A Potter Secret

A Summer of Fun

          Sirius smiles as he, Remus, Isabella and Severus stand in Grimmauld place. It's been three weeks since Sirius was cleared of all charges and since then, the four of them had spent every waking moment together. Originally, Severus only tagged along to ensure Isabella's safety but after a few days, started to be friendly towards Sirius and Remus. They've renovated the entirety of Grimmauld place. It's colorful, full of life and best of all, they'd figured out how to remove most of the portraits.

It took a lot of power for each portrait to be removed. Isabella would work for over an hour on each portrait, unbinding it from the wall. They'd all listen to the screaming for hours before they'd all been brought down. Each day, Sirius smiled a little brighter. He once vowed never to return to his childhood home; now he'd happily return.

Kreacher had made his presence known minutes after their original arrival, yelling at Sirius and the others. It took less than a minute to figure out what was wrong with him. "Sirius, why do you allow this to continue? Why did your family torture this elf so?" Severus demands.

Sirius looks at Severus, confused. "What on earth are you on about?" Sirius replies.

Severus rolls his eyes and turns to Isabella. "Remove the spells on this elf, he is required to respond to you," Severus reminds.

Isabella nods, pulling out her wand and removing the spells. Kreacher collapses after a moment. Years fade off of his image and he seems to straighten out. When Kreacher awakens, it's like he's a whole different person. Dobby joins the house of Black, binding himself to Isabella.

Andromeda and Nymphadora Tonks come to visit just after the renovations, amazed at the improvement. "How'd you get rid of it all?" Tonks asks. "This place looks brand new."

Andromeda nods. "What happened to never returning?"

Sirius shrugs and looks around. "I am the head of the Noble and Most Ancient house of Black; it's fitting that I benefit from the ancient wards. I plan a lot of changes for the house and I wanted to let you in on it all."

Tonks scoffs. "Why? To rub our noses in the face that our line was disinherited?"

Sirius smiles as Isabella pulls out some papers and hands them to Andromeda. "Tonks, you know Isabella already. Andromeda, as you know, you took an oath before ever entering this house. I'd like to introduce you to the reason behind this. This is Isabella Angela Potter, daughter of James and Lily Potter." Andromeda's eyes widen but she stays quiet. "As you know, my soulmate is Remus and because of his condition and my time in Azkaban, we are highly unlikely to have children. I have since named Isabella as my heir, should anything happen to me."

"I've ran the Potter and Black houses for a few years now," Isabella continues. "I've looked into the actions of the past few decades. If you agree, we'd like to make you a member of this house once more. You're a part of this family and I've found no sound reasoning as to why you were disinherited."

"I married a muggle-born," Andromeda replies. "That's all the reasoning they needed."

"Lucky for this house, the new head has no such prejudices. If you'd just read and sign here, you'll be a part of the family again!" Sirius spits out.

"Sirius!" Isabella reprimands. "Obviously his manners were never quite as developed as they should have been."

"I didn't like all the pure-blooded requirements," Sirius argues.

"There's a difference between pure-blooded requirements, as you put it, and manners," Remus replies. "James had perfect manners and just chose not to use them most of the time." He turns to Andromeda and smiles politely. "I'm sorry, we're still training him on how to be patient."

Tonks barks out a laugh, quickly silenced by her mother. "We would gladly accept your offer but before we do, what strings are attached?"

"Something very simple," Remus assures. "As you know, Isabella has been kept secret for years. This coming school year, we had hoped to let Isabella be a known member of the school. She'll be under the story that she is Sirius' daughter that was left on your doorstep as a baby barely a day old. It is known by certain people that you did not full believe Sirius was guilty. The story goes now that Sirius has been released, it is safe for her to be known as the heir to the Black family. You asked Severus to care for her when you were unable to because of work or whatever reason you'd like to tell. To help her adjust to life before she attends Hogwarts as a student, she is going to stay at Hogwarts and interact with people around her age range. You will not have to do anything except be willing to hide her. As you were, at one point, disinherited by the family, it makes you ineligible as heir, as with Tonks. Tonks' children would be able to inherit but not her. You just have to tell people this story if they come to ask you."

Andromeda smiles. "Then I'll be inclined to sign the papers. It is obvious this is well thought through. If I may ask, who came up with this plan cause it surely wasn't Sirius."

Before Sirius can say anything, Isabella put a hand over his mouth. "I came up with the plan, Papa dealt with some of the finer details," Isabella replies. "I have taken my N.E.W.T.s and have achieved a mastery in all subjects available." Andromeda's eyes widen in surprised. "Academically, I am set for life, but I only have a few friends. Socially, I am behind a few years. I've become rather good at plotting, though."

They all chuckle softly before signing all the papers and officially add Tonks and Andromeda back to the Black family.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Isabella spends the rest of the summer anticipating the moment she'd get to go to Hogwarts and be known to the other students. Even if not as herself, she'd be there and talking to other people. It's so exciting. She decides to surprise her friend her first day there. Isabella plans everything out as she packs up the night before returning. Grandpa Dumble and Grandma Minnie promised to make it a very special welcome for her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The night before Hogwarts starts, Isabella stands with Severus, Sirius, and Remus. She's nervous as she walks through the halls once more. Everything will be different tomorrow. "Isabella," Severus starts. "This is going to be a big change for you." Isabella nods as she looks around. "You will still be staying with me but you need to be careful of those you associate with."

Remus nods. "You can't reveal yourself, Isabella. That means you can't just spend time with Harry and his friends. You need to try to be friends with people in other houses."

Isabella nods. "I believe we have something that may help with that," Dumbledore calls as he walks into the great hall with Minerva. She carries the sorting hat in front of her. "I believe it's only fair that you are given a home and family in one of the houses."

Smiling as Minerva places the Sorting Hat, Isabella listens carefully for any word- any sign of where she'll be. The hat starts to stutter after a few moments. "What's wrong?" Albus asks.

The hat looks up at him. "I can't place her."