A/N: Hello everyone here is chapter 9. Once again a few minor additions but no big changes yet. Sorry. But they will be here very soon. Please enjoy.
"Welcome to Diagon Alley!"
"Wow." John breathed. The rest of his family were having similar reactions. It was a very good thing that both John and Maria had a hold of their children's hands or else they would have likely bolted right through that archway. Even now they were trying their best to pull their parents into the alley. John could not believe his eye's. To be honest he wasn't even sure what he was looking at. Minerva was just standing to the side, giving the family an unobstructed view. "What is all this?" John asked Minerva.
"This, Mr. Ashwood, is the wizarding world's British economic center. Now I have about a hour before I must get back to Hogwarts so why don't we start by getting a bite to eat. I still have a lot to explain. I was actually supposed to explain everything to you yesterday but given the circumstances that did not happen." Minerva said apologetically. "Now I should be able to explain everything before I need to go back. After I leave feel free to explore. However I would suggest that you stay out of Knockturn Alley. It is not off limits or anything like that, but it is rather a seedy place." Minerva said to Maria and John. She would have told Merlyn and Harry the same thing but it did not seem as though they were paying attention to anyone as they looked around in wonder.
"I am afraid we have already eaten." Maria said. "And I am not sure that the kids will sit through a meal with all of this." Maria stated while gesturing all around her. To her surprise Minerva just smiled.
"Actually I think I know the perfect place." Minerva told them trying not to allow her grin to get any wider. "Just follow me. I think I know just the thing for two kids who want to run around." Now both John and Maria were confused but followed along non the less. "Ah, here we are." Minerva said as she stopped in front of a yellow shop with a few tables out front. The sign said 'Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour'.
Maria looked at John questioningly but John just smiled and shrugged. "Well I think this just might do it." Maria said letting a small chuckle escape before she turned to her sons. Who were still looking all over the place and not noticing that they were in front of an ice cream shop. "Hey kids, how would you like some ice cream before we start exploring?" Maria asked. Both Harry and Lynn looked at their mom before noticing that they were in fact in front of an ice cream parlour. The two didn't even bother answering before they ran inside.
"Why hello there. And how are you two today?" A man from behind the counter asked.
"We're great!" The pair said rather quickly now observing all the ice cream flavors.
"Ah, and a good day to you as well." The man said towards the adults who were now coming inside. "Why, Professor McGonagall! I didn't expect to see you for at least another few weeks when term ended. This is a pleasant surprise." The man exclaimed with a delighted smile.
"Hello Florean, and this is a rather special occasion. These are the Ashwoods. John, Maria, Lynn, and Harry. And I must say from the look on the kids faces you have an opportunity to gain a few lifetime customers if you play your cards right." Minerva told Florean with a knowing grin. No one made better ice cream then Florean after all so it shouldn't be to hard.
"Well then lets get to it. Do you see anything you like?" He asked the two.
"Can you mix two of the flavors?" Harry asked. John had to smile knowing where this was going. Florean was simply perplexed why anyone would want to mix flavors.
"I can but why don't you try them separately before you mix them? Hmm." He asked trying to reason with the children. Unfortunately it didn't work.
"No thanks. Can I get a mix of mint and strawberry?" Merlyn asked.
"I suppose so." Florean answered wondering how that would actually taste. "And for you?" Florean asked Harry.
"Can I get a mix of strawberry and mint?" Florean was beginning to think he knew just how this combination came about. But who on earth would serve a combination like that.
"Very well one mint and strawberry, and one strawberry and mint coming right up." Florean said loudly and with a flick of his wand two balls of mint popped out of their container while at the same time two balls of strawberry popped out and they started to mix together and finally separated into two bowls. "And what can I get for the rest of you?"
"Just for the kids today I think." John told the man. "So how much do we owe you?"
"One galleon and nine sickles." Florean answered a now confused John with an equally confused Maria next to him.
"Don't worry about this." Minerva said. "This is on me." She told them as she pulled two gold coins from her purse and handed them over to Florean. "Now why don't we join the kids at the table." When they sat down they could tell that the kids were in heaven. Minerva smiled as she turned to the Ashwood patriarchs. "So let me see where to start. Oh my look at the time, I will need to be quick. Well considering what just happened let me tell you that you can find out everything about our money and the conversion rate from the goblins at Gringotts." Minerva started to explain but paused when she saw the puzzled look on John's face. "Gringotts is the wizarding bank." She quickly answered. "That should be your first stop since you will be needing our currency to do any shopping."
John couldn't wait any longer and just blurted out, "Goblins!?"
Minerva realized that she didn't actually answer John's puzzled look after all. "Yes. The goblin nation runs Gringotts. I would go into fuller detail but I don't have too much time left. Now all you need to know is be very respectful and they will treat you right." Seeing as John was about to interrupt again Minerva gave him a stern glare and quickly headed him off. "If there is anything I don't explain you can probably find out about it in a book from Flourish and Blotts. Now then to continue, ah yes you can't let the knowledge that our world exists out or it would mean big trouble for you at the Ministry of Magic. The Ministry of Magic is our governing body they do work with the British government but not for them. They are an entirely separate entity." Minerva then went on to explain about muggles, pure bloods, using owl mail. She was about to bring up Hogwarts but thought it wise to leave that discussion for another time. By the time she finished explaining everything and answered a few of John and Maria's questions it was time for her to go. "Florean do you mind if I use your fireplace?" Florean who had been listening, due to the fact that there was no one else in his shop, shook his head and gestured towards a pot.
John and Maria turned to watch Minerva throw some powder into the fireplace and a bright green fire spring up. Their jaws dropped when they witnessed Minerva step into the flames and then disappear taking the flames with her. "What just happened?" Maria asked out loud.
Florean thought he was being asked the question and answered, "We can travel from fireplace to fireplace so long as the fireplaces are on the floo network."
Maria did not know what floo was, but she did understand 'fireplace to fireplace'. "Thank you." Maria told Florean. She looked down and saw that Harry and Lynn were done with their ice cream. "Did you guy's like it?" The two kids had smiles on their faces as they nodded slowly. Apparently they were still in ice cream heaven. "Well in that case it is time to go we have some exploring to do don't we?" She asked them and immediately the two came back to reality.
"Um, I was wondering if you could tell us where Gringotts is?" John asked Florean.
"Sure, it's that large marble building at the end of the alley."
"Thanks." John said to the man as the family left. The four then made their way to the large marble building all the while looking around and taking in the sights. Finally they reached the huge doors of Gringotts. John let out a whistle. This building was enormous. The large doors were already open so that patrons could just walk right on in. As they were heading in Maria drew his attention to a sign. The sign read, 'Enter, stranger, but take heed; Of what awaits the sin of greed; For those who take, but do not earn; Must pay most dearly in their turn. So if you seek beneath our floors; A treasure that was never yours; Thief, you have been warned, beware; Of finding more than treasure there.' "Well I guess it's a good thing we weren't planning on robbing the place." John said with a chuckle making his wife smile. John along with his family walked right up to the counter and addressed the goblin. 'So this is a goblin! Incredible!' John thought. "Hello, sir, we were hoping that you could help us." John said addressing the goblin.
The goblin looked up from his pile of gold with dark eyes and studied the man in front of him. Then with a cold nasally voice, "Do you have an account with us?"
"No I am..." John started to answer but then remembered that Minerva had said that Harry's parents were a witch and wizard so Harry might just happen to have one. "I don't think that we do. But our son Harry might."
"Very well. Please wait here." The goblin told John. A few minutes later the goblin returned with a few pieces of paper and what appeared to be a silver dagger. "Now please give me everyone's hands and we shall see if you have a vault with us."
"Excuse me but what exactly do you plan to do with that dagger?" Maria asked suspiciously.
The goblin let out a huff. "The paper needs a blood sample in order to work. So I will need a sample from each of you. I figured while I am finding out if one of you has a vault I might as well see if the rest of you do as well." The goblin told him with a sneer. John and Maria got the feeling that the goblin just wanted to have some sick fun. But John figured it might not be such a bad idea. For all they knew Merlyn had a vault and it would be easier for the kids if they saw their parents do this first.
"Alright." John answered earning him a wide eyed look from his wife. He just smiled back at her letting her know he would explain later. "I'll go first." John said holding out his finger for the goblin to prick. The goblin had other ideas and grabbed his wrist and pulled his hand forward.
"Open you hand please. I need a decent amount of blood. Don't worry this is standard procedure." The goblin said with a sadistic smile. After all just because it was procedure doesn't mean he can't enjoy it. John took a deep breath and opened his hand. The goblin quickly made a rather deep cut in John's palm and blood started pouring out onto the sheet of paper. John winced at the cut, it seemed to burn.
"How much do you need exactly?" John asked since the goblin didn't make any attempt to stop the bleeding. Just as he finished his question he felt a warm comforting sensation surround the cut and it stopped bleeding. When he wiped the blood off you could not even tell that there had even been a cut there. 'Wow!' John thought to himself, 'Magic is amazing!"
The goblin let the blood pour onto piece of paper. The blood seemed to be absorbed into it. The goblin then held up the paper and watched it for a few minutes but nothing seemed to happen when he started talking, "Well it appears as though you do not have an account with us. Next." Maria went up and got her palm sliced. Once again nothing happened. Now it was Harry's turn.
Harry wasn't looking forward to this at all. The Dursleys had had done worse to him but he still really didn't want to do this. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder, it was his brother's. That gave Harry the strength he needed. His new mom and dad had both done it so it couldn't be too bad, right? He walked over to his dad so that he could pick him up, the counter was rather high after all.
"Now don't worry about a thing Harry. It only hurts for a little bit. I promise." John told Harry trying to calm him down as much as possible. After all it wasn't everyday that someone wants to cut your son's hand and you let them. The goblin quickly took Harry's hand and slit it. Harry winced and John could see a tear in his eye. "It's alright son, I'm here. It will all be over soon." Harry nodded but kept his eyes shut. Then John saw the skin healing on it's own, that coupled with the look on Harry's face let him know that his son was done. "There we go." John said while putting his son down. "Now that wasn't so bad now was it?" Harry shook his head and gave his dad a small smile.
The goblin then for the third time held up the piece of paper and held it for a few minutes. Just like John's and Maria's the blood seemed to be absorbed by the parchment. It now looked as though there was never any blood on it at all. A few minutes passed and then words started to form on the paper. The words seemed to be written in blood. Harry's blood. "Ah yes, Mr. Potter does indeed have a vault with us. Might I say welcome back Mr. Potter." The goblin said giving Harry a smile. While the smile showed a lot of ferocious pointed teeth the goblin didn't seem any where near as creepy and sadistic as he had up until that point. "Next." The goblin said rather politely. John was rather confused apparently Harry's family had some clout here.
"Alright, Lynn, it's your turn."
Lynn looked at his dad. He wasn't exactly looking forward to this either. But he couldn't let his brother see him chicken out. So with a deep breath he stepped over to his mom who picked him up. Just like with Harry it hurt. It hurt a lot, but then after about twenty seconds he felt a comforting warmth on his palm and the pain was all gone. Soon enough he was back on the ground looking at his palm. He had never even thought about using magic to heal. That would of helped a lot during his mom's self defense training.
John and Maria were observing the paper. After all Lynn was a wizard so maybe he had a vault as well. However by the look on the goblin's face he would disagree. But then just like Harry's paper, writing started to appear. The goblin's eyes widened in surprise at what was written before he looked back towards the Ashwood family. "Please follow me and I will take you to the manger of your accounts." the goblin said as he hoped off his stool and lead them to an office door sporting the name Ragnok. The goblin opened the door and motioned them inside and then closed the door behind them. "Ragnok, something has come up." The goblin said handing the two pieces of paper to Ragnok.
"I see. That will be all then." Ragnok told the other goblin who promptly excused himself. "Now, Mr. and Mrs..."
"Ashwood." John supplied.
"Mr. and Mrs. Ashwood, you two have no vault with us. However your two charges," Ragnok began but was interrupted.
"Children." Maria sternly told the goblin. "These are our children not our charges." She clarified.
Ragnok gave her a toothy smile, "I see, well your child Harry has inherited control of the Potter Family vault. Vault number 687. Do you have the key?" When the family shook their heads he continued. "No problem we will have a new one made. For today I will bypass the lock when we visit the Potter vault. Now onto you." Ragnok said looking down at Merlyn. "You Mr..."
"Ashwood." Maria supplied this time with quite a bit of pride.
"Mr. Ashwood you are the rightful owner of vault number 7, the Ambrosius Family vault." Ragnok was then interrupted by a knock at his door. "Ah, that must be your vault files." He said as a goblin came in and put two packets on Ragnok's desk. "Now would you care to see your vaults?" Both Harry and Merlyn were quite keen to find that they actually had vaults in Gringotts and headed towards the door before being stopped by their dad's voice.
"Actually, there is one more matter that we would like to discuss creating an Ashwood Family vault." John said. Maria turned toward her husband shocked. When had he decided this?
"Well it is a fairly simple matter. All we need is a blood sample and for you to select a level of security. A low security vault runs at about one hundred galleons a year, a medium security vault is five hundred galleons a year. In order to get any higher security you must already have a vault and must have had it for at least one year." Ragnok said
"Ah, that is another thing that I would like to discuss with you. What is the exchange rate?" John asked.
'Ah they are muggles that explains a lot' Ragnok thought. "Well a galleon is worth five pounds, a sickle is worth .29 pounds, and a knut is worth .01 pounds."
"Can you communicate with muggle banks or do you need cash to open an account?" John asked.
"We have human employees here at Gringotts so a check should be fine." Ragnok smiled greedily.
"Very well. I would like a low security vault." John said writing out a check for ten thousand pounds. "When will it be ready?"
"Well I can assign you a vault immediately. We also will cash any check you give us. However I will warn you. If you cross us we will come after you and get what is ours. Do you understand?" Ragnok stated threateningly. John just nodded "Now you will have vault number 912. We will stop there first. Your money should already be there. Please follow me and remember to keep your limbs inside the cart at all times." Ragnok said with a sadistic smile. He really loved peoples first cart rides.
Maria pulled her husbands arm and had him fall behind a bit so she could talk to him. "Jonathan, what was that all about? Why did you get a vault?" Maria asked using a rather stern voice letting him know that she was rather upset. "And more importantly why didn't you discuss any of this with me?" This time there was no sternness in her voice only hurt.
John was a little shocked when his wife started in on him but by the end he understood. And he needed to fix this now. "I am sorry, love. It just came to me that with our son's having vaults of their own I wasn't sure which we would use or how much money is in them. And I don't want to use their money for schooling or anything. We are their parents after all and it is our duty to pay for all of this. Getting a vault just kind of made that official that's all. Whatever money that was left for them will give them a safety net when they are older." John said as quickly as he could. He hated seeing Maria hurt like this. "And come on it is only ten thousand. We still have plenty left over from my last tour a few years ago. Remember we retired off that money and we still have quite a bit left. And remember I didn't spend the money just moved it into this bank. That's all." Maria thought about what her husband said and realized that he was right. So with a smile and a peck on the cheek they boarded the cart that was going to take them to their vault.
The ride was horrible. No question about it. Thank god it was short. The family was now standing in front of their brand new vault. Number 912, Ragnok went over to the door and ran his finger down it. A few seconds later the door started to hiss and screech. After a minute a key hole appeared in the middle of the door with the key protruding from the lock. At a gesture from Ragnok John walked up and turned the key. With the turn of the key the door started to open inward to show a rather spacious room. Inside was a mound of gold galleons, a small pile of silver sickles, and two piles of knuts. "So this is what ten thousand pounds looks like?"
"Actually this is what nine thousand five hundred looks like. We have already taken out the yearly fee." Ragnok stated.
"Well I have a feeling we will need a decent amount today. Why don't we load up your purse, love. At least until we can get a...moneybag is I suppose what is used to carry these coins around." Maria opened her purse and put a few hundred galleons inside. "Alright it looks as though it is time to visit Harry's vault." John said rather jovially. The family hopped back into the cart and zoomed off. It took a few minutes of very rough riding to get to Harry's vault. As they pulled up outside the vault everyone piled out of the cart trying not to throw up. It did take a little while for everyone to find their feet again. While the Ashwoods were finding their feet Ragnok went to the door and had it create a new key the exact same way he did with the new Ashwood Family vault.
Harry turned to his father as if to ask for permission. When he received a nod Harry slowly made his way to the door. It wasn't that he was still feeling sick, it was that this vault belonged to his parents. With one final breath he reached out and turned the key. As the doors slowly opened Harry's mouth dropped open as did the rest of his family's. Inside were mounds and mounds of gold galleons, piles and piles of silver sickles, and towers among towers of bronze knuts. Harry might not know a lot about money but he did know one thing, he was rich, very rich.
Behind Harry the rest of the Ashwoods just stood there stunned. John and Maria were flabbergasted. After all ten thousand pounds only gave them a small pile of the gold coins and here in Harry's vault were multiple mounds that were at least as high as Harry. Everyone followed Harry inside the vault. While Harry, Lynn, and Maria were all looking at the piles of money something else caught John's eye. It was an envelope, and the only thing on it was a "To Harry" in the center. John looked over his shoulder to make sure that no one was looking and pocketed the letter. John knew that if Harry saw it he would want to open and read it right then and there, and he knew that this was going to be a very emotional time for Harry. This was something that needed to be done at home. A part of him hated to postpone this letter even for a second but he knew that it would be better to wait until they got home.
"Well Harry, what do you think?" Maria asked her son.
"I'm rich. I can pay you back for all the nice clothes you bought me the other day!" Harry said happily
Maria was shocked. How could he be thinking of something like that. She needed to put a stop to this right now. She quickly knelt down in front of Harry and said, "Harry, who am I?"
"Um, my mom." Harry said a little confused.
"That's right I am your mother. Which means I get the privilege of raising you. And that means that I get to buy you clothes." Maria told her son with conviction. "Why do you want to pay us back for the clothes?"
"Well I really like it here and didn't want to be a burden. The Dursleys always said that I was a burden and I didn't want to be a burden to you." Harry told her tears starting to form in his eyes.
"Oh baby, come here." Maria said bringing her son into a tight hug. "Honey, you will never be a burden, and do you know why? Because both your father and I love you very much. We will always love you." Maria said to the now crying Harry. No one had every said anything like that to him before. Maria was very glad the Dursleys were lock up, because if they weren't then she would likely be going to jail for murder. It took a little while for both mother and son to calm down. "Alright." said Maria as she stood back up and wiped her eyes. "I think it is time we visited your brothers vault."
John watched his wife and son as they got on the cart and couldn't help a tear fall from his eye. The Dursleys had most definitely caused a lot more problems than he thought. It was a good thing both he and Maria were up to the task of helping Harry.
Another cart ride later they arrived at vault 7. This cart ride took them a lot longer than the other two. John could swear that he even saw a dragon!. Unfortunately this time the cart ride truly did a number on the occupants. The moment the family got out of the cart they all collapsed thanking God that they were all still alive.
"Now this is one of our oldest and most secure vaults so please stand back." Ragnok said to the family. He walked over to the door and once again ran his finger down it. However this time there was no hissing or screeching. In fact there was no noise at all. The door just started to melt away. Ragnok grinned at their gaping faces. "If anyone but a Gringotts' goblin tried that they would be sucked inside and trapped." The family finally got over their shock from the door to look inside the vault. What they saw shocked them even more. The vault was empty. Not a single knut.
"Um, why is it empty?" John asked.
"Well the vault has been inactive for almost two thousand years." Ragnok said startling everyone." The previous owner disappeared sometime in the late 11th century and after a decade was declared dead in absentia. His will was then carried out and so all of his possessions were donated to various organizations. Most of which went to the Order of Merlin. But as he was one of the first to become a patron of Gringotts he was given certain privileges. One of which is a permanent vault. So there are no yearly fees."
The Ashwoods spent some time exploring the large empty vault before finally conceding that it truly was empty. After a bit of looking through the vault John went up to Ragnok and asked "If I may ask who was the previous owner?".
"Oh that would be Merlin Ambrosius." Ragnok stated calmly to John's complete surprise. His son had a vault that had belonged to THE Merlin! John didn't know what to think at this particular revelation. But as he had started to think about the implications of what he had just learned Maria came up next to him and brought him back to reality. He would have to discuss this with her later. They were dreading the ride back up to the entrance as they all knew it would be longer than the others. Maria pointed out that it will end sooner if they start sooner. That didn't help much, but once she pointed out that there were a lot of magical shops to see they all scrambled to get in the cart.
"I never want to ride that cart again." Harry said as they were leaving Gringotts, causing everyone else to chuckle.
"Don't worry son. I'll ride it from now on." John told him. They family then walked down the alley and stopped into any shop that they found interesting. They popped into the stationary shop where they found an assortment of quills, inks, and parchment. John bought a decent supply of all three. Might as well get the kids used to writing with these things. They next popped into Quality Quidditch supplies. They didn't get anything there but had a blast looking around the store. The two kids were definitely interested in the broomsticks. John couldn't believe that riding broomsticks was a real thing. Maria looked around in interest but wasn't quite as excitable as the others.
The rest of the day went on from their with the family visiting many different shops and cafes all throughout Diagon Alley. By the time they left through the leaky cauldron they had quite a few bags full of books, a daily prophet subscription, and a eagle owl who was being carried by Harry and Merlyn. The large bags of books might not have drawn much attention but a owl in a cage in the middle of London sure did. There were even a few random people following them until they made it to their car. While they were driving home the kids couldn't stop playing with their new pet.
"Mom, Dad can we name him?" Harry asked.
"Sure honey just make sure that it is a good name." Maria said with a smile.
"I've got it." Merlyn shouted. "How about Dive?" Harry shook his head. "Well then how about Gizmo?" Once again Harry shot it down.
"I like Berty." Harry said but this name was shot down by Merlyn. "Okay, fine. How about Rasp?" Merlyn looked like he was giving it some serious thought but in the end shot it down like the other. The car ride went on like this the entire way home. Harry and Merlyn would come up with a name only for the other to shoot it down. When they finally reached home and the boys still hadn't come to an agreement Maria thought it was time for some new prospective.
"Alright boys, we can't very well take our owl into our house without a name so do you mind if I suggest one?" Maria asked. Harry and Merlyn looked at each other and shrugged after all they couldn't come up with a good one. Together they turned back to their mom and waited for her suggestion. "How about Casper?"
The boys both smiled and turned to their owl. "What do you think? Do you like that name?" Harry asked. In reply the owl spread his wings and hooted in approval.
"Casper it is then. Thanks mom!" Merlyn almost shouted.
When everyone got inside they let Casper out of his cage. The moment the door was open he flew into the kitchen and perched on top of the fridge. "Hungry?" Maria asked playfully. When she got a hoot and a head bob she was shocked. Apparently owls were a lot more intelligent then she thought. Well if he is hungry we better feed him. "Harry, Merlyn come over here. How would you like to feed Casper?" Two sets of nods were her answer as she dug in the fridge for some left over chicken. When she found it she pulled out two drumsticks and handed them to her kids. "Alright Casper you do know this is a special treat right. Don't expect this every day." The owl hooted his ascent. "Alright then, come on down and be gentle." Casper tilted his head as if to say 'Well duh.' "Okay, okay I get it." Casper hopped off the refrigerator and with a few flaps of his wings landed on the island looking directly at the two pieces of chicken. Harry and Merlyn held out the chicken gingerly. Casper walked over to the edge of the counter and grabbed the offered pieces of chicken, Harry's with his beak and Merlyn's with one of his talons. Once he got the chicken Casper took off and flew upstairs to his cage with the two young boys running after him.
Maria was smiling when she turned around and the smile immediately lefter her face when she saw her husband. He looked troubled. "Honey, what is it?" She asked. They had just had one of the most amazing days of their lives especially for someone like her husband who loved magic with a passion.
"It's this." John answered pulling out the letter he found in Harry's vault. "I found it in Harry's vault. I'm not sure what to do with it. Should we read it before giving it to Harry, or let him be the first to read it?" John asked his wife.
"Oh, John." Maria said covering her mouth with her hand. This is why her husband was acting so subdued all day. They both remained silent for a little while thinking hard about what to do with the letter. "I think we should read it first and then decide what to do."
"I think you're right." John agreed. He then went into the living room and sat on the couch with Maria following right behind him. Once they were both seated they carefully opened the letter and read it.
Dear Harry,
Hello son. Your mother and I are writing this while you are asleep in your mother's arms. If you are reading this then I guess we have been found and well...never mind about that. But that also means that you have been spending the last ten years with your Dogfather Sirius. Your mother and I both hope you have been happy with him. He was our best friend and we knew no one would take care of you or love you like he will. Your Dogfather is here tapping his foot waiting for us to finish this letter. He can really be touchy sometimes. But that's okay. We will write many more letters to you. That way even if the worst should happen you can get to knew us and know how much we love you. Ah but now it is time to hand the note to Sirius so that he can put it in our vault. Please don't be mad at him for keeping this from you for so long. We are the ones who asked him to wait until your eleventh birthday. Hopefully Sirius's plan works and you won't even be reading this. But if you are there is one thing we want you to know. Harry we love you more than life itself. Never forget that.
Love,
Mom and Dad
By the time they finished they were both in tears. "Well," John said while wiping his eyes, "I wish we could have met the Potters."
"So what are we going to do? Should we give him the letter now?" Maria asked.
"No. His parents wanted him to have the letter on his eleventh birthday and that is exactly when we will give it to him. In the meantime I want to find out who this Sirius person is." John told his wife. And with that he put the letter in the wall safe. "Tomorrow I will take it back to Gringotts and put it in our vault." Maria nodded. "Come on. Lets get dinner started."
"You mean you will get dinner started and I will sit in the kitchen sipping wine and looking pretty?" Maria asked playfully.
Not missing a beat John answered, "Yep."
The rest of the week seemed to fly by for the Ashwoods. John and Maria had given Harry and Merlyn the week off while they got accustomed to the wizarding world. Most of the books they bought at Flourish and Blotts had to do with history, and wizarding laws and government. However they also got a few first year school books as well as books on magical theory, John got quite a few of those. Even though it seemed as though the only thing John and Maria did during the week was read they weren't even finished with the history books. But at the end of the week they did receive a pleasant surprise in the paper. Apparently Albus Dumbledore had resigned from his position as Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. They also had Minerva over for dinner a few times. Minerva who had never had John's cooking was not expecting anything special. By the time she left the first night she knew that she was wrong and most definitely looking forward to the next time she was invited over. It just so happens that she was invited over the morning that fateful prophet came out telling of Dumbledore's resignation. That night they celebrated Minerva's new position as Headmistress. Minerva was rather glad for the invitation and not just for John's food. She had a few more things to fix with John and Maria and now that Dumbledore resigned she would be able to do just that. Hopefully.
"Hello." Minerva said when Maria answered the door and invited her in. "How have you been?"
"We have been well. But it has only been a few days. We did see that you were given the Headmistress post at Hogwarts congratulations." Maria said while pouring them each a glass of wine.
"Thank you." Minerva said raising her glass and taking a sip. "Actually I must say I was happy to receive your invitation, and not just for John's cooking." She said with a chuckle. "I had a matter that I wished to discuss with you." She waited until she had Maria's full attention which didn't take long. "I wanted to talk to you and John about Harry and Merlyn."
"Oh. What about my children?" Maria asked. There was no heat or wariness in her voice. Minerva was someone whom she trusted, especially after reading about Dumbledore's resignation that morning. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that Minerva had something to do with it.
"Well I wanted to ask what you were planning to do about Harry's and Merlyn's magical education once they turn eleven. I know that the previous Headmaster didn't exactly leave you with a good impression of the school but I can promise you that there will never happen again. I would like you to at least consider Hogwarts."
Maria smiled at Minerva. "Well I will tell you what so long as Dumbledore isn't there and you are Headmistress we will send them to Hogwarts. You in just getting rid of Dumbledore, a man who you seemed, at least on your first visit, to hold in high regards, have earned both my and my husband's respect." Maria told her. Minerva let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "Ah now it smells like dinner is ready. Boys come on down dinner is ready." Maria shouted the last upstairs. Soon two blurs shot downstairs and into the kitchen.
Minerva gave her glass of wine a weary glance as she thought she saw an owl on one of the boy's shoulders. She was reassured she wasn't seeing things when Maria started talking while leading her to the kitchen. "You know we got Casper to be a family owl. But he seems to have rather attached himself to Lynn. Harry doesn't seem to mind but I think we will get him one of his own. Besides then Casper will have a playmate." She finished with a smile. Minerva was blown away. She had never seen anyone come to terms with the wizarding world like the Ashwoods seemed to. They acted as if this was how they had always lived this way. They even had an owl for heavens sake. She had just assumed that they used the post office in Diagon Alley. Minerva shook her head in disbelief. 'Now that all the business is taken care of all that is left is John's delicious dinner.' Minerva thought with a smile as she walked into the kitchen behind Maria.
Over the next week Maria and John had finished the history books, however the fact that two of them mentioned Harry and told of how he was the downfall of one of the worlds darkest wizards. The books never named this dark wizard however, only referring to him as you-know-who or he-who-shall-not-be-named. That in itself scared Maria because who on earth is so bad that people won't write his name down even after he is dead and gone. Now she was working on the law books and the wizarding world had some really dated laws. In fact there had only been around twenty laws introduced in the last one hundred years. One thing that puzzled her was the underage magic law. She had read something about a trace but if this was true then why didn't they receive any notices the previous year when Lynn was performing underage magic almost everyday. She decided to talk to Minerva when she came by for dinner in a few nights and in the meantime make sure both Harry and Lynn don't do any magic. John was spending his week trying to find out who this Sirius is. So far he has found out absolutely nothing, but then he has only been looking through the books that he bought. Well maybe Minerva could help him when she came by for dinner later this week.
"Minerva it's great to see you." Maria greeted as she gave Minerva a hug.
"Hello, Maria. I know I am early but I just needed to get away." Minerva told her friend. 'Friend when did that happen. This family is something else.' Minerva thought.
"Well you are always welcome here Minerva. But I do need your help if your not too worn out."
"I think I can help out a friend when she needs it. What can I do?" Minerva asked.
"Well I've been studying up on wizarding law." Maria said and Minerva was once again stunned. Most wizards and witches don't study wizard law. To be honest she didn't even know too much about it herself. "I was wondering why we haven't received any warnings from the Ministry of Magic. I mean Lynn has been doing magic for over a year and we have heard nothing."
Minerva's eyes went wide. She knew that Lynn could make a fire and levitate small objects but didn't know he had been able to do it for that long. "Well I believe that is due to the fact that Merlyn isn't eleven yet. When a young witch or wizard turns eleven the trace is activated and doesn't deactivate until their seventeenth birthday." As both Minerva and Maria were sitting down John brought each of them a glass of wine.
"Thanks honey. So why eleven?"
"Eleven is the age that witches and wizards begin their magical education." Minerva said.
"Well as long as you are answering questions I was hoping you could answer one of mine." John said and then went on to tell her about their trip to Gringotts and finding out about the kids vaults. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out Harry's letter. "I went to Gringotts earlier today and got this letter out of the vault. I would like you to read it." John said as he handed it to her. Minerva read the letter and her reaction was almost identical to Maria's. Once she finished she handed the paper back to John who folded it back up and put it away. "Now can you tell me who this Sirius is?"
Minerva took a few minutes to get her emotions back in check. "The Sirius is that letter would be Sirius Black." At the complete lack of shock on their faces Minerva had to remind herself that despite how they live now they only joined the wizarding world a few weeks ago. "Ah yes well Sirius Black is currently serving a life sentence in Azkaban. "
"I assume that is a prison." At a nod from Minerva John continued. "What did he do?"
"He betrayed Lily and James to you-know-who. He was after them and they were in hiding. They were put under a Fidelius charm. Basically the only person that can find him is a person that was designated as their secret keeper. The spell takes all knowledge of an whatever the subject of the charm is and places it inside a person, known as the secret keeper. It is rather complicated but the summary is that everyone who has knowledge of the subject forgets until either they are told by the secret keeper or the spell is lifted. Sirius was James and Lily's secret keeper. So he was the only person who could have betrayed them. And then after he-who-must-not-be-named got to them another of Lily and James' friends Peter Pettigrew went out to hunt Sirius down. Well he found Sirius but Sirius killed him and a bunch of muggles." Minerva finished with a sob. She hated thinking about the Potters. They were the best people anyone could hope to meet.
"Well I think that is enough of that for tonight. Let's go and have a good dinner." John said. When John said dinner everyone turned toward the stairs as two boys came downstairs. Minerva was only a little surprised so see a snowy owl on Harry's shoulders. "Her name is Hedwig. Harry found the name while reading one of the history books. I'm afraid he isn't as interested in history as I am." John said seeing the look on Minerva's face. John might have said that they were done but Maria could tell that he was doing a lot of thinking about all of this.
Later when dinner was over and everyone was in bed Maria decided to bring Sirius up. She really wanted to know what her husband was thinking. "So about Sirius?"
"What about him?" John asked still deep in thought.
"Oh don't give me that. I know that look. You have been doing nothing but thinking about him and that letter all evening. And you wouldn't be doing that if you had already made up your mind about him. So spill. What's going through that brain of yours?" Maria asked .
"Well, I have been thinking about everything really. From the letter to Minerva's description of the man, even though she didn't say much. At least we know why he hasn't been taking care of Harry. But something is bothering me about it. But before I make up my mind I think I need to talk to the man. I don't know what is bugging me and I can't put my finger on it and that makes it even more annoying." John explained.
"Well I will tell you one thing there is nothing you can't get out of a government so long as you fill out the right paper work. So why don't you figure out what papers are needed. And hey while your at it why don't you get us hooked up to the Floo network. After all there is nothing that says we can't be connected." And there wasn't. One of the many things that she had been researching in those law books was how much they could get away with as muggles. And funnily enough while muggles couldn't get anything, so long as there was a resident wizard the entire household was treated as a magical home in the eye's of the law. Wizarding law was weird but who's complaining.
It had taken over a month just to find the right forms to fill out to visit an inmate of Azkaban. The Ministry of Magic seemed to have more red tape then any other government in the world. The only bit of good news is that while they bury some forms like the prisoner visitation forms deep many mundane ones such as floo network connection forms were easy to find and fill out. In fact they were connected after only a week. But eventually John found the forms and made sure to grab multiple copies just in case. So now it was all a waiting game. Unfortunately it was a long wait. It took another two months before they were allowed to visit Sirius. Over those months John and Maria had started homeschooling their kids again. The subjects covered however changed a little bit. For instance history turned into wizarding history. Of course magic practice stayed the same. It took Harry a while to find that pulsing feeling but with help from his brother he was catching up. John had decided to let Merlyn practice but not move on until Harry caught up. Merlyn was fine with that since he didn't want his brother to feel like he was falling behind. However just practicing lighting candles and lifting rubber balls seemed to have an unexpected side effect. After three months of just practicing the "basics" it was becoming easier to do. John even started them on potions which he found that he seemed to have a bit of a talent for. When he brought this up to his wife she simply said that it sounded like cooking so of course he was good at it.
Finally the date for their visit to Sirius arrived. The doorbell rang early in the afternoon. John opened the door to reveal a rather cross Emily. "Hello Emily."
"Hello my arse. You both barely spoke to me for three months! Bloody hell! What is going on!?" Emily screamed giving John a hard jab in the chest venting her frustrations.
"Em, I'm sorry." John said quickly trying to minimize the damage Emily might possibly do. "Look the last few months have been rather...insane. Come in and grab a drink." John said leading her over to the couch where there was a bottle of scotch waiting.
Emily quickly downed a glass before pouring herself another to sip. This was some good scotch. "Alright, now that I'm not going to knock you down start explaining." And explain he did. John told her everything that had happened since Dumbledore's visit. It took a few hours with all the questions that Emily had for him. "Wow, you weren't kidding when you said that the last few months were insane. So you're going to visit this Sirius guy tonight?"
"Yes, but not just us, we were hoping that you would come. As you know I have my doubts about him being guilty based on that letter. I was kind of hoping you would help us. After all you are a police officer Emily."
Emily started to nod but then realized something. "Wait then who is watching the kids?" Emily asked.
"Oh there new Auntie Minnie. And yes she hates being called Auntie Minnie just as much as you hate being called Auntie Em." John said with a laugh. "Hey kids get down stairs and say hi to your Auntie." Soon after Emily saw two small boys sprint down the stairs and crash into her.
"Auntie Em!" The boys cried out.
"Hey kiddos. Did you miss your Auntie?" Both boys nodded emphatically. "Good so who is cooking dinner tonight?"
"Me!" Merlyn said. "Dad is letting me cook all on my own tonight. But he said I can't start until Aunt Minerva gets here."
"Aunt Minerva." She growled out looking directly at John and Maria who were doing an admirable job of not meeting her eyes. "Well where is Aunt Minerva?" Emily asked not taking her eyes off of the two parents.
"She should be here soon." Maria said while intently studying her glass of wine. A few minutes later the doorbell rang. "Ah, Hello Minerva." Maria greeted.
"Hello Maria. So where are you two going...Oh hello I'm sorry my name is Minerva McGonagall." She said introducing herself to Emily.
"Aunt Minerva!" The two boys shouted running to her. "Hey look what we can do now! You too Auntie Em. Come on." Each boy grabbed an Aunts hand and together they dragged them to the couch. Harry and Merlyn then went to opposite sides of the room and took out a rubber ball. "Ready,. Set. Go!" and the boys through the balls to each other. When the balls where within reach they both froze in midair. After a couple of seconds the balls began moving towards their original throwers. There was a look of intense concentration on Harry's face while Lynn was obviously pretending to have a hard time for his brothers benefit. It was rather funny since Merlyn was overdoing it. Needless to say both Emily and Minerva were very impressed. After a round of clapping and hugs of congratulation the two boys went into the kitchen for some snacks.
"Well. They seem to be progressing quite well. I would go so far as to say those two boys are prodigies." Minerva said.
"So how do we get to this Azkaban place, anyway?" Emily said wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.
Minerva's head shot over to John when he mentioned Azkaban. "John you can't be serious. Azkaban is a horrible place it is guarded by..."
"Dementors, I know. Don't worry Minerva we did our research." John interrupted while he heaved a heavy book bag onto his shoulder. "Chocolate." John told her when she raised her eye brow at the bag. "But we must be off if we are to make it to the ministry on time. We will floo to the leaky cauldron and then grab a taxi to the Ministry. We are meeting a Ms. Bones of the department of Magical Law Enforcement for transportation to Azkaban. And besides Ms. Bones will be escorting us the entire time."
"Wait right there!" Emily said in a no nonsense voice. "Do you mean to say that the bag you are holding is full of chocolate? Your chocolate?" When John nodded Emily immediately ran to the fireplace and stepped inside. "To the Leaky Cauldron!" Emily said striking a classic Peter Pan pose with her hands on her hips.
"Um, Em, that is not how the floo network works." Maria said trying her best not to laugh at her friend. John broke down and had to clutch his sides he was laughing so hard. Minerva was just starring slack jawed at this weird woman. Emily looked a little sheepish, 'Well they said you step in and say where you want to go.' Emily thought to herself. Maria simply shook her head and went over to Emily and showed her how to use the floo powder.
"Now the boys need to be in bed by ten, and don't let them have to much sugar, and no more than an hour of television, and..."
"I know John." Minerva interrupted. "Don't worry everything will be fine. Just worry about yourself. I know you do your research but dementors are foul beings just remember to think happy thoughts." Minerva added. She really liked John and he was a great friend but he was extremely smart and the problem with being so smart is that one becomes overconfident.
"Alright Minerva, have a nice night." John said then disappeared in a flash of fire. Once John felt solid ground under his feet again he opened his eyes to find a rather disoriented Emily flat on her arse. "Well having a little rest are we?" John teased Emily.
"Ha ha, very funny." Emily spat back. "You know you could of warned me that traveling via fireplace was so disorienting."
"You're right. But you were rather insistent on traveling and weren't really listening." Maria told her friend.
"Maria why don't you help out Emily while I hail a taxi." John said as he headed outside. The moment he crossed the threshold the Leaky Cauldron seemed to vanish. It didn't actually go anywhere, it was only a spell to make sure muggles didn't know it was there. John was rather glad that he memorized the exact location of the door. Although he must admit that walking into a wall was a rather odd feeling. It didn't take long for John to hail a taxi and help Emily, who was still a little out of it, into the back. Soon after they were exiting the cab on Whitehall and started heading for a telephone box. They all squeezed in the phone box and John dialed 62442. A voice then filled the box.
"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic visitors entrance. Please state your names and purpose." said the disembodied voice.
"John Ashwood, Maria Ashwood, and Emily Stalks. We are here for a meeting with Ms. Bones." John said calmly. He was very happy he thought to ask Madame Bones what to expect. There were a few clinks in the coin return and John picked up the badges and handed one to Maria and Emily. The floor then started to move downward like a lift. A minute later the doors open and the trio stepped into the grand entryway of the Ministry of Magic. "Now lets see. I believe that we head this way and take the lift." John directed shifting his bag a little. Maybe he packed too much chocolate, but from what he read about dementors they would need it. "Department of Magical Law enforcement." He said as they stepped into the lift. Everyone was unusually quiet, John and Maria out of nervousness and Emily in anticipation of the next bit of magic.
"Department of Magical Law enforcement."
"Well it looks like we are here." John said as he cautiously stepped out of the lift. He tried not to show it but he was rather nervous. There was only one woman on the floor at the moment. Perhaps the work day was over.
"Ah, hello there. I am Amelia Bones." The woman said introducing herself.
"Hello, its a pleasure to meet you. I am John Ashwood, and this is my wife Maria. And this is Emily Stalks." John said introducing everyone. "So how are we getting to Azkaban?"
"We will be taking a portkey to a secure location and then from there we will be going by boat. Unfortunately we can't portkey directly to the island due to the wards protecting the prison. Once we are there you must not leave my side until I say so or you could end up worse than dead." Amelia told the party. "Alright everyone touch the feather. Five...Four...Three...Two...One" Everyone immediately felt a tug and started spinning. The ride didn't last long before their feet came crashing to the ground and John, Maria, and Emily fell down. "Sorry I should have warned you about the landing." The trio got up and brushed themselves off. They were off the coast somewhere. Beached not ten meters away was a wooden boat. "Right well if you will all follow me the ride should only take about half an hour." Ms. Bones said addressing the party. The ride was a rather quiet affair. When they got their first look at where they were heading a feeling of dread seeped into them. Azkaban looked like a old stone prison and gave off an air of horror. "Yes I am afraid the dementors effects surround the prison due to the concentration of them." Amelia explained when she saw their reactions. "Expecto Patronum!" Amelia shouted as a brilliant glowing brown bear shot from the tip of her wand. The effect was immediate the feeling of dread was gone. "Please stay close by." Amelia told them looking at John askance as he reached into his bag but understood when he pulled out some chocolate. When Amelia bit into her bar she was astonished, the chocolate was delicious it was right up there with some of Honeydukes' best. She would have to find out where he got it.
"So shall we head on in?" John asked. Maria and Emily were not exactly keen but nodded. The entire place looked like it hadn't been touched in centuries. Which it probably hadn't. There was slime and algae covering the walls due to being surrounded by water. "So where are the dementors?" John asked while putting another piece of chocolate in his mouth.
"They are here, in fact there are three directly in front of us." Amelia answered. When she noticed the three trying to catch sight of one she added. "I'm afraid you can't see them. They're not invisible, they are however only visible to magical beings like wizards and witches." Three sets of eyes widened at this particular bit of information. "Although I must say I am impressed that you did your homework and brought along a good supply of chocolate." Amelia commended as they went deeper into the bowls of the keep. "Here we are." John looked at the metal door with interest, there were no handles and it was solid. "I had Mr. Black moved here for your visit. It is an interrogation room." With a tap of her wand the door creaked open. John slowly entered the dimly lit room. Inside was a thick wooden chair with chains all over it. And sitting on the chair wrapped in those very chains was a starved looking man with long mangled black hair.
John wasn't sure where to start. "Excuse me, would you be Sirius Black?"
A/N: Thanks for reading.
Please review and let me know what you think.
Thank you.
