Author's Note: Hello friends, if anyone is still there. Here is the new chapter. Unbetaed, so all errors are mine. Still recovering from my surgery, but I was able to get permission to start walking on my foot so yeah! I did the hallway in our building, one end to the other and it exhausted me. Recovery is slow.
MNF
Chapter 26:
Results of the Scry
8 August 1994 (Monday)
Gringotts
"Greetings, Strongblade," Sirius said with a small bow. "I pray your coffers are overflowing with gold and jewels." Sirius had dressed in day robes with a fine suit underneath. His family crest displayed boldly, using the jewel encrusted pin on his jacket lapel. The suit and robes were black, his shirt white and his tie a bright red stripe.
"Thank you for your kind words, Lord Black. I wish you much success against your enemies." Sirius tipped his head at the greeting.
"Hello, Strongblade, may your sword glisten with the blood of those you have vanquished," Harry said with a bow. His outfit was a bit less formal than his father's, but he still looked like a powerful heir. Harry wore dark brown trousers, a tan button-down shirt with a brown and yellow paisley tie and dark brown day robes. His family crests were on his robes, as he didn't feel comfortable wearing his jewellery.
"Ah, you are teaching him well, Lord Black. May you always have more gold than you need, Heir Potter-Black. Please, be seated gentlemen, we have much to discuss."
"What exactly is this meeting about?" Sirius asked. "I was surprised when we received the summons."
"We have completed the scry using the crystal you used on your scar, and in addition to the three horcruxes we knew about – the one our young heir had, the diary, which was destroyed, and the cup found in the Lestrange vault – there are four more. There is another in the area of Little Hangleton. If your guardian accompanies you, William Weasley, the curse breaker, has requested you come along with this one as well. I understand you're a parseltongue?" Strongblade asked.
I am," Harry answered. "Bill is a good man. Is it okay if we go with him?"
"Yes, we can, but you must listen to Bill and me, understand?" Sirius said and Harry nodded eagerly. "Why do you need someone who speaks parseltongue?"
"The area is full of venomous snakes. We are hoping that Heir Potter-Black can ask them not to bite."
"I can try."
"Oddly, there is another in Great Hangleton, but it is hardest to see. We believe it is another snake, but putting a horcrux into a living creature would be a poor choice. Again, your ability to speak to snakes could be helpful," Strongblade said hesitantly. "We will visit both sites at the same time."
"Okay," Sirius said. "We're getting you some battle gear. I think mine should still fit."
"There is one at Hogwarts and we have already contacted the Headmistress for permission to conduct a search for the item. It appears to be an old wizarding artifact, a tiara with a large sapphire. Do you know where it might be?"
Sirius and Harry looked at one another, unsure. They both shook their heads no.
"Very well, our search should locate it."
"Can we go along?" Harry asked impetuously. Sirius looked annoyed at the request, but Strongblade had a happy laugh.
"Of course, Heir Potter-Black. You may still have a connection of sorts since you housed one and held another. Your insight could be valuable."
"Surprisingly, there is one here in London, on a road called Grimmauld Place. I believe you might know and own the house, Lord Black?" Strongblade again queried and Sirius was gob smacked.
"I believe I do. I have not set foot in the town home that I grew up in, but my parents and brother were devoted followers of Voldemort. It seems he gave the horcruxes to his inner circle, and they would certainly qualify. I will take you and you're welcome to it, along with anything else you consider too dark and would like to destroy. I will pay whatever the fee is."
"Very well, that can be arranged. We have tried and cannot get into the property. We did not want to engage a curse breaker without speaking with you first," Strongblade explained.
"I can let you in," Sirius said reluctantly. "No, do not ask if you can go along. You are not setting foot in that house of horrors until I have stripped the place bare, taken the current house to the studs and floorboards and have made sure the dark magic is gone." Harry didn't say anything, although he felt a very strong urge to do so, because he understood what it was like to have a place you never wanted to be in again. He'd never take Sirius to the Dursleys. That part of his life was over, just like Sirius's was over with that house.
"Excellent," Strongblade said. "I have also sent the letter your requested and the young woman in question has accepted. There is no way that it can be traced to you. Additionally, Headmistress McGonagall and I have spoken, and all students will be charged the same for tuition, unless there are more than one member of a family attending and then the discount policy will apply."
"What is he talking about, Sirius? Who is the young woman?" Harry asked, certain he knew who.
"Hermione was paying nearly twice the tuition someone like my young cousin, Draco, was paying. It was like that with all Muggleborns. Minerva made her first action as Headmistress to institute a uniform tuition policy. As it is, some students will pay less, like Hermione, and many will pay more, like Draco. Because of the travesty that Hermione's parents endured in her tuition for the first three years of her education, I asked Strongblade to pay her final four. He created a "scholarship"," Sirius emphasized with finger quotes, "for her. If she goes looking, she will never know it's me."
"And you're going to keep it secret?" Harry asked impishly.
"Of course," Sirius said with a sly smile. Harry decided he would ask Remus to remove the memory of this discussion so when Sirius inadvertently told her, she wouldn't be upset at Harry too.
"We have also ensured that all parents of Muggleborns know not to give their vault keys to anyone outside of the student's family. The Headmistress is considering asking trustworthy magical families of being magical guardians for certain Muggleborn students to ensure they are not taken advantage of while shopping for their school supplies," Strongblade explained.
"The shopkeepers were stealing from students too?" Harry asked, his voice slightly raised. "What is wrong with these people?"
"Harry, your indignation serves you well. Perhaps by the time you are old enough to take your seat in Wizengamot things will be better. I certainly plan on trying to make them so. This is the first step. I'm taking another by assuming the Black family seat on the Hogwarts Board of Directors," Sirius said. "I plan on working closely with Minerva to improve a few things."
"Wonderful," Harry said with enthusiasm. "Please tell me it's the seat that Malfoy's father has been in."
"It is, and as my heir you will one day sit in it too. Remember, we are meant to be servants as Lords, not the other way around."
"I get that," Harry said thoughtfully. "And I promise I will never say, 'wait until my father hears about this'." Sirius smiled wryly at the boys' comment, knowing it was something young Draco said often.
"Strongblade, if that is all there are a few things we need to pick up before we head out for the Quidditch World Cup?"
"It is," the goblin replied. "We will be in touch regarding when we will head out on our hunt."
"Excellent. May your enemies' quake at the mere mention of your name," Sirius said with the bow of his head.
"And may your wealth increase ten-fold," Strongblade answered. Harry merely bowed his head and father and son headed out of the office, and down to the lobby and out into the Alley.
It was a rare sunny day, and there were no clouds in the sky. Harry would be happy to get home and put on his jeans and a tee shirt, rather than this semi-formal wear. He suspected it would be a warm day. The pool installation had been finished a few weeks ago, and he and Hermione had been enjoying it. They even coaxed Neville into the shallow end a few times, although he'd shared his near drowning experience as a child and the others understood his reluctance.
It was nothing like the hot summers Harry had endured at his former residence. He'd taken to not personalizing the house in Surrey, as it helped give him distance between himself and the people who occupied the house. Dr Phillip had suggested it. Thinking of those summers, where he worked outside at all hours of the day, barely enough water to keep him from being dehydrated were excruciating. He'd then retreat to the small cupboard where the air was still and stifling. Harry shood his head, reminding himself of all he had now; leisurely floating in the water with his friends around was a better way to spend a hot summer day.
"Harry, Harry are you with me?" Sirius asked loudly and Harry was struck from his stupor.
"What?"
"I think I can guess what you're daydreaming about," Sirius said with a chuckle. "Would it be Hermione in that pink bikini she was in yesterday?"
"What? I mean, it's not like that. Hermione did look amazing, but we're fourteen and I… what are you looking at Hermione for? You're more than twice her age!" Harry sputtered.
"Think I touched a nerve," Sirius said suspiciously. "As for Hermione, I was not ogling her, but I was once fourteen myself and if I saw a girl in a swimming costume at that age I would have been daydreaming too. Come on, you need a real trunk before we go away and I need to pick up our tent. Then, we need to go the market."
"I hate going to the market with you," Harry whinged. "You're always interested in horrible, pre-packaged crap that has no nutritive value and isn't on your heart friendly diet. I'll go with Hermione later. I promise."
"Will you bring me home some of those cheese and onion Hula-Hoops?" Sirius asked hopefully, knowing Harry was right; he needed to eat better. However, Muggles did snacks much better than magicals.
"I'll buy some single serve bags, and I will space them out. We can take them with us to the Quidditch World Cup."
"Yeah, good, great," Sirius said, wishing he'd get a big bag. Nothing like eating a bag while watching the stars and drinking a fine Firewhisky with his fiancée.
They turned into Magical Mercantile, which specialized in trunks, drawers, and small magical structures. "For your first Christmas, I bought you a play castle from here. It was great, with a touch of my wand it opened into a three-room structure with a slide. Another touch and it folded down into a small packet."
"Magic is so cool," Harry said, looking around at the tents, play structures and forts for children. There were times he wished he'd had a magical upbringing, and looking at these things became one of them.
"Harry, over here. Let's get your trunk picked out and then he can paint it how you'd like," Sirius called him to an area close to the rear of the store. "What do you think, three compartments and two room or three rooms?"
"Rooms, what do you mean rooms?" Harry asked. "My trunk now has like one compartment and a little tray in it."
"Harry, you're using an improper trunk, and it ends now. You should have a study and a room to train in. I know your healer thinks you still need to bulk up the muscles. I also don't think it would be a bad idea to have a bedroom as well. From what you and Neville have said, your dorm room is rather noisy at night."
"Well, okay Ron's snoring and Seamus's mumblings can wake me up, but really a bedroom in my trunk?" Harry looked at his dad incredulously.
"Look, as you come closer to your OWL and then NEWT exams, privacy will be important. Plus, some day you might meet a girl you want to be alone with, it's better than a broom closet. Your father's trunk had one, and once he and your mum were together, the rest of us gents were ever so happy. We just needed to worry about Lily coming out in the morning."
"Gross, I don't want to think about my parents getting their groove on! Did you have a bedroom in your trunk?"
"Sadly, no I did not. I had a trunk with three rooms, but my parents took it away and gave it to my brother. Uncle Alphard gave me his old one for the remainder of my school years. Believe me, privacy to study – and deal with our other project – will be appreciated in the years to come."
"Er, I guess whatever you say then," Harry acquiesced.
"Excellent, three compartments and three rooms. Oh, and make sure there is food storage available, with a chill compartment please. Thanks," Sirius dictated, and the clerk looked thrilled. "Gryffindor colours?"
"Yeah, sounds great," Harry said, still a bit overwhelmed by his godfather's choices. The clerk waved his wand and the trunk turned a tasteful deep red with the Gryffindor crest on the top and then Potter-Black on the end. Harry put his wand to the crest when asked, and the trunk accepted his magical signature. He would be the only person who could open it now.
"Much better security. You can choose to key in anyone you want, but I'd keep the circle small," Sirius said. "I'll pay for this now and we have a tent to pick up under the name of Black."
The clerk shrunk the trunk and placed it in a lovely cloth sack and then returned with another, which had the tent inside. Sirius used his wand to direct funds from his vault to pay for both.