My final exams are approaching, so for the next week I'm going to slow the updates to once every other day instead of every day. Once the week is over, I'll pick back up with my usual daily posting schedule.

Chapter 11

As soon as Harry stepped out of the Floo and into the hotel suite, spells bombarded him. Harry quickly ducked into a front roll, grabbing his wand as he stood up. He examined his opponent briefly, taking in the sturdy stance, tall broad build, and the position of their wand arm.

Male, and inch or two taller than him, trained in dueling.

Tom entered the suite a moment later, and the man, dressed in black with a scarf over his face, shot a green spell at him. Refusing to be considered the smaller, less dangerous opponent, Harry cast a nonverbal shielding charm in front of Tom while simultaneously incanting a Stupefy at the other man.

"Petrificus Totalus!" he returned, blocking Harry's stunning spell. Harry spun to the left, dodging the binding spell and casting two nonverbal spells in quick succession. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Tom pull out his wand and assess the situation quickly. He looked prepared to join in and help Harry take down the other male, but then he saw something.

The door to Elise's room was open and someone was inside.

He sprinted into the bedroom to stop whomever was inside from destroying the letter.

The man fighting Harry glanced at Tom's retreat, tensing and taking a tiny step in the direction of Elise's room. Harry caught his opponent's indecision and cast an Expelliarmus. The man blocked it in time, facing Harry with renewed focus.

He wasn't expecting Harry to be mere feet from him, having flipped forward while he was blocking the Expelliarmus.

Harry stayed crouched down as the man fired a spell at the place where Harry had been moments before, then stood, bringing his fist up to connect forcefully with the man's solar plexus. His breath left him and he stumbled backwards. Harry reached out to twist the man's wrist and hit his pressure point, but he shot a spell at Harry's head. Harry flipped backward to avoid the Stupefy, landing gracefully and preparing for another long-ranged duel until he had a change to get close-range again.

Suddenly, a shout came from the other room, and the man shoved his fist into his pocket. Harry gasped, lunging forward as the man disappeared, his fingers just missing his cloak.

"Zut!"

Quickly checking to make sure that there were no more opponents, Harry dashed into Elise's suite. Tom was standing over the vanity, putting out a small fire with an Aguamenti.

"They burned it?" Harry asked resignedly. Tom shook his head.

"Not all of it. There's still a piece left at the bottom…" He held it up and Harry stepped next to him, reading the last lines.

…is always a pleasure to correspond with you. I believe you will be attending the French Ministry's Collective Charity again this year? I will be attending myself, as per usual. We shall meet again then. In the meantime, do enjoy Britain!

Oh, and how was the little gift I sent you? Most advantageous, I'm sure.

A.D.

Harry frowned, reading over the first lines again.

"Do you know of the French Ministry's Collective Charity, Harry?" Tom asked, turning to the younger wizard.

"It's a Ministry event that runs for one week, holding several events for a number of charities. Every prominent French noble and official is present. It is the only time that they are all together in one place, and it's invitation only. Elise attends it every year, but she always complains, because it's rare for a foreigner to be present. The invitation would have to come from the Minister himself if Dumbledore had received one…"

"And he's received one for several years now, if we're to go by this letter. What is that old fool doing in France every year?" Voldemort wondered aloud. What had Dumbledore done to get the French Minister's attention? Even he had never received an invitation.

Although, the French Minister hated him for always catching the loopholes in their annual renewal of the peace treaty. He couldn't be played as easily as Fudge had been.

"What do you think his 'little gift' to Elise was?" Harry asked quietly, feeling a sense of foreboding. There could be another plan hidden under the uproar over Elise's love potion.

"It could mean he also helped her gain access to Erodition," Voldemort mused. "Or he could have provided her with the Venomous Tentacula leaves to trade with the Potions Master."

"True," Harry murmured. "Or it could have simply been an invitation to the charity…"

Voldemort nodded slowly, lost in thought.

"Whatever it is, he most likely helped her with her plan to give me a love potion. Come, let's return to the Ministry. I'll need to put this somewhere Dumbledore can't reach," Voldemort stated, tucking the burned parchment in an inside pocket of his robe. They took the Floo back to Voldemort's office, where he tucked the letter into a box behind a small portrait next to his bookshelf and sealed it heavily with wards.

They sat in silence for a short while, each contemplating the reasons for Dumbledore's annual visits to France. Eventually, Harry looked up from where he'd been staring blankly at Tom's desk.

Tom was sitting with his chin in his hands, watching Harry silently. Harry resisted the urge to shift uncomfortably.

"What?" he asked defensively.

Tom smiled, leaning forward slowly. Harry tensed but didn't move away, watching as Tom came closer and closer…he closed his eyes, mesmerized by the moment.

Voldemort grinned, unable to resist the chance to tease Harry, and changed direction to kiss the boy gently on the bridge of his nose. Harry opened his eyes immediately in shock as Voldemort sat back with a teasing smirk. Harry's jaw dropped slightly before he glared and crossed his arms.

"Espèce de séducteur!" he huffed playfully. Truthfully, he was glad that Tom hadn't kissed him yet. While he'd been ready for it during the moment, he wasn't sure how he'd feel after. It was only a kiss, but…well, what if he was bad at it? He had no experience!

Tom's smirk softened and he leaned further back in his chair.

"That was impressive dueling earlier, Harry. I didn't get to see the end, but I have a feeling you were winning before they portkeyed away."

"Thank you," Harry said, smiling slightly. "I was tutored in dueling, but I learned to incorporate the hand-to-hand combat when I was living in Hungary. It was probably the longest Elise and I stayed in any place."

Voldemort nodded, watching Harry intently.

"It's quite effective. I might propose the style to the Head Auror and have him teach it to the new recruits…" he murmured thoughtfully.

"Maybe I'll teach it to Sirius…I'll be moving into Lautus Manor with him this weekend," Harry mused, imagining what it would be like to duel against an Auror.

"Speaking of, what are you doing on Sunday? I'd like to take you out again, for lunch and…a little game," Voldemort asked. Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Perhaps, if you tell me where we'll be going this time," he stated, giving Voldemort a playfully stern look.

"Why, Harry, do you not trust me to entertain you?" Voldemort asked, his eyes alight with amusement.

"I can't be sure. You are the Minister for Magic, and such a job requires a very serious and strict personality…" Harry teased.

"Oh, Harry, I assure you…" Voldemort gave Harry a heated stare and leaned forward over his desk, Harry bending closer unconsciously. Tom's next words ghosted over Harry's lips, his silver eyes looking down at his mouth before slowly looking back into Harry's.

"I will never bore you…"

Harry damn near moaned. Gods, he wanted to kiss him. He couldn't look away from Tom's smoldering eyes…

Voldemort suddenly pulled back and picked up his quill, examining the shiny black feather with interest.

"But, if you really want to know," he said blithely, "We'll be visiting the Dueling Ring."

Harry instantly forgot about any annoyance he held for the man's teasing. The Dueling Ring was an international center for magical gaming. Everything from simple duels with two opponents to strategic battles and free-for-alls were available in the multi-level gaming complex. And that was only the physical gaming; there were a plethora of mental challenges as well.

Harry had never visited the Dueling Ring because Elise despised games and it was located in Britain. He'd heard of it, though. Everyone dreamed of visiting the Dueling Ring.

For the first time, he would get to duel someone other than his tutors. He was treated the to mental image of dueling Tom, trading powerful spells and trying not to get mesmerized by his graceful dueling style…

Or better yet, fighting a group of people in one of the free-for-alls, with Tom at his back, the both of them synchronized perfectly…

"Well, I believe that Sirius can part with me for a few hours…" Harry stated calmly, running a finger along the edge of Tom's desk. Tom smirked.

"It's a date, then."

Harry stood in the center of his hotel room, looking around to make sure that he hadn't missed anything. His trunk sat on the floor next to him, packed and ready to go. It was Friday evening and Harry was moving in with Sirius today

"Hey, you ready, pup?" Sirius asked, poking his head into the doorway. Harry glanced over at his father.

"Pup?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. He didn't mind nicknames, but it was a strange choice.

"Oh, yeah! Forgot you didn't know…well, I'm an Animagus, you see, and my form's a black dog. So, I thought I'd call you pup. Not to mention, Remus—er," Sirius stopped, glancing away. Harry frowned in confusion. What was he hiding about Remus?

"But I don't have to call you 'pup', if you don't want, Harry," Sirius continued, looking back at his son. Harry smiled and decided to press the matter of Remus later.

"No, I don't mind. I just didn't understand the meaning. An Animagus, huh? I wonder…" he drifted off in thought. Sirius grinned, guessing what his son was thinking.

"We can start practicing on your Animagus form, Harry! But we'll take it slow. When I did it, I was unsupervised and I didn't really care about the risks then. I'd rather you learn it with my help."

Harry agreed, interested in learning what his form would be. Assured that everything was packed, Sirius grabbed his trunk and activated a portkey. Together they were whisked away to the manor Sirius had occupied since graduating from Hogwarts.

Lautus Manor was one of the many Black estates in Great Britain.

It was built with Gothic style architecture and made of dark grey and black bricks. Large arching windows were scattered across the walls and pointed spindles sat at the top of each tower. It even had creepy gargoyles, though Harry was amused to find that they depicted a werewolf, a dog, a stag, and a rat.

Father and son walked through the front garden, kept trimmed and clean by the house elves, and entered the foyer.

"Strange gargoyles," Harry muttered, giving Sirius a sly look. "Wasn't one of them a dog?"

Sirius grinned and slung an arm around Harry's shoulders, leading him upstairs to his room.

"I'll have to tell you all about the Marauders, Harry…those were the days…" he said wistfully. Harry glanced at Sirius curiously, wondering what 'Marauders' were.

As they passed the living room, Harry was astounded to see a mountain of wrapped presents and letters piled up on the coffee table.

"Sirius, what are all of those gifts for?" Harry asked the older man. He still hadn't gotten used to calling him "Dad", but the man seemed to understand this and was not saddened by it. Sirius looked over Harry's head, laughing when he saw what Harry was talking about.

"Oh, those are all for you. It looks like the pile's grown bigger…" Sirius mused, critically examining the presents.

Harry looked at him with a blank expression.

"Pardon?"

"All of those presents are for you from your many admirers," Sirius stated, proud that his son had the skills to charm the ladies—and gents. Harry opened his mouth to say that he didn't have any admirers, but his father cut him off.

"Elise gloated to me when we met at the Halloween Ball that she kept all of your gifts for herself. Now that she's out of commission, there is no one stopping you from receiving them." Sirius squeezed Harry's shoulder affectionately.

"But…" Harry gaped at his father in astonishment. "But I don't want any gifts from people that I hardly know…"

"Don't worry about it, pup!" Sirius laughed good-naturedly at Harry's overwhelmed expression. "In Wizarding custom, if an admirer sends a gift, they never expect anything in return—which is how Elise got away with hiding them from you. You can do whatever you want with them."

Harry frowned and after a moment of thought, decided that he would open them all later. He flicked his wand and the gifts levitated behind him, following he and Sirius as they continued up the stairs.

"What were you saying about these…Marauders?" Harry asked, their shoes echoing on the black marble floor.

"Well," Sirius began in a regal voice. "When your dear ole' dad was in school, he was part of a group of four Gryffindors. Now, this group abided by Hogwart's school rules perfectly, only breaking them…once every other day for a prank." Sirius' voice became animated as he continued. "And not just any silly prank you can get from Zonko's joke shop—but creative, innovative, genuine pranks! Oh Merlin, pup, we were legends! One time, we spelled all of the portraits in Dumbledore's office to make a pun about lemons every time he ate a lemon drop! Dumbledore loved it, but the portraits were furious with us."

"Albus Dumbledore? He was the Transfiguration professor, right?" Harry asked, interested in any information he could get on the suspicious old man.

"Yes, he was. How did you know that?" Sirius asked, opening the door to Harry's bedroom. It was large and open, with a floor-to-ceiling window on one wall and a color scheme of warm creams and dark browns.

"Tom told me…" Harry said, entering his new room. "He said that he was the Deputy Headmaster when he was in school. Why did he never become the Headmaster, if he was older than Severus?"

"Well, I'm not exactly sure…he turned down the position when the old Headmaster had died and Snape took it instead. He retired after that, for some reason…Nobody can really understand how he thinks; he's a bit eccentric," Sirius joked, opening Harry's trunk and spelling the clothes into a cherry wood dresser.

"You'll have to get all your other things from the Château later…I wonder what's going to happen to it, now that Elise is lock away…" Sirius muttered, closing Harry's trunk and sending it into the closet.

"Oh, her vaults and estates will just stay frozen until she is discharged from Azkaban," Harry said distractedly, putting his gifts onto the desk next to the window.

His suspicions about Dumbledore were rising to even greater heights. Just what was that man planning? Having contact with the French, turning down the position of Headmaster after being Deputy Headmaster for years, retiring from his teaching post...to do what, exactly? Preside over trials as Chief Warlock? Surely that wasn't a full-time job…

"Speaking of vaults, we need to visit Gringotts and set up a trust vault for you," Sirius spoke, breaking Harry from his thoughts. The boy's green eyes lit up with mischief.

"Oh yes, I have something to bring to Gringotts, anyway…a useless hunk of gold that they can melt and do with as they wish."

Sirius and Harry visited Gringotts later that evening. They left an hour later, Harry still grinning slyly from the sight of that hideous M-shaped portkey melting into a gold brick. As they strolled down Diagon Alley, they passed the entrance to Knockturn Alley. Harry glanced curiously down the dark street and saw something strange.

James Potter was leaving a tiny, run-down shop further down the alleyway. As Harry watched, the Auror shoved something into his robe pocket before tugging on his hood. Harry's eyes lingered on the man's pocket, wondering what he was doing in a shady shop in Knockturn.

"Oh hey, let's get an ice cream!" Sirius exclaimed suddenly, dragging Harry in the direction of Florean Fortescue's. Harry's eyes widened.

"Sirius, it's the middle of November!"

His protests fell on deaf ears as Sirius pulled him up to the counter in the nearly deserted ice cream parlor and proceeded to order the most ridiculous flavor.

Harry fidgeted with his collar before forcing his hands to rest at his sides. He walked quietly next to Sirius as they traversed Grimmauld Place. Yesterday, after arriving home from their trip to Gringotts, two owls had arrived, one from Sirius' father. He'd asked to meet Harry, who was now officially a Black.

"It'll be fine, Harry. I've made him promise to treat you well," Sirius reassured his nervous son as they turned a corner and reached Orion's study. He knocked once before entering. Orion sat at his desk, glancing over his latest Gringotts vault statement. He looked up as the two entered.

"Father, I'd like you to meet Harry, my son," Sirius introduced the curly-haired teenager to Orion. The stern Head of House looked Harry over with a critical eye, taking in his tasteful clothes, refined appearance, and confident stance. Orion smirked at the boy; he was a Black, indeed.

"Orion Black," the man introduced himself and shook his grandson's hand. He inwardly grimaced. 'Grandson'; it made him feel so old…

"It is a pleasure to meet you…Mr. Black," Harry finished, obviously catching on to Orion's hatred for the title "Grand" anything. One would think that it would be brilliant being called grand, but not in this case. His ridiculous son had a teenage child. Salazar, he could hardly think of Sirius as anything but a child! But the boy seemed to have a level head on his shoulders, so Orion wasn't too worried.

"So. Tell me about your relations with the Minister, Harry," Orion said with a mischievous glint in his eyes. Harry inwardly groaned. These Black men were all the same! Like father, like son…

Though, Harry supposed that he should keep such an observation to himself. He had a feeling that the two men wouldn't be pleased to hear it.

As the meeting continued, Orion proceeded to pry Harry of any and all details pertaining to his relationship with Tom. The poor boy was tomato red throughout the entire conversation. Usually, Harry could keep his expressions under control, but there was just something about Tom that made him lose his calm. He wondered if he affected the Minister just as much…

He was eventually saved from the embarrassing interrogation when the clock chimed midday and Sirius exclaimed that they had another meeting to attend. The second owl to arrive yesterday had been an invitation to the Weasleys for lunch. Apparently, Sirius had attended Hogwarts with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and they had wanted to meet their friend's son.

Sirius had eagerly told Harry all about the family of redheads and had expressed his wish for Harry to meet them. Harry, remembering the kind woman and her large family from their brief meeting in Diagon Alley, had agreed.

They took the Floo directly from Grimmauld Place to The Burrow.

The place was bustling with people when they arrived. Harry spotted the identical twins he'd seen in Diagon Alley, sneaking around their mother in the kitchen. They each grabbed a piece of chocolate from the dessert and tossed it into the air, catching it with their mouths. Their mother turned around at the last minute, scolding them.

A younger boy was sitting at a chessboard playing with an older man. Sirius approached him first.

"Arthur!" he exclaimed, patting the man on the back. The redhead turned around and stood up from the chess game with a friendly smile, much to the frustration of the younger boy.

"Sirius. It's great to see you! And this must be Harry?" he asked, turning to the French boy. Harry smiled and held out his hand.

"Harry Black," he introduced himself, deciding that it was time to do away with Elise's legacy completely.

"Arthur Weasley."

"Oi, wait a minute. I know you…you're that boy we met in Diagon Alley, that mum fussed over. Sorry 'bout that…" the younger boy said, standing from his chessboard, and rubbing his nose in embarrassment. Harry shrugged; he hadn't minded the motherly treatment at all.

"And this is my youngest son, Ronald—"

"Ron'll do."

"Those two rascals over there are Fred and George," Arthur continued, pointing out the twins. "In the back is Percy, William, and his girlfriend Fleur—she's come to us from France as well, do you happen to know her?"

Harry shook his head, examining the slender blonde. It looked like she had some Veela blood, which would lead him to guess that she was a Delacour. Harry had never seen the Delacours attending any ball that Elise had dragged him to, so he guessed that they weren't a highly social family.

"Ah, well, you can meet her now! I'm sure she'd love to speak with you. I have one other son, Charlie, he's off in Romania training dragons—"

Harry's eyebrows rose in surprise; dragon training was dangerous work.

"And here is my youngest, Ginevra." The girl who had moved to stand next to Arthur rolled her eyes and corrected her name to 'Ginny' before boldly asking Harry if he wouldn't mind saying something in French.

Harry smiled slightly and complied.

"Vos cheveux sont magnifiques, mademoiselle."

"N'est-elle pas stupéfiante? On dirait des flammes…" a melodious voice spoke from his right. Harry turned and noticed that Fleur and William had moved over to stand next to he and Sirius.

"Fleur," the blonde witch smiled, holding out her hand.

"Harry," he answered, taking her hand and kissing the air above it. The eldest Weasley brother stepped up next to Fleur and held out a hand as well.

"Bill," he stated with a friendly smile. Harry shook his hand, wondering if all the Weasley children preferred nicknames. The twins appeared next to Bill, grinning from ear to ear.

"Gred—"

"And Forge—"

"At your service!" Harry's lips twitched as he wondered what was more amusing, their nicknames or their simultaneous speech. Percy simply nodded regally from the back of the group.

Mrs. Weasley bustled through the group surrounding Harry and placed her hands on his shoulders.

"Hello, dear!" she said, giving him a warm smile. "I thought I recognized you; you didn't run into anyone else in Diagon, did you?"

"No," Harry said, giving a small smile. "I'm not usually that dazed."

Molly nodded before announcing that lunch was ready and leading them all to the table. Harry sat with Sirius on his right and Fred and George to his left. The lunch was delicious and lively, with the twins making jokes; Fleur happy to converse with someone who could understand French; and Ron and Ginny bonding with Harry over Quidditch.

As dessert finished, Harry caught the end of Bill's conversation with Arthur about the strange artifact he'd been working with at Gringotts.

"You're a Curse Breaker?" Harry asked, curious. "What is it like to work with Goblins?"

"Well, we are talking about a different breed of being. They're extremely prideful creatures, but clever as can be. Goblins don't often get along with wizards, but they are good employers," Bill answered.

"Not to mention the perks," Fred said, grinning. George leaned in close to Harry, whispering conspiratorially.

"Fleur's got a job at Gringotts as well, to improve her English." He winked while Harry tried not to smile.

The family mingled at the table for a bit, before Ron stood and announced that it was time to play some Quidditch.

"Wanna play? We've got brooms in the back," Ron asked Harry. The French boy nodded, remembering how fun the game had been when Sirius had taught him.

"Great! Now we've got an even number!" he gestured for Harry to follow him out into the yard, where brooms were stacked against the house.

For he rest of the afternoon, Fred, George, and Bill played against Ginny, Harry, and Ron.

Harry's team won all three games.

Zut – damn

Espèce de séducteur – you tease/flirt

Vos cheveux sont magnifiques – your hair is beautiful

N'est-elle pas stupéfiante? On dirait des flammes… – Is it not stunning? Like fire...

A/N: Dumbledore was never the Headmaster, but I imagine that he had several portraits in his office anyway, to which he would ramble on and on about the wonders of a pair of warm socks. The Dueling Ring is modeled after things like laser tag and paintball and many other games (there's several levels). Anyway, I plan to have Harry and Tom fighting together and coordinating beautifully for their second date. I hope that it will show a bit more of their skills and be a bit less cheesy than their first dinner date…

Pieces of Harry's conversation with Bill, Fred, and George have been borrowed from The Order of the Phoenix.