DMN: I'm back again folks and just for you it's two chapters in one day. Let's get it on!
Chapter Five
"So you killed this using the Sword of Gryffindor?" Susan asked as the two of them sat on a chunk of stone, the dead basilisk before them still in near perfect condition, for a corpse anyway. Harry nodded, looking around the chamber with a sigh.
"Yeah, almost died because of it too. If it wasn't for Fawks, I would have died from the venom." Susan nodded, having heard the story as they made their way into the chamber. It had to of been hours since they had entered into the chamber with Harry answering Susan's questions about his previous years.
"So, what about last year? Those Dementors really liked you for some reason." Harry shook his head.
"Well, Professor Lupin taught me the Patronus charm to protect myself. I wasn't able to fully cast it until the end of the school year but I had something to help with that." Susan looked at the boy with a raised brow in curiosity.
"What was it?" The boy gave a sad smile as he weighed his options. On one hand he could tell her the truth or lie to her and possibly lose her trust, which was something he found himself not wanting to give up in the slightest.
"Well, if I tell you, do you promise not to tell anyone? It's not exactly something I want to get out or I could get into a lot of trouble." Susan nodded.
"I promise, Harry, you can trust me." Harry nodded and started to explain.
"Well, last year, you know how everyone thought that Sirius Black escaped Azkaban looking for me, right? Well, it turns out in a way he was but not to kill me but to find the one responsible for getting my parents killed." Susan gasped in surprise as Harry continued, going into every detail about the school year before. He told her all about how he found Peter Pettigrew's name on his enchanted map, asking Lupin to teach him the charm to fight off the dementors even going back in time with Hermione and riding Buckbeak with Sirius, who they found out was innocent.
"So you're saying the most wanted criminal in England is actually innocent?!" Harry nodded to the girl. "Harry, you should wright a letter to my Aunt! She's head of the Magical Law Enforcement, she can get this straightened out and give him a fair trial!" Harry shook his head.
"It's not that easy. Fudge has the kiss on sight order still on him and we have no proof of his innocence. By the time your aunt files the paperwork he'll be a soulless husk." Susan shook her head.
"Harry, if what you say is true and he went to jail without a trail then Fudge can face life in Azkaban if Sirius were to be caught and kissed. Every person sentenced to Azkaban MUST have a trial. He's basically using the Ministry to commit murder if this be the case." Harry remained silent for a moment rolling the idea around in his head.
'Knowing Sirius and the wizarding world, he will know about me being entered into the tournament by morning tomorrow at the earliest. Also knowing how he can be, he'll most likely be on his way up here to find some way to help…'
"I don't know Susan, I wouldn't put it past Fudge to use his authority to push your aunt around to get him and with Dumbledore being the judge of the-"
"That's it! Harry, why don't we ask Judge Gabranth? He'd give him a fair trial and he trumps even the Head Mugwamp of the ICW! If there is even a HINT of injustice he is honor bound to investigate. If you tell him about Sirius, he'll be able to clear his name worldwide and demand compensation that the Ministry would have to obey or Fudge AND Dumbledore would be in deep trouble with the Judges." The raven haired boy's smile widened rolling the idea around in his head.
"You know that would be a good idea. I'll talk to Sirius about it first though. You're brilliant you know that?" Susan blushed, tucking her head shyly with a smile.
"I'm only trying to help." Harry simply smiled at her as she yawned. "I'm so tired, what time is it?" Looking at his watch Harry groaned.
"No wonder, it's almost three in the morning." Susan frowned as Harry ran his fingers through his hair. "Well, I can't just leave you down by yourself since you can't go back to your dorm. If only there was a place we could sleep…. Wait, what's that light over there?" Harry pointed towards the giant bust of Salazar Slytherin, where a feint light could be seen within the mouth of the statue. The two stood and made their way over to the open mouth before Susan spoke.
"A stair case? Why would there be a staircase in a giant bust of Salazar Slytherin?" Harry narrowed his eyes. The room around them was large enough to house the basilisk that laid dead just outside the statue, he didn't remember seeing these stairs before, although, being chased by said basilisk and almost killed by Tom Riddle didn't really give him enough time to notice.
"I think I know but to be sure, let's go up and find out." The two teens climbed the steps, the torches on the stair well keeping the way up bright. They finally stopped climbing when they reached a large door with a painting of what had to be a king cobra coiled and ready to strike.
"Hissssssss, who are you? How did you enter this sacred place, human?" The cobra hissed angrily at the two, Harry being the only one to understand it. Susan swallowed hard as she watched Harry hiss back at the snake.
"I can speak your tongue, great serpent. I am Harry Potter; this is my friend Susan Bones. We were exploring the chamber below and found you. Is this the true Chamber of Secrets?" The snake froze for a moment, shocked that this human could speak its tongue.
"You can understand me? You must come from my former master's line. It has been many years since I last spoke to a Slytherin Heir." Harry rose a brow as the sound of a deadbolt being turned was heard. "Come in, Heir Slytherin. Master awaits in the study. I will show you the way." The door opened as the snake slithered out of the painting. The two teens entered into what appeared to be a common room, painted in Slytherin colors and seemed to be an exact replica of the house common room. There were several paintings on the wall; one held the same king cobra that once guarded the door. "Over here, speaker! Master awaits inside." Harry and Susan walked over and into through the door, entering a study with a large picture of Salazar Slytherin above the fireplace.
"Ares, who are these two?" The founder hissed to the snake that had joined him in his portrait coiling up the arm.
"Master, the male is able to speak our tongue. The female is his companion." The man rose a single brow as the two teens stood before him. "The girl cannot speak it though master. I would advise using your human speech."
"You there boy, you can speak Parseltongue?" Harry and Susan looked shocked at finding a portrait of Salazar Slytherin, Harry nodding in confirmation. The founder smiled slightly. "Wonderful, it has been a very, very long time since I have seen or even spoke to one who can speak it, other than Ares here, of course. Tell me, what are your names?"
"H-Harry Potter and this is Susan Bones." The painting of the man with long black hair blinked in confusion before he closed his dark eyes, as if going into deep thought.
"Hmmm, I see so that is what it is." Salazar opened his eyes and gazed at Harry. "My boy, do you know about your heritage?" Both teens looked confused as Harry told Salazar he only knew of being a Potter and nothing else. "I see. Well Harry, get ready for a shocking revelation, because what I have to say may just make this seem unbelievable." The painting of the founder waved his hands towards the desk against the far wall of the room as he walked out of the painting, reappearing in the slightly smaller frame above said desk.
"Come, come. I will be quick as I'm sure the two of you would like some form of sleep tonight." The raven hair boy and strawberry blond girl moved quickly to take a seat before the snake speaker. "Now, I will try to give you the short version so please, no questions until after I have finished." The two nodded as Slytherin continued. "Now, Harry, it seems that no one has told you of your true heritage. While you are indeed a Potter, you are also the Heir of five other houses. Wait till I'm finished!" Salazar looked at Harry with a pointed look.
"Now, when I and the other built this school, I had made the Chamber of Secrets, which you are now standing in. I placed this portrait of myself," the man gestured to himself with a wave of his hand, "with in this very chamber so that when the rightful Heir of Slytherin came along, I could teach him everything I knew. When I showed my wife, Rowena the chamber she went one step further and connected me, the portrait me not the real me, to the schools wards. This allows me to cast small level spells from my painting but one more thing that I had discovered after the death of my real self."
"I am able to trace family lines through magic." Harry and Susan went wide eyed as the painting of the long dead founder of Hogwarts. "Harry, amazingly enough and shockingly enough, to myself included, you are the heir of not only the Potter family, but the heir of the Slytherin, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw lines as well as the Peverell. Before you interrupt me, you are the heir of Godric and Helga through your father, James Potter, while your mother, surprisingly, was a descendent of Rowena and myself. Her mother and grandmother were squibs born from a young witch named Agatha Rolland, who was also a squib that was cast out of the Slytherin family."
"The Peverell family is actually the ancestor house of the Potter family. Ignotus Peverell was the founder of the Potter Family to be honest, giving the name to the husband of his granddaughter, who had been kicked out of his family. To make a longer story short, eventually all five families came together with Lilly Evans and James Potter when you, Harry, were born." The two teens looked at the painting in shock while Salazar grinned, his hands and his hips.
"But I thought Voldemort was your heir?" Salazar lost his grin looking at the two with a confused look.
"Voldemort?"
"Sorry, his real name is Tom Riddle." Salazar nodded.
"Ah him, I remember him well. Full of hate, anger and greed. I was glad Ares refused him entry until I met him. He wanted to cleanse the school of anyone that was beneath him. Absolutely pathetic, he was. Unfortunately for him, he was never recognized as my heir keeping my family vaults and the rest of my assets from him."
"Master, the sun approaches. May I suggest we allow the younglings to get their rest?" Ares slithered into the painting next to Salazar, the school founder scratching the back of his head sheepishly.
"Heheh, guess I got a little carried away. Ares why don't you show the two of them to the guest rooms. We'll talk more once the both of you have had a proper rest. I'll even give you a tour of my little hideaway later."
"Wait, how will we return to the school? We can't go back through the chamber, can we?" Salazar gave a heart filled laugh. The cobra hissed as it started to slither away.
"Follow me."
X
War Chief Ragnok looked at the morning edition of the newspaper with a groan. Things had just gotten even more annoying for the Gringotts head with the piece of news before him about the extra two champions that would be competing in the Tri Wizard tournament this year. He had sent a letter for Griphook moments before it had arrived and already he needed to make new plans for the meeting between him and Mr. Potter.
"You called for me, Lord Ragnok?" The goblin head nodded and placed the paper before the Potter Account manager.
"We may need to see Mr. Potter sooner than expected. I need you to find out when the first Hogsmeade trip is and let me know. If we can't get him to come here, we will meet him ourselves." The Goblin nodded as he looked over the paper.
"The Bones child is also competing?" Ragnok nodded. "Strange, I could have sworn with Judge Magister Gabranth there at the school nothing was going to go wrong this year for Harry. Seems the gods have an axe to grind with the boy." Ragnok nodded.
"Indeed. Whoever had entered them into the tournament right under his nose is very skilled in covering his tracks. Now, I need you to write a letter to Mr. Potter and tell him we will be meeting him in Hogsmeade on the first weekend. Tell him he is allowed one guest to attend the meeting. I must gather the necessary paperwork for the boy." Griphook nodded at his dismissal and left the office for his own.
X
Harry and Susan walked into the Great Hall together and found that everyone had turned their eyes to them; many of them were glares while only a small handful didn't bother with looking at them. The Great Hall was surprisingly packed for a Sunday morning breakfast compared to past years, even with the two visiting schools. The two teens had spent a majority of the day and night Saturday talking to Salazar about his chamber, getting the grand tour around the miniature home like place. Harry led Susan to the Gryffindor table and sat at the far end of the table.
"There you are I've been looking for you all day yesterday!" Harry looked up as Hermione walked down the table to sit with the two of them. "Honestly, Harry, do you have any idea how worried I've been? You disappeared during the night, no sign of you at all yesterday and don't let any of us know." Harry rubbed the back of his neck.
"Sorry about that Hermione. I've been keeping Susan company. She's been kicked out of the Hufflepuff tower apparently." Hermione's frustration melted away and she looked to the upset look on Susan's face.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know. Why did your house kick you out? Dumbledore announced this morning that you two are participating against your wills. I figured that out though when I saw your faces that night." The bushy haired girl sat down next to Susan as the girl halfheartedly ate her breakfast.
"They didn't care. They all think I stole Cedric's spotlight." Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Doesn't matter. Listen, I'll lend you two a hand. I'm sure that you two can get through anything those three can." Susan smiled slightly to her as Harry nodded.
"Thanks Hermione." A loud screech alerted everyone in the Great Hall of their incoming mail. A black eagle made its way towards Harry and landed before him. The boy recognized the seal on the letter as the seal of Gringotts and took the letter, offering a piece of ham to the bird, which was accepted.
"Who's that from, Harry?" Harry showed his best friend the seal. "Well open it! It must be really important if Gringotts sent you something." Harry took opened the letter and started to read through it.
Dear Mr. Potter,
First I must apologize for breaking my promise to you about getting your test results to you by the second of September. The reason is something has come up as a result of your test and we are doing everything we can to keep it as secret as possible. At the moment, War Chief Ragnok, manager of Gringotts here in London, is requesting a meeting between me, you, himself and one person of your choosing should you wish to bring someone as a confident, preferably someone that you trust without fault. At the bottom of this letter, you will find a blank line with an x at the beginning. On this line, please write down the date of your next Hogsmeade Weekend. The parchment is charmed to send your written response directly to War Chief Ragnok and myself the moment you finish writing.
We here at Gringotts also offer our sympathies to you as well as Ms. Bones for having to participate in the Tri Wizard Tournament against your will. Should you require any type of advice, I will be happy to offer any that I can. I also ask that you extent this offer to Ms. Bones as well.
May your mounds of gold always grow,
Griphook
Potter Account Manager
Harry furrowed his brow in thought before he turned to Hermione. "Do you know when the next Hogsmeade weekend is?" Hermione tapped her chin in thought for a few seconds before nodding.
"Yeah, it's coming up next week." Harry nodded and took a quill from his bag. He wrote down the date for the weekend before putting everything away. "What was the letter about?"
"Just my account manager asking to set a date on when we could meet and to offer his sympathy to Susan and I about being in this damned thing. Anyway, can we please find something more positive to do? I really don't like being in the spotlight right now." Hermione scoffed as she crossed her arms.
"Trust me Harry, you'll never be out of it. I've known you for four years and every time something seems to happen it always has you at the center. I agree though, we need something to do to keep your minds off this tournament for a bit. Want to head to the library?" Susan and Harry nodded to each other before following the bushy haired girl out of the Great Hall.
X
The days leading up to the Hogsmeade weekend were very frustrating. Everyone always glared at Harry and Susan as the two passed through the halls while Hermione helped the two as best she could, although she began to act coldly to Susan after the first couple of days. After having Judge Gabranth attend a few of his classes, Snape had leveled out on his bigotry, actually teaching his classes something for once which was the biggest miracle in the four years Harry had been at Hogwarts. The biggest annoyances were Ron and Draco.
Ron had cornered Harry on Monday in the common room and caused a big commotion about how Harry Potter was nothing but a cheater and was thoroughly convinced that Harry put his name in the cup.
Flashback
"You think you're so great don't you?" Harry looked over his shoulder at the voice coming from the entrance of the common room. Ron glared at the boy while everyone looked at the coming confrontation. "You just had to leave me out of it, didn't you? The Great Harry Potter didn't want to give his secret to his best friend. You must be feeling pretty superior huh?" Harry sighed and turned in his chair to face the boy.
"Ron, I didn't put my name in the cup. I gave testimony under veritaserum in front of the headmasters, the Judge Magister, the Judge Magistress and the ministry officials. I don't want to compete in this damned thing but I have to if I want to live." Ron scoffed at the boy.
"That's bullshit. I'll bet you that bitch Bones gave you a potion to counter the truth potion." Harry glared at the boy.
"I don't know what your problem is with her but it better stop now. Susan has done nothing wrong and she gave a witch's oath that she didn't-"
"You can't give a witch's oath if you're not a witch!" Ron yelled out at the boy, causing Harry to look at him like he was nuts. "Bones isn't human, she's nothing but a-"Harry jumped out of his seat and pointed his palm at Ron, his eyes lit up in fury.
"STONE!" Everyone watched as Ron's body started to turn stone gray and harden. The spell stopped when it reached the panicking red head's neck. "I am through with you! You are just like Malfoy. You can stay there until someone comes and uses the counter curse. I wipe my hands of you Ronald Weasley. Be glad that I only covered your body in stone and not turned you into a statue." Harry gathered his things and headed up to his dorm. He came back down moments later, to find his head of house red faced.
"Mr. Potter, please tell me why you petrified Mr. Weasley." Harry walked to the entrance of the common room and looked over his shoulder.
"He's nothing but a jealous fool." Harry walked out of the common room, heading straight for the Chamber of Secrets.
Hermione, having entered the common room with McGonagall, turned to Ron with a furious glare. "What did you do?" Ron glared at Hermione.
"I tried to tell him the truth about Bones and he refused to tell me how he got in the tournament. Now someone turn me back to normal!" Minerva looked to the boy with a glare worthy of an angry cat.
"And what truth would that be, Mr. Weasley?"Ron smirked, thinking he had won something.
"That Bones is a filthy half breed." The world suddenly went dark for the red head due to the swift reaction of his Head of House.
End Flashback
Harry never heard what had happened after he had left, only that Ron had detention for the last week, which was ending today. Susan on the other hand had become a complete outcast to the entire school, including those from the visiting schools. Being kicked out of her house's tower, she stayed in the chamber with Harry, who had left the Gryffindor tower to concentrate on trying to survive the threat against his life for the year rather than listen to Ron and other student go on about how he had managed to get into the tournament.
As for Malfoy, the boy had tried repeatedly to rile Harry and Susan up only for the two to ignore him. One day, Malfoy tried to go as far as to curse Harry from behind, only for Mad Eye Moody to stop the boy by turning him into a ferret and bounced the boy around for all to see.
Today found Harry pacing Salazar's study, thinking of what to do about Hermione questioning where Harry had been stay during the night since she heard that his trunk was no longer in his dorm and his bed was always empty according to Neville. Salazar walked into one of the paintings in the room to see the boy pacing and spoke up.
"What has you confused, Harry?" Harry stopped in his tracks and turned to Salazar.
"I was wondering if I should tell my friend Hermione about where I've been staying since we were chosen for this blasted tournament. I'm also thinking on who I should take with me tomorrow to meet with Griphook if anyone." Salazar nodded, crossing his arms.
"From what I've heard from you and Susan about the girl she could be Rowena reborn with the how brilliant she is." Harry nodded with a smile. "I personally wouldn't tell her. Telling her might bring you more trouble than it's worth. If what you told me about her is true then she has, I hate to say it but I must, she has an ungodly amount of trust in authority. If she believes you shouldn't be here she may alert the teachers and force you back to your dorm even if you don't want to be there. I'm sorry Harry, but I can't allow you to tell her." Harry shook his head.
"No, no, its fine Salazar. Strangely enough I've… found myself questioning her sometimes, like a curtain being lifted slowly to reveal what's behind it. I'm questioning a lot of things about her, Ron and myself. Especially Ron with how several times he's distanced himself from me. Something about them just doesn't add up. And Hermione has been….. Well, to put it simply, it feels like she's smothering me by always being with me when Susan's around or constantly asking where I've been, not to mention the way she's been treating Sue these past few days."
Salazar hid a small frown as he nodded his head. "I know its tough Harry, but maybe you'll find the answer soon. Anyway, you best be off, I believe Susan is waiting for you to head on back to the school for dinner." Harry smiled and nodded, heading out of the study to the common room, missing the sigh coming from Salazar. "A few more weeks and all those damn blocks that were put on him will come off. Just wait a little longer Harry, everything will get better. For you and for the Bones girl."
Harry met Susan in the common room, spotting her on the black leather couch reading a book he'd never seen before. 'Must be from Salazar's library.' "Hey, ready to go?" Susan jumped in surprise, slamming the book shut as she looked to see Harry smirking at her.
"Oh, very funny Harry, you nearly scared me to death." The girl stood as she shrunk the book and put it in her left pocket. "Anyway, yes I'm ready to head to dinner." The two walked over to one of the many doors and the strawberry blond girl opened the door, leading them down a dimly lit passage towards the school.
"So, what was that book you were reading? Don't think I've seen it before." Susan, thankful for the dim lighting, had a slight blush on her cheeks.
"Oh, just another one of my spell books for Foreign Magics. Mostly theory in it though." Harry took the answer with a nod as they continued their trek to the school in silence.
X
Entering the Great Hall they found their bushy haired friend at the Gryffindor table reading over a book. The two champions sat down next to her and greeted the girl.
"Hey Hermione." Susan greeted her and Hermione looked up from her book and nodded to Susan before returning the hello with a smile to Harry.
"Harry, I was looking for you. Where did you disappear to this time? You have to come back to the dorms or you'll get into trouble." Harry frowned and opened his mouth to say something only to be interrupted.
"Ah, Harry, there you are." The trio looked up to find Dumbledore standing behind them. "Ms. Bones, good to see you are doing well. I'm sorry about your house. They have signed a petition to keep you out of the dorms for an undisclosed amount of time. I am truly sorry for that." Susan looked back down to her plate, Albus giving the teen a sad, grandfatherly smile. "Harry, can you please tell me where you have been the last few days? Professor McGonagall has been worried sick about you. Also, where did you learn the spell you used on Mr. Weasley? Gabranth mentioned that it wasn't in your studies."
"I'm sorry for the worry, Professor. I just can't stand to be around Mr. Weasley with the way he's acted towards me and my friends." Dumbledore nodded in understanding.
"Yes, I understand. He revealed a very important secret in front of almost the entire Gryffindor house. He's been spending detention every night for the entire week with Professor Snape." Harry nodded.
"I've been staying in a room on the seventh floor. The classroom is deserted and Susan and I have conjured a screen to give ourselves privacy when needed. As for the spell, I had received the book earlier in the year by mail. Its Arcane Magic of Japan." Dumbledore nodded.
"I would really be at ease if you would return to your dorm, Harry. However, I understand your plight so I will allow it this once. Also, I ask that you be careful with this Arcane Magic. It's very close to the dark arts. Now, I have a plate of pumpkin pie awaiting me so if you'll excuse me." Dumbledore headed back to the staff table while Harry and the girls returned to their own meal.
'Good thing we rehearsed this.' Harry and Susan thought together, keeping their promise to Salazar about the chamber until he said otherwise.
"So you're staying on the seventh floor? Why didn't you say so, Harry, I could come visit at the least." Harry sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Hermione, yes I am staying on the seventh floor but I am not going to tell you out of fear of others coming to find us and possibly attack us. We've had to deal with a few people trying to follow us already so please drop it. I don't even want any of the teachers to know where we are so please, just let it go." Hermione looked frustrated with the boy and opened her mouth to respond when Susan looked at her with a glare.
"Drop it, Hermione. We won't tell you." The three teens went back to their meals, an awkward silence falling between the three of them.
X
Harry walked into the Three Broomsticks with a large black dog next to him. He spotted Griphook waiting at the counter and walked up to greet the goblin. "Good day Griphook. May your profits multiply and the battle be yours." Griphook smiled at the boy and returned the greeting.
"And a good day to you, Mr. Potter. Please follow me. War Chief Ragnok is waiting for us in a private room." The two nodded and followed the goblin up the stairs. They stopped outside the second door they came to and followed Griphook inside, finding a very regal looking goblin. Griphook closed and locked the door, snapping his fingers causing a small flicker of light around the room. "You may reveal yourself now, Lord Black, the room is secure."
The large black dog that had followed Harry lunged forward towards an empty corner of the room and in its place stood a man with mangy black hair with a matching black beard. The man turned towards Harry with a slight grin on his face. "That feels better. Still surprised you asked me to be here instead of that Granger girl. Anyway, shall we get down to business?" the boy nodded as Griphook and Ragnok smirked slightly.
"Good day, Mr. Potter, Lord Black. I am War Chief Ragnok, head of the goblin nation and manager of Gringotts here in Briton." Harry and Sirius bowed the goblin. "Please sit, we have much to talk about and little time." The two sat down before the goblin leader as he cleared his throat. "Now, it is to my understanding, Mr. Potter, that you had an inheritance test taken the day before you left for Hogwarts, is this correct?" Harry nodded.
"Yes sir, I was told by Griphook that I would receive notice of everything by the second of September at the latest and honestly I never really gave it a second thought until I got your letter asking to meet with me." Ragnok nodded in understanding.
"Well, Mr. Potter, the reason we have delayed for this long is a very delicate matter. You see, an inheritance test is to show which houses you are an heir to and what your net worth is and so on and so forth. I have here," Ragnok held up a fat folder filled with papers, "documents on everything you have inherited. However, what makes your matter so delicate is the fact that you are the heir to five other houses that have not had a true heir since the very founders themselves. In other words, you are the true heir to the Potter, Peverell, Slytherin, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw families while also the heir of the Black family through Lord Black if he is unable to produce an heir before he passes." The boy sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose while Sirius whistled in amazement.
"Harry, I knew you were the heir to the Potters and possibly the Gryffindor family but all four founders and the Peverell family too? How are you not surprised at this?"
"It's a long story Sirius, I'll tell you later but only if you explain about having me as your heir. Please continue Lord Ragnok."
"Anyway, it seems you are Gryffindor and Hufflepuff's heir through your father's side of the family and Slytherin and Ravenclaw through your mother. Now, there are a few things that you must know of for all these lines. You will have seats on the Wizengamont for each of the houses as well as on the Board of Governors for Hogwarts. You own several properties pertaining to the Potter line and Hogwarts castle. You have shares in many of the companies in the wizarding world and a few in the muggle world due to your mother's insistence if I remember correctly."
"The final piece of information you need to know is thus. You must marry once for each family. Giving you a total of five wives, six if you include the Black family." Sirius let out a loud laugh from this as Harry just rubbed his temples. "I'm sure you're wondering why you have to do such a thing. The answer is that since you are the last for each line, you must sire a child to continue that line or risk the line dying out and everything going to the ministry, including family tomes, properties and money." Harry covered his face.
"Why can't anything be normal for me?" Ragnok leaned back in his chair.
"It has also been brought to my attention that there has been a violation of your parents' will. We are currently investigating all transactions made before your eleventh birthday and any that are made without your presence. So far, your current vault, your trust vault, has been emptied out several times before this year. We are currently tracking everything to where it went and once found, it will be returned. This however, will be done slowly until your fifteenth birthday."
"Wait, why his fifteenth birthday and not now?" Ragnok looked to Sirius as he looked back both confused and angered.
"It was stated in his parent's will that he can only be emancipated at the age of fifteen. If we emancipated him now we would be no better than whoever placed him with the Dursley's and whoever has been stealing from his vault throughout his life since his parent's death. With the four founder vaults being added into his inheritance, this could become a riot of marriage contracts and contests to his claim, even though the founders themselves charmed their vaults to only reactivate when a true heir to their lines have been chosen. You, Mr. Potter are that heir." Harry nodded in understanding.
"No offense, Master Ragnok, but don't you have any good news?" Ragnok and Griphook looked at the boy confused for a moment.
"I'm afraid I don't understand, Mr. Potter." Sirius looked to Harry and answered for him.
"I believe he sees being the Founders' heir not as a good thing but a bad thing." The goblin and Harry both nodded.
"I see. I'm afraid, Mr. Potter that this is all I have for you at the moment. I'm also sorry about this but I have one last piece of bad news for you and it deals with carrying on the house lines." Harry nodded. "As I told you, you must marry and sire an heir for each house. The bad news is, you must marry by your sixteenth birthday or you will lose that house or possibly be subject to a marriage contract with someone you may not wish to marry at all." Harry looked at the goblin stunned before placing his head in his hands.
"My life just keeps getting worse and worse." Ragnok shook his head at the boy.
"I'm sorry Mr. Potter but you must walk the roads just as any other wizard. If it wasn't for the fact that ALL marriage contracts come through my office, then you could be in an even worse situation because of them. I know this is not something you want but you must show the same bravery you showed when you faced down those hundreds of Dementors and the Basilisk you killed. You can change the world with the amount of power you will gain from this Mr Potter. For better or worse will be for you to decide." The head of Gringotts pulled out a pocket watch. "That is all I have for you at this time Mr. Potter. Griphook will continue to watch over your accounts while I have my best investigators find your property. I will meet with you after this school year to discuss your options." Harry and Sirius nodded, the teen shaking the goblin's hand.
"Thank you for everything, War Chief. While I do not wish for it, there is nothing I can do, I guess. I welcome your council on these matters in the future." The Goblin grinned as he shook hands with the boy.
"It will be my pleasure to ensure you are given the utmost respect when it comes to your business with us, Mr. Potter. Now, I shall take my leave. Should you require any advice for this tournament, do not hesitate to ask Griphook or myself. I hear the creatures they use for the first task are very dangerous….. of the flying, fire breathing category of dangerous." The goblins left the room, leaving a shocked Harry and Sirius.
"Dragons." The two muttered before looking to the other.
X
"You mean to tell me that there are going to be DRAGONS?" Susan's voice filled the chamber's study as Harry told her what the first task was going to be. Salazar sat in his large painting with a glass of wine and a scowl. "Do you know what kind they're using?" Harry shook his head.
"Ragnok only gave me the clue of what we'll be facing, not the species. I don't know anything that could help me with dragons…. Do you have any ideas Salazar?" The founder's painting hummed for a minute.
"Well, I once used my Parsletongue on a dragon before and it understood me….. took me forever to convince it to leave my village alone though." Susan placed her face in her hands.
"That's all well and good for you Harry, but I'm pretty much screwed. I don't have anything besides combat magic and dragons are resistant to all forms." Harry placed a hand on her shoulder.
"We'll find out something for you, Susan. I'm not gonna let you die or go about this whole damned tournament alone. Neither of us wanted to be in this damn thing, so I'll help you in any way I can." Susan looked up with a genuine smile, one of the few that Harry's seen all year.
"Thanks Harry, you really are a great friend." Salazar smiled at the two.
"Then I believe the two of you are going to be missing a lot of class this year. It's a good thing the house elves can get in here to deliver food and whatnot because for the next couple of weeks until the first task, you two are going to be put through the ringer." Salazar watched the two teens nod at him. "Now, go get some sleep and think about which classes you want to still attend. Those are the only classes you'll be going to for a while. Starting tomorrow, you're learning from me."
X
And here you go with another chapter. Next time we have the first task and add two new friends to Harry and Susan's small group.