Harry got off the train and smiled looking at Sirius who came and hugged him tightly, lifting him off the ground.
"Oh, you're here, pup!" Sirius said putting Harry down as he ruffled Harry's long hair. "You need to cut those. You look worse than your father." Both men chuckled as they were joined by Augusta and Neville.
"Well, I never thought I'd see this day after everything that happened," said the Longbottom matriarch. "I am happy for you, Sirius."
Sirius nodded before looking around. When he didn't find what he was looking for he whispered to Harry, "Where is Daphne and her parents?"
"You really want to meet them in such a crowded place?" Harry asked when he remembered what had happened on the train as he shook his head to shove that memory aside for now.
"You're right," Sirius said before patting Harry on the back. "Come on, let's go home."
Harry nodded before the two popped out of the station and appeared inside a rather dark hallway as Harry stumbled a little trying to maintain his balance while trying not to throw up at the same time. "I'm sorry," Sirius said. "Apparition for first timers can be a little unpleasant."
"That was apparition? I thought I'd died while being pulled from a very thin tube!" Harry asked as he looked around. "So this is your ancestral home?" he asked.
"Well, not really," Sirius said as he took Harry's trunk from his hand along with Hedwig's cage and put them in the drawing room. "The Blacks had lots of properties in and out of Europe but their belief in pureblood supremacy and willingness to help its cause and Voldemort had them sell almost everything years ago. Most of it was my mother's fault and to call home this is the only place that's now left in the name of Black family. Don't get it wrong. I still am one of the richest family heads in all of magical Britain but I have also given it some thought. I am the only one left of my family and I don't know if I'll ever have a family of my own so I just want this place and don't want to go crazy worrying about other properties where I might not even end up living."
Harry understood that. "Well, I really hope you find someone so that I can get rid of you," he said with a grin.
"Already bored of me?" Sirius said with a grin of his own. "Alright, go change and rest up. We have someplace to go tomorrow."
"What place?" Harry asked.
Sirius smiled. "You'll see," he said as he lifted Hedwig's cage. "Where's your owl?"
"Oh, she'll find her way here," Harry said. "She's quite intelligent."
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"He's done that?" Anna asked as Matt nodded. She took a sigh of relief. "He didn't waste any time doing what was important."
"Well, we did ask him to," Matt said. "To him Harry is priority. He's the last remnant of James and Lily and you know that too. This was one of the reasons why I suggested that we should get Sirius a trial to prove his innocence. With him out there as Harry's legal guardian now we don't have to worry about helping Harry and worrying about getting caught."
Anna nodded. "I still wished though that he'd have come to stay with is," she said.
"He is," Matt said. "But he said that he'll stay with Sirius for a little while. Did you see Daphne?"
Anna smiled. "How could I not unsee that?" she said.
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Dumbledore sat down in his chair as he put the document which he'd brought from the ministry on the table. It was a copy of Harry's legal guardianship. He knew his relation with Harry had strained a lot since this year and it was all because of Molly and Ron. He'd taken care of them, extracting half of their magic and making sure they won't be able to ruin his plans anymore.
But to think that Harry wouldn't even let him have a hint that he'd asked Sirius to be his legal guardian as soon as Sirius had received his freedom was still somewhat surprising. The copy of the document which he'd procured from the ministry today was the proof of that. He'd legally lost Harry and the boy was now under Sirius' care. That meant that he wouldn't have gone to the Durseleys to live with this winter and this was just the beginning.
Getting up once again he threw some floo powder in the fireplace before walking into the green flame and appeared out of the fireplace of the Leaky Cauldron. Ignoring Tom, who waved and called his name Dumbledore simply apparated over to Number Four Private Drive and knocked on the Durseley resident's door. The door was opened by Petunia who was surprised to see him there. As Dumbledore walked in without her even saying so she looked around the neighborhood to make sure no one had seen a weirdly dressed old man enter her house.
Dumbledore looked around as he frowned. The wards he'd raised around the house were no longer there anymore.
"What are you doing here?" Petunia asked. She was alone in the house at that time. Dudley had gone to meet his friends while Vernon was at work.
"Petunia dear, I want you to answer honestly to me," Dumbledore said. "How long has it been since Harry left this place?" he asked.
"He disappeared a few days before he was supposed to leave for that forsaken place you people call school," she said.
"And he didn't come home yesterday?" he asked.
"If he did would you be talking to me right now?" she said. "I beg you please leave me and my family in peace. We did what you asked all these years. It's not our fault that the brat ran away."
Dumbledore sighed as he placed his hand on her shoulder causing Petunia to stand still as she felt a chill down her spine. Her body began to tremble as she slowly looked at him. "You should know better than to talk to me in that tone, Petunia," he said. "You were told to do just one simple thing and that was to keep an eye on Harry and you couldn't even do that. I gave you that task because I am a very busy man. Now you couldn't even do such a simple task and you're talking back to me?" His hand slowly moved to her neck as he grasped it slowly before his grip tightened. "Know your place, you good for nothing muggle! You should feel blessed that you were given a task and an opportunity to work for someone like me. This is why I hate muggles. You people just don't know your place…"
Dumbledore stopped as he felt a powerful presence around the house. Letting go of Petunia's neck he grabbed his wand when an explosion threw him off of his feet. However he was quick to balance himself in the air as he landed softly on his feet and looked ahead but could see no one. There was a huge hole in the front of the house and Petunia was on the floor, unconscious from taking a hit from the explosion.
Dumbledore looked around, a little worried as he couldn't pin-point from where he sensed this person's magic when another explosion from the south side of the house caught him off guard. None of the people living in the neighborhood had come out to see what was going on which meant whoever had attacked him had placed a muggle repelling ward around the house. To do that and to attack him in little intervals meant that this individual was very powerful.
As he stood there his senses on alert and his wand in his hand Dumbledore realized no more attacks came his way. He then focused and found that that magic that he'd been sensing had vanished. He wondered who had attacked him but he had made sure to recognize this magical signature again the next time his attacker comes after him.
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"You really need to get used to it," Sirius said laughing as he helped Harry up on his feet.
"I can't maintain my balance even after using the floo and you expect me to learn to balance myself while apparating?" Harry asked.
"The famous Harry Potter with the weakness of travelling through magical means," Sirius said. "I'll teach you how to apparated once this year is over and you're home for the summer. You will be taught about it starting your fifth year but being prepared from before is always a good idea. Also, it will allow you to get used to it."
"Where are we?" Harry asked as he looked around and saw nothing but green landscapes and a mountain in the very far covered in fog.
"We are at your ancestral home," Sirius said.
Harry looked confused. "But I don't see anything," he said.
"Only a Potter can unlock the concealment wards," Sirius said. "You're wearing the family ring so the wards will recognize you. Walk ahead."
Harry looked at him before walking forward as he felt something wash over him and suddenly he was looking at a castle. It looked very old, even older than Hogwarts and almost as big as Harry stared at it with open mouth and wide eyes. Sirius walked beside him and put a hand on his shoulder.
"So, what do you think?" Sirius asked.
"This…whoa, I can't believe what I'm looking at," Harry said.
"And it's all yours," Sirius said. "This place was built by the first ever Potter. I don't remember his name though."
"Insignias Potter," Harry said as Sirius looked at him.
"How do you know that?" he asked.
"I saw a collection of portraits of my ancestors in the family vault at Gringotts," Harry said. "It also had their wands that they'd used."
Sirius looked confused. "What you're talking about is called an arbor. It is basically a record of a family's main heads."
"You mean like a family tree?" Harry asked.
"No," Sirius said. "A family tree consists of every single member of that particular family. An arbor consists only the different house heads of that family and no one else. But I don't get one thing."
"What's that?" Harry asked.
"How did it end up in the vault?" Sirius said when an elderly looking elf popped in front of them looking from Sirius to Harry as its eyes widened seeing the bespectacled boy as it began to cry.
"Master Potter has returned," the elf said sniffing and wiping its tears. It sounded like an old female elf which Harry guessed was right seeing how old the elf was. "Master Potter has returned home!" she said again.
"Uh, who are you?" Harry asked.
The elf smiled as she looked at him. "Ah, you wouldn't remember. You were so very small when lord and lady Potter had first brought you home," she said. "My name is Meely, Master Potter and I am the head elf of Potter manor. I couldn't believe when the wards opened for someone. At first I was terrified but then I remembered that the wards could only be accessed by a Potter and no one else. I recognized you instantly. You look just like your father and you have your mother's eyes."
"It is nice to meet you Meely," Harry said as he didn't know what else to say as Meely took them inside.
Entering the main hall soon after the main entrance Harry's mouth opened in surprise as he looked how huge the space was. It was at least twice as big as the great hall if not more with very little furniture and more statues of knights and countless portraits covering the walls. Harry didn't know who these people were, perhaps his ancestors.
"It's been a while Meely," Sirius said remembering coming here when he and James were small. After his family had disowned him following him sorted into Gryffindor James' parents had accepted him in their home and he'd spent his summer and winter holidays with James here. His eyes became wet as he remembered how he and James ran around in this huge hall pulling pranks on each other and annoying the hell out of Fleamont and Euphemia – James parents.
"It sure has, Master Black," Meely replied. "This place has been barren ever since…" she could say the rest as she broke down in tears. Harry was immediately by her side. "You…You don't have to be worried for an old elf, Master Potter," she said through sniffs.
Harry saw an older Dobby in her as he told her that he didn't care about old customs and how house elves were treated. "You don't have to think like that, Meely," he said. "We are all family and you are an equal amongst us."
Meely looked at him before smiling sadly. "You are so much like your mother, Master Potter," she said.
"Please, call me Harry," Harry said.
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"See, I told you it's here," harry said as he showed Sirius the arbor. Sirius also looked at other valuable things that were in Harry's vault at Gringotts as he wondered who'd put them here and when. He knew Dumbledore couldn't access Harry's vault and while Molly had the vault's key for about two years she could not have gone to Potter manor and bring these items over to the vault. No one could've so then how did all of these end up here?
"We need to put them back in the manor," Sirius said. "These are ancestral histories of the Potter family and a vault is not a place for them."
Harry nodded as he realized the same. His vault had already been accessed without his knowledge once and he didn't want that happening again even though Griphook had assured him of otherwise. So grabbing everything and putting them all in a magically extended trunk Harry and Sirius returned back to the manor where they tasked the house elves to put those items where they belonged as Harry was still new to this place and didn't know which item belonged where.
A few hours after taking a tour of the manor Harry promised Meely that he'd return as he and Sirius apparated back to the Grimmauld place where Remus was waiting for them. Harry hugged his former defense professor and good friend as he asked how Remus was.
"Well, you know how he is," Sirius said as Harry noticed a positive change in Remus' appearance. He no longer had sulking eyes or a skinny frame. "Mr full-of-pride," Sirius said.
"You look good," Harry said.
"Well, I got a new job and it's pretty rewarding," Remus said looking at Sirius.
Harry looked confused. "Wait a minute. I thought it was impossible for a werewolf to get a job. No offense."
"None taken," Remus said. "Sirius offered me this job. Think of me as his family manager – managing everything of the Black family and fortune because you know Sirius can't be trusted with all of those."
"What can I say, I'm too good for all of that," Sirius said as Remus sighed before looking at Harry.
"So, how was your trip to the actual Potter family home?" Remus asked.
"I can't believe I own something like that," Harry said. "But I still don't understand why mom and dad would leave the safety of Potter manor and hide in Godric's Hollow when Voldemort was looking for them?"
"See? He also thinks that it was a bad idea," Sirius said as Harry looked from him to Remus who had a serious expression on his face.
"It was Dumbledore's plan," Remus said slowly as Harry's expressions darkened. "I know certain assumptions and truths regarding him have come to light and all of that has caused some of his followers to already leave him including me, Sirius, Augusta and a few others. Dumbledore said that while Potter manor was a stronghold against any magical attack it was also the first place where Voldemort would go looking for James and Lily and anything with Voldemort was uncertain seeing how powerful he was. Potter Cottage at Godric's Hollow was not known to many people except for your parents' friends and Dumbledore. He advised the use of the fidilius magic to James and Lily and you know the rest."
"While fidilius is a powerful protection magic it's also one of the weakest ones if you happen to find the secret keeper," Sirius said. "I can't tell you how much I argued with James trying to change him mind about their hiding place. He just trusted Dumbledore a little too much. Your mother also understood why hiding at Potter manor was loads better than hiding at the cottage in Godric's Hollow but James wouldn't listen to anyone."
"I felt the wards around the manor,' Harry said. "It's very powerful."
"It's many times more powerful that the wards of Hogwarts," Remus said. "There are only a handful of places that have wards more powerful than Hogwarts and Gringotts. Your family is known to have very good relations with the goblins and your ancestors utilized that relation to ask the goblins to strengthen the wards around that place. Every generation added to its strength which is why it is that powerful."
"And we all told James about it but it was like he just wasn't ready to believe us," Sirius said.
"With that thick of a ward no matter how strong Voldemort was it would've taken him quite a lot of time to break through it," Harry said, "whereas with the fidilius once Peter told him of the location he simply entered the place like any person would enter an unlocked house. My parents didn't even get the time to run away. Surely Dumbledore must've known that. He knows a lot of things. It's foolish to think that he doesn't. He has things planned in advance so he must know how it would all go down…if he knew that Peter was a death eater all along."
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"Are we sure we want to let it happen?" Viktor asked.
"I was thinking the same," Cedric said. "If we know the truth then why can't we act accordingly?"
"Because it is important to ensure his return," the man said. "Voldemort's return will slow his moves a little bit giving us time to make new plans. It needs to happen as per the plan otherwise things won't turn out to be the way we want them to."
"It's still not sure whether the plan will succeed," Fleur said. "Even if Voldemort returns and Harry defeats him who's to say what we've planned for further ahead will play out the way we want it to? We are facing someone who's powerful enough to easily ruin everything that we've worked for."
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"Are you okay?" Sirius asked as they apparated outside the Greengrass manor.
"Yeah…yeah, I'm fine," Harry said as Sirius looked at him before moving on to knocking on the door. It opened a second later as Anna welcomed them in.
"Where is Remus?" she asked.
"Oh, he'll be joining us in an hour," Sirius said. "He had some work left which he wanted to finish before coming here."
Anna nodded before looking at Harry and then hugging him. Harry hugged her back. "Don't worry, he will be staying here until the end of the winter holidays," Sirius said as Matt joined them before the four headed for the hall where it was very lightly decorated in Christmas decorations. There were a few Christmas trees standing at random corners as Harry saw the house elves popping in and out of the place doing small chores.
As he looked around he heard someone coming downstairs and stopped as his eyes fell on Daphne. She stopped as well when she saw him as the two looked at each other awkwardly for about a minute before Daphne turned her eyes away and went to her mother, talking to her about something.
"Is everything is okay between the two of you?" Harry jumped in surprise as Sirius came to his back and whispered in his ear.
"Don't…do that!" Harry said. "You startled me and no. Nothing's happened."
"Okay," Sirius said before joining Matt for a drink as Harry just stood there when Astoria came and hugged him from behind.
"You're here!" she said as Harry smiled looking at her. "Merry Christmas, Harry!"
"Merry Christmas, Astoria," Harry wished her back.
About an hour later everyone was sitting at the dining table as the elves served them food. Everyone could notice the awkwardness between Harry and Daphne but they all thought that it was because how the two probably didn't get along. However, Sirius wanted to know what was happening so he broke the silence.
"Alright, what's the matter with the two of you?" he asked looking at Harry and Daphne who both looked at him before ignoring him completely and going back to eating the food. Sirius looked dumbstruck as Astoria chuckled while Matt smiled.
"They are teenagers, Sirius," Anna said. "It's hard to know what's going on in their teenage minds. I suggest that we all eat the food before it gets cold. We have the whole night for you to figure out what's going on between them."
Sirius kept looking at the two before nodding as he also went back to eating while Anna looked at Daphne with a slight smile on her lips. Her daughter had told her what had happened and while it had come as a surprise to her she definitely didn't take it as anything bad. If Lily was alive today she'd have totally supported it too.
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Thanks for reading…