The Earl of Godrics Hollow
Chapter 1
Author's Note: This is my first attempt to write a historical story, so please be gentle with me. I don't have a beta for this story and I would be very happy if one of you would like to help me with that. Like I have mentioned in my summary, Draco and Harry are cousins in this story. Don't be confused, this will be explained in the first chapter. Draco will seem like a total jerk in the first chapters, but don't worry, he'll get more likeable later. I'll try to update regularly for a change, but I can't promise anything.
Harry POV
Harry James Potter opened the door to his late godfather's townhouse, carefully avoiding any unnecessary sound in order to prevent waking the portrait of Mrs. Black. The last thing Harry needed after the day that lay behind him was an argument with the portrait of the unpleasant woman.
Today had been the day he had conquered Lord Voldemort. He had thought he would feel carefree and elated when this day would finally come. Instead all he felt was exhaustion. The happiness would probably come after a bath, a decent meal and at least 12 hours of sleep. They had been very lucky because they had won the final fight without casualties or life-threatening injuries on their side. Although luck probably didn't have much to do with it. It had been due to the brilliant mind and thorough planning of Miss Hermione Granger that they had been perfectly prepared for this day. Of course she had not been allowed to accompany him on his journey to find and destroy the Horcruxes. Nobody would expose a young lady to such dangers. She had found a way to repair the magical mirror his godfather Sirius Black had given him and he had been in contact with Hermione through this mirror during his journey. She had helped him gather the information he needed to find and destroy the Horcruxes and she had been his connection to the Order of the Phoenix. It was due to Hermione's work and planning that all Horcruxes had been destroyed when Voldemort attacked and that he and his Death Eaters had faced a large and thoroughly prepared army of fighters when they arrived at Hogwarts.
It had been Hermione who had distracted the crowd of people who had attended the spontaneous celebration that had followed the final fight long enough to allow Harry to leave Hogwarts and come here. Harry asked himself what he would do without his dearest friend, like he had done many times before during the last seven years.
The teachers and other students had considered it odd at the best and improper at the worst that he had formed such a strong friendship with a Lady, but to Harry it was the most natural thing in the world. Hermione had been one of the few people who liked him for himself and not for his name and she had been his only Muggle born friend. Ron Weasley, his other close friend, had lived in the Wizarding World all his life and had never developed an understanding for the fact that some matters concerning the Wizarding World seemed odd to Harry because of their lack of familiarity. Hermione, on the other hand, saw the Wizarding World with the eyes of an outsider, too, but had knowledge about this world that resembled that of a Pureblood due to her extensive studies. Hermione was like a translator to him, a mediator between the world he had grown up in and the world that was his present and his future.
On the other hand he was Hermione's only source of the kind of information that was considered unsuitable for young ladies. He had been the one who brought Hermione the kind of books she didn't get access to in the library, mainly books on defence against the dark arts and medicine. Hermione's father was a doctor and Hermione had spent a significant amount of time during the holidays secretly studying his medical textbooks. This forbidden knowledge had only intensified her desire to learn about magical ways to cure diseases which left Muggle doctors helpless.
Harry made his way to the kitchen and lit a few candles before preparing some sandwiches. He could have asked Kreacher, the house elf, but didn't deem this a wise idea, considering the elf despised him. Harry decided to look for another place to stay tomorrow. He hated this house in which his godfather had spent an unhappy childhood and youth. Maybe his parents had another house apart from the one that had been destroyed the night they had died. Harry did not know much about his parents' fortune. He had lived on a trust fund until his 17th birthday and had left to go on Horcrux hunt the day he became of age. Therefore he didn't have an opportunity to go to the wizarding bank and find out what his parents had left him.
Harry had just finished his dinner when he heard something tapping against the window. Hedwig, Harry thought, and opened the window to let his owl in.
Harry caressed the animal while he took the letter from her leg. He looked on the addresser and frowned. Charles Montgomery, Attorney and Notary.
Harry opened the letter and read.
Dear Mr. Potter,
As the trusted attorney of your late great grandfather, Samuel Nicholas Potter, Earl of Godric's Hollow, I have been entrusted with the enforcement of his will. I have acted as his Asset Manager as well until the day you came of age. Unfortunately, I have been unable to contact you until today due to lacking knowledge of your whereabouts.
Now that you are back in town I must kindly request your presence in my office tomorrow, May, 3rd, 1811, at 9.00 AM to inform you of the Earls will.
Sincerely,
Charles Montgomery
Harry was stunned. His great grandfather had been an Earl? Why had nobody ever mentioned that to him? His parents were dead and so were his grandparents. Did that mean he was the only heir of an Earl? That he was an Earl? No, that couldn't be the case. People would have called him by his title if he were an Earl. His great grandfather must have had other children and one of their sons or grandsons would inherit the title. Good. Harry thought. He had had enough responsibility for a livetime during the last years.
When Harry entered the attorney's office a few minutes before 9 he wasn't surprised that he wasn't the only visitor. He was however completely shocked, that none other than Draco Malfoy - his most detested fellow student at Hogwarts - was sitting in one of the two armchairs across the massive desk behind which Charles Montgomery was seated.
"What are you doing here?" Harry asked stunned.
"I should not be surprised that you know nothing about your ancestors, Potter." Malfoy replied in his usual arrogant way.
"Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy, please take a seat. I am sure I will be able to answer all of your questions," Mr. Montgomery said.
The young men exchanged one last angry glare before Harry reluctantly sat down in the armchair next to Malfoy.
"My name is Charles Montgomery," the man behind the desk introduced himself. " I have been your family's attorney for many years. Like I already told you by owl, we are here to discuss the will of your great grandfather now that both of you are of legal age."
"Wait a moment," Harry said. "Our great grandfather? Does this mean we are related?"
"Unfortunately yes," Malfoy answered instead of Montgomery. "One of the few blemishes in the otherwise glorious history of my family."
Montgomery directed his attention to Harry, ignoring Malfoy's comment. "Considering that you don't seem familiar with your family history, I will give you a short overview. Your great grandfather Samuel Nicholas Potter, Earl of Godric's Hollow, and his wife Elizabeth, had two children - Damian and Catherine. Damian married your grandmother, Samantha Bennett and fathered your father James Potter with her. Catherine married Marcus Malfoy and they had a son, too - Lucius Malfoy, Mr. Draco Malfoy's father."
Harry was too shocked by this revelation to say anything and just nodded.
Montgomery continued. "Both your grandparents have passed away many years ago and so have your parents, Mr. Potter. Mr. Malfoy, your parents are serving a life sentence in Azkaban. That makes you two the only heirs of a very noble family. Both of you already own a great fortune. Mr. Malfoy, like you already know, you have inherited Malfoy Manor and a well filled vault in Gringotts. Mr. Potter, your inheritance consists of the Potter Estate and an equally full vault in Gringotts."
"Wait a minute," Harry interrupted Montgomery. "Potter Estate? My parents' house was destroyed the night they died."
"The small house your parents rented while they were hiding from You-Know-Who was destroyed. The Potter Estate is still intact and well kept by some loyal house-elves."
House elves? What would Hermione say when she found out that he owned a house that was maintained by house elves?
"Can we finally get to the real reason why we are here? Tell us who of us becomes the next Earl and inherits the castle! Surely it cannot be this son of a Mudblood!" Malfoy said.
"Don't you dare to insult my mother!"
"Gentlemen, please! I have a letter which your great grandfather wrote a few months before he died, a few months after your parents died, Mr. Potter. Let Earl Potter answer all your questions himself."
Dear Harry, Dear Draco,
When you are hearing my last words you will be sitting in the office of my trusty attorney Mr. Montgomery. You are of age now and are waiting to hear my will.
Since you, Harry, are the youngest of my great grandsons it is most likely your seventeenth birthday. Congratulations, Harry. That you are sitting here today means that you have survived until now. I hope and pray it means that you have fulfilled your destiny and conquered the Dark Lord. In this case, I thank you in the name of the whole Wizarding World and congratulate you to an incredible achievement. Your parents would be proud of you. If you haven't won the fight yet then I wish you all the luck and strength in the world and - even more important - loyal friends along the way.
Draco, you, too have been born with a heavy burden. A different kind of burden then your cousin, but a heavy burden nonetheless. Your father has never been convicted for the crimes he committed, but I know the truth and I am deeply ashamed to have a Death Eater in the noble Potter family. Therefore, I excluded your father from my testament. I hope I am not making the worst mistake ever by including you. I hope and pray that you are not like your father, Draco. If you have managed to avoid the dark path then I congratulate you to your strength of character. It is not easy to rise above your education.
I know that both of you didn't have easy lives until now. I wished I could have raised both of you myself, but I am old and ill and my life is coming to an end.
I am sure you are eagerly waiting to hear my decision who of you will become the next Earl. Draco, Harry, I wished I would have seen you grow up. In this case I would have been able to decide who of you would be the better, wiser Earl. I have not have this opportunity and therefore I am forced to base my decision on a very old criteria. The most important thing for a noble family are offsprings who make sure that the family will live on. That is what I base my decision on.
The one of you who first becomes the father of a legal male heir will inherit the Earl title and all the properties connected to this title.
I hope that whoever becomes the next Earl will proof to be worthy of this great responsibility. I wish both of you all the luck in the world and hope that you will find happiness and love.
Sincerely,
Your Great Grandfather
Sir Samuel Nicholas Potter, Earl of Godrics Hollow
"Wait a minute! Have I heard this right: Our Great Grandfather forces us into a conquest to be the first to marry a woman and get her with child?" Harry asked.
"Do you have any problems in that department, Potter?" Malfoy asked with a grin.
"Considering that Mr. Potter already summed the situation up so eloquently I assume you do not have any questions?"
Both men shook their heads. Harry ignored Malfoy's sly grin and quickly apparated out back to Grimmaulds Place. Then he did the only thing he could think of. He owled Hermione.