Chapter 6

Green eyes jerked wildly over the crowd that had formed outside of the Ministy. The tiny hole which Harry had peered through slipped closed as the young savior backed up from the bright gold and shiny curtains that lined the back of the temporary stage. As Minister Shacklebolt finished his short speech he introduced the savior who had come to answer any and all questions posed to him. Mixed cheers and conversation erupted from the crowd and soon Shacklebolt walked behind the curtain and motioned for Harry to face the crowd.

With a deep breath that he let out slowly, Harry clenched his hands and relaxed them, then made his way out onto the stage to take his position at the podium. The crowd quickly became silent as Harry nodded towards them. Before he could so much as utter a single word, a woman yelled out to him. "Is it true you're mingling with Death Eaters?"

A hint of a smile formed on the young man's face as he recalled a similar question Draco had posed in their mock session the night before. "No Ma'am, it's not. I would not associate myself with Death Eaters, especially after what I have done to combat them. I am, however, in association with two spies who worked for Albus Dumbledore and brought us inside information that we used to defeat Voldemort and his Death Eaters."

Feathers were pulled from robes and purses in every direction and people began to write down his answer. As the scribbles continued, a man far off in the back took his turn to voice his curiosities. "Do you plan to run for Minister of Magic during the next election?"

Harry's small smile grew as the young man chuckled and shook his head. "No, I have absolutely no intention of running for Minister of Magic any time soon. I feel that Minister Shacklebolt is doing a wonderful job of that, and look forward to his continued work."

From the front of the crowd, an older man whose hair had thinned considerably with his age spoke up. "When's your wedding set for Mr. Potter?"

As Harry's eyes narrowed, his head tilted to the side slightly. "Um, I'm not getting married? I'm not engaged or anything." He felt his cool demeanor slip away from him.

Clamor quickly burst forth from the crowd as many people sought to correct him. "But the article!" "But your fiancée!" "The paper said!" Were the loudest and most frequent protests. From the middle of the crowd, a woman shouted above the rest. "But what about the exclusive interview with Ginevra Weasley?"

"I don't know anything about this interview. Ms. Ginevra Weasley and I are not in any sort of relationship at this point in time- we had broken up months ago. There is no plan for us to marry, there never was." Harry told the group as he attempted to school his emotions and face so as not to reveal how enraged he was over the fact that Ginny had lied over something like this.

Curly blonde hair caught Harry's eye as a woman sliced through the crowd to come front and center. A sickly-sweet smile through bright red lips formed as the woman pushed her red cat-eye glasses up her nose and repositioned her quill. "Well, Mr. Potter, from an engagement scandal to refusal to run for Minister when the people clearly want you to- you're a fountain of confliction today. Tell me; what are your opinions on the new anonymously authored tell-all biographical book set detailing your Hogwarts years that's set to come out in a few months?"

Green eyes rolled upward for a moment as Harry let out a sigh. "Ms. Skeeter, I have no idea what book you're talking about. It's supposed to be a biography you said?" He waited for a nod from the woman. "Well then I have no opinion on it. Only I could write an accurate biography of what happened to me for 7 years of my life, and since I am not writing such a book, whatever is going to come out will probably amount to the same dribble that passes for 'readable' in your own column."

Silence befell the crowd and for a moment it looked as though Ms. Skeeter would verbally retaliate, but by the time it'd taken her to collect herself and her thoughts, a man called out from the center of the crowd. "How did you kill He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?"

A welcome distraction, Harry turned his attention towards the man. "His name was Voldemort. Voldemort is dead; there is no longer a taboo on his name. Saying 'Voldemort' will no longer reveal your location to anyone so please- the continued fear of using his name is not in our best interest, please use his name. As for how I killed Voldemort, I didn't do it alone. Many people helped. Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley stood with me at the frontlines and helped me battle and search from the moment I first learned of his existence until the moment he was defeated. Albus Dumbledore had formed an entire group that took me in and taught me everything they knew that might help take down the monster that was Voldemort, and everyone in that group from Minister Shacklebolt himself to Alastor Moody, from Remus Lupin and Sirius Black to Mundungus Fletcher- every single member of the group aided in the defeat of Voldemort. Not only had he formed this group, Mr. Dumbledore had also recruited Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy to act as spies against Voldemort and gather information we could use, without every single one of these peoples help, I could not have stood a chance against the tyrant. We, all of us, we worked together to bring down Voldemort, his legions of Death Eaters, and put a final stop to his reign of terror. I simply hope we can start fresh after this with no more Dark Lords."

"Speaking of Lords and the Black family-" A familiar voice called from the crowd which parted somewhat to reveal the speaker, Andromeda Tonks. "Will you be taking the name of Lord Black?"

Black eyebrows pulled together as Harry frowned towards the woman. "I'm afraid I don't understand the question Madame Tonks. Why would I be named Lord of the Black Estate?"

The woman nodded her head gracefully and clasped her hands together in front of her robes. "When Sirius died, he had stated you as his sole heir in his will. Once he was cleared posthumously, his title of Lord Black was reinstated. With you as his godson and only heir, you inherited that title and may take it if you choose. I'd like to know if you choose to take the title."

The young savior's mouth opened and closed once more as he gave a soft shake of his head. "I don't know. I'll need to speak with the proper authorities about it." Soft but growing dings came from a golden bell attached to the stage. Tension in Harry's shoulders seemed to leave in waves as the Minister returned to the stage. "Thank you for your questions, my time is up."

The young man sidestepped behind Minister Shacklebolt as the older man addressed the crowd, and soon Harry slipped behind the golden curtain. He came face to face with a very bored Snape and Malfoy. "What is this? Lord Black? Do I talk to the goblins like with the whole title of Lord Potter, or is this something completely different?"

Blonde hair bounced as Draco nodded his head. "Yes, you talk to the goblins but it's a lot more stuff than if you were just accepting your own family name, because it's a non-immediately-related inherited one."

Green eyes flicked over to Snape and then to Draco as Harry let out a long sigh. "Fine, I'll go to Gringotts and get this sorted. Meet you back at home." He told the two just before he walked off down the street to go get his business sorted.

After he'd informed Nagnok, the closest goblin to the entrance, of what he'd intended to do, Harry was ushered into a small private room off to the side. Nagnok brought along Lurkrot and the two took a seat at the long thin table. "Please sit down, Mr. Potter." Nagnok told him.

With an unamused look, Lurkrot shifted his glasses and clasped his hands together on top of the table. "I've been handling and overseeing your account transactions since Griphook departed Mr. Potter, as such that is why I am here- to act as your personal advisor. Nagnok is our resident expert on wills, inheritances, and titles. If you have any questions about the specifics of what will happen or how this works, please speak up now."

Leather squeaked as Harry slid into the chair on the other side of the table. "Uhh, yeah sure. If I don't take the title, who gets it?"

Quickly the two goblins moved together to whisper back and forth between one another, and soon resumed their formal sitting positions. Lurkrot cleared his throat. "Bellatrix Lestrange née Black would inherit the title and estate."

Rage flared in Harry's eyes and the table drug against the ground as it moved an inch to his left. Harry quickly closed his eyes and took a breath to regain his calm as a frown encompassed his face. Slender fingers moved to stroke Harry's chin and his elbow rested on the smooth brown arm of his chair as he looked back to the worried goblins. "What all does the estate include?"

Papers rustled as Nagnok filed through them quickly. A particular parchment was pulled out of the pile, which he handed to Lurkrot, who then began to read it. "Black Manor, and all of its contents, Number 12 Grimmuald Place, and all of its contents, two hidden safehouses in undisclosed locations, a Black Family vault, a compounded vault, Sirius Black's vault, Bellatrix Lestrange née Black's vault, and Narcissa Malfoy née Black's vault."

Harry nodded as the goblin spoke and he shifted to lean back in his chair. "What's a compounded vault?"

A small satisfied grunt left Nagnok as he took over the answer for this questions. "When a customer dies and leaves no will, the contents of their vault go into their nearest living relative's 'compound vault'. These vaults can hold anywhere from one to twenty self-made fortunes, sometimes more. Sometimes they're full of furniture and other non-valuable rubbish. The Black Family Compound Vault currently holds the contents of the vaults of the late of Regulus Black, Irma Black née Crabbe, and Alphard Black."

Harry's eyelids closed for a moment as he thought of what all this meant. The flew open again as a new worry cropped up in his mind. "If I took the title of Lord Black, would I be able to control what Narcissa and Bellatrix take from their vaults? Or could I shut the vaults down and just donate all their gold to you?"

Yellow eyes glistened as Lurkrot's mouth contorted into a greedy smile. "While it pains me to say so, Mrs. Malfoy's account cannot be touched as she is not imprisoned or dead, however due to Mrs. Lestrange's current residence being in Azkaban, you may choose suspend her account, or 'shut it down' as you called it. Whatever you choose to do with her belongings afterward would be completely up to you- and any contribution you might make to our humble bank would be greatly appreciated."

As he took in all of this information, the room grew silent. The goblins watched him with anticipation until finally Harry sighed. "Alright I accept the title of Lord Black, I want to shut down Bellatrix's vault, and would like to make an arrangement with you. For your help and patience with me asking so many questions today, I wish for half of all the galleons, knuts, and sickles in Bellatrix Lestrange's vault to be donated to the bank, as for the other half of her money, I with for you two to split it evenly between yourselves if you will do me the favor of moving all of the non-money objects in her vault to the Black Family vault."

Chairs squeaked and dragged against the floor as both goblins shot up to pull Harry's hands into feverish shakes. "It's a deal, Mr. Potter!" Lurkrot agreed as Nagnok pulled his hand away and began to shuffle through papers.

Soon the young savior signed the papers needed to take the title, and the contract that Lurkrot had whipped up on the fly for their personal agreement concerning the contents of the now-suspended Lestrange vault. As he left the building, Harry made an unexpected detour off to number 12 Grimmuald Place.

Creaky floorboards, wallpaper that was half peeled off, and the stench of mold welcomed him first, followed by a very curious house elf. Wrinkly old eyes opened wide upon the sight of Harry's entrance and the little elf nodded to him. "Welcome back, Master Potter." He greeted simply.

Harry nodded his greeting to the old elf. "Thanks, Kreacher. Hey, listen uhh, I've taken the title Lord Black now- just got the papers and everything-" He produced a copy of the signed agreement from the pouch attached to his belt and handed it to the elf. "Is there anything I should know about the place? Also, do you know where the two Black family safehouses are?"

As the elderly elf read over the paper he began to shake his head. "Lord Black- forgive me I did not know." He said as he knelt down and handed the parchment back to Harry. "I am at your service until my death." His voice lowered to a whisper.

"Oh please stand up!" Harry's brows knitted together as he pulled the contract to his chest and the confused elf stood. "Please don't treat me differently than you have been, I'm not trying to replace anybody, I'm just here to get the Black estate affairs in order."

Kreacher nodded his head then peered off to the side for a moment before he spoke. "I believe you already know all there is to know about this house… the locations of the safehouses, I remember one location and can apparate you there should you wish… the other has been lost through the times, however you may find it written down in the attic of the manor- but beware." The little elf's eyes narrowed as he raised a knobby finger. "The Manor is in worse shape than Grimmuald Place has ever been. The manor is old, decrepit, dilapidated, no good- just like Kreacher."

As Harry's mouth opened to respond, a loud screech came from the covered portrait in the hall. Walburga Black began to howl and shriek at the top of her lungs. "How dare you! Filthy scum- halfblood waste! You will never be Lord Black! Get out of my house, get out get out!" The wail that came from that painting pierced the hearing of Harry and Kreacher so much their hands slammed over their ears.

Once the noise had ceased, Harry's hands fell back by his side as the small house elf scampered off to the attic to bemoan his Mistress' pain. The young Lord Black approached the small black satin curtain that shook over Walburga's painting and snatched the soft fabric from the rod. As the portrait prepared to let out another shriek, Harry's slender finger moved up to his lips where it pressed lightly. "Shhh." He told her as a small silencing barrier formed around the portrait. "Mrs. Black, there are some things you should know about me. One, I enjoy Kreacher's company- he's come to tolerate me and I think he's even started to enjoy my company, so I wouldn't want to ruin that by doing irreparable damage to you since he loves you so much. Ah ah- before you start ranting about how I could never do damage to you because of all the magic and the wards that keep your portrait firmly placed where it is, that brings me to number two; your precious Voldemort is dead. I killed him. I also siphoned alllllll his power, so now I not only have my own magic, I have his on top of it. This has proven for some very dangerous and unexpected abilities. I theorize that if I got mad enough at you, or tried hard enough, you would indeed become irreparably damaged in my rage. If you would care to test this theory, then by all means, continue screaming at me- but if you have any sense of loyalty to the elf who has served you for so long, even after your death, who would be extremely upset at your destruction, I would highly advise against it." Something within Harry's eyes darkened and a small innocuous smile formed on his lips. "So this all put together means, either learn to respect me and treat me as an equal, or keep your mouth shut when I'm around if you don't want to be destroyed."

Small almost inaudible crackles came as the silencing barrier dissolved. Cold glowers shot from the affronted portrait's eyes, however she did not speak. Instead she found the best course of action for her was to glare daggers at the young man.

Silence settled in and Harry made his way back to the kitchen so that he might take a look in the fridge to ensure Kreacher had enough food and drink stowed away. Shoulders slouched as Harry stood in the cold cloud of air that emanated from the nearly empty fridge. "Kreacher?" The little elf appeared beside him, wordless with his fingers wrapped around one another in front of him. Harry peered down to him and sighed. "Kreacher, I'm sorry if I offended you by threatening Mrs. Black."

"You… enjoy Kreacher's company?" The elf asked as he raised his head so his squinty blue eyes could more accurately judge Harry's reaction.

Air escaped through Harry's lips as he nodded and knelt down to be more at eye level with Kreacher. "Yes. Ever since you've stopped attacking me and making rude remarks towards me, I've found your company enjoyable."

Fidgety fingers stilled as Kreacher stared into Harry's face on the search for a lie. "But you have not ordered Kreacher to serve by your side." He countered.

A small sigh of realization hit at the young savior finally recognized Kreacher's source of confusion. "You love Mrs. Black. You've professed as much nearly a hundred times over the years, if not more. I don't want to take you away from someone you love so dearly. Don't get me wrong, I have considered asking if you'd like to come with me as my own personal assistant, but I didn't think you'd want to leave this place or your Mistress."

Dim blue eyes softened as Kreacher glanced back towards the silently pacing portrait. With his own sigh, the elf nodded and looked back to his master, the new Lord Black. "You are right- Kreacher doesn't want to leave. Kreacher loves his Mistress, even if she screams at me… but Lord Black may call on Kreacher at any time, day or night, and I will come." The elf informed him with a nod.

A smile formed on Harry's face. "Thank you, Kreacher. That's very kind of you… now I need to know what your favorite kinds of foods are, because I need to stock your fridge so that you have something to eat."

An ecstatic sob escaped Kreacher's throat as the old little elf threw his arms out and hugged Harry's neck.


"I want to go to a zoo!" Harry proclaimed as he entered back into Snape's manor and set his outer robes upon the rack by the floo. "Surely wizards have some sort of zoo, and I've only ever been to a muggle one before."

A soft scoff came from Dudley, who had several cards in his hand where he had attempted to teach Draco how to play blackjack before that day's lesson with Hermione. "Yeh, and you let a snake out and trapped me in its enclosure."

With a shrug, Harry flopped down onto the couch in the main sitting room and laid his head back on his arms. "Yeah, but you deserved it. You were beating on the glass and calling it names when it didn't immediately move for you. Shouldn't have treated it like that."

Blue eyes looked to the ceiling and Dudley nodded his head. "I'll concede that you're right about that. I shouldn't have done it, but I don't think I deserved it, at eleven years old, to have the piss scared out of by being trapped in a snake enclosure."

A rustle of paper sounded as Severus turned the page in his book from his chair by the lit fireplace. The noise drew Harry's attention, and the young man narrowed his eyes towards the dark wizard. "Say, when am I gonna meet the elusive Serenity?"

"Never." Snape answered simply without so much as a glance up to the boy. "I will not have you coddling my cobra."

With a groan, Harry's hand fell down over the side of the couch. "I won't coddle her. I might pet her, but I won't coddle." His voice had a distinct whine to it.

A bark of victory came from Draco as he saw he had a Jack of Spades and an Ace of Clubs. "Ha! Twenty-one! I won!… I won right?" He glanced around for a moment and it finally dawned on him that Harry was in the room. "Oh, Potter, you received a howler." His perfectly manicured nail pointed towards the table beside Severus' chair.

With a groan, Harry decided to get whatever onslaught was to come over with and he ripped open the seal.

Harry James Potter! Came the undeniable voice of one Ginevra Weasley. How DARE you tell the papers that we aren't in a relationship! We KISSED! Does that mean absolutely NOTHING to you? I had already told mum that we were getting married, and she got excited and started making our wedding plans, then she read that stupid paper and saw what you said! She had the audacity to PUNISH ME for LYING! I never lied. We are getting married Harry, just you wait. Her voice softened near the end. Oh and when you propose, remember to get a ring with at least 7 stones surrounding the big one. Love you~ Toodles.

Harry let out a scream of frustration as the howler burst seemingly spontaneously into flame and the ashes and embers exploded and landed in every which direction. An ember landed on Severus who simply licked his thumb and suffocated the flame before he gave a mild glare towards the Brat-Who-Couldn't-Control-His-Powers.