Harry awoke around midday with a pounding headache. Soon enough fragmented memories of the night before returned to him. Harry smiled. He had so much fun. He stood up and looked around the room. He felt horrible as he approached his trunk. He grabbed a change of clothes and downed his nutrition potion followed by a pepper up potion as well. He stepped out into the hallway to find the bathroom. After a shower he began to feel a bit better. He heard noise from downstairs and assumed lunch was being served.

Harry entered the kitchen to find his friends already eating.

"Harry" greeted Ron.

"Hi guys" said Harry sitting next to Ron.

"We heard you had fun last night" stated Fred with George sitting beside him smirking.

"Sure did" said Harry. "Where's Sirius and Remus?".

"Still sleeping" said Mrs. Weasley with a disapproving tone. "I can't believe you were drinking".

"It's no big deal" said Harry ignoring the scowl on her face. There was a pile of sandwiches in the middle of the table.

Mrs. Wesley told him "Have a sandwhich Harry".

Harry felt like having something else.

"Kreacher" he called out.

The elf appeared before Harry.

"Do you mind cooking bacon and eggs for me?".

"I can make it" said Molly wanting to be useful.

The elf tilted his head in a slight bow to Harry and began to move around the kitchen.

Harry added "Can you make enough for Sirius and Remus? I wager the smell of bacon will draw them out".

Kreacher remained silent as he continued to work.

Molly approached Harry "Harry, I did say i could make you breakfast".

"That's okay Mrs. Weasley. You've already cooked enough for everyone this morning. Besides, I'll get to enjoy your cooking during dinner".

"How was it?" asked Ron.

"How was what?" asked Harry playfully.

"You know what, drinking".

"Oh, that. Yeah it was fine".

"Just fine?".

"Why don't you join me next time" joked Harry.

"Absolutely not" said Molly. "And there won't be a next time for you either mister" she said looking at Harry.

Harry ignored the women and chatted with his companions. Kreacher plated his food for him. Harry ate a few strips of bacon with gusto. Sirius and Remus came down almost immediately.

"Food" shouted Sirius.

Remus joined in the excitement to find bacon already ready for them.

"How do you feel?" asked Sirius looking at his godson.

"I'm fine" he said. "Just a slight headache, but it's mostly gone".

Remus added "Take a hangover potion. We did".

"I didn't know they had those" said Harry.

"Let me" said Sirius. He told Kreacher to bring him the potion. He handed it to Harry who chugged it. He instantly felt way better.

"Wow, these are convenient" said Harry. "It's like there aren't any reasons to not drink".

The Weasley boys laughed while Molly and Hermione looked with disapproval. They finished the food in record time.

"What are you going to do about your trial?" asked Hemione.

"Nothing" said Harry. "If they expel me so be it. I can spend time with Sirius and Remus".

Harry had shocked everyone again.

"What about Hogwarts" asked Hermione.

"What about it?".

"You don't care if you don't go back?".

"It's not up to me. Besides, would you want to go to a place that places your life at risk every year because the professors are useless?".

"Wow" said Ron. "I never looked at it like that".

Hemione elbowed Ron again. It was becoming a habit.

"So what, you're just giving up?".

"I didn't say that. All I'm saying is if I get expelled it won't be a big deal to me. The ministry won't be able to find me here".

"Dumbledore won't allow you to be expelled" said Molly. "You'll be fine, you'll see".

Sirius and Remus looked at one another and shrugged. Sirius liked the idea, but wouldn't voice his opinion.

"Okay it's time for you all to start on cleaning this house. it's a mess" added Molly.

"With magic?" perked up Ron.

"Don't be silly Ron. You'll do it by hand".

"That'll take forever".

"You need to keep busy".

'Yeah, that's not going to work for me' thought Harry.

His friends groaned.

Harry wanted to keep Dobby and Winky secret for a bit longer. He didn't care about Hermioine's reaction to him owning house elves, but it still bothered him to expose them this soon. he sighed. He needed to prepare for the coming war.

"Now, you'll all be seperated to clean your own sections" said Molly.

"Kreacher" said Harry.

The elf popped in staring at Harry.

"How do you get him to listen to you?" asked Sirius. "I'm the lord of this house and he barely listens to me".

"That's because I treat him with the respect he deserves, Sirius".

"Please wait just a second Kreacher" he asked seeing the elf getting impatient. "Dobby, Winky" shouted Harry.

Suddenly two pops were heard throughout the kitchen.

"What does master need?" asked both Dobby and Winky.

"This is Kreacher" he said pointing to the elf. "I need for you both to assist Kreacher in cleaning this house".

The elves bowed and popped away.

"There you go Kreacher. Now the House of Black can be restored to its greatness once more" said Harry.

"Thank you" said Kreacher. He completely bowed to Harry for the first time and popped away.

"You own house elves!" screamed Hermione. "Harry how could you? You enslaved Dobby and Winky".

Harry turned to face her and said "Not that it's your business, but Winky and Dobby like being my elves. As to why I bonded with them, it's simple. they're very useful".

"You should all be glad" he stated to the group at large. "Now we all have the rest of summer to do what we wish. I for one plan to use my time wisely".

Harry stood up and walked upstairs planning to continue with his studies.

The children looked at each other. They unexpectedly found themselves with nothing to do now.

"Hermione, do you want to play chess?" asked Ron in a cheerful mood.

"Not now!" she growled following Harry upstairs.

Harry was almost to his room when Hermione caught up to him.

"Explain it to me again. Why did you do it? You know it's slavery. It's wrong".

"You know what Hermione? I don't have time to deal with this. I have to study. I'm sorry you have a problem with it. You can help clean the house if that will make you feel better".

Hermione huffed and walked away.

'That's what i thought' smiled Harry.


Harry closed the door and locked it. He began to read one of the books he hadn't gotten to yet. It focused on tactics, like how to use your surroundings to help in a duel. He stayed in his room until he heard shouting coming from downstairs. He came down to find a crowd with Sirius pointing his wand at Kreacher who stood in front of him shouting.

"What's going on?" asked Harry.

Sirius turned to look at the newcomer.

"I'm just trying to get rid of my mother's portrait once and for all. Kreacher here, is trying to stop me".

"What's the matter Kreacher?" asked Harry as he kneeled in front of him.

"Bad master wishes to destroy mistress" he said.

"Sirius isn't going to detroy mistress. He's only going to remove her portrait. I promise".

Kreacher looked at Harry searching for any sign of deceit.

"I was planning to destroy it" whispered Sirius.

Kreacher heard him and once again began to shout.

"Sirius" said Harry. "Kreacher obviously loved your mother. What does it cost you to keep her? Have Kreacher take her someplace else".

Sirius spent time thinking on the issue.

"Okay" he said. "Kreacher step aside, I won't destroy it, I promise. You can keep it safe in the attic if you wish".

Kreacher was forced to step aside.

Sirius began to cut the wall around the border of the portrait. Soon enough he had freed the wall of the nasty piece of magical art.

"Here" he said handing Kreacher the portrait.

Kreacher glared at Sirius and popped away with the portrait. The crowd dispersed and left Harry alone with Sirius.

"Sirius I have a few favors to ask you".

"What is it Harry?".

"Not here, let's discuss this in my room"

Sirius followd Harry upstairs and set a privacy charm once they entered the room.

"Okay then Harry, what's up?".

Harry took a deep breath wondering how to begin.

"I need you to teach me to duel".

"What?".

"I said I need you to teach me to duel. I'll also need a wand".

"Is that all?" joked Sirius.

"No. I need to borrow some of the books I saw in the library".

"Harry" started Sirius realizing his godson wasn't kidding. "Those books are dangerous. They're full of dark magic".

"You heard me last night didn't you? Voldemort is after me and I'm done being the victim. Will you help me or not?".

Sirius thought it over and relented.

"Sure Harry. I can give you some books. As for your wand, you don't need another. This house is undetectable to the ministry. You can use all the magic you want".

"Cool" said Harry. "We need to keep the dueling a secret. I'm sure Mrs. Weasley would frown on it, and I rather Dumbledore didn't know. He'd try to stop us".

"Alright. I have a place in mind" said Sirius. "As for the books, I'll bring some later".

Harry nodded. He was glad his concerns were adressed. He would learn to duel so he could be more than ready for the battle at the ministry. Then it hit him.

'Occlumency'. He had forgotten all about it.

"Sirius?"

"Yes Harry"

"Do you know Occlumency?".

"Why do you ask?".

"I hear it helps protect your mind and keep your emotions in check. I think I'll need it this coming school year" he laughed.

"I can start teaching you some Harry. Unfortunately there are no books on it. It's an art that is mostly taught from parent to child in old families".

"Thank you"

"Not a problem Harry. We can knock it out at the same time we practice dueling".

"Sirius, I know you feel you aren't doing much of anything important, but you're really helping me out here".

Sirius smiled. "I'll go get those books now".

"Thanks again Sirius".

Sirius waved him off and left. Harry decided to do his push ups and sit ups. He worked up a sweat when he switched to jumping jacks and shadow boxing. He knew they would try their best to prevent him from leaving the house to jog. This was his way of building stamina.

'I need a jump rope'.

Sirius came in a while later with two books. Harry's face visibly fell. He expected a lot more. Sirius saw it and clarified it with Harry.

"I know you expected more Harry, but these are more than enough to start with. They contain cutting and severing curses alongside some darker ones. Read through these and I'll bring you more".

Harry took the books as he became happy once more.

Sirius looked at Harry and said "Be careful Harry. Dark magic has a way of changing a person".

"I will Sirius"

"I came up with an idea for the dueling practice".

Harry was excited. "What is it?".

"There's a place in the basement my family used for practice. As to when, I think our best bet is during the night when everyone's asleep".

"That's great" said Harry. "When do we start?".

Sirius was amused at Harry's excitement. "Tonight, if you want".

"Yes" said Harry with a bounce.


That night Harry had his first foray into the art of dueling. He loved it even though it was very exhausting. His new body was slowly getting back into his old body's shape. The potions were doing their job. He had impressed Sirius with his ability to dodge spells at the last possible moment. Sirius had stated he had a good eye. Harry had thought on how his years playing baseball had helped him out here. Learning when to swing a bat and when not to, allowed him to make quick decisions. He learned to bat away spells without much trouble. Harry decided Sirius was a very good teacher. Sirius was happy he was helping with the war effort. He felt useful for the first time in a while. He didn't want for Harry to fight the Death Eaters, but he knew that wasn't up to them.

The days passed in a similar fashion with a few notable moments. Harry would wake around noon and take his potions. He'd eat, study, and followed that by exercising. He would then spend time with his friends to keep them off his back. At night he'd duel Sirius and practiced his Occlumency with him afterwards to clear his mind as he readied for bed.

Harry had convinced Tonks to get him a jump rope. He added it to his routine to build his stamina. Harry and Tonks kept teasing one another every chance they got. Harry knew that Remus and Tonks ended up together in the books. He approached Remus to ask him if he was in any way bothered by him trying to date Tonks. Remus had insisted he didn't, wondering how Harry had known he was starting to find the girl attractive. Harry took him at his word. They might still end up together, but that was at least til after the ministry battle. She was very fun to be around with. If she refused his advances he'd move on, he had planned to date around anyways.

He had also used Dobby to get him more potions and a few other useful ones he'd been wanting to try. He had less than a week of nutrition potions to take, then he'd be free. However, he found the pepper up potion to be very useful. He would keep a generous supply of them. Over time he and Sirius began to leave the house in secret. "Screw Dumbledore" Harry had said. They had Dobby pop them around London at night under cover with the help of polyjuice potion. Dobby would supply them with hairs from muggles who walked by outside headquarters. Harry was enjoying himself and Sirius had loved the freedom as well.

Harry's old life popped back in once in a while. He loved Mrs. Weasley's cooking, but he craved Mexican. They would venture out to hunt for tacos occasionally. Sirius had even purchased tequila for both of them, and stocked the fridge with beer. Sirius hadn't questioned Harry about his new drinking habit. Harry had talked to Sirius about his worries concerning the war. They bonded over drinks, and Sirius would give his advice. Sirius had opened up with his regrets concerning his brother. Harry had lent him his ear through it all. In one occasion Sirius had used the opportunity to take Harry to Gringotts to proclaim him his heir. Some signed documents later, and it was official.

Harry had also taken the time to visit the attic to see Walburga Black. She of course called him plenty of names and he waited almost an hour for her to finish. He used the time as Occlumency training. Blocking her out was hard, but he made some progress. He had spoken to her about the changes to the home. The house was back to its former glory. He had informed her that he was Sirius' heir and would be the future lord. That had started her screeching once again. She obviously wanted Draco to inherit the house.

Harry didn't pull any punches. He told her all about Riddle. He told her how he used her family for his greed and was directly responsible for the downfall of the House of Black. It took Harry many conversations, but she had accepted him as the future lord. She had realized that the House of Black would be inherited by a half-blood either way. Be it Harry or Riddle by way of the Malfoys.

She had even told Harry of the secret room in the basement. It was under the same floor he and Sirius would sweat over during their duels. Kreacher had opened the magically sealed trap door for them. It held plenty of dark artifacts that past heads of the family wanted hidden from the ministry. It also had other useful tools. Harry had spotted a pensieve. He definitely wanted to try it soon. Sirius was in wonder of the room. Riches that he'd never imagined cluttered the room. The contents of their vaults paled in comparison to what he saw. They had chosen to keep it a secret.

Harry had also been proactive when he had asked Kreacher to only obey Sirius and him. No one else from the Black family could be trusted as they willingly served the enemy of House Black, Tom Riddle. Sirius had stared at Harry when he made the request. After Harry had told him he didn't want to risk the Malfoys gaining any information through the elf, Sirius reinforced the command.

Then the night before his trial had come. Harry was glad to get it over with. He had debated over trying to declare Sirius innocent, but with Fudge in office it would be difficult. He decdided to try if the opportuny presented itself otherwise he would wait till the end of the year when he would be replaced.

He had finished dueling when Harry faced Sirius.

"Molly is becoming annoying. She's nothing but rude to you. This is your house Sirius, stand up to her".

Sirius sighed. "I know it is Harry, but i just don't care anymore".

"If you keep letting her treat you like shit, she'll never take you seiously".

Sirius perked up at the word. Harry shook his head at his antics.

"You nervous about tommorow?".

"No".

"Really?".

"Really".

Sirius paused for a bit and continued "I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but a part of me kind of hopes you do get expelled and you stay here with me"

"Don't worry Sirius I won't. I've enjoyed spending time with you as well. Let's both survive this war so we can hang out in peace".

Sirius embraced Harry for a long time. Harry just patted his back.

"Sirius is it posible to apparate across the world to another country?".

Sirius thought about it for some time.

"No Harry, I don't think so. I know people use portkeys for long distance travel. Why?".

"No reason. I just wanted us to take a trip together".

"Where?".

Harry shrugged "Not important".

They continued to talk for the rest of the night.