[DISCLAIMER: And by the way, my name is not Joanne Rowling, so unfortunately Harry Potter does NOT belong to me, though it really is such a shame...
A/N: Here's another one for you =) Though I should warn you, that right now I'm updating as fast as I can, but since the exams begin real soon, the January updates may be rather far apart from each other...
To Zana20: Thanks for the review. I'll clear up the Prophecy thing - it's not certain that the Prophecy was the same in his old universe, but this is Harry Potter we're talking about... No matter how small, he still has the 'blame myself for all' complex and so, when he sees the deception concerning the Prophecy, he instantly came to the conclusion that in his world it would be the same one =) And really, I have no idea what to do about Sirius. On one hand I really like him, but if we introduce him to the story now it may provide some unnecessary trouble for Harry, especially if I decide on Harry being with Severus and Lucius; =)
Poll 3 standing results:
dark elf - 14;
dragon - 13;
high elf - 12;
vampire - 9;
angel - 9;
incubus - 6;
veela - 3;
inu-youkai - 3 (for those who are not familiar with this species, it's basically a dog demon, like Sesshoumaru from 'Inu-Yasha');
This is nowhere near decided, so please, vote =)... though youkai, veela & incubus are most likely going to loose =)
*Harry-hugs* to all my reviewers, thank you very much, it's really nice to know that the story is appreciated...
]
(~ss~ - means something is spoken in Parseltongue;
"blah" - speach;
'ergh' - thoughts;
"ano" - spells;
[place] - location & date;
*note* - mainly notes, letters (basically anything that's written);
{book} - letters, howlers, books (anything that is either spoken or read aloud by the character);
Previously on "Unwrapping Time":
Hadrian chuckled as he watched the enraged pig squeal at him:
"Well, that look does suit you quite a lot, dear uncle..."
'Wish I could just leave him like that...' - he thought wistfully and headed to the door. It was time to pay Gringotts a visit and finally make some steps to ensure that this time around things would go differently.
and on with the story...
Chapter Eight:
The Gringotts Dilemma: Dealing with Thieves and Liars (Part I).
With a loud bang the Knight Bus came to a halt in front of the 'Leaky Cauldron' and Hadrian exited with a relieved sigh.
"Honestly, I really should think about investing in creating a better transportation method..." - he grumbled under his breath, as he entered the pub. It was exactly like it was before the war - peaceful and full of people. The raven haired wizard pulled up his hood and strode up to the barman:
"Morning blessings, kind sir." - he said in a silky no-nonsense voice - "scrambled eggs with bacon, toast with jam and pumpkin juice, please."
Tom looked at the customer curiously. The man was very short, so it was probably a Hogwarts student, the voice, as well as the old traditional greeting, suggested that it was a scion of one of the Noble Houses. He smiled at the child:
"Of course, coming right up, young sir. It'll be six sickles." - he than looked around and saw that the child was alone - "Would like me to show you to Diagon Alley when you're done?"
Hadrian smiled as well, he really liked the old wizard:
"Thank you, sir. That would be appreciated." - he didn't really like behaving like a snob, but since he was actually part of the nobility, he didn't really have a choice, especially if he wanted to make a good impression and give the purebloods another option, aside from following Voldemort.
'So many things to do...' - thought Potter, as he waited for his late breakfast - 'I hate all those social gatherings, but if I want those people to back me up when the time comes, I really don't have a choice. Well, I do have the big choice, the side of the war... No way in hell am I supporting Dumblefuck...'
He was then distracting from his plots, when his breakfast appeared in front of him, as well as a copy of the 'Daily Prophet'. Potter frowned as he saw the paper, but knew that it was the best source of information at this point. He looked through the Prophet, as he slowly ate his breakfast. The titles were normal, nothing out of the ordinary. This was enough for Hadrian. Finishing the toast, he drank the juice and made his way to the entrance to the Alley.
[Gringotts Bank]
The building of the bank still looked like a huge piece of cake, or cheese, depending on the person's preferences. Hadrian chuckled warmly, as he recalled his first visit to the bank, when he was accompanied by Hagrid. He swiftly entered the building and looked around. It was around noon and there were quite a lot of people, so all the goblin's had at least a couple of clients waiting. Potter scanned glanced on the people and finally chose to wait behind an elderly lady, whom he recognized as Augusta Longbottom, Neville's grandmother.
'Should I approach her now? Maybe I can make her buy Neville his own wand...' - he wandered, as he studied Lady Longbottom and the bird on her hat - 'If I get to know him before Hogwarts, I can even try to break that stuttering of his...' - the last thought brought a smirk to his face and he cleared his throat:
"Excuse me?" - he said in a small voice of a lost child - "Can I ask a question?"
He than watch in amusement, which didn't show on his face, as the witch turned around and studied him closely:
"And who may you be, child?" - asked the elderly woman kindly.
"Harry Potter, ma'am." - he answered quickly in a very respectful tone, his eyes studying the floor.
"I am Lady Augusta Aurelia Longbottom. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr Potter." - replied the woman. She was surprised to meet the young hero at Gringotts, but years of practice in political games and poker made sure that she gave no outward reaction to the name - "Now what is it you wanted to ask?"
Hadrian bit his lip nervously and said:
"Well, my mum left me a letter, which I received yesterday. She explained how to get here and said that I have to ask for a copy of their Wills... So, could you tell me who to ask about this?"
The old witch frowned a bit, not sure what to say. It was known that the only one who heard the Potter Will was Dumbledore, so she had no information for the child:
"Well, Mr Potter, if your mother didn't leave the name of your account manager, than you should just ask any random goblin."
The green eyed child gave her a wide grateful smile that made Augusta smile as well. She allowed the Potter heir to stand in front of her, which gave the chance to study the boy more closely. It was still to little time to say anything definite, but she knew that she would be glad if her grandson became more like Harry. While Neville was indeed a sweet child, he was very timid and totally lacked independence. While she was thinking about her grandchild, Hadrian's turn to approach the goblin came. He swiftly came up to the desk and much to his displeasure found himself too short to even see the goblin. He took a few steps back and politely greeted the creature:
"Day's blessings, sir. May your gold run smoothly." - Hadrian could tell that he succeeded in shocking the goblin into silence, so he went on - "My name is Hadrian Ain James Potter and I'm here to inquire about my parents' Wills."
The creature stared at him for a moment, before taking out a blank piece of parchment:
"Three drops of blood onto the parchment, if you please."
Hadrian gave the goblin a blank look and did as asked, though it was clear that he had no idea what it was for. Then the kid yelped, as he saw names appear on the parchment. For a moment he stared at the parchment in total confusion and then he understood - it was his family tree.
'I never got the chance to make one in the past, I wonder who I'm related to... Maybe some of them are still alive...' - he thought hopefully, as he waited for the names to stop appearing.
Finally after about 20 minutes the names stopped appearing. The goblin studied the writings for a moment and then looked up at the young wizard who was bouncing with barely contained excitement:
"Mister Potter, if you'll please follow me to the Inheritance Office, there are some aspects of your family that need to be discussed in private."
Potter frowned at the goblin. He had no idea what it was and therefore had no idea if he could deal with the problem on his own. He glanced back at the Longbottom Matriarch, who looked slightly interested, yet made no attempt to listen to the conversation. This helped him make the decision:
"Lady Longbottom... would you mind coming with me?" - he asked, making sure that his voice had the necessary timidness that made him sound like an unsure and shy child.
If the elderly witch was surprised to be asked this, she hid her reaction very well:
"Are you sure you don't mind me knowing something this personal, Mr Potter?" - she asked in return, though Hadrian was pretty sure that it was just to be polite.
He smiled brightly:
"I don't want to be a bother, ma'am... It's just that I'm new to the Wizarding World and there is so much I don't understand..."
The answer was definitely the right one, since the witch nodded with a smile, which made her stern expression soften for a moment. Unfortunately the moment didn't last long, since the nod dislocated the bird that was on top of her hat and the entire thing fell down with a soft thud. It took all Hadrian had not to laugh, but he managed, since he didn't want to ruin his progress with his friend's grandmother. Instead he picked up the construction and studied the bird curiously. He looked innocently at the woman:
"If I may ask, why exactly do you wear such a heavy hat?"
Augusta was silent for a few moments, while she looked around discreetly, making sure that no one saw the embarrassing event and then turned her attention back to the child:
"Well, Mr Potter, it's an old wizarding tradition..." - she stopped, trying to figure out how to explain it in words that a 10 year old child would understand, since her own grandson never got the courage to ask, even though she knew for sure that he was just as curious as well.
Hadrian, not knowing why she fell silent pressed on:
"So it's not because you like hats with birds?"
Probably he would have eventually gotten his answer, but the goblin that was to take them to the Inheritance Office was not a very patient one:
"Mr Potter, this way, please." - barked the creature and strode to the elevator.
Hadrian, having no other chose, hurried after the goblin, with Augusta hot on his heels.
[Gringotts Bank, -4th floor; Inheritance Office]
When the green eyed wizard entered the Office, he couldn't stop himself from looking around. It was his first time in here and he was rather curious. Seeing the boy's dazed expression, Mrs Longbottom gently guided him to the seat in front of the desk. She was familiar with this goblin, for she brought her own grandson here not so long ago, therefore she knew very well that Harry Potter would get at least one nasty shock during the meeting.
The goblin nodded at the witch and gave the child a toothy grin:
"Welcome to the Inheritance Department, Wizard Potter. I am Bloodclaw, the Head of the Department. You are here for several reasons. The first one we're going to discuss is the problem of the Wills of your parents'."
Potter sat up straighter and bit his lip nervously. 'Merlin, why am I nervous? I know that this will be something that didn't happen before, but being this nervous is simply ridiculous... Still, why the hell did it never occur to me to do this the first time around?' - he thought to himself.
"... The problem with the Wills is that your father's is sealed and only your magical guardian can unseal it... or Lord Potter could... but to become Lord Potter you'd have to be at least 16 and you can't file for emancipation before you're 13 at earliest."
Hadrian resisted the urge to curse something for he was sure that the worst was yet to come.
Augusta, however, was not as clueless as the boy, so she asked at once:
"So then we are to understand that his magical guardian is aware of the contents of the Potter Will and he knowingly sealed it?"
"Yes, that's exactly it, Lady Longbottom." - answered the goblin with a feral grin.
The woman frowned, the idea of someone disregarding a magical Will was an unsettling one:
"And just who is Mr Potter's magical guardian?"
[A/N: And here's another cliffie =) Still, I managed to reach the 2,500 words line, so that's something. Some of Dumbledore's manipulations will be coming out in the next chapter, so stay with me...
AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW =)]