BEHIND EMERALD EYES
Gringotts Gold and Priceless Memories
"P-pardon?" Harry stammered, his heart beating painfully in his chest. Hermione was gripping his upper arm tightly, her nails digging into his skin. He could hardly feel it. His eyes were staring at the goblin, ears straining, hoping he had heard wrong.
"Several years ago, after the death of Albus Dumbledore, his will was invoked. And, as we were unable to contact you, we went ahead and complied with Mr. Dumbledore's last orders, and transferred half of his accounts and properties over to you, as he did not have any remaining family, apart from a distant brother. The rest of the gold was deposited into the private vault of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, under the care of Minerva McGonagall, another of his fund receivers." The goblin said in a dry voice, its dark eyes glittering in the faint candlelight.
"Oh," Harry said, still trying to take in all that was given to him.
"And what of the other inheritance? The one from Sirius Black?" Hermione said, holding his arm encouragingly.
"As Mr Black was a convicted murderer and escapee at the time of his death, his last will and testament was not allowed to be granted by the Minister's law. But when the new Minister Weasley was elected, he released information on Mr Black that proved his innocence almost immediately. With this done, his will was allowed to be read, and it stated that three quarters of his Family and Personal Vaults be passed onto you, as well as certain properties and possessions. But as we could not contact you for this reading as well, the possessions were passed on to a Mr Lupin who also was given the remaining percent of gold and one property in London." The goblin was now watching Harry's expression with utmost curiosity and continued, "Your vaults are one of the highest priorities in this bank, Mr Potter, and now that we are able to speak with you, we would like to move your vaults down to the more secure, bottom sections that have a higher security charge and protection."
"Ok," Harry said in a blank voice, his eyes still staring over the goblin's left shoulder. Hermione was holding his hand and arm tightly, her eyes and face masked with concern and empathy. Harry could not or would not take this in. The mere fact the Albus Dumbledore had left him anything was causing his insides to squirm. Deep inside his heart, he still blamed himself for Dumbledore's death. Even after the vision earlier, and his headmaster's wise words, he still couldn't let go of the guilt and pain residing inside him.
But before he could ponder this further, something the goblin had said struck him as odd. "Hang on! Vaults? What do you mean by vaults?" he said hurriedly as the goblin looked up carefully.
"As in plural, Mr Potter. This is the vault with all your gold and financial wealth. In vault 688, right beside this one, are all your material possessions, such as property contracts, birth certificates, photographs, things like that." The goblin said, walking down the stone pathway towards the next vault. Hermione pulled his arm lightly, directing him to follow the soft glow of the lantern.
When the vault doors slid open, Harry stumbled backwards in awe. But he soon got over his surprise and took a few steps inside, as many candles in the chamber lit, illuminating the things piled up against the walls and in large crates on the floor. Books lined the walls in long bookcases, covers thick with dust and age. Odd objects sat in boxes; some were painfully familiar as they once sat on Albus Dumbledore's desk at Hogwarts.
Harry stepped into the centre of the room, his eyes wide and scanning the objects now his. He spotted portraits lying inside crates and made a beeline for them, thoughts jumbling through his mind. Picking up quite a large canvas, he gazed upon the motionless figures. And almost had a heart attack.
"Excuse me, sir?" Harry said nervously to the goblin not knowing its name. The goblin looked incredibly shocked to have been called 'sir', but stepped inside anyway, bowing slightly. "How did these get in here and where did they come from?" he said with a shaky voice.
After glancing at the portrait, the gobbling said, "They came from you family vault, Mr Potter. When you turned of age, you were allowed entrance to your complete family fortune, containing these portraits and other items. They were transferred here instead of being kept in another vault; to give you easier access."
Harry nodded in acknowledgment, holding the portrait before him with utter care. Upon the canvas, smiling up at him with sparkling hazel and green eyes, were his parents. They were both standing in front of another couple; the man had dark brown hair and hazel eyes, while the woman had black curls, framing an aged but delicate face. Harry looked into his mother's eyes, so much like his own, and felt the room drop away.
They looked so happy. Sitting together, holding hands, and gazing out of the canvas, with complete love for the person beside them. Harry noticed a certain likeness with the older people and his father, and gathered that they were his grandparents. The portrait looked old but was in perfect condition, and as he sat it down, he noticed more like it. He traced his fingers over their golden frames, feeling his eyes stinging with unwanted tears.
"Harry?" Hermione's voice brought him from his thoughts and he turned to see her watching him, a concerned look in her brown eyes. He smiled faintly, wiping away a tear that had been trickling from his eye.
"I'm fine," he said although it felt as though something was missing inside him. Something important. "We should probably go," he said as he continued to wander around the room. The goblin had taken post outside the vault in respect and Hermione had ventured over to the bookshelves and was scanning the titles with an open mouth.
Meanwhile, Harry had stumbled upon a box of property contracts and was viewing them in awe. Apparently, he had inherited a small flat in middle London, a few blocks from his previous apartment; a small cottage just outside Scotland which had once belonged to his mother; and a small estate in the outskirts of London, named –
"– Godric's Hollow!" Harry breathed, almost dropping the parchment in his excitement.
"What did you say, Harry?" Hermione called from the opposite end of the chamber. Her voice echoed around in the high rooved vault, reaching Harry's ears after it bounced from all four walls.
"Nothing!" He called back, unable to rip his eyes away from the piece of paper. A hand on his shoulder startled him so badly that he automatically reached for his wand, before seeing Hermione's eyes gazing curiously at him. "Sorry." He murmured, wondering how she crossed the room so quickly.
"What's that?" she asked softly, trying to see the contract over his shoulder. He passed it to her, and watched, as her eyes grew large and glistening.
"Oh, Harry! Isn't this –?"
"Yes. The place where I used to live. The place where my parents were killed," he said softly. The memory brought pain to his heart, and his mother's screams grew louder in his mind. Hermione's voice broke his miserable train of thought.
"But I thought it was destroyed?" she asked curiously, passing the parchment back to him.
"It must have been rebuilt, then." Harry said resignedly, placing the slip of paper back into the brown box. She smiled sympathetically. "We should get going before it gets too late. I can always come back another time." Harry took one last glance at all his belongings, before striding purposely across the room and out of the vault doors. Hermione followed him closely, both of them watching as the goblin locked the door behind them.
Harry's bag was heavy with gold by the time the cart rolled to a stop, and they followed the goblin back up into the foyer, towards a high, mahogany desk.
"I will get your new keys, Mr Potter, and I will need your signatures on this, this and this," the goblin said, passing him three sheets of parchment. Harry signed them quickly as the goblin pulled out a new key and waved over it with one, long fingered, hand. The golden key glowed white for a few seconds before settling back to normal. "There you go, Mr Potter. Your gold and possessions have been moved to vault numbers 67 and 68." Harry nodded and swapped his old key for the new one, placing it securely in his pocket.
"Thank you so much." Harry said as he and Hermione left a very bewildered goblin behind. The sunshine assaulted their eyes as they entered the street. Unfortunately, it was busier. Witches and wizards were mobbing outside stores, and lugging shopping backs along the cobbled paths. Children were playing in the dirt, laughing in joy. Harry groaned, bowing his head as they made their way down the steps and towards Flourish and Blotts.
They entered the crowded bookstore with a soft jingle, and split up; Harry heading to the Defence section while Hermione went straight to the Transfiguration isle. As he walked down the towering rows of books, Harry ran his fingers along the spines, reading the titles with interest. He pulled out a book called Dark Age Defence to New Age Security: All You Need to Know. He opened it and started scanning the pages, thinking about buying it, as it would be great to teach from.
By the time he and Hermione met up at the front desk, both their arms were loaded with books of all sizes. They dropped them onto the counter, heaving from such a large weight.
"I also picked one of these up for you, Harry." Hermione said, showing him a medium sized, leather bound book. "It's a class schedule, so you can write down all the times of your classes and what you're doing in them. I'm getting one as well." Harry grinned at her, shaking his head as he added the book to his large pile.
"Thanks, Hermione, trust you to be always prepared!" he laughed as she just smiled. Twenty-two Galleons lighter, they exited the store after shrinking their books and placing them in their pockets.
"Merlin I'm glad we can do magic." Harry exclaimed with a laugh. Hermione swatted his arm, pulling him towards the supplies store, to buy piles of blank parchment, quills and ink (red and black). Harry had just passed the witch behind the desk eight Galleons, three sickles, when he heard a multitude of chatter outside the store. He went to see what it was when Hermione appeared in front of him looking flushed.
"Don't go out there, Harry." She warned, wand in hand and hair sticking out of its tight bond.
"Why?" he asked curiously, trying to see past her through the window. It seemed that many witches had their faces pressed against the glass, trying to see something inside. "What's happening out there?" he asked again, as Hermione clamped her hands tightly around his shoulders. The door was buckling under the pressure of so many bodies pushed against it, and the store clerk had to place a Fastening Charm over it to stop everyone entering.
"Trust me; you don't want to go out there!" she said again, looking quite fearful. Harry was getting frustrated.
"Then tell me what's –" he didn't finish his sentence. Outside the window, right at the front of the milling crowd, was Rita Skeeter, with cameraman at her side. Around her were other reporters holding cameras. Flashes went off as he looked over at the window, causing him to go partially blind. Spots appeared in front of his eyes as he felt Hermione's hands tighten.
"Shi –"
"Do you have a back way out of here?" Hermione said, cutting Harry's swearing off.
The owner of the shop stuttered for several moments before he gulped and spoke. "Are you re-really Harry Potter?" she stammered clutching at the wooden desk. Both Hermione and Harry growled.
"Yes! Now, how do we get out of here?" Harry said turning his back on the screaming people outside to stare intently at the witch. She stared at him for over a minute, mouth open and moving soundlessly.
"Uhhh – that way!" she said, pointing to a door behind the counter.
"Thank you!" Hermione said, grabbing their things from the table and a handful of Harry's shirt. She pulled him across the store, with Harry glaring angrily to the people outside. They stumbled through the back door, entering a dark storeroom. They wandered around blindly for a few moments before a crash came from in the store just as Harry's hand found a doorknob. He yanked it open, gasping as a sheet of sunshine spilled onto him.
He and Hermione bolted into the grimy alley, hands full of quills and parchment. "Quick, Apparate to my apartment!" Hermione said as the reporters busted through the storeroom door. Camera flashes went off but not before Harry and Hermione disappeared with identical cracks. A multiple groan ran through the crowd.
…………------------…………------------…………
Harry appeared in the familiar setting of Hermione's old apartment. Everything was silent, apart from Hermione dumping her things on the table. The sun was shining through the window, lighting the pale carpet and floral couches. He placed his things beside Hermione's, shrinking them in the process. After stuffing them in his pockets with his miniaturized books, he went to work making them both a cup of tea. As his back was turned, he didn't see Hermione slip from the room and re-enter it with something in her arms.
"Happy belated birthday, Harry." She said. Harry turned and dropped the mug he was holding.
"Hedwig!" he yelled, running forwards and pausing in front of his beloved snowy owl. She looked older; her feathers were softer and spotted with grey, but her eyes looked the same. She went ballistic in her cage, and as soon as Hermione unlocked the door of her cage, she flew through. Harry laughed in delight as Hedwig flew around his head, hooting quickly. She settled on his arm as Harry brought her up to his neck. She nipped his chin, burrowing her head into the side of his head.
"Hi, girl! I never thought I'd see you again! How are you!" he said lovingly, stroking her back and wings softly.
"I was meant to give her to you for your birthday but I couldn't get away without you noticing. I'm sorry it took so long to give her back, but –" she was cut off by Harry laughing happily.
"This is the best birthday present anyone could ever give me!" he shouted. Ginny's present aside, the thought with a chuckle. "I thought she was dead! But it proves she's made of stronger stuff!" he exclaimed, sighing when he looked into his birds golden eyes. They were reunited. His first and forever friend back by his side.
"I thought you might like it." Hermione said with a smile, walking into the kitchen to repair the broken mug and finish the tea. They spent a few hours in Hermione's old apartment, waiting for Pru. But when one o'clock rolled around with still no sign of her, Hermione gave up.
"I'll just leave her a note, telling her I've picked up the rest of my stuff and I'll come by around Christmas," she said, scribbling down on a piece of paper and sticking it to the fridge. Harry nodded, happy thoughts gone. He remembered when he told Dave he would come back at Christmas, to see Sophie.
Oh, Sophie. He thought with heartache. The poor girl had lost her brother in the worst possible way, and the worst part was that Harry was part of that pain. If she ever knew why her brother died, it would tear her up inside. It still did to him. And it always would. Dave's death wouldn't stop Harry from visiting them at Christmas. They deserved to be remembered, not forgotten like so many others. It would be a hard day seeing them again, as it would remind him of his dead friend and the times gone.
He would not forget Dave. Or Dumbledore. Or the times they shared together and the memories they built.
Never.
…………------------…………------------…………
– Disclaimer –
I do not own Harry Potter and never will.
G'day peoples.
Heres the next chapter, sorry it took a while to update but I wrote it all today…sigh. There's probably a few spelling mistakes because I thought this chapter was pretty boring and I couldn't bring myself to re-read it. LOL. I think that happens to all my chapters, haha.
HEDWIG'S BACK!
Yay, I forgot about her until now, so I brought her back! I love Hedwig. I was going to say she had died but I couldn't bring myself to do that to her. Please tell me if I've already said she died and I'll go back and fix it up. I don't think I have, but who knows what I've written! LOL.
That Lionel Richie song at the start is so sad. I hate it but I love it. Every time I hear it, it makes me remember all the people that have died. It makes me want to cry! I thought I was appropriate for this chapter, with Harry remembering Dave, Dumbledore and Sirius. As well as his parents. Please review and all that and the next chapter will be Ginny's party and the chapter after that will be Harry and Hermione returning to Hogwarts! YES! That's when everything will start off, LOL. I can't wait!
Please review and all that, and thanks to everyone who has so far!
Later Days…
DW