Another short chapter I'm afraid; honestly, the next few chapters may very well be the same as these are mostly fillers leaning up to the Goblet of Fire. This chapter isn't longer because I preferred to ended where I did as it seemed like a more natural stopping point. For those who may want longer chapters, sorry. Anyway, I do hope you're enjoying this and the poll is still open for ideas on who to pair with Holly. So far we have:
Blaise: 2
Theo: 1
If you have any other ideas for pairings, let me know in the reviews. I can start hinting at pairings and romance in a few chapters so don't be shy.
To say Lyra was furious would be putting it mildly. Sirius' assessment had finished long before Holly's and the results had angered her, that anger had only increased tenfold when Fredrick had given her Holly's report. It had taken her three minutes to reign in her magic, three minutes before the occupants of the room could stand up from where her magical pressure had forced them to their knees. She still had to force herself to remain calm, especially when Holly had entered the room, her shoulders hunched protectively.
Her granddaughter was a sensor. Whilst many witch and wizards believed that to mean she could sense magic it was so much more than that. Holly could sense the emotions and intentions of another person. Untrained, the poor girl probably had no idea what it was she was feeling at any given time and just thought all those emotions were her own. Lyra would need to find another sensor; one who could teach Holly how to control and utilise her gift. It would not do for her to remain ignorant of her ability.
Thinking of all the people she would need to contact to help her grandchildren helped to manage her rage at the thought of that idiotic boy putting one of her children in danger by trying to play God. Alas, Dumbledore's time was coming and whatever reprieve Lyra may have granted him had withered away into nothingness upon hearing what he had put her grandchildren through. As it were, she had already sent Fredrick off to acquire all the necessary potions and supplies to completely cleanse Holly. It would be painful, something she would need to inform her granddaughter of, but hopefully Holly would see the necessity in doing so.
Right now, Lyra needed to continue with her plans. The next order being:
"It has come to my attention that someone has been accessing the Potter and Black vaults unlawfully."
Ah, if that didn't earn a visceral reaction from the two Goblin's present than Lyra was a squib. If there was anything the Goblin's hated most, it was wizards and/or witches who believed they could circumvent their laws and steal from Gringotts.
"And how did you come across this information, Lady Black?" Zreer growled.
Lyra didn't take his tone to heart, knowing it wasn't directed at her but towards the fools that had been stealing from her grandchildren.
"I have a trusted portrait in each vault that keeps track of the funds coming in and out of said vaults," she informed him, "Belvina Black has informed me that Narcissa Malfoy nee. Black, Draco Malfoy, and even Lucius Malfoy have been accessing the Black Family vault. I need not tell you that this goes against the right of succession for the Black family. My father decreed that only the heir to the Ancient and Noble House of Black could have access to its vaults; the heir, and all those the heir give permission. Now, Sirius, have you given permission for the above mentioned to access the Black Family vaults?"
Lyra knew the answer, but she knew the Goblins would need verbal confirmation.
"No," Sirius replied with a frown before he looked at her, "but, shouldn't you be the one to decide that? You're Lady Black."
"Only by blood," Lyra replied, "I kept my last name when I married my husband, but I was no longer eligible to be heiress the moment I married. My eldest son took on that role and you are the only remaining heir of his line."
"I will investigate this immediately, Lady Black. Lord Black," Zreer assured them.
"Be sure that you do," Lyra replied sternly, "and see to it that all those who have accessed the vault illegally be made to pay back the grand total owed; perhaps, they should also be made to pay interest for the last twelve years, interest that Sirius will be happy to award to the Goblins who so diligently pursued this wrongdoing."
Lyra was thankful when her grandson remained quiet on the matter, especially when she saw the greedy grin that spread across Zreer's face before he bowed and disappeared with a pop. After he was gone, Lyra turned to look at the female Goblin, a rare find considering they were usually kept within the Goblin caves to keep them safe and smiled at the creature.
"Charlus informs me that Albus Dumbledore has been accessing the Potter Family vault since the death of Lily and James Potter. He has informed me that Dumbledore has told the Goblins that he is Holly's magical guardian, and that the money was going to the care and rearing of young Holly," Lyra informed Numienqea, "this is false on both accounts. Dumbledore has never used those funds to provide for Holly and Sirius Black is Holly's magical guardian; he is, after all, her Godfather."
Numienqea's eyes widened before they darkened with anger at the theft. Lyra was aware that Numienqea had been the Potter family Goblin since Charlus had freed her from a Goblin slaver. She was trustworthy and Lyra knew that Dumbledore would have lied and doctored information to suit his story. She held no ill will towards the small Goblin, but she wanted this sorted.
"As with the Black Family vault, I believe Albus Dumbledore should be made to pay back every galleon plus interest for the theft. I would also like to have a birthright test done on Holly Potter," Lyra informed the room at large, already preparing for what this revelation was going to do for her granddaughter once the rest of the wizarding world learnt of it; something that would be done long before Albus Dumbledore could do anything to bury it once more.
"Which family is Lady Potter trying to claim heirship to?" Numienqea inquired curiously, the other occupants, Holly herself included, leaning forward in anticipation of the answer.
"Holly is the last remaining heir to Lord Ignotus Peverell," Lyra informed them.
"Bloody hell," Sirius hissed somewhere to her left, Lyra choosing not to scold the boy for his language. This time. "Are you serious?" he questioned, his gaze darting to his gobsmacked goddaughter.
"Do I look to be joking?" Lyra questioned her grandson, barely resisting the urge to roll her eyes, "I am in possession of several journals from Holly's paternal line; these journals detail her inheritance, but only magical testing can make it ironclad.
"Can the test be done today, or will you need time to gather the required items?" she continued, her gaze moving back to the female goblin.
"I will send off a letter and Ragnok will bring the required items," Numienqea assured Lyra, "it should be here before the meeting is over. Once we have a confirmation of Lady Potter's inheritance, she will be given her family rings and all they entail."
"All they entail?" Holly questioned nervously; she really didn't think she was in any position to be given something that sounded so important.
"Fear not, dear," Lyra assured her granddaughter, "if fact, this is where these three," she motioned to the three silent wizards, "come in. Apollo, Adonis, and Ares will make sure you are prepared for all that being a Lady entails. They'll tutor you in everything that you have been left ignorant of your entire life, least of all, the etiquette of Pureblood society."
The three wizards, triplets, bowed politely to Lyra before repeating the action with her granddaughter. "It is an honour to teach the beautiful Lady Potter," Apollo purred, his cat like eyes raking over her granddaughter's body in a way that had Holly blushing furiously and Sirius growling like his Animagus form.
"We'd be happy to take over all of her teachings, Lady Black," Adonis added, his own cat-like eyes darkening as he took Holly in.
"In fact, we'd happily do it for free," Ares finished, already kneeling before Holly, and taking her hand in his so that he could raise it to his lips and kiss her knuckles.
Lyra sighed, seeing her grandson looking ready to rip the three wizards to shreds and her granddaughter wriggling uncomfortable in her chair, looking anywhere but at the three wizards fawning over her.
"Enough, all of you," she demanded, "you will only tutor Holly in the subjects we agreed upon. Do not think that you will be able to attempt to seduce her either; Lucy foresaw your desire and wrote a clause in you contract that state's you will be unable to bed my granddaughter unless she give you her permission and only if said permission is given when she is of sound mind. I will not have your pheromones corrupting my precious granddaughter.
"I accept that it is in your nature," she assured the three wizards, "however, you will have to find other outlets for it lest I be forced to find replacement tutors."
"Of course, Lady Black, forgive us," they said simultaneously, stepping away from Holly and back towards their previous corner.
"Besides," Lyra continued, "I have already contacted a tutor for Holly when it comes to seduction. I am simply waiting on a reply and Holly will meet with her at a date and time of our choosing."
This quieted everyone down and Lyra could focus on the uncomfortable flush on her granddaughter's face. She had no doubt that Holly had been subjected to the feeling of lust from others; she attended Hogwarts, and the older students got the more amorous they became. However, there was a massive difference in the lust of a teenager compared to the lust of a fully grown wizard who happened to also be half Incubus, let alone three of them. With that said, Apollo, Ares, and Adonis were the best choices for tutors for Holly. They would have her caught up in all of the discussed subjects before Holly needed to return to Hogwarts.
It was imperative that Lyra find a trusted sensor, one who wouldn't take advantage of Holly's power, to train her granddaughter. She feared what others would do were they to learn about what Holly was.
Before she could become lost to her own thoughts, Lucy led in another Goblin who was carrying an ornate box that Lyra knew to contain the instruments required to test Holly's inheritance. For a small moment, Lyra wondered if this was a wise move; whilst she was positive that Holly was the last remaining descendant of Ignotus Peverell, she also knew that Holly would have inheritance rights to other powerful bloodlines. She just wasn't sure which ones would accept her as the rightful heir. Magic was a powerful thing and once claimed, Holly would be unable to abolish the claim until she passed the titles onto her own children.
This is necessary, she assured herself as she watched the Goblin, Ragnok, begin to set up the ritual.
The room was silent as Ragnok motioned for Holly to step forward, her granddaughter doing so hesitantly. When he pulled out the ornate silver dagger, Lyra saw Holly lock up. She saw Holly's breath become laboured and the fear that immediately clouded her eyes as she eyed the dagger.
If she were a lesser witch, Lyra would have cursed at the Goblin's stupidity. Holly was an abused child who entered into a world that expected her to fight in a war against a wizard much more skilled than she. She had nearly been killed every year since starting at Hogwarts and Ragnok pulling a dagger on her without explanation had sent her spiralling towards a panic attack.
"Holly," she tried, moving off of her chair to approach her granddaughter only to frown when Holly violently flinched away from her. "Everything is okay, dear," she said, keeping her voice soothing as she raised her hands and showed Holly that she possessed nothing that would harm her. Lyra was grateful in this moment for Holly's naivety when it came to their world; she did not know about wandless magic and so she would not see Lyra's bare hands as any threat to her.
Still, the gesture did little to soothe the girl and Lyra felt her chest constrict and breathing become more difficult. She felt the cold grip of fear and it took all of her willpower to realise that the fear wasn't hers.
Holly was projecting her emotions, at almost fourteen, her abilities would start to grow before they flourished upon her sixteenth birthday. If she could already push her fear onto others, as was visible amongst those gathered there, then it was so much more imperative that Lyra find a willing tutor and fast.
"I'm sorry, my dear," Lyra whispered before wordlessly and wandlessly stunning her granddaughter.
The suffocating fear lifted the moment Holly fell unconscious and Lyra's magic gently caressed her granddaughter as she used it to lower her to the magically extended sofa. Sirius was beside Holly the next moment and Lyra turned suddenly dark eyes to Ragnok who wisely cowered away from the angry witch.
"Have you any idea of what you just did?" she hissed furiously, "that girl's life has been threatened on an uncountable number of occasions and you believed you could just pull out that dagger and she wouldn't react negatively? I thought Goblin's were intelligent. We will continue with the ritual whilst Holly is unconscious and then you will promptly leave my property before I decide to see your little stunt as an act of aggression against one of my own."
The Goblin sneered but nodded, holding out the dagger to Lyra who scoffed at it. "Do I look barbaric to you?" she asked, conjuring a scalpel, and moving over to her unconscious granddaughter. Lyra wiped her finger over Holly's palm, muttering a numbing spell as she did so before she sliced across the flesh with expert precision.
The ritual goblet floated over and Lyra gently tilted Holly's hand, watching the blood flow into the cut before she healed the wound and stood back to her feet. The scalpel disappeared as she walked back over to her chair and allowed the goblet to float back over to Ragnok who placed it in the middle of the magically drawn circle. The goblet enlarged upon being set in the circle and Ragnok placed a sheet of parchment into the goblet.
Lyra watched dispassionately, as the blood soaked into the enchanted parchment, forming the words that would seal her granddaughter's fate but also offer her so much more in the future.
The Goblin removed the parchment from the goblet when the ring of magic dulled and gave it to Lyra before promptly leaving the room.
Looking it over, Lyra felt her eyebrow lift at the titles listed before her before she opened her lips and began reading.
"Lady Holly Dorea Potter, rightful heir to the House of Potter by way of birth.
Rightful heir to the House of Evans by way of birth and magical acceptance.
Rightful heir to the House of Peverell by way of succession.
Rightful heir to the House of Slytherin by way of conquest."
"Wait," Sirius said when he had finally managed to pick his jaw up, "House of Evans? Lily was a muggleborn; there's no way her muggle family had a House let alone one that could be inherited. Even if they did, that title would go to Lily's sister Petunia with Dudley as the next in line."
"The House of Evans is a very ancient house," Numienqea explained quietly, "however, their line ended when an entire generation was born squibs after the Evans family was cursed. It would seem that the curse had weakened enough over the centuries to allow for magic to resurface in Lily Potter nee. Evans. The House of Evans can only be claimed by magical blood and so, with the death of Lily Potter, Holly is now the rightful heir to the House of Evans."
She turned to look at Lyra and bowed deeply, "I will gather the account managers and return this afternoon, Lady Black, with them, we will bring the house rings and see if they will truly accept Lady Potter."
"Thank you, Numienqea," Lyra replied cordially, bowing her own head, "I will inform Lucy of your arrival later today and we will all reconvene here to continue where we are leaving off."
When Numienqea left the room and Lyra had dismissed Adonis, Apollo, and Ares, having Lucy lead them to their wing, she looked at her grandchildren. Sirius was still kneeled before Holly, gently stroking her hair as the girl remained unconscious. Lyra would wake her soon but, for now, she wanted to speak with Sirius.
"Mr Lupin will be arriving in time for lunch," she began, wanting to start on lighter conversation; this morning had been so heavy that Lyra, not for the first time, felt every year she had been alive. "I've enlisted my own personal potions mistress to brew and supply him with the Wolfsbane potion; Diana says she may even be able to improve the potion so that the change is far less painful."
She saw the hope in Sirius' eyes at the idea of his lover going through his shifts painlessly and smiled softly. Lyra was happy that her grandson had found someone to spend his life with, he more than deserved the happiness.
Turning her gaze to Holly, Lyra sighed, she knew exactly how this conversation was going to go.
"You are aware, as the heir to four Houses, Holly will be most sought after," she started, "I have managed to have the marriage contract Dumbledore had signed on her behalf abolished by that does not change the fact that, unless she has another, he may very well be able to reinstate it. He used blood magic and, whether he had a right to do it or not, blood magic is binding."
"Who was he trying to marry her off to?" Sirius asked, his eyes darkening.
Lyra grimaced, "Severus Snape."
"What?! That low-down, good for nothing…" Sirius trailed off, muttering the curses so low that Lyra couldn't pick up on them.
"Whilst a half-blood, Severus Snape is the heir to the Prince line; he is an accomplished wizard and is also very loyal to Dumbledore."
"He's also twenty years older than Holly," Sirius grumbled.
"You and I both know that age is no restriction in our world," Lyra replied, "still, in order for the contract to remain void, we must seek out someone of high standing to form another contract with."
"Holly won't just let you marry her off," Sirius said gravely, "she wasn't raised with pureblood ideals; she'll want to love the person she marries."
"Which is why I would like to host a coming out ball," Lyra stated simply, "we can use is to see how Holly reacts to wizards her own age and arrange 'meetups' to see who the most ideal candidate would be. Holly does not need to know about the contract and once signed, she will have until she turned seventeen to get to know her fiancé."
"If you keep this from her, she'll rebel the moments she learns of it," Sirius informed her, "it won't matter if she loves him; Holly won't have anything to do with him, you, or me for helping you. We should just be honest; she'll handle it badly but given enough time she'll see its merits and will come around."
Lyra thought about what her grandson had said and knew he was right, "very well," she sighed, "but we will only discuss it once everything else is sorted; I've no doubt the added stress may very well put her over the edge."
"Not gonna argue there," Sirius muttered, knowing very well that, regardless of when they tell her, Holly was going to lose it.