Chapter One
Changes and Discoveries
Harry Potter was sitting in Number 4 Privet Drive, a day after the Hogwarts year had ended. He felt sick – the death of Sirius had made him realise, above all, how stupid he was. And, while the feeling filled him with endless guilt, how stupid his friends were. There was a knock at the front door.
"Boy, get the door!" Uncle Vernon yelled. Harry sighed.
"Yes, uncle," he said, already on his way downstairs. When he opened the door, he was met with a very unexpected face.
"Ginny?" Harry asked, signs of surprise and confusion on his face. Ginny didn't answer. Instead, she pulled out her wand, waved it ("But, Ginny! That's underage magic!") and then grabbed Harry's arm with a firm grip and marched him out of the house, kicking the door shut with a slam. She let go of his wrist, walking briskly, and Harry had no choice but to follow.
"What's going on?" Harry demanded.
Ginny did not answer. After having walked past multiple streets next to Privet Drive, she pulled him into a side Alley, and once again got out her wand. She waved it in front of his face and then hers. Silently, she handed him a black cloak, wrapping an identical one around herself. Then, she got out from her pocket a simple quill. She held it up to Harry, who, realising it must be a Portkey, held onto it.
The familiar feeling of being pulled up by the navel washed over Harry, before he landed with a thump. Now, Ginny made the first sound since she had come to pick him up. She burst out laughing, holding out her hand to help him up. Harry, with a scowl, took it. As he saw her face, he too was infected by laughter.
The room which they had landed in was a rather spacious office. There was a mahogany desk with a chair behind it and two chairs facing it. Against the wall were Filing Cabinets and some weird looking-items, like a pensieve-type bowl and a ritual knife. Behind the two chairs facing the chair behind the desk was a plush velvet couch.
"Oh, Harry! You really are clumsy, you do know that?" She said, still laughing.
"Hey, be nice!" Harry said in a mock-offended tone. "But seriously, what's going on?"
Ginny heaved a heavy sigh and collapsed in the comfortable-looking couch. "I saw something, Harry," she said, sadness clouding her eyes and tears thickening her voice. She squeezed her eyes shut. "There's something I haven't ever told anyone...A secret."
Harry took a seat next to her, and looked sympathetically into her eyes.
"What is it?"
"Harry, I- I'm dark," she collapsed crying onto his shoulder.
"V-Voldemort left me with something before you ruined the diary. H-have you ever heard of Shadow's Breath?" she asked.
Harry mutely shook his head. "I-it ruins someone. It eats away at them, until they're just a shadow. It makes someone e-evil..." Here she collapsed into tears again. Harry gently grasped her shoulders and pulled her up to meet his eyes.
"Ginny, listen to me. You're not dark. You're not evil," he said, stressing the point.
She snorted. "Easy for you to say. You've never killed someone."
Harry drew in a sharp gasp. She had killed someone?
She pulled up her hair and showed him a minuscule wound on the back of her neck. "One day, when I was six years old, everyone was away and they had left me alone – only for a few minutes! Dad was at work, Bill and Charlie were already at Hogwarts, and Mum had taken Ron to St Mungo's to see a Healer. Fred and George were staying with a friend."
Harry suddenly seemed transported to the moment.
A smaller Ginny was sitting on the couch, peacefully reading a book. The door burst open, and a shadowy black figure strode in. Ginny looked up, fear in her eyes. She grabbed the book to shield herself?
"Who are you?!" she yelled. "Please don't hurt me!"
The figure laughed. His wand was pointed straight at her. He whispered something, and Ginny felt a stinging pain on the back of her neck. Blood trickled down her back.
"Don' tell yer parents 'bout this, eh?" he said, laughing again. He went upstairs. Harry saw the figure, searching the house for something valuable. He was leaning over a small chest, taking out a precious earring...when he got hit over the head with a chair that Ginny was holding. Once, twice...three times.
Harry came back to reality. Ginny was crying softly.
"I was so scared that he was going to hurt me, or my family. When I stood over the body, I remember crying and just wishing for it to go away. Somehow, it must have been accidental magic, the body just disappeared. But I knew. I knew that I was a-a murderer."
"Ginny, you only did it to protect your family! I would have done the same thing," Harry said soothingly.
"But I didn't have to kill him, did I? I could've just hit him once, knocked him unconscious. The Ministry could've arrested him, you know."
"You were scared! Ginny, you're not dark and you're not evil! You're one of the best people I know, and you know that I would never be friends with someone I thought was evil," Harry said.
Ginny nodded, sniffling. "I'm sorry. This probably doesn't explain anything to you, does it? Anyways, there's only one documented way of stopping the Shadow's Breath. It's quite simple, really. You just have to kill the person who cast it on you."
"After the incident at the Department of Mysteries, I realised that The Light had no chance. I'm sorry, Harry, but stunning against killing? So, I decided I had to do something. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but...I don't even trust my own family anymore. It's like...like they're so different from me. I don't understand them. I'm scared of them, Harry! They're keeping information from us, Dumbledore mostly, but them too.
"I realised we weren't winning the war. And I realised that you were what we needed, Harry. And locking you away with relatives that hate you and no proper training wasn't going to do us good, was it? So I went to your relative's house to pick you up. I don't want to say I ran away, but I kind of did. I set up a meeting with Gringotts for us. They gave me a Portkey – I decided to get here an hour earlier to explain everything.
"If you're wondering why I could do magic even though I was underage, that was Aunt Mage's old wand. The trace effectively got removed when she turned seventeen. I've been able to do magic outside of school since I got it," Ginny smiled.
"Just one question," Harry said. "Why did you set up a meeting at Gringotts, of all places?"
"Well, there's a lot of information you should've been informed of, that you weren't. The Potters were an Ancient House. Not Noble and Ancient like the Blacks, not only Noble like the Longbottoms, but still Ancient. Eleven or more generations will grant you Ancient Status, and Noble is acquired simply by having an upstanding presence in the Wizengamot and being known as a powerful house. The Potters never got this as they were not that political, your father especially. The Potters have thirteen generations, the Longbottoms ten. The Blacks, and my family, were part of the Sacred twenty-eight. Ironically, that means twenty-eight generations. Twenty generations makes you Most Ancient and Noble, if you aren't already. The Weasleys are not counted as an upstanding house because of us being "blood-traitors." Which, of course, only became a thing because of Voldemort," Ginny reeled off, like it was a speech that had been ingrained in her head.
"Mum taught us all about Pureblood customs. Prewett, fourteen generations," She explained. "Generally, parents or the Magical Guardian of a child would explain all this, but since your parents are dead and their will was sealed by Dumbledore...
"There was no one to tell me," Harry finished for her.
"Exactly." There was a knock on the door, and a goblin came in.
Ginny stood up and stuck out her hand. "Thank you for meeting with us, Senior Goblin."
The goblin took her hand. He seemed like a more civil type. "My pleasure, Miss Weasley. I am Farbow, the Potter Estate Manager."
"Nice to meet you," Harry said uneasily, looking sceptically at the Goblin.
Farbow sat down behind the desk and gestured for Harry and Ginny to take a seat in front of him.
Ginny easily took the lead, Harry trying desperately to absorb everything that was happening. "We would like to start with two Heritage Tests, one for each of us, please," she said.
Farbow nodded. "Who goes first?"
Ginny glanced at Harry. "I will," she said, smiling confidently.
Farbow procured a thick, grey piece of parchment and a ritual knife. Ginny grimaced and stuck out her hand. Farbow pricked her finger, and three drops of blood dripped onto the parchment, and then the cut magically healed itself. They heard the gasp of Farbow, and all turned to look at the parchment.
Name: Ginevra Molly Weasley
Age: Fourteen (born August 11th 1981)
Race: Magical
Status: Pureblood
Mother: Molly Sophia Weasley neé Prewett
Father: Arthur Michael Weasley
Grandparents (maternal): Isabella Rose Prewett neé Marigold and Alexander Oscar Prewett
Grandparents (paternal): Callanda Aquila Weasley neé Black and Septimus Godric Weasley
Godparents: Serena Circe Lovegood neé Talorian and Fabian Erol Prewett
Heirships:
Prewett (maternal)
Silverthorn (magical)
Rosebud (magical)
Vaults:
723 (Silverthorn Family Vault)
935,768,094G – 5,638S – 9,820,382K
982 (Rosebud Family Vault)
344,204,583G – 8,723S – 324K
Properties:
Silverthorn Manor (Manchester, England)
Rosebud Castle (Edinburgh, Scotland)
Rosebud Cottage (Dublin, Ireland)
There was silence in the room. Complete silence. Then..
"What. The. Actual. Hell!" Ginny yelled, standing up. "What's going on!?"
Farbow's eyes were wide open, but he quickly regained some composure. "The Prewett line is a feminine line, meaning that only female heirs may inherit. The Silverthorn and Rosebud lines are both old lines. Part of the sacred twenty-eight, there are no living heirs left. It is possible that you came across the heirship by some sort of magical happening. As you were the only current heir and they were two incredibly magically potent houses, you automatically took up the Ladyship of them both at some point. Currently, your mother is the Lady Prewett but when she passes away you may apply for Ladyship. The Silverthorn House was originally considered a Neutral Family, and it holds three seats on the Wizengamot. The Rosebud House was originally considered a Light Family, and it holds two seats on the Wizengamot. The Prewett House, as you presumably already know, has one seat on the Wizengamot. I understand that other facts may be a surprise as well, but as I feel this meeting will not pass quickly, we really must move on to Mister Potter as soon as possible," he said evenly. Ginny nodded, sitting back down and snatching the parchment and studying it more closely.
Now it was Harry's turn. He gulped, not feeling any better from Ginny's results. Farbow repeated the same process.
Name: Harry James Potter
Age: Fifteen (born July 31st 1980)
Race: Magical
Status: Halfblood
Mother: Lily Marie Potter neé Evans
Father: James Fleamont Potter
Grandparents (maternal): Rosemary Tilly Evans neé Peters and Marcus Fletcher Evans
Grandparents (paternal): Dorea Lyra Potter neé Black and Fleamont Charlus Potter
Godparents: Alice Mary Longbottom neé Smith and Sirius Orion Black
Heirships:
Potter (paternal)
Peverell (paternal)
Black (blood adoption)
Vaults:
613 (Potter Trust Vault)
100,000G – 1,000S – 100K
875 (Potter Family Vault)
724,876,982G – 10,000S – 92K
563 (Peverell Family Vault)
543,267,098G – 22,347,261S – 720K
623 (Black Trust Vault)
100,000G – 1,000S – 100K
928 (Black Family Vault)
996,879,978G – 3,982S - 0K
Properties:
Potter Manor (Manchester, England)
Godric's Cottage (Godric's Hollow, England)
Peverell Townhouse (London, England)
Grimmauld Place (London, England)
Evans' Home (Cokeworth, England)
Harry blinked. He was surprised, but not as shocked as Ginny had been. Ginny was now looking at Harry's parchment and smiling. "Nothing less than what I excepted," she said happily. "Your father was descended from the Peverells and Sirius named you as his heir in his will, so it all makes perfect sense."
"Would you like to claim any Lord/Ladyship rings?" Farbow inquired.
"Definitely!" Harry said. "I want to claim any I can."
"So do I!" Ginny agreed enthusiastically.
Farbow nodded, and pulled out the weird pensieve-looking bowl. "Mister Potter, if you would hold your finger over the bowl..." Farbow once again took the ritual dagger and made a small cut. A single drop poured in before the cut healed - and three rings appeared. Harry slipped all of them onto his finger, but for some reason only the Potter ring showed...
"As you have multiple rings, only one will appear at a time. You simply have to think of wanting a different ring, and it'll change," Farbow explained. "The rings hold some protective qualities. They offer an immunity to harmful potions and basic Legilimency - although practicing Occlumency would still be advised as the rings only produce very weak shields. You, however, Mister Potter, have three different rings, meaning even if only one ring is shown you still get the power of all the others, so you have it times three."
"And, since you have accepted your multiple Lordships, you are now emancipated. Meaning that the Trace on your wand is removed."
Harry thought that this was very, very helpful.
Repeating the same process with Ginny, the feminine heiress rings proved to be smaller and slimmer than the masculine. She chose to display the Rosebud ring for now. She too was emancipated and had the ring power times two.
"Alright, now we have two things left on the list," Ginny was all buisness. "Harry's parents wills and withdrawing some currency."
"Well, the wills were sealed by Albus Dumbledore, but as it is the Lord Potter asking, on no grounds can I refuse," Farbow said, smiling maliciously at he thought of one-upping Albus Dumbledore, who treated the goblins like dirt.
He opened one of the drawers of one of the filing cabinets and took out a letter, giving it to Harry. Ginny put her hand on his shoulder and said, "You don't have to if you don't want to, Harry."
Harry shook his head. "I need to know what they said.." He opened the first letter, and let Ginny read over his shoulder.
The Final Will and Testament Of James Fleamont Potter and Lily Marie Potter neé Evans
If we die before Harry is of age, his list of Guardians are as follows:
Sirius Orion Black (Godfather)
Alice Mary Longbottom neé Smith (Godmother)
Remus John Lupin
Serena Circe Lovegood
Minerva Ann McGonagall
If all of the above are unavailable, then we wish for him to be adopted by a magical family. If this is not possible, then we wish for him to be adopted by a non-magical family. If this cannot be done, then he should be sent to an Orphanage. In no scenario should he be raised by Petunia Daisy Dursley neé Evans or anyone else with the surname of "Dursley." He should never fall into the custody of Albus Dumbledore or the Ministry of Magic.
To Harry we leave all of our personal belongings, title, currency, properties and anything else that is ours to give.
Witnesses: Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore (Head of the Wizengamot, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry)
Signed,
James Fleamont Potter and Lily Marie Potter neé Evans
"Disgusting!" Ginny said. "How Dumbledore could do that, I can't even fathom...despicable!"
"I," Harry said, "am never stepping foot inside of Hogwarts ever again."
His eyes were filled with sadness but all of his other features were seething with a quite rage.
Ginny squeezed Harry's shoulder. "It'll be alright, I promise you."
He sighed. "I know it will."
Ginny turned to Farbow again. "We would like two Bottomless Bags, please."
"Of course," Farbow said, waving his hand and procuring two grey bags, handing one of them to Ginny and one of them to Harry.
"Will that be all?" The so-far rather kind Goblin asked.
"Harry, do you have anything else?" Ginny asked kindly.
He shook his head. "No, I don't. Thank you so much for your help, Farbow. Really."
"It is my honour to aid the new Lord Potter, my Lord," Farbow said, a mischievous smile on his face. Ginny was pretty sure that he wanted to see the reaction of Harry being called "my lord".
Harry's eyes widened, and he stumbled through a response, before getting back out onto fresh air.
"I put a Notice-me-Not charm on both of us, so even if we talk to someone they won't really register what's happening," Ginny explained.
Harry grinned, and said mockingly, "My hero."
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Firstly, we both have to get some more, let's say, regal clothes to fit our new status. And you, Harry, really need to get used to being called a Lord. If we want to have any chance whatsoever to defeat Voldemort, then we need to harness political and magical power a lot better than we've been doing."
"I'm not really cut out for this, you know, Gin," Harry said. His eyes widened. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to call you Gin. It just, kinda slipped out, y'know?"
Ginny laughed. "It's fine, Harry. I like having a nickname."
"You do?" Harry said, surprised.
"Sure I do!" Ginny smiled, before stopping. "Here we are. Twilfitt and Tattings. Madam Malkin's but fancier. Not many people shop there - only rich old families can afford the prices, and they generally refuse to shop there because the person who runs it is a non-magical."
They entered the store, and to Harry's surprise, it was set up like a non-magical one. Right when they entered was a counter, to one side magical clothes and one non-magical, and Harry could see signs that said "Changing Rooms" pointing to the back of the store.
Ginny dragged Harry to the magical side of the store, and discovered how horrible it was to buy clothes with a girl. This, and that, and this, and that, and "Oh, isn't that pretty!". After what felt like fifty-eight hours (it was really just two) after clearing out the entire magical section, they moved to the non-magical. Finally, after a total of five hours in the store and 500 Galleons (5,000 pounds) spent each, having split the price, they walked out with enough clothes for two wardrobes each - one magical and one non-magical. All the clothes were in a small paper bag, which was in Ginny's pocket.
"We have to go to Knockturn, Harry, so be careful," Ginny said, looking around her before entering the Alley.
"Why do we need to go to Knockturn?" Harry whispered, but got no answer. Ginny stopped in front of what looked like a closed down store. She took a seemingly blank piece of parchment, showed it to Harry, and the run-down store turned into one that looked just like all the others on the street. Ginny gently pushed open the door and went inside, Harry right behind her.
Ginny handed the piece of parchment to the middle-aged woman behind the counter. She smiled, before saying, "just a second."
"Custom wands," Ginny explained to Harry. "You choose the wood and the core, and a wand-maker makes it for you. Only exists in Knockturn because they don't have the trace."
The woman returned with two boxes. "You go first, miss," she said to Ginny.
Ginny nodded. She ran her hand over the different types of woods. Suddenly, her hand stopped. She felt a warm glow emanating from the wood, and it floated gently into her hand.
"Blackthorn," the woman said. "Best suited to a warrior. Someone who fights, but with elegance and dignity. Someone who isn't afraid of doing the manual work themselves, but always keeps a certain air of regalness about them." The woman regarded Ginny with respect, before sliding over the box of Wand Cores. "Three at the most, please, miss."
Ginny once again ran her hand over the wand cores. The first one was a Dragon Heartstring, to which the woman's expression didn't change a bit. The second one was a strand of Thestral Mane.
The woman regarded her sadly. "Someone who has seen death. Someone who will see a lot more of it." She shrugged at Ginny, as if to say "Sorry."
The third core was Spider Silk. "Strong, yet carefully constructed. Good at deceiving, and will always hold up against being scrutinized," the woman explained. She took the wood and cores and went out back. When she returned, she held a gorgeous wand in her hand - and had a look of awe on her face.
Holding the wand, she said, "Just when I weaved in the last core, there came this powerful surge. The wand glowed purple and was surrounded by white light. When the light faded, there were purple runes etched all over the wand. I recognised them as the Twelve Runes of Power. I would say, miss, that you have a very powerful wand." She smiled and handed the wand carefully over to Ginny.
The instant it touched her fingertips she felt a warmth of belonging and a great power surge through her, and for a few seconds, the whole room was covered in a bright white light for a few seconds.
The woman smiled. "An unusual reaction, yes, but not unsurprising, considering the power of it's wand, and it's owner. Very well, your turn, sir."
Harry stepped forward. He managed to pick out Cypress wood, Phoenix Feather, Basilisk Venom (that existed as a wand core?!) and, just like Ginny, a strand of Thestral Mane.
"Cypress, a wood well-matched to those willing to sacrifice themselves for the good of others and those willing to die a heroic death," the woman said.
When Harry received his wand, there was a small golden glow around him. The woman had smiled and said that that was "a common reaction for a powerful magical" and then the two had left the shop, both thoroughly confused but much happier with their new wands. It was, in a way, like coming home.
They continued walking around the Alley, picking up odd bits and bobs, here and there. Quills and Parchment, books (a lot of books, enough to fill the entire London Public Library, and those were only the magical books, the non-magical they picked up at Entwhistle Alley, a smaller unknown Alley run by mundane-borns) and now they were finally standing outside Eeylop's Owl Emporiorm.
"Now, Harry, I know that you already have an owl, but I want one. And a kitten!" Ginny said, daring him to argue.
Ginny picked out a large, regal black owl that she named Mercy, and a tiny grey striped kitten that she named Star. Two owl perches (one for Hedwig, as well), three bags of Owl treats, two Premium owl cages, and lots of supplies for Pearl were also added to a shopping list.
After that, they were done in Diagon Alley and the two made their way back to non-magical London.
Breathing in the fresh air outside of the Leaky Cauldron, they realised that it was dark outside, and neither of them had eaten since Lunch, which was good six-or-so hours ago now.
"C'mon, let's get something to eat!" Ginny said, running off with Harry in tow.
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Harry laughed.
They came to a charming fish and chips stand, and ordered some food. They went to eat it in the nearby park.
As Ginny lay down on the bench with her head in Harry's knee (their food finished, of course) with his hands idly brushing through the air and both of them looking up at the stars, she realised this was the happiest she had ever felt.
"Harry..." she mumbled drowsily..
"Yeah, Gin?" Harry asked, smiling softly at her.
"This is the happiest I've ever been..."
Ginny raised her head and turned it slightly to look into Harry's eyes.
"Harry..." she whispered.
He leaned over and gave her a soft kiss.
Author's Note: Oh my gosh, that was probably the longest thing I have ever written. It must have taken me five hours or so, and I'm for ome reason so proud of this. I was going to end the chapter with them having gotten to Potter Manor, but the vibes of eating outside in a park, with the stars shining...
I hadn't even intended for them to kiss yet!
Anyways, to address a few questions or concerns you may or may not have:
1. No, I am not making a Super Ginny who's so much better than Harry, who's a total idiot. I'm trying to make it realistic enough with the fact that Ginny grew up in the magical world, therefore knowing more than Harry would.
2. No, I'm not making Ginny dark or evil. It seems logical that she would have something left over from the Diary, right? I mean, that's an incredibly traumatic experience.
3. Harry and Ginny will be (hopefully) equally as magically proficient. I assume that Harry would be better at some spells, like defensive and maybe Duelling, but then Ginny would be better at some, for example Warding and Healing, etc.
4. The reaction of Ginny's wand (and of Ginny's magic to the wand) is something that I don't really understand myself. It doesn't mean she's a superhero, it just means she has more Magic than normal. Harry was kept from this reaction, one of the reasons being that he currently has blocks on his magic (not major, just a few) and once they are removed and he's had a chance to train up a bit, he and Ginny will be relatively even. Of course, Harry's bad physical from and abuse from his relatives might be affecting his power levels too.
5. Yes, this is one of this "inheritance test" fanfictions, but I will try to keep the Dumbledore bashing to a minimum, as well as the Weasley and Hermione bashing. Ginny is one of my favourite characters and I always am so confused as to how people can have the heart to throw her so much shade in fanfictions (of course, they might have a different opinion than me and I totally respect that) and I don't think Dumbledore's character is irredeemable evil, just slightly manipulative and not "all-powerful". In my opinion, Molly Weasley and Ron may simply have fallen under Dumbledore's charming exterior.
6. I have no plan for this story and no idea what's going on. Don't hold anything I say against me because it's not set in stone.
Lastly, if you have any questions feel free to ask me and I will answer to the best of my ability. I know that I am working on three other stories, but the truth is two of them will probably never progress and one of them I have made two chapters (wow!) but was discouraged by a review that caught me off-guard. I mean, we all say criticism is appreciated but we still get kind of hurt, however, if you have something to say please say it! If I don't have enough motivation to keep on going with the story and to accept constructive criticism then I can honestly not call myself a good writer.
Let it also be noted that I am in now way a professional and I do have a life. I also have no beta-reader, and after a chapter's posted I will not edit it for a small mistake. Do feel free to point them out to me, though, so I'm aware.
I'm not British so therefore might get some details wrong - bear with me!
Sincerely,
Someone on The Internet.
Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns the Harry Potter Universe.