CHAPTER ONE

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor do I own any of its characters

Nothing goes as planned, everything will break…people say goodbye, in their own, special way.

-o0o0o0o-

Sirius Black was very wary when a letter from Remus Lupin arrived in his temporary accommodations in Malfoy Manor.

He wasn't wary of the man himself, only his loyalties. He knew that Remus John Lupin is Dumbledore's man through and through, and it was this fact that made him wary.

He sighed as he waited in the Leaky Cauldron to meet his friend at the time that was agreed upon, sipping his butterbeer nervously.

He saw the tall figure approach him, and greeted him with a handshake and nervous smile. Remus didn't smile back, only eyed him with something akin to confusion. He sat down. Sirius ordered him a butterbeer.

"What happened?" Was asked by the werewolf, his voice blunt. Sirius noted his eyes were red with tears, much like his very own. Despite the excitement that occurred over the past week, the deaths of his best friends were something that weighs heavily on Sirius. Only allowing himself to feel it when it was the late hours of night and he stayed up, sobbing into his pillow, wondering why it had to be them.

Sirius explained everything, and watched as his words seemed to age his friend several decades. Sirius sighed, sadness evident in his sharp grey eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Remus' voice was filled with hurt, and that made Sirius feel all the more horrible.

"Everyone was suspecting everyone," Sirius put softly. "I didn't trust you."

"Of all people, you suspected me?" Remus asked in disbelief.

"Yes well, it turned out to be Peter, didn't it?" Sirius' voice was cold. Remus noted the look in his eyes, one promising pain.

"You took Harry from his relatives." It was a statement. "Why?"

"Did you know which relatives Dumbledore placed him with?" Sirius sneered at the name as if it were a curse.

"Who?" Remus all but demanded.

"Petunia Evans." Remus' mouth fell at the words.

"Surely..you can't be right! She hates magic."

"That she does. Narcissa and I found Harry in the cupboard under the stairs, crying. It was cold, spiders surrounded him, and his diaper had not been changed in days. He had not been fed, either."

Remus growled, his soft green eyes glowing amber momentarily.

"Dumbledore put him there?" he whispered, his voice sounding betrayed. Dumbledore had hurt his cub, and who knew..if Sirius and Narcissa didn't find him, what would have happened to the last link he had of his best friends. Not even that, his nephew.

"Yes. He arrived just before we left with him." Sirius stated coldly. "I will ruin him, Remus." He promised, looking right into his friends eyes. "And you will not be allowed to see Harry as long as you are Dumbledore's man."

"I will pick you and Harry over him any day." Remus stated fiercely, as it was the truth. Harry came first, no matter what.

"Then it's settled. I've been visiting with Gringotts," Sirius said, his face worn and tired. "They're going to finish taking Potter Manor off of lockdown this week, and Harry will accept the Lordship before his eleventh birthday."

"But he won't be at the age of maturity, he needs to be at least seventeen." Remus said, confused.

The Black shook his head. "No, as he is the last of the Potter line, he can take up the mantle of Lord right before going to Hogwarts." He took a large gulp of his butterbeer. "When he is old enough to do so, he will elect me as Proxy of House Potter for Wizengamot meetings, business holdings, investments and whatnot. And once he is Lord, we will be able to unseal Lily and James' wills."

"Unseal?" Remus parroted. Sirius nodded tersely.

"Dumbledore sealed the will. And now, as I am Harry's guardian, I have access to all bank statements. Imagine my surprise when one Albus Dumbledore sent the Dursley's one thousand galleons, and mysteriously acquired James' invisibility cloak. I have the money back, of course, and have changed Harry's trust vault key. But the Cloak is with him. I'd have to see him to take it back."

"When are you going to see him?"

"Narcissa, Andy, and I will be going to visit him in about a week. We have some affairs to get into order, then I can focus my time and energy on raising Harry, running our respective Houses, and ruining Albus Dumbledore."

Remus remained pensive for a long moment. Sirius worried, but Remus nodded, his expression grave but determined. "I want in."

Sirius grinned a wolfish grin as he agreed.

-o0o0o0o-

A few days after the meeting with Remus, Sirius got the message from the goblins that Potter Manor was officially off lockdown, and was ready to be inhabited for the first time in two years. He took Andromeda and Narcissa with him, trusting Ted and to a lesser extent Lucius to watch Harry.

It had been decided amongst the group to keep where Harry Potter was and who was raising him a secret. Only known to close friends, which included Remus Lupin, Frank, Alice, and Augusta Longbottom.

Alice is his godmother, after all.

Sirius was quite relieved to know that though there was an attack planned on the Longbottoms, it was not a successful one. Auror's had been staking their home out for a week after the death of the Potters, and apprehended the Lestranges along with Crouch Jr before any damage could have been done.

Sirius keyed Narcissa and Andromeda into the wards – as he was already keyed in originally – and Potter Manor greeted him with a soft and warm burst of magic. He sighed happily. He was finally home.

Narcissa and Andromeda gaped in shock at the manor itself. It was incredibly grand. White stone pillars greeted them in front of the main granite double-door entryway.

Along the path that was the walk up to Potter Manor from the ivory gates itself were beautiful plants that looked well kept, a front garden and a grand water fountain. The pathway up was paved with white and grey marble stone along the dirt path, disturbing the greenery but not taking away from its beauty.

The manor's grounds were what could only be described as ethereal. There was greenery to be seen everywhere, rare plants such as aconite and beautiful multicoloured flowers that decorated the gardens. The quidditch pitch was as grand as the one in Hogwarts, only a bit smaller. There were lanterns lit up with bluebell flames that added to the ethereal feeling. Pixies, faeries, griffons, hippogriffs, all could be found somewhere on the grounds if one looked hard enough.

He smiled fondly. Charlus loved collecting injured animals and nursing them to health. He let them go, but most of them did not want to leave and simply stayed on the grounds and kept themselves fed and busy with what their surroundings offered.

The inside as well found Narcissa and Andromeda quite dumbfounded, each yearning on the inside to live in the manor.

Whilst the entry hall and it's formal rooms such as the formal living area, formal dining room, ballroom, etc. and every other family room were decorated lavishly, it had the warm feel to it that Malfoy Manor did not.

In the living room, the hearth was emitting a steady and bright source of heat.

Charlus' study was a beautiful, dark mahogany and burgundy decorated room. Books and parchment littered everywhere, his potions lab behind his study (accessed by a trick book in his bookcase) held so many hard to come by ingredients and parchment full of a scholarly and beautiful scrawl thrown around haphazardly, as when he was last in there he made an incredible break through in what he was working on and dropped everything to tell Dorea.

Everything in the house was either white, black, mahogany, or a deep burgundy colour, littered with hints of gold and silver.

Narcissa was even in more awe when she saw the training rooms, the common study which was used by members of the family, the library that seemed to be even larger than the Hogwarts library, filled with tomes she had never heard of, books she had read, and an unlimited flood of knowledge.

Despite it all, Potter Manor was very open and larger than life. Each room filled with large windows or sliding doors leading into the outside grounds. Some overlooking the mountains ahead, some overlooking the beautiful pond that held many exotic and multicoloured fish, some overlooking the lavish pool that seemed as if it would never end.

Others overlook the greenhouses, the gardens. Andromeda could see little playful Will O-The-Wisps playing in the depths of the wooded area. She smiled fondly. Now she knew why Sirius loved it here so much. It was so vibrant, so full of life.

Sirius gave them the overview.

"Potter Manor has overall 31 rooms. 12 of which are the bedrooms. Each bedroom has its own adjoining bathroom. Other than that, there are 4 more bathrooms for public use anywhere on the floors. There are four floors. This floor holds the ballroom, dining rooms, family rooms, studies, library, and kitchen. The second floor holds the bedrooms as well as an empty open area right above the double staircases where the teenagers or kids often go up to and hang out." he smiled fondly, as if replaying memories.

"The third floor is strictly training rooms only. There are three, muggle training, magical training, and education. It's where they are tutored. There is a staircase that takes you directly to the library. The fourth floor has the observatory," Sirius smiled fondly. "The stars are simply beautiful from that room, and the view from the grounds is unlike any other. The attic is also up there."

Andromeda and Narcissa nodded, still taking it all in.

"So this is where Harry's going to grow up?" Andromeda smiled in excitement, wanting nothing but the best for Harry. Sirius smiled.

"Yes, where hopefully his aunts and cousins will be frequent visitors," he said softly.

They smiled happily. "Sirius," Narcissa said, her voice incredibly calm. "I will drop everything and live here if you want me to."

Sirius laughed. "No, no need for that. But you will have your own designed rooms here, once Harry and I get fully situated. I'm going to call for the houselves. Tizzy! Dinky! Rory!"

All three elves popped over, immediately hugging Sirius' legs as he smiled fondly. "Master Sirius is back! Were be Master James and Mistress Lily?" Tizzy, head elf, said in confusion.

It took Sirius ten minutes to get them to stop crying after he explained.

"But," he said softly. "Harry and I will be moving in here by tomorrow."

They squealed once again and hugged Sirius' legs. Andromeda smiled in fond exasperation.

Sirius looked at them, his expression grave and hesitant. "Cissa, Andy, I'm going to need you to compile a list of all surviving Black family members."

"Why?" Andromeda asked in bewilderment.

Sirius' expression remained grave. "It's time to have a family meeting."

-o0o0o0o-

The list of alive Black family members was fairly short.

Arcturus, Melania, Pollux, Cassiopeia, Cygnus, Druella, and Walburga.

So, Sirius drafted them all a letter. It was strange, if Arcturus was alive, he should still have the status as Lord Black. He may have stepped down and handed the ring to his father, but that was nearly unheard of. He brushed the thought off.

He sincerely hoped his mother would not show up, but as he sat in Malfoy Manor, Harry being safely babysat by Alice and Frank at Potter Manor, he felt nervous. Lucius, Narcissa, Ted and Andromeda sat with him.

Arcturus and Melania arrived first. Next it was Pollux, then Cassiopeia, then Cygnus, Druella, and Walburga.

His mother glared at him venomously. He ignored her.

"Thank you for joining me," He said, his voice cold and clipped as he watched them all sit down with sharp, piercing eyes.

"What is this about, boy?" Arcturus asked gruffly, glaring at Sirius with the same cold eyes. He did it better, he had them first, after all.

"Grandfather, I need everyone in this room to swear an oath that whatever is said here does not leave here, whether you want to be included in the House of Black family circle or not." He said, his eyes boring into Walburga's. She glared even harder, but he did not back down.

There were protests, but they were all silenced as he flashed the lord ring. Grudgingly, they all complied.

"Now, what is this about, nephew?" Aunt Cassie said, looking at him with interest.

"Harry Potter is my ward," he said, silencing them as they were overcome with shock. "And due to the negligence of Dumbledore, I was placed –however briefly–in Azkaban and he was placed with Muggles."

"Muggles?!" Pollux echoed in shock.

Sirius nodded. "Muggles who hated magic, magicals, and everything we stand for." He said gravely.

"When we found him," Narcissa spoke softly. Her voice was always soft, he noticed dimly. Soft but cold, detached, a perfect pureblood heiress. "He was locked in the cupboard under the stairs, it was cold, he only had his blanket in which we assume he was brought to them in," her voice was steadily growing colder, a testament to her fury, which they all noted. "His diaper had not been changed in days. He had not been fed."

Arcturus' face was carefully blank. He knew the Potter boy could not be more than two years old, if that. He also knew that he was his nephew's son. He watched James grow up. He knew by the glance he shared with his family that they shared the same sentiment.

The Blacks may seem like heartless bastards, but most of them – he thought venomously about Walburga– valued family above all. And that was what Harry Potter was. Family.

Or, to be fair, Hadrian was. He remembered joking with Charlus about James naming the child Hadrian.

It seems that James took that as a challenge. He smiled vaguely.

"And what are we going to do?" He asked, cutting everyone off who fell silent at his voice. He almost grinned smugly. He may have stepped down as Lord, but he had seniority and his voice commanded their respect. As it should.

Sirius met his eyes unflinchingly. He saw something akin to respect flash in his grandfather's eyes. "I'm going to bring Dumbledore down."

Arcturus and Cassie shared a smirk. Walburga nodded tensely. She and her son would have no relationship by any means, but she will help him take down the wannabe-Merlin.

Pollux agreed, outraged at the treatment of a baby. A child.

Melania nodded sagely, as she now had three children (yes she included the Longbottom boy as he also has Black blood running through his veins) to spoil and love. And someone was trying to hurt little Harry. Dumbledore had poked the wrong hornets nest.

Cygnus and Druella exchanged a glance, and nodded. They looked at Andromeda, who avoided looking at them determinedly. Perhaps they could get their daughter back.

"We'll do it," Cassie said, her eyes alight in lewd amusement and a wicked smirk tugging on her lips. "It's called black-mail for a reason."

"But," Pollux interjected, ever the Slytherin. They need to play the long game. "We need to bide our time with this. Make him believe we are allies, learn as much as we can about him. We need to wait for him to make a mistake."

"He made a mistake when he threw Sirius Black into prison," Lucius interjected, speaking for the first time. Arcturus shot him a glance, eyes lingering on Lucius' left arm, who realised and steeled himself.

"He can write that off," Cygnus interjected knowingly. Melania nodded in agreement.

"He can say in the panic and rush of what had occurred distracted everyone. That Sirius just slipped through the cracks. His word holds enough weight that people would take that at face value."

"So we're in this for the long haul?" Sirius asked, sighing.

"I'm afraid so," Arcturus nodded, before his eyes lit up. "That does not mean that we cannot give him a hard time, however."

Sirius grinned. "Grandfather, how would you like to accompany me on a trip to the Headmaster's office? There is a specific heirloom cloak that he took from James just before his death."

Arcturus' eyes darkened at the thought of the Invisibility Cloak in the hands of Albus Dumbledore. He grinned sharply. Sirius was reminded of a shark, and grinned back.

"It would be my pleasure, grandson."

-o0o0o0o-

The visit went as expected. McGonagall showed them to the headmaster's office. Sirius noted her eyes were red-rimmed.

He vaguely remembered seeing her at Potter Manor a few times, in which James called her Aunt Minnie.

He realised she and Charlus were friends.

He smiled at her comfortingly, putting a hand on her shoulder and squeezing softly. "I miss them too."

She simply nodded, stiffening her upper lip and bidding adieu.

They entered through the gargoyle and saw Dumbledore sitting in his chair, eyes twinkling.

"Sirius, my boy!" he said jovially. "How are you?"

"Fine, Headmaster." He answered, his voice clipped as he and Arcturus sat down. Dumbledore's eyebrows shot up, as if barely noticing the older man.

"Arcturus," He greeted neutrally with a short bow of his head.

Arcturus said nothing.

"What brings you here?" Dumbledore asked, after a beat of silence.

"You have something that belongs to Harry, Albus."

"And what might that be?" Dumbledore asked, his twinkling eyes sharpening up slightly.

"The Cloak." Arcturus said gruffly, glaring. "Give it back, it is a Potter family heirloom."

"Now-"

"No." Sirius denied. "Be lucky I am not seeking legal action for what was done to Harry and I both, Albus," He said, his own eyes piercing into Dumbledore's that the old man felt the need to reinforce his occlumency shields.

"Sirius, surely you did not think that-"

"The Cloak, Dumbledore." Arcturus said sharply. "Now."

Dumbledore sighed. He went to his chambers and came back with a silvery cloak in his hands, handing it to Sirius.

"Sirius, my boy, you should put Harry back with his relatives, it is where he is safest."

"No." Sirius snapped, taking the cloak with his hands and sighing, missing James all the more. "You set it up, don't think I don't know what game you're playing, Dumbledore."

"I assure you, I only wanted Harry's safety-"

"Then you will leave it to me and my family. Harry is incredibly safe." Sirius snapped.

"Keep your crooked nose out of Black family business." Arcturus said, his eyes glaring and sharp. Anyone would feel cowed under his gaze.

"Harry is a Potter."

"His grandmother was Dorea Black," Sirius snapped. "And he is my godson. Stay out of it, Dumbledore. Any further attempts to meddle with Harry, I assure you, will not be good for you or your reputation." Sirius stated warningly.

"Is that a threat, Sirius?" Dumbledore asked, his face smiling but his voice cold. Sirius smiled back sharply.

"No. It is a promise, Albus."

And with that, they left.

Arcturus looked at Sirius appraisingly.

"You would have made a good Slytherin."

Sirius grimaced. "I take that as an insult."

"No, boy." Arcturus snapped. "Someone of your standing needs cunning and ambition. You will not make it far, if you do not have that. In fact, you need qualities of all houses. You must be cunning, ambitious, as I said. You need loyalty. To your family and allies. Intelligence. Bravery. You need to be noble."

"I never thought about it that way," Sirius admitted.

"We have the capacity to be in any of the houses," Arcturus stated wisely. "That's why they're there to begin with. So the students realise despite different priorities, they each share the same set of qualities. They just prioritise it differently."

Sirius nodded as they walked off the grounds. "Well said, grandfather."

"You will do great things, Sirius." Arcturus said vaguely. "Only if you heed the guidance of your allies and the people on your side. Remember that."

"I will." He vowed.

And he did.

-o0o0o0o-

Remus moved in with Sirius and Harry full time. It was decided that Remus was going to be tutoring Harry in Defence, and Runes.

Andromeda would tutor Harry in Charms and overall Magical Theory.

Narcissa in Potions and basic healing.

Lucius in Transfiguration.

Aunt Cassie would tutor him in Arithmancy and the Dark Arts.

It was a topic of discussion for months, whether Harry should know the Dark Arts or not.

Arcturus pointed out that much of Harry's family magic, be it Potter or Black is considered Dark.

Sirius argued that he was too young to know any dark arts.

Narcissa and Cassie argued back that if he did not know any, how was he to combat any?

He is the Boy-Who-Lived, no matter how much they all hate it. The various published articles and books. Merchandise and money being made off of Harry's name. People are going to want to attack him, he needs to know what he's up against, and when he is old enough, to know what to fight with.

Sirius conceded.

Arcturus would tutor Harry in Latin and French.

Melania in dancing and etiquette. They had decided if they were going to raise him, they were going to make a proper and well educated heir out of him.

Sirius would tutor him in politics. He may be a Gryffindor, but he had the mind for politics unlike any other. He would be accompanied by Narcissa and sometimes Ted, who worked as a solicitor. Draco and Neville did lessons with them. Including the Dark Arts.

Frank and Alice agreed it was knowledge they needed. They remembered all too well how penalised they were, along with James and Sirius for fighting the Death Eaters with dark arts.

And they were some of the only members of the Old Guard still alive.

It was when Harry was five, in his lesson with Aunt Cassie outside that it happened.

A snake slithered up to all of the boys, who did not get scared but they were fascinated. But, she turned to face them when she heard hissing.

It wasn't coming from the snake. It was coming from Harry.

Draco and Neville stared at Harry in confusion and awe. She stared in shock.

Harry Potter–a parselmouth.

"Harry?" She asked, her voice not betraying the shock she felt.

"Yes, Aunt Cassie?" He asked politely, and she almost smiled as she looked into his curious and bright eyes.

"Are you speaking with the snake?" She asked softly. He nodded.

"Is that bad?" He asked fearfully. "I didn't mean to-"

"No, love, it's not bad," She consoled. She knew if anyone saw how she interacted with these three boys they'd be in shock at the dark and formidable Cassiopeia Black interacting lovingly with a young boy. She did not care.

"Let's end the lesson here, shall we?" She asked the boys softly. "We need to have a family meeting."

Harry gulped and nodded fearfully. She ruffled his already messy hair softly. "You didn't do anything wrong, Harry. Go play with your cousins." She whispered and he nodded, running off with Draco and Neville.

She smiled as she heard the childlike laughter in the air, and briskly walked to the family living room. She saw them all sitting there, doing paperwork.

"We have a problem," She said sharply. The entire members of House Black, Malfoy, Longbottom, and Remus Lupin looked up. Everyone's expression was different as they stared.

"Is Harry okay?" Was Sirius' immediate question, his eyes shining with concern and fear.

"He is fine," She said hesitantly. "However, he has an..ability."

"An..ability?" Arcturus echoed. "What ability?"

"Harry is a parselmouth."

a/n: okay, at an overwhelming 'write more chapters' review, this story is no longer a one shot. It will be a multi-chapter story. Towards the end of this chapter it has been a time skip of five years, all the way to Harry's tutoring. I'm going to take a shot in the dark and say the next chapter will be harry going to hogwarts and getting his letter and whatnot. Claiming his lordship, and finally reading the will. After his first year, it will be time-skips to the troll, the quidditch game, then the trials set up. (all chronologically of course). Then second year, then skipping to fourth year since sirius is not in azkaban to break out of it. harry , neville, and draco are going to be very different from canon. If that is a deal-breaker, i apologise. I still don't know how many chapters this will be quite honestly. And, on to a very important question: What House should Harry be in? I'm in between Gryffindor or Slytherin, since he is being raised by many Slytherins. I'm kind of leaning towards Slytherin to be honest, i would appreciate your info in the reviews! Lmk how you liked this chapter, what you would like me to add or change :)