A/N: I wished I owned Harry Potter. Alas, I do not. Ms. Rowling, I'd be happy to take it off your hands
A/N: Another Long Day
Chapter 37: A New Year
New Year's Day, 1995
"Happy New Year Dean," Harry said, swinging the door open for the tall dark skinned wizard.
"You as well Harry," Dean said as he walked past Harry. "Thank you for inviting me to this gathering."
"Well, I suspected that the girls would be busy on Christmas and I love watching everyone open their presents so it made sense to bump everything back to new year's," Harry explained.
"Well this should be fun," Dean told Harry. "Who else is coming?"
"Krum and Fleur are both coming," Harry told him. "The twins are still here, and so is Hermione and Neville. I'm pretty sure Susan and Hannah will swing by as well, and maybe a few professors." Dean nodded but looked a little sad. "Of course Lavender is coming too," Harry said, giving Dean a bit of a shove as his friend began to blush. "That's quite a blush you have." Harry was delighted that his teasing had come off well.
"Hey it's not like that," Dean said, though his protest was half-hearted.
"What was it you said to me earlier this year?" Harry closed his eyes, as if trying to remember although the memory was crystal clear. "So you and a Gryffindor, huh?" The delayed reaction Dean gave him as he realized Harry was getting turnaround from months ago was priceless. Dean gave a half growl and tackled Harry to the floor. Harry extended his legs and popped Dean off him, flipping to his feet in the same move.
"This is not funny!"
"No, it's hilarious," Harry told Dean, dodging another desperate attack. "So you really like her?"
"I think so," Dean said, plopping down on a coach. "Please don't say anything."
"My lips are sealed," Harry said, sitting next to Dean as the door swung open.
"So you kept a Hippogriff in here?" Hannah said as she walked in, Susan right behind her.
"I believe you said something about not gossiping as much," Harry pitched his voice so that Susan could clearly hear him.
"It's not gossiping if I only tell my best friend," Susan said, sitting next to Hannah on the couch next to the one to two boys were on. "Hello Dean."
"Hey Susan," Dean said. "So Harry, this room can really be used to create anything?"
"Yeah," Harry told him. "It's too cold outside to exercise comfortably, so Professor Hayashi, Nev, and I have been exercising in here."
"Neville is still exercising with you?" Dean asked, clearly a little surprised.
"Yes he is," Hannah answered. "I can happily attest to the results."
"Gross," Harry said with a shudder which caused the girls to laugh. "Speaking of making anything," Harry stared at the space in front of them and saw a large tree appear. "Didn't know that would work. Cool."
"A Christmas tree on New Year's?"
"Well we are exchanging Christmas presents, right?" Harry drew his wand and muttered "Finite Incantatem," and a host of presents appeared under the tree.
"Did you just create all of those?" Hannah asked with her mouth wide open.
"Of course not," Harry replied with a laugh, causing Hannah to look a little miffed. "I just canceled the disillusionment on them. It's easier to do on objects than humans and McGonagall taught it to me in our special training for the tournament," Harry added when realizing his classmates had not used the spell to such effect before.
"Merry New Year," Fleur said as she swung open the door, Victor right behind her.
"It's Merry Christmas and Happy New Year," Krum said, as the two champions settled on another one of the couches the Room of Requirement had created for the celebration Harry had put together.
"I am well aware," Fleur told him, "but since we are doing Christmas and New Year's together, I decided to combine the two."
"Very funny," Krum said without a smile.
"You are all together too serious," Luna said, popping up from behind the couch, scaring everyone in the room. "Hello."
"Wow!" Hermione entered the room with Neville right behind her. The twins were next and Lavender entered, swinging the door closed behind her. "The room is really beautiful." Hermione sat next to Fleur, while Lavender and Neville sat on opposite sides next to Dean and Harry respectively.
"The room can really transform into anything?" Krum asked. "Fascinating. I wonder how it was created."
"Ok, enough chatter," Harry said. With a flick of his wand, the presents he had put under the tree floated to the feet of the people around the tree. "Present time. We will go in a circle. I want to see you all open them and since because I only came up with idea about the last minute I assume I am the only one to not give out presents." Nods were exchanged across the room. "Great, get going!"
Lavender was first, and Harry watched eagerly as she opened her package to find a colored book. She looked at him curiously and then opened the book.
"What are these colors?" Lavender asked.
"That's the present," Harry said as Lavender gasped. "The book is charmed to have different colors on every page and they always change. No two pages will always have ever have the same color. It will also show some of those colors on muggle fashion. Hopefully the book should help if you choose to go into fashion." Lavender smiled happily.
"Ok, we are next," the twins said. They tore open their package and were puzzled to see two small notebooks. "More books?"
"Look on the first page," Harry said. This was one of his best presents, in his opinion. The twins looked at each other and opened the notebooks simultaneously. The impact was instant, with Fred dropping his book and George gasping.
"What is it?" Hermione asked. The twins were barely moving. "Did you prank them Harry?"
"Padfoot's greatest pranks," Fred said, his voice trembling.
"Moony's guide to deception," George said, reverence in his voice. "Harry, this is…"
"They were happy to help," Harry told them, "especially seeing as you saved one of their lives." The twins just nodded but were too stunned to say anything else. "Ok, seems like I did good there. Krum next!" The other students looked at each other in amusement. Only Harry would be as excited as a little kid to see other people open the presents he got for them.
"Did I miss it?" Akira said, bursting into the room, holding a huge box in his arms.
"No, just in time," Harry said as Akira plopped down on the floor with a gasp of relief. McGonagall was right behind him. Harry looked at her inquisitively, and she gave him a tiny nod, indicating she had been able to get the special present. Meanwhile, Krum was looking curiously at the wheel he held in his hand. "You have to tap it with your wand."
"Ok?" Krum tapped the wheel and the spokes spun around and flashed, and it the place of the wheel was a broom. On the side of the broom was red lettering, spelling out Firebolt. "A broom?"
"A firebolt," Harry said, and Krum gasped. "So next time we play, you have no excuses. It's the newest model."
"The F2?" Krum asked, cradling the broom in his hand "This isn't available on the market yet."
"I know a guy who knows a guy," Harry said with a wave of his hand. "You like it and we will call it even."
"This is a priceless gift," Krum said, looking at Harry.
"Well, the factory foreman certainly tried to give it a price," Harry said with a laugh. "Ok, Luna, your turn!" Luna smiled and popped over the couch to land in between Luna and Krum. This time Harry was looking for it and he saw Krum inch a tiny bit closer to Luna. His eyes widened and Harry leaned into Neville.
"Did you see that?" Harry whispered. The room was silent as Luna opened her present, and all eyes swiveled to look at Harry and Neville who were whispering to each other.
"Harry!" Luna's eyes were shining as she looked at him, holding a sheet of paper. There was a barley distinct blur of color on the paper. "This is amazing!"
"It's the best picture I could find," Harry admitted. Luna was jumping up and down in joy, and she rushed over to hug Harry. "I'm happy you like it."
"I love it!" Luna said, hugging Harry again before retaking her seat.
"What is it?" Hannah asked. "It looks like a blur?"
"It's a picture of a Nargle!" Luna said. "This is perfect for the new issue of the quibbler!"
"I look forward to reading it," Krum said, and Harry and Neville glanced at each other. Then with no warning they started to laugh. Neville laughed so hard he started to tear up, and Harry literally fell to the floor in convulsions.
"What is so funny?" Susan asked, eyeing the two Gryffindor's suspiciously as they tried to regain control of themselves. Dean was eyeing the two as well, and his glance flicked over to Krum, who was staring at the picture Luna proudly held in fascination.
"Oh." Dean started to chuckle a little bit, and while Neville was able to regain control, Dean's laughter set Harry off into a new gale of merriment. "I have to say that fascinating."
"I noticed it after Yule," Harry said. "Neville said once he noticed, he couldn't stop. Isn't it wonderful?"
"It's certainly interesting," Dean said. Everyone else in the room was becoming irritated, as the three fourth year Gryffindor's seemed to be hiding the world's most hysterical secret. Everyone but the twins, who were already reading the notebooks they got, oblivious to the rest of the world. "Is it serious?" Harry and Neville looked at each other and devolved back into hysterical laughter. "Oh, this is really funny." Lavender poked him in the side. "Lav, I'm afraid I can't say anything more."
"He's bound by the code," Neville said, which set him and Harry off into even more laughter. Akira's head whipped up at that, and after a glance around the room he began to chuckle as well.
"Ok, what is going on!" Hermione demanded. The four guys looked at each other, and then Akira looked at Hermione, his face a stone mask.
"Guy stuff." There was silence, and then all four guys burst into laughter yet again. "You wouldn't understand," Akira managed to get out after catching his breath. The other two boys had not even looked up from the notebooks they were carefully reading. Harry suspected it would be impossible to get the twins undivided attention for a few days.
"Ok, should we keep going?" Susan said, staring to open her present. It was a small leather bound book, and Susan opened it with trepidation. Similar to George, her mouth dropped open as she read the inscription. "How?" She stared at Harry with tears in her eyes.
"As it turns out, it had fallen into the hands of Akria's dad a few years ago. He never opened it, of course."
"What is it?" Hannah asked as she saw the tears start to fall from her best friend's eyes.
"It's the Bones family Grimoire, spells my family invented. It can only be opened by a member of my family, and if they are stolen they are usually burned," Susan said. "My aunt will be shocked this existed."
"Good, because I didn't get her a present." Harry pulled himself upright. "Actually, I guess I did." Susan looked at him with her head cocked, a silent question in her eyes. "For another time."
Neville and Hannah got mirrors that they could talk to each other on, Hermione got a book on the theory behind spells in different languages and earrings to match her dress, earning Harry another huge hug. Harry gave Dean a set of soccer cards with West Ham players, which left everyone else confused and Harry and Dean in stiches. Finally they were left with only Fleur, who had no package at her feet.
"Harry already got me a present," Fleur explained. "I came simply because my family is not at home right now."
"Well, I did you get the necklace, but I got you something else. For everyday wear. I wanted a different kind of necklace." Harry admitted. Fleur was intrigued. "First, I think Akira mentioned something about presents for everyone?"
"Yes, I do have presents from a friend of Harry," Akira said. "Don't worry about your friends who aren't here. He bought a bunch of them and gave me 30." Everyone opened their package and it was Krum who had the first reaction, springing to his feet. "Oh, you know what this is Victor?"
"They are wand holsters," Krum said, examining the leather holster. "If I am not mistaken, these are Hessler Holsters."
"I'm impressed," Akira said, a smile crossing his face. "You know your wand holsters!"
"Everyone knows Hessler Holsters," Krum said, but looking around the room all he got was blank stares. "Hessler Holsters are the gold standard for holsters. They have anti-summoning charms on them, if you drop your wand nearby it reappears in the holster in a minute if it is close, and it only takes a touch for the wand to jump into your dominant hand. One of these runs at least 100 galleons."
"Oh," Harry said with a little surprise. "So he got them?" Akira nodded and Harry smiled. "Figures. Victor, don't worry about the money. The guy who bought them always says he has more money than he knows what to do with. I bet that he could buy 10,000 Holsters and it wouldn't even put a dent in the bucket."
"And you know this man?" Neville asked, buckling the holster to his hip.
"Yeah, he was one of my trainers over the summer," Harry explained. "The only thing I can say about him is that he is crazy powerful. He could crush Dumbledore before you could blink."
"Don't be silly," Hermione told him. "Dumbledore is the most powerful wizard in Britain, maybe all of Europe."
"I don't know if that's true," Harry said, "He is certaintly the most well-known. Even if that is true, it then stands to reason that the man who bought them is not European." Hermione was stunned into silence by that answer. "Trust me, this really isn't an issue to him. He must have been happy to hear I was making new friends in the last letter I sent him."
"He was," Akira confirmed. "He's on the move at the moment, but he left these with my dad before he left."
"Cool," was all Harry could say as he belted his own holster on. "Oh, can't forget Fleur!" Harry said as McGonagall raised her hand. "You got it?"
"Just like you said," his grandmother said.
"Fleur, I know I got you the necklace but that seemed so impersonal," Harry said. "When I asked your parents about your outfit to get the right necklace, I also asked if there was anything else you always wanted. They couldn't answer me, but I heard a story about this item, and it happened to come into my possession this summer. Professor McGonagall did me a favor and got it for me."
"I don't know what you are talking about," Fleur said. Harry just smiled and picked up the box and placed it on Fleur's lap. Fleur pulled out a small stone with a light gold chain holding it and gasped
"How did you get this?"
"Long story," Harry said. "Or more accurately, one I can't tell. Is it the right thing?"
"Yes, it's wonderful," Fleur said with a giant smile.
"It's a Veela focusing stone," Harry explained to the rest of the group. "Supposedly, it helps Veela control their allure. So Fleur won't have to focus on containing it. The stone will do it for her. I hope you like it." Fleur slipped the necklace around her neck and looked up. Harry couldn't even react as Fleur rushed across the room with an excited shout and kissed him quite emphatically. "Fleur!" Harry said, pushing her away in surprise.
"Stop talking," Fleur said, leaning in and kissing him again. Harry couldn't help himself as he drew the girl closer to him, and was filled with regret when she finally lowered her lips, burying her head in his chest. "It's perfect." She placed a gentle kiss on his collarbone. "This is best present I have ever gotten," Fleur said.
"I'm happy to hear it." He wiped his brown and leaned back against the couch. "I was worried it would be too much." He looked around the room and saw all the smiling faces. "It was worth clearing out my vault."
"Don't be such a jokester Harry," Neville said, admiring his communication mirror. Everyone in the room glared at Neville. "I know this all seems pretty expensive but come on."
"No, I cleared out my vault," Harry said slowly. "This all cost a lot, but I figured it was worth it. I have someone who is going to pay my school bills, and this is the first year I had so many friends. I wanted to get everyone something special. Even the people who went home, like Cedric and Daphne got special presents. Though I guess they are picking up a few days late. Even if it was a little late and kind of my fault." He said the last sentence so quietly no one heard him.
"Harry, I don't know the exact finances but I'm fairly confident that even if you were the one who bought all the holsters it wouldn't be a real impact. I thought you were joking about the mysterious man who could defeat Dumbledore." Harry shook his head. "Regardless, the Potters were more than comfortable. I believe the term would be filthy stinking rich."
"Neville, I swear to you I have no idea what you are talking about. There is some money deposited in my vault every year for school. Outside of that…"
"But where does that money come from?" Neville pointed out. Harry pursed his lips. "Harry, remember when my grandma started digging into your family history? Well, she found out that the Potter's that have been in England died out a few hundred years ago. You are the sole decedent of that branch, so you get all that money. There is more A branch of the Potters were actually the decedents of a guy named Ignotus Peverell, who was a pureblood in England back in the 1200's. Remember Daphne said that that your family line only came to England 200 years ago?" Harry nodded. "Well, the direct decedent of the Peverell line is extinct. You are the closest relative. You will have access to those resources as well."
"Are you serious?"
"Extremely. What number is your vault?"
"687," Harry answered confidently.
"Yeah, so that must be a trust vault like you said," Neville muttered to himself. "But you must have an old family vault too. Maybe even more depending on other family lines related to the Peverell. We have to talk to the goblins."
"What is going on?" Harry said as Neville hoisted himself and his best mate to his feet.
"We are going to Gringotts to get to the bottom of this," Neville said. "The goblins are a pain to deal with, but hopefully we can make them see reason."
"Goblins will try and trick you if you don't understand their languege," Luna said. Everyone looked at her. "Everyone knows that."
"Everyone doesn't know that," Harry told her gently. "But we don't have time to go search for an expert. There are virtually no humans who speak Gobbledegook."
"Um, I do." Harry's eyes flickered to the speaker. Krum had raised his hand tentatively. "I'm not fluent by any stretch of the imagination, but I should be able to help."
"We can use it as a secret weapon," Neville said. "We'll talk to them in English, and then Krum can translate for us if they are hiding secrets."
"Is it a good idea to try and trick the Goblin's?" Hermione asked.
"They respect strength and cunning," Krum said. "They won't like it if we trick them, but if we catch them in a lie, or if they are intentionally hiding something then we can force them into giving us more information. All it takes is the word of the boy-who-lived talking to the daily prophet about how Gringotts isn't trustworthy." Harry flinched at the phrasing. "Problem, Harry?"
"One, you know I don't like that name." Krum held his hands in mock surrender. "Two, I feel like if I use my fame for this, not only is it irresponsible, the goblin nation might be out to kill me."
"Sure, if you actually go to the prophet," Krum explained. "But if we just make it a threat if they try to deceive you and withhold information…" Krum trailed off and looked at the two Gryffindors who were standing. "Neville, if Harry and I back you up, can you stand up to the goblins?"
"It's Harry's request," Neville said, wringing his hands.
"Yes but if we have the heir of the Longbottom house asking because Lord Potter doesn't deign this important enough to speak about, it's another level of power play."
"I can't believe I am here listening to and silently condoning a group of students to try and trick the goblins," McGonagall said. "I feel like I should come with you."
"Neither you or Akira can come with me," Harry said. "If Remus was still here he could come as a pseudo chaperone, but there are a few things we want to keep under wraps that might get out if you came."
"You're right," his grandmother said with a sigh. "Well, Happy New Year's. I've got some paperwork to do. Akira, if you have the time why don't you help?"
"Good luck," Luna said to Neville. "Sounds like you have the toughest job."
"Butch up," Harry told Neville. "If you can stand up to me, you can stand up to some goblins. You are my best mate, after all." It was a calculated risk to remind Neville of that fact, but Harry saw Neville's back straighten and knew he had made the right call.
"You're right." It was a quick walk and floo trip from Hogsmeade, but soon they were staring up at the bank. "We are sure about this?"
"Just like we rehearsed." Neville nodded, squared his shoulders, and entered the bank.
"Are we really going to stun goblins if they talk back to Neville?" Harry whispered to Krum as they followed Neville to one of the counters.
"Don't be crazy," Krum replied in a hushed tone. "We want him to be confident, not dead." Harry gave a dry chuckle as Neville stopped at an empty teller.
"Can I help you?"
"We wish to speak to the Potter Account Manager right now regarding a change in the primary accountholder's status," Neville told the goblin.
"The Potter accountholder can come speak to us himself," the globin said with a sneer.
"He is here with me," Neville said, indicating Harry over his shoulder. Harry was doing his best to look totally uninterested in the proceedings even though the thought of seeing his families vault and maybe even being able to access his parent's will drove him crazy with anticipation. "He refuses to speak to you until the wrongs done to him are righted."
"We have never had any wrongdoing with any client," the goblin protested. A few people were watching now as the voices rose in volume.
"How dare you say that!" Neville spat. Harry was impressed by the performance. It had been Victor's suggestion to use Malfoy's attitude towards those he thought was inferior as a jumping off point. Granted, Malfoy had reigned in his attitude after the second incident.
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December 1994
Harry almost missed it since he was in a hurry. Normal people would wait for the staircases to align but most people hadn't promised their best friend they would attend potions that day and wouldn't get an earful from a professor and said closest friend for being late. But as he hit the 4th floor landing and prepared to jump to the nearest staircase, he heard an impact sound.
If not for a moment's hesitation, Harry would not have heard the acid tone of the boy who had so often been his nemesis. He heard a dry laugh that he could only attribute to Nott, and a cry of fear. His mind made up, Harry turned away from the staircase and started to walk down the hallway. His eyes lit upon four Slytherin boys surrounding two young girls and he saw red.
Normally it might be fair to announce yourself before attacking someone, but the repeated actions of Draco lowered him to animal level. Harry knocked Malfoy down. He wanted to Malfoy to receive his undivided attention in a moment. He caught Crabbe with a front kick and used the pushback to flip and nail Goyle with a reverse roundhouse. Nott brought out his wand, but Harry grabbed his forearm and with a sickening crunch broke the arm. He hadn't meant to it and wasn't used to his increased natural strength, but it was a pleasant surprise.
"AHHHH!" Nott cried out, but Harry just tossed him into a nearby wall. Draco tried to rise to his feet, and was helped by Harry, who grabbed his collar with both hands and pinned him against the wall.
"Draco, it seems that you didn't learn your lesson," Harry drawled and then he moved one hand to Draco's back, using it to support the blonde's boys weight and keep him upright as he hammered two blows into his ribs. Harry felt bones break and did nothing to hide the savage grin. Draco staggered and Harry hit him twice in the face. The second blow broke Draco's nose and he collapsed to the floor sobbing.
"Fuck you Potter!" Draco managed to spit out as he rolled on the floor. "When my father hears about this, it will be your head!"
"Go ahead," Harry said, crouching down next to Draco. "Tell on me to your father. I'll lose some house points and get some detentions. Next time, I'll just make sure you can't talk. In fact, how about I take care of it right now?" The Slytherin's face went white as Harry stood. "Normally I'm less violent, but I take offense at bullying." Harry helped the two girls to their feet. "Sorry girls, today's a bad day. This is a long overdue conversation, and you probably don't want to see it."
"You are Harry Potter," one of the girls said in a breathless voice. She couldn't have been older than a 2nd year and was wearing the Gryffindor crest. The other girl had a Hufflepuff crest and looked to be a similar age.
"Unfortunately," Harry told her. "I suggest you two head out." Harry saw Goyle rise from his periphery. "Ahh, nice to see you are up Gregory. Vincent, you might want to help your friend out." The two big boys drew their wands as Harry drew his. "Ladies, I would appreciate it if you made yourself scare." Harry had a shield spell on his tongue when he was suddenly yanked out of the way of the incoming spells and he looked down to see the young lion trying to drag him down the corridor.
"Come on!" The girl yelled. "They'll catch us!" Harry allowed the girl to drag him out of harm way, stopping only long enough to send two tripping jinxes down the corridor. He heard one person fall and any footsteps faded from his hearing as the girls yanked him a few floors away. They headed up and reached the portrait of Fat Lady. The girl gave the required password and the portrait swung open. Luckily, there was no one on the common room.
"We are ok, we are ok." The Hufflepuff girl muttered over and over again. She was shaking and went silent as her friend hugged her.
"Thank you so much," the Gryffindor girl told him. "You saved us."
"It's no problem," Harry said. He saw something near the top of her robe's sleeve and approached her slowly. He reached out his arm and she tried to move away but he caught the sleeve and slid it up. There were bruises on her arm and Harry sucked in a breath. "Did Malfoy do this to you?"
"Don't say anything!" The girl said, clearly terrified. "He won't hurt you because you are Harry Potter, but he'll hurt me."
"What's your name?"
"Natalie, Natalie McDonald."
"Natalie, we have to tell someone," Harry said.
"No, you can't," Natalie said. "Maybe he gets in trouble, but then he tells his father and then my orphanage loses funding. You can't be everywhere. I'll be more careful in the future. But please, don't tell anyone." Harry realized the girl was right and agreed. After the two girls recovered from the shock of the assault, they had endless questions and Harry decided to skip classes to answer them as best as he could. It meant a rather public tongue lashing from Hermione since he absolutely would not tell her, but all in all Harry thought it was worth it.
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New Years Day, 1995
Malfoy and his cronies had been silent since then. Since Malfoy Sr. had not appeared at school, and Harry was sure Draco tattled, his father must have said that discretion was the better part of valor. But from the death glares he had gotten from the blond-haired ponce, Harry figured his nemesis was planning revenge. The incident had actually been the beginning of his reconciliation with Daphne. After Harry exacted a promise that she would not go and kill Malfoy for his behavior, she promised to keep an eye on the Malfoy gang.
Neville was doing an excellent impersonation of old Draco as he argued with the goblin. More than half the bank was watching Neville who seemed to be winning the argument. Harry realized he was far too focused on the scene in front of him and allowed his head to hang looser which gave him the freedom to scan the periphery. There were no goblins or security trolls moving towards them which boded well. A well-dressed goblin was approaching the teller Neville was lambasting.
The teller turned his head as the more senior goblin tapped the young on the shoulder. A quick discussion between the two of them in Gobbledegook had Krum interested. Eventually the younger goblin nodded and the senior one stepped up to his spot.
"Mr. Longbottom, it has been some time. I am account manager Kurlok, responsible for the Potter accounts and all of their associates. I assure you we have been trying to contact Mr. Potter for some time, especially since he attained his lordship last summer. We have had extensive discussions with his magical guardian." Krum gave a discrete nod to Neville.
"My guardian?" Harry stepped forward. He suspected the answer, but he needed to hear it confirmed.
"Chief Warlock Albus Dumbledore," Kurlok said. The statement felt like a huge weight. Harry almost staggered back as Neville drew in a deep breath. Krum was the most stoic, his eyes widening a little.
"Well, in the future none of your correspondence should go through him. I am now an adult so the only person you should discuss my finances with is me." The account manager nodded. "I would like to see all my vaults now." Kurlok nodded and led the three boys toward the carts.
It took a few hours to see everything, so it was late afternoon when they finally returned to the surface. Victor had a quick Gobbledegook discussion with Kurlok involving future directives. Neville and Harry were both a bit stunned. The ancestral Peverell vault was large, as was the vault that had been filling his trust fund, the vault of the Potters who recently arrived. His family vault, the vault of the Potters in England who had died out was vault 9, and while it was light on gold, it was filled with everything else imaginable: books, jewels, furniture and more.
"Well, that was impressive," Harry managed to say as they took the floo to get back to Hogsmeade.
"Impressive?" Neville replied. "That was insane! You'll never have to work again! Your great grandchildren will never have to work!"
"I guess not, but wouldn't lying around doing nothing get boring after a while?" Harry said. "I don't think I'd mind a short break, but eventually you want to keep busy."
"Well, you could be a stay at home dad," Victor said. Harry rolled his eyes at that. "You said you might want children one day."
"Yeah I guess." Harry picked up the pace, walking away from the other two boys. Victor laid a hand on Neville, allowing Harry to gain distance on them.
"What's up?" Neville asked once Harry was out of hearing distance.
"We saw his trust vault. There was nothing left."
"I don't think Harry will be wanting for money."
"That was not my point," Krum explained. "Harry did not know about his other reserves, and spent what he believed to be all of his money."
"Harry has always been generous to friends. This is just the first year where he has had more than two."
"You and Hermione?" Krum asked.
"No, Harry was best friends with Ron. I guess you never met him, but Ron and Hermione were a little possessive of Harry. This year he has made a lot more friends. But," Neville said, trying to refocus, "you were making a point about Harry spending what he thought was all of his money before we got sidetracked."
"Right, of course. There is only one reason that someone as clever as Harry would be frivolous with money." Victor paused for dramatic effect, and Neville resist the urge to throttle him. "Because he thinks he will not be around much longer to spend it."
"Then why would he spend all his money on other people?" Neville asked. Even as he asked the question Neville realized the answer. "Of course, it is because that is who Harry is. He has flaws that we overlook, but he always cares more about other people than himself. What do you think we should do, if anything?"
"I think that we need to have a meeting without him, the Harry Potter survival team. He may not need our help, but we should be prepared to offer it. There are many mysteries around Harry, and no one, not even Harry knows every answer. Perhaps if we pool our knowledge, we can begin to understand.
"Understand?" Neville asked.
"Understand why Harry is preparing to die."