Sib
by Roff
CHAPTER THREE
On the day of the will reading, Dobby took Harry under his invisibility cloak to Diagon Alley. As Dobby left with instructions that Harry would call him when he was done, Harry slowly made his way to Gringotts avoiding people as he went. When he arrived in front of the doors to the bank with the goblin guards on duty, Harry lifted the hood on the cloak so they could see his face. They nodded and he passed on through, removing his cloak as soon as he was in the door.
Once inside, Harry stuffed his cloak in an expanded pocket as he went to an open teller and presented his letter. The goblin had him sit and wait for someone to come and collect him for the will reading. Some customers in the bank noticed he was there but said nothing to him. After a couple of minutes, Harry saw a very scarred goblin standing in front of him.
"Mr. Potter?"
"Yes?" answered Harry as he stood.
"I'm Bonecrusher, Mr. Potter, the Black Family Account Manager. Please follow me."
The goblin took off without even checking if Harry was following, but Harry was right behind him. They ended up in a conference room after several turns and hallways. There was only one other person in the room and he was a wizard. He introduced himself as Hiram Smith, lawyer for the Black Family.
No one else was there to hear the will except for Harry. Did Sirius leave everything to just him, he asked himself.
"Please have a seat, Mr. Potter," said Mr. Smith, "and we'll get started."
Harry sat down along with Bonecrusher as the lawyer re-straightened his stack of papers.
"This will be the reading of the last will and testament of Sirius Orion Black. Mr. Black was the last head of the Black family and is duly authorized to dispense Black family funds and final instructions. Is everyone clear on that?"
Harry nodded.
"Very well. The will says:
I, Sirius Orion Black, being of sound mind and sound body, do hereby offer my final will and testament as the acting head of the House of Black. Let it be known, that Harry James Potter is my godson and the only recipient of the Black fortune. All that the Black family owns is now yours, Harry, all properties and monies. There is a sizeable fortune in the Black Family vault that is for you, several million galleons to be exact. I never had much of a chance to spend it, even though I wanted to spoil you with it. Now, it's all yours and you can spoil yourself. You deserve it, kiddo.
I just have two requests as my final wishes for the House of Black. I would like to invite Andromeda and Ted Tonks back into the Black family, along with their daughter Nymphadora. Andi should have never been cast out for simply marrying for love. So what if Ted is a Muggleborn? He's a great wizard! Andi is a Black and I know that means something to my cousin, even though she doesn't agree with her sisters, Bella and Narcissa. She always felt the same as me about our family. It's time she returned.
By the same token, cast out Bellatrix Lestrange nee Black and Narcissa Malfoy nee Black, along with her spawn Draco, from the family. They give the Blacks a bad name. Their sizeable dowries, one million each, will be returned from their own vaults and put back into the Black Family vault.
Next, I want you to give Remus Lupin 500,000 galleons. My friend has suffered enough with the Ministry regulations and many of the people's attitudes. Moony has a vault at Gringotts for the Lupin family, but it barely has enough in it to keep it open since he had to live when he couldn't work. Have Bonecrusher place the money in there without his knowledge, then you tell him about it, Harry. He's a proud man so this is the best way to force him to take the money since I gave it to him posthumously and he no longer can argue with me about it. Harry, make sure he buys some new clothes and the other items he needs.
Finally, don't mourn for me, Harry. Be happy. I get to be reunited with my brother James, your father, and nothing would make me happier. I'll be sure and say hello to your parents for you. I know for a fact that they love you with all their hearts still to this day and beyond, and so do I.
This is Padfoot signing off.
That concludes the last will and testament of Sirius Orion Black."
Harry had a tear running down his cheek.
"If you have any questions, Mr. Potter, then feel free to ask. If not, then Bonecrusher can take it from here," said Mr. Smith.
"No questions from me, Mr. Smith," replied Harry. "Thank you so much for your time."
"My information is with the copy of the papers you will receive from Bonecrusher. If you ever need my services again, be sure and let me know, Mr. Potter."
"I will. Thank you again sir."
Hiram Smith left so Bonecrusher turned to Harry.
"Mr. Potter, since you were named the head of the Black family to replace Sirius, that means you are emancipated automatically. With emancipation comes another headship. You are also the head of the Potter family and will need to take on that role too."
"Since you are the Black Family Account Manager, who is the Potter Family Account Manager? Or do I even have one?"
"That position needs to be refilled, Mr. Potter. Since the Potter accounts were no longer active for many years, the post was left open. Now, that you are the head, a new Account Manager can be assigned and the family vault can be active again."
"Can you take over the Potter account since you are already managing my Black account?"
"You honor me, Mr. Potter. That will boost my position at the bank to have two important accounts to manage. It does make sense though. You are the owner of both so I will simply be working in your best interest."
"Yes, I think that will do nicely. Now what about the provisions Sirius made in his will? He wanted Andromeda brought back into the Black family, Bellatrix and Narcissa cast out of the family, and Remus Lupin to receive 500,000 galleons."
"I will handle the official notifications to all the parties and the transfer of all funds, but would suggest since you are now the Black family head, that you pay a visit to the Tonks family and to Mr. Lupin to speak to them in person. However, I don't recommend that for Mrs. Lestrange and Mrs. Malfoy. The Gringotts official notice should be sufficient for those two."
"Agreed, Bonecrusher."
"Would you like to see your family vaults now? I can provide you with a statement for each that lists all the contents and the properties that are owned by both families."
"Yes, I do believe I would and although I don't plan on moving anywhere different this summer, I would like to know my options of places to live for next summer. And, if any repairs need to be done before it is inhabitable. There should be plenty of time to take care of that if that is the case."
"A wise plan, Mr. Potter. Please follow me to your vaults."
"Oh, please call me Harry, Bonecrusher, or I'll have to start calling you, Account Manager Bonecrusher all the time."
"Very well, Harry. I would be honored.
After Harry called Dobby and was returned to his room, he told Dobby, Hedwig, and Sib all about what happened and how he was now emancipated. Plus, he was the head of two houses. Before he could get started though, he had to contend with Sib. Sib stayed awake more, now that he was active and a little older, so he was cognizant of how long Harry was gone. After a good bit of time, he started to worry.
When Harry returned, Sib refused to let him out of his sight for quite a while. Harry decided to include him in the conversation as he related his experiences at the bank. After he told them all he could think of, he took the papers Bonecrusher provided and sat down with them at his desk to look them over.
Sib sat in Harry's lap as he absentmindedly petted the little tiger while reading all the material. He was surprised at how much money he now had. The Black family was more than twice as rich as the Potter family. While the Potter family vault had several million galleons in it, the Black family vault dwarfed it, plus with the 2 million coming back from Bella and Narcissa, the difference was even more. And, that was just the money for both families. The properties and other valuables raised the net worth considerably more.
Harry decided that when he spoke with Andromeda and Ted, he would offer a million galleons to them from the Black family vault to make up for the dowry she never received. He would have to get Tonks to take him to her parents' house soon so he could speak with them. He needed to talk to Remus too.
Deciding he would kill two birds with one stone, the next morning he wrote a note to Remus and Tonks and sent it with Hedwig, letting her choose which one to go to first. He requested their presence for a chat at their earliest convenience. They could either come together or separately.
Harry then added an addendum that he would not be sending anymore owls every three days. It was getting tiresome and unnecessary. He explained that he and his relatives had come to an accord. They promised to leave him alone and he promised not to kill them in their sleep.
That evening around 7:30, the doorbell rang.
Petunia answered the door and was surprised to see Remus and Tonks standing there.
"Hello, Petunia. Long time, no see."
"Remus," she said with a bit of nervousness in her voice. "What can I do for you?"
"We need to talk to Harry," replied Tonks. "I'm Tonks, by the way."
"Please come in and I'll get Harry for you," she offered.
"Thank you!" Remus said as he and Tonks stepped inside so she could close the door.
"Pet? Who is it?" called Vernon from the lounge.
"It's okay, Vernon. It's just some friends of Harry's who need to talk to him. You stay there and I'll get him."
Vernon quieted down really quick and didn't move a muscle as he tried to hear what was going on. Petunia took a couple of steps up the stairs and called for Harry.
"HARRY?"
The door opened after a couple of seconds and out stepped Harry.
"Yes, Aunt Petunia?"
"You have guests," she replied.
"Thank you. I'll be right down."
Harry stepped back into the room and told Dobby that he was going to go for a walk with his visitors and would be back soon. He then left the room, locking it behind him, and headed downstairs. Harry was dressed in trainers, shorts, and a colorful tank top Tonks helped pick out. When he saw Remus and Tonks, he was quite pleased they came so quickly.
"Well, if I had known I could get such a quick response when I requested a meeting, I would have called for one sooner. Hi guys! Glad you could make it and you came together!"
"Wotcher, Harry!"
"Hiya, Harry! Wow! He did grow a lot, Tonks."
"Shall we go for a walk?" Harry asked them. "I have a couple of things to discuss with you guys."
"Sure, lead the way," Remus told him.
They left the house and headed out toward the park. Harry pulled his wand and cast a Notice-Me-Not spell on all three of them before they could stop him.
"Harry! What are you going?" asked Tonks. "You'll get in trouble with the Ministry!"
"No I won't. I've been emancipated."
"What? How did that happen?" asked Remus.
"I was sent an owl from Gringotts about Sirius. It was for the reading of his will. I was the only one there besides the lawyer and the Black family Account Manager. Sirius left everything to me, all monies and properties, including making me the new Head of House Black."
"That's great!" said Tonks
"At least we now know headquarters is still safe," added Remus.
"So, since he made you the head of the Black family, you had to be emancipated, right?" asked Tonks.
"Correct," answered Harry. "I am now the head of the Black family and the Potter family."
"Of course!" said Remus. "Since you were emancipated for the Black headship that meant you could take up the Potter headship too."
"Yes and I have. That's why I can use magic and that's why my relatives are so cooperative now. I promised not to retaliate as long as they controlled themselves. They agreed. I might have sent a Reducto at a small table next to my uncle and then repaired it to convince him."
"Well played, Harry," congratulated Tonks.
"Now for the real business at hand. Did you guys both receive owls from Gringotts yesterday?"
"I didn't," replied Tonks.
"I did," answered Remus reluctantly.
"Tonks, I know that your parents received an owl so that's likely why you didn't get one, but let's address Remus first, shall we?"
Tonks nodded and Remus looked apprehensive.
"I trust, Moony, that your notice told you that 500,000 galleons was placed into your family vault?"
Moony nodded and Tonks gasped.
"Sirius said in his will that he was doing it this way so you couldn't refuse and argue with him about it. He then taxed me with the job of making sure you spend some of that money on new clothes and other items you need. However, since I'm now the head of the Black family and Tonks is a Black, I'm going to delegate that responsibility to her."
Tonks eyes lit up at another shopping spree but then she frowned. Remus was looking worried again.
"That's great Harry, but technically I'm no longer a Black, just a Tonks. My mum was cast out of the Black family for marrying dad who's a Muggleborn."
"Not anymore, Tonks. Sirius invited you all back in and booted Bellatrix and Narcissa out of the family. They all received owls from Gringotts letting them know of the changes. You are a member of the Black family once again, Tonks, and I order you to take Remus here on a shopping spree so we can follow the wishes Sirius left for us."
Tonks got down on her knees on the ground in front of Harry and kissed his hand.
"Yes, my liege. It shall be done," she said with a grin.
"Harry, you don't know what you've done," said Remus. "Tonks taking me shopping? This is a nightmare!"
"Oh, I know perfectly well what I've done. Tonks took me shopping the other week for new clothes. I figure someone else needs to enjoy her company like that" Harry said with a smile.
"We are going to have so much fun shopping for new clothes, Remus. I can't wait!" Tonks said excitedly as she jumped back up.
"Oh, Merlin help me," Remus mumbled.
"Now that we cleared that up, I need a favor from you Tonks."
"What can I do for you, Harry?"
"Can you take me to visit your parents? I wish to speak to them as the new Head of House Black and I need to do it in person. The sooner the better."
"Sure, Harry. What are you doing tomorrow evening, Remus?"
"Nothing as far as I know."
"Good. You can come with us over to my parents' house so Harry has more than one guard tomorrow night. I'll floo my parents tonight so they'll know we're coming over. Sound good?"
"Works for me," said Harry as Remus nodded.
"So Harry, how did you grow so much in one month?" asked Remus. "I realize that teenagers can have large growth spurts but that many inches in a month is unheard of. I don't see how it's even possible."
"Something happened to me that caused this. I wish I could tell you the details, but I can't. I can only speak to Dumbledore about it. It will be up to him if any of that can be shared with others."
"Understood, Harry," he responded nodding.
"Next question. Can I get you to live at headquarters, Remus, after I have it repaired and remodeled?"
"Sure, but that could take a while, Harry."
"Not if my plan works out. I have some elf friends at Hogwarts that I could probably talk into going there and working their magic this summer while they're not busy at the castle. If enough go at one time, then they can have it all done very quickly."
"I doubt Dumbledore will like that many people knowing the secret, even if they are elves," said Tonks.
"Last time I checked, Harry Potter was the owner of that house and not Albus Dumbledore," quipped Harry. "He doesn't have any say in the matter. I could have that Fidelius removed and replaced with a new one pretty quick. He would not be the secret keeper after that either and would be lucky to get an invite if he poses any objections to what I do with my own house."
"Again, Harry, what in the world did Dumbledore do to you?" she asked.
"I'd like to know that myself," added Remus.
"I still can't talk about it. Besides, it has nothing to do with that. I realize me being emancipated and responsible for my own self now is a difficult pill to swallow, but nevertheless it's true. The sooner everyone understands that, the better off we'll be."
"Harry, you may be emancipated but you're still a teenager," Remus reminded him.
"So, I'm not smart enough to make my own decisions? Is that it?" Harry asked tersely.
"That's not what I said," Remus replied shaking his head. "Perhaps, I shouldn't have said anything."
Tonks just looked on in fascination.
"Look, I'm not your typical teenager rebelling against authority, Remus. I'm not a petulant child who thinks he knows what's best about everything. I can't remember ever being a child, and my life has been threatened so many times my whole focus is simply surviving. I know I will need advice from time to time as I deal with things as an adult, but there are many things I don't need help on and I certainly don't need the great Albus Dumbledore dictating when I can go pee or not. That ship has sailed."
"But we are members of the Order and Dumbledore is the leader of the Order," Tonks said, "so we have to follow his orders."
"There is no we Tonks. Maybe you and Remus here, but I'm not a member of the Order. Too young, remember? I'm not even sure I want to be a member to be honest with you. Dumbledore doesn't need any more authority over me. He's been taking liberties with that long enough."
"But he's your magical guardian, Harry," argued Remus.
"Yes, he was, but are we in a magical place right now? No. We're in a Muggle neighborhood where my Muggle relatives live. What right does he have to dictate what I do when I'm with my relatives? They were my legal Muggle guardians, but yet Dumbledore constantly dictated what I can and can't do 24/7, in the guise of keeping me safe. Do you realize how many times my life has been threatened and very close to death under his very nose, even at the castle? At least once, usually more, every stinking year!"
"I know things have been rough on you, Harry, but I truly believe Albus has had your best interest at heart," Remus offered.
"I think he has to, Remus, but I also think he gets lost in the big picture and forgets to look at the details. I know for a fact I can protect myself far better than Albus Dumbledore. There's no question about that. No one is going to be more diligent about my personal safety than me. I will not overlook the details either, not when it's my life on the line. He didn't even protect me before I went to Hogwarts. He simply placed me with my hateful, abusing relatives and forgot about me until I turned eleven."
"Wow, Harry! How long have you been holding that in?" asked Tonks.
"A good while now but it's finally over. I control my life from here on out. Not Dumbledore."
"Are you going to be leaving Privet Drive now?" asked Remus.
"Not until the end of summer. When I go back to Hogwarts, I will not return to my relatives after that, so this is my last summer here."
"Where will you live?" asked Tonks.
"That has yet to be decided, but I have a few properties to peruse from both the Black and Potter families. I'll decide on one then have it fixed up, if needed, so it will be ready by June next year for move in."
"I hope you allow us to help, Harry," said Remus.
"That will depend on Voldemort."
"How so," asked Tonks.
"If he's still around then I will need a place secure enough where he can't ever find me. The fewer people know, the more secure it'll be. For now, I'm thinking it'll just be me knowing, until Voldemort is taken care of at least."
"That could get lonely," Tonks lamented.
"Welcome to my world, Tonks."
They escorted Harry back to Privet Drive and promised to come get him the next evening to go see Andromeda and Ted Tonks. Harry kept himself busy, continuing to study, practice, and play with an ever growing Sib.
According to the encyclopedia, he would need to continue drinking milk for the first two months. After that he could be introduced to meat. That would mean his diet would need to change about the same time Harry returned to Hogwarts.
When Harry thought about what he was going to do about Sib when he returned to Hogwarts, he kept wondering where he was going to put him while he was in school. He had to be in a place somewhere that was readily available to Harry on a regular basis so they could see each other often. Thinking it over, Harry reached for the catalog to the shop that sold trunks.
After a while, he found some super expensive trunks that had special expansion charms on the inside that not only defied logic but the imagination too. Some had a complete large house inside with a back garden that went on and on and on. Some had fields of grass with hills and even mountains in the background or woods or both. It was amazing the things they could do with expansion charms. Not only that, the climate was controllable.
A good one cost upwards to 150,000 galleons, but if it gave Sib a large place to run around while at Hogwarts, all the while staying safe and hidden out of the way, then Harry was all for it. Plus, now that he had access to all that money, he could afford it.
"Mr. Potter. What an honor it is to finally meet you and now you are my head of house too," Andromeda said shaking her head as she greeted her guest. "I am so grateful my grandfather, Arcturus, saw fit to pass the headship onto Sirius. We all knew he was innocent, but had no way to prove it. Please have a seat. Can I get you anything to drink?"
"No, thank you, Mrs. Tonks. I'm fine."
"Oh, please call me Andi and him Ted," she gestured to her husband. "We don't stand on ceremony in this house."
"Then please call me Harry."
"Thank you, Harry," replied Ted. "Dora said you wanted to speak to us as the Head of House Black?"
"Yes, I do. I also wanted to meet both of you. I just felt that was necessary since I'm the new Head of House. What mainly brought me here, though, was what Sirius said in his will about you, Andi. Based on that bit of information, I was able to later determine that when you married Ted against your family's wishes, they refused to offer you your dowry. Both Bellatrix and Narcissa received theirs and those dowries were recently returned to the Black Family vault after Sirius kicked them from the family. Is this true? You never received your dowry?"
"No, not since I was kicked out. I received nothing," she said with obvious disappointment.
"Then I must rectify that immediately. I will have one million galleons transferred into your vault tomorrow. What's the vault number where you wish to receive it?"
"Oh, Harry! That's not necessary," exclaimed Andi. "We have done very well for ourselves. We are both lawyers in a successful law firm. We handle both wizard and Muggle cases. We are quite successful. Being invited back into the family is enough for me."
"That's great! I'm glad you guys have been so successful. Forgive me though if I disagree with you. As I see it, this has nothing to do with how well off you are. This is simply the righting of a wrong. Inviting you back was just the first step. If you never received your dowry when you married then we must fix that too. It's the right thing to do."
Suddenly Harry was engulfed in a big hug by Andi. He was a little embarrassed but didn't fight it. While the hug was going on, Tonks had to say something.
"Well, Mum, Dad, you could always take the money and just give it to me," she suggested. "I don't have a problem accepting it."
Ted and Andi both laughed.
"Planning the mother of all shopping sprees, Tonks?" asked Harry.
"No!" she protested. "Well, I would shop a little with it," she admitted.
"Your father and I will be accepting the dowry, Dora," her mother informed her. "Harry, in his infinite wisdom as the Head of House Black, has been very convincing by simply speaking the truth. I could not be happier," she said with a smile.
"I might be able to convince your mother to share some with you, pumpkin," offered Ted. "After all you definitely have some Black blood in you."
"That she does," agreed Andi, looking at her daughter whose hair was cycling in all colors of the rainbow.
"What you do with it after I disburse it, is up to you Andi. Vault number?"
"512, Harry," Ted told him.
"I'll have it done tomorrow."
"Thank you, Harry. Now, are you sure I can't get anyone some tea or something?"
"Sure, I'm a little thirsty now. Tea sounds good," Harry told her.
"I'll have some too," Remus spoke up.
"Coming right up! I'll get you some more too, Dear," Andi said to her husband as she walked off.
"I'll help you, Mum," Tonks offered and stood to go with her mum to the kitchen, leaving just the men in the lounge.
The next day Harry spoke with Dobby about getting the Hogwarts elves to clean up Grimmauld Place. He found out via their conversation that it wasn't necessary to share the secret with all the house elves. He explained that if Harry called for Dobby once he was in the house then Dobby could come easily to him since they are bonded. By the same token, if Dobby tells the elves to follow him to the house then they can do that and never have to be told the secret.
Harry asked how many elves Dobby thought he could get to help. Dobby told him as many as is needed, especially since it was summer and most of the elves were not busy enough. To have extra work to do would actually make them happy. He then decided that he would probably only bring over twenty elves. He felt that would be enough to fix the house quickly.
Harry instructed Dobby that the house was likely full of many dark objects, so they would all have to be very careful. He told him to put all those dark objects in a box so that Dumbledore and his group could deal with them properly.
The next topic of discussion was about Kreacher. Harry was sure he was Kreacher's master now but since Kreacher was partly responsible for getting Sirius killed, Harry did not want to deal with him. Dobby told Harry that he and the other elves would deal with Kreacher for him. That Kreacher was a bad elf and elves know how to deal with their own kind.
With all that decided on, Harry sent Hedwig to Remus and asked him to come get him and take him to Grimmauld Place so he can have the elves get started on fixing the house. Remus replied that he would come over in the evening around 8:00 to get Harry.