Hi everyone.

The days flew by. Hermione, Luna, Neville and Ginny went off to Hogwarts for refresher courses on Monday 24th. Sam visited Gringotts and worked on a few projects of his own. Harry assumed this included the intricacies of gaining his Lordship. Ron helped Arthur fix a few things at Blossom Burrow. Harry helped Ron and Arthur for a few days then went into Diagon Alley to collect a very important item.

"Thanks, Mr Ollivander," Harry said quietly, pocketing the thin package. Mr Ollivander smiled. "Anything for you, Harry. I was happy to do it."

Harry paused. "I wonder if you could help me with something else?"
Mr Ollivander looked at him enquiringly. Harry sighed. "I've been experiencing... fluctuations in my magic. A lot of overcasting..."

Mr Ollivander looked him over, then Summoned his tape measure, which started measuring Harry. "You claimed your Inheritance on the last visit, did you not?" he asked. Harry nodded. "Yes, that can have an effect...hmmm..."

The tape measure finished and sprang back to Ollivander. He waved his wand and the tape seemed to spit out a sheet of parchment. Ollivander studied it.

"Hmmm..." he said, looking up, "When you first came here, Harry, I noticed you seemed to have a block of some sort on your magic. I could not remove it. When your wand chose you, I realised...why. I hoped your wand would help you overcome the block. Now...it has vanished completely."

Harry gaped. "It was the –" he broke off and touched his scar. Mr. Ollivander looked at him curiously. Harry glanced at the clock. "It's nearly lunchtime. Why don't we go somewhere and I explain over a meal. It's a long story." Mr Ollivander was trustworthy, and given what he'd gone through regarding the Wand, Harry only thought it was right he knew about the rest.

Mr. Ollivander readily agreed. They went to lunch and Harry explained the Horcrux issues.
To say Mr Ollivander was shocked was an understatement. "He…he divided his soul?" he gasped. "Well. That explains things." He studied Harry, then smiled. "You make a lot of people proud of you, Mr Potter."

On Friday evening, the girls and Neville returned. On Saturday, when everyone else was busy, Harry went back to Hogwarts. It was time. Finally, he could 'return' the copy and restore his greatest mentor's dignity.

Harry arrived at the gates and sent a Patronus to Minerva to tell her he was here. Within a few minutes she arrived. "Hello Harry." she said curiously. Then Harry realised he hadn't owled ahead or anything to inform her he'd be coming and why. "I have something that needs to be returned. I'll explain more once I'm in."

Minerva let him and allowed him to lead her towards the Lake a bit. Then she stopped. "Harry, what do you need to return?"

Harry looked at her. "I'll tell you, but you mustn't tell anyone. Imply it if you must to other teachers, but don't tell anyone." he said, then pulled the wand-sheath from his pocket. "I've come to return a copy of Professor Dumbledore's wand."

Minerva gasped. "A copy? I presume that's not the only protection?"

Harry replied, "You're right — but that's all I'll say."

Minerva nodded. "I see. Let us go to the tomb then." she said. As they started walking again, she cautioned, "I have to warn you — it's not a good sight."

Harry nodded. "I...guessed." Absentmindedly, he felt his lightning scar. He hadn't seen much on that horrid night when the tomb had been first opened, but he'd seen enough.

They arrived and Harry cringed at the sight of the cracked marble. Minerva whispered, "I was able to cover...most of the top... But I wasn't allowed to fix it properly."

"Voldemort's orders, I expect." Harry grunted, thinking, Snape would've hated that. And it would've been horrible for...everyone.

Wand hand trembling, Minerva levitated the cracked top off and to one side. Harry took a deep breath then stepped forward. The wrappings were still partially open; Harry winced and carefully slid the copy Wand into place, then stepped back. Minerva, before closing the wrappings, Conjured a bouquet of dark pink roses and let them "fall" to rest neatly on top of Professor Dumbledore's hands.

Minerva murmured, "For gratitude... And to anchor the fresh Preserving Charm."

Harry nodded, unable to bear looking at his mentor's face. The wrappings closed; the tomb was sealed. Harry breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'll not say a word to anyone," Minerva reaffirmed, "Except of course to — Albus' own portrait."

Harry nodded. "He'll be pleased, I think." he murmured.

When he got back, Ginny, Ron and Hermione surrounded him, asking him where he'd been. Harry shrugged. "Running errands." he said simply, then explained briefly. "Long story short, a certain troublesome item was copied by a friend of ours while I hid the original under — Lord's Power. The copy has been placed where the original ought to be until such time as it's safe to return."

"Ohhhh," They said, understanding. Harry's lips twitched; they knew him too well.

Hermione glanced sharply at him. "But what of its power?"

Harry smiled. "Taken care of. It's someone we know, who's several years older than us."

Ron glanced at towards his family, so Harry added, "None of the Weasleys."

The other three exchanged glances but dropped it. Harry knew they'd ask him again one day; but for now it was enough to know the Wand was safe.

The others had been watching curiously. Now, Sam lent across the table. "Hey Harry," he said, then, "Oh, look!"

They turned to see four small specks fly up from the forest and come straight towards them.

Ron gaped. "Pig!" he exclaimed, then turned to Harry. "He's brought the family," he said quietly. At that, Harry and Ginny got up, too.

"I told him to take the owlets and hide, before we fled to Muriel's." Ginny muttered to the boys. Hermione looked puzzled.

Closer and closer they came. Pigwidgeon arrived first and alighted on Ron's arm. "Hey Pig," he said, "You introducing them to the rest of us, are you?"

This of course made no sense to most of the assembled group until the three owlets came flapping up.

One was dark brown, but growing towards the size of a snowy. One was a slightly smaller light grey with speckled brown spots. The third was tiny, with plumage that Harry knew would develop into a brilliant snow-white colour.

"There are two girls – the bigger two. The only boy is the snow-coloured one." Ginny said.

Harry smiled and held out his hand. The boy crashed into his palm. He laughed. "Need to work on that landing a bit, buddy." He said. The owlet jumped to his feet and hooted indignantly. Harry blinked. "You know, you look like your mum," he whispered, "Right down to that glare. She never let me tease her, either."

The owlet hooted happily and nipped Harry's finger.

Behind him, Ron explained to the others, "We think Hedwig got together with Pig back at the Owlery in school. Then before Harry left with Hedwig, she laid her eggs at the Burrow." *

"Ohhh…" Everyone who didn't know said.

Arthur smiled. "Well, welcome to the family, you three. Do we have any temporary names?"

After some debate, the owls were nicknamed "Squawker", "Specks" and "Snowy". They'd be given proper names when they were properly trained. They were just babies right now.

"You got the 'thanks for the help offer' letter yet?" Sam asked later that day.

Harry glanced at Ron, who handed him a scroll. "It came while you were out. It's about the Hogwarts rebuild."

Harry skimmed the note. He and the others near him were with the 'Immediate Action' crew. They'd be working from this coming Monday, the 1st of July for two weeks. Then the second group (which included, apparently, many of the other Weasleys) would take over — and then exam results would arrive.

One thing at a time, Harry thought with a grin, just take one thing at a time.

So that's what he did. Over the next two weeks, they worked like crazy to get Hogwarts clean and back to full standard.

The first two days were spent clearing the grounds and castle itself of rubble. Then, bit by bit, they removed the protective charms (which were like Muggle tarpaulin) from parts of the castle and began, bit by bit, to rebuild. Using magic and real raw materials they sweated under the hot sun in shifts, breaking every three hours of daylight to swap. The Great Hall was alive with chatter every morning, noon and evening while the group ate. Dinner was always the quietest meal and as soon as they finished, one by one, two by two or in other such clumps the group would break, saying their goodbyes and stumble to the room where the Triwizard Champions had received their first instructions.

Here the Floo awaited them, as they would line up, too tired to risk Apparation and wait their turn before taking a handful of green powder, shouting their destination and spinning out of sight. At their homes they would shuffle wearily to their beds and flop exhausted on to them to sleep, ready for another day.

It was relentless, gruelling work, but extremely rewarding for them all. Harry relished the tasks because they could literally see Hogwarts – his first home – coming back together as they worked.

At the end of the two weeks, the group returned back to Blossom Burrow. Molly and Arthur left with Percy, George, Bill and Fleur to do their share. They went to Willowwood for the day, to relax. In the late afternoon, Sam turned up unannounced and declared he was going to show them something.

"Show us what?" Ron asked lazily. They'd been playing Wizard's Chess and Ron, stretched out on a couch, was extremely comfortable — not much was going to move him for the next hour or so. The others were in similar positions.

Sam grinned. "Do you want to see Grim's Den or not?"

That got their attention, all right. Remus – who'd been sitting nearby reading one of his journals – focused his attention on Sam also.

"Where? What Den?" Harry asked, sitting up. Sam said, "Grim's Den — you know, the place Dad, Mum and I would've lived in if the Fiasco hadn't've happened."

By now, all the gang were getting to their feet, and Remus had called Tonks and Andi in from elsewhere in the cottage. "Where?" Ginny asked.

Sam smiled. "Remember when I came to Blossom Burrow the first time, you guys wondered how I already knew where to go?"

Heads nodded. Sam grinned. "Fancy seeing why now?"

They needed little prompting; the group Apparated to Blossom Burrow and followed Sam, who led them around the back. "Look there," he said, "Just beyond Stoatshead Hill. Do you see it?"

The group gasped. Just beyond Stoatshead Hill, a towering spire could be seen. "Grim's Den," Sam said quietly.

Hermione said, "Err, where do the grounds extend to?"

Sam smiled. "To the bottom of Stoatshead and around for a few miles on the other side."

Harry nodded. "So the Hill is your anchor point then. Like the Oak Forest is for my House." he said.

"Anchor point?" Ron asked. Hermione, Luna and Ginny also looked blank; Neville, Remus, Tonks and Andi appeared to have a bit more of an idea. Sam and Harry swapped glances, then Harry explained, "It's the point that anchors the wards. Every house that has wards has one. I'll give you the book I found it in, Hermione." he added. "Though I did ask Miffy first. There's an awful lot to learn when you're a new Lord or Lord's Heir."

The others laughed. "Miffy?" Sam repeated.
Harry grinned. "One of my elves."

They followed Sam to the Manor and went in. The house was very similar to Potter House but slightly smaller and had a more dilapidated look. "Dad bought a flat with money from Great Uncle Alphard Black... He quickly discovered that there was a…secret passage, if you will, between the flat and here. It's pretty old and run-down...Dad and Mum were doing it up. It allowed them to live together but pretend to be separate. Dad rechristened it 'Grim's Den', as he disliked the old name. When the Fiasco happened, the house fell into disuse again – Mum had to close it up." Sam explained.

They had lunch there, which involved being introduced to Sam's Black Family elves. Didi, Ginger and Tipp were very eager little elves — two female and one male — with long droopy noses and black, button-like eyes. They got quite excited at the new faces, particularly Neville and Harry – and Remus. "My parents told a lot of stories." Sam said, "I mean, I dunno if you two know this, but Mum — Marlene — was best friends with your mums — Alice and Lily. And of course, they know you're Moony."

Neville and Harry traded glances, but said nothing, as Remus blushed. Ginger, a large male elf with a voice to match, appeared at Sam's knee. "Here, sir! Youse speaking of stories - here be pictures, milord."

Sam grinned. "Thank you Ginger. But what have I said about the 'milord' title?"

"Oopsies," Ginger smiled sheepishly. Harry noticed Hermione looked pleased, but didn't comment. He was too busy staring at the pictures. Behind him, Remus peered over his shoulder.

Most were of Alice, Lily and Marlene – with a fourth girl who Remus said was Mary MacDonald – having fun. A few showed the Marauders, or Frank. It was a treasure trove of memories. Sam saw the looks on their faces. "Want to copy them?" he asked. The boys nodded gratefully. Harry said, "You first Neville — I've already got some of these."

At the surprised glances, he explained, "From a photo album Hagrid gave me at the end of first year. I...didn't realise... Marlene must have given heaps... I mean, I knew you, Remus, must've – I've shown you them...but..."
Remus smiled and nodded. Neville smiled. "I think my Gran did too." he said, "When I got home from that year, the photo-cabinet had been unlocked and things had been moved around. Worried, I asked Gran, but she told me everything was fine."

Harry smiled.

Then a loud crack disturbed the silence. It was Miffy. She gasped. "Oh! Miffy knew you be here! Muffy wrong." she said, almost to herself, then fixed Harry with a stern look. "But why has you not told us you knows Sam?"

Harry squirmed uncomfortably. "I've been meaning to... It's just been very busy and my mind has been on other stuff when I've seen you guys. I've only known him for a few weeks."

Miffy huffed. Harry sighed. "Sorry," he said gently.

Miffy smiled. "Tis okay. Can I help, now I be here?"

Harry thought for a minute. "You could get my photo-albums from Willowwood, please."

When she had gone, Sam raised his eyebrows. "Is she normally like that?"

Harry smiled. "Muffy's worse. They just love checking on me." he said, "I'll be in for it later. But they're nice elves."

When Harry had received the albums, the group had an enjoyable time sorting through them and comparing them with Sam's lot. Pictures of Alice, Lily, Marlene and Mary were interspersed with pictures of the Marauders, Frank and Kingsley (two years above the rest) as well as numerous others in all houses. There were even a few with Severus and Regulus in them, though not many.

Then Harry had an idea. "Hey Sam," he said, "Since you've shown me your House – or Den, well... Have you ever been to 12 Grimmauld Place?"

Sam smiled. "Once. Mum guided me. When the rest of you guys were off visiting Arthur on Christmas Day."

Harry remembered. "Oh, right." he said, "Well, how much did you see?"

Sam shrugged. "Just the kitchen and drawing-room."

Harry grinned and glanced at the others. "I've never been," Neville said. Luna smiled dreamily in agreement.
Ginny stood up and linked her arm through Harry's. "That's the next stop then."

Sam nodded. "Okay. But first, let's help the elves wash up."

Harry grinned. Just as he'd suspected; Sam had an arrangement of some sort with his elves like Harry had with his own.
Remus, Tonks and Andi said their goodbyes; they'd already seen the house after all, and it was getting on towards evening. Teddy needed to be tended to. Harry promised them he'd be along soon.

Then they helped out the elves before leading Sam, Luna and Neville to "Number 12, Grimmauld Place — the (former) Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix".

Inside, the 'ghost' rushed at them. "Bugger, I'd forgotten about that." Harry muttered, then said, "We didn't kill you."

The thing exploded. "Mad-Eye's protections against Snape." Ron explained, as Hermione set about finally undoing the Tongue-Tying Curse. Sam noted, "You three seem pretty casual about all this."

Harry nodded. "We lived here for all of August. Our first month on the run."

Neville said, "Oh yeah! You mentioned that..."

Neville was about to say more when he was interrupted. "FILTH! SCUM! INVADING THE HOUSE OF MY FATHER'S!"

Sam blinked. "Who the hell -? Oh. I remember." he faced the portrait, a smirk growing on his face. "Hey Grandma," he said cheerfully. Walburga Black fell silent abruptly.

Her eyes popped and her mouth hung open. "Who — are — you?" she finally spluttered.
Sam smirked. "Your grandchild. Dad's Sirius. Mum's Marlene McKinnon."

The portrait huffed irritably. "At least you're pureblood. But his? If I'd known —"

"It wouldn't have mattered. Besides, my blood was chance. And I reckon the line won't be pure for much longer. I'm Hufflepuff, by the way. Favourite class is Muggle Studies. And Herbology."

"Ohhhh..." sighed Walburga Black and fainted with a dull thud against the frame. The curtains swung shut.

The group could not help it; they escaped to the kitchen then roared with laughter.

Sam grinned. "I thought that would do it." he said, then glanced at them curiously. "You know, I missed hearing about all your adventures. I'm curious. With Hogwarts' reputation for expanding the truth..."

Harry guessed the next question. "Sure I'll tell you. Just –" he remembered something. "Before we get settled, I gotta show you something. Come on!"

Harry led them up the stairs to Sirius' room and opened the door. "Everything is stuck on using Permanent Sticking Charms, but that can't be helped."

Sam was gaping at the room. "I didn't get a chance to see this," he muttered, "You guys came back just as we were about to head up here, so we had to hotfoot it to the Floo."

The others were looking around with some interest, too. "Interesting tastes." Neville commented, "But appropriate."

"Especially compared to what's next door." Ron grunted. Then Harry remembered something. Going to the dresser, he picked up the 'incomplete' letter and picture. He'd left the letter and part-picture there on that September morning because he'd thought he'd come back. Now, he studied the ripped picture, wishing that he could've had a chance to copy the other original half. Thanks to that dratted fire, he'd have to live with a half-version. Unless he could find another copy somewhere….but he doubted it.

Sam looked around again as Harry slid the items into his robes. "Bit messy in here. Did Snape go through it?"

Harry nodded. Ron said, "That's who ripped the picture and all…"

"Oh. Right." said Sam, "But... What I was thinking was... How about we clean up. Not too much – just so we can see the floor."

Harry nodded. "I did a bit when I slept here earlier this year, but good idea."

For the next half-hour or so, the group tidied the room. Harry and Sam found several more photos and letters, including James' replies to Sirius over the summers of first to fifth year. Sam already had letters from seventh year to the end of the war. Evidently the mirrors had been reserved for particular occasions. After all, sometimes there was nothing nicer than receiving a letter.

There was also a stack of replies from Remus to Sirius over the same periods, with no gap between. This caused Harry to make a mental note to check Potter House for Remus' and Sirius' letters. As they cleaned they talked. Harry, Ron and Hermione explained the rough details of their Hogwarts years.

Then Sam said, "Hey, it's clean enough. What'd you say about another room, Ron?"

They went out of Sirius' room and into Regulus'. Then all froze. Kreacher was sitting on the bed, flicking through papers and muttering to himself. "Is that Kreacher?" Sam murmured.

Harry nodded. "I — ah —"

"I don't mind. Three already, remember?" Sam muttered, "Besides, my personality is too much like my dad's."

Harry snorted. That was certainly true.

Then Kreacher noticed them. "Lord Harry! Tis my 'day off'. I just be looking at Master Regulus' things — be needing to remember..."

Harry smiled. "That's fine. But, ah, Kreacher, meet Samuel Sirius Black-McKinnon. Sam, meet Kreacher."

Kreacher's ears stood straight up for a few seconds. "Master Sirius have a son and nobody be knowing? Oh!" he blinked, then nodded.

Harry grinned. "Good."

"Master Harry," Kreacher paused, "What has you done to Mistress Black's portrait? It be very quiet-like."

Harry grinned. "She fainted after hearing she was Sam's grandmother."

Kreacher blinked. "Youse be having no use for her?" he asked. They all shook their heads. "May I take her Lord Harry?"

Harry nodded. They followed Kreacher downstairs and watched as he shrank the portrait and took it down with a word and click of his fingers. "Thank you Lord Harry." he said and was gone. Given the lateness of the hour, the group decided to depart also.

The days passed. Harry showed Sam his House and they spent the days relaxing, remembering and generally enjoying themselves. Molly and the others returned on Friday afternoon. However, before that...the morning of Wednesday, 10th of July, dawned bright and clear. At Willowwood, as they were eating breakfast, Harry saw a black speck streaking towards the cottage; a speck which quickly revealed itself to be owl-shaped. He put down his toast and stood up, his insides twisting into knots. Exam results had arrived.

The table fell silent as Harry stood at the window, waiting. The owl flew closer and Andi squeezed past to open a window.

The owl flew in and landed in front them. Harry reached out and untied his letter with trembling fingers.

NEWT RESULTS

MR HARRY JAMES POTTER HAS ACHIEVED:

Charms : Exceeds Expectations

Defence Against the Dark Arts : Outstanding

Herbology : Exceeds Expectations

Potions : Exceeds Expectations

Transfiguration : Exceeds Expectations

Harry sighed in relief. "Well that's that." He passed the results over to Remus and Tonks, who were hovering nearby. Then he noticed a second bundle under his results.

SEE OVER FOR CAREER-ORIENTED QUESTIONNAIRE.

Harry flipped the sheet to find two pages worth of questions regarding his abilities. So this was the start of the testing.

The questions asked about his ability to cope with pressure and distractions, his skills with his wand (e.g., favourite/ preferred spells etc.), whether he had any fighting skills without a wand (boxing, any martial art form, etc.), his fitness and endurance levels (including the amount of exercise he got in a week), what sort of street smarts he had and the strength of his sense of direction, as well as a few moral questions and brain teasers. With the fitness questions there were questions asking how fast he could run...and how well he could swim.

Harry sat, looking at that question for some time. Then he circled "some swimming ability" and wrote "I have never learnt how to swim properly, though I do know some basics which I taught myself." He'd learnt the basics in sixth year, when he had access to the Prefects' Bathrooms as Quidditch Captain. That had come in handy when he needed to swim, later in the year, to get to the cave. However, apart from that instance – and the time when he'd dived into a small lake to get the locket – he hadn't tested his abilities properly.

He sent his reply back to the Ministry. Now all he could do was cross his fingers...and wait.

Later that day, he met up with Ron and Sam, who had both got enough to get into the fast-tracked Auror program. Ron had even got an Outstanding in Defence, and Sam had got an Outstanding in Muggle Studies.

On Saturday, at the regular lunch, they shared the good news around. Kingsley asked questions about the questionnaire, then laughed. "It hasn't changed much at all – in twenty-two by the sounds of things." He said, bemused.

Harry couldn't help noticing that Kingsley seemed distracted. Finally, he spoke to him about it. "Kingsley, is something wrong? You look like half your mind is on something else. Maybe it's just something to do with being Minister, but...You look worried." Harry said, "Is office politics really that bad?"

Kingsley heaved a sigh and glanced around. Luckily most were involved in other activities and weren't paying attention to their conversation. Only Hestia and Ginny were also listening. Kingsley said, "Actually, Harry, I am worried. I've been trying to start clearing up the Ministry properly. But as I've said before, it's a mammoth task. I've managed to get some of the more bureaucratic processes started, to a degree, but in many cases I'm hitting brick walls, then having to divert resources to find out why those walls are there...and so a lot of the so-called minor investigations into those Ministry workers who collaborated with 'the enemy' haven't begun, to say nothing of the Death Eater trials. I want things to be done properly, so that we avoid situations where people would be let off with a slap on the wrist due to so-called imperius curses, but we must also avoid situations which could result in another Sirius Black falling through the cracks."

Harry winced sympathetically. Kingsley continued, "I think we're almost in a position to start holding the Death Eater trials. I'd like it if we could do those before the others, as they're bound to implicate others. However, I fear we have a problem developing. Those who just want it to be like last time, a quick, seemingly efficient process, so they can get back to their 'normal' lives quicker and forget about all that happened before, are combining, or falling into the hands of, those in certain circles who have...worse reasons to delay the trials."

Harry's eyes narrowed. "You worry they're looking for a scapegoat."
Kingsley nodded. "In a nutshell, yes." He glanced around, and his eyes came to rest on Remus. "And I worry that I know who they'll pick."

Harry frowned. "Yes," he said quietly, his eyes following Kingsley's, "I think I agree."

And the plot thickens...because after all, it couldn't be that easy, could it?
* = I credit Mists with this storyline. Go over to her profile and check it out. The story is called Legacy. And I gave Harry slightly more swimming ability than previously, as I realised he had to have learnt something between the second task in fourth year and the cave in sixth, as he swam to get there.

Also, you may have noticed I'm including dates. That's because I need to keep track of when certain things happen in order to make sure I plot certain other things correctly. If I slip up, tell me, please.