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Lord Potter's Own Will
By Mutt N Feathers

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Category: Post-OotP
Characters:Harry/Ginny
Genres: Action/Adventure
Warnings: Violence/Physical Abuse
Story is Complete
Rating: R
Reviews: 26
Summary: REPOSTED
Harry is now Lord Potter, and he decides to use his new found Independence to set the course of his life.
Hitcount: Story Total: 26059; Chapter Total: 1641







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Chapter 9:
Ymhyfhau (Welsh)/
To Grow Bold (Modern English)
January 2, 1996
Early Morning
Potter Estate

"You okay there, Harry?" Eldon Potter asked his great-grandson. Harry had moved a larger frame into the master bedroom so he and the last Lord Potter could converse with greater ease. They had the office, of course, but some conversations weren't meant to be had over a centuries-old Mahogany desk with other portraits watching.

"Just nervous," Harry replied. "I'm confident what I'm doing is correct, there's just quite a few things which need to happen at once, and I don't want our arrangements to be screwed up."

"Harry, I have been in on all your planning sessions, you've timed everything perfectly. The Ministry and Dumbledore will not be capable of fully considering the entirety of your actions until they are well in motion. Do not be faint of heart now."

Harry produced a contented sigh and chose to agree with his mentor and confidant. "I believe you're right. My only concern is for the unintended consequences which some of my classmates will face. By the time I'm done, I may have gutted much of the staff at the school."

"Good riddance to bad rubbish, I say," Eldon said with a stern face, and it made Harry swallow a laugh. Harry supposed if he'd been a staff member at one time and was forced to see what the school looked like now, he might feel the same way.

"I'll see you downstairs," Harry said. "I just want to check my hair one last time." Harry had made a valiant attempt at combing his hair down, but it was just no use. He looked at his mop with disdain and straightened his formal dress robes one last time before heading downstairs. The black robes, the Potter family crest emblazoned across the back, and the crisp white shirt exuded an air of sophistication. Harry's stern demeanour and purposeful walk proclaimed he wasn't someone who was to be trifled with. When Remus and especially Sirius saw him, they were exceptionally proud.

"You look like a man on a mission this morning, Harry," Sirius told him as he stood to shake his hand. "Being privy to the nature of that mission, I have to admit I'm proud of you. I'm sure your parents are as well."

"We are," Lily called from the portrait hanging in the dining room. She was surrounded by many other members of the Potter lineage, as well her parents.

"What you're doing today is as respectable as any action could possibly be," James said thoughtfully.

"Thanks, Mum, Dad," Harry said, his cheeks blushing ever so slightly. He was getting used to their presence, love, and encouragement, and slowly the pain, alienation, and neglect of his childhood was fading away.

"Harry, I have something for you here," Sirius said beaconing the young man away from the frame and toward the table. "It's really from your family, but it took me a while to retrieve it."

"What is it?" Harry asked, puzzled, even as he pulled out the chair.

"Harry James Potter, the one-hundred eighty-ninth Lord or Lady Potter, I present to you the signet ring of the first Lord Potter. It was crafted by Myrddin. We each wear one," Sirius explained as he handed over the rather chunky gold and copper ring. Harry now noticed that Sirius had a very similar one, worn on his right index finger. "The ring alerts those you meet to your standing and place in our society. Only you or the next Lord Potter will be able to remove the ring from your hand."

Harry turned the jewellery over in his palm, surprised something as old and well used was in such good condition. He felt something within him stir, and it seemed to pull for him to slide the ring into place. Without fear, he did so, and felt a pleasant hum through his chest, down his arm, and to the ring. There was also an odd tingling on his left arm, where the tattoo bearing the same emblem marked his skin.

"I had wanted to get this for you sooner," Sirius explained, "however the Goblins needed to retrieve it from your family vault in London, transfer it to the branch in Killarney. Then I needed to take a sealed letter from the Goblins in London to the Killarney branch so I could prove who I was before they'd let me have the ring. Getting my own back was much easier."

"You've always been a bit lazy, Sirius," Harlan Potter jokingly called out from his seat next to James. "Adverse to hard work and all."

"Leave him alone, Har," Grandma Freddie chastised. "He's isn't lazy, just easily distracted."

"You think he's bad a as a human," Lily chimed in. "you should see him as a dog. Throw him a ball to catch, he'll go racing after it; but he forgets it if there's a rabbit or squirrel around." Everyone including Harry and Remus started laughing. Sirius screwed up his lips and looked around at the faces.

"This was a touching moment. Why did it turn into 'pick on Sirius day'?"

"Don't let them fool you," Harry said to his godfather, his hand strongly grasping the older man's upper arm. "They only pick on you if they love you."

"That explains so much about all those pranks he played on girls at school," Remus dryly added and a fresh round of laughter echoed in the space. When it died down, Sirius started to talk to Harry again.

"As I said, your wearing this ring will alert anyone who sees it that you are the head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter. You may also duplicate your ring and give copies to those who you choose. Your father had worn one all through school, I guess to alert the two or three people who might not know who he was to his being a Potter. When things became serious with your Mum, he passed his ring on to her. It alerted witches and wizards that she was under their care. If someone decided to attack her, they were attacking the House of Potter. Aside from Voldemort's most ardent followers, there are few who would want to bring that wrath down upon themselves."

Harry looked again at his mother's painted vestige and noticed her own golden ring on the forefinger of her right hand. He also thought back to his time with Dumbledore and realized he had been wearing the Dumbledore family ring all this time. Strangely, as Harry was pondering how this might work to his advantage, he noticed something on Remus' hand. He looked from one friend to the other.

"You've taken Remus into your House?" the young Lord inquired.

"It seemed safest to me," Sirius answered in a measured tone. "While I agree completely with what you're doing today, there are liable to be repercussions befalling those around you. This way, he's protected; not that I think we need it in Ireland."

"But if we return to Stargazers Summit?" Harry further asked.

"We will be back on British soil. We are about to move for the dismissal of a third of Hogwarts staff, will be tossing out much of the leadership of the Ministry of Magic and Wizengamot. We might make a few enemies," Sirius told him in such a serious tone it could be nothing more than mocking.

"I know that I am safe if I return to Killarney," Remus said. "Maggie has assured me the Irish have no qualms with me unless I break the law and bite someone. I wouldn't put it past those you're confronting today to attempt to sway your opinion through pressure on those you care about."

Harry looked at the werewolf beginning to be incensed. "But, isn't that a trick that Voldemort used? Didn't he try to get at Dad by killing Granny and Granddad? Isn't that why he recruited Peter?"

"Freddie and I would have been targeted anyhow," Harlan spoke up. "We were against him when James was just a little boy."

"He knows that Dad," James said quietly. "Harry's just realizing that power-plays are the same, regardless of the motivation and intent behind those making them."

Harry was motionless for a minute, his head lost in thought. There were people he needed to ensure would be protected through this. Some were safe, like Lady Bones and Neville due to their belonging to Noble Houses already. There were others, however, who he felt confident would be pursued heavily. He began calculating how many rings he might need to duplicate. He wondered if Sirius had already covered a few of them.

"Sirius did you take care of — "

"Andi, Ted, and Dora, Tonks to you, have all been sent their own rings, as members of the Black family. I have also brought Hermione under my name. I did this when I spoke to her parents and gained their permission. They were the only ones who would have been hard to contact after your invitation," he explained. Harry nodded as it shortened the list considerably.

Conversation turned to the specifics of the day, and the somewhat elaborate sequence of events they had set into place. Everything had to work at exactly the correct time, or else those they were hoping to call to accountability might have just enough time to escape. Dilly provided breakfast for the three men, and they ate while they reviewed their plans, Remus confirming the plans should proceed in their perfect, timely manner.

The grandfather clock in the hallway chimed half nine, and Harry and Sirius rose from the table, leaving Remus behind. The Potter Estate was not connected to the general Floo network, only having access to the home in Ireland, the Potters’ London Row House and most recently, Stargazers Summit. Remus would be safe to await the return of the parliament of owls which had been sent out overnight and into this morning, depending on the length of each flight. Should the need arise, Sirius' family could Disapparate to Summit and Hermione had an emergency Portkey built into her ring to take her there as well.

Seeing as side-along, long distance Apperation wasn't Harry's cup of tea — the single trip he and Sirius made left him ill for hours — the older man crafted a Portkey out of a chipped teacup Jolly had provided from the wears left behind in the North Wing. It was nearly ready for human habitation, which would be perfect if everything worked as it should today. Saying their goodbyes and hearing words of assurance from the greater Potter-Evans clan; the two men departed through the dining room door and to the yard beyond.

A moment later they found themselves inside the Shrieking Shack.

"Don't suppose we can use the tunnel to get into the school?" Sirius asked, and Harry shook his head.

"We barely made it through there at the end of third year," Harry replied. "You were rail thin and malnourished, and I hadn't had my growth spurt. We'd never get through now. Anyway, I don't want to mess my robes."

"I don't want to mess my robes," Sirius mocked back in a sing-song, feminine voice.

"Cut it, old man," Harry retorted back. "I'm not the one who takes nearly an hour to trim his facial hair and 'moisturise' each morning. Moony said he was happy he didn't have to share a loo with you anymore."

"Hey, perfection needs time."

"Or you're just really slow cause you're old." Sirius lunged for the boy, but he was too quick and Disapparated from the house to the gates of Hogwarts. His godfather followed suit, and they slipped through the enchantments without trouble. Professor Dumbledore met them at the main entrance to the school.

"Gentlemen, welcome," he said putting his hand out to shake each of theirs. "Sirius, we've missed you at our meetings. Harry, you look well rested." Neither Lords spoke anything, just nodded in turn to the headmaster’s words. "Well, shall we head to my office?"

"Definitely, there's much to talk about," Harry answered. It didn't escape the elder man that the others were wearing their family crests boldly upon their robes and their signet rings on their fingers. He inwardly prepared for what this meeting entailed. The walk through the halls was quiet, and the trio entered his office precisely at ten.

"Would either of you like some tea? I have a fresh pot," he asked. Both Sirius and Harry shook their heads. "Lemon drop? Holiday biscuit?" Their responses were the same.

Less than two minutes later, Dumbledore sat behind his desk, and the pair followed suit. Harry looked at the clock and smiled.

At 10:03 am in Paris, France, a large black owl with a horrid temperament named Midnight arrived, bearing a large scroll. He flew directly to the desk of the assistant to the Secretary for International Wizarding Rights; it bore the mark of the Ministry of the Magical Republic of Ireland, as did the scroll. Only reading a few lines, the young man rose and immediately went to his superior.

In London, another owl, with a far more pleasant attitude, arrived and perched upon the desk of Lady Bones. Recognizing the mark of the House of Potter, Amelia Bones removed the two scrolls. She had been awaiting their arrival and was pleased when she quickly read through them. She immediately stood, taking off first for the office of the Wizengamot, calling for an immediate meeting for the afternoon. Then she headed to the Investigations Department of Magical Law Enforcement to begin a pair of inquests.

Throughout Britain, the members of the Board of Governors for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry found letters arriving which bore the crests of seven families. Once all the wax seals were broken, the board members found themselves privy to a report entirely different than the official one which the headmaster had provided. Floos flamed to life as they began to converse.

An odd little owl, probably not far beyond the nest, arrived at the desk of the Editor of the Daily Prophet. The open letter, signed by seven of the oldest Wizarding families the United Kingdom had, was indeed surprising. This was not what the Ministry had been reporting since school resumed in the fall. Upon completion of his reading of the letter, the Editor, one Opinionus Factimious scribbled and note and sent it sailing to the copy room. There would be a new front page for the late edition.

Lastly, precisely at 10:03 am, Remus Lupin walked into the London branch of Gringotts and was promptly met by Razorfang, the Potter family goblin. He was escorted into the goblin's private office. A portrait of Eldon Potter was already present, and Remus delivered a letter requesting the removal of Albus Dumbledore as trustee of the resistance trust. It had been signed over to Dumbledore, by Eldon himself, in the late sixties to help fund the actions of the Order of the Phoenix. The Potter family was in complete agreement that a better trustee would be the man who had just arrived at the institution.

Back at Hogwarts, the three men were only just past their pleasantries; nothing had been discussed yet, when the owls began arriving, some bearing summonses and others howlers. Sirius and Harry shared a look out the corners of their eyes. Their plan had started, the first part had apparently gone off perfectly. The next actions would not take place until noon. Harry couldn't contain his smile.



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