J K Rowling owns all the rights to the books and the amazing characters she created. I write only to satisfy my imagination and use my creativity and make no money from my writings.

Chapter 5 – "Jack"

Lucius never could get his hands on the Lordship or even the wealth of the Blacks. Apparently Arcturus had hidden the ring and had transferred much of the Black wealth out of Gringotts because he had found out about all of the betrayals of certain Goblins. Ragnok, the Head of Gringotts Britain had barely survived the bloodbath which Arcturus' death had caused.

Then there had been Dumbledore trying to claim the Lordship on Harry's behalf but ONLY if he could administrate it. None of the guardians or solicitors which Arcturus had appointed would be acceptable as Dumbledore "just knew" they would be Death Eaters. Therefore if he couldn't handle the estate, he would not allow Harry to have it. Ragnok had the pompous, obnoxious wizard shown to the door and actually flung out onto the street.

When Harry Potter had lost his magic and been cast out of the world, Lucius again showed up as did Dumbledore both wizards hoping to steal…ah acquire…something from what had been Harry Potter's. As he had done on numerous occasions, Lucius tried to get his hands on other things belonging to Potter citing the claim of Narcissa being one of the very few (acceptable) relatives of Harry Potter since she was a great niece of his paternal Grandmother. Again they were met with failure. Dumbledore had once again been thrown out of the bank.

Things went on as normally as possible for the next few weeks until the winter solstice when the marks darken. Shortly after Severus had left Malfoy Manor, Narcissa was called to Gringotts because one of the Goblins in the Malfoys' employ had found a loophole and there was a very good chance that Draco would get the Black Lordship. Naturally Lucius went on her behalf and it was as he was entering the bank when he was captured – and the rest was history.

Narcissa had received "a summons" from her Head of House, meaning there was a new Lord Black. She hurried off happily thinking she would be greeted by her precious son only to find two very angry house elves who allowed her access to Castle Black. There was her "dead" Great Aunt Cassiopeia and a youth who she didn't recognize at first but apparently it was the new Lord Black.

A very uncomfortable introduction was made by Cassiopeia and the next thing Narcissa knew she was residing in one of the Castle's dungeon awaiting her fate.

Narcissa had never ever spent a night in anything but a very comfortable room. She was used to luxury but now found herself in a cold, dark cell with nothing but a pile of straw for a bed and a (unbelievably as it seemed) a bucket to relieve herself. At least she wasn't chained to a wall. Eventually a tray appeared which contained two rolls, a hunk (not a piece but a hunk) of plain cheese and a small pitcher of plain water and a cup. She demanded that a house elf appear but none came. She just refused to eat. She made the mistake of flinging the food and water across the room. For that rudeness she wouldn't be sent any food or water for the next 24 hours.

She would find out what had happened to Lucius when she next received a tray. On the tray was a picture of his head and one of his body before they had been sent to Draco and Fudge. Naturally she fainted. She also spilled her food and water and would not get any more that day.

However the next day there was a pitcher of water which she greedily gulped down. She was terribly hungry but that was the least of her worries. She didn't fear for her life only her son's. She hadn't been worried when she met the new Lord Black as she knew all about him and just how useless he was and that he was too much of a Gryffindor to truly harm anyone. Besides, Dumbledore wouldn't allow it. He had controlled the boy's life for too long and too completely for him to break character.

However, that was before her "present" arrived. Of course she knew he didn't do it himself and had probably hired someone, like the Goblins BUT it had been done. Her only consolation was that Draco was at Hogwarts. Granted he was under Dumbledore's control but at least he would survive because Dumbledore needed him and would protect him.

But like so many Narcissa was wrong – deadly wrong – as the pawn had broken free and had a lot of revenge to do on behalf of his family starting with the biggest traitors next to Sirius Black. She was also wrong about Dumbledore being able to protect Draco. He might "need him" for his money and proxy votes but he couldn't protect the boy.

Shortly after his talk with Draco, Snape had received a summons from the Dark Lord, one which he had to answer or die. A house elf was summoned to watch over the boy when Snape left first to inform Dumbledore of the summoning and then to attend the meeting of Death Eaters. As always he didn't know if he'd return but then that was Karma.

As he opened the door to leave the obnoxious brat had the nerve to order him to "Tell the Dark Lord what has happened to my Father. Tell him to avenge my Father. He owes it to the Malfoys since my Father was first in his Inner Circle. Make sure he understands that if he doesn't than I will not serve him and will side with anyone who will avenge the Malfoy honor even if it is Dumbledore."

"Are you out of your mind Draco?"

"Of course not. The Dark Lord MUST listen to me as I am now Lord Malfoy and will be Lord Black as soon as I can get to Gringotts to claim the inheritance and put on the Lordship Ring. Father was working on acquiring me the Potter inheritance and now that the $*& *$$ is dead – defeated by me – I can definitely claim it through a Right of Conquest claim. Therefore if old snake face knows what's good for him…."

"Draco you are an idiot. Next you'll be asking me for a full report on the meeting before I give one to Dumbledore."

"Of course I expect a full report…."

But by then Snape had left slamming the door behind him. Draco snarled. He was no fool. He had suspected Snape was really working for Dumbledore and had told him the nonsense to scare him and make him meek and dependent on Dumbledork like that $#&$&* *&# fool Potter had been. But Draco was made of sterner stuff. He was a Malfoy! All he had to do was escape from this room, from Hogwarts, get to Gringotts and then claim all that was rightfully his.

Then he'd show Snape, then Dumbledore and even that upstart Dark Lord who the boss really was. He knew he was young but since he was a Malfoy, he possessed cunning and ruthlessness and would soon defeat his enemies. He wouldn't be surprised if he was ruling Britain before he took his NEWTS. But first he had to escape.

He thought for a moment before calling out "Sappy" who was his personal house elf. Dumbledore had forbidden students brining their own elves as servants to school but Lucius had made arrangements to countermand the spell preventing a non-Hogwarts elf from entering the school. It had been expensive but worth it and that was how Draco got news to Lucius as soon as it happened.

Draco had to call the elf a few times before it arrived. It profusely apologized for being late but the room had extra wards around it and he would have punished himself but Draco snapped out "Stop blubbering. I need to get out of here NOW. Take me home as now that my…Father is dead, I am Lord Malfoy and must reset the wards. Then I have much to do so TAKE ME AWAY NOW!"

The elf obeyed and after a few attempts he did get the boy out of the Infirmary and away from Hogwarts. However, they did not go to Malfoy Manor like Draco commanded because Sappy was not a born and bred Malfoy elf. His family was born and bred Black house elves and their allegiance was first to House Black and always would be unless they were first freed and re-bonded to the Malfoy Family and something like that would never happen as the elf would have made a bid for freedom before it could be done.

So guess where the much abused Sappy took Master Draco to? Yep, into the presence of the new Lord Black at Grimmauld Place. The wards and Dumbledore's Fidelius on Grimmauld Place had fallen before the carnage took place. The wards were changed (in parsel tongue) and a Fidelius for Lord Black placed on it. It differed from Castle Black only in that a house elf could bring in a person at the command of Lord Black. Needless to say certain people had been waiting for him and he was stunned and bound as soon as he arrived. Lord Black would see to him at his leisure.

Although Dumbledore had moved heaven and earth and done several underhanded tricks to get named as Draco's magical guardian, none of it had worked. Narcissa's marriage contract had been ironclad in that on the death of Lucius any underage children would immediately become the wards of the current Lord Black. Lucius had to sign and swear an oath to that effect if he wanted to marry Narcissa and get her very, very generous dowry. It made sense as Lucius and his Father were the only living Malfoys at the time of the marriage and "accidents happened" all of the time especially during a war.

Dumbledore had legally failed but was telling everybody (who counted) that he was Draco's guardian as well as the guardian of Narcissa. He was also taking steps for laws to be made circumventing such things in the future and they would be retroactive from whatever time it suited Dumbledore. Sirius and the only other heir – Harry Potter – were dead so who other than Narcissa could challenge Dumbledore and once he had her in his clutches…. Well let's say that in his mind he had already won and nothing could go wrong.

SURPRISE!

Dumbledore was very busy consolidating his power, avoiding scandal, tightly controlling Hogwarts and all who dwelt there like the students from the other two schools. He knew Voldemort was back but not how or where but Snape had finally been called so now maybe he could start his war planning and laying traps for Tom because he knew this time he couldn't afford to prolong the misery like before as he had almost lost.

Oh and he was trying to stay alive and not be assassinated. Several more of his followers had snuffed it. Besides the attack at the Yule Ball, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin were gone – horribly and publically so. Ron Weasley was dead and the Twins were very badly burned (as was the Quidditch team), Ginny was hysterical because the bed in her dorm and everything she owned including her new broom, had been burnt to a crisp by fire and the Burrow had been destroyed by fiendfyre. Apparently there was a pyromaniac on the loose.

Arthur and Molly Weasley had been at the hospital when the Burrow was torched but now a place had to be found for them to stay at and with Grimmauld Place lost to them it was either stay with Molly's Aunt Muriel, at the home of one of the other Order members or (shudder, shudder) Hogwarts. They also needed all their worldly possessions replaced.

After much fighting Elphias Doge agreed to take them in. Aunt Muriel had refused because she was afraid of dying and rightly so. She paid for a Fidelius to be cast (and grumbled how much it cost her) but it was better to be safe than sorry. Besides she had had a very bad argument with Molly and wouldn't let her live with her – ever – despite the dire circumstances. She also knew that Dumbledore would be sending people over to hide out or something and it would end up costing Muriel more than just money, such as her life and sanity before Dumbledore was through.

The next to go were Kingsley Shacklebolt and Emmeline Vance. "Persons unknown" were the cause of these two Aurors dying in the line of duty especially considering they were not on duty but snooping around for Dumbledore. Mundungus Fletcher had just missed death and was now in hiding. Not for the first time did Dumbledore regret not marking his Order members so that they couldn't hide from him.

Both Muggle and Magical Britain were on alert as there were strange deaths happening all over and the ones in the Muggle World (where Sirius Black and Lupin had been found) were threatening to overlap into the Magical World due to the unusual circumstances.

It was only drug dealers and suppliers who were killed (and not replaced) and the general public was actually glad as they were nothing but disgusting scum, destroyers of lives and murderers anyway. However the tabloids were stirring things up making even honest people fearful. It was how they were being killed that was disturbing.

With the exception of Sirius Black and Remus Lupin who had been killed and horribly mutilated, the dealers/suppliers were just…dead. A simple shot to a vital organ or a slit throat had killed them although a few were said to have suffered from…a heart attack…or something similar. It almost sounded like an Avada Kedavra had been used or at the very least a heart stopping curse. All money and drugs were taken and just the bodies remained. Someone was getting very, very rich both in money and products.

At first it had just been in London but now it had spread to other main cities. Drug users were suffering because they needed their fixes and couldn't find the product anywhere. Some died from want, but others were forced to seek help to wean themselves off of their habits. Others who had just started using were saved from sinking into a life of hell. The very rich still managed to acquire their drugs but by the end of January, Britain was nearly drug free except for hospitals and special clinics.

To quote one Muggle government official giving an interview on a political talk show, "It is as if someone waved a…magic wand…and just summoned all of the crack, meth, pot and other things away from the dealers, sellers and buyers. It is a blessing really."

It was…except that the official had been accidentally correct. Someone was indeed "waving a magic wand" and doing other things to summon drugs. Someone had cast new and powerful magic which found and "liberated" any drugs entering the country by whatever ingenious means it was being smuggled in. Someone had taken all of the money from the buying/selling of drugs and nothing had been seen of it. Except for the home made stuff like meth and crack which were created in "mom and pop" businesses or in industrial scale labs and thus didn't need to be smuggled in. These resulted in the most noticeable deaths as the labs were just blown to bits and everything and everybody in them destroyed.

To those in the know at Scotland Yard and the Muggle Government this meant one thing… Wizards were involved and that was not a good thing because wizards NEVER did anything to help Muggles, or at least British wizards didn't.

The Muggle police, government and military were filled with Muggleborn wizards/witches who due to their "blood" could not get anything but the meanest of jobs in Magical Britain. Most left that world upon graduation from Hogwarts and those with brains and determination had either been keeping up with their Muggle studies during their summer holidays or struggled to do so until they could take the proper tests and gain the necessary accreditation.

People like Justin Finch-Fletchley, Sally-Anne Perks and even Dean Thomas did, although especially in the case of Dean, they didn't tell anyone. They had either read the writing on the wall or been tipped off by other sources. It was good to have magic and be a wizard/witch but if you wanted to succeed in the real world you had to plan for the actual life you would have after graduation. "Special people" were snapped up by the Muggle government (again in the greatest of secrecy) and were very sought after by the police and military service because of their special talents.

The problem facing Scotland Yard was who was getting rid of the scum but keeping the money and most of the product. Some hospitals and clinics were receiving anonymous "gifts" of morphine for medicinal purposes but the rest was gone. The first "robberies" had started at the end of August very slowly at first. However, things picked up and by November it had been noticed. By the time of Sirius' Black's death London was 90% free and at the end of January most of England and Wales. Inroads were being made in Scotland and Ireland and it was estimated that if things kept up as they were by Easter the four countries which made up the British Isles would be drug free or at least dealer and supplier free.

It was good to get those drugs off the street but the MONEY and who was getting it was the big question. Even at the best of times it was nearly impossible to know how much money was being made in drugs and this was no exception. Also, if the product was taken out of Britain and being sold to other countries…the amount of money would be staggering. WHO WAS GETTING ALL OF THIS MONEY?

Serpens Regulus Lord Black or "Snake" for short, that's who. You see although the Black Family was immensely wealthy and had money all over the world, much of it was in trust for Lord Serpens and his heirs and the only mistake Lord Arcturus had made was in trusting the Goblins, relying on the honor of the Goblin Nation and Ragnok, Head of Gringotts Britain. There were just too many very dishonorable and bribable Goblins who prevented Lord Serpens from taking control over any money residing in a Gringotts vault in any Gringotts in the world.

This was due to the schemes and machinations of not only Lucius Malfoy but Albus Dumbledore. In just this one thing they had been partners of a sort in preventing the transfer of money out of Britain without having the money subjected to huge transfer fees. For Dumbledore it prevented Death Eaters from fleeing the country taking their wealth with them. For the Ministry, certain persons received "a cut" for allowing and enforcing certain laws to be enacted and for Lucius Malfoy, letting certain inheritances, like the Black legacy, get out of the country and out of his possible future control.

And the Goblins – oy vey…the Goblins. Between the subtle bribes and huge amounts of money being made in transfer fees…well let's just say that in the last 15 or so years the amount of British Goblins who became millionaires had quadrupled and it was all perfectly legal.

In other words if the Ministry/Dumbledore couldn't have access to certain vaults/inheritances than NO ONE, ESPECIALLY NOT THE HEIR, COULD. Lucius was just trying to steal as many inheritances for himself and Draco as possible and since he had a deal with certain Goblins he could even sneak more money out of Britain if necessary. But Lord Arcturus had found out too late that he couldn't use the threat of moving his wealth to other sources such as Muggle banks or to the Dwarfs (the Goblins' biggest competitors) without losing most of it "according to the law" and were it not for his habit of keeping huge amounts of gold and other Muggle currencies on hand at Castle Black, he wouldn't have had any money to invest overseas or carry out the necessary schemes for the safety of his heirs.

One of the reasons Cassiopeia had lost all her money was because she was using her funds to purchase Muggle properties. Since the money was staying in Britain she wasn't charged transfer fees just the very high currency exchange fees. She also bought jewelry and furniture with galleons and sold them in the Muggle World. It was long and tedious but she managed to save 75-80% of her wealth (after exchange and real estate fees) and could say she was broke when she died because she had had less than G1,000 left and the remainder of her funds in Muggle money.

The only way Snake could claim his main wealth was if he presented himself to Gringotts, filled out the necessary paperwork for Gringotts and the Ministry and several other necessary legal things but by then all of the Goblins who were being bribed to tip off the Ministry, Lucius and others trying to "get" Lord Black and most especially Dumbledore. He wouldn't have made it out "alive" or "safe" as someone would have gotten to him because that just how things had been arranged. He would have been trapped even if he attempted to go to another Gringotts, say the Paris Branch, to claim his inheritance.

Nope, he had lost much or at least until certain people were dead. All of them. There was money in Muggle banks and Dwarf banks all over the world but he was in Britain and needed to stay there until his goals had been met. He also needed to help out a few people for when the war started because yes indeed there was going to be a war.

People like Neville, Luna and others who hadn't stayed for the Yule Ball had not gone home either. Nope because their lives and/or health were in danger. Neville could and probably would be used by Dumbles as he had been using Harry. No doubt Augusta Longbottom would hear the good news that 'Harry Potter was just a decoy and not the real prophesized savior but Neville was and Dumbledore was appointing himself Neville's guardian so he could protect him better" or some such nonsense.

Arrangements had been made to take them to a place of safety and settle them in while their relatives thought they were staying for the Tournament festivities. By the time they were missed they would be safe and free from Dumbledore's manipulations and/or their classmates' abuse. Once the war started – namely, Voldemort's resurrection happened – Snake was planning on sending all Muggleborn students out of the country. In fact, Cassiopeia had purchased an old Muggle boarding school in Denmark, which Snake was paying to be renovated and warded by the Dwarfs because he would be starting a new school of Magic. Granted it was a very un-Black-like thing to do but eventually even a "Mudblood" could become pure after a few generations of intermarrying and they would be out of Britain leaving Hogwarts "for the worthy" so why not?

So Snake needed to earn some money the old-fashioned way – he stole it. That was how many old and noble families in both worlds earned it so why not him? He would also be doing "good" because only the low-life, scum of the earth, perverted %#($*(#*&#**# would "suffer" and the less of them there were the better.

Snake didn't do the killing. Many times the dealers were offed by the suppliers when they couldn't come up with the money. That was when Cassiopeia had mentioned that house elves were quite capable of killing.

"I thought they are forbidden from killing wizards" Snake had asked.

"Yes and no" was the reply. "They aren't supposed to kill the wizards/witches of their family BUT they can and gladly will kill to protect a member of their wizard family. Dobby was quite prepared to kill Lucius if he had harmed you more than he did. Dobby wasn't his elf anymore and the fact that Dobby truly hated Lucius…well if you had said 'Dobby kill' Lucius would have been killed but you didn't and Dumbledore probably would have killed Dobby when you weren't looking."

"Besides the filth you are robbing are MUGGLES and since wizards think Muggles are lower life forms to begin with well all of the Black elves will gladly rid the world of that foul scum."

So the 17 house elves of the House of Black "did a lot of fundraising" for several good causes and if it was necessary (and in many cases it was) to annihilate these criminals from the face of the earth, it was done and at times with enthusiasm. Meanwhile while Snake was cured of the abuses he had suffered, he and Cassiopeia with the help of Regulus and Arcturus, searched for interesting spells and found the ones that detected the presence of certain things like cocaine or heroin being snuck in and then the elves confiscated it. What wasn't sent to hospitals or clinics was destroyed as it was evil. Well some was saved for "an emergency" meaning to use as a trap, bribery, etc. but most of it went up in smoke.

Most of the money "acquired" went towards the building, warding and furnishing of the school and then the hiring of "qualified" teachers would start with Cassiopeia interviewing the candidates that the Dwarfs were also recommending. Cassiopeia had attended Hogwarts when it was still one of the best schools of Magic in Europe and knew what to look for and what courses should be offered.

When she was a girl there were many classes offered that were of no real value to getting a job at the Ministry which was THE only thing to strive for in some peoples' mind (can you say Molly Weasley). There were others for personal enrichment, such as music, dancing, deportment, law, healing, ancient rituals, etc. which Dumbledore – in his "wisdom" - had purged from the school because they were unnecessary and money needed to be saved as he said "There was never enough of it" as too many children were on the charity list."

That was what he told people but in reality many people didn't have the magical power to perform the magic of music and dance and Dumbledore just happened to be one of them. Other magics such as ancient rituals, he declared "Dark" and "Evil" and cited that certain things Grindelwald had learned and practiced had caused him to turn into the worst Dark Lord of all time – until Voldemort. Dumbledore was only saving Magical Britain from such things by outlawing them and not allowing them to be taught at "his school" for the "sake of the dear children" and many people believed him.

Actually he did away with most courses so that no one would ever come close let alone surpass his record of having the most OWLS and NEWTS (like a young Tom Riddle had done). If he could he would have done away with other prime courses but even he was outvoted.

The core courses which Hogwarts HAD to TEACH were: Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Herbology, Astronomy, Runes, Arithmancy, Dueling/Defense, Magical Creatures and some form of History. Care of Magical Creatures had been substituted and Dumbledore arranged for it to not go into great depth and Astronomy had always been optional as unless you were going into a certain career which needed more tuition, one could learn all that was absolutely necessary in a one year course. Instead Dumbledore had made it mandatory for five years and dragged out its (very outdated) teaching.

The self-proclaimed "Champion of Muggleborns" completely did away with the mandatory and very vital two year course of Introduction to the Magical World, Customs, Laws and Etiquette and replaced it with Muggle Studies, which was decades behind in the progress of Muggles. He rounded it out with the controversial Divination. It was the opinion of many that Binns should be "retired" and the former History course should be brought back – the one that centered on the history of the entire Magical World and how it coincided with the Muggle World and not just Britain and Goblin rebellions like the rest of the Magical World used.

But "Snake" and Cassiopeia were determined to bring back a "real magical education" and not Dumbledore's idea of what was right and proper, light or dark, good or evil. Cassiopeia had mentioned that one of the reasons the Dark Lord had started his rebellion was to bring back the former education available to all British students as well as several other things which Harry, Hermione and probably the Weasleys didn't know about or, in the latter's case, wouldn't admit to.

Snake was going to let Voldie and Dumbles fight it out and may the best wizard win. Since Harry Potter was dead and Neville was missing Dumbles had to come up with a new idea to run his war – the one that no one "officially knew about" since only certain people knew that "the V-man was back! Snake and Auntie Cass would just watch the fun from the safety of their new school.