AN: Wow, so I'm overwhelmed with all of the reviews and story alerts already added to my story. Thank you so much! I'm happy for all reviews, but if you have a question I will try my best to answer it, and I'll give you guys some opportunity for input!
Kanakmp- You will simply have to wait to find out what happens with the twins! Although if you think about it they haven't ever really been jealous of Harry or thought of him as the boy-who-lived, so there is your clue
Topdog19- Don't worry about the wives thing. There aren't going to be that many, and I think it'll all work out.
apAidan- I agree with you, it's very unlikely that everyone simply bought Dumbledore's reasoning that they couldn't tell Harry anything over the summer.
Lmill123- You will find out in this chapter about the will, although what is going to happen to Sirius might not be clear yet.
Jkarr- I'm glad that you appreciate Sirius and Hermione helping Harry. Just have to wait and see what happens.
Nightwing27- You're review was my favorite! I agree Dumbledore knows nothing of love.
Thanks to all of my reviewers! Enjoy this chapter.
Recap: The three, along with the bag holding snuffles, walked into the room, and saw an ancient looking goblin sitting behind a desk. "Ah, Lord Potter, and Lord Black, I have been wondering when I would see you."
"Master Ragnok, I'm afraid that you are mistaken. I am Harry Potter; these are my friends Hermione Granger and Remus Lupin. Along with Remus's pet."
"Ah, Lord Potter, we have much to discuss. But I know that Lord Black is here as well. You are perfectly safe here my Lord. You were never convicted and we don't regard you as a criminal."
Sirius transformed and said, "Thank you Master Ragnok. But I have never claimed my title."
"We shall take care of this. All you must do is declare yourself Lord and claim your inheritance."
"I shall after you explain things to Lord Potter."
"Of course. Now Mr. Potter, I have a simple question for you. Do you know your heritage?"
"No," Harry responded. "I fear I know nothing."
"That is easily fixed Mr. Potter. To begin with the House of Potter is one of the Noble and Most Ancient Houses. There are seven houses which have this title, and they are House of Black, House of Longbottom, House of Greengrass, House of Parkinson, House of Abbott, and House of Bones. These houses are the top tier of society and are protected by the ancient laws. Each of the seven houses controls four votes in the Wizengamot, and together can create a majority. There are also Noble Houses. These include the house Malfoy, house Crabbe, house Goyle, and house Lestrange. Each Noble house has two votes in the Wizengamot. These houses are not represented under the ancient laws, nor do they have the title 'Lord.' As the heir to the House of Potter you should have received this information on your eleventh birthday along with the heir ring. However, your magical guardian blocked that."
"Who is his guardian?" Sirius asked.
"Albus Dumbledore."
"That cannot be true!"
"It was stated as such in the Potters' will."
"Then it is a fake! A copy of the will lays sealed in the Black vault. Have Griphook retrieve that along with any documents pertaining to Lord Black. Then have him retrieve the executed will and documents pertaining to Lord Potter."
"Of course." The goblins hurried to fulfill this task. After about ten minutes the goblins returned. "Mr. Potter, accepting this ring makes you the official heir to the House of Potter."
"Before Harry accepts that ring I wish to hear both wills, along with any contracts made regarding the heir."
"Certainly Mr. Lupin. Here is the first will. 'I, Lord James Potter, being of sound mind hereby leave 500,000 galleons to Albus Dumbledore. The rest I leave to my son and heir Harry James Potter. Upon my passing my son will be in the care of Lady Lily Potter. Upon her passing he will be in the care of Albus Dumbledore.'"
"That's fake!" Sirius and Remus said in unison.
Turning to Harry Remus said, "Your father would have written in code at the very least."
"Well, let us open the second will." Ragnok broke the seal and opened the parchment. There were no words, and it appeared completely blank.
Smirking, Sirius put his wand on the paper and said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Words spread rapidly over the parchment and a miniature figure of James rose in the center.
The mini-James began to speak. "I Lord James Henry Potter, being sound of mind (Yes I am sane Moony!) Hereby state my will. To Mr. Remus John Lupin I leave five million galleons. Before you protest Moony, it's already done, and it's too help when you can't work because of your 'furry little problem.' To Sirius Orion Black, I leave something more precious. Your godson Harry James Potter is now in your care. Raise him well and don't worry about him calling you Dad. It's what I want. Lily and I wrote our son letters and there is now a portrait of us in Potter Manor. Our son won't forget us. To Albus Dumbledore I leave a kick in the pants. Seeing as we're dead, it's his fault. Our secret-keeper was Peter Pettigrew, and Dumbledore somehow convinced my wife and me to make Peter our secret-keeper even though we were having doubts. Dumbledore will also undoubtedly try to steal from my vaults and to manipulate my son. Dumbledore is to never be guardian of Harry James Potter. If Sirius in unfit to be guardian there is a list of others on the parchment. My son is to receive his heir ring on this eleventh birthday and to receive the full titles and lands of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter on his fourteenth birthday. He will become legally emancipated although I suggest he continue to reside with Sirius until he is of age. My son is not entered into any contracts and as such if one is made in the future he has the power to destroy it because it was not made with the Head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter." The mini-figure of James dissolved back into the parchment, and there was complete silence as everyone stared.
Finally Ragnok cleared his throat to break the silence. Everyone turned to him and he said, "Mr. Potter, to verify the true will I will need you to accept the lordship by wearing the Head of House ring."
"Before I do that I need to be sure there are no contracts in my name."
"There is one Lord Potter. It was signed by Albus Dumbledore as your guardian and Arthur Weasley head of the family Weasley. It states that on her seventeenth birthday you shall wed Ginevra Weasley. Potions may be used to encourage affection. Upon signing 5,000 galleons were moved to the Weasley vault. Another 1,000 galleons is transferred annually with 55 million transferred at the time of the marriage."
"This is the only contract?"
"Yes."
"And as Head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter I can destroy it?"
"Given that the first will is a fake and that Albus Dumbledore was not actually your guardian then yes."
Harry turned to Sirius, Hermione, and Remus. When they all nodded he turned back to the goblin. "Then I, Harry James Potter, accept the ring of heirs of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter." Harry slid the ring onto his right ring finger. A white light shown from the heir ring and hit Harry's chest. His entire body was illuminated in white light, except for his scar which was glowing red.
"What is that? What does the red mean?" Hermione asked her panic evident as she rushed to Harry's side.
"It means that the heir magic has found a threat. Something that should not be there. Usually it detects potions, but this is interesting." The goblin explained. "It seems to sense a piece of soul that doesn't belong. But don't worry; the Head of House magic will destroy it as soon as Mr. Potter claims that."
"I, Harry James Potter, heir of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter claim my birthright as Lord Potter in recognition of the passing of my fourteenth birthday." Harry slid the House ring on his finger, causing the heir ring to appear back on the table. Silver light was emitted from the ring, blasting directly into Harry's scar. Slowly the silver light began to push the red light out. There was a terrible sound of a scream before the red light disappeared and blood gushed out of Harry's scar.
"Harry are you ok?" Hermione asked, grabbing his hands in hers. When Harry nodded she threw her arms around him. "What was that?"
"I will explain it tonight Miss Granger." Sirius said calmly, but with an underlying edge of authority that Hermione didn't dare contrast.
The goblins huddled together in a whispered conversation. One rushed from the room, and Ragnok turned back to the group. "Well now, congratulations Lord Potter. You are officially the Head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter. You have several vaults and properties now in your possession. There is the trust vault which is the one you have been using, a family vault which is located much deeper into Gringotts, and a Head of House vault, which contains everything the previous Lord left for you. You will be escorted down to all of your vaults immediately after we are finished here. Now, Lord Potter, all I need you to do is to touch both wills and command as Head of House they reveal themselves."
Picking up the first will which named Dumbledore as his guardian Harry said, "As Head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter, I demand to have the authenticity and the writer of this will revealed. As Lord Potter, so I mote it, so it be." The will began smoking and the name of Lord James Potter was entirely erased. The parchment turned black as if burned, but the writing was clear. On the back of the parchment new words appeared, and Harry read them aloud. "'The will of Lord James Potter as written by Albus Dumbledore.'" Harry then picked up the second will and repeated the oath. This time a golden light was emitted from the parchment.
"Ah, well that proves that the first will is a fake and that the second will is the true will." Ragnok explained. "Lord Potter, the goblins are sincerely sorry for any harm that has come to you by executing the first will. Rest assured that we will go after Dumbledore and retrieve the money that he has taken from you. As for the marriage contract you may now destroy it."
"Harry, I think that you should wait to go after Dumbledore for the fake will. What I want to do is take your parents will and present it as evidence for my case. It proves that I was not the secret keeper."
"I agree Sirius. But I am going to destroy the marriage contract." Picking up the paper Harry said, "As Lord Potter I declare this contract null and void as it was made for the heir of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter without the permission of the Head of House." The parchment caught fire and was destroyed. Harry smiled slightly and nodded at his godfather.
"Ah yes, Ragnok, before I accept the title of Lord Black I wish to know if there are any contracts concerning the House of Black."
"There is one. It is for the heir of the House of Black and it states that the heir of the house will marry the daughters of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Greengrass. Provided that no sons are born to the House of Greengrass the House of Black heir shall marry both daughters. The oldest daughter shall become Lady Greengrass and all children born to her will continue the Greengrass line. The younger daughter shall become Lady Black and provide heirs to the heir of the House of Black. This contract was signed thirteen years ago upon the birth of the youngest daughter. It is signed by the previous Lord Black and Lord Greengrass."
"The Greengrasses are a nice enough family. They are old and pureblood to be sure, but they have always been neutral through times of war which is a lot to ask of a pureblood family. Well besides the House of Potter at least. What say you Harry? Should I accept the title of Lord Black? If I do you will automatically become my heir apparent. But you will still have the choice to accept the ring of heirs and if you do not accept the ring the contract cannot be put into effect."
"Sirius, I know that you want to accept the title so do so. I will think the matter over and decide if I want to accept the ring of heirs. But I do believe that a meeting should be called with Lord Greengrass. Ragnok is it possible that the daughters are under other marriage contracts? It has been a very long time since the House of Black had an heir."
"Yes Lord Potter. Both daughters are under other marriage contracts but they become null and void if there is an heir to the House of Black."
"I do not know Daphne and Astoria personally, but I do know that they are in Slytherin. However, they have never been mean to me or my friends so I will give them the benefit of the doubt. Ragnok please set up a meeting in two days with Lord Greengrass. Sirius, accept the title!" Harry said with a smile, knowing how much it would mean to his godfather.
"I, Sirius Orion Black, heir of the Noble and most Ancient House of Black claim my birthright as Lord Black in recognition of the passing of my father the previous Lord Black." Sirius slid the ring onto his finger, and a silver light was emitted. It illuminated his entire body, but finding no problems the light receded.
"It is done Lord Black." A goblin rushed into the room holding something small behind his back. The two goblins conversed, and then Ragnok turned to Harry. "Lord Potter, I present to you this dagger, a goblin-made weapon to help you in your quest. Lord Black will explain thoroughly, just know that you have the support and well wishes of the goblin nation." Harry looked confused but took the dagger from Ragnok with a bow.
"Master Ragnok it is my wish to return to my home now. I shall be back in two days along with Lord Black for the meeting with Lord Greengrass. After that meeting I will require a tour of my vaults."
"Certainly Lord Potter. I will see to it." Harry, Sirius, Hermione, and Remus took their leave of the small goblin and apparated to Lupin's home. Once inside, Sirius and Remus cast a multitude of spells.
"Harry, I need you to set up the familiar spells of the House of Potter." Sirius said, calling his godson over. Seeing Harry's confused look he said, "Simply wave your wand, the words will come to you. And don't worry, you are now emancipated remember." When Harry was done, everyone sat around the small kitchen table. "Well this has been quite the interesting day. I want to talk about the marriage contract first and then we will get to the other things. So you know Harry, upon my death you will gain the title Lord Black. Even if you do not accept the ring of heirs this will still happen. Upon gaining that title you will have to take a second wife to be Lady Black. I know that you were uncomfortable with the thought of a Plural Marriage, but it is the only way."
"I will think about it Sirius, as I said before. I need to discuss this with several people first." Harry explained, squeezing Hermione's hand to reassure her. "Now tell me about what happened with the Head of House magic."
"Well, it seems that you have been made into a horcrux Harry. This means that a small piece of Voldemort's soul lived inside of your scar. It has most likely been there since the night he killed your parents."
"Is his soul still inside me?" Harry asked his panic evident even as he tried to remain calm.
"No, that is what the Head of House magic destroyed. You are free of his soul now. However, it is most probable that Voldemort created other Horcruxes. That is why the goblins gifted you that dagger. It will let you know when you are in the same building as a horcrux and will lead you to it so that it can be destroyed. They have also decided to search all of the vaults in Gringotts for any Horcruxes. They will let you know if they find and destroy any."
Harry sat in silence for several minutes trying to absorb all of the information he had just been given. "So if the Horcruxes are all destroyed, then Voldemort can finally be defeated?"
"Yes, that is exactly it."
"Well, we have a start at least to defeating Voldemort. I need to talk to Hermione alone, so we'll join you later for dinner."
Harry and Hermione left the kitchen and went upstairs to the guest room. They sat in silence for several minutes before Harry turned to Hermione and took her hands in his. "'Mione this isn't how I wanted this to happen, but it seems that I have no choice. I love you. I always have. Ever since I saved you from that troll in first year you have been my best friend. You are the person that I can always turn to and you are the only one that has always stuck by me. Even when everyone else thought that I was bloody insane you stood by me. I don't know what is going to happen with the plural marriage thing, but I want you to be my first wife. I promise that I will always love you and be there for you, so Miss Hermione Granger will you marry me and become Lady Potter?"
Hermione stared at Harry in shock. "But Harry, we are only fifteen!"
"I know that Hermione, but I love you, and I don't want to wait. Especially because of the marriage contract."
"You are waiting to find out who those poor girls are betrothed to aren't you?"
"Yes, if I can save them from a terrible marriage I will. Although if you say no, I will refuse the heir ring."
"Oh Harry, how can I tell you not to when you're noble character is one of the things I love most about you. Yes I will marry you, and we shall accept those girls into our family."
Harry slipped a ring out of his pocket and onto Hermione's finger. It was gold with a large diamond in the center. On either side of the diamond sat an emerald and a ruby. "This was my mother's ring, and I hope that you will wear it. Once we are married you shall also wear the crest of the House of Potter. The emerald was to represent my mum and the ruby to represent my dad, but for us it is switched. You are the ruby my love."
Tears welled in Hermione's eyes as she gazed down at the beautiful ring. Slowly she leant towards Harry and their lips met. The kiss was soft and sweet, yet passionate at the same time. When Harry swept his tongue over Hermione's lips she couldn't help but moan as she opened her mouth to him. Her hands moved up to tangle in his hair, forcing him closer to her. Their tongues battled for dominance, and Hermione finally gave way to Harry. His tongue stroked hers in a sensual dance, a promise of what was to come. The two finally pulled apart and rest their foreheads together. They lay on the bed for awhile until there was a slight knock on the window.
Harry made his way to the window and took the letter from the owl. "This better not be from the Weasleys or Dumbledore!" he opened the letter and gasped. "It's from Neville."
"Dear heir of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter,
As a fellow heir to a Noble and Most Ancient House, I require you're assistance. Come to Longbottom Manor at your earliest convenience.
Your friend,
Neville Longbottom, heir of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Longbottom."
"Harry we have to help Neville! We must go over there right away."
"We will Hermione. But first we need to tell Sirius and Remus." The couple ran down the stairs and entered the kitchen where they found Sirius and Remus making dinner. "Sirius, Moony, I just received a letter from Neville requesting my assistance as a fellow heir. He wants me to come to the Longbottom Manor right away."
"Can I see the letter Harry?" Remus asked. He read it over and performed a spell to the crest on the seal. "This seems to be in order. But Sirius and I will accompany you. We can use the Floo." Remus went through first followed by Hermione, then Harry and Sirius.
Neville came running over to the fireplace. "I'm so glad that you accepted your inheritance Harry! You can help me."
"What's wrong Neville?"
"I'm betrothed to three separate witches!"
AN: I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter! If you have any ideas or suggestions for who you want Neville's girls to be, just leave a review! Even if you don't have an idea for that leave me a review anyway! (Hit the button) And I promise there will be more action to come.