A/N: Hey guys, back with the next chap and its finally time for the talk. Now, I can honestly say this was one of the hardest things I've had to write, I'm not good with emotions or angst in general so I hope this meets your expectations.

Just a bit of a clean up!

Warning: None for this I don't think, possible language?

Disclaimer: Not J.K

#Parsel#

Chapter 26:

There was silence in the room after Severus left. Harrison hadn't moved from his spot and both he and Lily were looking at each other without words. It was awkward, the air around them was thick with tension and neither knew how to break it. Finally, Harrison sighed and move forward to take a seat, he pulled his Occlumency shields up to the maximum and drew himself up as if he was in a formal meeting with Slytherin himself. His gaze was piercing as it travelled over her still form, she had not moved an inch since Severus had left and even her breathing was minimal.

Harrison was taking in her every detail and, astonishingly, he could see parts of his own face in hers, where all of James Potter's resemblance had been removed, hers had not been. That was proof that the woman in front of him was his birth mother, not that he saw her as a mother, but she did give birth to him and had begun to raise him. She was supposed to care for him and look after him until he was an adult, wasn't a mothers love supposed to be the strongest of them all? He was so confused, he wanted answers and the one who could give them to him was sat right in front of him, and he couldn't even get anything out of his mouth. What was wrong with him? He never failed to speak his mind and yet here he was, sat in silence, trying to formulate words to someone who owed him answers.

"Harrison, I know this must be hard for you. I understand-," Lily began, but Harry cut her off. Her speaking seemed to push him in to sound.

"You understand nothing." He stated, his voice going colder and more detached. "You couldn't possibly understand what is going on in my head." And neither did he at the current time, he had absolutely no idea what to do in this situation.

"I-,"

"What I want to know is: why?" He demanded, cutting her off again, he took a moment to mentally wince at his appalling etiquette skills before he turned back to Lily. He hadn't noticed that had gotten to his feet but he was pacing at the foot of the bed, he was trying to get his mind to focus on one of the things currently flying through his brain but it was exceedingly difficult. "Why did you choose to get rid of me? You were supposed to be my mother, you were supposed to love me unconditionally and yet I was tossed away like yesterdays newspaper."

"I did – do – love you, but with everything that happened I didn't know what to do." Lily tried but Harry snarled at her.

"Don't give me that." He spat, angry at the excuse, "I have an eidetic memory, as well as being a Master Occlumense, I remember everything; everything. You didn't fight for me, you just handed me over. Just like that, like you couldn't care less and to someone you knew hated magic. You sent me off to someone you knew would despise my very being, and you did nothing to protect me. Nothing what so ever, you let me go, you gave me away willingly and didn't care." His voice broke at the end of his rant and Harry was stunned to realise he was crying, he never cried, and yet here he was crying. He hadn't realised how much he hurt. He thought he was over it, he didn't care that Potter had given him up and actively hated the man and he had thought was over Lily too; but apparently he was wrong. His mind was flooded with memories of when he was a baby, he was always closer to his mother, his first word was 'mama' followed by 'Pa'fo'' and yet the very same woman that he used to adore had just handed him over. Like he was nothing.

"I may have given you up but I did care." Lily told him quietly, and Harry released a somewhat hysterical laugh.

"And how was I supposed to know that!? I was a year old, I was a baby that went from having parents that were supposed to love me, that cared about me and I had a family with caring Godparents and a solid future and suddenly it was gone. Everything was gone. You vanished to me. Suddenly you were there and then you were gone, no warning, no explanation, you just went. And you didn't take me with you. Do you have any idea how that feels?"

He had never meant to start shouting, he had meant to keep everything in check but it seemed that his shields could not contain all of his built up emotion. Harry hadn't even realised he had so much hidden resentment and pain but now it was flowing through him like lava and it was directed at the person in front of him. His mother. The one woman that he was supposed to be able to rely on, and yet she had chucked him away.

"I didn't know what had happened, how was I supposed to know that it was for 'my own good'? You abandoned me, you chose Rosina over me because of one night, one night that was only confirmed by the apparent omniscient Headmaster. You gave up one of your children, your FIRST BORN CHILD on the word of a man who is a master manipulator. A man who considers everyone around him a part of his oversized chest board and what makes it ever worse is YOU KNOW THIS. You knew exactly what Dumbledore is like, you know how he works and you always have. The amount of times you warned James from blindly following the man were too many to count, and yet when it come down to me, when it came down to a decision that was possibly the biggest in your life; you followed like a little lamb." He had dropped to a whisper and his hands were shaking, he was furiously wrapping his shields around his emotions so he could bring back some control; he needed to get it together.

"Ten years, I've had ten years to stew in the fact that my own parents abandoned me. That my twin sister was the better twin, she was the twin that was wanted because I was thrown away. I've had ten years to grow accustom to the fact that I was unwanted, that I wasn't good enough to stay with the family. A family that I adored, the only people I had ever known, I've had ten years to come to terms that I was ripped away from me by the people that were supposed to hold it together. The strange thing is, it was never Potter that got me, I was never as close to him as I was to you and yet it was you who agreed to let me go.

"Even when you picked me up again, I was still second best. There was a pathetic excuse of why, but what was that supposed to mean to me? I hadn't seen my parents in ten years and instead of a reunion, I get a run down on how amazing and famous my sister is. The same sister I was given up for, and you all expected me to be happy about this. I was given up for fear of resentment, but how is getting rid of me going to make me not resent Rosina and resent my parents for doing it in the first place?" Harry choked out a laugh and shook his head, memories flashing in his mind until one settled and it made his chest tighten painfully.

"But do you want to know what hurts the most?" He asked rhetorically, his voice was cracking in the effort to try and control himself, "I was sat in your lap when the conversation was happening, I was in your arms when you all were deciding if I should be kept, and you looked down at me and agreed that you would give me up. You handed me over to Dumbledore yourself, you did it! You personally gave me up without a second thought, you! And you say you care! How can you say you care when you gave me up. For ten years I've had to deal with the fact that you handed me over to Dumbledore, you did it.

"You just handed me over, no fight, and no arguments, just passed me over. And you didn't even say goodbye." and that was what it came down to, she passed him over and didn't acknowledge him, she just let him go. It hurt. Oh how it hurt, the tears crashed down his face in floods, he couldn't control it even if he tried. And she was crying too. Tears streamed from the bright green eyes that he used to have, and yet it angered him, she had no right to cry when she was the one who hurt him.

"You're not allowed to cry." He snapped, "You did this, you hurt me, you left me. So don't you sit there and cry, don't you dare sit there and pretend to care when you created this."

"Harrison, please just listen, let me explain, please." She begged, sobbing. "I am not asking for your forgiveness, nor do I expect it. I am an awful mother, and I deserve your anger and your hate. I did give you up, I did all of the things above, but never believe that I didn't care for you. I loved you with all my being and, as much as it is a poor excuse, I thought I was doing the right thing at the time."

"How could you have thought I would have been better of away from you? There had just been an attempt on one of your children's life, your first instinct should have been to keep me safe not send me away."

"I know, I know it should and I will forever hate myself for not listening to that instinct. But I panicked. The attack had just happened and news had spread quickly, people were already on our cases and the child of the prophecy hadn't even been confirmed. I thought it was a good idea to get you away from all of that when Dumbledore said that Rose was that child. As soon as we got home it felt wrong. I tried to get back in to a normal routine but it was impossible without you there, Sirius and Remus left too, and I kept myself going by thinking that you were better off away from the press and the media." Lily shook her head, and looked down at her hands. They were knotting themselves together repeatedly and she was shaking nearly as bad as he was.

"I knew after a month that whatever situation we had going on, it could never be bad enough to warrant you away from me. And I tried. Believe me when I say I tried to get you back but I was stopped at every turn. I demanded you were returned to me, you were my son and I should have been the one raising you, but it was no good, James was too busy listening to the papers and Dumbledore to care about you and when I went to get you back he lashed out at me. It was the first time and he was so remorseful, he had always had a bit of a temper and he seemed truly sorry so I forgave him. But it didn't stop me from wanting you back, I tried again and again to get you back, I tried writing to my sister but the owls couldn't find her, I tried convincing James that you belonged with us as a family, but that was like talking to a wall.

"I even tried locating Petunia myself but it was like she vanished off the map and each time he lashed out at me, by the time you were six I had exhausted every known option to me and yet I didn't give up. I even tried leaving him, I thought that if I left him and went to get you, I could raise you myself, in the muggle world and it would be alright. It may not have been a rich life and I would have been a single parent, but I would have been your parent and that was what mattered. But he wouldn't let me leave, in this world, a marriage is practically binding unless there is reasonable ground for divorce. And even though I had reasonable grounds, I had no backing, I'm a muggleborn that married in to a Noble and Most Ancient House, I had nothing.

"I could have walked in to the DMLE covered in bruises and it nothing would have been done, I would have been made to vanish because I didn't have financial backing and James was Head Auror. And so I hid. It was cowardly, I know, but I had no other option at all, I had tried everything, everything." Lily's face was flushed and she was still crying, but she was trying to make him understand what she had done. She knew it was wrong, she knew that it was the biggest mistake of her life, but she wanted, needed, him to know that she had tried so hard to correct that. She hated to think that he believed she didn't care, and she knew that she only had herself to blame, but she still needed to explain.

"I thought that if I hid then it would be ok, that maybe something would open up for me but it never did. Then the time came for us to come and get you, I was so happy, so thankful that I could finally see you again only for it to crash. I knew you would resent us, I didn't blame you, I don't blame you, and I would too if it had been me but that didn't stop me from trying. I wanted to get to know you, to try and fix what I had broken. You were no longer my little boy that I could make laugh by making bubbles appear, you were grown up, independent and angry; and it was all my fault. I tried to come and see you, when it became apparent that everything else would always go back to Rose, but I was forbidden, and every time I tried he added a new bruise to the collection.

"Then Christmas came and I was so happy for you, you had gotten a new family that loved you with everything they had and, while I wasn't a part of it and didn't deserve to be, I was happy that you were happy. I was happy that you had gotten out, because he had been planning of having you locked away, in the family manor and using his power as Head of House to control you. So when you became Harrison Black I was relieved, happy that you were safe even if that meant you were away from me. James was so mad, and I tried to get away, you were safe, Rose has him wrapped around her finger and I was a liability, so I tried to leave. But he caught me, it was the first time anything beyond the usual happened and I just gave up. Nothing mattered, you were happy and didn't need me, so I no longer had to worry, and yet when the Quidditch accident happened and you dropped to the pitch my heart stopped. I had never been so terrified in my life.

"It was after the duel that I truly gave up, he knew that I wanted Sirius to win and he blew up. He no longer cared if he killed me, so I no longer cared if he did. When he tried to take you away from your family, I thought it was the least I could do was to make sure he couldn't. I count more to parental consent than James and he knew it, he was furious but I didn't care. I had already lost you because of my own actions, the least I could do was keep you happy and if I could do that by defying him then so be it. You were worth it, you would always be worth it. The porkey you gave me was like a lifeline that I clung to, it was hope that one day the nightmare would be over. I was confused though, I couldn't work out why you would bother when I had been such a terrible mother. It was why I stayed for so long, I should have just left the first time he attacked me during the summer, but I had already gave up one of my children, what right did I have to do it again?" Lily laughed, it was hysterical and it was borderline worrying but she kept speaking.

"But I realised that that girl isn't my daughter, not really. I may have birthed her but that is the extent of the relationship we have, and while I don't have anything, I refused to die by his hand and that was exactly what was going to happen. He had found out that I had given evidence against Rose in secret, Amelia swore oath not to reveal that I had been there, but I must have been seen and it got back to him. He knew and he was going to kill me for it, and so I left."

"You really did want me back." Harry murmured, his voice scratchy from where he had been crying and yelling. He was shocked at her explanation, he had known from Potter that Lily had supposedly wanted him back after a month, but to hear it from her view was astonishing. Especially given how much she suffered for wanting him back, it was odd to think that the person who gave him up originally was the person that seemed to have fought for him the most; he didn't know how to take it.

"I did," She confirmed quietly, "While I understand that you hate me, Merlin knows I hate myself, I needed you to know that I never stopped trying to get you back. The thought of you believing that I didn't care is more painful than anything."

"I – I don't hate you." Harry told her, his voice soft even as his expression was troubled. Lily's head snapped up in shock.

"You don't?"

"No, I cannot hate someone that fought so hard to get me back." Harry said, "But other than that I don't know."

"That's fine. I never expected anything from you, the fact that you saved my life when you had every right to let me suffer is enough. I just needed you to hear my explanation, as poor as it is." She said earnestly, her entire frame seemed to sag in relief.

"I need to think." Harry muttered, "I don't know what to do."

"You don't have to do anything, you've done enough."

"I still need to think." He said firmly, "Stay and rest, Severus will be mad if your recovery is stilted." Harry turned on his heel and left the room, his back was rigidly straight in an effort to keep it together and his hands were balled in to fists. His ragged composure only lasted until was out three feet away from her door and then it just shattered, he slid down the wall and cried. All the pain, the hurt, the resentment, the confusion and the rejection came pouring out of him in the form of great, heart wrenching sobs.

He didn't notice he wasn't alone until Moony crouched down in front of him and Harry just flung himself at the man, clinging to him almost desperately as he continued to cry. Moony easily lifted him, wrapping a strong arm around him as he set Harry on his hip, and whispered to him to calm him down. Harry felt them moving but didn't care, he was passed over to another set of arms and he registered the scent of his dad and clung even tighter to the man. Sirius hushed him, allowing him to cry it out in his arms even as she shared a concerned look with his mate over his head. Eventually, Harry cried himself out and to sleep, both mentally and physically exhausted with the day. Sirius, who was followed by Moony, carried him to his room and gently set him to bed, being careful to wrap him snugly under the blankets. He pressed a kiss to the dark head and walked to the doorway where Moony was stood.

"Do you know what happened?" He asked, his voice a mere whisper.

"No, but I think he has just spoken to Lily. I found him crying just down from her door." Moony told him, his voice equally as soft.

"I have never seen him cry." Sirius said, "That was possibly the most painful thing I have ever witnessed."

"Do you think that he will ok?" Moony asked worriedly and Sirius was quiet for a few moments, just watching his son. He noted how the boy's shoulders seemed lighter, like weight had been lifted and smiled slightly.

"I think he will."

When Harry woke up he became aware to two things, the first was that he felt lighter, like something that been lifted from his being and it was a relief. The second was someone was sat on the edge of his bed and they were running their hand through his hair, it was a very soothing feeling that Harry enjoyed very much. He cracked an eye open and looked up to see his father sat there, the man looked peaceful as he continued to stroke him.

"Dad?" His voice was rough, and sounded like he hadn't had a drink in a year.

"Good morning, Pup," Sirius greeted, "How are you feeling?"

How was he feeling? Harry wondered, he had thought he knew how he was feeling before, but yesterday proved him wrong. He realised that it was yesterday that had him feeling lighter, it was like he had let go of feelings he didn't even know he held and it was refreshing.

"I feel good," He admitted, "Really good." Sirius breathed in relief.

"I'm glad. You gave Moony and I quite a scare yesterday, Kiddo."

"Sorry," Harry finally sat up and leaned in to the one armed hug he was being offered, "I didn't even realise that I had felt like that."

"Don't apologise, I'm just glad your ok." Sirius told him, "You've had it for so long that it became a part of you, buried in your subconscious and yesterday it just all come out. I'm guessing it was a result of your talk with Lily."

"Yeah, I guess it did." Harry mused, "And yes, I spoke to her yesterday. I managed to get rid of her scars and she thanked me. It seemed like the perfect time for a talk."

"Did you get what you were looking for?" Sirius asked him and Harry thought for moment. He had wanted answers, he had wanted to know why she gave him and what was going on in her head to do such a thing, so yes he did get what he wanted. Was he happy with her reasons? No, no he wasn't. Did he understand why she did it? Yes, but he wasn't happy with it. And he had heard enough to know that she regretted her mistakes, and that she was filled with enough self loathing that he didn't need to hate her. Not that he did hate her, he had come to the conclusion that he didn't back when he first gave her that portkey, but he had, apparently, been holding a lot of resentment against her and that was gone now. He felt at peace.

"Yes," He answered simply, content with the answer and knowing that it was over now. Harry could move on from here without hurt or frustration and he was happy with that.

"So what are you going to do now?"

"I will continue to help her, she will never be my mother, I have uncle Moony for that, although don't tell him that he's motherly, I think he'll take offence." Harry added hastily, and Sirius snickered.

"Yeah, the moon does that to him." He agreed, and Harry shared a grin with his dad.

"She may never be my mother, but that doesn't stop me being friendly with her and I know both you and uncle Moony miss your old friend. I know we'd have to work on it, and I can do that, especially as we both had a mutual hatred of Potter."

"I think the hatred of Potter is a common theme around here, Pup." Sirius pointed out and Harry snorted.

"Yeah, isn't that the truth? Plus I think Narcissa would enjoy having a woman around, that and I think Lily would be saying anyway."

"Yeah, Severus is rather attached." Sirius said and Harry looked at him incredulously.

"Rather attached." He repeated and Sirius grinned, a wry tint to it.

"Ok, he's in love with the woman, has been since school up until fifth year."

"Why she chose Potter over Sev I'll never know." Harry shook his head in confusion. "I think that, with time, I could have a good relationship with her."

"You, my son, are a very good person." Sirius told him, pressing a kiss to his temple.

"Thanks,"

"Come on, get dressed, we're going out for the day." Sirius said and Harry looked up questioningly, "Get dressed and you'll find out."

Harry pouted but did as he was told, Sirius made his way down to the dining room with a smile on his face. He kissed his mate on the cheek and took his seat.

"How's Cub?" Moony asked, concerned.

"Better, I think he is a lot better." Sirius said, "He'll be down now."

Moony nodded, pleased. Harry came down and took his usual seat, flashing a bright smile at Moony and digging in to his breakfast.

"So where are we going?" He questioned, excited.

"I thought we could go to France for the day, we have a summer house there and I thought we could explore the French magical district." Sirius suggested, and Harry's eyes light up.

"Oo, its been years since I've been to France." Harry said, excitedly, "When can we leave?"

"As soon as you finish your breakfast, without rushing," Sirius added as Harry picked up speed, "I've already had Kip pack an overnight bag, we'll stay there tonight and come back tomorrow. That way you can relax on the beach."

"There's a beach?"

"The house has a private beach including a beach house." Sirius confirmed.

"Wicked!"

"Later on in the summer, and I'll have to speak with Lucius and Narcissa, I was thinking we could take a holiday to the Black family Island."

"We have an island?" Harry gasped.

"Yes, somewhere in the Maldives I think, it was an anniversary gift from my grandfather to his wife, Merlin did he love that woman." Sirius shook his head, and Harry gaped at him.

"He bought her an island, an entire island!" Harry repeated stunned, "For an anniversary gift."

"Yes, he had a touch of extravagance when it came to his wife." Sirius admitted, and Remus snorted.

"At least I know where you get it from." He said, and Sirius looked wounded.

"I do not have any extravagance."

"Sirius, you had a solid diamond wolf with amber eyes and a diamond grim with moonstone eyes made for me for our one year anniversary." Remus deadpanned and Sirius pouted.

"But you loved it!"

"Of course I did, it was gorgeous and heartfelt. But it was solid diamond and completely unnecessary." Remus told him, smiling.

"Of course it was necessary," Sirius waved him off, "It was for you, anything is necessary."

The casual way in which he said that made Moony blush and Harry smile.

"I've never been to a beach before," Harry said, bringing the conversation back to save Moony.

"I think you'll like it." Sirius said. The three of them finished their breakfast and Harry rushed towards the floo, he was excited and it was showing.

"Follow me through, Pup." Sirius instructed, "Your blood will allow you access."

"Got it,"

"Chateau Black," Sirius called, and stepped through the flames. Harry took a pinch of floo powder and threw it in.

"Chateau Black," He said clearly, he vanished in the nauseating whirl of flames and was spat out the other side. He managed to step gracefully out of the grate, only to walk in to his dad.

"Dad!" Harry exclaimed, "What are you…" He trailed off when he saw a beautiful woman stood in the doorway looking at them. She had pale skin, aristocratic features and grace that could only belong to a Black, she was older, but her black hair was absent of any grey. Harry looked from her to his father and nearly laughed when he saw his dad was gaping at her. He pushed him out of the way allowing Moony to walk out of the fire unobstructed, the werewolf raised an eyebrow at Sirius and then his jaw dropped slightly when he caught sight of the woman. As both adults seemed incapable of speech and, by her growing amusement, the woman wasn't going to break the growing silence, Harry put it to himself to break it. He straightened his robes and stepped forward, he presented a neat bow and lightly kissed her hand when she extended it.

"I am Harrison Black, Heir to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. It is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance, Madam Black." He introduced himself smoothly, and got a slight smile, which reminded him of Narcissa slightly, in return.

"The Black charm still flows, I see." She murmured, her English flawless with a hint of a French accent.

"You're dead." Sirius blurted out, finally finding his voice. That explained to Harry why the man looked like he had seen a ghost, the woman, who he still hadn't gotten a name for, raised a cool eyebrow in response to his accusation.

"I do believe I would have remembered such an occurrence, Sirius dear." She said, her humour was dry and Harry smirked.

"But – but you're supposed to be dead." Sirius said again, this time sounding weaker than before.

"I am sorry to disappoint you," She told him, she turned to Harry and held out her arm. "Come, young Heir, escort me to the sunroom and tell me about yourself. I am sure your father and his life mate will collect themselves in due course."

"Of course, Madam," Harry agreed and held out his arm for her to take, he was mentally thanking Salazar that he was taller than most his age as he was led away.

"I must say, I am impressed, your manners are impeccable for one so young." She commented, leading through the beautiful summer house. It was more like a small manor, well, small compared to the one in England anyway, and Harry marvelled at its beauty.

"Thank you. To forget them would be a mockery of my station as Heir to the House of Black."

"Indeed it would be," She agreed. They stepped in to a large, open, room which held huge windows, flooding the rooms with light and a stunning view of the sea. There was a balcony and she took him to sit out there, as per custom, he only sat after she had done so and he angled himself to give a politely interested air.

"I should introduce myself, it was rude of me not to, I am Cassiopeia Black." She told him, "I must admit, I did not expect guests today, but by Sirius' reaction I can assume he did not expect the summer house to be occupied."

"No, he brought me here to see the French Magical sector and to take me to the beach." Harry said. Sirius and Remus entered the room, each looking slightly flushed, and walked over.

"Harry!" Sirius breathed in relief,

"Sirius Orion, do not butcher the boys name in such a way. You gave him such a beautiful name, you've no right to cut it." She snapped at him.

"Yes, Aunt Cassiopeia," Sirius answered automatically.

"Now, tell me of the new Heir. I have heard many things, and I have been following the news, but there is always much more to the actual story." She said and looked at them.

"I was hoping to take Harrison out." Sirius tried, and everyone in the room knew that his words were completely pointless.

"Come now, Sirius, I've not seen you in many years, and you'd deny me the chance to know the latest Black." She said impervious, and Sirius slumped with a sigh. "Sit up straight, what an example you set."

"Yes, aunt Cassiopeia,"

Harry looked at Remus for any indication of what the Hades was going on but Remus looked just as lost as he did, and there were traces of amusement in his brown eyes.

"Harrison, son, meet my grandfather's niece, Cassiopeia Pyxis Black, my aunt Cassiopeia. Aunt Cassiopeia, Harrison Regulus Black, my son and Heir."

"It is very nice to meet you, Harrison." She nodded regally, and Harry bowed his head in return.

"May I assume that you wish to know the back story of how Harrison came to be?" Sirius ventured, and Cassiopeia gave him a look that said it all. So they sat and they told her nearly everything, they skipped where Harrison actually grew up and him being the real Boy-Who-Lived. She didn't interrupt and she showed no emotion to how she was feeling all through the tale, Sirius, Remus and Harrison had inputs and they finished up in to the point of the arrival of Lily and the results.

"You will ruin him." Cassiopeia stated, her voice was icy and biting as she regarded them. Tea had been served by this point and they were politely drinking in the sun, her expression, scarily enough, reminding Harry of Marvolo, was set in stoic coldness and there was a look in her eye that screamed dangerous.

"By the time we're finished with Potter, not only will his reputation be non-existent, but he will be in the ground." Sirius told her, his eyes shining with the same glint as hers.

"Dumbledore?"

"Marvolo," Harry answered, "The man is going to crush Dumbledore like a bug, and enjoy it greatly."

"Yes, I would imaging he would." Cassiopeia agreed, amusement lacing her tone. "How goes the rest of the family, Sirius. I have been out of contact for much to long. I shall have to re-establish myself."

"Narcissa, her husband and Heir are good, Draco is Harrison's age and they are extremely close." Sirius said and Cassiopeia nodded.

"Ah yes, a Malfoy now. I must admit I was startled when Cygnus agreed to such a contract, but it has been highly beneficial and we retain our higher ground." She mused, "And the Heir, he is well bred?"

"Yes, powerful too. Second in his year, Harrison is first."

"As it should be." She agreed.

"You heard of Bellatrix?"

"Azkaban, the rumours said. For the torture of a Pureblood, no less,"

"It is not as it seems, aunt Cassiopeia." Sirius assured her, sensing a rant approaching.

"Oh?"

"Harrison found out that the reason behind it was to further the Dark's agenda."

"I see. It is good to hear that she has not been consumed by the Black madness. Her contract was well met, however it is a shame about the lack of Heir."

"I will have to go over the clauses, to see if there are any consequences because of that." Sirius remembered.

"As you should," She murmured, "On the topic of contracts, have you yet to set one up for your Heir?"

Both Sirius and Remus almost choked on their tea at that.

"Um-,"

"I have not yet seen someone who I feel could bring respect and prestige to the House of Black. I wish to spend this year discovering if there is such a girl, I will not have the future Lady Black embarrassing our Noble House." Harry said to her, his voice filled with just the right amount of pride and arrogance to make her smile ever so slightly; Harry ignored the stunned looks he was getting from Remus and Sirius,.

"You are a very smart child,"

"Thank you," He said with a charming smile.

"Now, I expect an invitation to dinner soon, Sirius. We must have a longer time to catch up, you have things to be doing today." She stated and Sirius nodded, "I shall have Toppy see you out."

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Madam," Harry said, giving her a neat bow.

"You too, young Heir," She returned.

"I shall write, aunt," Sirius said.

"A pleasure to see you again, Madam," Remus said and the three of them left the room, only when they had apperated to what Harry assumed was the French magical sector did the two adults breathe freely. Sirius hurried then to a Café and sat down.

"What the HELL!" Sirius exclaimed, and Remus shook his head.

"I have no idea." He said.

"I could have sworn she died." Sirius said shaking his head.

"I think she's alive, dad." Harry said seriously.

"I'll have to tell Cissa, she thought she was dead too."

"I think you may need to check the family ledger," Harry said and Sirius nodded.

"Yeah,"

"You stayed calm when she mentioned you being contracted." Remus pointed out.

"Yes, so?"

"I would have flipped, actually, when it was first brought up when I was 15 I flipped." Sirius said, "I mean, the only reason I was saved was because of Moony, I appealed to my grandfather and he granted me my request because a life mate is as good as a contract. Otherwise, I would have had to marry Parkinson's sister."

"Dad, uncle Moony, you do remember where I grew up, right?" Harry asked and Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"Yes…"

"I can honestly say I was surprised that I don't already have a contract. I mean, if I was back with Sal, I would have been contracted at eight, married by next year and expected to have an Heir by fifteen. Right now, I'm living the high life." Harry explained and the pair blinked.

"That is…"

"Unbelievable." Moony finished and Harry grinned.

"Honestly, I don't really mind. I mean, I was nearly betrothed when I was seven, it was only the fact that Sal reminded Godric that they couldn't keep me there that it was stopped." Harry laughed at the memory.

"So you wouldn't mind a contract?" Remus asked, ignoring the look of disgust Sirius sent him.

"No, I would prefer it. That way there are escape clauses and, if anything happens, I don't lose my fortune." Harry said.

"You want to be signed off to some girl?"

"Good Magic no," Harry said, looking aghast at the thought.

"But you just said…"

"No, I said I wouldn't mind a contract. Not that I want to be promised to some girl, no, if there is to be a contract then I want to choose exactly who to and the main clauses." Harry said.

"Ah, I get it now." Moony said and Sirius shook his head.

"You're strange," Sirius decided, "Both of you,"

"Of course, but that is why you love us." Harry pointed out.

"You're right. Come on, we can walk through the alley and then head to the beach." Sirius said. They got up and Sirius led them out, he was the one with the most experience within France so they were following him. They walked around and the path opened up to reveal a long sweeping street, the floors seemed to sparkle within the sun and there were shop after shop brightly lit up with different colours. People bustling up and down, children running around laughing and there were trees and shrubs scattered around giving the place a beautiful finish.

"Welcome to Centre De La Rue Mystique, the central magical shopping area in France." Sirius told them, Harry looked around impressed.

"Nice,"

They walked down and Sirius pointed out some notable shops, Lisse et élégant the men's formal robe shop which was next to robes Emblématiques for female dressed. They passed an apothecary and a menagerie which Harry peered in to before moving on, there was another café called La Ros and a group of women were sat around the table talking about the latest fashions.

"This is what I thought you might like." Sirius said, stopping them and pointing to a huge shop, it has two large windows either side of the door and a massive sign that read: Le centre commercial de livre.

"Wow, that's a massive book store." Harry said in amazement.

"I thought if you knew where it was, you could come here with your friends. It was what my grandfather used to do, the Blacks are known here too so you shouldn't have too much trouble and the Malfoys are too." Sirius explained.

"Thanks dad,"

"Now, do you want to have a quick look before we go to the beach?" Sirius asked, looking at Moony just as much as his son, they both grinned.

"Of course," they answered and Sirius rolled his eyes good-naturedly. Harry was impressed as soon as he stepped in, he immediately went to the potions section and started browsing for titles that he hadn't read or didn't own, focussing mainly on the ones not in English at all. There was one that caught his interest, it was from a French author and he had some interesting techniques.

A few of them raised Harry's eyebrows and he tucked it under his arm and continued on down the aisle, a couple more books caught his eye before he moved on to offensive magic. There wasn't much that wasn't in the Black, Malfoy or the Slytherin libraries, the elves kept all the libraries pretty updated but he did grab one which has been release a week previously. He was going to start combing the rest of the shop but was grabbed by his dad who was also dragged Moony by the arm and pushed them towards the counter.

"Buy whatever you have in your hands, and that's it." He stated and the pair pouted.

"Padfoot, I was searching for-,"

"Nope,"

"Dad, I was moving to the next section-,"

"Don't care. Pay for the books."

"Fine,"

They paid and were hustled out of the shop, Sirius grabbed both their arms and apperated them away. Harry stumbled slightly on the landing and threw his father a scathing look, Sirius flashed a grin and made a flourish with his arms.

"Tah dah!"

They had landed in the middle of a beach and Harry grinned.

"This is amazing!"

"Come on, we can change in the beach house." Sirius said, pointing to the glass house a few metres away.

"Where's the Château?" Harry asked, Sirius turned around and pointed to a massive house on the cliff like hill.

"There,"

"We own all of this?"

"Yup,"

"Wow, this family really is excessive." Harry muttered.

"Yeah…" Sirius shrugged, "Come on,"

They walked in to the house and Harry was amazing, the place was very neat and stylish, the marble floors were white and the walls were a mix of smoky grey, black and white. The elves has already come and laid their things out and Harry grabbed his shorts and t-shirt to go and change, when he came back, Sirius and Remus were dressed similarly and Harry grinned.

"Run wild, Cub," Remus said, and that was all that Harry needed, he bolted from the house and down on to the sand. It was warm on his feet as the sun bathed it in heat, it was an odd feeling and Harry marvelled at the feel of the sand on his bare feet. He heard a bark behind him and just dived out of the way as a huge black Grim lunged for him, the dog skidded on the sand and the force sent him rolled over. Harry laughed at the stunned look and yelped when someone came up behind him and grabbed him, the dog barked in a way that was obviously laughing and he heard Moony laughing.

"That's cheating!" Harry cried, laughing with them. He wiggled out of Moony's grip and ran off in to the water, he got splashed with water as Padfoot bounded over and Harry let out a very manly shriek when a wave washed over him and he was doused with freezing water. Both adults fell about laughing and Harry pouted, he suddenly got a mischievous glint in his eyes and leapt at Padfoot, and, with a surprising amount of strength, which was magically enhanced, threw the dog deeper in to the ocean. It was Harry and Moony's turn to laugh as the Grim animagus made a sound reminiscent of a drowning cat. Sirius changed back looking extremely sorry for himself and Harry grinned as his dad trudged back out of the deeper water, Harry was stood about waist deep with Moony and Sirius joined them.

"Not cool, pup," He grumbled, but he was smiling.

"Don't worry, Padfoot, you only sounded like a cat." Moony assured him and Harry roared with laughter.

"I don't know why you're laughing, Moony." Sirius said, grinning, "It's your turn." Sirius didn't give him time to react before he threw his mate in to the water, Remus popped back up spluttering and they all burst out laughing. They messed about in the water, where Harry conjured a disk and threw it for Padfoot to catch, until they started to get hungry and trooped back up the beach. Drying charms were cast in a hast and they used jets of water to wash off the sand from their feet, the elves had a nice dinner ready for them when they entered and Harry dived for his food. After dinner, they spent the evening laying out on the beach relaxing and bathing in the sun, Moony has conjured up some towels and they were all sprawled out on them as the sun set.

"So, did you enjoy your first trip to the beach?" Sirius asked Harry, looking at this son.

"It's been great," Harry said honestly, "I think I needed this."

"Good, I'm glad you had a good time."

So, what do you think? I thought I'd use the rest of the chapter to have Harry wind down. He has had a load of pent up emotions and he had to get rid of them, I'm hoping I did it justice and I would be hugely grateful if you could let me know what you think XD.

Jess*