Chapter 3

"Hello, sister"

Aquila's eyes softened and a smile graced her lips. Dudley looked at Aquila confused. "Sister? Aquila, I didn't know you had a brother. Why didn't you tell me?" Dudley asked sounding a bit hurt.

"Like I tell you everything, Duds. Name even one of my school friends, please." Silence. "See," Aquila giggled. "And I also didn't know until now. I had my suspicions, but I had no way to confirm my suspicions. A certain Headmaster never let me visit Gringotts."

"Oh, right." There was more silence as Aquila studied the parchment with her inheritance results on them. She felt a slight pressure in her mind and looked up to meet the green eyes of her brother that briefly flashed red. "Severus told me what happened last night. Are you alright?"

"Yes, My Lord. I am fine, just a bit shaken. I feel that the Dementor attack may have been orchestrated by a Ministry official, someone high up as well. That combined with the fire have provided more fuel for my frequent nightmares. As soon as I am able, I'll ask either Severus or Draco for help on occlumency. While the Potter family are notable Occlumens, I feel like I've had my abilities blocked which will make it harder for me to grasp the concept."

"You might want to ask Sirius as well. He is Lord Black, and from what I remember the Black Family teaches all of their children how to occlude, especially the Heirs. If Dumbledor will allow it, I may be able to stay with you until school beings. That way we can speak with Sirius, and maybe find a few more allies to our cause."

"That reminds me, I've always wondered what your true cause was. I mean, blood purity is hardly a reason for someone to start a war twice. There must be some deeper reason."

"We will speak about this later. For now, we should speak with the Goblins about Heirships and account managing."

Aquila blinked as her mental conversation with Serpens ended. "So, um… These are my test results," she said as she gestured to the paper sitting in front of her. "Would you like to look?"

"That seems like a good idea. I shall share mine with you as well," Serpens responded.

Aquila and Serpens traded papers as the Goblins sat at the table discussing things in Gobledook.

Inheritance Test

Name: Serpens James Potter, born July 31st, 1994

Sister: Aquila Lily Potter, born July 31st, 1994

Father: James Charlus Potter, born March 27th, 1974; died October 31st, 1995

Mother: Lily Carol Potter nee Evans, born January 30th, 1974; died October 31st, 1995

Godfathers: Sirius Orion Black, born November 3rd, 1973

And

Severus Tobias Snape, born January 9th, 1974

Godmother: Alice Abigail Longbottom nee Fortescue, born February 8th, 1974

Heirships:

Heir to House Peverell, father's side

Heir to House Gryffindor, father's side

Heir to House Hufflepuff, mother's side

Heir to House Merlin, Magical Inheritance

Abilities:

Occlumency, father's side

Transfiguration, father's side

Legilimency, through House Peverell

Potions, mother's side, House Hufflepuff

Parseltongue, through House Merlin

Olde Magics, through House Merlin

Vaults:

Vault 693M: Main Peverell Vault. 56,239,774G; 12,406S; 229K

Vault 882M: Main Gryffindor Vault. 89,290,736G; 50,549S; 892K

Vault 884M: Main HufflepuffVault. 89,146,385G; 48,668S; 692K

Vault 996M: Main Merlin Vault: 167,835,912G; 359,471S; 970K

Potter Trust Vault: 300,000G (refills every July 31st)

Total: 402,812,807G; 471,094 S; 2,783K

Aquila squinted at the paper in surprise. She glanced at Serpens and nodded at him, signaling that they would have to talk later.

"These results are very impressive. We will definitely need the Goblin Nation's help with managing them along with sorting through the vaults," Aquila stated, looking at the two Goblins.

"That shouldn't be a problem, Heir Potter. For now, we should have you claim your Heirships. You won't be able to claim the Lordships or Ladyships until you turn 17. Until then, we will instruct you on how to make good investments with your money. Not that you'll need any more of it."

"We greatly appreciate your help," Serpens replied, bowing slightly in gratitude.

Ten small, elegant boxes appeared on the table in front of the three wizards (and witch) and the two Goblins stood up. "Now you all shall claim your Heirships. I shall have Heir Potter demonstrate with the Potter ring. Place the ring on the ring finger of your dominant hand. The incantation to claim the heirship is as follows. 'I, Aquila Lily Potter, accept the Heirship of House Potter. So mote it be.' You shall repeat this for each house you are the Heir for."

Aquila nodded and did as the goblin instructed. "I, Aquila Lily Potter, accept the Heirship of House Potter. So mote it be." The Potter ring shrunk to fit her finger and then shimmered away. She, Serpens, and Dudley took turns accepting their Heirships, each smiling as they felt the weight of the rings on their fingers. "All of the rings are spelled so that they cannot be removed from your hands by anyone but you. In the event that your fingers, hands, or arms are severed the rings will return to your vaults. They also have protections on them. Each protection differs with the House. For instance, I know the Potter and Black rings protect from any kind of mental manipulation. Rumor has it, they even block the Imperious Curse. I am not sure of the validity of those claims, however. I do believe that the rings of all the Hogwarts Houses have protection against minor curses and hexes, as well as harmful potions which include all types of love potions. Currently, the protections on the Peverell, Merlin, Le Fay, and Pendragon rings are unknown. The original creators would not disclose that information with the Goblin Nation, and if they did the information was lost over the years."

"Thank you, Broadblood and Teller Silveraxe. I think we should save the rest for another date. It is getting rather late in the afternoon and I'm sure you have other business to attend to. We will try to return once more before the semester starts, although I'm not sure when that will be. With things getting more tense with the second rise of Voldemort coming I do not think Professor Dumbledor will let us leave our safe house very often."

"Very well, Heir Potter. Would you like us to send your bank statements to you?"

"No thank you, Broadblood. I am afraid that the Ministry or others may tamper with our mail, and I'd like to keep this information as secret as possible for the time being."

"As you wish. That will conclude the proceedings for today then. Good late day, Heir Potter, Heir Peverell, Heir Pendragon. May your gold ever flow."

"And my your enemies fall before your blade. Good late day, Broadblood, Teller Silveraxe," Serpens responded as he, Aquila and Dudley bowed before them.

Aquila and Serpens left the main part of the bank and went back to the entrance hall of the bank and found Dumbledore, Tonks, Severus, and Kingsley standing there waiting for them. Severus looked as if he had smelt something sour, Dumbledor was pacing, and Kingsley and Tonks were in a debate about the legality of something that Aquila didn't understand. "Professor Dumbledore, sir."

Dumbledor looked up at Aquila, his eyes twinkling madly. "Yes, my dear?"

"I have some… new information, but I cannot trust that all the people in this bank would not spread this information around. Can we find someplace to talk in private?"

Dumbledore looked at her skeptically before nodding once. "Very well, Miss Potter. We shall talk with Tom at the Leaky Cauldron and see if we can borrow one of his private rooms for a bit."

The walk back to the Leaky Cauldron was an interesting one. Dumbledore kept looking at Serpens with suspicion, while Tonks and Aquila were telling Dudley about the magical world and some of the things they could see in shops. Severus, Kingsley, and Serpens were discussing a particular potion and the pros and cons of making it illegal. By the time they had made it through the crowds, Dudley seemed to understand the Wizarding World better, and Aquila had realized that he wasn't as dumb as he had previously seemed. "Good day, Tom. Is it possible that we could borrow one of your secure meeting rooms for just a moment? Miss Potter has some information she wishes to share, but she'd rather not tell everyone in the wizarding world," Dumbledore asked.

"Sure thing, Albus. Just remember that if you stay longer than an hour you'll have to pay for it."

"Of course, my boy. Thank you."

Once they entered the room, it was silent for a moment. Aquila was trying to figure out how to start. Then she sighed. "Professor, it seems that a few secrets were revealed today. For starters, were you aware that I had a twin brother?"

"No, I was not. Are you sure?"

Aquila nodded and slid the paper she had received from Gringotts. It was a family tree of the House Potter, showing that she did indeed have a twin brother. "How is this possible. I'm sure Lily and James would have told me. And Severus, did you know?"

Severus nodded. "I knew, but the information was under the Fidelius Charm as well as being secured with Unbreakable Vows. I could not have told you if I wanted to stay alive. Lily and James had sent Serpens away to try and prevent the Dark Lord from coming after them. After all, the prophecy spoke of a boy. And Mister Longbottom was placed under many protections from the Auror Corps, as well as being hidden in Longbottom Manor which is unplottable. I don't even know how the Lestranges managed to find it. There may have been information in the Lestrange family Library, as the Lestranges, Blacks, and Longbottoms are a closely related family."

"Well, this is certainly interesting news. Is there anything else you wish to share before we go back to the Order house?"

"The Heir to House Pendragon has finally been found."

"Oh, that's wonderful news. Which one of you is the Heir?"

"Dudley is the Heir to House Pendragon. But as of right now, he is under the protection of House Potter until he is comfortable in the Wizarding World. I ask that you allow him to come to Hogwarts this year to participate in a few tutoring classes about the culture here, as well as how the government is run and such. He has no other home to go to, and I will NOT leave him with Sirius in that house until we return. I don't he would enjoy that all. And I'm sure Sirius would not like the invasion of his privacy. We're already invading his privacy enough."

Dumbledore looked taken aback for a moment. "Of course, my dear. He may come to Hogwarts, I'll have the house-elves prepare a private room for him. Anything else?"

"We have all come to a collective decision that Serpens will be transferring to Hogwarts this year. I've been without my twin for almost 15 years now, I'd like to get to know him and this way it will be easier for the goblins to contact us and set up meetings."

"Very well. He should contact Lucius Malfoy to get all the paperwork set up."

"Thank you, Professor. We should probably head back to the Order house, don't to have Mrs. Weasely send out a search party for us."

Dumbledore smiled and Kingsley looked to be holding back laughter. Tonks' hair had turned into a bright yellow as she giggled. Severus just rolled his eyes and smirked. "Yes, I think so Miss Potter."

They walked out to the alley once more before apparating away to just outside Number 12 Grimmauld Place.

Serpens was sitting stiffly at the table, sandwiched between Fred and George Weasely. They kept asking really personal questions, questions that he had to improvise answers too on the spot. Finally, Aquila took pity on him. "Fred and George Weasely, do stop bothering him and let him eat," she giggled. "We can talk later in your room if you'd like."

Fred and George thought for a moment before nodding. "That sounds agreeable, fair maiden," they responded in unison.

When dinner was done, Aquila pulled the twins aside as the kids were told to go upstairs. "I have a question for you two, one that is very important."

"Ask away then," they responded.

"Do you trust me?"

Fred and George looked at each other in confusion. "Of course we trust you. We'll always have your back, Aquila. What is this about?"

Aquila noticed that Ron was listening in, trying to be discreet but failing miserably. "Not here, we'll talk in your room."

Fred, George, Aquila, and Serpens walked to the Weasley twins' room and as soon as the door was shut, it was sealed tighter than a Gringotts bank vault. "Fred, George, we have something huge to tell you," Aquila began.

"I am not actually Aquila's twin, not by birth anyway. I was originally Tom Marvolo Riddle, born on December 31st, 1940. But today I am known as Lord Voldemort. In my youth, I had found a book describing a rare, dark bit of magic called a Horcrux. It was a way to split my soul and hide the pieces in an ordinary object. I made seven. Aquila herself is one. The night I went to kill her, I was thwarted by an old ritual Lily Potter had found. It made it so I could not hurt Aquila, as the power was in her blood. When the killing curse rebounded off her and hit me it split my soul and part of it attached itself to her. That was just the beginning of a piece of complicated soul magic that even I do not fully understand. In the graveyard at the end of the last school year, I had used some of her blood in the ritual to give myself a body. In doing so, I shattered the protection Lily had put in place, and when it shattered it fractured her soul as well. My guess is that the protection was in her soul as well, and when it was stripped from her, it ripped apart her soul like a piece of paper. When I, in my newborn bravado, touched her forehead to prove that I could, the piece of her soul was absorbed into mine. Our souls are now entwined with each other. We are called Soul Twins, very rare and very different from magical twins such as yourself."

Fred and George sat there for a moment, glancing between Aquila and Serpens. "So, what does this mean for the war that Dumbledore thinks is coming?"

"There will still be a conflict, just not a violent as I had originally planned. The reason I started the Blood War was because muggles, and muggle-borns by proxy, are destroying magic. By removing and banning rituals for certain magical holidays, such as Samhain and Yule, we have started to lose magic. On top of that, a lot of magic comes from the Earth, and muggles are continuing to trash it. There is so much that needs to be fixed, but Aquila made me realize that violence is not the way to go about it. I will still be recruiting people to our cause, but we will not be called Death Eaters anymore. I will be removing the mark from every single one of my followers, and we will take up a new name, one that I have yet to come up with. Aquila will have her own branch, and I shall have mine."

"I know this is a lot to take in," Aquila spoke up from the floor where she was leaning against the wall. "I would like for you to be part of my Court, Misters Weasley. You have proved loyal to me, despite house prejudice and media slandering. And you're bloody brilliant. You should really push yourself more in classes. I'm sure Professor Snape would have a heart attack if you got an O on your Potions NEWTs."

Before Aquila could even process, Fred and George were kneeling before her, huge grins on their faces. "Of course! We pledge ourselves and our services to you, our Lady."

Aquila giggled. "Well, in that case, you are my first Knights of the Court. We shall come up with your codenames later. For now, there are a few other things you should know. Firstly, myself, Serpens, and Dudley are heirs to long lost lines. I am Heir to House Le Fay, Serpens is Heir to House Merlin, and Dudley is Heir to House Pendragon. On top of that, between Serpens and I, we literally own Hogwarts. We will use that to our advantage. For now, I will be going by Lady Slytherin in any official missives, but to all of those in my Court shall know me as Lady Lefay. When we go out to get all of our school supplies, I suggest you find a way to talk with the goblins about getting an inheritance test done. You may find some surprises."

"We will, Lady Slytherin."

Sirius glared at Serpens suspiciously. There's no way that he was Lily and James' son. He would have remembered. Even with Snape saying the information was under the Fidelius as well as Unbreakable Vows, he still would have known. He needed to talk with Aquila, make sure she was okay and not under some sort of curse. So, of course, he went to talk with her after the Order meeting was done. "Hey Padfoot, do you need something?"

"I want to make sure you're okay. I don't trust Serpens, there's no way he's actually your twin. I would remember, I would know! What's going on?" Sirius demanded, panic creeping into his voice.

"Sirius, you may want to sit down. There is a lot I have to tell you and you have to promise to trust me. Please."

Ronald Weasely was jealous and angry. Aquila was completely ignoring him in favor of her newfound twin. She was his, no one else's. He would win her over eventually, and then all of her money would be his. He'd finally have the power to deal with people like Malfoy. Stupid prat stole her from him. And that was not something he could stand. So, he did something he told himself would be a last resort. He took a love potion from Fred and George's stores when he went to talk with them about what to expect from his OWLs year. He wouldn't use it right away, no that was stupid. He'd slip it into some treacle tart and then send it to her while they were at Hogwarts. Ron grinned maliciously as his plan came together.

A/N: Well, that's the chapter folks! It was pretty much an information dump, sorry about that. I've had all this stored in my head for a while and I needed to get it out before I eventually forgot about it. Everything in this chapter was planned out, except the bit out Ron. That just kinda… wrote itself. I'll be working on the next chapter and I'll try to post it soon. Also, if you've read some of my other works, I'll hopefully be updating those soon as well. Thanks to all those that followed, favorited, and reviewed! I really hope you liked this chapter! Much love guys!