Chapter XI

It was the sharp tang of sea salt that roused Harry from his sleep; that and the cold nose sniffing along his face. He groaned and pushed it away, pulling the blanket over his head. He was for too warm and comfortable to get up now. He just wanted to go back to sleep. Sleep was where nothing was required of him and where no one screwed around with him. This time, the cold nose worked its way under the blanket and pressed against the back of Harry's neck insistently. Harry's eyes snapped open as he scrambled up with a bloodcurdling yell. He glared around until he found himself looking at a young Crup that looked up at him with wide innocent eyes. He glared at it malevolently until he pointed to the cracked door imperiously. The Crup bounded out, probably to find yet another victim.

"Bloody hell," Harry muttered as he opened his trunk and dug out a shirt to put on. "I don't need that in the morning."

He put on the slippers he had been given last night and walked out into the wood floored hallway. There was pure silence for only a moment until a string of venomous curses streamed from what he could only take to be Snape's room. The Crup darted out a few seconds later, looking at him pleadingly. Harry smiled and picked it up.

That was when Snape appeared at the door. Harry looked over his Potions professor. His 'greasy' hair didn't look so greasy now; rather it was soft and rumpled haphazardly with sleep. He was also shirtless, chest heaving slightly with anger, directed at the Crup in Harry's arms. To complete the image in front of him, Snape was wearing black silk boxers with snakes stitched on and enchanted so they wriggled in a highly suggestive and rather ludicrous manner. Harry felt his face go red, though if it was from amusement or embarrassment, he couldn't tell. If Snape was going for a murderous effect, he was very far from it.

"Keep that…thing away from me." Snape spat before he slammed the door shut.

Harry watched the door for a moment before he continued walking down the hallway, scratching the Crup behind the ears. "I like you."

The Crup licked his face a few times, making Harry laugh and pull back slightly. Sora had given him a tour of the massive house last night, but he could barely remember anything of what had been said, much less where anything was. He'd been wandering around for a good forty-five minutes when he walked into the kitchen. House elves scrambled around, preparing enough food for a small army.

Harry picked his way through the chaos to the large door on the opposite side of the room. He opened the door with his back, watching the chaotic workings of the kitchen. He could just seen Hermione protesting how much the house elves were working and S.P.E.W would be back in full force. Shaking his head, he turned around and got about the biggest shock of his life.

The dining room was massive. And the long, low dining table was filled with people, save for two spots at the end, close to where Sora and Draco sat. And every single smiling person in the room was still in pyjamas, though some had on a loose robe. Harry froze as the Crup in his arms squirmed, trying to break free. He placed it down on the ground, still looking around warily, unsure of what to do.

"Harry, come, sit." Sora said as she patted the empty cushion beside her.

Harry walked over slowly and sat down on his shins like everyone else. He was acutely aware of every single pair of eyes on him, and, more than likely, his scar. He gave a nervous smile and waved as the Crup came and sat down by in the space between the pillows, curling up against Harry’s leg.

"I see that Cerisette has taken a liking to you," a man with short, spiky crimson hair said with a smile. "Well, we all heard you and Severus' colourful reactions."

Harry felt his face go bright red at that pronouncement.

"We may as well get this out of the way now," Sora said in a resigned voice. "That's my Uncle Shigeru. He's the youngest one; 23 years old."

"Is that even…" Harry trailed off as Sora held up a hand for silence.

"So, that's my Uncle Shigeru. To his left is my Aunt Mai. And there's Uncle Manase, Uncle Park, Aunt Rei, Uncle Hidoshi, Uncle Hideoshi, Aunt Yuki, Aunt Yukiko - she was named after obaasan, Uncle Tanaka, Uncle Takeshi, and Aunt Sora - I was named after her. They're from my grandfather's second marriage to Yukiko. Now, continuing along, there's Aunt Yuriko, Uncle Kyo, Uncle Kaoru, Aunt Kaede, Aunt Yuhiko, Uncle Ichiro, Uncle Shinji, Aunt Usagi and finally Aunt Park who's sitting beside Draco."

Harry simply sat there in bemusement, waving slightly at each person Sora introduced; they waved back in turn and gave inclined their heads politely. "That's a lot of names to remember. And an awful lot of children…"

"Look at it this way Harry; we're the people who will spoil you rotten each and every Christmas."

"Uh, thanks Uncle…" Harry scrambled to remember. "Manase." He was sure his face paled slightly yet again; Christmas shopping for so many more relatives now in this massive amount wasn't a pleasant thought.

"Don't worry Harry," a woman with blue highlights said with a silvery laugh. "We buy you the gifts. You don't buy us anything."

"Um…are you sure about that…" he trailed off, drawing a blank for a name.

"Park; the only girl Park in the family." Park said with a smile.

Harry closed his eyes and shook his head. "This is crazy! How am I to remember all those names?!"

That caused some general laughter to break out for a few minutes. When it settled down, Shigeru looked around.

"Where the devil is Severus?! I would like to eat my breakfast at a decent hour!" Shigeru grumbled. "I have to go to Muggle Tokyo today."

"We know Uncle Shigeru," Sora said. "That's what you were telling us about before Harry came in."

Shigeru looked at Harry critically. "You grew up around or with Muggles?"

"Both." Harry said a bit warily; he couldn't say Draco hadn't warned him.

"Excellent! I’ll take you on a trip to Muggle Tokyo!" Shigeru asked. "Lots of things to see, do and eat. We can go sometime before you leave."

“I don’t-” Harry began, ignoring Draco’s rather smug expression.

"Why don't you take him down to Sabuto first?" Sora suggested with a smirk. "Sabuto is like Diagon Alley, only it's an entire shopping district." She explained, seeing the puzzled scowl on Harry's face.

"I suppose, I suppose." Shigeru muttered before he brightened. "Severus! You certainly took your time! Don't tell me Cerisette put you in that foul a mood." Shigeru didn't leave room for Snape to get in a sarcastic reply as he walked to his seat beside Draco. "All right, bring on breakfast!"

The room was peaceful and quiet, save for the faint sound of the ocean breaking against the rocks and a quill scratching against a piece of parchment. A slight breeze wafted into the room from the open panel as Harry looked up from his massive essay for Transfiguration. He smiled slightly before placing the quill down. He had opted out of a trip to Muggle Tokyo today to finish off this killer essay. Of course convincing Shigeru that he couldn’t go was a monumental task in itself. But five hours of solid work was about to pay off. He hadn't seen Sora since breakfast. All she had said was that someone would come when it was time and then she promptly walked away. He couldn't really complain though; he was managing to get the essay done.

He stretched his arms and yawned widely, eyes screwed shut and legs stretched out, with his feet pointed. When he heard a small 'pop', he looked to see a letter addressed to him beneath a phoenix feather. He smiled slightly as he removed Fawkes' feather and opened the letter from Remus; the handwriting was easy to recognize.

'Harry,

It was a pleasant surprise to get a letter from you after so long. But I do move around a lot, so I'm glad you gave this to Molly to give to me.

I know this letter will probably reach you later, so I hope the Quidditch game went well. You always play an excellent game. Though, Hufflepuff's Seeker must have been hard pressed while playing against you.'

Harry snorted at that; if only Remus could have seen the pouring rain and heard the howling wind. He'd only caught the Snitch by a lucky fluke and gut instinct.

'About the whole Alexandre issue, and why you weren't told earlier, is rather simple. Albus wanted to be sure his suspicions - which he tends to call his 'shrewd guesses' - about Alexandre's wife, Leiko, were accurate or not. Unfortunately, there were all too entirely correct.

If you're living with the de Vyns now, then you've met Leiko. Needless to say, that woman would have handed you over to Voldemort on a silver platter.'

That Harry couldn't deny. But yet again, this was something else Dumbledore saw fit to not tell him, even after fifth year when he had learned of the prophecy and why he was forced to live with the Dursleys. He had always found something not quite right with that explanation he had been given.

'Albus decided that, while living with the de Vyns would be ideal for you despite Leiko, you should live with the Dursleys. The blood tie between Lily and Petunia would protect you more than the many wards on Whytemoor Manor. And you weren't told because Albus, as well as the rest of us, felt you would demand to be gone from the Dursleys - who could blame you - and Leiko would have mobilized her plans much faster than we could counter them. And trust me; even achieving that wasn't easy. Alexandre pulled out all the stops, while Sora, Ken and Dai harassed the Ministry with irate letters and personal visits.'

Harry smiled broadly at that; he could just imagine the hell the four of them had raised.

'And the other reason was that Sirius simply didn't want to tell you about Alexandre. Before you go making any rash assumptions, you should know the whole background first.

James had a strange relationship with his cousin. Not even Albus could figure those two out. He hated Alexandre with a passion, almost as much as he hated Snape, simply because of how involved he was in the Dark Arts - something about that subject really rubbed James the wrong way. But if Alexandre needed help or a favour, then James was there for him - thankfully those were few and far between. You don't even want to know about Alexandre and Sirius. Let's just say I took great pains to ensure that they weren't in the same room together. And if they were, it was more than six feet apart with James and me there. If you thought Snape and Sirius were bad, be glad you'll never see Alexandre and Sirius in the same room.'

Harry gave an amused, slightly sad, smile before he continued reading on.

'James always said that Alexandre should have been in Slytherin, and not in Ravenclaw. And Alexandre's best friends in Hogwarts were Severus Snape and Lucius Malfoy, so you can just imagine how much that rankled James. Alexandre, Snape and Malfoy got into as much trouble as James, Sirius and I; they were almost like the unofficial Marauders, in a manner of speaking. I, personally, never had a problem with Alexandre and didn't tell you simply because Dumbledore didn't feel the time right.'

Harry frowned a little; Dumbledore, the puppet master, again.

'So know you know why you didn't know sooner. I wanted to tell you earlier, but you do have a tendency to simply go off and do things when you get angry. So I decided to wait until this year to tell you, while you were in school so you could think it over. But it seems that Dumbledore has rather beaten me to the punch.

As in regards to the Halloween Ball...well, even I'm not too sure what to tell you about that. I'm sure you understand the difficulties, complications and impacts of being a werewolf can have on someone's love life.'

Harry gave a small, amused laugh at that.

'And please, stay out of trouble this year. I'm getting rather tired of hearing Snape prattle on at our luncheons about 'Potter's sheer idiocy'. He actually does talk about you a lot - in terms of stupidity and curses. If you do go to Whytemoor Manor, do not cross Leiko, whatever you do. I know that must gall you with the freedom you've been given, but please, just avoid her. You don't want to provoke her into doing something. We've only recently found the remaining parts of a Muggle she got her hands on.

If you are planning on going to Whytemoor Manor for Christmas, then write me so I can come and visit you. Maybe then we can both antagonize Leiko. That woman really does rub me the wrong way.

Remus.'

Harry folded the letter back up. He hadn't even given much thought to the Christmas holidays. Better to think about that later on. He picked up the quill, intent on finishing his essay. He'd just dipped his quill in ink and touched the nib to the parchment when he heard the door slide open. He twisted around in his seat to see Draco leaning against the jamb easily, waiting with a patient expression on his face. With a roll of his eyes, he looked back at his parchment. If Draco would remain quiet, he could finish this in five minutes. Alas, he had no such luck.

"Haven't you finished that monstrosity yet?" Draco drawled in an amused voice.

"It's better than writing one for Snape." Harry retorted in a quiet voice.

Draco gave a dry laugh that made Harry look up. "Good point, Potter."

"Did you want something?" Harry asked, the slightest hint of exasperation creeping into his voice.

"It's time."

Harry laid his quill back down. "Where's Sora?"

"With Snape. Just follow me, Potter."

Harry rose and walked out of the room, sliding the door shut behind him before jogging a bit to fall into step beside Draco. "Just where are we going?"

"Do you always have a question?" Draco asked in mild irritation. "We're going somewhere. Leave it at that. When we get there, simply follow Sora's lead. You don't have to say anything. Not that any one of us would even know how to remotely say it."

Harry nodded his head before speaking again. "I ask because I don't want any nasty surprises sprung on me. I have enough to deal with; I certainly don't need some idiot's attempt to befriend me."

The corners of Draco's mouth tugged. "My my, Potty; that's most un-Gryffindor of you."

"How astute of you to notice, Malfeu." Harry said wryly.

"Tell me, Potter," Draco asked suddenly. "What did it? You're more, I dare say, civil towards me."

Harry didn't reply for a moment. "I'm sure you remember my 'brief' tirade in Dumbledore's office."

Draco nodded his head.

"Well, all of it is true in my eyes. Virtually everyone expects me to be perfect." Harry shrugged. "Either that or the simper up to me like fools. 'Can I be your friend, Harry?'" he said in a falsetto. "'Can I be your lapdog, Harry?’; 'Can I wipe your arse, Harry?'." He gave a disgruntled snort.

Draco gave a genuinely amused chuckle.

"I can count the number of people honest with me on one hand. One; Hermione - she's disgustingly honest and tactful with me. Two; Ron - he just says it when he sees it. Three; you - you just hate me and don't try to hide it. Four; Snape - I suppose I rankle him the wrong way, and looking like my father doesn't help much."

"You put me on your stupid pathetic little list because of that?" Draco asked in slight disbelief.

Harry shrugged. "You hate me, I hate you. If you tried to lie about it, you'd look like a complete moron."

"The only reason why I hate you, Potter," Draco sneered with a curled lip. "Is that you assumed and still assume that you're better than me. Besides, who makes such a crappy list like that?"

Harry simply arched an eyebrow slightly. "Yeah, that must have been it, since all Malfoys are humble, open and friendly with everyone."

"We're simply selective of who we pick as friends."

"Crabbe and Goyle?" Harry asked a bit archly.

"I said friends, not goons, Potter. Get them straight. Besides, I’ve more or less left them to their own devices, which means they continually stuff their faces." Draco scowled. "And you wonder why…"

"You know," Harry mused. "When you're not talking, you're not really a prat - just some mild annoyance."

"Likewise." Draco shot back. "This way."

Harry turned around the corner as well, walking through a small walkway before Draco slid another door open. Bright sunlight greeted his eyes as he stepped out into the inner courtyard. The space was rather large, with a paved stone path leading up to a bridge, which went over a small river to a pagoda on an island. Harry walked along the path up to the bridge. This pagoda was obviously older than the house and had been here a very long time. The grey stone was unadorned and gleamed dully in the light. He walked in, surprised to see how spacious it actually was. The interior was smoky, and hazy. The walls were filled with small squares with plaques above them engraved with characters. Off in one small corner sat a bell with a smoothed shortened log suspended by a string a few inches away.

And standing there, in front of a small pedestal, was Sora and Snape, heads bowed slightly, hands clasped in front of them. Draco and Harry fell in quickly, doing the same thing as well. Silent minutes passed until Sora stepped forward and pulled the log back, allowing it to strike the bell. A resonating sound thrummed through the pagoda, making his skin prickle. Then she clapped her hands together three times and left them together as she bowed deeply before stepping back. Snape stepped up, doing the same as well Draco. When Harry's turn came, it seemed that he went through the motions horribly slow. But he stepped back, waiting to see what Sora did next.

She knelt down, sitting on her shins easily. Harry sat down easily enough, but after the first few minutes, his lower legs started to go numb. But he didn't let any of it show on his face. A quick glance at Snape and Draco proved that they must have been experiencing the same thing, due the curiously blank looks on their faces. But Sora remained seated, and so did they. His eyes were wandering around, taking in the plaques and squares. The Matsushita family must have cremated their family members' empty vessels for ages. There had to be at least a hundred successive generations in here, if not more.

It was strange now, but where he had felt nothing, he now felt as if gazes were upon him; gazes of the dead. He couldn't stop the strange, sudden feeling from creeping over him. He stiffened his muscles against the shiver he felt coming. All he could think of now, were the Matsushita ancestors coming through the veil of time and space to welcome in a new member. It was something of an overwhelming feeling.

Suddenly, Sora rose. Harry's knees protested the sudden movement by popping slightly but he didn't say anything, watching Sora as she walked up to the pedestal in the middle of the room and bowed before it once more.

"Obaasan Yukiko," she intoned softly and slowly. "Anata wa shinda desu. Ima, anata wa ikanakereba naranai. Irassharu e watashitachi no sosentachi*."

Sora picked up the urn reverently and stepped forward, placing it on a protruding stone ledge. It shrunk down to a smaller size and Sora drew out her wand and flicked it in a strange sweeping motion. The ledge morphed into a small square shaped drawer and slid into the wall, a plaque forming on the face. She moved her wand more quickly now, as if she was writing something. Characters appeared on the stone plaque, chipping out the name of ' Matsushita Yukiko '. Sora put her wand away and stepped back. The silence returned again once more, as they all stood there regarding the stone plaque. When Sora turned and walked out silently. They fell in line behind her stopping on the bridge.

"Thank you for coming," she said. "I don't think I would have been able to do that with a straight face if I tried it with anyone else. Let's go back inside now. I still have to look over the estate accounts before I go back to Hogwarts and that alone will keep me up all night."

Harry made a sympathetic noise in the back of his throat as they filed over the bridge. He had just set foot on the path leading to the door when he paused and looked back at the pagoda. He could have sworn he just-

"Hearing things, Potter?" Snape asked in his wonderfully condescending voice as he paused as well.

"Yeah," Harry said with a frown as he squinted at the pagoda, his brows creasing. "I heard a voice in there."

"Oh come off it, Potter," Draco snapped. "The only things in there are the ashes of Matsushita family members from Merlin knows how far back."

"Twelfth century," Sora murmured in an offhand, thoughtful voice.

"It's probably just the wind and your foolish imagination," Snape said in disdain.

"I'm telling you, I heard a voice!" Harry said in a curt voice.

"Men," Sora said in a disgusted tone as she brushed past them. "You wait here. I'll go and see if there's anything."

Snap, Harry and Draco stood there, glancing at one another in the awkward silence left by Sora's leaving. Then a loud booming voice blasted from inside the pagoda.

"So-chan!!"

The words were followed by a shrill scream that sent the three of them running at the same time. There was a small problem of them all not fitting through the pagoda doorway at the same time, but a few seconds of squirming made them pop out easily. Sora lay sprawled on the ground while an ethereal figure hovered a foot away, looking at the intently. They all crouched down beside Sora, looking to see if she was all right.

"She's just fainted." Draco said the relief evident in his voice.

That seemed to be all Snape needed to hear. He drew himself up, glowering at the ghost with his most malevolent and livid expression. "Have you lost all manners and wit?! You know what kind of condition she is in and yet you still persist in…do you know what your death did to her?! She…nights…late…" he stopped talking, obviously choking on the words that wanted to fly thick and fast. "…Even in death…." Snape subsided into muttering in discontent to himself as he picked Sora up.

The ghost was an old woman. Her face was wrinkled, but Harry could see that they were wrinkles from laughter and joy. She was rather short and her hair was long and unbound which emphasised her shortness more. She had on a floral kimono with a solid coloured sash around her waist. And on her face was the calmest, unperturbed expression he had ever seen. She turned her gaze from Snape to Harry. She floated up to him and peered intently, as a hand reached out to brush his hair away. When her hand disappeared into his head, she pulled it out and looked at it puzzled for a moment before murmuring to herself.

"Oh yes; I am dead. I really must remember that."

Harry simply looked at her, unsure of what to say. Was this the person they had come to Japan to perform funeral rites for?

"Since you seem to have lost all vocal ability, Potter," Snape's voice was scathing. "This is-"

"I can introduce myself Severus," the ghost said huffily. "I bet death will make you twice as stuffy."

Harry gave something of a high-pitched laugh, as his brain struggled to comprehend just what was going on. He ignored Snape's withering look, trying to calm himself down. He was going to end up in hysterics if he kept this up.

"Well, it is the truth," the ghost said primly before clearing her throat. "You must be Harry Potter; a grandson or other relation to me of sorts. Would you mind if I simply called you a grandson?"

"I suppose." He said slowly. "And you are?"

"Yukiko Matsushita," Yukiko paused looking over at Sora who was still unconscious in Snape's arms. "I suppose I shouldn't do that ever again."

"Sora? Sora, are you going to come out?" Harry asked as he talked through the screen. "We all want to talk to you."

Harry sighed as no response came. Sora had locked herself in her room for almost whole day. When she came to yesterday, she glared at Yukiko, and stalked off to her room. No one had seen her at breakfast today and Yukiko had decided that a talk was finally in order. And Harry felt that it was, but Yukiko wanted Sora there. And Sora was still in her room.

"Sora, please come out," Harry pleaded. "You really should be there for this discussion."

Nothing came from the room this time, and he turned to leave. When the door slid open, he turned slightly to see Sora stepping out, her face pale and a bit drawn. She walked up to him.

"Well, where's this talk taking place? Who's there?"

"It's me, you, Malfoy, Snape, and Yukiko." Harry paused. "Yukiko said she wanted it that way for a reason."

Sora nodded her head. "Lead the way."

Harry started down the hall, glancing at her. "Are you sure you're OK?"

Sora nodded her head. "It's a good thing I can control my emotions more. I would have certainly had another episode. But yes, I am OK; thank you for asking."

Harry gave her a small smile and she smiled back a bit wanly. He stopped in front of a door, with a questioning expression. Sora rolled her eyes good-naturedly and nodded her head. Harry pushed the door open and stepped in, taking a low seat on the ground in front of the table and stretched his legs out. Snape and Draco were seated in chairs arranged around the table. Sora murmured a 'Hello' to Draco and Snape, and sat on the armrest of Draco’s char, balancing herself and looking at Yukiko expectantly.

"Well, Harry brought me here now. What is it that you wish to discuss?"

Yukiko didn't say anything for a moment. "So-chan, what does Leiko strike you as?"

Sora snorted. "I think you'll get a much cleaner version from Draco or Severus. But I want to ask you something: does Mother realize that you're a ghost?"

"No," Yukiko said. "And all the kids agreed that it would be best if she didn't know. I think it would be best to let my oldest daughter believe that I truly am dead. The treacherous child might want to come back and finish the job if she knew otherwise."

"I knew it," Sora spat venomously in a harsh, rasping voice. "When did you have the will changed?"

"Oh, a good month before my 'prodigal daughter' came to visit me." Yukiko paused, shifting her gaze to Draco. "Tell me, Draco dear, if you were the picture of perfect health and suddenly 'went quietly' into the night…"

Draco arched an eyebrow. "I'd be out for blood if I came back."

"Severus?" Yukiko asked softly.

"Make them suffer horribly." Severus said simply.

"Harry?" Yukiko looked at him now.

"I'd make them horribly regret snuffing me." Harry said with a shrug.

Yukiko smiled with delight. "Such good boys you know So-chan."

"Tell me about it. If only I could get them to play nicely with one another," Sora said dryly.

Yukiko's smile vanished as she returned to the subject at hand. "Well, Leiko arranges my end rather nicely and expected to get the family estates here in Mutsu and Ohata. Only, she gets nothing at all. I can just imagine my dear daughter's rage." Yukiko finished wryly.

"I don't think you want to," Snape said deprecatingly. "It's very unflattering for her. Did you die in any particular manner?"

"I was having my usual cup of tea before bed. I thought it odd that Leiko brought me a cup and watched me drink it. But I suppose my foolish old mind wanted to believe she was there from the concern for a mother." Yukiko shook her head slowly.

"Did it taste odd?" Snape asked before Yukiko could start again.

"I normally have green tea. The tea Leiko brought me had…it tasted like old mint. Do you understand that Severus?"

He nodded. "Anything else?"

"I felt rather lethargic after I drank the tea. Like I had been Stunned and couldn't move at all. I could still hear and see what was going on, but I just couldn't move."

"And then?"

"I was lying down in bed and Leiko rose, looking down at me. And then some robed figures appeared in the room. I couldn't see their faces, except for one. He was stupid enough to remove his hood. He…had very small shifty eyes, as if he was expecting some trouble. And they were…watery, fading almost. And he shook a bit." Yukiko lapsed into a long silence.

"Continue obaasan, please." Sora said quietly.

Yukiko gave a deep sigh. "Then Leiko pulled out her wand, said some things I have no desire to repeat and proceeded to cast the Imperius curse on me. And she made me hold my breath. That along with whatever she poisoned me with…I am surprised I managed to hold out for the last five minutes of my mortal life."

"So, why did they have to call in Kuromatsuto for the investigation?" Sora murmured. "Some one screwed up somewhere."

"That would be the watery eyed man," Yukiko said. "He told Leiko that she should have used something else. She proceeded to curse him with something for speaking against her, but he raised a defensive shield and it smashed my teacup. They assumed that I dropped the cup when the poison took hold."

"That sounds like Pettigrew." Harry murmured

"Ah," Sora nodded her head in a sagely manner. "What's the current attitude of the…pure-blood families in Japan?"

"Very anti-Muggle, I'm afraid," Yukiko said mournfully. "And Leiko knows this."

Draco swore softly to himself. "That means she's here to try and get Voldemort a foothold."

"That's it," Snape agreed. "I found it strange that Leiko said she could get him large amounts of supporters in a very short amount of time at the last Death Eater meeting."

"Then it needs to be nipped here and now," Harry interjected. "Before Voldemort can even start to drum up supporters. I imagine that when Yukiko made Sora her heir, that threw a wrench into Leiko's plans. So we have some time. What we need is a general piece of evidence that can point the finger in the general direction of Death Eaters in England."

Snape's mouth curved into a sudden smirk. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a scratched and battered watch, tossing it on the table. "It's quite a shame that Pettigrew lost this in his brief scuffle with Leiko. I always warned him that the clasp was loose and could fall off and incriminate him."

Harry felt a responding grin spread across his face. "And a pity that I found it and identified it as Peter Pettigrew's to the Japanese authorities. They would certainly not leave the matter unresolved, since Yukiko Matsushita was a respected member of the community."

Yukiko gave a rather sanctimonious little nod at that point.

"And it should be me to say it because if Professor Snape said anything about it, it might cause some trouble for him, and we don't want Voldemort to get suspicious. Plus it will probably rankle him to know that it was me who identified it, not someone else. Rather like a slap to the face."

"And of course," Sora said in a humble voice. "I could do no less than to find out all I could about my grandmother's death, so I will be pressing the authorities to investigate the claims that a foreigner did this atrocious act. And demand that the Wizarding community be aware of these persons at all time and know that they are dangerous."

"Maybe you should name Manase and Kaede as protectors of the estate until you finish at Hogwarts,” Draco suggested “And declare backups until all your aunts and uncles have been named. Manase and Kaede are the most pragmatic and frugal persons you will ever meet; Leiko won't be allowed anywhere near your inheritance. And should anything…funny happen to them, well, Leiko will simply be drawing attention to herself and then everyone else will be more careful."

"Undoubtedly, Shigeru will have contacts in the Muggle and Wizarding world," Snape added. "Once Potter's identified the watch as Pettigrew's, he can push even harder for a full blown investigation and make sure that the entire Wizarding and Muggle communities are fully warned and prepared."

Sora smiled as she linked her fingers together. "Propaganda, a smear campaign, framing a man that claims to be innocent but is actually guilty of so many things, thwarting Mother and Voldemort at once and putting two whole nations on the alert. There's never a dull moment around here, is there?"

Yukiko turned to Sora and beamed. "That's because you know such good, clever boys, So-chan."

* - Grandmother Yukiko, you are dead. Now, you must leave. Go to our ancestors.

When Darkness Comes - Chapter Ten || When Darkness Comes - Chapter Twelve