Disclaimer: See chapter 1 (Spoiler, I own nothing in this story)

Saturday Morning, September 2

Narcissa Malfoy was a very focused matriarch. She met her sister face to face for the first time in 3 years, and in that time Andromeda's features had become more worn and tired. Privately, it caused her distress to see her sister so, but she did not outwardly acknowledge it. Decorum had to be maintained, and for a woman of Narcissa's standing it would be unbecoming of her to outwardly show sympathy to a well known blood traitor, even if they were both in disguise.

At least outwardly.

They sat across from each other in one of the private booths at the Leaky Cauldron waiting until the appointed hour of the Regulus' will reading. They had an hour to go, and their small talk ranged from their childhood to their own children and their marriages. Their answers were curt and precise and gave neither a real glimpse into the life of the other. It was disconcerting to Narcissa to be verbally tap dancing with her own sister and they soon found conversation exhausted even before they arrived.

The last few months had been hell for the Malfoy matriarch, between keeping the manor clean for a potential Head visit, keeping her son from making a mess of a potential Head visit, keeping her husband suitably occupied so he didn't make a mess of a potential Head visit, and keeping the wretched Dark Lord out of her home. Her excuse of a Head visit helped explain why she did not want that monster anywhere near her family, but it would not last long after the will reading.
She had received notice that Gringotts scheduled the reading last week, and had immediately contacted Andromeda to update their plans. She wondered who else would be attending the reading.

If Sirius showed up, it would put a strain on everyone, especially if there was a ministry official there, what with him being a wanted criminal and all. Narcissa wondered if the new Head had heard about her cousin's jailbreak and current status as a fugitive.

She would move both herself and all her possessions to Australia if the Ministry allowed Bella to attend. Corrupt was part of the job. Inept was expected. But even the Ministry wasn't so far gone as to allow her sister out. Since this would be the first time meeting the new Lord Black, they would have to make sure to set the tone of their meeting with care. She prayed that when the Lord Black met her, Bella wouldn't do something to mess it up. But that was a fools hope. Both her and Andromeda were well aware of their sisters…'devotion' to the Dark Lord and all things pure blood. If the new Head of House Black gave the slightest indication of being something other than a perfect pureblood scion of their family, then Bella would pounce like a mother lioness eliminating defective offspring. However, it was unlikely to be an issue now. She would talk with the Head about visiting her insane sister in a few days, preferably within the confines of Azkaban or even deep within Gringotts. Without a wand, Bella would be no threat to anyone in her cell and Gringotts was notorious for their security during such proceedings.

Traditionally, there was a member of the Department of Inheritance at these proceedings, but it was not required so it would be up to the Head if they attend. Other than the goblins themselves, Narcissa couldn't think of who else could attend, that she knew of. It was entirely possible the Head would bring retainers, and the two of them had made plans for that, but how many and what type of retainers was a complete mystery. How they treated concubines was different than manservants or guards.

The only thing they could discover since the first letter was that the new Head of Black considered somewhere in the Western United States to be home. The goblins were especially stringent with information, and neither sister had many contacts across the Atlantic. Only time would tell, 53 minutes to be precise, what the future of the Black family would be. Narcissa sipped her tea, her mind going through the plans and contingency plans she and her sister had developed through owl correspondence. At precisely 45 minutes before the reading, Andromeda rose and walked towards the bank. She would follow in 13 minutes, taking a slightly different route and stopping by a random store before entering the bank approximately 21 minutes before the reading.

Once inside the bank, Narcissa would take the lead directing their plans, since the two sisters were unsure what to expect. Finishing the last of her tea, she called upon her year of divination class to look into her tea leaves. She never believed she had the talent, but it was a way to pass 12 more stressful minutes. She first saw a dagger (caution against sharp words, which seemed wise given the circumstances), then a bridge (Life changing event, no surprise there), followed by a group of trees (family unity). The last, and largest, symbols in the tea leaves was a lion with a fish, a powerful person with a teacher. Shaking her head, she put away the cup and disregarded what she had done. She had come to the conclusion long ago that unless someone had the gift, most divination methods had the person seeing what they wanted to see. Gathering her things, she departed for the reading.

Sirius Black was a very bored escapee. With the preparations for getting all of the kids to the Hogwarts Express yesterday, he hadn't thought about how lonely he would be in his hideous family home with his godson gone. Yesterday, he had to return back here to Grimmauld Place, not to the laughter of children but to silence and his mother's screaming portrait. A strange sense of nostalgia hit him, and he started wandering the halls. All the other Order members were elsewhere, living their lives and working their jobs. Being useful and not a burden.

His one job, making sure Harry was safe, was out of his hands for another nine months.

Without realizing it, Sirius entered his father's study. He wasn't a bad man, he just … didn't have the same perspective. They had fought constantly, even before he got sorted into Gryffindor at Hogwarts, but he was never unfair. His mother, however, was a complete loon. She wanted a perfect, obedient, pureblood as a son, but forgot one crucial fact about all Blacks. They made their own decisions. From the cradle, every Black is conditioned to set their own path. They may be influenced and tricked by others, but they made their own choices. When his dear insane mother wanted him banished from the family forever, it was his father that came up with the compromise. He would be removed from the family, but only until he was ready to be married. At that point, his father promised to reinstate him in the family.

The hope was that Sirius would have time for his fun, and when he was serious (hee hee hee) about taking on responsibility, the family would welcome him back. Unfortunately, his stint at Azkaban and his parents death prevented the second part of the plan from going into effect. A letter on his father's writing desk caught his attention. It had the seal of Gringotts. Sighing in annoyance he grabbed the letter and opened it, then frowned.

"KREACHER!" Sirius screamed, the opened letter hanging limply in his hand.

"Yes, filthy treacherous master, you called?" The dirty house elf appeared.

"Why didn't you deliver this letter sooner?" Sirius yelled the question. There was a new Head of Black, a fact that surprised and shocked him. More important than the fact that his house was no longer secure for the Order of the Phoenix, he had more family out there.

"Kreacher did deliver it, to the mail desk," the answer confounded the wizard, until he looked at the desk and noticed there were a half dozen other letters piled haphazardly about the desk. In his months living here, Sirius never questioned why he never got any sort of mail. He figured it was because of the wards or that no one wanted to write him. Sirius didn't notice the disappointed look in Kreachers face, nor the fact that he slunk off to adjust his own house elf plans.

"Worthless decrepit poor excuse of a house elf…" Sirius muttered under his breath. He had quickly sorted the letters he, prioritizing the Gringotts ones first. A bank statement on his trust fund set up by his uncle, a rejection of inheritance letter from last year, and the notice of funds transferred to pay for Harry's Firebolt were looked at and discarded.

The next letter, though, left the remaining 2 forgotten. A will reading, at Gringotts, for his brother, in less than an hour. The chair Sirius was sitting in flew back as he leapt to his feet. Luckily Gringotts was sovereign territory, so he would be safe from the ministry there. Unfortunately, he didn't have the time to arrange for a portkey directly into the bank, so he would have to chance going out in his animagus form. Feeling adventurous and wanting to relive his Hogwarts days of recklessness, Sirius sent off a patronus message to Dumbledore about the new Head of House Black and the will, and dashed for the door before the old man could tell him to stay put. With any luck, he would be able to make it before the reading began.

Lucius Malfoy was a very nervous Death Eater. First, the Dark Lord had returned, something that he had hoped would never happen in the dark recesses of his mind, far away from any legilimens probe. Next, the Dark Lord wanted to set up residence in his home, which was much too close to comfort for his liking. Lastly, his wife refused the Dark Lord his order, something that had caused him to be tortured for quite a while. The Dark Lord understood the need to impress the new Head of the House Black, and relented when his sources could not gather any information about him. It would not do to have an unknown arrive at where the Dark Lord was plotting (definitely not hiding) and possibly discover him. What is worse, this discovery of a new Head of Black means that Draco no longer was the sole heir of the Black fortune.

That last point, more than any of the previous woes, would be the most likely to get him killed. His agreement with the Dark Lord was simple. Money for Power. He provided funding, the Dark Lord provided power. While the Malfoy coffers were significant, they were nothing compared to what the Ancient House of Black had once been, even if the wealth had been stagnant for over a decade. His wife and sister-in-law (imprisoned though she may be) both confirmed to him that Sirius couldn't be the Head, which gave him some measure of respite. Were that wealth to fall into Dumbledore's hands, the best he could hope for would be a life sentence to Azkaban. Dumbledore would most definitely use it to its fullest advantage, or rather his new Head of Black shaped puppet would.

The best choice he had, unfortunately, was to assassinate the new Black head. If he proved sympathetic to Dumbledore, that wealth would be House Malfoy's undoing. If he would ally with the Dark Lord, Lucius would lose out in power and prestige to the newcomer. The Head of Black might remain neutral, but that would still mean that House Malfoy would have less available to contribute to their cause. By killing the Head of Black, Draco would once again be next in line for the inheritance, and House Malfoy will be secure in their superiority once again. Sadly, that will mean going against his wife's wishes, but as Head, he needed to make the tough decisions to secure his family's future.

Since the Dark Lord forbade any overt activity until he said so, he would need to use all of his subtlety, some misdirection, and possibly some luck, in order to pull this off. It would have to be right after the Will reading, in a few hours. Luckily, he had contacted the right people when his wife first told him about the Will reading, and they would be ready. Several assassins, a few thugs not trustworthy enough to join his Master (not that they didn't have the stomach for what they did, but rather just couldn't keep a secret when drunk), and some cretins that owed him for paying off the right Ministry people to not investigate their disgusting crimes. Disgusting, but that made them disposable. And with certain precautions, untraceable to him.

There was an unpopular piece of legislation in the Wizengamot to restrict potion ingredient and dragon product trade with Australia, the passing of which would help him increase the revenues of his businesses by a significant margin. Earlier that summer, there were some Australian wizard terrorists that attacked the muggle French embassy, who wore a distinctive Duk-Duk masks. Were his 'companions' to attack Diagon Alley in those masks, and happen to kill the Head of the House Black while causing destruction, nothing could be traced back to him, the Ministry would be at odds with Australia for not controlling their citizens, and he would get his legislation passed without too much trouble. Everyone would win, and hopefully his wife would not suspect him.

Noticing the time, 30 minutes until the Will reading, Lucius saw an owl arrive with a single sheet of paper with the word 'Centaur' written on it. That was the confirmation that the attackers would be ready when the reading was over, and his signal to have an alibi ready. He grabbed some paperwork that needed filing and walked to the Floo fire.

"Ministry of Magic," he called, throwing in the powder, before stepping through. Behind him, the recently delivered note burst into flames, consuming the paper in seconds before extinguishing itself once the message was destroyed. One of the remaining Malfoy house elves popped into the room to clean the ash away, before returning to the cleaning tasks his mistress assigned to him. Life had never been better for Iggy since the mistress decided everything should be clean, the Malfoy house elves were getting stronger with every order.

Rita Emmanuella Skeeter was a very depressed reporter. While getting the biggest scoop of her life, she had been careless enough to be captured by a silly schoolgirl. And what was worse was there was nothing she could do to get around the horrendous 'deal' they had struck. She would keep her name off of any articles, and the Granger girl will keep her secret about being an animagus. She could easily afford the fine (an offer given to purebloods instead of the standard Azkaban sentence) for being an illegal animagus, but her reputation and prestige of being a top reporter could never survive the hit. Her mood changed, though, with a single letter.

It was more of a note, really, than a letter, though folks these days seemed to disregard the minutiae of each definition. As a lover of all things written, Rita was quite adept at proper word usage, even if she sometimes ignored them. The note gave a simple clue, that there would be a Will reading at Gringotts today, and that one of the attendees would be the Head of Black. With Sirius on the lam and wanted by every agency, magical or non, finding where he was hiding, and possibly getting an interview, would be something that might have enough umph to negate her being found out as a bug. Even if it was not, she could write and sell the story under her pseudonym, which was what was paying her rent these last few months.

The American Eagles gossip section (it would always be gossip for her despite what the colonials called it) had been abuzz recently with near frenzy when they had learned that Lord Black had been living in the states. Yet no one had been able to get so much as a picture of the convict or even confirm if the rumor that the Head wasn't Sirius Black were true.

Without wasting another second, Rita snatched up her notepad and pen, and flew out the front door. She apparated just outside the Leaky Cauldron, and entered in her beetle form. Nothing would stop her getting this scoop. She may not be able to use her usual tactics, but she had plenty of tools to pull out.

Florean Fortescue was a very furious shopkeeper. His contacts had told him this would be a sure thing, a huge seller, especially with the muggle raised. They promised it would fly off the shelves. They promised that kids would be clamoring for it.

They lied.

Not one scoop of the 'guaranteed seller' had been sold the whole summer. No one would even take a free sample of it, preferring to go with the standard, tried and true options like Chocolate and Dragon Breath. He was getting a new shipment of ice cream in this evening, and he was throwing out all of his supply of this Twinkie Ice Cream to make room for it.

Tom Riddle was a very disgruntled Dark Lord. Who would have thought that such a pathetic boy could be his downfall, yet that is what the prophecy indicated. His double agent discovered that much, at least. The weakling boy held the key to defeating his immortality. But he couldn't help but wonder if there was more to it.

He knew the prophecy was incomplete, and it was the unheard portion that worried him. Well, it would worry him if he, the Greatest Dark Lord of All, worried. The only reason the annoyance still lived was because he had no corporeal body, or had more important issues to deal with, namely controlling his newly created body, or punishing the inept people he wrongly trusted to accomplish simple tasks. It had been a mistake to try to dual the boy so shortly after the resurrection, especially after expending so much energy calling his minions forth. Much better to kill the boy quickly, next time, instead of trying to play with him.

He wished he could know for sure what the remaining prophecy said, because he began to have doubts that it truly meant the Potter boy. The inept Divination teacher made a third prophecy, one that only he knew about (he had obliviated his agent who had told him, and there was no other around to witness it when it was given). It was an odd prophecy, given during the Second Tri-wizard Tournament task. Given the proclivity of seers to only speak about one topic, it would seem logical to apply the prophecy to him. But what does the terms 'Scion of the Stars', 'Grave Riser's Bane', and 'Lost Black' mean?

He learned from the Malfoys that there is a new Head of Black, which worried him. Well, it would worry him if he, the Greatest Dark Lord of All, worried. If this new Black was the son of Regulus, the new prophecy could mean he, and not Potter, could defeat the greatest dark lord of all. He never did learn the details of the Witch with the sapphire blade that had turned one of his most promising followers away from him, but that could be counted as a denial. Throw in the Witch's releasing dozens of muggle and magical prisoners during the war and another event that could be construed as denying him, and any children she bore near the end of July would be eligible to fulfill this prophecy. He would have to delve into his minion's minds to discover the details of the new Head's character and power, as well as his personal history. At least it would be something to distract him from getting into the Department of Mysteries, a task that had proved to be more complicated than it seemed