"No! No way in bloody hell."
Everyone surrounding the pensieve at Gringotts looked at Nymphadora Tonks. They had just viewed a memory and had learned, via a rather unofficial looking parchment that apparently was official, that she was now contracted to marry Harry Potter. Her mother was the first to break the silence, as she knew exactly what it meant that her daughter's hair had turned a pale shade of green. Most people thought that when her hair turned red it meant that she was angry, but that was when Dora felt excited. Pale green, on the other hand...
"Dora, dear, let's go have a cup of tea..."
"I don't want any fucking tea!" She jerked her arm away from her mum and without another word stormed out of the room. As she made it out into the hallway she blinked her eyes several times to get used to the difference in light, which for some reason seemed to irritate her. Bloody goblins, couldn't they make the hallways easier to navigate? Probably did it on purpose to be intimidating. Little fuckers. As she made it to the main floor of Gringotts she heard them call to her. Who was that calling her Lady Black? Ron Weasley? Well fuck him, fuck Sirius for this awful fucking joke and fuck everything. The moment she exited Gringotts she took off her robe, threw it over her shoulder and Apparated away.
The moment she landed in the alleyway behind the Muggle club she knew that, for a few hours at least, she was going to forget that whole farce at Gringotts and just pretend that it did not happen whatsoever. With a slight look of determination on her face she turned her hair bubblegum pink, brought it up to her shoulders and had the ends flip up a bit. Once that was complete she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small leather wallet. To most of the population, magical and non-magical, it would simply look as if she had appropriated a man's wallet. In truth she had appropriated a man's wallet, a rather posh leather one, but with a few added features, specifically the accordion-folding photograph holder. Most people that carry wallets with photos fill the slots with photos of their loved ones. Tonks carried photographs of different men and women, references for when she wanted to use her metamorphagus skills. She flipped through the photos, finally landing on one that hadn't been used for a while.
The freckled girl with pink hair and a slight figure walked over to the bar, put down a crumpled ₤100 note and looked up at the shocked man wiping a glass with a rag. "Let me know when that's gone. Pint of bitter and a whiskey double, keep 'em coming."
-ooo-
Tonks' exit left everyone around the pensieve a bit stunned. Harry glanced from person to person, trying to make sense of it all. It was while watching Mr. Tonks calm down his wife that Harry had a startling thought; those two are going to be my in-laws.
"Harry?"
He felt a hand on his shoulder, looked up and saw Arthur Weasley giving him a chagrined look. "Yes, Mr. Weasley?"
Arthur shook his head slightly. "No, my boy, just Arthur please. I think we need to have a chat." He motioned to the chairs, glanced at Barkshield and nodded slightly. Once the goblin had informed the others that Harry required a bit of privacy they moved away, Molly quite reluctantly but after a glance from Arthur she acquiesced. Once they were alone again Arthur took a deep breath. "Bit to take in, isn't it?"
"A bit?" Harry snorted and shook his head. "Mental. It's all mental." He stopped suddenly and looked intently at Arthur. "Did you know about Sirius being Lord Black? And why has nobody ever told me about my dad being Lord Potter?"
Arthur's eyes widened and he exhaled loudly. "Whhhhppph. Well, I have to say Sirius surprised us all. I don't recall him ever saying he was Lord Black. If he did it, sorry, whenever he did it, becoming Lord Black, it must have been not too long before he passed. Knowing him as I did, mind, only recently, I don't believe it was something he would have spread about. Terribly stuffy business, being a Lord of a Noble House, Wizangamot seats, all the...oh dear." He winced. "Sorry, Harry. Forgot you're Lord Potter."
Harry shrugged and held up his hand with the Potter ring. "I guess so."
"No, no my boy." Arthur shook his head. "The ring proves it. You are Lord Potter. Now, as for why you never knew your father was Lord Potter...he died before he could become Lord Potter. Your Grandfather was still Lord Potter when your father died." He stopped suddenly, a pained expression upon his face. "I'm sorry, Harry, I shouldn't be the one to tell you these things."
"No. I'd rather it be you than..."
"Yes, well, thank you." Arthur had cut him off before it was out in the open. He knew that Harry and Dumbledore had not seen eye-to-eye in quite some time, and the recent events that had unfolded would probably not help the matter. "I'm not sure how it works with the Potters. We Weasleys were a noble house at one time, before one of my ancestors sold off the Wizangamot seat, we're still a very minor house...but that's another story. With my family everything happens when one turns seventeen, becomes an adult in the world and all that. The Potters may have something different. I'm sure it'll be in their book."
"Book?" Harry gave him an odd look. "What book?"
Arthur raised his eyebrows and sighed. "I really wish Dumbledore hadn't...oh dear." He reached out and put his hand on Harry's shoulder and leaned closer. "My boy, all of the Order, after your parent's and grandparent's death, took an oath. I can't say that I would do it again, and Molly speaks of it every time we have seen you at the start of summer, looking as thin as you do, but we took an oath not to reveal to you that you were Lord Potter."
"What?" Harry shot out of the chair and began pacing around the room. "Why? Why the bloody hell would he do that?"
As Harry paced Arthur paused, thought about it and finally replied. "We believed it was best for your safety." He held up a hand as Harry had turned to him. "You have to understand, we thought your Aunt and Uncle's house was safe, Harry. It was common, in the past, for the heads of noble houses to be targeted by those...my boy, you were...you are the last Potter. Even after He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was gone, the first time, there were those who wanted revenge."
"But why keep it from me? Why not let me know?" Harry looked at Arthur pleadingly. "Why?"
"Again, to protect you. This time from your relatives."
"Ha." Harry looked at Arthur and shook his head. "That didn't work."
"Yes, I'm afraid you're right, but not in the way we expected. We thought that they would take advantage of you financially, at minimum. As they were your guardians, at least in the Muggle world, they would have had access to the Potter accounts. Muggle ones, at least. The thought was to protect your assets, to keep them from draining you dry and running up debts. It happened before, you see."
"Really?" Harry's tone was somewhat sarcastic, but then he tempered his emotions. "Sorry."
"No, no. Quite all right." Arthur continued. "Right after the Muggle war Lord Tomlin was left as the last of his magical line, poor lad, only five, lost them both to the Muggle bombs. A Muggle cousin of Lord Tomlin's took him in, and the man and his wife drained the boy's vaults dry. They were obliviated and sent to prison, Ministry provided appropriate Muggle charges. By the time he came to Hogwarts he didn't have two Sickles to rub together and a mountain of debts. Sad story."
"What happened to him?" Harry sat down next to Arthur. "Did he get his money back?"
"Sadly, no. Died in the Seventies. Death Eater attack at a pub."
Harry sat there and looked up at the walls, noticing for the first time that a small series of paintings covered the far wall. A goblin in full-dress armour of some kind ran from one painting to the next, weapons in both arms, decapitating wizards with wands and staffs as he went. It was rather gruesome. Finally, he tore his attention away from the paintings and looked up at Arthur. "So what now?"
"That is the million Galleon question, isn't it? I suppose that is up to you."
"Do I have to really marry Tonks?"
Arthur paused and looked at Harry. After everything the boy had been through it seemed almost cruel to tell him the truth, but he had to. "Yes, I believe you do. Most contracts have language that can provide an out, in case one of the parties does not want the marriage, but since your father and Sirius drew that up after a few too many I'm afraid that there probably aren't any of the usual legal loopholes. Perhaps you can use that to your advantage, though."
"Really." Harry sat back in the chair and slumped down. "I mean, I like Tonks ok, don't really know her that well. She's got to be furious, though. Why do these things always happen to me?"
"I'm not sure, Harry. I'm not sure. It does seem that Fate does enjoy giving you obstacles. Maybe this is a turning point, though." He tapped Harry on the shoulder to get his attention. Once the boy had turned and given him full attention Arthur continued. "One thing from Sirius' will has stuck with me; resources. He wrote that you could use the Potter resources now, being named Lord Potter. I believe that is an area...that's the place to start."
Harry sat there for a moment, his thoughts buzzing about his head like a newly-released Snitch. They bounced around, fragments of something here, just the beginnings of an idea there, until finally he gave up. "So how do I start?"
"Well." Arthur gave him a smile. "I believe you are in the precise place to start, my boy. Gringotts."
-ooo-
At first the denizens of the Muggle bar-slash-club thought she was hilarious, the girl with the pink hair. She said the most outlandish things, sang off-key and bought round after round. Most of the blokes thought she wasn't hard on the eyes, especially when she did a little dance when a Rolling Stones song came on, but the ladies? They weren't too thrilled with her. Most ignored her but some were taking a few too many glances in her direction, watched how she had all the eligible men over there, and began talking amongst themselves. Nail files were pulled out of purses and one woman put her keys in her fist, making sure the bits that go in the Muggle locks were between her fingers.
It was at that moment the large, gruff looking bald man with the salt and pepper beard walked into the club, scanned the room momentarily and then went straight over to Tonks' table, moving men out of the way. Two men sitting close to her noticed the man right away and hurried to remove themselves but the one guy, the one who thought he just might have an in with the pink-haired girl, that man continued to drape his arm around her shoulders and ignored everything else.
It was a mistake. The gruff, older man's hand shot out and grabbed the earring that dangled from the man's ear. "Listen, boy, shove off."
"Hey!" The man reached up and tried to remove the old man's grip from his earring. "Lay off! Who the bloody hell do you think you are?"
"I'm her father. Now fuck the fuck off."
It didn't take long for the young man to get the hint, and without so much as a 'goodbye' he left the table. The older man glared at the unhappy men and smirking women who were watching them, a look that held enough menace that everyone hurriedly found something other to do.
It was at that time that Tonks shot down the last of a glass of something and sloshed her head over to see who was next to her. "You're...not Daddy."
The man's voice was low and full of irritation. "No, my Lady, it isn't. So I see you've said the hell with constant vigilance."
"Fucking hell. Moody? Issat you?"
"Right in one, my Lady. Let's get you out of here before you do something even stupider. And with your track record that would quite the trick, lassie." He stood up and as gently as possible pulled her to a somewhat standing position. "Let's get you home."
Side-along Apparition is nausea-inducing whilst sober, but for Tonks, in her severe state of inebriation it was all too much. Moody, still in his glamour, stood by and watched as she emptied the contents of her stomach in one of her neighbour's rose bushes. One she'd finished Moody looked around and with a discreet wave of his wand vanished the vomit. She first attempted to wave off his assistance, but the combination of alcohol and her graceful skill of walking soon led to her acquiescing to Moody's assistance. Once she'd open the door, stumbled in and face planted on the sofa Moody shook his head at the state of her flat, pulled up a chair and sat in it across from her and dispelled his glamour.
"Here." He thrust a vial of swirling potion out to her. "Drink this."
The sound of Tonks' voice was muffled by the sofa cushion. "No drinks."
"It's a hangover potion, you moron. Drink."
Without looking she held out her hand, took the vial once she felt it against her skin, and with the absolute minimum of effort popped the cork and twisted her head around so she could drink it. "Awful."
"You'd feel worse if you didn't." He sat there for a few minutes in silence as the potion began working, and while waiting took a closer look around her flat. It was apparent that she was a miserable housekeeper, as untidy didn't begin to describe the place. Clothes, takeaway containers, magazines, old copies of the Prophet, you name it. He also noted a few items that were unmistakably male.
"Oh Merlin." She raised herself up and turned over to face him. "D'ya have more?"
"More won't help."
"How didja find me?"
"You still got your Auror badge, right?"
"Oh." She eased herself slowly into a somewhat upright sitting position. "Who owled you?"
"Your mum. Didn't say much except you were in a right state and would probably end up like this." He paused. "And right after that owl I got an owl from the Ministry. Said there was a new Wizangamot member who hadn't taken her seat yet but needed some protection. Didn't take Dumbledore's brains to put two and two together, and then Wingfield, you know, that Ravenclaw trainee prat who couldn't find his arse with two hands and a Point Me spell? Ran into him outside the Leaky and he said that it was all over, big Prophet edition coming out soon, you were the new Lady Black. Being an Auror not enough for you, girl?"
"Bollocks."
"If you want my opinion you'd be a damned sight better on the Wizangamot that some of those puffed up twats. So why'd you try to drink everything in the pub, girl? Hate it that much?"
Tonks' face slowly began to return to normal, her hair back to its normal length and with the dark curls inherited by her mum and aunts. "Moody, you don't know the half of it."
"Then try me."
For a moment she thought about telling him everything; after all, this was Moody, the man who'd plucked her from the Auror trainee pool and had decided to make her his protégé. But she couldn't. If she told him it would be real, and that was something she just couldn't face. Not now. "Can't. Maybe later. Still need to process everything."
"Right, then." He stood up, went into the kitchen and began banging around in the cupboards, eventually returning with a cooking pot. "Here." He put it down in front of her. "Potion's good but it's not that good. You know how to find me."
With that Alastor Moody hobbled away, his wooden peg thwacking against the floor, opened the door and left without another word. Tonks sat there, half-propped on the sofa, looking at the door and when another wave of nausea hit her she was glad he had left the pot. Once she'd finished she leaned back on the sofa, wiped her mouth with the bottom of her t-shirt and shook her head.
"Mrs. Harry Potter? Like hell."
-ooo-
Harry walked out of Gringotts next to Arthur and Molly Weasley, still reeling as if he'd been hit with several stunner spells. Initially the goblins had denied the Weasley's entrance to his meeting with the House Potter account goblin but he had insisted, and after everything he had heard he was glad he had held his ground.
The days of the Privet Drive prison were over. As he had claimed the House Potter ring he was, in the eyes of the law, an adult. The goblins cited precedent, as in medieval times there had been a house that was in similar straits, with the exception that there were several qualified females that were passed over due to the customs of the times, and a fifteen year old wizard had been named head of house and emancipated. Dumbledore could no longer insist that he stay there, but he was sure that the old man would strongly suggest that he stay there. Potter Manor, the ancestral home of House Potter, had been destroyed shortly after his grandparent's deaths. Although the official cause of death of Charlus and Dorea Potter was listed as dragonpox almost nobody believed that. Somehow the wards at Potter Manor had been breached and the place was destroyed. Currently it was a vacant estate somewhere in Wales. They told him exactly, but Harry couldn't remember. There was a smaller house, actually a hunting lodge, somewhere in the northern isles of Scotland, and he'd simply nodded when the goblin asked if he would like the Potter elves to ready the residence.
He'd listened as the goblin, whose name he couldn't remember, began listing vault contents and investments. Apparently he was even wealthier than before, but didn't really register. The entire time they had been informing him of his holdings Harry had been in a daze.
I have to marry Tonks. I've barely had a real girlfriend and now I have to marry Tonks. I've kissed Cho but that was...not what I expected. Merlin's pants, Tonks is Charlie Weasley's ex-girlfriend! What's he going to think? What's Ron going to think? Hermione? She'll go mental. Is it going to be in the papers, will everybody know? What do I say to Tonks? 'Hi, how are you? So when are we getting married?' She'll think I'm a complete idiot. She's an Auror, and I'm...I'm starting my sixth year of Hogwarts. Voldemort is still out there, if he finds out she's a target, too.
When he came back to the conversation Molly was nodding politely at the goblin in agreement with something, he'd have to ask her later. That mystery was solved almost immediately as the goblin slid a very large, old and thick book over to Molly. He recognized the crest on the book as matching the one on his ring, a black griffon holding a sword. Apparently that was the last of the items as everyone stood up from the table so he had followed suit and then, before he knew it, he was walking out of Gringotts with Molly and Arthur.
"Harry, dear?" Molly put her hand on his shoulder as they walked. "You're coming home with us for tonight. I'll fix a bit to eat and then..." She paused and looked over to Arthur, who nodded. "...and then we'll look at your book. Is that all right with you?"
"Sure." Harry nodded almost mechanically. "Sure."
Side-along apparition was never one of Harry's favourite things, but the moment he saw the Burrow his nerves began to form knots in his stomach. With his breathing rapidly increasing he followed Arthur into the Burrow.
From the moment the door opened chaos reigned. A large banner floated near the ceiling and read 'WELCOME LORD POTTER!' George and Fred blew noisemakers and bubbles were sprouting from somewhere, music blaring from the wireless. Ron and Hermione sat on the sofa, at opposite ends, and from their expressions Harry knew they'd had one of their usual arguments.
Arthur, seeing the decorations, smiled momentarily before composing himself. "That's enough, boys."
"Oh you two!" Molly put a hand on her hips and took out her wand, vanishing the bubbles and the sign. "That's quite enough. He's still Harry and I won't have you treating him any differently, do you understand? Fred, George, I want you to start peeling potatoes. Now march." She pointed to the kitchen and followed them, not trusting them for very good reason.
Harry looked up at Arthur, saw the eldest Weasley nod his head towards Ron and Hermione, and then watched as Arthur also went into the kitchen, leaving him alone with his friends. After a deep breath Harry went over and flopped in the chair across from the sofa. As neither Ron or Hermione said a word he rolled his eyes. "Not one question?"
"Questions? Oh, I've heard enough of those." Ron shook his head. "That's all she is, questions."
Hermione jerked her head towards Ron. "Of course I have questions, Ronald! I wasn't raised like you, you know?"
"Merlin, Hermione!" Ron gave her an exasperated look. "I don't know about any of this stuff! We're not a noble house. Does this look like a noble house to you?" He waved his arms around. "Not like I have a house elf to wipe my arse or anything?"
"House elves..." Hermione turned to Harry. "Do you have house elves?"
"Uh..." Harry sat back in his chair, wishing he didn't know the answer. "I think so. Goblins said they're at the lodge. Yeah, I guess I do." He saw her eyebrow raise and decided to cut her off before she got good and wound up. "It's a hunting lodge in Scotland. My grandparents' place was burned down after they died."
Ron gave Hermione an irritated look and turned his attention to Harry. "So...how are you, mate? You ok?"
"I...I'm not sure, Ron." He took off his glasses and sat them on a small table. "There's a lot I still don't know or can't remember. Your mum has the Potter book, I guess everything's in there. We're going to look through it tonight after we eat. And yes, Hemione, you can be there. You too, Ron." He stopped for a moment and put his glasses back on. "I'm going to need your help, there's no way I can manage all this on my own. Oh!" His expression brightened into a big grin. "I'm legally an adult now, so no more going back to the Dursleys, thank Merlin."
"Blimey, Harry. That's great." Ron nodded, remembering rescuing Harry from there with Fred and George in their father's car. "Those people are awful."
Harry looked over to Hermione, who was biting her lip slightly, a sign he knew that meant she was worried. "Hermione? What's wrong?"
"Oh Harry." She leaned forward. "You were a target before, now you'll be an even bigger target! And what's this mean, you won't have to leave Hogwarts, will you?"
"I don't think so. Nobody said I'd have to." Harry shrugged. "Far as I know I'm still going."
"And what happened after we had to leave?" Hermione looked at him quizzically. "Was it something more because you and Tonks are now Lady Black and Lord Potter?"
'Something more', that was an understatement. Harry blinked rapidly and took a deep breath. It was almost on the tip of his tongue, the fact that he and Tonks were bound by a marriage contract, but for some reason he just couldn't do it. "Yeah, stuff like that. Sorry, can't tell you. If I could, I would."
The three were quiet for a moment, the only sounds breaking the silence the muffled conversation and cooking noises from the kitchen. Suddenly he realised that someone was missing. "Where's Ginny?"
Ron shrugged but Hermione answered. "She's at Moira Phelps' house. Moira invited her and the rest of their roommates over for the weekend." She stared at the two boys' identical expressions of confusion. "Moira? Ginny's roommate? Honestly, all this time at Hogwarts and you have no idea who Ginny's roommates are? It's a wonder you two don't get Troll marks on your grades."
Harry and Ron shared a look which both understood that Hermione was right, they both had no clue about Ginny's roommates. As Ron asked if Moira was the blonde girl Harry took the opportunity to enjoy the moment, the fact that it was normal Hogwarts stuff instead of 'the Potter of House Potter' and hereditary Wizangamot seats and investments and, above all, anything about a marriage contract.
Later that evening, after the dishes were cleaned and floated back into the cupboard, everyone sat around the dinner table as Harry sat with the Potter book in front of him, Hermione on one side and Molly on the other, Ron and Arthur across the table. For their reluctance to tell Molly one shred of what happened at their meeting with the goblins after the reading of Sirius' will the twins were sent to their room. That made Harry smirk, because if anything Molly had just encouraged them to do...whatever Fred and George wanted to do, as they valued secrecy.
The book itself was a revelation for Harry; before he knew just a small amount about his family, the few things related to him at different times by others, the pictures from the photo album Hagrid had given him, stories from Sirius and Remus, but now there was something more concrete, something real. His family had been involved almost at the beginning of the Wizangamot, but more than that they had been in Britain before Merlin, if the book was to be believed. Unlike the Black family, which had restricted Head of House status to males only, the Head of House was free to name whoever they thought best to be the next Head of House, as evidenced by Magdalene Potter, Head of House in 1349. That made Hermione happy, but that good feeling towards the Potters of old ceased when she found out that the Potter family was one of the first to bond house elves. Harry winced slightly when he had found that passage and had tried to skip over it but she'd seen the words on the page and it was too late.
Besides that the book was full of the histories of the Potter clan, held potion recipes, treatises on crop rotation and then, when he'd turned the page Harry got odd looks from Molly and Hermione. They thought the pages were blank, but Harry saw the words as plain as day. He read for a bit and realised that the spells were family spells, only visible to those of House Potter. He explained briefly, but when he went to tell them exactly what one of the spells did (a rather powerful fertility enhancement spell) he couldn't say the name of the spell, something for which he was actually quite grateful. Saying what that spell did next to Molly and Hermione would have definitely made him blush.
More than anything, though, the book stressed responsibility. The Head of House was responsible for the welfare of all of the Potter family, responsible for settling disputes, for dutifully attending and participating in the Wizangamot and other such things. One thing that started a lively 'discussion' was the section that detailed how, as Head of House, he was responsible for the negotiation and approval of all marriage contracts. That sent Hermione off, saying how it was 'barbaric' that such things could still exist. Arthur tried to calm her down, saying that it wasn't done much these days, but a few old houses still followed the practise. While Arthur was speaking Harry couldn't look at Hermione and only Molly's gentle pat under the table on his knee helped calm him.
It was after that Arthur decided that they'd had enough reading for the night. He stood up and yawned. "I must say it has been quite the day. I believe I'll turn in."
The tapping at the window drew everyone's attention; a rather ordinary owl hovered outside, an envelope tied to it's leg. Arthur went over, opened the window and the owl flew over to Harry. As Arthur saw the boy's face become pale he nodded to his son. "Ron, go fetch the owl treats."
Harry reached forward and hesitantly untied the letter. Once he opened it up and read for a moment his unease didn't lessen one bit. "Uh, it's from Mr. and Mrs. Tonks. They'd invited me over for tea tomorrow."
Molly patted him on the shoulder. "I think that's a good idea. I'll get a bit of parchment so you can write her back."
Harry expected more questions from Hermione but instead he found her engrossed in the Potter book, way at the beginning, the history section of the book. Ron grumbled a bit about having to get the owl treats but Harry ignored him. Once the parchment and a quill were provided he accepted the invitation and the owl was on it's way.
"Harry?" Hermione looked up to him with puppy dog eyes. "Could...would you mind if I took this up to read? It's fascinating! Did you know..."
"No!" He laughed. "I don't know. Haven't read it, but yeah, sure. Fine with me. Just remember if you can't read some things it's..."
"I'm not a Potter." She nodded. "I understand. Night!" With that she scooped up the book, put a small piece of parchment in the book to mark her place and made her way upstairs.
That was the signal for everyone to go to sleep. Eventually, after loo visits and brushing of teeth, Harry lay in bed across the room from Ron, staring up at the ceiling, watching shadows from the tree outside move across the room.
"Harry?"
"Yeah?"
Ron hesitated for a moment. "You're really rich, right?"
"I guess."
"Like really, really rich?"
"I think so."
Ron cleared his throat. "I need a favour." He heard Harry's deep exhalation of breath and plunged ahead. "If you're that rich, for the love of Merlin, would you buy the Cannons? Their owner is shite, won't spend any Galleons on good players and as soon as we actually get a good player he sells them to Wimbourne or Puddlemere or some team like that. You'd be a bloody brilliant owner, mate."
Harry laughed softly. "Tell you what, next time I see the goblins I'll ask, ok?"
"Brilliant. We're gonna win the league!" Ron's voice was full of hope, just as it was every single year the season started. "Oh, hey, when tomorrow let's see if George and Fred can have their girlfriends over, we can have three-a-side Quidditch. Be good practise with Angelina and Katie around. Sound good?"
Harry laid there and closed his eyes happily. After everything that had happened, Quidditch sounded perfect. "Works for me."
"Great. Night."
"Night."