Harry Potter and the Ultimate Betrayal
Chapter 2
Flashback
Hermione Granger walked slowly, but purposely towards the Great Hall on the morning of September 2nd. It was a Monday morning and under any other circumstances she would be elated. It was no secret she loved Monday's. The weekend was finally over and it was time to start fresh, learning everything the Professors had to teach her and then some. This Monday morning, however, she wished would just end before it started.
Today would be the day that Harry's treachery would become common knowledge. She still did not want to believe it, but she had to face facts. Harry was gone and Professor Dumbledore was dead. There was no other way around it, Harry had betrayed them all. She still remembered the 31st of August vividly. That day would never fade from her memory.
(Flashback)
She was sitting in the basement of Number 12 Grimmauld Place, more commonly referred to as 'the Headquarters,' with Harry and Ron. Ron was trying to engage Harry in a conversation about the upcoming Quidditch season, something about needing two new chasers, Hermione wasn't really paying attention she never could understand what fascinated those two about that silly game. The only reason she even went to watch the game, was to give her support to Harry, and now that Ron was on the team too, to support him, she supposed. Frankly though, she hated the game, but would have to admit that she, like everyone else, was in awe with the obvious skill that Harry played.
Harry didn't seem to be himself at all. Instead of actively participating in the conversation as he usually did, he answered Ron's questions with as little words as possible, to simply placate their simple-minded friend. Usually, Hermione would be disturbed by Harry's lack of exuberance, but she figured it was because Harry was a little jealous of Ron.
Ron had been made Quidditch Captain for the Gryffindor team this year. Harry had been outwardly happy at Ron's fortune, but deep down, Hermione could tell that Harry had expected the job. After Katie Bell had declined the position, due to her upcoming N.E.W.T.s, Harry was the obvious choice. He, after all, had been on the Quidditch team since their first year and was most likely the best player at Hogwarts (if not the entire Quidditch World), while Ron had only joined the team last year and frankly wasn't all that good.
Ron of course showed no sympathy for his friend, and made out as though it were the most natural thing in the world. Hermione was deeply reminded of Fifth Year, when Ron was given the Prefect badge that Harry so rightly deserved. At least then Ron had shown some humility in front of Harry (though Hermione had caught him talking to himself in the drawing room, going on about how he knew he was better than Harry).
While Hermione had been going through her musings, Mrs. Weasley had walked in and was trying to usher them all out. Harry had already left the room, thankful to be away from Ron probably, while Ron was still protesting how he deserved to be in the Order. Hermione gathered the book that she had been attempting to review (The Standard Book of Spells Grade 6), and left the room.
She met up with Harry in the room he shared with Ron. "Harry, why don't you just tell him how you feel?"
"What?" Harry asked absently. "Who?"
"Ron. Just tell him that you don't want to talk about Quidditch. That you wanted to be Captain."
"Hermione, I don't have time for such trivial things, such as Quidditch." Harry responded, looking at the pocket watch, Hermione had bought him for his birthday. The watch was extremely elaborate. Not only did it tell, the correct time (to a thousandth of a second) no matter where you went, but it also told you the phases of the moon, the planetary alignment, and some other non-sensible things, that she was unaware of. It had been a very expensive gift, but she knew that Harry was worth it. Not only was he her best friend, but he had also saved her life several times. Hermione was more than willing to spend all of her money that she had been saving since she was eight.
"What do you mean? You love Quidditch!" Hermione exclaimed, shocked.
"It just doesn't seem as important anymore." Harry said, once again looking at his watch.
"Harry, is this about Sirius. We've told you, you aren't to blame. It was just an unfortunate...."
"IT'S NOT, about Sirius. It's something completely different. Just shut up, Hermione, and let it be. Alright? Just this once. Then you can nag me all you want." Harry replied.
"I don't nag." Hermione said indignantly. Harry snorted derisively then looked at his watch again. Hermione was about to open her mouth to argue, when the door suddenly opened.
"I can't believe they still won't let me in the Order. I mean I'm a Prefect, I'm Quidditch Captain, I got nine O.W.L.s. What else do they want?" Ron exclaimed as he walked in the door and plopped down on his bed.
"Ron, we're too young to be in the Order." Hermione said, using Mrs. Weasley's tired, old excuse. "Besides, N.E.W.T.s are coming up next year. We need to be concentrating on them." Truthfully, Hermione would like nothing more than to be included in the Order. She was, after all, the epitome of everything that Voldemort hated. A muggle-born witch, that was smarter than all the purebloods.
"Hermione, I've been through more You-Know-Who related stuff than anyone in the Order. And I've always come out on top. If we don't deserve to be in the Order than who does?" Ron said.
"Ron, do you forget who actually did all this stuff?" Harry asked casually. Hermione knew an argument was about to begin.
"No we were all there, or did you think you did all of it on your own?" Ron snapped.
"Ron all you did was play chess, move rocks, break your leg, be a jealous idiot, and be just a plain idiot summoning that brain."
Ron turned bright red at this. "Don't make out like you could have played that chess game. You couldn't play chess if your life depended on it, which it very well did. Besides, if you're so great how come I was made Prefect and Quidditch Captain and you weren't."
"I hate to burst your bubble, Ron, but both of those badges were meant for me. Dumbledore insisted that McGonagall give them to you so I wouldn't have so much responsibilities, what with being destined to kill Voldemort and all. You weren't even McGonagall's second choice for Prefect, she wanted to give it to Dean Thomas, but Dumbledore insisted on you! He thought that by having both of my best friends as Prefects, it would keep me in line. He was obviously wrong. I wouldn't be surprised if they stripped you of Prefect status, Ron." Harry said calmly. It was his calm that scared Hermione the most. Harry usually let his emotions run rampant. She had, from her own deductions, figured that Dumbledore had played some hand in Harry not getting the Prefect badge. Ron was a good guy, but he just didn't deserve it.
Ron was struck speechless. His face turned red with fury, he was constantly clenching and unclenching his hands. Hermione could tell that he was on the verge of attacking Harry, and thinking quickly, stepped between Ron and Harry just as Ron began to step forward.
"Ron, Harry didn't mean anything by it. Did you Harry? We're all just a little stressed out."
"Oh yeah! Take his side Hermione. You always do. Wouldn't want to upset the great Harry Potter the boy-who-lived needs to be catered to his every need!" With that, Ron turned on his heel and left.
"Just let him go Hermione, it doesn't matter." Harry said, once again looking at his watch.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. He just needs to cool down a little. I'll talk to him for you later." Hermione said. Harry just shrugged and checked his watch. "You planning on going somewhere, Harry? You check your watch every five seconds."
"What? Oh, no not going anywhere. Just admiring it, that's all. It was a great gift Hermione. Thanks again." Harry replied, Hermione could feel the lie seeping off him, normally she would have kept on him about it, but something he said earlier came to mind.
"Harry, what did you mean when you said you were destined to kill Voldemort? Surely you don't think that you will have to fight him, the adults are taking care of that. If anyone is going to kill Voldemort its going to be Dumbledore."
"I wish I could leave it up to the adults, Hermione. But, like I said, it's my destiny." Harry said, once again looking at his watch.
"Harry...."
"Hermione listen. You know how we went to the Department of Mysteries at the end of school?" Harry asked, but didn't wait for a reply. "And you know how there was a Prophecy with mine and Voldemort's names on it? I told you how it was destroyed right? Well, that wasn't the only copy of it. Dumbledore had the other copy of it, he's the one who originally heard it, from Trelawny no less. One of Voldemort's henchman overheard it too, but only the first part. That's why he came after me when I was a little baby. Because of some stupid Prophecy that could be applied to either me or Neville, my parents are dead! And don't say how unreliable Divination is. Both Dumbledore and Voldemort believe this Prophecy to be true, and that's all that really matters."
"Harry—I—if it can apply to both you and Neville...."
"Then why isn't Neville being protected too?" Harry finished for her. "Because the Prophecy said that Voldemort would mark whoever it was as his equal." Harry said pointing to his famous scar. "I can't remember the exact wording, but let's just say that it refers to me, and it says that I will be the one that has to kill Voldemort, or vice-versa."
"Harry it can't be true! It just can't!" Hermione said, tears in her eyes.
"Save it Hermione." Harry said, finally snapping his watch shut. "I have to go to the bathroom. I'll be back."
Hermione merely nodded, the tears breaking through. She could not believe what she had just learned. Why would fate put a sixteen year old boy up against the most powerful and evil dark wizard in centuries. It just wasn't fair. Harry deserved a normal and peaceful life more than anyone alive, but he would never be able to get it. He had to shoulder so many burdens. But, he wouldn't shoulder this one alone. As soon as he came back she would tell him that. She would tell him that she would be beside him no matter what. And they would go and talk to Ron and Ron would say the same thing, because that was what best friends were for.
But, Harry didn't come back. He must have had to go to the bathroom really bad (or he just needed to be alone, as Hermione suspected). He had been away so long that even Hermione, the self-proclaimed most patient person in the world, got bored and began reading her book again.
When the door did finally open, Hermione was surprised to see, not Harry, but Ginny, walk into the room. "Ron and Harry fighting again?" Ginny asked.
"Yeah. What's different?" Hermione asked.
"They are worse than girls with their petty jealousies." Ginny replied. This was common conversation between Hermione and Ginny. Every time they got together, the conversation always ended up being about Harry and Ron. They always tried to talk about different things, but since eighty-five percent of Hermione's time was spent with Harry and Ron, and Ginny's life, according to her, was so boring that the conversation inevitably turned towards Harry and Ron with the emphasis on Harry. No matter how much Ginny told everyone she was over him, it was obvious that she was still short of obsessed with Harry. Hermione was willing to bet a thousand Galleons that Ginny would stop her own wedding for a chance to date Harry.
"So what are they arguing about now?" Ginny asked with mild curiosity. "I know Ron's pretty mad. He was in Buckbeak's old room throwing stuff around."
Hermione never got a chance to answer Ginny's question. There was a loud commotion coming from downstairs that distracted the both of them. They both shot out of the room and down the stairs as quickly as possible. What they saw confused them greatly. Order members were running around in complete disarray. Some were yelling for someone to get a Healer over here, others were yelling for the Magical Law Enforcement to be called in, while still others spoke despondently about something not being able to be true.
Hermione tried unsuccessfully to get someone's attention, to figure out what was going on. It wasn't until Ron came down and shouted for the world to hear: "what the hell's going on!?"
Everyone froze for a second, before continuing running to wherever it was they were going. It was Tonks who finally acknowledged them and that was because she tripped over the carpet and they rushed to help her up. "Tonks why's everyone running around like a chicken with its head cut off." Hermione asked. Ron and Ginny looked at her as though she were crazy, but Tonks knew what she meant.
"It's Harry...." she began to be cut off by Ginny.
"What about Harry? Nothing's happened to him, right?" Ginny asked, panic etched in her voice.
"He's gone off his rocker that's what's happened to him!" was Tonks's answer, tears in her eyes.
"What'd he do now?" Ron asked, as though he expected nothing less.
"He burst in on the Order meeting and began shouting this nonsense about how Dumbledore was trying to kill him or something like that. Then he says that he's going to join You-Know-Who, and he pulls out his wand, and he—he—he just killed Dumbledore! Dumbledore's dead!" Tonks blurted out. The tears started to flow. "I can't believe he would do something like that. I just can't believe it. I've got to go. I've got to try and find him before he does something even dumber. I can't believe this is happening!" Tonks said as she got to her feet and rushed off.
(End Flashback)
Hermione was still lost in her musings as she slowly entered the Great Hall. It was for this reason that she did not immediately notice how quiet it got suddenly. When she did notice, she felt that she truly knew what it was like to be Harry Potter entering a room full of people. Every head in the Great Hall was turned to look at Hermione and she hated every second of it. She had tired to come early, so as to beat the crowd, but it looked as though everyone had decided to come early.
As she walked down to the end of the table and sat down, it was as though a signal went off for everyone to begin whispering. The second years that she sat beside nearly trampled each other in there attempt to get as far away from Hermione as possible. They were treating her as though she were a leper.
She was heartened when she saw the rest of her year enter the Great Hall. Any confidence that had been instilled in her was quickly shattered as she saw that they were surrounding Ron. They were probably buying into the crap that Ron was selling about Harry.
The first words out of Ron's mouth when they found out about Harry were: "I knew it!" Hermione had asked what he had knew, completely befuddled as to what he was talking about. Then Ron had gone on about how, at the beginning of their fifth year, he had begun to suspect that something was off about Harry. How he had figured out that Harry was beginning to, if not already, side with Voldemort. Of course he did not say Voldemort, he said You-Know-Who.
As Ron and his group sat down, Neville broke off and came to sit beside Hermione. "Is what he says true?" Neville asked, not needing to clarify who he was. Hermione knew who he was speaking of. "Did he really duel Harry?"
"What!?"
"Ron. He said that after Harry killed Dumbledore, Harry fought his way through all the Aurors and everything and then came face to face with Ron. Then they dueled, and Ron was winning, but then Harry cheated and ran away. Is that true?"
"What!?" was all Hermione could manage.
"He's been telling that to everyone. The sad thing about it is some people actually believe it. But, I know that there is no way that any of it is true. Harry could never have killed Dumbledore. Even if he did somehow manage it, which is highly unlikely, Ron would never be able to beat him in a duel. Harry's a hundred times better than Ron! I didn't want to say anything to Ron, but I think that I may be better than him too." Neville explained.
When Hermione managed to regain her composure and actually close her mouth, she answered Neville's question, somewhat dejectedly. "You're right about one thing, Neville. Hell would freeze over before Ron could actually managed to beat Harry in a duel." Hermione said, exaggerating. Hell would only have to be a little frosty for Ron to beat Harry. "Unfortunately, Ron wasn't lying about the other thing. Harry did murder Dumbledore." There, she had said it aloud. Now there was absolutely no going back. Neville still looked unbelieving, so Hermione handed him her copy of the Daily Prophet.
Boy-Who-Lived or Boy-Who-Killed?
Harry Potter was once believed to be the savior of the Wizarding World, writes Rita Skeeter Special Correspondent. He single handedly defeated the vilest, most evil Wizard in half a century. On October 31, 1981, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named entered the house of one James and Lily Potter with the sole intent of killing Harry Potter. However, when You-Know-Who cast the killing curse upon this one-year-old, it was somehow blocked and rebounded upon He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Recent events have made the validity of this story to come into question.
Details of the events have not been released, but on the afternoon of 31 August, one Harry Potter entered the domesticity of one Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. After an argument, witnessed by one Minerva McGonagall (Deputy Headmistress and Transfiguration professor at Hogwarts) and Filius Flitwick (Charms professor at Hogwarts), Potter then withdrew his wand on the unsuspecting Headmaster and cast the most unforgivable curse of the Unforgivables, Avada Kedavra. Dumbledore was pronounced dead at 15:32 P.M. (Turn to pg 2 for Obituary).
This brings up the question as to how a one year-old can survive a killing-curse cast by You-Know-Who, when the most powerful wizard of our time, Albus Dumbledore, could not survive that of a sixteen year-old child. Did Harry Potter really survive the killing-curse? Or, was it some elaborate plot conceived by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named to throw us into a false sense of safety while he regrouped and regained power. One must also considered the part that James and Lily Potter played in this plot. Were they part of the plot, but changed their minds at the last second causing their deaths? Are they truly as dead as people would have you believe? The answers to these questions and more remain secret to all but You-Know-Who and possibly the once Boy-Who-Lived, now Boy-Who-Kills. (For further articles on this topic turn to pages 3, 5, 8, and 9)
"Wow!" was all Neville managed.
"Does that answer your question?" Hermione asked tears coming to her eyes.
"I–I never thought it possible! H–how could he do something like that?"
"You're guess is as good as mine." Hermione said, the tears flowing. "I never saw it coming. I don't know how I didn't, but I never saw it coming. Perhaps if I'd payed closer attention, I could have seen the warning signs and done something to prevent it. But, now it's to late. It's over and done with and no matter how much I wish it wasn't true, Harry's never coming back." Hermione said, covering her face with her hands.
Neville felt more than awkward at having a girl crying near him and so did the only thing he could think of. He patted her on the back. "Hermione, you're not to blame for this. No one is besides You-Know-Who. No one saw this coming. Not even Ron, despite what he's saying."
Hermione knew that he was right. Knew that she was being foolish, that she wasn't helping anyone by breaking down like this, but she couldn't help it. Everything had come to a head now and she wasn't quite ready to handle it.
A strange man walked down Diagon Alley with the hood of his cloak sufficiently covering his face. Everyone who saw him coming gave this stranger a wide berth, not daring to get in his way. Those unlucky enough to not see him coming were nonchalantly shoved out of his way. What no one saw, not even the mysterious stranger, was the rat following him.
Upon reaching his destination, the stranger was forced to lower his hood. The Ministry had begun to enact new rules, one being a security check at the entrance to Gringotts. The goblins had been directly opposed to this from the beginning, but the Ministry being the Ministry was able to apply pressure to the correct spots and coerce the goblins into relenting.
It wasn't to protect the bank per se, but to stop any wanted fugitives from entering the bank and accessing their funds. Namely, Harry Potter and the rest of the Death Eaters who escaped the Ministry held prison. Fudge had been coming under some heavy heat as of late, and this was a last ditch effort to save his job. Needless to say it had the opposite effect that Fudge wanted. It merely incited the people more, feeling that Fudge was overstepping his bounds. In today's society, nobody wanted anything between them and their money. This and the simple fact that it didn't work at all.
As it were the third most wanted fugitive of the law, was able to pass the security check easily, even with photos of him right next to the desk.
Harry Potter was the stranger walking down Diagon Alley. Their were two reasons why Harry was shoving people out of his path in the most menacing way he thought possible. One, to simply keep people from paying him much mind. Everyone in this world were such cowards, that when someone pushed them down, they wouldn't get back up until their aggressor was long gone and would go to far stretches to avoid said person. Two, and this was the true reason, was to keep his follower from being suspicious of him.
He wasn't supposed to know someone was following him, and in fact had no idea who or where this person/persons were, but he thought it one of the most obvious things. Voldemort had be trusting of Harry outwardly, but Harry knew that his every move was still watched. And why wouldn't they be? If Voldemort was truly trusting of Harry, then it would be time to worry.
"Name and business?" came the voice of the security Auror efficiently snapping Harry out of his musings. "Lower your hood please, sir." The Auror said lazily.
Harry lowered his hood before answering with sarcasm. "Name's Hugh Jass, as for business, I was thinking I'd grab a bite to eat."
"Sorry Mr. Jass, but this is a bank it only deals with the exchanging of monies." The guard answered with all seriousness.
"Hmm. Who would have thought it? A bank that deals with money! Absolutely unheard of. Well, while I'm here I might as well fill up my money bag." Harry retorted laying the sarcasm on as thick as he could.
"Alright Mr. Jass you'll need to check your wand here, and I'll have to search you." The guard answered holding out his hand. Harry handed the guard his wand, which was placed on the familiar scales. Then the guard ran the golden rod down his back and then up his front. When it reach his neck it started vibrating glowing and vibrating slightly. "What charm do you have on your throat and why?" the guard asked taking on a more serious tone, his hand reaching into his pocket to grasp his wand.
"Well, sonny, my voice is normally all high pitched and squeaky. It makes it impossible for people to take me seriously. So I found this neat little charm that deeps my voice so I don't have this problem."
"Okay." the guard said believingly. "Let's see about your wand. Holly, 11 inches, Phoenix feather. In use five years. Good, have a nice day Mr. Jass."
Harry put his hood back up as he walked pass the guard and put up his menacing demeanor. There was hardly anyone in the bank and Harry had his choice of goblins to choose from. Walking up to the nearest one, he slammed his key down and said simply: "Withdrawal."
"Vault number?" The goblin inquired.
"222." Harry replied. The goblin was about to turn when a question came to Harry's head. "Wait! Is there an easier way than filling up my bag with a bunch of coins. I'm going to be making some large purchases."
"Very well, follow me." The goblin said turning and lead Harry towards an office. Harry was indicated to take a seat and as he was doing so the goblin left only to be replaced by another before he could finish.
"You inquired about our Easy Pay Plan?" The goblin asked.
"Yes. What is it?"
"Simple. You have a set of checks. Upon paying for something, you write in the cost and then endorse the checks. At the end of the business day the money is moved from your vault directly to the proprietor's. Gringotts take a 2 percent service charge for all transactions taken from your account directly. At the end of the month we mail you a form listing all of your transactions for that month and your current balance." The goblin explained.
"That sounds fair. What do I need to do?" Harry asked.
"Fill this out. Then it will take about five minutes for everything to be processed and your checks to be made." The goblin informed, handing Harry a form.
Harry gave the form a quick once over, barely reading it. It basically said the same thing the goblin told him, except in more formal terms. At the bottom was a space for his vault number, to print his name, and then to sign his name. Harry was about to fill out the form signing his name and everything, when he thought of what he was doing. What would people do when he handed them a check signed by Harry Potter? Probably freak out and yell for Aurors.
"Question. Do I have to use my original vault? And do I have to sign my real name? My status in this country isn't exactly legal." Harry said, his hand on his wand preparing to stun this goblin and run out of the bank at any sign of trouble.
The goblin looked at him with narrowing eyes, as if measuring him. Harry was about to go with his escape plan, when suddenly the goblin relaxed and Harry followed suit. "You can use whichever vault you want as long as you can prove ownership. Most of the famous witches and wizards use either their family crest, or if they don't have a family crest, an alter ego."
"Alright, I'll use an alter ego." Harry stated.
The goblin reached across the desk and tapped the paper with his finger. At the bottom of the page two new lines appeared. One labeled 'Print Real Name' and one labeled 'Sign Real Name.' Harry filled out the necessary information, taking less than a minute. When he was done he handed the goblin the paper, and then his key when asked.
When the goblin left, apparently to set everything in order, Harry was reminded how he had come into possession of vault number two-hundred and twenty-two.
(Flashback)
Harry had been sitting in his room at 4 Privet Drive bored out of his mind since school had let out. This year had probably been his best summer ever despite what had happened at the Ministry. He had been at Privet drive for less than a day when he got a letter Fudge. Basically it was about half a foot of butt kissing parchment. Fudge had finally apologized for what he had done to Harry. The word 'sorry' had appeared twenty-three times. It was three specific paragraphs that had shocked, and pleased him to no end.
Harry, your life within the wizarding world has not been a pleasant one. Since the day you were born you have been in constant danger whenever the wizarding world has been involved. Trouble seems to seek you out for destruction, and you always have the best interests of everyone else on your mind. Even when no one believes you, you hold strong in your convictions. You have saved Hogwarts, and probably the entire world, through your actions numerous times. One particular incident comes to my mind. It happened in your third year at Hogwarts, when the notorious criminal Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban prison. You helped in the confrontation and capture of Mr. Black and when you told me of your findings I turned a deaf ear towards them, thinking that you were delirious. This is just one of the many mistakes that I have made concerning you and I hope that you can accept my apology, I'm sorry. As such I have issued that a full and unquestioned pardon be given to Sirius Orion Black, effective immediately.
Unfortunately, it has come to my attention the Mr. Black passed away during the events in the Department of Mysteries earlier this summer. I know the pardon does nothing ease the pain that he had to endure the twelve years that he was imprisoned, but I hope that it will allow him to die in peace with everybody knowing the truth, that he was a great, innocent man who was imprisoned unjustly.
Mr. Black has left behind a will naming as one of his inheritors. You will be receiving a letter from Gringotts bank asking that you attend a meeting for the reading of the will on 26th of July. I would also ask that you make a stop at the Ministry on that day. Please come to the Improper Use of Magic Office, where we will remove the Ministry's tracking charms on your wand. This would usually happen on the day of your seventeenth birthday, but given current events I feel that it would be wise if you were able to preform magic outside of school to protect yourself.
The letter went on about how Harry was the sole voice of truth and a lot of other stupid stuff that Harry didn't really care about at all. It was only these three paragraphs that he actually read thoroughly. At first Harry was pissed that now, when it was too late, the Minister actually believed him and gave Sirius the pardon he rightly deserved fifteen years ago. He had thrown his school stuff all over the room and made promises of cursing Fudge to hell and back again when the charms were removed from his wand.
Soon, though, Harry calmed. He knew that his anger, while justified, was not going to help anything. After all, they all had the same end in mind. It was the means to get this end that were different. Eventually, they would all have to work together to achieve their common goal. That's why when Dumbledore arrived a few days later, Harry didn't yell and scream at him like a little child would.
Dumbledore explained that he had received a letter from the Minister very much like the one Harry had received. Fudge was all apologies to everyone he knew was in league with Dumbledore, even going as far as to give Mr. Weasley a substantial raise. The Minister, knowing that Harry was close to Dumbledore, also wrote how he was lifting the tracking charms on Harry's wand.
"Harry, about your trip to Gringotts and the Ministry on the 26th...." Dumbledore started.
"Don't even say it isn't safe to go or and crap like that. I'm going and that's all there is to it." Harry interrupted.
"The thought never crossed my mind." Dumbledore chuckled. "I told you at the end of the school year that I was going to keep you more informed, and that is what I'm here to do. I was merely going to say is that Remus, Nymphadora and Andromeda Tonks, and myself will be escorting you there. We have also been summoned for the reading of Sirius's will. The reading won't be taking place until Noon, so we will be taking you to the Ministry first. Be ready to leave at 8:00 A.M. on the 26th"
"Oh." Harry said, shocked at how he overreacted. "That's fine with me. So what's Voldemort up to?" Harry asked.
"Not much. Voldemort hasn't been seen since the Department of Mystery incident." Dumbledore said. "Capturing ten of his inner-circle was very detrimental to his plans. He has taken sanctuary in his old 'base of operations' as it were. There has only been two meetings since the Department of Mysteries, and those were simply to punish everyone for anything and everything he could think of. We have reason to believe that he is plotting the liberation of his inner-circle."
"I thought he controlled the Dementors. Why doesn't he just have them let the prisoners go?" Harry asked.
"Because, the Dementors are no longer in control of Azkaban. There are other 'things' guarding the prison now." Dumbledore explained.
It was at that moment that the letter that would truly change his life came. A bright white tennis ball looking owl flew through the window and hit Harry between the eyes. The owl merely bounced off and then began flying around the room at a high pace. At first he thought it was Pig, Ron's owl. The owl was the same size and had the same exuberant attitude. The only difference was that this owl was bright white, like Hedwig. Harry put this off to either Ron accidently turning Pig white or Fred and George doing it on purpose.
Dumbledore was chuckling merrily as he watched Harry scramble to grab the white owl. Finally, Harry caught the 'hyperactive piece of shit,' as he thought of it, and removed the letter. He then walked over to the window and was about to throw the bird out as hard as he could, when he remembered that the Headmaster was still there and thought twice about it. Simply letting the owl go, Harry turned his attention to the letter.
Harry read the letter once over quite quickly, then had to read it a second and third time as his brain began to process the information. "Professor, either someone is playing a very stupid prank, or—or—I can't think of anything right now. Just read it." Harry said handing the letter over to Dumbledore.
Dumbledore, who had stopped laughing as he saw Harry's reaction, took the offered letter and began reading.
Harry Potter,
First, allow me to congratulate you on you escape from the Department of Mysteries. I have surely underestimated you, for you to still be alive. Also, my congratulations on your capture of ten of my best Servants. You truly are a born leader. Those five children followed you to there would be certain deaths without a question. You were able to formulate a plan while under great pressure, and to be able to have that plan work to your great success. Well done. Do not let this go to your head though. Believe me when I said it will never happen again. My loyal subjects will be released soon and will meet a punishment from me, that your Ministry would never dream of enacting. Once they are free, I will turn all of my attention to your untimely demise. Unless, that is, you make a wise decision and join me. Surely you must know of the great potential you have to become one of the most powerful wizards of our time. I speak the truth when I tell you that you will never achieve the level that you are destined at Hogwarts.
If power is not enough to persuade you to joining me, allow me to provide another. If you remember, we met for the second time during your first year at Hogwarts. I was a mere shadow of what I was, and am today, forced to take possession of your not so esteemed Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, Quirenius Quirrell. If you were to believe Dumbledore, he had no idea that I was in possession of Quirrell. But, the truth is that he knew from the beginning. Dumbledore is almost as skilled in Legilimency as I am. He should have easily seen that something was off with Quirrell, and through the powers of deduction figured out what it was. Instead, your Headmaster found it pertinent to tell Quirrell all about the Philosopher's Stone. My original goal of possessing Quirrell was simply to eliminate Dumbledore, but when I learned of the Philosopher's Stone, I saw my way to regain power and made that my sole purpose.
I have only personally met with you four times, yet on each occasion I have been forthright with my intentions. Your Headmaster has been less than so. I have recently been informed that you had no clue as to what you were, growing up. After the death of your parents at my hands, Dumbledore shipped you off to uncaring Muggles, who treated you as though you were less than human. But, as I have said, you are much more. Dumbledore didn't even see fit to tell you about the Prophecy that was made about you and I. I was well aware of its existence as were all of my subjects. Perhaps if Dumbledore had thought more of you to tell you the Prophecy, your Godfather would still be alive. Has he even been preparing you for our eventual meeting? How can you trust a person who doesn't trust you? I make a promise that if you were to join me, nothing would be hidden from you. You would be made aware of everything, and I would personally train you to become the great Wizard that I know you are.
I leave the choice in your hands. Join me and together we will conquer this world and make it whatever we want it to be. Refuse and die. I will give you one week to make up your mind. If you make the right decision and choose to join me, send a response with your owl, it will get to me. Do not tell anyone of your decision. If you choose to defy me—Prepare for death. As a show of faith, I will teach you the art of Occlumency that you should have been taught a long time ago. When you go to sleep tonight, I will visit you in your dreams. There I will teach you everything you need to know.
Lord Voldemort
"Harry I must go." Dumbledore said hurriedly. "I must analyze this letter. Do not tell anyone of its existence. Do not send anymore letters at all. Do not leave your house without an escort. I think your home is being watched. I will contact with you in a few days."
"Does that mean we won't be going to Gringotts?"Harry asked.
"I'm not sure yet. I don't want to make a promise that I may have to break."
"What about my dreams tonight?" Harry asked, a little nervously at the thought of being visited by Voldemort.
"There is nothing we can do about that. I could block your mind tonight by a simple spell, but Voldemort would know that you had told me of the letter. He will see that as an open defiance." Dumbledore explained.
"But I am going to say no! There's no way in hell I'd join him!" Harry exclaimed.
"I know. But, if Voldemort is having your house watched as I suspect. He could have your house attacked tonight."
"I thought you said the blood magic would protect me! You said that this was the safest place for me! That I couldn't be touched here! Why the hell am I staying here, in this shithole, if it isn't serving as some kind of protection!" Harry shouted. He was starting to get very pissed off, and his scar was starting to burn a little.
"Harry calm down. The blood magic is the best protection for you, but it isn't perfect. Voldemort may have found a way around it. Very unlikely, but you can never tell with a wizard as smart and gifted as Tom Riddle. I will have the guard on your house doubled, but until we can be positive, you mustn't stray far from your house." Dumbledore reasoned.
"Alright. When am I getting out of here? Can I just stay at—that place after my business at the Ministry and Gringotts is taken care of?" Harry asked hopefully.
"We'll see, Harry. It is a very likely possibility." Dumbledore said and then bade him good-bye before disapparating without a sound.
The second Harry fell asleep, it was as though he woke up again right away. He was still in his small little bed, but he was no longer in 4 Privet Drive. The room was pure white. No walls or ceiling could be seen. The ground that Harry stepped on was firm, but appeared to be made out of clouds. The first thought to cross Harry's mind was, 'Am I dead?' followed shortly by, 'Is this Heaven?'
"Heaven, no." intoned a voice from behind Harry. "Welcome, Harry, to my nightmare!"
Harry immediately recognized the voice that was coming from behind him and it was the last voice that he wanted to hear. He immediately reached inside his robes, when did I put on robes? for his wand, but it wasn't there. He searched his beside table, but as soon as his eyes fell on it, it disappeared along with his bed. Resigned to his fate, Harry looked up to his murderer.
But, it wasn't Voldemort. Harry had seen Voldemort twice since his rebirth, and the memory was forever etched in his mind. But, this wasn't him. This person looked nothing like the Voldemort Harry had known.
"But, I am Lord Voldemort." The person said patronizingly. "This is how I looked before you destroyed my body."
It sounded exactly like what Harry knew Voldemort to sound like. But, this couldn't be him. This person actually looked human.
"Is it so hard to believe, Potter. This is the Dream World, I control it. I could look however I want." Suddenly, the Voldemort that Harry remembered was there, and when Harry blinked the human Voldemort was back. "I can change the scenery to anything I want." Voldemort made a sweeping motion of his arm, and they were instantly in a vast desert that stretched as far as the eye could see. Not only could Harry see the desert, he could feel it. The hot dry air. The wind wiping his robes about, blowing the sand in his face, stinging his unguarded eyes. That was when Harry realized that he wasn't wearing his glasses, but he could see with perfect clarity. "I can even change things about you." Voldemort snapped his fingers and suddenly Harry was dressed in a yellow sun dress and he had long flowing blonde hair. The wind blew strongly and the dress flew up, revealing all there was to see, which Harry was shocked to see that they were women's parts. Another snap of his fingers, and Voldemort changed Harry back to normal.
"So what are you going to do? Kill me?" Harry asked trying to sound brave and failing.
"Kill you? Yes, I suppose I could do that. But, it would defeat my purpose. I want you to join me. I want to train you so that you would be as strong as I am. Together we would rule this world. Do not sit there and tell me that you are happy with the way things are. Your only living relatives hate you, they pretend that you don't exist. And yet, Dumbledore sends you back here every year. Last year, the Ministry of Magic had a campaign against you, defaming you character, making as though you were mentally disturbed. Some of your so called friends actually believed them over you. If the Daily Prophet is singing your praises one moment, the next they call for your head on a platter. Your best friend is insanely jealous of you, to the point where he goes behind your back and makes fun of you trying to make himself more popular. Surely, you don't want that."
"It's the best that I've got, the best that the world will ever be. Once you die that is." Harry said pressing his luck.
"The best the world will ever be? The only reason the world is as shitty as it is, is because the muggles have been allowed to have free reign for centuries. Their machines pollute the air, kill the wild life, poison the waters. The world did not know war until the muggles came into existence. They kill each other over petty differences as race, ethnicity, and creed. If they are allowed to continue, unopposed, they will eventually destroy the world." Voldemort preached.
"Petty differences!" Harry exclaimed incredulously. "That is the same reason you kill people! Because their blood isn't pure, because their parents may have been born without something that you all take for granted. The same thing that you are, a half-blood, is what you want to kill! Talk about a hypocrite!"
Harry had expected Voldemort to be enraged by this, anything but what happened. Voldemort shook his head in disappointment. "Once again, Harry, you have been misinformed by Dumbledore. Yes, I may have a hatred for Mudbloods and Half-bloods, but that is not all I am about. I mean to unite the world under one central power. My power. Any great leader knows, that to unite the world, some must be killed. Freedoms must be taken away. The inhabitants of this earth, only look to today, never tomorrow. They want their freedom now, not caring if they destroy the future. Some freedoms must be taken away for everyone to live truly free. But, I have not come to argue philosophy with you. I have come to teach you the intricate art of Occlumency and Legilimency, if we have time. There is no way of knowing how fast time is passing in the real world. Here one week could pass, with only one hour passing in the real world. Or, you could spend one hour in here and the entire night could have passed in the real world. We must get started." Voldemort explained. "Now the first thing you must do...."
Harry spent the next twenty-three hours, learning and perfecting the art of Occlumency, and the basics of Legilimency. Voldemort, it turned out, was an excellent teacher. Perhaps one of the best that Harry had ever had. His patience seemed to have no bound. Harry learnt, what took Voldemort seven months to learn, in twenty-hours. The weird thing was, that Harry never tired. Sure, he got bored at doing the same things over and over again until he could do them without thinking, but he never grew fatigued.
Harry was just about to start to learn the basics of Legilimency, when a pounding shook the foundations of the world. "Your body is beginning to fade." Voldemort stated. "You must be awakening. I have taught you all there is to know of Occlumency. If you wish to continue with your lessons in Legilimency, simply do not put your guards up around mind when you go to sleep tonight and I will bring you back here."
The pounding continued, now seeming to come from the inside of his head. Harry closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he was back in his bed at 4 Privet Drive. Aunt Petunia was pounding against the wall, yelling for him to wake up.
Harry leapt from his bed and whipped the door open with a lot more force than he wanted to. "What the hell do you want!?" Harry yelled at her.
Petunia opened her mouth about to yell at her ungrateful nephew when she thought twice. "Breakfast is ready, come down and eat before it gets cold." She said in the kindest voice she could manage under the circumstances.
"Alright, I'll be down in a minute." Harry said massaging the bridge of his nose. His head was pounding harder than it had ever done before. Trying to ignore the pain Harry got dressed, and quickly went downstairs. Halfway through the meal, the pain became unbearable and Harry did the last thing he thought he would ever do. He asked his Aunt for advice.
"Aunt Petunia." he said getting her attention.
"What do you want?"
"I've got a killer headache. Do we have any potions for it?" Harry asked, not thinking clearly.
"Potions?" Petunia asked in a normal voice.
"POTIONS!" Vernon shouted, then remembering himself he hissed. "Potions! Where do you think you are boy? I won't have any of that—you know what I'm talking about. Just don't let it happen again." Vernon said trying to calm himself.
"Here," Petunia said slamming a bottle of Tylenol down on the table. "Take two."
"Thanks," Harry said popping two in his mouth after fighting to get the lid off the damn child proof bottle. After cleaning up after himself, Harry went back up to his room to lay down until the Tylenol took affect. Unfortunately, Dumbledore had other things in mind.
"Harry how was your sleep?" Dumbledore asked from his place at Harry's desk.
"Decent if you count being taught Occlumency by an actual civil Voldemort, and then waking up with a killer headache." Harry answered sarcastically.
"So he did indeed visit you. How much did he teach you?" Dumbledore asked curiously.
"Everything he knew, supposedly. I don't know if he taught me everything or not. His teaching methods were extremely different than Snape's, so I have nothing to compare to. Also, he could just be leading me into a false sense of security. Teaching me what he wanted me to know, but leaving a back door so he could access my mind easily." Harry explained.
"Well, he seems to have taught you the main part of Occlumency, the arranging of your mind. There's only one way to test if you have completely learnt it or not. Raise your shields and I will try to enter your mind."
"Go ahead, they already are."
"Very well." Dumbledore said simply, gazing intently into Harry's eyes. A look of shock over came his face, that was so quickly replaced that Harry thought he imagined it, before Dumbledore was set with a more determined look. After about a minute a bead of sweat rolled down Dumbledore's face and then he broke contact.
Harry felt a tingling sensation on the outside of his mind as Dumbledore's mediocre attempt at breaking into his mind failed. Then, with Dumbledore's determined look, Harry felt as though a thick needle was slowly prying away at his mind. He felt his guards slipping and quickly brought up more. The probe broke through the original guards completely just as Harry set up his reinforcements. The reinforcements began to break away and Harry quickly added more.
Suddenly, the probe disappeared and Harry heard Dumbledore chuckling. Harry began massaging his temples as his headache increased its ferocity. "Here." Dumbledore said as he produced two small vials from within his robes. "I always carry Headache Cures, just incase I overexert myself." Handing one of the vials to Harry, Dumbledore quickly downed the other and Harry soon followed suit. "Those were some pretty impressive mental shields you have there. I especially liked the vulgar messages that you left out. They do a wonderful job at distracting a would be intruder. Being bombarded by profanity and derogatory messages is not something that is easily ignored." Dumbledore chuckled merrily.
"I'm sorry about that Professor!" Harry exclaimed in shock. "I completely forgot about those." One aspect of Occlumency was distraction. You were to let memories float on the outside of your mind to distract and confuse the attacker. An experienced Occlumens never heard, or even thought of any of these memories, they were simply there. Harry's distractive memories, were every single swearword and derogative phrase he could think of.
After the distractive memories, came the Outer Shell. The Outer Shell was as its name implies, an outer shell around a persons memories. It was the thickest part of the protective barrier that Occlumency forms around one's memories. After the Outer Shell comes more distractive memories. These are to be completely different from the originals. Otherwise the attacker would recognize them for what they were immediately, and simply brush them aside. For his secondary distractive memories, Harry choose the most disgusting and disturbing images he could imagine. These are why he was completely embarrassed, he knew that Dumbledore had taken witness to these memories. One of these distractive memories wasn't really a memory, more of a nightmare of the worst kind. It included a completely naked Dolores Umbridge smiling and winking seductively.
These secondary distractive memories were also ignored by the Occlumens, which Harry thanked God for. After these distractive memories was the Inner Shell. The Inner Shell was the easiest part of the mental barrier to pass. It was there merely to keep the memories in place. Once the Outer Shell was breached the Occlumens would have to continually reinforce the Inner Shell until the spell or eye contact could be broken.
The Outer and Inner Shells, as well as all the distractive memories, were the easiest aspects of Occlumency. Together they took Harry approximately four hours of continual practice to perfect. It was the organizing of memories, that indicates a Master Occlumens, which took the first nineteen hours to complete. Now, whenever Harry had trouble remembering something, it was as though he physically entered his brain and was able to walk around and search through filing cabinets, that contained everything he knew, for the lost memory. There was also an incinerator in the middle of his 'Brain Room' that was used for destroying memories that he did not want to remember, or to simply make room for more.
An upside to organizing memories, was that it made accessing the easier and allowed for Harry to think clearer than he had ever done before. A downside was that it made memories easier to access by an intruder. This was countered by the 'Secret Room' method. The 'Secret Room' was a room that only Harry could enter. Not even Voldemort, the self-proclaimed Master of Legilimency, could enter this room. This is where Harry stored his deepest secrets and desires. The first thing to go in there was the Prophecy, which oddly enough Voldemort didn't even try to look at.
"Think nothing of it. They were all excellent distraction, if somewhat disturbing. I do hope that you never truly experienced those images." Dumbledore said still chuckling.
"No, thank God. Those were just the most disturbing things I could imagine. I'll probably have nightmares about it for the rest of my life." Harry said disgustedly.
"One thing I don't understand is how you managed to learn all of this in one night? You couldn't have been sleeping for more than ten hours and that's only if you went to sleep directly after I left." Dumbledore questioned.
"It's the place that Voldemort took me too." Harry started. "It was a Dream World that he had near complete control over. He could do anything he wanted there, except control time. He said that time had its own set of rules there that no one could understand. A week could pass in there, but only an hour in the real world. Or hours could pass in the real world, while only a minute passed there. We were lucky this time. Twenty-three hours passed there while the entire night passed here."
"Outstanding." Dumbledore mused. "Wait, you said you were lucky this time. Do you plan on going back?"
"No. Well, I don't know. I was going to ask you if I should. Voldemort said that if I wanted to learn Legilimency, all I had to do was leave our link unblocked. That's another thing I wanted to tell you about. Voldemort showed me where our link originates, and how he manipulated it last year. He also showed me how to block it." Harry explained.
"Remarkable. I just don't get this move of Tom's. Why teach you Occlumency? Why show you how he manipulated your link, and then how to block it?" Dumbledore mused. "As for your question: I feel it would be best if you closed off your link, and keep it closed forever."
"But, wouldn't that bring on an attack from Voldemort?" Harry asked worriedly. He was worried about being attacked by Voldemort, but part of him also wanted to go back into that Dream World to learn Legilimency. He could just imagine all the things he would be able to do, knowing it.
"That brings me to the original reason for my visit. I feel that it is no longer safe for you here, so you will finish the rest of your summer holiday's at Headquarters. The Weasley's and Miss Granger will be most happy to see you." Dumbledore explained. "I have managed to pull a few strings and got your visit to the Ministry and the reading of Sirius's will moved to today. We have to be at the Ministry at eight and then Gringotts at nine. Speaking of the time, it is time we left. I've arranged a Portkey to take us directly to the Ministry's atrium. If you'd please place a finger on this bottle we can leave in 5—4—3...."
Harry placed his finger on the end of the bottle and when Dumbledore reached zero he felt the familiar tug behind his navel.
"It's about time!" came a scratchy voice. "You're eight seconds late. Let's get this over and done with!"
"I am most sorry, Ragnok. We were having a very important discussion. By all means proceed." Dumbledore patronized the Goblin whose office they were currently in.
"I need to go get the papers from my supervisors, I'll be back. Don't. Move." Ragnok responded. While he was walking out of the room Ragnok was muttering in a combination of Gobbledegook and English. The only words Harry could recognize were, 'inconsiderate' and 'waste of my time.'
Harry took this time to look around at who was already there. The first person he recognized was Remus Lupin. Harry greeted him with a "hello Professor," to which Remus replied with, "hello Harry, and it's just Remus."
"Wotcher Harry!" Came the always joyful voice of Nymphadora Tonks. "Muggles treating you well? Taking heed of our 'advice?'" Tonks was sporting a particular violent shade of fluorescent orange hair.
"Hello, Tonks." Harry answered simply.
"You must be Harry. Nymphadora has told me so much about you." came the voice of the third and final voice. And with a moan of 'mum' from Tonks, Harry named this person to be Andromeda Tonks, Nymphadora's mother.
"Hello Mrs. Tonks." Harry said politely.
"Please call me Andromeda. Ever since she met you, Nymphadora has done nothing speak your praises." This elicited another moan from Nymphadora. "You know, she's only twenty years old. That's only four years older than you if I have my information correct. Nymphadora could use a good boyfriend like you. She hardly ever leaves the house. Just goes to work at the Auror office, then goes to work for, well you know. Then she just comes home and sulks. Hasn't been on a proper date since her Fifth Year at Hogwarts." Andromeda rambled on.
"MUM!" Nymphadora shouted. "I can't believe you're trying to set me on a date with Harry Potter! No, offense to you Harry. I mean I think your hot and everything, but—what I meant to say is that—you'd obviously never—I'm going to shut up now. And so are you mum! I can't believe this is happening."
"There's nothing to be embarrassed about Nymphadora. You're a beautiful young woman. He's a handsome young man. And if what you say of him is true, he'd be nothing but nice to you. Let's face it, you're not getting any younger. Who cares if he's younger than you? I'm seven years younger than your father. If you feel that weird about it, just make yourself look younger. Nobody would know the difference."
"Harry, I'm really sorry you're being put through this." Nymphadora apologize. "No matter how much my Mother says she's changed, she still has some of the Pureblood values. She thinks it's a mortal sin not to be married directly after Hogwarts. She nearly had a fit when I told her I wanted to be an Auror."
"I didn't have a fit. I just feel that it isn't a woman's place to be in Law Enforcement. That's a man's job. I supported you through it even when the rest of the Wizarding world thought it was ludicrous. With a strong, wealthy man like Harry here you'd be able to finally quit your job and settle down, start a family. I could finally get my Grandchildren to spoil rotten, and I wouldn't have to worry whether or not you'd come home alive." Andromeda explained.
"I'm not going to marry Harry for his money! That would be unfair to him!" Nymphadora exclaimed.
"I'm not saying marry him for his money only. He's also very handsome. And you're always going on about how wonderful he is. Think about your children. They'd be almost guaranteed to be beautiful. And there's no doubt that they'd be magically powerful."
Harry didn't think that anymore blood could rush to his head from embarrassment. Here he was, a sixteen year old, and they were talking about him getting married and having children. He only ever had one girlfriend for god's sake! That's when he heard the low chuckling coming from behind him. He turned to look for the source of the laughter, only to be met with a Remus Lupin barely holding in his mirth and an Albus Dumbledore trying, and failing miserably, to keep a straight face. Harry gave them the worst death glare he could muster, which only succeeded in making Lupin let his laughter free and Dumbledore chuckling merrily once again.
Seeing that his glare wasn't working, and Nymphadora and her mother showed no signs of stopping, Harry gave Dumbledore a look that pleaded for help. Finally, Dumbledore took pity on him and with the agonizingly slow pace of a three-toed sloth walked over to Andromeda and put his hand on her shoulder. Andromeda looked startled for a second, but quickly turned back to her argument with her daughter.
"While this conversation is most amusing," Dumbledore started after clearing his throat. "I believe that Mr. Ragnok is returning with the proper paperwork.
Sure enough, seconds after Dumbledore finished his statement, the door open and admitted Ragnok back into the room.
"We are here today, for the reading of one Sirius Orion Black's Last Will and Testament.
I, Sirius Orion Black, being of sound mind and body hereby bequeath the following:
To Remus Lupin: I donate 100,000 Galleons in your name to the 'Search for a Cure' Werewolf fund, and a personalized letter to be delivered immediately.
To Andromeda Tonks: I leave vault number 1122 with the instructions for it to be filled to 1,000 Galleons every month from the Black Family vault, and a personalized letter to be delivered immediately.
To Nymphadora Tonks: I leave vault number 1123 with the instructions for it to be filled to 1,000 Galleons every month from the Black Family vault, and a personalized letter to be delivered immediately.
To Albus Dumbledore: I leave 50,000 Galleons with the instructions for this money to be used by the Order of the Phoenix, and a personalized letter to be delivered immediately.
To Harry Potter: I name you my heir and the new head of the Black Family. Everything that the Black's once owned is now yours to do with, what you please. Excluding the aforementioned items. Also a personalized letter that is to be delivered immediately.
That is all that is written." Ragnok finished. "Here are the keys to your new vaults and letters." Ragnok said handing Nymphadora and Andromeda a key and letter each. "Here is your letter and receipt of the donation Mr. Lupin. Here is you're letter, sir. You will need to indicate which vault you wish to have the 50,000 delivered."
"Vault number 976, please." Dumbledore answered somberly.
"Mr. Potter, to become the official head of the Black Family, you will need to sign a few papers." Ragnok explained handing Harry said papers.
"Alright." Harry replied simply.
"Sign here." Ragnok said indicating the place where Harry was to sign. "Initial here. Sign there. Spit here. Sign this. Initial there. Sign and date there. Place a drop of blood here." Harry complied to everything, pricking his finger with a needle to get the blood. When he was done, the stack of papers glowed golden and then disappeared. "Here." Ragnok said unceremoniously shoving a box into Harry's hands. Then setting some papers on top of it. "The box contains everything the comes with the title of Head of the Black Family, including keys to various vaults and properties. The papers list everything owned by the Black Family worth note. You have the power to remove or add anyone from/to the Black Family also. This is the personalized letter mentioned in Sirius Orion Black's will. Take all the time you need to read and review everything. If you have any problems or questions, just ask. Otherwise, show yourselves out." With that said Ragnok left the room.
"Well, I'd have to say, that's probably the rudest Goblin I've ever met." Remus spoke up, breaking the tension in the room.
"You'd be rude too, if you had to deal with my Aunt for as long as he did." Andromeda spoke up.
"Shall we read the letters Sirius left us now, or would you rather read them in private?" Dumbledore asked.
"I've got no problem reading it here. I'm curious as to what Sirius had to say to me." Nymphadora spoke up.
"Yeah me too." Harry agreed. "Plus, I've got to sort this all out." he said indicating the box and papers.
"Do you need any help?" Andromeda asked. "I was, after all, part of the Black Family for the first seventeen years of my life. Then when I married Dan, Aunt Canicula zapped me off the tapestry just like she did Sirius."
"Thanks, but I think I can manage." Harry declined politely. Truth was, he could have used the help. He just didn't want her to help in the off chance that she went back to trying to set him up with her daughter. He'd just trust that everything was in order and read over everything some other time.
"No problem. You're just like Nymphadora, always wanting to do things for herself. You two would make a perfect couple."
"Mum!" Tonks whined.
"Why don't we read our letters and give the goblin back his office?" Remus suggested, saving Harry.
Harry quickly turned to his letter. He was anxious to see what Sirius had to say, but he also didn't want to hear that conversation again.
Harry Potter,
I bet your wondering why the betrayer of your parents, and supposed murderer of 12 muggles and Peter Pettigrew is doing, putting you in his will. Well, I'd just like to say is that I didn't do all those things. True, I did betray your parents, but not in the way that everyone has probably told you. I was not your families Secret Keeper. At the last minute Pettigrew and I traded positions in hope of fooling Voldemort. I was to be the decoy, the one that everyone thought was the Secret Keeper, therefore drawing all attention to me and away from Pettigrew. What I failed to see, what we all failed to see, was that Pettigrew had been working for Voldemort since before we left Hogwarts. That was the way I betrayed your family. By not seeing this in the beginning. I mistakenly believed that one of my best friends, Remus Lupin, was the traitor, and failed to see what was obviously in front of my face.
As to the murder of 12 Muggles and Peter Pettigrew, I've never killed anyone in my life. I always brought my suspects in alive. What truly happened that night is as follows: I figured, too late, that Pettigrew was the traitor and hunted him down. I found him hours later, going into the Muggle Bed and Breakfast he had been staying at. I cornered him and began to beat the shit out of him. This unfortunately, drew a crowd of Muggles. I was about to bind him and take him to the authorities, when he began shouting nonsense of how I had betrayed Lily and James. I began laughing uncontrollably at his audacity, and failed to notice him pulling out a second wand and launching a spell that blew up the entire street, killing most of the Muggles that had gathered around. Then the little bastard cut his finger off and transformed into his illegal Animagus form, a rat. I just continued laughing like a moron, and when the authorities came all the Muggles testified that I had done everything. I was hauled off to jail, never to be give a trial. I'm writing this, as well as several other letters, inside a Ministry holding cell awaiting my transfer to Azkaban.
I know you probably won't believe a word I have said, if you even read any of it, but I want you to know that everything I have said is true. I loved your parents, as much as I love you. Your father helped me out of so many rough situations that I will never be able to repay him. That is why I am not resisting being thrown in Azkaban; I deserve it for failing you and your father.
I'm writing this letter to warn you. I know that you defeated Voldemort when you were a baby, but I don't believe he is dead. I was at your house when all was said and done, and something just didn't feel right. Something felt evil. If you ever see a white rat with a toe missing, don't hesitate to stomp on its head. It's probably the little bastard Pettigrew, trying to spy on you for his master.
When Voldemort does indeed come back, I only hope that it is at a time when you are at your strongest. If you're anything like your parents I know that you will be able to take care of yourself. When he does come back, I want you to do everything within your power to kill that bastard once and for all. For some reason he wanted you dead when you were a baby, there's no question that he'll want you dead when you're fully grown. You stopped him once, you'll be able to do it again. I don't want you, you children, or your grandchildren, whichever the case may be, to grow up in a world like I did. Voldemort tore my family, my life apart and I don't want the same to happen to you. Take care of yourself.
Sirius Black
a.k.a.
Padfoot (ask Remus if he's still around)
Harry was saddened to say the least. Sirius had thought of him even when he was sitting in a cell waiting to be transferred to Azkaban. Harry felt tears welling up in his eyes and forced them away. He had promised himself that he would stop crying over Sirius, and he was going to. Sirius wanted Harry to kill Voldemort and Wormtail, by God he was going to.
Harry folded the letter back up and put it with his other documents. Looking around, Harry saw that everyone had content smiles on there faces and were waiting for him to finish reading. "What are you all smiling at?" Harry asked, with more than a hint of annoyance.
"Just things that Sirius wrote. Inside jokes and the such. Even facing an agonizing existence in Azkaban, he was still thinking of other people." Remus said.
"Oh." was Harry's reply.
"If you don't mind my asking, what did Sirius write in your letter that got you so upset?" Remus asked politely. "It's not like him to intentionally upset someone he cares for."
"Nothing really. He just wanted me to kill Voldemort and Wormtail at any cost." Harry said nonchalantly. Everyone in the room was shocked to say the least. Dumbledore looked as though he were about to say something, but Harry cut him off. "When do we have to be at the Ministry?"
"We have another hour before our meeting at the Ministry. Would anyone care to join Harry and I for some lunch at the Leaky Cauldron?" Dumbledore asked.
"Nymphadora and I would love to. We can talk more about her relationship with Harry here." Andromeda supplied.
"I–er–I can't I have to get to work." Nymphadora stuttered.
"Nonsense, you told me you had all day off." was Andromeda's reply.
"It's for—er—Dumbledore, that's right. I have work to do for Dumbledore."
"I don't recall needing you for anything today Nymphadora. By all means come and have lunch with us." Dumbledore said kindly. "How about you Remus? I'm paying."
"Well, I never could pass up a free meal. Besides, the entertainment would be to much to miss." Remus joked, nudging Harry with his elbow.
Knowing that there was no way for him to get out of this lunch, Harry walked quietly towards the Leaky Cauldron.
Nymphadora walked beside him, voicing her sincere apologies for what her mother was putting him through. "It's alright, Nymphadora. Besides, its kinda funny watching you squirm." Harry joked. He received a punch on the shoulder as Tonks stormed by him in a huff.
Somehow, at the Leaky Cauldron, Andromeda had managed to get Harry and Nymphadora sitting next to each other. In an attempt at revenge on Harry for his usage of her first name and the remark about his finding her predicament funny, Nymphadora agreed wholly to her mother's attempts to set them up on a date. Nymphadora relaxed as her mother's manipulations were turned fully onto Harry.
Harry, true to his part as a bashful teenager, began to blush a brilliant red and tried several unsuccessful times to change the subject. Upon seeing the evil grin on Nymphadora's face at Harry's predicament, Harry turned the tables on her, by also agreeing with Andromeda's attempts. Harry couldn't help but laugh as Nymphadora sputtered incoherently at his agreement and immediately went back on the defensive as to why she couldn't date Harry.
What seemed like an eternity later, lunch ended and Dumbledore and Harry flooed to the Ministrybut not before Nymphadora swore revenge on him. Being with Dumbledore, Harry was able to bypass all security checks and went directly to the Improper Use of Magic office where Mafalda Hopkirk removed the Ministry tracking spell from his wand.
(End flashback)
Harry was snapped out of his musings as the Goblin returnedwith Harry's new checkbook. "Here you go Mr. Potter everything seems to be in order. This checkbook contains an unlimited amount of checks. It is impossible to write on it without this special quill.If you lose the checkbook at anytime, you must alert us immediately so we can lock the account. We are not held responsible for any financial loses should you misplace this. Fraud is not taken lightly and punishable under Goblin Law, not Ministry.Will there be anything else?"
"No, that's all. Thank you." Harry said donning his hood and leaving the Goblin's office. It was time for some shopping.
A/N: Well that's it for Chapter 2. What do you think? Write a review and tell me about it. Something feels off about this chapter so please, if you see something not right, tell me.
In case you're wondering, I'm not sure if this is going to be a Harry/Tonks fic. I'll tell you this much, it will definitely not be a Harry/Mainstream ship. I can't stand Ginny and Hermione irks me a little too. How'd you like my characterization of both Tonks and her mother. I've read a couple fics where Tonks is really outgoing, popular and all that jazz. I kind of figured that he quirky attitude was just a front, not letting anyone truly know who she is so she won't get hurt. Andromeda, she was a pure-blood for seventeen years of her life. You don't just forget the things you learned were right and wrong in a day. If you're wondering I got the Occlumency stuff sort of from my imagination and sort of from the book/movie Dreamcatcher. It's awesome in both forms so go check it out. Any questions feel free to ask me in a review or just E-Mail me. I check my E-Mail at least 3 times a day so I'll get it and answer right away.