AN1: There was a lot of commotion from a lot of you about Daphne's comment in the last chapter, and Harry's acceptance to it.
I understand your complaints, but what I want you to understand is that Harry is a victim of abuse. And that kind of abuse tends to make people sort of desperate for positive attention, accepting things that others wouldn't. Harry is still struggling with all of this, I think it's pretty obvious. Give him time to grow.
And for god sake, they are still teenagers. They say stupid things.
Be patient, and please trust that I don't do things at random. (only spelling mistakes, really).
Hope you guys continue to enjoy the story, I just thought this detail should be answered.
And now presenting… Chapter 23 of Slytherin Advice.
"Morning Sirius. What are our plans for today?"
"Hey there. I thought we should go shopping today, what do you think? I know Christmas has already passed, but you haven't been in communication with your friends, so when you meet them again it could be nice if you have some gifts for them."
Harry's eyes went dark at the mention of his friends.
"If they are still my friends after what I did, you mean."
"What are you talking about? Of course they will still be your friends. Sometimes you give them too little credit."
"Are you sure? After what I did to Krum… I nearly killed him!"
"Yes, and you should try not to do that again. But you didn't kill him. They were able to save the boy. And you weren't in total control of your emotions there."
"It doesn't justify it. I could have killed someone just because I was mad… at women!"
Sirius sighted. He had taken Harry from Hogwarts after their conversation about his eyes, fearing the reaction from the school. But now his Godson wasn't in a rush to go back, clinging to each day he spent away as his last day of peace.
Sirius knew the reaction from his classmates of him coming back to school wouldn't be positive, but it was necessary.
"Harry, you did a mistake. It was a bad mistake, I'm not apologizing what you did, but it's one you can deal with. Fortunately, you didn't violate any rules of the duels, so they can't come after you legally, but you're going to have to have to face the music. Take responsibility for what you did, apologize to Krum when you see him, and eventually the gossips will lose steam and people will leave you alone."
"Not if they are comparing me to Voldemort!"
"From what you told me, they already did it once, and you survived. It won't be easy, but you're strong. You'll always have me and your friends to support you. And there will be others who won't judge you, I'm sure."
Harry went thoughtful for a while, but Sirius knew the battle wasn't won. They were going to come back to this discussion soon.
He didn't want to be too strict with Harry. Their relationship was still very recent, and the older man didn't feel comfortable enough to boss him around as a parent. Adding to it, it wasn't Sirius' style to be strict. But age had given him some wisdom, and he knew that it was better to face whatever was thrown in his way than to run and hide.
"After shopping, we really have to go to Gringotts to take care of all of this family succession business. I want to take care of it before something we can't control happens."
The boy looked at him strangely, waiting for his Godfather to add something some. As he didn't, he nodded, finished his breakfast, and went upstairs to get ready for the day.
Magic was, in fact, very useful, thought Harry as he shrunk all his purchases and placed them in his pocket. He remembered all those times the Dursleys made him carry bags around as they were shopping for Dudley and shuddered. He could be compared to one of the biggest Dark Lords in history, but he still preferred the magical world.
They were finishing their shopping spree, and Harry had to admit it, when he was buying things for himself or for those he cared about, it wasn't all that bad.
He'd bought gifts for all his friends and some new things for himself as well. A few sets of new robes, as the old ones were starting to get short with his growth spree. Sirius insisted, of course, in paying for everything, claiming the Black fortune to be so immense that he could never spend it all even if he tried. He also told him that as he was now responsible for him, he wanted to pay things until Harry got a job. Harry disagreed and after reminding Sirius that he was rich himself, they agreed that Sirius would pay for the clothes and Harry for the gifts to his friends. It didn't occur to either of them that very shortly all of Sirius' wealth would belong to Harry.
After they were done shopping, the duo made their way to Gringotts bank. There, Sirius asked to speak with the Black account manager, a goblin named Gornuk. After the usual introductions, the goblin spoke.
"Lord Black, Lord Potter. What's the matter that brings you to me today?"
"Gornuk, I want to pass my Lordship to Harry here. I never wanted it and I know he will make better use of it than me."
The goblin didn't seemed surprise. If he was, he hid it well.
"Of course, Lord Black. Lord Potter if you could follow me."
Harry followed the goblin to an adjacent room, where a stone similar to the one he had used before stood. But this one was way bigger. He noticed Sirius behind him.
"If you could both stand on either side of the stone, please" Said Gornuk as he started to draw a few runes in small circles around the stone. "We will need some blood for the both of you, please place one drop on each rune and a few on the stone."
As the goblin finished his sentence, two small knifes appeared out of thin air in front of the two men. They followed the orders they were given. When they finished, the stone started to glow and a small ball of dark light left Sirius' body and entered Harry's. As soon as the ball made contact with him, Harry felt a surge of power filling him, way more than with the Potter's or the Gaunt's. A black ring appeared on his finger. The ring was made of onyx with an obsidian stone. The black family crest was engraved in the stone. This time, he felt several 'strings' on the ring, which he assumed to be a connection to the other members of the Black family.
"I thought House Black was a Noble and Ancient one? Am I wrong?"
"It is, why do you ask?"
"I thought the Lordship rings for those houses were made of gold."
Sirius laughed for a few second as he understood Harry's confusion.
"Usually they are, but my ancestors apparently had some sense of humor, and decided to go all-in on our last name."
Harry smiled. He watched the three rings on his fingers now. A ruby, and emerald and now an obsidian. If he continued at this pace, he would look like a jewelery.
"Lord Potter-Black, as you are now Lord of both houses, both accounts will pass on to the same account manager, in this case, Ragnok, as he is the manager of your first house. It was a pleasure to meet you. Mister Black," he said, turning to Sirius. "it was a pleasure working for you."
With this, the Goblin left. They waited a few minutes, wondering what they should do now. They were saved from their confusion by Ragnok, who entered the room with a small smile.
"Lord Potter-Black, great to meet you again. Anything else I can help you with today?"
"Yes, one or two things. Please open a new vault with the name of Sirius Orion Black and place there half of the gold currently present in the Black family vault. Also, give him a key to that vault. He can enter and take anything he wants, at any time."
"It will be done, Lord Potter-Black."
Harry noticed Sirius' thankful stare and nodded at his godfather.
"I would also like to officially cast out Draco Malfoy from the Black family officially."
"Harry, wait…" tried to interrupt Sirius, but Ragnok ignored him as he gave his answer.
"That's not on our power, Lord Potter-Black. You can do that with the ring. Focus your magic on what you want, and the ring will answer.
Harry did as he was told and soon felt one of the magical strings of the ring disappearing.
"Done."
"Harry, shouldn't you think better about this? Casting someone out is very serious."
"No, I don't think so. I've had a lot of years to know Draco, and he doesn't belong to this family. Eventually, if he changes his course in life, I may reconsider, but for now, he is out. In fact, I don't cast his mother out as well out of respect for the rest of you. I know she is your cousin and Andromeda's sister."
Sirius could recognize a fight he couldn't win, so he didn't insist.
They said goodbye to Ragnok and made their way to the Black Castle, where they had been spending their last few days.
As they entered, he noticed the wards connecting to him, instantaneously recognizing Harry as the new Lord Black. He also felt the knowledge of the rest of the family properties. There were a few houses scattered around the world, including one private island owned by the family. He also felt a small house in the center of London, but this one had a dark feeling attached to it. He decided he would question Sirius about it later.
The last days of his small vacation went in a blur, as Sirius did his best to cram all the childhood experiences he felt he should have given Harry in his entire childhood, in just a few days.
They ran around the country going to interesting places, with Harry's favorite being an amusement park. He truly enjoyed the slides and rollercoasters, and the feeling of freedom they gave him. He still preferred a broom, but they were nice as well.
The worst part was, definitely, when Sirius decided he should give him 'The Talk'.
Sirius' determination lasted no more than two minutes, before he sighted and grabbed a bottle of fire Whiskey.
"You know you don't have to do this, right?" Said Harry, in a mix of amusement and fright, fearing what was to come.
"Yes, I do. It is my job to do so, even if we both hate it. So, you know how babies are made, right?"
Harry rolled his eyes, knowing he was in for a bad time.
"Harry, you really need to go! Please don't make me force you."
Harry looked at his Godfather with resigned eyes. "Fine."
He grabbed his trunk, who had been packed the night before, told Sirius goodbye, and after a few promises from his Godfather that he would show up on Hogwarts when he could, he disapparated.
He arrived at the chamber and was received by a not so happy Salazar.
"Where have you been? The last I heard from you, you were going to fight in that stupid tournament again, and then you disappear for almost two weeks. Care to explain?"
"Calm down, Sal. If someone hears you speak like that, they would think you actually care for me." He said, infuriating the founder even more with the nickname. "I'm okay, and I won most of those duels. But some things happened that made leave the school for a few days.
"Most?" he could notice the tone of surprise in the founder's voice. "Tell me what happened. Everything."
Harry spent almost the entirety of the next hour telling Salazar everything that happened. When he was over, the founder sounded impressed, but not very happy.
"So, you lost against the girl? The girl you had just spent the night with? Curious… But that glow, if your Godfather described it correctly…" The founder was thoughtful.
"He said the last wizard to do something similar was Voldemort."
"Yes, that's not going to go well with the sheep. You have to be careful now and watch your back. People may try something stupid."
"I know, I will be vigilant."
"Good. And… I'm proud of you. You are doing a very good job at this tournament." Harry's chest filled with pride. Salazar's approval meant a lot for him. "Just don't let your feeling get in the way the next time you fight that French girl." He joked.
"I didn't! I was just surprised…" Harry noticed that we would not get his way in that discussion. "I have some stuff to take care of. I'll be back tonight."
"You better be. If you disappear for weeks again, I won't be so forgiving!" he still heard as he made his way to the school.
Harry stood at the entrance of the girl's bathroom, thinking of which of his two 'problems' he would take care of first. French or Slytherin. He opted for French first, as he felt it would be easier.
He slowly made his way to the Beauxbatons carriages, trying to enjoy his stroll while being under the intense gaze of a lot of the students he passed by. He noticed this time people didn't point at him like they did two years ago. He thought of it as an improvement, but then it occurred to him that they were just too scared.
He pushed those thoughts away as he reached the carriages and knocked.
It was opened by a seventeen-year-old student, who looked at his with a mix of fright and curiosity.
"Yes?"
"I'm here to see Fleur."
A hard looked passed through the boy's eyes.
"Sure, the last door on the right."
He followed the direction he was told and found himself in front of the last door on the corridor. He took a deep breath and knocked.
A few seconds later, the door was opened, and a very surprised Fleur looked at him.
"Harry, ah- what are you doing here?"
"Hi Fleur, can we talk? I know I've been away for a few days, but I needed time to think."
She gave him a faint smile. At the same time, he heard movement inside the room, and for one second, he tensed up, wondering who that would be. Relief filled him when he saw the blond hair of Luna.
"Harry! Hello there, are you good?"
He smiled at the younger girl.
"Hi Luna! I'm great, how about you? How were the holidays?"
The girl beamed.
"They were great, me and Fleur spent a lot of time together, walking around and visiting all the magical creatures. I'm sad that I didn't go on a trip with Daddy, as we usually do, but this time it was nice being here."
"That's great! Oh, and remind me at dinner to give you your Christmas gift! I know I'm more than a week late, but I have something for you."
"I will." She gave him a small hug, something which he appreciated immensely, and left the two alone.
After the girl left the carriage, Fleur spoke.
"You know we were worried about you, right? You just disappeared suddenly after what happened with Krum."
"I know, and I'm sorry. I left with Sirius for a few days, we felt it was best to left things settle down before I come back."
"Why did you do it?"
"Krum?" he asked, nervously passing his fingers though his hair. "It wasn't on purpose. I was just angry, I had a difficult conversation with Daphne, and then we had that conversation as well. You made that comment about getting ready for Cedric and I just kept thinking about the double meaning of what you just said… I was jealous. All of that made me lose control, and before I knew it… Krum was already down."
She looked at him critically, but with a hint of humor.
"You nearly killed a man because you were jealous? And it wasn't even the man you were jealous of?"
"Well, when you put it that way…" He hesitated.
Fleur burst out laughing.
It took her a few minutes to calm down, and she was cleaning tears from her eyes as she did so.
"P- Please, remind me to never flirt with another guy in front of you!" she started to laugh again.
Harry was a little uncomfortable, but her laugh was contagious, and he soon found himself laughing along.
"I will. But seriously now, we need to talk about Daphne."
She stopped almost immediately, looking at him with a serious look. "Go ahead."
"Well, I like her. We had some good moments, but things are complicated. There is a lot going on and I don't know what to make of it."
She was staring at him, silently, waiting for him to continue. If she was angry, she was a great actress. Harry took it as a good sign.
"On the other hand, I really like you as well, and I like spending time with you."
At this point, he extended his hands forward, and the Lordship rings appeared in his hands. That got a reaction out of Fleur, she seemed surprised and watched the rings carefully.
"How did you get them? And three houses, really?"
"The tournament made me emancipated," He smiled "And yes. Three. Nothing's ever simple with me." He gave a small laugh, cynically. "But only two matter, the Potter and Black ones. The Gaunt family is all but extinct, and I'll probably just let it die out."
Suddenly, everything seemed to click in her head. She made a surprised look at him.
"Two rings, two families… Oh, I see what you're going for."
"Yes. What I want to know is… Are you on board with it?"
She didn't answer immediately, taking a few minutes to think. Harry waited in silence, nervously tapping his foot as he waited.
"I like us. I think we hit it off great. And my Veela instincts agree with me. Instincts that, according to every Veela I've ever met, are almost never wrong. I have this feeling that we're in for the long run, Harry. And if that's what it takes for it to happen, I won't oppose. But I want to meet that girl, properly. And if I ever feel you're neglecting me… I'm going to make you know it." She gave him a mischievous smile.
Harry felt, for the second time in a very short period, a wave of relief washing over his body.
He got up from the chair he had sit on and grabbed a box from his coat pocket.
"Fleur, would you like to be my girlfriend?" he asked, as he opened the box.
Inside, rested a thin golden chain with a Ruby incrusted as a pendant. It was a beautiful jewel, one that Harry had picked himself, one that showed his intentions very well.
Fleur took a few moments to admire the gift, her eyes brightening slightly as she stared at the Ruby, shades of fire dancing deep in her eyes.
She pushed the box to the side, and after a faint "Yes" she grabbed him and kissed him passionately.
They only stopped for Harry to put her new gift around her neck.
More than one hour later, he left the carriage still breathing heavily and with an uncomfortable pain in his trousers.
He made a mental note to use Sirius' Christmas gift to him, a pair of communication mirrors, to tell him how things had gone with Fleur.
'One down, one more to go' he thought.
AN2: Thank you for the reviews and the feedback. They mean the world to me.