Chapter Ten – Cleaning House
The meeting at Gringotts went better than Sirius expected. He discovered a lot of interesting things that the goblins were more than happy to share with him. First of all, there was far more money in the Black family fortune than he was ever aware of before. He knew his family always managed their money well but he didn't expect that they had trusted the goblins enough to arrange for them to continue with the investment plan so the Black fortune never stopped increasing. Because of that decision Sirius was now one of the richest wizards in Britain.
He also found that as Lord Black he had the ability and right to disown any family members that were not abiding by the family values and standards. This was especially true of an ancient and most noble house. One could not allow the reputation of such a house to be sullied.
On top of that, as Lord Black he could attempt to recover any funds that disowned family members ever received from the Black fortune, including inheritances and dowries. In addition, a financial penalty could be levied against the disowned to pay for the damages their behavior caused an ancient and most noble house.
This information caused Sirius to give some very serious thought about his wayward cousins. Working with the goblins, Sirius drew up some grievances against Narcissa Malfoy nee Black and Bellatrix Lestrange nee Black to start the ball rolling. Some of the grievances included:
· Blacks bowing down to Lord Voldemort – Blacks bow to no man, especially a half blood who is no lord at all.
· Blacks becoming Death Eaters which are nothing more than servants to Voldemort. Blacks are never servants.
· The murdering of innocents.
· Unprovoked attacks on other pureblood families.
· Bellatrix and the Lestranges attack on the Ancient and Most Noble House of Longbottom.
He also drew up a letter for Andromeda Tonks nee Black to inform her that the new Lord Black stood for the light and would sincerely like for her and her family to come back into the fold. He informed her that there was an inheritance waiting for her when she did. He continued to explain that pureblood prejudices were a thing of the past for the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black.
In addition, Sirius worked with the goblins to start the recovery of any inheritance money from Narcissa and Bellatrix. Along with that he began discussions with the goblins concerning how much he should fine the Malfoy's and the Lestranges for the harm their activities had caused the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black. In the end it was decided to fine them each 3 million galleons along with the return of their inheritance monies. Bellatrix was fined an additional 2 million galleons to serve as restitution for the Longbottoms.
All of the correspondence was sent from Gringotts and from Lord Black on official parchment with no mention of Sirius being Lord Black.
oOo
Ted Tonks had just arrived home from work when he was met at the door by his wife Andromeda. She appeared to be excited about something.
"Come in Ted, I have something I need to show you."
Ted walked in the door a little quicker than usual wondering what his wife needed to show him. When he came in she handed him a letter on Gringotts letterhead.
"Read it" she told him.
Ted sat down and began to read the letter and his mouth began to open wider and wider as he took in what the letter was saying. He finished reading it before he realized how wide open his mouth was. He quickly closed it and looked up at his wife.
"It does not say who the new Lord Black is. Do you know who it might be?"
"No, Ted, I don't. At first I thought it might be Sirius but it can't be him. He's still running from the Ministry and is not free to take on this role. He would have to be cleared of all charges before he could officially take up the position. Perhaps he contacted one of our relatives that doesn't live here."
"Perhaps. Either way it's good news for you Andie."
"It's good news for the both of us. The Blacks have good standing in the wizarding world and with that backing so will we. Plus, don't forget that we'll receive my inheritance that was withheld from me before."
"That is good news. We can always use a few extra galleons in the bank."
"I'm going to respond to the letter and let him know that we can meet with him at his earliest convenience."
oOo
Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy were having a leisurely lunch when an elf walked in with a Gringotts owl on her arm.
"Begging your pardon, Madam, but this owl will not allow me to take the letter for you. It is insisting on giving it to you only."
"Bring it to me then, Lolly."
When Lolly walked up to Narcissa the owl stuck out its leg so she could untie the letter and retrieve it. As soon as the letter was in Narcissa's hand the owl left quickly to go back to Gringotts. Narcissa opened the letter and began to read. As she read it her face was slowly turning beet red.
"Narcissa, is there something wrong?" asked Lucius as his wife was steadily getting angrier.
She lowered the letter to the table and stood up ready to burst.
"There is a new Lord Black and he has DISOWNED ME! NOT ONLY THAT HE IS DEMANDING MY INHERITANCE MONEY BACK PLUS RESTITUTION OF THREE MILLION GALLEONS FOR HARMING THE REPUTATION OF THE ANCIENT AND MOST NOBLE HOUSE OF BLACK. AAAAAAAAHHHH!" she yelled and then screamed, stamping her feet.
Just then Bellatrix barged in but waited until Narcissa finished throwing her fit.
"I see you got your letter too, Cissy," said Bellatrix.
"Disowned? Return inheritance? 3 million galleons restitution?"
"Yes, yes, and yes. Plus he wants an additional 2 million from me paid to the Longbottoms."
"Ouch," replied Narcissa. "That will nearly wipe you guys out."
"Not if I find out who it is and kill him first."
"Bella, I doubt even that will stop him. He has legal standing. The letter is from him and Gringotts. The money will likely be drawn from your vault anyway."
"How does he have legal standing? The Black family has always been dark."
"He is changing the Black family to put it on the light side but even before that the Black family did not agree with what we are doing. We were always taught that the Blacks never bow down to any man or become servants to another. I'm surprised you forgot that. We bow down to the Dark Lord. You and Lucius have taken the Dark Mark becoming his servants. That goes against the Black family values even before this new Lord Black came along, whoever he is."
"Surely it's Sirius," offered Lucius.
"It can't be until he's exonerated and set free. Officially he can't be recognized until then, is my understanding," replied Narcissa. "Although he could have contacted some of our relatives not in the country and convinced one of them to do it. There are other Blacks who are on the light side just like Sirius. That's why they live in other countries to be away from the Dark side of the family."
"Possible, but I still say we should kill him," said Bellatrix.
"You be careful Bella," replied Narcissa. "He is likely to be wearing the ring and that could be dangerous for you if you attack him."
"That's only if another Black attacks Lord Black. Since he disowned me then I'm no longer a Black."
"Good point but you still have Black blood in your veins and I'm not so sure that won't count. I doubt that protection was removed. You had better give that some thought before you get reckless."
Bellatrix frowned at that.
oOo
Harry couldn't believe his luck when Sirius was asked to go to the Ministry on a Thursday to receive his apology and compensation for his wrongful imprisonment. There was no way he was going to allow Sirius to go by himself and Harry was free all day on Thursdays. Remus took the day off as well which caused Snape to have to fill in for him. Remus and Tonks joined Harry so they escorted Sirius to the Ministry together. Sirius was dressed in all black looking every bit the Lord he was. Remus was dressed normally in wizarding robes and Tonks was in her red auror uniform. Harry went as himself but he was dressed in all black with a hood covering his face aided by a spell that was obscuring it as well.
They received many stares and whispers from onlookers as they walked by after arriving by floo. Tonks came out first taking a quick look around for any possible threats. She was followed by Remus who did the same quick check then Sirius who stepped out with a purposeful look on his face. He was followed quickly by Harry who no one recognized since his face was covered. They did wonder who the person was though. Even though they could not see his face they had no doubt the man was confident and likely very powerful since power seemed to radiate from him.
Peter had been tried on the previous day, on Wednesday afternoon, with Harry in attendance. He was given a good dose of veritaserum which made him sing like a bird to all their questions, letting the truth come out about Peter being the secret keeper, his setting up of Sirius to take the blame, and his faked death when he killed all those Muggles.
Harry knew the aurors would be questioning him more to find out some of the information Harry had already pulled from Peter's head, like where Voldemort's base was. Since Harry had already found that out and planned their attack on Malfoy Manor, he was hoping to hit the manor well ahead of the aurors. He knew he could just let the aurors do it but he wanted to make sure it was done right. The Malfoy money and home had to be completely taken away from Voldemort.
There was a platform setup in the atrium for the announcement. It looked like most of the reporters from the various wizarding publications were there to get the story. Harry went even more on alert when he saw Rita Skeeter with her patented hungry look for a scoop.
They timed it so their arrival was just before the start of the scheduled announcement. They were trying to limit any chance of a problem. It was obvious that the press were instructed that they could not ask questions until after the announcement. They were looking eager but did not stop Sirius as he walked past and up onto the platform where he greeted Minister Scrimgeour and Amelia Bones.
There was a space left of about 10 feet between the platform and the audience for safety reasons. A couple of aurors were positioned in that space on each side of the front of the platform facing the audience, their eyes constantly scanning the people and their surroundings. Harry was standing to the side keeping his eyes on everyone. Tonks and Remus had taken positions behind the platform to guard their backs. When the greetings were completed Scrimgeour went to the podium and got everyone's attention so they could begin.
"May I have everyone's attention, please? It's time to start the proceedings." He waited a few seconds for the noise to die down. "Yesterday afternoon in the Wizengamot we tried and convicted a man we thought for many years now was dead. Not only did we think he was dead we thought his killer had been captured, tried and convicted, then thrown into Askaban. How wrong we were!"
"As you can see Sirius Black is up here with me at my request because we owe him a huge apology. The man we tried and convicted yesterday was none other than Peter Pettigrew."
The crowd erupted at that point, getting loud and shouting questions. Scrimgeour pointed his wand at his throat and amplified his voice.
"Sonorus."
"Please, please. Hold your questions until after the announcements. We realize how shocking this is but I will give you the detail if you will just quiet down."
The audience stopped to listen again.
"Quietus."
"Through the use of veritaserum we were able to determine that Peter Pettigrew was the secret keeper for the Potters, not Sirius Black. It was part of their plan to pretend that Black was the secret keeper since he would have been the obvious choice hoping to help protect Pettigrew. What they did not know was that Pettigrew was a traitor and a Death Eater. He betrayed the Potters that night, not Sirius Black. He then faked his death making it look like Black was guilty."
"We also discovered that Sirius Black never received a trial. This was most disturbing. Had he been tried and given veritaserum he would not have had to spend all those years in Askaban. The truth would have been revealed years ago. For that reason, not only do we offer Sirius Black our deepest, most heartfelt apologies for his wrongful imprisonment, it has been decided to give him 100,000 galleons for every year he was in Askaban. Investigations show Bartemius Crouch was responsible for not having a trial. Mr. Crouch was killed two years ago so there is nothing more to be done about that. Sirius Black would you please come up?"
Sirius rose from his seat and approached the podium. Scrimgeour stepped aside so Sirius could speak a few words.
"Good morning. While I would love to have all those years back, I know I cannot so I accept your apology in an effort to move forward past all of this unpleasantness. I also thank you for the money given for restitution. That is very much appreciated. Now that we have that out of the way, I have a few announcements I would like to make."
"First of all, as of this past Sunday afternoon I am now Lord Black, Lord of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black."
There was some mumbling and noise from the audience when they heard that. Sirius waited for them to quiet back down.
"Secondly, I have instituted some changes regarding the Black family values. Number one, the Black family will no longer be dark, we are now on the light side."
This caused more noise from the audience. Some were pleased, others were not. Sirius simply waited for them to stop. When they saw they were holding up receiving more information they quieted back down quickly.
"Number three, I have instituted an old law and disowned Narcissa Malfoy nee Black and Bellatrix Lestrange nee Black. Any Black monies such as inheritance will be returned to the Black family. In addition, I have fined both of them three million galleons each as restitution for the harm they have caused the name of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black."
The crowd really erupted this time. People were starting to show their true colors. Suddenly Harry heard 'Avada Kedavra' and saw the green light erupt from a wand pointed at Sirius. With hardly a thought Harry conjured a curved brick wall that blocked the spell and exploded on contact. He followed up immediately with another spell that dissolved the exploding wall before it hit anyone.
Sirius grabbed the minister and tackled him to the floor when he saw the green spell. He didn't see that Harry had started moving and casting spells at the same time. Because of that Harry was standing in front of the Death Eater who had cast the killing curse just a moment after he had stopped it and vanished the exploding wall. Most were ducking and turning away from the explosion. Harry was not.
Harry was just standing there in front of the Death Eater, then with lightning fast reflexes, he kicked the Death Eater in both knees, breaking both legs. However, before he could fall down, Harry broke both of his arms at the elbows before taking his wand and snapping it while he watched the Death Eater fall to the floor in great pain and unable to move. Harry then summoned any portkeys from his person. There were two on him. He then turned and walked up to the platform to check on Sirius, pocketing the portkeys.
Harry left the Death Eater in pain instead of stunning him. The man was still yelling in pain as Harry talked to Sirius and the minister until an auror stunned him to shut him up. Two aurors floated him out of the atrium and away from the crowd. Sirius stood back up in front of the podium again. Harry left to return to his position again to watch.
"Well, that was fun," Sirius said. There were a few nervous laughs from the audience. "Let me see, where was I? Oh yes, I also fined Bellatrix Lestrange an additional two million galleons as restitution for the Ancient and Most Noble House of Longbottom."
The crowd was surprisingly quiet after the incident with more looking at Harry than at Sirius.
"Just so everyone is clear, Narcissa and Bellatrix shamed the House of Black according to the old family values. They have shamed it even more now that the House of Black is on the light side. They were disowned and fined based on the old family values. While the House of Black in the past has been more on the dark side the major point was a pureblood bias. At no time in the long history of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black did it ever advocate bowing down to another man or becoming servants to another man. Blacks. Are. Not. Servants. Period. Both Bellatrix Lestrange and Lucius Malfoy are known Death Eaters. That makes them servants to a Dark lord who is a half-blood and no real lord at all."
This caused some whispers among the crowd but Sirius continued.
"I have also made contact with Andromeda Tonks nee Black to welcome her and her family back into the fold. From this point forward the Tonks family are under the protection and part of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black family. Any questions?"
"Yes, I have one big one," announced Rita Skeeter.
"Go ahead," replied Sirius.
"Who is that man over there?" she asked pointing at Harry.
Sirius laughed. He found it funny that what Harry did took all the attention of the press away from him.
"Is everyone just as curious as Ms. Skeeter here?"
The crowd all nodded.
"I'm sorry but I cannot tell you that. What I can tell you is that he is my highly trained body guard and you would be wise not to get on his bad side like the Death Eater he took care of earlier. Any more questions?"
The audience just stared at Harry for a bit, still not able to see his face. Harry never moved.
"Yes, I have a question," said a male reporter down front. Sirius nodded at him. "What do you plan on doing next?"
"I guess this would be a good opportunity to let the Wizengamot know I will be taking my seat for the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black on Monday. I will also speak to my godson Harry Potter to see if he would like me to proxy the vote for the Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter as he is still underage. I suspect the Black and Potter families have been sorely missed on the Wizengamot these many years."
There were a few Wizengamot members present who did not agree with his assessment. They feared the tide was going to shift in the Wizengamot to the light side. Amelia Bones could not help but smile at that information.
After it was over, Sirius and his entourage were taken to the Minister's office. Amelia Bones joined them.
"Would anyone like a drink?" asked the minister as they all came in and sat down, except for Harry and Tonks who remained standing.
"No thanks, Rufus," answered Sirius. Everyone else shook their heads no.
"Ah, Sirius. It's so good to have this cleared up finally. However, there is one more piece of business that remains outstanding. Yesterday when Pettigrew was convicted, he was sentenced to go through the veil. We have scheduled that to happen at 3:00 this afternoon. I was wondering if you would like to be present for that?"
Sirius thought it over for a few seconds. "Yes, I believe I would and I think Harry would like to be there too."
"Are you sure he should witness something like that? asked Scrimgeour. "He's still underage."
"Only in years, Rufus. That boy grew up several years ago. He's a man now and he came by it honestly. He was forced into it. I would be surprised if he didn't want to witness Peter's demise, after all it was his parents Peter betrayed to Voldemort."
"Very well, I will have him notified of the event so he can decide for himself."
"That won't be necessary, Rufus. I plan on having lunch with Harry today to go over what transpired earlier and I will let him know about this afternoon."
"Sounds good, Sirius. I will let you take care of that then. Why don't you and Harry show up here in my office a little before three and we'll head over to the Department of Mysteries together?"
"Alright, Rufus. That sounds like a plan. We'll see you this afternoon." Sirius rose from his seat to leave.
"Yes, I'm sure as the new Lord Black you have plenty to keep you busy. I will see you again this afternoon."
"Thanks Rufus," Sirius said while shaking his hand. He then turned to leave and stopped in front of Amelia.
"Thanks Amelia. Your work on this to get to the truth was flawless. Thank you."
"It was Harry, Sirius. Harry was the one that made all this happen. You should be thanking him."
"Oh, I already have but I can guarantee he will hear some more of that."
Amelia smiled as Sirius, Remus, Tonks, and the bodyguard left the minister's office.
"Tonks?" called Amelia.
Tonks came back to Amelia.
"Yes, Boss?"
"Stay with Sirius today and guard him. He will be returning this afternoon anyway. You can make sure he and Harry get here safely."
"Yes, Boss, I'm on it." Tonks then left to catch up with Sirius.
"Amelia?" asked Scrimgeour. "Do you have any idea who the bodyguard was with Sirius?"
"No, Rufus, I don't. I thought a couple of my aurors knew from the way they were acting but they were not willing to share the information. I'll tell you what though, he is a force to be reckoned with. Did you see what he did to that Death Eater?"
"Yes, Sirius dove out of the way of the killing curse and tackled me at the same time. Had that curse been aimed at me then I would likely owe him my life. However, after I landed I turned my head to see the action and saw what he did. I have never seen anyone move like that before and something tells me we have not even seen half of what he can do. He would be an excellent asset to the DMLE."
"Yes, I will have to keep my eyes open for that one."
oOo
Back at Grimmauld Place the group was enjoying a wonderful lunch prepared by Winky and Kreacher. Dobby decided he would keep working to clean up and repair the old Black house.
"Harry," said Sirius. "Who was the Death Eater you broke?"
Everyone started chuckling at his use of words.
"Not sure," answered Harry. "He was polyjuiced. I guess he was waiting to make sure his spell hit you before he took a portkey out. I suppose we can ask this afternoon. They should know by then."
"I'll ask Amelia," replied Sirius. "Hey, have I told you guys how proud I am of my godson?"
"You might have mentioned it once or twice, Padfoot," answered Remus with a smile.
"Well I am, you know. Here is this Death Eater trying to kill me with a Killing Curse while I'm giving a speech. He cast it and I start diving for cover and taking the Minister for Magic down with me to make sure he gets out the way too. Not my godson though. No, he doesn't dive for cover. What does he do?"
"We have all heard this before Padfoot," pleaded Harry.
"Oh but it's so much fun to tell, right Moony?"
"Yes, it is. Tonks and I were in the back and didn't get to see all the action as well as some. Hearing how the afore mentioned godson heroically saved the day is never tiresome," Remus added with a grin.
"Here we go again," mumbled Harry.
"Alright guys," said Tonks. "Don't you think you've picked on Harry enough? After all he was just doing his job and he's one of the best kissers I know."
"Oh brother," mumbled Harry.
"Well, being the hero and all he must kiss like a hero as well," added Sirius.
"Oh yeah, I remember that story last Christmas you shared Tonks," said Remus. "As I recall Harry beat up four big guys and saved a girl. Sounds like he was being a hero that day too."
Harry suddenly got an idea that he thought might shut them up.
"Okay, okay, okay! Enough! I admit it. I was the hero today. I stopped the Killing Curse and took out the Death Eater. That makes me the hero and the hero always kisses the girl at the end."
"Huh?" they all asked confused by his last statement but it was too late.
Harry had already got up from the table as part of the show and moved around by Tonks. After they asked 'Huh' Harry grabbed Tonks and planted a big kiss right on her lips. It wasn't a short one either. He really laid one on her. Tonks just went limp as he finished the kiss and stood back up.
"There! I saved the day and kissed the girl!" announced Harry. "That ought to do it."
Remus and Sirius just stared at him dumbfounded.
"Wow, I'm all tingly now," whispered Tonks to no one in particular.
"I'm going to head back to Hogwarts to change my clothes and look more like Harry. I'll be back at 2:30 so we'll have time to go early to the minister's office before 3:00. See you guys in a little while."
Harry left the dining room while pulling out his watch. When he had it in the palm of his hand he mumbled 'School Office' and disappeared.
"Did you see that Moony? Did you see it?" asked Sirius.
"I saw it."
"Have I told you guys how proud I am of my godson?"
"Padfoot, he's no longer here right now so why are you starting that again?"
"No, this is different. We were picking on him and bugging him, you know like we normally do, and then he completely turns it around on us and shuts us down. Who does that remind you of?"
"Lily."
"Correct you are Moony. That is definitely not James. He looks like James but he acts like Lily sometimes. She was always able to outsmart us just like he did."
"I suppose he's getting better after his breakup with Rachel. He really was having a hard time with it this summer. I don't think he would have pulled that joke on us and Tonks if he wasn't doing a lot better about that relationship."
"I agree Remus," added Tonks. "It was very difficult on him when they broke up but he really went to work and focused on the task at hand. I think that helped him get passed it."
"He's a good kid and fantastic godson who saved my life twice," added Sirius.
"Hey if you guys want to pick on him like that some more so that it ends up with him planting one on me again then go ahead. Trust me, I can handle it."
"Tonks, you are not supposed to enjoy that," said Remus. "He's just a kid."
"Remus, are you jealous?" asked Tonks.
"Of… of course not."
"Uh huh."
"I'm not… really."
"If you say so."
"Tonks?"
"Alright, since you say you're not jealous then I'll tell you something else. You said he's just a kid?" Remus nodded. "Well, I can guarantee you one thing, Wolfie, he doesn't kiss like a kid. Had he slipped me the tongue it would have been all over. In fact I had to force myself to remember who that was when he was kissing me because I almost slipped him the tongue before he quit."
With that Tonks walked into the lounge leaving a shocked Remus behind. Sirius, of course, was laughing… hard.
oOo
Harry was dressed in green dragon hide boots, pants, and vest under his Potter robe when he, Sirius, Remus, and Tonks arrived at the minister's office.
"It's good to see you again Lord Potter," Scrimgeour greeted him.
"And, you as well Minister Scrimgeour," Harry said shaking his hand.
"What happened to your bodyguard Sirius?" asked Scrimgeour.
"I gave him the afternoon off. After the announcement this morning and the failed attempt on my life they will think better of it. Besides, I have Harry with me. He'll protect me."
Harry smiled at his godfather.
"That's the point though isn't it? With Harry here I would think you would need your bodyguard more."
"On the contrary, Rufus. Harry can take care of himself. Who do you think he trains with all the time?" Scrimgeour's eyes widened at that information. "In fact, Harry's style is very similar because of all the training. Of course, you will need to keep his abilities a secret. The wrong people should not know this. It would ruin any advantage it might give him."
"Of course, your secret is safe with me. Shall we head over to the Department of Mysteries?"
They followed Scrimgeour to the veil in the Department of Mysteries. Harry was thinking he could have lead the whole party himself after the time he spent in here last June but he kept quiet about that. Amelia Bones was waiting for them when they arrived. He also saw Amos Diggory in the room over with some other people he didn't know.
"Harry, it's so good to see you again. How's school going?"
"It's going very well, Amelia. Thanks."
"Have you spoken to Susan lately?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact I have. I actually lean on her a bit in DA. She's a great help with the younger years when I need some assistance helping everyone. We've grown a bit since last year."
"Well, that's good."
"Yes, you should be proud of her. She's really getting good with her wand."
"I already am, Harry."
Harry smiled.
"Here they come with Pettigrew," she told him.
They brought Pettigrew in and stood him in front of the veil. He was bound in shackles, both hands and feet. Harry assumed they were magic dampeners as well. Harry then noticed that Dumbledore was there when he saw him step a little closer to Peter before speaking.
"Peter Pettigrew, you were sentenced to be sent through the veil for your crimes. Do you have any last words before your sentence is carried out?"
Peter fell to his knees and began pleading for his life. "Please, please! Don't do this! I beg of you. Just give me another chance, please?" He then burst into tears.
Harry slowly walked toward Peter until he was standing next to Dumbledore.
"Peter?" Harry called out to him calmly.
Peter looked up and saw Harry standing next to Dumbledore.
"Harry, please, please Harry! You won't let them do this to me will you?"
"You won't get any help from me Peter. You are a traitor and a coward. You must pay for your crimes. I watched you kill Cedric Diggory simply because Voldemort told you to 'kill the spare.' You betrayed Sirius and Remus. You betrayed my parents even when they considered you a friend. You betrayed me. But most of all, Peter, you betrayed yourself. Now look where it got you."
Peter whimpered and cried some more.
"It's time for you to man-up Peter and face your judgment," continued Harry. "For once in your life stop being a coward and be a man," Harry said a little heatedly before calming back down. "Peter, you only have one more chance left."
Peter continued his crying for a bit more but then stopped and looked up at Harry. He then stood and gave Harry a nod. Harry raised his wand and removed the shackles from Peter's hands and feet. As soon as Peter was free he calmly turned around and walked through the veil on his own.
After seeing that Harry turned around and walked back to Sirius before grabbing him in a fierce hug. Remus joined them while Tonks dried her eyes. Dumbledore was waiting when Harry finally let go and straightened his clothes.
"That was a fine thing you did Harry," offered Dumbledore. "Very well done." He moved off and saw Amos Diggory making his way toward Harry.
"Hello, Amos. It's good to see you again."
"You too, Albus."
Diggory made it to Harry and stood before him.
"Mr. Diggory? How can I help you?"
"You already have son. Cedric's mum and I thank you from the depths of our hearts for what you did here today and for your friendship with Cedric in his last days. Thank you Harry."
"It was my pleasure sir. You and your wife take care."
Diggory shook Harry's hand and left to go back to work.
"Harry, let's get out of this depressing place," said Remus.
"Come on Harry," said Sirius. "Remus is right, this place is depressing. Let's go home."
Tonks stayed at the Ministry but Harry, Sirius, and Remus went back to Grimmauld Place. They were only there a few minutes when an owl from Gringotts arrived with a letter for Sirius. He opened it to read it.
Lord Sirius Black,
After your name was cleared and you made yourself known as the new Lord Black, Gringotts implemented the changes you requested. The following funds were transferred from the Malfoy and Lestrange vaults into the Black Family vault:
Narcissa Malfoy nee Black 1.5 million galleons – inheritance
Narcissa Malfoy nee Black 3 million galleons – restitution
Bellatrix Lestrange nee Black 1.5 million galleons – inheritance
Bellatrix Lestrange nee Black 3 million galleons – restitution
Bellatrix Lestrange nee Black 2 million galleons – restitution (Longbottom)
A total of 11 million galleons were transferred.
We look forward to doing more business with the Black family. Please let us know how Gringotts can be of further service to you Lord Black.
May your gold continue to flow,
Gringotts Head Goblin
Gringotts Bank
Sirius looked up from his letter at Harry and Remus.
"It looks like I have some errands to run so you two can let yourselves out."
"We should probably get back to the castle anyway Sirius but can accompany you if you need us," replied Remus.
"No, I'll be fine. You know I don't really need a bodyguard, right? I have to run to Gringotts then go see the Longbottoms and Andromeda."
"Alright Sirius," replied Harry. "Just be careful."
"I'm going to floo back to my quarters at Hogwarts, Harry," said Remus. "You're welcome to join me."
"No thanks, Remus. I'm going to take my portkey back home so I can inform Mattie, my grandparents, and Simon about Sirius. They will want to know. I'll head back after that."
"Okay, Harry. I'll see you later then. You too, Sirius." Remus then left via floo.
"Bye, Sirius."
"Bye, Harry. Thanks for today."
"No problem. Legends of Potter."
Harry disappeared back to Potter Place.
Sirius took the floo to The Leaky Cauldron and then walked over toward Gringotts. He got many stares as he did so.
"Lord Black?" someone said behind him. Sirius stopped and turned around. There was a well-dressed man standing there. Sirius thought he was a member of the Wizengamot.
"Yes?"
"Where is your bodyguard?"
Sirius looked around for a little bit then turned back to the man who asked the question.
"I don't see him."
"Well, that's interesting."
"Of course, knowing him he could be anywhere. Just because you can't see him, that doesn't mean he's not around. He could even be right behind you and you would never know it."
The man whipped around to look behind him then turned back to Sirius when he didn't see anything.
"Funny," he said.
"It would be… if I was joking," said Sirius with a very serious look. With that Sirius turned back around and continued on to Gringotts chuckling to himself.
The man looked around carefully before he slowly went on his way.
In Gringotts Sirius had the goblins transfer both inheritance monies from Narcissa and Bellatrix (a total of 3 million galleons) to Andromeda and Ted Tonks vault along with her own 1.5 million galleons she was owed. He next had the 2 million galleons, plus 3 million galleons transferred to the Longbottom vault.
Leaving Gringotts he apparated over to Longbottom Manor and knocked on the door. Alice came to the door and greeted him.
"Sirius? Is that really you?"
"It's me. No one else could pull this off," he said gesturing to his person.
Alice grabbed him and hugged him then pulled him into the house.
"What can we do for you, Sirius? I know you have a reason for showing up on our doorstep."
"I do but it's not what you can do for me but what I can do for you. Actually, I've already done it. Is Frank and Augusta around?"
"Yes, they're both here. I believe we can find them in the Lounge." She took Sirius to the lounge where indeed Frank and his mother were talking. "Frank, Mum, look who I found at the front door."
"Sirius Black, as I live and breathe," said Frank rising from his chair.
"Hello Frank. It's really good to see you doing so well. Hello Augusta, you are looking as lovely as ever."
"Sirius, you've always been the charmer," she replied. "I was very glad to hear them clear your name today."
"Me, too. Of course someone tried to kill me but failed miserably. Some wannabe Death Eater still wet behind the ears. He never knew what hit him. He was sent by Bellatrix I learned after they questioned him."
"That figures," said Frank. "She's a nasty one."
"Bellatrix is the main reason I'm here," Sirius announced.
"How so?" asked Alice.
"Well, as the new Lord Black I required all Black monies be returned from Narcissa and Bellatrix for smearing the Black family reputation. This included their inheritance and fines. I disowned them both. I fined them 3 million galleons each for damaging the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black. I also fined Bellatrix and the Lestranges 2 million galleons for attacking the Ancient and Most Noble House of Longbottom. As of this afternoon those monies were collected and I had them transfer 5 million galleons into the Longbottom vault."
"That is too much Sirius," replied Frank. "The 2 million will be more than sufficient."
"No, Frank. As Lord Black I am responsible for what she did while still a Black. She should have been taken down and disowned years ago. 5 million does not even come close for what she did and if it weren't for Harry you would not be able to enjoy it. I know the finances have been a struggle for Augusta since you were attacked. This will help get the Longbottoms back on their feet and with you and Alice active again I expect great things from you."
"Thank you Sirius," said Augusta as she hugged him. "You and your godson have done more for this family then anyone has ever done. We will not forget."
"You're welcome Augusta. You guys let me know if you ever need anything else. The Black family has gone over to the light side. Things are changing for the better and my godson is leading the way."
Alice hugged Sirius as well. "Thank you Sirius for doing that for us."
Frank shook his hand. "Sirius, just let us know where we can help. We will be there."
"Thanks. I had better run. I have another stop to make. It appears Andromeda is coming back into the fold. The Tonks family will be under the protection of the Blacks from now on."
"That's good to hear, Sirius," said Frank. "Take care."
Frank walked Sirius out to the edge of the property where he could apparate. Sirius modified his clothes a bit to look more Muggle then left the Longbottoms and landed at the edge of the Tonks residence. It was evening time now and they had a nice house in a Muggle neighborhood. Sirius walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell.
Ted answered the door to a smiling Sirius. "Sirius?"
"Hello, Ted. I have some news. Can I come in?"
"Certainly. Come on in. ANDIE? YOUR LONG LOST COUSIN IS HERE," he called up to his wife.
Before Sirius could get very far into the house, his cousin came barreling down the stairs and grabbed him in a big hug.
"Sirius, it's so good to see you. What brings you here? Is it safe?"
"Yes, did you not hear? I was exonerated today. There was a big announcement with the press there. The Ministry apologized and provided restitution of 100,000 galleons for every year I was wrongly incarcerated."
"That is wonderful news, Sirius. We hadn't heard yet," answered Andromeda. She then saw the ring on his finger. "You are Lord Black, aren't you?"
"Yes, I am. You got my letter so I'm here to welcome you back into the Black family. From this point forward the Tonks family are under the protection of the Black family and I don't need to tell you Andromeda what that means to be under the protection of an ancient and most noble house."
"No, Sirius, you do not. Thank you ever so much."
"I have also transferred 4.5 million galleons into the Tonks vault for your inheritance."
"That is a bit more than I was expecting," she said.
"Me, too," added Ted.
"It's simple. Your inheritance, should you have received it when your sisters received theirs, was to be 1.5 million galleons each. Both Narcissa and Bellatrix were disowned for smearing the Black family name so their inheritance had to be returned. That transfer happened this afternoon when my name was cleared. Since you are the sole remaining Black sister of your siblings then the full inheritance goes to you. That totals 4.5 million galleons."
Both Ted and Andromeda sat down heavily on their sofa. Sirius chuckled.
oOo
Harry had just sat down with his friends for breakfast on Friday morning when a large regal looking brown owl landed on the table in front of Neville. It stuck out its foot that had a letter attached.
"Hey there Chester. What have you got for me?" asked Neville taking the letter off.
"That's a nice looking owl, Neville," replied Hermione.
"This is Chester, my parent's new owl. They bought him over the summer and he's real smart." Neville gave him a piece of his bacon. Hermione reached over and petted him before he took off.
Neville opened his letter from his parents and read it. His friends noticed his expression changed quite a bit while he read. He finally put down the letter and looked over at Harry.
"Harry? Can I have a word with you privately right after breakfast?"
"Sure, Nev. Not a problem mate. Is everything alright?"
Neville didn't answer for a second as he looked to be deep in thought. He then looked back at Harry.
"Yes, everything is great. I just need to ask something."
Everyone was wondering what the letter said but since Neville mentioned he needed to talk to Harry privately they kept their noses out of it and finished their breakfast. When all were done the other friends left but Neville put up a privacy bubble around Harry and himself. He took his letter back out of his pocket and handed it over to Harry.
"Read that please?"
Harry took the letter and read it as asked.
Dearest Neville,
Lord Sirius Black paid us a visit yesterday afternoon after his name was cleared and he informed us that he had transferred 5 million galleons into our vault as restitution for the attack against us by a Black family member. He mentioned that Bellatrix Lestrange and Narcissa Malfoy were both disowned from the Black family and they were fined for damaging the Black family name. Bellatrix was fined extra for her attack on us.
We are proud of Sirius for taking a stand as the new Lord Black and making sure his previous family members paid some for their sins. Please let us know of anything you might want for Christmas. I believe we will be able to afford just about anything this year… within reason of course.
All my love,
Mum (& Dad)
Harry handed the letter back to Neville.
"Congratulations, Neville. I'm glad your family will have less of a struggle now while your parents get back on their feet."
"Did you know about this?"
"Yes, well, part of it. I spent most of the day with Sirius yesterday so heard about most of it. Sirius as Lord Black used some old traditions and disowned those two cousins while bringing their sister Andromeda back under the protection of the Black family. He forced them to give back their inheritance, plus 3 million galleons for restitution. He then fined Bellatrix an additional 2 million for her attack on the House of Longbottom. I guess he threw in the other 3 million from her as well to give to your parents."
"That is unbelievable. Ever since my parents were hospitalized we have not had much due to the cost of keeping them at St. Mungos. Plus there was no one to work and bring in additional income so all the Longbottom fortune was being spent on their medical needs."
"I never realized that, Neville. I'm glad something good finally is happening to you and your family. Something good happened to me so I guess it was your turn."
"I guess so Harry and it was about time too. Say, can I borrow Hedwig to send a thank you to Sirius?"
"Sure, no problem. I bet she would love to go see Sirius and since you're rich now your parents could probably be talked into getting you your own owl."
"Thanks Harry. That's not a bad idea but for Christmas I want my own greenhouse."
Harry laughed while he spoke "Only you Neville, only you."
Neville smiled then cancelled the privacy bubble. He and Harry then hurried off to Transfiguration class with Professor McGonagall.
The professor had Harry working on a special project that was past NEWT level and on occasion he would get up and help some of the students with their spell casting when they needed it. However, when he was working on his project he took time away from that to go over his plans for attacking Malfoy Manor. He had scheduled the attack to take place the next day on Saturday evening. He wanted to make sure all was planned correctly and hoped no one made any mistakes.