"So you're going to be a seventh year, huh?"

"Yep! Up Badgers!" Dora smiled as she relaxed into her chair. "What house do you think you'll be in?"

"What makes you think I'm even going to Hogwarts?" I smirked as Dora looked horrified.

"But… But you have to! You have to freak out everyone who thinks you're dead!"

"Ah, I'd love to," I grinned. "But I haven't got my letter, you see."

"No one has, not at this point anyway," Tonks shrugged. "They start to send those out on the first new moon after the Solstice."

"Why?" I asked, crinkling my forehead as I thought that through.

"Dunno. It's some dusty old tradition the founders did, apparently. The school's just kept on doing it ever since. First the seventh years get their letters and then the rest get theirs. So you'll have to wait at least a week after the new moon."

"So… July 7th, right?"

"Right." Tonks nodded as I grinned.

"Well, then I have three weeks to keep my cover and find a new place to settle in before Dumbles comes looking for me. Assuming they haven't struck my name from the books."

"No, the books are pretty reliable. There's been a few cases where a kid died before they could go to the school but their parents already had their names on the books. The parents got the dead kid's letter."

"So, if James doesn't get my letter but the school sent it then they'll know I'm alive?"

"That's the gist of it. McGonagall doesn't hand write any of the letters anymore. She has an enchanted quill to do it for her and a stamp to sign her name."

"Rather lazy of her, isn't it?"

"Nah, the poor woman's swamped with work, what with being the Deputy Head, Head of Gryffindor, the only Transfiguration professor, and a Quidditch commentator."

"Jesus… How does she find time to take a piss?" Tonks doubled over laughing even as I smirked.

"I don't know, kiddo, but the poor woman's overworked."

"So how are the letters addressed if she doesn't touch them?"

"The book has a charm that tells another enchanted quill where the kid is, it's mostly for muggleborn. Rumor has it that Hogwarts has a list of every muggleborn in the isles."

"Ah, that makes sense. So do the professors go to the muggleborns' houses?"

"Aye, they do," Tonks nodded. "Usually it'll be Flitwick, McGonagall, or Snape who get sent out. I feel bad for the poor kids stuck with Snape."

"Why's that?"

"He's a brooding, greasy, batty git."

"You can say that again," Sirius grumbled as he walked into the den. "Bastard hated me back in our day."

"I'm sure there's absolutely no reason for that." I deadpanned as Dora chuckled.

"You're just a regular ray of sunshine, aren't you, Prongslet?" Sirius sighed as he flopped down in another chair.

"Yep! Where's Andy?"

"Right here, Harry." Andy said as she stepped into the room too, sitting on the couch beside me. "But you're quite right. Sirius was much the hellion when he walked the halls of Hogwarts."

"Andy!"

"Common Room prank of '75?" Sirius grinned but winced all at the same time.

"That was meant for Belby and Belby alone, you know. How that idiot dragged it into the Eyrie and turned it into a bomb is beyond me."

"Lily," Andromeda sighed.

"Ah!" Sirius's eyes lit up before his eyebrows scrunched. "How?"

"I don't know. She apologized to me after I finished tearing strips out of you. Belby had pissed her something fierce."

"So I have her to thank for that, eh?" Sirius sighed, leaning back into his chair. "I should have known."

"Yeah, you probably should," I grinned, leaning forward with my elbows on my knees. "So, tell me more about the Hogwarts' books."

"They'll come with your letter," Sirius said blandly.

"I meant the registration books, Sirius."

"Oh… That makes more sense." The animagus scratched his beard thoughtfully as Andromeda sighed.

"What would you like to know, Harry?"

"Just how it works in general. Like if your name's down but you change it, say you take a new last name, would the name in the book change automatically?"

"No, once the Headmaster writes down a candidate that's the name the school knows them as until he changes it manually."

"The name the school knows them as?" I parroted as the woman smirked slightly. "What do you mean by that?"

"Hogwarts is a fortress, usually the wards are always up to protect the children but Dumbledore can bring a few of them down on command."

"Why would he do that?"

"Quidditch, usually," Sirius said. I rolled my eyes but motioned for Andy to go on.

"Hogwarts is mostly automated, the headmaster decides what time classes will be with input from the teachers but the roster for most classes is usually a lottery. That's why Slytherins will be in a class with Gryffindors one year but the next they could be in the exact same class with Hufflepuffs."

"Has that ever happened before?"

"Not often but it's been known to change occasionally. It's pretty constant with Defense, Potions, Herbology, and Transfiguration though."

"Aren't those the four core classes?"

"She didn't mention Astronomy or Charms."

"Because those are luck of the draw most of the time."

"True that," Sirius muttered. "I only took it until my third year but had it with every house."

"I had that same luck in History of Magic."

"Yeah, same problem for me with Ancient Runes." Tonks sighed. "You're taking that class."

"Excuse me?"

"You're taking Ancient Runes. And Arithmancy. History of Magic is useless and, unless you care about Divination, so is Astronomy. Don't get me started on Divination. Oh, and I don't think you'll care too much about magical beasts."

"Dragons are cool." I shrugged. "But that doesn't mean I want to learn how to care for them. Potions should be interesting, even if it kind of sounds like the world's most hellish home-ec class."

"Never thought of it that way…" Dora chuckled as she shook her head ruefully. "Snape makes it feel like a torture session what with his dungeons and all that."

"Speaking of home-ec, is anyone else hungry?" I asked as the three of them looked around at each other and shrugged.

"I could eat." Dora said.

"Starved." Came from Sirius.

"Alright then." I said, standing up. "I'll need some money before I do anything."

"You want to go to Gringotts?" Andromeda asked, her face guarded and her tone cautious.

"No, not particularly… You wouldn't happen to have access to Bellatrix's vault, would you?"

"No…" Andromeda said slowly.

"Damn. I'd have loved to rob it." I sighed, tilting my head back.

"I might be able to get my account manager to get us access…" Sirius said cautiously.

"No! Absolutely not!" Andromeda snapped. "You can't just walk into Gringotts in broad daylight! Someone would recognize you!"

"Not if he was wearing a cloak and a notice me not." I shrugged. "He can take the notice me not off when he gets to the bank or I can explain to any guards that we just don't want other wizards to notice us."

"Goblins don't care about notice me nots. They can see through them," Sirius said. I lifted an eyebrow in surprise. "They pay attention to everything. You can't slip by them."

"Even better," My smile was all teeth. "You two go to Gringotts and they'll never even notice the two idiots in cloaks slip in behind you."

"There are so many ways this can go wrong."

"I know. But do you have a better plan?"

"No." Sirius grumbled as he got to his feet. "Andy?"

"I'll see what I can do," she sighed.

"Kreacher?"

"Yes goodest master Harrys, sirs?" Kreacher croaked as he appeared in front of me.

"Can you bring me two cloaks, as clean as you can get them. Doesn't matter what size, Andromeda can fix that." Kreacher bowed and popped away. Andromeda looked at me with a raised eyebrow, I just shrugged. "What? You were going to conjure something up, right?"

"Yes."

"And is conjuration permanent?"

"No…"

"But alterations are?" I grinned as Kreacher popped back in with a non-descript grey cloak and a drab brown coat. "Thank you, Kreacher. That'll be all."

"Yes, master Harrys, sir." He bowed and popped away again as I pulled the coat on and tossed the cloak to Sirius.

"Look, we really just need to get to the vault. I can get us out of there and back here without much fuss but I really don't want to try to break into Gringotts."

"Yeah, that's a bad idea." Tonks winced with Andromeda while Sirius went pale.

"Definitely," Sirius nodded slowly as he stood up from his place on the couch. "Alright, Andy? Do your thing." Andromeda stood up, drawing her wand as Sirius donned the cloak. It only took a few minutes but soon enough the cloak was hemmed and fitted loosely to Sirius's frame, being just amorphous enough not to give away much in terms of his physique. What little there was, that is.

"Alright, Harry, your turn." Andromeda said. I stood up and nodded.

"Okay. Anything you can do about the jeans?"

"Of course, dear." She smiled gently as she got to work fixing the too long jeans. "Harry, where did you get these?"

"Er… See…" I stammered as I rubbed the back of my head. "The clothes I had kind of got… Uh… Incinerated. Had to scrounge for these."

"Hm… Where did these scorch marks come from, then?" She asked with her arms crossed over her chest as she looked at me sternly. I sighed and held my hands up, letting fire flow over one and lightning coat the other. Andromeda yelped as the electricity crackled like a taser. "What in Merlin's name was that!?" He demanded as I let go of the power.

"Not quite sure of that myself." I shrugged as the two Tonks and Sirius looked at me in disbelief. "Woke up one day and could control fire and lightning. Then I found the animal forms."

"Forms? Plural?" Sirius asked with wide eyes.

"Yeah, two of them," I shrugged. "You've seen the cat, but the other one is…" I transformed into my Eagle form long enough for them to get a look and then changed back to my human form. "That."

"A songbird and a pussy cat?" Sirius scoffed.

"Better than a mangy, flea ridden, mutt."

"Oi!" Sirius protested but then stopped. "You… You remembered?"

"Yeah." I shrugged but internally I was trying not to panic as Sol and Radin raged at the "idiotic dog man that dares insult us!"

"Oh. Good." Sirius smiled as Andromeda turned to her cousin.

"You're an animagus?"

"Yep, went through the process and everything. I didn't cheat like my young godson did."

"I didn't cheat, it just happened." I shrugged again as Sirius gave me a look that said 'yeah, sure you didn't.' "So, Andy, uh… Little help here?" I lifted my hands waggling the sleeves of the coat around limply as the excess flapped from my hands. Andy blinked and then flicked her wand a few times, shortening the sleeves and expanding the hood a little bit so that it would hide my face better. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," she said, smiling weakly as Dora just stared at us blankly through all of it.

"Well…" Dora said as she finally came to her senses. "It doesn't look like life's going to get boring around you, squirt."

"Squirt!? I'm like, six inches shorter than you and still have growing to do!"

"Yeah, yeah, but I'll always be taller." Dora smirked as her body stretched upward, her floor length cloak hitting her knees as she went from five-six to seven flat in less than a second. I glared up at the laughing girl as he returned to her normal height. "Isn't being a metamorph awesome?"

"Stupid shapeshifter," I growled, rolling my eyes as she laughed even harder. "Are we going or not?"

"Calm down, Harry." Andy sighed, flicking her wand over me again. This time it felt like static ran down my spine as she tapped her wand to the top of my head. "There, that should keep eyes off of you. Your turn, Sirius." Andy said as she repeated the actions on the Animagus.

"Erg." Sirius shuddered. "I hate that spell."

"You'll love it today," Andromeda said before she frowned. "Do you have a floo here?"

"Yes but I don't know if I have floo powder." Andy nodded as she walked out of the den with us close behind. "I can apparate, you know."

"Good, because you don't have floo powder." She sighed after looking in a can kept on the mantle. "Get there and get moving."

"Yes ma'am." Sirius saluted her mockingly and Andy just glared at him.

"And don't overdo it. You're still weak even with all the potions I've got you hopped up on."

"I won't, Andy." Sirius sighed as he beckoned for me to join him. "You ever apparated, kid?"

"No, never thought I'd have to." Sirius cracked a smile at the admission while I fidgeted from foot to foot.

"Calm down, Prongslet, you'll be okay." He tried to reassure me as Andromeda took Dora's arm and disappeared with a quiet pop. "Our turn." He said, clapping his hand down on my shoulder.

One second we were in Sirius's living room, the next I felt like I was weightless and had been shot through a mile long straw. Sol and Radin absolutely hated it and they made it utterly clear. I… I'm not going to repeat what they said but needless to say I think it would have sent a ship full of sailors blushing like school girls. Then I was back on my feet with my stomach protesting violently but I managed to stay upright, even if I had turned green.

"You okay kiddo?"

"No. No, I'm not." I shook my head but we were already moving, thankfully not drawing any attention to ourselves. "Let's go." He nodded and led the way until we were in an almost deserted alley with only a handful of people going about their business as quickly as they could. Then I caught sight of Dora's bubblegum pink hair bobbing up the alley beside Andy's black curls. Obviously Sirius saw them too since he sped up, not by much but enough for me to notice.

We rounded a bend only for an enormous praetorium that looked half melted to come into view.

Gringotts.

I'd seen the replica Universal made back home but this? This was something else entirely. The building looked like something that had been plucked right out of the Forum of Rome at its height and then bathed in dragon fire.

And knowing what little I did about the goblins, that probably wasn't too much of a stretch. We hurried to the staircase and mounted it, hurrying up the steps until we were barred by an armoured goblin armed with a halberd.

"Remove the enchantments upon yourselves, wizards."

"We're not hiding from your people, we're hiding from ours," I said brusquely. "Keep us standing out here and we'll have to do something drastic. That wouldn't be good for business." The guard snorted and lifted his spear.

"Welcome to Gringotts, wizard. Lord Black, be about your business and be gone." Sirius looked stunned but I managed to usher him into the bank before the Notice-me-nots collapsed under the strain of scrutiny. We made our way into the bank, walking up to one of the many empty tellers as Sirius pulled his hood back.

"How can Gringotts help you today, Wizard?"

"I need to see account manager Arctos, immediately."

"He's been expecting you. Follow." The Goblin took a little placard from under his station that read 'closed,' and leapt from behind his station but paused when he looked at me. "The boy will have to remain behind."

"I intend to name him my heir."

"As you wish." The Goblin grumbled as he started moving, leading us to a heavy oaken door to one side of the atrium. He pushed the door open and beckoned for us to come through. We did and he shut the door behind us with a solid thud, then he stepped in front of us and led the way again. I glanced over at Sirius after pulling my hood back, lifting an eyebrow as he shook his head. We walked for nearly ten minutes before the goblin sniffed and rapped on an unmarked door.

"Enter!" A gravelly voice thundered from behind the door as our Goblin guide opened the door. We stepped through, nodding to our guide who sniffed and slammed the door shut behind us. The office was large, about twenty feet by twenty feet and ringed with bookshelves, weapons, even a set of armor, but dominating the room was the frankly enormous desk and the absurd amount of file folders behind the largest Goblin I had ever seen. "Sirius Black… Finally dragged yourself out of Ekrizdis' hole, eh?"

"All thanks to my Godson here." Sirius gestured to me with his hand as he smiled ruefully. "My dog form's still a little too large to squeeze through the bars. Maybe in a few more years I'd squeak through them entirely but Harry kept me from having to do that."

"Harry? The Potter Heir?" Arctos rumbled, his sharp brown eyes now examining me. I pushed my fringe up and shrugged.

"I guess. You probably know the whole bullshit about James claiming I died."

"Yes, I did read that edition of the Prophet all those years ago. It was a rather fantastic tale but it appears it was naught but that. Tell me, where did he really hide you away?"

"At my mother's sister's home. I didn't stay there too terribly long, they gave me away when I was three or four."

"Ah… That explains some discrepancies."

"Like what?"

"From 2001 to 2006, James Potter had been sending a hundred galleons per month into the Bank of England. I am privy to those as I am on the board delegating with the muggle bank but James demanded the amount he had put into this account back in full."

"So it took James five years to finally figure out I wasn't where I was supposed to be?"

"Oh yes. He went off on quite the tear, supposedly."

"What'd he do?"

"I am not sure, I do not care for the melodrama House Potter seems so keen to engage with. I am, after all, the Black account manager. Nor do I particularly care for the spectacle your life seems to have devolved into, Lord Black. Sit, both of you, we have things to discuss. I understand you wish to make the Heir Potter your heir, yes?"

"That was the plan."

"You do not wish for offspring of your own?" Sirius shook his head and chuckled darkly.

"I wish I could but I can't."

"Ah, the dementors? Foul beasts, they are. You are certain of this?"

"Last I checked it only took a few months of exposure to… you know. No one else has ever been able to have kids after so long in Azkaban. Maybe one day I'll be the exception but I know I won't. My magic feels… Wrong."

"You have my sympathies. Heir Potter? Do you agree to this?"

"Do I have to do anything?"

"Do you wish to be the Heir Black in full or in name only?"

"What's the difference between the two?"

"To become the Heir Black by blood, you would need to become Sirius Black's son. He would take his blood, add it to a potion, and you would drink. Then you would become the Heir Black. The Ministry requires that for us here at Gringotts to move forward with the procedure in the cases of the old blood adopting another of the old blood whose parents still live that they are apprised of the situation."

"So, basically, James would have to know?"

"Aye." I bit my lip as I thought furiously through everything. Then I had an idea. A grin tugged at my lips as I looked up at the goblin staring at me, as bored as could be.

"Wasn't James' mum a Black? Dorea, right?" Arctos looked only marginally surprised as he narrowed his eyes.

"No, she was not. She was a Noir."

"A what now?"

"The Blacks are the cadet line to the now extinct House of Noir. The Noirs were, at one point, the premier magical family within all of France. They fell to Grindelwald and Voldemort saw to Dorea himself. Though it is impossible to say if Voldemort was aware of her true origins."

"So what does that mean for me?"

"That means that if you were to renounce the name of Potter and all the titles and privileges that go with the name, you would be able to take up the mantle of the Noir in your own right. You would become the de facto Heir to House Black. Should Lord Black perish, the Black title would be brought back under the Noir banner. Or you would be able to select a new heir to Black yourself. You would become the overlord of House Black just by renouncing the name of Potter."

"Would James know?"

"No."

"What would I be giving up?"

"A viscounty, a manor house in Wales, and several hundred thousand galleons."

"What would I gain?"

"A Duchy, several family estates, an island, notoriety among all French Wizards, three artefact vaults, an armoury, and the single largest monetary account Gringotts has ever seen." I blinked as the Goblin ran through the list. "They were the rulers of magical France until Grindelwald brought them to ruin, Heir Potter."

"That's… That's quite impressive…" I muttered, blinking stupidly as I processed it all.

'The gold will help in your quest, Fledgling.'

"Forget not the Horcrux."

"Right. Before I give my answer, I have a question on a different topic."

"If you need time to think, Heir Potter, you will have it."

"Time is money, I can multitask." I said as the Goblin gave a shark like grin. "Before I ask, you're going to need a little backstory. Voldemort didn't come after John that Halloween."

"He came after you."

"Maybe. I'm not sure but it seems likely."

"I thought the man came for James Potter for defying him and when he was found absent killed his family. I believed he or your mother delved into the old magics, blood magics, when the Dark Lord turned his wand on his children. Your mother's body was your shield, her sacrifice your armour."

"That's actually pretty close to the right reason." I blinked as Arctos nodded. "But there was a prophecy."

"Harry…" Sirius said but I held my hand up to him.

"Wind. Prophecy is naught but wind and lies."

"Until they fulfil themselves. Voldemort kicked off the one about us when he came after me. Or my brother, we both fit actually. Huh…" I blinked, 'didn't it go born as the seventh month dies?'

'Aye, fledgling.'

'Interesting…'

"Well, he might actually have come after John considering that he is the younger brother…"

"Heir Potter?"

"Nevermind, I don't know why but Voldy tried to kill me first. Maybe he thought I was John, maybe he was just getting me out of the way before his grand plan of baby murder happened, I don't know. But what I do know is that he didn't die that night."

"What are you saying?"

"He made Horcruxes."

"Horcruxes? More than one? It's never been done before!" The bearlike Goblin growled as he leaned over his desk.

"No, but Tom, loathe as I am to admit it, was utterly brilliant. But the man was terrified to die."

"Tom? Voldemort's name is Tom?"

"Tom Marvolo Riddle." I said as Arctos narrowed his eyes to slits.

"Aye… I've dealt with that man before. I was a junior account manager and handled his ancestry test myself. The Gaunt boy, eh? So that skinny bastard became the Dark Lord?"

"Yeah, found himself a fancy anagram out of his name too." I shook my head as I asked Radin if he could do something for me. I felt heat thrum through my body and into my hands as I swept them through the air.

"I don't know how you're doing this, Heir Potter, but you will never do it in my presence again." The Goblin growled as he stared at the name hovering in mid air. I nodded and then rearranged the letters. "I am Lord Voldemort? Lazy." Arctos spat as I released my hold on the fire. "You mentioned Horcruxes. What are the receptacles?"

"So far I've destroyed a ring and a locket, I know for sure that he made a diadem, a diary, and a cup too. I think he wanted to make one when he killed me (or John) so he could shoot for seven parts of a soul."

"Including his own."

"Yeah. But he fucked up." I sighed, taking off my hat and pulling up my fringe to reveal the scar.

"He made a human into a horcrux?"

"No, I wasn't a horcrux, not a true one at least." Sirius gasped. "Part of his soul was lodged up there but he had something else prepared to be the soul vessel… He was going to kill me or John and then shove part of his soul into whatever it was but he never killed me. He killed Lily though so his soul had already fractured."

"And in the backlash, the loosened soul shard attached itself to the closest vessel."

"Me."

"Merlin…" Sirius muttered as he stared at me in horror.

"Like I've already told you, it's no big deal anymore, Sirius. That was destroyed too."

"Was it?"

"Oh yeah, dying tends to do things like that."

"You've died, boy?"

"Yeah, death took the psuedo-horcrux instead of my soul. I got a second chance. Don't recommend you try it though."

"I quite agree…" Arctos nodded before he was back to all business. "Where are the diadem, diary, and cup located?"

"The Diadem is at Hogwarts, I'll get it when I start attending. The Diary'll be a bit harder to get."

"Why?"

"It's in Lucius Malfoy's possession."

"Damn… And the Cup?"

"Beneath our feet in the Lestrange Vault."

"WHAT!?" Arctos roared, slamming his palms on the table as he stood up violently. "You mean to tell me one of those abominations is in this bank and no one knew!?"

"Bellatrix did, she's the one who put it there."

"Then her life is forfeit, as are her vaults. She signed the contract of ownership when she first deposited gold into that vault."

"There are terms and conditions to own a vault?"

"Aye, you'd not believe how many wizards scribble their name without reading the contract." Arctos grumbled as he stumped around his desk and threw the door open. There was a goblin in full armour standing there and Arctos spat something incoherent at him in their tongue, the guard saluted and sprinted away when Arctos was finished with his tirade. "The Noir conditions are particularly favourable to you, Heir Potter, with no forfeiture of life should you or yours violate these terms. Would you like to read them?"

"Yes." I nodded instantly as Sirius coughed into his hand.

"Er… Could I get the one for the Black vaults?" Arctos grinned viciously as he turned around to the wall of filing cabinets behind him and dug into one on the top right. He pulled out two manilla folders and handed them over to each of us.

"Please, read. I am afraid it will be a few hours until the guards return." I cocked my eyebrow but cracked open the folder. By the second line my eyebrows were already in my hairline as I read the ridiculously small font.

"Er… You wouldn't happen to have a magnifying glass I could use, would you?" Sirius asked as the Goblin gave a grin that was all teeth.

"Why of course… For a price." Sirius sighed as I read on, thankful for my Thunderbird augmented sight. Now, if only I could get a dictionary too…

"And that's another one down." I smirked as I took the golden cup from the desk. "Only two left."

"Three. Do not forget his soul itself, Heir Potter."

"Right… Right… Keep an eye out. If there's any time he'd make a comeback, it's now."

"Why's that?"

"Because the greatest symbols of his defeat are about to go to his beloved school. He has just enough flair for the dramatic that he'll try and stage his great comeback to destroy us when we're just boys. Probably wants to string us up on a gibbet on the front steps of the castle, now that I think about it."

"That does suit the Dark Lord's character." Arctos grunted, agreeing but not liking it one bit. "If he comes we will be sure to capture him."

"You know what he'd want more than that, don't you?" I said, nodding to the cup sitting on the desk innocently once again.

"Aye, I know. How you know is beyond me but I will not question it." Arctos sighed. "Have you come to your decision?"

"Yeah, I have."

"And what have you decided?"

"I want to be the Noir. James is the Lord Potter right now but I need to be a Lord too."

"Why?"

"A lordship means freedom. I'll play stupid if James ever finds me and comes knocking but I haven't been a kid in a long time, Arctos."

"No, you have not. You are a strange boy, Harry, a strange boy indeed. Do you give up your right to be Lord of Potter? Do you denounce your claim here and now?"

"I do."

"Do you claim the legacy of your grandmother? Do you claim the mantle upheld by Dorea of House Noir?"

"I do." I said quietly as Arctos grinned toothily.

"Good. Now, repeat after me. I, state your name."

"I, Harry James Potter."

"Do give up my name." Magic started to swirl around us, ruffling my hair as I repeated what Arctos said. The old Goblin looked determined and Sirius looked surprised as the wind pulled at our hair harder.

"The right to any titles."

"Privileges."

"And honour of the Potters." The room was starting to get warmer and I could tell the other occupants were feeling it too.

"From this day."

"I give up my name." The sound of a gong rang in the room but Arctos wasn't finished.

"My claims."

"My father's birthright." The gong sounded again as the magic in the room seemed to speed up.

"And the name I was given."

"To take the name."

"Of my grandmother."

"Her legacy is my legacy."

"From this day."

"Until my last."

"So be it."

"So be it." I said as light flashed in the room and the gong rang for a third time, clearer than both times before. Pain erupted in my stomach, forcing me over double. My skin felt like it rippled and then felt like it had ripped itself off my body before reattaching itself. My face felt… Different. My cheekbones in particular felt a bit higher, more prominent when I ran my fingers over them.

Then the pain disappeared, letting me breathe again. I sucked in a ragged lungful as I fell to my hands and knees, panting heavily as I felt sweat pour down my spine.

"Congratulations, Lord Noir." Arctos said. I looked up and his smile grew even wider. "It was a complete success."

"Huh… Cool." I said as I flopped back in my chair, still panting from the pain. "So what does this mean?"

"In the eyes of the Ministry of Magic, you are now emancipated as a Lord of your family. You're eligible to sit on the Wizengamot as the Duke of Noir."

"Duke?"

"A purely ceremonial title as of now, thanks to the Statute of Secrecy." The Goblin shrugged. "The French Ministry of Magic now has full control over its citizens but the true magical aristocracy died in 1689 as magicians could not be revealed to the muggles."

"Right, right." I sighed, running a hand down my face again. I frowned as I noticed a few small differences though. "Did my face change?"

"Slightly. Your cheekbones are slightly more pronounced-"

"I noticed that."

"And your lips are fuller while your eye shape has changed slightly. You could pass as either a son of James Potter or as a Noir on your own right now."

"Good." I grinned as the Goblin did too.

"Your card for use in the muggle world will be owled to you within a week, other than that I believe our business is concluded, Lord Black, Lord Noir. Will there be anything else?"

"Voldemort?"

"The wards are already being adjusted to scan a body-soul discrepancy. If there are more souls than bodies within the bank, they will tell us if Voldemort is here and we will capture him."

"Let me know if you do, will you? I'll have to get his last Horcrux from Hogwarts before term so we can go ahead and kill the bastard."

"Of course, Lord Noir. Will you need to be present to see the prophecy fulfilled?"

"Screw the prophecy." I shrugged. "As far as I'm concerned, you can experiment on the bastard without anyone being the wiser. An immortal plaything." The Goblin's lip curved up into a dangerous grin.

"Oh, Lord Noir, you would make a good Goblin."

"Remind me not to piss you guys off then."

"I'd never dream of it." The Goblin smirked. "Would you like to see your vault?"

"That'd be great. If you can get someone to take us down, I can get us out."

"Oh?"

"Don't worry, Arctos, it's unique to me." I grinned as I tried to do the same thing with Sol's power that I did with Radin's. I think it worked because the Goblin stared at me nervously.

"Indeed it is. Very well, if you step outside there will be a Goblin ready to take you down. Good day."

"Good day. Oh, and take your going rate from my vault for today's session and triple it. You've been a great help."

"Harry!" Sirius almost choked as Arctos grinned.

"Do not worry, Lord Black, Lord Noir could buy a small country with his family fortune. My rate is mere kunts compared to that, mayhaps not even that. It will be done."

"Good. See you around, Arctos."

"Indeed, Lord Noir, I do believe you shall."