Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter 25 – Gryffindor's Inheritance

Ginny froze when Harry said those words. No, it's not possible, she thought. Not Harry. He can't…I can't lose him! Harry felt Ginny's panic climbing rapidly and turned to try and calm her but it was too late. No, not Harry, you can't have him! You can't take him from me! HARRY! A surge of magic like none of them had ever seen exploded from her, knocking everyone back except for Harry.

"Ginny!" He screamed, reaching for her as only he could, her magic recognizing him as a part of her. When he pulled her to him Harry felt her magic wrap around him as if to protect him from whatever might hurt him. "Ginny, it's alright, it'll be alright!" He tried to calm her but it didn't work and Harry had the sneaking suspicion that nothing would work given it was his death they were talking about. Suddenly a stray thought from a conversation held months ago flashed through his mind and made everything worse: it wasn't just his death that was in question.

"The final thing we can tell you is that as your souls are merged, so to are your lives. When one of you dies, the other will soon follow." The words Nicolas and Perenelle had said continued to run on repeat through his head and though he tried to comfort Ginny, Harry felt his own control slipping away. He was ok dying if it meant that Ginny and everyone else he cared about was safe, but if he died, then Ginny would as well. Simply put, that was unacceptable. Harry's own magic flared and joined with Ginny's their combined magic swirling around, protecting them from anything that might harm their bondmate. The problem was that the thing that would harm them was a part of Harry and much as they tried they couldn't protect themselves from themselves.

"Harry, Ginny!" They vaguely heard the shout coming from Sirius and Bill but they were too lost in their own world to care. Since that day in the Chamber of Secrets they had become wired to protect the other at any cost to themselves. They had known this, of course, but as neither of them were in true danger before it hadn't really dawned on them just how far they would go to protect their mate. The problem was, this wasn't something easily fixed and so their magic didn't know what to do so was just swirling around, protecting them as best it could without really knowing how. After a few minutes their fear allowed other thoughts to penetrate the repetition that they couldn't let the other die and both gasped, the same thought coming to them. Without hesitation they let their magic flare up again, this time in a concentrated manner that saw them disappear from the infirmary, much to the shock of everyone else.

"You can't apparate inside Gringotts." Bill said, staring open mouthed at the spot his sister and Harry had just disappeared from.

"Normally I would agree with you, but these two are far from normal." Said Ragnok.

"But where did they go?" Sirius wondered, though no one could tell him. The only thing they knew for certain was that the rampant magic was contained to the immediate area surrounding Harry and Ginny, for once they disappeared so too did all traces of their magical outburst. They began thinking of where the two might have gone, throwing ideas back and forth, but coming up with no answer until a few minutes later when it was handed to them.

"Director Ragnok!" A frantic goblin rushed in, yelling in Gobbledegook. "Someone has broken into Gringotts sir! They somehow bypassed all our sensors and protections and managed to get to the lowest level without notice!" Ragnok's eyes widened.

"The Gryffindor vault!" He said in English, rushing out of the infirmary with the others close on his heels.

-H/G-

Harry and Ginny reappeared directly inside the vault of his ancestor, both managing to somehow get enough control of themselves to walk over to the orb Godric had left for his heir.

"Everything will change if we do this." Harry said without speaking aloud, their heightened magic allowing the communication in their minds.

"But if it saves you-"

"Saves us!"

"Yes, saves us, then it's worth it." Harry couldn't fault that logic and so doing as Godric had instructed in his letter he threw the orb to the ground, smashing it to pieces. The response was instantaneous. As soon as the orb broke the magic Godric had placed within it rushed up and enveloped Harry. They both gasped when it did, their merged souls allowing them both to feel the surge of knowledge and power now flowing through them. And it was flowing through them both. While Godric had left his legacy to his heir there was nothing that Harry could hide from Ginny, and apparently nothing he couldn't share with her either. It took several long moments but eventually the magic dissipated, both Godric's and their own. Green eyes met brown and they took each other in through this new lens for the first time.

"Thou art most beauteous, lady wife." Harry spoke, his voice having lowered slightly and taken on a less child-like quality. "More beauteous than the sun, the stars and moon combined. I find myself most in love with thee." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, looking utterly besotted, though Ginny's own expression mirrored his.

"I am no more beauteous as thou art handsome, my lord husband." She responded, her own voice sounding more like a woman's and not the twelve year old she was as she brought her arms up to wrap around his neck. "And 'tis glad I am that thou love me, for I love thee also, and will not relinquish you to another." Without further hesitation the two leaned forwards into a gentle kiss, as if it was their first all over again. Like before it did not last long nor did it become more than a simple touching of lips. Though their hesitation and embarrassment at declaring their love was gone, they were still painfully aware that they were very young and allowing it to become anything more was inappropriate, nor did it feel right, and so they pulled apart relatively quickly.

"How art we so calm?" Ginny asked. "Mere moments ago we wouldst have torn this earth apart in our worry."

"Me thinks it is Godric's doing. He was once a great warrior and commander and could not allow himself to lose control so in battle, lest it cost him his life, and the lives of many others."

"I am still worried, husband mine." Harry pulled her close again, hearing the anguish in her voice, though this time he merely held her.

"As am I, sweetheart. In truth I have never been more afeared in my whole life." Ginny held him back just as tightly at the anguish in his own voice. "However, we shall persevere, and with Godric's help we shall also prevail." They allowed themselves a moment longer to gain as much comfort as they could from the other before they turned their attention back to the present. "We must go. No doubt mine godfather will have raised the alarm at our disappearance." Ginny nodded and released him, though neither was ready to fully let the other go and so their hands remained entwined. Looking to the pedestal where the orb had once been Harry pocketed Gryffindor's signet ring.

"Doth thou think we shalt always speak so?" Ginny asked as they walked to the vault's door, which began to open at their approach.

"I doth not know for certain, however I suspect our speech is the result of Godric's influence and as we become accustomed to our new magic it shalt diminish, if not leave us entirely." That was understandable. They had just taken on a significant amount of power from one of the greatest wizards of all time, who just happened to be from medieval times. Their minds were full of thoughts that weren't their own and each one sounded as if it was Godric himself that was speaking. As the vault door opened they could see a group of people standing in the antechamber, most of whom visibly sagged in relief upon seeing them.

"Thank Merlin!" Sirius muttered as he and Bill rushed forwards, wrapping their godson and sister in a hug, which was returned one handedly. "What the bloody hell hap-" Sirius stopped short as he looked at them properly. Something was different, very obviously so. Both held themselves differently than before, they were taller and prouder. But it was their eyes which had changed the most. They were still the same green and brown colour they remembered but where before they had seen two kids haunted by the horrors they had faced yet trying their best to overcome them, there was now no trace of the children they were. The horrors of their past were still there but it was now much more than that. Their eyes spoke of more horrors than before, but there was an acceptance and understanding about them, as well as a wisdom that no child should have.

"What happened?" He asked more gently but urgently.

"We shalt explain all, godfather." Harry said and Sirius' eyes widened hearing him speak, this was definitely not the same voice, or even the same Harry from ten minutes ago. "However, this is not the place."

"The family should be present, we think." Bill's eyes widened as much as Sirius' when Ginny spoke and although he didn't know how, he knew that something had changed within her. The thought that his mother would likely kill him for allowing this change, regardless that he hadn't had a choice, flittered through his mind as well. "There is much to discuss, though prior to this, however, my lord husband and I must converse in private."

"No, I don't think so." Bill immediately replied. "I'm not leaving you two alone together." He was worried about the clear change in his baby sister and definitely hadn't liked that Ginny had called Harry her husband so easily.

"Fear not, Master Weasley, I intend no ill towards my lady wife." Said Harry gently, though his expression told Bill he and Ginny would be talking alone whether he liked it or not. "I give thou mine word that she will be as much a maid when we return to you as she is now." Bill and Sirius coughed embarrassedly though neither Harry nor Ginny even flinched at the direct, though admittedly tactful, reference to her virginity.

"Ok, knock it off Harry. I know you're Gryffindor's heir, but there's no need to talk like him." Harry merely smiled.

"I am afeared, godfather, that 'tis not so simple. Forsooth, naught from this point forward will be simple. As I said, we shalt explain all, though not here." Harry and Ginny walked forwards, closely followed by their family and the vault door closed behind them. Stopping in front of Ragnok, who aside from Griphook was also accompanied by several security goblins, all of whom had become aware of the supposedly break in and followed their Director when he'd run passed them.

"Director Ragnok." Ginny said with a low, perfectly executed curtsy. She remained there for a moment and reached for his hand, kissing the ring on it as one would a king in times past, which although the goblins had long ago done away with their monarchy he was technically the modern equivalent of. Harry had bowed with Ginny and kissed Ragnok's ring after her before they both straightened. "We wouldst be most honoured if thine lordship joined us this eve at Potter Manor. We art sure thou art most curious about the goings on here and wouldst bring thou into our confidence alongside our family, if thou will permit us."

"Accounts Manager Griphook is most welcome as well." Harry added. "Also please accept our apology for our actions earlier. We doth realize now that not taking the proper route to our vault must have raised your alarms." That much was obvious from the spear carrying goblins. "I assure thou that 'twas done in an act of desperation without our conscious knowledge or consent and shall not happen again."

"Uh…it is no problem, my lord." For the first time in his five years working at Gringotts Bill actually saw a goblin speechless, and the highest ranking goblin at that. Their Director stammering was also not a sight the other goblins were used to and they awkwardly shuffled from one foot to the other.

"We art certain 'tis quite the problem, Director." Harry replied with a chuckle. "However, we ate most grateful for thine generosity."

"And now I believe 'tis time for us to leave." Said Ginny. "We shall depart by normal means, however, we doth not wish to cause an uproar."

"I shalt send my friend Dobby to thou this evening to bring thou, and Accounts Manager Griphook, if he so chooses, to Potter Manor, say at eight?" Ragnok nodded and led the way back out of the tunnel and to the cart that would take them to the surface. After saying quite the formal goodbye Harry and Ginny walked confidently out of Gringotts, stopping the moment they were off the steps and calling for Dobby.

"Please contact the family and assemble them for eight this eve. It may be prudent for Madam Bones to be present as well. We shalt see thou soon." Said Harry in way of a goodbye to Sirius and Bill before taking Dobby's hand and promptly disappearing. They re-appeared not at Potter Manor but in a room that had clearly seen better days. There was a thick layer of dust and cobwebs everywhere. The once rich crimson drapes had faded, as had the tapestries that covered the walls and the rugs that covered the stone floor. There was a blackened fireplace directly across from a large four-poster bed, in front of which stood two chairs identical to the ones before the fire in the Gryffindor common room, while a large wardrobe stood against the far wall next to which a door led to what they could see was an old stool closet. The rest of the room remained unfurnished; there were no portraits or further decoration anywhere.

"Why art I not surprised that thou knew to bring us here, even without being asked?" Said Harry amusedly.

"Dobby will always be one step ahead of master." The elf replied importantly while looking around the room in disgust. "Though Dobby cannot allow master or mistress to stay here until it is thoroughly cleaned." His words acted as a summons for the Hogwarts house elves, several of whom popped in and looked around in horror.

"Lord and Lady Gryffindor must leave now." One of them said. "We shall put this room to rights in no time and will come to you when it's done." The other elves had already begun to clean and Dobby and the elf that had spoken waited only so long as to ensure Harry and Ginny left before they too got started. Although there was no door or obvious exit from the room, neither hesitated in approaching the fireplace, which moved aside for them much like a sliding door and deposited them in the Gryffindor common room before closing behind them.

"Is it not odd that in a thousand years such a room was never discovered?" Ginny asked, using her wand to light the fire and taking a seat in one of the plush armchairs, Harry taking the one across from her.

"Considering that Salazar's Chamber remained undiscovered for just as long 'tis not truly a surprise." He replied.

"Yes, but Salazar had purposefully hidden his chamber. There was a time that everyone knew Godric's personal chamber was there."

"That knowledge was lost to time, my dear. I doubt anyone even knew to look for it after Godric's death." Ginny nodded.

"Now to the matter at hand." It was Harry's turn to nod and the two turned their attention to the horcrux inside Harry. "We both know the only solution, husband mine."

"No." He replied forcefully. "There must be another way."

"Even with all the knowledge Godric had, all that he learned about soul magic after bonding with Giselle, which thou cannot deny is indeed a great deal, there is no other option."

"And thou art alright with this? How can thou be alright with this?!"

"Because it saves you, my darling." The answer was simple and to Ginny it was indeed that simple. Anything that saved Harry, no matter what it was, would always be alright with her. "Completing our bond is the only way."

"We are not ready." He insisted. "Regardless that we doth now have the knowledge of my ancestor we art still little more than children."

"I know, but what choice have we? 'Tis the only way to remove the piece of that madman's soul from within you. Our souls may have merged down in Salazar's Chamber but only when the bond is complete will our soul be powerful enough to displace his."

"I do not deny that there doth not appear another solution." Harry said, giving in that much. "However, I see not why we must do this now. It will hold for a time, until we art older and more prepared."

"But we doth not know how much time we have!" Ginny insisted. "Voldemort can return at any moment and we must have all his anchors destroyed before then or we risk another war. There cannot be a single thing holding his soul to this world when he regains his body lest many people die because we deemed ourselves too young. Thou cannot deny, husband, that were we living in the time of your ancestor we-"

"Would still be considered too young." Insisted Harry just as fiercely.

"By some, perhaps. I do not deny that it would be a bit odd, but it would be far from unheard of." Harry scowled.

"Do thou truly believe that makes things better?"

"No." Ginny said with a sigh. "And were the situation not so dire I wouldst agree with thou. However, thine life is not something I am willing to gamble with." Harry could not fault her logic for it was the same logic he applied to her. However, as it was his life that was directly in danger, the danger to hers being a side effect of their bond, he could see why she wasn't seeing everything clearly. He knew that if her life was directly in danger he would be making the exact same arguments.

"Ginevra," It was the first time he had called her by her full name, but given their current manner of speech it was far from surprising. "I understand why thou thinks we must complete the bond now. However," He held up his hand when she made to interrupt. "I will not allow such a thing to be dictated by fear. Thou art afeared, I understand, for I am just as afeared as you. But even doth we move forwards in this manner, there is no guarantee that all will be well. There art still dangers that may take our lives in the conflict to come."

"And thou wouldst reason that until such a time as he regains his body then the foreign soul presents no more danger than any of the other dangers thou speaks of." Harry was glad to see what she was finally seeing the whole picture. Ginny was silent for a few moments as she thought on what he'd said before finally reaching a decision.

"Very well then, Henry." Few people even knew that his full name was Henry. He had been named after his great-grandfather on his mother's side, to whom Lily had been very close with while he was still alive, but Sirius said that even before he was born they were calling him Harry. In fact, Sirius could remember only one time he'd heard his godson referred to as Henry and that was when they gave the Healer his name for his birth certificate. Harry was seven before he even learned his name was really Henry, Sirius and Remus had forgotten entirely and it was only when the elves insisted they go through the things in the attic and his birth certificate had been found that they remembered. Harry knew that in this instance Ginny called him Henry to show her displeasure at being called Ginevra. "I will agree that there is not currently a pressing need for us to complete our bond. However, I will have thine word that we shalt complete it when I have reached the age of consent at sixteen, or, doth Voldemort return prior to that, we shalt complete it then. I will not have a piece of that man's soul residing in thou when he again walks this earth. Art we agreed?" While Harry would have preferred that nothing but their own feelings and desires mattered in this case, he knew that he wouldn't get anymore from Ginny. Her sixteenth birthday was still four years away and there were no signs of Voldemort's return being imminent, so, he figured, they would have lots of time.

"Agreed."

A/N - Harry spouting old English poetry (or just words, not sure if it qualifies as poetry) to Ginny once he broke Gryffindor's orb had been there since the beginning, though I admit I had fun keeping it going. It won't last too long though, as Harry said once a medieval wizards thoughts aren't so prominent in their heads it will disappear.

And yes, Harry's real name is Henry (in this fic). I know some people hate that, and I'm sorry, but on the plus side he won't be referred to as Henry very often, or maybe not ever again.

Review please!