Flight; Chapter Two: Gringotts
The portkey remained glued in Harry's hand as the world spun around him. He tried to hold back the nausea that always accompanied portkey travel for him; it had gotten even worse with the incident from his fourth year. Harry was so focused on clamping down in his rebelling stomach, he wasn't prepared when his feet slammed into the ground, and if it hadn't been for two strong arms wrapping about his middle, he was sure he would have face planted.
"All right there cub?"
Harry straightened up and looked into Sirius' twinkling gaze. "Siri-" He launched himself at the man sending them both crashing to the floor. "I was so relieved to see you, I know you told me to follow along but I was so scared. I thought He really had you!"
Sirius hugged the teen tightly. "I know cub, and I'm sorry."
Harry sat up and grinned down at his disheveled godfather. "You're ok, that's all I need to know."
Sirius returned the grin looking up when two distinct snorts of laughter made the other occupants of the room know. "Rem, Draco; I'm see you two made it out ok."
Remus smiled softly down at his mate and their cub and reached out to lift the two to their feet. He pulled Sirius into a quick hug before pulling Harry to his chest and cradling the teen. "We were worried about you cub."
Harry snuggled into the werewolf's warmth secure in the knowledge that he was with his family. He turned his head and green eyes locked with silver. "You ok Malfoy?"
The blond smirked and nodded. "The wolf got us out of there ok. My father?"
"Was fine before we portkeyed out."
"Bill and Tonks had our backs," Sirius reassured the teen. "They know my cousin and your father are on our side."
Draco nodded relieved.
"Is it time for some answers?" Harry spoke up breaking the silence.
"I believe we have 48 hours before we will have to leave." Sirius confirmed. "That's all the time the goblins were able to guarantee us."
Harry turned emerald eyes towards Sirius, questions swirling in their depths.
"All right cub, I'll tell you what I know for sure. The rest Rem and I haven't been able to look into yet."
Harry nodded and following Draco's example sat in one of the plush chairs that lined the conference table.
"It was about three months ago," Sirius started, "when my cousin contacted me. She wanted to meet and pledged on her magic that she meant me no harm."
"Who?" Harry asked curiously.
"Narcissa Malfoy. Tonks mother Andromeda and Bellatrix, are her sisters and my cousins. Cissa… came to me with some information. Some of it was vague simply because she couldn't tell, other parts were clear as crystal and just confirmed some of my own suspicions. Now I know for a fact that James was a pureblood from an old strictly wizarding family; but Cissa indicated that when your magical inheritance came we would be in for a big surprise. She wasn't able to tell me what, and even though I'm your godfather I'm not allowed in any of your vaults unless you're with me, so I wasn't able to check for any clues."
"Vaults, as in plural, more than one? Siri, I only have one vault."
Draco snorted reminding everyone of his presence there. "Potter is an old line…Potter. I believe it's even older than the Malfoy line. That one vault is most likely just your trust fund."
Harry's big green eyes got even bigger. "How do you know that?"
"It's true cub." Sirius said exchanging glances with Remus. They had both assumed that Harry knew about this, of course with how much Dumbledore was really willing to share with his 'weapon' they really shouldn't be surprised.
"Did you really not know you were a wizard until Hogwarts?" Draco was curious to hear if the rumors were true.
"I had no idea until Hagrid brought me my letter. When the first one came, my Uncle Vernon burned it. Then he burned all the other ones, but they just kept coming. Eventually he made us, me, my Aunt and my cousin, leave Privet Drive. We ended up in this little shack on a rock in the sea. Hagrid showed up just after midnight on my birthday. That's when I found out I was a wizard."
"And the cupboard?"
Harry nodded, "The very first letter was addressed to Mr. H. Potter, the Cupboard under the stairs."
"Merlin." Draco was wide eyed.
Remus let out a low growl. He and Sirius had heard the story before, but it hearing it again always enraged the wolf inside him.
Harry just calmly stood up and settled himself in Remus' lap. The man and wolf cuddled him close, both calming with their cub's presence. "Its ok Moony." Harry kissed Remus' stubbled cheek.
Draco watched the whole scene curiously. "Has… has the wolf inside Professor Lupin, has he claimed you?" The blond wasn't quite sure what he was actually asking.
Harry grinned widely. "I'm his cub."
Sirius watched his cousin's eyes widen incredulously, and sniggered. "Both Moony and Rem think of Harry as their cub. He's mine as well."
Draco nodded understanding.
"So I have more than one vault then?" Harry asked bringing them back on topic.
"You have several vaults cub; both from your father, and at least one that I know of from Lily. I think we should check into your mothers vault first. Oh, and I'm sure that Dumbledore has a copy of your vault keys, so we should have the goblins take care of that for as well."
"You think we'll find something don't you? I'm not, they're really…"
Remus understood the stilted questions right away. "Absolutely positive cub, Siri and I were both there when you were born."
Harry looked relieved. "What are we looking for then?"
"Cissa said something about your magical inheritance. I'm not sure what we're actually looking for, but she indicated that we would find something if we look into your vaults."
"Ok then."
Sirius nodded. He got up and stuck his head out of the room, then gestured for the rest to follow. The four men followed the goblin to another room.
"Does Mr. Potter have his key?"
Harry pulled a small bag out of his pocket and pulled out a tiny gold key. "Is it safe for me to enlarge it?"
The goblin shook his head so Harry just handed over the shrunken key. "Which vault would you like to visit Mr. Potter?"
"Can I please see my mother's vault?"
"Follow me." The goblin led them through the last door at the end of the hall and to the tracks. The four men and one goblin got in the cart and zipped off. Both Harry and Draco were whooping with glee, while Sirius looked on amused, and Remus covered his mouth. The poor werewolf hated those stupid carts.
A few minutes later the carts stopped and everyone filed out. Harry watched curiously as the goblin double checked for something only he could apparently see on the key then strode forward towards the door beckoning Harry along. "This is a blood protected vault Mr. Potter. Only you, or some other Evans would be able to get into this vault."
"So Professor Dumbledore has never gotten in their then?"
The goblin smirked, "He's tried."
"So," Harry rocked back on his heels, "what do I have to do then?"
"Place your thumb in the indentation." The goblin pointed towards a small thumb sized dent.
Harry did as he was bid; jerking his thumb back when something sharp jabbed into it with no warning. "You could have said that was going to happen." He pouted at the goblin.
Said goblin shrugged.
Harry turned back to the door ignoring the snickers from behind him and watched curiously as the door first glowed a red color, then a white color before finally clicking open. "Nifty." He said leading the way through the now open door.
The only thing in the room was a letter on a pedestal. Harry looked at Sirius who nodded. Harry cautiously picked up the letter, it was addressed to him. He unfolded the parchment somewhat warily.
My darling Harry,
If you're reading this, then your father and I are no longer alive. For that I am truly sorry. I would give anything to see you grow up, and I hope that James and I had at least some time with you before we passed. If you're reading this, then Cissa has done what she promised and passed along the correct hints. I made her promise not to reveal anything to anybody but you or your godfather. Unfortunately I had to ask her to make an unbreakable vow to ensure that no one else could take the information from her if they found out that we were in contact. Sirius and James are out on a mission right now, and Remus is in France looking for work, I truly had no one else to give this information to. Voldemort is getting braver, and Dumbledore is insisting that that stupid prophecy is the answer. Know this my child, a prophecy is only as strong as the effort that's put into to it to make it real. If you don't want to be the prophesized child, then don't be, as soon as you stop believing in it, the prophecy breaks.
Oh Harry, you're laying on a blanket right in front of me playing with your toes, and my heart is breaking thinking that you one day might have to read this letter. I'm not sure how much Albus will tell you, but even he does not know this. I didn't find out until my sixteenth birthday, and the only other person who knows is James. You see Harry, James and I didn't really get along in school until our sixth year. He was an annoying prat and somewhat of a bully. Don't worry, he finally grew up! I'm not sure how to tell you this, but, well the Evans family, we're not truly muggles. My dad is a squib, and so is your aunt. You darling are magical. You were barely a month old when you made all of Siri's hair fall out. At the time he was rubbing your head and calling you a cute little baldy, and I know at a month old you shouldn't understand a word out of anyone's mouth really, but… Anyway, James has a ton of pictures; they're in the family vault where Siri can't get a hold of them.
Right, back to the fact that I'm not muggle born; I'm not sure if the curriculum in your time will still go over creatures and creature inheritances, but on my sixteenth birthday, a gene that had been dormant in my family for generations awakened within me. I'm Kitsune, a spirit fox. To my surprise when I woke on my birthday, it was to find fox ears on my head, and a fox tail on my…backside. The gene only awakens when a person's magical core is strong enough. You're still human Harry, never doubt that, but you are also something very special. Your father's family is a very old, very strong wizarding family. When your father went through his magical inheritance he said he just about leveled the house. I have no doubt that your inheritance will be even stronger. You'll need to be prepared and in a heavily warded area. I predict that the shockwaves from your inheritance will be enormous. I'm not sure how your body will react to the changes Harry; you are already showing strong accidental magic, and your magical inheritance combined with your creature inheritance… I have no idea.
I hid the changes before I went back to school. Dumbledore had no idea I wasn't from a muggle family, and despite your father's assurance that Dumbledore is practically holy, I wasn't comfortable giving him this information. Soon after we found out we were pregnant with you, Dumbledore could talk of nothing but that prophecy. James, Sirius, Remus, Severus, and I, we don't really trust the man. Dumbledore is a good man, but he is so focused on the 'greater good', that he overlooks the people involved. Despite what they teach at Hogwarts, there is no dark and light magic. It's all grey, and it's only the intention behind the spell that marks it as evil. There are exceptions, the Unforgivable's for instance, but even a simple levitation charm could be used to throw someone off a cliff and kill them.
I have no doubt Harry that if James and I are gone, you have been named the prophesized child and that Dumbledore has taken over your 'care' for the greater good. James and I have already spoken, and as soon as he returns we will be going into hiding. We have also talked to Sirius and he has agreed to adopt you if something happens to us. I know he will have to take you and run, and hopefully you're reading this as his son. If something else has happened, then I'm sorry. It's up to Cissa to get to you and Sirius now. There are books about the Kitsune in my school trunk in the back of this vault. Take them and please be as prepared as possible.
Cissa also has a son. Draco is a little over a month older than you and cute as can be. In fact you and he played together, so cute, and we have tons of pictures; they are also in my trunk. I know Cissa will ask Siri to take Draco as well if you have to make a run for it. No doubt you and he probably won't get along, just remember that he has a role to play. Lucius is doing what he must, to keep his family safe, but the information he passes along to Severus is helping us; please try to keep that in mind.
I guess there isn't really much else to say, except I love you. Your father and I both love you very much.
Love, Mum
Harry read the letter carefully, tears streaming down his face. When his mother had revealed about being a kitsune, he had gasped in surprise. At the mention of her trunk, he had looked up briefly to search for it. Sure enough it was laying in the dark against the back wall. When she had talked about him and Draco playing together, he laughed; and finally at the end, when she gave her last good bye, he sobbed.
His heart was breaking, but at the same time, he was happy. Happy to have this tangible evidence that she existed and that she loved him, it was bittersweet.
"There's a trunk against the back wall we need to shrink and take with us. I would also like to visit the main Potter vault; then get new keys made." Harry gestured towards the trunk and the goblin obediently shrunk it for him them led them back out to the cart.
"What did the letter say cub?"
"I'll tell you later Siri. Let's get what we need to do done first, and get someplace safe. We have a couple months before things will get critical.