Chaos of the Potter Family
Wanda: (Fanning self) God it's hot!
Tyene: (fooling with the air conditioning, throws me a dirty look) You were just at the beach! I thought water was supposed to make you zen, not cause you to complain more when you got back!
Wanda: I miss it already.
Tyene: (grumbles)
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Chapter 10: Crashing Down
"Nagini, come to me. ...Nagini!"
"M...My lord? Who are you speaking to?"
Voldemort – Tom Riddle – sat up in his chair, staring down at the snake horcrux at his feet. She was sleeping, showing absolutely no sign that she was hearing his voice. This had never happened before. And his connection to her felt weak, despite her being his horcrux.
Then his eyes fell on the newspaper a terrified Peter Pettigrew had seen, dropped on the table and then hightailed it out of there. When Riddle read the headline, the room exploded with AK light, leaving dozens of dead bodies on the floor.
Slytherin House Revived – Lady Slytherin pregnant with the first Heir to the main house in three hundred years.
"I AM THE HEIR OF SLYTHERIN!"
But even as he said this, Tom Riddle felt a stab of an unusual emotion – fear. He couldn't speak parceltougne anymore.
He had lost the power of the Slytherin Line. He needed to reclaim it at all costs.
Who was this false 'Lord of Slytherin?'
**~Elsewhere, near Harry's Place~**
Hannah Abbot was fidgeting with her necklace as she stepped out of the car her parents had commissioned to bring them to this mystery destination...the place where Harry Potter was staying, allegedly. Beatrice looked down at a sheet of paper in her hands, and called out, "Castle Potter, Black, Peverell, Slytherin and Gaunt. 111 Heavens Gate." What had looked like uninhabited forest area shuddered, revealing a wrought iron gate with the words, "Harry's Place" written across the top. Hannah blinked, and glanced over at her best friend and technical step sister, Susan Bones. After the death of Susan's last parental influence, Amelia, Beatrice and Tobias had adopted Susan into their family – after all, the Abbots and the Bones had been long friends, and the twosome had been close as sisters ever since they met.
"You don't have to be so nervous, Hannah," Susan promised her friend, holding her wrist as Beatrice gestured for them to follow through the open gate. "Harry's the Prophecy Child. There's no better place for you to be."
"I guess I didn't imagine sharing my husband," Hannah admitted. "What if I don't get along with his other wives?"
"Oh, bullocks!" Susan said hotly, slapping her hand onto her friend/sister's shoulder. "You're you, Hannah. You're sweet and friendly and you make everyone laugh. Everyone likes you! You're going to do just fine."
"I guess I wish I had talked to him before," Hannah said with a sigh. "I mean, after second year, the basilisk...I should have-"
"Should have what? You were always the first person standing up for him! He was just returning the favour when he warned you to close your eyes." Susan said.
Hannah had nearly been a victim of the basilisk in the second year, given her mixed pureblood/muggle born heritage. The creature had nearly come upon her in the hallway, but Harry had been there. Upon hearing it talking, Harry warned her to close her eyes, and lead her back to the safety of the Hufflepuff dorm. This happened only a few hours before he went down to the basement to rescue his sister, the mysterious Lady Potter.
"This is a beautiful place," Hannah mused, looking around the grassy lands. "I could probably cultivate a great garden here. With the lake nearby, good temperature, and different grounds to work on, there's all sorts of things I could raise."
"You're probably right. Just warn me where you plant the finger eating ones before I go for my walk." Susan said dryly.
"Are you seriously still mad about that?! I said sorry, and I warned you!" Hannah said, flustered.
"We're here, girls." Tobias called, as they stepped out into the sunlight. Hannah let out a small, impressed noise as she looked at the elegant, yet very modern house perched on the hill in front of the sparkling blue lake.
Hannah bit her lip, a bit uncertain of going in despite her knowledge of Harry, and Susan/her mother's soothing comments. Harry Potter had announced his resignation from Hogwarts quite abruptly two months ago, directly following a publicized Death Eater attack on muggle London. Any attempts to contact him had failed, even by the Headmaster. Two days later, there was a Daily Prophet spread about the Prophecy denoting Voldemort's potential downfall, and Harry's status as the Chosen One and the Prophecy child. The only other child who had fit the same criteria was Neville, who was recognized to be less powerful than Harry.
The Daily Prophet was owned by Daniel Greengrass. Just after this announcement, his family went under the Fieldus Charm at their summer home. Astoria and Daphne both left school at the same time; Daphne's betrothal to Lord Black had been announced two days earlier. The amazing thing about that is it wasn't Draco, as the boy had expected, but the timing lead some people to believe that Lord Black might be Harry – since the last Head of House had been Sirius Black, the exonerated too late godfather of the young man. Tracey Davis was pulled from school by her mother, who cited going into hiding due to the turbulent times.
Hogwarts wasn't safe anyone, she said.
Hannah snickered a bit. Draco had been having a very bad week. Not only did he discover he was not, and never was, going to be Lord Black, his fiance Pansy Parkinson eloped and vanished from the school, adding humiliation to insult to injury. A few days afterwards, the Slytherin Votes in the Wizamgot locked up completely, shutting out both Voldemort's supporters and the attempted proxies Dumbledore had set up...under the order of the new Lady Slytherin.
Even Draco was smart enough to connect the dots there.
Hannah had suspected that Harry was the Lord of Slytherin, and more, even before her mother and father had opened a line of dialogue with him about the settlement of the Life Debt and a marriage contract. If it was, then what had happened at the Wizamgot made perfect sense.
The Potter, Black, Slytherin, Davis, and Greengrass seats had all been frozen, and with their majorities not acting on any major decisions, the government was effectively paralyzed. The Slytherin house, by extension, was threatening to eject the former Slytherin 'proxies'. Voldemort was in a rage, which explained the varying attacks he had committed since. However, he had been completely unable to find his rival.
The door swung open, revealing Ayla from Ravenclaw. She smiled politely, eyes gleaming. "Lord and Lady Abbot. Lady Bones. Welcome." She bowed slightly. "Welcome to the House of Potter, Black and Slytherin. I'm Ayla Hydra, daughter of the Lord's lawyer."
"You're mother's Lenore, right? I've met her before. She's a shrewd woman." Tobias complimented. "Please, lead the way."
Ayla lead them into the spacious living room, through two hallways. The place was spacious, beautiful and lovely, but there weren't many pictures on the walls. The great sitting room on the first floor, and there were people already waiting for them. Harry was drinking tea, with Lenore and Alys sitting on his right and four girls on his right.
"Welcome!" Lord Harry Potter, Black, Slytherin, Gaunt and Peverell said warmly, waving the four in. "Welcome, Lord and Lady Abbot. Hannah. And...Susan? Hello, I wasn't expecting you here."
"I was adopted into the Abbot family after the death of my aunt." Susan explained, bowing her head.
Harry's expression became contrite. "Of course. Forgive me; I had forgotten. I'm sorry for your loss."
"Thank you."
"Please, sit down. Let's talk shop." Harry said, gesturing to the couch directly across from him and his wives. A dreamy looking blonde, a redhead with a coy smile dressed as a muggle despite her noble look, a serious looking honey blonde girl wearing chain mail, a smiling heather haired girl with a slight baby bump, and another familiar redhead sitting at Harry's side with a smile.
"Tracey!?" Hannah said with a surprise.
"It's nice to see you, Hannah!" Tracey Potter responded, waving slightly. "Yes, it's me."
"Is that you, Weasley?" Susan asked, looking over at the redhead.
"Potter," Guinevere corrected. "I am the Lady Potter, Harry's long lost sister. I was hidden among the Weasley family after the deaths of our parents. My real name is Guinevere Potter."
Both Abbots looked genuinely surprised for a few second. Which was funny, because Tobias Abbot was a hard man to rattle, since he had lead men into battle multiple times over the course of his thirty five years of life. "Did you know this?" Beatrice asked.
Guinevere shook her head. "Not until I stumbled across it when sneaking into the Headmaster's office. He tried to arrange a marriage between us. I don't know if Molly and Arthur know, because I saw her memory being altered in the memory."
Hannah gagged, Susan looked revolted, and both Abbot parents scowled. "Good heavens." Beatrice said in disgust. "I hope you've done something about that."
"I have," Harry confirmed. "May I introduce myself and my companions again? I am Harry James Potter-Black, Lord of Slytherin, Gaunt and Peverell. This is my sister, Guinevere Lillian Potter, Lady Potter and joint Head of the Potter House."
"My first wife, Pansy Patricia Slytherin...who is now pregnant with the true Heir to that Ancient House." Pansy smiled uncertainly, waving her fingers. She hoped that neither Hannah or Susan hated her for how she had behaved at school.
Susan eased her concerns by chuckling. "You really missed out on Draco's reaction to you running off on him," she joked. "It was comedic gold."
"The only better response must be Voldemort's when he discovers he isn't the Heir of Slytherin anymore," Hannah added.
Harry nodded, chuckling quietly. "I imagine. My second wife, Luna Celeste Peverell."
"I remember you," Luna said to Hannah. "You told off Marietta when she tried to steal my bag once. I don't know if I ever thanked you for that, so I will now."
"The Peverells," Beatrice said with soft awe. "So they really do still exist."
"My third wife, Daphne Katrina Black...the Lady Knight of my Household and my war." Daphne bowed her head politely, smirking proudly at her longed for title.
"My fourth wife, Tracey Adelle Potter, sharing joint headship of House Potter and Mariarch of the main family." Tracey smiled shyly, waving her fingers.
"And finally, my confident and loyal assistants, without whos assistance I would still be hopelessly naieve and possibly dead." A wave of quiet laughter rippled through the room. "My lawyer and Master of Legal Affairs, Lenore Hydra, along with her daughter Ayla. My current Proxy for the Davis, Potter and Gaunt seats in the Wizamgot."
"So that's why they were frozen," Tobias guessed.
"Indeed," Harry affirmed. "Pansy is already in the process of evicting those 'politicians'" He said the word with sarcasm and distaste, "who had coasted into their role thanks to their connection to the Slytherin House at Hogwarts or the branches of the family. With the reactivation of Gaunt, our power to do so will be complete, and Dolores Umbridge will have to collect bottle caps on the street for her new source of income. Unless she has merits other than abusing children and shopping around racist laws."
"I doubt that," Hannah said sourly, brushing the back of her hand. She had only been in detention with Umbridge for a week – for standing up to her when the teacher threw slurs at Remus Lupin and other werewolves – but that had been long enough.
"I thought about throwing her in Azkaban," Pansy said with mock thought, "but I have a sense that being a powerless nobody is a much more fitting punishment for a grubby, hateful social climber like her."
Susan cackled at the thought, while Beatrice smirked. "It would certainly be poetic."
"So, you will take Hannah as your wife for Gaunt?" Tobias guessed, given that it was the only name that had not come up before.
"If she consents, yes." Harry explained. "I admit I didn't know your daughter very well, but my experience has been that Hannah is one of the few who stood up for me when the whole school turned against me, during both my second and fourth year. She's a kind soul, and with Gaunt's dark history, that's the only way things will be turned around."
"I consent," Hannah said, blinking. "You're really waiving the Life Debt?"
"I don't need a prize for doing the right thing," Harry said firmly. Beatrice smirked in approval, Tobias looked both surprised and suitably impressed with this boy's moral character, and Hannah smiled. Harry offered her the silver ring, and she took it.
"The Mercenary Guild is at your disposal. I assume they will go to Lady Knight Black for instructions?" Tobias guessed.
"With your assistance." Daphne Black said with a slight curtsy. "If we destroy enough of his forces, with his rage over loosing the Slytherin House, Tom Riddle will come to us." She smiled over at Susan, who grinned in understanding.
"When you kill a tyrant, you don't stab him in the dark," The young brown haired girl quoted, "you kill him where the whole court can see it."
Daphne nodded, and winked almost flirtatiously at the other girl. Susan hopped slightly in her seat. "Can I contribute the Bones seat to this adventure?"
Harry glanced over at her adoptive parents, silently asking for their permission. When Tobias tilted his head in acceptance, he shook Susan's hand and said, "Of course. There will be precautions to ensure your safety when we go to the Ministry." He assured her.
"So, we're going to walk up to the Ministry, lock down the corrupt court, announce the titles, and wave at the self proclaimed 'Dark Lord' to 'come and get me'?" Guinevere asked her brother.
When Harry smiled grimly, she chuckled and drained a glass of milk. "Sounds like fun."
**~The Next Day~**
Dumbledore was surprised to see the embargo on the door to the Ministry had been lifted. He gestured for the Order, consisting of Arthur, Kingsley, Tonks, McGonagall, and Vance, to keep on their toes as they entered the building, along with Rufus and a handful of wizamgot members who had kept their roles in the parliment after the bizzare but forceful purge the previous day, which had thrown many members – including Umbridge – out onto the street via armed mercenaries.
The mercenaries were still there, armed with both wands and muggle machine guns. They were dressed in black, wearing the sigil of house Slytherin, coldly directing them further into the building towards the Senate Seats. Their presence was eerie and unnerving.
Finally, they were brought into the Chamber. And Dumbledore stopped cold.
Harry was lounging in the Minister seat, dressed in white and blue ceremonial robes that dated back to the time when the Potter family ruled as Kings and Queens in their own right. On a new chair, brought up just next to him, was a tall, beautiful young girl with red hair in a blue chain mail dress. Her brown eyes were glaring straight into him.
"So, the interlopers and graspers have arrived," Harry intoned coldly. His voice radiated authority and power. "Good. Go and sit. We have much to discuss."
"My boy-"
"Lord." Harry interrupted coldly. "I am Lord Harry Potter Peverell and Black, Slytherin and Gaunt, and I am nobody's boy. Go and sit, Dumbledore, and do not speak out of turn."
"G...Ginny?" Arthur asked gently, looking confused and uncertain. "What's...?"
The redhead's eyes softened just a bit. "You really didn't know, did you Arthur?" She stood up. "You raised me as your own daughter, never knowing that you had been given a Changeling by a manipulative old man."
Dumbledore paled. The redhead stabbed him with a glare. "Molly Weasley did in fact go barren after she gave birth to her son Ronald. My birth name is Guinevere Lillian Potter, and I was taken from my remaining family by a man who interferes too much." She sat down again. "You and your wife were kind and good to me, despite struggling to take care of yourselves. I am grateful for it."
Arthur teared up slightly, both sad and happy. Rufus, of course, interrupted the moment, yelling, "You're in my chair, Potter!"
"No, it is mine." Harry said calmly. "My houses control the maximum of the seats that were once the emissaries of the Kingdoms. I am descended from the Potters of Mu, and by that line of descendant – which you hold so dearly, pure bloods that you are – I am the ruler of this section of the world."
The girls nodded and smirked.
"Pansy! What are you doing there!" Draco shrieked when he saw his former fiance sitting near Harry.
"I'm with my husband." Pansy said firmly. "And you will address me as Lady Slytherin, Malfoy."
"Like hell! You are to be my wife! Lord Black is MY title! Potter! You've mocked me for too long! I demand a Blood Feud Duel!"
End Chapter
For reference, Harry's outfit is based on Lelouch's Emperor getup from when he ascends in Code Geass. Meanwhile, Ginny's blue dress is based on Daenerys's blue scale dress from Season 3 of Game of Thrones. Also, aww Draco, you really think you can win by throwing one last temper tantrum? that's cute. But what will result from a Blood Fued Duel?
Read and Review please!