Chapter Five: Taking Up The Mantle

Date: July 1, 2011

+~~~Flashback~~~+

Harry Flitwick was reclining on a hammock outside in New York, swinging back and forth lazily while reading an old leather-bound book. In one hand, he held a book. In the other, he held his cell phone, which he was currently using to listen to music. A summer breeze blew by, ruffling his already messy hair.

Today was a happy day for our favorite hero. Today was the day he would finally go to Gringotts and take the Inheritance Test, and apparently Hermione was coming too. She should be arriving any minute now.

Hermione, almost as if she heard her name being spoken in his mind, arrived suddenly via apparition, clutching the arm of Harry's Aunt Minnie. She saw Harry, and her face lit up like the sun in her excitement.

About an hour later, the group all found themselves inside Gringotts, talking excitedly. Hermione and Harry called the group to order, with Holly standing to Harry's right, and Flitwick led the crowd up to the front desk, where a goblin teller was counting Galleons.

Greetings Master Stormwatcher. Filius said in the goblin tongue. The goblin looked up in shock at the thought of someone speaking his language, and relaxed when he saw who it was.

Oh, Filius, It's just you. Phew. How may I entertain you today, dearest friend?

I believe we have an appointment for an Inheritance Test for these three youngsters with Director Ragnok.

Ah yes, he has been expecting you. Follow me.

Harry understood what was being spoken, due to having taken classes in Gobbledygook since he was five years old. The Director himself had taught him, due to Filius' familial connections with him. (Ragnok was his grandfather.)

Holly, Harry, and Hermione waved goodbye to the adults, and Minnie and Filius followed them as they marched behind the goblin.

Finally, they made their way to the office and stepped in. The office was just what you would expect from a normal business office. A desk, books, books, and more books. Behind the desk sat Ragnok, as old and intimidating as ever, currently scratching away at a piece of parchment with a quill. He looked up as he saw them enter. "Ah, you are here, finally. Well, let's get started. I have no time today for lollygagging, and not to mention I am curious as to the results of these three tests. Kids, come up here to the desk.

On the desk was a silver ceremonial knife (with a dragon hide hilt) and three pieces of parchment. "Right then. Just make a little nick on the skin and let the blood fall onto the parchment. That will then create a family tree so we can find out what Houses you are heir to, if any. After that, we will allow you to claim the Head of House rings if heritage permits. Oh, and don't worry, the cut will heal automatically after the blood falls."

Harry made the cut on his hand first, and let the crimson blood fall onto the parchment. He gasped slightly as golden lines suddenly started spreading across the paper, attached to various names. Looking over, he saw the girls had had the same results, with their family trees just as long. Sure enough, his cut had healed.

"Well, let's see what you are. Harry, your parchment first."

Harry slid his parchment across to Ragnok. Ragnok looked down at it, furrowing his eyebrows as he read. At a couple times, his eyes widened. "Oh god," the goblin whispered to himself. "No. It can't be."

The self-proclaimed American looked at his mentor in confusion. "Um, Director, what has you in such a bind?"

"Y-you are the Heir of House Washington. T-this is not good."

Harry sat there gobsmacked. How could he be related to The George Washington? He had thought the man did not have any children! And why was it not good?

Filius spoke up. Why is this not good, Director? I personally think it is excellent!

"Well, Filius, the story is kind of complicated. You see, it all began a few months before the tragic events of October 31, 2001. It all started one night, as I was sitting here by my desk, when suddenly a very thick envelope appeared on my desk. It looked seriously old, probably from, I would say, the eighteenth century, during the height of the American Revolutionary War. On the front of it was written 'For the Director of Gringotts of this time and My Future Heir.' In fact, I still have the letter here, and have been impatiently waiting to open it. It is time." Ragnok began to explain, handing Harry the envelope. Harry reopened it with trembling fingers (Ragnok had already opened it once) and began to read. It's not every day someone gets a letter from their favorite historical figure.

From the Commander, Army of the United Colonies, In New York, to my future Heir, whomever that may be.

Dear Sir,

It is with grave apprehension that I have learned this day, thanks to my views of the future, that you have quite a hard life ahead of you. By the time you are born, I will be long gone. Yes, you will be born on Redcoat soil, but you will be raised in the country that me and my army are currently fighting to protect. As such, I feel it is my duty to this country to inform you of this development. You see, it all began one night as I was getting ready for bed, and had my first vision of the future. Not just any vision, but a prophecy. A prophecy concerning you. If I remember correctly, part of this prophecy shall be re-created and given to another person sometime in the unforeseeable future.

The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches… born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies, and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not… for neither can live while the other survives… the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies.

But, that is not all of the complete prophecy. That prophecy is the one that will be given in the future, that would lead to the eventual deaths of your parents, if my spontaneous visions are to be believed. The next part of the prophecy I received just as I was settling down the next day to work on plans to attack the Hessians in their lair. I believe it went like this:

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies… the Heir to the Great general will return to battle against the evil that has wronged him… allied with the owl, the cat, the dog, the eagle, the goblin, and the horse. He shall suffer, before the battle is won, and bring a great peace throughout the Earth… The Vanquisher shall take up the Leader's Mantle… The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord shall be born as the seventh month dies…"

As you can see, this means you must take up my position as a high-ranking government official, once you become of age. Yes, I said it. You, my dear Heir, must run for president once you reach thirty five years of age.

"WHAT?!" Screeched Harry as he read this line. Hermione put a comforting hand on his shoulder and gestured for him to continue reading:

Sometime in the near future for you, my ghost will come and train you in the art of politics. But until then, my Heir, take care.

Your Obedient,

G. Washington

Written in the year 1775

PS: Beware of the man behind the twinkling eyes.

As Harry finished reading, he placed the letter on the desk with shaky hands. He slowly passed the letter to Hermione, who read it and paled the further she got into it. Hermione passed it to Filius, who read it quickly, and with wide eyes, passed it to Minerva, who passed it to Holly.

"Well, then. You see what I mean when I say that this is not good?" Ragnok said, smirking playfully and trying to lighten up the mood.

"Oh yes, I see. Say, can I go ahead and take up the Head of House rings for the houses I am Heir to?"

"Ah yes, you are heir to Houses Washington, Gryffindor, Potter, Ravenclaw, and Black. Hermione, you are the heir to House Slytherin, and Susan is Heir to House Hufflepuff. (A/N: I forgot to write Susan in earlier so just pretend she was there the whole time.) Holly is heir to House Franklin. GRIPHOOK!"

A goblin that was much smaller than the Director rushed into the room. "You called, Honorable Director?"

"Please bring the Head of House rings for houses Washington, Potter, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Black, and Franklin. Bring them as fast as you can."

"Aye Aye, Director!" Griphook said, scurrying off as soon as the order was given, but not before bowing hastily to him.

"Right then. Now that that is happening, we need to discuss financial holdings and other things relating to you all taking up the mantle as the heads of your house. Harry, let's talk about your financial holdings first. Due to the fact that you are the Head of so many houses, I am pleased to tell you that you have probably become the richest person in the world. You own properties in the U.S. in states such as California, Florida, Ohio, Kentucky, Philadelphia, and New York. Washington Manor is in Philadelphia of course. Here in England, you own many various properties including Marauders Manor, a 12 Grimmauld Place in London, a house in Godric's Hollow, and others. You also own one half of Hogwarts. Susan and Hermione over there both own twenty-five percent of it each. However, now we have to take care of the not so fun stuff: betrothal contracts."

"W-What?" Harry's mouth was dry. He had heard of betrothal contracts, and loathed the very idea of them.

"Yes, you heard me right. Hmm, let's see. In order to continue each of your family lines, you have to marry one girl from each line, which is made easier by the fact that your biological parents signed multiple marriage contracts for you, taking advantage of the fact that you were Heir to multiple houses. I believe there is one marriage Contract for the firstborn daughter of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Delacour to the firstborn son of the House of Washington, created in the year 2000. There is another contract for both Susan and Hermione as well, and a contract for Padma Patil. Lastly, there are two contracts for the House of Black, one for Nymphadora Tonks, and the other for Daphne Greengrass. All of these were made unbreakable."

Harry, Susan, and Hermione took the news pretty well. It was Harry that asked the next question:

"Are their any breakable marriage contracts created?"

"Actually, yes. One Albus Dumbledore has created a marriage contract with Molly Weasley for you and one Ginevra Weasley. The only reason it is breakable is due to your adoption into the House of Flitwick. Oh, and speaking of Dumbledore, I have reason to believe he has been stealing from you-"

That was as far as Ragnok got before Minnie let out a screech of "WHAT?! THAT MANIPULATIVE OLD CODGER!"

"My sentiments exactly." He told her, and this was enough to calm her and get her to sit down. "He only knows about Harry's trust vault, none of the others, and thank Gods for that. It seems as if he has been withdrawing money and moving it to his personal vault every opportunity he can. Some money has also been finding it's way into the Weasley vault."

A couple of hours later, the gang, with mixed emotions, left the bank. Some were excited about this prospect of change, and others were still fuming at Dumbledore's blatant stealing of Harry's money. It was also discovered that the old fool had Minerva and Filius under Loyalty Potions, keyed to him of course, but the only reason they had defied his orders on that night in 2001 was because he had forgotten to give them their daily dosage that day. They wanted to rip his head off the moment they saw him next, but knew the smart thing to do was lie in wait for the perfect opportunity to strike.

+~~~End Flashback~~~+

Date: September 2, 2011

Harry Flitwick woke up, stretching and yawning, bright and early on the morning of his first day of classes so he could make it to breakfast on time. Grinning mischievously, he noticed his new friend Anthony Goldstein was still asleep, so he plotted the funniest way to wake him up. He finally decided on loudly singing "It's a Small World After All" in the highest pitched voice he could. Anthony was a muggleborn, so he knew he would get the joke. Harry snuck over to Anthony's bedside, and began singing loudly in his ear, applying a silencing charm so it would not wake up his other dorm mates.

"IT'S A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL,

IT'S A SMALL WORLD AFTER-"

Anthony suddenly shot awake, and recognizing the Disney reference, prepared to do his best impression of Scar from the Lion King. He tossed a pillow at Harry, and said in a fake snarling voice "NO! NO! Anything but that! Stop it Zazu!"

A minute later found Anthony, Harry, Hermione, Padma, and Susan making their way to the Great Hall. Luckily, as Heirs of Hogwarts, the castle provided Harry, Hermione, and Susan with instructions on how to get there. If she hadn't, they would have most definitely gotten lost there, and they did not want to be late from breakfast.

Once they sat down at the Ravenclaw table, Harry smiled.

Today was the day he could finally begin to take up the mantle as the leader George Washington foresaw him to be.

END OF CHAPTER

Author's Note: Oh good god, that was one of the hardest chapters I have ever had to write! Gringotts visits are so hard to write! Did you like the flashback? I hope it clears up some questions some of you have! Please no flames about any of my chapters. Harry being the Heir of Washington will be really important in the story. And I already know I suck at writing prophecies.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Disney, or the musical 1776. And I most certainly do not own the great General Washington, because he is dead. I mean no disrespect toward him, John Adams, or any Founding Fathers mentioned in this story.