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Black Vengeance - 6

Of Weasleys, and Wills

(Author's note: Based on the number of votes by readers, the ship is going to be Harry/Hermione. Cho will be a major character in the story, in any case.)

Neville and Susan had been given the distressing news in the office of their respective Heads of House. They were both heart broken, and the Headmaster had kindly provided them portkeys to take them home, to spare them the agony of being questioned by their friends on the school train. Prof. McGonagall had questioned Hermione, but to little avail - the girl knew little, and was rather outraged that no protection had been arranged for her parents in despite of her warnings. However, Hermione knew better than to berate Prof. McGonagall, and she returned to Gryffindor, and packed and left with the others on the Hogwarts express.

Harry, and Hermione had heard about the tragedies that had befallen the Bones and the Longbottom families and dearly wished to express condolences. There were many questions they two were burning to ask; however, for the moment, there was nothing to be done. So, with the rest of the school, they got into the Hogwarts Express and found themselves a compartment, which they were sharing with Ginny and Ron. Ron was remarkably sulky at being left out of the planning for the DA over summer, and it was Hermione that began the conversation, "Ron, Ginny - it is not our intention to keep you out of the DA preparations. We wanted to finalise matters with Slytherins before talking about it."

"You've done what you want! Who wants pathetic Ron and Ginny now that you have the rich snakes on your side", snarled Ron.

"Ron! This has nothing to do with what people have! This has to do with finding a safe place to practise over summer", snapped Hermione.

"Yeah! By chummying up with those serpents! They are probably letting You-Know-Who know about this by now."

"Don't be stupid, Ron! They are oath-sworn not to betray any of this", returned Harry.

"Sure! If you are stupid enough to trust Slytherins .."

"Oh! How do you know they are betraying us?"

"They are Slytherins, and Nott's father is a Death Eater. What more proof do you want?"

"Nott's father is in prison, and .."

"Yeah! He wants revenge and cooked up this story."

"If you don't want to come, Ron, no one is forcing you", bit back Harry.

"I knew it! You pick those snakes over your friends."

Had the argument been left the Gryffindor golden trio, it would have probably ended in a fight, but at this stage, Ginny intervened. "Don't be childish, Ron! Those Slytherins have been with us all year. Let's listen to what Harry has to say."

"Sure, take their side against your own brother", spat Ron.

"If you used your head, you would see I'm not taking any side. I just want to hear what Harry has to stay", retorted Ginny.

Ron sulked, but did not say any more, so, with an encouraging glance from Hermione, Harry started, "Ron, Ginny, I'm really sorry about having to keep things from you two, but I have to know a few things before talking. First, Dumbledore isn't going to be happy with the DA working over summer. This'll give you a headache with your parents. Do you want to come against your parents' wishes?"

Ron and Ginny exchanged glances, and Ginny answered, "We'll come, Harry."

Harry sighed, "Okay, if you are sure. I need to tell you one thing - the prophecy in the Department of Mysteries."

"It's smashed", spoke Ginny.

"Yeah, but Dumbledore knew the prophecy and told me. It says I am the only one who can kill Voldemort. I've no chance of fighting Voldemort as it is - I need every bit of practice I can get. Seeing as how Dumbledore has never tried to train me up, I've got no choice."

Ginny and Ron exchanged a glance. "Are you sure you cannot depend on Dumbledore, Harry", asked Ginny gently.

Harry continued miserably, "I've relied on him all these years, and even knowing the prophecy, he has done nothing to train me up. I'm on my own now." He looked at the two Weasleys seriously, "You realise your parents are going to back Dumbledore, don't you?"

Ron had been angry and peeved, but seeing Harry so miserable, and torn, he softened, "No matter, mate. We'll be with you."

"What if your parents find out, and put an end to this?", whispered Harry.

"Don't worry", smiled Ginny grimly. "Fred and George need some summer help. We'll be coming with them every day to Diagon Alley. And hopefully, mum won't find out."

Harry still looked pensive, and Ginny read the look. "Listen, Harry, we're going to stand by you, no matter what anyone else does. And we're not going to tell Dumbledore."

Harry voiced the question that had been nagging him, "Ron, when you, Fred and George came to pick me up in the summer after first year, your family had permission from Dumbledore to `rescue' me, didn't it? Same before the Quidditch World Cup."

Ron's mouth fell open. "How ..?"

"Never mind. Are you with me or Dumbledore?" Harry looked directly into their eyes.

Ginny spoke, "I owe you my life, Harry. I'll pick your side no matter what."

Ron nodded, "Listen, mate. We're on your side."

Harry sighed, "Thanks. You've no idea how glad this makes me. Okay, then. If you're willing, we can try our hand at disinformation. Ron, I think someone is intercepting my post. Hedwig has a confundus charm on her. I will be sending you a lot of false information in my letters this summer. Will you play along?"

Ron burst out in laughter at this. "Sure, Harry. Listen, mate. If you need any help, call us. We'll come as fast as possible."

"Thanks, you two", said Harry with genuine gratitude in his eyes. "Hermione, give them the journals. We'll use the journals for the real information." Hermione dug into her schoolbag and brought out two more journals. She told them that they could use the journal to talk to both Harry and her, and explained how it worked. Soon, the train came to King's Cross, and students started alighting.

Just as the students were disembarking from the train, Harry ran up to Cho, and whispered, "Cho, can your mum use the journal to talk with me? If yes, it would be best. If not, we'll use the journal to set up a proper time to meet."

Cho nodded that she had understood and all students alighted at the station.
­________________________________________________________________________

The return trip to Privet Drive was uneventful, and the threats the Weasleys, Tonks and Mad-Eye Moody had held forth to the Dursleys seemed to have had a good effect, since they had gone back to favourite the treatment Harry expected of them - completely ignoring him. Harry still had had a few chores to do, but it was nothing terribly onerous and he was safely ensconced in his room by late evening. He picked up the charmed journal Hermione had made for the coordinators of the DA and a quill, initiated contact with Cho, and wrote

"Hello Cho! Had a safe trip?"

"Yes, indeed!", came the reply in a neat, pretty hand. "And you?"

"Okay."

"Well, Harry, mum is here and she doesn't like to be kept waiting. We'll talk later on, but now I am handing over to mum."

A few seconds later, written in a different feminine hand, crisp and firm, came, "Hello, Mr. Potter, I trust you are well."

"I am fine, thank you. And you?"

"Thanks for your inquiry, I am fine, Mr. Potter, but shall we get to business?"

"Please call me Harry."

"Very well, Harry. Let us begin with the will of Mr. Sirius Black. I will not go into the full legalese and provisions of Mr. Black's will. Briefly, he bequeaths small parts of his fortune to Mr. Remus Lupin, Mrs. Andromeda Tonks, and Ms. Nymphadora Tonks, and there are several endowments and charities. The remainder of his fortune, along with the Black family estate, is left to you."

Mrs. Chang continued, "Mr. Black requested that I contact you first, before letting anyone else know of the provisions of his will. He was particularly insistent that Professor Dumbledore not know anything of his will until the public reading, and that I take all possible measures to ensure secrecy. The public reading should be held within six weeks from his death. However, it is my duty to warn you that Mr. Black inserted two clauses in his will that could be legally contested in the High Council."

"Sorry, you've lost me - what is the High Council?"

"Merlin, Harry! The High Council is the highest authority over pureblood families. It is made up of fifty of the most noble, pureblood families in the realm. In matters of inheritance, succession and other civil disputes of pureblood families, the ruling of the High Council is supreme, and neither the Wizengamot, nor the Ministry has any powers to overturn its rulings. In fact, the Ministry is legally bound to uphold and enforce the decisions of the High Council."

Mrs. Chang paused momentarily and then continued, "But to get to the two clauses that could be challenged. The first and simpler of the two problems is anointing you the Head of the Black family. The one challenge here is that Mr. Black himself was disowned by his parents, but I have taken the liberty of checking on the records, and have found that although he fled his home, his family took no legal steps to disinherit him. So, his wishes are likely to be honoured, even if he himself was never able to take up the mantle of the Head of the House. However, the Blacks were an ancient pureblood family and the magic of the family might prevent you from becoming the Head of House, since you are not a Black by blood. If the magic of the ring accepts you, you will most probably be confirmed as the Head of the House of Black. Mrs. Malfoy, a Black by blood, could contest your appointment, but this contest is likely to be in your favour, for few in the Council will dare rule against the magic of the Head of House ring.

"If the ring doesn't accept me?"

"Then Lady Malfoy will be the next Head of House of Black."

"I can't challenge her appointment?"

"I am afraid not, since you are not a Black."

She continued, "The second and far more serious problem is the one emancipating you, making you an adult legally, subject to your consent. Do you wish to be emancipated and treated as an adult, Harry?"

Harry was euphoric - finally, he would be able to get away from the Dursleys, able to perform magic during summer, and make a whole lot of things easier. The one downside was the loss of protection in Privet Drive, but Harry considered it a perfectly acceptable risk. He had faced Voldemort half a dozen times and survived, and his chances would be better if he were free from his summer prison restrictions. He answered succinctly, "Yes!"

Mrs. Chang began, "Mr. Black indicated that this would make Prof. Dumbledore very upset and he or his proxies in the High Council would challenge this clause. The problem here, Harry, is that to emancipate you, Mr. Black had recourse to an old law, which allows the reduction of the age of adulthood by one year. During times of crisis, when it was inadvisable for an Ancient House to lack a Head of House, the age of adulthood would be reduced by one year. This is contingent on the approval of the guardians of the child in question, apart from the consent of the High Council. Normally, Harry, the consent of the Council is a mere formality once the guardians approve of the decision. In your case, however, this is a huge legal tangle"

"What?! Why?"

"The problem starts with the fact that the muggles you are staying with - your uncle and aunt, I believe - should never have been your guardians in the first place. In fact, they were expressly prohibited from being your guardians."

"How do you know that?"

"Circe's curls! Have you never seen your parents will?"

"No!"

Harry could almost hear Mrs. Chang sigh. However, she continued, "I have been working on your case for a week now, Harry, and I have taken the liberty of checking your parents' will. You are the principal beneficiary of your parents' will, although there are several other minor beneficiaries, including Hogwarts, the Dursleys and some charitable institutions. You are also to become the Head of the House of Potter once you become an adult. Your parents had put in place a mechanism for you to be placed in safety in case of their untimely demise. Since Lady Alice Longbottom was deemed mentally unfit to be your guardian, the Dursleys have been your guardians, with Prof. Dumbledore being their advisor in matters regarding the magical world."

"Wait a minute! Alice Longbottom was to be my guardian?"

"Gracious! She is your godmother, Harry! Didn't you know that?"

Harry was fuming - how much had that old coot kept from him? And more importantly, why? He calmed himself, and wrote, "No, I didn't know. Who were to be my guardians?"

Mrs. Chang explained, "Your parents mentioned that, in case of their premature death, the guardians should, in order of priority be, Mr. Sirius Black, Mrs. Alice Longbottom, Mr. Edgar Bones, and Mr. Peter Pettigrew. Since Mr. Bones predeceased your parents, and Mr. Pettigrew is now officially dead, you would have been in the custody of Mr. Black or Mrs. Alice Longbottom. With Mr. Black's incarceration in Azkaban and Mrs. Longbottom's condition, you had no guardians and were placed in the custody of the Dursleys, on the advice of Prof. Dumbledore. Prof. Dumbledore is the advisor of the Dursleys on magical matters. Technically, the relatives or next of kin of any of your suggested guardians could have claimed custody of you. Perhaps, they did not even know of these provisions."

"But we digress from the main point, Harry. The problem is that even if your muggle guardians were to approve emancipating you, their status as muggles makes it doubtful if the High Council would regard their decision favourably, especially if Prof. Dumbledore opposes it. Further, Prof. Dumbledore's cohorts in the Council might want to resolve the question of whether the Dursleys have ever had the legal right to be your guardians, given that they were expressly prohibited from being that. This would initiate a long legal battle."

There was a long pause. "What would happen if my emancipation were rejected?"

"You would remain a ward of the Dursleys, and things would continue as they are."

"If my emancipation is challenged, what would be my chances of success, Mrs. Chang?"

"At present, your chances are not good - in fact, they are pretty bleak. There are two ways to approach this problem, Harry. The first way is to try and enforce Sirius' will. This is likely to be very difficult given the prejudices against muggles in the Council, and the fact that the greatest of the Light Wizards is opposing it. The second is to find a new guardian for you. Mr. Black informed me that the muggles you live with are not particularly pleasant; so getting a new non-muggle guardian is a distinct possibility. Then you can have your new guardian emancipate you."

"Thank you, Mrs. Chang. What would you advise?"

"I suggest playing it by the ear, Harry. That we file papers to find a new guardian for you, but try to enforce Mr. Black's will. Depending on the situation, we can try the one or the other. Further, your if there are many choices for being your guardian, your wishes in choice of the guardian would be paramount."

"Thank you, Mrs. Chang. You have given me a lot to think about. I will let you know of my decision soon."

"Very good, Harry. I will wish you a very good night, then"

"Goodnight, Mrs. Chang. And wish Cho the same."