Chapter 33 – Reparation

Arthur Weasley entered in the loud and full pub, the Leaky Cauldron was always like that. The pub was very popular due to being the main access do Diagon Alley. All kind of eccentric people could be seen there, since it was the front door to wizarding London.

He approached the counter and greeted Tom, the barman.

'Full house today, Tom?'

'Indeed, Arthur, indeed.' Tom glanced at him. 'Lord Black is waiting for you in one of the private rooms, go up the stairs. It's de third door on the right.'

'Thank you, Tom.'

Arthur went up the stairs, lost in thoughts. He was curious about the motive of the reunion requested by Sirius Black. He didn't see what subjects the man wanted to discuss that required so much secrecy. Since the peculiar union between his youngest child and the Sirius' godson, the doors of his house were open to them. Arthur could be a simple man, but he wasn't a foul. He could foresee problems awaiting.

He reached the indicated door, he knocked and waited. Sirius could be almost part of his family now, but he still was the head of a Noble and Most Ancient House. Good manners were always welcomed.

It didn't take long for the door to be opened and to reveal an immaculate dressed Sirius, whose facial expression was solemn, just like it was expected from a Lord.

'Thank you for coming, Arthur.' Sirius greeted him. 'Enter, please. We're only waiting for you.'

Arthur entered the big room and discovered he wasn't the only person invited to the meeting. He saw many familiar faces. A wizard he knew from work, Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt, went near the door and began spelling it.

'It's only a few security spells, don't worry.' Sirius pacified him.

'Do we need security spells?' Arthur had to ask.

'If my past has taught me anything it's that it can't never exist too much precaution.' Sirius explained.

Kingsley nodded at Sirius. 'All done'. He said.

'Thank you, Shack.' Sirius turned to the rest of the guests. 'Please, sit down.'

Arthur sat on a chair from the big conference table and so did the others. In total, there were eight people, him, Sirius, Kingsley, Remus, Andromeda, McGonagall, a young woman with long turquoise hair and a Goblin dresses with the official uniform of Gringotts.

'First of all, I'd like to thank each one of you for your presence here. I believe most of you already know each other, otherwise I'll make the needed introductions. The most important thing I want you to know is that all of you here have my total confidence and we all have common interests in mind.' Sirius spoke. 'With respect to my guest, Master Ragnok, manager of the goods of the Black and Potter houses, I ask him for his word. I promise not to take much of your time. Master Ragnok, please…'

'Hem-hem.' The Goblin cleared his throat. 'Ladies and gentlemen, as it was requested, I have in my possession the following documents: an authorized copy of the will of Lord James Charlus Potter and his wife Lady Lily Marguerite Potter née Evans, the marriage certificate and the emancipation letter of Lord Harry James Potter and his wife Lady Ginevra Molly Potter née Weasley, and a reparation contract from the Noble and Most Ancient Houses of Black and Potter in favour of the House of Weasley due to the damage done and the services provided.'

Arthur was very attentive to the words he was hearing, but he wasn't really comprehending them. Better, he wasn't really believing them. A marriage certificate? An emancipation letter? A reparation contract?

What was happening?

'Who is the recipient, Mister Arthur Septimus Weasley, Head of the House of Weasley and descendent of the Black lineage through his mother Cedrella Lysandra Weasley née Black?'

Arthur was so unaccustomed to the formalities of the ancient houses that he needed a few seconds to realise that the Goblin was speaking to him.

'Ah… It's me, Master Ragnok, Arthur Septimus Weasley.'

The Goblin only gave him a look of recognition.

'Mister Weasley, with consideration and respect to your Noble House, the Lords Harry James Potter and Sirius Orion Black offer a reparation contract due to any damage done to your lineage concerning the non-established marriage between Lord Harry and your daughter Lady Ginevra.' The Goblin explained. 'The old ways require that a marriage between Nobles Houses to be established with a previous agreement and the definition of values and responsibilities to each family and with proper time for the rites of engagement and the formal union. Given the atypical conditions which fomented the bond between Lord Harry and Lady Ginevra, a reparation contract is needed between the families in a sign of honour and respect towards their pears and the magical society.

'The Noble and Most Ancient Houses of Black and Potter offer an initial sum of seventy-five galleons each, open to negotiation, in order to repair the possible damage caused to your lineage and previously established contracts. Is there any matrimonial contract involving your daughter and any other Ancient House?

'No, she hasn't even turned eleven years old.' Arthur replied, he was completely stunned.

'Great. That makes everything much easier.' The Goblin told him. 'Mister Weasley, do you agree that the total sum of one hundred and fifty galleons is enough to liquidate the honour and life debts to your House?

'Life debt?' Arthur questioned.

'As far as I have been informed, Lady Ginevra saved the life of Lord Harry through the same magical bond that provided the matrimonial union between the two. The live debt must be paid and so must be the honour debt.'

'Well, the news of the matrimonial union caught me by surprise. However, I'm certain that we can find a way to solve everything. Besides, Harry is a good lad. I can't accept the reparation for what my daughter has done for him.'

The Globing seemed a bit irritated with the answer.

'Mister Weasley, I have the duty to remind you that the recuse of the reparation of the two Houses is a sign of great disrespect and a great offense to both lineages. I also remind you, that the young lady in question is the first female in seven generations of your family. A union with a witch with such magical potential would be desirable to any young Lord of the wizarding society. The refuse of the reparation is a dishonour not only to the Houses of Potter and Black, but also to your own.'

Arthur didn't know what to say. It was obvious that his knowledge of the old ways was rusty. The House of Weasely was ancient, but it had been many generations since the family had the gold and the political power to play the game of the Nobles Houses. That wasn't the case of Sirius Black, he had been born in that world and raised to play the game and the days in Azkaban didn't look like they had damage his skills.

Arthur removed his horn-rimmed glasses for a moment and rubbed his eyes, sighing. Recovering his composure, he put his glasses on and look directly at Sirius.

'You're trying to force me into accepting this, tell me why.'

'We still have a lot to discuss today, Arthur, but we have to take care of this first.' Sirius replied. 'Accept the reparation terms, it's the best thing to do for our children. Understand that this game has to be played if we don't want our children to be harmed.'

'I accept.' Arthur sighed. 'I accept the reparation. Your debt is paid.'

'Excellent.' Ragnok said. 'Here's the reparation contract, read and, if you agree with it, signed in the end of the parchment. The amount will be immediately transferred to your safe as soon as you both signed the contract.'

Arthur read the contract, it was well done and without mistakes. He still could comprehend Sirius' idea, nevertheless he knew that Nobles Houses worked like this. He signed the parchment and gave it to Sirius, who also signed it.

'Lor Black is the proxy of Lord Potter in this negotiation, therefore the reparation contract is officially executed. At this moment, the transfer of gold is being fulfilled.'

Arthur simply nodded.

'I will leave the others documents in your hands, Lord Black, you know how to proceed. My part in this meeting is done.'

'I thank you for your services, Master Ragnok.' Sirius said goodbye. 'May your gold always flow.'

'May your gold always flow.'

The Goblin got up from the table, bowed and left the room. As soon as the door was closed, Arthur confronted Sirius once more.

'What does this mean?'

'It means we're protecting our children and teaching them how our world works. We're also ensuring the well-being of the family of the new Lady Potter.'

'I never needed the money from anyone to ensure my family's well-being.' Arthur was feeling the Weasley's temperament waking up.

'I never dare to say otherwise, Arthur. My and Harry's intention was never to disrespect you or your family with the reparation contract, we want to protect you.' Sirius clarified. 'I don't know if you noticed, my friend, but we have a time bomb in our hands.'

'I suspected as much, but I'd like for us to be clear with each other from now on.'

'Certainly. Let's go straight to the facts.' Sirius declared. 'Harry Potter is like a son to me. His dad meant a lot more to me than my own blood brother. And I won't stop at anything to protect anyone with the Potter name and that includes your daughter.'

'Yes, you've already made that clear before. Tell me where does the problem begin?'

'The problem began twelve years ago when a prophecy was made about the one who'd be responsible for the definitive end of Voldemort.'

'Harry?' Arthur correctly guessed.

'Yes. A boy born at the end of the seventh month, whose parents defied Him three times, who was marked as His equal and who possesses a power unknown to Him.' Sirius listed. 'James and Lily left a copy of the prophecy in their will, which you all can see with your own eyes. Harry has already authorized me to share with you this information.'

Arthur grabbed the copy of the will from Sirius. He tried to ignore the almost obscene fortune that the boy had inherited in gold and properties to instead focus on the prophecy. The boy's parents seemed concerned with its repercussions in their son's life.

'Can I see it?' The young woman with blue hair asked.

Arthur looked curiously at her.

'Ah, I'm Tonks.' She introduced herself. 'I'm Harry's cousin… Even though in the wizarding world everyone is cousins with everyone. This one here is my mum.' The girl chattered jubilantly and then pointed at Andromeda. Obviously, he wasn't the only one unaccustomed to the formalities of the Noble Houses.

'Nymphadora, that isn't how I taught to behave in formal meetings.' Andromeda scolded. 'I'm so sorry, you know how children are.'

'Don't call me by that name, mum. This isn't a formal meeting, it's a family meeting.'

Sirius laughed out loud at Tonks' words. The sound was close to dogs' barks.

'Dora's right, cousin.' Sirius calmed Andromeda. 'We're among friends here.'

Everyone on the room had the opportunity to read the prophecy in its entirety.

'So this is why Voldemort began hunting them in the first place?' Kingsley asked.

'Yes.' Sirius confirmed.

'This information was never made public.'

Minerva gave an irritated sigh. 'As if Albus would allow this information escaping from his hands.'

'Albus Dumbledore knows about this?' The Auror asked.

'Albus knows many things.' Minerva replied.

'Albus Dumbledore,' Sirius was speaking once more, 'knew and still knows everything relating Harry and that's part of our problem.'

The curious and questioning eyes didn't intimidated Sirius.

'Dumbledore has always known about the violent and abusive behaviour of Harry's Muggles relatives and still thought it was better to abandon my godson in their house for eleven years.'

'What do you mean about violent and abusive behaviour?' Kingsley wanted to know.

'Those Muggles let Harry starve while they were raising their own son as a spoiled prince. Many times, my godson was treated worse than a house-elf and he received physical punishments when he did accidental magic or even when he used the word magic.' Sirius explained. 'He never had a birthday party, never got a Christmas present and slept in the cupboard under the stairs in a house with two empty bedrooms. And during the whole time, they have been recompensed with an allowance of five hundred galleons per month for abusing a child, a courtesy granted by Albus Dumbledore. This is all I've found in the few weeks I've been out of Azkaban. Just imagine what you'd discover in eleven years if you had tried.'

'Five hundred galleons per month is a freaking fortune in Muggle money!' Tonks remarked. 'My dad's a Muggle, so I'm familiar with the exchange rates. It's about five thousand pounds.'

'Molly told me that the first time she saw Harry, he was wearing old and tattered clothes, even to our standards.' Arthur recalled. 'Ron and Ginny used to tell us similar stories… I thought the children were exaggerating.'

'They weren't.' Remus spoke for the first time.' I checked the facts with some of Dumbledore's spies who he had them watching over Harry. Mrs Figg and Dedalus Diggle were the most sorrowed about Harry's living conditions. But they said Dumbledore had them under a vow not to interfere.'

'This sounds like some kind of conspiracy.' Kingsley opined.

'That's exactly what it is, a conspiracy.' Sirius asserted and then explained, 'Dumbledore knows the prophecy and believes in it. The old Headmaster intends to have Harry fulfil this prophecy, but here's a question: Is it acceptable to condemn a child to a life full of misery and suffering to manipulate him?'

The facial expression of disgust shared by everyone in the room was all Sirius needed to know that they were in agreement with him.

'I'm not here to start a war against Albus Dumbledore. I'm you all know my sorrow over his actions. However, my only intention is to protect my godson and Ginny. Each one of you has a way to help me, can I count with your support?'

'Never in all my years as a teacher had I thought I'd see a scenario like the one I saw at the end of last term. Harry almost died, only Merlin knows how Ginny resisted so long under the Cruciatus Curse. For a year, we were housing an enemy in our castle, exposing our students to danger. I won't allow that to happen again. Count me in.' Minerva proclaimed.

'If this doesn't transform into an ego war or a fight over political power, you can count with me.'

'You already know our opinion, cousin. Count us in!' Tonks spoke for her and her mother.

'Anything for James' son.' Remus declared.

They were waiting for Arthur's answer. He was still thoughtful.

'Tell me, again, why?'

'The prophecy exists, Voldemort knows about it and even though he's weak at the moment, someday he'll find a way to come back. And when that day comes, he won't stop hunting Harry and therefore Ginny will be a victim as well. Dumbledore wants to use them, he doesn't want to prepare them for what they'll face. Would you like to see your daughter as some lamb for slaughter? As some kind of martyr? I don't. However, that's what will happen if we don't start prepping them now. Where does your loyalty stand with? With your family or to an old idealist wizard? Answer me!'

Sirius' speech touch the back of his soul, even if he didn't want to admit it. He was a dad fighting to protect his child, they were the same. Arthur didn't need to think more.

'My loyalty will always belong to my family.'

A/N: Thank you all for the lovely reviews! We'll see more of Ginny and Harry in chapter 35.

Next chapter's title: Loyalty