Hey there guys! I AIN'T DEAD YET!
Sorry for the long hiatus though. I had exams and shit going on, and there was no way I could take out some time to write.
But now that I have finished another chapter and am halfway through another, expect the next update any time after the 27th.
Why?
EXAMS!
I really want to burn this school to the ground ffs.
sigh*
REVIEW TIME MAH GUYS!
love4HP – You're right, of course. The story will feature some of the laws, but not all, since that would dramatically decrease the thrill of the story. And I will not say anything about Hermione yet. That is for me to write, and you to dream/imagine/ponder about.
Victorflash01 - That part irritated me too. Seriously Sirius (pun intended)? You're gonna let your godson do whatever the hell he wants to? And aren't you gonna call him even once? Why's it up to Harry to contact you? And as for fire, OP was like California RN. I just had to make a dark joke… sorry!
RatTheKing – That… is a lot. Safe to say, I have acquired a considerable amount of food for thought. Yes, I am not Bri'ish, check my Profile for more data. Yes, Dumbledore is not exactly a villain here either, but his methods are dubious at best. My JEE college entrance exam will be next year, and fingers crossed! Good luck to your cousin. And my god, you think?! Preposterous! (LMAO, JK). Yea, Harry's giving the OWLs, not sure about the NEWTs though. And I referenced Barclays so much because one of my relations works there. IG that's all of your questions. Moving on!
Guest – It's gonna be a plot point in the future.
017Amish027 – I have been waiting for this ONE PARTICULAR QUESTION! Yes, time has no meaning in Death's realm. But since Harry is not actually dead, he isn't supposed to be there. Death's main purpose is to keep the separation between the truly dead, and the alive. So, Death will try his damnedest to ensure no living or pseudo-living being enters his realm. So, since Harry did end up there, semi-alive, Death will try to remove him. So while there were no mortal time constraints, Death did make a constraint, preventing Harry from staying there indefinitely.
And now with the reviews done, let's get into the real deal. I thus present!
THE NAME'S POTTER, HARRY POTTER
Chapter 11
Potions, Problems And Polyjuice
Harry woke up to his horrid alarm clock. And then promptly fell asleep. Ten minutes later, he woke up again, though to the sound of a crackling flame this time.
He blinked open his eyes and blearily looked at his closet. What he saw panicked him. A large flame burning on the top of the closet. He rushed to grab his glasses and put them on.
Then he audibly sighed in relief.
A phoenix, Fawkes to be exact, perched precariously on the closet. Fawkes trilled cheerfully, and Harry felt the strength returning to his body. The golden bird cocked his head and stuck out his leg. Harry smiled when he saw the thick bundle of letters.
His ploy had worked marvellously. He rushed to his feet, wobbling since they were still rather sore. A few seconds later, he untied the parcel of letters, and petted Fawkes.
Fawkes then flamed out of his room with another cheerful trill, leaving him and his letters alone. He took the first letter and broke the seal on the envelope.
"Dear Harry,
I hope you are as well as you can be. I apologise for denying you any contact with your friends. It was a rather," he noticed a break in his writing, "foolish decision to make. I agree with you; we were being quite remarkably cruel. Anyway, Mrs Weasley has provided a parcel of food for you," Harry noticed a large green cloth bag, apparently full of Mrs Weasley's delicacies, "of course, especially treacle tart, which I hear is your favourite dessert. You can eat them whenever you like, since I have applied a preservation charm to keep them fresh."
"After some persuasion, we have come to a general consensus to let you come to our headquarters before we were actually supposed to get you here. At 8 PM, on the third of August, a team of mine will come to Number Four, Privet Drive to retrieve you and bring you here. In the parcel of letters, there are others from Sirius, Ronald, Hermione, Ginevra, and the Twins. I wish you well Harry.
With sincere apologies,
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore"
"WAHOO!" Harry jumped to his feet from elation. He ran downstairs to the kitchen to find Aunt Petunia packing up Vernon's lunch.
"Aunt Petunia?"
"Yes?" she sneered.
Harry mocked her sneer, making her face wrinkle in disgust, and told her the news. He grimaced at the joy filling up her face. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath to calm him down, and left before he did anything rash.
Back in his room, Harry took out the mirror and called James, who picked up after a few minutes.
"Hey kid, what's going on?"
"D-Day, 3rd August, H-Hour, 8 PM."
James smirked at Harry trying to use movie spy jargon. He decided to play along. "Roger that. James over and out."
Harry laughed at that, falling on the bed. His saga had begun, and it was his turn to win.
Sitting back up, he thought of the schedule. 3 days after his birthday. Two Wednesdays in between. Two days he could visit Gringotts safely. He picked up the pile of letters. Glancing at the topmost letter, he saw that it was from Ron. He opened it to see his messy scrawl, which never failed to give him a headache.
"Hiya mate! How's it going? It's great to talk, or rather write, to you again. Headmaster Dumbledore said that you are going to come in a couple more days. That's bloody terrific! Have you been somehow keeping up with Quidditch? If not, the Chudley Cannons nearly wo…"
Harry chuckled at his letter. He set it down and picked up the next. It was from Sirius.
"Dear Prongslet,
My god, it's so nice to write to you again. I am safely ensconced in one of my houses, with several others you'll meet when you get here, alongside Hermione and the Weasleys. Kreacher, my house-elf is also here, and I thought I should warn you about him. He's spent years absorbing my dear (NOT!) late mother's pureblood doctrine.
And he is a little slimy bitch.
I'd rather he kick the bucket (don't tell that to Hermione, she's been ranting and raving about this since day one).
Now, considering your letter, you did not eat well. If only I could get out of this stuffy place. The Dursleys will get what's coming to them. Molly's sent some food for you. Eat it, it'll be delicious for sure, and of course, you need the meat if you want to woo them witches.
The entire tribe is waiting for your arrival.
Cheerio!
Padfoot
P.S. – I'm sorry I couldn't do more for you
P.P.S. – I think two inhabitants of the female gender feel 'something' for you *wink* *wink*"
Harry smiled widely. Hermione reciprocated his feelings! And Ginny too, but nah. He grinned and picked up the next envelope. It was simple to guess who it was from. The elegant, beautiful handwriting told him simply that it was from Hermione.
"Sirius' house,
London
17th July 1995
Dear Harry,
The first thing I will say is that I am impressed. That was the best deduction I have ever seen. Especially from you. If only you had the intelligence before rushing off rashly to do god knows what.
The necessary scolding done, I have to say, I am so proud of you. You have finally risen from Ron's level. Excellent job finishing your homework. But since I still do not trust what you wrote, I will take those parchments and correct them. While teaching you what went wrong. Just rising won't do. You will have to keep the growth linear, maybe even accelerating. And there is no choice. You WILL show me those answers.
And eat Mrs Weasley's food, you need to get yourself back into shape.
I eagerly await your arrival.
Love,
Hermione
P.S. – I need to ask you something, but I can't really say it on paper."
Harry was giddy with happiness. From the hints Sirius dropped, and Hermione's letter, he felt that he had a decent chance with her. He set it down carefully on his bedside table and picked up the next letter.
The moment he reached out to touch the seal, the letter clamped around his hand and refused to let go. He yelled in surprise and slipped off the bed, hitting the floor hard. He immediately knew it was from the twins. Seeing that it wasn't harming him at all, he calmly pulled it off his arm like a bracelet. The moment it hit the ground, it straightened up, returning to what appeared to be its normal state.
Harry slowly reached out to touch it, and then withdrew his hand back in a flash. When it did not move, he picked it up and broke the seal. He grinned again when he saw the ink constantly changing colours.
"Hiya there Harry!
Jeepers, we're sorry for your state. If only we were back at the Burrow, with a certain flying vehicle, which, mind you, was destroyed most spectacularly by you and Ron. Guess we have to step up our game if we want to retain our sterling reputation eh?
Did you like the envelope and the ink? Well, we present to you 'Chomping Envelopes' and 'Ever-Changing Ink', our first products under the brand name Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes!
And you good sir, own 20% of our company! And with that comes a very generous amount of our profit, not to mention a monthly bonus!
With that, young child, we shall take our leave.
Stay safe, eat well, and prepare for trouble (and make it double!)
Good luck Harry,
The Honourable Messrs. Weasley"
Harry was chuckling away at their antics. He picked up the next letter, breaking its seal.
Suddenly, his ring glowed pink and red, and a voice said in his mind, "Love potions detected". Harry gasped and tossed it away, grimacing at Ginny's stupidity. How could she think that this was the way to win him?
Now hungry, he got up from his bed and went to the food packet, hoping for a bite or two. But the second he opened the box of treacle tart, his ring flashed again. He threw the box away in alarm, and stared at it, aghast. He hurriedly grabbed the mirror and called James. Soon later, he picked up. Harry saw that he was leaning comfortably against a chair in some office.
"Hey kid, what's going on?"
"Love potions. Love potions in my food parcel. Strong ones."
"WHAT! This is not good… OK Harry, here's what you're gonna do…"
An hour-and-a-half later, Harry emerged from the door of Number 4 Privet Drive, a backpack slung on his shoulder. He shouted, "I'm going to the park! I'll be late!"
He kept walking towards the park, making sure to walk quietly. He could hear steps behind, soft and fast, and definitely not Moody.
Good. He wouldn't have to worry about his magic eye.
When he turned a street, Harry whipped out his cloak and wore it, running erratically to confuse his pursuer, if they had some means of tracking him.
He could hear their groan of frustration. Hiding behind a car, he waited, seeing a short, blond woman go to an empty corner near him and pull off her own cloak. She took out a mirror and called someone.
"Headmaster, he left the house, but slipped away under his cloak soon later. I've lost track of him."
"Do you know where he was going?" he heard Dumbledore respond, though his voice was rather muted.
"To the park apparently. He had a bag with him, so I can only assume that he plans to be there for some time."
Dumbledore sighed, "Go to the park and wait there. If he doesn't appear in thirty minutes, resume your vigil at Number Four. Don't apparate. It will alert Harry. Just follow under your cloak."
"Of course sir." With that, she resumed her walk, throwing on the cloak.
Harry waited for a while and then took off his own cloak, and walked to a small private garden, with large bushes. When he heard a soft rustle behind him, he turned sharply, hand in his pocket, which contained his wand.
He saw a thin, wiry, black-haired man holding up a change of clothes.
"Name's Marc. Get ready, quick."
In a few minutes, a soft pop was heard in the garden, and Harry walked out of the place to a red car standing nearby, wearing a new set of clothes.
"Good morning sir! You look strapping in that set!" Jones said.
Harry smiled in response and took a seat. Jones revved up the engine and sped out into the highway.
Meanwhile, Harry's pursuer sat down against a tree trunk in the local park. She opened her purse and took out the mirror, trying to call Dumbledore.
When he picked up, she said, "He's here sir, just resting on a bench."
Dumbledore smiled benevolently, and cut the call.
On that particular bench, a black-haired boy with a faint lightning scar looked up at the sky, smirking.
When the car reached London, Jones got out and went to the rear door, taking out a briefcase. Simultaneously, Harry slipped out under his cloak, rushing across the road into the Leaky Cauldron.
Once inside, he waited for a moment and followed a woman who opened the brick wall. From there he jogged to Gringotts, taking care not to bump into anyone.
He entered the grandiose hall of the bank and looked around. When he spotted James on a couch reading a newspaper and smoking a cigar, he went up to him and whispered into his ear, "I'm here."
To his credit, James did not even flinch, and merely stubbed his cigar on an ashtray and stood up. He strode towards the meeting rooms and after crossing a few of them, he stopped at door 14.
Harry rushed in the second he opened the door, and after checking for any other people, he took off the cloak, packing it into his backpack.
"Greetings Mr Potter. I believe you brought samples of the potioned food?" Drakontooth said.
"Yes, yes. I have it." Harry panted, while taking out the tart and a few other small packages.
"Give it here please," Jarkill said, holding out a cloth bag.
Harry tossed the food into the bag and slung his backpack over his shoulder.
"It will take some time. Would you like to look at your vaults?"
"If possible."
"Of course it is. Jarkill will take the food to the lab."
"Of course, nominate me." Jarkill grumbled, but he still took the bag and left with a wave.
Drakontooth smirked and led the duo out of the room through a back door. Once they reached the carts, he seated them, and himself sat at the front.
"We'll be going to premium vaults 60 and 62, and then the basic vaults 27 and 35. Hold on tight, the ride will be rash!" with that, he pulled a lever, and the cart slowly tipped over the precipice, accelerating rapidly.
Drakontooth crouched to avoid the wind, and James screwed his eyes shut. Harry meanwhile was grinning wildly, relishing in the speed of the cart.
All of a sudden, all three of the occupants were drenched in freezing water.
"WHAT WAS THAT!" Harry yelled, shivering.
"The Thief's Downfall! It removes all enchantments that can be used to cause harm!" Drakontooth yelled back, "Don't worry, it'll dry off soon!"
A few minutes later, the cart gradually slowed down, coming to a stop in front of a large bronze door, inlaid with gold.
Harry and James toddled around on their legs for some time, giddy from the ride. In the meantime, Drakontooth took out a silver key and pushed it into a keyhole.
With a loud groan, and then a screech, the door opened to reveal a dark expanse.
"Welcome, Mr Potter, to Vault 60. GJOLA!" he yelled.
One by one, flame torches lit up, illuminating the entire room.
"Whoa."
"Truly Mr Potter, it is rather whoa." Drakontooth smirked.
Mountains of Galleons, piles of knuts and chests full of sickles, spread around the cavernous vault.
"This place consists of the entirety of your current monetary wealth. Every month, we add the profits you made from your, or rather your family's, patents, part-ownerships, et cetera, while deducting some amount as the bank's profit. All in all, your wealth keeps growing steadily, especially after Sleakeazy's business boom last month."
"It's all mine?"
"Well, most of it. The bank requires you to keep a certain amount in your vault at all times. And some funds are still locked, since they are presided over by a committee or a cooperative. You will need to gain approval from them to use the money. Apart from that, it's all yours. Would you like to visit Vault 62? I can guarantee you'd like it better."
"Of course."
"It's only walking distance from here, barely five minutes. Follow me."
After locking the vault again, Drakontooth led the duo through a stone corridor, lit up by lanterns.
Suddenly, a roar coming from somewhere startled the trio. Drakontooth winced, Harry jumped, and James flinched.
"What was that?" Harry asked, bewildered.
"An Elephantan Cave Dragon. Much smaller compared to surface dragons, but that makes it perfect for the caves. It guards your vault. There is another one right beside you, a Ukrainian Ironbelly, but it generally prefers to sleep. The vault it guards is the Lestrange vault."
"Wait, they still have vaults?"
"Yes, sadly enough. The Ministry did not let us close it. Citing that 'it would cause tensions in the pureblood faction'. I guess it was to ensure that if Voldemort did ever return, he would have a rather sizeable asset in his hands. We have closed as many avenues of income as we legally can, and so the vaults are only growing at a snail's pace, compared to yours, Mr Potter, which I'd say is a cheetah."
Harry grinned and thought for a moment. "What if you find some way not to prevent their income, but to increase their loss such that the vault is drained? Maybe higher rates for accounts whose owners are incarcerated?"
"Even better. What if you remove items that can potentially cause the goblins damage? The laws allow you to defend against wizards. What if you claimed that items in some Dark vaults harm the goblins working near them? It would allow you to seize those items. Just doing that will hurt their cause a lot." James interrupted.
"That can possibly work. I'm not sure. Maybe this idea has already been proposed. I'll still propose it again, see if it helps somehow."
James and Harry shrugged, and stopped at a larger door. Drakontooth took out a larger keychain, with several keys dangling. He chose one of them and stuck it into the keyhole. The door slid open this time, and he again yelled, "GJOLA!" to light up the torches.
In the centre of a room, a large black dragon raised its head and puffed out smoke from its nostrils. Harry and James watched in awe, while Drakontooth jangled the keys loudly. The dragon snarled in protest, covering its head with its wings. It revealed thick legs, shackled with metal chains. Harry grimaced.
While it was necessary to chain it, he was eerily reminded of his own treatment at the Dursleys' hands. He could almost imagine Hermione's reaction to this.
After crossing the dragon, the trio reached another door, similar in design to Vault 60's door. Drakontooth opened it, and repeated the incantation.
To reveal another cavernous expanse, full of closets, chests, small boxes, pieces of really antique furniture, swords and daggers, portraits, and jewellery.
"The contents of this vault are valued even more than Vault 60, that is, if you sell them."
"Not happening. Ever."
"Of course not. This room contains mementoes, antiques, furniture and personalia of most of the Potter Family. There are more, but they are kept in Potter Manor, which I suggest you should visit, because it does belong to you."
"Wow."
"Yes. I think you should only be here for some time, an hour at best. The potions test doesn't take too long, so Jarkill will probably return in some time. Look around though."
"Umm, Harry? Can I look through too?"
"Of course James, you got me this, didn't you?" Harry replied with a grin. James grinned back too, and started going through the vault. While they searched, Drakontooth pulled out a book from his pouch and started reading.
Harry saw the box his mother had mentioned in the will. He grabbed it and stuffed it into his backpack. Then he saw an old notebook. Harry walked over to it and read the notes in it.
It was the Marauders' animagus transformation guide, with their own notes and observations. Harry grinned and stuffed it into his backpack too.
James opened a chest and saw a book lying on a pile of jewellery. He opened it to see pictures of Harry's parents and grandparents.
And also Harry's own baby pictures.
He chuckled and yelled for Harry, who came over jogging. When he looked at the pictures, he gave a dopey grin and stuffed it in too.
After looking around for some more time, they returned to Drakontooth, who led them back to the cart. In five more minutes, they reached the top.
They entered the meeting room and relaxed on the soft couches. In five minutes, Jarkill returned, a ferocious grimace on his face.
He threw the bag on the table in disgust and sat down heavily on a couch.
"Love potions, lust potions, friendship potions, compulsion potions, suspicion removal potions, intelligence decreasing potions, disgust, apathy, ignorance, the whole bloody lot! This borders on a crime. Hell, it would be a crime anywhere else! If not for the ministry being a whole bunch of bloody idiotic pureblood villains who are not going to do shit about this, because they use all of this themselves!" he yelled, taking a swig from his tankard. Harry was silently fuming, and James had a sombre expression on his face.
Drakontooth grimaced and then smiled darkly. "This could help you, Mr Potter. If your potioner is confident in his work, he will have no reason to suspect you. You'll have less scrutiny. But make sure to sell the deception. Make it look like you are eating the food. They will rely on that. Now Jark, any idea who these were keyed to?"
"After they identified the potions, they found that some of them used the body parts of some individuals. I cross-checked their DNA with our blood samples. Love and lust potions were keyed to Ginevra Weasley; friendship potions were keyed to Ronald Weasley; compulsion and suspicion removal to Dumbledore; intelligence decreasing potions to himself."
"And the rest, disgust, apathy and ignorance, to Hermione Granger."
A/N
Bhaiyon aur behenon, Perseus ne ek aur path khatam kiya hai.
Literally, Brothers and sisters, Perseus has finished another chapter (the earlier sentence was in Hindi).
WAHOOO!
Yeah, it feels great to be back in the game, for however short of a time.
I do have my computer science exam tomorrow, and I just cannot remember the theory at all.
Jeepers.
Anyway, with that over,
PERSEUS, OVER AND OUT!
ALLONS-Y!