The moment the starting sign was given that Monday afternoon, Harry began cutting his ingredients. The theory exam had gone well that morning, but practical Potions was the one exam he had been rather nervous for and he was determined to do well.
From the corner of his eyes he saw his godfather slip through the crack of the Great Hall door he'd quietly opened and he smiled as he saw him move to stand beside Andromeda.
Amused eyes caught his and Harry felt himself relax as Sirius smiled, taking a deep breath to calm himself as the man had taught him before continuing his work much more sure of himself.
Deciding to treat this like a normal private lesson he had no trouble brewing the potion and he noticed he wasn't the only one being reassured by the man's presence as the tension in the room dropped the moment he had arrived.
It was with satisfaction that he eventually stepped away from his cauldron and looking up he immediately found warm grey eyes smiling at him from across the room.
Grinning at him to let him know it had gone well he returned his attention to his potion, filling a bottle with a sample before cleaning up.
He had to squash down his disappointment as his godfather was gone when he was done but Andromeda waved at him when he was permitted to go, so he made his way over to her.
"Hey."
"You've done well," Andromeda smiled in greeting.
"I hope so, Sirius returned to class?"
"No, a Gringotts representative asked to speak to him."
"Here at Hogwarts?" they calmly walked through the hallways.
"Yes. Sirius refused to be absent from this exam as he knew you had been dreading this one. The Goblin apparently said he'd wait in his office."
"The exam took two hours!" disbelieving Harry stared at her.
"Yes, Sirius told him that but he said he'd wait. Once you were done he left, asking me to wait for you so I could apologise on his behalf."
"I hadn't expected him to show up at all, let alone stay for the entire exam, though I am happy he was there. I wonder what was so important that a Gringotts representative actually came to Hogwarts to speak to him," Harry mused as they walked out into the Courtyard.
"It is not unusual for Ancient families to receive a house visit from Gringotts. It is part of their service. I suspect the meeting is about combining vaults now that Sirius and Remus are legally registered as life partners."
"The whole idea of keeping it a quiet thing kind of backfired didn't it? Did Sirius tell you personally?"
"No, I read it in the special edition of the Prophet that came out Sunday morning; he wanted to tell me this morning."
Harry winced. Someone at the Ministry had seen Remus collect the civil partnership papers, and realising what they were for, had alerted the Prophet.
It hadn't taken them long to find confirmation for the story as signed papers were automatically copied into the public archive.
It was a good thing the general public had already believed them to be an item or Harry was sure it would have been more than just a front page article in the Prophet and congratulations from most of the students at dinner.
"Are you mad that you weren't invited?"
Confused Andromeda turned to him before she laughed. "No, I completely understand their wish to keep it as small as possible since I know the reasons behind it. And no, I am also not hurt that Sirius did not ask me to be his witness, George is like a little brother to him and they are much closer than we ever were."
Accepting her explanation he leaned against one of the walls overseeing the Black Lake, watching the Giant Squid sunbathe for a moment before something occurred to him.
"Why would they combine their bank vaults?"
"Because marriage is binding in the Wizarding World. Divorces are very rare as you need to have a very good reason for requesting one. So when a couple marries, their vaults are automatically combined. In their case it is just a question in which name they will combine the vaults.
"Because Sirius has the older bloodline and therefore he is the dominant party?"
It had been a surprise for him to learn the Marauder's Map now referred to Remus as Potter-Black, despite the fact that he'd been convinced Sirius would take on Remus' name as he hated his surname. But both men had just shrugged, not really caring as they thought it was fitting all three of them would have the same last name.
"Sort of yes. Not only is his bloodline much older and therefore the Black Vault much better protected, Sirius will also always remain Lord Black. No matter how much he hates the name."
"Why wouldn't he just be able to take on Remus' name and let the entire Black family fade?"
"Because the House of Black is the oldest House left in the history of our kind. Their power is tremendous and the other pure-bloods have all married into the Black family, giving them supreme power over them."
"Sirius told me that all the pure-bloods are interrelated as are half of the half-bloods. But I don't see what that has to do with him having to keep on the Black name."
"Because the Houses will never accept Remus as their ultimate Head of House. He's not a pure-blood and many of the darker families don't even consider him a half-blood since he's a werewolf. If Sirius were to denounce the Black family he might actually unleash war."
"Why?" confused Harry stared as Andromeda sighed.
"You grew up with Muggles so I'll try to explain it to you as Ted explained it to our daughter once. The purebloods would be Dukes and Lords, considered the elite in society. Much higher ranked than the half-bloods, the normal people."
"Like how most pure-bloods see Muggles and Muggleborn as nothing more than slaves?"
"Exactly. In the thirties there were twenty-eight families left that were considered pure-blood. Of those twenty-eight, only twelve truly pure-blood families are left today. Of those, six are considered dark."
"That's half of them," Harry noted alarmed.
"And all of them have married into the Black family. So In Muggle terms, the House of Black is royalty and Sirius is seen as the King. Most of the current Lords might not like him, but politically and magically he is by far the most powerful player in the field. His influence reaches far and wide, so the other houses answer to him."
"A King?" incredulous Harry stared at her. He'd known the House of Black had been very powerful, but he'd never expected that powerful.
"Yes. When You-Know-Who first came into play, the Black family was drawn to his promise of power and supremacy, to his promise of lesser beings being put in their place. They knew he was the last descendant of the Gaunt family, one of the few families older than them. With them supporting him, many of the other families followed and the Dark Lord rose to power."
She leaned against the wall. "When you defeated him the Houses fell into chaos as the House of Black was left crippled. Lucius Malfoy saw his opportunity and bribed enough of the lower families so that he could rise into power and influence."
Smiling she turned to him. "He succeeded in getting in with the right people, but then Sirius came back into play."
"What does Sirius have to do with Malfoy's attempt to rule?"
"Everyone learned he had never followed You-Know-Who, attracting the light families to him. But at the same time he denounced Dumbledore's leadership, attracting the dark families, too."
Seeing his confusion she tried to explain it better.
"To many of the remaining Houses Sirius is a beacon. He is not following anyone but forging a new path. It is a path that many heirs of the current families are very interested in."
"A path he laid out clearly for all to see when he and Remus took out Voldemort and all the Death Eaters were killed in the resulting shock-wave, many of whom were Pure-bloods. But at the same time he took down Dumbledore, and the shock wave resulting from that affected the families even further."
"Why? Because Dumbledore was considered a hero?"
"No, because Sirius revealed he will not bow down to anyone, no matter who they are and has begun to change many things. Most of which the dark families do not like, but they are smart enough not to provoke him into taking action, knowing he does not walk the same path as his ancestors and will not be swayed from what he believes in."
"So the families follow him because as Lord Black he is a recognised and powerful player. And if he were to renounce the House of Black, it would cause other Houses to try and rise to power. So basically Sirius is the one to keep them from being divided again?"
"Exactly."
"Will the dark families give Sirius trouble now that he's basically married to Remus?"
"It's strange, the families don't care about skin colour or sexual orientation, but they are completely bigoted to Muggles and magical creatures. They won't be happy that Sirius bound himself to a werewolf, but it is a clear message to them that they won't be able to miss."
"That this Lord Black is for equality for all?"
"Yes, he adopted a half-blood, is friendly with Muggleborns and has now married a werewolf. I think they've realised that Sirius is going to change the workings of the Magical world and they have no other choice than to let him."
"But won't they try to assassinate him?" Harry asked worriedly.
"Some might have tried if Sirius wasn't so strong magically. You forgot that everyone knows he stormed into Hogwarts and single-handedly subdued over two hundred wizards for over an hour, while simultaneously keeping Ministry officials locked outside. That is not an easy feat. Even if the Prophet only reported half of it, the children of those families will have told their families all about it."
"So they are too frightened to try anything?"
"Not exactly. They saw a man who took action when no one else did. Their children were under Umbridge's control, too, and who knows how many students she hurt. He has grudgingly earned their respect for going against all odds to change things. But it are the children who keep anyone from attempting anything."
"The children?" confused Harry looked at her.
"Have you not noticed that almost every student is very fond of him? They see first-hand the changes he's made to the Wizarding World and they appreciate it."
She looked back out over the courtyard. "If you had told me last year that Gryffindors and Slytherins would be friends I'd have laughed in your face. But here the heirs of the Houses of Greengrass and Nott are calmly chatting with a Muggleborn and not only are they all laughing, no one even cares."
"It's pretty common now," Harry followed her gaze to see Daphne, Theodore and Justin chatting with each other as they revised together near the Lake.
"You have no idea how unbelievable it truly is for people of my generation. But those children, who have grown up prejudiced, are changing. And with them, so is the world as they begin to see Muggleborns and others are more than lesser beings. They will not accept their parents to act against Sirius, seeing how much good he is doing."
Suddenly Andromeda laughed. "I wish I could have seen Lucius' face when he'd have realised his plans would never work."
"What plans?" surprised by the sudden subject change Harry turned back to look at her.
"He was banking on the knowledge that Draco would become the new Lord Black on his seventeenth birthday. It would mean supreme power to his family and it was what he had worked for so hard."
"But even if he'd been alive until Malfoy's seventeenth birthday, Sirius would still be alive so that wouldn't work, would it?"
"Narcissa revealed under Veritaserum that Lucius had planned an assassination attack on Sirius when the time would be right. He had most of the Ministry officials in his pocket and plenty of Aurors so it wouldn't have been difficult. Wouldn't have been the first time someone tried to assassin Sirius while he was imprisoned after all."
"And once Sirius was dead the new Lord Black would be revealed on his seventeenth birthday."
"And it would be revealed that Sirius named you his heir long before his imprisonment. It would have been hilarious to see his face when he realised Sirius had long since taken him out of play."
Chuckling at her glee Harry pulled himself up onto the wall, surprised when she reached out to touch his arm.
"I never did say thank you, you know?"
"For what?"
"Saving him and keeping his whereabouts a secret. But most of all for believing him when no one would have."
"It took me a while before I did," Harry confessed.
It still bothered him how close it had been, how much he had wanted to kill the assumed murderer of his parents. If Remus hadn't had the timing he had Harry might have done something he would have regretted for the rest of his life. And Sirius' overwhelming guilt and incapability to communicate straightforward hadn't really helped him explain anything to quell Harry's anger.
"If anything, you should thank Remus. I don't know what would have happened if he hadn't showed up when he did."
"It is not something I like to think about," she smiled as she stepped back again. "I've gotten my cousin back and for that I cannot thank you enough."
Nodding Harry smiled, knowing it would be no use to argue. Together they looked out at the Giant Squid as some of the students fed him until footsteps approached their area.
"Meeting done?" Andromeda asked in greeting as Sirius stepped outside.
"Yeah, Gornuk wanted to inform me that they've finally worked through the backlog and that Gringotts wants to know what my wishes were."
"Wishes for what?" Harry asked as Sirius leaned against the wall beside him.
"The Vaults of the deceased Death Eaters who have no relatives left. As basically all of them married into the Black family their worldly possessions are now mine."
"What are you going to do with it?"
"Sell everything and donate the whole bunch to different good causes," Sirius answered her with a shrug.
"What will happen to those who do have relatives left? Surely they will be punished for their crimes?" Andromeda asked.
"They will be forced to pay a large compensation to the families that are known to have been tormented by their family member. If the relatives had nothing to do with Voldemort nothing more will happen."
"And if they do?" Harry asked as he pulled Sirius closer towards him so he could take his hand.
"Then the Ministry will take charge and every action taken by that family will be put under close scrutiny before a suitable punishment will be given."
Nodding Harry smiled as his fingers caught on the simple silver band on his godfather's ring finger and as he looked down at it he suddenly remembered the original reason Andromeda had thought the Goblin had been there.
"Did you arrange things for your Vaults to be combined?"
"That was done automatically the moment Remus accepted my surname. But enough about business, did Andy tell you you've done well on Potions?"
"Yeah, you really think so?"
"I didn't see you do anything wrong. And you didn't get distracted when Millicent Bulstrode melted her cauldron," his voice praised and Harry grinned.
"Did Neville do well too?"
"He made a small mistake by first adding the Moondew before he added the Betony, but he compensated by adding less Belladonna and more Nettle. It was a smart move that the examiners will appreciate," Sirius smiled.
"Because they don't just score you for your actions, but also how you fix your own mistakes, right?"
"Yes. They like seeing your efficiency and if you can rectify your own mistake by keeping your head together," Andromeda confirmed.
"Hannah rather failed at that last week," Harry mused.
"I'd say the examiners failed horrible then, too, it was ridiculous," snorting Sirius squeezed his hand and Harry grinned as he remembered the disaster that had been prevented.
During the practical exam of Transfiguration Hannah had completely lost her head and had managed to multiply her ferret into a flock of flamingos. It had been funny to see the examiners halt the examination so they could chase after the birds.
It had been difficult to keep his expression neutral as Sirius took charge after staring at the examiners in disbelief for several seconds. A simple Freezing charm had halted every bird in the room and under the stares of everyone in the room he had Vanished the animals, all the while muttering about incompetent idiots.
Having taken the moment of shocked silence to transfigure the desk beside Hannah into a new ferret, he had patted her arm and told her to just continue even if the examiners forgot they were wizards.
It had done the trick of calming her down and the rest of the exam had passed quietly as she'd been much more composed.
He looked up when Sirius stretched. "I don't know about you two, but I'd like to get something to eat. It's been a long day."
"Sounds like a plan. Maybe you can help me revise for Care after dinner?"
"I need to take care of some things first so how about I'll pick you up from Gryffindor Tower around seven?"
"Okay."
Together they made their way towards the Great Hall, splitting up as Harry made his way to the Gryffindor table and Sirius and Andromeda moving on to the Staff Table.
He took a seat beside Luna and Dean, listening as the two were laughing about a creature Luna was going to track down with her father during the holidays.
Once they had eaten he and Neville made their way to the library to return a book Neville had borrowed before making their way towards Gryffindor Tower.
Harry was informing Neville of what Sirius had told him about his exam when he spotted Malfoy approaching from the other side.
The Slytherin had left him alone since Sirius had arrived, terrified of the man's temper so Harry didn't expect any trouble now and kept up his conversation with Neville.
"Well, look who it is, Potter without his precious mutt at his side," Malfoy sneered at them. "Oh wait, he's replaced him with a brainless puppet."
"Don't you ever come up with anything new?" Neville snorted, not backing down as Malfoy glared at him.
"I've always been told Dumbledore was the worst thing to ever happen to this place, but I guess Black beats that," Malfoy sneered, ignoring Neville.
"He is the worst thing to have ever happened to your precious Death Eater club, yeah," Harry readily agreed.
"He and that filthy half-breed of his will get what they deserve Potter, you wait and see."
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Even if you weren't such a coward and full of bull then that still wouldn't worry me."
"Think you are so great now, you just wait," he threatened."You won't be able to hide behind that blood traitor forever, Potter."
"That blood traitor happens to be the Deputy so you might want to show some respect to him," Harry shot back.
"Not a chance Potter, you must be happy though," a malevolent grin slid over the pale face. "Finally having a mummy again who can wipe your drool away or wait that would be the other way for you wouldn't it be, Longbottom."
"My mother can eat just fine on her own, perhaps you are mixing her up with your mother? Not that I can see how you could since while my mother is beautiful, yours looks like she fell into dung," unimpressed by Malfoy's taunt Neville calmly answered him.
"Don't you dare insult my mother, Longbottom,"
"You should expect it if you do the same," Harry turned to Neville. "Come on Neville, we're wasting our breath on that baboon."
Malfoy' face twisted in anger at Harry's dismissal and even as the Slytherin was still casting a spell Harry already raised a shield.
But the spell shot straight through his shield like it wasn't even there, and Harry could only widen his eyes as an unfamiliar white light shot straight at him, unable to get away in time.
But suddenly Sirius was there and blood splattered everywhere, covering Harry's robes as he was shoved to the side before the spell could hit him.