Chapter 10

Beta: Maethoriel Raina

Gringotts Conference Room

There were many restless mutters in reaction to Harry's unorthodox appearance, and there were many wary looks being cast in Dumbledore's direction. The goblin at the head of the table would have none of it, however. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are all gathered here today to hear the last Will and Testament of Lily and James Potter. My name is Ironhorn and I have been asked to preside as executioner as the previous one has been declared unfit." The goblin held up a scroll. "Now this is a self-updating Will. It will not necessarily provide explanations, but it will list what the wishes of the Potter's would be if they were here today."

He set it on the table and tapped it three times. It began to glow and it rose from the table, unfurling as it went. Suddenly, the disembodied voice of James Potter rang out, "I, James Godric Potter, being of sound mind and body, do declare this to be my last Will and Testament." Then the voice of Lilly Potter called out the same.

Harry was, well, he didn't know quite what he was feeling as he listened to his parent's voices for the first time. They sounded nice? Maybe? There wasn't much that could be gleaned from a sentence apiece.

The Will continued in the voice of James Potter, "Well, I guess this means we are dead, and all that rot. I hope it was in a blaze of glory and not from choking on chicken bones. If this is the Will that is being read then it is because both Lily and I have died close to one another."

Lily began to speak, "But this Will also means that Harry has survived and for that we are grateful. Son, I want you to know that we loved you more than anything and that we will always be there for you, even if you can't see us. We chose this type of Will just because in this uncertain time, the circumstances of our life might have changed by the time this Will is read. There are things we are leaving to our closest friends, but the main goal of this Will is to see to the future wellbeing of our son."

"But also to our friends," James continued, "know that we loved you and we will always keep you in our hearts, no matter where we are."

Around the table, several eyes were getting misty, including Harry's, but he tried to keep his face as calm as possible. If his parents really were with him, he didn't want them to think of him as a watering pot. He had decided that they did sound nice.

"Now to get to the point." James said. "In no particular order, we will now tell you what kind of loot you get to take home."

A small smack could be heard in the background of the recording. "James, have some manners!" Lily hissed.

"What? It's true! People always what to know what they are going to get when someone dies."

"Maybe so, but you don't have to be rude about it."

"Ah, darling, how about after this you come and give me some lessons on how to be more…polite. Ladies first, and the like." James replied. One could almost hear the leer in his voice.

Lily huffed one last time. "Incorrigible."

Harry had trouble stifling his giggles at this point. His parents had been funny. Dumbledore scowled at him, but Sirius looked over at him with a small smile showing that he found the whole exchange amusing as well.

James' voice drew their attention again. "To the Tonks family, all of you have been very good friends to us, we shall miss you. To you all, we leave copies of all the books we have in the Potter library on metamorphmagus transformations.

"To Poppy Pomfrey, we leave copies of all the healing tomes we have in the Potter collection. Now, to those receiving copies—they are just that, all originals will remain in the library itself." As he spoke, the books in question appeared before the recipients.

Lily continued, "To Kingsley Shacklebolt, we leave a full set of dragon hide battle robes, they can be found in vault 597.

"To Severus Snape we leave copies of all of the potions books in the Potter library, our collection of rare potions ingredients, and the sum of one million galleons. You will find the ingredients in vault 597 as well. That is the vault that houses most of the Potter heirlooms."

There were shocked looks around the table. Everyone has known how badly Snape and James Potter had hated each other. Something must have drastically changed since then.

"To Lucius Malfoy," James said, "there would be very little point to leaving you money, so instead we are leaving you copies of all the books we have regarding law and politics. Also, in vault 597 there is an ebony box embossed with a golden phoenix. Take this box, it is locked, but one day when the time is right it will open and much will become clear."

This bequest caused even more mutters. What were the Potters thinking? No one knew.

James began again, "To Remus Lupin, one of our dearest friends, we leave you Pembrook Cottage and its surrounding fifty acre woods. This cottage is located thirty miles east of Hogwarts. We also leave to you the sum of two million galleons. Moony, life has given you too many uncertainties, we hope that our gift can give you some security and peace of mind."

By this time, Remus was crying heavily and Sirius was holding him securely, rubbing his hand slowly up and down his back. Many turned away at what was obviously a deeply private moment for him. Harry didn't, though. He watched the man that his parents had obviously cared very deeply for. This was also the man that his Godfather had mentioned in his letter. Harry could tell by how threadbare his clothes were that life hadn't been kind to him.

"To Sirius Black," Lily began, "You have no need for money, and you have no need for books as the Black library far surpasses our own, but there is one thing we can give you that means more to us than any trinket we could find…to you we leave custody of our only son, Harry James Potter. You have loved him as your own since the day we brought him home from the hospital, and we know that he has always been the son of your heart. We know that he will be safe and cared for in your hands.

"If, for some reason, you are unable to take Harry, custody will pass to Remus Lupin. Attached to this Will is the necessary permissions we gained from the Ministry in order for such an adoption to be legal despite your disability. If you are also unable to care for Harry, custody then passes to the Tonks family. If it should pass that none of these guardians are available and Harry has to be put up adoption, there are two final conditions—Harry cannot be adopted by a Death Eater, nor is he to be placed with my sister, Petunia."

James came back again, "And now, to our beloved son, we leave the remainder of our estate. The goblins should have a full list of our remaining properties and vaults. There are also a few letters meant for your eyes alone. You will find them in the ruby studded box in the heirloom vault. There are many things that I wish we had been able to tell you in person, but I believe in you and I know that no matter what you do in life, we will always be proud of you."

Harry knew that tears were now streaming down his cheeks and he couldn't find the will to care anymore. He felt a pair of arms come around him and he looked over to find that his Godfather was holding him. Harry turned and buried his face into the fine silk of Sirius' robe, not caring if it became ruined or not. Harry didn't know how, but he could feel how much this man cared for him.

The Will, unaware of the high emotions carried on in the voice of James Potter, "And now lastly of all, Albus Dumbledore—to you we leave this giant sack." Sure enough a large burlap bag appeared in front of Dumbledore. "Our only request is that you wait until you are alone to open it."

Dumbledore didn't argue and simply shrunk the bag and put it into his pocket. The curiosity was going to kill him, though, until he could get back to his tower.

Lily's voice spoke one last time, "To our dearest family and friends, we wish you the best in life and we hope that your future brings you everything you deserve."

And with that, the parchment dropped back to the table, lifeless once again.

Ironhorn picked up the scroll and placed it in a protected tube. It would go into their hall of records where Wills and accounts have been kept for centuries. When it came to money, Goblins were the best librarians to be had. "To those of you bequeathed items from the Potter heirloom vault, you may call to have one of us take you down to retrieve the items when you wish to leave. To those of you bequeathed money, the amounts are being transferred into your accounts as we speak. Mr. Lupin, you will find the deed to your new property and the keys in your vault as well. Now if you will excuse me, I will take my leave."

And with that he scurried from the room as if staying there a moment longer would contaminate him.

Harry had calmed and was now sitting comfortably in his Godfather's arms. Many realized that it would be best to say their goodbyes and leave the boy to find comfort from his new adoptive father. The Tonks family came over first and offered their condolences to Harry as if his parents had just died and then made their goodbyes. Harry recognized their daughter as one of the Aurors that had come to the infirmary that first night of school, but he knew that she didn't remember, so he said nothing.

Poppy Pomfrey came up next and after placing a light kiss on Harry's head she said goodbye and told him that she would see him back at school.

Kingsley Shacklebolt merely offered a firm handshake and a warm goodbye. He had been the other Auror that had come that night, but he didn't remember either.

Severus Snape and Lucius Malfoy did not approach. Partially to keep their cover in front of Dumbledore, partially to avoid the death stares Sirius Black was sending their way. Severus merely nodded to Harry as they made their way out. Harry knew he could corner Severus later to pry more information out of him. What had his parents given to Lucius Malfoy?

Soon Harry was just left with Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and his Headmaster. The tension in the room almost echoed with sound. Dumbledore turned to Harry, "Well, my boy, it looks like we should be heading back."

Sirius snorted, "Go away Dumbledore, I will return my Godson when I feel like it, if you have a problem with that then I am afraid that I will have to have Harry transferred to a more…family friendly school."

Dumbledore quailed—this wasn't the brash young man he remembered. "I, yes, of course…you and Harry have a lot to catch up on, I would expect." Dumbledore tried to put on his grandfather façade, but it was to no avail. Sirius still looked murderous. "I will just be getting back to the school, then. Lots of work to do."

"Yes, do that…oh, and Dumbledore, when I bring Harry back it will be time for us to have a little talk, don't you think?"

Dumbledore shuddered at the tone of Sirius' voice. "Indeed." He managed before fleeing the room altogether. Nothing had gone right today.

Harry looked at Sirius, "So you are my Godfather." Then he looked over at Remus, "And you are Mr. Lupin."

Remus grinned, "Nothing as formal as all that, call us Sirius and Remus, or you can call us what your father did—Padfoot and Moony."

Harry looked at them as if they were crazy, "Really? How on earth did you get those names?"

Sirius chuckled, "It is a long, long story…but now we have a long, long time to tell it to you." Sirius hugged Harry tighter. "I am so sorry you have to live with that creature poor Lily had to call a sister. Remus told me what I had missed before the Will reading began."

Harry looked down, he could tell just how badly Sirius felt about what had happened to him—as if he could somehow bear any of the blame for being unfairly imprisoned. For the first time, Harry prevaricated, "It wasn't all that bad, really."

Sirius put a finger under his chin and lifted his head until their eyes could meet. "Never lie to me, I know you think to spare my feelings, but I am your parent now and it is my job to protect you, not the other way around. You aren't alone anymore." Sirius gave a small smile, "And neither am I."

For a moment, Harry almost began to cry again, but then Remus called out: "And what am I? Chopped liver?"

Sirius and Harry laughed, breaking the tension. Sirius flung out his arm and gathered Moony close as well. "You are a part of this family and you know it." Sirius looked at Harry. "You are now a very rich young man, several times over, what say you we go and spend some of that now? I have the feeling that your aunt wasn't that forthcoming when it came to spending money on you."

Harry gave a wry smile, "You would be right. I do need some new clothes, this robe is the best one I've got, in fact, outside of the school robes, this is the only one I've got."

Sirius put Harry down and got up, holding out a hand to Harry. "We'll come back to look at your vaults later, right now, we have some shopping to do."

Harry took his hand and then he offered Remus his other hand. "And I think you need some new clothes as well, Moony."

Remus laughed, "I think you might just be right there. Let's go then and we will see what Diagon Alley has to offer."

And with that the three men walked out of Gringotts happier than they had been in a long time.

*&^%$#

Headmaster's Office

Hogwarts

Dumbledore got back to his office and enlarged the bag that the Potter's had given him. Now what on earth could it be? He untied the string at the top and looked with wonder at the giant bag of lemon drops that was sitting there. It wasn't quite as welcome as money would have been, but he had been getting low on lemon drops and he hadn't known when he would have been able to have the money to buy more.

Dumbledore dumped the sack into his lemon drop jar and once they had all fallen in, a note from the bottom of the sack floated down to land on top. Dumbledore picked it up and read what it said with growing horror:

"Bertie Botts' Every Flavor But Lemon Drops"

"Nooooo!"

*&^%$#

A/N- Wow, this one came quick. I think I am on a writing kick this weekend. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed. I am glad so many people are enjoying this story.

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