Mia inclined her head. "Depending on the bonding ceremony used—which the
Ministry has no control over—a witch bonded into a House is given the same rights as her
husband, including that of his accumulated wealth. If you married the daughter of someone
who wasn't a Death Eater, the Ministry would then be subjecting her and her family to the
punishments bestowed upon you and yours. It would be a public relations disaster. The
media would have a field day."
Sirius grinned deviously. "And it just so happens, we have an in when it comes to
the media."
"That's it?" Theo asked, shocked. "All I have to do is marry a non-Death Eater
daughter, and I can stop sleeping on the sofas of friends?"
Draco raised a brow. "Are you really? Which of your remaining friends, myself
excluded, doesn't own a manor as large or larger than the one you're trying to reacquire?"
Theo waved Draco off. "Metaphorical sofa."
Mia laughed. "Do you have any witches in mind, Theo?"
He shook his head. "Looking to secure one for me?"
"I'll ask around and see about making introductions for you. I do have one idea,
actually. Tell me, do you know what nargles are?"
When the Wizengamot session resumed, those who previously had doubts that it
was being led by Mia had them put to rest when she put forth another stack of papers in
front of Kingsley, Arthur, and Hyperion Greengrass with the Gringotts seal on them.
"When I went missing in 1979, I was presumed dead. Prior to my disappearance, I
added Remus Lupin to my vaults and left him everything. I was recently informed that
when my brother, James, went to settle my estate prior to the birth of his son, the goblins
had been told that werewolves were no longer allowed vault access that wasn't strictly their
own." She smiled dangerously before adding, "A small note at the end of a vault regulation
and taxation bill, written by―"
"Umbridge," Kingsley groaned. "Have the goblins returned the money?"
"Yes, but I request interest. That money was supposed to keep my beneficiary in a
comfortable life in my long absence. Nineteen years to be exact. The lack of that money,