Chapter 1 – Painful Memories
It was a quite night in Little Whinging, Surrey. Everything appeared to be calm, with nothing out of the ordinary going on. The only exception to this was, of course, at number four Privet Drive.
Harry Potter, the-boy-who-lived, was lying down on his bed holding a piece of parchment tightly in his hands. There were tears leaking from his eyes and dripping onto the parchment smearing some of the ink used to write the letter.
It had been about two weeks since he watched his godfather fall through the veil in the depths of the Department of Mysteries. He could still watch the entire scene in slow motion; Bellatrix shooting the curse, Sirius dodging it, then taunting her about her lack of success. Then his stunned expression as a second red beam went flying at him and caused him to lose his balance and fall backwards through the mysterious veil. Harry wanted to go retrieve him every time he replayed the scene is his mind but knew that he couldn't. He wished that the Order would be more forthcoming about information. Everyone in the Order seemed to believe that there was no coming back from beyond the veil, but no one would tell him what the veil was or what it did. He knew he heard voices' coming from it earlier that night but…now was not the time to continue down this path again. He had carried out the arguments in his head many times and all it left him with were more questions than answers and a massive headache.
The letter in his hands brought back all these painful memories and more. He wasn't sure if he would ever come to trust anyone as much as he had trusted Sirius. Sirius would listen to his problems and wouldn't judge him based upon what was said. He would offer semi-unbiased opinions on the subject and try to help Harry come to the conclusion he needed. Taking a deep breath, he looked down at the parchment in his hands to read it one last time before he would go to sleep for the night.
Dear Harry,
I know this is a painful reminder that we lost Sirius, but I just wanted to inform you that I will be picking you up tomorrow, July 7th to take you to Gringotts for the reading of his will. I will be accompanied by Tonks, and we should be arriving around eleven o'clock to take you to the reading.
Remus
Remus was the only person that Harry had really talked to since his arrival at Privet Drive. Harry really though that he was the only one that understood how he felt at the moment. Actually, Remus probably felt worse than he did. He had lost the last of his friends, again. Then again Tonks probably felt a little sad as well. He never really thought much about it, but she was his second cousin and probably the only remaining blood relative that he had any contact with.
Once he had gotten back on Privet Drive he had written letters to Ron and Hermione asking them to give him some space. He told them that when he was ready to talk again, he would contact them.
'I'll kill him Sirius, I'll kill him,' Harry thought as he put down the letter and looked over at Hedwig's empty cage. The only other thing, besides talking to Remus and brooding, he had done since his return was to mull over everything that Dumbledore had divulged to him after the ministry incident. 'I will not fail… I will not let you guys down.' This became his nightly mantra, when his thought led him to thinking of the prophecy. He had the weight of the world on his shoulders, but at the same time it was also a breath of fresh air. He knew for a fact that Voldemort would never stop trying to kill him. He was a living, breathing, walking, and talking representation of Voldemort's failure. However, he, him, Harry Potter, the-boy-who-lived, was prophesized to have the chance to actually kill him in return. He may die doing it, as so many others had, but he actually had the chance to take the bastard with him.
Eventually, lost in thought, Harry fell asleep.
Harry woke up the next morning to see his snowy owl, Hedwig, in her cage. He smiled; he would always have a soft spot in his heart for his owl. She was one of his first friends; and no matter what, Harry knew that she would never leave him. Harry got up and walked over to her cage to stroke her feathers and make sure she had plenty to eat for the day since he had no idea when he would be returning.
"Morning girl," Harry said as she looked at him through the bars on her cage. She gave a soft hoot in appreciation. "I'm going to Gringotts for the reading today so I'll probably be gone for most of the day. I'll see you tonight though when I get back."
With that Harry left the room to get showered and eat something light for breakfast. He entered the kitchen to find just his Aunt sitting at the table with a cup of tea while she read the morning paper.
"Good morning," Aunt Petunia said when she saw Harry walk into the kitchen. "Breakfast is in the pans on the stove".
The two weeks that Harry had been at Privet Drive hadn't been too bad for Harry. The Dursleys seemed to have taken Mad-Eye's warning to heart. He had been getting three square meals a day and for the most part they had left him alone. In fact they had gone as far as to allow Harry to use the weight training equipment that they had purchased for Dudley's boxing training.
Harry had spent a great deal of his free time exercising in the back yard or in the basement. He had found it to be an effective stress reliever, not to mention the fact that he was usually so exhausted by the time he went to bed that his sleep was dream free. Once he had gotten home and come to terms with the prophecy he decided that even if he couldn't practice his magic he should at least be in top physical condition. Stamina was going to be just as important in the long run as magical ability. He had no delusions about how the final fight would happen. Voldemort wouldn't show up until all of his death eaters had been defeated. He would use them to tire out the fighters and he would come in and slaughter the survivors. He would have to be able to outlast all of the death eaters as well as have enough energy to duel the dark lord himself.
"'Morning Aunt Petunia," Harry said as he piled some eggs, bacon, and toast onto his plate. "I'm to inform you that I will not be here for most of the day, and before you say anything, my guards are the ones who are taking me and they will be returning me before dinner tonight."
"Alright, so long as there's no funny business with your departure or return," Aunt Petunia said. "And as long as those people know about you're leaving for the day."
He quickly finished his breakfast before heading to his room to read over some of his old school books to try and refresh his memory. Even if he couldn't practice magic over the summer he knew that he should at least look over his books. He needed to pick up as much as he could in potions as well as the stuff that he either had not learned before or had forgotten.
Finally, just before eleven o'clock, Harry went down towards the door in his robes to wait for Remus and Tonks to arrive. At exactly eleven, the doorbell rang and, Harry strode over to open the door.
He opened the door before saying, "Morning Tonks, Remus, it's good to see you two."
He moved to the side to allow them to enter the hallway before closing the door and pulling Remus into a hug.
Remus returned the hug and said, "Morning Harry ready to go?"
"As ready as I'll ever be," Harry responded, once he had released Remus.
"Wotcher Harry," Tonks said as she moved over next to Remus. "Alright, Dumbledore was able to procure us a portkey to Gringotts this morning. Step on up and grab a hold," Tonks said, pulling out an old news magazine.
Remus and Harry both stepped up and put a hand on the magazine. Tonks looked at her watch and counted down from five before all three of them disappeared from number four.
They arrived in a small, non-descript room that had only one door and a small table with chairs.
"Where are we?"
"This is a small, but private, meeting room. Gringotts generally uses them for small will readings. And by small, I'm not talking about the size of the estate, but the number of beneficiaries." Remus stated, while walking over to the table and pulling up a seat.
"I still don't want to be here. I don't want his stuff. I just want to see him again," Harry said taking the seat to the left of Remus.
"I know what you mean," Tonks said. She had a plain look today with shoulder length brown hair and grey eyes. She took the seat to the immediate right of Remus, leaving the remaining seat for the goblin.
"Ok, everybody's here," the goblin asked, as he walked into the room and took the remaining seat. "As you all know why you are here I will not delay the process by explaining it. I shall begin to read the last will and testament of Sirius Orion Black.
I, Sirius Orion Black, being of sound mind and body at the time of this writing do here by declare this to be my last will and testament voiding any previous testaments.
Ok now that we're done with that little bit; I'm going to say a few things before we get down to business. I know that everyone is all depressed about my passing and I know that there is nothing that I can do to change this simple fact. I just hope that I died protecting the people I care about this time, unlike before with your parents, Harry. Don't mourn me, but remember the time that we spent together and all of the things that I hope I represented. I'm not conceded or arrogant in the least, am I Moony?
Now, on to official business:
To my favorite cousin Nymphadora Tonks… yes I know you hate your first name Tonks but it is the only way to make it official, not to mention that I'm dead so you cant do anything about it, I leave you ten percent of the Black family fortune and I also reinstate you and you mum officially back into the Black family.
To Remus Lupin, my friend, last of the marauders, I leave you forty percent of the Black family fortune as well as the Black family vault to store your gold and valuable possessions. The door design will be altered for you so that you may enter. Now I want you to use this money to get yourself some decent robes; seeing as how there's more then you could spend in your lifetime. I also leave you the unofficial title of being Harry's godfather. You'll see what I mean by this in a minute. You better take care of him and get him out of the Dursley's house soon or I will come back and haunt you Moony.
To my godson, Harry James Potter, I leave you the remaining fifty percent of the Black family fortune, and the title to number twelve Grimmauld place. I know you hate it there, but don't worry, it gives you a safe place to live away from your relatives. This also prevents Albus from forcing you to stay with the Dursley's since you have your own house. In addition to the Black family stuff, I also give you your emancipation papers, which, after you sign them, will grant you the status of being a legal adult. It will allow you to use magic outside of school as well as allowing you to gain access to the Potter family vault. I suggest you visit the vault after the will reading. The last thing of note to say is that you are officially the head of both the Potter and Black families. I hope that you can restore some manor of honor to my family's name.
I want the three of you to take care of each other. Rough times are ahead, Im sure. You three, are the three people that I trusted most on this plane of existence and I hope that you will use that as a basis to remain close to one another.
The last thing that needs to be addressed due to my passing is a bit complicated and for what its worth, Im sorry Harry. Before my father passed away, he set up a marriage contract with the Zabini family for their next daughter to marry either the next head of the Black family, or the head of the Black family depending upon whether or not that person was married. My brother died before the Zabini's had a daughter and because I was a convict I was not able to fulfill the obligation of the contract.
This means that as the new head of the Black family, you will be forced to honor the contract. The only thing I was able to learn about your betrothed is that she is your age and in Slytherin house. I wish that you were able to be like your parents and marry for love, but I know that even though this is forced, you will give this young lady all the love that you are able to give. The only positive thing I can say about the situation is that I know for a fact that the Zabini family does not support Voldemort.
That's all and I hope that you all live long lives and live them to the fullest.
Sirius Orion Black
After the goblin set the will down on the table he handed a set of parchment to Harry and told him to sign them as they were the emancipation papers mentioned in the will..
Once Harry signed over the papers, the goblin passed out a few more pieced of parchment to everyone at the table. "This is a copy of what you have received as a result of this will. Are there any questions or is there any personal business that you need to take care of while you are here at Gringotts?"
Harry sat there for a moment before speaking up. "Umm, I have a question about by total assets and what properties that I own."
"Mr. Potter you happen to actually be the richest person in the wizarding world, while I do not know the exact amount a report of your finances can be obtained if you wish. The finances that are in your hands due to the Potter family are not listed on that piece of parchment, but I do happen to remember the properties they owned."
"No… no that's ok for right now," Harry said, sitting there in shock. Once he recovered, Harry asked his last question, "Ok. Now I'm assuming that I should put some one to manage my account?" Receiving a nod in affirmation he continued, "If it's possible, I would like to appoint a goblin, who helped me my first year, as my finance manager. The goblin in question is named Griphook, sir, and after that's done I would like the money from my trust fund to be transferred to my family vault."
"Very well, sir, that will be taken care of immediately. Now as to the report on the properties that you own, they are Godric's Hollow, number 12 Grimmauld place, Potter manor, and several other smaller properties scattered through France, Ireland, Wales, and Scotland. Now I shall have Griphook take you down to the Potter family vault."