GENERAL DISCLAIMERS:

We do not own the Harry Potter universe nor anything related to the Harry Potter universe. If we did, I do not think that I would be struggling through college now nor would I be working two jobs. Any resemblance to ideas, names, thoughts, theories or situations in another story written on FFN is purely coincidental.

As this is a work of FANFICTION, I lay no claim to the benefits, fame or monetary compensation owed to Warner Brothers, and JK Rowling.

This is a alternative universe (AU) writing. I understand that the portrayal of characters that I offer up for your reading. I humbly ask that you keep that in mind when you are reading my work.

I would also like to state that this is an answer to a challenge put on by the last of the pendragons at FFN.

Chapter 7

Grimmauld Place, Kitchen

Molly sat in the kitchen of Grimmauld place planning out dinner and waiting for the children to arrive back from Diagon Alley. The fire flared before turning green and Dumbledore's head poked through the coals.

"Molly are you in here?" He asked, knowing full well that she was there.

"Of course Professor. How can I help you?" Molly dusted off her hands on her apron and turned towards the hearth.

"Can I come through please? I would like to talk to you about something of great importance."

"Of course Professor." She backed away from the fire, placed another pot of water on the stove for tea and waited for Dumbledore to arrive. Within minutes he was seated across the table from her with a steaming cup of tea in front of him. "What did you want to talk about Professor?"

"I'm worried about Harry, Molly. There seems to be something the matter with him. It is almost as if he is being possessed."

"Could there be something left over in his head from the tournament?" Molly questioned with fear in her eyes.

"I am not sure. No one really knows what happened in that graveyard besides Harry. Who is to say that he told us all a story to make us believe in him?"

"You aren't saying that he could have killed Cedric?" Molly asked stunned.

"He hasn't shown any remorse for his death. Has he talked about it with anyone? Does he look depressed about it?"

"Not that I know of. What did he say to you when you talked to him about Cedric's death?"

"Nothing at all. It was as if he did not care." Albus' eyes glittered and he looked Mrs. Weasley straight in the eyes. Her face tightened with resolve before she spoke.

"I'll keep an eye on him Albus. Never you fear."

"Do you think your children could help. He would guard himself around the adults. But he is very open with his friends. He would tell them anything if they asked."

"Of course. That is a great idea. I'm sure the kids would not mind."

"I will reward them handsomely. Anything that their hearts desired. Nothing is outside of reason." He smiled at her. "We can't have Harry becoming another Dark Lord. The Wizarding World would not be able to handle that."

"Of course not Headmaster. I will firecall you with any information."

"You are most vigilant Molly. I assure you that you will be rewarded for your information." Albus smiled benignly, finished his tea and left the townhouse for Hogwarts.

Upon arriving in his office he looked at the silver trinkets that monitored Harry for the first time in days. Two were dull, no shine, no noise, no magic left in them. He walked closer to the case to figure out which two were malfunctioning. A small silver house with a tiny yard and tree that had until recently hummed a tune, sparkled of fresh silver polish, and allowed him to see the status of all of the members of the Dursley Household was tarnished and pitted. It made no noise and the litany of spells on the piece and the house it mirrored were gone. Albus threw it to the floor and watched it shatter into pieces, the magic having made the silver fragile. The second dim trinket was an apple tree that stood a foot tall. Thousands of individual leaves lined the branches and apples fashioned from rubies, emeralds and amber hung delicately from it. Each apple was a secret and each leaf a person that had been bespelled to forget. He reached out to touch it and the the apples and leaves began to fall, within seconds the tree was almost bare, a few apples and leaves hung steadfast but the rest were a pile of dull rocks and silver on the shelf below. Albus roared in anger to his empty office, while scooping the apples to him in order to see which secrets were discovered.

Ministry of Magic

Office of the War Orphans Board

Harry sat in a small door-less room inside of the Ministry, or at least the room appeared to be door-less. He knew that there were two doors leading from the room, the door that they had been brought in through and the door that he supposed led to the room where the hearings would be. There were fourteen other teens in the room. They had been told that there were over twenty more that had their real families vouch for them and had been removed from the hearings. Under each teen was a trunk that supposedly contained all of their belongings. Harry's trunk was half empty, most of his stuff was still in his room in Grimmauld Place, whether or not Dumbledore got involved he would be back there tonight, so there was no point in bringing his stuff. High backed, hardwood chairs lined the walls of the room, there was nothing to do but stare at each other while they were waiting.

Harry studied the other people that were trapped in the little room with him. There were eight boys, excluding himself, and six girls. A tiny girl and boy, twins, with bright red hair and dark green eyes, sat in a corner, arms tightly around each other, as if to keep themselves from being separated. The rest of the boys were grouped together discussing the last quidditch game and the prospects for the World Cup that was being held in France.

When his eyes turned towards the remaining girls in the room he couldn't have been more surprised by their differences. Seated closest to him, with her high heeled feet propped up on her trunk was a stunning blonde, her hair framing her face in waves, her steel gray eyes were haughty and she was looking down her nose at the people around her. In a corner sat girl with long mahogany hair and bright blue eyes, she was pretending to read a book while studying the people around her. She caught Harry's eyes and smiled before turning back to her book. The other three girls were obviously friends, sitting together in a group with matching silver bands holding their hair out of their faces. Harry caught bits and pieces of their discussion but it was all gibberish to him and the giggling that they erupted in randomly was giving him a headache. The girl with the mahogany hair had caught his attention and rolled her eyes and snorted at them. Harry laughed quietly as he turned away from them.

A door appeared in the wall and a tall, gangly young man appeared. He looked around the room.

"Would anyone like to volunteer to go first?" He asked, to astounding silence.

"I will. If no one else would like to go." Harry stood, eying the other people in the room, no one moved. Harry was unsure if they were just nervous or if it was because he had spoken up. Through the partially open door he heard hushed arguing. A familiar voice was angrily talking about his living arrangements and how that they were best for him. Harry smiled to himself at the huge fight that was about to happen.

"Come with me please then." Harry followed the man through the door. There was two small tables facing one large raised one with nine people sitting there. He looked around the room at the faces seeing hope and kindness written on most of the them. The only one that held any other emotion was Dumbledore, who was sitting along the wall. The woman sitting at the center of the board appeared to be in her mid forties with ash brown hair and orange eyes.

"Mister Potter, I am Gloria Asington, the Director of Child Services. I would like to ask you a few questions."

"Of course, I shall try my hardest to answer them."

"That is all that we ask of you." She looked towards the gangly man again. "Now, as far as this board knows you were orphaned on October 31 when your parents were murdered by He-who-must-not-be-named. Upon review of the records in Child Services there were four house visits a year, three interviews with your family and a health check from the children's ward at Saint Mungos. Are these true statements?"

"No Ma'am. There were no house visits, my relatives are completely against magic and I've never been to Saint Mungos."

"Are you quite sure Mister Potter? These are a lot of records to fake?" The gentleman that spoke pointed to a stack of papers in the middle of the table.

"I understand that sir. But I can guarantee you that any magical people that would have come to the Dursley's house would have been met with great hostility and threats of death and dismemberment."

"Lets mark that as some thing to look into in a bit. Let us proceed with the questions." An old woman said from her seat at the far left of the table.

"Do you know why you were placed at the Dursley's and how you came to be there?"

"Yes, I was placed there on the assumption that my Aunt's blood would protect me due to my Mother sacrifice would continue to protect me. I was placed there by Albus Dumbledore with a note telling them what was going on. There is fault in that though. My mum was not the only one to die for her children, my Aunt and my Mother are not blood related and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named stole my blood not more than a month ago in order to rise again."

"Mister Potter, you will not tell lies in this courtroom!" The angry toad woman yelled from her seat near the back. Harry wondered briefly how she had gotten into the room. He was certain that she had nothing to do with the Department of Families."

"Madame Umbridge, I am not telling lies. I have the memory and the scar to prove it."

"More lies."

"We shall discuss that at a later date. Madame Umbridge Harry has already shown the full Wizengamot the memory and we had declared He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's return. Now, shouldn't you be back in your office. The Department of Families does not fall under your jurisdiction." Madane Umbridge huffed and left the room.

"Now. What were they like?"

"The Dursleys were strict. They were the 'perfect' muggle family. One child, mother did not work, father worked in an office. Quite boring actually. They were very concerned with how people viewed them. They believed that anything and everything out of the ordinary was unnatural and 'freaky'. Most of the time this included me."

"Tell us how you lived."

"I was given a mat in the cupboard under the stairs that was my room. I had a change of clothes and a ragged blanket and that was it. I was expected to complete all of my chores in order to be able to eat that day. "

"And what were these chores?"

"I cooked all of the meals, packed lunches for whoever would not be home for a meal, washed the dishes, dust, mop, straighten everything, laundry, weed the gardens, maintain the yard, sweep and general maintenance of their house."

"Walk us through a normal day."

"I had to be up at five every morning to cook breakfast and pack lunches for my cousin and uncle. Breakfast was served at seven. Uncle then gave me my list of chores for the day and a was left to wash the dishes. Normally, I would sneak the leftovers off of their plates as breakfast. During the school year I would walk to school while my cousin was driven by my Uncle. In the summer I worked on my chores, while my cousin was out playing, until my Aunt decided what she wanted for lunch, then I prepared that. I would spend the afternoon on chores, going to the market for food and school work. I would cook dinner and if my chores had been accomplished I was allowed to prepare a small portion for myself. After dinner I finished cleaning, served dessert in the sitting room and disappeared unless the called on me."

"What were your friends in Surrey like?"

"I did not have any friends in Surrey. My Aunt and Uncle spread nasty rumors that I was a horribly deranged criminal that should be avoided at all cost and my cousin beat up any children that tried to befriend me." The questions continued for more than half an hour, going over every minor detail of his home life and his Hogwarts life. They asked about the adults in his life and the families in his parents wills. When they asked him about adults that he would like to take temporary guardianship of him he named the family Tonks as Sirius nor Remus could take him.

"Were you ever told about magic?"

"No. Anytime I mentioned or did accidental magic or anything out of the ordinary happened they would become extremely upset and abusive."

"What did they tell you about your parent's untimely demise?"

"That my mother and father were drunks and drug users that lived off of government support, did nothing but be a drain on society and that they killed themselves in an automobile accident where they were driving while intoxicated."

"Would you like to remain in their care?"

"No. I have never considered them my family. I have always prayed that someone would be able to come and get me. That someone really loved me. I have finally seen my parents wills, have taken on the mantle of Lord and would like to invoke my right to determine my own living arrangements."The board placed a privacy bubble around themselves for several minutes to discuss his case. When the bubble was dispelled Mrs. Asington stood to give him their final decision.

"This board has decided that the minor Lord, Harry James Potter will be given into the guardianship of the Family Tonks, a minor family of House Black. The minor Lord is able to retain his seat in the Wizengamot, vote as he chooses in accordance to the Potter Directive and carry out the directives in the will. The Minor Lord will also be given custody of Kiley Davin, should she be found.

"Thank you kind sirs and madames." Harry stood and bowed to those on the board before turning and leaving the room.

"Mister Potter, would you please stay in here. If one of those girls is Kiley you will need to be present in order to state your claim to custody."

"Thank you Lady Bones." Harry smiled at her before taking a seat along the back wall. He listened carefully as the other teens were brought in one at a time. They went through mostly the same questions and most of the teens were back with the families that they had arrived at, although they were all informed that they would be needing to spend the next year or so at Hogwarts in order to be monitored by a representative of the Department of Families.

The last person to come through was the blue eyed witch that had made Harry laugh earlier. Harry listened as she answered the questions they asked her. There was something about her that kept telling Harry that he should protect her. Having the same name as his god-sister could just be a coincidence. There were bound to be many more Kiley's out there. This girl was Kiley Davidson, a muggleborn from London. She attended an all girls private boarding school in the heart of London.

'Look at her finger. I knew it.' Harry's eyes shot down to her hands and he spotted a ring on her right hand that made his heart jump. It was a crest that matched the ring he wore on his right hand. The ring that his parents had told him was tied to Kiley's life force.

"May I address the minor?" Harry asked, feeling utterly ridiculous for saying that when he himself was a minor. Mrs Asington nodded. "Kiley, the ring you wear on your right hand, how long have you had it?"

"My adoptive parents told me that it was the only thing that was with me when they adopted me from the orphanage, they said that it was my Mother's."

"I humbly submit to the council that, that ring is my God-sister and charge's ring. It is tied to this ring that I now wear so that I could keep watch over her. I submit that this is Kiley Davin."

'Claim Patre Familias over her. No one can deny you."

"Further more I claim the power of patre familias over her. She is to be my charge and under my guidance until such a time as I deem her ready to be married." The council debated amongst themselves for a moment and then Harry won out. He was given custody of Kiley and they were swept from the room by the Tonks and Remus.

"Kiley, I know that this isn't the easiest time to meet but would you like to move into the house that we were supposed to be raised in?" Harry asked as they were led from the room.

"Would you mind?" Kiley said with half a smile. "I can't wrap my head around why I was placed with that family and not with anyone from the wills."

"It's all Dumbledore. He has something up his sleeve. I'm not quite sure what but it can't be good." Harry said, putting his arm around his godsister.

"How long have you known about me?" Kiley asked.

"About a week, maybe two."

"Really." She said amazed. "I've known about you my whole life. I mean, everyone knows about Harry Potter. I can't fathom that we are godsiblings." Tonks and Remus stood from where they had been waiting and joined the pair as they walked down the hallway.

"Ready to head home?" Harry nodded and looked to Kiley. She flushed and looked down at her shoes. "Well, let's go then." Remus took Kiley's trunk and the four left the Ministry through the doorway to Muggle London. They walked slowly towards the station where they would take the train back to Grimmauld place.

Once they had arrived at Grimmauld place they walked into the small park across the street. Remus handed Kiley one of the scraps of paper that had been altered.

"Kiley, welcome to my Godfather's place. We will be here for a while. I'm not sure when I want to move back into Potter Manor now that it is open."

"Why can't we just go there now?"

"It's not ready yet. The elves are working on a few things." Kiley nodded in understanding. "Now think about the address on the paper and lets go inside." Her brow wrinkled as she thought hard about the scrap of paper. They heard the pops, groans and squeaks as number eleven and number thirteen moved away from each other and number twelve appeared in the gap. The group walked up the stairs and into the house. There were muffled whispers from behind the curtains covering Mrs. Black's painting.

"Why don't you two take Kiley's stuff up the stairs and unpack." They nodded and Harry led Kiley up the stairs to the floor that the kids shared. A new door was on the hallway next to the one for Harry's room. Written on the plaque in the middle of the door it read Kiley. The elves must have been working overtime to get a room ready for her in such a short amount of time. Harry and Kiley retired to their rooms to think about the events of the day and gather themselves. Harry entered his room to find a stack of letters waiting on his desk.

Dear Lord Potter

Thank you for your recent missive, I am doing well. You are quite welcome and you are invited to our home anytime.

As for the tutor, most of the young nobles use either Mistress Harkness or Lady Denissen as a deportment and etiquette teacher. They are both reachable via owl post, they also make the habit of coming to their students, not their students to them.

On the occasion of young Neville's birthday, he would be honored to have you host a joint party for the both of you. Will you be reopening Potter Manor for the party?

I offer the services of my houseelves should you need to prepare the Manor.

I look forward to seeing you again in the near future, perhaps dinner, this Saturday? Your guardian is of course invited as well.

Sincerely,

Lady Longbottom, Regent of House Longbottom

Dear Lord Potter

The past is all but forgotten. Thank you for your apologies. Due to recent revelations it is understandable. My Father would also have me to request a meeting prior to school beginning, on neutral ground of course. He has a business deal to discuss with you. Know that you are forgiven.

I look forward to seeing you this coming term.

Always,

Pavarti Patil

Dear Mister Potter

You are quite welcome. We stand on neither the light nor the dark and since the 'light' seemed to bowl you over Father felt that he should help you.

Thank you for the compliment. Have you been this dashing and debonair since first year and I was to blind to see it? Father would like to invite you for tea. What classes are you taking this year? I am contemplating switching out of Care of Magical Creatures and into Muggle Studies. Father thinks that it will be enlightening for me. May I ask how living as a muggle was, without sounding forward? I hope that I get to see you again so. I liked bumping in to you today.

Always,

Daphne of House Greengrass

Dear Lord Potter,

You are a most appreciative dinner guest. You are welcome and I shall have to invite you over again soon. I just received the copy of your parents wills and letters to you. I dare say the original wills and sealed letters should be enough to question his original trial documents. I will bring them with me to work in the morning.

Have a great day,

Lady Bones

As he read those letters he began to think of what he needed to say to his Uncle Lord Davenport. He sat down and wrote out some ideas on a sheet of notebook paper.

To whom it may concern:

I know that this is an odd letter to be receiving. I have reason to believe that you are my only living relatives. Thirteen years ago my parents were brutally murdered. Recently, I discovered my Mother's diary and will. Her will contained a letter to you Baron Davenport. My Mother's maiden name was Lilith Angelic Juliana Seneson of House Davenport. I am not looking for handouts , for my Father's legacy has left me comfortable. I am looking for a family, that is all. If you would like to respond or meet with me I am living in London til September when I return to the boarding school that my Mother attended.

Temporarily satisfied with what he had written he went back the last letter in the stack. It was from Neville.

Dear Harry,

I am great. My grandmother has done nothing but rave about you since

you left. An unkept garden at your guardian's sounds like a summer project I cannot pass up. Perhaps I can come over tomorrow ans we can begin. We can speak frankly then. Owl me back or firecall with an appropriate time.

Sincerely,

Neville

"Hey Harry. Can we talk?" Sirius stuck his head through the door without knocking.

"Sure." Harry placed the letter back with the rest in the stack and turned towards his godfather. The more he thought about the events of the recents days the more angry he got at his godfather. There was so much information that he should have known for a long time. He understood that Sirius had been in prison but so many other people could have gone ahead and told him. When Remus had questioned the letter from his mum he had started to feel like he wasn't the only one that secrets were being kept from.

"I've been talking to Andy and Tonks."

"Sirius you have to know that I .."

"I know that you chose them because I'm not in the clear yet. We've been talking about some odd facts,"

"What odd facts?"

"The ones where none of us remembered anything about your parents deaths, lives or wills until after you had been told in court. Part of Tonks' job with the Aurors is to check people for memory charms. She told me that she has been seeing the tell tale signs of memory charms on most of the people in this house. We asked her if she could break them. She was able to get a hold of a friend from Saint Mungos that is willing to sit down with us and remove the memory charms that we think are on us. It has to be done quickly and quietly."

"When and where can we do this? I have a feeling that Dumbledore will find out soon and ruin our plans."

"She should be here in an hour." Sirius said. "How was your Meeting with the War Orphans Board?"

"Good. Kiley is next door getting settled in. She has been living with the Davidson family in Kent this whole time. It seems that she 'magically' ended up in a muggle orphanage."

"Let us have her memories returned. Is she doing okay?"

"Yes. For the most part at least. We are only staying here for a little while. I am needed at the house in Anasirone."

"You've been there? Your father and mother always wanted to go back there to hide during the war but Dumbledore suggested that they stay visibly in the fight."

"Why would he want new parents to stay in the war? Why did they listen to him? He wouldn't have been even able to find them if they had gone home." Harry yelled. Slamming his hands against his desk.

"I don't know Harry. Maybe this friend of Tonk's will help us understand."

"I sure hope so."

An hour later a very angry mind healer from St. Mungos was packing her bags. She had handed each of them a list of spells that had been placed on them. The spells included memory charms, blocks on his magical core and spells to alter him as a person. Harry's list was by far the longest. Tonks walked her friend out of the house while the others sat and digested what had happened. Even Kiley's mind and core had been layered with spellwork.

Andromeda had firmly latched on to Sirius' arm in order to keep him from going after Dumbledore. But, instead of tearing after the meddling old goat Sirius did something decisive. "I, Sirius Orion Black, do hereby reverse the Matriarch's will involving the decision to expell Andromeda and Nymphadora Tonks from the family Black." A green wisp of smoke raced into the room and surrounded Andromeda.

Kitchen of Grimmauld Place

Earlier that Afternoon

"Kids, I have gathered you in here because I have something that I need to talk to you about." Molly Weasley had gathered her children in the basement kitchen.

"What is it Mum?" Ginny questioned.

"I have been speaking with Headmaster Dumbledore and he seems to think that something is wrong with Harry. He seems darker and more withdrawn. Headmaster Dumbledore has asked me to have you three tell me if there is anything going on with Harry that he should know about."

"Why can't Dumbledore just talk to Harry?" Ginny questioned.

"Because he feels that Harry will more readily tell you three things that he won't talk to us adults about."

"Hush Ginny. If we do it is there anything in it for us?" Ron asked, a glint in his eyes that scared Ginny.

"Dumbledore said that you would be rewarded handsomely for helping prevent the rise of a new dark lord."

"Dumbledore thinks that Harry will be a dark lord! That is ridiculous!" Molly's back seemed to straighten and her eyes hardened while she stared down her youngest child.

"Ginevra Molly Weasley. The Family has decided that we will follow Headmaster Dumbledore's decisions on all things. He believes that Harry also killed Cedric at the end of the Triwizard. You will report to me everything that goes on in this house. Whether it be Harry, Sirius, Remus, Tonks or anyone else." Molly ordered. Both Ron and Ginny's eyes became hazy before they nodded and their eyes cleared. She had spoken as Matriarch, an undeniable order that they could neither tell someone of nor could they go against it. The only way to break or override her orders was through the Patriarch, Mister Weasley could override anything she said.

"Anything to help stop a dark wizard. Right Ron?"

"Of course Ginny. Anything."

"I need you to convince Hermione to help you."

"We will try." Ron said. "What will our rewards be?"

"You will have to talk to Dumbledore about that. He said it would be fitting and well deserved."