Chapter Two: Chestnut Lodge

The Leaky Cauldron was empty for the most part when Harry arrived at the hidden entrance to Diagon Alley. Harry supposed most people were either still in the dark about Voldemort's defeat or had yet to return from hiding, even if they had heard about it. He couldn't blame them. For all they knew, it could have been a trick to lure Muggle-borns out of hiding.

He went up to the barkeeper, Tom, and requested a room for a couple of nights. After stowing his stuff, he headed out back, where he proceeded to tap the bricks and enter the hidden alley that was the commercial center of the wizarding world in Great Britain.

He immediately noticed that, like the Leaky Cauldron, Diagon Alley was fairly empty compared to its usual bustling atmosphere. Several shops were still closed, although Harry was glad to see that Olivander was back in his shop making and selling wands. Madam Malkin's Robe Shop and the Magical Menagerie were also open. Sadly, Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor was still closed, since Voldemort's people had killed the poor man. And of course, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes was currently closed. Harry wondered if George would continue to run it.

Continuing along the way, Harry drew up in front of Gringott's. The damage caused by the dragon when Hermione, Ron, and he broke out of the bank just weeks earlier was still visible, though the goblins were well on their way to having the wizard bank repaired. Harry felt guilty for the damage done to it and momentarily hesitated to go inside incase the goblins had found out he was a party to the damage. He didn't think he could deal with anymore people being angry at him for anything else.

Harry took a deep breath and headed into the bank. Upon entering, he walked up to the nearest goblin and asked to see his vault, number 687.

"Ah, Mr. Potter, we've been needing to see you, sir, about a very important matter. If you will, please wait here and have a seat. I must inform Orgnug that you have arrived." The goblin walked off before Harry could answer. He sighed, figured he knew what was coming next, but took a seat to wait anyway.

When the little goblin returned, he was accompanied by a second goblin. Harry could tell this one was more important because he was wearing nicer clothing than the first. Harry also noticed he was carrying a rather thick roll of parchment.

"Mr. Potter, so good to see you. My name is Orgnug and I'm in charge of trust and wills. You'll be pleased to know that your trust fund has been transferred to your family vault and that you will now be able to access all your assets, including your inheritance from both the Potter family and the Black family." Harry stood there in disbelief and wonder while the goblin continued." In addition, you may now take control of your properties in Godric's Hollow, Hogsmeade, and London."

"My properties? You mean…like…houses?" Harry asked.

"Indeed, Mr. Potter. I believe there are four all together. As well as several commercial and rental properties," the goblin replied.

"Commercial properties?" Harry said incredulously. "Er, do you know about how much gold I have?"

"Approximately 2,498,172,368 galleons, 16 sickles, and 4 knuts, sir," he replied once again. "If you have no further questions, we'll take you to your vault now." Harry was stunned. With that much gold, he'd never need to work again if he didn't want to. And he was bringing in money from other businesses, too! He absentmindedly nodded to Orgnug and followed him down into the caverns.

When they arrived at his new vault, number 827, Harry as once again stunned by the amount of gold inside it. He quickly decided to grab a few extra bags in addition to what he had already planned on withdrawing. Even if the Weasleys weren't talking to him, they were still his family, and he wanted to pay them back for everything they'd done for him.

Once he was back out in Diagon Alley, Harry went straight to the post office and sent a not to Andromeda asking for directions to her place. He then went back to the Leaky Cauldron to look at his inheritance papers.

At the top was an accounting of his Gringott's vault. Underneath that were listed the four houses he had inherited. Grimmauld Place was listed on there, but Harry already knew about that one. The others appeared to be the ancestral Potter family home in Devon, called Foxdown Manor, a small vacation cottage along the coast in Wales, and his parents' home in Godric's Hollow.

Harry stopped to process what he had just read. He owned the house in Godric's Hollow. It had never occurred to him that he would inherit more than just money from his parents. He thought back to the previous winter when he first saw the ruined cottage all covered in snow and ivy with its overgrown hedge. And the sign with all the encouraging comments from the wizarding world. Maybe it could be repaired…

Harry decided to think about that later. He continued looking at the parchment. After his houses, the commercial properties he owned and leased were listed, as well as a small description and the annual income for each location. A couple of places in Hogsmeade, as well as several in London and a few other places throughout England and Wales were on the list. He noticed that some of the places looked like Muggle locations. He found that interesting.

Nothing else really stuck out at him as particularly noteworthy, so he rolled the parchment back up and put it away in his bag before heading back downstairs for a meal. While he sat there eating his dinner, an owl dropped him a note. He tore it open and read it quickly. It was from Andromeda telling him how to get to her house. It wasn't far outside London, just in Sussex.

Harry decided to pack up now and leave. There was just one thing he wanted to do before leaving London. He hurriedly told Tom that he wouldn't need the room after all and to keep the money. Then he ran upstairs, grabbed his stuff and went back to Diagon Alley.

Walking into Magical Menagerie, Harry looked around at the many owls available for purchase. He passed by the snowy owls. He missed Hedwig, but he didn't want to be reminded of her every time he look at an owl. He passed tiny owls like Ron's, average sized owls, and great big owls, too. He finally settled on a male tawny owl with bright reddish-brown coloring who looked particularly wise and named it Merlin.

After he paid the shopkeeper, Harry stepped back out into the alley with Merlin on his shoulder. "I'm going to apparated to Andromeda Tonks's house. Can you meet me there?" he asked. The owl nuzzled his cheek and then leapt into the air and took flight. Harry supposed that was a yes. With nothing else left to do, Harry turned on the spot and apparated to Andromeda's house.

When he reemerged, he was standing in a garden full of lush flowers and low hedges set into a hill, at the top of which was a two-story brick home that looked like it had seen a couple of centuries. Harry walked up to the front door and knocked on the door. While he waited for Andromeda to open it, he saw a sign over the front door saying "Chestnut Lodge." It seemed like a fitting name for the home.

The door opened and he was greeted by Andromeda. "Harry, I'm glad you came," she said and hugged him. "Come in, come in. Is that all you have with you?"

Harry glanced down at his bag. "Oh, yeah, well, we couldn't take much with us while we were on the run last year. And I haven't been back to my aunt and uncle's house for the rest of my stuff." Harry frowned as a thought occurred to him. "Actually, they don't even know it's safe for them to go back home yet. I suppose I'll need to go find them and let them know." The thought of seeing the Dursleys again, even if it was only briefly, was not pleasant. He had hoped to be done with them for good when he left Privet Drive last summer.

Andromeda ushered him into her living room. It was a cozy little room, with a fireplace, two armchairs, and a couch. Scattered about the room, Harry saw several photographs of Andromeda's family. Mostly he saw Ted and Tonks, but here and there, he saw others who must have been Ted's Muggle family, since the occupants weren't moving.

In a corner by the fireplace, Harry was a wooden cradle with a tiny bundle in it. He went over to it and bent down next to the sleeping baby in it. Teddy was barely a month old, and already an orphan. Harry thought it was so unfair that both their parents had been taken from them so soon. He swore to himself he would be a constant presence in Teddy's life.

Andromeda cleared her throat behind him. "I've some supper ready if you'd like to eat?"

Harry blinked. He hadn't realized so much time had passed while he watched Teddy sleep. "Okay," he said, and followed her into the kitchen.

Andromeda placed a plate of chicken with mashed potatoes and vegetables in front of him once he sat down. The very thought of eating, however, made him sick to his stomach. How could he eat when the Weasleys, the only family he had ever really had, weren't even speaking to him? He knew why, of course. It was cause of Fred. If Harry hadn't waited to go to Voldemort, Fred would still be alive. It was Harry's fault he was dead.

He couldn't blame them for feeling that way. He couldn't even forgive himself for it. But it still hurt. Ron was his best mate. And Ginny, she was the love of his life. Without her, he had no reason to live now. Well he had to live for Teddy. But there was no joy in living if Ginny hated him.

"Harry, you need to eat something, dear," Andromeda gently chided him. "Not eating won't make them come around any quicker."

Harry sighed and took a bit of his chicken without really tasting it. Before he could force himself to take another bite, though, there was a tapping on the window. He turned and saw Merlin at the window. Harry got up to let him in.

Before he could get to the window, however, he heard a commotion coming from the front garden. "That's strange," Andromeda said, frowning, "I wasn't expecting anybody. Best get your wand out, Harry. Better safe than sorry. You-Know-Who may be gone, but his loyal subjects are still out there."

Harry pulled out his wand and waited at the kitchen door in case Andromeda needed backup. As he watched Andromeda walk closer to the door, he started to get angry. The war was supposed to be over. They were supposed to be getting their lives back. They shouldn't have to worry about who was at the door, to worry that it was Death Eaters.

A muffled curse on the front step pulled Harry out of his musings. He couldn't recall ever hearing a Death Eater curse out loud while sneaking up on somebody.

Andromeda looked over her shoulder at him. She counted silently with her fingers one, two, three and then through open the door. She was blocking his view of the door, so Harry couldn't tell who was at the door. But he could tell by Andromeda's silence and stillness that she was surprised at who she found.

Before he could think anything else, the silence was broken.

"…need to see Harry…"

"…left so suddenly…"

"Is he here?"


Author's Note: I apologize for not updating sooner, but I suppose I should warn you that this will be irregularly updated. I'm a mother to a 4 month old that demands a lot of my time and can really only write late at night or when I'm slow at work. I hope you all will continue to read my story though.

I got an anonymous review on the last chapter saying that Harry had met Andromeda before. I could have swore he had, but couldn't find it in the book until it was pointed out to me. Thanks for the correction. However, I'm not going to change it cause it's not important to the plot at all. Besides, 10 months after a first meeting might as well mean not having met at all.

Thanks and please review. It encourages me to keep going.