Chapter 24 Schools Out For Summer

"Mr. Potter!" called Lockhart.

Slowly pushing the trolley with his trunk and Hedwig's cage was Harry, with Hermione right beside him. The two were almost to the gateway that separated the Wizard World from the Muggle on Platform Nine-and-three-quarters at King's Cross Station. He was pleased to note that both were wearing the clothes he had purchased for them at Christmas, which meant that Harry looked quite spiffy and Hermione's clothes made her very pretty. Her skirt swayed rather nicely as her high-heels emphasized her gait. Hermione had apparently taken his advice on how to walk to heart. And she had transformed into a very attractive young Witch over this last year. Apparently she liked looking nice for Harry. And vice versa.

It helped that she had taken his "advice" to heart and now regularly flew with Harry — buying them new brooms to use instead of the school brooms had done a lot to calm her fears. The school brooms' erratic behaviour had been a major cause of her fear of flying.

Based on the looks she was getting from many at the station he wasn't the only one to notice the new and improved Hermione. He could hardly wait to see the look of shock on her father's face when he realized his "little girl" was growing up — and not just mentally!

Their other friends had said their goodbyes after locating their parents. The two weren't holding hands, unfortunately, as they had their hands full pushing the trolleys.

Well, that wouldn't do. No, not at all! Hadn't they remembered the shrinking charms on their new trunks?

Most of the people still on the platform were watching Gilderoy as he strode confidently over to the young couple. Rita, and The Daily Prophet, had done a splendid job of broadcasting yesterday's event and Lockhart had quite a few additional admirers. Even the Wizards were beginning to become his fans! Those in the school certainly were. Everywhere he went today people had murmured "Hello, Lord Lockhart-Slytherin," respect and admiration in their every word and gesture. People respected him, not just for his adventures in his books but also for his deeds at Hogwarts this year.

As he had waited for Harry to disembark, he had heard many complimentary things said about himself. "He's my D.A.D.A. professor and he fought and killed a Basilisk!" "He found all four Founder's Artefacts" "I was so worried about my OWL/D.A.D.A. until this year when. After his class the test just seemed so easy!" "He's the best D.A.D.A. professor I've ever had," he heard one Slytherin Seventh Year brag. His friend had loudly agreed.

All music to his ears. Gilderoy would have done a little happy-dance right there on the platform if Harry had let him. He was practically delirious with joy, leaving Harry to handle things today.

"Here," he said to the two students when they stopped in front of him. "Tap your wand right there and think, 'shrink,'" he pointed at the lock on Hermione's trunk. She watched, surprised as it shrank to card-pack size. He handed it to her. "There. Slip that into your pocket. When you get home, just tap it with your wand and think, 'full size,' and it will restore itself. As long as you don't do it where Muggles can see, the Ministry will never notice. And it won't trigger any magic detection spells, either. The wand is merely your identification as the owner." Harry quickly followed suit.

He picked up Hedwig's cage and brought it close. He set up a silencing spell around them and whispered to the bird, "Harry Potter lives at Twelve Grimmauld Place, London." He removed the spell and opened the cage. "There you go, Hedwig. You can meet us at home. I'm sure you'd rather fly than be subjected to apparition, wouldn't you?" The owl stared at him a moment, hooted, then flew out the cage and rapidly disappeared overhead. He shrunk the cage and gave it to Harry.

He turned and made hand motions for them to accompany him, "Don't dawdle now, children, others await you." Hermione grabbed Harry's hand and they again started towards the platform's exit.

"Harry," he said confidentially to the young Wizard. "I know that the Headmaster told you that you had to return to the Dursleys. But as I told you before that isn't strictly true. You see, as long as you live with them, they do not have to fear Death Eaters, Voldewhore's followers, finding their home and killing them for being your relatives. That is the reason he sent you home last summer, to protect them. Now that you are twelve it only takes two weeks to renew the spell for another year." Hermione and Harry shot him a surprised glance.

"Now, then, you have a choice. Do you want to go home with me and stay at the House Black London residence, and meet your godfather? Or do you want to go stay with the Dursleys for two weeks and provide them with that protection for another year? At the end of the two weeks you would join me at the Black residence."

Harry looked conflicted. On the one hand, if he never saw the Dursleys again it would be too soon. On the other, could he really leave them defenceless?

"Tell you what, Harry, I'll put a listening charm on your trunk. If you want to leave, just call my name and tell me that. I'll be there as soon as I can. Does that sound good?"

Hesitantly, reluctantly, Harry nodded his agreement. By that time, they had passed through the barrier and Hermione had flung herself into her parent's arms, babbling non-stop. Harry looked around for his Uncle.

Uncle Vernon stood not far away. "Harry, my boy, it's good to see you," he said, glancing nervously at the tall blonde-haired Wizard standing beside the Boy-Who-Lived. That the rotten bastard remembered their last meeting so well delighted Gilderoy. "Come along, Harry. Your Aunt Petunia is waiting to see you at home."

Harry stared at his uncle, the thought clear in his mind, Who was this man and what had they done with his uncle?

"Do you have your trunk? What of your bird's cage?" the morbidly obese man asked solicitously.

Dazed at the civil tone in his uncle's voice, Harry absently patted his pocket. "Shrunken."

His uncle grimaced, but nodded understandingly, "Convenient, that." He paused a moment as if unsure what to say or do next.

Gilderoy stepped into the gap, "Ah, Mr. Dursley," he said softly. "So good to see you again. And in such good health." The look he gave the man told him clearly that that condition could easily change if he wasn't careful. The dandy turned slightly towards the Grangers. "Oh, Miss Granger," he called.

She paused in mid-word and looked over to him. He waved her over. As she came closer, he said to Vernon, "I'd like you to meet Miss Hermione Granger, one of Mr. Potter's classmates and his best friend. And those two adults with her are her parents. Mr. Granger, Mrs. Granger, Miss Granger, this is Mr. Vernon Dursley. He's one of the top salesmen at Grunnings Drills, and is even in line for a Vice Presidency." That last bit had Dursley sweating as he wondered how the Wizard had learned something he had only that week found out himself. "The Grangers," he explained to Vernon, "are both professionals in London, Dentists."

"Harry lives with the Dursleys. Vernon's wife, Petunia, is Mr. Potter's aunt, his mother's sister," Gilderoy explained. "Harry is going to stay with the Dursleys for a couple of weeks, and then he'll be staying with his godfather for the rest of the summer."

Vernon looked surprised at hearing this, and then pleased as he realized he wasn't going to be stuck with the boy the entire summer. A few moments later Harry/Gilderoy watched as both groups left the building for their respective vehicles.

Hedwig was waiting in the entryway on the staircase balustrade when Gilderoy walked in at Grimmauld Place.

"Ah, Hedwig," he said gently rubbing the owl's head. "I can't tell you how happy I am to see again. I envy Harry that he has you and I don't, I do miss you." The owl gave him an uncertain look, blinking. "Well," he continued, "You needn't worry about that. Harry is staying at Privet Drive for the next two weeks, and then he will be here."

The owl gave him an angry look.

"Now don't be that way, Hedwig, this was the easiest way to let you in on the secret. Besides, it will be another hour before he is home. In the meantime, could you deliver a message for me to Miss Granger? I'm sure she in turn will have a message for you to deliver to Harry. And he will have one for you to return to her!" The owl looked pleased at the prospect of some deliveries in the works.

.

Miss Granger,

As I mentioned, Harry will be at Privet Drive for the next two weeks, then he will move to another address. I will advise you and your parents of the new address at the appropriate time. I expect you will spend a lot of time here with Harry during the day while your parents are at work when that happens. I am sure you both will enjoy playing with each other all summer. You can tell you parents to expect many invitations to come over for dinner, and to watch you demonstrate the magic you have learned.

That's right! Once you are here you can perform magic without fear that the Ministry will detect what you are doing and cause problems. The house is extremely well hidden from magical detection of most any kind. You can certainly help Harry improve how he handles his wand without fear of detection by adults.

Perhaps you should tell Harry about this, as well, and give him something to look forward to doing with you.

Sincerely,

Gilderoy Lockhart,

Order of Merlin, Third Class, blah, blah, blah, you know the rest.

.

And with any kind of luck, his surprise would be ready when St. Mungos released Sirius. And for the rest of the summer there were a couple of projects he needed to finish, including making sure Grimmauld Place survived Harry, Remus, Sirius, and Bell. But right now, he had a few things to finish downstairs.

(◎_⊙)

Bell's suite had become Harry/Gilderoy's potions workshop after his successful heist regarding the Lestranges. The Goblins had been extremely happy with him at the return of their "lost" items — apparently quite a few had been in the vaults — but it took a sharp eye to see so. Later he would see if he could turn that to his advantage in looting a few other Death Eater Vaults.

Much had happened in Bell's suite over the three weeks since then. He had spent every evening with Bell, not that she was awake to notice.

He was still somewhat amazed that his scheme had worked as well as it did. Ten points to Lockhart for excellent planning and execution!

The Witch had remained asleep on her bed — the Draught of the Living Dead was such a useful potion! — curtained off from the rest of the room the entire time. Kreacher had done a marvellous job of watching her, checking periodically that her condition was unchanged and dusting her as needed during the day.

Gilderoy had spent the three days after the heist studying her left arm closely. Voldemort's brand, he had determined, was a form of the protean charm linking her to all the other Death Eaters, with a connection to her magical core. Plus, it linked directly to her nervous system. It provided a way for evil bastard to punish and communicate with his followers. He would always be able to find a follower anywhere. It was also a drain on the Witch's magic. A minute drain, but a drain. For his plan for the Witch to work, he had to get rid of the brand. So far, everything he had tried had failed.

He had stood to one side, the Deathly Hallows stone in hand, and spun it three times. After a pause, a ghostly image had appeared. "Why did you call me?" Merlin had said. Harry had smiled grimly, "I had little choice. I need the help of those much better versed than I am in this sort of thing." He had pointed at the Witch's arm and the brand on it. "I need to remove that brand, but no spell or potion I can find will do the trick. Examine it and advise me. It is related to the protean charm. A similar mark is created in the sky with the spell morsmordre."

The ghost had drifted over to the woman and studied her arm. "You cannot use magic alone. You must use a potion as well."

A long conversation had ensued and involved several more ghosts responding to Death's Ring. The result had Harry saying, "Fawkes? Can you help me?" He had tried several times and had been about to give up when the Phoenix had appeared in burst of flames and a trilling song. Harry grinned broadly, he had always enjoyed talking to the exotic creature. "Thank you so much for coming," he had said, reaching over and stroking the bird now perched on the back of his chair. "I am trying to remove the Death Eater tattoo from Bell, here." He had pointed at her arm. "The advice I've been given is a combination of magic and potion, but for the potion I need Phoenix Tears. I have some of your favourite treats, those lemon drops Dumbledore kept at his desk." He had pointed to a small bowl piled high with the sweets and sitting on the table beside Bell's bed.

He had managed to coax the brilliant bird into filling most of a tenth-ounce potion bottle — almost forty drops of the precious liquid. "Again, I thank you Fawkes," Harry had said. "I hope to accomplish much good with these tears." He had paused a moment thinking as the bird downed a few more of the lemon drops it loved. "Fawkes, if I need more tears to save others, would you be willing to help me? Perhaps as a remembrance to your friend Dumbledore?"

The bird had looked at him for a long moment, and then bobbed its head.

Harry had grinned. "Bless you, Fawkes. If this works, I shall tell everyone that the Great Dumbledore discovered the method for removing the Death Eater mark. It will provide an extra incentive for Death Eater's to repent their evil ways. Perhaps Madam Bones can use it as leverage into getting spies into the Death Eater camp by promising her spies that she will remove the mark in exchange when the fight is over."

Fawkes had seemed to think that was a splendid idea. He flamed out after finishing off the entire bowl of treats. Harry had shaken his head. He had read Phoenix's lived off spices and morning dew, but still, an entire bowl at once? He would have to keep a barrel on hand. He had wondered if the bird might like cinnamon and curry, as well.

Next, Harry had carefully put three drops of Phoenix Tears into a small clear glass bowl on his potions table and mixed it with water purified three times and containing a dissolved freely-given Unicorn hair. He had dipped a quill into the mixture and had carefully drawn the rune of isolation and separation, inguz, seven times in a ring around the Death Eater mark on Bell's arm. It hadn't been easy spacing the runes correctly as the clear mixture had been almost impossible to see and judge the distance to the next rune to draw. He couldn't use magic to help.

"Kreacher!" he had called out after finishing that portion of the "cure."

"Kreacher is here."

"Excellent. Take this brush, dip it into this mixture," he had handed the house-elf a small brush and the small bowl. "And carefully brush it all over this Death Eater mark. Continue until I say stop or you run out. If the mark lifts, as it should, coax it into the bowl using the brush. No magic!"

Kreacher had nodded and started to brush the liquid on the tattoo as Harry/Gilderoy had started casting tergeo morsmordre repeatedly, pushing as much magic as he could into the incantation. The seven runes on her arm had glowed an ominous red. At first, nothing had happened, and then the tattoo had begun to bubble and steam. Even under the Draught of Living Death Bell's face twisted in pain. Slowly, though, the dark red mark on her arm had gently bubbled itself into the air. Finally, it had lifted entirely off her arm, although only by a scant millimetre or two. Kreacher had reacted quickly and a few seconds later that seemed hours long the bowl had held a puddle of red ink. Bell settled back into the deathly still aspect that the Draught gives the drinker, her arm bright pink where the tattoo had rested.

Harry had quickly picked up the other potion bottle on his table and had dripped a single drop of Basilisk poison into the glass bowl. The red ink had started to hiss and spit as smoke rose from it. Seconds later only a slightly smaller pinkish drop of Basilisk poison had remained. He had carefully decanted it into another potion bottle and labelled it. The Basilisk drop was useful until completely consumed.

"Thank you, Kreacher. Be proud, you have just saved the life of a Pureblood daughter of House Black. Take a break to celebrate your success before you return to doing whatever it was you were doing," he had told the old elf. Kreacher had had a big smile as he POPed away.

Harry had turned to his table, pulled out a fresh sheet of parchment and carefully recorded everything he and Kreacher had done, with a note at the bottom crediting Albus Dumbledore with the cure's creation and that the old Wizard hoped the cure would give those lost souls a second chance.

It was a small thing, really. And Harry didn't want to be known as the Wizard who figured out how to remove the Death Eater mark from the worst sort of people possible. While removing the mark was quite an achievement, allowing criminals to conceal their complicity in crimes was nothing to be proud of doing. They were, to his mind, still little more than pond scum. He would give the parchment to Madam Bones later, he had decided.

Since that momentous moment, he had spent every night with Bell. He had used a mild Pepper-up potion to bring the Witch to a sleeping state, then used his extensive obliviate experience to carefully excise all memories related to the Wizard she called her Dark Lord. That that meant completely erasing everything she remembered since 1957 — thirty-six years — entailed taking things in stages, spending several hours labouring to remove a mere two years of memories per night. It had been quite exhausting work, struggling to disentangle past memories that had become associated with more recent memories. He didn't want to accidentally wipe out everything and leave her as a memoryless baby. Or leave holes she might discover later and unravel his work by researching her history.

When she finally woke from her sleep, she would be a child with no knowledge of Voldewhore and his Death Eaters. Her only memories would be of her father and mother. Excising her sisters from her memory while leaving what she had learned with them from her parents and tutors had been the hardest thing to do of all, and took the most time. He had had to substitute various house-elves, and occasionally her mother, in the blank spots occupied by the presence of her sisters. A confundus embedded in her memories to prevent her from examining them too closely was an integral part of his treatment.

That she had been a bit of a loner compared to the other two had helped. That she would still be well steeped in Pure-blood nonsense was problematic, but Harry was sure that after a few years around Sirius and Harry she would lose those attitudes. He hoped. In any case, he would have fulfilled his oath to her. Especially after he had dosed her with the de-aging potion just the other night.

Normally, a de-aging potion erases memories that corresponded to being created after the apparent physical age given by the potion. Harry hadn't wanted to take any chances that those memories might be recoverable, so he had gone the extra step of obliviating those memories as well. Between the two, the memories should well and truly be lost beyond recoverability.

And it seemed a suitable punishment for the criminal Bellatrix, erasing her from existence as if she had never existed in the first place. Not quite as final as throwing her through the veil in the Ministry, but Bellatrix as everyone remembered her had been thoroughly destroyed. It was up to the new Bell to live a life that redeemed her predecessor. With His and Sirius' help, that shouldn't be too difficult.

And no one would ever suspect a six-year-old girl of being the infamous Bellatrix Lestrange née Black. If she wanted, she could walk out of Twelve Grimmauld Place without fear, or at least only the fear a sheltered child normally would feel when outside by herself for the first time. On her bedside table was a bottomless bag with a thousand galleons in it. He would create a trust-vault for her later. He would have no qualms defending this innocent child from his and her enemies.

He had fulfilled the terms of their Vow to the letter. And when she reached Hogwarts he would release her from her Vow, which would free him from his. And eliminate the possibility of accidents in judgement harming either of them once she was out in the world on her own.

He could hardly wait to see Sirius' face when he learned he had a six-year-old cousin. And that Gilderoy expected Sirius to be the father figure for the girl. Fun times indeed!

He levitated her to the sitting room and used the floo to take her to Cygnus Black's Manor. Kreacher, Dobby, and Bipsy — Cygnus Black's House-elf — had spent the previous day preparing the abandoned building for its brief occupancy by little Miss Black. Gone were the belongings left behind by the older Bellatrix, instead her bedroom looked like a typical little girl's room, with age-appropriate toys, clothes, and other furniture. For the next week, she would be living there with only Bipsy as a companion. Next Monday he would accidentally "discover" her and bring her back to Grimmauld Place.

He had made sure that Bipsy remembered only the little girl Bellatrix, and obliviated her memories of the older girl. That and a few carefully planned out orders would keep Bell's secret from both Bell and anyone else.

(⊙_◎)

"May I say congratulations, Minister Bones?" Gilderoy said as he walked into her new office, escorted by her secretary. Today, in his opinion, he was stunning in his sky-blue robe set.

She gave him a severe look. "It's your fault I'm in here," she said drily.

He grinned happily. "It couldn't have happened to a better person, especially in view of those items you know I am searching for."

She harrumphed as they settled onto the two chairs in one corner of her new office, and now permanent for the next six years, as her secretary brought over a tea set with scones.

"Oh, before I forget," he reached inside his robe pocket and pulled out a parchment. "Albus asked me to give this to you." He handed it to her. "It's something he's been working on for several years, apparently, and he claims it works." He smiled at her. He just had to put those award-winning teeth on display. He pulled a small vial out of another pocket and placed it on the table. As the label indicated, it held twenty-drops worth of Phoenix tears.

"It is truly a remarkable achievement. When he explained what it did, my first thought was of the advantage it would give you here at the Ministry. Just imagine the leverage it will give you with Death Eaters if you can offer it to some of the lower echelons in exchange for ratting out their bosses! You could even use it to put an Auror undercover in his organization."

She took a few minutes to read the parchment in detail before looking up. "Yes, this might prove quite useful."

They sat sipping their teas for a moment.

"I was surprised to read in The Daily Prophet that Barty Crouch, Senior, had been hiding his son under an imperio all these years." He shook his head ruefully. "Amazing, isn't it? The Wizard responsible for putting Sirius unjustly in Azkaban also successfully snuck his own son out after putting him there in the first place! And then kept him hidden under an Unforgiveable for years. What a hypocrite." He took a sip of tea. "Junior has already been given the Kiss, I've been led to believe." He raised an eyebrow inquiringly.

The new Minister for Magic nodded, adding, "A week after we raided the Manor, and only a day after we confirmed it really was Barty Crouch, Junior, and not someone under a glamour or polyjuiced. Veritaserum also proved it. And that he had done nothing additional in the years after his father retrieved him."

"The Wizengamot's trial for Barty, Senior, is this Thursday, is it not?"

At Madam Bone's acknowledgement, he continued, "Just so you know, I intend to name Sirius Black as the proxy for House Black. The Healers at St. Mungos tell me he is much better now, and that only time is needed for farther improvement." He chuckled. "Just imagine, that prankster in the Wizenmaggots leading House Black. Oh, yes, that lot will love having him in. And the irony of having Sirius sit judgement on Barty is just delicious." And Sirius had just loved hearing Harry calling the Wizengamot, Wizenmaggots, and adopted the word for his own use.

He set his cup back down before leaning back. "You should know that an increase in the D.M.L.E. budget will be looked on favourably by Houses Black, Potter, Slytherin, Gryffindor, and Gaunt, so long as the extra funds go to better training and armour for the Aurors. And bringing the staffing up to a more reasonable level. Just because it's quiet right now doesn't mean it will last forever."

She silently refilled his cup and handed it to him.

"You should also see about increasing the staff in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office with a few Muggle-born. Arthur Weasley is an excellent Wizard, but he is a Pureblood and for all his enthusiasm he misses things simply because he doesn't understand Muggle society today. Perhaps hire a few more Obliviators, as well. And give the poor man a raise to bring his position in line with the rest."

They sat a moment longer.

Gilderoy reached into a different pocket, pulled out two envelopes, and handed them to her. "These are invites to Harry Potter's birthday party on July 31st. One is for your niece, Susan, and the other is for Hannah Abbot. They are charmed so that only the intended recipient can read the actual address, as it is under a Fidelius Charm. I give them to you so that their parents, and your brother, will know it is all correct and above board. Also attending will be Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, and Ginny, Ron, Fred, and George Weasley. Part of the festivities will include attending a Muggle Theme Park during the day and then a cinema in the evening. As it will be quite late when they finish, they will stay overnight, chaperoned, of course, be served breakfast, and then returned to their homes.

"One of your Auror trainees is a metamorphagus, with your permission I would like to avail myself of her services for those two days as your other Aurors tend to stand out in a Muggle setting. If you would like to bring an Auror class as a stealth training exercise, I will happily pay for their attendance.

"This is Harry's very first birthday party ever and I intend it to come off without a hitch."

"Theme Park? Cinema?"

He knew she hadn't missed the fact that this would be the little Wizard's first birthday party even though he was twelve.

"I thought you might have a few questions. Here is a dodger on the theme park." He pulled a folded slick paper out of his pocket and handed it to her. "A cinema is a theatre where they show a story using moving pictures with sound instead of actors on a stage. You'll have to see one to understand. I'm planning to take them to see one called Jurassic Park. I'm sure any of your Muggle-born employees can help you find a local cinema for research."

He sat back and sipped at his tea while Madam Bones considered all he had told her.

"Well, Minister Bones, thank you for your time," he said standing. She quickly stood as well. "And I've taken enough of it already. I'm sure there are many things you need to do, so I'll take my leave." He headed for the door to her office, only to turn at the last minute.

"By the way, I remember reading and hearing about Death Eater attacks in 1980 and 1981 where the victims inexplicably failed to use their floos to escape. Did it ever occur to anyone that maybe one of the Floo Network Regulators might have been a Death Eater or a sympathizer, and that this person illegally shut off the Floo access to the target so the victims could not escape? By the time the Aurors heard there was a problem, access had already been restored. That would make them an accessory to murder, which is a more than sufficient reason to interrogate the staff from that time. Perhaps a truth compulsion on their chair when you call them in to clear up some details from that time?

"In any case, perhaps you should include a Magical Oath for the Regulators that they will not shut down Floo access without a written order from either the Wizengamot, the Head of the D.M.L.E. or the Minister."

He smiled broadly at her startled expression, and then exited her office. As he was walking away, he heard her mutter, "Every time! Every time that Wizard comes here, he oh so innocently leaves me with an exploding cauldron." And she sighed deeply.

How he loved to hear the sound of chaos in his wake. It wasn't much chaos this time, but still. He was developing a reputation . . . .

(⊙_⊙)

"Thank you all for coming today." Harry/Gilderoy looked round the sitting room. The Tonks — Andromeda, Ted, and Nymphadora — were sitting on the couch, Sirius was in one chair and Remus was in another, and Narcissa and Draco were sitting rigidly on the love seat. "I realize things in House Black have changed dramatically over the last six months, and they are continuing to change."

Sirius was glaring at Narcissa while Andromeda glanced from person to person. Narcissa was staring at Gilderoy, and Draco at the floor.

"I am, as you all know, Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defence League, five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most-Charming-Smile Award, Hogwarts' beloved Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor, and Slayer of Basilisks. I am also Lord Black, Head of the House Black, through circumstances I am not going to explain, but the results of which the Goblins tell me are incontrovertible." He displayed the House ring on his finger. "As farther evidence, Kreacher, Bipsy!"

"Kreacher is here, Master." "Bipsy is here, Master."

"I am sure you recognize Kreacher, Sirius. Narcissa, Andromeda you remember Bipsy from your father's manor, don't you?" They all nodded. Draco and Tonks both stared, amazed. "Kreacher, Bipsy, tell the truth in answer to my questions right now. Am I Lord of House Black?"

"Yes, Master." "Yes, Master."

"And you both are House-elves to House Black?"

"Yes, Master." "Yes, Master."

"And you obey my orders without question?"

"Yes, Master." "Yes, Master."

"Anyone have any questions?"

Silence.

"Excellent. You may return to your other duties," he said to the two elves.

"First business, I would like to officially welcome back to House Black Andromeda Tonks and her family. I reinstated her and her family a few months ago, but this is the first chance we've had as a family to welcome her." He turned a warm, and toothy, smile on the family. "That Nymie here is a metamorphagus shows that the family traits run strong in her blood, strengthened, no doubt, by the addition of her father's blood as well." Draco looked like he had swallowed something distasteful, but kept his mouth shut. His mother watched calmly. The Tonks family merely looked happy and proud at his acknowledgement. Sirius and Remus looked amused. Tonksie's hair was cycling through a variety of shades, which probably indicated pride, embarrassment, happiness, and several other emotions.

"Second business, welcome home, Sirius."

Sirius raised his glass of fire whiskey in salute, accepting the words of welcome from the rest of his family.

"Sirius is still recovering from his experiences in Azkaban. He is still seeing the Healers on a weekly basis for any concerns that crop up. He will be assuming the House Black chair at the Wizenmaggots and handling all the family's business. Even after being absent for ten years he knows far more about House Black interests than I do." Sirius made a face at the thought of being in the Wizengamot. "He has agreed to keep his pranking down to a minimum while in that august body's chambers." Harry smirked. "The pranks are going to be a bit more cerebral as we rebuild the Ministry into something that is actually helpful to most Wizards and Witches." He turned to face the Malfoys. "Narcissa, if you know anything about your late husband's schemes, I expect you to inform Sirius in as much detail as you can." She nodded. "Family loyalty will be rewarded," he added. "The Wight Cottage on the Isle of Wight is available if you'd like to have it as a domicile."

Gilderoy picked up Narcissa's carefully hidden surprise at the offer, and relief. He knew their budget was at the breaking point renting the house they currently lived in. Having a rent-free home would go a long ways towards providing stability. "Yes, my Lord," she said, "That would be most helpful if we could."

He nodded. "Kreacher, help them move when called."

"Yes, Master."

"If this works out, Narcissa, perhaps we can assign Kreacher to your residence."

Both Kreacher and Narcissa looked intrigued at the offer.

"Third business, House Black has a reputation of being Dark. That is going to change. House Black is going to be Grey, neither Light nor Dark. We use magic according to our needs, pushing neither Light nor Dark on anyone. We will not use any magic whose sole intent is to harm others except as defence in dire circumstances. Every sentient creature deserves our respect, no matter how lowly they may seem — even ants can kill a Wizard if they attack in sufficient number. And all are welcome here in this house as long as they agree with these tenets.

"Pureblood beliefs are a fraud. Anyone with basic math skills can show that if the Purebloods marry only Purebloods then in two hundred years there won't BE any Purebloods!" Draco looked mutinous at that statement.

He sighed and turned to the boy. "Draco, let's say there are two hundred pureblood Witches and Wizards graduating today from Hogwarts, they marry. You now have one hundred families. They each have one child, which seems the normal in Pure-blood families. In twenty-five years, those one hundred children marry and each have one child. Twenty-five years later, those fifty children marry and have one child. Then those twenty-four children marry and have one child. Draco, it hasn't been a hundred years and the pureblood lines have fallen from two hundred to twelve Pureblood children!

"Without Half-bloods to replenish the lines, the Purebloods will die out. And the Half-bloods have the same problem, it would just take longer. We need Muggle-borns coming into our marriage pool or our society is doomed. It's simple math! If you don't believe me, then do a bit of research yourself and you'll prove my point."

Draco looked stunned. In fact, so did Andromeda, Nymphadora, and Narcissa. Sirius and Remus had probably heard Lily rant on this topic herself.

"So, the philosophy of Pure-bloods above all is a disaster waiting to happen. We will not support it. That said there is no reason not to be proud of your House's ancient roots in the Magical World. That, however, does not mean you are better than anyone else, just that you are proud of your heritage. If you want ancient, the Patils can trace their line back two thousand years — by Pure-blood logic they should be top dogs in England, yet you, Draco, have looked down on them as inferiors at Hogwarts!" He stared at the boy waiting for his acknowledgement, which came as a reluctant small nod and a look away.

"And the final Family Business is someone I'd like you all to meet. Wait here a moment." Harry hurried out of the room. A minute later, he returned holding the hand of a little six-year-old black-haired girl.

"It is my great honour," he said, "to introduce to you Belladonna Bellatrix Black, the youngest daughter of Cygnus Black III and Druella Black (née Rosier) and sister to Andromeda and Narcissa." The entire room broke into gasps and exclamations. The little girl took a step back and half-hid behind Harry/Gilderoy. The youngest Tonk's hair cycling through every colour in the rainbow.

"Cygnus and Druella kept her birth a secret for reasons unknown. Sirius, you may not know it, but both Cygnus and Druella died last year Spring. Miss Black, here, has been living alone since then with only a house-elf, Bipsy, taking care of her. Last week, after Hogwarts let out, I started inventorying the Black estate. Imagine my surprise when I discovered her at Cygnus' Manor, in the private wing." He smiled down at the girl who was uncertainly staring at the two Witches now in front of her on their knees.

"Bell? These two pretty Witches are your sisters. The one on your left is Narcissa and the other is Andromeda."

Shyly, the girl said, "Hello."

He pointed at Sirius, "That cad . . ."

"Oi!"

". . . over there in the chair is Sirius, your cousin on your father's side." He pointed at Remus, "And that is Remus Lupin. Once a month, on the night of the full moon, he turns into a werewolf and is very dangerous. The rest of the time he's a pushover for little girls like you."

Remus stiffened while most everyone else stared or reached for a wand.

"Oh, come on!" Gilderoy said exasperatedly. "It's only one night a month! If you're going to get worked up about how dangerous he is once a month, then you ladies should also be looked on with fear because once a month you are real terrors for a whole week — even if your husbands never mention it to you!"

Harry was lucky to escape the sitting room intact in the storm of hexes that flew at him. He yelled down the stairs, "See? I told you women were more dangerous than werewolves!" He could hear Sirius' laughter suddenly change to yelps as he became a target.

The little girl's giggling laughter made him smile.