I was asked to clarify some things about the whole inheritance thing so here it goes... I have altered some aspects of inheritance and the Harry Potter worlds to suit this story. Only males can inherit the title of Heir or Paterfamilias, this is pretty normal in a patriarchal society as males carry the family name. Therefore, Narcissa and Belletrix cannot inherit the title, however Draco could potentially if he were the sole descendant who had claim. To suit my story, Sirius cannot inherit the title of Heir Black as he was disinherited, however, Harry can on a legal technicality as well as the fact that he is a male descendant from a Black. Magic is a semi-aware entity in this story so that also does play apart, this will be furthered later in the story. Basically, Sirius can't inherit as he was disowned, but it is a patriarchal society so only Harry or Draco could potentially inherit, legally Harry has a higher status as a scion to a Most Ancient and Noble House. Hope this makes sense, it does in my head but I can struggle to put it into words.

Onwards we go...

Chapter 4:

"CASSI..."

"CASSIOPEIA..."

Cassiopeia and Phineas Black were enjoying an afternoon tea when the roar of anger ran through the vaulted and vaunted halls of the Chateau in France. Gently sitting her delicate teacup on its saucer, the woman in question looked over to the Drawing Room door as her squib brother stormed through it, nearly running over the house elf who had shown him in.

Raising a perfectly sculpted eyebrow, Cassiopeia asked, "What is the problem, brother my? Is there a need to trample into the house in such a manner?"

"Cassi, you will tell me this minute how you plan to teach and raise Harry Potter should he find himself in your hands."

"I don't know what you mean."

"What I mean is if you plan to bring him up as we were brought up, I will remove him from his present location and you will never find him, or me, again. He has been treated badly enough and if I have reason to believe for a minute that you will not give him a suitable childhood and life, I am out. I will pack my bags and leave, taking Harry Potter from his present 'home' and you will never see us again."

"Cousin, speak clearly and plainly, what has upset you so?" Phineas demanded "And does 'he has been treated badly enough' mean what I believe it means?"

"If you believe it means that I found the heir that my dear sister has been searching for, then yes. If you believe I was implying that he is treated like Walburga treated house elves, then yes, it means what you believe it to mean. And to return to my original statements. I refuse to be a part of this whole coup if it means that that boy be continued to be abused or treated badly. And whilst I trust you not to abuse him, I do not trust you sister, to not manipulate or take advantage of his youth and situation in order to achieve your eventual ends. I will take him myself if necessary and raise him in the muggle world with my wife. Do I speak 'plainly' enough now, cousin?" Marcus finished his rant, almost spitting the last sentence as he gesticulated wildly.

Silence followed as the two magic users processed the words the squib yelled at them. At the back of her mind, Cassiopeia was almost impressed, this was the first time she had seen her brother in a temper worthy of the Black name.

"Brother, I can only apologise that my behaviour has caused you to feel this. I know that my actions and words would suggest that I act only for the good of my House. And I fully admit I was wrong in this, you are right though. However, we need the whole story, you have found Harry Potter, that much is clear, but how and where?"

Marius sighed before collapsing into a chair, leaning forward and running his fingers through his grey hair as he spoke, "Finding someone in the muggle world can be easy if one is aware of how it works. Apart from anything else, I am as capable of calling in favours as you are Cassi. He is with his maternal Aunt, her husband and their son, in number 4, Privet Drive, Surrey. Their names are Petunia, Vernon and Dudley Dursley, whilst Harry remains a Potter as they never formally adopted him, only ever accepted guardianship. I watched for a day under the invisibility cloak you lent me and for the life of me fail to see why he was ever placed there... He is treated like a slave, on the day I watched him he worked the entire morning doing chores in the house such as cooking breakfast and cleaning. In the afternoon, he worked in the garden, in the summer heat whilst their own child bumbled around eating ice cream and taunting him. And when I spoke to some of the neighbours they seemed to believe that Harry was a... a delinquent, even at the age of six, whose parents died in a car crash. And if that is all I have learned from just looking at the house from the outside, I hate to see what his life is like inside the house. Now do you understand why I need some reassurances of your motives and plans for the boy?"

Cassiopeia sighed at her brother's words, "Marius, I can only apologise again. You are right, the boy is a means to an end to me. But believe me, whilst he is that, he is still a child, a child who deserves a childhood and fun. Whilst we cannot be his parents or even his grandparents we will be his family and raise and teach him as best we can, despite our advanced age. You were right to question me though, we shall do right by the boy."

Phineas decided to intercede at this point, "It seems then we need to advance our plans, I know that you had everything planned out cousin, but I cannot in good conscious wait for the 'correct moment' when I know that a child, let alone our own flesh and blood, is being treated in such a manner."

The lady was silent for a moment longer, trying to process the situation. Her brother's discoveries had scuppered some of her plans, Cassiopeia tended to plan every action and reaction out in her plans, and the discovery of the treatment of Harry Potter would alter this. Her original plans aimed to retrieve the boy in six months, as time was needed in order to ensure that everything was in action, she could not afford any mistake, after all she was trying to manipulate many cogs in the Ministry, whilst remaining out of sight of Dumbledore, Malfoy and Bagnold. The former two were the most dangerous, Dumbledore wanted to maintain his position as the 'leader of the light' and Malfoy wanted his own son to end up as Lord Black, whilst one would likely stop Harry being removed from his family, the other would stop Sirius receiving a trial.

She sank back into her chair, picking up her cup and saucer as she thought deeply, the brain flitting through possibilities and end results. Ever since Crouch Jr. had been sent to prison, his father had remained stoically out of trouble, particularly after his wife died, this was one of the main problems that Cassiopeia was suffering now as if she had some dirt on him then it would be much easier to arrange a trial for Sirius. Without it she was forced to approach lesser figures to make the Ministry suddenly 'see' their oversight when not giving Sirius a trial. As Malfoy would certainly not want to see Black stand trial, as to see him released was to see the possibility of seeing his son become Lord Black, it made things difficult. Whilst the Malfoy's bribed their way to the top, the Black's, particularly Cassiopeia saw this as rather plebeian and so used 'information' to a greater extent.

Meanwhile, Marius and Phineas watched. They were worried, both were aware that Cassiopeia was not doing this for the good of the boy but for the good of the family. They would argue with her to see her plans advanced as, whilst they cared for their family too, their morals and values would now allow them to wait half a year. Looking at his cousin, Phineas nodded, showing his approval of Marius' decree that he would disappear with the boy if necessary.

Finally, Cassiopeia shook herself out of her daze. Looking at both her cousin and her brother she sighed as she addressed the former. "You were right to tell me the reality of the situation with Harry and you are right, I have been too... focused…. We shall advance our plans, I just cannot see what Dumbledore's reaction will be if and when he finds Harry is not with his family. If he has monitoring charms on the house then it will be difficult for a wizard to remove him…"

Here her brother interrupted her, "Cassi, do you grow senile in your dotage? I can easily remove him legitimately, I am a squib and a barrister. All I would need to do is call the police on the Dursley's for mistreatment of their ward, they go to prison and Harry can be 'lost' in the foster care system. All it would take is some altered papers to misdirect anyone investigating."

Phineas decided to add on, "You are right Marius, think about it Cassiopeia! Dumbledore is not going to announce that he had lost the 'boy-who-lived' after it emerged he was subject to abuse. It is almost better this way, if Sirius is then out on trial it will be very public, particularly if we go to the papers and tell them how a Scion of House Black was denied a trial. It will throw everyone into such a state of confusion, it will make things more difficult for Dumbledore to discover his mistake. Anyway, what do you think Sirius would do if he was released and asks Dumbledore where his godson is, only to find out that he doesn't know?"

There was silence for a few seconds,

"I sometime forget that you were raised as Black's too." There were smirks at this, "Are you sure you don't want to assist me become a Dark Lady, there is room for generals?"

Phineas and Marius laughed at this. "Sister, agree that Harry will be removed from his present situation and then we will do thy bidding in order that you may become a Dark Lady."

"Are you just humouring me brother?"

"No Cassi, I really want to see you become a Dark Lady, it would be wonderful for the family reputation. I am sure that the ancestors would be praising your name for your actions whilst the descendants continue your work in ridding the magical world of all taints..."

Local Couple who treated nephew as slave arrested

A couple in Surrey have been arrested on charges ranging from mistreatment of a child to attempted murder yesterday. Vernon Dursley (30) and Petunia (nee Evans) (28) were remanded in custody after an anonymous tip led social services to investigate claims. The couple (who have a son age seven) were accused of the mistreatment against Petunia Dursley's nephew, whose name has not been released by the police officially but is reported locally as being Harry. The six year old boy was in the care of his aunt after both his parents died in a terrorist attack in 1981 at their home in Wales. Both names of the boy's parents have not been released as they were in witness protection due to the husband's role as a member of the police.

The police spent much of yesterday removing evidence from the house and the preliminary statements from the police force tell of the nephew being forced to sleep in a cupboard that also stored cleaning chemicals as well as being forced to do chores well beyond his age in return for little food. The boy's condition was said to be malnourished and heavily bruised and scarred from various beatings.

Many have questioned how none of the neighbours ever saw the abuse or ever reported. There have been calls made for a review of the school where both nephew and son attended to see how staff missed the abuse which has become so clear in light of recent events. More information will be released tomorrow by Scotland Yard.

Marius, having finished reading the article out loud, folded the paper up and looked to his audience of Phineas and Cassiopeia. Raising an eyebrow he waited for a response.

His sister started clapping, "Bravo brother. Masterfully managed."

"Thank you, Cassi. I thought that if I had James Potter in witness protection it would mean that it would not be odd if no more information was released on what happens to Harry. Otherwise there would be too much interest in the case locally. Now he can…disappear."

"You are a genius Marius, what will happen if Dumbledore were to search for him?"

"It depends if he follows the paper trail or approaches individuals. If he follows the paper trail he will end up going round in circles. Eventually the paperwork will suggest that Harry has been moved to witness protection outside the country, therefore even if he were to look, he could not get very far into another country's jurisdiction. I will need your help though, if Dumbledore chooses to try Legilimency instead there may still be enough to implicate us, or at least implicate wizarding influences. If we remove this then it would likely appear that Harry has simply been moved aboard to protect his identity, Dumbledore will likely just feel that the letter from Hogwarts will be his next opportunity to regain control of the child. Do you have a way to remove the information without it being obvious to a master of the mind?"

Phineas and Cassiopeia both looked at the squib, thinking. Phineas was the first to answer though, "A Memory charm would be the most obvious, a Befuddlement Potion would look suspicious as an entire group of muggles don't suddenly get confused about something all at the same time. I don't know what else would work though, what do you think Cassi?"

"We have few options, we could implant memories. We are both capable enough and you are right a simple 'obliviate' would only lead to more interest. We shall work on it first thing tomorrow." Cassiopeia was silent for a moment before continuing in a much softer tone, "I didn't realise how bad it was, I am sorry Marius, you were right, if we had left it any longer the poor boy would have suffered even more"

There was silence for a moment as they each recalled the photos and reports they had seen whilst trying to manipulate the police and hospital to do as they wanted and required.

Phineas looking to his cousin, "How long will they get in prison?"

Seeing the smirk on the barrister's face, his two relatives would have shuddered if they were lesser people. It was the malevolent Black smirk that tended to precede pain towards someone or something, "I can't say for certain but I have had a few…words with various people. We need not worry about them for a long time."

All three Black's raised their eyes to the ceiling of the Drawing Room, looking up to where, in a room above, a small, dark haired boy lay asleep, under the influence of a Dreamless Potion. It would be a long time before he woke up, as he was still recovering from his treatment at the hands of his muggle relatives. However, House Black had now recovered their Heir and they weren't likely to let him go easily.

Whilst the three members of House Black toasted their success with a bottle of Krugg champagne which cost more than some houses would, another Squib read the paper frantically. She had seen the police cars on Privet Drive and not thought too much of it, that was until she received the paper the following morning. Grabbing a handful of Floo powder she ran in her carpet slippers and dressing gown to fireplace. Calling out a name, she flung it in and as the flames turned green, walked in.

Stumbling out of the fireplace into a sumptuous office, she turned to see Albus Dumbledore sitting behind his desk in an even more lurid dressing gown than the one that she wore. Scarcely able to even form words, let alone sentences, Arabella Figg flung the paper she still clutched at him, then collapsed into the seat in-front of the desk, her head in her hands. Dumbledore's eyes dimmed the more he read and he sat for a few minutes, processing the contents of the article and its implications.

"I am sorry Arabella, but this needs to be done. This can't get out... stufpefy...obliviate"

With that the Headmaster of Hogwarts levitated the unconscious woman and with her, apparated back to her house. Lowering her onto the sofa, he walked out the door, turning his feet towards Privet Drive and leaving Ms. Figg behind with no knowledge of her original position as watchman of Harry Potter's childhood.

So Harry is with the Black's now, the next chapter is his introduction to the wizarding world. Please review and tell me what you think. Thank you to harryfan160889 who pointed out I mixed Marius name a few times, those are all changed now, so hopefully it makes more sense now!

P.S. I am not a journalist so have very little about how to write a newspaper article, please excuse my poor attempt...

P.P.S. I know Dumbledore seems kind of evil at the moment, he isn't completely, I just needed some dramatic effect at the end of a rather dull chapter!

Edit: It was pointed out that I made some mistakes with the family tree; according to Pottermore (I am afraid I used Wikia instead for the information for this story) Dorea Black is actually the aunt of James Potter not the mother but I don't really want to change this at this point in the story as I don't want to confuse the situation, sorry! However, I feel it is better to just admit the mistakes here so that people are know that I am aware of them and have deliberately left them. There was one other mix up I made when I confused Pollux and Arcturus in the first chapter but that is now changed as it matters more to the story.