Thank you once again for reading my story, I am still in shock over the number of reviews I seem to be getting. Don't get me wrong though, I love them. Each and ever day I get one my step has a bounce to it and I cant seem to stop grinning. Those reviews for the most part have not only encouraged me to write better and more, they have also improved my grades at school, my social life, and probably health. I just wanted to thank you all for the wonderful feeling of happiness almost all of you reviewers have given me.
The last chapter was long coming out because of the massive rewrites needed to get it into the form you saw. Every aspect of the chapter except the first paragraph changed multiple times. I would like to thank my Beta's once again for their insight on how to improve my storyline.
Almost all names from here on out will be chosen from . So if you are interested in why I chose a particular name. Look there, most will have a reason or meaning for their choice.
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Harry decided that since he only had school robes and one set of dress robes he might as well wear the school ones. Since the house elves had thrown away all of his ragged clothing Harry figured that he might as well pick up some casual clothing as well while he was out today. Smiza and Smiz had, in the way of muggle clothing, left him two tee shirts and a single pair of pants. At least his underwear had not been thrown out. Harry was not sure why, but for as long as he could remember he had always had at least one pair of clean, perfectly fitting, new underwear to wear. It had been that way as long as he could remember. Good thing too, because the Dursleys had never given him any in all the years he had lived there. Harry then put on his shoes, they were a little beat up, but they were comfortable. Years ago Hermione had noticed that they were way to large and were always giving him blisters. So she had looked up the proper sizing charm and used it on them. Now they fit perfectly.
Throwing a cloak over his shoulder, Harry wondered why Mrs. Weasley had not asked how he was getting to Diagon Alley. She probably figured he had asked Dumbledore for a way, Harry surmised. Harry just hoped that his guards would have a way to get him there. Otherwise he would be cutting it pretty close to get to his first meeting on time.
Harry went back over to the window and stuck his head and waited for one of the goblins to respond. Harry did not have to wait long.
"Ambassador, did you need something?" came the voice of the goblin Harry had spoken to previously.
Turning around to face the short goblin, Harry responded, "Yes, there is something I would like to ask of you. Would it be possible for you to get me to the Bank and Diagon Alley today, and soon?"
"That should not be a problem. Do you still have the portkey that took you to Gringotts a few days ago?"
"I am not sure. Let me go check." Harry responded to the goblins enquiry. He did not want to admit that the reason he did not know was do to the fact that he had fainted during his meeting with Crawcroock, Smerilgrip, and Smicklehook. He had not fainted when he had faced Voldemort, yet the fact that he was going to be married in less than a year and to four different people no less had him out like a light. Actually, when he thought about it he still got a little light headed. Harry was terrified of his future. He never had been before. Afraid, mad, despair, anger, hope, joy, and anticipation all, but the thought of having his own family filled his breast with an unbridled terror that he would not admit even to himself.
Harry searched through his desk he found the card that had been used as the portkey after only a short while. Handing it to the Goblin Harry watched as his guard reactivated it.
Handing the card back to Harry the guard told him, "That port key is one way only. We will need to get you something you can activate on your own. You should look for something while we are there. We will go to Gringotts and get another port key to come back here."
Harry nodded his head and put his hand on the card. There was the typical tug on his navel as Harry felt the port key activate and soon Harry found himself in the same meeting room at Gringotts where he had arrived when he came to meet with Crawcroock, Smerilgrip, and Smicklehook.
After righting himself from almost falling, Harry turned to his guard and asked him if he could speak with Smerilgrip. Harry had some questions for him.
Just a few minutes later Harry found himself in front of a door with the legend: Security Chief.
After knocking on the door Harry heard movement and shortly latter the door opened. Smerilgrip, when he saw Harry bowed slightly and waved him into his office. "I take it you are here because you have some questions?"
"Yes I would like to know if you have finished hiring my Family Guards? I would also like the guard assigned to Blaise and Padma to start guarding them. Blaise's are to start as soon as possible; Padma's should start tomorrow. I will be meeting with Hermione Granger at noon and with Luna Lovegood around three. I would also like to have them shadowed while they are here. Not just today either, every time they come I would like there to be a discreet watch on them. I would also like to have a team assigned to both their homes and their parents' work places. I am going to speak to them about this as well. Hire who ever you feel would be best. You know best I am confident you can keep them safe. Please bill the Black estate." Harry told Smerilgrip in as calm a manner as he could. Harry was nervous about doing this since it was one of the first times he had exercised the authority and power that his vast wealth and his position in society gave him.
Harry watched Smerilgrip. He was a little uneasy about making this request. One reason was because he did not know how to tell his friends that he had hired guards for them. The other was because he was slightly afraid that Smerilgrip would not approve. At the goblins nod Harry gained confidence in his idea. At least the security chief seemed to think it was an idea with merit.
Harry had put a lot of thought into the safety of his friends over the summer and he knew that of them all Hermione and Luna had the weakest security of all of them. Hermione since her parents were muggles and Luna because both she and her father just did not think about things like that. Harry had noticed this when Luna's father had been willing to publish his interview a few years previous. Luckily for Harry, those were the two out of Harry's friends most likely to accept any help. Neville had his own security he could call on and the Weasleys were both too proud to accept help and highly capable themselves as well as having the Order to call on.
"Of course, I will see to it right away. Do you want all the guards to be human or do you think they would mind other races?" Smerilgrip asked Harry.
"Feel free to hire any race you wish as long as you feel they can be trusted. Luna and Hermione will feel the same way, I am sure. Hermione's parents are muggles though, so who ever you hire to watch over them should take that into account." Harry responded.
"That is good to know, I will leave you to inform their families then. I should have the complete teams ready within two days. Will that be soon enough?"
"Thank you, that would be great." Harry answered, relieved that Smerilgrip did not act like this was an odd request. "What time is it by the way? I have to meet Hermione at noon and I would like to do a little browsing before then."
"It is 10:30 Ambassador," answered Harry's guard.
"Alright then," nodding his head towards Smerilgrip, "thank you for seeing me on such short notice." Looking at his guard Harry continued, "Shall we be on our way then?"
The short guard opened the door for Harry and was soon leading Harry towards the entrance of the bank. As they were about to leave the bank Harry turned to his guard and asked, "You know, I have spoken to you several times and I have yet to learn your name. Would you please tell me or am I not supposed to know?
The goblin turned towards Harry and extended his hand. "My name is Gripsnock."
"Well Gripsnock, should I go down and refill my money bag? I will be spending a bit of money today and that would be quite a weight to carry around all day. How do wizards make large purchases?" Harry asked.
"They put it on their tab." Gripsnock stopped and walked over to a bench that was in some shade by a flowering tree. "Let me explain this to you. When you want to make a purchase but do no have the cash on you it is possible to put the purchase on what is called a TAB. It means Galleons At Bank. GAB though was not a dignified enough name for the wizards so it was changed to TAB by the goblins. When you, the purchaser, ask to put it on your tab, there is a small surcharge leveled by the Bank. The store might add a small surcharge to the total as well. Both the buyer and the seller place a finger or their wand tip on a piece of parchment and the buyer says to put what ever it is that he is buying on his Tab. The parchment will then write out the price, any surcharges applicable, and give the buyer the option of declining after seeing the total. If he accepts then the money is removed immediately from the buyers account and is placed into the sellers account noon the following day."
"That sounds simple enough. Though I can see why most wizards prefer to purchase things with coins, they probably don't like paying the surcharges," Harry laughed. "I don't think that will be a problem for me."
With a broad grin on his face, Harry ran his fingers through his hair and jumped up. "Come on Gripsnock, we have about an hour until Hermione will be meeting us. Let us browse some before she gets here."
Getting to his feet the short goblin then patently followed the exuberant Harry into the crowd. Harry felt free all of a sudden. He had a guard that let him come and go as he pleased. He had the ability to buy what he wanted, when he wanted. He was able to hang out with friends. Harry had never felt freer. There had always been a shadow over him. His relatives, the Order, teachers at school, Prefects, or Death Eaters had always been there to limit what he could do. Harry was just starting to realize that he no longer had to listen to them or at least right now he didn't. That would change when he got back to school for the most part. This summer, or what was left of it though was going to be enjoyed.
Harry, knowing that though he had several places to go today, he was only going to have time for one, maybe two, of them before he had to meet Hermione in an hour. Harry checked his mental checklist and decided to go look for a second trunk first. He was going to own more clothes this year and much of it would be formal if the invitation to the Ball was any indication. Harry also did not want to embarrass the girls by dressing in shabby clothing like he had without a second thought in the past. That would require at least one other trunk if he got the same type as he has now.
Following Gripsnock to a trunk store that was nearby Harry watched as the people in Diagon Alley walked by with smiles on their faces. Harry smiled as he watched as a young mother carried her young baby while trying to keep track of two little children. Harry saw a pretty girl kiss her boy friend on the very same park bench he and Gripsnock had just vacated a moment ago. Harry knew that soon the feeling of despair and watchfulness would enter their worlds again. Hopefully this war that was going on would never need to rock their world. Hopefully the Order and the Death Eaters will continue to fight out of these people's lives.
Harry knew that this could only become possible if the Ministry mobilized in such a way that Death Eaters would fear the Ministry instead of the other way around. The parents needed to learn a little caution as well. Harry knew that there needed to be trust and relaxation in the world but, people must know when to stop relaxing and stand up against the darkness.
Harry did not know how exactly the Ministry should change. He had a few ideas that he was sure would improve matters. Like putting foe glasses all over the Alley and having them linked to the Auror's Headquarters. Maybe the Ministry or a private organization could even do something similar with private homes. Harry knew that muggles had security systems that automatically called the cops. Why not install a magical system that did the same.
Harry watched a moment in the doorway of the shop before stepping in and looked over the crowd of people that he knew he bore a great responsibility towards. Harry swore to himself that he would not let them down, he would find a way for couples to continue to kiss in public and mothers would not fear to take their children shopping. Harry just hopped that the people in the crowd would see his sacrifice and would respect his responsibility and shoulder their own to help and stand by him if he needed it. To take action were needed and try and take some responsibility for themselves.
Looking around the trunk shop Harry saw about ten completed trunks on display. Harry also noticed that each one had a small booklet chained to it. Walking over Harry picked up the booklet of the closest trunk and opened it.
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The booklet listed things like the types of wood available at the moment, to colors possible, types of trim, physical dimensions on the out side, and number of enchantments included. There was also a list of enchantments available for the series. Moving to the next trunk Harry noticed that the only differences between the trunks he had looked at were the types and number of enchantments available.
Harry spent the next half hour going through all of ten of the booklets and comparing the different strengths and weaknesses of each type of trunk. For some reason certain spells and woods for instance did not mix well. Some spells could not be used together either while other spells and woods amplified one another.
"May I help you sir?" came a relatively load and boisterous voice from behind Harry.
Spinning around quickly Harry was reaching for his wand before his brain informed his body that the sound that so surprised him was not a threat. Putting his wand back in his pocket Harry looked in amazement at the man in front of him. He was easily as broad in the shoulder as the largest of men yet he barely came up to Harry's chin. He had long coarse hair in a braid down his back and a thick braided beard so long that it was tucked into his belt.
"Sorry for startling ya boy," the muscular man thundered. "I am the proprietor at this establishment. Can I be of any assistance?" the man asked.
"Yes, I am looking into buying a new trunk. My old one is basic and I would like to keep using it to store my everyday school things. I will need one though that will be able to stare a compete wardrobe. This will include formal wear and such as well as everyday clothing. I would also like to be able to store things that are valuable to me without fearing that they will be messed with." Harry explained.
Harry and the carpenter tossed back and for ideas for another ten minutes until they came up with what Harry thought would be the perfect trunk. Since money was not limiting him, Harry had the carpenter use the best he had and not worry about the cost. Harry saw no reason to skip corners when he did not have to.
The trunk was not ordinary in any way. The trunk was elevated two inches off the ground. Normally it rested on wooden legs. On command though it could retract then and float or transfigure them into wheels. The trunk had two drawers like a dresser at the bottom. The lower drawer was expanded downward so that instead of being eight inches deep it was sixteen. It was also locked with a relatively simple charm. The next drawer up was locked with a much, much more powerful locking mechanism. There were in fact several, both magical and mundane. There was a magic signature checker, an emotion checker, a key lock, a combination lock, and a voice recognition lock. The drawer was reinforced with over an inch of adamantine. If the second drawer was forced open in any way, all of its contents would be reduced to less than ash. Above those two drawers were two smaller drawers side by side. They also had only a simple locking mechanism and were deepened from four inches to eight. Above the four drawers were two doors that opened from the center out. The doors were by now 2' 4" off the ground and stood about 3' tall. The space in here had was like a small walk in closet. There was a shoe rack, tie rack, clothing racks, shelving, and more inside. The bulk of the Chest of Drawers would be made from Ebony with the trimming using a tastefully died Cyprus. The Chest, when finished would be coated in a thick paste made from diamond dust, inside and out.
Angus, the carpenter, was rubbing his hands with glee by the time they were finished ironing out the details. When the two of them pressed their fingers to the piece of parchment so that Harry could put it on his Tab both were astounded by the price. They had been so caught up in the design of the chest that they had completely lost track of cost. For the cost of the raw materials alone Harry could afford to buy an average sized house. When all was said and done, Angus and the two subcontractors he would be ordering supplies from would be able to take a one or two year vacation because of this order alone.
After recovering from the shock of seeing such a large amount of money pass hands Gripsnock reminded Harry that they had only two minutes remaining to meet Hermione and they were a good four minute walk away. After telling Angus to send a note to him via Gringotts if he ran into any trouble or to inform him when it was finished, Harry ran out the door with Gripsnock.
Angus decided to give Harry a less expensive shrinkable trunk as a gift since he was spending so much money. Harry only took it because he thought it would be useful to have some place to put his purchases today.
As Harry ran through the crowds, he cursed for making himself late. Harry had not seen his friends in a while and he knew that Hermione was worried about him. His being late would only make her worry that much more.
Finally Flourish and Blotts came into view. As Harry hurried up to the door he saw Hermione ringing her hands looking about anxiously. Putting on a little more speed Harry raced the last block. Skidding to a stop in front of Hermione he almost collapsed, gasping for breath and almost retching. Harry decided right then and there that he needed to get more exercise.
Hermione swiftly grabbed Harry and pulled him into an embrace, already starting to berate him already for worrying her.
"Harry you are late! I was so worried something had happened!" Hermione went on along this vein for a while. Getting herself more and more worked up until people started to stop and stare.
Harry gently released Hermione from the hug and held her at arms reach while he stated, "Nice to see you too Hermione." Smiling he gave her a brief hug and then walked past her into the store.
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Hermione stood there for a moment, her mouth still open from berating Harry, in shock. Did Harry just smile and walk past me into a books store, Hermione was thinking to herself. It just did not fit with the picture she had of Harry. Her mental picture showed Harry bravely trying to suppress anger and sadness to make her happy. Not actually be happy, Hermione wondered what had happened to help him over come his grief and anger so quickly. Harry had been in a funk for almost an entire year, yet here he was showing not a sign of any hidden anger or sadness.
Suddenly Hermione realized she had been standing in the doorway for quite some time with her mouth open. Flushing a deep red from embarrassment, Hermione whirled around and ran into the store to find her friend.
Hermione was soon stunned again to find him perusing the history section and not the Quidditch or DADA sections, as she would have supposed he would be.
"Harry, you seem different," Hermione told him as she came up behind him. "You are not acting like I had expected you to."
Harry turned and smiled at her again, "I had a lot of time to think this summer. I spent most of it going over my memories and crying. You can only hold that anger and sadness inside for so long though. After I had watched the same memories over and over again, I was forced to realize that it truly was not my fault." Harry paused for a moment and put his hand on her shoulder.
Smiling sadly, Harry continued, "I am still sad when I think of him, but reliving my memories of Sirius has made me look at things in a different light. Would he be happy if I was moping, would my friends be happy? So after a while I stopped feeling sorry for myself. It has helped though to finally get out of that dark and dreary room."
Suddenly Harry caught her eyes and after making a face asked, "So Hermione, have you had lunch yet? I am hungry. We can come back here latter." Harry pleaded in his most winning voice all the while giving her sad puppy eyes in an attempt to curry favor.
Hermione had several emotions flicker across her face; the most prevalent one was of surprise. When Harry mentioned food though she almost sighed with relief that at least part of Harry had not changed. Laughing at his antics Hermione allowed herself to be taken to the Leaky Cauldron for lunch.
Once there they had a brief argument over who was going to pay for Hermione's lunch. Harry eventually caved. As soon as they had finished bickering, Tom, the barkeeper came over. Tom had noticed the bickering and had waited for it to die down.
After chatting a bit with Tom, Harry and Hermione ordered their lunch.
Tom soon had their booth filled with the amazing aroma of beautifully cooked food. Harry and Hermione started to eat. The food was amazing as always. Just after they had begun eating two of Ginny's dorm mates arrived. They ordered a drink from Tom and sat down to chat for a moment or two. After encouraging Harry to continue the DA since they wanted to join, they left continuing through into the Alley. Hermione was amused to see how completely oblivious Harry was to their flirtations.
Harry asked Hermione to tell him all about her summer vacation when the girls left them. It was not until she had finished describing her summer in detail that she realized Harry had completely avoided answering any of the questions she wanted to ask him. Instead he had kept asking more and more questions about the places she had been and the things she had done there.
Deciding that turnabout was fair play as soon as she finished answering his last question she posed one of her own.
"Harry," at this Harry, hearing her stern tone, knew that it was his turn to be grilled. Harry just started counting; he wondered how long she could ask questions before she realized he was not answering. "What on earth happened to you so far this summer? The one and only letter I have gotten from you has you being locked in a room for over a month, with out food or a place to use the bathroom. Then you are suddenly rescued by house elves!! I have never worried so much in my life, and here you are acting like nothing odd had happened and trying to distract me!" Hermione was suddenly standing up with both hands flat on the table leaning towards him. "You said you were going to tell me about it when we met!"
Harry by this time was looking around the room frantically, both for an escape route in case she attacked him and secondly to see if anyone had seen them. Harry did not want his afternoon ruined by reporters. No one had turned to look at them but Harry was still worried.
"Lower your voice Hermione," Harry hissed to her in desperation. "I will answer your questions. It is just that this is not the time or place. How do you know if this booth has been "bugged" or not?" Harry put a slight emphasis on the term bugged. He hoped she would remember Rita and the problems that came of speaking in less than secure areas.
Calming slightly at Harry's words, Hermione returned to her seat. "Alright, I want to hear all the details though. I have worried so much." Nodding his head in agreement Harry almost missed hearing her mutter something about the "incompetent idiots", a "telling to they", and "when I see them". Harry just was glad it was not him that she was mumbling about. He figured it was the Order she was mad at for not checking on him as promised.
Getting up, Harry turned to Hermione and said that he had to ask Tom a question and that he'll be back in a second. Hermione was to busy muttering to notice what he had gotten up at first. Finally noticing that Harry was gone Hermione looked around franticly until she saw him speaking with Tom. Calming down she began to finish her meal. Seeing that Harry was already done gave her incentive to finish quickly. Hermione wanted to get back to the bookstore as soon as possible.
Walking up to the bar, Harry spotted Tom wiping some mugs out with a towel. "Tom, can I put the whole meal on my Tab? If you go over to the table to Hermione is going to force me to let her pay for her part. If she sees me give you money to pay for her, she will yell at me latter."
"Sure Harry," Tom responded and pulled out a piece of parchment from beneath the counter. Soon Harry was back on his way to Hermione the meal paid for. Harry and Tom had set up the Tab so that when ever Harry ate in the Leaky Cauldron it would automatically deduct the cost from his account as well as the cost of meals of his guests.
As Harry walked back to Hermione he noticed that Gripsnock at a table near the door. Grinning to himself Harry thought of the perfect way to distract Hermione from the fact that he had paid for her. He would introduce her to Gripsnock.
Reaching the table Harry grabbed Hermione's hand and started to drag her from the table. This went exactly as Harry planned, Hermione, like most people, was not amused to be dragged anywhere without warning and started to lay-into Harry again. This time she was careful not to raise her voice very high or use his name. Harry when he let go of her just opened his eyes wide with an innocent look and mentally wondered at her ability to yell at him in such a normal tone of voice.
Harry interrupted her again, "Hermione, there is someone here I would like you to meet." Walking the rest of the way to Gripsnock's table where he waited for Hermione to catch up. Hermione always took as second to recover from an interrupted rant. Harry smiled to himself about it.
"Hermione, this is my guard Gripsnock. Gripsnock, this is one of my good friends Hermione."
Gripsnock had gotten up out of his seat as he watched Harry approach. Turning towards Hermione he bowed his head respectfully. "It is a pleasure to meet with you."
Hermione had never seen a goblin be anything but brisk with wizards at the best of times, let alone bow towards one. Between her History of Magic class and the rudeness at the Bank Hermione was once again shocked. Recovering her composure Hermione nodded her head as well. "The pleasure is mine."
Suddenly the word "guard" that Harry had used to introduce the goblin clicked in her head. Harry seeing Hermione's head begin to swirl suggested that they leave and talk elsewhere.
As the group left the Leaky Cauldron Harry asked Gripsnock if it would be possible to visit the Black Vault. He figured that it would be a secure place to talk and that Hermione might like to see it. It undoubtedly had some interesting things in it.
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A short while later Hermione and Harry were in a cart moving at breakneck speeds going ever deeper into the caverns below Gringotts. Hermione was by now getting used to the surprises that kept on coming from Harry. When the three of them had entered Gringotts, instead of going to one of the tellers, Gripsnock had led them strait to the carts. That was the first odd thing to happen. The second was that Hermione could not help but notice how all of the goblins acted towards Harry. They stood a little straighter when he walked by and nodded their heads towards him slightly. So slightly that most of the wizards there probably did not even notice. The third thing that stood out was how as soon as they entered two goblins in Gringotts Security uniforms came and flanked them.
Hermione's ponderings came to a sudden halt when the cart came to a shrieking halt. The vault they were in front of did not have a number. Instead of a number, the Black Family seal adorned the vault door. Harry wondered how they were going to get in since he did not have a key.
As Harry stepped out of the cart and onto the ledge the door swung open. Well, that answers the question of how do we get in Harry thought to himself.
After giving Hermione a hand out of the cart, Harry led the way into the Black Family Vault. Walking through the door Harry was flabbergasted to see, not a pile of coins and treasure as he had expected, but instead, there was a small sitting room decorated in the Black Family colors. Ringing the walls were many picture frames. Each of them was covered in cloth so Harry could not tell what they showed. Harry could see that they had not been messed with in a very long time. They were all covered in a thick layer of dust.
Besides the pictures, there were two other things that attracted Harry's attention. They were two doors. Both of the doors had a rune carved into it. Harry knew that the older vaults were actually a series of caves or rooms. Harry thought that this was so that different types of items could be sorted and thus more easily found and stored. Harry, unfortunately did not know what the runes on the doors meant. So he just stared at them in confusion until, Hermione taking pity on him said, "Harry, that rune stands for coins and the other rune means items I believe."
"Alright right then. We can look at those rooms later. First I have some things to tell you." Harry said to Hermione. She could tell that he was a little unsure of himself since he would not meet her eyes.
"What is it Harry?" Hermione asked. She was concerned. Hermione could not remember the last time she had seen him this nervous. This was worse than before his first Quidditch match, worse than before his date with Cho, it was by far the most nervous she had ever seen him. "You are starting to make me worry Harry. It can't be that bad, what ever it is."
"Um, it is just that I have no clue how to tell you some of this." Harry told her. "Some of it is easier though. A few days ago I was summoned to Gringotts to receive my inheritances."
Hermione heard the plural on that. She knew that Harry was not able to inherit his Potter estate fully until he was of age. Even if one of the inheritances Harry was to receive was the Potter estate that did not explain Harry's use of the plural. Hermione leaned forward to listen more closely.
"The first inheritance was the Black estate. I have not taken formal control of it, as I have not yet to participated in the ritual that will make me the Head of the Black Family. The goblin who has been running it needed to speak with me about some of the things mentioned in Sirius's will." Harry paused here for a minute to collect his thoughts. Although most of the pain was gone when he thought of Sirius, he was still sad and the loss of his godfather was something that Harry would probably never fully recover from. "I also spoke with the goblin in charge of managing the Potter Family finances and was informed that I needed to formally take up my mantle as the Head of the Potter Family." Seeing the concerned look on Hermione's face he realized that she did not know the implications of that. Harry knew that if she realized what being Sirius's sole heir meant she would not look nearly that calm.
"Hermione, that means that I am not only the Head of the Potter Family, I am also the Head of the Black Family now. My name is now not Harry James Potter. It is Harry James Potter-Black." When Harry said this Hermione blinked, her eyes rolled up, and she fainted.
Shifting Hermione to a more comfortable position on the love seat she was now lying in, Harry decided that he had shocked her one to many times for one day. Apparently the injuries she had sustained in the Department of Mysteries were worse than he had thought as Hermione was not the fainting type.
Harry turned to Gripsnock and asked him what time it was. Hearing that he had just less than two hours until his appointment with Luna Harry decided to see if Hermione would wake up on her own. Harry asked Gripsnock to tell him when half an hour was up. If Hermione was not up by then, Harry would take more drastic measures.
Harry wondered over to the Portraits. As he neared the fist he saw a small gold plaque under it. Rubbing the dust off the plaque Harry saw a name and three sets of dates upon it. The name was Braeden Black. Harry did not know what the dates meant. He assumed one was the birth and death dates though. That would mean that whoever Braeden Black was, he had lived over fifteen hundred years earlier. Astounded, Harry moved to the second picture to read the name there; Tiernan Black. Harry looked at a few more. Grady Black, Eamon Black, Alaric Black were the next three names Harry discovered. They had all lived over a thousand years earlier.
Harry went around the room cleaning off the plaques and reading the names. When he had first gotten in the room he had only thought that there were about fifteen pictures. Harry saw that there were actually many, many more than that. Eventually Harry got to the second to last picture frame. Harry stared in shock at the name listed, Sirius Black. For fifteen minutes Harry stood there. Here was what might be a picture of his godfather. Eventually Harry moved onto the last picture frame and its plaque, Harry Potter-Black. Harry, after seeing his godfather's name had almost expected to see his own. Still it was almost unreal to Harry. There were more pictures here in this room than in the Headmasters office at Hogwarts.
Not wanting to look at himself or Sirius Harry started to walk over to the first portrait. On his way there he was interrupted by a groan from Hermione. Looking over at her, Harry grinned as she saw her groan again while shaking her head. "What happened?" Hermione asked herself just before her eyes flew open as wide as they could and she stared at Harry. Harry's grin was now starting to slip. Hermione was just staring at him. Harry started to shift a little in place and shuffle his feet. For some reason he could not explain he felt guilty and he could not figure out the reason why.
"Harry, you have got to stop springing these surprises things on me." Hermione told him with a wry grin after she felt she had made Harry suffer enough. "Do you have any more shocks for me?" She asked jokingly.
"Yes." Hermione was not expecting that answer. Momentarily taken aback, Hermione just stared at Harry in shock.
"I have one or two more surprises. I figured I would tell you the easy stuff first. Yet, here you are, fainting already!" Harry exclaimed exaggeratedly, making Hermione blush in embarrassment.
Harry went on to tell Hermione about how he had been told by the goblins that some ancestor had done something to win their respect. Harry told her all about his being made an Ambassador. Harry paused, hesitantly he told her how he had been worried about her and Luna. With a little worry in his voice Harry told Hermione that he had hired a security team to protect both her family and Luna's.
Hermione was silent after hearing this this. Hermione was not surprised that Harry had been worried about the two of them. She was surprised thought that he had actually gone as far as to hire bodyguards.
"Harry that must be expensive. Can you afford to do this?" Hermione asked. She knew that this would cost a fortune. It boggled her mind that Harry could afford such expenses.
Harry hastened to assure Hermione that he could. Harry saw Gripsnock motion that he only had an hour until he needed to meet with Luna. "Hermione," Harry started with trepidation, "I have one more thing to mention." Harry had no clue how Hermione would react to this next piece of news after all the other surprises he had told her that day.
Harry slumped in his chair a little. "Hermione, you know Padma right?" Harry asked.
Hermione nodded. She was confused. Why had Harry been so worried about asking her that?
"Do you know Blaise?"
"Not as well, why?" Hermione responded. Hermione did not know where these questions were leading. Harry had never really asked about any girls before. He had defiantly never asked about any Slytherin girls. Hermione's curiosity was raised.
"Hermione, you see, the goblins told me another thing when I met with them." Harry paused here again. Hermione's curiosity was going into overdrive. What on earth was the connection between those two girls, the goblins, and Harry?
Harry got up and started passing. Hermione saw that his hands were trembling and that he was starting to sweat a little.
Turning suddenly to face Hermione Harry asked, "Hermione, what do you know about arranged marriages?" Whatever Hermione had been expecting Harry to say; that was definably not it. Taken aback Hermione stumbled in her answer, "I don't know, I mean not much."
Hermione defiantly did not like that question. She was a very non-traditional about most things; Harry just hoped that this would be one of them. For some reason though, he figured Hermione was likely to be very traditional when it came to marriage. Although she would most defiantly not approve of the arranged marriage, she would probably hate the idea of polygamy. Just as she hated slavery she would hate arranged marriages. Hermione hated just about anything that restricted or removed freedom from anyone. Hermione's face changed as she looked at Harry with growing horror. There was only one thought in her head, as she whispered her question, "Which one?"
Harry looked at her and bowed his head. Answering in a soft voice, "Both, and that is not all." With those words Hermione's head sprang upwards to look at Harry. Intense feelings were coursing through Hermione's mind; the strongest of them was outrage. Outrage that someone was forcing Harry to marry someone he did not love and barely knew, outrage at Harry for accepting the fact, and outrage at herself since she knew that there was nothing that she could do about it. The feeling of rage was so strong that she wept tears of anger and frustration.
Walking over to Hermione Harry sat beside her and wrapped his arms around her and gave her a hug, holding her while she wept.
While she was crying Gripsnock slipped Harry a handkerchief. When Hermione was done crying Harry handed it to her so she could clean her face.
"Hermione, that is not all. Blaise and Padma are not the only other two caught in this. Blaise I am to marry because I am the heir of the Black Family. Padma I will be marrying as the Goblin Ambassador." Harry explained. "There is a curse on the Potter males." Harry went on to explain how whenever a Potter family male was born several females would be conceived. Then in the boy's fifteenth year if he had not already met them the curse would manipulate events so that he did. He explained that somehow the curse would pick one of them as his soul mate and a bond would form between them. The bond would form sometime between his sixteenth birthday and his seventeenth. Harry did not tell her that the goblins had told him that he needed to find a fourth wife as well. He would cross that bridge when he came to it.
Harry told Hermione that he was meeting to speak with Blaise that evening. Hermione when she heard this spent the rest of the time Harry had before meeting Luna going over does and don'ts for that evening. Harry listened intently. His last date had not been a success and he desperately did not want to fail this time. It would have many more far reaching consciences if he did.
Finally Harry and Hermione left the vault with Gripsnock. Harry did not have a lot of time before he needed to meet with Luna so they were in a rush.
"Hermione, thanks for coming to see me. If you are still in the Alley latter I would like to meet you around 4:30 in the Flourish and Blotts so that you can help me pick out some robes for this evening." Harry told her before giving her a brief hug before running off to meet Luna.
Hermione was still in a little shock over what had happened over the last few hours she had spent with Harry. Hermione desperately wanted to tell Ron and Ginny or ask her mom for advice. Hermione knew however that Harry trusted her enough to keep his confidences that he no longer even thought it necessary to ask her not to tell any one. Hermione walked over to Flourish and Blotts and began looking for books on Family Rituals and Marriage Contracts while she waited for Harry.