December 12, 1995
Potter Manor, Caithness, Scotland
Harry and Daphne invited several families to the manor for the holiday. Neville and Susan and their small families were going to join, naturally, but the Abbotts, Zabinis, and Finnegan families were invited.
Harry figured it was time that he and Seamus reignited the Alliance between their clans.
He had also invited the Grangers, paid for their transportation when Ben Granger tried to argue about the distance and was now looking at his family tapestry.
Daphne stood beside him, her eyes following the many branches and lines of names. She smiled at him, his eyes being stuck on a small family that was only recently added to the tree.
Robert Buckul, his wife Elaine Buckul, and their twin son and daughter, Bell and Rami Buckul.
The Potter Family Tapestry was littered with years of births and death, and it told them that the Buckul twins were going to turn eleven in January.
The Buckul family wasn't on the tree until they took up their role as Lord and Lady, but they quickly traced Elaine to one of the cadet lines that was thought to have been killed. The line was lost as an orphan, something Harry resonated with deeply.
He didn't know what to do about them until they were laying in bed the previous night.
"It might be a little illegal but why don't we go introduce ourselves to them? We'll explain the situation to Amelia and Professor McGonagall in the morning." Daphne suggested from his side late into the night.
"What would I say to them though?" He asked her, "I never knew that I even had family out there."
She smiled at him and rubbed his arm soothingly, "I'm going with you, Harry. I'm going to stand beside you and introduce myself as your wife."
He snorted lightly and smiled at her, "Who am I to say no to that?" He placed a kiss on her head as she curled herself into him more.
The conversation led them to have a two-way portkey to Glasgow set to leave during the afternoon.
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Once the world came back into view, Harry and Daphne found themselves in an alley between rows of cottages.
Walking out of the alley and onto a cobbled street, Harry let out a breath. He was using the Potter family magic to guide him to the Buckuls and shook his head lightly.
Daphne slipped her arm into his, squeezing it in a comforting way, and gave him an easy smile. "Come on, let's go restore our family."
"You make this a lot easier, you know." He chuckled to her as they began to stroll down the street.
They were dressed in thick muggle pants and shirts, their robes wrapped closely around them. They wore traveling cloaks with hoods in case it either rained or snowed.
They were mostly ignored, although some people eyed them carefully. Those that did gathered that they were people of wealth. Some likely would've tried to cause them trouble, because of Daphne's beauty, and the look of their clothes, but they took one look at Harry's Potter ring and some knew what it was. Others, were tempted to make trouble but Harry seemed to exude power around him.
It took nearly an hour to find a small cottage with a middle-aged man tilling the front garden, collecting root vegetables. He noticed their approach to the house and leaned on his rake, "Sir!" He called.
"Afternoon, sir," Harry nodded at the man. "Are your misses and children home, Mr. Buckul?"
The man tightened his look at Harry as he tightened his hold on the rake, "What does my family have ta do with ya, lad?"
Daphne smacked Harry's arm lightly, "Forgive my husband, sir, we are Harry and Daphne Potter-Black-Greengrass. Harry grew up an orphan and is known as 'The Last Potter' from where we're from. We've recently come upon the knowledge that your wife comes from a branch line of our family."
"It's a story for inside with yours," Harry cut in.
"Sometimes you could use a bit of shrewdness, dear," Daphne advised as Robert regarded them.
He seemed to study Harry for a long moment before he laughed to himself. "Of course, you're a Potter, ya look just like my Elaine." He shook his head as he opened the front gate and motioned to the home with his head.
"Let's go then, I'm sure the lass would love to know she's not the only one known as the last of her line." He grumbled lowly.
They followed him up to the step and through the door.
"Rob, is that you?" A soft voice floated from deeper within the cottage.
"Yeh, it's me, Eli," the man called back to his wife, "We've got a couple o' guests tha wanna meet ya."
"Me?" She asked as she came from what they thought to be a kitchen, wiping her hands on an aged patchwork apron.
She was stopped short as she saw Harry and Daphne, although her honey-brown eyes were locked with emerald ones.
They both had the same sharp intake of breath as they saw each other, their faces held the same eyebrows and jaw, but Harry had the cheekbones and nose of the Blacks.
They shared the same dark, wild hair. Elaine's flowed down her back, whereas Harry's was cropped around his ears.
Robert and Daphne stood beside their spouses, both holding their breath until Elaine ran her hand through her hair, a trait that seemed to run through the Potter line.
"Well, um, I'm Elaine." She seemed to stammer.
Harry, for all of his nerves, gave a chuckle and a boyish grin. "It's wonderful to meet you, I am Harry Potter. This is my wife, Daphne."
Daphne huffed lightly and smiled, "Forgive him, he's not usually this awkward."
"Forgive me for being nervous, everyone thought that I was the last Potter for nearly three hundred years. It's not every day you come to find out that a cadet branch is still alive after what happened in 1700." He said, his voice holding a grim tone.
"1700?" Elaine asked, her brows knit in confusion.
Harry sighed and smiled sadly as his distant cousin, "We Potters have been around for over a thousand years and are older than most. My line is from Hardwin Potter, who was the Head of our family. He had six younger brothers, who became cadet lines. For generations, the Potters were very closely knit, until 1700."
Daphne picked up for him, "In 1700, some of the cadet lines revolted against the rest of the family. Harry's great-great-great-great grandfather watched as his family killed each other. His family was reduced to only him and his son. In 1702, my family, the Greengrasses offered our help to the Potters. At the time some of our own family betrayed us and we knew the pain all too well."
Robert huffed heavily, "How do we know it ain't poppycock?"
He was smacked stiffly in the chest by his wife, "Because pa told me somethin' like it when I was a lass. He told me we were a fighty bunch and always help'n people until it saw the end o' us."
Her Scottish was thick as she spoke, her voice a low whisper as she stared at Harry.
"You said there used ta be a lot o' us," She swallowed thickly, "Where are we from then?"
"Caithness," Daphne answered her, "Potter Manor is known to most people as the castle of King Malcolm III."
"It was a gift to our family, Malcolm was a close friend with the families that founded my own," Harry explained.
"Ma," a voice cut in from the side of the room, a young girl dressed in a thick dress was holding a book to her chest. "How come that man has so many voices?"
The girl startled Elaine, and she motioned her over, "Rami, I only hear one voice from him. This is Harry, he's from my pa's family."
Rami Buckul looked just like her mother, although she held her father's nose.
"But his voices are whispers, ma." The girl said stubbornly, "They sound really old."
"How many voices do you hear?" Daphne asked her, crouching down to be closer to eye level with the girl.
"Other than his, I hear two. They whisper to me." She nodded before staring at Harry in wonder.
"Hm," Daphne thought for a moment, "Does his ring have a voice?"
Remi shook her head lightly, "No, it's more o' a hum."
Harry, catching what Daphne was getting at, showed his family rings, "Can you show me which ones have voices?" He held his hands out to the girl.
Elaine was watching the couple interact with her daughter as Robert seemed surprised from the appearance of the rings.
Remi didn't hesitate to point to the Gryffindor and Peverell rings, nodding her head, "Tha' one sounds rough and old, and tha' one has three tha' sound almost the same."
"It seems that we've found our Heir Secondaries, after our children," Daphne smiled at Harry, who shook his head lightly.
"Alright," Harry turned his attention back to the Buckul couple, "How about you round up your son and we'll head up to Caithness? We have some stuff to explain to you about your children, and it seems like doing it now is better than having it dumped in your lap over the summer."
"And how are we jus' goin' to do tha'?"
"Whatever you think you know about magic, forget it."
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The discovery of his new family led Harry to host them for the holiday. Bell looked nearly identical to his sister, but he had Harry's rogue grin and charm.
Once they found themselves portkeyed into the main room of Potter Manor, Bell quickly struck up conversation with Tussisss, although he wasn't speaking parseltongue.
When asked about it, he just said, "I can't actually understand him. I just know what he says." He shrugged it off quickly, thinking nothing of it.
The Selma snapped his jaws in warning as Bell got too close and Harry quickly came to the rescue, "Tussisss, careful. He is new kin." Harry hissed out, his parseltongue deep and thick as he spoke it.
"New kin needs to be taught before he causes insult or harms itself." The Selma returned, moving itself to Daphne and receiving a scratch from her.
"I do hope that you're minding yourself, Tussisss." She smiled at the large serpent, making it pout.
"You are prince among your kind. Your master holds the essence of the king. Do not lower yourself to the actions of hatchlings," a high-pitched hiss rang into the room as Petunia walked in, her eyes hard on the Selma.
"Hello, Aunt Petunia." Harry shook his head lightly. "May I introduce the Buckul family? I'm sure you've regarded the Tapestry while we've been out."
Nodding, she gave a slight curtsey, "Welcome to the ancestral home of the House of Potter. Your once great family will become so again under the Headship of my nephew."
"As is his birthright," Godric called from his portrait over the hearth, "We are lions, leading our pride through fight and hunt."
"I'm goin' round the bend..." Robert muttered to himself, earning a laugh from the portrait.
"Just wait until your children receive their letters this summer," Salazar spoke up, a smirk on his face.
"Harry mentioned something similar earlier," Elaine said as she looked up at the painting, taking in the looks of Godric and Salazar and their wives. She studied the young man and woman in the painting, Hardwin and Iolanthe, "Is there a school where they learn magic or something?"
Hardwin nodded down at her, "Hogwarts, dear niece, it's not an ancient castle in this country. You're looking upon two of her Founders, although the other two have been reduced to a single person each as well."
"An' they're lines?" Robert risked asking, not sure if he wanted the answer.
Godric gave a proud grin as he started speaking in Gaelic, his wife swatting him lightly. Salazar stared at Harry, "Go on, boy, tell them. I expect you and that wife of yours to begin a brood soon, with how many families you need to continue."
"Don't even start on me," Harry pointed a finger at the portrait, "I have to deal with our lot already. I don't need it from you as well."
Daphne cut off an argument before it could start, "That's enough, Harry. Magic will give us a child when she wishes and so sooner." She gave both her husband and Founder a hard look.
"Well said, dear," Iolanthe nodded proudly.
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Dinner that night was eventful. Ben Granger and Robert Buckul seemed to gravitate towards Cyrus, Lord Abbott, and Harry with questions.
The Buckuls were introduced as a new cadet line to House Potter, something which sparked Augusta into attention as she nearly cried seeing Elaine, Bell, and Rami. She was quick to cuff Harry on the back of his head before she herded Elaine towards Lady Abbott and Zabini, Amelia Bones, and Aunt Petunia.
Blaise Zabini seemed to let his walls down around the gathering. He was polite and well-mannered, complementing the women and home.
Neville and Susan were as enraptured with their new cousins as Harry was.
Hermione was asking her own questions with Elaine to the group of older women, getting more answers than she could ever find from a book about Wizarding society.
"Lord Potter-Black-Greengrass," Blaise addressed Harry, "I find myself surprised to be invited to join you for the Yule celebration."
Harry waved him off, "Keep it to Harry or Potter, Zabini. And you are allied with the Greengrasses. I find myself in a unique situation to shake up our government."
He shrugged offhandedly, "Most people would say that the Potters were a light family, but we aren't. Our history is bloody and messy. However, because of Dumbledore's influence, we are now light."
"You are Lord to a House from each faction, and are joining together under one banner." Blaise caught on.
"And he's planning on pissing off every single family there," Neville cut in as he walked over with Susan.
Blaise chuckled as he looked at Harry, "You're forming your own bloc, aren't you?"
"Of course, I am. I want to know if you'll help. I know that I have a lot of enemies in Slytherin, so I'll need eyes and ears."
"I assume you have such in the other houses as well?"
"Neville is in Gryffindor, Sue's got it covered for Hufflepuff, and Luna informs me of the goings in Ravenclaw." Harry shrugged, much to the chagrin of Neville and Susan.
Blaise thought for a moment, "Malfoy is a large problem, what's your plan for him?"
Harry gave a feral grin, "I am Lord Black. Lucious violated his marriage contract when he went on trial for being a Death Eater. I'm going to divorce that blonde ponce from my cousin and Draco will fall into line with his mother."
"And you're sure of this?" He asked seriously.
"Yes, I am. Narcissa Black lowered herself when she wed Malfoy Senior. She has waited almost twenty years to become a Black again." Harry chuckled.
"What are you all doing over here?" Daphne asked as she slid next to Harry, wrapping her arm around his with a smile.
"Politicking, dear, that's all."
She hummed and nodded her understanding as the conversation flowed through their plans. It wasn't hard for Blaise to figure out that Harry and Daphne were the masterminds behind what could be a revolution.