Harry sat in his bedroom at #4 Privet drive and stewed. He couldn't believe the nerve of the Headmaster. Here he was predicted to be the destroyer of Voldemort and where did the Headmaster send him? Back to the banes of his existence, the Dursleys. No teachers, no training, no bloody information and he was supposed to blithely trust the Headmaster? Not bloody likely!
The Headmaster had gotten Sirius killed. He'd let his pet deatheater torture Harry mentally in the name of teaching him occlumency, and he'd allowed that bitch Umbridge to torture students and screwup the school. Harry had had his fill of the Headmaster's plans. In retrospect he saw how his life had been one long production by the master of manipulation starting from his being deposited on the Dursley's doorstep. Well, Harry would make other plans.
Uncle Vernon had been very unhappy when the Order had threatened him outside of King's Cross. It had taken some very fast talking on Harry's part to avoid his Uncle taking his anger out of Harry's hide; it still cost him extra chores every day. On his second day home Harry decided enough was enough, his vault had enough money there was no way he should be living like a house elf.
He had realized last summer after the farce of a trial, that he had made his wand light up without touching it. Which meant he'd done wandless magic and since that spell hadn't been noticed that meant wandless magic wasn't traceable by the ministry. He was no fool, no matter what everyone at school said. He had then on the sly worked on three spells and mastered them wandlessly alohomora, accio, stupefy.
On his second night home Harry decided he needed more information, so he escaped his locked room with an alohomora and slipped out of his room under his Invisibility cloak. He crept quietly into the bedroom his sleeping aunt and uncle shared. He slipped into the closet where his uncle kept the safe of financial documents and whispered alohomora.
Harry hated his uncle but there was one aspect of him he trusted. Vernon was meticulous in his record keeping. Harry suspected that records regarding his expense in the household would be in the safe since Vernon wouldn't want him to see them. Sure enough there were the records. Using a penlight borrowed from the utility drawer he looked at the file. His aunt and uncle had gotten four hundred pounds every month since he was placed with them. The records clearly showed that they had only spent fifty or so of it each month on him since his arrival. The exceptions were the month that Dudley had shoved him down the stairs and he had broken his leg and the time when he had gotten pneumonia as a six year old after walking home from school wearing a light jacket in the first storm of winter. Harry stifled the urge to hex his aunt and uncle. He carefully took the record and slipped from the room.
When he got back to his room he got a piece of parchment out, he looked to his owl and said, "Hedwig I have a very important delivery for you later maybe you should go get a light snack while I write this." After churring in agreement she left. Harry thought carefully about what he wanted to say and how to say it. After seven tries he was finally satisfied.
To the Goblin in charge of the Potter account
Dear sir,
I am Harry Potter and I suspect that my accounts are being defrauded. I wish to speak with my account manager about my concerns. I also wish to see a copies of my parents' wills as I understand Gringotts oversees duplicates of wills for the ministry.
Sincerely,
Harry James Potter
P.S. I am presently being prevented by other people from traveling freely so if you would please, a portkey to the bank would be appreciated.
Harry shuddered as he wrote the last because he despised portkeys but if it got him answers he would live with it. Hedwig returned so he gave her the letter and told her to wait for a reply. He slipped the file into his hidey-hole under the floorboard, and waited.
At Gringotts the goblin looked at the direction on the parchment and was confused. Oretooth had died November of 1981, and Marclaw who freely admitted there was a reason he never advanced beyond the job of door guard and owl greeter, decided to ask who took over from Oretooth. The letter made it's way from desk to desk in Gringotts until it reached the desk of Ragnok, director of Gringotts.
Ragnok read the letter and snarled. How could his Great Uncle Gartok have screwed up this badly. His snarls brought his assistant to see what was wrong. The enraged orders that followed sent multiple goblins scurrying in all directions. An hour later Ragnok had made a few decisions. One, for the time being he himself would act as manger for the Potter-Black accounts. Two, that the letter was correct an unauthorized someone had been accessing the accounts that would stop. Three if his great uncle weren't already dead he would behead him himself. Because if word of a screw up of this magnitude got out, the current peace treaty with the Wizards would be null and void. And he would be busy defending his family and clan from Wizards wanting to behead them as vermin. He sat at his desk to compose a reply.
Harry thought about what he would do next. He wasn't going to stay here. Which would mean he would need his trunk which was locked in the cupboard under the stairs, but how to get it and have it not be noticed. Well he supposed he could try to do a wandless reducio, after all he could do a wandless lumos when he had needed it last year. Once more under his cloak he slipped out this time getting his trunk. Once he was back in his room he looked hard at the contents. He frowned and decided since he wasn't likely to get a quick response from the bank he had time to go through the trunk. He pulled out all of Dudley's hand me downs. He wasn't going to keep them or anything else that reminded him of Privet Drive. He took out old chocolate frog wrappers. He tidied his potion ingredients, and threw out the ones that had spoiled. When he came to the shards of the mirror from Sirius, his heart ached but he couldn't change it. He found a small box to put the shards in and decided to keep them as a reminder of his stupidity.
After he had gone through everything and repacked it neatly, he attempted to shrink it wandlessly. He had tried twelve times with no success then he heard his uncle coming down the hall desperate to not be caught with his trunk he prayed and said with a note of desperation "reducio" Only to have it shrink to a size he could tuck in his pocket and with relief he did so. He tossed the things he had decided to discard into the closet and hung up the robe he'd left unpacked.
His uncle's belligerent "Make breakfast freak." had him moving to the kitchen. Once again he cooked the massive amount of food required to feed the Dursley's and still leave him with a meager breakfast when they were done. He wished that they were normal then he would get a hot breakfast that would fill him up like he did at Hogwarts but nnooo. Thanks to Master-manipulator he got a cold meager breakfast every morning. If he was lucky and his aunt was feeling generous he got a skimpy cheese sandwich with stale bread for lunch and if he managed to get all his chores done that day he might get a half of serving of the food that was left after the Dursley's ate dinner, once again only after it was cold. Harry knew he had to get out of this house if he didn't get away soon he would crack and it would be the end of his relatives. As much as he wanted revenge for their treatment of him he didn't want them dead; after all that wouldn't fit the crime. Far better they be exposed for what they were cruel, petty thieves and freaks without a shred of human kindness.
Mid-morning while he trimmed the hedges his aunt was so obsessed over, Hedwig flew to him. He smiled at her and said, "Go in, I'll be in in a minute." Harry finished the hedges then went in when Aunt Petunia tried to protest he said."I need to go the bathroom and to check on Hedwig."
His aunt remembered that Harry's owl needed to be healthy to take the messages every three days so the freaks didn't visit, so she nodded.
Harry went to the bathroom then his room. Once there he opened the letter that had a Gringotts seal.
Mr. Potter,
The tone of your letter stating that fraud was occurring with your account was troubling to us here at Gringotts bank. We goblins pride ourselves on following through on our agreements. However with your letter we have made inquires and you were unfortunately correct. Therefore until all irregularities have been corrected and a new account manager is found, I will personally act as your account manager.
In the meantime I wish to pass my condolences on to you regarding your late godfather. I had received word yesterday from Albus Dumbledore that he would be handling things in your stead. However with the recent development, I'm afraid I must insist that you handle things personally. To that end I have enclosed a portkey per your request. Simply snap the wax wafer and say Gringott's and you will appear in my office. Shall we say four o'clock? If not, send your owl directly to me with a better time.
Ragnok, Director Gringotts Bank
Harry smiled, that was a better reaction from the goblins than he had expected. He went back to his chores. At three thirty he came in and took a two minute cold shower while ignoring his aunt's complaints that he was wasting water and shouldn't he be starting dinner. He continued to ignore his aunt's sputtering as he went to his room. He took his school robe from the closet and after pulling on the cleanest set of clothes he had, he put his robe over them. He took a note he written earlier out and gave it to Hedwig. "Here girl take this to the Weaseley's. If they're at the Burrow take a day to hunt before coming and finding me." He tucked his pre-shrunken trunk into his pocket. He ducked under the bed to grab his treasures and the file he had swiped from his uncle's safe, and tucked them into the deep pockets of his robes. He grabbed the cage in the corner then said, "Goodbye Aunt Petunia may you never see me again, and may you get exactly what you deserve." He then snapped the wax wafer the goblins had sent and said, "Gringotts."
Ragnok's day had started poorly and gone downhill from there. He had found one thing after another had been mishandled regarding the Potter Account. His initial look at the Black account hadn't been encouraging either so he ordered a hold on the Black account and that all the properties be sealed until things were clearer. He had found out that four goblins were guilty of taking bribes from Albus Dumbledore, and another was being blackmailed. The four were already dead the fifth soon would be. He found that Dumbledore had claimed guardianship when he wasn't even listed in the will and that Oretooth's death was to say the least, a little too convenient.
At four o'clock he was in his office to greet the Boy Who Lived, Lord of the Ancient and Noble Houses of Potter and Black and with the recent inheritance from his godfather one of the wealthiest young men in England. The boy who appeared wasn't what he expected. He expected a heroic figure, instead in front of him was a skinny slightly undersized poorly dressed boy. Who apparently didn't know how to make a graceful landing from a portkey.
"I hate portkeys." Harry climbed to his feet. "Sorry about that. You must be Director Ragnok. I appreciate you making the time to see me." He offered his hand. Ragnok looked at him, before slowly offering his own hand. Harry tried to smile winningly as he shook hands with the goblin."I hope you don't mind my bringing my owl cage with me. I have no intention of going back to my Aunt Petunia's-"
At those words Ragnok groaned he had read the Potter wills and both had been explicit under no circumstances was Harry to go to his Aunt Petunia.
"Is something wrong Director?"
"Yes, everything." Ragnok decided better to get it over with and find out just how much damage control he was going to have to do. "What brings you here today, Lord Potter?"
"Well I guess it starts with what I found out about my aunt and uncle. They've been getting four hundred pounds a month to keep me but only spending fifty of it on me., and here's my proof in my uncle's own handwriting. From there, my questions move to Dumbledore, and the prophecy and.." Harry paused as he noticed the acutely dismayed expression the goblin in front of him was wearing.
Ragnok asked softly, "Lord Potter, what do you require of me so that the treaty between our people will be reinstated. Anything up to and including my life is yours for the asking."
"I..." Harry stopped. "Director, I must confess to ignorance of what you speak. I suspect there is much information which I have been denied and I suspect there is even more which you can tell me that affects both our people. I ask only that you enlighten me and allow me to make my own decisions and I will count the treaty as upheld." Their discussion lasted through the night and well into the next morning.
Mudungus Fletcher grinned with Sirius Black's death there were all those lovely valuables in Grimmauld Place that he could hock. He slipped up to the door and tried to open it. It wouldn't budge.
"Alohomora" he muttered. It still didn't open. "Damnit!" he swore; he needed money. If he didn't have money how was he supposed to get something to drink. He needed something to drink. He'd better go tell Albus.
Albus was put out. For some reason, probably Sirius Black's death, neither he nor any other Order members were able to get into Grimmauld place Molly had run home to the Burrow for something and the floo had closed itself. He didn't know who was next in line to inherit the Black estate. He supposed it would be Draco Malfoy. But Sirius was just contrary enough that he might have named Harry his heir. Albus had, on the off chance that was the case, sent a missive off to Gringotts. after the ministry fiasco. The only good that had happened out of that day was that Sirius, pain in the ass he was and counter influence to Harry, was now no longer there and hopefully the boy would be broken and biddable. The damn brat had broken so many of his things with that little temper tantrum after he first came back to Hogwarts. Albus had once again put Harry where he was controlled and unhappy and denied him both information and support. He smirked not that Ron Weasley was much support, betrayer was more the case, and thankfully Miss Granger's parents were keeping the girl occupied elsewhere. It was amazing how easily he was able to get those in the Order to do his bidding.
Harry was blown away. He was filthy stinking rich. Between his parents and Sirius, he was the richest young man in the magical world. He thought of the seats he controlled in the Wizengamot the only reason Dumbledore was Chief Warlock was because he voted the five hereditary seats the Potters controlled. Dumbledore's own seat was his because of his Order of Merlin for stopping Grindelwald, as it turned out he hadn't even had the guts to kill his enemy. Grindelwald sat rotting in Nurmengard. Albus' seat was not a hereditary seat so when he died his power ended there.
He now understood why Ragnok had been so scared that Harry would set aside the treaty. His Potter seats together with the six Black seats added to the seats of those in the government with anti goblin bias and the goblins and the wizarding world would have been at war. Harry had decided since Albus was such a bastard as to send him to Dursley's after Sirius' death, Harry would revoke his free pass to use Grimmauld place as the Birdbrains' Clubhouse. Ragnok told him that as the new owner Harry could revoke the fidelius on it. So Harry did. He gave instructions that it was to be cleaned out, cleaned up and sold. His godfather had hated that house. It had been a second, and sadly last prison for him. Sirius had done two things in his last will and testament he had given Harry almost everything and he had, and filed to emancipate him in both worlds. Harry went with the goblins to Grimauld place because he had one thing he wanted to do there.
When they arrived at the house Harry went in, escorted by Ragnok he went to Sirius' room and pulled a robe from the wardrobe and without thinking wandlessly shrank them to fit a child. "Kreacher!Come here!"
The dirty decrepit house elf popped in front of him and promptly started bad mouthing him, "Dirty half blood calls good Kreacher, Kreacher won't listen to stupid filthy half blood traitor."
"Kreacher shut up!"
The elf shut up and started turning chartreuse.
Harry spoke again "You filthy disgrace of a house elf. You will never hang on a wall in this house. You didn't serve the family in a way befitting their position. This house is filthy, you never have cooked a meal anytime I've been here, and instead of serving the living Master of the Black family with loyalty and honor you berated your master and his guests. You don't even follow direct orders properly, and your actions resulted in the death of your master. You deserve clothes! Put these on!"
Harry thrust the robes at Kreacher.
Kreacher went mint green then darkened to an almost forest green as he goggled.
Harry was reminded of the times when Uncle Vernon turned the color of black currant ice cream, and how he'd wished Vernon would have a stroke. Since the elf just stood there Harry moved to pull the robes over the elf's head.
Kreacher looked down at the robes, looked at Harry stumbled out the door and collapsed.
Ragnok checked him. "He's dead."
Ragnok's team of goblins in charge of clearing the house of cursed items had found something exceptionally disturbing in a cupboard off the kitchen. And after wrapping it in silk they brought it to him. "Director we have found a baalsta rogum."
Ragnok paled said a swearword and said, "Today only needed this. The fates must hate me."
In the previous night's long hours Harry and Ragnok had decided to do away with formalities between them, so Harry asked, "Ragnok what is a baalsta rogum?"
"The darkest magic Harry, something your kind invented to give them a kind of immortality. It is a soul box. The evil one anchors part of their soul in an object to anchor them to this plane of existence."
"Sounds like something Voldemort would d... Do you suppose Voldemort did that? To keep himself alive I mean."
"It is possible."
"Knowing Voldie, he was twisted enough he would probably make several."
"The soul cannot be split into more than seven pieces, and once piece must lie in the body unless the body is dead."
"Is there a way to find out?"
"If we have one, Then yes." He looked at the body of the house elf "Are we done here?"
"We're done."
Harry returned to the bank with Ragnok. Together they reviewed his holdings, Harry was surprised to see he owned twenty percent of the Leaky Cauldron and wondered if that was why Tom had been so helpful third year. He also owned stock in fifty percent of the businesses in Diagon Alley , Hogsmeade, and various companies in the muggle world.
Harry knew he still had a lot of business to complete both here at the bank and elsewhere in the Alley, he looked at Ragnok. "Ragnok I need to eat, sleep, get some other clothes, and clean up. I'm thinking I'll head to the Leaky Cauldron, but I'll need money. Also I was thinking of doing some shopping in both the magical world and the muggle."
" Of course Harry. If I might suggest, Take a room with a private parlor at the Leaky Cauldron and have the clothing merchant come to you. I might suggest Twillfit and Tatting's not only would you get a discount as an investor but Twillfit himself will know what is appropriate to clothe someone of your stature in the wizarding world and be able to advise you. I would also suggest that you acquire a teacher who can teach you etiquette appropriate to your station because it's obvious the Dursley's didn't."
"Who would you recommend? Because I wouldn't have a clue where to start."
"Miranda Greenbrier. She is old, 120 I believe, and she really only has enough power to send a stinging hex. However close to a squib she is, she knows many of the things you need to know. Her family was of the first circle, however her nephew had a gambling problem and ruined the family position. She has been a tutor to many purebloods including the wizard that we believe will become the next minister Rufus Scrimgeour. If you wish, I could contact her."
"Do that but give me a day or two first so I look the part rather than a ruffian."
"All right how much muggle money do you think you'll need?"
"I'm not sure. I really wish Gringotts had debit cards."
"Debit cards? What are those?"
Harry was startled the goblin didn't know but he explained anyway not just about debit cards but also credit cards and electronic banking in the muggle world. Ragnok got very excited when Harry explained everything he knew. He sent his assistant for one of the muggleborn bank hires as a source of more information. Harry bid him a polite "Goodbye."
"Harry wait a minute. Spitstone Lord Potter Black needs a Gringotts letter of credit to show merchants in the alley and twenty thousand muggle pounds. Harry show the merchants in the alley the letter they will bill your account here at the bank directly it will be easier than carrying galleons. Also Spitstone get him one of our disguise stones that should ensure his anonymity."
Harry left the bank with Ragnok's recommendations and his cloak's hood up. He went to the Leaky Cauldron and got a room with a private parlor attached having been up twenty-eight hours he went to his room an d slept until four in the afternoon. He woke up, went down and made arrangements to have two thirds of his meals at the Leaky Cauldron until September 1st. He also made sure to tell Tom to keep his presence here quiet.
Harry slipped out and took the underground to Harrod's. He went in. He had grown up hearing his aunt rave about the store and had always wanted to see it.
A sales person approached him, "Can I help you?" The woman's face and tone were polite although her eyes indicated disdain at his appearance.
Harry smiled , she was polite despite how he was dressed he could work with that. "My family home got destroyed and I need a new wardrobe. As you can see the hand me downs from my cousin are atrocious so I plan to get a lot. I need at least a suit, six dress slacks, a sport coat, four pairs jeans..." Two and a half hours later he walked out of the store looking and feeling much better.
He slipped into the alley and Reducio-ed most of his purchases only to be caught by the aroma of curry from a nearby restaurant. Harry entered the restaurant and ordered lamb curry, vegtable koorma, naan, and riata. He ate until he almost felt like he would burst. He then packed up the leftovers and returned to the Leaky Cauldron. He asked the house elf to put the food into stasis so he'd have a dinner for tomorrow. He sent a message to Twillfit of Twillfit and Tattings using one of the inn's messenger owl. The inn's elf brought him a message from Ragnok.
Harry,
Contacted Madam Greenbriar she agreed. I have also contacted a muggleborn healer to give you a full health evaluation in the morning, some of what you said of your relatives did disturbed me. Young are supposed to be protected.
Grimmauld place is now listed as you suspected we found belongings of various witches and wizards that you mentioned as being in the Order. Those belongings were identified and returned to their owners per your instructions. We found many cursed objects: books were destroyed as per your instructions, cursed silver was melted down and converted into sickles, curse breakers are working on the other objects of value. Non-cursed valuables and books have been transferred to your vaults.
The baalsta rogum is one of six pieces of the soul. As you suspected they are of He-who-must-not-be-named. Two are near the town Little Hangleton. One, to our shame, is in a vault, one is at Hogwarts and two more are here in London the locket and one other that moves around. The one found in your godfather's townhouse is in a valuable locket it used to belong to Salazar Slytherin. Gringotts will extract the piece of soul and destroy it for a small fee of a thousand galleons, leaving the locket intact for you to sell. I've made the assumption from what you said of the prophecy last night that you will wish to fund the destruction so a team has been dispatched to Little Hangleton and as long as those are not the dark lord they will be brought back and destroyed. The one in the bank is being destroyed as I write this. This is one type of magic we will not tolerate.
Harry paused in his reading. One in London moving around... Shit. Did that mean the link in he scar was a baalsta rogum? He'd have to ask Ragnok to check that tomorrow. Harry went back to his letter.
We have found that the Headmaster is behind many of the irregularities in your account. Unfortunately the influence he wields will make it difficult for us to do anything about his past transgressions. I promise however they will stop and I will recover what I can.
Assuming the emancipation from your Godfather goes through you get access to your family vault and not just your trust vault so tomorrow afternoon I was thinking you could come and I would take you down to it.
Ragnok
Harry sighed as he finished the letter. He still had lots to do and think about. Tomorrow he had wanted to go to Flourish and Blott's but it looked like he would be occupied elsewhere. He decided to go to bed he still hadn't caught up from the last couple of days.
The next morning he woke early when Tom knocked and asked, "Harry did you send for a healer?"
Harry said, "No but Ragnok did on my behalf."
Tom said, "I'll send him up then." Two minutes later a tall vigorous man entered the room.
"Lord Potter-Black a pleasure sorry to wake you but I wanted to get this done before morning rounds at St. Mungo's. Healer Kendall Truefaith" he extended his hand.
After a quick handshake he reached into his satchel and pulled out a cup and a small strip of paper. And then a slide and a second strip of paper. "I need a small amount of your blood and I need you to pee in this cup. I'll destroy both in front of you before I leave, so you needn't worry I want them for a nefarious purpose."
Harry shrugged and held out his hand. The healer said "sourgify" then lanced his finger after collecting a little of his blood there was an "episkey" and the cup was handed to him. Harry went to the bathroom in his room and did his morning business and ablutions. He came back out and handed the cup to the healer. "Thank you. Now if you would sit in the chair. He waved his wand around Harry in a long complicated pattern while chanting in what Harry thought was something foreign.
"What spell is that? I've never heard it before." Harry asked.
"That is an ancient spell invented by the first healers. It will give me a complete medical history: inoculations, past injuries and illnesses, general conditions and magical core analysis: any spell exposure, potions that sort of thing." he tapped his wand to a parchment. When ten minutes had gone by and the parchment scroll was still going he got a concerned look and started reading At twenty minutes he was pale, and still the scroll grew. Finally at thirty five minutes it stopped. As the healer read disbelief clouded his face. When he finished he said, "Merlin's socks! How is it you're even still alive?"
"To stubborn to die, luck and magic I guess." Harry answered. "Oh and a phoenix that likes me," he added as an afterthought. He watched as the healer banished the blood and urine samples. "So what now?"
"What would you like to do Lord Potter-Black? From the looks of things your former guardians could be put on trial for child abuse and neglect. We need to give you basic inoculations, and treat your long term malnutrition. Beyond that we could fix your eyesight, we need to research the curse on the scar on your forehead. It appears to be interfering with your magical core on several levels, I also want to see about fixing the curse scar on your hand."
"Okay let's start with fixing the malnutrition and the inoculations...hmm...how would we fix my eyesight? And anything to get rid of the scar that bitch, Umbridge, gave me on my hand I'm fine with. Do you think I could prosecute her as well? I'll happily put the Dursleys on trial for child abuse they deserve it and I plan on talking with Ragnok about the curse scar on my forehead today. Do you think I could get two copies of that report."
"Of course. I'll talk with a potion master for the potions we'll need. For your general health and for the eyesight potion. To fix your eyesight we use a potion to make the eye walls malleable followed by some spell work to correct the shape of the eye followed with another potion to harden for lack of a better word the shape of the eye again. The whole procedure lasts twenty minutes and you'll have a headache for two days." While he spoke he wordlessly did the duplication spell.
"Sounds painful."
"It is but from your record you have had worse. I have done it myself and can tell you the pain is akin to that of a half healed broken bone."
"So a three or four on a pain scale when ten is a cruciatus."
"If you say so." The healer checked his watch. "I'm late, Lord Potter-Black it was ...interesting and I'll be in touch."
"Have a good day Healer Truefaith."
Harry showered, dressed and went to the parlor he for breakfast. After breakfast he headed to the bank. At the bank he waited twenty minutes until Ragnok could see him. Ragnok called him into his office "Harry there is someone I'd like you to meet." An elderly man in his office stood and came over. "Nicholas Flammel, this is Lord Harry Potter-Black, Harry this is Nicholas Flammel."
Harry extended his hand quickly and said, "It's an honor sir. I learned about your work five years ago and it was very interesting."
"Five years ago? You look a might young for that Lord Potter-Black."
"When you loaned the philosopher's stone to Dumbledore my friends and I ended up saving it from a Voldemort possessed teacher."
"WHAT?" Flammel roared.
Harry told him the story of his first year at Hogwarts. When he finished, Flammel muttered "I always knew Albus was troubled after the death of his sister at the hand of his lover. But to desert reason to the level he endangers school children with his plots. It's unconscionable; to risk so much with a false stone."
Harry muttered "That wasn't the only time."
"What do you mean?" Flammel queried.
Harry then gave both Flammel and Ragnok a rundown of all his adventures at school each year. The room was silent as the old man and the goblin absorbed the information. After five minutes Ragnok cleared his throat. "He's mad, cracked, insane..."
"Quite." Flammel concurred.
"Harry Congratulations on destroying a baalsta rogum when you were twelve. What did you do with the Basilisk if I may ask?"
"Nothing, as far as I know it's still there."
"Would you like for us to make arrangements for it to be harvested and to sell the body parts for ingredients?"
"Wouldn't it be decayed?" Harry asked.
"Not likely." Flammel offered.
"Sure why not." Harry answered. "Speaking of the baalsta rogums, is it possible to have a living one?"
"I don't ...hmm...theoretically? I would say, yes."
"Shit. I was afraid of that."
"Why?"
"When your letter said one was moving around London, it occurred to me that this," he tapped his scar, "might be one. Oh and here's the healer's report you wanted."
Ragnok and Flammel both had dismayed expressions on their faces. Harry chewed on his lower lip for a moment, Awkward didn't begin to describe how he was feeling. "Can I get, say... Griphook to take me to my family vault now?" At Ragnok's nod to his assistant. Harry got a his key and left the office.
"Albus must be stopped before that boy or any others die. And that boy needs a mentor that's not insane."
"I concur, Nicholas." Ragnok agreed.
Down in his family vault Harry found a gold mine, his mother's journals. Lily Potter evidently believed in keeping meticulous records as much as Uncle Vernon did, but hers were much more interesting. Lily Potter had been an Unspeakable and a Potions Mistress. There in the vault were twelve journals and nearby a bottle of a golden yellow potion that glowed. It looked like liquid sunshine. Harry wondered what it was. Suddenly Harry heard a hoot and looked up,"Hey Hedwig, aren't you clever finding me here. Did anyone send anything?"
She landed on his shoulder and preened his hair as if to comfort him for not having a letter.
"Figures." He muttered. "Do they realize I'm gone yet?"
She shook her head in a very human gesture.
"Think I should send a letter to keep up the fiction?"
The owl nibbled at his ear.
"All right I will. But this time I want you to listen before you deliver it. If they know I'm gone don't deliver it, because they may try to use you to find me. Can you do that? But wait I don't have parchment here I guess I'll have to wait until later. See what I found my mum's journals."
Hedwig pecked at the glowing yellow potion.
"I don't know what that is either I hope the answers will be in these he brushed the dust off the journals. Let's go back to the Leaky Cauldron. I'll have yesterday's curry for lunch. I'll write my note to the order and I'll start reading. He tossed Hedwig into the air and slipped his dad's cloak on as he left Gringott's lobby.
When Harry got back to the Leaky Cauldron, he was glad he was under his invisibility cloak because a third of the order was there to floo to the Three Broomsticks and they were moaning that it was awful that Headquarters was closed to them. Remus looked like it had been a rough full moon. But Emmaline Vance looked her normal pristine and somewhat snooty self. Tonks was holding Remus' hand, and Arthur looked as if he had places he'd rather be. Harry slipped carefully by them as far from Remus as he could. He thought the jig was up when Remus cocked his head and sniffed as if he smelled something. Only to wilt with relief when the man shook his head as if to clear it. Harry breathed a sigh of relief on reaching his room undiscovered. But felt a sudden sting of anxiety upon spotting the parchments waiting for him.
The first of the parchments was from Mr. Twillfit of Twillfit and Tattings he would be delighted to accommodate Lord Potter-Black's request for a wardrobe fitting in his parlor at the Leaky Cauldron. He would come at nine thirty tomorrow.
The second parchment was from a legal firm Ragnok had advised he hire. Bancroft, Sterns, and Ambercrombie was as Ragnok put it a legal firm with a foot firmly placed in both worlds. Half of their staff saw to legal matters in the wizarding world the other half dealt with the muggle. Ms. Catherine Ambercrombie and Mr. Reginald Sterns would be coming tomorrow at twelve for a working lunch to discuss all the ways in which their firm could serve Lord Potter-Black.
The third parchment was accompanied by a parcel, Healer Truefaith had sent him potions and directions on an eating and exercising plan to maximize the benefit of the potion regime for his malnutrition. He was instructed to eat regular meals according to the eating plan and take one green and one red potion with every meal he was also to do endurance exercise such as running for at least a half an hour every day and to do the list of strengthening exercises every other day and he was to choose one day to skip exercising each week.
After he had been doing the regime a week he was to take the blue potion once a week. Healer Truefaith would see him in three weeks and at that time Harry could look forward to starting the muggle inoculations his aunt and uncle had denied him. By the end of the summer Harry should be much healthier.
The fourth parchment also came with a parcel, and it more than the others gave Harry a bit of a sense of dread it was from Madame Greenbrier. She understood that he was in need of instruction on how to get on in society. She hoped that he wasn't stupid but given his age he undoubtably had a lot of unlearning to do before true learning could begin. Therefore she was enclosing a primer on the wizarding world etiquette that she expected him to read by the time she came to see him in three days. She would come to breakfast at eight thirty sharp and they would decide if they would suit as teacher and student from there.
After he ate his lunch Harry went to a sporting goods store in London to get workout clothes and the equipment he needed to fulfill Healer Truefaith's exercise plan. If he was going to have to drink nasty potions he was going to follow directions so he'd get maximum benefit. Then he returned to his room and started reading. He started with the book Madame Greenbrier sent. He read a chapter took careful notes and reviewed the key points until he memorized them then he rewarded himself with his mum's journals.
He was shocked to learn at eleven his mum's best friend was Severus Snape, he was also shocked to learn that she had been given her choice of all four houses but it was her courage to stand up for and to care for others regardless of house that had pushed the hat to Gryffindor. He went back and forth between the etiquette book and his mum's journals all day. He gained some sympathy for Snape because he read about Snape's drunk and abusive father and about his own father's bullying git behavior. His dad resembled Draco Malfoy more than anyone else and Sirius really reminded Harry of Ron except with an almost Crabbe and Goyleish devotion. Harry had worked his way through two thirds the etiquette book and through his mum's journal through third year, when Tom brought his dinner.
Harry showed Tom his eating plan and added a third meal to his stay he told Tom,
'If I think I'll be out at lunch I'll let you know in the morning, but I really need to eat healthy so I'd like to follow it as closely as possible." Tom agreed. Harry told him about his appointments so when the various people showed up they could be shown directly to the parlor.
As Harry ate he tried to use the manners described in the manners book and found that while he felt slightly stilted it wasn't completely impossible. He wondered about his OWLS briefly then remembered he needed to send word to the Order. He scribbled a brief note and gave it to Hedwig reminding her of her instructions.
Hedwig arrived back at the Leaky Cauldron just as Harry returned from his morning run. Tom followed him up with his breakfast. Harry enjoyed eating a huge hot breakfast then showered and dressed. He moved to the parlor and started reading his etiquette book again.
An hour later Mr. Twillfit arrived he brought with him a large trunk. The next half hour all that was discussed was what needs did Harry have and what situations was he likely to find himself in, then they discussed what was fashionable, what was traditional and what Harry wanted and how he wanted to be perceived.
Harry decided that he wanted to be non-traditional and wanted to maybe set a new fashion. His robes would be more like a cassock robe with side slits or a full skirted frock coat. They had to be comfortable and easy to move in with sharp detailed lines instead of the usual softened lines and move limiting robes most wizards wore, The frock coat robes were built in layers a long coat, over a mid thigh waistcoat, trousers, and a mix of crisp sharp line shirts or softer poet shirts. The cassock robes would be simpler still robe worn over a shirt and trousers. Mr. Twillfit got very excited. Harry did order one traditional robe, he ordered the formal Wizengamot robe following traditional colors and lines.
At five until noon Mr. Twillfit left with the giddy joy of getting to create something new; he would comeback the afternoon the day after next to see if what he was going to make would be pleasing to Harry and they would discuss colors and fabrics then.
Ms. Ambercrombie and Mr. Sterns knocked on the parlor door just as Harry returned from using the bathroom. After introductions they sat down.
Reginald Sterns started, "Ragnok has forwarded the emancipation paperwork to our firm that was prepared by your godfather and there should be no problems getting them signed off in the wizarding side of things. You've taken your OWLs, and have already effectively been acknowledged as an adult twice. If anyone tries to block it they lose plain and simple."
"What do you mean I've already effectively been acknowledged twice?"
"When you participated in the Tri-wizard Tournament and again last summer when you were tried in front of the Wizengamot, underage magic use for minors is a hearing not a trial, by giving you a trial Fudge acknowledged you as an adult; and to participate in the tournament-"
"Being forced to participate you mean." Harry stated firmly.
"Um..Yes, participation constitutes conferring of adult status because only of age wizards were to compete."
"Okay. What about the muggle side?"
"There it's considerably stickier." Ms. Ambercrombie said. "You have no records of schooling past primary school and although you have money enough to never have to work a day in your life the British government likes their citizens to be productive. In our favor is the health report, and the financial records...hmm...it's not ethical, but then again neither is their treatment of you."
Tom knocked and brought in their lunch.
After he left she continued, "A mild compulsion charm a the trial and them confessing to blocking your further education."
"If they could have without causing a stink they would have. As it is they did try to block my entrance to Hogwarts I only got my letter when Hagrid delivered it in person. What I want to know is do I have to do it in both worlds?"
"Do you want justice served on your aunt and uncle?"
"Hell yes."
"Then we must do it in both worlds. And Lord Potter-Black for curiosity, what would you consider justice?"
"Call me Harry please. Justice...hmm...Dudley in prison for assault and battery, petty theft. Uncle Vernon in prison for theft and child abuse. Aunt Petunia serving those she's always looked down as being beneath her in forced community service and everyone knowing the truth; she neglected her blood-kin and looked the other way when the scuz bucket she calls husband and the whale she calls son beat on me."
"Reasonable and I believe quite do able."
"Okay so emancipation, what does being emancipated get me?"
"Control. In the muggle world it gets you access to your finances it allows you to make contracts for yourself . It makes you answerable for your own actions, but it offers you more choices." Ms. Ambercrombie said.
Mr. Sterns said, "In the magical realm it gets you unlimited access to your funds and vaults, You get to claim your titles, You get to choose where you live and what you do. It lifts the trace from your wand that's one reason why having OWLs is a requirement, the statue of the reasonable restriction of underage wizardry no longer applies. You become eligible for an apparition license, and in your case you appoint adults who will sit your Wizengamot seats until you reach age 26 and become eligible to sit them yourself."
"All of that sounds really good. I also wanted to ask do I have any recourse to get money from people that lie about me in the press or who have used my name or my story for their own gain?" Harry fought back a smirk at the positively shark-like expressions that appeared on both of their faces. "In the muggle world I would definitely have grounds to sue The Daily Prophet's pants off and I can't say I'm happy that I have this enormous fan following courtesy of books written about me that I was never interviewed for. I survived the killing curse most likely because of something my mum did not me. I hate my fame and if I could, I would do away with it."
"Harry, out of curiosity how much fan mail do you get?"
"None...how can that be? Unless... is there some kind of ward that can be placed on a person so that they only get certain mail."
"Yes but it's illegal."
"That wouldn't stop him. Could you check and see?"
Sterns lifted his wand waved his wand in a few passes and said, "I"ll be damned. You said that wouldn't stop him, who Harry?"
"The Headmaster, head case, master manipulator take your pick. He's been controlling me since I was a baby all because of some prophecy. I don't like him, he treats me like I'm some weapon. Sometimes I almost feel like he's trying to set me up for martyrdom. But I won't do it, not for him, not after everything he's done."
"Okay, should we plan on going after the Headmaster?" Ms. Ambercrombie sounded very nervous at the suggestion.
"No. I'll deal with him. I have other more important things first. Tom Riddle...Bellatrix LeStrange...Peter Pettigrew...my so called family...Umbridge...Snape...the Malfoys...the Headmaster is actually towards the bottom of my take care of list."
"All right." Both solicitors look distinctly uncertain.
Harry gave them a reassuring smile. "Let's focus on the emancipations first, followed by the Prophet. I assume that you will bill my account at Gringotts and I would like some privacy oaths."
"Of course."
Shortly after that the solicitors left. Harry did his strengthening workout took a quick shower to cool off then Harry went back to studying the etiquette book and his mum's journals.
The next day after his run Harry looked at his muggle wardrobe thought about his probable wizarding wardrobe and decided he better go shopping. His school trunk wouldn't hold it all and he also wanted to see if he could find occlumency books because if he knew the Headmaster, the bastard probably would insist he resume lessons with Snape.
Tom knocked and Harry opened the door for him, "Here's your breakfast."
"Thanks, Tom."
"If you don't mind my asking Harry why are you staying here?"
"Lots of reasons, Tom."
"Your life is your own lad, but if you need an ear just ask. Your family has done lots for me your great grandfather loaned me the money to buy this place and when I run short for a few years early in the last war your grandfather invested in the Cauldron claiming wizards needed neutral ground for business or there wouldn't be a wizarding world."
"Thanks Tom could you tell me more stories about my grandfather. I know so little about my family."
"Well I suppose I could tell you a few. I remember the day he found out he and Magda were expecting James. Bout burst his buttons they'd been married twenty five years when Magda missed she thought it was the change. Healer coulda' knocked her over with a feather after tellin' her she was expecting. Suspect that's why they spoiled him so. If it weren't for your mum they'd have ruined that boy. Course every now and again I see others come through that remind me of him."
"Like Malfoy?"
"Aye like young Mr. Malfoy."
"Tom am I like them?"
"Like who?"
"My family."
"Well, you look like your dad, 'cept your eyes they're like your mum's. But you've heard that, I suspect. But you in some ways you're like your mum. Some though you're like the Lord Potter that loaned me the money to get this place, honest, caring, hard as nails when need be. Sad that we live in times where you don't get to be warm and generous the way he was."
"Thank you. I'm honored you see me that way."
"Honor's mine Harry. Need anything else? I've got work to do."
"No I'll probably get lunch on the alley today."
"Good enough see you at dinner then."
His first stop was the shop that sold trunks and book bags. He looked at, but couldn't justify a trunk like Moody's. But he got one that had three compartments: one that would allow his newly expanded wardrobe to stay neat and organized, one that would allow him to organize his current books and about three hundred more and a third which was divided into half potion makers cabinet half general storage. He also looked at the book bags but wasn't impressed. He used the one the Dursleys had bought Dudley, that Dudley hadn't been able to use because he couldn't let the straps out far enough for the last five years, but the straps were worn through and Harry needed a new one. Maybe after his emancipation went through he would go find a bag in the muggle world and charm it himself.
Next he went to Flourish and Blott's. Books were much more Hermione's thing. But Harry decided he didn't like being behind the eight ball, and if books would get him out then books he would get. He asked a clerk if there were any books on occlumency. The clerk answered not in the recently published but maybe back in the used books. He was behind a shelf scanning titles when he heard Dumbledore's voice.
"Unfortunately Mr. Weaseley I can't force Minerva to give you the Captain spot on the quidditch team it's really all I can do to make her leave you as prefect."
"If you want to keep your spy with Potter you'll find a way. Also, I'd like my pocket money increased. I think I deserve it for keeping Granger from writing him."
Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing. Thankful for the glamour stone from the goblins, he stepped to where he could see the speakers. It was Dumbledore and to Harry's surprise Ron.
Dumbledore demurred. "I don't see why I should do that."
"Call it hazard pay, without me how would you have known when to show up at the ministry to appear the hero to him? Sides those brain things gave me scars."
"Don't you think your family will notice?"
"You think I spend it all? No old man, I've saved enough to open a vault of my own. I intend to save enough until Potter gets himself killed according to your grand plan that I can buy a proper wardrobe when I graduate."
Harry felt as if he'd been sucker punched. He ducked back into the stacks of books around the corner. Ron wasn't his friend. Ron was spying on him for Dumbledore.
Harry promptly wondered about the rest of the Weaseleys. But Dumbledore said won't your family notice, that must mean they weren't aware of it. Then again Molly had been in and out of his vault and the Weaseleys were poor. Harry took a deep breath. Get a grip he told himself. Even if Molly had helped herself to a few galleons or even a few hundred Harry knew he had enough he'd never miss it and they had been kinder to him than his blood kin. Besides they wouldn't be able to do it again. But Harry knew one thing for certain he would never trust Ron Weaseley ever again, and he wasn't sure he trusted the rest of them either.
Better to know and move on, he shook his head. He resumed looking through the stacks. He found several interesting books on topics he knew would help him so he pulled them out. There were some on ministry laws. Most of which were to old to be useful but he found two that were only five years old so he added them to his stack to purchase. He found a couple interesting DADA books, and a book that was titled Everything You Need to Know to Make a Potions That the Masters Never Teach You. Harry pulled that one out and flipped through it. It gave explanations as to why you stirred certain ways had charts that covered ingredient reactions. Pity he hadn't read this book before his OWL, heck before the end of first year.
Finally when he had looked through about eighty percent of the used books, he finally found it Mind Magic: What You Need to Know so They Don't he pulled it out and glanced through it. He had his occlumency text. He continued looking through the stacks and found about ten more interesting books. He decided that he'd come back closer to September and look for books in the new book section then.
After purchasing his books he went to Ollivander's. The creepy man once gain popped out of nowhere startling Harry. "Hello Mr. Potter what brings you here?"
"Uhm...A couple of things actually, I want to... Has Neville Longbottom come in for a new wand yet?"
"No. Is he going to?"
"Yeah his, rather his father's, got snapped by accident at the ministry a week and a half ago. He came with me to help me so I thought I could pay you for his wand."
"Ah. If you wish it, I could do that. Is there anything else?
"Yeah I would like to get a wand holster."
"Wrist or waist?"
"Wrist."
"Well I have five types. There is a basic holster. A basic spring loaded where you push here and the wand is pushed into position in your hand. A spring loaded that is charmed to make it difficult to fumble when the spring is pressed. A charmed dragonhide basically the same as the previous that because of the dragonhide prevents the wand from being summoned from the holster by others, most aurors use this kind. Then there's the top of the line a dragonhide holster that is charmed to be invisible when worn, I don't sell many of those though."
"I want five of the dragonhide holsters, and one of the top of the line ones. Also a wand servicing kit." Harry didn't really want to buy a holster for Ron but since he didn't know when he would be dealing justice to the Headmaster and his so called friend; he opted to go for a keep your friends close and your enemies closer approach. Since he was buying holsters for his friends who went to the ministry with him that meant buying one for Ron too.
When Harry finished at Ollivander's, he went to the apothecary and restocked his potions kit he also made a point to buy some of the rarer ingredients that wouldn't spoil. When he finished there he decided he would go to muggle London and go to see the Tower he never had and had always wanted to. He had lunch in a small Italian place and spent three hours at the Tower before returning to his room at the Cauldron. Once back at the Cauldron he resumed his study of the etiquette book and his Mum's journals. When Tom brought him his dinner, he smiled at the older man.
"How was your day Tom?"
"Good Harry, How about yours?"
"Productive and fun, I finally got to see the Tower of London. It was neat. I also found a book that I hope will help me a bunch."
"That's good."
"Tom I'm expecting a guest for breakfast at eight thirty, a Madame Greenbrier. So I'll need breakfast for two not just me."
"Alright shall I wait and see what she wants or just duplicate what I bring you?"
"A duplicate is fine, she invited herself so she'll live with what she gets."
After Harry finished his dinner, he read and took notes on the last two chapters of the etiquette text and finished his mum's journals through fifth year. He really couldn't understand how his parents had gotten together but he could see why his mum and Snape had had a falling out. His mum hadn't liked Snape's friends upperclassmen McNair and Malfoy senior, who would bully her when Snape wasn't around. The fact that Snape had been creeping into a possessive controlling type of person, like Lily said Snape's father was, had made her nervous.
Lily had thought about it, and his verbal attack that day when she'd defended him had been the last straw. Lily had seen the pattern in their neighborhood a hundred times, it started with verbal putdowns and ended with women being sent to emergency rooms. She had no intention of being a statistic.
Her father had been a common laborer and her mum a stay at home. In a poor neighbor hood like Spinners End, her kind hardworking parents had been an exception not the rule. But neither of them had had opportunities. So Lily's brains and beauty had set her apart from the others in Spinners End. Her magic had made her special and her parents were proud of the fact. Sometimes a little to proud in fact, Lily felt bad that her parents frequently hurt Petunia's feelings. But at the same time Petunia made sure to blame Lily for it even if Lily wasn't really to blame. By Lily's fifth year she had come to the conclusion that though she loved her sister, a true relationship wasn't possible because of Petunia's insecurities and resentments.
It had been a relief when she got home summer fifth year to find her parents planning to move away from Spinners End. It seemed there had been a drug related shooting two weeks before her return and a flying bullet had shattered the living room window. So her parents had decided to move. Part of Lily felt bad to leave Snape in Spinners End to deal with his father's abuse without any support, but the decisions he'd made this year made her feel he was turning into another Tobias Snape only with magic and that thought hurt her more than she could bear.
Harry dreamed of Sirius falling through the veil that night, followed by a dream of Cedric at the graveyard and in both dreams they looked at Harry and asked why didn't you save me. Half of him was surprised he hadn't had any such dreams before but he supposed some of it was he had been focused on what needed to be done. Hedwig left the perch near the window and sat on his shoulder preening his hair. Harry knew he needed sleep. Healer Truefaith was quite adamant that Harry get eight to nine hours. Harry knew tonight he would not get it without a dreamless sleep potion.
Since he wouldn't sleep, he got out the book on mind magic and started to read it. He used the same method that he used for the etiquette book with the intent of absorbing it as quickly as possible.
The first chapter was an overview of both occlumency and legilemency what they did and how they were related. The second chapter was titled Disciplining Your Mind and gave concrete examples of methods of meditation and recommended being to meditate for thirty minutes before going further in the book. It clearly stated that one form of meditation didn't work for everyone which was why it gave several examples to try from.
Harry decided to try one that involved watching a candle flame but found he couldn't focus on it for more than two minutes at a time after an hour he gave up. Harry tried a second method. Trying to focus on his breathing and heartbeat he once again met with no more success than he had with the first. Fortunately by the time he gave up on this method it was dawn so he dressed for his daily run.
As he ran he reflected that in a meditative state you were supposed to feel both focus and relaxed that outside forces were not to affect you. He had run for about forty minutes and was almost back to the Leaky Cauldron when he had an ah-ha moment.
Flying for him was a meditation, now he just needed to learn to duplicate the feelings/thoughts he had/felt while flying and he would be able to meditate. He went in and headed to his room. He chose to dress in nice muggle clothes over his school robes. He had just finished dressing and combing his hair, not that it helped much, when a knock sounded on the door. He went over and opened it Madame Greenbrier stood there with Tom behind her.
"Madame Greenbrier, you honor me with your presence."
She looked him up and down "Aside from your clothing," she frowned, "a credible response. You remind me of your Great-grandfather right down to the impossible hair." She extended her hand.
Harry hastily took it and brushed a kiss across the knuckles before taking it, tucking it in his elbow and leading her to a chair at the table where he helped her to her seat. Tom followed him in and hastily set the dishes at each place while Harry took his own place. As he finished Harry said, "Thank you Tom."
"You're welcome Harry."
Madame Greenbrier sniffed disdainfully. After Tom left Harry politely moved to pour the breakfast tea. "How do you take your tea Madame?"
"Milky and sweet."
"One lump or two."
"Two please."
Harry poured her tea, for once he was grateful that when it was just family his aunt had made him pour. After handing her the tea he said, "Please, eat." he felt nervous and tried to remember all the table rules the book had given as he hungrily dug into his breakfast. Between bites he did his best to play polite host. At the end of the meal he excused himself to get his potions from his room. After swallowing them he was surprised to look up and she Madame Greenbrier looking at him from the door to his bedroom.
"A credible effort Lord Potter-Black. I am too old to be teaching dunderheaded children how to go on. That said, you seem to be motivated and have the ability to learn with little guidance. I will become your tutor, I will quiz you until I am certain I know what you know versus what you need to know and outline a program of study for you. I charge four galleons a hour is that agreeable?"
Harry thought about what he had learned just in the last three days about manners of the wizarding world. "Yes."
"Alright one of the first things we need to fix is your posture. It shouts uncertainty of self worth, I don't know who had the raising of you Lord Potter-Black but whoever they were they should be hexed into oblivion. Your houses go back centuries and are connected to the very founders of our society. You do not seem at all aware of this."
"No, Madame. I was raised by my mother's magic hating muggle sister, who treated me like a house elf. I decided at the beginning of this summer that I wasn't going to take that again and have taken up residence here and sought the assistance of the goblins. It was on Ragnok's advice I sought your tutelage. I have nothing against muggles in general. However I don't want anyone to know I'm here, if I can help it, especially Albus Dumbledore."
"That isn't a problem, I've never liked that poncey upstart. He's far to accommodating to those in power and has a certain greed for power that makes me nervous, too sure of himself by far."
"Wait... Albus Dumbledore is a pouf?"
"Yes, not that the wizarding world cares that much about orientation. At least once you're past school age."
"But know this Lord Potter-Black, purity is important before marriage. Largely because some of the most powerful magic in the world is sex linked magic. If you find someone who your magic is compatible with and you're both pure when you bond in a proper ceremony after the consummation both of you get your power increased. Some witches and wizards have even had their strength doubled through proper rituals. But just as sex between bonded partners can increase strength, virgins can be robbed of their power. That is one reason why many couples of the magical world bond young."
"I'm assuming you are still pure? Granted with your notoriety you've probably had more offers than most boys your age."
Harry blushed beet red. "I've never liked girls who just want to bed the Boy-Who-Lived, my survival was more my mum's doing than mine. I've been fortunate to have friends willing to run interference."
"Modesty, wonderful. It's a very becoming trait, be careful though, it's possible to be modest to a fault. And we must do something about your wardrobe..."
"I've engaged Mr. Twillfit to address that issue. He's coming this afternoon."
"Good. Now..."
Harry went to bed that night aching with exhaustion. Physically not just because of his short night last night, but also because Madame Miranda, as she told him to call her, was relentless in her drills regarding his posture and carriage. He also was mentally exhausted. She had given him information almost faster than he could absorb it: forms of address, proper dress for various occasions, which traditions that had to be observed versus which could be ignored without censure, and seemingly a thousand other things.
And the discussion of his wardrobe...had been exhausting but worth it in the end he thought. As result his clothes would either become the first style change to hit the magical world in a couple centuries or would forever brand him as an outsider. He wasn't sure he cared which, as long as he didn't wind up wearing the dresses that wizards called clothes the rest of his life. After all he was rich enough to be eccentric wasn't he? With that thought he fell asleep.
Three weeks later Albus Dumbledore cheerfully entered his office in his favorite purple robes with orange and gold stars on them. He cheerfully greeted Fawkes and fed him the piece of potion laced fruit that kept the phoenix beside him. It was a potion of his own design it acted as a slight imperious keeping the bird pliant to his will, and a slight obliviate so Fawkes never remembered his wrong doings. It helped that the foolish bird had bonded him because he had found the baby phoenix in the days following his falling out with Gellert when he had been truly remorseful and he had gotten it to promise to help him stay on the light path.
As he petted the naive bird, he noticed that the ward monitor on #4 Privet Drive was no longer spinning and in fact seemed to be smoking slightly. He immediately scrambled the Order to investigate.
Harry stretched after his morning run the last four weeks since he'd come home from Hogwarts had been very eventful.
Bancroft, Sterns, and Ambercrombie had been brilliant.
They had sent him to a muggle doctor that first week who had taken X-rays, blood samples and pictures to document the abuse evidence for the police they had then hired private investigators to follow Dudley and Vernon around who got even more evidence of their less than ethical ways. His family had been arrested and would face trial in four weeks. He had been meeting with a social worker in the muggle world to coordinate his emancipation there, as expected the biggest issue was his education. He made arrangements to do muggle classes through his A levels taking them independently and testing quarterly checking in with the social worker at the same time, so he got a conditional emancipation in the muggle world.
The hearing for his emancipation in the magical world had happened and they had kept it completely under wraps. But with his emancipation he got full access to his parents wills and the goblins records of his accounts legally so now the law firm was gathering evidence to submit to the DMLE of Dumbledore's misdeeds.
They had taken pensevie evidence of the Umbitch's doings, Voldemort's return, and all of the dangerous things that had happened to Harry at school. Mr. Sterns was just waiting for word from Harry to present all the evidence.
The goblins had gathered all the baalsta rogums except the one at Hogwarts and the ones that were Voldie and himself.
They had done a blood inheritance ritual which gave Harry not only a family tree for the Potters but also one from his mother. Turned out that the Evans family were descendants of Ravenclaw. Rowena having had two children Helena a witch that had died without children and Miles, a Squib son who according to histories the goblins kept, changed his name, ran away, and joined the king of the era's army. Harry found out from his mum's journals that the army had been a tradition in the Evans family for centuries one that his grandfather hadn't been able to follow due to rheumatic fever damaging his heart when he was a boy.
The Goblins helped him do a ritual to claim heirship over Slytherin due to right of conquest, and Harry found out that when Dumbledore had said only a true Gryffindor could pull the sword from the hat he hadn't been lying. Godric Gryffindor's great great granddaughter had married his six greats back grandfather and that all the other descendents of Gryffindor had died either of just did not have kids. Harry being heir to three of the four founder's could go to Hogwarts at will despite the rules against students being at Hogwarts over the summer. The founders vaults had actually been quite small as most of their fortunes had been invested into Hogwarts for perpetuity's sake, but there had been a few interesting books in each vault.
He understood now how his parents had finally gotten together. The journal of her sixth year had detailed how James and the rest of the Maruaders had had a bit of a falling out two months into the school year and that after that he had not played pranks and been a prat. If anything he had gone out of his way to be kind to others.
Then shortly after her return to Hogwarts from the Easter hols her parents had been killed in a Deatheater attack in London. James had comforted her as best he could and they had become friends. Lily had had a horrible summer because the aurors had not obliviated Petunia's memories of the attack since she knew about magic, as result she had taken her anger over the death of their parents and put the blame on Lily. James had been lovingly supportive and had decided after hearing about Lily's parents to become a auror. Petunia had inherited the house from their parents on Privet Drive and Lily got money to finish her schooling. But Petunia and her boyfriend Vernon had done there best to make her summer holiday before seventh year a living nightmare.
Their romance developed when they came back seventh year as Head Boy and Girl they spent large amounts of time together. Seventh year for his mum had been different James had patched up his differences with the Marauders over the summer and they resumed doing pranks but this year was different. The pranks were more general and didn't target specific people or even groups; they were actually funny. James took Lily home with him for the Christmas holidays and on Valentine's he proposed. They married two weeks after graduation despite that James' father died just before gradation. Lily went to work in the Unspeakables Department. The first muggleborn to do so in it's history. James and Sirius both became aurors with the DMLE and were made partners. Peter went home to care for his ailing mother and Remus did his best to keep body and soul together and helped Lily with her Lycanthropy research. James' mother died two months before Lily found out she was pregnant.
Harry knew his mum almost as well if not better than his dad because of her journal, and thanks to her journal he had the means to gain his revenge on everyone. In her final journal she wrote details of things she had found out about Tom Riddle and the highly questionable actions of Albus Dumbledore. There was also details about the mysterious potion. The bottle of golden potion was an alternate form of truth serum, one that didn't just make you tell the truth but instead compelled the drinker to confess all of their misdeeds. And it would bond itself to sugar for easy yet tasteless ingestion.
Harry had bought some lemon warheads that were currently sitting in a dose of the potion. As were some kitten shaped chocolates for certain former DADA teacher who despite her criminal actions was still on ministry rolls as an Under Secretary. He was carefully counting down the days to his revenge. His only question was how would he get Albus to call a press conference.
Harry's summer so far was busy.
He had lessons with Madame Miranda three times a week and was always exhausted afterwards. She had taught him many things including how to magically travel with grace and style as she put it.
He'd found himself developing a friendship with Nicholas Flammel who had volunteered to help him become an occlumence. And thanks to Healer Truefaith he had grown five inches and gained a stone since he left Hogwarts.
He did the summer homework and had decided that he wanted to learn runes and arithmancy. All of this in addition to his lessons with Ragnok in estate management, gobbleygook, and physical defense. That morning Hedwig had returned with his I'm okay missive while he was in his lessons with Ragnok. "So they finally found out I'm gone huh?"
Hedwig bobbed her head.
Harry grinned "That lasted a lot longer than I thought it would."
Ragnok looked at Hedwig in consternation. "Harry how... what were your instructions to your owl that she knew to bring that letter back if you were known to be missing?"
"Well for a few weeks now every time I sent an 'I'm fine' letter. I told Hedwig to listen outside before going in and delivering it, because I told her that if they knew I was gone they would try to use her to find me."
"Have you done a familiar bond with her?"
"No. What's that?"
"It is one explanation for why a post owl would be that smart. Such a bond grants the familiar animal greater intelligence and a longer life. In general it doubles the animal in questions lifespan."
"How about it Hedwig? Would you want to bond with me?"
The owl chirped and started to preen Harry's hair from her perch on his shoulder.
A few days later when the goblins were scheduled to go to Hogwarts for the annual maintenance it wasn't noticed that there were additional goblins and one invisible cloaked individual along for the ride.
Hogwarts herself noticed the presence of an heir but since this heir was entering the school covertly and the Headmaster had endangered this heir numerous times: she didn't alert the Headmaster that he was here and she overrode the seals the Headmaster had placed on Salazar's Chamber when the heir expressed a wish to go there.
Harry first helped the crew that would dismember and harvest the basilisk corpse get down to the Chamber of Secrets. Then he went to find the search team to find the baalsta rogum. They had narrowed the search to it being behind a wall on the seventh floor corridor.
Harry got up to them and smiled. He walked past the spot three times thinking show me the room where the baalsta rogum is hidden. The door appeared and behind it was a cathedral sized room piled high with mountains of discarded stuff. Harry looked at it and thought this would make one hell of a junk sale. Their spells led them directly to a crown on top of a plaster bust on top of a cabinet that was missing a foot.
"Is that it?" he asked. They nodded. "So that's it. I'll slip out using the Honeydukes passage and floo back to the Leaky Cauldron and in four days when you all are back in London we'll get rid if them."
"We will feast well that day Harry." Ragnok assured him.
The day Harry went to the bank for the destruction of the rest of baalsta rogums he felt cheerful, this would mean no more nights waking up screaming because of Voldemort's sick idea of fun. His second week at the Cauldron he'd had Tom heavily silence his bedroom so he wouldn't disturb other guests. He'd still have nightmares but he wouldn't have to remember the faces of Voldie's victims any longer.
He was surprised when Nicholas Flammel, Madame Miranda and Healer Truefaith showed up to support him. The ritual hurt a little and left him feeling very off balance but he felt much lighter and happier when it was over. He was surprised when the goblins gave him the ring, the locket and the diadem. There was one piece of Riddle's soul left. The one Tom carried around inside his body. Harry wasn't sure how, but he figured he had come a long ways towards being able to finish Voldie off, maybe he should work on some of the rest of his list now.
July 30th Under Secretary Deloris Umbridge was having her first day back at work .It was so very hard without dear Corneilus there. She came back from her first meeting to see a box of chocolates on her desk. Smiling that someone cared enough to give her chocolates her first day back she ate the two candies, before leaving for her next meeting with Minister Scrimgeore, Weatherby and Amelia Bones. Ten minutes later she was being hauled from the conference room to a cell and she wouldn't see the light of day until she was an old, old woman.
The morning of his birthday Harry smiled as he read the morning paper. He sent a message to Sterns to send the Umbridge memories to the ministry so they would have no choice but to convict the woman. Now he just needed to figure a way to force Albus to hold a press conference.
Later that morning he went to the muggle courthouse in Surrey to attend court for his relatives. He was surprised when his uncles charges were read off to hear that they included tax fraud, embezzlement from Grunnings, resisting arrest and assault of a police officer as well as theft from Harry and child abuse.
Dudley had been arrested for assault and battery and not just of Harry some other neighborhood children had come forward as well, petty theft, and to Harry's surprise possession of banned substances with intent to sell. Petunia's charges were just the child abuse and neglect. Apparently the barrister for his family had told them that the cases against them were rock solid and their best bet was to plead guilty and hope for mercy from the court.
Dudley was sentenced to the maximum term possible in youth facility.
Vernon also got the maximum sentence.
When the judge got to Petunia however he said, "Mrs. Dursley you should be grateful your nephew doesn't hold you completely responsible for his abuse. Because of his plea for clemency on your behalf your sentence is this. Unlike your husband and son, you are not deemed a danger to the community. Unless you are at work, at your community service, or are traveling to and from either of those places you will spend the next thirteen years and eight months under house arrest at number 4 Privet Drive . One afternoon a week you may leave the house to run errands. As you haven't worked outside the home before to support yourself you will have a job with the housekeeping department of Surrey General Hospital, and you will also be expected to do 2500 hours of community service."
Harry smiled benignly at the look of horror on Aunt Petunia's face as her sentence sank in.
His Uncle saw him in the court room and went berserk. "This is all your fault you freak! This wouldn't have..."
"Bailiff get him out of here. " the Judge ordered.
When Petunia looked at Harry, her face furious, he smiled and said "Justice." Then he turned and left the courtroom.
Two days after his sixteenth birthday Harry went to the bank because Ragnok had called for him. "Harry, thank you for coming. I wanted to tell you what we will get for the basilisk. We got ninety ounces of venom at 1000 galleons an ounce, each scale the size of my fist goes for 100 galleons and we got approximately 150,000, twelve heartstrings those aren't worth as much a mere 144 galleons, and the hide will be worth much to those who make armor. I reserved some of the skin for you by the way you shall have a set of the finest goblin made basilisk hide armor once you're grown. The teeth go for 10,000 a tooth for the smaller teeth 25,000 for the three fangs. Although I collected the broken fang and had it made into this." He handed Harry a dagger. Harry could see it was ornately done. "The tooth was cleaned of any venom so you can touch the blade. The venom channel has been filled with a metal we only give to each other and those we count as friend. Adamantium, it is stronger than steel we have used goblin silver for the chasing on the hilt and guard."
Harry swallowed, "I am deeply honored Ragnok. What cut will the goblins get?"
Ragnok smiled at the young man in front of him. "So you should be, Thirty percent."
"Ragnok what am I going to do with all the money from the basilisk?"
"What ever you want to."
"I already have more money than I could spend in a dozen lifetimes. I..."
"You could always give it away. The Hogwarts fund that pays student scholarships for witches and wizards unable to pay has gotten severely depleted by the last two wars and we are in a third. Traditionally when young witches and wizards who used the fund reached adult hood they would repay the fund so it would be there for the next child that needed it. However with all the wars the death toll has made it that many never grew old enough to repay it. It is good in many ways that the reduced numbers have also reduced the demand for the fund or all the magical children would have already depleted the fund completely."
Harry looked at the Goblin and a grin slowly crept its way across the young man's face.
"What are you thinking young one?"
"I have my reason for the press conference at Hogwarts." He proceeded to explain.
When he finished Ragnok roared with laughter. Then he called his assistant in and started to dictate a letter to Dumbledore.
A week later respected members of the press and the board of governors made their way to Hogwarts. Harry sent Hedwig to the Headmaster with a small box of sweets and a note. Mr. Sterns carefully gathered the evidence he had collected on Albus Dumbledore's many misdeeds if not outright criminal behavior and prepared to take it to the DMLE. At Gringott's Ragnok carefully put on his armor and prepared for the coming battle, not a battle of blood but of public opinion. He mainly hoped that Young Harry's weapon was as powerful as he claimed. Harry went through his morning routine of exercise, shower, eat, meditate, and study and at nine forty five sharp he flooed in his invisibility cloak to Hogwarts.
Albus was pleased Gringott's had notified him of a generous donation that would replenish the student scholarship vault for generations to come the benefactor had also come into some of the founder's artifacts and planned to donate them to the school.
It had pleased him so much that he'd been happy to make arrangements for the press and the board of governors to be present for the occasion. And here mere minutes before he was to join everyone in the great hall and his wayward pawn sends him something. Today was definitely his day. He asked Hedwig to wait for a response, and told her she would have to wait until after the press conference for it. She merely nodded.
Albus took a last look in the mirror in his quarters to be sure he presented the proper image. Then he started to walk to the Great Hall.
Dear Headmaster Dumbledore,
I'm sorry. I didn't stay at the Dursleys this summer. It was too much after what happened at the DOM. I realize I've probably disrupted your plans but I needed time to accept everything. I hope the lemon candy I've enclosed will be accepted and we can go forward from there. I know that you will undoubtably use a tracking spell on Hedwig to find my whereabouts and have accepted it as my due.
Sincerely, Harry James Potter
P.S. This candy is called lemon warheads. I saw it and thought of you.
The Headmaster eagerly pulled out two of the candies and popped them in his mouth. He was shocked at the burst of sour that flooded his mouth thankfully it passed as he walked through the Great Hall door and joined Ragnok on the dais to accept the gifts. Ragnok spoke first and then handed Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem and Salazar Slytherin's locket to Dumbledore.
Dumbledore took the two items and turned to the press.
"Esteemed Governors, members of the press, thank you for coming. I.." what was he going to say? oh yes, "I was lovers with Gellert Grindelwald and I didn't duel him as is commonly believed I slept with him for old times sake and then slipped him a sleeping potion I'm not sure if he or I was responsible for killing my sister Ariana. I believe as he did wizards are the apex of civilization and I should rule over wizarding kind. To that end I have consistently manipulated my fellow wizards in the government. I have ignored wills and deliberately placed Harry James Potter into danger starting by placing him with his muggle relatives as a baby. I deliberately disregarded Sirius Black's right to a trial because I knew he was innocent but he was guardian to Harry Potter. I have used funds that were not mine to bribe others including children, Ronald Weaseley, Pansy Parkinson, Zacharias Smith, among others to name a few here at the school..." the litany went on for an hour and it included many things that people thought were impossible including the tricking of a phoenix. He ended with "Thank you all from coming." But when it was over they didn't stop the Headmaster from leaving the hall they were too shocked.
When the Headmaster reached his quarters he was surprised by the fact Hedwig was no longer there. Oh well, he shrugged. He suddenly noticed Harry in the corner near Fawkes' stand. "Harry."
"Hello Headmaster."
"It's good you're finally here I have things I must show you."
"I know. But first Headmaster," He swift as a thought raised his wand, "obliviate."
The next morning Albus woke up. How strange, he had no memory of yesterday beyond giving Fawkes his daily dose of potion. Oh well. He sat down. As it was summer, the elves served breakfast in his quarters. He was unhappy to note his food was cold just he was about to call an elf to complain he noticed many owls bearing letters coming to his window. As the first few came in he noticed many of them carried howlers. They next thing he knew he was being berated by many voices telling him how disgusting he was. He recognized one of the voices as belonging to Molly Weaseley. She was screeching.
"How dare you do that to Harry, his parents, not to mention Severus Snape and Sirius Black, and if I ever saw you again it would be to soon how dare you corrupt children like you did. Ron and Ginny will not be returning to Hogwarts unless you are no longer there."
Albus was positively floored how did all these people come to know of … at that moment eight aurors burst through his door firing stunners at him. When he came to, he was wearing magic suppression bracelets and an Auror was telling him his rights under magical law.
That same morning as Tom Marvolo Riddle aka Lord Voldemort sat down for his own breakfast. He unfolded his morning paper expecting headlines declaring he had returned but that the wizarding public should stay calm. Instead the headlines declared Dumbledore a Dark Lord! His tea spewed halfway across the room. He started reading avidly and when he got done he started to laugh, not his usual insane cackle no these were deep full bodied laughs. He laughed so hard, he started to cry and suddenly he felt like he was choking and as something had hit his head. Voldemort reached out with his magic and pulled the strength of his followers to him perhaps if he took some of their magic he would be able to breathe again. In his state though he pulled all of it and when that didn't work he started pulling on their life force. But it was no use, moments later the Dark Lord Voldemort was dead as was anyone with a dark mark.
At Gringott's a alarm rang. Several wills were being activated at once. Ragnok and the rest realized the the wills being activated were ones belonging to Deatheaters. He dispatched a team of goblins to Little Hangleton and sent a note to the DMLE that the goblins had reason to believe several deaths had occurred this morning. Mentally Ragnok listed the accounts that Harry by virtue of being Lord Black had right to. He grinned Harry wouldn't be pleased but he would definitely change the wizarding world.
The next day the Prophet's headlines announced Dark Lord He-Who-Must-Not-Be Named Dead Died of an aneurism. The article said there were a fairly large number of deaths elsewhere that occurred at the same time. It was rumored but not confirmed by the DMLE that most of those that died had the dark mark on their left forearm. Harry felt relief. No more Tom, no more Tom's followers, and since yesterday he'd spent the day with Madame Miranda there was no way they contribute Tom's death to him. No longer would he be considered the chosen one. That was until Amelia Bones, Rufus Scrimgeour, and Mr Sterns interrupted his morning study time.
At the knock on the door Harry got up to answer it, no one knew he was here really except Ragnok, Tom, Madame Christine, Mr. Twillfit, Ms. Ambercrombie and Mr. Sterns.
"Ah Mr.- excuse me Lord Potter-Black, I and Madame Bones were hoping we could have a word with you. We prevailed on Mr. Sterns here to show us where you've been hiding yourself ."
"Of course Minister Scrimgeour, I'd be honored. Tea?"
"Please."
"Service please." a house elf appeared. "Tea for myself and my guests." The elf popped back out."So what brings you here sir? I'm afraid I don't see why I'd be of interest to yourself and Madame Bones."
"So modest Lord Potter-Black. You've been manipulated by Albus Dumbledore to his own ends, by his own admission. You have faced He who must not be named more times that any other wizard alive, you hold several seats in the Wizengamot and now that Dumbledore is disgraced, He who must not be named is dead along with his followers including many in high position and you wonder that we have an interest in you?" Amelia Bones said mockingly.
Rufus Scrimgeour watched this boy who wielded enormous power in the wake of Dumbledore's disgrace.
"You are a symbol of light to the masses. Lord Potter-Black."
"The wizarding world would do better to develop a sense of responsibility for itself instead of looking for symbols and leaders of the light. Muggles have a saying power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Unfortunately I've paid the price for that with my ..." Harry forced himself to stop. The elf popped in with the tea. Harry poured a cup of tea and prepared it the way he knew Mr. Sterns took it. He pour a second cup and looked at Amelia Bones "How do you take your tea?"
"With lemon please."
"Minister?" Harry asked while he prepared her cup then handed it to her.
"One sugar."
Harry prepared a cup for the minister. "You have an opportunity Minister, with all the recent deaths and disgraces you can change things, the wizarding world hasn't kept pace with the egalitarian ways of the muggle. My mother had extensive notes on how she would have restructured the wizarding world free elections by everyone not elections by the wizengamot from the wizengamot membership. Doing so would allow the disenfranchised: the muggleborn, the werewolves, centaurs, goblins, house elves to have a voice, to take part. I never wanted to be anything but a normal teenage boy. I have been forced by others acting on so called prophecies into doing things, but it's never made me happy."
"What Prophecy?"
""The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... The Dark Lord will mark him as equal, but he will have a power the Dark Lord knows not...And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives."
"The Dark Lord marked me but this time he won't be back. Voldemort had created what the goblins call baalsta rogums the closest translation is soul box an object housing a fragment of a persons soul. Voldemort made six a diary, a ring, a cup, a locket, a diadem,and me. They were all destroyed with the goblins help. So this time when he died he really did die and thank god he took the idiots who believed as he did with him. As far as prophecy goes I don't believe it. I was here with Madame Greenbrier yesterday having lessons when Voldie died so how could anyone say I defeated him. As for me I think I've done my part to fix the ills of the wizarding world by reporting Dumbledore and helping the goblins destroy the baalsta rogums. I think I want to focus on being a teen for now."
Amelia looked at Rufus and they both thanked Harry for the tea and departed.
They didn't have the heart to tell him that the Healers had determined He who must not be named had literally laughed himself to death. Laughing, judging by the paper's position near the body, at the downfall of Albus Dumbledore at the hands of the Boy Who Lived.