*2014-10-05 Reconstruction: Chapter simply rearranged. If you've read this part, you can skip it.
Previously:
Ron took Hermione's hand and squeezed. "Hey, enough of that look. I'm sure Harry can take care of himself."
"Yes, I know. But I can't help but worry that he is going to sacrifice his life for the rest of us…again."
"Let's hope he's not that much of a fool. Hogging all the limelight for being noble and sacrificial and all that. That is, without me." Ron deadpanned.
"Oh, Ron."
Mrs. Black's Portrait
(Posted 2014-05-06, Updated 2014-10-05)
Harry landed on the front step of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place.
When he stepped inside, Kreacher appeared with a crack. He took Harry's coat while greeting him. "Master Harry, I am glad you are home! Kreacher has prepared soup and treacle tart that master is so fond of! Should Kreacher set it in the kitchen?"
"Sorry, I've already had dinner with Ron and Hermione, sorry for not letting you know earlier. But treacle tart sounds good. Could you get some to my office?"
"Of course, Master Harry. Dessert will be there in five minutes."
"Thanks, Kreacher."
"Kreacher only doing his duty, sir." Kreacher held out a letter. "Mr. Weasley the curse-breaker has sent you a letter today; would Master like to see it or should Kreacher put it on Master's office desk for later?"
"I'll read it now, thanks."
Harry walked towards his office, reading the letter. When he reached about the middle of the letter, he changed direction and walked towards the stairway.
Harry trudged up the stairs, stopping at Mrs. Black's portrait.
"Renovation's at the blood-traitor's going wrong, I hope." Mrs. Black commented acerbically, looking up and down at Harry's tired frame.
Mrs. Black, surprisingly, did not raise her voice above normal conversation level, sitting stiffly in place.
"Ah…actually, everything is on schedule, Mrs. Black. I am just tired and shocked from a bit of news I received."
"Hmm," Mrs. Black frowned. "Go to bed early. As the Black and Potter heir, you are expected to take care of your own health and not disgrace the names of the Ancient and Noble Houses."
"Alright, Mrs. Black. As you wish."
"Now, is there something you wanted? If not, go fraternize with that blood-traitor and mudblood friend of yours and leave me in peace!"
"Well, I wanted to let you know that Bill has found a way to permanently remove the personality-amplifying spell from the frame. It's surprisingly simple. I can even do it right now… if you want."
Mrs. Black blinked in surprise, but soon rearranged her face into a scowl. "Incompetent blood-traitor he is, taking over a month to find a permanent counter-spell. Orion would have found it in a week! Well, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and cast it!'
With a small chuckle, Harry read through the procedure once more, then placed Bill's letter on a stair nearby and propped it up. He took out his familiar holly wand and began to mutter the incantations on the letter, accompanied by some wand work. In a few moments, he stopped and examined the painting's frame closely. As he watched the runes disappearing from the portrait frame, Harry was reminded again of the drastic difference in the portrait of Mrs. Black.
After the war, Harry had finally had the freedom and time to go through the Black's and Potter's vault in Gringotts. The Potter's vault had nothing note-worthy, with several deeds for undeveloped land near the Irish shore. On the other hand, it seemed that Sirius had simply skimmed over most of his inheritance, almost ignoring the vault full of objects that proclaimed support for old, pureblood values. In fact, the only thing Sirius changed at Gringotts was his will – specifically the part about the heir to the Black fortune.
Harry had asked the goblins to provide a suitable person to determine the purpose of unknown magical objects to go through the entire vault and was quite surprised to meet Bill the next morning. It seemed that curse-breakers were quite adept at determining the purpose of an unknown magical object and disabling harmful magic.
The next few weeks were filled with adventure; Bill teaching him some basic ancient runes on the side as they looked through the vault and its artefacts. They made sure all the Dark enchanted objects' uses were noted, if not prepared for destruction immediately.
They found dark things that they destroyed right away, but many interesting magical objects with seemed to be broken – these were kept in the vault. But the most useful out of all these discoveries was a self-updating tome of the Black Family line, together with its portraits. It had been tucked away in a corner underneath a box containing a veiled mirror with runes similar to the Mirror of the Erised (turned out to be a prototype of the mirror that showed one's deepest desires torn away).
They had counted on the portraits to explain the uses of several artefacts, but many of the portraits had lost its magic, turning into still paintings. Bill explained that there needed to be ambient magic to continue the portraits to move, which the Black family portraits from hundreds of years ago did not have. The tome, explaining the idiosyncrasies and general achievements of each ancestor, gave the two an idea of what to expect from an artefact of that time period.
While flicking through the tome, Harry found out that Mrs. Black's portrait had been painted during Voldemort's first rise to power. Being the zealous follower of removing tainted blood, Mrs. Black had commissioned her painting to be spelled to emphasize her dislike of blood-traitors and mudbloods. She then arranged for it to be placed in her home upon her death.
The spell was recorded in the book, and Bill had taken a week to temporarily undo its effects and restore the portrait's original personality. The resulting product was a slightly strict and traditional woman, angry at the new Black Family head. The portrait had spent the next few months moaning about the state of the house from her vantage point (which Kreacher was much embarrassed by) and the state of Black family affairs that were ruined from Sirius' ("traitorous, no-good, Gryffindor-loving boy I had the misfortune of birthing!") handling.
But during those months, Kreacher continued to talk to the portrait, telling her the truth behind the disappearance of master Regulus, as well as master Harry's ancestry. By this time, Harry had earned Kreacher's unending loyalty for completing master Regulus' task, as well as providing him a respectable job as a house-elf.
Soon, Mrs. Black came to see that Harry had absolutely no knowledge of what the role the heir of an Ancient and Noble house entailed. She took it upon herself to correct this crooked way of thinking. Sirius' heir or not, it was her responsibility as the last Black head's mother and the wife of a former Black head. She still disapproved of most of his company; however, she remained civil, only sprouting some insults when spoken to by blood-traitors and mudbloods (the Weasleys and Hermione).
"Well, Mrs. Black, all seems to be in order. The amplifying spell is gone." Harry said as he put his wand away.
Mrs. Black sniffed loudly. "Hmm. Finished in a timely manner… as expected from the heir of the Noble House of Black."
Harry grinned tiredly. "I might still call Bill in to look over my work. I'm pretty sure I removed the spell, but it never hurts to make sure."
"Very well, I will tolerate the blood-traitor once more."
With a knowing look, Harry shook his head, exasperated at her insistent name-calling. "I'll be in my office, Mrs. Black."
Catching Harry's expression, Mrs. Black scowled deeply. "Do not try my patience, boy. As the Matriarch of the Black family, I demand you stop bringing blood-traitors and mudbloods into my home. I only tolerate those you bring because of their unrivaled skill and good upbringing."
"Of course, Mrs. Black."
"Go to bed early!"
"Yes, Mrs. Black!" Harry called back as he headed towards his office.
A/N - This chapter has officially undergone reconstruction!
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