After a grueling two hours of paperwork in Ferlore's office, Kreacher and I were finally escorted down to the carts. As we whizzed through the corridors, I asked Kreacher what he would think about a new set of clothing.
"Master is displeased with Kreacher?" he exclaimed, his eyes filling with large tears.
"No," I said rather calmly, "I simply want to know if you would be amenable to a new set of clothing. You've done well, and I wanted to reward you."
Kreacher's eyes grew impossibly round. "Why yes! Master, thank you! Kreacher would like that very much, Master Potter sir!" he replied, bouncing with excitement.
"Sit down Kreacher, before you fall."
"Yes sir."
The cart slowed to a stop just inside a large cavern. There were large, glowing orbs floating along the ceiling, and several heavy, vaulted doors in varying colors on either side of the tracks. As we climbed out of the cart, I noticed that the doors were also numbered. The closest door was painted gold and marked 'One', while the door on the opposite side of the tracks was maroon and marked 'Sixteen'.
"Sixteen?" I asked the attending goblin.
"Yes. There are sixteen Potter family vaults, and they are color-coded by content. For example, the first gold vault contains portraits of members of the Potter family. The second contains artwork produced by the Potter family, and the third contains artwork collected by the Potter family."
"Ok…" I nodded, "So what do the other colors mean?"
"A green door signifies a vault that contains furniture. A silver vault has clothing, while blue ones contain house wares."
"House wares?"
"House wares are things like linens and such that are used around the home, Master Potter," Kreacher said helpfully.
"Ok, and purple? I noticed that there are only one of those."
"Violet vaults," the goblin continued, "contain jewelry and other clothing accessories – such as hats, cloaks, scarves, and belts."
"Are shoes kept there as well?"
"No, shoes would be kept with in a silver vault."
"Oh."
"The white vault contains books, journals and diaries – it's very much like a private library. The black vault contains things that are related to house-elves."
"Like house-elf sized beds and clothes?" Kreacher asked hopefully.
"Exactly. The Maroon vault contains miscellaneous items that are not grouped with the other items. For instance, you might find a few cauldrons, trunks, bird cages, brooms, or other things when going through vault sixteen."
"Ok," I said, "thanks. I'll let you know if I need anything. Come on Kreacher, it looks like we've got a lot of work to do."
After the guide goblin had gone, Kreacher and I moved into the first vault.
"Hello?" I called out, "Is anyone here? Mum? Dad? It's Harry."
"Harry!" came a voice from my right, "Over here son! To your right!"
"My god James, he looks just like you!"
"Of course he does – he's a Potter."
"Hello mum, dad," I said, stepping in front of life-sized portrait of my parents.
"My baby," mum said, clasping her hands in excitement, "We thought we'd never see you again!"
"I thought so too."
"Well," dad said, "stand up straight, let's have a look at you. My, my! You do look just like me!"
"I told you so."
"But you have your mother's eyes."
"Does he? Move over James," mum said, nudging my father aside, "Oh he does! I'd forgotten about that, it's been so long… You know sometimes they change, as you get older."
"Nope," I replied, "been like this my whole life."
"Who's that you've got with you son?" dad said, peering over at Kreacher.
"This is Kreacher."
"Hello senior Potter sir," Kreacher said bowing, "Ma'am."
"Kreacher?" dad said, stroking his chin thoughtfully, "Lily, help me out. Where have we heard that name before?"
"It was the name of Sirius' house-elf, I believe. At the Black family home."
"Yes! That's it!" he said, snapping his fingers, "How is old Paddy anyway? Is he treating you well?"
I looked away from my parents, choosing to stare at the floor instead.
"Harry?" mum asked, concerned, "What's wrong? Sirius is treating you properly, isn't he?"
"Sirius…" I said quietly, tears in my eyes, "Sirius is dead."
"What?" dad asked, mum gripping his arm in shock, "How?"
"I… I killed him. It was an accident I swear! I thought he was in danger, so I rushed off to save him… It was a trap, and he ended up coming to save me instead. He was battling Bellatrix Lestrange in the Department of Mysteries and she caught him with a spell and knocked him through the veil and…"
"Harry… son…"
"I'm so sorry!" I said, sliding down onto the hard floor and leaning against their portrait, "I'm so sorry… I didn't mean to… I should have listened to Hermione. I should have learned Occlumency from Snape. I should have told somebody; I should have waited for help… But I was so stupid. I ignored everyone's advice and went charging off… Please don't hate me…"
"Harry, Harry," mum said, kneeling in her frame, "we don't hate you. Do we James?"
"No, of course not. You couldn't have know what would happen," he said, joining mum at the bottom of the frame, "Here, why don't you tell us everything that's happened. Start at the beginning. What happened after Voldemort attacked?"
I nodded. "Okay," I said wiping my eyes with the back of my hand, "After you guys died, Voldemort tried to kill me. He used the Killing Curse, but it rebounded, tearing his soul from his body and leaving me with this scar." I lifted up my fringe to show them.
"What scar, dear?" mum asked.
"The one that's…" I felt around on my forehead for my scar, and then it hit me. "There was one here. I had it removed. Muggle cosmetic surgery."
"Oh," mum said, her brow furrowing, "Does it hurt much?"
"No, only when Voldemort's excited."
"How do you know…?"
"Shh, Lily. He'll tell us in a minute. Go on Harry."
"Well, I don't remember much from that night," I continued, "but from what I was told Sirius ran off to get revenge on Peter. He cornered Peter, but the rat was clever. He cut off his finger and blew up the street, killing a dozen Muggles. Then he transformed into his rat form and fled into the sewers. When the Aurors got there all they saw was a blown up street and dead bodies, Sirius in the middle of all of it. They arrested him and sent him to Azkaband."
"And what happened to you?" mum asked quietly, "If Sirius was sent to prison, then where did you go?"
"Dumbledore sent me to live with your sister, Petunia, and her husband."
"Oh no!" she exclaimed, turning to dad, "James, he… Albus wouldn't, would he?"
"Apparently he would. And did."
"Yeah…" I said bitterly, "And so began my loveless and abusive childhood…"