16 Chapter 16: Spoils, Wives and Plots

The gang had met back up at Shiva's flat again shortly into the start of the summer for another movie night. This time Remus and Sirius had joined them as well as Totally-Not-A-Maid Tonks. Hannah, Susan and Amelia – surprisingly enough – came over as well. With the addition of a few extra conjured couches and armchairs there was just enough room for everyone.

"If we end up adding any more people to the group we're going to need to find a new place to hold these meetings," Neville said with a chuckle. He was sandwiched between Susan and Hannah who had each grabbed one of his arms to drape over their shoulders.

"I'd volunteer my home but none of our rooms are much bigger," Amelia commented shrugging.

"Don't look at me," Sirius said from the seat next to Amelia. "Black Manor isn't nearly suitable for company yet. You'd be more likely to die from some random curse flying off the silverware or have your hand eaten by a book."

"Eaten by a book?" Hermione asked looking utterly horrified at the possibility. Harry chuckled at his girlfriend. She had been leaning against him far more than usually and the sheer audacity of a book that harmed its reader was the first thing to get her to shift enough for him to feel his arm again.

"Yeah and that's one of the tamer ones. I tell, you mum had some nasty volumes in that library. I swear I found one that will literally turn someone inside out if you don't open to the correct page first!"

"Wow it's really that bad at your old place, Sirius?" Harry asked.

Tonks shuddered. "You have no idea, Harry. Hell, just yesterday I found an innocent little locket that felt all sorts of wrong and I swear the thing was whispering to me. We tried to toss it but that crazy house elf damn near had a coronary and started sobbing his eyes out. Something about belonging to 'Great Master Regulus', Sirius' brother. We let the poor thing keep it eventually as long as he promised not to give it to anyone."

"I still can't believe he stopped insulting us after that," Sirius said shaking his head. "Kreacher hated me pretty much since I could talk and he sure didn't seem fond of you at all Tonksie."

"Yeah, well I'm not complaining. I figure if that house hasn't driven him insane yet than leaving him the whispering locket for another few years won't make him any worse. You know I think I've gotten more injuries from that house than the entire time I was with the Aurors. Though that may be more of a knock against them in some ways..." Tonks shrugged.

"So what horror show are you subjecting us to this week, Harry?" Daphne asked. "It's not another crazed robot assassin is it? I admit a naked Schwarzenegger is yummy but that endoskeleton," she shivered and Tracey rubbed her back.

"Aww, don't worry. It's better than a ghost that literally haunts your dreams, hon," Tracey said trying to avoid thinking about Freddy.

"I figured one final horror movie that I've always wanted to see and then we go to science fiction," Harry said.

Hermione leaned back against him again and nodded. "Back to the Future is a good choice. What was the horror one?"

"Alien," Harry said.

Tonks perked up at that and widened her eyes. "Alien? Yeah I'm moving." She left her armchair and budged Harry over to muscle into the space on his other side, pushing Shiva off the couch.

"Hey! I was sitting there!" Shiva grumbled.

"Yeah well this movie scares my hair white. The second one is great fun, but this one is scary as hell. So I'm sitting next to the one who suggested it so he's the one going deaf with my screams and taking the brunt of my arm clinging."

Hermione twisted to eye Tonks. "You do realize I am also sitting right here so you will be screaming me deaf as well?"

"Your problem for associating with the boy, Hermione," Tonks stated matter-of-factly. Hermione shook her head in exasperation, but couldn't dispute that fact.

"Well that certainly doesn't bode well," Susan muttered. "Is my boggart going to end up changing after this?"

"Don't worry, Susan," Hannah said with a rueful smile, "Neville will protect us."

"Yup, that I will." Neville puffed his chest out causing a round of laughter.

Luna looked up from petting Crookshanks. The little part-Kneazle was curled up on the girl's lap and purring contentedly. "Tracey, I was not here for the last round of movies so I am not certain of proper procedure. If I get scared may I hide with you? Harry seems to be taken already." Tracey chuckled but nodded.

"Alright all, let's start this thing," Shiva said as she hit play.

A little under an hour later almost everyone was glaring at Harry. Hermione's head was buried in his chest and Tonks had dug claw marks into his other arm. Daphne growled low. "Harry, your movie choosing privileges are hereby revoked. I am going to have nightmares about that chestburster thing until the day I die."

"Didn't you fight a basilisk though?" Luna asked from the other side of Tracey. Her voice was muffled since she was currently burrowing into the older girl's side much like Hermione was with Harry.

"Give me a thousand year old basilisk over that thing any day."

Tracey shrugged as best she could. "I still say it's better than Freddy."

"I could've sworn I remember it being bigger from when Dudley was watching it," Harry muttered sullenly.

"I would really rather it not get much bigger than that," Remus muttered. "Imagine something larger jumping out of someone's chest."

"Just keep watching," Tonks said finally loosening her grip a bit. "It gets bigger."

"Oh god, is that the chestburster?" Shiva said gaping at the 7 foot tall creature on the screen. "Talk about your growth spurts..."

"No wonder my parents didn't let me watch this movie," Hermione said from Harry's chest. "Next time we watch Jurassic Park. Everyone loves dinosaurs. Even when they're eating you everyone loves dinosaurs. Please tell me they kill it with fire Tonks? Everything dies when you torch it with fire."

"Not everything," Tonks muttered.

"Yeah, okay. That was one intelligent monster," Harry said shaking his head. "Tonks how the hell did they ramp up the sequel without making it as scary?"

"Tons more aliens, plus Marines, plus a kid too smart for her own good – "

"Like Harry," at least four voices said at the same time. Hermione, Neville, Luna and Daphne all looked at each other and laughed.

"Yes, like Harry, and lots more action with a smidge of horror. It's really good. We will have to watch it. Oh and the Queen is badass. Total BAMF. Also like Harry." Tonks grinned at them all.

"BAMF?" Harry asked.

Shiva groaned and pointed her finger at Tonks. "Guardian verdict. Don't explain that acronym. They know enough curses already."

"I'll tell you later, pup," Sirius said with a cocky grin. Shiva threw a cushion at him and Amelia reached over to slap the back of his head.

Tonks groaned as she collapsed on the bed in her flat with her arm over her eyes. "What am I doing? What the bloody hell is wrong with my mind!?"

She had slipped up. A perfectly reasonable excuse to tease Harry for picking one of the movies she both loved and hated had somehow turned into something that ended with her clinging to him like a lovesick teenager. With Hermione on his other side! What had she been thinking?! Yes he was now Heir to two Houses so he was technically still available – but that shouldn't matter! He was Harry Potter! He was barely 14 and she was almost 20!

'That age gap isn't going to matter by the time he graduates,' a traitorous corner of her mind whispered. 'Your mum and dad are eight years apart after all.'

"Not helping conscience," Tonks growled at herself. "Great now I'm talking to myself. I need a freaking drink."

She knew what the problem was, which ultimately just made things even worse. Tonks' abilities had been present since she was a toddler. She'd been changing colors to blend in with the furniture since before she could remember. It had all started out so fun. Changing bodies and colors like most people changed clothes was her favorite game. Then she started school at Hogwarts.

At first the others had been weirded out. Then they got annoyed. Then scared. She'd been called a freak and a deviant for nearly three years. At the time she had learned to brush it off. She'd met Charlie and Bill and Shiva and things hadn't been so bad for the most part. People were idiots and she could have fun with the idiots. All it took was a quick change to do some revenge with their face and boom! Problem solved.

Then she'd hit puberty and suddenly people stopped disliking her. It seemed most of the males in the castle had all at once realized that they didn't have to date their Veela supermodel. They just had to date her. Tonks could look like anybody. And if the boys hadn't had a picture of their perfect woman then all they had to do was sculpt one. A bit of a breast expansion here, a waist tuck there, a hair bob up top...on and on and on. At first she'd loved the attention. Boys liked her. They wanted to be with her, to talk to her. By the time she realized what had been going on she'd already had a reputation of being easy to date. None got further than a kiss but all had tried. The only exception had been Charlie but Charlie was only interested in dragons. Hell, Tonks was half convinced if he could find a dragon willing, he'd marry her. Or maybe he was just into guys. It didn't really matter, he never looked at her beyond giving her prank advice.

Once she figured out that the boys at school were only going out with her for her powers she had stopped dating. A lot of the girls still hated her since she could still be more beautiful than them without trying and their boyfriends still wanted to go after her instead. By the time she'd graduated, Tonks had managed to get a far different rep. She was known as one of the most dangerous people in school and hardly anyone had had the guts to go up to her by the end for fear she'd snap.

The Aurors were supposed to be different. She'd been one of the few accepted, one of the youngest ever. She'd been Mad-Eye Moody's protégé. His very last before he retired last year. She had excelled at everything except the stealth portions. And yet it was school all over again. If they didn't see her as just an asset to be used thanks to her powers than she was simply an upstart with lofty, unattainable ideas. Never mind that her ideas would've improved the security of a dozen checkpoints for half the cost. Or that they still didn't have animagus wards installed anywhere. Or that she had managed to take out three gangs by posing as one of the captured members and going to the meets. None of that mattered. All that mattered was that she could shift to become whatever they currently needed.

And then there was Harry.

Tonks plopped down onto her couch with Muggle tequila in hand and scowled. Harry. The teenager who had never once said anything about her abilities beyond that she 'needed to keep her hair colorful.' Which hadn't even been about her powers but about her stupid mood! Tonks downed the glass of alcohol and poured herself another. Harry had never cared about her powers. He looked on it as something funny and cool but that was it. And she knew he wasn't gay since he was with Hermione. And she'd caught at least Daphne and sometimes Luna eyeing him as well. And now her bloody cousin had to go and make him another bloody Heir so he was back on the market!

Tonks finished her drink and glared at the glass. When had she finished the bottle? Not important. She had more. She needed to drink enough to forget about the teenager with beautiful eyes and an even more beautiful personality. She needed to drink enough to remember that she couldn't let herself fall for him. She needed to drink enough to hope that he'd still be available when he was older and she wouldn't feel like a cradle-robber.

Now where was that extra bottle of tequila?

Hermione sat down to dinner with her parents smiling at Crookshanks as he hopped up into his place at the table. It might not be totally normal to have a place setting for your cat but Crooks was practically a member of the family. He was certainly smart enough to warrant a bit of extra consideration and if it made him less likely to 'accidentally' claw her shirts or robes well...it seemed like an easy enough concession.

"So, Hermione, when are we going to meet this boyfriend of yours?" her father, Richard, asked.

"Dad, you already met him," Hermione said shaking her head in exasperation. "The summer before my second year; remember?"

"That doesn't count," Emma interjected. "That was simply saying hello to your best friend and putting a face to a name. We have yet to meet him as your boyfriend. They are far different circumstances, dear."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Dad, Mum, remember how I told you about some of our adventures? And about some of Harry's circumstances – specifically regarding his upbringing?"

"I remember you carefully evading telling us about how dangerous your school actually is and only admitting to it after we threatened to pull you out. Are those the adventures you're talking about, honey?" Richard asked. His smile was somewhat strained though Hermione was slightly relieved that he was at least cracking a joke about it and teasing her instead of the riot act she had received last summer.

"Err, yes, Dad," Hermione mumbled. "Those would be the adventures...At least last year wasn't as bad right?"

Richard groaned and shook his head. "I hardly call you nearly getting your soul eaten by a giant skeletal mouth in a robe 'better', Hermione."

Hermione paled a bit as Crookshanks gave a sound reminiscent of a croaking laugh. "It really wasn't that bad, Daddy. I was surrounded by my friends and several adults and..."

"Hermione," Emma said raising her eyebrows, "while we may not be heavily involved in your world we are still somewhat resourceful. If you really don't want us to know what is going on you should never have introduced us to that lovely Shiva woman or Amelia Bones."

"And you really shouldn't have told us the name of that magazine your friend writes for," Richard said. He chuckled. "Honestly, honey, getting yourself in the paper is a rather poor way of staying quiet about these things."

Hermione groaned. "I didn't realize Luna had printed a story about that...Ugh, well that sucks."

"It could be worse. To be honest, the only reason we aren't tearing down that school at the foundations to get you out is because it appears your adventures are considered rather extreme even by their standards! I doubt us simply moving you to a new school would curb this wild child we've apparently raised. I'm actually a little impressed." Richard beamed at his daughter. "From what I've read, those Dementor things were considered unkillable before you and your boyfriend figured out a way to take them out. Good show, dear, good show!"

"It was mostly, Harry," Hermione said blushing. "I just yelled at him for nearly getting himself killed. Again...I really do need to stop freaking out when he gets into dangerous situations like that – I truly should be used to it by now..." Hermione finished in a mutter. Shaking her head she turned back to her parents. "Anyway, that feeds nicely back into my original point. Dad, Harry is not going to be intimidated by you. You're a dentist. He's faced a 60 foot snake, a troll, an evil madman, said soul-sucking affronts to nature...you're far too nice to worry him."

"Oh?" Emma said. Her mouth quirked up as Richard mimed holding his heart in pain. "I'm sure we can come up with something, honey. There is a natural progression to these things after all."

"Mother, please," Hermione groaned resisting the impulse to slam her head onto the table. The last thing Harry needed was her parents trying to harass him. She paused for a moment as she considered whether or not she should be bringing up the more...unusual aspect of her developing relationship now or put it off til later. Much later. Years later.

"Honey," Richard said cocking his head. "You're thinking about something far too hard again."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she deadpanned.

"You might as well just tell us now, Hermione."

"I'd really rather not. You're not going to like it. It's taken me some time to get used to it myself," Hermione sighed. It was a losing battle trying to fight her parents. It was like fighting a brick wall.

"Hermione, what is wrong?" Emma asked her concern evident.

"Nothing's wrong, mum." Hermione shrugged. "It's just...unusual. It's not quite what we're used to."

"There's a lot of that in the wizarding world from what I understand," Richard said slowly.

"Yes, but this is a situation that doesn't come up very often even by their standards. It will likely happen quite a bit more though in my generation if only because of how many families were brought to the brink of dying out in the last war..."

"Hermione, daughter, honey, stop evading." Her dad gave her his patented 'I am your father, do what I say' look.

She caved. "Fine. I've told you how Harry is the last of his family, yes? And I've told you that his godfather was recently cleared of all charges? Well Sirius was also the last of his family, except Sirius has encountered issues due to his imprisonment so he's effectively sterile. He nominated Harry to carry on his line. Going by the archaic rules of wizarding culture, Harry needs to keep the two lines separate."

"Please tell me that doesn't mean what I think it means?" Emma said leaning back into her chair with a deep sigh.

"It does actually, mum," Hermione said grimacing. "Surprisingly it does make some sense and I can actually understand the initial rationale. It wasn't because the leaders wanted harems, it was because they wanted to avoid killing themselves off. Purebloods are a notoriously small community; many of them are related to each other in some way. If they allowed two or more lines to merge then you'd quickly wind up with even less suitable partners and a great deal of inbreeding. By splitting the lines and having half-brothers and half-sisters instead of full siblings they could continue on intermarrying without worrying about much more than cousins marrying cousins. There wouldn't be as many problems with genetic disorders that way. So it makes sense for a small community."

Hermione shrugged. "I'm just glad that I found out about this type of situation earlier so I had time to get used to it. Now that Harry is in this boat I can honestly say I'm not particularly surprised...everything that happens around that boy is odd."

"You're still planning to continue dating him knowing he's going to have a second girlfriend?" Richard asked with wide eyes.

"Yes, I do," Hermione said simply. "I care about him a great deal, Daddy. Harry is sweet, caring, dependable, powerful, smart and ambitious. He doesn't care for his fame but he will use it if he has to in order to help a friend and he routinely risks his own life to save ours. He always puts me and his other friends first – even though I can be...a bit bossy. He understands I only really get that way when I'm stressed and he's learning how to calm me down without calling any attention to it. He is everything I've ever hoped for in a boy and I have no intention of letting him get away."

"And the second woman in his life doesn't matter to you at all?" Emma pressed.

"While I admit it's not ideal per se nor is it what I grew up imagining...I'm not above admitting it could be...um...err...interesting," Hermione said with a blush.

"Oh, really?" Richard said his eyebrows climbing into his hairline.

"Yes...two of our friends are proceeding in that direction and I can see some of the appeal. Actually," Hermione admitted, her face deepening to a dark red, "it's a bit of a shame really. The girl I'd primarily try to steer Harry to is already taken unfortunately. Daphne is a good match for him both in intelligence and skill. She's already become something like his right hand. But she's with Tracey – at least for the moment – so I've made a list of other suitable prospects. The real trick is going to be convincing both of them that the age difference is acceptable I think...I'm still working on how to bring up."

"You've made a list of potential girlfriends for your boyfriend..." Her mother sounded both impressed and incredulous.

"Well of course. If Harry is going to be forced into having a second wife then I am bloody well going to be sure that I like this girl and that she is well suited for him."

"He can't just say no?"

Hermione sighed. "Technically he could – and knowing Harry he probably would. But in practical terms it would be a very bad idea. If we intend to remain in the wizarding world then a deliberate snub like that would make life very difficult." Hermione paused and gave a small smile. "It would also be horribly unfair to Sirius. He seems like a nice man and he doesn't deserve to have his family name die out just because I wasn't willing to share."

Richard groaned and ran a hand over his eyes. "So how does Harry feel about all this?"

Hermione frowned and Crookshanks made his little laugh again. "Laugh it up fuzzball," she muttered, then continued louder, "Actually, I'm not sure. Now that you mention it, Dad, he really would've talked to me about it before we left school." Hermione's eyes widened and she chewed on her bottom lip. "Oh I hope he understood what Sirius had meant. If he doesn't realize that he's expected to have another girlfriend..."

Emma looked at Richard and laughed. "That's our girl. She's ten steps ahead yet still skipping the very first step!"

"I think I need to talk to Harry this weekend..." Hermione muttered.

Gringotts loomed ahead of Harry and Shiva as he walked towards the large white building. It still caused him to smile; he found it one of the most impressive buildings in Diagon Alley. Seeing Daphne standing just beside the steps leading up, Harry waved. She nodded back to him though the man beside her didn't do much beyond blink.

"Hello, Heir Potter," Daphne said giving a slight curtsy as they came up and raising her eyebrows at him.

Harry took her cue and bowed back. "Hello, Heiress Greengrass, Lord Greengrass."

"Heir Potter," Daphne's father calmly said nodding his head. "Professor Babbling, good morning. We haven't had the pleasure of meeting before. I am Lord Marcus Greengrass. I've heard you have some skill at warding and rune crafting similar to your ward."

"I'm better with wardings, yes, but I'm not as good with the rune crafting as Harry, Lord Greengrass," Shiva said shaking his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Before anyone could say anything more a small bundle flew around the corner nearby and jumped into Harry's arms. "Harry! You made it! How are you? Daphne said I should leave you alone for a while, but I said she was being boring. I mean, you killed a Dementor! How cool is that! And you guys have a nickname now! I heard how you guys stood up to Ravenclaw and then to the Minister! You totally need to take her as your second wife! I can help. I know all her favorite jewelry so I can totally help you bribe her and – "

"Astoria!" Lord Greengrass snarled. "We have business to discuss. Don't you have shopping you are supposed to be doing?"

"But, Daddy..." Astoria pouted. Harry was still trying to figure out how he was supposed to be reacting. The girl was adorable but she seemed to have a knack for rendering him somewhat speechless.

"No buts Astoria," Greengrass sighed and shook his head. He patted her shoulder then gently pushed her back the way she came. "We have quite a bit to discuss and it wouldn't do to give the wrong impression."

"Fine. You never let me have any fun. Bye, Harry, I'll come find you later so we can plan." Just as suddenly as she had appeared, the youngest Greengrass disappeared back into the Alley.

"I think she's gotten even more energetic than the last time," Harry said staring after her.

"You have no idea," Daphne groaned. "I can barely get her to shut up at home. I'm completely amazed that she keeps trying to set me up with you when she's the one who's obsessed."

"Please ignore my youngest," Greengrass said sighing. "Now I believe we have business to get to." He gestured towards Gringotts and the others nodded heading up the stairs. Shiva next to Marcus and Daphne hanging back with Harry.

As they walked up into Gringotts Daphne said softly, "Sorry about the extreme formality, Harry. Father can be...difficult to deal with. It's best to just humor him for a bit. We can drop the titles and everything pretty soon."

"It's fine, Daph," Harry whispered back. "Neville's grandmother was similar at first."

"Marcus Greengrass is no Augusta Longbottom," Daphne muttered scowling. Neither of the teens noticed the goblin guards they passed bowing their heads or butting their weapons against the ground in a salute. "Just follow my lead, if he says anything insulting try to ignore it and whatever you do, don't sign something he gives you without reading everything and preferably getting a solicitor to look it over too. The last thing I need is to get locked into a marriage contract before I hit 15."

"Well you can't get into one with me anyway," Harry said grinning at her. "You already know I have that one with Ginny putting me into a nice limbo."

Daphne frowned at him. "For House Potter, yes, but not for – "

"Lord Greengrass and Heir Potter, goblin. We have a meeting with Halfclaw," Marcus' voice cut through their discussion. Harry turned from his friend grimacing. Insulting the goblins wasn't going to get them anywhere fast.

Looking up at the teller, Harry mouthed a silent, "Sorry."

"Wizard," the goblin sneered. He turned to the other three in the party and continued in a gruff voice, "Welcome to Gringotts, Professor Babbling. Warrior Potter, Warrior Greengrass, may your gold ever flow."

"May your hoarde be increased," Harry responded with a bit of a bow. Beside him Daphne was blinking repeatedly and Harry had to nudge her to get her to respond.

"Oh, may your hoard be increased, Master Teller," Daphne finally said giving a small curtsy.

"Warrior Potter, Warrior Greengrass, your meeting is expected. Vault-runner Griphook will escort you to the location."

"Thank you," Daphne said nodding at the goblin.

Marcus' eyes narrowed shifting between the teller and Daphne though he held his tongue. Griphook again exchanged greetings with Harry and dropped them off in a room with a large table in the middle and several chairs on either side. Harry and Daphne took the center seats with their respective guardians on either side. After they were left alone, Marcus turned to Daphne and asked, "Warrior? What have you done to the goblins, Daphne?"

"It's a respectful term, Lord Greengrass," Shiva said rolling her eyes. "Your daughter and my ward apparently impressed them with the description of the battle with the basilisk last year. They were awarded titles in recognition."

Daphne raised her eyebrows at Harry. "A little heads up would've been appreciated."

"I assumed you knew about it," Harry said running a hand through his hair. "I figured you'd have already been back in the bank before we met up again and it didn't ever really come up in conversation."

"We will discuss this later, Potter," she grumbled. Marcus nodded though he was still staring at his daughter.

Ten minutes later they were still waiting. "If this is what we can expect from prearranging a meeting than I should simply show up unannounced next time," Marcus grumbled. "Such a waste of time."

'Well that's what happens when you piss them off,' Harry thought sighing. He caught Shiva's eyes and had to avoid laughing as he saw her rolling her eyes at the older man.

Thankfully Halfclaw showed up shortly and after exchanging greetings he shifted right into business. "Warrior Potter, Warrior Greengrass, I understand you have a proposition for us?"

Harry nodded to Daphne who bobbed her head and started talking, "We do. We are interested in contracting the Goblin Nation to render a basilisk corpse and sell the useable parts."

"This would be the basilisk slain in early April, 1993?"

"It would," she agreed.

Halfclaw settled back into his chair and laced his fingers. "You understand the Nation will of course require a processing fee."

"We do. We request that payment be in the form of the edible meat."

"All edible meat plus 20 percent of the profits," the goblin said immediately.

"Half the edible meat plus 5 percent," Daphne replied just as fast.

"Three quarters meat plus 15 percent."

"Three quarters meat plus 10 percent," Daphne said with raised eyebrows.

Halfclaw gave her a toothless smile and a nodded. "Very well. We will agree to that. Stipulations on the rendering?"

"Harry?" Daphne asked turning to her friend.

Harry looked at the group and considered. "I would like to keep enough of the skin to have 15 suits of armor made." That statement set off three quick intakes of breath beside him which Harry ignored. "I'd also like to keep two of the fangs large enough to be sculpted into hilts for blades. Finally, I want the skeleton intact."

Halfclaw had nodded appreciatively at the first two items but he paused at the last. "Why do you wish the skeleton left untouched, Warrior Potter? It would be far simpler to debone the carcass as we go."

"I want to hang it in my entrance hall at some point whenever I actually move into my manor," Harry shrugged. Four sets of mouths dropped open and gaped at him. "What? I killed the stupid thing, and I'm starting to understand that half of Pureblood politics is intimidation. How much more intimidating can you get than hanging a 60 foot basilisk skeleton in your hall with the mouth pointed at the door and saying nonchalantly 'oh that, I killed that with my friend when I was 12'?" Shiva groaned and shook her head at him while Marcus' eyes had widened and Daphne just looked at him with a curious gleam in her eyes.

Halfclaw started laughing so hard he had to hold his stomach. "I see now why Snapfist thought you worthy of the Warrior title! It will be done. I assume you want replicas of the teeth as well?"

"Yes, please," Harry nodded.

"Very well," Halfclaw said. "When can the Nation start rendering?"

"Shiva?" Harry asked turning to his guardian.

"I can let us into the school whenever; though it's probably best to get it done prior to next weekend."

"The Headmaster will be out on Wizengamot business at that point, no?" Marcus asked, the hint of a smile on his face.

"Why yes, I do believe that coincides with his absence. Funny that isn't it?"

"Indeed."

Shiva turned back to the goblin, "Harry will have to be with us at least initially as the entrance has a double Parseltongue lock on it."

"Understood," Halfclaw said waving that problem aside. "We will contact you via owl with the date and time. Warrior Greengrass, do you wish notification of the rendering as well or simply a statement of the end balance?"

"I will attend the rendering with Warrior Potter. Father?" Daphne asked turned to Marcus.

He just shook his head. "A simple statement is all that is necessary for me."

"Very well." Halfclaw reached over and pulled a contract from his stack of papers. He filled in several spots and slid it over to the humans. "Sign on the indicated lines. Excellent. The arrangements will be made immediately. Warrior Potter, Account Manager Snapfist is expecting you for a private meeting immediately following our conclusion. Professor Babbling, as your guardian, may attend. May your enemies fall before you Warrior Potter, Warrior Greengrass."

"May their blood wet your blade," Harry and Daphne both said standing. Marcus and Shiva followed suit and Halfclaw left the room.

"Well," Marcus said, "that went better than I had expected. Heir Potter, Professor Babbling, good day to you both. Come along, Daphne."

"Coming, Father," Daphne said. As she walked out she flashed Harry a grin and waved goodbye.

Shiva shook her head at her ward and snorted. " 'I want the skeleton so I can freak everyone out.' Nice, kid. A little heavy handed there don't you think?"

"Probably but you gotta admit, it'll be bloody awesome!" Harry said smiling up at her.

"Sadly it probably will be." She paused and tapped her chin in thought. "That was a good idea with snagging a lot of the skin for protection. You can't get much better than basilisk hide. It's even more spell resistant than dragon-scale. 15 suits of armor seems a bit of overkill though."

"Well it's not all for me," Harry said rolling his eyes.

"Not what I meant, kid," Shiva said snorting.

"I'll get one for me, you, Hermione, Daphne, Luna, Tonks, Tracey, Neville, Susan, maybe Hannah, and we'll see if Amelia wants one. It's better to have some extra left over if we need it. And I probably won't have them made until we all stop growing anyway."

"Smart move," Shiva nodded appreciatively. "Alright, let's go see what your accountant has to say. Maybe we'll get lucky and you can finally get rid of Dumbledore as your magical guardian."

"Warrior Potter," Snapfist said as everyone sat down around the goblin's desk, "you will be pleased to know that the mail ward following your person has been dispelled as of several hours ago. You should start receiving all held packages shortly."

Harry frowned and cocked his head at the goblin. "All held packages? As in 13 years worth of mail will be heading my way?"

"Yes."

"That…seems a bit much," Harry said slowly. "There wasn't any way for you guys to maybe sent a few loads at a time instead of all at once?"

"I don't believe we ever specified that," Snapfist said with a grin. Just because he liked Harry Potter did not mean the warrior was going to be immune to a bit of fun on the goblin's part. "I am certain that a Warrior of your caliber can handle a little bit of fan mail."

Harry scowled and gave a nice little growl. "Low blow, Snapfist," the youngling sighed. "Fine, whatever. At least I get my mail and can start sending off replies and apologies. I don't suppose the dangerous ones were sorted out?"

"Cursebreaker Weasley was contracted to include that item. None of the mail will have anything beyond words or gifts. Any dangerous artifacts, compulsion charms, potions or portkeys will have been removed," Snapfist said with a nod. That concession had been difficult to swallow as it was normally a service they could charge quite extensively for. However his own rash proclamation of taking care of the issue had forced their hand.

"If the mail was redirected away from Harry then how did you find it to send it back to him?" Shiva asked. "I had expected you to just get rid of the redirection charm."

"It was a simple charm," the goblin said waved a claw in disinterest. "No elegance, merely powerful. All letters and parcels were being kept in a large storeroom."

"And was it Dumbledore who placed it?" Harry asked back to scowling.

Snapfist gave a throaty chuckle. "Indeed. Your assumption had proven correct, Warrior Potter. Headmaster Dumbledore has been charged…a very hefty fine. In fact I believe it may have relieved him of nearly half his vault," Snapfist tapped his finger on the desk. "Quite a shame he had enough to avoid dragon cleanup duty. Ah well, perhaps next time we can be so lucky?"

Harry and Shiva both gawked at him for a moment before laughing. "Okay, that works. Thanks, Snapfist. It's much appreciated." The goblin nodded. "Anything else you needed us for?"

"Three things," he pushed some papers across the desk to the humans. "This is the status report for Potter Manor. The restoration work has been nearly completed. The escape tunnel is the largest remaining item. We expect the project to be complete early September."

"Cool," Shiva said nodding. Harry was looking at the plans and trying to pretend like they meant something to him though it was exceedingly obvious in his perplexed grunts that the blueprints were gibberish.

"The second item pertains to your new status as Heir Black," Snapfist continued. "After you assume the Lordship for both House Potter and House Black, you should endeavor to be careful with which name you sign documents under. Both will of course be binding, but they would carry down the lines separately. Gringotts has been authorized by Lord Sirius Black to allow you access to the Black Family vault. Here is your key."

Harry frowned. "What do you mean, carry down the lines separately? Will I have to give my second kid the surname Black?"

Shiva turned to him with wide eyes. "Shite, I keep forgetting you weren't raised a Pureblood," she muttered.

Snapfist raised his eyebrows at the boy. "I mean your second wife, Warrior Potter."

"My second…wife…" Harry said in shock. Then he groaned and turned to Shiva. "He's serious isn't he?"

"Yeah," she shrugged and gave a sheepish grin. "I'm afraid he is; sorry, kid. I assumed you understood that part when Sirius brought it up at the end of the term."

Harry's groan grew louder and he covered his face in his hands. "Hermione's going to kill me…Bloody hell, I wish Daphne had stuck around to explain this shite. Wait," he sat up straight with wide eyes, "that's what she meant on the steps about avoiding a contract. Shite! Snapfist, can we prevent a marriage contract with me in House Black like we did with Potter?"

"As there is no current contract for a member of House Black no, that legal loophole is not available," Snapfist said with a shrug. "The point is moot though as Lord Black would have to sign for it regardless of your official magical guardian." The goblin gave another toothless grin and twined his fingers. "Though from my limited dealings with Lord Black, you may have even more to worry about from his direction than from Dumbledore's."

"Yeah, don't worry, Harry," Shiva said with a chuckle. "I'll neuter the dog if he tries to set anything up for you."

"Thanks." Harry sighed again and slumped into his chair. "I need to talk to Hermione. And figure out how to bring this up without her tossing out spells…there's no way around this?"

"Well you could certainly combine the two families," Snapfist said unconcerned. "However you'd likely end up with worse relations amongst your people than my own have with them."

"Wow…I really hate this world sometimes. It seriously needs a kick in the pants to drag it into the 20th Century."

"Now, Warrior Potter, the final issue relates to that of your magic guardian," Snapfist grimaced and pushed some papers around his desk. "Unfortunately the Wizengamot was very careful with their wording. Sirius Black is not eligible to take the guardianship nor to designate a responsible proxy. As of this time, we see nothing short of emancipation or being declared an adult by your Ministry to get you away from Dumbledore's hand."

"Shite. Well I can't say I'm surprised, but it does still suck," Harry shook his head. "Well thanks for checking."

"We'll just have to see if there is a way to get you declared an adult at some point, Harry," Shiva said. "Maybe we can slip an addendum onto some new law or something. People use riders to bypass all sorts of things in the Muggle world, might as well try to steal a page out of their book."

"That is a potential solution, Professor Babbling," Snapfist said nodding to the female. It was both conniving and elegant. It would never work, but he saluted her effort at least. It was nice to see that at least some humans had a bit of cunning in them. Though from the whispers he'd heard from Halfclaw about Warrior Greengrass, she was quite impressive on that front as well. "I believe this concludes our business for the day. May your enemies fall before you." The humans exchanged parting words and walked off.

Sirius Black waltzed into Shiva's apartment shouting, "I'm rich!" He threw his hands up in the air and expected some congratulations yet was only rewarded by a slap on the back of his head by Amelia who came in behind him.

"Stop grandstanding, Siri," the woman said.

"What happened to the fun loving, prank playing Amy?" Sirius whined, rubbing his head.

"She grew up. And she got annoyed after your Great Hufflepuff Panty Raid in Seventh Year," Amelia replied deadpan.

"Hufflepuff Panty Raid?" Shiva asked sticking her head around the corner. "I thought that was just a myth. The girls treated it like an urban legend. That was you guys? That's really impressive. You actually got around the charms on the stairs?"

"Third Year!" Sirius said puffing up his chest.

Tonks snorted behind him. "Let me guess, you had someone levitate you to the landings."

"Well, it doesn't sound nearly that awesome when you put it that way…" Sirius mumbled. "And how come nobody cares I'm rich?"

"Weren't the Blacks already rich?" Shiva asked heading back into the main rooms.

"Well we were pretty well off though Mother was apparently rather free with the spending while I was on my island. I'm talking about back pay and wrongful imprisonment compensation now though. I got 12 years of Auror payment all in one lump sum! And the compensation stuff is coming directly from the accounts of Crouch and Bagnold!" He rubbed his hand on the back of his head and grimaced a bit. "I do feel a bit bad that I'm basically bankrupting both but…well they did toss me on that tropical paradise without a trial so…"

"Are you still on about that island thing?" Tonks said shaking her pink hair and walking past him. "Wotcher Harry. Woah." She stopped dead and stared at the piles and piles of letters and boxes littering the room. Harry was at the table writing and Shiva was sitting on the floor opening up some of the packages and moving them to different piles. "Just a bit of mail then? Are these the fan clubs for 'I Killed A Dementor' or 'I Killed a Basilisk' or are they the typical 'Marry Me I'm Hot' options?" She picked up one letter that drifted off the top of a pile at snickered. "Gaining some pretty young fans there, squirt. I'd recommend at least waiting until they are out of the crayon age."

Harry snorted. "Thanks for the advice, Damsel-In-Distress."

"Damsel-In-Distress? Ouch, that hurts me right here," she said faking a wince and holding her heart.

"Better than Battle Maid," Shiva commented grabbing another package.

Tonks opened and closed her mouth a few times before finally regaining her voice. "I may be a Battle Maid but I am not going to put on a French fufu apron for you, Harry." She paused and her hair briefly shifted to bright blue before turning back to pink. "And I actually do kinda prefer Battle Maid over Damsel. I may not be an Auror anymore, but I'm still a hell of a fighter."

"Battle Maid, do me a favor and grab me a few more of those crayon letters," Harry said waving to a pile. "They're all my backed up mail from when I was toddler. I'm trying to respond in somewhat chronological order. Sorta. Mostly."

"You're writing all the replies by hand, pup?" Sirius asked grabbing a seat.

"Yeah. Seems the best way to apologize for taking a decade to get back to them."

"You realize you wouldn't have known how to write for the first few of these anyway," Shiva said cocking an eyebrow at him.

"Doesn't matter." Harry shrugged and shook out his hand. "I'm going to get carpal tunnel before I finish these…"

Amelia grimaced in sympathy and leaned against the counter near Sirius. "I feel your pain; paperwork is awful. I recommend localized numbing potions – they are a godsend. It's nice of you do this, Harry."

"What are we doing with the toys and the animals again?" Shiva asked holding up a stuffed dragon that gave a cute little roar.

"Oh I like that one!" Harry said grinning. "Keep the cool ones to the side. The rest we'll send to an orphanage."

"Can I have this panther one, Harry?" Tonks asked holding up a stuffed panther that was prowling around her leg.

"Sure." Harry leaned back and shook out his hand again. "Sirius, if I could feel my hand right now I'd probably be slugging you. Just so you know."

"Little old me?" Sirius asked grinning wildly. "Whatever have I done to warrant such abuse?"

"You mean this time?" Amelia muttered.

"Oh I don't know, maybe roping me into becoming a polygamist without bothering to ask?" Harry said with raised eyebrows.

Shiva snickered and Tonks almost dropped her new panther. "Wait, you didn't know about that, Harry?" she asked.

"Everybody keeps assuming I understand everything about wizarding politics," Harry said with a sigh. "Reading books and being friends with several Heirs will only get you so far you know. I found out from the goblins the other day."

"Oh…" Sirius grimaced. "Sorry, pup. I figured Neville had told you. There's really no one else I can leave the Black name to. Remus has refused flat out to accept it, Frank is in no condition, most of my other male friends are dead or not close enough to me…I'd give it to Andi or Tonks if I could, but some of the inheritance laws only allow for males. It can be changed for the next generation but that doesn't help at the moment. If I didn't leave it to you than it would probably end up passing to Draco," he snorted at that. "There is no way a Malfoy is taking control of the Black family."

"Yeah, I know," Harry sighed. He gestured to Shiva. "Shiva explained that much. If you do something similar in the future though please tell me beforehand. Also don't you dare establish any sort of marriage contract or I will let my friends and family neuter you. Deal?"

Sirius gulped and hurriedly nodded. "Deal."

"Good. Oh, on an unrelated note, I've been meaning to ask you something. How did you go about becoming an animagus? Seems like a really cool thing to be able to do," Harry said.

"It's mostly a meditation exercise at first. There's a potion that helps you connect to your inner animal and then you just need to get good with self-transfiguration. The actual final step is a combination between self-transfiguration and a charm so you have to be decent at both to finish it. The charm is what makes it different. Self-transfiguration by itself would wear off after a bit and you wouldn't really be able to think right in your form plus you need a wand. An actual animagus though is a one form, wandless deal," Sirius shrugged. "Some foreign countries prefer the former because it's more versatile, but I figure the indefinite nature of animagi and the ability to keep thinking like a human is the better deal. Plus you can get a bit of a glimpse into your own inner nature. Animagus transformations reflect a bit of what makes you, you."

"I read there was a ritual you could use to do it basically overnight," Harry said tapping his chin. "Is that what you, Pettigrew and my dad used to do it so fast?"

Harry looked up and saw Sirius and Amelia's faces were white. Tonks' hair had shifted to pure black and she collapsed onto the ground next to Shiva. Shiva's face had gone almost as white as Sirius' and she hurriedly pushed to her feet striding over to Harry. "Give me whatever book you found that thing in right now, Harry!"

"Shiva?" Harry asked taken completely aback by the reaction of the people around him.

"Harry," Sirius said slowly and quietly, "do not, under any circumstances use that ritual. That is not what we did. We worked hard for our transformations. That ritual is not something to play around with on a lark. It is dangerous."

"The ritual you mentioned, Harry, leads to at least three or four deaths per year," Amelia said. Tonks nodded in agreement, still at a loss for words.

"I don't understand…" Harry said looking between the others and shrinking a bit into his chair.

"Harry," Shiva knelt down next to him and put her hand on his shoulder, "the requirements for the ritual are extremely specific. The problem is that the actual knowledge of the ingredients prior to starting the thing is very vague. You could start it knowing you need a mammal of some sort but find out halfway through that the animal is an elephant and you brought a mouse. At that point you're deep enough into the thing that stopping it would kill you from the magical backlash. And continuing would leave you – at best – stuck as an animal for the rest of your life. At worst, you'd be turned inside out as the magic tried and failed to finalize." She squeezed his shoulder and held his gaze. "Promise me, kid, that you will never do that ritual."

"Okay, I promise," he said softly.

"Good," she sighed. "Good." Pulling Harry into a hug, Shiva continued softly, "Don't scare me like that, kid."

"You didn't see the warnings surrounding the description, Harry?" Tonks asked, her hair had shifted to a deep blue instead of black.

"All it said was to be sure to get the separate components right. It didn't say anything about dying or getting stuck as something else if it was done wrong…"

"Never play with rituals," Amelia said heavily. "Almost all rituals can go horribly bad if done even slightly incorrectly."

"Yeah," Harry said leaning his head against Shiva's shoulder. "Good to know."

Dolores Umbridge had a fly-eating grin plastered across her face as she sat in the chair across from Cornelius Fudge. She had just come from the her recent meeting with the most exciting idea she'd had in some time. It would be perfect! It might even be enough to finally convince Cornelius that she was available!

"Dolores, you said this was urgent?" Fudge asked looking up at the Undersecretary.

"I just left a meeting with Albus Dumbledore, Cornelius. It was," she gave a little giggle, "most enlightening."

"Oh, how so? Normally Albus would come to me personally with such things…" Fudge said frowning.

"You were busy, Cornelius. There didn't seem a reason to interrupt you," she said. "Dumbledore had mentioned that Crouch was in the process of restarting the Triwizard Tournament prior his dismissal. That was such a beautiful maneuver by the way. I did so love watching his little mustache quiver as he realized you were painting him as the patsy for the entire Sirius Black affair!"

"Well it certainly wasn't hard," Fudge muttered. "The man was at fault initially. All I had to do was make certain that Skeeter and her colleagues ignored how much I had pushed things after Black's escape. Lucius was only too glad to help me ensure that the blame was properly directed."

"Yes, such a fine upstanding citizen he is," Umbridge smiled wider thinking of Lucius Malfoy. Such wonderful breeding in that family. Truly enviable. "Anyway, apparently Dumbledore wants the Tournament to be cancelled due to the high death toll."

"That's not a bad idea," Fudge said nodding. "The last thing we need right now is more bad publicity."

"Ah, but, Cornelius, you aren't thinking high enough." Umbridge took out a picture of Harry Potter and laid it on the desk. "If you name me as the official to this Tournament it should be a relatively simple matter to include the boy in the games. A game which has a nasty little habit of killing off its contestants." Her grin grew even larger. "The old fool even made the mistake of casually mentioning how he was glad that the current round of Tasks were far tamer than in the past."

Fudge's eyes widened and his mouth set into a predatory smile before drooping a bit. "That's delightfully underhanded of you, Dolores. I admit I want the boy to be taught a lesson about jumping into waters far out of his depth but…setting him up to die seems a bit extreme."

"The little menace not only insulted you to your face, Cornelius, but he did it in front of multiple witnesses. He insulted the very Ministry itself! The foundation of our society!" Umbridge simpered.

"Still…well I suppose it's not like his death would be assured…he would of course have a chance to survive though he would likely walk away with injuries...And it could drum up some popularity for the country…" Fudge thought out loud. He shifted his bowler hat and slowly nodded. "If we move forward with this Dolores we'd need to make certain that the Ministry looks good either way. Having a national hero maimed or killed in a Ministry sponsored event would reflect rather poorly."

"Of course, of course," Umbridge hurriedly agreed. "Put me in place as one of the judges and I can ensure that the brat is picked as Champion. If we state previously that no underage contestants can enter then Potter would look like the villain as everyone would assume he cheated in order to enter! We could subtly encourage Skeeter to pander to that sentiment fanning the public against the boy even more. Plus with the restriction to legal adults we could even spice up the events to a level where there is proper danger involved. I was thinking we might even add an extra event or two. Durmstrang is notorious for including Dark Arts in their curriculum – the savages," she said with a disinterested offhand wave. "It would certainly spell trouble for the little menace should he have to say…face off against of them in a duel. And there is this delightful little invention that Dumbledore mentioned in passing. Something from Russia that is being banned in most countries as the 'safety measures' are disturbingly ineffective."

Fudge considered, eventually nodding his head. "Yes, yes I think that might work. Potter would appear the villain and, however it turns out, he would be suitably cowed for threatening me. I doubt the boy would actually die, not with his record. But he will certainly be made to look a fool and come out the other side damaged. Make the arrangements, Dolores."

Dumbledore stepped out of the Floo and into his office nearly happy enough to whistle. While dealing with Umbridge tended to leave him deeply desiring a shower this last meeting was an exception. How the woman had risen so high he had no idea, she certainly didn't possess much in the way of tact or subtlety. Not like he did.

Dumbledore mentally patted himself on the back for a job well done. Umbridge had been easy enough to maneuver in the direction he wanted. She would no doubt take his ideas to Fudge – fully believing they had been her own. With Harry's display against the Minister still raw, Fudge would go along with the plans. The Triwizard Tournament would proceed – with the inherent danger increased. As Umbridge was horribly incompetent with magic Dumbledore had no doubt he'd end up having to 'assist' her with ensuring that Harry was entered; but that would be easy enough. No, the true trick would be ensuring that she kept taking his…admonitions against safety concerns. Harry would need to be deprived of his crutches to ensure that he lost – lost badly enough that Madam Pomfrey would be unable to save him.

With a sigh Dumbledore sank into his chair, his good mood dissipating slightly. When had he taken to plotting the death of a child? A boy the same age as Ariana had been? Was this truly the correct course? His eyes fell onto the books secreted away on his private shelves, the ones detailing Horcruxes. Yes. Yes, this was the only way. Harry's scar contained a Horcrux and it had already started to corrupt him. Ensuring the boy stayed at the Dursleys' despite the many required Obliviations, bribes and subtle threats over the years hadn't been enough. Harry's will had never hardened sufficiently to resist the Dark Lord's whispers. His actions since arriving at Hogwarts were proof enough of that. Harry had to die. Both to ensure that Voldemort was mortal and that another Dark Lord was removed from the board before he could ascend. The Tournament would accomplish that, one way or another.

Nodding to himself, Dumbledore took solace in the fact that his mind was still sharp enough to deduce the truth of matters. That he was still strong enough to make the hard choices.

{But, mama I want to go watch the game too!} Gabrielle pouted her arms crossed and her lip puffed out.

Apolline Delacour shook her head. {No, Gabrielle. We are not taking you on an international portkey for a game. You can come to the next one.}

{But Fleur gets to go!}

{Fleur is nearly 17. She will be in England anyway during most of the year so she can use this chance to brush up on her English a bit,} Apolline said. She had been having this same argument with her daughter for nearly a month now.

{You don't even like Quidditch that much, Gabi,} Fleur commented from the couch.

{Neither do you, Fleur,} Gabrielle shot back.

{No, but I want to visit with Celeste. It's been ages since I've seen our cousin. She moved to Bulgaria and basically dropped off the map!}

{Fleur, you know very well that Celeste travels quite extensively as one of the team's cheerleaders. That certainly doesn't count as dropping off the map.}

{She could at least send something more than a postcard,} Fleur said rolling her eyes.

{I am not having this argument again,} Apolline said throwing up her hands. {Fleur go finish your packing. Gabi, Marcel will be over at 8 tomorrow morning. Please, don't try to use your Allure to get him to let you stay up late again.}

{I was five! That was practically eight years ago!}

Fleur snorted as her sister and mother kept arguing and she headed upstairs. Despite seeming indifferent to the trip she was actually looking forward to it. She was just trying to keep Gabi from getting too jealous. She loved her sister, but until the girl went through the Change Gabi really shouldn't be around as many people as would be present at the stadium. There was far too much chance that she could lose her tentative control and attract the wrong sort of attention. Granted that'd happen anyway afterward but at least then Gabi would be able to protect herself if she was separated from her family. Fleur shivered slightly remembering what had happened to her when she had snuck out and lost control.

Brushing off that bad memory, Fleur thought instead of Victor Krum. The Seeker wasn't that attractive, but his skills were amazing and she loved to watch him fly. She did also look forward to getting to see a bit of the country she'd be spending months in. Not all of her attitude concerning the trip had been faked though. She figured most of the trip would end up being a bit boring. It wasn't like anything truly exciting was going to happen at the game anyway was it?