As this is a fanfiction site, I don't claim to own Ms. Rowling's works. To everyone who has read this story, Favorited/followed, and/or reviewed has my eternal gratitude. The next chapter should be out soon, and will probably include the pairing. if not the next one, the one following that. It will be one witch, and it won't be Hermione, Ginny, Fleur, Astoria, or Gabriella. I haven't decided completely yet. With Harry's summer coming up, I most definitely have a couple surprises in store for all of you readers. One of them might very well be a first, as I've never seen it done before, and I'm relatively excited to get that chapter up. Without any further ado, here's the latest chapter!
Harry walked up the spiral staircase, into Professor Dumbledore's ornate office. He scuffed his shoes, feeling like a petulant child. After so much easy success, and very noticeable results, his meditation progress had stagnated. Today, after two weeks of solo practice, Professor Dumbledore had insisted on walking Harry through the exercises again, from the beginning. Harry gladly welcomed the help, as frustration was starting to seep in. He stepped on the last step, and raised his hand to knock; however, a jolly sounding "Come in!" welcomed him into the office.
"Shut the door on your way in, please Mr. Potter." came the same voice. Dumbfounded, Harry, opened the door, and softly clicked it closed.
"Professor? How is it that you always know who it is before anybody knocks?" Harry watched Dumbledore playing with some silver trinkets on a small desk, before looking around for Fawkes. The perch was conspicuously empty, making the office seem less bright.
"Aren't these instruments fascinating, Harry? So delicate, but nearly indestructible. Each one only has one point, be it big as a housefly, or as small as the nucleus of an atom, that could topple the whole piece into a pile of scrap worth only its weight in silver. Can you tell me why?" Dumbledore continued tapping random ones with his wand...Harry had never noticed it before, but Dumbledore's wand had knots along its length, the wood itself almost mixing the dark part of the wand, with the light. The bottom had a handle that felt like ivory...He felt more than heard the wand give a three note, bass drum sound that ignited a spark in his heart.
A thousand sounds filtered through his mind, from small squeaks of church mice, to the pained roar of a 60 foot Basilisk, its eyes spurting blood after being attacked by the phoenix...He shook his head, hearing the bass drums again. Drums,drums in the deep. They're coming...Harry knelt on the floor, his hands caressing the carpet covered stone, feeling its ancient strength that had stood since time immemorial, a fortress that armies broke against as water against the craggy shore before the Founders converted it to a school. His finger found a small nick in the carpet, and as soon as his skin made contact with stone, his vision fragmented. His vision shattering like glass, fragments racing apart too quickly to grasp. Each piece of glass contained an image, a scene playing like a broken movie. Instinctively, he raised his hand and caught a small shard rocketing at his face. Instead of fracturing once more, the pieces flew back together, like watching time work backwards.
He could feel something, but he couldn't identify it. It was so familiar, it made him want to punch a wall. The image fled, though Harry did try to maintain his grip, it was like grabbing water in his hand.
His vision returned to normal, and Professor Dumbledore seemed completely oblivious to Harry's confusion. Harry found the nick in the carpet with his eyes, and began to reach for the stone once more.
"No, Harry. That is the wrong path to take. You are so very close, my dear boy. So very close to the finish. Explain what happens with your magic during your exercises, please. Sometimes, I find it helps to repeat everything I've learned about a problem, so I might become my own teacher but for an instant." The Headmaster calmly rebuked his pupil.
"Sir, after I concentrate on my breathing, and make sure I set a steady rhythm, I pull a small amount of magic in from my vicinity. I then exhale all the air in my lungs, concentrating on pushing that magic back out. Then, simply, I repeat."
"Correct, but sadly, my dear boy, still not complete. What purpose do you serve?"
"Tides!" Harry shouted
"Tides? Harry, have you had too much sugar, perhaps my lemon drops?" The professor's eyes danced over his glasses, "Mr. Potter, I'm afraid my knowledge of nautical matters is woefully inadequate. You'll find that Professor Lupin is rather talented with those matters, however."
"Sir, when I draw the magic in, its the most important part, isn't it?" Seeing Dumbldore's encouraging smile, Harry continued once more. "That magic has been in the air, and air is always shifting. Do I...gather knowledge from the magic?"
"Fantastic, Harry! Simply marvelous! Yes, my dear boy. Exactly! It almost acts as a RADAR, or a SONAR, if you're familiar with those machines in the Muggle armies?" Albus was beaming, from ear to ear. He couldn't possibly be prouder right now. " Let me see you try, through the exercises we went through. I want you to feel Harry."
He started, the now familiar motions comforting. The magic came in like a lamb being led to the slaughter, and came out more powerful than a pride of lions. The magic left him in a rush, only to come back three full seconds later. He felt two house elves repairing the stairwell to the off, knowing their names to be Blinky and Feezy. Students milled about, most heading to the Great Hall. Hermione was sending Hedwig back to the Owlery, having received a response from her parents. Hedwig slipped through the net, and Harry saw a flash of red before he gasped and came back to himself. He gulped the ice water that his headmaster offered to him, greedily draining the crisp tasting beverage.
"I'm proud of you, Harry. I know your parents would as well. If you'd like, we can discuss your heritage and take lunch here?"
"Please sir, I've always wanted to know about my family, my ancestors."
"I shall start with the Peverell family, as they are possibly, the most ancient family still intact. The Peverells were first recorded in history in about 950 B.C. I believe it was a written record of a land transfer, somewhere in southern Wales. Ignotus Peverell opened the first Gringott's account for the family in 1271 A.D, when the Goblins were just starting the bank. The tally of that account runs currently at a modest 12,000 Galleons, and some change. The Goblins did not offer interest on vaults until the mid 1850's , and there was a rebellion around that time period. Goblins did not allow the addition, or subtraction of features available for established vaults, and generally, still don't. Goblins are shrewd businessmen and women, Harry, and even deadlier warriors. A lot of old Pureblood families banded together, and attacked. Many of them did not survive, and Goblins became stricter about services they offered, and the services increased in price until only a privileged few could afford them. The Lord Peverell of the time refused to even consider purchasing retroactive interest, as the balance would be mostly gone after the activation. He was shortly assassinated for his neutrality in the rebellion, the only surviving heir his daughter, whom had married into the Potter family. Since then, every Potter Lord has been Lord Peverell."
The professor paused, calling for refreshments. They both kept the conversation light over lunch, deliberately putting the important items until after they had eaten. Albus reminded Harry to take the potions Madame Pomfrey had prescribed him. He laughed at Harry's grimace, though he had the tables turned when he sheepishly took out his own daily vial of potion, and knocked it back with a shudder. They let the food settle a bit, before Albus dove back in.
"Okay Harry, now the Potter family. Your Grandfather, and Grandmother were both excellent people, and talented at magic. Dorea and Charlus were dear friends of mine, and I was sad to see Dorea pass away in your father's 7th year. Your Grandfather, seeing the state of the world, with Death Eaters attacking everyday, and the Dark Lord taking a personal interest in your family, began to plot. I may be a clever man, Mr. Potter, and lauded for my mental agility, but Charlus was in a league of his own. He outmaneuvered Lord Voldemort's financial pitfalls that many other, older families had fallen victim to. He donated ruthlessly to both St. Mungoes hospital, and several magical orphanages. I had never put the words 'ruthless' and 'donation' together until I saw what he had accomplished in nine months. The magical hospital, with funds from House Potter, managed to quintuple their medical supplies in less than a week, saving many lives. With your parents running into Voldemort at every turn, or so it seemed, he had no time to counter anything Charlus did. He left the financial details to Lucius Malfoy, while a clever and cunning man in his own right, he really had no chance against your grandfather. Within a year, the Malfoys were blacklisted almost everywhere in Britain and France, and the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. Voldemort fell two months after that, and Charlus passed away May of 1982, following a vicious battle with several diseases. He overcame all four that the Healers had diagnosed, all of them fatal more than seventy five percent of the time. They missed a fifth illness, and Charlus never stood a chance, being weak from his convalescence."
"Wow..." Harry breathed. "My grandfather sounds really cool!"
Albus chuckled. "Yes, I agree totally. While he was bed ridden, he invested all the Potter money into several different Muggle companies. Six of the eight went out of business, and the last two made sure you would be comfortable for a while. The balance of the Potter vault, including your trust vault, is about 35,000 Galleons, not counting the change and some rare books. To give you some benchmarks, your lovely Firebolt set Sirius back a little over a thousand Galleons, after taxes and engraving. The average house in Hogsmeade, or Godric's Hollow might cost you in between 25,000 up to maybe 90,000 Galleons. A manor, like Longbottom Manor or Malfoy Manor, would cost you several hundred thousand Galleons, before warding. Your family was rich in love, and rich in history Harry, but not material possessions. The Potters have always been famously selfless, and generous."
"I'd gladly give it all back for just one family member that cares for me. Ron is really lucky, he's got a large family that cares for him, and he takes them for granted at times."
Both mentor and student sat in companionable silence, neither uncomfortable.
Later, when Harry bid goodnight to the Headmaster, his eyes caught a glimpse of the professor's wand once more, this time the drums beating a frantic march in his head.