Disclaimer: Anything you recognize is probably not mine! All credit to JKR as always (except the plot, y'know?)

Oneshot- there will not be a second Chapter. This is set the summer after fourth year after the ministry fiasco.

Being a Black

Harry pulled himself to his feet as his need to use the bathroom far outstripped his need to curl up into as small a ball as he could. His apathy was to be expected considering his godfather, last of his true family, had just died, partly due to his own impulsive nature and mostly because of two old men playing with his life. The matters were not helped by the fact that his friends were once again ignoring him despite knowing how he felt about it all- no doubt the headmaster's high-handed methods won them over but they really should know better by now. He could understand Ron, if he was in a mental state to even think, but even Hermione confirmed to the ridiculous demand to leave Harry alone 'to deal with his grief' when she as a muggleborn knew he needed someone understanding by his side. Well, it don't matter, Harry's mind wasn't all there anyway so he hardly minded. He trudged to the bathroom, too out of it to be thankful his relatives decided against locking him in.

Once his ablutions were finished, Harry stood in front of the mirror, unseeing of the image in front of him. He was feeling dizzy and was merely using the sink to stay upright. once the spell passed he washed his face and dried it on his oversized shirt, only to realize he smelled horrible. He quickly removed his clothes and stepped into the shower. He decided come what may, he was going to have a hot shower and for the first in privet drive he had a satisfying shower.

Once gain he stood before the mirror clad in a fluffy towel that he was technically not allowed to use. A moment later he wiped the glass to look at himself. He did not like what he saw. He looked like Sirius did when he was still being a deranged mass-murderer… though a bit cleaner now that a shower had been had. He contemplated his life thus far and the gross level of unpreparedness he was subjected to. He wondered why no one, no adult, thought it prudent to teach him stuff to keep him alive. He chalked it up to the usual inability of the magical human race to be logical. Still, he mused, he needed to change his ways if he was to survive. Now that Voldemort was back and out for his blood, he really needed to do something.

He was tempted to let himself be killed but he was conscious of the sacrifices his parents and now Sirius had made for him. The next best thing he could do was think of what they'd want him to do now. Well, he wasn't sure about his mum and dad but he knew what Sirius would have wanted. In one of the rare moments where they were left to themselves, Sirius and Harry had talked. It was this one precious conversation that came to mind. Sirius had made Harry his heir, at the time he had been warmed to his core about being wanted and loved, now he would have to use this to his advantage. He was thankful for the books his godfather had slipped to him about all the traditions, values and protocols of the wizarding world. Something that Dumbledore should have done but of course the old man was always too busy or too self-important to do so. It was this book he now lovingly caressed and used to brush up on his rights and other related matters.

He slipped past his guard fairly easily. He had called Dobby. Dobby had already found a few tracking spells on him and had kindly placed them on benign objects so Harry could move freely. During their 'talks' Dobby revealed more about his race and eventually bonded to Harry. He also told Harry he could do anything his master needed him to do. On a whim they had tried elf travel and Harry had kept it a secret to hopefully have an out the next time he ended up in a sticky situation. This day however, Dobby travels had dropped him off at Gringott's under his ever present cloak.

He made his way to the goblin teller and greeted them in the traditional ways. The goblin was surprised but took Harry to the head manager of Black accounts. Master Goldclaw was pleased to see him as apparently his mail had been 'misplaced'. Harry made a note to have Dobby check for mail tampering later. Sirius' will was read; as Harry was his heir, he had a right to have it read early. It was as expected and Harry gave permission to have it read publicly, except the parts about himself. His earlier escapades in the triwizard tournament and the trial later that year, cleared any doubts to the emancipation clause that Sirius had included. Harry soon had a platinum ring with a fairly large black diamond engraved (inexplicably) with the Black family crest.

This had another effect. As he was now an adult, the previous block Albus Dumbledore had placed on the Potter inheritance was lifted. Harry now wore another platinum band with a ruby stone with the Potter crest. He immediately asked the Black family manager to discreetly audit the Potter accounts as 'they had not been active for a while'; the real reason was his suspicion of certain people… especially a whiskered old fool. Why else was his heritage kept from him?

A quick discussion about investments and a withdrawal later, he headed out into the Diagon alley under his cloak. He wandered until he found that shop he remembered Parvati talking about- 'Wizeyes' was a shop that had solutions to most wizard eye needs. Now being rid of the trace, he changed his hair-color to a bright red and rearranged it to hide the infamous scar. He also placed a glamour over his nose and mouth to slightly change the shapes.

Half hour later, he held a 'cool' pair of glasses with zero powered lens, his eyes completely fixed. Grinning like a fool, he picked up a few clothes for daily wear- they actually fit him! He also picked up formal robes- five sets just in case. He made his way to the Magical Menagerie and picked up treats for Hedwig.

Dobby then whisked him off to Grimmauld place attic where no one ever went. He called Kreacher and had Dobby talk sense into him. The trip revealed several things like Regulus' brother and the strange artifact that he had to destroy. Harry decided to seek Goldclaw's council. He then, happily, sealed the house, allowing only Dobby, Kreacher and Harry himself entry. All the order related things were gathered and copied by the elves. The disgusting potions- love, compulsion, loyalty- were put under stasis and records made. The elves were charged to get the place clean before Harry caught Flight Dobby back to Privet drive.

Once there, Harry spent the next two days going over the documents left behind in the house. Honestly though, he could see the order was as useless as Fudge in more ways then one. Why did no one, not even Moody or McGonagall, see that these plans were foolhardy and asking for trouble? Not only that, they were a sure way to get everyone killed and grossly ineffective against Tom's forces. He sighed in disappointment, even more determined to do something to protect himself rather than relying on the doubtful protection that Albus spoke of and his useless order.

Almost a week after Harry had 'woke up', Goldclaw asked for a meeting. Harry found out that Albus had through mismanagement and outright stealing, cost Harry nearly half of his fortune. It was a good thing the main family vault containing years of history and family heirlooms was inaccessible to all without Potter blood and the Potter Lord's permission. The other vaults though like the investment vault, his parents trust and personal vaults, and business vaults were plundered. The old man had through sheer stupidness invested in bad businesses and earned massive losses in terms of returns. On top of that the gold was steadily drained as the man took out the maximum allowed as Harry's guardian. Enraged, Harry stated that his guardian was always Sirius and Dumbledore's withdrawals were illegal. Goldclaw had grinned, had him sign a formal complaint and promised to try and recover everything. In addition, it was brought to light that the goblins were blocked from securing the cottage in Godric's Hollow and according to their previous inventory some items were removed from it. Apparently, his grandparents had the goblins 'tag' certain things like the family pensive and books but the goblins needed the Lord's approval to initiate a retrieval mission. Needless to say, Harry was eager to do so.

Another week later was Sirius' will reading. Harry had asked the entirety of the Black family to be invited, including Andromeda and Nymphadora Tonks. He himself had hid under his cloak in the corner of the room to listen in. There was nothing special about it, if you disregarded Albus' presence and the fact that he was supposedly representing Harry. The man was obviously wondering how to control the Black fortune as well. Once the will was read and the envelopes were distributed to the Weasley Family, Remus, Tonks family and Narcissa particularly, Albus couldn't hold himself and asked who the new head was. Goldclaw took immense pleasure in informing him it was 'none of his business'. Huffing Albus, followed by the Weasleys left.

According to Harry's instructions, the Black family members were asked to stay back for a family meeting. Remus was 'caught' outside and taken to a different room to await Harry, though he did not know it. It was an interesting experience to meet the family. Harry was surprised how agreeable Draco's mum was. Draco himself was alternating between anger and loss- apparently he had been expecting the Black headship. Narcissa's quiet reminder that he should mind his tongue with his head of house, had the fuming teen carefully blanking his face. Harry had them take an oath to not reveal his identity and the contents on the family meeting. Then he made peace with his 'cousin Draco', knowing full well the boy was a hundred times better than his father. In return for their loyalty and help, he offered them protection and a place to live if needed. It relieved the two blonds immensely. The next problem was Nymphadora who got told to either pick 'Nym' or 'Dora' or come up with a suitable nickname because he was not going to call her last name Tonks. After agreeing to being called Nym, Harry laid down the law- 'family' or 'order'. Her heart, he knew, was in the right place. Once she chose family, he told them of Dumbledore's duplicity and the need to defeat him and Voldemort. They all agreed though the Malfoys were skeptical- given the presence of Lucius in their lives, he could understand.

Bellatrix was cast out of the family while Andy was brought back in. Harry was thankful to not have to deal with her. The fact that he killed the head of house though had the Black family enraged and out for the woman's blood. Sirius had also annulled her marriage before casting her out, thus her vault was Harry's. The most interesting conversation, and the one Harry most looked forward to, was Aunt Cassiopeia. He bluntly told her his lack of knowledge and his wish to learn. He told her Sirius had told him about her and how she was the quintessential Black- he wanted to learn the way of the Blacks properly… not the convoluted version the later generations adopted. The woman gave hims a shrewd look and nodded. Harry beamed at her and informed her he would be coming to her in three days time with a body-guard. She agreed and asked him to send a letter letting her know where to pick him up via the goblins. That done Harry dismissed them.

The hardest part was Mooney. Harry's ultimatum "Me or Albus, Mooney?" had the wolf tongue-tied. Eventually, after fifteen minutes of warring with himself, Mooney overrode his human counterpart and decided on his pup. To werewolves pups were more important than anything… at least until they grew up. Harry soon had the human side agreeing with his wolf when Harry told Remus about things Albus had done and the prophecy. Under oath, he was also told of Harry's immediate plans to take over his life using the Black way and keeping it idiot free the Potter way. Remus agreed- it was the first time the wolf and the man agreed since he formed his pack in James and Sirius.

With Remus' help, Harry set up a golem in his place and taking only his new clothes and his precious things- cloak, map, mirror, photo book and his retrieved firebolt. The tracking charms on his trunk meant Albus would think he was still there. Harry would later find out Albus had come to see if Harry was the new Lord Black- only to not have Kreacher answer to him. Of course, the old man had no way of knowing that he was talking to a golem and not the real Harry.

Harry reached France a week before his sixteenth birthday. Ant Cassy had set up a time chamber in one of her manor rooms giving him more time to learn. They spent the next month in there learning everything Cassy could teach. Remus also learned a lot. Each week translating to a year meant, Harry had learned for four years. He had become proficient in all core subjects, knew the ins and outs of politics, became a charmer, a potioneer, an expert in wards and finally a competent duelist. He also grew to his full height and put on healthy weight and looked much better. He had also finished his animagus training and registered one of his three forms in France to make it all legal. (No one actually had more than one form so the law could be bended plus British law only stated he hd to be registered and not necessarily in Britain).

Harry returned to Hogwarts a changed man. He enlisted Flitwick in dueling practice making the half-goblin very happy. His teachers were amazed at his performance. It had the unfortunate side-effect of suspicion from Hermione. Harry eventually told her off for being a nosy know-it-all who may mean well but was annoying as hell. He then had to comfort her and tell her he had just grown up and studied his ass off this summer, which was the truth. She eventually accepted but grew a bit contemplative after his outburst; Harry hoped she fixed her attitude or remaining friends, with all his secrets, would become difficult. Ron reverted to the prat he always was, though fifth year may have been the only exception- Harry didn't much care for the immature brat anyway, not after knowing Molly was paid and Ron was probably manipulated and ordered to befriend him.

Albus tried really hard to get information, seeing as how his weapon gained so much confidence and independence. Thanks to Harry's occlumency shields, he had no answers forthcoming. Harry let the man sweat… that is until Albus used his wand to him (probably to perform a compulsion charm but Harry maintained he was trying to attack him). Harry disarmed him and bonded with the Elder wand which seemed all too happy to divulge Albus' secrets.

Harry was amused until it told him Albus suspected he was Tom's Horcrux. The goblins had already determined the locket was one and were searching for others on his behalf. Another was found in Bella's old vault. He obligated Albus of their recent meeting to stop him recalling who took his wand. He also memory charmed the portraits. He rushed to Goldclaw with the problem.

As ingenious as the goblins could be, they had doubled his wealth in a year. They had also recovered all his lost property, even the stuff Albus holed away in his secret home. They also found and destroyed Tom's Horcruxes except his snake. The Peverell ring was found prompting Harry to do an inheritance test to see if he was eligible to take it. The test revealed he was Heir Primus of Gryffindor (Lord, if he accepted) and Lord Slytherin by conquest. It also revealed he was heir to Peverell as both the founder lines came from the Peverells. The moment he took the ring, he knew what the power 'he knew not' was and if he could help it not one soul, besides himself and whichever heir of his he chose to pass it on to, would ever know. Being the master of death, rather, the chosen protector of magic was not a light matter.

With his added knowledge and near infinite reserves of power, he eventually defeated Riddle and claimed all his assets… including his chattels, better known as death-eaters. After discussions with Cassy, he gave the bastards a choice- serve him or be sacrificed to a dementor. They chose to serve him and swore an oath of fealty each which bound their family lines to him for the next seven generations. Some like Lucius and Bella rebelled and were sufficiently tortured before being fed to the dementors. Draco was probably the only one to be spared humiliation as he was already firmly in the 'Harry camp', much to the confusion of others. His claim of family just made matters more confusing to the masses.

He had some fun tormenting Snape with all the humiliating things he could do to him before declaring he'd rather hire the man as his personal potions master; with the stipulation he was respectful to most if not all people, he would get enough gold and a lab of his own to do his potions research. Severus had taken several moments to wrap his mind around that before he uncharacteristically gave Harry a big hug and thanked him. He and Draco set up a lucrative side business in later days.

Using aunt Cassy's methods, Harry slowly had the wizengamot in his hands. He snorted when he realized how easy it was, especially as he had the Potter, Black and a few other votes thanks to his acquisitions of war, making up nearly one-third of the Wizengamot's votes. Thankfully, he had his aunts and cousins to bring him back to earth or he'd become the next Dumbledore. Oh right! Albus was forcibly retired (fired) from the Wizengamot and thus the ICW. The mysterious owner of Hogwarts had asked the DMLE to investigate reports on unsafe conditions of the school. 'He' used the results of that investigation and reports of fallen standards to both dismantle the board and remove the old man. Harry of course had no idea who the owner was…. Albus trying to discredit Harry as a dark lord back fired spectacularly, especially when the new owner of the Prophet was Narcissa Malfoy, the new minister for magic was Augusta Longbottom (who was just itching to do something to Albus) and not to mention the new Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot was none other than Harry Potter. Needless to say the old man died a lonely death.

Harry basically ruled the wizarding world for years. He made it only part-time when his first child was born as he wanted to spend time with his kids. His seven children though eventually grew up leaving him bored so he went back to ruling the sheeple. The Black way did him a lot of good. He was practically untouchable and was the paragon of 'good' while he always got what he wanted. Moving his two houses to grey faction shut up the old people on the Wizengamot. Holding dirt and life-debts over the others was quite a bit of fun. Harry even had his own Black book like Aunt Cassy! He was sure Sirius was proud of his marauding and Black ways… and even prouder he had schooled his children in it as well. That's what you get when you underestimate a sensible (reasonably so) Black.

A/N: What do you think?!

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