The very next morning at breakfast, the school owls delivered the school paper, the Ilvermorny Sonorus. Harry's owl, Othniel, and Kellen's owl, Imogen, both dropped the boys off their copies, while the school owls dropped Ana and Nova theirs.

"Anastasia? November? If you don't have owls, did you bring any other pets?" Kellen asked his pretty female friends.

Ana smiled sweetly. "You haven't seen my cat Belvidere, have you? He's a big brown Maine Coon... he's a handsome twenty pound fluffy ball of love!"

"You must keep him in your dorm then... I don't recollect ever seeing him," admitted Kellen. "I wanted to bring one of my dogs, but apparently they don't allow them at Ilvermorny... just cats, owls, and toads."

Ana shrugged. "What kind of a dog do you have, Kellen?"

Kellen smiled broadly. "I have several, actually. I have three Great Pyrenees at the farm - Taran, Eilonwy, and Gurgi. They're flock protectors more than pets, but they're still family to me. Oh, and we have a beagle named Milo that's strictly a family pet. But even if they allowed Milo, my brother wouldn't be very happy with me. So, Harry and I got owls because it's what we saw in the Wizarding District of Minneapolis."

"Awww," replied Ana. "Milo sounds like a cutie. And Great Pyrenees are very big dogs - they're even bigger than I am! But I suppose they're sweethearts, aren't they?"

Kellen nodded. "They're named after characters in the Chronicles of Prydain. Eilonwy is the only girl, and she's still about a hundred pounds. She's two and a half and fully grown. Taran is the youngest, he's a year and a half and about a hundred and twenty pounds. He might put on ten or fifteen more pounds. And Gurgi is five, and he's massive. He's a hundred and ninety pounds!"

Ana's jaw dropped. "Eilonwy is my size!" She paused for a moment, processing the fact that a dog could get so big. "I knew that Great Pyrenees were big dogs, but a hundred and ninety pounds? That rivals Saint Bernards and English Mastiffs!"

Kellen smiled. "Great Pyrenees can vary in size greatly. Some are only eighty pounds, while the very biggest can reach two hundred. The biggest Pyrenees are very much the heavyweights that Newfies and Saint Bernards are, yes." He gestured toward Harry. "Oh hey Harry, did Othniel take your letter to Professor Goode?"

"He did, Kellen. Hopefully we'll get a response from her soon," replied Harry. "I know Madam L doesn't like him, but maybe they just have clashing personalities. He might not be all that bad... besides, you're right... it's still the right thing to do."

"It is, Harry," confirmed Kellen. "He may or may not express his appreciation for your actions, but the letters rightfully belong to him and not you."

"Sandy and I talked at length the other day, Harry," Nova chimed in. "Severus Snape is a... complicated individual. He's got his flaws, yes, but he's not all that loathsome. I can say that he'd be very grateful to get the letters your parents wrote. Like Kellen said, I can't guarantee he'll write back to you, but it'll help give him some badly-needed closure."

"Closure for what?" Harry asked, in between bites of sausage and eggs.

Nova giggled. "Ask me again sometime. In private."

Harry nodded in agreement. "Well Kellen, are you about ready to go to class?"

"Sure, Harry," replied Kellen. "Let's make a pitstop at the Thunderbird table to pick Chelsea up and we can head over together." He nodded toward Ana and Nova. "I'll see you at lunch, ladies."

"See you later, you two," replied Nova.

"Don't forget, we have a Quiz Bowl meeting after school today, Kellen," Ana said sweetly. "Professor Hentges' classroom."

"Professor Hentges?" Kellen asked quizzically. "The Shamanism teacher?"

Ana smiled and nodded. "The one and the same! Shamanism is an elective, but one I'm very interested in. I can't wait to take it next year!"

Kellen looked at Nova. "Did you sign up for Shamanism?"

Nova shook her head 'no'. "Not my kind of thing, Sandy. My father's pretty traditional anyway, I pretty much take his advice on which courses to take here. He didn't seem to think that Shamanism was very important, but it's cool that they offer it here just the same. I'm sure you'd love it." She smiled at Kellen and Harry. "You'd better not keep Miss Meservey waiting."

The two boys took their leave and headed toward the Thunderbird table to pick up Chelsea and go to Transfiguration together.

"Good morning, Chelsea," the boys greeted their mutual friend.

"Oh, hiya boys," Chelsea replied cheerily. "Ready for class?"

Harry nodded. "Your hair looks lovely when it's down like that, by the way. It's lovely when it's up too, but I've never seen it down like that before... it's silky smooth and the color reminds me of my mum's hair... a very nice auburn color. Very pretty."

Chelsea blushed. "You're too kind, Potter. And I'm sorry that you never really got to know your parents... I know that's got to bother you to no end."

Harry nodded solemnly. "I miss them both terribly, I wasn't even two when they were killed." There was a very wistful expression on his face, but he then smiled. "Thank Merlin for Nova. Her dad sent her a letter not that long ago, and he even added some pictures of my parents so that she could show me what they looked like when they went to Hogwarts. It was very nice of her to remember me like that."

Chelsea beamed. "Nova seems to be a very good friend. I know she and I aren't as close as you and Grimseth are to her, but she's always been very nice to me. That Anastasia girl, too." She picked up her bookbag. "Come on, you two. Let's get moving, we don't want to be late for Professor Little Bull's class."

That evening, Harry and Kellen were studying in the Horned Serpent common room. There was a light tapping noise on the window behind the boys - it was an owl carrying a note.

"Othniel!" Harry replied excitedly. He quickly opened the window to let his owl in. "I take it that's Professor Goode's response?" Othniel made a rather affirmative-sounding hoot as Harry took the rolled-up parchment. "Thanks, Othniel," Harry said as he gave his owl a couple of pellet-shaped treats. "I'll see you in the morning, I s'pose!"

Harry read the letter from Professor Goode:

"Dear Harry,

Thank you for taking the time to reach out to me! That is a very interesting request indeed, but I believe I can help you there. Why don't you see me tomorrow during your free period? I'll need you to sign a document which grants Gringotts permission to access your account and to send the intended recipient the requested items. We can discuss this in detail then. This should only take a few minutes.

Thank you,

Professor E. Goode,

Deputy Headmistress"

Harry smiled to himself in satisfaction.

"So I take it that she can assist?" Kellen asked earnestly.

"Yup," replied Harry. "She asked me to see her during our free period tomorrow."

Kellen stroked his chin. "So, do you want me to come with you? Or are you comfortable going by yourself?"

Harry shrugged. "I think this one I can handle by myself, but if you want to come along, I don't see any harm. If Professor Goode thinks it's too personal, I'm sure she'll just ask you to step outside for a few minutes. She says it's not supposed to be a long process."

"Fair enough," replied Kellen. "And for the record, I do respect your privacy. I know we're basically brothers, but you've always had your own Gringotts account. None of that pertains to me. I honestly don't mind staying behind."

"Thanks, Kellen," Harry replied with a smile. "I appreciate that. Maybe we can meet in the Horned Serpent common room when I'm finished?"

"Sounds as good as anything," added Kellen with a smile of his own. "I can't help but imagine the shock on Snape's face when he gets those letters!"

"That makes two of us," said Harry.

The next day, during their free period, Harry and Kellen split up for the first time during class hours. Kellen went to the Horned Serpent common room to read a Muggle fantasy novel, while Harry went to Professor Goode's office to discuss the items in his Gringotts account.

"Good morning, Mister Potter," greeted Professor Goode. "Do come in, please. And be sure to shut the door behind you, as I'm sure you don't want interlopers picking up on any potentially sensitive details."

Harry quietly shut the office door, and took a seat in a navy blue plush chair across from Professor Goode's desk.

Professor Goode brushed back a stray curl of her bright red hair away from her face. She smiled at Harry. "Would you care for tea? Pumpkin juice, perhaps?"

"Oh, a pumpkin juice would be fantastic, thanks," replied Harry.

Professor Goode handed Harry a bottle of pumpkin juice. "Here you go," she said cheerily.

"Thank you," replied Harry sincerely.

Professor Goode smile broadened. "So, you have a couple of items in your Gringotts account that you'd like to have taken out and sent to a particular individual, is that correct?"

"Yes, ma'am," Harry replied. "I have a vault in the main London office, actually. There are two letters that my parents wrote to someone named Severus Snape. I believe he's a professor at Hogwarts. They should have been delivered to him ten years ago, but they stayed in my family vault this whole time because my parents were both murdered before they had a chance to send them."

Professor Goode shook her head sadly. "I'm so sorry to hear about your parents' deaths, Harry. I never knew them personally, but I knew of them - and of course, because of them, I knew of you. I'm not going to lie, I would never have expected to see you walk the halls of Ilvermorny. I fully expected you to follow in your parents' footsteps and attend Hogwarts."

Harry shrugged. "Well, as luck would have it, I was raised by my relatives, the Dursleys. But I was an unwanted burden - I was locked away in a cupboard under the stairs in their house. Like I was a secret they wanted absolutely no one to find out about. My diet was little more than stale bread and filthy water. I never had my own clothes - they were always the clothes my big fat cousin outgrew, and they never fit me. I slept on a moldy mattress with pee-soaked blankets every night... it's like a nightmare that became real." He shook his head in disgust.

"When I was ten, I decided enough was enough. I took the few possessions I had, and I took a bus to London to try to make it on my own. I'd rather live on the streets as a free person than downstairs as the Dursleys' prisoner. As luck would have it, I ended up at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and these American tourists discovered me and after telling them my story, they took me in as their foster son. It took a fair bit of convincing, but it all worked out."

Professor Goode chuckled. "Those tourists must have been Mister Grimseth and his family."

Harry nodded and smiled. "Yes. They're good people. I earned my keep on the farm - I fed the animals and cleaned the barn and such, but while the work was hard, they were always very loving to me and gave me my own clothes, they fed me right... they treated me like their own son. I didn't know how to thank them because I've honestly never been treated like that before."

"They're an honorable no-maj family, Harry," said Professor Goode. "Not all non-magical families are like that. Your parents would have been very grateful for the Grimseths as they treated you fairly and with love... they gave you a chance at being a boy again. Now, with that being said, back to business. Those letters are in your vault in London, you said?"

"That's correct, Professor," Harry replied. "Please tell me what I need to do for them to access my vault and send the letters to this Snape character."

"All right, Harry," replied Professor Goode. "I do have an authorization form for you to fill out... just fill out the blank spaces with the specifics, and sign and date at the bottom, if you please." She handed Harry the form, and a quill and some ink.

Harry went through the form, and entered the details of the transaction, and signed and dated the document as asked. He handed the letter back to Professor Goode.

She smiled at Harry. "Very good, Harry. Now, there's one last thing I need from you to prove your identity. Please hold out your hand - it doesn't matter which one - I'll need a single drop of your blood, as that'll authenticate the entire transaction. Otherwise, the transaction could be rendered null and void.

Professor Goode opened one of her desk drawers, and produced a small tinted vial - maybe the size of an eye dropper. She then took produced a needle, and gestured for Harry to give her one of his hands. He obliged with a sight amount of hesitation, giving her his left hand. She smiled sweetly at him as she poked his left index finger as gently as she could, and a single, tiny drop of blood fell into the tinted vial.

"Thank you, Harry," Professor Goode said. She then poured a few milliliters of distilled water, then put a few grains from some sort of herb in the vial, and something that looked like a couple of cat whiskers. She then plugged up the vial, shook it vigorously, and let the mixture settle for a moment. She then folded the document, placed it in a white envelope, and then popped the cork of the vial. She poured the contents on the back of the envelope, creating a special purple wax-like seal.

"Press your thumb on this seal for me, if you could, Harry," Professor Goode said. Harry did so, and the envelope was sealed to her satisfaction.

"Very good," murmured the Professor. "I'll send this out to London as soon as I can." She smiled again. "I know you understand that you may never get acknowledgement for this deed, but you're doing the right thing. I'm very proud of you for showing such integrity. I'm delighted to give the Horned Serpents ten house points for your generous actions."

Harry was taken aback by the Professor's kindness. "Wow, thank you, Professor," Harry said, stuttering slightly. "I wasn't expecting that."

Professor Goode smiled. "Exactly, Harry. You did this with no thought of reward."