A/N: Hey everyone! Welcome back to The Saviour's Pariah and apologies for a (second) shortish chapter, our next two in this coming month shouldn't be nearly as small!

Thank you all so much for the continuous support for this story!

For those of you interested in my other works, I've got a wealth of oneshots available as well as two other fics in progress! Tomorrow's release will be about a 7k~ update for The Power of Love, followed by a Harry/Susan short that will be released Monday!

A big thanks to my Beta's and Discord Staff - Alec, Alpple, CalamityXx, Champ, DorianGray, O'Neill, Seventh Son, SinisterFox and Xevier!

Feel free to join my Discord for updates and information, link on my profile. Without any more rambling from me, I hope you enjoy the story!

(Sorry if you don't like the chapter!)

September 12, 1998

Saturday Late Evening

"Black Manor."

Harry then stepped from the Floo, his casual clothing keeping him from stumbling just as much as the week of practice with Andromeda — the last thing she'd wanted for him was making a fool of himself when meeting with someone while under the formalities of Lord Potter. If only she'd known he was Lord Black too, or if she had, if only she'd taught him what that'd entailed instead of keeping with the Potter family theme she still seemed incredibly knowledgeable about.

Then again, he had brought her into House Potter with all the powers of a steward in return for helping her from the struggling debt and child she'd found herself with; it only made sense if she'd learned all that she could from sources even he'd not yet checked on account of his many obligations and… problems.

Whatever reason he'd become Lord Black, he kne-

"Harry Potter, what in the name of Morgana are you doing back at Black Manor?" Andromeda's voice was stern, but her welcoming smile and outstretched arms showed she wasn't incredibly serious with him.

"You mean I need a reason better than visiting you and Teddy?" He returned, moving towards the woman and embracing her for a few seconds; the older witch holding him tightly as she always had.

"Never," she told him while still holding him, separating only upon a crying sound coming from the other room, "No rest for the tired," she sighed exaggeratedly to Harry's amusement, turning towards the source of the sound after smiling at him again, "Visit as often as you'd like to, Harry, this manor is entirely too large for only me. I'd imagine you already know that though, don't you?" A particularly loud cry sounded, as did a pop following it — likely Kreacher or the new house-elf Andromeda had insisted bringing in, "I'm afraid I'll have to find you once little Teddy is asleep again, the last thing we want is Kreacher being the one to coddle him."

Harry nodded, that would be horrible, even if the old codger had gotten better now that Andromeda had returned.

"No rush, Andromeda, I'll make sure we stop for tea before I get headed back," Harry kissed the older witch on her cheek and moved off towards the left exit of the parlour room while she moved to the right. Her fond smile and a small wave were the last he saw of her as he made his exit from the Parlour and his journey towards the Lord's office.

Maybe being left the two surviving Black estates and Kreacher should've been a sign that Sirius had done more than just that, but Harry's single-minded focus on defeating Voldemort and saving Wizarding Britain had left him no spare time for idle thoughts in regards to anything monetary or political. Merlin, even after the war Harry had to be coerced by Andromeda into learning about the Potter vaults and the ruinous properties still registered under the family.

That wasn't taking into account their outstanding business deals, marriage proposals, debts (be them owed or owing) and other various political or economical concerns that House Potter had — adding on the responsibilities of Lord Black would only make his situation worse, Andromeda's too since she was the poor witch tasked with instructing him!

With those thoughts in his mind, Harry walked the last steps he'd need to before figuring out the real identity of 'Delphini Black', coming to the door where he'd spent so many lessons with Andromeda and occasionally, visiting with Kinglsey only less than two weeks ago. Now here he was, back outside the place that likely contributed to some of the stress that'd kept him from sleeping.

Harry turned both doorknobs at once, opening the twin set of French doors with ornate carvings inwards and pushing through into the familiar, elegant room.

Elegant didn't do it any justice either; the room had pillars of marble, artwork from aeons ago, furniture that matched — if he'd sold anything in the office, he'd likely make more than his winnings from the Triwizard Tournament.

"The Half-Blood master is back with Kreacher in a place h-" A dark, low, growling voice greeted Harry as soon as he'd entered, but Harry raised his hand to signal silence, and thus the ancient house-elf complied.

"Kreacher, away with you, the portraits of the dead aren't in any danger from me," Harry sighed and shook his head, "I've told you that every time I've visited, I'll not be doing away with them regardless of how agitating they are."

Kreacher scowled and huffed, staying seconds longer than he should've by moving slowly in his 'apparating' out of the study; though as far as Harry cared, he still did as he'd been commanded. So long as the troublesome house-elf listened to what he said (Andromeda too, not that she had any problems with the elf who loved her as he did the portrait) Harry wouldn't care how he spent his time.

Now alone as he should've been, Harry opened the adjoining door on the right side and entered into an equally ornate room. This one having a very high ceiling with ever-burning torches all along the walls, the reason being the long tree of House Black that ran down from the highest point, and continued until it was three-quarters of the way down.

Harry knew whatever he'd be looking for would be at the very bottom considering the girl's age, and so he started scanning the entirety of the bottom, starting closest to where he stood.

It didn't take long until he found her, and when he did, there were no words that could describe the sheer volume or strength of emotions that passed through him.

Every name belonging to the fifty, to his loved ones, to friends; they all passed through his mind right alongside the faces of whom they belonged.

His breathing quickened and his chest tightened.

Hogwarts' carnage during the waning hours of Voldemort's power, the bloodied walls and open sobs from those who'd lost ones that were closest to their hearts.

His throat constricted, his palms grew sweaty.

All of his anger, sorrow, rage; everything negative that he'd felt in regards to Voldemort was hitting him full force and all at once. Harry couldn't handle it, his knees buckling and his body crashing to the floor.

He didn't know how long he stayed on the ground in that side room, it could've been one minute, it could've been an hour, it could've been the entirety of the night. Time was immaterial to him as he sat with his back against the wall and knees pulled to his chest. His breathing would calm itself, only to flare back up — his chest and throat tightening would do the same, almost like they were his lungs expanding only to shrink again.

But like all things in life, it wasn't permanent.

"Harry?" Andromeda's voice called out to him from the office, the time that'd gone by likely enough to finally have drawn her notice.

Harry opened his mouth to reply to the woman, he needed to let her know he was alright, that everything was fine; he couldn't. His mouth had opened fine, but his constricted throat and the rapid breathing proved an extremely effective combination in ceasing whatever efforts he put forward. Even when he tried to yell, hoping that would override the feelings that were completely in his mind, only squeaks came out.

Andromeda wasn't one to walk away or leave without first doing what she'd come for though — it was that very determination and insistence that had the woman push open the slightly ajar door that led to where he was, finding Harry strewn about with his back resting on the cold wall.

Her initial reaction wasn't to berate him for failing to call out, nor was it anything that could even be misconstrued as demeaning to him.

Having gone through very similar experiences herself, the older witch kneeled until she was beside him and wrapped him up in a hug while whispering soft affirmations to him. He'd only had Andromeda do this a few times for him, mostly when he'd return from the Weasleys or during their initial taking care of Teddy together, but it seemed to be the only thing that could calm him once his mind ran off.

They continued the soft embrace for nearly half an hour until Andromeda finally coaxed him up from the ground, another fifteen minutes from that point and Harry was finally able to speak coherently while acting like the man she'd come to know. It was at that point that she'd finally — in a very gentle manner — gone about asking him what's happened so she could help him move past it.

Harry couldn't verbally respond to her, the grasp on his emotions too weak to allow him that, but he could still point towards the spot on the wall, so he did.

Andromeda glanced briefly before conjuring a chair and sitting him in it, only once she was sure he hadn't gone despondent again did she check until she'd found it; he knew as much when he'd heard her breathing hitch. His initial thoughts were to go to comfort her as she'd done for him, but again, his body, his emotions — nothing would listen to him, and if he forced it, they'd send him back to the trance he'd been in before.

All he could do was wait for her to come back to him, and she did after nearly a minute of staring at the wall while running her hand across it.

"Is she at Hogwarts?" Andromeda's voice was incredibly calm, her overall reaction being far better than he had been.

Harry nodded jerkily in response.

"Does McGonagall know?"

This time he responded by shaking his head in the negative, this action being more confident and sure of himself on account of the Professeur likely wondering what'd taken him so long to return.

"Were you expected back tonight?"

"Yes," he responded hoarsely, the constricting of his throat and rapid beating of his chest finally easing up.

Andromeda held out her hand and Harry took it without a moment's hesitation; the help in standing himself up appreciated as much as the way she'd focused his mind on things not related to the anxiety and stress he'd been feeling.

"I can go with you," Andromeda glared at him when he looked about ready to interrupt, the woman's upbringing and parental experience making such a look intimidating despite the softness he knew resided in her, "You'll not want to have this conversation alone, Harry… Morgana, I should just have you stay the night and tell Minerva what little she needs to know via the Floo."

Harry shook his head, "No," he stopped speaking and cleared his throat due to the rough quality it still had to it, "No, I'll Floo her and tell her exactly who she has in Hogwarts. Kingsley too, this is something he should know."

"Telling them what you've found out is incredibly important, yes, but so is your health, Harry. Once you tell them what's needed, stay here for the night and return to Hogwarts the following day. I'm sure Teddy would love to see his favourite Godfather after nearly two weeks, and you could use a bit of time away from something that could prove this… challenging," Andromeda crossed her arms and looked at him in a mixture of worry and sternness upon her finishing.

Harry thought about it for all of three seconds before nodding along with her words — seeing his Godson and spending some time playing with the boy could do wonders for his state of mind.

"I'll stay," he relented to the older woman, "I'm going to make those two Floo calls, then we can spend some time together for the evening, assuming you aren't going off to bed anytime soon?"

Andromeda shook her head and scoffed, her arms still crossed, "No, I'll not be sleeping for quite some time; it's a good thing too, I doubt we'll have many times such as this where we're able to speak while you're still 'in' Hogwarts."

Harry smiled at the older witch before going in for a hug, the gesture being returned without hesitation. He needed a figure like her, someone to provide affection that he'd sorely missed out on for a majority of his life just as much as the older woman needed someone his age to dote on.

Neither would ever replace what the other was truly missing, but the moments of platonic love they shared could bridge the gap until the next adventure was ready to begin.

September 13, 1998

Sunday Morning

Harry woke with a start, his body jolting while his hands instantly started a simultaneous search for both his glasses and his wand.

When his searching hands couldn't find either, panic began to swell in his chest; at least until the grogginess was sent off from his mind and he came to the realisation that both were exactly where he'd left them following the Floo calls and his talk with Andromeda that'd gone into the early hours of the morning.

His wand was under his pillow, his glasses still worn on his face and the casual clothes he'd worn when leaving Hogwarts were still on his body.

Harry sighed and let his head fall back on the soft pillow, the urge to close his eyes while letting sleep take him again almost too much to fight off… maybe he could use the time of his waking up to recollect the meetings with McGonagall and Kingsley, yes, yes that was something important he could do from under the covers.

So he did.

Professeur McGonagall had been the first person he'd sought to tell, her position in Hogwarts along with the proximity she had to the girl made sure of that — he'd not let Voldemort's daughter find the Chamber of Secrets, the room of Requirement, or do anything else otherwise harmful to the place he so revered with people that'd gone through too much.

His outgoing Floo call to the Headmistresses Office hadn't taken more than three seconds before he heard McGonagall responding. Her voice was calm as Andromeda's had been, but Harry knew from the quickness in which she'd answered that his Professeur had likely been waiting for quite some time to hear from him.

He didn't start with small talk, he didn't apologise for his lateness; he told her exactly what mattered to the both of them at that moment.

Voldemort's daughter is in Hogwarts, yes, It's Delphini.

McGonagall didn't panic or freeze, she thanked him for sharing the information and requested that it be kept private until she could handle the situation. Harry didn't ask how she meant, and he was more than a little surprised that she didn't request to confirm it for herself, but he knew his former Head of House could handle Hogwarts without incident.

After his brief conversation with McGonagall, he Floo'd the Ministry, or more importantly, the Minister's office directly — as it turned out, being in the Order of the Phoenix previously with the current Minister as well as fighting alongside him multiple times had very positive effects when trying to communicate with the man. Most importantly to Harry, it meant he could skip all the gawking and bureaucratic shite.

Kingsley's answer took longer, nearly two minutes if Harry's wristwatch was right.

When it finally came in the form of a tired, stressed out and somewhat snappish, 'What?' Harry was quick to tell Kingsley that it was likely one of the most important pieces of information the man would be privy to since his becoming Minister. Needless to say, that got his attention and he prompted Harry to speak without delay.

Harry shrugged from his seat and did just as instructed — he could still recall how casual he'd sounded at that moment — saying incredibly bluntly that 'Voldemort has a daughter, and she's currently attending Hogwarts under the name of Delphini Black'.

Kingsley didn't respond for nearly as long as it took him to initially speak. His delay was so long that Harry half feared the Floo network had gone down, but then the man finally requested to know how Harry had learned such information. In response, Harry opened his Floo and requested the Minister's presence so he could personally escort him to the Black family tree, knowing that witnessing it first hand would dispel any worry at false information having come up.

Without delay this time, Kingsley accepted and not one minute later the two men stood in the small, long room in silence, the both of them looking at the same portion of the wall with incredibly similar emotions visible on their faces. Kingsley eventually started nodding to himself, repeating the action so many times that Harry felt concern brewing for the man until he'd finally exited the room in silence to return to the Parlour where he'd first stepped out of the Floo.

Harry had followed the man back, calling Kreacher for two cups of tea in the process.

Kingsley and Harry sat near one another, the former telling Harry that he'd do all in his power to ensure the girl wouldn't be a threat. One large problem presented itself during their talking, however, that being the Minister wasn't sure of the level of backing she had. Make no mistake, they both knew it had to be fairly strong if she'd gotten into Hogwarts under her current name and with all the identification the Ministry had on file for her, but how could they remove her from Hogwarts if the board of Governors were staunchly aligned with her, or, Merlin forbid, the Wizengamot?

Thinking about it, the two men came up with a best case, worst case and numerous ones in between.

In the best-case scenario, she had half as much support as her father had, allowing Kingsley to politick the potentially dangerous girl out of Hogwarts.

Worst case? There were numerous worst-case scenarios that could prove disastrous if they happened, but the one focused on most by the two men in the room was the girl somehow staying at Hogwarts despite popular opinion being against it.

Without a doubt, a majority of the populace would be against her regardless of what the bigwigs in power would say. With that said, papers like 'The Daily Prophet' or highly respected officials, heroes or celebrities could easily turn portions of Wizarding Britain from staunchly opposed to empathetic at the girl's plight of being born to two of the most horrible beings to ever exist. Merlin, even Harry didn't think she was evil because of who her parents were — it was simply the circumstances in which she'd attended Hogwarts that made him very wary of her.

"Harry?" Andromeda's voice called from his door, the woman not knocking to avoid startling him with a bang as she'd done early on when they'd only initially begun living with one another.

"I'm up," he called back, throwing the covers off his body and swinging his legs out to the side of his bed. His sudden remembering of last night having come to an end right after he'd gone over how Voldemort and Bellatrix we- Merlin!

Harry hit himself in the forehead with an open palm — Delphini did have a claim to her last name, that coming from her mother. He wasn't sure the legal ground she could stand on in regards to it, nor was he sure where anything stood legally in regards to House Black, considering Andromeda had only ever taught him about House Potter. Thinking of her ability to take that last name and the legal grounds (or lack thereof) she had to do so led him right into the next worry that he had.

Gringotts.

Delphini had claimed there was a vault set up for her, one of which she wanted complete access of.

Could Harry, as the Lord of House Black, deny the girl her vault and request the Goblins give him a document in regards to its contents? He'd already paid reparations to them after that whole dragon incident that'd taken place, the Ministry had acted as a middle-man during the process; both sides got wealthier while the opposite proved true for Harry. House Potter was by no means poor though, and that would likely be even further from happening considering he was Lord Black now too.

All these contemplating led him to one course of action and one only; he would need to write to Gringotts, and if he were doing that, he'd need somebody far more versed in formal wording so as to avoid any potential offences he could cause by acting too familiar or careless.

Andromeda would have to help him write it, in addition to that, the older witch would have to help him with all the new responsibilities he'd just picked up — from Wizengamot seats, Noble titles to anything else he had no clue about.

Not for the first time and certainly not for the last, Harry was completely sure he'd gotten the better side of the deal when convincing her to finally move in with him… maybe he could offer her a formal position back in House Black too, or better yet, reinstate her to the family. It wouldn't be a surprise considering he'd have to learn how to do that too, but he was sure she'd appreciate the gesture.

Having made up his mind on the next action he'd take, Harry called out to the door in hopes that the woman was still waiting nearby.

"Andromeda?"

He hoped she was.

"Yes, Harry? Is everything alright?" Her response took five seconds at the most, her voice sounding further away than it'd been previously but her responding meaning she'd still been close, likely in the study due to the direction she'd sounded from.

"I'm fine, yeah; could I get you to meet me in the study in a minute or two?" Harry would cast a freshening charm on himself after stripping out of his slept-in clothes and then put on an outfit fresh from his wardrobe, a shower could wait until after he'd sent this owl in hopes of getting his response back a day earlier if he caught the Goblins early enough in the morning.

Andromeda's response was a 'yes', so long as the interaction wasn't too long on account of Teddy likely waking up before too long — the little tyke being unusually inconsistent in his sleeping schedule. Thinking about his godson brought a much-needed smile to his face, the thoughts and many times he'd interacted with the child post final confrontation bringing an endless amount of joy to counteract the horrible feelings that always lurked in the depths of his mind.

Without Andromeda and Teddy, Harry very much doubted he could be roused from his episodes.

Shaking his head to clear any negative thoughts approaching the forefront of his mind and focusing solely on those he cared about, Harry exited his bedroom newly dressed for the day; his plan would be to write the letter to Gringotts, spend time with his godson, meet with McGonagall upon returning to Hogwarts and finally, begin the long process of learning what being 'Lord Black' entailed.

Hopefully, it wasn't nearly as bad as Sirius had made it out to b- that git! Harry cursed as his godfather pulled what he probably thought was the ultimate prank, sticking Harry with House Black while making those ancestors of said house watch as he led it.

Sirius truly was a genius.

COMMENT REPLIES:

mwinter1: Thank you very much and good point!

Stevem1: thank you! glad the characters didn't come off too horrible haha, merci!

Sir Gewen Baudelaire: Thank you very much, I'm glad you noticed the change of elements too! Merci beaucoup! I like to think dialogue is my strongest point!

Aetemus: A lot have died, yes, and a lot have gone to jail, but a lot of families still kept somebody in their ancestral seat. He's reached the age, yes, but at the end of the day, she does have authority over him when at Hogwarts as the leading figure of it. The Board of Governors would likely still be relatively disliking towards the two of them, considering family members are in Azkaban or dead. You're right in the since of him being OOC too, I'm really not too worried about making him the same as he would've been in the end, Delphini's aging and the introduction of Slytherin's probably pointed that out. Thank you!

Ares: Tyvm, hope it didn't let down!

Anoyak111: Thanks for your input! I appreciate it!

TheGreatBubbaJ: Yup! He is!

: Thank you very much, I really enjoy writing her haha. Dorks are the cutest! especially the clumsy ones!

Hunting Nightshade: Thank you very much, glad you enjoy it! Hope you got the answer too!

Guest Chptr 5 Apr 19: Thanks for your input and thank you for the review!

E-LuckArcher: Glad you liked it thus far and I'm very appreciative that you're harry with the characters! You're probably right too in the pairing being the first!

Inana: Merci for the vote, glad you like them all!

Tinchu: Thanks for the input, glad you like the interactions!

PotterDieHardFan: Thank you for the vote, and thanks for the review!

Sonia25: Thanks for the vote and thanks for your review!

Seananagan: Appreciate the liking of PoL! I hope this chapter helped answer some of this, please feel free to let me know if it didn't!

Santarelserpico: Merci, merci!

AmWRAZ: Thank you my friend!