Chapter three

'If you let me borrow your wand I can check for any type of tracking charm that might be on you or your belongings.'

'My wand is registered, won't the ministry pick it up now I'm in a muggle area?'

'True but I can mask the magic since we are in a muggle hotel.'

Harry handed over his wand, then watched as Sirius did some weird movements with it before he began doing a spell over him and his belongings. Sirius did a little flick which made Harry flinch and glow but only for a few seconds.

'I take it I had a tracking spell on me?'

'Yes, along with the cloak. How did you get the cloak since I knew Dumbledore borrowed it a week before your parents died?'

'He gave it to me for my first Christmas at Hogwarts, the note said it belonged to my father and he was returning it to me, to use it well. It wasn't signed but I figured out pretty easily where it came from. It was not long after I got it that I was in danger and facing the spirit of Voldemort. We'll get to that later, tell me if you know anything about Gellert Greengrass?'

'A good man, he was close to your parents, his wife, Victoria was actually good friends with Lily through their Hogwarts years. Even though they were in Slytherin and your parents were in Gryffindor, Lily never let that stop her being friends with them, or other Slytherin's like Snape.'

'Snape, my mother knew Snape?'

'I knew the old man wouldn't tell you about that. Lily and Snape grew up in the same neighborhood, Lily lived in the good end and Snape was in the dodgy end. They met at the age of nine and became friends. It was Snape that told Lily she was a witch, Petunia hated Snape and tried to get Lily to stay away from him. There was a big fight and Lily refused to have anything to do with Petunia after that, it was fourth year I think. Anyway, Snape ended up in love with your mum, but she only saw him as a friend. They had a big fight near the end of fifth year and never spoke again. But the Greengrass family aren't dark, they are like you, me and your parent's, grey magicals. They stayed neutral in the last war, they had to stay behind strong enchantments and be careful what they ate and drank when they were out in public. Voldemort didn't like any Slytherin's that didn't join him, there were a few, not many though as most were too terrified to say no to him.'

'He's the lawyer I'm thinking of getting in contact with, via his daughters. The few times I've seen Daphne and Astoria they seemed nice and never once said anything nasty or spiteful.'

'Victoria would never allow her children to be dark or like those families, like my family. Victoria and Gellert don't believe in blood supremacy either. My brother was a death eater, he was a year younger than I was and the families favourite.'

'Ah, now I see why a lot of people thought you might have been guilty, your family was dark and your brother was a death eater. Is he still around, hiding somewhere?'

'No idea, we believe he's dead but we're not sure, he could have just gone into hiding when Voldemort disappeared. You will have to tell me as much as you can about what's gone on in the last twelve years. I do snatch some newspapers when I can but I need to know what happens years ago.'

'I'll fill you in but I return to Hogwarts tomorrow, even though I'm not really looking forward to it. You know, if I can contact Greengrass without going to Hogwarts I could use my status as the-boy-who-lived to get you a trial. I'm sure Fudge and even Dumbledore would do everything they could to get on my good side, they usually do.'

'Yes, it might work, the trouble is Dumbledore, he will see me as becoming your guardian which is what your parent's wanted, he will know you will listen to me and not him. We argued a lot during order meetings because he refused to allow the order to use harsher spells against anyone, including death eaters. So many good people died because of Dumbledore ordering us to use only passive and legal spells. That could have been avoided if we just went a bit further. Your parents also argued with him about the type of spells he wanted us to use. He might try to stop me getting a trial, but maybe you could get Gellert to work it where he won't know, a private and secret trial. If he contacted Amelia Bones, an auror and she used to be friends with your parents, then she might be able to work it as well and make sure that Dumbledore doesn't find out.'

'Okay, then we will need somewhere to go, I only just found out about all the properties I have. Which ones would be the safest, from Dumbledore and the Ministry?'

'Potter castle, it's about half the size of Hogwarts, but it is heavily protected and those protections will not break until the last Potter is dead, sorry pup.'

'Don't be, so as long as I live the protection holds, great. Would he know of the types of wards it uses?'

'It won't matter if he did, your grandfather used blood from both himself and your grandmother. When your dad was born he added your dad's blood, then Lily's blood when they married. So even if Dumbledore could get hold of your blood it would not help him get inside as he would need to know exactly what other wards your grandfather used. Now though, to access it you will need the Potter ring which will be in the main Potter vault.'

'Griphook said I can't access that until I'm of age or emancipated.'

'You can't, but you can get the ring since you are the last Potter. It's the only thing you would be allowed to take unless your parents stipulated in their wills that you can take something else. The rings aren't covered by the age restriction if you are the last in the line.'

'What time does Gringotts close?'

'They don't, the goblins believe they would lose too much money if they closed. A lot of unsavoury characters will do their business during the night.'

'Then we'll go, well, maybe you shouldn't.'

'I could use the cloak, but that doesn't guarantee someone might not bump into me.'

'I'll go alone, I'm used to doing things for myself.'

'I wish you weren't but I can tell that about you already. Since it's getting late now, give it half an hour then all the other shops will be closed. So while we're waiting tell me about these dangerous situations?'

Harry sat crossed legged on the bed and began to tell Sirius about his first year and what he faced. Trolls, three headed dogs, giant chess sets and Voldemort's spirit who had possessed the defence against the dark arts teacher. Then Harry went onto his second year, first how the three Weasley boys rescued him from his abusive relatives, then to the students being petrified until he finally explained how he fought a basilisk and almost died, how he spoke with the memory of the sixteen year old Voldemort. Harry also explained how Fawkes saved him with tears then got Ginny out of the chamber of secrets. Harry had to smile at the look on Sirius's face, shocked but he also seemed proud at what Harry had accomplished.

Harry left his cloak with Sirius in case he needed to hide, then headed up to Gringotts. He explained to Griphook that he needed the Potter heir ring, so a quick trip to the main Potter vault showed Harry exactly how rich he was. A quick spell by the goblin and the ring landed in Harry's hand. He slipped the ring with the Potter crest onto his right ring finger, it glowed brightly then resized to fit Harry. He thanked the goblin then headed back to the hotel and to his godfather.

Since it was dark they decided to go, so Harry paid his bill, packed everything into his trunk, then shrunk it. Since he could use magic now that Sirius had removed the trace from him and masked the magic, then Harry held Sirius's arm. He thought of Potter castle, touched the ring with his wand and they were transported straight into the entrance way of the Potter ancestral castle. Five house elves popped in front of them, all bowing all welcoming their Lord and Master home. Harry had to make the elves not say lord, he didn't like the similarities to Lord Voldemort, so the elves were happy to say Master Harry.

The elves unpacked Harry's trunk, had the last Lord Potter's clothes cleaned for Sirius, then showed both to rooms. Sirius decided to soak in a bath for hours, that made Harry laugh but he also blocked his nose as if to tell Sirius he needed to soak for days.

Harry sat at the desk in his room and began his letter to Gellert Greengrass. He knew he still needed to get to Hogwarts, eventually, to get Scabbers. For now though he planned to get to know Sirius while he had time. He waited for the lawyer to contact him and Harry hoped take him on as his client.