Disclaimer: I am not, nor do I claim to be, affiliated with J. K. Rowling, nor do I claim to own any of her characters or the Harry Potter intellectual property.
Chapter 2 - Gold, Magic and Lore
Only when the last piece of unsorted inherited knowledge left the main study did Harry realise that he was sitting at the desk. So consumed was his mind with sorting the mess.
Harry didn't have time to contemplate as his eyes shot open due to a loud noise that brought him out of his mind again. It was a car going by him.
It would seem it was already morning and that Harry had been sitting here for the past five hours. Harry stood up and stretched his stiff muscles and thought about what had just happened.
He knew what Occlumency was now, how to practise it, what advantages it gave him. It was knowledge he gained during the ritual, but he didn't truly absorb it until he read the scroll in his mental library. A library he supposed didn't really exist until he learned Occlumency. And the same was true for most of the knowledge he gained that night. He had access to it now, but he didn't know it until he took it in and made the knowledge his own.
"I suppose that's a good thing really."
There was no answer. Scribe was gone. Harry knew that some of Scribe's personality was now a part of his own, but he had gotten used to speaking to Scribe over the last month. Regardless, some of his tendencies carried over. Most notably the thief's love of knowledge.
Harry sat there on the sidewalk for the rest of the morning, familiarising himself with some of his new memories. Scribe knew a lot of history, mostly about Wizarding Britain and its predecessors. What Harry's been using up until now was mostly celtic with some norse magic. The modern wizarding world has mostly forgotten those. Sure ancient runes exist as a subject of study, but the specific runic rituals are mostly lost.
It was then that he was taken out of his musings by a loud voice calling out to him.
"Harry? Oh, you must be Harry! It's been nearly a decade since I dropped you off with Professor Dumbledore."
When Harry turned to see the giant man his memory was jolted as the relevant information set itself at the forefront of his mind. Rubeus Hagrid - slow, gullible, half giant, a perfect scapegoat… gamekeeper at Hogwarts, and more relevant to Harry the man who brought him here to Privet drive on the night of his parents death. Then again he did it under the instructions of Albus Dumbledore so Harry wouldn't judge Hagrid just yet.
"Sorry, are you one of the professors at Hogwarts?" Harry said, feigning ignorance.
"Well, no. I'm just the gamekeeper. Name's Rubeus Hagrid, but you can just call me Hagrid. Hope you don't mind Professor Dumbledore sending me."
Harry quietly thought it was pretty advantageous to him that the elder wizard didn't show up himself.
"Not particularly, no. So where are we going?"
"Diagon Alley. That's in London, we'll have to take the bus to get there."
"Like a normal bus?"
"Ah well, yes. I can't really call the Knight Bus. Don't have a wand you see."
"Alright, let us go then, we have a lot to do."
=O=O=O=
The busride was fairly uneventful. Except for Hagrid taking up two seats and pulling attention to himself by simply existing, though nobody really dwelled on it. Harry couldn't help but wonder whether Hagrid had some magical means of keeping the attention away, similar to Harry's amulets.
When they arrived at the Leaky Cauldron a few pieces of knowledge procured themselves within his mental library. Harry mentally set them on his desk and thought to himself to read them properly later.
When Hagrid used his pink umbrella to open the brick wall to Diagon Alley the same happened but multiplied many times over. The sheer amount of different magic applied to the place over centuries of its existence each prompted a scroll or a book to make its way to the forefront of Harry's mind. Eventually Harry simply sent most of them to the side to be sorted later.
"Welcome to Diagon Alley, Harry."
"It's a truly magical place, Hagrid. Where to first?"
"The Gringotts Wizarding Bank of course, you'll need to pay for the books and stuff somehow."
Harry grinned when a thick tome made its way to the forefront of his mind, ready to be perused. Its title was The Gringotts Wizarding Bank and a Brief History of the Goblin Nation.
"I'm sure the goblins are going to be most helpful."
Hagrid grimaced at that.
"I don't know about that. I wouldn't mess with the goblins if I were you. Gringotts is the safest place in the world for anything you want to keep safe - except maybe Hogwarts."
Harry was almost certain that this warning was something rehearsed. A little tidbit planted by Albus Dumbledore to make sure Harry wouldn't poke around too much while there. Something in the way he said it just tugged at Harry's magic the wrong way.
Of course, Harry was currently splitting his attention between walking and perusing the tome in his mental library. It wasn't the most efficient way to absorb the information, but he would return to it some time later. For now there were a few key points he needed to figure out before confronting the Gringotts bank teller.
The first of those points was a key. The literal golden key that would let him access his vault. He was near certain Hagrid had it on him (otherwise what was the point of taking him to the bank), but those were only issued to personal vaults. What he would really like was the Potter family vault. Or more exactly the Potter lordship ring needed to access it.
In reality he didn't actually need to visit his ancestral vault, however accessing it required the ring and acquiring the ring was a form of magical emancipation. That was his true goal in this. Freeing himself from the Dursleys before any meddling old men could intervene.
As Harry climbed the marble stairs of the bank he finally locked down the knowledge he would need, with a last minute addition of Goblin etiquette.
"Ughrm, mister Potter would like to access his vault."
"And does mister Potter have his key?"
"Oh, of course… I'm sure I have it, somewhere around, AHA!"
As soon as the key clacked against the teller's desk, Harry spoke up for the first time since entering.
"Thank you Hagrid, I can take it from here. Warlock Potter greets this Warrior of The Nation. May the blood of your enemies pool at your feet and your weapons stay ever sharp."
Hagrid stood there in shocked silence. He had other business with Gringots at the behest of Albus Dumbledore and strict orders to not let Harry out of his sight. However the way the teller grinned and motioned for Hagrid to leave was a problem. To say that the goblin's smile was intimidating would be an understatement, but that wasn't what stopped Hagrid. They stood inside Gringotts, on the land of the Goblin Nation and he really didn't have much say here.
"You may leave mister Hagrid. This Warrior of The Nation greets Warlock Potter. May your magic never wane and your vaults fill with gold. My name is Lurgott and you may address me as such. I must say Warlock Potter, it is refreshing for a wizard to follow our customs for once. How may I help you today, Warlock?"
"I will need to access my vault as previously stated, Lurgott. However, that isn't the main focus of my visit. In accordance with the procedure, since I've attained my first majority today, I've come to claim what is rightfully mine."
"As is your right, Warlock Potter. If you would follow me."
"One second please. I may be a while Hagrid, hope you don't mind waiting?"
Hagrid, who despite being dismissed by the goblin only took a step back, was roused from his confusion. Dumbledore said not to let Harry out of his sight so that no bad people got to him, but surely he would be safe with the goblins? Hagrid needed to take the thing from vault 713 today.
He was so concerned with fulfilling what Dumbledore wanted him to that he didn't even think about how Harry knew how to speak with goblins or what it was that he wanted from them. After all Hagrid needed to keep Harry safe and Gringotts was the safest place in the world for anything you wanted to keep safe - except maybe Hogwarts.
"O-oh, of course not. I… I have some other business here at the bank anyway, just don't leave without me if you finish first."
And with that the half giant turned around and walked to another teller. Albus Dumbledore would later lament just how much his meddling backfired that day. Though it would be a while before he would figure that out.
A few moments later Harry walked through the grand marble halls of Gringotts, following behind Lurgott. Their destination was a finely carved wooden door with a gold plaque that read "Potter account manager" with a second plaque right below it left blank.
They stopped in front of the door just long enough for Lurgott to tap his very sharp nail against the blank plaque. When he stepped back to open the door, Harry could see that the plaque now read "Lurgott".
"I would like to thank you, Warlock Potter. Provided you are who you say you are, you've just earned me a promotion."
Harry chuckled as he stepped through the door. He wondered how uncle Vernon would react to this kind of self promotion.
As the door closed, Lurgott sat behind the large wooden desk covered in stacks of parchment, reminiscent of Harry's desk in his own mental study. Once seated Lurgott opened one of the many drawers and took out an ornate wooden box, setting it in front of Harry.
"It's been a while since the last Lord Potter wore it. Fleamont Charlus Potter possessed a great business acumen. Of course, your father, James Henry Potter, never claimed his lordship due to his untimely death."
Harry's mind was scrambling to claim any last piece of information that could be relevant before he put on the ring. Unfortunately The Gringotts Wizarding Bank and a Brief History of the Goblin Nation only mentioned that the specific effects and trials of these rings were each unique to its family. With the example given being the Black lordship ring being riddled with a bunch of nasty curses, the specifics of which Harry didn't bother with at that moment.
"Anything I should know before I put it on?"
"Nothing much. That is, if you truly are Harry James Potter."
Harry briefly considered whether he was. After all, around two percent of his soul was Scribe. But at this point he could only hope that it wouldn't matter.
"Alright, here we go then…"
Harry opened the box to reveal the ring. It was an intricate gold signet ring, with its most prominent feature being the intricate indent of a gryphon carved into the central ruby, serving as the Potter family seal. With little further hesitation Harry put the ring on his right pinky finger.
For a brief moment he could feel the ring's magic spreading from his right hand, permeating his entire being. A second later his own magic responded, almost involuntarily. It was quite different from any other time he felt his magic before, but when the moment concluded it just felt… right. He could feel the warm embrace of the magic of his ancestors making it known that a new Lord Potter has claimed his mantle.
"Congratulations, Lord Potter. I had no doubts you would succeed. The scar on your forehead might have faded some, but it's still a mark of your victory over the Dark Lord that murdered your parents."
Harry couldn't help but wince internally at the reminder of his parent's murder, but he reminded himself that it was simply goblin culture to have no qualms about the feelings of wizards. In fact the comment could easily have been a compliment of sorts.
"Quite. I am afraid that I have little time to discuss my family account right now, since I have Hagrid with me today to help me buy my school supplies. Though I will return later today to remedy that, but for now I need to take out some money to pay for the shopping."
"You are a Lord now. You may as well let the shops send you the bill."
"Right… I don't think that's a good idea. I don't exactly want anyone to know I got emancipated just yet."
"Understandable I suppose. Legally you are considered an adult and as such any restrictions the Ministry of Magic has on minors is legally non applicable to you, though I doubt anyone noticed just yet. You can't claim the Potter seat in the wizengamot until your second majority anyway so no one has been notified. Unless it comes up you could feasibly pose as a minor for the next six years."
"Unfortunately, my emancipation will come up by the end of the school year at the latest, simply because I won't be returning to live with my relatives. Though I would still wish to hide it from the public. Either way I still need to withdraw that money."
"Well in that case, for the sake of time I can offer you a cash package. Seven hundred Galleons, one thousand one hundred and ninety Sickles and three thousand four hundred and fifty one Knuts for a total of seven hundred and seventy seven Galleons worth, packaged in an enchanted mokeskin pouch. I will of course charge your vaults for the amount and an additional fee."
"Mokeskin?"
While Harry's mental library contained a lot of knowledge it was a double edged sword. There was a lot to be learned from the scrolls and books that stacked themselves on the desk in his mental study, but actually reading all of it would take time. The most he managed to take away from it, before he had to send the knowledge back to its respective corridors to clear his head, was a piece of parchment with a sketch of an animal that Harry assumed to be a moke - a lizard of some kind…
"Yes, bigger on the inside and enchanted so that only the owner may easily retrieve the contents. I assure you, it is worth the fee."
Lurgott's eyes glimmered with greed and Harry was pretty sure the goblin was trying to make him spend more money than necessary, but at the same time he had access to the entirety of his family fortune now so perhaps he didn't need to worry about it too much right now. He really needed to get back to Hagrid just so that he wouldn't feel the need to mention this to the headmaster.
"Alright, I suppose I'll see just how much I overpaid later today. Time is money after all."
"One of the few muggle sayings I agree with."
=O=O=O=
When Harry emerged from the depths of Gringotts back to the entrance hall, Rubeus Hagrid was just making his way back as well. Though judging by his unsteady gait, the Gringotts cart based transport system didn't agree with the gamekeeper.
Despite passively absorbing the tome about goblins for a good hour now, he was nowhere near done with it and little tidbits of information just popped up when he looked at something relevant. The carts being one such thing, though nowhere near as surprising as when he saw a mural of a great red dragon on the wall of one of the hallways and suddenly realised that not only are dragons real, but that goblins keep them underground to protect some of the oldest vaults.
The realisation that there was a good chance that a literal dragon was protecting the Potter vault as well occupied his mind for a good portion of the walk back to the entrance.
Once he rejoined Hagrid the half giant seemed to forget all about the circumstances of their parting.
"Ah, there you are Harry. You'll have to excuse me, for leaving you like that. I had something to pick up for professor Dumbledore. Anyway, let's get to shopping."
"Alright, where to?"
"I think we should go to Madamealkin's first to get your school robes. I hope you don't mind but I'm going to go get me a little pick-me-up in the meantime. Those Gringotts carts never sit well with me. Oh and don't tell anyone."
"My lips are sealed."
The events of Hagrid's journey to the vaults, as always, shook him up. That in addition to the many goblin enchantments and countermeasures placed on the vault's rail system, made sure that whatever remained of Dumbledore's compulsions was well and truly gone for the moment. Right now, Hagrid was just a compassionate and loyal man.
And so as soon as the two arrived at Madame Malkin's Hagrid excused himself and left Harry to fend for himself. There was no one else in the store when he came in and he only passed by another teen, an older student, when he was already leaving.
Hagrid was already waiting for him when he left the seamstress store. After that, Hagrid had Harry buy the many things on the list of school supplies. The fact that every magical trinket Harry saw triggered an avalanche of knowledge to fly through his mind made the experience unpleasant at best.
By the time all else was bought and only his wand remained, Harry sported a headache.
But as the two stood before Ollivander's Hagrid decided that it was a good time to leave Harry once again, this time in order to buy Harry a birthday present.
"You don't really have to, you know?"
"Nonsense Harry, I knew your parents, so consider this an apology for all the birthdays I missed. Plus I don't fancy standing there for however long it takes for Ollivander to do his thing."
With his piece said, Hagrid left Harry in the steady hands of the famed wandmaker. These things took a while, even more so for extraordinary people, and there was no doubt in Hagrid's mind that Harry Potter was just as if not more extraordinary than his parents.
"Ah, yes, yes. I was sure you would show up soon, Harry Potter."
The moment Harry lay eyes on the man, more information made itself known. Garrick Ollivander - wandmaker, master of wandlore… A small time archivist in his own right. An essential figure in the life of every witch and wizard in Britain from the moment they first got their wand.
"You have your mother's eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work."
The moment Ollivander started talking about his mother's wand, Harry received something fairly unexpected on the desk of his library. It was another tome, this one far older than the one about Gringotts, titled Wandlore: from Length and Wood to Flex and Core.
Interestingly enough it came open on a page Harry knew would come into play soon. The double page featured an illustration of a familiar looking three and many lines of esoteric knowledge, but most prominent was the large title Yew - the wood that remembers death.
Ollivander went on about the wand of James Potter, staring unblinking at and through Harry, and it wasn't until he reached out to touch his forehead that Harry returned from his musings.
"And that's where… I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did it." he reminisced softly.
"Thirteen and a half inches. Yew…"
Before Ollivander could continue, he saw the recognition in Harry's eyes. And then was shocked at the words that came from the young lad's mouth.
"Yew - the wood that remembers…" the boy only mouthed the last word silently, but Garrick knew the line well.
"...death… Yes, Harry Potter. Curious, that you would know that. Wandlore is a treasured secret amongst wandmakers and there are few families that would part with it. Very curious…"
Before Harry could reply in any way however, Ollivander seemed to do a complete one-eighty in his demeanour and took a sudden step away.
"Well, no time to stand on ceremony! Which is your wand arm?"
"My ri… actually left."
It was an odd feeling to consider his dominant arm not to be his wand arm, but there was a good reason behind it. Because while Harry considered wandlore, or at least the fairly condensed version that was the tome in his mind, he came across a word that intrigued him and pulled a different piece of knowledge from the aeons of experience of the Infinite Man.
The word was focus, and since a wand was only one of the many magical foci a mage may choose from, and Harry was already learning an older type of casting from wand-magic, the knowledge came to the forefront of his mind. It was a textbook, not unlike the ones Harry bought today, titled Staffcasting: the Third Point of Contact.
From the first few pages Harry already knew that for using magic in any way that required power, a staff was the better option, not to mention that a staff was a mundane melee weapon in its own right and Harry was determined not to make it an either or scenario.
With a wand in his left and a staff in his right he could do so much more there would be few who could stand before him.
That last thought came out of nowhere to Harry, yet for all it seemed to come out of nowhere, he couldn't say it was wrong. He was an orphan, his parents were murdered and he was already making waves with knowledge he wouldn't ordinarily know. It was only a matter of time until he was forced to fend for himself.
Lost in his musing Harry didn't pay any attention to the charmed tape measure taking all sorts of measurements of mainly his left arm, or to Ollivander muttering about the strange decisions of the youth.
Soon however Ollivander was done deliberating about what kind of wand he may have Harry try first. "Twelve and a half inches. Aspen and unicorn hair. Reasonably springy."
As Harry held the wand in his left handle could tell that the wand was reaching out to him.
"Go on, just give it a wave…"
Harry did, but as the flowers in the vase he was aiming at got decapitated, Garrick immediately yanked the wand out of his hand. "No, no that won't do."
A moment later he handed him a different one "Ten inches on the dot. English Oak with dragon heartstring." Harry waved at the same vase again, though this time the flowers started to grow into a mess of tangled thorns.
"Ah, I didn't think so… Here, eight and a quarter inches. Black walnut and phoenix feather." Though the moment Harry touched the wand it was yanked away.
"Of course not, no… perhaps… Silver lime and unicorn hair. Thirteen and three quarters. Unyielding this one."
Harry could feel the wand touching his mind and recoiling almost physically before giving him a splinter, leading him to place the wand on the counter.
"Oh dear, that one really didn't like you huh. A shame really… Why don't we try…"
Harry carefully removed the silver lime splinter from his hand while Ollivander went to the back of the aisle of boxes and retrieved a box covered in dust.
"An interesting combination this one is. Eleven inches, holly and phoenix feather. Nice and supple."
As Harry held that one he felt something different, but as he waved it the only thing that came out was disappointment, both to him and the wand, as only a sad dying ember floated out of the tip.
"OH! So close, you are a tricky customer Harry Potter… Hmmm, well why not… I really should reorganise these closer to the entrance."
Ollivander once more wandered further back into his shop, swiftly ascended a ladder and pulled out a box from the very top shelf. As he came down however he could feel the box tug at his hands with excitement.
Curious, he placed the box on the counter before Harry. Before he could say anything however, the lid of the box popped off and flew into the air, falling somewhere behind the counter.
"A good sign indeed, go on…"
As Harry reached for the wand it almost felt like the wand itself jumped to his hand. He could feel the reaching of the wand, the expectant yet patient demeanour of this one, urging him to use her. And almost as soon as he moved to wave the wand, lights and gold and green sparks flew from the tip.
"Excellent! Excellent! Vine and dragon heartstring, thirteen inches on the dot! Unyielding, but oh so excited to meet you… I would have thought you'd end up with yew, but after your encounter with the holly and phoenix feather I knew that wouldn't be the case…"
Garrick turned his gaze from the wand to Harry and stared into his eyes unblinking.
"...I'm curious, would you care to guess why?"
Harry blinked in surprise before his eyes widened in understanding as a piece of knowledge made itself known, pages turning in his Wandlore tome.
"It's the core's isn't it. You don't make wands from yew that would fit me…"
"...oh how curious indeed Mister Potter. Indeed I'd say you're correct, from my decades of experience I would say you'd fit a yew focus with a more esoteric core… Perhaps unicorn hair could be a decent fit, but it would never truly feel right… You are an interesting one Mister Potter, I don't think a fledgling wandmaker double your age, even one trained from birth, could discern something like this. You may have a talent for wandlore… Perhaps in a decade the name Potter will become the big competitor to Ollivander…" Garrick blinked and straightened his back suddenly and continued in a jovial manner "Though I do suppose it may be my daughter's problem at that point. I know Gwenevere has more interest in wandlore than my son anyway. She's over in Madagascar now, searching for exotic wandwood no doubt, while Garrett studies crystal foci of all things if you can believe it…"
"...I don't feel like most gems are useful for focussing magic, sure quartz has some scrying properties, but most precious gems hold magic rather than channel it. If I was to try something like this at all, I'd start with amber, or rather, amber formed from the sap of a tree that produced wandwood." Harry himself was possibly more taken aback by his own words than Ollivander was. It was a simple piece of knowledge procured from the hallway that stretched millenia back, but as the discussion turned there, it just landed itself at the forefront of his mind, as if it was something he'd already considered a long time ago.
"As I said, a curious talent. A real shame the silver lime wand didn't like you that much. It would explain oh so much about you…"
Harry of course knew what Garrick meant by that, after all silver lime was well known to favour a particular talent.
"I am no seer, or rather I don't believe I have the sight at the very least. The future paths are indiscernible to me." Harry answered, feeling at ease talking with someone who shared his… Scribes love for knowledge.
Before their encounter could go on for any longer however Hagrid knocked on the storefront window, prompting Harry to pay for his new wand and leave.
=O=O=O=
"So what's her name?"
Asked Harry as they walked towards the Leaky Cauldron with a snowy owl in her cage sat on top of his new trunk.
"She's my gift to you Harry, you get to name her… that and people tell me I'm not the best at naming animals. Last time somebody met Fluffy only knowing his name they threatened to hex me…"
"Fluffy?"
"Aye, my pet cerberus. A very cuddly pup that one, though he will lick your face if he sets his minds to it, no avoiding that, what with all the heads."
Harry grimaced a little "Sounds like an interesting pet."
No sooner than when they reached the pub had Hagrid remembered the last thing he needed to do for Harry, before he needed to hurry back to Hogwarts to deliver a certain very important package.
"Ah, almost forgot. Here's your ticket for the Hogwarts Express."
Harry looked down at the ticket and noted the strange notation of platform 9 ¾. Before he could ask about it though Hagrid had already hurried off, leaving Harry to dig through his own mind to figure the oddities of this magical train out.
Soon enough, there were few questions left unanswered about the strange platform 9 ¾ or the train. After all that knowledge was contained in a book titled Hogwarts: A History, a book he recalled seeing in Flourish and Blotts, though the one he remembered was an older edition from the 1940s which still wrote about the novelty of the train.
Finally being left alone, Harry decided to put away his school things in his mokeskin pouch, but before he could do so, his eyes again met with the snowy owl.
"...yeah, I'm definitely not keeping you in a cage for the next month… Hedwig…" Harry experienced a pull as another book flew into the forefront of his mind. This one being A History of Magic, once again the book opened and turned its pages until it settled on an article about Saint Hedwig of Silesia "...yeah Hedwig sounds right."
Harry opened the cage and offered the newly christened Hedwig an arm to step onto before putting his possessions into the pouch.
"Well, it's time I meet the goblins again, you can go out, fly around and hunt if you'd like, I'm sure you can find me in the evening."
With that said Hedwig, the smart bird she was, pecked at Harry's fingers before flying off, enjoying her freedom.
=O=O=O=
"Warlock Potter, I'm pleased you kept your word."
"Of course I did, there's much I wish to talk about, Lurgott."
=O=O=O=
Author's note:
Well hello there...
I'll be honest I wasn't planing on posting this today, but I didn't manage to finish my main fic on time so this is a replacement post I suppose.
Again, probably don't expect another post for a while.
Thank you so much for reading and thank you for getting this far. If you want to support me you can do so on P a treon . com (slash) OlympianScribe
Anyway I hope you enjoyed and are looking forward to the next chapter: Ch. 3 Natural bonds