I've recently seen on tumblr a post where someone was explaining that when Snape asked Harry the question about the ingredients of the Draught of Living Death (asphodel and wormwood) in his first potion class, he was also saying "I bitterly regret Lily's death" according the the Victorian Flower Language. To which I will reply the same thing Harry said to Ron in the 4th book: "Who... who could possibly figure that out? That's completely mental."

Things are getting quite heated up here in France. It leaves me wondering what kind of year 2016 is going to be with what happened a few days ago.

Anyway, enjoy the 4th chapter.

Edit: Fixed a few mistakes here and there.

"Talking"

Spells

Thinking

"Telepathy"

"Spirit Talking"


Harry's first day with the Bones was, in his opinion, quite eventful.

First, he got a crash course about house-elves after he freaked out seeing one disappear with his trunk. Initially, it sounded like slavery, but Amelia explained to him that, without being bonded to wizard or a witch, a house elf would only live for half a dozen years. The reason for that was the house elves depended on the bond's magic to survive and while some might choose a few years of freedom due to the way their owners treated them, most still preferred to serve a master and their family until they died of old age. When Harry had asked why they had to live like this, Amelia shrugged and said, "Magic made them that way, Harry. We don't really know how they came to be, but house-elves have been around for centuries, if not more."

He didn't have much to say after that. Besides, the little creatures were very devoted to their tasks and they certainly looked happy to do their chores.

After that, he was given a tour of the manor by a very enthusiastic Susan (which took them close to fifteen minutes) before they were called down for supper by Amelia. When Harry sat down, he was surprised to find a couple of potion vials beside his plate.

"Madam Pomfrey was kind enough to give me the doses you'll need to take for the next two months of your potion regiments." Amelia told him. "You'll need to drink those each two days, starting today."

Harry nodded and opened the vial before downing the first potion in one go. Immediately, his face scrunched up in disgust. "Blegh! Why does it have to taste so bad?" he said.

Amelia chuckled. "Don't they say good medicine always tastes bad? What were you expecting, pumpkin juice?"

Harry shook his head as he opened the second vial. "No, but it's magic we're talking about." he replied as he downed the potion and made another disgusted face. "Can't they do anything about the taste with a spell or something?"

"It's been tried before, Harry, but it often decreases the potency of the potion, or even completely changes its effect." was the answer.

"Let's hope I will get accustomed to the taste soon if I have to take this for at least two months..." he muttered, drawing a chuckle from Amelia and Susan.

It was the latter that spoke next. "But I don't understand. Why do you need potions, Harry? Were you hurt somewhere?" she asked with a concerned tone.

Harry stiffened in his chair as Amelia rounded on her niece. "Susan Miranda Bones! That is a very improper question and you will apologize immediately!"

Startled by her aunt's tone, Susan did just that. "I-I'm sorry, Harry. I-uh-I didn't know it was a delicate subject. Forgive me."

Harry took a deep breath and relaxed slightly. "It-It's ok, Susan. You couldn't have known." he said with a sigh before he looked at her in the eyes. "It's just that my relatives weren't the kindest of people. They had a... strong dislike for magic." he explained, not really willing to go into details.

Susan's eyes widened in horror and realization. "Did they...?"

He nodded stiffly as he looked down.

The Bones heiress shook her head in disbelief. "I-I..." she was at loss for words.

Amelia gently laid a hand on Harry's shoulder, making him look up at her. "Don't think about it anymore, Harry." she said softly. "You will not ever have to go back with them, this I assure you. I understand that it is a sore subject for you, and perhaps it will always be, but you should not dwell on it. Remember the past, and learn from it, but focus on the present and the future." she advised him.

"Wise words coming from an equally wise person." Undine praised the head of the DMLE. "You should listen to her, Harry. I feel that you could learn a lot from her."

Harry nodded and returned his attention to his plate, although not feeling quite hungry.

The rest of supper passed in quiet conversation between the three, with Amelia asking them various questions about Susan and Harry's year aside from the troll and philosopher stone incidents. Soon, however, she retired to her study, as she still had a lot of paperwork to go through, leaving both Susan and Harry to their own devices.

So, Harry decided to go to his room and unpack. Susan told him that she was going to write a couple of letters to her friends and that if he needed anything, he could either go to her or call one of the house-elves.

The rest of the afternoon, he spent it reading the study material inside his books. He figured it was a good time as any to do it and see if there was anything important he might have missed in the first-year curriculum and take a look at what he would learn in the coming years. He immediately discarded History of Magic, though. Who in their right mind would want to read something Bins was reciting all day long?

Well, aside from Hermione, of course.

It made him a bit angry to find that the question Snape had asked him in his first potion class about the Draught of Living Death was something covered in fifth year, but he didn't dwell on it. However, he quickly found potions to be a very interesting subject. He supposed that it was just the greasy git's attitude and teaching method that made him hate it.

He went quickly through Astrology. Though he enjoyed watching the stars, finding the truth of the universe by studying their patterns and movements wasn't something that interested him much. He did the same for Herbology. Though he was quite... adept at taking care of plants thanks to his relatives, he didn't have the kind of talent Neville had for the subject.

Charms he found relatively easy. Harry wasn't someone to learn by theory, but by practice. Magic was, after all, all about intent and though people like Hermione could achieve results by doing everything in the book to the letter, he found it easier for him to learn by trial and error until he managed to cast the spell successfully. He was thankful he didn't have Seamus' tendency for blowing things up, else he was pretty sure he would have destroyed the room. The Four also guided him several times when he was stuck on a particular spell and Harry welcomed their guidance. It was nice to have someone help him, for once.

Transfiguration was surprisingly easy. Again, it was more about intent and visualizing the transformation than wand movements or incantations, and Harry found that he had little problem in doing so.

Most of his time, however, he ended up spending on studying his Defense Against the Dark Arts book. The lessons with Quirrell had been anything but useful and after his confrontation with Voldemort, his conversation with Dumbledore and what the Four had told him, he had made it his priority to learn everything he could on how to defend himself. Learning Spirit Arts and how to fight was great, but it would do him little good if he didn't know what he was facing and how to protect himself against it or didn't know how to counter a specific curse. He took note of the battle-oriented spells listed and of the other potentially useful ones, figuring that he would find a way to practice them. He found it quite surprising that such simple spells as Lumos and its Maxima counterpart could be used to blind your enemies if you overpowered them.

"Working hard, I see."

Harry jumped from his seating position on the bed, startled, and turned to find Amelia standing in the doorway, looking at him with an amused smile.

"Not even a single day out of school and you are already going through the books." she shook her head. "Perhaps you have more of your mother in you than just her eyes." she said as she sat down beside him.

"You knew my mom?" Harry asked with a gleam in his eyes.

Amelia nodded. "Yes. Although she was only in her first year and I was in my third when we met. She always had her nose in a book and she wasn't afraid to voice her opinions or questions. She asked me for help a couple of times, and we quickly became friends. She was one of the smartest witches I have ever met and, more often than not, I would see her with a book or two under an arm. She also had quite a fiery temperament and would always explode in righteous anger if someone pushed her, something your father excelled at." she laughed slightly. "Perhaps that is why she was sorted in Gryffindor and not Ravenclaw."

"What about my dad?" he asked.

"I stayed quite clear of James and his friends in school." she replied. "Your father quickly got a reputation of a prankster and a ladies' man, so I endeavored to avoid him as much as I could. Though that didn't prevent him to try his chance with me anyway, but I quickly shut him down." she shook her head fondly. "Besides, everyone could see that, by their third year, he was clearly head over heels with your mother. I worked with him after he enrolled in the Auror Corps, but other than that, I didn't know him as much as I knew Lily."

Harry smiled sadly. "I don't know much about them. Everyone tell me how much I look like my father but have my mother's eyes, or how good they were at school but other than that..." he shrugged. "I didn't even have any pictures of them before Hagrid gave me the photo album."

Amelia grabbed him by the shoulders and turned him to her, looking at him in the eyes. "You are more than just a cross between your mother and your father, Harry. You are your own person, never let anyone tell you otherwise. True you are almost a carbon copy of your father when he was your age, and you may have your mother's eyes, but that is only a few aspects of what makes you, you. Your personality is very much different from your parents', even if yours share some traits with theirs. Who our parents are or how they live do not define who we are or how we live. Remember that, Harry."

Harry nodded, at loss for words, and she ruffled his hair gently with a fond smile. "They would be proud of you, I'm sure of it." she said as she stood up. "Now come downstairs. It's time for supper and I think you studied enough for today."

"I'll be right down." he said quietly as she left the room. No one had ever ruffled his hair like this and he found it to be surprisingly nice. Almost calming, even.

For a moment, Harry just stayed on the bed, his gaze going to the photo album Hagrid had given him that was sitting on the nightstand.

Would they really be proud of me?

A tear slowly rolled down his cheek, it was soon followed by a couple more, and then others until a slow flood of tears was falling from his eyes as he shook in silent sobs.

I miss them. I just miss them so much.

Some people say you can't miss what you never had. But for Harry, watching other children and their parents for years, along with what the Mirror of Erised had shown him, had created a void in his heart, a void that yearned to be filled with parental affection from someone.

Once again, he felt the comforting presence of the Four envelop him.

"It's alright, Harry. Let it out." Undine softly told him.

"Promise me." he choked out. "Promise that you'll never leave me. That I won't be alone again."

"On our honor as Great Spirits." Efreet swore and Harry felt the other three agree through their bond.

It took Harry a few minutes to collect himself before he rose from the bed and made his way downstairs to join Amelia and Susan, who were already seated at the table. The woman sent him a concerned look, to which he smiled in response and nodded his head to indicate that he was alright.

Susan looked between her aunt and Harry with a slight frown but mentally shrugged and returned to her meal.

Dinner passed in silence. Harry was too emotionally drained for small talk, Amelia, sensing his emotional state, chose to respect his silence and Susan felt the situation was too awkward to say anything.

It was only when they were all done that Amelia broke the silence. "Is there anything you'd like to do, Harry?" seeing his confused look, she elaborated. "You are not going to spend your summer inside your room studying, are you? Surely there are other things that interest you?"

Harry blushed in embarrassment. He hadn't really thought about that. "W-well, I don't know..."

Susan blinked at him. "What do you mean, you don't know?" then she gasped. "Don't tell me you never did anything you enjoyed outside of Hogwarts!"

Harry didn't reply.

Amelia sighed heavily as she pinched the bridge of her nose. She wanted to scold her niece for what she had just said but she was busy trying not to get angry. Part of her mind was telling her she should have expected it, having been told Harry had been confined into a cupboard for most of his life, but it was still hard to imagine someone would do this to a child. It was nothing short of a miracle that Harry had turned out as he did. From Pomfrey's report, it seemed that his magic had constantly been working to help its master go through his daily life. From what she remembered, Harry had made a lot of fits of accidental magic since the day he was born. The fact that his magic had manifested on the outside only half a dozen times in the ten years he had spent with his relatives spoke for itself.

"Harry." she called, making the boy turn to her. "You don't have to answer immediately. Take your time to think about it and you can tell me your answer tomorrow." she told him.

Harry simply nodded before he bid her and Susan goodnight and went back to his room, the Bones heiress gaping at him until he disappeared.

"Just what kind of childhood did he have?" she said absently.

Amelia sighed. "I don't think he even had a childhood, Susan." she replied. "He's had a hard life from the time his parents died, and it has left its mark on him." she shook her head. "All he wants is to be a normal boy with normal problems, but I'm afraid that's something that will never happen. That is the curse of being Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, Savior of the Wizarding World."

Susan looked at the empty chair, sorrow etched on her features. "And to think everyone believes he has it easy..." she muttered.

"There are very few people who look past his status of hero to see who Harry Potter truly is." her aunt said as she rose. "And even fewer who remember the day he vanquished You-Know-Who is also the day he lost everything."

She left Susan to ponder those words as she made her way back to her study.


Back in his room, Harry was sitting crossed legged on the ground, eyes closed as he tried to empty his mind of all thoughts. The Four had told him he needed to be calm if he was to learn how to cast Spirit Art and meditation was a good step to get rid of his troubled state of mind and become in tune with his environment. He wasn't sure what answer he would give Amelia tomorrow, but he was confident things would turn out alright. Even though he had only met her two days ago, he trusted the Head of the DMLE. As Undine had said, she was a wise person and he had faith in the Water Spirit's judgment.

"There are four steps you must follow in order to channel a Spirit Art." Undine stated. "Mana Emission, Incantation, Pact Completion and Activation."

"First, you must imagine your magic flowing through your body." Efreet instructed him. "You have to visualize your core opening as you would open a tap. The only difference is that your magic is replacing the water and your body is the recipient of it."

"It is important that you learn how to control the flow of your magic and how to trigger its release." Gnome added. "This will make it easier for you to use magic without a foci and to dose the amount of power you'll put into your spells."

Harry exhaled slowly as he tried to follow the instructions. Though it had become much easier for him to use magic since his body had been healed by Madam Pomfrey and Healers Lurand and Mathis, it didn't mean that his control on it was better. If anything else, it had worsened. Since the huge part of his magic that was focused on repairing his body didn't need to anymore, but Harry was still casting spells the same way, he often putted more power than necessary into it.

After a few moments, he succeeded in opening his core. It felt as if his body was coursing with energy, like his power was singing in his blood. It was a bit like the adrenaline rush he had experienced the first time he had played Quidditch, but still different. It was exhilarating.

"Good." Undine praised. "Now you must slowly let it out. Imagine it as an aura that is drawn outside, that you can project. Feel the flow leave your body only to surround it."

Again, Harry did as he was told. Focusing on visualizing his magic flowing out of his body. It took him quite some time, but he eventually managed to let a bit of his magic out.

"Doing this draws the spirits to you. They will feed on the mana you projected and use its power to cast the Art." Efreet continued. "Now say the incantation to complete the Pact."

Harry took a breath and opened his eyes as he brought his hands in front of him. "Let there be light. Lux." he said clearly.

Harry felt the magical energy disappear as a small ball of light formed between his hands. He couldn't help but look at it in awe as it floated and pulsed gently. It felt different from the Lumos spell, purer, in a way.

"Congrats, kid." Sylph said, and he could feel her grinning. "You've just cast your first Spirit Art." he couldn't help but grin too.

"Although it took you close to twenty minutes to go through the four steps, you did well." Efreet added. "As we progress, Spirit Channeling should become like a second nature to you and you will be able to cast much faster, until the entire process is reduced to mere seconds."

"Still, it is quite impressive that you managed it after only two days." Gnome chimed in. "I believe that you should be able to reduce the channeling time to half or less before school starts again."

Harry's smile was positively radiant at that.

He continued to practice the four steps until his protectors told him that he had done enough for the day. What followed was yet another training session inside his mindscape before he finally went to sleep with a content smile on his lips.


The next morning, Harry gave Amelia his answer.

"You want to go to Gringotts?" She repeated in disbelief as she settled the Daily Prophet on the table. "Why is that?"

Harry scratched the back on his head. "Well, I figured that my parents must've had a Vault at their name." he replied. "And I was wondering if they might have left anything for me inside it."

Amelia nodded, she couldn't fault the logic behind that. "Then I suppose a trip to Diagon Alley is in order. Also..." she trailed as she looked him up and down. "I believe you could benefit from some new clothes."

Harry's cheeks reddened in embarrassment. It was true that he still only had Dudley's hands-me-down aside from his Hogwarts Robes.

"Yay! We're going shopping!" Susan shouted in glee before she looked at Harry with a gleam in her eyes. "Don't worry, Harry. Auntie and I will choose the best there is for you."

Harry gulped nervously. Why did he have a feeling of impending doom?

A few minutes later, they were all standing in front of the chimney and Amelia took a pot filled with powder. Harry was wearing his robes and Amelia had charmed his face with a glamour to hide his features ("Think of it like a kind of makeup" she had told him). She understood that he didn't want to get mobbed by people and going incognito was the best option.

"This" she started to explain, "is floo powder. It can be used either to make a floo call to someone or to travel somewhere else instantly." She took a handful of powder in her hand. "First you take some powder and threw it in the chimney." which she did, making emerald green flames roar to life. "Finally, you call the name of your destination clearly and step inside the flames. Understood?"

Harry nodded.

"See you on the other side." She said before taking a breath. "Diagon Alley." and with that, she walked into the flames, who enveloped her, and she disappeared.

"That's quite impressive." Sylph whistled.

"Yeah, quite." Harry replied, looking apprehensively at the chimney.

"It can be quite scary and uncomfortable the first time, but there's nothing to fear." Susan said beside him as she presented the powder filled pot to him. "You just have to make sure you say your destination clearly. Who knows where you'll end up otherwise. Oh, and don't resist or panic."

Harry took a deep breath before he nodded and took a handful of powder before throwing it in the chimney.

"Diagon Alley!" he said loudly as he stepped forward and disappeared in a sea of green flames.

While it felt a bit similar to the portkey travel he had experienced yesterday, Harry had to say it wasn't as much uncomfortable. Still, that didn't mean he enjoyed it, far from it. It was as if he was moving at extreme speeds while not moving at all.

He wasn't much surprised when he came flying out of the floo point in Diagon Alley.

"Arresto Momentum!"

Only to stop a few inches from hitting a wall before falling to the ground with an 'oomph'.

"My, I can't say I've ever seen such an exit from floo travel. I dare say it doesn't quite agree with you, Harry." Amelia said with an amused smile as she helped him stand up.

"Give me a broom any day." he grumbled under his breath, making her chuckle.

"You'll get used to it, I'm sure." she said as she dusted his robes. "And perhaps you will manage to make your future floo travels not as spectacular as this one.

He rolled his eyes. "No promises."

The next moment, there was a flash of green flames as Susan came stumbling out of the floo point. She looked between her aunt, who was hiding a small smile, and Harry, who was staring intensely at her. "What?" she asked. "Do I have something on my face?"

Harry just shook his head with a sigh as Amelia directed them into the Leaky Cauldron.

"Ah, good day Madam Bones." Tom greeted her from behind the bar. "Is there anything I can serve you and your companions?"

Amelia shook her head. "Not today, Tom. We have quite the busy schedule. Maybe later."

The barman dipped his head in acknowledgment before he returned to clean his glasses as the trio exited the inn. Just like the last time Harry had been there, Diagon Alley was bubbling with activity, although there were less people, but he spent no time admiring everything around him as they quickly made their way to Gringotts.

The Goblins looked still as nasty and ferocious as he remembered, he thought as a pair bowed them through the huge silver doors into the vast marble hall.

"Peculiar creatures." Undine commented. "They are warmongers and yet they are highly intelligent and as greedy as they are bloodthirsty."

"They are an ancient race, I can feel it." Gnome said. "Who knows how they developed and what kind of knowledge they accumulated over the centuries."

"The fact that they have managed to place themselves in a position of power among the Wizarding World speaks for itself." Efreet added. "Better not make an enemy of them, Harry. The consequences wouldn't be good for anyone."

Harry nodded as they approached a free goblin at one of the counters and Amelia quickly removed his glamour.

"Good day, master goblin." she greeted. "Mister Harry Potter would like to visit his family vault."

The goblin's eyes rose from his book of numbers to scan the three individuals before him before they settled on Harry. "And does Mister Potter have his key?" he asked.

Harry shook his head. "I only have the key to my Trust Vault, sir." he responded.

The goblin nodded. "In this case, you will need to see the Potter's account manager. If you will be so kind as to wait a moment." he said before he got out of his seat and disappeared behind one of the numerous doors to come back a few minutes later with another goblin in tow.

"I am account manager Sharpclaw." he introduced himself. "If you will please follow me to my office, we can get this business underway shortly."

Thus they followed the goblin through a couple of corridors before he led them into a little office and sat behind a desk as Harry, Amelia and Susan sat in chairs.

"Now, I was informed that Mister Potter here," he looked at Harry. "wishes to visit his family vault but does not have his key. Is that correct?"

Harry nodded.

"Under normal circumstances, we would require either your parents or your magical guardian's authorization in order to allow you to get the key to your family vault, as you are underage." Sharpclaw continued. "However, seeing as you are the last living heir of your bloodline, those conditions do not apply to you. While your magical guardian will be informed of your doings with the contents of the vault, you are only required to prove your lineage in order to request a new key to access it."

"And how do I prove that I'm who I say I am?" Harry asked.

"It's simple." the goblin said as he withdrew a blank page of parchment and a wicked looking knife from the desk' drawers. "To perform the inheritance test, you are required to shed blood onto this parchment."

Harry looked at the knife apprehensively. "Why?"

It was Amelia that answered. "A wizard's blood contains your magical signature, Harry. It is very potent substance in the magical sense and can be used for various means, rituals in particular, or to agree to an oath." she explained to him. "The parchment is charmed to analyze your blood and show its, shall we say, properties."

"A word of advice, Mister Potter." Sharpclaw said. "Never let anyone draw blood from you. As Madam Bones here told you, there are a lot of uses for a wizard's blood and a good majority of those would be considered Dark Magic. If someone ask you to sign a document with your blood, make sure to check everything the document entails before you do."

Harry weakly nodded. "Thank you for the warning."

Sharpclaw grunted in acknowledgment before he once more presented the knife to him. Harry gingerly took the thing before he quickly made a cut on his left hand to let a few drops of his blood fall onto the parchment. Immediately, the red dots were absorbed by the paper and lines of the same color started to appear on it. All four people leaned forward to see what they said.

Name: Harry James Potter

Heir to the: Ancient and Noble House of Potter

Most Ancient and Noble House of Peverell

Most Ancient and Noble House of Slytherin (by Right of Conquest)

Silence followed as the three humans and one goblin registered what exactly the two lines bellow the one concerning the House of Potter meant.

Sharpclaw hummed, frowning at the parchment. "Most intriguing. And quite unexpected." he glanced at Harry. "I'm sorry Mister Potter, but I must inform Director Ragnok of this. The fact that you are Heir to two Most Noble and Ancient Houses isn't something that can simply be ignored." and with that, the goblin jumped from his seat and made his way out of his office at a fast pace.

Again, there was silence.

Ultimately, it was Amelia that broke it.

"Well, this is quite surprising indeed." she commented as she leaned back into her chair with a sigh and turned to Harry. "To think you would be Heir to one of the Hogwarts' Founders, even by Right of Conquest..." she shook her head. "This is a bit problematic."

Harry tilted his head at her. "Why? And what does the Right of Conquest mean?"

"It means that you have defeated the once and last rightful Heir of Slytherin and that the Magics tied to the Slytherin line have acknowledged you as being the Heir." Susan answered. "There were rumors during the war that You-Know-Who was the Heir of Slytherin, but this confirms it."

Harry gaped at the Bones Heiress, who smiled at him. "Auntie taught me well."

"As for why it is problematic," Amelia continued, "it's because aside from You-Know-Who, there hasn't been an Heir to any of the Founders in several centuries. If it were to become public knowledge that you became one, the Heir of Slytherin at that, you would immediately be thrust into the political side of the magical world, even though you are not emancipated, and it would paint a huge target on your back. I doubt even Dumbledore would be able to help you if that happened."

Harry felt like his head was spinning. Sure, he had expected that being the Heir of Slytherin would be quite important but to this extend?

"Then, what should I do?" he asked her.

Amelia massaged her temples. "The best option would be to keep this information a secret until you are at least more knowledgeable about the customs of the Wizarding World. You have, after all, only been reintroduced to your heritage since less than a year." she gazed at him with a determined look in her eyes. "I will teach you what I can during the time you are staying with us. I'll also give you material on the subject so that you can continue what I've began."

"A most excellent initiative, Madam Bones." a new voice said, and they turned to see Sharpclaw closing the office's door behind another goblin. "May I suggest that someone also teach Mr Potter how to defend himself? The boy has many enemies, after all." he added before turning to Sharpclaw. "Seal the room."

Sharpclaw bowed. "Yes, Director Ragnok." and swept his hand toward the door, which glowed blue for a moment and there was light hum before it stopped, and the goblin turned to his superior. "The room is secure, sir."

Ragnok nodded and turned back to the three humans, who rose from their chairs. "Well met, Mr Potter. Before we proceed to business, however, I must ask you something: have you ever received either your bank statements or the various letters Gringotts has sent you over the years?"

Harry blinked. That was new. "Hum, no, I can't say I did." he replied.

Amelia sighed in exasperation as she palmed her face. "I can only suppose Dumbledore put a mail ward to intercept all mail you would have received. While I can understand why he would have done so, that's not an excuse not to inform either you or the DMLE of that little fact."

Ragnok frowned. "It is troubling indeed that Mister Potter's magical guardian did not inform Gringotts of such a thing either." he mused as he waved his hand and the desk was replaced by a short table while the chairs were replaced by couches. He invited them to sit down once more before he took place in the couch facing them, Ripclaw standing slightly behind him. "As understandable as it is that he would do such a thing for fear of Mister Potter being harmed by trapped letters, he could have simply asked Gringotts to put a scanning and a filtering ward to make sure such letters wouldn't come near Mr Potter." he added before looking at Amelia. "I trust that you will handle the matter accordingly."

The head of the DMLE nodded. "Certainly."

Ragnok nodded back before turning to Harry. "Now, Mr Potter, would you be so kind as to show me the results of your inheritance test that you are holding?" he said as he presented his open hand toward Harry, who looked down to find the piece of parchment clutched tightly in his hand.

He quickly gave it to the goblin while muttering an embarrassed apology under his breath.

Ragnok examined the parchment for a moment before he made a sound between a sigh and grunt. "This is an... unexpected event." he said before his gaze settled on Harry. "Understand, Mr Potter, that I would like nothing else than give you ownership of the Slytherin and Peverell vaults. However, in order to claim those vaults you would be required to take your lordship, thus making you an emancipated minor. As pointed by Madam Bones earlier, that is not something that would help you right now."

Harry crossed his arms as he frowned in concentration. "That's all well and good, but what does it have to do with me wanting to visit my family vault?"

The silence that followed that question was overwhelming.

Then Ragnok threw his head back and roared in laughter as everyone save for Gringotts' Director and Harry facepalmed. Harry simply looked between Ragnok and the other people who held their heads in their hand, confused.

The goblin's laughter slowly receded until it became a loud chuckle. "I like you, Mr Potter. I haven't laughed like this in ages. You are a most interesting person, even for a wizard, that is for sure. I cannot think of anyone who would not express at least a veiled interest in becoming the owner of two of the richest vaults in Britain." he shook his head, still chuckling.

"Of course it interests me. I mean, who wouldn't be interested in knowing what they have." Harry shrugged. "But that's not why I'm here right now so why would I bother with this?"

That sent Ragnok into another fit of chuckles, his form shaking with mirth. "Why bother, indeed." he managed to choke out between chuckles.

"B-but, Harry!" Susan spluttered. "Don't you realize how important this is?!"

Harry blinked at her. "I do. But Amelia said that me being the Heir of those Houses would only paint a bigger target on me and Ragnok just told us I needed to take my lordship in order to access the vaults, something we don't want to happen. So why should I waste my time with this when I came here to visit my family vault?"

The only sound that could be heard in the room was that of Ragnok's renewed laughter.


So I chose to end this one on a touch of humor. I could have continued further into Harry's visit of his vault, but I will save that for the next chapter.

This one took me longer than I expected due to and English exam and a few more things that I had to take care of, but I hope to be able to give the next chapter in a week (more or less).

Don't hesitate to review and give me your impressions. I accept anything beside baseless flaming.

This is MidnightFenrir, author of "Harry Potter and the Four Elemental Spirits", signing out.