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"Then if there is nothing else we need to do here gentlemen, I would like to get started on getting everything ready for the upcoming ritual. I will need at least seven qualified females to assist me." Natasha stood with a slight bow to both men.

Sirius was confused, and before she left he asked a question. "Why do you need seven females?"

"Seven is a powerful number in magic as you know I am sure. To increase the power behind the ritual that is healing an abused child, seven females would be the strongest. Ever had the urge to stare down a mama bear protecting her cubs?" She arched a brow at Sirius.

Sirius gulped and shook his head.

"Exactly." Natasha turned and left the room.

"Do not worry my friend. She is the best you will find. Either in the human or vampire worlds." Caleb remarked.

"I have faith in you all. I want to get to Harry and the twins and explain what is going to happen. I want to get things moving along as quickly as possible. He is going to spend this summer training, as well as when he gets back to school."Sirius stood, shook Caleb’s hand and made his way to the infirmary.

He saw Harry lying on a table with a twin on each side. He briefly gave Harry a rundown about what he had planned. Harry’s eyes became huge."How much time are we talking about? I can’t ask Fred and George to take that much time away from their summer plans." Harry wanted to do this, but he would not have the two men in his life who gave him so much hope and love give up their plans of the future for him.

"Harry. I want to hear more about what will happen before a decision is made. Either way, we love you and we want this to work for you no matter what." George said.

"George is right. Nothing is more important than getting you healed, healthy and trained. There is a war going on, we need all the help that we can get." Fred said.

Sirius turned to the Dr. "Natasha if you will please explain."

" My people have a house in Parque Nacional do Jaú. It sits near where Rio Negro and Rio Unini meet, but is mainly along Rio Unini. It sits alone in a secluded area. It is warded and unplottable. The house is mainly used for healing from injuries that may take longer to heal than one wants if the injuries are extensive. It is not often used, because once you go in you can not come out until the allotted time is up. There is an emergency release of course, but I wouldn’t recommend it. It is very dangerous to mess with time. Now. Inside the home you will be placed in an intense form of a healing coma. By my calculations you would need at least two months to he..."

"Two months!!" The men chorused together

"Two months." Natasha said calmly with a raised eyebrow at their explosion. "Maybe longer. You have to understand Harry you are damaged. Heavily. Your magical core is suffering greatly. It does not help that part of your core is blocked somehow. Not to mention the horcrux. The be..."

"Hang on. What do you mean? Blocks to my magic" harry asked.

"I am not sure how it works in your world. But we have on occasion had parents of wizard/vampire hybrid children put blocks on their offspring’s magic to keep it from being out of control. Especially if that child is very powerful, as their magic could be dangerous. These blocks may be benign or malevolent. I can not say. A complete readout can be done of all injuries past and present before you are put under. Including when the blocks, were placed. I cannot be sure I can allude as to who. But they can and should be removed. From what I understand, you will need all the help you can get to win your war. As for you Sirius, your healing will also be extensive, but I think you may take longer to recover due to your age." Natasha sat back and steepled her fingers together.

"How much time will pass outside of the property?" George asked

"For every week that that passes by in "real time’ 3 months would have gone by for you. I will not lie to you gentlemen, It will be a change for you. But I do feel that this is your best option. Right now Harry, you are so weak you could not fight a teddy bear." Natasha deadpanned.

"Oh gee. Thanks."groaned Harry

"It was not meant as a true insult Harry. Merely a statement of fact. I know of the dangers you face. I have been in three wars. Vampire and human. You need all the resources you can use at your disposal." Natasha stated plainly. "I am going to speak to Caleb. Please discuss this amongst yourselves." with that Natasha stood and left the room.

"Well" Sirius started. "What do you guys think?"

"It’s up to you love. While you’re healing we can put the time to good..." George began"...use as well. Imagine all of the..."...pranks that we could..."come up with."

Everyone turned to Harry. "Harry?" Sirius hedged"Let’s do it. I need it. I feel like Dumbledore is keeping me in the dark about my own life and I am tired of the games. How the hell am I supposed to face Tom Riddle, the craziest evil wizard of the past century, with the standard book of spells year 5 as my guide. Defense classes have been a joke apart from when Remus taught it. I am sure that the stinging hex will only get me so far. The tournament was proof positive that I don’t have all that I need to survive this war. And that is what I want. I don’t want to just win. I want to survive and thrive. I want to build a life with the two loves of my life." Harry finished

"Right then. I will go back to England for a couple of days. I will pick up whatever I think will be useful for our training. And then I am going to put the Order on notice. They are going to know what you went through. I also want to get your accounts and properties in order. If you don’t mind, I would like to assign that job to Remus."

"Absolutely. And make sure he takes a generous salary. Knowing him he would refuse." Harry then gave Sirius a calculating look. "You still owe me an explanation of these properties and vaults.

"I know I do. We will discuss it as part of your training. I am trusting Frik and Frak here to help keep you occupied while I’m gone. In addition to training for combat, I also want you to study your school subjects...hard. How have your marks been so far?" Sirius asked.

Harry shrugged. "Average I suppose. I get by I guess."

"That will not do anymore. From now on you will try your hardest. The Marauders were known as jokesters, pranksters, and sadly bullies at times. But one thing that could not be said was that we were poor students. We were all very highly ranked at school. Your mother especially."Sirius placed his hand on Harry’s shoulder at the look on Harry’s face. "It’s not meant to bring you down Harry, but to let you know what I expect from someone as bright as yourself. I love you kiddo and want the best for you. Alright?"

"Yeah. OK. I know you’re right. It just never seemed that important before. Between what has happened at school, and life with the Dursley’s it seemed that all I was trying to do was not die."

"Well unfortunately Harry, I will have to teach you how to do both. We will get through this together pup. I will be at your side the whole way." He pulled Harry into a hug. He pulled away and stood to make his way out.

"I will speak to Caleb and see if I can’t get you someone to help teach you fighting. Both magical and physical. It is best to have a handle on both. I could teach you what I know, but it never hurts to multiple things under your belt. The stronger you are physically, the more magically powerful you are. Which means kiddo, we need to get some weight on you and build muscle." Sirius pulled Harry into another hug and kissed his hair. "I will do whatever it takes to protect you, and make sure you can protect yourself."

"We all will." the twins chimed in.

Harry felt surrounded by love and protection. It made him even more determined to win this fight. Old Voldy won’t know what the hell hit his slimy ass.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Natasha left the men to themselves, and quietly closed the door. The Fem nature of her vampire blood wanted to make itself known. How dare someone mistreat a child like that! What she wouldn’t give to take a trip to England and pay the bastard a little visit. She sighed. Yet another dark lord. What is it with the human desire to rule the world? Sure vamps had their share of evil people, but they tended to be loners and not try to recruit 1000’s of minions to dominate the world. The last time one had tried, was over 1000 years ago. That war had been devastating. Hundreds of thousands of lives were lost. Since then the ties between clans became stronger. Oh they still had their squabbles every now and then. Honor duels and the like, but nothing on the scale of humans. Both magical and non magical. As a doctor for Doctor’s Without Borders on occasion, she had seen what can happen to the most vulnerable during wars.

The first time she came home from a conflict, in the Congo, she vowed never to return. She had nightmares for months. The blood. The dismembered body of a mother attempting to shield her child was so hard to get out of her head. It had actually sent Natasha into a rage, and she wound up taking out a group of 10 soldiers sent to take out a tiny village of mostly women, children and elderly. She was vicious in her attack. Not one of those murdering bastards were left alive. She had tapped into her shadow magic so that she was able to defeat so many at once. It had been a hundred years since she had done so, and it drained her magic immensely. She had to get out of there. Her innate nature became harder to control. When she arrived back at New Hope, she was a shell of herself and required two years of mental and physical healing.

Natasha brought herself back to the present. She approached Caleb’s office door and knocked softly. She heard him say a short "enter". She walked in and closed the door behind her.Caleb was standing at the window, arms folded across his broad chest, staring out at the jungle that he loved so much. It was a moment before he acknowledged Natasha’s presence. He looked incredibly troubled.

"Are you well cousin?" Natasha asked softly. With a hand on his arm.

"No Natasha. I am not. And at the moment I am having trouble controlling my anger. How is the young one?" Caleb asked.

"He will heal with time. Such a huge burden to be placed on someone so young. And no advanced training to speak of. What the hell are those idiots thinking?!" Natasha practically growled.

"I know Natasha, but The Council has decreed that we do not get directly involved until such a time as our individual territories are threatened. They are hoping that it will be contained within the UK, but we both know that rarely happens. I want to give them the best chance to make it out alive. Combat skills, vampire spells along with human, I don’t care. See that while they are inside the time sphere that we have one of our best trainers with them." Caleb said plainly

"I will see to it. I will speak with Sirius and see what they think they will need to assist them in their mission.

"You always seem to know what to say cousin. I Knew I kept you around for some reason." He winked at her.

Natasha rolled her eyes. "Go meditate. Then I want you to go to your woman for the comfort she can give you. You need the rest."

"Doctor’s orders?" Caleb said with a raised brow

"Doctor’s orders. And you do know what will happen if you don’t listen to me right?" Natasha copied Caleb and raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah yeah yeah you will tell Ayala." Caleb smirked, kissed Natasha’s forehead and walked to a side room in his office that he used for meditation. He walked in put the lights to dim, and began the process of clearing his mind.

The men began to plan all that needed to be done while they were in the "time bubble" as Fred refereed to it as.. They were able to get a make shift potions lab put into the house so that they could study potions more in depth. They were assigned a house elf named Rose who would be able to come in and out of the house without the time difference affecting her. She would be able to replenish the food stores, get supplies, and keep them in contact with the outside world. She was a little high strung, but then again weren’t most house elves?

It was agreed they would spend three weeks at the property. It would give them a solid foundation to start with their training. They could have stayed longer, but Harry wanted to get back to "real time’ as soon as possible. There would need to be arrangements made to continue training throughout the school year. He also wanted to work on his grades. Sirius suggested that they start with going over the previous four years classwork. He admits that he was mediocre at best. That Harry is gone. He would still make time for fun with his friends, but he needed to get a better handle on his life. And getting good marks would be a good start.

Harry sent a letter for Ron and Hermione with Sirius. He explained what was going on. He did not tell them specific details. Only that he was healing and learning. He told them that since they were his best friends they would have a target on their backs as well. He wanted them to learn all that they could to protect themselves. He wanted them to learn physical and magical defensive techniques. He encouraged Ron to hone in on his fantastic strategic abilities. He made sure that Sirius knew to give this letter in private.

Harry looked and felt a great deal better since this whole summer began. He was still a bit haggard, but his spirits were soaring. Not only were the twins by his side showing how much they loved him, but with Natasha’s almost obsessive mothering and doctoring, he was beginning to truly believe that maybe his life meant something. Unknown to all but the twins, he had wanted to end his life many times. The pressure was just to much. Many in the wizarding world only knew the boy who lived. But Fred and George saw beyond that. Harry never got away with saying that he was fine when he was with them. They knew better. They knew the truth that was hidden in those emerald orbs. Harry hoped that this would keep him grounded and to be honest...sane.

With Harry, Fred, and George stocked with food, clothing, potion ingredients, books on just about every subject including dark arts, the house was ready. Sirius also wanted Harry to begin training in hand held weapons as well. They had two more days until they had to activate the time distortion, so they were exploring the jungle around them. Harry was learning that the vampire that was Caleb had a sharp wit and was very easy to get along with. There was no denying however that Caleb would kill you in the blink of an eye if necessary. This had been the best idea ever Harry thought to himself.

Sirius arrived back in England via the two Gringotts branches. He made sure to express his gratitude to all within the Goblin Nation for their quick and expert emergency healing of his godson, as well as his safe passage out of the country. Sirius decided to apparate to number twelve, instead of arriving by floo.

If there was one thing that he remembered from the older men in the family, it was to always show respect to the ones who hold your money. His family may have been pureblood dogma fanatics, but when it came to the managing of the finances, they weren’t completely insane.

When Albus had requested to use the house at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place to be the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, his first instinct was to say no. He had been so blindingly loyal to the cause of the "Light’. So eager to put his name behind him. But what did that get him in the end? He was thrown into a thrice damned hell hole. There was no visit from the leader of the Order, his mentor, who he had been prepared to give his life for. A cause that he had believed so passionately about in his youth.

And he could not even begin to think about how Harry was left at the tender mercies of his loving relatives. But another part of him realized that they would need all of the help they could get, and since it was his house, he would have an ear out for what’s going and how best to help Harry.

He sent a message to select Order members who knew Harry best from school, to meet at Number 12 in one hour. He hoped that the youngest Weasley male would be there, as he was Harry’s best friend. He knew that the boy’s parents were also in the Order.

What Sirius never understood, was the insane idea to keep the children completely out of the loop when it came to the current happenings in the wizarding world.

Sirius was of the mind that they needed to be prepared for what was coming for them. He didn’t want to scare them of course, but he believed that the more information they had, the less likely they were to come to disastrous conclusions and make even more disastrous mistakes based on the wrong information.

Albus and some of the others in The Order believed otherwise of course. They were of the notion that they were just kids...which they were in the technical sense.

But these children had seen more adventure and dare he say violence, that would break the most stout of an adult’s spirit on the best of days. Harry had been marked by Voldyshorts. There was no way around that. It was a very cold truth that many people wanted Harry dead, and being a child did not matter to them. For Harry to go around oblivious to the dangers that are around him would not help him to survive the coming storm.

His biggest problem outside of Dumbledore was going to be Molly Weasley. In some of his letters, Harry described how Molly made subtle hints to Harry about listening to the Headmaster to know what was best for him. That Sirius may not be appropriate for his guardianship. It had hurt Harry, because he felt like he was being asked to chose. The Burrow, had become a shelter from the hell that was life with the Dursleys. He felt like he owed them something. Sirius just made sure Harry knew that he loved him, and that it would all work itself out.

A very large part of Sirius knew that the lack of training, the lack of knowledge of his heritage, the lack of love from a parent all of the years since the Potter’s death, the lack of many things fell upon his shoulders.

Sirius knew he had always been brash and reckless. But James and Lilly had counted on him to be there for their son and he had failed them. He took off after the rat after handing over his godson to Hagrid, instead of making sure that Harry was alright. He should have kept his head, but all that he saw was blind rage and pure hate. For that moment of weakness, it had cost him a large part of his life. And it cost Harry a lifetime of pain.

Before Sirius made it into the house, he stopped outside of the front door. He placed his hand over his heart and bowed his head on the silver knocker on the door. "James. Lillybean. I know I haven’t been off to the best start as Harry’s godfather, but I swear to you on my magic that I will do my best to teach him all that he has missed all of these years about his heritage. To look after him. To give him what he needs the most...love and affection."

"Someone to care about all of the things that are happening to him. I want him to enjoy the rest of his teenage years as best as he can. I love him as my own flesh, but I’m sure that you know that. Just give me a chance, once again, to prove myself to you both." Sirius felt a rush of wind against his face that reminded him of brotherhood and friendship. Followed immediately by the scent of lilies. He was overcome by feelings of love and forgiveness. It would take some time before he ever truly forgave himself. But all that mattered at the moment was that he felt that he had earned their trust and forgiveness. For right now though, he had some people he needed to talk to.

Sirius walked into the Black family home in London. He felt the familiar pull of the wards acknowledging his blood connection to the house of his family. He wrinkled his nose at the smell. He was able to directly access the master bedroom as he had hoped. Sirius was still not entirely sold on taking up the full mantle of Lord Black, he was however prepared to use whatever it took to take care of and protect Harry. Sirius called for Kreatcher.

A pop signaled the elf’s arrival."Disgraced blood traitor Master called for Kreacher?" the old wrinkled elf said it with so much hate and loathing that Sirius almost killed him on the spot.

It did however confirm what he had hoped. He was Lord Apparent of the House of Black. Old Grandsire Arcturus did not get rid of him as the Heir of the House of Black as he had supposed. Sirius was still hesitant.

There were too many memories of a terrible childhood with his "family’ to want to continue the primary line. But was it worth it to give it all up, and hand it to Lucius Malfoy? Because he was 100 percent sure that there were plans in the works to get Draco Malfoy to claim the title of Heir to the House of Black; a thought that made his stomach turn. In the end, Sirius decided that all that mattered was Harry. He looked to the elf in front of him with a cold stare.

"Kreacher. I am recognized as Master of this house now. You will obey my commands, or you will be released from your duties to the House of Black. You will die a quick, but dishonored death among your kin. Decide now." Sirius said with a firm glare at the old elf. The same elf who took great pleasure in torturing him as a child on the orders of his sick and insane mother. It was a sort of sick satisfaction at watching the old elf tremble with fear.

Kreacher was of the mind to just let himself be killed. But he wanted his death to be honorable in the service of the House of Black."Kreacher wishes to serve the House of Black. Kreacher will do as the new Lord Black commands." The old elf bowed low to Sirius.

Sirius stood tall. He looked at Kreacher and tried to hide the disdain that he felt at the elf who had blindly followed the orders of his mother when he was a child.

"Kreacher. This house is not even remotely worthy of the House of Black. I want that changed as of this moment. Get it cleaned and get it done now. Also, you are not to tell any secrets of this house without my permission. I bind this order to your magic. Do you understand?"

Kreacher looked as if he wanted to flee, but he had already vowed to honor the House of Black. For the Lord of the house to bind an order to an elf’s magic was rare after all. "Kreatcher will follow masters orders." He said as he bowed low once more.

Sirius took a contemplative look at his surroundings, and looked again to the aging elf. "Kreacher along with getting this house cleaned, I want it redecorated. Neutral colors and more lighting. You will move all family portraits upstairs to the attic starting with Phineas Black. There will be no spies in this house unless they work for me and the good of the House of Black." Sirius went to his knees in front of the ancient elf and stared at the large eyes on the elf’s head. "I intend Kreacher, to bring the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black to it’s former standing. I would like to remind the wizarding world why we were the house to be respected by most." Sirius gave a savage grin. "And feared by all."

Kreacher almost burst into tears at that statement. Even if the house was now run by the blood traitor son of his poor mistress, it would come back to prominence. "Kreacher obeys and agrees to help master any way he can."

"Go ahead and get started then. I am going to change the Fidelius Charm on this house. The wards should only be controlled by it’s master." Sirius stated. The elf bowed out and popped away.

Sirius sighed and rolled his neck; attempting to ease the tension that lay there. He turned on the spot, and made his way to the ritual room that was located in the study on the third floor. He wrinkled his nose at the smell of mold and decay. As He was making his way up the stairs two at a time, it had finally clicked in his mind that he needed the power of the name Black to protect Harry.

He reached the study door. Hesitated a moment and opened it. This was where his lessons on becoming the Head of house had taken place. His grandfather was a fearsome man to behold; strict and quite stern. Arcturus had always seemed cold as ice to him. His father however was just plain cruel and crazy. He crossed the width of the study, and placed his hand on a bookcase in just the right spot. He felt it prick his finger and take a sample of blood. The bookcase swung to the side and revealed another door. He opened the door of the circular room and made his way to the middle of the room where there was an ornate pedastal of black and silver.

On the pedestal was an ornate bowl that had the family incal carved into it. He removed the knife he always kept on him that also had the house crest carved into the handle, and made a cut to his palm. He watched as the blood dripped into the bowl while he made a fist. He dipped his right

index finger into the blood and traced the family crest.

"I Sirius Orion Black do claim my rightful place as the Lord of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black." At first Sirius waited on pins and needles while waiting for magic to answer him. Then from the bowl rose a mist that took the form of the Black family raven. The raven looked Sirius in the eye and nodded to him. Then quick as a flash the animal screeched and slammed into Sirius’ chest. He stumbled back a bit, but Sirius knew he had to stand still as the family magic judged his worthiness.

And then it happened. Sirius was soon filled with all of the family history, the access to all of the Black family properties, he felt the faint connection to all of the direct descendants of the Black family members through their magic. Sirius had been accepted by the family magic.

Now it was time to begin the changes he needed to make. Sirius placed his hand on the ward stone near the pedestal. "Fidelius. I Sirius Orion Black call upon magic, and the blood of the House of Black to protect this home from all who seek to do those inside harm. I hereby raise the wards to follow the commands of Lord Black only." Sirius dipped his finger in the bowl again and placed a drop of blood on what would be considered the north, south, east, and west points around the bowl. The bowl began to shake and a white beam of pure light shot to the ceiling and began to spread around the whole house.

"I Sirius Orion Black, am named Secret Keeper for all Black owned family properties under Fidelius." Sirius placed a spot of blood starting to the right of the bowl and drew a circle clockwise. He felt the magic surround him, and he knew the spell was complete. Sirius began to heal the cut to his hand when he noticed the back of the platinum band on his hand and turned it over. There on his small finger was the raven and the motto of the House of Black.

Sirius whispered. "Toujours Pur." The ring glowed briefly, and Sirius blew out a breath.

He made his way back to the master bedroom, and saw that Kreatcher had already cleaned it. Oh the décor would have to go, but at least it was spotless. He called for Kreatcher again. The elf appeared with a small pop, his head bowed in submission.

"Kreatcher. I know you have been alone many years and it has been a long time since you have had a proper master. However, I must tell you that our enemies are many and take many forms, and of all blood statuses. Keeping that in mind. No one is to know yet that I am Lord Black. We will let them think that I am only the heir at this time. It is not yet time for me to take my place. I will however do so when the Wizengamot meets in September. With that in mind, I order you not to reveal my true status as Head of House Black to anyone. Whether they are family or not. Until I give you my express permission. Do you understand?"

"Kreatcher understands Master. Kreacher looks forward to crushing our enemies." Kreacher disappeared again.

Sirius blinked a couple of times where the elf had stood and shook his head and made his way to the door that was inside of his room he knew to be the lav. He freshened up in the master bathroom and prepared to head downstairs to the kitchen, where the wards had told him that the others had assembled.

He reached the closed door of the kitchen, disillusioned his ring with Black family magic. He took a deep calming breath and walked into the room. Ron and not surprisingly, Hermione looked to him expectantly and were about to say something, when Sirius held up a hand to forestall any questions from them.

Of course Albus was above such requests.

"Sirius, it was very unwise for you to remove Harry from the safety of the blood wards. You had no right t..."

"On the contrary Albus. I had every right." Sirius produced muggle paperwork and wizard parchment.

"With these two documents, I am Harry’s legal guardian in both the wizarding and muggle world. Just as I was supposed to be when James and Lilly died. Petunia said and I quote "We never wanted him in the first place’. That bitch signed away all rights to Harry. You may keep a copy if you like. I have given copies to the DMLE and Gringotts. Just to be on the safe side of course." Sirius smirked.

Albus made a show of looking at the paperwork, but it was clear to anyone who knew him that he was not happy. "Very well Sirius. You may have the right temporarily, but there were certain agreements that you were to fulfill first. May I ask why you felt it was necessary to do this now? And where is he at this moment?" Though a part of Albus was concerned about Harry’s welfare, another part of him was concerned about the influences that Harry might be around. Albus needed to be sure that the boy was on the right path to his destiny.

"You may ask his location Albus, but I will not give it to you. As much as I tried to get him to not come back, he will return to Hogwarts September 1st as usual. Don’t worry."

Sirius took a seat at the ornate kitchen table and put his feet up. He placed his linked hands behind his head. Much to Molly’s disagreement and everyone else’s eye roll. Kreacher had placed a cup of tea to his right. "Tell me Albus. You are aware that a ritual was used to bring Voldemort back correct?"

"Yes." The Headmaster conceded.