A/Ns

Thanks for the kind words. I was surprised that there was so much consistency in the idea that Riddle wouldn't be significantly impacted until all or most of the Horcruxes were destroyed.

Someone noticed that I've gone two whole chapters with no Ron bashing. Oh well.

Thanks to Steve for pre-reading my work.

Chapter 3

"Good day, yourself."

For an instant, Harry's mind raced back to the memory of being in Borgin and Burke's shop in Knockturn Alley. He would never forget the conversation that Lucius Malfoy and the shopkeeper had had while the twelve year old Harry had hidden in the vanishing cabinet.

As the grey haired man walked by, Harry whipped out his wand and wordlessly stunned him. Borgin stumbled as he fell, dropping the case. Borgin's intuition regarding the case had been correct. When it hit the marble floor the latches gave way revealing a rather large pile of gold.

Wood appeared out from under his invisibility cloak a moment later at the other end of the counter. He shouted, "Seal the main entrance."

Dawlish ran over, demanding, "What did you do now Potter? Who is this? You've ruined an important investigation."

Harry ignored Dawlish, pointed his wand at the grey haired man lying on the floor and said, "Finite Incantatem." Moments later, greasy haired shopkeeper Thomas Borgin was visible for all to see.

Dawlish stammered, "H, How did you know?"

Harry never did like the man. He simply said, "I just did. He helped in the murder of Professor Dumbledore."

A half dozen Aurors led by Director Hammer came through the front door and quickly made their way over. "Good work, Auror Dawlish." A moment later, she saw Tonks, Harry Potter and another man standing nearby.

Tonks, who never really cared for Dawlish or his snobbish remarks said, "Director, Auror Dawlish never even saw Borgin. Harry Potter recognized him even though Borgin was wearing a glamour and stunned him." She scowled at Dawlish.

"I see," said Hammer. "Well done, Mr. Potter. Thank you for your diligence against the dark side. You doubtless had other business that you were here for. If possible, could you stop by my office sometime Saturday morning? I'd like to visit with you if you have the time."

Recognizing that it really wasn't a request, Harry nodded, and said, "I'll be there at nine."

Hammer nodded at him and replied, "Good. I'll have tea waiting. Auror Tonks, perhaps you could accompany Mr. Potter as well. Thank you. Enjoy your day, Mr. Potter."

… --- … ---

As they walked over to Griphook who was waiting at the cart, Tonks said, "Cor Harry, you were fast in stunning him. How did you know it was Borgin?"

Somewhat embarrassed, Harry replied, "The first time I ever used the floo network, I accidentally ended up in his shop as he was doing business with Lucius Malfoy. I hid in the vanishing cabinet that Draco used to sneak the Death Eaters into Hogwarts. I recognized his voice when he was talking to Griphook."

"Well done, Harry," said Remus, patting him on the back. A moment later Tonks went back and quietly spoke to Hammer for a few minutes then returned.

While they were waiting for Tonks, Griphook asked, "Which vault, Mr. Potter?"

"Uh…" replied Harry.

Remus had anticipated some confusion about this from Harry and said, "Harry, you have at least three vaults – one or more from the Black estate, your parents' vault, probably one from the Potter estate, and the school vault that your parents set up for you. What do you need right now?"

"Some Galleons and currency."

"Why don't you use your school vault, if you have enough in it to accommodate what you had in mind?" suggested Remus.

Harry nodded, gave Griphook his vault number and considered how much gold and currency he thought that he'd need. When they got to the vault, Griphook stopped the cart, helped Harry out and said, "Key please."

Harry handed him the key and a moment later opened the door to vault 687. Harry scooped out about 5,000 galleons, thought for a moment and scooped another 2,000. He lifted the heavy sack, and walked back to the cart. Remus noticed the weight of the sack, and said, "If you wish, I'll do a lightening charm on it for you. There's no sense in getting two use of underage magic notices in one day."

Harry had bad memories of the last time that he'd received such a notice, and said, "Thanks."

Tonks said, "Harry, don't worry about that. You'll probably get a reward for stunning Borgin, not punished."

Harry said, "I'm not so sure. The last time, I faced a full Wizengamot hearing. The professor got me out of that one."

Remus smiled sadly. Nothing was ever easy for James' son.

… --- … ---

Scrimgeour and Hammer were being direct with Borgin in the conference room that they were using at Gringotts. Hammer had immediately contacted Scrimgeour as soon as she verified that Borgin had been captured transporting a significant amount of gold. The news that Tonks had relayed to her about Borgin being involved in Dumbledore's murder had made her job much easier.

Scrimgeour realized that many of Voldemort's supporters were funding him, while Riddle was funding others to do his bidding. No matter which side you were on, running a war wasn't cheap.

He took a chance that Borgin hadn't emptied the vault where he'd gotten the money and said, "Here is my one and only deal for you - Take us back down to the vault where you got that gold, empty the vault for us and you will be sent to a wizarding prison outside the country for a one year stay. Or do nothing, go on trial as a conspirator for the murder of Albus Dumbledore, get convicted as you certainly will, and get kissed this Saturday."

Borgin realized that his life was forfeit if he was released from prison and the Dark Lord was still in power. He replied, "Two years, and my wife goes with me."

"Done," replied Scrimgeour. Two hours later the funds had been tallied and transferred to the Ministry Law Enforcement account vault. Just over three million Galleons were recovered, not including the hundred thousand that Borgin had been caught with. Scrimgeour and Hammer both hoped that the loss of funds would create a serious problem for Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Scrimgeour told Hammer to bring the case that Borgin was carrying back to Ministry Headquarters.

… --- … ---

While Scrimgeour and Hammer were talking with the Borgin, Harry was talking with another of the Goblins regarding his accounts.

The old goblin looked at Harry from across the desk. He deemed the young man as someone to trust and worthy of his help. He said, "Mr. Potter. You control several of the larger accounts at this branch. Combined they represent the largest of our private accounts, second only to the Ministry accounts. According to our records, you have not even visited four of your vaults. I would recommend that you take the time to meet with your account advisors and learn about them."

Harry knew that Pickhandle's advice was sound and nodded in agreement. Pickhandle continued. "I also recommend that you start building a large family as soon as practical. You should create a multi-tiered Will to protect your wishes in the event of an untimely death."

"I see," replied Harry.

Pickhandle continued, "Fortunately, I gave your father similar advice immediately after you were born, and you had sufficient means to get by with until your seventeenth birthday, which I believe is a few weeks from now."

Harry nodded and asked, "Who are my account managers?"

Pickhandle replied, "Liplock and Clawhammer. They both have worked with the larger old family accounts for a long time."

"I see," replied Harry. He interpreted old family to mean pureblood. He asked, "Can I pick an account manager, or are they always assigned?"

"You can have your choice of any of the employees. Did you have someone in mind?"

Harry replied, "Actually I did, Bill Weasley and Griphook."

Pickhandle wasn't surprised that Harry had made such a request. He knew of Harry having requested Griphook's assistance before, but didn't know that he knew Weasley. Pickhandle replied, "I shall make the changes. Mr. Weasley was injured recently and won't be back for a few more days. I shall inform him when he returns."

"Thank you," replied Harry.

"Is there anything else that we might be able to assist you with today?"

"I wanted to convert half of this for Sterling notes. I have some shopping to do." Pickhandle tapped the table twice. A goblin appeared, took the sack with him and returned a moment later with Harry's bag, now half filled with gold, and a five-inch stack of fifty Pound notes. He handed both back to Harry, and said, "It was a pleasure to serve you today, Mr. Potter."

Harry looked at the young goblin and replied, "Thank you." He also turned to Pickhandle and said, "Thank you for your advice. I will be back in a month or so."

Pickhandle nodded, and said, "You're welcome, Mr. Potter. I will have Griphook prepare the papers and show Mr. Weasley what he will need to learn." He opened the door for Harry and pointed him back to the lobby.

Harry met Tonks and Remus waiting in the lobby. Tonks saw him and said, "Cor Harry. You were in with Pickhandle for over an hour."

"Sorry," replied Harry. "He had a lot to talk about."

Tonks shook her head and said, "That wasn't my point Harry. He wouldn't give the Minister of Magic an hour of his time. He runs the London branch of Gringotts."

"Was he able to help you?" asked Remus, a bit more quietly than his spirited friend. Harry noticed his threadbare robes and knew what he wanted to do.

"Yes," replied Harry. "I changed account managers."

Remus didn't know much about the account managers that Gringotts assigned to the larger accounts. Compared to his own, the Weasley vault was huge. He replied, "What did you decide to do?"

Harry replied, "I requested that Bill Weasley and Griphook be assigned to my accounts."

Tonks was surprised and said, "And Pickhandle agreed? I don't think there are any other wizards who are account managers. I bet Bill will be surprised."

"I hope he'll be OK with it," said Harry. "I just wanted to work with people who I trust. The other two sounded kind of dodgy to me."

"What do you mean?" asked Remus.

"They mostly worked with pure blood accounts. I really don't want the Malfoy account managers minding my accounts."

"I understand," said Remus. "Where to next?"

"I need some new robes and some regular stuff to wear as well. Do we have enough time?"

They both nodded, and headed out the re-opened doors over to Madam Malkins. Harry talked to one of the assistants for a moment, who went in back. A moment later, Madam Malkin herself came out. Harry told her that he wanted four sets of robes for himself and the same number for Tonks and Remus.

"What did you have in mind, my dear?" she asked.

"Two sets of dress robes and two nicer sets for everyday wear."

She nodded, and then asked, "Let's do the everyday sets first. What colors did you have in mind?"

Harry thought for a second and replied, "Grey and burgundy." He'd worn nothing but black robes at school and wanted something different.

While Madam Malkin was measuring Harry and pinning up different fabrics, the two assistants came out. Madam Malkin nodded at them and then went to Remus and Tonks respectively. Remus started to protest, but Tonks cut him off, saying, "Look Remus, Harry wants to do something nice for you. Give him a break. He doesn't need another fight on his hands. Enjoy it. OK?" She winked at Harry who smiled back.

An hour later, Madam Malkin announced, "I'll have these delivered to each of you tomorrow afternoon." Harry thanked her and the assistants, paid the bill and they left.

"Thank you, Harry," said Tonks and Remus. "Where to next?"

A wand holder, watch, new glasses, stacks of muggle clothing, trainers, dragon hide boots, dress shoes and the rest in shrunken sacks in hand, Harry pleaded with Tonks to go back to Privet Drive. They returned and greeted Aunt Petunia.

"Where have you been?" asked Petunia.

"We've been out shopping, and Harry went with," said Remus, a bit amazed with the morning's events.

"And Harry, here, caught a dangerous criminal," said Tonks.

"I see," replied Petunia. "A Mrs. Hopkirk was here to see you this morning. Are you in some kind of trouble again?"

"I expect so," replied Harry, suddenly a lot less pleased with himself.

"She left this for you," said Petunia, not happy to see her nephew in trouble with the law again. She handed him a thick, official looking envelope.

"Better open it," said Remus, also a lot less happy than he was earlier.

Dear Mr. Potter,

You have quite enough to be worrying about without any more receiving underage notifications from my department. Please find enclosed the following:

Use of magic license

Apparation license

Driver's license

Best wishes in your endeavors.

Malfalda Hopkirk

Harry looked at the other papers and handed them to his Aunt. A small smile found its way to her face, and she handed the papers to Tonks. It had been countersigned by Rufus Scrimgeour, Minister of Magic.

"Good on you, Harry," she said as she wrapped him in a hug. Remus waited until Tonks had let go of him and shook his hand.

"Let's go put your stuff away Harry," said Tonks. She placed all of the miniature bags on the little bed, waved her wand and it became piled high with shopping bags, each filled with things that Harry needed.

She opened Harry's little closet, and the smile left her face. "Harry, I always thought you were trying to make a fashion statement with the grunge look. Is this what you were given to wear every day?"

Harry looked down at his feet and nodded. He desperately wished that Mrs. Weasley or someone had taken him shopping years ago. She called down the stairs, "Remus, can you come up here, please?"

Remus walked in the room, looked around and was saddened by the open closet and drawers that she was pointing to.

In a less than happy tone, Tonks asked, "How long has the Order been keeping an eye on Harry?"

Remus replied, "Most of Harry's life. Why?"

She smacked him on the back of the head. "Why? Cor Remus. He probably wasn't ever given decent clothing to wear. He was skinny as a rail last summer when I met him. His Aunt apparently saw fit to meet only his most basic needs. Do you suppose he took a lot of pleasure in walking around in taped up trainers?"

She was just getting going. "Harry's about the nicest bloke that I've met and yet no one bothered to tell Dumbledore that the kid needed more to eat and better clothing to wear. How about a bicycle or a football? All these people were supposedly watching him, but who took the time to see what was happening."

Remus knew better than to say anything. The spirited Auror had far too much in common with Ginny Weasley to argue with. Besides he agreed with everything that she said. He'd seen Harry's shabby clothing four years ago when he'd been at Hogwarts, and just mentally passed over the possibility that no one was taking care of Harry.

"I…"

She turned to him and said, "Harry, this isn't your fault. I'm not even blaming your Aunt. She probably wasn't too pleased with the arrangements that weren't made properly. You're the most famous wizard of our age, and no one at the Ministry bothered to check in with you and see how you're doing. I'm sorry Harry. A lot of people let you down. I don't intend to be one of them."

She started tossing his greying underpants, threadbare socks, impossibly large tee shirts, and the rest of Harry's old clothing in a pile. Handing him a pair of new black jeans, flannel boxers, socks, a colorful shirt and his new boots she said, "Harry, take these into the loo and get changed." She kept emptying the rest of his drawers as if on a mission.

Five minutes later, a new and improved Harry emerged. Tonks took a look at him and smiled. "Hand me your old stuff, Harry," she said in her Auror command voice. Harry complied. A wave of her wand, and a childhood full of bad fashion vanished before his eyes.

Harry could only manage a big grin and said, "Thanks."

Remus and Tonks had helped put his new things away. From time to time, Tonks would hold a shirt or trousers up to Harry and wink suggestively, saying "Ginny will like these." When she was done, she smacked Remus on the back of the head again and said, "We're going through your closet next, lover."

As Harry started laughing, he heard Petunia say, "Harry, someone else is here to see you."

… --- … ---

"Crucio!"

The helpless Death Eater wished that he'd never been near the Dark Lord that morning when he was told to go keep an eye on Gringotts Bank. While Harry was out shopping, Borgin had been led out of the bank, flanked by a dozen Aurors.

As Marcus Flint writhed on the floor, hoping to lose consciousness, he wondered what insanity had caused him to believe Malfoy's promises of power and riches.

As Riddle kicked Flint's unconscious body out of the room, he hoped that he'd only taken a hundred thousand Galleon hit today. As insurance, he told Lestrange to go pick up Borgin's wife.

… --- … ---

Wand drawn, Harry walked down the stairs to see Alastor Moody standing in the living room. Petunia was obviously quite frightened of the man and went into the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Glad that Harry had his wand out, Moody said, "Good work at Gringotts today, Potter."

Wand still out Harry replied, "Constant vigilance," with a hint of a smile on his face. "Where did you tell me never to stick my wand?"

A smile crept onto Moody's face as he replied, "I may have mentioned something about losing a buttock a year or so ago. Glad to hear that you remembered. Good thing that you asked too. You never can be too careful."

Harry nodded in agreement as he put his wand away.

Sensing that they were quickly wearing out their welcome, Tonks said, "Let's go get something to eat. Harry, what would you like?"

Harry replied, "Pizza would be great. We never get it at school. I'll be right back." He ran upstairs to put his money sack back into his trunk, grabbed a few banknotes, locked his trunk and returned.

Not wanting to put Harry's Apparation skills to the test quite yet, she made a portkey. Moments later, they were outside a family pizza restaurant near Brighton. Looking around for a moment, she was convinced that everyone nearby were muggles on holiday or locals. They went in and ordered.

After the server had taken their order, Tonks said, "Remus and I are going to walk around for fifteen or twenty minutes. You two visit for a while. Save us a few pieces, OK?"

Moody nodded. After they left, Moody waved his wand arm and put up a silencing charm around the booth.

Noticing his action, Harry asked, "What did you want to talk with me about Moody?"

Not one to mince words, Moody got to the point. "I wanted to talk with you about joining the Order Harry."

Last summer Harry would have done anything to join the Order. Now he wasn't sure that he'd trust them to guard Hedwig, but was polite enough to at least hear Moody out. Harry replied, "Go on."

Moody said, "It was Dumbledore's wish that you and the witches and wizards who went with you last year be invited to join the Order this summer. What do you think?"

Harry replied, "My experience with the Order hasn't been too great. One member betrayed my parents, one murdered the professor and another stole my stuff and was caught selling it."

Moody suppressed a laugh. He really liked this young man. "Point taken Potter. Who do you trust?"

Harry thought for a moment and said, "I trust five students from school, Hermione's parents, the Weasleys except for Percy, McGonagall, Flitwick, Hagrid, you, Tonks, Remus, Shacklebolt, Madam Pomfrey, Dobby and to a lesser degree, some of the students who were in the DA and the Gringotts Goblins. That's about it."

Moody nodded, considering what Harry had said. The young man had excluded over half of the staff at Hogwarts, a good part of the Order, and most of the Ministry. Moody smiled, certain in the knowledge that Potter would be drinking out of a hip flask before the war was over.

He replied, "I'm pleased to be a part of your short list, Potter. A man like you needs a short list. Dumbledore always wanted to see the best in people. That's a good attribute for a school master. That kind of attitude would get an Auror killed sooner or later."

Harry nodded. He looked over and saw Tonks and Remus chatting with the server. Moody noticed, and removed the silencing charm. A moment later, the server brought over two large pizzas and four more glasses of Harps. They thanked her, and she walked off to look in on the other customers. Moody recast the charm, and asked, "What were you and Dumbledore working on?"

Harry hesitated before answering. Dumbledore had told him to tell no one about the Horcruxes besides Ron and Hermione. He had even refused to tell McGonagall. But he knew he needed help with this. He decided to trust Moody too. He proceeded to give a detailed version of the creation of the Horcruxes, what he knew of them and what objects he guessed them to be.

Moody asked, "Who knows about this?"

Harry replied, "On our side, the four of us, Ron and Hermione, and possibly Professor Slughorn."

Moody asked, "Who needs to know?" Dumbledore had obviously kept it a close secret.

Harry replied, "I know what they are, but I don't know how they work. I was going to ask Professor Flitwick."

Moody replied, "You can ask, but they're far too dark for him to have ever spent time with. I know a guy in the Department of Mysteries who owes me a few favors. I'll talk with him tomorrow. What were your plans?"

Harry said, "I need to find and destroy the Horcrux pieces before Riddle finds me. In my spare time I need to train up to the point where I have a chance to go against him."

… --- … ---

Lestrange saw the smoke rising from the burning home. The Aurors had given the home a quick search, and filled one trunk with valuables and personal items such as photos. They filled another trunk with obviously dark items. Fifteen minutes after arresting Borgin's wife, they torched the home.

After seeing how long he held Flint under the Cruciatus curse, she was not looking forward to reporting back to the Dark Lord.

… --- … ---

As Harry and Remus gobbled up the pizza, Moody continued, "So you destroyed the first one four years ago, and Dumbledore somehow destroyed one nine months ago. Did he ever say how he did it?"

Shoveling another slice of pepperoni down, Harry replied, "No. He told me that it would be an interesting tale to hear, but he never told me."

Moody said, "Tonks will take you to Hogwarts Saturday evening at eight to meet with the rest of the Order. You can decide what you want to do, and let me know before the meeting."

Harry nodded, and Moody said, "Potter, you're the only one here who thought to bring any muggle money. I guess that means that you can pick up the check."

Harry laughed. In their time together, Dumbledore had told him of his friend's extreme reluctance to ever pick up a check. He said, "I'll get it. Thanks for the advice. I'll see you Saturday evening."

When the got back to Privet Drive, Tonks said, "We'll be by Saturday morning at 8:45. Goodnight Harry."

As he drifted off to sleep, Harry realized that it would be an eventful summer.

… --- … ---

A/Ns

So what did happen to Dumbledore's hand?