A quick update! You can blame the 3 day weekend ;)

A letter with the emblem of the Wizengamont and one from Dumbledore were dropped on the Potter kitchen table merely a second before a third owl came in. It dropped the newspaper on top of the two letters.

The air was punched out of James as he read the headliner.

Potter No Longer!

In a midnight session of the Wizengamont the return of the Boy-Who-Lived status was discussed. As many of my readers know Harry was thought to be dead for just over five years as a result of his parents' Mister and Misses Potter's mishandling of him. The young wizard was sent as an infant to live with abusive muggle relatives instead of having a proper upbringing. These muggles tortured him daily until he mysteriously disappeared. We all thought he was dead, or at least that's what Chief Warlock Dimbledore had us believe!

But Lord Sirius Black, Auror Second Class, never gave up hope. He found Harry in Magenta Forest! With this turn of events he petitioned the Wizengamont for full custody of Harry! Chief Warlock Dimbledore made an impressive speech, begging the twenty-eight hereditary seats and five elected seats to vote against Lord Black's proposal. His words were unheeded due to his once again damaged reputation.

Voting was convened at two in the morning with six votes against and twenty-seven for. Most notably of the ones against it were Lord Thomas Gaunt, Lord Arthur Weasely, and Lady Molly Weasely nee Prewitt. Misses Andromeda Tonks nee Black voted for the change, using the Black family seat since Lord Black was unable to vote on his own case.

Harry has been renamed Harry Black, heir to the Most Noble and Ancient House Black.

One has to wonder if this will lead to Lord Black petitioning for guardianship over the other and lesser mentioned Potter child, Euphemia. The two-year-old is just a few months older than Harry when he was condemned to live with muggles. (Cont. Page 3)

"You look like you've seen a Boggart," Lily said from the other side of the table. Euphy was sitting on her lap.

James didn't know what to say. Instead, he handed her the paper and opened the letter from Dumbledore. It was condolences wrapped up in pretty words and apologies. He tossed the letter onto the middle of the table before reading the one from the Wizengamont. It told him the same story, but without the bias Skeeter's was drenched in. The other three that had been opposed to Harry being taken away from his parents were all elected seats. Distantly James promised to financially support them when reelection came around.

Lily stifled a sob. "They can't —" her voice broke, "can't take him away or Euphy." She held their confused little girl tighter.

"They can't—I won't let them! Pack your things, dear. You two need to go into hiding to be on the safe side. I'll talk to Sirius. We may have had our differences, but he has to—" James took in a sharp breath. "Just go. I'll figure something out."

"Because hiding worked out for us so well last time." Lily's sarcasm was marred by grief. Euphy began crying and asking what was wrong. Lily held her tighter.

"Lily-flower…"

"This is all my fault, James. I'm sorry."

James shook his head. "We've had this discussion. What's done is done." He went over to their side of the table and kissed Lily then enveloped the pair in a hug.

HP

Harry's nose was scrunched up. Sirius resisted the urge to fiddle with his wand. Harry was staring at Sirius' house, not 12 Grimmauld Place. He'd burned his ancestral home down with fiend-fire, with everything (excluding that crouched house elf, the library, and a few photos and paintings) in it. Burning it had been a catharsis. In that moment he had mourned the loss of his little brother. He'd never had a chance to do that during the war—not without risking people doubting his loyalties.

Now Harry was eyeing critically the home Sirius had built on land he'd purchased shortly after. In truth, it was a mess of a house—Half had been built in a rage at Lily and James giving Harry away. He'd done more physical labor in his life during those six months than the rest of his life combined. Some part of him died then. When his rage simmered out into bitterness he slowed down, took a step back and focused on creating something rather than trying to destroy a part of himself. From an angry foundation sprung a beautiful home.

Finally, Harry spoke, "I like the stone beasts." Harry pointed as the gargoyles. "A wampus cat, nundu, basalisk, griffin, and," he grinned, "a vipertooth."

"You know your magical creatures. Did you read about them in a book?" He tugged at the thread, trying to start a conversation.

Harry looked up at him, looking like a child for once. "I can't read." Sirius' eyes went wide. There was a beat of silence then Harry started cracking up. "I'm kidding! Growing up in the forest doesn't mean I'm a barbarian."

Sirius shook his head with a small grin. He opened the front door while measuring his words. "How did you end up in Magenta Forest?"

Harry paused. "I wasn't… keen on eating from trash bins. I followed the food. I had to hide. If they found me…" He didn't have to fill in the rest. Damn those Dursleys.

Vogo the house elf appeared before them. Unlike most house elfs this one wore proper clothes—not because he was free, rather he just had good taste. Or so he claimed. Sirius would more accurately describe his clothes as an exercise in blinding onlookers with gaudy colors. Coupled with the fact the shades tended to move around like a lava lamp, it was downright dizzying. Vogo prided himself in how he looked so Sirius held his tongue.

Vogo bowed to them. "Greetings young Master Black. I is Vogo. Would yous like me to take your baggen?"

Harry handed over the bag to Vogo. "Thank you, Vogo." He bowed in return, making Vogo's wrinkled face stretch into a smile.

Sirius melted. Harry had accepted his new last name without protest. "Would you like the grand tour?" Harry nodded, his strange eyes already taking in the foyer.

The tour was a bit awkward, but not nearly as bad as it could have been. There had been two memorable bits, though. When they'd reached the kitchen Harry had opened every cabinet and the icebox. He proceeded to examine each piece of food and drink. Sirius was glad he had the forethought to stock up.

Thankfully, Harry didn't do the same when they reached the library. Instead, he walked around the room, fingers gliding over bookspines. At random he would pull out a book and put it on a side table next to a comfortable reading chair.

Distantly, Sirius wondered if he should have put the darker books somewhere else.

Fyi I might switch to only posting on AO3 since ff.n eats up my formatting and says I have invalid requests when I try to copy-paste in a chapter.