Chapter Two: Inheritance and Birthdays

July 31st, 1991

The days since the shopping trip had gotten Harry's mood far less foul. While having the brother wand of "The Dark Loser" (as his Uncle Herbert preferred to call him) had been a little odd, Harry got used to it. Because of the strong wards around his Uncle's estate, he and his cousins had been allowed to practice magic without the Ministry for Magic being able to do squat about it. The other reason was because he could never seem to have a bad mood during the week his birthday- and by extension, Vince and Kathy's- fell on. Happenstance had the trio share the birthday, but that suited them fine.

Harry got out of bed, and got ready. Today was special, seeing as it was his eleventh birthday. Uncle Herbert had told him that Potter family tradition had you check inheritance on your eleventh birthday, and he always remembered fondly the day he and his twin brother James had gotten theirs. He wouldn't spoil how it worked, only stating that the goblins of Gringotts would handle it. After Harry had finished getting ready, he found his way downstairs. His cousins, aunt, and uncle were there, as well as some faces he'd not seen in some time.

"Happy birthday, pup." A man almost as shaggy as his dog animagus form smiled, the familiar face of Sirius Black- his godfather.

Next to him was a man in a tattered suit, who looked to be recovering quite well from something quite unpleasant. Harry always called him "Uncle Remus", even if he wasn't one by blood. "Ready for today, cub?"

Harry nodded enthusiastically as he saw the other two in the room. One was a man with blonde hair, his aunt's brother. The other was a young girl maybe about a year younger than him, the man's only daughter. Despite the whole concept of "in-Laws" being thoroughly explained to him, he insisted on calling the man "Uncle Xeno", which made little Luna Lovegood his "cousin".

Before anything else, Uncle Herbert pulled out a package. He handed it to Harry, and explained. "This was your dad's. Before he died, he gave it to me to give to you when you turned eleven. It has been in our family for generations, and always goes from father to son. Seeing as I had no interest in it, pops gave it to him. But enough history, go on and open it."

Harry opened the package delicately, and found what looked to be an old cloak inside. Despite its apparent age, it had no rips or discoloration at all. Harry tried on the cloak, and to his astonishment his body had vanished. A grin spread on his face. "An invisibility cloak! How has it not lost its magic by now?"

Herbert shrugged as Harry took off the cloak and folded it. "I have my suspicions, but I'd rather you figure it out yourself. As for the rest of your gifts, we'll let you open them after the inheritance check." After Harry put away his cloak in his school trunk and locked it, he went back downstairs and met Uncle Herbert, Vince, and Kathy in front of the fireplace. Herbert reached for a pouch on top of the fireplace, and held it in front of the children. "In this bag you'll find Floo Powder, one magical way we magical people travel. All you do is take a handful of the powder, step in the fireplace and speak the place that you want to go, then drop the powder. However! You must word it carefully. You wouldn't want to wind up in the wrong place. Since we're going to Gringotts -and they aren't connected to the Floo Network- We will call out 'Diagon Alley'. Just be careful to not say 'diagonally'. We don't know where you'll end up."

Vince went first, following Herbert's instructions exactly. Kathy went next, and she had no problem either. Harry took some powder, stepped into the fireplace, and focused on his speech. "Diagon Alley." He dropped the powder, and he was engulfed in green flames.

The next thing he saw was the lobby of the Diagon Alley Floo Station. It was a room with polished stone flooring, and several fireplaces. He brushed off the soot from his clothes and hair, then went over to his cousins. Herbert came through one of the fireplaces and went over to the children. The four then left the building and found their way to Gringotts. As they came to the teller, they were behind a giant of a man that had on a coat that was mostly pockets. Harry couldn't help overhearing the man mention "The You-Know-What in vault seven hundred thirteen" before being led off to the vaults. After coming to the front of the line, Herbert spoke. "Lord goblin, I have come for the appointment for the Potters."

The goblin had a toothy smile. "Ah, the inheritance appointment. Your account manager has been expecting you. I'll let him know that you're here." The goblin picked up the phone on his desk and spoke into it softly. After a short conversation, he hung up and spoke up. "Noblegrip awaits you in his office. I trust you remember the way?"

With a nod, Herbert led the children through a different door than the one that led to the vaults. He walked down the hall, took a right at the intersection and walked a little further until he reached a door that had a plaque on it that read: "Noblegrip, Account Manager for the Blacks, Lovegoods, and Potters."

When they entered the room, they saw many jewels displayed in glass cases with goblin guards on each side. In the center of the room there was an ornate obsidian desk with an older goblin behind it. The goblin greeted the group as they approached the desk. "Greetings Mr. Potter. Young Potters, I am the account manager Noblegrip. Please take a seat." After doing so, Noblegrip looked at each in turn with his blue eyes. He then spoke again. "Today, you three children are here to check your inheritance claims. Allow me to explain how it works." He pulled out three pieces of parchment, and set one in front of each child. He then took out a ceremonial knife and three quills. "What we'll do is take three drops of blood and drip them on the enchanted parchment, after which you'll grab the quills. Once you place it over the parchment, the quills will move on their own- so don't fight them. After the quills finish writing, your wound will magically seal and excess blood will vanish. All we need before that is your consent."

After consent was given, each child pricked a finger on their dominant hand and dripped three drops of blood on the parchment in front of them. Each child gripped a quill and placed it over their respective parchment. The quills wrote for a few minutes before stopping, and after the wounds healed and excess blood vanished, Harry read what his said.

Name: Harry James Potter

Gender: Male

Inherited Titles:

Heir of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter

Heir of the Ancient and Noble House of Peverell

Heir of Gryffindor (unrecognized)

Heir to the Minor House of Evans

Inherited Properties in accordance with the will of James Charlus Potter:

The Potter house in Godric's Hollow

The Potter Mansion in London

The Potter Villa in Paris

The Potter Cottage in Berlin

The Potter house in New York

Potter Family History Book

Inherited Properties in accordance with the will of Lily Evangeline Potter:

Evans Family Cookbook

Evans Family History Book

The Evans house in Surrey

As he finished reading, he handed it over to Noblegrip who had a puzzled look on his face. "Evans was your mother's maiden name... she was a muggleborn, so she probably had a squib somewhere back on her father's side of the family. That would explain it being on here as a Minor House." Vince and Kathy handed theirs back as well, and Noblegrip spoke again. "Young Heirs and Heiress, it's always a pleasure to see magical children know the positions that await them when they turn seventeen. When that time arrives, we expect you to take your titles with pride. Is there any other business today?"

Herbert shook his head, and Noblegrip handed Harry the list of properties and the copies of the items that had been listed. The four then left the building.

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When the four got back home, the table had expanded and had several more chairs around it. There was a smorgasbord of food on the table, and presents for each child. Sirius got Harry a book called Marauder's Guide to Supplementing Your Education, which he wrote himself. Remus got the twins comfortable collars for their cats, with name tags. Xenophilius had gotten the children a guide to undocumented magical creatures. Several minutes later, the children had eaten and opened all the presents and put them away. The rest of the day had them speculating on a few things regarding the school year. They talked until late, and soon found themselves drifting off to sleep.