Chapter 2: The Obligatory Gringotts Trip

Dinner with the group slowly came to an end. During the dinner, Harry thought he had been asked more questions than he had ever been. For some strange reason, the adults, particularly Remus Lupin, Sirus Black, and Lily Potter, seemed keen to discover every aspect of his life.

Now, the issue was Harry wasn't a very good liar. He was really a blunt instrument, and he liked it that way. Still, maybe he should have paid more attention when Hermonie had given him advice on how to interact better with other people.

"Harry?" Lily asked softly, looking at him with a fragile look, "Do you have a place to stay for the night?"

For some reason, Harry got the strange impression that Lily wanted him to say no, though he decided that couldn't be right.

"Sure do," Harry nodded cheerfully, stretching his back out on the chair where he had hung his twin-tailed ruby red coat embroidered with gold thread. I have an excellent tent." It really was. It had been very expensive, but it made traveling far easier.

Wait.

"Oh, wait," Harry said to himself, not having seen Lily's crestfallen expression, "I think that got blown up."

"Blown up?" Celene cocked her blonde head, and Harry suddenly had the strangest urge to pat her on the head, her confused expression reminding him of a dog.

Harry chuckled; he knew they would love this story, "Well, the thing is, I was out in Romania just having a bit of a campout," he stopped himself luckily before he mentioned that this was because Romania had specifically banned him from entering the country and didn't want him there, he gave himself a mental pat on the back for keeping his secrets so well, "Anyway there was this Vampire Lord, and he was being a right pain for the locals so I decided to give them a hand. The thing is, Vampires that are as old as him are very physically tough, so things like garlic and stakes don't work on them; you need something bigger." he was getting into his element now, a happy smile on his face as he gazed into the distance recalling the fond memory, "So I tricked him by allowing him to cross the threshold of my tent and then apparated out. I had done a bit of rune work to lock down the tent, and you obviously know vampires can't teleport as wizards do, so there was no way he was getting out of that tent. Anyways, I triggered the second runic cluster and sat back to enjoy the explosion."

He grinned around at the table, only to be confused by the horrified expressions of the people looking at him.

Sirus was the first person to speak, looking at Harry with a ghostly pale expression, "You purposely hunted a Vampire Lord?"

"Uh yeah?" Harry cocked his head at the man, confused, "Man's got to eat, right?"

Harry also noted that Rose had grabbed his hand in a vice-like grip.

Lily looked at him, her hand covering her mouth, before she whispered out, "Did Lord Peverell make you do these things?"

Harry cocked his brow, confused, "Uh, no, but I guess I wouldn't say he was against them," he had decided to interpret any questions about Lord Peverell as relating to his relationship with Death, so he didn't give anything away.

Lily's eyes looked incredibly watery, and then she sharply stood up. "I'm sorry. Give me a moment," she said, and then she exited the room.

Harry looked after her, confused. Was it something he said? His stomach twisted slightly; he didn't like that expression on her face whatsoever.

Rose stood up and said, "Well, I think Mum was offering you a place to stay, so considering you don't have one, you should come along, brother." Her face was firm, and she looked at Harry with the face Harry usually saw on people who were mustering themselves after an attack of Dark Wizards.

"Uh, thanks?" Harry was a little confused, "That's not necessary, though; I'm sure I can find somewhere."

It was impolite to impose on people; he had learned that lesson firmly from the Dursleys, and so far, that hadn't been proven wrong like some of their other lessons.

Rose's arm latched onto his and pulled, heaving him to his feet in a single motion, showing a surprising amount of strength.

"Thanks for having us," Rose said, giving the rest of the room a smile, before she pulled Harry along to the entryway. Harry followed along, reaching out an empty hand to summon his coat to him, and they exited the room.

"Have you apparated before?" Rose asked him.

Harry nodded, still a little confused.

Rose grabbed him, and then they twisted.

In the next instant, they appeared on the pathway leading up to a massive manor.

Harry instantly felt the wards wash over him before he felt them acknowledge him as family. In fact, Harry noted that this magic felt exactly the same as his own. He supposed that this must be the remnant from the other magic the him who had died used in saving his sister's life. Dumbledore had likely used it to set up the blood protection for his family.

He walked with his sister to the manor, walking up to the home's large front door, which Rose led him through.

She led him up the stairs and directed him to a bedroom, "You can sleep here, Harry. It's next to my room," she said quietly, looking down for a moment.

Then her shoulders firmed up, and she looked directly at Harry, "I know we've just met, but you can trust us, Harry; as your twin sister, I'll never let anything else happen to you. Mum and I will take care of you now."

Harry was impressed by the firm resolve in the girl's voice as her emerald eyes gazed into his own.

"Okay," Harry said, confused as to why she felt the need to say something like that but appreciating it nonetheless. Not many people would go out of their way to take care of him.

Rose nodded firmly, though Harry noted that her cheeks had flushed a deep red.

She continued standing there for a moment before she looked down and then, in a soft whisper, "Can I hug you, Harry?"

Harry was confused, "Isn't hugging done between people who are close? Does this mean you want to be close to me?" he tried to clarify; Hermonie had always said it was good to ask for clarification.

Rose nodded again, staring at the floor before she looked up at him, "You're my brother, Harry; I'd like to be close to you."

A gentle warmth ran through Harry, confusing him further, and not really knowing why, he nodded and held out his arms awkwardly.

Rose leaned forward, clenching him tightly between her arms. Not too tight but firmly holding him against her. Harry noted the two mounds of softness pressing into his upper abdomen.

Rose held him like that for a while. Longer than Harry had seen hugs take place before.

He noted vaguely that something wet and hot was soaking into his shirt, which was open to the air as his coat was not closed. Strangely enough, he felt a bit bad about the shirt; it was still rather dusty from his earlier activities, and for some strange reason, he didn't want to get the dust on Rose's face.

Harry woke up with a start, his wand snapping from his bedside table to his hand as he surveyed the room he had found himself in. Kidnapping? No, that would have triggered his personal ward, which he kept on himself when he slept, and that ward was still there, untriggered.

Had he downed too much of that bottle of fire whiskey Slughorn had sent him?

No, he checked his system with a quick spell, and he didn't seem to be suffering from any lingering intoxication. It was just as well. He didn't need to cause another international incident. Though Hermonie liked the Nundu pelt he had gotten for her,

However, that didn't explain the strange sensation he felt on his right side.

He looked to his right and saw a beautiful red-haired girl pressed against him, gently holding him around the waist as she breathed in and out.

His Occlumency asserted itself, and the previous day's events came back to him. He was in another world and had met his family for the first time. He had actually been asked by his sister to stay with the Potter family at their house. His sister, who had then proceeded to give him a hug for so long she had fallen asleep.

Normally, Harry would have attempted to awaken her, but something had stopped him.

Harry looked at the peaceful face thoughtfully. He didn't think he had ever been close to someone for so long. He and Ginny Weasley had gone on some awkward dates at her insistence, but he had never let her touch him like this.

He really didn't let anyone touch him like this.

It was odd; shouldn't this feel more uncomfortable?

He stared at Rose for a long time, thoughtfully trying to determine the feeling in his chest. Maybe he really had been poisoned? Or perhaps a potion? Even if his spells were coming back clean, he could still be missing something.

Then Rose stirred, and Harry's heart clenched uncomfortably as she yawned, tightening her grip around him, and blinked open the same eyes that he had. Their eyes met, and then she yelped, attempting to scramble back, but she had so tightly woven her body around his she didn't make much progress, sort of doing an odd flop.

"Harry?" Rose slowed her struggles and murmured his name softly.

"Yes?" Harry cocked his head at her.

He was unprepared for the squeal as Rose suddenly tightened her grip around him, burying her face in his chest, "I have a brother," he heard rather muffled words coming from his best before she looked up.

They were now almost nose to nose; Rose blinked before she turned bright red and then shot backward, rolling off the bed.

Quickly, Harry raised a hand, catching her body before she could tumble onto the floor with his magic.

He stood up and gently righted her before she was on her own two feet.

"Uh, are you alright, Rose?" Harry asked.

Rose nodded mutely, now firmly settled on the floor.

"Brilliant," Harry nodded agreeably, "Is there somewhere I can shower?" he asked conversationally, "Charms while traveling are great and all, but it's nice to use water when I can."

"You can shower in this room's bathroom," Rose replied softly before she blinked, seemingly remembering something, "I should make breakfast. Come down when you're ready, Harry."

She turned hurriedly and nearly sprinted out of the room.

Harry took a quick shower, enjoying the warm water for what it was, and then cleaned his teeth. Then he cleaned his clothes and dressed again, putting away his jacket, now leaving him in his white shirt, trousers, and dragonhide boots.

He walked down the stairs, where he heard the clattering of pots and pans. He followed them until he found a kitchen in chaos. Pots and Pans swerved around the room as food prepared itself at lightning speed.

Rose was in the middle of the room, waving her wand about, directing the chaos.

Not wanting to get in the way, Harry stood off to the side. His ears caught the faint sound of footsteps coming down the stairs and then down the hallway.

Out of the hallway leading to the kitchen appeared Lily Potter with red-rimmed eyes and looking rather exhausted, "Good morning, Rose," she said softly.

Rose turned to her, other, a happy smile on her face before it instantly turned into a frown. "Mum? Is something wrong?"

"Just a bad dream, dear," Lily said softly, settling herself at the table, seemingly not having noticed Harry, "Dear, why are there three plates?" Lily asked, confused.

Rose cocked her head at her mom, "Harry needs to eat as well, Mom?" she said.

Lily's eyes widened, and then, seemingly, she noticed Harry standing off to the side. Harry had a second to brace himself before a red-headed missile slammed into his side.

Harry didn't need the hot wet spots in his shirt to tell him Lily was crying, her entire body shaking, "You're real, you're real-" Lily was repeating like a broken record, tightly grasping him as to affirm herself of the current reality.

Harry reflexively wrapped his own arms around Lily. This was all quite a lot. He reflected that part of the issue might be that Lily and Rose weren't really his family. No matter what the blood tests said. He was Harry Potter, yes, but not really their Harry Potter.

Harry Potter had no family.

Hermonie would have called that a sad thought in one of their talks, but Harry didn't really see why. It was practical; in a way, it was actually a bit relieving. He had seen the Dursley family unit and was firmly of the opinion of 'anything but that.'

Except as he stood here in the kitchen, this felt like the furthest thing from the Dursley family.

He took a bite of sausage and closed his eyes in enjoyment.

Yes, the first part of a productive day was a good breakfast. If there was one thing Harry had learned from his childhood, it was that it was hard to focus and do things when one was Hungry. Though not quite as useful as knowing it took Uncle Vernon twenty seconds to heave himself up from his chair.

Consciously, he tried to ignore the eyes of his sister and mother, which seemed to be locked onto him to a rather uncomfortable extent.

"So," he cleared his throat, "What exactly was the plan for today?"

Nice and simple. Find out what they were doing and then tell him his own plans. Death had said through him that he was headed to Gringotts to confirm his own lordship, which he took as a hint that he should go and do so.

Lily and Rose looked at him, their eyes wide, seemingly caught off guard before Lily spoke hesitantly, "We still need to handle Rose's school shopping, so we should head to Diagon Alley. Were you going to attend Hogwarts, Harry?"

Damn. He had almost forgotten he would have to do some education all over again. It wasn't that he didn't like learning, but he wondered if any of the content at Hogwarts would really be all that challenging. He somehow doubted Dumbledore would be overly happy if he started having to make his own fun.

"I assume I should," Harry said, "I know a decent amount of magic, but I'll need the actual records for my OWLs and NEWTs."

Which was a little bit of a lie. He assumed he could probably just take the ministry test and be done with it, but for some reason, looking at Lily's expression, he found it difficult to tell her no.

Rose spoke up, "I should think you know more than a decent amount. Mum threw lightning at you, and you deflected it without any difficulty."

Lily's eyes widened, and her cheeks blushed a fierce red, "I suppose I did," she said softly, "I can't believe I almost hurt you, Harry…"

Rose glanced at her mom and winced, "I mean, I also threw fire at him, too, Mum. I don't think either of us made a good impression," she said, looking down.

Harry noted the strange melancholic look around both women and was at a loss for what to say. He didn't take it personally in the slightest. In fact, he found the impromptu fight rather fun.

"It really is all right," Harry said, "I understand that meeting me must have been quite a shock."

This seemed to cheer the two women up, and they raised their heads, both giving him a warm smile that made Harry's chest feel strange. It kind of reminded him of the feeling he felt around Fleur, well until she died, that was.

"Well then, I think we should head off," said Lily, who stood up abruptly, swishing her wand and sending dishes flying away into the sink to be cleaned.

They arrived in Diagon Alley with a crack, stepping into the main with little trouble. Harry noticed they attracted a bit of attention, specifically at Rose, who seemed to shrink a bit as the crowd looked at her.

Harry's ears caught faint murmurings of the 'The Girl Who Lived.'

Despite himself, Harry found that he didn't like the small, sad expression on Rose's face as she walked her head down at the attention.

For a couple of long moments, he tried to figure out what to do but then remembered that he had read somewhere that people like physical contact to comfort themselves when they are upset.

He reached out a hand and gently took Rose's, who startled before she turned to him, her cheeks slightly red. Then she firmed up her own grip on his hand, pulling herself closer to his side, almost to the point she was pressed against him.

They made their way through Diagon Alley, walking to Gringotts Bank. As they walked up the stairs through the doors, Harry gave the Goblins a jovial wave.

The Goblins glared black with murder in their eyes, which must mean they were in a good mood as well.

Together, they walked up to the first teller, who gazed at him coldly, "Name Wizard."

"Actually," Harry said, "I need to do an inheritance test, if that's all right before I open up my vault."

The Golbin sneered at him but then held out a needle, which Harry pricked himself on with his free hand. Lily stood off to the side, looking on thoughtfully.

The Goblin pressed the needle into a book, where all of Harry's blood was absorbed, and then the Goblin showed him the clean needle to prove that no blood had been kept.

The Goblin looked at the parchment, "Hadrian Peverell, son of Lily Potter and James Potter, currently in line to be the head of the Peverell family and the second heir to the Potter family," he said slowly and then looked back up, eyeing Harry, who gave no reaction. He had expected as much as he had inherited the Peverell title back in his own world after he had united the Hallows and been the actual descendent of Ignotus Peverell. Unfortunately, in that world, there was no actual vault, as it had been rolled into the Potter Vault, which Harry presumed had happened here as well.

"You currently do not have a vault with us, Mr. Peverell," said the Goblin, "How much would you like to deposit?"

Harry held up a finger, singling to wait one moment before he reached into his own bag with his free hand and wandlessly summoned from the bottomless bag one of his bounty payments for taking down a cult of dark wizards who seemed to believe they could turn themselves into demons.

As it turned out, they could not, but it hadn't stopped the blood sacrifice.

He handed the hefty bag to the goblin, who took it and weighed it on the scale.

"A small fortune you have there, Mr. Peverell; this seems to be twenty thousand galleons on the mark."

He saw Lily stiffen in surprise and felt Rose clench a little tighter on his arm.

"Yeah," Harry waved his hand casually, "Just put it all in the vault."

The Goblin nodded, "Will that be all, Mr. Peverell?"

"Yes," Harry said. He didn't really intend to use a vault at Gringotts for much. He had spent too long away from any of the Gringotts branches to deposit all his money in the bank, but at least in his world, having an account opened up the option to use a number of Gringotts services like ward breaking, which he thought could be useful in the future.

He turned to Lily, "That'll be everything for me here."

Lily nodded, still looking rather surprised, and together, they all turned and exited the bank, walking for a short distance before Lily asked, "How do you have twenty thousand galleons, Harry?"

Actually, Harry had far more than twenty thousand galleons. Dark Wizard Hunting was lucrative, not just from the bounties, but often enough, the Dark Wizards held onto their own money at their bases. That plus, Harry didn't care all that much about buying things besides more tools in his hunt for dark wizards. In his original world, he didn't even have a house.

"Various Bounties on Dark Wizards and otherwise," Harry shrugged lightly.

Lily looked down, and for some reason, Harry got the impression that this somewhat upset her, though he didn't really know why.

"You don't need to do that anymore," she said, looking at Harry seriously.

Harry frowned, blowing some of his hair out of his face, 'Have to?' he liked being a Hitwizard. Yet this whole thing seemed to upset Lily.

Together, he walked with Lily and Rose to Madam Malkins. As Harry stepped into the shop, he was hit by a wave of familiarity, and he looked about with a small smile. This did remind him of his world.

Lily and Madam Malkin shared a quick exchange, and one of the assistants came over to fit Harry into his Hogwarts robes.

Stepping onto one of the stools, he shrugged off his red coat, letting the assistant grab it without protest. It wasn't like they were going to steal anything from it. The runes and enchantments on that coat wouldn't let anyone steal from him.

The assistant fiddled around his waist, and he noticed absently that her face blushed a little red as she measured about him.

Hogwarts robes were not his favorite garment, honestly. They weren't easy to engrave protective enchantments into, and he found that when he had worn them during school, they would often get destroyed from excess magic.

Still, needs must. He made no protests as the assistant expertly measured him for his robes and then completed the adjustments with her wand.

Eventually, the adjustments came to an end, and Harry had his robes. He swore to himself he would only wear them when necessary, as his coat was simply too sweet not to wear for the maximum possible amount of time.

He had also gotten dress robes, which Lily said was necessary this year, which clued Harry into the likelihood of there also being a Triwizard tournament in this world.

They walked out of the shop and continued the necessary shopping for Hogwarts. Harry took the opportunity to shunt the majority of his shopping into his bag so he didn't need to carry it, and he had also done so for Rose.

It was as they were wrapping up their shopping in Flourish and Blotts going through their books that someone tapped Harry on the shoulder. Harry had, of course, felt the person's approach, but considering they weren't building up any magic, he assumed their intentions were peaceful.

"Excuse me?" came a soft voice, and Harry turned to see a somewhat familiar blonde-haired girl with cold blue eyes, "Do you know where I can find Intermediate transfiguration?"

Harry hummed and then raised his hand to a nearby shelf. A book shot into it, which he held out to the girl.

"Here you go," he responded cheerfully.

One of the advantages of Occlumency, which he routinely took advantage of, was memorizing the space around him. He had simply already known where the book was.

The girl blinked at him in surprise, looking between the shelf and his hand.

"How did you do that?" she asked softly.

Harry cocked his head, confused at the girl, "I saw the title earlier and thought I would save you the trouble."

"I mean," the girl shook her head, "You didn't use your wand. I thought only really powerful wizards could use wandless magic. You're a fourth-year like me, right?"

"I suppose I will be," Harry nodded agreeably. I'll be heading to Hogwarts this year. I suppose you could say I was more privately educated until now."

"Harry, where are you? " a voice cut off. Harry turned to see Rose, turned the corner of the aisle, and was now staring at the girl in front of him.

"Greengrass," Rose said cooly.

"Potter," replied the girl, who was apparently Greengrass as they faced off against each other, "I heard your mother and you were attacked in the alley yesterday; I'm glad to see you're okay."

"That's nice of you," Rose said, still just as cool, before she walked up, grabbed Harry's arm, and submerged it in her chest; she looked at Harry, "Mum has gotten the rest of the books so that we can leave."

Harry nodded agreeably before he remembered his manners and looked at the Greengrass girl, "Nice to meet you, I suppose."

He didn't have more time to talk as Rose aggressively pulled him down the aisle and out of the shop.

There was Lily, holding a bag of books, and she greeted them with a warm smile, "I see you found him, Rose," she said.

Rose pursed her lips before she seemingly shook herself out of whatever thoughts were going through her mind. "Greengrass was there; she practically threw herself at him."

Harry didn't recall any bodies being thrown but didn't comment as he gently grasped Lily's bag of books and slid it away into his own bag.

Lily sighed, giving Rose an exasperated but fond look, "I really don't know what your issue with her is, Rose."

Rose groaned, "She's a pain, and she has all these boys that chase her because of her 'Ice Queen' thing, but at the same time, she acts completely above it all. She's exhausting."

Lily ruffled Rose's hair with a small smile on her face. "Or maybe she's just oblivious. You shouldn't judge people if you don't know them. Now, come along; I think I saw Celene a little up the alley at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour.

Rose's face brightened, and she grabbed Harry, pulling him along rapidly.

They quickly walked up the alley and indeed spotted the blonde-haired girl through a window in the shop.

They walked in, and Harry noted that Celene's brow was furrowed, and she was toying with her blonde hair seriously as she stared up at the menu.

"Celene!" called Rose. Celene looked up, and a lazy smile broke across her face as she turned around.

"Hey there," she lazily waved, "Didn't know you guys would be here. Mum's looking at robes so I came here."

"Still on your mission to try every flavor?" Rose asked knowingly.

Celene smiled lazily, "It's a difficult mission, but perfect for someone like me."

The girls giggled, and Harry looked at the flavors listed cocking his head with interest. Florean Fortescue had been kind to him in his previous world before he was murdered.

"I'll treat us all," Lily said, gently stepping up to the counter.

Ice cream was quickly ordered, and Harry got his typical chocolate and raspberry with chopped nuts. It was the flavor he had gotten on his very first shopping trip with Hagrid.

He didn't really know why it was a favorite, but he thought it was something more than the taste.

Rose and Celene giggled and chatted with each other at the table, leaving Harry to talk to Lily.

"How do you like Diagon Alley?" Lily asked, looking at Harry with a soft smile, but her eyes seemed to be desperately consuming him as if they were afraid he would disappear in the next instant.

Harry admittedly hadn't been in Diagon Alley for quite some time, so he tried to construct a solid opinion.

"It's peaceful," he said.

Indeed, wizards and Witches flowed up the alley, seemingly unheeding of much except the next thing they wished to purchase. It itched at a part of him. If Grindelwald was at large, he wondered why they felt so safe. Perhaps Grindelwald avoided Britain like he had done in Harry's previous world because of Dumbledore.

Dumbledore. He disappeared just as soon as he came in yesterday when Harry was taken into custody by the Aurors.

It might be worth having a conversation with the man, Harry reflected. Perhaps any information he was missing could be revealed by him. Though perhaps he didn't have to search for the man, he could feel his magic had appeared a little while ago up the street.

It was a little too convenient, but Harry had long accepted that Dumbledore often knew things he should have no way of knowing. After all, Dumbledore somehow knew about his appearance the day before. He couldn't even necessarily blame the man. While Lily, Rose, and their friends seemed content with his appearance, Dumbledore had studied too much magic not to be wary of unexplained magic wielders appearing.

Through the door of the parlor walked Dumbledore, and his and Harry's eyes locked.

The man walked up to the table calmly, and the conversation died down when the rest of Harry's companions noticed him.

Idly, Harry noted the hostile expression on Lily's face as she saw the man, even though, in the next instant, she schooled her face into a passive expression.

"Mr. Potter, or is it perhaps Peverell? I'm sorry to interrupt, but if I could, I would like a moment of your time."

Harry noted Lily looked even more upset now, "What do you need from my son, Dumbledore?" she asked coldly.

Dumbledore's eyes flickered, looking slightly sad, but he continued on nonetheless, "This morning, as I checked the Hogwarts enrollment lists, I noticed that young Harry's name had been added as a potential candidate. As headmaster, I decided it would be remiss of me not to have a chat with him considering the circumstances."

Dumbledore held out a letter that had Harry's name on it.

Mr. H. Peverall,

Unknown Home

Lily looked even more upset, but Harry figured it wouldn't be bad to have a chat with Dumbledore.

He stood up and nodded at the older man, "Wherever works for you, Professor Dumbledore," he said politely.

Lily looked at Harry, who replied with a small smile. Then, he and Dumbledore walked away a short distance to another table.

Harry felt the magic swirl around them, creating a number of privacy protections around their table.

Dumbledore looked at him seriously, "So Harry, I must ask at least to satisfy my own curiosity; where have you been all this time."

Harry felt the cold touch of Death once again flow through him as he spoke, not of his own volition, "Lord Peverell had us living at a mansion under the fidelius charm. He thought that it was for the best to have his heir trained to the utmost so that when I was needed, I would be ready."

Dumbledore cocked an eyebrow, "Needed?"

"There is a certain prophecy about my sister after all," Death said through Harry. "Lord Peverell prepared me to preserve our family."

'Oi,' thought Harry, a little annoyed, 'that's all very grim, isn't it? Also, there's a prophecy here as well?'

Dumbledore looked thunderstruck at Harry's words, and his face crumpled slightly, "Are you saying that you were prepared as some sort of weapon?" he asked, his words hesitant as if he did not truly wish to know the answer.

'Oh Death, don't you dare…' Harry thought, trying to shut his mouth preemptively.

Still, Death spoke regardless, "I'm to be my family's weapon; I have long acknowledged my purpose."

Dumbledore looked like he had been punched in the gut, and not just any punch; it looked like one of Harry's special punches he had inflicted on wizards where he punched them so hard he touched their spine.

'Thanks, Death,' Harry thought sarcastically, 'Now he's going to think I'm some crazed man ready to deal violence at a moment's notice.'

In return, Harry felt a rather dry feeling directed toward him.

'I'll give you maybe a little violent, but I'm not crazy,' Harry thought petulantly.

"I see," Dumbledore said softly, then something seemed to brighten him up, "You said your family's weapon, so you wish to protect them?"

This time, Death does not speak for Harry, leaving him somewhat in a lurch.

Still, something else in Harry that he couldn't quite identify said his next words, "I'm here specifically for my family. I assure you that while I'm around they will be completely protected."

It was a big promise, and Harry wasn't quite sure why he said it, but something about saying those words felt right.

Dumbledore seemed to relax a little bit, and a small smile emerged on his face. Harry was uncomfortably reminded of his own Dumbledore's expression when he had talked about 'the power of love.'

"A power the dark lord knows not indeed," Dumbledore muttered under his breath so quietly it was only the ritual enhancements to Harry's body that allowed him to hear those words.

"Well, Harry," Dumbledore said, "You've given me much to think about, but I'm glad to see that you're so dedicated to your family despite having just me them. I assume you have some other things you need to do today other than to humor old men like me, so I'll be off."

Dumbledore stood up and smiled softly at Harry, then walked away.

For some reason, Harry got the impression that Dumbledore was distinctly pleased by their conversation, though he couldn't imagine why.

He supposed that even in another world, he still wouldn't be able to understand Dumbledore.