Author's Note:

Reviews and Comments: To iKingAnomalyII: Thank you! I thought the Guardian was a very cool idea that does fit well into the Unspeakables. I'm glad it's original too, that's exciting! I agree, it needed to end like that for Harry because he needed that little slap in the face to wake him up. Thank you! To minerdude: Thank you! Yes, I think it was smart of Mandy. Mandy did catch on and she's a smart girl and I think that she knew to get out when it was time. Now Harry needs to make his own choices and he needs to find out how Ginny feels. Thank you! To ginnymary92: Thank you! It's coming soon, I swear! To DetroitNate: Mandy did tell our dimwitted Harry the truth, now he needs to think about it. Thank you! As for Theo and Ciara, I wanted him to show a softer side, to show that there is different kinds of prejudice, even among students, and to stand up for her. He gave her the same advice that he needs to follow himself, but he'll get there. Thank you! To Moony The Sheep: Yes, Harry does need to stop being jealous and get his act together. Thank you! To White Squirrel: No one is forcing Harry and Ginny to be together, people are just trying to make Harry pull his head out of his arse and realize that he likes her as more than a friend and to figure out what he wants to do about it. Hinny will not be in this chapter as we don't want Ginny to think she's a rebound, do we? It will still be some time. Thanks for your thoughts.

To Leaf Ranger: Yes the Gryffindor team is all set up. As to Harry and Ginny, we will see. Thank you To LifeonEarth: Oh, sure, now that Mandy breaks up with him, you love her lol. Thank you! To SilverMidas: Mandy is mature and she's not blind. Harry and Ginny will figure things out and as to Theo, we'll see. Thank you! To Menna Taha: You noticed that, did you? The comparison between Theo finding Ciara to Ginny finding Colin in first year? Thanks for that. Yes, he is a great guy despite everything he is going through. Hinny is coming soon, your soul is right! Thank you! To coloredwords: Mandy is the brain here. Harry has seen Ginny fly hundreds of times, but the boys never let her play Quidditch with them. Thank you! To purplevictory: I'm glad you're so happy! Thanks for saying the readers can feel the burden Theo is carrying, that means a lot. Thank you! To LeglessFishOnRollerskates: Thank you! To midnitewanderer: Yes, Mandy is not the right girl for Harry. Thank you! To ladyinwaiting2005: That would be an epic dream, but sadly no Bowie's Goblin King will not make an appearance here lol. Blvnk's work is always incredible and I am always inspired after seeing it. Thank you! To scrappy8: Thank you!

To Guest: Again, no one is forcing Harry and Ginny to get together. It will happen when it happens. Thank you. To KittenWithAnAx: I'm sorry that Mandy and Harry's breakup saddened you even though you're happy for possible Hinny. Thank you! To notthatchhavi: Thanks for loving Theo so much! Yes, he still needs to figure out what to do about Ernie. Of course people came out just to meet Harry lol, but he and Angelina set them straight! No, Hinny won't be in this chapter. He literally just got dumped. We have to give our boy some time to heal. Thank you! To Keyblade: Aww, I'm sorry that you thought it was one of the most heartbreaking breakups ever. Wow! Mandy was one of your favourite characters? Don't worry, she'll be happy. Yes, Theo needs to escape his fate! Thank you! To zorica: Thank you! To nesciamema: Yes, Harry needs to deal with his feelings now more than ever. To Guest: Nope, no more Mandy. To Blue Luver5000: Thank you! To geekymom: Thank you! To BioHazard82: Thank you! To speedsONEandONLY: Ha, yes I don't imagine Ernie would be pleased if Harry and Ginny came after him, but you will have to wait and see. It's true, the whole school would talk about them lol. Yes, Quidditch is definitely going to be foreplay to them. Thank you! To Obscure-Reference-Girl: I'm so glad there's a happy dance! Thank you! To Steelcode: Yes, it was finally said aloud! Thank you! To xXMizz Alec VolturiXx: Yes, teenage boys really are such idiots lol. To Wolf's scream: Yes, Theo is a good person and he wants to help Ciara, even while he's hurting himself. Thank you! To Sirenstrong0617: Thank you! To x-shadow-x-kisses-x: Yes, we are rid of Mandy lol. Thank you!

To murgel: Thank you for loving my characters and my plot. I'm sorry that you feel there's too much homosexuality in this story — there will be more. Love is love. And I can promise you, there will be more sex scenes and yes, even between gay people. I hardly think the magical community has "double or even triple the rate of homosexuals compared to non-magical" and no, I don't think that's a "reason for their slow disappearance as a subspecies." I'm sorry you consider this a weak point of the story, I completely disagree. Love can be found with anyone, anytime. That's my opinion and I don't plan on changing that. Thank you for your thoughts. To alix33: Thank you! I loved every syllable Zee said to Snape too lol. To AnonymousHufflepuffWriter: Thanks for reading! I appreciate you saying I've created a well thought out and detailed storyline. Thank you! To MaladaptiveDaydreamer: I'm sorry you have to wait for new chapters now, but thanks for catching up! To Guest: Thank you!

To Kmi: Thanks for finally leaving me a review! I love that you're proud of deMandy lol. Thank you for sharing your appreciation for the whole world to see. I appreciate you! Thank you! To xXQueenOfDragonsXx: Yes, fae is fairy. Thank you! To Jmcglynn522: No, Mandy isn't the daughter of Voldemort LMAO. Yes, she is officially out of the way and yes, she took one for the team lol. Thank you! To Greatherthan84: Harry was very obvious lol. Mandy does deserve a man who is crazy about her. Thank you! To Pegg7: Thank you! As to the Guardian, it was an idea my Beta tossed my way and I love it. I am still working out the kinks of it, but I imagine him/her as being somewhat akin to the wizard in the Wizard of Oz, a deep mystery that no one understands just knowing he/she is all powerful, but whether or not we will see behind the curtain has yet to be determined. Thank you! To Kate: Ha, not sad at all about the breakup seems the general consensus lol. Hinny is soon. Thank you! To Soveliss: I know, poor Theo is really in a tough spot and he needs to open up and trust his friends. He will. Thank you! To pottermum: Wow, I made you feel sorry for Mandy lol. Big compliment, but yes, Hinny is coming. Soon! Thank you!

Special thank you to Jen for pointing me in the right direction and for giving me the basis of the background I needed here. I am a huge history nerd as you already know, and I spent days working on this, researching historical facts with Harry Potter facts and mixing it all together because I am a huge nerd and thought it would be fascinating. You should see my spreadsheets and notes, photos, and everything (I tend to go a little overboard) LOL. I hope you like it.

Thank you to Steel for giving me some guidance here.

My posting schedule: Once a week and sometimes on weekends.

As always, thank you very much for reading and please, please review!

Your reviews give me life! They give me inspiration! And they make me want to keep writing for more than just myself! Thank you for all of your continued support!

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY-TWO:

The One Where They Discuss the Size of Remus' Package

Hermione hooked her arm through Ginny's when they stepped into the Gryffindor common room after the Quidditch tryouts were done that evening. "My room?"

Ginny nodded and followed her friend upstairs, lounging on her bed. "I'm so excited, Hermione! I've been dreaming about being a Chaser for so long!"

"You deserve it," Hermione told her honestly. "You were incredible out there. Harry made the right choice. You were clearly the best. I don't even know much about Quidditch and I could tell how good you were — and that says something."

"Thanks. It means a lot to hear you say that," Ginny said, still grinning widely. "Ron did a decent job, but he definitely wasn't the greatest. McLaggen was way better, but he kept getting confused. Honestly, the way that he was playing I thought that he'd been Confunded or something. His moves were just so splotchy and out of turn with how he had started off."

Hermione blushed. "What a strange thing to say!"

Ginny's eyes widened as she looked at her friend's blushing face. "Hermione! Did you use a Confundus Charm on him?"

"No! Of course not!" she exclaimed quickly.

But when she turned around, Ginny could see the back of her neck heating. "Liar. That's kind of genius. It was sweet of you to give Ron the little boost. I won't tell him."

"He really wanted it," Hermione said softly. "He was so nice to me this summer, Ginny. I just… I wanted to do something nice for him in return. Did you know that he used my mirror and called my parents to tell them about Viktor so that they would be ready for me?"

"I didn't, no," Ginny said with a smile. "He can be really sweet sometimes."

"He can," Hermione admitted. "I'm glad that you're both on the team."

Ginny rolled onto her stomach, putting her feet up behind her as she grinned at her friend. "Me too. Everything else okay with you? You've been a bit more reserved than usual since school started up."

Hermione shrugged as she stretched out on the bed next to her friend. "I miss him still. But not like I did and then I feel a bit guilty for it."

"You can't feel guilty, Hermione. He wouldn't want you to grieve forever. It's been almost three months."

She nodded, a soft smile on her lips. "He — he told that to Harry. Did — did Harry tell you that?"

Ginny shook her head, a puzzled look on her face. "No, he didn't say anything about that."

"When he… in Greece when they were doing the operation and he saw his parents, he saw Viktor and Cedric too. He told me that Viktor asked him to pass on a message to me: He loves me and that he wants me to become the incredible woman that he knows I will be and not to spend my life grieving for him."

Ginny put an arm around her. "He was an amazing bloke, Hermione. You were lucky that you had so many wonderful months with him."

"He was," she said, wiping a tear from her eyes. "I was so in love with him. I don't know how I would have dealt with the long distance thing, with him being gone all the time and me being here at school… I like to think that we would have made it work, but thinking about it now… I honestly don't know."

Ginny nodded. "It definitely would have been hard, but if it was meant to be you would have done it."

Hermione's eyes met hers from beneath her lashes. "My mum said something similar to me. She said that if he had been the one for me, God wouldn't have taken him away so early, that I would find love again. I just… the thought of being in love with someone else, Ginny, it seems impossible. He was just so wonderful and so sweet and he made my body feels things that I can't explain. I… I was going to give him my virginity in Bulgaria."

Ginny's eyes widened in surprise. "Wow. Actually?"

Hermione nodded. "I had been thinking about it more and more and after we told each other that we were in love, I knew it was something that I wanted. Now… I don't know if I'm disappointed or not. And then…"

"And then what?"

Hermione shook her head. "When I look at another bloke and I feel attraction of any kind, I feel guilty, like I'm betraying Viktor in some way."

Ginny smiled sympathetically. "You aren't. He would want you to move on, Hermione. Not right this minute, not until you're ready, but he would want you to move on. To find love and to be happy. When you're ready," she repeated.

Hermione nodded, smiling at her friend. "Thanks Ginny."

"Anytime," Ginny said with a grin. She bit her lip before sneaking a look at her friend. "Can I ask you a boy question, Hermione?"

"Of course," Hermione said, grinning at her. "I don't know how much help I will be, but please go on."

Ginny shrugged and snuck a glance at her friend from beneath her lashes. "What do you think of Dean?"

Hermione's eyebrow rose in surprise. "He's definitely been flirting with you."

"Oh, that I've noticed," Ginny said with a smirk. "Bloke is just full of zealous charm."

Hermione smiled. "He's not the only one who's had his eyes on you lately."

Ginny smiled back at her friend. "Yeah, boys have been weird this year. Blaise Zabini actually sniffed my hair!"

She laughed. "Okay, I didn't expect that. But I was actually talking about Harry."

The back of Ginny's neck flushed. "Harry doesn't like me like that, Hermione."

"Harry was too busy staring at you today which is why he didn't dodge that Bludger like he should have."

Ginny opened her mouth to protest before she promptly closed it again.

"I know that you still like him," Hermione said carefully.

"Me liking Harry is relative… he's Harry."

"What does that mean, 'he's Harry?'" Hermione asked, her eyes on her friend.

Ginny stared down at Hermione's bedspread as she spoke. "He's Harry… he's one of the most important people in my life, Hermione. He's sweet and always there for me when I need him and… Merlin, he's so good looking, and I try so hard to pretend that I don't notice, but he really does have the nicest bum. I could lose myself in those green eyes of his and when he hugs me… I want to run my fingers through his hair for the rest of my life. I'd be lying if I said I haven't had more than one dream about him doing lovely and naughty things to me but… we're friends and he told me before that we would always be just friends. Him and Mandy have been together for seven months, Hermione. He's happy with her. He was probably only staring at me because he was watching how well I was doing as a Chaser and if I let myself think that… I have to stop thinking about him as anyone other than my friend."

Hermione smiled sympathetically at her friend. "I get it, Ginny. You don't want to get your hopes up, but were you not just telling me that the blokes are very flirty this year? And for the record, for being just your friend, Harry was acting like a pretty huge jealous arse when you were with Michael last year."

"Last — no," Ginny said. "We talked about that. He apologized for overreacting, but he said that he was worried because of the whole Tom thing and well, he did say that Michael was a git, which as it turned out, he was a huge git, but still… you've got it all wrong."

Hermione grinned. "Another thing, Mandy made a comment to me that Harry's eyes were on you for most of the game. She's not stupid, Ginny. Even she has noticed that he pays extra attention to you."

"There's no way, Hermione, I'm telling you. He only likes me as a friend because if it was…" She placed a hand over her trembling stomach as she thought about her friend's words, as she imagined the thought of Harry kissing her and she closed her eyes as the image was too perfect. "We're just friends."

Hermione smiled at her. "Okay, I just thought that you'd like to know my observations. So, now that you know them, how do you feel about Dean flirting with you?"

"Same way that I did the first time," Ginny said, smiling. "He's cute and his flirting is rather charming and it makes me feel special. But… I don't know if he's really that interested in me either as despite his constant flirting, he still hasn't actually asked me out yet. We'll see what happens."

"Are you interested?"

Ginny wanted to say yes, absolutely. Dean was sweet and handsome and she liked that he was an artist, but her friend's words were echoing in her mind now and when she closed her eyes and imagined someone leaning in to kiss her, it wasn't Dean she saw.

"I don't know," she admitted.

Hermione smiled slowly. "Because he's not Harry."

Ginny blushed and buried her face in her hands. "I can't let myself… no! Harry and I are just friends. It's all we'll ever be."

But when Hermione only gave her a shrug, her stomach trembled and the fact that she was starting to desperately hope that it could be more worried her. If he rejected her again, she didn't think that she could handle it.

She closed her eyes. "Tell me more about Dean, Hermione."

~ ASC ~

Harry sat out on the Quidditch pitch until the sun started to set, still wondering about Mandy's words. He missed dinner completely, too lost in thought to contemplate heading into the Great Hall. He liked Mandy and he cared about her, he knew that, but at the same time, she was right. He wasn't falling in love with her and despite how much of a wonderful girl she was, he couldn't picture himself with her in the future. When he closed his eyes and pictured himself five years from now, he saw someone else and desire stirred in his gut at the thought of it.

He grabbed his bag and his broom as he made his way back into the castle and to Remus' suite. He let himself into the suite and dropped his stuff on the sofa before he stood there for a moment, still trying to come to grips with what he was feeling.

Mandy had dumped him.

Not only that, but he wasn't as sad about it as he thought he should be. In fact, he almost felt relieved.

And he didn't know how to come to terms with that.

He glanced up at the clock and saw that it was almost half past nine so he shook his thoughts from his head and moved towards the fireplace to take him to Remus and Tonks' cottage. When he stepped out into their living room a moment later, Tonks was sprawled out across the sofa, a report open on her raised up knees and she grinned at him.

"Wotcher. How were tryouts?"

"Great. Ginny's Chaser and Ron's Keeper."

Tonks smiled at him. "We figured that your date must have run a bit late. Sirius and Remus are already downstairs and —" she said as a loud howl echoed through the cottage, "— someone has already transformed."

He nodded, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Okay, can you let me downstairs then?"

Tonks moved her reports to the coffee table, eyes on him for a moment. "Come sit with me first."

At his look, she rolled her eyes.

"Come sit!"

Harry sighed and took a seat next to her. "I'm supposed to be downstairs."

"And you will be, Mr Crankypants, but first, you will tell me who put that look on your face?"

"What look?"

"Like your best friend died."

He shrugged. "I'm fine."

Tonks leaned forward and rested her chin on his shoulder. "Tell me."

"There's nothing to tell," he insisted stubbornly, shoving her off of him.

Tonks only continued to stare at him, batting her lashes.

He blew his fringe out of his eyes. "Mandy broke up with me."

"Oh," Tonks said in surprise, moving to hug him and ignoring his protests. "No, accept my love!"

He snorted into her neck, but wrapped his arms around her. "I'm fine."

Tonks kissed his cheek and pulled away. "Breakups are tough."

Harry shrugged again. "I guess."

"Wasn't it the big anniversary dinner tonight?"

He nodded.

Tonks smiled sympathetically at him. "Did she say why?"

He blushed and stared at his hands. "Not really."

Tonks stared at him. "Is there someone else for her?"

"No. At least, I don't think so."

"So, what was her reason then? The last I saw she was pretty crazy about you." When he didn't answer, she grinned and leaned over to poke him in the ribs. "Tell me, or I'll keep annoying you."

Harry swatted her hands away as she poked him in the ribs, laughing when she didn't stop. "Okay, okay, you mad woman!"

Tonks grinned and leaned back against the arm of the sofa. "So?"

Harry sighed and his hand went up to his hair as he spoke. "She — she said that she was falling in love with me and that… she had to break up with me before she did fall because she didn't want to get hurt."

"Were you falling in love with her, Harry?"

"I care about her, sure… she's… no, no, I wasn't."

Tonks smiled sympathetically at him. "And she knew that."

He nodded, his eyes meeting hers. "Yeah, I guess maybe she did."

"Breakups happen. It definitely sucks, but it sounds like it was for the best. You're both sad to see it end, but she ended it before anyone really got hurt and that's what's important."

"I guess."

Tonks leaned in and kissed his cheek. "Zee should be here soon. We were going to drink wine and talk about girl stuff. Why don't you hang out here with me until she comes and we'll help you wallow a bit before you go downstairs?"

Harry shook his head and stood up. "Nah, I think that I just want to transform and… I want to be with Uncle Padfoot and Uncle Moony."

Tonks nodded as he transformed into his Animagus and she scratched him behind the ears. He was such a large dog now that she didn't even have to bend to do so. "All right. But if you need to talk about anything, I'm always here."

Harry licked her hand affectionately before he headed to the door of the cellar. Tonks unlocked it and opened it up, letting him inside before she sealed it again. Harry heard her lock it behind him before he ran down the stairs, limping a bit as he remembered the Bludger to his leg. Madam Pomfrey probably hadn't wanted him to transform into his Animagus form either, but she had only said no to flying, he thought.

Padfoot barked and tackled him and he barked back, wrestling with the dog in joy as the wolf growled. Harry whined as he moved his leg wrong and pain shot through his back leg. Padfoot immediately moved forward to nudge his leg, licking it in concern as the wolf moved to do the same, checking him carefully for marks. Harry barked that he was all right, moving slowly, but easily and they seemed to accept this. Harry moved to play with the wolf next, jumping and yipping around him, his loud bark echoing in the cellar. It was only a few moments before Tonks unlocked the door and Padfoot carefully led the wolf and the dog out of the cellar and out into the garden.

Remus immediately made a beeline for the woods, howling loudly at the moon as Harry and Padfoot howled along with him. Harry tackled the wolf playfully and the wolf wrestled with him before licking the top of his head like he was a pup in need of a bath, despite his massive size. And as Harry ran into the woods, barking happily with Padfoot and the wolf chasing him, he thought that this was exactly what he had needed.

To run wild and free and to forget about all of his worries.

~ ASC ~

Tonks locked the door to the house once the wolf and dogs were outside and she crossed her arms in front of her chest. She knew that Remus was a bit nervous about being let loose in the woods, but Sirius had assured him that he and Harry were both large enough animals to keep him under control. Plus the potion took the edge off; kept him calmer and more alert, but she knew that her husband was still nervous. She watched him lick the large Tamaskan as if he was still a puppy and she smiled. He was such a papa wolf and she loved him for it.

The sound of the fireplace made her jump and she hurried into the living room as Zee was dusting herself off.

"Hi, sorry I'm late," Zee said, holding out the bottle of rosé in her hand. "I needed to finish my report and get the plans formed for the new Aqua Protectors. When Sirius left to come here, I thought that I would be right behind him, but it took me longer than I planned. I have a group of magizoologists helping me form the unit and how to get more magical creatures involved."

"Sounds exciting."

Zee grinned widely. "I think it will be. I am trying to work with the Merpeople now and to convince them to shift their stance of neutrality and to join the force, but I don't know how successful I will be. They are very distrustful of the Ministry of Magic and considering their past with them, I can't blame them." She jumped at the sound of the howl and the barking and smiled. "Is Harry out there with them?"

Tonks nodded. "He is. He was a bit late himself. It seems that Mandy broke up with him tonight."

"Oh!" Zee said, her face sad. "The poor darling! It was their anniversary tonight, wasn't it? How is he holding up?"

"He said that he's fine," Tonks told her. "But we both know what his version of fine entails. Come into the kitchen and we'll open that wine."

Tonks led the way into the kitchen to get wine glasses and then opened the icebox with a smile.

"I sliced up some kielbasa with cheese and crackers for us to snack on and I have a bag of salted crisps."

"Sounds perfect," Zee said with a smile as she opened the bottle of rosé, a lovely French one, Gerard Bertrand Cote des Roses Rosé.

A few minutes later they were both sitting cross-legged on the couch in the living room drinking wine and snacking.

"So, how's married life been?"

Tonks grinned. "Perfect. I mean, nothing really changed, I suppose. We were already living together, but I like being able to call him my husband as much as my mate. He's the sweetest."

"How so?"

Tonks shrugged. "Like this morning, he brought me breakfast in bed and we ate and talked and then spent the whole morning making love. It was just… wonderful and lazy and wonderful. Then we just lied there and talked about the war and well, what's coming. He's nervous about Umbridge being at Hogwarts this year and I can't say that I blame him. She's such a bigot and I don't see how she will do anything good for that school. Not to mention that she very clearly doesn't like him — though how much of that is hate compared to fear I'm not sure."

"Yeah, I agree with that. Sirius says that Amelia is a very bright woman and I happen to agree with her. Umbridge knows that she isn't high on the Minister's list either so that should come into play with how she acts. But Mary Raffigan was also assigned to Hogwarts and she's a bright woman. She's the historian that I spoke to about that necklace outline we found in Slytherin's study in the Chamber of Secrets a few years ago. She's very well informed on Hogwarts history and Hogwarts mythology and I think that having her at the school could be a huge asset."

Tonks nodded. "Well, hopefully she also manages to control Umbitch because if that woman harms one hair on Remus' head — I will end her."

Zee snorted as she drank her wine. "Might be worth it to see that."

Tonks shrugged. "Maybe."

"Did Harry say why Mandy broke up with him?"

"Not in so many words, but she told him that she was falling in love with him and needed to break away before she got hurt."

Zee nodded. "She's a bright young woman, I admired that about her. She knows her own heart and her own mind. I know that Harry cares for her, but his heart doesn't belong to her."

"No, no, it doesn't," Tonks said with a smile. "Do you think that he'll make a move on Ginny now?"

Zee shook her head. "I honestly don't know what goes through his head. He is more than just simply interested in her or fancies her and I think that Mandy realized that. They are friends and I understand that worry about ruining the friendship, but the way that she was there for him when he learned about the AH and the way that Sirius said he reached for her in his sleep when she was holding his hand… they have a connection that really can't be denied and it goes beyond a simple friendship — whether he wants to admit to it or not."

"On that I agree," Tonks told her. "I think that he's on the verge of falling in love with her, teetering on that edge, and doing everything he possibly can to stop himself from falling over."

"Did you see them dancing at your wedding? The way his eyes followed her around the dance floor. Our boy is quite smitten and I hope that he decides to act on it soon because Ginny's a beautiful young woman and she's smart and vivacious and brave and she's not going to be single for very long," Zee said, reaching for a cracker with cheese and kielbasa. "And to be honest, Harry isn't the jealous sort, but with Ginny he becomes very protective of her. He's lucky that she didn't hex him when she was with Michael Corner because he definitely deserved it."

Tonks chuckled. "Wish that I could say the same, I'm totally prone to jealousy. Did I ever tell you about the time Rem and I ran into an ex-flame of his in the Ministry? God, I took one look at her flirting with him and the first thing I did was put my arm around his waist and shove my hand into his front pocket. It was like I had this need to claim him."

"That's the mating aspect of you and him though. Wolves mate for life and as you said, Remus had done his part, but he had never given you the opportunity to do yours so it was like part of it was still open. Remus had no interest in anyone else, but you still saw him as potentially desirable to others and needed to stake your claim to him. You are his other half in every way."

Tonks grinned widely as she drank her wine. "He is definitely all mine and I plan to spend my day tomorrow worshipping his body. He's always ridiculously randy after the moon and I love showing him how sexy he is."

Zee smiled. "It's a wonderful kind of power, isn't it? To hold our men under our thrall? I love pleasuring Sirius. I love sex in general and sex with him is always amazing, but I love just pleasing him. Fuck, I don't care if it makes me sound like a scarlet woman or whatever, but I absolutely love giving him head. It turns me on so much to watch him come undone like that. I love everything about it and I definitely try to go down on him as often as possible."

Tonks blushed. "Remus is the only man that I've ever done that too, and I like it. He's just… big, and I can't take all of him, you know?"

Zee grinned. "So you keep teasing."

Tonks bit her bottom lip and grinned. "I like being with him that way, every way, and well, it is kind of sexy to give him pleasure."

Zee grinned. "It really is. Plus it helps when your man isn't selfish. Sirius is not a selfish lover and I love that about him. I mean he definitely goes above and beyond in that category."

"Remus, too," Tonks said, biting her bottom lip. "Definitely. He is always pleasuring me and I feel so wanton sometimes it's ridiculous, but Merlin, he's the best."

Zee chuckled. "Great sex definitely adds that little extra to a good relationship that's for sure."

"Speaking of good relationships, Remus and I were talking about it a few days ago, the fact that you've been together longer than us and yet the topic of marriage has never come up. Have you and Sirius talked about marriage yet?"

"Well, officially we've been together a little less than you. That first year I travelled so much we really just shagged each other's brains out at every opportunity, sometimes going over a month without seeing each other. But yeah, we've talked about it. I love him, Tonks. He's the most amazing man that I have ever known and he just amazes me every day with his love and devotion to Harry and to his friends. He's intelligent and brave and has a short temper, but deep down he's like a child who still craves love that he's not sure he deserves. That part of him just makes me want to love him even more," Zee admitted with a smile. "And Harry, watching him grow up and… he is my son in everything but blood and I would lay down my life for that boy in a heartbeat. They're my family."

Tonks smiled. "I know that Harry feels the same way about you."

Zee grinned. "He talks to me and trusts me and I know that he's getting to that age where he might not come to Sirius and I or to you and Remus for those same things anymore and that hurts me a little. But I love him and I will be part of his life no matter what. Sirius and I spoke about marriage and I think maybe it's something that I might consider in the near future. I like where I am with him and to be honest, I don't know if I want to surrender myself to be Zahira Black. But, I am putting my cottage up for sale this week."

Tonks' eyes widened in surprise. "I thought that you were going to keep it?"

"I was, but it's just sitting there unused and there's no point in it. My parents and grandparents stayed there when they were down, but I haven't spent a single night there since Sirius and I moved the last of my things into Black Cottage. I think part of me kept it because it was my first home, the first thing that I owned myself, but another part of me was keeping it because of that fear, you know the one that tells you that you're jumping all in too fast. That fear dissolved the moment I moved in with Sirius and Harry. I knew that I had made the right choice. I was home. It's stupid for me to keep it."

Tonks grinned. "I'm happy for you. What did Sirius say about marriage?"

"Believe it or not, he might be a bit more ready for it than I am, but neither of us are quite there, not yet. How did he put it… that we're both quite happy living in sin, but we're open to discuss making it more legal when the time is right."

"What about kids?"

Zee smiled. "I don't know. They were never something that I ever admittedly decided I wanted and Harry is ours. Maybe one day, but Harry is enough for me right now. Have you thought about kids?"

Tonks shrugged and scratched the buzzed hair at the base of her neck. "Sure. I know Remus is worried about how his lycanthropy will affect his children even though it's extremely rare for it to be passed down unless both parents are wolves, but we haven't talked about it. Maybe in a few years when the war is over we can discuss it again. I take the potion the first of every month and I never miss a dose. I'm very good with it and it's fairly effective."

Zee chuckled. "Very effective. I take it too and that one percent chance of a baby upon us is scary enough, but I think it works well."

Tonks grinned. "Merlin, listen to us, marriage and babies, we need to talk about more important things."

"Like how Harry is in love with Ginny?" Zee asked.

Tonks smirked. "Obviously. Now, Zee, would it be completely tactless of us to make a bet on how long it takes him to make a move?"

Zee's mouth opened in surprise. "Completely. It would be invasive and heartless. It's absolutely none of our business."

Tonks nodded. "Yeah, you're right."

"But, I say by Yule he's going to cave."

Tonks grinned. "All Hallows Eve."

"What are we betting?"

"Ten Galleons?"

Zee smirked. "Deal."

They clinked wine glasses, eyes twinkling in laughter. It was going to be an interesting couple of months, Tonks thought.

~ ASC ~

Tonks and Zee were both waiting for their men in the garden when the sun rose the next morning. Zee watched them come out of the woods, wincing slightly at the painful expression on Remus' face as he shifted back. Sirius and Harry changed back into themselves once Remus had finished shifting. They both reached down to help him to his feet and she bit her lip, as she caught a glance between Remus' legs and turned to Tonks.

"You weren't lying."

Tonks smirked at her as she watched her man walk naked towards them. "Told you."

Tonks hurried out with a pair of sweats for him. Remus kissed her softly before he pulled the sweats up quickly. Sirius was saying something to Remus, but Zee's eyes were on Harry. He moved past his fathers and towards the house, nodding at her before he made his way into the kitchen.

Zee watched him go inside and frowned. She snuck a look back at Sirius, Remus, and Tonks who were talking by the woods and then followed her son into the cottage. He was definitely not fine and she was determined to find out what was going on with him.

Harry was standing in the doorway, a surprised look on his face when he saw the full breakfast laid out on the kitchen table. Zee had cooked a plate full of scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, sausages, shredded hash-browns mixed with onions and cheese, blueberry pancakes with strawberries and maple syrup, and had poured them all tall glasses of orange juice. He had planned on coming inside to make breakfast and hadn't expected it to all be done already.

He jolted slightly when Zee slid her arm through his and stood on her toes to kiss his cheek. "Didn't want my boys to go hungry this morning. Sit and eat."

"Thanks, Zee," he said, the sight of the food making him feel a little overwhelmed.

He took a seat at the table and Zee leaned down and kissed his forehead. "Tonks told me about Mandy. You doing okay, sweetie?"

He nodded, swallowing the lump in his throat. "Yeah, I'm fine."

She stared at him for a moment, sneaking a glance out the kitchen window to where Remus, Sirius, and Tonks were still talking. "It's okay to be sad, Harry. You are supposed to be sad when a relationship ends, especially when it was a good one. And I know that you liked Mandy, but… ending a relationship is still like a death. You mourn the loss, have conflicting emotions, but oftentimes there's a sense of relief when it's over. We've all experienced it, but no one wants to admit it."

He nodded again. "I'm… I'm not as sad as I should be."

Zee smiled at him, moving to sit in the chair next to him. "And Ginny?"

Harry's eyes met hers. "Mandy said that… she said that I'm in love with her."

"With Mandy?"

"No… with Ginny," he said, his eyes on hers. "I…"

Zee's dark eyes met his in question. "Are you?"

"She's my friend and she… she wouldn't be interested in me like that."

Zee smiled sympathetically. "Well, before she was dating Michael and you were with Mandy and now you're both free. I think that you should think about it, sweetie."

"But she's my friend."

"She is," Zee said with a smile. "She will always be your friend and you will always have her in your life, but, I think that we both know that you want her to be something more than just your friend. Harry, this isn't a feeling that's going away. It's been many months now. Do you still only see her as a friend?"

He reached down to rub his sore leg remembering how the Bludger had hit him because he had been too busy watching Ginny to pay attention and he shook his leg. "I want more."

"Well, that's an excellent start. I'm not here to tell you to ask Ginny out or not to, I just want you to think about what it is you do want. You need to figure out what you really feel, Harry, whether you fancy Ginny or not, if she's really your friend, she deserves to know what's going on with you. Think about that." She looked up when the back door opened and she smiled. "Good, breakfast time, come sit!"

"Zee, you didn't have to do his," Remus said in surprise, moving to sit down.

"How do you know that it wasn't me?" Tonks asked, pouting.

Remus tugged his wife down into his lap and kissed her softly. "Because I love and adore you for many, many reasons, Nymphadora, and one of them is how utterly hopeless you are in the kitchen."

Tonks grinned at him. "You're lucky you're so bloody cute."

Sirius placed a hand on Harry's shoulder before he took a seat in the chair on the other side of his son. "So, why were you limping last night?"

Harry smirked. "Caught that, huh?"

"Yes, I bloody well caught it. I thought I had hurt you with that tackle."

Harry shook his head. "Nah, it wasn't you. I got hit with a Bludger in the leg from practice."

"A Bludger? Not moving fast enough?" Remus asked, taking a piece of bacon.

Harry shrugged. "Watching the Chasers."

"Oooh right, tryouts," Sirius said with a grin. "How did Ron do?"

"Great actually. I mean, he was nervous that much was obvious, but he did the best out of everyone. He saved every goal so we made him the new Keeper."

"How about the Chaser? Any luck?" Sirius asked as he began to fill his plate.

Harry covered his blueberry pancake in maple syrup before he dropped strawberry slices on top suddenly realizing how hungry he was after missing dinner the night before. "Yeah, we did, um, Ginny."

Sirius' eyebrow rose. "Ginny?"

"She was amazing. I mean, her brothers never let her play with them, but I always knew that she was a talented flier, but she's an amazing Chaser. Angelina and Katie were just raving about her and frankly, there was no competition. So the three of us will now be outnumbered by Weasleys."

Remus chuckled. "Talented family. So, you feel good about your team, Captain?"

He nodded. "Definitely. I think that it's going to be great."

Sirius nodded, taking a bite of scrambled eggs as he eyed his son. "And?"

Harry shrugged. "And what?"

"What else is going on with you?" Sirius asked, his eyes on Harry.

Harry shrugged again and leaned over his plate to eat. He hated when Sirius looked at him like that; it was like his father knew he was hiding something and at the moment, he most definitely did not want to talk about it. "Nothing."

"It's not nothing," Sirius said, tapping his fingers on the table. "Did something else happen?"

"I'm fine," he insisted, suddenly feeling rather annoyed.

He understood that they were worried about him, but he was tired of talking about Mandy and his feelings for Ginny that weren't going away. He was tired of everyone telling him what he should do. They were his feelings and he would choose what to do or what not to do with them when he was ready to.

"I don't have to tell you everything."

"No, you don't," Sirius said slowly. "But if you continue with that attitude, you will not be joining Moony and I on the next full moon."

"I don't have an attitude!" Harry said sharply, glaring at his father. "Just because I don't want to tell you everything doesn't mean that I have an attitude!"

Zee raised an eyebrow. "I beg to differ. Sirius doesn't deserve that tone, Harry."

He glared at her. "I don't always need to sit here and talk about my feelings either. Whatever, I'll eat at school."

He stood up sharply and Tonks grabbed his arm.

"Mandy broke up with him last night before he came over and he said that he was fine, but he's acting like a sullen little brat, so maybe he's not entirely fine."

"So what if she broke up with me? It's not the end of the world!" he exploded angrily, glaring at Tonks. "And when I tell you something, you can't go blabbing it to them!"

"Harry," Sirius said quietly. "It's okay to be hurt."

"I'm not bloody hurt!" Harry exclaimed, turning to glare at the table. "She broke up with me and — whatever, I'm over it! I'm going back to school!"

He stormed into the living room and grabbed a handful of Floo powder just as Remus grabbed his arm, yanking him back.

"We are only looking out for you, Harry. We love you and we want to make sure that you're okay. That's all. If you don't want to talk to us about what happened with Mandy, we aren't going to make you. But if you are going to give us attitude over us asking about your life, we can make said life very difficult for you. You treat us with the same respect that we treat you."

Guilt swam through Harry and he nodded. "Right, sorry. I guess I'm just tired."

Remus nodded. "Tired is acceptable. Now get your arse back in that kitchen chair and eat breakfast with your family. I won't say it again."

Harry hesitated only a moment and Remus' eyes darkened before Harry carefully put the Floo powder back into the canister and made his way back into the kitchen. He took a seat at the table as Sirius stared at him.

"Something that you'd like to say, Harry?"

"I'm sorry," he said, the tips of his ears reddening. "Tonks, I didn't mean… I know you would never betray a confidence if I asked."

She smiled at him. "Forgiven, but you're still a prat."

He half grinned at that as Sirius stared at him. "So, apology accepted on all fronts, now what happened between you and Mandy?"

"You just said that I didn't have to tell you!" Harry protested, feeling angry again for no real reason.

Zee smiled sympathetically at him. "It's fine, Harry, we don't have to talk about Mandy if you don't want to."

Harry stared back down at his plate and ignored them. He couldn't shake the feeling of annoyance. He was upset that Mandy broke up with him and he was annoyed that everyone thought that he was in love with Ginny. How he felt about Ginny was his business and no one else's and everyone needed to just butt out of his thoughts. When he was ready to tell her, he would, but he didn't need everyone pressuring him about it either.

"Do you have lots of homework to do today?" Sirius asked, cutting through his angry thoughts.

He shrugged, stabbing his eggs a little more violently than necessary. "A bit."

"There's something that I want to talk to you about if you can spare some time."

Harry merely raised an eyebrow, finally lifting his head to meet Sirius' eyes. "About?"

"Nothing serious, pun intended."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Why do I put up with you?"

Remus chuckled as he finished up his own breakfast. "Well, I'll let you two talk. I need to get some sleep."

Tonks stood up with him. "Shower first, you'll feel better."

He smiled at her and kissed her softly. "Yes, dear."

Tonks swatted his arm playfully as Remus bid them goodnight and made his way to the bathroom. They finished up their breakfast and cleaned up before they headed back to Black Cottage. Zee left them alone, whistling for Lady Godiva and said that she was going for a walk so that they could talk. Harry only stared at his godfather in question when he was brought into the sunroom.

He noticed that Sirius had gotten rid of the two desks he had used when Remus had taught him and it now had four comfortable armchairs surrounding a wooden coffee table. The space near the windows had flowered plants. The long table that Remus had used as a desk was pushed up against the wall of the house and Sirius moved over to it.

"Zee finally decided to make sure use of this room then?"

Sirius nodded, looking around. "Yeah. I think it looks great and it's nice to sit in here and have our tea in the morning… see the sunrise. What do you think?"

"It looks good," he said. "I'm glad the room is being used again."

"Me too," Sirius said.

Harry stared at his father. "What's going on?"

"Nothing to worry about," Sirius said with a smile, picking up the folders on the table and moving to sit in an armchair. He placed the folders on the coffee table and urged Harry to sit with him. "It's just that I got some post from the bank the other day and it reminded me that you are getting to that age where we need to start talking about the Potter Estate and your future responsibilities as Lord Potter."

Harry raised an eyebrow at him as he settled himself in the armchair across from his father. "The Potter Estate?"

Sirius nodded, the early morning sunlight illuminating the room in a warm glow. "Harry, you're old enough now that you should be aware of what you will be coming into in two years time when you turn seventeen. You parents and grandparents obviously left everything to you and I have touched very little of it. I dipped into it to pay Remus to be your teacher and that's really it. I used the Black money for everything else and the rest has been what you've withdrawn yourself over the last few years."

Harry stared at him. "Okay. So, they left me a ton of money?"

"Money, properties, investments, and the noble name of Potter of Somerset. Your dad had just stepped into his role as Lord Potter just before you were born. He had refused to take the title while his father was still alive, but when Monty died of Dragon Pox, well… Jamie became Lord Potter."

"Like the way that you are Lord Black?"

"Exactly like that," Sirius told him. "The Potters are a very old wizarding family, Harry, and as you know, the Potters are even connected to the Peverells and the story of the Three Brothers, making them an even older family than we had originally thought. The Potters have always been known for being extraordinarily brave and well known Potioneers. They were always very good at managing money and making investments over the years. They are an old, noble, and wealthy pureblood family."

Harry frowned at that. "Er, what does that have to do with me exactly?"

Sirius sighed, crossing his arms in front of his chest as he crossed his legs at the ankles. "Ten years ago, Harry, after I brought you home, I found out that my mother had died while I was in prison. Even though I had been written out of her will and blasted off of the family tree, I had somehow become the sole beneficiary of the Black Family Estate. It was nothing that I wanted. I had run from that life faster than I can possibly explain. I told you what my childhood was like and how much I didn't want to be part of a family that supported such darkness. But until the moment that my mother kicked me out, I was the eldest son and I was groomed to be as such. I was to be Lord Black, the future Viscount of Falmouth."

He scratched his chin as he spoke. "So, let me give you a brief backstory of the Black family history. In the ninth century, my ancestor was a Viking king named Haifdan the Black. He was called as such for his black hair and black nature. He was said to have singlehandedly defeated and killed the previous ruler, through slaughter and death, and became the first king to rule a unified Norway. He is a legend who ruled over the Muggles as well as the witches and wizards alike. One of his slaves was a witch from England, who he forced to wed him, and it's said that he also forced her to have his children. She gave him three sons who eventually sailed to England to see their mother's homeland and one of them settled here. Their eldest son, Elof the Black, married a powerful witch who had ties to the Muggle King Alfred the Great and helped secure Elof with political power. Over the years, the family name became Black and my ancestors weaved themselves into Muggle politics and power, taking what they wanted from whomever they wanted. This went on for many years and the power they wielded over the Muggles was then also slowly shown in the wizarding world as my ancestor Orion Black led the Wizards' Council into forming the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy in 1692. Soon after the signing of this, Orion had an affair with a witch named Catherine Fitzroy, the Viscountess of Falmouth."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "So, how did your family get her title?"

Sirius snorted. "Being sneaky and conniving, obviously. Orion had an affair with her as I said, and her husband, the Viscount, had also been given the title the Duke of Northumberland as a gift from his father, King Charles II, twenty years prior in 1674. He was illegitimate at the time and the king bestowed this honour on him as a gift. Fitzroy, that's George Fitzroy, was a Muggle and upon discovering his wife's affair, he also learned that she was a witch. He attempted to pay Orion off. Orion blackmailed him and Fitzroy soon owed thousands of pounds to the Black Family. In the end, he passed them the title of Viscount of Falmouth and signed over all of the deeds and properties to Orion Black."

Harry stared at him. "So, your family earned the title through blackmail?"

"Blacks blackmailing, funny, isn't it?" Sirius said. "Anyway, the head of the Black family became the new Viscount of Falmouth and henceforth known as Lord Black; and when the Wizard's Council helped form the Ministry of Magic in 1707, Lord Orion Black, Viscount of Falmouth, became one of the first members to sit in the House of Lords and Ladies within the new Wizengamot Assembly."

Harry nodded, leaning back in his chair. "That's kind of interesting actually. I guess that means politics is in your blood."

Sirius grimaced a bit at that. "And bloodshed and blackmail and womanizing so that's not very reassuring. Anyway, in the 1930s, a document came to light called the Sacred Twenty-Eight, where twenty-eight families were listed as still being pureblood in the twentieth century; considered to be above all of the other families in the wizarding world because of their pureblood status and wealth. They started to look at other witches and wizards with disdain. It wasn't a new concept, but it was a growing problem that seemed to be going through the magical world and the Muggle worlds alike, raising certain types of people up on a pedestal while others were shunned for things they couldn't control like blood status. The Blacks were high on that list, but the Potters were a pureblood family and they had been for centuries. They were wealthy and in every way fit the bill to be on this list, but your great-grandfather, Lord Henry Potter, spoke up in the Wizengamot about the Great War that was erupting all over Europe. He watched the domino effect as country after country toppled into war and he asked Minister Evermonde to aid the Muggles in this great struggle. Potter was deemed Pro-Muggle, a blood traitor and considered a disgrace to the pureblood name of wizards for wanting to meddle in Muggle affairs. His words were met upon deaf ears and the Potters were soon being called blood traitors and hypocrites. Henry wasn't the first Potter to want to help out in Muggle affairs and it was brought up time and time again the fact that the Potters were stalwart do-gooders and too Pro-Muggle to ever be part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight."

Harry frowned at that. "Just because they wanted to help?"

Sirius nodded. "Yes. The magical world has prided themselves on keeping our world a secret from the Muggles, Harry. It was mostly for our own safety, that's true, for as you know, the Muggles often persecuted those who were different, those who might have had an inkling of real magic. Very few witches and wizards were ever actually executed by the Muggles and most of them were in fact just ordinary Muggles, and a few Squibs, but the growing fear and tension has always been there. As Muggle technology grows, this fear has become more rampant in the twentieth century; especially after we've seen the devastation and chaos that Muggles bestowed upon each other in their two great world wars. It was part of Grindelwald's speeches many years ago and was what turned a lot of people anti-Muggle and towards Grindelwald and his ideas in the first place."

Harry leaned forward in his chair, his eyes on Sirius. "Grindelwald's anti-Muggle regime was defeated though."

"Yes, by Dumbledore, who ultimately defeating him in a duel in 1945. Before Muggle technology grew, witches and wizards lived alongside of Muggles, in their societies. We were even held in high esteem by them. We worked as Healers and Shamans and miracle workers. Muggles came to us for help and to fix small problems. Then as the world grew and empires were formed, it was often witches and wizards who controlled lands. We were the lords who protected our serfdom: Anything from bad crops to invasions from outside forces. We worked in tandem with Muggle governments and found roles to play with the Muggle monarchs and with those roles, we were given noble titles and aristocratic nobility that we carried into our own world."

"I remember," Harry said, staring at Sirius. "Uncle Rem said that it's one of the reasons why the magical world focuses so much on learning Latin and Ancient Greek because it was part of the old curriculum and helps connect to the old world as much as to the new."

Sirius nodded. "Yes, exactly. So, back to the Potters — the Potter family has always been kind, generous, and willing to help those in need. In fact, your ancestor, Simon Potter was given the title Marquess of Somerset by King Edward III in 1348 for his potion skills. The Potters had been known throughout England for almost two hundred years to have created medicinal potions that healed the sick and helped the wounded. Simon Potter supplied King Edward III and his wife with many potions and when he helped the king's wife Philippa birth thirteen children successfully, he was considered to be a mage. The King and Queen granted him the honourable title of Marquess of Somerset and made him part of their royal court, creating the title of Marquess for him. Somerset was chosen because Potter House was situated in Somerset. Simon Potter, Marquess of Somerset, was an infamous name in the Royal Court and he passed on information to the Wizard's Council about the British Monarch and what was happening in the Muggle world. The Potters soon played legendary roles throughout our political history as it was often their influence that helped the magical world deal with the Hundred Years War, the Wars of the Roses, the Protestant Reformation, the Gunpowder Plot, the English Civil War, the Glorious Revolution, and ultimately the moment that the Kingdom of Great Britain comes into being in 1707 — which urged the Wizard's Council to form their own magical government under the title, the Ministry of Magic that same year."

Sirius tapped his fingers on the arms of the chair as he spoke. "The Potters weren't the only ones to move within the Muggle world as you saw, three hundred years later, after the Potters were granted the title of Marquess, the Blacks blackmailed the Duke of Northumberland into passing on his second title, the Viscount of Falmouth. The Malfoys have been the Earls of Wiltshire since about the same time, Neville will inherit his grandfather's title as the Earl of Cumbria, and so on. Thaddeus Nott is the only other Marquess left in British wizarding society, being the Marquess of Norfolk, which will ultimately pass to his son when he reaches majority. Most of the old pureblood wizarding families have royal titles that we continue to honour to this day."

Sirius reached for the folder on the coffee table between him and Harry and opened it. The page on the front was an emblem of a family crest and the name Potter stamped beneath it.

"This is the Potter family crest. As I said, the title of Marquess of Somerset was given to Simon Potter in, I believe 1348, but it will be in here for sure. This is a detailed history and timeline of your family lineage, Harry, with a list of their accomplishments and noted lives along with a family tree. Monty and Jamie put it together back when we were in fifth year as part of a project they worked on together. As you can see here, the eldest granddaughter of Ignotus Peverell — Iolanthe Peverell — married Hardwin, the son of Linfred of Stinchcombe. Linfred is the earliest known ancestor of the Potter family," Sirius said with a smile. "He was known as 'The Potterer' which is where your surname originated from much like mine did from Haifdan the Black. Simon Potter was the grandson of Hardwin and Iolanthe."

He reached behind the folder for the large book. "This is Nature's Nobility: A Wizarding Genealogy. My grandfather made me memorize this book when I was a kid. It was important that I knew the name of every wizarding family in Britain and their background so that I could know instantly upon meeting someone whether they were someone who was worth spending my time with. After all, I had been raised to believe that I could only be friends with the right sort of people. There's information in here about every magical family of Europe from the last eight hundred years."

Harry nodded, his eyes on the family crest. "This is all very interesting, Uncle Siri, but, why do I have to know it?"

Sirius smiled at him. "It's important to know where you came from and I thought that you might find it interesting to know where the Potter history all came from. You are Lord Harry James Potter, Marquess of Somerset, and although officially you will not come into the political title of Marquess until you turn seventeen, it still belongs to you and technically you are Lord Potter or Lord Somerset, and have been since your parents died. Although, the responsibilities of marquess aren't yours until you reach majority therefore it is really in name only."

"Responsibilities?"

"Oh, there are always responsibilities," Sirius told him. "We'll go over that later on. For now, I want you to see how the Potter connections can be seen throughout the centuries through your family tree. It was through Hardwin wedding Iolanthe that the Potters were also brought into contact with the Gaunt family, who were distantly related to Salazar Slytherin himself."

"So, I'm related to Voldemort?" Harry asked, his eyes widening.

Sirius shook his head. "Very, very, very distantly, Harry. We're all distantly related in some way or the other. See, it was Fleamont's younger brother Charlus Potter who married into the Black family by marrying my great-aunt Dorea Black which makes us cousins of a sort. Charlus and Dorea both died during the first war along with their son William for opposing Voldemort. Fleamont and Euphemia only had James and when they died of Dragon Pox, he was the only Potter left until you. My aunt Lucretia married into the Prewett family which distantly connects me to Molly Weasley. My grandmother was Melania Macmillan connecting me to another old pureblood family from the Sacred Twenty-Eight."

"What exactly is the Sacred Twenty-Eight?" Harry asked. "Just a list of families?"

Sirius nodded. "For the most part. It's a list of twenty-eight families who were still truly pure of magical blood by the 1930s, meaning that no one with those family names had been tainted by Muggle blood according to the author. It's believed to have been written by the Marquess of Norfolk, who at the time was Lord Cantankerus Nott, Theo's grandfather, but we don't know for sure as the author published it anonymously." He opened the folder and flipped the pages to the list on the tenth page. "As you can see, Potter isn't on here because Nott considered Lord Henry Potter a failure to the pureblood name and a blood traitor so he didn't include the Potters along with a few other families who he considered disgraceful in terms of blood purity. As you know, the Weasleys have also become known as blood traitors, but at the time, Nott still listed them among the pureblood elite along with Abbott, Avery, Black, Bulstrode, Burke, Carrow, Crouch, Fawley, Flint, Gaunt, Greengrass, Lestrange, Longbottom, Macmillan, Malfoy, Nott, Ollivander, Parkinson, Prewett, Rosier, Rowle, Selwyn, Shacklebolt, Shafiq, Slughorn, Travers, Weasley, and Yaxley. These are considered the twenty-eight family names of the so called noble pureblood elite of the British Wizarding World. What do you notice about those names, Harry?"

"Most of them are Death Eaters," Harry said, his eyes meeting Sirius' gaze.

"Exactly," Sirius said. "Blood status has become a mantra once again and Voldemort is leading the charge. He appealed to those elite pureblood families in the First War and he still is, talking about making the magical world a society where only the pureblood will reign supreme and superior to those who are not on this list. The world is changing and I am proud to say that I am helping the world along in that change, but there are still those who are stuck in the past, those who cannot see past blood and unfortunately they are often the type of people who Voldemort will win over to his side."

Harry nodded, his eyes on the list. "Not all of them are supporters though."

"No, not all of them," Sirius said with a smile. "I know it's a lot of information and like I said, it's just for your knowledge. You should know about the Potters and what they achieved and where you come from, Harry. I have your key to the Potter vaults and there is more in there than just money in there. There are deeds to properties, jewellery, tapestries, art and sculptures, much like we found in the Black vault, but with no dangerous elements. Just good stuff."

Harry smiled. "I thought that I had my own key?"

"You have the key to your own personal vault, the one that your mum and dad set up for you when you were born, but the key to the Potter vaults I have kept in my possession until I deemed it was time to give it to you or for you to inherit it on your seventeenth birthday."

"Vaults as in more than one?"

Sirius nodded. "As in more than one, yes. The Potter House in Godric's Hollow was where your mum and dad decided to move, but Fee and Monty lived at Potter Manor at Clevedon Court in Somerset, which has been the Potter home for centuries ever since they inherited it from Simon Potter's wife, Matilda de Clevedon. Her father Sir John de Clevedon, built and designed the original manor himself, but a lot of it has changed over the centuries. They kept the name Clevedon Court to honour Matilda's father's genius architectural work and it's always been known as such despite it being the Potter home for centuries."

Harry swallowed slowly. "Is it… is it still there?"

"Yeah, it is. Jamie offered it to me after your grandparents died. He and Lily didn't want it, the grief was still so fresh and new that they didn't want to live there. I felt the same. The thought of walking those halls without your grandparents wasn't something that I wanted for myself. James and Lily closed it up and sealed the house up after they died. There are other property holdings and investments in lands and companies around the world including a few apothecaries and Muggle pharmaceuticals along with the Sleekeazy's Hair Potion. Monty's invention there really took off and he sold the company for an astronomical amount of money in the early 1960s after he retired and quadrupled the family's already large wealth. The Potter name still owns fifteen percent of the profits and those earnings are put into your account every month."

"What am I supposed to do with it all?" Harry asked him, his eyes wide.

"Anything that you'd like," Sirius told him with a smile. "You can leave it there to collect interest. You can invest it — which a good portion of it has already been invested, and is in fact earning you more money as we speak. It's yours, Harry. As to the title of the Marquess of Somerset, it is a noble aristocratic title mostly just in name nowadays. As Lord Somerset you are entitled to a seat in the Wizengamot when you turn seventeen, could even claim it at sixteen if you have majority, though it is usually recommended you wait until nineteen to claim it, some do take it early. Also, you don't have to claim it if you don't want to, but unless you decide to formally pass the seat to your child, the Potter seat will be forfeited within the House of Lords and Ladies and auctioned off to someone else. I suggest that you take it. At the moment it is used by a seat-warmer, meaning a member from the Minister's office sits in the Potter seat until it is claimed or forfeited. This is what happens to all family seats if they don't officially forfeit them. You don't have to attend every meeting of the assembly once you claim your seat either, but you must serve at least six months out of the year which is roughly fifteen sessions. James only attended three assembly meetings himself after taking his seat as once you were born, he took precedence in you and well… other things deterred him, but your grandfather sat in the House of Lords and Ladies right until his death along with my own grandfather."

"And the Marquess of Somerset bit?"

"Aristocratic title used for government proceedings and in the holding of Clevedon Court. When you turn seventeen and the title passes to you formally and you will be obligated to attend the odd Ministry of Magic function along with invitations to formal royal galas by the British Crown to solidify your relationship with the Crown. Monty said that it was like three gatherings a year with the Muggles and the Ministry of Magic stuff was usually just for Yule unless something special happened that year. Though it does secure you invites to all of the royal events including garden parties, the royal ascot, and those kinds of things, but the events are optional. It's mostly ceremonial as I said, though it does also give you the opportunity to take a seat in the House of Lords in the Muggle Parliament if you wished. I understand that a few of your ancestors chose to sit on both to help keep the magical world up to date with Muggle politics. It was another reason why the Potters were considered beneath the rest of the magical world as despite their pureblood status, it was believed that they held too much sympathy for the Muggles. I think that Lord Henry Potter was the last Marquess of Somerset to hold a seat in both the Wizengamot and the Muggle Parliament."

"It's a lot to take in," Harry admitted, rubbing his forehead. He felt like a headache was forming between his brow, but he knew that it was just the influx of so much information. Wealth and nobility, politics and blood status… it was all making his head spin.

Sirius smiled at him and reached out to squeeze his shoulder. "The titles and wealth are yours when you turn seventeen. The political aspect is nothing that you even have to consider until you turn seventeen and like I said, even then you are not obligated to take your seat immediately. Most people claim the seat and don't really join the proceedings on a regular basis until they are closer to thirty. I ignored mine for years, but I don't know if I'm the best example there. I just thought that it was time for you to be aware of what exactly it is that you are entitled to and what will one day be yours," he explained, leaning back in his chair and tapping his fingers on the arms. "As my son, you are also my heir. Since the Blacks are an old family as well with their own titles and estates, I didn't want you to be thrusted that responsibility on top of what the Potters have left you. Years ago, I divided the Black Estate between myself and the two remaining Black grandchildren, Tonks and Draco Malfoy."

Harry's eyebrow rose. "Malfoy?"

Sirius nodded. "I sat down with his parents and we talked about what mine and Cissa's grandfather left the Black Family and I divided the estate eighty-twenty. Twenty percent left for me, forty for Tonks, and forty for Draco. None of which he has access to until he turns seventeen. The properties have been divided between Tonks and Draco as is most of the wealth. Tonks already has her share. I made sure that she was given it after her grandfather died. Draco will inherit the title of Viscount of Falmouth when he turns seventeen, holding both the Earl of Wiltshire and the Viscount of Falmouth. He will also inherit Black Manor in Sussex where his grandmother lives. I don't want the title and prefer to just be Lord Black within the Wizengamot. Unless I have a blood heir to pass it down too before Draco turns seventeen, it will become Draco's. The twenty percent I kept for myself will be divided evenly between you and Remus if anything ever happens to me. Number Twelve will be yours and yours only along with my entire personal vault. Black Cottage, will be yours and Zee's because this is our home and it should always belong to all of us. As to the Black vaults, we cleaned them after we entered Bella's and I organized it all, moving much of what I wanted you to have into the Potter vaults. But one day, it will all be yours."

Harry stared at him. "I… I don't know what to say."

Sirius smiled. "I know that it's a lot of information and like I said, nothing you need to worry about right now. I just thought that you are old enough now to understand it and should be made aware of what will one day be yours when you come of age. Your free period tomorrow afternoon, I'd like to take you to Gringotts so that we can go through the Potter vaults and see what's there. You're old enough now to start taking on a role as the Potter Heir."

"What does that mean?"

"Mostly a whole lot of parchment," he said with a grin. "I just want to show you your assets and we can discuss investments and see how things are being run and if you like it, then it will stay the same, or we can do some new investing. It's important to understand your own finances: How they are being run, how they work, how they benefit you and your future. When you turn seventeen, it will all be thrusted upon you, Harry, so if we start little by little, to help you understand how it all works now, it won't seem so daunting later on. I want you to know about your heritage and your history as well, Harry. The Potters were the most noble family that I have ever had the privilege of meeting and I want you to be aware of where you came from. That's all."

Harry nodded, staring at Sirius. "I wish that I could have met them. Seeing Nan and Pop when I…they were kind of wonderful."

Sirius grinned. "They were amazing. In fact, I have two memories that I've been thinking about lately and I would really like to show them to you today. Will you grab the Pensieve from the cupboard there."

Harry stood up and moved over to the tall cupboard by the door to the sunroom, opening the bottom cupboard door where the Pensieve dish and the chest of memories were currently being stored. He sat them on the coffee table in the middle of the sunroom before he sat back down. Sirius rifled through the chest for a moment before he pulled out two phials and poured them each into the Pensieve basin.

"These are both my memories and ones that I thought that you would appreciate as I think both of these moments really signify the type of people that Fee and Monty both were. You ready?"

Harry nodded as he and Sirius each dipped their heads into the swirling liquid and fell into the memory.

Harry found himself standing in front of a large stone manor. Sirius put his hand on his shoulder.

"That's Clevedon Court, like I said before it's been the home of the Potters for over seven hundred years."

Harry nodded, eyes wide as he saw the young boy step off the Knight Bus in front of the house. He recognized the cocky step and the dark locks as Sirius before he even saw his face.

Sirius shoved his hands into the pockets of the black jeans he wore. They had holes in the knees and he was wearing black army boots with the laces untied and a white tee shirt under his open leather jacket with a Gryffindor scarf around his neck. He had a small knapsack over his shoulder as he stood there in the snow, staring up at the house as if he was unsure.

The Knight Bus left and Sirius stood there a moment longer before he carefully trudged up the long drive and knocked on the front door. It was only a moment before the small slim woman with dark reddish brown hair hair streaked in silver that Harry recognized as Euphemia Potter, pulled it open. Her hair was pulled back in a braided bun, but her fringe covered the side of her forehead in tight curls. She smiled warmly at the sight of him.

"Hello, dear, Happy Christmas. Can we help you with something?"

Sirius swallowed. "Er, is this James Potter's house?"

The woman's smile widened. "It most certainly is and you would be?"

"Um, Sirius Black? We're friends at school."

"Oh! Sirius, lovely to finally meet you, do come in!" She tugged him inside the large entranceway. The big medieval style hall full of old art and tapestries. "You can put your boots and jacket there. Rosa!"

A tiny elf appeared and Euphemia smiled warmly.

"Rosa, dear, set him up in Jamie's room, we have a guest."

The elf nodded, taking Sirius' bag as Euphemia smiled warmly at him.

"I'm Euphemia Potter, but everyone calls me Fee. Come on in, love, Jamie's in the living room."

Sirius followed her through the large hall into a large living room with a massive Christmas tree that stood close to twenty feet tall and dancing in fairy lights. James was sprawled out across the sofa tossing a Quaffle up into the air and then catching it.

"Jamie, love, your friend Sirius has come by. You should have told me that he was coming, I would have set a spot for him for dinner," she scolded.

"Didn't know," James said, jumping to his feet. "Hey, mate."

"Hey."

Euphemia beamed at the two of them. "Well, I'll go let Darby know that we have another for dinner."

Sirius shoved his hands into his pockets, rocking on the balls of his feet. "Um, sorry for just showing up."

"Nah, it's cool," James told him, his eyes on his friend. "Are you staying the rest of the holiday?"

Sirius shook his head. "No… I don't want to impose. I just… I had to get out of that house for a bit."

James nodded. "You won't be imposing. Mum will be thrilled if you stay the whole holiday. She loves guests."

He shrugged. "Wicked house."

"Thanks. Come on and sit. Mum will bring snacks in a moment."

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "But we didn't ask for anything."

James chuckled. "Trust me."

They settled on the sofa and James urged Sirius to stretch out with him so that their legs were both side by side across from each other the same way that they had first sat on the school train, just as Euphemia came into the living room with a tea tray full of tea and biscuits.

"I brought you boys a little snack," she said as James smirked at his friend.

"Told you. Hey, Mum, Sirius is going to stay for the whole holiday, okay?"

"Oh, wonderful! I love having guests," she exclaimed, brightly. "You boys eat up and then you can head outside. The snow looks just perfect for building a large fort."

James grinned as his mum left the room and he turned to his friend. "See, it's fine." He reached for a biscuit, eyeing his friend carefully for a moment. "So, want to talk about it?"

Sirius shook his head as he shoved a biscuit in his mouth. "Not really."

"What did your folks say when you told them that you were coming here?"

"Didn't," he said simply, lifting the cup of tea to his lips and drinking deeply. "I told Reg and then I snuck out at dawn this morning."

James' eyebrow rose. "That might have made it worse."

He shrugged as he helped himself to a second biscuit. "I couldn't stay there a moment longer."

James only nodded. "Okay. You're welcome here as long as you want, Siri."

Sirius' eyes met his and he nodded slowly as Euphemia came back into the room with Fleamont, who was polishing his glasses on his sleeve as he walked.

"Sirius, this is Monty, Monty, Sirius Black. Sirius will be staying the rest of the holiday with us, isn't that wonderful?"

Fleamont smiled warmly at his wife. "Wonderful. James, why don't you boys head upstairs and get some warm clothes on. I think that it's high time we build a massive snow fort, what do you say?"

James grinned and jumped to his feet. "I'm in."

He gestured for Sirius to follow him, raising an eyebrow when Sirius stole another biscuit before he did so.

"Mum will have lunch ready in about two hours if you're hungry."

Sirius nodded as he followed James up the staircase and down the hall to the door that said James F. Potter on a gold plaque. "What does the F stand for?"

"Er, Franklin."

"Really? Then how did your father get the nickname Monty?"

James blushed. "Okay, fine, it's Fleamont — and if you tell anyone I will kill you in your sleep."

Sirius busted into laughter as he followed James into his room and grinned at the sight of it. His walls were covered in Quidditch posters and statistics, posters of The Beatles, of Elvis Presley, and of guitars along with posters of broom ads. He was surprised to see photos of himself, Remus, and Peter tacked up as well. There was a large queen-sized bed in the middle of the room with a desk, two tall dressers, a toy chest, three bookshelves as well as a large closet. His broom was hanging on the wall over his bed. A large cot had already been set up next to the bed.

"You can sleep in the bed if you prefer," James told him. "It's big enough for the two of us to share or if you want your own room, we have lots of guest rooms, but knowing Mum she put the cot in here assuming that you'd be more comfortable with me." He plopped onto his bed and sighed. "So, I lied, tell me what happened."

Sirius let out a slow sigh. "My parents were just… Mum is furious that I'm still hanging around with you and Rem. She claims Pete is tolerable, but still not worthy. She says that Gryffindor has dulled my senses and made me forget right from wrong. They've been praising Reg left and right, which is good, he deserves the praise, but they do it in a way that belittles me and it was just grating my cheese, James. Like oh, Sirius, Regulus received an Outstanding on his Potions homework, I don't know how you achieved an Outstanding when your work is clearly inferior."

"What the bloody hell does that mean?" James exclaimed, his eyes flashing in anger. "Obviously it's outstanding if that's the grade you achieved!"

Sirius shrugged. "Also, they somehow learned that I've spent the last month snogging Em, who is not a pureblood and therefore completely beneath me, and how I'm slumming it."

"Siri, mate, I'm sorry."

"Whatever, I just… I couldn't listen to it anymore and I blew up on my mum last night. I was so angry that my magic reacted and I blew out all the windows in the upstairs and then I got a letter from the Ministry warning me about using magic outside of school…"

James goggled at him. "Wow!"

He nodded. "And well, all hell broke loose after that."

"Meaning?"

Sirius moved to close James' bedroom door before he lifted up his shirt. His ribs were littered in fist sized purple bruises.

James' eyes darkened. "They hit you?"

"Oh, no," Sirius said. "Simply hitting me is too Muggle. Mum added a weight charm to Father's fists first." He winced as he put his arms down. "I think I broke a rib."

James jumped to his feet. "My Mum will fix you right up."

Sirius blanched. "No! Fuck! You can't tell her!"

James' eyebrow rose. "Siri, you need medical attention."

"No, can't you just… I mean, isn't there something that you could do?"

James hesitated a moment before he nodded just as a knock sounded on the bedroom door.

"You boys coming or what?" Fleamont called out.

"Dad, can we build the fort after lunch? Sirius is feeling a bit tired," James called out.

Fleamont pushed the bedroom door open and eyed the two boys for a moment. "Everything okay in here?"

"Fine," James said, quickly. "Siri's just tired. After lunch we'll build the fort, Dad."

Fleamont nodded. "Sure, whenever you'd like, Jamie. If you boys need anything, just ask."

James grinned at him as he closed the door and then he called for Rosa. The elf appeared in his bedroom a moment later, eyes wide.

"How can I help you, Master James?"

"Hi, Rosa. Listen, I need you to get some healing stuff and help me heal my friend Sirius, but you can't tell Mum or Dad."

Rosa stared at him. "Master James, I is not comfortable lying to the Marquess and Marchioness, Sir."

"Don't lie, just… don't tell them is all."

Rosa hesitated, but she nodded and disappeared with a loud crack.

Sirius stared at him. "Do you really think that she won't tell them?"

James nodded. "We're fine."

Rosa came back a few moments later with the first aid kit and Sirius carefully tugged his shirt off. The elf stared at him for a long moment before she moved forward to help give him some healing salve for the bruises. James looked in the kit, finding the stuff he needed to mix the potions for Sirius' ribs, and poured the appropriate dose into a cup and passed it over.

Sirius winced as he drank the potion and James stared at the fresh welts on his friend's back.

"Siri… how the bloody hell did this…?"

Sirius shrugged. "It's fine. Just pass me some of that salve."

James' bedroom door flew open and Euphemia stepped in with a tray of sandwiches and her eyes widened. James moved to block Sirius from view, but it had been too late. Euphemia put the tray down on the desk and moved carefully towards Sirius. She placed her fingers on his chin and tilted his head to look up at her.

"Who hurt you, darling?"

"I'm fine," Sirius told her, reaching for his shirt.

James took the shirt from his friend's hand so that Rosa could continue to apply the salve. "His parents, Mum."

Euphemia's eyes darkened in anger for a moment before she masked it. She took the salve from Rosa and immediately set about taking over the task. She ordered James which potions to give him and covered the welts in fresh bandages. Sirius' cheeks were flushed in embarrassment as he pulled his shirt over his head and murmured a thanks under his breath.

Euphemia reached out and gently brushed his hair behind his ear. "Your parents are Orion and Walburga, dear?"

Sirius nodded. "I'm fine, Mrs Potter, honest." His eyes widened in surprise when she leaned in and kissed his cheek tenderly.

"You are always welcome here, Sirius. I don't care for how long you stay or what time you show up. Our home will always be your home." She kissed his forehead and tugged James to her to hug him tightly and kiss his cheeks. "You make Sirius rest and eat those sandwiches I brought up. I'll have Monty whip up another healing potion for him to take after dinner."

Then she was gone and Sirius was staring at James, his eyes wide.

"What just happened?"

James grinned. "I think Mum just adopted you. Here, have a bacon sandwich," he said, tossing one at Sirius.

Sirius caught it, staring at James in wonder. "Your parents are brilliant."

James grinned back at him. "I know."

End Author's Notes:

What Zee tells Harry about a breakup being like death, I paraphrased it a bit, but it's one of my favourite quotes from CSI, said from Lady Heather to Grissom in season nine, episode five.

Real historical figures mentioned:
Haifdan the Black = said to be the first king of a unified Norway
King Alfred the Great = king of Wessex in 9th century
Catherine Fitzroy = real wife of George Fitzroy, bastard son of King Charles II, the first Duke of Northumberland (I created title of Falmouth and made Catherine a witch)
George Fitzroy = husband of Catherine Fitzroy, bastard son of King Charles II, the first Duke of Northumberland (I created title of Falmouth and made Catherine a witch)
King Edward III = real king of England (actually his heir King Richard II is the one who created the first Marquess title in England in 1386, the Marquess of Dublin, I made it forty years earlier to the made up character of Simon Potter)
John de Clevedon = architect of Clevedon Court, real manor house in Somerset (made up his daughter Matilda)

Known Potter family members mentioned:
Charlus Potter and Dorea Black = not clear on how they were connected to Harry, I decided to make Charlus be the younger brother of Fleamont; made up the name of their son: William
Linfred of Stinchcome
Hardwin Potter
Henry Potter = argued with Minister Evermonde about getting involved in WWI
Fleamont Potter = when he retired he sold his company, (I decided in the 1960s soon after James was born)

Known Facts:
1707 = year the Ministry of Magic was created
1707 = Act of Union created the United Kingdom of Great Britain

That's my inner nerd, hope you enjoy. Like I said, you should see my spreadsheets and notes and photos (I tend to go a little overboard) LOL!

Thanks for reading and please review!