A/N:My muse decided to have a little fun with Harry in this chapter. Just humor her and she'll go back to normal (I hope).

Story Arc 6, Chapter 3

The residents of Alphard Place were slow to rise Sunday morning after their late night. Harry was the first one up and decided that breakfast in his pajamas was just the thing after all that had happened overnight. Dobby was waiting for him with a hot cup of tea and his favorite breakfast foods – eggs sunny side up, pancakes, and sausages. There was also a glass of milk. Once he had finished, Dobby told him two owls were waiting for him. The first was from Ron, asking if he could come over for a fly and to floo call him if he couldn't. The second was a Gringotts owl. That wasn't a good thing after last night.

Harry breathed a bit of a sigh of relief when all it said was that Griphook needed to see him at his earliest convenience and that no appointment was necessary. He'd talk to Sirius about it when he got up. Knowing what had happened last night, he didn't think he'd be able to go over to Ron's today either. He decided he'd tell Ron he was busy today and tomorrow, but would come over on Tuesday.

Remus was the next one down. Dobby gave him a plate of mostly protein with waffles on the side covered in chocolate syrup. He asked, "Has the Daily Prophet come yet?"

Dobby handed him the paper. Remus looked through it carefully before saying, "There's nothing in there about last night. I suspect they had already gone to press when things started happening. We can probably look forward to a special edition later today."

"Well, the longer it takes, the better," said Harry, "Oh, I got a letter from Gringotts this morning. They want to see me as soon as possible." Harry handed him the letter.

Remus read it, then his eyes flew open wide, "Dobby, go wake up Padfoot and tell him to get his arse in gear. We need to get to Gringotts immediately."

Harry was confused, "I thought they said at our convenience and not immediately."

Remus replied, "You have to understand the goblins. Time is money to them. If they say they need to see you as soon as possible, that means as soon as you get their letter, you'd best be heading their way."

Sirius stumbled down the stairs with his hair wet, "What's going on? That crazy elf of yours came into my room and told me to get up, then poured a bucket of cold water on my face!"

Harry and Remus were laughing so hard; Harry almost fell out of his chair. Remus just handed him the letter from Gringotts. That woke him up quickly. He sent Harry up to change and quickly downed a cup of tea and a bacon sandwich before doing likewise.

Once they arrived at Gringotts, they were quickly ushered into Griphook's office. It looked like his files had exploded all over his office. Sirius knew something was very wrong as no goblin would be seen in such disarray.

"Lord Slytherin Potter, Lord Black, Steward Lupin, thank you for being so prompt. It appears we have a bit of an unexpected result from last night's adventures."

Harry asked, "What do you mean an unexpected result? I'm not going to like this, am I?"

Griphook replied honestly, "Probably not, but as magic is involved, there are no other options."

Sirius said, "You've got us curious now, Griphook, what happened?"

"It seems that magic has deemed our young lord here as the conqueror of all the deceased Death Eaters and has 'gifted' their estates to you."

Harry exclaimed, "You've got to be kidding! No. No. No. I'm not going to be some git with fifty names!"

Remus said, "Calm down, Harry. Let's see what Griphook has to say first."

"Thank you, Steward Lupin. There were twenty-three families whose heads died or have become squibs as a result of last night's events. Only seven of them have heirs. One of those you were automatically entitled to as they were a cadet line to Slytherin."

Sirius said, "The Gaunts."

Griphook replied, "Exactly. Now there are several things you can do as a result of this event. The first, of course, is to absorb them all into one of your current houses. You could also declare the lines extinct. Or you could do a combination of them."

"What do you mean by a combination?" asked Harry.

"For the sixteen families who have no living heir, you can absorb their houses and fold them into one of yours. You would inherit everything – money, properties, valuables. That is the easy part. If you decide not to declare the line extinct, then Gringotts would hold their accounts until an heir does appear, however unlikely. Now for the families that have heirs, you could make them vassals of one of your houses. This would give you control over their lives and livelihoods."

Sirius asked, "Which houses are they? I think that would factor into any decisions we make."

Griphook replied, "The first is the Gibbon family. He has one son who is of age. The Jugson family has a daughter, however, she is in a betrothal contract. The Malfoys have one son who is not of age. The Bulstrodes have one daughter who is not of age. The Burkes have one son who is of age. The Flints have one son who is of age and two daughters. The Rosiers have two daughters."

Harry said, "Well, we know what Draco will do, so he's going to be a problem. I know Millicent Bulstrode. She's in my year in Slytherin and has a cat (Harry chuckled at the memory of Hermionecat). The Flint's son just graduated. He's a real jerk. The rest I have no clue about."

Sirius had quirked an eye when Harry chuckled, but he told him he'd explain later.

Sirius said, "Let's give it a few days until this furor settles down and then we can meet with each of the families. I think for now we should lock down their vaults and limit them to fifty galleons per week in maintenance expenses."

They all thought that was a fair sum. Griphook would take care of notifying the families that their accounts were under audit for now and they would be allowed the family stipend until the audit is complete.

"Now what would you like to do with the other houses?" asked Griphook.

"Could we 'gift' them to people?" asked Harry, I was thinking about the Weasleys. They have so many kids, but only one can be the heir to that family. What about the other kids?"

Sirius replied, "I think one of the other boys is the heir to the Prewetts, but it's something to think about. How do you think Ron would react to being the head of a family that was formerly a Death Eater?"

"Yeah, you've got a point. But could we think about it? What about muggleborns taking over some of those houses? Especially those with Wizengamot seats."

"That's something to think about. Are you thinking Hermione for one?"

"Not right now. I want to get her to come in and do an inheritance test. She may already be an heir to a family. Her magic is strong and she's brilliant," said Harry.

"What is this young lady's name?" asked Griphook.

"Hermione Granger," replied Harry.

"There is the Dagworth-Granger family. They squibbed out about a hundred years ago, so it's quite possible she could be related," said Griphook, "Why don't you bring her by soon and we can confirm it."

"Why don't we take a list of the families home with us and discuss it? Griphook, when you can, please send us an approximate valuation of each house. There are some that we definitely want to declare extinct, but if they're one of the Sacred 28, we may want to reconsider and install a new head."

"I will do that within the next seventy-two hours. This has been a bit of a disruption to our business as well."

And with that complete, they left the bank.

- Scene Break -

When they got home, Dobby was waiting for them, "Perfesser Whiskers be trying to contact you. He said to call him as soon as you got home."

Sirius had a gleam in his eyes as he went to the floo.

"Hogwarts Headmaster's Office!"

It took a minute for Albus to get to the floo, "Ah, Sirius, so good of you to return my call. I was wondering if you and young Harry could come over and chat for a few minutes."

"I'm sorry, Albus, but we have plans for the rest of the day that cannot be changed. We'll have to find another day."

"It really is imperative that I speak with Harry about the changes he's made to the castle. He has caused quite a few problems. I'm sure that it's something that can be fixed quickly and you can be on your way."

"No, Albus. We have plans. We are busy today."

"Then perhaps tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow may be possible. I'll have to check with Harry and see if he has anything planned."

"Then perhaps we could meet at about ten in my office?"

"I'll floo you in the morning and let you know if that's possible."

Knowing that was the best he was going to get, Albus closed the floo connection and popped a lemon sherbert in his mouth.

- Scene Break -

Harry asked, "What plans do we have?"

Sirius laughed, "None that I know of, but I didn't want Albus to think we'd jump when he said to. This will give him more time to stew. I also think we're going to be very busy later this afternoon. I expect a summons for an emergency Wizengamot meeting this afternoon. Oh, I'd better floo Andi and Ted and let them know what's going on. If you're sure you want Andi to sit proxy for the Slytherin seat, we need to get her on board now."

"Why don't you invite them for lunch?" asked Harry.

"Good idea, pup."

All three Tonks floo'd in at precisely noon. After sitting down to a light lunch, they adjourned to the sitting room. They told them of the events that had been going on over the past few days culminating in the demise of Tom Riddle and his Death Munchers.

"This is an opportunity to make changes in our society. We need to ensure the people assuming the open Wizengamot seats are progressives interested in moving our society forward instead of keeping us in the Victorian age," said Sirius.

Harry said, "I'm now the lord of four houses; five if you now count the Gaunts. I need people to represent me and my desires. I was wondering, Aunt Andi, if you'd be my proxy for the Slytherin seat."

Andi was speechless. She did a good imitation of a fish for a few minutes before stumbling out, "Are you sure, Harry?"

"Yes. You were a Slytherin at Hogwarts and you are a member of the Black family. You know how to move in political circles even if you haven't done it in years. I want people I can trust representing me and my houses. I can't think of anyone else I would trust for my primary seat."

Andi got up and hugged Harry, "Thank you. I would be honored to represent you and the House of Slytherin."

They discussed the other families that needed representatives: Gryffindor and Peverell. Sirius would retain the proxy for Potter. Andi agreed that Arthur Weasley would be a good representative for Gryffindor as his family had been Gryffindors for generations. The Peverell line was a bit trickier.

Harry paused for a moment then said, "I think I know who I want to represent the Peverells. I want you, Mooney, to be my proxy for House Peverell."

Remus quickly said, "I'm honored that you think so highly of me, cub, but you know they'll never accept me."

Harry said, "They won't have a choice. You're my proxy and I've determined that you are qualified to sit my seat. I won't take no for an answer."

Sirius said, "He's got you there, Mooney."

"But you know they'll deny me, Padfoot!"

"I don't think so. I think in the kerfuffle they'll forget it. We'll introduce you as the former Defense Against the Dark Arts professor and Harry's honorary uncle. If anyone wants to complain, then tell them to stick it!" said Sirius.

They argued back and forth for a while longer before Remus conceded the fight. Then Dobby came in with an owl for Sirius.

Sirius opened it and said, "It's the notification for the Wizengamot meeting at four this afternoon. I know we don't have time to get you robes, but I don't think people will be all that concerned today. We just need to get the proxies in place first. We'll get you all kitted out tomorrow."

Sirius made a quick call to the Burrow and asked Arthur to step through. When Harry told him what he wanted, Arthur was shocked.

"Are you sure you want me to do this, Harry? You've got Sirius here who could represent you."

"Mr. Weasley, nobody I know is as much a true Gryffindor as you and your family. You were the first person I thought of when we started talking about who would represent my interests the best. Please, Mr. Weasley," and Harry gave him his best puppy dog eyes.

"You drive a hard bargain. I would be honored to represent you and House Gryffindor in the Wizengamot. But you're going to have to start calling me Arthur."

"Sure, Mr. er Arthur. Sirius will brief you about the meeting at four this afternoon," he said and quickly ran out of the room, leaving Sirius holding the bag, so to speak.