~ Chapter 7

Harry approached Gringotts with his letter clutched tightly in his hand. The Alley was less busy than in September, when it was full of families and school children, and Harry thought wistfully of the school year that had drawn to a close and the months that separated him from his fourth year at Hogwarts.

Harry joined a short line to a teller and soon enough found himself across a particularly unpleasant looking goblin.

"Yes?" the goblin asked with impatience, not bothering to look up from the parchment he was scribbling on.

"I received a letter from Gringotts informing me of an inheritance."

"Hand it here," the goblin said, sticking out a long-nailed hand and snatching the letter.

He flipped the parchment open with practised efficiency and also immediately smacked it down to peer at Harry with a baleful glare.

"So you've come, eh?" he harrumphed with ill humor. "We could not be sure that you were alive. If you had arrived three weeks later, then we could have reclaimed it," he continued to mutter with distaste as he clambered down from his tall stool.

"Griphook!" he called. Another goblin, just as unpleasant looking as the first, appeared beside them.

"Mr. Potter has arrived to claim his inheritance."

"Ah," said Griphook, also eyeing Harry with distaste. "Follow me."

Harry wanted to roll his eyes with exasperation at their greed and wanted to bare his teeth at their underhandedness. He had never been informed that there was a deadline or time limit to claim Sirius Black's will. He reminded himself to always be wary of dealing with Goblins - it was as much what they told you as what they didn't that was important.

They walked past the tellers into a dim corridor lined with doors that Harry was unfamiliar with.

Eventually, they stopped in front of a door that was exactly alike all the others and Griphook opened it to expose a small office.

The goblin took a seat behind the desk and as the goblin busied himself with pulling out stacks of folders, Harry closed the door to take a seat in front of it.

"First, a test of your identity," the goblin said, holding out a small flat stone. "Just swipe a finger down it and say your name."

Harry did so and the dark rock turned white briefly.

The goblin's expression turned even more sour and harrumphed again as he put the stone away.

"Fine. Now, as Sirius Black was the head of the Black House and as you are his sole inheritor, all his property and his debts are now transferred to you. First, we will begin with a list of debts before proceeding to the assets..."

Harry was shocked by the amounts of debts that had piled up. There was at least two hundred thousand galleons worth to various shops and retailers and he had never even dreamed of such a sum. He began to regret ever coming to Gringotts.

Griphook finished reading the distressingly long list and provided a copy to Harry, who looked at it with ill-concealed dismay.

"If you wish, Gringotts can assume your place in the will, along with all the debts. You need only sign this," the goblin cooed. Another piece of parchment was pushed towards him enticingly.

Harry hesitated. It was impossible to guess how long it was take him to repay such a large amount of money - never mind that he was still in school and would not earn an income until at least four years into the future. However, Harry had learned his lesson not to assume anything with goblins - including non-existent goblin generosity.

He stared at the goblin. Griphook's grin was full of teeth.

"First give me a list of all of the assets, including their worth."

The grin transformed into a grimace and he sulkily pulled the parchment back.

If Harry had been astonished by the debts that Sirius had accumulated, he was completely unprepared for the vast sums of gold and property that were to belong to him.

Two vaults in Gringotts (711 and 832), held millions of galleons with inestimable value in terms of family heirlooms and artefacts. There was also residential property in the form of mansions, townhouses, chateaus and cottages along with extensive lands dotting along all of Wizarding Britain and some countries in Europe. More than enough to make him one of the hundred richest wizards in Britain.

There was also a Wizengamot seat.

Harry was astounded.

First, a weight he had not realized lifted from his shoulders at the knowledge that he would never have to be burdened by debts or petty things like the cost of school supplies. As long has he managed the money and property well, he would only grow richer.

Second, he knew that he could put his assets and his political position to use to improve the lot of vampires in Great Britain. He could relocate them onto his private lands where they could live and recuperate their strength unmolested.

Third, he realized that he would never again have to return to Privet Drive. He sat back heavily in his chair. He would never again have to call that odious fake and her husband 'aunt' and 'uncle', or waste his summer as a slave, or ever return to the Muggle world again.

It was all enough to make him dizzy.

xxxxxxx

He learned that Sirius Black had been a friend of his parents in a letter the man had left him, which was short and polite. Apparently, Black had written the letter before going to defend his parents from Aurors. Unfortunately, the skirmish left his parents dead and Black arrested.

After settling Black's outstanding debts, Harry placed the Black House ring on his finger and signed papers to change his legal name - a condition written into the House's rules to ensure its continuation. The name had to be a previously used Black name (apparently a family tradition) and the family tree was pulled up for Harry to choose.

Some of the names were quite horrid (Phineas was perfectly awful but used at least twice) while others were too recent to be used again (apparently his benefactor had been Sirius Black the Third). In the end he decided on Orion, after Sirius' father, making him Orion Black the Second.

Griphook also produced a vial of blood, from some long dead Black, that he poured into Harry - no, Orion's palm, where it was absorbed without a trace.

"It's necessary for any blood wards or magics. It also carries Black traits so any descendants you sire will have some measure of Black blood," Griphook said.

Orion nodded and immediately felt minor changes: his fluffy hair fell straighter, some bones creaked as they re-aligned themselves - shoulders more thin but wider, legs a little longer, feet a little narrower, the list went on - even his face wasn't spared. It was one of the oddest sensations of his life, he decided, to have one's nose and chin wiggle and grow a little pointier.

It was a fast and painless process and by the end of it, he desperately wanted a mirror to look at himself, but knew that the goblin would hardly be cooperative

His new house elf Kreacher - a particularly obsequious creature - was called to take copies of the documents back to his new Diagon Alley townhouse, number ten Grimmauld Place and to prepare it for his arrival. Thereupon, the goblin left rather unceremoniously and in a bad temper, which made Orion rather smug and made the experience of dealing with goblins almost entertaining.

He had a sack of galleons in a money pouch and left the small office to run some errands in Diagon Alley. He needed an owl, some robes that fit, a potion to correct his eyesight, books, he needed to summon Sanguini and tend to his properties, which Orion knew were in a state of neglect... he made a list as he walked.

He passed some wizards and goblins as he walked back along the long corridor, including one strikingly familiar face: Lord Voldemort.

It was all he could do to continue walking. Even at the other end of the hall, the man's magic was calm and controlled but nevertheless throbbed in the air around him, demanding obeisance. Something about it was familiar to him, but he brushed that thought aside - he was sure that they had never met before.

As they walked toward each other, the man's eyes flicked to him and one elegant eyebrow swept up. The corner of his mind that housed the connection that had been opened in the Chamber of Secrets, pulsed gently and warmly, like glow of a firefly. At last we meet said a voice in his mind.

Orion nearly jerked in surprise. He had ignored that small part of his mind after it had formed and no prodding or probing had caused it to do something like this. This clearly had something to do with...

Hello, Lord Voldemort, he responded in kind, pushing his thoughts along through the connection in his head. The edge of the man's lips curled before he shifted his gaze away from Orion as he walked past.

As Orion was no longer the subject of the man's regard, the connection closed and Orion nearly sagged with the sudden passing. The corridor suddenly seemed darker and the air colder, making him shiver.

xxxxxxx

The next few days were a flurry for Orion and he had no time to think about his odd exchange with Lord Riddle* in Gringotts. He had never been busier in his life. He had bought an owl and named her Hedwig, after a witch from his textbooks.

He had not changed overmuch from the Black blood: his face was a bit pointier and finer and he was more willowy in build - but nothing too drastic in his eyes. He'd been measured for some plain but finely tailored lightweight and winterweight black, grey and dark blue robes as well as several undershirts, socks and boots. He also ordered several dress robes in case he needed to attend any formal events. After making some other purchases in the Alley he settled into his Diagon Alley townhouse, where the house elf was a wonder in making his life exceedingly comfortable.

Then, he'd got down to the business of understanding - in detail - his financial affairs. He soon realized that it would take more than himself alone to efficiently handle all the matters: restoring properties, renting out properties, leasing lands for various purposes, investing in family businesses - the list went on, and on.

Sanguini arrived the day he was summoned and slipped into the house at night. The other vampire had quirked his eyebrows at Orion's new appearance and he quickly brought Sanguini up to date.

After embracing him and feeling very glad to have him by his side once more, Orion quickly set him as a secretary to record, organize and file reams of parchment. Even with his help and benefiting from their vampiric ability to work hours on end, Orion quickly realized that he would need to hire several staff members in order to monitor, maintain and provide financial and operating reports on his various holdings on a more continual basis. At the very least, a lawyer, an accountant and a staff person was needed.

He broached the subject with Sanguini a day after his arrival.

"Yes, I agree. You will not be able to devote so much time to these things while in school and there are still lessons that you need to learn this summer - we need to hire tutors for you during the day, when I cannot be by your side." Sanguini paused. "Perhaps, it is time to start introducing you to some of the vampires that remain that were loyal to your family. Some of them also have the talents that you seek in law and other matters and will act very well as overseers of any wizards you employ and keep things honest."

Orion nodded. "I've been very much looking forward to meeting them, and it will be good to have another set of more experienced eyes keep watch over things. How will I meet them? And when? Also, what lessons should I take? I haven't started on my summer homework yet, though I don't expect that to take too long."

"At the very least you'll need tutors for etiquette and dance and Latin and magic, of course. As for your court - I have maintained loose contact with many of them and they will be overjoyed to meet you. The three noble houses of Blodd, Graves and Selwynn have managed to avoid destruction and you shall meet all three this summer. But first I shall introduce to you some lesser vampires and engage your wizarding tutors, lawyers and staff."

Orion looked at him quizzically, "Why must I wait?"

Sanguini smiled at him, "Although you are more proficient at exercising your Will on me, you have not yet done so on others. And though I am very biddable -"

Orion snorted and teased, "You'd make an excellent wife."

"- very biddable," Sanguini said with a roll of his eyes, "you have never had practice controlling a powerful vampire who resisted your will. Nor in holding many vampires in your mind at once."

Orion sobered. He clearly remembered Sanguini warning him about the duality of vampires. As much as they would revere him, a baser part of them wanted to rip into him for his blood. It would be his responsibility to keep a firm grasp on their minds to govern them and prevent their base natures from overruling their minds.

He thinned his lips. This is where all his ancestors failed, to the detriment of all.

He would not fail.

* Lord Riddle and Lord Voldemort and Voldemort are used interchangeably by the public and the press to refer to Tom Riddle. Riddle is his family name and Voldemort is a well known title.

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay in updating. Real life and lack of interest are very potent at killing writing. I don't think I can promise to finish this story, but I'll give it a good try.

Harry - oops! Orion, will have a great deal to do over the summer before he goes back to school for fourth year. Until next time! Reviews are always welcome and fuel typing fingers ;)