Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Mrs. Weasly stood around the large stone fireplace in the kitchen. Fred and George quickly apparated with a pop, and Lupin followed them suit. Mrs. Weasly took a handful of Floo powder and threw it into the roaring fire. It instantly turned emerald green, and she stepped in and yelled,

"Diagon Alley!" she disappeared with a whoosh. Harry, Ron and Hermione followed. Soon they were all standing inside Gringotts Wizarding Bank in front of a huge marble fireplace. Lupin was standing at the counter talking to a surly looking Goblin. When he saw Harry, he beckoned for him to come over. Hermione gave Harry a quick hug and said,

"Good luck." Ron raised his eyebrows at their exchange, shrugged, and then said,

"We'll meet you at the ice cream shop later, ok?"

"Right," Harry said. He walked over to Lupin and stood at the counter.

"Harry, Griphook here is going to take us to one of the private rooms to listen to the will. Then we'll go to Sirius' volt and see what's in there. You're the only person who can open it," Lupin explained.

"Ok," said Harry. He followed Lupin and Griphook into a side room. Griphook motioned for them to have a seat in one of the squashy poufs that were gathered around a small table. Griphook took a set of keys over to a cupboard in the corner, unlocked it, and pulled out a pensive. He set it on the table and prodded it with his finger.

"This is a special pensive, young Potter," Griphook explained. "Only the finger of a Gringott's goblin can activate it, much like the safe that held the Sorcerer's stone. If anybody else touches it, they'll be sucked in and trapped forever," he said, smiling nastily. "So, whose will will we be looking at today?"

"Sirius Black," Harry said. Griphook frowned.

"But Sirius Black isn't dead…is he?" Harry nodded once, forcing back tears.

"He died this summer…" he whispered.

"I am sorry young Potter…I did not know. He was a friend of yours then?"

"He was my godfather…and he was innocent," Harry said simply.

"Very well then…Show me the will of Sirius Black!" Griphook commanded the pensive. The cloudy contents swirled, and a ghostly shape rose out of the pensive. It took form, and Harry recognized it as a much younger Sirius. He gasped. The form of Sirius Black began talking.

"Well, if you're seeing this, then I've probably kicked the bucket. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Now, Harry, in case we never meet, I want you to know that I'm your godfather, and that I'm also innocent of the murder that I was accused of. Please forgive me for not being there to watch you grow up. Ok, enough of the sentimental rubbish. I'm giving the house and everything in it to you. Also, you get anything that's in the Black family volt. Moony old friend, you can have anything you want from the house, with Harry's consent. The same goes for your friends…and I daresay you'll find something to give your girlfriend in my volt," he said, winking. "Harry, I always thought of you as a son, and remember that I love you. I know about the prophecy, and I know it must be a terrible burden to carry; believe me, I know. Your parents went through the same thing. Please Harry, defeat Lord Voldemort. If you don't find a way…no one will."

The form of Sirius disappeared and Harry closed his eyes. He missed Sirius now, more than ever. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and realized that it was Lupin's. He forced himself to look at Griphook and say

"Ok, now I need to see the will of Lily and James Potter." The goblin nodded and said,

"Lily and James Potter!" This time, two cloudy figures rose out of the pensive, and they took form of Lily and James.

"Hello Harry," Lily said gently. "If you're seeing this, then James and I are dead…dead at the hands of lord Voldemort."

"Son, we feel like we have to explain why we were killed…so here it goes," James said. "When we were married, a Seer made a prophecy about us. She said that we would have a son, and that son will be the Dark Lord's equal. She also said that it is not our fate to defeat Voldemort, but to die at his hands. You were supposed to be raised by Muggles, as I understand it, and not know of your abilities until you turn twelve. Right now, you're sixteen…almost a man. Harry, we know about your prophecy because it could only be fulfilled if ours was."

"So we knew we were going to die," Lily said, "so we spent every waking moment with you. We're so sorry that we weren't around during your childhood, and won't be around for the rest of your life, but you must understand, we did it so you could defeat Voldemort. I know this pressure must be unbearable for you Harry, but I'm sure that you can overcome evil and defeat the Dark Lord."

"Well, now that THAT'S over," James said, "We're leaving everything to you, Harry. You already have all of the money in our vault, but you also get our land in Gordic's Hollow, and the house if it is still there."

"Harry, I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive us. We love you and wish you the best of luck in school, and in life. Please Harry…beat him."

The images faded. It took all the strength Harry possessed not to break down right there. But he looked up at Lupin and said,

"Ok, I'm ready." Lupin escorted him out of Gringott's and into the bright sunlight of Diagon Alley.

"Are you okay, Harry?" Lupin asked. Harry managed a weak smile before saying,

"Sure. I'm going to go find Ron and Hermione, ok?"

"All right, but be careful. You know how dangerous things are now."

"Yeah yeah, " said Harry laughing.

He walked down the marble staircase and went to Flourish and Blott's bookstore. He walked up to the counter and asked for his two new books, then went to Madam Malikin's Robe Shop to get new uniforms; he had undergone another growth spurt over the summer and now stood about 6 foot 2, a full five inches taller than he was last summer. He rang the bell at the counter and heard a voice come from the back room.

"Just a minute!"

The door was ajar, so Harry took a quick peek inside. What he saw made his jaw drop. Hermione was getting fitted for new dress robes, and she looked…amazing! Harry thought. They were midnight blue with a halter top and silver embroidery around the neck. It took him about thirty seconds to realize that he was staring at his best friend. He shook his head and went back behind the counter. What was the matter with him? A couple seconds later, Hermione came out of the door carrying a package.

"Oh!" she said, almost dropping it. "Hey Harry!"

"Hey Hermione, what's in the package?" Harry asked before he could stop himself.

"Oh…just new uniforms," she replied. Harry saw her cheeks turn pink and grinned.

"Yeah, I could use some new ones myself," he replied.

"I can stay and wait for you if you'd like," she offered.

"If you want to…where's Ron?" he asked, noticing he was nowhere to be seen.

"I think he went to get some ice cream," she replied.

"Ok, well, this'll only take a second," Harry said.

Madam Malikin took him to the back room and put some robes over his head. She pinned them up to the correct length, and used a shearing charm to cut off the excess, which wasn't much. He paid for his robes, and he and Hermione went onto the street and sat on a nearby bench.

"So…" Hermione said hesitantly, "how did the wills turn out?" Harry sighed.

"It was pretty deep. I got Sirius' house and my parent's land. They told me about their prophecy, which explained a lot. I also own the Black family vault, but I haven't looked in there yet. It was so weird…seeing my parents talking to me," he said. Hermione put a comforting arm around him.

"Yeah I'd be wierded out too…but at least you know that they care."

"Oh gag me with a spoon, Mudblood!" Harry and Hermione whipped around. Malfoy was standing behind them, holding a long brown package.

"Malfoy, I swear, if you say that to Hermione again, I'll curse you into oblivion!" Harry said, putting his hand on his wand, which was in his pocket.

"Oh, now I'm scared," Malfoy sneered. "Maybe I'll just fly away on my new broomstick!" Harry frowned.

"What, are there more people trying out for the Slythern team this year, so you have to buy more talent or what?" Harry asked.

"For your information, Potty, this is the top of the line Serpent. Oh sure, it comes in the Phoenix model too…but the Serpent's so much more…powerful than a phoenix, that I just had to pick it. It outdoes the old firebolt ten to one! We'll see who's going to win the cup this year; the mudblood lovers or the superior purebloods. I bet no one on your entire team could afford this…especially those Weasleys. They're so poor, they don't even have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of! And what's with this mudblood, Potter? I personally think Chang was better looking than her. Oh sure, she's fine if you're into chipmunks, but seriously!"

Harry was shaking with anger.

"Harry, don't!" Hermione whispered anxiously. She quickly reached in his pocket and slid his wand from his hand, but he did nothing. All of a sudden, Harry flew at Malfoy and starting punching him.

"You'll pay for that, Malfoy!" he yelled, panting from the effort of punching Malfoy. Malfoy was struggling under Harry's weight, biting and scratching at him. Harry caught him across the jaw with a hard punch and he screamed.

"AHH! Get off me you filthy mudblood lover!" Malfoy rolled away, blood shining on his pale skin. They both stood up.

"I'm warning you, Malfoy. I'm not putting up with it this year," Harry growled. Malfoy turned on heel and walked away without another word. Harry turned around and looked at Hermione. She was staring at him with her mouth open.

"Harry…where did you learn to fight like that?" she asked.

"My cousin. I watched him beat up on little kids…oh yeah and I was his first punching bag, "he said, smiling. This caused him to wince, and he noticed that he had a split lip. Just then he spotted Ron coming out of Quality Quidditch Supplies clutching a jar of polish. He saw Harry and Hermione and ran to meet them.

"Harry what happened?" he asked when he saw his lip.

"Got into a scuffle with Malfoy," he replied.

"Who won?" Ron asked, his face paling at the sight of blood.

"Harry did," said Hermione, smiling at him. Harry swore his stomach did a somersault when she did that. "He kicked his arse!" Ron laughed and clapped Harry on the back.

"Good one, mate! Heaven knows he deserves it. Come on then, let's go to the Leaky Caldron for a round of butterbeers to celebrate!"

"Just a second," Hermione said. She pulled a tissue from her purse. "Here, Harry, before you get blood on your shirt."

"Thanks Hermione," Harry said, taking the tissue. He dabbed his lip carefully. He saw Hermione watching him intently. "What? Did I miss a spot?" he asked.

"No…it's nothing," she answered. He noticed that her ears were red, not unlike Ron's when he was embarrassed or under pressure.

"Come on guys, let's go!" Ron yelled from up the street. Harry and Hermione ran to catch up with him. When they reached the brick wall that separated Diagon Alley from the muggle world, Hermione gasped.

"Look!" Hanging on the wall was a large wanted poster similar to the one that once held Sirius' picture. It said,

Wanted!

By order of Ministry of Magic, the Dark Lord

Crimes include: torture and/or murder of countless victims, breaking and entering, fraud, and others. A full list may be viewed at the Ministry of Magic main office. Reward: 100,000,000,000,000,000 galleons

Ron gave a low, long whistle.

"Blimey, that's a lot of galleons." Harry looked at the picture. It was only a silhouette of a dark figure; he doubted it was really Voldemort in the picture.

"So the Ministry's finally wizened (a/n I don't think that's how u spell it P) up, then," he said. "It's about time."

"Come on, let's just skip the butterbeers and get back to Grimmuald place," Hermione said nervously. She grabbed Harry and Ron by the wrists and dragged them from the poster. The good feeling that Harry had after standing up to Malfoy had long gone. He sighed as they walked back to Gringott's, to the huge marble fireplace labeled exit. "What's the matter?" Hermione asked him.

"Nothing…I just feel like I need a…"

"A laugh?" said a pair of voices from behind him. He turned around and saw Fred and George leaning against the counter of Gringott's in their matching dragon scale jackets. "Follow us, young Harry! Come to the world of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes!"