In Every Darkness
Chapter Seventy-One: Inheritance
25.10.1996
It was Monday morning. Harry was practically quivering with excitement. He had told his friends that he was going somewhere with Dumbledore and Tatsu today, but had told them that he would tell them when he came back where it was he was going to.
He was awake early. Tatsu had been staying in the castle – Dumbledore had found an actual bedroom for him to stay in, rather than just the Room of Requirement, since the man came so often.
Tatsu and Harry had spent almost every one of Harry's spare hours over the past three days training Harry's mind and body after the two week lapse into unconsciousness.
It was only now that Harry was able to feel that he was regaining some of his old fitness. He was glad of it – he felt odd when his body didn't response exactly as he was now used to it doing.
Tatsu seemed more than happy to remain in Hogwarts, though Harry was fairly sure that his guardian had things back in Surrey that he was doing as well.
"I'll be leaving on Monday morning," he told Harry. "But I'll come back next week, from Thursday to Sunday, if you like."
"Why only those days?" Harry asked.
"Because I've set up a dojo," Tatsu replied. "I'm running classes Monday to Wednesday now. One in the morning and one in the afternoon each day. The rest of the day it's free for anyone to come and practice, if they want to."
"That's cool. This is the first time you've mentioned it," Harry replied.
"It only started this week. I met up with another old friend from Japan, who has no relation to the magical world whatsoever. He wanted to set up a dojo, but he didn't have the expertise or the money to do it alone. So I said I'd help out," Tatsu replied.
"I pity your students," Harry replied.
"I'll let them know that they have a sympathiser," Tatsu assured him, eyes twinkling. It was their early morning training session. Kata was going smoothly, and they could easily converse and still keep their complex dance going.
They finished with a quick spar, but Harry was not in the mood: it was nearly time to meet Dumbledore. Consequently, he stuffed up one too many times and ended up on his back with Tatsu standing over him.
"You're distracted," Tatsu remarked softly. "You shouldn't be."
Harry just blinked up at him. "How could I not?"
"If it was a battle, you'd be dead," Tatsu pointed out.
"If it was a battle, I would have concentrated harder," Harry replied. "I know you'll hurt me, and I also know that you won't kill me. Not the same in battle."
"It should be," Tatsu told him. "You should be treating this exactly as you'd be treating a battle! This is all that stands between you and death on a battle field!"
"I know," Harry said placating. "But I can't help it this morning. I wanna know what mum left me that I haven't been able to get till now."
"This one time I'll let it lie then," Tatsu conceded grudgingly. "But we spend extra time tonight working," he added warningly.
"Yes Tatsu," Harry replied.
He headed back up the Gryffindor Tower to quickly shower and change into Muggle clothes – Dumbledore had warned him that this would be needed for today's trip.
"I'll see you guys tonight," he muttered to Ron and Hermione as they left for breakfast and he separated from them to head in the direction of Dumbledore's office.
Part way there he met up with Tatsu again. "Canary Creams," Harry said softly, as they reached the gargoyle. The statue came to life, leapt aside, and the door behind it opened.
Harry and Tatsu walked within. "I haven't seen Gryphon in some time," Tatsu remarked.
"He went to the Forbidden Forest to interact with the creatures there for awhile," Harry replied. "He left not long after you arrived in the school."
"Ah."
"Tatsu! Harry! There you are," Dumbledore smiled. Harry barely refrained from gaping – the Headmaster didn't look right, wearing a t-shirt and jeans.
"Well, we'd best be off. Do you mind if we go through your house, Tatsu?" Dumbledore asked.
"No, of course not," Tatsu replied. "Go ahead!"
Dumbledore smiled and took a pinch of Floo powder from a box on his hearth, and then handing it in turn to Harry and Tatsu. "Number six Privet Drive!" he called, as he stepped into the flames.
Harry followed him, and lastly Tatsu. Not even the master noticed when, just as he was leaving, the door to Dumbledore's office opened, oh so slightly, and a pair of eyes looked within.
Harry stumbled into Tatsu's living room, finding Dumbledore already standing there, brushing a few flecks of soot off himself. Moments after Harry cleared the way, Tatsu came, striding easily from the fire place.
"Where to now?" he asked Dumbledore. "Do you want to borrow my car?"
"No, no, that won't be necessary," Dumbledore assured. "It's only a short stroll."
Thirty minutes later Harry stood in front of a large Muggle bank in Little Whinging. "Short stroll?" he repeated incredulously. While the walk hadn't worn him out as it might once have done, it was still a long way to go.
Dumbledore just gave a faint smile and led the way inside the building. It wasn't very busy – the day was still young and most people would only just be getting up.
Dumbledore quickly located a free booth and made for it, with Tatsu and Harry following curiously in his wake. "Hello," Dumbledore greeted politely.
"Hi," said the man behind the counter, a large, false smile on his face and the name 'Kevin' on his name tag. "How can I help you?"
"I would like to speak with Mr. Kilisby," Dumbledore replied. "Tell him Albus is here."
Kevin sighed and nodded. Harry guessed that the young man was feeling bored out of his mind with the job he had – he only looked to be in his early twenties. He disappeared out to the back of the building, and then returned a short time later.
"Through that door," he said, pointing. "Second door on the right."
"Thank you," Dumbledore nodded courteously and led the way off, with his two companions trailing behind.
Quickly, they found themselves in a large, airy office. The man that they were apparently supposed to be meeting was tall and thin. He had light brown hair and hazel eyes. His face was unremarkable.
"Albus, good day to you," he greeted. His voice was low and formal.
"Good day to you Mr. Kilisby," the Headmaster replied. "I have come in regard to Mr. Harry Potter – I believe you have something of his?"
"I do at that. You were here … when was it? Friday? Asking about it."
"That's right. He's here to pick it up now," Dumbledore agreed.
"If I could just get Mr. Potter's signature," Mr. Kilisby said, ruffling through a stack of papers and then handing one of them to Harry, who signed roughly on a dotted line. "Excellent. Here you are," the man said, taking a small box out from under his desk. "I don't know what it is – but it has a lock, and I've no key."
"That's alright. I know where the key is," Dumbledore assured him, and led his companions out of the back again. "Now, back to your place, Tatsu."
Harry and Tatsu both pretended to groan, and Dumbledore laughed cheerily.
Some time later they walked up to Tatsu's front door and into the cool confines of the living room. Dumbledore set the little box on the table, and nodded to Harry to let the boy know he could look over it.
Harry took the little box up in his hands and ran his hands over it. He could see the hair-line crack that separated the lid from the boxes body, and the large golden lock was firmly in place.
"No Muggle could open that," Dumbledore said. "But that is as it was designed to be. You can open the box, Harry, as could any wizard or witch with a wand in their hand."
Harry then realised what must have happened – his parents had locked the box, and gotten rid of the key. Then Lily had taken it to the bank and left it there, with the instruction that it should be given to Harry at some point in the future.
Knowing their child was a wizard, Lily and James would know he could open the box on his own. Indeed, no wizard needed a key when they knew unlocking spells.
Harry took his wand out and tapped it to the lock. "Alohomora," he whispered. He was rewarded with a soft 'ping' inside the lock, and then the led fell open.
Inside, the box was filled mainly with purple velvet. Resting on it was a single tiny golden key.
Harry looked at Dumbledore. "I believe that is a Gringotts key," the Headmaster of Hogwarts mused. "So I would guess that what Lily actually left behind is there."
Harry nodded his head in agreement – he was glad that Dumbledore had that, as he certainly hadn't seen the connection. "So, it seems we want to be going to Diagon Alley now!"
Harry smiled faintly. Soon. Soon he would know what his mother had left for him. "Well what are we waiting for?" Tatsu asked with a grin. "Let's go!"
Harry felt very grateful for this comment.
Scant minutes later the three of them were standing in the grassy courtyard outside of the Leaky Cauldron, watching the gateway form to get into Diagon Alley.
Harry could see the white building that was Gringotts standing out over the rest of the street. He and his companions made straight for it, though they did have to pause on several occasions for Dumbledore to speak briefly with this or that passer-by.
Soon enough he was standing on the steps looking up at the impressive building, no longer at all surprised by the goblin that stood outside, bowing them inside.
"Can I help you?" one of the goblins asked Dumbledore with a nasty look on it's face.
"You can, actually," Dumbledore replied cheerily. "We've got a key here that was left to my companion as his inheritance. We don't know what vault it is though. Can you help?"
"Gimme the key," the goblin said with an exaggerated sigh. Harry handed it over.
"This is for vault one thousand," the goblin said, with a look of surprise on it's face. "An important key, that one. One moment, I'll call someone to take you down!"
He handed Harry the key back, and yelled out something that Harry didn't catch. A moment later a goblin appeared beside them. "This way sirs," he said, heading towards one of the many doors that led of the room.
The three people and the goblin managed to pile into the cart and were soon swooping down into the bowels of the earth where the Gringotts vaults were.
It was a longer ride than Harry had ever been on in the past, deeper and deeper into the heart of the earth. Finally they stopped. The door that they were in front of had no lock. Harry was surprised. This was fairly high security. The philosophers stone had been kept in something such as this.
The goblin got out of the cart and stroked the door gently. Instead of disappearing, a key hole appeared in the door, into which the goblin carefully inserted the key, turning it.
Now the door swung open. Inside the vault was only one thing: a dark wooden box inlaid with gold. A lion was set into the top of it, red eyes seeming to follow the movement of everyone in the vault.
"Well, go and get it," the goblin told Harry waspishly, and Harry quickly went to do so. The box, about a foot and a half long, and half a foot wide, was quite heavy.
Soon enough the three of them were out of Gringotts and standing in Dumbledore's office, and the box was set on Dumbledore's desk. "I think, Harry, that perhaps you'd better open this alone."
Harry looked at him and nodded. He felt the same. "I'll go the Room of Requirement," he said, after a moments thought. "I'll see you guys later."
Tatsu and Dumbledore nodded, and Harry left the office quickly. As he hurried down the stairs, he nearly bumped into the figure dressed in black that he'd seen leaving the office a few days earlier. The figure was also leaving.
"The Professor has returned," Harry told the person, who nodded in thanks and turned around again.
Harry continued on his way, making for the Room of Requirement. He met no one in the halls, it was not yet lunch time, so all of the students were in classes now … All except him, of course.
In the Room of Requirement, Harry sank into a comfortable lounge chair and stared at the box that his mother had left him, examining it in greater detail.
There was a border of gold around each edge, in what Harry recognised as a Celtic pattern. The golden lion on the top of the box was roaring, it's main flying around it's head.
On each side of the box was a lily flower, one was a bud, one with the petals beginning to open, one with the petals half way open, and one that was in the prime of it's short life, petals fully open.
Turning the box carefully upside down, Harry saw on the bottom, carved but not inlaid with gold, the image of a stage with a wreath of Lily flowers about it's neck. He smiled slightly at that.
Turning it back the right way up, Harry wondered how he was supposed to open it. Remembering the first box, he took out his wand and rapped it sharply against the lid. "Alohomora!" he cried … But nothing happened.
Then he realised that there wasn't actually a lock, so how was he supposed to undo it? Laughing at his own folly, he went back to examining it.
Slipping his nails into the hairline crack that ran right about the box, he tried to lift the lid, but failed. He felt as if the lions ruby eyes were taunting him.
Not liking the feeling, he placed his hand of the lion, covering it, and it's eyes, completely. Immediately he felt the box shudder slightly, then, with a slight 'pop' the lid lifted slightly.
Harry blinked in surprise. So that was how you opened it, was it? How simple, yet so hard!
Now when he slipped his fingers under the lid, it lifted up without difficulty.
Inside, the first thing he saw was a note, which he lifted out and looked at carefully.
It was addressed to him, in a beautiful cursive script. He opened it and read the note.
Dear Harry,
If you are reading this, the worst has happened, and Peter has betrayed us. I write this the night before the Fidelius Charm will be performed, because I am scared.
I do not trust Peter fully, but I see the wisdom in using him as our secret keeper. After all, who would suspect we chose him? But is the bluff a little too perfect?
Well, I guess I will find out in time.
Dumbledore told us what the prophecy said. I think he told Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom also, for their son, Neville, was born only two days before you.
Privately, I believe that it refers to you, for you were 'born as the seventh month dies'. I did not tell Dumbledore that you were born at one minute to midnight on the 31st. I did not want to draw any more attention to you than I had too …
But if you are reading this, I will assume that the prophecy does, as I fear, refer to you.
But it means that you, my son, will live to do what we may not – destroy the Dark Lord once and for all!
He killed so many people that meant so much to me and your father. My parents, James's parents, most of my school friends … All dead by his hand.
If I could do anything to destroy him, even if it meant dying myself, I would do it. But it seems that all I can do is live, and hope that you, the child of my flesh, will do the job for me.
In this box are several things that you might find useful if you are to fight the Dark Lord. James left his invisibility cloak with Dumbledore for you, I hope you've got it now.
My gifts to you are less well known, but no less important. One is a ring – it has been handed down through my family for generations beyond count. Wear it with pride, and pass it on to your oldest child when the time comes – you will know the time instinctively, I think.
The ring was made by an ancestor of mine who was a witch, though most of my family were not. You will have to discover its charms on your own. I may not help you there. DO NOT TAKE IT OFF, whatever may happen.
Also, I have put my old school diary in here. It tells of my life, describes my friends, how I met your father, how much I hated him, then how I fell in love.
It tells of lessons that you have either gone through, or will go through in your own time at Hogwarts. I hope reading it gives you an insight into who I am.
Hidden within the box is something else that you will need later on. I will not tell you what it is, nor where. You will find it when you've a need, and can use it.
There is also a crystal ball. I am something of a Seer myself. I know that it is an imprecise branch of magic, and I can see little of the future, most of what I can do is feel premonitions … I have seen some things in the orb, but nothing important enough to speak of.
Last of all, I leave you my wand. I do not think that I will need it, at present at least. If Voldemort comes, I will face him with my only weapons being my love of you, my family, and my friends … And my hate of him and all he stands for. It is one of my premonitions, and I will do as I feel is right.
James laughs at me as he reads my letter through. He knows of my small abilities in the field of divination, of course, and trusts them … To an extent.
He tells me that I should not be silly, that will live to see you grow up, a happy family. While I wish this could happen, something tells me it won't.
Never have I hoped so much that I will prove wrong.
Your loving mother,
Lily Evans Potter.
Harry didn't even notice the tears falling from his eyes and dropping on the parchment.
***
Apologies for the late chapter – first I had to reinstall my Operating System to try and make the computer work better, then I went out and bought an LCD monitor (just before I finished this chapter) and then the internet decided to stuff up and I'm having difficulty connecting without crashing the computer … Sorry again!
Well, there's a good place to end! Next chapter, more detail on what Harry finds in the box, and possibly a bit of a skip through time as well …
Thanks:
Wynjara, Athenakitty, Butler, PhoenixTearsp322, Maxx77, Andromeda's Kitty, solar, OhioGrl-HPFan, kraeg001, Kreag001, Kaye, Omagic, misty43, Elvira, Nasser Himura, WhiteFeather, Penny, Jbfritz, gaul1, Lord of Darkness13, Musicstarlover, dnd4ever, Anna L. Black, Jen, Nicoletta, Jaded Angel8, MikiBaby, ER, BurningTyger, MiakaChan5, Stix-the-Rebel, Evil Anti-Patriotic Elf Named Cin, TuxedoMac, Lady Reaper of the Shadows, Huskerinexile, gizachick, LonelySpirit, Songbreeze Swifteye, adge9631, hermionegreen, Rhinemjr, Jo0609, PhoenixPadfoot89, Matthew Conolly, Lady Reaper of the Shadows, …hello…, HarryandGin4ever, Matthew Conolly, hpfunkypunk, Lady Reaper of the Shadows, Eloisamuggle, ILOVETOWRITE456, uNoeWho, lalalala, Tortie, Eowyen Lady of the Horses1361, Wind Elemental, ???, Haley, DEVOTEDFAN, Haley, VERY ticked, Mauraderette, R/H Hater, Question, Anna, AltonShadeFoot.
Evil Anti-Patriotic Elf Named Cin and All Titles Which Do Apply,
We are glad that thee have band and English to help thee live through the terror of School. We have only English and the Library – We art not musically talented … But We do enjoy Japanese (when We do not have tests).
Sincerely,
WolfMoon,
Lady Death,
Queen of Tenebralia,
Goddess of Darkness and Evilness.