Chapter 2: A Morning of Noisy Wisdom
The morning brought noise. Specifically, it brought the usual yell from Harry's Uncle Vernon downstairs. "BOY!"
Harry sighed, hopped out of bed, threw on some of Dudley's old clothes, and walked down the stairs. "Yes, Uncle Vernon?"
His Uncle was a little red in the face, but not purple yet, which was a good sign. "This…gentleman is a solicitor. Says he's here to see you about an inheritance of some sort. Who's leaving money to you?"
For the first time, Harry noticed Professor Smith sitting in the living room, wearing a perfectly normal Muggle suit. The only exception to the sheer normality was his lapel pin, which was the Hogwarts crest in miniature. The professor took the time that Harry had spent staring to answer. "Ah, Mr. Dursley, Mr. Black isn't able to leave money to Harry here, or at least not yet. Any money left to a minor by anyone other than their birth parents is to be held in trust by the bank until that minor's seventeenth birthday. No, Mr. Black left Harry with a piece of property that's to be left in trust with Mr. Remus Lupin, again until Harry's seventeenth birthday. I'm Mr. Lupin's solicitor as well as the executor of Mr. Black's will, you see, and I'm here to discuss said piece of property and a few other matters with Harry on behalf of Mr. Lupin. May we have some privacy? My records say that Mr. Black was Harry's legal guardian, and…hmm…the will hasn't been formally read yet, we'll need to arrange a date for that with the bank and the other parties involved…but until it's been read, the law says that he's to be treated as an emancipated minor."
Vernon's face was a little redder, but he simply said, "Right, then. Ah, do you happen to know if the boy's parents left him anything then, Mr. Smith?"
Smith ruffled through some papers, muttering, "Hmm, let me see, ah yes. They left a substantial sum of money and quite a bit of property in trust with the bank until his seventeenth birthday, with a stipulation that any living expenses by his legal guardian or guardians be paid back in full from the inheritance. They also left him a smaller trust fund to be held by the bank until his eleventh birthday which is only to be used for school supplies and pocket money until his seventeenth birthday, at which time the remaining money is to be combined with his primary inheritance."
Vernon nodded. "So we're to be repaid for his living expenses, then?"
"I believe that Mr. Dumbledore made an arrangement with you to cover living expenses, and he was named legal guardian in the event that Mr. Black was unable to perform his duties, so yes, you are, but not directly by the will, you see. If you need help with having Mr. Dumbledore keep that arrangement, I'd be glad to act as your solicitor. Here's my card."
"Right. Thanks then. I'll leave you two be, then." Surprisingly, Vernon took the perfectly ordinary business card, which Harry could see said 'Smith Legal Services, All Cases, All People,' and left the room.
Harry stared at his teacher, who merely gave him the tiniest of smirks and gestured towards a chair. "Please, Harry, have a seat. We need to get to business, but first, I'm sure you have at least one question that's not directly related to the will?"
Harry gulped, and nodded. "Since when are you a Muggle solicitor?"
"Since about this time last year, when I got bored and decided to get a certification in British Law to match the one I have in British Wizarding Law. I have one in International Wizarding Law, too, for that matter. Is that all?" Harry nodded, and Smith continued. "Would you like to discuss your inheritance from your parents at all or should I skip to Black?"
Harry gulped again, and managed to get out "I think I understood what you told Uncle Vernon about my parents."
Smith nodded. "Right, then, although I can get the numbers involved to you next time I come, if you want. On to Black's will. Let me see…the parties invited are…Mr. Harry Potter, Mr. Remus Lupin, Mrs. Narcissa Malfoy, Mr. Draco Malfoy, Mrs. Andromeda Tonks, Ms. Nymphadora Tonks, Mrs. Bellatrix Lestrange, Mr. Peter Pettigrew, their next-of-kin if any of the above are deceased, and/or any solicitors any of the above wish to have present, with the stipulation that Mr. Albus Dumbledore, Mr. Lucius Malfoy, and Mr. Rudolphus Lestrange are under no circumstances to be present at the reading, even if any of the above are deceased and they are next-of-kin, under which circumstances…oh, this bit doesn't matter, all of them are alive. The only wishes for disposal of property or monies that are stated before the will reading are that the Black Family Manor, the location of which is currently under Fidelius Charm held by Mr. Albus Dumbledore, shall go to Mr. Harry Potter to be held in trust by Mr. Remus Lupin until Mr. Potter's seventeenth birthday. Is any date for the will reading particularly more convenient or inconvenient for you, Harry?"
"Ah…it'd be easier if we did it before school started up again, I think, but otherwise no. Can I make sure I have what you just told me straight, then?" Smith nodded. "Right, so the invitees besides me and Professor Lupin are Mrs. Malfoy, Malfoy the younger, Tonks and her mother, Bellatrix Lestrange, and Wormtail?"
"In essence, yes, but they're allowed to send their solicitors instead or bring a solicitor along."
"That's as long as the solicitors aren't Dumbledore, Rudolphus Lestrange, or Lucius Malfoy?"
"Got it. And the Black Family Manor…you know where it is, I know where it is, but we're not allowed to talk about where it is…anyways, it goes to you, but Remus is in charge of it until you turn seventeen."
Harry sighed. "It doesn't seem right, you know, getting a house because I got him killed."
Smith's demeanour changed in a second, from businesslike official to caring adult. "Harry, I know exactly what happened that night in the Ministry, and…well, all your friends are going to say it's not your fault, and all your enemies are going to say it was. I'm going to be logical. You can carry a bit of the blame, yes. You let yourself be fooled by a vision and a house-elf. On the other hand, you tried your damnedest to contact people in authority. Dumbledore was out of reach, Snape is the most unhelpful tosser in existence, the house-elf wouldn't let you talk to Black, and you were being beset by enemies in the form of Umbridge and her little Inquisition, and you half-panicked. You acted on the best information you had, went into a combat situation that was six to twelve. You incapacitated eleven and four of yours were incapacitated before reinforcements arrived. Your reinforcements and your remaining original ally got bloody well trounced by their reinforcement—Tommy-boy—and you lost someone you cared about, but then your second reinforcements—Dumbledore—held Tommy-boy until the Ministry actually got its act together. I'll say you did damned good from beginning to end. Six underaged wizards and witches took out eleven highly advanced Dark Wizards with no loss of life, although granted all suffered serious injury. You sprung their trap and overcame it, and yes, you lost Black, but you won. You led a battle effectively. Granted, Dumbledore's a better general than you are, but you're the best field commander I've ever seen, and I've seen many.
You lost a man, one you cared about, and you should grieve for him, and you blame yourself for being fooled, and all that, but think about this. Who sent you that vision? Voldemort. Who ordered the house-elf to lie to you? Narcissa Malfoy, who serves Lucius Malfoy, who serves Voldemort. Whose fault is it that Black spent nearly twelve years in prison? Pettigrew, who serves Voldemort. Who actually killed Black? Bellatrix, who serves Voldemort. Whose fault is it that there's a war that people like Black can die in going on at all? Voldemort. If you want to take your share of the blame for Black's death, by all means take it, but give other people their share of it too! Blame Voldemort. Blame Bellatrix. Blame Snape. Blame the bloody house-elf. Blame Narcissa, Malfoy, Pettigrew, Fudge, Umbridge, Dumbledore, hell, blame me. Do you know what I did during that battle? I went to go harass Malfoy's reinforcements, which were led by Pettigrew. I'm the one that made sure the only reinforcement they got was Voldemort. But I could have taken them out at the Ministry, and taken Bellatrix too, and Black would be alive. I take my share of the blame. I didn't like Black particularly, but he was a distant relation, my third cousin to be specific, I respected him, and he was a good man."
Harry's jaw dropped during this speech. This man he barely knew was telling him not that Sirius' death wasn't his fault, but that it wasn't all his fault, that there were others who had at least as much blame due to them as himself, and this man was making sense…and wasn't finished, just pausing for breath.
"More to the point, Harry, what's a better way to deal with this? Sitting around and engaging in a guilt-fest for his death, or living? Live for him, fight for him, fight for the cause he fought for, the cause he believed in, the cause he gave his life for. That's what he did for your parents, you know. He fought for them, fought for the cause they believed in, the cause they gave their lives for. And, like them, he fought for you and all the children like you that they wanted to grow up without a war. You're not a child anymore, I grant you, but fight for the children that you don't want to grow up like you. Do what you can."
Harry nodded. Smith was right. He had to fight. For Sirius, for his parents, for everyone who'd been lost to this war. "Thanks, Professor."
"Any time, Harry. I've lost friends to this war too, too many friends." An expression of old pain sat on his face.
"Um, Professor? Did you know my parents or Sirius at all well?"
"No, Harry, I didn't. I'm a bit younger than them, you see. I knew your parents a little, and I knew Sirius from family gatherings, but I wasn't close to them. Remus and I got along fairly well. Ironically, though, of all the Marauders, I was only actually friends with Peter. The Peter I knew died a long time ago, though, and only scraps of his ghost inhabit the shell that serves Voldemort." With that, Smith gave a wistful sigh, and piled his papers back into a briefcase. "I'd best be going then. I'll send you an owl with the date of the reading, and Remus and I will arrange your transportation there. Here's my card if you ever get in trouble with the law. I'll see you around." He snapped the briefcase shut, stood, and nodded. He opened the door, nodded to Mr. Dursley and exchanged a few polite words with him, and left.
