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Ch 4: Changes Start
Harry finally decided to read his parents will. He will find out things that escaped his attention while with the Council, as most of his observations were concerned with the things directly known to his golem and inferences made from them.
Dearest Harry,
If you are reading this then your father and I have not survived the war and Peter has betrayed us. Your father and Sirius were convinced by Dumbledore to use Pettigrew as secret keeper, as he would be the least likely suspect. Sirius would be a decoy to draw attention away from the other two. Sirius is also your godfather and hopefully has been able to raise you to be a good boy. If for some reason Sirius has not survived to do this we have chosen to leave you in the care of Andromeda Tonks, Remus Lupin, or the Longbottoms. Under no condition are you to be placed with my sister or the Weasleys. My sister, Petunia and her husband have a deep loathing of anything magical and would no doubt make your life a living hell. The Weasley family, while being very loving, are to protective of their children and also to easily influenced by Dumbledore, who may not be as benevolent as he seems, since you are reading this.
Harry, this is your father, we have given a copy of this will to Dumbledore to deliver to the bank, as we are not allowed out of the house, however we have taken the precaution of having the original sent directly to our vault as well. Should, for any reason the stipulations of this will be ignored or altered, you are to, immediately, be emancipated, if age eleven or older. Also, if not that age you are to be placed with the correct family stated here in, until that time. We had made arrangements that your guardians receive a sum of 1,000 galleons, roughly 4,000 pounds, a month for your up keep and early education. I hope you have had the best childhood possible, and we both love you very much, never forget that.
We have entered hiding on the council of Albus, he told us of a prophesy that could concern you or the Longbottoms child. It says you have the power to defeat Voldemort, there is more and we recommend you retrieve the recording from the ministry ASAP. This will allow you to train and prepare. Also contained with this will are letters to one Severus Snape, while we were in school my friends and I had a running rivalry with this man and did various things we are not proud of. Please see that he gets the letters. Your mother was friends with him up until our last year and has shown us how despicable our treatment of him was. Now on to the legal stuff.
We, James and Lily Potter, being of sound mind, do here by state our last wishes.
We bequeath the estates of Potter and Evans, along with all titles, lands, moneys, etc., to our son Harry James Potter, to be held in perpetuity by one of the afore mentioned guardians until of legal age or emancipation.
At the age of nine he is to be trained to understand his duties and responsibilities in the wizarding world, so as to be ready to manage his estates when the time comes.
Should Sirius or Remus be responsible for Harry's welfare, we hereby authorize the use of Potter Castle for their home place; this is the most protected place in England and will provide a safe environment for him.
Furthermore, in reparation of a cruel prank, Mr. Snape is to receive the a fore mentioned letters as well as 2 mil. galleons and directions to the portrait of Nigel the Naked, to which the password is "Snivilus is a git." This will allow him to reclaim something important to him.
As mentioned before: should the requirements of this will not be met, prosecution is demanded and full reparation is requested.
Remember Harry, we will always love you and be within your heart.
Love always,
James Artimis Potter and Lilly Jane Potter
After reading the will, the mentioned letters appeared. Harry was busy shedding tears of, was it sadness, joy, anger, or a combination there of?
On the one hand, he missed his parents greatly, on the other here was his chance to clear Sirius and get away. Most of all, Harry now had absolute proof that the Headmaster had been manipulating things from the beginning.
He had not only sent an innocent man to prison, he outright ignored Harry's parent's wishes and cost him 10 years of misery at the hands of the Dursleys.
During his musings of how to proceed, Harry received an owl from Gringotts requesting his presence as soon as it was convenient. 'Guess there were discrepancies in the two copies of the will, that figures.' Harry mused.
As it was late, Harry decided to go in the early morning. He also sent a letter to the Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, requesting a meeting with her for the following afternoon. He also sent a letter to Professor Snape requesting a meeting at Gringotts for the next morning.
Professor,
I realize we have never met, however certain things have come to my attention regarding my parents will. I would humbly request your presence at Gringotts Bank tomorrow morning to go over these things.
I also request that you tell no one about the meeting, until afterwards, if you wish. This letter is charmed to only be read by you, to maintain the secrecy required. According to the will you were to receive certain things and it appears that these things have been over looked. I wish to correct this situation especially as it was my father and mother's last wishes. I once again humbly request your presence and assistance in this matter.
Sincerely,
Harry Potter
Harry also sent a letter to the Dursleys giving them the address to meet him at and requesting that they be there at 3:00 P.M. to discuss some mutually beneficial discoveries that he had made. He also enclosed money to cover the cab fair and dinner should they choose to come. With the stage set he showered and fell into the best sleep he could remember, being 21 yrs old in the body of a 10 year old was taking some getting used to.
The next morning Harry woke early. He showered, ate, and dressed. He put on some of the better looking clothing he had, still Dudley's castoffs, and proceeded to the bank. While climbing the steps, he came face to face with a rather disgruntled looking Snape. "Potter, what ever your purpose in dragging me out at this hour, it had better be good. If not you will find yourself scrubbing the dungeons with a toothbrush for the year!"
"Sir, I only know there was some problem with the will that my parents left. You were included in the original; however that is not the one on file with the bank. They asked me here this morning to clear things up, and I wanted you to accompany me, seeing that you were mentioned and I have little experience in these things. I really hope it is not much of an inconvenience."
Snape, for his part, was rather taken aback by Harry's sincerity and admittance of ignorance. These things did not fit into his picture of him being an arrogant, spoiled, attention seeking, brat. He still had a real hard time seeing past James' looks; it was so easy to transfer his rage and frustration to the boy, even though his mannerisms were more like Lilly's.
She had been the only true friend Severus had really had at Hogwarts. They were the best of friends until that fateful year where he had made the choice that would forever haunt his existence, joining Voldemort. He had done it thinking it would bring him recognition and power, unfortunately that was not the case. It had cost him his only friend along with his family, dignity, and any good reputation he may have been able to achieve. He mainly served as a potions master for the Dark Lord, However on the first raid he had been required to go on, he watched as the tortured a little girl no more than 8 yrs old. They sexually abused her, cut her, used the Cruciatus Curse on her along with others, finally he was forced to kill her. Even to this day her face was burned into his mind, what could such a small and beautiful child have done to deserve that? It made no sense to him; it was then that he had decided to turn into a spy for the light. Unfortunately, he hadn't known of the attack on the Potters until it was to late to warn them. That night might have ended the Dark Lord, but it had cost Severus the only person he had ever considered a friend. It was this he would never be able to forgive himself for, nor could he seem to forgive Potter for not being able to save her.
Once inside the bank, Griphook greeted Harry and looked questioningly at Professor Snape. " Griphook, I have asked the Professor to accompany me to the meeting, as he is mentioned in my parents will and due to the fact that he probably dislikes me sue to my father, he should be the most objective person to be able to advise me in these matters."
"What is this, Slitherin cunning coming from a Potter? The devils thermostat must have dropped several degrees!"
Harry just gave Snape a grin. "Well Professor, I take it you approve of my choice? Will you help me then?"
"Potter, for some reason, probably premature senility, I find my self wanting to actually find out more about this. Hopefully it won't be a case of curiosity killing the cat. Shall we get down to business?"
They were lead into Griphook's private office. "Mr. Potter, after careful examination we have found numerous discrepancies between the two wills as well as the Potter and Evans accounts. It seems that in our copy, Dumbledore was to be made your magical guardian and control your estates, until your majority. Also, it states that, you were to be placed with your relatives, should something happen to Mr. Black. According to your account records, Dumbledore has appropriated the funds that should have gone to your guardians, as well as, set him-self a salary for legal advisor. In total he has managed to embezzle approximately 1 million galleons just from your personal accounts. He has also managed to appropriate twice that from your other holdings due to budget miss handling. I am sure you know which accounts I am speaking of." With that Griphook handed Harry several documents to corroborate the findings, as well as the copies of the will.
While going over the other documents he handed the wills plus the letters to Severus to read. Severus was shocked by the wills to say the least, as much as he hade hated James and company, there was absolutely no excuse for someone tampering with their last will and testament. Here was another thing that made him question his hatred toward Harry. If the will was to be believed there was no way he had been the pampered rich kid, Snape had thought.
The letters were the one thing that made Snape want to scream, they were formal apologies for his treatment by the Marauders, also, begging forgiveness, if their actions caused him to make the choice so long ago.
His bitterness had been so much a part of his life, for so long, he didn't know if he could let it go. He also couldn't wait to see about the picture and what surprise it would hold. Could be a trick, or it could be what they really hat taken from him so long ago, he hoped it was the latter. The most disturbing part was at the end of James' letter, Lilly requested that he not take out his frustrations on Harry and if possible, to help him to prepare to face Voldemort. All he could think was 'what have I gotten my self into?'
While Snape was dealing with his demons, Harry was discussing ways to recoup his money and what legal recourse he could take. Griphook told him they could stop all the withdrawals and recover the funds with little effort. Also since Harry could be emancipated they could remove Dumbledore as his guardian, this could be done any way due to the fact his magical signature was on the alterations giving him that power in the first place. Dumbledore could legally be striped of his power in the Wizengamot and most of his titles due to the stipulations of the will and also be made to pay additional compensation in the amount that the stolen funds would have earned in Harry's account, some where in the neighborhood of 300,000 galleons. He could be removed from the school for embezzlement of school funds.
"Griphook, for now lets stop the withdrawals, reclaim the money from the Potter and Evans accounts, to be put in a muggle bank account under the name Petunia Dursley, and perform an audit of the school accounts. I would rather not let him know of my status with those accounts. Threaten him with legal action if the school money is not returned. Use the money to start an education fund for underprivileged children, those that might not be able to afford to go, add another two million from my own accounts to get it started.
I have a meeting later this afternoon to straighten out some other business that may involve the legal matters that need to take place."
For his part, Severus was amazed that such a young boy could show such intelligence. Harry was handling thing as better than most grown wizards, also he seemed to have some sort of respect within the goblin community. The last thing was most unusual, goblins were known for their dislike of wizards and the same held true for most wizards. They treated goblins as little better than house elves. He really wanted to find out what Harry was up to, especially as his short involvement with him, had completely turned Severus's world upside down. Severus also wondered what Dumbledore had been playing at with his manipulations of the boy. Not being the head of Slitherin for nothing, Severus had already decided to keep to him-self the events of the day and see where they went when Harry asked. "Professor, I request that you keep what you have learned a secret for now. Also I have a meeting with Mrs. Bones this evening and would like it, if you would be there. After the meeting, I will answer any questions you have, however I will require a wizard's oath of secrecy from you at that time. You can see discrepancies in my behavior already and I realize this troubles you, however the oath will be necessary if you are to find the answers. Please consider my request, I can really use your help and the answers may be more than you will want to know."
"Potter, I must admit that you certainly shattered the mold I had made for you. I am extremely interested in what could cause this departure from the norm for a boy of your age. I know it could not be just magical puberty, as such, and am at a loss to explain it. I am also at a loss to explain my compulsion to trust what you say. You may have James Potter's looks but there the resemblance ends, you are an enigma to me. These things considered, I need no time to evaluate things and will gladly give the oath now instead of later. I Severus Snape swear on my magic to never voluntarily give away the secrets that Harry Potter may share with me, until such time as he releases me to or dies."
After the statement a white aura settled around them both and the deal was sealed. "Well it is nice to see my future Head of House so eager to learn my story. Shall we leave, I am sure you have a portrait to visit before tonight and I have several things to buy. Oh before I forget, Griphook, if you file the emancipation papers, who at the ministry would know and is there a way to keep others from realizing it until I am ready?"
"The papers go directly into your file at the ministry, they basically nullify any Ministry tracking charms on your person and wand and allow you to take up our legal duties on the School Board, Wizengamot, and any other positions you may hold. You can wait up to the end of your formal schooling to claim the positions, if you choose, though. They also give you authority to manage your own affairs within your estate, such as appoint managers etc. You will also acquire all titles of which you are entitled and may use them as you see fit. Someone would have to directly check your file to find this out and it is on a need to know basis, if they don't really need to know the file will not show them. You're entitled to claim the name High Lord Harry James Emrys – Gryffindor – Hufflepuff – Ravenclaw – Slytherin – Evans - Potter, Ruler of the Council of Magi! That is a mouth full if you don't mind me saying, Mr. Potter."
At the revelation of Harry's true title, Severus Snape did something he had never done before, he fainted. After several minutes they managed to bring him around. Between the actual event and the astonished look on Snape's face all Harry and Griphook could do was laugh. Once he regained his senses, scowl firmly in place, Severus said, "I should take points and give you detention for a year, Mr. my name takes an hour to say, for deliberately trying to give me a heart attack!"
All Harry could say was, "I told you it might be more than you wanted to know!" Plans were made to meet back at the Leakey Caldron at a little before three and they left the bank.
While making the rounds at Diagon Alley, Harry spotted a group of read heads talking to a chubby young boy and an older lady with a vulture on her hat. 'Lets see if maybe I can help Neville out a bit' Harry mused and proceeded in their direction. As Harry reached them the first to notice was a cute young girl with red hair and freckles, all she seemed to be able to do was stutter and point to him. "I..I…It……It's H..Harry P..Potter!" Harry decided to pull a small joke at this point by looking around and asking where. Every one got a kick out of this and came out of the 'hero worship' stupor they were in. Introductions were made all around and they started a rather enjoyable conversation. Harry explained his lack or previous knowledge about the wizarding world due to his 'family' and began to share some of the things he had been told so far. He steered the discussion toward wands and their compatibility to only one wizard of which both Ron and Neville questioned him. He told them that Mr. Olivander had told him that and asked about their wands. Neville told him his was his dads and Ron said he got his brother Charlie's old one, he seemed rather reluctant to say why. The adults had been listening to the conversation and wondered if they shouldn't check it out. "Look, I will bet that you could be even better wizards with the right wand and even though we just met, I would be willing to pay for them just to prove my point. I won't accept less, you have given me the opportunity to see if what I learned is correct, therefore I insist." Mrs. Weasley started to protest however was cut off by Harry. "Look I have a good feeling about you, and think we might become good friends, if you would allow me to. That said lets just consider it a gift between friends. Who knows I could be wrong about this, either way there is nothing you have to lose. I think since Ron has his brother's wand that it could be close to right, however since Neville is using his fathers it is less of a match, because it isn't compatible with the part of his magic he got from his mother. It's sort of like I have features from my father but my mother's eyes, you know?"
In the end they agreed to give it a shot. Harry was right about Ron's wand being almost right the only difference was the type of wood, the new one was cherry with unicorn hair. Neville was a different matter altogether, when Olivander started to measure him for a new wand he discovered a block on his magic. He questioned Mrs. Longbottom about it and she knew nothing about it and asked him to try to remove it. After several spells, Neville was surrounded by a bright blue flash; the change in him was immediately recognizable. He lost that forgetful look in his eyes, appeared more confidant, and looked healthier. Mr. Olivander told Mrs. Longbottom that the block had been put on Neville just after he was born, and the curious thing was it had the Headmaster's magical signature. To say she was a little up set would have been an understatement, she wanted to stomp a muddy hole in Dumbledore and go wading. Once he had found Neville a wand, he commented on the similarities it had to Harry's they were both phoenix feather and holly only Harry's was half an inch longer. "Most curious indeed, it would seem that you are both destined to do great things." With that said Harry paid for the wands and they left. Every one thanked Harry immensely, especially Neville and his Gran. They went their separate ways promising to meet at the train.
AN: Tonks should appear soon. I just have to figure out the proper introduction for her. I am not the best at romance scenes so be gentle. Also I would like to thank everyone for the reviews and interest in the story.