OOP: The Inheritance?

[mongo62aa]

No: HPFGUIDX 65784

Spoiler Space
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I must assume that the wizarding world has strict inheritance laws, 
otherwise Mrs. Black would never have let Sirius inherit.  My guess 
is that Sirius, as Mr. and Mrs. Black's sole living son, was 
considered to be first in line for the Black legacy, and Mrs. Black 
could not change that.

If only males inherit, then the new owner is either Sirius's 
paternal cousin Narcissa Malfoy's son Draco, or Sirius's maternal 
cousin Molly Weasley's oldest son Bill. (the Black family tree is 
found at http://www.hp-lexicon.org/black-family-tree.html)

If the nearest relative, regardless of sex, inherits, then the new 
owner is likely to be one of Sirius's four (known) cousins: 
Bellatrix Lestrange, Narcissa Malfoy, Andromeda Tonks, or Molly 
Weasley.  I do not know who is oldest, and therefore most likely to 
inherit, but Molly's oldest child Bill is quite a bit older than 
Nymphadora or Draco, so I suspect that she may inherit the Black 
estate.

Bill