Embracing His True Self

Chapter 17

Harry swiftly made his way to the second compartment within the Hogwarts express and closed the doors, magically locking them in Parseltongue so nobody could get in. Not many people were there yet; people were literally just starting to either come though the platform or Apparate with their families onto the magical platform without enduring the bustle of Kings cross - and more than likely the Muggles. He leant his trunk against the wall beside the window, and put the blind down a little, but not too much as he observed everyone. He just didn't want anyone to be able to see him, the anticipation was rising, and he was looking forward to this more than he probably should. He soon got bored of the sight of families dropping of their kids and so sat himself down comfortably and brought out his Ancient Runes book (which he had bought actually via owl order after his visit to Gringotts, it had gone to Severus' home since nothing came to the manor, Voldemort had summoned all the books back to him even the ones he'd tried to take to Hogwarts with him much to his irritation and Voldemort's amusement) flipping the book to chapter three, his Lordship ring gleaming brightly, reminding him that he was safe from any outside tampering anyone might try. His trip to Gringotts had been…revealing to say the least.

-0 Flashback 0-

Harry groaned inaudibly as he was Apparated by Severus to the very steps of Gringotts, their intended destination. He absolutely loathed nearly all means of travel by magical means. His only exception was flying and travelling by House-elf, Portkey, Floo and Apparation were just down right awful. Although it was more side-long Apparation that bothered him, Apparating on his own was less jarring but still unpleasant. "I have a feeling I won't like what happens in here," Harry stated, staring at the building, a sense of foreboding washing over him, he no longer ignored his gut instincts they never steered him wrong in the past.

Severus just arched an eyebrow briefly in his direction, which looked very odd in the look he currently supported before he began wandering up the steps and into Gringotts, his usual stalk nowhere to be seen. Harry could honestly say there was nothing that could pinpoint this man as Severus Snape; he was obviously very good at what he did.

Harry followed him, since he wasn't walking fast; he had no trouble catching up to his Potions professor whatsoever. He had been quickly briefed on how to speak and interact with the goblins by Barty and Voldemort as well as Severus obviously. It was advice he was definitely going to take, so without more ado he approached the goblin at an empty teller and waited until he had his attention. Before the goblin could speak Harry spoke firmly and quietly, he didn't want anyone to know he was here after all. "Griphook, I wish to have a meeting with the goblin in charge of the Potter accounts immediately, it's of the utmost importance." the surprised look on the goblins face disappeared in the blink of an eye before he nodded curtly. Then he disappeared from view, jumping from his seat or stool, whichever was behind there.

"Follow me," Griphook called to them, without revealing who it was that he was speaking to, judging by the boy's quiet demeanour and the quite strong glamour he had on, he wanted his business dealt with as secretly as possible. The wizard would one day be Lord Potter, so he would give him the appropriate respect due to him. The two had a quiet conversation before both moved towards him, the elder looked quite stunned, for reasons unknown to him, he did not know of human affairs, he had no desire to unless it dealt with the bank itself.

Griphook led them through three corridors turning left and right before he got to the appropriate office, he gave a firm knock before entering, speaking to his fellow goblin in his own tongue, regarding his current appointment.

"Lead them in," Coop said, giving Griphook a nod of thanks, quite stunned that the heir had finally shown his face, he certainly hadn't expected him to since he'd never shown an interest before, the only time he'd expected him was years from now, when he was seventeen and took over the vaults from his current guardian whom he seemed very happy with otherwise he wouldn't still be the executor of the estate.

"You may enter," Griphook informed them both waiting until they had indeed entered the office before he closed it behind him and began to walk towards the main entrance; he had a job to do after all. He had worked hard to get off the gruelling long hours of boredom that came with leading weak stomached wizards to their vault. The amount of times he'd had to wipe away sick was more times than he cared to remember.

"Mister Potter, Master Snape," Coop said, giving Severus a nod of respect, and surprisingly it was genuine, Goblins needed potions too, and while they brewed their own, they were based on wizards recipes, and many goblins respected their initiative and intuition when it came to potions. Potions Master Severus Snape had created more than his fair share, in fact he had been approached by the head of the goblin nation twice to invent potions for them, paid handsomely for his time, but potions never saw outside of the goblin nation. "How can Gringotts help you today, Mr. Potter?" Coop said getting back to the matter at hand; he had been informed it was important after all.

"To claim my rights as Lord Potter," Harry informed him curtly, he knew Goblins considered their time valuable and couldn't stand idle chit chat or someone wasting their time.

"You can claim the heir title but not Lord, not until you turn seventeen years old or get permission to be emancipated," Coop explained, slightly annoyed, the boy should already know these things.

"I am emancipated," Harry informed him coolly, glancing briefly at Severus, who nodded once subtly, letting him know he was doing well.

"Impossible, we would have been informed," Coop said sitting up straighter, clicking his fingers he brought forth an extremely large folder that pertained all information regarding the Potter accounts including Harry's status, self updating so they didn't have to rely on the likes of the ministry of magic. "The Ministry of magic is obligated to inform us," despite the fact they would already know.

Then he saw it, his status was emancipated, he was legally an adult in the eyes of the magical world he had been for nearly a year. A deeper annoyance slashed over him, the Ministry of magic was becoming even more incompetent it seemed.

"Mr. Potter did not receive his emancipation from the Ministry of magic, it was done via extremely old magic," Severus said smoothly, cluing the goblin in on what was happening.

"You did a ritual?" Coop asked, speaking directly to Harry, such a thing hadn't been done for centuries.

"No, I was an unwilling participant in the Triwizard tournament, my name was put in against my will but I was nonetheless forced to compete due to the magically binding contract that made me an adult and legally emancipated." Harry explained, and despite everything he was glad for it.

"I see, and how did you fair against more experienced wizards?" Coop asked, actually really curious.

Harry blinked, obviously the goblins didn't bother reading the Daily Prophet then, "Myself and Cedric Diggory took the cup together for a Hogwarts victory after I saved him from being wrapped in vines." he said curtly, and they no doubt knew about Diggory's death so they could make of it what they will. He wasn't about to show his true self to the goblins, not even if they never took sides during war. He certainly wasn't going to play a clueless bumbling idiot so this was what he had chosen on. A combination of impassive and curt.

Coop nodded and didn't show it but he was somewhat surprised that the boy had at the age of fourteen managed to beat out seventeen year olds in an old tournament like the Triwizard tournament of all things. Goblins didn't take much interest in wizards but Harry Potter had gained their interest the night he'd been proclaimed the Boy-Who-Lived humans and their silly monikers.

"My Lordship?" Harry questioned impatiently, he didn't want to be out too long and he wanted to get a bit of shopping done while he was here.

"Of course," Coop said, with that he filled in one of the forms in the Potter estate folder and handed it over, it would allow the boy to official claim his Lordship status; it was a very simple process. Another click of his fingers, he had a box and a roll of wax, he opened the box and held out the Potter Lordship ring, which the boy took immediately.

Harry gave the contract a once over, it was very blunt and to the point, so without more ado he quickly signed it, grabbing the wax he used Wandless magic to melt it onto the parchment and pressed his seal into it, officiating it in a way even his signature could not. Wiping away the residue he placed the ring on his finger, it magically resized to fit him perfectly, the magic tingled and Harry would bet it was the spell that prevented the ring from being removed forcefully or otherwise by anyone other than himself.

"Congratulations, Lord Potter," Coop said as he slid the parchment back into place. "What will be your first order of business?"

Severus leaned over and whispered into Harry's ear, "Enquire about your parents will," he had a suspicion on that.

"Why?" Harry asked glancing at Severus in confusion. It was probably already read at this point, probably a week after his parent's death, the norm for will readings, usually after the burial.

Severus merely gave Harry a stern nod, to do as he asked without question, and he would explain much later and away from prying eyes.

"I wish to see a copy of my parents will," Harry demanded turning back to the goblin.

Coop nodded and began to flip through the contents, his brow furrowing further and further the more he went back. Then he got to it, the goblin cleared his throat nervously, "It seems your parents wills were not read, as per you magical guardian's instructions that the will be read upon your claiming of your Lordship when you turned seventeen."

"Excuse me? Magical guardian?" Harry asked frostily, "And just who is my so called Magical guardian?" his green eyes were glittering dangerous as he eyed the goblin in immolation.

Severus cringed just slightly, Harry's magic was creeping out, and quite frankly it felt very similar to the Dark Lord's when he was close to cursing anything in sight. He had an inkling of who it was before the goblin opened his mouth to speak.

"Albus Dumbledore," Coop said, his beady eyes watching the wizard with just a hint of nervousness showing through.

"And how can anyone withhold a will? Isn't that against the law?" Harry asked through gritted teeth.

"He has power of attorney, which means what he has done is perfectly within legal within the eyes of the law," Coop explained.

"Power of attorney has now fallen to me is that not correct?" Harry asked, his tone calm, but his eyes and powers held another story.

"As Lord of the Potter estate now, yes," Coop answered him promptly as possible.

"Then I would like to see my parents will, now." Harry stated, hand held out in expectation, Dumbledore didn't do things for the sake of it, there was always a reason behind his actions and he wanted to know what those were. Although he couldn't for the life of him figure out what it could be, if there was proof of his godfathers innocence in there though…Dumbledore wouldn't know what hit him. He largely suspected that was what it was.

The goblin swiftly brought out the still sealed wills, and handed them over.

Harry quickly unsealed the wax seal and unveiled the will, his green eyes roaming down the missive, becoming increasingly darker the further he read into it. Without pause he opened the second one, which was his mothers, and the one that was legally binding, due to the fact that his mother had been the one to die later.

Severus didn't even try to read the missives, he was being trusted enough to be here as it was, although he couldn't deny he was curious, he too had come to the conclusion there must have been something contained within to make Dumbledore leery enough against having the will closed. To have it closed meant he also knew the details of the will in the first place, something that would go against him. Obviously not too concerning otherwise he would have found a way to have the wills destroyed completely. He was under no illusion that Dumbledore was capable of it, although perhaps he was waiting, Dumbledore probably thought he had an additional three years to deal with it.

Harry sighed, rubbing his forehead, instead of feeling angry he just felt numb now, he understood why the wills had been closed, and Dumbledore's signature along with Alice and Frank Longbottom stood mocking him. He wanted to scream and rage, but right now he just felt detached, as if he was merely an observer of what was happening.

"Harry?" Severus called to Harry, his tone quiet and soothing, quite frankly he did not want any of Harry's anger to latch onto him.

"Where are the contents that are supposed to be handed out during the will?" Harry asked his tone blank.

"They are secured in a vault to be dispersed during the reading of the will," Coop explained, even more on edge.

"I want you to retrieve them now," Harry stated his voice still emotionless.

Coop quickly vacated the room, realizing that the young lord wished to speak to his companion alone. Normally he would have protested at being asked to leave his office, it was his after all, but he didn't, he was rather glad to be getting out of that stifling room. Part of him wondered if the other goblins could sense the magic emanating from the teen too.

"Harry?" Severus questioned, not sure whether Harry was even in the mood to talk. Harry trusted him, yes, a little, but not one hundred percent, not quite yet. "Do you wish to talk about it?" giving him the opportunity but not pressing him. Pressing him would result in Harry getting even tighter lipped.

"You say you and my mother fell out when you were fifteen and didn't become friends right?" Harry asked, calmly.

"That is correct," Severus replied, frowning, trying to get to the underlying reason for the question but failing spectacularly.

"Apparently she trusted you enough with my life," Harry replied blandly.

Severus inhaled sharply, going marginally paler than normal, finally understanding Harry's pervious question and wishing he didn't.

"She knew how much danger the Longbottoms, Sirius and Remus were in and feared they wouldn't survive, she listed you to be my sole magical guardian if the Longbottoms or Sirius were gone. Naming you honorary godfather, apparently she would have picked you if it had been solely up to her." not the actions of someone who didn't care. The Longbottoms were in as much danger as his mother and father due to the fact Neville was the other 'prophecy child' and Sirius was out there playing decoy for naught, since his parents had trusted a rat, literally. He hadn't had a clue that the Longbottoms were his godparents, another thing kept from him; honestly he wasn't sure if he could be surprised by anything anymore.

Severus clenched his fists, his teeth gritting painfully furious beyond belief himself now.

"I have the requested items here, do you wish to go ahead and have the reading of the will, Lord Potter?" Coop asked, as he walked back around his desk and gratefully sat down; he'd run there and back as quickly as his legs could carry him. Thankfully it was in the one vault they were allowed into since it was information pertaining to the will.

"I'm not sure there's any point," Harry sighed, "Most people listed on the will are…permanently incapacitated or dead," there was only Remus, Sirius, Severus and himself left the Longbottoms were suffering a fate worse than death. People had always said his parents were popular…well according to their will it didn't seem that way at all. Dumbledore wasn't mentioned in his mothers will, wasn't given anything in his dad's will, which Harry did find fascinating. Perhaps they weren't as close to Dumbledore and the old man tried to lead him on to believe. Sirius wouldn't come out for the will reading without telling Dumbledore, so it wasn't the best of ideas. "I'll write to you when I want the will reading done but I would like for myself and Severus to be given the letters from my mother."

"Very well," Coop replied, opening the lily carved box, with a stag, wolf, grim and rat intricately woven with lilies. He flipped through the letters for the individuals until he got to the ones he wanted and swiftly removed them from the box and handed them over.

"Thank you," Harry stated, taking only his own allowing Severus to collect his, which he did with an almost discernable shake in his hands that Harry wouldn't have seen if he wasn't looking intently. "I would like to see all comings and goings from my accounts since Dumbledore took control of the Potter estate."

When several pages were handed over to him, Harry began to look over them, there was absolutely nothing coming in (except interest) the Potter estate was in a state of disrepair. His eyes widened when he saw there was money coming out and put into a Muggle bank account for not only the Dursley's but Arabella Figg. Those lying lousy bastards, taken him out of the goodness of their hearts had they? It was little wonder they'd bloody kept him all this time. Money had always been a big motivator for the bloody social climbers. He'd been paying for the Dursley's extravagant lifestyle! Every damn bloody present Dudley had got had came from money that Dumbledore sent them. The cars, the holidays, the fact they'd paid for their damn house, all of it was from his damn account. "I want the money going to the Dursley's, Elphias Doge and Arabella Figg stopped effective immediately." he took solace in the fact they were suffering the tortures of the damned, they would regret everything they'd done to him, Doge would be next on his list. He was surprised Dumbledore hadn't just stole from him as well and been done with it, but he probably didn't need it with all the jobs he had.

Of course, he realized he'd spoken too soon, the next page listed over forty items had been removed from the Potter accounts over the past fourteen years. He'd actually taken the invisibility cloak, so much for his father entrusting it to him before he died. "The items…where are they?" he asked coldly, he had taken the Potter Grimoire out of his vault.

"That I am afraid you'll have to ask Albus Dumbledore," Coop replied.

"And let me guess…there's not a damn thing I can do? He removed a priceless Potter Grimoire from one of the vaults!" Harry spat out furiously.

"Actually…there is a clause he signed when he became executor that could enable us to get the items back as long as they haven't been sold, for a price of course," Coop informed him with a vicious smirk on his face, every goblin at Gringotts loathed the ground Dumbledore walked on.

"Then that would require him finding out about me," Harry cursed violently, fuming. He was actually trying to prevent that, but he would be damned if he let anything of his be touched by Dumbledore's slimy hands anymore than it already had. Maybe he should just let the will be read, Dumbledore was already going to make his life hell anyway…so might as well just get this over with.

Severus was only half listening at this point, half his attention was on the letter in his hands; Lily's curvy handwriting was calling to him. He was desperately wanted to know what she had written, and more importantly why she had done it in a will instead of seeking him out. "I'm afraid you'll have to decide on what you want," Severus replied honestly, "Fortunately for all concerned…Dumbledore will have more concerns than you this year, so perhaps you are better off doing it."

"What do you mean by that?" Harry asked, his green eyes gleaming in curiosity.

"The Ministry is interfering at Hogwarts," Severus replied smoothly, "So yes, you're best bet would be doing this now."

"How much do you want to retrieve my items?" Harry asked resignedly, trusting Severus, he knew Dumbledore better anyway.

"Ten galleons, for all items," Coop replied after looking at his own copy of the items list.

"Fine, but if you don't get them all you don't get the full amount," Harry warned, and fair was fair.

Coop nodded, a gnarly smirk spreading across its features. "Consider it done."

"Have the will reading the first weekend after the school begins, I probably will be prevented from coming, but I already know what's in the will so it won't be a problem." Harry informed him, making his decision and hoping it wouldn't turn around and bite him in the ass. "Is there anything besides the letter that I would get at the will reading?"

"Yes," Coop replied, immediately withdrawing various keys from the box as well as another letter before handing them to the new Lord. Harry accepted them, still wondering why Dumbledore had felt the need to take his things, money he would have understood, people were greedy, it's the way it was.

"Thanks," Harry said standing up, he just wanted to get out of there, go back to the manor and blast some bloody dummies. He would just get what he wanted later. He wasn't in the mood for shopping now, the numbness was wearing off and the anger was mounting once more.

-0 End Flashback 0-

"A Reminder to put your school uniform on, we are approaching Hogsmeade station in five minutes," the magically amplified voice called out once again, making sure that all the students listened and got dressed in their uniform. Harry already had his on, he didn't see the reason for keeping Muggle clothes on for a few hours then changing in a cramped compartment, not that it was cramped this year of course, since he had it all to himself. He strengthened his mental shields, refusing to think further on his trip to Gringotts, and the anticipation was back, the look on everyone's faces was going to be spectacular. He thrust his hand into his largened pocket and pulled out his invisibility cloak as the train began to slow down for its stop at Hogsmeade.

He watched as the first years were called by someone that most definitely wasn't Hagrid, very unusual. Shrugging his shoulders, not truly caring one way or another, another reason to be grateful that Hermione and Ron weren't there, he would have to pretend to care, not that he hated Hagrid just to whom his loyalty lay. They were quickly herded into the boat and all that could be seen was the lanterns carrying them across the water, people passed the window, getting into carriages for their quick ride to Hogwarts. He waited until they had all gone, Hermione and Ron were the last to leave, and with it their hopeful gazes had become worried again.

He'd just jumped off when the train began to move once more, where it was going Harry had no clue actually. He jumped on the last coach and as soon as he sat down the Thestral began to canter, easily catching up with the others. He stayed behind the others, his green eyes gleaming mischievously. Once he was alone, he removed his cloak and replaced it, the first years he could be heard being brought up by McGonagall.

So without further delay, Harry walked into the Great Hall, the entire hall went utterly silent; you could have heard a pin drop.

Up at the top of the teachers table, Delores Umbridge went pale then red, as she stared at Harry Potter in utter shock. He was supposed to be dead! She'd sent the Dementors after him, he should be gone! She could scarcely believe her eyes, the anger brewed within her, and she had to stop herself from giving anything away.

Another teacher was having the exact same problem, just as angry when he saw the teenager, Dumbledore was utterly furious, the boy looked fine, healthy and Merlin help him he had to stop himself from strangling the boy for ruining his plans and for making him worry about the magical world should he not be able to find him.

Severus Snape watched it all, his amusement carefully hidden as he made sure to get everyone's reactions, he was sure it would amuse the Dark Lord to no end. Then it was as if someone had turned the volume back on as everyone began to chat loudly, Granger and Weasley calling out Harry's name in relief as they ran to their best friend profound happiness and relief written clear to see upon their faces.

Harry himself was having to stop himself from laughing out loud in sadistic delight at the mixed reactions he had to being there.

Will Harry remain at Hogwarts long before he's whisked back to Slytherin manor? Or will it be Umbridge who ends up there? Will she even get a chance to use the quill before Voldemort finds out it was her who sent the dementors after Harry? Or will she end up there for two reasons? or will she get away with it? and Harry deal with her in his own way? R&R please guess its really whether you want to see Harry remain at Hogwarts without umbridge or whether harry leaves...and umbridge remains :D