A Black Appearance Chr. 2: Inheritances and decisions

A few seconds later, they stood in the entrancehall of Gringotts. Luckily, only a few people were there. He dismissed Dobby and walked to the nearest available teller. Remembering the instructions from the book about goblin etiquette that he had secretly bought the summer before third year, he patiently waited for the goblin to acknowledge him. When the teller finally looked up Harry bowed his head and spoke politely: "Greetings master goblin. I wish to take an inheritance test." For a second the goblin looked surprised but instantly is expression changed back to complete neutrality. "Do you have identification?" asked the teller. With one hand, Harry pushed his hood only wide enough for the teller to see his scar. The goblins eyes widened slightly in recognition. "I see, follow me." Harry followed the goblin through a few corridors until they came to a door with then sign inheritance.

The teller led him into the room. Inside sat another goblin. When they entered, he stood up and came around the desk. The two goblins talked shortly in their native language and the teller left the room. Knowing it would be impolite to sit down before told to, he waited and only pulled down his hood. The goblin walked around his desk and sat down. "You may be seated Mr. Potter." Harry sat down. "You wish to take an inheritance test. Is that correct?" "That is correct master goblin." answered Harry politely and explained the situation in a few sentences. The goblin smiled at the form of address Harry used. "Please Mr. Potter, you may call me Snaglok. Now to the test." He opened a drawer and took out a piece of parchment and a sharp looking dagger. "All you have to do is to drop three drop of your blood on the parchment." Harry took the dagger and pierced his thump with the tip. The he held his hand over the parchment and let three drops fall down. Then he pulled his hand back and watched how words appeared on the parchment.

Inheritance Test Results

Name: Antares Cygnus Black

Age: 14

Date of Birth: 31. July 1980

Blood status: Pureblood

Legal status: Emancipated minor

Mother: Narcissa Cassiopeia Malfoy née Black

Father: Severus Tobias Snape

Siblings: Draco Lucius Malfoy (half-brother)

Maternal Grandfather: Cygnus Black

Maternal Grandmother: Druella Black née Rosier

Paternal Grandfather: Tobias Snape

Paternal Grandmother Eileen Snape née Prince

Heir to the noble and most ancient House of:

Black (by blood mother)

Prince (by blood, father)

Le Fay (by blood, father)

Slytherin (conquest and magic)

Potter (named and magic)

Peverell (named and magic)

Vaults:

Black

#711 Black Family Vault 96.586.235 Galleons 521 Sickel 367 Knut

#710 Black Heirloom Vault Wands, Books, Weapons, Jewelry

#709 Black Head of House Vault 35.342.212 Galleons 123 Sickel 423 Knut

Prince

#523 Prince Family Vault 60.410.314 Galleons 123 Sickel 204 Knut

#524 Prince Heirloom Vault Wands, Books, Weapons, Jewelry

#525 Prince Head of House Vault 15.563.112 Galleons 120 Sickel 110 Knut

Le Fay

#2 Le Fay Family Vault 337.537.216 Galleons 101 Sickel 322 Knut

#11 Le Fay Heirloom Vault Wands, Books, Weapons, Jewelry

#12 Le Fay Head of House Vault 36.432.105 Galleons 238 Sickel 678 Knut

Slytherin

#6 Slytherin Family Vault 268.443.215 Galleons 232 Sickel 489 Knut

#15 Slytherin Heirloom Vault Wands, Books, Weapons, Jewelry

#16 Slytherin Head of House Vault 37.162.341 Galleons 132 Sickel 394 Knut

Potter

#687 Potter Trust Vault 50.000 Galleons 238 Sickel 378 Knut (replenished annually from Family Vault)

#688 Potter Family Vault 85.665.341 Galleons 477 Sickel 134 Knut

#689 Potter Heirloom Vault Wands, Books, Weapons, Jewelry

#690 Potter Head of House Vault 26.143.664 Galleons 478 Sickel 934 Knut

Peverell

#135 Peverell Family Vault 89.326.405 Galleons 117 Sickel 980 Knut

#136 Peverell Heirloom Vault Wands, Books, Weapons, Jewelry

#137 Peverell Head of House Vault 21.314.342 Galleons 432 Sickel 123 Knut

Properties:

Black

Black Manor, Yorkshire (unplottable)

Grimmauld Place 12, London (under fidelius)

Black Chateau, France (unplottable)

Black Estate, Italy (unplottable)

Mauderer Castle, Scotland (shared ownership)

Black House, Chicago (unplottable)

Wolf Cottage, Devon (shared ownership)

Prince

Prince Manor, Glasgow

Le Fay

Le Fay Manor, Manchester

Slytherin

¼ Hogwarts (shared with Gryffindor – died out, Ravenclaw – died out, Hufflepuff - died out)

Slytherin Castle, California (unplottable)

Potter

Potter Manor, Scotland

Potter Cottage, Godrics Hollow (destroyed)

Potter Villa, Denmark

Mauderer Castle, Scotland (shared ownership)

Wolf Cottage (shared ownership)

Peverell

Peverell Manor, Liverpool

Businesses:

Black

20% Flourish & Blotts

45% Borgin & Burkes

35% Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions

100% Potage's Cauldron Shop

30% Quality Quidditch Supplies

100% Slug and Jiggers Apothecary

47% Twilfitt and Tatting's

20% Nimbus Racing Broom Company

20% Zonko's Joke Shop

35% Daily Prophet

Prince

10% Honeydukes

20% Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop

30% Post Office

Le Fay

20% Gringotts Wizarding Bank

Slytherin

10% Gringotts Wizarding Bank

25% Ministry Building

Potter

15% Eeylops Owls Emporium

10% Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Palour

20% Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions

45% Quality Quidditch Supplies

30% Twilfitt and Tatting's

40% Nimbus Racing Broom Company

10% Daily Prophet

Peverell

20% Honeydukes

16% Zonko's Joke Shop

15% Post Office

20% St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries

25% Daily Prophet

Abilities:

Natural Animagus (form unknown)

Mage Sight (blocked)

Natural Occlumency (blocked)

Natural Legilimency (blocked)

Eidic-Memory/ Photographic-Memory (partly blocked)

Natural wandless Magic (blocked)

Natural healing Affinity (blocked)

Parseltounge

Teleportation (partly blocked)

Multiplication (blocked)

Other Information:

Strong glamour

Hocrux in scar (Tom Marvolo Riddle) blocks abilities

Marriage contract between the noble and most ancient House of Black and the noble and most ancient House of Greengrass

Harry looked at the inheritance test. His mind raced. He was a Black. A part of him was happy about the fact, because it meant that he was a part of Sirius family. The other was horrified that his mother was nobody else than Narcissa Malfoy, the mother of his greatest rival at school. Even if she was Sirius cousin. Contrary to popular believe, Harry knew many things about the Black family. After the end of his third year, Harry had wanted to know more about his godfather.

Therefore, at the beginning of his fourth year, he sneaked into the library during the night and searched in the records of graduated students for everything that was in any way related to Sirius Black. While doing so he also stumbled over the names Narcissa Black, Andromeda Black and Bellatrix Black. Searching more in books about pureblood families and old newspaper articles, he learned a lot about them. Included Andromeda's disownment for marrying a muggelborn and Bellatrix involvement in the torture of Neville's parents.

The other thing that horrified him was his father. Of all people, it just had to be Snape the man who hated Harry more than anyone else apart from Voldemort of course. A hatred that Harry had returned completely. Although that changed a bit. Meanwhile Harry understood the man's reasons and couldn´t completely blame him for his actions. While reading about Sirius, Harry learned about the many embarrassing pranks, the mauderers had played on Snape. That made him feel sympathetic for his professor because he knew all too well how it felt to be the victim of bullies. Although that didn´t mean he liked the man. Snaglok brought him out of his thoughts. "This are surprising results, Mr. Potter or should I say Mr. Black?" Harry thought about this. It was an easy question, but the meaning behind it was much more complicated.

The way he saw it, there were only two possible choices. The first was that he went on with his live like before and completely ignored everything that had happened during the last few hours. The other way was to accept everything he had found out, become Antares Black and leave his old life completely behind. He thought about his life until now. First, the neglect and emotional abuse forced up on him by the Dursleys. Then everything that had happened during his Hogwarts years. Every year he had nearly died. That was something he wouldn´t miss. Then there were the other students and the rest of the wizarding world. Depending on what had happened, he either was a hero, the next dark lord or, as the Daily Prophet claimed, a mental instable attention seeker.

Next, he thought about his friends. Yeah, they were his friends and they had gone through much together. However, Harry couldn´t help but think that they weren´t as close as he had believed. Especially with Ron's betrayal last year and the fact that they hadn´t written this summer. Sure, it was only one week into the summer holidays but they had promised to write once they could. His thoughts drifted to Sirius. He liked the man and wanted to get to know him. He was his godfather after all. However, with Sirius on the run he didn´t saw this happening. Besides, he could always contact him as Antares Black. They were family after all.

The last thing he thought of was the prophecy. It was the reason Voldemort was after him. Dumbledore had known about it the whole time and never told him about it. He considered all argument and made a decision. "Call me Antares, Snaglok. About my inheritance, can you explain where all these titles come from." "Of course Antares." answered Snaglok.

"The Black title comes from your mother's family. As Sirius Black was in prison and is currently on the run, he can´t claim the title even if he clears his name and you are the next oldest male in line. Even if you were not you would get the title, as the only other possibility is Draco Malfoy. Because of a requirement set by the former Lord Black, he can only claim the title if he doesn't claim the Malfoy title. This won´t happening as there is no other heir to the Malfoy title.

The Prince title comes from your father´s family. Your paternal grandmother was a born Prince but her father disowned her for marrying a muggel. However, he accepted his grandson and made him his heir. As your father never claimed the title, you can claim it.

The Le Fay title comes from your father too. His father Tobias Snape was contrary to what your father and everyone else believes a squib and not a muggel. The Snape line is actually a squib line from Australia and goes back to Morgana Le Fay herself. The Le Fay line ended in a squib who was send away and changed his last name to Snape. Tobias Snape was a direct member of that line not knowing of his heritage. Your father doesn´t know this and believes that he is a half-blood.

The Slytherin line is a bit more complicated as there are two reasons why you are the heir. The first is that when the last descendant of the Slytherin line failed to kill you and lost his powers nearly fourteen years ago, the Slytherin magic recognized you his conqueror and so as the new heir. The second reason is that when he lost his powers, the Slytherin magic decided that he was unworthy to be the heir and chose a new one.

The Potter title has two reasons too. First, the Potters named you as heir. Second, as there is apparently no living Blood heir, magic chose one. The same goes for the Peverell line, as they were the Potters ancestors."

"Ok." Said Harry and thought for a moment. "If the real Harry Potter was still alive the Potter and Peverell title would go to him right?" he asked slowly. "That's correct." Answered Snaglok. "I there a way to use the Potter and Peverell seats without claiming the title and without someone knowing that I was known as Harry Potter until now?" asked Harry. "Yes. You can claim that Harry Potter asked you to be his Proxy and vote for him. As you were Harry Potter until now, nobody can proof that this isn't the case." Answered Snaglok. "Good. Is there a Proxy for Harry in the moment?" inquired Harry. "Yes, Albus Dumbledore is the Proxy as he is your or rather Harrys magical guardian. Better said was until the tournament when you became an emancipated minor because you were a minor forced into a contest for adults." Snaglok explained. "Dumbledore is my magical guardian. He never told me." Harry scowled angrily that Dumbledore hid this from him. "Yes, he declared himself as your magical guardian the day after the attack." "But there has to be someone else. Didn´t the Potters have a will?" asked Harry not willingly to believe that the Potters hadn´t left instructions in case of their deaths. "Yes, they had a will and it was read. Sadly, all people named as possible guardians were unable to take you. Sirius Black was in Prison, Remus Lupin is a werewolf and the Longbottoms were in St. Mungo's. The only other instruction in case this four were unable to raise you, was that everyone else was acceptable except Mrs. Potters sister and her husband." said Snaglok, looking at some files he had taken out. "Well that instruction was clearly disregarded." Harry growled. He was furious with Dumbledore for ignoring his parents, well adoptive parents, will. Blood wards be damned.

"Do you have decided if you want to claim the titles?" asked Snaglok. Harry considered the question. He wanted to keep his true parentage to himself. Nobody would know. Because of this he couldn`t claim all titles. The Black title was easy. He could just claim he was the heir and nobody would question it. The same with the Le Fay line as nobody knew that the Snapes were descendants of Morgana Le Fay, so nobody would assume the connection. The Slytherin title was a bit more complicated as he had conquered the dark lord as Harry Potter. Therefore, he could only go with the reason that the Slytherin magic had chosen him and hope that Dumbledore would believe it.

The Potter and Peverell titles would be a dead giveaway. He would have to make up a story where he met Harry and Harry asked him to be his Proxy. Then here was the Prince title. He couldn´t claim this title as well because Snape was most likely aware of the title and would ask questions if someone else would claim it. Questions Harry had no suitable answers for without giving up his secret. He turned his attention back to Snaglok. "I would like to claim the Black, Slytherin and Le Fay titles." he declared.

"A good choice Antares." Snaglok confirmed and then shouted something in Gobbledegook. After that, he turned back to Harry. "While we wait for the account managers and the family rings we have to take care of something else." At Harrys confused look he explained. "The test showed that there is a Hocrux of one Tom Marvollo Riddle trapped in your scar. A Hocrux is an object that contains a part of a persons soul. To create one you have to commit a coldhearted murder to split your soul and then use a very dark ritual to put the soul part in the object. As long as the Hocrux exists, the person who owns it cannot truly die."

Harry was horrified. "I have a piece of Voldemorts soul in my head? Can you remove it?" "You are lucky. It will be very painful but we can remove it. Follow me to the ritual chamber." Harry followed Snaglok deeper into Gringotts until they came into a big room with a stone table and many runes on the ground. A few other goblins were there as well. Snaglok explained the situation to them. Then they told Harry to take of his glasses and clothes except for his underwear and to lay down on the table. Harry obeyed. The goblins Snaglok had talked to surrounded Harry, who suddenly couldn´t move at all, and began to sing in a strange language. At first, nothing happened. Then without any warning, Harrys head exploded in pain. A pain stronger than anything he had ever felt before. Voldemort's touch at the end of the third task was nothing against this. The pain was unbearable and Harry couldn´t keep himself from screaming. He screamed and screamed. Finally, after what felt like an eternity the pain slowly started to disappear.

When the pain was completely gone, Harry slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed was that everything was blurry although not as blurry as usual when he didn´t wore his glasses. Harry concluded that the soul part in his head had made his eyesight worse than it actually had been. Someone sat his glasses on his nose and suddenly he could see clearly again. Snaglok stood beside him looking slightly concerned. "Is it gone?" asked Harry hoarsely. His throat arched from all the screaming. "Yes, it is completely gone." Snaglok answered and handed him a glass of water. After drinking the water, he tried to get up but Snaglok hold him back. "While we are at it, we would also, for a price of 50 Galleons, remove the glamour from you and heal your body." Harry nodded "Take them from the Potter Trust Vault." Then he laid back down. He took off his glasses again and closed his eyes. The goblins began to sing again. This time he felt a strong pain in his bones and muscles together with a slight tingling in his skin but compared to the pain before it was bearable. After a short time the singing and the pain stopped.

He opened his eyes and saw everything clearly without his glasses. In fact, his sight was better than ever before with the glasses. If it was because of the removal of the glamour or the healing, Harry didn´t know. He tended to the first. Like the first time, Snaglok stood next to him. "Is there a mirror where I can look in?" Harry asked Snaglok. "Of course", answered the goblin and led Harry to the left corner of the room. There was a big full body mirror. Harry walked slowly in front of the mirror and nearly stumbled backwards in surprise. He couldn´t believe that the person who looked back was himself.

Gone was the scrawny and malnourished looking teenager. He stood now 6 feet and 4 inches tall. He wasn´t skinny anymore. Instead, his body was lean and muscular, making him look like he was 17 instead of nearly 15. The scars from the third task and the basilisk bite were also gone. However, the greatest changes were his hair and face. He had long, straight and silky hair. It was still black, maybe even a bit darker than before, but now with blond highlights in it.

He had now aristocratic features and high cheekbones. If Harry looked closely, he could see a few of Sirius features in it. His famous lightning bolt scar had faded to a thin line. You wouldn´t notice it if you didn´t know what to look for. However, the most interesting change were his eyes. The emerald green was completely gone and his eyes were now from a….

Well, it was quite difficult to say which shade of blue his eyes actually were. The outer edge was a bright ice blue, which became darker and darker towards the inside until it ended in a black color, creating a seamless transition to the pupil. Overall, he liked what he saw. He looked nothing like Harry Potter. He realized that while his hair as well as a part of his eye color came obviously from Snape, he got the blond highlights, the aristocratic features and the high cheekbones from Narcissa. He had met the woman only once, but when he thought back, he could clearly see the similarities. He stopped analyzing his looks and went to his clothes.

While getting dressed he was for once happy that the second-hand clothes from Dudley were so big. Because if he had worn clothes in his size, they clearly wouldn't fit him now. When he was ready, he followed Snaglok back to the office. In the office were already three other goblins. Snaglok introduces them. "These are Ragnok, the Black account manager, Nagnok, the Slytherin account manager and Blordak, the Le Fay account manager." "Pleasure to meet you." said Harry and bowed his head slightly. "They are here, so you can claim the lordships of the three families. All you have to do, is to put the ring of each family on your finger and say: I, your full name hereby claim the lordship of which house you claim by the right of…" explained Snaglok. "Ok." Said Harry showing that he understood everything.

The account manager of the Black family stepped forward and presented him a jewelry box with a ring in it. Harry took the ring from the box and examined it. The ring was a fine, plain silverband. Edged in the ring was an oval onyx. On the lower part of the stone, Harry could see a raven and on the upper part an arm with a wand. Engraved in the middle of the stone was a B. He put the ring on his ring finger, and said loud and clear "I, Antares Cygnus Black hereby claim the lordship of the noble and most ancient house of Black by the right of blood." There was a bright flash of light and the ring glowed, accepting the claim and shrunk to a fitting size. When the process was completed, the account manager of Slytherin stepped forward.

Harry took the presented ring. It was a simple silverband with an emerald embedded in it. On the stone was a snake formed to an S. He put the ring on the same finger as the first and declared "I, Antares Cygnus Black hereby claim the lordship of the noble and most ancient house of Slytherin by the right of conquest and magic." The results were the same and the Slytherin ring merged with the Black ring, so you could only see the Black ring.

At least he turned to the Le Fay ring and took it. It was silver, like the other two, and had a dark blue stone on it. When he asked Snaglok he found out it was a Cordierite. In the middle of the stone was an L. He put it on and declared "I, Antares Cygnus Black Slytherin hereby claim the lordship of the noble and most ancient house of Le Fay by the right of blood." This ring too merged with the other two rings.

He was now officially Antares Cygnus Black Slytherin Le Fay.

Snaglok caught his attention. "Congratulations Lord Black Slytherin Le Fay. You successfully claimed the three lordships. The rings will stay fusioned and you can switch between them as you see fit. Are there any questions?" "Yes, what happened to the Hocrux?" asked Antares. "We have captured the soul piece and will study it to determine how many Hocruxes Riddle has made and what they are. If we find any we will destroy them and notify you." explained Snaglok. "Thank you. Is there a way to get money from my vaults without always coming to Gringotts?" Antares wanted to know.

"Of course. You can use your family rings to pay. All you have to do is to push the ring of the family, whose vault you want to use, on a parchment with the amount money you need to pay and think of which vault of the family you want to use." said Snaglok. Seeing that Antares understood everything, he continued. "If that's everything, here are the ledgers with everything about your three families." With that, he gave Antares three thick folders and guided him back to the lobby. Shortly before reaching the lobby, Antares pulled up his hood back up. In the lobby, he bowed slightly to Snaglok and spoke "Farewell may your gold flow and your enemies crumble." "And may your weapons stay sharp and your vaults full." Snaglok replied. Antares called Dobby and asked him to look after the folders, went out of Gringotts and into Diagon Alley. He needed a few things in order to prepare for the coming war. He thought of the prophecy. Voldemort would keep coming after Harry, even if he and the rest of the wizarding world would not know that the Harry Potter they knew and Antares Black were the same. Antares would not stand back and wait until Voldemort or his death eaters would start killing innocent people.

No, he would do everything in his power to stop them. First he needed a new wand without the trace and optimal a second as a spare. Knowing that Ollivanders wasn´t the best choice, he decided to try his luck in Knockturn Alley. He walked until he came to the entrance and slipped through when he was sure that nobody looked. With his hands in his pockets and slightly bent not to attract attention because of its size, he went along the alley until he came to a shop with a sign that said custom wands.

A bell rang as he entered the shop. A few moments later, a dirty looking man who was probably the shop owner came from the back of the shop and narrowed his eyes on him. "Get out of here boy. I don't need brats like you in my shop." Antares knew he had to do something. He remembered how Lucius Malfoy had acted during his accidently visit in Knockturn Alley two years ago. Antares knew that, he had to act similar if he wanted people here to take him seriously. Therefore, he straightened up to his full size, pulled his hand with the ring out of the pocket, showing it to the man and sneered "And you should be careful who you are talking to."

The shop owner paled at the sight of the Black ring. "Of course Lord Black. It won't happen again. What can I do for you my lord?" the man said with a slight stutter. "I need two custom wands." "At once Lord Black. If you would follow me." Antares followed the man into the back of the shop. There he got the instruction to go to a table with woods and pick up the one with the strongest pull to him and to repeat the progress with the cores. Antares walked to the table with the woods and closed his eyes. Concentrating on his magic while letting his hand wander over each wood, he found a few weak pulls but only two very strong ones.

He took the woods with the strong pulls into his hands and opened his eyes. Looking down at his hands, he saw that one of the woods was pitch black and the other completely white. He brought them to the table the shop owner had shown him and repeated the progress with the cores. It took much more time but Antares found four cores. The first two were a fang of some sorts and some kind of fur. The last two were a bottle with fluid in it and a feather. The shopkeeper came back a few minutes later. "Ok Lord Black. The wands will be ready in a few hours." "Good. I will be back. Remember, that I was never here." Replied Antares, the last part threatening. Then he left the shop, returned to Diagon Alley and went straight to Twilfitt and Tatting's.

The young lord walked into the shop and immediately a female shop worker came up to him and asked what he needed. "I need a whole new wardrobe. The woman looked like she couldn´t believe her ears. Then she started to take all measures possible and asked him about style and colors. However, before she could begin with her work, Antares stopped her. "I want these three crests in this specific order on the robes." He said, handing her a picture of the three crests. First the Black crest, then the Slytherin crest and at the end the Le Fay crest. Seeing the eyes of the woman widen he added, "Your discretion would be much appreciated." "Of course my lord." she replied and disappeared in the back of the shop.

After what felt like an eternity, she returned and handed him a shrunken trunk with his new clothes. He paid his bill using the Black ring. When he left the shop, he was in possession of not only robes, t-shirts, pullovers, jeans, trousers, underwear, jackets and cloaks in various different colors. He also had now different kinds of sneakers, boots, suits as well as a leather trench coat. He also bought a few dueling robes with different enchantments.

His next goal was the trunk shop, where he bought a black seven-compartment trunk with a password protection. He also asked the worker to engrave the letters A. C. B. S. L. in silver in the top side of the trunk and to shrink it for him. After he was finished, he returned to Knockturn Alley. On his way to the wand maker, a shop that sold weapons as well as armor attracted his attention and he entered. He looked around and found his interest caught by a set of elegant and dangerous looking daggers with suitable holders as well as a black practical looking wrist blade.

He brought them together with a black dragon hide west ironical from a Hungarian horntail as well as matching trousers, boots and gloves. When he was finished, he returned to the wand maker. When he entered, he saw that the man was already expecting him. "Ah Lord Black, good I have your wands right here." The shop owner led him to a small table with a dark brown box. The man opened the box and turned around to present the wands. In the box laid to wands, that couldn´t look more different.

The first was completely black and seemed to radiate a dark and dangerous aura. The second wand was completely white and seemed to radiate a warm and peaceful aura. "What are they made of?" asked Antares curious. "The wood of the black wand is ebony and the cores are a basilisk fang soaked with basilisk venom and werwolfsfur. The wand is perfect for the dark arts and very powerful. Use this wand carefully or could become addicted. The other wand is made of white ash with a griffin feather and phoenix tears as cores. This wand is also very powerful and ideal for light magic." answered the man. Antares took both wands in his hands.

He understood instantly what the man meant. While holding the white wand he felt warm and comfortable. Then he took the black wand. Instantly he felt a surge of power and a boost of confidence. He also experienced a thirst to show his power. He shook himself out of it and followed the man back to the counter. He paid for the wands and two black wand holsters made of dragon hide with anti-summoning enchantments on them. He strapped one to his right wrist and the other to his left ankle. For the wand in the wrist holster, he only had to flick his wrist and the wand would appear in his hand. For the wand in the ankle holster, he would have to summon it wandless.

At first, he wanted to hold the white wand at his wrist and hide the black wand at his ankle to stop people from thinking that he was dark or a death eater. Then again, they would already think he was dark, just because of the fact that he was a Black alone. Not to mention the other two families. It wouldn´t make a difference what kind of wand he used. With that thought in mind, he put the black wand into the wrist holster and the white wand into the ankle holster. Then he left the shop. Just as he was about to turn to leave the alley, he felt two strong pulls on his magic. He followed the pulls and ended up in front of an animal shop.

He went inside and followed the first pull. While he was doing so, he came by a tank of snakes and he could hear them talking to each other. That showed him that he had kept his Parseltounge ability despite of the removal of the Hocrux. Antares continued to walk and came to a small room. There was a cage containing a wolf pup. The fur color was somewhere between deep dark gray and black and the eyes of the pup where dark orange. Shadows seemed to swirl around the wolf and when he looked closely, he could see flames licking at the paws. Antares was sure that the animal in front of him was a hellwolf. The young man went down on one knee and stuck one hand through the bars. The pup first sniffed at his fingers and then licked them. Antares smiled. Suddenly the wolf bit his hand hard enough to draw blood and he felt the creation of a familiar bond. Antares opened the cage and picked up his new familiar.

Then he focused on the second pull. This pull led him all the way back and to a semi dark room. He went deeper into the room until he came to a very dark corner. Putting the wolf down, he looked around. Out of nowhere, he felt a draft. Out of reflex Antares held out his arm and in the next moment there was the feeling of claws gigging into his arm together with the familiar weight of a bird landing on his arm. When he turned his head, Antares was surprised to see a huge raptor on his arm. It was some kind of eagle. The plumage as well as the long and sharp claws were completely black. The feet were orange while the beak yellow. The eyes were of a golden color and sparkling with intelligence. Slowly Antares used his free hand to stroke the birds' feathers.

The eagle let Antares touch him for a few moments. Then he bit slightly into his finger just enough to draw one drop of blood and Antares could feel a second familiar bond forming. When it was completed, the eagle climbed on the young man's shoulder, making Antares glad that he was wearing cast offs. He picked up the puppy and went to the front of the counter. "I want to buy these two and everything I need to care for them." The man behind the counter looked up and blinked surprised at the sight of the animals, but then he went to gather everything.

Antares paid with his ring and made sure, that the man kept this to himself. Looking at the clock, he decided he could look for books another time. He called Dobby and asked the elf to take him back to Privet Drive. A few seconds later, they were back in his room.

The first thing he did was to unshrink his new trunk as well as the one with his new clothes and set up the things for his new familiars. Then he started to set up his new trunk and to put away his new clothes. The seven compartments he classified as followed. The first was for clothes. The second was for writing equipment, parchment and so on. The third was for potion ingredients. The fourth was a miniature library with 10 bookshelves that also served as a study. The fifth compartment was a weapons room. The sixth was a sitting room, in case he had to talk with someone about important matters. The last compartment was a bedroom with an added bathroom. Now he had to collect the library, the siting room and the bedroom. That was easy. With the trunk, he had also received a catalog. All he had to do was to select something and push his ring on the picture to buy it.

He began with the library. He colored the walls in a warm beige. For the ground, the young lord chose beech parquet with different shades of brown. For the bookshelves and the desk, he took dark pine. He also selected a large, comfortable armchair for reading and a comfortable chair for the desk.

Next Antares turned to the sitting room. He changed the color of the walls to silver-grey and emerald green. Slytherin colors. He did this for three reasons. First, Slytherin was the house he should have been in. Second, he was Lord Slytherin. Third, the Blacks, except Sirius, were all in Slytherin. For the ground, he decided on dark brown oak parquet. The furniture consisted of two black leather couches, a few black leather armchairs and a glass table.

The last was the bedroom. The walls became dark blue and dark grey. For the ground, he chose bamboo parquet in light grey. He bought a black four-poster bed with grey bedlinen. For the desk and dresser, he chose black walnut wood. He also bought a comfortable chair for the desk. After that, he put away his new clothes, transferred everything from his Hogwarts trunk, apart from his old clothes, into the new one. Then he set the password for his trunk in Parseltounge. When he was finished, he went to the desk to make a list of everything that needed to be done. While walking to the desk, he saw that while he had worked, his new familiars had made themselves comfortable.

The eagle he had named Tyr sat on his pole next to Hedwig and the wolf he had named Hades slept in his basket. Antares sat down at his desk and started the list. When he was finished, the list contained following points.

Things to do

Find a new house to live (folders)

Find a fitting story for my past

Reinstate Andromeda Tonks and Nymphadora Tonks back into the family and disown Bellatrix Lestrange

Claim the seats on the Wizengamot (eventually become Harrys proxy)

Get Sirius a trial

Training

Get apparation licence

Take OWLS

After a look on the inheritance test, he added:

Contact the Greengrass family because of the marriage contract

The last point left him thinking. He didn´t know much about the Greengrass family. He had read that they were political neutral. Antares also knew that there were two Greengrass girls in Hogwarts. Both were in Slytherin. The oldest, Daphne, was even in his year. He suspected that she was the one the contract applied to. Antares was curious how she would react. He had to admit that he was surprised how calm he was about the whole thing. He knew, that if someone had told him about a marriage contract back when he was still Harry, he would have thrown a fit.

Now that Antares thought about it, ever since the ritual at Gringotts he felt different. He was much calmer and his thoughts were much clearer. Even the constant arching of his scar, which he hadn´t even known that it was there, was gone. Summed up his personality was now more the one of a Slytherin and he had to admit that he didn´t mind at all.

Contradictorily to what everyone assumed, he didn´t hate Slytherin. True he had begged the hat in first year to put him anywhere but there and told the hat in second year that he belonged to Gryffindor. However, especially in fourth year and slightly in second year a part of him wished he had chosen different. It wasn´t because he liked how they behaved or all the pureblood nonsense they spread. To be honest, that he only found completely pathetic. They were Slytherins for Merlin's sake. They were supposed to be cunning, ambitious and resourceful. Instead, they bowed down to this half-blood hypocrite, who called himself a dark lord, while spreading his ideals to the world and confessing their loyalty to him loudly like good little Hufflepuffs. No, what he really admired about the Slytherins was the way they hold together. They never argued in the open or anything of that kind. They never turned their backs on one of their own and presented a united front to the rest of the school. Something, which he wished Gryffindor, had done for him in second and fourth year.

Antares shook himself forcefully out of his thoughts. Thinking about it wouldn´t change anything. The past was the past. He had to concentrate on the here and now. First, he needed a new place to live. He wouldn´t stay here one day longer. Blood wards be damned. They wouldn´t do any good now anyway since Voldemort had taken his blood. Although he had to ask how good they were working in the past and how they could even work to begin with considering that the Dursleys hated him and that they weren´t actually related to him.

Ending that train of thoughts, he decided to look at the folders for a good house. The properties of the Potter, Peverell and Prince families were out of question. First, he hadn´t taken up the lordships. Second, it felt wrong to use the properties of the first two. Slytherin was also a no-go as he didn´t need a whole castle all by himself. At the end, he decided to use one of the Black properties. He wanted something unplottable and wanted to stay in Britain. That only left two. Grimmauld Place in London was under Fidelius charm. As he wasn´t the secret keeper, he wouldn´t be able to find it. The second problem was that he somehow had the feeling that Sirius was there, which meant Dumbledore knew about it.

That left only Black Manor in Yorkshire. Reading the description of the house, he found out that the Black ring was a portkey for it. Reading more he learned that the house hadn´t been used for ages. Apparently, only those the wards found worthy could pass them and it seemed that at least the last three generations had been able to pass them. Antares decided to try his luck. If he failed, he could always go to Le Fay Manor. Decision made, he went to his trunk to change clothes. It wouldn´t do to visit his new home dressed in rags. He took of his old clothes, put them into his Hogwarts trunk and went into his new trunk to find a fitting outfit. When he left it, he wore dark-grey jeans, black sneakers and a Slytherin green hoodie over a black shirt. He packed everything away that was on his desk as well as his Hogwarts trunk, the one from the clothes shop and the things of his three familiars. He flicked his black wand and shrunk his trunk. He took Hades in his arms while Hedwig and Tyr flew on his shoulders. When everything was ready, he called Dobby and the elf appeared.

The little elf was now wearing a small black suit consisting of black trousers, a pair of black shoes and a white button shirt with a black suit jacket over it. On the left side of his chest sat the family crests of the houses Black, Slytherin and Le Fay stitched on the jacket. Antares asked Dobby to take him to the small park near Privet drive. From there he would take the portkey. He didn´t want to take the risk of somebody finding out. Some would call him paranoid, something Antares secretly agreed on, but with everything he went through it was understandable. When they arrived, he thanked and dismissed Dobby. He took a deep breath, preparing himself for what was about to happen. He concentrated on the ring and where he wanted to go. A few seconds later he disappeared.

I hope you like it. To avoid confusion I would like to add that I have changed Draco Malfoys birthdate to 1. August 1980. Again, I do not own Harry Potter

Until the next charpter