Yo! Sorry for the very late update but, I just couldn't bring myself to write. It wasn't a writer's-block or laziness or anything like that...well, it was a little bit of laziness. You see, when I write (even as I write this A/N) there are so many ideas, scenarios, dialogue, etc, etc that are trying to push their way to the fore, demanding they be written "now!" and it kinda makes writing anything hard for me.

This is also why I can't really write out multiple chapters and then just wait a certain amount time before posting them. I tried that once and when I went over it again (deciding to post it) I looked at the entire chapter, shook my head, and scrapped it.

Know this. This chapter is only a semi-formed thought in my head as I write this A/N. As I go through the chapter the idea becomes more solid. Sure, I go back and change this or that but for the most part I just type until my brain says "enough".

Summer is coming up and school will be letting out soon, I don't know how that will affect my updates but for the most part, this fic and ToF don't get updated regularly as it is so I wont make any promises.

For those who don't want to go back to the previous chapter, here is a brief re-cap.

The dome has fallen from around the Potter's home and Harry has been finally released to the outside world.

There has been a brief look into the Wizarding World as well as Sirius' personal life. He is Lord Black, he has taken in the Tonks and Narcissa Black-formerly-Malfoy.

Dumbledore is Minister of Magic and hasn't been able to relinquish the title.

Frank Longbottom has been shown to be alive meaning his family was not attacked. (What can this mean for Neville's personality when he's older?)

There are a great many characters that are no longer alive therefore not part of this story. This means there will be a shift in dynamics for places like Hogwarts and in the Wizengamot.

With Dumbledore as Minister, this means there is a new Headmaster of Hogwarts; that's a surprise though.

Sirius groaned as he sunk further into his favorite chair within his den. He had just poured himself another glass of whiskey when the door opened and a familiar woman entered.

Andromeda Tonks nee Black narrowed her eyes dangerously as she looked upon the sheepish face of her cousin and lord. Faster than Sirius could blink, Andromeda had her wand out and the glass in his hand, as well as the tumbler on the tabletop next to him vanished.

"Hey!" The blurry-eyed man exclaimed as he jumped to his feet. He couldn't, however, move fast enough to stop his cousin who turned her wand towards the liquor cabinet.

"Evanesco." Sirius gaped as his entire cabinet vanished before his very eyes and he quickly rounded on his cousin in anger; anger which quickly fled his mind upon seeing the wand that just rid the room of alcohol now firmly pressing against his skin right between his eyes.

"Sirius. Orion. Black! You will march straight up to your room. You will shower and then put on a set of clean clothes. You will then march your mangy arse right back downstairs and meet me in the dining room. We will then have a very long and very serious talk about your attitude. Is there any part of what I just said that you did not understand? And Merlin help you if you even think of making that damn pun on your name!"

Sirius could only stare wide-eyed at his cousin for a few moments before nodding his head slowly.

"NOW!" With that, the Lord Black scrambled out of the room and up the stairs. Andromeda stepped out of the room and turned her head towards her grinning sister.

"Still a devil in human skin aren't you, dear sister?" Andromeda smirked and lifted her right hand in front of her younger sister's face; three fingers displayed.

"What are you...?" Narcissa trailed off as Andromeda lowered one finger after the other. As the last finger went down a door was heard slamming shut from the other-side of the mansion and the youngest of the Black sisters flushed angrily as she quickly rushed up the stairs.

"I swear if that mutt has woken my dear Draco!" She spat angrily.

All the while, Andromeda stayed where she was. Now that everything had calmed down she allowed herself to think about how everything was now changed.

It had been a rough week since Harry was taken from the Potter home. It was obvious that he would need a visit to St. Mungos, a visit that had turned into a week-long stay. The Healers had not wanted to let him out of their sights until they were absolutely sure he was okay.

That was fine, Andromeda and even Sirius had agreed with this course of action. It was everything else that made Harry's stay uncomfortable.

Constant requests from journalists to talk to Harry, or to simply get his picture for their respective publication. There had been many attempts by a few Ministry officials, whom Andromeda suspected to be Unspeakables, to see him as well. Sirius had finally had enough when the Minister himself arrived, with that damnable 'grandfatherly' expression his face, and had attempted to sway Sirius into allowing the public to finally receive some answers about their Saviour.

Andromeda wholeheartedly approved when Sirius had stood his ground in front of Harry's hospital room, his wand in hand, and had calmly but firmly declared that the next person to approach him about his Godson and Heir would have their stay at St. Mungos permanently extended. Andromeda had, of course, stood right next to her cousin, fully prepared to support him to the best of her abilities.

By the end of the week, the Healers had declared Harry fully fit and in full control of his mental faculties. This was all despite the fact that Harry had yet to say a single word other than when answering a direct question about how he was feeling or if had any discomforts that could be fixed or healed. He had steadfastly ignored any questions in regards to his six year stay in the Potter's home.

Andromeda entered the dining room of the formerly-known Malfoy Manor. The size always gave the second Black daughter pause, after all it was nearly half the size of the Great Hall of Hogwarts. There, close to the wall opposite of the room's entrance was the lengthy table that Brutus Malfoy, a 17th-century ancestor of the Malfoy family, had added to the Malfoy Manor. The man had been just as much a muggle, and muggleborn, hater as his descendants. He was known to have many a gathering here in his, at the time, home for those who, like him, believed that simply being in the company of muggles and muggleborn was a sign of weakness. No matter if the "afflicted" had the purest of blood, they were weak in the eyes of Brutus Malfoy.

Now though, the table was simply an irritation and was rather impractical. Currently, Black Manor only held three adults and three children, which was including Harry now; for a table that could easily seat twenty, it was imposing. Sirius had had another, smaller, table set up on the opposite side of the room for family meals. He had begrudgingly admitted that the larger table would have its uses for any situation in which the Black family hosted a party or a meeting.

As she sat down at the smaller table, a House Elf had appeared with a plate of sandwiches of various combinations and set it before her, a face appeared in her mind. It was her husband. Instantly a feeling of regret and dismay rose within her.

When Sirius had taken on the mantle of Lord Black and had brought both Narcissa and Andromeda herself back under the Black family, Ted had been more than displeased. It wasn't truly his fault either, after all, she had never fully told him about what happened in the Black family when they were all younger. All Ted knew was that his wife's entire family had turned it's back on her and left her out in the cold simply because the two had married against the wishes of the Black family. Ted didn't even know it was all because he was a muggleborn until they had had a run-in with Bellatrix in Diagon Alley a few years after they had all graduated from Hogwarts. Bellatrix had still been somewhat sane and nowhere near the murderous witch she would later become before her death and so the interaction had been nothing but taunts and insults.

Ted had, understandably, been upset that she had never told him the full story of why her family didn't want them to marry. He had forgiven her, of course, but he remained a bit distant for a few of the following months. They had lived their lives as any other married couple after that and had found happiness and love within each other that they both never believed they ever would. Their happiness only increased when Andromeda became pregnant with their first-born, Nymphadora. Then, three years later, everything began to change.

The Dark Lord had been vanquished and all of the Death Eaters were dead. Sirius was Lord Black and had taken his widow cousin, Narcissa, under the Black family's protection as well as her son Draco. He had then contacted Andromeda informing her of the reversal of her banishment from the House of Black. While outwardly she showed only acceptance and gratefulness that her and her family would be well taken care of from that point on, inwardly she had been overjoyed and overwhelmed. While she had always maintained an image of indifference and happiness of being out from the shadow of her family, she had always secretly been saddened at no longer having contact with her family. Despite everything, she had missed her sisters, missed her parents, and had missed her cousins. So when Sirius' decision came she was overjoyed.

Her husband, however, was less than thrilled. He couldn't fully understand how she could be happy to return to the that family. The ones who had hurt her and threw her out for marrying Ted. It was then that he had laid out his ultimatum. Him, or her "family".

Andromeda had pleaded with him, had actually gotten to her knees and begged. Something that her family pride and upraising had rebelled against, but Ted stood firm. He couldn't even appreciate what it meant for a Daughter of Black to willingly be on her knees in such a way. When she told him that she was not going to spurn her cousin, and lord's, acceptance of her back in the family, Ted had walked away; not only from her, but from their daughter.

It took several years for Andromeda to fully get over Ted walking out. She instead took to raising their -her- daughter to be a proper daughter of the Black family, just as Andromeda and her sisters had been...though without all the pureblood supremacy rhetoric. Sirius hadn't needed to tell her that Nymphadora would not be raised to be anything like the rest of the Black family, or any of the other "fools who had joined a halfblood maniac and had been branded like cattle only to die along with their master when he refused to admit defeat and simply die".

Narcissa on the other hand...she had already planned on how she wanted to raise her son; as had Lucius. Sirius had put a complete stop to that. He wanted Draco to grow up to be a model citizen and a proper pureblood. He was also not going to allow Draco to be a spoiled brat who would become upset if he didn't get his way. In other words, Draco was to be nothing like his father.

Speaking of the man who been the catalyst to so much in the Black family, he had just walked into the dining room followed by Narcissa.

Sirius slowly entered the room and sat at he head of the table. He had picked up a few sandwiches on his way to his seat and laid them on the plate in front of him. Narcissa sat in the middle of the table, not really caring to sit closer to either of her family members. Andromeda sighed as she prepared her thoughts.

Sirius still looked quite haggard, his eyes bloodshot and his face a bit pale. Narcissa was irritated which meant that Draco had no doubt been awoken by the slamming of Sirius' bedroom door. Andromeda turned her eyes upwards and prayed for strength, though she didn't exactly know whom she was to pray to for it.

"Sirius' She started. 'you've been drinking more and more ever since the night of the attack. I had hoped that sooner or later you would slow down your binging or at least keep it within the confines of your den. I especially believed you would at least stop long enough so as not to be a burden when Harry came home from St. Mungos. Instead, it was I that had to help young Harry find his way around the Manor; get him bathed and dressed; and then make sure he was able to go to sleep. All the while, you have been in your den drinking away. What do you have to say for yourself!?" By the end, her voice had steadily rose in level until she was very nearly screaming at the man who was now staring back at her with wide and ashamed eyes.

While Sirius was trying, and failing, to explain himself a young figure was currently sneaking back away from the top of the stairs and heading towards the room that held the Manor's newest resident.

Nymphadora Black stealthily approached the closed double doors and, after listening for any sounds from within, quietly opened one of the doors and peeked inside. Not seeing any movement, she stepped inside the room and closed the door behind her.

As she disappeared inside the room, a smaller figure watched from across the hall.

Harry wasn't surprised that she had not seen him, he knew very well how to hide in the shadows. It had come in handy when...

Shaking his head, he quietly made his way down the large hallway. As he did so, he took in the portraits of the different wizards and witches that had made up the Black family. Most of them were asleep and so Harry had no reason to stop his exploring. When "Auntie Andy", as he was told to refer to Andromeda as, had laid him down to sleep, he had genuinely been tired and more than happy to welcome unconsciousness. Then, he had woken.

It was always like this for him. He would sleep for a few minutes, perhaps maybe even an hour and then he would wake. It never occurred to him that he should be getting more sleep at night especially since he was so young but he had never learned about such things nor had his mother said a word about it.

He was just passing his cousin "Draco's", his Aunt Narcissa's, room when a voice stopped him.

"Hey." The young boy stopped and turned his head towards the speaker.

She was young in appearance, though he couldn't place her age as he had no reference to compare her features to. Since he had left his mother's home he had only been surrounded by adults and the girl in the portrait was definitely younger then anyone he had seen thus far.

Curly black hair that framed her pale and flawless face. Dark eyes that seemed to pierce straight through him, taking in everything about him. Then there was the smile on her face. It was beautiful; pale pink lips that had formed such a eye-catching smile. She was dangerous, even if she was a portrait. He could see the darkness in her eyes, the danger behind her smile, the death behind her beauty. She reminded him of Mother.

"Come closer boy. I wish to see you better in the light." Without hesitation, he stepped forward until he was two feet away from the portrait; his head was an inch or two shorter than the bottom of the frame. Craning his head, he looked up into those dark eyes.

"Are you him? The Black Heir? Are you Harry Potter, the Saviour?" Harry tilted his head to the side slightly. He had no clue what she was talking about. He didn't know anything about an "Heir" or a "Saviour" but he did know one thing.

"My name is Harry James Potter. May I have your name?" He asked plainly, though he kept the level of his voice down in respect to his sleeping cousin in the room behind him as well as to insure that the intruder in his own room didn't hear him. Though he wondered what she was doing since it was obvious he wasn't in there. Maybe she was laying in wait for him.

Bellatrix Black, eldest daughter of Cygnus and Druella Black, stared at the young boy before her. While he didn't look impressive, being half her size, it was not in Bellatrix' nature to disregard someone because of their looks or age. After all, she was well known in her time at Hogwarts for being a very powerful witch. She, of course, had no idea what she accomplished after Hogwarts seeing as no one would inform her and her portrait had not been allowed to self-update with the times. The boy's eyes were like her own. Either he had darkness or had seen it's true face. There was no other explanation for what she could see in those green orbs of his.

"Then you are who I believe you to be.' She spoke, either ignoring or choosing not acknowledge his request for her name. 'Harry James Potter, the one who vanquished the Dark Lord; he who has been proclaimed our world's 'Savriour'; the one who your Godfather Sirius has named as his Heir. One day, you will become Lord Black and take control of my family. Not only that, but you will become Lord Potter as well, seeing as how you are the last of your line. Never in my time have I met someone who wielded so much political, and possibly magical, power at such a young age. The most interesting part' Her voice rose a little in excitement as her eyes gleamed 'you have no clue as to what you are capable of yet."

Before Bellatrix could continue any further, a hand grabbed hold of Harry's arm and spun him around. He was hardly fazed by it all as he looked into the face of his slightly-taller cousin Nymphadora.

"And why are you out of bed Harry?" The young girl asked without preamble. Harry blinked.

"Perhaps for the same reason you were in my room a moment ago; curiousity." The girl's face flushed and she looked away even as Bellatrix' portrait laughed behind them.

"How naughty my dear niece. Are you already living up to your name? Sneaking into a boy's room at such a late hour." The teenage Bellatrix taunted.

The girl glared at the portrait for a moment before her features went blank and she scoffed as she led Harry by the arm towards his room. Harry looked over his shoulder back at the portrait who was staring back at him though the frame soon was in the way and blocked her from his view.

Once they were inside his room, the lights of the chandelier had flickered on at Nymphadora's request, Harry was guided towards his bed where he sat down with his cousin who sat facing him with her legs folded in front of her.

"So, you're my new cousin eh?" The girl asked and, to Harry's amazement, her hair had suddenly changed color from the mousy brown it had just been to a vivid pink. Seeing his reaction and realizing what had happened, Nymphadora giggled.

"I'm a Metamorphagus, that means I can change how my body looks. My hair kinda has a mind of its own; changing with my emotions. Brown is my neutral color and black is my natural one. Pink mostly happens when I'm excited about something or am really happy. I have messed around with other colors but haven't had any other colors that have appeared due to my emotional state."

The young boy blinked at the girl and a slight smile appeared on his face.

"That's really amazing Nymphadora." The girl frowned slightly before sighing in exasperation, her pink hair falling flat and brown.

"I'm not really fond of my name, Harry. I'd tell you to call me something else but I definitely don't want to be called 'Nymph' and I don't really like 'Dora' too much either."

"Guess it's Nymphadora then." Harry replied simply causing the girl to roll her eyes.

"Anyway, so...tell me what it was like being stuck in that house all this time!" She leaned forward as she spoke, her eyes wide and excited; hair once again pink.

Harry furrowed his brow, it wasn't that he didn't want to talk about it but he didn't want to talk about it just yet. Shaking his head, he answered.

"I'm sorry but, I'm not ready to talk about it." The girl's hair turned back brown as she slumped over in disappointment.

"Yeah, I guess I can understand. I hope that when you're ready I'll be the first to hear it though!" Her hair lightened a bit but remained brown as she smiled at him.

Harry didn't see this as unreasonable and nodded. "Maybe one day." He responded.

Nymphadora was no beaming and she reached forward and hugged Harry tightly then hopped off the bed after releasing him.

"I'll see you in the morning Harry, you have a lot to catch up on and I'm gonna be the one to help you there!" With that, and without waiting for a response, the girl bounced out of the room leaving Harry alone again.

It was only a few moments before the lights went out leaving Harry in darkness. As he sat there in silence, his thoughts went back to the portrait from earlier. He still didn't know her name but he reasoned he could simply ask her tomorrow. She had quite a few things to say but nothing as interesting as what he saw in her eyes. Those eyes that hid such darkness. It was then that her last words came back to him.

'...you have no clue what you are capable of yet.'

"Is that so?" He questioned the words.

As he laid himself back down and burrowed into the blankets until he was fully comfortable, the sound of something shifting across the floor on the other side of the room was heard before silence once again reigned.

There you have it. These next few chapters will be Harry's introduction into the world as well as the slow beginnings of his relationships with his family, especially Draco and Nymphadora.

There will also be some information fill-ins to explain certain things before his start of Hogwarts so that you, the readers, will understand what's going on in this new world. Just like in this chapter that explains why Ted wont be around. (In honesty, we know nothing about him except what was said in the books which was, in itself, wasn't much.) I am already having to figure out personalities and backgrounds for quite a few characters that will be prominent in this fic that were either not mentioned, or only showed up as a face in the books/films. Ted didn't rate very highly on this list and I hope my reasons for moving him out of the story are well enough.

I'll try not to get too technical or boring with the following chapters but I don't want to just jump from Harry's emergence to Hogwarts.

~C.D. the XPG!