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Lilith

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Chapter 4 – Harry's Will and Lilith's Rage

The reading of Harry James Potter's last Will and Testament had drawn a crowd. The reading would take place in an auditorium at the Ministry, though any benefactor would have to claim their inheritances at the bank. The seats were first and foremost reserved for the benefactors and their families, or a small group of colleagues. Then, after the media-representatives had been seated, the remaining seats were first-come-first-serve. Quite a few companies and organizations had showed up; since Harry had been the last of the Potter line, many expected the Family Fortune to be donated, while others wondered what would happen to the many investments the family had made. Dumbledore was there as well, wondering how his arrangements for a small, private reading of his manufactured Will had turned into such a spectacle. He wasn't too nervous though, there was nothing in that Will that he couldn't explain, but, then, the goblins set out a Testament Orb, instead of the scroll that Dumbledore had filed.

The auditorium turned silent as the orb glowed in response to an authenticity spell, cast by Amelia Bones, the Head of the DMLE. "The orb has been authenticated!" She spoke. "The Will-reading shall now commence!"

"Thank you, Madam Bones." The goblin in charge of the reading said. "I shall now activate the orb."

The orb glowed with a faint blue light and Harry's voice carried through the auditorium. "I, Harry James Potter, being of competent and sound mind, hereby declare this to be my last Will and Testament, and hereby revoke any and all wills and codicils previously made in my name." It started. "Before I divide up my estate, however, I have something to say. For those who think they know what this Will entails, I assure you that most of you will be disappointed. There is so much that I never learned about myself; things I should've known since birth, but was never taught. My eleventh birthday was the day I found out I was a wizard, and, as I write this Will, it's only been a week since I learned that I was an Heir of an Ancient and Noble House, a title I still don't know the meaning of.

When I was first introduced to the wizard world, I had no idea what to expect, or what was expected of me. I knew nothing of my fame, or the reason behind it; I grew up living with my mother's muggle sister and her family, and was told that my parents were drunks who died in a car crash. I was told my father was a deadbeat, and that my mother was a whore. My upbringing is nothing like you would image of someone of my stature. If you ever visit the house I grew up in, you'll see no pictures of me; the only traces of my existence is a drawing hanging on the wall of the cupboard under the stairs; that's where I slept for the first ten years of living in that house. My relatives only moved me into the smallest room of the house after my Hogwarts letter came, and they panicked, thinking someone was watching the house. For reference, my relatives are well-off. The house has four bedrooms, always have; the Master bedroom, where my aunt and uncle slept, the Guest bedroom, where my uncle's sister sleeps during her stays once or twice a year. Then there was my cousin Dudley's bedroom, and lastly, Dudley's toy-room, filled with all the toys and other junk my cousin broke within days of receiving them, until they moved me into the room.

I did not have a happy life. The best way I can describe it to a wizard would be that they worked me like a House-elf, and that includes the punishments. Everything bad or strange that happened was blamed on me, without me ever knowing why I was being blamed. I didn't know my own name until I started muggle school and got into trouble for missing the role-call; my relatives only ever called me 'boy', or 'you', or 'freak'; that last one being their favorite. I really hoped the wizard world would be different, but it wasn't much better. My peers at Hogwarts have grown up with fantastical stories about me, and many firmly believe those stories to be the truth. They have many expectations that I never met, and they get angry and frustrated at me when I tell them I have no clue what they're talking about.

Of course, I suppose my… adventures… at Hogwarts seems counteractive to what I just said, but I'm a kid whose always been forced to rely only on myself to survive. I grew up knowing I could never count on adults to help me in any way, shape, or form, so when I see a problem I have to fix it on my own. The fact that the Hogwarts staff wouldn't even hear me out on my concerns only reinforced the idea that I couldn't trust any of them. Because of that, I had to deal with a Cerberus and a possessed professor in my first year, a Basilisk in my second, and being swarmed by Dementors in my third. I am now in my fourth year, and get to deal with Triwizard Tournament. I can't imagine any of you knows what it's like to live in a near-prison during the summers, only to return to a place where I've almost been killed every single year I've been there; and, yet, Hogwarts was more home to me than the house I grew up in.

This does bring me back to the matter of hand though. When I was entered into the tournament I was forced to participate against my will, but it also drove home the notion that I can die very easily, and my thoughts then turned to my vault at Gringotts, and what would happen to it if I died. I didn't think I had much, but the first time I was at Gringotts I saw – what was to a child that has never had anything that wasn't broken or handed down to me from my obese, destructive cousin – a mountain of gold. I wanted the peace of knowing where that gold went when I wasn't around anymore. So, with some help, I snuck out of Hogwarts and headed to London to get my affairs in order. You can imagine my surprise when I found out I had much more than just my Trust Vault, as I know it now. I never knew my family was wealthy, nor did I know of my status in society, as I've mentioned earlier.

I didn't know anything, and the… arrangements… that had been filed on my behalf without my knowledge or consent is, honestly, infuriating beyond belief. I spent a great deal of time, arranging things to my own wishes. Apparently, being forced into a Ministry-funded tournament means I am now considered an adult in the eyes of the wizard world, so I was able to get my affairs in order without consulting the man acting as proxy to my Magical Guardian, which I never knew existed. Again, this is something I learned only at the bank, because no one else saw it fit to inform me of it, but I had the Ministry representative, and the Head of the Wizengamot accepting of my participating in a tournament only for adults, and they've recognized me as an adult by doing so. Go figure.

Speaking of affairs, I should probably get to that, shouldn't I? I read a copy of my parents' Will prior to this, and I do hope it surprises some of you to learn that Will was sealed by the Head of the Wizengamot before it could be executed after my parents' deaths. Therefore, as my parents' Will was never executed, I have incorporated their wishes into my own. In addition, as the official heir of Sirius Black, my estate includes the Black assets as well, now that I'm emancipated, and due to Sirius' inability to take control of them, but I'll get more into that later.

First of all, I wanted to make sure that my story got out there, so I've written down the truth as I know and understand it, and left my life's story in the hands of Gringotts Bank. The book will be available to the public, but, in exchange, anyone seeking it will have to make a Magical Vow to prevent tampering or editing of any kind. That way I know everyone will know exactly how I experienced my life. Now, I make it a point to state that my story is purely from my own point of view; and, as such there will be things I got wrong, things I misunderstood, and so on. I'm not all-knowing; I am not faultless; I'm just a kid. I never claimed to be anything more.

Moving on, the following institutions will receive 50 000 galleons each;

St. Mungos Hospital,

The Harmony Foundation (AN 1),

Moonrise Hospital (AN 2),

The Hope Foundation (AN 3),

And finally the Evergreen Sanctuary Home (AN 4).

I hope this money will come to good use, and while my proxy Magical Guardian had added a list of his own, I found myself disagreeing with the choices, or not knowing enough of these organizations to include them.

To the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, I leave 50 000 Galleons, and my family's collection of Auror Equipment. While I did seriously consider becoming an Auror, I have come to the decision that the wizard world is not for me, and, should I survive long enough to take my OWLs, I will be leaving Hogwarts, and Britain all together, after my fifth year. I have no desire to live in a place where people turn their backs on me at the drop of a hat for things I have absolutely no control over.

In addition, the DMLE will receive the Potter Family Pensive, as I understand the department doesn't have one, but I've left a few conditions for the Department Head, Amelia Bones, to meet before I leave the pensive in her possession. You will find those conditions in a letter, Madam Bones, when you go to claim the bequest on behalf of the department.

But, let's continue shall we? My parents wanted to leave 20 000 Galleons to Alice and Frank Longbottom, but, due to the circumstances, I will be giving this money to their son, Neville, with the request that he use that money for his parents' treatment or other medical expenses. In addition, Neville will receive another 10 000 galleons to spend on his favorite hobby.

To Luna Lovegood, I leave 10 000 Galleons. Furthermore, as the Quibbler is the only media that hasn't dragged my name through the mud in one form or another, the Lovegood's will receive a copy of my life's story in exchange for a Magical Vow that they will not alter it in any way, shape, or form before publishing it.

To my first friend, Rubeus Hagrid, and to my best friends, Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley, I leave 20 000 Galleons each. And, Hagrid, you also get a life-time visitor's pass to the Dragon Reserve in Romania, so you can go and visit Norberta whenever you like.

To my godfather, Sirius Black, my parents and I leave 30 000 galleons.

To Remus Lupin, my parents and I leave 30 000 galleons, and a house in France, along with a life-time supply of Wolfbane potion – don't argue about this Remus; let us care about you for once.

To the Weasley Family, I thank you for treating me as one of your own, and for giving me the family I never had. Each member will receive 5000 Galleons to use as you please, and, collectively, I leave you all 50 000 Galleons to save for rainy days.

Also, to Fred and George personally, Padfoot has agreed to leave his shares in Zonko's to you, and 20 000 galleons to use on your future shop and products. He looks forward to see what you come up with.

When it comes to the Potter Family investments and my seats in the Wizengamot, these will be divided between the Weasley's, Neville Longbottom, and Luna Lovegood.

…

Now… as for the Black Family estate; Sirius and I did have some arguments, but I got my way in the end with a few compromises. First of all, I had the Family Home stripped of Dark artifacts, and all Goblin-made objects were returned to the goblins. All other estates have been sold. In addition, all investments held by the family have also been sold, and Kreature, the last of the Black's House-elves, has, upon his own request, joined with his colleagues, though the collection of elf-heads have been moved to their own mausoleum at the family graveyard. The painting of Walburga Black has also been destroyed, as I don't want her contaminating the next Head, should he accept my conditions in order to claim the title. I've also made sure that those conditions and any other action I take today in regards to the family and estate, cannot be undone by the next Head simply because he disagrees with them.

My first action is according to Sirius' wishes that Bellatrix Lestrange and Narcissa Malfoy are to be stripped of all rights as a member of the House of Black, and are hence cast out with immediate effect. Now, before you start yelling, Lady Malfoy, there are conditions you can meet to be reinstated, if you truly wish to be. Out of respect, I won't be mentioning those conditions here, however, and you can make an appointment with the Black Vault-manager to hear them, along with my reasoning for them. My second action is to invite Andromeda Tonks back into the Black family, and I say 'invite' as you may not wish to be reinstated without your daughter. There are conditions, for Nymphadora to meet if she wishes to be reinstated with you, however, and, as with your sisters, she can speak to the Black Vault-manager to hear the conditions and the reasoning behind them.

Now, the title of Head of the House of Black will go to someone I am, unexpectedly, indebted to; and I know a lot of eyebrows will be raised by my decision. This person is indirectly responsible for the events that led to my bank visit and, ultimately, the discovery of my proxy Magical Guardian's, possibly deliberate, neglect of duties. So, thank you, Draco Malfoy, for doing me that favor. However, as the new head of the House of Black, there are certain expectations I have for you. Most of all, I want you to make something of yourself. I've known you for going-on-four-years, and all I've ever heard from you is 'my father this' and 'my father that'. Even when you're talking about your grades as one of the top students of Hogwarts, all I heard was 'my father will be proud', but what about you, Draco? What are you proud of? Truth is, you and I have something in common; we have nothing to call our own.

To this day, the only thing I've ever bought for myself is my school supplies. Everything I 'owned' growing up were things my cousin outgrew, broke and/or threw away. Of course, if I was caught using any of those thrown away things, my aunt would scream at me and call me an ungrateful little thief before throwing the item in the trash. I never had anything because I was never allowed to have them. You may not see it that way, but you're not much different for me, Draco. You stand so deeply into your father's shadow that you've lost yourself. When was the last time you used your own allowance to buy something you wanted, instead of asking your parents to buy it for you? When was the last time you stood up for yourself, without using your father as a threat? When was the last time you achieved something that wasn't expected of you as a Malfoy?

Like me, you have nothing of your own, and I wanted to give you an opportunity to change that. As Lord Black, you have a house, and a fortune of 3 000 000 Galleons to maintain, but no investments or servants. What you chose to do with your assets is completely up to you, but if you follow your vault-manager's advice, like any good Head of House, you should be fine. Where you get your income is also up to you, but, I suppose, as an heir of a Noble House, you likely already have an idea of where to get it. Unlike me, you've had training in what it means to be a Head of House, so I have faith in you, believe it or not. So make something of yourself.

And, I suppose that's it. I know people were expecting more; donations to Hogwarts or the Ministry perhaps, but frankly I don't see the point. Hogwarts, as fond as I am of it, is a death trap, and the staff – no offence, Hagrid – has done nothing to deserve a gift from me. Likewise, the Ministry has caused me more trouble than I'm comfortable with, and their actions in the past are such that I do not wish to support them; the Triwizard Tournament being one example. Perhaps, if I survive this stupid tournament, they can change my mind in the future, but if your hearing this then obviously that didn't happen. I can only hope my death will convince everyone to bury this barbaric competition once and for all.

I do, however, have one final thing to say to Albus-to-many-bloody-middle-names-Dumbledore. For acting as my proxy Magical Guardian, I. Hope. You. Burn.

The Testament Orb deactivated to a silent auditorium. "That concludes the hearing of Harry James Potter's Last Will and Testament." The goblin spoke. "Benefactors may claim their bequest at Gringotts Bank."

Lilith, standing in the shadows in the back of the auditorium, watched as people slowly started coming out of their daze. Draco was clearly shocked, but quickly shook it off when a camera was pointed his way. No way the proud pureblood would allow himself to be photographed with such an undignified expression. Almost everyone she had talked to about her decision hadn't really understood why she would give him so much money and potential power, but she really did feel sorry for him. He stood so far into his father's shadow that he was drowning without knowing it. This was the only way she could think of to save him, but right now it was all up to him. Lilith then turned her attention to Dumbledore, and watched the gears spinning in his head. She knew he would figure it out, because he was the only person who knew what was missing from the Will. As a direct descendant of Godric Gryffindor, she had inherited a fortune far greater than the wealth accumulated purely under the Potter-name, and with the still-active Conquest Laws, she had also claimed Voldemort's Slytherin and Peverell heritage. Not that there was much left of it to claim. Still, Dumbledore knew what was missing, and while the seats and other ties to Britain was distributed to her friends, she had kept the money, artifacts, and other books and items.

Dumbledore would know, because wizards live so long that some prefer to make Wills while their still alive, just to get rid of all the crap they've accumulated over the years, or because they simply wanted to start over (AN 5). It's gone out of style though, so not many knows about this law anymore. The only reason she had gotten away with making a will in her brother's name was because Dumbledore had switched hers and Harry's files in the magical registries, specifically their magical signatures. The goblins had switched them back afterwards, and updated it before filing what remains under her proper name; that is, after she adopted the family-name of her mother's non-human ancestor.

Loyard.

Frankenstein was familiar with the name, and was able to provide her with information on that side of her ancestor's heritage, but when the non-human blood awakened in Lilith via the Emancipation Ritual, they had discovered that her ancestor was a hybrid. Frankenstein had some information regarding the 'other' half of her ancestry, but admitted that the information he had was incomplete and unsatisfactory; he was a scientist, after all. Perhaps that's why she liked him? He was unbiased on most subjects, including everything magical, and didn't expect children to carry the weight of the world on their shoulders. He expected adult to take responsibility, and, as her mother had been one of his favorite students, he was more than willing to chase down Voldemort and his Death Eaters by himself. She was more than tempted to let him, if only to give one last 'fuck you' to Dumbledore and his precious prophecy. Frankenstein's grudge against the Dark Lord was personal, her wasn't. Sure he had come after her, and he had killed her family, but she couldn't help but put the blame on the old goat. Voldemort was driven by that goddamn prophecy, which meant Dumbledore might as well have pointed him in the right direction. That's how she felt.

Dumbledore – that crazy, manipulative, godforsaken, puppet-master bastard – was the root of all her problems. That man was dangerous, capable of manipulating thousands, and able to fool the entire wizard world. He was not an enemy to take lightly, and was seen as a hero and a savior. Going against him directly would be a major mistake; she would have to outmaneuver him. However, because of him, the last 14 years felt like a very bad dream. A nightmare filled with body-altering potions and personality manipulating spells. She no longer knew who she was, because the person she had been before the coma wasn't real. She felt lost, angry, betrayed, all with a good dose of sorrow. All 'Harry' ever wanted was a family, and had been looking forward to making one for himself in the future. That desire had never left, but was already lost. After all the years of being poisoned with body-altering potions, her natural body had suffered, and was no longer fertile in female form, meaning she would never get children of her own. No, Voldemort may be a thorn in her side, but Dumbledore was the dagger in her back. All because she was the wrong twin. That's what it all boiled down to; the wrong child had survived that night, as far as Dumbledore was concerned.

Feeling a growl building up in her throat, she pushed off the wall and walked out. She ignored how a certain Head of the DMLE snapped her head up to look at her – figures that monocle can see through Invisibility Cloaks – and set out to do what she had actually came here to do; collect the last of Voldemort's little trinkets from the Peverell residence, aka treehouse in Little Hangleton. The fragment in her scar had been removed by the awakening of her non-human blood, leaving a vision of the other fragments behind. The destroyed diary and the diadem were collected from Hogwarts, and the cup was collected from the Lestrange vault via some weird Head of Family laws that Sirius took advantage of before kicking her out of the Black Family. The necklace was among the Dark artifacts removed from the Black Ancestral House, which left the ring (AN 6); a ring that sang with the same mysterious power she now felt from her cloak. It was strange; she was never this sensitive as a human. Granted, she'd never really know as Dumbledore had put a block on her Magical Core.

Crazy, manipulative, godforsaken, puppet-master bastard; she could feel her blood boiling just at the thought of him. She had to catch herself before she lost it. She knew she had a temper, or rather 'Harry' had had a temper, but now that anger was backed up by ferocious instincts and enough raw power to outmatch a nuclear bomb. Controlling this was difficult enough for people who grew up with their power; she got stuck jumping off the deep end before she could swim. She hated that old fool more than she's ever hated anything in her life, and it was preventing her from moving on. She had previously thought it was Voldemort who was holding her back, but as his precious Horcruxes were destroyed one by one, the more she wondered why Dumbledore couldn't just do this himself; he obviously had the knowledge, and the more she thought about his manipulations the more she realized she would never be able to move on without bringing the man to justice. Even if it meant vigilante justice.

Once Dumbledore was gone, only then could 'Harry's' story come to an end, and Lilith's story could finally begin.

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Author's Notes:

1) The Harmony Foundation is an OC Foundation for Creature Rights.

2) Moonrise Hospital is an OC hospital specializing in treating creatures and halfbreeds.

3) The Hope Foundation is an OC organization that took in orphans and children taken from abusive homes and gave them a safe place to live until they were able to fend for themselves.

4) The Evergreen Sanctuary Home is an OC organization that gives sanctuary to victims of domestic abuse. It is called a Sanctuary because it has enough political power to protect wives who would otherwise be forced back to their abusers due to being 'property of their husbands or Family Heads' in the eyes of wizarding laws.

5) I borrowed this concept from 'Sabrina, the Teenage Witch'.

6) Nagini isn't a Horcrux at this point in time.