Chapter 127: Birthday
Harry James Potter was lounging on his bed with a happy smile on his face. He had every reason to be happy after all. His parents’ murderer was defeated and arrested and wasn’t after him anymore. His godfather’s murderer was also arrested. None of the people he loved was killed or even injured. He didn't even had to do the deed of saving Magical Britain himself. It was a group effort and as such people won’t keep talking about him.
In other words: Harry James Potter was free and happy.
Free to live as he wanted. No other burden at the moment than enjoying the rest of his summer with his friends and looking forward to the start of his seventh and last year at Hogwarts.
Or so he naively thought.
Out of the blue, the door to his bedroom was blasted open and a small army came in. Ron, Fred & George and the Maraudeurs. In a flash, before he could even react, he found himself tied up in his pajamas.
“““HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”””
Blinking his surprise away, he suddenly remembered that today was the 31st of July. How he could forget the day he turned seventeen and became an adult was beyond him but the knowledge made him smile from ear to ear.
“Come on! First thing on the list: enjoy doing magic without the Ministry sending you a warning for underage use!” James took the lead.
Harry was floated out of the room and the group of male went down to the first floor to exit the Manor and outside the wards. He saw Rose in the same situation as he was but by a female group.
“Alright! We’re going to do a muggle activity. You say “Pull” and two discs are thrown up in the air. All you have to do is shoot them down! Nothing beats being able to use magic freely than blowing shit up!” Sirius explained.
Harry exchanged a look with Rose and they both grinned then pulled out their wand and prepared themselves.
““Pull!””
From the left and from the right one single disc was shot in the air and they both aimed their wands.
““Reducto!””
Both discs exploded in thousands of tiny pieces.
“I can’t believe you finally got a good idea, Sirius.” Harry commented in amusement.
The man in question put his hand dramatically over his heart as if he had been stabbed and hurt there.
They did the activity for half an hour and had great fun doing it. Then everyone went back inside for breakfast. There, awaited a sight that no one had expected. Rick and Albus were wearing aprons and baking.
“What?” Rick asked, seeing everyone frozen in shock. “I used to cook-” he stopped when all his clothes but his underwear disappeared. “BELLA!” he shouted in outrage.
“Wasn’t me! The idea did cross my mind though.” she defended while looking predatorily at her husband.
“Then who-”
“That was me, sorry!” Everyone turned to Lily who was blushing in embarrassment. “I remembered the beginning of our married life and my body just moved on its own.”
With narrowed eyes Rick issued a punishment. “No biscuits and cake for you!”
“No one is going to talk about Professor Dumbledore baking?” Remus pointed out.
“An experience that I was more than happy to discover.”
Ron was preoccupied by something else. “Honestly, I’m more surprised you convinced my mom to let you enter the kitchen and cook.”
“Molly and Arthur found themselves with a very important task for the day.” Rick answered as he conjured new clothes. “You’ll see after breakfast.” he added before anyone could ask what the task was.
Breakfast was a funny affair. Part talk about the previous day's battle, part talk about the changes for the future, part talk about prank and part talk about the activities of the day. Once everyone was full of energy to really start the day Rick pulled out a very long rope which he turned into a Portkey.
“Dad, where are we going?” Rose asked.
“Gringotts.”
Just as he said it, the portkey activated and they arrived at the designated area for apparition and portkey of Diagon Alley. It was very deserted, the news of Voldemort’s defeat not yet having been read by people in the Daily prophet. They came across Arthur and Molly who came out of Fleury & Blotts.
“Mom, dad? What are you doing in Diagon Alley?” inquired Ginny.
“We went to buy all your school supplies. With the news of Who-know-Who’s defeat soon being public, it will be difficult for Harry to make them so we did them early. Professor McGonagall had been gracious enough to give us the list in advance.”
“Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.” Harry politely said.
“Think, nothing of it, Harry, dear. And happy birthday.” Molly took Harry in a bone crushing hug.
They all reached Gringotts where Rick spoke with a teller. Soon enough they were guided inside a relatively big room. A goblin came in with two boxes in hand and a stack of papers.
“Mister Harry James Potter.”
“That’s me.” Harry answered and walked forward when invited too.
The goblin opened the first box and a ring was inside. “Your lordship ring.”
Harry turned around to look at the adults who all nodded. “Which ring is th- Which House I mean?” he asked as he took the ring and put it on the middle finger of the left hand.
“House Potter.” the goblin answered and opened the second box.
Harry didn’t even have the time to have a good look at the first ring. Figuring he could always look at it later and knew the armories of his family, he looked at the second ring. Red and Gold with a lion. It couldn’t be anything else but the ring of house Gryffindor. He took it but didn’t know on which finger to put it on, not feeling comfortable at the idea of putting it on his right hand. That left his left hand with the thumb, the index and the little finger, his ring finger being reserved for the wedding ring. That brought up a problem. The ring wasn’t fit for any of the fingers left.
“It resizes automatically, Harry.” Rick told him.
Thinking it was cool magic, Harry decided to put it on his little finger.
“Now if you don’t want to show them, just pour your magic in them and they will activate a special notice-me-not charm.” Rick explained.
“Good to know but I’m good for now.”
“Please sign those documents.” The goblins said, inviting Harry to the small desk.
“What are those?”
“Legal confirmation that you are the official lord of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter and the Ancient and Noble House of Gryffindor.”
Harry took the quill and went to sign before Rick’s lesson kicked in. He quickly read the pages and seeing everything was in order, signed them. He wasn’t about to get swindled because someone told him to sign something without even looking.
“Now what?” Harry asked as the goblin left.
Rick tossed him a key and a stone which he caught without problem. “The key is the masterkey of the rebuilt Potter Manor. The stone is needed for you to enter it and link yourself to the master wardstone inside of it.”
Harry was confused. “But isn’t the Manor destroyed?”
“It was. I took the liberty to pay for its reconstruction. Bellatrix Lestrange’s money. It’s not yet finished but within two weeks it should be. Gringotts will send you a letter about it.”
“I’m not sure about living in my family manor. So much space for just me? That’s a bit much, no?”
“It is. You don’t have to live there. Heck, we don’t. But it’s an important symbol of the family and a very good defensive position. More than that, it wasn’t completely destroyed during the war. Many things were recovered. It’s up to you to discover them.”
Harry thanked Rick and was suddenly grabbed by Lily and dragged away.
“Where are we going now?”
“Gryffindor’s Vault. Grandpa Godric had been sleeping there for a few centuries and it’s about time we got him out.” she answered him.
It only took twenty minutes for them to come back. To his surprise the only ones left were Arthur, Sirius, James and Rick. Lily left him alone with the men and in confusion. They said nothing and were directed to a room. Smaller than the previous one this time.
“What is this about?”
“It’s about gifts and tradition.” James said and the other men nodded.
Arthur was the one who came forward with a wrapped box in his hands. “On his seventeen’s birthday a Wizard receives a pocket watch from his father.”
Harry took the gift and shredded the wrapping paper to open the box. Inside of it was a pocket watch with the armories of House Potter.
“It belonged to your father. We’re sorry we had to snoop a bit among his stuff because we believe, rightly, that it was broken. I was able to fix it and since Arthur has been your father figure since you entered the magical world he added a functionality to it.” James said.
Arthur invited Harry to open it and Harry did. Inside on the back of the lid were two pictures. One of Hermione and one of Ron at the tip of two hands. Much like the Weasley family clock it told where they were. Among twelve possibilities.
“That’s brilliant, Mr. Weasley. Thank you.” Harry said, closed the watch and hugged Arthur.
“Think nothing of it, Harry. Now it’s time for me to leave and join Molly. We’ll wait for you at the manor.” With a smile and a nod, the redhead man left the room.
“I hope you realize Arthur's gesture in full, Harry.” Rick commented.
Apparently, he did not. “What do you mean?”
“That addition to your watch, Harry? It’s Weasley Family Magic.” James explained.
“And he gave you a piece of it so to speak. More than that. He asked for a drop of blood from Hermione and Ron and they gave it away. You should never give your blood, Harry. Bad things could happen.” Sirius explained further.
“Like Voldemort using it to resurrect?” Harry’s answer was sarcastic. “I… what does that mean exactly?”
“It means that Arthur considers you as his son or at the very least family. And that Hermione and Ron trust you enough to give you a drop of their blood for the clock to work. It’s a very big statement he and they are making.” Rick answered and it made Harry moved by Arthur’s gesture.
“I see. Why did he leave though?”
“Because what we’re about to do now is very private.” James replied.
“And technically very illegal,” added Sirius.
“As you know my mother was a Black and as such I was able to become the lord of the House. James however does not have a drop of Black blood in him. With your world being the way it is. We thought that the House of Black’s fortune could help in rebuilding it. The problem is, the House of Black is officially down to Narcissa and Draco Malfoy and only a male can inherit and rule the House. At least until a new lord changes that.”
“Not good.” Harry commented.
“Indeed, it’s not. That is why we came with a solution.”
“As the son of the first son of the last Lord Black and your godfather, I can blood adopt you and your claim would be stronger than Draco who is the son of the third daughter of the second son of the last lord Black.” Sirius revealed. “That gives you the right to inherit the Black Fortune and lordship. Luckily for us, Lucius didn’t bring Draco to become Lord Black when he turned seventeen. If you become Lord Black before him he won’t be able to take the lordship or even contest it.”
“Why does blood adopting me entail?”
“Something very illegal.” James answered. “In short, after drinking a very specific potion, a part of you changes to become a part of your blood donor. For all matter and purpose Lily, your father and Sirius would be your parents. All three of them.”
“It’s illegal because of the possibility of line theft.” Harry understood immediately the abuse of the potion.
Rick nodded slowly. “Not just that but yes. That’s why we’re doing it in Gringotts as Gringotts belong to the Goblin’s nation and the law of the ministry does not apply here. The cover up story we have is that your Sirius made you his heir as you were his godson. Years of dementor’s influence can make you sterile. It’s not always the case but it is known to happen.”
Harry finished the story. “And Sirius, knowing he wasn’t able to have children and that I was his godson blood adopted me so the House of Black could continue as he refused to have Draco as an heir because of his family association with Voldemort.”
“Yes. More than that, as Lord you can disown anyone you want but also annul a disownment. You will be able to reinstate Andromeda and include Nymphadora if you wish.” Sirius explained the ramification.
“Although she misses the connection to the House of Black, Andromeda is very happy with her life from what Dora said.” Rick confessed.
“Either way, the choice is yours, Harry. Don’t think we-”
“I’m doing it,” Harry cut off James. “Sirius. Well my Sirius… He fucked up royally. I thought up a lot during this past month. He went after Pettigrew instead of caring for me, he escaped for vengeance instead of for me… But everytime he could he had been there for me afterwards. He even died for me and because of me. If I can carry a piece of Sirius with me always and stick it to Malfoy and help Tonks and her mother and use the money to help people then… I’ll do it.”
The three men nodded and Rick pulled out a potion from an expanded inside pocket of his jacket. Sirius sliced his hand with his wand and let a few drops of his blood fall inside the uncorked vial. Harry took it in hand when it was offered.
“Will it hurt?”
“Not that I know of. You’ll feel uncomfortable but that’s it. As for the time it depends on the amount of blood given. Since Surius gave it willingly and only a few drops, I’d say five… maybe ten minutes tops? And a few physical changes but nothing nasty in your case.” Rick answered as best he could.“... My case?” Harry was a bit panicked now. “You mean there is a possibility…”“That it goes wrong? Yes but—”Sirius picked up the explanation from Rick. “Only when you use blood not freely given, Harry. Stolen blood, or to be more accurate: stolen magic becomes a bit twisted. If you drink the potion with stolen blood, then… depending on how much you pour into it, anything can happen. From a very short life, to disfiguration, insanity… It would work but… Nasty things as Rick said. Thankfully, I’m more than willing,” Sirius grinned.“Wait, wait, wait. Voldemort stole my blood so how come… Oh, so that’s why he looks like a snake.”“““Probably.”””
Harry nodded and looked at the vial… Taking a deep breath, he downed it in one go.
“Ugh, it’s even worse than the nutriment potions. Bleh.”
“It’s Sirius’ blood. It’s dirty.” James joked.
Sirius shrugged his shoulders, totally unbothered. “Or so said my mother.”
“I would have said it’s the STDs.” Rick said with a flat tone and James and Harry burst out laughing.
“I would have you know: I’m clean! I used to take a test every month!”
“““Used to?”””
“Pad, you’re going serious with that Hit-witch?”
“We’re not there yet but I’ve only seen her for the past six months so who knows? She makes the year, I might introduce her to Duncan.”
“About time. You know he came to me and asked for advice so you could settle down?” Rick said.
“Really?”
“Yes, he’s worried that you’ll just fuck your way into a married witch’s bed with a big bad wizard husband and get hurt.”
“I really got a great kid, don’t I?” Sirius smiled broadly.
“How he got so mature while being yours and Marlene’s son is beyond me. But yeah he’s a great kid.”
“Rick wouldn’t let him date his twins if that wasn’t the case.” James chuckled.
“Tru- Oh it’s done.” Rick stopped himself and looked at Harry. James and Sirius did the same.
“You got my nose. Which is a fair improvement over James’ in my opinion.”
“No comment, ass.” James replied.
“The cheekbones too. They’re a bit more angular, no?” Rick wondered.
“I think so. I felt uncomfortable in my nose and cheekbones.”
“The hair too.” Sirius pointed out. “It’s less of a bird nest and the shade is a bit lighter.”
“I still have my mom's eyes?”
“““You do.”””
“Then that’s great.” Rick conjured a mirror for Harry who took a good look at himself. “Really great. I’m still looking very much like dad.”
“Glad you appreciate my handsomeness.” James said smugly.
Sirius rolled his eyes and put a hand on his shoulder, dragging him out of the room.
Harry understood that more was coming for him. “Another illegal gift?”
“Nothing as such. It’s more of a very private… passation of power.”
Rick pulled from another inside pocket of his coat a very thick tome. Its cover was made of leather and bore House Potter armories.
“This is the Potter Grimoire. It’s where all the family magics are recorded. I searched for it but it was either stolen during the Death Eater’s raid in 79, put inside the House main vault or probably destroyed so it wouldn’t fall into the wrong hands. I took it upon myself to rewrite it and added my own spells, potions, rune work and much more. So did Lily. It’s unbound however. You need to bind it to you and consequently your descendance by using your blood. The defensive enchantments Lily and I put on it are nasty but not lethal. Let’s say… Hermion tries to open it and she would lose her ability to read. Things like that. Nothing like the Black Grimoire and the books in the library. Those one be very careful with them. And remember-”
“Family magic is secret for our family protection.” Harry cut him off remembering the lesson. “I just have to drop a few drops on it?”
“The first page, not the cover.”
Harry did as instructed and the page glowed.
“Done. Now, we just need to get you the lord ring for the House of Black and we’re good to go.”
“The papers for Andromeda and Nymphadora too.”
It took only half an hour for that to go through everything. When they exited the bank, Lily was waiting for them in a muggle disguise.
“Everything is in order?” she asked.
Harry smiled at her. “It is.”
Diagon Alley, which had been deserted when they arrived, was now bursting with people. Joyous people, celebrating the fall of Voldemort.
“Do you want a disguise too?” she asked him, seeing him look at the crowd.
He shook his head. “It’s about time I take control of my life. Rose is right, I can’t isolate myself anymore or people will just walk over me and I will be backed into a corner.”
“Good decision. Remember, shake hands if you need to but have an excuse ready to say to get away.” she advised.
“The fact you turned seventeen today and that you’re in a hurry because you have some important family traditions to uphold will do the trick.” Rick added.
Harry nodded and opened the march. Climbing down the stairs of Gringotts he walked with his back straight and a confident gait. He smiled at people who recognized him and reached more than half the alley before he was accosted. An old lady took his hands in hers and thanked him for defeating Voldemort with tears in her eyes. Her actions got the attention of many people who began to surround him and thanked him too.
“I’m not the only one to praise and thank. Minister Scrimgeour, the aurors and a few civilians were there with me. It was a team effort. In fact they did more than me. I just acted as bait and fought Voldemort’s followers. I got a few shots at him but I hardly defeated him alone.”
Harry shook a dozen hands and when it began too much he apologized using the excuse Rick had given him. The reaction of the crowd surprised him, they all stopped trying to touch him and get close and parted to let him pass.
“Go on, Mister Potter. Some traditions must not wait!” a rotund man in his fifties said in a gruff but amused voice.
Many wished him a happy birthday on his way up to the leaky cauldron where they took the floo to get back to Black Oak.
“That was weird.” He said as he removed the soot from himself.
“Yes, but you managed it very well.” Lily praised him.
“I admit… the experience was the same as when Hagrid introduced me to the wizarding world but… It felt different.”
“I’d say it’s because you were ready this time. You also walked with confidence, you didn’t look like a child either nor did you have that aura of being a prey that you probably had at the time.” Rick said.
Not really knowing why that was, Harry let it go and was led to the dining room where the rest of the family was waiting for him. As the new Lord Black, Harry sat at the head of the table and invited Rose to sit beside him since it was her birthday too.
They ate and laughed and after one huge birthday cake for him and Rose, it was time for the presents. He was surprised that everyone from the prime world offered him something too.
Rick offered him the whole collection of his textbooks for dummies and he knew, from the way Hermione was looking at them, he would have to share. He would keep the ones on runes, arithmancy and potions for himself first though.
If someone had told Harry that one day he would love potion he would have laughed his ass off and called them mad. Yet after a few lessons with Lily so they could bond he found himself liking the subject. It was precise and a bit like cooking. She gave him plenty of tips about how to protect his cauldron and how to prepare ingredients properly.
Remus offered him his latest broom for seekers, the ACME Mk-1. Sirius offered him a book he wrote himself about seducing women and got cursed for it by Lily, Andromeda and Narcissa. James gave him quidditch gear and a broom cleaning kit. Alt-Remus offered him a box containing many vials with memories of Harry’s mother in them.
With the exception of Lea and Rose all the children put some of their allowance money together to buy him a dragon-hide coat.
Lea offered him two paintings. One moving, depicting a quidditch game they had played outside the manor and one of Harry standing in front of a proud James and Lily. Of course they weren’t really his parents but it felt like it.
Rose offered him a small animated penguin that changed color depending on his mood. Harry decided that he would keep it on his desk from now on. Although he may search for a way to remove the ‘Drama Penguin’ epitaph.
Lily gave him a comror which confused him. “I upgraded it. If you ever want to talk to me or James or Sirius or any of us really. You can. The arithmancy behind it had been a nightmare but it does contact another mirror from our reality. Only for our numbers though.”
“I can call you anytime?” Harry’s eyes were wide in shock.
“No. I like my sleep and I have a job.” Lily joked. “But during lunch hours or starting from 6 to 9 pm I’m usually free.
“Thank you.” he said and hugged her fiercely.
The last gift came from Dumbledore. It was to be open in private.
“I finally cracked the reason why my counterpart gave you your very first snitch.”
“It wasn’t a memento wasn’t it? It was to help me in finding the horcruxes or defeating Voldemort.”
“The latter.” Albus picked a golden snitch from the pocket of his wite embroidered robe and offered it to Harry. “If you could open it?”
“Open it? How do I do that?”
“The enchantment needs you to put it in front of your mouth, since you caught it with it and say… ‘I’m going to die’,” he said solemnly.
“He really intended for me to…” Harry frowned.
Albus looked saddened. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault. It’s his. And… Nevermind.” Harry did as instructed and the snitch opened and revealed a small black stone.
Albus sighed. “It is as I feared.”
His tone made Harry utterly confused. “What is it, professor?”
“The resurrection stone. Our coming to your world may very well have saved you. Mind you, my counterpart didn’t know about the curse, never did I in truth.”
“Resurrection stone and a curse?”
Albus sighed and proceeded to tell Harry about the story of the three brothers, the truths of the Hallows and the curse from Rick’s report of the experience.
“He really wanted me to…” Harry was pale at the knowledge he would have been alive forever but all decrepit.
“As I said earlier, he didn’t know about the curse. As far as his belief went, the Hallows were created by the Peverell and there was no curse. Perhaps a boost in magical power? I didn’t believe it either until I saw Rick being hit by four killing curses and surviving them. He was lucky. You don’t have to worry though. I destroyed the wand in this world.”
“That’s good to hear.” Harry said with relief and looked at the stone.
“It’s a one time gift, Harry. Remember what happened to the second brother. I will take back the stone away once you’re done.” Albus said, tapping Harry’s knee and standing up.
“Were you… tempted to use it?”
“Yes. Both me and my counterpart. Voldemort didn’t know what it was. You see, the stone… was mounted on the Gaunt ring and to protect his horcrux he put a withering curse on it. It’s an awful curse, not only does it rot your flesh but also your magic. Once affected you could cut your limb but the curse would still spread through your magic.
I was lucky to have friends smart enough to find a way to remove it even though I will never again be the powerful wizard that I was. My counterpart wasn’t as fortunate. All because we wanted to see our dear sister again and ask for forgiveness.”
Albus left him alone and Harry looked at the stone. He didn’t know how long he looked at it but in the end he turned it three times.
“Hello mom, dad, Sirius.”