Marked as His Equal Ch 5

The next morning was a quiet affair. No one really wanted to discuss the night before. Arthur did not make it home until nearly 5 am. "It was awful, Molly," he said as he sat down at the kitchen table. "Those poor muggles. Luckily, there was not any permanent harm to them. As soon as the Dark Mark went up, the death eaters scattered. Not a single person was apprehended. We had to set up a trauma center outside the stadium. There were too many to just take to St. Mungos. Luckily, the worst thing we saw were some burns and broken bones. Lots of bumps and bruises, and several people went into hysterics as soon as the mark went off. I had almost forgotten what things were like back then."

"I'm so sorry Arthur," Molly said. "Would you like a cuppa, or do you want to just try to get onto bed?"

Arthur sighed and said "That sounds lovely dear. Dumbledore is going to stop by in a moment. He has a few more things to discuss that he didn't want out in the open."

Molly frowned but started over to put on a kettle. "Do you think Malfoy was in on this?" she asked.

Arthur looked thoughtful. "I would never put anything past him. He could have had a hand in planning this, but I do know he wasn't part of the execution. He was with the minister, protecting him actually. He sent his son to the tree line to try and keep him safe. He met up with our lot in the woods and stayed with them. He did seem truly worried and grateful when I returned him. I do think that's the first time Lucius has ever spoken politely to me."

They sat in silence for a moment before they heard a knock at the door. "That must be Albus," Arthur said as he got up to answer.

Albus Dumbledore came into the room, looking much older than either of them had seen him in a long time. "Good morning, Molly, and hello again Arthur."

"Good morning, Albus. Would you like a cup of tea? I have a kettle going for myself and Arthur," asked Molly as she was moving to get cups.
"No thank you, Molly. I'm hoping that this will be a short visit, and my last stop. I don't tolerate these late nights, or rather early mornings as well as I once did," replied Albus. "The reason I dropped by was to discuss Harry."

Molly immediately tensed. She turned to face Albus and said with steel in her voice "You will not be taking that child back those muggles."
Albus raised his hands and said, "Of course not my dear girl," he said placatingly. "I only wished to discuss moving him in with Sirius and Remus. They are residing in the old Black Family home. Aside from Hogwarts, it's the most secure place we have for Harry. Nothing against the Burrow, but with the death eater activity increasing and the riot last night, too many people know that Harry is staying here. I think the Black home will be the safest option for both Harry, and your children as well."

Molly looked thoughtfully, "Maybe you're right. It may do both him and Sirius some good to have a chance to bond."

"My thoughts exactly," said Albus. "We should get them over today shortly after they have their breakfast. I will let Sirius know to expect him before lunch. If there's nothing else, I believe I shall not take up anymore of your morning. Would it be possible to use your floo connection?"

"Go right ahead headmaster," said Arthur. "Let us know if we can do anything else."

"I shall. Good night to the both of you," he said as he grabbed a bit of powder. The flames turned green, and he was off to Grimmauld Place.

A few hours later, Harry was the first one down, followed shortly by Percy. Arthur had finally gone back to sleep, but Molly had too much nervous energy to fall back asleep. "Good morning boys," she greeted them as they entered the kitchen. "Sit down and I'll get started on breakfast,"

"Yes, Mum," "Yes, Mrs. Weasley" they replied in unison.

Within the hour, the rest of the house was up. No one felt quite ready to discuss the previous night. Arthur was the first to broach the subject. "Children, I want to say I am proud of you all. You all acted braver that anyone has right to expect out of children. I saw many adults that did not manage themselves nearly as well." He paused to look around the room. "The headmaster came by after everything was all said and done. We have some concerns going forward. We believe that for the next couple of days until you all leave for Hogwarts, it would be safest if you lot stayed at the Black Family home." The kitchen erupted as everyone tried to talk at the same time. "Now hold on, one at a time. I know you all have questions, but I need you not all talk at once," Arthur said as he got them to settle down.

Harry did not know what to think. On the one hand, he was over the moon to get to spend more time with Sirius, but on the other, he loved the Burrow. This was his favorite place in the world aside from Hogwarts. He was unsure what the old Black home had in store.

"We're hoping with Bill's help, we can revamp the wards around the Burrow, but I don't think we'll be finished before you lot head off to Hogwarts," Arthur continued. He looked at Hermione, "Miss Granger we shall discuss your arrangements with your parents. I wouldn't feel right making the decision to move you to another's home without consulting them first."

"Yes Mr. Weasley," she replied.

Arthur returned his focus to the group. "Does any have any questions? Before you ask, I will not go into any specific details about last night. The incident is still under investigation, and it would be improper to discuss anything other than your involvement."

The group looked on in silence. "Ok then," Arthur started. "I need you all to get your school trunks packed and be ready to go before supper." And with that, the crew was off to start packing.

Ron and Harry were packing their trunks under the ever watchful eye of the third member of the trio. "Harry," Hermione started, "you were brilliant last night."

Harry looked down at his feet. "It wasn't all that. I was just in the right place at the right time. Any of you could've done it"

"Maybe," started Ron, "but we wouldn't have left a crater the size of the kitchen either. 'Mione's right. You were bloody brilliant. All I could do was watch. I was frozen. I couldn't do anything."

"How did you know to start shielding when the ministry showed up?" asked Hermione.

"I don't know, I could just feel it. You know, like static electricity or something. The hairs on my arm started rising, I could almost feel goosebumps," Harry replied. "It's not the first time either. A few times I've felt when Malfoy and his goons sent a hex my way and I reacted before I knew what was going on."

"I've heard of something like that," said Hermione. "Only powerful wizards in tune with their magic are able to sense magic like that."

"That's brilliant Harry!" exclaimed Ron. "Imagine how we can use this against Malfoy"

"I'm not a weapon to be aimed at Malfoy Ron," Harry said looking quite offended. He then smiled and said "But hypothetically speaking, if a certain blond cretin was to take a pot shot from behind again, it would be quite satisfying to send two back at him."

"I don' t think you two will ever grow up when it comes to him," said Hermione.

Ron and Harry looked at each other and in unison said "Nope!" Hermione just shook her head and laughed.

After clearing the air with Hermione's parents, the group was ready to floo to Sirius' home. Harry was the first one through, and after stumbling out of the floo, Sirius picked him up out of the floor and engulfed him in a hug. "I'm so glad you're here Harry," Sirius said.

"Let the boy breathe Padfoot," came the voice of Remus Lupin. "We need to move out of the way so the others can make it through."

"Hi Padfoot, Professor Lupin," said Harry when Sirius let him go.

"I'm not your professor anymore, Harry," Remus said kindly. "Please call me Remus, or Mooney if you like."

"It's bad enough you were a prefect, but you had to go and be a professor as well," Sirius complained. "How far the mighty have fallen!"

"He wasn't bad," Harry defended. "He's loads better than Snape."

"Very high praise indeed," Remus said dryly.

Sirius barked out a laugh at that. "I really can't believe Dumbledore let Snivellus become a professor."

"One has to think he has his reasons," Remus replied. "Let's head into the kitchen. We can see about getting some food started and getting you all settled in."

"I've decided you can have Regulus' old room. It's about the only room Kreacher kept clean, so it should be relatively safe. You can have Ron stay in there with you if you like, but you'll have to sneak your curly haired friend in the old fashioned way after all the grown ups go to sleep," Sirius teased as Harry looked on mortified.

"It's not… We're just… I don't really look at her… she's my best friend," stuttered a red faced Harry.

Sirius and Remus both laughed. By this time the rest of the crew had arrived. Arthur walked in with his wife and children and saw the two men still laughing and asked, "What did I miss?"

"Nothing!" Harry replied before the other two could interject. "These to decided to have a go at my expense is all."

"Behave you two," Molly said with a smile. "Sirius dear, do you mind if I make myself useful and handle dinner tonight? I feel it's the least I can do since you're hosting all of us on such short notice."

"Not at all Molly," Sirius replied. "I'd be a fool to keep you out of the kitchen. And make yourselves at home while you're here."

"All right you lot, clear out," Molly started. "Get with Sirius and figure out the sleeping arrangements. I'll call everyone back when dinner is ready."

"I'll let you and Arthur have the guest Suite on the second floor," Siris said. "It's on the left of the stairs as you go up. I've put Hermione on the second floor also, on the right as you're headed up. The boys are all on the third floor. Harry and Ron are in Regulus' old room, and the twins are in mine. You should go put your bags away and meet me at the landing on the first floor, I'll give you a small tour and show you what to avoid."

After everyone was back, Sirius started the tour. "My family wasn't the nicest of people and there are some things that could be dangerous if you're not aware. The library should be ok, most of the unpleasant books are in my grandfather's study, and as of now only myself and Harry are allowed in there, and Harry you shouldn't be in there without me. Some of those books are quite nasty." Sirius took them through the whole house, telling a few anecdotes about his time here while growing up. He showed them the tapestry with the family tree his mother ruined by blasting off all the blood traitors and filth. He finished leading everyone around the house and they stopped back at the first floor landing. "That about does it guys. Feel free to explore, just be careful. And if you see Kreacher, just ignore him. He's a nasty piece of work on his best day. He's been instructed to leave you alone but may try to find a loophole if given the opportunity. Harry, would you mind walking with me for a few minutes? I've got something I've been dying to show you."

"Sure, no problem," Harry replied.

The two made their way towards his grandfather's study. "Sirius, I have a question," started Harry.

"Go ahead kiddo," said Sirius.

"Why is this your grandfather's study? I mean, wouldn't it have been your dad's?"

"Well, my dad was never Lord Black, so the Lord's Study was never his, "Sirius answered. "Pissed him off a little, I think. But Number 12 is the traditional head of the black family seat. My grandfather allowed us to live here, since I was the heir. The master suite on the first floor was his, and my parents stayed on the second floor suite. I was to take over the seat when I was old enough, but, as we all know, that didn't happen."

"Oh," he replied.

"Don't ever be afraid to ask questions Harry." Sirius said. Sirius walked over to the desk and pulled out a fairly large piece of parchment. "This is my family tree. This is what the tapestry in the sitting room is based on. My dearest mother was not able to ruin this."

"This is pretty cool, Sirius, but I don't get why you're excited to show it to me," Harry said, a bit confused.

"Oh, just wait. You're going to get a kick out of this," he said. "Now come here, look at this."

Sirius pulled Harry over to get a better look. "Now here you see my grandfather's older brother, a squib named Marius Black"

"I remember that name. You said your mum blasted him off the tapestry for being a squib," said Harry.

"Good on you Harry, five points to Gryffindor. Pissed off my grandfather pretty bad. But that's another story. Look at Marius and follow his line down and tell me what you see."

Harry traced the line down and paused when he got to his mother's name. "Is this real?" He asked.

"You better believe it kid. We're cousins of a sort. I believe it's third cousins, or second cousins once removed. I didn't pay attention to that. The point is that we're blood, and one thing I agreed with my family on is that blood matters in this instance. We are family. That matters. You're my godson, Harry. Once I claim my lordship, I plan on officially naming you my as heir."

"I don't know what to say," said Harry, getting a bit choked up. It seemed like he was getting everything he ever wanted. Harry had a thought he just had to get out. "This means you share my mother's blood, correct?"

"It would seem so," Sirius replied.

"I remember Dumbledore saying once, that my mother's protection relied on me dwelling where my mother's blood resided. Maybe there's enough of a connection between us that I won't have to go back to the Dursley's ever again." Harry paused for a moment, "That is, if you still want me to live with you."

"Don't ever doubt it for a moment Harry," Sirius replied sincerely. "If it's at all possible, I will make it happen. Blood protection or no, Dumbledore or no." Sirius got up out of the chair and walked across the study. "I'm meeting with my cousin Narcissa and her husband soon. I don't really trust Lucius, but Andromeda believes I can trust Narcissa. She and I were close as kids. Between Ted, Andromeda's husband, being a well respected solicitor, and Lucius having his connections, we may be able to force a trial. That will be the first step." He turned towards the door. "Now let's go see what Molly has for us in the kitchen."

After one of the best meals Harry had all summer, Harry and Sirius found themselves back in the study. Ron had been persuaded to help the twins with some of their experiments, Hermione and Ginny went upstairs to their girls' room to do Lord knows what. Harry looked around the study and asked "I can't imagine being close with Draco. How were you able to be close with his mum?"

"You have to realize Harry, that only a very small percentage of the purebloods were extremists. Many families were firmly traditionalist. The whole dark vs light faction you see is a very narrow view of the big picture. Your grandparents, the Longbottoms, and Bones families were traditionalist. They held many of the same views as the Blacks, well, at least my grandfather anyway."

"Really? I never would have guessed," Harry said somewhat bewildered.

"Tell me, what do you know about your family?" Sirius asked.

"Not much actually," he started. "Only my dad was a good flier, a troublemaker, and mum was a muggleborn, incredibly intelligent like Hermione."

"Okay," Sirius started. "Your mum was a very intelligent witch, and a muggleborn like your friend, but that's where the similarities end."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, now pretty confused.

"Well, I can say with a fair amount of confidence that while the Potters absolutely loved Lily, they would have trouble accepting Hermione," said Sirius.

"Why is that? Why wouldn't she be good enough?" Harry said, starting to get irritated.

Sirius smiled at his godson. "Don't get defensive, I wasn't aware that you felt that strongly for the young lady in question."

Harry started to blush. "It's not like that. It's just she's my best friend, and she catches so much shit from Malfoy and his lot. She doesn't deserve it."

"I will agree that no one, except may Snivellus, deserves to be treated like shite, but have you thought about why these prejudices came to be? They didn't appear out of a vacuum. Now don't get upset, let me finish. The problem most traditionalist have with the muggleborn is that they come into our world and try to immediately turn things into a carbon copy of the muggle world without understanding why things are done a certain way. I've heard a few of your friend's comments about the magical world being behind and things needing to change and catch up with the real world. That kind of attitude does not sit well with many wizards. Would you go to Spain and at once start asking for them to speak English, or go to the Americas and tell them to drive on the correct side of the road?"

"Well, when you put it like that, no, but we're in Britain. Is this not still the same country?" Harry asked.

"Yes and no," Sirius replied. "We occupy the same space geographically, for the most part. But we are almost like a different country entirely. We operate with a fair amount of autonomy, only in times of global war or war with magicals and muggles alike to we report to the crown. The difference between Lily and your friend is that Lily asked questions first before she went about trying to change things. She learned why we did things a certain way. Granted, us wizards do love our traditions, and that's the reason some things are done a certain way. But others have valid reasons. Do you know why we use parchment and quills rather than pens and paper?"

"I have no idea. I never gave it much thought," Harry replied.

"Well, this is one of those things. The paper muggles produce does not hold enchantments or spells very well. Many of these books are four and five hundred years old, and some older. The only reason they last that long are preserving spells. The thin paper the muggles use wouldn't hold the spells for very long. They would either deteriorate or burn up when the magic tries to take hold. The same with the spells to keep others from copying or keeping those from outside the family from viewing."

"That does make sense," Harry acknowledged.

"Not all the things we do make sense, but this is one that does. I won't get into religion too much, but most wizards do have faith. We have physical proof of souls. People can do some heinous things to their souls in an attempt to cheat death. Most of us believe in something akin to Christianity, but not really the same version most muggles and muggleborn are raised with. This was one of my grandfather's pet peeves actually."

"The Dursley's never really went to church except for Christmas and Easter, and they rarely let me go," said Harry. "They always pointed out that they were doing me a favor just allowing me to live. They would quote something out of the Bible along the lines of suffer not a witch or something."

"They really are foul excuses for human beings, aren't they?" Sirius said. He pointed over to the bookshelf. "There is an original translation on the shelf. It holds much more information than what was allowed in the King James version. The muggles really buggered up faith if you ask me. If you're curious about what wizards believe, I encourage you to check it out on your own. I won't force it upon you. This is one of those things you need to decide for yourself."

Harry just nodded and Sirius continued, "Enough about that. We could spend hours on this debate and not get anywhere. Back to the original topic, the divide between the traditionally dark families and families like the Potters wasn't that great. That's one reason why it was so easy for Voldemort to gain as much support as he did. No one realized until it was too late. Most just thought it was political posturing and such. For the longest time, it was. Most of us wizards want to protect our way of life. Our traditions and rites mean something. We hold the power of creation and destruction inside of us. Magic is wild and alive, and needs to be revered and respected, not chained and treated like a tool. It seems like many muggleborn lose the sense of wonder and start trying to, I don't know how to say it, maybe give structure to the chaos? I'm not sure if that's the right expression, but they want magic to be tamed it seems."

Sirius paused and took a breath. He poured himself a glass of the good stuff, and after a moment, poured a small amount for Harry. "Here, you've earned this." He leaned in closely and whispered, "Just don't tell Molly."

Harry had to laugh. He took his glass and Sirius continued, "Many families resent the fact that progressives want to classify and categorize magic and want to make more esoteric magics off limits except for the ministry. Most of the old rites are ritualistic in nature. Blood magic, sex magic, soul magic. All of these are practiced and protected by the old families. These things have been done since magic first appeared. And to for some outsider to come in and tell us that these things are barbaric and wrong kind of pisses a lot of us off."

"I wish I had someone to tell me about all of this before," said Harry. "This all makes sense. I see how the purebloods can resent the muggleborns. But why doesn't someone educate those like me? Why doesn't Hogwarts teach this information?"

"Firstly, because many purebloods won't allow it," Sirius replied.

"So, they're mad we don't know what's going on, but they won't allow anyone to teach us? That makes perfect sense," Harry retorted.

"It's a bit more than that," Sirius said gently. "From what I understand, these customs and rites are passed on in families. They feel that if they allowed the school or the ministry to dictate how things are taught, they would lose some of their value. It's not the responsibility of the schools or the ministry to teach their children values. They also see it as the responsibility of the ones coming into our world to seek out these things. That's what Lily did. She was always asking why things were done a certain way. That's why she ended up being respected by many purebloods. She didn't shy away from a lot of the rituals, or at least discussing them academically. I believe she found the ritual for your protection in one of the "darker" books in the Potter library."

Sirius paused and finished his drink. He urged Harry to do the same. And after a mild coughing fit, Harry was ready for him to continue. "What I'm about to say may ruffle your feathers a bit. Contrary to what the progressives say, there is no Dark vs Light debate. They like to say that, but in the end, the traditionalists want to keep family magic private, keep blood magic, sex magic, rituals and the like legal and unregulated. Why should I have to go to the ministry and get permission to perform a blessing or an adoption? They want their children to be free to practice magic in their own house under their parents instruction. The progressives feel like its wrong to horde knowledge from the masses, dangerous magic and rituals should be regulated and controlled, and underage sorcery should be monitored by the ministry. If the progressives had their way, multiple spouses wouldn't be allowed anymore."

"Multiple spouses?" Harry questioned.

"Ha!" barked Sirius. "That would be what you picked up on. Setting your sights pretty high there aren't you?"

"No, it just caught me off guard. It seems strange." Harry replied

"It does to most coming out of the muggle world. It's not common, but it isn't really rare." Sirius started. "You are a candidate for multiple spouses."

"Me? Why?" asked Harry.

"Well, we are a very small community. When a single person is heir to multiple families, we want to keep the bloodlines as separate as possible. For us, it really is bigger than just a surname. Not saying anything against those without long histories or anything, but different abilities are passed down through bloodlines. And if a line dies out or is combined with another, many abilities are lost or go dormant. Having a different spouse for the Black Line and the Potter line will minimize the risk of inbreeding a few generations out. You're already a black by blood. The Potters married into the Peverell line, one of the last daughters I believe, so you're technically heir to the Peverell house as well. That isn't common knowledge though. Having a wife for the Black family and a wife for the Potter family will keep the lines separate and preserve the bloodlines. These things matter to magic."

Harry was feeling a bit overwhelmed. "So I am expected to find two women to marry one day?"

"You're not obligated to do anything like that. Many of the older families would like to see that, but no one will make you. That's a choice that is and should be left to the families. This was a big point for the purists. The rights of families to choose how they conducted themselves. The progressives and muggleborns aren't very receptive to this type of thing. Lily said they viewed it as objectifying women as nothing but baby making machines and slaves to the whims of old men or some rot. Her words, not mine."

"So was my mum okay with my dad having another wife?" Harry asked

"She never outright said it was something her and James would consider. But she did say that those decisions were not the ministry's to be made. The ministry should stay out of family matters. The first wife does have a lot of power in a marriage. Women in general have a lot of power in the wizarding world. The inequality that they see in the muggle world is not really a problem here. The wand is a great equalizer I guess."

"I think I've learned more about our culture in the last day than I have my whole time in our world," Harry said.

"That's a shame. Nothing against you kiddo, but someone should've been there to tell you about this. Our world is full of wonder and awe inspiring acts. Don't lose sight of that."

"I won't Sirius."

The two sat in silence. Harry thought about everything he learned the last couple of days. It just reaffirmed in his mind that he had taken his place in this world for granted. He was surrounded by impossibilities on a daily basis, and yet he seemed to have lost his sense of wonder. 'I can literally shape reality to my whims,' he thought. 'How can I not be constantly amazed? How is it I can sympathize with Malfoy and his lot, even if only a little?'

"Well, kiddo, it's getting late. I'm going off to bed. Remember to stay out of the girls rooms, or at least don't get caught," Sirius said, waggling his eyes at Harry.

Harry blushed. "It's not like that." He looked around the room one last time, "I think I'll follow you up. Goodnight, Sirius."

"Goodnight, Harry."

And with that, the two went upstairs to bed.