AN: I received a prompt from Vixen Uchiha. Decided to try my hand at it. Fem!Harry/Heero
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Gundam Wing. The cover image is not mine.
Chapter 11: Never Go Back
Sirius trusted the goblins strictly because they cared more about gold. He paid enough to be housed in a lesser used area of the bank. The Bank's leader, Ragnkok, had laid out the rules for his temporary stay. Sirius accepted them with little complaint. Instead, he waited anxiously for the evening Prophet. Would he be looking to gaining his freedom? Or had Pettigrew fell victim to an accident of some sort?
Would his goddaughter be mentioned? The Daily Prophet had gone out of the way to drag her through the mud. Once his name was cleared, he would fix that. The portrait of his great-great grandmother had suggested a slander lawsuit would fix the issue. (She had also suggested kidnapping and torturing the editor for disrespecting the House of Black, but Sirius ignored that completely.)
Remus came into the room escorted by goblin guards. "Moony!" Sirius was relieved to see his friend. Being locked in the Bank with no windows all day was driving him mad. He could only come up with so many plans before he decided to discard them all. Running a hand through his hair, Sirius sat on the cot in the room. "What happened? Did you see her?"
The werewolf smiled wearily. "Hello, Sirius. He's being kissed tomorrow after your trial and yes I did." He glanced around before sitting across from his friend on a worn sofa. The sparsely decorated space was perfect for the conversation. "Her brother has claimed custody."
"Her brother?" Sirius asked tensely. He had no idea what sort of bloke his second cousin turned out to be, was he a light or dark wizard? Was his goddaughter in danger? "Moony..." His grey eyes met his friends lighter green, almost amber colored eyes. Remus didn't look worried.
Remus smiled warily, "Andromeda suspects his mother is a Black. She wants to do an inheritance test tomorrow after you're cleared."
"Really?" Sirius' bark like laughter rung out. "She was always very clever. What about him? Did he seem insane? Was Harriet alright? Did she look cursed at all?"
The werewolf chuckled, "You'll meet him tomorrow. However, he seems to be very protective of his sister. Harry was very excited to be around him and his friends."
"His friends? What did you mean he has custody?"
"He has four other male friends that lives with them. One of them is Lily's cousin. They both share joint custody. How they got it over the Dursleys is a mystery, they are really young."
Sirius frowned, his goddaughter was living in some place with five males? He could hear James Potter practically foaming at the mouth at the thought of his little girl being near men. Of course, James probably would have started hexing first and asking questions later. Or until Lily undid the damage and punished her daughter's godfather and father (because he would have helped Prongs). "How did she...how was she really?"
"She looked content. A bit distracted by something, either you or You-Know-Who."
"I see." Sirius linked his fingers together. "She's safe for now."
Remus nodded, "She is."
Sirius stood up and started pacing. "I'm glad Andy didn't ignore my request."
"Will you be able to take custody from those boys?" The werewolf asked. "Andromeda challenged Dumbledore on his illegal behavior in regards to Harry." He paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. "I have very little doubt that had Andromeda not been present, Harry might have ended up at the Dursleys again."
The pacing convict ran a hand through his hair. "Yes, but Albus has bigger problems than my goddaughter's residence."
"He is reconvening the Order of the Phoenix." Remus confirmed. "He hasn't said anything about you leaving the house."
"He can't." Sirius pointed out as he stopped and looked at the old werewolf. "There's no probable way he could convince me to not attempt to regain my freedom. My great grandmother has got the ball rolling, so to speak. There's nothing he can do to stop it."
Remus sighed, "Don't be arrogant yet." The former Professor clasped his hands and leaned forward. "He wants me to be an envoy to the werewolves again."
"When did he want you to leave?"
"After we secure Harry at Headquarters." The werewolf sighed. "It's probably not a bad idea. The way the Ministry is going, we will need to build our side's strength in the shadows. Just as we suspect he is trying to do as well." Remus wore slightly worn second hand robes and kept his wand in a holster on his wrist. There were faded scars on his face from his previous transformation.
Sirius signed, he didn't want to send his friend off to the wolf packs. "If she's with her brother, we will have a bit of trouble removing her from his custody."
"Especially since we would be limiting her freedom." Remus agreed.
The two friends sat in silence. Neither knew what to make of their predicament. They had known it was possible for her half brother to appear, but for him to have taken custody from the Dursleys so quickly and quietly. What sort of person would they be fighting to get Harry back?
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Amelia Bones waited patiently by the entrance to the Ministry of Magic. The Auror detail to pick up Sirius Black had been hand selected and under an oath to make sure Lord Black arrived alive. This was going to be the first time she had seen him since her Auror days during the Blood War. His tactic of using his Lordship to seek temporary asylum while trying to clear his name had been well thought out. It was an old law that rested on the books and rarely used, but it was meant for situations similar to this one.
The woman examined the loitering reporters and Wizengoment Members, they could be a danger as well. There were a few people who would not want Lord Black exonerated for his false imprisonment. Then again, the Ministry was set to pay the Black Family a pretty galleon over this travesty. The Prophet was running story after story related to the Black, Potter and Pettigrew families for the past two days after Rita Skeeter got word of the trials. Despite their earlier campaign to discredit the Headmaster and Potter Heiress, the recent articles released reminded the public that the Potter Family ALWAYS spoke out with the truth. In fact, the article on Henry Potter sticking up for new bloods had struck some of the public.
It was when Rita started talking about Harriet's adventures at Hogwarts that Amelia (and several other people) grew concerned. The older witch watched the lift entrance to the lobby. The Potter Heiress had fought a basilisk to rescue the Weasley daughter. She had tried to save her friends without the help of her teachers during her third year. And the teen had sworn on her magic that she did not enter the TriWizard Tournament. The formidable woman wondered about her niece's own version of those tales. They had always come from the infamous Hogwarts' rumor mill.
Rita's commentary on the Black Family was less heroic. Sirius' story of being sorted into Gryffindor and rebelling against the other Black Family members he went to school with was noted. His history as an Auror and James Potter' best friend had flitted across the pages. The knowledge that he was Harriet's godfather became public extremely fast with Rita's writing. The blond woman had even tastefully slandered the Ministry, the deceased Barty Crouch and Dumbledore. It had been positively atrocious to read her pieces.
The lift finally opened ten minutes before nine o'clock. Amelia was satisfied to see Sirius properly cuffed and walking between Auror Tonks and Auror Shacklebolt. The two worked well together and they were the best that she had left from Moody's days as an instructor. She knew they were in Dumbledore's pocket like her brother had been, but she trusted them to do their jobs. She would rather they be in Dumbledore's pocket instead of Malfoy's. Madam Umbridge had been rather vocal about Tonks' presence considering the metamorphmagus was from a disowned branch of the Black Family.
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There was a quiet knock on her door. The witch sighed as she slid her hair into a high ponytail with a few strands left to frame a her face. Her dark bangs were brushed perfectly to hide her scar. "Come in." She called from the bathroom inside the room. Green eyes glanced outside the door and widen at seeing Heero standing inside her room. "Heero, good morning." She greeted as she sat the brush down and double checked her reflection. There were no signs of stray toothpaste or hairs.
Heero nodded, "we'll be departing in 20 minutes. Duo wants you to eat before we go."
"Oh." Harriet responded intelligently. She glanced down at her outfit making sure it looked the way WuFei and Hilde had wanted it too. They both wanted to portray a competent heiress.
"You look nice."
A soft blush crossed her face. "Thank you, you look great too." It was true, Heero was dressed semi-formal without an outer robe obscuring his white button down and black slacks. The top button was undone and the sleeves were rolled up. His hair was messy as usual and it didn't look like he planned to touch it again.
Heero thought the navy blue, cap sleeve, body hugging dress was a good choice for Harriet. She looked young, but semiformal. She wouldn't be wearing a robe today, her heiress ring in plain view. Being honest with his self, Heero knew he felt some type of feelings that weren't very brotherly towards the teen. Her presence was currently deterring Relena for some reason.
His friends had merely smiled innocently, but said nothing when he mentioned the lack of Relena. "Ready?"
Picking up her flat shoes, Harriet nodded. "Thanks for coming to get me." Heero shrugged, it wasn't a big deal to him. Harriet smiled as she approached him. "What do you think so far of the Ministry?"
"They don't seem to have many competent people aside from the judge. And the judicial system seems a bit dated." Heero watched the witch as she stopped in front of him. She looked ready for her court date. Well, actually she looked beautiful, however, he wasn't going to say that out loud.
"The British Wizarding World itself is a bit outdated. It seems stuck in the middle ages, but in its defense someone told me magic doesn't work well with electricity." Harriet informed him. She had been surprised when her voice seemed to fade towards the end. Her heartbeat picked up as she stared into his icy blue eyes. She imagined he could hear her rapid heart beat. "You like technology, right?"
"It's helpful." Heero muttered as he tried to discern what kind of attraction he had to this teen. He was only three years older than her. However, something about her sparked his attention. Heero looked at her again, before deciding he would figure it out when he was alone.
"Heero?"
"Hmm?"
"There's something different about you."
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Harriet was glad she hadn't ran to her Godfather's side upon entering the courtroom. All eyes had been on her and her reaction to Sirius Black. WuFei had encouraged her not to do anything unnecessarily until after the trial ended. She would hug her father figure afterwards. For now, she nodded to acknowledge his physical presence but turned to her friends. The Potter Heiress wasn't amused to see him tied to the chair like Pettigrew had been.
"Harry, you look amazing!" Hermione complimented. The bushy haired witch wore khaki pants and a navy blouse. The dark brown hair was pulled back into a bun.
Ron's mouth dropped open as it tended to do when he was reminded his best friends were female. "You, erm..." Hermione elbowed him and gestured for Harry to sit down. Ron wore semi-formal Wizarding robes. Mrs. Weasley had obviously woken him early and forced him into the old clothing. "You look good."
"Good morning Harriet." Professor Lupin greeted as he took a seat on her other side. His robes weren't as shabby as the trio were used too. Their former Professor actually looked nice and cleaned up. Harriet knew he asked to be called Remus, but that was slightly hard for her. However, she returned his greeting and add a small smile. "Today is going to be slightly long for you." He reminded her.
"I wouldn't say too long." Andromeda Tonks added as she joined his other side. They completely filled the defense side of the table. "This is merely a formality after yesterday's trial. If it takes longer than an hour, I'll start adding some pressure to end it."
"You sound confident." Professor Lupin noted. The werewolf smiled at the older woman. "Sirius would appreciate it all the same."
Andromeda nodded, she was more eager to go to the bank with Harriet's older brother. She was certain that something happened during the war and her former older sister was involved. The confirmation would add another spin on the day.
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Sirius was ushered out of the courtroom by Remus and Andromeda. The teens had been right behind the adults. Reporters immediately started trying to approach them as they reached the Atrium. Running a hand through his hair, Sirius glanced at the Aurors in front of their group guiding them to the floo. Filling out the paperwork for his freedom had taken half an hour, a cheque would be sent to Gringotts with the agreed amount for wrongful imprisonment.
Harry had hugged him the moment, he had reached the area where they sat. He had been happy to be free and might have spun the teen before releasing her. His goddaughter hadn't minded in the slightest and had been happy to accompany him throughout the Ministry. The freed man wonder what her brother would be like, his goddaughter didn't have any visible bruises. She also lit up when asked about him.
"We'll floo directly into Gringotts." Andromeda informed their group. "Just this once."
Arthur Weasley placed a hand on Ron and Hermione. "You both should head straight home."
Ron sighed but waved good bye to the group, "You have to let me know what happens!" The redhead tossed floo powder into the flames before heading to the Barrow.
Hermione turned to Harriet and smiled. Tonks placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'll take her home Arthur."
The Patriarch of the Weasley family nodded. His main concern had been to make sure Ron got home. Molly would be home to portkey with him back to Number Twelve. Hermione hadn't moved into the home just yet, Dumbledore was going to move her a little before Harriet arrived.
"I'm glad it worked out for you Sirius." Arthur added sincerely. "I have to get back to work, don't stay out too late."
The group was aware of how unsafe it was to be out late. "Thank you." Sirius added placing a hand on Harriet's shoulder. His goddaughter had hugged Ron and then came back to his side. Her green eyes had searched the room looking for someone, probably her brother.
"He'll meet at us at the Gringotts lobby." Tonks informed the the Girl-Who-Lived. The Auror winked at her.
Harry looked surprised. She hadn't realized the pink haired woman had spoken to her brother. The sea of reporters parted long enough for her brother and his friends to approach the floo. Duo winked at her as he headed to Diagon Alley.
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The former gundam pilots followed WuFei as they left The Leaky Cauldron. "Well, damn." Duo muttered as the bricks started moving to open the entrance way. Diagon Alley wasn't bustling with people, but they noticed shoppers moving about at a leisurely pace. His braid almost smacked Quatre when he turned his head a little too fast to take in the sight of the Alley. "So, Renaissance Faire looking."
"We need to be somewhere." Heero reminded him. He hadn't wanted to leave Harriet with her godfather or friends. The former pilot of Wing Zero wasn't sure if he trusted those people. The pink haired woman had told them to meet them in the lobby of the bank. A quick glance at the store fronts and he was certain the white marble looking building was their destination. There were statues outside of it that looked like little goblin creatures.
"Hee-chan, she's fine." Duo reassured his messy haired friend.
Heero grunted in response. Quatre chuckled, "I think Heero is concerned because these are the same people that did nothing while she was mistreated by the Dursleys."
"Sirius, couldn't do anything as he was in prison. As for Remus...he does have some questions to answer."
WuFei and Trowa exchanged looks. "Let's move before the crowd from the Ministry ends up here." Trowa added as he glanced around them. The fact their group wore a mix of wizarding and muggle clothing caused some people to give them second glances.
"Besides, today is important in itself. Mrs. Tonks seemed really determined to find out who my mother was." Duo reminded Heero.
Heero grunted, he didn't trust those people.
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The goblins were annoyed, but found a room large enough to accommodate the big group. The short, sharped tooth creature known as Griphook left the room and returned with several rolls of parchments. He walked next to a table preparing several stations. "We were informed that we had a last minute addition to the previous five."
"You arranged for five tests?" Duo asked the older woman.
Andromeda nodded. "You boys took the muggle version of this test and that's how you found Harriet. I decided to make sure you boys could continue the search."
"We didn't exactly volunteer, but it worked out." Duo informed her.
Harriet looked at the sixth test. "Who is the last test for?"
"Hermione." Remus informed him.
The bushy haired witch looked surprised. "Is this the heritage test?"
"The more expensive, family tree version." Sirius informed her. "The magic traces your family line back eight generations."
The adults exchanged looks, "Granger isn't a common name in our world. However, there was a Granger Family that existed years ago." Remus informed her.
"The Potion Master?" Hermione asked. Her brown eyes looked at the parchment in wonder.
"Yes, Hector Dagworth-Granger."
"Excuse me, but are you ready to start?" Griphook cut in. He looked impatient as he explained gestured to the table. The goblin started explaining how the process worked. It wouldn't take more than five minutes for the results to come in, but they would be placing a drop of blood into the potion vials. After that they would dip the quills in the potion once it turned blue. Once the quill was dipped, they would write their name on the bottom of the parchment.
"What if we don't know our birth name?" Quatre asked. There would be no point in the test if that was the a restriction.
Griphook pointed to the potion. "Your name is the bottom of the tree. The quill will write out the family names it picks up. Not all names will appear, but our tests have yet to be wrong. Your birth name doesn't matter as far as the magic is concerned."
Quatre wasn't sure why he was encouraged to take the test, neither did WuFei, but they wrote their names as well. Hermione had bitten her lip as she wrote her name.
Remus, Sirius, Andromeda and Tonks exchanged looks. Sirius and Remus knew what the results for Duo would say. The other boys and Hermione were unknown. Sirius had heard about her bravery and skill in magic, it rivaled Lily honestly. If nothing else, she would have a family tree. There was no telling if magic was truly a new gift for her family. There had been theories that muggleborns were actually descendants of squibs. Dark grey eyes glanced over at the tanned, ebony haired witch. Harriet looked fascinated by the moving quills.
"The Potters have a wall tapestry that self updates." Sirius informed her. The rest of the group turned to look at him. "It lives at Potter Manor, where your grandparents raised James."
"I didn't know we had a family manor." Harry informed them with a small frown. She seemed a little concerned about it. "What else can you tell me about my family?"
Sirius sighed, "You already know about your brother."
"Yes, he found me after the FRA." Harry paused before turning to look at her godfather. "You knew about him...and never told me?"
Remus sighed, he wasn't sure how to help his friend out of this one. He had felt the same level of betrayal, over eighteen years and none of his friends told him. Andromeda glanced at her cousin. "Sirius?"
"Harry, it's okay." Hermione tried to console the other teen. Her chocolate brown eyes looked concerned. "He might not have remembered right away."
Harry closed her eyes and breathed deeply. That was true. Her godfather frowned, "we can talk about it later." Sirius informed her. He was wary of saying too much in front of the other teens.
"Your results are in." Griphook informed them in a bored tone. His long nail pointed to the fallen quills and dried ink on parchment. "Any vaults or debts owed by the listed families will be yours to inherit."
The five males exchanged looks. Who would check their results first?
Hermione walked forward and was the first to read her parchment. It listed her parents and then it listed only partial members of her family as it went further back. "This doesn't include my grandparents marriage. Why is that?"
"If they are married in the muggle world, magic has little way of acknowledging it because it was done without magic. The tree will include witches, wizards and squibs only." Griphook patiently explained.
"Harry look, both of my parents are squibs. My dad's lineage goes up to Hector Dagworth-Granger. His son, is my great-grandfather." The bushy haired witch looked excited and as Harry looked at the parchment with her, she felt happy. Harry was genuinely happy for her friend. "My mum's side goes back a little further, there's Marcus Black. He was my grandfather."
"Marcus Black?" Sirius repeated. "He was disowned for being a squib. It makes sense that he would marry a muggle. That's really interesting, Harry's grandmother is a Black as well. Her middle name is actually from Dorea Black. Lily picked it because James' parents had taken great care of her when she had left home to escape from Petunia."
Andromeda frowned, "That's a lot of branch members of the Black Family."
"I'm related to you and Harry!" Hermione exclaimed. She wasn't sure if she could be called a muggleborn anymore.
Remus smiled at the teen. "You are related to them, but by the current definition of pureblood, you're still considered a muggleborn."
"Current definition?" Harry asked with a frown. She didn't know too much about the magical world's blood status.
"You need two sets of magical grandparents and magical parents to be considered a pureblood. The further back your lineage goes, the more prestige your family is granted." Andromeda informed them. "It's nonsense, however. Marcus Black was disowned for being a squib."
"Hector's family also seemed to disappear, I think they moved to France at some point." Remus added with a thoughtful look. "It's really interesting, at least we have idea of what vault belongs to you." It was true, next to Hermione's name were a list of vaults/family titles and properties that she had claim to. Her parents practice and their home weren't listed.
The boys all exchanged looks. The tree was interesting on it's own merit. Having even half their relatives names would make it easier to dig into their background.
Quatre looked at his family tree. His mother was listed, but that was it from his immediate family. Further up the tree his grandmother and her sister were listed. Underneath his Great-Aunt was Lily, Harriet, Petunia and Dudley. The last two had italicized names, which the blond assumed meant they were squibs. "There's Miss Harriet." The blond pointed out to his friends.
The older adults exchanged looks. Harriet looked her second cousin's family tree. "None of my sisters are listed." The blond noted more to himself than the others. There weren't any family titles for him to inherit, there were a few properties listed.
Duo looked at his next. Sirius and Remus exchanged looks. His father was no surprise, James Potter was connected his name. There was another thread that connected James to Lily Potter and Harriet. His mother was listed as Bellatrix LeStrange. There was a golden thread that connected her to Rudolph LeStrange. Her thread connected to the Black Family. "You know who she is." It was a statement not a question.
His violet eyes looked at the older adults. "Why was it important that I take this test? Who is she to you?" Andromeda sighed.
"Mum?" Tonks asked. Like Harriet, she had been curious who Duo's mother as well.
"I wouldn't go around telling people who your mother is." Sirius finally spoke up. "She's my cousin as you see. Currently, she's serving a life sentence in Azkaban for being a Death Eater."
Andromeda nodded, "She was my older sister until I was disowned by my parents."
"You're my Aunt?"
"By blood, I am." The law practicing witch informed him. "However, as you'll notice my absence on the tree…magically I've been striped of my maiden family name."
Tonks' mouth opened slightly as she looked fully at her cousin. "You're definitely better than Malfoy's spawn."
"Nymphadora!" Andromeda scolded lightly. "He's still your cousin."
"They don't even acknowledge us."
Andromeda was cut off by Sirius, "They will when you're reinstated into the family."
"You must have forgotten, our family can hold grudges for years."
Sighing deeply, Sirius looked at his goddaughter and her brother. His friends were watching the exchange with curiosity. "This isn't the right time..."
"What's she imprisoned for?" Harriet asked, her green eyes looked bright. She hadn't traced Duo's family tree all the way through. "Was she falsely accused like you?" The Gryffindor didn't think the Ministry could screw up twice with people from the same family. However, the news in the Daily Prophet showed an ineptness that had been previously unknown by her.
None of the older adults spoke for a moment, but Hermione stepped up. "Sirius wasn't wrong, she apparently went on record admitting her loyalty to You-Know-Who. She's serving time for torturing a pair of Aurors into insanity while looking for You-Know-Who."
"I've never heard..." Harriet paused and glanced at her brother. Duo seemed to take it in stride that his mother was imprisoned. The dark haired teen touched her brother's arm. "Duo?"
His violet eyes looked at her, "What's up sis?"
"Are you okay?" It was a silly question, but she had no idea what else to ask.
Duo smiled at her, "I'm good." His friends all exchanged looks, but said nothing. "She's alive and that's interesting to know."
It definitely brought up more questions in Harriet's opinion. None of which her godfather seemed ready to answer.
"Are these for our personal records?" Quatre asked the goblin. Griphook nodded. "Excellent, we'll make arrangements to claim things on another day. Is there a particular goblin that can help us?"
Griphook reached into his vest pocket and hand over business card. "An owl is the most acceptable way to contact us."
"You're the manager of the Potter Family's account?"
The goblin nodded. "All of their vaults, including multiple trust vaults."
Remus frowned thoughtfully, "Harriet was the last Potter as far as the wizarding world knows. Sirius, did James...?"
"Possibly. We never really discussed it." Sirius answered honestly.
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Silver: No exaggerated reactions, but the boys will have a larger part in the next chapter. Harriet doesn't know who Bellatrix is because at this point in the story, Harry doesn't know much about the First War. And neither version of Harry had a reason to look deeper into it.