Ron's return to school was met with mixed reactions. The Gryffindors welcomed their friend back into the fold, while Slytherin house was enraged that he got off on trying to kill one of their own. Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were largely indifferent, but still knew that it was best to stay out of the way. Snape had set up a private dining area, at Professor McGonagall's request, for Harry and those that he chooses to invite, in order to prevent a similar event from happening again. This led to Ron bragging about how he drove Harry out of the Great Hall. He had an accident and fell down the stairs later that day.
For a full month, Harry's group continued to excel, while Ron and Malfoy's grades sank lower and lower. By Christmas break, the top three students were Harry, Daphne, and Susan. The only person who did worse than Ron was Neville, who was steadily improving with Harry's coaching. Finally, on December twenty-third, the group boarded the Hogwarts express for Christmas break.
"Knight to D-three. Just two more days, Harry, and you'll never have to go to the Dursleys again. Are you excited?" Daphne asked as she took his pawn. Harry thought for a moment, "Yah I'm excited, that means that I'll be able to survive this summer. They'd kill me if I went back there. Bishop to D-three. Check." Harry said as he watched his piece bash the knight's head with its staff. "Susan, you're staying with us, right?" Daphne asked as she captured Harry's bishop with her rook. "Yah, Auntie's got work so she thought that it would be better. She dropping me off tonight, we're going into Diagon Alley to do some Christmas shopping." Susan said, looking up from her book on occlumency that Snape had given her. "What are you going to get me? You little cunt!" asked a snide voice from the entrance to the compartment.
Susan and Daphne had their wands drawn and pointed at the door before the last word was uttered, only to be met with the wands of Ron and Draco. Harry remained seated, as Ron kept talking, "didn't learn last time? Maybe this time you'll be arrested for assaulting the heir of an ancient house." As Draco started laughing, so did Harry. "I wouldn't recommend that you try it. You'll die this time." Draco stopped laughing and said, "You can't kill us, you don't have a wand, and these bitches don't have the guts." Harry turned his back to Malfoy and shattered the mirror with a punch, sending glass flying everywhere. "It was so tragic, when you came in and started harassing us; your wand misfired and broke the window. As we ducked for cover, we 'accidently' tripped you and sent you flying out the window." Seeing the shocked look on their face, Harry started to laugh, "That's the problem with you wizards, you think that magic can do anything, but muggles have been killing each other for just as long as wizards, without it. Now get lost, or I'll show you what spending a decade in an abusive muggle home will do." Harry said, his eyes deathly serious.
Ron and Malfoy ran screaming from the compartment. As Daphne fixed the window, the twins enter the compartment in a hurry, concerned looks on their faces, "What happened?! We saw Ron running out of here and thought that something might have happened." They said frantically, causing the trio to start laughing. After they'd explained what had happened, even Fred and George couldn't keep from laughing at their brother's expense. "Man, that was bloody brilliant, Harry. What are you lot doing this break? Ron and Percy are going with mom and dad to see Charlie, in Romania. Fred and I said that we were going to stay for the team."
Harry was slightly confused, "Then, why are you on the train?" Fred grinned, "We have some business in Diagon Alley. So we figured that we'd stay in the leaky cauldron and hang out. Mom never noticed that we stole some of the gold Dumbledore gave her." "We'll be there tomorrow, maybe we can meet up for lunch?" Harry responds cheerfully "Sounds good. We'll meet you at the Cauldron, now who wants to play exploding snap?" George says pulling out a deck of cards.
Three hours later, as they left the train, Daphne was attacked by a younger, blonde-haired version of herself that Harry could only assume was her sister. Behind her, he recognized Mr. and Mrs. Greengrass from the old picture of them and his parents, and Madam Bones. Walking up to Mr. Greengrass, Harry introduces himself, "It's nice to finally meet you, Mr. Greengrass, I'm Harry Potter." "Please, call me Cyrus. Mr. Greengrass is far too formal. You look just like your father." Cyrus said, shaking Harry's hand. "He has his mother's eyes, and her personality as well. Hello Harry. Please, call me Morgan. And this is our other daughter, Astoria." Morgan says, shaking Harry's hand after her husband.
Tori turned towards him, "Don't call me Astoria, its Tori, Ok? " Harry winced at her tone, "Okay, Cyrus, Morgan, Tori, thank you for having me this holiday. It would have been hell to go back to the Dursleys." Cyrus smiled, "No trouble, after what you've been through, Lily would kill the both of us if we didn't help." James would've made it even worse. Remember what happened to Avery after he insulted Sirius in our seventh year?" Morgan added. That last comment made both Cyrus and Morgan shiver. Amelia interjected, "Before you traumatize the children by recounting that tale, we should be going. I'll drop Susan off around six. Harry, I'll see you in a couple of days." Susan took her arm and turned to Harry, "I'll see you later." Amelia turned and both of them disappeared.
Cyrus turned to the group in front of him, "Right, we'd better get going too. We're stopping by Diagon Alley first. You two,-" indicating Harry and Daphne," still need to do Christmas shopping, and Severus said that Harry needs a new wand. Harry, have you ever used Floo Powder?" Harry shakes his head "Then you and Daphne will go first. We'll meet you there." Before Harry could respond, Daphne had thrown some powder into the fire and dragged Harry in, before saying, "The Leaky Cauldron!" Immediately, Harry started spinning, and he could still feel Daphne's hand on his arm. Just as he could feel the hand start slipping, Harry felt his feet reach solid ground, and promptly fell flat on his face.
Looking up next to him, Harry saw that Daphne was still standing, offering her hand to help him up. As he grabbed it and pulled himself up, he saw Cyrus and Morgan spin into view behind her. "Don't worry, Harry. It takes some getting used to." Daphne said smiling. "See, even if you live in the wizarding world your whole life it still takes some practice." She continued just as Tori spun into view, and like Harry fell to the floor taking her mother's hand and pulling herself up. Cyrus called them together, "Alright, girls go with your mom and take care of your shopping; I'll take Harry to get his wand and do his shopping. We'll meet back here at 5 o'clock. Is that alright with you?" Morgan nods and takes the girls.
Harry and Cyrus walked into the alley. "I need to go to Gringotts, I haven't got any money." Harry said to Cyrus as they approached the bank. "Don't worry about that. We'll be coming back over the break to go there. I'll take care of the costs." Before Harry could protest, Cyrus cut him off, "Don't bother trying to argue. This is nothing compared to what we owe your parents. Our first stop is Ollivander's. No wizard should go around without a wand."
As they approached the wandmaker's shop, Cyrus asked, "Do you have the pieces of your last wand?" Harry grabbed his bag and pulled out the pieces of the phoenix wand. "Good, give them to Mr. Ollivander, he should be able to give you wand that won't break again." As they entered the shop, Mr. Ollivander came out from behind the desk, "Mr. Potter, I never thought that I would be seeing you again this soon. Less than one year and you need a new wand? Or is this for you Lord Greengrass?" Cyrus smiled, "No, my wand is in perfect condition. Harry had an incident earlier this year, where his magic overloaded this wand and destroyed it."
Mr. Ollivander's eyes grew wide, "Destroying a phoenix and holly wand with a magical backlash? I have never seen that in all my years. You have the pieces I trust?" Harry handed over the pieces and Mr. Ollivander looked over it, and his expression grew grave. "This wand was among the strongest that I've made. If your magic was strong enough to do this kind of damage to this wand, I only have a handful of wands that might work. I will be back in a minute." As he walked out of the store front, Harry began thinking of what Ollivander told him. That wand had felt weird whenever he used it, but if the wand was so strong, why was he so much better without it?
Just as he began to think, Ollivander returned, with a young man about Harry's age with brown hair and green eyes. He was carrying about half a dozen wand boxes, while Mr. Ollivander was carrying four more. Putting them down and taking the first one, he turned to Harry and said, "Mr. Potter, this is my apprentice, William Sicarius. I thought that this might be a good learning experience for him. Now try this wand, Cypress and unicorn tail hair, ten and a quarter inch, unyielding. Harry took the wand and as soon as he did it started to smoke. Ollivander took the wand and put it back in the box. "Clearly not the right one, try Cherry and dragon heartstring, eleven inch, rigid and strong.
Harry took it, but before he could wave it, the temperature in the dropped and it was taken again. For the next ten minutes, Harry tried all of the wands that Ollivander reached out, but none worked. "I have never seen so many wands fail without any indication that it was any closer than the last. I might need to make a custom wand for the first time in decades." Rather than sounding disappointed, the sounded excited. William choose that moment to speak up, "sir, which is your wand hand?" he asked Harry. Harry was a little surprised by the question, but answered nonetheless, "Right. Why?" William turned to Mr. Ollivander, "Sir, I have an idea, I'll be right back." And he ran out of the room.
Cyrus turned to address Ollivander, "Any idea what that was about?" Ollivander smiled, "Not in the slightest! He reminds me of myself almost a hundred years ago." At that moment William ran back into the room with a wand box. "Mr. Ollivander, Earlier this year, you told me that the final test of an apprentice wand maker is to craft a wand and have it find its owner. I have spent the last two months working on this wand and I think it might work. Please, sir let me try it." Ollivander stopped smiling for a minute then held out his hand. William hand him a wand about as long as his previous wand, Gold in color, with a black handle.
Mr. Ollivander took it and spent five minutes examining it, "Pear wood, eleven inches, but the core isn't one of mine. Griffin feather, I think?" "Yes sir, a maker chooses his own cores. That was something else you taught me." After another five minutes of looking at the wand, he handed the wand to Harry, and said, "This wand is every bit the wand that I could have made. Let's see if my apprentice is ready to graduate." Harry took the wand and the feeling was unlike anything that he'd ever felt. He could feel his magic surrounding him, creating a pale golden glow, much to the astonishment of everyone in the room. Cyrus was the first to regain the ability to speak. "I think that you found your wand, Harry."
Mr. Ollivander looked from Harry to William and back, smiled and said, "Fantastic, I never would have thought that you would have found your match in my apprentice's first wand. And William, I am incredibly proud of you. Well done, my son." Cyrus looked back at Ollivander, "I didn't know that you had a son." Mr. Ollivander turned and explained, "The Ollivander's family isn't like most other houses. Each head of the family adopts one son who is chosen to be his heir. They don't change their last name until they claim the head of the family."
Cyrus turned to William, "How much do I owe you for the wand?" William thought for a minute, and then answered, "It's free. I never gave any thought to how much I would charge for it. I'm just glad that we were able to find a wand that worked for you." Cyrus looked impressed, than took twenty-five galleons out of his money pouch and hand them to William, and said, "Then consider that a tip, for making such a splendid wand. William, are you attending Hogwarts?" William takes the galleons and answers, "no sir, I start next year, along with my twin sister."
Harry decided to test out his new wand and said, "Tempus!" emerald green light extended out of the tip before showing that the time was three o'clock. Harry was startled that they'd been there for two hours. "Cyrus, we should probably go, we only have two hour left until we have to meet the others. Cyrus checked his watch and then said, "I'm sorry, we'll have to talk later, we have to go and do some shopping before the wife tracks me down and kills me."
After two hours of hectic shopping, they met up with the girls each carrying a bag that had been enchanted so that the contents are not visible without the owner breaking the charm. Harry thought that he'd done pretty well with his shopping. Daphne had told him that her mom collects old pocket watches, so Harry found a pair of silver pocket watches whose faces also acts as a two-way mirror. He gave one to Morgan and the other to Daphne. He got Cyrus a pair of Basilisk hide gloves and boots. Tori is a skilled Quidditch player, so Harry and Cyrus decided to jointly get her a Nimbus two-thousand. He got Susan a complete set of beginner level books on a number of branches of magic not taught at Hogwarts.
After meeting up with everyone, they left for the Greengrass house. Harry again went first with Daphne, and again fell flat on his face. Harry got up just as the rest of the family arrived. Harry brought his trunk up to a guest room that was pointed out to him, and when he went down stairs, he saw that Susan had arrived. She was busy talking with Daphne and Tori. He approached them, wondering what they were talking about. They stopped talking when he got close enough to hear them, and Susan smiled at harry. "Hi Harry, how did your wand shopping go?" Harry pulled out his wand and showed it to her. "I took about an hour, but I got one. Turns out that it was made by Mr. Ollivander's apprentice. Pear and griffin feather, it seems way stronger than my last wand." Cyrus smiled at Susan and said, "He almost destroyed most of the wands he tried. We weren't sure that we'd find one. He almost had to get a –"He was cut off by one of the family house elves, who came in and bowed, "Master, dinner is being served in the dining hall, please follow me."
The food at dinner was among the best that Harry had ever tasted. Even the feasts that Hogwarts weren't as good. Everyone ate and talked and for the first time, Harry thought that he knew what it was like to have a family. After dinner, Harry started to practice the spells that he'd learned in class. He wasn't supposed to use magic outside of school, but no one was going to report it. Harry found that with his new wand, even the simplest spells were more powerful then when he had his first wand. He almost destroyed a wall trying to teach Daphne and Susan the blasting curse. Looking over his potion ingredients, Harry made a mental note to stock up and get some ingredients for more advanced potion that Snape wanted him to work on.
The next morning, after breakfast, Cyrus turned to harry and said, "Harry, we need to go to Gringotts." Daphne was just as surprised as harry was. "What for, dad?" she asked, trying to remain calm. Cyrus turned to his daughter, "Right now, we're playing right into Dumbledore's hands. We need to take some steps to make sure that everything is safe. That's why we need to go to Gringotts. You need to officially become Heir Potter. If you do, all of Dumbledore's control will be lost." Harry nodded, but slowly became angry, "He ignored my parent's will? Why the hell would he do that?!" Cyrus looked him in the eye and said, "There must have been something in it that he didn't want to get out. I was one of the witnesses but I can't seem to remember what was in..." Cyrus than proceeded to face palm, "He used a memory charm, most likely on every one that knew what was in the will. That's all the more reason that we have to go to Gringotts. Dumbledore doesn't want us to know something, which is all the more reason for us to know it." Harry nodded, "When do we leave?" Cyrus smiled, "Five minutes. Make sure that you bring your wand."
Harry waited in the foyer, and Cyrus came after a minute. Seeing the fireplace, harry grew sick, "Please tell me we're not going by floo powder." Cyrus laughed, "No, don't worry; we'll be going by apparition." Seeing Harry's confusion, he explained, "Apparition is similar to the muggle idea of teleportation. It's much quicker and easier than using floo powder. Just grab my arm and we'll be going." Harry stepped forward and garbs his arm. Cyrus twisted and harry felt like he was being compressed from all sides, unable to breath. He was about to pass out when his feet hit the ground, causing him to stumble. "Very good, Harry. Tori fainted after her first time apparating." After giving Harry a minute to catch his breath, they walked through the golden doors of Gringotts.
They waited in line for about fifteen minutes. When they got to the front of the line, Cyrus said, "I am Lord Cyrus Greengrass, escorting heir Harry Potter. We have some business with the Potter account manager. Lord Gornuk, I believe was his name?" The goblin looked from Cyrus to Harry, then stepped down from his podium, bowed and politely answered, "Milord, this is an unexpected visit, if you would be so kind as to wait here, I will inform Lord Gornuk of your request for a meeting." Cyrus nodded, "Very well, I would appreciate it if you keep our arrival a secret. The fewer who know that Heir Potter is here the better." The goblin bowed again, "Very well, none save Gornuk will hear of your business from me."
After the goblin left Cyrus pulled Harry aside, and whispered, "For now, let me handle talking with your account manager. Only answer a question asked directly to you, with as little information as possible. Goblin ways are very different from ours; it would not be a good idea to offend a goblin, least of all a goblin that has control of all of your money and property. Answer his question respectfully and we should be fine." The goblin from the podium returned with an elderly goblin behind him. Cyrus and Harry walked up to them and bowed, "Lord Gornuk, thank you for meeting us on such short notice." The goblin returned the bow, "No trouble at all. I assume that you want a meeting in a private room?" "Yes that would be appreciated. The business we have to discuss is rather sensitive." Cyrus said politely.
They followed Gornuk to a small room, with runes of secrecy around the door. Gornuk sat down behind the desk and Cyrus and Harry, sat across from him. "This room can only be opened from the inside as long as someone is in here, and no enchantments can penetrate the runes that surrounding the door. As long as no one in the room discloses the information, nothing said here will leave this room. Now, what might be the reason for your visit?" Cyrus cleared his throat and began, "I would like to take a look at the Potter will. I was one of the witnesses and I know that they did not leave harry in the custody of his aunt and uncle, both known haters of anything magical. However, Dumbledore not only left harry there but also turned a blind eye to the abuse and torment that he has endured for the last decade. Harry is entitled to make his own choices if his parents' wishes were not followed." Gornuk walked over to the door, opened it and spoke in rapid gobbledegook. A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door, Gornuk opened it, took a folder, and returned to his seat. "Lord Greengrass, I have here a copy of the potter will. As you can see it clearly list Vernon and Petunia Dursley as Heir Potter's legal guardians."
Cyrus took the will and looked it over before he threw it down, "These signatures are all forgeries. I know all the people listed here and none of these signatures match. Compare my signature to the one on fill here at Gringotts." Gornuk was dumbfounded, how could someone have forged the potter will? He went to the door and demanded the files of all of the witnesses to the signing of the will. When the files arrived and he compared the signatures, he found that Lord Greengrass was right; they were all forged. "Lord Greengrass, you are absolutely correct. This will has been forged. If you were an original witness, would you be able to give up your memory of that event to have a proper will for reference?" "I'm afraid not. I believe that Dumbledore has altered the memories of myself and most likely every witness. James potter was very cautious; it is possible that he left a duplicate will in his vault. Would it be possible for Harry to the main potter vault?" Cyrus asked.
Gornuk thought for a moment before responding, "It would usually be forbidden for anyone but Lord Potter to enter the vault, but given the evidence that you have uncovered, I will make an exception. However, only Harry Potter and I are allowed in the vault. You will have to stay here. Is that agreeable?" Cyrus quickly responded, "Of course, I hope that we will be able find something that will help." Harry and Gornuk left the room and proceeded to the mine carts in the back of the mines. "These carts, unlike the ones accessible from the front, are all incredibly well protected, Most are filled almost entirely with gold, while others, like yours, are filled with priceless family heirlooms. Only the most ancient of families have vaults in this part of the bank. The potter family vault is number thirteen, meaning that your ancestors were the thirteenth family to open a Gringotts bank account." After about ten minutes of hairpin turns at the speed of sound, they arrived at vault number thirteen.
Gornuk stood in front of the door, and place both hands on the door. Then he said, "Place your right hand in that groove, then tap the door with the tip of your wand. You'll feel a slight prick. After that, you will be able to enter without any delay in the future." Harry did as he was told, and at the moment his wand touched the door, it felt as if someone had stuck a syringe into his thumb. A minute later, it was gone and his wand glowed silver for a moment before returning to normal. The door opened a moment later.
Inside was a massive room, at least the size of the great hall, suits of armor and jeweled swords lined the walls. Staffs and wands were found in a rack at the back of the room. Each of the wands had a name carved next to it. The last wand was the one that caught Harry's eye. James Charles Potter. Under the wand was a small vial filled with a silvery substance. "Lord Gornuk, what is this?" Harry asked, indicating the vial. Gornuk, walked over and looked at it, "That is a memory, most likely one of your father's. The potter family tradition was that each head of the house would leave a memory for the next. There should be a Pensieve in this room. I believe that it would be in your best interest to see that memory." Gornuk described the Pensieve and they split up to try and find it. As he tried to make his way through the large piles of books, jewels, and Paintings, Harry found it. In the center of the room was a shallow, silver and gold basin, inscribed with runes. "Lord Gornuk, I think that I found it." Gornuk showed up a moment later, carrying a small box, "Good, that is the pensieve. I will wait for you to finish the memory. Lord Potter left that memory for you, not me." Harry poured the memory into the Pensieve, and placed his face against the surface.
As the blackness surrounded him, a picture slowly came into view. Harry was In a Gringotts mine cart. Alongside a man that could only be his father, and a young woman with eyes just like Harry's, with an ivory necklace, engraved with a phoenix. The cart stopped in front of vault six-hundred and eighty-seven. His mom walked into the vault and went to the very back of the vault. "Are you sure about this, Lily?" James asked, taking out a piece of parchment that had been rolled up. "Are you sure that Dumbledore would hurt Harry?" Lily turned to her husband and said sadly, "I wish that it wasn't but I believe that if anything happens to us, Dumbledore will have his own plans for Harry. We need to leave this, so harry will be able to choose his own path." She walked to the back of the vault and found a small groove with something engraved into it. "Alohomora" Lily said pointing her wand at the groove. The brick glowed, and then slid open to reveal a small compartment behind it. James places the rolled up parchment into the compartment, and seals it again. "I hope that Harry doesn't need to use it." James said as the memory faded. Harry began crying, wishing that they could have been there, that they hadn't died. After a few minutes, he remembered what Snape had taught him, and left the pensieve.
"Lord Gornuk, I think I know where my parents will is." Harry said trying to avoid crying again. Gornuk, knew that harry had been crying, but also knew that it is hard for an orphan to see a memory of their parents, so he pretended not to notice. "Where is it?" Harry took a deep breath and answered, "In my trust vault. Inside of a secret compartment in the back wall." Gornuk was surprised, never before have humans managed to alter a Gringotts vault without goblins knowing. "Very well, is there anything in here that you would like to take with you? It might be a while before you will be allowed back in." Gornuk asked. Harry looked around and saw the same necklace that his mother had been wearing in the memory and quickly grabbed it. "I'm ready to go." Harry said, putting on the necklace, making a mental note to return when he can and find something of his father's as well.
On the way to his trust vault, Harry stopped by the room and got Cyrus, filling him in on what had happened. Together, the three of them made their way to Vault Six-Hundred and Eighty-Seven. After Gornuk opened the vault, harry went to the back of the vault, and found the groove behind a pile of galleons. Harry pointed his wand at the groove and said "Alohomora" the compartment swung open, revealing the rolled parchment and a memory as well. Taking them, Harry handed the Parchment to Gornuk and kept a hold of the memory. Harry followed Gornuk back to the room. Unrolling the Parchment, Gornuk compared all of the signatures and all of them matched. Convinced that this was the real will, he sent for the head goblin of the inheritance department, a pensieve, and the forms for Harry to be named the heir before his thirteenth birthday. The pensieve arrived first, and harry poured the memory in. At the last second before he entered the memory he stopped. "Cyrus, could you go in instead? I don't know if I can handle seeing them twice in one day." Cyrus put a hand on Harry's shoulder and entered the memory. A few minutes later, he came out, literally shaking with rage. "I need to take this memory back, Lord Gornuk; I would like to give this to Madam Bones." Gornuk, while not sure what the reason was, removed the memory and returned it to Cyrus. There was a knock on the door and Gornuk opened it, revealing a younger goblin with a small stack of Parchment.
He entered the room and pulled up a chair next to Gornuk. "I am Bladvak, and I am the head of the department of magical inheritance. I understand that you have a problem that I can assist you with?" Gornuk introduces them before explaining, "Earlier today, Lord Greengrass came to me with a suspicion that the Potter will was forged. I examined the signatures and compared them to sample taken by the bank and confirmed that they were forged. Following my discovery of this, Heir Potter and I went to the main Potter Vault. We found a memory of the late Lord Potter that told the location of the true will. I have confirmed from the signatures and that memory that this is the true will."
Bladvak paused, and then responds, "Our laws are quite clear. Heir Potter has the right to legal become heir potter, and can be emancipated at age fifteen. Furthermore, anything given by the fake will can be reclaimed with interest by the bank. Sign these forms to become heirs of Potter, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin and Peverell When you reach the age of fifteen you will be able to perform a blood test to discover any additional families you may have." Harry signs the paperwork, and hands it back to Bladvak. After looking over the forms he hands Harry three more papers. "This form gives us permission to look over your financial information, and the other two give us permission to retrieve illegal funds from Albus Dumbledore and Molly Prewett. The total amount stolen was two hundred and fifty five million galleons over a period of ten years." That last comment enraged everyone in the room. "How the hell could they have not been noticed before now?" Cyrus asked as calmly as possible. Bladvak looked over the information that he had, "Albus Dumbledore was named your magical guardian in the fake will. This means that he had control over your accounts. According to the will, Your Parents owed Molly Prewett a life debt, to be paid by one million gallons a month until you reach the age of seventeen. Both were considered legal under the previous will. Now however, the funds will be retrieved, with ten percent interest."
Harry signed the papers and said, "You have both helped me more than I can say. Please split the interest evenly between the two of you." Both of the goblins were floored by what harry had just said. Goblins never received that kind of generosity. Gornuk was the first to regain the use of his voice. "Thank you, Heir Potter, for your kindness. While we were in the vault earlier I brought this for you." He says handing him the box he brought from the vault. Opening it, Harry saw an amazing gold ring, with a black coat of arms and a silver Phoenix at the center. "That is the Potter Heir's ring. When you become an adult, you can trade it for the Lord's ring still in the vault." Harry put the ring on and smiled, "Thank you Lord Gornuk." Cyrus rose from his seat, "Thank you for all of your help. We must be going." Gornuk rose and bowed, "May gold ever fill your vault." Bladvak bowed to harry, "I apologize for not catching the mistake made by my subordinate. He will be disciplined, I promise you that." Harry nodded, "Thank you, for everything."
Harry and Cyrus left the bank and headed to the leaky cauldron for some lunch before going back to the house. Cyrus looked at harry and said, "You made some good allies today. Most wizards would never be so generous to goblins. That, and the respect that you showed them, will make you as famous among goblins as you are among wizards." Before harry could respond, he felt something grab his shoulder.
Turning around he saw the twins, grinning at him, "Hi, Harry, How's it going?" Harry turned a smiled, "pretty good, did you guys take care of the business that you need?" George nodded, "yah, we needed a couple of rare ingredients from Knockturn Alley. The pranks that we'll be using next semester will be legendary, the second coming of the marauders!" "Marauders?" both Harry and Cyrus said, slightly confused. Fred answered, "They were a group of prankster about twenty years ago. They pulled off some pranks that we never even dream were possible." "Oh." Harry replied, while Cyrus looked at the twins, "How did you hear about the Marauders? There shouldn't have been record of them unless… you found the map?" George looked scared, "How did you know about that?" Cyrus smiled, "I'll take that as a 'yes'. I went to school with the original Marauders, so I know all about what they are capable of. They left that map behind just so that prankster would benefit in the future."
Fred and George couldn't suppress the grins on their faces. They spent the next twenty-five minutes asking ever question they could think of. Rather than answering, Cyrus invited the twins to his Christmas party, where they might be able to meet one of them, and stay for the rest of break. The twins had a race to check out.
