Deathly Fate
Chapter 5 – A New Beginning
"Even the greatest was once a beginner. Don't be afraid to take that first step." – Muhammad Ali
Platform 9 ¾ was bustling with parents eager to receive their children. They were all anxious to receive their children after hearing of the ordeal of dementors at the school.
A man with brown hair and blue eyes was waiting with his wife, who had straight black hair and brown eyes. Both of them were dressed impeccably and waited for the arrival of the Hogwarts Express. The couple was none other than Lord Cyrus Greengrass and Lady Elizabeth Greengrass. The woman was a picture of beauty, with a slender figure and warm brown eyes. The eyes held a lot of anxiety, but she did a commendable job of keeping it in check as she waited for the arrival of her beloved daughters, Daphne Elizabeth Greengrass and Astoria Victoria Greengrass. Daphne had just completed her third year at Hogwarts, while Astoria her first. She was longing to meet and finally be able to hear her daughters. The man looked confident and held a tall frame, one of power that commanded immediate respect, but a single look in his eyes would tell you that he was anxious for the safe arrival of his daughters.
Lord Cyrus Greengrass was a man to reckon with. He led the neutral faction in the Wizengamot, sitting on the family's hereditary seat as one of the sacred 28, ensuring his and his allies' best interest. His political shrewdness and his strength with a wand kept both the light and dark factions trying to influence them, respectively, at bay. He also ran the family business dealing in potion ingredients with the help of his wife. His wife herself had a Mastery in Potions after Hogwarts, but instead of choosing to work, she decided to help her husband run the family business by applying her knowledge to it. The effects were pronounced, and the Greengrass fortune had increased many folds since the last Wizarding War.
As they waited patiently, they were joined by another couple Lord Mark Davis and his wife, Lady Elena Davis, the parents of their daughter Daphne's friend Tracey. They exchanged pleasantries and waited eagerly for their daughters' arrival.
Soon the Hogwarts Express arrived at the platform, and children began getting off the train, eager to meet their parents.
Daphne Greengrass got off the train, followed by her sister Astoria and best friend Tracey, as they made their way across the platform to find their parents. As she walked across the platform, she was finally happy to escape the brooding atmosphere the dementors had created at Hogwarts. They had always made her uneasy and caused the control of her emotions to waver. Finally, she could have a peaceful time at home, away from all the drama at Hogwarts. The year had been eventful for her, even without the dementors. What with boys suddenly trying to woo her as she came to the third year, she knew not. Sure, her father had advised her on approaches by boys to get close to her as she grew old, trying to benefit from her beauty or status as the heiress of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Greengrass. Her father had advised her to be safe and always travel with a friend and even went as far as teaching her a few self-defense spells should she find herself in an unwelcoming situation. Her mother had also advised her on the same. Also, she informed her that should she choose to associate with any boy, then do so wisely but that they would not restrict her choice or freedom. Daphne was happy with that, but she had no interest in dating boys as of now, like many of her classmates had from the start of the third year and the Hogsmeade weekends. First, she wanted to focus on her education; she had dreams to fulfil. So, when any boy from their year or older approached her, she denied it. When persistent, the boys often found themselves victims of her blunt speech. The few that thought they could get their way with her found themselves at the mercy of her wand, often leaving with their privates frozen, courtesy of a spell her mother had taught her. This, along with her already present aloofness and clod demeanour, had got her a reputation as the Ice Queen of Slytherin. She had no problem maintaining it as it helped keep unwanted suitors off her, and people kept their distance from her.
Daphne had always been quite introverted and shy as a child, preferring to spend time reading books rather than playing with children her age. This had carried on to Hogwarts, and she had always kept to herself. Tracy, her childhood friend, had remained her only friend at Hogwarts. She struggled to socialize with others her age and preferred being alone. Her younger sister Astoria's coming to Hogwarts for her first year had expanded Daphne's social circle by one. Now, the three Slytherin girls were often spotted together. Her younger sister was quite her opposite in looks and personality. While Daphne had inherited her mother's black hair and her father's icy blue eyes, Astoria had her father's brown hair and her mother's deep brown eyes. Compared to Daphne, Astoria was quite bubbly and extroverted, going as far as having friends in all the houses despite being in Slytherin.
As Daphne continued on her trail of thoughts, she heard the excitement-filled scream of her younger sister,
"Mum" Astoria screamed happily as she ran to hug her mother, the group finally finding their parents.
"Astoria!" Her mother exclaimed as she took her youngest in a hug.
Lord Greengrass smiled, finally happy to see his beloved daughters' safe and with him.
Meanwhile, Tracey was also welcomed by her parents and hugged by her mother.
As Elizabeth finished hugging Astoria, she hugged Daphne, asking after her eldest daughter.
"Mum, Dad, I am doing quite well, and Mum, do you have to hug me in public like this? It's embarrassing in front of my classmates." Daphne as she slowly tried to get away from her mother.
"I am just trying to express myself after meeting my daughters after such a long time, Daphne; you should be happy, not embarrassed. Or have you found someone more huggable that you no longer like your mother's hugs?" Her mother asked teasingly, knowing her daughter's aversion to public displays of affection and trying to lighten the tired moods.
"NOO! Mum!" Daphne exclaimed as she blushed, not knowing why her mother thought teasing her was fun. Wasn't it enough with Tracy and Astoria.
"I doubt Auntie, what with Daphne rebutting anyone who tries to ask her out with scathing remarks and her wand," Tracy added, having fun at her friend's embarrassment. She knew Daphne found no boy worth her time.
"And I hope it stays that way. I would not have any boy take my beloved daughter away from me." Lord Greengrass added with a stern face but his worry at his daughter's safety evident on his face.
Daphne exhaled a breath of relief, finding at least someone in the family on her side.
Mrs. Greengrass rolled her eyes at her husband. She knew he cared and knew any boy trying to be with Daphne would have a hard time with her husband. She could only hope well for the assumed boy.
"Now, let's make way before it gets too late. Mark, Elena, would you like to join us for dinner at our home. I am sure we can catch up at dinner." Lord Greengrass said.
"Sure, Cyrus, we would love to join in and hear our daughters tell of their year at school. I am sure we will have quite a lot to hear." Lord Davis replied.
Everyone nodded, and soon the group made their way to the floo on the platform, and one by one, saying, Greengrass Manor disappeared with a woosh through the floo.
[BREAK]
Harry Potter made his way out of the Hogwarts Express, followed by his friends Ron and Hermione. He knew that he had to start acting on his plan quickly.
He turned to Ron and Hermione and hurriedly explained to them that he had to find his relatives soon or they would return home, leaving him, and he would have to find his way back home by himself. He explained that he had come to an agreement with his relatives to pick him up. Hermione was confused about her friend's sudden changes in behaviour but put it up to the stress of the recent events and hoped that he would come to terms with them in the summer as he always did. Ron tried to protest, saying Harry must meet his mother before leaving or Ron might face his mother's wrath. Harry placated Ron by saying that he would soon write to Molly and could always join them for the rest of summer later. Ron, happy at the thought of having his friend over for the summer, put it aside. They soon exchanged goodbyes, leaving to find their guardians, and returning home.
Harry hauled his trunk, and Hedwig who was now safely in her cage as he made his way out of the platform onto the muggle side of the station. He hated keeping Hedwig in cage but knew that if he wanted to be good graces of his relatives for rest of summer he might just as well do it.
As Harry walked onto the King Cross station searching for his relatives, he soon found them waiting by a pillar outside platform 9 ¾ looking at each passer-by suspiciously.
Soon he made way to them seeing Vernon turn slight shade of purple at just seeing him.
"Boy, you better hurry up, I won't have you stalling around showing your freakish bird to everyone on the station."
"Yes Uncle" Harry said confidently as he moved ahead of them to the parking lot towards the car.
Vernon and Petunia were taken aback by the unusual show of confidence by their usually meek nephew. Vernon thought to retort back and scold the boy, but the said boy had already moved ahead.
Soon they reached the car and Vernon, piled up Harry's belonging in the trunk and beckoned him to sit in the car.
"I have not forgotten what you did to Marge last time you were around Boy, and we will have a talk on it as soon as we get home." Said Vernon as he himself got in the driver's seat and sped the car up.
As they reached 4 Private Drive, Little Whining, Surrey, Vernon quickly got out of the car and rushed everyone in, seeing to that, that none of the neighbours noticed. Soon he too hauled Harry's luggage out of the trunk and rushed inside the house.
As soon as he got in, Vernon dropped Harry's luggage by the stairs and all but loudly ordered everyone to gather in the living room.
In the living room the three Dursleys occupied all the sofa space and Harry was made to stand in the centre as if at trial.
Just as Vernon was about to open his mouth, Harry spoke,
"You might want to keep in check what you say uncle" Harry said loudly as he removed his wand.
Vernon quickly turned purple in rage hearing his nephew's words, as Dudley sunk back in the sofa in fear, while Petunia looked positively alarmed at sudden turn of events. Catching his raising temper, Vernon spoke,
"Boy, how dare you, you insolent, ungrateful, waste of breath, how dare you threaten me in my own house. And don't you think you could use that stupid stick on me, I know you will be expelled from your crazy school if you tried to. How dare you? I will put you to you place." He bellowed as he raised up ready to punch Harry.
"Sit down, I warn you Uncle, try and harm a single hair on my head and I will make sure my godfather knows of it. Yes, you heard right, I do have a godfather. You want to know who it is?" Harry intoned staring Vernon straight in the eye.
Vernon was about to lash back, tell that little piece of shit his position in his house. But when he looked the boy in his eyes, he was terrified at how brightly they glowed, slowly he gulped and sat back down not knowing what to do at this new revelation, deciding to find out first about what the boy was getting onto and them punishing him for all he could.
"Well, he is the same guy your government was trying to hunt down last summer onwards. You know that deranged mass murder convict who had escaped prison, yes him. You have seen his pictures haven't you. Rest assured should you even dare to make a move on me, he will know and will come down here to ensure my safety. And as for me not able to use my wands, well when you have a mass murder of a godfather you sure do learn some tricks. He has also asked me to write to him every two days at least, informing him of the happenings. And that if he does not get the letters, he will be down here in no time searching for me. So be assured that what I have just said is all true." Harry finished twirling his wand. He knew he was bluffing especially about being able to use his wand, but also knew that this was his best bet. He believed on the fear of his godfather to do the rest for him.
Dudley was trembling in fear, Petunia was scared beyond wits, and Vernon seemed to be oscillating his expression between rage and anger at the boy and fear at what he had just said. They had all watched the news, they knew of the convict, to find out that deranged man was their nephew's godfather and was assisting him, scared them beyond wits. Slowly as they settled the information in Harry continued.
"Now, I want to make one thing clear, I don't have any desire to live here, but am bound by the headmaster's words. But believe me when I say I won't be tolerating any more of your shit, it would do you no good to test me. Now, I will make a deal with you, not like you have a choice to deny. I will stay in my room, but Hedwig will be allowed to come and go as she pleases, I am sure you wouldn't want to interfere in delivery of my letters to my godfather. I will do the cooking and gardening but not the cleaning, you will do it yourself. Also, you will not stop me coming and going from this house whenever I want. I will keep to myself and not interfere, and you will do the same. I hope you have understood."
On seeing the nod of three heads, and a wet sofa due to Dudley peeing his pants, Harry shook his head and said,
"Good. Now I will be in my room, remember what I have said, and trust me my godfather won't worry much if he has three more bodies on his name." Saying so Harry exited the living room, grabbed his belongings, and went to what was his room since the arrival of letters.
The Dursleys could only look on in fear at the retreating form of Harry and decided on their own to leave him the fuck alone, if only for the care of their own life.
[Break]
Sirius Black had spent the last few days in training with his grandfather. He had studied wizarding politics and the wizarding laws with their history quite intently. With that he had also put behind his hate and disgust for his family's magic and accepted and practiced. Perhaps being Lord Black had made it easier. He had spent numerous hour learning of the Black Family magic from the Black Family Grimoire, and practiced all he could in the duelling room at the Grimmauld Place.
He had also spent the last few days exploring the house and with help of Arcturus ordered Kreacher to restore it to its former glory. During one such exploration he had come across the of his deceased mother. To say the words exchanged were vile would be an understatement. Walburga Black had thrown a proper tantrum on finding Sirius before her portrait, knowing that he had just being accepted as Lord Black just magnified her outburst many folds. Sirius after much straining and Kreacher forced help had shut the curtains on the portrait and charmed them sealed. To say Kreacher was happy when Sirius was lashed at by his previous mistress would be another understatement of that day.
As the days had passed Sirius had grown more familiar to the magicks of Black, He still had a lot to go before mastering it like the previous Lords of the family, but the foundation was set, and work had begun.
From the day Sirius had abandoned Harry in the clearing to get to safety, he had much desired to talk to his godson. So, when the school year had come to an end, he had decided that first he would write Harry a letter, hoping that the boy would accept to talk to him. Further would go dependent on his godson's reply.
So, with a task at hand, Sirius sat in the Lord's study trying to write a letter to his godson, trying to explain him all that he could, asking for his forgiveness and planning a meet.
[Break]
As Harry entered his room, he set down his luggage locked the door and immediately began his work.
First, he set Hedwig's cage and let her out. The bird being quite disappointed at being caged for such a long-time pecked Harry as she flew around him as if trying to teach him a lesson to not lock her in again for such a long time.
"Ow, Ow, Ow! Sorry girl, I know you don't like being locked in the cage for long, but I had no choice. But you need not worry now, you won't need to stay in the cage any longer throughout the summer." Saying so Harry tried to grab a few Owl treats from his bag in an effort to placate his angry owl.
Finally, after having the treats, Hedwig calmed down and set herself in the window, looking intently at what Harry was doing.
After that was done, Harry unpacked his trunk, only removing the items that were of most necessity. First, he removed his invisibility cloak, and kept it on the bed resolving to keep it with him always in case he needed it.
Next, he got all his books out of the trunk and laid them on the old rickety desk in the room. Harry knew he could not practice magic here as of yet, but he had decided that he would revisit the theory of his past years having never paid much attention to it. He had a newfound curiosity and desire to gain as much knowledge as possible. And hence he had planned to begin from the basics first resolving to strengthen his foundations of magic. He was also thankful for his decision to buy a few duelling and spell books whenever he went to the alley his past visits as he knew he could begin his training from them till he found a much better option.
Next, Harry opened the floorboard that had so much helped him in the past and cleaned the insides, deciding to hide whatever could cause him trouble over the summer. He had already decided to buy a few things and his old hiding things place was still a good choice to hide them.
Next, he arranged all of the clothes in his possession in his cupboard and kept all those that looked most wearable in front. He was seriously in need of some good fitting clothes of his own, as all his clothes till now had been Dudley's pass me downs and were quite large for him.
Seeing he had got everything sorted, he finally took the parcel Remus had meant for him and sat on the bed. He slowly opened it to find an old piece of parchment and a small, folded note slide out. Harry's eyes widened as he recognized the piece of old parchment.
The Marauder's Map! He mentally exclaimed.
He quickly grabbed it, and opened the map much happy to be finally in is possession again. He grabbed his wand and was about to put it on the map to say the password, when realization stuck him that if tried to use his wand and channel his magic on the map, the ministry might catch it as him casting magic and he would be in trouble at worst or have unnecessary attention on him at best. Neither of which he wanted. Sad at his predicament, he knew he could not use the map unless he found a way to use magi cover summer. Not that the map would be of any use as it only showed the happenings at Hogwarts.
Disappointed Harry put the map with his cloak, now his two possessions he held most dearly, both having a connection to his father. He also decided to carry the map with him always when at Hogwarts just like the cloak.
Harry then took the note from Remus and opened it. On it was scribbled in neat handwriting.
'Harry, Sorry for not being able to give this to you in person, but the situations won't allow it. As I am no longer your professor now, I have no problems giving it back to you. Afterall you are its true heir and deserve to have it. Harry your father, me, Sirius, and Peter have explored much using it and it has been source of many great adventures for us. I hope you find good use of it. I know you might not want to maintain any communication with me after what happened that night, but if you ever feel the need to talk to me, do write. Hope to meet you soon.
Moony'
Harry felt greatly happy, hearing from Remus. He believed in the man. Afterall it was Remus who had taught him the Patronus Charm. Deciding, Harry quickly grabbed some parchment and a quill penned down a letter to Remus. Finishing it he sealed it in an envelope and set it on his desk deciding to deliver it via Hedwig to Remus the next morning.
Finally getting all that was needed to be done as of the time, laid back in his bed, a copy of Hogwarts: A History in his hand. He had finally decided to give it a read, not knowing when he might find something useful in it.
[Break]
The next week saw Harry Potter setting himself in a routine.
He woke up, cooked breakfast, spent some time in garden and then spent rest of the time locked away in his room only coming out to cook and have meals.
The Dursleys though put out still were happy at it. At least now they did not have to deal with the freak resident of the house and left him to his own doings.
In the room, Harry followed a schedule, studying the books he had rigorously.
First, he would study magical theory for an hour, then charms, followed by potions and would end his study session by working on transfiguration books of the past years. As he studied them, the books gained a lot of interest from Harry, even potions which he found out was much easier to study without having Snape to berate him. He worked on his basics and cemented them thoroughly. When he had truly started applying his mind to the books, he found the practice to bring him much joy. He had found a newfound hobby of assimilating as much knowledge as he could. He studied hard, going through each word written in the books, understanding its meaning. He wanted to know how magic worked. How the spells did what they did. How could he truly master them. But it was still not much, and he knew that. He knew that studying just the past year books would not do much to train him, but he had to wait till he could act on next step in his plan.
He had wanted to go to Gringotts the first thing he had hopped off the train. But he had decided to wait. He did not want anyone to find of his exploring. He knew going immediately to the alley after the holidays started was a bad idea.
So first he had decided fall into a routine at Dursleys and wait. He would wait till the holiday fever calmed down and everyone was settled at their respective homes.
He had also decided to go to Gringotts at night, the alley having much less commotion and the chances of him being found much lesser. Gringotts operated all day all night, for 365 days a year, what with the goblins not leaving a single moment to make profits.
In the meantime, he had also though more on his conversation with Death, making sure he had understood everything was said. He wanted to be prepared for when he visited Gringotts.
So, after a week had passed by Harry was ready to visit Gringotts.
That summer evening on a perfectly normal Tuesday, one Harry Potter quickly finished all his chores and disappeared back to his room locking himself in.
Now, Harry quickly set to work. First, he changed his clothes to wear a black oversized hoddie and some dark blue jeans all that he had got from Dudley. He then pocketed his cloak, wand, and the marauders map. Later he pocketed some muggle cash that he had always kept at hand and also carried all the remaining gallons he had, not knowing if he might need them. He also carried a small backpack with an extra change of clothes with him. He also pocketed a pocketknife he had brought inconspicuously over the last week and kept it easily accessible hoping that no situation would arise where he would have to use it.
Now he slowly pulled over his invisibility cloak over himself and slowly not making even the sound of his footsteps, tiptoed out of his room and out of the house. He knew that he need not worry about the Dursleys finding out he was gone as they had never come close to his room, choosing to leave him alone this entire summer.
As he made his way out of the house, being sure that his relatives were busy in their own work, he took a note of his surroundings. He kept walking down the road, and once he was sure that he had made quite a distance from Private Drive, he walked behind a few trees along the road and removed his cloak. He was free and no one knew.
Slowly he stepped out from behind the trees and started walking down the road to the nearest bus stop.
He waited for the right bus; he had checked the timings beforehand on the timetable. Soon a bus for Charing Cross Road would arrive. As the bus arrived Harry climbed in it and took a seat and brought a ticket to Charing Cross Road all while keeping the hood of his hoddie up. As the bus took of Harry settled in and prepared himself mentally to put forth the next step of his plan.
[Break]
After arriving on the Charing Cross Road, Harry soon made his way to the Leaky Cauldron again with his invisibility cloak on. Entering the Leaky Cauldron along with some passer-by's group of wizard and witches who looked to be catching up for some dinner, Harry quickly made his way towards the entrance of the entrance of the Diagon Alley and waited for some to open it from either side so that he could slip by. All this time he made sure to avoid stepping or crashing in someone diligently.
His wait was not long as soon someone came from the Leaky Cauldron and made his way through the entrance to the alley, the person looked like one of the shopkeepers in the alley, making way to shut his shop down for the day after completing some business in Leaky Cauldron. Harry quickly sneaked in and made his way towards Gringotts as fast as his legs could carry.
He kept his invisibility cloak on as he entered Gringotts wary of the guards, but fortunately nothing stopped him, the guards gave no notice. As he entered Gringotts, he saw the time in one of the cloaks kept in the bank. It was around 11pm. He quickly made his way to one of the tellers and after looking around and making sure no one else except the goblins was present, he removed his cloak though kept his hood. The teller in front of him merely raised his eyebrow in surprise.
Harry spoke confidently knowing that if he wanted to get anything out of the goblins,
"Good evening, I am Harry Potter, and I am here to look into my accounts and get an inheritance test."
The teller merely stared at Harry, doubtful of his identity and said, "If you are who you claim to be then please prove your identity by pricking your finger on this device but beware if you lie the goblin justice awaits."
Saying this the goblin picked a small rectangular device made of silver with various runes carved on it with a pin in the middle and put it in front of Harry on the desk. Harry slowly raised his hand and pricked his finger allowing a small drop of his blood to fall on the silver surface. As soon as the blood contacted the silver it disappeared with a whoosh giving out a golden glow as a name formed on the device.
Harry James Potter
The goblin nodded satisfied and said,
"You have made us wait for long Heir Potter; I am sure the Potter Account Manager would be interested in talking to you. Please make way to his office without further ado."
Harry was surprised to be referred to as Heir Potter, sure in the past few days he had read all about the houses and sacred 28 and made himself aware with the wizarding history, at least as much as present in his school textbooks, but this was the first time someone had referred to him as such. He knew that he was the last remaining Potter, and the heir to the Potter fortune and name but still had a bit difficulty understanding all this noble business. He nodded his head as the teller summoned another goblin to show him the way to the office of Potter Account Manager.
Harry followed the goblin along the passageways of the bank, all well-lit in and ornately decorated till they came to stop at a well-polished wooden door with the plaque Potter Family Account Manager – Bloodclaw.
The goblin that had accompanied Harry motioned Harry to enter as he himself left to go back to his other duties.
Harry knocked on the door.
"Enter" a strong voice called.
Harry slowly pushed the door open and entered. As he looked around, he saw an ornately decorated office with a large mahogany desk in front of him. Behind the desk several different weapons were proudly displayed along the wall. Harry could identify swords, axes, spheres the other he knew not. As Harry looked upon the goblin sat at the desk, the goblin looked up looking Harry in the eye. Harry took in the appearance of the goblin in front of him. The goblin wore a black pinstriped suit and had a battle-hardened face with large deep brown eyes. As the goblin took Harry in, he spoke.
"Finally, you have decided to meet me Heir Potter, finally you have answered my summons, I hope you are here to take up your Lordship."
What summons, Harry thought, not knowing what the account manager was saying, so he asked,
"What summons sir, I came here myself to check on my accounts and take an inheritance test, I received no summons."
"What are you saying Heir Potter, I have been trying to reach out to you for the past 13 years. I had written countless letters to you asking you to come and take up your lordship, after all a Noble and Most Ancient house without a Lord for such a long time won't do. But each time your magical guardian had replied saying you had said no and that you were not ready to take the Lordship yet and would do it later at age seventeen."
Now Harry was confused, thoroughly confused, he said.
"What letters, I have received not a single letter from Gringotts yet, Sir, and who even is my magical guardian, I even didn't know until now I had one!"
Bloodclaw looked at the boy in front of him, he could see the confusion in his eyes, years of experience had made him believe the boy was saying the truth. He spoke in a serious tone.
"Firstly, Heir Potter, your magical guardian is one Albus Dumbledore, and he should have informed you of your family and even given you the letter. But from your looks and if what you say is true, we have a problem at our hand."
"Dumbledore" Harry cursed. Yet again that meddlesome fool had decided to keep information from him. Deciding to deal with the man later, Harry focused on task at hand.
"Bloodclaw sir, as I have already said, and I swear I have not received a single letter and Dumbledore in all his wisdom has kept me in dark about my family, I came here on my own to visit my vaults and take an inheritance test, I had no idea I had to even take up a Lordship, not to mention what that's supposed to do for me."
Bloodclaw shook his head at the situation and said,
"Heir Potter, please sit down, we have much to discuss."
As Harry sat down, he said, "Sir, please call me Harry or Mr. Potter all this Heir business is quite new to me, and by the looks of it we are going to be working together a lot, so let's get rid of unnecessary formalities."
Bloodclaw grinned showing his teeth, but the expression only made him look even more dangerous and spoke, "So much like James, and Charlus, your grandfather, always humble, as you wish Harry, but even I insist you to call me Bloodclaw and none of that sir business."
Harry nodded, happy to have a goblin friendly with him, but still kept himself on guard not knowing what could come out of this. He was also pleased to be compared with his father and supposedly grandfather. Hearing his grandfather's name had garnered his interest but he kept his curiosity in check.
"It appears that Albus Dumbledore has some kind of mail redirecting ward placed around you, be assured it will be taken care of by us. We will also make sure Dumbledore pays for his crimes. Also, as you have said he has kept you unaware of your family history and ancestry but that can easily be taken care of if you study your family grimoire." Bloodclaw explained.
"What is a grimoire?" Harry asked interested at the new information and how it might help him.
"A family grimoire is a well-documented tome of magical history and knowledge of a family. It is only accessible to the members of the family by blood or magic. Many time grimoires have quite the secretive and important information about the family in them, not to mention lots of spells used and created to utilizes the family's magicks. One must also know that all family grimoires especially of Noble and Most Ancient houses like Potter have quite dangerous and crafty protection on them preventing any other than a member of family form accessing it. Some family go even a further step to make parts of their grimoires only accessible to Heirs and Lords of the family. It is also common knowledge among the wizarding community that stealing or harming a family's grimoire will be effective equivalent to crime of line theft and punishable by death or worse. As of such even I don't know what's written in Potter grimoire but do know that it resides in the Potter Family vault in Gringotts and that it might be of great help to you to learn more about your family." Bloodclaw explained.
Harry quickly absorbed all the new information. He was eager to know what was written in the grimoire. Next, he questioned,
"You talked about Potter Family Vault, but I can only know of my trust vault, also are there any more vaults on Potter name?"
"You understood correct Harry, the Potter Family Vault is the chief vault of your family where all its wealth, heirlooms, jewellery and whatever the Lord demeans fit is kept secured. You can access only your trust funds vault because you are not Lord yet. Usually, all family members have their separate vaults to handle their wealth individually for regular use as the Lord of a family deems fit, but coming end of the last Wizarding War, your father Lord James Potter had decided to merge all other vaults in Potter name except your trust fund vault as an heir as not many of Potters were left. In fact, I am quite sad to say but only you, your father and mother were the only Potters left by the end of the war." Bloodclaw explained in a sombre voice.
Hearing that Harry felt a pang of sadness engulf his chest, but motioned Bloodclaw to continue.
"There is also the issue of the parent's will, which were sealed by the ministry to be opened only when you reach your majority of 17 years or undergo emancipation from the Wizengamot. Even if you take up the Lordship of your family due to the treaty between the ministry and the goblin nation you cannot unseal the will before your majority."
The sadness was replaced by anger quickly as Harry heard of this new information. He had never thought of his parents' wills, but now hearing that they existed but could not be opened till he reached seventeen angered him. He wanted to know what were their wishes, did they have anything to say to him? He knew there was not much he could do, but still decided to ask Bloodclaw something but was interrupted.
"Now I know you are curious Harry and have many more question, but I ask you to keep hold of them and ask them later so that I can continue explaining the Lordship which is of most importance at present." Bloodclaw intoned.
Harry nodded.
"Now in most cases an Heir usually becomes a Lord only when the last Lord of that family has passed away and the Heir has reached his majority of 17 years and completed his OWLs at least to be accepted in the Wizengamot. But the Potters being quite an old family and one of the founders of the Wizengamot made an exception in their charter. The Potter Family Charter states that in case of previous Lord's demise before the Heir reaches of majority, then the said Heir if judged worthy by the family magic can take up the mantle of Family Lordship without the need of Wizengamot's conditions, but the only slight is that the said Heir turned Lord can only sit in Wizengamot after attending emancipation. But all the family's resources will be at the Heir's aid when he becomes the Lord if judged worthy. Do you understand?" Bloodclaw said.
Harry thought about the choices in front of him. He knew taking up the Lordship might benefit him greatly as he would have all Potter family resources at his disposal. He knew not what they were, but he hoped they would help him. The issue of not being able to take up the Potter seat in Wizengamot till his majority was not huge according to him at present, not like he knew much of wizarding politics now. Also, there was not much he could do, he would have to take up the Lordship now or sometime in future, so he chose to accept his Lordship and told Bloodclaw such.
Bloodclaw nodded his head, "As you wish Harry, the process of you becoming the Lord is simple, you would just have to complete the Potter Lordship ritual and be judged worthy by your family magic, then you can have the Lord's ring and you will become the Lord of the family. But before that as I remember, you had asked for an inheritance ritual, Gringotts usually refers them to Heirs of Noble and Ancient Houses anyway before them ascending to Lordship to make sure they are not eligible for any more Lordships and if they are, providing them with those. This is a service we already provide to our oldest customers and their Heirs. Though I warn usually not much achieved through the inheritance ritual. But as you yourself asked for it, I am sure you have some motive behind it. So, if you want so I can arrange for it now for a small fee of 200 gallons."
Harry though about his conversation with Death and how she had said an inheritance ritual would give him answers, he wanted to know more about what Death had said, about Peverells. The fee of 200 gallons was considerable, but considering the small fortune he had in his trust vault and now the upcoming Potter Lordship it was worth the pay if the ritual would give him his answers. Thinking this he nodded his head and asked for Bloodclaw to go ahead with the ritual.
Bloodclaw getting affirmation snapped his finger and a silver rectangular slab with strange rune carved on it appeared on the desk in front of him. He again snapped his fingers, and a thick parchment was laid on the slab. He again snapped his fingers, and a beautiful silver bladed knife with ivory handle carved in appeared on his desk. Now he explained to Harry,
"The ritual is quite simple; you have to just let a few drops of your blood fall of the parchment. Use the knife to slice your hand and let your blood flow on the parchment. Not to worry the knife has self-healing properties and your wound would be healed after enough blood has flowed." Saying to he motioned Harry to continue the ritual.
Determined Harry picked up the knife and slashed his left palm over the parchment, blood began to dribble, and he did not even wince in pain, having had much worse injuries in the past. Soon the wound healed, and Harry place the knife back on the desk.
Now both Bloodclaw and Harry looked at the parchment as it glowed gold and his blood started to flow on it forming words. As the process finished both read what had been the results and the results left them both shocked for quite the different reasons.
Name – Harry James Potter
Father – James Charlus Potter
Mother – Lily James Potter nee Evans (Slytherin)
Inheritance to Families –
Heir Potter – through father, Lord Potter after the Lordship Ritual
Heir Black - through paternal grandmother Dorea Potter nee Black and godfather Sirius Black, appointed Heir by the present Lord Black, Sirius Orion Black III
Heir Slytherin - through mother, Lordship after the Lordship Ritual of the Slytherin Family
Heir Peverell - as judged by the Peverell Family magic. Lordship after passing the Trials of Peverell.
Shock! Was the expression evident on both of their faces.
Harry knew not what to make of it, the Potter inheritance he was sure of, the Black he would have to talk to Sirius about it after he could finally find the man. The Peverell Heirship was something he had anticipated from his conversation with Death, after she had told him he carried the blood of the three brothers. He would have to find more about the three brothers and how he was related to them, but what had shocked him the most was the Slytherin Lordship. The revelation that his mother was descendant from Slytherin Family confused him, he knew not what to make of it and to add on that the fact that he was heir of Slytherin. He knew Voldemort proclaimed himself as the true Heir of Slytherin, and he was having a hard time putting the pieces of puzzle before him together. Before he could say something Bloodclaw spoke,
"Harry, I know you are confused and have lots of questions, but first I need to inform King Ragnok of these surprising revelations. I assure you he will be better suited to answer your questions." Saying this Bloodclaw immediately scribbled something on a piece of paper and vanished it with a snap of his fingers summoning King Ragnok the King of the goblin nation.
Harry just nodded his head filled with question as he sat there on chair taking it all in. Fate surely had a cruel way of twisting his life. He had come to Gringotts in search of easy answers but found more questions. He only hoped as the night progressed, he got answers to some of them.
Bloodclaw waited patiently for the arrival of the King, the wait was not long and the door to the office immediately opened. In came goblin guards decked in full metal armour carrying various weapons. Once the guards had flanked the room, old and wise looking goblin, a bit taller than the rest entered. He was dressed in an expensive three-piece business suit and caried a staff with a large ruby shining on the top. The staff was made of gold and various runes were etched throughout it.
As soon as the King entered, Bloodclaw bowed his head low and welcomed the king. All the while Harry watched on intently at the occurrence of events. As the guards had entered, Harry was immediately on alert, his hand ready to draw his wand if needed. He knew it would be of little help here in Gringotts, but still kept his guard. As the King entered Harry took him in, and soon Bloodclaw introduced him to the King and they both exchange greetings.
The King asked Bloodclaw to explain the matter at hand, and why he had thought it necessary to immediately summon the King. To this Bloodclaw directed the King Ragnok to his table and showed him the results of the inheritance ritual.
As Ragnok read over the parchment his eyebrows rose significantly higher and his dark black eyes twinkled. He turned to Harry and spoke,
"It is quite the strange occurrence Heir Potter, never in my long life nor the Gringotts history has an inheritance ritual given such results. To be heir of four of Noble and Most Ancient Houses and entitled to their headship is unheard of. Not to mention two of the houses being quite mysterious in their own way and long lost to time, it is sure a wonder how such a thing came into occurrence."
Harry again in his life was surprised at how such things happened to him. It seemed that strange things like such now were a part of his life. First surviving the killing curse, then the dementors and now this, he knew not what more laid waiting for him in his future. Pushing these thoughts aside he asked the question most plaguing him,
"King Ragnok, do you have any idea how I could be heir of so many houses especially Slytherin and Peverell?"
Ragnok took a deep breath and though with a frown evident on his face, before answering
"Having multiple Lordships or Heirships is not impossible theoretically, just highly improbable. The Potter and Black inheritances are self-explanatory. If I am to speculate about the Slytherin, I can only come to one conclusion. It appears your mother's family the Evans are the product of the main branch of Slytherin family squibbing out. That is the only possibility for you to have inherited heirship. You see the ministry does not keep a detailed record of squibs born into most of the Wizarding families. This being due to their inherent bias for anything non magical. Hence not much is recorded on old families vanishing out due to their descendants being squibs. It is speculated that most old families disappeared as such. Your mother was probably the first magical in her line after a long time, she must have also been heir to the Slytherin family but as she never took an inheritance ritual, we do not know of it. Her marrying into the Potters probably also had the benefit of strengthening of the Slytherin family magics in you when you were born making you the rightful heir. As for the Peverells, the family was always shrouded in mystery and even I know not how you ended up with its heirship. All I can say is evident in test results that somehow the Peverell family magicks have judged you worthy of being the Lord."
Harry took all the information in. The revelations of his mother's ancestry something he chose to research on later. He had come to a decision and hoped the goblins would co-operate with him on it. Determined he spoke,
"I understand King Ragnok, but you must also know that I am quite overwhelmed by the amount of information I have just received, as such I request you and Gringotts to keep this information about me a secret. It would allow me to come to terms with it much easily."
"Rest assured Heir Potter, the information will only be revealed at your discretion. Only accessions to Lordships in Wizengamot are publicly revealed. As you cannot do that now even though being eligible for the Potter and Slytherin Lordships as of now and Peverell and Black in future the information will not leave Gringotts unless you want it to. Also coming to the other matter at hand, as the families of Slytherin and Peverell had no known living members for quite a few decades, Gringotts does not have an account manager for them. I suggest appointing Bloodclaw for the same as he is already handling your finances and him being the account manager of them will allow for easier communication between you and Gringotts. Also, both the Peverell and Slytherin vaults do not have any liquid assets i.e., money in them as both are quite old vaults and were emptied by the last Lords of the respective houses. Though both do contain quite the sizable and priceless collection of heirlooms, books, and jewellery among other things. So, it will not be much of a hassle for Bloodclaw to manage them all. And as for the Black family, their vaults were sealed by the last Lord Arcturus Black before his death and can only be opened by Lord Black. You can always talk to the Black Family Account Manager regarding them."
Harry was happy that his inheritance would be kept a secret. As of now he did not want any more attention on him. He thought about the appointing of the account manager, though he was no expert in all this, he knew that his decision was important. Coming to a decision he spoke,
"I think Bloodclaw managing the accounts for now is fine if he agrees to it."
"Thank you, Heir Potter, King Ragnok, I am deeply grateful to you, Heir Potter rest assured I will do my best in being the account manager for all three families" Bloodclaw spoke softly. He was quite happy to be given the opportunity.
"Now, I must take your leave, I am sure Bloodclaw will guide you through the Lordship rituals. My congratulations to you Heir Potter, I hope you achieve great things." Saying so Ragnok left as swiftly as he had come followed by his guard.
After the office was empty except for the two, both its remaining occupants, took some time to think before Bloodclaw broke the silence,
"Harry, I think now we should proceed with the Lordship Ritual, you will have to wear each of the rings of the house and then just allow the family magic to flow through you. The rings will guide you on your oath. As they say just go with the flow and believe in yourself. Now at present you can take up the Lordship of the houses of Potter and Slytherin. Peverell Lordship is something I know not much about, and you would have to look into the Peverell for more information pertaining it. As for the Black Heirship as the present Lord Black has already appointed you his rightful heir, you can take up the Heir ring of the Blacks signifying your right."
Harry nodded his head in understanding and decide to take up both the Lordships, when better time than now he thought. He had also decided on taking up the Black Heirship ring not knowing when it might come of use and deciding to ask Sirius about it whenever he met him, soon if his next plans would follow just as good as his plans till today.
Seeing Harry agree, Bloodclaw snapped his fingers and three beautifully carved wooden boxes appeared on his desk. On one was carved what Harry thought to be a Griffin, on other a Basilisk and the last a Grim.
Bloodclaw opened each and motioned Harry to continue before slipping him a piece of parchment with a spell to evoke the family magics. Harry memorized the spell and moved to pick up the first ring. He knew it was the Potter ring, his magic felt so. He picked up the ring. The ring was made of Gold with a large ruby at centre. A Griffin had been etched into the ruby. Small diamonds encircled the ruby. As Harry picked up the ring, the magicks on the ring felt familiar to him. Slowly he inserted the ring on the index finger of his right hand.
As the ring sat on his finger, suddenly a feeling of warm familiar magic envelope him. He knew in his mind what he had to say, and he spoke with determination,
I Harry James Potter, swear to take up the Lordship of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter and uphold its values and traditions. I swear to restore House Potter to its might. I swear to bring justice to those that slight the House Potter.
Familia Magicia Accerso
Harry felt bright light envelope hi sight. From the Bright light emerged a Griffin, tall and proud and stared Harry in the eyes. Harry stared back determination in his own eyes. Slowly the Griffin bowed, and his vision returned. Suddenly his mind was full of information on all Potter assets, properties, and family information. He steadied himself from the aftereffects. Now he knew more about the Potters than he ever did. The knowledge of his ancestry made place in his mind through the Potter ring. He felt more confident in himself and looked at Bloodclaw who motioned him to procced.
Next Harry picked up the second ring. This one was platinum, with an Emerald encrusted at top. An ethereal Basilisk was carved in the emerald and the emerald was outlined by small sapphires. He identified this to be the slytherin ring. Slowly he put the ring on the middle finger of his right hand.
I Harry James Potter, swear to take up the Lordship of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Slytherin and uphold its values and traditions. I swear to restore House Slytherin to its glory and remove the taint on its name. I swear to destroy those that think harm toward the House of Slytherins and protect those under it.
Familia Magicia Accerso
This time the magic enveloping him was cold and harsh. It judged him. His eyes went dark as a Basilisk formed in front of his eyes. The Basilisk stared at him and bared its fangs as it hissed. Harry stared back defiantly and hissed back. Time went by and after what seemed to be a long time the Basilisk bowed. Harry's vision returned. His mind was attacked with information on the Slytherin Family. The biggest revelation to him as this happened was that he could still speak Parseltongue. The removing of Horcrux having no effect on it. It became evident now that it was due to the Slytherin blood in him and not Voldemort as Dumbledore had predicted. He could feel the Slytherin family magicks take their place in him. The ring on his finger shinned brightly as it happened.
"Let me be the first to Congratulate you Lord Potter Slytherin." Bloodclaw spoke.
"Thank you Bloodclaw".
"Now, the Black heirship is simple, you just have to wear the ring. As you are appointed heir by the Lord Black only you can put on the ring. There will beno judging by the family magic for wearing of the heir's ring." Bloodclaw explained.
Harry nodding his head picked up the black metallic ring with a small diamond in centre. The diamond had the carving of a grim. He placed the ring on the little finger of his right hand. Bloodclaw further explained,
"You can will the rings to hide at your wish and appear on your fingers only when you will so. Also, you will find that the Lord's ring will be a great source of information and guidance on the family to you. You will find a lot of information on your families through them."
Harry nodded his head.
"Also, as now the House of Potters has a Lord, you can access the Potter Manor using your ring. You just have to will your ring to take you there. The Potter Manor was put in a state of lockdown and hidden by your father when he and your mother went into hiding at Godric's hollow. This was done to protect the manor from death eater attack and preserve its heritage for your family."
Harry's eyes widened at the mention of the manor. He could barely wait now to go and explore it, perhaps he might find some memories of his parents there. He decided to visit it as soon as his work in the alley was done. Perhaps he could be able to spend his rest of summer there, it would definitely help him in allowing him to practice magic and train. He hoped so. He motioned Bloodclaw to continue.
Bloodclaw next explained him how his Lord's rings would be able to protect him against compulsions and similar confounding magics. And also, their ability to detect poisons and potions for him. He explained that he must master his Lord's rings and the benefits they gave him from the family grimoire he could get from the vaults.
Bloodclaw further explained to him of the finance of the Potter Family and handed him a sealed envelope with all the current record. Harry pocketed it deciding to look at it later peacefully.
"Now all that is left is to visit your family vaults, I suppose you would like to visit all of them?" Bloodclaw asked.
Harry nodded his head. "Yes"
"Sure, we can visit them now. We can start by the Peverell vault as it's in the lowest level, followed by Slytherin and then Potter. You might want to spend most time in the Potter vault so its best we keep it the last. The Black vaults will only be accessible after the present Lord Black unseals them."
Harry nodded his head, his thoughts heading to what might await him in the vaults.
"Now please give me your trust vault key as you will no longer need it as it will be merged with your family's vault as you have access to it now."
Now, Harry was embarrassed, he had not taken his key back from Mrs. Weasley and thus did not possess it. He explained as such rubbing the back of his neck to the goblin in front of him.
Bloodclaw was pissed, he went on a lecture as to why Harry must never give his vault keys to anyone, no matter how trustworthy. After he felt, he had explained to a now reddening Harry the importance of such, he snapped his fingers and explained his key was now destructed.
Next, Bloodclaw handed Harry a bottomless pouch and explained how Harry could use it to access money from the Family vault. The pouch was tied to Harry's blood and only he would be able to access it. Next, Bloodclaw handed Harry what looked like muggle credit and debit cards explaining how he could use them to make purchases in the muggle world. He though Harry might find it beneficial as even his father and mother had used them extensively. Again, after another lecture on the importance of keeping these possessions only in his hand safely, Bloodclaw explained that as Harry was now Lord Potter, he would be able to use his ring to access the vaults and even carry out transactions.
[Break]
The ride to the vaults was just as exhilarating as Harry remembered form his first year. But this time, they were going much deep. Harry thought he heard a dragon roar, and his suspicions were pushed aside as Bloodclaw explained the various protections Gringotts had for the vaults of the sacred 28 families. They used dragons as guards, with various enchantments and wards around the vaults themselves. The family magics also provided varied defences to each family's vault which were a family's closely guarded secret.
As they made their way on the path down, Bloodclaw explained Harry on what he might find useful in his vaults to take with him. He advised him to take the family grimoires with him and study them saying they would help him master his family magic and know more about his family. He also told him not to take any other books out of the vault, explaining Harry will be able to access them by pressing his Lord's ring and willing the books to appear in front of him.
Harry could fell they were now going deep, suddenly the trolly came to a stop and Bloodclaw motioned Harry to get down signalling they had arrived at the Peverell vault.
Harry got down at looked ahead to see large metallic grey doors in front of him, there was no door know or handle. A horse like creature with dragon like feature and huge wings was itched into grandly. The air was gloomy and cold.
Bloodclaw motioned Harry to move forward explaining that he would just have to put his palm on the door to gain entry and that Bloodclaw himself would be waiting for Harry outside.
Slowly Harry made his way to the doors and touched them with his palm. A cold feeling washed over him as the doors creaked open in what would be quite a few centuries.
Harry walked in as the door closed behind him. The air was cold, and the lights dim. He looked around to see a vast space filled with trunks, armours and many more such things. Along the wall were shelfs filled with books to the top. Harry slowly made his way forward. Curiously he touched a trunk, and it sprang open revelling it to filled to brim with jewels and jewllary of all kinds. He was astonished to such an amount of wealth at a place. He opened another to see it filled with strange artifacts, he decides to not touch them, his experience in the magical world warning him. As Harry moved forward, he found the wall opposite to the shelfs filled with weapons of different kind hung on the wall. Harry could hardly identify a few.
Next, he made his way towards the shelfs to go through the selection of books there. Hoping to find some that might help him in his training. Most were in language Harry knew not, but all were old and reeked of ancient magic. He knew the books in front of him were probably priceless and long lost to time. As he shifted through them, he came upon images of battles, of curses, of tortures, some so disturbing that he had to immediately close the said book.
As he sieved through the books in hope of finding some he might understand, he suddenly felt a tug of pull from the centre of the vault. He knew not what it was but decided to follow his gut.
Soon he made his way to centre of the vault. There on a mount that looked to be made of twisting tree branches laid a book. It was pitch black. The cover leather with scales. It looked old, probably the oldest thing he had ever seen. The pull intensified and Harry felt an urge to grab the book. His hands moved without his control, as he picked up the book. There on the front of it now that he could look much clearly was a carving of a tree. The tree somehow reminded Harry of the tree in his conversation with Death. It was as if the book called him. His gut knew that the book contained a lot of answers he desired. He knew that moment that he must take this book with him. The urge to open it was strong, but he decided against it, choosing to open it later. He bagged the book in the backpack he had bought with him. He still had lot to do and more vaults to visit.
After taking a cursory look around and deciding to visit the vault again to search of more things that could benefit him, he left the door opening for him as he made his way.
Outside he found Bloodclaw waiting patiently in the trolly, which he climbed in, and they made their way to the Slytherin vault.
When he arrived in front of the Slytherin vault, he found himself in front of same grey doors only a basilisk was etched into them, its eyes instilling fear in any who dare to look at them. He followed the same procedure and entered the vault.
This vault was much similar to the last, vast, and filled with trunks, armours, weapons and shelfs upon shelfs of books.
He knew that the trunks must have jewllary and other such items and decided to look at them on a later date.
Harry made his way over to the shelfs of books, eager and hoping at least these would contain some he could understand as of now. As he looked through titles, he was astonished, Parselmagic: An Introduction by Salazar Slytherin, Parselmagic Curses by Salazar Slytherin, and many more that delved into the branch of magic that used the Parseltongue. Harry was positively gleeful at finding this treasure. He knew this would come of great help and decide to begin his study of the same soon. He decided that he must incorporate Parselmagic study in his regular routine, after all he was only of the few who could practice it, and this was an advantage he was not giving up on. After looking upon a few more title that greatly interested him, he made his way to find the Slytherin grimoire. He found it being kept in the centre of the vault on an ornately decorated table. He slowly picked it up and put it in his backpack deciding to look into it later. He still had the Potter vault to visit.
As he was making his way back his eyes were brough upon a trunk labelled enchanted jewllary that was kept near the centre of the vault. As he opened it, it sprung open into a cabinet filled with varied collection of necklaces, bracelets, and rings. He instinctively brought up his ring and felt each of the items. As he put his hand on each, the Slytherin Lord's ring told him in his mind of function of each item. They were apparently priceless Slytherin heirlooms crafted centuries ago to be used by the Slytherin family members. All were goblin made with finest of craftsmanship on them. A ring that acted as a shield against most mild curses and jinxes, a necklace protecting one against invasion of mind, but what caught his interest most was a bracelet with serpents carved throughout its length and an emerald at the centre. The Lord's ring informed him that the bracelet was able to change the appearance of the wearer as per his wish with glamour enchantments so strong that nothing other than the wearer himself could get rid of them. The only catch being it did not change the wearer's height or weight but only facial features, eye colour, hair, and such. Harry immediately knew that this might be something quite useful for his plan later in the alley and hence quickly wore the bracelet on his right hand.
Now finally taking a last look inside the vault, he made his way outside and followed Bloodclaw to the trolley.
They made their way to the Potter vault.
Harry was now feeling much more nervous than he had before. Finally, he would be entering his family's vault.
He made his way to the grey metal doors with a Griffin proudly carved into it. He placed his palm on them and entered.
As he entered, he encountered something different from the last two vaults. On his left were shelfs and shelfs filled with gallons, sickles and knuts. The wealth was something Harry had never seen in his life. The shelfs extended to the very end of the vault and were filled with gold to the brim. Harry was astonished. The light reflecting of all the gallons was so bright that it filled the vault with a yellow shade. Harry could not fathom how much all of it amounted to but knew the letter he had got from Bloodclaw explaining the Potter finances would put a light on it.
As he made his way ahead, he saw trunks, almost uncountable of them and on opening a few found that almost all of them contained valuable jewellery, jewels, and many priceless artifacts. The right of the vault was filled with shelfs of books, a cursory glance at them told Harry they belonged to a wide range of subjects from Battle Transfiguration to Potions. Just looking at them Harry knew he had found a treasure of books to train from. Hermione would go nuts just looking at these many books, especially if added together with the collections from his other two vaults.
Sprawled across the vault were various battle armours and weapons.
There were also a few paintings of battlefield, of scenic beauty and such and what looked to be people dressed like kings and queens of the past.
Moving forward he found a trunk with the name Charlus Potter on it. Harry recognized the name from earlier to be of his grandfather. Nervously, not knowing what to expect, Harry opened it.
Inside was a collection of strange items, there were a few armours, some books, some strange magical devices. He rummaged through the trunk, finding a photo of a tall handsome man with the trademark Potter hair, who looked a lot like him standing next to a beautiful woman with black hair and grey eyes. Both looked happy and were smiling looking at each other. Harry's heart filled with emotions as he looked at what would be his grandparents in their youth. He had never got to know them; he knew not how they died just after his birth.
His eyes teared thinking how his grandmother would dot on to him, and how he would have spent his childhood playing with his grandfather. Alas, it was not so and seeing the picture only made Harry's resolve much stronger. Harry decided he would make Voldemort pay for taking his childhood away from him.
Finding his grandparents pictures had filled him with hope, and he set about searching for a picture of his parents or their belongings in the vault. He ignored all the wealth, all the books, and continued searching for something related to his parents.
As he kept searching, he came upon a trunk labelled James Potter. His heart fluttered, as he rushed to it. Nervously he opened the trunk. Inside were a few clothes, books, a broom polishing kit, a snitch, and a Gryffindor quidditch jersey. Harry picked up the jersey and looked at it, the name Potter on the back bringing a soft smile on his face. Next, he rummaged through the trunk and came across a book that caught his eyes. He picked it and read the title. A Marauders Guide to Pranks and Adventures. His smile brightened as he picked it up and flipped the pages. He was shocked to find them empty, but soon realization dawned upon him as he knew just what might make the text appear. He put the book in his backpack deciding to relish it later. He tried finding any pictures in the trunk but came up empty handed.
He closed the trunk and moved forward, trying to find something of his mother. Alas, his search was unfruitful, and he could not find anything relating to his mother even after searching the entire vault thoroughly. Perhaps he might find something at the manor, hoping so he moved forward knowing time was short.
He moved ahead to the centre of the vault to find the Potter Family Grimoire resting on an ornately decorated oak table. He picked the grimoire a black leather book with a Griffin head of gold in centre. He put it in his backpack. From what he had heard, these grimoires could be of great help to him, and he could not wait to explore the mysteries of their pages.
Harry having one last look at the Potter vault and deciding to explore it much detail later when more time was on hand, made his way out.
After meeting Bloodclaw, both hopped on the trolly and made their way to the surface.
Bloodclaw mentioned to Harry that he would keep Harry updated on finances and to reach out to him after reading the finance report to inform of any changes that Harry would like to be made. Both bid each other farewell and Harry made his way out of Gringotts.
Harry was happy, much being accomplished in the night. As he made way to the Gringotts main area, he glanced at a cloak there, it was almost 7 am. Much time had been spent in the bank.
Now he needed to act on one of the most important issues pressing him as of now.
His wand.
Determined to get it fixed, Harry tapped the bracelet he had took from the Slytherin vault behind one of the Gringotts pillar. He felt his appearance change. He had willed his hair to be brown and long, shoulder length and brown eyes. He had also changed his facial structure, and as he looked in the polished marble wall of Gringotts, he was satisfied with his appearance. None would ever recognize him like this.
Soon he was out in the alley, eager to finish the other tasks he had planned.
A/N:
Fifth chapter is done, this was a long one to write, hope you like it.
Daphne is introduced, she will start playing a part with beginning of the fourth year.
Next, we will see Harry dealing with his wand issues, beginning of Harry's training and the letter from Sirius.
Next chapter will also have Harry opening the book he got in the Peverell vault. Surprises await.
I have written Lily as being from squibbed out line from Slytherin family, this will play a major part in what follows.
Next chapter will be up in a week or less.
Please do leave a review and suggestion if any.
Thanks for reading,
lordgreencryztalz.