Chapter 6: The Last Request Of Sirius Black
"But Master, the boy figured out who we were. We tried to grab him but Dumbledore and his band of goody-too-shoes showed up," groveled Wormtail.
"It's doesn't matter, the spell is broken and he is no longer safe outside Hogwarts," hissed a high-pitched voice.
"How will we get him?" a cautious Wormtail asked.
"It looks like we must go to him," the voice paused. "Wormtail get everything ready to move."
"Where are we going Master?" asked Wormtail.
"To the Forbidden Forest, we must prepare . . ." the voice trailed off.
"Prepare?" said a confused Wormtail.
"You fool!" roared the voice. "We're going to attack Hogwarts. Once Dumbledore can't hide behind that school he'll be unable to stop me, and I'll be able to finish Potter once and for all." Laughed the unearthly voice.
"Master!" another Death Eater walked into the room. "We still can't find Narccisa or Draco my lord, and some of the others are missing too."
"Well it seems like some of my followers offspring don't share our vision," the voice seemed concerned. "Find them and KILL THEM ALL, if they don't fight for us then they wont fight for anyone!" screamed the voice!
Harry awoke with a start, was that a dream or did Voldemort let his guard down long enough for Harry to see him. He didn't know but if what he just saw was true then Dumbledore needed to help the Slytherins in hiding. Harry jumped out of bed and threw a shirt on. It was still early morning and the house was deathly quiet, Harry tiptoed down the hall then crept down the stairs. He looked in the kitchen but no one was there, the living room was empty as well. He thought for a moment, then decided he needed to take matters into his own hands and went back up stairs and threw on some warm clothes, grabbed his Firebolt and headed for the back door. He opened the kitchen door and was surprised to see Julia dressed and ready to fly as well.
"That broom maybe fast but not as fast as mine. Leave a note saying I took you to Hogwarts because you needed to talk to Dumbledore. We don't want to be scaring anyone now do we," said Julia handing Harry a piece of parchment and pointing to where the quill sat on the table. Harry quickly wrote the note and placed his Firebolt on the table.
"Ready," said Harry with a sense of urgencies. Julia nodded and walked out the back door, she mounted her broom and motioned for Harry to get on behind her.
"Won't we need an invisibility cloak?" asked Harry.
"Not the way I fly. Hang on," shouted Julia, as she got ready to kick off the ground. She took a deep breath then bent her knees and lunched into the air with such force Harry feared he'd fall off. With in moments Grimmauld Street was just a tiny line beneath him. Harry could feel Julia leaning forward to push the broom to go faster, but they were already going at such a fast pace that the wind was deafening to Harry and stinging to his face. After about twenty minutes Harry heard Julia yell something but couldn't make it out.
"WHAT!" he shouted. Julia turned her head to the side.
"WE'RE ALMOST THERE!" she shouted back to him. Harry began to notice the countryside slowly growing bigger and just ahead he could make out the towers of his school. Julia safely landed in the courtyard right in front of the hug oak doors that were shut tight. Harry knocked as hard as he could but no one answered, then he had a thought. Harry whipped out his wand and pointed it at his throat.
"SONORUS!" he yelled. "Professor Dumbledore," his voice now amplified. "It's Harry! I need to talk to you!" Harry paused. "Professor Dumbl . . ." the doors to the school slowly opened and a rather confused looking Dumbledore stepped out. "Profess . . ." Harry's voice was still amplified. Harry pointed his wand,fixed it and started to walk towards Dumbledore. "Professor, he's going to attack! I saw it! He was talking to Wormtail and then another Death Eater came in and said that Draco was missing along with some others and Voldemort ordered them killed!" Harry was out of breath.
"Slow down Harry, did Voldemort say when he was going to attack?" said Dumbledore.
"No but he told Wormtail to get everything ready to leave and they were going to move into the Forbidden Forest," Harry said a little more calmly. Dumbledore turned to look in the direction of the forest.
"And what did he say about Draco and the others?" said Dumbledore still looking in the direction of the forest.
"A Death Eater came in and told Voldemort that Draco and some others are missing and no one can find them. Voldemort then said that if they don't fight for him they wouldn't fight for anyone and he told the Death Eater to kill them all," said a panicked Harry. He and Draco might not be on the best terms but he did not wish death upon anyone, with the exception of two people, Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange.
"Come with me," instructed Dumbledore. They followed him through the halls of Hogwarts and up into his office. Dumbledore then grabbed a letter Harry recognized as the portkey that brought him to Dumbledore's office a week ago. All three of them touched it and moments later they all dropped onto the sidewalk across the street from Number Twelve Grimmauld Place. They walked into the house, which was now full of commotion until Ginny Weasley spotted them standing in the doorway.
"I found them!" she shouted. Harry could hear everyone run towards his direction. Mad-Eye and Mrs. Weasley were the first to reach them.
"I thought I told you NOT to let him take you on some damn mission," Moody scolded Julia.
"Harry why didn't you leave us a note! We thought You-Know-Who got you!" a hysterical Mrs. Weasley squealed.
"He did leave a note!" said a voice from the back of the crowd that had now gathered around them. The person started to push their way through the crowd and Harry could see the bushy hair approaching him. Hermione was waving his note in one hand and carrying his broom in the other. She handed Harry his broom and the note to Mrs. Wealey.
"We don't have time to worry about Harry's judgment Molly, I need all the Order members to meet me in the living room at once," stated Dumbledore in a concerned tone. Tonk, Mad-Eye, McGonagall, Lupin Mrs. Weasley, Fred, George and Julia all went into the living room but before Dumbledore joined them he turned to Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny.
"You three get ready to leave for Diagon Alley, and Ginny dear could you please write a letter to Professor Snape asking him to meet me at Grinngots as soon as possible. Harry may we use Hedwig? Asked Dumbledore.
"Of course,' said Harry.
"Wonderful, you four get going, and don't worry Harry, we'll take care of this," Dumbledore said as he walked into the living room.
"Bloody hell mate, what happened?" a confused Ron asked.
"I'll tell you on the night bus," a distracted Harry said.
"Oh not the night bus again," complained Ron. Harry laughed and headed upstairs, with all that had happened, he completely forgot why they were going to Diagon Alley but as he entered his room all the memories came flooding back. He sat for a moment and began to feel a lump form in his throat. Not wanting to become emotional Harry pushed the thoughts out of his head and started to get ready.
An hour later, Dumbledore, Harry, Hermione, Ron and Julia were all sitting on the night bus heading towards Diagon Alley. Harry spent the majority of the ride explaining his dream and that he got to ride Julia's broom to Hogwarts.
"How fast was it?" an excited Ron asked.
"Let's just say it took about half an hour to get to Hogwarts," Harry bragged. Ron's mouth hung open.
"Ron you might want to close your mouth spiders could get in," teased Hermione. Ron immediately shut his jaw and then suddenly flew off his seat along with Harry and Hermione.
"It looks like we're here," said Dumbledore as he calmly got up from his seat. All three gave him a dirty look as they picked themselves up from the floor. They made their way through the populated ally and on the way noticed where Fred and George's shop was. Once inside Grinngotts, a distinguished goblin made his way over to the group.
"Headmaster, thank you for coming, the room is being prepared it will be just a moment." The goblin said as he showed them to a set of chairs. They all took their seats. Dumbledore asked Hermione and Ron how their summers had been, leaving Julia and Harry to talk to each other.
"How did you know I was awake?" asked Harry.
"Being that I'm your next door neighbor, I woke up and heard you moaning for Dumbledore. I didn't think much of it until I peeked my head out into the hallway and saw you sneaking around," explained Julia. Harry felt a little embarrassed that he didn't know Julia was right next door to him. He looked up to see the goblin from before walking towards them. Harry let out a long sigh. Was he ready for this?
"It will be okay Harry, just remember Sirius wanted you to have these things. As long as you honor his memory he'll always be with you," said Julia softly. Harry didn't know why but those little words of comfort seemed to help.
"Mr. Potter we are ready," said the goblin indicating that the group should follow him. They walked down a long hallway. Once they got to the end, a door on the right opened. A goblin in robes was seated with several large pieces of parchment on a desk in front of him. A dictation quill stood at attention on another table with a blank piece of parchment, and five plush red chairs sat in a half circle around the front of the goblin's desk.
"Come in Mr. Potter," said the goblin in the nice robes. "Headmaster, thank you for coming." Shaking Dumbledore's hand. "Well now is everyone present?"
"All accounted for," smiled Dumbledore.
"Then let the reading of Sirius Black's will begin." The goblin looked at the dictation quill, which had just copied his sentence. All three friends gave each other knowing looks of comfort. "Ronald Weasley?"
"Yes," said Ron tentatively.
"You have been left the following," the goblin took a breath. "Dear Ron, your mother wouldn't allow me to give you these as Christmas presents but I knew she couldn't deny me in death so please except these two Firebolts for your sister Ginny and yourself. Good Luck, and keep Harry out of trouble and that Quidditch Cup in your house." The brooms appeared in front of Ron once the goblin finished reading.
"Thank you," Ron whispered to the brooms.
"Hermione Granger . . . you have been given the following," the goblin took another deep breath. "My dearest Hermione, I now know how Ron and Harry make it through the year. You will become the greatest witch of your time don't ever doubt that. To help you achieve that goal I have left you all of the family's sacred books. Some date back as far as the 13th century and talk about the ancient magic that only a few witches and wizards can practice today, protect my godson Hermione, I'm counting on you," the goblin cleared his throat. "With your permission we can ship the books to Hogwarts, Gryffindor tower, Girls Dormitory. There are quite a number of them."
"That would be wonderful, may I also keep that note from Sirius?" a sad Hermione asked.
"Why of course, will you sign here indicating you want the books to be delivered," said the goblin holding out a piece of parchment for Hermione to sign. She took the quill from his hand and signed, the parchment then took the note the goblin had read.
"When will they be delivered?" Hermione asked.
"We'll have them there the first night of term for you," responded the goblin as he wrote a note to himself.
"Thank you," she whispered as a silent tear rolled down her check.
"Harry Potter . . . you have been given the following," the goblin took the same deep breathe. "Harry, if you're hearing this then I've failed you in life . . . but in death I can at least make sure you're taken care of. I have left you everything, aside from the books that I gave to Hermione. Grimmauld Place now belongs to you along with the rest of the Black fortune and belongings. Harry I want you to enjoy life, you've had so many hardships so early that I wanted you to not have to worry about anything once you're done with school. I only ask for one favor in return, defeat him." With that last statement the goblin started to fold the note. Harry who had been looking at the ground the entire time slowly raised his head and looked at the goblin with his bloodshot eyes.
"Would you mind reading that last sentence again," said Harry with a shaking voice.
"Certainly Mr. Potter," the goblin opened the note again and took a breath. "I only ask for one favor in return, defeat him." The goblin paused and looked at Harry. Harry sat for a moment in silence. It was over he thought, all of his moodiness, being frustrated with people not telling him what's going on, and being mad that he was the one chosen to fulfill the prophecy, all of it. He will defeat Voldemort, and not just for his godfather, but also for everyone else who was counting on him. All the suffering, pain and fear that Voldemort had caused would all come to an end and Harry was going to be the one to stop him. A determination could be seen in his eyes now. A new fire was lit within him.
"Do I need to sign anything?" asked Harry now in full control of his voice.
"Uh, yes Mr. Potter. We have several plans as to what we can do to make these changes easier on you. First we can move your existing finances into one vault that can hold both the Black family's finances and yours. Second, we could move them to be in two vaults right next to each other or third we could leave everything were it is," explained the goblin.
"Why don't we put them in two vaults right next to each other," said Harry.
"As you wish Mr. Potter, if you could just sign these three pages indicating you are now the owner of Gimmauld place and the rightful owner to the Black Family fortune, then sign this last paper that will allow us to move the two fortunes into different vaults adjoining each other." Harry signed all four pieces of parchment. "Here are you're new vault numbers and keys that go along with them," explained the goblin. Harry finished up all the paperwork and left Grinngotts. Dumbledore excused himself to meet with Snape and instructed them to meet up with him in a half hour to catch the night bus.
They all decided to head to the Weasley's shop and say hi to Fred and George. While on the way, Hermione spotted a new snow Owl at the Emporium and asked if she could stop and look at her.
"How much is she?" Hermione asked the shopkeeper.
"250 Galleons," said the shopkeeper. Hermione's heart visibly sunk, she slowly made her way out of the shop followed by Ron. Harry was about to follow them but stopped in his tracks.
"Julia will you tell them I'll catch up, I just want to buy some treats for Hedwig." said Harry as he headed back up to the stopkeeper.
"Hey Hermione, Ron, we'll be right there Harry's getting some Owl treats for Hedwig," shouted Julia. Harry turned and looked at her questionably.
"Were you go, I go, simple as that. Plus Moody will kill me if I let you out of my sight," smiled Julia. Harry chuckled, of course Mad Eye was that paranoid that Voldemort might try something in the middle of the day and in the most packed alley in all of London. Harry turned towards the shopkeeper.
"May I purchase that owl my friend just asked about?" asked Harry.
"It's still 250 galleons," said the shopkeeper. Harry wrote down his new vault number and a date to deliver it and handed it to the person.
"Charge it to that vault and can you deliver it on this date," Harry pointed to the date on the page.
"Whom am I sending it to" asked the now impressed shopkeeper as she looked at Harry's information. She took out a delivery form to fill out.
"Oh, to Hermione Granger, Hogwarts, Gryffindor table," said Harry.
"Would you like a note to send with the Owl?" asked the shopkeeper.
"Sure," Harry paused. "Happy Birthday Hermione, love Harry."
"Okay Mr. Potter,we'll take care of that for you, will you be needing anything else," asked the shopkeeper.
"Um . . . "Harry was about to say no when Julia interrupted him.
"You might want to get some treats," smiled Julia.
"Oh yeah can I have some Owl treats for a snowy Owl," smiled Harry. Harry collected his owl treats and made his way up to the Weasley's shop, but just as he got there, he saw Dumbledore walking pretty fast towards his direction.
"We need to leave now," an out of breath Dumbledore exclaimed.
"What is it?" a concerned Julia asked. But Dumbledore wouldn't answer.
"Hermione! Ron! Come here!" demanded Dumbledore. They walked out of the shop confused but they didn't have time for questions Dumbledore grabbed their hands and apparated out of Diagon Alley.
"Grab my hand," said Julia. Harry did so and with in moments felt that strange sensation he felt the night of his attack. So this is what it felt like to apparate, he thought. Grimauld Place began to appear in front of him. Both Julia and Harry followed Dumbledore who was already in the house. Harry, Hermione and Ron stood in the doorway for a moment trying to figure out what the urgencies was all about.
"They found the Slytherins in hiding," said Ginny who was sitting on the stairway. "They got there just as they were being attacked," she said with a sad expression. Just then the doors to the living room burst open and Lupin was running towards the kitchen with rags soaked in blood. All four turned their attention to the living room. Inside they could see a group of children huddled in one corner while all the adults were standing around a body lying on the ground. Harry saw Snape and Madam Pomfrey step back from the group. Snape's face had little blood marks all over it and he looked completely destroyed.
"I'm sorry Draco we couldn't save her," Snape uttered. At that moment Harry could hear the devastated cries of Draco Malfoy echo the halls. The group of adults parted and Harry saw him kneeling next to a woman's body and sobbing uncontrollably. Harry could hear Lupin coming back, and just before the doors to the living room shut he heard Draco's last plea.
"Mum, come back."