[a/n]A couple reviews asked about the Order's intention. Dumbledore's orders were 'bring him' to HQ. But instead of 1 person [say his godfather] to ask Harry to visit, The Leader of the Light sends a fully armed strike-force. I worked that into some dialogue here.

Harry Does Different CCCXDVIIIaaf

Scar-Bones by phantomace13 IV

The confusion surrounding the attack on Harry's apartment, although a connection wouldn't be made for many months later, led directly to the downfall of the Dark Lord. Though probably not in any way that could have been predicted. If there was one thing Lord Voldemort despised, it was a seemingly unsolvable puzzle. A very close second would be disobedience on the part of his followers. He was now faced with both. He stalked those seated at the long table in Malfoy Manor "My spies in the Ministry tell me Death Eaters are responsible for the assault on the Potter boy. Yet I gave no such order. I tasked ALL OF YOU with finding the responsible parties among my followers, days ago! Yet you report NOTHING!"

"Beg your pardon m'Lord, it all seems none of us did." Daniel Goyle wasn't smart enough to keep a low profile when the Master was in this mood.

Voldemort lashed out in fury. His wand glowed green and his favorite spell "Crucio!" struck not the offender, but his wife "I did not give you leave to speak Goyle!"

"Penney! NO!" screamed the man as he lumbered over to comfort the suffering witch. He looked up as the Dark Lord loomed above and protested "She's pregnant!"

Voldemort sneered down "Most unfortunate."

"Bastard!" the husband snarled back, now forgetting to fear his Master. A violent man, if not especially bright, he kept a knife at his hip besides his wand. Incoherent with fury, he lashed out at the cause of his beloved wife's suffering and drove his blade into the vulnerable abdomen.

Abcij

Society at large was unaware of this, but events went on. A Great House of the Wizengamot could not go long without a Head, no matter the circumstances. Thus, the Supreme Mugwump called a special session to order a week after the state funeral and announced "I hold the will of Earl James Potter. It declares his son, John Potter, to be sole heir to all titles, property and monies of the Ancient and Moste Noble House of Potter."

"A parliamentary inquiry, Supreme Mugwump." Came from the floor and the spotlight found the source.

Dumbledore frowned, this was a rubberstamp procedure. Even sworn enemies did not voice objections to a House's line of succession. Nevertheless he couldn't just ignore it "For what purpose does the Countess Bones rise?"

"Almost two decades, it has been." Susan's voice echoed in the great Wizengamot meetingplace "Two decades since the first defeat of Voldemort and the rise to prominence of our boy hero, John Potter. All the while another Potter was neglected, even shunned by his own blood. To treat your blood that way is reprehensible, but admittedly, not a crime. Harry Potter doesn't even have standing to make his case before this august body in his own right. I yield the floor to him."

The other nobles expressed considerable disfavor. While a respectable and rising Auror, and not in any way illegitimate, this was someone unworthy of making a formal address.

"My Lords and Ladies, thank you for indulgence. I will be brief." Harry stood and spoke confidently, you had to in this chamber or get eaten alive "The will of James Potter is invalid. He died a blood traitor!"

Noises of shock, disbelief, even outrage echoed. Dumbledore was about to gavel him down when the Lady Potter interrupted with a sobbed plea "Don't do this Harry!"

"Do what, Lily?" he sneered back. And the form of address was not lost on the Wizengamot "Tell the truth? I say it's long overdue. I don't mean in the sense it is used today, I mean in the ancient sense. The story about the attack on my flat is …well, incomplete would be a polite word… NO Death Eater tried to murder me last week. It was- - -"

Dumbledore interrupted "There is no need to discuss this publicly, my boy. This session is in a 15 minute recess."

"House Bones has the floor." And this wasn't from wet-behind-the-ears Susan, Amelia took over "The Department of Magical Law Enforcement has full, sworn, witness statements. James Potter led the attempt to kidnap his adult son from his own home. While the investigation showed Harry Potter did use deadly force, he had no way of knowing either the identities of the attackers or their intentions. And some rather nasty spells were used making us wonder if everyone in the group merely wanted to kidnap Harry. Regrettably, the dead can't testify."

Again the Supreme Mugwump tried to deflect "There has been no trial, Amelia, so…under the law… this is an alleged incident and the people …all of them… involved are merely suspects. And, as an aside, I have to wonder why young Harry is not in custody. After all, three of your Aurors are dead, two of them quite senior."

"Yes." She acknowledged readily enough, waving both youngsters to silence "And that was the other interesting bit. The questioning revealed the fascinating item that they were acting on the orders of Albus Dumbledore."

It was a bombshell accusation. Regardless of affiliation, every noble in the room glared at the Supreme Mugwump.

"The darkness has gone deeper than even I feared." Dumbledore shook his head sadly, and threw out the accusation "Tell us, Amelia, was it you corrupting Harry or vice versa?"

Harry put in "THAT barely deserves responding to! And let's not change the subject. James Potter was a blood traitor. He attacked his own blood, and on YOUR orders. I think the question here is what hold did you have over him all my life? Over BOTH of them …calling them parents is a great exaggeration."

"Actually it was me." Susan declared brazenly "Harry was sweet and innocent when we first met."

There were titters of embarrassed laughter.

"Miss Bones?" the old man looked appalled.

The young witch stood, wiggled her hips and pushed her breasts about lewdly "Me and my girls, poor boy didn't stand a chance."

The laughter turned bawdy, there was more than a little applause.

"House Bones proposes" Madam Bones gave her niece a withering look "the Wizengamot set aside James Potter's wishes. He was unworthy of membership in this body. Harry should lead House Potter. His bloodline is as noble, in fact it is exactly the same, and he has a record of accomplishment that is impressive for one so young."

Dumbledore couldn't risk the possibility of losing control of such an important ally. So he played the last card in his arsenal; control of the agenda "A proposition has been made. A vote is ordered. Should Harry Potter" his tone of voice made his view on the matter plain "be given the throne of House Potter, setting aside a legal testament?"

"I would make adequate allowance for my relatives." Harry sneered at his mother and brother "Unlike how I was virtually thrown into the street even before I was of legal age."

The Supreme Mugwump tapped the ceremonial gavel and ruled "Voice vote should be sufficient. Yeas?" the response was loud "Nays?" was scattered and faint "In the opinion of the chair, the nays have it. House Potter passes to John- - -"

"VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!" echoed in the chamber. Many factors weighed in this outcome. There were the Bones allies, who would cast their vote with Amelia except when something specifically went against their interests. There was the faction of the light that had never been fond of John Potter. Then there were those in the neutral and dark groups who enjoyed an opportunity to embarrass Albus Dumbledore in a big way. In the end most of the Nays came from diehard supporters of the long-running leader of the Wizarding World.

The Supreme Mugwump tapped the ceremonial gavel and announced through clenched teeth "In the matter of James Potter's last will and testament, the Nays are 222 the Yeas are 759, with 19 not voting. Two-thirds majority reached, Earl Potter will be Harry James Potter. He may take the oath at his convenience."

"Now will do Supreme Mugwump." Said Harry without emotion. It rankled Harry no end to kneel in front of Dumbledore, but he told himself it was the position and not the man.

Families were seated based on a complicated formula, as a result the Potters were able to reach Harry before the Bones could, and naturally The Chief Warlock was closest by far. Remarks varied from the bearded wonder's scolding "What was the purpose in treating your family like this?" to Lily's almost pleading "Surely we can move together? As a family?" John looked like he wanted to murder his twin.

"I'll need to discuss the family finances with my advisors." replying coldly as he melted into Susan's embrace.

Lily had to stun John, then "Please Harry, hasn't this cost us enough? You KNOW your father wasn't sent by Albus to kill you. We were only concerned that you were at risk of siding with Voldemort. We only wanted to talk."

"You've perhaps heard of the ancient concept? Knocking on the front door?" Susan surprised herself with the level of sarcasm in her voice.

Harry just grinned at her, then not looking at his mother announced "You know what made the whole thing worse, Lily? It was Sue's birthday and I was going to propose that night."

"T-that w-wow." She'd come to accept being addressed by name by her son, this revelation rocked her though "I-I think you'll make a wonderful addition to the family."

Amelia's invitation seemed innocuous "Let's go home kids."

Abcij

"Why did we end up outside the wards?" asked a confused John as his mother appeared. It was a few hours later, after lengthy discussions with the Order of the Phoenix that a tired pair returned to Potter Manor.

The-Boy-Who-Lived might be the master of the wards, but Lily had a mastery in Warding. She reached out with her magic. For several frustrating minutes she tried to gain access to the ancient estate. Only after she nearly exhausted herself did a surprise appear. She greeted him appropriately "Master Goblin? Good evening. I would welcome you to my home, but you seem to have access that we do not."

"Our client has contracted Gringotts to temporarily lockdown the estate." He acknowledged the politeness with a nod, but remained in place.

John attempted to get around the guard "Well this is MY house!"

"Are you seeking combat, young warrior? I am Grinder." An axe seemingly too large for the goblin appeared from nowhere.

Lily, slightly nervous, said "No challenge was intended. I am sure you are following orders. Come John. Let's visit your girlfriend. Apparate us please, I'm still drained."

"Of course, Mum." He replied, not quite able to refrain from glaring at the guard.

Abcij

Weeks passed, John and Lily stayed with the Weasleys at the Burrow. Owls and patronus messages went unanswered. Molly's howlers, even, got no response. And Britain was simply too large for the Order of the Phoenix to get word from someone spotting Harry or Susan. At occasional meetings with Dumbledore, Amelia only discussed Ministry business.

The sun was peeking over the horizon one morning, only his wife was up, starting her breakfast rituals, when Arthur Weasley burst in and yelled "WEASLEYS POTTERS! UP AND AT EM!"

"Where's the fire Dad?" a very grumpy Ginny groped around, only to have a paper shoved at her. Words refused to focus so she muttered "Here John, you read."

Arthur had been less than pleased with his unmarried daughter's sleeping arrangements so he ordered curtly "Try the Society Page, boy."

"What's on Skeeter's brain now?" grumbled John. But he hardly needed to open the thing when his eyes bulged "Bloody hell!"

Ron sniggered "Hey, mate, that's my line! Mum? Can I have bacon?"

"Harry Potter and Susan Bones announce their wedding." John read, dropping the paper across the table, picture taking up half the page showing the happy couple. They all read the article:

The groom told your favorite reporter "We only wanted a small ceremony. Just family and closest friends."

"Would that include your twin?" I asked, anticipating a reconciliation among the Wizarding World's royal family.

The words "Ah no." from the young Auror were spoken with such vitriol, I find it difficult to describe.

The bride, who recently completed Healer training, told me "I placed third in my class, so my wonderful husband is taking me on a two month world tour. Isn't he just the best?"

"Inquiring minds want to know, are you taking over the Potter property? Moving in?"

In response Harry first flattered your reporter to such a degree modesty forbids a quote, but his response was telling. In fact, for once I got more information than I asked for. He told me "Potter Manor is …objectively… absolutely beautiful, a one-of-a-kind estate. A castle, almost. But I have no happy memories there. I will gladly entertain serious offers. I want a clean break. My other major decision, not at all customary. I will be taking my wife's name."

GOOD LUCK HARRY BONES

What else could I say?

"Tha bloody hell!?" exclaimed John. But whatever else he might have said was cut off by Lily bursting out in tears.

Beetle Rita, who'd come in with the paper, settled in on the coatrack for what would clearly make for a great column. Sometimes doing one's job was a real treat. The simple truth better than what she could Quik-Quill? Wow!