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The Ruins of House Potter
Chapter 6 – Diagon Alley
By Jamnaz79
Notice: I do not own Harry Potter. I do not claim to own it or wish to make any money off of it. I am merely using the characters to write some hopefully enjoyable stories. All rights belong to the sacred lady, may she grace us with future stories someday.
Harry flipped over the letter and scanned over the list on the other side. He had a number of these items but he didn't have all of these books. A smile crossed his lips as he considered the shopping trip. Almost as if a light went off for the boy his emeralds seem to catch the light of the room and glow brightly!
Before the thirteen year old could open his mouth Remus spoke up, "Yes Harry, after breakfast we can go to Diagon Ally and get you a wand."
It was the fastest breakfast that the boy would ever eat. In record time the paid were fed, watered and apprarating out of the residence to the ally for shopping for first year.
~~~ RoHP ~~~
Harry had been to Diagon Alley before on a few short shopping trips with Dr. Lupin. Normally they would go pick up a book or two, some potion ingredients or other minor things and depart. Today would be different. Today was his shopping trip to get his things for Hogwarts. Even more important at the age of thirteen he could claim his heirship ring for the House of Potter.
His family may be considered in disgrace according to most wizards and witches but they were still an ancient house. The Potter family had been around since the time of the Druids, they had fought the coming of the romans. It was ironic but Harry had learned that Hadrian's wall was actually named after a Hadrian Potter who was such a fierce fighter with his staff that the Roman's built the wall to separate his domain from their own. Despite what others might think of his parent's darker path, and Remus repeated comments to find a better way in the future, Harry was very proud of his parents. They had fought and died to try to save him.
Diagon Alley was beautiful and amazing. They arrived by apprarating to an alley just outside of the Leaking Cauldron. There they walked into the establishment. They moved quickly through the establishment with little trouble. While Tom may have recognized Remus as it seemed the bartender knew who everyone that set foot in his establishment was, he was not close or friendly with the man. Then again most wizards and witches would keep away from a werewolf, even a friendly one like Remus. Discrimination was a rampant problem in the wizarding world, not that muggles were much better. Still, Harry found it strange to judge someone based on just what they were born or cursed with instead of the actions of the individual.
The first stop on the trip was to go to Gringotts. The young man and werewolf quickly walked down the packed Alley towards the bank. The bank was a large multi-story marble building at the end of the alleyway. It towered over nearby shops and structures. As the pair reached it Harry glanced at the sign outside by two goblin guards.
Enter, stranger, but take heed
Of what awaits the sin of greed
For those who take, but do not earn,
Must pay most dearly in their turn.
So if you seek beneath our floors
A treasure that was never yours,
Thief, you have been warned, beware
Of finding more than treasure there.
A slight grimace after reading the sign covered the face of the young man. He had no intention of becoming a thief, let alone from goblins. He had read about them, they followed a strict disciplined existence. According to the history books that Remus had from around the world they were fierce warriors that lacked any compassion to their enemies. It seemed that despite the popular belief that Wizards had been defeating goblins in rebellions it seemed that the creatures won as often as they lost. Harry was curious about the smaller folk, they lived a warrior lifestyle.
Remus walked to one of the queues which all seemed to contain about five deep with witches and wizards. It took around twenty minutes before the line opened up enough for Remus and Harry to get to the front. Once there a goblin with white hair around a bald head looked up over its spectacles, "Next."
"We come for Mr. Potter to claim his trust vault and heirship." Remus spoke calmly and clearly.
The goblin looked over its spectacles with a frown aimed at the pair. It spoke with a bored tone, "Key please."
Harry reached into the pocket of his robe and pulled out a key to hand over to the goblin. The creature looked it over for a few moments then handed it back. It turned towards the doorway towards the back, "Splatterock will see you to your Account Manager. Next!"
Remus and Harry were quickly ushered out of line to follow a goblin guard. Whenever someone entered into the areas of Gringotts outside of the lobby or the single hallway towards the carts they would be escorted by a goblin warrior. This guard was armored it chain main covering its body and large wicked looking axe on its back. The goblin walked at a pace that was just as fast as a human, the butt of the spear slamming down onto the marble with each step. A thought went through Harry's head wondering if this was a way by vibration or sound to track where they were taking humans in the complex.
They reached a doorway that had two guards standing next to an ancient goblin. . The creature was bald on top but had a tuft of white hair around the edges and coming from its ears. The teeth of the creature were yellowed as it seemed to smile at Harry, or at least he hoped that was a smile! But it was the eyes of the creature which were interesting, they were black ink dots that seemed to be avoid of color, "You are Mr. Potter correct?"
"Yes Master Goblin, I am Harry Potter. Thank you for meeting me so swiftly," Harry had manners taught to him when younger by Remus, the fact that these goblins were considered great warriors worthy of respect only added to the need to be polite and firm. They were not your friends, but they should be respected as they were dangerous and powerful creatures. Not to mention the fact that they held almost all of Wizarding Britain's money supply.
"I am Jaggedsteel Account Manager for the Ancient House of Potter and allies. You will follow me Mr. Potter." The goblin was abrupt and determined as it turned around and started to walk off expecting Harry to follow. The young man did and soon the pair of guards formed ranks behind the pair as they walked through the twisting corridors of Gringotts. They walked for fifteen minutes and if they had traveled a far distance or shot one Harry could not be certain since the corridors seemed to twist and turn at every possible direction.
Finally they came to a door with a name Jaggedsteel on the door. Under the goblin's name were the name Potter and his families crest followed by Diggory, Wood and Russell along with their crests. It was something that Harry had not expected and he made a mental note to ask if there was a reason for the occurrence.
The office was very Spartan with only a bookshelf in the corner and a pair of battle axes on the wall behind the desk. Besides those few items there seemed to be no personal effects that Harry could tell. Then again with the seeming personality of goblins he doubted many would keep pictures of wives and children at their desks. The goblin settled in and cleared his throat to bring attention back to him. "It is my understanding Mr. Potter that you wish to claim your family heritage correct?"
"I do wish to claim my Heirship account Manager. I am aware that I require being fifteen to claim the Lordship of the Household." Harry calmly replied as he settled down in the seat across from the goblin.
The goblin smiled or at least showed its yellowed fanged teeth at the teen. Then it turned towards the bookshelf and pulled off a dagger, bowl, and parchment. It turned back around and placed these items down onto the table before the young man. "First you must prove you are who you claim."
The boy stared at the bowl, dagger and parchment and raised an eyebrow at the goblin, "What do you I do?"
"You simply slice your hand and pour blood into the bowl. If you are Henry James Potter then you have nothing to worry over. If you are not Mr. Potter then the dagger will strip your magic and most likely your life from you. Further if you are found attempting theft from Gringotts we will confiscate the remained of your life to work in the mines, if you survive of course." That strange, freaky smile came back again except it was widened into a grin where he could see the sharped fangs of the goblin. "Finally we would lay claim to any female family members as our property."
"Female family member?" Harry blinked in confusion at the goblin as he picked up the dagger and sliced his palm. The droplets fell into the bowl three times before the cut sealed up on its own.
"Have you ever seen a female goblin Mr. Potter?" The question was asked almost as if it was an everyday conversation but at that moment Harry felt a chill run down his spine. Suddenly he definitely didn't want to know what the goblins might be doing with a female family member of a wizard's family.
The goblin reached over and dropped a number of herbs and mushrooms into the bowl. Next Jaggedsteel took hold of the dagger and started to mix together the items slowly scraping the dagger across the bowls interior. After a few moments the mixture caught on fire burning up till a black smooth substance only remained. Finally Jaggedsteel poured this out onto the parchment below. The blood mixture spread out over the parchment slowly seeping into it and spreading till it fully covered the parchment. Next the blood mixture pulled back from the edges to start to form writing.
When it was completed Jaggedsteel turned the parchment towards Harry for him to read. "Unfortunately we do not get to strip your magic today Mr. Potter."
Henry James Potter
Born:
July 31st 1978 11:57 pm
Parents:
James Charlus Potter
Lily Marie Potter nee' Evans
Titles:
Heir of the Ancient House of Potter
1st rank
Heir of the Noble and Ancient House of Peverell
2nd Rank
Heir of the Noble and Ancient House of Black
2nd Rank
Heir of the Noble and Ancient House of Gryffindor
3rd Rank
Magical Abilities:
Magical core – Blocked 50% - Placed on November 1st 1981
Affinity – Runes, Wards, Charms
House Potter Properties and Businesses:
Potter Manor – condition: half ruins
Godrick's Hollow – ruins
Flat in Rome – leased
Flat in London – leased
Flat in New York – leased
Townhouse in Orlando Florida – Open
Flat in Sydney – Leased
Flat in Paris – leased
Small House in Manchester- Open
Cottage in Cork Ireland – leased
Butterbeer factory – 15% ownership
Potter shipping – 65% ownership in stock – Muggle Company
Longbottom Herbology – 20% Ownership
Daily Prophet – 10% Ownership
Stock Ownership – multiple muggle companies
Potter Vault:
750,000 galleons
125,095 sickles
145,990 knuts
50,000 galleons precious gems
Material possessions: numerous
Trust Vault:
10,000 galleons – refilled August 1st each year
"Mr. Potter as you can see the accounts are rather large but your estate is rather minuscule compared to prior generations. While Lord Charlus, your grandfather, ran your estate well you were near the upper piers of Britain in wealth. Unfortunately after his death your father decided to spend heavily on the war effort. He was the main financer of the war against He-who-must-not-be-named. In addition there were fines leveled against House Potter with the loss of the Noble title to the House of Longbottom. One million galleons were confiscated by your allies. It should be noted that you have income from properties and investments that were still in place. Sadly, they are far less since most of the properties were sold off by your father as well." The aged goblin frowned at the statement. If one looked closely they would see more than a bit of anger in his gaze. He shook it off though and continued, "I hope that we will have a good relationship to see your accounts fully replenish."
Harry forced a smile at the statement by the creature as he looked over the full details. He remembered being told that one galleon was equal to fifty pounds which meant with gems he was worth around forty million pounds! He was rich and could perhaps never have to work in his life. Then again if what the goblin was saying was true then he was far from rich like the family had been let alone the other elite families. "It says here that my magical core was left blocked?"
"You are gifted with a rather large magical core Mr. Potter. Because of this fact you would have experienced an extremely high rate of accidental magic. So it is common for children to have a suppression or block placed on them to lessen the occasions. That block should be removed prior to thirteen years old to allow the child to stabilize and be ready for schooling. It can be removed, for a price of course." The goblin turned his gaze slowly over to the next blocked item with a stern gaze and gave a wicked smile once more at the youth that caused a shiver to run up his spine.
"I will accept the ritual then visit my vaults. I understand there is little other business to consider this day?" Harry questioned politely.
"No Mr. Potter, only the ritual to remove your blocks and claiming your heirship ring Mr. Potter." The goblin stood up and stepped to a shelf. There he pulled down a single wooden box and placed it down onto the table before Harry. The ring was solid gold that had a obsidian facing on the top. There was a large P carved in diamonds and a silver leaf work branch on the top and sword on the bottom.
Harry slowly nodded his head but did not reach for the ring instead he looked back at the parchment, "House Gryffindor and House Peverell?"
A tight smile crossed the lips of the goblin at the question. "House Gryffindor does not have an heir to lay claim properly to it. That is why there are only third rank heirs. The magic of Godric Gryffindor will choose his heir since blood is not possible. He was a bit loose in his morals so there are too many connections in the magical population to Godric Gryffindor and none was from a binding marriage. Since only magic will determine his true Heir every Gryffindor chosen by the Sorting Hat is considered a third rank heir."
The goblins paused for a time considering then spoke firmly, "You are a blood relative of House Peverell but I fear that the requirements to claim heirship of that household you do not currently meet. You must acquire the three artifacts of that household to gain ownership of the house. If you wish to pursue that Gringotts wishes you luck on your future path towards death."
"Death?" Harry blinked in surprise at the dark statement. A part of him wanted to go for a challenge but the more cautious part of him wanted to know more first.
"Read the stories of Beedle the Bard. We at Gringotts have more important matters then to speak of that nonsense." The goblins pushes the ring forward towards Harry and settled back into his chair. "Take the ring and be gone Mr. Potter. Splatterock will see you to the ritual chamber and your vaults. Remember you may not take any gold from the main Potter vault before you take over the lordship. Only items may enter and depart from you."
"I do not have a key for the vault." Harry frowned as he plucked up the heirship ring and slowly slid it onto his body. A small flash of light took place before it resized to his body. He felt a warmth run through him for a second before he felt normal once more.
"You have your heirship ring and blood Mr. Potter." The goblin spoke now seeming to get annoyed at the questions of the boy.
Harry blinked then slowly stood up feeling the animosity of the ancient goblin. He politely bowed his head towards the creature, "Thank you for your time, assistance, and most of all your patience Account Master Jaggedsteel.
The ancient goblin gave a grunt as the boy left with no reply. A slight smile touched the corners of his lips as he found the boy interesting, which is far more than he could say for most wizards.
~~~ RoHP ~~~
Harry and Remus exited from Gringotts two hours later on. The ritual had been exhausting but the young man felt relaxed from excess power he could feel in his body. It had been like a door to a chest had been flung open and suddenly everything inside exploded open. His body felt different than before. He was stronger, hardier and he felt hungrier than before too!
Harry was happy not just for the expensive ritual being completed. He was also happy that he had been able to find journals from his mother and father in the family vault. He now had in writing his mother's thoughts on all of her classes from first year onwards! His father had only started a journal from his fifth year onwards but it was something of James Potter. That was not all they had found. They had found James old bike, a 741 Indian which he used to ride along with Sirius. The bike had so many runes and charms on it that it made Harry drool. But, Remus forced him to swear that he would not use or touch it till he was an adult. Remus may have been thinking of an adult in the muggle world but to Harry he figured it would be two years till he was an adult at 15! He also found his father's old leather riding jacket. It was a heavy leather jacket with a stag on the back. He quickly took that and placed it into his father's school trunk. The trunk was wrapped in dragonhide and had the carving of a dog, wolf, rat, and stag. The trunk was enchanted with an expansion charm, feather-light, locking, and shrinking charm. He had to take it and use it at school. It would be like taking his father with him back to school.
The pair quickly went on to finishing the basic shopping components on Harry's school list. There was a few exceptions that the made certain to acquire. Harry picked up formal robes with the House Potter symbol on it. He also insisted on getting his own broom, even if he wasn't allowed to bring it to school. A Nimbus 1700 was rather expensive but the youth never went all out on spending before today. He also picked up a pair of dragonhide boots despite the cost, good boots are hard to find! Finally, Harry required a number of extra books including the runes book required for this year.
Remus had already promised to send a letter of request for Harry to test into Runes starting his first year. It was not commonly known that a student can take the electives courses in first or second year but would require proof of ability to join the class. Remus had seen the ability of the boy who had taken to Runes like a Hippogriff in flight and agreed to allow Harry to test for Runes.
There was only one item left to get this day before they would be done. That was Harry's wand. Remus had forced the youth to wait for the wand till last as tradition demanded. The day was filled with so many exciting and interesting things taking place that the boy honestly didn't mind. But they quickly went towards Ollivander's to get Harry his wand.
The door closed behind Remus and Harry as he walked into the story. The place was not too large but filled with thousands upon thousands of wands. It seemed that every inch of the front room was used to hold wands up to the space expanded ceiling. The place had a counter made of old oak and there was dust about some of the cases of the wand. If Harry had to guess much of the year Ollivander's did not see much business. This time of year it would soon be packed to the brim with new students looking for their first wand.
"Mr. Potter. I was wondering when I would be seeing you!" The voice appeared behind Harry and Remus causing both of them to jump. When Harry turned around an old man with wild Harry akin to Albert Einstein's looked back at him. The man turned his pale eyes onto Remus, "Remus Lupin, 10 ¼ inches, cypress wood and a proud unicorn. The wand has been treating you well?"
"It has indeed Mr. Ollivander." Remus smiled at the man but the wand-maker had already turned his gaze onto Harry eagerly. It seemed that the man instead has his eyes locked onto Harry with a strange ghostly smile. The voice of Ollivander spoke up again, "Mr. Potter, I look forward to finding out your wand. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work. "
"Your father, on the other hand, favored a mahogany wand. It was eleven inches, pliable, a little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favored it — it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course." Ollivander smiled then motioned for the young man to sit as a stool appeared behind him. Ollivander then turned away from the young man towards his stock, "Now Mr. Potter let us begin. I sense that it will take some time to match you with your future partner."
It had been six hours so far and Harry could swear that he had seen every single wand in the entire store. More than three dozen of the beautiful creations lay on the ground in shattered remains from the experiment to find him a wand. Even a special wand that he had been holding for the boy-who-lived failed to capture the magic connection with Mr. Potter. Remus stood in the corner of the shop close to falling asleep.
The old shop keeper at first had seemed ecstatic at the opportunity to match Harry with a wand. He was a difficult customer before and now this was a chance to truly shine and show that he had everything possible for any customer. As the different wands tried started to pile up the man seemed to become more determined. But, after the hours had passed he slowly started to realize the fact. There was not a wand here for Mr. Potter.
The old man shuffled out of the back room with a pair of boxes and placed them down onto the counter with a frown, "Mr. Potter, I believe these are the last two in the shop that we have not tried this afternoon."
The wand crafter unboxed the first wand looking it over with consideration before holding it out to Harry. "Twelve inches, made of birch with a basilisk fang for a core."
Harry gently looked over the wand then gave a subtle flick at the plant in the corner. He could feel the wands strength, a vicious power filled the wand to bursting then the spell was released at the plant. A bit of smoke slowly rose from the tip of the wand as the boy lowered it down with a frown. "I don't think this was the one. It couldn't handle the strength behind the spell."
The old crafter took back the wand with a frown then placed it down into the box. Slowly he opened up the final box and handed over the wand to the boy, "Fourteen inches of Black Holly, tears of a sphinx willingly given."
Harry looked over the wand that seemed very ancient with runes carved into it. He looked up with a frown at the wand maker, "You didn't make this wand did you?"
Ollivander shook his head slowly back and forth, "No, it was an ancient wand from a powerful witch. The wand was crafted after a witch bested a sphinx in a contest of one hundred riddles. She won the tears for that wand and the land of her castle. That wand has been in my family for numerous generations and is considered priceless."
Harry gently examined the wand, his fingertips trembled as he could feel the care and history that it had been given. He could feel the eyes of the old man staring at him in curiosity, watching with a calculating consideration. Slowly the boy hefted the handle of the wand and closed his eyes concentrating. He could feel the power of the wand shooting through his core. He felt the light seeming to wrap around his body and a wind pick up to swirl around him. His fingertips raised the wand upwards to point at the plant with concentration magic shot forth to cause the aged dried husk to grow into a vibrant plant.
The boy turned to look back at the old man with a smile, "We have found one. Now the only question to consider is how much is priceless Mr. Ollivander?"
Author Note: Next up is Hogwarts express. Some may notice I used a bit from His Own Man. I am using the political system I was making up there since I feel it fits here too. I have a few ideas to take it in a different way. As you can see I have made this into it's own story after the requests to do so. I hope you all like it so far. Like it all? I haven't decided if Harry will be with Susan or perhaps a multi-pairing. I would love suggestions. Also I would welcome a beta if anyone wants to do so for this story. Posting schedule should be about once a week.
Author note 2: corrected an error at the end. I am still looking for a beta too :) Next chapter will be up by Wednesday