Disclaimer: Here Harry! Here Potter! Stupid books. Can't even find them let alone own them…
Throughout the rest of the summer holidays, Harry and his friends worked, planned, and negotiated. Dumbledore was especially pleased with the way the eight children were working together, and he and the Order were doing all they could to help. The ministry was still in chaos according to the members of the Order who worked there. Fudge was on the verge of being fired. Umbridge had gone to jail for various charges that she committed the year before. Harry was especially pleased.
Then one day, Mr. Weasley flooed to the Burrow and told Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny to come with him. Harry asked, "What's going on?"
"It is time for you to receive your share of Sirius's will." Mr. Weasley replied.
Harry's face suddenly fell and he began to mutter things inaudible. Then, he looked up and said in a quiet, sad voice, "Let's go."
Harry turned to his friends and said, "You can come too. I bet he will give something to you."
Everybody except Aranea headed to the fireplace. She finally agreed to come too after Harry asked her. When they flooed to the ministry, they were greeted by ministry security. They were run through with dark detectors, and their wands were checked. They even had to raise their sleeves, so the aurors could check if they had the dark mark. When they were finally accepted, they headed to the elevator and reached the area in which the will was to be read. Along the way, Harry learned that Sirius was found innocent and that Wormtail was now guilty for all the charges that Sirius was accused of doing.
When they arrived, there were many people already in the room. Mostly adults with a few kids. (including Neville and Luna). Harry sat down and willed himself not to cry. He had been bottling up grief, guilt, and fear for nearly the entire summer. He was on the verge of a break-down. Finally, a man entered with a long paper in front of him. (A.N. I hate writing law talk. Particularly stuff that have to do with dead people. I am making it sound like the common version of the human language. Not law talk.)
The man sat down and began to read the will:
If you are reading this, I am probably dead. Darn, I liked living. Anyway, a will is supposed to describe the wishes of the dead guy. That dead guy being me in this case. So let's begin. To Fred and George. I give you several areas of land and 13000 Galleons to expand your joke shop. Make me proud. Remus, I have already given you 5000 galleons to spend as you see fit. To the rest of the Weasleys. I give you each 2000 galleons. Make good use of it. Neville. I remember your parents. They were good people. That is how I know you will be a good person. I know from Harry that you are a great Herbologist. I give you the entire section of the Grimmauld library that has to do with Herbology Study well. Luna. Ginny has told me much about you. She considers you a good friend. I always had a soft spot for Ginny because she was so much like Lily. You get 300 galleons and several designated items that you will hopefully enjoy. Hermione. I think you deserve to have any of the remaining books that are in the library after Neville gets his share. Dumbledore gets the rest. Please be nice and give him at least a few books. Ron. I personally thought you to be a fine young man. Harry is lucky to have a friend like you. Keep an eye on him. You get my Quidditch equipment and several antique broomsticks. Ron and Hermione… Ah what a treat it is to watch you too bicker constantly like an old married couple. Reminds me of James and Lily somewhat. They loved to bicker. Only they weren't friends. How you two remain friends is beyond my comprehension. I give you 1000 galleons each and a few items that I will leave with Harry for now. He'll know what to do with them. And finally, Harry. You get everything else. The house. The remaining money. Everything. I am sorry to not be here to help you with the upcoming war. Good luck to all of you. Make me and your parents proud Harry!
Harry couldn't take it anymore. He had been bottling this up for almost the entire summer. He grieved. He felt tears falling down his face. He began to sob. He knew people were looking at him, but he didn't care. He then felt arms around him. They hugged him tightly. After what felt like hours, his crying ceased. He raised his head to see Aranea face looking down at him with concern. He suddenly felt like a great weight was off his shoulders. He realized that he had made a mistake bottling up his feelings over Sirius's death. He had felt a great weight of sorrow on him all summer. He realized that he had been carrying grief for months. He was finally free.
Harry blinked and came back to the real world. Aranea was still holding him, but more loosely. Without thinking, Harry stood up. He hugged Aranea back while thanking her over and over again. Nearly everybody was smiling. Except Ginny. While she heeded Hermione's advice, she still had a great deal of feelings for Harry. She just refused to reveal it.
After a few minutes Harry and Aranea pulled apart. They looked around and both blushed until they were red enough to make Ron proud. Then, Dumbledore, who was beaming, stood up and announced that the meeting was over.
Harry immediately left with his friends behind him. Dumbledore said the stuff given to the kids (besides the money, which was in Gringotts) were in Grimmauld Place on the kitchen table.
When they arrived by floo, they went to the kitchen. On the table were lots of packages and boxes with labels designating who they belong to. Luna received several books on mythical creatures and some strange gadgets that Luna became very excited about. She said that they would prevent people from taking her stuff though she didn't go into how. Neville left to go to the library after finding a large empty box that would hold all his books. Hermione went with him. Ron loved all his new equipment and brooms. Then they saw the box of stuff that Harry was supposed to take care of for Ron and Hermione. Before Ron could take it, Harry hoisted it onto his shoulder with a grunt. Ron was about to protest, but he realized that it would be another pointless fight. He got too many of those with Hermione. He shrugged his shoulders and went with Luna to the library. Harry, after shrinking the box and putting it in his pocket, followed with Ginny and Aranea.
The library was a total mess. Literally. Apparently, Hermione was trying to cram as many books as possible into her trunk. And it wasn't going well. There were discarded books everywhere. Neville had already gotten all his books and was watching on with amusement. Ginny was staring in shock. Hermione was always the orderly one. Luna was on a chair meditating. Something she liked to do every day. Harry and his friends learned that was why she always looked so dreamy. Harry and Ron (who was rolling his eyes and looking disgusted) knelt down to try to calm Hermione down. She was so excited to have a full library to choose books from. Aranea began to pick up the books and cleaning up.
After about twenty minutes Hermione agreed to bring only fifteen of the books with her to Hogwarts. They picked up the rest of the books and were just finishing when Dumbledore walked in. He smiled and said, "Miss. Granger, I hope you saved me a few of the books."
"Yes sir," Hermione said.
"Good. Now, to the reason why I am here. Harry should come with me to Gringotts to discuss his inheritance from Sirius. Come along Harry," Dumbledore said.
"I'll be back guys." Harry said.
With that he left with Dumbledore. They decided to walk there so they could discuss the war plans. Harry began, "Professor, do you know where Voldemort's stronghold is yet?"
"I am afraid not Harry,"
"Any leads at all?" Harry said desperately.
"No, but the dementor attacks are getting worse and worse. The ministry is figuring out a way to stop the dementors from growing in number. Also, they are trying to kill them. But it seems impossible."
"What about any other attacks?" Harry asked.
"There are several Death Eater attacks ever week but they are mostly small since the Gringott's incident," Dumbledore replied.
"Dumbledore, how long do you think it would take to raise an army with enough strength to bring the war to Voldemort?"
"It all depends on certain factors. Who is going to fight? What supplies will we need? Can we get these supplies? When will the next major battle erupt and if so in what areas? The list goes on continuously."
"Are any of Ginny and Luna's articles doing anything?" Harry asked.
Dumbledore smiled, "Yes, there has been a major increase in the number of people signing up for auror training and joining the Order. Still, we are far outnumbered."
Harry then asked Dumbledore about the sword. "Malfloy gave me a sword. He said that it is very rare and dangerous. He also promised to teach me how to use it. Do you think I can show it to you later? I am a little worried to because it IS from Malfloy."
"Of course, Harry. I can realize you are wary. That is a good sign. Moody would be proud of you." Dumbldore said with a hint of pride in his voice.
Harry laughed but then said seriously, "What about the students?"
"Ah, Harry, I am very reluctant to start a war with the students wrapped up in it. Defense is fine but attacking on the offense is something else." Dumbledore said gravely.
At this time, they reached the Leaky Cauldron. They walked in and headed straight to the entrance. They then proceeded to Gringotts. When they arrived, Harry stared in shock. Goblins, over 200 of them, were standing guard and looking suspiciously around at the customers. Harry remembered vaguely the wars between goblins and wizards. Goblins were smart, could work magic (though it was a little weaker than wizards), and were skilled at stealth and hand-to-hand combat. Harry had an idea forming in his head. He was just hoping it might work. They reached a goblin that wasn't helping or checking somebody (it took a while). The goblin, Frum, led them to a cart and they speeded toward Harry's new vault. When they arrived, Frum took a key from his pocket, opened the vault, and gave the key to Harry. The vault was now his.
Harry walked through the door and his jaw dropped. Inside was a pile of Galleons so big that Harry could barely see the top. "At least I have the money to buy all those books I asked Neville to buy," he thought. Then, he walked past the heap of gold and looked in the back. There was a bunch of other stuff. Including thirty shelves filled with books. Potions of various sorts and a bunch of jewelry were present as well. As he looked closer he saw ten wands on a table as well. He noticed a note next to them. He took a look at the note before touching the wands.
Harry, these are rowan wood wands. They are very powerful and rare because they do not need a core but must be made carefully and with great magical skill. There are ten wands here. Give them to those you trust. I feel that you will need them in the upcoming war. Sirius
Harry turned and saw that Dumbledore and the goblin had not followed him. He continued searching and found a list of the potions that were in the vault. It proved that these potions would be very helpful in his upcoming struggle. Many were healing and protection potion and even a couple gave more power to the drinker when it comes to magic and physical ability.
He also found a pair of glasses exactly the same as the ones that Aranea's dad had. He grabbed and stuck them in his pocket. He would ask her later how they worked. As he realized that he couldn't keep all these potion and equipment in his present trunk, he began looking for anything that he could put them in. Luckily, he found a huge trunk. As he lifted it, he noticed that it was incredibly light. It had ten compartments along with a ring of keys. He opened the compartments one by one and found that each one held a room much like the seventh compartment of Moody's trunk. Respectively, they held an empty library, a training area that looked like a basketball stadium, two huge bedrooms, a bathroom, a study room similar to the Transfiguration classroom complete with desks and chairs, a small kitchen, an enormous storage room with lots of empty boxes, a potion making dungeon-like room, and a relaxation room complete with lots of comfy couches.
Harry turned and saw that Dumbledore was behind him. Dumbledore smiled and said, " I have some matters to deal with in another vault. Pack up anything you want or need in that trunk and meet out there in an hour." With that, he left.
Harry grinned and got started. He had a lot of fun going through everything. In one hour, he had everything packed and shelved everything in the vault that he needed. He was about to leave when he remembered the rowan wands. He grabbed them and carefully put them in a safe he found in the library. Then, he left. Three minutes later, Dumbledore arrived with Frum and together they rode up the rail back to Gringott's bank. When they reached the entrance room, Harry remembered his idea and said, "Frum, is there any way I can talk to the lead goblin?"
Frum looked startled and replied, "Mr. Potter, Trigold rarely speaks to humans."
"Can you try?" Harry pleaded.
"I will see what I can do."
Frum then left. Dumbledore turned to Harry and said, "Harry, I think I know why your doing this, but I doubt it will work."
"We shall see," Harry replied.
At that moment, Frum showed up again with another goblin behind him. A hush fell over the room. Harry walked up to the goblin and bowed. The goblin was old, very old. Still, his eyes were full of light and there was a feeling of power around him. The goblin, to everyone's surprise, bowed also. Then, he spoke is a deep voice, "Young Mr. Potter, I hear you wish to speak with me?"
"Yes Trigold. I would like to discuss the war with you. Can we talk somewhere private?"
"Yes, Mr. Potter, we can use my office." Trigold replied. Then, he began to walk away. Harry followed, but Dumbledore stayed outside with a flash of sudden hope in his eyes.
When Harry and the elderly goblin arrived in the office, they sat down. Trigold spoke first, "What of the war do you wish to discuss?"
"Your side on the war."
The goblin spoke slowly, "Mr. Potter, we goblins never take sides on wizard wars unless forced to. You do realize that Voldemort attacked our bank. We will never join someone who attacks us."
"So you are neutral?" Harry asked.
"No, we are not in this war. We may look neutral, but we are preparing before declaring it outright that we support the light side." Trigold said.
"If you do fight, how large is your force?"
The goblin grinned, "We remembered that you said that Voldemort has over 10,000 soldiers. If the goblins all agree, we will have about 1000 goblins ready to fight. We will not let the Dark Lord attack our bank and go unpunished."
Harry nodded. Then, they both rose and left together. When they met with Dumbledore, Trigold bid them farewell, and they left. It was getting dark when they arrived back at Grimmauld Place. Harry immediately went straight to the drawing room.
His friends were all there talking. They fell silent as Harry walked in with his new trunk. Before they could ask, Harry told them everything. Then they took a look in the trunk. Hermione became even more jealous when she saw the library, which had more books in it than she currently did. Neville got excited about the potion's room and asked permission to use it to practice potion making. Harry agreed knowing that Neville needed the practice. Ron and Ginny liked the training area a lot. Luna didn't say much, but she did ask to put some of her stuff in the storage compartment. After admiring everything, they sat and continued to discuss the war. It was all they talked about these days, and Harry was starting to feel guilty. Of course, it was their choice, but he felt that it was his fault they were in this situation.
After a while, his mind began to drift. He thought about nothing imparticular. Just his life and the problems that he had to face. He was knocked back to reality when he felt a rap on his head. His friends were all staring at him. He smiled sheepishly.