Hari hid away in her room when the Weasleys arrived. She let Remus and Cedric help them settle in, and didn't show her face until dinner. She was working on a special project, one that required all of her concentration.
The project was Veritaserum. Truth potion. Great in some circumstances, deadly in others. The problem with the original potion was that it forced you to answer the questions you're asked. Hari needed something that would force you to tell the truth, but only if you decided to answer the question. She thought she figured it out four days after the Weasleys came to stay, then handed her findings over to the twins to check. They confirmed that the idea was solid, and that her recipe would at least get her close to the desired product. So, with their approval and notes, she handed the plans off to Snape.
He'd come over for an order meeting. They still weren't allowing Hari and the others to sit in, not even Cedric, Fred, or George, who were all of age. But Snape owed her, so they met in secret after each meeting to discuss. He'd promised to train her back in the hospital wing, but hadn't said anything about it since.
"I need your help with something," Hari said, after he'd filled her in on the nothingness that came from the official meeting.
"What?" he drawled.
"A potion," she smirked, and Snape raised a single eyebrow. "It's a modified version of veritaserum. The twins say it looks decent, but I'm not stupid enough to attempt to brew it myself. I was hoping you'd take over the project for me."
"What do you need a modified truth serum for?" he asked, and though his hid his curiosity well, Hari could still see it.
"Dumbledore and I are long overdue for a chat," she replied cooly. "Don't you think?"
"And when would you like this… conversation… to take place?"
"Before the end of summer would be ideal."
"That'd barely enough time to brew the original potion," Snape scoffed.
"If my math is right, it should only take eight days to brew."
Snape studied her for a brief moment before snatching away her notes away. "I'll look this over," he promised. "Until then, I believe it's time for us to begin our lessons."
"Really?" Hari perked up. She'd been looking forward to those, but hadn't mentioned anything in case he had changed his mind.
"Yes. We'll be starting with potions," he began and Hari sighed. "I refuse to teach someone who is ignorant of the craft."
"Fine," she relented. "But you have to admit that I improved this past year."
"Yes," he said, somewhat reluctantly. "Start with your first year potions, let me know when you've mastered them, and write if you have questions."
He left quite suddenly, offering no goodbye.
Hari scowled every time the order members came by for meetings. None of the kids had been allowed to sit in, despite Sirius and Remus' best attempts.
But at least they were busy. Snape had begun instructing them in Occlumency, and Sirius had put together a schedule for animagus training. Sirius had grumbled a bit about Snape training his pup, but Hari put a stop to that immediately.
"He can teach me things that you can't," Hari had said. "He can help me survive."
Sirius had caved, admitting that Hari's survival was more important than his hatred for the man. Though they still glared daggers at each other whenever they were forced to be in the same room.
Hermione and Hari had finished their summer homework early, but their personal projects kept them busy. Hermione was researching soul magic, trying to get to the bottom of how far gone Tom was, and Hari was working on integrating muggle and magical technology. Thinking back to the Weasleys Ford Angalina, she thought that magic plus science equaled sentience somehow. The trick would be to keep the machinery from absorbing the ambient magic around it. She thought that runes were the answer, so she'd moved all the runes book in the library up into her bedroom, had owl ordered four more, and was gifted three from Viktor as a birthday present. Hari had also put together a rudimentary potions lab in the attic, for both herself and the twins, who spent most of their days locked away up there. She and Cedric joined them for a lot of late nights.
Ginny had surprised everyone. She and Grace, Cedric's mother, had developed quite a bond, and Ginny had proudly pronounced over dinner one night that she would be field medic. Someone on the battlefield to heal people. Molly had thrown a right fit, but Ginny kept her head up high. It was the source of many arguments that summer. She joined their occlumency and animagus training, and had been spending all of her free time in the library with Hari, Hermione, and Cedric.
Ron was attempting to do no work at all; he'd flat out refused to learn occlumency, and had only agreed to animagus training because it sounded cool. Since the first four to six months would only be meditation, he'd soon dropped that as well.
Remus had finally agreed to take Hari to Gringotts. Sirius had wanted to go as Padfoot, but Hari had talked him out of it. They'd agreed that she needed to take an inheritance test, since James wasn't there to reveal family secrets.
Hari was nervous. Now that she knew the proper way to address the goblins, she felt ashamed for her previous treatment of them. For her ignorance. Upon reaching the Alley, Hari and Remus stopped in front of the bank and bowed before walking in. Hari was dressed in professional robes, as was Remus. It had taken a lot of convincing and a little bit of blackmail, but Hari and Sirius had finally gotten Remus to let them buy him a whole new wardrobe.
"Good day, Master Goblin," Hari greeted the goblin teller with a slight bow. "I would like to speak with my account manager."
"Good day, Heir Potter," the goblin said slowly. "Do you have your key?"
"I do not," she responded.
"One drop of blood," he said, handing her a dagger and a parchment. The parchment confirmed her identity and she was led to an office.
"Good day, Master goblin," Hari bowed deeply and her account manager, Griphook, did the same. "I would like to begin with an apology," she said as she took a seat. "I have only recently learned what it means to be an heir in this world, and it has been brought to my attention that I have not been treating goblin kind with the respect you deserve. I sincerely apologize for my previous actions, and promise that my behavior from now on will accurately represent both my station and my respect for the Nation."
Griphook's mouth had been slowly warping into a smile while she spoke, and by the time she finished, he was baring all his sharp teeth with a predatory grin. "It is true, then," he said.
"Yes, sir," she responded.
"Well met, Heir Potter," Griphook said, "and congratulations."
"Thank you, sir," Hari replied.
"What can the nation do for you today?"
"I'd like to begin with a summary of my accounts and a full inheritance test."
"Seven drops of blood on the parchment," Griphook said, handing her a dagger and a blue tinged parchment, "And I'll get the documents in regards to your accounts."
Hari took the dagger and let her blood spill over the page, watching with fascination as her history was mapped out in front of her.
Name: Harriet Rose Potter-Black
Father: James Fleamont Potter – deceased
Mother: Lily Elizabeth Potter nee Evens – deceased
Godfather(s): Sirius Orion Black (blood adopted godfather), Remus John Lupin
Godmother(s): Alice Jane Longbottom nee Fortescue
Titles:
Heir Potter (father) – unclaimed
Heir Peverell (father) – unclaimed
Heir Black (blood adopted godfather) – unclaimed
Heir Slytherin (by conquest) – includes houses Avery, Brown, Carrow, Crabbe, Flint, Gaunt, Goyle, Lestrange, Malfoy, Nott, Parkinson, Prince, Rosier, Rowle, and Yaxley - unclaimed
Heir Blishwick (by will – line extinct) – unclaimed
Heir Burke (by will – line extinct) – unclaimed
Heir Fawley (by will – line extinct) – unclaimed
Heir Gibbon (by will – line extinct) – unclaimed
Heir Sayre (by will – line extinct) – unclaimed
Heir Selwyn (by will – line extinct) – unclaimed
Heir Wilkes (by will – line extinct) – unclaimed
Wizengamot Seats: 26 – unclaimed
Other Titles:
Girl-Who-Lived – claimed
Slayer of the False King – claimed
Vanquisher of the false Lord of Dark – claimed
Queen of Wizarding Britain – unclaimed
"I think I'm going to be sick," Hari said as she tossed the parchment to Remus.
"You…" Remus sputtered as he read it over. "You hold twenty-six seats?!"
"Half of the Wizengamot," Hari muttered, still in shock. "More than half."
"What is this last title?" Remus asked Griphook, who took the parchment and almost fainted; he had to steady himself with a hand on the desk.
"I must alert the King," he said and hurried out of the room.
When Griphook returned he was looking a little pale and was followed by four armed guards, as well as the largest goblin Hari had ever seen. The guards positioned themselves around the room while the King sat at Griphook's desk.
"Your Majesty," Hari bowed deeply and stayed there.
"Rise, child," the goblin laughed jovially. "It is an honor to meet you, Hari Potter."
"The honor is mine," Hari responded.
The king smiled and got down to business. "I am Ironsheild, King of the Nation. And we have much to discuss, today."
The rest of the meeting passed in a blur. Ironsheild explained the old magics and laws that permeate wizarding society. And not just Britain, but all magical societies. Laws that were written by magic herself. One law in particular, grants the title of King or Queen to a person who is deemed worthy. There were a lot of requirements that went into determining whether or not someone was worthy, but the goblins didn't know them. No one alive would. Once the title was claimed, Hari would be a legitimate Queen, and wizarding Britain would transfer from their current government to a monarchy led by Hari.
Her power would extend to all magical beings within her borders. That meant that the goblins, elves, and even the centaurs in the Forbidden Forest would be under her rule. She alone owned Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade, Godric's Hallow, and Azkaban, plus a quarter of Hogwarts. And that didn't include land or family homes. A good deal of England, Scotland, and Wales was now in the possession of a terrified and overwhelmed fourteen-year-old girl.
During Ironsheild's explanation, Hari had to take several breaks to vomit into a nearby wastebasket.
"Not what you expected today, is it?" the King laughed.
"Not exactly," Hari muttered, still gripping the wastebasket for dear life.
"You don't have to claim the title today. You have some time to prepare yourself, and your family."
"Thank you, your Majesty," Hari said.
"No, thank you," the King countered. "The dragons are not the only species with a prophecy about you, and I must admit, we are quite pleased with how things are playing out."
"I don't think I have space in my brain to take in another prophecy today," Hari admitted.
"We wouldn't tell you anyway," the king laughed. "Let's move on to your accounts." Ironsheild took a few deep breaths as he read over the documents Griphook had handed him. His face fell almost immediately and his frown continued to deepen as he read on. "The Nation has failed you, your Majesty," he said when he was done.
"What's the damage?" she asked, still looking pale and holding off tears as well as she could.
"We will be conducting a complete review of all of your accounts immediately. The extent of the damage is currently unknown, but it appears the Albus Dumbledore has been stealing from you."
Hari laughed and said, "Why am I not surprised?"
"He was never legally declared you Magical Guardian. We'll invalidate your current key, and get you a new one. Today's keys are much more modern than keys of old. You're current Magical Guardian is your godfather, Sirius Black. You can change that, if you'd like," he said and Hari shook her head, "There's also the matter of your parents' wills."
"I can't do that today," Hari said quickly. "Not on top of everything else. I'm sure we'll be spending a lot of time together this summer," she smiled weakly.
"Very well," Ironsheild responded and flipped to the next page. "Moving on to your accounts and holdings. You currently own 74 vaults with us, though the only ones you have access to are the Potter Trust Vault, the Peverell Trust Vault, and the Slytherin Trust Vault. The others will become available to you once you claim their titles. What titles would you like to claim today?"
"Um," Hari grabbed her inheritance test and scanned the names. "Potter, Peverell, and Black, plus the extinct lines that were willed to me. I'll leave Slytherin alone for now, but can you explain why it has attached lines?"
"It seems that when the Lord of an estate took the Dark Mark, they transferred ownership of all titles, vaults, and holdings to the Dark Lord. When you defeated him as a baby, those titles transferred to you."
"But the current lords are still using their seats," Hari said.
"Yes," Ironsheild said. "When you claim the heirship, they will be removed. They will also lose access to their accounts."
"So as soon as I take the Slytherin heirship, I'll bankrupt fifteen families?"
"Yes," the king confirmed.
"Shit," Hari whispered, then looked back up to the king with her eyes narrowed in confusion. "That didn't change when I removed their Dark Marks?"
"Excuse me?" Remus asked.
"I removed the Dark Marks of the Malfoys, Crabbes, Goyles, Parkinsons, Browns, and Rosiers," she told him. Remus was looking at her like she'd sprouted another head, but she kept her eyes on Ironsheild.
The King laughed for a few moments before responding, "No, that wouldn't change anything. A contract cannot be unsigned."
"Good to know," she said.
When Hari and Remus arrived back at Grimmauld Place, she went straight for the liquor cabinet.
"What are you doing, pup?" Sirius asked awkwardly.
Hari bent down to examine all the different kinds of alcohol, then turned to Sirius. "What should I drink if I want to forget?"
"Tequila," he responded immediately.
"Do we have some?" she asked, and Sirius stepped forward to pour her a drink.
"Hari!" Hermione scolded as she entered the room.
Hari set her now empty glass down and rounded on her best friend. "You're gonna let me have this today," she said, and gestured for Sirius to pour her another.
"The bank not go well?" Sirius asked Remus.
Remus answered by gesturing for Sirius to pour him his own glass of tequila.
"Sirius, Hermione, and Cedric," Hari said to herself.
"What?" Hermione asked.
"Go get Ced, then we're barricading ourselves in this room under the strongest protection wards magic can offer."
Hermione raced off, and when they were all together, Remus and Sirius went about warding the room.
"We're all set, cub," Remus said.
Hari looked at her people and suppressed the urge to vomit, then looked to Remus for help, "I can't," she laughed. "You've gotta tell them, I just can't." She sat down next to the fire and stared into the flames while Remus explained the situation.
By the end of the night, all of them were drinking. Even Hermione.
She and Remus spent the following eight days at the bank, going over her accounts and hiring various managers. She needed a solicitor, a publicist, a personal healer (she decided on Snape and Pomfrey, but was enticed to include goblin and elf healers), and a whole list of other professional that would being to undo the damage caused by the one and only, Albus list-of-pretentious-names Dumbledore. Thankfully, the goblins appeared to like her, so they promised to take care of everything and she trusted them to keep their word.
Hari's fifteenth birthday was the best one she ever had. All the Weasleys except for Charlie were in attendance, and a few of order members had come by as well: McGonagall, Snape, Tonks, and Kingsley. Hagrid had sent her a letter saying that he wished he could be there, but she knew he was on a mission.
She got more gifts than ever before, and had a cake! An honest-to-Merlin cake with candles and her name written in golden icing. Cedric's parents had come as well, and had also decided to take up residence at Grimmauld. Amos had warmed up to her significantly, though he still kept his distance. Cedric's mother, Grace, fawned over Hari in the same way that Molly Weasley did, but it was more… subtle. Molly was often overbearing, but Grace always seemed to know when to leave something alone.
Most of the gifts she received were books or knickknack's, but she also got chocolate, clothes, and four different stuffed animals. One was from Grace, a hippogriff. Another was from Bill and Charlie, a dragon. And the last were from Sirius, a stag and doe.
Cedric got her a beautiful bouquet of flowers that would never wilt, as well as connected journals for the two of them. He'd also written her a twenty-inch letter that made her cry every time she thought about it.