Yo! I'm so sorry about the wait, guys! I've finally got another chapter for you, and I think it's a bit longer than the other ones too. Maybe. I don't know for sure. Anyway, thank you to all readers so far!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters...

Luckily, Bill had no plans, and agreed to meet them at the Burrow the next morning at ten. Mrs Weasley wanted to go earlier, but a lot of the shops wouldn't open until nine, and with teenagers being teenagers, no one was really willing to wake up that early...even though it was just an hour's difference.

Still, at ten on the dot, there was a distant pop of someone Apparating, and a minute later, the back door swung open, revealing Bill Weasley. "Morning," he greeted with his usual calm smile, tolerating his mother's hug before greeting the rest of them.

They didn't delay, and set out mere minutes later, Mrs Weasley eager to finish things up as quickly as they could. So, once they were in the Alley, they split up. Ginny went off with her mother, while Bill took charge of Ron and Harry, which, of course, was exactly what they had been hoping for.

The three of them didn't speak of anything incriminating at first, the chances of being overheard far too high. Instead, they made their way over to Gringotts, as Harry had been instructed to do by both Bill himself, and Neville as well. It wasn't long before they found themselves seated in one of the many offices, this one belonging to none other than Ragnok, the head goblin.

Harry did most of the talking, Bill pitching in when he needed to, while Ron merely sat and listened closely-he was a lot more observant than he was given credit for being.

As expected, Ragnok was not at all pleased Harry hadn't heard his parents' wills yet. He confirmed that Dumbledore had come himself after James and Lily's deaths, heard them, and then had them sealed, assuring the goblin in charge at the time, that he would bring Harry in once he was older and able to understand more. Naturally, that had never happened.

"He never once brought their wills up," Harry said, fighting not to scowl, "and I never knew any better. It wasn't until a few months ago that I even considered it. Since nothing had ever been said by anyone, I just assumed my parents never got around to writing one. They were still young, and had been forced to go into hiding, with a baby no less, so it made sense to me."

Ragnok nodded in understanding, and stroked his chin with a long, thin finger. "Then you may have them unsealed now. If you are also planning on accepting your Lordships, as you have claimed, then there is no reason for us to inform your magical guardian-inform Dumbledore of any of this."

A drop of blood, and the two wills were officially unsealed, at which point Harry was finally able to hear them. It was not an easy experience. The smoky figures of his parent rose out of the wills, and though they were colourless, they spoke in their own voices. If he noticed both Weasleys touching the dark haired teen in comfort, Ragnok didn't mention it.

James spoke first, having more to leave behind than his wife. He left many things to Lily, and to Sirius and Remus, and a few others, some names which Harry recognized, others which he didn't. Most was left behind to Harry, items and properties alike, along with kind words Harry had always unknowingly craved to hear from a father-things he had often heard Uncle Vernon say to Dudley, things he had heard Mr Weasley say to Ron and his brothers, things he had even heard Mr Malfoy say to Draco. And now he got to hear them too, albeit, somewhat indirectly.

Lily was next, her final will much the same as her husband, most things she left behind to James, and other family or friends, and of course, her darling baby boy. She had words for Harry too, sweet, kind words that could only be spoken to one by a mother, more words Harry hadn't ever realized he had desperately wanted to hear over the years.

But there was one thing identical in both wills. Upon their death, Harry was to go to his godfather Sirius Black. If that was not possible, he was to go to his godmother Alice and her husband Frank Longbottom. If that was also not possible, he was to go to Severus Snape (that had both Ron and Harry exchanging a glance that clearly said they would talk later). And if that was not possible, he was to go to Andromeda and Ted Tonks. If that too was not possible, he was to be taken in by a couple or family that understood and respected James and Lily's path in the war, regardless of whether they followed that same path themselves. They both made it very clear that they had no direct family, Magical or Muggle, that they wanted their son left with.

"So," Ron spoke once the smoky figures had dissipated and Ragnok had excused himself to get what he needed for the next step, "Dumbledore heard all this, and left you with the Dursleys anyway." It most certainly wasn't a question.

Still, Harry nodded. "Evidently, yes." He brought back all the names that had been listed. "I could have gone to Sirius for at least a day or so, until he was arrested. Neville's parents...well, I'm not a hundred percent sure when they were attacked, though I know it was not long after my parents died, so I could also have stayed with them until then. I don't doubt Nev's grandmother would have taken me in like she did Neville, after. I've never met Tonks' parents, but if she's turned out the way she has because of them, they can't be all that bad. And I know Sirius said Andromeda was disowned, unlike her sisters."

Ron leaned back in his chair, and folded his arms across his chest. "And then there's Snape."

"Ah." Harry dragged his fingers through his hair. "That one's the kicker, isn't it? Severus Snape. It wasn't just mum who said I should go to him, but dad too, though admittedly, he didn't sound quite as pleased with it. Still, considering everything else they said, they both obviously cared for me very much, enough so to trust Snape with raising me, should they die and their first two requested guardians be unable to take me in."

"But...didn't your dad and Snape hate each other?" questioned Ron, clearly very confused.

Harry couldn't blame him for that at all. He was just as puzzled. "They definitely did." That had been proven for sure in the memory he had snooped on some months back. "I guess it's possible he and mum were friends. He talks about dad and Sirius, and even Remus, but he never ever mentions mum."

"Trauma?"

"Could be. If they were friends, it probably killed him to watch her end up with dad, who was his worst enemy. Maybe he even blamed dad for her death. Might also explain why he looks me in the eyes so often. They're the only obvious feature I have of mum. Maybe he thinks he's looking at her instead."

"Huh. Well, if both your parents were okay with you being sent to him, maybe he and your dad made up or something? Or maybe your mum forced your dad to accept it?"

Harry shrugged. "It's possible, though I suppose the best way to find out would be to just ask Snape himself." He yawned, wondered what was taking Ragnok so long, then said, "And that just leaves that mum and dad were open with me being sent to pretty much anyone, even Dark supporters, as long as they respected what the two of them chose to do and how they lived."

It was here that Bill, who had been frowning in thought this entire time, finally spoke up. "I did notice one thing here."

"What's that?"

"My family wasn't mentioned."

Harry and Ron both blinked. "That's true."

"...Why is that bothering you?"

Bill looked down at his younger brother and his friend. "Mum and dad-mum in particular, always spoke of you and your parents."

"They did?"

Bill nodded. "Yeah, but not until they died."

Harry was frowning now too. "What do you mean by that?"

Bill focused on him now. "I was eleven when your parents died, so I still remember it all pretty clearly. More than my brothers, at least. Charlie was eight at the time, so he can no doubt second this to a certain extent, but before your parents died, mum and dad didn't talk about them much. They were all part of the Order together, but I clearly remember mum mentioning more than once how she thought your parents were too young to be a part of it too. She liked your mum enough, depending on the situation, but she never seemed to care much for your dad or Sirius."

Ron blinked, surprised. "Where did you hear all this if they never mentioned it?"

Bill raised a brow, amused. "It's called eavesdropping, little brother. Where do you think the twins learned it all? Percy?"

Ron stared.

Harry snickered, and then sobered back up. "Okay, so what changed?"

Getting back to the matter at hand, Bill continued. "After your parents died, mum and dad did a complete one eighty. Or at least mum did. Suddenly they were singing praises about your parents, and would literally tell us bedtime stories of them and their Boy-Who-Lived son."

Ron's eyes widened. "Hey, yeah! I remember some of those stories! You were basically a hero, Harry!"

The emerald eyed teen, however, merely cringed. "That's just creepy."

"I thought it was pretty weird too," Bill agreed with a nod. "Especially because I had met your parents before, and seen the way mum and dad interacted with them and whatnot."

"You met my mum and dad?"

"Hmm. It was before they had to go into hiding. Your mum had only recently found out she was pregnant with you. I don't remember what exactly happened, but both mum and dad had to go out, so your parents came to the Burrow to babysit us. I was about nine or ten at the time, Charlie eight or nine, Percy four or five, and the twins maybe two or so. Dad said watching us for a few hours would give your parents some practice with looking after kids."

Ron couldn't help but laugh. "I feel like they must've felt like they were stuck in a nightmare!"

Bill clocked his brother over the head, but his attention was still mainly fixed on Harry, who was listening in interest. "Your parents did a damn good job taking care of us, though only your dad was able to keep up with the twins. Mum and dad came back much later than they said they would, long after your parents had taken us all to bed. Once they left, I went down to grab something, and heard mum complaining about every little thing your parents had said or done. And that's why I found it so odd that after they died, they only ever had anything positive to say about them."

Harry's frown deepened. "Maybe it was guilt?"

Bill inclined his head in acknowledgement. "I thought that at first too. But I overheard mum insulting them more than once when she thought she and dad were alone."

Okay, that was definitely weird. "Clearly mum and dad weren't completely oblivious to what your parents thought about them," Harry pointed out. "Otherwise your family would have been mentioned in their wills as well, righ-"

"Pardon me for the wait," said Ragnok as he returned to the room, effectively ending their conversation. "There was some...interference that required to be run."

The three wizards decided it was best not to ask what that entailed. It likely wasn't anything they wanted to know of in detail.

Without further ado, and a bit more blood, Harry was finally able to accept his Lordships, as Neville had suggested he do. He was now Lord Gryffindor-Peverell-Potter-Black.

Harry hadn't expected two of those four titles. The Potter Lordship was, of course, a given. And Sirius had already told him of the Black one.

He had said that with him being a disowned fugitive, and his younger brother dead, the Lordship fell vacant after his father's death. It could only be taken up by an heir with Black blood running through their veins. That made Draco Malfoy a top contender, with his mother being a direct Black. Nymphadora Tonks was a contender too, with her own mother being of Black blood, and Narcissa's sister.

But Sirius had found a way to get it to Harry long before his godson had even known what was happening, and long before they would realize just how useful it was going to be. Sirius had simply blood adopted him as a baby, thus giving him the blood of the one who should have been the next Lord. And this put Harry at the top of the food chain, so to speak. With Sirius 'dead', there was nothing stopping him from taking the title himself. If Sirius did ever come back out in the open, free, alive, and well, he would always be able to take the title for himself, if he wanted, though he had claimed more than once he'd likely just let Harry keep it.

Harry knew next to nothing about the Peverell line, only aware it came from his father's side of the family. Gryffindor on the other hand, now that one was indeed a big shock to them all. No wonder he'd been able to pull Godric Gryffindor's sword out of the Sorting Hat.

A lot more money and new properties weren't the only things Harry now had though. He apparently owned a great many businesses, and was invested in many more. He was going to have to look into all that. Or at least hire someone more competent to do it for him.

His new titles meant a lot politically too, and while interested in his seats and whatnot, he didn't know very much about any of it. When he mentioned just that, Ragnok recommend using a trusted proxy to take his seats, something that Bill agreed with too.

Admittedly, Harry hadn't really put much thought into what accepting the titles was going to entail, other than him being considered a legal adult, despite his age. He had too many new responsibilities, and had neither the time nor the knowledge to handle them all. Hiring people to help him take care of all this was going right up to the top of the list for sure...

After refilling his money pouch, Harry, Ron, and Bill ventured back out into Diagon Alley so the two teens could do their shopping. Once again none of them spoke of anything all too important. There was no privacy out here. Especially not for Harry.

It didn't take them particularly long to finish things up, though it was Harry who noticed something rather strange. When he realized what was happening, he remained relaxed, and casually leaned in closer to Ron. "Your mum and Ginny are stalking us."

Ron tensed for just a second, before relaxing and relaying the message to his older brother. It would be less suspicious to the two following them, than if Harry did it himself.

While a little annoyed, none of the three were particularly surprised. Perhaps Mrs Weasley didn't trust Bill with the two of them as much as they had thought, or perhaps hoped. Still, they were done dealing with the very important stuff. She and Ginny could follow them along while they were shopping all they wanted. They weren't going to see or hear anything odd at all.

Harry and Ron chatted about Quidditch and random good looking witches they crossed paths with (even though they both knew Harry was not at all interested in the fairer sex), and told Bill all about their OWLs and what classes they were considering taking and dropping, while he himself spoke of what he had done at their age, and how work was going.

Their conversations and purchases were boring enough that eventually Mrs Weasley and Ginny seemed to give up on their not so subtle attempts to follow them, and simply returned to whatever it was they they themselves still had to do.

"How are the twins?" asked Harry suddenly.

"They're doing pretty good," said Ron. "Their shop's right over there-it's bloody fantastic. Should we stop by?"

"Definitely!"

Bill just laughed and followed after them, all three entering the brightly lit, and completely packed store. Fred and George were quite pleased to see them all, and no words were even needed to explain that business was absolutely booming. The items practically flying off the shelves were proof enough.

Harry sighed mournfully. "It's going to be so boring at Hogwarts without you two there to cause havoc."

The twins chortled. "We'll still be causing indirect havoc!" they exclaimed in unison.

And that was most certainly true, considering just how many Hogwarts students there seemed to be making purchases here. No doubt the twins' products were going to be used rather frequently in the castle.

With the store as full as it was, no one noticed when a roll of parchment was slipped into one of the bags Harry was carrying at his side...

Once Harry was back in the relative privacy of Ron's bedroom, he was packing away his purchases, when he noticed the parchment. It was a letter. Surprised, he unrolled it and began to read.

Raven Serpent,

A close friend of a certain girl we're all well acquainted with just purchased a rather...handy stock of love potions. These potions don't work the same way as the usual ones. They can only be mixed in food or drink to be able to have any affect on the subject.

You'll have to be very careful of who you let around your food once you return to Hogwarts. We know she won't try anything until then. We'd recommend you not let anyone even touch your plate or cup unless you're one hundred percent sure they are who they say they are.

Better yet, let them know what's happening, and tell them not to even offer you food until the situation is solved. That way, if they do, you'll know something's off, and can take care of it as you see fit.

Until next we meet, my Lord,

Ebony Snow and Ivory Rain

Harry cursed under his breath. He had some letters to write...

And that's it for now. I didn't see the point of detailing the bank visit, since we all know how this goes-it's basically the same thing every time. I figured a more brief version that still got the point across would be just fine. Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!