Here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it. Please read and review love Hermione xxx
Harry sat down and decided to write that last letter to Cedric Diggory now. The more he put it off honestly the worst he felt. He had observed him enough by now to know what to write to him in that letter. Using a spell he had insured that no one who was not meant to know he was Lord Black would know until he chose to tell them this personally. Those who had known before that he did not wish to remember this information had now forgotten all about it. To them and everyone else he was now known merely as the heir to Lord Black himself. He got out his supplies and began.
Dear Cedric Diggory,
I am Lord Black and I have discovered you are my vassal to my surprise. Harry Black is my heir and from what I have heard he seems to be doing well in school. Hopefully it will stay that way too. In this letter I hope to give you advice on what I expect you to do as my vassal. You are to follow everything I tell you without complaint. You are not my only vassal my others being in the house of Slytherin so the letter you receive will not be the same as the one they receive. Slytherins can be a little dense and so it for this reason that the letters will not be the same. Also they don't need the same advice you do it's just the way it is.
Your first task is to take a cleansing broth or flushing potion if you will in the presence of my heir as I wish him to learn something from it. He knows what that is himself and doesn't need to explain himself. Then you will go at your earliest convenience to Mr Ollivander and have him make you a custom wand as only those are attuned to you in the best way possible. You are to make a vow that everything you do shall be honest in front of my heir also. As I have said it is my wish for him to learn something from it which he will tell me about later on.
All of my vassals have had different problems which have been addressed in their letters and your personal problem is humility or lack of it. You need to be more humble. You should try eating some humble pie for a while. You are very good but you are not the best there is. Albus Dumbledore is not the best there is either so don't get smart. In fact you both could use some humble pie if we're honest. Due to a situation I was party to recently I have some advice to give you. I was visiting Professor Severus Snape a dear friend of mine when an issue with a student he had came up. I believe there is a lesson to be had in everything and I wish to share with you what I learned.
A member of his house helped another member of his house with her charms exam by teaching her a spell which would assist her. However the problem was that when he did this he did not make sure he was truly alone with her. A stupid first year overheard them and took everything out of context harming another first year with that spell because he didn't know how it worked. The Slytherin student was doing something great for his year mate and I was very proud of him for that but he should have made sure he was alone before continuing with his lesson. If you ever intend to help someone please proceed but make sure you are alone when you do so. The first year student did not realise the spell did not pertain to people and seriously hurt another of his own year mates when he used it on her. Professor Snape told me this as it had come up in conversation and he wished me to know so I could inform my vassals to be safe.
You may take from this lesson what you wish but it would be my wish that you would learn something from it too whatever that lesson is. I know that this year in particular you will probably be asked to select some other classes you should take as well as your main classes. My advice here would be to think solely of what it is you wish to do after school and then select only the subjects which will benefit you there. Do not take a subject just because your best friend is taking it as that will not serve you well if it is not something you truly wish to do. Do not despair if you do not know what you wish to do after school as that happens and must not be shunned. I find if you're not sure two good subjects to try are Caring for Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes. If you find you do not like these after a few weeks you can change them. Never let anyone else tell you that you are not allowed to do this as that doesn't sit right with me.
Now in life you will meet many people who will have opinions you do not agree with but these people do not matter and you should learn not to give credence to people who have not earned it. As it is my job as Lord Black to deal with any and all marriage proposals for any women in my family you will know I rejected the one for Pandora Tonks from your father and I feel you have the right to know why. In my family things were done very poorly by one of the last viable Lords who believed he should control everything for the women in the family something I abhor. I believe everyone should be given their own free choice. Pandora did not choose you and to be honest I really didn't want her to anyway because of the way in which your father had asked. I am not even sure if you knew he was applying on your behalf. He spent his time throughout the letter talking to me about all he could and would do for me and spent none of the time talking about Miss Tonks and why you two might even be suitable for marriage. To be honest he sounded very desperate something which I find most unattractive and would like you to tell him.
I do intend to write to him myself and I shall be advising him to let you make your own choices. You can be with whoever you like and don't let him tell you otherwise. You should love someone because you want to not because it will make him look good at work. When he is so desperate it really doesn't do him any favours and only serves to make him look more ridiculous then he does usually. Do not misunderstand me. I don't say this to make a mockery of him but to stop him making a mockery of himself. I shall be advising that he speak to Mr Arthur Weasley from whom he could learn some well needed humility as he obviously doesn't have much of it. As my vassal he must do as I tell him and I will be telling him this. I helped Mr Weasley to learn some valuable life lessons which he can pass on himself to your father. Those lessons included making more of what you have. My advice is that you cannot change the start but you can start now and change the ending. It is all about prospective Cedric and so long as you always have the right prospective and own that prospective it will be fine.
Signed, Lord Black.
He finished writing his letter with a satisfied smile and asked Kreacher to give it to Cedric tonight with the evening mail. His reaction would be interesting indeed.
