A/N: And now it has been updated on 07/23/2016
Chapter Three: A Series of Unexpected Revelations
Two loud cracks later, and all eight appeared at the front of the Burrow, only to be greeted with a crushing hug from Mrs. Weasley. "Oh, dears." She half-sobbed. "Are you all okay? You're not hurt anywhere, are you?"
"We're fine, Mrs. Weasley." Harry said, trying to placate her into releasing them. "Honest. Just a couple scratches from running in the woods."
"Alright, dears. Inside you go then. Bill, everything is where it normally is." Mrs. Weasley said, releasing them all and guiding them inside, before attempting to return to the garden.
"Mr. Weasley is fine, Mrs. Weasley. He got us out of there and I'm sure that he is doing alright himself." Harry said, once he noticed a slight tremble in her fingers.
"Thank you for that comforting news, Harry." She smiled gently, slowly moving back to the kitchen. She was in such a daze, that she began washing the dishes by hand. Harry caught a glimpse of the Weasley family clock as he was walking into the dining room. All of the hands pointed to "Home", except for Mr. Weasley's and Percy's hands, which were pointed towards, "Work". Molly seemed to relax as she noticed it.
Everyone sat down in the dining room, feeling tired from the long night of partying and the surprise attack. Charlie, Bill, Fred, and George looked apprehensive.
"Thank goodness you all are okay." Molly said, as she joined them. "I had half a mind to go and find all of you myself." The mood lightened at the terrified looks on the faces of the group. An angry Mrs. Weasley was something that they would rather never have to ever face. They all stayed up until the sun began peeking around the corner
Around noon, they heard the front door open again. Molly leapt to her feet and ran to see who was there. A piercing scream and a few minutes later, a tired, but happy Mr. Weasley was guided in by a sobbing Mrs. Weasley, with a stony-faced Percy. Mr. Weasley sat down to join in talking to the rest of the group, while Percy left as quickly as he got there, despite protests from his mother.
"What are 'Death Eaters'?" Harry said, as the Daily Prophet owl came and delivered the newspaper. A photo of a skull with a snake for a tongue was plastered across the front, the snake moving through and around the skull. Hermione went white, and Ron and Ginny backed up, while Fred, George, Bill, and Charlie scowled.
"Followers of You-Know-Who." Fred and George said quietly at the same time. Their ever-present smiles were gone, worry etched in every line of their faces as Harry finally understood what had happened at the World Cup. "And that's their mark." Harry looked back at the photo with a newfound understanding.
"Then why didn't we stay and fight?"
"Because we would only have gotten hurt...or worse." Bill said, trying to eat some of the cold food. "They committed horrible atrocities during the Great Wizarding War. Whole families were slaughtered, muggles were hunted for sport, people were tortured into insanity...And this was the mark that they left behind to identify that they were the ones responsible." He finished, before leaving the room and climbing the stairs. Harry, Ron, and Hermione gaped after him. While Ron had heard they had committed atrocities, it was the first they had heard of any of these acts. Professor Binns seemed rather stuck on the Goblin Rebellions, so it was difficult if not impossible to move forward to newer material. 'A new History of Magic professor would be good...' Harry thought.
Two hours later, six more owls came swooping in, putting the conversation on hold as they sat in front of the only six kids still attending Hogwarts. At their appearance, Mrs. Weasley seemed to brighten up a little.
"We need to do the school shopping." She declared, and everyone agreed, wanting something to distract them from what had happened the night before.
Half an hour later, the group of ten was ready to leave. One by one, they used Floo powder to get to the Leaky Cauldron. From there, they split up, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley went with Ginny, Bill went off towards Gringotts with Harry, who needed to pick up some gold to go shopping, Ron and Charlie went with the twins to Zonko's Joke Shop, and Hermione went off to Flourish & Blott's.
*'*_ _*'*
Bill strode into Gringotts with Harry trailing at his heels, and went right up to the closest open teller. "May your gold be plentiful and your enemies be strong, Teller Griphook." He greeted, presenting with a bow.
Griphook peered over his spectacles at the wizard. "Same to you, Curse Breaker Weasley. How can Gringotts be of service to yourself today?"
"Actually, I'm about to head to my office. I'm just trying to show Mr. Potter how to respectfully greet Goblins." He gave Harry a quick pat on the shoulder, before looking back at Griphook and bowing his head slightly, "May you die in honor and glory, your riches innumerable."
"And you."
Bill walked off and Harry repeated the formal greeting, "I just need to take some gold out of my vault, Teller Griphook."
"Right this way, Mr. Potter."
Harry and Griphook sped through the subterranean labyrinth, before stopping in front of his vault. Harry pulled a hundred galleons out of his vault and the cart took off again, winding and twisting along the dark rollercoaster. Before long, they stopped back at the main hall of the bank.
"Mr. Potter, would you happen to have a free hour or so?" Griphook asked, as they got back to his desk.
"I do, Teller Griphook. May I ask what for?"
"The Potter account manager wishes to speak with you. I will bring you to him." Harry was guided around the inner parts of the bank before Griphook knocked and opened one of the doors.
"Mr. Potter, this is the Potter account manager, Bloodrag." The goblin was looking at Harry with an unreadable expression.
Harry looked back for a moment before his brain kicked back in, "May your gold be plentiful, and your enemies strong, account manager Bloodrag." A small smile told him that he had done right. Seeing that Griphook was leaving, he turned back, "May you die with honor and glory, your riches innumerable." He said, as Griphook bowed and left, closing the door behind him.
"Now, Mr. Potter, we have much to discuss." The goblin said, pulling out a manila folder and dropping it on the desk with a loud thump. Harry gulped, seeing that the folder was as thick as his arm.
"Firstly, as you are now fourteen, you should have begun your heirship three years ago. Would you like to claim it now?"
Harry blinked, "Heirship?" He asked, confused.
"Yes, Mr. Potter." The goblin replied impatiently. "The Potters are considered an ancient and noble family, even among wizards. They stretch back to a time long before the witch hunts, and are credited with creating many early healing potions used in many modern magical societies. Your family was one of the largest families in magical Britain, before the founding of your wizarding government. The first families wished to maintain the titles given to them. Other families, like yours, were given the titles as a sign of respect."
"What?"
The goblin squinted at Harry, "Mr. Potter, are you aware of how much you have in your accounts?"
"No, and I only have the one account." Harry stated.
"Mr. Potter, it appears that you have been woefully misinformed of just how much wealth you hold. That vault is only a trust vault. The combined values of your vaults is close to two million galleons."
Harry could only sit there, staring dumbly at the wall. "So, I'm rich?" He said, looking back at the goblin who smirked.
"Yes it would appear that you are quite well off, financially.". The goblin replied, "However, there is also the matter of your parents' will."
"They left behind a will?"
"Yes, you will be able to see it at a later date, if you take up your heirship right now. If not then-"
"I'll do it." Harry said, without a second thought.
"Alright, we just need to do a couple things first, before you can take up your heirship." Bloodrag said, grabbing a couple pieces of paper and standing up. "Please come this way."
Harry was lead down to another part of the building. It was a large room with a basin and a raised dais. "Drink this." Bloodrag held the potion up to him.
"What is this?"
"It's a Flushing Conconction."
Harry looked suspiciously at the potion, "What's it supposed to do?"
"It will flush any active potions from your body. It's standard procedure, just to make sure that all of the decisions are your own."
Harry drank the blackish-gray potion, and it actually didn't taste bad. He didn't feel anything for a second, then he felt his stomach give a quiver. Raising a hand to his mouth, Harry could see the goblin smiling, seeming to have been expecting this. He couldn't hold it back and emptied his stomach into the nearby trash. When he looked over it, he noticed that there seemed to be a splatter of yellow across it.
"Loyalty potion." Bloodrag said, in answer to the unasked question from Harry. "Someone seems to want to keep you in their pocket. Do you feel any different?"
"Yeah, but I can't put my finger on it."
"The 'who' will become clear to you, given time. Now," Bloodrag continued, bringing Harry into another room. "This is the Ritual Room. Here we do a number of different rituals, like inheritance tests."
He picked up a beautiful, ceremonial (Harry hoped) dagger. "Just cut your hand a little bit and let the blood collect in this basin." Taking the dagger, Harry pulled the blade against his skin, opening up a gash from one side of his hand to the other. He held his hand over the basin, letting the blood collect in the basin. After the basin had enough blood, the gash healed, as if never there to begin with. Bloodrag took a ceremonial quill and dipped the tip in the blood, before writing "Harry James Potter" at the top. The quill then took off, writing at a dizzyingly fast pace, pausing every now and again to dip back into the small amount of blood, only to keep writing a moment later.
After a minute, the quill stopped. "What does it say?" Harry asked anxiously. Bloodrag seemed intently focused on the parchment. He finally handed it to Harry.
Harry James Potter
Born on July 31st, 1980
Human
Half-blood
Male
14
Parents: James Charlus Potter and Lily Marie Potter, née Evans
Current Muggle Guardian(s): Mrs. Petunia Erin Dursley
Current Magical Guardian(s): Professor Albus Percival Wulfic Brian Dumbledore
Heir to the Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter
Chronologic Heir to the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black
Magical Core: Extremely Large
(1/3rd sealed with a Magic Siphon)
(1/3rd sealed with an Alignment Lock)
Magical Abilities:
Animagus (Sealed with a Magic Lock)
Parseltongue (Hereditary)
Wandless Caster
Afflictions:
Nearsighted
Horcrux
"I'm am Animagus?" Harry gaped at the paper, unable to believe all that he was reading.
"You have the magical potential to become one." Bloodrag corrected him. "Any other questions?"
"Can the Magic Lock be removed?" He peered closer, noticing that the term "Magic Lock" appeared twice, and seemed different than the idea of a "Magic Siphon".
"Yes," The goblin answered, looking at the sheet again. "The one on you appears to be used to stabilize magical cores that have grown out of sync with the body. They are generally for large magical cores, or cores with more potent magic. However, it should have been removed when you were eleven."
"Okay, and why is my ability as a Parseltongue hereditary?"
"It is possible that somewhere far, far back in your family tree you had an ancestor who was a Parselmouth."
"Alright, last question. What does it mean, 'Horcrux'?"
"WHAT?" Bloodrag snatched the paper away from him, furiously reading it, before looking at Harry confused. Harry's scar twinged at that moment and he lifted his hand to it. Bloodrag's eyes widened. "Natürestá...daso explärt deln Sífon..." He said in Gobbledegook, before moving as fast he could to a ledger next to the door. He wrote furiously in it before turning back to Harry. "Mr. Potter, please lie down on the dais."
"Why? What's a Horcrux?" Harry asked once again, looking more confused than ever.
"There's no time right now. I will explain afterwards. Please lie down, Mr. Potter."
Several heavily armed Goblins entered the room, followed by five more, these ones dressed in pitch black robes with intricate grey patterns woven into them. A small bird was also brought in; the cage placed next to Harry's head. He lay on the dais waiting for something to happen when a low drone started from the five robed goblins.
"Fragmentiado seema, wiros werchar siú ausera. Verlasir diesa asteped direko deln schierda jetzra." was all he heard before pain exploded in his forehead, directly over his scar.
He screamed at it. They were removing something that felt somewhat important and didn't want to leave. This continued for what felt like hours, before it ended and he sat bolt upright, to hear the sound of metal piercing flesh. Deciding not to look, he turned to Bloodrag. "What was that?"
"Mr. Potter, I promised you an explanation. A Horcrux is a most foul type of magic. A wizard looking to do it needs to split their soul, by murdering a young child in cold blood. Then they take that part of their soul and seal it in an object of their choosing. Then, so long as the soul fragment is not removed from the object, or the object is destroyed beyond magical repair, that wizard will live indefinitely."
"So, they're immortal?"
"No, immortality is that your body, no matter your age, will be able to support itself and will show you in your prime, anchoring your soul to your body. Indefinite life however, is the immortality of the soul, not body and soul."
Harry remained expressionless, as things began to click. The diary, Ginny's possession, the memory Tom Riddle...it now all beginning to make sense, a little… "Thank you, account manager Bloodrag."
"Of course. I must also warn you. The magical siphon is now gone, but not the magic locks. You need to be careful, as you now have very quickly doubled the magical strength you normally have, but not your magical reserves. Now that those are out of the way, do you, Harry James Potter, wish to take the mantle as an Heir of House Potter?"
"Yes." He nodded, a restlessness and a well of energy building inside him.
"Then I will need your signature here." Bloodrag said, sliding a form across to Harry. Looking over the form, he made sure that there was nothing malicious or entrapping inside. Finding none, he placed his signature on the indicated line. As he signed, he felt a slight itching in his hand.
"With that signed, let it be known that the Future Head of House Potter has be acknowledged." Bloodrag said. There was a bright red flash around Harry's right middle finger as a ring appeared on it. "Herziendo, Heir Potter. Siú ehronor unes mion isu gegencia."
"Excuse me?" Harry said quietly.
"It is a greeting to wizards that we at least respect."
"Oh, well, thank you, account manager Bloodrag."
"Very well. This will be field with the Ministry inside of five business days. Do you have any other questions?"
"What did it mean, 'Chronologic Heir to House Black'?" Harry asked, wondering how that fit into everything that was happening.
"Barring any other circumstances, if the current Lord of House Black dies without a biological heir, you will become Lord Black."
"Who is the current Lord Black?"
"Lord Sirius Orion Black."
Harry smiled, struck by a sudden idea. "Wait, aren't Lords stripped of their titles when they are imprisoned at Azkaban?" Bloodrag smiled, something that sent a shiver down Harry's back.
"You are quite correct, Heir Potter. It is quite strange that he was not."
Harry smile grew wider. Here was something he could use.
They both went back to Bloodrag's office. "Is there anything more I can help you with today?" The goblin asked, sitting down behind his desk and regarding the young man over his steepled fingers.
"Yes, there are yearly amounts being moved out of my vaults, to Ms. Petunia Dursley. I wish to cancel these transactions until further notice."
Bloodrag nodded, writing down a quick memo for himself, "Will that be all?"
"I also want to know how to hide the rings when I don't want to show them." Harry said, uncomfortable at the idea of showing off such fine jewelry to the whole world.
"Simply focus your magic into them and they will become invisible." Bloodrag replied, almost sounding bored by all of the questions.
"And when can I have the magic lock removed?"
"When you have more than a few hours to spare. Your holiday break should be a good time for it."
"That will be all, Account Manager Bloodrag. May you die in honor and glory, your riches immeasurable."
Bloodrag smiled, "(And good day to you), Lord Potter-Peverell." Harry happily left the bank that day and went to find his friends and buy the rest of his school supplies. However, he did have a large problem to consider. He didn't know the first thing about being a Lord. Maybe Mr. Weasley could help him out later.
A\N: I love how some authors use galleons as a source of money and do not give a measurement that we understand. So, here is how it breaks down for me… 1 Galleon is 17 Sickles, is 493 Knuts. I used one online converter that put the value of a Galleon at 5 GBp or 10.07 USD, the value of a Sickle at 0.29 GBP or 0.59 USD, and the value of a Knut at 0.01 GBp or 0.02 USD. Just so we could clear that up, OK? So, 2,000,000 galleons would be about 10,000,000 GBP or 20,140,000 USD. Does this make sense to everyone?
