Being the Discoveries
When the laughter finally died down, they caught Sirius up on the discussions already had. Then he took over to give them a rundown of his conversations with his account manager.
“It’s not great. Dumbles made a mess of the accounts I gave him access to as my proxy in case anything happened to me. From the unauthorized transfers, the selling of family heirlooms, the use of Black properties, and the sealing of certain wards, I’m glad I didn’t completely lose my mind and make him proxy for everything…. Gods, it’s gonna take years for me to clean up the mess. But the goblins are quite happy to help.”
“What about Grimmauld Place?” Remus asked. “My understanding was that the place was headquarters for the Order now that Dumbledore has reactivated it.”
“The Order?” the twins asked.
“The Order of the Phoenix,” Sirius answered absentmindedly. “Dumble’s special unit in the First War to combat the Death Eaters. I agreed to let them use one of the Black properties for a headquarters around Yule. Now I’m thinking of revoking privileges.”
“Don’t,” Arianna said, eyes suddenly intense and Sirius and Remus could see the telltale signs of a mind whirling.
“What are you plotting, Prongslette?” Sirius asked, wary. That look had never meant good things when James or Lily had it and he knew from experience, Ari was worse.
“I’m plotting a way to ruin the bastard and still manage to stop Voldemort,” she said absently. “I’m not going to be a pawn in either of their games and I’m not going to let my family be either. But we have a few more things to talk about before I can solidify anything. And most of it will hinge on no one knowing I’m out and about, let alone plotting with you all. Dumbles would reapply the potions on a somewhat regular basis, if memory serves, and he just reapplied them, so we have a bit of wiggle room before he starts searching for me. So, your accounts are a mess. The goblins are handling most of it. What are you going to be up to?” she asked. The entire thing was said with such nonchalance that many in the room wondered if she’d been aware of how awful the implications of her words were.
“I’m not sure, other than taking care of Harry,” Sirius admitted. Harry’s head quirked at the news and Arianna muffled a laugh at the perked puppy look he gave. “I know there are some things the goblins won’t be able to handle, as I’m the Lord Black and there are certain heirloom items only the Head or Heir can touch with their protections, but other than spending a fair amount of time in Gringotts, I plan to make sure Harry’s safe.”
Arianna hummed in thought. “And getting rid of the blocks on you,” she muttered.
“Blocks?” Sirius asked, aghast. “I shouldn’t have any blocks! Black paranoia what it is, the Heir ring and my new Lord ring should have prevented them.”
“You have the least in the room, Pads,” Arianna said seriously. “But you have some.”
“Then it sounds like I have arrived at the right time,” a goblin healer announced her presence with a smirk.
“Healer Eir!” Arianna called with a happy laugh. “Such wonderful timing, as always. May your gold run ever in your favor and your enemies fall beneath your blades.”
“And may your endeavors be ever profitable, milady,” Eir greeted with a smirk.
“Ever get the feeling we’ve missed out on something?” Charlie muttered to himself. “Since when do goblins actually like wizards?”
“Since the relationship was both profitable and respectful,” Eir answered bluntly. At Arianna’s slight nod, she continued. “Milady and Lord Black have proven multiple times that the title of Goblin Friend was not given in error. As milady was too young to learn Gobblygook like Lord Black, she proceeded in a language she knew. As she and I spent a very intense while together when she was thirteen, healing a number of compulsions and potions on her person, I am allowed to show some warmth to her.”
“Milady?” Harry asked softly.
“Yes, though which Ladyship she’d like to be addressed by has never been discussed. And as she has not claimed her rings, we cannot-“
“Um,” Arianna interrupted sheepishly, holding her beringed fingers out nervously. “They sort of came to me.”
Eir stared at her in shock. It was an emotion many in the room had never seen on a goblin, and one they were quite frankly perfectly fine with never seeing again.
“You and the goblins of Gringotts are going to have many discussions in the near future.”
“Yes, Eir,” Arianna agreed readily. “Also, please apologize to the healer that was here when I arrived. I fear I was not as respectful as I should have been.”
“She understands and relayed as much when she notified us of the witch who apparated through several centuries’ worth of goblin wards. Master Curse-Breaker Weasley will arrive within the next few hours to assess any possible damage.”
“Can you ask that he remain for a bit longer? I have a feeling I may need his expertise, if he can be trusted to assess the wards around here.”
“Of course he can!” the twins said in unison to the amusement of all present.
“I shall make note,” Eir said with a small chuckle. “As for rings, I see you have received some, enough to stabilize a core on the verge of explosion, but that is not all your rings, milady. We shall need to do a new inheritance test. I have prepared a ritual chamber, just in case.”
“You’re afraid of finding the same?” Arianna asked, startled.
“If not more, milady,” Eir agreed.
Arianna cursed, but couldn’t argue. “Then I’d suggest we test everyone here,” she finally agreed. “If they have anywhere near the number I did, it’ll be needed. And I can already see they’ve got some.”
The men were all shocked by the goblin healer swearing beautifully.
“I had feared that,” Eir finally growled. “I did bring the necessary potions, but I shall prepare additional ritual rooms.”
“As a side note,” Arianna muttered. “If anyone, and I mean anyone, regardless of core, comes to Gringotts, asking to be tested, please do so. If they decide to have them cleared, do so. And bill me if needed. We can work out which vault to pull it from later. I have a feeling there will be many that are being controlled. Not too good for business if they’re anything like mine.”
“Yes, milady,” Eir said sharply. “Now, for your tests, please place seven drops on the parchment,” she ordered, sending sheets of parchment to each individual in the room. “All parchments have the necessary potion. It will take a few minutes to fully process, in which time, I should have goblins started on additional rooms. The one in most need of cleansing will use the one already set up while the others are prepared.”
With that edict, she bustled out of the room.
Arianna grumbled, but held her hand out to Sirius with a smirk.
“What?” he demanded.
“Give me the dagger,” she ordered.
“What makes you figure I have one?” he said, smiling innocently.
“Black paranoia,” she said, deadpan.
Charlie and Remus chuckled at that, and the twins choked on laughter when Sirius produced a sharp black blade from somewhere with an exaggerated eye roll.
“Careful, it’s sharp,” he grumbled.
Arianna just gave him a disbelieving eyebrow raise.
Harry was the one to chuckle then.
“I’m gonna have to get used to you being more than a pup, Pup,” Sirius protested. “It’s hard enough reconciling you alive, let alone the woman you’ve grown into.”
“Simple, enough, Pads,” Moony said with a smirk. “She’s just like Lily.”
“I’m going to stop you there, Marauders,” Arianna said with a snap. “I am not my mother, just like Harry is not his father. We may look like them, but Harry never really knew either of them. I spent time with them, but I am not them. We will never be them so relating us in your minds will do you absolutely no good. It will only serve to alienate you from us when we can’t be individuals in your eyes.”
Sirius and Remus looked both appropriately chastised and in pain at the reminder of their loss, though it was obvious Sirius wanted to protest. One look at Harry forestalled any words, however. The raven-haired teen was trying valiantly to cover his relief at the words and the air hung heavy with the realization of how he felt. Arianna shot him a soft smile, smirking when he blushed and ducked his head. She chose to ignore the muttered ‘sounds just like a Lily scolding’ that Sirius muttered.
“Now, we still have a lot to discuss, but I want these tests taken care of while we do so. We’ve only gotten to my receiving my Hogwarts letter and I have yet to hear much about the rest of you,” she said as she quickly pricked her thumb and allowed the needed drops to fall onto her parchment. A quick scourgify and she handed it to Charlie with a nod to his parchment.
“Yes, please continue, though at some point, I want the names of your guardians in full. I don’t think we ever heard them, as an added layer of protection for you. Only James and Lily knew. They deserve a thank you at least,” Remus said as he added his own.
“Well, I got my letter and we started planning. Since the letter was addressed to Arianna Evans, that’s what we stuck with. Because I look just like Mum and we didn’t want to risk someone recognizing me in case there were those still searching for Potters, Aunt Tina cast an Auror level glamour on me that would shield me long-term. Polyjuice would have worked, if I’d been able to brew it, but, at eleven? Not gonna happen.”
“Hermione got it at twelve,” Harry offered, to laughs from the Twins and a barking snort from Sirius.
Arianna smirked at him, proud he was speaking up, though a little startled that he knew a witch with the skills to brew such a difficult potion so young. He’d been surprisingly withdrawn and fearful and she didn’t really like it. Another was added to the long list of questions she had for him.
“Well, I am not bad at potions, but we also didn’t want to risk me getting caught stealing ingredients,” she settled on commenting.
“Oh,” was all he had to say in response.
“Yeah, oh, so glamour it was. And it was a good thing too, since so many of the professors still remembered our parents. It had only been three years since they died, after all. Three years since the war ended,” she trailed off, eyes going distant as she contemplated it.
It really wasn’t all that long ago, really.
She shook off the melancholy before anyone could ask.
“So, I went to Hogwarts, sorted into Hufflepuff,” she said proudly, laughing at the grumbles from the room of Gryffindors. “And things were great. I got to see how Wizarding Britain was handling the peace, handling the fall of Voldemort, handling my parents’ death. It was fucking hilarious how everyone forgot little Harry was the second born Potter. But since I was in disguise, I couldn’t exactly correct them. And as the stories evolved, I didn’t want to. They were making him into this huge production of a human. There was no way he would ever live up to the hype, but I didn’t care. He was my brother and I knew he was alive. But I will forever regret believing the stories that he was being protected in safety,” she growled.
Harry hunched on himself and the twins were immediately there, sandwiching him between them and glaring death at the non-Weasley redhead in the room. She glared right back but said nothing.
“Where have you been, then?” Remus asked softly.
“To explain that, I have to keep going. When I was twelve, I started getting phantom pains, unexplained and untreatable by Madam Pomfrey. She couldn’t figure out why they were happening, but she suspected some dark curse. Since they were so random, she couldn’t exactly pinpoint it.”
“The bond!” Sirius said with a frown.
“The bond. Not that we knew that. Since I’d gone overseas, it had been muted, so I wasn’t sure it was. And then, when I was just turning thirteen, I felt the worst pain yet. Pomfrey said it was similar to a broken bone, but she could confirm mine were fine. And then I knew.
“Vernon broke my arm when I was five,” Harry said so softly they almost didn’t hear him. “I didn’t get the dinner right.”
It took everything in her to continue as if he hadn’t spoken. Otherwise, she would scare the boy by pouncing on him, wrapping him up tight in her arms, and never letting him out again. It only took a glance to see she wasn’t the only one with similar urges.
“I said nothing to anyone but my foster family about my suspicions. They believed me and we made arrangements with Aunt Tina and Uncle Theseus to visit Gringotts over the winter break to inquire after you. It wasn’t until I spoke with Professor Flitwick, though, that I realized how much power I might hold over where you were. Granted, I didn’t specify who my baby brother was, just that I was concerned. Said we’d been separated young, not too strange for the time, but that I wanted to make sure you were alright and keep you safe if necessary.”
“You could inherit,” Sirius said, instantly understanding.
“Yes,” Arianna said. “Apparently, I could have at eleven, but no one had told me and I didn’t quite remember that from my noble lessons with Mum and Da. The States don’t have as much of that issue, since they’re not based on a noble system like Britain so even my guardians didn’t know. Something came up that prevented anyone from joining me, so I went to Gringotts over Yule alone, and found out I’d been manipulated, had potions and compulsions used against me, and any number of other issues. The goblins were appalled and demanded the chance to heal me, then assist me in fixing the issues. I obviously agreed, but before I could claim my rings, I had to be cleansed. Which put my life at risk. So, they were unwilling to cleanse me then process the inheritance immediately. We decided to do a full cleanse, then allow me time to recover. Only after everything was cleared and I was healthy again would we see about the rings. It took a while to clear them all. If they’d rushed it, my magic could have lashed out and killed them and me. A lot were deeply entrenched in my magics and the process to remove them is not pleasant. But they managed it and sent me on my way, giving me a portkey to the edge of the Hogwarts wards so I didn’t have to floo or attempt to fly.”
“No use letting you claim them if you then died either in the process or in attempting to get to bed, without an heir. Lost revenue,” Eir said, announcing her presence before anyone could react the rest of the tale. “Let us see your tests, then, starting with Lord Black, as he should have the least.”
“Bloody ponse,” Remus teased, handing over his test right after Sirius, watching in fascination as the goblin magic made the ink visible as soon as she touched it. She repeated the process with all the tests she was handed.
“Black paranoia and inherited resistance, actually,” Sirius countered with a smirk. “There are few things my parents did that I approved of, but the Black history of caution I kept. The Heir ring also added some resistance and when I claimed the Lord ring yesterday, it should have cleared any that might have latched on.”
“While that may normally be true, Lord Black,” Eir interrupted. “Your stint in Azkaban weakened your natural resistance and many of these were applied before you could claim the Heir or Lord rings, so would have remained even though they would be weakened.”
She handed over the paper and Sirius took it cautiously. Within seconds, he was tense, glaring at the page as if he could will it on fire. No one was quite sure whether or not he actually could. Then he jerked, turning it so the rest of the room could read it.
Sirius Orion Black
Family:
Walburga Black nee Crabbe (mother - deceased)
Orion Black (father - deceased)
Regulus Acturus Black (younger brother – complicated)
Alphard Black (maternal uncle – deceased)
Cygnus Black (maternal uncle – deceased)
Lucretia Black (paternal aunt – deceased)
Bellatrix Lestrange nee Black (cousin – alive)
Andromeda Tonks nee Black (cousin – alive)
Narcissa Malfoy nee Black (cousin – alive)
Arianna Sirius Remus Potter (adopted daughter and Heir - alive)
Harrison James Potter (adopted son and Heir - alive)
Titles:
Lord Noble and Most Ancient House of Black (Proxy Albus Dumbledore)
Additional lordships and vaults may be awarded upon completion of soulbond
Vaults:
0650– 0666 – Black vaults – galleons, artifacts, books, weapons, properties
0667 – Black Heir vault – galleons
Recurring Transfers:
1000 galleons/month – Albus Dumbledore
500 galleons/month – Hogwarts
50 galleons/month – Molly Weasley
25 galleons/month – Ginevra Weasley
Blocks
Magical core – 20% (applied age 1, partially blocked due to Heir status/Family magic)
Attempted Magical leach – 30% (Albus Dumbledore – applied age 1, removed immediately due to Heir status/Family magic)
Soulmate bond – 100% (applied age 1)(50% ineffective due to Heir ring)
Potions: Traces only due to time in Azkaban.
Love – keyed to Nymphadora Tonks (50% ineffective due to Heir ring) (applied age 22, reapplied age 24, 26)
Loyalty – Hogwarts, Dumbledore, light magic, ministry, Order of the Phoenix (applied age 1, reapplied every other month from 11-21, replied age 26)
Danger – seek all danger with no self-preservation (partially blocked due to Heir ring) (applied age 1, reapplied every other month from 11-21, reapplied age 26)
Distrust – Severus Tobias Snape, Lucius Abraxus Malfoy, Regulus Acturus Black, etc. (See full list of suspected Death Eaters on file), Slytherin house, outside nations (including MACUSA) (applied age 1, partially blocked due to Heir ring, reapplied every other month from 11-21, reapplied age 26)
Depression, guilt and bouts of rage - to steadily increase (applied age 1, partially blocked due to Heir ring, reapplied every other month from 11-21, reapplied age 26)
Contracts
Marriage contract: To Nymphadora Tonks by Albus Dumbledore.
“I want him ruined,” Sirius snarled as soon as everyone was staring at him in horror.
“Wait,” Fred said, mind already calculating and pushing through the shock at some of the issues he’d noticed to the blaring concern. “You said Sirius had the least, due to the Black family,” he said, turning to Arianna with growing dread.