The Eagle and The Snake: A Tragic Love Story

45. Inheritance

Neither Luna nor Carly could sleep that night.
And it wasn't because of the burning on their arms, but the knowledge that everything had changed.
Voldemort's return was now publicly known, and the dark mark on their arms, branded them forever, as death eaters.
They had chosen their side, and now there really was no going back.

Dumbledore collected both girls the following morning, and brought them back to Hogwarts.
They immediately headed down to the hospital wing, to check on their friends, who had been injured during the battle at the Ministry.
Hermione and Ron had gotten the most badly hurt, but Madam Pomfrey was sure that their injuries were no longer life threatening, even if they were now scarred for life. Which made the girls feel slightly better, knowing that they hadn't been responsible for seriously injuring their friends.
Another inhabitant of the hospital wing, was Umbridge, who had been rescued from the centaur camp, by Dumbledore.
With her so close, and utterly defenseless, Luna and Carly had been plotting ways to get their revenge on her.

Harry had come out of the fight at the Ministry, with barely a scratch on him, yet he seemed the most traumatised out of everyone, due to Sirius's death, and Voldemort's attempted possession of him.
Whenever someone brought up Sirius, Harry would either change the topic, or leave the room.
He didn't want to talk about Sirius, as that meant he would have to come to terms with the fact that Sirius was gone, and would never come back. Which was something he wanted to avoid at all costs.

Later that day, Dumbledore summoned both Harry and Carly to his office, to talk about Sirius.
"I know that you are both grieving your godfather at the moment, but I felt it was imperative that we discussed what his death means for you both" announced Dumbledore.
"What do you mean?" Questioned Carly.
"Well, you may or may not have been aware, that Sirius made a will before he died. And while at 12 Grimmauld Place earlier, I found it" answered Dumbledore.
"So, Sirius left us some stuff, is that what you are trying to say?"
"Not exactly".

"Just spit it out" Demanded Harry angrily.
Dumbledore sighed, "Very well. In Sirius's will, he left most of his belongings, including 12 Grimmauld Place, to you, Harry".
"He didn't leave Carly anything?" Frowned Harry.
"He left her a few pieces of Black jewellery, nothing else. He wanted the Black ancestral home to fall to you. And since Kreacher comes with the building, you become his master now"
"I want nothing to do with that traitorous elf. He betrayed Sirius. So, he can jump into a boiling pot of water for all I care".

"But that's not fair! 12 Grimmauld Place belongs to me. It is mine by right, for I am a Black!" Announced Carly, momentarily forgetting that Harry was in the room with her.
"Wait! What? Carly's a Black?" Questioned Harry.
"My last name is double barrelled. I'm Carly Black-Potter" revealed Carly.
"How is that possible? I thought we shared the same father"
"We do. James is my father"
"Then who is your mother?"
"I don't have one".

"That's not possible" said Harry.
"I don't have a mother, because I have two fathers. I was born from the love of James Potter, and Regulus Black, Sirius's younger brother" informed Carly.
"But that can't be right. Everyone has a mother. How were you made without one?" Questioned Harry.
"I don't know all the details, since both of the people involved in my conception, died a long time ago, and they didn't exactly tell anyone how I came to be. Since their love was illegal. All I know is that very powerful magic was involved, that's the only information I have on the subject of my birth" admitted Carly.

"But my dad can't have been in love with Sirius's brother. For one thing, he loved my mother, and no one else. And secondly, he was not gay!" Insisted Harry.
"Well, I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but I am the living proof that he was. I've seen some of the letters he sent to my dad, and trust me when I say that they were very much in love" replied Carly.
"No, my dad was not like that. He wouldn't have been involved in anything horrible and unnatural like that"
"Hey, let me remind you that I am also gay, just like my dads. And I will not tolerate you saying anything negative about me and Luna. I will also remind you, that you never got to know your father, so you have no idea what he was really like".

"I have heard many stories about him, and not one of them mentioned that he liked men. Everyone always says how much he loved my mother. No one has ever even suggested that he also loved Regulus Black" said Harry.
"Well, their relationship was a secret, for obvious reasons, so of course no one else knew about it. Even Sirius didn't know, until I told him, and he was James's best friend" admitted Carly.

"Speaking of Sirius, we should get back to the point at hand" interupted Dumbledore, turning the pair's attention back to him.
"Sirius's decision to leave Harry Grimmauld Place, was a smart one. Because Carly, if you were to inherit the place, it might make people start to question your parentage. Sirius was clearly trying to avoid putting you in danger, by leaving everything to Harry instead" continued Dumbledore.
"Either that, or he just cares about Harry, his precious godson, more than his own niece" replied Carly, coldly.
"I believe that Sirius cared for you both equally" insisted Dumbledore.

"Well, I never saw him give me half the attention he gave Harry. When he escaped Azkaban, he made no attempt to visit me, only Harry. And now he leaves everything he owns, to Harry. So, it's pretty clear which one of us he liked best" snapped Carly.
"Hey, don't talk about Sirius like that" scolded Harry.
"Of course you would leap to his defence, since you were the one he liked best. And you're the one who has been left my family home, which rightfully belongs to me" replied Carly.

"The problem is that on paper, the house and all its belongings, are now Harry's. But in terms of inheritance, the Black family home should be given to the heir, which is you, Carly. Which leaves us with a problem, since you both now have a claim to the house" admitted Dumbledore.
"Harry has no claim. That house is mine! Sirius was disowned from the family, so he can't leave Harry things that did not belong to him. My dad was the Black heir, and with him gone, that makes me the next heir. Besides, Harry is a half-blood, he cannot inherit the family home of a proud pure-blood family. It wouldn't be right" insisted Carly.

"It is not up to us to say what is right or wrong. However, blood status may come into play here. As there might be powerful magic involved, which would stop Grimmauld Place from being passed to a non Black, particularly one that is not a pure-blood. Which means that only Carly can inherit the house. However, this doesn't change the fact that legally, the house belongs to Harry" revealed Dumbledore.
"What do we do now then, since the house belongs to the both of us?" Asked Harry.
"Well, you can both continue using it, since neither of you are old enough to live there by yourselves yet. And when you are older, you can decide amongst yourselves, who should get the house. And maybe buy the other person out, to claim the building as your own" suggested Dumbledore.

"It would be easier for Harry to do that, since he has our father's fortune at his fingertips. My father wasn't able to leave me anything, as he died so suddenly, and everything he owned was given to his true born son, and not his illegitimate daughter. Harry took everything that should've been mine, back then. And I'm not going to let him do it again. He can keep the cottage in Godric's Hollow, and the Potter fortune, since he has already taken them. But 12 Grimmauld Place is rightfully mine, and I will not have it any other way. I am a Black, and I will take what is mine!" Announced Carly.

"You can't do that. We have to talk about this first" insisted Harry.
"No we don't. 12 Grimmauld Place should not belong to you. My dad left it to me, long before Sirius left it to you. You can keep the Potter inheritance, and I will take the Black inheritance. That is how it is going to be. And if you try and stop me, you will be sorry" warned Carly, before getting up and marching out of the room, leaving Harry very confused about why his sister was fighting so hard against him.

Carly had chosen her side, and it wasn't with Harry.
She wouldn't let him take what was rightfully hers. Nor would she let him have equal control over Kreacher, as that would put her and Luna in danger.
Because if Harry was also Kreacher's master, the elf might be forced to reveal that both Luna and Carly, were branded death eaters.