The Estate of Sirius Black

Kasper

Rating: PG
Genres: Drama, Humor
Relationships: Harry & Hermione
Book: Harry & Hermione, Books 1 - 5
Published: 18/09/2004
Last Updated: 02/10/2004
Status: completed

This is a single chapter from a longer fic. A friend suggested it might do well as a one-shot. Harry has is being trained personally by Dumbledore, who wants Harry to be comfortable enough around him to refer to him by his first name. Harry can't, so a charm is placed on him that will shock him when he can't refer to someone by their first name. This charm is eventually applied to all at Hogwarts during Harry's training and under this spell they attend the will reading for Sirius.

Chapters

1. The Estate of Sirius Black

1. The Estate of Sirius Black

Harry made his way into the private room at Gringott’s where the reading of his Godfather’s will was to take place. No amount of reassurance from Albus could make the queasy feeling in his stomach go away. He sat down limply in his assigned seat between Dumbledore and Hermione, and waited for the other beneficiaries to arrive. He didn’t have to wait long as most of them arrived within the next two minutes, but the meeting would not start until all listed people were present and seated in the seat that Sirius had appointed them, and there was one person still unaccounted for.

Vernon Dursley.

Harry thought it weird that Uncle Vernon would be included in Sirius’ will reading, but he felt his godfather must have had a good reason for doing it.

Harry sat silently at the table while some of the others chatted amicably to each other. His gaze sometimes wandered around the assembled people, most of who were very close to Harry. His eyes were slowly moving over the faces of the group when he noticed Snape looking much like Harry did. He had his arms folded in front of him and was gazing almost straight down at the table. Suddenly, Snape glanced up, directly at Harry. Harry’s first inclination was to look away, but there was something about Professor Snape’s eyes that kept Harry’s gaze set firmly upon him. For a moment, the two just stared at each other, until Snape lowered his eyes and bowed his head apologetically to Harry. He looked up and met Harry’s eyes once more, then returned to staring at the table in front of him.

Harry sat in stunned silence. What was that about? Was Snape showing him sympathy? Was he actually sorry that Sirius was dead? All of these thoughts were flying around Harry’s mind like a hundred snitches. It wasn’t until Uncle Vernon’s vast form made its way into the room, looking more petrified than Harry had ever seen him, that his mind was finally brought back to the present.

Vernon Dursley made his way around the table, staying as close to the wall as possible, as if the people around the table could infect him with some deadly virus. When he had finally reached the last empty chair, he stood behind it looking back and forth between the two people who would be his neighbors. Harry chuckled a little as he realized that the two people who were seated on either side of Vernon’s chair were the two people most likely to scare anybody, wizard or muggle.

Rubeus Hagrid and Alastor Moody sat looking back at the plump man, whose face had gone a frightening shade of white. Hagrid and Moody both knew how Dursley had treated Harry during his upbringing and were positively glowing at the man’s discomfort. They began beckoning him to his seat in a most peculiar manner. Moody had stood up and turned the chair around to allow easy access and was gesturing for him to sit down while Hagrid appeared to be dusting off the cushion of the seat. Both of them had maniacal grins on their faces, much like a predator would have when finding a particularly easy target upon which to prey. Uncle Vernon seemed to shrink back even further into the wall, but Albus Dumbledore came over and whispered something in his ear that Harry couldn’t make out and the color began to return to his face. Albus motioned for Moody and Hagrid to resume their seats and give Vernon some room. Some much needed room, Harry thought. Although lacking in height, Vernon nearly rivaled Hagrid in terms of width. Once seated and scooted up to the table a door opened at the end of the corridor.

“Good day, everyone,” the goblin who had entered the room said, “Glad to see everyone could make it on time. My name is Gulsar, and I will be reading the will. Before we begin, are there any questions?”

“Yes,” Uncle Vernon replied, surprising everyone in the room, although his voice was still a little shaky, “I want to know why I am here.”

“You are here,” the goblin said matter-of-factly, “Because your name is on the list.”

“And why is my name on the list?” Dursley replied, “I don’t even know this man.”

“As to that,” the Goblin said, “I have absolutely no information, nor do I particularly care. You are on the list, so it is necessary for you to be here.”

“Oh, really?” Uncle Vernon cried as he tried to stand up but realized he couldn’t move, “What is going on? Why can’t I move? I demand that…”

“You are in no position to demand anything, sir,” the goblin retorted, “Your name is on the list, therefore you are magically bound to sit through it.”

“But I am not m-m-magical,” he stuttered, the fear starting to seep back in.

“It matters not, Vernon,” Dumbledore said, “In our world you must be here. Your name was on the list.”

“Very well, then,” Uncle Vernon said without being able to disguise the fear in his voice.

The goblin paused for a moment, his eyes locked on Mr. Dursley.

“Well, then,” he said, “If there are no more questions?” His gaze now scanned over the entire table. When nobody spoke up, he continued, “Let’s begin the reading.”

Every person in the room straightened up and pulled themselves closer to the table. The goblin, meanwhile, began to pull scrolls out of a bag he was handed by a second goblin. The second one immediately left the room.

“Now,” Gulsar said, “Mr. Black not only assigned the seating, he also requested the order in which the bequeathments be handed out.”

The gathered people looked around at each other as if considering why Sirius had arranged the seating the way he did.

“This parchment,” Gulsar said, “Is the last will and testament of Mr. Sirius Black.”

He passed the parchment to Professor Mconagall who took it knowingly. She was bringing her wand up to it when Hermione interrupted her.

“Excuse me,” she said, “I don’t mean to be rude, but what are you doing?”

“This is an enchanted parchment, Hermione,” Albus interjected before Minerva could answer, “This will cannot be read unless the wands of each person listed are touched to it to prove they are here.”

“But Mr. Durs…” Shock. Hermione turned immediately and glared at Harry who had startd to find the ceiling very interesting while fighting to keep down a small chuckle. Her face flushed and as he lowered his gaze and looked at her, he couldn’t help but think how cute she was when she was flustered.

Vernon on the other hand, looked hopeful that he could get out of having to sit here and leave as quickly as possible. This was not to be, however.

“In Vernon’s and Dobby’s cases, they will simply have to touch the parchment with their fingers, while Crookshanks will only have to touch a paw,” Albus said.

Harry thought he saw Crookshanks nod along with Dobby while Uncle Vernon just stared at Dumbledore, his eyes wide as saucers. The thought of touching something magical was terrifying him. Dumbledore could sense this, as could Harry and Hermione, but Dumbledore seemed to be the only one not enjoying Vernon’s torture.

“I assure you, Vernon, that it is completely safe for you to touch,” Albus said.

The look on Vernon’s face hadn’t changed at all, but Harry could feel his Uncle’s apprehension ebb away ever so slightly. When Vernon finally nodded to the Headmaster, all eyes shifted back to Professor Mconagall, who touched her wand to Harry’s godfather’s will and past it to her left to Hermione.

Hermione did the same as Minerva and passed the parchment to Harry. Harry noticed that the list of beneficiaries was on the parchment with a small box next to each name. He looked at it for a moment when he heard a voice in his head that was undoubtedly Hermione’s.

The squares are where each person is supposed to touch their wand to the parchment, she said in his mind.

Thanks, he tried to think back to her, but he had no clue if she had gotten it or not. He touched his wand to the parchment in the box next to his name and passed the will on to Albus, who took it with a long sigh. Harry detected something in his Headmaster’s demeanor change.

“Is everything alright, sir?” he asked calmly.

“Yes, Harry, it’s alright. I was just thinking to myself how many times I’ve done this before. It never gets any easier.”

The elder members of the collected group, other than Uncle Vernon, all seemed to nod and look down at the table. Harry then realized that they had gone through a terrible time themselves. They had suffered losses at the hand of Voldemort during his first uprising. A pang of sympathy went up for them as Harry glanced back down at the table and nodded sadly to them. Albus touched his wand to the parchment and passed it on to Remus Lupin.

Remus stared at the parchment for a few small moments, almost seeming to gaze through it. The three empaths at the table could feel the turmoil going through this man’s mind, so they were not surprised when the tears began to stream from his eyes. He didn’t sob, he didn’t wail, he didn’t even move. His eyes just stared blankly off into the distance as the tears made their dreary paths down his cheeks. He dispassionately touched his wand to the will and passed it on to Arthur Weasley.

Harry’s own eyes began to tingle with the threat of tears as Remus’ gaze found Harry’s. The two exchanged a knowing look, and then resumed their study of the table in front of them. Albus noticed this small exchange and placed a hand on Harry’s shoulder.

“It will be alright, son,” he said as Arthur passed the scroll to Mrs. Weasley who touched her wand to it and passed it to Fred, who put it down immediately on the table between himself and his twin George. Fred touched his wand to his box and almost immediately turned his head over his shoulder.

“Did you hear that?” he asked.

“Did I hear what?” asked George as he too touched his wand to the parchment, “Wait, I heard it just now, when my wand touched the parchment. Did anybody else hear it? It sounded like, like…”

He never got a chance to finish his thought as they both had turned into large canaries, the exact same kind of canary one would become if they had eaten one of Fred and George’s Canary Creams. The two looked at each other for a moment before beginning to laugh uproariously at the posthumous prank Sirius had played on them. Everyone at the table either laughed or chuckled at it, all except Uncle Vernon who once again had that terrified look in his eyes. This time, however, it was Ginny who noticed the man’s fear.

“It’s okay, Mr. Dursley, they’ll molt in a minute and everything will be fine,” she said assuredly.

Harry saw Vernon nod in fear, but he could feel something else coming from his uncle. Behind all the fear that Vernon had about the magical world, the fact that these two had just turned into canaries and were going to be fine, and the fact that they thought it was funny, piqued his curiosity. Not enough to bring him out of his shell, of course, but perhaps enough for him to begin to feel at ease.

After having finally molted, George passed the will to Ron who touched his wand to it and passed it on to Ginny who did the same and passed it on to Dobby.

Dobby looked at the parchment much as Remus had but kept looking up to Harry. His tennis ball-sized eyes were glistening with tears as he looked from the will to Harry and back to the will again. He touched his finger to the box beside his name and put the paper in front of Crookshanks. Before Crookshanks could place his paw on the will, however, Dobby had begun sobbing madly. His wails echoed around the room and some people close to him had to put their hands over their ears to drown out the noise he was making. Finally, Ginny placed a hand on his shoulder and managed to calm him down. Crookshanks, looking a little upset at having been startled like that, calmly placed his paw over the box beside his name, and then used the same paw to nudge it to a very wary looking Severus Snape.

Professor Snape was looking at the parchment as if it were about to jump up and attack him. He remembered his history with the deceased and after seeing what had happened to the Weasley twins, he was skeptical that there was nothing in store for him. After staring at the parchment for a moment, he glanced once in Harry’s direction, and then touched his wand to the will.

Nothing happened.

A rather relieved Snape passed the parchment on to Moody who touched his wand to it quickly, almost as if he wanted to see Vernon’s reaction as quickly as possible. He placed the piece of paper in front of Vernon, who stared at it with a fear that rivaled Harry’s own when he saw Voldemort come out of the cauldron over a year ago. With extreme trepidation, his hand slowly made its way towards the box next to his name. His index finger extended out as the others curled into his palm. As the tip of his finger crept ever closer to the parchment, Uncle Vernon closed his eyes. As his finger made contact with the fabric of the parchment, Vernon’s face cringed as he awaited whatever fate was about to befall him. None was to come, however, and he slowly opened his eyes again. Once he realized that nothing was going to happen, he picked up the parchment with mock confidence, which reminded Harry of Gilderoy Lockehart so much he wondered if the two might not be related, and passed the will to Hagrid. As soon as he turned his head towards Hagrid, the look of confidence disappeared immediately, much to Hagrid’s delight.

Hagrid looked a little uncomfortable as the will was passed to him and Harry finally realized why. Hagrid, technically, didn’t have a wand other than the wand that was snapped when he was expelled from Hogwarts for allegedly setting loose the basilisk from the Chamber of Secrets back in his school days. He had tried to repair his wand and kept it hidden in the shaft of his umbrella. Hagrid sat there a moment unsure of what to do, but once he had met Albus’ eyes, he reluctantly retrieved his umbrella from his large coat and touched the parchment with the tip of it and passed the will back to Gulsar the Gentle.

“Excellent,” the goblin said, “Now that we have confirmed that everyone is here, we can begin the reading. Mr. Black will now bequeath his assets to the assembled party.”

“Mr. Black?” Harry asked loudly.

“Yes,” the goblin replied simply, “Sirius Black. He is the reason we are here.”

“No,” Harry clarified, “What do you mean he will do this?”

“Ah, yes, Mr. Potter,” Gulsar said, “We have a copy of the written will on record, but the true will is a spoken one, and it is done in the presence of a neutral witness and enchanted into this parchment. Mr. Black wanted…”

“Could you refer to him as Sirius during this commencement?” Harry asked.

“I’m sorry, but that is not possible,” the goblin replied.

“Actually, it is possible,” Harry said simply, “And you will do it.”

“I beg your pardon, Mr. Pott…” Shock. “What was that?”

“That will happen to you unless you refer to my godfather as Sirius,” Harry said.

“Very well,” Gulsar said, “Sirius will bequeath his assets to the gathered people.”

Gulsar placed the enchanted parchment on the table in front of him and ran his hand down the line of boxes. Almost immediately after his finger passed the last box, a voice began to speak as if out of thin air. It was Sirius Black’s.

“Well, if you all are hearing this,” it said, “I must no longer be alive.”

Harry was shocked at the calm, and almost jovial tone the voice was speaking in.

“I had to rewrite this will after having escaped from Azkaban, which was no easy task, let me tell you. But the time I spent locked away in Grimmauld Place allowed me to think it through carefully. I knew we were headed for dark times, and that my old will would not apply, since a lot of the people in it were deceased.”

Sirius’ enchanted voice quivered ever so slightly on the last word. It paused for a moment and then continued.

“I have lived a wonderful life. I had the greatest friends a person could ever hope for. Even with the time spent in prison, I would not change a thing. I learned after escaping from it a very valuable life lesson. What I learned was that the person you are today is the culmination of every single thing that happened in your life up to that point. Whether good or bad, those events shaped me into the person I was. While at Grimmauld Place, I had a lot of time to think about things. I thought about everything that had happened to me throughout my life. I thought about Hogwarts. I thought about lost loves. I thought about James and Lily and Harry. I thought about my friends and my enemies. All of these things influenced the person I became, and while locked away in my own house, I realized something. I liked me. I liked the person I had become. I was a free man. I had people who believed in me, but most of all, I believed in myself. I knew what was coming, and I had confidence in myself to do the right thing. I can only hope that I did, since this voice has no knowledge of my demise. All of the people summoned here were a part of my life, good and bad. I felt it necessary to acknowledge the people who had the most influence. So, without further ado, we should get on with it.”

The parchment flipped over suddenly and Harry noticed that the side now facing up had a large amount of writing on it, but he couldn’t make out what it was. The parchment then jumped into the air as if being held by the hands of an invisible speaker. Sirius’ voice once again began speaking.

“To Crookshanks,” he said, “I bequeath the bed I used when spending time with Remus during a full moon. I didn’t want to change back to my human form, but I also didn’t want to sleep on the hard floor, so I made myself a bed. Due to the size of my animagus form, it will be larger than you are used to, but I’m sure it is softer than the bed you are sleeping on now.”

Hermione blanched a little. She scowled at the parchment as if Sirius was there speaking himself. She knew that she had not bought Crookshanks the best bed around, but she thought it sufficient. When she looked at Crookshanks, however, she could tell that he hadn’t liked it. The cat’s eyes were wide with excitement at the thought of a new bed. Hermione rolled her eyes once Crookshanks’ gaze met hers, and Crookshanks meowed an apology. Hermione just nodded in defeat to her familiar. Before she could formulate her next thought, the voice began speaking again.

“Dobby,” he said, while Dobby looked fearfully towards the will, “You once tried to save Harry’s life by hurting him. While I may disagree with your actions, I still know that you and I share the same concern for his well-being. I also understand you have a fondness for clothes. With these two things in mind, I came to two conclusions. The first is that I will leave the entirety of my wardrobe to you.”

Dobby’s eyes lit up at the prospect of having an entire wardrobe of clothes from which to choose.

“My second wish, however, is completely up to you, Dobby. You are free now and I am not your master, so I cannot order you to do anything, but I have asked Dumbledore and he agreed. If you so wish, Dobby, I would like you to watch after Harry.”

Harry’s gaze immediately jumped to Dobby, who looked at Harry as if questioning if it would be alright. Before Harry could gesture a response, Sirius spoke again.

“I know Harry thinks a great deal of you, Dobby, and you would be a great friend to him. But there is one condition. Anything you decide to do for Harry, whether it be cleaning his clothes or making breakfast, must be done out of friendship, and not a feeling of servitude. The choice in this matter is up to you.”

Dobby turned again and looked at Harry questioningly. Harry looked back at him with the same gaze. The two shared a gaze for a brief moment before Dobby spoke.

“I will accept this only if Harry Potter wants it to be,” he said and bowed his head, “I do not wish to impose on him.”

All eyes at the table turned to Harry. Harry, however, was looking at Dobby happily.

“I would be honored to have you as a friend, Dobby,” he said.

At that statement, Dobby broke into another fit of hysterical sobs. He was glancing around desperately for something with which to punish himself. Harry noticed this and cut him off.

“But I have a condition, Dobby,” he said.

Dobby’s eyes went wide with fright. He looked much as Harry had when the thought of going to live with his godfather was snatched away from him in his third year at Hogwarts.

“From this moment forward,” Harry continued, “You are not allowed to punish yourself. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir,” Dobby said, the admiration evident in his voice, “Thank you, sir. I only hope that I satisfy your requirements.”

“You already have, Dobby,” Harry said.

Dobby just nodded to him and Sirius’ voice broke in once again.

“To my dear friend, Rubeus Hagrid, I would say that I bequeath Buckbeak to you, but technically, I never owned him. However, I know that he wants to return to you if I am gone. Dumbledore has approved this, as well. Take special care of him Hagrid, you know what a special beast he is.”

Hagrid’s eyes teared up and when he leaned over for comfort, he realized he had leaned towards Mr. Dursley, who shrank back from him fearfully.

“Thanks a lot, you great prune,” he said, regaining his composure. Harry smiled as he remembered when Hagrid had called Vernon that the first time they had met. Hagrid cleared his eyes and returned to his upright position when Sirius’ voice began to speak again.

“To Miss Ginny Weasley,” the voice said as Ginny sat up straight in her chair, “I leave you two very important artifacts. I am sure you will get a tremendous amount of use out of them. If you thought your bat-bogey hex was good, just wait until you read the books I am leaving you. Hexes and Curses for the Cool, and Potions of Revenge will be most helpful to you, I’m sure, but make sure you use them wisely.”

Ginny was glowing and turned to stare directly at Fred and George, both of whom started to look a little squeamish under the gaze of their younger sister. She smiled evilly at them and then again faced forward as the reading continued.

“To Fred and George Weasley, I give you a diary called The Mayhem and Mischief of the Marauders. This diary documents a lot of the stunts we pulled while at school, so please do not let Professor Mcgonagall get her hands on it. I daresay that some of these things will seem outrageous, even to you two. I’m sure you will put it to good use in your joke shop. You will also find a couple of scrolls that I ask you to reveal to nobody. You will know what to do with them when you see them.”

Fred and George beamed at each other, both of them clearly anxious to get to reading the notes of someone that they considered to be a mentor of mischief. They were also speculating on what could be on the parchments he left them. Before they could get too deep into a discussion about it, Sirius interrupted them.

“To Severus Snape,” his voice said, “I know we had our differences in the past. I know you are not going to like me, and you know I am not going to like you. We have held this grudge for too long to be able to just dismiss it. No matter how much I may dislike you, Snape, I must admit that I have a tremendous amount of respect for you. I know I was a bullying idiot, and I was wrong for that, but it is something I can never change. I would offer an apology, but I highly doubt you would accept it. No matter what the case, you are part of the reason I am the person I am today. I leave to you my own copy of Moste Potente Potions. I made notes in the margins. I don’t know if this will help you or not, but I thought you might enjoy seeing some variations we tried on some of the potions in that book.” Snape looked as shocked as Harry had ever see him.

“They made variants on some of the potions in that book and they didn’t harm anybody?” he exclaimed, “Those are some of the most difficult potions to brew and yet they were able to change them somehow? I must admit I am looking forward to reading this for myself.” Sirius’ disembodied voice continued on.

“To Alastor Moody, I bequeath all of my dark detectors. Two Foe-glass mirrors, eight sneak-o-scopes, and a couple of maps you should find useful.”

Moody simply nodded, but both his eyes, normal and magical, were focused on the table in front of him.

“Ah, yes,” the enchanted parchment said, “We come now to Minerva Mcgonagall. I must say this woman was a pain in my arse for years.” The gathering chuckled at this statement. “She made my life a living hell. Detentions. Points taken. Threats of expulsion. I heard them all. But she was still my Transfiguration teacher, and a brilliant one at that. She has asked me on more than one occasion, once she found out, how James, Remus, Peter, and I became Animagus. I have never divulged that information, but now I will. I leave to you, Minerva, the book that we used to do it. You will also find a notebook that James had written about Transfiguration. I think you will find it very enlightening.”

Minerva dabbed at her eyes again while the parchment found its next beneficiary.

“Ronald Weasley,” the voice said, “Albus told me about the spectacular game of chess you played in your first year. I happen to fancy myself a rather good chess player and would love to pit my skills against yours. Unfortunately, in the current situation, I will not be able to be there in person, but I’ve got the next best thing. I bequeath to you a chess set enchanted with my playing style. Should you find a time where you cannot locate an opponent, or just feel like playing a game yourself, the opposing side will play exactly as I would. Plus, I think you’ll find it amusing how much more graphic these players are when taking out an enemy.”

Harry couldn’t help but sense the utter anxiousness emanating from Ron. Harry was sure that if Ron had the chess set in front of him, he would begin playing immediately. Harry could feel Ron’s mind beginning to formulate strategies to use, but his focus on Ron’s emotions was broken when Sirius began speaking again.

“Also, Ron, I know that you haven’t been keeping up on something you’ve been doing for a long time. I know that the reason for this is that you have had other, larger things to be concerned with. But I feel it is time that you stopped looking.”

Ron looked at Harry, but Harry just stared back as confused as Ron was.

“Harry mentioned it when he was telling me about his first trip to Hogwarts, and I hope you haven’t outgrown this old hobby of yours. So, as an added bonus, I leave you two Chocolate Frog cards. Agrippa and Ptolemy.”

One wouldn’t need to be an empath to feel the sense of gratitude coming from Ron, it was quite evident on his face.

“I can’t believe it!” he said. “Now I’ll have the complete set!”

Ron looked to Harry and Harry gave him a thumbs up. Ron just nodded, still not able to bring his jaw back up from where it had dropped to when Sirius had told him about the cards. Ron just shook his head in disbelief as Sirius continued with the reading.

“Arthur and Molly Weasley, never have I had the chance to know two people as kind as you are. I am honored to call each of you my friend, even though Molly and I may have had our disagreements about Harry. Arthur, I leave you with my entire collection of muggle artifacts. I’m not exactly sure of the count, but I believe there are quite a few plugs, rubber ducks, and batteries that I’m sure you would like to inspect.”

Arthur rubbed his hands together in anticipation. Harry could sense the same emotions coming from him as those that had come from Ron just a moment ago, but he was struck by just how similar the emotions were. This must have something to do with them being related, he thought.

“Molly, you are without a doubt the sweetest woman I have ever met, although you can be a little, uh…” his voice trailed off.

“Overbearing,” the voice finally said, only it was said in unity with Ron, Ginny, Fred, George, and Arthur.

“I’m not that bad,” she said indignantly which caused a round of laughter to echo throughout the group.

“Be that as it may,” the voice continued, “You have raised a wonderful family. And for that, I believe you deserve some recognition.”

As soon as the last word died out, a goblin made his way into the room and over to her and handed her a small box. She placed it cautiously on the table in front of her and stared at it. After a little encouragement from Arthur, she opened it and removed the tissue paper. Her eyes began to brim with tears as she gazed at what was inside.

“What is it, Mum?” Ron asked.

Without saying a word, she removed the item from its box and placed it on the table for everyone to see. It was a simple white mug, but with enchanted writing that sparkled and changed color every few seconds.

“Well, what does it say?” Fred asked.

Molly instantaneously burst in tears and began sobbing on Arthur’s arm. This only seemed to increase everyone’s curiosity as to what was written on it.

“What does it say, Dad?” Ginny asked.

Arthur looked over the table proudly.

“It says World’s Greatest Mum.” He said, and Mrs. Weasley sobbed even harder into her husbands coat. When she had finally calmed herself, the voice began again.

“You have taken Harry into your home and into your family, and for that I am eternally grateful, as I’m sure Lily and James are. You are like parents to Harry, and I’m sure Harry would say so, as well.”

Arthur and Molly glanced over to Harry who was already looking at them and smiling. When he nodded his head in agreement, Arthur beamed back at him while Molly returned to sobbing on her husband even louder than before. Arthur looked down at his wife and then back to Harry and shrugged his shoulders. Harry let a small snort escape him. It was then when he looked back at the gathered people and saw each Weasley, Ron especially, beaming back at him and nodding. Harry was now the one who had to hold back the tears as he realized that he did have a family, albeit a transplanted one, and he was truly grateful for it.

“To Hermione Granger,” Sirius’ voice said, “I bequeath to you a book that no person outside of the Marauders and Lily even knew existed. It is called Hogwarts, Marauder Style and was written by none other than Lily Potter.”

Hermione looked to Harry, who looked just as shocked as she did.

“I’m sure you will find it entertaining and educational,” the last word coming out quickly as if Sirius tried to speak it before breaking into a fit of giggles, “Plus, I am sure Harry would like to know a little more about what we did when we went to school here.”

“Thank you,” she said staring down at the table, her habit of being polite kicking in even though the person she was thanking could not hear her.

“To my good friend, Albus Dumbledore, I leave this…”

At that moment, the door opened and another goblin entered carrying another small package. He handed it to Albus who promptly opened the box and retrieved from it something that looked like a snitch, only it was silver and had no wings.

“What is it, Albus?” Harry asked.

“I honestly, don’t know, Harry. I have never seen anything like…”

Albus was cut off by a flash of light and smoke that came from the small gift. When the smoke that had obscured his face had dissipated, the table began to fidget. All of them, except Vernon who once again looked terrified, were trying to stifle laughs. Albus’ skin was now a particularly bright shade of pink, but other than that, he was completely unharmed. Albus looked down at his hands and noticed the color change.

“Ah, a truly remarkable piece of…”

But his voice was cut off again as the small silver snitch flashed and blew smoke all over the place once more, and when Albus reappeared, he now had turned a rather shiny gold color.

“Finite Incantatum!” Albus said, but nothing happened, “Truly remarkable piece of charming. I would much like to know how he…”

A flash and more smoke. Dumbledore now sporting a truly deep shade of blue.

“Well, I believe that is enough for today,” Albus said as he put the small globe back in its box. As soon as he did, there was a small snapping noise, as if someone in the room had clucked their tongue, and Albus reappeared completely normal. The laughter echoed around the table for a few seconds before the will began speaking again.

“I also leave you something that I think you will find immensely rewarding. Your Chocolate Frog card said that you enjoyed Ten-Pin bowling. I myself enjoy it very much. Therefore, I took the liberty of having a pair of bowling shoes made for you.”

Dumbledore’s eyes were twinkling as he looked off in the distance, thinking of the last time he had a chance to go bowling.

“A very thoughtful gift,” Albus said, “Thank you, Sirius.”

The enchanted will began to shake slightly and Harry could have sworn he felt a small breeze pass through the room, but no one else seemed to notice it. Then the will spoke again.

“Vernon Dursley,” the voice growled angrily while the horrible shade of white Vernon’s face had gone when he first came in returned to it, “You were given the charge of raising Harry after his parents died. You belittled him. You ignored him. I would venture so far as to say you abused him. Little did you know that your treatment of him would lead to his being one of the finest people I have ever met. Now while I wouldn’t change your actions, because that would change who Harry is today, your actions will not go unpunished.”

Vernon Dursley took to trying to get out of the chair again. His desperation and fear growing with each passing second.

“Therefore, I bequeath to you a painting. A portrait of me to be exact. I had it painted specifically for you, I really hope you like it.”

The malice and sarcasm were dripping so heavily off of each word the voice spoke, even Harry felt a small tinge of fear of what was going to happen creep into his mind.

“The painting will be hung in your house. You may put it anywhere in the house, but it has been magically linked to whatever abode your family decides to stay in. What that means is that if you move, the painting will go with you.”

“Only a painting?” Vernon asked looking around the table, the relief obvious in his voice, “That doesn’t seem too bad.”

Even Harry had to agree. It didn’t sound bad at all. A portrait of Sirius that they could put on a wall in the basement, out of sight from any friends they may have visit them. The only stipulation was that they had to keep it forever. Something didn’t seem right about it, but Harry’s thoughts were interrupted once again by Sirius’ voice.

“Remus Lupin, my dearest friend. I am sorry I will not be able to spend time with you during the full moon. You are a great friend to James, Lily, and myself. I am truly honored to have come across someone of your character in my lifetime. I am leaving Grimmauld Place to you along with all of my school things. Most importantly, however, I am leaving my godfathership to you. You are Harry’s godfather now, please help watch over him.”

Remus was stunned into silence. He stared at a spot on the table almost directly beneath his face and began to weep again. Albus and Arthur both placed comforting hands on Remus’ shoulders. Remus looked up slowly and the voice pressed on.

“Harry,” the voice said with a slight quiver, “I don’t even know where to begin. All I can say is that I see the best of your father and your mother in you. You are by far the greatest person I have ever met. Had it been me in your place, I don’t think I could have handled it. You really inspired me, Harry. It was because of you that I was able to sit down and think about myself and come to the conclusions that I did. That is something that I could never repay, whether alive or dead. I’m sure that Lily and James are watching over you and are very proud of you, Harry, so very proud. I don’t know when you will be hearing this, but I just want you to know that I love you. A lot of people in this room love you, Harry. Take comfort in them, trust in them. You have already shouldered more than anyone could have asked of you, and you have done so better than any person I have ever met, and since I know Albus that is saying something. Well, enough of my blathering. Harry, the list of things I am leaving to you is extensive. You will receive a parchment from Gringott’s concerning it, but there are a couple of things I want you to know about today. Some of these things were to be given to you after you graduated from Hogwarts. Since I didn’t have to change my will, I assume I died before that happened, so they are yours now. James and Lily knew they were in danger, and they left certain things in my possession that they wanted to make sure got to you. I’m leaving you their diaries, they both wrote in them religiously and wanted you to have them, but Lily was worried that some of the things James might have put in his would influence you to involve yourself in more mischief. She was always taking the fun out of things.”

Everyone chuckled at this except for Vernon and Harry.

“I have left some letters from them to you, which were also to be given to you after graduation. However, the most important items they left me with to give to you were their wedding rings. These were very precious to them and they wanted to make sure you received them. They are enchanted somehow, but they would never tell me how. All they would tell me was that they knew they were married and didn’t need the rings to signify it and they wanted to make sure that if something should happen to them, the rings would find their way to you.”

Harry’s face was like stone. It almost looked like someone had petrified him. His eyes did not move, his chest wasn’t rising and falling with his breathing, he wasn’t even blinking. Hermione glanced over at him, a worried expression on her face. Her gaze was interrupted by Gulsar, however.

“How very odd,” he said, “Normally when a reading is finished, the ink disappears from the paper and the parchment rolls itself up. Nothing like that is happening. We must not be finished.”

Harry was still staring quietly off into the distance when the parchment floated over to him and settled itself on the table directly in front of him. Harry looked at it with a curious expression and then glanced around the table to see if anyone had any idea what he was supposed to do. Everyone, including Dumbledore, just shrugged their shoulders and looked back at him. He looked back down at the parchment with confusion. He began to wonder how long they would have to sit in these chairs when he noticed a small line make its way across the top of the will. The way the line moved reminded him of the lines that drew Hogwarts castle on the Marauder’s Map. A sudden inspiration hit Harry. He took out his wand and touched the parchment lightly and said, “I solemnly swear I am up to no good.”

For a moment, nothing happened, and then there were loud popping noises coming from all around the table. Everyone’s skin had begun to change to a different color, including Uncle Vernon’s. Vernon had now begun screaming much like Aunt Petunia would, and was desperately trying to get out of the chair. Once everyone’s skin had gotten to the color it was supposed to be, a number of fireworks began to go off in the room. Everyone at the table was stuck in their seats so they sometimes had to dodge sparklers that flew their way or crackers that landed too near them. Vernon had covered his head in his arms and was crying. Once the fireworks had gone out, everyone thought it was over, but then every person seated around the table transfigured into a canary and Sirius’ laugh could be heard above all else.

“I love you all,” he said, “Do not mourn me, I have moved on to the next great adventure.”

He began to laugh again, but the laughter began to fade away until all that was left was silence. The ink on the parchment disappeared and the parchment rolled itself up and floated over to the goblin who retrieved it and put it in his bag.

“That concludes today’s proceedings,” he said, looking over the table full of canaries, none of which could respond to him. He shook his head and left the room. After a couple of minutes, everyone molted and returned to their normal states. All of them were laughing, except, once again, for Harry and Vernon.

Vernon made his way to the door as quickly as possible, avoiding contact with any of them. Harry, on the other hand, was still seated at the table. His shoulders were slumped and he had a sad look on his face. Hermione could see how defeated he looked and made her way over to him. Once she reached him, she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. He sighed slightly and his face seemed to soften. What he said next, Hermione heard in her mind a split second before he said it.

“Goodbye, Sirius, I love you, too.”