This story is based on characters and developed from some situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Chapter 10
Take over bid.
8th July. Day 11 continued.
Harry and Ginny had soon decided that their newly merged suite of rooms suited them completely, the only real change was the loss of one bedroom and a bathroom, but there were now two adjacent walk in wardrobes and dressing rooms and a bigger bedroom and lounge. The bathroom was larger, now with twin showers, baths and sinks with mirrors, but was just as fine as the other two had been. Just as Grandma Black had advised them while they had spoken with her, they very quickly decided to get over any awkwardness sharing could cause, both of them changing in the same room, after all they would be sleeping in the same bed now.
It had been an eventful day so far, but they both thought back on the events since they had gone down to meet Sirius Mother. Harry and Ginny together with the portrait had decided that she would be known Grandma Black to them, they had all got on really well, and it was quite typical of his Mother to have enjoyed the compliment. The two had found her stories of Sirius fun, and she also told them both about their parents, who she had known sufficiently for her stories of them to be of value. While she was sad that she had not known Lilly had really been he daughter while they both lived, her only real regret was that she could not hug her Grandson and Ginny. While they had spoken together, they had also discussed the teens school life, she was a little upset about what they had both been led to believe about Slytherin House, and they had both been surprised to learn the hat had told each of them that they would have done well there. Although she was proud of them regardless of the house they were in, more concerned about how hard they worked at school, the portrait was annoyed that it had been the misinformation about that house that had led them both to choose Gryffindor in preference.
She had nothing against Gryffindor, despite what others believed, she had been proud that Sirius was different enough from the rest of the family to go into that house, and strong enough not to let it spoil his relation ship with his brother and cousins. It was more that she was put out that they had been misled into rejecting one house for another, especially as she guessed that had they gone to Slytherin they may have discovered the truth about themselves earlier. She was, however, appalled at the behaviour of Snape as head of Slytherin House, and how the house master allowed his students to behave. Quite against what Slytherin house should be about, in her opinion, especially his behaviour in Potions class. She had always enjoyed the subject and said that she would have to ensure Bella tutored them in the gaps they had in their understanding of the subject. From the look on her face, Harry and Ginny got the impression that their potions master would get both barrels next time the portrait saw him. She had also been beyond angry about the dangers both had faced during their time at the school, but proud of how they had coped with them too, but told them that may well change now they knew they were the owners.
She had been happy to give them the benefits of her advice when they asked, or expressed concern. She helped them sort a number of things out, boosting their confidence, and began teaching them about their positions and responsibilities. After they had left her to return to the family lounge upstairs they had enjoyed the rest of the afternoon, teasing Sirius, now they knew about some of his antics from his childhood, Bella had laughed, adding a few tales of her own, much to his embarrassment. The stories had ended only when they had all retired to their rooms, to get changed into their new clothes ready for dinner, when the dressing gong had been sounded by Kreacher. The younger couple had bathed separately, Ginny first, then Harry, although there were two baths in their bathroom, and they could have shared the room, they did not quite feel ready to do that yet. They had, however, dressed together in the same room, so had seen each other in their underwear. After initial embarrassment, they had quickly become comfortable with each other, even helping each other to dress where it made it easier. Now they were sat in their own lounge, cuddling and enjoying each other's company. Had Bella been there she may have been somewhat reassured by their conversation. Starting out with mutual support over the findings of earlier in the day, it developed swiftly to how the situation had come about.
"It's all more than just coincidence, it has to be." Ginny insisted.
Harry nodded. "I agree, the similarities between what happened to my mother and to you, there has to be more to it, than Dumbledore manipulating things to defeat Riddle, he was not even that much of a threat when Mum was taken."
"There has to be more to his actions than meets the eye, I also think Molly knows more than she lets on." Ginny surmised.
"Yes I think that much is certain, but why? That's the puzzle, Ragnar and Amelia are gathering evidence, it needs to be rock solid before they can act to bring him to justice. Griphook is sorting our accounts, and they will advise us as well. We do need more information about this Alliance we head with Sirius, as well as our families." Harry suggested.
"Perhaps we should set Hermione on this, especially the research side, she might be able to work it out."
"What about Ron?"
Ginny sighed. "Harry love, I'm sorry, but Ron is a Mummies boy, always has been, he wouldn't break wind without consulting her first, except when you or Hermione were around. He's the only one of us who has never rebelled from her influence in some way, even Percy up and left against her orders. That's why he wants to be with Hermione, she would run his life, making all the decisions for him, but I think that would destroy her, she is not Molly, that is for sure."
There was a knock on the door before Harry could reply, he simply nodded as it opened. It was Sirius and Bella ready to escort them to the dining room, Kreacher was with them.
"Before we go down, Kreacher has mentioned something, and he is quite right." Sirius said. "Kreacher acts as manservant to me and Bella as Lord and Lady Black, he was most worried that he was unable to be in two places at once and act as yours as well. As he points out, he is bound to the Black family, and while you are the heir, his priority has to be the Lord of the house, and he can manage most matters in the house, it is not proper that an Earl and his Lady, be without a personal servant."
Harry looked to Kreacher. "This truly makes you uncomfortable Kreacher?"
"It does my Lord." The Elf replied.
Harry nodded. "Then we must rectify this, what do you suggest."
"My Lord should take an Elf as his personal servant, for himself and my Lady." Kreacher replied.
Ginny looked at the Elf. "Would another Elf be able to help you with your other duties about the house as well Kreacher? There would not be enough work for one to do just for us, is that acceptable to you as well."
"I had considered that as well my Lady, and so long as Lord and Lady Black are happy for them to do so, then that is acceptable while you live here." The Elf reluctantly conceded.
"Kreacher has discussed this with us, and we agree with what he has just said." Sirius assured them.
"The question is where we get an Elf who we and you could trust." Bella said, then added. "The Potters had many Elves at one time, I don't know what happened to them when your parents died Harry, and I am sure the Ashmoles and your other families had them too. If we had accessed your properties then you could choose one of them, in all likelihood, but we don't know their status yet and it would take time to get to know them."
Sirius grinned. "So, we thought, as you seem to get on with so many others, you might know of an Elf you could call on."
Harry and Ginny looked at each other and grinned.
"I knew it." Bella laughed. "They bloody well do."
"I guessed you might." Sirius laughed. "Typical of you two."
"There is just one tiny problem Sirius." Harry said. "I freed him from the Malfoy family, specifically I tricked Lucius into releasing him, but he was a Malfoy Elf and is a bit excitable. He has been working at Hogwarts for the last year, but took a small wage and is not bound to the headmaster or the school."
"Right, and you trust this Elf?" Sirius asked. "Both of you?"
Harry nodded, and Ginny said. "I have only met him a couple of times, but he seems trustworthy."
"Well I think you should see if he answers you, if he does and bonds with you, and there is any problem with Narcissa or Draco over it then we shall deal with it." Bella assured them.
"Okay!" Said Harry, then called. "Dobby!"
There was a pop, and the young house elf appeared between them. "Earl Harry Potter Black called Dobby?" He said eagerly.
"I did Dobby, my friend. Now I need to ask you something serious, assuming you are still a free Elf." Harry smiled.
"Oh yes, I is still free Earl Harry Potter Black sir." He said excitedly then looked up at Harry expectantly.
"Good, well Ginny and I find ourselves in need of a manservant would you like that role?" Harry I asked.
They could see Dobby trying to contain his excitement. "Bond to Earl Harry Potter Black and his Lady? That would be a dream come true for Dobby."
Harry laughed. "Okay Dobby, how do we do this?"
Dobby, buzzing with excitement, held out a hand to both of them. Harry and Ginny were still holding hands, so used their free hands to take a hand each of the Elf. There was a glow, which rose from their hands, then was absorbed back. "It is done." Dobby said.
"Thank you for your trust in us Dobby." Ginny said. "Now, while we are here, you are to help Kreacher, who is the Elf of this house, when you have done your duties to us please. We are already dressed for Dinner, so please help him with that this evening. We do need you to know that Narcissa Malfoy and Draco will be arriving, they say they want to get away from Lucius, but if that is a problem, or if they cause a problem for you, please let us know."
Kreacher listened intently. "That is fine My Lady, and neither old mistress nor old young master is a problem, they treated Dobby well, I am glad they finally have a way of getting away as they wanted."
"Good!" Harry smiled. "That bodes well Dobby, we shall talk later, so for now please help Kreacher."
"Yes Master!" The Elf said happily and he and Kreacher left together.
Bella laughed. "Well you did say he was a bit excitable. Come on, we had better go down, it is almost time for Dinner and our guests shall be here any minute, all being well."
Taking Ginny's arm Harry led her from the room, the older couple smiled and the Party set off towards the stairs. The Party looked elegant, the ladies in flowing evening dresses, with fine glittering jewellery, the men in formal white tie dress robes, Sirius and Bella leading as they glided regally down the stairs. They were about to start descending the stairs from the Order bedrooms level, when suddenly a loud, familiar, female voice shattered the calm, Molly Weasley was clearly not happy about the latest arrival through the front door, and she was letting everyone know.
"What are you doing here, how could you get here and just rudely walk through the door without so much as a by or leave. Get out, you are most certainly not welcome in this house." She screeched.
Sirius grinned. "I believe our guests have arrived."
The family continued to walk down the stairs, they were not quite in view when the Portrait of Lady black joined in below.
"You evil harridan, look to your own invasion of this noble house before you attempt to throw any members of its family out. You will not cuckold my family from their home, this is the house of Black, begone back to your kitchen, back to your place you overgrown house elf. Actually that's an insult to House Elves, they would be ashamed to be compared to a daughter of the disgraced house Prewitt."
Another female voice spoke next, in dignified calm tones. "I take it by your presence Molly, that my sister and cousin have employed an assistant for Kreacher?" Narcissa asked, but got no response. "No? Then I cannot think what you believe gives you the right to prevent me entrance to my family house. We are here by the invitation of the head of the House of Black, I doubt the same could be said for you. Could you please inform the Lord and Lady Black that we are here."
"Shit, that will not calm things down." Sirius grinned then turned to Harry and Ginny. "Right, time to enter the fray, remember you are an Earl Harry, Ginny we shall keep your title to surprise Narcissa, if we possibly can, but don't let anyone walk over you, use it if need be. Right are you ready?"
They nodded.
Sirius smile grew. "Good! Tally-ho chaps."
He turned and led them down the stairs, quickly followed by Bella who hissed. "Oi Lord Black, you mangy mongrel, you're not leaving me out of the fun, don't you dare prank my sister without me, if you do you will regret it."
Harry and Ginny looked at each other, Harry smiled and said "As Grandma said, with dignity dear, with dignity." They re linked arms, chuckled briefly to each other and processed down the stairs.
Sirius had stopped on the portrait landing, Bella was now on his arm, Harry and Ginny wished good evening to the portrait, who smiled back at them in approval, then he and Ginny turned to watch what was happening below.
Dumbledore had arrived, and was, of course, attempting to take control.
"I don't know how you found this place Narcissa, but I must insist that you leave. I have rented this house from Sirius, he had no right to invite you, or anyone else here I'm afraid." The headmaster said in a tone reserved for placating those he believed had failed to understand a simple concept.
Sirius coughed, those below noticed their presence for the first time. "That is not quite correct now is it Dumbles." He said in the same placating tone the headmaster had used. "To remove any doubt in your understanding Alby, you have in fact rented certain rooms on the lower floors for your little group, and in fact in that name, not your own, so not to you and not my entire house. You share the use of the kitchen for example. Additionally, your group are not permitted above first floor level without the invitation of the residents of those levels either. Nor are you or your group permitted in the dining room, without similar invitation. I did not give you the right to dictate who was welcome in my home, I retain those rights and can prevent your access if I so desire. My cousin and her son are here at my invitation, you may not prevent their access or interfere in any way with their visit or person whilst they are here, or you will be interfering with the private affairs of an ancient and noble family. I trust you are aware of the consequences of doing so, certainly as Chief Warlock you should be. If you don't like that, then that is not my concern frankly."
That set Molly off, demanding respect for the headmaster, Ron was attempting to bait Draco who completely ignored the red head. Sirius and Bella descended the stairs, subtly signalling for Harry and Ginny to stay there. Remus and Tonks stood watching from the side, whilst Arthur and the twins calmly walked past the two teens on their own way down the stairs, and to try to shut the curtains over the portrait. All three of them winked and smiled as they went past the couple, the twins adding a thumbs up, knowing it would not be seen by those below. The twins, with Arthurs knowledge, had placed a sticking charm on the curtains, so they wouldn't close, but the activity kept them out of the argument for now at least. The three had spoken between themselves about what they thought was going on with Molly and Ron, they had decided that they would find out more to see what happened. Arthur would only act, when he needed to, he would not allow his family to be manipulated any further regardless of the reason, he just did not know what to do yet. He felt odd, like a large chunk of his life had been taken from him, he had lost a daughter, but she was still here, he would not act in haste. If he was honest, he had not been at all surprised that the twins felt the same way, and was glad Ginny had support as well. He couldn't help but, be very proud of Ginny, daughter or not, she was an incredible young lady and although he mourned that she was not his after all. He was so very happy for her, that she knew the truth and had shown such strength throughout the shocks of today.
Remus and Tonks were grinning at the couple, who remained unnoticed by Molly and Dumbledore as they argued with Sirius about control of the house.
"Go on Harry, you and Ginny proceed, just as we discussed my dears, you will be perfectly safe." The portrait said.
The twins and Arthur stopped what they were doing to watch what would happen, as Harry nodded, and the young couple made their move.
Slowly, exuding elegance from every pore, they confidently moved down the first step, then the next, towards the group below. More of the members of the order noticed them and stopped watching Molly and Dumbledore, instead staring open-mouthed as the couple calmly descended the stairs. Old Lady Black took the opportunity to shout at Severus Snape who had just arrived in time to witness what was going on, he was stunned to suddenly be part of events. The couple reached the bottom of the stairs, Bella touched Sirius on the shoulder, he silenced Molly and Dumbledore with a hand, then took his wife's arm. Kreacher and Dobby appeared next to Draco and Narcissa, who removed their cloaks revealing they were already dressed for Dinner. The two Elves popped away with the Cloaks and the Malfoys luggage which had been placed by the wall. Draco offered his Mother his arm, which she took, ready to be escorted to the meal. Molly and Dumbledore looked dumbfounded as Sirius and Bella fell in behind Ginny and Harry, then the Malfoy's followed on too. Harry turned to his grandmother, who was still showering Snape with her thoughts on his behaviour as head of Slytherin and his ineptitude as a Potions Master at the school.
"Grandma, I think any more could wait until next time, you don't want to overload the poor man in one go. Ginny and I will come back to see you later, before we retire." He smiled.
These gentle words silenced her, those watching waited for the tirade to be turned on Harry.
Lady Black smiled at her Grandson. "Perhaps you are right my dear, are you and Ginny sure you can handle the Harridan and bearded wonder too?"
"Thanks to the help you have given us, yes I believe we can on this occasion Grandma, we shall do as you suggested, if necessary." His grin growing.
"Good boy." She smiled and settled back to watch.
Dumbledore and Molly stood open-mouthed in astonishment at the couple, stood at the head of an impressive looking dinner parade. Harry and Ginny looked every inch the Lord and Lady that they were. Even so, Molly was first of them to recover from the surprise, and began shouting at Ginny, Ordering her to let go of Harry and go and dress to help prepare dinner for the Order. Harry raised his hand and called "Arthur, I am sorry to ask, but could you please silence your wife."
Molly's expression softened. "Oh Harry dear, what has she done to you? I am only trying to get things in their proper place and to protect you."
Harry rolled his eyes. "Please Arthur, I do not wish to be unkind, but if she continues to denigrate Ginny in this way, I may have to be."
"I understand Earl Potter Black." Arthur replied.
The mouths of most of all those watching fell open at the use of such a title as applied to Harry, it was a surprise to them that it should be. Dumbledore momentarily looked dismayed, before sculpting his face into a neutral expression.
Molly glared at her husband who had drawn his wand. "Arthur!" She said sharply. "Don't you dare..." She could not finish her order as his spell silenced her.
"Thank you, Arthur." Harry acknowledged. "Now as I understand it, members of Dumbledores little group are due to eat whatever has been prepared in the kitchen. I am told that sadly, Mrs. Weasley declined the invitation issued for you all to eat with us in the Dining room this evening. Personally, Headmaster, I had hoped your little group would have had the decency to have allowed us to get to our meal in peace, sadly this was not the case. As I understand it Lord and Lady Black have invited Lady Malfoy and Viscount Malfoy into his house as guests just as the Lady Ashmole and I are, as is the Order of the Phoenix. Perhaps all of its members, would do well to remember that." There was much muttering as to who Lady Ashmole was, but this was silenced as Harry spoke again. "With that said, perhaps you would excuse us, we have had a busy day, and we would like go to our meal."
He turned, took Ginny's arm again, and walked towards the dining room.
"Harry I must speak with you, your dinner can wait, come with me please." Dumbledore called firmly.
Harry ignored him.
Dumbledore spoke more firmly. "Mr. Potter I must insist you comply with me immediately."
Ginny and Harry continued to walk, leading the other four to the dining room.
"Mr Potter, do not make me embarrass us both, by forcing me to make you comply." Dumbledores tone had darkened.
The group Harry lead were almost at the door.
Dumbledore drew his wand. "Very well, you leave me little choice, for the greater good. Stupefy!"
The stunner shot straight towards Harry's back, those watching drew in a sharp breath. Harry ignored the approaching spell, though he sensed it, he continued to the dining room. Suddenly a ball of gold light shot from the ceiling and collided with the Headmasters spell, destroying it completely. Remus and Tonks chuckled, Ron, Molly and Albus looked amazed, as first Ginny, then Harry disappeared through the door, the others just shook their heads thoughtfully and the door clicked closed behind the Malfoy's.
"What the Bloody hell was that!" Ron exclaimed.
"This house will not allow its family to be harmed whilst within it walls, I suggest though, that none of you try that again, the consequences could be much worse next time." The Portrait of Lady Black gloated.
Dumbledore spun on his heel, he was furious, he had been shown up in front of his Order. "That leaves us with no choice, we must regain Harry for the greater good, they have left us no choice. Clearly he has been turned by the promise of the long, lost glory of the history of his family, a past that cannot be recovered. We must bring him back to the path of light from which he has strayed, to do that we must first control this house. Summon every member immediately, we need a secure our headquarters, we must take it by force."
Remus and Tonks looked at each other, there was no way they were going to participate in this theft, they began speaking to each other in whispers.
Arthur lifted the spell from Molly, who flew into a tirade for his effrontery, Dumbledore stopped her. " We have no time for that now Molly, Arthur no doubt hoped Harry would see sense and was simply giving him the chance to express it without interruption. I have no doubt he regrets his actions now, but we must act to prevent Harry and your daughter sinking further than they already have."
Ron went red. "Forget bloody Ginny!" He exclaimed. "As I told mum, I'm convinced this is all her doing, so is Hermione. Face it Ginny is dark and beyond help."
"What?" Hermione exploded. " I said nothing of the kind Ronald Weasley, all I said was that she had a mind of her own."
Albus interjected before Ron had chance to retort. "No matter, the fact remains that they are not acting for the greater good and have strayed from the path of the light. In order that we can save them, we must take control of the house, remove the influence of Sirius and Bella, then get Harry to where he can be safe. Molly, please would you prepare refreshments for the entire order, we shall need to plan quickly."
While Albus had been distracted by the Weasleys, Remus and Tonks had acted. Tonks had quickly sent a Patronus to Kingsley, alerting him, whilst Remus sent one to warn Sirius, both acting under the cover of the other order members sending them out to absent members. Arthur and the twins were the only ones who noticed, they nodded, understanding that warnings had been sent, even if they did not know where too. Silently offering their approval and support for the action, they nodded at the pair to show they were not happy with what was being suggested. Albus began sending Patroni at an alarming rate, doubling up on the ones the Order members present had sent, he hoped that soon, the entire Order would be here, the sheer weight of numbers would mean the Blacks would have to do as he instructed, no mater what protections the house had in it.
"I think we had better gather information on any wards on the upper levels Albus, that may help our planning. Remus, Tonks would you help me?" Arthur suggested.
"Certainly Arthur, though Kingsley is always useful at doing this, could someone send him up when he arrives, if we aren't done." Remus replied.
Albus considered for a moment then conceded. "Very well, thorough preparation is the key. Report back as soon as you can, we shall await you in the kitchen."
"Fred, George, come with us, this will be interesting for you to see boys." Arthur added.
"Yes Dad." The twins replied, indicating reluctance they did not feel.
In the Dining room the family were just settling into their seats when Remus Patronus arrived. "He plans to take the house within the hour." It informed them.
Sirius smiled, as did Bella and Narcissa, leaving the youngsters puzzled, seeing their expressions Sirius reassured them. "Don't worry, he can't take it by force, the wards won't let anyone do that. Now, we have been delayed long enough, lets eat."
Kreacher arrived with the starter course, while Dobby served the wine.
"Ah yes, Narcissa." Bella caught her sisters attention. "Your old Elf, Dobby is now bound to The Earl and is helping Kreacher. I trust that is no problem."
Narcissa smiled. "Not at all, I know the story of how the idiot set him free, I am actually very pleased that Dobby has found a good position."
"That is quite a relief." Bella replied. "It was a worry earlier, before the bonding."
After that was settled, they talked about the news as reported in the Daily Prophet during the remainder of the first course, but did not add anything new for Draco and Narcissa, they would be told the rest soon enough. In fact the three Hogwarts students added little, but smiles to this conversation, all realising the two sisters and their cousin wanted to catch up. They all knew that they would all be included in the conversation as the meal went on.
They had eaten the fish course and moved onto the mains by the time there was a knock at the door. Kreacher opened it to reveal Arthur with Remus, Tonks, Kingsley, Fred and George. "We volunteered to be the ones who ensure you don't leave the room Sirius." Arthur said, a wry grin on his face. "Though from the smell of the food, I doubt you would want to."
"Ah I see Arthur, Albus thinks he is going to take my house from me." Sirius said a grin on his face and clearly not concerned at all. "You had better come in then, please sit at our table, you are all most welcome."
"Why thank you, my dear Padfoot." Remus grinned.
The sextet entered the room and Kreacher shut the door before Sirius spoke again. "So what took you so long? You missed a lovely mackerel fish course, and we have almost finished the main?"
Tonks laughed as she hugged both Bella and Narcissa before she took a seat at the table, followed by the others. "Well we had to wait for Kingsley to arrive, then check out your wards of course, while we told him, and our other cohorts, what it was that we had planned for this eventuality cousin." She indicated Arthur and the twins as she spoke.
Remus took over. "Then we had to make a false report to Albus of course and persuade him it should be us six who guarded you after their plan was finalised."
Tonks continued. "Yes, according to it, he should be walking past Aunt Walburga about now with his force of fifteen, to secure the rooms on the upper floors. Quite a few didn't show, including Mad Eye, I suspect that they didn't want anything to do with it."
"That is very probably true, I only came because of Tonks Patronus. Bluntly his actions could cost Tonks and I our jobs, so we want no part of it really. It is only Amelia's instruction back at the hospital, that meant we shall be fine being here, so long as we report back and do not act illegally of course." Kingsley said.
Tonks filled in a little more. "Unfortunately, Molly and Ron are of course in the thick of it, however, Hermione simply rolled her eyes and withdrew to the library. I haven't worked out quite where her loyalty lies, just yet."
Harry nodded. "Knowing Hermione, she will want to talk to us before she decides what she will do. I suspect that her loyalties are divided to be honest, she doesn't know which way to fall, her friendship with me and Ginny, or with the figures of authority. She is an incredibly loyal person, and she values our friendship highly. However, her natural leaning is to side with anyone who is supposed to be in charge, to her they should always act for the best, though she is learning that not all do."
Ginny nodded, thoughtfully, in agreement, but added. "We should, and in fact want to, take the time to speak with her though. Tomorrow perhaps, though I know we have quite a busy day already, what with one thing and another. It will be interesting to see what she makes of Dumbledores actions tonight, especially when they fail as you say they are bound to Sirius."
Draco grimaced. "I think you are wasting your time with Granger, yes she is quite the academic, and can apply it to the real world once she understands the theory. Sadly, from all I've seen she is Dumbledores through and through. Mind I would have said the same about you two as well."
"Would that be the same as believing that you are one of Voldemorts Lackeys?" Harry asked, in the spirit of query.
He was proud to note that Ginny, like himself Sirius and Bella, didn't flinch like the others had, at mention of that name.
Draco had flinched, but bristled at Harry's comment. "I most certainly am not his lackey, and if you took the trouble to get to know me, you would know that."
Harry grinned. "Doesn't that same principal apply the other way as well though, Draco? We all only know what we have seen of each other, not what we really are, or what we have been through. We have made assumptions about each other, based simply on what little we saw, without bothering to get to know each other properly."
Draco looked nonplussed for a moment, then burst out laughing. "You have a point." He conceded jovially. "A bloody good one, in fact."
Ginny grinned. "Then perhaps we should start afresh, begin again, and just so that you know, I am the Lady Ginevra Mary Ashmole, but you may call me Ginny." She held out her hand for him.
Draco's eyes widened. "You're Lady Ashmole? I heard that earlier but..." His voice trailed off then he gathered himself and sat up straighter, taking her hand in his. "My Lady, you are as kind as you are beautiful, I am Viscount Draco Lucius Malfoy, Heir of the house Malfoy. Please call me Draco though." He bent and kissed her hand.
Harry grinned as Draco released her hand. "Very well, Viscount Malfoy, I am the Earl Harry James Potter Black, call me Harry though."
Ginny grinned mischievously. "That's not what Grandma Black calls you." She said as Harry and Draco shook hands, Draco asking Harry to use his given name as well.
"Grandma?" Narcissa asked.
Sirius laughed. "Well it is customary, it's what mother wants her grandson and his bonded to call her."
Narcissa looked surprised. "You and Lily?"
"Ew, no Cissy, how could you think that." Sirius teased. "That really would have created all sorts of unthinkable problems. Yes she was good-looking, but no Lily and I never got together, never snogged or even dated, not once. Come to think of it, I never thought of her in that way, always put that down to James obsession with her before today."
"Then how is it that Aunt Walburga has a grandson, I'm sure Regulus didn't procreate, considering where his predilections lay." Narcissa was puzzled.
"Yes, she was not his type at all, my dear brother may have gone for James instead though." Sirius chuckled. "Actually I am not sure poor Regulus ever found a partner that valued him for himself, rather than people who tried to use him to get influence in the family before he died."
Bella sighed. "You are probably right, however that is not what we were talking about my dear." She turned to her sister. "When Siri has stopped teasing you, he might tell you Harry is Carina's son."
Whatever the explanation she had expected, this was not the one Narcissa had expected."What?" She asked in disbelief, Draco looked on puzzled, he had heard the story of course, but he listened intently as his mother continued. "But, that's not possible, she was kidnapped, never found, we all believed her dead, poor babe. How could she have had a child, let alone how it could possibly be Harry, if she did?"
Sirius calmed down a little, but still could not resist teasing his cousin. "I will resist the temptation to do the where babies come from answer." He grinned.
Narcissa snorted. "You better bloody had Sirius, get on with a proper explanation quickly, or I am sure we can revive the three Black sisters' punishment of you from when we were children. There may only be two of us here, but I bet Bella and I can still work together to do it. Oh and Draco, close your mouth, you may not have heard it often, but I am quite capable of swearing along with the rest of my family."
Draco had opened his mouth in amazement when his mother had sworn, it was not something he had heard very often, except when she was furious, which she did not seem to be. He could not remember her using such language as part of banter before, but he shut his mouth quickly when she told him to. The rest of the people in the room, were simply watching on in amusement.
Sirius went white. "All right Cissy, no need for that, I shall tell you." He said to the amusement of everyone, before he explained. "It seems whoever took her, and we have a very strong indication of who that was, but cannot act on it yet, mores the pity. Anyway, they placed her with the Evans family who adopted her with the kidnappers help, not knowing the truth of her origin. They loved her, we know that, only the supposed sister was the fly in that ointment. The Goblins have proved Harry is Carina's son, you even met her, as did we all, she never knew her true identity though. Lily was Carina."
Narcissa sat back. "Merlin!" She exclaimed. "To think Severus had a thing for her at one time, that would have finished the family if she had stuck with that, rather than Lord Potter."
"Hey that means we are related Harry." Tonks cried happily. "My mum, is sister to Bella and Narcissa."
"Us too Draco." Harry grinned.
"We were anyway, though not as closely." Draco replied with a shrug.
"Really?"
"Yep, something like cousins three times removed or something, now it's only once removed. Neville's our cousin too, he and I often meet in the holidays, we were friends as kids, still are outside the partisan nature of school." Draco told him.
"It seems we have a lot to talk about." Harry smiled.
The main course was complete, Kreacher and Dobby served pudding and more wine. During the pause in the conversation the youngsters gathered their thoughts, before the discussion resumed.
"So, what's your story Ginny? How come you are not a Weasley any more?" Draco asked.
"Seems I was Kidnapped and adopted as a baby." She said sadly.
Narcissa tilted her head in thought. "I remember that! It was in the papers, it spelt the end of the Alliances' open activity after Carina was taken and the Potters were killed. You were only a few days old at the time Ginny, it broke your parents, they pretty much withdrew from society, kept themselves to themselves. The few times I saw them, it was clear they had never given up looking for you. I believe they gave up hope when the Ministry officially stopped the search, they died soon after that. Do we know how she ended up with you yet, Arthur?"
Arthur sighed. "Well as most her know, until this morning I knew nothing about all this until this morning, neither did most of my family. Thanks to some memory charms, I believed she was our natural born daughter. I have had layers of memory charms and other spells discovered then removed in the department of mysteries this afternoon, having been checked, just as Sirius suggested. I have a parchment with a list and who the magical signature matches with. Since then, I've discovered some more about it all, Molly kept a Diary. I've been back to the Burrow before I came back here after work and I found the one for that year, the entry for the period I now know that she brought Ginny to us makes very interesting reading. It seems it was on the day that she was told that she couldn't have any more children. She was devastated, she went to the maternity ward and just looked at the babies, I would think she might even have met the then Lady Ashmole and the current one. On the way out, she met Dumbledore, who she had always looked up to, and he offered her a solution to resolve her grief, one that she was, in her mental state, happy to accept. They returned to the maternity ward, wiped the memory of the staff and altered the records, he then sent her off to wait for him at a café near the Ministry, she saw him enter the room where she knew there was a mother and baby. Later he met her, with you, Ginny, and all the appropriate papers, which she signed. They came back to the Burrow with you and altered the Boys and my memories, except for Ron, he was to young for the spell to be used on safely. I also found those papers in a file in a draw near the diaries, obviously they were forged, though they were on the correct official forms presumably to give authenticity. The information on them stated that you were an orphan when you weren't, you were never, and could never, be legally adopted. I guess they used memory charms on a number of people, including those conducting the kidnap investigation. I promise you Firecracker, I knew nothing of this, I would never have agreed to it."
"Bloody hell Ginny..." George began.
"... We thought the Lady bit was..." Fred continued.
"... Cos of finally getting it together with Harrykins there..." George added.
"... We had no idea, but we always knew you were special Gin." Fred finished.
"Do they always do that?" Bella asked open-mouthed.
"Yes!" Replied Ginny, Harry, Draco, Arthur, Remus, Tonks and Sirius together.
The twins grinned and high fived. "Yes!" They exclaimed triumphantly.
"I'm sorry gin, I honestly knew nothing about it." Arthur's grief was obvious, he was at a loss.
"I know Dad, oh hell, I know I maybe shouldn't call you that now, and I know what was said at the bank this morning, but I still don't know what else to call you. It somehow feels wrong, yet right at the same time." She said with tears starting.
"I know Gin." He replied. "It doesn't matter what you call me, I am proud to have brought you up, none of this means I have stopped loving you, or love you any less. I will always be there if you need me, regardless of any of it."
She ran round the table and hugged the man she had called dad her whole life, the two of them wept for their loss. The twins joined the hug, they too had tears in their eyes. Had they looked round the room, they would have seen not one dry eye on those present.
Minutes later they separated and Ginny smiled weakly to them "Thank you!"
"No problem." Arthur smiled.
Fred and George looked at her. "You will always be..." Fred began.
"...Our little sister, who we love." George finished, and she went back to sit, holding Harry's hand.
As the coffee, Port and brandy were served Sirius put his hand on Arthur's shoulder. "Bella and I maybe her Guardians now, but you will always be welcome as an important part of her. We will be there for you and those of your family who support her."
Arthur looked round the room, seeing nothing, but support and determination from them all, he knew he could rely on these people, despite the betrayal of the Alliance by his father. He nodded his thanks to them all and looked at Sirius. "I'm grateful Sirius, please know that I and the twins have seen through Albus and are loyal to Harry in this war. I have contacted Bill and Charlie and told them what's happened, I think they will be the same. We shall have problems with Molly of course and Ron as well I'm afraid, he has yet to work out he has a mind of his own and can disagree with his mother without it meaning he is disloyal."
"Thanks Arthur, I appreciate that." Sirius smiled. "Kingsley you've been quiet my friend."
Kingsley smiled. "Truth be told, the more I hear the more I am dismayed at Albus habitual manipulation of peoples lives and his actions against you and Harry. He is clearly desperate to keep control at any cost, and as a result I find myself asking some difficult questions of my own actions and views. I find myself in a dilemma, I can no longer be loyal to Dumbledore, he has proved himself untrustworthy, but I am not ready to throw my lot in with another group. While I am very pleased that things are working out, but I must go with my conscience, I will act as I believe is right and just."
"That's all anyone can ask of another, Kingsley. Thank you my friend, know that you are always welcome here." Sirius assured him.
Kingsley nodded then took his leave to return home.
"I guess I had better face the music from Molly." Arthur said, standing.
"I think you will find that won't be a problem." Sirius grinned widely.
A quiet knock on the door drew their attention, it slowly opened and Hermione cautiously put her head round it. "Er, as he was leaving, Kingsley said I should come to see you, not to worry about disturbing you. Its just, I wonder if someone could help, everyone out here except me, seems to be trapped or affected by something. They don't seem to be able to move anyway."
"I bet they can't." Barked Sirius laughing again. "Come on everyone, it's time we retired to our lounge upstairs anyway. I suspect Dumbledores take over bid has failed as expected. Might I suggest you youngsters retire to Harry and Ginny's lounge, if that is all right with them?"
The couple nodded.
"Thank you, that will save you being bored by our conversations at least." Sirius winked. "So if the adults who wish to would join Bella and I in our lounge, otherwise we shall come together again for breakfast in the morning. Draco, Kreacher will show you to your room when the time comes, just call for him when you are ready."
They all rose and lead by Sirius and Bella, Harry and Ginny they left the dining room, as they passed her Harry told Hermione. "Come with us, it's time you learnt what is really going on Hermione. By the way have you eaten yet this evening?"
"No not yet Harry."
"No problem, I am sure we can arrange something for you when we get to our lounge." He assured her.
She nodded and followed them as they went up the stairs, Harry and Ginny wished their Grandmother good night on their way past. She nodded and smiled, instructing them to sleep well.
They reached the first floor landing, where the order bedrooms were, to find their way somewhat obstructed by fifteen members of the Order and their leader frozen like statues, their hair stood on end. The effect was startling, especially on Dumbledore, whose head appeared to be made of two large fluffy balls, one above the other, a pair of eyes peering from between them. The twins suddenly roared with laughter at the effect, Harry smirked, he wished Colin Creevey had been there with his camera to record the sight. Hermione looked worried, the others amused. "Arthur once we are upstairs you will find they can be picked up and moved if you wish. I leave it to you to decide whether, or not to place them in their rooms if they have one here." Sirius grinned. "They will wake by themselves in the morning."
"Looks like I shall have a quiet night, after all." Arthur smiled. "Fred, George, I'll take your mother, you take Ronald. To the rest of you I will say good night, we shall leave you to your discussions. I expect we shall be in for an interesting day tomorrow."
He levitated Molly down the corridor to their room, whilst Fred and George picked up Ron and tucked him under their arm. When they reached Ron's room they opened the door and threw him in, closing the door behind them. They turned towards the watching group and bowed, before walking to their own room.
Only Hermione wasn't laughing at the twins antics. "He could be badly hurt." She said.
"I doubt it." Sirius assured her. "The ward will protect them while they are in this stage, so they can't be injured, it is only the first stage of protection after all." Then turned and led them all upstairs to the family levels.
As Harry and Ginny reached their door with Hermione and Draco, Sirius caught their attention. "Guy's Arthur has a point about tomorrow morning, don't stay up too late. Draco, remember to call Kreacher when you are ready, he will show you to your room, night all." With that he and the adults went into their lounge whilst the youngsters went to Harry and Ginny's.
The youngsters sat in the comfort of the lounge, butter beers brought by Dobby in hand. The elf brought a tray, which he set on a table, with a plate of food for Hermione which she ate after thanking the Elf. She ate while she listened to Harry and Ginny telling them about what they had discovered. Draco stayed silent, listening, once she had finished her food, Hermione let her tears flow as the story continued to unfold.
With the story told, there was a moments silence. It was Draco who was the first to speak. "That actually explains an awful lot, which we did not understand." A tone of regret in his voice.
"Sorry, but what do you mean Draco." Harry asked.
"Well your stand-offish manner towards us all for one." The blonde replied. "What you have just told us, explains that completely. You simply did not know about your position in our society, or that even without the Black connection, you are related to several important families, such as the Longbottoms, Bones and Greengrass clans. Not to mention the ones that have alliances with the Potter family and were waiting for you to re-emerge when you started at Hogwarts. We were all brought up knowing about all this, all our families were allies, we expected you would know all this too, we never, not for a second, even suspected you had not been told any of it. Sure you were not in our world, we knew that, but it was believed that you were being trained ready to take your place alongside us, if it had ever been suspected you weren't, then the families would have moved mountains to find you. Anyway, on that first train ride, I had been delegated by the children of the alliance families in our year to approach you, we couldn't understand why you rejected it in favour of the son of a family who had betrayed us, and had been expelled from our group."
Harry was stunned. "Er I hate to break it to you, but this is all news to me. The reason I rejected you Draco was you gave a good impersonation of being a prat, sorry, but that's how you came across. Ron was the first friend I ever had, and you had a go at him for what looked like no reason, it didn't give a good first impression. You reminded me of Dudley, and I wanted nothing to do with you at the time as a result."
"Who is Dudley?" Draco asked.
"Well before all this today, I would have called him my cousin, but he's the son of the people I lived with until this summer. He was very spoilt by his parents, bullied anyone who wanted to be my friend, so that they would keep away from me, and along with his parents generally made my childhood hell. You saw the clothes they made me wear, they were hand-me-downs that the fat pig had grown out of, he was so fat. He was given everything he ever wanted, whilst I starved and slept in a cupboard under the stairs. As far as his parents were concerned he could do no wrong and was the perfect little boy, whilst I was a delinquent freak not allowed to do better than him and was punished if I did."
"Bloody hell." Said Draco, clearly shocked. "Did I really come across as someone like him?"
When all three of the Gryffindor's nodded, he swore again then hung his head and said. "I truly am sorry, but seeing you with Weasley, turned my stomach. What I said was supposed to be a subtle way of warning you that he was not of your alliance. Of course that was because we thought you knew about the alliance, which you didn't, and we should have guessed that as a result, but it never entered our minds, actually, weeks later Neville suspected it might be the case. Even so, I totally screwed that first attempt up didn't I?"
Harry grinned. "Yep, I think it is fair to say you did."
"I kept trying, as did others. Remember the duel challenge, it was just a way of getting you somewhere we could talk, but we saw you heading there with Weasley, Granger was there too of course. We had no plan for getting you away from them, so hurriedly tried to come up with one, then we saw Filch heading towards you, and you three running off, so that one failed too." Draco sighed. "Actually in our first year we kept trying to get to speak to you alone, even Neville didn't manage to get you away from Weasley, and there was no way we could try to get to you with that idiot there."
"What is it you have against the Weasley's?" Ginny asked.
"Well actually it's not so much the Weasley's as the Prewitt's." Draco told them. "Arthur should never have married into that family, he lost the Weasley fortune to pay off the Prewitt debt which was as a result of them betraying the Potter's. Arthur knows he was entrapped by Molly for that reason, and that alone, though I think he really does love her. Ron takes after his Mother too much, Bill and Charlie are true Weasley's through and through, as are the twins. Percy, no one is sure about, he is definitely a suck up like a Prewitt, but lacks the sheer deviousness. He has the brains of a Weasley, but lacks the imagination to use it properly. Ron is not as daft as he looks, lazy certainly and like the Prewitt's generally believes the world owes him everything on a plate. You Ginny, you were always the puzzle, apart from the hair, you had no characteristics from either family. Intelligent, independent and ingenious, you had all the boys, except perhaps Ron, in your house wrapped round your little finger, but you showed none of the traits from either family line now of course we know why. However I digress, the Prewitt's betrayed the alliance and helped bring down both the Ashmole's and Potter's, building up massive debts once they lost their alliance contracts. They trapped Arthur and stole the Weasley fortune to pay it off, as a result the Prewitt's are regarded as the lowest of the low and untrustworthy, that's why we steer clear of them. The Prewitts are the worst example of what Slytherin's should be and Molly was the worst of the lot of her generation, taking Slytherin ambition to the extreme, believing it is all that matters and disregarding the other qualities of her school house. Actually the only Prewitt any of us bother with is Muriel, she married into the family, wealthy in her own right and would not let her husband or his family near it."
"Molly was in Slytherin?" Ginny asked amazed. "She is so against them."
"That's because she knows, very well, how they regard her." Draco said.
"The hat nearly put me in Slytherin." Harry confessed, then shook his head and regretfully told them. "It was because of what Ron told me, that I insisted on Gryffindor to it."
"Same with me, but it was because of supposed family loyalty I chose Gryffindor, I didn't know that it was you that hat referred to when it complained about another one only a year later, though Harry." Ginny told them.
"What about you Hermione, anything you want to confess about your sorting?" Draco grinned.
"Er well actually." Looking round at all three who were now gaping at her, and she laughed. " Sorry, I can't lie, I have nothing about my sorting to confess. How about you Draco?"
"Me neither, if you remember it hardy even touched my head before deciding." He replied.
Harry nodded, remembering. " That's true, knowing nothing about our world except what Ron or Hagrid had told me, I assumed that confirmed you were potentially evil, which is of course what I was expected to believe. I think this all adds to our conspiracy theory that none of these events we have been talking about are merely coincidence, but someone has deliberately ensured these things happen. It looks like I owe a lot of people an apology, though."
"Don't worry about that Harry, yes we all wondered when you would realise you were being used, but could not interfere, we couldn't get near enough to you for that, I doubt if you realised it, but you were kept in a very tight social bubble. I'll write to them all in our year at least, tell them you have now discovered the truth." Draco assured him. "They'll be relieved, in fact, they will be very pleased that you have rediscovered a lost inheritance. I want to see their faces when they hear about Ginny though, could really be entertaining."
"Thanks Draco." Ginny laughed. "Glad I can be the source of some entertainment for you."
"Quite alright my Lady." He cheekily replied.
Hermione didn't join in their laughter, she was too busy thinking. Harry noticed. "Hermione?" He asked, he could see the conflicting thoughts expressing themselves on her face, as it often did when she was weighing up two sides of an argument.
"I need to think Harry." She told him, then realised how bad that sounded. "Damn that didn't come out right."
"Now I know it's serious." Harry said lightly, trying to cheer her up. "Not only swearing, but confused too. Just say it Hermione, it's fine."
She sighed. "Look I don't know what to do, this is a lot to take in and rocks my beliefs to the core about how those I have been taught should be respected, should behave as a result. I am pleased you have a family Harry, and overjoyed that you and Ginny finally realised what we could all see, truly I am, but as for the rest of it? I just don't know, I really don't know, I need time to sort this out in my head, time to think."
Harry nodded. "I expected you would Hermione, it's fine, I'll wait, just promise me you won't discuss this with anyone else while you do consider. Please, I want you to make your own mind up, without any other influence, or possibly memory charms used on you as they were others. If you have any questions, please ask us or Arthur, who I am sure would be happy to help."
She smiled faintly. "I understand, yes I'll do that." She stood and hugged Harry and Ginny. "It's your story to tell, I am glad you felt you could tell me."
She bid them all good night and left to go to her room downstairs.
Not long later Draco called Kreacher, to guide him up to his room, leaving Harry and Ginny alone. They cuddled for a while before, hand in hand, they passed through the door to the bedroom where they would share a bed for the first time. Nervously they visited the bathroom, one after the other, they changed together again in the dressing room, before walking, naked, hand in hand to the large four-poster bed. They had both agreed that they would bathe together tomorrow, knowing they would need to get used to seeing each other naked sooner rather than later. If they were honest, they both had to admit they enjoyed seeing the other, but were still nervous about being seen undressed. Relieved that their nerves were unfounded, they burst out laughing, relieving the apprehension and climbed into the bed and cuddled, enjoying the warmth of each other. Soon Ginny turned and spooned up against Harry, both relaxing easily with each others company in bed, neither ready to take it any further just yet.
"Harry?" She asked softly.
"Yes Gin." He replied.
"Thanks."
"What for?"
"Just being there for me."
"No Problem, I'll do my best to be there for you whenever you need me." He replied.
"And me for you." She said.
"I know my love."
She smiled at his words. "I love you too."
He couldn't believe the feeling he had at those words, it was the first time he could remember any one saying them to him.
She could feel how he felt and turned back towards him. "I mean it Harry." She told him and they kissed deeply.
She wiped away a tear from his cheek that had fallen while they kissed. "We had better get some sleep." She whispered.
He nodded. "Especially if what they told us at Gringotts does happen to us, we are going to need it."
She giggled. "Can't wait to see your body after it does happen." She grinned.
He smiled. "Nor me yours."
They kissed again then she turned to spoon in front of him again. Soon they were both asleep, together for the first time.
Authors Notes:
As usual many thanks to all who have read, favourited, followed and reviewed so far, it is much appreciated, I look forward to responses to this chapter too. If you have not seen my other stories, then please have a look at my Author page where you can find them and have a look, though this is quite different to those in many ways.
Until next time.
Tgfoy