The Sword and the Wand

I apologize. There is a gap in the system! Between Bagnold and Fudge, there doesn't seem to be another minister of magic! If anyone out there knows who it is, please PM me. This irks me that I don't know, and can't seem to find out who it is. I believed it was Crouch, but the fact sight I visited said that he lost support before he became minister. Well… frack…

Chapter 4: The Heir of Castello della Luna

Harry's wide eyes scanned the massive vault before him. Packed book shelves lined the walls while artifacts were laid out on pedestals and black marble tables.

'It has grown a little'

'A little?!' Harry wondered in awe.

'Go look around, but don't touch anything that has a red mark with an eagle's head. Those items are cursed.'

'Cursed?'

'Yes. Our family collected magical items. We would duel other wizards for said items, so you can imagine a lot of angry wizards cursing items just to spite us when we won.'

Harry had a slight grin. 'How many did you win?'

'Many.'

The grin didn't fade at his guardian's short response. 'Real descriptive.'

He let his eyes wander over the many gifts. 'So what's with the eagle's head symbol?'

'That is how we marked the cursed items. We could have broken the curses, but we didn't waste the magic.'

'You can waste magic?'

'There are rituals you can perform. These rituals are dark magic, but very powerful. The ritual circles are difficult to finish, but I was especially good at them.'

Harry nodded. He understood that magic was neither good nor evil. It was the intent of the one wielding magic that made it such.

He still wondered what it took to learn dark magic.

'Patience, and a lot of determination.'

He nodded as his eyes wandered the many books that filled the dark mahogany shelves. These book shelves were massive and lined every wall. There must have been fifty along one of the shorter walls!

'I will teach you to break the curses on those items. Some of them can be useful in aiding us.'

Harry nodded his agreement, knowing that the goblin was far too busy trying not to drown in his own drool.

'There are twelve more of these?'

'Possibly more. You will have to give the goblins a bit more of your blood, and request an ancestry ritual. There may be lines that you are related to that are no longer carried.'

Harry nodded. 'Little overwhelming.' He admitted softly.

'I know, but there is one vault we are after in particular. The Potter Family vault. That is where your father's journals, and Sirius' freedom lay in wait for us.'

He cast a glance at the many treasures that sat in wait for him, but decided to come back to them later. There would be time.

'Once we are done with the business upstairs, we can come back down here. I promise you will get the chance to look through all of this.'

With that, Harry climbed back into the cart with the silent goblin. "Potter Family Vault, please."

They took off at the, still unfamiliar, break neck speed.

. . .

The lurching metal death trap came to a sudden stop at vault 30. Harry was only too happy to nearly fall out of the cart.

"Vault 30, Potter Family Vault." The goblin announced.

"Yes, yes." Harry muttered, slightly annoyed that the goblin was just reiterating what was already said. He knew better than to be rude.

The goblin stepped up to the large maroon doors. They looked to be made of some sort of steel, but Harry doubted that it was. The shiny metal had several veins in it that glittered like gems.

Instead of running his finger down the center, the goblin shoved a key into the center of the door where a small ivory lined slot awaited the golden gilded key.

When the doors finally creaked open, the glint almost blinded Harry. Thousands of what Jade called galleons were sitting in several large piles that nearly reached the ceiling. Piles of sickles and knuts lay in the same neat stacks, equally as tall. He was rich!

Behind the large piles were several bookcases that were helpfully labeled. One case read 'Legal Papers'. Another shelf read 'Family Documents'.

'It should be under family documents.'

Harry nodded. He made sure the goblin was still at the door when he moved closer to the shelves. "What exactly am I looking for?"

'A dark red leather bound journal that has the letters J.P. in gold lettering. Should have little lions all over it.'

Harry had to snicker.

'It was the journal James made when he found out your mum was pregnant with you.'

Harry nodded, understanding that this was an important journal.

He eyed the correct shelf, dreading having to dig through the many documents and old journals that lay on that shelf. He almost winced.

'Bottom shelf.'

He nodded, and almost immediately spotted the dark red journal. "Thanks." He muttered as he moved to pick it up. It was heavier than it looked!

He looked around, and found a table that had a few jewels on it, and set the journal down on it. "What else did we need?"

'There should be a dark green journal around here as well. That was your mother's. Also towards the bottom.'

Harry found it as it had been right next to his father's. "That was easy."

'Your great grandmother had a passion for being neat. She must have cast the spell that arranged for documents, or copies of said documents, to be sent here via owl, and goblin manager.'

Harry whistled softly, slightly impressed.

'This was a good thing for you, as every document that you will ever need is here. If there is something missing, I will be surprised.'

Harry chuckled, almost wanting something small and insignificant to be missing.

'Focus.'

He nodded, getting back to picking up both journals. He noticed some spell books as well, and decided to pick those up.

'Getting started early? Good. Those books will also help in your training.'

Harry smiled. "But there are too many. The journals are so heavy, and even though I can carry a lot, I won't be able to carry all of it." He heard a sigh.

'Ask the goblin to shrink some of the books for you.'

He blushed, thoroughly embarrassed. "Of course."

He moved to the goblin. "Can you shrink some books for me? Carrying them back up would be a hassle."

The goblin consented, and moved further into the vault to help the young master. He easily waved his hand and the books the young Potter had stacked on the table were easily shrunk.

"May your gold always flow." Harry muttered, thanking the goblin. Jade had always told him to never openly thank a magical creature, or he may end up with a debt he cannot repay.

Griphook nodded, easily accepting the offer.

Harry wondered something. 'Why wasn't it kept under Legal?'

'Because the keeper isn't legally binding. Just magically. Which can be worse sometimes. Legal documents will contain marriage contracts, legal contracts, or anything to do with the ministry. Family documents will contain copies of marriage contracts, birth certificates, death certificates, the family vault information, and everything involving members of the Potter family. As a Lord, you will have to learn this information before you turn seventeen.'

His head almost spun. 'That comes later though, right?'

Jade chuckled again. 'Indeed. Too much for right now.'

He nodded, putting the shrunken items in his pocket. He looked around the Potter vault, noticing the many pretty baubles, and interesting trinkets. He'd have to come explore one day.

'We have to get top side now. Once Sirius has you under guardianship, I am sure he will not mind letting you come back down here. He may want to come with you.

You will have to have your parent's will read after you show the evidence… Are you ready for that?'

Harry nodded. While he was wistful for parents and a life he had never known, he still felt a sort of numbness to the entire situation. 'I will be okay.'

The ride back to the surface was strangely much easier to manage.

. . .

"Minister! You have to read this! The head manager from Gringots is saying that the Ministry of Magic is going to be sued for wrongfully imprisoning Sirius Black!" Diggory screamed as he ran to Millicent Bagnold's office.

She blinked at him, her old tired eyes weary. "You cannot be serious." She muttered softly, having almost been done for the afternoon.

"No madam! A young Harry Potter says that we have wrongfully imprisoned his god father, and he has not only the backing of the lead account manager of Gringots, but evidence from the late James and Lilly Potter to prove it. He demands that Sirius Black be given a fair trial with the use of Veritaserum." Amos Diggory was almost out of breath. He was shocked to think that Sirius Black could be innocent.

Millicent seemed just as shocked. "But Albus personally said that he believed Sirius guilty. I don't understand…"

"Tell that to the young Potter Lord who is threatening to knock down the walls of the ministry itself if we do not comply." Amos said.

Millicent straightened up in her chair, almost insulted. "I will have to go to Gringots and review the evidence!" She uttered as she stood up, and moved to the floo. "Please inform Fudge that I will be at Gringots for the time being."

Amos nodded. "Of course, madam Minister."

Millicent sighed. She was getting far too old for these things.

. . .

Harry smiled as he sipped at the tea that he had been offered. "Oh yes! While we wait, I had wondered if it were possible to have an ancestry test done while we wait for the minister to appear."

Ripworm sneered and offered up the parchment as before as well as an intricate knife. "Across the palm, and onto the parchment. Do not worry, Lord Potter, the parchment will expand."

Harry nodded as he did so. The pain was quick, but lingering, and Ripworm hurried to heal it completely.

The blood spread along the parchment, names popping up that even Jade did not recognize. Some further up than even the Peverell name.

Hollow… That was a name that seemed dominate in his ancestry and Harry could tell that Jade wasn't only shocked, but she was floored.

'The Hollow family practiced all magics. Not just ours.'

'What do you mean?'

'I mean that there are many more types of magic in the world. Necromancy to name one. The Hollow family believed that there was more to magic than just what Wizards or our version of Witches practiced.'

'Our version of witches?'

'Yes. There are many types of magic users out there, Hadrian. Necromancy, though frowned upon by wizards is actually a type of magic that a community of people use. In the southernmost part of the Colonies is a magic called Voodoo. Very dangerous magic. Witches that do not pertain to our magic type are beings that listen to the earth spirits. They preform rituals. A lot of their rituals coincide with ours, but they pull from a different source of magic.'

Harry nodded, trying to take all of this in. 'But what does that have to do with the Hollow family?'

'Most wizarding families usually only follow the ancient traditions. This family in particular though, follows an assortment of traditions. They live and die by the magic they wield. They are a family that firmly believe in the survival of the strong, and the destruction of the weak.'

'Destruction?' Harry asked, alarmed.

'More like "Those who are weak, must remain on the ground. Those who are strong must uphold the sky." That is their family motto. Not a real destruction, more like a deconstruction. If you didn't push yourself to become stronger, than you were lazy. They had no room for lazy people.'

'Intense.'

'Intense times.'

'Operative word for frightening?'

'I don't even understand how you are descended from the Hollow family.'

'Lucky meeeeee…' Harry drawled, heavily sarcastic.

'More than you can imagine. We may have to do some tests later. I want to see what kind of magics you can handle.'

'Something tells me this will not be a load of fun.'

'That something would be correct. This will be hard work.'

"Joy."

"Mr. Potter… You've inherited twenty-three more vaults. Fifteen of those are from the Hollow family alone."

"Fifteen?!"

"Yes, Mr. Potter. You are the sole surviving heir, thus far."

Harry nodded numbly. What did these have in store for him? He would have to wait to find out.

Millicent Bagnold strode through the doors, her 5'3" stature straight. Her light brown hair laced with grey and slight blond. Her brown eyes found him, and her full lips tightened.

She had not responded well to his comments then. That was fine. He had to draw her out one way, or another.

"Minister." Ripworm greeted the woman.

"Greetings, Account Master Ripworm. How are you this evening?"

"Well, thank you." He sneered at the woman. She had not offered the proper greeting. "This is Lord Potter, and his evidence is clear, and true."

The woman was almost taken aback by those eyes that pinned her with an accusing stare. How dare this brat! He didn't even know her!

"Minister Bagnold." Harry smiled as he stood, wiping the look from his eyes. He held out his hand in offer for her to take. She did so, albeit stiffly.

They both took a seat when the greetings were done, and Ripworm pulled the journals out. He handed them over to Bagnold who found that she cannot turn the pages. The only pages she had access to be the ones that pertained to one Sirius Black, and the secret keeper for the Potters, Peter Pettigrew.

To top it all off, Albus Dumbledore knew who the keeper was! That even if Sirius had killed Pettigrew, he would have been well within his rights to do so.

"Sirius Black went to Azkaban because he killed those muggles."

"I do not believe he did it. I believe that Pettigrew was the murder, and feigned death in order to escape from Sirius Black." Harry stated.

"Have you any proof of this?" Millicent demanded.

"Have you any proof that he did do it?" Harry countered.

Millicent was shocked. "Think about this," Harry offered. "If he didn't betray the Potters, than why would he kill the muggles? I could understand if he were a follower of Voldemort, but everyone in this room knows different now. That is why I demand a trial by Veritaserum. Let us make sure that an innocent man does not waste away."

Millicent had no other choice. Her hands were tied by law. "Of course." She muttered, silently vowing to have a discussion with Albus.

. . .

The trial date was set, and Harry was all around happy that he had more than accomplished what he had set out to do.

The trial was set for tomorrow. Harry had, after getting a bit of money from one of the minor vaults had rented a room at the Leaky Cauldron.

"Tom! Do you have a phone?" Harry asked the bartender. Tom actually nodded and directed Harry to a phone.

Harry dreaded what he had to do next, but it had to be done. He wasn't emancipated yet. He dialed the number to his Aunt and Uncle's house.

"Hello, Dursley residence. Petunia speaking, how may I help you?"

"Hullo Aunt Petunia! It's Harry. There was a bit of an accident with the bus that was supposed to bring me back, and we are staying at an inn for the night. The school is paying for it, so not to worry."

At this demand, Harry started to get worried, until a slender pale arm gently tugged the phone from him.

"Hello Mrs. Dursley. I am Harry's teacher, Ms. Vaunder." The woman with electric blue eyes paused for a moment to listen to Petunia's words. "Yes. The bus won't be fixed till mid-morning." She paused again. "Oh, it is no trouble! We spent less on this trip than we thought we would, so the establishment kindly allowed us to stay for the remainder of the fee."

Harry blinked at this woman. Who was she to come along and lie for him? So easily!

"Of course, Mrs. Dursley. I will make sure we add a few more lessons in before we head out. Yes, thank you for your understanding."

She hung up the phone without a proper goodbye.

"Young Master, I am at your service." He blinked as her voice had changed. From the firm and solid tone she had been using, to the soft whispery tone she had now.

Her pale skin seemed to glow as her honey brown corkscrew curls bobbed as she bounced on the balls of her feet. She stood 5'5" and her smile was warm and bright.

Harry blinked. "I don't even know you."

Her eyes widened comically. "I apologize, Master. My name is Adeline. I am one of the Hollow guardians." She said in a hushed voice.

Harry just blinked and nodded. "Guardian?"

She smiled. "The Hollow family had an assortment of guardians. James Potter was the last known heir to the Hollow line until you came along." Her eyes lowered. "Master… Please forgive us. We haven't been able to locate you since the night you defeated the Dark Lord. I will bear the punishments."

Harry just kept blinking. "That isn't necessary. I don't want to punish anyone."

'Jade?'

'The Potter family also had guardians, but unlike the Hollow family, we did not bind the immortal to ourselves.'

'Bind the immortal?'

'Yes. The woman you are standing in front of is considered an immortal.'

'How?'

'Lamia. Snake woman. She feeds on the blood of young men. They tend not to age.'

'Lucky! Wait… What? Oh! She's going to eat me!' He took a step back, but the woman made no move for him.

"Adeline was it?" he asked. She nodded.

"How many more guardians are there?" he wondered. She tilted her head, thinking. "Well, aside from me, there are only two others."

He almost slumped right there. "Are they like you?"

She blinked for a moment before shaking her head. "No, Master. We are all quite different."

He sighed. "Do you even like being a guardian?"

"It is all I have ever known." At least she was honest… so far.

"Who are the other two?"

"The elder of us is Aden. He's a Wyvern. Smarmy bastard, if you ask me! The second eldest of us is Bastian. He's a serious bloke. Takes magic very seriously. He is a vampire."

Harry nodded. "And none of you are going to hurt me… Right?"

She balked at him. "We are to guard you! Not harm you, Master. Everything we do is to protect you, and continue on the Hollow name."

"Lucky me." Harry muttered as he gently cradled his face in his palm. She didn't seem to catch his sarcasm, or if she did, she simply ignored it.

"When do I get to meet the others?"

"When we get to Castello della Luna. The others are anxious to meet you, Master."

'Italian?'

'What?'

'In Italian, Castello della Luna means "Castle of the Moon." I was not expecting the Hollow family to have a home in Italy, considered that a lot of them were driven out of Italy for illegal practices.'

'Illegal practices?'

'A lot of Italy's underground was used as a grave yard. Especially in Venice. A prime place for Necromancers.'

'You keep saying that word, and expecting me to just know what it means.' Harry thought irritably.

'I apologize. Necromancy is the magic of the dead. It is an unnatural sort of magic though. It toys with the line between life and death. Even vampires are weary of this type of magic.'

'Sounds scary.'

'It is, but there are magics that are far more terrifying out there. Necromancy just messes with life and death, Voodoo messes with the very soul.'

Harry gulped. "So this castle…"

Adeline just grinned. "It is the Hollow home. Not the main home, mind you, but one of the most protected ones. Once the emancipation goes through, you will have access to all of the Hollow homes… At least the ones that weren't demolished. Those are just ruins, but they are still yours."

"You know… This all sounds too farfetched to be true."

Adeline giggled. "I understand. It is a lot to take in. Aden will want to see you though. Bastian and I have been talking about you a lot the past few weeks."

. . .

Fin!

What do you guys think? Yayness? Not so yayness?