Harry's Lineage

Andromeda had no problem signing the agreement. She was the only one of the sisters who knew who the new owner actually was. She also knew Sirius well enough to know this had truly been his wish and that although Sirius had hated the ancestral home, he didn't want it falling into unfriendly hands that wouldn't do their best to preserve it for future generations.

She was well aware he'd always meant to one day remove Harry as his heir since Harry was already the heir of the Potter Estate and a Seat of Power. Giving him the Black Estate and a second Seat of Power would be placing too much on his shoulders since he'd need to have two wives to live up to his responsibilities to both Estates.

Since both Estates were old power, they could only be inherited by a son. So Sirius had always intended to have his own child but, thanks to being consigned to a living death in Azkaban, he'd never gotten around to doing so. Naming Harry as his heir had prevented the Estate from being destroyed and wasted by the unworthy.

Narcissa only had a few qualms about why the oath was necessary since she certainly wouldn't act against the best interest of her own child. Haughtily she said, "Draco should know I'd take care of his inheritance for him without needing to swear an oath on the matter."

But the goblins had anticipated this and explained the oath was mainly for Mrs. LeStrange who was sworn to serve He Who Must Not Be Named with all that she owned. That would include the Black Estate if she could figure out a way to get it to him. Mr. Sirius Black didn't want his ancestral home and lands falling into his hands given the state he reduced other once proud estates to over his years as a Dark Lord. But it was unfair to ask only Mrs LeStrange to swear the oath. Plus, Lady Malfoy's husband was a known follower of said Dark Lord as well. Was she trying to tell them her husband would be unable to talk her into making a withdrawal for him or granting access to the holdings of the Estate to him? Withdrawal or access he could then easily turn over to his Lord and Master? The oath offered her protection just as it did Mrs. LeStrange. With that phrasing Narcissa knew the oath really was for her protection as well as Bella's. So she signed the agreement as well and gave her oath.

Bellatrix had a harder time as she knew her Lord was waiting for the Black Estates to fall into his hands. She knew her master would have one fit after another when he discovered the Estate was beyond his reach until Draco came of age. But, like Sirius, she'd no desire to see her ancestral home fall into ruin and eventually she was able to force the oath out and sign the agreement. Her master, she knew, had no respect for the Estates he laid claim to because he wasn't a pureblood and didn't understand the reverence his followers held for them. The history in those Estates wasn't his history and so it meant nothing to him.

Only after the agreement was signed and all three had given their oath did the goblin tell the three sisters exactly who the new owner actually was. Narcissa gasped and demanded to know, "Exactly how did that boy come to inherit my family estate. He isn't a Black by blood."

Andromeda rolled her eyes and explained it to her as Bella laughed. As soon as the goblin had named Harry Potter as the Holder of the account it had flashed into her mind how he could have inherited over Draco.

"Cissy," Andromeda said calmly, "Harry is indeed a Black of the Blood. His paternal grandmother was Dorea Black; twin sister to Orion Black who you know was Sirius' father and the heir of Arcturus. Added to his Godfather status that was enough for Sirius to use the old laws and name Harry as his heir until he could produce a son of his own. Since Orion was heir to Arcturus Black who had been the Black of the Black when they were growing up, and Sirius was Orion's heir, that makes your son further down the chain of inheritance than Harry. So Draco was Harry's heir and nothing more until the day arrived when Harry had a second son to take the title from him. And because Orion passed away before Arcturus did, that elevated Sirius to being his heir directly. Since he was in Azkaban, he couldn't produce a child of his own to replace Harry as his heir. But because Harry is a Black by blood Arcturus didn't remove him from the line of succession as was his right. Therefore, Draco is Harry's heir until Harry has either a second son by his first wife or takes a second wife for the Estate and produces a child with her."

Like Andromeda, Bellatrix had always known the Potter Child was a Black of the blood just as much as Draco was. Only Narcissa had failed to remember who Potter's Grandmother had been. She just hadn't let herself think about it since she knew her Lord and master was determined to kill the child. Or die trying to anyway. With that boy's luck, that had a very good chance of happening actually and she wasn't quite sure how she felt about it.

And since Arcturus, who'd outlived Orion, hadn't liked the Dark Lord at all, she had no trouble believing the old man had gleefully accepted Sirius' choice in heir. It helped that young Potter actually was higher in the line of succession than Draco as well. Potter's grandmother was actually closer to the line of succession than her own parents had been. Which meant Potter was closer than Draco though they were the same age. And as those two boys were all that was left of the Black menfolk, of course the estate would go to Potter now.

When the sisters had calmed down, one from being angry and the other amused, the goblin explained the problems Harry was having with Dumbledore and how the old man was attempting to hoodwink the child out of every single knut of his inheritance he could before the boy reached adulthood and how furious he was going to be when he found out he wasn't in charge of the Black Estates. The goblin went into detail, as he'd been instructed by Harry to do, so the sisters would be fully warned as to what to watch out for and just who they knew for sure was benefitting illegally off of Mr. Potter's orphan state. Andromeda narrowed her eyes when she heard her own daughter's name read off as someone taking a monthly payment from the Potter accounts. "Oh, she won't be doing that any more," she announced in a firm, no-nonsense voice. "Not when I'm through with her anyway."

...

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