Chapter 8

Almost a week had passed and Harry was at the desk in his bedroom. Hedwig rested on her perch watching him write a letter. Harry smiled at the lovely snowy owl as he applied the wax seal to the letter and stood.

"Let's see what's going on with Hermione, girl. I haven't heard from her since school." Harry said, stroking the owl's chest. "I've asked her to visit for my birthday and told her there were some things I want to talk to her about. It should be a quick trip. Wait a bit to see if she has a reply, won't you?"

She trilled and took off into the mid-morning sky.

Harry watched her fly over the grove before allowing himself to become distracted by the black dog running around in the garden. That reminded him; if he wanted to become an animagus, he'd need tutoring so he hurried off to join his dogfather in the garden. When he arrived at the section of garden where he'd spotted Sirius, he laughed so hard he needed to support himself against the nearest tree.

Padfoot was standing on Remus' chest licking his face. Remus was laughing as he tried to fend the canine off.

Just as Harry was beginning to catch his breath, he was tackled to the ground by the same rambunctious dog. "Padfoot! No! I came to talk to you, not to play!" Harry laughed.

Sirius transformed right there with his nose touching Harry's.

"Gah!" Harry shouted and pushed the older man off.

Still laughing, Sirius stood up and reached out to help his godson up as well. "What can I help you with, pup?"

"I want to study to become an animagus." Harry reminded them. "What does that entail? Is there a particular time of year? Is it just a spell? What kind of process are we talking about?"

"Ok, well," Sirius led the way to a bench where they all sat down. "Astrology has nothing to do with it so there's no specific time of year to wait for, but there is a spell and a potion."

"Your dad and Sirius complained afterward that they wished they did it in the early summer though since the school year made the process feel hectic and rushed." Remus smiled remembering.

"Sirius?" Harry smirked.

He held up his hands, chuckling. "It was the best thing I've ever done in my life - clearly - but it was bloody difficult keeping a mandrake leaf in my mouth for an entire month and hiding it from Minnie!"

Harry choked. "Minnie?"

"Minerva McGonagall was our professor too, Harry." Remus told him.

"I know. I'm just shocked you call her 'Minne'!" Harry was wide eyed.

"Not to her face!" Sirius replied in a scandalized tone. "Anyway, mandrake leaves aren't very tasty, Harry." He paused to chuckle at his godson's expression. "Nor do they smell very good. So trying to take our classes and speak with teachers and play quidditch with a mandrake leaf in your mouth is difficult, to say the least."

Harry sighed. "I suppose it'll have to wait until next summer then."

"You can still read up on the process and prepare yourself for it. I'll pull some books out of the library that will help." Sirius told him encouragingly.

Harry grinned at his godfather and nodded once to let the older man know he appreciated his help. "I didn't get a chance to tell you as it just happened first thing this morning... I received a letter from the queen's solicitor. Seems he was informed as soon as I expressed my intention to accept the Earl-dom. Someone from his office will be there to witness the event and help me sign paperwork."

Remus and Sirius only nodded to show their acceptance before the werewolf pulled a newspaper from his pocket. "Have a look at today's headlines, Harry. As a lord of the realms you'll need to know what is happening in the world."

"You should also know if anything is said about you or your allies." Sirius pointed out.

Harry took the Daily Prophet from Remus' hand and unfolded it to see the whole front page. "Boy Who Lived..." Harry trailed off as it morphed into Boy Who Lies. "They're saying I lied about Voldemort."

"Fudge is afraid and he's ruled by his fears, Harry." Remus said grimly. "His plan seems to be discrediting you and those who appear to be your allies. Keep going."

"Dumbledore: Daft or Dangerous." Harry read aloud the caption for the top picture. "Dark Secrets revealed."

"Yes. He's also been demoted from his post as Chief Wizard of the Wizengamut. That is today's paper. I picked it up while I was out this morning. You can read that later - the next bit is more important." Remus said as he pulled another couple of newspapers out of a different pocket. "After reading that, I recalled what we talked about in the infirmary after young Malfoy's visit so I went into the Ministry's library and searched the archives for references to any possible rumours around Dumbledore near the end of the war with Grindlewald."

"That's the reason Dumbledore is so famous isn't it?" Harry asked as he reached for them but Remus held it back to give Harry a bit of background information. Harry huffed but continued his thought. "He dueled Grindlewald and won, right?"

"It's only one of the reasons he's famous, Harry." Remus glanced at Sirius. "He also..."

Harry held up a hand and nodded with a smirk. "I have the chocolate frog card, Moony."

"Alright here, then." Remus chuckled but nodded as he handed the first paper over. "This first one is dated just a month after he dueled Grindlewald and won."

The paper in his hands looked fairly old so he checked the date. "Nineteen forty-five?" Harry looked up at Remus. "Hero Missing! Safe at Hogwarts or Kidnapped?"

"Now this all happened before your parents and I were born, so I only know this from history books." Remus nodded again. "But apparently, Albus was asked to escort the man to the prison cell he'd been sentenced to occupy for the rest of his life. When he returned to England, he reported to the Ministry and then, although he was supposed to return to his professorship at Hogwarts, he disappeared for a number of weeks."

"So his students didn't see him at all?" Harry frowned. "His fellow teachers? What about any family?"

"No family to speak of. He'd been estranged from his brother for years." Sirius explained. "His mother and sister had been killed in unrelated freak accidents, several years apart, just after he graduated Hogwarts. His father was in Azkaban for the murder of three muggles."

Harry couldn't make sense of it. "So nobody knew where he was. Not even friends..." He trailed off as he saw that a man known as Elphias Doge, Dumbledore's good friend and confidant, gave a statement to exactly that effect.

"Until, three weeks later." Remus interjected as he revealed the next newspaper.

"Dumbledore to Receive Honors." Harry read softly. "Rested, recuperated and returned to us, heroic professor from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Albus Percival Wolfric Brian Dumbledore, to become newest honoree of the Order of Merlin, first class."

"He's quoted as saying that he'd been nursing a minor injury taken in the battle with Grindlewald and cast wards to repel mail." Remus leaned forward to point out the section.

Harry frowned. "Yeah, he's good at those."

He and his uncles sat quietly just thinking about this development.

"Did the original article about Grindlewald's defeat mention any injuries?" Harry wondered.

"I'm not certain, Harry." Remus shrugged. "I asked the archivist for the first mention of Dumbledore after the duel."

"If you get a chance to go back, I'd like to know that, please." Harry murmured absently. "Thanks for bringing these. I need to... I need to think. I'll see you later."

Just as he reached the door, Ziva popped into the room. "Master Harry? You's owl has returned."

"Thanks, Ziva." Harry smiled and hurried up to his room, eager to see Hermione's response but when he reached the desk, he wasn't met with a letter from his friend but one from his estate manager instead. He frowned and opened it to find that Korlag had contacted his closest living magical relatives from both the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff lines. They would be witnessing his acceptance of the title.

The hand holding the letter slowly lowered to rest on the desk. It had been explained to him that he was the eldest living male descendant of each of the four founders. The others were related as Ron's family were, through the founder's sibling, and that is why the others couldn't claim the individual baronies, which would diminish Harry's title - besides that, they were younger than him by a few months to a year.

Harry suddenly regretted not asking for their names but knew he'd find out who they were soon enough so he moved on to more important things. His mind was racing and he was overwhelmed by the conflicting information. He sighed and tried to calm his chaotic thoughts.

Hermione was so much better at dealing with information than him. He wished she was here right now. She could probably explain the logic behind all the recent events. Hermione had a knack for research and there was so much he needed to know. She'd left things off in June by wishing him a good summer. She'd hugged him. Something was clearly holding her back from replying today but she was her own person and could usually take care of herself. She was also friends with Ginny so hopefully they'd be in contact with one another and the Weasleys would tell her something or at least get her to write to him for details. She needed to know something was up with Dumbledore.

He wasn't the man everyone thought he was and the wizarding world needed to be told. The general public knew him as an oddly sweet, doddering old man who'd once been a brave champion that fought a terrible dark wizard for the best interests of all magical folk everywhere, earning a variety of honors including the Order of Merlin, first class. To them he was the smart and talented wizard who discovered twelve uses of dragon's blood and then teamed up with a notable alchemist to create the philosopher's stone, and he was that man...

However...

He was also the man who'd put that stone to use as bait for a psycho in a school full of innocent children. He was also the man who'd made Harry participate in a barbaric tournament that could've killed him when he was just fourteen. Now to find out that his misdeeds went much further back in time than Harry could have expected was just too much. The man would pay. Somehow he would pay for his crimes.

Speaking of crimes, his godfather had endured a great miscarriage of justice and the ministry needed to make up for the horrendous wrong they'd committed against a lord of the magical realm. He could hardly believe that Barty Crouch Sr. had thrown a Lord into Azkaban. Then he realized that at the time Sirius had only been a lord's heir but his father's title should've warranted a trial for him at least.

The title... Harry had had responsibilities before but he'd be a lord now. He'd have people relying on him more. He'd need to think before he spoke, not to mention before he acted. He allowed his mind to think about everything he knew about the nobility in the British aristocracy. The closest he could come was to recall that they conduct themselves with calm dignity and cool self control in public and avoid scandal when possible. They were known to be friendly and to show amiability to people who were close to them but, for the most part, they remain fairly aloof. He was pretty sure he could do most of that. He'd have to try if he wanted to do justice to this honor.

He'd had several titles since his return to the wizarding world and each one had given him a differing degree of discomfort, not to mention scandal. The title of 'Boy Who Lived' was not the most absurd but it was certainly the most well known. While not technically a title, he'd been declared the youngest seeker in a century at Hogwarts. Heir of Slytherin was no longer incorrect as the parseltongued founder had only two daughters and Harry was descended from the eldest daughter's only child - the one nobody had known about as she hadn't ever married before her passing. Most recently, he was even one of the two Hogwarts students who shared the title of Tri-wizard Champion. The memory of Rita Skeeter's articles on that topic flashed through his mind.

None of those titles had been as imbued with the kind of responsibility that an earl had to shoulder. Recent times had diminished the amount of duties officially required of an earl but it commanded a certain level of respect and Harry's view of it was that he would treat everyone with respect until they proved themselves unworthy of it. This thought brought to mind the Malfoy heir because Harry had recently reevaluated the other boy's standing in that regard.

When they'd first met, Harry had been put off by Malfoy's attitude about the house system at Hogwarts. Not only had he been arrogant and condescending, but then he'd proceeded to make fun of Hagrid - the only magical person Harry had ever met - the only person in recent memory who'd ever been kind to him. Their second meeting hadn't gone any better because Draco had offended Ron Weasley - the second friend Harry had ever had. Harry's opinion of Malfoy had only gone downhill from there and he never thought it would rebound but due to the night of the third task of the tournament, Harry was considering clearing the slate between them.

Feeling an uncomfortable ache in his belly, Harry glanced at the clock and called for a tray of fruit and cheese.

"Would Master Harry like to eat his lunch with the others?" Ziva inquired.

"Not today, Ziva. Thank you." Harry sighed and as she left his thoughts turned back to the family of blondes.

As he munched on his snack, Harry allowed his eyes to wander into the garden and then the horizon in the Malfoys direction. That family had always been a bit mysterious but the addition of this summer's events gave them more depth. He bit his lip and pulled a sheet of parchment from the correct drawer of his desk. Quickly, he wrote down what Luna had said to him back in June. Below that he wrote his interpretation of it.

Draco would be a good ally and a wise teacher so he - Harry - should seek to heal the wounds and misunderstandings between them because fearing the teacher would close him off from whatever he was supposed to learn and his heart needed to be open to Draco's wisdom...

Harry paused as he reread the last sentence of Luna's words. She'd said that he needed to open his heart to the wisdom and love of the dragons. What kind of love could Draco have to teach him? He already had a love of learning and a love of flying. He loved magic and his family... the family that acknowledged and loved him back, anyway. He couldn't imagine something that was missing so he merely added the word love with a question mark.

Next, Harry wrote the goblin prophecy about the founders' houses combining into one heir before once again interpreting it in his own words. It sounded quite ominous. The Gryffindor and Slytherin bloodlines combined first. A generation later, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff combined their bloodlines. Then, for a couple hundred years, they never converged but suddenly both heirs are born and come together at Hogwarts in the same house and the same year. Harry surmised that the prophecy meant that his parents' marriage enlarged the family. The bloodline, and therefore the magic, was multiplied but where the number ten had come into play, he couldn't say.

"Harry?" Remus called from the doorway.

Startled, the younger man looked up.

"Ron's at the floo." Remus told him calmly.

"I'll be right there." Harry replied as he straightened his notes and set the quill aside.

He was not looking forward to this conversation but he knew he would regret it if it went badly. He reached the floo room and was surprised to find his friend standing there rather than his head in the fire. "Hey."

"Hey." Ron replied tersely. "Look I'm still not happy about all this but I reckon I should've given you a chance to explain your plans before giving you a hard time. Sorry."

Harry sighed but nodded his acceptance.

"Look something's going on with Hermione. I haven't heard from her in weeks and then I wrote her about our tiff and all her reply said was that Dumbledore had told her it was best for us all to remain inky muni cado - or something like that - during this summer and I was not allowed to write to either of you." Ron ranted in a low tone. "I dunno what to make of it. Even Ginny's been turned away."

Harry frowned. "I didn't receive a reply of any kind. I guess Dumbledore has her loyalty... at least until we can talk to her and convince her otherwise."

"So..." Ron began. "Your birthday..."

"Yes...My birthday..." Harry set his teeth in anticipation of a fight.

"Mum's invited some people round for it. After the title thing." Ron mumbled. "I know we're not really getting along right now but..."

The tension in Harry's shoulders drained. "I'd hate to disappoint her..."

"I'll tell her it's on." Ron said gruffly, turning away.

Harry watched the redhead leave with a sigh, not understanding how he and his friends had grown so far apart in such a short time.

Luna had said Ron would get over it after the start of term. Hopefully she was right but she was so 'out there' that Harry didn't want to hold his breath. What he did want was to get his mind off of his issues with his friends and onto more life altering subjects.

His health had improved but he felt like it could get better. His summer homework had seemed less challenging than last year's and that could be explained by the magical blocks being removed but he felt that he might benefit from going over the textbooks from earlier years.

As Harry strolled the halls of Potter Grove, he made a decision. He would write to Olgok for advice on his health but, in the meantime, Harry would remake himself. Dumbledore had tried to mold him a certain way but he didn't fit that mold so he'd have to break it and make a new one.

His room had a large empty wall and as soon as he reached it, Harry summoned a piece of parchment, enlarged it and used a sticking charm to place it on the wall. There he laid out his plan. For each day of the following week he would review his old textbooks - one subject per day except for potions which would need two days since it was the one that gave him the most trouble. That settled, Harry sat down to write the goblin healer.

By dinnertime Harry held the reply recommending regular exercise and the recipe for the potion he'd been given at Gringotts.

"Ziva?" Harry called.

The elf appeared with a smile. "Good evening, Master Harry."

"How's everything today, Ziva?" He asked lightly and once he was assured that the household was in order, he asked his question. "I need some ingredients for a health boosting potion. Do we have any of the ones listed here on the property?"

Ziva looked over the list and became excited. "Oh, yes! Master Harry, we has almost everything on your list!"

Harry grinned at her. "Great! What are we missing? I'll ask Remus to make a trip."

"Only the ginseng and guava are missing from the Grove, Master Harry." Ziva told him. "Carrots, echinacea, kale and spinach are in the gardens! Licorice root is in the pantry."

"Wonderful. Thank you." Harry turned to leave but couldn't take a step because Ziva had popped into his path.

"Master Harry?"

He frowned at her in confusion but replied with a softly questioning hum.

"Why is Master needing such a potion?" Ziva asked in a voice that sounded both sad and hesitant.

Harry sighed. "When my parents were killed, I was placed with my mother's sister's family and they weren't kind to me...but I was also given potions that suppressed my ability to grow properly... suppressed my strength magically and bodily. Now I'm about to be fifteen and I'm just catching up. This potion was given to me by the goblin healer at the bank."

Ziva was quiet for a moment. "Goblin healer says Master must exercise to build muscle. Master can walk or run the trail that goes through the grove - Bisbee guide you. Master can swim in the pool in the southeast corner of the property - Tilly show you. Master can fly on a broom." Each sentence was punctuated by a decisive nod of her head before the little being popped away.

Oddly touched, Harry made his way to dinner where he filled his companions in on the news. Remus was only too happy to pick up Harry's ingredients and promised to do so the next day. Sirius offered to keep him company during his exercise routine and Harry accepted with the provision that Dudley join in too. He wanted to be sure Dudley could escape a dangerous situation if necessary.

As the days went by, Harry felt stronger and healthier than he ever had before. Having gone over the textbooks from his previous school years, the young lord felt like he'd retained more information this time around and was ready to go back to Hogwarts, but first he had to claim his title. Before he knew it, he was getting dressed in his formal dress robes while Sirius watched.

"What's going to happen?" Harry asked his godfather as he fumbled with his tie.

Sirius sympathetically stood and took it from him. He arranged the tie correctly and then hugged the fifteen year old. "I saw my father accept his title so I can actually answer that. You'll stand on a special stone platform and sirens will sing as you speak vows while doing cartwheels and perform a spell three times before signing papers that will be submitted to the Ministry in septuplicate. Then a phoenix appears and gives you a kiss. Then you can finally leave the room as Lord Potter."

Harry chuckled. "So it's just a simple procedure then?"

Sirius gave up his overly serious act and grinned. "I was only completely serious about the paperwork. We'll go into the office and you'll sign a bunch of papers. Korlag will oversee everything and someone from the queen's solicitor's office will have another few papers to sign and then it's finally official."

"Alright." Harry replied calmly before calling Ziva. "We're leaving tomorrow. Please pack my trunk for the trip." Once that was handled, Harry took a deep breath and as he let it out, he said, "Let's do this."

"Korlag sent a portkey." Remus commented from the doorway. Dudley stood solemnly beside him in a muggle suit. "Siri, you can join us. It'll land in a private room and you can change there."

"Alright." The animagus nodded and reached out to accept his portion of the portkey.

The others all took hold of the gold colored rope so Harry could say the password. "Galleon."

And off they went, yanked by their navels to Diagon Alley in London.

Sirius transformed into Snuffles and stood next to Harry while Remus and Dudley took up flanking positions a step behind them. As the group approached the door, it opened to reveal Korlag.

"Wonderful to see you, Lord Potter." Korlag's grin was wide and toothy. "Your relatives are here as is the queen's representative. We're ready when you are."

Harry nodded once and followed his estate manager into the other room where he was surprised to see three familiar faces beyond the Weasley family whom he'd been expecting. Luna Lovegood stood between her father and Ginny. Zacharias Smith stood beside an older man who could only be his father because they looked so much alike.

Harry greeted everyone with a small smile.

"Lord Potter, I believe you know some of these people, but please, allow me to introduce them. The Weasley family are your cousins via Godric Gryffindor's sister. Ms. Luna Lovegood and Mr. Zacharias Smith are descended from your thrice great grandmother's brothers who were each given a name to continue." Korlag paused to allow Harry to absorb this news and from what he already knew of her that meant she was related through her mother because otherwise Draco would be here too. "Ms. Lovegood's family is keeper of the Ravenclaw name while Mr. Smith is keeper of the Hufflepuff name. His father has escorted him."

Luna was grinning the whole time and, when Harry approached her, she bypassed his handshake offer to give him a big hug. He chuckled but hugged her back before turning to face the Smiths. "Hello. It's nice to meet you."

"Most would assume I'm related via my father's side of the family." Zacharias said as they shook hands. "They're wrong, of course. It's actually my mother that is from the Hufflepuff line. I'm the first male Hufflepuff descendant since your ancestor's brothers. That's why I didn't get to the title first - your branch of the tree is shorter than mine."

Harry nodded politely but felt quite awkward about the encounter as he turned to face Korlag and a woman who looked to be in her mid-twenties. She was tall but only because of the red high heels she was wearing. Her black pencil skirt fell just below her knees and the high neckline of her white blouse was accented with a short ruffle while her mushroom brown hair was arranged in a bun at the nape of her neck.

"This is Ms. Reese Silverling." Korlag told him. "She's the queen's representative for this proceeding."

Harry took the woman's hand and filed her name in his mind as he gave it a light kiss.

She pursed her lips and sniffed as they moved behind Korlag's desk. Harry sat and was handed a sheaf of paper. "Sign here, here, and there." She pointed to a line on the second page with an x then turned to the third and fifth pages in rapid succession.

Harry politely followed directions and was soon handed another sheaf of papers.

"Sign at the bottom of each page and initial where the exes are shown." She instructed tersely. As soon as Harry had finished she put one more page in front of him and pointed. "Sign here, initial here, here and here, then sign on the bottom of the reverse side. It is already dated and signed by Her Majesty for expediency."

"You must place your seal beside your final signature, Lord Potter. Then we can move on to the Ministry's paperwork." Korlag informed him.

Harry nodded, solemnly suppressing a sigh and carefully avoiding Snuffles' gaze because he'd rather be standing on the stone slab listening to sirens sing while cartwheeling and spellcasting and waiting for the phoenix to come and kiss him.

Harry's hand was cramping by the time he finished affixing his seal to the last form.

"You are now, officially, Lord Harry Potter, Earl of Inverness." Korlag grinned at him. "I'd like to be the first to congratulate you, Lord Potter."

Harry smiled at him with genuine gratitude.

"Everyone is welcome to join us at the Burrow for a proper celebration of Harry's birthday as well as his title!" Molly's voice shook with emotion as she announced her invitation.

"I'm afraid I have a few other matters to address with Lord Potter before he may celebrate, Mrs. Weasley." Ms. Silverling said boldly.

Harry smiled at Molly and promised to be there as soon as possible. Snuffles pressed against Harry's leg. Remus and Dudley also stayed with him as the elder Smith declined the invitation but Zacharias joined the rest for their portkey to Ottery St. Catchpole.

Once the others were gone, Harry faced the queen's representative. "How may I help you, Ms. Silverling?"

"We've conducted an extensive background check before deciding to allow this title to be conferred, Lord Potter." She spoke calmly. "We spoke with your aunts and uncle, their neighbors on Privet drive, former and current teachers."

Harry frowned. "I only have one aunt."

"I spoke personally to all three of your relatives, Lord Potter. There is Petunia and Vernon Dursley...and Margaret Dursley." She spoke as if their names tasted badly on her tongue.

"I see where you've gotten confused." Harry said kindly. "Petunia is my mother's sister. I'm not related to Margaret Dursley at all."

Silverling's eyebrow rose slightly. "I see. We shall toss her entire interview but there's still the issue of Dudley Dursley's kidnapping."

Harry laughed outright. "I didn't kidnap him. They kicked me out of the house and he decided to come along. He's right there."

They were led to the sitting area of Korlag's office where they both retold the story of the dementor attack and Harry getting booted from the Dursley house as well as Dudley's insistence on going with him.

"I see. You have memories to back that up, I assume." Silverling blinked rapidly as she took in all the lies she'd been told.

"I do indeed." Harry saw his opportunity and took it, quickly hiking up the right sleeve of his dress robe to reveal the newest scar received at Voldemort's hand. "Perhaps giving memories might clear up some other matters as well."

"Look... You've been awfully upfront about everything with me..." Silverling's eyebrow rose slightly in surprise as she flicked her eyes over the young lord's lower right forearm. "I might have some useful contacts at the ministry. They'll be in touch."

"Do you mind if we ask why you're helping us?" Remus asked skeptically as they all stood.

"It's the right thing to do." Silverling said, smoothing her skirt. "You're being truthful with me. It's only fair that I do the same. Do you know muggle card games?"

Harry hesitantly nodded.

"Good." Silverling smirked at them. "Lord Potter, life has dealt you a tragic hand. You're doing your best to play it but, without an ace or a wild card, you're sunk. As a former Gryffindor with a particular Hufflepuff cousin, I'm a big believer in honesty and fair play. My contacts might not be able to hand you the ace but hopefully they can slip you a wild card." She held out her hand and waited for him to take it. "Oh, I'll also send along the appropriate paperwork that will allow Mr. Dursley to separate himself from his parents, but there are several requirements that must be fulfilled before your estate can claim him in his squib status as an acquired member."

"Understood. Please send me the details and I'll take care of it in short order." Harry smiled at her. "It was nice meeting you, Ms. Silverling."

She gave a perfunctory nod and walked out leaving Harry with the distinct impression that she had better things to do with her time.

Harry looked at Dudley and began to laugh because his cousin's expression was one of absolute bewilderment.

"Why would Mum and Dad tell her I was kidnapped?" Dudley asked, his face twisted in confusion.

"Think about it, Dudley." Harry sobered as he realized the other boy wasn't just acting. "It was probably the story they told Marge to avoid telling her the truth so they told Silverling to keep it going."

"What do you mean, Harry?" Sirius was suddenly sitting on the couch next to him in human form.

"Petunia had to come up with a story to explain me and my situation and why she and Vernon took me in." Harry sighed trying to work up the nerve to finish the story because talking about the emotional abuse he'd received throughout his childhood was never pleasant. "See, while she and Vernon dated she never talked about Mum - other than that she existed anyway. When I showed up...the way I did... She came out with the whole story to Vernon and they resolved to never let me know anything about magic. I wasn't allowed to believe in it or even say the word... until my eleventh birthday when the letters came." Harry paused to organize his thoughts. "Marge is a muggle and we couldn't tell her about the magical world if she didn't already know so they told her my name and my relation to Petunia but since neither of my parents had a job in the muggle world..." Harry glanced at Dudley who'd fallen silent and was visibly ashamed of himself and his past actions.

"My parents told Marge that Harry's mum and dad were unemployed drunks that died in a car crash." Dudley said quietly. "They said Harry was in the crash too and that's where his scar came from. Harry, I..."

"I know, Dudley." Harry steeled himself and shook his head. "I know."

Sirius' eyes flashed with anger but he and Remus stayed quietly seething.

"To explain my going off to school every September, they told her I was attending St. Brutus' Secure Center for Incurably Criminal Boys and, because I was the child of two people who endangered their child by driving drunk, she bought it hook, line, and sinker." Harry finished the horrible tale with a touch of bitterness. When nobody said anything he lifted his gaze to find that Remus' eyes were focused on the torch sconce on the wall nearby.

It was not a calm flame as it had been when they'd sat down but angry and spitting.

Sirius was looking around whispering in wonder. "I could've sworn I heard thunder."

Korlag looked troubled. "Lord Potter, have you tried to practice with wandless magic?"

"Not since our last meeting." Harry told him as he stood. "The Weasleys are waiting on us. We should be going."

"Please try again." Korlag suggested as he led Harry and the rest of his party back to the room they'd arrived at. "Your bloodline has more than enough potential for it and it could come in handy in a moment of need."

Harry considered this as his companions filed past him. "I suppose it could also help with the magical side effects of these emotional outbursts."

"That was something he did?" Sirius asked Korlag.

"Not exactly, Lord Black. Accidental magic is still happening every once in a while for Lord Potter because of the interference of the potions and spells he was under during his childhood." Korag explained. "Olgok suggested during our last meeting that he try wandless magic as a means to gain more control of it but it appears he was busy with other things."

Harry's cheeks flushed slightly. "Between exercising and going through the textbooks from the last four years of school, I did sort of get distracted. I also looked up lordships so I'd be prepared for this, and I want to become an animagus so I did some research on that."

"Well, perhaps you'll have some time in the next few weeks to look into it." Korlag grinned at the young lord, secretly proud of him. "It is my understanding that the founders of Hogwarts could all perform magic wandlessly but Slytherin and Ravenclaw were most proficient."

Harry smirked. "So it comes from both sides."

"It was said that Merlin learned wandless magic from Slytherin himself." Remus told the group.

Harry smiled thinking about how cool that was. "Come on. Molly's going to be upset with us for keeping them waiting! I will try it, Korlag."

The goblin watched until they left.