Chapter Twenty-One: Sirius' Will

For the next week, Harry brooded on the upcoming reading. Except for DA, his week was rather dull. Friday night, Harry made sure that he had everything he may have needed for the next day. He made sure he had his white robes ready and his second wand tucked inside. Harry awoke at eight o'clock on Saturday and got dressed. When he made his way down to the common room, his friends offered to accompany him.

"Thank you but no thanks," said Harry, "After the reading, I'm going to be making a few stops and I'll probably just want to be alone. Well, I had best be off."

Harry apparated to the Leaky Cauldron and went to Gringotts. Upon his arrival, Harry was led to a conference room where only Remus Lupin sat.

"Now that we're all here, I am Ragnok Gringotts, president of the bank. Let's get down to business shall we?" said the goblin, "Ahem…

To Whom It May Concern:

If this is being read aloud to Remus J. Lupin and Harry J. Potter, then I am no longer in the realm of the living. It is my final wish that, if possible, my body be buried in Godric's Hollow, next to my only family: James and Lily Potter. I hereby name Remus Lupin as the executor of my will. I leave thirty percent of any money left in the Black family vault and my home at Grimmauld Place to my brother, Remus. The other seventy percent and the entire contents of the vault shall be given to my son, Harry. May the wizarding world lift itself from the ashes from whence I left.

Sincerely,

Sirius Black

"When is the funeral, Moony?" asked Harry, silent tears running down his face.

"Next summer, I trust only myself to plan it and at the moment I am rather busy with the Order," responded Lupin.

When the reading was finished, Harry was led to the Black family vault. After Harry looked through the vault, he found that it was mostly along the lines of the Potter family vault. Harry slowly became overwhelmed with sadness and grief ad asked that any and all curses be lifted and that he be notified when they were. After Harry left, he went to Hogsmeade and set up some alarms that would notify him of an attack. He then went to the castle and set up alarms throughout the grounds and corridors. As Harry was finishing up, he was approached by Dumbledore.

"Harry, I would like to organize a training session for tomorrow," said Dumbledore, "Professors McGonagall, Snape, Flitwick, Strindell, Hagrid, and I would act as attackers. It would be the job of the Phoenix Guard to stop and detain us. Do you think this would be a good idea?"

"It sounds great. It should be rather fun," said Harry, "Oh, and I apologize in advance if we hurt any of you."

"Now, now my dear boy. Don't get cocky," chuckled Dumbledore as he left.

'Members of the Phoenix Guard, please meet me in the Great Hall. Do not change into your uniforms.'

As Harry arrived, he found the Phoenix Guard assembled and waiting for him.

"Hey guys," said Harry, "I just thought you would all like to know that Professor Dumbledore and I have decided to have a training exercise tomorrow. Now, don't worry, it should prove fun to a certain extent. Professors McGonagall, Snape, Flitwick, Strindell, Hagrid, and Dumbledore will be acting as intruders and it will be our job to detain them. As you probably know, we outnumber them two to one but don't get too cocky, they've got quite a few tricks up their sleeves. Now I have sensors all over the castle so I'll be able to direct you to your opponent. All right, the moment you guys have been waiting for: the match ups. Dean and Seamus, you two will face Hagrid. You had better use your Animagus transformations because spells don't affect him, they just bounce off him. Ron and Neville, it's your lucky day, you two are facing Snape. Hermione and Ginny, you've got McGonagall. Ernie and Hannah, you two can have Flitwick. Cho and Luna, you guys have got Strindell. Katie and I are going to single out the big man himself, Dumbledore. Now, get some rest, it's going to be a long day tomorrow. One more thing, don't hurt them too bad. Be ready for patrol by ten, night."

"Harry, why did you want to have me as your partner against Dumbledore?" asked Katie, "Wouldn't someone like Ron or Hermione be better? I mean, we've never really fought side by side or anything."

"Katie, I know that together, we can take Dumbledore. You have to trust yourself. Besides, this could be an opportunity for you to practice your Parsel Magic. Don't worry, we'll be fine," encouraged Harry.

"If you say so…" said Katie with doubt, "I'm still not that confident in myself."

"Well, I have enough confidence in you for the both of us," said Harry.