Author's Note: Yay, writing! New story! Again! Those who know my stoories will know by now that unless something is changed dramatically from canon, I won't write it out so if you need more detail, go read the source material and mix it in.
#4 Privet Drive, Surrey
Harry Potter was angry.
He had many reasons to be angry. For one, he was once again forced to spend the summer with his aunt, uncle and cousin, all of whom loathed Harry. For another, his godfather, Sirius Black, had been murdered by his own cousin a month ago.
The death of his godfather in particular was causing him a great deal of anger. Anger at Albus Dumbledore, for not warning Harry that false visions were a possibility. Anger at Voldemort, for starting the war and tricking Harry into going to the Department of Mysteries. Anger at Bellatrix Lestrange, who had landed the fatal spell.
As he lay on his bed in the evening, wondering what was going on in the War outside, he failed to notice the large owl flying toward his window. Indeed, he was so unaware of it that even the owl landing on his windowsill failed to alert him to its presence. Only after the owl knocked its beak against the window frame did he notice it and its letter.
Harry got up off his bed and retrieved a few owl treats for the owl before relieving it of its burden. Its job done, the large owl turned and swooped out of the room and into the dusk. Looking at the letter, Harry noticed the Gringotts seal on the back. On the front, there was only the address.
Lord-Apparent H. J. Potter
4 Privet Drive
Little Whinging
Surrey
England
Confused, Harry broke the seal on the back of the envelope and pulled out the letter.
Lord-Apparent H. J. Potter,
We are writing to inform you that, following the death of your godfather, Lord S. O. Black, last month (18 June 1996), certain instructions of your father's have come into effect.
Please visit the nearest Gringotts branch at the earliest opportunity. If necessary, this letter will act as a portkey to transport you to our London branch. The activation phrase is "Mors non facit nos supplico".
Signed,
Crackfang
Head of Gringotts UK
Harry sat back, confusion warring with curiosity on his face. What instructions had his father left? Why were they only coming into effect now? Harry was very confused. With some hesitation, he reread the activation phrase before standing and drawing his wand.
"Mors non facit nos supplico," Harry said before feeling the familiar hook behind his navel and disappearing from his bedroom.
Gringotts London Branch
Harry appeared in a spacious, albeit near empty, room with a high ceiling. By the only door sat a desk manned by a goblin while two armed goblins flanked the door. The goblin behind the desk waved Harry over.
"Letter," the goblin demanded when Harry reached him.
The teen handed the letter to the small being, who examined it for a few moments before handing it back.
"Wait outside, someone will take you to an appropriate office shortly," the goblin instructed.
Stepping out of the door, Harry found himself in a typical waiting room with a number of seats arranged around the room. Before he had time to sit down, a goblin entered from the opposite door and told Harry to follow him. Harry did so, following the goblin past what felt like hundreds of doors before they stopped before one. The goblin knocked once before opening the door and waving Harry in.
The office Harry found himself in was not particularly impressive. It was not overly large but neither was it small or cramped. A large but simple fireplace dominated most of the left wall while its opposite was completely bare. Directly opposite the door hung a pair of swords and a shield and below them sat a smartly dressed goblin behind a simple desk that was full of papers and folders but managed not to look messy.
"Ah, Lord-Apparent Potter, welcome. I am Senior Manager Viperclaw. Please take a seat, we have a few things to discuss," the goblin sat behind the desk said.
Harry took the seat across from the goblin but before he could say anything, Viperclaw resumed speaking, occasionally glancing at a file before him.
"A few weeks before his death, Lord J. C. Potter came to us with some of the oddest instructions anyone has ever given us. He opened two vaults, one in our name and one in his. In ours, he placed a list of instructions and the key to his own vault. In his own, he placed a single trunk. Since he leased each vault at triple the standard fee, we have endeavoured to follow his instructions. As such, with the passing of Lord S. O. Black, the key to Lord J. C. Potter's vault is available to you and he instructs that you are to be taken to the vault immediately," Viperclaw explained before rising from his seat.
He led Harry past hundreds more doors before they reached the carts to the vaults. Another goblin met them there and handed Viperclaw a key before leaving again. After a short cart ride, they stopped outside a vault Viperclaw called Vault 822. True to his word, when he unlocked it, there was only a key and a piece of parchment inside. Viperclaw took both, folding the parchment and handing it to Harry while taking the key himself. He locked the vault again before walking a little further and unlocking the next vault, which he referred to as Vault 821. Again, Viperclaw proved honest as the only thing sitting in the vault was a single trunk.
Once they returned to the surface, Viperclaw led Harry back to the room he had first arrived in and told him that the letter would return him to his prior location before wishing him all the best and leaving. It was only as Harry felt the portkey activate that he realised that he hadn't had any opportunity to ask any of his questions.
#4 Privet Drive, Surrey
The next morning, Harry sat on the ground next to the truck and began to examine it. After almost an hour, he had still found nothing. No keyholes, no hinges, no sign it opened except the seam of the lid. As he pulled himself upright, his finger caught on a loose nail on his desk, drawing blood. As he pulled away, a few drops landed on the top of the trunk.
Harry's gasp of pain turned into a gasp of shock as the trunk flashed before a set of keys and a note appeared on the trunk. Pain forgotten, Harry picked up the note and began to read the smooth, tidy lines.
Harry,
This is my old trunk. As far as anyone else knows, my work on the Marauders Map and the Animagus transformation are my finest. They are wrong. My parents gave me this trunk when I went to Hogwarts and over the years I've made some adjustments.
The trunk now contains twelve compartments as opposed to one and most of them have a unique purpose. Each key is labeled with a number, corresponding to a compartment and (other than the first one) cannot be found or used by anyone other than me and you. To unlock, simply touch the appropriate key to the top of the trunk. The order is as follows:
1) is unchanged; this is designed to fool others into believing that this is a normal trunk.
2 - 5) are enlarged; you can store almost anything in these compartments without anyone being able to find it.
6) is a fully functional potions lab.
7) contains a living room.
8) is a fully equipped kitchen; I even managed to incorporate muggle equipment.
9 & 10) are bedrooms; 9 is the "master" bedroom and 10 is something akin to a guest room.
11) is a library; at the time of writing, I would estimate it rivals the Hogwarts library although you may want to update it.
12) is a study and training room; the training room was the hardest but it can provide almost any situation you can think up and won't actually harm you (even if it will hurt).
Unfortunately, you can only have one compartment in use at a time. You cannot have someone in one compartment and then open another (I tested this with Sirius before obliviating him). The trunk is also immovable by anyone other than me or you (again, I tested this with Sirius) and no matter what you put in it, it will never get heavier.
On the desk in the study, there are a set of books. These are my journals (which are labeled by year) and notes dating back to before my first year at Hogwarts. In particular, my notes may be of interest to you as they contain information and advice on, among other things, what it means to be a Potter, the animagus transformation as well as rare spells, some of which I invented, some I found in rare texts and some I rediscovered from ancient texts. Note that to anyone other than me or you these books will appear blank.
The only exception is the red book. If another person so much as tries to pick it up, it will cause severe burns and will also emulate the effects of the dementors (to a point). This contains some of my most dangerous research and notes. Under no circumstances should the information in that book fall into the wrong hands. You must take great care when reading that book or using the information contained within.
On a lighter note, the desk in the study also holds a copy of the Marauder's Map. However, I have added a few extra features as well as improving the security on it. It will be explained in one of the later journals.
Where necessary, I've included a set of instructions in the trunk. There is also a portrait of me in the study. To activate it, simply tap it with your wand and say: Mors non facit nos supplico. This roughly translates to "Death shall not make us kneel" and has been the motto of the Potter family since before Hogwarts was founded.
If you are reading this, I am sorry I couldn't be there to show you this in person but I am content in the knowledge that it will come into your possession.
Know that you will always be my son and that I will always be proud of you.
James Charlus Potter
Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter
Heir of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Ravenclaw
Harry stared at the letter in his hands in shock, mentally going over all he had learned from this letter alone. Clearly, everyone who had described his father as a good wizard had seriously underestimated him.
The dark haired teen set the letter aside and picked up the keys. They were small and silver and appeared to be nearly identical to each other besides the small number engraved on each.
Deciding to get started on the trunk, Harry selected key number 12 and pressed it to the lid of the trunk. With a quiet click, the lid of the truck opened a little, allowing Harry to hook his fingers under it and lift it open. With a grin, Harry stepped into the trunk.