Disclaimer: As always I own nothing and my beta is my better half.

While Boxing Day at Hogwarts was setting up for a long a trying few days, the Longbottom house was waking up for the day. Draco had dragged Harry up, the black haired girl having been intending on having a nice long lay-in so she was more than a bit grouchy when she was dragged down for breakfast. Narcissa stifled her amusement knowing that her newest daughter wouldn't appreciate it in the slightest, but she herself was looking forward to the day although she was a bit disappointed that Augusta and Neville wasn't going with them claiming that it was a family event and they didn't wish to intrude. "Draco, Andi isn't expecting us until 10." She gently chastised the blonde, Harry would get her late morning tomorrow if she had to lock her door to keep Draco out. It was however it was the first time that Draco would get to see her cousin, given how much the group adored Andromeda (after that worrying first meeting) she was excited to see her Aunt and meet the man she'd chosen.

Neville had walked in when Harry had been about to fall asleep in her porridge, his full bellied laughter waking her up before Narcissa could decide if she'd take pity and cast a shielding charm over the bowl or just let the morning entertainment play out. Augusta looked ready to chastise him, but Harry speaking stopped her. "You'd be half asleep if you had a hyperactive blonde jump on you." Harry had muttered, pouting while her eyes gave her amusement away.

"Narcissa, have you given any thought about when you plan to start Occlumency lessons for the kids?" The elderly woman spoke softly, she'd been considering if perhaps it might benefit Neville if he learned the art.

"I was thinking about starting them Wednesday when we restart lessons. Although I might have to go to Diagon tomorrow to get them some books…" She paused thinking for a moment, "I did want to take the girls to Gringotts."

Augusta just nodded, "Perhaps if Neville agrees, you might be willing to teach him as well." She knew they had no books on the subject, the Longbottoms had always been more combat and botany based rather than specialising in the mental prowess of the Blacks although given that family's ailment it made sense that they would have been intent on understanding and controlling all that they could. When Narcissa raised questioning eyes to the boy who had gotten enough of a grip over his laughter to understand and voice his agreement, she'd then nodded with a smile saying that she'd be happy to and was sure that Professor Dumbledore wouldn't mind Neville joining them on a Saturday at Hogwarts. She doubted that the Headmaster would object to her teaching the girls over the term, especially as it had been his idea and it was something which was crucial for them to know.

Before long Harry was sprawled on Draco's bed watching tiredly as the blonde tried on outfit after outfit rejecting all of them in a panic, claiming that she had nothing to wear. "Seriously Draco. Stop worrying, you know Aunt Andi, she's not going to mind how you're dressed."
"Well what are you wearing?" The blonde had snapped.
"This." Harry lazily waved a hand over herself, realising that she'd made a mistake when Draco gasped.
"…You're right! I'm worrying over the wrong person."

Harry could only blink as she was propelled off of the bed and into her own room, clothes being thrown her way. Knowing from both her own history with the blonde and her memories, that there was no arguing when Draco was like this. She obliged, her own heap getting bigger before the blonde made a decision, dashing into her own room and throwing a blouse (which to Harry looked no different to the six that she'd already tried on) at her. Her torture wasn't over though…as she was pinned down to have her hair done as apparently it was back to looking like a birds nest. The only advantage that Harry could see was that Draco appeared to be enjoying herself and had settled on what she had on.

Tonks House was a beautiful building, although from the outside it looked relatively mundane, it was anything but. The gardens were beautifully tended but the girls noticed that most of them were magical flowers rather than mundane, the low stone walls marked the boundary and when they stepped through the gate. Both of them felt the thrum of the family's magic, even to their lack of experience they could feel the difference between that and the others they'd been into, Tonks House had echoes that reminded them of Narcissa but with a lighter edge eluding a strong sense of comfort. The girls grinned at each other, rushing after Narcissa who had already made her way towards the door and knocked.

"Aunt Andi!" They beamed at their favourite aunt, who greeted them with a smile and a quick hug before ushering them inside.

A fair haired man was standing awkwardly with a girl who didn't look long out of Hogwarts, she looked uncomfortable and was fidgeting with her clothes. Harry bit her lip, eyes widening uncertainly, a hand squeeze drawing her away from her unease and back to her sister. The greetings were just as uncomfortable but the instant they were over the man sighed "Thank goodness the formalities are over, I always think they're too stuffy. Come-on dinner will be served in the dining room." Chuckling as he led them out, the girl had relaxed as well and with a grin at the two girls, her hair turned bright bubble-gum pink.

Harry's eyes widened, "How did you do that?"

Nymphadora smirked, "nothing you can learn. I'm a metamorphmagus." Seeing their blank looks she explained, that it was a blood born ability that allowed the user to change their appearance at will, but unfortunately the constant shifting of height and weight meant that the person had a balance issue, her then getting chastised by her mother about her hair colour only to shift it to vivid green broke the ice.

After the initial uncertainty, it was an amusing evening. The girls being told to never call her Nymphadora, much to her mother's annoyance although when Narcissa decided just to shorten her name the two girls followed suit. Andromeda spent time telling them about silly things Narcissa had done when young; including her getting upset with their elder sister and accidently turning all of her clothes and shoes into slugs, a time when she'd been jealous of the attention her younger cousins were getting and changed everything to her favourite colour including herself, her siblings and cousins. The table was in stitches imagining a young Narcissa turning everything bright pink which the blushing blonde had admitted was her favourite at the time, especially when Nymphadora morphed herself to look identical to the elder woman only pink. Narcissa had only responded with 'a bit brighter than that'.

After an enjoyable meal, the group retired to the drawing room for gift giving, a quick round of presents soon followed, all of them laughing and joking as they tore festive paper off of the boxes. Exclamations of delight soon followed before with a groan from Andromeda and Nymphadora, Ted brought out an old battered copy of Monopoly, the guests were quickly introduced to the game which the girls to Narcissa's horror loved. Narcissa was firmly in her sister's corner as she found it tedious and rather irritating how Ted managed to bankrupt her rather too quickly for her own liking. Andromeda quickly followed, cheerfully declaring herself bankrupt as a beaming Draco scooped up her new properties. It felt like mere moments later when a contrite Draco offered Harry a free pass rather than bankrupting her, but Harry declined, saying she'd rather Draco took her out as long as the blonde went on to win. Andromeda was showing Narcissa baby photos, which was sending a constantly in jail Nymphadora's hair bright red. Harry perked up when she was handed an album open on a page which had a nervous looking 7 year old Nymphadora holding a baby, while a woman Harry recognised as her mother beamed at the pair clearly saying something to the child even as the baby grabbed at the 7 year old's fingers.

At Hogwarts, Albus had swallowed nervously when vomit dribbled from Severus' mouth, Madam Pomfrey quickly vanishing it before suggesting they heal him, but Dumbledore explained that until Severus woke up they could do nothing except watch him. It would be a trying few hours later that the dog would stretch awkwardly and keep going before changing back into the emaciated form of a weak man who whimpered softly in pain. Albus had to hold up a hand to stop Madam Pomfrey from rushing to his side, although it didn't stop her flicking her wand to see what injuries needed tending to most urgently. Severus woke up not long after the Mediwitch took possession of the ream of parchment the list of injuries had taken. His first reaction was to lean over and vomit.

"Honestly!" Madam Pomfrey muttered scowling as she cleared up the mess, "there are buckets for that."

"You'd be sick if you saw what I did." Severus tried to sneer menacingly but it came out more of a pained whinge.

Albus' eyes widened and he went to speak but Poppy interrupted him, her eyes softening, "That bad?" it was a testament to how bad Severus was feeling that he just nodded, his eyes already drifting closed, as the mediwitch bustled around rearranging his pillows. Albus went to speak but she turned to him, "Not now Albus."

"Poppy. I must insist, I need to know." Albus managed to get out, while he fully agreed that Severus needed to rest, he had to know what had happened to make a former Death Eater so ill.

"I said not now Albus." Fury was building in the Healer, "This is my hospital wing! If you do not let my patents rest and keep getting in the way of my job I will throw you out." Albus looked like he was going to argue but something in Poppy's expression stopped him and he nodded before turning and ushering the rest out with him. He'd speak to Severus in the morning, hopefully she would not object to that.

It was two tired children, although Harry was proudly clutching a copy of the photo of herself with Nymphadora, which Narcissa took them back to Longbottom Manor, tucking the pair into bed before retiring herself. She did however hope that Draco would sleep in, if only so that she didn't have to deal with how angry Harry would be about if her sister didn't.

Thankfully for the adults' sanity, the girls both slept until gone 10am, Harry was the more cheerful and awake one of the pair. She was excited about going to Diagon Alley again, especially to speak to the Goblins now that she would have enough time to rather than being in a hurry to get ready to go shopping. After food, Narcissa insisted that they went quickly as she wanted to get the shopping done, certain that Gringotts would be the longest part of their trip, especially as she suspected that Harry's inheritance hadn't been managed as it should.

Harry was delighted that their group didn't draw too much attention as they made their way to the bank, although some heads did turn a fair few were staring at Narcissa rather than her. Something which was rather refreshing for the famous teen, setting foot into the bank with Narcissa rushing them to the front of the queue did garner attention especially from the Goblins.

"I wish to speak to my daughter's trust fund manager." She didn't want to mention Harry's name in the middle of the bank, instead sliding the key over.

The Goblin however clearly recognised who she was alluding to and gestured to another to come over, "He'll take you to him." Narcissa nodded and the group thanked him, quickly following the new goblin. Harry was managing her best not to gawp as they walked through the long corridors, she'd never before seen this part of the bank and it was clearly designed to shock and awe customers.

They were led to an exquisitely carved door, an eternal battle of Goblins and Dragons depicted there, a golden plaque read 'Account Manager: Dragnar'. Their guide knocked softly before leading them in, behind an elaborate desk sat an old wizened goblin who looked up as they entered. "Welcome, we're pleased you have finally deigned to discuss your finances."

Harry's brow crinkled and she looked at Narcissa in confusion, "I'm sorry."

"I've recently taken custody of Harry from her muggle relatives and up until now she's been unable to come in and isn't aware of what is expected of the heir to one of the old houses." Narcissa quickly explained, fully aware that Harry was in over her head and even she was not entirely sure what was going on.

The goblin scowled, shuffling papers muttering under his breath about idiots not preparing kids for estates. "Very well. Well first things first, your family investments have been working well for you, we have been growing the fortunes as instructed. Your trust vaults have been being replenished on the first of each year."

"I have more than one trust vault?" Harry spoke softly, she was confused and frankly the talk of investments and estates had well and truly gone over her head, but she hadn't known that she didn't need to be so careful of the money in her vault or that she had multiple.

Dragnar sighed, a rather scary sound from a goblin, "Yes Miss Potter, your Grandfather insured that you'd always have money, I believe the one that you have been using is the one that James Potter set up for you." He turned to Narcissa aware that the teens didn't fully have either the patience or understanding for the nuances of their discussion, "The Potter Manor would take a fortune to rebuild after it was destroyed in '76. Potter cottage is in a similar state since '81 and was declared a national monument the same year, however the Ministry is paying rent for the allowance of the sign." He turned to another sheet of parchment, "I can't tell you much about the other houses as that is up to Lord Black whenever he decides to turn up, other than that the Late Lord Black ensured that the Manor would be maintained as would the finances until either his Heir took over or Harry came of age." The girls exchanged looks, Narcissa had told them that Sirius was Harry's Godfather but it seemed as though Sirius' Grandfather had taken more interest in Harry than they'd expected. Narcissa and Dragnar seemed to be deep in discussion while the girls were having a silent conversation about whether to ask about the Basilisk.

"…um…" Harry started not sure if she was allowed to interrupt, but when the pair looked at her, she resisted the urge to flinch, "If I killed a Basilisk would Draco be right that I could claim the body? And if so how would I go about selling it?"

Dragnar sat back, a true grin growing on his face, "Now that is an interesting question."

It was around Lunch time when Severus had awoke in the Hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey was busy tending to Sirius as he snuck out, he needed to speak to Dumbledore and he'd rather not spend any more time than he had to in the hospital beds. It hadn't taken long for him to reach the office and the Gargoyle was clearly expecting him as it sprung aside the instant he approached, by the time he had arrived in the office a fuming Madam Pomfrey was already waiting, arms crossed and her foot tapping as she glared at him.

"I needed to speak to the Headmaster." He was definitely not nervous, he remembered well enough what an angry Madam Pomfrey was like.

"That is all well and good but Albus would have come to speak to you in bed! Which I might add is where you should be!" She snapped.

Severus looked at Albus hoping that the Headmaster would back him up but after what had happened last night, he had no intention of standing between the enraged Mediwitch and her patient again. "I need the use of his pensive." Severus said eventually.

She huffed enraged and settled herself down in a chair, "In which case you had better get on with it so that I can escort you back to bed." Seeing his expression, she spoke again, "And Severus, you are not too old to be stunned and levitated back to bed."

She fell silent seeing that he was clearly sufficiently cowed not to disobey and Dumbledore decided it was safe to speak, "Whatever was it that made you so physically ill?"

"…I thought my childhood was rough." Severus spoke pensively, "Sirius had it so much worse, he escaped having the Black madness but he had it inflicted on him on all fronts." Severus took a deep breath, he had to tell Dumbledore, "James…I don't know if he was just evil or insane and evil." Dumbledore's eyes narrowed, "Harry isn't James' kid." The headmaster sat back a look of shock on his face. "It would be better if you watched, perhaps with Minerva, although what he did…" Severus shook his head, looking sick again. To Madam Pomfrey's horror, he pressed his wand to his forehead before removing a series of memories. Albus quickly put his pensive onto the desk for Severus to place them into. Madam Pomfrey went to have a look but Severus caught her arm, "Perhaps I should head back to the hospital wing."

Narcissa had acquiesced to Harry's demands and they'd headed down to her trust vault to get money in part because Harry wanted to see the vault that she'd never known existed. It was a long trip down to the vault and to Narcissa's horror, the girls had managed to convince the driver to make the cart go faster and the pair whooped in delight as it rocketed around corners and jumped whole sections of the track. Slamming to a halt which sent all of the occupants flying forwards in their seats before thumping back into them, even the goblin who despite not having been too bothered by the speed looked a little uncomfortable especially at the two girl's joy and begging to go again. Thankfully for his sanity Narcissa lead the pair after their driver to the vault door, the door swung open and Harry's jaw dropped at the heaps of galleons she could see. She was told that only she could go in and hesitantly walked forward, her eyes briefly closing as she felt wards wash over her she opened them again to see a letter floating before her. Harry frowned in confusion but pocketed the letter before she retrieved a lot of the galleons ready for their shopping trip, partially due to her suspicion that all was not quite right for Narcissa after her disagreement with Lucius.

After leaving the bank the trio, headed to the Flourish and Blotts despite Narcissa having been intending to try to get what she needed second hand. Harry insisting that given that Narcissa was a Black it didn't matter if they used money from her Black trust vault, Narcissa had tried to refuse but Harry was as stubborn as a Hippogriff and she eventually gave in, letting Harry pay for the books and then the ice-cream that the two insisted that they needed. It was afternoon by the time that they returned to Longbottom Manor, Augusta had taken Neville out for the day, Harry had told the two of them about the letter she'd found in the vault and Narcissa had frowned for a moment before pointing out that it might shed some light on the reason for her having the vault. Draco had agreed with her mother and after a light lunch they retreated to the drawing room, Narcissa while saying that it was unlikely to have anything hostile, she wanted to check it all the same. Harry agreed easily, especially given the Black family's reputation and many of their member's alignment, however to all of their relief it came back clear. Harry didn't hesitate and broke the elaborate seal, unrolling the expensive parchment and reading it out loud.

'Dear Harry,

I hope you don't mind my lapse of propriety, however the Black family tapestry does not tell me last names and I don't know whether any of the celebrating wizarding world even knows, so I figure that it falls upon me to explain although I profess not to know the full story.
You are a true son of house Black, when you were born your name appeared on the family tapestry, showing to me and I believe only myself that you're the child of Lily Evans and Sirius Black. I do not know what led him to be your father, but I can't see him having done so without James' permission so perhaps it was a case of James being unable to father children. As such upon your birth, given that your blood father is the future Lord Black, I made sure that you're officially his child to ensure that none can call you a bastard child and try to cut you off from your inheritance as you will be his heir especially given what I hear of your feud with the Malfoy's.
I am certain that I am not making a mistake, you and your father will ensure that the house of Black does not fall to the whims of that posturing madman upon his inevitable return. I swore that House Black would only serve him if every member was marked, confident as I was that Sirius would never allow that barbarian to mark him and even now I trust in my intuition despite what many would believe of him.
I ask of you one other thing, while I know that I am presuming a lot but I hope that yourself and your father would see fit to bring Andromeda back into the family proper and should young Narcissa be unhappy annul her marriage contract. With my ailing health I find myself wishing that I'd taken tighter control over the family to prevent some of the horror that certain members have brought upon our world. Please forgive an old man his presumption and whatever people tell you know that you are a Black. Torjours Pur has been corrupted by the younger generation but remember, always pure doesn't mean blood but to one's family and to one's self.

Your Grandfather,
Arcturus Black.

P.s. None would have thought of this but knowing what I do, I hope that by the point of your reading you have not come into contact with Spriggen Root as it has a strange and ill effect on our family. Something within our magic disagrees with the magic the root itself contains.'

Harry took a long drink, the old Lord Black had written a great deal but much of it would need a long conversation with Narcissa who was looking as shell-shocked as she did. Although that might have been partly due to the comment about annulling her marriage but also perhaps that Harry wasn't a Potter. Harry froze, James wasn't her father? Yet she had always looked so similar to him. She turned questioning eyes onto Draco, seeing that Narcissa was in her own world and would likely take a fair few minutes to gather herself. Draco however looked as confused as her and the pair settled back to wait for Narcissa to come back to them.