Righteous darkness

by munchinmonster

They tell us that there is no good or bad magic and that it is all about intent, well Harry's intent wasn't exactly benign. Post OotP HP/SB

4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed this story and a special thank you to Katzztar, it seems I have made a bit of a booboo with this story. I mentioned that Abaddon was over 600 years old and that Harry knew of no one living that long. I was mistaken, Flamel and his wife are both over half a century older than 600… my bad. Thank you for pointing this out, it has now been corrected.

Sarah-rose76646: I cannot agree with you more. I have read a few decent stories in what you ranted about but I agree that most ruin it because of those points. Do not worry about the overly mushy emotional crap as you put it. They will have a relationship but I cannot stand the mushy crap so there won't be much of it in this story.

Buzzbumble: Yes and yes. Every few chapters I will be including a background piece of Abaddon like I have done in this one and one of them will cover how Lily became his apprentice.

Dr Stranger: Thank you, the message to my review reply was helpful and I have taken in what you said.

As always I have no beta so any mistakes bought to my attention is helpful to me. Thank you all for reading and enjoy.

Abaddon was back in Nepal working in the lab of his monastery. Several weeks ago he had contacted the magical equivalent of the Mafia in Italy and arranged for them to send a magically strong person for him. He had done this multiple times over the years. As he got older he got bored with hunting the perfect target for himself and outsourced the job to other 'agencies'. He tried to vary his dealings so that he didn't use one group too much and end up having to rely on them too heavily. He usually went to South America for people but he had been there for the last few bodies and decided on somewhere new.

Everything went well at first, magical slavery is a dying trade and really hard to find outside of South America but he was offering a lot for a strong host. He didn't tell them why he wanted the person so the 'agency' he used had assumed a few things and assumed them incorrectly. Abaddon knew he should've been more precise with his requirements and told them it was for a blood magic ritual involving possession but it was too late to worry about such things.

Abaddon looked down at the Italian girl lying on his workbench. He was coming towards the end of the body's life and didn't feel anything near sexual attraction but he knew that when he got his new body it would be swimming with hormones and he would feel it again. He looked at the girl and felt something stir in him that hadn't shown itself in many years. The girl on the table was no older than 21 but she looked exactly like his dead wife Elizabeth. Her long dark hair lay underneath her sprawled out as if she was floating in water, her pale skin in direct contrast with her hair was beautiful to him. If he was anybody else he would feel bad about what he was going to do to her and may even hesitate but love while not lost on him was not something he ever embraced since he had lost his wife all those years ago.

It was the most painful moment of his life but it was the catalyst that sent him down the path he was on. It humoured him somewhat that most people turn to the dark arts out of the need for power and greed where he did it out of love, or revenge depending how you looked at it, and where all those greedy, power hungry people failed he had seceded. He was the most powerful dark wizard since Morgana herself and like her he went down the path because of the need to avenge a loved one.

He remembered the day clearly; it was burned into his memory for eternity. Elizabeth was a powerful witch, more powerful than Abaddon himself. She could only be described as an angel, she never used her magic to hurt people and even in self defence she refused to do permanent damage. It was this mindset that eventually led to her death. She was a healer by trade although this was before there was the actual job of healing. They lived in a small village and she healed the sick, charmed farmer's crops so that villagers never went hungry, cleaned water supplies, etc.

This was when 'witch burning' was a somewhat common practice and before the statute of secrecy was created and Elizabeth was very careful about hiding her magical ability although the local community knew and while witches were treated with fear and mistrust she had proven herself to their village and because of the beneficial things she did for the village they ignored the fact that she could do magic. Although they were polite to her and treated her with respect they were distant and it couldn't be said that she had any friends there. They were less friendly to Abaddon and some were even hostile towards him. They didn't know he was magical, him and Elizabeth hid that from the village, they just thought he was a normal person who had forsaken a normal life in order to shack up with a witch.

One day the lord of the small county where they lived called on Elizabeth for assistance. His eldest child and only male heir had become deathly ill. Elizabeth tried with all her magic to heal him but magic could only go so far and she was unable to heal him. She relieved him of his pain but informed the family that she couldn't save him and that he had mere hours to live. The lord had seen her work her magic before and he had never witnessed her failing to heal someone, the fact that none were ever as ill as his son was completely lost on him. He took this as an insult to him and his family and surmised that she held a grudge against him and was taking it out on his son. He then accused her of being the one to make his son ill and one of his guards knocked her out. They took her wand away and snapped it before tying her to a stake and burning her alive once she had awakened from her unconsciousness.

While this was happening Abaddon was at the local farm buying a few supplies for his wife's famous, in his eyes, stew. As he was walking back home through the village he saw the pyre and his mind so transfixed on the stew that it didn't even occur to him that it wasn't normal for a pyre to be lit during the day. As he got closer a few of the villagers who hadn't shunned him ran up to him and tried to persuade him to take a walk with them. It was then that the cogs in his brain began working and he begun putting two and two together. He ran forward and pushed the villagers out of the way but it was already too late. She had been burning for too long and was beyond saving.

Her death was a mistake that the villagers would not live to regret. He whipped out his wand and summoned a load of water to put the fire out. Once it was out he just knelt by her body cradling her charred remains in his arms. Since meeting Elizabeth he had been a friendly person even to those that were less than friendly to him but he had a darkness inside of him that Elizabeth had helped him repressed, it was one of the many reasons he had fallen in love with her, and now that she was dead that darkness began to surface again. He knew what he needed to do, he also knew that Elizabeth would never want him to do it but he couldn't shake the feeling away. The anger that boiled inside was ready to burst. He pointed his wand at the priest who had more than likely given her the spew about her being Godless and that God would judge if she was worthy or not as well as the man standing next to him who Abaddon had rightly guessed had lit the pyre. Two explosion hexes flew out of his wand and blew the pair in half.

He then turned on the villagers and demanded answers as to why they did this to her. It didn't take long for people to explain that it was the lord of the land that had ordered it after accusing her of making his son ill. He asked why nobody had helped her and he got very little in response but one person foolishly said if she had made the boy ill then she deserved what she got. The person didn't get to finish what they were saying before Abaddon sent an incendio at him and burned the person alive just like they had done to his wife. He accused them of cowardice and felt sickened that after everything she did for the village nobody felt any need to show mercy on her or even to let her explain her so called actions. No, they took the lord's word as gospel. He burned the village to the ground. He killed them all, the men, women, children, animals; anything that had lived was dead when he was done.

Once he was done with the village he went to the lord's manor house. He killed the few guards that the man had before finding him sitting at his now dead son's bedside. Abaddon didn't give the man time to explain or grieve. He grabbed him and took him outside, he then immobilised him before grabbing the rest of the man's family. He made him watch as he burned alive one family member after another. He started with the man's wife, then his eldest daughter before finishing with the man's baby girl. Once that was done he burned down his house with the dead son inside. It was well into the evening when he had finished and turned to the lord who had had his wife executed. He was not quick or pleasant with what he did to that man and once he was done he felt nothing, no anger, no love, no righteousness, no shame, nothing. He was numb.

He moved on to the next village and did to them what he did to the first; he burned it to the ground and killing everybody that lived there. The third village had a magical family living in it and when he killed everyone in that village he spared them. It was his first act of kindness since Elizabeth had died although he didn't see it as a kindness; all he said when they asked why was that they were magical so they were not responsible.

Word eventually got around about him within the scattered magical communities and he found himself with many followers all eager to do to the muggles what was being done to magical people on an increasing basis. He cared not for them and ruled them with an iron fist. He installed fear in everyone he met and established the legend of the grim reaper. It took many years and tens of thousands of dead muggles before he finally stopped killing them indiscriminately and begun his study. He focused on necromancy and blood magic in the hopes that one day he would be able to bring Elizabeth back. In the end it was with a sense of irony that he realised that he could extend his own life indefinitely but there was no way to fully bring her back from the dead. There were rituals he could do on what was left of her body but nothing that would bring back the kind, loving person that he missed. He could restore the body to its pre-burned state but she would be a dumb zombified slave and that was not what he wanted. He could also bring her soul back from the other side but she would be a ghost and that was something he couldn't do to her.

His mind drifted away from the past and back into the present and he saw that the girl was awake and her fear filled eyes were on him completely. "Hello my dear, I hope you are comfortable. I must apologise, the people I had hired to acquire you did not do a good job. It was not you I wanted but a man, they were incompetent and will pay for their failure, in fact they already are." Abaddon said in flawless Italian while motioning to the body beside her. "That is the son of the head of the group I hired. I wanted a male body because I plan on taking control of the person's body and make it my own and while you are a powerful woman I have no intention of spending a lifetime in a woman's body. I never really saw the appeal of it but you must use what you are given I suppose, that is why I grabbed him once I saw that they had delivered you for me. He is weak, as close to a squib as you can get while still being magical so I am going to do a ritual which will shred your soul from your body and implant it into his body. Usually your magical cores will combine but I believe his is too weak and will be destroyed by yours. Whichever happens it doesn't matter, what will matter is that you will be in his body and sufficiently powerful enough for me to possess it. I will not lie to you, this will be painful, having your soul ripped from your body is not a pleasant experience but it is a necessary one. The one upside I can offer you is that when I take possession of the body you will not feel a thing as I take over and you die."

The woman tried to scream and move but she was silenced and adequately held down by Abaddon's magic. "You may die my dear but at least you die knowing that the man who put you in my hands is suffering for his mistake."

Abaddon moved over to a side table and collected a potion before returning to the woman. He waved his wand and her clothes disappeared. He seemed unfazed by her naked body although he saw that she was not impressed with losing her clothes. Abaddon dipped his right index finger into the potion before beginning to draw runes onto her body. He painted runes on her from her neck to her arms and torso then all the way down to her feet. Once he was finished with her body he painted a small rune on her forehead before doing the exact same thing to the male laying beside her. He began chanting in ancient Sumerian and the magic flowed through him. He glowed a bright white colour before tendrils erupted out of his hand and secured themselves around the woman's wrists, ankles and neck. The tendrils then pulled and the silencing spell broke as she screamed out in pain as her soul was ripped from her body.

The screaming stopped and Abaddon admired his handy work, her soul was floating in front of him by only a couple of feet, held afloat by the tendrils extending out of his hand. Abaddon walked around the table and her soul followed him. He floated it above the man's body before carefully placing into the body. Once the soul connected and was absorbed the body thrashed around for a few second before settling. Abaddon did a quick scan and saw that the woman's soul had taken over. He gave a brief smile before painting a rune onto his forehead and removing his clothes showing the exact same runes as he had painted onto the woman on him.

Abaddon closed his eyes and begun to chant again although this time the chanting was slightly different. With the woman he needed to control where her soul would go, with his own he will instruct it to take the nearest living host. Abaddon felt the pain of his soul being ripped from his body and he screamed out in pain. It didn't last long and he could see himself floating away from his body into the new one. His soul took possession of the body and he could feel the girl and surprisingly the boy fighting against his control and he laughed to himself as he took control from them and completely destroying their existence. His last thought before passing out was that while the girl looked like his Elizabeth, she was nowhere near as strong or determined as her.

-HP-

Harry and Amelia appeared in a large spacious hallway. The first thing Harry noticed was the huge staircase situated in the middle of the hall which split at the top to allow access to separate parts of upstairs. The staircase was polished wood and the banister was richly decorated. Harry looked around and saw different types of tapestries and wizarding portraits. He noticed that the hallways extended past the stairs on either side creating smaller corridors leading to other parts of the house. Harry managed to count ten doors leading off the hallway in total.

"Wow, this is a beautiful home Amelia." Harry said with genuine awe.

"Thanks Harry, but this is just the entrance. I'll give you the tour later." Amelia said while enlarging Harry's trunk and owl cage.

Amelia called for her house elf and a smartly dressed elf appeared. "How may Titch serve his Madam Bonesy?" The little elf asked.

"Can you take Harry's stuff and put them in the first guest room please?"

"Of course Madam."

With a crack the elf disappeared with Harry's trunk and owl cage. "Amelia, first guest room? How many rooms does this house have?" Harry asked curiously.

"It's not that big really. Eight bed, five bath manor house. For an old pureblood family that is about average size. I believe your parent's home was just slightly bigger."

"That is still big."

"Yes and no. It is bigger than what most people have but when you consider that our families are old pureblood families it isn't so big. The Bones go all the way back to the 14th century and the Potters go even further. Both our families have been prominent members of society taking on big and well respected roles as well as high paid ones. Add in the fact that the Goblins have been handling our money for that long as well and it isn't hard to see why we are able to afford large homes."

"I see. So my parent's had a house like this?"

"To be honest I thought you would have known that. I know you grew up with muggles but I would have thought someone would have told you about the basics of our society and your heritage."

"No, another thing Professor Dumbledore didn't do I guess."

"If not Dumbledore I would have thought your godfather would have."

"We didn't get much time together and the time we did got taken up by… other things."

"Ok Harry. Come on let's go find Susan and the others, on a nice day like this they are most probably outside by the pool."

Harry and Amelia walked down the hall to the left of the staircase and headed towards the door right at the end. Some of the portraits and pictures on the wall gave Harry curious looks while most just ignored him and carried on with what they were doing. Amelia opened the door and it led into a wide kitchen. Harry noticed how big it was and thought that it was probably bigger than the whole downstairs of the Dursley's house.

"Auntie, I didn't expect you home this soon. I thought you were working all day." Susan said from behind the opened fridge door.

"I am working all day. I'm just getting Harry settled here then I am back off to the ministry."

Susan closed the fridge to look at her aunt and she saw Harry standing behind her scanning the kitchen with his eyes. "Hi Harry." Susan said cheerfully.

This bought Harry back to reality and he looked over at Susan who he had realised was in the room with him. She was her usual 5'3 self and it looked like she hadn't grown since he last saw her. She had her hair in its usual plait but what Harry noticed most was her lack of clothes. She was wearing a bright green bikini with a light see-through shawl as a make shift skirt. This caused Harry to blush slightly and look down at his feet as he replied. "Hey Susan."

Susan saw that he was embarrassed and a smile crept onto her face as she shook her head in amusement. She thought about teasing him but decided against it. Her aunt had bought him here so it had most likely to do with her work and if her aunt was involved then it was bad. She didn't know what had happened but she surmised that he was most likely not having a great day.

"Do you want a butterbeer?" She said while going back to the fridge and hiding behind to door to cover her frown.

"Err, yes please."

Susan chucked him a butterbeer while picking another three out of the fridge. "So how long will you be staying with us?" Susan asked deciding that the best thing to do would be to act normal and pretend like this was a normal visit.

"Err…" Harry managed to say before Amelia interrupted him.

"Harry will most likely be here all summer."

Susan gave Amelia a slight glance as if to say 'what's going on?' but Amelia ended it with a slight shake of her head. Both actions went unnoticed by Harry.

"Ok, me, Hannah and Neville are out by the pool, come join us." Susan said while walking towards the back door.

"Harry will be out in a minute, I just want to tell him a few things before I leave." Amelia said.

"Ok aunty, see you this evening."

"Now Harry, if you want anything help yourself, none of this asking for stuff please. The first time Hannah stayed here for a week she kept asking whenever she wanted a drink even after I told her to help herself. You are most likely going to be here all summer so please treat it like your house. If you don't know where anything is just ask myself, Susan or Titch and they will be happy to show you. I will not tell Susan why you are staying, she most likely will not ask me as she knows I don't talk about work but she will most likely guess it has something to do with Voldemort. You can tell her if you want but it is your choice. Now, I'll give you a quick tour before going back to work."

"Amelia, I also have a house elf who works for me. Should I ask him to report to Titch and help around here?"

"Usually when a wizard stays at another's house the wizard's house elf stays at home. I'm sure you do not want to leave your elf with your aunt and uncle so yes, if you want him around you can ask him to do that, I'm sure Titch wouldn't mind the help."

"Ok, Dobby." Harry called.

Dobby had been standing near Harry the whole time and made himself appear when Harry called his name. "Yes master Harry Potter sir." Dobby said when he had fully appeared.

"While we stay here can you help Titch around Bones manor please?"

Dobby gave a little bow and apparated away. After that Amelia showed Harry all over the house and other than a brief note that drinks were not allowed in the library and that the books at not to be taken to the dinner table, she didn't really provide a description of the rooms as there were basically self-explanatory. Amelia ended the tour where she began, in the kitchen and she said goodbye before apparating back to the ministry. Once Amelia left Harry opened his butterbeer and put the cap in the bin before heading outside into the garden.

As soon as Harry opened the door he heard Hannah shriek while Neville and Susan were laughing. Harry walked three steps towards the pool before he stopped dead looking past the pool and at the field sized garden. It wasn't the garden that caught his attention by rather the creature nibbling at the grass. Neville saw Harry standing there and called out to him which caused Harry to look away from the creature and at his friends.

"You alright Harry?" Neville and Hannah said at the same time causing Susan and Hannah to giggle.

"Hey guys. Susan, you do realise you horse has wings right?" Harry asked looking back at the creature.

This cause all three of them to burst out laughing. "Harry, that is a Pegasus, they are meant to have wings. I swear you were in our care for magical creature's class." Susan managed to say through the laughter.

"Yeah but we never covered those."

"It was in the class book, did you not read it?"

"Not unless I had to, that bloody thing bites."

"Yeah, aunty refused to let me put it in the library with my other books so I have it tided with a belt and locked away in my chest of drawers."

Harry came and sat down on one of the free sun loungers. "So what do you guys do over the holidays?" Harry asked not knowing what a normal holiday was other than from the brief time he'd spent at the Weasleys.

"We just relax and have fun. Why? What do you do?" Hannah asked.

"It depends on where I am. When I'm at my aunt's house I do the chores, then I just hide out in my room doing my homework and anything else that allows me to not see my relatives. I had a pretty decent summer at the Weasley's before our second and forth year. The summer before our third year I spent the last two weeks staying at the leaky cauldron, that was a good two weeks. Mr. Fortescue really knows his history and he gave me free ice creams every half an hour." Harry said while smiling at the memory of those two weeks.

"Why did you spend two weeks at the leaky cauldron? Surely you could have flooed to Diagon alley if you needed to go shopping." Hannah asked.

"I blew up my great aunt for saying some rather horrible things about my parents. None of it true, not that she knew that, and my aunt and uncle just went with it. After a week of it I snapped and blew her up like a balloon before grabbing my things and walking out of the house."

"Harry, that's quite serious." Susan said. "Surely you would've got expelled for that or at least been in some trouble."

"Nah, it was accidental magic, I didn't mean to do it. I thought I was going to be expelled. I got on the knight's bus wondering what I was going to do and when I got off at the leaky cauldron I walked into Minister Fudge. Long story short, the ministry let me off because it was accidental, they wiped her memory and I spent the rest of the holiday there."

"That's not too bad then. I still remember the first time I did accidental magic. Aunty was so thrilled. We were in Magical Menagerie when I was six years old. Aunty was buying some treats for our owl and while she was doing this I was looking at the toads and rats. I didn't like the dull colours that the animals were and I told aunty that they would all look better if they were bright pink and seconds later they were. The shop keeper wasn't impressed, it apparently took her several hours to reverse it but aunty was over the moon and kept bragging to everyone about it, especially the age. Not many people perform accidental magic at that young an age and aunty liked to show it off a bit." Susan said without meaning to change the direction of the conversation.

"My first time I wasn't much older than you. My aunt gave me this awful haircut; I hated it and went to bed, when I woke up the next morning my hair had grown back. She tried it once more after that and again it grew back, but weirdly it doesn't grow on its own. I've had my hair this length for as long as I remember and whenever it is cut it will grow back really quickly but not grow any longer."

They spent the next few hours talking about any accidental magic they had done as well as a few stories about themselves. Harry told them about how it felt to fly Buckbeak as well as what it was like fighting a troll. The highlight for him though was Susan's story of when she spent her third year holiday in China and watching the fumbling tour guide trip several ancient Chinese wards and traps; as well as Hannah's story of her first bit of magic. Her older brother had decided to scare her one Halloween and she ended up banishing through several doors.

-HP-

It was beginning to get dark when Amelia Bones returned home from work. As she apparated into the main hall she heard laughter coming from the library and correctly guessed that Harry and Susan were in there and she decided to eat some dinner before going up there to disturb them. She walked into the kitchen and sat at the table as Titch bought her dinner over. While she was eating she processed everything that Kingsley had told her during their meeting. Although she had told him at Harry's aunts house that she was not pleased with him; that was in fact far from the truth. She didn't trust Dumbledore's order. Until this morning she had nothing but praise for the old man but it was still classed as a vigilante group and Kingsley had joined it at her request in order to keep an eye on it to make sure it was staying legal.

What she had learned from Kingsley today had not impressed her one bit. It seemed that Albus had stepped beyond the line on too many occasions with regards to Harry and it seemed that he was not planning on stopping. Kingsley had informed her that Albus was going to fight her at the Dursley's hearing for guardianship of Harry. She admitted that it could be a problem. She had a fair few members of the Wizengamot who backed her but Dumbledore's voting block and supporters were exceedingly larger than her own.

It amused her slightly that she was not petitioning to be Harry's guardian and was merely doing her job by looking into the abuse he suffered but that Dumbledore saw it as her trying to get Harry away from him. The old man is most definitely barmy she thought. She could not understand why Dumbledore is trying to restrict Harry. Yes it was under the guise of protecting him but it just didn't sit right with her, something felt odd.

Amelia had finished eating and decided that she would discuss it with Harry before she did anything. It was his life and he had a right to decide what he wanted done about things that affect him personally. She got up from the table and walked upstairs towards to the library. She opened the door to find Harry and Susan laying on their stomachs on the floor with their heads inches apart while reading the same book. Susan looked up and smiled while greeting her.

"Is there a reason you are both on the floor?" Amelia asked slightly amused.

"Well, Harry refused to sit at a table and considering we have to share a book it was just easier for me to join him on the floor then argue with him or constantly passing the book between us." Susan said feigning annoyance.

"It's not my fault the chairs in here are uncomfortable." Harry protested.

"They have comfort charms built in."

"Yes, well they are obviously worn out seeing as I couldn't get comfortable."

"Oh Merlin, you are like an old woman with your moaning Potter. There is nothing wrong with the chairs, it is you."

Amelia just stood there laughing at her niece getting frustrated with their guest. She decided to divert the topic before it got any worse although she had assumed that it had been going on for a while. "So why do you need to share a book? We have a whole library full of them."

"Oh, because Harry has yet to get his OWL results and therefore not purchased his books for our sixth year so we have to share my ones." Susan replied happy with the change of topic.

"Fair enough." Amelia said. "Susan, would you mind if I had a private chat with Harry."

"Of course, we can finish our homework later." Susan said getting up and leaving the library after throwing a curious look at her aunt.

Harry got up off the floor and sat in one of the chairs. "So what did you want to talk about Amelia?"

"I had a meeting with Kingsley earlier and thought you should know what was said. I thought you didn't like our chairs?"

Harry laughed at the question. "I don't have a problem with them, they are very comfortable but Susan complained that I had sat in her chair when I sat down and insisted that I moved so I acted like none of the other chairs were good enough and made us study on the floor. If I couldn't sit in it then neither could she." Harry said with a huge grin on his face. "So what happened with Kingsley?"

"First off I should let you know that while Kingsley is in the order of the phoenix he is in it on my orders. He is my spy in Dumbledore's group and keeps me up to date on current events in it. After what happened at your aunt's house I met with him and he informed me that Albus is going to challenge my removal of you from the Dursley's and placing you here at the next Wizengamot meeting in two weeks time."

"How can he challenge it if it is a criminal investigation?"

"He cannot challenge that bit until we take it to trial but he can place a restriction on how long we have to investigate. I do not know if he will do that, I assume he will but it is your placement with me that he is challenging. He is going to attempt to have you moved to Hogwarts as well as having himself placed as your official guardian until you come of age."

"Can he do that? Sirius was my guardian and surely whoever he says he wants as my guardian in his will will become my guardian."

"Normally yes, but he is still a convicted criminal and Albus may use that to have himself placed as your guardian instead of whoever Sirius appoints."

"What if Sirius emancipates me? Can Dumbledore stop it?"

"Yes, if he puts in paperwork before it happens. Once you are emancipated it is irreversible but he can stop it before it happens."

"Can he put in the paperwork to stop it before it is declared that it is Sirius' wish?"

"You mean can he stop it before the will reading takes place?"

"Yes."

"No Harry, he cannot, but there will be a brief window during the will reading between when it is mentioned and you signing the papers."

"So he will need to be at the will reading to stop it from happening?"

"Yes. But we need to prepare in case you are not emancipated."

"You are right, but the Wizengamot meeting is not for two weeks, so we can wait until after the will reading tomorrow to see if it is worth planning something because if I do become emancipated then there is no need to plan anything as Dumbledore cannot do a thing."

"Ok, we shall wait until tomorrow but there is something else I wanted to talk to you about and that is this Abaddon person."

"Yes, you mentioned that you knew him during our meeting with the minister. He asked me to talk to people about him to get a good idea of who he is before accepting or rejecting his offer of an apprenticeship. What can you tell me about him?"

"I do not know him Harry but I know of him and what I know is not pretty. He is the foremost expert on dark magic: necromancy, blood magic, possession, etc. He has spent hundreds of years studying and practicing them. He was the most feared dark lord to have ever lived and Voldemort's death count does not even come close to Abaddons. It is also rumoured that he once mentored Voldemort and a lot of Voldemort's knowledge came from him, although that is only a rumour." Amelia sighed at this point before continuing. "As the head of the DMLE I am given a watch list, it is a list of wizards who the ICW and ministry have piled together of the most evil and powerful dark wizards. We are to keep an eye on the people on this list whenever they enter our country and are only to apprehend them if we have a huge ton of support to back us up. Abaddon is at the top of this list and has been on it longer than any one else."

"It is only because of this list that you are aware of him?"

"Yes, I was briefed on all the people on the list."

"So you have no first hand knowledge of him? You are only going on what you've been told by someone else." Harry said that last point as a fact and not a question.

"That is correct and I know what you are going to say next Harry. How do I know the information I was given is correct if I didn't collect it myself?"

To this Harry nodded.

"Not a lot of people have first hand knowledge of him, let alone what he is capable of. The small amount of info I have on him was acquired over more than a century of research and surveillance. He is secretive and an expert at concealment. I have a dozen loose ends from certain cases over the years that I believe to be the work of him but no way of proving it. Also dozens of people were sent to spy on him and to acquire information and all but two were never heard of again. The two that did return to give information to the ICW both said that he had looked directly at the two of them, both on separate occasions, and they felt that he let them go. It is believed he wants some information out there on him but not a lot."

"Yeah, I got that feeling from him. He told me things, enough to gain my attention but not enough for me to get anywhere near a clear picture of who he is."

"What did he tell you about himself? The more information we have on him the better."

"He told me what you've just told me and that my mum was his last apprentice and he was the one who taught her how to protect me from Voldemort. He also said that he would not tell me everything about him as everybody has their secrets. His most curious comment though was that what people know about him is what he wants them to know and that even the history books do not portrait a complete picture of who he is."

"Lily was his apprentice?"

"Apparently so, although I only have his word on that as I have not spoken to Dumbledore about it and he seems to know a lot more about Abaddon than I do, well that is the impression that I got off Abaddon in any case."

"The fact still remains though Harry. The magic he knows and is apparently willing to teach you is very dark in nature and possessing books and objects linked to it let along casting that sort of magic is a one way ticket to Azkaban."

"There was a comment he made to me that got me thinking. Magic is not inherently dark or light and it all comes down to your intent and how you plan to use it. He told me that the killing curse was originally used to grant terminally ill people a release from their pain and illness and now it is an unforgivable curse because of how people have used it."

"That is true Harry and even now it is still used to grant people who meet certain criteria a painless death if they so desire and only specially qualified healers may legally use the curse and even then only in the course of their work and with a ministry representative there to oversee it."

"So he was correct?"

"To some degree, but what good can come from creating inferi or poisoning someone's blood with your own? These are some things I no doubt he will teach you and even still, no matter what your intent might be, to do most of that magic is illegal and will lead you to Azkaban."

"Maybe, but I have to fight Voldemort and have to kill him if I want to live. Surely anything that can help me survive this war, however dark it may be, will be worth knowing."

"Harry, I cannot tell you what to do; I can only give you advice and a better understanding of things. You must do what you feel you need to do. While I am head of the DMLE I can protect you from prosecution if you use dark magic against Voldemort and his death eaters. I will not be happy about it but I will do it if it helps you to win the war and lead a normal life but after that or if you use it on others then I will leave you out to dry. You also still have enemies in high places who will use this against you, but don't forget you also have friends. Do what you feel you need to do but remember what I have just said, and with that said I shall bid you goodnight and will see you in the morning for our trip to Gringotts."

Amelia walked out of the library and left Harry to think over what she had said. She knew he would most likely choose to accept Abaddons offer of an apprenticeship especially if what he said about Lily was true. Amelia vowed to herself to help Harry in whatever way she could. He was in for a rough time whether he accepted Abaddon's offer or not and she would do her best to help keep him on the right path.

-HP-

Albus could say that he wasn't having the best day so far. Harry had been removed from his aunt's house and into the care of Amelia Bones, someone who he did not control and would not give him access to Harry without good reason. Luckily the blood wards over the Dursley house had not collapsed as he had feared as Harry was not living there but he knew that it could happen at any time for any number of reasons.

There was also the fact that the Dursley's were being investigated for child abuse and he knew because he was the one who placed Harry there against standard procedure then it will also blow back onto him and he may well be implicated as well. There was also the problem of if it did go to court. If they were convicted then the wards will almost certainly fail as Petunia would be in jail and no longer in the house. He was torn on whether to defend the Dursley's or not. He knew that they were slightly rough with Harry while growing up but they were family, it was most likely just a little strong discipline and Harry thought it was slightly too much.

The problem with whether to defend them though was that if they still lost then he would be implicated even more so than he will be because he will be seen as condoning that behaviour by trying to help them escape jail. There was also the fact that even if they won, Harry would see it as a betrayal that Dumbledore was willing to back the Dursley's over him. Dumbledore could not understand why Harry was unwilling to see the bigger picture here. How could he make Harry understand the consequences of what he is doing here?

Dumbledore was bought out of his musing as the door to the room opened and twelve people walked in and sat at the table Albus was already sitting at. Once everybody was seated Augusta Longbottom cleared her throat. "Let us begin the July meeting of the Hogwarts board of governors. First item on the agenda is the current vacant position of the defence against the dark arts professor." Augusta said.

"Yes, I have found a person to fill that position for the coming year." Dumbledore said while sitting up in his chair. "Professor Snape has expressed interest in taking the job and I am inclined to give it to him."

"That will not be happening Albus. The board met before coming here and while we did not have enough votes to overthrow your wishes and terminate his employment." Augusta said while looking at four members of the board in turn before continuing. "We did get enough votes to stop you from placing him as the defence professor. We all agreed that it was not appropriate for a death eater to teach that class, although I do not understand why several of us thought it was acceptable for him to teach potions, I can only assume you have some control over this board."

"Professor Snape has been teaching at this school for years and many of the students look up to him, add in his particular knowledge and he is an excellent person to teach that lesson."

"Your opinion on whether he will be good or not as the defence professor is irrelevant Albus. All twelve of us have agreed that he will not be teaching that subject. Also because of your failure to find a suitable person to teach that lesson last year we have taken it upon ourselves to find someone for you. Normally the hiring and firing of staff falls to you but as you know if three quarters of our members agree to it then we can supersede your authority on the matter. With a vote of twelve to zero we have decided that we will be hiring the defence professor this year."

"This is highly irregular Augusta."

"Yet fully within the rules of this board and the school. Mr. Turnside has a friend who is willing to take the position. Mr. Turnside if you will." Augusta said turning away from Albus.

"Thank you Madam Longbottom. Yes, my friend Joshua Wolfe is the current duelling champion of France and came third in the last world tournament. He previously attended Beauxbatons Academy although his parents were both British. He was a French auror for just under a decade before moving onto professional duelling which he has been doing for the last fifteen years. He left Beauxbatons with the highest recorded defence and charms grades from the school this century. He knows a lot of the dark arts but has found many ingenious ways of using normal and light magic as a replacement for it and a counter. I do not doubt that he will be an excellent addition to the staff here."

"Thank you Mr. Turnside." Augusta said taking back over. "The board has already met with Mr. Wolfe but we thought you would like to meet him and give him the job yourself to keep up the appearance that you run the school but know this Albus, whether you want to give him the job or not, it is his. You can give it to him or we will at the board meeting next month. Now onto item two of the meetings agenda, the Hogsmead trips for the coming year…" Augusta said continuing the meeting.

Albus sighed, yes; it was not a good day for him indeed.

-HP-

Harry woke up and looked around the room. He wondered where he was as it took a few seconds to click that he was staying at Susan and her aunt's house. He got up and had a quick shower before getting dressed and going downstairs for breakfast. When he entered the kitchen he saw that Amelia was already up and was reading the morning prophet.

"Morning Amelia, anything good in there?" Harry asked while Titch put some bacon, eggs and toast on a plate for him and Dobby poured him some orange juice.

"Good morning Harry, nothing interesting. What time is your meeting at Gringotts?"

"It begins at 10am."

"Ok, so we have about an hour and half until you need to be there. I have some business to take care of at Gringotts so I will escort you there and will wait for you once my business is complete then we can floo back here. I would say we could pick up your school supplies but it would be best to wait until you get your OWL results and have a think about what you can choose for your NEWTS before buying anything."

As she finished saying that the kitchen door opened and Susan walked in. She had obviously just woken up as she looked like a zombie and had the worst case of bed head that Harry had ever seen. She was also wearing her dressing gown so Harry knew she hadn't bothered getting washed or dressed before coming down for breakfast. The final clue was that she shuffled her feet along the floor as if she was unable to walk properly. Harry chuckled when he saw her earning him a not too impressive death glare which in his opinion she could not pull off in this state.

"Good morning Susie, you look rather beautiful this morning." Amelia said while looking over her paper and shaking her head.

"Lemme alone." She mumbled before grabbing a cup of coffee and literally falling into a chair.

"Really not a morning person, are you?" Harry asked.

Susan just stuck out her tongue in response before going back to drinking her coffee.

"You get used to it Harry, I have yet to see Susan as anything other than looking like the undead when she wakes up, she's been like this since she was 5 years old." Amelia said from behind the prophet.

Harry finished his breakfast the whole time looking at Susan. Whenever she would look at him he would just laugh at her hair causing her to glare at him. Once he had finished breakfast Amelia put her paper down, gave Susan a kiss on the forehead and told her that they would be back later. She took Harry to the fireplace and went through first. Harry waited a few seconds before following her and appearing in the Leaky Cauldron.

The walk through Diagon Alley was mostly uneventful. The only bit of excitement was when Harry saw Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes for the first time. It took all of his control plus a reminder from Amelia that he had an important appointment to stop him from running in there immediately. Once that little distraction was out of the way they continued on to Gringotts. They arrived to find it more guarded than Harry remembered. There were wizards by the door carrying secrecy probes as well as three security trolls sitting in a guard house just inside the building.

They were scanned with the probes as they entered but were otherwise not disturbed. "I'm surprised that there are not aurors here." Harry said commenting on the security.

"The minister and I wanted to put some here but the goblins refused. They have always handled their own defences and wished to continue to do so even with the war going on." Amelia replied as they approached a teller.

They both parted ways, Amelia off to do her bit of business while Harry went off for the will reading. Amelia promised Harry that she would be waiting for him in the atrium when he finished with his business.

A goblin escorted Harry to the office which would hold the will reading and told him that it would be starting in 15 minutes. The goblin left after showing Harry the door so Harry opened it himself and walked in. The room was richly decorated and it was obvious to Harry that whichever goblin worked in this office was most defiantly high up in the business hierarchy. The large wooden desk had an elderly but still fierce looking goblin sitting behind it and in front of the desk had five chairs. Two of these chairs were already occupied. One by a witch he barely recognised as Andromeda Tonks and the other by Narcissa Malfoy.

They both looked at him as he entered and a scrawl appeared on his face when he saw Narcissa. Unperturbed by his expression she spoke. "Hello Mr. Potter." She said politely with a nod.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked ignoring the way she wished to remain polite.

"I am guessing I am here for the same reason you are. To hear my dear cousins will."

"Dear cousin. Sirius never once even hinted that you two were close."

"I am sure there are many things that my cousin never told you Mr. Potter." This comment caused Harry to recoil as if he had been slapped. "Before he went to Azkaban we were civil to each other and even on friendly terms. This continued after he was released and I had visited with him multiple times over the past year. It saddened me somewhat. Hiding out in the most ancient and noble house of Black did no good for him but at least it was better than a cell in Azkaban."

"How did you manage to get in, Dumbledore is the secret keeper?"

"Albus told me at Sirius' request. He required an unbreakable vow that I would not tell my husband or Voldemort's lot where I was going or what I was doing, not that I could tell them where I was going."

"I am surprised you took the vow, I thought you would've gained a lot from Voldemort by telling him."

"You are assuming Mr. Potter that I am a follower of Voldemort's. I am not, a Black follows no one, something my cousin Regulus forgot for some time but managed to remember even if it killed him. My husband is a follower of his but I am not. I played the loyal pureblood wife and stuck by my husband during this but after the events at the department of mysteries he went too far. He allowed himself to get caught, making myself and my son pariahs in the magical community. All the work I put in to make us leaders of our community wasted because he was stupid and underestimated you and your friends. Sirius always said that if I ever needed or wanted to get out of my marriage that he would help me and I am here hoping that in death he kept the promise he made while alive." Narcissa sighed not wanting to say anymore.

"Well, I cannot say that Lucius has ever shown any abundance of brains in my company."

"He had his moments, but he also had his moments of foolishness and it fell to me to protect him several times but alas I couldn't protect him from his last blunder. Not that I blame you or your friends Mr. Potter, in fact after the incident I rather think highly of the six of you. You showed a level of skill which our world has been lacking for quite a while."

"Why now though, why leave your husband now and what of Draco?"

"It intrigues me that you are worried about Draco. From what he has said you have both always hated each other and have been rivals."

"I do not hate Draco. To be honest if I was to feel anything for him it would be pity. He grew up in Lucius' shadow and hasn't seemed to come out of it. When he talks it is always 'my father…' like he does not have a mind of his own. It is like he is not his own person and he is trying to be as much like Lucius as he can in order to gain some sort of approval from him, I do not know if that is correct but it is what I assume from what I have witnessed. As for being his rival, I do not see him as a rival, more of an annoyance. He attacks me, tries to harass me, makes comments about me and my friends but he never seems to come out on top. He will attack me or my friends and without fail he will lose. It is like he refuses to learn a lesson from our encounters. I'm sorry, I'm not really talking well of your son and it cannot be easy hearing this."

"Do not feel sorry for telling the truth Mr. Potter. Draco is my son and I will always love him but as time goes on I get more and more disappointed with him. He was always more of a Malfoy then a Black and as you said, he idolises his father and because of that he finds it difficult to learn the tricks of life that I have tried to teach him countless times."

"If you do not mind me asking, what are you going to do if Sirius has dissolved your marriage?"

"I am going to go to France. I have friends in high circles there and my daughter is also there. I will get her and go into hiding."

"You have a daughter?"

"Yes, Cassiopeia or Cassie as she prefers is sixteen years old and going to a school over there for squibs."

"I never knew Draco had a sister."

"A twin, but it doesn't surprise me. Lucius and Draco both disowned her when it was discovered that she was a squib. She took it rather hard, she always loved Draco and he turned her aside without a second thought when we realised she had no magic. I was the only one who stood by her and I was able to get her out to France and support her through the money my mother and father left me when they died."

"I must admit I am rather surprised."

"What that I didn't disown my daughter?"

"Yes, I had always painted you with the same brush as Draco and Lucius."

"Well, while I may believe in blood purity, I am a Black after all, she is still my daughter and I cannot just throw her to the side like she never existed. I may be a monster but I am not that bad and if Draco decides to follow his father then she will be the only family I have left."

"Narcissa, you still have a family, the Black's are not completely gone even if I have been disowned." The other woman in the room said speaking up for the first time.

"I know Andy, and I do appreciate it but at the moment it feels like I have no choice but to choose between my daughter or husband and son. I am going to loose family and I know it is my own fault for seeking a way out of my marriage but even though I know it needs to be done I cannot help feeling this way about it."

"That is understandable Cissy but no matter what you decide to do you will always have at least some family around while I am alive."

As she said that the door opened and Tonks and Remus walked in holding hands followed by Dumbledore. Harry raised an eyebrow at Remus and Tonks. Remus just raised his back as if to say 'is there a problem?' while Tonks just grinned at Harry.

The goblin behind the desk coughed to gain everyone's attention before speaking. "Mr. Dumbledore, you were not summoned to this will reading." The Goblin said.

"Professor Dumbledore is here as my guest. I was under the impression that I was allowed a guest for the will reading." Remus replied.

"Yes, if nobody has an objection to him being here then he may indeed remain."

"I have an objection to him being present." Harry spoke up.

This caused everybody to look at Harry with shock. While Remus and Tonks knew of there being a bit of tension between Harry and Dumbledore they didn't expect this. Narcissa on the other hand thought Harry was Dumbledore's golden boy and while shocked she looked on with amusement.

"Harry my boy…" Albus was able to say before Harry interrupted him.

"Do not 'Harry my boy' me professor. I have nothing to say to you other then to ask if you have my OWL results with you."

Albus was, like the rest, shocked at how Harry was acting and because of this was flabbergasted to say anything other than "Yes, I have them here." He said while pulling an envelope out of his robes.

Harry took the letter from Dumbledore before turning to face the goblin's desk and away from Dumbledore.

"As there is an objection to you being here Mr. Dumbledore you will have to leave seeing as you are not a beneficiary to this will." The goblin said slightly annoyed.

"I must insist upon staying…" Dumbledore said before he was again interrupted although this time by the goblin and not Harry.

"You can insist all you want but if you do not leave then we will remove you." As the goblin said that the door opened and four heavily armed goblins walked into the office.

Dumbledore looked at the goblins before turning his attention to Harry. He sighed before walking out of the room while he still could. Once the door was closed Remus turned to Harry. "I assume there was a reason you did not want Albus here?"

"Yes there was. I believe that Sirius is going to emancipate me in his will and professor Dumbledore was here to challenge that decision. He is currently planning to assert himself as my legal guardian and if I am emancipated then he cannot do that. Madam Bones and I spoke about it last night and I just knew that if he turned up today then it would be for that reason."

"I am sorry Harry. When he expressed an interest in coming today I did not think it would be for a reason like that, I had assumed it was to know who got Grimmauld place."

"No problem Moony, you were not to know although I'm glad you didn't insist he remained when I objected." Harry said while giving him a genuine smile.

"Right, now that that is finished with can we get on with this reading, I am rather busy today." The goblin said with clear agitation on his face and in his voice. "I Ripblade, head of the Black family account here at Gringotts swear that this is the last will and testament of Sirius Orion Black and has not been opened or tampered with since it came into my possession on the 21st February 1996 as proven by the fact it is still sealed with wax with the Black family crest stamped into it. I would ask one of you to verify this claim."

"I shall do it." Narcissa said.

Ripblade handed the envelope to Narcissa and she began waving her wand over it. "It is clean; the last magical signature is Sirius'." Narcissa said confirming what Ripblade had previously said.

Narcissa handed the envelope back to Ripblade and he opened it before reading.

This is the last will and testament of me, Sirius Orion Black. As you are obviously being read this I can safely say I am dead. I can only hope that I went out fighting and with style. If I died while fighting Voldemort and/or his death eaters then I can say I ended my life right. I cannot say that I was the nicest person around but I tried my best to be as good a friend or family to all of you present as you were the only people I truly cared about. I did not have a happy life, spending my childhood with my mother and most of my adult life in Azkaban but I can say that each and every one of you made it so much better and for that I cannot thank any of you enough. You are all the best people I know and know that I love every one of you dearly.

Now, I had wrote two wills and if you are being read this one then it means that the war is still raging on and therefore I require an unbreakable vow from each of you in order to claim what I have left you in this will. If you fail to take the vow then what I left you goes to Harry. You may see this as me not trusting you but please know that is not the case. The only one of you who I believe will understand is Remus. During the last war we trusted Peter like a brother because he was our brother in everything but blood; he went on to betray us. I trusted you all with my life but I must be cautious with Harry's. I will do everything I can in order to ensure he survives and that is why I am requiring the vow from all of you. The vow is:

I (insert name) swear an unbreakable vow on my life and magic that I shall help, guide and protect Harry Potter to the best of my abilities from anyone he considers an enemy. I shall look out for him above all others and do what Sirius Orion Black requested I do for Harry Potter in his last will and testament until such time as Harry Potter releases me from this vow.

Cissy, you are a dangerous women in both life and magic. Harry is the last of the Potter line and he knows nothing about how the magical world works or the role is has in it. Harry has been left in the dark about wizarding culture, laws, his heritage, everything. It is one of the few decisions of Dumbledore's I agreed with, Harry was still a child with too much placed on him to deal with this, it was something he could learn when he was an adult and I planned on waiting until he become of age to go over this with him. Depending on when I died he may know a little or he may know nothing. You know how things work and how to manipulate them better than anyone else I know. Teach him what he needs to know so that when he wins this war he may go and take his place helping to run our society if he so chooses.

I know you also are a fantastic dueller and know quite a bit of dangerous magic. Do not corrupt my boy but teach him enough to ensure he is able to walk away from this war alive. I do not want him knowing dark magic but I know if he is to win he will need everything he can get to help him. I am leaving it at your discretion on what you teach him but make it formidable.

Now onto more personal matters for you. I wrote up a document while I was alive that ended your marriage to Lucius. All it requires is Harry's signature as I am making him the head of the Black family. I would have signed it myself but this way is better. Clear out the Malfoy vault before getting Harry to sign the document. Make the bastard penniless, that will show him that Black's are not to be messed with as well as dealing a blow to Voldemort's war effort. In addition to making the vow you will have to be divorced from Lucius before you can claim what I've left you. I am sorry Cissy but I will not let him get his hands on it and using it to help fight Harry. I know you were undecided on what to do and I can only hope this helps you to make the right decision.

To you I leave the sum of five million galleons as well as the family's holiday home in the south of France. Do you remember the place? We went there the October before I wrote this will and you fell in love with it as soon as you saw it. So far it has a few basic wards on it but you will need to add to them if you decide to take it.

Andromeda, just before I wrote this will I reinstated you into the family, I do not know if I have managed to tell you yet but if I haven't you are no longer disowned and are a recognised Black again. Your role for Harry is the simplest; I want you to tell him all about his family. You knew the Potter's better than any of us, and I'm not talking about Lily and James, I mean the whole Potter clan. His family history is a glorious one; let him know all about the name he carries.

To you I leave the sum of five million galleons as well as the family's second home in Dorset. It may not be as nice as your current home but it is more protected. Take Ted and move in there. Look after yourself; you always were my favourite cousin… sorry Cissy.

Nymphadora, you are an auror and a damn good one at that even if you cannot walk without hitting something. While I have asked Narcissa to help Harry with spells there are some that as an auror you will know that she doesn't. Teach him them please. I went through auror training before I went to Azkaban so I know some of the training that goes on there and it will be beneficial to him. Get him doing endurance, target practice, duel casting and anything else you may think will help.

To you I also leave the sum of five million galleons as well as the Black's second vault. I do not want Harry getting anything from that vault and you are forbidden to give him anything from it but it may be of some help to you with your job. I also leave you Kreacher, I have seen your flat and you are in need of a house elf more than anyone else. Be careful with him and what you tell him to do, he is a dodgy thing.

Remus, my brother. When my family disowned me you were there for me as much as the Potter's and have been a better friend to me then I have been to you and for that I again ask your forgiveness. I cannot help but think how different things would be if we had not suspected you during the first war. You are now the last true marauder left. You have always told Harry about our exploits and our school years, continue to do that. You have done more for Harry then I managed to do and I only ask you continue to do that. We came up with some brilliant pranks during our days at Hogwarts and beyond, some of these will be helpful during the war and can help turn the tide of a battle. Teach him and his friends these. Also speak to those wonderful Weasley twins, they have some good ideas for that business they plan on building but we are marauders, we were first and we were better. Show then what the oldies can do my friend.

To you I leave Grimmauld place. This would be a perfect place for you to go once a month as the basement is reinforced. The months before writing this we would spend down there together and it will hold you. I also leave you five million galleons, look after yourself my friend and please buy some newer clothes.

Harry, my boy. I am thankful for every moment we had together and it is my fault that we didn't have more time together. I should have been there for you but I let my thirst for revenge get the better of me. If I had not gone after Wormtail things could have been so different for the both of us. Since I first saw you after my breakout from Azkaban it has haunted me every night how badly I messed up with you. I have tried to be a better Godfather to you since then and can only hope that you are able to forgive a fool. I know that I have not been the best Godfather, more so than I wish to admit and I know I will not be able to look James in the face when I see him.

I failed you greatly; I should have taken a more active role in your life instead of accepting the old man's greater good. It was during the Christmas before writing this that I realised how I did you wrong and it was when you went back to Hogwarts that I promised to set things right. I hope I had time to do that and that we had a long chat about certain things but if we didn't then there is a letter in the Black family vault for you. I can only hope that once you read it you can find some way to forgive me.

I was going to leave you Grimmauld place as the only happy memories I have there are with you but there are plenty of Potter properties you can use and Moony needed it more than you. Do you remember during your forth year I used to send letters with some exotic birds? Well I had an island in the Maldives. No one knows about it as it was one of the few things I bought myself and did not belong to the Black family. It is unplottable and has numerous wards on it. It is yours and I think you will find it a nice escape from the war if you ever need to get away for a bit. I am also leaving you what is left of the Black vault which equals to just over five million galleons at the time of writing this and will most likely be more if the goblins had anything to say about it. There are also other treasures and heirlooms in the vault that you might find useful.

Also as you were registered as my heir you are also the head of the Black family. The family ring is in the vault and it will be official once you put it on. Once you do so you will become emancipated in the wizarding world as a head of a family cannot be underage. There are a lot of responsibilities that come with the role and Narcissa will help you with understanding them. I also advise you to place her as your proxy while you are at Hogwarts, she will explain what that means. Also as I doubt anyone else will tell you but once you become emancipated you will be able to listen to your parents will and I advise you to do that before you leave Gringotts.

Now you lot, remember me for me and not for my death… unless it was glorious and noble. You are all my family, maybe not by blood but definitely by choice and I couldn't have wished for a better one. Harry, I know you do not trust the Malfoys and with good reason, but Cissy is family, she was a Black first and the Black's stick together, she will help you and hopefully the unbreakable vow she has to take will help persuade you to that fact. Look after each other.

Sirius Orion Black

Surprisingly to Harry Narcissa was the first to stand. "I never had any doubt that he would keep his word." Narcissa said while looking at Harry and grabbing his hand. "If what I've said so far or what Sirius said in his will has not convinced you that I no longer plan on backing my husband then I hope this vow will. Who will be our bonder?"

"I will do it for everyone and then you can do it for me." Andromeda said.

"I Narcissa Malfoy nee Black swear an unbreakable vow on my life and magic that I shall help, guide and protect Harry Potter to the best of my abilities from anyone he considers an enemy. I shall look out for him above all others and do what Sirius Orion Black requested I do for Harry Potter in his last will and testament until such time as Harry Potter releases me from this vow."

As Narcissa said that a flame shot out of Andromeda's wand and circled their hands before disappearing. Remus, Tonks and Andromeda all said the vow and had it binded as well.

"Harry, would you be able to sign those papers abolishing my marriage once you have been to the Black vault and grabbed the family ring?"

"Of course, and can I ask you all a favour. Can you not mention these vows or my island in the Maldives to anyone?"

"If that is what you want. Now while you are going to get the Black family ring I shall be emptying the Malfoy vault while I am still able to. Shall we meet back here once that is done?"

"If it is alright with Ripblade, I do not want to take any more time of his than necessary and it is his office." Harry replied while looking towards Ripblade for confirmation.

"We still have a few things to clear up with regards to you claiming the title as head of the Black family. We will need to get the ring from the vault so it might be prudent to take a small recess and continuing in say 30 minutes. As account manager for the Black's I shall escort you to the vault Mr. Potter."

"Ok great, we shall all meet back here in 30 minutes."

With that said everyone left the room and went to their separate parts of Gringotts to transfer what Sirius left them into their vaults while Narcissa and Harry got in a cart with the Ripblade heading into Gringott's tunnels.