A/N: Hello everyone! Here we are back again! I hope you are all enjoying your start of spring.
This chapter was a lot of fun to write, because finding the basilisk is something that I think always should have been included much earlier, and it's always one of my favorite chapters in fanfiction stories.
A lot of people commented about Hedwig's non-presence. That was done on purpose, and I started this chapter by addressing that.
As always, the day when I will actually own something, to say nothing of another author's universe, is not this day. Only the mistakes are mine.
Enjoy!
Chapter 10: Lawyers, Goblins, and Snakes, Oh My!
11 July 1995
Breakfast the next morning was a much more relaxed affair. Floppy created her usual outstanding meal as Harry watched her technique. After sitting down to an enjoyable experience, Harry's fledgling morning routine had to take a break when a flapping at the window startled them all. "Hedwig!" he exclaimed, rising to his feet, opening the window and greeting his faithful owl with an extended arm as a perch. "Are you okay, girl?"
The owl gave him a stare before clicking her beak at him before giving him a bark that the two women present understood meant she was scolding him for worrying her.
After a small chuckle, Amelia looked up at him. "You were in the hospital for almost a week, Harry. She couldn't get in so she's probably been flying and hunting and waiting for when she could sense your presence."
"That makes sense," he said, stroking Hedwig's feathers after passing her a couple rashers of bacon. "She always has been the smartest owl. Aren't you, girl?"
The bird looked at him with more than a little reproach, but eventually clicked her beak and nuzzled into him. Harry was forgiven.
"She's beautiful," cooed Susan, who rose to give the bird even more bacon. The owl met her approach with a little wariness, but the presence of extra treats thawed her to the girl.
"So, Diagon Alley today?" Amelia asked both of the teenagers when they resumed their breakfast. "Starting with the Goblins? Do you want to see the law-wizard I've been working with, Harry?"
The boy thought over her offer before nodding. "At the very least I should say thanks for all his work. Anyone who managed to get me out of the Dursley's deserves at least that."
"That's the plan Aunt Amelia," Susan nodded in agreement, finishing her morning oatmeal. "Harry wants to get a full accounting of his assets from the goblins, and then we're going to meet up with a few of our friends at Fortescue's. I figured then we could invite them back here to go for a swim for tomorrow after the trials, if that's okay with you?"
Amelia put aside her minor annoyance at the last-minute request when she saw how excited the teens were. Truthfully it was such a minor thing, and after the last week of his life, Harry could certainly deal with some fun with his friends. "I don't see a problem with that. After the stress of the trial tomorrow a pool party sounds like a wonderful idea."
"Thank you, Auntie!" Susan smiled, getting up and giving her aunt a hug on her way to the sink with her bowl.
"Harry, I want to prepare you a bit before we get to Gringotts. I know you saw some of the documents when you were in the hospital but you were pretty out of things. You're going to see some numbers today that are pretty hard to believe, but the goblins are scrupulously honest when it comes to their accounts."
"Thank you for the warning. I don't really know much about my family history other than what's in the will you showed me, so hopefully they can tell me more."
"How did you pay for things for school?"
"I got a few galleons out of Gringotts every summer when my relatives would let me leave to handle school stuff," he answered, not mentioning the difficulty he had in getting away from his chores to handle his 'freaky business'.
Amelia seemed to get the message loud and clear, if the pursing of her lips was any indication. "Well, this morning we'll take care of that once and for all. Why don't you two run along and get dressed and we'll be on our way?"
Leading the way up to Eugene's office, Amelia looked over to Harry. "Thank you for doing this, Harry. Mister Samuels has put a lot of work into getting me as your guardian and overlooking your best interests in the wizarding world, so hearing you want to say thank you to him is what I was hoping for."
"It just felt like the right thing to do," Harry answered, following her inside the office. "I've never really had anyone that has worked that hard for me, so I wanted to show my appreciation.
As the man inside rose to greet him, Harry offered his hand. "Law-wizard Samuels, thank you for what you've done for me. The man who legally got me away from my relatives will always find a friend in me. If there's ever anything I can do for you in return, all you have to do is ask," he promised.
As the group sat, Susan took the seat next to Harry and gave him a warm smile. Seeing him in action, how he interacted with everyone around him was showing Harry Potter in a much different light than what she was used to at Hogwarts. Now that the nutrition potions had done their work, she had to admit that the skinny waif of a boy from their first four years was much improved in physical appearance as well.
"No thanks are needed, Mister Potter," Samuels said as he took his own seat, "When Amelia told me everything that has happened to you, it was the very least I could do to help. No one deserves a life like that."
"Would you like to be the official law-wizard for the Potter family? I haven't been told much about my parents or my family so I don't know if there's anyone in that role currently, but if there is they're going to be fired, so the job is yours is you want it."
Samuels didn't get to owning his own practice by being a fool. "Mister Potter I would be delighted to take that role on. As my first official act, I wanted to ask you if Amelia has discussed emancipation with you."
Harry nodded. "She mentioned that by forcing me to compete in the Tri-Wizard Tournament, the Ministry effectively declared me of-age, but that I would have to submit paperwork. What is your opinion on either course of action?"
"Well, emancipating you would make you in charge of your own life. No one would be able to force you to do anything you didn't want to, but it would have the negative impact of raising your profile. With the difficulties you encountered with Dumbledore and with Voldemort's return, that could be risky, too."
"You believe me about Voldemort?" Harry stared, incredulous.
Samuels returned his nod. "I saw your memories with Amelia. You have nothing to gain by lying, and it makes sense with other events swirling around."
"I just wish more adults in the wizarding world were like you, sir," Harry chuckled, "The trials for Sirius and Dumbledore are scheduled for tomorrow. My sense is that neither of them will be going to Azkaban Does that line up with what you were thinking?"
The law-wizard shook his head with a rueful look. "I wish I could disagree on Dumbledore, but I really don't. Evidence for Sirius is cut and dried with your memory, but there are far too many in the Wizengamot that think Dumbledore can do no wrong. Even if we were to show them actual proof of him breaking the law, they would say that since Dumbledore did one thing, the law should be changed to reflect that."
Harry took a deep breath. "Then I think I want to delay that decision for twenty-four to forty-eight hours. After the trials tomorrow, there's a meeting at Amelia's house where I will be discussing my future with her, Sirius, and my friends. Emancipating me is something we should all discuss then."
As Samuels nodded his agreement once more, Amelia decided that it was the right time. "There's one more alternative, Harry." She slid a folder from her bag over in front of him.
Opening the folder, Harry read the top of the documents before his brain shut down. The words just didn't mean what he thought they could mean. It wasn't possible. "Ad – adoption?" he croaked over the lump in his throat.
"In the short time that we've had together, I have been able to see what kind of young man you are. There isn't anything that would give me greater pride than to call you my adopted son."
"But…my parents? My name? Will I lose that legacy of theirs?"
"Your name would still be your own. I'm not trying to take your parents' place, or take away your family legacy. Law-wizard Samuels and I would be sure to work into the adoption documents that your name would remain the same, and that whatever they left you in their will would remain yours. I don't want to steal anything from you, Harry. This is about legal protection. As my adopted son I could offer you more protection than as your legal guardian."
A horrible thought shot into Harry's mind. Turning to his year mate, he forced his eyes to meet hers. "Susan, I know Amelia's your guardian, and not your adopted mother. I don't want to accept if this will cause any problems for you."
Eyes watering at the sweetness of the thought, Susan reached out and squeezed his forearm. "I know, Harry. Do you think Auntie didn't talk to me about this before showing you? I'm on board with this, too! It makes total sense."
Choking back the growing lump in his throat, Harry forced tears back at the same time. Amelia's gesture was the single most touching thing that anyone had ever done for him. His relatives never wanted him, Dumbledore manipulated him, but Amelia actually wanted to adopt him. She cared for him, and chose to do something that would put him first.
He took another deep breath. "I can honestly say that no one has ever done anything this nice for me in my entire life. I want to say yes, but I need some time to think this over. Can you give me until tomorrow? This should be something we don't rush into, but I want to wait until we talk over everything else."
Amelia nodded, seeing his point. "I totally understand, Harry. That's a reasonable, mature way of looking at it."
She slid the documents back into her folder as Samuels and Harry moved on to discussing the steps that would need to be taken in each of the trials the next day.
"Just remember, Harry: the goblins are a strong, fierce, proud warrior people. Respect them at all times and they will respect you in turn. You're a very polite young man, so I don't have any doubts that you'll be well-mannered with them, but respect is key as well," instructed Amelia as she led them up the bank steps.
"Thanks. That makes a lot of sense," he answered, climbing after her. Goblins had always appeared fierce to his eyes whenever he accessed his vault for school supplies, but other than people like Malfoy who went out of his way to cause trouble, he believed in treating everyone with polite respect.
Susan gave him what she hoped was an encouraging smile as she entered along with him.
When they got into the bank lobby, Amelia led the way to the first available teller. "Good morning, teller. We're here to see Account Manager Grinlast at his earliest convenience," she said, keeping her tone polite.
The goblin gave her a calculating look before stepping down from his post. "Follow me," he said.
Harry and Susan trailed behind Amelia as she followed the goblin back into the same office she'd visited on her last trip. Not knowing what to expect, Harry was still surprised at the room. Starting with the golden plaque on the door that simply said 'Potter', it was clear this was going to be a visit that might change his life.
Entering the room, he could see that Grinlast's office was cut from the same rock as the rest of Gringotts, but instead of being dark, magical lights ringed the entire interior to a brightness that made it feel homey and comfortable. Magical photographs lined one side of his desk. From the brief look he got, Harry could see Grinlast and a female goblin who was holding a baby. They looked like a happy family.
Grinlast himself awaited their entrance. "Thank you for coming to see me, Madam Bones. Mister Potter, my name is Grinlast, and I'm the account manager for the Potters. It's a pleasure to finally meet you. I was beginning to fear the worst until Amelia here contacted me. We've been owling you statements on your accounts and holdings quarterly since your parents were murdered, and yet we never heard a response."
"My apologies, Mister Grinlast. I don't know what to say. I never got any correspondence from the bank," Harry tried to explain. "I would have been much more proactive in managing my family's legacy if I had known."
"Just Grinlast, please," the goblin frowned, but before he could scold Harry any more, Amelia interrupted. "With Dumbledore's illegal usurpation of Harry's guardianship, he probably had all mail, including Gringotts correspondence, forwarded to him at Hogwarts. If the old coot hasn't destroyed it all, it's probably still there."
Nodding, Grinlast slid a thin folder and a thick brown book across to them to see. "Are you sure you want young Miss Bones here for this?"
"Madam Bones took me in, choosing to become my guardian. She and Susan are my family now. I know this is my choice, but I want them here for this." Without another word, he took the documents, starting with the folder.
It was the official copy of his parents' will, confirming what the document Amelia had showed him said: aside from bequests to Sirius, Remus, and Amelia herself, everything else they owned went to Harry.
Sadly, they had left him no messages, probably figuring they wouldn't need to with how young they were and how much time they would have together. Ignoring the pang in his heart, he reached over to the clearly very old book and opened the cover with slow, deliberate motions. He took care, because the outer edges of the pages appeared frayed, almost as if it would turn to dust in a slight breeze.
That was the last coherent thought he had for quite some time. Harry was dimly aware of Amelia and Grinlast having a conversation next to him, but the sheer size of the numbers on the page beggared all belief. It wasn't just the first page, though. The book contained page after page of accounts, assets, ownership in companies, rents paid from land he apparently owned. There was even a portfolio of muggle stocks he owned, obviously from his mother's influence. She had somehow seen future trends coming and invested into American technology companies, which had started off rocketing upward over the previous few years.
"Grinlast, forgive me for interrupting, but may I ask you a question?"
The goblin looked over at him. "I am your account manager, Mister Potter. My time is at your disposal as long as you continue to pay my fees. Ask away."
"What's the current rate of exchange for galleons and pounds sterling?"
"Galleons and pounds don't have a direct exchange relationship managed by any one government, so Gringotts usually holds to a roughly five-to-one exchange rate for pounds to galleons if someone needs to make the exchange."
Harry's eyes bulged. He did some quick calculations. All told, his liquid assets, property, and shares would be worth more than his great-great-grandchildren could spend in their lifetimes. Even the interest payments on that much would be more than he could dream of spending in a year. After a while the numbers stopped holding all meaning. He even heard Susan gasp on his other side once or twice. There was even a listing of more than a dozen properties he owned scattered around the world.
One of his ancestors was apparently a potion master, starting the family fortune by developing Skele-Gro, Pepper-Up, and Sleek-Easy hair potion. Although the rights to the last had been sold – at a profit that quadrupled the family fortune, he noticed – his family retained the rights to the other two potions, providing a significant income from St. Mungo's and other healing offices.
He also apparently owned three stores in Diagon Alley including the Quality Quidditch Supply store, half of Hogsmeade, and controlling interests in Cleansweep, a couple wizarding construction companies, and The Daily Prophet. The last finally got him to close his mouth in a predatory smile at the possibilities.
The document listed his residences in descending order of importance, starting with Potter Manor, the cottage where they were murdered, a chateau in Nice, one in Kerry, a private, unplottable island in the Pacific, apartments in New York, Paris, Lisbon, Rome, Vienna, Johannesburg, and a manor-style house near a small town west of Melbourne, Australia on the Great Ocean Road. The note next to that entry that read 'private beach' had his mind racing.
"Amelia?" he asked, unknowingly interrupting their conversation once more.
"Yes, Harry?"
"Everyone I've talked to about my parents has told me how my mother was the smartest witch of her age and my father was no slouch himself. Would you say that's true?"
"Absolutely. Why do you ask?"
"Why did they stay in Britain, with a prophecy like the one the Unspeakables helped me hear yesterday hanging over their heads, when all they had to do was come here and get a portkey to any of these properties?"
Amelia's mouth worked open and closed a few times. "I…have no idea. That's something that I think Kingsley will have to ask your godfather at his trial and then Dumbledore."
He nodded. "Grinlast, do you have a paper outlining how you've managed these accounts?"
The goblin barked a laugh. "One of the more astute questions you could have asked. I do believe we will get along famously. Yes, Mister Potter. Here you go," he said, sliding a sheet across the table, "As you can see, the accounts have grown by at least five percent each year I've managed them, and that doesn't count interest, just growing principal from investments. It may not seem like much, but when you consider the sheer amount of money we're talking about, five percent per year is quite a substantial sum."
Harry nodded once more. He was making more in interest payments per year than he could even dream of spending, let alone the actual gold. "I don't want to change anything right now. Keep managing them as you have been. Once I get a better understanding of finances, I may make some tweaks, but I can't see anything I'd change. Just initiate proceedings to recover what was taken without my knowledge or consent."
"Already done, Mister Potter. The money removed from your vault with the help of our traitor has been replaced with interest."
"Good," Harry grinned. "Can I keep this listing of properties? I'd like to study them in greater detail."
"Of course. They're yours."
"One more question," Harry started, "I killed a basilisk in my second year at Hogwarts. As far as I know it's still down in the Chamber of Secrets below the school."
"You killed a basilisk?!" exclaimed the goblin.
"Yeah, it was part of a plot to possess a student and kill students at the school. I had to go down in the Chamber of Secrets to fight it off and rescue her. It was a hell of a night," Harry shrugged.
"Don't sell yourself short, Harry," Amelia smiled at him, "I saw that memory. It was a miracle that you survived and rescued the poor girl."
"I had a lot of help," Harry demurred, "Anyway, I'm told that since I killed it, the carcass belongs to me, and may be worth some money for its potion components. Would Gringotts be willing to take over the harvesting and sale of the basilisk in return for taking their fee from the profits?"
Grinlast sat back and regarded him with a shrewd gaze. "Would you be willing to share your memory of this fight with us?"
Harry shrugged again. "I don't see why not."
The goblin stabbed one of his fingers into a rune on his desk and barked an order in the goblin language. "How big would you say the beast was? Roughly speaking, of course."
"I didn't really have any frame of reference, but when it slithered past me in the tunnels, it took a few seconds to go by me. Maybe between fifty and sixty feet?"
"From watching his memory, I would say that's a reasonable estimate," Amelia confirmed.
Susan's mouth was hanging open, and it looked like she had to fight off a shudder at the thought.
Before the stunned goblin could respond to that estimate, a knock at the door heralded the arrival of another goblin with a strange-looking device in his hands. A golden frame held a large greenish crystal about the size of a golden snitch suspended in the center. He left it on the desk and hurried out.
Grinlast looked at Harry after putting the device on the desk. "Place your forehead up against the green crystal as you remember your fight with the basilisk," he instructed, "I will have my head up against the other side. As you remember the event, it will appear in my own mind at the same time. This way we won't have to deal with taking a copy of your memory. Easier for business."
Harry looked at Amelia and Susan before taking a deep breath. He closed his eyes, dredged up the memory out of his mind, and placed his forehead against the crystal. Opposite him, Grinlast did the same thing.
When the memory finished, both sat back into their respective chairs. "That may be the bravest thing I have ever seen anyone do, Mister Potter. A twelve-year old taking on a beast that size with no wand? Your heroics should be honored in the halls of your Ministry."
"Can Gringotts help with its harvesting and disposal?" Harry pressed.
"Of course, of course. We'll take our fee from the profits, but for a basilisk of that size and for a customer of your stature, it will be a modest fee. The publicity we'll get from the historic nature of the event itself will more than make up for any small percentages we could try to take, especially if we include certified authentic wizarding photographs from your memory of the moment you stabbed the creature. I agree with your estimates of the size of the basilisk. I would estimate the profit potential to be anywhere from fifteen to twenty million galleons. When would you need a team ready?"
"Well, we're going to meet some of Harry's friends for ice cream at Fortescue's as soon as we're done here, then I was going to go to the school to see to the creature myself since Dumbledore's currently in a Ministry holding cell," Amelia grinned, "Would an hour be too soon?"
"It would be a rush job for a whole team, but I could have a group ready to go," the goblin nodded.
"I want to split the profits into seven equal sections: half for me, and the rest divided equally between Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley, Ron Weasley, Penelope Clearwater, Justin Finch-Fletchley, and Colin Creevey," Harry said.
"That won't be a problem at all," Grinlast observed, making notes, "If the basilisk is as large as your memory suggests, they should each receive a significant sum even after our fees are taken out of the profits."
Looking at her watch, Amelia shook her head before Harry could pass out. "If that's all for now, Harry, we need to hurry over to Fortescue's to meet your friends."
"Absolutely. Grinlast, when Sirius is cleared, we're going to have a meeting with family and friends and figure out what to do. Until then I would be delighted if you kept doing what you were regarding my accounts."
"Understood, Mister Potter. I will keep managing your assets as I have. It was a pleasure to finally meet James and Lily's son. I would suggest that you take some time soon and visit your family vault. There will be more than just gold and jewels there. You might find some fascinating heirlooms."
"It was my pleasure, Grinlast. You are honest and fierce. There are few I trust, but you are high on that list. Thank you for that suggestion. I plan to adopt it as soon as I possibly can," Harry smiled.
With a final handshake, the group left the bank. Harry's mind was still spinning at the wealth he had at his disposal.
"We're a few minutes early," Amelia noted, checking her mechanical watch, "Should we wait for your friends before ordering?"
Susan looked at her aunt before turning to regard Harry before an idea struck. Harry had been quiet and withdrawn since coming to their house and the morning had seen a series of shocks to his system, so maybe there was a chance she could take to do something extra nice for him and bring him out of his shell a little. "I think after everything Harry learned today, we could do with an early start. Two rounds of ice cream never hurt anyone," she declared with an impish grin.
Seeing what the girl was doing, Amelia gave a smile of her own. "I agree. Why don't you two make your order and I'll secure a table?"
The redhead nodded and led Harry into the ice cream parlor. "Have you ever been to Fortescue's before, Harry?"
He looked at Susan before shaking his head. "Probably too often. Hagrid took me here when we got my supplies before first year, and then once with Ron and Hermione. Then last year after I left my relatives and stayed at the Leaky Cauldron for a couple weeks I was here almost every day."
The smile that spread across Susan's face eventually stretched from one ear to the other and lit up her entire countenance. "What's your favorite ice cream flavor?"
Harry blushed and looked down at his hands. Susan was at a loss at his reaction, but when she went over what she knew about Harry, understanding dawned. She took a breath before deciding to risk a little touch. Taking his hand in hers, she held it until he met her eyes. "What they did to you was not your fault. It was the farthest thing from normal that there is. You were worse than a slave to them, but now that you're with us, you're going to see how real families live. I actually want to know your favorite ice cream flavor so I can get something special for you."
When he looked up at her face, she saw the disbelief. "Trust me, Harry. We'll take care of you."
Her expression held nothing of the mocking or derision he expected. Susan's strikingly blue eyes were warm and kind. In fact, her hand felt so soft and warm in his that he was in no hurry to move his own. Harry took a chance of his own and smiled back at her. "Okay, what about a chocolate sundae?"
Susan's face was full of nothing but happiness. The memories of how Hufflepuff reacted during the Tournament were still fresh, but Susan had promised to make it up to him. "Got it. Hang out here and I'll bring something really nice back."
"Okay, I trust your judgement about ice cream."
Susan beamed and actually hugged him before heading up to the counter, leaving Harry to sit at the table with Amelia. "Does she always take charge like this?"
"When chocolate is concerned, you can bank on it!" Amelia grinned at him, "Her sweet tooth is truly amazing. She's a true addict."
"Good to know for her birthday," Harry mused, "When is that, anyway?"
"July 19," answered Amelia, "and if you can procure chocolate somehow, you'll be her favorite person in the entire world!"
Harry filed the date away in his memory. Forgiving her had been easy, but the memories of Hufflepuff house's abuse to him was a lot harder to forget. Since he was living with Susan now, keeping peace at home might be the best way to handle the situation.
Before he could say anything else, Susan arrived with three dishes of the most delicious-looking ice cream that Harry had ever seen. "What the - ?"
"Rainbow sherbet for Auntie Amelia," the redhead grinned, "and two chocolate chip cookie sundaes for you and I."
"Chocolate chip cookie sundaes?"
"Fresh chocolate chip cookies that are warm and soft forming the base of the sundae, vanilla ice cream, hot fudge, whipped cream, and a maraschino cherry topping it all off," she smiled, sliding it on front of him, "And of course, lots and lots of sprinkles!"
Harry's eyes grew huge once more. Before he could say anything, a musical voice rang out behind him. "No fair starting without us!"
He turned to see Hermione, Ron, Luna, Ginny, Neville, and Hannah approaching. "What can I say? Susan made a compelling argument for starting early!"
"Sit right there while we get our own," Hermione instructed with a smile.
Presently all of the teenagers were sitting around a table, enjoying their own dishes of ice cream. Luna had a pile of brightly-colored sherbet ice cream like Amelia's, while Hermione had a bowl of mint chocolate chip. Ron had strawberry with whipped cream and Ginny's choice was chocolate ice cream with sprinkles. Neville had vanilla with hot fudge and brownie crumbles and Hannah had vanilla with cookie crumbles.
"How's your summer been, Harry?" Neville wondered. "I tried sending you an owl but she didn't even leave the house."
Susan and Hermione snorted as Ron shook his head. "Eventful," Harry eventually answered. "I have to thank you, mate. If you hadn't told me about St. Mungo's, I might have died."
More than one person choked on their ice cream. "Way to try to kill your friends, Harry," Susan scolded with an exasperated look.
"What?!" Neville eventually rasped after he dislodged the chunk of brownie.
Amelia cast the muffling charm. "Harry's muggle relatives attacked him at the beginning of the summer. He just got out of St. Mungo's a couple days ago."
"Sweet Merlin! Harry!" Luna exclaimed.
"I'm fine now, guys," he protested. "And with the nutrient potions they gave me, I'm healthier than I've ever been. It had a silver lining, I guess. Plus, Amelia helped me see my parents' will. It turns out, after your parents, Neville, Amelia was always supposed to be my guardian."
Neville's eyes grew large. "Harry, that's awful. I can't believe they attacked you."
"The experience started out badly, but at least it ended well. I got a wonderful new house and a great guardian out of it. I couldn't ask for more than Amelia."
"Bloody hell, mate. I'm glad you got away from those relatives. I still can't convince Mum that we actually had to pull the bars off your window," Ron chimed in.
"Those damn bars," Hermione growled.
Hannah and Luna frowned at the detail they never knew about their fellow student.
"Look, my muggle relatives weren't the nicest people. I get that. And I'm understanding a lot more about why I was there," Harry explained. "A lot of that has been made clear recently. As a matter of fact we just came from Gringotts where we saw my parents' will as well as the breakdown of accounts."
"Accounts?" asked Ron.
"Yeah. It turns out the vault I was using for my school stuff was just my trust vault," Harry answered, "And reading the book that Grinlast had of my family history, I saw that I had a relative that invented Skele-Gro, Pepper-Up, and Sleek-Easy hair potion."
Hermione's eyes grew huge. "Your ancestor invented the only thing that's been able to tame my hair?"
"I guess so, yeah," grinned harry, remembering all the struggles she had in the past with her bushy locks, "But the formula was sold a few generations ago. They did keep the other two, though."
"Trying to bump up the family profits with how much Skele-Gro Pomfrey has had to give you?" Ron joked, earning eye rolls and dry chuckles around the table.
Luna smiled from her spot next to Ginny, where she had been regarding Harry throughout the conversation. "Your aura is much clearer, Harry. You had a nasty infestation of Nargles before the end of the year, but whatever the healers did has cleared them right up."
"Thanks, Luna. You're looking much happier than when I saw you last, too," Harry smiled at the blonde. "Tell you what, everyone. What if you all were to accompany us to Hogwarts? The goblins are going to meet us at school so I can take them down to the Chamber of Secrets. They're going to harvest the basilisk and sell the components."
Ginny paled. "Are you sure, Harry?"
"I need to show them the Chamber, Ginny, so they can get the basilisk out, but it might help you if you see that it can't hurt you anymore," Harry said. He turned to the brunette Gryffindor. "Would you like to see the monster that put you in the infirmary for those weeks?"
Hermione wasn't sorted into her house for nothing. The opportunity to face down that beast and see the chamber of Salazar Slytherin was too tempting. "Of course I'll go with you!"
"Nev? Luna? Hannah?" Harry asked.
Luna and Neville nodded without hesitation. "Daddy is out of the country, so I'm totally free," the blonde answered.
Neville didn't hesitate for a moment. "I'll go with you, Harry. You slew that beast on your own. The least I could do is be with you when you deal with its carcass."
Hannah looked troubled. "I don't know…"
Susan jumped in before anyone could respond. "We messed up, Hannah. We believed the rumors that said Harry was setting this beast loose on the school. It turns out that he's the one who killed it, saving all of us. There's absolutely nothing to be afraid of. Harry destroyed the monster."
Harry's eyes rose at the way Susan defended him to her best friend, but he said nothing.
The blonde Hufflepuff looked at her roommate with a frown before shrugging her shoulders. "I guess if we're all going, I could tag along."
Amelia looked at the group of friends. "You won't be gone long. It shouldn't take us long to Floo into Filius Flitwick's office, escort the goblins down to the Chamber, and then head back out. You'll be home in a couple of hours."
The teens shared a look before they all nodded. "Let's go," Ron spoke for the group.
The group bounced out of the Floo in Filius's office one at a time. For once Harry made it through without humiliating himself on the exit. He just got back to his feet when the diminutive charms professor grabbed his hand and pumped it vigorously. "It's so good to see you up and about, Mister Potter! I was very worried about you when Kingsley told me what happened."
"Thank you, professor. It's been tough but the healers did some great work," Harry answered.
"Speaking of healers, Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall are back from St. Mungo's. I think they would be most interested in speaking with you as well," Flitwick noted.
Unsure about inviting them along, Harry paused. Seeing his hesitation, the professor chuckled. "Don't worry. They're both apologetic toward yourself and apoplectic toward Dumbledore."
Harry smiled, easily picturing their ire, but wanted to know what turned it against Dumbledore. "Would it be possible to contact them and ask them to come to your office? I feel like they would want to be part of our errand."
Filius nodded. "I think they would be glad to see you. I have to confess that I wasn't sure what you meant, Amelia, when you said that you were leading a group of students and goblins into the school," he said to the wider group once they were assembled.
"You'll soon see what I mean, Filius," she said, "Let's head for the front gate. I can let them in from there and then Mister Potter here will take over the show."
Walking through the school when it was on holiday was a strange sensation. Portraits that usually moved and spoke with the students were sleeping and quiet. The staircases still moved, but without the rush to get to class, even they seemed dormant.
Filius stopped by McGonagall's office on their way. When the usually stern woman saw Harry in the group, her face softened. "Mister Potter," she greeted, going over to him and drawing him aside, "I would like to apologize to you for the role I played in you ending up at your relatives. I strongly objected to Albus's decision to place you there, but he overruled me. I would also like to apologize for the things that happened to you while at school here. I have recently spent some time with the healers at St. Mungo's and they were able to remove extensive obliviations and other mental manipulations. Suffice it to say that I am free of such things now, and I promise you I will make sure that the old goat never gets the chance to use me again."
"Thank you, professor. That means a lot to hear," Harry murmured, moved by the fierceness of her speech in apologizing.
"Before you leave today, it would be very nice of you to stop in and see Madam Pomfrey. Not only will she be glad to see you when you have no need of her in a professional capacity, I believe she will have something very similar to say," McGonagall requested.
Harry nodded. "I was going to after Professor Flitwick made the same request. While we're here, would you like to see the monster that was threatening the school in my second year?"
Her eyebrows shot up. "I'm sorry?"
"I'm leading a party of goblins down to the Chamber of Secrets, Professor, because they agreed to harvest and sell the carcass. Amelia graciously agreed to take a group of my friends along to see what was really petrifying the students."
Professor McGonagall didn't need very long to decide that she definitely wanted to see what was attacking her students. "I think, as the most senior person here at Hogwarts, it would be worse if I didn't go along," she answered with a weak twinkle in her eyes.
The goblins portkeyed in just as the group opened the gate. "Thank you for meeting us so quickly, Grinlast," Amelia greeted.
"To see a basilisk of this size, the honor is ours," replied Grinlast with a bow.
Harry grinned at the scene, surrounded by his friends. "All right, let's head up to the entrance of the Chamber, everyone."
He moved off into the school, flanked by Susan and Hermione with Neville, Ginny, and Luna following. Hannah followed the group but preceded Amelia and the goblins.
On the way, they passed the infirmary where they found Madam Pomfrey just getting ready to enter. "Mister Potter! It's the summer holidays! What are you doing here? Please tell me you don't need my services so soon after getting out of St. Mungo's?" she asked with a smile, taking the tease out of her tone.
"Nothing like that, Madam Pomfrey. We're all here to go down to the Chamber of Secrets to see the basilisk I killed a couple years ago."
Pomfrey looked troubled. "I need to offer you my apologies. Every time you came into my infirmary, Albus obliviated me of what my scans revealed. I should have put much more effort into treating you."
"No apologies are needed. Your actions weren't your own. The Headmaster's actions will see a reckoning tomorrow at his trial," Harry reassured her.
Pomfrey nodded. "I now have a personal house elf from the school whose sole instructions are to monitor me for any more manipulations from that old goat, as does Minerva," she nodded at McGonagall.
"Excellent. I'm very glad to hear that," Harry smiled before Pomfrey entered her infirmary.
The procession started once more, making its way to a certain room on the second floor.
"The entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is in the girl's bathroom?" Susan blurted.
"I guess?" laughed Harry. The rest of the party crowded in, waiting on him.
Myrtle was there as usual, and appeared surprised at the size of the party crowding into her bathroom. "Oh! Hello Harry! Any more trips to the prefect's bathroom lately?" she asked with a coquettish squeak. If ghosts could blush, she would have been.
Harry forced his own stammer back at the memory of her flirting. "Not since trying to figure out that egg clue, Myrtle," he answered, proud that he kept the strain out of his voice.
He could feel Hermione's and Susan's gazes on him without even looking. He took a deep breath before facing the sink with the snake carving. "Open," he hissed in Parseltongue. When the groaning and creaking of the porcelain separating finished, he had a flash of memory: Ginny had made her way down every time under the diary's control but didn't need Fawkes to get back out. "Stairs," he hissed at the opening. A set of stone spiral stairs emerged from the wall, leading downward.
"That might have been useful our first time, Harry," Ron teased with a dry laugh.
"Tell me about it," Harry agreed, remembering the shouts as they followed their fraud of a defense professor down, "Follow me, everyone. Ginny, are you doing okay?"
"Just fine, Harry," she answered, though her voice wobbled slightly.
"What happened the first time?" Amelia wanted to know as she made her way down behind Harry.
"It was a giant stone slide all the way down. Think I wore a hole in the back of my trousers," Harry explained. "We threw Lockhart down before us so he couldn't run off or curse us in the back."
"Lockhart? Gilderoy Lockhart? Does this have anything to do with why he's in St. Mungo's?" Amelia practically demanded.
"Let's wait on that until we all get to the bottom and then I'll give you that story, too."
Amelia huffed but followed on. Behind her the students filed down the stairs with the goblins bringing up the rear.
It took longer than sliding down, but eventually they were all gathered at the bottom of the stairs. Everyone with a wand was casting their strongest light charm to illuminate the dark interior. "Careful where you step," Harry cautioned, "It's mostly animal skeletons here for a bit."
Hanna made a noise of disgust, but didn't voice any actual protest. Susan said nothing, determined to share this experience. The party moved off deeper under the school. When the light from Harry's wand hit the shed skin, Susan made a noise that wasn't quite a scream, but it was close. She grabbed onto his left arm with a strength he hadn't expected from the girl.
"That's an old skin. The real basilisk is quite a bit larger," he explained.
Grinlast pushed to the front, examining the skin. "This shedding is at least thirty feet long. Because of their rarity and lethality, the longest basilisk actually recorded was only thirty-five feet. If the real thing is almost twice as long, your memory didn't do the size of the beast justice, Mister Potter."
"I had to save someone's life. I couldn't really stop to worry about things like that," Harry shrugged.
Oblivious to the incredulity of the people around him at his modesty, Harry led the way to the cave in. "This is where it happened. We forced Lockhart down here when he tried to run away instead of saving…the person who was about to die," he said, unwilling to say Ginny's name, "It turns out he never actually did anything his books claimed. The only spell he could perform was the obliviate. He would find people who actually performed heroic deeds, obliviate them of their memories, and steal the stories for his own. When we got down here, he got Ron's broken wand and tried to obliviate us, saying that our tragic deaths would make his next bestseller. Ron's wand backfired on him, wiping virtually every memory he had and causing this cave-in."
Unbeknownst to the rest of the party, Hermione and Susan were glad for the darkness as it hid their twin blushes. They'd sat next to each other in the front row of Lockhart's defense class and crushed hard on the coiffured and perfumed peacock. Harry's words had put that to rest once and for all.
The goblins set to work with a will, clearing the rocks but piling them in such a way as to support the roof of the cave. When the path was free, Harry led them to the heavy vault door. Another hissed 'open!'; and the animated snakes released their locks and the chamber opened. "Be careful, everyone. The basilisk has lain down here for two years. The air might be pretty rank."
However, his warning was in vain. The air inside the actual chamber smelled much the same as it had when he left it with Ginny, save for the metallic taint of blood in the air. As before, the torches lit to mark their progress. He didn't pay any attention to the gasps behind him as his friends saw Salazar Slytherin's private Chamber for the first time. Now that there was no life-or-death urgency, he could appreciate the snake statues more.
Then they came into the main chamber itself.
Silence reigned as the torchlight illuminated the basilisk carcass. "Sweet Merlin!" McGonagall breathed, disbelief dripping from her voice.
"This is what was moving around the school?" Flitwick managed to utter when he found his voice.
Without warning, a homing missile slammed into Harry. Hermione had him wrapped in a death grip, squeezing the breath out of him. He thought he heard sniffling, but chose to ignore it. Once he got his breath back he tried to comfort the girl. "It's okay," he murmured over and over, rubbing his friend's back. "The basilisk is dead. It can't hurt you anymore."
Hermione pulled back and slapped his arm. "You prat! This monster petrified me, almost killed me, and you beat it on your own with just a bloody sword and you're worried about me?!"
Ginny seemed incapable of speech, stock still in the corner.
"Bloody hell," Neville breathed, "You killed this thing with just a sword?"
"Didn't have much of a choice, mate," answered Harry. He turned to look at the adults present. Amelia stood in silence, eyes huge. Flitwick looked coiled like a tensed spring, ready to jump into action and attack the basilisk himself, and McGonagall was in shock.
Neville shook his head. "Only you, Harry."
McGonagall finally found her voice. "When you start school this September, Harry, Gryffindor will begin with an extra hundred points. It's a small compensation for your heroics, I know, but it will have to do for now until we can figure out something more appropriate."
Grinlast moved over to stand nearer the group. "Your memory truly did not convey the full size of this majestic monstrosity. To my knowledge a bigger one has never been found."
"Well, my best guess is that Salazar Slytherin put this here himself when the Chamber was built, probably into hibernation, about a thousand years ago," Harry said, "So it had all that time to grow and eat little rodents."
The goblin nodded. "That would explain it. The profit potential from this animal is as enormous as its size."
"Mister Potter," began Filius, "How is it that you were never awarded an Order of Merlin for this? You saved the entire school with this action."
"I guess Dumbledore never told anyone," Harry answered, "He gave Ron and me some house points. Careful!" he shouted at Hannah as she approached the animal, "Those fangs probably still have venom in them. I know from personal experience how quickly it will kill you."
"Personal experience?" McGonagall gaped. "Basilisk venom has no known antidote! Why are you still alive?"
"Fawkes," he answered, "The Headmaster's phoenix brought me the Sorting Hat, which had Gryffindor's sword inside, and then after I stabbed the basilisk through the mouth, one of its fangs broke off in my arm," here he rolled up his right sleeve, showing everyone the circular puncture scar, "I was dying, but I'd gotten the victim safe."
"Oh stop it, Harry. Stop saying the victim. It was me," Ginny protested.
He tried to wave her off but the brave young Gryffindor was having none of it. "If you can face that monster then I can face up to my role. Madam Bones," she said, turning to Amelia, "If you've seen Harry's memory of what happened then you probably saw that I had a cursed diary that was possessing me. I was losing chunks of my memory during that year, and I only learned later on that I was being taken over. Tom Riddle was directing me to come down here and release the basilisk onto the school." When she was done, her head hung low, as if she expected to hear shouted abuse before being arrested.
None of it happened. Amelia crossed the Chamber and put a gentle hand on the girl's shoulder. "I do indeed know about the diary, and what it was doing to you. I consulted with the Unspeakables about that diary, and we think we know what it is. Don't worry, Ginny. You won't have any problems from the Ministry over what happened. You weren't in control of yourself."
Tearful blue eyes looked up at the older woman. The hope in Ginny's gaze was enough to melt the sternest of hearts. "Really?"
"Really," smiled Amelia. "We know who Tom Riddle really is. You're not in trouble at all."
Ginny threw her arms around a second person, gratefully receiving Amelia's embrace.
A bright flash of light confused Harry until he looked over at Luna taking pictures with a wizarding camera. "Where did you get that camera?"
"Space-expanded bag," she grinned as she cocked her hip out, showing her bag off, "I carry it with me most places over the summer weeks in case I come across a good picture for the magazine. Can you stand next to the basilisk's head, Harry? I want to get a shot of you for the cover of our next article."
"Sure," he answered, and moved over to stand in between Luna and the basilisk. She grinned and stood back, trying to get as much of the head behind him in the frame as she could.
Luna used the excuse of going back to Harry and posing him next to the creature to have a quiet word with him. "I never got the chance before to say this, but thank you for saving my friend, Harry. I knew something was wrong that year, but I couldn't do anything to bring her out of it. She never told me how bad things got, but thank you for saving her," the blonde whispered, taking his hand and squeezing it.
Harry shrugged again. "It feels weird to say you're welcome, but I don't know what else to say. She needed help. I'm glad I was able to be there."
The blonde gave him a grateful smile but didn't say anything more. After she had enough good photos, the goblins ran a magical rope from the beast's snout to its tail. The rope held to the basilisk's spine before dancing back over to Grinlast. "Mister Potter," he called to where Harry was still quietly reassuring Hermione, "You might be interested to know that the basilisk measured in at twenty-one and just under seven-tenths meters, roughly seventy-one and two-tenths feet. I'll have to check the records at Gringotts but as far as I can remember that's more than double the next-largest basilisk that has ever been recorded."
Harry stared, stunned. "Well, then. I'm glad I was able to take care of it."
Ron snorted. "Just a quiet day at the office, right Harry?"
The goblins were holding a quiet consultation near the basilisk. After seemingly coming to an agreement, Grinlast approached Harry. "The size of the beast and the time constraints we have mean that rendering the carcass here is impractical. We want to use a portkey to send it to a special chamber inside Gringotts where experts can take their time, instead of rushing through and hacking it up."
"That makes sense to me. As long as our agreement is still valid," Harry nodded.
"Wait! Wait, wait, wait. Hogwarts: A History says that the school has anti-portkey wards! How can you portkey this out without carrying it outside the wards?" Hermione demanded.
"Well, that's not strictly true, Miss Granger," McGonagall chimed in, "Portkeys in are blocked, but portkeys out aren't. It just says so in the books and rules to keep families from pulling their children out without notice. The policy started as a way to avoid disruption and help professors maintain control over their students."
"Oh come on!" the brunette shouted, still embarrassed over her crush on Lockhart, "Is nothing written in the magical world truthful?"
"It also helps with people who have been injured too severely to walk," the charms professor continued, "Having to drag or levitate someone from anywhere in the castle to outside the wards before they could be portkeyed to safety would lose valuable time in healing them."
"I guess that makes sense," Hermione grudgingly admitted.
"Speaking of levitation, that wouldn't work in this case anyway. Basilisk skin is almost completely resistant to magic, so we wouldn't be able to lift a beast this size," Amelia chimed in, "A portkey is really the only option."
Grinlast agreed. "We have one all ready to go to take this back to Gringotts. We'll be in touch with you about the final figure and how the profits will be disbursed according to your stipulations, Mister Potter, but since the beast was much larger than our original estimates, I would now conservatively put its value at upwards twenty-five million galleons."
A round of gasps sounded in the chamber, but Grinlast wasn't done. "That would put your share at ten million, and the other six shares between one and a half million and two million. The final figure will need to be firmed up by our experts, but that would be my best guess."
Harry nodded. The number was staggering, but with the financial shocks his morning had seen already, he was able to withstand it. When the goblins tied a loop of rope around the creature's tail and all took hold, and the entire party disappeared with the basilisk.
Into a suddenly quiet chamber, Ron walked over next to Harry. "Um, mate? What did he mean by that last bit? What he said about shares?"
Noticing that Harry was looking at his shoes and trying to force down another blush saw Amelia interject. "Since Harry is having the goblins harvest and sell the basilisk's potion parts, he wanted them to split the proceeds with the victims. He gets half as the actual slayer of the beast, and then he asked the goblins to give six equal shares to its victims: yourself, Ginny, and Hermione here, along with the other three who aren't here."
"He said between one and two million each!" Ron blurted, eyes the size of dinner plates.
His friend's shock brought Harry out of his embarrassment. "That's right, Ron. You were brave enough to go down the chute with me, and I know you would have been right next to me, helping rescue your sister if that fraud hadn't trapped you with the cave-in."
"Harry," Hermione began with a smile so sickly sweet and innocent he knew it disguised her plotting something unpleasant, "Did Grinlast happen to tell you the exchange rate between galleons and pounds?"
Scratching the back of his head to buy some time, Harry looked up with a sheepish smile at his best friend, "Um, yeah, Hermione. He said it was five pounds to each galleon."
Espresso-brown eyes bulged as her eyebrows rose to her hairline. "Then you're telling us that you're giving us each five to ten million pounds?!"
"You lost weeks of your life, Hermione! The rest of the victims lost way more than that. Since neither the school nor the Ministry did anything for you, I thought it was the least that could be done. I just wanted to help."
The sincerity in his pleading broke Hermione's ire and she wrapped her friend in a hug. "Oh, Harry. I didn't mean to sound angry. It's amazingly generous of you! I just didn't want to take away anything from you, that's all."
Ron and Ginny seemed to have temporarily lost the power of speech. The amount of money Harry was so casually discussing would see them set up for life. When Hermione released him from her embrace, Ginny took her place.
"Thank you, Harry. That means the world to me," she whispered, "You're an amazing guy."
Something about Ginny's hug felt off, like she was stiff and uncomfortable, but making the effort for him. Still there was enough room between them in the hug for almost an entire other person. Harry made a mental note to ask her about it later on, when they didn't have an audience.
"As much fun as standing around in this incredibly dark, dank chamber is, why don't we all head up and out of here?" Amelia interjected, "It's about time I get you all back to Diagon Alley so you can get back to your families."
"The trials for Sirius Black and Dumbledore are set for tomorrow, and afterwards there's a gathering at Amelia's and Susan's house…"
"Your house," Susan interrupted.
"What?"
"Your house. You live there, too. Auntie is your guardian, too. It's now your house," she reiterated in a gentle voice.
"Ah, well, I guess that's true. Okay, so there's a gathering at S – our house after the trials. A lot of stuff has happened recently and I decided I want it all to come out. I want you all to know the stuff that I've had to deal with at Hogwarts and why I think it's been happening the way it has. There will be a pensieve there to show some of my memories, as words just don't do them justice. I was thinking we might turn it into a summer party. I can cook on the grill outside, and there's a really awesome pool for swimming. What do you all think?"
Everyone responded in the affirmative. Seeing the carcass of the basilisk that Harry had killed with the Sword of Gryffindor meant that everyone wanted to see more, even Hannah agreed, though she was the last to do so, to be there.
A/N: I'm delaying the trial by one chapter because I wanted to do justice to the Diagon Alley scenes, where Susan works hard to make it up to Harry.
Ginny's acting strange, I know, but there's a reason for that, I promise. All will be clear eventually. Next up are the trials and the pool party, topped off by the memory viewings.
Thanks for reading! Reviews are always welcome!