CHAPTER-3 Will and Inheritance
The next morning I got up early and started getting ready for the day. After having breakfast I asked Jon and Kate to cover for me so I could sneak out and buy them some presents for their birthdays and Christmas as I wouldn't be returning to the orphanage for a whole year. They quickly agreed eager for new things.
Making sure that I had my money bag, I started walking casually towards the back garden. It was empty as it was pretty early and only few were up. Looking around the garden and building, finding no one, I started climbing the back wall and quickly jumped on the other side. I landed heavily on the cement floor of the rundown alley with only a few scratches. I grinned as I got up dusting off my clothes before drawing my wand and sticking it out in front of me.
With a loud BANG which made me jump slightly even though I was expecting it, a violently purple triple Decker bus appeared.
A young pimple faced boy no more than 14 or 15 with a conductors uniform that shared it's coloring with the bus itself, a silver name tag with the name 'Stan Shunpike' engraved on it started talking.
"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the standard witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand hand, step on board and we can take you anywhere you want to do. My name is Stan Shunpike, and I will be your conductor this morning. Woss your name? Where do you want to go?".
"My name is Sherlock Holmes. I would like to go to Diagon Alley," I said a mischievous glint in my eyes. I was wearing my new blue baseball cap with 'BLUE DEVILS' written on it to conceal my identity.
Stan didn't even bat an eye at the odd name. He was probably used to odd things by now what with growing up with magic and all that.
"Eleven Sickles," said Stan, "but for fifteen you get 'or chocolate, and for fifteen you get an 'ot water bottle an' a toofbrush in the color of your choice."
The young conductor then guided me into the magical bus which had beds, as I had expected.
"You 'ave this one," Stan whispered as he indicated to the one behind the driver. The rather bumpy journey passed in silence occasionally stopping to let the passengers get down.
After arriving at the pub I quietly set off towards the back keeping my head down thanking myself for bring my cap. After entering the alley I walked towards the door and stood beside it. Within few minutes I got bored staring at all the people, so I tried to clear my mind as instructed in the occlumency book. It was going painfully slowly. I was distracted after a few minutes by a gentle tap on my shoulder. I looked up to see a boy who came to my shoulders with messy black hair and round glasses around his emerald green eyes staring up at me nervously. He was very thin and was wearing clothes that were too big for him which were covered by a Hogwarts robe. He had a backpack on his bony shoulders and was fidgeting timidly with his ball cap. I was interrupted from my musing by him.
"Hi I am Harry," he said as he stuck out his hand. All the nervousness, insecurities and anticipation came back quickly at the prospect of meeting my brother. Overcome with emotion I quickly pulled him into a fierce but warm hug ignoring the hand, a lump forming in my throat. He stiffened at first but relaxed into the hug and wrapped his arms around me. I could feel the bond we had when we were small strengthening. We stayed like that for what seemed like forever but only two minutes before I gently released him and stepped back.
"So, let's first go to Gringotts as it will be less crowded now and then we can chat after we finish our business there," I suggested feeling a bit nervous.
"Sure" Harry agreed as we started walking towards the bank.
"Harry- do you know anything about Goblin customs?" I asked as he walked beside me.
"Huh? No I don't," He said as he stared curiously at me.
"Well to do business easily with them we have to follow some customs," and I started explaining about what I read so far. We quickly reached the bank and the goblins in front of them bowed in greeting. I return it and watched as Harry quickly followed. Then we stepped into the bank. We walked towards the head goblin, who helped Professor McGonagall and me last time.
"Greeting Master Bloodfang, I am Noah Potter and he is my twin Harry Potter. We would like to speak with Potter account manager at his earliest convenience," I said glancing at the nameplate as Harry and I bowed to him.
"Greetings to you too Misters' Potter, Certainly," said Bloodfang as he bowed to us in return and called a goblin towards him and started talking to him.
"Follow me please," said the goblin. We followed the goblin through some numerous corridors until we stopped in front of a door with a name plate POTTER attached to it. When the goblin knocked the door an elderly voice said to enter. We entered a comfortable office which was filled with many bookshelves containing tomes and scrolls, and different paintings of goblin wars. In the center of the room there was large desk were an old looking goblin sat. He looked as if he had gone through many wars.
"What is it, Teller Runefang?" asked the goblin in a rough voice.
"Noah Potter and Harry Potter asked to see you sir", replied the goblin named Runefang.
"Come in Messer's Potter. You are dismissed, Teller Runefang".
"Thank you for your assistance Teller Runefang. May your gold always flow and your enemies fall at your blade", I said as I and Harry bowed.
"You are welcome. May your gold flow and enemies fall", replied the goblin with a blow as he exited the office.
"I am Senior Account Manager Ripclaw. I am in charge of the Potter Family finances, and have been for the past two hundred years. What can I do for you today?" asked the elder goblin as he gestured for them to sit.
"Greetings Senior Account Manager, We would like to read our parents will", I said as we sat in the chairs.
"Albus Dumbledore, Chief Warlock of Wizangamot sealed the will. But as you are heir Apparent and Scion of the Potter estate you can unseal it. Let me retrieve it for you", said Ripclaw as he went to the bookshelf and retrieved a scroll.
"Please open the seal and I will read it," He said as he gave the scroll to me. I did as told and he took the scroll back to read out loud.
I, Lord James Charles Potter, and I, Lady Lily Marie Evans Potter, both of sound mind and body, declare this to be our final will and testament. Any other previous wills shall be null and void.
To Sirius Orion Black, we leave you our most precious sons. We also leave you with letters 3 and 4. Raise them well, Padfoot.
To Remus John Lupin, we leave you 5 million Galleons along with our home in Hogsmeade. Get a girl, Moony, and siblings for our twins to play with. We leave letter 5 for you. Please help Sirius in raising our sons.
To Peter Patrick Pettigrew, you have betrayed us we would like to disown you as a Marauder and wish you suffer for the rest of your miserable life in Askaban. Rot in hell.
To Lord Franklin Angus Longbottom and Lady Alice Melanie Longbottom, we leave you 1 million Galleons each. Please help Sirius in raising our sons. We leave you letter 6.
To Neville Franklin Longbottom, our godson, we leave you 2 million galleons and letter 7.
To Lady Minerva Grace McGonagall, we leave you 1 million galleons. We leave you letter 8. Please help raise our sons. They are very fond of their Aunt Minnie.
To Lady Amelia Susana Bones, we leave you 1 million galleons and ask that you train our sons in all the arts you know. We leave you letter 9.
Everything else is to be left to our sons Noah Harry Potter and Harry James Potter. We also leave you letters 1 and 2. Noah is to be named as Lord Potter as he is the eldest. They should never be separated. List of people they should be given to according to the order and their availability:
Sirius Orion Black
Lady Alice Melanie Longbottom
Remus John Lupin
Lady Minerva Grace McGonagall
Lady Amelia Susana Bones
Andromeda Elizabeth Tonks
If the above mentioned people are not available they are to be given to the offices of Magical Children's Services to find a suitable home, which shall receive a monthly allowance of 1000 galleons until the twins come of age.
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES THE TWINS ARE TO BE GIVEN TO THEIR MATERNAL AUNT PETUNIA ROSE DURSLEY {NEE EVANS}.
The guardian should remember that (s)he should not sign any marriage contracts for our sons. We want them to marry for love not for business contracts or Alliances.
We would like to appoint Sirius Orion Black as our Proxy for our Wizengamot seats until our sons come off age. If he can't take it then I want our Senior Account Manager Ripclaw to find a suitable person to act as Proxy.
As for our Businesses, we ask that Senior Account Manager Ripclaw continues to look after them and make profit for both the Potters and himself.
When our sons reach age 11 we ask that they perform Heritage ritual as every Potter does so as to see if they have any unique abilities or Lordships that might come from their mothers side.
Signed,
Lord James Charles Potter
Lady Lily Marie Evans Potter
Witnesses,
Sirius Orion Black
Alice Melanie Longbottom
"Where have you been living all these years?" asked Ripclaw as he set the will down.
"I am living with Aunt Petunia and her family," said Harry bitterly.
"I am living in a muggle orphanage in London", I said.
"I see. Albus Dumbledore has done a grave error. He will be punished for sealing the wills of Head of Ancient and Nobel House of Potter, going against their wishes by appointing himself as your Magical Guardian", said Ripclaw with anger. "Let me contact Amelia Bones, She is the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement", said Ripclaw. At our nodes, he strode to the fireplace and threw some powder which he retrieved from the pot above the mantel. He then stuck his head in the fire.
After he conversed with a person on the other side, he stepped back and a red-haired woman stepped from the fireplace. She looked quiet formidable in formal robed with a monocle on her left eye. I immediately recognized her from our childhood. She always used to play with them when she came home and, mum and she used to talk for hours like close friends.
She bowed to the goblin and asked what the matter was. Ripclaw quickly explained what happened as he showed her the will. Her face turned red with anger as she listened to him and read the will to herself.
She took a deep breath and said," I will immediately investigate this matter." She then turned to us and said surprisingly softly," It's good to see you both after a long time."
"Where have you been Noah? You have been missing for the past ten years. Everyone thought that you were dead. We searched for you everywhere but we couldn't find you" said Amelia softly as she sat on chair beside me.
"I am living in St. Peter's Orphanage in muggle London. I was left there by Albus Dumbledore," I replied as I fidgeted with my full hand sleeves.
"THAT STUPID MEDDLESOME OLD FOOL, I WILL MAKE HIM REGRET FOR BEING BORN BY THE TIME I AM THROUGH WITH HIM!" seethed Madam Bones. I gulped and made a mental note not to get on her bad side. Harry flinched horribly beside me and I took his hand to comfort him. He gave a tentative smile in return.
"Did you know that I am your godmother Noah?" She asked after calming down a bit. I shook my head in negative at that and watched as her eyes softened with love and a bit of anger.
"It's alright. You both can call me Aunt Amelia. We will discuss about this later." I just nodded my head not knowing what to say and saw Harry doing the same. "Let's first see the matter of your guardianship", said Amelia as she gazed at the will.
"Sirius is out of the question now. I will reopen his case to see what happened. Alice can't take care of you as she is in St. Mungo's. Remus can't take your guardianship because of a stupid prejudiced law. That means Minerva is next", said Amelia.
"Yes, I will contact her immediately", said Ripclaw as he again floo called to said women. Within a few minutes Minerva McGonagall stepped out of the fireplace. She quickly greeted them all and took a seat beside Harry.
"Minerva this is the will of James and Lily. Please have a look at it", said Amelia as Ripclaw started giving them the letters as instructed in the will. They all put them away to read them later.
Minerva's lips thinned and her eyes turned cold as she read the will. After she finished reading it she calmly handed it to Amelia as she hissed," Albus Dumbledore you are so dead".
"Would you like to become their Magical Guardian?" asked Amelia.
"Certainly Amelia," said Minerva as she tentatively smiled at me and Harry. "You both can call me Aunt Minerva. Do you want to live with me?"
"Yes. I had like that", answered Harry too quickly. Minerva's eyes narrowed at that but she didn't push it.
"Yes Aunt Minnie", I said cheekily which caused her to glare slightly at the nick name. I smiled innocently back at her and watched as her lips twitched slightly.
"Now, as you both have turned 11. Why don't we conduct the Heritage ritual?" asked Ripclaw as he produced a ritual dagger and two parchments. He placed them in front of me and Harry. He then handed the knife to me as he said," Please let three drops of blood to fall on the parchment".
I took the knife and made a cut on my finger, hissing slightly at the pain. I then let the required drops fall. My hand immediately healed after that. Ripclaw took the knife which was immediately cleaned and handed it to Harry who did the same.
They watched as the blood soaked into the parchment and writing started to appear. Ripclaw took the parchment and started reading it out loud.
Name: Noah Harry Potter
Date of Birth: July 31, 1980
Time of Birth: 11:50pm
Parents: Lord James Charles Potter (deceased) and Lady Lily Marie Evans Potter (deceased)
Godparents: Remus John Lupin and Lady Amelia Susana Bones
Siblings: Harry James Potter (younger by 7 minutes)
Status: Heir of Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter (P)
Heir of Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Peverell (P)
Heir of Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Gryffindor (P)
Heir of Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Ravenclaw (M)
Heir of Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Harris(M)
Scion of Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Black (P)
Magical contracts: None
Magical Bonds: Twin Bond with Harry James Potter, Soul Bond with Luna Selena Lovegood
Magical Power Level: 960
Magical Abilities: Natural Occlumens, Natural Legilimens, Magical Seer
Magical Blocks: None
Life Debts: None
They all sat in stunned silence as Ripclaw took Harry's parchment and started reading it.
Name: Harry James Potter
Date of Birth: July 31, 1980
Time of Birth: 11:57pm
Parents: Lord James Charles Potter (deceased) and Lady Lily Marie Evans Potter (deceased)
Godparents: Sirius Orion Black and Alice Longbottom
Siblings: Noah Harry Potter (elder by 7 minutes)
Status: Scion of Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter (P)
Scion of Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Peverell (P)
Scion of Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Gryffindor (P)
Scion of Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Ravenclaw (M)
Scion of Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Harris(M)
Scion of Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Black (P)
Magical contracts: None
Magical Bonds: Twin Bond with Noah Harry Potter, Soul Bond with Hermione Jean Granger
Magical Level: 980
Magical Abilities: Natural Occlumens, Natural Legilimens, Parseltongue (due to Horcrux), Metamorphmagus (95% blocked)
Magical Blocks: 80% core blocked because of the Horcrux of Tom Marvolo Riddle present in the scar on his head, 95% blocked Metamorphmagus
Ripclaw's face turned a deep purple at reading the last part. I blinked at the color combo and if it was not for the serious situation I would have definitely laughed.
"Master Ripclaw, Can you please tell us what a Horcrux is?" asked Amelia as she snapped out of her trance.
"It is an object in which a person stores a piece of his soul to anchor it to this realm," said Ripclaw with clenched teeth. "We have specials here that can help remove it from him without killing him. If you want we can immediately do that", continued Ripclaw. Everyone had paled at the explanation but agreed to his suggestion.
Ripclaw called a goblin and ordered something in goblin tongue. The goblin left the room and returned after a few minutes to escort Harry to a ritual room.
"Now, let us continue with the meeting. You can share with Harry about what happened here afterwards," said Ripclaw as he tapped Noah's Heritage parchment and 4 boxes appeared on its surface.
"Noah, Here are the rings for all the houses", said Ripclaw as he handed him the 6 boxes. I opened a box to find four rings in it.
"The first two from the left are Lord and Lady rings and the other two are heir and scion rings", said Ripclaw." The box is enchanted to produce rings whenever a new scion is born". I took the heir rings from each box and placed them on my right ring finger where they glowed once and immediately merged with the previous as I felt the family magic's bond with my own.
"Now you are bonded with your families magic, you will be able to access areas and items that may have been previously denied to you, such as family tomes. This is a common practice amongst magical families to help protect family secrets. They all have many protection charms on them. It will help protect your mind from wizaerds trained in mind arts, but I advise you and Harry to study mind arts sooner rather than later. Because the ring will only protect you fully against an average wizard, but not from a Master Legilimence. If you want, you can turn them invisible by a thought. As for finances, you and your brother own a total of 9 vaults. Two are your trust vaults and remaining are the family vaults of these families. I will send you the folder containing the total money, properties, heirlooms and all which are present in the vaults by the end of this week. You both have full access to your trust vaults and partial access to other vaults meaning you can take the heirlooms but can't touch the money."
Just then the doors opened and Harry entered the office. He stood there as we took in the difference. He was very different from when he exited the office. He was now as tall as me and he did not have his glasses. He didn't look like flesh and bones anymore as he was filled in the right places. And his scar had completely faded.
"How do you feel?"I asked as Harry sat beside me.
"As if a giant weight has been lifted from my shoulders. My mind is also clearer," said Harry as he grinned at us. I smiled back at him relieved that one Horcrux was down.
"Is there anything else that you want to discuss?" asked Ripclaw.
"Can we please have a copy of the inheritance test?" asked Minerva.
"Certainly", he said as he made a copy and handed it to her.
"Thank you for your time Master Ripclaw. May your gold flow and enemies fall at your feet", said Amelia as they bowed and were escorted to the main floor by a goblin.
"I need to leave now Minerva. I will meet you in two days. Please let me know if you need anything", said Amelia as she left them with a farewell.
"Do you want to visit any of your vaults?" asked Minerva as she looked at us with a small smile.
"Yes mam", I and Harry replied at the same time which caused us to share a smile.
"Please call me Aunt Minerva when we are not in school," said Minerva.
"Yes Aunt Minerva".
We went to Harry's Trust vault and then to the Potter's family vault were we found our parents portraits and their trunks.
After leaving the bank we purchased school supplies for Harry and left to McGonagall Manor.