AN: I know! What a surprise to have another chapter out so soon! I just knew that I wouldn't be able to write much because of work, so I wanted to go ahead and get this out.
I'm still deciding on which pairing to do. This was originally meant to be Snarry, but I am having a hard time deciding between this or Harrymort.
(I might just have to make an AU of this AU)
As soon as Harry mentioned taking back Grimmauld Place, Severus couldn't stop his lips from quirking up the slightest in an impressed smirk. If the Order were to lose their headquarters, it would be one step closer to getting rid of Dumbledore.
"Sirius had a will made not long before he died. I think he knew something was bound to happen and wanted to make sure I would have a place when I was older. Since I wasn't seventeen, I wasn't allowed to receive my inheritance from him yet. All I know is that he left me the house and included me as his heir." Having not heard of this before, the potions professor seemed intrigued.
"You'll be a Potter-Black." Severus said and Harry hummed, nodding slightly.
"I should hope you'll only call me 'Potter' I've gotten used to that after all," Harry smirked at Snape's expression. "Once I claim them, it'll give Dumbledore even less leeway on trying to force me to do things I don't want any part of, except when I'm at Hogwarts." The smirk turned into a frown at the thoughts of what was to come.
"Which is why you'll need my assistance during that time," Snape mutters quietly, realizing how much the younger wizard had already thought of. Seeing how calculating the young man was made the professor wonder where this intelligence had been at during his classes, or if the other had purposefully fooled all of them again. Harry just nodded, but years of being a trained spy enabled Snape to see the slight apprehension. "Worried?" He inquired, looking at the emerald eyes.
"A little, I suppose. I'm not really sure what to expect mostly. I've gone for the usual withdrawals from my trust vault and all of that, but never for something like this." He sighed.
"I take it you've never had an inheritance test before?" At the questioning look, Snape elaborated. "It's a test taken by purebloods and halfbloods mainly. Muggleborns occasionally take it, but it's not as common. It serves as a way for a witch or wizard to see what families they belong to. There are many ancient houses that are close to extinction and when that happens, the inheritance test allows the line to continue on." Harry nodded in understanding, thinking about what his professor was saying.
"It makes sense. Especially when you consider Lord or Ladies fostering illegitimate children and trying to hide it. A lot of purebloods try to hide it, but it happens." The raven-haired wizard sighed again, thinking about the inheritance test that he would probably have to take. "When did you take yours?" Harry asked, glancing to his professor.
"When I graduated Hogwarts. I never had any use for it until that point. I was too focused on my studies to worry about being a lord."
"Lord Prince?" Harry asked, happy that he had caught his professor off guard, even if it was only for a moment.
"How did you figure that out, Potter?"
"Your book. The Half-Blood Prince." Again, Snape's surprise was evident. "It didn't take too long to figure it out. You had been my teacher for six years at that point, so it wasn't hard to see that the writing style was the same. The only thing that had stumped me for a bit at that point was the Prince part, but after going through some old books, it was easy to pinpoint that prince was the last name of your mother. I knew you weren't egotistical enough to refer to yourself as a prince without something connecting it." Snape was impressed as he looked at the clever wizard, looking at him in a new light.
"Why do I have a feeling you've also been tricking all of Hogwarts by downplaying your abilities?" Harry chuckled softly; eyes gleaming.
"Looks like you're starting to understand the real Harry Potter. You're not wrong though. I had to constantly be behind at certain subjects so that Dumbledore wouldn't question my abilities. I was better off having him think of me as an average wizard instead of one that was to be used as a weapon." They kept walking despite having passed the apparition point long ago.
"Do you plan on walking all the way to Gringotts?" Severus smirked and Harry paused, laughing a bit.
"No. I was just enjoying our conversation." He said, missing the soft look in the professor's gaze. "I'm ready if you are?" At Snape's nod, they both apparated outside of Gringotts.
"You need to be quick. The Order is on high alert here." Snape muttered quietly, ushering the younger Wizard inside the building.
Once inside, Harry gave a sigh of relief he wasn't aware he had been holding. From the little research he had don't about the Goblins, he knew that they were neutral in the war and that this area was confidential. Moving forward, Harry let a genuine smile etch across his lips as he noticed an old friend.
"Hello, Griphook." The said Goblin looked up and gave a toothy smile.
"Mister Potter. It's been a while."
"How is your family? I heard your son was just married." Snape watched with awe as his student conversed with the Goblin eagerly. He would have to ask him later about the closeness with the Goblins.
"Yes. He works at the branch in America now. He was promoted not too long ago." Harry lit up at the news.
"Please send him my sincerest congratulations." Griphook nodded, soon becoming professional in a matter of seconds.
"So, what brings you here today, Mister Potter?"
"I wish to claim my lordships, and perhaps have an inheritance test." Nodding, the Goblin stood up, beckoning the man to follow.
"Retrieve the Potter and Black files, and lordship rings." He ordered another Goblin, who Harry hadn't recognized. "Do you wish for Mister Snape to accompany you?" The Goblin eyed the tall wizard, and Harry smirked.
"Yes. I trust him." Satisfied with that answer, he continued on his way, the two wizards following him into what appeared to be a meeting room. It wasn't long until other Goblin appeared, who Harry now knew as Ricbert, with all the needed tools at hand. One tool was a small dagger and a bowl, and Harry knew that that entailed.
"Before we let you claim your lordships, it would be in your best interest to do the inheritance test first. There is always a possibility that there is an open lordship that needs to be claimed." Passing the bowl forward, Griphook took the knife and instructed Harry where to cut.
After the blood was in the bowl and wound healed, the contents began to glow before leaving behind a piece of paper.
Name: Harry James Potter-Black
Birth: 31st July 1980
Parents:
Father: James Fleamont Potter (Deceased)
Mother: Lily Jasmine Potter. Nee Evans (Deceased)
Godparents:
Godfather: Sirius Orion Black (Deceased)
Godmother: Alice Morgan Longbottom. Nee Greengrass (st. mungos)
Siblings:
Sister: Hermione Jean Granger (Blood Adoption)
Inheritance:
Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter (Paternal)
Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Black (Heir)
Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Malfoy (Maternal) (Taken by Lucius Abraxas Malfoy)
Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Lestrange (Maternal) (Taken by Corvus Lestrange)
Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Peverell (Paternal)
Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Gaunt (Horcrux) (Taken by Tom Marvolo Riddle Jr)
Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Gryffindor (Paternal)
Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Slytherin (Horcrux) (Taken by Tom Marvolo Riddle Jr)
Soul Magic:
Horcrux in scar (Tom Marvolo Riddle Jr. )
Contracts:
Marriage: Ginevra Molly Weasley and Harry James Potter-Black (Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore and Molly Weasley)
Harry was left gaping at all the information that lay before him, his eyes wide as he looked at the last two bits of information. So, he was a Horcrux. The thing that Dumbledore had been trying to get him to destroy last year. He wanted to be sick knowing that a part of Voldemort was in him, but what made matters worse were the things Dumbledore had told him.
"We must destroy all of his horcruxes if we are to rid of Lord Voldemort for good. You are the chosen one, Harry. The prophecy is about you, and we must all do what we can to make sure it is met." The memory struck a core within him, his heart sinking to the pits of his stomach. He was a Horcrux too, and he knew that Dumbledore had to know that as well. He fights down the fury that is slowly rising up, concealing his magic with ease. This was the plan form the beginning, wasn't it? For Harry to obediently charge into battle and get himself killed so the Horcrux in him would be destroyed too.
Fuck that.
He looks up, meeting the concerned obsidian eyes. He's not sure why, but having Snape here helps him calm down even more.
"Harry?" It was the first time that Snape had ever called him by his first name, but he knows the professor must know something is up. He's been quiet for too long.
"Dumbledore always told me that I was connected with Voldemort." Harry begins, starting to watch as Snape narrows his eyes in even more concern. "It turns out I am the thing he wants me to destroy. A horcrux." He sees the way Snape tenses, his normally pale face turning ashen. "It's the reason he wants me to fight Tom so badly. He wants me to get myself killed." He blinks away the angry tears, knowing that they needed to go back to Voldemort after all of this. It was unlikely that the man knew of this. If he had, it was unlikely that there would have been so many attempts on his life.
"Also, to add insult to injury," Harry scowled at the section about the marriage contract. "He and Molly Weasley created a marriage contract between me and Ginny." He glared at the offending piece of paper.
"That can easily be taken care of, Mister Potter." Griphook informed soothingly, his small hands clasped together. "As Dumbledore was never your legal magical guardian, nor Molly Weasley, that contract will become void as soon as you accept your lordships." The Goblin smirked at the paper, then Harry. "Which are quite a few. "
"More than I need." Harry immediately says, glancing at the long list of family names. Even Snape seemed impressed, but he hummed.
"However, the more Lordships you have, the more protection you have against Dumbledore." That quickly gained Harry's attention as he turned to Snape, head tilted in confusion.
"How do you mean?"
"Lordship rings often come with their own protection. My Prince ring protects me from compulsion spells, as well as potions." Severus explained, looking over the list of the available lordships.
"If it helps, Mister Potter, most Lordships are a private matter. You're only expected to show them when you're at certain events, and even then you don't need to list all of them." The Goblin glanced at the four available lordships to be claimed. "The only one that doesn't have a ring is the Gryffindor one. From what the stories say, he was most adamant about wearing his lordship as a necklace."
If doing all of this would go against Dumbledore even more, then Harry wasn't about to pass up the opportunity.
"I'll claim them." Harry spoke up.
Griphook smiled sharply, eyes gleaming at the prospect of not only helping a friend but receiving an extra bonus for doing this.
After the matter was all settled, Harry stayed close to Snape's side, dreading the thought of going back out to Diagon Alley.
"I didn't think I would say this, but we need to get back to Tom. I doubt he knows about what really happened that night." Severus gave a brisk nod, scanning the surroundings through the window to make sure there was no Order member.
"Side along apparition would be easiest then. Hold onto my arm when we go out. It'll be more efficient." Harry hated side apparition, but agreed nonetheless. "Alright. Come along, Potter." Harry quickly followed after and made sure to grab Snape's arm. Once they were outside, he caught a flash of red hair and his entire body froze. Lucky for him, Snape's quick reflexes had them disapparting before the redheads could notice them.
Harry stumbled once they landed, but strong arms and a steady chest stopped the younger from falling.
"You've always been more graceful in the air, Potter." Snape mumbled, keeping the other man steady.
"Side apparition is horrible, and you know it." Harry groaned into the available chest, soon flushing at how close they were.
"I should hope you have no intentions of getting sick on me." Snape left a hand on his side, in case the other was to stumble again.
"Nah, I'm fine." Harry pulled away, still flushed. "I am ready to see Tom's reaction to this though." He informed; hand still curled around the precious paper. Severus' lips twitched as he nodded.
"Indeed. He's likely to be in his study now since the meeting is over." Snape informed, walking with Harry into Riddle Manor.
"It really wasn't my intention to come back here. He might think that I've already changed my mind about not joining him." Harry groaned again, watching as Snape waved his hand and the doors magically opened. "That was easier than what I did earlier."
"Do I dare ask what you did to get in, Potter?" The younger smirked.
"Would you believe me if I said Parselmagic?" Snape sighed. Another thing that Harry had managed to keep hidden from his professors.
"Considering that the Dark Lord does it, yes." He led Harry to the entryway, knowing his lord would be there soon.
He was right. His use of magic had gotten the Dark Lord's attention and he was there within moments.
"Severus?" The other wizard glanced to Harry and quirked a brow. "I hadn't been expecting either of you to return. Not Potter at least." He tilted his head, observing the duo. "Has something happened?"
"You could say that, Tom," Harry mumbled, his magic flaring up again slightly. "Doesn't something always happen when Dumbledore is involved?"
"Hmm, yes. I thought you knew this by now. So, what happened?" Tom smirked. :Or are you here to join me again so soon?: Harry rolled his eyes, huffing fondly.
:Maybe one day, Tom.: "This is important though," Harry spoke seriously, gaining the Dark Lord's immediate attention. "I think this paper will give you all the answers you need." Harry passed him the paper, ready to see his reaction.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please R&R so that way I know how you feel about it.