A/N: I'm happy for every feedback and constructive criticism but I will not respect straight out hate or trolls in the comments.

Dixie.f.9: It will get rather interesting if you remember Marvolo will help Harry to get his name cleared and I am sure ...someone... will tell him about the will ;)

ThePhoenixandtheDragon: Oh there will be Weasley twins mixed in with an original Marauder, his Nemesis and the next generation Marauder ;) It's going to be epic... well for everybody but Dumbles :D

JasminSky: He suspects something but Sirius is not always the brightest so it will take him some time to get to the bottom of this ;)

Vivid Snare: Nah. I'm all about peace and happiness :)

Guest (Sept. 19): I feel like that's a huge compliment since the fics where I can't put my phone down are usually the best :D

Guest (Sept. 24): Yeah I was also rather antsy because I thought I was forgetting something the whole day :D

Beyond Hope: You read my mind there ;)

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling - I just played a bit in her universe.

Thanks to miu-sama95 for prereading, betaing and helping with the storyline ;)


Chapter 29: The Godfather (and paperwork...)

Words: 3257


Paperwork. Stupid, stupid paperwork. The bane of his existence. Oh how he hated it. If it weren't for paperwork he would have been ruling Britain for years now.

Marvolo had started moving into his study at the manor and quickly realized he would have to get all his documents and things from Riddle manor sorted and divided first.

So without notifying his family he had "quickly" apparated over to his late father's home for a few things. That had been four hours ago. All his papers were in a mess. Every time he thought he was getting somewhere a new stack of parchments appeared.

At least Tibby had been so nice as to supply him with his favourite tea and cookies. Otherwise he would have started setting things on fire hours ago.

Maybe he should get someone to help him. It would be suitable punishment to sort through all of this.

Around two hours ago Marvolo had decided that he needed a suitable system for the sorting of incoming mail. That was after he found one letter warning him of a trap and a report about five of his dying in said trap.

In between some stacks he found legal documents concerning the Gaunt family and his NEWT results (straight Os).

When Marvolo first got the gift that was Slytherin Castle from his husband he had thought he could move in and burn down Riddle manor the next day. What a ludicrous thought.

He would have to rework all of his plans. What a shame. It would have been great to burn down the old house at the first full meeting to signal the beginning of a new era.

With a sigh Marvolo got up from the floor he had been sat on to sort everything and sent the parchments in his hands to the manor pile.

It would be best to only have legal documents there while all of the Lord Voldemort and Death Eater things would be kept at the castle. In a newly designed archive.

"Tibby!" He called out.

"Yes, Master?"

"Please take this stack of papers to my study at the Snake Pit and that one goes to Slytherin Castle."

"I bes doing so right away, Master!" The little creature promised and with a pop vanished alongside the indicated stacks.

With another heavy sigh the Dark Lord decided to have a look around the manor so he would at least have an idea on what to expect.


So far he had only been in his old study and the room adjoined to it. It should have been a private library but he had converted it into an archive of sorts years before his downfall.

Moving out of his study, where he had already packed what he wanted, he chose to walk left going deeper into the manor.

He found three more rooms full of paperwork, one room with equipment for his minions like cloaks and masks. One room had over one hundred brooms in it which he would have Harry test before getting the good ones serviced and stored properly at Slytherin castle.

In another room he found many small rectangular boxes that puzzled him greatly. They were not cursed and none were labelled as far as he could see. After a few moments of contemplating he decided that nothing in his own home would kill him.

He simply picked up a box and opened it. Before him lay a beautiful ebony wand. Marvolo just stared. This was not his wand. It felt completely wrong, even before he had touched it so he closed the box again and put it aside.

The next one was made of mahogany and felt downright vile. Where did all of these wands come from? The Dark Lord tried a few more but none felt right.

Slowly moving around the room a thought made its way to the forefront of his mind. Had his followers killed each of these wand's owners?He could not remember no matter how much he tried but logic told him that since each wand was in a beautiful box it was unlikely that they were symbols of conquest.

Although it was far more likely that they had raided a wand store somewhere to insure that they had enough wands even if one got broken.

With a deep sigh he left the room behind swearing to himself to get to the bottom of this. He would ask his husband first before bringing it up with Lucius. The blond should know since he was his right hand.

Marvolo retreated to his office to sort out a few more of his things and sent the house elves back and forth to Slytherin Castle and the Snake Pit.

In between he quilled a short note to the Malfoy Lord to inform him of the impending full meeting he wanted to have tomorrow night. It would be the blond's job to round up all of his unmarked supporters and spies since they could not be summoned by his Mark.

His Mark was another worry of his. Since it had been used to convict his minions to Azkaban he should work on a way to conceal it. Maybe also a different tell for a summoning than the painful sensation it gave off at the moment.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when one of the manor house elves popped into his study wringing its tiny hands.

"Master Slytherin!"

"Yes? What do you need?"

"Master Prince bes asking Kari to look for you because he can'ts find yous in the house, Master Slytherin." The creature explained. "Master Prince and little Master bes very worried."

"I must have lost track of time. Can you take me to them, please?"

"Of course, Master. Just hold onto Kari."

Marvolo took his note for Lucius, grabbed the tiny hand of the elf and with a pop he found himself in their parlour.


While Harry was sitting on the sofa watching his father rather bemused, Severus was pacing up and down in front of the fireplace muttering to himself. He was so distracted that he had not yet spied his husband standing in the doorway.

Harry on the other hand had been facing this side of the room and his small smile grew into a full grin when he saw Marvolo arrive. The Dark Lord quickly and quietly moved to stand behind his beloved so that when Severus turned around he came face to face with him.

"Marvolo!" The Potions Master exclaimed before pulling him into a bone crushing hug. "I was so worried when I couldn't find you! Where have you been?!"

"I'm sorry, love. I had only planned on a quick trip to Riddle manor for a few of my things but I got drowned in all the old paperwork still there."

"Paperwork?" Harry interrupted, too curious to wait.

"Yes. Even being a Dark Lord involves paperwork. There are reports from spies and raids, correspondence with other countries and creatures and many more."

"Oh… I just thought that paperwork could incriminate your followers if it were found."

"It can. Which is why only certain documents should be archived while the rest is burnt."

"So why is there so much?" Severus asked while sitting down on a sofa with Marvolo.

"I have no idea. I guess that in the last year with you teaching and me being lost in insanity I completely forewent doing my usual work."

"I used to help you with it so it would not surprise me if you got lost in the mountains of parchment."

"Probably." Marvolo agreed before switching subjects. "No more of that now. I plan on keeping all of the not so legal activities at the castle. This is our family's home and I don't want to endanger either of you."

Harry was grateful that he wouldn't have to see any of the Dark Sect's plans. It was still a sore subject for him after everything that has happened.

"Why did you search for me anyway?" His father interrupted his sinister thoughts and when he looked up he noticed that his Dad must have left the room at some point.

"Erm… We called Sirius on the mirror he sent me and told him about my real parentage… It did not go all that well…."

"What happened?"

"He fainted when he saw Dad and finally connected all the dots." Harry admitted, surprising his father who descended into peals of laughter.

The teen waited patiently until the older man had regained his control before finishing his explanation.

"Yeah. So once he was back and over the shock we invited him to come over for lunch."

"And here I am." Came his godfather's deep voice from the doorway.

"Sirius!" Harry exclaimed excitedly and leaped from the sofa to throw himself at the mutt.

"Hey, pup!"


Severus scowled at his school time nemesis before he sat down next to his husband who immediately put an arm around his shoulders and gave him a kiss. That lightened his mood immediately.

Sirius and Harry finally broke apart but the teen was still unwilling to let go of his godfather completely so he dragged him along to sit on a couch together.

Severus looked expectantly at his son until he got the hint.

"Oh! Right! Sirius, this is my… stepfather? This is my Dad's husband Marvolo Slytherin. Marv, this is my godfather Sirius Black."

The Potions Master was watching the mutt closely so he noticed the miniscule widening of his eyes at hearing Marvolo's full name. Since he didn't comment on it Severus surmised that he would be confronted later on.

"Welcome to our home, Mr. Black."

"Sirius, please. Thank you for inviting me, Mr. Slytherin. Although I believe you were forced into this by Harry here."

Sirius joke had the desired effect of breaking the ice between them.

"Call me Marvolo, please."

Before they could delve into any serious topics one of the house elves asked them to move to the dining room for lunch.


Once all four wizards had been served Marvolo pulled Sirius into a deep discussion about the Auror force. Since Black had been one before his stint in prison he was able to give him a good insight into the workings of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

The wizarding world changed a lot slower than the muggle one so there were no concerns that things could have changed since then.

Severus cautiously started to test his son's opinion on holidays and the different countries they could visit. It appalled him to find out that Harry had never left British soil and had actually never even been at the seaside. Those damn muggles always left him with a neighbour when they went on holiday.

The Potions Master was clenching his fists under the table in an attempt to control his anger. He didn't want his son to notice but something must have given him away. His husband and Black stopped their conversation and looked at him to see what had happened to change the mood in the room so suddenly.

Marvolo gently grasped one of his fists in both of his hands and slowly pried his fingers open to reveal blood filled indents of his fingernails in the palm of his hand.

"Sev?"

"It's alright. I was just reminded of something appalling. We will go on a family holiday to the beach in a few weeks."

Before the adults could follow his quick subject change, the teen had dropped his fork in surprise.

"I get to go on holiday? To the beach?" He asked wary but with a hint of wonder in his voice and after getting a nod from his Dad let his excitement take over.

"I get to go to the beach! I have never been there! Can we build a sandcastle? Where are we going? Can Sirius come? And Ron? Can I-..."

"Harry! Take a deep breath and calm down, please." Marvolo finally cut in when it seemed as if his son would never stop. He waited a few moments until the teen had followed his orders and his godfather had his laughter under control before answering all of the questions.

"We can of course build a sandcastle. Since you Dad only just informed us of this holiday we will all have to think of a suitable location. I have no problem with Sirius accompanying us. I believe it would do him good as well."

"I would love to come, pup." The animagus agreed before turning to the classmate he had tormented for years. "As long as it is alright with Severus, of course."

Once he had stepped out of the floo and had been met by Snape they had had a little talk to clear the air. He had apologized to the Potions Master for endangering his life and they came to an agreement of sorts that Harry's happiness was their first priority.

Severus, although still not completely happy with Black's existence in his home kept to their agreement. He was a man of honour after all.

"Sure. He can tag along."

Harry whooped in excitement and gave each of the adults a bone crushing hug before sitting back down to enjoy his chocolate pudding.

They had planned to move back to the parlour but since Harry was so hyper from being cooped up indoors for the last few days they decided to explore the gardens together.


Right out the back door they had a nice sized deck that could easily host the Weasley family and friends for a summer party and not far from it they could see a fire pit for campfires or bonfires. It had big, sturdy tree trunks all around it that served as benches.

Not even five minutes into their exploration the team lost their first member. A house elf appeared next to Marvolo and handed him a note. After reading the missive from Lucius he quickly made his excuses and retreated to his study.

The other three carried on but half an hour later they left Severus behind as well. They had found a greenhouse filled with exotic plants and the potions ingredients garden right next to it. Once Harry noticed the longing in his Dad's eyes he knew that it would be better to just keep on exploring without him.

That left him and Sirius alone and of course they started goofing around while they walked on the gravelled paths. They found a rose garden, a small maze (they of course entered and got lost for some time) and a little stream running through the land. There were also a few more buildings on the property but they could still explore those when the weather wasn't as nice as it was today.

After over two hours of running around they finally found the Quidditch pitch. It was hidden in a natural valley behind the orchard so it was actually invisible if you came from the manor's direction. In Harry's opinion that made it even better. There were proper stands, changing rooms and of course a broom shed. Sirius let out an excited shout when they opened the shed's door and found a few brooms in it. They were older and hadn't been cared for for some time but five of them still worked properly.

After Sirius had tested them all to make sure Harry would be safe the teen didn't need to be told twice to mount his broom. Before the animagus even had a broom in his hand his godson had shot off into the sky with a shout of pure delight. He was treated to a display of Harry's incredible talent and completely forgot about getting into the air himself. At least for a few minutes until the boy shouted for him to get up there. Then nothing could keep him on the ground anymore either.

Severus had finally managed to tear himself away from the garden and went in search of his son. Since the grounds were so extensive he used a simple locating spell which sent him through the orchard towards what he knew to be the Quidditch pitch. He should have known this is where they would end up.

Harry was an amazing flyer and Black also loved flying. Sirius had been a beater for Gryffindor during his time which was the only thing that kept Severus from playing against Gryffindor. The Potions Master was actually a Quidditch fanatic and would have played keeper for his house.

He had been chosen in his second year after trying out but once he found out that Black and Potter would be on the opposing team he had wanted to resign. The captain had offered him a deal he couldn't refuse. His team trained two keepers and they alternated in the games which worked a charm in confusing the other teams and he actually never had to play against Gryffindor.

Once he reached the edge of the trees he had a full view of the pitch and it was clear as day that this is what his son is meant to do. Flying. High up in the air, free and without any worries. Severus got himself one of the old brooms and joined Sirius who was hovering in front of the stands, watching Harry.

"He's amazing, isn't he?" He asked once he was situated next to the mutt.

"He's a natural. Truly amazing. It's as if he and the broom were one."

They watched as the teen sped straight up into the sky only to turn and drop back towards the ground at near free fall.

Severus heard stopped when Harry finally pulled his broom level with the ground. A second longer and he would have crashed. Completely hair brained considering he was using an old, unfamiliar broom.

"Henry Prince - Slytherin! Get over here right now!" The Potions Master screamed once he was able to draw air into his lungs again.


Marvolo appeared in front of Riddle manor for the second time today. He quickly made his way to his study where he knew Lucius would be already waiting for him. The blond had only sent a note when he couldn't find his Lord in the house.

"Hello, Lucius." He greeted when he entered.

"Hello, Marvolo."

"Why did you want to see me?"

"I got your letter but there might be a few problems. I came to clear them up before we got into any troubles."

"Alright. Tell me."

"Where do you plan for the meeting to be? I'm not so sure if this house is big enough for all of us. I am also not sure if it is wise to simply contact the Unmarked ones. We have no way of knowing if they are still loyal to you."

"Hmmm… The meeting will be at our new base, Slytherin Castle. I got it from Severus for our anniversary. I want to burn this house down and start anew." Marvolo declared his plans. "But before we burn it I have at least three rooms full of paperwork to sort through."

"I may be able to help you there. After working in the Ministry for so long I'm proficient in a few sorting charms for paperwork."

"Thank Merlin for that! I was dreading it since I found those rooms this morning. We will leave the Unmarked Ones out for now. There is something else I wanted to talk to you about."

"Yes?" Lord Malfoy asked curiously.

"Why is there a room full of wands in my manor?"


TBC


Our first lectures start tomorrow and we will be back into the regular university year by next week :P

What do you want to happen to Dumbledore? Shall the Goblins prosecute him? Or the Ministry? Will he be still headmaster coming September? Let me know!


First posted on: 01. October 2017

Next update planned: 15. October 2017