I do not own Harry Potter.

Harry's journey to Myrtle's bathroom was once again made without interruption early Monday morning. He had risen before dawn, eaten in the kitchens, and had then taken several shortcuts to the first floor. Time was of the essence, and he didn't know how much longer Ron and Hermione would be in the hospital wing. In order for his operation to be a success, no one must know of it.

Arriving at the bathroom, he hissed at the tiny snake on the tap, and dropped down the hole that emerged.

The trip down was easy once one got used to the sudden twists and turns. The thick layer of slime having dispersed somewhat from the interior of the pipe, due to the frequent trips he had made over the past two days.

The chamber filled with light at the flick of his wand as he entered, his hurried steps echoing across the vast hall. He gave the command to the stone cobra, and entered the passage as it opened in the smooth wall.

He walked briskly through the smaller chambers, ignoring the rooms that he passed. Traveling deeper, he reached his destination, the tunnel that was abruptly cut off. The snake that was carved on the wall, as he had learned in the Hogwarts library, was a Nevroc. They were highly magical creatures, as well as extremely rare, native only to swamps and lowlands.

Similar to the fens young Salazar had grown up in.

Giving the word, the smooth wall slid once more into the surrounding rock. He walked forward, and entered the secret passage he had found three days before. The passage that young Riddle hadn't.

The passage itself was rather long. Longer even than the one that led to the Honeydukes cellar. It was relatively flat, though it changed direction more than once, and the fresh air was reassuring. Stepping up his pace; he walked farther away from Hogwarts, and closer to the mountain outside of Hogsmeade. The tunnel ended in a small cave, and he emerged, from the entrance carefully concealed among the rocks and boulders.

He was near the foot of the mountain, not nearly as high as the cave in which Sirius had taken refuge, but well outside the wards of Hogwarts. The cave blended in nicely, and would go unnoticed unless you knew of it. And even if a certain Headmaster did know of the secret passage; he would not be able to pass the Parsel activated door.

With a last look at the distant Hogwarts, Harry Potter disapparated without a sound.

Diagon Alley was rather quiet as he walked down the cobbled street. Or at least quieter than it was the few times he had previously been there. There were a few witches bustling about with small children, but there was nowhere near the crowds he had witnessed before. It was a weekday though, and Hogwarts was still in session. That was why he had decided to come now, and not while he was at Privet Drive, with an Order member reporting his every move. With any luck though, he wouldn't be staying at Privet Drive for long this summer.

He removed his invisibility cloak, and placed it in his bag as he neared the snowy white form of Gringotts. Pushing open the silver, inner doors, he walked smoothly up to the nearest counter, his bangs hiding the damning scar.

The lines were not long, and soon he stood before a sneering goblin.

"May I help you?" the goblin asked, the expression never leaving his face.

"I have an appointment scheduled with Ripthor of the Inheritance Office," Harry said in a confidant voice. Voldemort's lessons had certainly done wonders for his self-esteem.

The sneer on the goblins face faded as he regarded Harry more closely, his eyes traveling to the scar hidden on his forehead. The goblin nodded and motioned to his left.

"If you will wait one moment, he will be here shortly."

Harry nodded in turn and took a seat in the waiting area, as far from the nearest person as possible.

At least the goblins had the sense not to shout out his name, Harry thought, as one beckoned him forward. He was led to a room off of the main lobby, a plaque on the door designating it the Inheritance Office.

Ripthor proved to be a surprisingly young goblin with a goatee on his chin. Though Harry wasn't sure how he could tell the goblin's age, as they all looked the same to him.

"Mr. Potter," Ripthor said as he bowed his head slightly in customary greeting. He motioned for Harry to take a seat.

"You wished to discuss the accessibility of your inheritance, if I'm not mistaken," the goblin asked as he peered at Harry with beady eyes.

"That's correct," Harry said calmly, unperturbed at the goblins gaze. "I wish to claim lordship of the House of Potter as pertaining to the Goblin Laws."

Ripthor's eyes widened at Harry's words.

"You are familiar with our laws?" the goblin asked, the surprise evident in his voice.

Harry nodded his head in affirmation.

"The eldest male can claim lordship prematurely if he reaches the legal age and the title is passed on to him, or in the event that he is the last of his respected house and capable of holding such a title," he said smoothly. He had learned more than curses from the Dark Lord.

The surprise became even more obvious on Ripthor's face, before he smiled in approval. It was a somewhat disconcerting look.

"You are well versed in our ways, Mr. Potter. That speaks highly of you," the goblin said. "And as you stated, lordship can be claimed in the event you are the last remaining heir and capable of holding such a title. You will soon reach the legal age according to Goblin Law, so there should be no problem there."

Ripthor got out of his seat and opened one of the doors to the cabinet behind him. He took out a small box and placed it on his desk.

"I assume you are familiar with the blood identifying ritual?" he asked Harry, as he took from the box a dagger and what looked to be a small pensieve. Harry nodded that he did and took the dagger Ripthor offered him. He pricked his finger and let a few drops of blood fall into the small, mist-filled bowl.

A multicolored vapor whirled around the bowl as the blood sank in. It then turned a pure silver as it recognized Harry as a rightful heir. The process was done in order to confirm someone's identity, so an imposter wouldn't be able to claim what wasn't theirs. It also served another purpose though. It showed all the estates a person had been designated a beneficiary of.

As Harry witnessed when another goblin walked in and handed Ripthor a small box along with a sealed scroll. Ripthor broke the seal and unrolled the parchment, studying it for a few moments before nodding and handing it to Harry.

He looked the parchment over and read:

Harry James Evans Potter

Potter Estate - designated by James Leonard Potter, 1981

Tenaroe Estate - designated by Theden Barnoc Tenaroe, 1844

Harry frowned slightly at the last one. He had heard the name Tenaroe before, but for the life of him, he couldn't remember where. He was more than a little confused as to how he could be designated the heir. Sirius had told him of the House of Potter, and that was how he had known what to do. He had never told Harry of a Tenaroe legacy though. His godfather must not have known.

He was interrupted in his thoughts by Ripthor, who seemed to have sensed his confusion.

"The Potter Estate, as you can imagine, was designated your's when your father died 15 years ago.

It has stayed the same since his death, though more than one person has tried to lay claim to it.

"The second one, the Tenaroe Estate, is a bit more complicated. It comes not from your father's line, but that of your mother's. As you can see, the Estate was designated back in 1844, when the last Lord of Tenaroe died. At the time of his death he had no male heir, and as such, the Estate became dormant. It's a common practice among the old pureblood families. And as you are the first male of the bloodline to be born since then, you are automatically designated heir."

Harry frowned once more as he let Ripthor's words sink in.

"I thought my mother was of common muggle stock," He said, directing his words toward the goblin.

Ripthor nodded in agreement. "It's quite possible that your mother wasn't aware of the fact she came from a pureblood family. As I said, the Lord Tenaroe did not have a male heir when he died. His surviving daughter most likely gave birth to squibs; a trait which probably continued until your mother was born. That would have made the previous six or seven generations non-magical. A family could easily forget their true heritage. It has happened before."

Ripthor handed him the small box that had been brought with the parchment. It was intricately carved, of a wood Harry didn't recognize. He opened it slowly, for some reason fearing what he might find. Inside were two rings, one of which he recognized as the Potter family ring. His Godfather had described it to him. The ring itself was made of gold and had a ruby set in the center, engraved with a lion.

He picked it up and slipped it on the middle finger of his right hand. The ring started to glow, and began to shrink until it fit his finger. He felt a slight prick, and the ring glowed even brighter.

"The ring is recognizing you as the Lord of Potter," Ripthor said when he saw Harry's questioning look. "The pain you just felt in your finger was the ring testing your blood, making sure you were the rightful heir."

"What would happen if someone besides the heir were to try it on?" Harry asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

Ripthor's face broke into a nasty grin at the question.

"All family rings have a defense mechanism in case someone besides the heir tries to where it. The mechanism varies though, depending on how powerful the ring is. It could give someone a slight sting, or it could put them into a magical coma. It all depends on what the ring thinks is best."

Harry didn't question the "thinking" ring concept, as he could feel the power in it.

He picked the second ring out of the box and examined it, his eyes filling with awe.

The ring was made of silver, goblin wrought, if Harry were to guess from the craftsmanship. At the center was a beautiful emerald, engraved with a regal looking snake. The snake's head was poised to strike, its onyx eyes flashing in the light. He recognized it immediately as a Nevroc, the same snake that guarded his secret passage.

He slipped it on his ring finger, next to the Potter ring. The ring began to glow, but unlike the first one, it glowed a startling green. It was the same green as his eyes. The glowing grew as he felt the ring prick his finger, recognizing him as the Tenaroe heir.

"The power emitting from this ring is greater, as it has not been worn in more than 150 years," Ripthor explained as the glow faded completely. Harry had to admit the rings looked amazing as they adorned his hand, side by side. The silver contrasted with the gold wonderfully.

Ripthor handed him the empty box and the parchment that had come with it.

"There is another matter to discuss," the goblin said as he walked back to his desk. He pulled open a draw and took out a sealed parchment.

"Gringotts has recently been notified of the death of one Sirius Orion Black, Head of the House of Black. As his Godson, you have been named a main beneficiary in his will. As such, your presence is required at the reading of the will, scheduled to take place at ten o'clock on the 14th of July. The reading will be in Conference Room 7, which is located just down the hall."

He handed Harry the parchment, which was sealed with the Gringotts crest.

"Normally, we send the letter by owl. You are here though, so I might as well give it to you now. This will also insure that you receive the letter, as we wouldn't want it to become lost on the way."

Harry certainly hadn't expected this. He had even thought of his Godfather's will, as Sirius had died less than a week ago. Goblins really were proficient. And he took Ripthor's words for what they were; a warning. It wouldn't surprise him if the Mugwump decided to read his mail. The old coot would simply defend himself by saying it was for Harry's own protection, and the Order of the Phoenix wouldn't dream of questioning their leader's ethics.

"Thank you, Ripthor," he said. "You're right of course, we wouldn't want this to become lost, before it reached its intended recipient."

Ripthor nodded as the grin on his face grew, effectively displaying his sharp, pointy teeth.

"Allow me to be the first to congratulate you on your new status," Ripthor said. "Harry James Evans Potter, Lord of Potter, Lord of Tenaroe"

Harry merely raised an eyebrow, causing the shorter creature to laugh for some reason. Leading him toward the door, Ripthor said, "Now, let me show you to your vaults."

I don't know if there was any confusion about the second name, so I will elaborate.

Tenaroe is pronounced: ten - uh - row

The 'e' is silent.

The Tenaroe legacy will be explained more in the following chapters, and Harry's connection to the Lord Tenaroe will be extremely important.

If you have questions or any of that crock, I may consider possibly reading them. Anyway, please review!