal contract all you have to do is ask for the judgment from Lady Magic herself," Narcissa told both boys before she told what wording to use to make it work.

"I, Harry James Potter-Gryffindor-Preverell-Wyllt-Pendragon-Ravenclaw-Black-Slytherin-Gaunt call upon Lady Magic in her infinite wisdom to judge the Marriage Contract between myself and one Ginevra Weasley which was set up by people other than my parents or Godparents," Harry said and he knelt on the floor and waited for a response. A moment later a piece of parchment appeared in a flash of light before him. Still kneeling Harry took the parchment and read the note out loud.

My Young Lord,

I have looked over the said document and found you are correct in contacting me about this illegal contract. I judge in your favor and the Contract shall be rendered null and void and in punishment, it will be that any offspring Ginevra shall produce shall have their magic stripped from them thus making them Squibs.

Lady Magic

Both Draco and his mother gasped in shock at the nature of the punishment which went to show why one should never try to test Lady Magic's Plans. "Well yes, now that is taken care of can I ask about the real Marriage Contract?" Narcissa said after a moment.

"What about it?" Harry asked confused.

"Did you see the document itself?" she asked

"I only know about it due to an Inheritance Test why what would the the actual document show?" Harry asked sitting back down in his black wing-back chair.

"Well when most Contracts are written up the parents look over how the magic interacted between the two and after a couple of meets that are done before the document is actually made it is usually easy to see when the children would get into a relationship who would be the dominant partner," Narcissa said taking a sip of her drink "If need be you can send an owl to Gringotts to have them send you a copy so you can find out more."

"You mean when a Witch or Wizard is as young as three they can be labeled as a Dominant or Submissive to another?" Harry said trying to keep a note of anger out of his voice.

"This is not like a Dominant and Submissive relationship in the Muggle world in the Wizarding World this usually has less to do with actual control in a relationship and more with how the people treat each other. In the case of a Dominant, they would feel the need to protect and care for the Submissive they may or may not top sexually," Narcissa said.

"MOTHER," Draco said horrified as both males blushed nearly choking on his drink.

"And in the case of a submissive this has less to do with being demure but more to do wanting to be loved unconditionally by another," Narcissa said ignoring Draco's protest as with another flick of her wand summed a quill and parchment for Harry to write a note to the Goblin Bank. As they waited for a response Narcissa began her lessons in Pureblood Culture focusing on what to do during the first meeting and the wording one was to use.  They were well into a discussion on wording that one would use to make someone an enemy of the house when a Raven arrived from Gringotts.  Harry reached for it and read it to himself with a slight sigh.

Marriage contract between one Blaise Dominique Zabini and Harry James Potter.  As witnessed by their parents Fredrick and Adriana  Zabini, alongside James and Lily Potter.  Based on the amount of magical sync between Blaise and Harry it is thus written that as of June 3, 1981, with signs that Blaise being the Dominant partner and Harry being his Submissive.

The document was also signed by the four parents with hand prints from the two boys and notarized by Bonecrusher, the Potter Account Manager, and Slashclaw, the Zabini Account Manager.  After reading the parchment he handed it over to the Malfoys who both leaned in to read it.  Harry tried to avoid Draco's eyes when he saw a small smirk appear on his mouth now feeling like he was the one that needed a drink.  "So I guess, I am Blasie's Submissive partner," Harry said with a huff.

"Dear boy, as I said before being Submissive doesn't have to do with anything as wanting to be controlled by someone but a wish to be loved and taken care of," Narcissa said as she got out of her chair and gathered Harry into her arms.  It took almost too super time to calm Harry down and the three of them decided to go down to eat with everyone else.  As they entered the dining room, Harry stopped in place as he took in the small change to the room like the rest of the house the room was now clean with fresh wallpaper but the table no longer looked like it was about to collapse but was made of a solid piece of dark mahogany with matching chairs.  Greeting the others in a formal manner that Narcissa had instructed him to use, Harry took his place at the head of the table and motioned the others to sit down.  

Halfway though the main course the sound of the front door had opened making everyone turn to look as Tonks walked in.  "Wotcher Harry," the pink-haired Witch said sitting down and placing her feet on the table.

"Tonks what are you doing here, Harry banished the entire order apart from the people in this room?" Remus asked his wolf on edge and tense in case he needed to protect his cub.

"Well that is why I am here for Dumbles stated that dear Sirius had brought me and my mum back into the family.   Meaning I would be one of the few who could still come in here unless personally barred from the place," Tonk said as she used her wand to summon her own plate of food.

"And you are telling me this, so I can expel you from the house and this blocking the old fool?" Harry asked not sure if he should trust her or not.

"Well you could do that, or I could stay as I don't think he is going to be trusting Sev and Lupin anytime soon after this," Tonk said starting to eat some mashed potatoes.

"So what you are going to turn spy against the Headmaster?" Severus asked using Legilimency on the young Auror and found she was being truthful.

"Oh yes you betcha, you don't think that Scrimgeour would not be aware that both me and Shacklebolt were part of the Order we have been working for him to make sure they did not break any laws or hurt civilians," Tonk explained  "Which was harder than I thought it would be with Molly involved in the planning, that woman is one first-class headache," she said making everyone laugh.

"You do raise some good points, Tonks," Harry said "Is there a way I could also let Kingsley in here without the old fool realizing it?" he asked turning to the others.

"There might be a way you can open a secret path towards him in the Wards letting him say able to Apparate to say a small shed in the back where Siri had to keep his motorcycle or have Kreacher bring him along when he is free," Narcissa said after a moment of thought.

"Tonks, would you swear to become a spy against Albus too many names Dumbledore for us?" Harry asked.

"I, Nymphadora Cissa Tonks pledge on my magic that I will do my best to follow the head of the Noble House of Black against his enemies," Tonk said standing up and holding her wand aloft.  Narcissa hearing her niece's middle name began to tear up a little finding out her sister had named Tonks after her.  Satisfied by the pledge, Harry motioned to her to sit back down and the dinner went back to a normal happy atmosphere as Harry told them the news about being the Lord to nine Noble Houses three of which were from the Founders' line.  Everyone, apart from the Malfoy family, was shocked and was even more surprised when he told them about calling on Lady Magic to get end the illegal contract with Ginny, as well as who his parents had set up a contract for him with.

Chapter Text

As Harry and his friends showed up on Platform 9 3/4, they raised more than a few eyebrows. That was understandable for it was a shock to everyone to see Harry enter laughing with not only Hermione Granger but more surprisingly Draco Malfoy. During the summer the three of them had spent so much time together working on homework as well as Hermione and Harry getting lessons in Pureblood culture from Narcissa and Draco. "Oh, Dray, where have you been hiding, you, naughty boy," a voice called as Pansy walked up and elbowed Hermione out of the way. "And why are you with this trash?"

"Knock it off, Pans," Draco growled for he had grown quite fond of the Muggle Witch.

"What? Dray, first you are gone for the entire summer.  Then there was the story about Aurors taking everyone from Malfoy Manor and now you show up laughing with a Mudblood," Pansy said only to her utter shock as Draco used the back of his hand to slap her across her face. "Dray?" she asked rubbing her cheek not due to pain but in shock.

"Okay pop quiz you two, what is the significance of my blow to Pansy Parkinson?" Draco asked ignoring the girl and looking at Harry and Hermione.

"If memory serves a blow using the back of the hand to the face is a sign of ending a partnership or familiarity with a fellow magic user," Harry said after the moment he took to recall one of the lessons from Cissa, which Narcissa insisted the pair of them call her.

"Very good, Harry," Draco said as he turned his back on Pansy and led their small group onto the train. Finding an empty compartment the three loaded their trunks and went back to the conversation they had been having before interrupted by Pansy. Knowing that both Draco and Hermione would soon have to leave for their Perfect duties, Harry was hoping someone other than Ron and Ginny would find them. Due to their hatred of Draco, the three of them decided to make sure that the blonde was easily visible if one looked into the compartment with Harry sitting on his other side so he was partially hidden due to his smaller size.

"So is Pansy being rather overdramatic, or did you end all interaction with her in front of everyone on the platform?" a voice said as the door opened letting in two Slytherin boys. Much to Harry's relief, it was not Crabbe and Goyle who had found them.  Rather it was a pair of males taller than even Draco one with pale skin and rather skinny, while the other one had a muscular build with dark skin and short dark hair.

"I can tell you, for once she was telling the truth," Draco said making Harry and Hermione laugh.

"Did you adopt some Lions during the time you were gone?" the pale boy asked.

"More like they adopted me," Draco said as he motioned the newcomers to take a seat. "You know, of course, at the end of last year my dad had been sent to Azkaban?" he asked and received nods from the pair. "During the start of the summer, the Manor was taken over by Bellatrix Lestrange, my mother and I  became prisoners in our own home. Mother was sure that the Dark Lord would make me take the mark and was looking for a way to get us away. Imagine our surprise when we were invited to Gringotts to hear the Will of my Second Cousin Sirius Black. We were given a house that would have been protected but afterward, Harry actually invited us to come to live with him at the Black Family home which he inherited. Oh sorry, where are my manners, Lord Harry Potter, Miss Hermione Granger let me introduce Heir Theodore Nott the Second, and Heir Blaise Zabini," Draco said raising an eyebrow at Harry who blushed a little.

"Charmed, but I prefer just Theo," Theo said as he took Hermione's hand and kissed it while he bowed his head slightly to Harry.

"Wait you are a Lord? How you are not of age yet?" Blaise asked Harry who found he could not look at the other boy.

"Well, for the Will to be read Sirius made Harry go through his Inheritance Test which Dumbles made sure he had not done when he started at Hogwarts," Draco explained when it was evident that Harry was not going to. "So if you want a full greeting, say hello to Harry James Potter-Gryffindor-Preverell-Wyllt-Pendragon-Ravenclaw-Black-Slytherin-Gaunt," Draco said as he and Hermione both burst out laughing as the pair's mouths fell open.

"Holy Merlin," Theo said running a hand through his short hair.

"So you now know," Blaise said softly making Theo and Hermione shoot him a look.

"Yes," Harry said just as softly still blushing.

"What are you talking about?" Theo asked.

"Well the results of the test showed that Harry had a magically selected Marriage Contract to Blaise," Draco said.

"So that is who you kept talking about," both Theo and Hermione said at the same time looking at the three and getting a nod in response. Draco decided to get up to allow Blaise to sit next to Harry.

"Nice to finally meet you, Harry," Blaise said holding out his hand.

"Nice to make your acquaintance, Heir Zabini," Harry said making Theo and Blaise raise their eyebrows at his use of the proper response.

"Oh yeah as a way to pay back Harry for letting us stay at his place, Mother and I spent the summer teaching these two the finer points of Pureblood interactions," Draco said in response to the looks. Harry found his courage and took Blaise's offered hand and felt a shock as he felt his magic interacting with Blaise's for the first time since the pair had been babies. Harry had spent a lot of the time this summer in discussion with both Draco and Cissa about the Submissive status in a Marriage Contract worried that he had just escaped under Dumbledore's thumb only to end up under someone else. But as his magic interacted with Blaise's magic, he finally understood as the magic gave him a feeling of not only support but protectiveness towards him, not a feeling of being Dominated against his wishes.

"Ummm, Harry?" Hermione asked causing Harry to blush as he realized that at the touch he had let out a soft moan.

"I think, he finally got the answer to the question he was pestering mother and me all summer about," Draco said making Harry blush even deeper and Blaise chuckle. "Oh my Hermy, I think we are late for the Perfect meeting," Draco said making the Slytherin boys goggle at him and the bushy-haired witch hurriedly stood up and followed him out of the compartment.

"So how long have you known about the contract?" Harry asked seeming to be unaware that he was still holding Blaise's hand.

"My mum told me about it before I first came to Hogwarts, saying that I would most likely finally meet you," Blaise said as both boys ignored Theo, who did not seem to mind as he had taken out a book and began to read. "So you just learned of our contract this last summer?" Blaise asked.

"Yes, sorry," Harry said.

"I had always wondered, but I thought you might have just annoyed that the contract was to a Slytherin so I let you take your time," Blaise said releasing Harry's hand so that he could throw an arm around Harry's shoulder.

"It was lucky actually for it seemed that I was also under some enchantments and spells including love potions," Harry said stopping as he felt Blaise's magic surge around him.

"How did I miss that?" Blaise growled.

"Miss it? What are you talking about?" Harry asked turning to look up at the taller male.

"I sort of kept my eyes on you," Blaise said blushing a little.

"Really?" Harry said though by the feel of the other's magic could tell there was no lie in his words.

"I could show you if you like," Blaise offered.

"How?" Harry asked.

"An old spell that can be used between people who are part of a Marriage Contract though it is usually used if one of the people moves away while really young so that when they get back together.  That way they can get to know each other better. So do you want to see it?" Blaise asked a hint of hesitation in his voice.

"Is it sort of like using a Pensive?" Harry asked.

"Yes I will be with you the entire time," Blaise said comforting the smaller male and receiving a nod of confirmation from Harry. Blaise smiled as he pulled out his wand and put it to his heart before moving it to Harry's heart.

Harry immediately found himself in the Great Hall, during his Sorting standing next to a younger Blaise. Harry looked around for the current Blaise. "As you are in my memory I will not appear as I am now," Blaise's voice said from inside his head. In the memory, Harry saw himself being called to be sorted and saw young Blaise's face light up. "It was the first time I laid eyes on you in person since we were babies, and I felt my magic reach out to yours only for it to be blocked," Blaise's voice said sounding a little sad. The scene shifted to Harry's first Quidditch game as Harry was riding his bucking Nimbus 2000. The Slytherins around Blaise were all cheering their team on while the young Blaise had eyes only for Harry as his hands were white as he gripped the railing in front of him.

Knowing he had to do something, Blaise slipped away from his housemates. Once he was away Blaise pulled out his wand and pointed it at Harry as his voice said, "I was ready to cast a Feather Light Charm if you fell off your broom which thankfully did not happen. However, when you landed it was obvious you were choking on something so without even knowing the spell yet, my magic acted on its own letting me cast an "Anaoneo" to clear your airways." Harry was shocked to find out the reason he had been able to spit out the snitch.

"Thank you," Harry said and felt a warm feeling surround him as if he was being hugged.

"The good thing about being friends with Draco was he was always watching and keeping track of you.  If I did not know better, I would have sworn he wanted you, but when I did not have classes with you.  Draco somehow knew exactly what you were doing most of the time," Blaise said as Harry found himself in the Slytherin Common Room and watched Draco talk about how he had been given a detention for trying to prove Harry and Ron had had a dragon. "Not that I really believed him of course."

"There was a dragon it was Hagrid's, we were sending it to the twin's older brother, Charlie, who works in a Dragon reserve in Romania," Harry said

"Okay, I don't even want to know anything more after that," Blaise's voice said sounded a little scared making Harry laugh a little. "Okay moving on," Blaise said as the scene shifted to the dark-skinned boy walking outside the doors to the Hospital Wing. "As we had never really had a chance to meet, I could find the courage to have this be the first time I meet you after your return from the forbidden corridor. In the end, I decided to just send you some sweats I think I might have gone overboard a little," Blaise said as he showed a memory of his younger self purchasing almost the majority of sweets that had been at Harry's bedside when he had woken up. "During that summer, I was over at Draco's place my mother getting remarried once again," Blaise said making Harry start to ask about it only for in the memory the two boys overhear a conversation between Mr. Malfoy and someone else.

"I do not really know how it works, but our Lord had informed me that somehow this book will open the Chamber of Secrets at Hogwarts it is the perfect weapon to point at Dumbledore and if I give it to one of Weasel's kids it could end his Muggle Protection Bill," Mr. Malfoy said but the person he was talking to could not be heard meaning he was most likely in the middle of a Floo call. "I have it all planned out, it is not that hard to figure out when Molly is planning to go to the Diagon Alley so I will just go there and stage a fight and slip the book into their shopping."

"I did not know what book he was talking about, but I knew who he was talking about when he mentioned "Lord" and know anything that had to do with him would be bad for you," Blaise said. "So while Draco was getting ready for tea, I called on one of the Malfoy's House Elves who I have heard from Draco was a little obsessed with you. As I told him to clean some random shelf in the room I let slip about Mr. Malfoy's plan which seemed to work the Elf into a frenzy and he popped out of the room. When he returned I asked him where he had gone and he told me, mostly due to the fact I was not part of the Malfoy family that he had gone to warn you."

"You are responsible for sending Dobby with the warning for me?" Harry asked.

"I do not recall his name but yes," Blaise said. "Though from snippets, I have overheard he went a little overboard by blocking you from riding the train and that Bludger of his. If the twins had not been nearby at the end of the game I would have blasted the damn thing which unfortunately prevented me from noticing that fool Lockhart cast that spell. I so wanted to throttle him after that, the bloody wanker," Blaise said making Harry let out another laugh. Throughout that year, I felt like hurting people and came so close to breaking Draco's nose for his teasing of you, not to mention anyone who had tried to cast jinxes and curses at you after the dueling club."

"People had cast spells at me?" Harry asked alarmed a little having never noticed it.

"Unfortunately yes but once more my magic led me to protect you, not that I would not have done it myself, but it allowed me to cast protection charms that we have still not learned in class yet on your bookbag which caused almost all spells to dissipate before they reached you."

"Thank you," Harry said as he watched the memory of twelve-year-old Blaise case the charm on his backpack and before the scene shifted again bent down and kissed the top of the kid's head. At the kiss, Harry felt a warmness surround him as Blaise reacted.

"Um yes, but I think the strangest part of that year was during the Yule holiday I had stayed behind to do some homework. On the twenty-fifth, I was in the common room writing an essay when Draco had come in with Vincent and Gregory. When they came in, my magic flared, and seeing Vincent and Gregory taking a moment to look around the room, I knew it had to be someone using some spell or potion to take on the appearance of another."

"Yeah, it was a Polyjuice Potion, I had transformed into Goyle to find out if Draco was the Heir of Slytherin.  But your magic could still sense it was me?" Harry asked.

"Seems like it though I have never heard of that happening before to anyone under a Marriage Contract, my only guess is it only happened as our magic had not been able to merge again. I had heard that you someone faced off against the monster in the Chamber or at least sealed the Chamber as no other attack had happened since then," Blaise said.

"It was a Basilisk, I ran a sword through its mouth while it impaled my arm with one of its fangs," Harry said, and sensing Blaise's worry went on "but Dumbledore's Phoenix healed me with its tears saving my life.

"Something tells me by the time we reach to present day, I am not going to want to let you out of my sight," Blaise's voice said making Harry laugh at him. "The Third-Year the only upside was that people had stopped trying to curse you in the corridors, but the escaped convict was after you, and then the Dementors. I think my magic reached out to you more than I did that year as during the train ride to Hogwarts, I felt you pass out and pushed my magic towards you hoping it would help.

Once more I wanted to punch Draco as he teased you for passing out on the train not to mention that stunt he pulled at one of your Quidditch games. That game against Hufflepuff might have been the only time that I was the one to help you rather than just my magic that year. When the Dementors came and you fell from your broom as the Headmaster cast some spell to drive them away, I had cast a feather fall charm on you as well as a cushioning spell for when you were a few feet off the ground."

"I was always told that Dumbles had done that?" Harry asked as he had always been confused about how the old man had gotten rid of all the Dementors and had saved him from falling from such a great height.

"I heard he claimed to do it, saying he had cast the spell to get rid of the Dementors out loud while using a non-verbal spell on you.  But it was me," Blaise said showing the memory before another one of the now Third-Year Blaise once more pacing outside the doors to the Hospital Wing. "I still could not find the courage to go in to see you, especially with the entire Gryffindor team there, and try to explain why I wanted to see you.

During one of the Hogsmeade weekends, I found out that you had not been permitted to come, I was thinking about sending you some Honeydukes chocolate only for my magic to sense you around. Seeing Hermione and Weasley, I followed them and saw the incident with Draco and his bodyguards. You do seem to have a knack for going where you are not meant to be Harry," Blaise said letting out a deep laugh that Harry fell in love with at once.

"But during our fourth year, I nearly had a bloody heart attack when your name came out of the Goblet of Fire. I knew my magic could help me protect you from any of our classmates but the tournament had led to so many deaths it was scary. Would it surprise you to know that no one in Slytherin had thought you had entered yourself in the tournament?" Blaise asked.

"Yes, it would.  Are you saying that despite the teasing and Draco's badges you all believed me?" Harry asked once more shocked by what he learned.

"Yes for one we had all seen your face as well as the body language you were showing as you had walked up after your name was called. Plus if you think back to the badges they said "Support Cedric Diggory - The Real Hogwarts Champion" for even the First-Years knew that for you to be chosen for the tournament it would have had to be under a different school."

"Thank you so much," Harry said wiping a tear from his eye.

"You are very welcome, Harry, I also tried to help during the challenges if I could as well. Though I could not do much such as when you were facing your dragon and you were flying around I decided to hit her with a Confundus Charm leading her to leave her nest to go after you allowing you to grab the egg. I did not even go to the Yule Ball to watch you dance with someone else would have hurt so much though from what I heard if I had just arrived late I would have missed your dance and have been able to watch you. During the second task, there really was nothing I could do to help you, and to be honest from the spectator's point of view that task was rubbish just watching the lake for an hour, what fun," Blaise said in a teasing voice and Harry felt himself being tickled for a moment. "I may have missed you at the dance, but finding out that the task had been to rescue a person the champion really cared about and seeing you with Weasel, sorry Weasley it really hurt."

"You were right the first time," Harry said.

"What?" the taller boy asked confused.

"He is a Weasel, one of the potions I was under before cleansing was a loyalty potion to Ron, Ginny, and their parents which is why I am sitting with Draco and Hermione when you and Theo came in. He was also stealing money from one of my vaults," Harry explained.

"Do you mind if I hex him?" Blaise asked hopefully making Harry laugh.

"Not ye,t a plan is in place trust me," Harry responded.

"Always Mio dolce," Blaise said.

"What does that mean?" Harry asked

"It is Italian for "my sweet" too much?" Blaise asked only for Harry to shake his head and blush a little as only Sirius and Lupin had ever cared enough about him to give him a nickname before. "Good cause, I don't think I have it in me not to give you some pet names. I was so proud of you for winning the Tournament but was horrified when after you and Cedric took the cup you vanished. I actually fainted when you disappeared for it seems that my magic was pushing into you thus allowing you to cast so many spells at your age inside the maze that when you vanished my magic seemed to disappear as well.

While I was passed out I saw what happened in the graveyard," Blaise's voice said solemnly and he showed the memory where Blaise appeared to be a ghost during the duel in the graveyard as Harry once more felt himself being taken in for a full-body hug calming him down as he watched it all again. "I am sorry that I had to show you that but just wanted to show that I knew you were right all along about him being back. I was also the one who pointed out to the headmaster that Moody had led you away from everyone when he began to look for you." Blaise said as his memory showed not only did Blaise let them know about Harry being taken but also the fourth-year Slytherin boy followed them to rescue Harry from Barty Crouch Jr. and then hid in a corner as he listened into Barty's tale.

"I would like to point out something before I move on to memories of last school year, I never joined the Inquisitorial Squad. At least from my point of view, you did not really do much that year, well apart from punching Draco in the nose after your Quidditch game not to mention all the detentions you had with Umbitch," Blaise said noticing that as he mentioned the detentions Harry began to rub the back of his left hand and caused Blaise to notice, being all-around Harry due to them going through his memories, a faint outline of the words "I Must Not Tell Lies." "If that came from your detentions with her, I will put all the power my family has at its disposal to not only get her fired but sent to Azkaban," Blaise's voice said in a low menacing whisper as Harry felt the other teen's magic wrap protectively around his hand. Which caused Harry to almost break down and Blaise to end their connection so he could hug Harry.

"You okay Harry?" Hermione said seeing Blaise pull the crying Harry into his lap and cuddle with him. She had been worried for the pair of boys had been in a trance ever since she and Draco had gotten back to the cabin nearly two hours ago, but Draco had just told her to leave it alone as the pair had told Theo how Hermione and he had become friends over the summer.

"I was showing Harry my memories of him and how my magic had led me to protect him since we had joined Hogwarts. We had just gone up to last year and his detentions with Umbitch, and he broke down.  I just to physically help him and not just in my memories," Blaise said as he slowly began to rock Harry back and forth in his lap. "So what were you lot talking about?" he asked to take some of the attention off of Harry.

"Oh they were telling me about their summer and how Draco actually became friends with Hermione Granger," Theo said, "now what happened next?"

"Well, Mother and I had been staying at the Grimmauld Place for a couple of weeks by then when Hermione asked, as she had learned about Wards being used to keep people out of a place or expel them if they were already there, why not get in contact with the Ministry and have them around the area of Malfoy Manor.  With Father being gone, Mother would have control of the wards of the Manor she could expel all the Death Eaters inside and for them to get captured by the Aurors in waiting. We had been able to work out a deal with the head of the Auror Department, Rufus Scrimgeour, along with evidence that my Father had been under the Imperious Curse to get him freed from Azkaban," Draco said making Blaise happy to see that they had gone back to their conversation as he calmed Harry down

"Now unfortunately doing this still meant that Draco and his family had to remain in hiding for causing most of Voldy's inner circle to once more be captured and sent back to Azkaban which just means, they still had to stay at Grimmauld Place," Hermione finished making both Blaise and Theo laugh at the nickname the three had started to use for the Voldemort.

"You know that sounds so much better than He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, how come no one ever thought to call him that before? I doubt that name would be under the Taboo," Theo asked.

"It isn't, we said it around Father just to be sure," Draco said noticing that Harry had fallen asleep in Blaise's arms and the taller boy had gently kissed his forehead slightly blushing when he saw the other had spotted the action.

Chapter Text

Harry was woken up as someone knocked on the door to the compartment. "What do you want?" he heard Draco ask after the sound of the door opening was heard.

"I was sent with invitations for both Blaise Zabini and Harry Potter, to join Professor Slughorn in his compartment for a meeting," a Third-Year Hufflepuff student said as Harry yawned and got off Blaise's lap.

"What for?" Harry asked.

"Could not tell, you but he said a meal would be provided," the kid said blushing at speaking to the Chosen One.

"Kay. Shall we go, Blaise?" Harry asked looking up at the taller man.

"Might as well," Blaise said standing up and pulling Harry to his feet. The pair wished the others goodbye and headed down the train to find the compartment where the Hufflepuff had told them the meeting was taking place. Harry noticed a slight change since last he had walked down the train when he had last walked past with Draco everyone had stared opened mouthed at the two school rivals laughing with each other, but now as he walked down, Blaise's arm wrapped around his waist he noticed some glares aimed at the other boy. To his shock, Harry was feeling slight pickling in his head as if he could feel the anger directed at the taller male without even looking at the gawping people. In short order, the pair knocked at the door to the compartment and were told to come in to find that the compartment had been expanded which was a good thing as the Professor was as large if not larger than Vernon Dursley.

"Ah Harry at last," the man said standing up with a deep belly laugh "Come in come in my lad. Ah my bo,y I see you know young Zabini but do you know young Marcus Belby, Cormac McLaggen, I can assume you know Mr. Longbottom and Ms. Weasley." Harry nodded in greeting everyone in the compartment except for Ginny who he shot a glare at. Ginny for her part looked a little confused at the glare but due to the prickling, he was feeling he guessed she was faking it he also felt a twinge of anger aimed towards Blaise who still had his arm wrapped around Harry's waist. Slughorn motioned them to some empty seats and as soon as they sat down, Harry snuggled in close to Blaise as the dark-skin Wizard re-positioned his grip from Harry's waist to his shoulders; Harry felt shock from some of the occupants of the compartment and he knew for certain that Ginny was furious at the pair of them.

Slughorn began to speak to the student, he had introduced known as Belby but Harry had barely paid attention as he closed his eyes, leaned into Blaise, and tried to find the source of the strange tingling in his head.   He had never felt anything like it before but knew it was if he could sense other's emotions or at least the surface feelings everyone was experiencing. He began to wonder if it was an aftereffect of the spell Blaise had cast on him and decided to ask the older boy later about it. Opening his eyes, Harry decided he really did not like Slughorn that well. 

Besides reminding him a little of Vernon the feelings coming off the older man made him think of Dudley as well as if the man saw the people around him as toys or collectibles to be obtained for his own pleasure. This was confirmed by the end of the man's discussion with Belby as the Ravenclaw boy had evidently said something that did not please the man, Harry felt as if Slughorn had slammed a door into the boy's face becoming more clear as some pies were passed around a second later yet none was given to Belby. Harry decided to himself that Slughorn was, in fact, worse than both Vernon and Dudley for while they might not like magic and showed their displeasure plainly, they still sort of dealt with him and other Wizards, but Slughorn almost appeared to be a possible psychopath who was just showed interest in others for what they could do for him.

Deciding he would have to watch out for the old man, especially if he was one of Dumbles, Harry tried to tune back into the discussion just as Slughorn started to talk to Blaise. As he had never really interacted with or even noticed Blaise before now, Harry paid close attention to see what he could learn. Evidently, Blaise was there because his mother, Adriana, had been married to several Wizards who had all died and left her with a lot of money, rather than be freaked out about the news Harry got angry for that seemed rather personal information to be shared in front of other people.

Harry was about to tell the old fool off when he felt Blaise's magic wash over him with a calming feel as the taller teen replied to Slughorn in an almost bored voice as if this was something he dealt with a lot. After the short interview, Slughorn turned his attention to Harry who immediately raised his hackles in his mind though calmed a little more as Blaise began to gently rub his back at an angle that no one else noticed. "Now we get to Harry Potter, once the Boy-Who-Lived, now as the Prophet calls you the Chosen One," Slughorn said with a smile that made Harry's skin crawl.

"I would not know sir, I do not read the Prophet," Harry said a little curtly hoping he would feel the man slam the door at him as he had done with Belby, but alas it did not happen.

"I can quite agree, after all, I know that Barnabas Cuffe, the editor of the Prophet you know, has run articles about you for years not all of them kind," Slughorn said reaching forward and patting Harry's arm who had forced himself not to flinch at the touch. This started the fool on a long-winded ramble about several of the articles the Prophet had printed about him.

"So exactly why are we here sir," Harry said after about three minutes not wanting to hear about every single article the Prophet had ever posted about him.

"Ah yes, good point, you see my dear lady and gentlemen I have decided to restart a club I used to run while I was last at school for all those up-and-comers so that they may meet experts in various fields and such," Slughorn said and Harry was happy to feel a little bit of anger with his new senses at being interrupted. 'I see you all have the makings to do good in our world, so I thought I would give you all the chance to join up first."

"I am sorry, sir, but it does not sound like something I would be interested in," Harry said as he stood up and walked out of the compartment without a backward glance.  With his new ability to sense the emotions of people, he received a shock from everyone and full-blow anger from Slughorn himself, Harry had no desire to be seen as just a collectible by some old man. Harry did not stop until he was back at the compartment with Draco, Hermione, and Theo were using still fuming a little and startled the three as he flung the door open so hard the glass cracked. Feeling a little embarrassed, Harry cast a quick Reparo on the glass before sinking into his seat in a huff.

"Not a good meeting I take it Har?" Draco asked sliding over.

"The utter arrogance of the man he is... I mean..... ug," Harry said unable to find the words to describe Slughorn.

"Who?" all three of them asked.

"Slughorn," Blaise said from the doorway as he went and sat down next to Harry shaking his head. "He tried to recruit us for something he called the Slug Club," Blaise said as he began to rub Harry's back again.

"Slug Club, sounds sort of disgusting, oh was the Weasel there after all who better to join than the one who spat them out," Draco said giving Harry a look and making him laugh.

"No he wants only up-and-comers so of course Weasel wasn't there, though his sister was," Harry said calming down a little as he let Blaise's magic wash over him seeming to soothe his own magic.

"Do you know if there are any side effects from the spell you used to show me your memories?" Harry asked looking up into his bonded, boyfriend, fiancé, or whatever name one called it face.

"Not that I know of, why?" Blaise asked his face taking on a look of concern.

"Well ever since I woke up after I saw your memories, I seem to be able to feel other people's emotions somehow," Harry said

"I have never heard of anything like that happening, do you mind how you can tell you are sensing their emotions?" Blaise said not losing his look of concern and making the others feel that way as well.

"I don't really know, at first I felt a small prickling in my mind as I felt people's jealousy and slight anger towards you as we walked towards that meeting, but after a while, the pricking stopped but I could still feel what others were feeling," Harry said making Hermione gasp.

"Harry it sounds as if you somehow gained a talent for Magical Empathy," she said leaning forward.

"What?" the others asked at the same time.

"I read about it in one of the books I took from Sirius's library as my inheritance, it is a rare talent where your magic can read another person's magic to determine their moods and emotions from what I understand it is a highly sought after skill if a person wants to become a healer. But besides that, it is usually triggered when one has gone through great hardships yet still cares deeply for others, which does sort of describe you."

"But why did it start now as it was pointed out last year, I tend to do have a saving person thing why did this suddenly happen now?" Harry said leaning forward.

"If I was to place a guess that when Heir Zabini," she started.

"Oh just call me Blaise alright," Blaise said with a playful smile at the Witch.

"Okay, when Blaise used the spell to share his memories with you, shortly after your guy's magic interacted for the first time it somehow unlocked the ability.  But once more this is only a guess," Hermione said with a slight shrug as if embarrassed that she did not know the right answer.

"Well that would make sense, maybe I should send a letter to Aunty Cissa or ask Professor Snape to see if they might know how it happened," Harry said. "Oh yeah before I forget, be on your guard against Slughorn, from what I could feel he only sees people as a commodity for him to collect," Harry warned.

"Okay, I know that last bit was important but when do you call Draco's mom "Aunt Cissa" or trust Professor Snape?" Theo asked.

"I assume that Draco or Hermione told you about the reading of my Godfather's Will?" Harry asked and saw the pale Slytherin boy nod "Well, I learned that Professor Snape was selected to be my Godfather but was never actually told, and Cissa would have been if not for Draco's grandfather." Theo and Blaise were shocked at the news but held onto any questions in case Harry had anything else to add. "As to why I call her Aunty, well I was raised by the so-called Muggle relatives of my mother, though she had been adopted into the family at a young age, and they were horrible yet Draco's mum was so kind so I sort of slipped into referring to her as Aunty," Harry said with a small shrug.

"You should have seen it the first time he did it," Draco said with a small laugh "Harry blushed as red as a tomato but Mother did not seem to care she let out a happy little squeak and hugged him so tight, I thought she would break him in two." Laughing the group began to pull out their robes and put them on over their school blazers just as the train began to slow down.

"So can someone explain the new title that the Prophet has decided to give me?" Harry asked as he closed his trunk and shrunk it again.

"You mean the Chosen One?" Theo asked as Harry nodded "From what I can tell they began to refer to you like that after a talk about some sort of Prophecy where you are the one to defeat Voldy."

"They know about the Prophecy?!?" Hermione asked shocked.

"You mean there really is one?" both Blaise and Theo asked at the same time.

"We did not actually hear it but if Dumbles could be believed, it mentions that I would have some sort of power he does not and I would be the one to stop him," Harry explained.

"So you know trust Professor Snape but not Dumbledore?" Blaise asked a little confused with a sigh rather than get into it Harry pulled out the results of his Inheritance Test from his trunk and let the two look it over. "I think I might have to hex the Weasel and his Git of a sister," Blaise said softly making Harry let out a small laugh.

"Thanks," Harry said standing on his tiptoes and kisses the dark-skin Wizard's cheek. Blaise let out a soft chuckle as he wrapped an arm around Harry as the group disembarked from the train and made their way to the Thestral-drawn carriages at which point Hermione stopped in her tracks. "Yes Mione those are Thestrals you can see them now since you witnessed Sirius fall through the Veil," Harry said comfortingly as he placed his hand on her shoulder. The group enters the carriage but before it takes off both Neville and Luna open the door. Neville stops in place spotting the three Slytherin males, but Luna hops right in hugging Harry and sitting next to Theo as if it was something she did every day.

"Come on in Neville," Harry said patting the open seat beside him as Draco and Hermione began to go over the course books assigned for the new term. Neville lifts an eyebrow but takes the seat giving Draco a worried look before asking Harry about his summer. The ride to the castle was shorter than normal for as they approach the gates the carriages came to a stop and the doors opened. As the group got out they found themselves in a line where Filch and some teachers were checking all the belongings of everyone entering the castle grounds. After about ten minutes, Harry finally reaches the front of the line and is sent to get his stuff looked at by Professor Flitwick. The small Charms teacher found nothing wrong with anything so Harry walked a little forward and waited for the others before they headed up to the castle proper.

Chapter Text

The group headed up the steps to the castle, Harry and Hermione were not looking forward to going to the Gryffindor table for the meal and would rather have sat with their new friends at the Slytherin table. However, during the summer besides learning Pureblood lessons with the Malfoy family, Professor Snape gave them some information that would make it easier to go through the school year.   The first of which was students could sit with friends in other houses just not during school events like the Opening Feast. Saying goodbye to Blaise, Draco, and Theo the pair made their way to the Gryffindor table and spotted Ron and Ginny who seemed to be looking for them, Harry and Hermione joined Neville as the boy sat next to Dean and Seamus. "What's up, Harry?  It is strange to see you guys not eat with Ron," Seamus said after the Sorting Ceremony. Due to his new senses, Harry got no negative feelings from the other boy or Dean.

"I found out some interesting stuff about not only him but that sister of his," Harry said with some venom in his voice.

"Do you mean how they were stealing from you?" Dean asked.

"How did you know?" Hermione sputtered that she had missed it when Dean knew about it.

"That idiot liked to brag about how he has a well-paid job since our first year, we tried to get him to tell us about it but he would always say it was a secret," Seamus said. "It was not until we were hanging out during our fourth year that he finally admitted he was being paid to make sure you did not do well in your classes and keep others away from you, apart from Hermione and Neville."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Harry asked with a growl.

"Well as we said, he made sure the only ones who would be around you all the time were Hermione and then last year I was not in the mood to talk to you since I believed the lies from the Prophet," Seamus said.

"I guess that made sense, I just wish it did not take the death of Sirius to find out about him stealing or the marriage contract," Harry said putting his face to the table.

"What do you mean?" Dean asked reaching across Seamus for some chicken.

"Oh well, it seemed that our," Harry stops and tilts his head sharply to the side as if trying to work out a kink in his neck "Headmaster along with Ron's parents set up a contract between me and Ginny."

"THAT BITCH," Dean said slamming his goblet on the table making everyone around them go silent. "She told me she had no contract when we began dating."

"It gets even worse, my parents had a Magical approved Marriage Contract already.  To make sure it would not happen they had me under potions to hate the person the contract was with," Harry said who had come to terms with this already so he just popped some food into his mouth as the people around him dropped their mouths in shock

"They tried to deny a Magical Marriage Contract," Katie Bell who had been sitting next to Hermione.

"Is that why you are so close to Malfoy now, he is the one Magic put you two together?" Dean asked. Harry who had been taking a drink spit it out across the table.

"Sorry Neville, no Dean just no," Harry said as he wiped his mouth. "The reason I am now friends with Draco was that he lived at my home this last summer to hide from Voldy's forces."

"Oh, I would pay to see that how did your relatives like the poncy git?" Dean asked.

"Actually we lived at a house my Godfather had left me in his Will, so we were both in the Magical world.  He was actually quite nice helping Hermione and myself learn some Pureblood Protocol," Harry said.

"So who is your real contact with?" Dean, Seamus, and Katie asked.

"Blaise Zabini," Harry said with a slight blush feeling the general good feelings from them.

"Damn," Katie said, "man have you got all the luck he is rather fine for a Slytherin." Harry could only blush as pretended to be utterly focused on his meal letting Hermione tell them about their summer tuning his new senses on how the others were taking it. He was glad that he got no negative feelings from his housemates as they were told about his new friendship with Draco the one Slytherin in their year that always had gone out of his way to bully the Gryffindors.

"Ah, there you two are, why are you sitting down here?  Ginny and I saved you some places in our normal spot," Ron's voice said as he walked over as the desserts arrived. The lanky redhead tried to force his way into the spot next to Harry but having heard what the boy had been doing to Harry the others closed ranks.

"Maybe I decided to eat with people I could trust for once Weasel," Harry said glaring at the boy.

"Haha good one, Harry you sound just like Malfoy come on Ginny has really missed you this summer," Ron said grabbing Harry's right arm and trying to pull him out of his seat.

"Let go," Harry said with a voice of steel. Ron was about to laugh at him again before he suddenly noticed that Dean, Seamus, Neville, Katie, and Hermione all had their wands pointed at him. "That was not a suggestion, I do not want to sit with either you or that stalker sister of yours so run along Weasel."

"Harry has made his opinion known, and I quite agree so get lost, Ron.  You know I have just as much spell knowledge as Harry does and am not afraid to use it," Hermione said shifting her wand so it pointed right between his eyes. Ron gulped and scampered away making everyone around them laugh.

"If you need help to avoid him let us know," Dean said throwing an arm over Seamus's shoulder.

"I will keep that in mind," Harry said as the feast came to the finish. Hermione gave them the password for the Fat Lady as she went to lead the new First-Year to the tower, the group of them wishing her luck at having to deal with Ron again. Standing up, Harry waved to his new friends from Slytherin as both groups headed out of the Great Hall.

"Hey Harry!" a familiar called out making Harry breathe a heavy sigh as Ginny came rushing up to the small group. Harry was grateful that the others closed ranks around him preventing the redhead from getting close to him for he was not sure how she had been dosing him with love potions.

"What no hello to me, your boyfriend?" Dean asked sharply having already decided to dump the bitch.

"Oh hey, Dean, how have you been?" she said as if she had just noticed him.

"I think it is time to end it, Ginevra, from what I have heard you are not someone I want to get involved with as either a friend or a romantic prospect," Dean said distracting the girl so Harry and the others made their way to Gryffindor Tower. Arriving at the Fat Lady they gave the password of "Waddlebird" and entered the familiar tower room. Deciding to take some extra precautions this year, Harry made his way up to the Sixth-Year dorm and cast some warding spells Cissa had taught him on both his trunk and bunk. Seamus, Neville, and Harry hung out for a while until they heard Ron coming up the stairs making Harry dive into his bunk to hide from his former friend. With the Wards in place, he knew Ron would be unable to either hear him or get to him so he settled down to read a book until he got sleepy.

When Harry woke up the next morning, he knew he did not have to worry about running into Ron as the boy would always sleep late even when they had an early class. Ginny on the other hand it was hard to say but the good thing was since there was not a school event, he could eat his breakfast at Ravenclaw with Luna or Slytherin with Draco, Blaise, and Theo or even at Hufflepuff with Ernie Macmillan and his friends. Arriving at the Great Hall, he saw that Luna was already sitting at the Slytherin table gaining some strange looks from others. With a smile, Harry walked over to her and slid into the seat next to her, "Morning Luna have a good night?"

"It was normal," she said kicking her feet showing that once again she was not wearing any shoes.

"You know I could teach you a couple of Warding spells so that the others would be unable to take your stuff," Harry said throwing an arm around the girl he was coming to see as the little sister he never had.

"It is fine Harry," she responded.

"No it bloody well is not you are being bullied you should speak to Flitwick or something," he said.

"He would not believe me," she said quietly.

"Why would he not?  Even if he did not like it, you not having shoes would be a good sign that you are telling the truth," Harry said as Blaise and the others arrived.

"Should I be jealous Harry?" Blaise teased as he leaned in and kissed Harry's cheek.

"Only if you get jealous of someone I see as a Sister," Harry said with a chuckle.

"Okay I get it, so what are you two talking about, I feel your magic and it seems rather serious," Blase said.

"I am just trying to get Luna to tell someone about people bullying her," Harry said.

"People have been bullying you, Little Moon?" Draco said from her other side throwing his hand around her waist. "If you don't want to report it to anyone if your housemates have been bullying you, you could always ask for a house re-sort. What?!?" he asked when he noticed Harry, Blaise, and Theo staring at him in shock. "She is my Cousin and as you know a Malfoy always puts family above everything else, well apart from my former Aunt Bella."

"Can anyone request a re-sort?" Harry asked.

"After a student is in their third year, or above anyone can request a re-sort, though you can only request it once.  After that, it would be your House for the rest of your time at Hogwarts. Why want to get out of the Lion's Den?" Draco teased.

"Well the Hat did try to put me in Slytherin during my sorting," Harry said making Blaise drop his goblet.

"Wait what?" he said.

"Yeah, it said I would do great here if I was in Slytherin but having seen Draco as a bully along the same lines as my cousin, I argued with the hat to be anywhere other than Slytherin."

"That is too bad think of all the time we would have had together," Blaise said as he reached past Harry and Luna to smack the back of Draco's head.

"Yeah sorry, okay I took you sitting with Weasel on the train badly," Draco "though I was right in the end."

"Yeah, yeah what you want a trophy or something?" Harry teased as Hermione sat down across the table from him and started to fill her plate. If anything her sitting at the table raises more eyebrows among the other students than Harry sitting there did.

"So what are you guys talking about?" she said ignoring all the looks people were sending her way.

"Re-sorting," Harry answered before turning back to Draco. "So how does one go about getting a re-sort?"

"I think you need to talk to at least one of the Heads of Houses, even if it is not the House you are currently in, and then inform them why you want to be re-sorted," Draco said after a moment of thought.

"Great I will talk to Professor Snape then," Harry said.

"Talk to me about what Potter?" said Professor asked as he moved to the group handing Draco, Blaise, and Theo their timesheets.

"I want to get a re-sort to get away from Ron and Ginny," Harry said, "also could Luna get one due to her Housemates basically bullying her?"

"That is a serious request Potter, and does Heir Lovegood herself agree to ask for a re-sort?" the dour man asked raising an eyebrow at the girl as noticed the fact that the girl was not wearing any shoes or socks. The girl could not look up but only nodded at him, "Alright, I will start the process of a re-sort, expect it to happen either tonight or tomorrow at breakfast."

"Can I get one as well Professor?" Hermione spoke up as he began to walk away.

"And what reason do you have for wanting a resort Ms. Granger?" he asked with no venom in his voice.

"Well if you must know the girls in my dorm tend to make fun of me for preferring to study than talk about boys and such," Hermione said shocking Harry who had never heard of that happening. "Then there is Ron who has been using me as a way to control Harry, and I am afraid if Harry gets sorted to another house, I might just curse him into the toad that he is."

"Well that is good enough reason, Ms. Granger I shall add you to the re-sort anyone else?" he asked but the Slytherin seemed to like where they were.

"I have a feeling you are going to end up in Ravenclaw Mione," Draco said.

"As if, she is gonna be a Slytherin just you watch," Harry said as he began to butter his toast.

"That sounds like a bet, Harry, I am in," Draco said "two Sickles for Ravenclaw."

"Three Sickles for Ravenclaw for me as well," Theo said.

"A Galloen for Slytherin," Blaise said, "what I have learned not to bet against Harry."

"Four Sickles for Slytherin," Luna said.

"I can't believe you are making bets on where I end up.  Why not Harry or Luna?" Hermione asked with a fake pout.

"Well, Harry just told us the Hat tried to put him in Slytherin the first time around so he would most likely be sent here. As for Luna I don't think it would matter where she went the Hufflepuffs would look after her as would the Slytherins, and I just do see her ending up in Lion's Den, they would eat her alive," Draco said hugging the blonde girl again making her smile.

"It is nice to see some inter-house unity after all this time," Professor McGonagall said as she came over and handed Harry and Hermione their timesheets. "Professor Snape has informed me of your wish to change Houses, I am sorry that you feel that way and would be sad to see you both go but you need to feel safe and have fun here rather than be bullied." The pair thanked her as they got up to leave for their first class, but as they approached the doors Dumbledore showed up.

"Ah Harry, my boy, I have been trying to talk to you this summer.  I wish to have some specialty lessons with you this year to take on Voldemort," the old fool said making the surrounding students flinch at the name.

"I am sorry, sir, but I think I am going to follow Sirius and my parents' Wills and ask you to leave me alone," Harry said trying to get past the bastard.

"Now Harry these lessons are quite important, I am going to have to insist," the Headmaster said placing a hand on Harry's shoulder as if in comfort but making Harry want to knee the old man in the balls.

 "That may be, sir, but it is not the job of a sixteen-year-old boy to defeat He-Who-Should-Not-Be-Named, it should be left to the Aurors or others with similar training," Harry said keeping his voice calm as Dumbledore's voice kept rising in pitch.

"Now my boy, I have told you that a fear of a name just increases the fear of the thing itself, just call him Voldemort," Dumbledore said ignoring the flinches of the students and a grimace of pain on Severus's face at the name.

"That may be true, sirm but using a name that is taboo is just plain dumb," Harry said with a slight smirk as the old fool's face turned a shade of purple that Vernon Dursley would have been proud of.

"Be that as it may, I am going to have to make these lessons mandatory for if you do not have time for them, I shall just have to take the Quidditch Captain badge since the lessons are much more important than even Quidditch I am afraid," Dumbledore said making the students gasp at the obvious blackmail the man was using against Harry.

"Fine have the badge then, sir, I will still not have one-on-one lessons with you any time soon.  After all, I know you are not to be trusted with my safety after this summer," Harry said shocking everyone as he tore the badge from his chest but rather than give it to Dumbledore as he had said he passed it over to Katie Bell. "It is all yours Katie, it should have been yours in the first place you have more seniority than me."

"Thank Harry," Katie said attaching the badge to her own robes.

"Ah if you do not want to have the lessons one-on-one, how about we have someone join us maybe Messer or Ms. Weasly?"

"So your solution of me not trusting you enough to have lessons with is to add the number of people I no longer trust at the meetings," Harry said. "I would not say no to having someone with us at these lessons how about Professor Snape." There was some gasp at Harry suggesting he trusted Snape more than Dumbledore.

"Now Severus could not join us, he has his own lessons to plan among other things," Dumbles said with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Alright, how about Mrs. Malfoy?" Harry asks innocently once more shocking the crowd for his trust in the wife of known Death Eater over the Headmaster.

"I understand she is in hiding, I would not want to put her in danger," the old fool said walking deeper into Harry's trap.

"Alright I met an Auror last year after the events at the Ministry, I believe she goes by the name Tonks," Harry said as though the woman was not one of his own allies against both Dumbles and Voldy.

"That is an excellent suggestion, my boy, and she could put in a good word for you with the Aurors department for when you leave school," Albus said thinking he could use this to his advantage.

Chapter Text

"Who said I still wanted to be an Auror?" Harry whispered to Hermione as they went to their first class of the day making her snort a little with laughter. Just like Draco, Hermione had heard of his plans to become a researcher so he could compile information about the Wizarding World so Muggleborns would have some help when they came to the Magical Schools. The pair still chuckling made their way into their first class making sure to find seats by Dean, Seamus, and Neville so that Ron would be unable to be close to them. Before the class began the pair told the three about their plans to be re-sorted either that very night or tomorrow at breakfast.

The three Gryffindor boys offered up both thanks for the trust in sharing with them the news but also sorrow to see them go. "We will make sure Ron stays away than to give you both a good last day as Lions," Dean said throwing his arm around Harry's shoulder. "Well in other news, I broke up with Ginevra last night." No one offered him anything but congratulations on his decision until the class began. Throughout the day Neville and the others kept their word of keeping not only Ron away but also Ginny making Harry and Hermione wish they had gotten to know the three before now.

Right before lunch, Katie Bell came up to Harry to inform him of when the Gryffindor Quidditch tryouts were. "Thanks, Katie but I don't think I will be going," Harry said pulling the Seventh-Year girl aside.

"Why not? I know that you would get the position against any other who went for it," Katie asked a little confused.

"Okay this needs to stay between us for a bit okay," Harry said and got a nod of confirmation from the older girl. "Due to what I learned over the summer, I can not stay in the same house as Ronald and Ginevra so I have asked for a re-sort."

"Oh Harry," Katie said as he pulled him into a tight hug a little surprised.  Harry took a moment to hug her back as he glanced over her shoulder and saw Ginny looking angry as all-out while over at the Slytherin table Blaise seemed to be chuckling at him and shaking his head. Deciding to annoy Ginny some more as soon as the hug ended Harry took Katie's hand and giving her a wink lifted the hand and kissed it. It worked as the sound of breaking glass was heard from where Ginny had been sitting. "I am sorry to see you go, Harry, and not just because I fear facing off against you during a game. Please don't join the House team of whichever House get sorted into," Katie begged but in a voice that said she was just teasing him

"I can promise you I will not, at least until you leave Hogwarts," Harry said putting his right hand to his heart and his left hand to his brow making Katie gasp at seeing him make a promise with full Pureblood authority, meaning if he broke it she would decide any punishment to give him without question.

"If I may why would you give up Quidditch, it can not just be due to our friendship?" Katie asked.

"Well to be honest after two years without it I don't see why another year would matter, also you saw Dumbles earlier where he tried to make me do what he wanted under the threat of Quidditch, so I might as well take that chip off the table.  Sorry Muggle expression, it means less he can use against me," Harry explained seeing the confusion on Katie's face.

"Thank you for telling me, I hope you find what you are looking for," Katie said as she leaned down and kissed his right cheek, prompting Ginny to shriek like her Banshee of a Mother.

"It is so easy to see the family resemblance when she does that," Harry said quietly making Katie chuckle. Rather than join her for lunch, Harry made his way back to the Slytherin table and slid into the seat between Blaise and Draco.

"So should I be jealous, my sweet?" Blaise asked with a chuckle as Harry sent a glare at the taller boy only to pull a face.

"I was just wishing her luck as the new Gryffindor Quidditch Captain after I told her I was getting re-sorted. She was overcome with emotion so she hugged me as she did, I saw Ginevra looking angry over her shoulder I decided to annoy her some more," Harry explained.

"So you decided to kiss her right hand and give her a full Pureblood promise?" Draco asked with a chuckle.

"Hey, I was only saying I would not join whatever House I get sorted into Quidditch team. I mean after all, if I get into Slytherin I would take your position away from you," Harry said turning to Draco who looked a little shocked that Harry would do that for him. The rest of the day Harry actually had some fun as he teased and did his best to annoy the two redheads.  By supper time both were no longer trying to speak to him which just made him and Hermione both glad as they sat down at supper this time at the Gryffindor table to see all four Heads of Houses were not at the Head Table. As the student body began to fill up their plates, the doors to the hall burst open as the four Heads of Houses came in with Professor Snape carrying the Sorting Hat and the other trailing behind him holding the Hogwarts Crest on a large banner.

"Students and staff of Hogwarts, there has been a call for a re-sort for several students," Professor Snape called out making the whole hall fall silent apart for several gasps of shock. "A re-sort has not been called for in over a century and we have followed all rules set out by the Founders for students who no longer feel safe or attune to the House they had been originally sorted into when they first started at this fine school," Severus explained as he went to stand before the head table as the other heads of houses transfigured the banner into a chair. "As the request for a re-sort was given to me, it falls to me to present the Sorting Hat for the re-sort. Now without further to do Heir Luna Lovegood, please step forward." Luna stood up from the Ravenclaw table and walked to stand before the dour Potions Master, for once wearing shoes. "Do you Heir Lovegood agree to the re-sorting of your Hogwarts House?"

"I do, sir," Luna said in a slightly higher tone in her airy voice. Severus gestured for her to sit and put the Sorting Hat onto her head.

The Hat sat there for a couple of moments before it called out "SLYTHERIN" prompting applause from the table as Luna handed the Hat back to her new Head of House and her school robes magically changed from the blue of Ravenclaw to the green of Slytherin.

"Miss Hermione Granger, step forward," Professor called out making some at the table gasp in what Harry knew was pretend shock due to his Magical Empathy. Hermione walked to stand before the Professor who for once gave her a kind look. "Do you Miss Granger agree to the re-sorting of your Hogwarts House?"

"I do, Professor Snape," she said as she sat down and let the Hat be placed on her. As the Hat was placed on her head, Harry looked over to Draco and the others at Slytherin to see them getting some money out for the bet.

Once more the Hat took a while to decide before it called out "SLYTHERIN." There was less applause this time as Hermione made her way over to the table of the snakes and slid into the open spot between Theo and Draco as the money was exchanged. Now Harry knew would be the biggest shock to people for Professor Snape had come to talk to him earlier to ask about revealing his Lordships to the others which he had left up to the older man.

"There is just one more left before you can resume your meal,' Snape said with a smile on his lips which shocked all but the members of his own House. "Lord Harry Potter step forward.

"Did he say, Lord?"

"Harry is leaving Gryffindor?"

"Yes, we might win a Quidditch match."

Harry had to shake his head at the questions that seemed to follow him as he approached the chair for his resort. "Do you Lord Potter, agree to the re-sorting of your Hogwarts House?"

"I do, Lord Prince," Harry said placing his right hand on his heart as Narcissa had taught him was the way to show his sincerity earning him another smile and a nod from the man. Harry sat in the chair and let the Hat be put on him.

"Ah Lord Potter, it is good to see you again. I take it you have come to rather regret arguing with me all those years ago," the Hat said with the sound of a chuckle.

"Okay I admit I made a mistake don't rub it in," Harry said with a laugh of his own.

"Very well, Lord Potter, SLYTHERIN," the Hat said announcing the House to the hall which had fallen silent. As Harry took off the Hat and handed it back to Severus only Hermione, Draco, Luna, Blaise, Theo, Dean, Seamus, Neville, and Katie clapped for him as everyone else had their mouths open in shock. Harry nodded to his friends who were back in Gryffindor before taking his place between Draco and Blaise.

"Now you may start your suppers," Professor Snape said as he and the other Heads of Houses, with a wave of their wands sent the banner and Sorting Hat back to Dumbles's office. Everyone in the hall was still staring at them with open mouths, Harry lifted his drink as if in a toast to them before turning to talk to his new Housemates. Harry and Hermione were so happy as they ate their meals in their new House that they missed Ron sneak out of the Hall. "I would like all three of you to come to my office tonight after supper," Severus said as he left the hall getting choirs of agreement.

"What do you think he wants?" Hermione asked.

"If I was to guess give you the House Rules," Draco said with a shrug still a little upset he had lost the bet.

"Well we might as well go find out," Harry said getting rather annoyed at how everyone staring at him not to mention the emotions he was picking up from them were making his own nerves feel rather frayed.

"See you in the Common Room legally this time," Blaise said kissing Harry's cheek and making him blush. Harry quickly headed out of the hall followed more sedately by Luna and Hermione.

"Ah I did not expect you so soon," Professor Snape said as they arrived at his office. "Now there are a couple of things, you need to know about living in Slytherin House. First of all no matter the problems you have with a Housemate, you do not show it outside the dorms for with everyone against us we must have a united front before the rest of the school," he said his three new charges sat down. "Secondly, I do not mind you sneaking out at night I do, however, mind you getting caught for it has been Slytherin Policy since the days of the Founders themselves that if one of our House gets a detention from anyone other than their Head of House, the student will have to serve another with the Head." Severus locked eyes with Harry as he told this part, making Harry blush for he did tend to get detentions for reckless behavior. "Now Harry as a Lord will you be going to Wizangamont or are you going to have someone act as your voice until you leave school? Either way, you are getting your own room," Severus said.

"I think I will stay at Hogwarts, but I don't have someone to be my voice. Are there some rules of who I can use?" Harry resounded the thought never entering his mind.

"Well to represent you, the person has to both be of age and not be a Lord or Lady another House," Severus said.

"So I can't use say Aunty Cissa due to her becoming the Head of her House after Lucius was put in Azkaban," Harry said.

"That would be correct do you have anyone else in mind?" Snape asked

"Is Remus, a Lord or Head of his House?" Harry asked.

"I don't think he is, do you wish me to inquire if he would be willing to take your voice in Wizengamot?"

"Yes sir," Harry said.

"Okay, one last thing, if he takes the position which faction do you want him to vote for?" Snape said.

"I think I would be more on the Grey Side," Harry said.

"I shall inform him, also unless I am mistaken all the Lordships you hold will make the Grey the largest party which will displace the Headmaster from his position as Supreme Warlock," Severus said making all four of them laugh. "I usually go to the Common Room once a week in case you have further questions, also Harry's tryout for Quidditch is next weekend."

"I am actually not going to play this year, one less thing Dumbles can lord over me," Harry said.

"While I think that is a good idea, I would have loved to see Minerva's face as you faced off against your old team," Severus said as he approached the solid wall that hid the Slytherin dorms. "Another difference between Slytherin House and the others is that the password is the same the entire year and this year is Basilisk," Snape said smiling at Harry and Hermione as the pair began to laugh. When they got into the dorms Severus showed Luna and Hermione the path to the female student's dorms before showing Harry to his private room.

"You are given your own room for when you have to go over documents for the Wizrngamot before sending Lupin your vote," Severus explained once they were in the room. "Only you are allowed into the room besides myself and Madam Pomfrey in case of a medical emergency." Harry looked around the room seeing a normal Hogwart bunk though this one with green trappings than his former red there was also an official-looking desk in the corner with an inbox on one side and an outbox on the other. Severus informed him how the chambers would work before turning to his newest Snake. "I know you may want to get to know your new Housemates, but I suggest you get yourself familiar with the set-up also if you have any questions there is a Seventh-Year who is also the Lord of his House that can help you more than I could."

"Thank you, sir," Harry said.

"Harry if we are alone, you can call me Severus," the man said shocking the younger man. "I may have treated you harshly, but I am your Godfather which does come with a degree of informality," Severus said and shocked Harry as he reached out and bopped Harry on the noise before laughing at the young man's face as he left the room.

The next morning Harry was happy that the stares had died down as he sat at the Slytherin table for breakfast, granted some students keep glancing over at him but at least it was not downright staring of last night. Surprisingly Ron was smirking at him which confused Harry to no end.  As he could not figure out what could the redhead have planned now. The answer came as the mail arrived and a Howler landed right in front of Harry making him roll his eyes and grab for his wand.

HARRY JAMES POTTER,

THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE. FIRST YOU DO NOT CONTACT US THE WHOLE SUMMER THEN TAKE UP WITH SOME KNOWN DEATH EATER FAMILY. YOUR PARENTS WOULD

Unable to listen to this anymore, Harry pointed his wand at Molly Weasley's Howler and cast "Reducto" which blasted the letter to shreds. Glaring at Ron whose mouth fell open in shock at the destruction of his mother's letter.

"I apologize for the disruption," Harry said using the Pureblood body language to further his point. As he sat down Harry put his wand away and pulled out some parchment and a quill to write a letter back to the Banshee.

Lady Weasley,

I am giving you one warning.  If you send me another Howler, I will report you to the Ministry. I am not, nor will I ever be your son, you have no right to dictate my life to me. I am also still waiting for the money you have stolen from my vault if it has not happened by the Yule I shall get the Goblins involved to get my money back.

Lord Potter-Gryffindor-Preverell-Wyllt-Pendragon-Ravenclaw-Black-Slytherin-Gaunt

Chapter Text

After sending back his response to the human-banshee known as Mrs. Weasley, Harry prepared for his first day as a member of Slytherin House. He would have been a little happier if his class scheduled for the day was not a double potions class, hopefully, Ron was not there, followed by lunch and then a double lesson of Defense Against the Dark Arts which was still being taken with the Gryffindors so Ron would be there. Harry was also thankful for the tutoring that both Draco and Severus had given him in potions during the summer allowing him to do a retest in Potions at the Ministry for his O.W.L.s leading him to go from an Exceeds Expectations to an Outstanding. Gathering his bag, Harry wished Theo goodbye, as he had not selected to go for his N.E.W.Ts in Potions, as he left the table with Hermione, Blaise, and Draco for their class. Harry made sure to sit as far as possible from Slughorn's desk smiling when Blaise sat next to him, while Draco and Hermione sat on the other side of the table. The only other students were three Ravenclaw students and Ernie Macmillan from Hufflepuff who Harry nodded his head at in proper Pureblood greeting as they set out their books and equipment.

"Ah yes welcome, my inspiring young Potioneers to your first class of N.E.W.T. level potions we are going to be working on some great," Slughorn said obviously well on his way for some grandiose speech only for the door to crash open and Ron to rush in. "Yes, how may I help you, young man?" Slughorn asked his eyes flashing in anger at the interruption of his speech.

"Sorry Professor, I just found out I could take this class," Ron said rubbing the back of his neck.

"Ah good lad then," Slughorn said slapping Ron hard on the back as if to show he was a friendly sort though the man's emotions read otherwise. As the two occupied tables were full Ron had no choice but to sit alone at a table sending a wishful look at Hermione as if begging her to help, but for her part, Hermione ignored their former friend as she chatted with Draco. After a quick quiz about some potions that Slughorn had whipped up.  Harry did have to admit the man knew his potions, they were given their assignment of brewing a Draught of Living Death.

As the class began to make their potions Ron raised his hand and asked if he could borrow a book due to not having bought it. Harry sensed Slughorn's displeasure that a student was so unprepared for his class, so rather than let Ron pick out his own copy the Professor had grabbed the most run-down copy of the book and tossed it at Ron. Harry shook his head as he went back to his own Potion. Harry felt Ron's own frustration as he opened his book which turned to anger at something. At his classmates' feeling of frustration at how difficult the Potion was, Harry began to feel a little overwhelmed by their emotions so that as he went to prepare the Sopophorous bean in advance his hand slipped, and rather than cut it like it had said to in the book he accidentally flattened it.

To his astonishment, the juice that was released was more than his desk mates had produced for cutting the beans. With a shrug, Harry decided to do the rest of his beans the same way before he set the juice aside for when it was time to actually add it to the mixture. When it came time to add the juice Harry found his potion had turned the exact color the book said the potion should be which despite all the tutoring was the first time he had done so well on his first attempt. As he started to mix the potion, Ron who was having his normal talent at potions caused his brew to let out a loud bang causing Harry to stir his Potion the wrong way. "Ah good job Harry that is an almost perfect Draught of Living Death," Slughorn said slapping Harry on his shoulder startling him. "Looks like we have a clear winner of the Felix Felicis," the man calls out to the class making Draco and Hermione's mouths drop open in shock at him.

"Great job, my beauty," Blaise said throwing an arm around Harry and letting his magic wash over him which to Harry's surprise blocked his magical empathy calming him down.

"Ah young love," Slughorn said putting a hand on both teens' shoulders making Harry shudder and move away under the pretense of packing up to get away from the man. To spend as little time as necessary around the man as possible Harry packed up his equipment and almost ran out of the room to head to the great hall for lunch.

"In a rush, Raven," Blaise said as he slid into the seat next to him.

"I really hate that man," Harry said in a huff as he leaned into the taller male.

"You forgot this," Hermione said as she slipped into space on his other size and put the small potion in front of him. Harry nodded his thanks as put the Potion in his bag before, he began filling his plate. As he reached for his goblet a note appeared before him. Reaching down Harry read the note.

Harry,

My boy, I was able to talk to Nymphadora and our first lesson is taking place tonight.

Headmaster Dumbledore.

P.S. I am rather fond of Cockroach Clusters.

"What's the note about Harry?" Draco asked leaning around Hermione to take a look.

"Evidently, my first lesson with Dumbles is tonight," Harry said as he crushed the note in his fist. Halfway through the meal, Errol crashed at the table before Hermione scattering food everywhere. Even though it was clearly meant for Hermione the letter was closer to Harry so he reached for it only for his Lordship ring to begin to warm in warning making him raise an eyebrow. "Is there a reason a letter should cause a Lordship ring to give a warning?" Harry asked.

"The only thing I can think of is if the letter has some compulsions or some mind-altering spells on it," Draco said.

"Okay then," Harry said as he took out his wand and cast a spell to make plastic, wrap around the enchanted letter. Grabbing the protected letter Harry decided to show it to Severus before class. "I'll see you all later," Harry said giving Blaise a peck on the cheek before he left and made his way to the DADA classroom. Stepping in he saw Severus had put his own touches to the room with diagrams of people being subjected to various spells and curses.

"Harry, what are you doing here so early? You know I don't give points out for being first," he said with a slight laugh that Harry was still getting used to.

"Well, sir, as we were eating lunch the Weasley family owl arrived with a letter.  As I reached for it, my Lordship rings let out a warning and Draco said that would only happen if there were compulsions or similar magic on it," Harry said pulling out the plastic-wrapped letter.

"Thank you for bringing it to my attention Harry," the man said as with a flick of his wand unwrapped the letter and with a second movement cast a spell to detect any spells on the letter. As he got the results Severus started to stroke his chin deep in through unable to believe that either Molly or Arthur would have used a spell that would be akin to a long-distance Imperius Curse. Holding his tongue in his right cheek, he gave the letter a third flick that opened the letter up so they could read it.

Hermione,

My dear why would you change your House, Gryffindor was perfect for you. It is best for both you and Harry.  So would you be a dear and convince him of that? Plus Ron really missed you after almost an entire summer and now you are hanging out with that Draco Malfoy, you are too good for him our Ronald is better for you.

Molly Weasley.

"Now that raises some questions is there any way to test to see if there is a Marriage Contract without going through a Goblin Inheritance Test? Harry asked.

"You think that since Molly is pushing Hermione towards Ronald is due to a Marriage Contract?" Severus asked. "Well besides the test there is a spell in fact that might make a good idea for a lesson," Severus said before he cast a stasis charm on the letter and envelope so that he could send it to someone in the department of Magical Law Enforcement. When he was done the class began to arrive so Harry moved away to take one of the front desks and saved the chairs around him for his friends. Thankfully they all arrived before Ron who did not have Hermione or Harry around him to remind him to stop eating and get to class was the last to arrive making him once more be at a desk all by himself glaring at Professor Snape.

"Hello, class it is good to see you all for the first time as your Defense teacher. Rather than go about my planned lesson as most of you are more familiar with me as your Potions Master, rather than do a lesson on non-verbal spells we are going to do something a little different," Severus said as he walked around the room. "I have a spell in mind for our first lesson everyone raises your wands and just follow my wand movements." Professor Snape then lifted his wand his up to his left shoulder before lowering it at a twenty-five-degree angle to his waist before bringing it up towards his right shoulder but once he reached his right elbow he slashed it back across his body.

"As you do that I want you to focus on the spell, Anima Vinculum, this will allow you to find out if your parents made a Marriage Contract for you and with whom. Now unlike other spells, I will have you perform in this class, you will only need to cast this correctly once to get marks for today's class." The class began to cast the spell and soon parchments would appear before the students who would pick it up and read it. There were surprised gasps and one or two angry mutterings as the class read the parchments.

"Now most of you Muggleborns will notice that your parchments are blank if not it could mean that you were possibly adopted and your real parents were magic users either that or someone made an illegal contract for you," he said and shot a look at Hermione who had been surprised when she had read she had a contract with Ron. That had seemed strange to her as she knew that she had not been adopted and her magic did not sing like Harry said his magic did when he was around Blaise so she held up her hand. "Yes, Miss Granger?"

"How can a Muggleborn be sure which of those situations they have?" she asked.

"The easiest way is to go talk to or just be around the person that is on the contract if it is a true contract your magic should react in a way different than it would with anyone else, for some say it sings, others feel as if the other's magic feels like a hug," Severus explained. "Now you do not need to share this information with anyone else, not even me. I will ask you if you think you have an illegal result to inform your Head of House so that they may help you schedule a trip to Gringotts so that you may undertake an Inheritance Test which can actually give you more information on it. You can have the rest of the class time to talk about your results with your classmates."

"Well, what a surprise Blasie it seems that I have a contract with you," Harry teased the taller boy as he leaned in and gave the Italian teen a quick kiss making the others laugh. "So what about you Draco did your parents have someone set aside for you?"

"Actually no," the blonde said as he turned his parchment to them to show the blank spot where it would list his partner.

"Ah so you can find out for yourself, do you have your eyes on anyone?" Blaise said making Draco blush as his eyes quickly dart to Hermione before looking away.

"Well I have an illegal contract, it list Ron as my partner," Hermione said chewing her lower lip as Draco threw an arm around her for support.

Chapter Text

For the rest of the day, Harry and his friends discussed what Dumbles was planning on teaching Harry.  Crabbe and Goyle suggest it would be some high-level spells that would usually only be taught after one left Hogwarts, Hermione thought it would be Ruins and other subjects Harry had not taken, and Draco thought it would be some Master level potions. Blaise, however, was less than optimistic as he just thought the man was going to be delivering some big propaganda piece and trying to get Harry back under his thumb. As Harry left the man's office later that night, he found that Blaise had been the one to guess correctly for the entire lesson had been a bloody joke. Thankfully Tonks had been there for Dumbles tried to give him some compulsion laces lemon drops not that Harry would have taken them anyway, he hated the taste of lemons.

As he headed back to the dorms, Harry decided to take a detour to Severus's office to talk to him about something he had noticed during the day that caused him some worry for Hermione. Knocking at the door he was told to enter and found Blaise was in the room. "Ah Harry I see you got the message," Severus said.

"No I just wanted to ask you something after my so-called lessons with Dumbles," Harry said taking an open spot on the couch next to Blaise.

"What is on your mind, Harry?" Severus asked.

"How does someone make someone an Heir?" Harry asked.

"Well, one way is giving it to your eventual offspring. Should I worry about you and Blaise sharing a room?" Severus joked.

"Wait sharing a room, what?" Harry asked.

"Well, that is one of the reasons I had called for you and Blaise.  It seems due to the test it was revealed that several students have Marriage Contracts with each other. After talking it over with the Board of Governors and the other Heads of Houses, it was decided that if they were in the same house they would get their own rooms." Severus said smiling as he saw both males' mouths drop open in surprise.

"That is fantastic," Harry said hugging Blaise and letting his fiance's magic rush over him.

"So I take it that you are not planning on getting the Heir by that method?" Snape asked giving the two some tea.

"While I don't doubt that Blaise and I will produce enough offspring to get all my Lordships," Harry teased a little as Blaise choked on his tea. "I was actually asking for Hermione, after all, we know that the Contract was illegal so Ron and possibly his parents have plans for her, and then there is Pansy who I know never really got along with her which has only gotten worse since Draco had public denounced Pansy in favor of Hermione."

"Hm," Severus said rubbing his chin in thought "I have never heard of someone making an Heir to a person their own age, but it would give Hermione some protection. I think it could work to make someone an Heir you need to talk to Lady Magic to pass down the vow for your Heir, as well as let Gringotts know so that they can find the appropriate heir rings."

"So what line are you thinking of making her an Heir in love?" Blaise asked.

"What else, Ravenclaw," Harry said making all three of them laugh.

"It does suit Ms. Granger," Severus said "I think, I have some books that give the actual ritual and wording for the making of a non-related person an Heir."

"So how was the lesson with Dumbles?" Blaise asked as Severus went to go look for the book.

"It was just as you guessed, blatant propaganda," Harry said leaning into Blaise's larger form and letting the dark-skinned male's magic soothe him. "He decided to show me Voldy's parents and tried to get me to empathize with his mom just due to the fact she had been mistreated by her relatives just like I had been. The fool seemed to forget that the only reason, I was mistreated by my "relatives" was due to him placing me in their care rather than with one of my Godparents in the first place," Harry said shaking his head at the old man's foolishness.

"And what did what's her name... Tonks think?" Blaise asked.

"Oh, she was not impressed especially when Dumbles told of Voldy's mom attracting his father by use of a love potion. You see in the memory her father and brother had been sent to Azkaban for attacking Muggles, Tonks pointed out that if Bob Ogden, who was the man who led to their arrest, had known her plans of dousing a Muggle or anyone with a love potion, she would have been sent away as well," Harry said.

"And he wanted you to feel for her after he had you under love potions keyed to Ms. Weasley?" Snape said having returned with the books shaking his head at Dumble's foolishness.

"I think, he might be going crazy," Harry said.

"I wish that was the case, but he has it in his head that everything he does is for the best," Severus said with a snort.

"Line theft and abuse of an Heir and future Lord is done for the best," Blaise growled out wrapping his arms possessively around Harry and nearly pulling the smaller boy into his lap.

"I know, but he is still in complete control of his faculties," Severus said handing Harry a book and opening it to the page for the ritual. "Now just read this word for word to start the process of making Ms. Granger Heir Ravenclaw."

"I the Lord of the Most Nobel House of Ravenclaw call upon Lady Magic to hear my call. To help carry on my family line, I ask that one, Hermione Jean Granger, to become Heir to my Noble Line. I know she holds the fortitude to carry the goals of the family, the heart to follow the pursuit of knowledge in which lies our strength since Lady Rowena Ravenclaw brought our house to prominence all those generations ago."

The magic surged around Harry as finished speaking as a piece of parchment appeared before him.

By Order of Lady Magic Hermione Jean Granger is now Heir to the Noble House of Ravenclaw as witnessed by Severus Tobias Snape and Blaise Fredrick Zabini.

Seeing a line at the bottom Harry signed his full name making sure to put Ravenclaw first of his many titles. Once he was done, Severus tapped the parchment making it roll up so they could send it to Gringotts. "If all goes as planned, when I take Ms. Granger to test her contract she will be given the Heir ring," Severus said.

"Ah that reminds me," Harry said grabbing some blank parchment and writing a quick note to send with the Heirship form.

"What was that?" Blaise asked.

"I was asking them to give her a full Inheritance Test when she arrives, paid from one of my vaults, just to make sure that there are no compulsions on her or anything else besides the illegal Marriage Contract," Harry explained handing the parchment to Severus to send with Lady Magic's decree.

"That was rather generous of you," Blaise said kissing Harry on his lips causing Harry to blush a little.

"It is not as if he can't afford it," Snape said with a laugh before ushering them out.

"I see you meet with Professor Snape since Blaise is with you," Hermione said from her place beside Draco on a couch as the pair worked on their homework. Theo sat on a nearby chair eyes locked on the results of his own Anima Vinculum spell with Luna curled around his feet working on her own homework,

"You okay there, Theo?" Harry asked.

"I think he is in shock, he has been like that since he got the results of the spell," Draco said. "What did you end up with Pansy or something?"

"No even stranger," Theo said as he passed over the page. Harry and the others leaned in and read who he had a contract with.

"You have a contract with Katie that is great," Harry said slapping the taller on his back. "Why what's wrong with that?"

"Well, for one thing, I have never really spoken to her, and for another she is Gryffindor and I am in Slytherin normally we don't get along. Plus I am not that into Quidditch," Theo said with a small grimace.

"I don't think she will care about the Gryffindor-Slytherin thing," Hermione said throwing an arm around Theo's shoulder.

"Yes just go talk to her, I could introduce you if you like," Harry said.

"Thanks," Theo muttered softly.

"So any plans on dealing with Dumbles and his stooges?" Draco asked.

"I think I need some help, and I know just who to ask," Harry said as he left to retrieve something from his trunk.

"What's that, Harry?" Luna asked leaning back on Theo's leg to look at him.

"A letter Percy sent me shortly after the start of vacation after the Triwizard," Harry said unrolling the parchment so the others could read it,

Harry,

I know you think you believe that you saw He-Who-Should-Not-Be-Named return, I do not know if you did or didn't. As it is, it does not really matter I have heard stories of what the Twins had said about your home life. I know they tried to talk to our parents about it but were told to stop telling lies and were grounded for a week. The Twins then turned to Bill, Charlie, and myself to keep an eye on you.

I had seen how you looked at the beginning of each school year, but I was too busy to help out with my Prefect and then later Headboy duties. You might hear later that I got into a huge fight with my parents and left, that is true, and the real reason for the fight was you. I told them all that Fred and George had shared with us as well as my own observations about you.

They told me that the Headmaster decided it was all for the greater good, and that as soon as you married Ginny the family would be better off. I am ashamed to say, I lost it at that moment asking how they could be so sure that you would end up with Ginny. They had just smiled as if they had a plan for your future one that did not require your input. Being fed up, I left the house without even a backward glance. I do not think what the Headmaster and my parents are doing to you is any good, I just want you to watch your back.

Percy Weasley

"Unfortunately, I did not trust him when I first got this.  Since I was still under compulsions keyed to Dumbles and his parents the only reason I kept it was it had been the only letter I had received that summer that was more than just telling me to trust the Headmaster and stay home," Harry said making Hermione blush.

"I am sorry about that Harry, I thought he was trying to protect you," Hermione said hugging her knees at that mistake and shed a tear. Draco threw an arm around her and pulled her close as he wiped the tear away.

"I think it is high time I write a response," Harry said pulling out some parchment and writing a note to Percy.

Percy,

Sorry, it took so long for me to respond. You were right all along, your parents and Dumbles were not to be trusted. This last summer I went to the Will reading of my Godfather, but before I could unlock his will I had to get an Inheritance test done and it showed that your parents and the Headmaster had me under multiple compulsions, several blocks, and an illegal Marriage Contract to your sister. I am sorry for not believing in you. I hate to ask this but I need your help I want to put out a restraining order against your parents as well as a way to block their owls from reaching me and retrieving one of my properties. Also if it is at all possible can you get me in touch with Madam Bones I think I have a plan to capture HWSNBN.

Harry Potter.

P.S. In case you haven't talked to the twins, I am doing better and finally away from my so-called family. The twins have also gone their own way from your parents and youngest siblings opening a very profitable joke shop.

Finishing his letter Harry rolled up the parchment and seeing how late it was called for Dobby.

"What can Dobby be doing for you, Master Harry?" the Elf asked.

"Please give this letter to Hedwig for her to deliver it to Percy Weasley," Harry said handing the parchment over as Dobby bowed and popped away again.

"You have a plan for dealing with Voldy since when?" Draco asked having read over his shoulder as Harry wrote the letter.

"Since I was told how to keep Dumbles and his stooges out of Grimmauld Place," Harry said and seeing the looks on the faces of the other smiled at them. "You see when I got a list of properties it showed which ones were in use, and one that I got through Conquest was Slytherin Castle now who do you think would be there?" Draco let out a laugh as he saw what Harry was planning.

"That is perfect," Draco said overcome with such joy without thinking he hugged Hermione to him and kissed her before he realized what he had done and pulled away as the pair blushed.

Chapter Text

Harry did not hear back from Percy until a couple of days later, unfortunately, he and Hermione received a letter from both Molly and Arthur at least once a day. Harry and Hermione tried everything to stop the letters from casting mail wards on themselves yet the letters would not stop coming. In the end, the pair decided to sit next to one of the fireplaces so that any time they got a letter from the Weasley parents all they had to do was throw them over their shoulders and into the fire. Draco, Theo, and Blaise actually started to give them points depending on how the letter was thrown into the fire as well as where it landed.

When Percy's letter arrived Harry almost threw it into the fire before he recognized the first name and tore it open to read it. Percy informed him that Madam Bones had agreed to meet him during the first scheduled Hogsmeade visit before lunch as she was using the meetings as a way to spend some time with Susan as well. Based on the number of letters, he and Hermione were getting he decided to add a topic to their discussions as he wanted the endless stream of letters to stop. Blaise having heard about the meeting sent his own letter to his mother inviting her to visit during the same weekend after lunch so that Harry could meet her. She sent a message the very next day thrilled that the pair had finally found each other after so long. True to his promise to Katie, Harry had not tried out for the Slytherin team though he did introduce Katie to Theo. It was actually quite interesting for as soon as the pair shook hands in greeting Harry saw their expressions change as their magic reacted to one another. Harry left them to it with a smile on his face as he returned to the Slytherin Common room to deal with his homework.

There was a Quidditch match the weekend between Gryffindor and Slytherin as Harry and Hermione did not want to pick sides they joined in with Theo sitting with neither House, but rather with Ernie and the other Sixth-Year Hufflepuffs. The best part of watching the match was that Katie had not put either of the Weasleys on the team. For Keeper, she had recruited a Sixth-Year named Cormac McLaggen and for his replacement, Katie had recruited Dean Thomas who while not up to his level was still able to keep up with Draco pretty well.

He had overheard Katie and Theo talking about the Gryffindor try-outs just last week and it seemed that Ron had done pretty well but so did Cormac until it came down to a score off which the pair had tied. As she was struggling to make her decision on who to be this year's Keepers Professor McGonagall had stepped in and informed her that, without Hermione's help, Ron's grades had slipped so low that he was no longer eligible to play Quidditch. As for Ginny, she had actually been picked for Seeker but upon learning Ron could not be on the team.  She had raised a fit getting her thrown off the team during their second practice. It was fun to watch the game having friends on both teams cheering for both teams whenever a point was scored By the end of the game Draco finally caught the snitch the score had been almost even with it ending at 150 to 145 though he knew if he was playing he could have caught the Snitch a whole lot faster.

The week leading up to the Hogsmeade weekend, Harry had his second lesson with Dumbles where he saw a memory of Voldy in an orphanage. Once more Dumbles tried to get him to see things in a certain way and Tonks made a big joke of it. The only thing that Harry really learned was that the Muggle Studies class needed to be mandatory after seeing the horrible purple suit the younger Dumbles had worn to meet with Tom just to show Magical people how to pass as Muggles. This made him recall when he had joined the Weasley family at the Quidditch World Cup a couple of years ago, and most of the Wizards and Witches there just could not get the correct wardrobe. In fact, the only families he could recall seeing in what could pass as Muggle wear were those of his new House.

Granted Lucius and Narcissa had looked rather overdressed as if they were going to a night at the Opera rather than camping, but it was still better than others had done. Before the meeting, Harry decided to see if his plan to take down Voldy would work as one night he used his invisibility cloak and went to an empty classroom. "Um, can I speak to the head House Elf of Slytherin Castle?"

"Who calls for me?" an ancient House Elf asked popping into the classroom. Once the Elf sees Harry she bends down in a low bow "Lord Slytherin what can Lisa be doing for you?"

"Hello, Lisa I have a couple of questions for you if that is alright?" Harry asked and saw the Elf's eyes fill with tears.

"Lord Slytherin, ask me if it is alright of course it is Lord," Lisa answered still bowing to him.

"You can just call me, Harry," Harry said a little taken aback by the Elf.

"Yes, Master Harry what do you want to know?" Lisa said

"Um, Lisa, I have been informed that there are some people in the Castle.  Is that correct?" Harry asked.

"Yes nasty fake Lord Slytherin is there bringing very bad magic to the castle along with mean followers," Lisa said shaking her tiny fist in anger.

"Alright, forgive me I do not know much about House Elves, I was just wondering if I ordered it could you take all their wands away from them at a certain time?" Harry asked.

"We can be doing that do you want it now?" she asked hopefully.

"Not at this moment, Lisa, but thank you I have a plan to get rid of the fake Lord Slytherin and the others as well and you and the other Elves with play a big role in it," Harry said.

"Master Harry is too kind," Lisa said as she came over and hugged him.

"Alright, this might be the hardest one. I am aware that a lot of the old family home Castles are made to be un-plottable I was just wondering if it would be possible to find out where Slytherin Castle is located so that I can send people to collect them once I eject them, the uninvited guest, from it?' Harry asked knowing if the answer was no his entire plan would be for naught.

Lisa thought silently to herself maybe checking with the castle's magic to be sure before she finally answered, "I believe it can be done, Master Harry, am I to take it that you will expel the fake Lord and his mean followers after we take their wands."

"That is correct, now one last question how long would you and the other Elves need to relive them of their wands to get them all before I expel them?" he asked.

"That one is easy, we can add our magic to the Wards so that when you expel them their wands will stay behind," Lisa said with a smile.

"Thank you Lisa can you pass it on to the other Elves at the Castle and try not to let the "guest" know about it I shall call you again to get its location," Harry said with a smile at the old elf.

"I will be doing Master Harry. Also, Lisa must say it is happiness to have the real Slytherin Lord again," she said before she popped away. Still, smiling Harry put his cloak back on and went back to the Slytherin Common Rooms. As he approached the hidden door he was shocked as it opened without giving the password and he could only assume due to his calling for the House Elf he had somehow taken full claim of the Slytherin power at the school.

"So did everything, work out?" Blaise asked as Harry came back into their room.

"Yes I think my plan is going to work, all I need to do is convince Madam Bones that it is a sound plan," Harry said as he sat before Blaise on the room's loveseat.

"I hope you don't mind me tagging along to that meeting," Blaise said throwing an arm over Harry's shoulders and pulling him in close.

"Oh I thought you would rather be with Draco as he waited for Hermione when she visited Gringotts," Harry said with a smile thinking of how his friend would react when she found out he made her his Heir for the Ravenclaw Family Line.

"Well it was going to be a surprise, but I have something planned for after lunch.  I didn't want you to stumble into it before it was ready," Blaise said.

"Oh Blaise, you didn't have to do anything," Harry said.

"Oh trust me, I did," Blaise said with a slight laugh kissing Harry to stop his protest.

"Fine, I don't think the meeting is going to take too long with Madam Bones as it is," Harry said as he leaned into the taller male with a sigh.

On the day of the Hogsmeade weekend Harry, Draco, and Blaise said their goodbyes to Hermione as she left for the bank with Professor Snape while Katie and Theo had decided to try going out on a date outside of school and not worry about any House rivalry. Harry and Blaise headed to the Three Broomsticks, making sure to avoid Ron, Ginny, and Professor Slughorn, as they went up the stairs to a private room where the meeting was to take place. "Ah Messer Potter, I was told you wanted to discuss something with me," Madam Bones said as the pair entered the room.

"Good day, Lady Bones, I did not want to put it in writing but I think I have a way to capture He-Who-Should-Not-Be-Named," Harry said taking the seat across from her at the fire.

"Oh this shall be good I know the Prophet has been calling you the Chosen One, but how about leaving this to the professionals," Madam Bones said with a sigh taking out her monocle and beginning to clean it.

"Oh, I think you will like this one," Harry said smirked "Last summer I went through an Inheritance Test and it came out that I am the current Lord Slytherin. The test also informed me that Slytherin Castle is occupied. Calling one of the Castle's House Elves, I found that the people who are occupying it are Voldy and his last remaining followers after what happened at Malfoy Manor at the end of the summer," Harry said.

"How do you know of that? Yes, the Prophet said a raid had captured the majority of His followers but we made sure the location was kept secret," Madam Bones said leaning forward.

"I was the one who talked, my dear cousin Cissa to go through that plan as well," Harry said.

"Alright, you got my attention," she said.

"Well, earlier this week I summoned the Head Elf at the castle who has agreed to give us the location as well changing the Wards so that when I expel Voldy and his little gang, their wands will stay in the castle," Harry said.

"Yes that could work," she said rubbing her chin in thought. "The only problem is getting approval of this plan through the Wizengamot. Dumbledore seems to keep telling everyone that he has a plan in the works."

"Would nine votes help?" Harry said with a smile as he saw her mouth fall open.

"What?" she asked.

"Well it seems I am the Lord of Nine houses," Harry said with a shrug.

"That would take power from the light platform and with the right side even oust Dumbledore from his position of Chief Warlock," Madam Bones said with a smile.

"How do I do that while at school?" Harry asked thinking he had made a mistake since he had yet heard back from Remus about taking up the position.

"All you have to do is to assign someone to represent you and give your votes in the Wizengamont," Blaise said speaking up for the first time.

"Can I ask for someone who is already part of the courts to be my representative?" Harry asked looking between the two.

"Do you have someone in mind?' Madam Bones asked thinking of all the stories she had heard from Susan he was really close to the Weasley family which would just add to Dumbledore's votes.

"Yes my cousin Narcissa Malfoy nee Black," Harry said.

"Oh, that could work," Madam Bones said "and yes you can have her be your representative you would only need to tell her which way you want to cast your votes if she disagrees she can only use the votes only she controls herself by magic," Madam Bones explained.

"Good I will send her an owl to ask her to vote for me then," Harry said.

"Is there anything else you wish to discuss?" she asked.

"Oh yes is there a way to block someone from sending owls to me like a sort of Magical Restraining Order?" Harry asked.

"Well there is a Ward you can cast that blocks mail," she began.

"Tried and failed," Harry said.

"Hm is some fan stalking you or something?: she asked.

"Well since the term began a month ago, at least once a day I have received a letter from Arthur and Molly Weasley," Harry said, "as well as it might just be easier to show you." Harry pulled out his copy from his Inheritance Test and handed it over to her. Madam Bone put her monocle back in as she read the parchment only for it to fall out in shock as she read some of the spells that had been done to the so-called Chosen One.

"I can not make any promises, but I will do my best to make sure that they can not contact you anymore. Would I be correct in assuming the Goblins are making sure your money and property are returned?" she asked,

"That is correct though as of right now all they have managed to get back to me is the Sword of Gryffindor, most of the money back from my Muggle family, and right now are in the process of trying to retrieve the Elder Wand," Harry said.

"Do you mind if I make a copy of this?" she asked and Harry nodded. With a wave of her wand, the document was copied, and taking up the new one she began to make notes on it. "Now Quidditch Pitch* how many letters did you they send you?"

"I think my friend Hermione and I received in the last month, what was it Blaise, around fifty letters," Harry said looking to his dark-skinned mate as Madam Bones made some more notes on the form.

"Can I ask this Hermione's full name?" Madam Bones asked.

"Hermione Jean Granger," Harry said, "she is actually either on her way to or already at Gringotts to go through her own Inheritance Test due to the possibility of the Weasley making another illegal Marriage Contact between her and the youngest male Weasley, Ronald."

"Ah good if at all possible could you send me the results of her test if it shows the illegal contract?" she asked.

"We will try," Harry said.

"If that is all I am going to meet Susan for some lunch," Madam Bones said getting up and leaving.

"So you ready for your surprise?" Blaise asked.

"Sure why not, give it your best shot, Heir Zabini," Harry said with a smile as Blaise took his hand and led him out of the pub and to his horror down the lane to Madam Puddifoot's tea shop. Harry let himself be pulled inside as he was curious as the place did not seem like Blaise's type of date the other boy pulled him through a door in the back that Harry had not noticed the last time he was in the shop with Cho.

"Harry I would like you to meet my mother," Blaise said as he pulled open a door to a small personal tea room.

Chapter Text

Harry looked into the room and saw an elegant woman drinking tea. "Ah, Blaise darling good to see you," the woman said standing up revealing while shorter than her son she was still taller than Harry. "And Harry, it has been too long," the woman said noticing him as she pushed past Blaise and pulled Harry into a hug.

"Nice to see you too mother," Blaise said with a slight laugh as Harry blushed at receiving a hug so soon after meeting this woman.

"You have certainly grown my dear.  The last time I saw you was when James, Lily, my late husband, and myself wrote up the Marriage Contract," Mrs. Zabini said as she held Harry at arm's length to take a good look at him. "You were such a cute baby always so quiet, at least until it was time for you and Blaise to be separated, then you were the loudest one-year-old I ever heard," she said with a laugh as Harry blushed even more.

"Mother, I think you are freaking Harry out a little," Blaise said tugging Harry away from his mother and pulling his boyfriend behind his back.

"Spoilsport," Lady Zabini said pouting up at her tall son. "Well come now both of you, sit down and join me for some tea."

"Thank you, Lady Zabini," Harry said.

"Now none of that Harry, it is either Adriana or Mama Zabin if you do not want to be informal," Adriana said poking a finger at him as if it was her wand.

"Okay Adriana," Harry said after all if he could call Draco's mother Cissa he could get used to calling Blaise's mother by her first name.

"Good lad, now tell me about yourself, I have heard from Blaise of course but some of the tales he told are almost too strange to be true," Adriana said as she began to mix some honey into her tea without looking away for Harry. Harry let out a sigh as he began to inform her that yes, every tale Blaise had told her had been in fact true. After just a half-hour of his tale, the tea was forgotten as Adriana got out of her seat and pulled Harry into another right hug. "My dear boy, I am so sorry I had tried to get custody of you after Lily and James had died, but I was blocked," she said.

"You did," both boys asked in surprised shock.

"Yes, it is a quite common practice that after a Marriage Contract is made, if one of the kids lose both their parents the other set would raise them," Adriana informed them.

"How were you blocked?" Harry asked with a sinking suspicion.

"Albus used his position as Chief Warlock to put you in a "safe home" and refused to believe that Lily and James had set up a Marriage Contract with anyone," she said in a voice filled with anger.

"That is utter, if you pardon my language, bullshit," Harry said.

"Why do you say that?" Adriana asked.

"Well, it seems our Headmaster had other plans for Harry as right before Harry came to Hogwarts for our first year he created an illegal contract with the youngest Weasley," Blaise said placing a comforting hand on Harry's arm letting his magic help calm him down.

"That old fool and family of blood traitors," Adriana said.

"Not all of them are bad, the Weasley twins and their eldest sons are actually decent people it is just the youngest brats and the parents that are assholes," Harry said coming to the defense of his friends.

"I hate to ask, but is there anything else that Albus and the Weasleys have done to you, Harry?" Adriana asked reaching out and placing her hand on Harry's other arm,

"You might as well show her the results as well Harry," Blaise said and got a nod from his boyfriend. Reaching into his robe Harry once more pulls out the results of his Inheritance Test and passes it over to her.

Pulling out a pair of reading glasses, Adriana read over the list making a noise of shock at seeing all her Lordships but her face falls as she reaches the end of the document. "I think we will need to do it, sooner than I had planned," Adriana said almost as if she was lost in thought.

"Do what?  What are you planning Mother?" Blaise asked as Harry took a drink of his cooling tea.

"Your wedding of course," she said as if it was the most simple thing in the world.

"Our What?!?" Harry asked choking a little on his tea as Blase began to gently pat his back to help him.

"Your wedding," she said giving them both a smile. "Now do not see this as me trying to get you to tie the knot, so that I can get some grandkids," she said and giggled at their horrified faces as she saw neither of them had even thought about that. "Now hear me out," she said holding up a hand to stop them from interrupting her. "From all that you have informed me as well as the results of your test it seems as though the many members of the Weasley family's end goal is to be Line Theft. Now it might have worked if you had not become aware of it.  But as you are now aware and have started going out with the person with whom you had a real contract they may end up changing their plans. I am sorry to say there are some Love potions that even Heir and Lordship rings can not detect. And seeing as they are trying to end your relationship with Blaise, they are messing with my family as well, not that I do not consider you family dear but from a legal standpoint it gives us a way to stop this all."

"I hate to interrupt, but we are both underage.  Even if I am considered an adult in the Magical World since I won the tournament, wouldn't it be illegal for us to get married so young?" Harry asked.

"Actually no," Adriana said giving the pair a wicked grin "There is an old law in the books that states in the event of a marriage contract it is only important for the Submissive in the pair to be considered an adult, so since as you pointed out you are considered an adult.  You two can get married and there is even a document that can be used so the wedding can not be dissolved due to you not consummating it due to your ages. Once again I am fine with you getting married but I would rather you wait until you are out of school before you give me any grandkids."

"How would this actually help us by the way?" Harry asked leaning back into Blaise.

"Well, for one thing, if it is done soon enough you can prevent Albus and the Weasley from trying to find a way to void your guy's contract and trying to put their own down," Adrian said.

"I already voided the contract with the Weaslette," Harry said.

"Ah but if they find out they may reinstate it and make it even worse," Adrian said sadly.

"If it does happen, it would be worse as Lady Magic after voiding the contract, She made it so that all Ginny's future offspring will be Squips," Harry said shocking both Zabinis.

"Wow harsh, even if she does deserve it the nasty tramp," Blaise said in awe of Lady Magic's punishment.

"Language," Adriana said with a lack of anger as she agreed with him. "Also you may not know that a Marriage Contract is written up for two people whose magic meshes together, they are sometimes referred to as Soulmates.  So when they get married the couple's magic increases and stabilizes making most spells all the easier for them to cast," Adriana explained to the pair. "Do you need a third reason?" she teased.

"No I think you covered it, Mother," Blaise said rolling his eyes at her as she stuck out her tongue at him making Harry giggle at her.

"What would we actually need to do if we decide to go through with this?" Harry asked.

"Actually, not much my dear I could handle everything," Adriana said this time causing Blaise to be the one who let out a laugh.

"Yes Mother has got it down to, how do the Muggles say it, science," Blaise teased her back.

"It is not my fault that men and women find me attractive dear, nor is the fact that they all seem to die," Adriana said with a light laugh as she cast a Heating Charm on her tea before taking a sip. "All you need to do is sign some paperwork, decide on which name you will both use as well as at the minimum have a witness for each of you, a Goblin from Gringotts, a worker from the Ministry, and someone to perform the ceremony oh and maybe a member of your family as well. I already have someone who can perform the ritual and they can bring the paperwork. Shall I go get them now and leave the pair of you to discuss things?" she asked. Both males turned to look at each other having a quick but silent conversation before they nodded as one. "Good it should take me maybe an hour or so to get in touch with Tony and have him come over," she said with a slight wave as she left the room.

"Well, I assume we would want Draco and Hermione to be our witnesses as Draco was your best friend and Hermoine mine, which means we need to wait for her to return from Gringotts," Harry guessed.

"Correct too bad we can not call her from here and ask her to have one of our account managers come bringing the Marriage contract with them," Blaise said.

"We could, all it would require would be sending Dobby or another House Elves to the Gringotts messenger service and giving them the message to give to her or one of the account managers in person," Harry said. Blaise agreed leading Dobby to deliver the message to Bonecrusher, the Potter Account Manager, and asking him to come and bring the contracts from Harry's vault.

"Well, that takes care of our witnesses as well as the Goblin representative do you know anyone who works in the Ministry that you can count on?" Harry asked.

"None that I trust absolutely but what about the Auror that has been joining you in your lessons with Dumbles?" Blaise asked.

"Tonks?! Oh that is brilliant also as an Auror she could testify if someone tries to cry out that you had either had me under a spell or potions to get me to marry you," Harry said with a smile.

"The family might be a little harder I assume my Mother would be there is there anyone you would consider family you would wish to invite?" Blaise asked with a tiny wince knowing that Harry's family both Muggle and now basically adopted Weasley clan would not go over well to have at the wedding.

"Well, I guess I would consider both of Draco's parents, Remus Lupin and Professor Snape, or is that too many people?" Harry asked looking up at Blaise.

"No that is alright," Blasie said kissing Harry on his cheek as they added them to the list. "So I guess all that is left is for signing the documents and deciding which name we want to go by after we get married."

"That is easy I am quite tired of people making such a fuss over my name I will take yours," Harry said simply crossing his arms as if daring Blaise to fight him on this.

"I would love that Harry, but I think many will still call you Harry Potter even if you did take my name so how about a compromise and we go with Zabini-Potter?" Blaise suggested.

"That will work, and look we have over a half-hour left before your Mom is to come back, oh whatever shall we do," Harry teased.

"Send a House Elf with wedding invitations to the people who are going to be at the ceremony?" Blaise asked teasing him back.

"Party Pooper," Harry said with a laugh as the two began to write invites to everyone they had decided for the small ceremony knowing either during the Yule or at the end of the school year they could have a larger more public one, that way they could talk about it out loud and people, well the bad Weasleys and Dumbles would think they had a chance to stop it.

They had just finished writing and sending the last of the invitations when Adriana returned accompanied by a middle-aged man in an ocean blue robe and matching case. "Hope you have everything all settled dears, for now, we have to do the" Adriana said giving a dramatic huff before finishing, "paperwork."

'Yes we have, Mother," Blaise said as Harry nodded in confirmation.

"Good good, " the man said in a deep voice as he set his case down and began to pull out the documents. "First off is the form that states that the marriage will be legal even when you do not consummate it," Tony said pushing over a form and a blood quill making Harry blanch a little. "Do not worry, I heard of your run-in with a curse version of this just last year this is a normal one it will only use a single drop of your blood each time you sign your name the rest of the time it will use ink." Harry took the quill and read the document to make sure it was what the man said it was before he signed on the line for the Submissive biting his tongue and wishing it was labeled something else.

The next document was basically a Magical prenup which stated they were not just in it for each other's titles, money, or properties; which was followed up by if they wished to have children in which order of their titles would be used for the kids, Harry excluded the Ravenclaw Line since he had already made Hermione his Heir. The next document was a short one going over the name they had decided to go by as well as the duty each of them had in the marriage, as they were comfortable with each other they used the least amount of restrictions only making it so that they were to have at least one date a month. Tony then set aside the rest of the documents as they needed to be signed by the witnesses from the Ministry and Gringotts. Harry did have to admit that Tony had been correct about the quill as he had barely felt any blood being taken as he used it. Now all that was left to do was wait for people to arrive and since they did not know how long it would take to both sign the documents as well as what time Hermione and Snape would return from Gringotts they had put on the invitations a charm that would allow the others to know it was time.

As they waited, Adriana took out a bag she had brought with her when she came back with Tony and pulled out some outfits for the pair. Both were given pale white robes with an attached hood, Harry's in deep forest green, and Blaise's a deep purple. "I thought they would match your eyes," she said as the pair stared at the robes. Adriana then pulled out what looked like silk but was just a bit of fabric that was red on one side and green on the other, seeing Harry's puzzled expression explained "It is used to tie your wrist together during the ceremony helping your magic to mesh with each other even more." As she reaches into the bag a third time the door to the room opens with a bang with tearful Hermione Granger stands on the other side.

"Harry James Potter, you utter fool," she said tears running down her face as she rushed in and gave Harry a tight hug.

"Should I be worried?" Adriana asked her son who just let out a laugh and shook his head no.

"What's wrong Hermione, did you not like my gift?" Harry said as he patted his friend on the back.

"But why?" Hermione said as she laid her head on his shoulder.

"Why did I make you my Heir, it is quite simple Hermione, for your protection. Even an Heir ring can detect love potions and block many spells that can be used on a person's mind and with our suspicions on Ron and the fake Marriage Contract as well as Pansy being angry with your new relationship with Draco, I thought it would help,' Harry explained. "Speaking of which what did you find out at Gringotts?" he asked as he ran his fingers through his pseudo-Sister's hair.

"They did make an illegal contract between me and Ronald, but they also had some potions on me to make me more arrogant and stuck up," Hermione said wanting to blast Ron, Ginny, and their parents with a barrage of spells. "Thanks for paying for a cleansing by the way," she said before she noticed the two other people beside Blaise and Harry in the room. "What's going on?" she asked.

"Well after the meeting with Madam Bones, Blaise brought me here to meet his Mother. She had an idea to better protect ourselves and well long story short would you be my Maid-of-Honor for a quick small wedding?" Harry said laughing as the tears vanished and his best friend gaped at him like a fish for a moment.

"To help you, of course," Hermione said rolling her eyes as she punched him in the arm.

"Good," Blaise said as he pulled out the Master invitation and used it to signal to the others it was time.

Chapter Text

As soon as Blaise activated the Master Invitation, the rest of the guests began to pop into the room which Adriana cast a quick charm to expand. Harry gave her a strange look wondering how she had permission to do that to the shop, but she just smiled at him as she told him with a laugh, "Oh, did Blaise not tell you, I am the owner of this lovely tea shop. Now go get changed as we get everything ready," she said pointing Blaise and Harry to a pair of doors leading out of the hall as she began to explain her plan to everyone else. Hermione as his Maid-of-Honor came to help him put on his robe as she had already been told of their plan when she arrived. Harry was shocked to see how simple the robe was compared to even his normal school robes for such an important ceremony. Harry took a deep breath to center himself as Adriana told him the ceremony would start with a loud gong signaling Hermione to precede him back into the room.

At the gong, Hermione opened the door having changed into her dress robes as Harry followed behind her and stopped to see the room had changed. Gone was the tea room and in its place was an empty room with a star-shaped symbol etched onto the floor and a pedestal in the middle of what looked like pure silver. Tony who had changed into a pure black robe stood next to the pedestal with his wand out. "We gather here today to bond Harry James Potter to Blaise Fredrick Zabini. Does any who have gathered here today raise any issues with this bonding taking place? Tony asked and looked around to see if anyone had any issues. "Harry James Potter and Blaise Fredrick Zabini please step forward and join me in the center," Tony said as Harry and Blaise entered the start from different directions to stand before Tony with the silver pedestal between them.

"Now who of those gathered represent the families of Masters Potter and Zabini?" Tony asked

"We do," several people call out.

"I ask you now to please step forward and announce yourself and your relationship to the pair," Tony said.

"I am Adriana Zabini Mother of Blaise Zabini," Adrian said as Tony directed her to one point of the star.

"We are Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, cousin to Harry Potter through Blood Adoption," the Malfoys said stepping forward and was directed to the point closest to Harry

"I am Severus Snape Godfather to Harry Potter and Head of House to both boys while they are at Hogwarts," Snape said as was directed to another point close to Harry.

I am Remus Lupin standing in for Harry Potter's dead parents and Godfather," Remus said and was directed to join Snape.

"You who are family of these two, I call upon you now to raise your wands above the heads of Harry and Blaise," Tony said as the five lifted their wands and set their wand tips alight. "I now call on the one who represents this couple to come forward and announce yourselves," Tony said.

"I am Draco Malfoy, friend to both Blaise and Harry, as well as Harry's cousin," Draco said and was directed to the point across from his parents.

"I am Hermione Granger, friend, and Heir of Harry," Hermione said shocking Tony and several others as she was directed to the last point of the five-point star.

"I now direct those who represent the couple to raise their wands," Tony directed them. "I ask the other witnesses to announce yourself for this bonding ceremony."

"I am Bonecrusher who comes to witness this binding ceremony for the Goblins of Gringotts.  Not to mention being the Account Manager for Lord Potter," Bonecrusher said as he held onto the pair's Marriage Contract to make sure everything was done properly.

"I am Nymphadora Tonks a representative of the Ministry of Magic as well as a friend and cousin by Blood Adoption to Harry Potter," Tonks said standing up and sending her chair toppling over.

"Very good, I ask the family of the couple to lift the hoods over the couple's heads," Tony said as Adriana stepped forward and pulled Blaise's purple hood over his head where it draped forward to fully cover the taller boy's face. It was Remus who stepped forward and did the same to Harry with his green hood. Harry saw that either due to magic or how it was made, he could see out the hood even with it over his eyes though it did make everything take on a slight black and white look as if it was an old Muggle movie.

Once the hoods were in place Adriana and Remus moved back to their original positions. "I now ask those who represent the couple and take the Bonding Ribbon and wrap the hands of the couple," Tony said Hermione and Draco stepped forward grabbing opposite ends of the red and green ribbon, and began to wrap it as directed by Tony around Harry and Blaise's wrist.

As they were wrapping the ribbon around Hermione's hand slightly touched Draco's making the pair let out a small gasp as they felt their magic sing. With a smirk, Harry mouthed "told you" to Blaise who chuckled as he rolled his eyes. After they were done wrapping the ribbon, Hermione and Draco let their fingers linger on each other before they resumed their places in the star.

"Mother Magic, Sister Fate, Daughter Destiny, Father Time, Lord Death, we call upon you to bless the union of this couple. May what Magic brought together let none tear apart," Tony said.

"We thank you for thy gift Great Mother," the group calls out as Adrian's wand tip glow shifts from white to pure gold.

"Let Fate guide you in your life," Tony said.

"Let your steps lead us right Sister," the group said as Draco's wand tip glow turned yellow.

"May Destiny's plan lead you to a full life," Tony called as Harry felt the magic begin to strengthen around the group.

"Give us the lives we truly deserve beloved Daughter," the group states as Remus and Severus's wand tips begin to glow red.

"Let this couple find the time they have together to be long and joyous," Tony stated.

"We give thanks to you Father, who shows us to take each day at a time," the group chants as the Malfoys' wand tips glow a light baby blue

"And lastly we beg Lord Death, to let the pair have a long time before he calls them to meet him," Tony said.

"Lord Death we honor you," the group said as everyone lowered their head in a bow of respect for the last of the five as Hermione's wand tip glowed grayish-silver. As everyone bowed a gaunt man in a pure black robe appeared outside the wand light looking at the young man destined to be his Master before he vanished with a smile.

"I ask the couple to lift your hands bound above your heads," Tony directs as Harry and Blaise lift the hands wrapped in the silk fabric. With their hands raised Tony began to mutter a spell, Harry, neither understood nor knew as the seven raised wands shot a stream of magic forth and hit the fabric binding his and Blaise's wrists together. As the magic cast from the wands washed over them the pure white robes began to change from their pure white to strips of red and green as if the color from their binding bleed into them.

Tony raised his wand to join with the others to finish the ritual, "Harry Potter, Blaise Zabini please place your free hands, on the Altar before me." Harry and Blaise complied keeping their bound hands in the air as they interlocked their fingers on top of the silver Altar. "By the five, I bind you in marriage," Tony said as he used his wand to tap their hands on the Altar black, white, and gray rays of magic bonded their free hands as the silk tie bonded their other hands. "Everyone I would like to introduce you to Masters Blaise and Harry Zabini-Potter." The group applauded as the Magical bonds traveled over the newly married Wizards until they reached the silk tie and absorbed it into the pairs' flesh.

"It has been a while since I have seen a full Soul Bonding Ceremony," Lucius said stepping forward and pulling first Harry and then Blaise into a hug.

"A full Soul Bonding?" Harry asked as he accepted a hug from Remus.

"Yes unlike a normal bonding ceremony which is more closely to a Muggle Wedding, a Soul Bonding Ceremony pays homage to the Five Elders and is for some considered Dark Magic," Remus explained.

"Only due to some who fear the old ways," Lucius said with a shake of his head in disappointment for people like Albus who spread such lies. "The ceremony also binds the pair more powerfully than any other ceremony truly creating an unbreakable Soul Bond which will strengthen both your magic abilities."

The only ones who did not come forward to congratulate them or even seem to be paying attention to the conversation taking place were Hermione and Draco who as soon as the ceremony ended came together and joined hands marveling at how their magic felt washing over each other. "How did we not feel this sooner?" Draco asked touching his forehead against hers.

"It seems the Weasley had blocked all magic bonds unless I formed one with Ron,' Hermione muttered back. "Though even if the blocks had not been in place it would have only been in our Third-Year which we would have found out."

"Oh yes, the punch," Draco said with a chuckle that finally brought them to everyone else's attention.

"Are you trying to steal the thunder of my wedding day?" Harry teased as he walked over to them.

"I would never, Harry," Hermione said with a hurt look on her face.

"I know that, Mione I was just teasing so Draco is your chosen one?" Harry asked a smile tugging at the edge of his lips

"Draco is that true?" Lucius said coming forward and looking over at the pair making Hermione gulp thinking of the man who hated Muggleborns with a passion she had thought he had been before spending time with him over the summer. "Well Miss Granger, I would not be as arrogant to go against Mother Magic's plans for any of her children," Lucius said as he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it.

"Thank you, Lord Malfoy," Hermione said with a slight blush on her cheeks.

"Now enough of that Miss Granger you can call me Lucius or Luci if you want," Lucius said smiling at her.

"Alright Lucius if you would do me the honor of calling me Hermione," she said.

"I will endeavor to do so Hermione," Lucius said with a slight bow.

"Oh get acting so pompous Love," Narcissa said as she pulled what most likely would be her future Daughter-in-Law into a tight hug. As with a wave of her wand, Adrina made some snacks appear.

Meanwhile, in a small house in Little Whinging, a group of four parents was meeting with an unscrupulous human representative of Gringotts to make a new Marriage Contract between Harry and Ginny. The process, which had begun at ten in the morning was almost complete at four in the afternoon. The reason it had taken so long was due to Petunia Dursley's hatred of all things magic and Molly Weasley's dislike of them. "So we have agreed the new contract will make it so that as soon as they are wed Harry will die leaving all his money to both our families," Arthur said looking around in wonder at all the Muggle stuff in the place.

"Very good if you all sign in the proper places, it shall all be legally binding," the man said.

"And you are sure that this one will override the one he has with that Zabini boy?" Molly asked still unsure that this would work.

"Of course, it will.  This type of contract is older than the ones used today, even if has been since made illegal, was used at a time when many old families were dying out without Heirs. An older person without an Heir would sign the contract close to their death they would sign the contract passing on their line when they passed on." the man explained.

"Good we can finally get rid of that freak once and for all," Vernon said and without hesitation signed on his assigned line. Petunia and Arthur followed right after but as Molly finished signing her name there was a flash of blinding white light and all five were thrown back into the walls behind them as a gaunt man appeared for but an instant as he dropped a roll or parchment onto the Marriage contract which now had a large VOID emblazoned on it. The representative from Gringotts was the first to recover as he reached for the parchment as if in a trance and read it out loud.

You go against my wishes not once, or twice but three times.* I had been lenient before but you have tried even my patience. If you want a Marriage Contract, I shall give you one. From the moment that this is read aloud Ronald Weasley, Ginevra Weasley, and Dudley Dursley are now bonded in magic and genes. To be further than two kilometers apart shall cause them all great pain. Ronald and Ginerva's magic shall also be bound to Dudley if he is not near they shall be no more than what you refer to as Muggles. Ronald, Ginevra, and Dudley will also find their lines to be barren if they try to bond with anyone else. As further punishment, all three of them will not be able to attack or hurt Harry or any person he considers family lest they experience twice the pain they wish to cause.

Lady Magic.

As soon as the Goblin representative read the last line Dudley, who had been in the next room watching television let out an ear-piercing yell and fell into a Magically created coma. While in Hogsmead Ron and Ginny who had spent most of their day searching for Harry and Hermione let out their own yells of pain and fell unconscious. Though throughout this year the pair's reputation in the school had plummeted greatly, their fellow students rushed forward to help them as they were taken to the Hogwarts Hospital Wing.

"Why would Lady Magic do this?" Molly whined as she thought of all her kids being barren unless her babies married the Muggle pig. Unknown to her was that Lady Magic's degree only applied to Ron and Ginny. Arthur's father, Septimus, not liking the way he turned out had disowned him from the family leaving Bill as his Heir, while Charlie being Asexually had no desire to have sex to produce an Heir. Percy had separated himself from both his parents and their magic allowing Bill to let him into the main Weasley Line while Fred and George due to being twins and of age were now Joint-Lord Prewett and thus were not of their line either.

"What is wrong with my baby," Petunia cried out trying to awaken Dudley.

"He will not awaken," Arthur said dusting himself off as he stood up.

"What did you freaks do to my son now?" Vernon thundered.

"Nothing Vernon it seems Lady Magic has created a bond between our kids, if we want them to live a normal life they have to be together whether we like it or not. I for one do not," Arthur said his voice rising in anger. "As my kids will still be able to use magic that means that Dudley will have to go to Hogwarts as both Ron and Ginny need to continue to go to learn to control their magic," he said as if that settled it and before either Vernon or Petunia could do anything he stepped forward and taking hold one of Dudley's meaty arms and Apparated away.

"Where did that man take my sweet Ickle Dudleykins?" Petunia said turning to Molly with anger in her eyes.

"Oh would you just shut up," Molly said as cast a memory charm on the horse-faced woman before she Apparated away followed shortly by the Gringott's representative. 

Harry was still on cloud nine as he walked into the Great Hall for supper that night only to stop in shock at a familiar face sitting at the very edge of the Gryffindor table. His sudden stop made Blaise run into him almost knocking his new husband over. "What's up Harry?" Blaise asked.

"Do you see that boy sitting away from everyone else at Lion's table?" Harry asked in response.

"Yes, who is he?" Blaise asked as Draco and Hermione came up beside the pair arm-in-arm making the hall fall silent to see such love being shared between the two who had until that year always hated each other.

Due to the silence, everyone in the hall heard Harry's response, "He is my Muggle Cousin."

Chapter Text

As Harry's words echo around the hall, the muttering begins to the identity of the strange boy. Ron, for once, actually had an idea as he began to whisper that Dudley being in the hall was Harry using his fame to get special treatment. Even though Harry had switched to Slytherin no one believed Harry had anything to do with his cousin being there at least at the Gryffindor table. Some at the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables, however, believed the redhead and a wave of anger spread through those two tables. Ron smiled to himself as his plan seemed to work, that is until Dudley seeing his cousin stood up and walked over to him with a glare on his pudgy face. "I should have known, you and your freaky friends are the reason I am at his bloody place," Dudley said.

Harry looked confused as he shifted to look and his new husband, Hermione, Draco, and even Theo and Katie who had just turned up. "Is that true, did one of you give me the worst gift of all time?" he asked.

"You freak," Dudley said as he fell into the stance he had learned last year when he started boxing. Knowing his cousin was weak even in this freaky place, Dudley made a lightning-fast jab at the freak's face to show he was not someone to be trifled with. Though Dudley was one of the best boxers at Smeltings Academy and he possessed speed that was surprising due to his size, he found his blow easily caught by the Spearchucker standing next to the freak.

"You will not touch him again," Blaise said with an edge to his voice as he easily spun the fat Muggle around keeping a firm grip on his large beefy hand and pulling it into the middle of Dudley's back. Unknowingly Blaise had saved Dudley from even worse pain due to Lady Magic's punishment if his blow had landed rather than Harry getting hurt Dudley would have been sent flying backward into the nearby table.

"Blaise enough," Harry said placing a calming hand on Blaise's bicep "he is not worth it. So Dudley what are you doing here?"

"How should I know the last thing I know, I was at home watching TV, and the next thing I know I experience unimaginable pain and passed out only to wake up next to one of your freaky friends, Now will you tell this Spearchucker to let me go," Dudley said as he struggled to get free of Blaise's grip. Due to the continued near silence in the Great Hall as everyone watched there was a gasp of shocked outrage from both Muggleborns and Halfbloods at Dudley's insult.

"Spearchucker?" Blaise asked in a confused voice as he looked to Draco who just shrugged at him while Harry and Hermione both had looks of pure outrage on their faces.

"You call him that again, I might regret saving you from those Dementors last year by arranging a little visit for you to Azkaban," Harry said his voice sinking low and menacing as he fingered his wand in his new holster than his new mother-in-law had gotten him for a wedding gift.

"Mr. Zabini, release Mr. Dursley at once," Albus said coming over.

"As long as he gets the message to keep away from Harry," Blaise said as with a slight shove released the teen who had decided to try to hurt his new husband. Turning away from the fat bully Blaise interlocked his arms with Harry and went to the Slytherin table.

"Yeah run away, you fucking Spearchucker faggot," Dudley called after them. Hermione decided to show her displeasure by using a non-verbal spell to tie the racist bastard's shoelaces together.

"I do not know what it is like in a Muggle school, but we do not allow such language or bullying here at Hogwarts in such a nature," Severus said coming into the hall behind Katie and Theo.   Since Severus was a Halfblood knew the insults Dudley had used on his Godson and his new husband.

"So I assume that was sort of insult," Blaise said as the group sat down at their table.

"Well you know some have an issue with a person's blood status in the Magical world," Harry said shifting his gaze to Pansy who was sitting halfway down the table. "Well in the Muggle World some, like my Muggle family, judge a person by the color of their skin or their sexual orientation."

"So the name he called Blaise?" Draco asked.

"Is based on skin color and belief that people with darker skin tones are more akin to savages than some people's impressions of normal humans," Harry said glad that despite being "raised" by the Dursleys he had never given in to such beliefs.

"So he is not going to be happy that we are married then,' Blaise said it more of a statement than an actual question.

"No, not that I have ever really cared what he or his parents ever thought about what I did after I found out I was a Wizard," Harry said and just to prove his point pulled Blaise's face downward and into a kiss. Draco decided to call attention to the pair and let out a wolf whistle as the newly married couple. Dudley despite being told off by Professor Snape looked over at the sound of the whistle and almost loses it as he sees his freak of a cousin kissing that muscle-bound Spearchucker in front of everyone. And rather than look embarrassed and break the kiss with the subhuman bastard a smile appears on Harry's face.

Dudley now knew why his mom and dad had invited those two freaks over to make up a Marriage Contract for the freak if he chose that rather than a pure white female. Dudley had felt like he had misjudged his cousin after the events from last summer where the freak had saved his life or soul whatever, but being forced to attend this freaky school and be attached to the two redheads and then seeing him make out with that other boy was too much. Balling his hands into fists Dudley ignored the man chewing him out and went to teach the freak a lesson for bringing shame to his bloodline.*  Evidently, the man was not paying him attention letting Dudley quickly run to his cousin, and with the pair of faggots distracted as they swapped spit went to punch the back of his cousin's head. As soon as his flesh made contact, however, he was thrown away and crashed into a wall. His was not the only body that was sent into the wall either as the two redheads soon joined him.

"Mr. Potter, I do not care what he had done, you should not use magic against a Muggle," Albus calls out making Harry break the kiss as he had not even felt Dudley's blow.

"What is he talking about?" he asked Draco and Hermione who gave him some strange looks.

"Did you not feel that?" Hermione asked back.

"Feel what, I assume you did not mean Blaise's tongue?" Harry said making Blaise blush a little.

"No your cousin got past Snape and punched you and was thrown into the wall, along with the two Weasels," Draco said pointing to the opposite wall where Dudley, Ron, and Ginny were lying in a heap.

"Well, Mr. Potter what do you have to say for your actions?" Albus said placing a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"What actions kissing my boyfriend?" Harry asked looking the man in the eye knowing that the fool could detect lies through Legilimency.

"You knew very well I am talking about your cursing your Muggle Cousin, and two of your friends," Albus said.

"I have not cursed anyone, sir," Harry said.

"Then where were you today, I heard young Ronald and his sister tried to locate you at Hogsmede before they got cursed," Albus said.

"He was with me the entire day and as he said did not curse anyone," Blaise said throwing an arm protectively around Harry's shoulders. "And before you can accuse me of doing it neither did I."

"Then Mr. Zabini can you explain how a connection has formed between Harry's cousin and the two youngest Weasleys?" Albus said seeing everyone was still paying attention to the events playing out as he hid a smile maybe he could use this to put his weapon into detention and reapply the weakening compulsions on the boy.

"I can not Headmaster," Blaise answered seeing the wheels turning in the old fool's mind and knowing trouble was on the way.

"Neither of them cast whatever this is Albus it is too advanced, even for a Seventh-Year to bind people in such a way, and Harry did not have his wand out when his Cousin was sent into the wall, neither did anyone around them," Severus said coming to the rescue.

"He is correct Headmaster," a familiar voice called from the doorway causing people to snap their heads over and watch a pink-haired woman enter the hall. "I can attest to where both Harry and Heir Zabini were today and can confirm that neither of them cast any such spell that bonds people together." Harry and Blaise gave Tonks a nod of thanks as she smiled at them and almost trips over the hem of her robes as she walked over to Albus and Severus.

"I do have the answer to what happened, however, as about an hour ago a member of the Department of Mysteries delivered a message from Lady Magic. It seems that the reason that those three are bonded together," Tonks said pointing at Dudley, Ginny, and Ron, who were finally coming around after being thrown into the wall. "Was that their parents were trying to create an illegal Marriage Contract involving young Harry so in punishment Lady Magic bound the three of them together.  If they are a certain distance from each other they will be in pain they will also get hurt if they try to attack Harry and anyone he considers his family," Tonks said shocking everyone in the hall that Lady Magic had gotten involved let alone given such a harsh punishment. "Now as young Mr. Dursley has to come to Hogwarts since Ronald and Ginevra would be unable to learn to control their magic at his school, the Ministry has allowed him to stay, but the only class that he can go to is Muggle Studies other than that you are required to have a suitable tutor for all lessons he would have at his Muggle school."

"Very well, Harry, shall not receive detention for Mr. Dursley and the others being thrown into the wall. Mr. Zabini shall have to serve one for his mistreatment of Harry's cousin from earlier," Albus said deciding if he could not place spells on the boy he would cast them on the Zabini brat. Severus wanted to raise an issue about how Blaise had acted to protect his new husband but knowing Harry and Blaise wanted to keep that secret as long as possible he held his tongue. "I shall expect you in my office after supper, Mr. Zabini," Albus said as he turned and walked to the head table.

"I shall not give you a secondary detention for this one," Severus said leaning in and whispering to Blaise before he patted both their shoulders and headed to his seat.

"Do you have an Heir or Lordship ring?" Harry asked leaning in close to Blaise.

"Not on me, but I will not need it," Blaise said full of confidence.

"Why not?" Hermione asked leaning in to take part in the conversation.

"A Soul Bonding ceremony shares any form of protection either of us has with each other," Blaise explained.

"So you will be protected if he tries to give you some sort of compulsion to end our relationship," Harry asked with a tiny hint of concern in his voice.

"That is correct, the best part is our bonding is that I will even be protected if he tries to use a memory charm," Blaise said kissing Harry.

After the meal, Harry had to be dragged back to the Slytherin Common Room as Blaise followed Professor Snape to the Headmaster's office. "Ah Mr. Zabini, do come in thank you, Severus, that is all," Albus said as they entered the office. Blaise gave the Potions Master a small nod to show it was alright as he took the seat across from the old fool who was always interfering in Harry's life.

As he had never been up here before, Blaise took in the man's decorating taste and saw so many signs of the man's arrogant view of his self-importance. Starting with the chairs, Albus had a similar throne-like seat that he occupied in the Great Hall yet all the other chairs were simple wing-back seats in various degrees of disrepair. The bookshelves made it look like he was a well-read individual, but Blaise noticed over half of the spines on the books stated they were phone books. As for all the little machines that he had lying around they all appeared to be nothing more than perpetual motion machines that would make random noises and send puffs of smoke into the air.

Then there was the old fool himself who it seemed would only wear robes that would draw a person's eye towards him just to be the center of attention Blaise could not wait until he helped Harry take both him and Voldy down and stop the pair from ruining the Magical World. "Now Mr. Zabini we need to discuss your relationship with Mr. Potter," the old fool said sitting back in his throne-like chair and looking at Blaise imperiously making Blaise bite the inside of his cheek from laughing at the man's lack of subtlety.

"There is nothing to discuss, Headmaster, I am here for a detention," Blaise said with a small smile playing around his lips.

"Yes and your detention will be to break things off with Harry," Albus said as in a flash he had the Elder Wand pointed right at Blaise as he cast a love-sundering spell.

"I do not see that happening Headmaster, and once again Harry and my relationship is none of your business," Blaise said looking down at The Elder Wand with not even the slightest sign of fear. This would be another bonus from his bonding to Harry as the wand properly belonged to Harry's family and now being married into it that wand would not allow any spells to be cast onto him that could negatively affect either of them. A look of shock played across the fool's face as he began to mutter spell after spell to himself but with no sign of the wand doing a single thing he might as well be pointing a stick at the Italian teenager.

With a frustrated grunt, Albus dropped the Elder Wand onto his desk and reached into his robes to pull out his original wand, missing Blaise quickly snatching the Elder Wand from the desk and putting it into a pocket of his robes. "Fine let's see how well it goes now," Albus said before crying out "Cor Autem Retribuet." There was a flash of angry red light as a silver beam shot out of the wand right at Blaise who forced himself not to wince as the spell hit him and did absolutely nothing. "How do you feel about Mr. Potter now?" the fool asked.

"Same as before, now what am I doing?   Writing lines or just sitting here as you cast pointless spells at me," Blaise said putting an edge of annoyance in his voice. Albus smacked his wand against his palm a couple of times before casting other spells that had long been outlawed that would break up a relationship between people. They might have worked but Harry and Blaise were no longer dated but fully bonded in marriage making him glad he listens to his mother's advice. "Are we done yet, I do have some homework to do?" Blaise asked after sitting still in absolute silence for nearly an hour as the man cast spell after spell at him making the Headmaster more and more angry with each failure.

"Just one last spell," Albus said with a wicked grin as he cast "Obliviate." Blaise let the spell hit him and could not help but smile as it did not affect him.

"Alright that was the strangest detention I have ever served, I shall be leaving now,' Blaise said standing up the fool's mouth fell open in shock as he made no move to stop Blaise from leaving his office. Making his way back to the Slytherin dorms, Blaise made a quick stop in an unused classroom as he pulled out the Elder wand and cast a spell to summon a small flask one used to keep memories in and extracted the events of his detention for evidence against the Headmaster for later. When he opened the door to the dorms he had to smile as someone had created a large banner that stated Congratulations on your Marriage Blaise and Harry Zabini-Potter and it looked like a party was taking place.

Spotting Harry in one of the more comfortable armchairs, Blaise made his way over, receiving numerous slaps to his back.  Rather than sit down Blaise easily lifted Harry from his spot before taking the place and putting Harry on his lap.   Harry smiled at him, not asking about the detention with Dumbles, as they were each given a drink, and someone called for a toast. After all the problems with two old fools and their followers could wait until tomorrow Blaise thought as he downed his drink, pulled Harry onto his lap, and gave him a deep loving kiss.

Chapter Text

The next day, Harry was sitting with Draco and Hermione discussing what he should give Blaise as a Wedding gift. As both their families were rather well off he knew the gift did not even need to be extravagant as that just was not his style. He was looking for a more practical gift but besides books and clothing, he could not think of anything so had turned to his friends. "What is with the serious looks so early on a Monday?' Blaise asked coming over and kissing Harry.

"It is a secret," Harry said with a smile as he scooted forward letting Blaise take a seat behind him.

"Well, would some gifts loosen your tongue love?" Blaise asked throwing his arms around his mate.

"Depends what did you get me?" Harry asked in a teasing voice as he used his fingers to make small circles in Blaise's strong muscular arms.

"Well both come from our "esteemed" Headmaster," Blaise said putting his right hand into his robes and pulling out both the Elder Wand and the memory of last night's detention.

"You took Dumbles' wand?" Draco asked leaning forward in amazement.

"No I took back a wand that belongs to Harry's family," Blaise said as he placed the wand into Harry's hand with a slight look of regret.

"Okay it feels like it would work for me but not like my own wand," Harry said noticing Blaise's look and making a decision. "And the vial?"

"So during the "detention" it was just as we guess the fool tried to use numerous spells to end our relationship and this contains the memory of the events to send over to Madam Bones," Blaise said shaking the vial of memory. Harry smiled as he summoned some parchment and a quill to write a letter, not to Madam Bones which could get intercepted by Dumbles but thanks to the Goblins of Gringotts who had given him a magical PO Box so they could go around the mail ward Albus had placed on him.

Bonecrusher,

I hope the blood of your enemies flows as much as your gold. My Mate has collected some of my lost property in the Elder Wand, I am sending it to my vault. However, if you can somehow make it so that no one can recognize it as the Elder Wand please send it back so that I may present it to Blaise as a Wedding gift. Also included in this package is a vial of memory from Blaise of Albus trying to interfere with our relationship again, I ask could you perform whatever test to show that it has not been altered before sending it on to Madam Bones of the D.M.L.E. offices.

Lord Harry Zabini-Potter.

Finishing the letter, making sure Blaise did not read it over his shoulder, Harry sent the three objects to his Gringotts PO box feeling a slight surge of joy having used his married name for the first time. "I sent them to Gringotts for the Goblins to take care of," Harry said leaning back into Blaise's chest not wanting to move, but that just was not in his stars as the others wanted to head to breakfast. Harry really did not want to face the rest of the students wishing they could just go to the Kitchens and get some food from the House Elves, but Blaise thought that his cousin Dudley would see that Harry despite having access to magic was still scared of him.

Not wanting Dudley to get the wrong idea, Harry linked arms with Blaise and headed to the Great Hall. Due to trying to find a wedding gift for Blaise and the gifts from his Mate the group arrived shortly after breakfast had started. Walking into the Hall Harry felt like he was pushed back by the strong emotions aimed towards him and Blaise as soon as they entered. Seeing most of the students and all the staff looking at him Harry ducked behind Blaise's taller form as he felt jealousy, shock, anger, and happiness bleeding off everyone. "Alright what is going on?: Harry asked Theo as he collapsed into the seat next to the boy. Rather than answering Theo took the just delivered Daily Prophet and passed it over pointing down at an article. Harry and Blaise leaned in to read the article, Draco accepted his own copy from an Owl as Hermione leaned into him and read it with him.

Hogwarts Newest Student

Now it is not usual for a new student to come to Hogwarts a few weeks late, so you may ask why is this new student different than that. Well, this new student is a Muggle with no magical ability at all something that has not happened at any magical school, well ever. So what makes this Muggle so special that they get to Hogwarts, you may be asking yourself.  Well, do I have a tale to tell you?

It all starts in a Muggle home in Little Whinging where two families decided to go against Lady Magic by creating an Illegal Marriage Contract between one family's daughter and the nephew of the Muggles, more commonly known as Harry Potter. As the two groups signed the document, Lady Magic decided to intervene as inside a special room in the Ministry where Lady Magic's decrees were collected a new parchment was created. A Ministry worker from the department brought the new decree up to make a copy of for the records which I was able to take a look at. (Harry and the others looked at a magical picture of Lady Magic's decree seeing it for the first time.)

You go against my wishes not once, or twice but three times. I had been lenient before but you have tried even my patience. If you want a Marriage Contract, I shall give you one. From the moment that this is read aloud Ronald Weasley, Ginevra Weasley, and Dudley Dursley are now bonded in magic and genes. To be further than two kilometers apart shall cause them all great pain. Ronald and Ginerva's magic shall also be bound to Dudley if he is not near they shall be no more than what you refer to as Muggles. Ronald, Ginevra, and Dudley will also find their lines to be barren if they try to bond with anyone else. As further punishment, all three of them will not be able to attack or hurt Harry or any person he considers family lest they experience twice the pain they wish to cause.

Lady Magic.

Now as young Ronald and Ginevra Weasley are still school-aged it was decided that since the three of them are bonded rather than risk the pair causing a breach in the Statute of Secrecy, it was decided Dudley who knew about magic thanks to being brought up with Harry would come to Hogwarts. There may be those who are wondering what at the other two times that the group had acted against Lady Magic's plan. Well, it seems that this is not the first time that the group has set out a Marriage Contract between Harry and Ginevra Weasley as Lord Potter had discovered it earlier this year and called for it to be broken, As for the last occurrence it seems that the heads of this branch of the Weasley Clan had more than one illegal contract as Ronald had one with the new Heir Ravenclaw, Hermione Granger, who broke it as soon as she discovered it. Arthur and Molly Weasley, before this decree from Lady Magic came down, were on Madam Bone's radar as she had received a complaint of harassment as well as theft from Lord Harry Potter.

That itself might be a good story by itself, but as I was researching Lady Magic's degree another new document was added to the Ministries Records. It seems that one of the reasons that the illegal contract was denied was that Harry Potter is now married. According to the documents, he wed Heir Blaise Zabini in a small bonded Ceremony this last Saturday. I was able to meet with one Lady Adrian Zabini, the Chosen One's new Mother-in-Law, to ask about the Bonding. She informed me, over a delightful cup of tea, that the pair had decided to go through a small personal Ceremony which contained just family, and a witness each for both the Ministry and Gringotts. We can only hope that the new Zabini Consort is happy and will finally be left alone. Vincent Cheswick Daily Prophet Correspondent.

"Well I guess the secret is out," Harry said with a shrug before turning to Blaise and Draco. "Why was I referred to as Blaise's Consort?"

"That is due to both taking his name and also due to your guys' contract listing your magic as Submissive to his," Draco explained.

"Well I guess it is better than Lord Zabini-Potter-Gryffindor-Preverell-Wyllt-Pendragon-Ravenclaw-Black-Slytherin-Gaunt I suppose," Harry said after a moment of thought making several of the students who were leaning in gasp in shock hearing all his titles. Harry looked up and saw everyone still staring in shock at him and Blaise so he gave them a small wave before turning to kiss his husband. Ginny and Ron glared at the pair not really knowing what was going on as neither of them received the Prophet while Dudley was not even paying that much attention busy stuffing himself with the food in front of him. Harry put down the paper and began to eat his breakfast before his first class as the Zabini Consort. As he got up to leave, however, Dumbles called for him to join him in the room off the hall where he had joined the Champions for the Triwizard. Rolling his eyes Harry linked arms with Blaise and made his way into the room.

"I only meant this meeting to be between the pair of us, Harry," Albus said a hint of disapproval in his voice.

"Well as I assume this about what you read in the Prophet.  I knew you just forgot to invite my new Husband along," Harry said with pretend innocence.

"You also forgot my invitation, Albus, since they both belong to my House," Severus said as he entered the room so softly his voice caused Harry and Blaise to start a little in surprise.

"Ah Severus, I did not want to interfere with your lessons," Albus said sending what they assumed to be a grandfatherly smile at the Potions Master.

"That is kind but as both Blaise and Harry are in that class I decided to come along so they would not miss anything," Severus said leaning against the wall.

"Alright that is understandable," Albus said before he shifted his eyes to Harry. "I know that in the Muggle World, you can marry at a younger age but in the Magical World if you marry underage you need permission from your guardians," he said putting more disappointment into his voice.

"I did not need it," Harry said.

"Oh Harry, yes you do, and as your Magical Guardian I do not approve of this marriage and I am sorry to say I shall have to have it annulled," Dumbledore said.

"You can not do that for even if you had been my Magical Guardian as chosen by my parents that no longer applies," Harry said with a smile shocking Albus with his next words. "It seems that thanks to taking part in the Triwizard, I was considered a legal adult in the eyes of the Magical World." Albus cursed to himself as it had been one of his plans that had forced Harry into the tournament as a means of returning Voldemort to life so that the boy could die fighting him leaving Albus to swoop in and kill the Dark Lord.

"Ah but Mr. Zabini is not so I am afraid the Marriage still needs to be annulled," Dumbles tried.

"It will not be for we had a Marriage Contract with my magic being Submissive to his and all the law requires in a marriage is that a Submissive partner be of age," Harry said doing his best not to smirk at the old fool.

"Is that all Albus or can I take my students to their class now?" Severus asked before the Headmaster could think up another excuse to end the marriage as he ushered his Godson and mate out of the room and to their class. "I must say you are handling this rather well Harry," he said.

"What is so bad usually when the school turns on me it is for something bad at least this time I have more than just Hermione for support and it is for something that makes me happy," Harry said leaning into Blaise as they walked and laying his head on the taller male's shoulder. Severus had to let out a soft chuckle which was suddenly changed to a pain in his heart wondering what Lily would think of her son's husband or how Potter and the Mutt would have reacted. The group walked in silence up to the D.A.D.A. classroom until Snape opened the door and they found an argument taking place inside.

"How could you let this happen, Mione?" Ron said his face as red as his hair in anger with his fist clenched.

"I did not let anything happen, Ronald, and you are hardly one to talk, with your folks making up an illegal Contract between us," Hermione said in a calm voice as Draco stood behind her with a hand on her right shoulder.

"This is all your fault you fucking snake, you must have her under some mind control or something," Ron said reaching for his wand. Snape reached into his own robes to stop the Weasley from doing any lasting damage to himself for attacking a member of Harry's family, but before he could do anything, Hermione's hand shot up as she used the back of her hand to smack Ron across his face making everyone gasp. "Mione?" Ron said in shock as his wand fell from his hands to clatter onto the stone floor.

"Now I know how you felt at Platform 9 3/4. What a rush," Hermione said as she turned to Draco and kissed him causing both Ron and Pansy to let out a pair of growls.

"That is enough, Mr. Weasley.  Twenty-five points from Gryffindor and a week of detention for pulling your wand on a fellow student," Snape said coming into the room as Blaise and Harry took the other two seats at the table Hermione and Draco have moved to.

Chapter Text

Harry collapsed with a heavy sigh reaching the Slytherin Common Room at the end of the day with such dramatic flair that even Draco was impressed. "I am so sick of people," Harry said tossing his head back as he leaned against his new husband's legs.

"It was not that bad," Blaise said as he began to run his fingers through Harry's hair making him purr a little.

"That is easy for you to say, husband Dear," Harry said with just a hint of sarcasm in his voice as he used Blaise's school tie to pull him down into a kiss. "You did not have to put up with people coming up and asking about either why they were not invited to the bonding or random stuff such as when Padma and Lavender came up and asked if it was true that black guys are bigger," Harry said making Draco snort in laughter.

"Actually, I was," Blaise informed him just as Hermione came over to the group throwing her bag down in annoyance.

"Everything alright Mione?" Harry asked knowing that after the article and what happened in D.A.D.A. between her and Ron, she had also been the target of gossip but she was less used to it than he was.

"People are idiots," Hermione said as she joined Draco on the couch he was sitting in. The blonde teen immediately shifted her body so that she was sprawled out on the couch with her head in his lap.

"See it must be true if Hermione agrees with me," Harry whispered to Blaise in a joking tone.

"Um, who exactly are we talking about here?" Draco asked as he began to give her a quick shoulder massage.

"Who else but the three idiots," Hermione said using the name that Harry and she had started to use for the youngest Weasleys and Dudley.

"What did they do this time?" Harry asked looking over at her without lifting his head from Blaise's muscular thigh.

"I finally had to take the article and almost shove it down Ron's throat in the library just now as he once more tried to get me to take back my cutting ties with him. Though I must say I found his expressions funny as hell  My guess is his parents did not share with him the entire message from Lady Magic since he paled when he got to the part about only being able to produce offspring with his own sister and Dudley," Hermione shared as they all laughed.

"Well I can tell you, Dudders, will be happy," Harry said with a smirk over at her.

"Why?" Blaise asked while Draco as if recalling something began to chuckle.

"Well, when I had Lady Magic break the First Contract between myself and the Weaslette she handed down the degree that all kids that she would have would be Squibs so my cousin would not have to worry about his kids being "freaks," Harry said making Blaise join in chuckling as well. "That is unless Ron is willing to be the Bearer in their mateship."

That pronouncement was met with a shocked silence before Draco shuttered, " Please don't even joke about that he is hard enough to deal with without the thought of his hormones running while pregnant. So did he cause you any trouble after you gave him the article?" Draco asked.

"No, but as he walked away in shock Pansy came forward also accusing me of enchanting you. I ignored her of course which only set her off some more as she decided she would have to "fix my attitude" with her magic. The only reason I know this since she seems to be getting better at nonverbal spell work, I felt my Heir Ring heat up as it protected me," Hermione said.

"That bitch really needs to learn to let it go," Draco said leaning down to kiss her forehead.

Harry smiled over at the pair for a second before he recalled something that Blaise said before Hermione arrived. Leaning back on Blaise's thigh to look his husband in his deep purple eyes he asked, "So what did they ask you?"

"Well besides asking if I had put you under some sort of spell," Blaise started.

"You did with your body and what I saw in your memories from our previous years," Harry said shifting his body to better look at Blaise and placing one of his hands next to his face on the muscular thigh he was using as a pillow

"Very funny, love, you know what I mean. I also asked if I was just after your money, planning on handing you over to Voldy, but like you, I got a question from Miss Padma Patil and Miss Brown though they asked me what your moans sounded like," Blaise said making Draco and Hermione laugh and Harry to let out an annoyed sound. "I think they were talking about in the bedroom, not in public love," Blaise teased earning him a slap, though a playful one, to his thigh.

"You would think they would have better things to think about," Harry said shaking his head "though I guess I should be glad that they are in their way showing their support for me."

"That's the spirit, Harry," Luna said as she wandered over to the group and began to pull out her homework. "You keep looking at the bright side and don't let the Nargels get you down," she said in almost a singing voice.

"What so don't worry be happy?" Harry asked sending Hermione a wink who let out a little groan at the reference.

"Yes though, I doubt you would ever have to worry about a car or not paying rent," Luna said with a knowing smile.

"Okay, one of these days I really need you to tell me how you know so much about everything," Hermione said with a smile at the girl. Hermione was glad that she had gotten to know Luna rather than listen to Ginny who acted like Luna's friend only to talk shit about her behind her back.

"Oh it is quite simple," Luna said with an airy chuckle "I listen to the wind and feel the roots of knowledge from Gaia herself."

"Yeah, I have no idea what that means," Hermione said.

"It almost sounds like she is part Fae," Draco said with a hint of surprise and respect in his voice.

"Fae as in Fairy?" Hermione asked.

"Ten points to Hermione," Luna said reaching over from her spot on the floor between the two couples and bopping Hermione's nose. "Yes Fairy Magic which most people consider a joke or lost," Luna said wiggling her toes. Seeing the confused look on the older Witch's face Luna began to explain about Fae magic, "You see in times long ago they are sometimes thought of as Myths even by Magicals, the Five decided to share the secrets of Magic with us mortals. It is this utterly pure magic that they first shared that is referred to as Fae Magic as the first Magicals were referred to as being blessed by Fairies. As time passed and the Magicals divorced themselves from the Muggle World there came a division in the Magic between so-called Light and Dark though at the time it was called Day and Night magic," Luna said as both Hermione and Harry hung on her every word.

"So named for the nature of the spells cast with Day Magic being made of spells that did not to be hidden from the world such as many Charms we still have today. Night Magic was so-called for people thought it should only be done under the hidden protection of darkness which included all forms of Transfiguration and potion-making. Now, this division did not cause any sort of war to prove which type was stronger, in fact, most Magicals would use both though everyone had a branch that they were best suited for. A small portion of the Magicals kept to the old ways taking neither side as they practiced the original magic, which once more as different today as they did not have to hide to do it."

"What do you mean different from today?" Harry asked.

"Well, around the time of the Muggle's American War for Independence, a shift in attitude to those who keep with Fae Magic forced the families that are taught it to go into hiding which was also the time when a new definition for Light and Dark Magic came into being.  Light now being all magic that helps and heals people while Dark was for any spell or ritual that would harm others. If a Magical from that time would find themselves in our time they would consider the D.A.D.A. class to be a Dark class. Our current classifications of Light and Dark came about around the time of World War One which put Blood Magic, except for the use of bonding rites and Blood Adoptions, under the banner of Dark Magic even though many forms of Blood Magic were used in healing spells.

While at the same time putting Transfiguration and the ability of Animagus to fall under the Banner of Light for the first time. But during all this, people were mistrustful of any who practiced the old ways fearing them not taking a side in their petty fighting leading to the families either fully going into hiding such as the Lovegoods, or pretending to pick a side and teach their offspring in secrets like the Potters," she said making Harry start having no idea about most of his family history even after looking over the library at Grimmauld Place.

"So does that mean I could learn to perform Fae Magic?" Harry asked.

"Fae Magic is not taught as we do here Harry," Luna said turning to him and running her hand over his cheek. "Due to it being the original form of all Magic, everyone actually knows it but to truly harness it, yes I could teach you I could teach all of you if you wish," Luna said looking around at the two couples.

"What do you mean everyone already knows it?" Hermione asked lifting her head from Draco's lap and scooting closer to the edge of the couch.

"After the second time of classification of the Light and Dark to help discredit Fae Magic they started calling it Wild Magic," Luna said but saw a look of confusion on Hermione's face. "It is through the use of it that we learn which Muggles can perform spells before they come to school, in other words when you were young and you first discovered Magic it was Fae that you used neither Light nor Dark it was just there for you," Luna said finishing her tale as she turned back to her homework. Blaise and Draco shared a look as they gazed down at the awe-struck former Gryffindors thought with a hint of regret that the people who had brought them into the Magical World had not covered that part of their History. Before they could talk about it, however, there was a small puff of smoke and a flash of golden light as a package dropped into Harry's lap making him give a little "oomph." Harry smiled as he opened the box to see a wand sitting on a deep velvet pillow with a note attached.

Lord Consort Zabini,

As per your request, we verified the memories and sent them to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement's Head. We have also performed some wand maintenance on this wand removing illegal trackers and some spells to prevent all but the real owners of the wand from having it summed back via magic. I hope your beloved understands the weight of power you are giving him and does not misuse it like its last owner.

Bonecrusher

-May the blood of your enemies flow as the gold does from one's hands.

Lifting the Wand from the box, Harry examined it and even knowing it had been Dumbles he could see no sign of its last appearance. "What have you got there, Love?" Blaise asked feeling a slight tug from the wand as he saw it.

"Your wedding gift from me," Harry said passing over the wand as soon as it was in Blaise's hand he felt the magic and understood that he was now holding the so-called Elder Wand.

"Oh Harry, but it is yours I can not accept this," Blaise said trying to hand it back.

"I prefer my own wand, and I don't care we are married now so I give it to you," Harry said pushing himself off the floor before settling himself into Blaise's lap and handing him the note from his account manager.

"I will do all I can to prove, I am worthy of such a gift," Blaise said kissing Harry.

"Get a room you two," Draco teased as he not wanting to get outdone pulled Hermione into a kiss while Luna rolled her eyes and shook her head at the four of them.

The next day people were still coming up to Harry about his recent Marriage to ask questions so he decided to spend one of his free periods down by the Dark Lake's edge with Blaise. As Harry sat with his bare feet dangling in the water he noticed a ripple as the Giant Squid came to the surface with a splash making him laugh a little. As if it was drawn by the sounds of his laughter the Squid began to move close to where he sat before it performed a quick turn as one of its tentacles breached the surface of the lake and to Harry's surprise came to touch his cheek. "Hello, Little One," Harry heard in his mind.

"Who are you? Where are you?" Harry asked aloud making Blaise worry that Dumbles or one of his stooges was casting some sort of spell on Harry only for a second tentacle to land on his shoulder.

"Calm yourselves, I am no danger to you," both teens heard the voice say. "As to who I am well, my boy, I am your Ancestor Godric Gryffindor."

"No that is impossible I know the test said you were alive but you would have to be over a thousand years old," Harry said shaking his head

"One thousand and Seventy-One to be exact as the last count," Godric said with a slight laugh. "As to how I am still alive well my Animagus form is a long-lived species I am just unable to revert to my Human side without dying but it is the price I pay to protect my beloved Castle."

"Why have you come to me now?" Harry asked a little confused.

"Ah I have tried to communicate with you since you first came to Hogwarts lad, but you could not understand me as if one of our family's gifts had not taken to you," Godric said.

"The blocking of my All-Speak," Harry said understanding as he recalled part of his test.

"Unfortunately yes and you also do not really spend much time down by the lake focusing on studying correct?" Godric asked in a tone that made Harry think that if he was human Godric would be raising an eyebrow at him.

"Um no, I have been getting used to some changes in my life," Harry said with a slight blush which only deepened when Godric began to laugh.

"I understand, I have overheard you got married and have moved away from some old friends, so I take it that this one is your Mate?" Godric said this time causing Blaise to blush a little.

"Yes sir," Blaise responded and would have bowed if not for the tentacle draped over his shoulder.

"Drop the sir we are now family lad, Ah I also see you have my great-grandfather's wand good on you," Godric said. "Now on to business for I did not just come to say hello to you both, I would like to know everything." Harry began to speak only for Godric to stop him, "There is no need for that just open your mind and I will know." Doing as Godric asked Harry let his mind open to his Ancestor and in less time than he thought all that had passed in his life was shared with the man. "Hm most troubling, most troubling indeed just a moment you two I shall be right back," Gordic said as he pulled his tentacles away and dived into the lake again.

"Well that was interesting and here I thought that you being related to Filch was strange," Blaise said as he hugged Harry as the pair waited. It was almost time for their next class, which was thankfully Herbology when Godric returned and placed his tentacles on them again as a third dropped something at their feet.

"I saw in your memory that your Godmother was listed as Compromised. In this chest you will find a potion produced by Rowena herself which might heal her there is also the instruction on how to make it so that Rowena's last potion can see the light of day at last," Godric said. "As for your plan with the House Elves, I have one sight alteration as also in this chest was a cuff created by Salazar who knew that someday one of his decedents would misuse his familiar. The cuff once it is on his descendant's wrist will cut off the wearer from their magical source rendering them as you call them a Squib.

The last item in the chest is from me think of it as a wedding gift if you will. I saw in your memory that in your possession you have a map, well your father and his friend were not the first ones to do it. My gift is the original Map of Hogwarts and with it, you shall see not only every passage, room, and inhabitant of the Castle but with some training even able to create passages yourself. The map will be blank to all but my own descendants and their families so use it well and off to class the pair of you," Godric said with a slight laugh as he removed his tentacles and moved away giving them a last wave before he sunk once more beneath the surface of the lake. Harry stood in silence for a moment before he bent down to pick up the small chest, which despite being underwater for who knew how long was as dry and pristine as if it was new.

"Well Neville should be happy," Harry said as he placed the chest into his bag.

"What do you mean?" Blaise asked shaking himself out of his shock at the gifts and meeting.

"Well my Godmother is his mom, so if the potion heals her it could also heal his dad giving him his parents back," Harry said with a slight tone of jealousy.

"Your family never does things halfway or small do they?" Blaise asked with a chuckle throwing his arm around Harry.

"No idea," Harry said with a shrug as the pair headed to Herbology.

Unfortunately, Harry did not see Neville until Potions class and there was no way he was going to bring out Rowena's Potion with Slughorn around. So as the class was heading out to supper Harry caught Neville and pulled him aside to talk to him. Neville gave him a shrug and followed his friend to a corridor a few turns down from the Potions classrooms. Harry raised his hands and knocked on the stone wall bringing forth the door to Snape's private rooms. Neville gave him a confused look as he was led inside, which was soon matched by Harry's Godfather seeing him there. "What can I do for the pair of you," Snape asked surprising Neville as he used a tone with no hint of anger that the boy usually heard from him.

"Well earlier today I was with Blaise down by the lake and I sort of met my Ancestor Godric," Harry said getting a gasp from Snape who had seen the results of Harry's test all those months ago while Neville just looked further confused. "Well, he looked into my mind and gave me some gifts one of which," Harry said as he pulled out the small chest that held the Hogwarts' Crest on it before placing it onto Snape's dining room table and opening it up. "Ah here it is," he said pulling out a small Potion vial and some notes handing them to Snape, "he said it is a Potion made by Rowena Ravenclaw herself which he thought might be able to cure your Mom."

"Wait what?" Neville said his voice breaking as Severus looked over the notes in his hand to find one of the most complicated Potions he had ever seen.  Polyjuice potion looked like a glass of lemonade compared to this.

"I think it could work," Severus said when he finished reading the notes running a hand through his long black hair before turning to Neville. "Heir Longbottom, would you be willing to let your Mother test the Potion?" Severus said shocking Neville with the respect the man was showing to him.

"Um it sounds alright," Neville said turning to Harry "If you fully trust this thought it only looks enough for one person what about my dad if it does work?"

"I think I can brew the Potion if it works as it is meant to," Severus said placing down the document and placing a hand on Neville's shoulder making him flinch a little. "I will point out that according to these notes, this Potion had never really been used before so it could end up causing more harm than good." Severus then bent his knees a little so that he was looking the Sixth-Year Gryffindor in his eyes. "I want you to be sure about this Heir Long.... no Neville this is an untested potion that could with a small chance end up killing Alice." Harry stayed silent letting his friend make his own decision on the matter though he fully trusted in his Ancestor's Potion.

"I want to try it even if she does die, at least she will finally be at peace," Neville said.

"Neville I want to know that I am sorry for how I have treated you all these years, and I must say that is one of the bravest things I have heard any student make in all my years here," Severus said as he shocked Neville as he pulled the teen into a quick hug. "I will need you to sign a form of permission to use the Potion on your Mother," Severus said as he summoned a quill and some parchment for Neville to give his permission seeing that he was not needed anymore Harry gave his Godfather a nod before he left for supper making a slight detour to drop off the chest of the rest of Godric's gifts in his room, and even though he had grown to trust the Slytherins more than Ron and Ginny he placed a Ward around the chest so only he or Blaise could get into it.

"Everything working out?" Blaise asked as Harry takes his place beside him.

"When I left Neville was okaying for the Potion to be used on his Mom," Harry said as both boys had agreed that they would not share with anyone besides those affected by the gifts where they actually came from.

"And you left him with Professor Snape?" Theo asked in shock.

"Yeah I don't think either of them will be at supper tonight," Harry said with a small smile knowing Severus would either take Neville with him to St. Mungos or that the pair would use the time to air out their differences with each other just as Harry had done during the summer.

"You do realize that this almost fixes most of the issues that have come out from your test?" Blaise teased.

"What?!?" Harry asked a little confused.

"Well if the potion works Alice will no longer be compromised as it was stated in your test now all you have to do is find out your Animagus form," Blaise whispered in his mate's ear.

"I guess that is sort of true though, I am still waiting to get all my money back from the Weasels not to mention that one property they stole as well and finally the Resurrection stone," Harry pointed out.

"Yes, but you sent both the Goblins and the Ministry after all that, the Animagus is all you," Blaise said running his fingers through Harry's hair.

"Oh seriously get a room, I can not wait until your honeymoon period is over," Draco said as he arrived.

"You're one to talk," Harry said smiling at the blonde who blushed just as Hermione slid into the seat next to him with a quick kiss on his cheek. "Case and point," Harry said with a slight laugh at the strange look Hermione gave him.

"I don't even want to know," she said as she began to fill her plate.

"Yeah it would be for the best," Draco said rolling his eyes at Harry and Blaise who just to annoy their friend were feeding each other before intertwining their arms as they took a drink from their goblets.

Chapter Text

Harry's prediction had turned out to be true as neither Professor Snape nor Neville was spotted the rest of the day raising many questions about their absence among the other Houses. In Slytherin, Harry had shared an edited version saying that a House Elf had discovered something while doing an inventory of his properties that could help Neville's parents. The whole House had stayed up late and broke curfew a little to see if Snape would share the results of the potion before Hermione made them all go to bed. Going to their dorms, Harry was so worried about his Ancestor's potion causing harm to Neville's Mom that he could not sleep as Blaise took him by the hand and let Harry sleep with him, something they had not actually done yet. Snuggled up close to his Husband's bare chest, Harry fell asleep with Blaise's arms wrapped protectively around him and the sound of Blaise's heartbeat in his ear. Harry had some of the best sleep in his life only second only to the time on the train ride over after Blaise had shown him the memories of how he had looked after Harry before they met. As usual, due to his life with the Dursleys, Harry was up before his husband but he did not want to move not for fear of waking Blaise, he was just too comfortable so he just snuggled up closer and waited for the other to wake up.

Ron's POV

While Harry's morning and sleep were the best he had, Ron was still getting used to his new sleeping arrangements since Dudley had come to Hogwarts.  For the Muggle asshole to be close enough, the teachers had moved Ron and Ginny into specific dorms which were usually reserved for students who were of age and had gotten married to a member of a different house. For the first time, Ron was actually starting to believe some of the stories Harry had told him and Hermione about his family as it seemed to him that Dudley thought that since Ron and Ginny had magic they should do all the cleaning in the room.  Something neither Weasley wanted to do and it seems that the Hogwarts House Elves were avoiding their rooms as they remained as messy as ever, with dirty clothing thrown everywhere but the magical hamper. Ron and Dudley had gotten into a fight about it only to discover another aspect of their bonding where if they hurt each other they would feel any pain they inflected themselves. As neither boy wanted to get hurt being raised like a pampered prince by their mothers they had called it a draw.

That is until it came to sleeping arrangements since their room was for married couples there had only been one large bed and neither boy wanted to sleep with the other. And since Ron also did not want to sleep with Ginny, something Dudley did not have a problem with, so far Ron had ended up sleeping on a lumpy couch in the main room. What was worse was after the first night he heard sounds he recognized coming from the bedroom and had to use the pillow he had to try to block out the sounds of the two doing the nasty.

He had heard stories that Ginny was, in fact, rather loose but never before had the fact been shown so directly into his face. He couldn't believe that she would stoop so low as to do that with the fat Muggle they had been saddled with and when he asked her why he immediately regretted it as she began to give way too many details of the events he had heard from the bedroom. He could have gone his whole life not knowing how large the other male's dick became when he was erect or the fact of how he would prepare Ginny before they made love.

For the first time, he wished he had let Lockhart blast him with the Memory Charm during his second year.  Or at least Hermione was still speaking to him so that she could tell him the spell he would need to muffle the sounds coming from the room, in what felt like to him all night long. Thankfully when he slept on the couch, he had brought his trunk along so he did not have to go into the room to get his supplies for the day and see his sister laying with Dudley on the bed. This, however, did not stop him from seeing anything for as he was pulling on his robe Ginny came out of the bedroom in nothing but one of the other boy's shirts which thankfully was so big he could not see anything, but she was followed by Dudley in nothing but a pair of speedo-briefs making Ron want to run to the rooms' bathroom and throw up. Which he might have done if not for the fact that Ginny and Dudley were both heading into it taking off their clothing giving Ron a quick view of their asses before the door closed behind them leaving him just sitting on the couch hating his life.

Hermione's POV

Hermione woke up as she usually did in the dorms by checking her Wards, something that she made sure to put in place every night thanks to Pansy's attitude towards her. It seems this time the girl had tried a Blasting Hex on her only for it to rebound on the pug-nosed girl as a spell that would force her hair into pigtails tied with Gryffindor colors for the next twenty-four hours. While Pansy liked to tease her about how little she, as a Muggle, would know about the Magical World.  Hermione was showing an almost endless supply of spells, thanks to helping Harry during the Triwizard Tournament, she had counter-spells for anything Pansy could send against her Wards. The only thing she could not block was the Unforgivable Curses, but she did not think the girl would ever try them for Draco had made his opinion on them quite clear finding them vile. As she got ready for the day, Hermione pulled on her Slytherin robes with pride as she reached over to her bedside table, also Warded from anyone interfering with it, and picked up the Malfoy broach that had passed from Narcissa to Lily to James, back to Narcissa who gave it to Harry after the Will reading who had given it to Draco who used it as his first Courting Gift to her. Smiling she placed the broach at her collar before she turned to the door ready to start the day.

Neville's POV

Neville could not recall a day such as this one, he woke up in a room of St. Mungos where his Mother had been moved to after she had drunk the Potion Harry had given him. The effects had been immediate and a bit heartbreaking as he watched the light return to his Mother's eyes only for her to start crying for being herself again but also for all the time they had lost. The Healers had made her stay overnight in case the Potion effects were only temporary but at least they allowed Neville to stay with her as Professor Snape talked to the Healers about making more of the Potion using Rowena Ravenclaw's notes.

Neville had stayed up late into the night telling his Mom everything from being brought up by Gran to his time at Hogwarts. His Mother was horrified by some of the actions of Frank's family and promised that at the first opportunity, she was going to take him shopping for his own wand and move him away from his relatives. Neville had been woken up early in his mind based on how late he had been up the night before as a reporter had come into the room to ask some questions about how his Mother was doing. His Mom had answered the questions politely enough though with enough edge to her voice to hopefully make the person know that despite her years of inaction she had once been a well-respected Auror.

Professor Snape informed him after a meeting with both the School Governors and the other Heads of Houses that Neville had been permitted to stay with his Mother a couple of days before he had to return to Hogwarts. Over breakfast, the reunited Mother and Son talked on the subject of Harry, his Mom wanting to know something about her Godchild. She had broken down once more hearing about James and Lily's deaths around the same time that she and Frank had been tortured but was horrified learning about Harry's living conditions growing up and the betrayals from Ron and his parents. She was glad that things were now turning for the better for the boy and ecstatic when she learned about his marriage to Blaise having been there as a witness at the contract had been written up.

Dumbledor's POV

Albus woke up late feeling frustrated ever since Sirius's Will things have gone wrong all over in his plans. Thanks to the raid during the summer on Malfoy Manor most of Voldemort's high-level Death Eaters had been taken down and locked up so deep within Azkaban that the chances of them being broken out were almost nil.  While being a good thing, it had not been his plan so he had not received any accolade from it. That coupled with his weapon kicking them out of Grimmauld Place cutting him off from a source of very ancient and powerful books on rituals and spells that could further his plan had been a kick in the teeth.

He had found a loophole that allowed Nymphadora Tonks access to the property but she had reported that the Black family library had been Warded by a spell so that only the current Lord of House Black could get past it. At the end of the summer had had received countless letters from the Weasleys about Harry having somehow discovered the marriage contract between himself and Ginny and had canceled it with Molly and Arthur basically ordering him to fix it as if he worked for them rather than the other way around.

He told them it would take time and a few well-placed loved potions on the boy only to find out that the boy had found the person his parents had made a contract with him for. Slughorn had proven to be as inept as always as he tried and failed to get Harry to join his Slugclub thus giving Albus another point of access to the boy. The lesson to help train him to take down Voldemort was just as bad as Harry had felt sorry not for Tom's mother but his father had actually accused Albus of provoking Tom at the orphanage, not to mention making fun of his outfit, and since the boy avoided Slughorn like the plague it would be impossible for him to get the true memory from the man.

Now his weapon was married to a Gray Wizard at best who came from a powerful family that could stop Albus from interfering both locally and internationally with the boy. A fact that they had already achieved as Adriana used some of her overseas contacts to sue him for all the Harry Potter books he had a hand in publishing even going as far as removing some of the blocks he had on their "author" which led the foolish Muggle from spouting off some nonsense which turned opinion against them. Albus had thought the only way to handle the marriage was to get Zabini to call it off so he had summoned the boy up to his office only to find his wand would not cast a spell he was aiming at him and even when he switched to his old wand the spells had not worked leading the boy to leave his office without any enchantments on him. Ever since then, he seemed to have lost the Elder Wand and even using a Summoning Charm he could not find it forcing him to use his old wand which felt weak after so many years of inaction.

As he sat down to breakfast his copy of the Daily Prophet arrived causing him to spit out his tea all over his food causing the students to look up at him in shock, but he hardly seemed to notice their looks and quiet conversation at his undignified behavior as he read the front-page article about some Potion being discovered that claimed to have been made by Rowena Ravenclaw that had healed Alice Longbottom nee Bismark-Hufflepuff of the insanity that she had after the torture from a group of Death Eaters looking for the Dark Lord. Albus did see that this potion's existence would be a great thing but once again it was not being tied to his name rather the article mentioned Severus who had evidently been given the Potion from Ravenclaw's descendent whose House Elf had found a Potions Notebook detailing how to make it while cleaning their properties. Albus wished they had chosen a different test subject.  With Alice back that meant that Harry had his only remaining Godparent back as well as getting his backup weapon away from his "loving" family.

Normal POV

After witnessing Dumble's reaction to the article, Harry felt it was time to start things rolling to finally finish the man and Voldy once and for all. Leaving the hall Harry pulled out Godric's map to make sure no one was around as he summoned Lisa again. "What can Lisa do for you, Master Harry?" the House Elf asked.

"Hello Lisa I am just letting you know that there is going to be a change of plans on dealing with the Castles "visitors" that I think you are going to like," Harry said with a smile as he pulled out the cuff made by Salazar and presented it to the Elf. "When the time comes I will need you to both take the fake Lord Slytherin's wand while attaching this to his wrist if you can."

"Lisa knows that this is a lost treasure of the family, how did Master Harry find it?" the Elf asked running a hand on the cuff as if stroking a long-lost pet.

"It was given to me as a gift from Godric Gryffindor himself," Harry said 

"I shall see to it personally Master Harry, is there any further updates for when you will need us to act?" Lisa asked.

"Not at the moment the plan has just come up into the Wizengamont and depending on the votes it could be as early as this weekend or as late as next month," Harry said with a shrug. Not telling her that the main issue with the vote had been his own seats it had seemed that the council had refused to recognize Lupin as his stand-in but at least thanks to Madam Bones backing Narcissa had been approved to cast not only his votes but also the votes the Malfoy's controlled giving their group a total of twelve votes for along with his nine the Malfoys themselves controlled the votes for Malfoy, Lovegood, and le Fay.

Plus with Alice back, if she agreed to it they could get the votes from the last Founder which would carry a lot of weight if she voted aligned with his. After Lisa was dismissed, Harry felt like dancing or just plain skipping to class as the article in the Prophet had actually made him very happy and with the coming vote he felt like things were going his way as if he had finally drunk the liquid luck he still kept in his sock drawer in his room. Without meaning to Harry became so relaxed and content he accidentally shifted into his Animagus form for the first time.

Chapter Text

As Harry headed to his class, he began to feel a little strange thinking that someone had cast a spell on him without him realizing it and managed to get past the protections of his Lordship rings. Ducking into a nearby empty classroom, Harry felt a pulse in his gut and fell to his hands and knees. Feeling as if his skin was melting Harry opened his mouth to scream only for nothing to come out staring in horror as the hair on his hand and arms started to grow and change color before he passed out.

When he woke up, he had no idea how much time he had missed as he tried to stand up only to find he could not lift his body off his hands and feet. "I must have shifted into my Animagus form," he said to himself hearing a slight bark that seemed to accompany his words. Looking around he tried to see more of his body but he could not bend his head that far wishing he had a mirror available. Almost as soon as he thought of it the room's blackboard changed into a mirror which Harry found strange for he did not recall Sirius saying he could use magic when he had been in animal form.

Deciding to ask Professor McGonagall, Severus, or Remus about it later, he looked into the new mirror to see what animal he had become. He gave a slight bark of surprise as he looked exactly like Padfoot with two glaring differences. Rather than the black fur that Sirius had his fur looked a very light grayish-white color, but even more shocking he had two large wings that looked almost skeletal. On a whim, Harry tried to flap them and found that he actually lifted off the floor only to stop knowing that trying to learn to fly while inside a classroom was not a good idea. Though he had plans of learning how to fly as he imagined flying out of the sun and landing before Ronald and seeing his former friend most likely shit his pants at finding himself face to face with another Grim. Figuring he should shift back to human form so he could get back to class. Not really knowing how Harry just imagined himself turning back to a human looking at the blackboard mirror to see his transformation.

His eyes widened in shock as he watched his form shift but rather than turning back into a human he shifted into a six-point buck which also had skeletal wings. Thinking he had multiple forms based on his parentage both natural and blood magic Harry tried once again to turn back into a human. This time changing into a large wolf before he became a dragon. Taking a moment of rest from the transformations Harry realized that despite becoming multiple animals, something he had never heard of in regards to someone's Animagus form, the forms all had three things in common. First, all the creatures he had shifted into had the same grayish-white color as well as those skeletal wings, but he also noticed at least in the case of the wolf form was larger than a normal wolf.

Deciding to test that last thing out he saw if he could control his change a little by focusing on a form other than human as he pictured a house cat like what his former Head of House could turn into. He found himself changed into a house cat, granted as one the size of a small horse with large wings. Trying out other small animals he found no matter which form he turned into he was roughly the same size. He knew, thanks to Rita Skeeter and her Ladybug form that one could become small yet his form was always large so he wondered if it was more the size rather than the actual animal was his Animagus form. Yet guessing this did nothing to help him turn back to human making him pace back and forth within the unused classroom.

Harry suddenly had a thought that he needed Blaise and that his Husband should be able to help him change back.  Though he was not sure how or where the thought had come from. Only two things prevented him from acting on this random thought the first of which was due to all his forms so far being so large he would most likely freak out his fellow students leading him to be attacked no matter what form he used.  Secondly, was the fact that when he had entered the room he had shut the door behind him. As if in answer to his first problem he suddenly noticed that he had vanished from the mirror. Thinking he had just randomly turned into a creature that like the Muggle idea of a Vampire had no reflection he looked down and found that he could not see his own body. And seeing he had not been a Magical chameleon or any other creature that had natural abilities that would render it invisible he guessed he had subconsciously accessed his magic again.

His new ability to become invisible also helped solve the other problem as he thought of an Ape making it so he could see himself before he vanished again and went to exit the room. Once the door was open Harry shifted into the form of a lynx for its light footfalls as well as heightened senses as he headed down the corridor somehow sensing that Blaise was outside possibly at Herbology as the other boy had not taken Care of Magical Creatures. Seeing an open window he changed form as he jumped shifting into a winged snake as he flew towards the greenhouses. As he flew, he was unaware of a Red-headed woman smiling at him from high atop the Astronomy tower before she changed into a winged horse and flew away.

Seeing that his sense of Blaise had been correct, he found his Husband and friends in the middle of Herbology looking a little worried as he realized that due to their schedule, it had to be after lunch and since he had left right after breakfast they had to be wondering where he was. He wanted to go up to them to let them know he was, okay but he did not know how they would react to him suddenly appearing as a random animal so he decided to wait until after class and hope that he could get Blaise alone and somehow convince him that he was him.

He was still wondering how to get Blaise alone as the class let out only for Theo to tap Blaise on his shoulder and tell the other boy that he forgot something as he pointed back to the Greenhouse right at Harry surprising the transformed human. Blaise could not figure out what he was missing but trusted the other boy, he headed back to find what he had left behind. As soon as they were alone, Harry made himself visible again and heard Blaise let out a gasp at seeing the large serpent appear before him. Reaching for his wand in case the serpent decided to attack he watched as the creature changed into a large stag, followed by a wolf before ending in what looked to be a Grim. "Harry?" Blaise asked knowing the forms that he had been shown were all ties to his Husband's family. The Grim nodded at him with the closest thing it could do to smile at him. "Well, I see you have achieved your Animagus form.  Is that where you have been all day?" he asked

Harry shifted back into an ape so his body movements would be easier to decipher as he shrugged since it had not really been his choice. Blaise seemed to understand his movement as he reached forward and laid his hand on Harry's cheek. As soon as they make contact Harry thankfully shifts back into his normal form with a sigh of relief. "So I take it you could not become human again?" Blaise said as he wrapped Harry into a tight hug.

"I don't even know how I changed in the first place," Harry said.

"That is strange usually changing into an Animagus form from what I have heard requires a lot of meditation and time even for someone who has a natural ability for it," Blaise said. "And then there is the fact that you had multiple forms, I have never even heard of something like that happening.  And those wings attached to each form, I would not even know who to ask about it."

"I was thinking of Professor McGonagall as she is the only Animagus I know, though Professor Snape or Lupin might know as well due to the time they spent with the Marauders," Harry said.

"Well, how about you go talk to Professor McGonagall while I go and talk to Severus? You should talk to her anyway after being out of class for half the day as it is," Blaise said as he let go of Harry and began to walk away. He only made it a few steps before he realized something was wrong as he turned to see Harry revert to an animal form again, this one a winged horse. Harry gave a whiny of annoyance when Blaise noticed that there was a saddle on his back. Figuring Magic was trying to tell them something Blaise gave Harry an apologetic look as he swung himself into the saddle.

Once Blaise was seated perfectly, Harry's large skeletal wings shot out and the transformed human began to fly.  Harry took a moment to get baring before he flew to the top of the Astronomy Tower but rather than landing Harry circled the tower as if looking for something before flying to another tower and doing the same. As Harry flew around the fourth highest tower at Hogwarts something strange happened, which considering everything that had happened so far after breakfast was saying something. Blaise found Harry had made both of them invisible as he sank towards the roof of the tower and actually moved through it as the bricks and mortar were mist.

When they stopped, Blaise found that they were in the Headmaster's office to find the man throwing a fit due to that morning article as well as the fact his weapon was missing. Figuring that he was talking about Harry caused both boys to get angry as Blaise wanted to pull out the Elder Wand and curse the old bastard while Harry showed his displeasure by shifting into his Grim form. But before they could react, the man sat down as if he were weary and took off the glamour on his right arm. Blaise gave a shocked gasp as he watched the perfectly normal-looking arm into a charred mess as well as a black ring with a ruby on the ring finger.

Unseen by all three in the lower office a gaunt pale man and the redheaded woman looked down at the ring on Dumble's hand from the upper balcony. "It should be soon Master," the woman said leaning into the man.

"I know love," the male said as with a snap of his fingers his future Master and partner were taken out of the office and the block on Harry's human form was removed.

Blaise was shocked finding that he and Harry were no longer in the Headmaster's office but rather back in the greenhouse. Sliding of Harry's back he was glad to see the other change back into human form and collapse into his arms. "How long have you been able to do that?" Blaise asked.

"Didn't know I could, as if I was a puppet," Harry said weakly finding it hard to keep his eyes open before he passed out. Rather than take Harry to the Hospital Wing not trusting someone not to go running to Dumbles if he had to leave Harry there alone, Blaise hoisted his Husband into his arms and carried him down to Professor Snape's office and waited for the man to finish his lessons for the day.

When the Potions Master turned D.A.D.A Professor found they were there, he was not amused as Dumbles had been getting on his case for Harry's disappearance saying that McGonagall had never had such a problem with the lad. He was not angry at either of them, though just the old fool, as he ushered them into his chambers and had Blaise lay Harry onto a couch. Blaise informed him of what had happened leaving nothing out even how they had somehow moved through the walls of the castle and into the Headmaster's office. Severus was shocked for despite his time as a spy for both sides he had not detected the Glamour on the man's arm not that he thought that Blaise was lying to him. He was also puzzled by Harry's multiple animal forms as well as the abilities he had used making them not only invisible but immaterial so that Albus with all his power had not even detected them inside his own office.

After listening to Blaise's story, Severus cast a quick diagnostic spell on Harry and found he was suffering from nothing more than Magical Exhaustion. Heading back to his personal Potions lab, Severus began to brew a quick cure not wanting Harry to miss any more time than he had today knowing how Albus felt to the boy at the moment he would use it as an excuse to give the boy detention so that he could be alone with him and try to get him back under his control.

Returning with the potion he handed it to Blaise who lifted Harry's head into his lap and poured the potion down his Husband's mouth who instantly woke back up feeling as if he had slept for a full week. "Morning, Blaise," he said with a smile

"Good evening, Harry," Blaise said back with a smile down at his mate.

An unknown and unseen plane of existence

"It is all coming together m'lord" a being known, as Seer stated.

"Yes, the vote has been cast while the so-called Light Lord was distracted by Harry's disappearance," one of the pair of Tricksters stated as her companion laughed.

"The attack will be in four days," Death's two most devoted servants said together like they always did.

"That is wonderful news, it will be good to have a rest," Death said looking at his five servants who had served him well all these years while his partner sat beside him.

Chapter Text

The day after Harry had found his Animagus form, he received a letter from Madam Bones letting him know that the votes had been cast and the attack on Voldy's forces was planned to take place in three days.  Since it was his plan and they needed him to let them pass the Wards, she would be coming to pick them up on the day of the attack. Harry had written back to ask if Blaise could come as well for emotional support. Madam Bones agreed since due to the marriage the property now belonged to both of them and how old it was Blaise might need to deal with the Wards as well.

On the day of the attack, Madam Bones came to collect them letting them know that during the vote they had misled the Wizengamot on the location and time of attack so that if Voldy had any support in the governing body, they would end up giving him wrong information. The only downside was even if he was no longer in charge of the body Albus had found out when the real attack was to happen, thanks to some of his supporters in the Auror's Office who were the only ones who knew when it was all going down. So it was that for added protection against not only Voldy's forces but Albus as well Harry brought his Cloak of Invisibility.

Since Harry was the only one who could locate the Castle, he led Madam Bones as she performed Side-Along Apparation with him and Blaise. Having arrived outside the Wards to not set off any alarms inside before the attack, she left to gather the full platoon of Aurors and other Magical Law Officers.   Harry slipped the cloak over himself and Blaise as they entered the property and got their first look at Slytherin Castle. Not as big as Hogwarts, of course, the Castle had standards hanging from the three towers of the five-story castle, the standards showed the colors of Slytherin but rather than the plain snake that was used at Hogwarts the snake was a Basilisk.

Knowing they had at least a half-hour before the Ministry forces were assembled, Harry and Blaise tried to find out of the way spot which would still allow them to witness everything as they waited for the message that it was time. Hermione had lent Harry some of her message coins from the year before so that they could send messages with the Auror forces. Finding a good spot, Blaise sat down and pulled Harry into his lap so that the cloak would completely cover them due to Blaise's height which was even bigger than Ron's who always caused the legs to be seen if they used the cloak at the same time.

As Harry sat in his Husband's lap, he pulled out the coin to watch for the sign to start summoning Lisa to let her know the attack was coming having her stay with them until it started. The Elf was overjoyed that the faker would soon be out of the Castle and then maybe the young Lord Slytherin would come to stay for a while. When Harry got the three-minute warning Harry sent Lisa back into the building to let the other House Elves know that it was time to cast the spell to make sure their wands would stay behind as they were expelled from the castle. Lisa herself started the ritual which would place Slytherin's magic dampener cuff on Voldemort's wrist of his wand hand. As Harry watched the seconds on the message coin tick down the pair of Husbands worked together to take down the Castle's Wards which once they were gone was a signal for the Aurors to move in as well as the Slytherin Elves to expel Voldy and his forces.

At the appointed time it was as if the Death Eaters Apparated into the grounds of Slytherin Castle as Harry and Blaise watched each one of them either pat themselves or look at their hands as if trying to figure out where their wand had gone. After a moment of confusion, they all turned to look at a bald man with snake-like features. "Whoever did this will pay," the man said making the two guess that they were looking at the Dark Lord as the Aurors, Law Enforcement, as well as Dumbledore, all move in with their wands out pointed at the group of maybe thirty to forty Death Eater and their Master. Despite not having his wand Voldy sneered at the approaching Ministry forces as he raised his hand as if to perform some wandless magic only to shout in pain and fall to his knees as trying to cast magic activates Salazar's Cuff. Immediately several of the Death Eaters leap into action as they pull out conventional weapons.

Harry was able to recognize one Wizard, McNair pull a pair of axes out of his belt, most likely used at his job as a Ministry Executioner. Mcnair then tossed one of the axes to a fellow former Ministry worker of Rookwood who easily caught it and gave the other man a slight salute. Several of the windlass humans extended their hands letting out claws showing them to be part of Fenrir Grayback's werewolf pack, but Harry's attention to a skinny teenager that he recognized as the conductor of the Knight Bus, Stan Shunpike, reach down and pull a nasty looking Dagger from his boot. Maybe five of the group of Death Eaters who had no weapons gulped as they knelt on the ground and placed their hands above their heads in surrender to the Ministry forces.

"Really you think Muggle weapons will help you?" one of the Aurors said with a laugh as he shot a stunner at McNair who moved his ax into position to take the spell. To the Auror's amazement, the spell hit the weapon and broke with no real damage.

"Man could he not see that all the weapons are Goblin-made and able to block magic?" Harry whispered to Blaise somehow able to know this as soon as he laid eyes on the weapons

"I don't know Harry it seems so obvious," Blaise whispered back as he hugged Harry tighter to his chest "but at least it seems Salazar's Cuffs appear to work as intended."

As the two hidden Sixth-Years had their whispered conversation Madam Bones started to organize her forces making several of them aim at each Death Eater so they would be unable to block all the spells shot at them. But before she could order the attack Dumbles decided to get involved screaming something along the lines of "He is trying to get away."

Albus was furious that this was all happening though he knew that it would be a good thing for Tom's death.  But as he had no part in planning this attack he would get no credit if it succeeded. This was doubly true when he saw the magic dampening cuff on Tom which meant it would cut off the man from his Horcruxes and if he was killed they would be unable to save him. Knowing that he could not allow that to happen and let one of these Ministry fools defeat Tom once and for all, he aims his new wand at the cuff. "He is trying to get away," he screamed making anyone not paying attention to him a reason behind his attack. Albus smiled as he cast a Reductor Maximum at the cuff utterly destroying it. Hiding his smile as he turns his expression into a look of shock as Voldy lets out a bone-chilling laugh.

"You fools think not having a wand will stop me, I will be your death," Voldy cries out as a simple wave of his hand causes a shock wave to blast rock and dirt at the Ministry forces. As he does so his followers seem to gain some strength as they start to go on the offensive with the human werewolves rushing forward to attack while the ones holding the Goblin weapons suddenly gain the ability to focus their magic through them and cast spells. Harry starts to turn his head to the side and as soon as he stops the Auror he turned to is ripped apart by three of the wolves, but rather than keep watching he turns again to focus on one of the wolves blown back into a tree and collapsed into a heap twitching. In fact, as Blaise watched every time Harry focused on someone, that person was knocked out of the fight in some way or other never looking at them longer than that no matter what side they were on.

Cracking his knuckles, Voldemort stepped towards Albus and began to cast powerful wandless magic at the man who with an agility surprising for a man so old, easily sidestepped them casting his own spells back at the Dark Wizard who avoided them as well. Meanwhile, McNair, Rookwood, and Shunpike began to square off against Madam Bones, Shacklebolt, and Tonks in a duel. McNair turned out to be rather deadly as he cast spells from the ax while still using it to slash at Madam Bones who was doing her best to avoid being hit by either spell or blade.

Meanwhile, Shackelbolt was winning mostly due to Rookwood's seeming unfamiliarity with using the ax as he made clumsy sweeping blows that left many openings for the Auror to launch counter-attacks. The strange thing was no matter what spell he used, or how powerful he cast it Rookwood was able to get hit with little seemingly little effect to him. Tonks was surprised that she was having such trouble with Shunpike having recognized him as the conductor as well as a student from her time at Hogwarts who was a few years younger than she was. Even with all her Auror training, she was barely holding her own against him that is until she heard a clunk behind her and turned to see Alastor who with a smack of his staff on the ground sent the man flying backward as if he was a bowling ball knocking over several human form werewolves as he went. With a slight nod, the Ex-Auror turned to the side as Fenrir made a sweep at him with his claws.

Rather than using his staff or magic, Moody bent his head backward before slamming it full force into the Werewolf Alpha's face knocking him back a few steps before using his staff to sweep Fenrir's legs out from under him before knocking him out with his staff. With the appearance of Moody, it appeared that the battle was shifting in the Ministry forces' favor as he led the second wave of fresh Aurors into the field of battle. Free from having to handle Shunpike, Tonks turned to help Shacklebolt deal with Rookwood casting spell after spell into the man's broad back but still, the tall dark-haired man hardly seemed to feel the attacks. Suddenly getting an idea Tonks ran to pick up the dagger dropped by Shunpike as he had been blasted away only to trip over her own feet actually running into Rookwood's back herself causing the man to stumble forward. Seeing that the physical attack had worked better than all the spells he had been basting Kingsley punched the man in the jaw knocking him back and causing him to trip over Tonks and fall backward. As Rookwood fell backward he lost his grip on the borrowed act sending it flying right into McNair's back right as he was about to launch the killing blow on Amelia.

Harry watched with a slight smile on his face as he watched McNair give a choked scream falling to his knees while coughing out some blood. As a man who had been handling his own against one of the few people Voldemort considered close to being an equal let out a last gasp as with another cough of blood the man fell to the ground dead. As Harry kept watching it was as if he could see the life leave the Death Eater who had brought death to so many humans and creatures as both a supporter of Voldy but also as the Ministries top executioner. "Harry, are you alright?' Blaise asked as Harry felt a need to get to McNair's body like he had when he had flown Blaise into the Headmaster's office less than a week ago.

"Can't.... tell..... need," Harry struggled to get out but what he needed was never said as his view of McNair was broken as Albus was pushed backward by one of Voldemort's spells.

Albus was no longer just play-fighting to give Tom a chance to flee so that the man would leave which would allow his weapon could finish him off later but as more of the man's followers were either captured or killed by the Ministry forces the stronger Tom seemed to get.  Albus actually has to get serious. As the Glamour he had around his arm was a waste of magic, he could not deal with at the moment he let it go letting his right arm shift to its dead form and letting the Resurrection Stone be seen.

Seeing the stone and knowing that the old fool had found and possibly destroyed one of his Horcruxes even if it cost the man his arm to do it, made Voldemort gather his magic into his hands before him as if in prayer with the tips of his fingers aimed towards the Headmaster. Separating his hands he used his magic to create a hair-fine sting of magic before sending it at the man. Due to how fine the weave of magic was, Albus only became aware of it as the cutting spell sliced the fingers of his right hand off.

Due to the hand already being utterly dead, Albus did not react to losing his finger apart from a raised eyebrow as he cast a powerful counter at Tom who with lighting-fast reflexes cast his spell to blast into Dumbles causing an explosion sent the fingers and rings flying away for the pair. By either chance or directed by Fate herself the ring containing the Resurrection Stone flew right at the place Blaise and Harry were sitting still under the cloak. Afraid of what would happen if the ring appeared to hit nothing before falling to the ground for any watching Death Eater both boys reached out to grab the ring in hopes that if they enclosed their fists around it the cloak would make it seem to have vanished.

As if somehow the ring sensed them its trajectory changed as it spun in the air before flying right through the cloak and slipping onto a finger. Suddenly the world seemed to stop causing the two Sixth-Year students to look around in shock wondering if the two spells cast by the Dumbles and Voldy had broken time. "What is going on why are we the only ones not affected?" Harry asked turning to look up at Blaise.

"I don't know, Love," Blaise said looking around the field of battle that had once been the peaceful grounds of Slytherin Castle which was now filled with the fallen forms of Death Eaters and Ministry forces alike.

"I can answer that one," a voice said causing them both to look up in shock as out of the frozen explosion of Dumbes and Voldy's spells rode a gaunt man on a pale horse.

"Who are you?" Harry asked drawing his wand.

"Why my boy, I am your ancestor Siegfried Peverell," the man said sliding off the horse and pulling up an unseen cowl shifting his form to that of a man of about fifty with shoulder-length black hair who had one black eye and one gray with smooth skin quite different from the gaunt craggy face he had just had.

"That can't be according to the test of the Goblins you were not listed on it the oldest one still alive is Godric Gryffindor who can not regain human form," Harry said still pointing his wand at the man.

"Ah there is a simple explanation for that," the man said petting his steed's flank before it changed into a red-headed woman who looked a little familiar to Harry though he could not place it. "You see your test did not register me, for I am Death."

"Don't you mean dead? Is that why the world is suddenly frozen?  Are Harry and I  dead?" Blaise asked tightening his grip around Harry's waist

This caused the man to throw back his head in laughter as he laughed until the woman elbowed him in the gut. "Sorry about that," the man said wiping a tear from his eye. "That was the first thing I asked as well when I took over. You know let's have a change of venue," the man said as with a simple wave of his hand their surroundings changed into a cozy little sitting room with two chairs. Siegfried held the woman's hand as he took one of the chairs letting her settle onto the floor at his feet and use his thigh as a headrest smiling at Blaise and Harry who took the other chair with Harry still sitting on his husband's lap.

"Now where to begin?" Siegfried muttered to himself tapping his chin with a finger letting the pair of them see another ring that held a Resurrection Stone in it. "Well, I guess the best place would be the actual beginning.  I can assume you have both heard about the birth of magic on this world?" he asked and got a nod from both of them as they recalled Luna's story on Fae Magic. "Well before the five shared the gift of magic with humans, the Five had to come into being themselves. Don't ask me how it was before my time, but at some point in the lost past of this planet, five beings either were themselves created by an even more powerful source or were brought about by the ancients gaining incredible powers. One of which was the first Death," the man said.

"What do you mean the first Death surely there can be only one Death?" Harry asked leaning towards the man.

"As a matter of fact, I am actually the fourth being to hold the title of Master of Death," Siegfried stated. "Anyway as time went on and the population of the Earth grew, the original Death found the job too much for themselves so they created a challenge for the mortals with the reward of the person who completed the challenge would become the next Death."

"What was the challenge?" Blaise asked.

"That I can not say as each Death has picked their own challenge for their successor it might have been for the person to actually kill Death since there are legends about doing so would make one take over the role in various parts of the world,' Siegfried said with a shrug. "Well, one of the first things this new Death did was create a position for someone to help them in watching over the end of a being's life. This is how I know that I am the fourth Death for each new death creates a new position and as of right now there are three under me." For a moment Harry and Blaise see the shadowing forms of five people standing behind Siegfried and the red-headed woman before they are gone again.

"When I first assumed the role of Death a little over eight hundred years or so ago, I created the position of the Lovers which I staffed with my only Daughter and her Husband," Siegfried said.

"That hardly seems proper," Harry said a hint of disapproval in his voice causing Siegfried to laugh again.

"Not proper, I just achieved my life's work in creating what is now known as the Deathly Hallows only for some man claiming to be Death telling me I had won his challenge and was going to be Death myself. Yes, I got to pick the people who would fill the position of Death's council but as my Sons did not fit the requirements of the other positions and were well on their own way to doing great things.  I made a position for my daughter so I would not have to bear to see her die just as I did with my wife," Siegfried said running a hand through the hair of the red-headed woman leaning against his legs. "As for my sons, I gave each of them one of the items I had created to pass down their own lines, only to see my two eldest Sons misuse my gifts causing them to die but also lose my gifts to them.  Leaving the Elder Wand being passed around like an old blanket while the Resurrection Stone's true purpose was forgotten about. Unfortunately with the population of the world going through such a serge in my tenure as Death I was finding it hard to keep up even with my council so I decided to place my challenge for my successor by having whoever gained proper control of my three creations would become the new Master of Death," Siegfried said smiling at the pair.

"Wait are you saying I am, the new Death?" Harry asked in shock.

Chapter Text

At Harry's question, Siegfried once more threw his head back and let out a loud laugh while the woman curler around his feet chuckled. "No my dear descendant, you are not Death," Siegfried said when he could speak again.

"But you said who gained control of the Deathly Hallows becomes Death, and I have done so," Harry said a little stubbornly not that he wanted to become Death or anything.

"You may have possessed them at one moment, but you had not gained control of them," Siegfried pointed out. "In fact which of you is wearing the ring containing my Resurrection Stone?" he asked causing both young men to look down at their hands having completely forgotten for the moment that the ring had actually gone through the cloak and onto one of their fingers.

"It is on mine," Blaise said.

"Correct you are also in the possession of the Elder Wand?" Siegfried asked lifting a knowing eyebrow.

"I still am, I just gave it to Blaise for our wedding gift," Harry said.

"And what a beautiful ceremony it was by the way, though I am afraid I had to dash right after you were bonded to give Lady's Magic's message to your Muggle family," Siegfried said.

"You came?" Blaise and Harry asked at the same time.

"Of course, I did my Seer, the first position created by the Second Death for the Council, and kept track of all the likely candidates to replace me."

"There were others, but my family has never lost control of the Cloak?' Harry asked scratching his head in confusion.

"True but there were some Magicals who were starting to make their own versions of the Cloak and if any of them had succeeded all they would need to do is to find the Ring and Wand. I must inform you that in the last couple of years, two Wizards and a Witch have created their own nearly identical versions of the Cloak," Siegfried said as with a wave of his hand a cup of tea appeared. "Would you like anything?" he asked.

"Um no thank you not at this moment," Blaise said.

"No but speaking of Cloaks even if the Ring ended up on Blaise's hand and I gave him the Wand, I never handed over the Cloak," Harry said sure this would prove that neither of them was Death,

"True you had not passed the Cloak into his hands, but when the Ring came onto his finger he owned the Elder Wand and you were both using the Cloak," Siegfried said.

"Sound a little too much like a loophole," Blaise said removing one of his arms from around Harry's waist to rub his chin.

"I told you so dear," the red-headed woman said leaning back and looking up at the man.

"Hey, the Lady accepted it.  Do you want to tell her that my challenge is void due to a loophole?" Siegfried asked making all three shake their heads at him. "Good, now as I was saying, I have grown a little tired and overworked watching over the process of Death with the large population on this planet so I talked to the Lady to declare a contest to find my successor. I had imagined that that would be the end of it but it seems that the process was a little more complicated as the Lady had the members of the Five "Immortals" select a champion from the likely candidates."

"Why?" Harry asked, "I mean what is the point of selecting a champion?"

"Well it does get rather boring all the time just doing our jobs so we tend to take games of chance based on what humans do without our interference this goes from anything such as what a person might choose to eat for dinner, to if certain people end up together," Siegfried explained.* "Anyway some ground rules were established such as if the person was a Magical human they would have a certain Animagus form as well as they would be able to easily find their Soulmate."

"But Blaise has not found his Animagus form I did?" Harry said leaving Blaise's lap and wagging his finger at the man making Blaise laugh a little to see Harry stand up to Death.

"True, in fact, you were my chosen Champion Harry," Siegfried explained, "but when you handed over the Elder Wand with no fight or anything it shifted things giving you the same Animagus form that all Soulmates of the Master of Death possess."

"You mean that is actually a thing?" Harry asked lowering his hands to his side.

"Of course it is my dear," the woman said pushing herself off of the floor and moving to stand before Harry. "I have the same form as well. I can tell you it was quite a shock the first time I used it since before it happened I had the form of a small white rabbit only to shift into a bloody giant pale bunny with wings out in my garden."

"I don't mean to be rude, but who are you?" Harry asked gazing deeply at the woman trying to figure out why her face looked so familiar to him.

"Oh sorry I am Isabella Perevell nee Beswick third daughter of the line and your Great to the nth degree Grandmother," Isabella said pulling Harry into a tight hug. As she does so something clicks into place in his memory as the old description of Death arriving on a Pale Horse. And that was the form he had taken right before he Blaise had ridden him and they had made their way into Dumbles' office. "I see you realized what the form you take now," Isabella said.

"But the classic description is of a Pale Horse it does not mention bone-like wings or any other animal," Harry said.

"True but it seems, according to the Steed before me that one of the first times the future Master of Death rides our Animagus form we always end up in the form of the Pale Horse and will use some form of travel to give them a clue in Death Challenge," Isabelle said shifting her form slightly to show off her own Pale Horse.

As Harry and Isabella chatted, Siegfried explained more about Death's actual role in the world. "Now it is not actually necessary for Death to get personally involved with each person's death, nor even the members of his Council," Siegfried stated. "As Death, you only involve yourself in the Death of people Fate and Destiny have decided were of great importance to the world as a whole, or if someone due to some sort of magic, ritual, or as you would put it Muggle science, that is causing something more harmful than good to the person. I do not mean someone under a life support spell or machine I am referring to certain dark rituals which leave a person in a constant Death-like state as their magic, money, or some such is taken from them. But the last reason Death becomes involved is when the safety of the Earth itself for a person or group of people must die. In fact, if you choose to become Death that will be your first task," Siegfried said taking a sip of his tea.

"Wait I get to choose whether or not I become Death what happens if I choose not to?" Blaise asked.

"Then everything that had been put in place for you or Harry to gain the role will be taken away," Siegfried said sadly.

"That does not seem too bad," Blaise said unable to figure out why the man was sad.

"You do not get it.  What I am about to show you is not a bribe or form of blackmail but just what would have happened if neither of you was selected as Champions for the Contest," Siegfried said with a snap of his fingers Blaise's mind is filled with images. He sees Harry never getting free of all the spells and Potions he had been under as Albus leads him like a calf to the slaughter as this alternate form of his Husband walks to a duel with the Dark Lord and despite the fact he had collected the Hallows he does not become Death. 

Harry is led into a forced marriage with Ginny becoming a slave in his own home once again, Ginny uses his money to live the life she dreamed of as she goes to bed with a different person every night while Harry is unable to ever look for someone to sleep with that is not her. They are often visited by Ron and his "wife" Hermione who it seems had to work multiple hard-paying jobs to support him not even knowing that Ginny was sending large sums of Harry's money for her brother and parents to live on.

He then saw his alternate self lying dead in the ruins of Hogwarts where Voldemort was finally defeated only mourned by Draco who was carted off to Azkaban to serve a couple of years before being released and forced into marriage with Pansy who made his life so horrible the blonde decided to take his own life. Seeing his blonde best friend die he tries to look for the others finding Luna ostracized due to her gift in Fae Magic before she leaves the country to live with a colony of other Fae users in the Brazilian Rainforest. But for some reason, Blaise could not find his other friends, such as Theo and Katie he could not see images of them at all.

"Blaise, are you alright?" Harry said coming over and placing a hand on his Husband's shoulder. Grasping the hand in his Blaise pulls Harry once more into his lap and kisses his temple. "Blaise?" Harry asked worriedly up at him.

"I have to accept the position, Harry," Blaise said placing his chin on the top of Harry's head and wrapping his arms tightly around the smaller male's waist as if fearing he would vanish from his grip.

"What?!?" Harry asked in shock "You are willing to become Death why?"

"If I don't it is just too horrible," Blaise began before he placed the Elder Wand to his heart before moving it to Harry's letting the other see his memories of the alternate life. Harry was horrified as he watched what happened to the others and tears began to fall from his eyes.

As Blaise comforts him Harry thinks about what Isabelle had told him about being the Steed of Death it was not like a pet to an owner she had said that she and Siegfried were equals, though he just rode her Animagus form to travel to locations where some of their reaps were to take place. Isabella also pointed out some things to Harry making some more things click in his mind. Such as why when he and Blaise would cuddle in the Slytherin Common Rooms he would find it most comfortable either sitting in Blaise's lap or leaning against his thighs as if the part of him that was Death's Steed recognized that was his proper place. Or the fact that right after he had shared memories with Blaise on the train he had gained the talent of Magical Empathy when it had not been listed on the test from Gringotts. Isabella explained that the gift was another skill used by Death Steed to help find the special ones that Death himself had to go in person to collect.

Saying this Harry recalled the battle he and Blaise had just been watching where he had seemed to know ahead of time where someone would fall or in the case of McNair felt a need to go over to the man even if it meant revealing his and Blaise's presence to the Death Eaters and Dumbles. Not to mention that when he first shifted into his Animagus form he had somehow been able to turn invisible despite that being something that should have been impossible. He had talked with Hermione about it later and she said that in Animagus form a person only had access enough to Magic to change back to normal, but Harry had changed a blackboard into a mirror, turned invisible, and even immaterial allowing him to go through the highly protective walls of Hogwarts as if they were air. Then there was the fact that he had been unable to change back into a human, even for a moment until they had made physical contact with each other. Also despite Siegfried saying he had chosen Harry as his champion for the Death Contest, Harry did not think he was ever meant to have won it for if it required fully mastering the Hallows he had proven they did not affect him he had felt to tug from the Elder Wand whatsoever.

In fact, he had felt it right to give the wand to Blaise without a second thought or the fact that even before turning over the wand to him thus pulling himself out of the running to become Death, he liked to work on his homework leaning against Blaise's lower body. And finally, there were the memories Blaise had shared with him on the train and all he had done to protect Harry these years at Hogwarts as best he could going well beyond normal reactions to someone he had a Marriage contract with. Harry had actually checked talking with one of the few couples that had been relieved to have known about their contract before school started, Ernie McMillan and Susan Bones. Susan who had been listed as the dominant based on Magic had said that while she looked after Ernie, mostly making sure to not make him step on too many people's toes, she had never once been able to cast a spell she had not even learned yet to protect Ernie nor was she able to send him a burst of her own magic like Blaise had done for him over the years. It was as if the signs had always been there he had just not known to look for them.

Turning to Blaise with his mind full of this most recent settling of his mind Harry states, "I think you are right, you must take the role with me as your Steed."

"But I would not want to be with you in that way Harry," Blaise said only for Isabella to start laughing.

"Do you really think we are nothing more than your Steeds, when a Champion is chosen it makes it easier for them to find their Soulmates. The Steeds are Death's Soulmate we gain immortality with them and live with them as we would in life only in our Animal forms while helping take Death to reap or doing an important task for them," Isabella said. "I have helped my husband during his time as Death just as the previous Steeds did for their Mates during their tenure and Harry will do for you we are not servants or pets just your Mate and ally."

"If you say so," Blaise said still not sounding completely convinced.

"Don't worry, you will discover the truth as time goes on," Siegfried said. "Now before you fully take the mantle of Death there are some things we need to air out first of all you can still live your life as you see fit even going to school and getting a job maybe even having kids," he said raising an eyebrow at them making the pair blush. "But there shall come a day when you fully take up the role of Death and your living bodies with just fade from the memories of people they will know of you but will not recall you dying just seeing to have gone on a long trip away. But before then you will need to participate in your first reap as well as create your Council from people from your life."

"What are all the roles in the Council you mentioned the Seer and your daughter and her husband are known as the Lovers are there more?" Blaise asked.

"Do you both accept your new roles as Death and Steed?" Siegfried asked standing up and pulling his cowl back up causing him to shift into the visage of the gaunt man again.

"We do," both Blaise and Harry said as they bowed their heads to the man.

"Then I would like to introduce you to my Council who like myself will remain long enough to help you learn your roles before we all pass on," Siegfried said as five people appeared behind him robed in different colored robes. "As the first position created the Seer is meant for someone with either the sight or some small ability in old magic leading me to choose my mentor, Shelvaya Wyllt younger sister to Merlin himself," he said as the woman in a white robe stepped forward pulling off her cowl showing a wrinkled and smiling face with her hair tied up in a bun. "The next positions are that of the Tricksters who I choose my two best friends, Donna and Jack," leading the pair in bright yellow polka-dotted robes to come forward to reveal a fit seeming middle-aged man with a very militarist set to his face and a woman with red hair who waved at them using all her fingers. "And finally there was my addition to the Council the Lovers my daughter and her husband, or as you may know them, Theo and Katie," Siegfried said as a pair came forward in matching robes of light red pulling off their hoods to show the faces of Theodore Nott the second and Katie Bell who smiled at them before they began to grow older until they appeared to be around the ages of twenty-five.

"Wait What?!?" Harry and Blaise asked dumbfounded.

"Yeah since I had selected you as my Champion, I had them look out for you," Siegfried said sounding as if he was blushing a little.

"I hope you are not too mad at us," the now older Katie said as she and Theo approached them arms wrapped around each other's waist.

"But if you knew who you were, why did you act so shocked when Katie was said to be your partner in your Marriage Contract?" Harry asked.

"Ah well we both had roles to play we could not get too close to each other when we were at school without raising some suspicion so had to wait until someone pushed us together again, but at least we had the summers and the Yule," Theo said as he nuzzled Katie's neck.

"Yeah we had to look after you both knowing some of what Dumbles had planned thanks to Shelvayabut we could not do too much even to get you to meet each other properly we were to just watch and support," Katie said leaning into Theo's nuzzling.

"But, but I meet your dad?" Blaise said looking at the older version of his friend.

"Point of order, you actually meet me," Jack said with a smile as Donna began to chuckle. "And what a prank that was, being all dark and brooding."

"Any way you will need to think of people you wish to have on your Council, for you will need to fill it after your first reap," Siegfried said.

"And when will that happen?" Blaise said steeling himself to take someone's life even if all he was going to do was to claim their Souls so that they may find peace.

"As soon as you are ready your first reap will take place at the Battle of Slytherin Castle," Siegfried said as his council seems to fade away and Isabella shifts into the Pale Horse.

"But how will I do it exactly?" Blaise asked as Harry follows Isabella's example changing into his winged-Grim from and lowering himself for Blaise to get on his back.

"That is what I will show you, my boy," Siegfried said as he motioned for Blaise to get onto Harry's back and pulled out his wand. As he does so the wand in his hands shifts to that of a small curved blade reinstatement of a scythe that was usually associated with Death and the room they were in vanishes from sight.

Chapter Text

Rather than find themselves back on the ground of Slytherin Castle and the battle between the Ministry Forces and the Death Eaters, Blaise and Harry found themselves in an endless void as Siegfried rode up on Isabella to walk beside them. "Now before we get to your first reaping of a Soul there are a few things you should both know. I know you might feel bad about the idea of taking a life but being Death is a natural part of this and every world. This does not make us evil for we are doing it to move the humans to their next stage.

Sort of like the old tales of the ferrymen who shepherded the dead across the river Styx so that they could enjoy paradise or be resurrected for their next life. All life must end no matter the life they lead or thought they lead for good, ill, or anywhere in between. But as I said earlier most deaths will actually work themselves out without either you or a member of your Council being there to help guide it. But don't worry for Harry as your steed will know which Deaths you will need to do personally thanks to his emphatic senses while your Council will have their own way of finding the Deaths that they deal with that even I don't know of," Siegfried said.

"So how do I actually take the Soul or Life whatever?" Blaise asked.

"Well that is actually up to you," Siegfried said "My predecessor tended to use Death's Scythe to slash into the person to collect the Soul which I always thought would cause a person to die, no matter in what way it happened, in too much pain. I prefer to rest my hand on the person's shoulder, back whatever, and draw out the Soul and let them go in peace. I shall warn you that if you do something similar to this method you do pick up stray thoughts and memories along with the Soul."

"What do I do after I collect the Soul like do I measure it or something to determine if it goes to Paradise or Damnation? Blaise asked while Harry nodded his head at the question.

"You know you can speak as well Harry," Isabella said using her magic to share her thoughts without using her mouth. "Just let it out and your magic will do the rest."

"Okay testing one, two, three," Harry tried.

"I can hear you, Love," Blaise said leaning forward and scratching Harry behind his ears which would have made Harry blush if he had been in human form.

Siegfried chuckled at the pair for a moment before he finally answered Blaise's last question. "That is actually not our department we just collect the Souls before passing them along to a group under both Fate and Destiny called The Librarians."

"The Librarians really what is everyone's life just a big book?" Harry asked with a snort.

"Actually, yes as each Soul is given to them it is placed on well I don't know what they call it but I like to think of it as their Life Book," Isabella said. "As the Soul is placed all that it had gone through in life is recorded into the book. So that by the end the Librarians can tell by the color on the cover if they lead a good life, neutral, or just plain bad before they deal with the Souls."

"Yes also if you ever get bored you can ask them to take out one of these Life Books to read at your leisure, though I would suggest not doing it for those closest to you for it tells of all their secrets for both good and ill that they had kept in their life," Siegfried said patting Isabella's neck. "Now as you saw the Elder Wand has become your Scythe and as you can guess the Cloak remains as your cloak the Resurrection Stone of all three of Death's treasures is a little different on this side of things. Rather than piercing the Veil as it does for when a Mortal uses it its actual job is to gather the Soul of a person into it. From what I have been told, as no person who had become Death has experienced it, when the Soul is taken into the stone they get to see their loved one from throughout their lives comforting them before they make the journey. And while the Stone appears to be small it can hold many Souls inside what was our biggest number dear?"

"I believe that at one time you had collected a little over seventy-one souls at once before we had time to get it to the Library my sweet," Isabella said.

"And that was not even close to filling it up," Siegfried said with a laugh. "Now that is the basics you will learn more as you get into it but now I think it is time for you to reap your first Souls, I will walk you through the process and I have a feeling due to how much pain they have put you both through you will do it just fine."

Suddenly the location changed again as they found themselves back in the Slytherin Castle grounds looking at the spells of Dumbles and Voldy working against each other as both men tried to once and for all get rid of each other. Seeing them both Harry and Isabelle's Emphatic senses perked up knowing that both were close to Death. "Now, here is a problem for you both.   The self-proclaimed Lords of Light and Dark are close to death if you claim one Soul it might allow the other to live not even going into what will happen with the spell or the aftermath of the single death what do you do?" Siegfried asked as he and Isabella moved off to the side allowing Blaise and Harry to work it out themselves. Blaise's mind raced not wanting either of the men to live after what they had not only done to Harry but the whole of Magical Britain. It seems he did not have much time to decide as the two looked ready to pass out as it was and he had a feeling that since he was now Death no one would die until he made this first collection. Harry meanwhile was looking back and forth between the pair having shifted into the traditional Pale Horse for this and felt like the answer was staring him in the face if only he could find it. Siegfried for his part let them work it out as he surveyed the battlefield around them which was starting to die down a little as everyone watched the battle between Albus and Tom.

Harry closed his eyes letting his Emphatic Sense work without being distracted by his eyes. Almost going into a meditative state Harry began to walk towards the battle eyes still shut tight as Blaise reminded himself that he could not get hurt and die since he was Death and in fact when Siegfried arrived earlier he had walked out of the place where Dumbles and Voldy's spells were clashing. However, as Harry began to walk towards the battling spells he had to keep reminding himself of that. Without hesitation, Harry walked into the spells as Blaise winced a little only to find that as they entered it he felt something around him that he had never felt before. It felt a little like when one felt a spell wash over his body but teamed with energy that he could not place. Reaching out he touched what appeared to be a strand of something only to gasp as he saw a scene of a man being led away in cuffs while a woman sobbed nearby and two younger kids looked on. The young boy had his arm wrapped around what had to be his little sister who was twitching and appearing to be having some sort of fit. Blaise felt sorry for the kids but he also experienced an emotion that was not his own that of anger at the man for being led away leaving him as the oldest in the house to look after his own mother and bratty younger siblings. Suddenly Blaise found himself back in the shifting well of the spells gasping for breath as he realized that he had just seen a part of either Voldy or Dumble's life.

As he went to wipe some sweat that had come to his brow at seeing and experiencing the memory his hand hit another strand of what he now knew was the pair's life force. Blaise found himself looking up at a younger version of Albus in a crushed purple velvet suit as he was told he was a Wizard hearing a voice come from his own mouth stating he could talk to snakes seeing a look of revulsion on the Headmaster's face which turned to shock as the man pulled out his wand and cast a memory charm on him. As Blaise was just witnessing the events the spell did not work on him though he felt the man's presence in the mind of what had to be younger Voldemort as he began to change the young boy's mind cutting off all forms of compassion and love as he heightened the boy's cruelty and cunning.

Once more finding himself back in the present, Blaise was horrified that Voldy was actually the creation of the Headmaster. Feeling rather disgusted with the man, Blaise took out Death's Scythe and slashed it in the air before him unknowingly severing the life essences for both men as he collected both their Souls at once. Harry feeling this starts walking again as the spell begins to dissipate without the sources of the magic involved in it stopping as both Headmaster and Dark Lord collapse to their knees before they fall to the ground both unmarked but unmistakably dead.

Suddenly the fight seemed to leave the Death Eaters' side, not only from seeing their Master dead but without him around the magic that he lent to them vanished, while in other parts of the country, some Witches and Wizards found that they felt more energized as the Magical leeches that Albus had placed on them vanished with his death letting them have access to their entire magic cores. The Ministry forces soon began to collect the remaining Death Eaters as they took notes on all the dead finding not only McNair, Voldemort, and Albus dead but several others such as to Tonks's alarm Alastor Moody who had died putting an end to Fenrir Grayback once and for all. Blaise and Harry saw none of this for as soon as they walked out of the spell having collected the Souls of both men, Siegfried rode forward and placed a hand on Blaise's arm whisking them away to the Library.

"Now before you can turn in the Souls you must first decide on not only your Council but also the new position to help you in your job," Siegfried said sliding off Isabella and letting her revert into her human form. "The only requirement is that they have to have somewhat the same nature or talents for the position. As it has always been the first role to fill is the Seer," Siegfried said as his Council appeared behind him and Isabella with Shelvaya Wyllt moving forward with a white robe of her position held in her hands.

"A Seer must have access to the gift of future sight or be able to perform old magics let them be called on to claim their role," Shelvaya said holding the white robe aloft.

Blaise and Harry had a quick whispered conversation before Blaise made his choice. "I choose Luna Lovegood as a practitioner of Fae Magic to take up the Mantle of Seer for Death's Council," Blaise loudly proclaimed as Luna appeared before him.

"Do you Luna Lovegood choose to become the Seer for Death to help guide him in his role to lead him to where he needs to be?" Shelvaya asked.

"I thought he would never ask," Luna said with a wink as she bowed a little toward Blaise and Harry and let Shelvaya place the robes on her. Once Luna's robes were in place both Seers moved to stand behind their respective Death on his right side as it spoke of the future that they both saw.

Donna and Jack stepped forward next holding out a pair of the yellow polka dot robes. "We are the Tricksters who try to keep the humor of life alive for those that die tragically we stand together as friends for those who die alone that do not wish to be so. Let the next Tricksters be called forth to take their role," Donna and Jack said in perfect unison.

After another quick conversation, Blaise spoke, "I ask for Fred and George Weasley the prankster kings and jokers to take up the role of the Tricksters."

"Well hello Harry, nice party this," Fred said smiling as he and his brother appeared.

"What can we do for you lot?" George inquired.

"You have been called forth the become part of Death's Council if you choose to accept it to help others find joy and happiness in their last moments," Donna said holding out the robe in her arms.

"Do you accept this role knowing that while you are not performing it you can live your life and take care of your Joke shop?" Jack asked.

"Can we change the color of the robes?" Fred asked making Siegfried give out his booming laugh.

"That is up to you," Donna and Jack said.

"We will do it.  Spread the joy," George said as the twins took out their wands and changed the robes to magenta like the uniform of their shop.

"Well it is nice to know the people taking over for us are doing it both on the Council and in the joke business," Donna Zonko said with a slight bow.

"Yes look after the humor my lads," Jack said as he gave the twins his card letting them know that he and Donna were the Masterminds behind Zonko's Joke Shop. The twins were floored as they took up their spots behind Harry for Blaise's Council.

Finally, Katie and Theo came forward, making Luna and the Twins gasp at seeing them there. "We are the Lovers sent to help those along that have dealt with losing their love either through their death or the death of their love. We stand to help guide true love in both Life and Death walking among those alive to help them find the love that is all around us. We also look after those who die for love let it be due to someone's jealousy over their Mate or death during a domestic dispute. The love we give and share shall help them in their next stage. Who do you wish to take our mantles?" Katie asked as she and Theo held up the light red robes.

There was no discussion this time as both Harry and Blaise gave their choice. "We would like Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy to assume the role." There was some snickering, mostly from the twins, as Hermione and Draco appeared kissing each other.

"What?" Draco asked looking around at the source of the snicker as he looked upon the gathering.

"Where are we?" Hermione asked still holding Draco's hand.

"You have both been chosen to be part of Blaise's Council," Katie said.

"Blaise's Council for what?" Draco asked.

"I have become Death," Blaise said simply

"Oh don't worry I am sure there is a spell to fix your hearing but why does he need a Council for that?" Hermione said making Fred, George, Donna, and Jack burst out in laughter.

"No Hermione he said Death as if life and death, not deaf as being unable to hear," Harry explained stepping forward.

"Okay, this is making my head hurt a little how did Blaise become Death?" Draco asked rubbing his forehead.

"Well, to make a long story short the previous Death got tired of his job and placed a challenge so that the first person who found the so-called Deathly Hallows would take over for him. Well as you know Harry already had his Cloak and had given me the Elder Wand as a wedding gift. During the battle against Voldy's forces the Resurrection stone almost literally fell into my lap so here I am the news Death," Blaise said.

"And you are okay with that Harry?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, for as it turns out Death's Soulmate is his Steed," Harry said as he shifted form into various animals for the pair.

"And what about them?" Draco asked indicating Luna, the Twins, Theo, and Katie.

"Well, Luna and the Twins have already accepted their place on my Council, and as it turns out Theo and Katie are from the Council of the former Master of Death whose position you will fill if you accept them," Blaise said patting Harry's flank as he shifted back into human form.

"And what potion is that?" Hermione asked.

"We hold the position of the Lovers who look after those who die for love, from bad love, and lost love," Theo put it simply before adding. "You will still be able to live a somewhat normal life and even have kids if you wish but until Blaise leaves his position you and the rest of his Council are basically Immortal.

"Can you give us a moment to discuss it?" Draco asked as Hermione nodded.

"Take your time dears," Isabella said

As Hermione and Draco discussed taking on the role Siegfried approached Blaise and Harry, "As they talk you might think of your new position to add to the Council you may base it on a person as I did or a need of a position like my predecessor did with the Tricksters it can be a role for two people or just one."

Harry and Blaise began to talk thinking about what type of role or person they would wish to add to the Council let it be someone like Neville who loved his plants to help those that die before they were fully grown. Or maybe someone like Tonks who was a fighter for those who died in battle either against themselves or an enemy. Maybe even someone like Snape who was a protector who would look out for people who died due to the efforts of others it was so hard for the pair to choose.

"We have made our decision," Draco and Hermione said ending Harry and Blaise as they thought of who to add to their Council making them turn to their friends.

"I can't believe I am saying this, but we accept," Draco said

"Do you Hermione Jean Granger also accept this role as well?" Katie asked.

"I do," Hermione said.

"Very well then we greet you as the last of the old Council to the new" Theo said as he and Katie put the robes of the office onto Draco and Hermione before they took their spots right behind both Blaise and Harry.

"Now as all newly made Deaths do, it is time for Blaise to add a role to this esteemed Council so my boy who do you choose and what role will they have?" Siegfried asked stepping forward.

"Well we thought of several different people such as Severus Snape but knowing that he had a love that has died we did not want to give him immortality before he got to see them again," Blaise said as both Siegfried and Draco nodded in approval. "We also thought of Neville Longbottom and his love of plants and of growth to take special care for those who died young or maybe even Nymphadora Tonks who as an Auror has seen battle and could look after those who fought and fell in them. But I think in the end we went a little differently as we chose both Neville and Tonks for the traits I have just listed but also due to their sort of accident-prone natures. So I as Death would like to create the Position of Mishap and have it be filled with both Neville Longbottom and Nymphadora Tonks." As he said their names both appeared standing in the middle of the two Councils.

Upon seeing Harry, Tonks rushed forward and pulled him into a tight hug as she cried on his shoulder. "Well we did it he is gone bu..bu...but so is Alastor," Tonks said with a sniffle

"I am sorry Tonks," Harry said rubbing the older woman's back.

"Harry, what is going on why am I here?" Neville said looking confused for he had just been tutoring some younger students in Herbology as he worked in the Green House.

"You have been summoned young Longbottom as has Tonks to take a place on what is known as Death's Council to help the current Death deal with collecting souls for people who have died," Siegfried said as both the members of the two Councils became clothed in shadows.

"WHAT?" Neville asked horrified.

"We picked you Nev due to your love of nature and helping others grow just as we picked Tonks for the warrior that she is it would be both of your responsibility to look out for those who died due to careless mistakes both at home.  Due to say someone holding a person out a second-story window only to let them go just to see if they have magic. While Tonks would be responsible for death in the fields of battle caused by accidents like a misplaced order or someone's carelessness," Harry said while he patted Tonks's back to comfort her.

"I'll do it," Tonks said with a sniff as she gave Harry a last hug before standing up.

"I guess I will as well not wanting someone to die in case they did not have magic as I did," Neville said.

"Very well you shall both take up the mantle for the job of Mishap and it shall be yours until Blaise decides to leave his post," Siegfried said as Blaise and Harry came forward and placed white robes on the pair before with a snap of his fingers Blaise changes Tonks's to the same shade of her bubble gum pink hair while Harry changes Neville's to an Earthy shade of brown. Once they were robed the rest of Blaise Council came forward to welcome them and Luna even stood on her tiptoes to kiss Neville.

"Very well now that that is all settled all but Neville and Tonks you will start your training in your new roles," Siegfried said as the old Seer, Tricksters, and Lovers led their new counterparts away. "Now I think it is time for us to take in those Souls you collected," Siegfried said as Blaise and the others followed him into the Library and to a desk occupied by a pair of friendly faces one male and one female.

"A Lord Death found your replacement already it has only been sixteen years since you issued your challenge, someone is lucky," the man said.

"Yes and we have come to measure the Souls of both Albus Dumbledore and Tom "Voldemort" Riddle," Siegfried said pushing Blaise forward to hand over the Souls. As this was his first time the pair explained how to bring forth and separate Souls as two skinny books were brought out. Once Blaise had produced the Souls he placed one each on the books which began to quickly fill up as the Souls got smaller and smaller until there was no sign of them.

"Ah a Dark Soul and a Neutral Soul we shall get these filed right away," the woman said as she and the man lifted the large books with no effort.

"Just out of curiosity which Soul was which?" Harry asked.

"Well young Steed, the Soul of Albus Dumbledore was the Dark one for all his interfering with others' lives and since it was him who actually caused Tom to become Voldemort all the Deaths and "evil" deeds that Tom had done a 10% of the darkness produced was added to his Soul. And Tom who was not fully in control of himself lost an additional 15% so a total of 25% from all his "evil" deeds were not counted on his Soul leaving him quite Neutral," the woman said with a smile as the two Life Books were taken away.

For the next month, while many people were distracted by the double death of Albus and Tom, Blaise and his Council were trained on how to perform their new duties while still going to classes and finding some time to hang out. Their new abilities made it easier to avoid Ron, Ginny, and Dudley who had been told that without Dumbledore's support, they would need to shape up lest they be expelled.  Something that would force Ron and Ginny to get blocks placed on their magic and memories as they back to school in the Muggle World with Dudley.

By the time Hogwarts came back from the Yule Break Siegfried and Blaise's Councils meet for the final time. "Well, we have shared with you all that you need to know to be getting on with it. There are only a couple of things left to take care of," Siegfried said as he approached Blaise and the pair vanished from sight, Harry let out a gasp as he felt the bonds that connected him with Blaise seem to sever as Isabella rushed to him.

"Don't worry dear I know it feels bad but they are just going to meet the Lady and the rest of the Five who we can not see," Isabella said rubbing Harry's back. "The meetings do not last long or happen that often, you will get used to it."

Blaise gasped as he found himself before a table of beings whose faces he was unable to make out. "Your Graces it is time, I have brought my replacement," Siegfried said as he bowed his head a little. "I am glad to present the new Death, Blaise Fredrik Zabini," Siegfried said nudging Blaise with an elbow to make him bow his head as well.

"Welcome to the Five, Death we shall not be long knowing what this meeting is doing to your new Council," A being of unknowable gender said. "I hold the role of Lady Magic for this planet." As the Lady said this Siegfried took an item out of his pocket and gave it to a seemingly young man with an hourglass. "The only times we ever meet is to really welcome new members as they take their places as well as the start or end of the year. As this meeting covers both, you shall join us in the ritual or renewal after we bid Siegfried goodbye. At the Lady's word, the four Beings got out of their chairs and began to come forward. Before they get too close Siegfried reaches over and pulls Blaise's cowl over his head.

"While we all hold great power we all prefer to remain anonymous as your real identity will be wiped from their minds after this meeting even Father Time who had chosen you as his Champion will not know you or any of your Council after this meeting," Siegfried said as he pulled his own cowl down and said his goodbyes.

"Now Lord Death before the ritual of renewal for the year, your task is to send Siegfried on," the Lady said. Blaise now used to his role placed a hand on Siegfried's head so his palm was right above the man's eyes as he collected the man's Soul.

"Live well Death," Siegfried said as rather than his Soul getting pulled into the Resurrection Stone floated free of his body and hovered for a moment before it headed upward to join other Souls that were floating above the table of the Five turning into pure light which was soon joined by six smaller ones that Blaise took to be the members of his Council.

As soon as the new group of lights took their place above them the Lady showed Blaise to his seat while the others took their own seats. "Now for this ritual, we all use our treasures to recharge the bonds of Life and Magic for this new year. Do not worry your part will come naturally to you," the Lady said. One of Five got to her feet holding in her hands what looked like a spool of fabric.

"I who measure the bonds of Fate call upon the renewal of the treat of life to keep the world moving forward," the person said as the spool began to glow.

"I who take the threats of Fate and weave them into Destiny's great tapestry wish to mark the renewal of the Magic that forms the bond between us all," the second person said holding up a roll of tapestry that also began to glow.

"I who watched all thing Past, Present, and Future thank for the Time that has been gifted to us," a young man said holding up his hourglass where the sands inside began to grow. Everyone then turned to Blaise who realized it was his turn.

"I who collect the Souls to send them on thank Life and Death to keep the Balance," Blaise said the words just came to him as he held up his Scythe and watched it also glow.

"We of the Members of the Five offer thanks to the all people who inhabited this planet past, present, and future, as well as all realities and celebrate this New Year," The Lady said as their entire body glowed.  As the glow of Blaise and the other's artifacts flowed into the Lady she formed it into a giant orb before it started to disparate making Blaise guess that their combined magic was spreading around the Earth. As soon as the orb of light was fully gone the others stood up and vanished one by one until only he and the Lady remained.

"You did a good job today Lord Death, I expect good work from you and your Council," The Lady said as they also vanished. Blaise stood in the now empty room for a moment before a light came down from above and Siegfried appeared before him as a ghost.

"You know, I forgot to tell you how to leave here did I," the former Death said rubbing the back of his neck.

"I think I can actually figure it out I was just wondering if it would be an abuse of power to give Harry and the others a gift," Blaise said.

"I can tell you it is not since the Resurrection Stone does what I think you have planned without you even being Death," Siegfried said. "Though it is best not for them to remain long. Good luck my Heir as the Lady said I expect great things from you." At that, Siegfried turned back into Light and returned to the sky above.

Alone once again Blaise takes a deep breath as he spins in place headed back to Harry and his Council making one small stopover. "Well it is official Siegfried has moved on," he told his Council as Harry rushed forward and tucked himself into his grip. "I also think that this could be seen as a day to be celebrated, so before I returned I made one small detour and got you all a gift," Blaise said as with a snap of his fingers several people appeared making the members of his Council gasp in shock as Sirius Black, Pandora Lovegood, Fabian and Gideon Prewett, an old Muggle man who was Hermione's Grandfather, Abraxas Malfoy, Alastor Moody as well as Neville's Grandfather came forward to hug their loved ones. Blaise smiled as his Council got to talk and interact with their dead loved ones. While they were all busy, Blaise stepped away as the last person came forward and for the first time in his memory Blaise got to interact with his own father.

Chapter Text

Harry could not believe it had been five years since Blaise had taken the post of Death with Harry as both his husband and Steed. It had taken everyone a little while after Harry's ancestor Siegfried Peverall and his Council had moved on for the current Death Council to get used to their jobs. Thankfully there had been no mistakes but there had been some close calls. Such as one time Harry brought Blaise in for a reap and found that not only were Draco and Hermione there, but so was Neville. It turned out the reap in question had aspects that applied to each of their jobs. The person died by falling down a flight of stairs and breaking her neck, which made it part of Neville's work for accidents within the home.

The woman who had died had not tripped, however, but had been hit by her husband. The thing was the husband loved his wife deeply and she loved him which had caused Hermione and Draco to come for the reap. As for why Harry had felt the need to bring Blaise to take the woman's soul was due to it being a member of their families. Siegfried had told them that as Death despite the circumstances of how a member of his family who had been alive before he assumed office, it was his job to collect their souls when they died. As well as the souls of any family member of Death's Council. So although Harry had found out that the Dursleys were not related to him thanks to his mother only being adopted by the Evans as a kid, he still felt a need to have Blaise take Petunia Dursley's soul. Or maybe it was just wanted to see the Dursleys die and find out the alignment of their Life Book, but Harry still took Blaise to #4 Privat Drive.

Without even knowing their final destination at the time, Harry had chosen to take the form of a giant winged rabbit for Blaise to ride to his childhood home. As Blaise was there, he was the one who took Petunia's soul and to make sure that there wouldn't be another time when members of the Council showed up for the same soul, Blaise examined it. Blaise reported that there was evidence of a poorly cast memory charm placed on Petunia that somehow made her forget about Harry and the Magical World, but not her son. Harry, Draco, Blaise, Hermione, and Neville guessed a similar charm had been placed on Vernon. Which meant that the pair would not be aware that Dudley was now at Hogwarts bound to Ronald and Ginevra Weasley. The pair must have thought Dudley had run away from them and possibly blamed the other leading to the confrontation at the top of the stairs and Petunia's death.

As Death and members of Blaise's Council, they could not do anything to Vernon since it was not his time yet. But Harry saw a way to get some revenge on the man as he placed a report to the local police that Vernon had killed his wife. And since the police had records of both Harry and Dudley living at #4 but finding no signs of them, they charged Vernon for the murder of Petunia and suspected murder of his son and nephew. Harry had laughed all the way back to Hogwarts after watching Vernon getting arrested and hauled away thinking it was the man's just desserts. He had wanted to tell Dudley about what had happened to his folks, but besides not wanting to talk to his cousin, Harry would be unable to answer how he knew Petunia had died and Vernon was arrested.

Harry had not been concerned about any of them getting into trouble for leaving the school even if it was in the middle of a class. They had all discovered that when they had to go collect a soul everyone just seemed just lose focus on them and even forget about them until they got back. Harry had learned from the event that the others had their own way to travel to their reaps. While Blaise got to his reaps with the help of Harry and his various Animagus forms, Harry found that Hermione and Draco traveled via flowers. Talking about it with them later, Harry found that they could also travel via candy and jewelry. Harry guessed that made sense since the pair held the shared post of Lovers in Blaise's Council and flowers, candy, and jewels were the sort of cliche thing that lovers gave each other. Neville, on the other hand, had arrived at #4 by using a crack in the house which also made sense since he was the first member of Household Mishaps.

Talking with the others later, Harry discovered that Tonks would travel to collect souls from battle damage for her post of Mishaps that happened on the battlefield. Fred and George as they were the Tricksters did not have a normal method compared to the others. According to Fred, he and George traveled like they would when they Apparated but more finely tuned. Also rather than just the "pop" from a normal Apparition they would arrive in a multi-colored cloud which disappeared after the cloud came together to form the words "Ha-Ha-Hee."  Luna was a stranger still as she told of her ability which Harry liked to think of as sidestepping.  Luna would just walk and magically travel anywhere in an instant to the few souls she collected, or more often than not to confirm with Harry about coming reaps for Blaise to collect.

Sigfried had also been correct that they could all live normal lives when they were not out doing their jobs. This let Harry, Draco, Blaise, Hermione, and Neville still attend classes at Hogwarts, the twins to keep running their joke shop, and Tonks to remain an Auror. Though being members of Death's Council did change some things such as Tonks deciding to take jobs more into tracking down and arresting criminals rather than taking part in any fights like the one at Slytherin Castle. She felt doing so would be an abuse of her new powers since members of the Council were basically immortal until Blaise decided to leave the post of Death.

Fred and George also finally changed the name of their joke shop. They had wanted to do so since the reading of Sirius's Will but had been unable to think of a new name. Yet during their training with Donna and Jack Zonko, they had worked out a deal with the pair and had been permitted to use the Zonko name. After Sigfried and his Council had moved on Fred and George changed the name to Tricksters Paradise a Wheezes and Zonko's joint venture. The twins also fully cut ties with their younger siblings and their parents going so far as placing Wards around their shop to prevent the bad Weasleys from getting in. They also blocked all mail from them to prevent any letter or even owl orders from Ron and Ginny if they wanted to buy something from them. Since the twins appeared only to leave their shop to go shopping otherwise they were homebodies it prevented Molly, Arthur, Ron, and Ginny from getting to them.

Unlike the Mail Ward Harry and Hermione had placed on themselves to prevent Molly and Arthur from reaching them, the bad Weasleys could not bypass the Wards Fred and George put in place due to them being empowered by members of Death's Council. Harry and Hermione did not have to apply similar Wards themselves, since Molly and Arthur were leaving them alone lest they get in trouble with Madam Bones. Harry had also found out that Hermione and his earlier Mail Wards had failed because Dumbles had long ago changed the Hogwarts Wards to give him complete access to any Ward within the castle, even those created by a student or member of staff. This change to the Wards had been found by Professor McGonagall after she took over as Headmistress.

Besides putting the Hogwarts Wards back to what they were meant to be, Headmistress McGonagall hired Neville's Mom to be her replacement. This helped occupy Alice's time as she waited for a second dose of Roweana's Mind Repair Potion to be brewed and given to her husband. Alice not only loved her new position not only since it was less dangerous than her old job as an Unspeakable alongside Harry's mom, but it allowed her to get to know her son, and Godson better.

After Alice joined the Hogwarts staff, Harry sometimes saw a look come to Neville's face as if he was fighting with himself about his decision to join Blaise's Council. Since Sigfired had told them, not that he really needed to, to keep their new jobs a secret from the Mortals, Harry had taken Neville out of the castle to one of Death's homes to chat with his old friend. "Are you worried you had made the wrong choice to accept Blaise and my offer?" Harry asked.

"Sometimes," Neville admitted. "But then I think about someone dying due to a mishap in their home and being alone to pass on. I go back to the abuse both you and I grew up with from our "families," and how I would have felt to have died from something they put me through and just passed on without a friend to help me through it.  While sometimes it is heartbreaking, I would not have it any other way."

"Then why do you look so sad sometimes after spending time with your Mom?" Harry asked.

"I can't help but think about the short time we will have together.  Sure Blaise's predecessor as well as the old Council showed us we could change our forms to make it look like we are aging like the Mortals, but at some point, my parents will die, my Gran even sooner," Neville said.

"Ouch, I guess I did not even think about that.  I have Blaise, Draco, and Hermione have each other.  Who knows what the Twins got or Tonks for that matter*?  But I think Luna likes you.  I get that it is not the same as your family, especially with your parents after what they have been through.  All I can say is spend as much time with them as you can.  I plan to do the same with Remus, Blaise's mom, the Malfoys, and even Snape.  It is like an old line I recall reading at one point, One good memory is sometimes worth all the pain of the bad ones," Harry said taking one of Neville's hands in both of his and giving it a hard yet comforting squeeze.

Outside of Harry and the Council's lives life went on at Hogwarts, where after the discussion about the deaths of Riddle and Dumbles everyone had only one topic on their minds, Dudley Dursley.  As everyone knew about the relationship between Dudley, Ronald, and Ginny thanks to Cheswik's article, they were still shocked when Ginny had her OWL's postponed due to it being found that she was pregnant.  

During a weekly meeting among Blaise's Council, the twins shook their heads after they learned of Ginny's pregnancy which showed she had outdone Molly who had only gotten pregnant with Bill during her final year at Hogwarts.  Yet Ginny still had two years left to go before she graduated.  Those of the Council who attended Hogwarts had shared the shocking news that Molly had not sent a Howler to Ginny for getting pregnant.  After a moment of thought, George guessed that his former mother had acted out of character because Molly really wanted Grandkids.  So with Ginny still having to go to school, Molly would take care of the kid most likely corrupting the kid just like she had done Ron and Ginny themselves.

What was really shocking about the child of Ginny and Dudley came to the group after the next time Blaise met with the rest of the Five.  Blaise reported that Lady Magic pulled him aside to reveal that she had slightly changed the punishment she had placed on Ginny.  In her first punishment, she had made it so that any child Ginny bore would not be gifted with Magic, but since Lady Magic found that Dudley liked being with Ginny, she needed to punish the Muggle boy.  So Lady Magic had given Ginny's first child the ability to touch magic, any further child born would be Squibs, but the first one was magical since Dudley would possibly spend the most time with it while Ron and Ginny tried to work without moving too far away from each other.  To protect the child from any abuse that Dudley might do to them, Lady Magic tweaked the kid's relationship to be seen as part of Harry's family.  That way if Dudley, Ron, Ginny, or even Molly and Arthur abused the child they would experience the pain they tried to inflict upon them.

Tonks used this news to place a standing order in the Ministry's Department of Child Welfare so the workers would keep close eyes on Ginny's child for abuse.  While making it sound like she feared that due to the unusual way the child came about it could have similar issues that Riddle or any other child born to a Love Potion might possess.  Fred and George could have also checked in on the child to make sure it was alright, but after they had joined the Council they had performed a ritual to declare Ron, Ginny, and their parents no longer part of their family. 

Since they were also the Co-Lord Prewetts this cut the bad Weasleys off from the Prewett family magic, vaults, and properties.  Molly it seemed did not think the twins would do such a thing as she sent a Howler to her Great Aunt Muriel, who had sent a letter to the twins to ask why they had removed Molly and the others from the line.  George had sent the response that the bad Weasleys had been removed not only due to trying to commit Line Theft to a couple of friends of theirs but also the stories they had heard about Ginny's promiscuity even before she had been bound to Dudley.

Muriel had sent another letter back shocked that Molly and Arthur were not serving time for trying to commit Line Theft.  This led the twins to report that their friends, since they never mentioned either Harry or Hermione's names, had decided not to formally press charges against the bad Weaslys so long as Molly and the others left them alone.  Though technically they were leaving the bad Weasleys alone so they would not be tempted to abuse their jobs and take their souls before it was the right time.

Before taking over the post of Death and his Steed, Blaise, and Harry had thought about having a more public wedding ceremony during the summer after their Sixth Year, but they decided to hold off on it until after graduating.  Everyone already knew they were married thanks to Vincent Cheswick's article, but they wanted to wait until after leaving Hogwarts to have a public ceremony that way they could do a double ceremony alongside Hermione and Draco.  Granted Draco and Hermione did not need to do the ceremony since they took over as the Lovers on Death's Council, but since Hermione and Draco's family could never find this out until it was time for Blaise to collect their Souls, the ceremony was mainly for them.  During the public ceremony, Harry and Blaise just did a simple bonding while Draco and Hermione went for a full Soul Bonding that Harry and Blaise had done.

As every member of the Council attended the double wedding, they had to keep a straight face as Ministry Tony once more led the procedures and talked about giving thanks to the Five.  Harry and Blaise serving as Hermione and Draco's best men respectively had a hard time when it came to the part of the ceremony where Tony asked Lord Death to let Hermione and Draco have a long time together before they died.  Blaise had to quickly cast a spell on his wand since he was not the person located at the point of the star who was to respond to Lord Death's blessing yet as Death his wand had begun to glow the grayish-silver light that Hermione's had done back when he and Harry were married.  Harry and the others in the Council caught each other's eyes as they realized the glow that the wand showed for Lord Death was the same coloration as Harry's Animagus form.

Once they had graduated Hogwaters and performed the double wedding, Harry and Blaise decided to focus on their jobs of Death and his steed.  They no longer appeared in public and only met with the people they considered their family, such as Ariana, Lucius, Narcissa, Remus, and Severus.  Otherwise, the pair would only meet with Death's Council or meet the people whose souls Blaise had been sent to collect.  However, the pair sometimes accepted invitations from Neville, Tonks, and Hermione to spend time with their respective families.  They explained their absence from the public eye by saying after so long Harry just wanted to live his life without being constantly watched and judged, with Blaise accepting his husband's wishes.  As he had stated he wanted to write a book to help Muggleborn or raise, Harry eventually published a book in numerous languages.  It would have shocked many people who had known him at Hogwarts to find out that Harry had done the whole thing himself rather than using a spell or getting someone to translate the book for him into the other languages.  This was due to Death and his Council having to collect souls all over the world were given the ability to understand all languages of not only humans but other creatures as well.

After leaving Hogwarts, Neville got a "job" as a Herbologist.  He used a plot of land belonging to the Longbottoms to grow plants and send cuttings to other herbologists or potion Masters around the world.  Draco and Hermione had a more difficult time finding a job to take on the mortal side of things.  Due to having to respond to a death at any moment in their area of influence, Draco could not work as a Barrister like his father, lest he is called away to collect a soul during a trial.  He also could not become a Healer for while the person might not die in his area of influence, he feared he would not try to stop the death or worse let it happen when it might not actually be the person's time yet.  He could not even become a Potions Master for if he and Hermione were called away at the wrong moment the potion might go bad or even explode.

Hermione had only ever wanted to work for the Ministry, but while she knew that people would forget she had left when she went to collect a soul, she felt it would be wrong to be paid for her job when she was not doing it.  After bringing up their problems during the weekly meeting with the Council, the twins suggested the pair just buy a shop and hire some workers that way someone would be there when the pair went to collect souls.  Draco thought it was a good idea, as he ran an idea past his wife.  They would open up a potions shop that way Draco could brew if he wanted to and there would be someone to watch over the potion when they collected souls.  Not only that but they could hire people trying to gain their Masters in Potions thus might be used to odd hours and just like the chance to brew.  They also might see any potions that Draco was forced to leave behind as a sort of test for them to finish.

Hermione pointed out why people trying to gain their Masters would work for them since neither she nor Draco had Masters themselves.  Draco had just smiled at her, and kissed her before he shifted his form to appear older.    Draco pointed out they could appear as people who had Masters in Potions, which they sort of did thanks to being part of the Council along with having Masters in other forms of Magic and even Muggle practices.  "And if anyone we know comes around we can shift back and just say were are just employees at the place," Draco said.

"And if the people we hire wonder about that since we won't be in our "normal" forms most of the time at the shop?" Hermione asked.

"Well, you guys could alternate days," Tonks suggested.  "Draco could be the old man on some days with you working as yourself, and on other days you could be the mature woman with Draco trying to gain his Masters."

"And if you both need to be young for some reason, we can help," Fred said.  "After all didn't Jack say he pretended to be Theo's father when Blaise went to his house?  One of us could pretend to be a silent partner or visiting instructor to explain why your older forms are not there."

"I guess that seems logical," Hermione said before she smirked at the twins and added, "at least coming from you."

"You wound me, Mione," both twins said as they clutched their hearts as if hurt.

"If only," she teased back.

While they worked together and were all friends, they all had different homes for their posts on Death's Council.   They had Mortal homes but sometimes they all, even the twins needed to get away from the Mortals.  The homes they had from Death's Council were located all around the Earth and the list of them had been given to them by Sigfried as one of the last things he had done before taking Balsie to meet the rest of the Five. The Homes came in handy if they had to collect a soul in a distant part of the world and just wanted to rest for a bit before making a long journey.  The group had all found that after taking up their new roles they did not have to sleep that much since a death they may be called on to collect a soul from could happen at any moment.

While he had been bonded to Blaise for five years now, there had been something Harry had been worried about.  While he had been told it was perfectly fine if he and Blaise had a kid, Harry could not help but worry about being pregnant and changing into any one of his forms.  He was afraid it might hurt the baby.  Surprisingly this led to Harry meeting one of the Five which usually only had contact with Blaise.  One day Harry felt a calling but rather than the call being for a soul he needed to take Blaise to, the call led Harry to fly off by himself to go meet someone. 

Harry had been shocked to find the person he was meeting was Time, at least by how he looked compared to Blaise's description of the other members of the Five.  "It has come to my attention you are afraid young Steed," Time had said.

"How can you know?" Harry asked.

"I know for I have kept track of both you and Death for a long time.  I was the one to choose your husband as my Champion to take over the post of Death, after all," Time said.

"But Death said that his predecessor stated the members of the Five would forget his identity after the first meeting he had with your lot," Harry protested.

"The others indeed forgot about who your husband is, but since I chose him as my Champion and I won the wager it would be foolish if I was made to forget Blaise became Death," Time said proving he did know Death's identity.

"Alright you proved your point, you know Blaise and possibly who I am, but why do you think I am afraid? And of what?" Harry asked.

"It is quite common for the mate of one of the Five to worry about getting pregnant from their mate.  And you have the hardest time since apart from the other mates you have a very active part in your husband's job as you work as his steed.  To set your mind at ease, when you transform time will freeze around any unborn child you have until you are back to your human form so it will not be hurt."

"How can you be so sure?" Harry asked.

"Did you really ask the office holder of Time, if they were sure about time being frozen to protect your child?" Time asked arching an eyebrow at Harry.

"Guess that was a dumb question, huh," Harry said.

"Yes, it was but it was also understandable," Time said gently.  "And I am sure and if you need further proof," he said before pulling out a role of parchemt where Lady Magic permitted Harry to get pregnant along with the assurances the child would be born healthy and be able to touch magic.

So for the first time in the five years of their marriage, Harry and Blaise did not use protection which thanks to Lady Magic's blessing allowed Harry to get pregant right away.  Harry did find that it took a little longer than the normal nine months for their kid to be born since as Time said the pregnancy was frozen any time Harry had to change into his animal form for his job.  But after nearly ten months, and thankfully due to his post, very little discomfort from the longer term, Harry gave birth to a child the pair decided to name Dominique James Zabini-Potter after both their fathers.  This led Blaise's entire Council to meet the Five as Lady Magic came to bless the kid and the others came to pay their respects.  Harry could not figure out why the Five had come until he saw Fate and Destiney change something with Time and Lady Magic meaning the group had placed a bet on the kid.  However, if the bet was on the child's gender, name, or something else Harry and the others could not guess, and Blaise did not tell them.