A Crown of Black Upon His Head
Disclaimer/Plot/Author's Note: SEE FIRST CHAPTER
Recommended Reads: Silver King and Trickshot by JustBored21, A Second Chance by Breanie, Ascension by PerseusPeverell092, The Crimson Sorcerer by TwistedFilms, My Child by DebsTheSlytherinSnapefan, The Rise of the Last Potter by HPfanfictioner66, Hadrian Potter- The Snake like Lion and Hadrian Potter- Black and the Gauntlet of Gryffindor by Lord of mystics, Worthy of Magic by Raul Fictitious, Harry Potter and the Prince of Slytherin by The Sinister Man, A Chance Encounter and The Slytherin Reformation by spectre4hire and Harry Black Book 1: The Hero's Return, Harry Black Book 2: The Rising Darkness, Harry Black Book 3: The SPIRE, Harry Black Book 4: The Coming Dawn and Harry Black: Book 1 (Definitive Edition)by AuthorK
Key Pairing: Harry/Daphne; Neville/Hermione
Other Pairings: Sirius/Amelia; Others TBD
Normal Speech
'Thoughts'
/Parseltongue/
Review Answers:
WhiteElfElder: All will be revealed in due course;
RyanMK666: I just sort of made that bit up as I went along with it: weird? Maybe, but it seems to have worked;
Nagiten: I made a change to the last chapter, which shows Harry turned his back on Percy, and didn't turn back, not even when he triggered his pendant's charm – though Percy saw its chain when Harry pulled it from under his collar, hence why he called it a necklace;
Tactical Trunk Monkey: I know: as I said to another friend, when I started writing this story, I imagined Arcturus and, straight away, I saw that legendary modern actor, mostly based on his GoT portrayal, but also with a cold edge that just made him seem perfect right away!
"Be silent, boy."
The stranger did not raise his voice, much like Harry himself was known not to do, and yet, everyone trembled with a chill that rivalled the September cold outside, if not made it look more like a summer heatwave, while Percy's jaws actually snapped shut as the stranger turned his gaze on Harry, who actually gulped and trembled as the stranger addressed him.
"I trust there is a good reason for activating the Emergency Summons built into your Heir's Pendant, Harrison. You know the penalty for wasting my time on mundane affairs, especially when, last we spoke, you assured me you could handle such trivial matters yourself."
Chapter 6: Black Kings and White Pawns
Amelia Susan Bones, Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, didn't know whether to be angry, terrified or just plain speechless when, after being emergency-summoned by her niece, Susan Rose Bones, she walked into Dumbledore's office, only to find a very impossible sight greeting her.
First and foremost, there, bound and gagged in front of the Headmaster's desk, but still-whimpering and thrashing against said bonds, was none other than Peter Pettigrew whom, for nearly ten years, everyone in Magical Britain had known was dead, after being murdered and betrayed by former friend, now Azkaban inmate – and, at the time of incarceration, Amelia's boyfriend and almost-fiancé – Sirius Orion Black.
However, there was an even-more impossible sight waiting for Amelia: namely the tall, imposing terror of a visage that belonged to one of the most ruthless, unorthodox and dangerous individuals that any Dark Wizard would have to be suicidal to want to go up against.
Arcturus Septimus Black, standing shoulder-to-shoulder – well, shoulder-to-the-top-of-the-other-male's-head, to be exact – with Harry James Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, who barely even jerked his head in Amelia's direction when she walked into the office.
To Amelia's horror, however, not only was the infamously-feared Black King in attendance, but there was also a dead, decaying body splayed out on the floor of Dumbledore's office, not two feet from where Amelia stood. The body had evidence of being disintegrated by the decay eating away at it, while a burned purple turban sat to one side, revealing the back of the body's head, which was heavily-blackened and as foul-smelling as it could possibly be.
"M…M…Merlin's beard!" gasped Amelia, earning a clearing of the throat from Arcturus.
"Ignore that fool's corpse, Director Black; he was dead the moment he started feeding on the blood of unicorns to sustain his symbiotic parasite of a not-quite-so-dead Master. Of course, if I know Cornelius and his ilk, as well as Albus here, neither will admit to actually having knowledge of the possession, much less the identity of the parasite in question. Therefore, we can close the book on that particular problem, for now; in the meantime, if you'd be so kind as to join us. My heir and I have important family business, which, as the fiancée of my descendant, should also involve you…please."
"I…I didn't…he never…I don't…"
"Director," said Harry, his voice as cool and clipped as Arcturus' as he turned to the white-faced Amelia, his eyes boring into her skull, their glare and colour so familiar and well-known to the Director, as well as the trigger for happier, more-loving times.
As Amelia found herself unable to look anywhere, but at the son of a woman who'd become something of a sister to her, she gulped hard as Harry indicated an empty seat on the other side of where Pettigrew was still trying, and evidently failing, to escape his bonds.
"Please sit; the Headmaster has been kind enough to provide lemon drops laced with a Calming Draught, so help yourself."
A gasp of shock from behind Harry told Amelia that, apparently, Albus did lace his sweets with such an added potion, but, at the same time, they also told her that he hadn't known that Harry knew of this little trick against those who came into the office.
And yet, it explained so much to Amelia, who went into Director-Mode as she walked towards the desk, while she explained, "Because of all that I see here, Albus, I am ignoring the remark this one time. However, in future, I suggest you either acquire the required permissions to provide such laced materials to your guests or stick to non-potioned treats for your guests…at the same time, may I also say what an honour it is to meet you at last, Patriarch Black?"
"You may," said Arcturus, watching along with Harry as Amelia took a seat and, as Harry had suggested, she also took one of Albus' drops, though not without glaring suspiciously at Dumbledore as she popped the sweet into her mouth.
As she felt the effects of the draught going to work, Amelia hummed softly before she leaned back in her seat as she looked between the three gentlemen, her voice softer, but no-less formal, as she asked, "All right, so would you mind explaining why my niece thought it important to use an emergency signal that should only be used in matters of life and death necessity?"
"Actually, Director, the Emergency Signal built into all Heirs and Heiresses Symbols of Status is a life-preserver, this is true, but it is also an essential kit required, should the Head of the Family, even a proxy or Regent such as yourself, be needed without wasting time on an owl or Floo Call," answered Harry, earning a soft tap to his shoulder from his Grandfather's cane, earning a gulp from Harry as he looked back to Amelia.
"However," said the young boy, his voice tinged by a brief note of intimidation, undoubtedly at the reaction from Arcturus, as he went on. "For what it is worth, I am grateful for your quick arrival, Ma'am; as a former friend of my family, I felt it necessary to trust no other with this injustice. And, of course, if you do wish to know more later about what happened to the now late-and-ex-Professor Quirrell, my Grandfather and I will, gladly, indulge that curiosity…provided it does not reach the ears of the supposedly-noble and neutral Minister or his Cabinet."
"Grandfather?" asked Amelia, looking up at Arcturus – who'd apparently chosen to remain standing, as had Harry, while both Amelia and Albus were still in their seats – who nodded once as he gently patted Harry's shoulder, this time with a hand.
"In the formal-familial sense, Director," explained Arcturus, earning a flicker of a smile from Harry as he went on. "Harrison's grandparents, Merlin bless them, were, as is well-known, Charles and Dorea Potter, as well as Rosemary and Clive Evans, may they rest in peace. Dorea, as is equally known, was a Black by birth, my cousin, as your fiancé, Sirius, was and is my foolhardy, recklessly-minded grandson. Ergo, upon failure of Sirius' true duty…I wonder why…"
He glared daggers at Dumbledore, who, for the first time since Amelia knew him, seemed to shrink in his seat under the weight of Arcturus' glare, while the elder Black continued, "It fell to relations to deal with the problem concerning young Harrison's wellbeing, especially since, prior to his foolish choices, Sirius not only swore the required oaths and performed all necessary rites to become the child's godfather; he also named Harrison as his heir by, with permission from James, adopting Harrison as his son and heir!"
"Harrison James Potter-Black," said Harry in a matter-of-fact voice, indicating a certain portrait behind Dumbledore as he added, "A fact that I am sure Great-Grandfather Phineas shared with you and your small cabinet on my first night, Headmaster."
"I did indeed, child," said Phineas, chuckling softly as he looked to Arcturus before he added, "And I thank you for letting me be the one to deliver the terrible news to that coward, Severus Snape, my grandson. You should have seen his face: priceless!"
"I didn't need to see it, Phineas," argued Arcturus, before he gently tapped his 'grandson' on the shoulder once more, "I witnessed the man's constant looks of fear and dread whenever Harrison walked into the Great Hall or passed him in the corridors on the way back to the Slytherin dungeons. Personally, my only regret is that the business at hand today stops Harrison from getting a much closer look at Severus Tobias Snape's actions in his first Potions class."
"He would have only had us brewing the Anti-Furunculous Potion, Grandfather," argued Harry coolly, before he actually scoffed as he looked to Dumbledore, "Personally, Headmaster, were it not for Grandfather's wish for me to have the full experiences here, I'd have made my request to Madam Marchbanks to grant me permission to go to the Advanced Studies and be put ahead a year or two by now."
"She would not have accepted it, Ha…" Albus began, before he was cut off as he went to use the boy's name, by Arcturus' warning glare and what sounded like a low, threatening growl from said man.
"What were you going to say, Headmaster?"
"I…I meant to…to say Mr…Mr Potter-Black," said Albus nervously, actually tugging at his collar as he explained, "Of course, Arcturus; we must remain professional, must we not? However, if…if I might ask: was it truly necessary to…to trigger James' life-debt over Severus?"
"Compared to what?" asked Arcturus darkly, a note of warning and hatred in his voice as he explained, "I do not need your platitudes, nor your word, to know for a fact that, Slytherin or no, Severus Tobias Snape is, was and always will be, until the Lord releases him, or death takes him, a vassal and servant to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter. However, without the magic reminding him of this, he would have been left free to belittle and demean my heir, in the name of one-sided, impotence-driven vengeance and justice over the memory of a fallen warrior, whom, before you say it, Albus, I know had quite a lot to do with Harrison and what happened to his late parents."
"What?" asked Amelia, a note of horror in her voice, while her eyes flicked between Harry, Arcturus and Dumbledore as she asked, "How…how is that possible, Albus? I…I know you…you vouched for Snape in the…the aftermath of the War, but…but if he had something to do…"
"It is not necessary for this to become public knowledge, Amelia."
"Are you attempting to pervert the course of justice, Headmaster?" asked Harry calmly, nodding towards Amelia as he added, "I am certain that, as Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Regent Bones here could call that reason enough to warrant a vote of no confidence. After all, as Grandfather himself said, we're not quite certain what caused my oath-sworn godfather, adoptive Father and fellow Black Family member, not to mention Regent Black's intended, to choose vengeance over loyalty to that, which he swore, in blood, would always take precedent!"
Amelia did not know what to say in response to that!
She'd heard from Susan that Harry Potter was something of an enigma, but to be this articulate, and sound this dangerous, even to a man with Albus Dumbledore's reputation…
Yep, he'd definitely been raised by Arcturus.
Dumbledore, meanwhile, tried to regain the moral ground and control, "Ha…Mr Potter-Black, I…I am sure there are…are many questions you wish answered, but this…"
"Is neither the time nor the place," finished Harry, before he sighed softly as he looked up to Arcturus, who nodded silently, before Harry looked back to Dumbledore, "Very well, Headmaster: let us play this game your way. First: would you mind if I borrowed your Pensieve?"
Albus suddenly went white, "For…for…for what?"
"I wish to share information and receive it in kindness; tit-for-tat, is that not the way?" asked the Slytherin boy, earning another surprised look from Amelia, while Harry cleared his throat as he continued, "So, I will share, with you and the Director, who it was that informed me of that coward's crimes, as well as the suspicions surrounding Sirius' innocence, and you will give me just cause to take your name off of the very short list of those who I suspect were responsible for Sirius changing his mind in the first place: deal?"
Dead silence filled the office, broken only by Pettigrew's whimpers, while Harry then looked to Amelia as he added, "Furthermore, Director: I will give you the real, full memory of what actually happened to poor, unfortunate, but also-foolish Professor Quirrell, and, in return for this knowledge, you will consider making your potential affiliation with House Black a full-time association: in short, once he is free, you will accept Sirius' proposal and become the new Lady Black. As an added bonus, should you and Sirius conceive an heir, I will, gladly, surrender the Black Family mantle and Lordship to the trueborn son of the Black Family Head, deal?"
More silence, broken by more whimpers.
Harry, meanwhile, looked back to Albus as he added, "Or, alternatively, seeing as how I fear those memories I share might reveal certain elements that are being revealed too early in the game, you just be the Chief Warlock here, deal with a miscarriage of justice and assist Grandfather, Sirius and I in making sure that no more fools and madmen attempt to bring back the Dark Times of ten years ago and before: what do you say, Chief Warlock Dumbledore: is that a deal?"
As Director, Amelia wanted to say something about Harry's willingness to hide what was, clearly, important information and relevance to a possible crime, but, at the same time, the way he worded it, it almost made it sound like, instead of playing by someone else's playbook – meaning Albus Dumbledore's – Harry was actually the one writing the playbook and offering the next step, which, eventually, would either result in victory or defeat.
He hadn't decided…yet!
Albus, however, made his choice, "Very well, Mr Potter-Black: as Chief Warlock, and on the honour of my bloodline and what your parents meant to me, I give you my word: Sirius shall be freed, and returned to the fold, before Halloween."
"If not sooner," said Arcturus, earning a flicker of a smirk from Harry as the old man asked, "After all, who better than one from the Blacks to teach the students Defence Against the Dark Arts? I'm sure I don't need to remind you, Albus of who was second to James when he graduated with a Defence NEWT and had ambitions to join the Dark Force Defence League, plus who it was that trained him and James…now, do I?"
"I have to agree with my Grandfather," said Harry calmly, before he shrugged in a nonchalant way as he locked eyes with Dumbledore.
"I mean, who did you have in mind to teach our class, Headmaster? Some nobody like…oh, what was that famous author's name? Oh yes, I remember now…Gilderoy Lockhart?"
Black
Ten minutes.
Albus' hopes, dreams, plans and ideas for what sort of future he might be able to steer Harry down, even though the boy was a Slytherin, went from for the Greater Good to forgotten and forsaken in just ten minutes.
While he didn't admit that he had known that Mr Pettigrew was hiding with the Weasleys, whom he'd hoped he would be able to use the surprise discovery as a means of bringing them together after their youngest and, currently, eldest student members had screwed Harry's hopes already with that damn Howler, Albus also silently confessed that he was both alarmed and impressed by the fire in Harry.
He also admitted, if only to himself, how he'd intended for Quirinus and his parasite to face Harry, up on the third floor, when he went after the Stone, which would give Albus a taste of Harry's power and how he might help convince the boy that the only true path lay in self-sacrifice.
And, of course, he knew of the fact that it was Severus who'd gotten the ball rolling by snooping on the interview and overhearing the prophecy, but, at the same time, he'd been prepared with a memory of Severus arguing in Lily and Harry's favours and, as an emergency last resort, even a treasured memory for Severus showing him weeping over Lily in Godric's Hollow that night.
After all, how would Harry know that, while Pettigrew had betrayed the Potters, Severus was actually toasting their deaths and getting ready to make the best of the worst situation by making sure his 'sacrifices' for the Light were rewarded?
Simple: he wouldn't – and, apparently, he still didn't.
But, in the space of ten minutes, Harry not only shot down Dumbledore's ideas about Severus, and the 'sacrifice' he would help inspire later-on, but he also made damn sure that Albus knew that, at this moment in time, Harry held all the cards.
Knowledge, as they say, was power.
And Harry was basically Merlin with what he knew, even though, even after a week of watching and wondering, Albus still hadn't known how he knew anything about anything or anyone.
But then, Arcturus had walked into the school, bold as brass, alive and well, and Albus' plans started crumbling.
By the time Amelia called on Kingsley, as well as a new trainee Auror named Nymphadora Tonks – whom Albus remembered had graduated from Hogwarts at the end of last year and, apparently, went highly recommended into training with Alastor, even though the latter had meant to have retired – what had started crumbling, now lay in ruins, ashes and sandy dust clouds that blew off into the wind as Albus watched the Aurors drag Pettigrew away.
Harry, meanwhile, now sat in a chair, arms folded, legs crossed and eyes fixed on Dumbledore, a cool, calm expression in his eyes as he reached over and, to Albus' shock, he helped himself to a lemon drop, crunching it loudly.
"Mmm, delightfully tangy, yet robust…you must give me your potion recipe, Headmaster…"
Before Dumbledore had a chance to answer, Harry became tense and unyielding again as Arcturus cleared his throat, causing his heir to leap to his feet as he turned to the older man, who didn't beat around the bush, "I am leaving with Director Bones now, Harrison: I suggest, to save face with your peers, you do not go to class, but, instead, return to your dormitory and study in private until the end of your lesson. But do not give me cause for concern regarding your status with your peers in your future classes; remember, you represent the House of Black, its heirs and its future. Stand strong, be always pure, and never forget…"
"We are Blacks by name, not by ambition," said Harry, nodding curtly as he added, "I understand, Grandfather: and…the punishment for this mundane affair taking up your time?"
"We shall discuss that at Yule; ensure Heir Malfoy accompanies you, as we have business with his Lord-Father and Lady-Mother."
"Yes, Grandfather."
Then, Arcturus left, taking the remains of Quirrell with him – the sight of whom had left the Aurors alarmed, until Amelia told them that they'd discuss it later – while Harry turned back to Dumbledore. "Good day, Headmaster."
"Good…good luck in your lessons, Ha…Mr Potter-Black," said Albus, offering a grandfatherly air.
On the inside, however, he was cheering loudly.
Now, he knew how he was going to get Harry back on the straight and narrow, leading towards the right future.
After all, if it was believed that a 'war-criminal' was making the 'Boy-Who-Lived' scared of his own shadow, even the Blacks would be left out in the cold, paving the way for Harry to be left with a more…worthwhile guardian.
Like say, Petunia and her family.
Or Molly.
Or even Augusta Longbottom – the evidence of whose antics in bringing up unruly children could be seen in the spare saviour in Gryffindor.
Yes, there was still hope…
Chapter 6 and it looks like the desperate side of a certain someone has finally reared its foolish head, but will Harry and his family be able to cut off the White King at the knees, or will Harry be forced to admit Checkmate?
Also, with Sirius out, you have to wonder: what does Harry know about that fated night and, if a certain tearjerking movie memory is, in fact, fake, how might Harry handle this, should this card end up being played?
Keep Reading to Find Out
Next Chapter: We learn what he meant when he said his dance card is full, as Harry becomes less-blind and naïve and more the Black Prince he is; and, speaking of Princes, Harry decides to face the raven, so to speak, and deal with the potential problem of one before things go too far too soon;
Please Read and Review
AN: Portrayal
Amelia Bones: Calista Flockhart
AN2: Knowledge
Also, before anyone has a go about Harry not revealing what he knows, and seemingly letting Dumbledore win, don't worry: the old fool has far from won, let alone earned the chance to make Harry into the sacrificial lamb.
Like Amelia thought, Harry was simply writing his own playbook, making Dumbledore see that his strategy was flawed and Harry had a counter ready, which, unless he wanted chaos, Albus would follow.
I suppose you could say he played the player, manipulated the manipulator and put the White King into Check;
Such a shame Albus never learns, eh friends?
(I suppose that's also why I chose Law as Albus' portrayal instead of Gambon; he's got a thing for portraying villains who can hide in plain sight and has a shrewd air all his own. Whereas Gambon, we all knew was going to be trouble, and even when he spoke, made us wonder what he was up to, because we could see he was planning it.)
