Hey A/all. This is chapter forty-three of the new and improved The Black Heir: The Saga Begins. It was originally just a rewrite of my The Black Heir: First Year, but it has deviated so much from how that one used to be that it's now a new story all on its own, though the basic premise is the same. This story is once more complete! And is a whopping 48 chapters long, lots was added haha. Updates should be weekly unless something drastic happens.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Evelyn Celeste Black is my own original character, but all other recognisable characters belong to J K Rowling, I just like to use them to do my bidding.
Summary: What happens when the mistreated daughter of Sirius Black is eligible for her first year at Hogwarts at the same time as her father's escape from Azkaban and she is reunited with Harry Potter. The summer before Harry's third year might just turn out to be just as much of an adventure as his years at Hogwarts. (Eventual HarryXGinny, NevilleXOC, and RonXLuna)
Warning: This story does contain spanking, but it is not the focus, still if you don't like it don't read it.
A huge, huge thank you to my amazing Beta who has been an amazing support in writing this. Yes, I am trying my hardest to turn her into a Harry Potter Fan. Without her support and guidance, you probably wouldn't be getting this story for a good few years.
~o~
Ginny slotted into the family dynamic as if she was supposed to be one of them. She took to the lessons Remus and Sirius were teaching like a duck to water and soaked up all the information given eagerly. Ginny didn't know any Goblin Tongue at all, but she was the most advanced in Latin, having a good understanding of it from her mother's lessons, so Evie and Harry helped her with her Goblin Tongue and she in turn helped them both with Latin.
When they weren't being taught how to navigate Pureblood Society as Heirs of very important Houses, the three children had fun exploring Potter Manor and its expansive grounds. They had been doing just that, joking around, and teasing each other when a hip check from Ginny made Harry trip and fall into the river that cut through the woods of the property.
Ginny gasped and whirled around shocked, trying to grab Harry, but it was too late, he was in the river. Both girls waited with bated breath hoping Harry would come up fine, Evie ready to send red lights to her Dad to let him know they needed help. When Harry came up, spluttering and spitting out a mouthful of river water, looking like a drowned rat, Ginny burst into laughter and even Evie giggled in a mix of relief and amusement.
Harry, once he'd gotten over the shock of suddenly finding himself soaking wet, glared at his little sister and Betrothed. "Alright, alright enough laughing at my expense and help me out," he grouched mock seriously.
Ginny and Evie shared a look, "hmm, should we?" Ginny asked teasingly.
Evie adopted the same considering look as her friend, "I don't know, he doesn't seem too unhappy down there," she mused lightly.
Harry growled, "yes you should! If you leave me to struggle on my own, I'm throwing you both in once I'm out," he threatened,
Ginny laughed again, "okay, fine, you win," she gave in.
Evie nodded in agreement and they both leaned forward and offered their hands out to Harry, neither of them could pull him out on their own.
Harry grabbed both hands and let the girls tug at him a bit before he threw himself backwards and pulled them both into the chest high water with him.
Ginny and Evie squealed as they found themselves yanked into the water, spluttering, and scrambling to try and get up on their feet themselves.
Harry laughed and quickly scrambled out of the water and up the steep bank, his feet slipping and sliding through the mud underneath him. As soon as he was up the bank, he didn't waste a second and raced towards the manor assuming, correctly, that the girls would be chasing after him for their revenge.
Ginny and Evie didn't need to share a look this time they both clamoured out of the river and chased after Harry, determined to get him back. They yelled threats and accusations as they ran in mock anger, as Harry kept just ahead of them laughing hysterically.
Sirius and Remus were about to call the kids in for lunch when the backdoor to the manor burst open and a half-drowned rat that might have been Harry rushed through it quickly followed by two still dripping wet witches.
Harry darted for the table, putting it in-between him and his little sister and Betrothed. He grinned at them both, giving them a 'what are you going to do now' look.
Ginny and Evie looked at each other before splitting apart and coming at Harry from both sides.
"Crap!" Harry exclaimed as he realised his mistake. He looked wildly around for an escape not truly fearful of Evie and Ginny, but not completely unafraid either. He shot his Dad and Uncle a pleading look, "help me!"
Sirius laughed and raised his hands, "I'm not getting in between this one, your mother taught me well enough to never get in between an angry witch and her target, unless you want to be the new target," he insisted.
Remus however took pity on Harry and shot drying spells at the girls, drying them off first before drying Harry as well, "come on, it's lunch time, you can use Harry for target practice later," he offered casually.
Evie stopped immediately, she hadn't really been angry at Harry at all in the first place, just having fun.
"This isn't over Potter," Ginny warned, though her face was serious the amusement in her eyes made it clear she wasn't truly angry either.
Harry grinned, "of course not Weasley, it's just beginning," he returned easily enough.
Sirius laughed and wrapped an arm around his daughter, "when you two are done flirting we'll be in the dining room eating lunch," he teased.
Harry and Ginny both blushed red, "we weren't flirting!" They blurted out together.
Sirius just laughed harder and steered Evie into the dining room.
Lunch was its usual lively affair, something Sirius would never again take for granted. The friendly banter and teasing brought him back to meals he'd shared with Harry's grandparents and father at this same table, sometimes even accompanied by Remus. It helped keep away the shadows of Azkaban that still hung over him. He knew it would be a long time before he would be recovered from his time in Azkaban, if he ever truly was, but spending time with his kids and sharing in their happiness was definitely helping, it even sometimes kept the nightmares at bay.
After lunch it was lesson time again and this time, they were in the Potions lab, so the kids had to change into protective robes first and put on their dragonhide gloves. Evie and Harry were at different stages of their Potions tutelage, so usually the two adults worked one on one with them. Remus, who was not a gifted brewer, worked with Harry, and Sirius who, despite denying it fiercely was a pretty decent brewer, worked with Evie. With the addition of Ginny and not knowing what level she was at with her Potions making skills they decided to set all three of the kids an assessment.
Sirius and Remus got all the ingredients Evie, Ginny and Harry would be using when they returned to Hogwarts, as well as the ones Harry had used last year. They put small samples of each ingredient into a little pewter dish, setting them up on three separate desks with blank pieces of parchment in front of each dish.
Remus smiled at the three kids, "right, what we want you to do is, first off, you need to identify and name all these ingredients. One of the most important skills in potions making is being able to identify ingredients, putting in the wrong ingredient can cause devastating effects. So, we want you to look at, touch, and smell each of these ingredients, whatever you need to do to identify them. Harry yours is the desk with more ingredients as the ones from your first and second year you should be able to identify well enough."
Sirius nodded in agreement, "any that you don't know leave blank and do not guess, as Remus said, putting in the wrong ingredient can be devastating and, once you get into NEWT level Potions and beyond, can even be deadly. If you are not completely sure of what an ingredient is, don't use it. Once you've identified all you can, write what you know about that ingredient on the parchment, any important information, when to harvest it, what its properties are, how to tell if this particular ingredient is fresh and good quality for Potions making. If you know any put down what potions you know it's used in write them down, as well as the most common ways of preparing it." Once he was sure all three children understood he grinned, "well what are you waiting for, go identify," he bid.
Sirius and Remus didn't insist the kids worked in silence, so soft muttering as well as the scratching of quills could be heard as they worked on correctly identifying the ingredients. Within their ingredients, on each desk, Sirius and Remus had included one ingredient the children shouldn't have come across before, not to trick them, but to see if the lessons about not guessing what an ingredient was had sunk in. They didn't time the kids either, letting them take as long as they needed, keeping an eye to see when they finished so they could go and talk through their answers with them.
Once all three were finished they sat together to discuss what they had written down. Remus was the first to praise Harry, "this is brilliant Harry, you correctly identified all your ingredients."
Harry frowned, "no I didn't I had no idea what one of them was," he insisted.
Sirius gave a grin, "correct, you couldn't identify the knarl quills, and you shouldn't have been able to. They aren't ingredients you'll come across until you move into your NEWT classes, if you choose to continue the classes. You left the parchment blank, which is exactly what you should have done, well done. Your theoretical knowledge has come on leaps and bounds since we've started," he praised.
Harry felt like he should perhaps put up some kind of protest to the trick ingredient but being praised for his work by a parent was still something he wasn't fully used to, and it felt too nice for him put up much fuss.
"I am really impressed Evie, you remembered that porcupine quills are extremely temperature sensitive, and that horned slugs need to be stewed for the exact correct length of time. You have picked up the theoretical side of potions brilliantly," Sirius praised his daughter.
Remus nodded in agreement, "I couldn't agree more, you even recalled that moondew is only available in liquid form now and that it needs to be exposed to the light of the full moon before use. I'm really proud of how hard you've worked. Like your brother you didn't attempt to identify the jewelweed, you'll not be seeing that until your fourth year," he applauded proudly.
Evie blushed and ducked her head, she still wasn't used to being praised, even if she did like the way it made her feel.
Ginny's answers surprised Sirius and Remus, "Ginny, how did you identify Valerian Root?" Remus asked gently.
Ginny looked down at her lap and shrugged, "I don't know, I just… I looked at it and the name popped into my head. I think… I think it's left-over knowledge from-from Tom," she murmured hesitantly. She tensed up waiting for judgement or some kind of bad reaction.
Sirius leaned over and rested his hand on top of Ginny's nervously fidgeting ones, "Ginny, listen to me, what you went through was something that many full-grown witches and wizards would not be able to cope with. Do not be ashamed of surviving what you went through, if Tom left behind some fragments of knowledge about things, then try to see that as something that will help you. One thing all his teachers will tell you is that Tom Riddle was incredibly intelligent. He tried to use your body to resurrect himself and unleash a basilisk on the school with the aim of killing muggleborn students, it seems a fitting revenge to use the knowledge he inadvertently left with you to your advantage. Own this advanced knowledge that you have, do not think of how you came by it, only that you have it," he encouraged.
Ginny chewed her lip and glanced at Harry and Evie, both of them looking at her with no judgement before she nodded firmly, memorising Sirius's words so she could hold onto them.
"You also put in that powdered horn of bicorn is explosive and so needs to be handled with a light touch, very well identified," Remus continued on like nothing had occurred. "The next part will be seeing your practical skills in Potions ingredients preparation, knowing how to correctly slice, dice, mince, powder, and crush is vital for the accurate brewing of Potions. Harry, Evie, we've done lessons on this, Ginny I trust your mother has given you the necessary lessons?"
Ginny nodded, "yeah, Mum taught us all the year before we went to Hogwarts," she confirmed.
"Excellent, so this should be easy for you all, but it is still important to know, so just a quick assessment to see if your skills are up to par," Sirius declared giving them a wink.
Sirius and Remus gave the kids a bulb of ginger each and gave then directions on how to slice, running through the various preparation methods they were expected to know at their current level. Once they showed they could slice in all the needed ways, they moved onto dicing the ginger, going over the different grades of dicing, from centimetre cubed, to a very fine dice, almost a mince. After that it was time for crushing, getting out a pestle and mortar for the kids, making sure they could do it quickly and effectively. They had to use other ingredients to go over mincing, and powdering, but it didn't take long to show that all three kids were completely competent in ingredient preparation now. A vast improvement in how Harry was when they had started these lessons, something Sirius praised his son for.
Harry sighed, "why isn't this stuff taught at Hogwarts?"
"Prejudice, purebloods and even halfbloods have at least one magical parent who will teach them all this stuff before they go to Hogwarts, whereas muggleborns have to catch up on the fly. It would harm the purebloods pride if muggleborns started out performing young purebloods on mass, so they could never allow these kinds of lessons to occur at Hogwarts," Sirius rolled his eyes.
Harry huffed, the whole thing was stupid but at least he knew what he was supposed to be doing now and maybe Snape wouldn't be able to find issue with every single thing he did.
They went back to theory after the ingredient preparation assessment, making sure all three kids knew why it was important to stir clockwise or counter-clockwise, and why stirring an exact number of times was important. Sirius and Remus didn't make it obvious, but they did try and focus more questions towards Harry and Ginny, Evie's grasp on the theoretical was already well established.
It was all stuff Harry wished he had known before his first year as it made Snape's lessons make a lot more sense, it was frustrating, but at least he knew it now.
Before they called the potions lessons to an end, they decided to teach the kids about how to harvest certain ingredients. It was not pleasant, or very fun, in fact it had been a favoured detention handed out by their old Potions Professor Horace Slughorn, but it was an important skill to know. First Remus showed all three children first how to remove the sting from a billywig, which wasn't all that unpleasant, but did require a certain deft touch to get the sting out quickly and efficiently. It took a little while for all three kids to master the technique, Evie managing it first, quickly followed by Ginny and finally Harry.
After mastering removing a billywig sting, Sirius guided the children around harvesting a bat. The wings, eyes, tongue, livers, spleens, and hearts were all used in Potions making, and all required careful harvesting. Sirius first showed them how to harvest each part, having them just watch him, then had them follow along as he harvested another bat, before he allowed them to do it themselves, offering his help when needed. It was not something that could be mastered in one session and neither Sirius nor Remus wanted to force the kids to keep harvesting bats until they could harvest all the ingredients perfectly.
"That'll do for now, you've all done exceptionally well. We will continue Potions tutoring at Hogwarts and work more on this, but for now go and clean up and get ready for dinner," Remus instructed kindly.
Harry let out a cheer, though he figured he probably wasn't a hazard at Potions making now, he still had no love for the art.
Evie giggled at her brother's cheer, she was rather interested in Potions making and had already read a lot of books on the subject. She was eager to start brewing Potions herself, but her Daddy and Uncle Moony didn't want her going too far ahead.
Ginny laughed at Harry's enthusiasm; she had heard stories from her brother about how much Snape had it in for Harry. She recalled very little of her own lessons from last year, mostly that Snape was a very strict demanding teacher who was quick to insult the intelligence of his students.
The three kids quickly headed out of the Potions lab and up to their bedrooms, washing up and changing out of their protective robes and back into their casual clothes for dinner.
~o~
There you go, there's chapter forty-three. Please drop me a review and tell me what you thought, cookies for those who do!