"Master all is ready." Kreacher croaked.
"Thank you Kreacher, would you mind showing us around please?" Harry had crouched down to the elf's level.
"Yes Master, this way." Kreacher gave them a tour of the main rooms and then started on the bedrooms, "This is the master's suite and I have prepared it for you. Next door is the room I've prepared for the blood… I mean Mister Weasley."
"Very good." Harry grimaced a bit at his slip, "How many more bedrooms are in the house?"
"Thirty eight." Kreacher bowed low, "Twenty double rooms and eighteen singles. Do you wish for them all to be cleaned?"
"Eventually, but just a few more double rooms for now. Don't push yourself. Did you find any dark objects?" Harry asked.
"All I have found are in the library." Kreacher's voice was beginning to grate on Harry's nerves, "I have not searched the whole house yet."
"Thank you. You've done an excellent job." Harry looked back at the elf, "Go rest for a bit. I would like some lunch around noon if you're not too tired." The elf popped away.
"By the way the Goblins have Ms. Skeeter." Bill grinned evilly.
Harry laughed as he led the way back to the library. The two spent the day combing the house for all manner of dark objects and curses. They didn't find as many as Harry was expecting. He also hadn't expected the house to be as beautiful and full of light as what he found. He quickly decided that Sirius' mother had never set foot in the house. When he asked Kreacher about it he said she had been to the house as a young woman but hated it so badly that she refused to return. Harry decided to thank Merlin for small favors. Before they left France later that evening Bill took Harry to the market that was close by in the wizarding section. Harry found a sweet shop easy enough and Bill helped him purchase a few things for George.
"Were you good for Fleur?" Harry asked George when he returned.
George huffed but Fleur answered, "He didn't get nasty or violent. But he didn't talk very much."
"Did you eat lunch?" he looked over at the red head pouting on the bed.
"Yes." his reply was short.
"Good, I brought you some candy." Harry dropped the bag on the bed, "Do you feel like going down to dinner?"
"No." he growled, "It's too much. He was there."
"Ok, how about a late dinner in France?" he sat on the edge of the bed, "Kreacher has actually become a fair cook. We had a nice shepherd's pie for lunch."
"France sounds… nice." George decided and he sat up clutching the bag of candy.
"Great, Pomfrey and McGonagall are coming for dinner too. They want to make sure we get you settled right." Harry stood, "Bill, are you to coming too?"
"Yes, I think Fleur would skin me alive if she didn't get to see the house today." Bill chuckled, "If Kreacher has a room ready we'll stay the night and visit with her family tomorrow. We'll see about bringing mum and dad in a day or two."
Minerva and Poppy arrived while Harry was gathering his things. Bill had brought George's things with him earlier that morning but it hadn't been unpacked so he was ready. Within ten minutes they were standing in the overgrown garden.
"Welcome to Palais Noire." Harry waved his hand at the large building he owned, "I think we have room for everyone."
"I bet Sirius didn't know about this place." George whispered.
"No I doubt it." Harry chuckled as they walked towards the door, "I think he would have chosen to hide here instead. His mother refused to ever come back after the one time she came. I think it had too much light for her."
George actually sat with everyone at the table for dinner. He didn't eat much and talked even less but he didn't hide in his bedroom either. The chatter was kept easy until they began to speak about the day's news.
"Someone got a picture of you in Gringotts." Fleur stated, "I was at the edge so you can't tell it's me. I think it's safe to say everyone knows you are alive."
"Why did someone think you were dead?" George looked confused.
"A few people came looking for me on Friday evening." Harry huffed.
"We all agreed that no one needed to know where he was staying. When asked if he could receive visitors I responded that he had left." Minerva added, "However I didn't use those exact words and they thought I meant he was dead."
"What did you say?" George was intrigued.
"I said he was no longer with us." She shook her head as she said it, "I should have known that is what they would get from those words but it wasn't what I meant. The next morning it was in the paper that he had died."
George just shook his head at the stupidity of whoever had tried to talk with Harry. Dinner didn't last too much longer before George declared that he was ready for bed. Bill and Fleur showed him and Madam Pomfrey to his bedroom while Harry stayed and talked with Professor McGonagall.
"I've received several letters asking me to express their outrage to you about the lawsuit." Minerva said, "Many from those that were in your DA club and most surprisingly Messers Zabini and the younger Malfoy."
"I think I'd like to see those last two." Harry chuckled, "I'm insanely curious about what they had to say."
"I thought you might." Minerva pulled the letters from her pocket and handed them to Harry.
Blaise Zabini's was fairly straight forward. He covered several school things with McGonagall before venturing towards Harry, "If you happen to meet with Potter please tell him he must have the worst taste in friends. I can't imagine what they think to gain by treating him this way."
"My inheritance is all they want." Harry mumbled, "They could have had it had they played their cards in a more Slytherin manner."
Harry sat the letter down and picked up the other one, "Yes I will attend school. Please inform Potter that I was right back in first year. The Weasel just proved it." Harry chuckled as he handed it back.
"What was he right about?" Minerva asked.
"He had told me that some wizarding families were better than others." Harry smiled, "But he was wrong. It's not the family but the individual. Some people are better in some ways than others; everyone has good and bad points."
"You can still see good points in them?" Minerva asked.
"Ron was a friend when I needed one." He replied, "I don't think it was a manufactured relationship right from the start. I think Dumbledore got in there after we became friends and… messed with it."
"What about the other two?" she asked.
"Hermione I think was the same. I think Ginny was feeling scorned because I didn't fall for her right away." He sighed, "I don't think she ever wanted to be just friends. Not sure how but I'm sure Dumbledore had something to do with all of that too."
"You are placing a lot of the blame on him." She pointed out.
"He made it easy to." Harry said, "He tried to pull a set of rings from my vault."
"Rings, what kind of rings did he want?"
"Bonding rings, the permanent kind." Harry frowned, "I believe he planned on giving them to Ginny. I would have had to marry her or lose my family title. He also requested three books and a lot of galleons to be pulled from the vault. I am guessing the books were to go to Hermione and the money to Ron."
Minerva's hand was covering her mouth and Harry was sure there were tears in her eyes. It took her several moments to get herself back under control enough to speak, "He would have forced you to marry. He would have given away your family secrets and your inheritance."
"Makes it pretty easy to blame it all on him doesn't it." Harry rubbed his arms as if he was cold, "I think the items were to placate them in the time between Dumbledore's death and my own. Once I was dead they would split everything else three ways. I've changed my will and Teddy is my sole beneficiary now, at least until I can have a child of my own."
"Every time something comes out I get more astonished at his meddling." She sighed, "Is there anything he wouldn't do?"
"Did he know about the abuse at the Dursleys?" Harry asked.
"Abuse? They abused you?" she gasped.
"Who sends out the Hogwarts letters?" he asked, "Didn't anyone see mine?"
"I usually send them out but Albus wanted to deliver yours personally." She looked at him with her face full of confusion, "Why would your letter make a difference?"
"It was addressed to my bedroom." He explained, "From the time I arrived at the Dursleys until I received my first Hogwarts letter my bedroom was the cupboard under the stairs. They moved me to Dudley's second bedroom when the letters came addressed to the cupboard, later letters came addressed to the smallest bedroom."
"He would have had to address them himself." She replied, "Normally they just have your street address. He always said he was keeping an eye on you and that you were perfectly safe from death eaters and Voldemort."
"I was. However, I was not safe from the Dursleys." Harry said, "If he knew what they were doing why did he leave me there? Why did he force me to return every year?"
"Every time I asked he told me you were loved and well cared for." She said, "I had no reason at that time not to trust him. What did he say when he delivered your letter?"
"He sent it by owl." Harry explained, "He didn't come to the house. After a few hundred letters without my reply he sent Hagrid to get me and take me to Diagon Alley on my birthday. Hagrid told me I was a wizard, helped me buy my things and left me with a ticket and no idea how to reach platform nine and three quarters."
"Did your Aunt explain our world to you? Did Hagrid?" she asked.
"I knew nothing at all from my Aunt. She told me my parents died in a car crash." Harry said wryly, "Hagrid just told me I was a wizard. He said that Voldmort killed my parents. He explained that I had stopped him somehow and that I was famous. I think he said a thing or two about Dumbledore being the greatest Headmaster Hogwarts has ever had."
"But…" Minerva was astonished. It looked like Harry had entered their world knowing less than most muggle borns, "Did he explain about anything?"
"I had to learn a few things from Hermione as the year went on." Harry smiled, "Between her and Ron I think I learned almost everything. Although I didn't get any of the booster potions until I ended up in the hospital wing the first time. Madam Pomfrey thought I was trying to skip them, she didn't know I was never told anything about them. Ron and Hermione didn't even tell me about them. I'm beginning to wonder if they missed anything else."
"Minerva, are you ready?" Poppy appeared at the door.
"Almost." She replied, "Harry I'll be back tomorrow. I'm going to bring a first year packet and we'll see if you missed anything else."
"A first year packet?" Poppy questioned as she entered the room.
"Dumbledore didn't visit Harry. He sent Hagrid and he didn't even tell Harry how to reach the platform." She sounded disgusted, "How did you find it anyway."
"Weasleys." He replied, "They walked by and I heard Mrs. Weasley complaining about it being packed with muggles. That got my attention and I followed them."
"The booster potions." Poppy exclaimed, "You weren't trying to avoid them."
"Nope, I really didn't know anything at all about them." He sighed.
"That could have been so dangerous." Poppy nearly shouted, "You could die from Dragon Pox. Magical measles can reduce your core. And Romania Fever has been known to make the very old and very young turn into squibs."
"Should he have any other preventatives?" Minerva asked, "Consider him to be a muggleborn."
"How many boosters did you get?" she asked.
"Best I can remember you gave me four potions." Harry thought back, "But I'm not positive."
"I'll be back tomorrow to give you a complete physical. It will include a list of all potions you have been given." She nodded briskly.
"You should have them memorized." Harry chuckled at her, "No one else ever gave me a potion. I take that back, I don't know if I got any potions from my parents."
"We'll know tomorrow." She smiled at him before leading Minerva from the room.
"What had them all wound up?" Bill asked, "George is settled."
"Good did he like his room?" Harry turned from the fire.
"Yes its fine, so what's up with them?" Bill asked again.
"McGonagall found out I didn't get a muggleborn packet when I entered first year." He replied.
"Why would you need that?" Bill looked confused.
"I was raised by my muggle aunt. I didn't know anything about the wizarding world when I got here for first year." He added, "I didn't even know as much as a muggleborn because Dumbledore sent Hagrid to tell me everything instead of McGonagall. I was treated as someone raised by a magical family."
"I didn't know that." Bill's shock was genuine, "I thought some squib family had you. How did I miss out on this?"
"Anyway the two of them will be back tomorrow to make sure I have all the potions I should have been given." He offered, "How's George?"
"Sulky but alive and I can't ask for more than that right now." Bill sighed, "Fleur is in our room luckily we brought our things this morning. I had thought we'd be staying at Hogwarts not here."
"When do you want to bring your parents?" Harry asked.
"Tomorrow or the next, it just depends on them." Bill shrugged, "I haven't told them about the law suit or poisoning yet. I just don't know if I should."
"You should probably tell them about the lawsuit. Who knows if someone is going to stop by and bug them about it. It would be best if they knew ahead of time so they could formulate responses." Harry pointed out, "As for the other. I just don't know. I don't think Ron or Ginny could hurt your mum like they planned for George. I don't really know Percy well enough to be able to tell what he would do. At any rate we have to tell George something, he needs to check his own will."
"This is going to be so hard." Bill sighed, "Charlie is supposed to head home tomorrow for a month off. I'm going to go head him off while Fleur visits with her family. I'll talk it all over with him and see what he thinks."
"Good luck." Harry yawned, "Well I'm off to bed."
"Me too." They traipsed up the stairs together.
At breakfast the next morning George was again at the table. Bill was pleased until George started to complain, "Harry why can't you just leave me alone. Quit badgering me into doing things. I just want to be left alone."
"Did Harry make you get out of bed?" he asked.
"Yes, I'm not ready to. I don't want to deal with all this. Just let me sleep." George grumbled.
"I can't." Harry said, "I know I'm being selfish but I need my friends now more than ever before. I don't think I can manage if I don't have you here for me."
"Just get Ginny, Ron and Hermione, you don't need me." He slammed his fist on the table.
"He can't." Bill looked at Harry who shrugged, "I didn't want to have to tell you this yet but I think it may help you. Percy, Ron, Hermione and Ginny leveled a lawsuit against Harry."
"WHAT?" George was flabbergasted, "What on earth for?"
"Wrongful death is what Kingsley called it." Harry's voice was filled with pain but he pushed through, "They said I was negligent in Fred's death."
"But… how… why?" George stuttered unable to form a sentence.
"Did you know that Percy, Ron, Hermione and Harry were in the hall with Fred when he died?" Bill asked and George nodded, "They say Harry didn't do enough to protect Fred and he died because of that lack of protection."
"I heard all about it. There was no way you could have done anything." George said, "I'll testify against them."
"It's already been denied." Fleur patted George's hand, "But we can't count them as his friends any longer."
"There is more that won't be easy for you to hear." Bill took a deep breath, "We think they had you sign a new will that gave the shop to them."
George's mouth opened and shut, he looked like a fish out of water. It took several moments before he could speak, "We had each other as sole beneficiaries. If we both died it all went to mum and dad. I don't want it to go to them."
"I can get it cancelled." Fleur stated, "I have a note from the healers saying you were under medical potions for the last three weeks and so any changes made during that time would be cancelled. I only waited to see what you wanted to do."
"Change it back." George stated firmly, "Was I so bad that they thought I'd die before I found out?"
"You would have." Bill almost whispered, his voice was hoarse and rough, "Your potions were messed up. If Harry hadn't asked for a second opinion and a check on your potions you would have been irreversibly damaged within a few days. You would have died."
"Why did you want a second opinion?" George turned on Harry.
He looked to Bill before answering. Bill's nod told him to tell the truth, "You remember last night we talked about my Friday night visitors?"
"Yes." George drew out the word.
"It was the four of them." He sighed, "After McGonagall closed the door I fed an extendable ear through the gap. I heard them say they wanted to send you to be with Fred."