Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I wish I did. Despite that, I hope you enjoy my spin on it.
A/N: Sorry guys. Hectic life. Promise I will be writing regularly now. Please, please, please tell me what you think. I really appreciate it if you do.
Chapter 2:
In under a minute of leaving his uncle's home, Harry and Andromeda stood on the steps of Gringotts bank. She walked in the building, expecting him to follow and assuming that he would. She marched up to the counters, her presence commanding.
"State your business." The goblin was short statured and wrinkled. He spoke with a sharp, cutting tone.
"Andromeda Tonks representing Harry James Potter, here for the will reading of Lord Sirius Orion Black. The reading is not scheduled for another hour, but in the meantime my client requests a private meeting room. Following the reading of the will he will require a meeting with his account manager.."
"This way please." Harry did not like the look on the face of the goblin. Something about the grin unnerved Harry. In all honesty, something about goblins unnerved him. The thought made him somewhat sad. He didn't have any basis for the prejudice, other than ignorance that is. Harry Potter did not want to be ignorant anymore. The goblin deposited them in a small room with a table surrounded by five chairs. Andromeda quickly took a seat, but Harry made a point to turn towards the goblin before he left.
"Uh… th-thank you… um I am sorry, I didn't catch your name?"
"Gornuk." The goblin turned and began to walk away.
"Thank you, Gornuk!"
Gornuk stopped in his tracks. He tilted his head slightly, almost as if to turn around. Even from the side, Harry could see the devilish grin. "You are welcome, Mr. Potter."
Harry walked further into the room. "Please, close the door and have a seat, Harry. We don't have much time."
"Can we take a step back for a second, Mrs. Tonks?"
"Andromeda."
"Sorry, Andromeda. What exactly is going on?"
"Well, Harry, Sirius's will reading is today. I am assuming you haven't heard much about it?" She looked to the young man for confirmation. "I thought not. Where to begin? I don't mean to startle you, but there are some things you need to know. There are some conclusions that Sirius was arriving at near the end of his time. They concern one particular Headmaster, that I think you are quite familiar with."
"I think I know what you are going to say. I can't trust the man. I realize that now." The older witch seemed a bit taken back. Harry waited for her to react, but when she didn't he just kept talking. He told her about the realizations he had come to, and the frustration he held for the old geezer.
"I hadn't heard all the details. I am afraid we uncovered some more though." Harry's face paled a bit as Andromeda pulled out some papers from a folder she had been carrying. "It seems Dumbledore has accessed some of your finances. Not too extensively. I think his abilities in that area were limited, but he did what he could. It's hard to tell exactly what he did with your money. As far as we can tell, some of it has gone to the Order of the Phoenix, some of it to the Weasleys and the rest seems to have just disappeared, presumably into the Headmaster's private vault."
Harry shook with anger. How dare the old man touch his inheritance, how dare he defile what was left of the Potters. He had been angry before. Now he was infuriated. "How could this happen?"
"You need to calm down Harry. I understand why you are angry. Unfortunately what he did wasn't entirely illegal. He convinced your aunt to sign over certain… responsibilities. Her concession ensured he had access to your finances. Fortunately he could only take money. He could not remove any of the Potter heirlooms or your parents' personal belongings.
"It is highly likely that the Headmaster will be at the proceedings today, if only briefly. As long as Sirius did not leave him anything in the will then we can have him removed. He will attempt to stay on the basis of your legal representation, but that we solved this morning. Given this I suggest that you get a handle on your emotions. Now a lot is going to happen when we get in there…" Andromeda continued on detailing many of the conflicts that could arise as well as who would likely be there. It wasn't long before a goblin named Cragnott came to accompany them to the reading.
As they walked into the room Harry politely thanked Cragnott and took a seat towards the back. Mrs. Tonks gave him a cloak so that he could stay by the others as they began to walk in. Remus came first followed quickly by Nymphadora. Harry wanted to speak to them but Andromeda insisted that he remained, head down, in his seat. He had time to talk to them afterwards. The elder Tonks gave instructions to the younger to maintain her distance for the time being. Dumbledore came next. When Harry saw the bearded wizard his body tensed. It took all he had not to express his anger right then and there.
Soon everyone had arrived, the Weasleys, Draco and his mother, and even Hermione. Cragnott stood at the head of the room and soon called the room to order. "Excuse me everyone. Could you quiet down please? The reading will begin following any business anybody would like to bring forth. On that note does anyone wish to bring anything to the floor?"
Andromeda moved to stand, but Harry reached out and stopped her. They briefly discussed, earlier, what Andromeda intended to say, but Harry decided to make a statement. Andromeda would not rule him the same way that Dumbledore had. He stood up and removed the hood, ignoring the soft murmurs that followed. "I, Harry James Potter, on the grounds of legal relation to the deceased, do request of the goblin Cragnott that any individual not expressly mentioned in my godfather's will be asked to leave."
"As you wish, Mr. Potter. Will Harry Potter, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Andromeda Tonks, Narcissa Malfoy, Fred Weasley and George Weasley please remain? All others are to leave immediately or else you will be removed by force. "
Most people in the room were quick to leave. Arthur got up immediately encouraging the rest of his family to follow.
Ron seemed furious. "That's ridiculous why do the twins get anything? I should get something too! We all should." This made Harry furious. Arthur quickly grabbed the youngest Weasley boy by the shoulder and forced him out.
"Arthur what are you doing? The boy is right! How could Sirius be so ungrateful? After everything we have done."
Harry had never really seen Arthur stand up to his wife. That's why when he did it came as quite a shock.
"Molly! Out! Now!" It seemed to shock Mrs. Weasley as well. She walked out of the room, mouth hanging open, staring at her husband.
Unsurprisingly, Dumbledore chose not to comply with the request. "Harry my boy what are you doing. You should be at your aunt and uncle's home. I will be happy to stay in your stead, but it is not safe."
Harry ignored him. Instead he turned his focus back towards Cragnott. "If I am not mistaken, Master Goblin, your list did not have Albus Dumbledore anywhere in it."
"You are correct Mr. Potter. Guards!" The goblin warriors to the side of Cragnott brought their spears down and quickly surrounded the wily headmaster. The old man gasped in shock.
"Now hold on!" They moved closer. "Hold on just one second! As the magical guardian of Harry I have a legal right to be here!"
The goblin laughed, a full, hearty laugh and smiled, a cold, almost evil smile. "Unfortunately, Lord Dumbledore, it would appear that, just this morning in fact, you were replaced. Magical guardianship of Harry Potter has been granted to Andromeda Tonks."
Things moved quickly from there. The goblins escorted a fuming Albus Dumbledore out of the area and Cragnott pulled out a piece of parchment. He unrolled it and allowed it to float into the air. That's when Sirius began to speak. It must have been the same magic used to make a howler except now the voice of Harry's godfather came out gentle and somber.
"I guess if you are hearing this then I have passed on." Tears rolled down Harry's cheek. "Ironically I am not very good at this serious business if you catch my drift." The voice let out a small chuckle. "So I will try to keep this short."
"To Fred and George Weasley, I leave 10,000 galleons, to be invested in Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, because in these dark times laughter truly is the best medicine."
"Dearest Cissa, as you requested and by my power as Lord Black I have ensured the swift destruction of your marriage, should you still wish it. All you need to do is sign a few forms, and it will be done."
"Andy and Nymphadora, HAH! Can't stop me from calling you that now NYMPHADORA!" Tonks seemed fairly put out by his use of her first name. "I hereby reinstate you as members if the House of Black and extend the invitation to any children you may have or any spouses you may take. Cough Ted Cough." Andromeda was visibly distraught. Her joy radiated for everyone in the room to see.
"Remus, old friend," by the sound of it Sirius was tearing up now. "There is so much I could say to you. Alas, my good man, I think you know most of it. You are the most loyal friend anyone could ever ask for. You are the last of us. The last true marauder. I have some requests, Moony, things I wish I could have done and things I hope you will do for yourself. Take care of yourself. Don't run away just because of what you are. You are not alone. Remember that. You are never alone. I am leaving you a couple of things to make sure you do this. First off, 100,000 galleons, buy yourself some new clothes, be comfortable, be happy. Next, I leave you Number 12. I know that it is drab and dank, but if anyone can spruce it up I think it would be you Remus. It also has everything you need for that time of the month. Use it well. Also, make sure you get him Remus, no matter what it take, make sure that Peter pays for what he has done." The rage was apparent in Sirius's voice as he discussed the rat animagus. "Last but not least, Moony, look after our boy. Look after Harry. He will need you now, so don't you dare shy away from the world.
"Harry. My boy. I love you so much. We all do. I want you to know just how proud of you I am and just how proud your parents are too. We will always be here with you. We will always be watching you. You are a great boy and I know that in time you will become a great man, the greatest of men. Be careful Harry. You can never be too careful. I have left instructions for Andy and Remus regarding certain things and I hope that they can help you in what is to come. To you I leave everything else I have. I leave you the title Lord Black, the land and money that come with as well as my own personal vaults. I leave you emancipated. You have not been a child for sometime. Nobody that has gone through what you have could maintain that innocence. So, go and make your own decisions. I believe in you Harry, and I love you. Goodbye."
By the end of it everyone in the room had a tear stained face, even Narcissa and the twins. Remus got up ad walked over to Harry. He gave the young man the strongest possible hug he could, and Harry hugged him back. Neither let go for some time.
The goblins got to work quickly. They immediately had paperwork for everyone to sign. Harry officially became the Lord Potter and the Lord Black. Exactly what those titles entailed he did not yet know. In the end Sirius did manage to play a prank of sorts. Unbeknownst to him the forms that Narcissa signed certainly did annul her marriage with Lucius, but they also held a provision to the Lord Black. Per the contract she was required to stay with Harry, wherever he ended up at this point "for both their good" according to Sirius. Narcissa would henceforth be tutoring Harry on the in and outs of Wizarding politics, something he was no doubt dreading. In return he would provide her protection as a Lord of two noble houses.
Following this revelation Harry met with his account managers accompanied by both black sisters now. Sharpclaw and Gnarlbark provided Harry with brief descriptions of the families' financial histories and gave him several documents to look over. The focused first and foremost on all real estate that Harry now owned so that he could find himself a home. His main desire was for the property to be one of the Potter houses and in the end the group decided on Potter Manor itself. From Harry's point of view it allowed him to experience some of his family's rich history. To Narcissa it would be an excellent platform for politics, easily able to house an elegant ball. Andromeda insisted that it would have the best protections of the Potter properties.
The rest of his time at Gringotts that day was short lived. He was mentally and physically exhausted by the end of it, in no mood to visit his vaults or go over the details of his investments. He scheduled another appointment with the goblin's later in the week.
"I will see you soon my Lord." Andromeda gave a slight bow. It seemed that she took her reinstatement into the family quite seriously. "You are scheduled to be back here in three days time, my office is just down the street. I think it would be best if we meet then."
"It's just Harry, Andromeda, just Harry. I guess I will see you in three days then. For now I would like to go get some rest."
"Understood, my– Harry. Goodbye. Goodbye, Cissy."
"Goodbye, Andy."
With that Andromeda left them behind.
Now in possession of the Potter and Black family rings, either would act as a portkey to the various properties. The Potter ring had a gold band, with the image of a white stag in front of a tree with crimson leaves and framed by banners. The banners had words written in a language he could not understand, but somehow he understood: There is meaning in all things. Must be something to do with the ring's magic. He thought to himself. It was this ring that eventually took him and Narcissa to the steps of Potter Manor.