I do NOT own HP or any other characters from the story. They are entirely JK Rowling's genius and I am simply borrowing them.
Chapter Three: Inheritances
The next morning, Harry awoke early, but not before Hermione. Despite the snores that were still coming from Ron's bed, she was already busy with her nose in a book and a cereal spoon in her hand. When she heard Harry drop down from his top bunk, she turned to get him a bowl as well, laughing to herself about his disheveled appearance.
"Here you go, Harry," she said as she handed him a bowl of cereal. "You need to hurry this morning, as you have to be to Hogwarts by eight o'clock."
"Come to think of it, how am I supposed to get there, since I don't have my apparition license yet?" Harry wondered.
"How many times do I have to tell you—?"
"—that you can't apparate inside Hogwarts grounds?" finished Harry. "Yes, Hermione, that lesson has sunk in, but some people apparate into Hogsmeade, and then walk up to the school." Hermione looked sheepish.
"I don't know, then," Hermione replied. "Maybe someone from the Order will come to take you."
At that moment, there was a loud pop that cause Ron to sit straight up in bed, cursing. Harry heard him mumble, "Why does it have to be so bloody loud at seven o'clock in the morning?"
Into their room had come the once again irrepressible Nymphadora Tonks, whose hair was dark blue and moon-colored silver. "In honor of Remus, of course," she said in explanation. "Well, Harry, I'm here to escort you up to Hogwarts…but it doesn't look like you're quite ready yet." Tonks continued, "I love what you've done with the place. I must say it's an improvement from the last time I saw it!"
"Thanks, said Harry, "er, Ron's mom did it for us. I'll just go change." Digging out a change of clothes from his trunk, he once again set off down the hall.
Meanwhile, Ron unceremoniously took Harry's place at the table, where he began eating the cereal Harry hadn't had the chance to touch. Ignoring the fact that Ron had just stolen Harry's food, Hermione turned to Tonks.
"Hi! You're looking so good, Tonks!"
"Thanks, Hermione. I'm so much happier now that Remus has come around. I'm a lot more useful to the Order now that all my powers have returned, too. Say, you look pretty good yourself!"
Hermione blushed. "Well, someone else we know has finally come around," she said slyly, with a look at Ron.
"What?" said a confused Ron. "Oh, you mean me? Well, you didn't do anything to move things on either, 'Mione."
"On the contrary, every move I made was carefully calculated to do just that," said Hermione smugly.
"Aha. So I see being together hasn't reduced the arguing," commented Tonks.
"Maybe not, but if he knows what is good for him, he'll give in a bit quicker than he used to," replied Hermione.
Harry returned to the room, signaling his readiness for departure. "So, Tonks," he asked, "are we apparating to Hogsmeade, then?"
"Right-oh. I'm supposed to take you side-along, but from what I hear you can manage pretty well on your own. Is it really true that you got both yourself and Dumbledore back to Hogsmeade the night of the battle?"
Harry nodded, while thinking to himself that he wished he had been able to keep Dumbledore safe all night. If only I didn't have that body bind curse on me!
Moving on from that subject, he said, "Why don't you just 'guide' me for appearances' sake. That way if the Ministry questions us, we are within the law. Not that I much care anymore about being within the laws of the Ministry…"
"Oh, but Harry," cried Hermione, "even if you don't agree with the Ministry's policies—which I don't either, of course—you can't get yourself in trouble for doing unlicensed magic for a few more weeks!"
"Yes, Hermione, the thought had occurred to me that it would be rather a loss to have my wand snapped in half just a few weeks before I come of age," retorted Harry.
"Well, don't get upset with me for trying to help when you're just being—emotional!" Hermione replied, annoyed. She plopped down next to Ron, who had been deliberately ignoring the whole conversation while he shoveled down three bowls of cereal.
"Enough of this chitchat," interrupted Tonks. "It's time we were going. Here, Harry, grab on lightly…" and she extended her arm to Harry. With the familiar feeling of being sucked through a vacuum and a vague recollection of the 'three D's of Apparition,' Harry found himself in the middle of Hogsmeade's High Street.
"I'll walk you up to the Headmistress' office, Harry, and then wait down in the Entrance Hall," Tonks informed him.
"All right." Harry was feeling less than talkative at the prospect of talking about Dumbledore's death and asking McGonagall for help. Plus, he was annoyed with himself for being angry with Hermione, whom he knew was just trying to help. He and Tonks walked through Hogsmeade and the Hogwarts gates, up to the castle without speaking further. When they reached the gargoyle that stood as sentry in front of McGonagall's office, Harry looked at Tonks questioningly.
"Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus," she said, glancing at a slip of paper in her hand. The gargoyle slid aside, revealing a spiral staircase.
Leave it to McGonagall to give the longest password ever, Harry thought, as he and Tonks began ascending the stairs. After knocking, Harry entered the surprisingly full room. Among the people gathered were the strange barman from the Hog's Head, Hagrid, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and, of course, McGonagall. Instinctively, Harry glanced at the portrait above McGonagall's head, where the portrait-Dumbledore appeared to still be sleeping. Noticing where his gaze had fallen, McGonagall informed Harry that the portrait would awaken a few hours following the reading of the will. "One of the reasons we're doing this so early," she confided.
"Well," McGonagall began to the group as a whole. "Now that Mr. Potter has joined us, I think we should get started."
With this announcement, a goblin (Harry assumed one from Gringotts) stood up from his seat in the corner of the room. Moving to the center of the assembled group, he unsealed a roll of parchment. Unrolling it, he began reading.
"This is the final will and testament of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. I, Albus P.W.B. Dumbledore, do vow its authenticity in the presence of one witness, the goblin Galog. To those present at the reading of this will, please know that while my body is now gone and my possessions will henceforth be scattered, my spirit lives on in those that follow and in all my portraits. I vow to remain as useful as possible with the use of these portraits, but also know that I trust those left behind to carry on the noble work. Now, the estate.
"To my brother, and only remaining relative, Aberforth, I leave 500,000 galleons." The barman from the Hog's Head nodes, and something in Harry's mind clicked, something he remembered Dumbledore saying before. Something to the effect of, "I know the local barmen."
"To Minerva McGonagall," the will continued, "and Rubeus Hagrid, I entrust the students and halls of Hogwarts. Though I myself do not own them, I consider them most precious, and wish you to protect and instruct them as best you might. As long as students wish to remain at Hogwarts, please teach them. Along with this heavy responsibility, I leave you each 250,000 galleons. Minerva, you are also to inherit all the objects in my office for your use, except the pensieve, which will be dispersed later." At the end of this long paragraph, Hagrid could be seen wiping his eyes with a large handkerchief. Even McGonagall seemed to have a tear in her eye, but hers came with a hard glint of determination.
Next, the letter spoke to the Weasleys. "To Arthur and Molly Weasley," I leave 500,000 galleons. Even if you do not like accepting it, I insist. You have sacrificed much for your biological and adopted family over the years, often allowing them to fight for the side of good despite the danger. Please accept this as a token of my gratitude." Mr. Weasley looked shocked to be given such a large sum of money, while Mrs. Weasley began crying with a mixture of disbelief, sadness, and even relief.
"And, finally," continued the will, "to my pupil and protégé, Harry Potter. Your task is probably the most difficult of all: I ask that you never give up in your determination to defeat Lord Voldemort, or as I like to call him, Tom Riddle. You still have a long journey ahead, but you have our faith behind you. I leave you several tools to help you along the way. First, the pensieve. You might find it useful to revisit certain things in your search for the answer. Next, I give you command of the Order of the Phoenix, as a fully-fledged member and its leader." This caused everyone in the room to sit up straighter, and more than one to look at Harry in disbelief. "To the rest of you, I expect an example of respect, trust, and obedience. In several situations which I cannot divulge, Harry's intuition and ability for leadership have equaled and even excelled my own. He has much to learn, of course, but I ask you all to help him."
Then the letter directed itself back to Harry. "Third, Harry, I give you use of my extensive library, which will deliver from midair any book desired. There is, of course, a complete index you will be receiving along with it. If I'm not mistaken, I think your friend Miss Granger will be most excited with this gift." Harry smiled to himself; this would be a good way to make up with Hermione after his display that morning.
"Next," read the goblin, "in addition to 1,000,000 galleons, you will inherit my highly resourceful, intelligent, and loyal friend, Fawkes. Do not be concerned that he will not accept you, for you have already more than demonstrated your capacity to have him as a pet; and furthermore, he has already communicated his approval of this arrangement.
"My final tool for you is actually a bit of advice: keep those you love and those who love you close in the time ahead. You will need their support, and they will probably be able to help you in some way. As to my previous request to keep certain items secret, I suggest that we amend that agreement for a few key individuals; namely, Professor McGonagall, Arthur Weasley, and Miss Weasley." Harry was dumbfounded by the last statement, for though the message was vague, he understood it to mean that Dumbledore wanted to share what he knew about the prophecy and the horcruxes with three more people.
As he though about this, the goblin finished reading the parchment. "This concludes the reading of the final will and testament of Albus P.W.B. Dumbledore. The items being passed on will automatically be transferred to the possession of their new owners, including any money, which will be deposited into the recipients' bank vaults at Gringotts. Any money, possessions, or any other property not named in the will is to be donated to charities such as the scholarship fund at Hogwarts. That is all." With those final words, the parchment burst into flames.
Harry remained behind as the other in the room slowly filtered out. After the last person had filed out, Professor McGonagall turned to Harry. "I take it you wish to speak to me?" she asked.
"Er, yes," Harry replied. "I wanted to ask you opinion on an idea Ron, Hermione, and I had about starting up the DA again."
"That Defense club you three began in fifth year? Go on," urged McGonagall.
"Well, like I said, we think it would be a good idea to restart it. No place is better for practice than the Room of Requirement, so we would like permission to return to Hogwarts once or twice a week, hopefully by portkey, since the younger ones can't yet apparate."
"How many people does this involve?" asked Professor McGonagall.
"Besides us three, it would be Ginny, Neville, and Luna. Plus, I thought Fred and George might be able to add something useful to the mix, what with their new Defense products and all," replied Harry.
"Hmm. Well, it would seem that those of you in the DA did score extremely well on your DADA exams; and what with You-Know-Who and his Death Eaters traipsing about, it wouldn't be a bad idea to be better prepared." She paused, appearing to think. "I would not be opposed to the reinstatement of the DA with you at its head, but I have several conditions. First, that in addition to those you mentioned, you will also extend invitations to all others in the sixth and seventh years to join. Unfortunately, this would probably have to exclude the Slytherins…but the others would receive much benefit from your tutelage." Harry thought a moment, and then nodded his head in agreement.
The Professor continued. "Second, there will be no entrance onto the Hogwarts grounds without a password. As much as I hate to say it, even students cannot all be trusted." Harry again nodded.
"Third and finally," she went on, "several members of the Order will not only escort the group to and from the castle, but they will also stand guard at the meetings. Does this all sound satisfactory?"
"Yes, Professor," said Harry. "I only have one more thing to ask. I think all members of the DA should be instated as full members of the Order of the Phoenix."
McGonagall looked at him closely, and then replied, "Potter, since you now are in charge of the Order, that appears to be your decision to make." After she said this, Harry could have sworn he saw a faint smile on her lips.
After figuring out the details of sending out letters, coordinating portkeys and locations, and setting meeting dates, Harry left the Headmistress' office to go and tell his friends the news.
