Red dragon

81

"Don't worry, Pup, It's not that scary." Sirius walked him through the ministry.

"I'm not worried. Why would I be worried?" Harry said, eliciting a devious smile from Sirius. "Sirius?"

Sirius put his hand on Harrys shoulder. "Come on, let's get going."

"Alright." Harry gave a polite wave to the reporters. Reporters were always a big part of the war; he needed to be polite to them. Rita would always be an annoying acceptation; he did his best not to be polite to her.

Harry was led through a short hall into a meeting room. It was the same one that he had been in all those years ago; when he spoke to the minister.

It wasn't the minister in the room this time. An old grey man in a fitted suit sat waiting. Two Goblins were stood greyly in the corner.

"You must be Mr Potter." The Wizard stood up to shake Harry's hand. "I'm Michel Wright."

"Hello sir." Harry turned to the goblins. "Hello Mr Malrok, Sir. Mr Griphook."

"Mr Potter, it is profitable a time to see you again."

"And you, sir." Hermione had studied the politics of interspecies contacts in her past life. She had taught Harry and others some of the politeness's of goblin relations. There had been many rebellions due to lack of respect.

"Mr Potter, please allow us to test your blood line."

"Excuse me?" Harry demanded, outraged.

"We must determine that you are, indeed, a Potter."

"But, it's MY blood!" Blood magic was a dangerous game to play.

"Mr Potter sir." Malrok took a step forward. "This is an old magical process. The blood will be tested and then burned. We swear, your honour is safe." The goblins gave Harry the respect he gave them. "I have seen many of your family go through this process, myself. Have my assurance."

Harry nodded and looked to Sirius who nodded back. "Okay. Thank you, Mr Malrok."

"Wonderful." Mr Wright nodded. He brought out a knife with an unnerving smile. "You need just a drop of blood. Take it from where ever you like."

Harry looked down at the knife, he then lifted his sleeve and took it from the muscle above his elbow. There was no way in hell he was slicing his hand open. That would sting.

"So you turn fifteen today Mr Potter?" Mr Wright asked as he placed the blood into a vile of milky water. "Oh, do sit down." He looked up noticing that the two men were in fact still standing.

"Yes sir." Harry answered the man. He and Sirius sat opposite the man.

He swirled the vile and cast a spell on it. "And your guardian is not related to you by blood?"

"No sir."

"Right, well this seems to be in order Mr Potter." Mr Wright held up the now black vile. "Now you are indeed Harry Potter I am required to explain this process to you. As you are fifteen, you are now legally able to be tried under wizard Law. These rules have been in place for a couple of hundred years; you aren't an adult under our law, but you are classed as old enough to make decisions of varying intelligence. This is why, under a few legal clauses, you can be titled as head of your house. Is this making sense?"

"Yes sir."

"Very good." He nodded. "Now, as you likely know, the Potter house is one of the most ancient houses. It claims a direct line from Ignotus Peverall. The old houses have three tests for the heir, before they may claim their Lord or Ladyship. There is a test of Magical strength, A test of Mental Judgment, and finally, a test of Personal Character. These are to be sure you are aligned with your house values. It's not too strenuous, I promise. However, if you don't pass any of the tests, you will have to wait until you're seventeen to try again."

"Okay." Harry had fought Voldemort countless; passed all his school tests. Why was he worried about this? It was Sirius; the man's smile was making him nervous.

"First, the magic." He held out his own wand and a parchment list. "You must cast a spell on this paper. There is no preparation time."

Harry looked down at the list. There were many spells on the list, some Harry knew and a few he didn't. One however stood out.

"I can cast a Patronus."

The man was surprised. This test had been added so that children would have to wait before taking over their house titles. Wright had never seen a child his age able to pass even the first test.

"Alright, let's see this." The man let his own wand glow to test the strength of the spell.

Harry closed his eyes for a moment. He chose a memory; he was on the train heading to Hogwarts. Just a few mounts ago. He and his friends were laughing at a Joke Harry couldn't remember. "Expecto Patronum."

The phoenix leapt from the end of Harrys wand. It flew through the air and into the light of Mr Wrights wand. The glow changed colour and the phoenix continued. It then settled to stand on the table. It acted much like a real bird; Pecking at the wood of the table.

"That is an Impressive Patronus for such a young Wizard, Mr Potter."

"Thanks, his name is Sparks."

"You named it?"

"Don't ask. His father did exactly the same." Sirius smiled. "That's one hell of a Patronus, Harry."

"Thanks uncle Siri."

"Did he pass?" Sirius asked as he reached out and stroked the head of the Patronus. Sirius had already been through this; he knew that there was no way Harry hadn't passed.

"The Patronus seems near perfect. I can't see a problem with the magical signature. All the signs point to you being magically capable of taking care of your house."

Harry was beginning to relax. This really didn't seem as terrifying as he expected.

"Now the judgement test will be taking place through here." Wright took the two men and goblins through a long corridor and into a room. In the room were a set of chairs and a silver guided door.

"Okay, Young man. Through this door is a challenge. The room will examine your mind and create the perfect challenge to test your judgement calls." Harry nodded as Mr Wright Spoke. "Now the Potter family's core value is written as Ingenuity. Do you know what this means?"

"Umm it's like clever, being able to use initiative."

"Exactly. This room will be testing that value in you. To prove you can uphold it."

"Alright." This sounded alright. Just a challenge. He had been around Hermione enough; he had to have picked up something. "I can do that."

"Wonderful. You'll only find out what you have to do once you enter. I'm sorry I can't tell you more, but bravery in the face of the unknown is a good trait to have."

"Okay. I just go through the door."

"See you in a bit, pup. You'll be fine."