Sensing Magic
by Teddylonglong
Please refer to chapter 1 for my disclaimer and warnings. Thank you.
When Harry woke up on Monday morning, he was surprised to hear several voices from his guardian's living room. He realised that Severus' colleagues seemed to be assembled and that they sounded excited. 'Oh, it was the night of the full moon,' he recalled. 'Perhaps, Uncle Moony didn't transform.' He quickly climbed out of his bed around Lucy, who chose that instant to lazily stretch her limbs, and headed out into the living room. He could sense Moony's magic as well as Severus', Minerva's and Poppy's.
"Harry!" He felt that Remus stepped over to him in obvious excitement. "You managed to cure me from lycanthropy. I can't thank you enough. May I hug you?" he then added in a smaller voice.
Harry slowly nodded, smiling at the older wizard. 'Lucy, come on, wake up, I need you to show me what's going on,' he thought, however, refrained from relaying the request to his familiar. He hesitantly allowed the man to pull him into a light hug, gratefully acknowledging that he was careful enough to not frighten him, even if he still could not get used to hugs in spite of the light embraces, which he frequently received from the older witches in the castle.
'Congratulations, Uncle Moony,' he thought to the older wizard, feeling happy to have been able to make his parents' friend as happy as he obviously was.
"Thank you, Harry."
"Harry, I've excused you from your morning classes with the elves today, as I intend to take you to Gringotts on Salazar's request." Severus' voice was gentle but firm, and Harry simply nodded in confirmation.
"Harry, are you going to get dressed, or shall I transfigure your clothes into something more presentable? I believe that we need to appear in the Great Hall for breakfast to not displease the headmaster too much."
'Yes please,' Harry thought to Minerva, feeling a tingling sensation, when the older witch transfigured his pyjamas into day wear clothes and robes. 'Thank you, Minerva.'
"You're welcome, sweetie."
"I suppose that we need to tell Albus that Remus is not a werewolf anymore." Poppy sounded thoughtful, and Harry wondered why the old wizard had to know about the matter.
"You're sure that the first thing he's going to do is to run to the Minister of Magic and inform him that Harry, who is not even a first-year, managed to do what hundreds of potions masters during the last centuries have not achieved," Severus drawled. "They'll expect us to brew hundreds of batches to cure all the werewolves."
"You and Harry will receive the Order of Merlin first class in return." Minerva sounded amazed, and Harry briefly wondered what the Order of Merlin was, when the old witch continued. "With the Weasley twins as your student assistants, you'll hopefully be able to make time for it."
"Minerva!" Harry inwardly chuckled, sensing how upset yet intrigued at the same time Severus appeared. "I haven't even asked the boys if they wish to become my student assistants. I didn't even try out if I can work together with them, and in case it slipped your attention, they're not even first-years yet. Apart from that, I did not simply brew the potion for Lupin. I am certain that Harry did something to the finished concoction. Did you not, Harry?"
'I simply added some necessary healing magic to it, sir.'
Severus let out a small snort, before he repeated his thought aloud for everyone to hear. "What Harry 'simply', as he worded it, added, is something that no one but Harry would be able to provide. No one else would be able to even complete the potion."
"Does it matter?" Salazar spoke up from his portrait, sounding grumpy. "I'm certain that my heir will agree to heal the werewolves, won't you, Harry?"
'Of course, sir,' Harry thought to the ancient wizard, nodding his head for everyone to see. Somehow, he felt amused by the discussion and happy that his help was needed to heal someone.
"Very well then, let's head to the Great Hall and face the headmaster almost suffer a heart attack."
"Severus." Minerva lightly scolded the professor, causing Harry to inwardly grin at the professors' friendly banter. 'He seems to not like the old wizard either,' he thought in amusement, before he followed the group of adults out of the room, glad that Lucy had joined him by now.
HP
"Remus," the old wizard greeted the former werewolf in apparent surprise. "How are you feeling, my boy? If I am not mistaken, it was the night of the full moon last night."
'This is going to be interesting,' Harry thought in amusement, gratefully playing with Lucy's ears, when she relayed an image of his surroundings, before she made herself comfortable under the table with her head resting on his lap.
"Headmaster," Remus replied, sounding polite. "I am delighted to inform you that I am not a werewolf anymore. Severus and Harry managed to cure me from lycanthropy."
"Is that so?" Dumbledore asked, sounding incredulous.
Poppy let out a small sigh. "Harry and Severus managed to develop a cure for lycanthropy. When I checked on Remus, I could not find a trace of the lycanthropy anymore. Nevertheless, he spent the night in the Shrieking Shack, however, did not transform."
"I will still spend the next full moon in the Shrieking Shack just to be one hundred percent sure that it was a permanent cure, however, I already know that I am cured. I feel better than I could remember having felt ever before."
"Congratulations my boy," the headmaster replied, pleasantly. "Congratulations Severus and Harry. I am sure that you will both receive the Order of Merlin first class for this achievement.
"No thanks," Severus replied, while Harry firmly shook his head. 'Whatever it is, if Severus doesn't want it, I won't need it either,' he thought, when his guardian continued to speak. "By the way, I am planning to take Harry to Gringotts this morning, considering that the old coot in the portrait guarding our entrance door insists that we should get an ancestry test for Harry."
"And why might that be, my boy?"
'Strange that he calls Severus my boy,' Harry thought in confusion.
"Considering that Harry is a Parselmouth, Salazar is certain that he is a descendant of his family."
"Ah, but that is nonsense," Dumbledore contradicted in what Harry thought of as his most annoying grandfatherly voice. "Harry has received certain abilities from Voldemort, when he gave him his scar. The Potters are descendants of the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw family."
"Nevertheless, we'll check it out," Severus replied in a firm voice, causing Harry to feel very happy at his guardian's thoughtfulness. 'He's really looking out for me in contrary to the headmaster,' he thought, gratefully.
HP
Right after breakfast, Severus ushered Harry and Lucy into the fireplace, so that they could travel to the Leaky Cauldron together. The thought 'I could have simply popped Lucy and me, perhaps even all three of us' crossed Harry's mind; however, he knew that he had promised the elves to not inform any human of his abilities, which the elves had taught him. Nevertheless, it was unsettling, considering that the Floo made him feel nauseous in contrary to the easier method of travel. 'I should ask Cicero once. Perhaps, I'll be allowed to tell Severus about it, because he's my guardian,' he thought, as he followed Severus out into the wizarding shopping street, glad that Lucy provided him with constant images as they went.
He felt almost frightened upon taking in the harsh expressions of the goblins that Lucy relayed to him; however, Severus motioned for them to remain behind him, as he addressed one of them.
"We are Harry Potter and Severus Snape and wish to speak with the Potters' account manager."
They were told to wait a moment in a small side room, where Harry gingerly sat on the indicated stool for a few minutes, before another goblin entered the room.
"Good morning, Mr. Snape and Mr. Potter. I am Buckbean, the account manager of the noble House of Potter. Please follow me into my office." He sounded friendlier than the goblins in the entrance hall had appeared, and Harry slowly relaxed. The office that Lucy showed him gave him an expression of nobility. It was kept very simple with one tall plant in a corner as well as a sword on one wall as the only decorations; however, the seat was extremely comfortable, and when Harry carefully fingered the arm rest, he realised that it seemed to be made from very soft leather.
Severus introduced the three of them, before he explained that Salazar Slytherin, who occupied a portrait frame in his living quarters, had sent them, claiming that Harry had to be a descendant of the Slytherin family due to his ability of comprehending Parseltongue.
Buckbean nodded in apparent understanding. "We will make a genealogy test."
Severus lightly inclined his head. "Please do everything that you deem to be in Harry's best interest."
"Harry," Buckbean turned to him. "I need one drop of your blood for the genealogy test. Will you please hold your hand over this parchment and make a fist?"
Inwardly once more thanking Lucy for her assistance, Harry held his fist over the completely empty parchment that Buckbean had placed onto the table in front of him. He only sensed a small tingle of a seemingly strange, unknown magic, however, did not feel any pain, when a small drop of blood fell onto the parchment. He watched with a combination of interest and excitement how thin, black lines spread all over the parchment, here and there attached with names written in too small letters for him to decipher.
"Harry is indeed a descendant of Salazar Slytherin and Helga Hufflepuff through his mother Lily," Buckbean was the first to speak up. "The family line seems to be interrupted by many Squibs, unlike his father James' line which goes back as far as Godric Gryffindor and Rowena Ravenclaw."
"That means that Harry is the heir of all four founders of Hogwarts," Severus stated, his voice not laced with any kind of emotion.
"Exactly," Buckbean confirmed.
Severus let out a deep sigh. "I was wondering," he began to speak, seemingly pensive, "if we should change Harry's surname for him to not be bothered by people who simply admire him as the boy who lived, but…" He slowly trailed off, leaving a silent question.
'That's a great idea,' Harry thought to the older wizard, as not only Minerva, but also the elves had explained to him what it meant to be Harry Potter in Britain's magical world.
Suddenly, another goblin quietly entered the room and placed a small folder onto Buckbean's desk. The goblin uttered a few words in a language that Harry could not understand, before he turned back to them.
"Mr. Snape, have you ever considered accepting the lordship of the Prince family?" Buckbean enquired, while he opened the folder.
Severus stared at the goblin wearing a gobsmacked expression. "My mother was cast out of the family," he stated what he had once explained to Harry.
Buckbean shook his head. "No sir. They might have tried to kick her out; however, as there is no other heir to the Prince family, your mother was and you are still members of House Prince. As the last heir, it would be recommendable for you to take on the lordship."
"Which would mean…" Severus trailed off, looking as if he was deep in thought.
"Which would entail access to Prince manor and its house-elves if there are any left as well as the seat on the Wizengamot," Buckbean confirmed. "Why I am suggesting this now is, among other reasons, that you would be able to adopt Harry and have him wear the name Prince, provided that's what the two of you wish.
"What exactly are the requirements for the lord of House Prince?"
Buckbean smirked. "The ring of House Prince has to accept you as the rightful head of the family."
Harry observed the older wizard with interest. Although he was not really sure what this was about, he felt that it would be a good thing if Severus accepted the lordship. 'A few weeks ago, he told me that he couldn't,' he recalled.
HP
Severus remained pensive for a moment. 'Being a lord and a member of the Wizengamot at the same time might give me some leeway from Albus,' he thought, 'especially as Harry's guardian, and possibly receiving the Order of Merlin first class would help, too.'
"I will do it," he finally decided. "Concerning the matter of the adoption, I will speak with Harry once we're back at home. I'm sure that he'll have many questions and might even want to ask my colleagues for an advice."
"I understand," Buckbean conceded and pushed the small box, which his colleague had brought over earlier, to his side of the table along with a small parchment. "It is all right to read the oath from the parchment," he uttered with a grin playing on his lips.
'Thank Merlin,' Severus thought, feeling very uncertain about the proper behaviour for a lord of one of the old families. He carefully slid the ring over the ring finger of his left hand, relaxing when the goblin did not protest stating that it was the wrong hand, before he swiftly swore his oath on the Prince family, recognising the golden glow that engulfed himself with contentment.
"Congratulations, Lord Prince," Buckbean said, smiling. "Would you like to meet with Blacktooth, the former account manager of the Prince family?"
"I'd like to ask you if you'd be willing to become the account manager of House Prince, considering that you're Harry's account manager as well."
Buckbean gave him a slight bow and accepted. 'Thank Merlin, he seems quite all right for a goblin,' Severus thought, smirking.
"I will check the family matters and send you a file containing information concerning liquid possessions as well as possibly buildings and whatever is still in the possession of the family," Buckbean promised, and Severus profusely thanked the goblin for his assistance.
HP
When they arrived back in their quarters at Hogwarts, it was around thirty minutes before lunch in Great Hall.
"I'm going to call Minerva over," Severus said, more to himself than to Harry. "I wish to speak with her about the matter with House Prince before deciding if I should keep it from the headmaster for the time being.
'Do you want me to return to my room?' Harry enquired, thinking that Severus might want to enlist his colleague's advice in private.
"Of course not." Severus' voice was firm, and Harry believed him.
He took his usual seat on the sofa. 'Lucy, would you mind reading a bit?' he thought to his familiar.
'Of course not. Let's continue the book. I want to hear if they manage to adopt a doggy,' the canine replied, seeming delighted.
Harry reached for the book of the five magical friends, which they were about to finish, and began to quietly read into Lucy's mind.
HP
"Congratulations, Severus. Lord Prince. How amazing," Minerva said, sounding delighted at the news. "Thank Merlin the next meeting of the Wizengamot is still going to take place during the holidays, so that we'll be able to attend together. I will introduce you, as it is a custom that new members will be introduced by another member."
"Thank you, Minerva," Severus replied, sounding grateful. "I am grateful that I don't have to rely on Albus in this matter."
Minerva let out a sound close to a snort. "You should even replace Albus as the proxy for House Potter, considering that you're Harry's guardian."
Severus nodded, seemingly pensive. "I will think about it and possibly discuss the matter with Harry later on. Do you know when the next meeting is going to take place?"
"In two weeks' time. On August 17."
"Oh, then we'll still have some time. Very well then, shall we grace Albus with our presence? Should I tell him or rather not?"
Minerva let out a deep sigh. "Keeping such a matter from him will only make it worse. While he might not like you being one of the lords in contrary to him, he surely wishes to hear it from you personally."
HP
However, when they took their seats at the lunch table in the Great Hall, Severus did not even have the opportunity to tell the old wizard about the lordship of House Prince, as Dumbledore had other matters to discuss.
"I spoke with the minister of magic as well as Mr. O'Brian, the head healer of St. Mungo's. They ask the two of you to brew as many batches of your wolvescure as you can. Harry will receive the Order of Merlin first class as well as 1000 Galleons per dose of the potion."
'Only me?' Harry thought to Minerva, feeling horrified. 'Please tell him that we will only do that if Severus receives the same.'
Minerva relayed Harry's thought to the headmaster, who stared at the nine-year-old in apparent disbelief.
"Harry," he began to speak in his grandfatherly voice that Harry despised so much, "you don't understand. It is a great honour to receive the Order of Merlin first class, and never before has a nine-year-old received it…"
"Albus," Minerva interrupted the old wizard, apparently noticing how angry Harry was. "Harry does not want the reward, nor does Severus. However, if the ministry wants them to brew many doses of this potion, they have to offer the Order of Merlin to both of them. Otherwise, Harry will not accept the deal. Harry, is that correct?"
Harry fiercely nodded his head. 'Thank you, Minerva.'
"I will ask the minister. However, if it is not possible to award Professor Snape the reward for reasons that Harry is not able to understand yet…"
"Albus, you heard them," Poppy spoke up in apparent annoyance. "Then they will not brew the potion, and I believe that that's Harry's final word on the matter."
Harry nodded, sending Poppy a thought of gratitude.
Dumbledore let out a deep sigh, however, nodded in apparent understanding.
tbc...
Thank you so very much for the kind reviews for the previous chapter. Please tell me what you liked or disliked in this chapter and what you expect from this story. Any ideas are welcome, and my muse appreciates any constructive feedback.
