little-bast: Hera will finally get the chance to practice her Krav Maga groin kick on a real person, but I changed the target you had mentioned at the last minute. I hope you don't mind :)

Chapter 4 – Defending the Innocent

After greeting Dreadblade and Tmora, remembering to thank them profusely for the letter box, Hera steeled her jaw in determination and decided to return to the meeting. She was a Cullen and she refused to let Charlus' angry words drive her away like a coward. Edward's eyebrows lifted in surprise at her sudden return, but her daddy just smiled knowingly and moved over a space so she could sit between him and her mate.

"As I was saying," Carlisle said, "Hera's account manager came to visit us a few days back to tell us that, according to a document the healer who delivered the twins filed with the bank, Hera was next in line to inherit the Potter estate."

"What? What does that mean, Uncle Siri," Charlus asked desperately.

Sirius Black looked pained, but quickly hid the reaction as he answered his godson's question. "That means Hera is now head of the Potter house and is in control of everything."

The auburn-haired boy appeared to be utterly flabbergasted. He just gaped in disbelief at his uncles until Hera spoke.

"It's okay, though," the phoenix insisted. "I told Foulclaw I didn't want to take anything from you Charlus, and I won't. I promise!"

Charlus' attention moved to his twin, but he was still in too much shock to respond to her words.

"Foulclaw said that, because of some law in place, Hera was unable to disinherit herself from the Potter line," Edward said, "but she was adamant that Charlus have full control of all the Potter holdings once he reaches the age of majority. Because of this, Foulclaw has agreed to give him full rights to all assets at that time, as well as a trust vault with limited funds to hold him over until then."

Remus stared at them in amazement. "That… that is a very generous thing to do Hera!"

The phoenix shrugged. "I never should have been able to get anything anyway… they never wanted me and the only reason they didn't disown me was because they didn't want anyone to know they had me at all." Her wings drooped in renewed sadness as the old feelings of being unwanted emerged once more. She snuggled into Edward's side as he pulled her close and rubbed her back. Because of this, she never saw the eyes of her twin soften with understanding.

Carlisle closed his eyes briefly before smiling sadly at the humans and werewolf. "If there's anything you need in regards to the Potter estate, Foulclaw is the goblin you need to speak with. He knows how to get in touch with us."

At the conclusion of the meeting, everyone stood and walked to the front of the bank. As the adults spoke cordially for a few minutes in the lobby with Charlus close by, Hera walked over to the entryway to stare at the Alley beyond the glass doors.

"Well look at what we have here," said a boy with platinum blonde hair in perhaps the snootiest voice she'd ever heard. "It's an utter shame that wizards of my caliber are forced to share Gringotts with disgusting little half-breeds like yourself."

Hera glared at the kid who apparently thought it was acceptable to speak to her in any way he wished. Out of the corner of her eye she saw her father move to intercede, only for Edward to place a hand on his shoulder and shake his head. "I'd much rather be a half-breed than a halfwit like yourself, shrimp!"

The angry little boy growled as his face reddened at the insult. "How dare you! Do you have any idea who I am, you disease-ridden little beast?"

Hera was about to tell the brat how little she cared when another voice joined in. "Leave her alone, Malfoy!" She nearly fainted in shock when she saw that her "rescuer" was none other than her twin.

The boy laughed in a condescending manner. "Or what, Potter? You going to have your daddy floo mine?" Malfoy feigned a look of shock. "Oops… I forgot. Your daddy's rotting in Azkaban for murdering his pathetic little mudblood wife!"

Charlus screamed in fury and dove on the annoying little upstart. When Hera saw the blonde was starting to get the upper hand on her brother, she utilized her training and nailed the boy in the nuts with the very same groin kick she'd wanted to practice on the male vampires at home.

As the bank guards had arrived to intervene, they stared with not-so-hidden amusement as the heir to the Malfoy fortune rolled around the floor crying and clutching his testicles. Hera and Charlus stood off to the side and laughed at his misfortune.

Even though the twins didn't exchange anymore words before Charlus and his uncles went home, Hera still felt as if she'd won something huge.

Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt and his partner David Grimsby had just arrived at what used to be the private island of Nicolas and Perenelle Flamel. They had been alerted by the goblin guards at Gringotts that someone had breached the wards and were now trapped inside. Thankfully the aurors had been accompanied by a goblin wardmaster, as he had no desire to become stuck himself.

Wands drawn, the two wizards entered the previously sealed residence and soon encountered a sight they would never forget. Albus Dumbledore himself was pacing angrily and cursing up a storm in what was now Hera Cullen's sitting room. A pot of floo powder had been tossed down and broken beside the fireplace beside an open bag with some books and journals peeking out.

"Headmaster Dumbledore?!" Dumbledore hastily spun around to gawk at the newcomers, face reflecting a mixture of shock and embarrassment.

Smiling widely, as if he hadn't been caught red-handed burgling someone else's home, the old man greeted the aurors. "Kingsley and David, my dear boys! How have you been?"

The tall black wizard rolled his eyes. "I'll be a lot better, Albus, when you explain why you're here robbing Hera Cullen's house."

Albus sighed sadly, as if the very weight of the world rested on his shoulders. "I know Kingsley, my boy, that this wasn't the smartest idea I've had, but I couldn't think of another way to get my belongings back. The delightful young phoenix seems to be rather angry with me at the moment and I didn't really expect her to be sympathetic to my plight." He sighed despondently. "I know I should have simply asked her family for help, but I thought that if I just snuck in and got my things they would be none the wiser."

"Your possessions," David asked doubtfully, never once lowering his wand.

The old wizard smiled. "Yes. Just a few musty old journals I left here when my good friend Nicolas and I were working together years ago. Sadly I never made the time to retrieve them before he and sweet Nelle passed away."

Kingsley gestured to the open bag. "Are those the things you came to retrieve?" When Dumbledore nodded, never losing his genial smile, the auror picked the bag up to see what was so important that the odd wizard risked a great deal to obtain.

He raised his eyebrow in disbelief when he went through the contents. He glanced up at the headmaster, who was starting to sweat a bit, and began removing the items from the bag. "We have Nicolas Flamel's famous stone, his personal work journals, which have his name embossed on the front, and various books labelled as being a part of his own private library. I'm sorry, Albus… what among these items did you say belonged to you?"

Knowing he was well and truly caught, Dumbledore suddenly looked defeated. He didn't fight the aurors as they removed his wand and placed him under arrest for attempted theft and vandalizing private property.

As Grimsby led the headmaster away in restraints, Kingsley shook his head. Rita Skeeter was going to have a field day with this!

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