Chapter 6: Birthday Visits and Surprises

Two days after Griphook's visit was Harry's birthday, and he was somewhat disappointed by the fact that no one seemed to have remembered, not a single owl arrived that morning, unless you count Hedwig returning from a hunting trip. Tonks apologised profusely for not getting him anything but her reason of having been there with him almost none stop for weeks now was more than acceptable really.

For a change, they decided not to use that day for training, instead they would go to the park and just relax for the day. They found a small, secluded area of the park and had a couple of practice duals, just for fun, neither really making much effort and then they sat down and talked for a while, trading stories of their times at Hogwarts (Harry's generally much more full of adventure than Tonks').

All in all they were having a normal, peaceful day with nothing special happening. That wasuntil, at about lunch time, there were five flashes of light and they were suddenly surrounded by five very magical creatures, but these weren't even normal magical creatures, they had an almost ghost like quality to them. There was a Phoenix, a Griffin, a Basilisk, a Sphinx and a Unicorn.

At the sight of these creatures, 3 of which were known to be vicious all or some of the time, Harry and Tonks immediately drew their wands and began firing their most powerful curses, which strangely enough went straight through the beasts. After a moment of this the creatures all began to change, from animal into human.

The Phoenix became an old man with long white/grey hair and beard, both far past his waist, and dressed in robes of pure white.

The Griffin became another man, this time middle aged with shoulder length red hair, this man was dressed in full, old fashioned body armour of red and gold.

The Basilisk became a man of a similar age who had close cropped black hair and was wearing another set of armour, this time in rich green and silver.

The sphinx became a woman, tall and thin, with jet black hair and dressed in robes of a deep, royal blue.

The final animal, the unicorn, became a second woman. This one was much shorter than the first and also of a much heavier build, she wore a simple yellow work robe.

"Greetings." Called the old man.

"Who are you people?" asked Tonks and Harry at the same time.

Completely ignoring Tonks for the moment, the man in the red armour focussed on Harry and replied "We are your ancestors from many generations past. We have returned to help train you in your time of need."

"Umm…ok. So you're obviously some sort of ghosts or spirits but that really doesn't answer the question of who you are, just what you are." Harry said, beginning to get frustrated with the non-answers he was receiving.

This time it was the woman in the blue robe who responded, "You are correct my child, forgive us. You will have heard of us as our legacies remain from times past. My name is Rowena Ravenclaw and this is my husband Godric Gryffindor" she began, indicating the man in red and gold "he is Salazar Slytherin." She stated, this time indicating the man in green and silver. "and his wife, Helga Hufflepuff" this time gesturing needlessly to the only other female in the group. "and finally this, is Merlin." She said pointing to the ancient wizard in white.

Harry stared at them as though they had completely lost their minds.

"So, let me get this straight," he began "you're the 4 founders of Hogwarts and Merlin back from the dead to help me out with something and we're all related? I think you're gonna have to explain this a little better because right now I'm not buying it"

"Harry" Tonks said quietly "ordinarily I'd be sceptical too, but they do look like all the portraits and stuff I've seen of them and it's a known fact that all the founders were Merlin's descendants and there's been rumours about the Potter family being connected to them somehow for centuries now, but no one's been able to prove it either way since no one in your family has been willing to take any form of genealogy test about it."

"Ok, well I'll have that test thingy done at some point. Until then, I'll have to take your word you are who you say you are. But that still doesn't explain why you've all suddenly appeared out of no where or why now?"

Slytherin responded to this comment. "Ah, good, a cautious one, can't fault you there. Well, it would take a long time to explain everything but the basics are Merlin here was our Grandfather, 5 generations removed, he was still alive until we were in our early thirties and not long after we founded Hogwarts he gave a prophecy that stated that about a thousand years in the future give or take, there would be someone who was destined to rid the world of a great evil and that the five of us would return to this plane for a while to help prepare him for his task. There's a lot more to it than that but we've worked out that its you so we're here to help you be strong enough to get rid of this dark lord of yours."

"umm…no offence but why would you especially want to get rid of him? Not only is he your heir but he's also finishing what you started."

Salazar's face became sour "That bastardized abomination is no heir of mine. You are the closest living relation of all of ours, in fact you are directly descended from the four of us. Let me explain, Helga and I had only a single child, a daughter, who married Godric and Rowena's eldest son. The two of them had only one child, a son, who chose to change his family name to Potter. Descending from eldest son to eldest son, you are our direct descendent. Tom Riddle is from a family who claimed to be my descendants however there is absolutely no blood link between us at all, no matter how much he believes otherwise.

"As for him finishing what I started, I never started anything of the sort, it's just another lie that has been spread and exaggerated over the centuries. I had no problem with witches and wizards of pure, mixed or muggle blood, nor muggles themselves. What I tried to insist on with the school was that we only accepted those with the highest talent for magic, not those from the oldest families."

"Ok, so what do you want me to do then?" Harry asked.

"You need to go to Gringotts and submit to a heritage test there, that will prove that you are our heir. That will in turn give you access to our respective family chambers which include a substantial amount of money and weaponry, all of which is rightfully yours. It will also allow you to access a fifth vault, this time it contains only 5 items, one belonging to each of the five of us. You need to bring those items to your home and we shall visit you there tomorrow for further instruction." Replied Gryffindor.

At this they began to fade away. When they were almost totally gone, Hufflepuff called out "Happy Birthday by the way".

Harry looked at Tonks, "Ok, this summer just keeps getting weirder and weirder. Is there actually any chance of us getting to Diagon Alley today so I can get to the bank?" he asked sounding very tired.

Tonks thought for a moment before replying, "Yeah, that's no problem, I've got to go into the ministry for a little while anyway, so rather than keep putting it off for another day I'll drop you off at the bank and take care of it my stuff while you deal with yours."

"Ok, thanks. How are we going to get there though? I don't fancy travelling by muggle ways and can't use the floo without risking Dumbledore hearing about it, and I'm not supposed to be leaving the area." He reminded her.

"Ok, lets go back to the house then I think it's time I taught you an important lesson that, although the ministry don't seem to realise it, most witches and wizards pick up at some pint. How to make untraceable portkeys."

"Is that even possible?" he asked, confused "when they were explained to us at school it sounded like the ministry could track all of them."

"Nah, that's just what they want you to think. C'mon, you'll need to get your vault keys and stuff before we leave." She replied.

A little over fifteen minutes later, after a very quick lesson in things the Department of Magical Transportation wishes didn't exist, Harry and Tonks appeared out of no where, in a small off-shoot of diagon alley, both holding an empty ink bottle and promptly fell to the floor and straight into each other.

After scrambling to their feet they headed out into the main alley, which was fairly quiet as most of the wizarding world was too afraid to be out unnecessarily, and approached the imposing white building that was Gringotts main branch.

When they reached the base of the stairs up to the main door Tonks said "Ok Harry, I'll try to be back in about an hour, if you get done before then, try to either stay out of sight or if you feel you can hold it long enough, use some of the morphing abilities we've been working on to disguise who you are. Either way, I'll meet you back here as soon as possible." She finished quietly before aparating away.

Once she was gone, Harry climbed the steps up to the doorway to the building. The first sign he that there was increased security at the bank was that in place of the usual uniformed guards that he remembered from previous visits, there were 2 goblin warriors, each carrying a battle-axe and a shield with the bank's crest upon it. All in all they made a for a very intimidating presence, and Harry was very glad he had no intention of doing anything to provoke them as he was very happy with all of his limbs intact.

As he entered the main foyer area and approached the head teller, Harry noticed that the usually crowded room was relatively deserted – perhaps only 30 people were conducting business with the goblins at this time, and even then it was in hushed tones and while looking over their shoulders as if expecting Voldemort himself to jump out from behind a corner any moment.

"Good afternoon, I need to speak to Griphook please." Harry said to the ancient goblin, seated behind a high desk, who was currently surveying Harry as though he was a rather fascinating variety of bug…and since most of those featured highly on a goblin's diet, this was rather disconcerting for the young man.

"Account Manager Griphook is currently busy with important business. I will inform him at a later date that you were enquiring after him, Mr…?" the goblin replied as if talking to Harry was beneath him.

The attitude of this particular goblin was beginning to irritate Harry, so he decided to use something he remembered from his meeting with Griphook a few days previous.

"Very well," he began, "when Griphook has finished with his important business kindly inform him that Lord-Baron Potter-Black needs to see him as soon as possible."

At this the goblin paled, he had thought he was just dealing with some dumb human kid…he now realised that he had just inadvertently tried to snub the bank's single largest client, someone who carried power and influence throughout the entire magical world. Needless to say he feared for his life should his boss find out about his error.

"My apologies, I did not realise who you were, my Lord Baron. If you will follow me, I will escort you to his office personally." He said with a bow, hoping desperately to recover his previous mistake, all of which Harry found privately hilarious.

The goblin (who introduced himself as Floor Manager Picktooth) lead Harry through a pair of doors behind his desk and through a series of corridors, lined with doors, which Harry assumed lead to other offices. Eventually, they reached a rather ornate looking door at which point Picktooth stopped, knocked once on the door and gestured for Harry to enter, before retreating back the way they came, presumably returning to his station in the main part of the bank.

Harry slowly opened the door and looked in, he saw a goblin, presumably Griphook – but it was hard to tell from behind, searching through a filing cabinet for something.

Realising that sneaking up on a goblin could be a dangerous thing for him to do, Harry cleared his throat, announcing his presence.

The goblin turned round at this, confirming Harry's belief that it was indeed Griphook.

"Good afternoon Lord Potter, this is an unexpected visit. Everything is well, I trust?" he spoke, gesturing Harry to a chair in front of his desk, opposite his own.

"Hello Griphook, I apologise for turning up unannounced. There is some important business that I need to take care of at the bank, and since you are dealing with my other accounts, I thought it would be best to go through you."

At the mention of business, Harry had succeeded in gaining Griphook's full attention.

"Indeed, sir, it is probably best that way. Now, may I enquire as to the nature of your business today?" he asked.

"Well, there are several vaults here at the bank that have been inactive for a long time that I've just been informed I have the legal right to claim. I don't know if I trust the source of this information yet or not, but it required my immediate attention for reasons that I can't fully go into at this time." Harry replied, thinking that explaining that several ghosts of the most famous witches and wizards in recorded history had just visited him would be more likely to get him a one way ticket to St Mungos mental ward than access to any vaults, so it was probably best to be brief where possible.

"Very well My Lord. To which vaults are you referring and on what grounds does your source believe you can claim them?" enquired the goblin.

"Well, there are five that I know of. The Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin vaults as well as one that was opened in the name of all four of the founders of Hogwarts as well as Merlin. I was told that I am a direct blood relative of all of the previously mentioned people, but that you will need to conduct some sort of test…I'm guessing a blood test or something of the sort…to confirm this."

Griphook was momentarily stunned. It was well known among the goblins that those accounts still existed, but no one had tried to claim them in centuries…in fact it is rumoured that the last successful access to the vaults was made by the children of the Founders. It was also known that each one individually contained enough gold to make the fortunes of families like the Malfoys look like nothing…for someone who was already as rich a the human sitting opposite him to claim those fortunes as well as his already massive one…..this was going to be a very profitable meeting indeed, and he was inwardly very glad that he had been selected to oversee the Potter family's accounts.

"I am…aware…of the accounts of which you speak." He began, "And you are correct, in order to claim them, you will need to undergo a blood heritage evaluation test. I have the necessary equipment here." He said, while pulling out what appeared to be an ancient looking bowl, made of solid gold and engraved with runes and with a base large enough for a piece of parchment to be attached.

"If you simply place a drop of your blood into the instrument, it will evaluate and compare the sample to all known ones on record. This will in turn cross reference our lists of currently existing vaults and produce a list of those to which you are the rightful owner. If indeed you are the heir of the founders and the heir of Merlin then it is likely that there will be several other vaults that have been sitting, inactive, waiting to be claimed by their rightful owner to which you will be granted full access." The goblin said hungrily, thinking of the promotion and raise in pay he could be getting for this within hours.

Harry complied, pulling a penknife out of his pocket and slicing the tip of his index finger and dripping blood into the dish, before healing his hand again.

The pair waited for about one and a half minutes while the device made a variety of clicking, whirring and buzzing noises and emitted little puffs and wisps of multi-coloured smoke. Reminds me of all that crap in Dumbledore's office Harry thought wonder if he ever did get that all fixed…

When the device eventually became silent again, the parchment that Griphook had fitted began to fill with writing, as though by an invisible hand. This one is kinda like watching the Marauder's Map he thought, suppressing a grin good thing that doesn't need blood to work as well.

When the writing stopped Griphook removed the parchment and passed it to Harry. "This is a complete list of all family lines to which you are the primary or sole heir, as well as a list of all vaults attached to those families. All have now been removed from inactive status and been activated in your name. Congratulations, My Lord." He said.

Harry looked down at the lists before him…this was not quite what he was anticipating…he only wanted to get access to the five vaults he knew about…this list contained a lot more than five. But then, he rationalised – who was he to turn down all this money, especially if it was rightfully his anyway?

The list of families read as follows:

Merlin

Gryffindor

Slytherin

Hufflepuff

Ravenclaw

Potter

Crouch

Maclean

Bowman

McShaw

Atclif

Black

Campbell

Sandison

Although he had never heard of most of these families, the obvious few stood out….he already knew about the top six as well as the Black accounts, so that was no surprise. The name that surprised him most was Crouch, which he assumed was Barty Crouch's family…he guessed that when junior was given the kiss that must have been the end of the family line, which was presumably an off-shoot of his own which would explain control of their estate reverting to him. None of the other names were familiar to him though so he guessed they had probably been dead a long time now.

He saw that all of the families had at least one vault (in many cases, several) and 9 of them had notations that property had also been transferred.

Griphook gave Harry a few minutes to read and digest this information before speaking again.

"It would appear that who ever your source in these matters is, was correct. You are indeed the heir to the family lines you specified. As short lived as they were, the family lines of the four founders established quite a social and financial status. It has long been believed that they had ended, however it appears that the four re-consolidated into one, the Potter line.

"In addition to the property and financial assets listed there, you have also gained several additional titles." He continued. "Each of these families was of sufficient status to gain a Barony, which is now yours. Also, all except Atclif and Campbell carry a Lordship, bringing your total in that regard to 12 Lordships and 14 Baronies. There are various other titles associated with them, however those are now antiquated and carry now actual standing in society in modern times. Additionally, you have now been declared the legal Head Of House for each family and therefore control the Wizengamot seat associated with each. If you require any further information or assistance with these matters then I would be most happy to discuss it with you at another time. For now however, I believe you wanted to visit the chambers and vault for which you originally came to the bank today?"

Having momentarily forgotten about the initial purpose of his visit with the goblins, Harry took a moment to reply.

"Oh, yeah! I mean, yes please, if it's not too much trouble." He said in a rush

Griphook smirked at Harry's enthusiasm, before standing and leading Harry towards a second door out of the office, which the teen hadn't noticed until now. "This way, please. This is an entrance into the tunnel system."

When he opened the door Harry saw that it did indeed lead into the rock-walled tunnels that contained the many vaults that made up Gringotts bank.

"Which order would you like to visit them in, sir?" asked Griphook, as they climbed into the waiting cart.

"Actually, the only one I need to see today is the vault that had the five names on it. I need to remove some items from it." Harry replied.

"Very well, vault 035." The goblin replied as the cart set off at break neck speed. Strangely enough, although previously Harry had found the cart rides to be nauseating, this time it was in a strange way rather thrilling kinda like diving on a broom really he thought.

They seemed to keep going downwards for what seemed to Harry like forever, and kept building up speed until the vault doors were mere blurs to his eyes as they sped past. Eventually, after about 15 minutes, the cart began to slow until it finally came to a stop. But not in front of a door, as Harry would have expected, instead they stopped by a passageway that lead off the main track.

From about fifty metres down, Harry saw a blast of fire erupting, illuminating a massive cavern. As they got closer to it, Harry saw the cause of the flames.

He had often heard the rumours. But to him, at least until now, they had been just that – rumours. Guarding a row of 8 vaults were 5 full grown dragons. 3 Hebridean blacks and 2 Hungarian Horntails. Just great thought Harry I thought I'd seen the last of them things after the first task.

Something of his anxiety must have shown on Harry's face as Griphook said "Don't worry sir, so long as you are with a Gringotts goblin, they will not halm you. If someone were to attempt unauthorised access however…let's just say that the dragons enjoy their food, shall we?" He finished with a frightening smile.

Some how this did very little to reassure Harry of his safety, but at this point felt that he had little option but to trust Griphook. After all, he needed whatever these mysterious items were in the vault, and it seemed that to get to the vault, he would have to pass the dragons.

Harry followed Griphook towards one of the doors, all the time watching the dragons nervously. When they reached the door, the goblin placed his hand upon it and it began to slowly melt away into nothing.

"I will wait here for you sir." Stated Griphook.

"Thank you. This shouldn't take long." Harry replied.

Once he entered Harry realised that the huge, heavily guarded vault was practically empty. It was very easy for him to work out what the five items he was supposed to collect were, as there were precisely five items in total within the vault.

There was a sword, finely crafted in silver and encrusted with high quality, bright red rubies. Down the blade of the sword, made up of hundreds of tiny stones was the name "Godric Gryffindor", just like on the one he had pulled from the sorting hat, years previous. This sword however was much more ornate than the one he had previously used to slay the basilisk, and when he held it in his hand it felt as though it was made for him, and it pulsed with restrained power all of it's own.

The next item was one he recognised from his meeting with the spirits earlier in the day. It was the armour that the ghost of Slytherin had been wearing, perfectly preserved.

The third item Harry retrieved was a shield, made of an extremely strong metal that he couldn't quite identify. This had a crest on the back of it, and this he could easily identify – having seen it on an almost daily basis while at Hogwarts – this shield clearly belonged to Helga Hufflepuff.

The next item was a battle helmet like the warriors of old wore. The only clue as to the identity of the owner was that it had several sapphires embedded in it. And blue being a colour associated with Ravenclaw he felt that it was a pretty good guess it used to belong to her.

The final item, when Harry saw it, made him gasp with shock…while all of the others were priceless in their own right, the final was the thing of legend, he had read about this many times and from the stories there were only three facts that he could be sure of: who ever could wield it would be practically unstoppable, it could only be used by those with a pure heart and honest intentions and finally that, until now, no one had known what had happened to it. There before him lay a finely crafted staff made of a pure white wood, approximately six feet in length. Harry had just found Merlin's staff, one of the most powerful magical objects ever created.

He picked it up carefully, and when he did he felt a warmth spread throughout his entire body. If Godric's sword had felt like it contained power, it was nothing compared to this, it was simply indescribable.

Remembering that he should really be going, Harry decided to go now and spend time staring at them later, so he shrunk the objects down and placed them in his pocket before leaving the vault.

The cart ride back to Griphook's office was relatively uneventful.

Once they were seated at the goblin's desk again Griphook said, "There are just two more items of business I need to discuss with you, then I will answer any questions you may have.

"First, here are the keys to the vaults that need them from the ones you have just acquired." He said, passing Harry a small box containing about 18 of the small vault keys. "Finally, while you were in your vault, I received a message. It seems that Director Ragnok has already learned of your business here today and would like to talk to you as soon as possible, unfortunately he is tied up in board meetings all day. He asked me to find out if it would be possible for you to return in one week's time to meet with him?"

"Umm…yeah, sure, ok I guess I can do that, I don't think I have anything planned then that can't wait a while, tell him I'd be happy to meet with him."

"Very well, I will inform the director that you will be here at ten o'clock a week from today. Now is there any other business you have with the bank today, My Lord?" asked Griphook.

"No, thank you. I appreciate your help with all of this, a lot of this financial stuff goes way over my head, it's nice to know that at least someone is taking care of most of it for me." Harry finished with a smile.

His business done, Harry headed out of the bank to meet with Tonks, noticing that he had in fact been almost 3 and a half hours in the bank.