Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Star Wars.

The Force of Magic

Part 1: Discovery

Chapter 3

Harry woke up to a hand on his shoulder shaking him.

"Whaa?" Harry murmured.

"You asked me to wake you at 8:00, Mr. Potter."

Harry rolled over onto his side and opened his eyes. Memories of the previous day's events rushing back to mind.

He was a murderer. He had used the Force or magic or whatever to kill the Dursleys. And he'd learned that there was a whole world filled with people who could do what he could too.

Well, Harry thought. At least I'll stay out of jail for awhile. Still, killing people is not something that these magical people will be happy about.

It would be best to keep that quiet.

And then there was the matter of his status in this strange new world. Apparently, he was some kind of important rich person here. And people were trying to use him as a pawn. For reasons.

And what are the odds that the old man with magic powers at the police station is one of those people? Harry thought.

"Mr. Potter?"

Harry sat up and through his legs over the bed.

"Thank you, Tom," Harry said.

"Not a problem, sir," Tom said. "Would you like assistance getting downstairs?"

"No thank you," he said. "I think I know the way down from yesterday."

"All right then, Mr. Potter," Tom said. "Breakfast will be ready when you arrive. Holler if you need any assistance."

Harry thanked Tom and the barman left. He stood up and stretched. He grabbed the clothes he'd worn from yesterday and quickly put them on. They weren't in the best condition considering that they were Dudley's old castoffs and had been subjected to being almost fried by lightning, but they were the best he had. If Lord Greengrass was right, then he should be able to get some more today after going to the magical bank

Of course, that's assuming that my parents were rich in actual money and not land or something.

He'd need to figure out what exactly wizards used for currency and how transactions were made in the magical world. Moreover, he'd need to find out how much things cost with magical money so he could get the best deals. If there was one thing he'd learned from the Dursleys, it was not to waste what he had. If his family had money, he was going to use it well even if he didn't quite know what that meant right now.

Harry shook his head. That was a problem to work on with Lord Greengrass. Right now, he needed food.

Opening the door, Harry slowly made his way downstairs. It wasn't easy without his cane, but he'd memorized the route going upstairs and reversed it to go down. Still, he was worried that he might miss the steps and fall. He didn't come across anyone on his way, so it was up to him to not break his neck on the stairs.

Once he reached them and started walking down, he made a mental note to ask Lord Greengrass if there was some kind of a magical cane that he could buy. There was so little he could do without one.

As he walked down, he heard the voices of other customers chatting amiably to one another. Following the sound of their voices, he found himself back in the dining area where he had met Lord Greengrass yesterday.

Now, Harry thought. To find a table.

Normally, he would just walk around til he found an empty one, but that was just a little too risky without a way of detecting obstacles like pulled out chairs or table legs. Instead, he stopped at the entrance to the dining area and listened. The conversations seemed to be happening all over the room, but the sounds were unevenly spread. Theoretically, he should be able to find an empty table between two tables where people were talking or where there was just no sound.

Slowly, he started walking forward, listening to the other customers. He paused at one table when he heard his name.

" Harry Potter's back!"

"What took him so long, you think?"

"Who knows. Hopefully old Skeeter at the Profit will be able to tell us more if she gets a hold of him."

"It's Rita Skeeter. She'll get a hold of him."

The other customer laughed.

Harry moved on. He made a mental note to ask Lord Greengrass who this Rita Skeeter person was.

Finally finding an empty table, Harry sat down. Tom found him there a few minutes later and Harry ordered some bacon and eggs. Harry asked for a small portion though because he did not want to make Lord Greengrass mad by spending more of his money than was absolutely necessary. Even if Lord Greengrass had been the one to make the offer, it couldn't hurt to be careful, Harry thought.

About half an hour later, the door of the Leaky Cauldron opened and the familiar voice of Lord Greengrass reached Harry's ears. A moment later, he joined Harry at his table.

"Hello, Harry," Lord Greengrass said. "How was your night?"

"Fine, sir," he said. "Tom was really great."

"He always is," Lord Greengrass said happily.

"Er, Lord Greengrass," Harry said. "I have a question."

"First of all, Harry, you can call me Cyrus. Lord Greengrass is a bit of a mouthful. What is your question?"

"Well, you know how you said that we were going to the magical bank today?

"Indeed," he said. "It is called Gringotts Wizarding Bank and you have your finances stored in vaults underground."

Well, that was interesting to know, Harry thought.

"Right," Harry said. "Thing is, I don't know how much things cost around here and so I'm not sure I'll actually have enough money to buy what I need. Is there somewhere that I can go to figure out the average price of things?"

"Harry," Cyrus said. "Trust me when I say that your family left you more than enough money to live on. You will be fine. But you should ask the goblins at Gringotts to give you a complete accounting of your assets, if only for your own information."

Idly, Harry found himself wondering how Lord Greengrass knew that his family had enough money for him to live on, but he pushed the thought away. If his parents were as important as all that in the magical world, then it made sense that they would come across each other. Even if they were on different sides of a war. Harry didn't want to think about that either.

"Okay," Harry said. "I'll do that. I was also wondering if there were any magical technologies that I could use to help me out."

"Technology? Is that not what the Muggles use?"

"Yeah. They've made some pretty cool stuff to help blind people be independent."

"Not to my knowledge, Harry," Cyrus said. "Most magical ailments are treated easily at St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries."

He sighed sadly.

"I'm assuming that this is going to be a problem for you?"

"Yes, sir," Harry said. "I think it might be."

"I will see what I can do," Cyrus said. "I should have predicted that you would encounter certain unique challenges as a result of your situation. You were doing so well that I did not think I needed to interfere too much."

"It's no problem, Cyrus," Harry said sincerely. "Thank you for helping me out so much. I really would be lost without you."

"Somehow I doubt that, Harry," Cyrus said, chuckling slightly. "You seem to be doing just fine by yourself. Nevertheless, shall we go to Gringotts?"

"Yeah," Harry said and rose.

/

Four people stood unseen as the door of the Leaky Cauldron opened and a boy walked out holding the arm of an older man.

"Is that him?"

"It is."

"Are you sure, Remus?"

"I am, Arthur. I would know that hair and those eyes anywhere. It's him."

"Why is he holding Greengrass's arm? He's not exactly a toddler," Emaline Vance said.

"I don't know. Maybe he's overwhelmed with the Wizarding world and needs a sense of security."

The four of them began to follow after the pair as they walked down the busy street.

"Which Death Eaters cannot and will not provide," Kingsley Shacklebolt said. "We must be very careful if we are to get Harry back to Hogwarts without Greengrass's interference. We don't want him to run away with the boy and do who knows what to him."

"What do you suggest?" Vance asked as they turned onto the path leading to Gringotts.

"For now, we follow them. Then, divide and conquer."

"Seems reasonable," Hestia Jones said. "But with Harry so close to Greengrass, how are we supposed to get them separated?"

Shacklebolt thought for a moment and then nodded to himself.

"This is what we're going to do …"

/

Gringotts was big. Harry could tell that almost immediately when he and Cyrus walked into the building. It was also extremely busy. He was bumped and jostled by a number of people as they all hurried passed him.

"This," Cyrus said. "Is Gringotts. It's run by goblins. Remember to be courteous, Harry. It will do you well when dealing with goblins to be respectful."

"I'll remember that, sir," Harry said.

When it was finally their turn, Harry felt the hard flat surface of a countertop in front of him.

"Name and business," a gravelly voice barked.

"Harry Potter to speak with the Potter account manager," Cyrus said smoothly.

"Oh really. And you wouldn't be trying to steal the Potter gold by falsifying your name, would you?"

"We both know that I am not Harry Potter, goblin. Cut the histrionics and use your abominable blood test as proof of identity for my charge."

"You dare speak to a member of the goblin nation in this way?"

"You dare waste the goblin nation's (and my own) time with your theatrics?"

"Count yourself fortunate, Lord Greengrass, that you have holdings in this bank that prevent your immediate execution for your disrespect. Come with me."

Harry followed Cyrus as they turned right and walked into a corner hall.

"Er, Cyrus?"

"I will explain later," Lord Greengrass muttered. "The goblins and I have poor relations. Do not do what I just did, Harry. Be courteous."

Harry nodded, feeling nervous. What was going on?

Finally, they stopped and the goblin said, "Remain here, Lord Greengrass. Come with me, small wizard."

"I would prefer that Lord Greengrass come with us if that is OK," Harry said.

"Your preferences are irrelevant until we determine whether you are Harry Potter."

Right then, Harry thought. Because this couldn't be easy either.

"Go with him, Harry," Cyrus said. "They're just going to take a blood sample to make sure that you are who you say you are. And they don't want external involvement in case they have other things to discuss with you once they get the proof."

"OK," Harry said, still feeling nervous. He didn't know what was going on between Cyrus and the goblins, but he would just have to do his best not to offend them like Cyrus had.

Letting go of Cyrus's arm, Harry started walking toward the goblin's voice, hands extended in front of him.

"The door is straight ahead, Harry," Cyrus said.

"Thanks," Harry said.

He heard the sound of the door swinging on its hinges and a shiver went down his spine, though he didn't know why.

Walking into the room, the goblin shut the door behind him.

"Right then," he said. "In front of you is a table with a bowl on it. Place your finger inside of it and we will learn who you are."

Harry obeyed and found the bowl in the center of the table. He then felt a sharp prick on his index finger that caused him to jump. He'd gotten worse from the Dursley's, so he didn't shout. But still, needles appearing out of nowhere was not a welcome surprise.

The goblin told Harry to remove his finger and he did. He heard the wrestling of paper and then there was silence."It appears that you are indeed Harry Potter," the goblin said after a few moments. "We have much to discuss."

/

Cyrus Greengrass was satisfied. He was getting into Harry Potter's good graces very quickly. The boy was clearly desperate and had unequivocally latched onto the first person to give him aid. It was fortunate for Cyrus that he'd beaten Albus Dumbledore to the child. There was no way that Cyrus could accomplish any of his goals for the boy if Dumbledore got there first.

It also helped that the boy was blind and needed help with getting everywhere. By helping him with both his physical needs and financial needs, Cyrus had effectively indebted the Potter heir to himself, if in abstract only. It wasn't as good as a binding magical oath, but Cyrus was certain that Potter would feel compelled to be loyal to him for his kindness. And that loyalty could be extremely useful when he took his seat in the Wizengamot. Or in the event that the Dark Lord returned, there were other ways he could be useful.

He knew his family would hate him for what he had planned for the boy, but he needed to keep them safe at all costs. It was worth it. It had to be. Besides, he might learn some Potter family secrets if Harry trusted him enough. That could only serve to aid the Greengrass family in the future.

As he was thinking on this, a flash of red light slammed into him from behind and he slumped to the ground.

/

"Step 1 is a success," Emaline Vance whispered. "Nobody saw?"

"Nobody," Shacklebolt said. "Get Greengrass far away from here. It will make getting Harry much easier if we don't have to worry about him waking up to fight us."

"Will do, boss," she said.

Grabbing the unconscious wizard, she Apparated out of Gringotts.

Forgive us, Harry, she thought. We're doing the best thing for you, I promise. Even if you don't understand right now.

A/N 1: I am so, so sorry that I have been so long in posting. I don't even know when I'll be able to post next, but I will definitely try to make it soon.

A/N 2: I know that chapter 2 is an absolute horror show with regard to the writing. It desperately needs to be proofread and I still intend to do that. At some point. Not sure when. Sorry!

A/N 3: Thank you all again for your favorites, follows, and reviews. Now that I have figured out how to respond to reviews on the FFN site, I will be getting on that. Thank you all again and God bless!