HORACE SLUGHORN
Sirius and Harry did not go immediately to Sirius's new house but to Canterbury. As they had left Privet Drive, Sirius had hit a button on his motorcycle which made them invisible and then they had taken to the skies at once. As they flew, Harry remembered a little remembered dream from his childhood where he was flying on a flying motor cycle. He had once mentioned it to Vernon and he had almost crashed the car they were driving in. Now that he knew the things that he did, he was sure that it was real and about the night when Hagrid had brought him to his Aunt's house in the dead of night.
He wanted to ask Sirius where they were going but they were going so fast that no communication was possible. Sirius had opened his mane of hair and they flew in the wind while the Marauder whooped with joy. Seeing Sirius so carefree was a new experience to Harry. The Marauder deserved all that happiness and more.
After about 30 minutes, they started their descent. When they came in to land, Harry found they were in front a house which was secluded from others. The massive gates were made of Oak Wood and there was a symbol in the middle of the door.
Harry turned to Sirius who was parking the motor cycle, "Sirius, where are we?"
"We are here to meet your potions professor, Harry. I think it is prudent that we pay respects to him by coming to his place before we start on your lessons", Sirius said, "If you can get something from someone by being gentle to them then it is not a loss."
Harry nodded, "We could have apparated inside his house directly so why we didn't?"
"That would be improper Harry. You should not floo or apparate to someone's house uninvited. We must give him a chance to welcome us into his home if he wishes to."
Harry nodded and Sirius rapped loudly on the door. It was opened a moment later by a house elf who squeaked, "Who is you sirs be wanting?"
"Little elf, we have come here to see Potions Master Slughorn. Please inform him that Lord Sirius Orion Black and Harry Potter are desirous of an audience with him."
The elf bowed and disappeared. A moment later, a bald man who was about a foot shorter than Sirius but twice in girth and with a well pronounced belly came rushing to meet them. The man was dressed in a silk shirt, trousers and a smoking velvet jacket which has gold buttons.
The man enthusiastically bellowed, "What an amazing day this is. Sirius Orion Black and Harry Potter at my door! Welcome lads, welcome to the humble abode of Horace Slughorn."
"The pleasure is mine, Professor", said Sirius, "Allow me to introduce you to Harry James Potter, Heir to the houses of Potter and Black."
Harry curtly bowed his head in respect to the man, "Hello Sir."
Slughorn stopped short for a moment and a shadow crossed his face before he turned to Harry, "Nice to meet you, Young man."
Slughorn then led them into the house which was tastefully decorated. The walls sported tapestries and paintings and photos of people dressed in Hogwarts Robes.
He led them into a big room which had a centre table and comfy looking sofas were scattered around it. The shelves in the room were filled with rows and rows of potions and other ingredients. There were some bottles which were blood red and Harry had a sneaking suspicion that the bottle contained blood indeed, though whether it was human blood or not, was another matter. In another corner stood a table on which were kept more photos. Photos of what must have been Hogwarts students and they posed with him.
As he had them sat, bottles of butterbeer appeared on table.
"Considering we have a minor with us, we will have to make do with what we are given", said Slughorn and then laughed a tremendous belly jingling laugh.
Sirius waited for the laugh to subside before he started speaking, "Professor, I am sure you got my message the other day."
He nodded, "First call me Horace and yes, I got your message. If I hadn't I wouldn't be welcoming you here. Also let me congratulate you on your successful exoneration. I can't believe that the Ministry messed up things like that."
"Oh it's not Cornelius's fault, you know. It was Bagnold's doing and Cornelius had no idea that it had happened. In fact we are very good friends now", Sirius said non- chalantly, just throwing the line out there. He waited to see if Slughorn will take the bait. Slughorn didn't disappoint him.
"Oh, you are friends with Cornelius Fudge, now?" he asked.
"Yes. Just the other day, he invited me to watch the Quidditch final in his personal box. I mean I am having him over for dinner tonight."
Harry was sure that Sirius was really laying it thick. Horace would smell a rat. But it appeared that Horace was as much a simpleton as he looked.
"Gweong Jones, the captain of Holyhead Harpies, wrote the other day to me that she will get me some prime tickets for the final", he said, "But I am sure that it will not be as good as the Minister's personal box."
Sirius said nothing to it. He knew where it was going but he decided to wait before he eventually would do what Horace was asking of him.
"I have heard a lot of things about you, Mr. Potter", said Slughorn, "I am told that you have a reputation akin to your father."
"Who told you that?" Harry asked.
"I am still in contact with some of my students", he said flatly, "Severus Snape who is your potion master was telling me just the other day that you have been abysmal in potions so far which is strange. Your mother was an expert potioneer and your father was no slouch either. Sure he was not as good as Lilly was but then she was the best of them all."
"Don't believe everything that Snivellus, I mean Snape has been telling you Professor", Sirius said with a little venom in his voice, "He does not like Harry because he is James and Lilly's son."
"I am sure that is exaggeration, my boy", said the pot-bellied teacher, "Lilly and Severus were thick friends at Hogwarts."
"You knew my mother?" Harry asked, "She was friends with Snape?"
"Yes Mr. Potter. She was very talented witch and an expert at potions", Slughorn said, "In fact I always believed that she could have been the greatest of them all. If you stand, you can see her photograph just on that table with me and a few of my students. And yes, she was friends with Severus before they came to Hogwarts. Why, I know for a fact that they grew up in the same neighbourhood."
Harry stored this to ponder for later and eagerly stood up and walked to the table. In the photograph which was kept in the front, there was Lilly Potter with Slughorn and many other people. They were all laughing and raising their glasses in toast to him. For a moment, Harry felt a longing in his heart.
Sirius was talking to Slughorn, "It is true Professor that Harry has been struggling with Potions but I think that is mostly because Snape refuses to teach anything. He constantly mocks Harry, enrages him and belittles him. Owing to his inadequate education, I sought to ask this favour."
"I have no problem in giving weekly lessons to young Harry here, Sirius but lessons once a week won't do any good to him", said Slughorn, "I was thinking more like twice a week and I won't charge extra for the same. If you wish, I can teach him here or I can come to your residence."
"I think it will be better if you visited us at Black Manor, Professor", said Sirius, "And I have a potion lab installed in the place. I would really like if you would come over and teach Harry."
"Not to worry my boy", said Slughorn jovially, "I will be over you place three days from now at 12 in the noon."
"Thank you Professor", said Sirius, "I will send the floo address to you this evening."
BLACK MANOR
After an hour later, they were standing outside another house. Cross it. Calling it a house was a misnomer. What stood in front of him was a four storey structure built of pinkish stones which gleamed in the sunlight. There in front of the manor was a foyer. The grounds around it were extensive and he could see that trees lined the boundary of the property. The doors were made of metal and the Black crest and the motto 'Tojours Pur" was inscribed on it. When Sirius rapped on the gates, they opened and the duo walked inside.
Between the gates and the manor, a lot of land was lying vacant. As they walked towards the House, Sirius talked with Harry, "I wanted a place with extensive grounds so that you can practice flying if you are so inclined and we can keep some animals like Hippogriff for instance. I am also saving space for making a garden about it. I wanted a place that could provide you protection from all and any threats. Since it is not possible to just buy a property and line it with centuries of wards therefore I reluctantly decided to open it. It will also be useful in projecting the pureblood lord persona that I am trying to show. You can also practice casting magic here if you want. The ministry has this place registered as a magical dwelling so they won't be able to find who has cast a spell. You will have to study a lot but I don't want you to stop enjoying."
As they had reached the house, Sirius called loudly, "Moony! Where are you?"
Remus came out smiling, "Harry, welcome to the Black Manor."
"How you have been Professor Lupin?"
"First, let me stop it right here. I am not your professor anymore so call me Remus or Moony and I am good, Harry. I am sorry that I could not meet you before leaving Hogwarts but Sirius wanted me here as soon as I could manage."
"So what you have been up to in our absence, Moony?" asked Sirius.
"Nothing much. I hired services of one of the merchants in Knockturn Alley which specialises in Magical Cleaning and had them clean the house at Grimmauld Place. They packed all the artefacts that were found at the house and could be of dark origins. I also found your elf."
"He is still alive?" Sirius asked in surprise.
"No. He is dead. I found him or rather his skeleton curled up in one of the bedroom upstairs. I guess it was your brother's room because it had his name plate on it and he clutched this in his hands at the time of his passing."
Remus produced a heavy golden locket for Sirius to see which was in the shape of an egg and it had an elaborate S carved in it made of gems. It was a beautiful piece of jewellery.
Sirius took the locket from him and inspected it closely before tossing it on a box which contained the junk that they had picked up from Grimmauld Place, "I don't remember it belonging to our House but may be my dear mother had purchased it after I ran away from home."
"You ran away from home? Why? Where did you go?" Harry asked.
"My family was dark. We have been dark through ages and everyone except me was sorted in Slytherin at Hogwarts. I defied my family and its views on blood purity. They wanted me to join Voldemort and I had other ideas. When it became unbearable I ran to your grandparents. They took me in and I remained with them until I graduated from Hogwarts. My brother Regulus became a death eater, my cousin Bellatrix was also a death eater and sat in Voldemort's inner circle. She with others was also responsible for torturing the Longbottoms to insanity."
"The Longbottoms? You mean Neville's parents? What happened to them?"
Remus nodded, "Yes Harry. Neville looks like his mother and his parents were Aurors. They were tortured into insanity by Bellatrix Lestrange, Rudolphus Lestrange, Rabbastan Lestrange and Barty Crouch Junior."
"I never know that", Harry said thinking of his friend who was always forgetful and reserved.
"Did you never wonder why he lives with his grandmother?" Sirius asked.
"I just thought that they were dead like my parents", he said.
"It would have been mercy if they were. I can't imagine how the poor boy feels whenever he visits them", Remus added.
"Okay, enough talking about grim things. Remus, get us something to eat, will you?"
As Remus stood, Sirius turned to him, "Now, tell me about your time at Hogwarts. Like your friends etc. You do have friends, right?"
"Yes, I have friends. I introduced them to you in the Hospital Wing".
"You mean you have just two friends?" Sirius asked him.
"Yes, is there a problem?"
"No, there is no problem Harry. But you should have more than a handful of friends. I mean we four were pretty thick as thieves during school but we had people we could call friends and rely on. There were the Prewett twins Fabian and Gideon, Marlene McKinnon, Edgar Bones in Hufflepuff, Sebastian Greengrass in Slytherin who was a few years older than us and many others. And we were on friendly terms with heirs of other houses. What I am trying to say here is that we always had way more people around us than just four even though we never let others in our secret."
"You mean I should ask people in other houses to be my friend?" Harry asked.
"Yes. What is the harm in it?"
"I will think about it", he said.
"No. You will not think but you will act. You don't have to become friends with everyone but try to make acquaintances with them. If they know you then there is little chance that they will walk on you when you need them. And you need to make them realise that you have such backing behind you that it will not be possible to trifle with you."
"Ok Sirius. I will try to befriend them when I return to the castle", he said.
"No. That won't do. You can start writing letters to them. Invite them after a week or so. Arrange all boys' party for them. Lighten up and enjoy things. Make contacts in the wizarding world."
"It looks like you want me to become a politician or something", Harry said.
"Harry, you will have to sit on the Wizengamot at some point of time and it is nothing but politics there. However, sitting on the Wizengamot will not make you a politician. You can take any other job if you like but that is what you will be doing for the rest of your life. It is never late to start acting, you know."
Harry nodded, "It is just all of a sudden that I find myself in the thick of things and I have no idea how to do these things."
Sirius said sombrely, "I know, Harry. If I was not in Azkaban then I would have taught you these things. There are a few things that you will need to learn anyhow."
"What do I need to learn?"
"Proper deportment for heir of Ancient and Most Noble Houses. These things take a lot of time which unfortunately I don't have. Now other than those two, how many friends you really have?"
"Let me see. Fred and George Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas."
"All from Gryffindor?" Sirius asked.
"Yes", he replied.
"From what I see, no one except Neville Longbottom is heir to an Ancient and Most Noble House. You don't talk with students of other houses?"
"Not to everyone. I mean there is that git Draco Malfoy who prances around like a peacock and keeps throwing his weight around. He tries to ridicule me and tries to goad me into picking up a fight."
Sirius smiled, "Do you do pranks Harry?"
"No. I am generally so busy saving my life that I don't get time for pranks", the teen replied.
"Harry, I know you are special but that is no reason that you can stop living", said Sirius, "In fact, Prongs will be disappointed that his son is so different than him."
"Can you tell me about him?" Harry said eagerly.
"You father was the right berk, Harry. We both were from rich pureblood families and we were arrogant. I am not saying that James was bad but he was pampered by his parents for being the only child. It also didn't help that he was born so late that Lord Potter and Lady Potter absolutely adored him. When we arrived at Hogwarts, we thought that the world revolved around us and we pranked everyone we could. He was kind to his friends, brave and loyal and he cared about people but he had it in him for Snivellus. He often would prank him to the extent of bullying", Sirius said honestly, "We are not proud of those acts that we did but we were school children then and Snivellus gave as good as he got. He arrived at Hogwarts knowing more curses than many of seventh years and all of his friends including him became death eaters."
"He was a death eater?" Harry asked in shock.
"Yes, he was a death eater", said Sirius, "I don't know what happened later but he turned from their side to ours and became a spy for Dumbledore. That is what saved him from going to prison."
"Where did my father live?"
"He lived in Potter Manor", said Sirius, "It is this big house which had greenhouses, potion lab and paddocks for Hippogriffs and the Quidditch pitch."
"Quidditch pitch?" Harry asked eagerly.
"Yes. James got one made on the grounds of his manor", said Sirius, "We used to invite our friends and would play quidditch through the summer."
"And what happened to Potter Manor?"
"James and Lilly left it to go hide in a cottage in Godric's Hollow. The manor was put under a stasis charm and I suppose it is still there. You however can't open it until you turn 17. When you come of age, you will become the head of House and can take your position upon the Wizengamot."
"Now before you say anything, let us return to pranks. Harry, you don't always need to retaliate with violence or anger towards others. For people who are just nosy gits, you can prank them to hell. For people who don't respect your authority, you have to be arrogant to them. Being humble is a virtue Harry but you can't be humble at all times."
"Enough talking", said Remus who had returned in the hall, "It time for dinner and then you are going to bed straight, Harry."
Harry nodded, "Yes Remus."
"And tomorrow, I will teach you pranks", said Sirius grinning.
Harry gave a small smile.
After having partaken of excellent feast prepared by Dobby, the young man retired to bed while Sirius and Remus talked.
"So what are we going to do?"
"You need to teach him Runes", said Sirius, "I convinced him to drop Divination. Also Horace Slughorn will be coming twice a week to teach him potions. Other than that, he can study ahead for the next year. But in between these things, I need to teach him fun things also."
"And what does fun things mean?" said Remus arching an eye brow at him.
"You will see, Moony. Tomorrow we have to go to Wizengamot. About damn time that the Lord Black made himself known."
Wizengamot
"Close the doors", boomed the voice of Chief Warlock Albus Dumbledore.
The double doors closed with a mighty boom on the chamber. The chamber was a circular room where there were seats arranged in circular arrangement with one level lower than another. On the innermost line sat the Chief Warlock, the Minister of Magic and the head of DMLE. Behind them sat the Lords of the wizengamot. Now the wizengamot had 150 members but of those there were only 50 who held the distinction of being called Lords. The rest of the 100 had seats on the governing body because their families had held it in the past but they were not lords. And of the 50, only quite a handful of them had the distinction of being a Noble house. These houses were called Noble and Most Ancient Houses and each of them could trace their lineage to 1000 years in the past. Of these were the Houses of Black, Bones, Greengrass, Potter, Macmillan, Smith etc. On the sides of the elite of the wizengamot sat the others. Of those 100, many were appointees of the ministry and many had been selected due to being awarded the Order of Merlin, First Class.
"Are there any announcements to be made before we begin this session?" asked Chief Warlock Dumbledore.
"Yes, Chief Warlock", said Cornelius Fudge, "Lord Sirius Black has ascended to his position as the Lord of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black recently and the same has been verified by the goblins of Gringotts."
Dumbledore turned to a sandy haired man sitting on opposite end from him, "Is Mr. Dirk Creswell here?"
Dirk Creswell, the head of Goblin Liaison stood up, "Yes Chief Warlock."
Dirk was head of department of Goblin Liaison and as such, like other department heads he could be present during the sessions of the wizengamot however he could not become a member of the body unless nominated into the position by the ministry.
"Have you received the documents regards the ascension of Lord Black?"
"Yes, Chief Warlock", said Dirk, "I have verified those papers and they are in order. Lord Black's ascension is genuine."
"Thank you, Mr. Creswell", said Dumbledore then turned to the chamber, "Scribe, please go and inform Lord Sirius Orion Black that he has to come and petition this body for taking his position among his peers."
About a minute later, a side door of the wizengamot opened and Sirius Black stepped in. He regally walked to the dais where he was meant to petition his request and acted impervious to everyone but he watched everyone's reaction. To his enjoyment, he saw Malfoy fretting in his seat and he wanted to laugh with glee. The Black alliance as created by the last Lord of House Black, Arcturus Orion Black had 30 votes among them and since one of the conditions of Malfoy's marriage to Narcissa had been that House Malfoy will join the alliance as subordinate to House Black, it meant that Malfoy was going to be under his thumb whether he liked it or not.
"Chief Warlock, I am come to this body to claim what has been my forefathers' and now is mine. I am come to take the seat given to us when this body was formed in exchange of the rights that we had. I am come to take my place among these who are my brothers in magic."
"Sirius Orion Black, do you resolve to serve this body and wizarding Britain to the best of your abilities?"
"I do, Chief Warlock."
"Welcome to the Wizengamot, Lord Black. Accept my congratulations upon your ascension as Lord of House Black. Take your seat among your peers, if you will."
As Sirius walked towards where the seat for House of Black was, Dumbledore turned towards Lucius Malfoy, "Lucius Abraxas Malfoy, the wizengamot thanks you for acting as the Regent for House of Black in absence of the Lord Black who could not tend to his duties due to his incarceration in Azkaban. Please vacate the seat for the rightful lord."
After Sirius Orion Black was seated, Dumbledore turned to the Chamber, "Does anyone have any announcement to be made before this body?"
"I do, Chief Warlock", said Sirius.
"Come to the dais, Lord Black", said Dumbledore having been cued in what was going to transpire.
"I, Sirius Orion Black, Lord of House Black by my free will announce Harry James Potter, scion of House Potter as my heir to be. After I am gone from this mortal world, let it be known that Harry James Potter shall sit in the seat of House Black in my stead. So I say so mote it be."
Just like that, Sirius had given too much power to Harry. However there was no way that anyone could object to it. Lucius Malfoy only gritted his teeth and said nothing.
"Very well, Lord Black", said Dumbledore, "Any other announcement that you would wish to make?"
Sirius produced a bundle of parchment and banished it to Dumbledore, "Chief Warlock, these papers are of investment of Harry James Potter as the heir of House Potter."
Dumbledore nodded, "Very well. Mr. Scribe, please go and fetch Mr. Potter from the ante chamber."
"In the meanwhile, since I am the godfather of Harry James Potter, I am also the proxy of the Potter Seat in the Wizengamot due to that position", Sirius announced.
Dumbledore nodded, "Very well, Lord Black. Would you like to take that seat right now?"
Sirius bowed, "No, Chief Warlock. Since I can't sit in two seats at once, I would prefer if Elphias Doge will continue to hold that seat as a proxy for House Potter until Harry Potter comes of age."
Harry entered the wizengamot looking wide eyed and there was sort of apprehension in his gait as he walked towards Sirius.
"Harry James Potter, the wizengamot welcomes you as Heir of House Potter. Please take a seat among your peers."
Sirius pointed Harry towards the section where heirs of the house sat. Harry walked over there and sat down besides Susan Bones.
She grinned, "Hi Harry. I hadn't expected to see you here for a few more years."
Harry shyly smiled, "Hi Susan. It all is still new to me."
The session went for an hour and when it was adjourned and the members were leaving, Sirius called out Lucius loudly, "Malfoy."
Malfoy turned and said to him silkily, "Yes, Black."
"Manners, Malfoy", Sirius barked, "I am your superior. Take that tone with me again and you will rue it all your life."
"What do you want, Lord Black?" he said, putting emphasis on the last words.
"You have driven this alliance according to your whims a lot. I want you to be present in 'the lone centaur' in Horizont Alley, three days from now at 6. Don't be late."
"You should know that you ought to call meetings of alliances in your home, Lord Black", Lucius said tersely, "Or did Lord Arcturus Orion Black forgot to impart that important lesson to you?"
"You don't invite those to your hearth that you don't trust, Malfoy. Grand father taught me that until I trust someone blindly, I keep them at arm's length. And a Black you may be by marriage yet I won't trust you with a galleon."
Malfoy sneered but decided to leave. He would have to find a way to get out of this alliance and do that soon. He couldn't live under Sirius Black's thumb.
As Sirius was willing to collect Harry and go home, the regent for House Longbottom, Augusta Longbottom approached him, "Lord Black."
Sirius bowed to the old woman, pretended to kiss her knuckles, "Madam Longbottom, it's an honour to meet you."
"Charming as ever, Lord Black", she said with a nod of her head, "I have been meaning to write to you for some time. Will you be amenable to come to the seat of residence of House Longbottom tomorrow at 5:00?"
Sirius knew Augusta Longbottom. The woman was fondly called war axe when he was in Hogwarts and Frank had inherited her fiery nature. She was a competent witch and could have given any Auror a run for his money.
"Of course, Madam Longbottom", he said, "I had been meaning to write a letter to you on a subject of mutual interest to us."
While Sirius was making rapport with Madam Longbottom, Harry was talking to the heirs who were at Hogwarts.
"Why we have never seen you here before?" asked Terry Boot.
"I had no idea that I have a place here", said Harry, "I mean I had no family to tell me these things."
"Will be coming here regularly?" asked a girl Harry was sure was in the year below him at Hogwarts.
"I don't know", Harry said, "I mean we can't attend the chamber when we are at school."
"Why don't you talk to us at Hogwarts?" asked another girl.
"Umm... I don't talk much", Harry said, "And every year there is some new adventure awaiting me."
"Harry, come on. We are getting late", Sirius called Harry.
Harry turned to others, "As much as I would love to stay and talk to all of you, I need to go."
Susan said, "Will it be alright if we write letters to you, Harry?"
Harry nodded, "Yes, I will like that."
The potions master
It was the day that Harry had to start Potions with Horace Slughorn. The potions lab that Sirius had set up for him was not big or extravagant. It had the minimum infrastructure that was required for such a set up with shelves lining up ingredients needed for brewing, pewter cauldrons in all sizes, protective gloves and ladles. From his interactions with Harry, Sirius understood that Snivellus had done a number on the boy. Then there was the fact that Harry at times looked uninterested in studying things like he and his friends had.
Remus had talked to him and found that Harry was painfully uninformed on the basic area of magical theory and school for him was more like a release from the Dursleys and not a place where he went to learn and hone his skills, at least not in the way that the marauders had. The boy was nowhere near the level that he would have been if he was raised with Sirius.
Harry's knowledge about things was not as great as they wanted it to be and this bothered both of them. The boy was brilliant, no doubt, but he had handful of spells in his spell repertoire. He also didn't want to work any harder and had taken the easy subjects of Care of Magical Creatures and Divination. The boy needed to be taught if he were to carry the legacy of marauders.
Horace Slughorn arrived at 10:00 in the morning to start his lessons with Harry. The potions master first watched the potion laboratory and all the arrangements that Sirius had made and then turned to them, "This is perfect for my needs at the moment. I know how atrocious Severus is in his teaching methods and that he does not teach the basic things to the students. Since I don't know how far ahead Mr. Potter is in his studies at the moment therefore, I am taking the liberty to teach him the basics before we would start to brew."
He then pulled out an old book which he gave to Harry, "This is the beginner's book for potions which I am giving to you, Harry. Read this before the next class. For today, I will quiz you on chapter 1 to 5 of Thousand Medicinal Herbs and Fungi".
"Yes Sir", said Harry apprehensively.
Slughorn asked him questions from the chapters that were mandatory read for a first year and while he couldn't answer all of them but he did answer a lot of them. At the end, Slughorn was pleased, "Mr. Potter, it appears that you are very brilliant student and you only need the proper guidance and motivation which I believe I can provide to you. You are Lilly's son and you sure have her talents."
"Professor, he is also James's son", said Sirius, "And that bloke was always nervous before a cauldron."
Slughorn laughed loudly, his belly jingling, "Very funny, my boy. James was not that bad."
As Slughorn left, Harry turned on Sirius, "There is something you are not telling me. Isn't it?"
"You are too clever for your own good, Harry", said Sirius, "Slughorn has something that we need from him and there is no way that we can force him to deliver it to us. It should be given freely. Right now you need to get in Slughorn's good graces so he won't be able to deny you. You need to use that Potter charm of yours that had birds lining up for James."
"I don't want to hear that about my father, Sirius", Harry protested and Sirius chuckled.
"Sirius", said Remus coming in the room, "Dumbledore is on the floo call for you."
The Burrow
Ron Weasley was having boring holidays. Since the holidays started, he had written letters to his best friends, Harry and Hermione. Hermione had written lengthy letters to him as could be expected of her. She had also told him in every letter to be done with his homework and not to procrastinate. To his dread, even Harry had told him to finish his home work already. He had written Harry to ask when he would be coming to the burrow for the summer and Harry had told him that this year it was not going to be possible. Sirius and Remus wanted him near them and they also took great care of him. The way that Sirius had set the Dursleys straight, it left no doubt in his mind that Sirius was looking after his interests.
In his last letter Harry had told him that he was living in Black Manor with Sirius. Harry had invited all the Weasleys to come to the manor during the summer and they could play a few pickup quidditch games. The Weasleys had their orchard where they played quidditch but the Blacks had an entire pitch made! If it was up to Ron, he would have jumped in the floo at once but that was not to be. Mrs. Weasley had strictly forbidden any of her children from going to Black Manor.
Ron hoped that Harry would come soon for only he could change Mrs. Weasley's opinion. She had been fretting that Harry wouldn't be getting enough to eat, he wouldn't be cared for and that he was perhaps miserable with two men for company. He knew that his mother liked to mother over his best friend but this was extreme. Ron had meet Sirius Black before the school was over and he looked like a decent bloke who cared for Harry. Hell, the man had broken out of Azkaban to come to save Harry from Pettigrew.
One thing which had chagrined him was that Harry was taking extra lessons over the summer. What was his sudden obsession with study? And to top that, Harry had taken Runes as a subject and dropped Divination which was one of the easiest ones out there. He hoped that Harry wouldn't tell about these lessons to Hermione or she would hound him forever to tell her what he had learnt.
"Ronald, there is a letter for you", hollered Mrs. Weasley and Ron ran down towards the ground floor from his bed room situated at the top of the house. A grey barn owl was waiting for him at the table. He took the letter from the owl and started to read it.
"Dear Mr. Weasley,
I think I share some of the blame for you losing your pet rat. If I hadn't escaped from Azkaban, you may have kept the rat for years. However, it is neither here nor there anymore.
Please accept this owl, Lancer as a gift from me in return of the pet that you have lost. Your friend Harry also wishes for you to accept him.
Sirius Orion Black
Lord of House Black."
The other letter was from Harry in which he had again requested Ron to visit him and told him that he was going barmy without any friends for fun and only studies. Apparently Sirius had contacted some old potions master to teach Potions to Harry and Harry was actually learning things from him. Sirius had also told him some techniques to use in potions which would help him.
"Who is it from, Ronald?' asked Molly. Molly Weasley was a portly heavyset woman who was the matriarch of House Weasley and she was a homely woman who could be overbearing on her children if the need be. She loved all of her children but she absolutely adored Harry and often hoped that Harry would become a part of her family.
"Harry. He gifted me this owl for the pet that I lost", said Ron.
"He should not have done that. Does he even have the gold for it?" she asked.
Bill Weasley laughed, "Mom, he is Harry Potter. I am not allowed to tell you exactly what but the Potters are rich. In fact, he is so rich that he has an account manager to look only after his account and do nothing else."
Bill Weasley was the eldest child of Arthur and Molly Weasley and had graduated Hogwarts in 1988. Currently he worked at Gringotts as a curse breaker and had come home from the job to watch the Quidditch final which was to be held later in the summer.
"But still Ron should not have taken it", she protested.
"Molly, I don't think Harry was showing off or something by giving this gift. He is Ron's best friend and I know he had good intentions when he decided to gift this owl to Ron", said Arthur Weasley, the patriarch of the house.
Arthur Weasley was a kind faced man who worked in the Ministry of Magic and was the head of the department of Misuse of Muggle Artefacts. His job was to prevent misuse of muggle objects by witches and wizards but his fascination was such that he had a storage shed on his property where he stored muggle objects and liked to tinker with them in his spare time.
"Alright Molly, I am off to the Ministry", said Arthur, "there is a report of vanishing door knobs in Elephant and Castle."
"What else does he say in his letter?" asked Mrs. Weasley.
"Harry tells me that he has taken the heirship of House Potter and Sirius Black has made him his heir. He also told me that he will be visiting us today."
As Ron was speaking, the floo roared and Harry Potter stepped out. Only it was not the Harry Potter they were used to see. This bloke was healthy and he wore clothes that screamed rich from afar. The rings on his hand were goblin silver and he wore dragon hide boots. He wore clothes that actually fit him and looked expensive, the kind that could be found only in shops such as 'Twilfit and Tattings'.
"Harry", said Mrs. Weasley running forward to embrace him, "How are you dear?"
"I am fine, Mrs. Weasley", said Harry bracing himself for the Mollyesque hug. The thing is that nothing could ever ready him for the hug that knocked the wind out of his lungs as she hugged him tightly.
"Oomph... My ribs Mrs. Wesley", he wailed and the twins laughed.
She had let go of him and catching him by his shoulders, was looking over at him, "You don't look peaky. You have been eating right this year. I guess Sirius Black has been taking care of you."
"Yes Mrs. Weasley. He is very good at taking care of me. And he always insists that I take triple helping of every meal that I take. He has also been teaching me about my family history and my duties about when I will take my family seat. That is why I couldn't visit you earlier."
"Little Harrikins, we are also present here", said one twin.
"And little Gin is here too" said the other and Harry looked at Ginny who was blushing red like a tomato.
She muttered, "H. H. Hi" and then she took towards her room on the second floor. It was not a hidden fact that Ginny Weasley had a Hogwarts Castle sized crush on Harry Potter and it had only become worse when Harry Potter saved her from the Chamber of Secrets. What was worse was that Ginny could not even speak in his presence and often did things that would end up ridiculing her. She symbolised everything that Harry hated about his fame.
"I know you both are here, my good men", said Harry to the twins, "As I understand I had invited all of you to Black Manor for a game of Quidditch. Why none of you responded or visited me?"
"Harry is it safe?" asked Molly Weasley, "I mean it is Black Manor."
"Mrs. Weasley, it is the safest place that can be found except Hogwarts", Harry said, "There are centuries of wards around the manor and it would take days to bring them down. And I get terribly bored there by myself."
"You can stay here, if you like", she said, "You always have a place among us."
"Thank you for your offer, Mrs. Weasley but Sirius wants me home in the evening. It is just that I have just started to know about my parents and he often tells me something new about them. And I feel at home in Black Manor where I am not unwanted."
She smiled, "I understand dear but my offer is always standing. Now do you want something to eat?"
"Yes please, Mrs. Weasley", Harry said, "If there is one thing that Dobby can't do, it is that he can't cook as good as you."
"I believe I have not introduced myself", said the one who Harry could only guess was Bill Weasley, the eldest child of the Weasley Family. Bill was, there was no other word for it, he was cool. He was dressed smartly with blue shirt and black pant, adorned with a robe and boots of leather that suspiciously looked like Dragon hide. His hair fell up to his shoulders and one of his ears was adorned with a fang, which Harry was reasonably certain belonged to a serpent
Harry nodded and waited for the other man to make a move. Bill extended his handed, "I am William Arthur Weasley. Please call me Bill."
Harry shook the extended hand, "I am Harry James Potter, heir to the Houses of Potter and Black."
Bill looked towards Ron, amused, "I thought you said he was a novou in these matters."
Harry answered before Ron could, "I was until this summer. My godfather Lord Sirius Black has seen to it that I am sufficiently informed in these matters so I don't make a fool of myself."
Bill laughed heartily, "I have heard a lot about you from Ron. You don't need to show your pureblood etiquettes to me."
Harry was liking this guy more and more, "What do you do, Bill?"
"I work as a curse breaker at Gringotts. Expertise myself in going into old warded buildings like pyramids, castles and breaking the wards to recover whatever treasure can be found there. I was in Egypt until now when Gringotts called me home and is offering me more to stay here. I miss the pyramids though."
Black Manor
Harry returned to Black Manor from the Burrow at 6 in the evening and that was only after Mr. Weasley had intervened. He had to tell Molly that Harry needed to get going because Lord Black was going to be worried if his heir did not come home. However if Harry wanted to stay he could floo and tell Sirius about it. Harry had a lot to talk to his friend but he could not do so at the Burrow. So, he had invited all the Weasley children to the Black Manor next day with their brooms. It was going to be nice to be able to play quidditch without worrying that they would be seen.
When Harry returned home, three letters were waiting for him. One was from his secret friend, another from Neville Longbottom and the third from Susan Bones.
He opened the one from secret friend first.
"Heir Potter-Black,
Firstly congratulations are in order to you for your successful ascension as the heir of House of Potter and House of Black. I only got to know as I returned from Italy. I am so sorry that I could not meet see you take the mantel for myself.
I have also heard that your godfather Lord Black is making another voting bloc in the Wizengamot. I mean we already had light, dark and neutrals and now we have this gray block.
Have you been studying lately? I have done some light reading over the summer especially for Runes and Arithmancy which I like. I do hope we will get some decent teacher for DADA this year. Professor Lupin was a great teacher and I am sad that he had to go. I know being a werewolf isn't something that he could control but that was no reason for him to resign.
I hope to see you at the Quidditch finals.
Later"
Keeping that letter aside, Harry opened the one from Neville.
"Harry,
I hope you are having a good summer. I know I haven't ever written a letter to you over the last few years and I am sorry about it. Lord Black visited my manor a few days ago and he told me to at least write a letter to you. Again, I am sorry that it never occurred to me to do that in the first place.
I also want to ask if you would like to visit Longbottom manor sometime and we can catch up. Our floo address is Longbottom Manor.
Regards,
Neville Longbottom
Heir Apparent of House Longbotttom."
Finally he opened the last letter.
"Dear Harry,
It was nice to meet you in the Wizengamot. I was not apprised of the knowledge that you are unaware of your position and of your station. If I knew it beforehand, I could have helped you to know your history.
I am also happy with the fact that Lord Black is taking good care of you. Being with him has done a lot of good to you. You look happy, in the bloom of your health and you are very cheerful when around others.
I also want to apologise to you because I had doubted you during the entire heir of Slytherin fiasco. I should have known that you of all people would not do anything like that. We also never got to find out what the monster was in the Chamber of Secrets.
I am also inviting you to visit me sometime during the summer when you have time for it. My father told me that he wants to meet you and my younger brother is actually excited to meet a celebrity. I know you don't like people fawning all over you and I will tell him to behave. Our floo address is Bones Manor.
Hoping to hear from you soon.
Susan Bones
Heiress Apparent of House Bones."