Chapter 10: Answers
As soon as the green flames enveloped Arthur and Harry, they had shot out quickly, ending back up at The Leaky Cauldron. Arthur leapt out of the fireplace, a swirl of black capes, decorated with small gold floral patterns around the edges of the fabric. There were some ornate golden carvings that hung from the various straps of fabric that kept Arthur's billowing capes attached. Harry had noticed that one of his hands seemed to be covered in a type of metal-plating, and hidden under Arthur's wrist was his wand. The ebony wood had been carved ornately, with the outline of different animals able to be seen in the wood.
Arthur tilted his head, to see Harry lying uncomfortably on the floor of the inn. He gave him a hand and hauled the boy back up before dusting him off. Arthur ordered a quick shot of fire-whiskey, throwing down three galleons before downing the heated alcohol before almost dragging Harry into Diagon Alley.
"Sir, why are we doing this now?" Harry had asked.
It had sounded like Arthur was about to growl. "Because what has happened could be an attempt at line theft and if it is really bad, usurpation of the House of Potter. This matters, Harry. It should matter to you a lot more than me, but I care because of the impact this has."
Harry seemed to gall at the words. "But why do you care, sir? You're not part of my house."
Arthur sighed and stared at Harry as the brick wall slowly began to reveal the bustling Diagon Alley. "Because of all the houses, the House of Urien is one of the few Founding Houses that have made themselves subservient to another House."
Harry gasped. "You mean to say… You serve me? Like Neville?"
"Exactly. Gringotts should have the records to show you this and prove it. You'll be surprised Harry, your family is a very powerful and very old family."
Harry was quiet for the remainder of the time that Arthur and Harry tried to push through the busy crowds of Diagon Alley. It had been a little bit busier than usual, and there had been a moment where Arthur had almost lost Harry, only to realise that Harry was still standing next to him, still silenced until they reached the entrance to the bank.
"You've been here before, I presume?"
"Of course I have, sir. Have you?" Harry shot back, seeming to begin taking the situation seriously.
"More times than I can count. I don't have to tell you how to behave while in here, do I? Lest we want to try and have an early death."
"We shouldn't be late, sir. Wouldn't want to insult the goblins."
The two of them walked inside of the bank and were greeted with silence once the doors closed behind them. As they walked down the aisle to go to Harry's manager, they were given some growls and smirks from some of the goblin tellers, and some of them just scowled as the two of them walked through the bank.
As soon as they made it to the teller, the rough-looking goblin just scowled at Harry before placing his quill to the side. "How may I help you today, Mr. Potter?" The teller, named Riptooth, had said.
"I want to see who is considered my magical guardian, and why whoever it is has not told me of my inheritance." Harry responded, stone-faced and emotionless, like a true lord should be.
Riptooth seemed to recoil, but he had not moved at all. Instead, he remained as still as possible, though it seemed he wanted to explode with rage, or knew somebody who was going to. He growled once more. "Follow me, Mr. Potter. Who is this… follower of yours?"
"This is Lord Arthur Urien, let him pass. He is a friend of mine." Harry ordered, and the goblin harrumphed as he led them off to wherever they were going.
As Harry and Arthur followed Riptooth, Harry had begun to marvel at the solid gold statues of the various goblin kings that decorated the bank. Some of the paintings that also decorated the marble walls looked priceless. Arthur knew, goblin paintings were a very rare find, and even rarer so to purchase them for a reasonable price. As the pair were led deeper into Gringotts, they noticed a higher amount of security. Large, armoured goblins stood tall, with glaives and axes and hammers held tight in their grasps. They glared and glowered at the two wizards until Riptooth had stopped talking to another goblin.
"This is Sharpfang, he is the manager of inheritance in Gringotts." Riptooth stated, before walking off back to the main entrance.
Harry and Arthur had gone over to begin speaking to Sharpfang, and before they could start to speak, Sharpfang had already gotten the first word in. "Mr. Potter, such a pleasure to meet you finally. I've heard so much."
Arthur had raised an eyebrow at the goblin's friendly nature. "I take it you know why we are here?"
"Of course I do, Lord Urien. Mr. Potter here should have came to his inheritance…. Let me see here… on the first of September, 1991. For several reasons apparently, Mr. Potter was unable to make my acquaintance and gain this valuable information."
Harry seemed to almost deflate when Sharpfang stared at him when he revealed that Harry should have been in Gringotts longer than he actually was in his first year. Had Hagrid done it on purpose? Kept him away from receiving his inheritance? No, he couldn't have. Hagrid would never do such a thing to Harry, he could not do a thing like that to anyone, it just was not possible. Harry refused to believe it was Hagrid.
"Mr. Potter, would you like me to reveal who is your magical guardian?" Sharpfang asked.
"Yes, please."
Sharpfang handed Harry a piece of parchment, every bit of it covered in inky scrawl that detailed the Potter house details. He wanted to go away and cry when he just read his mother and father's names. He noticed that above them were his grandparents' names, and he wished they all could have lived long enough for Harry to know them. He sighed and then looked down to the bottom of the parchment, and then looked at who was his magical guardian.
There was a scribbled out name in the actual space where the name went, but above the scribbled out name, was the one that Harry did not expect.
"Albus Dumbledore..."
"Your magical guardian is the only one who could have kept this from you. Other than your parents, Albus Dumbledore is the one who kept your inheritance from you." Sharpfang revealed.
Harry had been betrayed, betrayed by one of the very few people he thought he would be able to trust. Dumbledore had defeated a Dark Lord, of all the people Harry thought he would be able to trust, Dumbledore would be at least one of them! Why did he betray Harry?
"Sharpfang, did Harry's parents leave a will, anything that gives him full knowledge of his inheritance?" Arthur had asked, as Harry had gone eerily silent.
"I believe… ah, yes. The previous lord and lady left a will for the new Lord Potter. This should give you an idea of what is left behind for you, Lord Potter. I believe you know that Gringotts takes ten percent fee from all accounts so we have no problems there. The Potter accounts have been refilling due to the various investments your father made, so gold is placed inside the vaults, and we take our share out. Nevertheless, you are a very rich man, Lord Potter." Sharpfang said with a gruff laugh.
Sharpfang handed Harry the will of his parents, and Harry silently stared at it for a while. He did not read it aloud, but he did not read it silently either. He merely folded it and placed it delicately in his pocket. Arthur placed his hand Harry's shoulder, in a show of somewhat lordly manner of caring. Harry did give a small smile, and the turned to Sharpfang once more, keen on asking one more question.
"My magical guardian. There was a scribbled out name, who was there?" Harry had asked the goblin.
Sharpfang found the magical guardian form once more, and waved his hand over the parchment. His eyes widened and he reluctantly handed the form over to Harry and Arthur. Harry had read it and was silent, and when Arthur read it, he was gob-smacked.
"Sirius Black." Harry had murmured.
As soon as Harry had said the convict's name, he had ran out as fast as he could. Arthur said a quick thank you and ran off in pursuit of Harry. Harry was not crying, he was not angry, he was in shock. He ran down the hallways to the entrance, the goblin guards growling and glaring at the young boy as he ran through the bank. Arthur followed him, his black capes billowing and his golden carvings that kept his capes on him jingling against each other and patting gently on Arthur's chest as he ran after Harry.
As soon as Arthur had reached the entrance, he burst through the doors and found Harry just standing by the entrance to Gringotts. He hadn't said anything to Arthur, he was just staring at the parchment that had been fixed, now revealing who Harry's magical guardian would have been if it were not Dumbledore.
"Sir, how could it be him?" Harry asked.
"I don't know Harry, but it's best we go back to Hogwarts now. Soon somebody will no that we've been gone too long, longer than normal anyway. Come on."
Harry and Arthur made their way to the Leaky Cauldron. They entered the Floo and were taken away back to Hogwarts.
X-X-X
Harry had collapsed back on the wooden floor of the Defence office, with Professor Lupin sitting in his chair. Lupin had been reading a book before he threw it down on the desk and helped Harry up. Harry had not said anything, instead waiting for Arthur to explain the whole situation to Professor Lupin.
"Well, who is his guardian?" Lupin asked.
Arthur had gave a brooding sigh. "At first, we found out that his current guardian was Albus Dumbledore. He was the one who had halted the attempts to let Harry receive his inheritance. Before Albus however, was Sirius Black."
"Sirius Black?" Lupin asked again.
Arthur nodded, and took the bottle of fire-whiskey from the desk in the office and grabbed three glasses, filling each one to the brim. Remus and Arthur took one without hesitation, and Arthur soon offered the third one to Harry.
"Sir, I don't drink..." Harry had started.
"Nonsense. There have been Lords younger than you that have taken to drink. Just try it." Arthur said, handing him the glass.
Harry took the glass and quickly poured the liquid down his throat. Harry could feel the liquid warm his throat, and then give a slight burn on the back of his mouth. He began to cough, and the two adults with him had gave a small laugh and began to smile. Professor Lupin was the first to speak.
"Well you handled it better than Arthur did on his first time." Lupin smirked, and Arthur's glum facade turned into a grimace that was pointed in Lupin's direction.
Arthur downed the whiskey in one go and then glowered at Lupin. "You ever bring that up again, and I will ruin you, Lupin."
"Yes, yes, I'm sure you will." Lupin remarked, turning his back to Arthur and he began to focus on Harry.
Lupin gave a small smirk and placed his hand on Harry's shoulder before he began to speak. "Harry, myself and Arthur have been discussing what you asked at the start of your extended training. We've agreed to let you and Daphne learn about the Patronus charm."
Harry's face lit up slightly, and he gave a grin. It had been the happiest he had been since Sirius Black had been revealed as having been his original magical guardian. He gave a quick thank you to both of the professors and made his way back into the school, roaming around the grounds to wherever his friends were. Arthur and Remus immediately began planning what to do with the information that they had been given.
"Dumbledore hid Harry's inheritance then?" Remus asked, for certainty's sake.
"Indeed. Hid everything. Finances, properties, heirlooms, they're all in the vaults. Dumbledore made sure to make sure his hand in everything was well hidden. The only way anyone could have found out is if Dumbledore told anyone, or if Harry found out and told people. If Harry never knew, Dumbledore had complete access to the Potter vaults. Everything that has happened today is because of a mere coincidence." Arthur had replied.
Both men had sighed. "What do we tell Harry?" Arthur had asked.
"Tell Harry about what?" Remus had been confused, was there anything else he didn't know?
"About Padfoot." Arthur had reaffirmed. "We both know that what happened to Sirius was not in any way legal. The Aurors caught him and threw him into Azkaban. Even Lucius Malfoy was given a trial, and we all knew he was Death Eater. Besides, do you really think Padfoot could have betrayed Lily and James?" Arthur had pushed, pushed Remus hard for an answer.
"No..." Remus replied. "But who else could it be? Lily and James can't betray themselves. Most of the Order were either dead or had fled before He killed them both. If Black is innocent, who gave away the secrets?"
Arthur groaned, in his great leap of logic, he had forgotten the one detail. "I don't know. Remus, it was so long ago..."
"I know, Arthur. It's better we forget the whole situation and fight back against what we know is wrong. We know Dumbledore has done wrong, and we can fight him on that! We will deal with Padfoot whenever he shows his face. If we find Sirius, we find the truth. It's just a matter of time." Remus had reassured the younger man before him.
"Yes, we shall. We just need to wait."
"Exactly."
Arthur had remained silent for a while, and soon he had left the defence classrooms to go to his own room. Onyx was prowling about the room, before finally leaping upon Arthur's bed and beginning to snore loudly. Pincher had began to caw at Arthur as soon as he had walked into his room, but Onyx had silenced the shrieking crow. Arthur soon found the piece of small parchment attacked to Pincher's leg, and untied it, throwing a seed at the crow as he read the letter.
Dear Brother,
Myself and Mother have been talking, and whilst I do wonder if you love me as much as you used to (considering you want to adopt two children) I don't mind at all. I will just have to create a schedule where I can spend my time with my delightful brother.
Anyway, Mother has said yes to allowing you to adopt both Harry and Cedric. She had a sparkle in her eye when I mentioned the topic to you, and she smiled when she read your letter. Mother is going to the ministry tomorrow to go and begin the proceedings. Cedric will be the easiest to adopt, but I have no doubt that gaining custody of Harry Potter will be a lot harder.
In my opinion, I would ask Harry if he wants to be adopted first than just throw it upon him. The wizarding world barely ever sees him during the summer. Find out where he goes. Do it for Mother.
Your dear sister, Lunafreya.
Arthur smiled as he read the letter aloud, folding the parchment and placing it back down on the desk in his room. He sat in his chair and began to undo all of the capes that had now settled down around him, latching itself to the red leather of his chair and wooden outline of the chair that Arthur sat in. He sighed and began to feel his eyes close slightly, and soon Arthur had fell victim to the simple human excuse of sleep deprivation.
X-X-X
Harry had soon left the castle and gone outside. He knew that nobody would follow him and he knew that Ron and Hermione were probably still arguing.
He hated how his two first friends had devolved into what seemed to be mortal enemies. For the few months that the school had begun, they would take any excuse to try and fight with each other. One of the most banal and idiotic reasons was the fact that Ron thought Hermione had burnt his homework on purpose to make him look bad. Harry had to stifle a laugh when he heard Hermione shout back with 'your homework isn't even worth burning in the fireplace anyway, Ronald!'
Soon, Harry had made his way to the special spot where he considered his special place. Nobody ever went there except Harry, and it was a place where Harry could just simply think of things without having to worry about Draco or anyone of his ilk finding him and ruining his mood.
Not that his mood was great at all.
The moment Harry had found out about the betrayal from Dumbledore, who had kept his inheritance away from Harry for reasons unknown. Harry had felt even worse then ever. Betrayed by the one person who had brought joy to his life by introducing him to the wizarding world. It was even worse when Harry found out that his original guardian was the escaped convict Sirius Black.
It just could not have been possible.
Why would his parents ever have become friends with someone who would most likely become a Death Eater. Sirius Black had killed muggles, he had killed wizards, he was a loyal follower of Lord Voldemort himself! How could his mother and father allow him to be considered as somebody trustworthy enough to look after their only son?
From the spot where Harry was sat, he had a great view of the Black Lake. The small fish swum away from Harry as he neared the water. He could see the giant squid swimming around the lake, it's water-covered tentacles smashing into the water and then bursting out again. The squid seemed like it was having fun.
"Hello Harry." A voice said behind him.
Harry turned to see the pale, blonde haired and blue eyed girl behind him. Daphne Greengrass had followed him to his special place. If it were anyone else, Harry would have been furious. He wasn't though, he could not fault her for caring.
Or whatever Daphne called it, she seemed to be able to show emotion without actually showing it.
Harry sighed as Daphne sat down next to him. "You called me Harry."
"Is that a problem?"
"No, just a surprise is all." Harry had replied.
Harry tried to smile as he looked at the Black Lake. Daphne had caught him at a rather bad time, probably one of the worse times he had since he had arrived at Hogwarts. Daphne seemed to sense this, and had begun to speak.
"How was the trip to Gringotts?" Daphne tried to pry an answer from Harry.
"Bad. Really bad. I found out who was keeping my inheritance away from me."
"Who was it? Let's get all the juicy info, Potter." Daphne had jumped on the reveal.
Harry sighed, and Daphne had noticed the sorrow and sadness in it. She gently brushed her hand over his shoulder and listened to him as he revealed the details of his visit to the goblin bank. The moment he had revealed that Dumbledore, she had scowled at nothing in particular.
"You realise that what he has done to you is considered illegal in this world? It could be considered line theft, and if it is really bad, usurpation of house? What Dumbledore has done is a huge crime!"
"I know, Daphne, I know. We have no proof that he was doing it for his own reasons. That's not all. Dumbledore wasn't my first magical guardian. There was someone else..."
"Who?" Daphne had asked.
"Can you promise me that you won't tell anyone else? Daphne, what I am about to tell you is extremely sensitive information." Harry said, completely turning to face Daphne.
"You can trust me Harry, I will even take a magical bond if it makes you feel any better?"
"No, I just need to make sure you won't tell."
Daphne smiled at him, and continued to keep her hand on Harry's shoulder. It felt odd, to have another female friend that was not Hermione. Hermione had instead focused on trying to argue with Ron all the time, and neither of them really cared of what Harry thought any more. If either of them caught Harry with the other, then they refused to talk to Harry for weeks until they forgot or Harry had reluctantly apologised.
Now Harry had made more friends, friends that did not argue with each other over such banal issues. He had friends like Neville, Susan, Hannah, the Patils. He even considered Daphne a friend to a point. She had seemed to care for him more than any other friends. It might have been the fact that she spent more time with him than most, with the training sessions helping build up some kind of camaraderie between the two.
"Go on then, who was the first guardian?" Daphne asked.
Harry gave a final sigh. "Sirius Black."
The pair of them were silent. Daphne had been as shocked as he had when she had found out. She tried to say something, but the words were caught in her throat. It seemed like whatever she had tried to say just could not reveal itself.
"I know. Horrifying." Harry stated.
Soon, Daphne had stopped trying to speak whatever words she wanted to say. Instead she simply slithered closer to Harry, sitting right next to him. Her silver-blonde hair was the only light that Harry could see in the darkness. Harry had completely forgotten how beautiful Daphne really was, how nearly all the boys in his year had wanted her on their arm, only to be given the harsh treatment by the Ice Queen.
Needless to say, people were a lot more careful around Daphne after the rumour of her freezing someone's nether-regions had gone around the school.
Harry could barely keep his eyes off Daphne as she had gotten closer to him. As well as her silky hair that he could just feel tickling his neck, he could see the bright blue eyes that he just could not stop getting lost in. Harry really could understand why people in his year considered Daphne one of the most beautiful girls in the year.
"No, it isn't." Daphne replied. "It could be a lot worse. It could be the Lestranges."
"True." Harry had to smirk and give a laugh. It really could have been worse.
The thought that Harry's parents had trusted Sirius Black enough to have him as Harry's magical guardian had played upon Harry's mind. Was Sirius Black really a good friend of House Potter? If he was, Harry wanted to find out.
As Harry continued to stare at Daphne, she had began to speak. "Harry, you're staring."
"I know..." Harry replied, almost in a dream-like state.
Daphne then proceeded to stare at Harry, in a response akin to Harry's own. She then began to copy Harry's own movements, so when his head twisted, Daphne's did as well. When Harry blinked, Daphne blinked. Daphne could clearly tell that Harry was getting annoyed by the impersonation, but he was not saying or doing anything to show his annoyance. Instead, he seemed to stop getting annoyed and take advantage of his situation for a little moment. Harry moved his head closer to Daphne, and she had decided to copy his movement. She knew what he was going to try, and Harry could tell from the look on her face that she knew what he was thinking. She definitely looked unimpressed from what Harry could tell.
"Potter, if you even try and plant your lips near my-"
Harry already knew what he was going to do. He knew he would like to keep his private parts, so instead of kissing Daphne square on the lips. He darted to the side and gave her a small kiss on the cheek. Harry had noticed that Daphne had a small blush on her cheeks before she gave what Harry would have called a cute growl. Harry wanted to skip all the way to the Gryffindor dorms, but he couldn't as Daphne had already caught up to him and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.
"If you're gonna do something that stupid, at least do it right." Daphne had brought her lips to Harry's own.
As soon as it had began, it was over. Harry was in shock for the third time in the day. Daphne had already made her way to the Slytherin common rooms, and from what Harry's somewhat dazed eyesight could see, Daphne may or may not have been swaying her hips in a certain manner to make Harry go crazy. Once he could no longer see Daphne, he turned around, began to hum and skip all the way back to the Gryffindor common rooms.
X-X-X
I'm Back! Sort of…
One more week of exams and then I will have some free time to start updating again. If you very astute people have noticed, I can only update on the weekends for the last week and the coming week but once exams are finished, I'll be able to start updating on a more regular basis.
~The Real Italian Stallion~