The Half Blood Prince Revealed

Summary :

Harry's summer before sixth year is no different from the others. Around every corner surprises, good and bad, and adventure of all kind await. And it looks like the gods have finally granted Harry a possibility for a nicer life. What will this mean for his 6th year at Hogwarts ?

General Disclaimer :

I am just playing in the sand of JKRowling's literary produced beach and am attempting to build my own sandcastle for others to enjoy.

03 The Hearing and The Will

He looked up startled however when he heard the soft chuckling from Professor Dumbledore. When Harry realised the travelling bit was already over with, he broke into a smile and said softly to Professor Dumbledore : "I prefer Fawkes' way of travelling. Can I learn please ?"

The Professor twinkled back at Harry and said : "No can do Harry, would you like a lemon drop instead ?"

"Oh well, it'll have to do. Thanks."

A worried looking Percy suddenly came into view and Harry prepared himself for the worst and was thus mightily surprised when Percy said : "Good Harry, you made it here in time. The hearing will start in about five minutes. It is just down the corridor in room 17B, second door to the right. Presiding the hearing will be the Honourable Mister Marcus Flint Sr.

Harry and Professor Dumbledore hurried along the corridor. Just before entering said office, Professor Dumbledore waved his wand over Harry and suddenly he stood there in his Gryffindor school robes rather than the tatty overlarge hand-me-down muggle clothes he wore as he arrived. They entered and found Narcissa Malfoy and her son Draco sitting at the front of the room. Malfoy looked his cool self again. Mrs Malfoy must have been able to undo the results of several hexes and curses a few DA members had thrown at Malfoy when trying to hex Harry on the train ride home.

The only other occupant of the room was a sandy-haired woman in her early forties with a stack of papers and with a Quick Quill posed ready for action. Harry knew he'd seen her before but couldn't think who she was. He'd ask Professor Dumbledore later.

On the opposite side of the room another door opened, and an older version of a former Slytherin Chaser entered the room. He was clearly surprised to see Professor Dumbledore and Harry in the room. He took a seat and began the proceedings.

"Present in this room 17B of the Ministry of Magic, on this 8th of July 1996 are the Honourable Mister Marcus Flint, Head of these proceedings, today's appointed clerk, Mrs Lucius Malfoy, née Narcissa Black and her son, Mr Draco Malfoy, claimants and Professor Albus Dumbledore and Mr Harry Potter. We are here to finalise the estate of Sirius Black, deceased 24 June 1996 by falling through the Veil, as noted by several eye-witnesses of which one is present here."

"My apologies, Your Honour, but I would like to make sure the correct information goes down into the records of these proceedings. Actually, two eye witnesses are present, as in Mr Harry Potter and myself, Professor Dumbledore."

"As will be noted," claimed a peeved Mr Flint.

"As there is no will, the entire estate will be inherited by the sole remaining male heir, by name of Draco Malfoy, present at this moment."

"My apologies, Your Honour, for interrupting yet again. But I would like to inform you of the mistaken assumption that there is no will. Mr Sirius Black did make a will in August 1980, shortly after the birth of his godson, Mr Harry Potter, present here. A check at the legal Department of the Ministry would have been sufficient to receive a copy of the legal summary of said will. But I am sure that your clerk can do the necessary to obtain a copy for you now. It would make these proceedings obsolete."

At this Flint Sr turned to the clerk and barked at her "Well, what are you waiting for ?

The clerk just took an empty folder, opened it and showed it to Flint Sr, closed it up again, pointed her wand at it and after a very silently cast spell, opened the folder again to reveal a parchment that she handed over to him.

After examining the paper for a few minutes, the Honourable Mr Flint Sr looked up and grudgingly stated : "The proceedings to finalise the estate of Sirius Black are hereby closed. The entire estate will be divided as per the last will and testament first made on 2 August 1980 and later altered by said Sirius Black. Mr Albus Dumbledore, present at this time, was named executor of said will. This meeting is now concluded."

Harry had been pondering over the "one witness present here" statement and so was surprised to realise that it was already finished. Yet another question he had for Professor Dumbledore.

Professor Dumbledore looked down to Harry and motioned for him to follow him outside. Harry quickly stood up and walked out of the room, aware that the other occupants of the room had stayed where they were. "No doubt swearing their heads off for being caught out," thought Harry.

Professor Dumbledore just kept on walking and so Harry followed quickly behind. Soon Harry recognised they were heading in the direction of Mr Weasley's office. And true enough a few minutes later he could spot the red headed man sitting in his office.

Mr Weasley looked up as they entered his office. "Albus, Harry. How are you ? I figured you were on the way here when Fawkes showed up a few moments ago. Magnificent animal that is, Albus." gushed Mr Weasley.

"Ah yes, Arthur he truly is amazing. Even after all these years he still manages to surprise me. I was going to suggest using a portkey from here to send Harry ahead to my office but it seems like Fawkes has other ideas. I'm sure that Harry here won't complain either."

The quick switch of emotions seen on Harry's face made both men chuckle lightly. Everyone knew how much Harry hated the dismal feeling of portkey travelling. But now he'd lived through an apparition with Fawkes and relief and anticipation were abundantly visible on his face.

Harry turned to Fawkes and said a heartfelt "Thank you Fawkes. I'll order you the biggest box of the best phoenix treats I can lay my hands on for you."

"Oh no," sighed Professor Dumbledore dramatically, "Harry now you've done it. He'll be forever ready to transport you, even if it is only from one end of the room to the other !

But on to business Harry. I have a small errand at Gringotts, it should take me about fifteen minutes at the most. For safety reasons I would ask you to go ahead to my office. Remus Lupin will be waiting there for us. I'll answer any of your questions when we are there."

So Harry once again blinked his eyes and found himself in front of Professor Dumbledore's desk and sitting in the sofa opposite was Remus. That man was looking decidedly ill even with the full moon already a week gone by. "He must be taking Sirius' loss badly," Harry thought.

With Fawkes now perched on his shoulder, Harry joined Remus on the sofa. It looked to be even worse since the man had not even given a sign he'd seen Harry so far. So Harry did the only thing he could think of, laid his hand on Remus' shoulder and said : "Remus I'm so sorry for getting Sirius killed. I only wanted to go help him …"

As Harry was used to by now, once again the warm feeling started to spread, and he could hear both his parents laugh out loud, now surprisingly combined too with the well known barking sound of a merry Sirius.

Remus' reaction was startling. It was as if Remus too was able to hear the voices, and looking in his eyes was all Harry needed to realise Remus had actually heard it. It was as if a fuse was lit within Remus. "Did you feel and hear that Harry ?" he asked in wonder.

So Harry nodded and explained about his dreams since returning to Privet Drive, and how he'd felt and heard similar things anytime he was getting too depressed or started feeling guilty. When Harry mentioned the baby broom, Remus actually laughed out loud and said "It was your first Christmas and James couldn't wait to sit you on a broom. Sirius was just as bad and wanted to take you out on his bike. Lilly was furious with them both."

It was to this happy scene that Professor Dumbledore arrived. Remus quickly asked Harry : "Have you told him about this ?" When Harry shook his head, Remus quickly described the feeling and Harry added. : "I've dubbed it my anti-dementor."

Professor Dumbledore looked surprised and stated he'd never heard of it before and he would look it up in the next few days. Next he called for a house elf and soon enough they had a mug of nice steaming tea in their hands.

"Harry I had originally planned to wait until your birthday for this, but Narcissa's plans forced me to act much quicker."

"How was it you heard about it at all, Albus ?" Remus asked.

"It comes down to two people Remus, Percy Weasley and Mrs Finnegan." At this Harry looked up. "Seamus' mother, ooh that's why the clerk looked familiar." Professor Dumbledore nodded.

"Indeed Harry. You know last year Mrs Finnegan was going with Mr Fudge's opinion on Voldemort's return and Harry's role in that story. When the article in the Quibbler came out however Mrs Finnegan started having her doubts, helped along with Seamus' stories once he got back home. So when she saw the roster for this hearing, she told the one person she thought would be able to get the message across. She told Percy, who by now wanted to make amends, so he told Arthur, who tipped me off. We made it just in time."

"Would it have been validated though, if we hadn't been there ? They did tell two lies : the so called lack of the will, and the witness to Sirius' fall through the veil."

"Indeed Harry, they did use false information, but if no one contested that, it would have been accepted none the less. It is only in family law that this is still allowed. Too many families who are in power now have benefited from this rule so they won't change it. Now back to the original topic Harry. When your parents made Sirius godfather and did not name a godmother, Sirius immediately made out a will. To keep it simple Harry, apart from 100 000 galleons you inherit the entire Black estate. Even I do not know what that all entails. Now those 100 000 galleons I mentioned are for you Remus. There is also a letter for both of you." finished Professor Dumbledore as he handed them both an envelope.

Spring 1996

I, Sirius Black of Grimmauld Place, London, revoke my former Wills and Codicils and declare this to be my Last Will and Testament.

My dear Harry

If you are reading this particular letter it means I've passed away. I can but hope I lived a long and happy life but with Voldemort around I doubt that will be the case. Just be assured that I'll come back to haunt and help you.

You are now heir of the Black estate as I, Sirius Black, last of the line of Black, of sound mind and body, name you Harry James Potter my rightful heir. Other than 100 000 galleons to be taken from my personal vault and willed to my friend and last remaining Marauder Remus Lupin, all assets and goods from the Black Family Estate are now yours Harry. Should Remus have passed away in the time since my writing this and you reading it Harry the money will revert back to you but might I suggest to use it in some way in a Moony Memorial Fund ?

What happens next will depend entirely on the charms and spells that guard the Black estate. Unlike the rest of the wizarding community the Black family has made use of many holes in the wizarding law to set up rules of its own.

This said, it will depend on those family wards to see how far you will be allowed in. After my father passed away, it looked like I did not completely fit the mould of the Black family to make it to full heir. Depending on your status you will be granted access to one or more of the houses, manors and islands the family owns. Highest honour is Black Manor, a place I loved a lot but I've not been allowed there since I left the family at 16. Only the true heir will be able to go and allow others access (this place would have been ideal to hide out after your third year as it offers more security than even Hogwarts, Privet Drive and Grimmauld Place combined). The second page will automatically give you all the details as per your status. Somehow I would not be surprised if you'd make it all the way (and then some).

Although no matter what status you achieve in the Black family, you will be able to call upon the box I've had since I started at Hogwarts. As heir-to-be my dad reckoned I could make good use of it. Just say out loud, anywhere you are (best do this in private though) "I Harry James Potter, rightful heir of Sirius Black, claim the Black Box." It looks like a small version of a trunk, and just like a trunk it has many compartments, even though you won't see these. In one of those compartments you will find paperwork and deeds relating to your Potter inheritance. Should I pass away before you are of age you will not have access to them. Unlike with the Black family you'll need to be 17 and of age to claim them. Until that time you'll only have access to the small account set aside for your schooling. Gringotts looks after the rest with Albus as the guardian of the estate. A letter from your parents however I have moved over to another compartment. Lily, together with James, Remus and myself has set up this truly remarkable enchantment that when speaking the right incantation any note or letter will end up in the Black box. There will be letters for you from your mum, dad, Remus and myself, sorted per writer into their own compartment, written at random since you were born. You'll need a few days I expect to go through all of them. Without Remus knowing it I also set up another compartment in the same way but with notes addressed to him. I am sure you'll hand them over (without peeking !) once you have the box in your possession.

The Black family will consider you old enough, no matter your real age Harry, and as such no guardian will be required. But again, no matter what age you are, I think one can always use a guardian if only in the advisory aspect of that job. I hope you won't mind but I've bequeathed my guardianship over to Remus. I believe that both of you will benefit from this.

Anyway, by now the charms will have worked their magic so you'd better check out what the next parchment has to say.

See you in your dreams kiddo.

With lots of love from your godfather

Sirius – Padfoot - Black

Harry was astonished at all the information he'd been given. The only other thing that really stood out next to the box and the promise of letters was that he now knew where his anti-dementor came from. Sirius was helping him, just as he'd promised.

Looking up from his letter Harry noticed tears rolling down Remus' face but at the same time a small smile hovered around his lips. Remus looked up and looked questioningly to Harry. Harry's sole response was a fervent nod, knowing that Remus wanted to know if he was OK with the guardian role for Remus. A wide smile broke out on the man's face.

Harry too sported a smile when he returned to his second page of the letter and he was mightily surprised at what he found. "Well, will you look at this", he exclaimed after reading the first paragraph.

At long last, the Black family has a true heir again.

I, Sirius Harold Black, born 31 July 1499, now in my 190th year have survived several generations of my descendants, and now my however-many-greats-grandson will soon inherit the estate. He has however shown great tendency to dwell too much in the Darker Side of our society and as such I hesitate to give him full access to the Black estate. I have therefore created a Black Family Pureness of Heart charm that will grant several different levels of access to the various properties, and only the purest of heart will have full access to my entire beloved estate.

Even though the Charm has detected you are not of bloodkin to the Black family, your status as rightful heir cannot be denied and I, Sirius Harold Black look forward to making your acquaintance upon your arrival at Black Manor. Heavily warded as it is, only the true heir will be granted access when speaking these words : "Always Pureness of Heart". Further instructions will await you upon your arrival.

Harry looked up again and saw Professor Dumbledore's questioning look. "Harry, why are you looking at that empty parchment for so long ?" he asked.

"But Sir, there is …" Harry's voice trailed away. "How much do you know about the Black family, Sir ?"

"All we are aware of Harry is that the family holds many surprises. From what Sirius told me, only a true Black would be given the control over the estate and depending on the result of this so-called 'family charm' you could go to certain properties. Sirius inherited Grimmauld Place and a small island some place tropical, but I know that there is also a Black Manor somewhere. Sirius' father had access there, but after his death Sirius himself did not."

"I remember that place," Remus said, "when we were in our second year, James, Peter and I were invited to spend the Easter holidays there. Peter never got to go as his mother was taken ill. The place was rather grand, and they had beautiful gardens. Sirius' father wasn't all too bad when his wife wasn't around. We had a grand time !"

"Could we go to Grimmauld Place please. I believe the family tapestry is still there. It would make it a bit easier to explain I think." Harry had barely finished speaking and Fawkes was already sitting on his knee, ready to transport Harry to the Order Headquarters.

Author note: If you enjoyed these I'd like to hear any comments over on my yahoo group at http/groups. will find three more chapters and a little extra in the files.

kadedeetje