Harry wasn't far from Narcissa for the last few days. He was worried, not just a little bit. She looked more stable today, but he was still worried. Her eyes had lost a lot of their shine that day. He sighed and shook his head, while he walked down the stairs to join Sirius and Narcissa for breakfast.

"The duel is over. Winner: Lord Black." The dome had fallen in an instant, dissolving in a fit of sparkling dust. Harry didn't care about proper protocol for the moment, he ran over and hugged his godfather fiercely. The older man laughed, bringing his arms around the boy. Harry had been worried all morning. He did trust his godfather and his abilities but not Malfoy. He had been worried about what dirty trick the man could pull and while lethal was out he could have very much crippled his godfather. They had talked about this quite a lot beforehand because Narcissa had suggested doing this. Harry had been pretty much against it, saying this was a Lucius Malfoy thing to do and they wouldn't stoop so low. Sirius let go of Harry and the boy stepped back, making room for Lord Greengrass, who handed him his robe back.

"Well done Lord Black."

Sirius nodded putting on his robe again, smoothing the front for a moment.

"Thank you, Lord Greengrass." They then turned to the seething Lucius Malfoy, a glaring Draco and a rather silent Lord Nott. The goblin stepped forward nodding.

"The duel is over, the Wizengamot will be informed on the outcome." The goblin produced a scroll and a quill, holding both towards Lord Malfoy.

"My Lord, would you please?" The blond man, still holding the side of his face and his broken nose looked down at the parchment. Marriage Annulment was written on the top of it. He nodded. Of all the outcomes of this duel, this was one he didn't mind at all. Narcissa no uses to him any more. She had given him an heir and she couldn't provide access to the Black Fortune. He didn't mind pushing her away at all. She was too head-strong, not obedient enough for his taste. They hadn't shared the bed in years and he wouldn't mind finding a better alliance. Maybe Lady Zabini. Well, she was even more headstrong than Narcissa so maybe not. He signed the scroll with a feeling of relief.

"With this Lady Malfoy is Miss Black once more. Would you sign this too please Lord Malfoy?" The goblin produced a different scroll and Lucius mood, not doing well after being beaten by that blood traitor took a deep dive. This was the repayment for the dowery Narcissa had brought to their marriage. It was heavy about one-third of the Malfoy's vault. It wouldn't ruin him but it was quite a lot and he had to rethink a lot of his investments and maybe even his life-style something he really hated. Begrudgingly he signed the damn scroll, which vanished with a puff of smoke. The goblin nodded and bowed a little.

"Thank you, Lord Malfoy. Well now on to the last point of business." Harry stepped a little closer, eyeing his rival. The blond boy stared at the goblin with disgust and anger. He wasn't happy for his father to be beaten humiliated and presented as weak. He wasn't weak, he was a Malfoy, Malfoys were strong! The goblin turned to Draco.

"Mr Malfoy, I'm certain you are aware of the deal your father and Lord Black have made. Since the marriage of Miss Black and Lord Malfoy has been dissolved and Lord Black won the duel, it is your decision to which family you want to belong. What is your decision?"

Harry stared at the blond. He wanted him to leave Malfoy. Not for himself, but for Narcissa. She had been worried about Sirius, had been worried about the duel but most of all the had been worried what her Draco would say. She hadn't slept the entire night, thinking back and forth about this. Harry wanted her to be happy. He knew what it was like not being with family. So his heart dropped a bit when he saw the sneer on Draco's face appear.

"Like I would follow her to a house full of half-bloods and blood traitors. I will stay with my father. I am proud of being a Malfoy, not some stray dog that you take in. May she rot in that filthy company, she is no mother of mine!" The boy spat out shooting daggers with his eyes. Sirius sighed, shaking his head, while Harry just lowered his. He had feared something like this would happen but he had hoped for Draco to love his mother more.

The goblin nodded, making a snap with his finger.

"Very well, this will be marked in the Malfoy and Black family trees. That concludes our business here my Lords, Mr Malfoy. I wish you all a good day and may your enemies die in agony." The goblin doesn't seem to be aware of the venoms glares the Malfoys shot towards them, apparently thinking just that, but turned and started walking away.

Sirius nodded, making a little bow.

"Very well, Good Day Lord Malfoy, Lord Nott, Mr Malfoy." The blond man glared back at Sirius and almost spat out.

"Leave my property now!" Before turning and storming to his house. Nott followed right after. Draco glared at them for a moment, before spitting in front of Harry's feet and leaving as well. Sirius sighed shaking his head. Greengrass turned and the three of them started walking to the gate.

The older Lord turned his head, looking at Sirius.

"Once again Lord Black, my congratulations." Sirius nodded then shook his head.

"Thank you, Lord Greengrass but I think I lost more than I won." The older Lord raised his eyebrow.

"You mean the boy? Not a big loss if you ask me. Spitting in front of your heir's feet, no manners at all." Sirius nodded but sighed.

"Yes you are right, but he was family. My cousin will be heartbroken by this. I think you have two children yourself. I'm sure you can relate."

The man thought for a moment, nodding after a second.

"I guess that would be right. It would hurt me if Daphne or Astoria said something like that about me and my wife would rather die than hearing these words. My condolences to Miss Black." Sirius nodded slowly while putting his arm around Harry's shoulders. They reached the gate only 10 minutes after they arrived.

"Thank you, Lord Greengrass."

The older man nodded again turning so he faced Sirius.

"Lord Black I would like to invite you, Miss Black and Lord Peverell for dinner this evening." Sirius thought for a moment, then he shook his head.

"I would love to accept Lord Greengrass, but I don't think my cousin will be up for dinner this night and I wouldn't leave the family alone in such a difficult time." The older man nodded again.

"Absolutely understandable. Nothing should be more important than family. I would extend the invitation to this weekend if Miss Black would agree to it. It's important to leave the house in situations like these."

Sirius stared into the ice blue and really stern eyes of Lord Greengrass before nodding after a moment.

"I will see if Narcissa would like that. Of course, only if Lord Peverell agrees to it." For a moment Harry didn't react he was still getting used to being called this way.

"Oh uhm yes of course. Thank you." He smiled and the old Lord nodded in agreement.

"All right. Just owl me. Lord Black." He shook Sirius hand in a firm grip, who nodded.

"Lord Greengrass." Then the man turned and shook Harry's hand too.

"Lord Peverell." "Lord Greengrass." Then the man stepped back nodding once more.

"Have a good day." "You too." With that, the man turned and walked down the street. Harry and Sirius also turned walking side by side under the trees on the roadside. They walked slowly, both of them in thought.

"I'm not sure how I tell this to Cissy." Sirius stated after a while, looking up to the clouds in the sky, his hands in his pockets.

"She will be devastated. The boy is her world and for him to reject her. Cissy doesn't do well with rejection." Harry nodded, looking down at the pavement thinking for a while to himself.

"I think we should be honest with her. I know it will hurt her but this is something we can't lie about." Sirius nodded and they reached the public floo heart.

"You are right, but it will break her."

Sirius had been right, it had broken her. At first, Narcissa hadn't reacted at all, just staring at them, like she had problems to even understand their words. Had problems to even get what was going on. Then blind fury had contorted her face and she had screamed, gripping a flowerpot and slamming it to the ground. She had kept on screaming, not words but just hoarse screams of pain and fury. She ripped curtains, slammed and shattered everything that she could reach for. Harry and Sirius had stepped back, letting her vent as much of the pain she could, but when she slammed a glass door of one of the cabinets she had cut her hand deeply, not even noticing. Harry had stepped up, pushing his arms around her waist and had pulled the screaming woman against his chest.

For a moment she had kept screaming, her fists drumming against Harry's chest, before the screams had turned forming into sobs and she had just broken down, almost going limb against the boy and she had just started crying. For an hour she had been held by Harry, who let her cry into his shoulder, let her drain the sadness and hurt of being rejected by her own child she loved so so much. After that she had turned numb, apologizing for the damage and the cries and had returned to her room.

In that night Harry had been woken by the cries coming from her room. He had walked down the stairs and found a large black dog form lying in front of the locked door to Narcissa's room. He had knocked and after a while Narcissa had come out, wearing her night-robe before breaking down on the floor, again hugged by the young boy. Pads had nuzzled against her back and they had stayed there for almost the entire night. This had happened more than once the following nights. Numb days and tears at night. Sirius had taken up sleeping in front of her door every night now. Last night was the first night he hadn't been woken up by cries.

He finished his walk on the second floor looking at Narcissa's door. It was closed but there was no dog in front of it, meaning she was already up and out of her room. Sirius tended to stay close to her these days. It made Harry smile every time, seeing his godfather in his protector mode. He was a true guard-dog. Quickly he walked down the stairs, whispering.

"Kreacher." The elf popped into view, bowing to Harry.

"Heir Black has called Kreacher?" For the elf, he was Heir Black no matter what happened. His whole life revolved around the Black-family and so his own position in that family was central in the elf's mind.

"Yes, thank you for coming. Where are Sirius and Narcissa." The elf was still bowed. He was very respectful towards Harry. Young heir Black was good to Kreacher. Young heir Black always thanked him for his work, no one had ever done that to Kreacher. Young heir Black was fair when he dealt with Kreacher's punishment, making him do gruesome tasks like doing no cleaning for an hour or walk outside for at least twenty minutes. The only thing Kreacher didn't understand was the look on the Heirs face whenever he confessed one of his mistakes. The Heir would sigh and shaking his head, looking so disappointed with the gravity of his mistakes before making him sit in the garden for an hour and watch the clouds. Young Heir never punished Kreacher with pain, said it wasn't right to hurt the family. Kreacher understood what the young heir meant. A hurt Kreacher couldn't serve as well as a healthy one by that damaging the House of Black. Kreacher was amazed by the cleverness of Young Heir Black.

"Lord Black and Miss Black are in the sitting-room Young Heir Black." Harry nodded, smiling at the elf. He liked the elf, but he wished he wouldn't so devoted. He was lucky he had convinced him that making him taking breaks and do something relaxing were his "punishments". Yesterday the elf had confessed the "crime" of stepping into the dining room while their family had eaten. He had wanted to iron his hands for it. Instead, he gave him the punishment of sitting at the table and eat his own dinner there instead of a cupboard in the kitchen. The first thing he had changed was giving him a new place to sleep. Before the elf had slept in a cupboard under the stairs! That had hit way to close to home. So he gave him the smallest room that there was with a small bed. He had to wait for about an hour before Kreacher had come to him confessing he had scratched a floorboard while cleaning, giving Harry the opportunity to give the "harsh" punishment of an own room and bed. Sirius had chuckled and approved. Narcissa had shaken her head and sighed. That had been before the duel.

"Thank you, Kreacher. You may leave. And remember you have still the punishment of eating one piece of the cake today." Harry stated with a firm voice. The elf bowed deeply.

"Of course most honoured Heir of Black. Kreacher never forgets punishment." With a pop, the elf disappeared. Harry quickly made his way down the stairs and walked through the entrance hall. His lips smiled a little brushing over the crest on the floor. He never had been prideful or something like that but it was like the crest of Gryffindor it just felt right. Even more so the one on the front of his shirt. His finger brushed down the wand in the middle of his own crest. This was his. He could form House Peverell. Three hundred years no one had been Lord Peverell and now he had the chance to make it new. So he had picked up in always wearing the symbol. He pushed the door open finding Narcissa on one of the couches, staring outside the window. A black dog was lying on the couch next to her his head in her lap. She brushed her fingers through his fur, absentmindedly stroking the dog, who had closed his eyes. This was a familiar sight now for Harry. Narcissa wouldn't cuddle Sirius but when he was Padfoot it was something different. She would never let him place his human head in her lap but being that black grim, she had no problem like he was a real dog. Sirius had told him his grandfather had a similar great black dog, whom Narcissa had loved dearly. Sirius himself had loved the dog too and he thought he was one of the reasons his animagus form was just like that.

When he opened the door, the dog's ears twitched and he raised his head. That, in turn, made Narcissa turn her head and Harry saw the deep rings under her eyes. She hadn't slept this night either and he would put money on a silencing charm on her bedroom. Yet for the first time in all these days, a small smile appeared on her lips when she rose from the couch.

"Harry." She said, still smiling and a little warmth in her voice.

"Happy Birthday." He returned the smile when she walked over and scooped him into a hug. His hand snaked around her waist pulling her close, while his nose brushed against her shoulder, smelling the rose perfume she wore. It wasn't awkward anymore to hug Narcissa. First, it had been necessary for Harry, to hold the woman when she was hurting, crying, but he also did it now for comfort and not just for hers. He had felt quite comfortable with Narcissa he noticed, something Sirius noticed too and approved of. His cousin warmed up to Harry who had held her in this her darkest hour and he could see the love-starved boy sucked up all the warmth and closeness he could get.

She stepped back, brushing Harry's hair to the side for a moment, while still smiling. Her fingers lingered for a moment and she looked into these warm emerald eyes, behind simple glasses. Harry hadn't changed his glasses at all, stated he liked them and did not need others.

"Thank you, Narcissa." Then the animagus turned back to his human form and scooped up his godson in a bear hug, making Harry laugh and squirm.

"Happy birthday Prongslet! Fourteen, maaan it feels like yesterday Lils handed you to me for the first time!" Harry chuckled and melted into the hug of his godfather.

"Thanks, Padfoot." For a moment Sirius and he staid in the hug while the smile on Narcissa's face brightened a little more. She loved looking at the both of them together. It was clear as the sky that both of them adored the other. Harry woke a protectiveness and soft side in Sirius she had never seen before not even when they had been children and he had protected her from Bella. And Sirius made the boy just glow, almost bubbling with love and these green eyes always light up when he saw his godfather and the love with which he was showered, lapping it all up as a thirsty man did with water.

Sirius set Harry down again, still grinning still holding on to Harry's shoulder. The boy returned his grin, bright and happy. This was the first birthday he could really really enjoy with a family he thought.

Then Sirius nodded, smiling, before turning and picking something up. It was an envelope and a small parcel.

"Here you go Prongslet. Happy Birthday again." Harry's smile would have cut his head in half if his ears wouldn't have stopped it.

"Thank you Pads." He opened the envelope pulling a card out of it.

Quidditch Finals

Bulgaria - Ireland

25. August. Dartmoor

Harry stared at the simple flyer for a moment, his eyes bulging.

"Y-You take me to the Quidditch Finals?" Sirius chuckled at the gobsmacked expression of his godson, who stared at the flyer.

"Of course, but not just that. We have our own box, quite exclusive. You can invite as many friends as you want." After staring a moment at Sirius a bundle of happiness collided with Sirius midriff, making him chuckle.

"Thank you Pads. Thank you thank you thank you!" Harry laughed and smiled. Narcissa chuckled a little. Men and their Quidditch. After a while, Harry stepped back and opened the second parcel. It revealed a simple old hand mirror, making Harry look confused.

"Ah, oh...I know my hair is messy but I don't think this will help Pads." He said with a little chuckle, turning the mirror, only to halter. On the back was something engraved.

"Prongs" Harry whispered while his finger brushed over the letters.

Sirius nodded, stepping closer.

"Yeah, that's your dad's old communication mirror. I have one too. Only whisper my name to it." Harry did what he was told and after Sirius pulled up his own mirror, Harry could suddenly see Sirius face in the one he was holding. He blinked surprised.

"If you answer the two mirrors are connected and we can talk. It works very long distance and even in Hogwarts. I thought this might be better than just letters when you are back at school." This time Harry tackled Sirius to the floor and a few tears streamed down his face while he hugged his laughing godfather. The man hugged his godson and he laughed even louder while a little tear came to his eyes. Thank you Prongs, for this wonderful boy.

It took Harry quite a while to collect himself, still sniffing. He was in a loss for words when a delicate hand was placed on his shoulder. He turned to the smiling Narcissa. She herself held a small envelope in her hand, stretching it out to him.

"I wasn't sure what to get you Harry, a boy who is the Heir of one of the richest Lords in Britain and a Lord himself is a hard case. Also, you told me you don't really care about money and value." Her smile faltered only a little when Harry nodded. He was so not like her beloved Draco, but warm and so lovable. Was it betrayal on her part to like the boy? Was it a betrayal to like a boy that was so different to her own son? She shook her head slightly, banishing the thoughts. Not now, not on Harry's day. That were tomorrow thoughts.

"Anyway when we visited your mu-muggleborn friend she told me something from your second year and I thought you might like that."

Harry pulled out a simple letter. He recognised the hand of Professor McGonagall in it, with her slanted to the point writing.

Dear Mr Potter,

congratulations to your fourteenth birthday. Lady Malfoy has contacted me a few days ago and made an inqurie I was very happy to agree to. She asked me to inform you that Dobby the house-elf is employed at the kitchen of Hogwarts and is also paid for his work.

Have a nice day and a wonderful birthday.

With the best of wishes,

Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

For a second time this day, someone was tackled to the floor by a Harry, crying in happiness.

AN

I'm totally sorry, is an utterly confusing platform. I loaded up chapters for the last two days but didn't put them in this story, so yeah tones of new chapters today.

In case you wonder, McGonagall's letter was written before the Wizengamot happened, therefore still Lady Malfoy and Mr Potter, not Miss Black and Lord Peverell.

So yeah this is the first of a two-part birthday thing.

Question. Do I move to fast with the acceptance between Harry and Narcissa? I am not sure. It feels right, Harry yearning for a mother figure and Narcissa missing a loving child. But it could be to fast. There might be setbacks in this in the future.

Also, Lord Greengrass is difficult to get right. I want him stern and collected. Also, I forgot int the last chapter, the inspiration for Lord Greengrass is Tywin Lannister. Just imagine Charles Dance when you read him and yeah. It is really difficult to describe his hair.

So yeah this is out, I think I can now reveal Narcissa will stay for the long run. She will turn into something of a mother for Harry, a stern but loving mother, while both will be fighting with the concept, because is it okay for Narcissa to love another child and is Harry betraying the memory of Lily when he lets someone else take that role? These will be questions both of them will have to themselves. And a very clumsy Padfoot in the middle.

What do you think about the Kreacher/Harry dynamic? I am a little unsure if I write the house-elf right being a little unnoticing of Harry's way to make him "happy". Also, I thought long if Dobby should be employed by house Black but I like the way Harry and Kreacher interact and I think another elf would be a problem. There will be changes in his interaction towards Sirius in the future when Harry gives him the chore of taking care of Padfoot while he is in school.