Plots and Heirs
*****
“Ruining all my fun,” Sirius pouted.
Arianna just rolled her eyes at him and Sirius pouted harder.
“Oh give it up, Pads,” Remus muttered. “I’m fairly sure you perfected that look after watching the pair of them as kids.”
Sirius grumbled, but desisted and focused back on the pages they were reviewing.
“I’m seeing a lot of properties here,” he muttered. “More than half haven’t been touched in hundreds of years. That’s going to take a while. Where did we want to start?”
“I figured, we could focus on one property, make it livable, ward it to the heavens, then operate out of there. We can assess the rest as we have time, but if they’ve been unoccupied for so long, they can wait a bit longer. Once Harry and I get the elves fully bonded and set to task, I’ve no doubt the places will be put to rights in short order. I’m not entirely sure what I’ll do with all of them, but I will not be selling any of them. They’re mine and I’ll not have them leave the holdings of the houses they belong to. Even if I have to live in a different one each night so the elves can feel good about their work.”
Sirius chuckled at that. Ever the Hufflepuff…. Always thinking of others. Even elves.
“Maybe we could use one or two for primary schools? They could be like Hogwarts, which is still technically a private residence that has a school in operation. Or at least that’s what I’m gathering from us owning it. Doesn’t matter that the entire country is educated there.” Harry asked, looking over his own list. It was, if possible, longer, since a number of his bequeathments were from houses with no heir and most had at least the family home. “I’ve always wondered why magicals started education at eleven when muggles start at four or five.”
Sirius gaped a bit at that. “Four? What on earth could a four year old learn?”
“Colors, numbers, letters, social skills,” Arianna listed off absently. “It’s mostly used as a way to give the parents a break while still stimulating the children to begin thinking for themselves and developing friendships. Mum had me signed up before Da even knew she was thinking about it. Made some wonderful memories, even if my mundane teachers had to be obliviated on occasion when I accidently turned my hair green or summoned a toy from home. The other kids just thought it was hilarious and they were too young to really be worried about with the Statute. Seems there’s a clause that excuses anyone under the age of seven as they’ll likely forget on their own given enough time and they’ll not be believed by adults.”
“But what would wizarding children learn there?”
“The same,” Harry said.
“If not more,” Arianna said, studying a page intently and marking off one of the properties. When Sirius looked over her shoulder, he saw the note of ‘possible school’ in the shimmering purple ink she favored. “Since magical children tend to develop faster, they would be able to include flying lessons, muggle studies, history, basic wand care, ingredient prep for potions, and academic magics like ink removal and how to write on parchment, how to hold a quill as they get older, and maybe a few other things. It’s a rotten shame that magicals have no idea how to interact with muggles, even if they don’t particularly like them. At some point, they’ll need to exist in a muggle place and standard glamours only last so long. What if they get waylaid? And if they’re muggle-raised? With no preparation for existing in a magical place? Even just school work is difficult. Most of my classmates that were muggle-raised got terrible marks on their essays because the professors couldn’t read their writing, but no one showed them how to work with a quill. It’s no wonder there’s so many problems on both sides.”
“I’ve gotten along quite well,” Sirius protested. “And I’m a pureblood!”
“With extensive magical training from a young age and a muggle-raised as a friend. You also spent extensive time out in muggle London to shop for appropriately scandalous clothes to annoy your family,” Arianna pointed out. “I’ve no doubt it all helped when you were on the run, correct?”
Sirius had to grant her that. His ability to hide in the muggle world had definitely allowed him to slip past Aurors on more than one occasion. It didn’t help that they were so easy to spot, even with the advanced training they received to pass for a muggle. He knew the fashions they were taught were out of date, but it wasn’t until he’d spent time as a fugitive that he realized just how much. His own shopping as a teen had helped put him at the front of that particular class in Auror training, but he’d mostly stuck to ‘timeless’ items like jeans and t-shirts.
“And what of muggleborns?” Harry muttered angrily. “They get thrust into this strange world with little to no preparation for the laws and customs of the place, expected to adhere to age old traditions they have no knowledge of. There’s only so much a professor can impart when they take them to Diagon. And some aren’t even shown that courtesy. It depends on when they are to receive their letter. I had to ask Hermione about that when we were finally friends, since she seemed to know so much and I was clueless.”
“What do you mean?” Sirius snapped, already halfway to pissed.
“I mean I was, as far as anyone was concerned, a muggle-raised, and I had only Hagrid showing me around while we shopped for my things in first year. Yeah, he tends to babble on about random things, so I got perhaps more than I was meant to, but other than that, there was no explanation about the Statute or politics or even how to get onto the bloody platform for the train!”
By the end, Harry was out of breath and Sirius was fuming.
“So, I’m going to hex Hagrid, if I can find one that will affect the half-giant arse,” Sirius muttered.
“You can always go the non-magical prank route,” Arianna suggested. “Plastic wrap his hut or something. Though I believe Dumbledore is more responsible than the poor man for the state Harry arrived in. He’s supposed to assign the professors that visit the students over the summer and, since McGonagall is his deputy, she should have gone.”
“I’m beginning to wonder if the professors are just inept or so loyal to Dumbledore that they just don’t care for the incompetent way he’s running that school…” Remus muttered. “I wouldn’t have thought Minnie would be that oblivious.”
“Minnie?” Fred, George, and Harry exclaimed in glee.
“Regardless of Hogwarts, I’ve marked a few properties as possible for a primary school, but we’ve bigger problems that need addressed before we begin seriously pursuing them or go too far down the rabbit hole of Dumbledore’s incompetence. We can float the idea of a primary to the Board of Governors, but otherwise, we’ll have to wait on that. I’d like a few more people with actual teaching experience to consult before we start the major planning.”
“And what would you like to do about the school your brother is attending?” Sirius snapped, incensed and ready to run off to hex anyone and everyone he could think of at this point. How on earth had his society fallen this far?
“Oh, have no fear, Uncle Pads,” Arianna said, eyes twinkling. Sirius was beginning to fear when her eyes did that, as it usually led to plans he wouldn’t put past a Slytherin. “I’ve got plans for that. Starting with a little trip after I’m allowed out of bed but before school starts. But for now, I believe we need to sort out Heirs. Since I’m the lady of so many houses, and Harry’s even worse off, I will need to name Heirs to my houses that don’t require direct blood relations. Harry’ll unfortunately need to keep those, though I will name back-up heirs if we can find them. I’ve been discussing it with Ragnok and it seems a majority of the houses with requirements allow me to name an heir. Magic will decide if they’re worthy to take the head upon my death, only applying the conditions at that point. I’ve already named Harry the official heir for all of them for now, but once I have an alternative, I’ll be switching them. Harry, this means your inheritance test will be more complex should you take it again. Ragnok is already getting the rings for the Le Fay, Aiaia, Emrys, and other houses. Speaking of Emrys, Merlin Emrys!”
Sirius startled when the golden man from earlier appeared, pouring from her ring quickly.
“You called, good witch?” he said with a chuckle.
“Well met, good sir,” she muttered. “Would I be mistaken in naming Harry my Heir for now? I know your House came with conditions, but the goblins will not share exactly what they were.”
“Since the only requirements were true neutrality, or grey status, and respect for all creatures, magical and mundane, I’ve no doubt young Harrison will make a fine heir until you succeed in your quest for another,” Merlin said.
“That was it?” Sirius wondered aloud. “How in all Hels didn’t anyone qualify before?”
“An astute observation, young warlock,” Merlin said. “Though many have qualified for one or the other, none have managed both at the same time. The closest was a young warlock some decades ago, but in the end, his love of creatures was limited to those of the magical variety. I was sorely disappointed, but couldn’t fault the man. The magical world has gotten quite dangerous for the poor things and his book ended up helping quite a lot with generations old misunderstandings.”
Arianna gasped. “Newt! Newt Scamander almost qualified for the Emrys title?”
“I believe that was his name, though the first is a bit odd. I would have sworn it was longer.”
“Newton,” Arianna said absently. Merlin smirked but said nothing while Arianna continued. “He always hated it. Says only his mother called him that. And his ponse of a brother when he’s being difficult.”
Sirius quirked an eyebrow at that. It was not the first time she’d made illusions to knowing some pretty famous magicals, but this was the first she’d slipped up enough to outright say something only someone who’d talked with the famous magizoologist would know.
“You and I are going to have a discussion soon about who exactly you lived with while in hiding. I never knew for certain who ended up with you, just that you were in the States and the names I gave were ex-pats,” Sirius promised.
Arianna flushed. “I suspect it will be sooner than later. I may have sent a letter to them explaining a bit about where I was without outright giving them any information. As three of them are ex-Aurors, one is a natural legitimens, and one is insanely curious, I’ve no doubt they’ll storm the room as soon as the goblins clear them. I also might have charmed the paper with a powerful cleanser just in case…”
“Oh, it was powerful, alright,” a voice snapped from the door. “So powerful it overwhelmed the Swooping Evil venom poor Jacob has lived with for decades. I would have preferred he not remember the exact events from when we met…”